BEhind the scenes #8

Grown-ups.

If there was anything that Inguk couldn’t stand, it was watching how people were treated badly. Okay, that was said a lot too nicely. He only bothered if those people were those close to him. Or so he thought. But seeing all those women crushed, really broke something inside of him. Hence the reason he had wanted Jiho to leave. He didn’t want to see her… like Minseo. Or like Miso now.

Miso was crying bitterly, throwing tantrums like a little child. Understandable. She had legit reasons. Being dumped by Jungkook must have hurt. Unfortunately, Inguk could understand Jungkook’s reasoning, too. Family was important. Remembering back how he introduced a former girlfriend to his parents and they weren’t fond of her too much… the relationship didn’t last long, either. And with a brother that much against Miso being with one of the bachelors… Inguk was glad he didn’t have to deal with something like that.

Still… Miso’s broken heart somehow broke his, too. Minseo had, too. So many had.

“Don’t show it.“, Inguk told the editors when he watched Miso curse in front of the cameras on the screens.

“You don’t have any right to tell us what to do.“, the editor huffed back at the MC and caused Inguk to get even angrier.

“Oh really? So if I leave the show NOW, do you think the producers will like that? You either don’t add this or I am gone. Let’s see what’ll happen then, huh?“

The other editors threw angsty glances at the one that was arguing with Inguk. He snorted shortly but gave in. At least someone still had the balls to do something. Neither Yoongi nor Namjoon were doing anything against MBC’s despotism. Why was it only Inguk doing all the ty work? Those bachelors really acted as if their lives and troubles were worth so much more than anyone else’s.

With a sigh the MC wanted to leave the editor studio again. He felt sick watching all those dramatic scenes for too long every time he was asked to check some of the recordings. Even now that Yoongi wasn’t in charge of all this anymore, the replacement producers were still demanding for him. He wasn’t paid enough for this crap. Not at all.

On his way out, he passed by something that looked like a list. A list of 21 names and further information like addresses or phone numbers. That certain list made him stop.

The editors in Inguk’s back didn’t even notice that he didn’t leave and instead stopped in front of what looked dangerously much like a source of the contestants’ private information. And in fact it was. All 21. Listed on it. Inguk didn’t know how that list happened to appear in the studio, neither why it was placed so obviously where he’d definitely see it… but Inguk took it as a sign, as an invitation.

Bachelors’ Paradise didn’t need him that urgently, anyway. His main work was behind the cameras now, not in front of them. Things were going just the wrong way. So at least he could do something that for the first time in so long felt right.

The day had been weird. From the very beginning to its end. And Johanna had no idea what to think about all this. Yoongi acting up like an angry teenager was something completely new to her. She had known that he was of the more reserved, judgmental and salty kind. But she never imagined him being… like that.

The staffs were getting their cameras off from where they had installed them all around Johanna’s room and in the meantime she was told to stay outside. So, what she did was sitting in front of the building with her hands stuck in her hoodie’s comfortable pockets, in-ear headphones on to listen to some music while waiting.

“Pssht!“ - “…PPPPPSHT!“

There was no reaction as the Hip-Hop music’s bass was booming loudly in her ears.

“Johanna-!“ - “YIKES!“

As someone suddenly pulled out one of her in-ears and started directly talking into her ear, the breath tingling dangerously closely caused the young woman to jump up and almost slapp the person in the face.

Seokjin quickly changed into a more than defensive pose, arms and legs partly raised up in the air as a protective shield for his body and face. “Its’ just me! It’s just me! Please, don’t hit me!“

The contestant eyed the bachelor for a mere second and then breathed out in relief. Poor soul, Seokjin was still scared of being hit in the face after the Minseo incident.

“Oh my, Seokjin… you shouldn’t be surprised being constantly attacked if you do things like that…“, Johanna warned him from further possible attacks. “You caused me a heart attack.“

“I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. Been quite boring in the car.“, he told her and sat down on the rusty bench she’d been sitting on before. Oh right. After recording, the PDs had told Seokjin to get into the car and wait until everyone was done. He must have snuck out of it, usually they were trying to avoid any contact between bachelors and contestants if cameras were off. Everything had changed these days. It was weird.

“Don’t you get into trouble if they find us together like that?“, she therefore asked.

“Might be. We could also just walk a little, they won’t find us like that. And if they call me because I’m missing, then I’ll just tell them I took a quick walk and get back to them.“

“Because it’s a lot less suspicious if both of us are suddenly gone. Great plan, you mastermind.“

Seokjin shortly shrugged, grinning slightly at her and ignoring the irony of her words. If he wanted to do so then, why not. Nobody could tell Johanna what to do after all. At least not now. But browsing the area just meant… that they might run into Yoongi.

Yoongi had gone missing ever after. Actually, Johanna had no idea what he was up to now or if he was even around. Maybe he already left after rushing away in such anger with neither her, nor Seokjin trying to stop him. Yes, she felt guilty for that. But also he was a grown-up and his decisions had to be respected. If he wanted to be angry and needed his time, then she’d give him that. It was okay. She knew how it felt to want to be alone.

The bachelor and the contestant started browsing the area together with Johanna showing Seokjin some little restaurants and convenience stores that she and her friends usually went to when they needed a break from studying and researching for hours and hours. And just after fifteen minutes Seokjin felt tired from all the walking and they had to stop and take a break at one of the GS25 stores nearby.

“Here you go.“

A can of ice-cold Sikhye was handed to Johanna and she gladly took it, opened it and then sipped on it. Seokjin sat down next to her, the campus roads being all empty at a time like this. A few students were passing by every now and then, some drunk from their meetings with the professors and fellow students, some just got out of a study session at the library. Nobody paid much attention to them. It felt good. Good to be away from all the cameras for once.

“Can I ask you something?“, Seokjin asked.

“Well, technically, you already ask me something. But sure, go ahead.“

The bachelor chuckled and nodded. “Why did you take us here? I know it’s okay, it’s where you spend most of your time… but why didn’t you take us to meet your family? Aren’t you close?“

Johanna halted for a moment and looked at the can in her hands, thinking about what to answer him. She took long enough to make Seokjin assume he had stepped dangerous territory.

“Uhm… you don’t need to answer. It’s… okay. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it. I was just curious, that’s all.“, he took his question back.

It was cute. Cute how cautious he tried to be after being so confronting first. Sometimes Seokjin was funny to watch. It felt as if he was doing what his heart told him to do and then after reconsidering things, he tried to make the damage a little better. Well, damage was the wrong word. It wasn’t really damage he caused. Just… it was hard to tell…

“It’s okay.“, Johanna assured him and even giggled a little. “You’re right. In some way at least.“

“Care to share?“ Seokjin looked at her from the side, his fingers nervously running over the metal edge of his can.

The female leaned back and exhaled slowly. “I feel more at home here.“, she said. “It’s difficult to explain and I don’t expect you to understand… it’s just… this place is my home. For now. And then after a few years I’ll change that home again. It’s nothing new.“

A little impatient Seokjin moved on his chair. “You have to be more detailed in what you tell me. I have no idea what you’re talking about.“

“When I was younger I moved back and forth between Germany and South Korea. My dad works for big conglomerates and keeps the relations between the Korean and German ones in active exchange. My mother never really felt home in Korea, so she preferred living in Germany where her family stayed. I moved and moved and moved… until my parents divorced and my dad took me with him to Korea.“, she explained, not even once looking up from the can. It had a mesmerizing effect on her, that can. Johanna didn’t know why. Maybe it was just easier this way. Looking at a can instead of looking at Seokjin. She didn’t want any pity or judgment from him. It was her story. It was her decision what to think of it.

Seokjin, however, didn’t comment. He just stayed there and listened. Johanna had no idea if he was looking at her or if he copied her, looking at his can.

“I love my parents but also… we’re not really close. And I don’t consider their houses my home, either. There’s that saying… home is where your heart is. My home is where all the books, all the knowledge is gathered. That’s why I showed you this place. Because it’s more home to me than any other place.“

“… you didn’t want to bother your parents, either, hm?“, Seokjin finally shared his thoughts on her past. “I can imagine it being really hard to ask your mother to come here just for the sake of this show. And your dad is probably busy.“

He was right. In both. It was part of why Johanna didn’t want to bother her parents. Her mother had her reasons staying in Germany and she didn’t want to disturb her peaceful life over there, 5000 miles away from her only child. And her father already was busy enough, sacrificing his family for his job. Typical Korean. An interesting observation Johanna made. Growing up in more than one country, with more than just one nation-driven mindset, it was sometimes funny to see those typical Koreans and compare them to more liberal states like Germany. Let alone the peer pressure that occurred in Seoul just way too often. Looks, mindset, job.

“Have you ever considered leaving Korea?“, the bachelor interrupted her thoughts.

“Hm?“

“I mean… you’re super smart, you could have gone to Harvard or a university in Germany… or Switzerland or Austria. Wouldn’t that have been better for your major?“

It would have. But also it would have meant to focus on one thing only. And Johanna didn’t know if she wanted to do that. She was undecided. She didn’t even know if that would change at all. She just knew that she enjoyed it being far away from all those thoughts, doing something new and for once focusing on something else than studying. She missed studying, no lie. But thinking about all the stuff she missed out on like love, heart break, all that. It was a welcome change.

Yoongi popped up on her mind. Angry Yoongi who just left them behind.

Johanna looked over to Seokjin who was looking up into the sky as he was waiting for an answer. He was handsome the way he looked up to what Johanna loved so much. The night sky. The universe.

It was a perfect picture.

Then Seokjin’s phone started ringing all of a sudden.

“Oh, seems like they’re looking for me now. Maybe I should go back.“, he said, got up and smiled at her. “See you back in the mansion.“

Back to the mansion. Back to Yoongi. Yoongi and Seokjin.

Oh god, maybe studying was easier than this.

Noise. So much noise.

Inguk was walking down the hallway when he heard the wheels scratching on the floor while female screams were echoing after them.

“JUNA, NO! JUNA!“

And the next moment the colorful hair was flying everywhere around her head as she turned across the corner, standing on her skateboard in extremely high looking heels.

“WATCH OUT!“, she shouted, then laughed.

Juna, sure thing, was the only human being Inguk could imagine standing on a skateboard, wearing high heels and a super short, super tight dress, everything so colorful she looked like a parrot exploded in front of her. Nara had serious competition.

“OH! INGUK!“

However she managed, as she almost passed him by, she jumped off her board, let it roll further and crash into the people in front of them, and landed not all that elegantly in front of the actor. She smiled still and forced him into a very tight hug that was about to strangle him. God, that woman had strong arms. “Long time no see!“

“Uh, yeah.“, he brought out and was glad when she finally let go of him again. “You seem to be doing well.“

“I am!“, she answered immediately. “Thanks to the grampster, I do!“ Grampster? Was she talking about Yoongi? “He got me a job here!“

Oh. That explained why she was still here in the MBC building. And why nobody reprimanded her for skating in the building. On heels. Endangering everyone around. She was enjoying the Min Yoongi protection.

“You got a job? What job?“, Inguk wanted to know. He couldn’t imagine what kind of job Yoongi and MBC had in store for her. He had heard of MBC loosing the lawsuit against Yoongi, Juna and her parents. That was what happened when a lot money was on stake. Yoongi didn’t care about his loss, but MBC did. So they came to an agreement. Inguk just didn’t know this was what they had in store for Juna.

“I am a script writer!“ Sounded fit for Juna. She was a little dull, but very creative and able to think outside the box. Inguk just doubted she’d be able to write proper scripts for MBC. They probably had a team set up for that matter, so Juna would drive them into doom on her skateboard. “A script writer for season 2 of Bachelors’ Paradise!“

Oh. Hell. No.

Inguk’s mouth dropped open at the mentioning of a second season that was planned by the broadcasting system. It made sense, the show was trending No1 not only in Korea, but also other parts of Asia. Yet… those poor souls that had to deal with Juna being one of the script writers of the next season. Good thing, Inguk knew about this now. It was a big factor to consider if he wanted to stay as a MC for the show or not. Okay, no thoughts needed about that. The answer was a No. With or without Juna.

“That’s great to hear!“ Inguk faked a smile. He really felt happy for her, but the thoughts of the upcoming bachelors and contestants having to deal with her caused him some uneasiness. “How are you doing apart from that? Are you and your family doing okay?“

“It’s as always.“, Juna answered with a grin and quickly changed the topic. “Hey Inguk, do me a little favor, will you?“, she asked of him but didn’t wait for an answer. “Don’t tell Jimin I’ll be working on Season 2, okay? I told him that I’d be back but not how! I want to see his face now that I dropped the bomb but it didn’t explode yet.“

“You told Jimin? But how?“ 

“Uh, helloooo? Mister in which century are you living in?“ Juna laughed and knocked at Inguk’s forehead as she held up her phone and almost shoved it into his face. “Of course I have his number, duh. We’re texting like every day.“

“Oh…yay.“, he reacted and distanced himself a little more from the woman. “You’re still close? I thought you two would stop being in contact after you got eliminated. And also… wasn’t Jimin interested in you… ually?“

“He’s okay with me being gay.“, she told him, being naive enough to believe in what Jimin had told her. “His words: You bang girls, I bang girls - We can bang girls together. That’s what he said.“

Sounded like Jimin. Probably really was Jimin.  Didn’t mean that he stopped thinking about getting into Juna’s pants. But Inguk was nice enough to leave that imagination to Juna. He wasn’t one to ruin a friendship because he thought he knew Jimin well enough to tell, that Juna still wasn’t out of his “Bang Bang wanna Bang“ list.

“What are you up to?“, Juna then wanted to know and Inguk winced slightly. He had originally planned to call Juna, ask her to have lunch with him and then talk about what life was like at the moment. Talking to her now proved him that he didn’t really want to do that. He wanted to make sure she was alright. Not to make friends with her. She was alright, his job was done.

“Uhm… actually, I have some more things to do.“, he answered and once again faked a smile. “It was nice to meet you again, Juna.“

With that he was ready to leave and maybe look for another one of the eliminated contestants. Sounded like a good plan, at least.

“Oh, then good bye! And we’ll see each other again next season!“

“Sure!“, he replied.

Not.

“I don’t need to be good with kids. I don’t need kids at all.“

She knew that she hurt her family with those words. And she had no clue why she had to get defensive like this. But her family drove her nuts the way they were focusing on all the happy family  that Mihoon just couldn’t get behind. Those people who stayed here on Marado, in that little universe of their own. Being content with the minimalistic life standards they had. All they needed was the sea, their family and that was it.

Her family looked at her as if she was an alien.

Outlier at heart.

Yes. She was an outlier. At heart maybe even. But who cared? Mihoon felt so out of place that she got up and walked away, punching one of the cameras on her way as it was shoved almost straight into her face, it made her angry. She heard something crack and it definitely was not her hand. . Served that camera dude right.

Mihoon straight went to the room that used to be hers and Gahoon, threw the door closed behind her and sat down on her bed, looking out of the window where the sea was peacefully washing shells and seaweed up the shore. She felt as if she was back at being 14, having one of those fights with her family where she felt misunderstood. It wasn’t that feeling of the lack of affection or being unloved. It was just being misunderstood. Maybe that was why she liked Yoongi so much. They had that nonverbal understanding for each other. They respected each other for who they were. Okay, sometimes not that much. Mihoon knew by now, as she had already been angry at Yoongi for long enough. Thinking about that, maybe Yoongi wasn’t the right person at all. Shouldn’t a happy relationship be like that? Being happy all the time without fights or misunderstanding?

The problem wasn’t even Yoongi. After what Mihoon heard Jungkook babble in his drunk slur this time it was her misunderstanding someone. She had misunderstood Yoongi and blamed him for something.

Yes, she was still mad. After all she told him that she liked him and his reaction? It wasn’t what she had expected at all. And they didn’t even talk about it. Mihoon never had been a talker. Never. But for once she had felt the desire to talk things out with Yoongi (granted, it would have been her yelling at Yoongi but still…).

The situation wasn’t great. It was complicated. Love shouldn’t be complicated. It should have been easy and happy. Like with Gahoon and her husband.

Sudden knocking at the door disturbed Mihoon’s train of thoughts and the door being opened without further invitation just reminded her that she was home.

“That was exactly the Mihoon we all knew.“, Gahoon said and walked over to her sister.

“Wanna shame me for being like that?“

The twin shook her head. “You know I’d never do that.“

“Maybe that’s the mistake.“

Mihoon and Gahoon looked at each other in silence for a moment. It was apparent that talking about the family issue wouldn’t lead to a solution. For some problems there never was any solution. Just agreements. And one agreement, or better said decision, was Mihoon leaving Marado and trying not to stay in contact with her family for too much.

“Your friends are nice.“, she said. “I can’t see why you brought the happy one, but the grumpy one I understand. You two are one of a kind.“

“So you say I’m grumpy?“

“Says the grumpy child that ran into her room, banging doors?“

Mihoon snorted.

“But even though you two seem to get along quite well, you’re distant. It’s with us. You love us but you push us away at the same time.“, Gahoon told Mihoon what the contestant already knew. She wasn’t good with feelings. And she didn’t want to get hurt. There was enough pain she was already going through. Pain and fear of who she was, who she wanted to be and if that would ever happen. “You know that relationships don’t work like that? With family it might be okay, because we love you no matter what you do. But with love… it’s tricky. If you push him away too much, it won’t work. Love is give and take.“

“Who says that I like him, though?“, Mihoon put her own feelings in question. “Maybe I did this all for show? Who knows?“

Gahoon chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t do that, Mihoon. You know that it’s not true. After all…you brought him here. Home. To your family. You could have shown him your apartment, your new friends… but you introduced him to us. So that’s proof enough that you care for all of us. Your family… and that guy.“

She had a point. Mihoon hated that Gahoon had a point. It just reassured her of the fact that she had… things. And that she’d have to address them at some point…again. Ugh. So complicated.

“You don’t say it, but you know I’m right.“, her sister went on. She laughed about it but then again got a little sad. “You know what I don’t understand? I know why you left. I know you had to. But I don’t know why you never talked about it with us? I might have understood you somehow, but neither mom nor grandma ever did.“

“I didn’t know how.“, Mihoon admitted. “I didn’t think it was right to blame you for something that you all believe in.“ The simplicity of their life. And that it made them happy. She had tried. But it had always ended up in unnecessary fights with important things being left unspoken and things being said that were not meant as they were vocalized.

Mihoon didn’t know how to explain it. They were her family. She loved them. But also, they were different. So different that she just couldn’t stay here. It wasn’t her world. And she would never fit in. Sometimes it felt like she was born into the wrong family.

“…seriously? Are you thinking about how you don’t fit into this family, how this is all not your world and that you’re all so different from us but you still love us but have to get away from here?“

Mihoon blinked at Gahoon, all perplexed. “How… how…did you…“

“We’re twins. We grew up together. Of course, I know you.“

Gahoon laughed and Mihoon could see the difference between the two. Even though they were looking the same, Gahoon was so much more beautiful than her. Because she was able to laugh. To laugh like this. Full of love, full of endearment. Mihoon wondered if she could ever look like this. Shinning from inside as much from the outside.

“And now you’re thinking about how different we’re from each other despite being twins, am I right?“

“You’re creepy, you know that?“, Mihoon scoffed.

“Awww, you little tsundere , you know you love your creepy sister.“, Gahoon said and forced Mihoon into a rather uncomfortable hug. “Ugh, you can’t imagine how much I missed cuddling up onto this rock of a person. Does Yoongi feel like it, too, when he hugs you? Like hugging a rock? What happens if he kisses you? How does it feel? Should I ask him?“

“GAHOON!“

The pregnant woman just laughed happily.

The voice coming out of the phone didn’t sound any friendly. He was used to listen to this voice for hours, the cuteness coming from it, the warmth. Now it was heat. Heat and cold at the same time. Because the person on the other end of the phone was really, really angry.

“I told you, there is nothing!“, he promised, as he did about 5000 times before.

“But what’s to be seen on screen is a lot different, Mister!“, his wife yelled. She was angry for god knows. Okay, it was partly his fault, he could admit that. He overdid it… a bit. And he felt bad for it. He had felt bad right from when it started. And the point had come where it was hard to fake being available without approaching the women. “I told you not to agree to this stupid show right from the beginning!“

She was right. As so often. As always, even. Why did his wife have to be right in everything?!

“It’s going to be over, soon.“ His approach of calming her down was met with a snort. She snorted. And it was cute. Even though it frustrated him, somehow. So, he couldn’t help but chuckle because of it.

“Are you laughing at me now?! Do you want me to hang up?!“, she yelled again.

“I love you.“

“…“ He managed to fluster her. “…what?!“

“You’re so cute when you’re angry. Just saying.“

“Ugh, I hate you!“, she hissed and he could literally see her rolling her eyes in front of his inner eye.

“Tell our little troublemaker, I love him, too.“, he told his wife, knowing she’d do even if she told him she wouldn’t.

“He didn’t even notice you were gone.“ Ouch, that actually hurt.

“That’s just because he’s too young to notice.“, he responded and sighed. A little more love would have been great. “…are you missing me still, at least?“

His wife remained silent and he knew that she was looking for a good comeback at him. Love was such an exhausting fight sometimes. This warrior princess of him sometimes just needed to let go an be a tad more loving. Who could blame him enjoying a little loving from all those other women for a bit then? He loved his wife to bits but low-key he was hoping that after the show she’d show more of her soft side. Not that he agreed to be part of the show because of that. He did that for his friends who were looking for love. And because he had planned something. But that would have to wait until everything was over.

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me after I watched you way too invested in that stupid TV show!“ The angry tigress was roaring. Maybe it was time to give up for now.

“It’s just for the show.“

“Oh really? To me it looked a little differently!“

That was enough fighting for a day and he was sure that his wife wouldn’t leave him a spare minute to relax like that. “Honey, I’ll hang up now. Gonna talk to you tomorrow again, okay?“

He was ready to hang up when his wife’s voice was getting louder once more.

“…wait, you idiot!“

“What’s wrong?“

“…take care!…and… I love you.“

Again, he chuckled.

“That’s my girl.“

The smell of sweat and the grunts of some bulky dudes working out was filling the air and Inguk in his suit felt rather uncomfortable, stepping inside the gym. The young girl on the entrance counter was the only female he could see so far and honestly, Inguk expected to find Minseo straight. She was a woman. With a short, blonde bob. How difficult could it be to find her in this sea of testosterone?

Actually, pretty hard.

Because she was nowhere to be found and people didn’t know who Inguk was talking about when he asked them about her. Luckily, there was one personal trainer running around, screaming at his underlings to go harder, to run faster and to get their together, knew who he was talking about and told him to check out the Dojo.

The heck. From the outside the gym looked like a normal gym and the hints that there was a Dojo, too, were nowhere to be found. He should have known better, though. It was Minseo they were talking about. The Dojo was hidden somewhere along the many Squash fields and when he was about to open the door of it, someone attacked him from behind like a crazy assassin.

“What on earth are you doing here?!“, a woman screeched and pulled at Inguk’s hair to direct him away from the door.

“Seolhyun?!“

Seolhyun was an outstandingly beautiful woman, long brown hair, a cute face and legs long as days. It wasn’t a big surprise to Inguk that she didn’t leave it at acting but also decided to do modeling. Oh, yes. Inguk knew that woman. She was one of those actresses he already worked with. She wasn’t looking as if she was here to work out. Her heels were speaking a different language and the black dress just as much.

“What are you doing here, Inguk?!“, she repeated herself.

“I could ask you the same.“, he responded and rubbed the spot that had suffered under her violent hair grab.

“I asked you first, don’t you have any manners?!“ She had some point. But still. “If you’re here because of Minseo, I’ll have to politely ask you to get the away. She doesn’t need to see anyone of you terrible people anymore.“

Oh.

Wait…what?

“You’re friends with Minseo?!“, Inguk asked irritated.

“Best friends even, duh.“ Seolhyun was quick at throwing snarky words at him. “You know, I thought you guys were decent people. Jungkook is part of the cast after all. Yet, you guys are all whiny s who destroyed my friend! She cried for days! Because of you freaking s!“

Oh. Again. But yes. Inguk remembered, of course Seolhyun knew Jungkook. They were - wait, had been - from the same company after all. Hearing that Seolhyun called Jungkook a decent person, though…

“So don’t even think of entering that room! If Minseo sees you again, she’ll be reminded of that terrible heartbreak and then I’ll have to clean up after your mess AGAIN.“

“She’s doing that bad?“, Inguk wanted to know. The feeling of a shattered love really must hurt. Poor girl.

“He asks if she’s doing that bad…“, the actress muttered and rolled her eyes as her hands were pressed onto her hips. “Of course she’s doing bad, you ! Her heart was broken! And she didn’t even get to apologize for breaking that ty fashionista’s nose! It wasn’t even her fault!“ She breathed out heavily. “I had hoped she’d go for someone like Namjoon but Seokjin? Really?! EGH!“

Her anger was no secret and Inguk could understand and respect that. He, too, felt bad for Minseo. He had seen her breakdown, he had seen how Seokjin had treated her after her accident attack. It wasn’t pretty and he really had hoped to change something for the better.

“Are you sure it doesn’t help to talk to her?“ Inguk’s voice sounded serious and worried. Genuinely worried. It somehow soothed Seolhyun’s anger and for once she kept her snark for herself.

“No, I don’t.“, she answered a lot calmer than before. “Just go, so she can live in peace.“

“Alright then.“, Inguk agreed and nodded. “I am sorry.“

“Yeah, you should be. But the others more than you.“

She was right. Inguk hoped, the others knew that they should feel sorry, too.

“WHAT THE IS WRONG WITH YOU?!“

Namjoon and Yoongi were shaming Jimin for his decision to keep Jiwoo in the show for more than two hours now. After Jungkook and Jimin got back from the Jiwoo date, things didn’t go well for Jimin. At least when it came to his overly judgmental friends.

Jungkook didn’t know what to say about this anymore. He felt nauseous and suffered a serious headache. One that didn’t want to go away again.

It had been wrong.

It had been wrong to send Miso away. At first, Jungkook had been 100% sure of that his decision was right. After all it was family they were talking about. He couldn’t imagine being with Miso when her brother was in their back, nagging and maybe even trying to sabotage their relationship. That was nothing he wanted from a relationship. He had enough drama in his life, a little less would have been great. So, he had sent Miso home.

Now, he was regretting everything. The aching hole that she left ever since he told her to leave didn’t want to get any better and knowing that Miso left, while someone like Jiwoo was still there fueled the anger and hate Jungkook felt. At times like these Jungkook understood why Yoongi couldn’t stand Jimin at all. They had different background stories… yet, he confirmed that Jimin was a .

“What about the injunction?! How do we proceed now?! Jungkook and Jiwoo aren’t even allowed to be close to each other!“, Namjoon argued.

“Ugh, come on. As long as Jungkook doesn’t complain, there’s nothing bad happening.“, Jimin talked back.

“So you think Jungkook’s injunction was just a joke?!“

Namjoon was going on with his ranting for quite some time. The other bachelors didn’t really seem to bother much, Hoseok and Taehyung were going through some photos on their phones, probably their photos they took with Yumi’s daughter together and Seokjin had been rather quiet ever since the Nara date.

“You saw that creepy basement, didn’t you?!“, Namjoon kept on trying talking some sense into Jimin. “You think that’s okay?! You think just because it’s not you, whose face was on the photo of that shrine, it’s funny?! I saw the footage of that, it was hella creepy!“

Jimin shrugged it off and even started laughing. “You’ve not been there, Namjoon. You’d have laughed, too, believe me. It was hilarious!“

“Hilarious, my !“, Jungkook finally raised his voice as well. “It was just creepy and none of you wanted to help me! She could have sacrificed me down there and nobody would have stopped her!“

The singer sighed, crossed his arms and tried to think. His head started hurting so bad that he stopped almost right after starting. What would they do about the injunction…? Jungkook had a solution. “Why don’t we just kick Jiwoo out again and ask if we can have Miso back?“

“It’s not that easy.“, Yoongi contradicted. “We can’t just mess with all the rules that were set up for the show. The producers won’t allow.“

“Yeah? But instead mess with the Korean law instead?! This is bullcrap!“, Jungkook got up from his seat and his voice got louder and louder. “You know what’s bullcrap, too?! You’ve been the producer of this! You’ve been the one who we could ask for help if we needed! But now what happened?! You lured us in to join this show by the promise that you’d help us, that you’d not put us in bad light! That this was about love and love alone! Yet, here we are standing, completely ed! Bachelor’s Paradise almost ruined Juna’s life and not it’s about to ruin ours as well!“

There they were. Friends. Friends who were having a serious fight about something they had started to support each other.

“This ALL is bullcrap! And if I could, I’d just jump this freaking annoying boat!“

There was one contestant in general that Inguk really wanted to see again. But he was scared. Oh, he was most of all scared to meet her once more. The urge to know how she was doing was way too strong as if he could have run from this duty, though, so what happened was that Inguk ended up in front of a door behind which he didn’t know was waiting for him.

He ringed once. Then twice. At the third time he started doubting that he had the right address. Or the right information. He thought he was right with the location of Element7’s place.

Again he wanted to ring when the door suddenly opened and a girl with a messy ponytail looked at him, very disgruntled.

“What?“, she scoffed then looked more closely at the MC. Behind her the apartment seemed to be drenched in darkness and the sounds of women yelling at each other and a few ‚pew pew’s and smashing sounds echoed through it. “GOLDEN BOY! IT’S FOR YOU!“

Golden boy? Did they really dub Jiho a BOY?!

Jiho quickly moved over to the door to supersede her teammate. Her eyes rounded as soon as she realized that it was Inguk standing in front of her.

“I-Inguk. What are you doing here?“, she asked and helplessly looked over her shoulder as if one of her teammates would come to her rescue if she did.

“I… wanted to say hello.“, he answered. Maybe it wasn’t the best to tell her that he was worried and wanted to see if she was doing alright after leaving the show. He didn’t want to sound like a daddy trying to look after his daughter.

“You came all the way to Busan to say hello?“, Jiho asked and now looked confused.

Inguk started to feel really uncomfortable, being way too obvious with his holey explanations. Where did his acting skills go all of a sudden?! “Uhm…do you mind… having a cup of coffee or something?“, he tried to change the topic and from behind one of the other girls started yelling.

“YES! SHE SAYS YES!“

Neither Jiho nor Inguk were talking on the way to the coffee shop. There was awkward silence the entire time and Inguk had no idea how to break it. He wanted to ask her how she was feeling but at the same time he didn’t. If she wasn’t feeling good, he’d only be more worried about her and then he didn’t know what to do. Not knowing what to do was a bad outcome. A really bad one for him.

“…your teammates seem like fun.“, he finally spoke up when they were sitting in the nearby Coffee Béne with their drinks in front of them, Jiho stirring in her strawberry latte.

“They are!“, she answered and smiled shortly. Then the silence returned.

The people around them started to notice Inguk and Jiho together and some were even taking pictures. Inguk wondered how long it would take until the photos of him and Jiho would trending.

“Did you want to talk to me because you don’t feel all that well?“, she suddenly asked him and relief spread in Inguk’s chest.

“Me? I think I’m doing alright.“, he replied.

“And the bachelors?“

Inguk shrugged. Little did he know about the bachelors‘ current mindsets. He had just noticed how some of them had changed over the time being.

“Are doing okay, I guess.“, he told her. “…how are you doing?“

It felt good that the question was finally out, at the same time Inguk felt angsty, thinking back of how bad Minseo was doing with everything that happened to her.

“Better than expected!“, Jiho answered a little upbeat. “Also my crew got more popular thanks to the show. I didn’t expect that, but it happened. They started acting a little like celebrities and are overdoing it sometimes but it’s fun to watch them bathing in the recognition we suddenly gained.“

“That’s good to hear.“ It really was. The pressure that had tortured Inguk was almost completely gone by now. “Are you still watching the show?“

Jiho nodded. “I do. I was sad when Miso had to leave, but I guess that’s life? I didn’t expect Jungkook to send her home, though.“

“Do you miss the time at the mansion?“

“Sometimes. I guess what I miss the most are the other girls. I don’t have a vested interest in the bachelors anymore and… yes, building shrines isn’t the best idea, I guess.“ She laughed a little about that. “I’m glad I participated. I’m starting to be my own woman now! And it’s great. But I’m also glad I left on my own. Seeing the others’ hearts broken hurts and I am thankful I don’t have to go through that.“

As she was speaking, she sounded overall more confident, more positive, brighter. It was good to see her that way. And Inguk felt that it was the right decision to come looking for her. The question that he had wanted to ask her had vanished, would she never agree to going back as he figured. That was fine. He’d just meet her like that. Casual. Like this. It was fine. Because Jiho was doing fine.

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