PR-Love | yoongi

Chapter 5: 뽀뽀 (Kiss)

Before we leave the production room, we quickly discuss the details of our so-called relationship. Together for two months now. Texting, drinking coffee together, music, very happy and in love. We will lie to the others since we will already be lying to fans and media anyway. "Five more guys don't make much of a difference." is Yoongi's argument. I nod in agreement and get up out of the chair.

I offer him my hand to shake and he takes it with his. It's rough but soft at the same time, cold and warm.

"Thank you, for your hard work."
"Thank you... for being so interesting. See you tomorrow, girlfriend."
"See you tomorrow, boyfriend"

---

"Hello Chang-Soo, I wondered if you could drive me to Bangtan's apartment tomorrow at 11:30", I text my manager as soon as I enter my room, feeling excitement in my fingers as I type the message.
"Yeah ofc but what u doing there?", he texts back within seconds.
"Having lunch with boyfie's bros since I have half of the day off", I reply and giggle. Calling Min Yoongi my boyfriend feels so unbelievably unreal. Thousands of girls wish to do that and here I am, forced to pretend. It's starting to amuse me.
"Alright, be down in the lobby at that time. Rest now, goodnight, Snickers", says his answer. He added a grinning emoji after Snickers. Typical.

I'm lying on my cosy bed, pressing a plush lion against my stomach, looking at the ceiling. My thoughts are spinning around one particular thing. One particular person, to be exact. Min Yoongi. Just hearing my inner voice saying his name makes me feel uneasy. But compared to yesterday, today the feeling of uneasiness has changed. It feels more positive, like anticipation even.
"Oh god", I mumble to myself, "stop developing feelings. It's a game. A stupid game."

But what if-
NO WHAT IF'S
But he might-
NO HE MIGHT NEVER
But he could like-
NO HE DOESN'T LIKE YOU

That's basically me fighting myself, the upcoming hopes in my mind and it goes on and on until I finally fall asleep at 4:46.

---

My alarm beeps at 10:30 and I easily open my eyes and have a stretch. Rays of sunlight play on my face and I've never felt this awake before. I smile and feel like this is going to be a good day. Getting ready really quickly and checking myself in the mirror several times, I head to the lobby where Chang-Soo already waits for me, a car key in his hand.

"Good morning, Grace! You look great. Are you excited for boyfie?"
"Mooorniiing.", I chime. "Nah I'm not, I'm just looking forward to Seokjin's cooking", I lie and walk towards the black car outside.

---

I get out of it as we arrive at the right address and wave Chang-Soo goodbye as I catch a glimpse of Yoongi who just opened the door to step outside the white and modern-looking complex. He's wearing ripped jeans in light blue, a plain black t-shirt and an azure blue beanie, covering his blond hair.

"Hi, Grace"
"Hello, Yoongi"
"Umm.. how are you?"
"I'm fine, thanks. What about you?"
"I'm tired.", he says but can't hide a smile. It's a shy one but I feel the warmth that comes from it even though we stand at least a meter apart. We stay silent for a few seconds but it feels like minutes. I look into his dark brown eyes, they appear like fathomless oceans to me. It's impossible to imagine what could be going on in his mind. He returns the look though but breaks the silence.
"Let's get up there, the kids are already waiting for you"
He opens the door and I slide into the hall. The door to the apartment is ajar and Yoongi hurries to open it for me but I stop him.
"I can do this myself, thank you", I say in a bold way. I expect him to glance at me angrily but instead he grins and waits for me to enter the room.
"Annyeonghaseyo", I greet the boys gathered around a wooden table in the living room.
"Annyeonghaseyo", it echoes from them. Namjoon welcomes me with a friendly face, his dimples are visible and my mouth forms a grin as well.
"Grace, it's so nice to have you here", Jimin says and points to two empty chairs. "Sit down, sit down. Seokjin cooked some delicious dishes"
"Indeed, he made some dak galbi and kimbap and as dessert patbingsu", Taehyung says with a wide grin on his face.
"We hope you're hungry", Jungkook adds and looks at me brightly.
"Now sit down already", Jimin insists and I, completely overwhelmed, take a seat next to Hoseok who eagerly aks me about the ride and whether I like kimbap or not.
"Like? No. I love kimbap!"
"This girl is my style, can we keep her?", he bursts out and laughs.
The others join in laughing and soon we all fill our plates with Seokjin's deliciously smelling food and start eating. Yoongi sits to my right and eyes me now and then. I just ignore it and get into a conversation with the guys. We talk about annoying dance moves (Hoseok strongly disagreed when I doomed fast footwork but Jin nodded and claimed that they are an agony), songs by other artists ("Neoui nun ko ip-", Jimin started singing Taeyang's "Eyes, Nose, Lips" and lightheartedly reached out for me but Yoongi softly pushed his hand away "Naw Jiminnie not that song again") and finally we end up chatting about my debut ("It's so soon, I'm excited for the MV and debut album", Jungkook blurted out. "Yes same, I wanna listen to all the songs.", Taehyung said and made me feel extremely happy).

All in all we have an incredibly good time together, eating, laughing and enjoying ourselves. I almost died when Namjoon impersonated various people including his members. I haven't had that much fun in a while and I, we all in fact, got the chance to forget our busy schedules for once.

After finishing dessert I help clearing the table under heavy protest by Jin ("You're our guest, sit down and do nothing") but I help nonetheless and afterwards we all sit around the table again, the mood still vivid but calmer than before. Yoongi seizes the chance to attract attention by clearing his throat. I immediately feel queasy and I anxiously sit up, my hands folded on the table when Yoongi rests his left hand on mine. I don't resist or pull my hands back but instead I stare at them and bite my lips. Oh god.
"Guys. I need to share something with you. A while ago, I never thought this would happen", he carefully examines the boys' faces, "I fell for this girl and I'm proud to call her mine now."

There falls a deep silence. Taehyung's mouth drops wide open, Jungkook starts smirking, Jin lets out a squeal. Jimin's gaze shocks me. His expression has darkened and he slouches his shoulders. The pain in his eyes stings me and I quickly turn my glance to Namjoon as if I'm begging for help.
"That's great, Yoongi, I'm so happy for both of you" he breaks the ice and a whirl of excitement breaks out. I hear a lot of "Congrats!", "All the best" and even a "That's why Yoongi hyung acted weird lately". Then I pull off my scarf and reveal the choker with the matching pendants. That earns a lot of "ah's" and "oh's" and I blush and try to look as happy as possible but I am not over Jimin's first reaction. I need to talk to him.

We all get up after talking about Yoongi and me dating. Jungkook and Taehyung occupy the sofa to play a video game, Namjoon helps Jin washing the dishes and Yoongi stares out of the window having his back turnt on me. That's my opportunity to nod to Jimin and then again to the hallway behind him. I get up quietly and disappear in a room. Jimin follows after a short while and I pull him into the room as well but leave the door slightly open. Jimin takes a seat on an empty bed and looks down on the floor, his soft brown hair making it impossible for me too see his face.
"Jimin. What's wrong? Tell me."
"It's nothing. Really."
"Oh no, it's not nothing. I noticed your reaction. You don't seem to be pleased."
"I'm not." This causes my insides to ache again.
"Jimin...", I whisper and I slowly approach to take a closer look at him.
"Gracie. I like you.", he whispers back and stands up, letting me see his face now. I spot determination in his eyes and he purses his rosy lips. Suddenly I think I heard someone by the door and crane my neck to check the crack between door and wall. There's no one to see and I just shake my head. As distracted as I am, I don't notice that Jimin leans in all at once and steals a kiss. A soft kiss, his lips barely touching mine but I swear I could feel their warmth. I'm too shocked to move and too surprised to fight back. Before I can open my mouth to protest, he hurries out and leaves me behind as I touch my lips.

---
Hello to everyone who finished this chapter. Are you surprised? Because I am. When I started this chapter, I named it 뽀뽀 (Kiss) from the beginning on but I wasn't sure how to include a kiss to the story. I also didn't know if I should involve Jimin deeper into the plot. So I thought, hm, maybe Grace and Jimin kissed a while ago and that's why Jimin is disappointed to hear of the relationship. But as Grace stood in that room with him, it was like I was hit by lightning and I just let the kiss happen right in that moment. What will Grace do now though? I don't know yet, let's find it out together in Chapter 6. Soon to come. Thanks for reading :)

Ps. for the ones who wondered what the dishes were:

dak galbi = stir-fry marinated diced chicken in a gochujang based sauce, and sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions and tteok (rice cake)

patbingsu = a Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and azuki beans

Pps.: for the ones who read Chapters 1 - 4 a while ago, I will update those with my thoughts on them below!