ACT VI |SCENE XXX

❝RUMOUR❞

LUNCH HAD GONE without a hitch and seokjin didn't seem to be pulling any stunts again. though yoongi did notice that look he usually had when he was contemplating a hunch on his face. the entire time they were eating, seokjin's shrewd eyes would bounce from yoongi to rian and then haneul, all whilst holding an easy conversation.

if yoongi hadn't spent such a long time in seokjin's life, he probably wouldn't have been able to tell that the wheels in his head were turning. but he had, and couldn't help but wonder just what his friend was thinking so deeply about. honestly, at that point, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know.

a few hours later, all four of them were in the elevator and seokjin appeared to be less distracted by his thoughts than he had earlier. whether the conclusion he had come to on whatever was on his mind was a good or bad thing was yet to be seen.

yoongi pushed the button for the reception as he listened to the man chat animatedly with rian. he wasn't really paying attention, but from the fragments he picked up, they seemed to be talking about some country they had visited at one time.

meanwhile, haneul stuck by his side, eyes seemingly droopy. "are you sleepy?" he whispered, looking down at her. "a little." she mumbled, bobbing her head in a nod. pursing his lips, he patted her head reassuringly, not knowing what else to do. she beamed up at him, eyes blinking shut as she held on to his arm and leaned against him.

when the ding announced their arrival at the reception and the doors slid open, seokjin and rian were the first out, still avidly conversing about the sights they had seen. he glanced up, eyes staring past the glass doors of the building before widening. yoongi was stepping out after them, haneul still clinging to him when seokjin suddenly turned tail, urging rian with him and forcing yoongi back into the elevator. he managed to slip back in before the doors slid shut.

"what the—?" yoongi stared at him in confusion as he pushed one of the buttons to a random floor without really looking. "why did you do that, hyung?" he watched the man suck in a deep breath. rian looked at him curiously, brows pulled together.

"yoongi, remember when that stupid rumour about me dating that one actress was all over the place and that one reporter wouldn't stop bugging me even after both our teams had denied?" seokjin began. "yeah, he only stopped after you threatened to sue him and get him arrested for harrassment and stalking if he didn't leave you alone." yoongi nodded, perfectly recalling how seokjin felt suffocated by the persistent and unwelcome presence in his life.

the rumours had been sparked by the fact that the two had been photographed when they had coincidentally left a restaurant within seconds of each other, so that it appeared that they were leaving together. it was such a huge deal at the time that it was practically impossible to live in south korea and not come across the news.

every instance where the two had happened to be in the same vicinity was dug up, and both their teams found it so difficult to convince the public otherwise. seokjin couldn't do an interview without being asked about his supposed relationship with seo harim. and questions on whether or not the actress was dating seokjin were brought up whenever seo harim appeared on a show to promote her new drama. even after the news finally died down, there were still fans who wanted the nonexistent relationship to be real.

yoongi thought seokjin had handled it quite well in spite of how exhausting it had obviously been. the only aspect that had driven the model right up the wall was the one reporter who trailed him even when the rumours had been washed up by the wave some other big news, repeatedly requesting for an interview on the matter. it was one of the few times yoongi had actually seen seokjin lose his ever present cool.

the doors dinged open, making seokjin look away from him. he quickly pressed the button to shut them once more, his finger moving to the button for the reception again. he turned his attention back to yoongi as soon as the doors had closed.

"well, i just saw him standing outside the building." he said. "there can be only one reason he's here. and it's not me." he shot a pointed glance at the little girl with her eyes shut and arms wrapped around yoongi's forearm. yoongi's gaze met rian's at that, unsurprisingly finding concern gleaming in her irises. he was pretty certain she hadn't quite recovered from the ambush back at the hospital not too long ago.

"so, you guys stay here and—"

"i'll handle it." yoongi cut the man off. "what?" seokjin frowned at him. "it's my problem, so i'll go." yoongi replied. "no, i'll deal with it. i know how to handle reporter jo." seokjin shook his head. yoongi carefully peeled haneul off his arm, letting rian hold her. "hyung, it's fine. it's something i should handle, myself. you don't have to worry." he made to open the elevator doors again.

seokjin moved into his path, blocking him. "no. i'm serious, yoongi." his stern voice stifled all of yoongi's protest. the younger man looked up at him and found hardened eyes staring back. taking a deep breath, yoongi backed down, well aware that he wouldn't win. "fine."

at that, seokjin's features instantly eased into a soft smile. "alright, you two stay here. yoongi, you'll go make a report at the front desk that reporter jo is loitering on the property, since this pavement also belongs to the building. knowing him, when the security gets him to leave, he'll just move to the other side of the road. that's when i'll approach him and accuse him of stalking me again. while i'm distracting him, you guys can leave."

yoongi nodded his understanding, pushing the button to open the doors once more. they all stepped out, rian and haneul moving to one corner of the reception and staying out of sight while yoongi approached the front desk with seokjin trailing behind him.

as soon as the security moved the reporter off the property, seokjin exited the building. and as he had expected, the man hadn't left but rather relocated to a spot on the other side of the street. seokjin briskly approached him, instantly stirring up a believable act of a furious man.

yoongi watched for a moment, feeling grateful for having such a good friend in his life – even though he'd been planning the man's death only earlier in the day – before beckoning rian over. taking his keys from the valet, he quickly unlocked the car and placed the bags in the boot whilst rian carefully buckled haneul in the back before she ducked into the passenger's side. slipping in behind the wheel, he shot one last glance in seokjin's direction before speeding off away from the scene.

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unedited bc i'm lazy and i've got a headache