XXIV. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

If Taehyung was being honest, he had no idea how to work around his apartment's kitchen. Even at the dorm. Everything there is to do with anything other than washing the dishes was almost always beyond him.

"What do you think? Should I call Jin-hyung? I don't think he's awake right now. Should I call my mother instead? Then again, she'd probably tease me to death," he wondered aloud, looking at Yeontan. "I forgot you can't talk."

He would make gimbap but he didn't have any seaweed sheets. Pulling out his phone, he searched for easy breakfast recipes.

The morning was colder than usual so he should try making something warm. After searching for a recipe for dakjuk, he set his phone down and went to get all of the ingredients.

And he was stumped.

"The internet is made for a reason, goodness gracious, Kim Taehyung," he muttered, pulling at the roots of his hair.

He opened his phone and played music, making sure to keep it soft and low so he wouldn't wake his friend up. After that, he perched the phone on one of the empty mugs on the counter. Clapping his hands, he took one of the aprons off the hooks somewhere on the side of the kitchen and tied it tight around his waist as if he was in a montage in a movie where the superhero was preparing for a battle.

"Let's get down to business."

About half an hour later, he was almost finished with breakfast.

There were instances where he was adding more salt or pepper to the variety of food he was making without noticing because he zoned out — more than he cared to admit. But upon looking at the finished product, it looked promising.

He smiled to himself as he started to brew her coffee. Coffee smelled so nice but tasted like how he'd imagine caca to taste like. Why would he have a coffee maker in his apartment when he doesn't like coffee? Even he didn't know. He figured that he must have bought it for the aesthetic. Either way, he was glad that he had one just for the sake of Gyeoul who could barely function each day without her daily dose of caffeine.

"Good morning, baby."

Scarlet immediately rose to Taehyung's cheeks, an uncontrollable smile blossoming across his features.

"Good mor—"

He turned around to return her sweet greeting and his smile instantly dropped.

Gyeoul had Yeontan picked up, smothering the small dog with kisses. She laughed heartily, moving her face away as he started to bump his nose and lick her face. Putting him down, she looked up in Taehyung's direction and appeared to just have noticed him. Seeing the dishes placed on the island counter, she raised her eyebrows.

"Morning, Kim Tae," she greeted, walking up to him and washing her hands. "I didn't expect you to be up so early. I don't see you at work until the early afternoon." She gestured at the plates, "I didn't expect you to be cooking either. You should have woken me up if you wanted breakfast."

Taehyung ruffled her hair with a smile, "I know you prefer going to work early." He poured her coffee and handed it to her. "And I want you to judge my cooking."

"I'm touched," Gyeoul hummed nonchalantly, but her insides were melting into endeared mush.

He picked up the dishes from the counter and brought them over to the dining table. Eagerly placing food in her bowl, he sat down and waited for her to take a bite.

The dancer smiled widely at his anticipation, picking up a spoon to taste the chicken porridge. If he was this excited, then his cooking must really be promising.

She took a bite and immediately froze. Eyeing her friend's awaiting expression, she took many spoonfuls of the porridge.

Clapping, she praised the food with a sweet grin, "Wow, this tastes amazing! Is this a special recipe? I've never tasted dakjuk as delicious as this! Are you sure you didn't order this?"

Instead of feeling proud, Taehyung narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "This feels wrong. You're complimenting it too much and you're smiling."

"This isn't a mafia game, Kim Tae, don't be too critical. I'm smiling because it's the best thing I've ever tasted. I seriously do love it," Gyeoul insisted, keeping the expression on her face as controlled as possible. She took more servings, making Taehyung widen his eyes. "See? I love it so much!"

Taehyung tried to take the serving spoon. "I haven't tasted it yet. Leave some for me—"

"No!" She stomped her foot like a spoiled child and took the serving spoon from him and started to put more in her bowl. "This is mine! If you want more of this then you make more for yourself!"

"Now, I'm really convinced that it tastes bad—"

"It's really good!"

He took his spoon and scooped a gracious amount, dodging as the woman tried to snatch it away. The moment he put it in his mouth and fully mulled over the taste, he spat it out and took a napkin to wipe his mouth, absolute disgust evident in his features.

"This is the saltiest shit I've ever tasted—" his eyes widened as he saw her trying to finish all of it. He sat up and poured water into her cup. "Stop eating that!"

Gyeoul instantly accepted the cup of water.

The idol sighed, placing her bowl away. "Why didn't you tell me that it might as well be a life-threatening health hazard?"

"There are many hungry people in the streets—"

"I wouldn't want to give those people kidney stones either!"

"It's no big deal—"

"What on earth do you mean by 'no big deal?' Darling, you didn't have to pretend that you liked it just to make me feel better! You could have just..."

Drowning out the rest of his ramble, she pursed her lips to keep herself from smiling at his gentle rage. The dancer stood up and placed her hands on her hips, nodding at her friend to follow her to the kitchen. Once she had her back turned to him, she made a face to express her suppressed disgust.

While his cooking was truly inedible, Gyeoul knew very well that she would have finished that serving bowl of dakjuk as if her life depended on it. Just the thought that he woke up early just to make an effort to cook her breakfast made her feel incredibly warm inside. 

"Come on, let's make a proper breakfast," she suggested, putting the used pans and pots in the sink. Taehyung sighed and agreed, making her way over to her. Noticing the disappointment on his face, she propped her chin on his shoulder and lightly pinched his side. "Practice makes improvement, darling. Let's do this together."

Together. He loved the sound of that.

❅

"There's no way you made this."

Taehyung proudly puffed his chest out at his soulmate's comment. His group members were eating the extra portions he and Gyeoul made earlier that day. All except Yoongi because of his shoulder surgery. It was already night so the food wouldn't be as good as it was in breakfast, but the magic was still there when it was microwaved.

"You better believe it," he responded with a smug smile, his bread cheeks made more evident and his eyes looking far-off.

"I'm getting suspicious of the two of you," Namjoon commented, narrowing his eyes at him and leaning back on the couch as he finished the food. "Did you get married in Daegu without telling us? You two are so domestic."

Seokjin gave him a look, "They've been doing those things for months now without any label. Have you caught on only now?"

Jungkook sniffed the air near Taehyung, recognizing the familiar scent of Gyeoul's Versace perfume. "He's starting to smell like her too."

"It's like you're soulmates or something," Hoseok commented. "Fated to meet again."

He shook his head and wrapped an arm around Jimin, "No. He's my soulmate." The light-haired one wrapped his arms around Taehyung's torso and stuck his tongue out in Hoseok's direction. "What I have with her is different. We're—" he paused for a moment to think about it. "I can't think of any word to describe the two of us."

Jimin cleared his throat, "I can." They all turned to him expectantly. He smirked cheekily, "Just friends." Taehyung pursed his lips, prying his arms off of him. Jimin laughed at that. "Tell her how you feel and get it over with! You two stress me out!"

Taehyung sighed, "There's still a lot to think about. I'm waiting for the right time."

"When is it ever the right time?" Namjoon asked rhetorically. "You do know that she can't wait until you change your mind, right?"

Seokjin hummed, scratching his chin. "It can go both ways, of course, since she can also confess first."

"Why would she confess first?" Taehyung asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Did they know something that he didn't? "Hyung, answer me, please."

Hoseok snorted, covering his mouth and looking away as uncontrollable laughs started to escape him. Soon enough, Jungkook started to laugh because of his older member's laugh and started to choke on his food. And then there was Taehyung who still had no idea what they were going on about. Namjoon chuckled and passed him a bottle of water.

"You said it yourself in our first Bon Voyage. You have big eyes for a reason. Use it."

"Does she—"

Speak of the devil, and she shall grace you. Gyeoul opened the door of the reception room and the little pads of Yeontan's light footsteps entered the room. She already had her bag slung over her shoulder. The dancer grinned cheekily and pretended to leave the room, making the tiny dog bark at her. She laughed and held a finger over her lips, gently shushing him and walking inside the room. Picking him up, she looked ahead and smiled at the idols who were watching the interaction.

Seokjin grinned, "Gyeoul, we were just talking about you!" The speed of Taehyung's head whipping in his direction could rival the Flash. The older member pointed at him, "Taehyung here was talking about how much he likes—"

"Hyung!"

"—your heartwarming relationship with Yeontan."

"What did you think he was going to say?" Jungkook asked, teasingly raising his eyebrows up and down. "That you like—"

Taehyung quickly clamped a hand over his younger member's mouth. "Yeah, Tannie is starting to like you more than me so I was just telling them about it."

Gyeoul smiled, passing him to Taehyung, "I'll take custody at this point."

"You're wording it like you're divorced," Hoseok laughed.

She chuckled, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. "I should get going, I'm teaching a class today."

"We'll walk you to the parking lot," Taehyung proposed, already standing up with Yeontan in his arms.

"There's no need," Gyeoul denied, shaking her head. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. "I'm rushing anyway. I'll see you guys tomorrow." With that, she walked away. Peeking through the glass door to prolong her goodbye with Yeontan.

The dog's owner pouted and made him face him, holding him up to meet his eyes. "Don't you dare replace me, Tan. I'll love you more than she ever will." Yeontan probably had no idea what he was saying but he licked his nose in return, making a smile blossom on Taehyung's features. "Very good."

"And she'll probably love Yeontan more than she'll ever love you—"

Jungkook's teasing statement was cut off by a couch pillow Taehyung chucked in his direction.

Basically jogging to the parking lot, she was immediately met by Songyi who was going to assist her in her class that day. He was leaning against her car like an 80s movie playboy, hands in his pockets and looking at her judgementally. Gyeoul smiled innocently at him and pressed the buttons on her keys to unlock the door, letting him enter the car first as she sprinted to the driver's side.

"You're late," he pointed out. He paused, taking a moment to take in how her car smelled. "Is that men's cologne? It smells pretty expensive."

"You're the one making me drive you around and I'm no chauffeur of yours. I feel underappreciated for some reason," Gyeoul responded humorously as she started the car. She raked her hands through her hair and stretched her neck. "And it's Taehyung."

Songyi nodded, not questioning it since he knew that they were childhood friends. He put his seatbelt on and turned halfway in her direction. "Guess who's attending your class today."

"Who?"

"Guess."

"Is that a new stage name?" Gyeoul clicked her tongue, grinning at her friend. She knew exactly who he was talking about. "Guess is pretty unique. I'm excited to meet them."

The other dancer huffed and leaned back in his seat. "Forget it." He looked tiredly at the agency's building as Gyeoul finally drove out. He groaned dramatically, "I want to stop working forever and live in the countryside, sipping tea and never thinking about money ever again." Looking at her, he pouted, "I wish I had your work ethic. The Black Swan rehearsal today was definitely one for the books. Why do you work so hard?"

"To earn money. I like expensive stuff."

Songyi hummed and batted his eyelashes at her, "Gyeoul."

She side-eyed him weirdly, "What?"

"If you're still single by the time you turn thirty, forget about dating and marry me."

"Eunho wouldn't like that."

He perked up at the mention of his boyfriend, "Oh, but he probably will!" Grinning at her, he continued, "We can have a three-way wedding. You're gorgeous, and we're pretty good-looking. We'd be a visual throuple! Then, you'll be our sugar mommy for life."

Gyeoul laughed, "Thank you for giving me the motivation to find love earlier. I don't really want to be surrounded by two leaches for the rest of my life."

"One of them is your beloved friend, at least."

"That's even worse."

Songyi scoffed and leaned back. When Gyeoul thought that would be the last of their conversation, the man perked up once again and kept talking. They were like that for the whole duration of the car ride. Marriage proposals were all that left his mouth and Gyeoul kept riding along with feigned-annoyed statements.

When they got to the studio, Gyeoul waited by the doors while Songyi took their bags and set up the sound system. She had her hands buried inside her jacket, looking down at the pavement and tapping her foot. Sighing, she bit the inside of her cheek and picked her head up.

"Waiting for someone?"

Gyeoul jumped slightly and turned to her side, shoulders sagging in relief as she saw that it was only Yongsik.

"Or are you waiting outside in the cold just for fun?"

"Waiting for someone."

"Do you mind if I give you some company?" Yongsik asked, settling himself beside her as she shook her head. "I'm excited about your class today."

She smiled at his attempts to make small talk. "I'm glad you're not running away from my classes anymore. That must mean that you're not intimidated by me anymore?"

He smiled softly, "Attracted by you, more like."

Her lips parted, caught off guard by his forward declaration. "Thank you?" Luckily, she didn't have to confront the situation further as the one she was waiting for excitedly jumped out of a car. "Hiromi!" The older dancer waved her hands at the girl, momentarily forgetting about the one beside her.

"Eonnie!"

The girl came barrelling towards her with a hug. Gyeoul laughed loudly and returned the embrace with the same intensity. Ever since they met earlier in October, the two have kept in contact, though it was seldom. Gyeoul formed an unmistakable fondness for the younger dancer. She decided to offer Hiromi a free class.

"Thank you again for doing this for me!" Hiromi thanked, her voice a few octaves higher due to her excitement.

Gyeoul smiled, nodding her head at the entrance. "Let's go." She turned to Yongsik, "I really am glad that you took a chance on my classes again."

Yongsik smiled and nodded, following after them.

Inside, the whole room was already buzzing with energy. People were scattered around the studio, socially distanced, of course. As soon as they walked into the room, conversations overlapped each other and gleeful laughs echoed throughout, heightening the hyped atmosphere. The other dancers greeted the teacher for that day with miscalculated fist-bumps and cheers.

Beside Songyi by the sound system was Yunseo, fiddling with the camera that she was going to use to film the dance units later on. She waved at Gyeoul, her heels bouncing as she called her over.

"Gia!"

The said choreographer acknowledged her call and turned back to Hiromi with a gentle grin, "You can start getting ready, we're going to start in three minutes."

Hiromi nodded and scurried off to the side while Gyeoul made her way to her friends. She turned back to see if Yongsik was trailing behind her, only to see him whisked off to a conversation with some of the other dancers. Paying no mind to him, Gyeoul practically skipped toward Yunseo and Songyi with a wide smile plastered on her cheeks, unable to keep herself still due to her nerves and excitement.

"I'm ready!" Gyeoul voiced, doing a messy and weirder version of the choreography she was going to teach.

"Obviously," Yunseo grinned, she raised an eyebrow in Yongsik's direction. "I see you walked in with my cousin. Did he tell you about the collaboration with Kieran Park yet?"

"Kieran Park? The singer?" Gyeoul asked, unsure if she heard her right. "We talked for a bit, but I don't think we got far as to talk about that. Maybe later?"

Songyi snapped his fingers, "That's perfect! Gyeoul and I are eating out after this. You two should join. You can all discuss it there."

Gyeoul left them to talk and went to the center of the room to start the class. Eyes brimming with brightness.

This feeling. The feeling she got when she taught choreography to a group of people who were driven by the same motives — their love of dance. It was as if she was sharing a piece of her soul to color other people with the passion she had for the art. She loved it.

"Let's start!"

The class stretched on for what seemed like a minute. Every moment felt so short. The atmosphere was buzzing with the electricity Gyeoul brought to the dance floor. A common characteristic of her classes, some might say. Musicality was her forte above all else. She had a knack for picking out the little sounds and the textures, creating a dynamic in her style that created a whole new genre. Some would say it's difficult, intimidating as Do Yongsik might say. But an art form that was unmatched.

Groups were being called to perform. Gyeoul performed first before everyone else, but Yunseo said she accidentally forgot to film her portion. An excuse to make her perform all out in the end.

There was one person that stood out to Gyeoul the most. Songyi would tease her to the ends of the world if she did. Her eyes kept training back to him every now and then when they were running the choreo. She didn't understand why he would shy away from her classes. His execution was amazing.

"Can I have Do Yongsik on the dance floor as our last dancer for today?"

A bunch of hoots erupted in the room. Mostly because of the shipping and they considered Gyeoul calling him as 'progress.'

Yongsik smiled and stepped up to the middle of the dance floor. Gyeoul, as she did with the other dancers, raised her fist for a fist bump. That simple action made the whole room go wild.

Songyi, though he was an avid believer that Yongsik and Gyeoul were meant to be together, raised his hands and calmed them down upon noticing the uncomfortable look on the performance director's face. Gyeoul smiled appreciatively at his actions and gestured for him to start the music, standing beside Hiromi on the sides.

"Do you not like him, eonnie?" the younger one asked quietly, looking at Gyeoul with wide curious eyes.

Gyeoul hummed, "In what way?"

"Like like. I thought I saw some chemistry last time between you two."

She chuckled, "I admire him for his dancing skills, but I can't think of him beyond that because I'm barely friends with him."

Hiromi nodded, turning her head back to the dance floor and watching as Yongsik started to vibe to the music.

The choreographer found herself smiling as he performed. He didn't replicate the way she executed it, but somehow he translated it into something else entirely. A good thing. To say Gyeoul was impressed was an understatement. It took her by surprise how much he was able to understand her piece. He made it look easy when it was anything but.

When he finished, everybody cheered. Yongsik immediately turned to the choreographer, a satisfied grin on his face. "Did I do well?"

"You did better than me," Gyeoul answered, fist-bumping him.

"Impossible."

Yunseo huffed, "Stop flirting, you two! It's time we close off with one last solo from Gyeoul!" The said dancer grimaced inwardly but still complied, bowing politely as cheers and hoots erupted from the other dancers. The videographer raised an eyebrow at her. "And I want a full-out performance here, Gia. The maximum one hundred percent."

She smirked, "Yes, ma'am."

'You only show me love when it comes to the music.'

The moment the first beats of Losing by H.E.R. started to resonate throughout the dance studio, Gyeoul shifted into something unnatural. When she's dancing to this genre of choreography, she doesn't set the floor on fire. No. She was an avalanche. A blizzard. A cold entity that treads no mercy and leaves everybody frozen. A storyteller that leaves everyone bewitched.

'I don't wanna keep playin' them games, 'cause I feel like I'm losing.'

The title of the song was Losing, and she was losing herself to the song. After the choreography itself, the freestyle felt long, when in truth, it's only been a little more than thirty seconds.

As the second verse ended, Gyeoul lost focus as she made eye contact with someone from the watchers, which happened to be Hiromi, who was staring at her with her eyes wide. Her chilling persona disappeared and she broke into a shy smile, walking away from the middle of the dance floor as if she didn't kill it.

"Imagine if you choreographed that for idols, the world would collapse," Songyi said, fist-bumping the woman. "No, wait, imagine if you married me and my boyfriend."

"It's still a no for me."

❅

Awkward silence.

That's all there was.

Songyi and Yunseo, the amazing friends they were, left Gyeoul and Yongsik at a McDonald's saying that they had something urgent to attend to. The least they could do is come up with a better excuse.

Clearing her throat, Gyeoul was the first to initiate a deeper conversation. "Yunseo said something earlier about Kieran Park?" 

She got to know Kieran Park's music through Yoongi because they were friends and Taehyung was also a big fan of his. His style of music had to do more with ballads and soft pop. If he were to hire dancers for his music video, the style had to be contemporary.

Yongsik's shoulders sagged in relief at the attempt to alleviate the awkwardness. "Yeah. Yunseo is friends with his little brother and suggested that he used dancers for his new music video for next year. There's no official demo of the song yet, but he wants the two of us to dance."

"A partner piece?" Gyeoul clarified, sipping her sprite. Taking a bite out of his burger, he nodded. "What do you think?"

"Well, I'm definitely interested. Kieran Park creates great music and It'd be an honor to work with him." He paused, smiling at her, "And it'd be a greater honor to work with you."

She let out a breathy laugh, fiddling with the ketchup packets in front of her. "You're very straightforward."

Scarlet rushed to his ears. He looked away, avoiding her eyes.

Gyeoul smiled slightly at his reaction. Suddenly, her phone vibrated, signaling a new message. The woman pursed her lips when she heard the bzzt! because she knew that it was probably Songyi 'apologizing' for leaving her with someone he's been teasing her with ever since August. Still, she picked it up and checked the message.

SONGYI
heyyy

SONGYI
sorry for leaving you :(( i suddenly had something important to do with eunho

SONGYI
but i hope you can still have fun with yongsik ;)

The performance director scrunched her nose at the winky face. She didn't bother replying and exited their chat. She noticed that she had an unread message from Taehyung and pressed it.

TAEHYUNG
PENGWENG

TAEHYUNG
GOGO

TAEHYUNG
OH MY GOD

TAEHYUNG
we saw the tweets and ig stories of your class today

TAEHYUNG
jungkook is crying YOU MADE OUR MAKNAE CRY

TAEHYUNG
and im almost crying too

TAEHYUNG
involve the whole maknae line while you're at it huh???

TAEHYUNG
OH WAIT

TAEHYUNG
hsgfcsgsvc jimin is crying too

TAEHYUNG
your class today was phenomenal i dont need to be there to know that

TAEHYUNG
anyway

TAEHYUNG
get home safe im camping in my studio until midnight if you need me

At the end of his messages, he attached a picture of him holding Yeontan close to his face, Taehyung's eyes were red-rimmed, telling her that he really did cry. Gyeoul was smiling the whole time she was reading his supportive messages. Her heart was so full of him that she can't even function well. She bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from smiling like an idiot, looking away from his messages and remembering that she was eating with someone.

Afraid to appear impolite, Gyeoul put her phone face down on the table and kept eating.

"The picture behind your phone," Yongsik started to speak, bringing her attention back to him. "Are you the little girl?"

Taehyung's messages brought Gyeoul in a good mood. She couldn't help but start to joke around. She placed the phone next to her face and smiled. "I was cute, wasn't I?"

"The little boy beside you can compete. I mean, look at that boxy smile. Adorable."

Gyeoul nodded in agreement, "He really is." She set her phone down again. "That's the childhood friend I talked about in your podcast."

"The reason you taught your first class?" Yongsik's mouth made an 'o' as she nodded. "I thought you weren't in contact? Or did you only recently meet each other again?"

She hummed, looking fondly at the picture in her phone case. "Something like that. We met earlier this year and only realized who we were to each other last month."

Yongsik didn't miss the look in her eyes. "Childhood friends that met again after years? It's like a love story waiting to happen" He sipped his coke. "Fated. Maybe soulmates?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "No, not soulmates." Now that she thought about it, she couldn't think of a word that would define their friendship. "I don't know. But there's no romance to it." She couldn't help but smile sadly. "Not on his part, at least."

"Does that mean I don't have to get in line?" She furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head at him. He chuckled, "I don't know if I've made myself straightforward enough, but I like you, Ahn Gyeoul." She dropped one of her fries in surprise. "I don't expect you to feel the same way, especially since we barely know each other. But what I do know is that I admire you very much."

"I'm sorry if this is a sensitive matter, but didn't you break up with your girlfriend last September? I heard from Songyi." Her fellow dancer faltered, the hopeful smile disappearing. Gyeoul realized that she must have crossed a boundary. "I'm sorry if I went too far." She smiled apologetically. "But what I can offer you is my friendship." She stretched her hand across the table for a handshake. "And collaboration."

Yongsik nodded, gently reciprocating her handshake with a grin.

"I look forward to working with you, friend."

She smiled, already cleaning up their table, seeing as they were done. Yongsik blinked, snapping out of his daze, and helped her.

"Do you need me to call you a taxi?" Yongsik proposed, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"No, I have my car with me. Plus, I have to buy something before I go."

Yongsik smiled at her, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "Alright, I'll be seeing you."

Gyeoul nodded at him goodbye and went back to the counter.

That night, Gyeoul went back to the BigHit Building with a burger and Oreo Mcflurry for Taehyung.

❅

Taehyung was curled up on the small couch in his studio, Yeontan was lying down on the floor with his ball somewhere under the couch. The idol felt like he was floating for that short moment he and his other two members fanboyed over the videos of Gyeoul's class on social media. But that moment passed and he had to get back to work.

Many of the songs he writes circulate around heartbreak and love. Love, love, love, if he thought about it long enough, it morphed into Gyeoul, Gyeoul, Gyeoul. That was the problem. He couldn't separate love and Gyeoul to the point that he can't think of her in any other way but love. In fact, he couldn't think of anything but her.

It frustrated him.

He was supposed to be writing songs, but all he could think about was how beautiful her smile was that morning when they were cooking breakfast together. Warmth spread across his chest. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling with a dreamy grin.

Three knocks suddenly sounded from the door.

Groaning, he got up and tiredly opened the door.

Like a wilted flower suddenly blooming, Taehyung slowly brightened up as he drank in the sight of the very person plaguing his thoughts standing before him with her hands holding a paper bag with the familiar M printed on it.

"Delivery for Kim Taehyung?"

He chuckled, accepting the paper bag. "Can I keep the delivery girl too?"

Gyeoul feigned a grimace, "Sorry, sir, but the delivery girl is too expensive."

Bark!

They broke their gaze and focused on the small dog who appeared to be overjoyed to see Gyeoul. She patted Taehyung's shoulder, brushing by him as she joined Yeontan on the floor.

"Guess what I found out today?" she spoke, looking up at Taehyung who was walking over to sit on the couch.

"The 0.1% percent of germs finally gave up and let themselves be killed by alcohol?"

She playfully rolled her eyes, "You know Keiran Park, right?" Taehyung nodded, his eyes eagerly encouraging her to continue. Laughing, she shook her head. "I was told he was looking to hire me and Do Yongsik for his music video next year."

"No way!" He placed his food on the nearest shelf and knelt beside her. "Please take me with you when you start filming and introduce me to him, Yoongi-hyung never did. I'll love you forever and ever if you do."

"There's no demo for the song yet and it's barely an official proposal." He visibly deflated. Gyeoul chuckled and punched his shoulder. "But I'll introduce you if the time ever the time ever comes."

He smiled toothily, "Introduce me to Yongsik too. He's a great dancer. I saw one of his videos earlier and he was, like, on a whole other level. Hiromi, as well."

"But you and Yongsik already met?"

Taehyung gave her a look, "If you can't recall, I was under a closed umbrella the whole time."

"Alright."

Gyeoul suddenly felt teeth lightly graze her hands, a silent whine from Yeontan because she stopped petting him. She looked away from her friend and brought her attention back to the dog.

"I'll introduce you to Kieran Park and Yongsik and Hiromi if the day ever comes."

NOTE

whenever i read or hear the name 'yoongi,' the only thoughts that automatically follow in my mind are either 'i will sue you' or 'marry me.'

the choreography i had in mind in this chapter was sean lew's choreography of losing by her.

song(s) mentioned in this chapter — black swan by bts | losing by her

11/14/22 — it's been months since this book was published and the yoongi fever has grown even worse especially with his pretty hair omg