Seoul City

Ch. 34 - The Proposal

Chaeyoung's heart pumped uncontrollably in her chest as she stared at Jungkook with wide, mortified eyes. This was exactly the reason she didn't want Jungkook to use terms of endearment with her in the first place. It just made their confusing relationship even more confusing.

She wanted to look at Taehyung to gauge his reaction, but she didn't have the courage to.

"Did you just call Chaeyoung babe?" Lisa gaped at Jungkook in astonishment.

Just then Jennie strolled into the kitchen, overhearing their conversation, "who called Chaeyoung babe?"

"Jungkook," Taehyung answered, his jaw clenched and his eyes hard. Chaeyoung finally sneaked a nervous glance at him, but his eyes were focused on Jungkook.

That caused Jennie to gasp and stare between the two of them, "Jungkook called Chaeyoung babe?!"

"HE DID WHAT?" They all turned to see Jimin walking towards the kitchen looking like he was ready to kill. Chaeyoung was at a complete loss for words, feeling more and more mortified with every second that passed. She threw her head up helplessly and sought divine assistance in helping them get through this situation.

"Did I say babe?" Jungkook brushed it off with a casual laugh, "I meant to say Chaeyoung."

"Really? Because 'babe' and 'Chaeyoung' are two completely different words that are not in the least bit associated with one another," Taehyung confronted him, his tone ice-cold. So much for their newly developed 'partnership'.

Jungkook shrugged, continuing to stir his stew as if nothing happened, "I have a habit of calling people babe."

At that moment, Yugyeom and Bambam groggily entered the kitchen.

"I've never in my life heard you use that word," Bambam pointed out, causing Jungkook to throw him a glare.

Luckily Yugyeom was quick to pick up on the situation and jumped to Jungkook's rescue, "no it's true. Jungkook has been with so many women that, eventually, he gave up on trying to remember their names and just started calling everyone by generic, pet names instead."

Chaeyoung felt a little hurt to hear that, not knowing whether it was the truth or if Yugyeom made it up to save them. One of her greatest concerns with Jungkook was the possibility that he was playing with her feelings and incapable of committing to real relationships. It was something he'd clearly thrown out on the table on their very first date, and yet she had still begun to fall for him, ignoring his warning.

However, she quickly brushed this feeling off and used Yugyeom's words as a lifeline.

"See, it's just a habit," Chaeyoung said with a forced laugh.

"That's a weird fucking habit," Jimin muttered, studying Jungkook up and down with a look of disgust.

"Have you ever sought out professional help for this," Lisa asked with a worried expression, "I have a psychiatrist friend who specializes in helping people break bad habits."

Jungkook rolled his eyes, "it's really not that deep."

"You know, come to think of it, you two did go on that date together a couple weeks ago," Jennie pointed out thoughtfully, looking between Jungkook and Chaeyoung as if she was solving a mystery.

Lisa's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets at that, "you went on a date together?!"

"That was for the charity auction!" Chaeyoung exclaimed in frustration.

"That doesn't mean feelings can't develop. You spent the entire day together, so you must've gotten pretty close," Jennie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Chaeyoung felt very betrayed by Jennie's analytical abilities. Whenever something didn't make sense to her, she was ruthless in figuring it out. Apparently, her best-friend's personal life wasn't immune from her careful inspection.