When Kim Taehyung's fictional romance with his costar Jeon Jeongguk feels more genuine than his entire acting career, he believes it shouldn't be a problem: after all, it's just acting.
But isn't it wrong to be envisioning someone else by his side...
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Taehyung disliked airports, although, the crowds were less overbearing compared to idols. It wasn't a drastic difference due to his current popularity, but at least he wasn't drowning in screaming fans trying to touch him as he walked by.
You could say actors were given a bit more respect in the industry. However, just because fans weren't shouting at him or trying to swarm him from every possible direction, it didn't mean there weren't a lot of phones and cameras angled at his face.
"Where's Jeongguk?" Taehyung asked Hoseok when they exited the car while guards began to take their positions around them. Right on cue, he fixed his sunglasses as he began to push through the crowd of bright, blinding cameras already flashing in his eyes.
"He went back to Seattle a few days ago," Hoseok whispered close, placing a guiding hand against Taehyung's elbow.
At that, Taehyung's eyes splayed wide, nearly tripping over his own feet. So his costar wasn't even here to support him in the airport? And Hoseok just told him this now?
"Cut the look," Hoseok grumbled, nudging him to keep moving. "Penn explained to me that it was a personal request. It's part of his contract. Mark all of his flights under a pseudonym, private his schedule, and keep him completely out of the k-media."
"So I'm going to be alone for most of the promotion?" Taehyung fought the scowl twitching over his mouth, knowing any sour reaction he let out would blow up on some kakao chatroom.
Despite the part of him that understood, there was no doubt that Jeongguk was incredibly frustrating. He was definitely the same person he remembered.
But seriously, who did he think he was? If they were going to work on this together, he should at least put some effort, right?
"Not the time, Tae," Hoseok kept his expression professional, but he could hear the slight irritance in his tone. "Just smile and keep going. We'll talk about it later."
He opened his mouth to argue back until a shrill, "Taehyung oppa!" interrupted him. Both of them winced, watching as a guard basically had to shove yet another doting, crazed fan girl aside to safely make room for them.
Maybe Hoseok was right. No, scratch that. He was a 100% right. For now, he was going to delay his bitterness toward the ever-so complex Jeongguk and just attempt to get through this goddamn airport.
There were more important things to think about and Jeon Jeongguk wasn't one of them.
🎬🎬🎬
One 10 hour and a half flight later, they were finally in the place Jeongguk called home: Seattle, U.S.
The whole airport experience passed by in a blur. After flights, Taehyung's head was always heavy. It didn't really help that the time difference was 16 hours behind Seoul, but he supposed he just had to get used to it.
