Behind the Mask

~Chapter 16~

I opened the door to our residence quietly, still slightly hoping that somehow, with the help of some miracle, my absence had gone unnoticed and I could sneak back to my room with no problems.

Spoiler alert - didn't happen.

As soon as I stepped inside, the girls came nearly running to my side, asking me where the hell I had been all this time and, of course, if I had spent it all with Yoongi. At that, they began wiggling their brows up and down, making me wanna bang my head against the nearest wall.

"Look, I promise I'll explain all of it to you later, but now what's most important is, does Sensei know?"

They ducked their heads low, embarrassment filling their eyes, and that was enough of an answer for me.

"Sorry, we tried making up excuses for you, but you were gone for hours! At some point, he figured it out" Lisa said, with a regretful look.

"No, Liss, don't worry, really! This is all my fault, now I just gotta face the consequences. Thanks for trying to cover up for me though, girls. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without you."

I hugged them all tight before heading towards Sensei's room, where I was probably gonna get the best scolding of my life. Hopefully, there weren't any slippers in the room right now....

I knocked slightly on his door, hoping that he wasn't there for whatever reason, but Sensei successfully crushed all my hopes when he instantly rushed out, with his hands on his hips.

Still, he stopped dead in his tracks as he saw my face, his brows frowning into an unpleasant look that made me literally shrink in front of him.

"Well well, look who finally decided to show up! After going missing for almost an entire day! Do you have any idea how worried we all were about you, young lady?! Nobody knew where you went, or who you were with, you could've been lying dead at the bottom of a lake by now!!
You should've at least told the girls if you still don't trust me, but I almost died of concern today, Jennie!! And I am highly disappointed of your behavior today, I really expected more from you." Sensei said, while staring at me with sad eyes. In that moment, I would've rather had him hit me with a slipper instead of giving me that look.

I knew I had disappointed him, for dashing out like that for an entire day, but also for not trusting him enough to tell him where I was going.

He had always taken care of me after all, keeping small secrets here and there from the rest of the BigHit staff in order to protect me and the girls, so we could sometimes eat a little chocolate or a slice of pizza when we felt like passing out unless we did so, or letting us sleep an hour extra and pretending we had been practising with him... he really was a very nice man, and very reasonable, and I realized that I acted like a complete idiot for not letting him know I was leaving for a couple of hours.

He must've been worried sick, and not just because I was now an idol gone missing, but because I was one of his favorite kids gone missing.

I looked at him with regret and hugged him tight, apologizing for being such a reckless dumbass. I solemnly swore to him I'll never disappear like that again, or at least not without letting him know about it beforehand, and a subtle smile played on his lips, realizing that I had learnt my lesson well and clear. He hugged me back, petting my hair, and planted a soft kiss on my forehead, and I knew he had forgiven me already.

"Well, now that we cleared that up, hurry and go wash yourself because you stink, change your clothes and meet me and the girls in the lobby in half an hour. We're going to a meeting at the agency."

I nodded, my lips pursed in a tight line, and headed for the shower. As the warm water began to stream down my body though, some other thoughts invaded my mind before I could try to stop them.