III. I DON'T KNOW YOU

A sigh fell past her lips as she realized she forgot to bring extra socks to work. She despised wearing sweaty socks for a long period of time. Figuring that since her training session with Seokjin wouldn't start for another hour and a half, she should buy some at a nearby store. Of all the things she had to forget, she just had to forget one of the most essential ones.

Walking out of BigHit's doors, she placed one earbud on and bounded down the street with her hands stuffed in her varsity jacket.

The sidewalks and streets weren't as busy, seeing as it was 10:30 AM and people were already in their respective workplaces. Skies were painted blue with cotton candy-like white clouds decorating the wide canvas, resembling Andy's wallpaper from Toy Story. Employees from restaurants shuffled on and about, preparing to open in some time, sharing hearty laughs with their neighboring shop owners. A lot would consider it a good morning.

'I don't know you, but you make me wonder who you are.'

The Rose's lead vocalist's voice graced her ear, fulfilling Gyeoul's good morning even more. Nothing was better than listening to your favorite artist on a day like this. It distracted her so much that she almost didn't realize a familiar figure clad in a light brown sweater, tan trousers, and a black mask was about to pass her way. She squinted her eyes slightly, recognizing him to be Taehyung.

It wasn't a strange occurrence for her to pass by idols on the street. It happened to her more than she could count, especially in big areas like this. She would always pretend not to know them and keep on minding her own business. Perhaps they were enjoying the beautiful day like she was. Perhaps they were rushing to make it to rehearsals. Perhaps they were on their way to hang out with their old high school friends. They needed their privacy too.

In her mind, Taehyung was no exception to this, she averted her eyes from his direction and sped up her walking, passing him by.

When she got about a meter and a half away from him, she took a quick at the reflection of the glass of the restaurant she was passing by, only to see that he stopped walking and was looking at her retreating figure, eyes seemingly confused and his shoulders sagged.

Her eyes widened, a slight stumble in her step as she kept walking. Did he want to talk to her? Was he actually approaching her and she just dodged him like a horrible person? Should she go back? She probably shouldn't. What would they talk about? They weren't that close anyway. But he was one of the friendliest people she's ever met, she didn't want him to think she snubbed him.

But you kinda did, a part of her said.

Gyeoul shook her head, ridding herself of the turmoil in her brain, and looked back. He already crossed the road. She sighed and kept walking to her destination, noting to herself that she should buy him a choco pie from the convenience store as an apology. He looked like a choco pie kinda guy.

❆

BTS' demanding schedule had to chop their rehearsals for Dynamite into shorter sessions for the time being to focus more on their upcoming projects and their new albums. For now, she was helping Son Sungdeuk with the performances for their coming Bang Bang Con later on their anniversary, with the occasional training with some of the boys whenever they suggested doing so.

It's been almost a month since her first rehearsal with the group, and so far, it's been a journey. Even though it's only been a short amount of time, she felt like she's been working there for years with how the idols and staff members treated her, even the trainees.

"Gyeoul!" Sungdeuk called, waving her over to him. The choreographer grinned and jogged up to him, greeting him with a polite nod. "Yeonghee wanted to confirm if you're still coming tonight?"

A few days ago, Son Sungdeuk invited her over to his house that coming Friday for a welcoming dinner with some of the other performance directors for Gyeoul as some sort of welcome to the BigHit dance family. Of course, she initially declined since she wasn't totally working for the company, but Sungdeuk showed her a picture of his son and she was immediately on board.

"I mean, I kinda have to, don't I?"

"Yes, you do," Sungdeuk laughed, "Anyway, I should go and let her know." He waved at her goodbye, "Some of the boys are in the studio if you want to check on them."

Gyeoul smiled back at him and started to walk to the studio, a bag of four choco pies in her hand.

Along the way, she was met with Jimin's shining presence walking out of an elevator. He was dancing tiny steps to the choreo she taught them before, taking a few seconds to notice Gyeoul was walking in the same direction as him.

"Instructor Ahn!" he greeted formally with a mocking tone in his voice, linking arms with her. "Do you want to get something in the building's cafe with me?"

"As long as it's on your tab," she teased, allowing him to reroute their destination.

She was somewhat comfortable with all the members, but Jimin, in particular, she got along with the most since they were born in the same year. Admittedly, she hasn't got the opportunity to grow closer with the other 95-liner because he was a bit busy with his mixtape and writing for the new album — what happened earlier didn't help that. Not that she minded, her line of work didn't require close relations.

But having friends is always nice.

And friends don't ignore each other when they pass by each other on the street.

"I'll have a caramel macchiato, please. Whatever she's getting is on me," Jimin told the barista after looking at the menu for a moment. He turned to Gyeoul, "What are you getting?"

"An Iced Americano would be nice," she smiled at the barista. She thought back to the others that must be in the studio. "Is Taehyung in the dance studio now?"

"Taehyung's waiting for me so we could rehearse for Friends, so probably just him."

She hummed, "Should we get him coffee too? What does he like?" Maybe her choco pies alone wouldn't suffice.

"He'll like anything other than coffee."

Gyeoul noted to herself that Taehyung doesn't like coffee. "Then would he like a white hot chocolate?"

Jimin smirked at her, "Look at you making moves on our Taehyungie. Am I expecting a confession soon?"

"Hot chocolate must be really romantic, huh?" Gyeoul grinned. She knew that Jimin was just teasing her with anything he can set his sights on. He once teased her over a guy she made eye contact with in the gym when she was drinking water and it went down the wrong pipe.

"Chocolates were the way to someone's heart back in our high school days."

She grinned and handed the barista her ID so he could deduct the price from her fees. "There's a whole day dedicated to confessing to someone using Pepero, but in my high school, we used to confess using churros because a little churro shop was nearer than the convenience stores."

The idol hummed as if he was mentally noting it down. "So, if you were going to confess your feelings for Taehyung, you'd use churros? Even the gym instructor from the other week?"

"Well, now that I think about it, I haven't given anybody churros even when I was in high school, so if I liked him or anyone, I'd probably give them churros — thank you." She accepted the drinks from the barista with a gentle smile and nodded at him goodbye. "I'm just realizing that I need to watch what food I give to other people now."

He grinned playfully and they bounded down the hallways making more conversation about contemporary dance and their current projects. A part of her wanted to tell him about what happened earlier that day with his soulmate, but she decided against it because she knew that telling him would only lead to more teasing.

"Gyeoul!" Hoseok greeted her the moment they stepped into the studio. "Just the person I wanted to see."

They approached him and Taehyung by the mirror. Jimin narrowed his eyes at him, "Should I pretend that I never heard that? I entered the same time she did."

Gyeoul chuckled and nonchalantly handed Taehyung his cup of white hot chocolate and the plastic bag with choco pies, laughing as her eyes remained on Hoseok, "Is there something wrong? Any concerns that I should know of? And do you know where Seokjin-ssi is? He wanted to train with me before we rehearsed for the last performances."

As she was speaking, Taehyung stared confusedly at the disposable cup then at Gyeoul and Jimin, asking if it was meant to be his or if she was just asking him to hold it for her. Jimin noticed and pointed at Gyeoul then back at his friend then made a thumbs up and a finger heart. The woman turned her head in Jimin's direction for a quick second and he quickly put his hand down whilst sending a discreet wink at Taehyung.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded his head, tugging the corners of his mouth down to suppress a foolish smile, touched that their instructor was kind enough to buy him a drink and whatever was inside the plastic bag even if they weren't all that close. After she ignored him on the street, he thought that she didn't like him. He was glad that wasn't the case.

"Can you hang back after the rehearsals? I wanted to tweak some of Ego's choreography and Instructor Son told me to come to you."

Tilting her head back to recall her schedule, she hummed, "Sure, but I have to leave before seven. I'm having dinner with my seniors tonight."

Hoseok smiled, "Thank you, thank you! It won't take more than an hour." Gyeoul brushed him off, gesturing that she didn't mind. "Jin-hyung is in the next studio, by the way."

Gyeoul hummed, bowing her head slightly at the three, "I'll see you later." She looked down in Taehyung's direction and smiled. "Enjoy."

Seokjin was indeed in the next studio. She found him in the middle of the room, he was laying down like a starfish while Sparks by Coldplay played in the background. It was him drifting off to his own world. 

Her laugh brought his attention back to reality. The older one smiled sheepishly and jumped to his feet, disconnecting his phone from the bluetooth speaker.

"I wasn't about to fall asleep, I swear."

Gyeoul chuckled and shook her head, "No, I don't blame you, you guys have been working a lot these past few days. Plus, I like this song too."

"I heard you were going to dinner with your seniors later," he said, changing the subject. He pulled his arms back and started to stretch in front of the mirror. "From what I know, Instructor Son's wife makes some of the best food. Can you bring some leftovers for me?"

"I can't make any promises," she mused, mirroring his stretching routine. "What did you want to work on today?"

"Grooves, definitely," he replied, stretching his arms back and rolling his head. He observed the indifferent expression on Gyeoul's features. "Something bothering you?"

She scrunched her nose and inwardly groaned, "I accidentally ignored Taehyung on the street today."

Realizing how easily she blurted out what was bothering her to Seokjin made her realize that she was already so close with all of the members except Taehyung. While her job didn't demand making friends with the idols, it still made her feel guilty. One would suspect that she'd be closer to him since they were the same age, but it was the exact opposite.

"How do you accidentally ignore someone?" he teased, a laugh bubbling out of his lips.

Gyeoul glared at him and proceeded to explain her side to the older man whom she slowly started to consider like a brother. As she explained, his teasing lessened, starting to understand where she was coming from. They appreciated it when strangers would give them privacy.

"Then I gave him choco pies and hot chocolate as an apology."

Seokjin hummed, "The choco pies especially are a good call. He's been craving those things for some reason. Don't think too hard about it, he's kind. I'm sure that if you smile at him just once, he would forget all about it."

She shrugged and clapped her hands, ending their catch-up and commencing their training.

❆

"Why do I have to apologize?" the little girl whined, a plastic bag of choco pies swinging in her hand.

"Gyeoul, we already went through this. You called him an ugly piece of xiaolongbao that nobody eats first! You can't just call people that!" her father scolded, frowning at the young girl. "That was incredibly rude."

Her mother stepped up, patting her head, "But that was creative though, not gonna lie." The man's head whipped around to glare at his wife. "I mean, that was very bad, honey. You should go and apologize to the boy right now."

At the other side of the playground, another set of parents and a little boy were having the same conversation.

A pout was evident in the boy's features, giving away the fact that he was displeased with the actions his parents were making him do. He stared down at the white flowers in his hand that he didn't bother to learn the name of with venom in his eyes. Brushing his choppy bangs away from his face, he scrunched his nose at his parents who have been trying to get him to apologize for the past five minutes.

"Why don't you apologize and make friends with her?" the little boy's mother encouraged. "You never know, she could possibly be your future best friend."

The boy's grip on the stems of the flowers he was holding tightened as his face turned sour. "That rude girl as my best friend? I don't want to. I don't even know her!"

His father sighed, smiling tenderly at the boy. "Just because you don't know her doesn't mean that you're not in the wrong, Taehyung. You can start knowing her by apologizing to her," he said, nudging him over in the girl's direction.

The little girl huffed and trudged over in the boy's direction, wanting nothing more than to get her parents' nagging over with while the boy gave his parents one last pleading look before he was pushed in her direction. They avoided each other's eyes as they met in the middle.

Gyeoul pursed her lips, looking over to the side and pretending to admire the trees around them. Her hands were locked behind her back, gripping the plastic bag tighter. Taehyung carefully thumbed at the stems of the flowers, feeling the damp texture distract him from the situation he has to face. Scrunching his nose, he turned back to his parents, but they only gave him a pointed look.

He sighed.

"Hi," Taehyung murmured, his eyes glued to her cheekbones rather than her eyes. He winced inwardly when she didn't reply. "Don't you have anything to say to me? An apology maybe? You walked in front of me when you clearly saw me about to jump off!"

From the opposite sides of the playground, their parents collectively sighed in disappointment.

His words ignited a fire in her, "Well, I would have apologized if you didn't insult me!"

"You insulted me first!"

"I was scolding you for being reckless!"

"And who are you to scold me? My mother?"

Gyeoul growled, "Fine! I'm sorry that your stupid eyes didn't work because you clearly should be watching where you're flying because you're doing something dangerous!" She grabbed his hand and basically smacked the plastic bag of choco pies on it.

"And I'm sorry that you had no awareness of your surroundings! When something like that is happening in front of you, you don't stand in the line of fire!" He aggressively handed her the flowers. "Here! I hope you're allergic to flowers. And just so you know, apology not accepted!"

Little by little, the little girl's fury died down as she realized what type of flowers they were. It was the same type of flowers from her mother's wedding bouquet that she saw in pictures. White carnations. Gyeoul's favorite. She's never received flowers before. Her wide eyes marveled at the petals, bringing to hand up and carefully tracing them with the pads of her fingers.

Taehyung also faltered as he saw the soft expression on her features as she gazed at the white flowers. He would have preferred it if she had screamed in his face again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said about hoping you're allergic. You're not, are you?"

She pursed her lips, plucking one of the flowers from the bouquet. "It was my fault for coming your way. I'm sorry for blaming it all on you and for being rude..." she paused for a moment, feeling icky from being too nice to him, and quickly added, "Xiaolongbao." She handed him the flower.

He grinned slightly, "It's okay. I'm sorry for blaming you and for being rude too." He opened the plastic bag and took one of the choco pies, giving it to her. "Pengweng."

And with a tentative smile shared between the two of them, a friendship to last the ages started to bloom.

❆

Now fresh and ready to go to Sungdeuk's dinner (and wearing her new godforsaken socks), Gyeoul slung her bag over her shoulder and walked up to the door. Exhaustion was spread throughout her body, but still, she was excited about having dinner with the other performance directors. She twisted the knob and opened the door, only to see the idol she snubbed that morning, holding a fist up in the air as if he was about to knock.

They have been seeing each other all day, but they were too busy rehearsing that the matter was pushed aside for the time being. They couldn't even share a few words with each other during breaks because the other performance directors, especially Sungdeuk, kept stealing her to discuss the imperfections and improvements of each performance, and Hoseok, being the reliable dance leader, recalled the steps each time. When they weren't in the same dance studio, they'd probably be at opposite ends of the building.

"Hi," he breathed out, quickly bringing his hand back to his side. "I've been meaning to speak to you since this morning when you..." he trailed off, making Gyeoul cringe.

"Pretended not to know you on the street?" she finished, her nose scrunched in embarrassment. Taehyung chuckled and nodded. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I thought you would have wanted your space and stuff."

He smiled, "I appreciate that. Is that why you gave me peace offerings?" The woman nodded awkwardly, unsure of what to say next. "Thank you for them. If this is the price of getting ignored by you then I hope you ignore me more often. I saved you one by the way."

She gratefully accepted the choco pie and smiled, "I think it's probably impossible to commit to ignoring you. I can't always pretend not to know you."

"Good," he replied, "Because I want to know you." Gyeoul's eyebrows raised at his straightforward statement, gaping at the idol. He realized and quickly attempted to fix his meaning, "I mean, we're not that close, and you know, I think you're really cool and I want to be friends with you."

Gosh, it felt like a throwback to the shy high school days.'I think you're really cool?' Taehyung mentally repeated, inwardly cringing at his choice of words. What was he, sixteen? Looking at the teasing glint in Gyeoul's eyes, he wondered whether he wanted the floor to swallow him alive or be glad that he was the reason to share her laughter. She then started to burst into a small fit of laughter and he realized that the latter was the option that made more sense.

A part of him didn't mind hearing her laugh all the time. Though, he would never admit that to anyone but himself.

The dancer stopped herself from laughing and cleared her throat, outstretching her hand, "Okay, let's be friends." He took her hand, holding it lightly rather than shaking it. "And I think you're cool too."

And they let go.

Gyeoul adjusted the strap of her bag that was slipping off her shoulders. "It was nice talking to you, Taehyung, but I have somewhere to be in thirty minutes."

The sound of his name rolling smoothly out of her lips subconsciously made his smile grow wider. "Of course. I'll text you sometime."

For a moment, they lingered by the doorway, neither making the first move to walk away.

She stifled an awkward laugh, "I'll get going now. See you tomorrow."

Taehyung nodded and stepped aside, laughing as he realized that she had done the same in the same direction. Simultaneously, they stepped aside again and still found themselves face-to-face with each other. Gyeoul laughed, raising her hands up to signal him to stay where he was and stepping away from him. Once she was a few feet away from him in the hallway, she waved at him before walking off.

And he stayed still where he was, watching as she walked past him for the second time that day, finding a sense of warmth in his heart that he could place. Laughing slightly at himself, he shook his head and walked off.

Before she could turn the hallway, she couldn't help but look back. The corner of her lips tugged upward as she watched him walk with a spring on his step.

Adorable, she thought before approaching one of the performance directors that was carpooling with her.

NOTE

songs mentioned in this chapter — i don't know you by the rose | dynamite by bts | ego by bts | sparks by coldplay