At that moment, his fight or flight response became activated, but instead of fighting, he was preparing to run. Jung Kook didn’t have the slightest clue how the pair ended up together, but somehow it happened and now he was here right in the middle of what he was certain would be an ugly confrontation.

“Jung Kook!” called Jin, the second he spotted him. “Over here!”

Ara glanced over her shoulder at him, causing him to freeze. It was too late to make a run for it, he didn’t have any choice, but to join them at the table and face his destiny. As he moved slowly toward the table, the journey probably took less that a minute, but in his head, he was enduring a heavy amount of dread that made it feel like each step was an hour long process.  

Jung Kook didn’t know what was going on, but he thought that perhaps the other members had somehow discovered his secret relationship with Ara, contacted her, and then brought her, Jin (since he had sent Jin’s photo claiming to be him), and himself to the shop to confront him.  

He slid into the seat beside Jin, half expecting for them both to blurt out their own vituperative remarks toward him, however all was calm. Jung Kook didn’t look at Ara right away because he was afraid he would see sadness and anger in her eyes. In each of her photos online, she always wore a smile, so it would rip him to shreds if he ever saw her sad or angry.  

“Jung Kook, this Ara.” said Jin, seizing the opportunity to introduce him. 

Jung Kook made the mistake of making eye contact with Ara and visibly gasped at the sight of her. She was the same beautiful girl he saw in the thousands of photos online, but staring at her face to face was different…she was sitting directly in front of him! 

Everything about her was even more beautiful in person, from her hair, to clothing, to smile, to her eyes, which were staring at him. The golden maknae wondered if she knew that he was the one who had been speaking with her online for nearly five months. He expected her to say something to him in regards to their letters, however the first thing she said to him was the last thing he expected to hear.  

“Oh my goodness! Is he your brother?” she asked Jin. “He’s so adorable.” She reached both her arms across the table and began to pinch his checks the way older adults do to babies. “He’s just too adorable. This is the cutest thing ever.”

The maknae wasn’t sure what hurt more, the fact that she didn’t recognize him as her online boyfriend or the fact that she referred to him as “cute”, acting almost like he was a child. 

In a matter of seconds, he was able to determine that both Jin and Ara were unaware of his secret. If they did know, then how on Earth did these two end up meeting?  

“He’s not my biological brother.” explained Jin. “But, we’re close enough to be brothers.”

“Aw, you never mentioned him in your e-mail-”

Jung Kook interrupted her by pretending to sneeze all over the table. His legs were trembling from fear of Jin possibly  asking her what she was talking about. They both looked at him and began to ask him if he were fine, and he spent several minutes assuring them that he was alright. The diversion had managed to take their minds off Ara’s last remark involving the e-mail.  

Five minutes later, a waitress returned with the food Jin and Ara had ordered early and they shared everything they bought with Jung Kook. As they ate, Jung Kook felt like a third wheel as the pair began to continue their conversation over a recent movie they had both had seen. 

He was clever and able to figure out what happened on his own without them realizing it. Jung Kook was aware that Ara worked at the mall, but he wasn’t sure which one it was until today. Jin had mentioned earlier that he needed to go shopping for more ingredients, so somehow Ara must have seen Jin, approached him, and then somehow they ended up going out to eat together. The photo he had sent Ara was of Jin, so the second she saw him in the mall, she most likely ran up to him. The part that he didn’t understand was why haven’t they realized that he was the one responsible for sending Ara the e-mails? 

As they spoke, he observed them and Ara acted like she knew Jin all her life while Jin acted as though he were just getting to know her. It honestly didn’t make any sense. They must have been together for awhile, but he couldn’t comprehend how the realization that this was Jin’s first time meeting her hadn’t come up.  

Jung Kook was quiet as they spoke, but he never took his eyes off Ara. He couldn’t help feel like he was being stabbed in his heart by a hundred knives because for months he had longed to speak with her, to tell her in person how he felt about her and now he had the chance, but he couldn’t say it because she didn’t know who he was. She was under the impression that Jin was her online lover and it hurt him deeply that he couldn’t tell her right then and there.  

He thought about blurting it out, but lost courage several seconds before actually going through with it over the fear that he would lose her. 

“We really need to head back to the dorm.” said Jin, more to Jung Kook than Ara.

“I’ll walk with you to the doors.” she quickly stated.

They leaped from their chairs, with Jin leading the way, Ara clung close to him wrapping one of his arms between her own. The sight hurt him deeply because he felt that it should be him instead of Jin. The golden maknae lagged several paces behind them, unsure of what he could possibly say. They walked through the mall for several minutes until they reached the front.  

“Remember.” said Ara to Jin, before they split up. “Call me whenever you have free time.”

“Sure, if you don’t call me first.” 

The two laughed and then parted ways, secretly glancing back at one another as they headed in different directions.  

_________

“Jung Kook, why do you look like that?” asked Jin.

They were heading back to the dorm and the entire walk there, Jung Kook glared at Jin with a menacing, angered expression on his face that didn’t show any sign of fading. They were walking along the sidewalk of a residential street that had wooden fences surrounding each of the properties.  

Jung Kook was mad at Jin, and to be frank, he couldn’t necessarily blame Jin for what had occurred today. Jin was just as clueless as Ara and only he was truly aware of everything, but he still couldn’t hide any resentment towards his oldest hyung for spending time with girl of his dreams like she was…his!

“You’re not really going to call her, are you?” he asked in a way that  made him sound curious, yet fearful of the answer at the same time.  

“Of course I am,” he laughed. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You can’t!” said Jung Kook, he stopped walking.

Jin turned around and flashed the golden maknae a bewildered look and then he covered the distance between them so that they were standing directly in front of one another.  

“Why not?”

“The managers will be upset.”

“They won’t know. The only way they could find out is if you or me tell them.” said Jin. “And we’re not going to do that.”

“Honestly hyung,” said Jung Kook with anger rising in his voice. “You don’t know anything about her.”  

Jin was silent for a moment, sensing that there was obviously something going on that he didn’t know about. He stared at Jung Kook for a moment as if the answer were written on his face, but he was unable to make sense of his reaction.  

“What’s going on Jung Kook?” he asked solemnly.

“Nothing…” he replied after a short silence.  

He walked ahead moving quickly so that Jin remained lagging behind him with his shadow.  

__________

After the arrived home, Jin didn’t speak much of his afternoon with the others and neither did Jung Kook. He sat on his bed with Jin’s lap top, staring at his empty inbox waiting for Ara to e-mail him. How could sending Jin’s picture result in things turning out this badly? It didn’t make any sense to him and he was rapidly beginning to regret it.

She thought Jin was him, and Jung Kook was convinced that that was a million times worst, having someone else take credit for his feelings for her, than it would have been if she had known the truth and simply abandoned him. He was actually wishing that he had told her the truth from the start and that way it wouldn’t have resulted in Jin moving in on his girlfriend.  

Her e-mails were what he looked forward to each day and she often replied to him, but now that she had met “him” in person, e-mailing didn’t seem appropriate any longer, especially after she had given Jin her phone number.  

The second the phone enter his thoughts he immediately recalled the pair exchanging their numbers. Sooner or later, one conversation or another, she was going to figure out that Jin wasn’t the man she thought she knew online. Jung Kook couldn’t be there every time they met, especially now that they had each other’s individual phone numbers. There’s was no way he could pry in on their conversation and create diversions that way.  

He needed to erase her number from Jin’s phone. She could still call him, but it might delay the process because Ara was expecting Jin to call her first. He lifted himself from his bed and tip-toed toward his bed room door. After peeking around the corner, he spotted Rap Monster, Suga, and J-Hope watching television. 

There wasn’t any sign of Jin.  Jung Kook made his way down into the family room where the other three members were sitting.  

“Where’s Jin?”

“He had to make a call.” said Suga. “So he went outside.”

Without any explanation, Jung Kook raced across the room and threw open the front door. He stepped outside, closing the door behind him, and then he made his way down the stairs into the night. 

It was no wonder she wasn’t e-mailing him, how could she when she was on the phone talking to Jin?!

Jung Kook only walked five feet from the stairs when he spotted Jin emerging from the other side of the street. 

“What did she say?” he asked.

“What are you talking about?” asked Jin. “Why are you out? It’s too late to-”

“What did she say?!”

“My mom…she said she would like me to visit her next week.” said Jin in a way that sounded sincere.

“Your mom?”

Jin nodded, appearing sincere and innocent of wrong doing. Jung Kook was half convinced, but part of him felt like he was lying. This was going too far, he couldn’t take it any longer and he was knew that he wouldn’t be happy if things continued this way.

There was the possibility of telling Jin the truth, but he feared that Jin would immediately disapprove of him dating someone who was nearly eight years older than him and he would be even more upset that she didn’t have any idea that Jung Kook was a minor.   

The only thing he could do was ask Jin to promise him something.  

“Jin, can you promise me that you’ll stay away from Ara?” he asked slowly.  

“Stay away from her?” he laughed as though he thought it were a joke, but there wasn’t any warmth in the maknae’s eyes which made him realize that he was being serious. “Why? Jung Kook? You’ve been acting very strange. Why is this woman so important to you?”

The answer came naturally in his head, it was because he was in love with her and he had spent five months getting to know everything he could about her. He was convinced he knew her better than himself and she was the only person he could see himself with in the future. Sadly, in his head, is where this explanation remained. Instead, he responded with silence.  

“I think I know.” suggested Jin. “You have a crush on her. But seriously Jung Kook, she’s much older than us, I’m sure you’ll get over it soon. When I meet her tomorrow-”

“Tomorrow? You can’t meet her.”

“You’re taking this a little too far.” said Jin sternly. “I’m your hyung and you can’t talk to me that way.”

With that, the conversation was ended and Jin walked passed him, making his way into the dorm. 

Talking to Jin wasn’t any help…there was only one thing left for him to do.