[ edited with Grammarly ]

Aeri tapped her chin as she examined Nahee with eyes squinted. She took a foundation case and opened it, pressing the sponge inside to check if the liquid was enough.

Before she started, she asked Nahee, "are you okay with stick foundation or liquid foundation?"

"I'm okay with any. But the stick foundation works quicker, and using liquid foundation seems sticky." The way Nahee spoke reminded her of how she sounded she was used to using make-up. To cover up the way that sounded real, she added; "I guess?"

Aeri chuckled warmly, making Nahee chuckle with her. Her smile and laugh were contagious and they reminded the sitting girl of her cousin. She had the thought of not wanting to jump to the conclusion, she wondered if it was Hoseok who changed her or if it was Aeri being herself.

She remembered the theory that Namjoon made. The changes are fake love and true love. Being inexperienced in love makes her feel stupid.

"Anyway, let's begin."

Nahee smiled when Aeri put down the circular foundation case and fetched the stick foundation case instead. Aeri took out the cover and revealed the bisque-colored stick. She then applied it on Nahee carefully.

"You don't need concealer since you have smooth skin." Nahee chuckled at the compliment. She did not say much as she let the brunette apply the foundation to her. She was sure Aeri would not cake up her face since she only smudge the stick with one stroke on her forehead, both sides of her cheeks, and on her nose bridge.

By the time Aeri concealed the stick and covered it with the cap, changing its direction to the brush instead, Nahee opened her mouth to say, "Aeri-nim, can I ask you something?"

There was silence for a few seconds before Aeri's chuckle broke it. "Kim Nahee, don't call me 'Aeri-nim'," she said. She then looked down at her as she spread the bisque-colored smudge on Nahee's cheeks as she continued with a kind smile, "call me 'Aeri eonni'."

"You don't mind if I drop my formalities with you?" She asked and paused. "We just met personally today."

Nahee's comment made Aeri smile. "I ain't that kind of person who is fussy over the people I just know. Letting them be awkward around me as they call me 'Aeri-nim' or 'Kang Aeri-ssi'. I don't mind if they want to call me 'noona' or 'eonni' as soon as they know me," she paused as she moved the brush position to the forehead once she was done with the cheeks region.

"Besides, I know you."

"You know me?!" Nahee asked, almost exclaiming at Aeri. She was only able to move her eyeballs to see Aeri's face. She had to remain her head still since she did not want Aeri to get disturbed by the slight movement she made.

Nahee was surprised. She didn't want Aeri to know that she was Jung Hoseok's cousin because she needed Kang Aeri to investigate and interrogate her.

"Yeah, for someone lucky being Jeon Jungkook's contracted girlfriend and choosing to use him for 25 months, that's you. Kim Nahee," Aeri stated and Nahee released a silent relief sigh.

So, Kang Aeri knew her for being Jeon Jungkook's contracted girlfriend. And since she brought up the time that Nahee picked to use Jungkook, it seemed that she had broken a record at the company and is well-known for that.

"What do you want to ask me about?" Aeri questioned, snapping Nahee out of her trances a while ago.

"How long have you worked for the company?"

Aeri hummed before she answered, "I joined the company when I was 23. So, I think..." She stopped to count.

"It's already six years then," she continued.

Nahee's eyes enlarged when she realized Aeri was a year older than Hoseok.

There, there. She has no intention to be a busybody, alright?

"What are you actually?" Nahee interrogated. Aeri didn't seem to be affected by her further question. "Since Jungkook has actual work as a gym coach so, I'm sure you have actual work too."

"I'm a dancer," Aeri quickly answered. That had a little bit explained why Hoseok seemed to be attracted by the dancer. He must've seen her dance. Hoseok loved to dance too.

"I'm a dancer in a club. I entertain people," Aeri added.

"What dance do you dance?" Nahee asked like an innocent child and that made Aeri chuckle.

"I dance to any genre, but due to most requests from the customers that visit the club I work at, I dance to pole dance the most."

"Pole dance is sexy," she muttered quietly. Aeri smiled as she knew what the younger just muttered. "Aren't your contracted boyfriends get to freak out?"

"What for?"

"You know, sometimes seeing these things while you entertain customers like that might get them jealous."

Aeri softly smiled as she put down the stick foundation and brought eyeliner, lip gloss, lipstick, eye shadow case, and mascara closer. Just a preparation just in case she needed them quick.

"Most of them don't mind, because they understood that we're the only contract. They didn't control me too much or be overprotective to me," she paused. She applied lightly a small line of eyeliner on Nahee's eyelids.

"Except one."

The sudden two words that slipped out from Aeri's lips almost made Nahee stop breathing because she could expect who they referred to. She did not ask who but she asked, "what did he usually do when he knew your task for that dance?"

"My workplace measures a lot for the costume we have to wear to match the genre and the song was chosen for our dance," Aeri explained.

"Our pole dance requires quite a lot of sexy moves, sexy clothes, and sexy glares. To get a lot of money they said," Aeri halted and chuckled. She made Nahee chuckle too as the younger could feel the burden of being a dancer with tasks like that.

However, Nahee sensed the vibe later would soon be saddened although the words that the brunette expressed later didn't show its true feeling. "One day, he came to visit my workplace to see how I was doing."

"And then, what happened?" Nahee asked.

"I noticed he looked uneasy just by sitting there when I made some sexy eye contact which wasn't for him," Aeri said.

Nahee could imagine the uneasy look that Hoseok made for Aeri. Whether it was the dance she made or the sexy glare that made him like that, she was not sure. And whether he was jealous or he was purely uneasy.

"We planned to go out for a date after I have done my work. But the date didn't seem like a date when Hoseok expressed how he disliked how I danced. He said the dance didn't suit me." Aeri chuckled after she finished her words.

Nahee didn't say anything but anticipated the taller girl's next words.

And she didn't realize Aeri mentioned Hoseok's name nor the speaker herself didn't realize she just slipped his name.

"I felt offended and disappointed. I asked him why he was like that. But he didn't answer me at first. I sulked and left him. And we kinda fought. Serious fight. I never had a serious fight with any of my clients," Aeri halted. She fixed the smudge that she accidentally wrongly placed on Nahee's face with cotton that had dampened with a make-up remover solution.

"I asked him again, why was he like that. I asked him whether he was jealous or something. And want to know what? He admitted!" Aeri softly chuckled, and Nahee followed suit.

"I was out of my mind that day, because of how I felt offended that he disliked my dance. It almost sounds like he offended my work. I yelled at him that he has no right to tell me what he dislikes about me. I almost remind you that we're only contracted, but not until..."

There was a long silence. Nahee waited for her patiently. She noticed Aeri gulped her saliva from the way her neck just moved.

"Until he yelled at me and said he loved me, that's why he said that because he worried about me..."

Silence again. But not until Aeri added, "I felt it was genuine that I got speechless and my anger just suddenly vanished."

Nahee looked down at the table that was filled with make-up sets. No wonder Hoseok looked like he was deep fallen into a dream when he told Nahee to try her luck for a contracted relationship. And she wondered if the warning about deciding the time was the most important of all.

Now that she thought, should she regret choosing 2 years and a month for her contract relationship?

"Aeri eonni," Nahee called, finally finding herself comfortable to drop her formalities with her.

Aeri answered her with a short hum as she still busied herself with the make-up.

"If you don't mind answering this," she paused, trying to be considerate about Aeri's feelings. "How is that guy? I mean, erm... Like his personality, how he acted around you, how different he was around his friends."

Aeri chuckled again, attempting to enlighten the atmosphere.

"He's caring, sweet, and smiles often. He's the one who reminded me of our first anniversary. He's the one who counted our days the most and we celebrated monthsaries every five months." Aeri stopped for a moment as she took a look at Nahee. She then dropped the thing that she had in her hand on the table.

Thinking that Aeri had done, Nahee looked up at her, studying her expression. She was sure that she saw Aeri's eyes sparkling as if she was trying to tell that she was yearning for something.

"He's funny and cute. When I got stressed because of my work, he would always be there to enlighten me. And he's always been there for me regardless of his busyness."

Aeri then continued, "talking about his friend, I've never met any of his friends but if I ain't wrong, I've met his cousin."

Eyes widening, Nahee expected Aeri would mention Kim Namjoon. Her brother!

"Nam... Namchon? Namsoon? Namwoon? I have a blurry image of his name."

Nahee almost snorted when Aeri let out some random names, but she managed to hide it by pursing her lips. It was not her fault anyway. Perhaps, they only met once or twice which made Aeri find it hard to remember Kim Namjoon.

"He became more clingy even though his cousin came with his girlfriend. As you know, he acted like he wanted to protect me from something. And not to forget, he was more considerate, more careful when he treated me."

Then, there was a short silence. The room was only to have the sound of the ship buzzing.

"Do you miss him?" Nahee asked out of the blue.

Aeri softly laughed and answered, "to be frank, I do."

She genuinely told her...

Nahee then decided not to ask more. Maybe, getting the answer until these points were enough. Let the others she figured out by herself. Or it would be better if she let these go and look forward to them in the future.

Who knows one day Aeri would decide to stop working for the contract relationship company and find love for real next time. Nahee anticipated her next true love was Hoseok but she didn't want to put her hopes high because she knew she didn't have the right to determine someone's love story.

"Ah, we talk a lot, aren't we?" Aeri said as she walked to Nahee's behind. She then placed her hands on Nahee's shoulders.

Nahee looked at the big mirror in front of her and admired herself on it. She almost couldn't recognize herself through the reflection. Because she was mesmerized by her beauty, she concluded the work of Aeri was better than she did by herself.

"So, you like it?" Aeri asked with a huge grin on her face. She was fully satisfied with her work.

"I don't feel like that is me," Nahee uttered.

"The theme for the dinner night is going to be like the masquerade. Our CEO somewhat wants the night to look like Taylor Swift's Love Story music video. You know like the Romeo and Juliet kind of thing," Aeri stated with a twist of dislikeable on her face. "Aish, our CEO is so an old-timer..."

Nahee laughed at Aeri's comment.

"We'll be given a face mask if we want to use it. And..."

"And?" Nahee was curious about the sudden halt from Aeri.

"And I'll offer you a nicer mask, makes you a little unrecognizable. Because I want to see how Jungkook plays a game." Aeri smirked at the end of her comment.

As Jungkook was mentioned suddenly, her mind remembered that she must remove the make-up when it was time for their date. But then, to think of the relation between the man and Aeri, Nahee looked at the older blankly because she had no idea what Aeri meant.

Plays game?

"What do you mean, eonni?"

**********

At the same time, Jungkook was in the hall, making sure the preparation for everything was going well as planned. He stood there with Mingyu, another boyfriend's choice of the company, looking at the sketch plan which was prepared by their CEO himself.

He was running away after hearing Yoongi's and Taehyung's conversation when he coincidentally bumped into Mingyu who was looking for him to ask him for help regarding the plan. Jungkook chose to help him rather than stay in his room or he would end up getting found by the duo.

He looked up at the ceiling and imagined seeing the full structure of the hall in his mind, and then looked down again to compare it with the sketch in his and Mingyu's hands.

They have three more days until the gathering. Preparing in advance was better than doing it at the last minute. The hall wasn't a small one.

Despite the big size of the hall, Jungkook was being cautious of his surrounding which got Mingyu got himself questioning if he was okay.

They were discussing something when Taehyung and Yoongi were suddenly seen entering the hall while talking something. The way they conversed seemed like they were talking about a very important topic which led Jungkook to conclude that they were discussing how to persuade him to ask for help, knowing that he was as stubborn as a mule.

Jungkook watched them through the peripheral vision of his rounded glasses, he pulled Mingyu's arm suddenly and lowered his head a little bit. Mingyu was quite surprised at the sudden pull and started to ask mentally if the guy beside him was alright.

Taehyung and Yoongi walked straight, probably didn't notice Jungkook while he dragged Mingyu slowly in a circle to avoid them from noticing him.

The planned paper was shaking as Mingyu's steps were stuttering when Jungkook dragged him. Their backs were backing Taehyung and Yoongi who just walked passed them.

"Jungkook-ah..."

"Hide me!" Jungkook said, half-yelling.

And Mingyu was only been able to stand there as his cover. His posture stiffened as the raven-haired man pulled him closer.

"Are they still there?"

"Who?" Mingyu asked while staying still in his position, only able to roll his eyes to look at his friend.

"Taehyung hyung and Yoongi hyung."

To help his friend, Mingyu turned his head back to check. First, he checked on the right side, but no Yoongi's and Taehyung's figures were seen. And then, he checked on the left but the results were the same.

After that, he looked at his friend who was looking at him with the tail of his eyes. Jungkook couldn't even move an inch, stayed stiff, and signaled Mingyu to tell him something.

"They've gone somewhere," Mingyu said with an assuring tone. "I guess..."

"Mingyu-ya," Jungkook sighed. "Please confirm..."

"Okay, they're not here. I don't see them around," Mingyu said.

The man who had rounded spectacles on his nose bridge released a relieved sigh.

"Phew, my life was almost halved."

Mingyu raised an eyebrow. "Anything happened? Did you cause trouble?"

Jungkook made a glance at him with his eyebrows and frowned. "You don't need to know."

The guy who was a little taller than Jungkook then shrugged. He was not going to force his friend to tell him about his problems. Furthermore, they were only close friends who hung out for fun. It would be rare for any two of them to share a problem.

On the other hand, Jungkook felt a little nervous for an unknown reason. Could the feeling be telling him to be careful in the future?

Combining Taehyung and Yoongi, that would be a strong duo. A duo who would reach out to their target to get him.

Two versus one. Two men with an important main target versus a stubborn man.

Who do you think would win?

**********

Nahee waited for her boyfriend outdoor, where a wide area was prepared for activities. A swimming pool was located in the middle of the area. The water glistened in blue tiles as white light lit to brighten the pool.

The water moved in tiny swashes as two couples were seen enjoying themselves submerging their body in it. One couple was at the corner of the pool, while the other was having a swimming lesson. It didn't bother the other couple though.

Nahee curved her lips a little when her attention was made to the boyfriend who taught his girlfriend how to swim.

The boyfriend purposely let his girlfriend go with a supporter on her arm. But it seemed that she couldn't comprehend the supporter, she drowned.

Quickly getting her waist to support her, the boyfriend chuckled when his girlfriend coughed.

"How come you drowned when you've got the supporter with you?" Nahee heard him comment jokingly, and the girl looked like she was insulted.

"Yah! Did you swim as soon as you're born?!" The girlfriend scolded as she slapped her boyfriend's chest.

The man then laughed for a while before apologizing to his sulking girlfriend and continued to their lesson.

Nahee wondered how long have they been in a relationship. They seemed so close. To think of hers and Jungkook's, they were already five months. Had the couple been together five months too? She doubted that. The couple seemed a few months older than hers and Jungkook's.

Not to drag his brother in this matter, but she wondered how her brother and his fiancée were when they were five months old in their relationship.

Could it be better than the one she was having?

She snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed a familiar figure came approaching her. She turned her head to see him entirely and smiled, seeing the man was smirking at her.

"How long have you been staring at the pool?" He asked. He then noticed a well-toned muscle man was in the pool with his girlfriend. "You've been staring at that guy?"

"What? I didn't!" She quickly denied which made Jungkook smirk.

"Then, why were you smiling when you watched him?"

"I just..." Nahee stole a glance at the couple for a while. The man was seen supporting the girl's thigh as her legs waddled in the water. "They're cute."

Jungkook made a glance at the busy couple and then back at Nahee.

"But we're cuter," he said as he pulled Nahee closer by the waist. She gasped in the air at the sudden action.

"Yeobo," Jungkook called, making Nahee surprised when she heard him calling her with the pet name. "Let's go."

With an arm around the girl's waist, both of them walked away from the area.

Nahee blinked her eyes multiple times as she tried to register Jungkook's voice that just called her by the name she couldn't expect a moment ago.

'Yeobo?' She blushed to remember it. 'T-then, what should I call him?'

___________________________
|| A/N ||
I hate when my typos end up like this:-

Jimin - Jimon, Jimun, Jikin
Jin - Jim, Jom, Jik
J-Hope - J-hoe, J-Hole(I hate this one the most......), J-Hooe
(This is why I rarely call Hoseok J-Hope. I prefer calling him Hobi)
Namjoon - Namjoin, Namboom
BigHit - BigHut, BugHit

Reneejiabjvip sees these a lot...