attraction.

Only Pretend. 6/9

Jeon Jungkook remembers the whirlpool of emotions that clouded his mind for the almost eleven-hour flight from Seoul to Sydney.

It didn't help that everything happened so fast, that one day he was having dinner with his father after coming back from California where his father told him about the possibility of marriage to keep him out of harm's way. The next, he was informed via text that his friend's daughter, somehow, agreed.

It happened too fast.

He didn't even have time to properly digest everything that was happening—leaving his father, his country alone in time of great crisis, and starting a new life (albeit a fake one) in a country he'd never stepped foot in before. He wanted to stay back and fight, just like his father and ancestors did in times of chaos and havoc, but his father did not allow it.

His father couldn't bear the burden of losing both his wife and son.

More importantly, his father promised his mother to protect him at all costs.

In hindsight, Jeon Jungkook knows that it was the right choice. While he was physically capable to fight in war, reasonably fit and was brought up learning how to load and unload weapons, he wasn't mentally fit.

He was soft, just like his mother.

His father knew, that if Jeon Jungkook set foot into a battlefield, that he'd lose a part of himself.

As a father, it was his duty to protect his son from that.

Jeon Jungkook doesn't know how to feel.

He feels an overarching wave of guilt, every time he looks at her.

Surely, someone as breathtaking as her had her own plans and hopes for love?

He thinks it'll be difficult for someone to get remarried, even if their first marriage was a formality for a citizenship. That's why Jeon Jungkook does everything he can to make her comfortable at first—a two-bedroom apartment in the middle of the city, a chef and cleaner on standby. He didn't want to be a burden. When she asked for his help (well, more so forced) a part of him felt as though it was the least he could do.

It would be a lie for him to say that his feelings weren't changing, especially towards her.

Slowly, he stopped feeling guilt when he'd began to see her.

It wasn't sudden like a tsunami taking up storm, but it was slow—first like fizzle in his stomach before turning into butterflies.

The idea that he might be falling for her stepped onto his mind for a bit, but he's not too sure—because Jeon Jungkook has been in love before, and it was contrastingly different. It was chaos, it was passionate and it was something that he simply knew.

But when it comes to Park Chaeyoung, he simply doesn't know.

Or perhaps, a part of him doesn't want to admit it, that he's really falling deeply for someone as mesmerising as her.

The government announces a statewide lockdown due to the increased cases of the pandemic, which Jeon Jungkook is internally thankful for because personal training is not as fun as he thought it would be. Jeon Jungkook hopes that he can get his qualifications accepted soon, so he can find work in his own expertise.

When he comes home, he sees that half of the living room is filled with mannequins, a sewing machine and rolls of fabric scattered all over. Park Chaeyoung is standing in the middle, a sheepish smile on her face.

"I'll clean up I promise! I just—need to find a place to put everything," she quickly defends herself, "... we have a show coming up in Singapore, so even with lockdown we need to meet deadlines."