Déjà Vu.

03. crushing hard.

hi everyone! firstly i would like to say sorry that I've been gone for a while, I've been busy with life and am suddenly on vacation. i think my updates will be a little sporadic this month since my scheduling is quite hectic, but please bear with me. also happy early happy holidays for those who celebrate! i know i have a lot of messages in my inbox, but i really need to sleep soon so I'll get to them in the morning, just wanted to make a quite update before i sleep since i don't know when the next one will be <3

-

Jeon Jungkook sighs as he looks at the full length mirror, tightening the hold of his tie around his neck.

"Good morning Ms. Park. Is that too formal? Ah– but if I call her too casually, it might give the wrong impression since she's new..." he muses, muttering under his breath as he hears the door knock for what was at least the fifth time, probably his personal assistant, Kim Seokjin.

Jeon Jungkook pushes his lips into a pout before clearing his throat, yelling from afar, "... just a minute!"

It's not often for him to be late, and in fact, he'd woken up early... but somehow, he found himself feeling nervous about the fact that his childhood crush was going to be sitting in on one of his meetings. He too feels as though he's overthinking everything.

As he walks out, he's greeted by Kim Seokjin who looks at him concerned, "... are you okay Mr. President? You were in for quite a while, are you feeling unwell? Should I call the doctor–"

"I'm fine," he assures him, feeling a little embarrassed that he'd taken too long in the bathroom in the first place, "... is everyone ready?"

Kim Seokjin nods confidently, smile of mischief across his lips, "... Miss. Park came early too, she's looking beautiful as ever today."

Like clockwork, Jeon Jungkook's head turns abruptly to face him, a frown forming across his eyebrows without his consent.

"You have a thing for her?" His question is more like a warning.

Kim Seokjin clears his throat, "... no Mr. President. But it seems you do."

-

Park Chaeyoung feels the nerves in the pit of her stomach as she's directed to sit across from him. 

She tries to maintain her professionalism of course, but every time she'd look up, their eyes would meet, only to make her feel more awkward than ever. 

Of course, years had passed since they'd met as children.

But it would be a lie to say she didn't feel impressed by him, and perhaps, a slight desire to impress him.

For most of the policy briefing, Park Chaeyoung keeps her head down and writes down the meeting notes as fast as she can, knowing that she needed to study them to make sure she could have a consistent tone and stance when it comes to speech writing. 

"That's all regarding this, and as always, I trust that this meeting is kept confidential. Let's recap everything and meet again on Monday, or earlier if there's any changes before then," Jeon Jungkook closes the meeting.

Following the others, Park Chaeyoung quickly gets on her feet and does a bow as people begin to leave. She gathers her laptop and notes, thinking that she has a few spare minutes and could probably contact a few of her fellow policy advisors to compare notes, only when she gets out, she sees him waiting for her. 

By instinct, she bows her head. 

"Mr. President," she acknowledges. 

"Good morning, Miss Park," his voice is deeper than how she remembers, "... just wanted to ask how you were holding up with the new role. Is there anything we can do to help you adjust?" 

She shakes her head and smiles, "... I'm adjusting well, Jisoo is looking after me well."

He returns her words with a smile and nod, "... I'm glad." 

"Thank you for looking after me, Mr. President," she acknowledges, "... I know it'll take me some time to get used to the changes, but I hope I can be helpful and less of a burden as soon as possible."

She feels bad, knowing that new hires were usually a headache for the long time staff.

"You're no trouble at all," he responds, "... let me know, if you need anything. Perhaps we can have a casual dinner sometime and discuss things in depth." 

Just as she was about to speak, she notices Kim Seokjin rushing over to him. Assuming that it meant that he was busy, she quickly excuses herself. 

On the other hand, Kim Seokjin has to hold in a laugh when he realises that Jeon Jungkook, had a crush. 

It was pretty much painted across his face like a billboard advertisement 

-

Kim Jisoo comes back from lunch to be bombarded by the personal assistant of the president.

In the morning, he'd requested for her to do further research into the new recruit's personal life though when she asked, he didn't get to tell her because they had to rush to their meeting. Coming from a family of private investigators, it was no surprise that people in the Blue House often asked for a lot of unpaid favours.

"Why are you smiling like a crazy person?" She complains, making her way inside and closing the door shut.

"Did you get the file?" He questions her, not bothering to make small talk. 

She wonders, whether it's because he has a crush on her. 

"Are you going to tell me why you want it?" She questions as she reaches for the cabinet and takes out a file, dangling it between her fingers.

"Don't tell anyone," he doesn't bother to negotiate, as he walks to her and sits in front of her, "... but I think the president has a crush on her. He seems to be crushing hard." 

"Ah," she pauses, a sigh on her lips.

Though to be honest, she's not surprised.

There was a different energy about her, and considering how their families were in similar circles, it sort of made sense.

"What's wrong?" 

She opens the file and looks at the second last page, before sliding it across to him.

His eyes widen in surprise, "... this is... true?"

"It's verified," she confirms. 

"I mean, I don't think he's that conservative though... it may not be a problem," he tells her, almost trying to convince himself. 

"It's still new, just early this year," she informs him, "... not only that, but you know how the media and opposition party will use this, if they ever date." 

Kim Seokjin nods. 

"Should we tell him?" He questions.

Jisoo Kim frowns, shaking her head, "... we shouldn't be snooping in the first place, plus, it's not as though she did anything wrong."

"It'll break his heart when he finds out," Kim Seokjin mutters, "... he'll be surprised." 

"I'm also surprised, that she's a divorcee."