Park Soomi

As Jungkook and I arrived back at the house, we were welcomed by Misa's muffled shout from her room.

"Soomi? You back?" The door clicked open as Misa peeked out, her eyes lighting up as she saw us. "Yay, you're finally home! What do you think of this dress?" she suddenly asked, rushing towards us excitedly before holding up a red dress with a sheer lace top.

"Uhh, it's nice?" I answered with uncertainty, a bit concerned by Misa's overly excited state.

"I bet you'd look stunning in that," Jungkook commented.

"Hmm, you think so?" Misa shot him a beaming smile.

I raised my eyebrow as they continued staring at each other wordlessly, their unusual exchange leaving me both confused and uncomfortable. What's going on here?

"Well," she continued after clearing her throat, "this was supposed to be for Soomi, but we can find you something else to wear tonight, right?"

"Tonight?" I questioned with squinted eyes, though I already had my suspicions. And it sure wasn't something I was in the mood for.

"Mmhm, we're going clubbing. And before you say anything, yes, you are coming. Why? Because you desperately need it after you-know-what with you-know-who. And no, you can't use work as an excuse 'cause you've been working your ass off all week."

"But—"

"And it'll be totally safe 'cause Jungkook will come with us. Won't you, Jungkook?"

I glared with a faint scowl as she delivered a smug grin, knowing too well she had countered all of my possible arguments.

"I'm sure Jungkook has better things to do, right?"

"Well, how else is he gonna see me in this dress," she said before winking at him. Just like that, the uneasy feeling from before returned. I knew it was likely harmless flirting, but I couldn't help growing upset.

"There are more important things Jungkook has to do, like stay with Jimin. You remember Jimin, don't you, Misa?"

Misa tilted her head slightly, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Don't worry, Soomi," Jungkook said, "Jimin doesn't have any plans tonight. I'd love to come."

Misa's face quickly lit back up as her excitement returned.

"Perfect! Come on. We need to find something for you to wear. Can't lie, your closet's a bit tragic for the club scene. I checked. But I'm sure we can find you something!" she exclaimed before dragging me towards her room. I turned back to give Jungkook an irritated look, but all he did was respond with a playful smile as he waved me off to what I knew would be a painfully long couple of hours.

⋆⋅✯⋅⋆

I fiddled with the hem of my dress while taking another sip of my drink. I impatiently waited for the alcohol to hit, desperately needing the extra push to get in the mood to unwind. But right now, the blaring music and flickering lights left my already cluttered mind pounding.

"Slow down with the drinks, Soomi. If you keep this up, I don't think I'll be able to handle you if you get too hammered," Jungkook joked as I moved to take another sip.

"You know, I just wanted to get a lil' buzzed, but maybe I should go crazy just to spite you," I said before sticking out my tongue. Okay, I'm definitely starting to feel it.

Misa laughed loudly as she rested her hand onto Jungkook's, tucking her hair back with the other hand. Though I was starting to feel buzzed, I couldn't ignore him so casually flirting with him before my eyes. Misa was always super confident with guys, but the fact that it was Jungkook of all people? I was about to say something when she stood up.

"I needa hit the ladies' room real quick. But after that, you and I have a date with that dance floor."

Now that I was alone with Jungkook, I was ready to question him, but he was quicker to speak.

"So, Soomi, you finally gonna tell me what's going on with Yoongi? This is the second time you've asked me to come with you somewhere instead of him."

"Well, for the record, I wasn't the one who invited you here with us. And speaking of Misa—"

"Still," he interrupted, "something's obviously wrong, and I need to know if it's interfering with his ability to do his job properly." His face quickly grew serious.

"What, so I kissed him, and he didn't kiss back, and now it's just a tad awkward, okay? Can't blame me for wanting some space from him," I blurted out before fully realizing what I was saying. I bit my lip, a part of me wishing that I was actually drunk to provide an escape from the embarrassment.

"Oh." Jungkook's face shifted from his serious expression to one I couldn't quite read.

"Oh? That's all you have to say?"

"I just kinda saw this coming. That's all," he said.

"What? What do you mean you saw it coming?" I asked, a hint of panic in my voice. Was I just that obvious? Jungkook began laughing at my apparent nervousness and flustered state.

"Come on, 'you-know-what with you-know-who?' Besides, there was clearly a vibe between you two," he said.

"Well, you were wrong. He doesn't feel the same way."

"He said that?" Jungkook questioned, looking a little surprised. I was confused about why he was taken aback now when he seemed unfazed earlier.

"Hmm? Well...I mean, he didn't actually say it, but..."

"Huh..." Jungkook hummed, as if deep in thought, leaving me completely lost. The void in conversation didn't last long, though, as Misa finally returned.

"So, you two ready to have some fun?" she cheered.

"We need to talk first," I said, not allowing for any more interruptions as I grabbed her by the arm and guided her away.

"What's going on, Soomi?"

"You and Jungkook?" I asked, the disapproval pretty evident in my voice. However, she didn't notice the tone of my voice as she shot me a sheepish grin.

"Ah, my bad, is it weird being around us? Sorry, I never told you. I've kinda just been testing the waters," she said with a giggle, "but no need to stick by us. You should find some hot guy while you're here too!"

I simply ignored her last statement, still in disbelief of my friend's behavior.

"What about Jimin?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"What about him?" She stared at me cluelessly as I let out an exasperated breath.

"He and Jungkook have become really good friends now," I explained.

Misa still didn't seem to get what I was hinting at. I realized I had to completely spell it out.

"You can't date your ex's good friend! There are rules about these kinds of things!" I shouted. Misa seemed shocked by my sudden outburst.

"When have you been such a stickler for these kinds of 'rules'? I mean, you were fine with me dating Jimin, and there's usually 'rules' 'bout dating your best friend's brother too," she protested.

Trust me. I wish you never dated Jimin.

"Besides," she continued, "it was a mutual breakup. Neither of us was feeling it anymore. I see no reason why Jimin would have any problems with this."

Mutual? I thought back to when I first found out Misa was leaving, flashbacks to the day she had broken up with Jimin. He was heartbroken, and I just couldn't bear to think about Jimin getting hurt again when he finds out about her and Jungkook.

But it struck me: Jimin must not have told Misa how he really felt. She wouldn't hurt Jimin like this if she knew, right? I was torn between telling her against my brother's wishes or seeing him crushed again.

And so I said the only thing my muddled brain could put together in this moment.

"Still, as Jimin's sister, I won't allow it," I insisted. She looked at me shocked.

"What the hell? You don't have the right to do that," she argued, anger building up in her eyes. I knew it was unreasonable, but my head was too distorted to put together a cohesive excuse.

"He's also here to be doing his job. You can't be distracting him."

She scoffed lightly. "Well, you didn't have a problem 'distracting' Yoongi before, did you?"

My lips parted slightly in disbelief as she said this. Before I could even stutter out another sound, she turned back towards Jungkook. I watched in frustration as she grabbed his wrist and headed towards the dance floor.

I closed my eyes for a brief second, deeply breathing as I tried to calm myself. But I instantly regretted this as I glanced back around, realizing I had somehow lost sight of them in the sea of people.

Shit. Where'd they go?

I wandered through the crowd, dodging the clusters of bodies and moving limbs. My heart began beating faster, the pounding feeling even distracting from the chaos of noise and music.

I felt a sudden warmth behind me, and every muscle in my body tensed at the feeling of someone in dangerously close proximity. I couldn't bring myself to turn around. It's fine, Soomi. Probably just some guy who's had a little too much to drink.

As I tried to convince myself of this, I slowly inched away from the stranger. But before I could move further, his hands were suddenly on my waist, the sudden contact causing me to let out a small yelp. My heart skipped a beat in panic as he spun me around, leaving me face to face with his chest.

Before I could even catch a glimpse of the man's face, he swiftly leaned in towards my ear.

"Wanna get out of here?" he whispered, his voice leaving uncomfortable shivers down my spine. His hand now tightly gripped my wrist as I frantically tried to shake him off and catch a glimpse of his face.

But all I could see was the tattoo on his neck, the flashing lights sporadically illuminating the unique design inked onto his skin.

——
{a/n}
Publishing a little late today but still managed to update on Friday hahah I hope you enjoyed!

And thank you to all the people who commented on my update post with words of encouragement and advice! I'm definitely looking forward to what's to come in the story, and I hope you all are anticipating it as well! As always, thank you for supporting me and my writing ☺️💜