BEhind the scenes #5

Story time.

“I have to talk to you.“

Areum was looking overly worried when she got back from talking to Yoongi and met Johanna and Aejin sitting at the couch inside. The other contestants were still in a constant switch of who got to talk to the bachelors, it was good that her friends seemed to be done with approaching them by now.

“About what?“, Johanna asked her.

Oh Johanna. Areum felt confronted with all the bad conscience lingering in the back of her head now that she was looking into Johanna’s face directly. Johanna who also liked Yoongi. Johanna who probably deserved him more than Areum did. Johanna, who alongside Mihoon was one of her strongest opponents. It broke her heart.

“I confessed.“

“WHAT?!“ Aejin and Johanna almost jumped up from the couch when they heard what Areum had just revealed to them.

“You did confess?! To whom?!“, Aejin exclaimed. Johanna next to her immediately knew who Areum was talking about.

“Yoongi.“, she answered while Areum was still pondering what would be the right thing to say. And especially how. But Johanna didn’t seem angry. Neither did she look disappointed. Instead she was calmly asking Areum how it went. “How did Yoongi react?“

Areum just shrugged. She didn’t know how to interpret the bachelor’s reaction. It was… weird. When Areum told Yoongi that she had fallen for him, he only looked at her with a blank expression and nodded in silence. And then… he left. “I can’t read him.“, Areum told her honestly and sat down next to the two women.

“He’s defensive.“, Johanna said and leaned back a little. She looked thoughtful, as if she was processing the fact that Areum had dared to do what she hadn’t yet. 

“I’m blown.“, Aejin piped up and crossed her arms. “So who of you gets Yoongi is the question?“

Johanna immediately shook her head. “We’re not the only ones who seem to be interested in him.“

“You mean Mihoon?“, the other girl vocalized her thoughts.

Areum shuddered. She still wasn’t thinking that fondly of Mihoon. Yoongi deserved so much better. And if it wasn’t her who would make it to win his heart, it should at least be someone as great as Johanna. She deserved to be with Yoongi, she would treat him right. Yoongi could be happy with her and they would ride into the sunset together. No, Yoongi should never be with someone like Mihoon.

The times that Miso and Jungkook accidentally ran into each other summed up to the extent that Miso really felt like living together with him like she did with the other contestants. It was interesting how she never managed to find Yoongi or Seokjin around but Jungkook seemed to be ever present. Maybe she never ran into one of the others because she preferred not to leave the house (because indoors is so much better than outdoors!) like Hoseok or Seokjin and she didn’t set step into the library (reading? Egh…) like Namjoon or Yoongi.

“Hey girl, heeeeey!“, Jungkook greeted her playfully, running into her around noon when she left the bathroom. “You look pretty! You’re experimenting with make-up again?“

Busted. “Oh hey, yupp. There’s not a lot you can do here after all. Not gonna go out and play in the pool, it’s freaking cold outside! And library? How about eww?“

Jungkook laughed about her words and nodded slightly. “You wanna show me one or two things? I’m always fascinated how my face looks before and after the stylists are done applying my make-up. Can’t be wrong to know how to do it myself, right?“

Miso frowned shortly but then checked if cameras were around before she nodded. Well… she was about the publicity, no question, but disappearing into the bathroom with one of the bachelors? If her grandma got to see something like that she’d get a heart attack and be right back in hospital.

Once the door was closed behind them, Miso headed straight for her make-up kit and Jungkook followed closely, standing next to her in front of the mirror as she explained to him how to apply foundation and how to use concealer as a highlighter. 

“Hey Miso… how close are you with the other contestants?“, Jungkook suddenly asked and Miso halted in the middle of blending some concealer on Jungkook’s face.

“What?“

“I’m just curious. About the others and their intentions. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Or get hurt myself.“, the bachelor explained.

Miso breathed out slowly. “You do know that I’m a vLogger, not a hairdresser. I’m not getting paid for fixing your hair while giving life lectures.“, she joked before she gave a serious answer, seeing how Jungkook’s expression was getting gloomier, “I think I know a little more about them than you… probably… I mean, I spent more time with them. But I’m not that close with all of the girls. Who do you want to know about?“ Jungkook shrugged and slowly wandered to the toilet, closing its lit so he could sit down on it. Was he worried? “If you want to know about Jiwoo, then I just have this one thing to say to you: en Jeon Jungkook, run for your life!“

Immediately the guy bursted out laughing and quickly shook his head. “You two don’t get along, huh?“

“Oh? Was I too obvious? Sorry.“ Miso slightly shook her head, looking down at Jungkook who scratched the back of his head.

“What about Yumi? Or Mihoon? Juna or Bunbun?“

Multiple feelings were flooding Miso’s body as she heard those names. Some of them caused her to feel protective, some made her angry and others caused the need to laugh to emerge.

“Yumi is too good for all of you, if any of you dares to hurt her, I’m gonna high-kick you bachelors right into your pretty faces!“, she warned straight and then her face got all angry. “And Mihoon is a crazy ! Everyone in the house has a problem with her! I mean I can be a mean person, too, but I’m not attacking people out of nowhere!“

“She attacked others?“ Jungkook’s eyebrows went up as he heard this about the so-called mermaid.

“She called me a and I heard that she’s got a serious problem with Bunbun, too. Not that I’m taking sides, Bunbun is a god damn liar, I just need to exchange two words with her and the liar is showing so clearly it makes me cringe. I happened to listen to some of her conversations with other girls and I can tell you, this girl is fishy as !“

For some reason Jungkook looked as if he didn’t really believe in what Miso was telling him. Could it be that he was interested in one of those girls? Miso could understand it somehow. Yumi was lovely. Mihoon was gorgeous. And Bunbun was a spider that was spinning her web around the bachelors. Juna, though…

“Oh and Juna is probably the gayest person I’ve ever met. She’s super fun to be around with, I love spending time with her, she’s better than any party out there but seriously how could you guys not notice that she’s drooling over Mihoon in the pool even more than Jimin does?“

The sudden salt at the end of her sentence was completely unintentional but also… yeah, that man Jimin still got Miso angry. As if Miso wouldn’t notice what was going on… ugh! 

Miso turned around to Jungkook and held up a lip tint which she opened and applied on her own lips.  “Wanna try this? Tastes like cherry.“

Jungkook started laughing again. “Is that an invitation?“

The question if she should approach Yoongi was tough. Should she? Should she look… needy? Dependent? Weak? Ugh. None of those were any good to Mihoon, so the answer to this was a big No. With exclamation mark. But what should she do when Yoongi just randomly crossed her way? Run away? Mihoon felt annoyed just thinking about this all. This was exactly why she didn’t do emotions. And relationships. Both . Yet, Mihoon was so deep down the rabbit hole, she didn’t know if there was a way out anymore. It was driving her crazy. So crazy that she didn’t notice someone placing a fishhook right next to her.

“SSSSSsssssSSSSSSSsssss!“ Someone was producing buzzing noises and finally dragged Mihoon out of her miserable thoughts. Her eyes automatically followed the fine string to where the person causing the nuisance was sitting.

Taehyung, that weirdo…

“What are you doing?“, Mihoon asked and turned slightly around. The empty home cinema suddenly seemed a lot less lonesome when she noticed the bachelor around. Of all the places in the mansion she had chosen the room with the big screen to avoid running into Yoongi when thinking about her current dilemma.

“Thinking about ways to fish a mermaid. This one doesn’t work. Apparently.“ Taehyung started grinning like a little child and then approached Mihoon without asking and sat down next to her. “You’ve been here for the past hour. At least from when I started observing you.“

“I just needed time for myself.“, Mihoon said and hoped that the answer was enough to Taehyung so he wouldn’t dig for more. She didn’t even dare asking him why he was sitting there for an hour. Crazy stalker.

Instead of commenting, Taehyung just looked at Mihoon. Did she have to mention that it creeped her out a little? She never had anything against Taehyung. He was weird but in an amusing way, so she always considered Taehyung as one of the fun guys. But him staring at Mihoon as if he was infiltrating her brain… no-no.

“Sometimes a fishhook doesn’t work if used in the wrong waters. If you want the fish, you have to catch it somewhere else in that case. The fish won’t come to you on his own. Get to the place the fish can be found usually and try to catch it. Like mother bear tries to catch salmon.“ 

Mihoon frowned. Wow. Taehyung reminded her a lot of Nara right now. Both loved weird metaphors. At least Mihoon kind of got the meaning behind the bachelor’s words thanks to being trained in deciphering weirdness. Nara had made sure of that.

“What if mother bear doesn’t want to catch the fish? What if she’s not hungry?“ Wow, it was so much easier to talk like that and not directly about yourself. Was this the reason Nara loved to use metaphors and comparisons?

“Then why did mother bear go to the pond at all?“ The smug smirk on Taehyung’s face was making Mihoon angry, she suddenly felt the urge to slap the guy’s face with a salmon as he didn’t stop talking about bears and fishes. But the anger she felt was not really emerging because Taehyung was acting like this… it was because he was right in some terms. Mihoon didn’t join the show because she wanted to fall in love. She never did preclude the option to fall in love, though. Now here she she was, sitting with Taehyung and talking about her love life in metaphors. What on earth did Min Yoongi do to her?!

“Mother bear should get herself a fish before she dies of starvation.“ With those last words Taehyung disappeared as randomly as he had shown up. 



It took Mihoon almost two days to make up her mind and when she did she didn’t even do it on purpose. It was more a… reaction. A reaction to what (she would never admit) could be called jealousy.

It was already late in the evening, Yeonhee, Juna, Miso, Jiho, Minseo and Aejin all watching a movie together with Seokjin and Hoseok because later one was feeling bored enough to allow the contestants to choose one of his favorite movies to watch it together. Nara was already sleeping and about the rest… Mihoon wasn’t really interested in human beings. So instead of watching a movie with the others or looking what the others could be doing, Mihoon was checking the kitchen to grab a little snack when she heard voices talking and stopped, waiting in front of the door. She wouldn’t have usually stopped. But one of the voices was Yoongi. And the other one was Johanna.

“You really don’t know how to cook ramyun? Min Yoongi, how did you survive until now?“, Johanna . “I’d die without ramyun. Easy to cook, easy to make me happy.“

Yoongi laughed and Mihoon’s heart was feeling the butterflies going rampant in her stomach as much as she felt her heart aching because it wasn’t her he was laughing with. The Yoongi she knew was the master of shade. They were shading together like an old, bitter couple. It was giving Mihoon delight. Johanna gave him… whatever this was.

“I have more important things to focus on than cooking. Writing songs for example.“

Mihoon was slowly getting closer to the door frame so she could see what they were doing. They were just standing next to each other. Why did it make her even angrier than when Taehyung had come up with the fish idea?

“I wish I could do more with musics, too. But astrophysics is taking most of my time. Sometimes I wish there was a connection between the stars and music.“ Johanna sighed and turned her head to Yoongi, who slowly turned his towards her as well.

“There is a connection between stars and music. Ever heard of John Cage? Cage wrote the ‚Etudes Australes’ in 1975 and used star charts to determine which tones should be played. It sounds pretty random because he made the usage of the stars dependent on a Chinese divination text called I Ching but it’s very interesting to listen to and also the music sheets look abnormal. Four staves, no barlines and the value of the notes is anything but traditional. It’s a piece of weird art.“

“Wow, I’d love to check that out!“ Johanna seemed so excited while Mihoon was only frowning all the more. 

What the heck were they talking about? Staves, stars, divination… what? In moments like this Mihoon was painfully reminded of how similar but different Yoongi and her were. Music has never been a big part of her life or even an interest. But to Yoongi it meant the world. And as it seemed it was a passion that he shared with Johanna.

From behind someone seemed to rush through the floor all of a sudden and Mihoon winced as she noticed the feet traipsing closer and closer. The world would go down before anyone would catch her eavesdropping on a conversation between a guy she liked and a possible love interest of him. So when the steps almost reached Mihoon she jumped out of her hideout and both, Johanna and Yoongi, glanced at her immediately.

“Oh, Mihoon! You’re hungry, too?“, Yoongi asked and very shortly after that Minseo showed up.

“No.“, Mihoon replied straight and shook her head. “I wanted to go to the pool.“

Yoongi still looked at Mihoon while Johanna’s eyes wandered towards Minseo who answered a simple “Popcorn.“ and started looking for the snack in the drawers.

“You don’t wear a bathing suit.“, Yoongi was still talking to Mihoon.

Screw you, Min Yoongi. Why couldn’t you be less intelligent. Less attentive. “I know.“ No more words, no more justifications or explanations. Mihoon hated feeling uncomfortable. She was the one making others feel uncomfortable and she liked being the one who intimidated others. Being intimidated felt just plain awful. So what she did was heading outside. Double Ugh.

Unfortunately Yoongi ran after her and stopped her in front of the pool. The light of the pool was shimmering blueish on Yoongi’s face when he looked at her so earnestly. Wow, where were the cameras? This was the perfect drama. Let them audience people have some high class romance going down the drains.

“What’s wrong with you, Mihoon?“

“Nothing.“, she answered and crossed her arms. Be dismissive, Mihoon. Show him to keep his distance.

“You’re a bad liar.“ Yoongi didn’t take her . Damn.

“Actually, I was told to be a pretty good liar.“, Mihoon tried to redirect the conversation to another topic. Maybe she could start a fight about this with Yoongi and avoid talking about what was really bothering her.

“Oh, come on. I know there’s something wrong.“

“You know nothing, Min Yoongi!“ The female hissed at him but as expected Yoongi could see straight through her. Annoying. This skill of him was so annoying. Why did nothing work out as she wanted when it came to Yoongi? He was frustrating her on so many levels. To Mihoon everything was black and white. Yes or No. But Yoongi was a maybe. He had those multiple shades of grey that confused Mihoon. He could maybe like her. Maybe he liked Johanna. Maybe this was all nonsense and he wasn’t interested in any of them. Mihoon hated nonsense. Mihoon hated grey. Mihoon hated the word ‚maybe‘. But Mihoon liked Yoongi. This was so frustrating.

“And you know it all?“, he just asked and shook his head. “What’s wrong? Just tell me. Did anyone talk to you about something that bothers you? Is there a problem with the others?“

He just needed to mention another person and Taehyung was immediately popping up in Mihoon’s mind, dancing around her like a little devil or fairy, giggling cheerfully while telling her to catch the fish.

“ you, Kim Taehyung…“, she mumbled instinctively.

“Pardon?“

Why could Mihoon not become one with the darkness? Just disappear and not bother with all of this emotional anymore? Okay, she was that freaking bear and she was hungry as but what if the bear had no idea how to catch the fish? What if usually she just played a little with the fish and then threw it back into the stupid pond to go back into the forest to look for some honey instead? God damn Taehyung should have answered to that question.

“Mihoon?“, Yoongi urged and for the first time ever Mihoon felt like a can of coke that had been poked after being violently shaken multiple times.

“I have… things for you.“, Mihoon finally managed to tell him what was bothering her. And it felt better to give the word ‚feelings‘ another name. Like Taehyung did to Mihoon and Yoongi. Mother bear and salmon. So the feelings became ‚things‘.

“You mean feelings.“, Yoongi translated and ruined her attempt to make the whole talking about emotions thing easier.

“No… things.“, Mihoon corrected Yoongi and he luckily didn’t try to harp on about it. Phew. His reaction should be worse than that, though.

“Okay.“

Okay? Did he just say okay? Mihoon freaking confessed for the first time and all he had to say was ‚Okay‘?!  WHAT?!

The woman didn’t know how to act, what to say, she didn’t even know how Yoongi had to react correctly to it but she knew that ‚Okay‘ was not the right thing to say for sure. Yoongi did nothing, nevertheless. He just looked at her with his lips sealed. The ?!

“HEY YOU TWO! POPCORN IS READY, YOU WANT SOME?!“, Minseo was shouting, poking her head through the kitchen door.

And then Yoongi left. He just walked away like that.

What did just happen?

Jiwoo didn’t like other females. Especially those that grabbed Jungkook’s attention were driving her into sheer madness. Miso. Mihoon. And even Yumi. Jiwoo saw it all. Jiwoo knew it all. At least she knew her own truth. That was all she needed.

Alongside the dislike for females, Jiwoo also didn’t like other males. Because other males meant direct competition to her holy deity, Jeon Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook who as so often was watching Nara and Mihoon occupying the pool. The girl couldn’t help but feel the desire to stab both of the females whenever Jungkook was standing in the kitchen to watch them. Luckily one of those times had Jiwoo paying attention to someone else as well when Jimin disturbed the picture of two beautiful women at the pool with his ab-power. What the guy started to ignite in Jiwoo by walking around in nothing else than his trunks, water drops running down his loin region was the desire to eat ice-cream from his burning hot abs down to his crotch, even if she had to the melted mess from every single inch of his body.

HOLY CRAP! NO!!! BAD THOUGHTS!

Still, those thoughts had manifested in Jiwoo’s mind enough to not only follow Jungkook but also spy a few times on Jimin. And what she got to know from spying on him was worth a lot - especially considering the situation with Jungkook.

Jimin was spending most of his time with Juna and those two were better than any news channel as a source that Jiwoo had missed out on. Because Jimin was a first hand source. Thanks to Jimin Jiwoo knew that Miso was a freaking , not only trying to wrap her future husband around her little finger but also she had something going on with Jimin.

THIS FILTHY EJFSKSNDLJANDL DIDN’T DESERVE NEITHER JUNGKOOK NOR JIMIN!!!

Also, Jimin and Juna bro-fisted to him successfully banging Bunbun which got Jiwoo all alarmed. Bunbun had that very unpleasant habit of insulting Jungkook whenever possible. To someone like Jiwoo who had studied Jungkook ever since he caught her eye so closely, it was obvious that Jungkook didn’t like Bunbun but also they had that very strong tension between them that Jiwoo started to understand when Jimin’s abs got tattooed into her memory. And her worries should be proven right.

“Oh yeah, great. Your haircut really slims your face.“, Bunbun was commenting on Jungkook when some of the girls, Jungkook and Hoseok were discussing about beauty standards and the merits of each and everyone in the mansion. Bunbun had managed to kill the mood - at least for Jungkook.  Jiwoo’s angel in disguise was keeping the saltiness throughout the entire conversation and even followed the evildoer after the group dissolved to the floor in which the girls’ bedrooms were located.

“What’s your problem with me?“, Jungkook confronted Bunbun who turned around, looking overly annoyed.

“Why? You care?“, she asked and Jungkook made a face.

“Would I ask, if not?“

Bunbun chuckled bitterly. “You shouldn’t care about me at all. Just mind your own business. Let’s not ruin the mood for both of us. I don’t want to fight.“

“Hey! It’s not me starting this! I never did anything to you but you keep making those awful comments about me! Do you think I don’t get them?“ Jungkook got a little louder, this was really getting to him. If she could, Jiwoo would jump out of her hideout and punch Bunbun in her face for Jungkook. But maybe, if she waited long enough, he’d do it on his own. “All those back-handed compliments, the eye rolls… you think I didn’t notice?“

As he had explained to her, she rolled her eyes again. “Jeez, I meant all of those compliments, you forced me to make!“

“See?! What’s your problem with me, Bunbun?!“ Jungkook was angrily crossing his arms while waiting for an answer. It was too obvious how Bunbun wished she could be anywhere but here with Jungkook arguing about this.

“It’s not that I hate you, okay? I just haven’t, as yet, found a reason to like you.“ And again. Bunbun would never stop this.

“ARGH! Your back-handed compliments make me want to back-hand your face!“ Jiwoo was expecting Jungkook to do exactly that when he grabbed Bunbun’s hand and had her stumbling behind him.

“Where are we going?!“, she yelled at him.

“To my room -  I’ll show you multiple reasons to like me!“

There they went and one more person was added to Jiwoo’s black list of women she’d hunt down and eliminate all and for once when the time was given.

Get him for me.

Johanna was sighing only thinking about it. Areum. Cute, innocent, young Areum. Johanna felt the burden heavily on her shoulders. Not that she’d take Areum’s words the way that she’d have to get Yoongi for her friend. If Johanna was getting with someone, then it was because she was in love with that person, not because her friend was into him and he was a kind of trophy. But she had understood what Areum had tried to tell her in her unknowing, awkward way.

She didn’t want Yoongi to be with Mihoon.

Mihoon indeed was giving Johanna the feeling that she was nothing else than a third wheel. Where Johanna had believed was a strong bond and connection between her and Yoongi was now doubt and worry. Yoongi was smart, inspiring and honest in what he said. He didn’t act like someone else and Johanna appreciated those traits a lot. But she wasn’t the only one seeing the worth of Yoongi.

Etudes Australes. The music of the stars. Like Yoongi and her.

Johanna sighed as she was browsing through the mansion’s library, hoping that some miracle would allow her to find the music sheet in here. The possibility that this house was Yoongi’s wasn’t all that low after all. A lot of things in the mansion were hinting on being Yoongi’s. The grand piano, the secret studio that Aejin told her about after hanging out with Namjoon in there for a bit.

“Oh, hey!“

Seokjin was entering the room, smiling brightly as he noticed Johanna in there. “You’re looking for something special in here?“, he asked.

“I’m only browsing through the titles. Maybe I can find something interesting… maybe not.“

Seokjin walked over to one of the shelves and looked for something before he pulled out one of the books and handed it to Johanna.

“Photography?“, the girl wondered.

“Yoongi loves photography. Before he started as a composer, he always wanted to become a photographer. Or firefighter. Or basketball player. But good thing he stuck to music.“, Seokjin laughed shortly and Johanna joined him.

“You know each other for that long that you know those things? Did you go to school together?“

The fashion designer grinned wider and shook his head. “No, we didn’t. I’m a little older than Yoongi, we wouldn’t have known each other even if we went to the same school.“ He shrugged slightly.

Johanna nodded silently and looked at the book, then back at Seokjin again. “…wait. You know I like Yoongi?“

“Sure, we’re always talking about you girls. We have to, after all. Otherwise we’d never know who to send back home. But yeah… even we can’t see through all of you… and in the end of the day we have to live with our decisions, no matter if they’re right or wrong.“ The bachelor all of a sudden looked a little down and went back to the shelves to look for some other books.

“Do you want me to share my opinion? I don’t like judging others but I might help you a little… with Minseo maybe?“, the girl offered and Seokjin turned around to her again to give her another of his pretty smiles.

“If you want to. Tell me your opinion.“, he said and nodded.

“Minseo is someone I look up to, she has so much strength in her, even if she intimidates me a little. It feels like she would barrel right through everything in her way, but I am afraid she's going to meet something she can't use her strength to meet head on. Ah well, what do I know? I'm sure she'll be fine and martial arts do require much mental strength as well. It fascinates me how martial arts marries mental philosophy with physical prowess, I should ask her about it sometime.“ As she drifted off a little she got back to the point again when Seokjin cleared his throat, waiting for her conclusion. “What I want to say is… I don’t think that Minseo is a bad person. You did the right thing, keeping her here.“

Approvingly the man nodded, grabbed something else from the shelf and walked back to Johanna who had sat down on one of the little, comfortable armchairs in the library.

“You want my opinion about you and Yoongi, too?“, he asked and stopped in front of her.

“You will probably tell me something about Mihoon, won’t you? That is all everyone is talking about when it comes to Yoongi. Mihoon. I feel like those two are already deep into something that I’m not yet with Yoongi… am I wasting my time pursuing him? I don’t know. If they’re meant to be, then they’re meant to be.“ Johanna sounded a little disappointed saying that, even though she was trying hard not to. She didn’t blame neither Mihoon nor Yoongi for anything. If they fell in love, then who was Johanna to stand in their way?

“But what if it’s you, who is meant to be with Yoongi?“, Seokjin questioned and handed her the thin booklet he had taken. “You’ll never know until you try and wait until the end. Like with a book. The plot might be obvious but some authors do surprise the readers with twists and turns at the very end. I’m not saying those kinds of books are good books. But not everything is always that obvious.“ He chuckled and placed his hands in his pockets before he tilted his head, beamed at the girl and then turned around to leave the library.

Johanna looked at the cover of the booklet that Seokjin had handed to her. 

Etudes Australes.
 

Nara was not only a matchmaker. Nara was almighty. Okay, no, she wasn’t. But she was aware of the fact that if she’d take some of the bachelors to task, they’d listen to what she had to say. Not Namjoon, though, of course not Namjoon. To Nara Namjoon was like a Rubik’s Cube that she was supposed to be able to solve but someone placed the wrong color on one of the cubes so it was impossible to her to get behind it. And Taehyung. Because Taehyung… was different. But the others were pretty easy to see through for Nara. And one in particular. Min Yoongi, that lost soul that probably wasn’t able to decide between Johanna and Mihoon. Mihoon had talked to Nara about it. She didn’t even have to explain it all and Nara knew what was going on. So what did a good friend do? She raided Yoongi’s room as if she owned the place.

“You!“

This appearance was absolutely vogue-worthy. Nara should have recorded and sent it to Namjoon.  Maybe that would have melted down the ice wall around him.

“You’re not supposed to be here.“ Yoongi was the typical crank as always, sitting at his desk, just slightly turning towards Nara, a notebook in his hands that he closed as soon as Nara started talking.

“We need to talk about something.“ Without being asked or even allowed to stay, Nara walked over to Yoongi’s desk, shoved away the stuff he was working on and sat down exactly where the stuff had been positioned before. Her long legs were showing, as the pink and blue miniskirt wasn’t covering a lot of skin. At least a big, baby pink ribbon was covering her cleavage, so no need to be intimidated by the power of overflowing estrogen. Yoongi still looked uncomfortable. “About you and all those women in the house.“

“But I don’t want to talk about it.“

Oh, he wanted to. Nara could tell. He was just scared to talk about it. So what Nara did was starting right away.

“Mihoon is like bubble tea. The container is cold and hard to the touch, and if you try to open it, it sure as hell going to fight back. But once you finally manage to get to the good, juicy stuff… You’re in manufactured tea heaven. Plus, she’d be absolutely delicious surrounded by bubbles. I know that behind that tough, angsty mask of yours lies a little tsundere who is afraid of commitment and is broken hearted from that thingy with the pool of STDs.“ Yoongi was suddenly looking overly shocked when Nara mentioned Jimin, he was making a face as if Nara had peeled a banana but what came out of the yellow skin was a potato covered in chocolate. “You’re sooo afraid of opening up, so afraid to be betrayed again, you poor unfortunate soul.”, at that she yawned, “Dude, would it kill you to be a tad less hipsterly cliché? I mean, yeah, you’re like the ultimate Disney Princess, but still. Lil Ole Nara will be Sebastian to your Ariel, fear not.“ The bachelor’s expression didn’t get any better. “Well, in this case Mihoon is Ariel, but you’re the Disney Princess, and I can’t really sing so it gets a little complicated. Try to keep up! And yup… you’ve lost me. Stop. Let me put it down another way. Let’s go to… Belle.“

Yoongi was trying to get up from his seat but Nara sweepingly wielded her leg up and halted it at Yoongi’s leg, her high heel placed on his thighs, her eyes warning as if she’d press the spike heel right into his leg if he dared running away before she was done talking.

“Johanna is smart, Johanna is gorgeous, Johanna is everything you think you want… only you don’t. Belle loves books, and books don’t survive down where it’s wetter. The beauty will drown under the sea, and Lil Nara cannot allow it. Johanna is a rose who deserves to bloom, not wilt away in a tsundere container. You’ll be more of a Gaston to her than a beast, and our beauty sure needs her furry fellow. She needs someone to get her out of her comfort zone, challenge her with each day passing. She needs someone who will be her equal, who will make her thrive. Are you a good gardener, Yoongi? Would you dirty your manicured hands with soil? You’re better handling water, trust me."

At that Yoongi wanted to open his mouth but Nara made her unspoken warning come true and pressed her heel into Yoongi’s leg which caused him to let out a stricken groan instead.

“Okay, I see you’re still doubting me. Really. Oh well. I’m a generous girl, I’ll give you another chance. I know your foggy little mind is riddled with doubts regarding your mermaid. Bully, and all that jazz. Mice and birds sing interesting songs, I know. How do you know they’re telling the truth? They speak animal, for God’s sake, and they’ve learned from Cinderella herself. A castle made of lies is even more dangerous when your slippers are made of glass. She goes out to a party in the castle, and she’s so soft, nice, and innocent. But once she gets back to her rabbit hole, it’s back to bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. She has repeated this routine for so many times that she’s become obsessed with it. From one rabbit hole to another she jumps, telling herself that she’s doing this for prince Charming, not realizing she’s turning more and more into the evil stepmother. Jumping around is easier when there are shards of glass digging into your feet, sure, but I can’t imagine it being fun. Cleaning up all the blood is probably a real .“

Nara was interrupted by Yoongi forcefully pushing away her leg and especially that goddamn shoe that was pressuring him to hell. He quickly got up and crossed his arms. “I think this is enough. You should go.“ The female still didn’t move from the desk and instead stared at him. “You better go before I kick you out.“

“But I’m not done yet. And I won’t stop until I’m done.“, Nara insisted, ignoring Yoongi’s warning. Why should she even take his warnings seriously. She knew that he wouldn’t kick her out for telling him her opinion “Cinderella’s not the only one who is jumping.“, she went on. “Tiana is doing some jumping around with her frog, too - Hey!“

Instead of listening, Yoongi finally lost his calm with her and grabbed her wrist to drag her down the table.

“Are you even listening to me?! I’m doing this for you, you iceberg! Out of all of the ice caps, global warming hasn’t managed to melt you. Why do I even keep on trying? Keep up, dude! I’m moving on!“, Nara still gushed to Yoongi while he was dragging her through his room.

“Yeonhee is currently happily married to her job, but a job can’t go down on New Orleans. For that a frog is needed. Who is this frog? I’m not sure yet. Is it Namjoon? Perhaps. It’s hard to catch a frog, especially with s like mine. So I’m still working this one out. But Yeonhee… Yeonhee needs to realize that frogs live in ponds. And if you want to get yourself a frog, you need to go head’s deep into the water. But I can tell, you have a different princess you want to know about. Juna.“

The woman was almost halfway out the door when Yoongi stopped as he heard Juna’s name. He puckered his eyebrows, yet he was not closing the door even though he had already let go of Nara’s wrist that she now was rubbing slightly. God, was this guy a thug? Who would ever be that coarse to a woman?!

“Juna’s reflection might show you all new, interesting stuff, but if you haven’t been able to see it by yourself, you really don’t deserve my insight on the matter. Juna is fun, Juna is brilliant, Juna is fantastic. Juna is milking everything life has to offer, flying on her magic carpet, replacing binding riches with weightless rags. Escaping the prison disguised as a castle, she seeks the freedom of the desert. Jasmine needs someone to show her a whole new world, a world with no shackles and judgment, a world filled with freedom and fun. Unfortunately, no one on this show answers these requirements - well, maybe except for me - but love doesn’t always happen so fast. Love has no rules, after all. Love is an open door. And while we’re talking about doors… the VIP room is quite inviting for Golden Boys and Girls alike. Rapunzel may have cut her hair short, but she’s a long way from marrying her Prince Charming. In our case the evil stepmother is no one but she herself - her fears, her anxieties, her worries - and waiting until her hair is long enough to let down is… well, it’s not going to cut it. Jiho’s life will begin when she steps on the grass outside of her tower, and all she needs to do is to grab her controller and control her life. But every good game needs a partner. Someone to hold that second controller. A Golden Boy must have a Golden Girl. A Golden Lady must have her Golden Lord. The master of mics, lord of MCing - that’d be a nice fit for the princess of screens, don’t you agree?“

She lost Yoongi immediately again when she changed the topic from Juna to Jiho. But he wouldn’t close the door on her before she finished what she had to say! She just had to be quicker!

“Did you even hear what I was saying all this time? Why am I even trying? God! I’ll get back to the juicy stuff: Listen closely, my tsundere hipster iceberg dude. To conclude: Those who shade together stay together. Let Mihoon be a part of your world. Just do everyone a favor, get rid of the and just kiss the girl.”

With that the door was closed right in front of her. But it was alright. Nara said everything she had to say. She knew that Yoongi would spend the rest of the day thinking about her words. She just knew.

Jungkook never was one to feel the urge to prove himself to someone. But then again there was someone in the house who was ing with his self-confidence the entire time. Of course he knew that not anyone would like him. But he couldn’t see why Bunbun was like that, all the more after he very impressively managed to be the reason of a whole sleepless night with not one break at all. He felt like this was his best performance like ever. Yet, she was back at giving him the cold shoulder after that night.

He was so angry about this again that it didn’t give him a single moment to think about other stuff. In the end Jungkook was standing in Bunbun’s room’s door, looking at her reading a book while her roommates were out.

“Can we talk?“, he asked and as expected, Bunbun was looking annoyed just seeing Jungkook standing there again.

“What do you want from me, Jungkook?“, she asked, put her book aside and looked at him.

“Is everything cool between us? I mean… after that night.“

Bunbun exhaled loudly. "Relax, sweetie...you were perfectly adequate.“

Perfectly adequate. Ouch. The disappointment must have shown on his face, Bunbun got up from her bed to pat his shoulders when she saw him making a face.

“Ohhh… did I hurt your feelings? Don’t worry, dear. You were good for a average person. It’s not your fault I’m not that blown, I’m a big city girl with special airs and graces. You were fun but I’m not into the kind like you. Still.“ She shrugged and went back to her bed. “And also I don’t like attachment. I’m a lone fighter. I don’t even have a family, why would I ever aspire to be with someone like you who obviously needs validation?“

Jungkook didn’t know what to answer anymore. He just felt… bitter. Very bitter. “Alright.“, he said and left her alone again, heading to his own room again.

Wow. Bunbun managed to make Jungkook feel humiliated to the extent that he questioned his whole existence as someone who was adored and hyped by masses of girls who all wished to be her, enjoying the luxury of spending the night with him. This was… he didn’t know how to dub it.

When the singer was standing in front of his room again, his fingers wrapped around the door handle, he noticed Jiwoo in the shadows. Yeah, she had been following him ever since the show started and right from the start Jungkook knew that she was one of his fangirls. How could he not? She was the head of his fanclub. Something was overly wrong with her, though. Miso had warned him about it and even Yeonhee had approached Jungkook to tell him, that he should be careful around her. If someone like Yeonhee was up for warning him about it, he should really avoid Jiwoo… right? But in moments like this in which Jungkook felt like and was ‚obviously needing validation‘ as Bunbun had put it into words… how could anyone judge him for being stupid?

“Jiwoo?“, he addressed her. No answer. “Jiwoo, come out, I know you’re there.“ Still no answer. “If you come out I’ll sign anything you want.“

“Really?“

And there she was, coming out of the shadows and slowly walking towards him. Jungkook smirked at her.

“Sure. If you want, I can show you something else that none other of the fans ever got to see.“ He shortly waved her over and Jiwoo’s smile was growing so big, she reminded a little of the Joker.

“What is it?“, Jiwoo wanted to know.

“A surprise.“, he answered and led her to the unholy depths of his room.

“Hey… before we eliminate someone I have to tell you guys something.“

With this the whole drama started and the bachelors all knew that something important was up when it was Namjoon who had begun the meeting.

“Before we eliminate something, you have to know about something …. someone told me something about certain contestants and I think we have to consider things.“, he suddenly directed his gaze at Yoongi who raised his eyebrows as Namjoon was talking.

“Why are you looking at me right now?“

“Before Yumin left, she told me that Mihoon and Nara are bullying the others. I don’t know if I can give any credit to what she told me but also I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t want anyone of us to end up with someone who is bullying others.“

Yoongi was tensing up on the couch. “Nonsense. I don’t think Mihoon would ever bully someone else.“

Jungkook, who was sitting on the armrest of the couch, was chiming in.“Miso told me something similar, though. She said that Mihoon walks around, attacking other contestants. She said that Mihoon has a problem with a lot of the others.“

“And how much credit can you give to what Miso told you?“, Yoongi directly questioned the validity of her words.

“HEY! You guys wait with the accusations! Mihoon and Miso both should stay, what are you talking about?“, Jimin interrupted them. “They are girls, they are all hormonal! Just focus on the ones you like and want to be with!“

Next to Jimin Seokjin made a face. “Then Juna should be the first to be send back home. The girl is gay, I don’t even know why you kept her the entire time.“

“SHE’S WHAT?!“, Jimin exclaimed all scandalized while Yoongi suddenly looked as if something in his mind finally made sense.

“I knew her from before and was thinking that there’s something off with Juna. I know. I always knew. She’s into girls.“, Seokjin repeated himself. 

They guys were all turning their heads towards Inguk who looked back at them and shrugged. “Hey, how would I know?“

“Isn’t it your job to have an eye on the girls and inform us about something like this?“, Yoongi complained and scowled at the MC. “This is important stuff! Why did a contestant have to inform me about it before you did?“

“Someone else knew?“ Namjoon was getting up from his seat to get closer to Yoongi.

“Yeah. Nara told me…somehow. She seems to know the girls very well.“, the producer explained.

“What else did she say?“, the rapper pushed him further.

Yoongi replayed the conversation in his head again, feeling slightly uncomfortable to mention certain things and instead just told them what wouldn’t affect himself. “That Bunbun is a liar.“

“Oh come on! Give her a break! Bunbun is a nice girl, there’s nothing bad on her!“, Jimin now protected Bunbun. “Stop attacking the girls that I like! I swear, if someone touches one of my girls, I’ll beat the out of you! Leave them be!“

“Your girls?“, Jungkook raised his voice. “Who ever said that those are your girls?“

“I did! And whose girls should they be otherwise? I doubt anyone of you either kissed or slept with any of them, eh?“ The personal trainer changed from defensive mode to offensive, just to crash right into the wall that Jungkook was in this.

“I did. I did sleep with Bunbun.“

The other bachelors all stared at the two with dropped open mouths while Inguk in the back was sighing and facepalming.

“Oh really? Then it’s the two of us who did it.“, Jimin said and disgust was showing on Jungkook’s face.

“Hold on. What?! You slept with Bunbun? When?“, the youngest of them didn’t look all that haughty about it anymore.

“When we went to the Maldives.“

Jungkook immediately jumped up from his seat to shake his whole body like a wet dog. “DUDE! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I MIGHT HAVE STDS NOW!“, he yelled at Jimin who could only response with laughter.

“You’re welcome.“

Jungkook was about to jump straight at Jimin who was chuckling in amusement about the singer’s anger but Namjoon pulled Jungkook back onto the couch and remained in the middle of the two couches where the bachelors were sitting.

“Okay, so we have two of you sleeping with Bunbun. Anyone else who had romantic approaches with her or interactions of any… physical nature?“, the rapper asked and looked around. His eyes stopped at Hoseok who was sitting sandwiched between Yoongi and Taehyung, sheepishly raising his hand. “No…“

“We kissed.“, Hoseok admitted and like a flash Namjoon’s arm darted in between the bachelors to grab one of the couch pillows so he could use it to beat the dancing teacher up with it.

“YOU. BLOODY.IDIOT!“, Namjoon yelled at him and Hoseok was squealing while getting beat up with the pillow, Yoongi and Taehyung both getting up from the couch to not accidentally catching a blow of the angry rapper. “YOU PROMISED NOT TO DO SOMETHING STUPID!“

Yoongi was grabbing another pillow to use it as a shield, fearing that he’d be the next one to get beaten up. As a matter of fact, he was the next one who Namjoon grabbed and threatened to beat him up. 

“What about you?! What about the promise?!“

The producer shook his head. “I didn’t do anything wrong. You know me Namjoon. I’m not an idiot.“

“Good for you.“ Namjoon breathed angrily and threw his pillow at Hoseok who squeaked another time and then looked over the edge of the pillow to watch Namjoon sitting down again.

Jimin shortly after reminded his friends of what they’ve actually been talking about. “So, back to Bunbun.“

“I don’t think she’s a liar. But thinking about it… Bunbun told me that she’s not into attachment and that she’s a loner. That’s probably because she’s always been alone without family and stuff.“, Jungkook shared what Bunbun had told him before.

“Huh? What do you mean no family? She told me that she’s got a happy, big family!“, Hoseok spoke up and got an angry side-glance from Namjoon.

Taehyung, who had been all silent the entire time, just chuckled quietly in his corner, shaking his head.

“Oh yeah, just got real.“
 

Inguk was glad when the whole process of choosing who got to stay and who had to leave was over. Sometimes he couldn’t help but judge the seven bachelors so much for what they were doing or saying, he felt bad about his own thinking in the end. After all they were friends and Inguk didn’t want to think bad of his friends. He wanted to protect them. But they were trying so hard to destroy themselves that he step by step felt like giving up. Maybe it was time to leave the sinking ship? Or should he be the honorable captain who stays until the bitter end? He didn’t know. He just knew that what was happening was pathetic . Jungkook and Jimin were out of control, even Hoseok was acting stupid, Namjoon was an emotional wreck, Seokjin should rather be somewhere out there, pursuing his career, Taehyung wasn’t social enough to even bond with one of the contestants seriously and Yoongi… oh boy.

The worst of all was that Inguk knew things that the contestants didn’t know. And it made him feel so bad that he felt dirty from all the guilt that haunted him whenever he had to face on of the contestants that didn’t know that one of the bachelors had a wife and a kid waiting at home and another bachelor’s girlfriend was constantly calling and checking if her boyfriend was doing alright and complaining about why her boyfriend was constantly sticking around with the girls and being a total cheeseball. Inguk had multiple times confronted the two bachelors of if they knew what it meant to their family members what they were doing.

“My wife and son are all good, don’t worry. They trust in me.“ Yeah. Great. But even though the married bachelor was thinking that way for real, who guaranteed that there wasn’t one of the contestants that could be another soulmate to him, could be confusing him and ruining the happiness of a family.

“Come on, you know my girlfriend. She’s a little whirlwind. She’s fierce and she gets angry easily. If she calls and complains, just tell her to chill. She knows that this is just a show. I’m doing this for her, too!“ 

…those bachelors were imprudent as .

While Inguk was wandering through the mansions while the bachelors were still wrapping up their decision-making meeting, he ran into someone he didn’t really feel like talking to at the moment. Because whenever he met that certain someone, he felt like this whole hole of a show didn’t deserve this angel.

“Oh, you’ve been with the bachelors?“, Jiho asked.

Inguk gulped. “Why aren’t you getting ready for tonight? You know there’s another elimination…“

Jiho smiled widely at him. “You didn’t notice?“

“Notice what?“ And then the scales fell from his eyes. Make-up. She was wearing make-up for the first time. Oh no… she was already way too deep in this.

“Miso taught me how to use basic make-up! I had no clue that you have to apply a base or that there’s something like a primer. I usually don’t like make-up but I think I need to step up my game.“, Jiho showcased her now even prettier looking face.

A very unpleasant feeling spread in Inguk’s chest and was about to suffocate him. “You want to impress… Seokjin?“, the MC asked cautiously. It was as if he was afraid that she’d add another name. In the and she did.

“Or Jimin.“

“Jimin?!“, oh heck no, from all the guys… everyone but not Jimin, “Jesus Christ, are you sure about this, Jiho?“

Jiho’s movements slowed down as she cautiously was eyeing Inguk and then insecurely shrugged. “Why?“

…who was Inguk to interfere? Should he? Or would he? If she liked Seokjin or Jimin… who was Inguk to interfere. Oh wait. He wanted to avert a catastrophe.

“Anyone else you have an eye on? Someone who I’ve been missing out on?“, Inguk asked with a lot more composure than before.

“Hoseok.“

Ouch. Why did she have to answer straight? She didn’t even have to think about it, she knew who she was going for. And this was… alarmingly unsettling.

“See you later during the elimination! Wish me luck!“, Jiho wanted to leave again and was already moving forwards when Inguk grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. He didn’t even know why he was reacting like this, but in the end of the day he knew he’d regret not doing it.

“Hold on!“, he raised his voice all of a sudden and immediately had an irritated Jiho looking up at him.

“…w-what?“ She eyed him with her innocent looking eyes, startled of his sudden outburst.

“I need to ask you for something. Don’t get this wrong and also don’t call me crazy.“

For a whole moment there was silence between the two but inside of Inguk’s head there was noisy uproar deafening all his senses and his clear mind.

 “Jiho… would you please leave the show?“

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