Just A Few Numbers Away

Chapter 109

The Busan Breach

​The midsummer air in Busan was thick, heavy and deeply saturated with the sharp salty tang of the East Sea.

The inner circle had converged on a luxury private villa tucked away in the craggy cliffs overlooking the Yeongdo coastline, ostensibly to film for a casual content shoot.

However, the underlying energy vibrating through the room was purely celebratory.

​Jungkook leaned against the balcony railing, watching the waves.

He wasn't looking for cameras; he was looking at Aen.

​She had been acting "suspicious" for forty-eight hours-checking her phone every three minutes, whispering to Sejin in the corner, and twice calling him "the birthday boy" before quickly correcting herself to "JK."

​"Noona," Jungkook said, not turning around as she approached him with a plate of grilled shellfish.

"You're a terrible secret-keeper."

​Aen froze, a piece of abalone halfway to the plate.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kookie."

​"You've checked your watch four times since we landed," he teased, finally turning with that mischievous, doe-eyed grin.

"And Yoongi-hyung has that look on his face. The 'I'm-pretending-to-be-grumpy-but-I'm-actually-hiding-a-party' look."

​Aen's phone buzzed incessantly in her pocket, vibrating with a frantic energy that only two specific people could generate from a distance.

​She let out a frustrated little huff, setting the plate down and pulling out her phone.

Her eyes widened as she scrolled through the latest barrage of messages in their private thread.

[The 7+1 Strategy Room 💜]

​Jin: Is the cake there yet? If it's not chocolate, tell them I'm coming back from the base just to complain.

Hobi: Jinnnie-hyung, be nice! Aen-nie worked so hard on this! 😭📸 Send photos of JK's face when the lights go out! I want to see the 'shocked' maknae!

Jin: He's probably already eating the abalone. I know my kid.

Hobi: 😂😂😂 Aen-nie! Don't let Yoongi-hyung eat all the appetizers! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JK!!!! 🥳🌈✨

​Jin: Aen-ah, did you hide the extra wine? I’m checking the kitchen, but I can’t find it. Also, tell JK if he touches the cake before I get there, he’s grounded.

Aen physically smacked her palm against her forehead, the sound sharp enough to make Namjoon blink.

She had spent forty-eight hours trying to be a ghost, and here they were, practically broadcasting the itinerary to the very phone Jungkook was currently hovering over—and the brother who was literally raiding the cupboards two rooms away.

​"Don't even think about opening the GC, Kookie," Aen warned, her voice a mix of a laugh and a groan.

She quickly shoved the phone back into her pocket as if it were a live grenade.

​"Too late, Noona," Jungkook chirped, his eyes fixed on the waves but his grin widening.

"I felt the haptic feedback from here. Hobi-hyung's emojis are loud even when they're on silent. And I see Jin-hyung is already complaining about the wine from the kitchen."