paper hearts | rosékook

chapter twenty two

The idols took seats in the seating area of the ceremony as they were told to. Rosé ended up sitting in between BTS and NCT, behind Twice and Red Velvet. Being a soloist, she didn't have a group to sit with and apparently, a few to no soloists were present that day. The only artists that she was friends with were Chung Ha and Sunmi, but they were currently backstage to prepare for their performance.

She sat in between the boy groups silently, looking around the venue. She should just start talking with her label mates to feel less lonely right? Well, she could, if the one sitting next to her wasn't the one and only Jeon Jungkook.

They've interacted in front of cameras before, and fans really love their friendship, but that night, Jungkook kept ignoring her existence besides him.

Rosé could barely handle it. She tried to make up small conversations with him, but he either just nodded or answered in one word, without even sparing a glance towards her. It was breaking her heart, seeing him act so coldly towards her the entire time. The worst part is, she didn't even know what she did for him to act like that.

Jimin glanced towards the duo, sitting emotionless besides each other. He looked at Jungkook, who was looking mad and then shifted his eyes towards Rosé, who looked upset. He didn't understand what was going on between the two. Did they fight back in her apartment?

He leaned in to whisper in Jungkook's ear. "What's going on between you and Rosie?"

Jungkook looked at the older and shook his head. "Nothing. Don't bother." He said.

"Well now I'm definitely going to bother. Tell me what's wrong. She seems very upset." Jimin said.

"Hyung, seriously, nothing is going on." Jungkook answered, firmly. Jimin furrowed his eyebrows but decided not to push it anymore.

Rosé sat there with a small pout, playing with her fingers as she watched the groups perform one after another in silence.

Soon, someone greeted her.

"Hello, Rosé-nim."

She thought it was Jungkook. Actually, she wanted it to be Jungkook. But it actually came from the other side.

NCT's Jaehyun called her. She turned her head towards him and found him smiling gently towards her.

"Oh. Hello, sunbae." She greeted back.

"You seem lonely?" He asked.

"Ah. I'm not lonely. I just feel a little tired." She replied.

"That's too bad. You should take plenty of rest. After all, you're Korea's favorite girl." He complimented, making Rosé giggle.

"That's not it!" She whined, hitting his arm lightly. They continued to keep up the conversation, and she soon felt much better. They kept cracking jokes and laughing, having a jolly time.

This caught Jungkook's attention. He saw them through his peripheral vision, laughing and having a great time. He glanced towards them briefly, poking his tongue inside his cheek. He was feeling a certain type of way, watching her laughing like that with someone who wasn't him.

It's not like she can't have any friends. He wasn't that type of person. But he was having a hard time figuring out his feelings towards her and staying away from her was breaking his heart too, whether anyone believes it or not. He wanted to hold her, make her smile and laugh, talk with her for hours. But he can't. Because he was stuck in confusion about his own feelings. He doesn't even know how to deal with it anymore.

It's only been a few hours and he feels like months have already passed without talking to her or touching her.

He saw them still laughing and holding up conversation, and got fed up. He got up from his seat and walked out of the seating area to go to the washroom to calm himself down.