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BTIP: Day 2

Summary: It’s day two and already, the drama has started! With two date cards out in the open, will Y/N get to go out of the villa? Alliances begin to form in Paradise and relationships blossom. What will happen when a new girl arrives and steals Jungkook’s attention? One word. Drama.

Rating: K+ (Suggestive)

Genre: Romance, drama, slight angst

Word Count: 11,423

This is the format that will be used from now on! I hope it’s not too long! If you want to be on the tag list, please send me an ask! Thank you for everyone who’s been reading it! enjoy!

~adminKim

Last Time on Bangtan in Paradise:

Y/N was caught in two compromising positions:

- “Are we interrupting something,” Seokjin asked, looking from you to the producer who instantly jumped back.

“Uh no. Sorry, I just wanted to make sure that her mic didn’t short out since she had gotten in the hot tub without removing it. I have to replace it now so I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t let me stop you from mingling.”

-Like a magnetic force, you felt yourself lean down. Taehyung was reaching up too, his wet hand was now at your neck. It was like a spell. You would never have done something like this before. You were always the kind of person to take things slow, but you had six weeks to fall in love and you realized that maybe you would have to speed up your regular process. Would you regret this later? Maybe. But in that moment, you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

Taehyung seemed to hit it off with two people:

That was when you noticed that he was holding hands with that brunette girl from earlier. All the blood rushed out of your face. Wasn’t it just minutes ago that you guys had almost kissed?

Jin protected you from the lustful gaze of the group:

“Jin, please tell me my dress isn’t see-through right now.”

Jin’s eyes snapped up to your face, “What no! No it’s not that it’s just…” he gulped, pulling you towards him and flipping your body so that he was hiding you from the rest of the men in the resort. He didn’t seem to care that your dress was getting his shorts wet. He held you close to his body.

“It’s really just plastered to your skin. I suggest you go and change if you don’t want people to stare.”

Y/N began to trust your producer:

“Yeah okay well the sound is fine. If you need anything you can just say my name and I’ll show up,” he tapped his head set, “at the risk of sounding incredibly creepy, I’m always listening.”

He tapped his head set, then without much more of a goodbye, he walked out of your room leaving you to stare after him with a crescent on your lips.

And the first date card appeared:

Yoongi looked at Jackson in shock. It was clear that he hadn’t expected to get the first date card. He seemed to be thrown thoroughly off guard.

“Me,” he asked, as Jackson handed him the slightly ripped envelope. He scanned the card as if he couldn’t quite believe it unless he saw it. His mouth was slightly open.

“You mean I have to wake up early? And I have to exercise?”

Next to him, Hobi laughed loudly clapping him on the back, “Be happy Yoongi! You have your pick of women for the first date in Paradise!”

Who will Yoongi choose? Will Jungkook ever get his chance to atone for his actions on the Bachelor? Will things heat up between Jin and Y/N?

Find out now! On Bangtan in Paradise!

It was maybe nine in the morning when you woke up. Namjoon had appeared in your room shortly after you rose to secure a mic on your waist with a tan band of fabric that hid under your tankini top then, without much conversation, excited. You wondered if he had gotten into any trouble for the way he had already conversed with you more than he should have in a day.

You weren’t sure at what time Yoongi’s date left but you had a gut feeling that he wasn’t going to ask you. This was confirmed when you walked out of your room and to the Cabana for some breakfast and Yoongi was missing. People were already up and chatting. You wondered how early everyone else had woken up.

You yawned. You had taken a late shower and partially straightened your hair the night before so you could curl it overnight with curlers. You hadn’t slept much since your nerves had gotten the best of you and it looked like it had all been in vain. You were not going on a date that day.

“Morning,” Seokjin said, sitting next to you on a stool. His face was pale with sunscreen and he was wearing a long sleeved surfer shirt. A straw hat on his head.

“You’re chipper today,” you giggled, rubbing a particularly thick blob of lotion into his cheek affectionately. Already, you felt somehow drawn to this man. His slight flirtations from the night before and the way he’d shielded you from the impure stares of the other men stuck in your mind. Whether it was romantic, or friendship wise, Seokjin was rubbing you the right way.

“It’s a beautiful day. There’s beautiful women,” he winked at you, “What’s not to be chipper about?”

You had no answer. Instead you asked the bartender for a mimosa and an egg sandwich. Seokjin watched you. Amused.

“Also…I’m hoping that the date cards start to roll in soon. I’m anxious to be the first to take you out.”

Your blood pressure must have dropped drastically and noticeably because Seokjin’s face went from hopeful, to terrified in a matter of seconds.

“Whoa, Y/N, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

You took a large gulp of your mimosa to get some sugar in your body. Panic filled you to the brim. You could feel the eyes of your fellow bachelors on you, all of them looking at you and Seokjin curiously.

“NO! I’m fine…I just wasn’t expecting…are you flirting with me?”

Jin laughed, “Kind of, yeah.”

What a stupid question. Of course he was flirting with you. That was the point of this show wasn’t it? You had never had someone be so blatantly express interest in you before.

“Oh.”

“Is,” he cleared his throat, “Is that okay?”

“Yes!” You almost screamed. The back of your neck burned. The small hairs there prickled. As covertly as you could, you glanced over your shoulder. In the same table as yesterday sat-what was her name?-Holly, across from Kitty and Taehyung looking miserable as you spoke to Jin.

A part of you felt guilty. As rude as they had been the day before, you weren’t the type of person to go after another person’s crush fully knowing that they had it. Another part kept yelling at you that it wasn’t your fault. You hadn’t actively sought out Jin. He had found you this morning and struck up a conversation.

“Well I’m glad,” Seokjin confirmed, scooting a little closer as you turned back around and took a bite of your sandwich.

“Me too,” you said, “But uh… I really think that Holly has a thing for you. Do you uh,” what were you doing? What were you about to say? You mentally argued with yourself for a second about the words that threatened to spill off of your lips.

“Do you maybe want to talk to her? Just to make sure that you don’t want to maybe date her instead?”

Seokjin’s shoulders sagged. Instantly, you knew you had said the wrong thing. Your heart raced.

“Ok wait hold on that was stupid,” you said. Waves of regret seemed to radiate off of the man before you. He had put his heart on the line and in seconds you had crushed it.

“Look if you’re not interested, that’s fine, but don’t pretend to be interested.”

He stood up but you reached for his forearm, stopping him from leaving. He looked back at you. Like in a movie, his hair flopped effortlessly. The sun hit him in the perfect way. Oh God you were an idiot.

“I’m interested, Jin. I don’t know why I said that. I’m really sorry.” Jin’s angelic face didn’t show any expression. He looked at you as if for the first time.

“Yeah well, maybe you’ve got a point. We should both really try to meet multiple people to make sure that what we want is each other.”

He carefully pulled his arm from your grip. A dazzling smile replaced the plain expression he bore only seconds before. The sudden change gave you whiplash but before you could comment, he walked over to the table of hell and leaned down next to Holly. You couldn’t hear what he said, but from where you sat, you could see her face light up.

Seokjin held a hand out for her to take and she did so eagerly, jumping from her seat. Kitty watched them walk away with a satisfied smile. You felt your heart sink. Your self-sabotage had kicked in without warning and had done exactly as it was meant to. This is why things didn’t work out for you. If the filter from your brain to your mouth worked better, maybe you wouldn’t be in this mess.

You let your shoulders slump, looking out into the ocean where Jin and Holly were now taking a walk. Suddenly, you realized that you were in genuine danger of going home before the show had even started. You looked back at your sandwich, which was growing cold, sadly. You slowly ate the rest of the egg and discarded the bread.

You sipped on your mimosa absentmindedly. You would have to think of some way to keep yourself entertained. It was clear that Jin was occupied. You glanced over at Taehyung who was chatting idly with Kitty and a new arrival, Yumi. On the beach you could see Hoseok and who looked like Jimin watching the waves.

Soobin and Yeonjun were sitting in beach chairs, their shirts off. Sunglasses on. Wow. They were…pretty well built. Alex was sitting in the pool chair next to them. She was wearing a cute pair of beige shorts and a bandeau-like striped blue bikini top. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, her small face was partially hidden by a pair of big circular glasses. She seemed calm enough. Which surprised you since last night she was uncomfortable with Jackson and his own display of muscle.

You wondered if you should just go and talk to her instead of worrying about the guys. It would at least help to talk to her for a little while and try to forget the stupidity that you’d just displayed.

You got up, intent on doing just that when a voice stopped you. Before you, walking into the cabana in some blue swim trunks and a black surfer’s shirt. His hair was ruffled and he looked tired. Like he had tossed and turned all night and didn’t bother to fix himself for the day. Your heart skipped a beat. He was…so cute. You could remember what it was like to see him for the first time when you walked out of the limo. The way that the night seemed to frame his body perfectly and his smile was bright and excited. You could put yourself back in that place so easily. The place where you were in love with Jeon Jungkook. Why couldn’t you do that again?

“Good morning,” Jungkook said, his teeth on full display. His body language was confident and cocky. If you didn’t look at his face you wouldn’t notice the hint of uncertainty that flashed in his brown eyes.

“Good morning…” you said gesturing with your hand for him to continue. He looked confused as he sat in the stool next to the one you had previously been occupying. He towered over you. He rested his arms on the bar as the bartender, you think his name is Jorge, came over to take his order.

“Good morning…did you sleep well,” he asked before turning to Jorge and ordering a glass of milk and some pancakes.

You, not realizing that you were expecting something, were disappointed by his answer. You weren’t sure what you had wanted him to say, but it wasn’t that. Maybe an apology. An explanation now that you were ready to listen? Your name?

“Yep, Slept well. Anyway, nice talk, I’m going to go talk to Alex,” you answered rather dryly. Jungkook blinked at you. His pancakes sat before him, beautifully decorated with strawberries and bananas. Warmed syrup sat next to them and his milk was placed in a fancy wine glass with a sprig of mint. Jungkook didn’t notice any of that. Instead, he was looking at you in what appeared to be fear.

“Later Jeon,” you said then walked away, your blue flip flops hitting your heels lightly as you walked towards the beach.

Jungkook didn’t follow you. For this you were grateful. You didn’t think you could take the humiliation of him still not remembering your name after all this time. You would think that if he cared enough, he would have figured it out. You were a viral laughing stock after all. You were not going to stick around and be embarrassed again.

The day’s sea air was cool on your skin. Today you had remembered to wear sunscreen and the wind wafted the smell up to your nose. The sun was hidden behind some harmless looking clouds and the ocean roared in the background. It was then that you realized just how beautiful Playa Escondida (Hidden beach) was. The hundreds of palm trees that resided between the multiple areas of the villa made it feel that much more secluded. Obviously, you knew that you weren’t alone and the cameras that you spotted here and there were proof of that but if you closed your eyes, this would be the very definition of paradise for you.

Flowers were blooming in trees and in bushes of all sorts. Colors seemed to drown out the grey of the day. You couldn’t help but smile. You guessed that getting your heart broken would be best in a beautiful place like this.

As you neared Alex and the two tall men, you were intercepted. Jackson stood before you, his smile subtle. He was now wearing a shirt much to your dismay and a pair of swim trunks with red geometric patterns you couldn’t quite make out. He was barefoot and a tiny bit sunburned. His arms were crossed over his chest. It was like he knew something you didn’t.

“Uh…hey,” you said, taken aback.

Jackson chuckled. It felt almost deprecating though not malicious. You looked around for any signs of what he wanted to say. When the only thing that met you were his confusing actions you relaxed and waited for him to say something.

“Y/N, can I call you Y/N?”

“Uh…yes.”

“Look, I’m not trying to be rude, you’re really attractive and I can see very well why these guys want to date you, but I am not one of them.”

He said nothing else. Just waited patiently for your reply. What was going on here? The only logical explanation to you was that someone had said something to him about you and he was trying to clear the air?

“Alright, well…I think I’ll survive,” you told him, trying to walk around him but he followed you, blocking you from leaving.

“Okay good,” he confirmed, “Now that we have that out of the way, I really think we should form an alliance.”

For a second, you thought that he was joking, but his expression was serious and inquisitive. Why on earth would you need an alliance?

“An alliance?”

“An alliance.”

You waited patiently for him to explain but when he didn’t you sighed and crossed your arms.

“What do you mean, Jackson?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he laughed, gesturing to the bed under a small room that was situated close to us. With a sigh you obliged and sat on the edge of the mildly sandy bed. Jackson plopped onto it rather ungracefully, making you bounce a bit. A surprised noise was ripped from your throat. Jackson giggled.

“Okay so here’s what I’m thinking. Things are going to get difficult really fast and when that happens, we’re going to need someone that we can trust. A confidante. A safe haven. A sort of uh-”

“A friend?”

Jackson’s face brightened, “A FRIEND! Exactly! Yes, that’s what we will call it. Friendship! No one will know that we’re in cahoots if they just think they’re friends.”

“Or,” you paused waiting for him to look at you, “We could just be friends? Just a thought.”

Jackson scrunched up his nose, “I like the way you think Y/L/N. Friends it is.” He held out his hand and shook yours without waiting for you to take his. He nodded then crawled up closed to you so he could lower his voice.

“Now that we know our game plan, I have some rules.”

“Okay,” you giggled. The more he spoke the more funny he seemed to become.

“Rule number one. And this is the most important one okay?”

“Okay,” you agreed.

“If, for some reason, neither one of us has a person at a Rose Ceremony, then we give each other roses. So that we can get a chance to meet someone.”

You puckered your lips. It seemed reasonable enough. You were giving each other the chance to continue with the show.

“Okay and that’s only if we are both single right?”

“Boy you catch on fast Y/L/N.”

“Hey!”

He ignored your outburst, “Rule number two, if we hear something that would make the other one of us sad or angry, we tell each other. No questions asked.”

“Alright, okay yeah I can do that. Anything else?”

This time Jackson hesitated. His cheeks blushing slightly. He looked away from you, towards where Alex, Yeonjun, and Soobin were sitting. You followed his gaze. A seagull flew over the trio. A wave of sea water flowed dangerously close to the chairs but none of them seemed bothered.

“Rule number three…we’re each other’s wing men,” he sputtered when he looked back at you and your eyebrows were raised, “wing woman? Wing people? We help each other alright? If I ask for some help with a girl, you talk me up and I on the other hand will help you with…” he blinked at you as if he was thinking hard, “I’ll help you with men. No matter who it is you want. I will help you get them. Ok?”

He looked at you expectantly. A question on his face. You raised your own eyebrows at him. Again waiting for an explanation at his weirdly specific rule.

“You understand what I am saying?”

“I think I do,” you said not entirely sure if you did but you supposed you would find out soon enough.

“Okay, good. Now that I said that…do you happen to be interested in… anyone?”

At that point, you sighed and threw yourself onto the Mexican handmade comforter roughly.

“That bad already?” Jackson asked, adjusting so that his head was next to yours. You both looked up at the little canopy made of straw. The salt smell of the ocean hit you harder then. In the distance, you could hear laughter and…what sounded like a dolphin?

It was day two and already you felt like crap.

“So, you know Seokjin,” you asked Jackson.

“Kim Seokjin. The really good looking one? Or are we talking about the other one?”

You rolled your eyes. Jackson was really easy to talk to. Something about his easy going nature had you spilling your heart out.

“No oh my Lord. The handsome one,” you giggled.

“Ah alright, so what about Kim Seokjin.”

You hesitated only for a second. You were going to go talk to Alex about this anyway right? Why not just tell Jackson instead? He was free and Alex was clearly busy enjoying her time sunbathing.

“So, since yesterday, he showed interest in me and this morning he flirted with me I guess? And then I stupidly pointed out to him that Holly liked him and told him to explore that connection and not only did he take what I said to heart, I think he doesn’t want to court me anymore…”

Jackson chuckled, “Court you? What century are you living in Y/N? No one courts anyone. It’s all about talking and dating now.”

You blew a raspberry, “I know… but Seokjin seemed the type to want to court someone. Something slow and respectful. I don’t know. Maybe I sound crazy but-” you cringed, there was another Easter egg for the editors, “I want a guy who does things right you get me?”

Jackson rolled his shoulders next to you, “Well what exactly is the right way to do things?”

You thought about it. Though you had spent so much time thinking about what the perfect relationship for you would be, you let yourself picture it once more before you let yourself speak.

Cautious conversation. Careful touches. Nervous actions. Soft smiles. Multiple dates and hangouts with your person. A secret code that just you two knew. He looked at you like you were the only girl in the world.

You conveyed this to Jackson in as little words as you could. He listened intently, nodding every once in a while. Never interrupting, never judgmental. You realized more and more that whomever ended up with this man was going to be extremely fortunate.

When you finished, Jackson took a second to consider what you had said.

“Well, from what you are telling me, I feel like Paradise is going to be a bit difficult for you. A man dedicating his time solely to you is a little hard here. You would be better off with someone not in the competition.”

You furrowed your eyebrows at his weird stress on the end of the sentence. Was he perhaps suggesting that you left the show?

“Well I mean, yeah. I realize that, Jackson, but it’s really hard to meet people. This is another good way to meet someone. I get that focusing on me would be hard but I’ve seen it done before.”

“I hear you. You’re right, this is a good way to meet people. Keep your eyes open. I’m sure that there’s someone here for you.”

You smiled up at the canopy again, “Thanks Jackson. It feels good to get that off my chest.”

“What are friends for?”

You lay next to each other in silence for what felt like hours. In reality, it was probably minutes.

You watched your chest rise and fall with your breath, the red of your ruffled swimsuit fluttering over it.

“What about you, Jack?”

“What about me, Y/N?”

You groaned. Must he be difficult? You sat up so you could look at him directly. Jackson did the same, looking over his shoulder at you, “Do you have any interest in anyone yet?”

Jackson looked away from you again. His gaze unfocused. You followed it out of habit and noticed that it was directed at the trio from before. Yeonjun was pouring sunscreen on Alex’s shoulders. Soobin was stretching. His muscles rippling under the dim light.

Jackson looked back at you. His features seemed to be devoid of any emotions.

“Not yet.”

It was maybe three in the afternoon when you finally listened to your stomach’s protests and pleas. After your conversation with Jackson, you had decided that both of you needed a little distracting so you suggested you both took a dip in the water.

The words had barely left your lips before he had ripped his shirt off in excitement. It was comical even. It was like he was waiting for any excuse to be shirtless and you didn’t blame him. You could tell that he worked extremely hard on his body and if you worked half as hard as he seemed to be working, you would probably strut around in next to nothing as well. Sadly, this was not your reality, so you shed your shorts self-consciously and folded them neatly on the mattress.

You had spent the next six-ish hours having Jackson teach you how to surf. He’d assured you that he was a fantastic surfer but as soon as he had gotten on the surfboard, he’d been toppled by the waves. Water ran into his nose and he insisted that he was better than he seemed to be and convinced you to just take his word and let him guide you.

To his surprise, only an hour into a lesson with him, you had surfed your first wave. Jackson had been shocked but ecstatic. He’d found a second surf board, or more so asked the staff to bring another one and challenged you to multiple races at sea.

You could feel the slight sunburn on your shoulders already and slightly under your eyes. You should have been more vigilant with your sunscreen. Luckily, you had remembered to bring some Aloe in case of an emergency and you reapplied the protectant to your body.

Now you sat in the cabana once again at the bar, this time with Jackson at your right. The crew had brought some local tacos for the bachelors to share. You had taken the tripe, and Jackson had taken some beef. He’d given you two of his and you had switched him for two of your own. You squeezed some lime and added some salt on your tacos as he watched in disgust.

“It’s good,” you argued, covering your mouth with your hand.

“Whatever you say.”

“Try it,” You urged.

“If I try it, then you have to try my protein shake.”

Horror filled you to the brim. You remembered from his season of the bachelorette the concoction of foods that he considered breakfast. It was packed full with apples, bananas, and spinach. Then he took it further and added broccoli and chicken. It looked stomach churning.

“Hell no. Eat your bland ass tacos. I’m happy knowing you’re missing out.”

Jackson laughed. Just like the morning, you could feel eyes on the back of your head. Farther down the bar, Jungkook was talking to Yumi. Her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail. She was absolutely adorable. A part of you that hadn’t yet let go of the idea of you and Jungkook got slightly unsettled, but the bigger part of you, the angry part, shrugged it off.

You could see, right before you turned back to your meal, that he was shooting glances at you. You took your Corona beer and bit one of the limes on your plate before taking a swig of the golden liquid. Beer wasn’t your favorite form of alcohol but you couldn’t fathom the idea of eating good tacos without a Corona. Either way, this one wasn’t too strong tasting and the lime made it taste that much better.

“Don’t look now but I think one Kim is looking at you,” Jackson said leaning in close to you. A thrill went through your body. If Jin was looking at you, maybe all hope was not lost.

“What do I do,” you asked, feeling a small amount of panic to run through your body.

“Well, don’t look for one-Y/N!”

It was involuntary. If someone told you not to do something, you had to do it. It was like a tick. So as soon as Jackson had said not to look, you jerked your head behind you, back to where you had seen him sitting with Holly, Taehyung and Kitty to see for yourself.

What you were met with was the back of the heads to Jin and Taehyung. They must have seen you turn and turned back to their…uh dates?

“Jackson, was it Jin or Taehyung who was looking at me,” you asked, realizing they had the same last name.

Jackson opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Soobin who sat on your left. Alex and Yeonjun sat next to him accordingly. You smiled up at the giant of a man.

“Hey Soobin! How has your day been so far?”

Soobin smiled brightly and turned towards you. His knees bumped yours because of the sheer length of him. You scooted back to accommodate him and he ducked his head, embarrassed.

“Hey Y/N, sorry, it was nice. I think I took a nap earlier and I got a pretty weird sunburn,” he said, and now that you looked at him, he was wearing a long sleeve shirt and the area around his neck was really red.

“Oh no… I got a little burned as well. Do you have some Aloe?”

Soobin ruffled his hair, “Yes. I packed some.”

“Oh alright. I was going to offer you mine.”

The conversation lulled then. You could hear people talking all around you. You looked over at Alex from next to Soobin. You smiled but she wouldn’t meet you in the eye. You frowned. She looked a little standoffish.

“Soobin,” you whispered so that he would lean in closer, “Is everything okay with Alex?”

Soobin’s eyes widened. He looked from you to Alex then back at you. Instantly, you could tell that whatever he said next was going to be a lie.

“She is a little sad that she didn’t get to uh... go on the date.”

Soobin scrunched his cute nose and shrugged his shoulders. You couldn’t be sure but based on what Yoongi told you, Alex had made it clear she didn’t want to go.

“Oh I see. Thanks for telling me.”

You turned back to your tacos, only to see that you were missing one. From your right, Jackson coughed and put a napkin to his mouth. You snapped your gaze to him and couldn’t stop yourself from laughing. In his hand was your missing taco which, unbeknown to him, was covered in lime, salt and green salsa.

The salas and lime oozed out of the back end of the tortilla. You watched him down a glass of water.

“This is what you get for being a thief.”

“I was still hungry!”

You rolled your eyes at your friend. Too distracted by the over dramatic gaging that Jackson was doing, you didn’t notice the tension in the Cabana.

It wasn’t until you heard a new female voice that you realized something was up.

“Hey guys,” Jackson’s eyes widened, looking somewhere over your shoulder. You looked over your shoulder. There, in the middle on the Cabana entrance stood none other than Marie. Her kinky hair was styled half up. She was wearing a sheer blue dress and in her manicured hands was a crème envelope.

The second date card had reared its ugly head.

Marie walked over to Jungkook first, hugging him and introducing herself. Instantly, the annoyingly cute act that you had become accustomed to on your season of the bachelor was present. She had been eliminated in a rose ceremony before you. She displayed the face of an angel at first, but as soon as your back was turned, it was all gossip. You had had a bad feeling from the beginning and when you had walked in on her speaking to another of the girls about how ‘fake’ you were, all your suspicions were confirmed.

She moved onto Yumi. Her bright blue, green eyes narrowed slightly. She was looking for ammunition. She talked to Yeonjun next. She was clearly interested in him right off the bat. She twirled a curl in her hands making brief conversation before she winked at him then moved onto Alex.

Alex seemed less than happy to be touched by Marie. She smiled awkwardly but Marie didn’t waste much time on her. She moved onto Soobin. Though instantly, you could see that he was far too tame for the wild child that was Marie and she seemed to notice it as well.

From Soobin, she took a detour and introduced herself to the table Taehyung and Jin were sitting at. The two boys stood and hugged her politely. Marie held on a little too long to both men. Holly and Kitty glared. You chuckled. Kitty really thought that she was the main runner on this show. Marie was ten times worse than that woman. The enemy of my enemy right?

Finally, Marie walked towards you, her smile faltering slightly. A slew of Camera men and producers had followed her into the Cabana. It was clear they were expecting something to happen. Most likely, they wanted to make sure they caught the interaction between you and her. You wouldn’t give the cameras the satisfaction.

“Y/N! I’m so glad to see you,” she said hugging you before you could protest. You patted her back.

“Marie, how have you been?’

“Swell,” she said, pulling away, “I’m so glad to be back here! It looks like we both got a second chance at love huh?”

“Right, I-”

But she wasn’t much more interested in you. She walked past you and hugged Jackson. Your heart sank. You could feel the eyes on you. Pitying.

You looked out into the sea of cameras and noticed Namjoon was behind one of the men. He had his clipboard and headset on. His eyes met yours instantly, what was meant to be a hiss and an apology escaping his lips. This was one curve ball he hadn’t told you about. You couldn’t bring yourself to be mad at him though. This must have been why he had rushed out of your room earlier that day. He didn’t trust himself to not tell you. You smiled a tight lip smile to signal you were fine. Tears welled in your eyes. The feeling of being ignored or unimportance filled you. You refused to cry. You were an adult. Adults didn’t cry.

“So guys,” Marie began and you swiveled your chair to look at her, now at the opposite end of the cabana, “I do have a date card here. Should I open it?”

A chorus of excited encouragement met her question. She preened at the attention. You struggled to not roll your eyes at her. She opened the envelope rather roughly. Another person who hadn’t gotten the memo that the envelope wasn’t glued shut. She ripped the card inside a little. She giggled at her own incompetence but pushed it aside. Slightly in front of you and to the left was Jackson, his shoulders erect and at attention. He was still not wearing a shirt and you could see Marie ogling his muscles.

“Marie, find a guy that suits your fancy and dress to impress. Your date leaves tonight.”

The riddle was obvious. It was a date where you had to wear something fancy. Possibly a dinner? Either way, it was sure to be amazing if the producers had anything to say about it.

“Who should I pick,” she asked rhetorically. The men in the cabana were all looking at her hopefully. All but one. Jungkook was practically hiding in his arms. He was trying to make himself as small as he possibly could.

“Jungkook,” Marie said, shocking everyone but yourself. Jungkook looked up from his self-made nest and looked up at Marie. There was a good six to eight feet between them but that seemed like it wasn’t enough. His eyes were open wide. Like a deer in headlights. A blush rose to his cheeks and he pointed to himself as if to confirm.

“Yes you silly,” Marie giggled, “would you go on this date with me?”

Silence. Disappointed silence followed her question. Everyone was looking at Jungkook expectantly. You couldn’t look at him, but you could tell he was looking at you.

“I…I guess?”

“Great,” Marie exclaimed, not noticing or caring about his hesitation, “see you tonight.”

Marie walked away then, a small crew of camera men followed her to the rooms. A couple other camera men and producers walked up to the contestants. Namjoon walked up to you. You could tell he felt guilty for not warning you this time around.

“Hey Y/N, we want to do a quick interview if you don’t mind. I also brought you some aloe for your sunburn and a replacement for your mic. You really need to take it off before you go into pools of water.”

“Maybe you guys should get waterproof mics,” you shot back but stood up and followed Namjoon. You looked back to see who else was getting pulled in for an interview. It was not surprising that Jungkook and Jackson were also flocked to. What you did find weird was that Jackson wasn’t looking at his producer. Instead, he was looking at yours.

You watched the two men exchange some strange looks before they both turned back to their jobs. That was undeniably weird.

You didn’t ask Namjoon. It was a brief enough look. It could have been anything. You let Namjoon and his camera man lead you closer to the ocean by a formation of pretty rocks. The waves crashed against them cinematically. Namjoon smiled.

“Here’s good Y/N. I’m just going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them as if they’re happening in real time. So like ‘I feel that…in this moment I am doing…’ that kind of thing. Got it?”

“Got it chief,” you saluted, instantly cringing at your own actions. There you went again. Why were you always so cringy when he was around? To his credit, Namjoon chuckled and saluted back.

“Fantastic. Okay. So…tell me who arrived and what you are doing while she does.”

You groaned. The interviews were the absolute worst.

“So I’m sitting with Jackson,” you said cautiously, thinking hard about the tense of your words, “and I’m laughing at him because he stole my taco and it has a lot of salsa in it so he’s gulping down water.” You paused again thinking.

“I guess because I am so focused on that, I don’t notice when a new girl comes in.

“Okay great, now tell me how that made you feel,” Namjoon pressed, writing something on his clipboard.

“Well… we all know how much she likes me… so I am not exactly ecstatic about her arrival but she’s here.”

Namjoon paused and looked at you. He winced at your words.

“I’m really sorry to hear that Y/N. Uh… what did-you-feel-when- she-asked-Jungkook-on the-date?”

This last question, he seemed to spit out. He said it so fast that it almost was incoherent. You blinked at him but then it clicked.

“Oh um…I feel nothing really. I’m here for another chance at love and it’s not with Jungkook. He deserves that second chance as well. If it’s with a girl he’s already dated then so be it. But that’s not me.”

Namjoon let a sigh escape his lips. A small smile on his face.

“Okay well, last question. You and Jackson? Is that a thing or…”

“Me and Jackson are just friends.”

“Okay that should tie that up. Thank you, Y/N. Chris,” Namjoon now directed himself at the camera man, “You’re dismissed. I’m just going to mic her again and I’ll be back in a bit.”

Chris nodded and turned his camera off. When he was a decent distance away, Namjoon looked back at you.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t say anything Y/N. I had no way to say something without someone knowing. Can you turn around?”

You complied, “Is it okay if I pull your shirt up a little?”

“Uh yeah,” you said, holding your chest so it didn’t move too much.

“It’s not your fault. I’m sure you would have told me if you could or something. Careful, this is a swim suit. I’m not wearing anything under the top, Namjoon.”

“Wait what?” As if burned, he let go of your bikini top. It plopped against your skin heavily.

“Ow dude that hurt!”

“I’m so sorry,” he said instantly, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just trying to switch your mic. You rolled your eyes.

“It’s okay. I’m fine, you’re fine. Just switch it.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Namjoon tentatively grabbed the edge of your top again and shimmied it up your torso. You felt his hands cautiously take the short circuited mic from the little compartment in the skin color band he’d helped you in that morning. His fingertips grazed your skin.

“How’s it looking boss?”

“I’m not the boss of you Y/N,” Namjoon said, “I’m just your handler.”

“I know Namjoon. Is my sunburn really obvious?”

Namjoon didn’t say anything. You felt him slip the new mic in the pouch and then flip the on switch. He fiddled with the knob of the volume for a second before he pulled your top over the tan band.

“Say something.”

“Namjoon is my handler and not my boss,” you laughed. You turned to look at him and noticed the blush in his cheeks. You’d missed him today. Maybe you would break more mics just to talk to him.

“Okay that should be good. Here,” he held out a blue, cold bottle of gel, “put this on. You’re starting to look a little past sunkissed.”

“Yes sir,” you said, eagerly taking the bottle of what you knew was aloe. You squeezed a small amount and plopped it on your shoulder. The cooling sensation was instant. Relief swept through you.

“Can you put it on my face? I can’t see where I need it,” you said holding it out to him as you rubbed it into your neck.

“Yeah, sure.”

Namjoon placed his clipboard between his legs then squirted a little lotion on his enormous hand. Your eyes widened as he took a single long finger and dipped it in the blob in his wide palm.

“Namjoon, your hands are huge,” you said.

Namjoon raised an eyebrow, “maybe your hands are small. Did you think of that Y/N?” With the most careful touch he could muster, he evenly placed the cooling gel under your eyes and on the tip of your nose. He gently massaged it in. You closed your eyes enjoying the sensation. That is until he booped your nose.

“Hey!”

“Sorry I couldn't help it. You have a boopable nose.”

“Okay yeah whatever. Do I need some anywhere else?” you asked, turning so he could look at you. His eyes raked your body methodically, as if scanning.

“You look okay for now. Just keep putting sunscreen on and put more of this lotion on at night after your shower. I’ll leave it in your room okay?”

“I already have some in my room,” you pointed out.

“This one was in the fridge. It’s much more effective.”

“Fine. Take it to my room but it’s going to be not cold by the time I get there.”

Namjoon and yourself started to walk back to the cabana where people were still eating. Jackson and Jungkook seemed to be done with their interviews as well as they were back to their old seats.

“You underestimate me,” Namjoon feigned hurt, placing a hand over his heart, “just trust me.”

“I do. You might be number one of two people I trust at this moment.”

Marie was also back. She had taken Yumi’s seat at the bar, a long island iced tea in her perfect hands. She was laughing at whatever Jungkook had just said. Jungkook seemed a little less surprised now. He smiled kindly at her, not even glancing in your direction. You felt a little hurt. Maybe he wasn’t there for you. As you said your goodbye to Namjoon, you returned to your seat near Jackson. He looked downcast.

“Hey, did I miss anything?”

Jackson was looking at Marie and Jungkook. He swirled a finger in a green drink that you couldn’t identify.

“Maybe.”

You spent the next hour and a half taking a shower, doing a treatment on your hair, drying it, then straightening and curling it. The sun had not been kind to your hair over the last two days and in all honesty, you weren’t helping it but you couldn’t help trying to fix it. Your hair had a history of being unruly and frizzy. You wanted to tame it as much as you could.

You applied a thick layer of sunscreen on your body before changing into a weaved, tie-dyed navy blue dress and some brown sandals. Your hair was half up with some wispy hairs surrounding your face. When you were done, it was around five thirty. You waited in your room for a little longer, needing a small reprieve from people and cameras, at least physical cameras. You looked through your phone. Messaged your family that everything was okay then scrolled through social media. You were starting to doze off.

A knock at your door startled you awake. You checked your phone and realized that it was almost seven then. For a second, you thought you imagined the knocks but there they were again. You swung your legs off your bed. It must be Namjoon. He was the only one who knew which room was yours. Maybe he was dropping off the gel for sunburns. Regardless, you welcomed the idea of seeing him so you hurried over to the door and pulled it open without inquiring.

“Hey Nam- Jungkook?”

Alas, it was Jungkook who was behind your door, patiently waiting for you to open. He was dressed for his date already. He was wearing an obviously soft white button up with crystal buttons. The top two were left open. His muscular chest peaked out at you. His smart jacket was left open and was boxy. Stripes of darker black ran up his arms, one rested on the door frame, the other in the pocket of his black wide leg slacks. He seemed to be a little taller as well, unless you hadn’t noticed your height difference before then, but that seemed unlikely. He shifted his weight, his pants riding up slightly, and you noticed that his dress shoes had a slight lift.

A strand of wavy hair fell into his eyes. Fear was evident in them but also was that hope you saw?

“Yeah, hi,” he said, sticking his other hand in his pocket as well, then quickly thinking better of it and hiding both hands behind his body. You waited as he fidgeted for a bit longer. He was obviously nervous.

“Y/N,” you said as if to introduce yourself, “I was on your season of the bachelor.”

Jungkook blushed, his tattooed hand running through his hair to distract himself from your words.

“I knew that,” he assured, still not meeting your eyes.

“Well, if you say so, but you haven’t said my name once since you arrived here. I’m starting to think that you can’t physically say my name,” you joked. Behind him, you could see that a camera man had followed him. He must have told them something.

When he said nothing, you spoke again, “I don’t know if you’re looking for Marie but this is the wrong room.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened, “Oh no! I came to find you.”

“Uh, why?”

You crossed your arms, genuinely confused. The card that Marie had read hadn’t been specific enough to tell the time but judging by Jungkook’s attire it was soon. So why was he here instead of with his date?

“I was waiting for you to come back to the cabana but you never did- to talk to you!- and so I went to get ready but I just really wanted to clear the air before…well before I went. Tell you why I’m going.”

“Jungkook, you don’t owe me an explanation for why you are going on another date.”

Jungkook looked taken aback, he scratched his nose. You could tell that he was hot in his outfit. His forehead was starting to sweat.

“I feel like I do,” he admitted, looking over your shoulder.

“Oh um, do you want to come in?” You stepped aside but Jungkook didn’t walk in.

“I just came to say that…I came here for you.”

Your heart stopped. You suddenly felt tiny and far away.

“When they offered me the spot here, in Paradise, I was going to turn it down but when they mentioned that you would be here…” he paused then took a deep breath as if it was hard for him to say, “When they said to me ‘Y/N is going to be there’ I didn’t hesitate.”

Suddenly, you didn’t know how to stand. You fidgeted with your dress, balling and unbaling your hands in the thin fabric.

“I needed to see you and while I realize that right now isn’t the right time to talk about all of this, I just want you to know…the first date card that I get, I will use it on you.”

Silence rang through your small room. Your heart was racing. You felt your mouth open and close but no words were leaving your mouth. Your brain had gone fuzzy. You didn’t know how to feel. What were you supposed to say?

Jungkook seemed to be waiting for you to say something, anything, but after a minute or so of you acting like a goldfish, he sighed, his shoulders slumping.

“I hope you will consider it Y/N,” he stressed, “have a nice night.”

And with that, he and the cameraman were gone.

It wasn’t a surprise to you that Namjoon showed up not too long after that incident with the same camera man from before. Your door was open wide and you were sitting on your bed. You were blank. All emotions seemed to have left you. You felt nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Maybe it would scare you if you could feel anything at all.

Namjoon knocked on the door tentatively, even though he could have walked in if he wanted to. In normal circumstances, you would have thought this was sweet of him.

“Y/N? Is it okay to come in?” He peeked his head around the corner. When his eyes landed on you, genuine concern shot through him.

“Chris, can you give me a minute to talk to her?”

You weren’t paying enough attention but Namjoon walked in cautiously and quickly looking around the room. In a matter of seconds, he had covered the multiple cameras that were hidden around the small space. He kneeled down before you. His legs spread so that your legs were between his own. He looked up at you, his big brown eyes scared and sad.

He raised his hands so that you could see them and you could, but you didn’t react. His hands were up like a stick up by his head. A question in his eyes. When you didn’t move, he began to lower his hands slowly. He placed them both on your knees. The sensation instantly grounding you from whatever place you had been floating.

“Namjoon I-”

Quickly, he held up a finger to your lips then pointed at his head set. You understood. They could hear you. Namjoon looked at your phone, which sat next to your body innocently. He grabbed it then held it up for you to unlock.

You took it from his hands and did as he implied, then handed it back to him. Quickly, he typed then held it up for you to read. His hand not holding the phone went back to your knee.

I wanted to check in on you before we interviewed. Are you okay?

You looked down at him. He raised an eyebrow as if to punctuate his text. You nodded. Air seemed fresher all of a sudden. You could feel your heart beating in your chest. Instead of a blank mind, it was once again buzzing. You touched your chest over your heart with your right hand. The thumping was confirmation. You were ok. Why had you reacted that way to Jungkook’s confession?

Namjoon watched you carefully. His eyes scanned you from head to toe. He squeezed your knee and it was then that you realized that he was touching you once again. Just like the last time, his touch was comforting to you. His warmth engulfed you.

I’m okay. Let’s get this over with.

You typed. You hesitated.

Thank you for checking on me…you’re a good friend.

You handed the phone back to him so he could read. He removed his hands from your clothed knees and read what you’d written. His lips stretched over his teeth, his dimples making an appearance. You felt your whole body buzz. You liked to be the cause of his smile. He must have read it over a couple of times, his smile kept growing.

He finally looked up at you. His white teeth showing- were they always this perfect?- his eyes sparkling. He winked at you then gave your knee one last squeeze before he stood up, uncovered the cameras and walked out to get the camera man.

You tried your best to pull yourself together, ruffling your hair slightly, then self-consciously combing it so it was flat to your head.

When Namjoon walked in, he was all professional. Any hints of the small moment you had shared before was hidden but not gone. He winked at you once more. A silent reminder that he had your back and even though the camera was around, you felt at ease.

The interview was quick and painless. You realized that if you pretended that you were talking to Namjoon instead of a camera, then it was much easier to get your feelings across. When you were done, Chris and Namjoon left together with a small bow and you felt much more ready to face the group.

You walked towards the cabana only to find that no one was there. You could hear voices in the distance. You followed the sounds of laughter. They were again by the pool and the jacuzzi. The sun was already setting. People were sitting around the pool and on chairs. Everyone seemed happy. Excited. You wished it could stay this way. But you had seen this show before. You knew it wouldn’t last. You were happy that you could enjoy it while it lasted.

Jackson was the first one to notice you. His shirt was off. You weren’t even surprised. He was dripping wet. Droplets of water slithered down his body and in the crevices of defined muscle. He smiled at you.

“Ayeee, Y/L/N! Where have you been?”

Jackson bounded up to you, his wet hair bouncing on his head as he ran closer to you. On instinct, you help your hands out to stop him short. He bumped right into your outstretched palm, his arms open as if he was going to give you a hug.

“No, no. I showered. I’m sunburned. I do not want you to get me wet.”

“How did you know I was going to do that,” he pouted.

“Instinct,” you shrugged, side stepping him. He followed you up to where the rest of the group was. Kitty and Holly were both in skimpy bikinis in the pool with Taehyung, who had also forgone his shirt. He wasn’t defined like Jackson, but you wouldn’t say that he was hard to look at. His hair was plastered to his head.

Jin was wearing the same swim trunks from earlier but he had changed into a more comfortable looking t-shirt. He was only dipping his feet and Holly was hovering around him. He wouldn’t look at you. Yumi was sitting a little bit away from him, looking like she wanted to talk to him, but the shark in the pool seemed to stop her.

Hoseok and Jimin were chilling in the hot tub. Both shirtless. Both, strangled tones. Under the blue light and slight bubbles, you could make out a tattoo on Jimin’s torso. Words of some sort that you couldn’t read. To your surprise, Alex was sitting in the hot tub with the two boys. Her head barely sticking out of the water. She might have even been floating because the hot tub was a little too deep. She also wouldn’t look at you.

Briefly, you remembered what Soobin had said to you about her being upset at not going on the date with Yoongi. Had she actually wanted to go and you and Yoongi misunderstood?

Soobin and Yeonjun were sitting at the shallow end of the pool sipping on beers and chatting. You hadn’t seen Yeonjun talk to anyone in the villa so far and he was highly attractive. Maybe he was waiting for someone specific. If he was lucky, over the course of the week, that person might arrive.

“Hey guys,” you said shyly, quickly realizing that you were off on the wrong foot with more people than you would have liked.

Yumi smiled and you thought of that as a safe invitation to sit next to her. You would give Alex some room and hopefully she would talk to you when she felt ready. Yumi’s smile brightened. You crossed your legs, making sure that your dress covered you up.

“Where have you been Y/N,” Taehyung said, swimming closer to you. Kitty wasn’t far behind.

“Yeah, we all totally missed you,” she said, a fake smile on her freckled face.

“I wanted to shower. I was covered in sand from surfing with Jackson all day,” you said with a light chuckle.

The aforementioned man chose that moment to cannon ball into the pool. A wave of water instantly covered you from your lap to your stomach. Shock was your first reaction. Indignation the second.

“Jackson!”

You looked over at Yumi, who had been wearing some cute jean shorts and a white top, and were horrified to see that she too had gotten soaked. From across the pool, you could hear Jin’s squeaky laugh and Holly’s ironically silent one. You glared at Jin but he only shrugged finally meeting your eyes. Maybe this would be punishment enough for you in his eyes. The day hadn’t been an easy one. What with Marie showing up, your brief lack of feeling and your weird habit of being completely soaked when you didn’t want to be. Did twice warrant a habit?

When Jackson surfaced and saw what he had done, saw the fire in your eyes, he cowered before he burst out laughing. He swam closer to you.

“Sorry Y/L/N,” he said hanging on the pool edge, “I swear I didn’t mean to get you wet I swear.”

You growled at him but before you could snap at him again, Taehyung’s hands were on your wet legs. Unlike Namjoon’s touch, Taehyung’s made you unsure and tense. Especially when Kitty was so close. He squeezed your calf softly. Your eyes snapped to him. His expression was sultry, his hair slightly wavy.

“You might as well come in. Your dress is already wet.” He picked at the seam as if to make his point. His bottom lip was pulled between his teeth innocently. It was so easy to be pulled into Taehyung’s bubble. It was smooth and dark. He made you feel like you were alone even when the room was full. Like a siren on sailors, he lured you in with his smooth voice and good looks and what came next, you weren’t sure.

“I-I can’t break another mic. Namjoon would kill me,” you said pointedly.

Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“They have like millions of mics. Come on,” he tapped the surface of the water, “It’s warm.”

“I can’t swim,” you lied, as if this would save you but you had gone into the ocean earlier and on a date where you needed to swim on the bachelor so no one was believing you.

Taehyung clearly knew this. His head tilted as if to say “Seriously?”

“I’ll protect you Y/N. I promise,” he found your ankles and gently unfolded your legs, pulling your feet, sandals and all into the illuminated pool. He was right. The water was warm from the day and the blue tint of the light was so inviting. Chlorine stung your nostrils and you could almost hear Namjoon’s exasperation at having to replace your mic twice in one day, but you let him pull you forward.

Yumi put a hand on your shoulder but your eyes were locked on Taehyung’s. He was temptation. He was the devil incarnate. He was lust like you hadn’t ever felt before.

“Get a room,” someone yelled, and only this broke your spell.

You looked around for the source and realized it had been Jimin. He had a wide smile on his plush lips. He giggled when you looked at him, his eyes squinting prettily.

“Be cool Min,” Taehyung chastised, caressing your calf. You could see Kitty fuming. She was watching the way that Taehyung was touching you. You wondered if he did this to her as well.

“You’re eye fucking her in public. Why don’t you be cool,” Jimin asked, stepping out of the hot tub and slithering into the pool. He shivered as the much cooler water touched his smooth skin. He swam over to you two, accidentally pushing the brunette girl away.

“Am not,” Taehyung argued, “Right Y/N?”

Both men looked up at you expectantly. You shook your head.

“I guess not.”

“See? Settled. Come one Y/N. Jump in the pool,” Taehyung pressured.

Like a switch, Jimin looked up at you.

“It’s nice and warm,” he singsonged.

“Come on Y/L/N, don’t be a weenie,” Jackson added. Your eyes widened. Jackson too?

You looked at Yumi, confusion on your face. Yumi blinked back at you, her pretty face nearly as confused as yours.

“What do you think, Yumi? Should I jump in?”

A chorus of your name began to go around the small group of people. Mostly the men save for Jin chanted it over and over.

“Do you want to?” She asked, squeezing your shoulder comfortingly.

“I’ll do it if you do it,” I bargained as the chanting became louder, “This way, at least my producer won’t be the only one upset.” Yumi chuckled, “Okay let’s do it.”

At Yumi’s proclamation the men cheered as if their favorite team had scored. Yumi stood and helped you up. She was such a gentle person. You wished you had talked to her sooner.

She held out her hand for you to take.

“Move out of the way,” You warned. They left you some leeway and you and Yumi gave yourself some room.

“On three?” She asked.

“Okay,” you agreed.

You counted down together, then on three ran towards the pool. You were submerged in seconds. The water pressed against your skin. When you came up, you were instantly pulled onto someone.

Your hand was torn from Yumi’s and your body pulled away. On instinct, you wrapped your legs around the person’s torso. You came face to face with none other than Kim Taehyung and his smug, triumphant smile.

“Hey there gorgeous,” he whispered, knowing that no one could hear. Your heart thumped wildly in your chest at his proximity. Memories of the day before plagued you. This time though, there were way more people around.

“Look who’s back,” Hoseok yelled. Grateful for the excuse to look away from Taehyung, you looked around wondering if Jungkook and Marie had come back early even though that didn’t make any logical sense.

Instead, you were met with the sight of a really smiley Julie and a softly smiling Yoongi. Their hands interlocked. They were casually walking closer to the group. Jackson wolf whistled and Hoseok clapped as they neared.

“Do I see a smile on your face, hyung?” Jimin yelled teasingly. From the short distance, you could see him roll his eyes.

“You have no respect, Park Jimin,” he yelled back but his smile only grew.

He was wearing a pair of black shorts and a nice summery blue shirt with some sandals. Julie was wearing a cute ruffled top and some high waisted shorts. Just by their outfits, you couldn’t tell what they had done. You were impatient to know. They seemed to have had fun on their date.

“How was the date,” Yumi asked as they finally neared enough to not have to yell. Julie smiled brightly at her and pulled her shoes off so she could dangle them in the pool. When she noticed that Yumi and yourself were fully clothed, she squinted but didn’t ask.

“Careful,” you warned, “That’s how we got pulled into the pool.”

It was when she raised an eyebrow at you that you realized what a compromising position you were in. You quickly unwrapped your legs from Taehyung’s torso and stood on your ruined shoes. You tried to get away but Taehyung followed and wrapped his arms around your waist. His torso to your back and his head on your shoulder. You couldn’t bring yourself to push him away.

“Yeah well, it was great! Yoongi and I took a bachata class and then we got to go explore the city,” she gushed as Yoongi took his own shoes off and sat down next to Julie with a groan.

“Wow hyung you danced,” Hoseok asked, also switching to the pool unceremoniously to better listen.

“Yes. I danced, is that so hard to believe?”

“Well it took six alarms to wake you up this morning and the last time I saw you do any real work outs you napped after five minutes so…”

Yoongi splashed water at his friend, a chuckle escaping his baby lips. Yoongi was unbelievably cute, you thought, and he seemed to be into Julie, or at the very least, the date.

“He was actually really good,” Julie laughed, “I was the one struggling to be honest.”

Yoongi smiled gratefully at her and placed a hand on her thigh. Julie placed her own hand on his and entwined their fingers. Just like that, you watched the first couple in paradise form.

It was midnight before Jungkook and Marie were back at the villa. It was a general consensus that you would all wait for them to return to inquire about their date and also to see if two couples were formed that day. Your hands were pruny, and your body felt heavy from being in the water for so long, but Taehyung refused to let you leave. So your dress floated around you ethereally.

He’d managed to pull you closer to Jin and Holly who seemed less than bothered with your existence. Kitty had given up trying to get his attention for the night and was now chatting up Yeonjun on the other end of the pool. Jin and Taehyung were having pleasant conversation, but when you tried to answer, Jin only looked at you, then changed the subject. At this point, you weren’t sure if he was punishing you for the morning, or for the way that you were being held.

Namjoon hadn’t come around to fix your mic either. You assumed that there was no need since you were still in the water.

When Jungkook and Marie showed up, it was both a sigh of relief and an added tension. He had poured his heart out to you and he was coming back to the sight of you in the arms of another man. Guilt ripped through you. You tried once again to get Taehyung to let you go but he tightened his hold and buried his head in your neck.

“Hey Kook! How was the date,” he called out as they neared the pool. Marie was smiling widely, her A- line dress fluttered in the wind. Jungkook was also smiling. His hand was clasped firmly in Marie’s hand. You didn’t expect it, but his smile and affection felt like a punch to the gut.

He looked over to you guys and his smile flattened when his eyes landed on the way that Taehyung was holding you.

“Uh yeah. Good date. We had dinner,” he explained.

“It was amazing,” Marie confirmed, “We had a table on a glass, water covered floor. There were fish swimming under us as we ate. And the food,” she gasped clutching at her chest as if it physically hurt her, “it was prepared by a five star chef.”

“Sounds like you guys hit it off,” Taehyung encouraged.

“I think so,” Marie giggled, nuzzling her nose against Jungkook’s cheek. He didn’t stop her. He smiled brightly, pulling his eyes from you and shrugging his shoulders in embarrassment.

“Looks like we have two couples set up in paradise then,” Yeonjun said wisely.

“Looks like it,” Taehyung agreed. If you would have looked at him, you would have seen a satisfied smirk on his face.

Taehyung sat in front of the camera comfortably. His face expressionless, waiting for Namjoon to begin the interview. He’d done many of these before and he knew exactly what he needed to say. He’d learned from his first show and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake. He wouldn’t let himself be hurt that way ever again.

It was a couple of minutes before Namjoon held up his clipboard and pushed up his glasses on his nose. There was a weird tension that Taehyung couldn’t put his finger on but he didn’t read into it.

Namjoon cleared his throat.

“Okay Taehyung, I just have a couple of questions and then you can go to sleep. That okay?”

“Sure hyung,” Taehyung answered instantly, smiling sweetly at his elder.

“Okay, roll the camera Chris,” he said. Chris nodded then held up a thumb to signal he was ready.

“Okay. How do you feel about the two couples in Paradise so far?”

“Julie and Yoongi hyung seem like a nice couple. I knew when I saw them leave that they would fit nicely together. As for Jungkook and Marie…” he paused, not sure what he wanted to reveal just yet, “they seem okay, but if Kook didn’t like her before, I don’t see why he would like her now. He eliminated her from his season for a reason.”

Namjoon nodded.

“Honestly though, I hope she keeps him for a while. I like being able to mess around with Y/N.”

Namjoon looked up sharply, his expression gave nothing away but Taehyung felt that tension again. Where was it coming from?

“What about Kitty?”

Taehyung laughed, “She’s fun to mess around with as well.”

“So, you haven’t decided on a girl then.” Namjoon tried to clarify.

“It’s the second day hyung! I have six weeks to figure it out and this time, I’m not going to get hurt. I can promise you that.”

Namjoon wrote something on his clipboard then, without looking up, he asked the last question.

“You think that both women like you?” His voice was strained but Taehyung chalked it up to having worked all day. Namjoon seemed tired. He felt a little sorry for him. Late nights and early mornings. Not the best job in the world.

“What’s not to like?” he asked cockily, his mouth pulled into a devilish smirk. He chuckled, then winked at the camera.

Namjoon patted Chris on the shoulder and the camera was off. Taehyung smiled at his hyung and though Namjoon returned it, it felt stressed. Or forced. Again, he chalked it up to his exhaustion. He bowed politely.

“Is that all, Namjoon hyung?”

“Yeah Taehyung. Have a nice rest.” Namjoon didn’t look at him. He walked over to a Styrofoam cooler and placed the paper he had been writing on, on top, then taped it so it would stay. He found it weird but he didn’t question. Taehyung bowed once again, the tension thickening before he walked out of the recording room and towards his bed room.

Things were going to be different this time. Taehyung would make sure of it. Even if he had to be the one doing the hurting.

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