I exit the elevator and walk the long hall past Kookie's office towards the prep room. It feels like a bit of a repeat of yesterday. Hopefully with a different outcome. I'm excited to see Kookie today.

He texted me earlier this morning and I almost flipped out of bed trying to get my phone when I saw his name come up. It was sweet of him to say good morning and that he was looking forward to seeing me and would, of course, have my basket. I was thrilled following our kiss last night.

I told him I had a great time and was looking forward to seeing him, and uh, getting my basket. All the while knowing what I'm really looking forward to is kissing his sweet lips again. God save me from being an idiot with him today. Last night in the taxi was special, as was our kiss; we made a connection.

As I move towards the prep room something is different. Several of the staff greet me, like I'm a celebrity of some sort. Different from the respect of the hero. I'm not sure what it is but it's different.

I settle into the prep room and look up at the large monitor. I see Kookie on set making holiday ornaments with a guest host, a pretty young actress. I approach the screen and look at him closely.

Now, that's my Kookie. He's comfortable, confident and relaxed. I see that beautiful sparkle in his eyes that was gone yesterday when that asshole was on set with him. Looking at him I feel euphoric, a feeling I never want to leave.

Last night, when I got back to my hotel I thought about the evening. I was happy that I decided to relate to him as just Jungkook and not a celebrity. I did wonder if he might have been vulnerable because of what happened with Tommie Chen and therefore more open to my advances. However, I don't think so.

The door opens, Jin and Namjoon enter. Namjoon quickly moves towards me and firmly shakes my hand. It's firmer and more assertive than before. It's with sincere respect.

"How are you doing champ?" he asks. I quickly get that it is a reference to boxing. I smile a bit now knowing that he is referring to my incident with that scumbag.

I now think I know why the staff are treating me differently. Evidently the word about me handling Tommie Chen got out. It's a good thing, I guess.

They are acknowledging me. It seems as though, Tommie did not have many fans at Kookie's studio. Besides, Kookie's a good guy and his staff respect and care about him.

"Hi, Taehyung," Jin says taking a seat across from me.

"Is it okay that we meet in here instead of my office? Kookie will meet us here after the show is done in about 30 minutes," he says smiling at me a bit differently today.

It's as if he knows something I don't. Jin's a cool dude, he and Namjoon seem to really care about Kookie. We spoke about a lot of things last night and I got the impression they are all close.

I'm happy for Kookie. Good, trustworthy friends cannot be easy for him to make. Especially in this industry.

"Sure, Jin. As long as I get my gift basket, I'm good." Jin and I both laugh as Namjoon does not get the inside joke about the undelivered gift basket.

"Taehyung, if, for any reason you do not walk out of here with that gift basket, Namjoon will personally deliver it to you tonight at your hotel." We both laugh again as Namjoon scratches his head.

"Tae, we want to talk about a few things," Jin says glancing down at his clip board. "First, the unpleasant," he says while twisting a ring on his finger. Slowly he looks up and then back down to his clipboard.

"We settled everything surrounding the unpleasant incident with Mr. Tommie Chen." He then reaches across and gives me a letter. "This is a letter of apology," Jin says as he looks across at Namjoon whose focus is on me.

I look up at them both as I reach forward and take the letter and read it. They sit quietly and wait for me to finish. Slowly I let out an audible sigh and shake my head from side to side. I look up at them both as Namjoon crosses his legs while Jin diverts his focus again to his clip board.

"You both know this is not what happened. He did not have a slip and fall." I feel my jaw clenching as I continue. I turn the letter over, looking for more, however it is blank. "Where is the part about him being sorry for attempting to sexually assault Kookie? Is there a page missing?" I ask and then sit quietly waiting for their response.

Jin looks over at Namjoon and then bites down on his lip. Namjoon leans forward and clears his throat. I'm sure that Namjoon is about to tell me some bullshit about how they do things around here.

"Taehyung, this is all unpleasant stuff, however, this is the way things work. It's how the industry operates."

I feel pain in my jaw as I reluctantly hold my peace. Jin looks up and off to the side as he struggles finding a place to focus his eyes. I plant my feet firmly on the floor and lean forward and narrow my eyes. I sigh relaxing some of the tension in my jaw.

"This is unpleasant stuff for who, Namjoon? The industry? Tommie Chen's dumb ass? You? This show? I only know it to be unpleasant for Kookie. He was humiliated and fucking groped and now you want me to say it didn't happen. What kind of man does that?" I say in a lower voice which is intended to show my disgust.

I look and see Namjoon is holding a pen as Jin raises the palm of his hand to his mouth. I scoff and continue, "I suspect that you want me to sign this. Well, I can't do that. Because signing this would be saying Kookie's honor is not worth anything so that this industry, Tommie Chen, this show and you both can continue to make another dollar." I then grit my teeth. "Another dollar on the backs of others like Kookie who is actually, the fucking talent."

Jin quickly rises to leave as Namjoon grabs his wrist. He looks embarrassed as his eyes water.

"Baby, sit," Namjoon says looking up at Jin. As Jin lowers himself back into his seat, Namjoon looks over to me. "All right Taehyung, it's shitty," Namjoon says letting out a slow breath. "You're right about that piece of shit Tommie Chen, the industry and maybe even me. But you're wrong about the show and Jin. This show is good, decent and believes in its mission. That's because of Kookie and Jin. It is not perfect and there are things we get wrong."

Namjoon taps a clenched fist into his thigh as he talks to make his point. "And as far as Jin is concerned, he's always had Kookie's back. What you didn't know was that there was an earlier incident yesterday."

"What?" I say softly biting down on my lower lip as my jaw starts to relax. I lean back into the couch lowering my shoulders thinking that I may have overreacted.

"Kookie told Jin, Tommie tried to intimidate him before the show started. Jin walked in on it and asked him to leave. Jin wanted to cancel Tommie but Kookie refused."

I nervously comb my fingers through my hair hearing this. Jin did not deserve the harshness of my tone.

"Kookie begged Jin not to tell me because he knew I'd kick Tommie's sorry ass off the show," Namjoon says narrowing his eyes and lowering his voice indicating his distaste for the situation as Jin nods in agreement and moves closer to Namjoon.

I shake my head in disgust and have an overwhelming desire to find Tommie Chen and finish what I started.

"After you and Kookie left Jin tossed Tommie's ass out of here telling him that the room had a hidden camera with audio and if he ever approached Kookie again it would get released to the press. Jin then called Tommie's people. He told them the same and said he was banned from the show."

I look up at Jin who is struggling to hold it together as I press my back into my chair and take several deep cleansing breaths in and out before speaking. I feel regretful with a desire to repair what was said out of my reactivity.

"Jin, I'm sorry. I had no right to speak about what I don't know. Kookie speaks very highly of you both," I say also looking at Namjoon who eases back into his chair and crosses his arms across his chest.

"Taehyung," Jin says softly. "Please consider what a scandal would do to Kookie's career. We don't have video or audio. We do have a witness, but a court case would not fare well for him. He'd end up likely ruined and by the time it's over he'd be painted as a slut trying to take down a big movie star after he was dumped by him."

Fuck, I had not even considered that. Here it was that Jin was fighting back as best he could with all his ammo which was mainly his intelligence and knowledge of the industry. He had Kookie's back the entire time.

While covering up what Tommie Chen did to Kookie sickens me, my primary concern is Kookie's well-being. I tighten my fist at the thought of Kookie having further injury. God help that bastard, Tommie Chen if I ever see him again. I lean over, take the pen from Namjoon and sign the paper returning it to Jin.

I'm too excited to see Tae after I finish signing autographs and answering audience questions. It feels like my show again and the awful dread that I felt the day before is gone. I feel light and giddy as I head to my office.

I quickly shower and get into comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. It was nice texting back and forth with Tae this morning. But, I can't wait to see him. I close my eyes and think about his soft lips and wet tongue and my stomach flutters. It feels delightful.

I dry my hair out a bit and check my messages. Jin wants me to meet them in the prep room. I hope Tae was accepting of the handling of yesterday's Tommie Chen Shit Show.

As I head to the prep room, I feel a rise in my stomach and a restlessness in my body. I have feelings for Tae and now I have to do my best to keep them under wraps. This will be hard when all I want to do is slam my lips into his .

I want him to know I have feelings for him, yet it is too soon. His rejection of me would be devastating. I won't risk it. At least not yet. I want to be sure.

I want to feel his hands on my body and place mine on his. I'm eager to continue where we left off, yet I don't want to be a fool for him. Something tells me that ship may have sailed already.

I lightly knock and then enter. They are all laughing as Namjoon appears to be sharing some funny stories about our earlier days. I feel an excitement about the future that I have not felt in ages as I look at the three of them.

I'm not just excited. It is a joyful contentment. I am happy.

"Namjoon, please tell me that you are not boring Taehyung with those year-one stories before we found Jin to get us in order." I glance over and see Tae; he looks incredibly hot. My heart is pounding so loud I fear that it can be heard by everyone in the room.

"Kookie, he most certainly is," Jin says shaking his head. I smile but my insides are melting hearing Tae's deep sexy laugh and voice. I smile at him as he looks up and smiles at me.

"Good to see you Kookie. How was your show today? I caught a small part of it earlier," he says while I can't help but focus on his lips.

I can't help but flash him a smile with fleeting eye contact. "Taehyung, it was a good show, thank you. I had an actress from a new K Drama on. She was a good guest and really enjoyed decorating ornaments."

"That's a great segment Kookie. I have several ornaments from last year's ornament segment. I'll be pulling those out and putting them on the tree soon." He then shows his big boxy smile and I nearly swoon.

"Really, Tae?" I say sliding into the armchair next to him. "Do you have the peppermint one? That's a favorite," I say as I see his eyes light up as he leans forward.

"Yes, Kookie, I have that one and the green spruce," He says as his smile expands. He's so damn handsome, it's hard to breath in this man's presence.

"That's very nice, Tae. We received so many requests for that one this year," I say as my pulse races. Tae is a lover of crafts like myself, and is apparently good with his hands. Of course, I'm curious to see actually how good he is with them.

Namjoon clears his throat, "If you two dorks can just hold off, I'd like to settle a bit of business," he says as Jin chuckles.

"You two are too perfect together. Just as I suspected," Jin says. I freeze fearing what Jin is about to reveal. I hold my breath as my body goes stiff. I focus on Jin unable to look at Tae. "Taehyung, we have a proposition for you."

With that said I recall the conversation a few days ago and breathe a sigh of relief as my body relaxes. I feel an eagerness as Jin continues.

"Tae, as you know we are extremely excited to be granting your Christmas Wish. Since your appearance three days ago, the excitement you and Kookie created has not toned down. In fact, after Kookie pulled that stunt with Tommie yesterday, we have enjoyed even more buzz," Jin speaks with a wide grin.

"The big buzz on social media and the Kooking with Kookie website is, 'What is Taehyung's Christmas Menu?' It's trending!" Jin exclaims as he claps his hands together and slightly bounces in his chair. Namjoon maintains a big grin as he lovingly looks at Jin enjoying his excitement.

I look over and Tae has a soft smile. Is he excited? I hope so but I can't tell. Please agree to do this Tae, I think. I wring my hands as I wait for his response.

"That's nice Jin, but what does it mean?" Tae asks.

Jin looks at me and nods. Oh no, he's confused. I take Jin's cue and start to talk.

"Tae, you are very popular and our viewers really care about you. They want you to get your Christmas Wish. They want you to be happy," I say not letting on that I want the same thing.

Namjoon then leans forward and speaks while maintaining his smile. "I think all of you are missing it. It's far bigger than Taehyung. It's the chemistry between you both," Namjoon says scanning between us both.

"The audience picked-up on it. They felt it. You two have a natural flow. Yes, they love Tae, but the connection you two have together on that set combined with the magic of Christmas makes people feel good. It's damn special," he says as Jin lets out a low squeal.

I feel a rush of excitement move through me as Tae looks at me and smiles giving me a confirming nod. I'm unable to conceal my smile and soft chuckle as Tae widens his smile in response to my reaction. I'm excited about the Christmas Holidays in a way I have not been in years.

This is unexpected. The audience is picking up on our chemistry as Namjoon calls it. I feel hopeful that what I'm feeling for Tae I am not alone in. I swallow as I feel my heart pounding in my throat.

"I have to tell you that I'm very much looking forward to my Christmas Wish," Tae says maintaining his smile and then he winks me. Oh God he winked at me. My stomach flips as I feel a warmth radiate from my core and throughout me.

I nod rapidly and bite down on my lip unable to speak. Jin jumps in with perfect timing and rescues me. That warmth spreads over my cheeks as I divert my eyes into empty air space.

"Tae, we want the viewers to be a part of this event and get to know you better. Christmas is 4 weeks away," Jin says looking up at Namjoon who sits with a relaxed smile.

"The best ways to do that is to have you come on once a week and do a segment or two with Kookie. What do you think Tae?" Namjoon says, leaning forward waiting for his response.

Tae's expression flattens as he leans back on the couch and looks around at the three of us. There's a few seconds of awkward silence as I wait and watch for a response as my heart drops into my stomach. He then moves forward as a smile brightens his gorgeous face.

"Wait. You're offering me more guest time with Kookie? I mean on the show? Is this what you're saying?" Taehyung says as he slowly rubs his hands down his thighs towards his knees.

I feel giddy as I see Tae's excited. He wants to do this with me. I struggle to suppress a silly awkward giggle, however my body twitches from the excitement.

"That's exactly what we're saying," Namjoon says. "We'd give you wardrobe and a small dressing room, and of course cover your expenses for your hotel and meals." Namjoon says looking over to Jin who nods in agreement.

"I-I don't know what to say," Tae stammers.

"Please say yes, Tae," I say spontaneously. I immediately look over at Jin hoping that I'm not showing too much eagerness or revealing my heart; which is pounding like crazy.

Taehyung then turns to me and looks into my eyes and softly says, "Kookie for you and your viewers, who have been so good in supporting my Christmas wish, of course, I'll do it."

Oh God, please don't swoon.

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