from where he sits at the bar, jaehyun watches as a young man in a millennial pink suit moves toward him. jeon jungkook—the only person jaehyun knows who could pull off this look—removes the sunglasses from his face and flashes him a smile.

“what’s the occasion, chef jung?” jungkook asks after ordering a neat scotch.

“i needed to ask you something. i didn’t want to ask you, um, over the phone.”

“everything okay?”

jaehyun fidgets with his hands, staring down at the settling ice in his drink.

“yeah, i’m fine, um—so you know how you, uh, date women… for money?”

jungkook leans forward, a delighted spark in his eyes.

“you finally want me to hook you up? i told you that you’d never make enough cash to start your own shop at this rate.”

“no, that’s not it!” jaehyun’s voice cracks as he waves his hand. “i guess i was just wondering… why do you do it?”

“for money.” jungkook deadpans. he takes a sip of his drink as he leans back again.

“i know, i know. but why not just do something else?”

“what other part time job can i get that will let me eat filet mignon and wear designer goods just for smiling and being handsome?” jungkook replies with a laugh. “why are you asking me this? you’ve never brought it up before.”

diverting his eyes, jaehyun takes a long gulp of his beer. he sets down his glass, nearly jumping at the loud sound against the counter.

“i think i met someone who is a…”

“sugar baby? gold digger?”

jaehyun shifts in his seat. jungkook raises a brow at his rising discomfort.

“yeah.” he nods, looking up at his friend.

“give up.”

“no, it’s not like that. she’s someone i knew when i was younger.” jaehyun waves his hand again, biting onto his bottom lip. “we met again, and she’s just so much different than how she used to be. i guess i’ve just been trying to understand why.”

jungkook, who is usually all-smiles, wears a grim frown. he reaches across the bar, placing a firm hand on jaehyun’s shoulder.

“people don’t have to make sense, jae. if there’s anything i’ve learned through this work, ironically, is that women don’t owe you . even if you’re nice to them, even if you think they like you. they owe you nothin’. not love, not respect, not answers.”

jaehyun nods, letting the words settle in. he knows he can’t force jennie to make him understand. he knows there isn’t even a reason why he needs to understand. just because her smile is like fresh baked cookies doesn’t mean she owes him anything.

but still, it somehow feels lonely.

. . . 

the world passes him by as jaehyun leans his head against the bus window. jungkook got a call from his rich widow barely fifteen minutes after arriving at the bar. he hopped into her porsche and left jaehyun to fend for himself.

jaehyun lets out a sigh, his breath leaving a little cloud on the glass. with his finger he absently traces a j before wiping the window clean again.

the bus comes to another stop, emptying and filling again. he’s startled by someone tapping on his shoulder and looks up.

chaeyoung gives him a little wave and he smiles, making room for her to sit beside him.

“ugh, did you drink?” she asks with a wrinkled nose. he nods, deciding not to bring up all the times she and jisoo had come crawling home covered in glitter and stinking of tequila.

“are you just getting off of work?”

“no, i met up with some friends after to study at the library.”

“ah.” jaehyun frowns. he doesn’t understand the typical university experience but still sympathizes with the late nights and early mornings.

“do you ever just think it’s crazy we’re in seoul?” she asks suddenly, her gaze focused on the city passing them by in a blur of neon. “sometimes i still expect to get off a bus and see a field full of cows or old ladies knees deep in a rice paddy.”

“do you ever miss it?”

chaeyoung turns to him, her eyes carrying a triumphant kind of sorrow.

“honestly, jae? not for a single second.”

“me neither.” the corner of his lip quirks upward and she bumps his shoulder playfully.

he knows that chaeyoung’s sudden move to seoul their first year of high school was less than optional. she was kicked out of her house and eventually taken in by her aunt.

he also knows that she never smiled back then like she does now. (whether it's because her aunt is a dentist or because she's for once in her life free to be herself, he isn't completely sure.)

“hey, don’t you think jennie looks really familiar?”

“hm?” jaehyun raises a surprised brow. he squashes back the sudden panic and gives her what he hopes is a neutral tilt of his head. “no, not really.”

chaeyoung stares ahead in thought, chewing lightly on her bottom lip. jaehyun wonders if the two really would have crossed paths for the short time they were at the same high school.

“yeah, you’re right. that wouldn’t make sense.”

with a relieved exhale, jaehyun turns back to look out the window. he’s become an accomplice to jennie’s lies.

. . .

after a long and exhausting dinner service later that week, jaehyun hopes to come home to a relative semblance of peace. instead he opens the door to a room of cucumber covered faces staring up at him.

“what are you doing?” he murmurs cautiously as he walks into the living room, setting down his bag.

“girls night.” jungkook answers, taking a cucumber off his cheek to crunch on the slice. jaehyun cringes—he should have known better than to hope for peace and quiet.

“we’re marathoning 80s horror movies.” chaeyoung pipes up from the couch, her head on jisoo’s lap.

“anyone else think male crop tops really need to make a comeback?” jennie muses, painting chaeyoung’s toenails with one hand and cradling a