the great war (rk)

four.

"always remember, uh-huh, tears on the letter i vowed not to cry anymore"

Day 68.

Chaeyoung's eyes were hyper focused at her partially drawn canvas, coloring in an intense shade of blue that she thought was perfect for this specific design, as Baby Powder by Jenevieve lightly played in the background. She was in the process of completing her dress design she named, "Snow-kissed." To put it in simple terms, her vision was to create a dress that screamed  elegance. The piece was one shouldered, with the bottom part sprawling out in light drapes. 

"Beautiful," a deep voice disrupted her concentration, startling her. "Goodness, Namju, you scared me." The brunette placed a hand to her heart. 

"Oh, shut up and just eat the kimbap I made you." Chaeyoung raised her eyebrows in pleasant surprise, as her eyes basically devoured the kimbap that was on the plate he was holding. She didn't realize how hungry she was because of how focused she was in completing her incomplete design. 

"Thanks." She flashed him an appreciative smile, taking it from his hand and immediately began eating it. 

"I am excited to see your collection come to fruition for the fashion festival. I just know your designs are going to be gorgeous on the models." Joo-hyuk said, as he scanned the rest of her sketches that were shifted to the side because they were completed. For every dress she sketched, there was an equivalent male suit. 

The current dress she was still working on was partnered with a sleek black suit, donning a matching blue change pocket. "Thank you." Chaeyoung had the tendency of feeling emotions strongly, so instead of outwardly expressing them, she would pour it all in her designs. 

"Do you have a date for the fashion festival?"

Chaeyoung groaned, throwing her head back on the couch. She completely forgot about that. She never gave it much thought in the past because Jungkook was always her date. 

"No." 

 "You need one soon, Chaeng." Joo-hyuk reminded her, as he took a seat next to her on the couch and began scrolling through his phone. 

"Would you wanna go? As friends?" She looked at her best friend, throwing him a small smile. 

He shrugged, "Sure, why not?" He wasn't going to go with anyone, so what was the harm of going with his best friend. 

Chaeyoung squealed, relieved that she didn't need to worry about finding a date anymore. "Have I ever told you that you are the absolute best, Namju?" 

"Nope, let's hear it." He gave her a cheeky smile and she responded by hitting him with a pillow. Even though her mind was plagued with thoughts of Jungkook, she didn't shed a single tear. She was determined to make this collection the best she has ever presented in her career as a fashion designer. Maybe, just maybe, she was beginning to pick herself up. Piece by piece. 

...

It has been about 2 months and three weeks since Chaeyoung left. Fuck. 

"Perfect angle, Jungkook. Stay right there." The photographer instructed, as Jungkook remained in the pose that satisfied the photographer. Once told he was finished for the day, Jungkook enthusiastically strolled to the lobby where the guys were chatting while munching on some sushi. 

"Hey, JK." J-Hope gave him a big smile, as he handed him a tray of sushi. Jungkook thanked him and sat down next to Taehyung. Just as he was about to take a bite of his sushi, Taehyung excitedly leaned over and grabbed the sushi he had in his hand and plopped it in his mouth. 

"Really, dude?" Jungkook sighed, feigning annoyance, as he grabbed another sushi from the tray and bit it before Taehyung could snatch it from him again. 

"So..." Taehyung trailed off, "do you have a date for the fashion festival?" He forgot how fast the festival was approaching and, surprisingly, was going to be held in Salt Lake. This major event was a very sought out one that men and women from all over the world would travel to in order to see the latest and most intricate designs of their partners with utmost passion. Although there was always a twinge of competitiveness amongst the designers, all who attend and participate only really had genuine interests and excitement in each other's works. Obviously, those with the most favorable pieces were likely sought out and sponsored by attending organizations, which push designers to put their best works of the season on the runway. 

Jungkook would know. He was always there, watching Chaeyoung design new pieces for the past three years. 

Despite the pain in his heart, he managed to not cry. He realized how serious Chaeyoung was about leaving, as the time apart from each other proved to only continue on. His eyes were so dry from the excessive crying and his smile wasn't as attractive anymore -- it isn't like he became uglier, but his smile just wasn't genuine. 

Designers would comment on how unattractive he made their designs look on him, which stung him a bit, more than he thought would. He decided to start somewhere and somehow get his two feet on the ground, and would wake up early in the morning for a jog in the chilly Seoul air. The uncomfortable temperature motivated him to run faster and also, numb the emotional and mental anguish he was tired of acknowledging. 

"Will you have a date to the fashion festival?" Jimin questioned him when Jungkook snapped out of the trance he was in.

"Yup." He said it so quickly, wanting to end the topic of conversation already. He initially asked Sana, a model he knew Chaeyoung was jealous of but was too stubborn to admit. She had been in the model industry longer than he has been and naturally, his charismatic self automatically made them friends. They went out to group events together and although Chaeyoung never confirmed it, she always seemed a little off when Jungkook would tell her. She wasn't a model; she felt like she couldn't compete with the tall, stunning brunette. Little did she know, Jungkook's eyes were only ever on the black-haired beauty who would make the dresses the brunette would wear. 

"Really, who?" Namjoon pressed.

"Sana." They will figure out Jungkook's little white lie at the event, which wouldn't matter then. She agreed to go with him, but once the modeling event begun they would separate because she was secretly dating a French model named Beau and they agreed to be each other's dates after they were done modeling in the festival. Fortunately, people would leave the event to attend the biggest after parties before the speeches and rewards ceremony would begin, so they would be too distracted to even care about who your date was. The only time people paid close attention to who you are with is at the entrance. 

"Good for you, buddy." J-Hope threw him a smile and Jungkook tried to return it. He can do it. Right?