HER

pt. 16 Brat

"Am I interrupting?" She asked politely, though she eyed my hand on Seokjin's arm.
I quickly pulled away, placing my hands behind my back. "Not at all." I stated, looking up at Seokjin.
He looked embarrassed.
"What brings you here, Chaeyoung?"He asked.
She laughed, which, of course, was beautiful as well.
"Your father didn't tell you? He brought me on to help with your big new project!" She smiled. "He thought you could use my social connections and my experience as a model."
"That's very... Helpful of him." Seokjin said flatly.
She grabbed him by the arm I had just let go of. "I bet you didn't expect to see me so soon. I'm beginning to think your father likes the idea of us spending time together."
That makes one of us.
I looked away, fighting jealousy.
"This is my partner, Josephine LeRoux." Seokjin said, making me turn back towards them. "You will most likely be spending more time with her, seeing as she's the creative one between the two of us."
Chaeyoung gave me a look that made me feel she most certainly did not like that idea.
"Hello, nice to meet you." I said formally.
She smiled with little warmth.
"I should... Go take a look at our files." I said turning away.
"Wait." Seokjin ordered. He turned to Chaeyoung, patting her arm. "We have a lot of work to do. We'll contact you soon."
She frowned, pouting her lips. "Text me later, okay."
"Sure." Seokjin replied before joining me.
We headed towards the main office in silence.
I cleared my throat as I sat at Lee Gun Ho's computer, bringing up our work email to read about our project.
"So... She is very beautiful." I think I accomplished at sounding casual. Hopefully.
"Yeah." Was Seokjin's only reply as he watched over my shoulder.
I clicked on the message and began reading.
"So... She's smart too, huh?" I added.
Seokjin's face appeared over my shoulder as if to see the email better.
"Now, Josephine, it almost sounds as if you're jealous." His tone suggested it was a statement.
I nearly choked.
"Hah. That's funny. " I muttered.
I could see his smile in my peripheral.
I should punch him.
Then, I realized what I was reading.
Seokjin must have read it at the same time, since we both jumped up.
"We have to go to America?!" We exclaimed in unison.
"And not just America. New York City." I added, turning back to the computer. "In three weeks, to present our finished campaign at this convention."
I sighed.
"What's wrong?" Seokjin asked, sitting on the desk. "You should be excited. Your promotion is a big opportunity for your career."
"I know," I sighed again, "I have my best friend in town and now, I won't have much time with her."
Seokjin looked thoughtful for a moment. "Have you checked your phone lately?"
I looked at him curiously.
He gestured impatiently for me to do it.
When I did, I saw a few messages from Jimin.
I looked up at Seokjin. "It's your birthday next week?"
"Well... Yeah. But did Jimin invite you to the party or what?"
I nodded, looking down at my phone.
"But it's not Jimin's birthday..." I said in a small voice.
I looked up at him, grinning. "I'm not going unless you invite me yourself."
He frowned at me, his mouth agape from surprise. "W-why do you need my invitation? Jimin is throwing the party." He choked.
"It's your birthday. I don't know how you do birthdays here, but in America they're a big deal." I folded my arms. "I'm not going unless you tell me you want me to go."
"You're being a brat." He replied.
I glared at him. "Am not. It's proper courtesy."
Yeah, so what I'm being a brat?
I was still recovering from that jealousy spell, and jealousy can turn even the most emotionally mature person into a brat. And I definitely wasn't the most emotionally mature.
"Just reply to Jimin!" He exclaimed, gesturing angrily at my phone. "I pointed the message out to you so you and your friend can have something to do together!"
"Tell me you want me to go." I pouted.
"Taehyung will want you to go." He snapped.
"I don't care if Taehyung wants me to go, I care if you do." I retorted before I could stop myself.
My mouth hung open as I played back my own words in my head.
Seokjin's incredulous face melted away into something thoughtful.
He hopped off the desk and knelt down by my chair. He placed his hand on mine, looking up at me with those beautiful dark eyes.
"It would mean a lot to me if you attended my birthday party." He said softly.
I blushed.
I had to tear my gaze away from him; I was starting to stare at those lips.
"W-was that so hard?" I huffed.
He smiled slyly, rolling his eyes while he stood up, removing his hand from mine.
"No," he admitted. "But please answer Jimin. He's very serious about his birthday planning."
"You really think I wouldn't respond to a friend just like that?" I asked, texting Jimin back.
Well, I guess I did do that to Melissa. Oops...
My phone beeped. A text message popped up.

Taehyung 💜:
- Are you free for lunch?

"So, uh... Would you wanna go to lunch together or something?" Seokjin asked at the exact same moment.
I felt like this was that pivotal moment in a drama.

'Who does she choose?'

'Her fate lies within this one choice!'

Something as simple as a lunch date felt so dramatic in that moment.
I looked to my phone, and back Seokjin, my mouth open in preparation of a response.
He smiled, which almost seemed sad.
"Nevermind. I have a few things I need to do." He looked at his phone. "Looks like Chaeyoung wants to meet up anyway."
I frowned, furrowing my brow.
Well, fine...
I texted Taehyung that I was free.
When I looked back up, Seokjin was gone.