Jennie is once again nervous. Her latest comeback had been a hit and she was getting more promotions than she thought possible. She had been so busy recently, with magazine shoots, reality shows, and interviews, barely having the time to catch her breath. And now, here she was waiting backstage to present an award to the newest rookie group. She almost couldn't believe it. She remembers being a rookie, remembers the awe that came with seeing the idols, the stage, the fans.
The rookie award was a big deal. She had been nervous a few years ago to receive it and now she's nervous to present it. She takes a deep breath wanting to calm herself and almost manages it until it hits her, her co-presenter is still not here.

She's a bundle of nervous and her palms are littered with little crescent marks her nails are leaving. She finds herself pacing, genuinely very worried now. Seriously, who will she be presenting with? Why are they not here yet?

It's as if God had heard her frantic prayers because suddenly there's a commotion and she sees him striding towards him. Jennie will never get used to the way the breath leaves her body when she sees Jaehyun. He's dressed today in a dark tux and his hair slicked back. He has silver piercings adorning his ears and his brown eyes are glowing brightly. Jennie has never seen his eyes in any other form, they always seem happy and bright, curiously observing the world around him.

Her breath hitches in as he nears. Is he going to be the presenter with her today? She turns when her makeup artist approaches her to do her touch-up.

Jaehyun is rushing to meet pace with the frazzled staff in front of him. Due to last-minute changes, he had been asked to be the presenter for the rookie awards and he had accepted without a second thought. He had been a rookie once and he remembers what it felt like to receive an award, he can only imagine how good it feels to be the one presenting it. Jaehyun is a simple man; he's presenting the award because he knows it means he has reached a level in his career where he can be seen as a senior capable of giving away the rookie award to his juniors.

And so Jaehyun is rushing, he hasn't had a chance to rehearse with his co-presenter and he doesn't know how well their chemistry would be with each other. Sure, it would only take ten minutes maximum but his fans were like sharks when it came to capturing his comfort with other individuals. He knew showing even a little bit of awkwardness would result in a lot of worrisome behavior towards his co-presenter, and he didn't want anyone feeling hurt due to him.

As he nears backstage, he catches a glimpse of a petite figure, her back towards him. Her hair is in a ponytail and her dress is shimmery, that's all Jaehyun has time to think before she turns her head just a little and he catches a glance of her cheeks.

His steps fall short and he bumps forcefully into the staff's back; that had been guiding him.

It's Jennie. Jennie is going to present with him. Jennie seemed even more untouchable with her sharp eyes and her fierce aura today. Jaehyun couldn't believe he was worried about chemistry when Jennie was going to walk with him. His head spun as he thought about her grasping his arm as he escorted her out.

His gaze was torn from her when a voice addresses him. It's the same staff from earlier guiding him towards Jennie, something about rehearsing but he has stopped listening. Jennie is all but two steps away from him and he doesn't know how to stop staring. His eyes like always seem to betray him. They will not leave her.

Jennie is physically holding her breath, trying her best to avoid turning his way. So, she resists. She bites her lips and focuses hard on the script. She keeps reading the same line again and again. 'Congratulations, Itzy on your rookie of the year win', the words are imprinted on her mind, running through in loops, again and again, anything to keep it off of Jaehyun.

But she can't keep her eyes off him much longer. She is soon being shuffled next to him in front of a huge mirror as the staff asks her to read from the script. He is right next to her and she can feel the warmth radiating from his body. He towers over her, and arms brush softly against her. She raises her head looking straight at the mirror. Her brain stutters and so does she, words failing her. All she can see is Jaehyun. She sees his fingers fiddling with his buttons, the way his ankles are crossed, and the way he has his head tilted. He is looking down at his makeup artist as she goes over his eyebrows and Jennie knows she would give anything to have him look at her in such away.

Jennie feels a flush on her cheeks as the staff shoots her a look and begins reading, focusing on them. She's embarrassed and she can feel the flush on her cheeks. She can't help it though. Not when she sees the image the two of them set, not when their outfit had unconsciously coordinated with each other.

Jaehyun is looking at this makeup artist when Jennie begins reading and he can hear nervousness through her high voice. His lips quirk up, and he finds it adorable how nervous she is. His face maintains a grin throughout the reading, even though her eyes never find his.

Soon they are ready to walk out and Jaehyun finds her pressed even closer as she worries about her dress. Jaehyun quickly looks down at her shoes before cautiously extending his hands, a blush furiously capturing his ears. He can't quite bring himself to look at her, too shy to see her expression. He can barely keep the smile from filling his face when he feels her tentatively clutch his hands. Then the lights are on them and they're off.

Jaehyun is still holding her hands when they reach the podium. He grins at his friends sitting in the audience and raises his hands to wave. He feels her hand lift with his and hastily drops it as she lets out a gasp.

Jennie can't believe he's holding her hand, but his fingers are warm around hers and his gentle touch can't be ignored. She doesn't want to look down at their joined hands so she turns to look at him. She wants to signal she's ready to start but although she has his hands on hers, she doesn't have his attention. Then her hand is being lifted along with his and she knows no more. Heart beating she tries to deflect and looks away from him.

His expression turns sheepish as he turns to look at her but she's looking straight ahead. She begins her speech and he turns to the front once again. He sees his fans cheering from him and has a sudden moment of panic. He hopes they don't misunderstand, hopes they won't go off on Jennie for holding onto him. His worries bring him to gaze at her again and he can't help but marvel at her beauty. She's looking at the nominees on the screen intently. He wonders what it feels like to have her look at him like that. He is so entranced that he doesn't notice the lights are back on and the MCs are addressing him.

He startles. He has been caught in the act. He pretends to be lost in thought and scrambles to read his part of the script. He is acutely aware that everyone can gather Jennie had been the reason for his state. He makes sure to be cheery he reads his bit and is equally as bright when he presents the award to Itzy with Jennie just within his arm's reach.

With their work done, the two make their way to exit the stage before they pause. The stairs are narrow and Jennie's heels are long. She glances towards Jaehyun timidly unsure if she should ask him for help. She's uncomfortable under the bright lights and the sharp looks the audience is throwing at her. She knows he would help, she knows he would extend his hands towards her again. But she's afraid. What if she condemns him? Would his fans be mad at him for being close to a female idol? Would his fans be mad at her? And what about her own fans?

She looks away from him quickly not daring to think on this matter anymore.

Jaehyun turns his body towards Jennie, not caring about all the inquisitive stares. He wants to believe his fans would understand if he helped an idol down the stairs so he takes his chances. Gaze steady, he offers her his hands again. Eyes still averted, Jennie hastily places her hands on his. She doesn't look excited at the prospect of holding him again and Jaehyun feels a disappointed frown lighting his face as they make their way down.

Jaehyun had only walked six steps down before he realizes there's a problem. His fans are not happy. They are booing at him as he awkwardly stands with Jennie. The fans are getting louder and the idol around them are starting to look uneasy. Jaehyun can feel Jennie tense beside him. He doesn't know how to approach this situation and feels his brain shut down. He had just started to open his mouth when he sees Jisoo rushing towards them and in a matter of seconds Jennie is being pulled away and he's left to stand all alone.

He watches her retreating figure with worry, unhappy at how the situation turned out. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid. She had already looked disinterested in him but watching her get hurt because of him hit harder. Watching as her hunched figure got smaller as she gained distance, a heavy feeling settled in his heart. He flinched when a hand rested on his shoulder, effectively breaking the moment and drawing his attention away.

He never got a chance to apologize and she never saw his regrets.

Jennie braved to look back at Jaehyun as she hid from the public, only to see his disappointed face as he looked towards his fans. Just as she feared, she had left him in a difficult situation ultimately resulting in his displeasure. He looked frustrated and annoyed. She hadn't meant to be his source of irritation. She hadn't meant to leave him in a place where helping her meant his fan's dissatisfaction and not helping her resulting in him looking unchivalrous. She looked down at her shoes and wished she could blame it all on the contraption, but as the boos rang loud and clear in her ears she knew she had no one but herself to blame.

Too far away to make out his face anymore Jennie regretted that she would not get a chance to apologize. But mostly that he would never see her genuine regret that shone deeply in her face.