A/N: I know Lisa has dyed her hair red now but for the sake of the continuity of this story, please assume that it is still blonde. :)

Jungkook's pov~

After spending most of the night tossing and turning, I woke up still tired and very cranky. I realised I had accidentally carried Lisa's bag with me only after I reached the dorm. At the questioning looks of my hyungs I just told them I had done a little "shopping" while out. Hopefully they wouldn't find the timberlands which were too small for me shoved in the back of my closet.

Damn, the girl had good taste though.

The girl was also annoying the hell out of me. Everytime I closed my eyes my mind kept replaying the events of last night. Hence, the fitful sleep.

"Who pissed in your cereal, Kookie? You look like you want to punch someone.", Jimin commented, wiping the sweat from the back of his neck with a towel.

It was eight in the morning and we were practicing in our company building. We had the press conference and interviews the whole day afterward so our management made sure we didn't disturb our daily routine of practicing.

By having us wake up at the crack of dawn.

"Are you volunteering?", I replied cracking my knuckles.

Jimin's eyes widened. "Yah, Kookie. Where are your manners?" He slapped the back of my head.

I huffed in annoyance and glanced at the other members who were all taking a break after the intense dancing. Taehyung and Yoongi were discussing something. Namjoon sat on the floor with his back on the glass wall, fiddling with his phone. Jin was beside him, his head resting on the leader's shoulder. Hoseok was taking a bathroom break.

"Woah." I heard Jimin breath. He was looking at the Tv mounted on the front wall. I turned to see what he was gaping at.

The muted television was on a music channel, an MC was reading out this weeks hot comebacks.

"...another rookie group to make a refreshing comeback this week is BlackPink....with a summer song...."

I tuned out his voice as the screen shifted to pictures of the BlackPink members, teasers apparently. My breath caught when I saw Lisa.

"She looks good.", Jimin said, his eyes fixed on the Tv as well.

"Who?", I questioned, not really paying attention to him.

His next words caught me off guard though.

"Lisa. She told me in her text that she was going to rap in all english this time, even though she isn't very good at speaking it."

I looked at him, my eyes narrowing. "Text? You have her number? And you text her?"

"Yeah, I asked Bambam for it after the stage rehearsals. I wanted to personally apologise for hogging their slot.", he paused, mumbling his next words." And to check up on her after her injury."

Yoongi spoke up from his position on the floor. He and Taehyung had also been watching the television." Why don't you just admit that you want to date her? You're not a teenager who needs excuses to justify his crush."

Jimin frowned." Well okay, I do like her but I don't know if she feels the same way."

"I'm sure she does. You should totally ask her out. Maybe take her to an art exhibition. Nice quiet place with no paparazzi. I read about this really cool gallery that just opened and it has tons of abstracts...", Taehyung rambled on.

Punching one of your hyungs. Not that big of an offense, right?

"Nah", Jin spoke up from his spot. "Rent out a good restaurant. Food always makes a good impression."

Punching two of them. Same punishment?

"Leave her alone. They are rookies, they can't afford to get caught dating another idol. Besides I'm sure they have a dating ban.", I said, making my way towards the door. I had heard enough and my already black mood had slipped even further.

"Like anybody ever follows that ban...", Taehyung muttered under his breath.

"Seriously, what is your problem, Jungkook?", Jimin asked, his tone irritated.

I ignored him, slipping out of the practice room.

~

The convention centre had many media rooms, the biggest one was currently holding our press conference.

The lights blinded me as we moved on to the stage as a group. Cameras flashed like incessant bees and the murmuring of reporters filled the big hall.

I took my seat in the centre, my eyes scanning the endless chairs placed in front of us, all filled with people carrying mics, recorders and big cameras.

I didn't feel intimidated. I had gotten used to this. My nervousness stemmed from another reason altogether. I was sure that after the questions about the BBMAs they were going to mention me and Tzuyu. I had prepared my answers but I was still afraid of fucking up.

"Thank you for joining us, Bangtan Sonyeondan. We congratulate you....", the MC commenced the conference.

For the most part it went smoothly. Namjoon hyung answered the intellectual questions with confidence and every other member also made sure to keep the atmosphere relaxed with jokes and laughter. We reminisced our experience on the magenta carpet and calmly replied to all the questions of the endless reporters in front of us.

Just as we were nearing the end, I was sure they were going to bring up the matter now but instead our manager hyung climbed the stage instead and came by my side.

He indicated for the other members to leave the stage and reluctantly they all got up, giving me worried glances.

"What is going on?", I hissed to the manager who had his hand on my shoulder.

He bent down to whisper in my ear." The JYP people sent Tzuyu-ssi here to answer the questions with you, without our knowledge. She's already here and now we can't turn her back without causing a scene. They've already verified the story so just answer as you normally would and it'll be over in a second."

My jaw dropped.

They had sent her here? Did they have any brains at all? This could go horribly wrong.

I composed myself, trying not to show anger in front of the cameras.

There was a commotion from the side of the stage and a familiar tall girl stepped up. She was dressed in a white top and pencil skirt, and she carried herself with timid grace.

Before I could look away she glanced in my direction, a small simpering smile appeared on her face as she bowed. I turned my head, frowning. I heard the screech of the chair V had occupied earlier.

This is going to be torture.

"Ah, Tzuyu-ssi welcome. It is nice to see that both of you are ready to address the curious public. Without delay, I will open the floor for questions from the media."

Almost all the reporters raised there hands eagerly. I restrained myself from rolling my eyes.

The MC chose one of them.

" Is it true that you both are secretly dating?"

I took a deep breath. Here we go...

"We are not. The rumours are false. I was helping Tzuyu-ssi pick up her stuff that she had dropped on the floor when that picture was taken, nothing else."

"Is it true, Tzuyu-ssi?", the annoying reporter asked.

She looked startled for a second before smiling shyly." Yes, he was helping me. I was walking down the hallway when I saw him in front of me. I just couldn't look away from him and I tripped over my own feet. I'm sure many of his fans can sympathise with my situation. You see, I've been BTS's fan for the longest time and seeing their handsome maknae up close just made me flustered for a second."

What. The. Fuck.

The whispers in the room intensified. Another reporter stood up.

"Are you saying that you admire Bangtan Sonyeondan's maknae?"

She glanced in my direction from under her lashes. I was in shock.

"As I said, I'm his fan. Fans do tend to admire their idols."

Now the reporters were asking questions left and right, without permission from the MC.

"Why were you two holding hands in the picture?"

Before I could reply, Tzuyu cut in." I just wanted that hi touch as a fan, you know. He gladly obliged my request."

My head snapped towards her so fast it gave me whiplash. Now she was lying? What the fuck was wrong with this girl?

"Jungkook-ssi, what do you have to say? Do you return the feelings of your admirer?", one of the journalists in the front asked smugly.

I hesitated. This was not part of the plan. I didn't know how to answer. She had established herself as my fan and I couldn't reject her without coming off as rude bastard. Moreover, I couldn't call her out on her lies without making a bigger scene.

"I'm flattered...", I continued slowly, choosing my words carefully."...by Tzuyu-ssi's words. But the point remains, I'm not dating anybody. Our focus is only on our music at the moment."

The reporter turned away as if I hadn't spoken. " Tzuyu-ssi, would you go out with Jungkook-ssi, if you could?"

She widened her eyes dramatically." Of course but that would probably not go so well with his fans. And I can understand where they're coming from too, it's hard to not be possessive over your idol.", she said the last part with a sad expression.

I was done. I needed to get out of this room before I lost my cool completely.
Thankfully our manager entered just then and spoke in the MC's ear.

The MC cleared his throat." That is all the time we have today. Thank you for your presence...."

I left immediately after he ended his sentence, not bothering to look back.

My anger showed on my face as I entered the back room where the rest of the members were. They appeared shocked, having seen the live broadcast on the television mounted on the wall.

"What the hell was that?", Yoongi roared with anger.

The manager who had entered after me sighed.
"I guess they had a story of their own or maybe Tzuyu just spoke for herself."

"How can she or they do this? Don't they know what this will entail. It's not going to end the rumours at all.", Namjoon spoke for all of us.

"Maybe, that's exactly their intention. To not end the rumours.", Yoongi said with a grimace.

I was done. If I didn't leave the room right now, I was seriously going to knock someone out.

"I need to be alone right now.", I muttered as I hastily walked out into the hallway.

Fortunately, it was empty, all the people out in the media rooms. I entered the deserted restroom at the end of the hallway. Searching for any cctv cameras, when I didn't find one I punched the side wall. It gave way with a satisfying crack.

Why did I have to be the one in the middle of all this?

I absolutely hated bringing any bad publicity to BTS's name. I never wanted to be the one to cause problems for my group.

Sighing, I placed my fists on the counter, my thoughts in chaos. I wanted to run. Run away into a cute blonde's arms...

The door behind me opened suddenly and I looked back, immediately tensing up.

"What are you doing here? This is a men's restroom.", I said angrily.

Tzuyu fidgeted in her spot. "I know I made you angry with my words just now." She stepped forward." But I came to say the truth and that's what I did."

I eyed her suspiciously. I didn't want to deal with her right now. Or ever.

"You should go back.", I said, about to turn away from her but she placed a hand on my bicep.

"Please, hear me out. I do admire you and I couldn't stand it if you hated me. I didn't want to outright deny any involvement with you because I like you, oppa.", she uttered, looking at me from under her lashes, both her hands on my chest now.

I was frozen, both mentally and physically. I wanted to push her away but my hands didn't work.

"I would love it if we could date, oppa."

She took my silence for some sort of approval because the next thing I knew her lips were on mine, kissing me.

~•~•~

Woah, 2k words. I hope you enjoy this long chapter.

Also belated thank you for 2k reads.

I love you guys. 💜