“Good morning. Mr. Jeon.”

 

Jungkook lifts his face when one security officer is blocking his way into the building. Looks like he’s been waiting for him. He was wandering around all night, to at least free from the thoughts of Yeri, what she said and what she did. It was working for awhile but now that he’s back here everything goes back to how it was. He’s not fine, at all.

 

“Is there something wrong?”

 

“Uh.. it’s Ms. Kim, sir.”

 

The securities here are familiar with Yeri, since she’s a celebrity and all those dramatic emergency situations from a year ago, and how often she was here. He’s not sure what is going on so he’s tilting his head in confusion as someone else is approaching them.

 

“She refused to leave.”

 

That’s what he heard, and he doesn’t feel good about this at all, as both of the security are looking up to him with the most uncomfortable expression ever.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Ms. Kim came here last night, since you weren’t here, she waited in front of your door, just like how she did before, we tried to tell her to leave, but she refused to do so. We took her to our office and told her that she can wait there.”

 

“She was here?”

 

“All night. She thought you’re home.”

 

Not the first time Yeri does this, so of course these men are already aware how stubborn she is. They looked so dumbfounded, their expressions were so full of curiosity.

 

“She fell asleep a few hours ago, but now she wakes up and she still refuses to leave.”

 

One man who came later is talking now, his voice is full of annoyance, probably because he needs to deal with Yeri on his late night shift.

 

“I’m sorry for the troubles. I’ll take her now.”

 

Their expression is becoming brighter because of what he said. They probably thought that he would say no to seeing Yeri and that means more work for them to make her leave.

 

They showed him the way and there was excitement but also fears in his heart about what would Yeri come here. Is it bad or good? Is he going to lose her for real or not?

 

“Eat a lot, I can order more if this is not enough.”

 

It was noisy, the security office. There were 6 people inside and two others standing near the door with him. Yeri is also there, smiling and distributing a bento box to each of them.

 

“Ms. Kim bought us breakfast too, she said, she tried to bribe us with food, so we will stop telling her to leave.”

 

Seeing her laugh, joking around with others and making them laugh too is enough for him to think that maybe she’s not here to make the situation worse than how it was yesterday.

 

“Just tell her to come up, I'll see her there.”

 

He decided to leave because he’s not ready to hear what Yeri is going to say or do in front of so many people like this.

 

“Ms. Kim..”

 

Yeri is turning her face when someone is touching her shoulder, a familiar face, the one who fought her the hardest since last night to make her leave.

 

“I’m not going to leave.”

 

He smiled at her, but nodded his head right away.

 

“Mr. Jeon will see you in his place.”

 

She gets up really quick, finally. All her efforts to bribe these men worked. She gives him a nod after saying thank you.

 

***

 

“Where is she?”

 

Jungkook is glancing at his watch and it has already been 30 minutes since he told Yeri to come here, but no one showed up at his door. He really needs to go to work in a few minutes. There is a huge change in his work, something he wanted to tell Yeri before but failed to do since she refused to see him for the past few weeks.

 

His coffee tastes more bitter than usual because of his anxiety. Maybe it was a wrong choice to not see her before when he could. He laughs at himself while thinking how ridiculous he's behaved since Yeri came into his life. To feel nervous and anxious over someone else's feelings about him.

 

He decided to go back to the lobby, hoping that she would still be there. He throws the empty can of his coffee while cursing at himself for thinking that Yeri is here to see him with open arms. He regrets what he did.

 

He walked to the door, ready to run just in case he really needed to, and he opened the door to a surprise.

 

Kim Yeri is here, she's wearing a coat and a scarf to hide her face, since she can't hide it with her short hair. She lifts her face awkwardly when he sees her.

 

He feels happy, relieved, but also annoyed at why she didn't just tell him that she is here, so he won't be anxious waiting for her to come.

 

"Since when you're here?"

 

He's expecting an immediate answer because he asked her in an unfriendly tone, but he didn't get any response.

 

"Listen.."

 

"I was here all night."

 

She finally talks after a long silence, he looks at her while thinking how her face looked so tired. It is obvious that she's been here since yesterday.

 

"I heard."

 

"You won't see me. I didn’t barge in because I know you’re going to hate me for doing that after what happened.."

 

"I wasn't here, I was out all night."

 

Yeri seems surprised to hear it.

 

"What do you mean you're not here?"

 

" I didn't open my door because I wasn't here. You should've called, I didn't even know you were here."

 

Yeri spent the last 30 minutes contemplating what she should say or do when she sees Jungkook again, she thought of kneeling in front of him and apologized for everything she did, both in the past and in their present. She never said sorry properly for what she did back then, ruined his company, his relationship with his friends. For what she said about him and his revenge, for doubting him again and again. For accusing him with so many things.

 

She doesn't know why she thinks Jungkook will accept her back but she decides to try as she forces her way in and gives him a hug. A tight one that he was surprised by. She's basically running into his arms and has zero plan to let go. 

 

There was someone passing by them, but she didn't really care. It was Jungkook who closed the door for her because he knows she hates being the center of attention. He is still not hugging her back though.

 

"I treated you very badly yesterday." 

 

She talks while stuttering because she feels like crying for how evil she was.

 

"You lied because you know I won't accept the fact that you still hate my brother."

 

Yeri thought that she would be fine if Jungkook was being honest about it. That's why she hated his guts for lying, but to get reminded by how she handled it the first time, being lied to is probably the best choice she had. She was the one who paid people to ruin Jungkook's well-built company in one night because of it. She became the worst version of herself. No matter how people and herself thought that she changed for the better, the fact is she isn't sure about it.

 

"You thought I'll get mad and ruin your life again, that I will threaten you again."

 

"No, it wasn't a reason I lied to you, I knew you won't do something like that again."

 

Yeri looked so confused that she wiped her tears right away when Jungkook forced her to let him go so he could put his arms around her tiny waist.

 

"Besides, you threatened me with a fake gun the first time, why would I get scared?"

 

"You said you lied because you love me and I should know your reason.."

 

He laughs at her who's trying so hard to stop crying but ends up getting confused and frustrated from being wrong.

 

"I thought you protected me from behaving like that again."

 

"You don't need my protection, I am sure you're not a person who would do that again, even if you do, I think that I deserved it for what I said about your brother."

 

Her chuckles and little laughs are very beautiful, he ended up smiling watching her. She looked so pretty.

 

"I want to apologize for what I've done to you, since the beginning of our encounter and now. I did illogical things to ruin you and your life over my past that isn't your fault. I'm really sorry, I planned to kneel in front of you for an apology earlier."

 

"You should really do it."

 

"I can do it, right now.."

 

She was going to do it but he stopped her while holding her waist and gave her a hug again. 

 

"I was really disappointed that you lied to me. I only want to hear your true feelings, not just about my brother but everything else. How sad, mad, tired, and happy you are, I want to learn properly."

 

"You won't be able to learn, if you keep running away."

 

Yeri is definitely embarrassed by what he said, she spent all night thinking about losing him and she came to a conclusion that nothing is more important than what she has with Jungkook. Their past, their present, their future. 

 

"It must be exhausting dealing with me."

 

Yeri is talking while fixing his shirt and she sounds so frustrated. She seems unaware that, even though she's always testing him with her own way of dealing with problems. His life is a million times better when he’s with her. His past, all the pains and hatred he needs to deal with for a decade. It was more exhausting than anything else.

 

"It's getting a little bit hard these days."

 

"But you know I reacted, right? It's not like I made the problem alone."

 

Of course, Yeri and her way to make him realize that there is no reason for him to act like he is the better one in this relationship. He gives her a smile while tightening his arms on her waist and lifting her whole body. She doesn't look surprised at all that she moves her hands from his shirt to his shoulder while sometimes caressing his hair.

 

"Can you wait here until I come home?"

 

She seems not sure of his request when he puts her down in front of his room. He really want to talk to her and spent time with her but he needs to do something regarding his work, and he just doesn't want to let her go before she listened to everything he needs to say regarding what he has with her brother.

 

 

"I need to see my mom, she knows i have a problem with you, and she thinks i'm a jerk, i need to fix it."

 

He seems concerned now, maybe because he's been getting closer with Mrs. Kim that he feels bad for her too.

 

"Alright."

 

"Thank you."

 

She said thanks while giving his hands a kiss, and asking his permission to sleep here for one or two hour as he's leaving for work. Of course he said yes.

 

---

---

 

"You don't need me to see her."

 

Mrs. Kim is sitting in a car with her husband. She received a message from Yeri and she asked her for a meet up. She was so angry last night that she brought her husband as a back up.

 

"When we were scared of her, I wouldn't dare to nag her, but now that she has changed. I just can't hold myself from nagging her."

 

"It's a good thing, right?"

 

"You know how she is, arguing with her is exhausting."

 

"Then why am I here?"

 

"To help me, of course."

 

Mrs. Kim is coming out from the car while Mr. Kim is following her from behind. It actually feels good to be able to do this. Yeri never asked them for a meet up, it's always them who sneaked into events to see her face.

 

"There she is."

 

Yeri is alone sitting at one table with a cup of cold coffee, using her phone while a few pairs of eyes are focusing on her. Mr. Kim is aware the reason Yeri became a celebrity was to make enough money to live away from him. She never really accepts all the facilities, privileges, and fortunes he gave her since she moved out from his home years ago. The first time Yeri asked for his help was regarding Jungkook, when she asked him to ruin his life.

 

"You should hear what she said when I told her about Jungkook coming to Seokjin's grave."

 

Yeri gets up from her chair when they finally meet, she looks so pretty, but also uncomfortable. She seems aware that her mom is not here to deal with her ill behaviour.

 

"Good afternoon, Ms. Kim."

 

"Mom.."

 

Yeri is totally at a loss for words when her mom is totally not hiding her annoyance towards her.

 

"You brought an ally."

 

Mr. Kim is giving her a hug when he sees her, he refuses to be called an ally and tells her that he's here for coffee. It is weird that he seems to be free, when Jungkook is out in the early morning for work. Both of them are sitting in front of her, she ordered coffee for them and she doesn't know why it is so hard, maybe because this is her first time doing this.

 

"I'm sorry for yesterday."

 

She never said sorry to her parents no matter how rude she was behaving. Of course it's changed slowly, but it still feels unfamiliar.

 

"I am sure I'm not the one who should receive this apology at all."

 

Yeri knows her mom means Jungkook.

 

"What you said last night completely bothered me, Yeri-ya."

 

"What did she say?"

 

She feels a little bit annoyed that her dad is coming out of nowhere to find out what her mistakes were.

 

"I said a lot of things."

 

"I only bothered by one."

 

Yeri is rolling her eyes at Mrs. Kim because she can not believe that she forced her to admit what she said.

 

"I said Jeon Jungkook is still planning revenge on our family."

 

She can find a surprised expression from her father, he definitely doesn't believe her.

 

"What makes you think like that?"

 

She's still thinking about what she should say to answer Mr. Kim but her mom is already starting to talk on her behalf.

 

"She said she slept with him so she knows things better than me."

 

"Mom!"

 

"That's what you said."

 

She doesn't know how to explain herself for what she said last night, so she just stared at her parents with empty eyes as they judged her.

 

"He is so much more than that."

 

It was her dad who started to talk again while sighing. He sounds disappointed at her, it's all written on his face.

 

---

---

 

 

 

Yeri spent the rest of her day being lectured about how her parents see Jungkook. They said they will be able to tell objectively if he was being genuine or not. It was an interesting talk so she doesn't have the will to tell them that without their input she already knows what she did wrong to Jungkook and she already went to see him to say sorry.

 

There are so many things her parents said that were beyond her expectation. They talked about a lot of things but there is something that she remembers the most and the reason why she's back here, in front of Jungkook's door again.

 

It's already late, not that late but it can be a bother to visit people at times like this, especially the one who you just hurt a day before. She was thinking about calling him first asking him if it is ok for her to be here but decided not to, afraid if he's still not home.

She just put the password and got in, she will wait here until he comes home, that is her plan.

 

"I'll call you tomorrow."

 

The lights are on, she can hear Jungkook's voice too, he seems aware that someone is entering his house that's why he came out from his office right away. She feels relieved seeing him, even more than this morning.

 

"Are you ok?"

 

Since he knows that she's out to sort things with her mom, his expression is somehow uneasy, he is the problem anyway. He walked fast to her and put his hands on her cheeks, caressing it while searching for her eyes.

 

She doesn't answer with words but a hug, she's sighing while leaning her own weight to him. It's always comfortable when her relationship with him is fine and not messed up.

 

"My parents cared about you so much, it doesn't make sense at all."

 

Yeri talks while burying her head to his chest, her tone of talk is not annoyed, she just sounds tired.

 

"It's ridiculous but I'm not the only one who was changed by your existence. My parents did too."

 

Well, it actually makes sense, the last few weeks, Jungkook worked so hard to slowly erase all the ill feelings he had for Seokjin and his family, turning it into non-existence. He worked so hard. But he never thinks that it is enough for the whole family to change.

 

Forgiving and forgetting people's wrongdoing are two different things, especially if what they did impacted your life for a long time. But he slowly finds a way to do that, as he spent more time with Mr and Mrs. Kim. 

 

"Thank you."

 

She lets him go and tells him thank you with the most genuine smile he ever saw from her. Her eyes are teary but not gloomy like how she usually showed him every time she cried.

 

"It seems like I'm the only one who takes you for granted. I was so ungrateful that I hurt you often."

 

She moved her hands from his waist to his shoulders, caressing it lightly and let him go without saying anything further.

 

"Would you want to hear my explanation about my lies?"

 

Yeri stopped from leaving when Jungkook held her hands. She lifts her face to him because she's not actually sure if she really wanted to hear his true feelings without reacting to it badly.

 

"The only reason I lied to you in the first place was because you kept saying I'm the better one at handling our past, I don't want you to see how messed up I dealt with it actually."

 

He laughed at the end of his sentence, but of course it wasn't a happy one. He looks so burdened and frustrated at the same time. 

 

"I think it is better if you're mad at me after you hear the truth instead of accusing me without giving me a chance to talk."

 

"Alright, let's hear it."

 

She walks towards him and lands a kiss on his lips before agreeing to hear what he has to say. She takes a seat in a huge coach in the living room, putting aside her bag and taking a deep breath when Jungkook is following her. He looked around before staring at her again with a smile.

 

"I wonder what you said to your parents about me that they were mad at you for my sake, you’re their daughter, and i’m a stranger."

 

"I said lots of bad things. I think you probably have some guesses."

 

He moves his seat so now he is next to her, he puts his hands on her shoulder and fixes her hair lightly. She looks at him and stares at his eyes.

 

"Can I ask you something?"

 

She got no response from him and decided to ask first. She had her theory about this but never heard it directly from him. He nods his head.

 

"If my brother is not dead, and you found him, would you really kill him?"

 

He looked surprised with her question that he stopped touching her hair.

 

"What answer do you want to hear?"

 

"Yes."

 

Jungkook really doesn't understand the way Yeri thinks sometimes. It is heavy enough to finally talk about this after so long and what she said is even more surprising.

 

"Because that would make me feel a little bit better for ruining your life."

 

"My life is fine."

 

"No, it's not."

 

He almost died twice, Yeri made him lose his company, his usual routine, she drives him crazy almost everyday.

 

"I wouldn’t. He spent money and energy for me and my sister, He cared for us like we’re a real family."

 

He never tells Yeri this because of his ego, he doesn't want her to think that he is ungrateful for what Seokjin did for him when he was alive. He wanted her to relate to what he felt, he wanted his hatred justified.

 

Yeri is actually not surprised to hear this. The fact that he chose to die because of Sooyoung already speaks a lot to how she was so important to him. He probably worked hard for her too when he's still alive.

 

"He was a really good person, and my hatred for him is never more than just me who can not accept the fact that he ran away after my sister died."

 

She stares at Jungkook and tries so hard to not cry but seeing him smile while talking about her brother is totally making her emotional. She never thought she would hear good things from him about Seokjin.

 

"It'll be a different story if i knew about his suicide, i'll think he was stupid but i won't hate him."

 

Yeri is covering her face because she doesn't know how to hide her tears anymore. Listening to this and to what her parents said before is definitely uncomfortable. It makes her feel small.

 

"He went to my school once because I had a problem. I hated the way I was so dependent on him because he was a total stranger but I kept doing it without realizing it."

 

"You never told me this."

 

Yeri is no longer looking at him but staring at the floor, hands on her knees, while sometimes covering her face to hide her tears. It must be hard for her to hear this after so long.

 

"I don't want you to know that I hate him without a reason."

 

"You have a reason! Why would you think that he did nothing wrong just because he paid for your food?"

 

"He did so much more than that."

 

"He should've taken responsibility for you instead of killing himself."

 

She's back to stare at Jungkook, talk with a husky voice but still able to give him a smile. He seems worried about actually carrying on with this conversation as he puts his hands on her cheeks, wiping her tears. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes while touching Jungkook's hands on her cheeks, holding it and stare at it for quite some time.

 

"My parents told me this today.."

 

She lifts her face to him with a smile while hugging his hands with both of her arms. He seems confused at first.

 

"They told me that you are the one who worked the hardest for my life, even more than what my brother did.”

 

"I’m not..."

 

"I know it well, how messy my life is. Then and now."

 

Yeri always thought that her life was destined to be messed up. The only reason she's continuing living was for Seokjin, so all the efforts he puts into her life are not wasted. 

 

She gained her will to live because of Jungkook, thinking that she loves him and she deserved to be happy. But what she heard today debunked all of her thoughts about him.

 

"My parents told me that I wasn't completely aware of what you had done to my life.”

 

"I don't even know what I've done."

 

The way Yeri's smiling is relieving. Even though she still has tears in her eyes, her expression started to get brighter.

 

"I think your parents just said it, so you'll stop being angry at me."

 

He places his hands back on her cheeks and fixes her hair before giving her a kiss, she receives it well and nods her head before taking out a few pieces of paper.

 

"What is it?"

 

"It's the draft of my latest interview, I'll tell the editor to put your name here if you don't mind."

 

"I don't really care about things like this, why'd you ask?"

 

"I always said no before.."

 

He read the draft quickly, and it's a good interview. The question was about how Yeri coped with him as a boyfriend since they both worked at the same industry but with a different approach on their job.

 

"I never wanted to answer questions about you."

 

"Why? Are you ashamed of me?"

 

Well, his publications had been going downhill because of Mr. Lee, there is no project that he worked on with huge and successful impact for the past year.

 

"I just don't want people to know about you. They will get curious about you, I knew about those girls who used their connection to see you through my father."

 

"Those people wanted money."

 

"They wanted you, using money as a cover up. I knew things like that because I would do the same too."

 

Not his first time dealing with that but to have someone worrying about it is actually nice. He laughed at her because of it.

 

"Then why now?"

 

"You're back to Sky , I heard."

 

Jungkook had planned to tell Yeri by himself a few weeks ago, but she refused to see him. That's why he didn't have any chance.

 

"So what?"

 

"I wanted everyone in that company to know you are my boyfriend. I don't want to deal with.."

 

"They don't care."

 

"They cared a lot."

 

Yeri gets up from her seat and takes off her shoes before grabbing a bottle of juice from his fridge.

 

"I was the subject of gossip at that company for months."

 

"That's because you're coming in and out as you please, like my office is your playground."

 

"I won't do that again, I have a conscience. I put those people through a nightmare.”

 

“They don’t know what you did.”

 

“Well, so the answer is?”

 

She doesn't seem to deal with this argument about what she did to Sky again, she changed the topic real fast.

 

"You can do whatever you want, and tell your managers to bring out a few boxes to my office so I could stack them on everyone's desk once it gets released."

 

"Good."

 

There is a huge smile on her face, it's easy to see even though she's trying to hide it by opening the fridge door and taking out a few packs of bread.

 

"There's another thing.."

 

She stopped suddenly and now her expression is getting serious or awkward, he can't tell. He walks to her, until he's standing next to her staring at her eyes.

 

"I’ll tell my mom to stop filling this up for you, the fridge I mean.. I'll do it from now on."

 

Her voice could barely be heard at the end of her sentence, he's tilting his head because he still doesn't completely get what Yeri meant.

 

"I was the one you helped, I don't want others returning the favor on my behalf."

 

He became curious as to what exactly was going on with Yeri and her parents earlier today that she is behaving like this.

 

"I'll take care of you, I'll work hard too."

 

She pushed him away and started to leave the kitchen but he held his hand and forced her back to stand in her previous position. He didn't say anything but stared at her until she pulled her hands from his grip and avoided his eyes.

 

"I will definitely be lacking a lot, you know how clumsy I am, I didn't know what to do when you got sick, I didn't know how to cook, but I'll learn."

 

She's trying to leave him again so he held her waist this time, locking her whole body on both of his arms, so she won't move.

 

"You won't die in my care, I swear. Now let me go."

 

Instead of letting her go he tightened his arms on her and she gave up on trying to leave now. She's sighing before looking up to him.

 

"Do I even need your permission to do this? To treat you better?"

 

Yeri receives no answer, the only thing she got was a bump on her forehead. A light one but she can see Jungkook better and closer like this.

 

"Why are you doing this?"

 

She's not sure if talking to Jungkook about this is a good choice or not, she's not responding to him so he moves his hands from her waist to her head, cupping her face slowly.

 

"The reason?"

 

His voice is soft but still intimidating for her. It is obvious that he wants an answer. A proper explanation.

 

"I want to work hard for you too. So you will always remember what I did everytime you're thinking your life isn't worth living anymore."

 

That's what Mr. Kim told Yeri earlier, he said that when he learned Jungkook was doing revenge for him through Yeri, he was afraid of losing her. Because she finally found a life purpose and it turns out to be a lie, he thought she'll choose the same thing with Seokjin. To die.

 

But he was surprised when she didn't, she put all her efforts to ruin Jungkook and Sky, it wasn't a good move but she didn't lose her will to live. She worked hard.

 

And that's when she realized the only reason she decided to keep on living even though her life was  a complete mess, was because she remembers what Jungkook did for her. The way he dealt with his nightmare, the way he made her feel loved. His efforts to make her smile.

 

Even though she wasn't sure about his true feelings back then, she felt better remembering someone else worked so hard for her, that's why she's still continuing to live until today.

 

"My brother failed to see that. Your sister worked so hard for him but he didn't consider her efforts when he decided to die. It was late but I realized it now, I don't want to be like him."

 

She uses her hands to hold Jungkook's face and squeeze his cheeks when he's completely petrified without saying anything to her.

 

"You should have realized by now too."

 

He finally took his hands off of her and looked at her while chuckling. He looked so pretty with that smile.

 

"My parents told me that I shouldn't run away from you too often because I looked pitiful without you, they told me not to act strong at all. I always get sick everytime i break up with you."

 

"You never listened to them."

 

"I've been a bad daughter for my whole life, so I think I will listen to them about this. I can't keep arguing with them , right?"

 

The way Yeri talks and words come out from her are so pretty. It is probably one of the best things he ever heard his whole life.

 

"Absolutely, you should at least agree with them on one thing."

 

He gives Yeri a hug and refuses to let her go for quite some time. It is the most comfortable place he has ever been his whole life. A place where he has nothing to hide anymore, where he can be good and bad at the same time.

 

"I'm back to Sky because I thought seeing you less will benefit us, I thought we shouldn't meet too often, but now I'm regretting it."

 

He was offered his position back on Sky for months. Mr. Kim has taken care of everything for a long time but he never really thought about it seriously before Yeri got mad at him a few weeks ago. He thought she would get tired of him, that's why he decided to stop working with Mr. Kim, so she would see him less.

 

"I hate to see my dad ordering you around anyway, so it is good that you're back."

 

She kissed him before telling him that she wants to come home, he said no of course. He wants her to stay and rest here so he can be with her even though that means they need to take turns to sleep because of their nightmare.

 

Yeri told Jungkook to wake her up after two hours for her turn but it's been almost four hours since she slept, and he won't wake her up. 

 

He caressed her hair when her eyes started to open, those puffy eyes.

 

"You have an hour left."

 

He talks near her ear and Yeri smiles at him while closing her eyes again.

 

"You're so good at lying, I almost believe you."

 

She hugs his neck and tells him that she can see the clocks behind him.

 

"You can sleep for another hour."

 

He hugs her back because Yeri doesn't seem to have enough energy to get up, her arms on his neck are slowly losing grip.

 

"No, I'm waking up right now."

 

She finally gets up, her eyes are still closed but slowly opened when he gives her a kiss. She didn't say anything but took her phone while coming out from the room. He can still see her until she turns to the stairs and is gone.

 

***

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