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

Day Two

Jungkook walks through the door to the old dorm. He looks around in the darkness of the space, and for a moment he's right back there, 15 years ago, walking in for the first time, wondering what will happen next; excited for the possibilities but worried he won't be ready for the big changes ahead. He takes a moment to drink in the air of this quiet space, before the set lights are turned on and the crew are hustling around. It's so quiet he can hear the rolling shutters of the shop across the street opening for the days trade. It was never quiet back then. He smiles at the difference in this empty space.

He walks through the apartment to the bedroom and thinks of the members coming to visit today. Namjoon is first. He looks at the bunk that once was his space and he remembers him rolling out of it, on early mornings, exhausted from practicing until 2 am or recording all night but with a full days schedule ahead. His hair would always be sticking straight up, his eyes closed and sleepy but a smile appearing, dimples showing, as he would stumble past Jungkook to get his morning coffee.

Jungkook sits down on his old bed. His hand drops to the twisted sheets and his fingertips trace the mattress where he woke up the morning of the first days shoot, where he woke up next to Binna. It seems such a strange experience to open his eyes, and see this space. To almost be right back there; to his old life, to his world of hopes and dreams and constant work and effort, but to feel her body next to his, and to know in that moment that something was different. He smiles at the memory of feeling almost comforted, as though two parts of his world had joined and created a path where none existed before.

He can see her face now, turning beet red as he teased her in the kitchen, and he laughed at her, at her worried look as she told him that it could never happen again. At the time he believed her, and he understood, but, he also thought she looked really pretty first thing in the morning. When she left the kitchen, and he was alone, he wondered why she would dismiss it so quickly. He understood that it was unprofessional, and that it was actually very much against company policy, but, that night, he knew she had truly given herself to him. It was almost as though every moment since they had met, had been building to that night, a crescendo of emotion, the floodgates opened. She didn't just let down her guard, she surrendered, and made herself vulnerable. It could have gone a different way for them, if she had allowed herself to accept that part of her, but she woke up, and the old self, with fears and doubts and walls, returned. She was in such a hurry to get away and pretend it didn't happen; that they hadn't made the connection. She ran away, from him, and, he thinks, from her real feelings. He frowns as he questions, after it happened again, and she woke up beside him for the second time, how could she keep running?

He wonders if today will be the same. If she will walk through the door, and treat him like anyone else, and not like the person whose name she cried out in ecstasy and who she had clung to tightly as she fell asleep in his arms. He looks at his watch and sees the time. He knows that crew will be here soon, and it feels odd that she hasn't arrived already. He thinks perhaps she will be intentionally late, to walk in with the crew, to avoid facing him alone. He shakes his head at the absurdity of her continuing to struggle. He will find time with her, and she will have to face this. She can't run from him any longer.

The sound of the door opening in the living room startles him to action. He stands up quickly, ready to see her, ready to pull her aside if he needs to. He straightens up, running his hands through his floppy bangs as he prepares himself to face her. He can hear a heavy step and it confuses him, possibly one of the crew, but he hears keys, and no one has keys to this apartment except him, and Binna. He walks through the hallway to the living room and as he rounds the corner he sees the back of a tall man, broad shouldered and absorbed with the mobile phone in his hands. Jungkook looks around the room and curiously sees no one else, no one but the back of this person, who has keys.

"Good Morning," he says, watching the figure of the man jump slightly as he startles. He turns quickly, and his face relaxes as he recognizes Jungkook. He's a little younger, dressed nicely, but ready for a day of work. His smile begins to grow as he turns toward him completely and bows his head.

"Jungkook ssi, you frightened me. How are you this morning?" he bows again, politely. Jungkook studies him, narrowing his gaze.

"I'm fine, I've just been waiting for Jee Binna, and the crew I believe will be here soon." The man nods a few times and then seems to realize something. He shakes his head.

"Jee Binna is no longer the producer," he says. Jungkook looks up at him quickly, trying to make sense of his words.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Chang Sang Woo, I'm the new producer. Although I understand that Jee Binna arranged everything for the day, so I will be standing in to help with anything you need to arrange during the day, and I will be arranging the final shoot day." Jungkook stares hard at him, squinting in his confusion as the words roll through his mind. He tries to let them in and make sense of what this stranger has told him. As the meaning becomes more clear, he feels his heart begin to race a little. His eyes open wide.

"Where is Binna?"

" I was called in last night, and told to be here to complete the shoot." He seems to avoid the real question. Jungkook's expression drops, the displeasure must be evident and Sang Woo notices. He tries his best to reassure him. "Everything is set up. Binna made sure everything was arranged today. Kim Namjoon will be here at 9:00." He tries to smile. Jungkook frowns a little. This man doesn't know what he's thinking, what he's feeling, at realizing that Binna is so desperate to get away from him, from her feelings for him, that she has pulled herself off of the project entirely. But the man stands awkwardly smiling, and Jungkook feels bad for making him bear his disappointment.

"Thank you, I'm sure everything will be fine," he tries to smile at him, but he worries now that it will be anything but fine. Binna is punishing herself, and in doing so she is punishing him too.