Chaerin stood in front of her closet as she looked at the clothes she had. Taking a dress out, she thoroughly inspected it. A decent cream dress with lace on the sleeve and a modest knee length. "This looks good", she mumbled.

Something went off in her mind as she put the dress back. Grabbing her phone, she sat down on the floor as she opened the internet.

'Jeon Elenor', she typed in the search bar. A number of results popped up of a woman in her mid 40s. Chaerin quickly looked through the top ones.

Designer Kim Minja designs custom dress made out of 1500 Swarovski crystals for Socialite Jeon Elenor for the 21st Blue dragon awards.

Seoul Collectors edition - Jeon Elenor and her 130 Hermes Birkin bag collection.

"1–130!", Chaerin stuttered. "Alison has 20 and I thought that was too much. These bags cost like $15,000 for the most basic ones"

She continued reading as more results popped up. Each boggling her mind more than the previous one.

'Classic beauties of the industry - a look inside Elenor Jeon's closet and how she brought back tweed in fashion'

'Chanel honours South Korean socialite and business woman Elenor Jeon with a custom Chanel boy bag made with 24k gold. Calls her one of the most loyal customers their brand has ever had'

As Chaerin scrolled more, her heart sinked reading all these high profile news about Jungkook's mother. It also didn't help that she decided to open images to see pictures of the woman dressed impeccably looking an absolute classic beauty that young girls would fantasise to be and other women would kill to look like.

She looked back and her dressed and gulped. The tag of the online store she brought it from tangled and the '$59.99' came into her view which didn't help at all. Taking a deep sigh, she opened her bank account app. Quickly scanning through her balance, she was relieved to see she had enough to get one of those designer dresses.

She quickly got dressed as she called a number. "Hello Aunt Song Hee, its me Chae. If I want to get a good formal designer dress, where should I go?"

———•••———

Alison looked at the man as she adjusted the white sheet covering her body. She watched him struggle to put on a pair of jeans as she sighed. She had a good time then why wasn't she feeling good? Her heart sank and so did her body as she relaxed on her bed, paying no attention to his actions.

"So, same time tomorrow?"

"What?"

"I asked, same time tomorrow? Are we doing this?", he asked removing a cigarette as she watched him light it.

"I'll uh text you", she quickly replied. "But are you leaving already? You can sleep here I don't mind"

"No I am leaving", he said blowing the smoke out. "I have a party to be at later. And text me by morning so I know. If not, I'll let my ex know I am available"

With that he walked away. Alison gritted her teeth as she watched this. Who the fuck did he think he was treating her like a piece of trash. But the anger soon changed into loneliness and pain as she heard the front door close and she was all by herself.

She stood up grabbing her own clothes lying on the floor as she headed to the restroom. She put herself under a hot shower as the water trickled down her face while she stood aimlessly. Alison liked doing this. Maybe because it masked the tears which mixed with the water.

A sudden emptiness took over her. The feeling of realising that no one really loved her. She could have all the fun she wanted but at the end of the day, the other side of her bed was always cold. Not one man that looked at her like she meant the world.

Not a man who looked at her the way Taehyung used to look at Chaerin or the way Jungkook looked at her now.

Why couldn't she find someone to love? Was something wrong with her? At the thought of this, she sat down, curling her legs close to her body. Her mind went through every failed date or attempt at being in a relationship she had in the past. The way each one of those men kept her around only for the physical intimacy and how none of them actually showed her what affection was.

Was she jealous of her best friend? She probably was. She wanted something like Chaerin not something that belonged to Chaerin. Another smiled popped on her face amidst the tears as she thought about her best friend. At least she was happy, and that meant the world to the woman.

———•••———

"Do you have something in pink?", Jungkook asked the salesman as he looked at the display of dresses. "Maybe a Satin dress in that color?My girlfriend loves a soft pink"

The salesperson nodded and removed a dress for Jungkook to see. "Wow", he said as he observed the delicate fabric. His eyes scanned the neck line and he shook his head. "Nope she will not wear this. Sorry to bother again but can you tell me if there is a modest version of this? Like with a less plunging neckline? I know she will not wear something this showy"

"We have one in the back, I'll go check for you", the man said and left. Jungkook stood there scanning through other clothes he thought Chaerin would like. While he was busy doing that, his phone ringed.

"Yes Mr Cha", he said to the man who was his father's personal secretary.

"Jungkook, your parents came in town early and they wanted to see you now. Can you come to the private dining room at Ritz Carlton in half an hour?", he said.

"Half an hour?", the man asked confused. "I mean we are meeting tonight so why again in the morning?"

"They just wanted me to relay this message to you. I unfortunately am not aware of the reason behind them requesting this meeting. But send me your address, I'll send our driver to pick you up"

Before Jungkook could say something, the man ended the call. The sales person came back with the dress which he hastily asked him to pack up. As mentioned, a rolls royce pulled outside the store where Jungkook was. He was greeted by the chauffeur who stepped out to open the door for him.

At the hotel, Jungkook made his way to the private dining space as he was asked. He stopped as he saw his parents in the distance. His dad showing his mom a necklace he had bought for her. He smiled as his mom watched the piece in admiration. 27 years of marriage and probably hundreds of gifts later, she still acted surprised.

He made his way to the table as the duo looked up. "Jungkook-ah", his mom said reaching her arms out to him. The man showed his bunny smile as he immediately hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much son", she replied kissing his cheek. "I missed you mom", he replied like a young boy.

"Dad", he proceeded to give the man a hug. "How you been?"

"I am good Kook, how's Harvard?", his dad said as he guided the man to sit down. Jungkook took his seat as he signaled the server to fill his wine glass.

"Harvard's good. Tough but still good", he noted. "Are you the top performing student?", his father asked with a smile even though Jungkook knew that wasn't supposed to be a gentle question.

"One of the top performers, yeah", he craftily answered.

"One of the?", the man leaned back in the chair. "Thats quite a diplomatic answer son. Maybe something more precise? A standing perhaps"

"I was third", he quietly answered. "Last semester. Probably second this one"

"Anything other than a one is not accepted", his father stated passive aggressively while maintaining his gentle composure and Jungkook tried his best to not clench his jaw.

"I mean I am okay with not having the first one. Chaerin's always takes that position and I am proud of her because she puts in so much work. I would rather cheer her"

At the mention of Chaerin, Jungkook's parents seemed rather uncomfortable which the former noticed. He knew what direction this could possibly go in and he knew he had to act fast.

"You'll know when you meet her in the evening. Dad, I am not an overachiever but she is exactly what you wanted me to be. She has read each and every one of your deals in detail. She basically fangirls over your work a lot. I don't want to scare you but you might get some questions tomorrow which you will not be prepared for"

Jungkook's dad cleared his throat. His mom stepped in to reply. "Jungkook I don't think we can do the evening dinner with you and your friend—"

"Girlfriend", he corrected sternly. "She is my girlfriend"

His mother sighed. "Yes, girlfriend. We cannot do that. We are having dinner with one of dad's associates and we want you join us for that"

"Why? We planned this long ago. You cannot change plans like that"

"Mr Qing is flying in from Hong Kong and I need to meet him to discuss funding", his dad cut in. "He is willing to invest $5.5 billion in our tech fund. I cannot say no to him for dinner"

"Fine", Jungkook replied. "I'll get Chaerin along too"

Both his parents went rigid as they looked at one another. "You cannot get her", his father sternly said. "Its rather unprofessional to have someone not related to the company or our family sitting in on such meetings"

"Unprofessional?", the younger one echoed. "I have nothing to do with the business yet you want me to meet your associates. Chaerin is far more qualified to be on that table than I ever will. The consulting company she worked for advised on tech mergers and acquisitions running in billions. She has developed a lot of experience in this. You are better off having her there"

Jungkook'd dad was getting visibly irritated as he heard this. "You are not getting her. And you are coming. That is final. You are not associated to the business now but when you come back to Seoul after a year you will join. Its best you take advantage of my network right away. I don't care about a petty dinner which we can adjust anytime, Mr Qing and this deal is more important"

Jungkook scoffed. "We made that plan a week ago. How can you just change up like this? I told you both I was going to introduce Chaerin and I wanted you both to meet her. Is dining with your associate more important than meeting the person your son wants to spend his entire life with?"

"Jungkook don't jump to any heavy decisions here", his mother warned. "You don't know if you are spending your entire life with her"

"I know mom because I have been dating her 2.5 years now. And you would too if you ever saw us together. Don't think that I don't know you have tried to avoid every meeting or dinner I set up in the past. But I am firm on my decision here and I will not take no for an answer"

"Do not talk to your mother like this", his father warned. "Are you going to act like this and forget all we have taught you for a woman?"

"A woman?", Jungkook clenched his jaw. "Thats my girlfriend. The woman I love. I will not let the both of you negate her existence like this. And its all right if you don't want to meet her. I would much rather not have Chaerin meet someone who is going to have her crying by the time she gets home. She is a good person who was looking forward to meeting you both. Heck mom she read somewhere that you like peppermint cookies so she baked an entire batch just for you. But if you are going to treat her poorly which I know you will, let's cancel this dinner completely"

With that he pushed his chair off and picked up the bag with the dress as he made his way out of the dining room. His mother yelling his name fell flat to his ears as he tried his best to avoid his eyes watering.

———•••———

When he reached Chaerin's house, he opened to the kitchen smelling like cookies. He saw the woman trying to put on a necklace in front of the mirror.

"Oh Kookie", she turned back to see him. "I was just doing a trial for what I am wearing in the evening. How does this dress look?", with that she did a twirl for him.

Jungkook smiled as he whispered a gentle "beautiful" to her. The smile soon faltered as he  saw her picking up a bag. "I got this for your dad. He said in an magazine he likes Japanese literature and that he is fluent in the language. So I went to this vintage store which had original illustrated mangas from early 1900s. I think he will love it"

"Chae", he spoke. "Uh—the plan is actually cancelled"

"What?", the woman was surprised. "Cancelled? Why?"

"They had an emergency dinner meeting request with an investor, I am sorry"

"Its all right", she smiled but Jungkook could hear the disappointment. "It happens, you know, sometimes things take priority. Totally understandable. Next time then. Its good now I have more time to prepare meeting them", she chuckled. "Only issue is what do I do with these 55 cookies I baked. Can we pack and send them these gifts?", she asked. "I know they'll like them"

Jungkook nodded as he walked up to her. "Yes we can, they'll appreciate it"

A lie.

He watched her enthusiastically find a gift wrap to pack the manga and a box to fill these cookies in. An unexplainable fear took over his mind as he saw this unfold. Something told her the path ahead was not going to be an easy one.

———•••———

"Sir"

Jungkook's father looked up as he turned to see his secretary. "There's a package for you from Jungkook and a certain someone named Shin Chaerin. And one for madam as well. Seems like cookies based on the label"

He raised his hand to see the parcel. Opening the bow, he separated the lid of the box to find a manga from a series he had read a while ago. Flipping through its pages, he observed the content before putting it back.

"Toss it out", he casually said. "I don't need this"

"Boss are you sure?", the man asked knowing the value of the book he had been gifted.

"Yes", Jungkook's father sternly replied. "And trash the cookies too. Elenor will never eat something like this", with that he went back to working on his file.