Chorim’s mouth twitched with anger as she listened to Taehyung and Jimin enthusiastically discussing what to eat for dinner.
    “Should we get it delivered?”
        “Nah, I’ll go pick it up.”
    “Ooohh right, I forgot there’s a BBQ Chicken store nearby...”
        “Yeah, it’s not far so…”
Having endured for long enough, Chorim stood up and threw two pillows at the two idiots sitting in front of her.
“Guys, I told you! I’m on a strict diet!” She yelled. Taehyung and Jimin stared at her with blank faces and then turned to each other, pretending they didn’t hear her. It started about a week ago ever since she was invited to the wedding by Jin as his plus one. She was already undoubtedly thin but she was determined to stay in perfect shape until the day of wedding which was approximately two weeks away.
“Okay so BBQ Fried Chicken, half chilli, half sweet chilli, a litre of Coke…” Taehyung read through the list he had scribbled on the palm of his hand, “Do you reckon we should get chicken bites?”
“Did you hear me? I said I'm...”
“Just because you’re on a diet doesn’t mean we are too. Why are you even on one?” Jimin snapped at her. She fell back into the couch with her arms stubbornly crossed, knowing that they were going to go ahead and order her favourite food when they knew she couldn't have any.
“I need to look perfect.” She sulked. Taehyung knew it was for the wedding she had been invited to by her so-called 'dream guy'. He stood up and put on a black jumper and a grey beanie. He seemed to have grown a liking to beanies because he liked the way they pushed his fringe down.
“Well, that is your problem then. Alright, I’ll be back.” Taehyung commented and then headed towards the front door.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Chorim said as she quickly got off the couch. She grabbed Jimin’s snapback off the table and put it on whilst walking past him, “I’m coming with you!”

~

Chorim’s stomach growled so loudly that even Taehyung could hear it as they were heading back. Taehyung had the glorious fried chicken dinner in his bag whilst Chorim had ordered salad from a nearby store in hers. She put a hand on her flat and empty stomach and sighed out loud, slouching her shoulders over.
“Now’s your last chance to get proper food.” Taehyung said as they approached the food market where all her favourite street food was being sold. Chorim held up her bag to show the low-fat salad neatly packaged up inside.
“Got my delicious dinner riiiight here.”
“You know, It’s not really healthy if you order extra dressing…”
“Sssshhhhh, I know what I’m doing.” Chorim hushed in denial. As they walked through the food market, Taehyung watched Chorim continuously salivate at the street food stalls they were passing by with pity. Every time he thought she had given in to temptation, she would slap her own face and quicken her steps in order to avoid looking at or smelling the food. To his surprise, they were able to pass through without Chorim buying anything extra to eat but he could tell she was feeling dejected with a lack of energy, most likely from having eaten so little during the day as she had been doing for the last week.
“I don’t know why you’re doing so much just to impress someone.” Taehyung said out loud whilst they walked through the quiet streets of the residential area. Chorim quickly glanced at him with an annoyed expression and continued to look ahead.
“I'm not trying to 'impress' anyone.” Chorim said, sensing that Taehyung was already judging her. “Well, okay maybe I am but it’s more...self-satisfaction. Like I’m happy if I know he’s happy to be with me.”
“Yeah and that shouldn’t have to depend on how you look.” Taehyung paused and then started chuckling to himself.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Is this because you can’t make up for it with your shocking personality?” He smirked, already shielding himself from Chorim who he knew was about to angrily punch his arm. She glowered at him and flipped her hair.
“Whatever. What would you know anyway?” She scoffed.
“Yeah, what would I know?” Taehyung said with a pained smile which Chorim missed because she was busy snobbing him.

Taehyung briefly stopped at a small convenience and came back out with a very small plastic bag.
“Here, this is yours.” Taehyung took out a wrapped icy pole from the bag and waited for Chorim to take it. He had bought her her favourite banana flavoured one as well. She naturally reached out for it but at the last second, retracted her hand and clenched it into a fist.
“Nice try.” Chorim narrowed her eyes at him, thinking that he was cruelly testing how strong her will was. She sighed and kept walking but Taehyung suddenly blocked her by stepping in front of her and then walked forward towards her. Because he didn’t stop, she was forced to walk backwards until he had her pinned against a brick wall. What the heck? Chorim stiffened up, not sure what to expect because he was standing so close to her. Chorim thought the streets had suddenly become dead quiet but it may have been because she was so engrossed with Taehyung that the background noises were blocked out. The hell is happening...if this was a K-Drama… Chorim could feel herself getting slightly nervous, thinking that he was so close because he wanted to lean in and... Hah, as if! Breaking the tension in the air between them was the loud noise of Taehyung unwrapping the icy pole in front of her.
“Take it, it’s making my hand cold.” Taehyung said. He held the icy pole out by the stick and casually shoved it into . Chorim knew she wanted to retaliate and avoid the dessert at all costs but there was something about his smile as he was leaning in that was too mesmerising. Chorim realised she was stupidly standing against the wall with the icy pole freezing up her lips and mouth whilst Taehyung smugly looked at her. She snapped out of it and angrily chomped off the top of the icy pole before pulling his beanie downwards to cover half of his face.
“I SAID I’M ON A ING DIET!” She yelled as she pulled his ear as punishment.
“I just thought you could use some sugar.” Taehyung chuckled unapologetically. Chorim yanked at the bag full of fried chicken in his hand and ran off with it in her arms. Taehyung pulled his beanie upwards so he could see and then spotted Chorim already running far ahead with the food.
“YAH!” Taehyung yelled out. Before running after her, he had to stop to pick Jimin's snapback off the ground which must have flown off of her head whilst she was running. Chorim took a bite of the icy pole in her hand and pointed it at him in a threatening manner whilst she ran backwards.
“YOU BETTER APOLOGISE IF YOU WANT DINNER TONIGHT!” She shouted with huge smile on her face before running off again. Chorim and Taehyung’s laughter filled the emptiness of the night as they raced home.

~

Yoongi took a huge piece of crab and loudly s*cked it dry whilst Hoseok quietly sipped on his glass of Coke, still quite nervous around him. Yoongi had called Hoseok up as if he was some sort of lackey and suggested they go to an expensive seafood restaurant to ‘have a chat’ when in actual fact he just wanted a free meal before starting work. Yoongi was in his usual fitting white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and a pair of skinny black pants whilst Hoseok had showed up in fluffy green woollen jumper and blue jeans. As Yoongi was busy devouring the food, Hoseok was trying not to pay attention to the people who looked liked thugs glaring at them from their tables nearby. They were probably wary of Yoongi who had become somewhat of an infamous figure due to his several misdemeanours.
“So basically, you just want to thank her? That’s it?” Yoongi placed the shell of the crab onto his plate and leaned back into his chair as he wiped his hands. Hoseok enthusiastically nodded with his naturally glimmering puppy eyes which irked Yoongi out. Yoongi had interrogated Hoseok about how he came to know where ‘the girl’ lived despite them being complete strangers. Stalker alert~ Yoongi smirked as if he had just hit the jackpot. He had just come across such an interesting yet powerful weapon against Chorim which he knew would be useful in the future.
“Okay then, I can arrange that.” Yoongi said, moving onto the next dish on the table.
“Really? You’re willing to help me out?” Hoseok smiled widely, “I mean I was thinking of just approaching her but I thought it might seem a bit creepy and I didn't want to scare her.” Yoongi nodded slowly. Yeah, no sh*t Sherlock.
“Well, I’m a nice guy despite how I look.” Yoongi cunningly smiled at Hoseok. Except he wasn’t a nice guy. There were two reasons why Yoongi wanted to help Hoseok out. 1. $$$ and 2. To piss Chorim off. Yoongi knew that if he helped and befriended Hoseok, someone who was filthy-rich and far too kind for his own good, he would be able to get help later on if he ever needed it. As he downed a shot of soju, he spotted none other than Taehyung and Chorim strolling right past the windows of the restaurant and started coughing because the soju didn’t go down smoothly.
“Are you alright?” Hoseok asked, handing over a glass of water. Yoongi forced a nod as he sculled down the water to soothe his throat.
“The girl’s name is Chorim by the way.” Yoongi said as an attempt to distract Hoseok.
“Chorim...oh!” Hoseok innocently chuckled, “I actually know someone named Chorim. She’s a very sweet girl.”
Yoongi shook his head and waved his hand in the air, “Yeah, definitely not the same person then.”
“How did you say you know Chorim again?”
“I live next door to her.”
“Ah, her neighbour...you know what? I remember hearing the guy who robbed me say he lived next to her.” Hoseok's comment made Yoongi shuffle uncomfortably in his seat. Did I? Hoseok gasped and then leaned in, “Could it be..is it Jimin? Or that intimidating fellow?” A sense of relief overcame Yoongi as soon as he knew Hoseok didn’t suspect him at all. He cleared his throat and thought about how to respond. Hrm, should I throw Jimin under the bus?
“It must have been the guy who lived in the apartment before me. I’ve only been around for what, two three weeks?” , that was such a sh*t explanation, there’s no way he would believe that…
“Oh okay, that makes sense.” Hoseok slowly nodded to himself and then took another sip of his drink, fully convinced by Yoongi.
“Hey look, I have to go to work now.” Yoongi pretended to pat down his pockets, “Ah, I forgot my wallet.” He hadn’t.
“Oh, no that’s fine. I’ve got it covered.” Hoseok flashed an innocent smile. Yoongi stood up and patted Hoseok on the shoulder. It’s important to note that Yoongi was acting a lot friendlier than he usually would with Hoseok because he didn’t want to scare Hoseok off.
“I’ll contact you when I arrange something, alright?” Yoongi did his best attempt at a kind smile, showing off his teeth and gums. Hoseok nodded, and even bowed slightly despite sitting down, and waved goodbye to Yoongi. As soon as his back was to Hoseok, Yoongi's fake smile disappeared and his usual stone cold expression returned. Like the innocent and pitiful person he was, Hoseok was then left alone at a table full of empty plates and bottles of soju, none of which were his, with the thugs nearby still glaring in his direction.

~ A few nights later ~

“I DON’T WANNNAAA!” Chorim sulked as she held onto the handle of her front door with Seulgi pulling her back by the waist. Chorim was much too strong for Seulgi and was also holding onto the handle for dear life because she didn’t want to go over to Yoongi’s place for dinner.
“Come ooonnnn, it’ll be fuuuunnn! I’ve already prepared everything!” Seulgi exclaimed even though she was struggling to move Chorim. As a final resort, Seulgi suddenly brushed the back of her hand against Chorim’s neck which was her weak spot and with success, Chorim let go of the handle and Seulgi was able to drag her over. Taehyung and Jimin were already there and were just talking to each other about something Jimin found on Youtube. Yoongi had invited Jimin because they were good friends but Jimin was the one who dragged Taehyung over, despite knowing Taehyung and Yoongi weren’t very fond of each other. It was a weird gathering of people with a lot of tension in the air and Seulgi and Jimin had somehow become the glue that kept everyone together. Chorim grumpily sat far away from where the hotpot was and refused to greet Yoongi even though he was sitting right in front of her.

As they waited for the soup to start heating up, Seulgi grabbed onto Chorim’s arm and pulled her aside, “Hey, um, who’s that?” Chorim looked over to who Seulgi was pointing at.
“Taehyung?” Chorim raised a brow, a bit confused because she was sure they had already met each other.
“Taehyung…” Seulgi uttered under her breath. She suddenly let out a shocked gasp, “Mop head next door to you?” Chorim confirmed with a slow nod.
“No waaaay.” Seulgi shook her head, “No waaaaaayyyy. Since when was he so hot? How did I miss this?”
Chorim burst into laughter at her friend’s exaggerated reaction and watched Taehyung as he quietly put stuff into the hot pot to cook. She had to admit that his haircut was doing wonders for him but she knew that he was still the same grumpy guy full of sarcasm.
“It’s just the hair Seulgi. He’s still the same person.” Chorim said, trying to laugh it off.  “Anyway, how is this the first time you’ve seen him without his fringe though? It happened whilst you were staying with me.”
“I’m not sure. Doesn’t he stay inside a lot?”
“That’s true…”

Things seemed to be settling down once the food was ready and they all gathered around the table to start digging in. Good food was always capable to bringing people together but only for so long. At first it was the usual banter in the group, mostly about food and who put what in first. Chorim was very strict with what was hers because she had limited herself to vegetables and tofu due to her diet. Things started escalating as soon as soju and beer came out and from then onwards, the insults were hurled back and forth between Yoongi and Chorim for almost absolutely no reason other than their burning hatred for each other. Even though she was eating very little, Chorim knew she had to have some soju if she was going to get through the night. The other three seemed to enjoy watching them and ate comfortably as if everything was normal.
              “Wait, did Chorim just finish a whole bottle of soju by herself?” Jimin asked Taehyung before drinking from his beer can.
                        “I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention.
“I bet your ego is so big because you have to compensate for having a tiny d*ck.” Chorim snidely said. Seulgi put a hand on Chorim’s shoulder with a slight blush on her cheeks as if she was about to correct her, “Actually…” Jimin immediately spat out his drink from shock and Taehyung had to pat his back as he coughed profusely. Chorim’s face twisted into a horrified expression and already had her hands blocking her ears.
“SEULGI, DON’T YOU DARE SAY ANOTHER WORD.” Chorim shouted. Seulgi laughed and tried to pull Chorim’s arms down. Taehyung and Jimin were stuck in their own conversation with Jimin discreetly glancing over at Yoongi’s crotch and then weirdly holding his hands apart in front of him as if he was trying to estimate the measurement of something. Yoongi held back his immense anger and let out a brief laugh, “I would be real careful about what I say if I were you.”
“Hah, or else what?” Chorim exaggerated her eye roll to show that she wasn’t scared of what she thought were empty threats.
“You’ll regret it, trust me.” Yoongi placed his chopsticks on top of his bowl and took another shot of soju. Because I’ve already befriended your stalker. Refusing to back down from this mental war, Chorim slammed her hand against the table and then knocked a bowl of boiling hot soup onto Yoongi’s lap with an evil smirk on her face. It was an action that could only be explained by her growing tipsiness and impaired judgment from the soju kicking in.
“!” Yoongi groaned as he shuffled away from the table. Seulgi panicked and quickly went to get a towel for him from the kitchen. In an instant, Seulgi came back to the sight of Yoongi and Chorim holding each other by their collars and then wrestling each other on the ground. Taehyung tried to separate the two despite Chorim's determination to give Yoongi a good hook in the face whilst Jimin just quietly chewed on his food and watched as if he was enjoying a live show. Once they had gotten Chorim off of him, Yoongi grabbed the towel off Seulgi and stormed off into the bathroom to change clothes. As soon as he was done, he grabbed his phone out and sent out a text message without hesitation. Yoongi usually wasn't so petty but when it came to Chorim, he had the shortest fuse and every little thing she did pushed him over the edge. Even though he had planned on unleashing Chorim’s stalker on her much later, he had become extremely impatient and was set on making Chorim's life miserable at that very moment.

Yoongi: Hoseok
Yoongi: ive talked to Chorim about it
Yoongi: are you free tomorrow?
 

A/N: My favourite character in this chapter is Jimin LOL
Ah, even writing about how naive Hoseok is makes me sad...he needs to protected from Yoongi hahaha.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. There's just so much more to come, I'm really excited. Do let me know what you think down in the comments.
Thank you for reading as always! (๑>◡<๑)

Thoughts on new album: Fire is sooooo good...we've been blessed with the ballad remix of Run...and also the full version of House of Cards. They are my absolute favourites. (◡‿◡✿)

14/5: That moment when you realise the word s.u.c.k is censored...