The Arrangement

17

This was one of the more stupid things Jungkook had done in his life.

After V left the apartment, Jungkook was struck with curiosity. Where was V going? Or, maybe more accurately, who was he going out to meet?

He hesitated for thirty seconds before racing down to the lobby, hoping to see V waiting there for his driver. When he got there, however, he was disappointed to see no blue haired boy in sight.

Jungkook walked outside, needing to collect himself. He wasn't a stalker or a crazed fan; there was no good reason for him to follow V around like his shadow.

But those thoughts went out of his head once Jungkook spotted V getting into a taxi just down the road. He ran to the line of cabs, hoisted himself in the next available car, and told the driver to follow the first taxi. The driver rolled his eyes at Jungkook, but still listened to his request.

Fifteen minutes later and V's taxi pulled into the parking lot of a factory building. Jungkook asked his driver to stop a ways away, not wanting to be spotted by the artist. After paying for the ride, he snuck into the building.

It was eerie, to put it simply. The halls were dark and quiet, and if Jungkook was more paranoid, he'd be running out of here as fast as possible. But his hunger to know more - to understand V - drove him forward.

Voices could be heard up ahead and bright flashes of light were illuminating the dark halls. Jungkook trudged closer, coming to a large, open room that was sectioned off with various brick walls.

And leaning against one of those walls, with a woman clinging to his waist, was V.

Jungkook ducked down behind a randomly placed couch, carefully peering out when he thought it was safe.

Dozens of people milled around the space, some dressed in beautiful clothing while others appeared to be assistants. The bright flashes started up again, causing Jungkook to turn back to where V stood. He now saw camera equipment stationed around V and the woman, and a photographer was snapping away.

Jungkook was so confused as to what was going on. The woman kept holding onto V, looking up at him like he was the brightest thing she'd seen since the sun. V, himself, looked distant and disinterested.

A few more shots later and the woman left V's side, exchanging places with another woman as well as a man. V pulled a jacket out of his bag and tugged it on, covering the previous shirt he was wearing. The three posed together and more pictures were taken.

"You here for the shoot?" Someone said behind Jungkook.

He turned, still in his crouching position. A middle aged woman with a clipboard peered back at him.

"I'm sorry?" He said, afraid to stand up. If V caught him here, he'd be livid.

The woman tapped her clipboard. "Are you from the agency? Are you one of the models scheduled to pose with V?"

Jungkook decided to play into the woman's assumptions. "They didn't give me much information on what this job was. Can you?"

She sighed. "We're taking the photos for the tabloids, the ones we send over to them for release. Here," she removed a paper from her clipboard, "sign this nondisclosure agreement and bring it back to me."

Jungkook accepted the form and read over it quickly. When he finished, he turned back to watch V, stunned.

V staged his own tabloid photos.

Which meant . . .

All those stories about him, all those pictures of him with an endless parade of people, they were all fabricated. The artist wasn't, in fact, hooking up with all the people.

But V did lead on all his fans. He made them believe he was the playboy they deemed him to be.

It made no sense to Jungkook at all. Why would V go through all the effort to take fake photos and send them into the press? Why would he give them fuel to write about whatever the hell they wanted?

I hope you come to realize ninety nine percent of the things you will hear about me are false.

People like the mystery. They like to be kept guessing. They like trying to figure out who V is.

V had said those things to him, but never did Jungkook expect this. If staging these photos and handing them over to the media was just a publicity stunt, why did V feel he needed to go to such lengths?

Jungkook needed to get out of here so he could try to process all he learned. He was about to sneak out when he heard V's voice coming closer, speaking to a male next to him. They sat on the very couch Jungkook was hiding behind. He huddled lower, his heart pounding in his chest.

Jungkook couldn't see what was going on, but based on other photos he'd seen in the tabloids, it was easy enough to guess. V would be holding the male, looking into the camera with that deadly, blue eyed stare. And the male would be wrapped around V, trying to press himself closer.

Just imagining it made Jungkook's blood boil.

The camera clicked a few more times before the photographer announced he'd gotten the shot. Jungkook heard V sigh in relief.

"That's it for today," V announced to the room. "Send the best ones to our usual contacts."

The models and workers started speaking more loudly as they collected belongings and tidied up the space.

"Hey," Jungkook heard the male say to V. "Want to get out of here?"

"Yes," V answered strongly.

For reasons that Jungkook didn't quite want to evaluate just yet, that hurt.

"Great!" The male exclaimed. "Let's go - "

"But not with you. I'm going home alone," V cut him off. "Thank you for your work today. You are free to leave."

If Jungkook had to guess, the male's face would be red in embarrassment. He couldn't help the tiny snicker that escaped his mouth.

He heard the male leave and counted down the moments until V also got up to go home. But there were no additional sounds or movements. Jungkook looked up from his squatting position and froze.

V was peering over the back of the couch, staring down at him.

And he looked livid.

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》 V A L E N W R I T I N G 《

Oooohh boy hahaha.

Another update coming in a few hours - can't leave you guys with this cliffhanger for too long!!