BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 99: farewells aren't easy

<OST: It's You - Chungha>

Yoongi stayed in that position for a while, completely unmoving, until Jennie finally pulled away and shoved the phone into his hands. Even after she had released him from her embrace, Yoongi's heart was still acting unusually and he couldn't look down at her phone immediately.

This was why.

This was precisely why Yoongi was starting to be afraid of Jennie, afraid of hanging out with her alone. He was falling for her, fast - and he himself was aware of his own feelings. That girl... she was way more charming than she herself knew. He had never felt this way in a long time... She had promised to remain by his side as his friend for as long as he needed, but at the rate it was going, it wouldn't be long before his resolve crumbled...

"Oppa-" Jennie waved her hands in front of Yoongi's face, peering into his line of sight. "Hello...? Is anyone there...?"

Yoongi finally snapped back to attention. "Huh?"

"Read the message, oppa-" Jennie grinned as she pointed at her phone excitedly. "Read it!"

Yoongi stared at her blankly, stunned for a few seconds, before he finally looked down into her phone and began to read the message on the screen.

- - -

9637 xxxx
Good evening, Jen-ssi. My name is
Moon Byulyi, or Moon author-nim,
as most people address me by. I
received your email well and have
noted its contents. Your proposal
has highly intrigued me, and I will
be keen to arrange a meet up with
you any time this week to go over
the details of you and your friend's
business proposal. Do let me know
when will be a good time and day.

- - -

Yoongi looked up at Jennie's excited face, looking thoroughly confused. "What... is... this...?"

"Just now I sent an email to the author I told you about," Jennie said with a proud smile as she grabbed the phone from Yoongi's hands. "You know, the one who wrote the popular online novels? Who knew she'd reply so fast! I barely even sent out the email an hour ago..."

"An hour ago...?" Yoongi raised his eyebrows. "So that's what you were doing on the train earlier...?"

"Yeah-" Jennie giggled. "Are you proud of me...?"

Yoongi stared at Jennie in silence for a few moments, at a loss for what to say. She really meant it when she said she wanted to repay him for the things he'd done for her. But to him, the things he had done for her was nothing compared to what she had done and was doing for him... Nothing. If not for her, he wouldn't even have left his home. If not for her, he would never have been able to eat out at a restaurant ever again. If not for her, he would never have had the motivation to chase after his dreams again. If not for her, he would never have crawled out of his shell and learned to face his past and get over it, slowly but surely.

Meeting her had completely changed his life.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Jennie cupped her face, looking away bashfully before stealing a quick glance in Yoongi's direction. "If you stare at me any longer, I think my heart is gonna explode."

Yoongi looked down at the floor briefly, before looking up at her once more. "I just... don't know what to say."

"If you don't know what to say, you don't have to say anything," Jennie said with a small smile. "After all, I already know how you feel."