September 21, 2018

. . . 

Jisoo was staring at the instructions like it was written in hieroglyphics. 

"Ah, the things I do for marriage," she said, and then, staring at the camera set up in front of her, she added, "And production value. You can cut that out later." 

Jisoo was all alone in BP House's kitchen surrounded by cameras and microphones. Outside, she could spot her manager and the videographers outside having coffee and monitoring the cameras. 

"Is this a good show, huh?" Jissoo mumbled while measuring the flour. "I don't think he would care if I bought it from a shop or if I made it myself. If this turns out bad, he's just going to insult my cooking." 

She kept interacting with the camera as if it was a person. "It feels so strange not to have staff around. Usually, I get to ask questions and talk to people. Now, I can't. I only have you. I'm not even sure if this is usable content."

"Can we have music? Is this going to get a copyright strike if we do?" 

"Tomorrow is Jinyoung's birthday," Jisoo told the camera. "I'm making a cake for him. His friends asked me make an appearance at their fan signing event later, and you're coming along with me." 

. . . 

September 22, 2019

Happy birthday, Nyoungie! Have a good time at the fan signing event. I'll see you at the wedding rehearsal. Hwaiting!

Jisoo sent the text message with a smile. She was excited; she was set to surprise Jinyoung at his event later in the afternoon. 

She made sure to dress up and make herself pretty - she learned her lesson the last time Jackson pulled her on stage. 

"You're not going to catch me unaware this time, Jackson," Jisoo grumbled. 

. . . 

"Manager-noona," Jackson put on his charm for Jisoo's manager. "Can Jisoo stay for Jinyoung's birthday party? You can stay too, if you want." 

The event was over and everyone was wrapping up. Jisoo surprised him by bringing in cake and they ate it on set. Yugyeom and Bambam managed to get it on their clothes and their stylist was glaring at them from backstage.

Now, Jackson was trying to convince Jisoo's manager to let her come Jinyoung's private birthday party, but she wasn't budging.  

"Jisoo has a red-eye flight to Japan tomorrow," manager-unnie said. 

"Please? She can go home early." 

Jisoo tried hard not to laugh. Manager-unnie looked like was having a hard time saying no to Jackson. 

"Fine," manager-unnie sighed. "But she goes home at ten o'clock sharp. I'll pick her up, then." 

. . .

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUNIOR!" 

Jinyoung cringed at the nickname. Nonetheless, he made a wish and blew the candles. His friends cheered and hugged him, kissing him on the cheek. 

"Ew, his face is still greasy from the make up," someone commented. 

"It's his birthday, shut up and be nice." 

That evening, Jisoo laughed and interacted with Jinyoung's friends and staff. She got to know his friends better. She found that they treated each other like family. It was beautiful. 

Jisoo was touched for Jinyoung. She looked around the room, realizing that these were people who witnessed his growth as an artist and as a person overall. They were a part of his life for authentic reasons, and she, an outsider, was just there because of a reality show. 

She suddenly felt lik