Masked Performer

Chapter 18

Worldwide delicious!

BRRRRRRNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!

The bell rang and immediately the entire class rose from their seats. The clattering and shuffling of desks, chairs, bags, and feet rumble the classroom as the students hurry out and hoard the hallways. Jungsuh stretched and yawned as she rose from her seat and picked up her bag. She looked at her watch and smiled. “Lunch time~” She chimed. Quickly, she slings her bookbag over her shoulder and walked on out of the classroom, heading straight for the lunch room.

This morning, Jungsuh had woken up late and had no time to make herself lunch. So, for today, she had to resort to eating a food from the lunchroom and actually try the school’s delicacies. When she arrived at the large cafeteria, she gasped and awed at what she had walked into. It was large and extravagant, much more elegant than what she originally had envisioned it to be, and the aroma that lingered in the air was mouthwatering. Jungsuh could not help but gape in awe as she gazed at the amazing interior. As to be expected for such a high-class school.

After having enjoyed the scenery for a few minutes, Jungsuh was suddenly greeted with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she was face-to-face with none other than Mr. Worldwide Handsome. “Ah? Jin-ssi.” Jungsuh bowed toward him with a smile. The guy grins and bowed back. “I thought I told you to just call me Jin?” He said with a huff. Jungsuh smiled shyly and rubbed her arm nervously. “I am sorry. I just got so used to being formal with you guys.” She explained. “It’s hard.”

Jin sighed and smiled. “Then…” He suddenly leans into Jungsuh with a cheeky grin. “How about Oppa? It’s a formality.” He suggested. Jungsuh blushed and stepped back a bit. She then chuckled awkwardly and shook her head. “I think I’m fine with Jin.” She smiled. Jin pouted a little but just grinned. “Up to you. But just no more formal stuff, okay?” He winked. Jungsuh scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She then turned around and began walking toward the large catering tables. “You also getting food?” Jin asked as he followed along right beside her. Jungsuh hummed in reply and observed the food in front of her as she took a tray into her hands. “I woke up late this morning and was unable to make lunch for myself.” She explained. Jin nodded as he too took a tray and began throwing all kinds of foods onto it. “Mind if I eat with you? The others went to eat with their new friends.” He pouted. Jungsuh chuckled and nodded. “Sure.” Jin smiled and hummed as he picked up any delicacy he found worthy. Jungsuh glanced at him in amazement. How could such a handsome and seemingly well-mannered man eat so much? She was amazed and amused.

Once she had her tray filled to what she desired, Jungsuh and Jin walked on over to a nearby table and sat together. “You sure do eat a lot?” Jungsuh spoke as she watched Jin gobble down a spoonful of rice and meat. Jin takes a careful swallow and looks at Jungsuh with serious eyes. “Food is the love of my life, without it, I'm hungry." He stated with a powerful look. Jungsuh laughed at his serious statement and took a bite of her food. "I see, well then, you can't let yourself do hungry, huh?" She smiled and tilted her head.

"Of course!" He agreed. Jin continued to munch down on his food and savor the lovely taste of bliss. Jungsuh just watched him in amusement and grinned. His passion for food reminded her of someone she once knew. He loved to eat and was always on the lookout for food. He adored Jungsuh’s cooking and always savored his foods with a bright smile. A warm and gentle smile that always brought her bliss. A smile, she would never see again. The gentle grin she had as she remembered those long-lost memories suddenly died down as she realized the fact, and her heart began to ache. Jungsuh’s eyes fall away from Jin and she looked down at her food with a sad look. A smile she would never, ever, see again. The thought repeated in her head and the memories were surging back again. The pain was coming back, and her thoughts were beginning to fill up. She clenched onto her chopsticks tightly, turning her fingers a bright red, and felt a disturbing lump in . This wasn’t good.

Jungsuh needed to stop. If she kept thinking about it, she would just break down again and burst into tears. She needed to stop. Stop. Stop Kang Jungsuh!

“Jungsuh?” Jin’s voice broke her away from her thoughts and she immediately looked up at him. He looked at her worriedly and leaned in a little closer to her. “Are you okay?” He asked. Jungsuh quickly shook the emotions away and nodded, painting a smile on her face. “Y…yeah. I’m fine.” She fibbed, releasing the tight grip on her chopsticks and relaxing. Jin stared at her, reluctant to follow in on her obvious lie, but, he didn’t want to peer into something she was not comfortable in explaining to him about. So, he let it drop and smiled. “Oh? Okay.”

Jungsuh smiled and huffed. “Food is good here.” She commented as she took a bite of the Kimbap. Jin nodded and smiled. “It is…” The two then drifted into an awkward silence as they ate. It was stifling and annoying. The two didn’t know how to move on but, wanted to try some talk to liven up the situation. Suddenly, something had occurred to Jin as he looked down at the food. “Ah?” He exclaimed. Jungsuh looked up at him curiously. “Hmm?”

Jin smiled and pointed to the Kimbap on their trays. “You never made the Kimbap for us." He pointed out. Jungsuh stared down at them and at him, confused for a few seconds and then suddenly remembers. "Ahhhh!" She exclaims as she reminisced about the event when she first arrived at the school. The day she was eating her homemade Kimbap by herself and the boys came along to talk. Jimin had taken her last one and they all asked if she could make some more for them. Jungsuh had been fairly busy since then and had completely forgotten about it. "I did say I was gonna make some for you guys," Jungsuh said as she rubbed her head shyly in guilt. Suddenly, a brilliant thought came to Jin’s head.

“Jungsuh?” He called to her. She looked at him curiously as she took a sip of her water. Jin smiled and leaned in a little closer to her. “Why don’t you come over after school and teach me how you make your Kimbap?” He whispered. Jungsuh looked at him shocked and confused. He wanted her to come over and teach him how she makes her Kimbap? Kim Seokjin? BTS’s Kim Seokjin? She thought for a minute, wondering if this was real and that if it was even possible. She had no work, no homework, and Jin seemed eager. With a shy sigh, she nodded. “S-Sure.” She grinned. Jin smiled brightly in joy as he leaned back into his original place. “Is Hyunsoo picking you up today?” He asked.

Jungsuh shook her head. "No, I plan on taking the bus home today. Why?" Jin nodded and pointed toward his bag. "Manager-Hyung got me a car a few days ago and I drove here today." He pulled out his car keys as proof and smirked. "Wanna go grocery shopping with me?" Jungsuh stared at him confused. "We're running out of food and stuff, so I plan to go buy things. Not only that, but you'll need ingredients for the Kimbap, right?" He explained with a smile. Jungsuh scoffed, amazed at how he seemed to have planned this all out and nodded. "Sure. Private parking lot, right?"

Jin nodded and placed his keys back in his bag. “Yep.” With that, the two continued to eat and chatter as the time went on. However, someone in the distance wasn’t as cheery and chatty as the two. Im Heejoo. She was sitting at a table reserved for VIP only and was staring at Jungsuh with full-on fury. "That b*tch. What does she think she is? Casually chatting with Jin-oppa like that?" She growled. One of her friends shook her and tried to calm her down. "Unnie? Don't fret. Jin-oppa would never fall in love with a wh*re like her.” She frowned. Heejoo paid no mind to her and continued to glare daggers at the unsuspecting friends. “I need to get rid of that piece of sh*t.” She mumbled to herself. “But first, I need to find out more about her.”

“Oooooh~” Jungsuh awed as she comforted herself into Jin’s fancy vehicle. It was very nice and sleek, clean and refreshing, and warm and comforting. She gazed at the interior and gasped. “This is even better than Jun and Hyunsoo’s car.” She complimented. Jin chuckled and started the car. “Those two have nice cars?” He asked. Jungsuh nodded and grinned. “Those two are car enthusiasts.” She laughed. Jin chuckled and begun driving.

“What do you usually buy for the Kimbap?” Jin asked. Jungsuh hummed and thought. “Yellow radish, eggs, avocado, the normal stuff…” She answered. Jin glanced at her shocked and lifted his brow in doubt. “Really?” He questioned. Jungsuh laughed at his reaction and looked over to him. “I add my own taste and spin to it. But, that’s a secret.” She answered cheekily. Jin chuckled at her playfulness and released one hand from the steering wheel. "Well then, I may have to use my super sense of taste to find out what this ‘secret ingredient' is." He stated with a smirk. Jungush rolled her eyes and giggled. “We will see.”

It took a few minutes from the school to the grocery store, but they made it. It was pretty reserved and a not well-known store, so the worry of Jin being notice was pushed away. The two of them hopped out of the car and strolled into the store cheerily. Jungsuh hurried over to where the carts were held and snatched a shopping cart for the two of them. She then rolled it over to Jin, who was already looking through the aisles of vegetables.

“Jungsuh? Which one looks better?” Jin asked as he held up two similarly large yellow radishes. Jungsuh observed the two, wondering what the difference between the two and just shrugged. “Both seem perfectly fine to me.” She looked at the two a little more. Jin pouted and observed the vegetable again. “I think this one is better.” He said as he placed one of them into the plastic bags and set the other one back into radish pile. Jungsuh chuckled and shook her head. “Whatever floats your boat, Jin-ssi.”

“Jin.” He retorted. Jungsuh sighed and rolled her eyes. “Jin.” She repeated. Jin chuckled and placed a friendly hand on top of Jungsuh’s head and ruffled her hair. “I told you I don’t want you calling me that! It sounds weird since we’re friends.” He explained with a grin. Jungsuh tilted her head a little to the right where most of Jin’s pressure was and closed one of her eyes. “Okay, okay, Mr. Friendly.” She scoffed as she removed his hand from her head. He removed his hand and smiled. “Let’s go find some more stuff?” He asked as he turned away toward the cucumbers. Jungsuh nodded and began to stroll the cart over. Suddenly, Jin turns back and snatches the radish he had just put back, placing it into the bag with the other. “On second thought, let’s just buy both.” Jungsuh let out a laugh and shook her head. “Okay, Jin-ssi.”

“Jin!” Jin snapped. Jungsuh sighed and rolled her eyes. “Jin.”

The two walked over to the other vegetables and Jin began examining the cucumbers. “The best way to tell if they’re fresh or not is by the color and the texture.” He explained as he lifted up two fairly large cucumbers. Jungsuh stared at him amused and picked up a cucumber herself. “Really…?” She hummed as she looked up at Jin, who was busy examining the large green veggies. He then smiled and bagged the two cucumbers in his hand. He then looked at Jungsuh and handed his hand out for the one she had. “But, I am sure you knew that already.” He grinned. Jungsuh smirked and handed him the vegetable. “I do make my own Kimbap.” This earned her a chuckle from the handsome man and he patted her head once again.

“I am glad I have someone who can cook for themselves and enjoys it.” He gleamed. Jungsuh grinned back at him and began to push the cart. “I can tell you are very much the mother of the group.” She said with a huff. Jin sighed and crossed his arms as they strolled over to more veggies. “I cook, I clean, and I care for them. I am the oldest too, so that gives me more stress than already needed.” He explained. Jungsuh looked over to him and watched as he continued to search for ingredients.

Jin was the oldest. Even so, he was the member that was looked down on the most in the past. At least that was what she heard. He cared for the members and most literally nurtured them. However, he wasn’t the leader, he wasn’t the main vocalist, he wasn’t the main dancer. He was just Seokjin. The visual of BTS. One would think that he’d have more work as the visual, but Taehyung was more of the advertisement for BTS. He wanted to act but, became an idol. Yet, he hasn’t had any drama roles. It was almost as though, his relevance to the group was just to be handsome. It was fine, sorta. Jin liked being known as handsome. But, to be able to do something, that may have been what Jin wanted to do the most. Jungsuh could see that a little bit. She hasn’t been with them for very long, but that part of Jin seemed to have spoken out to her as she watched him. He may want to be more than a mom and more than a visual. If only there was a chance…

Suddenly, Jin called out to Jungsuh and broke her thoughts. “Jungsuh!” He looked at her with a wide smile. She looked at him and raised a brow at what he was holding. It was a large head of lettuce. Jungsuh’s expression soured when she realized what he was about to say. “You know what this guy said to his friend chili paste?” He asked, small giggles and chuckles were breaking through his words and Jungsuh sighed. “Lettuce leaf and become Kimchi!” He busted into a fit of laughter, his squeaky laugh echoing the store. Jungsuh lowered her head and began to stroll away to