The cool October wind blew against Jimin’s face as she walked down the lonely sidewalk towards a secluded café, where she would meet her best friend, Jieun. She had a scarf around her neck that nearly covered most of her face, though the wind was still sending shivers down her spine. She pulled her jacket closer to her to prevent more wind coming into contact with her, as well as hoping that her brief disguise was enough to hide her from the public.

She quickened her steps and reached the café within the next few minutes. The bell hanging on top of door chimed as she pushed the wooden door open, signalling her arrival. She quickly scanned the interior, looking for her best friend.

“Hey! I’m here!” Jieun waved her arms in the air to attract Jimin’s attention. She was careful not to shout her name, just in case there were fans around, though the name ‘Jimin’ was not at all unique and out of the norm.

Jimin turned to the source of the voice, and with a smile, she quickly trolled over, sitting down on the small armchair in front of her friend.

“How are you?” she asked as she pulled her scarf down. The café was quiet enough for her to expose herself, especially since this café was a little further away from the city centre where there were fewer customers to begin with.

“I’m good.” Jieun replied. “Though, I think that question should be asked by me to you.”

“Why do you say that?” Jimin knitted her brows.

Jieun chuckled. “Oh, come on. You know what I’m talking about.”

Jimin sighed and leaned back into her chair, momentarily closing her eyes so she could gather her thoughts together. Just as she was able to speak, a waitress came and took her order. Jimin replied with the first drink that came to her mind, though it wasn’t the one she would normally have in a café.

Jieun looked at her friend with a brow raised. “When did you start drinking lattes?”

With a shrug, Jimin propped her elbows on the table and rested her cheeks in one hand. “I don’t know.”

“Uh, uh.” Jieun shook her head. “I think both you and I know the reason. You’re just not admitting it.”

“Yah, don’t make things more difficult for me.” Jimin groaned. “It’s already as confusing as it is right now. Don’t mess with my head anymore.”

“So why the hell did you call me out today?” Jieun asked. “You know, for a big start to call someone like me out on a coffee date is pretty rare.”

Jimin rolled her eyes. “Am I not allowed to see my one and only best friend just because I work in the entertainment industry?”

The waitress returned to their table with Jimin’s latte on a tray, along with the chocolate muffin she ordered. The idol thanked the waitress as the latter placed the order down onto the table. Giving the customers a bow, the waitress left.

“This is so confusing.” Jimin said while stirring her coffee. “I don’t even know what to do.”

“Do you want to start from the beginning?” Jieun took a sip from her hot chocolate and leaned closer towards her best friend.

Jimin sighed. She knew she could tell Jieun anything and everything, but right now, she had no idea where she would start from. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again.

“I don’t even know where to begin.” she confessed. “It’s like, all of a sudden, I feel like we’re a lot closer than what we were supposed to be.”

“What do you mean?” Jieun frowned. She really wanted to help the idol in distress, but she had no idea what the latter was talking about.

“What I mean is that I don’t know what I feel about him.” Jimin said. “I don’t know whether I’m influenced from all the onscreen acting or not. Worst of all, I don’t even know what he feels about me. Does he genuinely feel the same way or is he only acting for the show?”

“Okay, I see where you’re coming from.” Jieun nodded slowly. “So, what do you feel about him?”

“Well, he’s really gentle for starters.” A smile unknowingly formed on Jimin’s face. “Even though he looks really cold on the outside, once you get to know him, he’s definitely a gentleman. He helps me with the things that I could have done myself without any problems and he doesn’t complain about it. He puts up with my childishness and my stubbornness and always puts me first before anything else. I mean, what more can a girl ask for in a man?”

Jieun smiled. “Doesn’t that give you your answer already?”

“No it doesn’t.” Jimin replied. “If it does then I wouldn’t be this troubled!”

“But why are you troubled in the first place?” Jieun asked. “I mean, you know what you think of him and it’s pretty obvious what you’re feeling on the inside as well, so where’s the issue?”

“Here is the issue.” Jimin said. “I don’t know whether these are genuine feelings or not. Am I feeling like this because I really do like him in reality, or am I feeling this from the effects of being on the show?” she paused. “Plus, I don’t even know whether he’s acting like that because he’s on a show or not.”

“But you just said all those good qualities about him!” Jieun sat up straight. “Do you doubt your thoughts now?”

Jimin held her head in her palms and groaned. “This is why I’m so confused!” she grumbled. “I don’t know what is real and what isn’t.”

“Okay, let’s take a deep breath and start from a different point.” Jieun said in a calm manner and encouraged Jimin to breathe deeply for a few moments before continuing. “Are you calm?” Jimin nodded. “Okay, so here we go. For the moment, let’s forget about Leo and his behaviours. Let’s just focus on you solely, alright?”

“Is this going to work?” Jimin frowned.

“You never know until you try.” Jieun smiled hopefully. “Come on, taking it from a different angel won’t hurt – it might actually work better than before!”

Jimin sighed helplessly. “I guess.”

Jieun fished out her phone from her bag and opened up a new notepad. She quickly typed a few words in before starting her little Q&A session with the girl across the table.

“So, do you feel all tingly and giddy when you’re around him?” Jieun asked the first question.

It didn’t take long for Jimin to start imagining the scenes in her head. Almost instantly, she felt her heart beating faster and her cheeks getting warmer. Jieun saw the change in her best friend and didn’t even need a verbal reply to know what the answer is. After all, the two girls have known each other for years; a tiny change like faster blinking would not escape their eyes.

“But that might be because we spend so much time together on the show!” Jimin quickly added before her friend started to assume things.

“Girl, what you said didn’t make sense.” Jieun shook her head disapprovingly. “I mean, why would you still be all giddy and fidgety around him when you have been with him for so long? If this was like months ago, then yes it would be normal to be nervous, but you’ve known him for weeks now so why the hell are you still nervous around him?”

Jimin blinked at Jieun’s words. She picked up her mug of coffee and absentmindedly took a sip, swallowing the bitter liquid.

Jieun was right. Since she had spent so much time with Taekwoon already, why would she still feel nervous around him? Sure others didn’t notice her nervousness, but she knew that within her, her heart would beat rapidly whenever she saw him, or even whenever someone mentioned his name.

Seeing how Jimin was quiet and deep in thought, Jieun knew she hit the bull’s eye. She quickly jotted down her findings in her phone and proceeded with the next question.

“Okay, so do you feel the same when you’re not on the show?” she asked. “Like, when you’re waiting for the filming to begin and he’s somewhere around you, get what I mean?”

Jimin slowly nodded. “Yeah… I… it feels the same… I guess…”

The smile on Jieun’s face grew as Jimin answered more and more questions. The idol’s best friend clearly knew what was going on, despite the idol herself didn’t. Jieun knew it would take some time for Jimin to realise her feelings, though it was something that Jieun couldn’t just tell her like that – Jimin had to realise it for herself.

“He really takes good care of me, outside of the show as well.” Jimin replied when Jieun asked what Taekwoon was like to her off-screen.

“Doesn’t that tell you something?” Jieun asked, trying to trigger something in the idol’s head.

Jimin groaned for the nth time of the day. “Jieun, please! Just get to the point!”

“Look, why would a guy take good care of a girl like your Taekwoon oppa if he doesn’t like her in a romantic way?” Jieun tried to make it as obvious as possible.

“But he’s genuinely a really nice guy.” Jimin replied. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s nice to other girls too.”

Jieun rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat. She raised her arms in the air in defeat. “Girl, I can't help you if you’re just going to say the opposing thing to every point I try to make.”

“But Jieun, you’re my only hope!” Jimin whined. “It’s so confusing and I don’t even know how to act around him anymore! I have to film again with him in a couple of days and I can't deal with this fuzziness in my head all the time when I see him!”

“You are hopeless, you know!” Jieun sipped on her drink and shook her head. “I know, you know, we both know why you’re feeling like that and yet you keep on denying everything. There really isn’t anything else I can do for you, my friend.”

Jimin’s eyes widened as she realised something very important. “If this continues, I might ruin his reputation!”

“Do you think he’s someone to care about fame and popularity?” Jieun challenged.

“It’s still important to him!” Jimin exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, what should I do?”

“Honey, just be yourself in front of him and that’s all you’ll ever need to do.” Jieun advised. “As for your feelings… they should become clear to you soon enough.”

Why am I feeling the frustration too?

When I planned this chapter, I wasn’t expecting it to be this long, so I guess it’ll have to be split up into different sections! Sorry guys~