Earphone Buddies | J.J.K (Complete)

August (ep 40)

Y/N's POV

Our families stayed for only two days before they had to leave again. I think maybe part of it was the cost of staying in a hotel in Seoul. It's not cheap to house that many people. We spent every available moment with them, showing them around our favorite places and we even took my mom and Maddie to the JYP building, so they could take pictures in the lobby and such. We didn't take them any farther than the usual tourist, just to make sure nobody got mad at us. Luckily, on a Monday there wasn't much traffic in the lobby.

Once our families were gone, I felt the absence of my Junggukkie even more keenly. He looked like he was having so much fun on tour with his hyungs, and I was happy for that, really. There's still only so long I can wait, though. I tried to lose myself in work, as I was now working full time, and in any free time I ended up having, I attempted to learn to cook better. I wasn't a bad cook, necessarily, but like most of us, I could use some work. It was fun, I guess, I just really wanted to be sharing the food with my boys. My Hobi and my Joon, Jin-oppa and Jiminie. My TaeTae and Yoongi, and last but certainly not least, my Kookie. Every time we were on a call he would ask what deliciousness I had made that day or week. There was always a happy little sparkle in his eyes when I told him.

I like to think that it's pride.

Taytem and Kat and I have been going on picnics every weekend, sitting by the Han River, potluck style, where Kat and I made stuff to bring, and so did Taytem. Kat was often tasked with finding fun new snacks and drinks for us to try from convenience stores and such. She was good at it. We always had so much fun together, talking about everything from school to work to boyfriends to musical groups and more.

Taytem was always complaining about her mom, who called constantly and kept forgetting about the 14 hour time difference. Taytem kept getting calls and messages from her around three in the morning, which wasn't good for her sleep schedule. Every time she mentioned it, Kat and I would sympathize and tell her that they would learn, hugging her from both sides while looking at each other and smiling a little, thinking back to how annoyed we had been when our moms had done the same. Now, we looked back on it fondly, knowing it was just that they wanted to take care of us. I asked Taytem for her mom's number and then called Mrs. Keller (not her real name for privacy) to check in. In the course of that conversation, I learned she was just worried, which is what I suspected. I was able to explain that Taytem needed her sleep and I told her that we would take good care of her little girl. After all, Taytem was her only daughter. I made sure she knew that Taytem was like a younger sister to me, and I would keep her safe, no matter what.

Kat kept talking to Yoongi on the phone, and I suspected that she talked to him these days more than me. They would start their calls at different times depending on the city he was in, and sometimes she simply woke up early for him. (Only for him would she wake up early. I should know.) He would show her clips of songs he was working on, and it turned out she had quite the ear for when a song needed an extra little something. 

She had begun staying even later with me at the JYP building, taking pictures and recording segments of the rooms, hallways, and other places within the company, usually mostly empty of people. With Park Jin-Young's permission, she had started posting these tidbits on their various social media platforms, showing the building and company behind the scenes without idols in the shots. Even the staff started appearing in her photos, and she made sure to show all the sides of the company. Brainstorming rooms for album concepts, dance practice rooms, recording studios, Chan's Room (with extra focus on Wally the wall found within), and offices made it into her portfolio. People loved it, and so did she. It became her new passion; Showing lives and spaces using just a camera. No extra editing or bias, just straight photos.