Catching Her Heart

JK' s POV

JEON JUNGKOOK-you must have heard the name. How could you not? I'm everywhere. A global pop sensation, K-pop star, The Golden Maknae! You probably think, "How nice it must be to be so rich and famous." I mean, why wouldn't you? I would've thought the same-fame, fans, unlimited black cards, and mansions. I worked my entire youth to get all this. But despite everything, one thing was missing-the most basic thing every human needs to survive this thing called life.

Love.

As a K-pop idol, love was foreign to me. I dedicated my entire teenage years and most of my twenties to my career, never even considering relationships or casual flings. It's not that I'm against love-I just never experienced it. I never knew how it felt when a certain person catches your attention, becomes your everything, then leaves, forcing you to learn how to live without them. Heartbreak is something people dread, yet here I am, wishing I'd felt it at least once. Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, right?

These thoughts never crossed my mind until recently, when I met up with an old friend. He was fresh out of a long-term relationship, and instead of catching up, he spent the evening ranting about why single life is better. From his story, I was secretly relieved it wasn't me going through that mess. Teenage love evolving into adult love, clashing priorities, and ultimately breaking up-that'll make anyone curse love. But what would I know? I've seen relationships that worked out, like my parents. My Eomma liked my Appa, confessed, he accepted, and here I am, their lalala.

But something my friend said stuck with me: "Heartbreak in your teens is easier to handle than in your twenties because back then, we didn't fully understand the depth of our feelings. But now, we're more aware, and most of us would rather avoid the risk of heartbreak altogether."

Will I ever end up like him? Knowing myself, I probably wouldn't handle it well. But will it stop me from being open to love? No. I still believe love isn't a curse; it's about finding the right person. Simple, right? But how do you know when it's the right person? Before you realize it, feelings have developed, and attachments have grown. And that's exactly what happened to me when I saw her for the first time.

Red.

She was wearing a red saree-I didn't even know what that was at the time-and I remember it all too well.

Flashback

I was on the set of Eunwoo's latest drama. He's a close friend and invited me since our schedules never aligned. We were joking around when I heard her. Yes, heard her. My fans know I'm a hopeless romantic and that I believe I'd hear bells when I meet my soulmate. Well, I heard her-her bangles, though I didn't know that at the time. I stared at her, mesmerized, as time stood still. Eunwoo, long forgotten, nudged me back to reality.

"Hello? Jungkook-ah, are you okay?" Eunwoo asked, trying to bring me back from whatever world I was lost in.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine...yeah, that was a funny joke...haha," I mumbled, pretending I hadn't just been caught drooling over a girl.

"What joke? Jungkook, I was asking if you're hungry. Should we go out or order in?" Eunwoo asked, still unaware my attention was elsewhere.

"Eunwoo, who is she? She doesn't look like she's from here," I asked, unable to hold back any longer as she walked closer.

"Oh, her? She plays a refugee in the drama. I heard she's from India and works at Samsung, doing small roles like this in her free time." Eunwoo bowed as she made eye contact with him, my existence invisible to her. How?

"Why are you asking? Did Jeon Jungkook finally get a crush?" Eunwoo teased, poking my cheek as I continued to stare.

End of Flashback

If I'd known that was the last day of my peaceful life, I would never have complained about not having enough of it. Since that day, my thoughts have revolved around a red saree, bangles, a long-haired beauty, and a new goal-get close to her.