Begin (JJK) BTS 2026 series Book 3 (COMPLETED)

Aftermath

Binna closes the door to Jungkook's spare bedroom, leaning against it, almost holding the knob to keep it shut. She exhales the breath she's been holding and then her hand balls into a fist and she bangs it against her forehead, punishing herself as she squeezes her eyes shut tightly.

"Fuck Binna!" she says out loud. "What the actual fuck do you think you're doing?" She shakes her head as though she's expecting herself to come up with an answer to excuse her actions. Her mind floods with unkind thoughts, shaming her. Kissing your boss? Not OK. Kissing Jungkook? Even dumber idea. He's definitely out of her league, and he's probably just toying with her anyway, she thinks. What the hell would she have to offer someone like him. He has to be toying with her, or maybe just a cruel payback because she tried to get herself the director's job. She sighs heavily. She's probably just gotten herself fired being the producer on the video now, just when she had started to see the plan clearly, and was excited to work with him. Why does it always have to go wrong for her? She sits on the edge of the bed feeling sorry for herself. But his lips felt so soft, and his breath was so warm as it tickled her cheek, she thinks back. She sighs.

She looks up at the closed door, wondering what he did after she ran out of the edit room. Did he wonder at her boldness kissing him? Did she kiss him? Or had he kissed her first? Maybe, she embarrassed him. Maybe he's angry at her. Maybe he's still feeling the alcohol and he won't even remember this in the morning. She drops back onto the bed, sinking into the covers and she covers her eyes with her arm, letting a few tears wet her skin.

***

She wakes again in the spare bedroom and she can see light coming through the heavy blue curtains. She sits up quickly, realizing she fell asleep while sat at the edge of the bed. She grabs her phone on the bedside table and looks to see that it's nearly 8:30am. She is surprised at the late hour and she drags herself to the window to look out over the high rises in the distance and the river below, noticing how bright the sunlight is. She turns back to see her clothing neatly laid on the chair near the door and she reaches for it, eager to get out of this place as soon as she can. She pulls on her jeans and removes the t-shirt, dropping it onto the bed, and puts her own shirt back on.

She steps toward the door but looks back at the crumpled bedsheets and the t-shirt and she feels bad for leaving this work for Mrs. Park. She steps up to the t-shirt, folding it neatly and placing it back on the chair where her clothing had been. She turns back to the bed and begins to make it. Maybe it will be like she was never here, and they can forget yesterday ever happened and carry on with the work on the music video. She hopes they can.

Once she's satisfied the room looks perfect, she slowly opens the door to the hallway, and peers out, looking from side to side at the empty space, and she listens, for some sound, some hint of where he may be. When she hears nothing, she steps into the hallway, closing the door behind her, and she quietly walks past each door, all closed, leading toward the living room. She steps into it, to find it empty. She listens and hears no sound, the apartment is empty, he's gone. She sighs. He did tell her he would be gone when she got up, but how would he know when she got up?

She turns back toward the edit room and she opens the door, noticing that the monitor is switched off, but the drive she had been looking at it still connected, and her notebook with the notes she had been making is still sat in the same spot. She steps into the room, looking around, almost to see if there is some proof that last night happened, to find some evidence of them being alone in this room, of the kiss. She has no idea what could give her that proof, what tangible evidence would exist, but the room looks exactly as it had when she first stepped into it, when he first brought her to look at footage.

She frowns a little, unsure what she's really feeling and why it feels a little like disappointment. She shakes her head as she suddenly feels that she should just leave now, before this gets any more awkward. Maybe she can see Bang PD and explain they had creative differences and she will not be working on the video. She picks up her notebook, and opens the door.

She steps back out of the edit room, closing the door to it, closing the door on what happened, and she returns to the living room to gather her things. She remembers her papers and the time line were left on the table by Mrs. Park. She rounds the corner to the dinning room and she is instantly reminded of their dinner together as  the evidence of their indulgence is still spread all over the table. She looks over the large number of dirty dishes and empty wine glasses and she sighs, shaking her head.

She immediately begins carrying the plates, placing each one expertly across her arm as she had done in her short stint as a waitress during university. She carefully steps into the kitchen and looks for the sink, stepping up to carefully begin to place each plate on the counter near the spotless sink. She frowns at this mess left for Mrs. Park and she plugs the drain, and fills the first sink with water, finding the dishsoap and she returns to get the next set of dishes from the table.

She scrubs the dish as she stands at the sink, staring at the plaque on the wall with the words in English, "To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved, that's everything." She wonders at it. It seems like someone else must have put this plaque up, because they liked the design or the flow of the lettering. She smirks at it thinking how tripe it seems as she scrubs the hardened left overs off of the plate in her hand.  How oversimplified to think being loved and loving is 'everything'. How can that really fulfill you? Love changes and wanes, it fades, it doesn't last, she thinks as she finishes the last of the plates.

She hears a noise behind her and turns around in her soapy rubber gloves to face Mrs. Park, just coming in with a bag of shopping. She looks up at her startled.

"Miss Jee, you are, doing the dishes?" She walks closer to inspect what she is doing and shakes her head. "This s not necessary, please, you shouldn't trouble yourself," she apologizes and bows her head low. Binna smiles at her.

"I was just about to leave and I saw the dishes, you asked him to place them in the sink and we forgot, he forgot." She is unsure how to explain why she is here, still.

"Mr. Jeon is working?" she asks taking the scrub brush from her hands and almost leading her away from the sink.

"He was gone when I woke up," she says and the look on Mrs. Park's face, a little shock and then instantly masked a forced smile, makes her wish she had chosen a different way to answer that questions. "I mean, I was suppose to be working this morning, and I was very tired and-" Mrs. Park glances behind her at the two empty wine bottles sat on the side of the counter and she nods her head. She takes hold of her elbow and removes one of the rubber gloves from Binna's hand as she smiles.

"You should go finish your work in the edit room, and let me do my work here," she explains, removing the second glove and inspecting her hand, holding up her fingers as if looking for something. "Go work, I will bring you some tea in a little while." She flaps her hands at Binna to shoo her out of the kitchen and she steps backward toward the living room.

Maybe she should keep reviewing footage, since that is what he expected her to be doing today before-. She frowns as she thinks about this job, and the step it will give her toward the tour documentary. She sighs and she looks over at the pile of her belongings neatly placed on the side table, and she grabs her notebook back off the pile and carries it back to the edit room to continue working.