~ I Still Want You, Vrene ~

[Seoul, Korea : 9am, 30 September 2018]

It had been months since the members of Red Velvet get some off time from work and their daily practice. With their promotions and public performances temporary come to an end, the quintet was granted with a short break. Early in the morning, Wendy got up to prepare breakfast for all the members before each one move on with their personal activities. After breakfast, Wendy continued with her baking works while Yeri and Joy went out with their friends. Being a homebody, Seulgi expected Joohyun would stay at home but the strangest thing was, the leader looked exceptionally quiet and out of place. She locked herself in the room after finishing her meal and didn’t even send the maknae line off.

“Don’t you think unnie looked weird today?” Seulgi rested her hip against the kitchen counter while watching Wendy working on the flour.

“What’s weird?”

“She’s terribly quiet today,” Seulgi said.

“Unnie is always quiet,” Wendy laughed. “What are you talking about?”

“Tch…” Seulgi frowned and dug her finger into the flour before rubbing it on Wendy’s cheek earning a loud shriek from her. “I’m going to talk to her…”

Knocking on the leader’s room door before opening it, Seulgi eyed at Joohyun making sure she’s aware of her little intrusion. Taking a seat on the stool next to Joohyun, Seulgi was careful trying to find a right timing to ask her. Before Seulgi could voice out her question, she noticed Joohyun’s phone. She was on her Instagram direct message with Taehyung.

“Joohyun unnie,” Seulgi tried to get Joohyun’s attention but the older lady’s eyes were still glued on her sketches. “You never forget right, Bangtan are still on their tour. I think they are still performing in Newark now,” Seulgi checked on the wall clock.

Joohyun just nodded silently, “I wasn’t expecting him to text me or anything, I was just reading his last message.” She picked up her phone and stared on the message from Taehyung and her last few questions sent which he left her with a ‘seen’ status. “Are you not going anywhere? Yeri and Sooyoung went out with friends, shouldn’t you make full use of this precious short break time? Don’t stay here and rot.”

“Then why are you rotting here alone?” Seulgi held on Joohyun’s hand stopping her from taking the pencil. “Let’s talk, you need that.” The younger member didn’t want to leave Joohyun alone. She knew something happened between her and the world’s most handsome man and she needs to be with her sister.

Heaving a long sigh, Joohyun looked up to Seulgi with her tired eyes “we had a fight few days ago, when he was rehearsing in US.”

[Seoul, Korea : 7am, 28 September 2018]

As usual, Joohyun would get up earlier than other members in preparing for the next schedule. Halfway packing on her bag, the special ringtone of her phone averted her attention. A smile crept on her face as she knew who was the caller. Answering almost immediately, she plopped on her bed with excitement.

“How do you know I’m awake already? Are you still rehearsing?” Joohyun was beaming like a small kid who just gotten her new toy from her parents. But in contrast, the response she received from the caller wasn’t as cheerful as he always be.

“Joohyun-ah…”

Her smile gradually faded replaced with a slight frown as her brows furrowed in worry. “Why do you sound like this, did you fall sick?

“No, I’m fine,” his raspy voice made her concern.

“You sure everything is alright?” Joohyun bit her lips, she wasn’t sure what’s in his mind now without being able to see his face expression.

“No, that’s why I called even knowing I might be disturbing you,” Taehyung sighed, “but I have to get this out.”

“What’s bothering you, Taehyung?”

“Why did you keep buying expensive supplementals for my family?” he asked sternly. “I don’t want you to keep using your money on my family. If anything, I should be the one who buy for them.”

“Taehyung, I just thought since I was already at the factory getting the ginseng for my parents and Ajumma mentioned…”

Before she could finish, he cut her off “I know she talked to you about it before but that doesn’t mean you need to buy it!”

“I mean, it’s not the first time I’m buying things for your family,” she tried her best to hold her tears in and control her voice not wanting him to notice the changed of emotion in her voice. “they are my family too, what’s wrong with me getting them things?”

“That’s the problem, Joohyun,” he was getting frustrated. He ran his hand through his blonde hair and continued “you’re doing way too much for them and I’ve done nothing. I’ve done nothing for you and your family.”

“Pabo…my parents know that you’re busy with tour and they aren’t expecting anything. Didn’t you send me and my family for a trip to Bali earlier this year?” Joohyun wiped her tears off, “that itself warmed my family so much, what I’ve done was only a very small thing.”

“You’re busy too, but you could still do so much for my family. I felt so useless,” Taehyung lowered his voice. “And it worried me so much to see you keep putting everyone before you when you should care about yourself more.”

“We’ve not met and talk for so long and all you wanted to say to me it’s only this? Yah…did you just start an argument with me over all these petty things?” Joohyun tried to lighten up their tensed conversation but somehow, it worsened the situation.

“Are you trying to say I’m immature?” he raised his voice.

Joohyun got flustered by his statement, “I didn’t even mean it that way, I’m just saying these things can be sorted out and not worth for us to argue on it.” losing her patience, she rashly said “If you continue to be like this, you are really childish.”

“FINE!”

“Yeobseyo…Taehyung…Kim Taehyung” Joohyun checked on her phone and realized he’d cut the line.

Seulgi was dumbfounded by the argument both Taehyung and Joohyun had “that’s a little unnecessary…”

“Is it wrong to buy things for his parents?” Joohyun pouted, sadly.

“Did you ask him about it, maybe something happened or his family told him something,” Seulgi asked.

“I tried calling him but I can’t get through the line at all after he hung up on me,” Joohyun rubbed her face with both her hands. “Am I giving him too much pressure?” she passed her phone to Seulgi, showing her the last message Taehyung sent to her via Instagram direct message.

-Bae’s tae

[I’m trying to be the man you want but whatever you’re doing now it’s not helping at all.]

-Tae’s bae

[Let’s clear things out like we always do, what exactly happened? You can’t just leave me with this seen status and not answer me!]

“Did I use a wrong way to love him?” Joohyun rested her chin on her folded arms on the table. “Our is becoming a problem now, isn’t it? Is he getting tired of me?”

“If that is a problem you guys wouldn’t have been together for so long,” Seulgi patted on the stressed lady’s back. “I guess he’s just too stress with his packed schedule. His concert is week after another and in between they are attending talk shows too. It’s not easy to handle. Furthermore, is US market we are talking about. I’m sure he would come around.”

Pulling Joohyun up, Seulgi smiled “our leader is so in love with this weird man. He’s really the first person who can make you so messed up, isn’t he?”

“He’s not weird,” Joohyun flicked her finger on Seulgi’s forehead.

“You guys will be fine,” Seulgi squeezed on her shoulders “for now, I want you to enjoy your break. You need some sleep, stop drawing.”

Joohyun nodded her head before being pulled into Seulgi’s beary hug.

-

[Newark, US : 7pm, 29 September 2018]

But I still want you

And I still want you

The stage turned pitch-black as the crew ran on to the stage and prepare for the next performance. Jimin turned to Taehyung who obviously got too emotional during the performance. The older man tried starting a conversation with him but Taeyung avoided and disappeared to the changing room in the speed of light.

“Jungkook-ah, did you notice Taehyung teared during the performance just now?” Jimin held Jungkook back.

“Hyung, you stood next to him right,” Jungkook said, wiping his forehead with the hand towel, “Why would you ask me this?”

“Something is very wrong with him today,” Jimin pursed his lips, “it re