A week had passed since Jungkook’s incident, and she was trying her best to take her mind off the boy by going back to work. She realised that staying at home and moping around wasn’t the best solution, and it didn’t help that Junghyun was asking to see Jungkook and Taehyung all the time. She didn’t have an answer for her daughter, merely saying that they were busy - but she could tell that the girl wasn’t buying it for long either.

Work was her solution to escape her thoughts six years ago, and it seemed like the only solution right now as well. Mina was surprised, but she didn’t ask anything else and merely agreed - after all, which manager wouldn’t want their star employee to head back to work?

“Junghyun, eomma is going to work today. Be good and go to school, I’ll see you tonight okay?.” She said before pecking the young girl’s head while she nodded, “Yes eomma. Will you read me the bedtime story that Uncle Jungkook always reads to me?”

She hesitated for a moment - she had remembered him mentioning that the story he had told Junghyun was the story of the both of them. She didn’t know if she’d be able to talk about it without tearing - but that was a worry for 10pm Jihyun, not 8am Jihyun who was rushing for work.

“Okay, I’ll read it to you. I love you, Junghyun.” She smiled and the girl put her short arms around her mother’s neck, “I love you too, eomma.”

Her schedule consisted of a music awards show today - and she liked the fact that she was going to be busy the whole day. Vogue was in charge of the artists’ photoshoot at the music awards, and she knew that she would likely be running around coordinating and interviewing the artists - the hectic life made her think less.

Arriving on the set at the National Stadium, she glanced to the side to see many artists getting ready for the show. She looked at the setlist for the day and silently heaved a sigh of relief when her assistant didn't mention BTS's name. Her heart couldn’t help but worry - on one hand she wanted to get closure with Jungkook, but on the other hand, she was vulnerable every time she was around him, and she hated how she’d shed tears for him once again.

But she ended up having the biggest surprise when a familiar voice called out her nickname, “Ji!”

She turned around slowly to find a smiling Taehyung running towards her, and the rest of the members trailing behind - including Jungkook.

“You look beautiful today!” Taehyung exclaimed and the rest of the members nodded, one person in particular seemed extremely astounded as he continued staring with his lips parted. Jihyun was decked in a lilac dress decorated by Swaroski crystals twirling from the top of the dress to the hem. Decorated by another crystal bracelet and a pair of gold earrings, Jungkook’s eyes landed on her neck, where the necklace he gave her completed the look. He gave a small smile and she seemed to have noticed what he meant as she subconsciously covered the necklace when their eyes met. She looked beautiful, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“T-tae?” She mumbled softly, “What are you doing here?” She asked and he looked confused. “We’re here for the awards show?” He said with a perplexed expression and Jihyun furrowed her eyebrows, “My assistant said you guys weren’t coming…”

“Yeah, a performance was cancelled last minute so we're here. You don’t seem happy to see us.” Taehyung said with concern laced in his voice, and Jihyun didn’t say a word. “Are you avoiding us?” He asked again.

“I’m not avoiding you guys.” She said as she avoided contact by looking somewhere else. She knew Taehyung wasn’t convinced, and neither was Jungkook. He opened his mouth, and Jihyun waited for him to say something - anything at all, so that she could hear his voice. But he merely closed it and bowed his head down without a single word.

She hadn’t seen him in a week, and even though he looked more energetic than before, his face still looked rather pale and the girl had noticed him limping slightly as he approached her. She looked towards his hand and saw that the bandage had been removed - leaving a small cut behind.

“Jihyun, you’re up for the red carpet interview!” Her colleague called out and she breathed a sigh of relief, “That’s my cue, I’ll see you guys later!” She said as she ran off, ignoring Taehyung’s calls.

“She’s not avoiding us, she’s avoiding me.” Jungkook said all of a sudden, causing the members to turn towards him - but the youngest was already walking away silently to the dressing room.

As much as the members had asked him not to overwork himself, he went back to his crazy overworking schedule right after he was discharged as that was the only thing that could distract him from all his late night thoughts. The members decided that there was no way they could change his mind - Jungkook was stubborn to the core, and no one could change him once he had made up his mind. The only thing they could do was to be there for him and remind him to take breaks from time to time.

He didn’t talk much, only speaking when he needed to, and more or less cooped himself at home or in his room whenever he had free time. Jin was the only one he had continued to pour out his feelings to, and the older had patiently listened to all his worries - he knew that the solution to the youngest’s problems since six years ago was Jihyun, and the only solution to him will always be Jihyun.

“A whole day of trying to cheer him up, and the moment he sees Jihyun he’s a goner.” Jimin sighed as he watched the youngest small retreating figure - the whole mood of the group had dampened immediately. They had tried their best to cheer Jungkook up, but nothing was working. They had thought the barbecue they had earlier made him feel slightly happier - after all, food was the way to the boy’s heart, but once he realised that Jihyun was avoiding him, a wave of sadness and disappointment washed through his body.

--

Just when Jihyun thought she’d successfully taken her mind off Jungkook, he had to appear in front of her again. She was noticeably distracted that she hadn’t even realised the person who was approaching on the red carpet.

She stayed frozen to her spot when she saw the person she had to interview. She disliked the girl with every single fibre of her being, but she had to remain professional - after all, that was her job.

She could see the slight glint and surprise in the girl’s eyes when she saw her approaching, but she remained unfazed - she couldn’t lose her cool in front of dozens of cameras.

“Hi Miss Lee Nari, it’s really nice to have you here at the Seoul Music Awards this year.” She read off the script and Nari put on a seemingly fake smile, “It’s really nice to be here too.”

She looked at the script and seemed stumped for a good 5 seconds as she looked at the next question that was up, but Nari had taken the liberty to peer over at her script before giving a smirk and asked, “I see that you have a question for me.”

Jihyun continued clutching tightly and staring at the script, tears almost welling up in her eyes.

“H-how do you feel about disclosing your relationship with BTS’s J-Jungkook?” She managed to squeak out before holding her breath as her heart raced nervously, “He’s an amazing guy and I’m lucky to have him. We’re very blessed and in love, and we hope that everyone will continue to support us.”

“A-ah okay, thanks Miss Nari…” She said with an expressionless face as Nari walked off - she could feel her heart sinking again.

Little did they know that 7 people were looking through the monitor at the red carpet and almost lost their heads from the interaction.

She wanted to escape the venue right away, but she merely pulled her head back to prevent the tears from falling, and trudged on as she continued with the interviews for various artists.

Screams filled the venue for the last artist, and Jihyun knew who was coming. She didn’t know if she was ready for it, but she held her breath nervously when she saw 7 men getting out of a car. Taehyung wore a wide grin and approached her for a brief hug when he arrived on the red carpet before whispering, “You did well, Ji.” She forced a smile out to prevent him from worrying. She just wanted to be alone, away from Nari and Jungkook. She had thought that she’ll be able to handle the situation, but just the thought of them being in a relationship killed her. She wasn’t doing well, and all the hurt over the years came rushing back to her again.

She saw Jungkook’s concerned eyes casting towards her, but it took every ounce of her willpower to not look at him. The other members gave a reassuring smile towards her, and she continued on with the interview with Jungkook’s eyes on her the entire time while her heart was racing furiously.

When they all finally left the red carpet, Jungkook was approaching her and she glanced sideways - ready to bolt.

“Don’t run away from me, please. I just want to talk.” He said and Jihyun swallowed nervously. “If you have time, can you come and find me after the awards show?” He asked and Jihyun nodded hesitantly, “Okay.”

--

She couldn’t take his eyes off her the entire time he was performing, and he knew she was watching as he glanced at her from time to time. Taehyung had noticed it all as well. The way the girl’s attention was on the younger’s the entire time, the way she had grinned slightly when he smiled brightly - he knew the girl was in love with Jungkook, but he wanted to believe there was a chance to change her mind, albeit a small one.

The show ended in the next hour after the group had finished performing, and she shuffled expertly to the dressing room - calming her heart as she stood at the door.

When she entered, she had not expected to see Nari sitting next to Jungkook.

“What are you doing here?” Nari asked in a shrieking voice, “You don’t belong here.” She spat sharply and this time, Taehyung and Jin stood by Jihyun’s side. “You are the one who doesn’t belong here.” Taehyung said with a voice full of menace while Jin placed an arm on Jihyun’s shoulder.

The sight of the boys ganging up against her and what Taehyung said had seemed to spark anger in Nari, as she gaped in surprise while glancing around the room - seemingly searching for something. What they had not expected was Nari grabbing the plastic cup on the table before flinging it onto Jihyun, causing the girl to be drenched in water. “This is for showing up in places where you don’t belong and clinging onto Jungkook oppa.”

Loud gasps filled the room as the members shot concerned looks towards Jihyun while the girl scoffed loudly, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Ji! Are you okay?” Taehyung turned to the girl and saw that her outfit had been ruined, “Someone get her a towel!” Jin called out and Hoseok ran to the nearest chair to grab a hand towel.

She glanced at Jungkook to see the boy gaping and frozen to his spot, and anger shot through her body. Why had he not defended her? Why didn’t he say something? Wasn’t he the one who had asked her to come here?

“Are you really not going to say anything about this?” Jihyun spat angrily and there was a hushed silence in the room. He continued staring blankly at her before speaking, “I-I… Ji…”

“Did you ask me to come here to be humiliated by her?” She said while angrily rubbing her dress - it had been ruined.

“No! I genuinely wanted to talk to you!” He argued and Nari interjected, “Talk? What’s there to talk about? You guys have already ended things six years ago.”

“You really need to shut up.” Jihyun said with a clenched jaw, and she could tell that the members seemed surprised - they had never seen her this angry before.
 

“Did you just ask me to shut up?” Nari said angrily and Jihyun stood tall, “Yes, I did. What are you going to do about it? Take another cup of water and splash it at me?”

Nari was enraged, and just when she was about to take the remaining