The last place Iris wants to be is the company building.

She had full intention to keep her word—Jungkook could call her in when he was done being a dick. Until then, he'd have to function on his own. Iris isn't having any of his bullshit, especially after what she saw yesterday. She hadn't even been gone a whole minute and Jungkook was snorting cocaine. She figured Hoseok must be extremely good at his job, if no one had found out about Jungkook's dirty habit. It didn't make finding out any easier for Iris.

Drugs are not something she's a fan of, only because she's been a little too big of a fan of them before. Her first year of university had been spent on a downward spiral fueled by the white powder, and she'd barely gotten out of it before it was too late. Music had pulled her out of it, despite the industry being a place where drugs thrive and prosper. She saw artists getting so high they couldn't create like they used to, and she never wanted to become that.

Seeing Jungkook like that made her fear that he had or would become that, the epitome of what Iris was terrified of.

Another hazardous part of Jungkook, another reason why Iris should distance herself. No one wants to be associated with the washed-up teen heartthrob turned drug addict. Her brain tells her that, but every other part of her feels so wired to Jungkook. Something about him is magnetic, and as much as she knows better, she can't help it. Staying away from Jungkook would be easier, though, if Yoongi didn't call her in at 3 PM.

This raises a red flag for Iris. Min Yoongi called. The CEO and founder of Ddaeng Entertainment is the one who contacted her personally. The CEO is the guy who handles the big stuff, not the little stuff. The only thing big enough for Yoongi to handle regarding her that could warrant being called in is what happened with Jungkook yesterday. Maybe Jungkook is less different than other mainstream stars than she thought. Maybe he went to Min Yoongi and threw a tantrum over her, and this is her getting fired.

This, in turn, raises even more red flags. She'll be okay without the money from this job, although it will be a major loss. What may be more detrimental than the blow to her bank account, however, is the fact that she'll have been fired by Korea's
most renowned record label. That will not exactly look good on her resume. But what she dreads even more, deep down, is the fact that she won't get to work with Jungkook again. Watching him produce and master and tweak every subtle nuance and detail is mesmerizing. She won't get to bicker with him or sit in his chair or hear his amazing voice. She won't get to see him blush shyly when she teases him, even though he thinks she's not looking.

So she feels an odd nervous feeling churning her stomach as she enters the company building. Iris makes her way up
to Yoongi's office on the highest floor. Yoongi's secretary lets her in, and she sees that Hoseok, Namjoon, and Jungkook are waiting at the table with Yoongi. "Hey." Iris greets awkwardly, sitting down in the empty seat next to Jungkook. She glances up at him, trying to gauge the energy of the situation, but he's unreadable. There's a smile on his face, but it's not one of his genuine ones.

"Good, you're here. I'm just about to play them the song." He says, and Iris raises her eyebrows. He wrote something? Is this the big business that Min Yoongi called her in for?

"Right, the song." Iris says, attempting to seem like she knows what's going on to avoid embarrassment, and Jungkook sends her a wink before opening his laptop and navigating to an audio file. What does he have planned?

The opening notes of the song play, a guitar line reminiscent of Brit Rock. It immediately has a nostalgic, sunny sound to it. But then, Jungkook's smooth and velvety voice delivers the first verse, and Iris tries to keep the surprise off of her face. It's her song. It's Insured. The one Jungkook hated so much last night.

Iris watches the reactions of Yoongi, Hoseok, and Namjoon to avoid looking at Jungkook, even though she can feel his eyes on her. Listening to the song, she decides she likes it a lot. Jungkook took it in a completely different direction than she would have envisioned for the song, but it's good. The melody is catchy and the backing vocals are clean and satisfying to the ear. The production is flawless—of course it is. With Jungkook's attention to detail, she'd be surprised if it was anything but.

"That's nice. That's very nice, right there." Hoseok speaks as soon as the song ends. "Vocals are great, instrumentals are great, lyrics are phenomenal."

"Iris wrote them. I just did the other stuff, but the words are all her." Jungkook brags on her, and Iris can't help the heat that rises to her cheeks.

"I knew we hired the right person." Yoongi says with a small smile.

"That's track two out of twelve done." Namjoon confirms, and the other men nod. Jungkook smiles triumphantly, and Iris tries to be happy about it, but she can't get over Jungkook's odd shift in behavior. "With 81 days to go. You guys are on fire. Keep it up!" He says, and they take that as their cue to leave. Iris and Jungkook walk out of Yoongi's office, and before Jungkook can speak, Iris is speed walking down the hall.

"Iris, wait!" Jungkook calls, jogging to catch up with her. Iris makes it to the elevator and rigorously presses the down button, willing the doors to open faster. Finally, they open, and she steps inside, immediately jamming her finger into the button to close the doors. She isn't quick enough, though, because Jungkook's foot is wedging itself in the crack between the doors and he's stepping inside. Damn him and his long legs. "C'mon, don't be like this. Didn't you like it? Your song?"

"What the hell was that, Jungkook?" Iris snaps, refusing to look at him as the doors slide shut and she presses the button for the lobby.

"What do you mean?" Jungkook asks, concern on his handsome face.

"What are you trying to do?" Iris asks, looking at him finally with her arms crossed over her chest. Jungkook does his best not to shrink under the intense gaze of her caramel colored eyes.

"Um, record an album?" He guesses at the right answer, and Iris rolls her eyes. Of course, he's being difficult. The door opens and they walk out, but Jungkook grabs her hand and pulls her back, preventing her from leaving again.

"What's your angle, Jungkook? I want a straight answer. Are you trying to get me to stay quiet about your little binge in the studio? Is this your half-assed attempt to manipulate me into keeping your secret?" She rambles, all of the questions she's been asking herself since the song played coming out involuntarily. "Are you so ashamed of your cocaine—"

"Shh!" Jungkook interrupts, lunging forward and putting his hand over her mouth, looking around cautiously. "Don't say that so loud!" He reprimands her, big eyes full of fear. She shakes him off, but allows him to lead her into the nearby empty conference room.

"So, that is your angle. You're bribing me, aren't you?" She says, and Jungkook rolls his eyes, pulling the blinds that cover the window to the hallway shut with a snap.

"If you'd let me talk for five seconds, I'd tell you what exactly I'm doing!" He exclaims, whisper shouting at her, and she crosses her arms, hip popped and eyebrows raised in challenge. Jungkook tries not to find that so infuriatingly attractive and runs his tattooed hand through his hair. "I realized you're right. The song is good."

"Oh, don't bullshit me, Jungkook. You were ready to start a fucking war over how much you hated the song last night. Hell, you were willing to go on a cocaine bender—" Iris stops when Jungkook grimaces at the last part. For the first time, she sees how ashamed of that he is. She had assumed he wouldn't care about her opinion of him, but clearly her judgment hurts him. "Sorry." She chokes out. She wouldn't have apologized to anyone else, but Jungkook's charisma has seeped in through the cracks in her walls and nestled itself in a place close to her heart. Her stupid, weak, fickle heart.

"Last night, when you showed me those lyrics, I did hate them." Jungkook admits truthfully. "But not because they were bad, Iris. Shit, nothing you write ever is. It just...hit too close to home." He says softly, looking down at his hands, too embarrassed to look at her. "I—"

"Jungkook, you don't have to tell me." Iris cuts in. Really, Iris doesn't want to know. Telling him that he doesn't have to tell her is her version of Please don't tell me. She's curious, but she doesn't want any more knowledge of Jungkook that she can attach herself to him with. She can't afford getting attached to him. For every bad thing she finds out about him, she finds ten great ones, and it makes everything so much harder.

"No, you deserve an explanation. About how I walked out of the meeting the other day, and about last night." He says, knowing he can't avoid airing his dirty laundry any longer. Iris can't change her fate now, him being so intent on telling her, so she leans against the wall opposite
him.

"All right. This better be good." She says, trying not to show how much this is affecting her. Jungkook wipes his sweaty palms on his thighs and inhales shakily. This is clearly a rough topic for him.

"When I signed for a sixth album, I had a message I wanted to deliver to the fans. I wanted to talk about love. Romantic love." Jungkook begins, and though he's right next to her, he feels far away all of a sudden, as if reminiscing.

"Cliche." Iris chimes in, feeling the need to temper his seriousness with humor. The solemnity of the moment makes Iris uncomfortable. She's scared of what will happen when the dynamic she shares with Jungkook shifts from playful and teasing to serious. She's scared of thinking about him too hard and not being able to stop.

"Classic." Jungkook retorts with a small smile, just like the last time they had this conversation. His smile grows a bit at the sight of her own, but fades when he remembers his train of thought. "I wanted to talk about love because I was in love. My first real love, someone who loved me for me, and not my career or my fame or my money." Jungkook says. A strange emotion laces his typically amicable tone, the way Coca Cola fuses with Hennessy. Burning bitterness combined with saccharine sweetness. Fond memories tainted by an unfortunate end.

"I was head over heels to the point that it was probably unhealthy. Well, it was unhealthy. He got me hooked on coke, as you saw." He says with a soft chuckle, but there's no humor in it at all. Just regret and residual heartbreak. "And then he left me. No explanation, no goodbye, no nothing. And then writing an album about love felt hypocritical, and then every time I tried to write, everything I wrote sucked. I didn't have the thing I loved to do the most or the person I loved the most, and that was...that was hard. All I had was cocaine, so I let myself go." For the first time, Iris sees how lonely Jungkook is. Sure, he's got millions of fans, thousands of people who want to be friends, and his core entourage, but he still feels alone.

"Jesus. That's really rough, Jungkook. I'm sorry." Iris says sincerely. Jungkook shrugs, glancing up at her shyly, as if gauging her reaction.

"Did it to myself." He sighs and Iris frowns. She doesn't like the internalized loathing Jungkook is forming for himself. She doesn't know who broke Jungkook's heart, but she can tell he did quite a number on him. "The song you wrote made me think about him, and lately I haven't been. I don't think about him when I'm with—" Jungkook stops, thinks for a split second before continuing. You. When I'm with you. "When I'm at the studio. I don't think about him anymore. I've been trying to ease myself off coke, but thinking about him was just too much."

"I get it, Jungkook. Addiction is difficult." Iris says softly, and Jungkook winces at the grave word. Addiction. As much as Jungkook hates to admit it, that's what it is.

"I'm ashamed of it, honestly." He confesses. "You've been so great, Iris. Really, you've helped me so much with this album already. And I treated you like shit because I was deflecting my feelings and craving coke. It's pathetic." He shakes his head, as if in disappointment by himself.

"Hey, stop." Iris says firmly, and Jungkook looks up at her from the miscellaneous spot on the floor he had been burning his gaze into. "I understand. I've been there."

"Really?" Jungkook asks, and he can tell Iris is just as ashamed as he is about it. He almost can't believe it—how can someone as radiant and full of vitality as Iris have been where he is? How can someone as beautiful and confident as her have been this low?

"Really." She says, and leaves it there. Jungkook can tell she doesn't want to go into it further, so he doesn't pry. He's just thankful he's got someone to relate to, someone who understands how hard it is. Someone who understands that addiction isn't a choice.

"How'd you get out?" He asks softly, big doe eyes full of hope.

"I got help." Iris says, and Jungkook's hopeful eyes diminish. She knows that with Jungkook's life, he can't risk help. If he got help, it would be all over every news stand and trending hashtag within the hour. Recovering from addiction under the public's harsh criticism is known to be almost as harmful to one's health as the addiction itself. Iris feels awful that Jungkook doesn't get to have the same recovery process as she did. So, despite knowing better, she says, "I'll help you."

"Huh?" Jungkook asks.

"I'll help you. Sometimes you just need someone to tell you that you don't need it. Someone to prevent you from buying it. Someone to get you through the cravings. You can call me when you need someone to talk you through." Iris explains. Jungkook looks hesitant at first.

"I don't want to put you in a hard position." He says, and they both know he means with cocaine. Iris may very well have to be around cocaine if she helps him stop. Her body still craves it from time to time, as every former addict does, but she has been able to control herself before. What she can't control herself in regards to, though, is Jungkook. So she says:

"I'll be okay. You can be that person for me, if it gets to that point. But I think I'll be fine." Iris assures him, and a smile blooms on Jungkook's handsome features. He doesn't express his gratitude verbally, but she can see it in his eyes.

"Did you like what I did with the song?" He changes the topic, lightening the mood. Iris is glad to know he agrees with her on how seriousness doesn't fit their dynamic.

"It was alright." Iris understates, and Jungkook scoffs at her, smiling anyways.

"Wow, I really can't win with you, can I?" He says, and Iris grins at him knowingly.

"Don't be a sore loser, Pretty Boy." She teases him. His eyes light up at her words—sore loser. He can work with that.

"We'll talk about how pretty you think I am later—you just gave me an idea for a song." He says, rushing over to grab her hand before pulling her out of the conference room and down the hall to the studio. All the while, Iris protests thinking he's pretty, telling him not to be so full of himself and he doesn't believe her for a second. They assume their positions on the couch and the chair and begin to write.

And they both feel it—the small golden sparks nestled in between their ribs, the beginnings of feelings that could lead to something beautiful, yet too painfully real for them both to handle.

hiiiii everyone happy saturday

i'm on my way back from vacation nowww eek so hopefully i'll be able to catch up on writing my other books soon!

hope you enjoyed and lmk what you think!!!

xoxox,
r