Kookie's Confusion and Frustration

Shine messaged Eunwoo, "Hi Eunwoo, how are you?"

Eunwoo replied, "Hi Shine, I am good. How are you?"

Shine responded, "I am good too. I need your help."

Eunwoo asked, "Tell me, how can I help you?"

Shine explained, "Did your practice start, and is Kookie with you?"

Eunwoo replied, "No, not yet. We are waiting for everyone to come, and even Kookie is yet to arrive."

Shine said, "Great, can you message me 10 minutes before your practice ends? I've been trying to meet Kookie, but I couldn't find him anywhere. So, I thought I'd message you, and once your practice is about to finish, I will come there and find him."

Eunwoo agreed, "Sure, definitely. I will message you. I have to go now; practice is starting. Bye, take care."

Shine said, "Thanks and bye. Take care."

Eunwoo messaged Shine later, informing that their practice would be over in some time.

Shine approached Lisa and said, "Hey Lisa, I'm going to meet Kookie. If someone asks, please let them know. I'll be back by lunch."

Lisa replied, "Cool, take your time. Today is our day off, so enjoy, dear. I am going to sleep a lot."

Shine chuckled and said, "Of course, lazy girl. See ya."

Shine left to meet Kookie, who was packing his bag to leave. Eunwoo approached him and asked, "What's up, buddy? Where have you been lost for the past couple of days?"

Kookie replied, "Hey, all cool. Me and lost? No way."

Eunwoo persisted, "Come on, Kook, don't lie to me at least. If you don't want to share, then it's fine. You can tell me instead of lying."

Kookie apologized, "Sorry, buddy. Nothing is wrong. Don't worry. I just need to figure out some things, so I'm taking my time to do so."

Suddenly, Shine's voice echoed in the room, "That's such a big lie, and you have become such a big liar."

Kookie turned around and was shocked to see Shine at the entrance of the practice room. He asked, "Shine, what are you doing here?"

Shine replied sternly, "You are not in a position to ask questions to us, instead of answering our questions. Get it, Mr. Jeon?"

Kookie was taken aback and said, "Hello, Ms. Park. What has gotten into you? Why are you talking like this as if I have done some big mistake?"

Shine asserted, "Yes, you are right. You have done a big mistake. Why have you not been answering any of our calls? Hobi Oppa, Jimin Oppa, Suga Oppa, and on top of that, Jin and Namjoon Oppa, everyone was trying to reach you, and you didn't answer any of their calls. Waeee?"

Eunwoo intervened, "Calm down, Shine. We are in our practice room, and everyone outside will listen to us, which is not good. Let's go out and talk."

Shine agreed, "Sounds good. Let's go to your home, Eunwoo."

Eunwoo questioned, "What? My home? Why?"

Shine explained, "Because, Mr. Dumb, it's only you here who stays alone at home when not in the dorm, as your parents stay abroad. We can't go to our homes for obvious reasons, as our parents will ask a lot of questions."

Eunwoo reluctantly said, "Okay, fine. Anyway, tomorrow is the weekend, so we can relax as well. Let's go."

Kookie asked again, "What is it, guys? Shine, you're overreacting as usual."

Shine warned him, "You better not utter a word right now, Kookie. Otherwise, my one punch can destroy your face. You have had a good experience of that. So, you better be quiet until we reach Eunwoo's house."

All three of them arrived at Eunwoo's house. Eunwoo instructed his maid to prepare lunch and bring some snacks and drinks for them.

Shine got straight to the point, "Now tell me, Kookie, what's going on? Where have you been lost for the past couple of weeks, and where were you after the practice that neither I nor Eunwoo could find you?"

Kookie tried to explain, "Guys, trust me, there is nothing going on. I just needed some time with myself to figure things out. That's why I didn't inform anyone and left quietly after the practice session."

Eunwoo inquired, "What is it that you need to figure out?"

There was a long silence in the room as Kookie didn't utter a word, but Shine had an idea of what it could be and what was bothering Kookie so much.

Shine spoke up, "Is it related to Taehyung Oppa? I am right, Kookie?"

Once again, a long silence followed, with no answer to Shine's question.

Shine concluded, "So, it is definitely related to him."

Eunwoo chimed in, "Really, so what I heard was actually right."

Shine and Kookie asked simultaneously, "What did you hear?"

Eunwoo explained, "In the past couple of weeks, you have been going out of the training center to meet Tae at his shoot."

Shine, with a shocked expression, exclaimed, "What?"

Kookie asked, surprised, "How did you know?"

Eunwoo revealed, "As I just said, I overheard it during the practice session. Trainees are talking secretly about it, and on top of that, you got caught once by our producer."

Kookie defended himself, saying, "But I didn't go after that."

Shine pointed out, "So, you did go out. What is all this, Kookie? Why are you behaving like this?"

Kookie, frustrated, responded, "So, what do you both want me to do? The person I love the most has no time for me. If he doesn't feel the same way about me, then he should at least tell me. I will not bother him."

Kookie continued sharing his feelings, "Since our school days, we have always been together. He always cared for me and made me believe that he would always be there for me. I know we never confessed our feelings to each other, but we never felt the need to because we always understood each other's unspoken words and feelings."

Kookie expressed his concerns, "But I guess things have changed since we've been apart. We don't meet each other or spend time together. We don't even speak on calls. Whenever I tried calling him, either he is busy with a shoot or at home sleeping."

Shine tried to console him, "Kook, you know our lives have changed a lot. Not only Tae Oppa's life, but everyone's lives in our family. Everyone is so busy with their work; they genuinely don't get time. It's the same with Jimin and Suga Oppa as well. Jimin Oppa calls me every now and then to complain about Suga Oppa, but that doesn't mean they don't love or have feelings for each other."

Eunwoo added, "That's true, Kook. Just give him some time. See, Kook, we are not as busy yet. All three of us are mainly occupied with our training and practices, and we manage to find time in our schedules. But it's not the same for Taehyung. He is out there in the world working hard to prove himself. Shooting can be exhausting, and it's not a 9-to-5 job. Sometimes people have to stay on set."

Kookie showed understanding, saying, "I understand everything that you both are talking about, but he gives time to everyone except me. When it comes to me, he feels sleepy or tired and hangs up the call or cancels our meeting."

Shine suggested, "I think you both should meet and clarify your misunderstanding."

Kookie explained further, "That's why I went to meet him and waited for two hours, but he was so busy with his shoot that he didn't come out for a minute. So, I came back as I didn't have any other option."

Eunwoo asked, "Did he know that you went there to meet him?"

Kookie replied, "No, I wanted to give him a surprise and then talk to him, but he didn't come out, so I left without saying anything."

Shine analyzed the situation, "Then you are wrong here. How will he come out to meet you when he doesn't even know that you are waiting for him? I'm sure if he would have known, he would have come out."

Kookie admitted, "I left a message for him that someone from his family was waiting outside to meet him. But he still didn't come out."

Shine reprimanded him, "Okay, I understand that you're upset and angry with him. But you should have spoken to one of us. Kookie, by doing this, you made us worried, and on top of that, by not answering the calls from the others, you made all of them worried too."

Kookie apologized, "I'm sorry. I lost my mind. I will be careful going forward."

Eunwoo advised, "Just sort things out with Taehyung. Speak to him, and I guess everything will be sorted. It's just a communication gap between the two of you."

Kookie agreed, "Yes, I will try to speak to him."