Can I help you?

Chapter 49

The next day they all leave for Seoul again. Emma and RM are silent. Jin and Sarah too. Jhope is suspicious about this. Mary and V are cheerfully chatting and everyone is just hoping not to share a car with the weirdo's. Doenja and Suga are just as usual very cold and sleepy. They had a midnight walk at the beach again. Jimin and Jungkook are the only fresh ones, excitedly cleaning the cottage to leave it clean again.

When they get back to the apartment, they all feel slightly sluggish from the cartrip and go to their rooms to rest. Doenja needs to go to work again this afternoon. She is taking a quick nap on the bed in their room. Sarah and Emma are also relaxing in the sofa. The dance line is practicing their dance in the studio, they got a lot to catch up on. Suga and Mary are in the other studio, producing again. Suga has new inspiration. "A love song? From you?" Suga nods. Mary looks suspiciously at him. "Who's going to sing it?" "Why does it need to be sung? Can't it be rapped?" Mary taps her cheek. "That might not be that impossible after all. I am sure we can do it. I'll help with some background vocals. To at least give it a softer side." Suga nods and is happy. "Let's just try it!" He holds his hand up and Mary high fives it.

Doenja gets to her job. The head stylist is up to his ears in work. "Not only did he fire half of my employees, he still has you on the team, who decided to take a holiday right when it is inventory season." The head stylist is running around with racks of clothing. Doenja sighs and misses her holiday already. She jumps in. "I shall count this rack." They are working hard.

The coming weeks Doenja is depleted. She crashes on her bed every night. Sleeps for hours. Gets up early. "Inventory is hell. Hell I tell you." She drags herself to work. When she arrives she gets -as usual- greeted by the head stylist in a frenzy. What now again? Did he find a tear in one of the pants? Did someone place a jacket from the wrong era in another era? She listens. The head stylist is talking about the jewelry. Doenja shrugs and is continuing where she left off yesterday. Suddenly a colleague grabs her wrist. Doenja looks at this woman. "What is it?" "I found it!" She holds up Doenja's wrist and the bracelet is on it. The head stylist comes running. He roughly grabs Doenja's wrist out of the other woman's hand and studies it. "IT IS! DID YOU STEAL THIS?" "N-no..." Doenja doesn't even seem to believe this is happening. "No, it's mine." "DON'T LIE! JUST PUT IT BACK!" Doenja pulls her wrist out of the stylist his hands. "NO." She didn't feel like being talked into guilt like this. If she gives it, she gives 1 a gift from her love away, and 2 admitting that she stole. What should I do now? She runs but bumps into RM in the hallway. She bows and runs off. The head stylist comes running too. "HOLD THAT THIEF!" RM stops him. "What thief?" "That western girl. She is a sassaeng! She stole from Suga's jewel collection!" "I'm sure it is misunderstanding." He tries to shush the guy. "I'll find out more. For now, let's keep this under the covers, got it?" He winks and smiles his dimple smile. The head stylist is still angry but lowers his defenses at seeing that smile. "Fine, she has till tomorrow to bring it back. If it is not back, I'll report her." RM nods. He finishes his business in Big Hit and returns home.

"Doenja?!" He calls for her in the house. He knocks on the door to her room and Sarah opens. "What is it?" "Where is Doenja?" "Not here, I haven't seen her home. Why, is she in trouble?" RM coughs. She supposedly stole from Suga. A jewel or so." "Steal? That doesn't sound like Doenja. For real RM. I know her. She does a lot of bad shit, but stealing?" RM shrugs. "She has till tomorrow to bring it back or else they'll report her to the police. And you know what that means." Sarah nods. "Deportation." RM pushes his lips on each other while sucking them in. "As expected. You know those rules well." "Been an immigrant myself in Japan, it had the same justice system. 1 little misstep and you're out." RM nods. "I'll try and do my best to get her out of this situation, please trust in her and in me." RM nods again. "Good luck." Sarah nods and closes the door. She calls Doenja but Doenja just lets it ring. She is in a bar somewhere, looking at the bracelet and is having tears in her eyes but not crying.

Suga heared the convo between RM and Sarah. She is innocent. I gave it to her! But I can't just openly tell everyone I gave it to her. That's such a headache. I'll have to explain other things too. And Sarah doesn't want us to be dating. And Doenja doesn't want to disappoint Sarah. I am litteraly bound here. He panics slightly and holds his hand against his head.

That evening, everyone is worried. They can't find Doenja. Suga comes down. He just walks out. He goes to all the whiskey bars they visited together. They haven't seen her. The last bar said they did serve a western hot girl with red hair, but she left 20 minutes ago. He thanks the bartender and runs off again. Where could she be? He has hopes of finding her maybe on the spot they first kissed. He runs to the han river to find her in the grass. But there is no one in sight. He is getting desperate but suddenly hears cars honking and spots someone on the bridge over the river.

Doenja walks along the river. She passes the place they first kissed. For f*cks' sake, Since when did you let this happen to you? Did you become a soft fool like the others? She looks at the bridge in front of her. I might have a nice view and maybe clear my head a bit up there.

She walks on the bridge and tries to balance on the ledge. Cars are honking. Doenja doesn't care. She can feel the wind pull on her and she is trying to keep her balance, although she is slightly drunk. Just as I thought. This feels amazing. Like flying. "All because of you." She shakes her wrist and the bracelet shimmers in the car lights. "All because of you." And she thinks about Suga. "I can't even come clean about this. I'm stuck. Caught in a lie. Ddaeng!" She laughs.

Suga is running on the bridge. He can hear her laughing out loud.Please don't do anything stupid! Doenja is still wobbling and swaying. She loses her footing and sees the water come at her. Shit! Not meant to do that!