I wanted to see you smile

"Hyung," Jeongguk stared at him in shock. No one was supposed to know about this place yet Jimin had found a way.

"We were looking everywhere for you and we find you in this small garden sort of place," Jimin said while looking around to find a tall green tree providing shade to the bench Jeonnguk and Cecilia were sitting on. Cecilia. Jimin took a double-take to make sure the girl was really there. "What is she doing here and is she wearing your jacket?

"It's a long story," Jeongguk replied while dragging Jimin out of the place and waving at Cecilia, before dragging Jimin away further.

"Hey hey hey stop that," Jimin replied, pushing off Jeongguk's hand. "You already wasted so much time, so might as well tell me."

"I went out for a break and found Cecilia in a bad state, so I gave her my jacket and then we were chatting," Jeongguk explained.

Jimin stared at him like 'Is this a joke?'.

"That's all that happened?" Jimin asked, his eyebrows raised up. "She didn't tell you why."

"Not really, I'm guessing the group was not nice to her, but why does that concern us?" Jeongguk stopped walking and asked Jimin.

"Because this is the first time I have seen you act like yourself in so long," Jimin replied with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Jeongguk asked confused. He didn't understand what Jimin meant. He was acting like he always did with anyone .

"You were really smiling like how you used to with no worries or sadness," Jimin replied, thinking about all the good times they had and how the only worries they had were the ones that could have been solved.

They were all closer to each other before got into relationships. No matter how many promises you make, after getting into a relationship, you have different priorities. This case, they lost Jeongguk because they thought he was fine because his girlfriend always told them that he was fine, but now they knew he wasn't.

Jeongguk thought about his hyung's words and he hated to admit it, but Jimin was right. For a second, he forgot about his bad performance or the fact that he couldn't sing. All he remembered was what Cecilia was telling him, about the good times he had and so he sprinted towards the recording room, not caring to stop for Jimin who was calling him out to wait up.

The producer looked at Jeongguk's panting form with confusion. He had sent him on a break to relax not to get more tired.

"I'm...back," He panted with newfound energy. Jeongguk wanted to take all the positivity he felt and channel it into his voice.

The producer stared at his form that seemed different. His tired eyes were shining with determination and he held his slouching posture high, indicating that he really was ready.

"Start," the producer told him.

Jeongguk took a deep breath and opened his mouth and this time he didn't stutter nor did he feel his heart-stopping from the anxiety slowly taking over his form. On the contrary, he felt his heartbeat relax and he felt a sense of peace taking over him as he sang the lyrics. His mind was in his own utopia as he closed his eyes, forgetting his surroundings.

Slowly, the song came to an end and he fluttered his eyes to meet the producer's whose eyes crinkled with joy and his face held a smile.

"You actually did it!" The producer exclaimed with joy. He was so happy to see him back to normal as Jeongguk used to be his favourite because it wouldn't take more than one or two takes for him to be done.

"Yeah, I did," Jeongguk said as his face quickly perked up into a huge smile.

The boys had all gathered to watch once they heard about Jeongguk.

"You are back!" Namjoon exclaimed in happiness causing Jeongguk to snap his head back and give them a smile.

They all rushed towards Jeoongguk and enveloped him into a hug. Happiness. Content. Love. He felt all those emotions and more as one is his hyungs ruffled his hair.

"This calls for a celebration," Jin stated.

"We are definitely making Jeongguk pay," Taehyung replied.

"Sure," Jeongguk replied as they walked back to the practice room to perfect their new choreography.

********

Cecilia smiled as she watched Jeongguk wave her farewell.

"Time to go back, I guess," she mumbled to herself as she wore the jacket properly, the jacket falling down almost to her mid-thighs.

She mustered as much courage as she could and walked back to the building. Inside, she stared at the unfamiliar hallways in frustration and decided to play a game in order to choose which hallway might be her destination. After a while of struggling and stumbling, she finally found the studio-she fled from. A deep sigh escaped her mouth as she closed her eyes to gain back her confidence. Then, she opened the door and stepped inside only to be engulfed into a hug by none other than her best friend.

"I can't believe you left me alone with these wretched people," Eira mumbled as she held on tighter to her friend.

"Wretched?" Cecilia questioned with a laugh. "They didn't even say much to you."

"They hurt you and I wont accept it. I still can't believe they acted as animals and pushed you into area of equipment that ruined your beautiful outfit," Eira huffed.

"You know some of us understand English, right?" Youra asked pissed off and soon the other girls had appeared too.

"I'm glad you understand because if you really think I'm going to run again then you are wrong because last time, you got saved by the manager but next time I'll make sure it's just you and me," Cecilia growled in anger. No way was she ever going to let them walk all over her. She was stronger than that and it's not like this kind of behavior was new to her. All she had to do was gain the Manager's trust, and then the Manager would never believe their lies.

"Oh don't act innocent. We know you are trying to break Jeongguk and Yun hee's engagement. I'm sure you were all over Jeongguk Oppa and didn't let him go," Min ji accused her while the other girls smirked.

Cecilia couldn't believe they actually thought that and cringed at the way she called Jeongguk 'oppa'. She remembered that one video where Jeonnguk hated that word and wondered if he let them call him that. Suddenly, her mind shifted to what Youra had said.

What if the other ARMYs thought like that? I'm sure some of them might think that, but not all. Would they hate me more if they found out that I'm an ARMY too? What am I thinking? Of course they would. They would think I'm a sasaeng and I'm not," she kept thinking of situations that she had almost forgotten to defend herself.

"There is nothing going on so just stop," she defended herself. To her luck, the moment she said that, she heard Manager Kang call her.

"Cecilia!" Manager Kang Min exclaimed with a frown on his face. "Why are you still wearing this ripped outfit and who's jacket is that?"

"I'm sorry Manager. I got lost," Cecilia answered politely, then realized she had been wearing Jeongguk's jacket the entire time.

She didn't know what to say and the sweet smell of his jacket that she was unconsciously liking seemed to turn sickening all of a sudden.

"It's definitely for a boy. She is definitely having an affair already, " The girls snickered, making Cecilia's blood boil.

"There is no affair, so be quiet," Eira huffed.

"I will deal with this jacket situation later. For now, I want you to get ready and meet me back here in ten." Manager Kang Min stated, pointing at Cecilia. "The dressing room is right down this hallway, so don't get lost."

Cecilia mouthed a 'Thank you' towards Eira and once again started on a journey through the hallways. At least this time, she knew where she was heading.

Once there, Cecilia knocked on the door and took a step inside.

"Cecilia?" an average height black haired and brown eyed woman asked while resting her hand on her fairly large stomach.

"Yeah," Cecilia nodded.

"I heard you will be taking after me yet I have to do your make up," the woman smiled at her. The first person who seemed genuine.

"Its weird, I know," Cecilia answered as the makeup and hair artist told her to take a seat.

"I know you are not fluent in Korean, so you can talk in English with me. There are a few stylists who know English and a few who don't know," she told her as she touched up Cecilia's make up. "My name is So Young."

"Thanks So Young..."Cecilia replied gratefully but then didn't know what to say. Was So Young fine or should she call her eonnie since she knew Korean?

"You can call me eonnie if you are comfortable and if you are not then So Young is fine," So young told her as she picked the eye shadow pallet up.

"I can say Eonnie, no problem," Cecilia smiled warmly.

"So, who's jacket is this?" So Young asked, noticing the huge jacket that clearly didn't smell girly.

"Mine," Cecilia blurted out without thinking.

"It's fine if you don't want to say, I think I know who this is for, but you will have to take it off," So Young explained, as she focused on fixing the smudged makeup.

"You know?" Cecilia questioned as she moved to adjust herself slightly, unable to sit straight anymore.

"It's for Jeongguk. He is one of the the few people who can afford this cologne and he wears this jacket all the time these days, " So Young explained, making Cecilia flush and want to bury herself underground.

"It's not what it looks like. My clothes ripped and he was kind enough to lend me his jacket," Cecilia defended herself not wanting another scandal. It wasn't fair to her or to the boys, yet the industry was so twisted that the woman believing her wouldn't be enough as her whole group had now witnessed her in Jeongguk's jacket.

"You know, you can relax," So Young told her calmly as she noticed the girl's eyes widen in shock and So Young was sure Cecilia looked more terrified than a mouse who had been caught by its predator. "I'm not going to tell and if you want I can return the jacket."

So Young noticed the conflicting expressions on her face as she said those words. Her whole physique seemed to relax, but as quickly as it came it left sooner as her hazel eyes held a longing for the huge jacket that she cherished in her hands, holding it tighter as if it would disappear right in front of her.

"Do you want to give it to him yourself?" So Young asked, snapping Cecilia out of her thoughts.

"I-," Cecilia tried replying but didn't know what to say exactly. Did she really want to see Jeongguk? Yes, her heart whispered, but she pushed that ridiculous thought away.

"I think you should give it to him yourself," So Young encouraged her thoughts that she had been silencing.

"I don't think it's a good idea like if we get caught together again, another scandal might circulate," Cecilia replied politely, knowing that whatever she was thinking was completely absurd.

"You won't get caught if I call Jeongguk and not you," So Young suggested.

"I don't know," Cecilia replied, not convinced with the idea.

"Cecilia?" a woman with a black bob asked, entering the room with an outfit closed in a bag,

"Yeah," she replied, standing up from her chair.

"Here's your outfit," the woman said while handing her a new outfit which happened to be the same as her old one except this one had a dark purple crop top matched with dark purple boots, complementing her new hair.

"Thank you," Cecilia replied to which the woman pointed to the changing area for her to change.

After putting on her new clothes, she came out and saw So Young smile at her.

"You look so beautiful. Let me fix your hair a bit and then you can go," the stylist gushed as Cecilia took her previous seat.

So Young hadn't mentioned anything about their earlier conversation and Cecilia was glad. Maybe, she could sneak the jacket before she left. Soon, So Young put down the curler and gave her another smile.

Cecilia stood up nervously and walked towards the door.

"Almost there," she whispered almost too soon as she heard So Young stop her.

"Cecilia meet me here after you are done at seven," So Young told her to which Cecilia just nodded.

She went back to the photoshoot while thinking about everything that might happen tonight. There were so many things that could go wrong. This was bad. She shouldn't be near any of the boys.

"Finally you came back," Manager Kang Min stated. "Now, go in front of the camera."

Cecilia stood awkwardly, shy and not sure exactly what to do.

"Pose," the cameraman told her.

Cecilia took a deep breath and remembered how she used to pose for photos by herself in her room. Photography had always been something she enjoyed doing, the only photos she took of herself was when she was in her room or if someone told her to. What she enjoyed was capturing sceneries and other memories not photos of herself because there was still a wound healing.

She opened her eyes and crossed her arms, turned to the side slightly showing how her jacket was falling off her shoulder. She kept one of her knees out and the other back while her eyes were cast straight at the camera and her lips held a slight smirk.

The camera snapped a photo and then an another and then another, blinding her eyes.

"That's actually good," the cameraman replied. "Can you do a look where you are smiling freely?"

"You can't capture a natural pose while telling me to pose," Cecilia replied, a little confused at what the cameraman wanted.

The cameraman thought for a second and signaled her to follow him outside. He took her to a small park inside the company's walls.

"Pretend as if no one is watching," the cameraman told her.

Cecilia rolled her eyes but complied anyway. The first thing that captured her eyes were the swings. Her face lit up as she sat in the swings and started to gently swing, remembering all the fond memories that arose with it. The gentle breeze blew her hair on her face and she removed every strand with a smile. Moments like these, she would want to pause time, but the camera flashes had quickly destroyed her blissful time as she remembered her purpose.

"You are done," the cameraman informed, heading back inside.

Cecilia went back inside to find Eira and the rest of Black Rose ready for group photos.

Everything was a blur to her towards the end of the photoshoot and she wondered if it was possible to get blind from the number of times the camera flashed into her eyes. Sadly, she had no idea how the photos actually looked like and she felt bothered as she would always like to know how she looked like. Photos were rarely perfect to her and she was wishing silently to like at least one of them.

"I can't wait to sleep," Eira groaned as she leaned against Cecilia.

"Tell me about it. I'm so tired and I have no idea how we are going to work as makeup artists since our whole time is drained with idol training," Cecilia complained, feeling her muscles ache. She never knew it was possible to feel fatigued from posing but as an idol anything was possible.

"No clue. Maybe they will give us training after we are done with this," Eira stated, noticing the time.

"Let's not think about it and get to the dorms," Cecilia replied, her whole body screaming: bed.

The girls walked silently side by side and were about to pass the makeup room when Cecilia remembered.

"I have to go," Cecilia replied then rushed towards the place she promised to meet So Young.

Eira shrugged and decided to head back as she knew her friend would fill her in anyway.

***********

Jeongguk felt puzzled as he walked towards the makeup room. He thought about anything he might have forgotten in there, but couldn't think of anything.

He knocked then gently opened the room.

"You called?" Jeongguk asked, looking up at his noona.

"Ah Jeongguk, right on time," So Young said with a smile. "I'm glad you were able to come."

"It's fine, did I forget anything?" Jeongguk asked, but he didn't get a reply as he heard a knock and saw Cecilia entering.

Her eyes had widened as she stared at him, unable to avert her gaze.

"I'm here," Cecilia replied, lowering her gaze as she realized she had been staring him.

"Will you follow me?" So Young asked kindly then looked at Jeongguk with a half-smile. "I'm sorry, I'll be right back."

Jeongguk nodded as he watched them disappear inside.

What's going on? Why is she involved? Jeongguk kept thinking as he sat on a chair, waiting for them.

"Jeonnguk," Cecilia spoke to which Jeonguk stood back up and looked at her. There was something about the way she had said his name. Her accent was flawless for a foreigner and to him it sounded like she had said it with so much meaning and emotion that he had to process the sweet melody in her soft voice.

"Yeah," he replied, noticing how her eyes fell to a black jacket in her hands.

"Thank you helping me and I think this belong to you," Cecilia said with a smile on her face as she extended her hands to give him back his rightful possession.

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble to give it back. I have more than one that looks just like this one," Jeongguk replied while looking into her eyes. "I think you should keep it as memory since you helped me out today."

Jeongguk noticed a blush forming on her cheeks and he felt like he should start keeping a count of how many times that happened.

"I can't," Cecilia answered him, knowing that this jacket would make it way worse than it already was.

"I insist and you can't make me take it back," Jeongguk argued with her then noticed how upset she looked. His eyebrows furrowed, not understanding why she wouldn't want it when countless girls would die to have anything he would give them. "Did something happen?"

"They think I have affair,"  Cecilia explained, shuffling her feet.

Jeongguk's eyes widened and he felt disgusted that she was already going through this.

"Tell them that this was a present and if anyone thinks otherwise then they can talk to me," Jeongguk told her with determination.

Cecilia burst out laughing at his statement, her laughter surprisingly sounding pleasing to his ears. It was the first time he had seen her laugh and he wished to see her do it more often.

"What's so funny?" Jeonnguk asked, suppressing the smile forming.

"Do you think they will not want to kill me if find it you?" Cecilia asked, controlling her laughter.

"Just say, it is for your brother then," Jeongguk thought before he replied.

"Fine, but you sure you don't want jacket?" Cecilia questioned him one more time as she really wanted to get rid of it.

"I'm sure," he replied.

Cecilia nodded.

"Where is noona?" Jeongguk asked, realizing that So Young had been missing for a while.

"She went because she call you so we can talk," Cecilia told him.

"Uuuh, I'll see you later then...hopefully," Jeongguk told her as he left her, not realizing that he was leaving her with the worst yet best present ever.

You can't say that! Cecilia screamed in her head when she heard him say that, but waved at him as left.

********************

This was the first time I had trouble ending a chapter and I can't believe that its more than three thousand words like what.

This was supposed to be posted on Jeongguk's birthday but since I started school on the same day as his birthday, I was exhausted and unable to finish the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Thank you jindenggi for the new cover. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do ❤️❤️

What do you think will happen next?

How will Cecilia and Jeongguk meet?

Will anyone notice who the jacket is for? Will she even wear it?

See you all soon. Bye!!!

lots of love,

Anera