CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
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Later on, we were going to begin filming our very first music video…with ENHYPEN!
But before that, there was a bit of chaos. Back at home, the boys were filming each other for no reason. Either it had to be the reason for their first music video, or they are just as crazy as us.
I was walking back to the dorm room when I didn’t see Jay with his camera. And he scowled at me.
“GET OUT!” he screamed.
But I flared up at him.
“You know what?! You are so freaking mean! And I never got the chance to tell you that while we were in I-LAND! I hope you understand where I’m coming from!”
I then slammed the door right behind me.
Soon after, I heard Jake’s soft voice talking to Jay. My only confusion was for his behavior. He was acting so mean to me and the girls before. Now he was defending me. And I didn’t understand one bit of it.
I guess I caught myself a two-faced man, haven’t I?
As I was getting my costume together, my phone was buzzing. It was a message from Jake.
He sent me a video. I thought it was for his personal trailer for the first music video. And once he looked at the camera…with a slight and sexy smile. I laughed so hard. I knew Jake wasn’t all jealous or cold towards us.
But he sent me the video of when I had an argument with Jay.
“Explain this, please?” he texted.
I texted back:
“Okay, so Jay was belittling me to get out and I was thinking he was being mean to me. So I stood up to myself and told him that he wasn’t being very nice. That’s why I sort of…got into a fight with him.”
I then joined with the rest of my girl group. We were going to film the real trailer with the rest of the guys. For their debut, so to speak. And we were going to film ours as well for our debut.
We were doing a forest setting for the boys first. As the crew were getting it set up, I wondered what the huge deal was with all of the fog sequences and ambiance. Then I later realized that Yeo-rin said that their story was seven orphaned boys with vampiric abilities. It might turn into an original novel one day.
There were a few strange things that I noticed behind the scenes. No one else saw it. Just me.
The first thing was that Sunoo was upside down on a branch. But the thing is…people’s blood pressure could be lost that way. He then looked at me with his soft eyes and smiled.
“May I ask why you are up there…upside down?” I asked.
“I am supposed to be this way since we do have strange abilities. We might have our own original novel one day!”
What would this novel be about? Seven boys falling in love with nine girls?
I then left him alone with his filming process.
There were a few separate cameramen that filmed the members separately.
Another strange thing is that Sunghoon rolled off his favorite red sweater and he was completely shirtless. My face turned red and my cheeks went hot. I imagined Jake in that scene. My mind was going mad. I couldn’t think about my own best friend this way. And so, I ran away from the scene.
The last thing I saw was Jake with Jungwon, nearly biting his neck. That one made me feel worse than Sunghoon’s scene. My feelings for Jake had begun to intensify. But then…I looked back on the bit when he yelled at me…on his birthday.
I found it impossible to fall in love with him if he was just going to get mad at me for the smallest things. I thought of the last thing I wanted to do. Let him go. Or in the basics, break up with him.
But I couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to.
For the same reason, I can’t do so for Lara or Sunghoon and Sunoo. I can’t break them up. Even though they hadn’t begun to date, either of them. I’ll give them that.
And then, it was the group filming. And the fog sequence came back. I wondered if we could use it for our concept. But then it would turn into a vampire/werewolf concept.
We stayed there until dark. The other guys had to do their scenes standing up. But Jake got to do a scene in an actual car. Talk about teen romance. While they were taking a break, I got in the vehicle with Jake. He didn’t notice with his airpods and his phone. While he was still occupied, I could not help but think how handsome he was. I could see his charming point on both sides of his upper lip. I sighed lovingly and put my hand on my chin. But I didn’t look at him. That was the entire point of me having a crush.
Jake eventually noticed me and took out an earbud.
“When did you get here?” he asked, slightly surprised at my presence.
His voice was so soft, so gentle…so boyish, if you ask me. But when I looked at him…
His eyes, I thought.
Although they were of a dark color, this guy had beautiful eyes. It might have been from his mother, or his father. For a teen, born rich, he had to have been taught some humility, you know, other than just spending money or thinking that you are better than everyone else.
“I just got in,” I said, my voice a bit shakey, “I was wondering if you were busy tomorrow.”
“I’m not,” said Jake, softly smiling and shaking his head, “But later on tomorrow, I’m going to plan something for Heeseung’s birthday.”
“Tomorrow?”
“We didn’t get to do anything, since we got to work straight after we debuted from I-LAND. I thought maybe we would plan a trip or a dine-out tomorrow.”
“I see…”
When it was time to head out, Jake softly grazed his lips onto my forehead and rubbed it in with his forehead. He kissed it again and then got out of the car. I slowly followed and my cheeks were bright red.
Back at our dorm room, it was already time for bed. As I slept, the thought of Jake kissing my forehead already had been engraved in my mind. His lips were soft and puffy like a warm pillow to rest your head.
Every ten minutes, I whispered Jake’s name. It was a sign of my love for him. It was intensifying. A few more minutes later…I woke up.
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Both Jungwon and Jay had to go to school. But they couldn’t stay long because they had to go to work after a few classes. I visited the boys’ dorm. It was early in the morning and the other two obviously left. They both must have had tests or something.
I quietly walked inside the bedroom. I saw Jake, Sunoo, Sunghoon, and Heeseung all nestled in their beds, snug as a bug. But I didn’t see Ni-Ki anywhere. I looked back and saw him sleeping on the couch with his legs sticking out.
I snickered.
Then the sudden sound of the grass cutter. Jake bolted up. His dark auburn hair was all sticking up and he fluttered his eyelids to adjust the lighting in the room. He stayed still for quite some time, half awake. It was like a little puppy trying not to fall asleep. He then laid his eyes on me. The cute member climbed out of bed and stood up. But I could tell he didn’t want to wake up. And so…he went back to sleep…in Ni-Ki’s bed.
I snickered again.
I then approached a sleepy Jake and gently caressed his head. He lightly moaned like a little puppy too. I stifled my giggles. It was too adorable to handle. He then turned his back and his eyes laid on mine. He looked away but I didn’t. He looked back at me eventually and sat up as he got out of bed.
I led him to the living room and I sat on the couch. I thought he would sit beside me, but he pulled me to his warm arms, forming a tight embrace. I felt half of his face on my forehead and his lips pressing on it. I flinched only a little. But after a while, I felt comforted. I cuddled up on his chest, where he rocked me back and forth, like a little kitten.
“Jake…” I said, “You do know you are getting quite affectionate, right?”
His arms loosened. Does he…actually like me?
“I’m sorry,” he said, “I haven’t seen you all day, since I-LAND.”
“We see each other all of the time.”
“Not anymore. We are always busy. You’re doing stuff and I’m doing stuff. It’s not the same anymore. I miss you…a lot.”
“I miss you too, Jake.”
I sat up and we formed an embrace. I could partially see why he had been acting so angrily towards me and my girl groups. But for the most parts, I still thought he was jealous of us.
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We went to HYBE building a little later after breakfast. Of course we had to do something for Heeseung’s birthday. So, the girls and I brought him a simple cake with a bit of fruit on the top.
“Happy birthday, Heeseung!” said Jax (since she was heavily biased toward him).
Heeseung smiled. Of course she was in love with him. She had liked him since I-LAND. Everyone was already biased toward the other members since before. But I’ve known Jake better. No one knew how much feeling I had for him. No one knew that I began developing signs of romantic feelings for him.
We had a bit of a sing-song, gave him some cake, and then thoroughly spoiled him with our gifts that we spent so much time on beforehand (about a few days in advance). And there was a lot of laughter too. We all loved Heeseung. Even the fans do. We was quite a dottie (an Irish term for “darling” or “sweetheart”). A few minutes later, the other boys entered and we were going to practise our dance for our first music video.
Wi-Fi was such a catchy song that none of us could stop replaying and singing along, out of tune. But of course we had work to do. The choreographing was the hard part. There were nine of us as a girl group. Sub-units usually have a debuting song a month after the main group. And even that was also a struggle too.
It was while we were taking a break…
“So…” said Holly, “Did you plan anything for Heeseung’s belated birthday?”
“I did,” I answered, “A glamping trip!”
“Really?” Leila exclaimed.
“I did. Yeo-rin booked a glamping spot for us and the boys too. It will be a nice treat for Heeseung’s belated birthday.”
We packed up our things for a two-day trip. And then we made a head start before ENHYPEN. Trust me, our tour bus was bustling with the girls chatter and excitement. I was excited too. And this would be my treat for my seven- teenth birthday. But it was tomorrow, my birthday. And we had forgotten about it! I had forgotten about it!
When we arrived at the camping site, we saw our tent. It was pink and sparkly. That was when we knew that that was our tent. The tan one was ENHYPEN’s. This was going to be exciting.
A little while after setting up, the boys pulled up. Out came Heeseung first.
We all shouted: “SURPRISE!!!”
Heeseung gave us a winning smile. For the record, this glamping trip idea was actually the greatest.
Of course we stole Heeseung from the other boys and of course we stole his heart. But we obviously gave him back to the other boys for some time with his close friends. But he had to come back, since we were going to give him a big present to end the celebration.
During a little guy talk, I was going to tell Jake that I was planning on a little hike the next morning. But the bugs were swarming around him like we was a weed or a plant. As I was closer to him, he tried to swarm away some of the bugs and he fell off his chair, landing close to my feet. He then stood nice and tall in front of me.
“Are you okay?” I laughed.
Jake nodded his head and fluttered his eyes. His lips were in the shape of an O, except they were closed. His eyes fluttered once more like butterfly wings. That was another charming point I liked about him.
“So,” I said, softly, “I was thinking that we would take Heeseung on a little hike tomorrow. Would you like that? For him, in the least.”
“But Y/N,” he said, “You don’t like hikes.”
“I know…but it’s the one time I’m going to do this. Besides, I don’t exactly mind a nice walk in the nature.”
The celebration lasted all day. With us joining in too. But in between, Jake and I kept looking at each other with love in our eyes. As if we wanted to be together…alone. Like in a romantic relationship. But…we weren’t that much in love. We were just friends.
At bedtime, before we all went to sleep, the girls knew they forgot something. Something that was happening the next day.
“GUYS…!!! IT’S Y/N’s BIRTHDAY, TOMORROW!!!” hollered Holly out for every one of us to hear.
I then heard the boys from the other tent clamoring about it. And then they sang “Happy Birthday” with nerves and whimpering. I couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably. To me, it was the best birthday gift everyone has given me. A great overnight trip with friends.
The next day, after a hearty good breakfast, we walked up the concreted path for our hike. Heeseung was enjoying it. The boys were enjoying it. The girls were enjoying it. But me? For the first time, I slowly liked it, since I was listening to music. For the rest of the day, we sat around and we spoke about our upcoming debut. And then, in the evening, after dinner, Jake and the boys brought out a layered cake, with a print-out topper of BTS on it. And the little TinyTan dolls were on there as well.
“For me?” I mouthed.
Jake smiled like a little puppy. Of course it was for me. Everyone sang the traditional “Happy Birthday” song and then the girls sang the Disney movie version.
<Happy, happy birthday, from all of us to you!
We wish it was our birthday so we could party too!
Happy, happy birthday, may all of your dreams come true!
We wish it was our birthday so we could party too!
HEY!>
Before bedtime, they spoiled me with all of their gifts, and I ripped open each and every one of them. A small seventeenth birthday party in the great outdoors. Not bad, I should say.
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During the filming of Given or Taken, their debut song, the thought of Jake as a vampire threw me a little. But I could tell that most K-Pop groups have a storyline. However, I could never understand anything about it.
The littlest thing I remember was when Ni-Ki fell asleep on Jake’s shoulder and Jake was refusing to let him after a little while. Hinata and I chuckled, as it reminded us of our friendship. And the funny thing is that Hinata used to sleep on my shoulder when we were training at Dream Life Entertainment. And I would refuse it.
Some scenes in the music video were actually like a concept from a vampire novel or something. I felt as though I was truly included in this and not like what things used to be in I-LAND (so not explaining!). It looked as though the house was an orphanage because there were a lot of old- school toys and stuffed animals. And because the boys and us dressed like in the Edwardian era or late-Victorian. But Jake’s outfit was my type. He had on a white poet shirt, a grey vest with a matching cap, and he even had on brown penny loafers. I was matching him. Except…my hair was all tied up and I was wearing a long, spiny skirt.
While we took a break, we sat right next to each other on the couch of the house set. Because we woke up at about five in the morning, I became tired and laid my head on his shoulder.
“You’re tired aren’t you?” he asked, softly.
“Yeah…” I said, weakly.
I felt half of his soft face nuzzling my forehead…and then, his soft puffy lips pressing gently on it. It did tickle a little. But I thought he did have feelings for me. And I didn’t even know it.
In a later scene, we were at a stage/concert room, where we were going to film most of the dancing parts. After watching them…I may have had the urge to dance along a bit. But I couldn’t. I knew that my actions would basically “ruin” this entire music video, so I was told.
And then for the last part, we filmed right in front of a water tower. Their outfits for this one looked like vampire attire. I laughed quite a bit. I thought that this first music video was going to be the highlight of late-2020.
The next day, we were going to film our music video.
We filmed it in most parts of HYBE Building and in the KBS Building which was not far from there. I was mostly excited for our dancing and singing parts, since I had so much fun expressing myself during those parts. And Jake was in the music video too, along with the other boys too.
We took a break and I noticed Jake dancing our moves for the video. I took some snapshots of it and saved to my phone. Each time I would look back at it, the more laughing episodes I receive.
In the end, we all filmed out solo scenes. The lighting was well done and the sets were so colorful. My favorite one was Maeve’s solo scene. She had a poster of BTS’s RM on the wall and she was kissing it not only for the camera but also in real life. She actually dated him when they first met a few years ago.
By the time the filming was over, all there was to do was wait a little while and then see the final result. But first, we had to film our dance video. It was a lot of fun, dancing for the camera. Straight afterwards…it was time for rest.
In the evening, as we were getting ready for bed, Jake called me. I heard my phone vibrating and noticed his phone number. I answered.
“Jake?” I said.
“Y/N,” said Jake, “I just want to let you know that I had the best time with you. Your birthday, the music video filming. And I enjoyed every second of it.”
“Aw, Jake…I did too.”
“Shopping tomorrow?”
“You know it, darling.”
“Goodnight, then.”
“Goodnight…my darling…”