Fortune Favors the Bold

Chaerin bit down on her lower lip, wiping her sweaty palms on the denim covering her thighs. It took everything in her power to avoid pacing in front of the desk to distract her from the growing tension in the room. Never before did she feel anxious enough to puke. The feeling she had right before her first ever concert didn’t compare to the butterflies bouncing around in her stomach now. It certainly didn’t help seeing Jiyong just sitting on the couch, his jaw resting in his hands as he stared at her with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Under any other circumstances, she would have loved to see that look on his face. It pleased her knowing she could confuse him, the almighty G-Dragon, but at this moment she just wished he would speak. She’d take anything, even if it was an insulting comment about the situation she put them in.

“Jiyong?” He blinked. His attention refocused on her as the confusion in his eyes disappeared. The hand holding his jaw moved along his face before unfolding his arms to lay them on the couch. When he leaned his head back, a soft thump filled the room, but he pretended not to hear it.

“So, let me get this straight,” he said, leaning forward once again. “You want to sleep with me?” His gaze dropped to the floor, and his elbows were on his knees. Chaerin averted her gaze from his face before he spoke again. “And not only is this just sex. Just sex would be easier to come to terms with, but you want to sleep with me just because you’re a fucking virgin who’s worried about your lack of sexual experience that could possibly disappoint your boyfriend, with who I work with and am friends with!”

At the tone of his voice, Chaerin could feel her heart racing and the knots in her stomach tightening. When it came from Jiyong, the entire idea sounded idiotic, at best, but she had thought about this for a few weeks now. It was the only plan of action that made any sense to her. She was lacking experience, and she was afraid of fucking up. It wasn’t often that she was in a relationship, so she felt that every move she made had to be absolutely perfect, especially when she was dating someone much older whose relationship, and sexual, experiences could quite literally crush hers. Chaerin had been putting Teddy off for a few months now; she always left at night instead of staying in their shared place. Not once did he push her for more, but he didn’t have to. She knew he wanted more, and she was more than willing to give if she knew for a fact that she wouldn’t screw this up. Jiyong was the only other man she trusted that wasn’t like a father or too much like a brother. They were best friends, or at least that’s how Chaerin felt.

“Come on, Jiyong. Please,” she said in a hushed voice. “I can’t screw this up with Teddy. It won’t be weird, I promise, I just...” Tears began collecting in Chaerin’s eyes in vexation of the situation at hand. She inhaled deeply before wiping at her eyes in pure frustration. “You are my best friend, and I need help. Aren’t we supposed to help each other. Didn’t you promise that you’d help me when I first came to YG Entertainment?”

Jiyong let out a groan, hands traveling up to grab at his hair in frustration. He shook his head and stood up from the couch, moving towards Chaerin with his arms tightly crossed over his chest. “You know that promise didn’t include something like this.” he whispered, the hurt he felt coming through in every syllable of his sentence. “No. I can’t do that,” he said, his face set in stone, until he saw the tiniest tear run down Chaerin’s cheek. Chaerin watched as Jiyong’s face faltered for a split second.

“Please,” she asked once more. Begging was never her style, but she had to try once more to see if he changed his mind. At least that way she could tell herself that she did try everything in her power. Anything she did to try and convince him was worth it.

Nothing but thoughts of future regret passed through Jiyong’s mind. It didn’t take a genius to know that this simple plan of Chaerin’s wasn’t going to end well, no matter how cautious they were, but he could feel his heart breaking when he saw the tear that fell from Chaerin’s eye. He never liked it when she cried, and would often offer to deal with whatever, or whoever, was making her cry. This time, it was him. He’d made her cry, and he hated himself for it even if it was just a tiny tear. Everything will change was the only thought racing through his mind. Nothing will be the same after they do this. If Chaerin didn’t know before, she’d certainly know after. There was no doubt about that. When he let out a soft breath and opened his mouth to whisper the simple word Chaerin was looking for, he could feel his entire life begin crumbling beneath him.

“Thank you!” Chaerin said with a small squeal, her arms wrapping around Jiyong’s waist. That was almost enough to make Jiyong forget about the impending storm he knew was going to come and swallow them both whole.

It took nearly two weeks for the two of them to plan their “practice” session. They decided that when Teddy went to Busan to help Winner with one of their concerts, they could have their chance. With Jiyong not working on promotions, he could opt out of just about every YG Family event and claim he was trying to create new content; the same applied for Chaerin. So, they both opted out when Teddy offered that they come watch one of YG’s newest groups perform in the beachfront city. Watching Chaerin give Teddy a peck on the lips to wish him luck made Jiyong sick to his stomach. Maybe the guilt was already eating at him, or maybe it was the jealousy; he couldn’t tell where one emotion ended and the other began.

As silly as it seemed to Chaerin when Jiyong told her, they waited seven hours after the boys and Teddy left, long enough for them to have went to Busan and come back. It was for insurance Jiyong had told her. That night, they’d planned on meeting at Jiyong’s apartment, a place that was rather big for one man. The hour before Chaerin was supposed to arrive, Jiyong showered and laid on his couch in silent thought. He felt sick, and he felt anxious about the entire situation. His entire body was a wreck. When his alarm went off at the designated time Chaerin should arrive, he heard his front door open.

He stood up when she arrived with his arms crossed over his chest. It was just like her to be here perfectly on time and in his apartment without having been formally invited in. Despite his bustling nerves, he couldn’t help but grin at her. “Chaerin,” he said in an amused tone. Chaerin grinned right back at him, stepping closer to Jiyong who motioned for her to follow him into his bedroom. Chaerin’s eyes wandered over the furniture in his bedroom. Despite their friendship of nearly seven years, she had never seen Jiyong’s personal bedroom. It was a room he didn’t let her see. Even though his personality wasn’t present in his bedroom, she approved and nodded in Jiyong’s direction which unintentionally made him stand taller causing Chaerin’s attention to shift back to him.

From the moment she had entered his apartment, he could feel her eyes on him. They burned into his skin, so it was easy to notice when her gaze fell from his face, to his bare chest, and all the way down to his sweatpants. After taking a shower, he hadn’t seen the point in putting on an entire outfit when he may not be wearing anything at all by the end of the night. As Chaerin was taking her time gazing at Jiyong, he caught a few glimpses of her as well. Her lower lip was stuck in between her teeth, and he could tell she was more nervous than he was. It must’ve taken her a tremendous amount of courage to stick to her plan and come here, so he thought that the least he could do was guide her. Plus, he figured that if he didn’t initiate something, they’d both be standing here until Teddy gets back from Busan.

“How about we just start by holding hands and move up to hugging?”

Chaerin couldn’t help but laugh as she walked into Jiyong’s embrace. Her thin arms wrapped around his wast in a tight hold. Jiyong buried his face into the crook of her neck, leaving small kisses on her skin. The scent that came off of her skin was absolutely extravagant, and it only made him want get closer to her. Lavendar, soap, and something else that brought him in further to her. He felt when she noticed his body’s reaction, her body stiffening.

“It’s okay. This is why you’re here, isn’t it? We can move slowly, at your pace, and if you want to stop this crazy plan, say... “Dragon”. Got it?”

Chaerin just nodded, keeping her nose against his neck. He could feel her hair and lips grazing across his skin and it made him shiver. Keep calm, Jiyong thought. He waited until she was relaxed again before pulling back, cupping her face, and tilting her head up to look at him. Her soft pink lips met his, and he hoped that she couldn’t feel his trembling hands. There was no way she couldn’t feel them, but would she even know what it meant? At that moment, though, he didn’t care if she did know because he was going to love every moment of this experience.

Notes