Bangtan Imagine

Vocal practice (JK)

You were sitting on the small couch with your knees propped up, your head resting on them, while you hugged you legs. You sighed out of boredom and your eyes looked back to where Jungkook was sitting. He had his bulky noise-cancelling headphones on and his back was resting against the computer chair, its back facing you. He was practising different notes and singing bits of BTS' songs here and there, repeating them over and over again until he was satisfied with how his vocals sounded, to then move on to the next bit and the next and the next...

When he had first asked you if you'd come over to the studio with him while he practised, you had felt very excited. You loved listening to Jungkook's voice, you used to play his songs at night and fall asleep to them, nothing sweeter and more relaxing could help you wind down after a long and stressful day. He didn't have much time to himself, so he felt like he had a light-bulb moment when he remembered he was all by himself at the studios when he worked on his singing. The days he got to lock himself in one of the many recording rooms varied depending on his schedule, so there wasn't really a pattern as to when you got to see him. This was good for you two to go unnoticed and didn't raise any suspicions.

In the beginning the sound of his voice was mesmerizing, you could have sat there for hours just listening to him do his exercises. He would sit on his chair, you on the couch, both facing each other, and he would sing to you as if you were a whole crowd. Going full entertainer mode, winking at you, making little hearts with his fingers and hands and pulling that beautiful toothy smile that made your heart melt from the cuteness overload, as he enjoyed seeing your reaction.

It was different now, as the novelty of it wore off and he started to feel more pressure to really work on his voice for the upcoming comeback which was only a few months away. He stared at the wall or his lap, with a very focused look, but not really looking at anything. His expression was that of someone who is immersed in what they are doing, their surroundings becoming irrelevant to them. He didn't smile, he didn't perform anymore, there was no time for goofing around now that it had to be serious.

You had a flashback to that first day when, before you entered the recording room, he told you he had to concentrate and hoped you could understand and silently sit with him while he worked, a hint of guilt in his voice as he looked at you with big doe eyes. You had agreed to it and quietly waited for him to interact with you at some point. He glanced over his shoulder as he was nearly done for the night and your face must have given you away because he asked:

- What's wrong?

- I was just looking forward to seeing you and having fun with you

Jungkook looked taken aback, "fun", he thought? He didn't register his practice evenings as fun exactly, though now that you said that, he went over how your evenings usually went and he briefly smiled, not noticeably or long enough for you to see it. Concern overwhelmed him as he thought about all the work he had to do to be able to perform his best for the comeback. When he set himself to do something, he worked hard for it and exceeded his own high expectations. And excelled at it, or so they said.

- Do you realize this is not "for fun", do you? I seriously need to be able to hit those notes - he said in a higher tone than he had intended to

In contrast with your soft voice when you had talked, you couldn't help but feel upset when he spoke. And what he said...did he think you did not know these were his work hours? Did he think this was all a game to you and you were underappreciating how hard he practised to be able to give all of himself to his fans? You just gawked at him, no sound could come out of your mouth. Your lower lip quivered and you felt tears welling up in your eyes.

Without even thinking about it, you got up and ran out of the room, not even checking around before you put a foot out of it. It didn't matter, no one was there late at night, but you felt like you should have for a fleeting millisecond while you headed to the back door. You knew the hallways, so the fact that your sight was blurry with the tears streaming down your face was not hindering you. Before you turned around the corner, Jungkook shouted your name, but you didn't turn back to look at him. What difference would it make if you couldn't even distinguish the lines right in front of you.

He started messaging you the minute you left and filled your inbox with messages all week. You were hurt, but he was relentless. You were not replying to him, but he seemed to be following his own conversation, probably hoping you would eventually give in and write back. At first he tried to explain himself, as what he had said had come out loud and wrong, he was sorry. He insisted on whether you were okay, if you would come back before he left, but you didn't reply. The next morning he seemed to hit the reset button and was sending you the usual cute and silly selcas that went along with his "good morning" and his narration of how his day progressed. He kept this up all week as if nothing had happened. You secretly looked at everything he sent, but set your phone so no trace of it would be displayed. The last message you got was on Thursday evening "I'm heading to the studio, I will see you there, right?".

Jungkook's fingers shook nervously as he typed the message and pressed send way too fast. Should he have omitted the "right?" at the end? Would that let you see he was doubting whether you would show up? Would that somehow give away the fact that he was scared out of his mind that you wouldn't? He stood next to the back door, huddled in his coat as the cool breeze blew his way. He was wearing a bean hat and half his face was covered by a mask, his outfit monochrome and inconspicuous. He froze in place when he saw you walking towards him, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

As you approached him all you could make out were his big eyes staring at you without blinking. When you were face to face saying his name was all it took for him to come out of his trance, he quickly looked down and coolly said "oh, hi". You raised your eyebrows and placed your thumb and index finger under his chin, lifting his face to make eye contact. Despite the mask you could see a tinge of red on the bridge of his nose. You repeated playfully "oh, hi" and smirked. He cleared his throat as you took away your hand and continued to hold your gaze, expectantly.

"I'm sorry" he blurted out without thinking about it twice. He inhaled deeply before letting out "I didn't mean to, I enjoy your company and I'm sorry I can't do more for you" staring intently into your eyes, then bowing his head slightly, hoping you'd take him out of his misery. This was definitely not his forte. You hit him on his chest and he looked up with a confused smile, you were smiling back "why so pompous?" you said as you giggled. "Well" he retorted ignoring your remarks "what was that supposed to be, did you try to punch me with those baby hands of yours?". He laughed as he playfully held your arms showing off his strength while you tried to break free, your stomach hurting and your eyes crying from laughter this time.

- Earth calling...

You came out of your own trance and back into the present moment. You looked up at Jungkook who was now standing on his feet, right in front of you, grinning with an amused expression.

- I was thinking we could try grabbing some dinner, you see, I have a big coat here and a hat...- he said as he reached out into a small closet and pulled out a couple items. When he turned around and before he could continue, you flung yourself at him and wrapped your arms around his chest. He really did try hard to make it all work for you.

-

Hey anyone who is reading! Thank you! I hope you like this new story with our favorite golden maknae, the scenario just came to my head and I felt like typing it out to see what would come of it. Let me know what you think in the comments if you like :) x