Chapter 1
• Areum •
Ding dong. Ding dong..
Startled, I woke up to someone ringing my doorbell relentlessly, not giving up, not giving a damn that I was buried in the warmths of my bed. Or how I had tossed and turned and had finally just found the right spot in bed to fall asleep.
I placed an arm over my eyes and groan irritately at the person outside my front door. They apparently did not care because the doorbell continued to ring. I sighed and removed my arm from my eyes. With one eye opened, I squinted at the clock that was located on my bedside table.
Two o’clock.
“Fuck. You have got to be kidding me,” I hissed annoyingly. Whoever that was at the door, I was going to rip them apart into pieces.
I worked for Big Hit Entertainment as a make-up artist for BTS. People may say that it would be the ideal dream job to work side by side with the top seven hottest men in the world and those people were right. I did enjoy every minute that I spent working with them. But at the end of the day, no one understood the long, tiring hours of planning and then the running around during every event they attended, every concert they put on, to make sure everything was flawless.
I turned to lay on my stomach and buried my head under my pillow praying that whoever was at my door would eventually leave. But they continued to be persistent and rang the doorbell.
“Fuck, fuck fuck,” I muttered under my breath, feeling infuriated as I slowly rolled out of the comfort of my warm bed and stumbled my way out of my bedroom towards the front door.
With my hands on my hips, I mumbled annoyingly, “You better be the Pope to be interrupting my good night sleep. No one is ever allowed to disturb me when I’m sleeping.”
I peeked through the peephole and immediately my heart fluttered. My eyes opened widely as I tried to smooth out my messy bed hair to look presentable. The man standing outside my door right at this minute was better than the pope.
Park Jimin was standing and smiling handsomely as if he knew I was looking through the peephole. He was leaning towards the door with his lips pursed together.
“Areum, I can hear you behind the door,” he slurred his words as sweetly as he could.
My heart sunk as I realized Jimin made his way over to my apartment drunk. Something sadly, but I had gotten used to for the past few months. I sighed disappointingly because I knew why he came over when he was drunk.
He was most likely upset about Da-hee and how she used him to try and break up Jungkook’s marriage with my good friend Haeyoung. I had heard that everything exploded in Chicago when Jungkook confronted her.
I knew better than anyone about how Jimin liked Da-hee a whole lot more than he liked to carry on the outside. The only reason I knew about his true feelings was because most of the time, when I took care of Jimin’s make up, he confided in me.
Over the years of working closely together with Jimin one-on-one, I had gotten to know the real Jimin. The kind, sweet, soft side of him that he showed me by picking up my favorite cup of coffee, or telling me that I looked pretty in the outfit I was wearing for the day. Then before I could help myself, I had fallen for his charm.
But at the end of the day, I knew that I couldn’t ever confess my feelings to him. I was silly to think he would ever have an ounce of romantic feelings for me. The things that he does or the things he says to me was probably just his way of being nice to me as a friend. I was sure that his feelings for Da-hee was too deep and there was no way I would ever be able to compete with someone like her.
Then there was also the whole Jungkook-Haeyoung fiasco. After their scandal nearly caused BTS to almost spiral to the bottom pit, Big Hit Entertainment made all the staff sign a form that would automatically terminate us from our jobs if we were caught in a relationship with any of the star idols. I was also pretty sure, we would be blacklisted and never be able to work as a make-up artist for another company again.
“Areum! Open the door!” Jimin shouted, shaking me back to reality.
“I was sleeping, Jimin. Go home.”
“Areum, I need you tonight...”
I was always a sucker when Jimin used that sweet tone of voice to call me out. I sighed in defeat and slowly unlocked the door. Jimin smiled adorably towards me as he stumbled his way into my apartment. He managed to slip his shoes off before making his way to my living room and flopping to lay down on to my couch.
I went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water and two ibuprofens for the hangover that he would be feeling in the morning. I placed it on the coffee table infront of him. Then I went to the closet in the hallway to grab a pillow and a comforter for him.
I returned to Jimin and placed them on the couch. “Good night, Jimin.”
I turned around to head back to my bedroom. But before I could step away, Jimin grabbed my wrist and tugged me down next to him. I laid stiffly next to him in his arms, unable to breath properly as I blinked my eyes towards him.
He smiled seductively at me as he slowly brought his lips closer to mine. I gulped nervously as I could feel my heart beat erratically as he squeezed me tightly with his strong arms.
“You’re always so good to me,” he murmured as he leaned his forehead against mine.
I sucked in my breath and whispered, “It is because I have no choice. We both know PD Bang will have my ass if he found out that you were sprawled lifeless in the hallway, outside my front door, and that I didn’t bother to open my door.”
He let out a light, good-natured laugh. I sighed at the sound of his laughter. God, I love listening to him laugh. It is music to my ears.
He smiled and shook his head no at me. “You are so wrong.”
“I am?” I said feeling confused.
He nodded. “Yeah. All you had to do was call one of the guys upstairs and have them drag my drunk butt home. But instead you chose to open your door and welcome me inside your home. Do you like me, Areum?”
I froze. I blinked my eyes nervously at his question. Was it that obvious? Did he know that I had secret crush on him? I inhaled deeply, feeling anxious. I tried to wedge out of his arms but he held me tightly. Then he continued to inch his lips closer and closer.
Oh my God, he is going to kiss me.
I closed my eyes tightly and waited. And I waited. After a few seconds too long, I opened my eyes. He had stopped right before his lips would touch mine. His smile turned to a frown as he pushed hinself away. My heart cracked a little. I was crazy to have hoped that he wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss him.
“Did you know I got too spend time with my cute nephew and niece today?” He said changing the subject as he smiled slightly.
Jimin was talking about Jungkook and Haeyoung’s two children. Junho was their oldest son and had just turned six, while their daughter, who was cute as a button, was turning one in a few months. I knew how much those two kids meant to him and played a huge role in his life. He loved and adored them as if they were his own.
“Well aren’t you the lucky one?” I teased him. “They live one floor up from me and I never get to see them.”
Jimin chuckled softly, “You know that if you want to see them, you have to make effort to visit them.”
“You boys keep me on my toes and I’m always running around taking care of shit for you guys. How do expect me to have time to visit those cute munchkins?” I playfully challenged him.
“Okay fine. Next time I go visit them, I will call you up and we can go together,” Jimin suggested.
My heart practically leapt out of my chest. I would go anywhere with this guy as long as we were together. I held back a huge smile that was threatening to escape. I took a deep breath and said calmly, “Yeah sure. Call me up. I do miss them kids.”
There was a long silence between us and then after a while Jimin sighed deeply. “I want to have the same type of love that Jungkook has with Haeyoung.”
He turned and then laid his head on my shoulder. My heart broke when I realized that all he needed was a friend and that was all I would ever be to him. He was someone I could never have.
Jimin was tied to Big Hit Entertainment as one of their best star idols and I was a staff member of Big Hit Entertainment. This made him off limits to someone like me.
Even though I think I would be able to provide him and give him the love he yearned deeply for, I would only end up hurting him and dragging his reputation in the muddy ground. He needed someone like Da-hee. She was beautiful, talented, and the most wanted woman in South Korea.
I laid my head on top of his. “One day you will find that love you’re looking for.”
I heard him take a deep breath. I lifted my head and slightly turned my head to stare at him. My heart ached and wished he could be mine. I reached my hand up to his face and almost cupped his cheek with it. But I stopped myself. I know I shouldn’t. It would only hurt me more because....
After all he was someone I could only dream of having.
Author's Note: This is a work in progress. I am currently writing between two stories and also currently busy with work and personal family matters. But I was very excited and wanted to share with you on what I'm currently working on. This may take longer for me to update, but I will do my best to keep it consistent. Please be patient with me. Thanks!
