As usual, Jungkook is busy. Yeri already sent him a message this morning, but now 5 hours later, still no reply coming from him  and that means she won't get any reply today.

It's been 4 days till their last dinner together, Yeri still enjoy her break after a busy schedule in Japan while sometimes writing lyrics and learning to making music.
It's always like this, Yeri is the only one on her group who has less individual work than her unnies, people on her agency always told her that it's happened because she's young, but Yeri knows the real reason.
Not everyone is happy when she was added later to the group, Yeri thinks that her popularity is lacking compared to the others. But well what can she do about that, she's just going to do her best and becoming more matured, so there will be no more running away from managers, no more sweet escape with stranger, just Kim Yerim who's working hard for her life.

"Yerim-ah, where are you?" her manager voice sounds really excited.

"home, why?"

"i'll pick you up for a schedule right now, get ready."
 

"I don't have any schedule"

"You do now, wait for me.” Yeri was greeted by her manager with a huge smile on his face.


"You're going to get something huge, KYR." He told her , there's one company who offerings her a huge contract deal for becoming an ambassador.

"Me? you mean us?" On her team only Irene the one who ever have a solo offer from a brand, none of them receive it before.

"No, you. They only want you."

Yeri feels happy hearing this, but at the same time she's also worried and uneasy, because how is this possible?
 

***

Yeri  is now together with her manager and a few staffs from her agency having a meeting with these so called investor and his team.

"This is Mr. Jang, he owned the brand and the sole investor for this project."

Mr. Jang actually don't look too bad in Yeri's eyes, he's probably on his late thirties and still looking good, she'll believe it if someone said that he's only 4 or 5 years older than her.
The talk about the project is going smoothly. The offering talk excite everyone including her agency.

Yeri as the one and only ambassador for this product, they'll let her singing a cf campaign song too, promoted both for domestic and international market.

"Why me?" All of her staffs glaring at her when she let that question slip from her.

One woman,  who responsible with the paper work, give her a smile.

"A bright and cheerful youth, we thought that our brand image suits you well." Yeri already told by her manager that this contract offers a bigger amount of money than every others offers which came from Red Velvet as 5.  It's huge, but more importantly, Yeri can finally getting out her name as an individual, no longer shaded by her other members. It's a great offer.

"We'll be reviewing the contract with our chief, first" All of her staffs and that one woman getting out from the room.

And now it's Yeri, her manager, Mr. Jang and two of his assistant together inside the room.

"Can i ask more of this?" Mr. Jang now talking to Yeri's manager while showing him off an empty glasses. Her manager get up from his sit immediately while taking his empty glasses with him, leaving Yeri alone with 3 middle aged men here.

Yeri takes a glance to Mr. Jang for a few times because she thought that he looks familiar.
"Do you remember me, Miss Yeri?" He finally speak to her, and Yeri is honestly surprised. He doesn't know him.

"I'm sorry, but i don't think so." Yeri give him a polite smile while shaking her head.

"4 days ago, your boyfriend disrespecting me in front of everyone." There's no more polite Mr. Jang because he is now talking with an intimidating tone to her.

"I don't have a boyfriend, maybe you're mistaken me with someone else." Yeri's voice is shaking, she can heard it clearly.

"BTS's  Jeon Jungkook-ssi, is he not your boyfriend?"

Yeri's mind is busy right now, recalling her memories from 4 days ago. Jungkook, that fancy restaurant, people who he called trash, Mr. Jang.

"He's not my boyfriend." Yeri still manage to keep her cool while giving him a quick bow.

"Really? then he shouldn't have did that. Showing you off to everyone right after i talked about you." He's now let out a little laugh while give Yeri a bitter smile.

And it's started to makes sense for Yeri. Why Jungkook is angry and feeling down that night..why this contract and this project suddenly come to her, and why this Mr. Jang is here..

"My colleagues looks down on me because i was disrespected by a kid like you and your friend."
 

***

"I'm sorry for your wait." His manager is now coming back to the room give Mr. Jang his drink, not long after, all her staffs is back to this room.

"The contract will be reviewed by our legal team, we'll get to you as soon as possible."

" Can i add one clause to that contract, No dating allowed for Miss Yeri." Everyone is now focusing their eyes to Mr. Jang. He looks so confidence with what he said.

"For the sake of our brand image. Idols dating, fans will be on rage, it's damaging the product."

Yeri can't believe what she faced right now. She's just a kid, and this Mr. Jang sounds like a professional manipulator.

"Well, you can date, but just don't get caught." He talks straight to Yeri and it's really uncomfortable for her.

"Then, you can think about it and talk to my team later."
Mr. Jang is now getting up from his sit followed by all his people, shaking his hands with Yeri's manager and all her staffs. Yeri doesn't bother to look at him and just giving him a small nod.

And when they finally done, Yeri is really want to cry. What was just happened?
 

"I don't want to do it." Yeri knows that her refusement for this project means nothing to all her staffs, because since when she has a say on vital things like this? she's just an employee.

"Why? the offer is great. is it because the dating part?"

Yeri lift her face to her manager while trying really hard to not cry. She really wants to tell them that Mr. Jang is a bad person and she's scared of him. But again, what prove that she has?

"He looks like a ert. I don't like the way she looks at me." Yeri doesn't know if what she said sounds makes sense or not. But she has no other choices.

"Kim Yerim, we're a big player on this industry, and even if he's such a person, he won't dare to do anything, especially to you. You're our asset, we will protect you."
It's someone from the legal team telling her this and that. What he said it's actually nice and quite assuring her, but still..

"Listen, we'll just discussing about this project first, you can makes yourself calm while keep thinking postive." Another person talk to her while patting her back.

She doesn't feel ok at all.

***

Yeri is now on her way back home, she's already crying in front of her manager. But of course without mentioning Jungkook  and what Mr. jang said to her .

"You don't need to worry. Your group and you are popular, even if you have bad feelings about him or something. He won't dare to do anything to you. It'll be a different story if you're struggling with your career and your agency is unknown." It's really not good to hear that even though things like that is a common knowledge for idols like Yeri. It's bitter but that's reality.

"There are so many people out there who's suffering, and you're not part of it. You're lucky."

Yeri knows that his manager is trying to makes her better with that words. But it came out as insulting and offending for Yeri, knowing there are so many people who has same dreams with her, working as hard as her treated badly by someone like Mr. Jang who's abusing his power and money for his own greed, meanwhile herself called as lucky.

"Can i get home by myself?" Yeri still wiping her tears and now ask her manager to drop her off from the car.
He's not refusing and stopped the car immediately. He already looks annoyed by her.

"Kim Yerim. You're better than this."

She doesn't even answering him and now walk away from the car. Lucky to her, it's still daylight here, and she's not actually far from her dorm.
Just a few hundred meters away from the convenience store when she met Jungkook last month. Right Jungkook. Isn't he the reason for all of this?

 

"Yo!" Jungkook is in the middle of working on some video, when one hyung from the development team who responsible to train new kids come to his studio, bringing him one can of coffee.

"Busy man is here." Jungkook stopped his work immediately before give him a smile.

"I heard you met Jaewon.” Jungkook still feels a little bit weird hearing his name after what happened, even though Jaewon did nothing wrong to him at all.

"Yeah, few days ago. why?"

"He asked me if Jungkookie is fine or if something bad happened to him, or if he get his schedules or his works cut off suddenly or is there any wild rumors surface about you where our agency can’t handle it?"

Jungkook is having a hard time following his words. Something bad happened? not really. As for schedule, he's not in the middle of doing anything right now, so yeah..no official schedule.

"Nothing happened. why?" Jungkook stare at him, who's now looks relieved after hearing his answer.

"I also don't know what's going on, but he sounds concerned when he called me, he told me that this is important to makes sure you're fine.

“I’ll just ask him later.” Well..it’s kinda trigger his curiousity, what Jaewon did. He’ll just ask him by himself later after work.

“She’s been like this all day.” Wendy told Irene who just got back to their drom when she found their maknae sittng on the couch, staring at their window without any soul on her eyes whatsoever.

“Manager oppa told me that Yeri just being sensitive. He said they got her a job, but Yeri didn’t want it.” Irene is even more confused with the explanation, because since when Yeri hates getting a job. That kid is a type who’ll just happy with a simple offline event.

“It’s better right now, manager oppa also said she cried before this.” Joy is now joining them after finished setting up their dinner. She bought it on her way home earlier.

“Kim Yerim, food!” She called Yeri very loud, but she just shaking her head slowly refusing to eat.

“I’ll talk to her.”  Irene stopping Joy from her walk, and it’s actually confused her.

“Are you annoyed by her right now?”

“Yes, that kid better talk about what’s going on. We won’t know if she keep quiet like this.”

“Then don’t. You will not win on her state like that. “

Yeri is the best at arguing on their team. She knows how to use words in such a fascinating manner. If you’re not on your best state, you’ll just ended up hurting or getting angry by her words. Joy knows it too, so she listened to Irene and joining Wendy on their dining room for eat instead.

“Let us know if you feel better.” Yeri is not answering this time.

***

“She hasn’t eat anything today.”  They’re genuinely concerned by Yeri and her doing. She already lost so many weight because of her diet before Japan promotion, there’s no way she’s still in the middle of that.

“Want to hear my suggestion?” Joy is finished with her dinner and now talking to Irene and Wendy in a low voice, afraid that Yeri will heard them.

“What suggestion?”

“Call Jeon Jung kook here. Told him to talk to her.”

“That’s crazy, what if he’s the one who made her like that?” Wendy is disagree with that suddestion immediately.

“Not possible. Kim Yerim is not the type who will makes herself suffer only because of one guy.”

“But why him?”

“Yerimie really likes him. Last month I saw them together at the front of our apartment, and her eyes. The way she looks at him, I’ll kill to have someone who looks at me that way.”

“Is he busy though?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. But I just met with Taehyung oppa for a coffee earlier today, so I guess there’s nothing for them as a group.”

Irene and Wendy start to take her suggestion seriously, three of them is now staring at Yeri. The kid is already on her third can of beer. What’s going on to her again this time.

***

“Hyung, I’m taking your car.” Jungkook just finished his work, and he already made an appointment with Jaewon. He told him that it’s better to tell him everything face to face instead of talking about it on phone, so Jungkook accepting his offer for a quick dinner.

“Take it to your dorm when you’re back. I’ll just use a taxi.”

This car is his manager, but since none of BTS members has their own car yet, despite having the license. They usually take turn to use this car. Except Namjoon who’s still not having the license yet because his father tell him to not to.

“Alright, I won’t be long”

“Be careful.”

Jungkook is already near with the restaurant where Jaewon told him to meet when an unknown number call him.

“Jungkook-ssi?”

A woman voice, unfamiliar for him.

“This is Irene..”

Jungkook is surprised with the sudden phone call, but he’s even more surprised after knowing the reason of Irene’s phone call earlier. Something happened to Yeri.

Last time he saw her, Yeri is fine, she’s happy, there’s a slight argument between them but they were happy when they parting ways. That means Jungkook is probably not her reason.

He’s becoming worried suddenly, so he decide to cancelled his meeting with Jaewon and told him that something urgent came up.  He’s not mad with the cancellation, but he does told Jungkook to make time for meeting him as soon as possible.

***

Jungkook was escorted to the inside of Yeri’s dorm building by Joy who already waiting for him at the parking lot.

“What happened?”

“We don’t know, and that’s why we need you to finding it out for us.”

Yeri’s dorm is in the 4th floor. Jungkook feels somewhat nervous when Joy opening the door for him.

“We’re sorry for the trouble.” The other 3 members is already here, bowing their head to Jungkook. This is awkward, but then he find Yeri on their living room, sitting on the couch, staring at the road from her window.

“No, it’s ok. I’m glad if I could help.”

“She’s been like that all day, she hasn’t eat anything either.”

Joy give Seulgi who standing next to her a glance when they saw Jungkook already on his walk to their living room, without any instruction like it’s his own home.

“Kim Yerim, someone here to see you.”

Yeri turn her head when she heard Seulgi’s voice and honestly, she really want to run away right now. Jungkook is probably the last person she wants to see right now. Everything happened because of him, she’s suffering because of his stupid pride.

“If I don’t even want to talk to you, why’d you think that I want to talk to him?” Yeri is back to staring at her window and Jungkook feels uneasy after hearing that. Maybe she does mad because of him.

“Boys before sisters, isn’t that your life motto, Kim Yerim?” Joy talk to her while chuckling, trying to makes her less angry. Everyone is laughing hearing that, including Jungkook, but Yeri is not.

“That’s actually my life motto.” That’s what Jungkook said when he finally stand in front of Yeri’s couch, staring down at her who definitely looks messed up.

Yeri is holding an empty can of beer, she thinks that if she throw this to Jungkook’s head and he’s ended up injured, people will understand if they know the reason why she did that.

She’s angry to him, she really want him to disappear.
But when he decided to kneeling in front of her couch, caressing her cold cheeks and give her a smile, Yeri knows that he’s probably the only want she needs right now.

“what happened?” And his voice is enough to makes Yeri feels some sort of emotions, because she started to cry while holding his arms.

***

“We’re such a fail.” That’s what Seulgi said, when she and her other members watching Yeri who is now crying like a kid while Jungkook holding her on his arms.

“Told you, I’ll kill to have someone like that.” Joy talked to them while eyes still on Jungkook and Yeri.

“Maybe we should left them, I think Yerim will tell him what happened.”

Irene makes a gesture to Jungkook who’s staring at them through Yeri’s shoulder that all of them will leave. He understand and nodding his head following by them who left the apartment right away.
 

Yeri knows herself the best. This is why she told Jungkook that she scared to be around him, this is the reason why she ran away and avoiding him after Bali.

Anyone will angry and mad to Jungkook after what happened, but then she likes him too much, that the only thing she want is to be close with him, even though he’s literally ruining her life and put her in danger. It’s not logic.
 

Jungkook is now watching Yeri’s back, he sit on her kitchen while watching her preparing a drink for him from her fridge. She cried a lot. It tooks him a few minutes to actually makes her calm. Surprising but not exactly unexpected, it’s not his first time dealing with emotional Yeri.

“I’m driving. I’ll take a glass of water instead of this.” Jungkook refuse to drink a can of beer that Yeri served for him and ask for a glass of water inside.

Yeri is not answering, but she bring him one bottle of mineral water and sit in front of him. She’s still choose to drink her beer, maybe her 5th can for today.

Jungkook use his hands to ruffling her hair, but Yeri stopped him right away. It’s honestly confusing for him, it feels like Yeri is angry because of him, but maybe she's not.

“It’s been months since I went clubbing. Wanna go?” She talks to him while giving him a forced smile.

Jungkook is not saying anything, he just watch Yeri get into her room, and came out after a few minutes already with a sleeveless cropped tee and dark blue skinny jeans. She put makes up on her face, and even styling her hair. She looks really good, beautiful and y, so different with Yeri who usually met Jungkook on her natural state with a simple clothing and light make up.

“Let your unnies know that you’re going out.”

Jungkook is glad that he actually dressed himself up a little bit, knowing he was going to see Jaewon. He wears a long black coat, with white shirt inside it, he’s styling his hair too. At least he won’t get too shabby standing next to Yeri who dressed her self up like a goddess.

“They won’t mind.” Jungkook still watching Yeri wearing her black high heels on the living room, when she refused to let her unnies know about her plan.

“I’m not taking you out if you don’t tell them.”

Yeri is finally finished with her heels and now walking closer to Jungkook, while takes her small bag from the kitchen table.

“Plenty of men out there is willing to take me out, you’re not the only one. I can just pick one randomly from my contact, and they’ll be here in minutes.”

She was going to push him away with her left hands, when Jungkook grab her wrist and using his other hand to wipe a small drop of her tears on her cheeks.
It’s hard for him to see her like this, like he knows something is wrong, he took part on it, Yeri is angry and her fearless side is now coming out in a wild form, but she still doesn’t want to talk about it.

Yeri seems surprised when Jungkook knows that she’s still crying, so she pull herself away from him and avoiding his gaze.

“Fine, I’ll call them on the way.” She’s opening the door after saying that and out from the apartment quickly.

 

____