BEHIND THE SCENES

chapter 126: damage control

<OST: Orbit - Hwasa>

"Okay... so what's up?"

Jungkook and Seokjin sat in one row across Jennie and Jimin later in the afternoon, back at the office.

"You both know what's up-" Seokjin pursed his lips. "We're here to discuss what's our next step."

"Fair enough," Jimin said nonchalantly. "But before we go into that... don't you think we deserve an apology?"

Seokjin leaned back in his seat, waiting for Jungkook to take over.

"Exactly-" Jungkook pursed his lips as he glanced at Jennie across the table. "I'm sorry, Jennie Kim. This is completely my fault, and I take full responsibility for it."

"Thanks for your apology," Jennie said as she nodded her head slowly. "I appreciate it... and I also accept your apology. Let's not waste any more time and get down to business right away... what would you like to do about the whole situation?"

"Why don't you say what's on your mind first...?" Jungkook bit his lower lip nervously. "Because... I'm not too sure if you're gonna like my idea."

"It's fine..." Jennie gestured towards him politely. "Let's hear you out first."

"Nah, you go ahead."

"I said it's okay, I wanna hear what you think."

"No, ladies first-"

"JK, I'm telling you to go ahead-"

"The two of you!" Seokjin exclaimed agitatedly. "Can you hurry up? We don't have all day."

"Yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this... but I agree with Seokjin-hyung-" Jimin sneered. "Can the two of you hurry up? JK-ssi, you go first."

"What are you saying?" Seokjin frowned as he glared at Jimin. "I told them to hurry up, so Jennie Kim-ssi should go first."

"What? No, JK-"

"Jennie Kim-"

"JK-"

"Jennie Kim-"

"JK-"

"Okay, cut it out!" Jungkook finally exclaimed, after covering his ears for a few whole seconds from the chaos in the meeting room. "This is a mess. We all can't agree on anything... so someone has to give in eventually. If you really wanna hear what I think first... so be it. I'll state my stance but don't get mad, alright? It's just my opinion."

"Why would I get mad?" Jennie mumbled under her breath. "I'm more worried about whether you'd like my opinion."

"What?"

"Nothing-" Jennie brushed it off. "Go ahead."

"I..." Jungkook hesitated for approximately three whole seconds. "At the press conference, I would like to tell everyone the truth of our relationship... that I'm not actually dating you, but dating Lee Jieun instead."

Jimin's jaw dropped as he turned to stare at Jungkook, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "What? Excuse me-"

"Wait-" Jennie exclaimed in shock. "Really?"

Jungkook nodded quietly.

"This guy is crazy though," Seokjin tried to play it down. "There's no way Yang sajang-nim will ever approve of this-"

"No, but you're serious, right?" A small smile played at Jennie's lips. "So... it looks like we're on the same page, Jeon Jungkook."

"That's right, Jennie-ya..." Jimin froze as he ginally registered exactly what Jennie had just said, and he turned to glance at Jennie, looking absolutely mortified. "Wait, what the-"