Filter

26 || sasaeng?

Jeongyeon tried to calm her palpitating heart as she rummaged through her satchel sitting on the kitchen island. Where were they? How the fuck did she manage to lose such a large bundle in such a short period of time?

Raking a hand through her cloud of silver hair, she paused to take in some oxygen. In order to find the photographs, she'd have to think rationally. Retracing back to a few hours ago, she tried to recall the last time she'd directly interacted with the stack.

Shit!

She'd touched the photographs when looking for her keys in the car, which could only mean one thing. They were either in Jimin's car or in the underground garage. Meaning that the man may have found them. The late afternoon sun streaming through the floor was making her sleepy, and she was beginning to lose focus. Then she remembered one particular photo.

Eyeing the apartment block across the street, Jeongyeon strode to the wall length window and quickly pulled the curtain across, blocking any way of seeing into or out of the penthouse. She then walked to her room and repeated the same process. Then Jimin and Taehyung's. No risks would be taken from this point on.

A short series of buzzes from her phone temporarily distracted her from the task. She rolled her eyes before tapping out a short reply to Nayeon about her whereabouts, chucking the device onto the sofa as soon as she was done.

Dashing back to the counter, she gathered her keys before running to the coat rack next to the door and grabbing her jacket. She was in the middle of the process of putting her shoes back on when she heard the elevator ding down the hallway.

Not giving the sound a moment of proper thought, Jeongyeon simply assumed that it meant the lift had arrived at the uppermost floor.

Leaping to her feet, she yanked open the door, only to be met by a certain asshole holding onto a familiar stack of photos tied with a scrap of hessian string. He was propped up against the doorframe, sporting an irritatingly smug grin that really got under her skin.

"Looking for something, Yoo?"

:|:|:

"Care to explain yourself?"

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes and let out an ugly snort. "No."

The man was leaning against the kitchen counter, staring her down as he absentmindedly shuffled the photos. For the last five minutes he'd been trying to coax information out of her. Naturally, she'd flatly refused all of his advances.

She was spread out over the couch, scrolling through social media on her phone. She wasn't a huge fan of anything other than Instagram and VLIVE, but it would all be better than trying to explain her awkward situation to Jimin.

Absolutely nothing he could say would convince Jeongyeon to spill any information. She was sure of it. Especially since he was being such a jerk about it. What was it to him anyway? A pile of photos of herself shouldn't be such a big deal to him.

Inwardly, she was kicking herself. She wouldn't be in this situation if she'd been more cautious. Hell, she should've left the stack of polaroids where she'd found them in that décor shop. Then they wouldn't be her problem anymore.

And why didn't she just lie and say that they were to fuel her narcissism or something when Jimin first asked? They'd have bantered for a while and then eventually things would've settled down. Things wouldn't have gotten this awkward.

She restrained herself from externally face palming, and instead opted for a loud, drawn out sigh.

"Just say something. It's not that hard, Yoo." She ignored him and rolled onto her stomach. Maybe she should start a VLIVE with ONCE. Then he would have to shut up.

Jeongyeon heard him grunt from her position on the sofa.

"Hello? Anything? Or are you a rock?"

"Yes."

She peeked up at him and watched him run his hands through his hair and exhale loudly. "You are so difficult. Like, it's not funny anymore. I genuinely want to know why you had these. I know that you're not narcissistic enough to carry a bunch of photos of yourself around. So, what's up?"

Sniffing, Jeongyeon rolled back onto her back. "Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy?"

"...What?"

Uncultured swine.

"Never mind."

"You're obnoxious."

"Thanks." She draped an elbow over her eyes, shutting out the artificial glow coming from the recessed lighting overhead. "I appreciate the sentiment."

The apartment once again descended into a depressing silence that swallowed the pair thickly. The atmosphere was tense and awkward and Jeongyeon didn't like it. But it was better than trying to speak to the man. Unfortunately, she failed to notice the quiet footsteps coming imminently closer to her with every passing second.

All too soon, the girl found a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her from the sofa and into the air. Her feet barely skimmed the floor as she was effortlessly carried from the living space towards the kitchen, phone long forgotten on the seat cushions.

Kicking and screaming, Jeongyeon lashed out at her captor. One flailing arm socked Jimin right in the jaw. "Stop! This is rape! You're raping me! Put me down this instant, or I'm telling-"

The man simply snorted and unceremoniously dumped her on the kitchen counter, standing in front of her crossed legs. "It wasn't rape. And I wouldn't have had to do it if you'd simply answered my question the first ten times I asked."

She pouted and looked away. Being corrected was never fun.

"Now, I'm going to ask one simple question. Yes or no. Is the bundle of photographs related to that girl you were anxious to hide from earlier?" He quirked an eyebrow and waved the polaroids in front her face.

"I... I don't know."

"How on earth do you not know?" Jimin rubbed his jaw where she'd punched it earlier.

"I mean... I think?"

He leant on the counter next to her, intently staring at the photos. "What?"

Self-consciously stroking her elbow, Jeongyeon cleared her throat. "I ran into her at the shop, and she dropped a few things. She was also irrationally angry at me. Then she left and I found the photos. She was still outside when I left, which is why I was pestering you to hurry up."

"Sasaeng?"

"I don't know. But she looked really familiar."

For the first time that day, genuine concern flashed across Jimin's features. "What should we do?"

She let out a mirthless cackle. "We? Please, there is no we in this. I am going to do nothing. Just burn the photos and move on."

Jeongyeon leapt off of the counter and attempted to snatch the stack of polaroids off of the man. After a few futile attempts she gave up and turned her back on him.

"And you, Park, are going to stay. Out. Of. It."

Marching back to her room, she slammed the door. The loud bang echoed around the empty apartment. Jimin glared at the direction she'd headed off in.

Fine. See if I care.