It's a week later when the news breaks; Jungkook and Tzuyu were seen together late at night, walking through the streets of Seoul together. There were pictures of them at the restaurant and more of the two of them leaving together. Jungkook had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she was smiling up at him.
The news breaks early in the morning; their manager rushes into their room to tell them about it. He's already turned on the TV; they can see Jungkook and Tzuyu on screen, leaving the restaurant together.
"Is that—" Jimin starts.
"It is," their manager replies. "It happened last week."
"Is this going to be a problem?" Hobi asks. "Are the fans going to be mad?"
"I don't think so," their manager starts. "Most of them already know about Jungkook and her."
The rest of the room starts to talk amongst themselves; Taehyung stares at the screen and watches the two of them together.
"She deserves it," Jimin comments as he sits down next to Taehyung. "She deserves to be with someone she likes."
"Does Jungkook like her?" Taehyung asks.
"I'm sure he does," Jimin laughs. "Look at him."
On screen, Jungkook is pulling Tzuyu close to him; Tzuyu is smiling up at him, her eyes sparkling in the light.
"Do you think he's doing it just to get her?" Taehyung continues. "Or is this real?"
"I don't know, but if I had to guess," Jimin starts. "I think it's real. I've seen the way he looks at her. He hasn't looked at anyone like that."
"Has he looked at someone like that before?" Taehyung inquires.
Jimin sighs and turns to stare at him.
"I haven't seen him look at anyone like that," Jimin repeats. "You're just jealous that you didn't think of it first."
"I'm not jealous," Taehyung scoffs. "I'm happy for him."
"You're not happy for him," Jimin replies confidently. "You're sad you didn't get her first."
Jimin turns to walk away; Taehyung watches him and sighs.
It's the next night that Jungkook confronts him about it.
They're in the practice studio, working on the final touches of their choreography for the concert. Jungkook steps up next to him and whispers in his ear.
"Jimin told me you were mad at me," Jungkook whispers. "What's wrong?"
"I'm not mad," Taehyung replies. "Why would I be mad? I'm happy for you and Tzuyu."
Jungkook turns and looks at him; he studies his expression for a few moments before nodding. Jungkook turns away and goes back to his group; Taehyung doesn't say anything else about it.
It's a day later when he hears the news about them. It's a video of the three of them going out together; Jungkook is holding onto her hand, and the two of them are laughing. Taehyung follows behind them; he keeps glancing up at the two of them and smiling softly.
He hears people talking about it online. They claim Jungkook is using Taehyung to get close to her. They claim Taehyung has been trying for months to get close to her; they claim Jungkook knew he was trying to get close to her, and Jungkook swooped in to steal her away from him. They claim Jungkook doesn't like her at all; he just likes to steal people away from Taehyung.
Jungkook's phone rings later that night; Taehyung answers on the first ring. Jungkook sounds stressed out when he answers.
"They're saying that I stole her away from you," Jungkook complains. "That I don't really like her."
"Who said that?" Taehyung laughs.
"Some stupid fans," Jungkook scoffs. "I saw it online."
"Don't believe everything you read online," Taehyung instructs. "Especially not from fans."
"I guess you're right," Jungkook sighs. "I guess I'm just worried about what they're going to do to her."
"You know that's not your fault," Taehyung reminds him. "They're always going to find something to complain about."
"I know that," Jungkook replies. "But I wish they weren't saying those things about her."
"Don't worry about it," Taehyung comforts. "You know the truth."
The news comes the next day; Taehyung and Jungkook have been kicked off of the collaboration with Twice. Their manager tells them that Twice's company won't work with them anymore.
He's mad, but he knows it's not his fault. He doesn't blame Jungkook for it; it's not Jungkook's fault the fans went crazy.
Jungkook isn't taking it well; he's furious about it and demanding answers. Jungkook wants to call up the director and demand to know why they were kicked off of the project. Jungkook wants the answers, but their manager is saying it's because the fans were too upset to have them involved. Jungkook won't let it go.
"I want to call the director," Jungkook demands. "I want to know why."
"Kookie, it's not going to help," Taehyung argues. "There's nothing we can do about it."
"I want to try," Jungkook begs. "Please, Taehyung."
Taehyung looks at him and sighs; he grabs his phone and pulls up the number for the director. He dials it and waits for an answer.
"Director," Taehyung greets. "We just wanted to ask about being removed from the collaboration."
There's a long pause before the director finally speaks up. Jungkook leans in close so he can hear too.
"It was the fans," the director explains. "They were upset about the two of you with Tzuyu. We're just trying to make everyone happy."
"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Jungkook begs.
"There's not," the director replies. "I'm sorry."
Taehyung hears the click as the director hangs up; he turns to Jungkook with a soft sigh.
"I'm sorry," he says softly. "I wish it was different."
"Maybe we can talk to her," Jungkook offers. "Maybe she can talk to them."
"I don't know that it will change anything," Taehyung sighs. "But it's worth a try."
Jungkook grabs his phone; he dials her number and waits for an answer. They hear a soft ringing sound before she answers on the fourth ring.
"Hello?" she greets.
"Tzuyu," Jungkook starts. "We wanted to talk to you about the collaboration."
"Oh," she gasps. "I thought we should talk about it too."
"What are they saying?" Jungkook inquires. "We got removed."
"They're just saying you were causing drama," she sighs. "The fans were saying that you were trying to steal me away from each other. I tried to explain, but they didn't believe me. They said we were causing problems."
"I'm so sorry," Taehyung interjects. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
"It's not your fault," she reassures. "It's not Jungkook either. The fans just don't understand. You two have been friends for years; why wouldn't you be together with me? It makes sense."
"I don't know why they didn't understand," Jungkook comments. "We've been friends for forever."
"It's okay," she soothes. "I'll make sure to explain it to them. They'll understand eventually."
"Thanks," Jungkook replies softly. "Thanks for understanding."
"Let me talk to them," she says softly. "They'll listen to me. Just give me some time."
"Okay," Jungkook agrees.
They end the call, and Jungkook turns to face him.
"What do we do now?" Jungkook asks.
"We just have to wait and see what happens," Taehyung offers. "Tzuyu will make sure they understand."
"Do you really think so?" Jungkook inquires.
"I do," Taehyung affirms.
They sit there and talk for a while longer before they head off to their separate rooms. Jungkook heads off first; he stops at the doorway and turns back around.
"Hey, Taehyung?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you like her?" Jungkook asks. "I mean, really like her?"