Seoul City

Ch. 35 - Shopping with the Boys

"How about this one?" Taehyung asked, holding up a long, conservative, navy dress with full sleeves and a neckline so high that it was practically a turtle-neck.

It was the morning after the camping trip and Chaeyoung, Taehyung, and Jungkook were at the mall, shopping for Chaeyoung's 'new look'. Jennie, not wanting to waste any time, had forced both of the men to accompany Chaeyoung to ensure decent items were chosen.

Chaeyoung smiled at him while Jungkook scoffed, "how is anyone supposed to seduce someone in something like that?"

"Chaeyoung could wear a garbage bag and still be able to seduce anyone," Taehyung said, but, nevertheless, put the dress down. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a blush creeping up Chaeyoung's cheeks and hid a smile while examining another dress.

Jungkook rolled his eyes but didn't disagree as his eyes skimmed the racks of clothing in front of them.

"Now, this is a dress," Jungkook said, holding up a short, black, sleeveless dress with large, lace cut-outs along the side.

Chaeyoung's eyes widened with a mixture of fear and distaste as she took the dress from him to examine it, "for who? A stripper?"

Taehyung laughed at the sarcasm in her voice. He was pretty sure she liked Taehyung's pick better, and that gave him a sense of satisfaction.

During the camping trip, he'd begun to see how close Chaeyoung and Jungkook had gotten. Although they tried to be subtle, Taehyung still picked up on the cues. The way his body immediately perked upon seeing her, the way his mood improved whenever she was around, the half-smiles he always tried to hide when he talked to her, the way he looked at her like she was a delicate work of art – he was clearly in love with her. Taehyung knew because it was the exact same way he also behaved around her.

He couldn't blame Jungkook for falling for Chaeyoung, any smart man would. But, for once in his life, he was jealous. He was jealous of the way she became flustered when he was around and the way she conversed with Jungkook so naturally, almost the same way she did with Taehyung. He wasn't angry at Jungkook, or Chaeyoung – but he was angry at himself, for not holding onto her the way she wanted to be held onto. He was angry at the world for introducing him to her as a friend first and making a romantic relationship between them almost impossible from the very beginning.

Taehyung always thought Chaeyoung deserved better than him – but, now, he wanted to fight for her. He wanted to be that better person for her.

"I like this one," Chaeyoung announced, causing Taehyung to blink out of his thoughts to shift his attention to the dress in her hands. It was a short, black dress with an open back and long, lace sleeves that had hints of gold specks along it. Just imagining her in it was enough to awe him, so he feared how he'd respond if he actually saw her in it.

A quick glance at Jungkook revealed similar thoughts as he nodded in approval, "you'll probably give Mr. Hino a heart attack and then we won't even need the sedative."

After another hour, Chaeyoung had a whole row of dresses lined up for her in a large, VIP dressing room at the back of the store. She went inside the room with a sales associate to assist her, while Taehyung and Jungkook waited outside.

They were sitting down beside each other on a posh, velvet sofa as they waited in front of the lavender curtains of the dressing room, an awkward silence surrounding them. Both men were undeniably displeased to have to share the time and affection of the woman they admired. No amount of small talk would help them through this agonizing wait, so they were grateful when one of the sales associates came by with drinks and small appetizers for them to immerse themselves in.