Winter Tangerines (IU x SUGA)

Twenty-two

Min Suga: Just listened to the song. Thank you, Jieun.

Jieun: How was it?

Min Suga: It's perfect.

It felt strange for Jieun when Yoongi found the song to be perfect. Did he even listen to the lyrics? But she was relieved that he had no complaints about it. It only means that he won't be bothering her much anytime soon. Feeling in the mood to celebrate, she decided to take Beomgyu out for dinner.

"Finally, a taste of the city!" Beomgyu exclaimed. Jieun just smiled at the cuteness of her brother. Somehow, she was feeling less stressed with him around.

"I missed going out too."

She was enjoying the night with her steak and wine when a man approached their table.

"Jieun-ssi?"

She lifted her head and found him smiling brightly at her. It took a while before her mind could register who the handsome man was.

—

December 2015

'Give me two days. I'll give you the perfect singer for our perfect song.' She could almost hear the impulsive words she voiced out earlier.

"Ugh! Why did I even promise Yijeong?"

"Well you can always take it back. Don't be too hard on yourself, unnie."

"But Sooyoung, you know me. I always stick to my words. Only this time, I have no freaking idea where to find the perfect singer I promised him."

"You'll find him. I believe in you." Sooyoung cupped Jieun's face. She always find her cute when whining. "Come on, let's go get some fresh air."

The two friends took a walk in the neighborhood and decided to unwind over some coffee.

"What would I do without you?"

Sooyoung was laughing at Jieun being dramatic and talking to her iced americano. "Unnie, I think you need more than just coffee. You need someone to make your heart flutter, not palpitate."

"Girl, no, thank you. Coffee is enough."

A woman approached the mini stage at the corner of the cafe and started announcing something.

"What did she say?" Jieun was busy scrolling through her phone so she failed to listen.

"She said there's an open mic for tonight. Those who wanted to sing may approach the stage."

"Oh." Jieun took another sip of her coffee.

"Unnie, why don't you do it? Sing for us!"

"What? No...no way."

"But it's been a long time since I last heard you sing on stage. I really miss your voice."

"Sooyoung, you know that I have cursed singing already. I almost cursed music entirely."

"But you didn't. Because deep inside your heart, music and singing will always be your true love."

"I don't know, Sooyoung. Music doesn't make my heart that excited anymore. I mean, I think I'm just doing this for work." Jieun lied.

There was silence between them. Sooyoung didn't want to argue further because she knew how easy Jieun gets annoyed over the topic. Not long after, a young man stepped up the stage. The speakers started playing a very familiar song, followed by him singing. Jieun's small eyes grew bigger when she heard that it was her song being sung on stage. Sooyoung was surprised as well.