Time to Love (BTS & Red Velvet Short Stories)

Satangelique: IV (End)

Yeri acted her way through the entire week. She acted as if everything that happened didn't matter; that his gaze never affected her as much any other artist's gaze should, that conversations with him were forced and boring, that she was putting on a facade of who she really is.

But the truth is, everytime he sketched her and she catches a glimpse of his dark pupils dancing to every crook and cranny of her body, admiring every feature and scouring every flaw - her breath hitches and her heart beats faster - he looks at all her scars and imperfections with eyes that say they're nothing less than all the parts of her that he finds beautiful.

But the truth is, every conversation stuck on her head like a magnet. Jungkook rarely talks, but when he does it feels like one of those statements that should be hanged and framed. He spoke with so much thought, that it annoys her that he got all his bases covered when she questions him.

But the truth is, Yeri is unmasked and stripped of pretenses with him unlike when she acted, unlike when she is outside the space he had given her. That little space that they shared, no matter how small it was, it's here when she felt the most unbound and free.

But Kim Yeri never asked him and she herself was unsure of the feelings that compounded their relationship so she deluded herself.

She deluded herself in the fact that he meant business and so did she.

So did she.

"Yeri."

Yeri snapped her head towards the voice. She smiled sheepishly at Jungkook who gave her a questioning gaze before he removed his finished sketch from an easel.

"I called you thrice. Three times Yeri."

"Sorry."

"A penny for your thoughts then?"

Yeri have him a smile, the ones that never reached the light in her eyes. "Nah. You'll need more than a couple of dimes for this." She said as she tapped her temple with her finger.

"The play?" Jungkook assumed the girl has been spacing out because of the play she'll be performing in.

"Probably?"

"Need a break from modelling? You know I've always been lenient. Your play is the more pressing issue now. So, text me when you're free?"

Yeri considered her options, the boy said it himself. He's always been understanding for which she has always been thankful for. And Yeri just gained the biggest excuse she could muster, albeit it did nothing to confirm her feelings, nor did it help her to deaden the guilty feelings arising from Jungkook's proposition.

Yeri nodded. "I will."

But she never did.

▪▪▪○▪▪▪

Jungkook sat on the 4 o'clock seat facing the stage on the front row. He brought with him a bouquet of flowers for the actress' last show.

It was a childish move for Yeri to avoid Jungkook. One, the highly publicized play made it easy for Jungkook to score himself a ticket. Two, Jungkook's personality never allowed for loose ends in a relationship and he intended to make it clear to Yeri. Perhaps, it was because she decided to end it so suddenly without an explanation that irked Jungkook.

Did I exaggerate or imagine the closeness I felt with her?

That thought nettled with the boy's mind, perhaps he was not too direct with her?