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

Too Late

The HYBE car pulls up in front of Binna's low rise apartment and Jungkook hops out of the back door before the driver can open it for him. He steps up to the row of several buzzers, none of them are labeled, but he looks up at the apartment building, a glimmer of recognition from the one evening he saw it, the night he met her and offered her a job on the music video. He presses several buttons at once, waiting for anyone to answer. He steps back and looks up, hoping there is a camera to prove his identity to the owner of the doorbell he pushed last. He doesn't see a camera, but he hears a loud click and a buzz as the door lock is released by someone inside. He grabs the door, pulling it open from the frame and he turns back to the HYBE car and waves the driver off. He bounds through the door as the car slowly pulls away and he stops in the hallway, uncertain where to go. He can see several doors, and the stairwell to the next level and he takes a deep breath, ready to meet whoever opens the first door. He knocks tentatively, unsure, and then decides to knock louder.  Whoever he meets will know Binna, the building is too small for the neighbors not to at least know the basic information about each other.

The door is unlocked, and in the sliver of opening, behind a security chain, the figure of an elderly gentleman appears. Jungkook swallows hard as the man studies him.

"Good evening Sir, I am sorry to disturb you so late. I'm looking for Jee BinNa, do you know which apartment is hers?" he asks, with a friendly smile and submissive demeanor, hoping to gain his trust. The man eyes him suspiciously.

"Who wishes to know?" he asks sounding very formal and rigid.

"My name is Jeon Jungkook, I work with Binna, we worked together," he slowly corrects himself. "I have something important to discuss with her." The man's eyes seem to flash and Jungkook wonders for a moment if this man knows who he is.

"You're too late," he says. Jungkook's expression drops, unsure what this really means.

"I have to speak to her," he says with more desperation in his voice.

"She isn't here," the man says, looking him up and down from the slight opening. Jungkook looks as though he may cry, finally getting this close and being told she isn't here.

"Please?" He leans closer and whispers, with a pain-filled voice. The man eyes him again, considering. The door shuts quickly, leaving him alone in the empty hallway, listening for a sign of what will happen next. Just as suddenly, the door is opened, chain removed. The man pulls the door open wider and stands aside.

"You'd better come in," he indicates toward the apartment and Jungkook curiously steps inside wondering who this little old man is and what he knows. He looks around at the decorations and furnishings and it's immediately clear to him that this is the apartment of an old married couple, and he wonders how he knows Binna. The man walks past him toward the kitchen and calls behind him, "would you like a drink young man?" Jungkook follows him into the kitchen, confused about what is going on. He sees the scrabble game laid out on the table as the man pours two glasses, turning to hand him one without waiting for his response.

"You know Binna?" Jungkook asks, taking the glass without thinking. The man sits back down at the table and nods. He looks down at the board.

"So you are Jung Kook," he says sounding out the name. He looks him up and down and Jungkook frowns.

"It's very important that I speak to her. I have some news that she will want to hear." He stands awkwardly with drink in hand as the man drinks his down.

"Is it about her job? Or is it personal?" At this moment, Jungkook now realizes that the man does know Binna, perhaps we'll enough to know what happened, and he wonders if he could be a relative. He drops down to the chair next to him, the same chair where Binna was sat an hour earlier.