When Kim Taehyung's fictional romance with his costar Jeon Jeongguk starts to feel more genuine than anything he accomplished in his entire acting career, he believes it shouldn't be a problem: after all, it's just acting.
But isn't it wrong to be...
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Jeongguk wasn't answering his goddamn phone.
Taehyung was usually a patient person. He liked to believe he was careful and calm and painstakingly precise whenever he approached issues such as this. There was always a solution, and usually Taehyung would resolve problems with ease. That was part of his real life job anyway; finding the right solutions to temporary problems and performing at his best to make up for lost time.
But Jeongguk was being stubborn. He didn't pick up, even if Taehyung left him voicemails.
He called every chance he could. In between breaks when Moonhee or staff members weren't around to tag along. In the car before Moonhee could join him after shoots. Something inside of Taehyung ached to call Jeongguk. Only a few days passed, but he wanted to hear from him. He wanted to make sure he was okay.
That was a normal thing to want, right? If he were to pick up, the worry strangling Taehyung slowly but surely would finally ease, and he could continue his schedule without anything bothering him. However, it wasn't that easy.
What was worse? He couldn't figure out what Jeongguk was doing. He didn't have Penn's phone number and asking Hoseok for it was the last thing he would ever consider. The media didn't cover him anywhere either. The last article was dated five years ago, and most of it were mixed opinions regarding a seventeen year old Jeongguk's decision to step down as the heir to J Group.
Plus Jeongguk didn't own any social media accounts. If he did, he did a pretty fantastic job at hiding them. But even so, it didn't feel like something Jeongguk would do. One, he was a terrible liar who barely lied to begin with. Two, Taehyung rarely ever saw him use his phone unless it was for business calls, or if Penn or him texted him something.
He was a simple guy. Taehyung admired that about him, but right now?
He was driving Taehyung over the edge.
"Look over here! There you go!" The photographer was a chatty one, and somehow, it didn't settle well with Taehyung.
Usually he could tune everything out and focus, but god, right now, he just couldn't. The light was too bright. The constant flashes were making his eyes water. Everyone was talking all at once, calling his name, and his shirt collar was bunched around his neck. This shoot wasn't over yet, but Taehyung couldn't stop staring at the damn clock overhead.
"Taehyung?" Moonhee's voice managed to get through to him, though she was a bit muffled.
"What?" He blinked a few times, barely snapping out of his daze. Moonhee was looking up at him, worry present in her big, doe eyes. Eyes that reminded him strangely of— no. He wasn't going to do this.
"You don't look good," Moonhee said, reaching up and resting her palm on his chest. In the back of Taehyung's mind, he couldn't help but notice this between them was just a mere pose, a gesture made for the camera.
