Written In Stardust

CHAPTER FOUR

I immediately gave my statement to the police on duty. They told me that I wasn't the first person to report a similar incident, which made me raise an eyebrow. I'd been walking that street for years, but I never saw police officers patrolling there. I felt angry that they weren't taking any action, as if they were waiting for someone to die before they did anything.

"I hope you'll take action immediately and not wait for a worse situation before you do something," I said to them before standing up.

They said something else, but I didn't listen. You can't really expect anything from the police here in the Philippines. I walked out of the police station without looking back, but I immediately stopped when I saw Jin leaning against his car. His face was serious, and he was talking on the phone, his gaze fixed on something in the distance.

My anger instantly vanished as I looked at him. Even now, it feels like I was dreaming. He was here in front of me. I was talking to him as if we had known each other for years, and I had been in the car with a member of the world-renowned group, BTS. If my co-ARMYs found out about this, they'd tell me how lucky I was or what I must have done in my past life to deserve this.

Lord, if there's a price to pay for what I'm feeling right now, that's okay, but please let me savor this first.

I froze as Jin turned and our eyes met. He gave me his famous bread smile, quickly said goodbye to the person he was talking to, and walked toward me. Every step felt like slow motion, and I felt like I was running out of oxygen from the palpitations.

"So, how did it go?" he asked curiously, looking directly into my eyes.

I couldn't answer. I just stared at him as if he had hypnotized me. My brain felt like it had malfunctioned, and all my brain cells were tangled up.

"ARMY?" he said with a laugh and gently poked my cheek, making me jump back a little.

"Huh?" I asked, lost in my thoughts.

"Are you okay? What happened inside?"

"I'm okay. They just got my statement."

"Hmm." He nodded and adjusted his ball cap.

My heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would burst out of my chest. I placed a hand on my chest and took a deep breath. If I didn't, I thought I might collapse right there.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice filled with worry. He tried to look me in the eyes, but I avoided his gaze, as it only made my palpitations worse. "ARMY, what's happening to you? You look pale. Should I take you to the hospital?"

"I think I'm having a heart attack," I said, gasping for air.

"Why? Why?"

I slowly looked back at him and saw the panic on his face. He didn't know what to do.

He was so handsome; he really was like a vampire who didn't age. Lord, is this man really one of a kind? Please tell me there are others like him somewhere, who are just within my reach, because this man in front of me is a dream.

"ARMY, let's go to the hospital."

"No, they can't cure me there."

"What do you mean? Of course, they can."

It took me a while to answer. I looked into his eyes for a moment, and I could really see the universe in them.

"No one can cure me. My heart is going crazy, and I think I'm losing my mind right now because you are standing here in front of me. How can I function properly when the man I've admired for half of my life is right here?"

He froze for a moment. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but he seemed to have no idea what to say, so he quickly closed it again. He stood up straight, placed both hands on his waist, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath.

"I can't believe it..." He smirked and shook his head. "Should I be flattered or something?"

"What can I do? I can't help it! It's you."

"I can't believe we still have this kind of effect on ARMYs."

"Of course!"

I was surprised when he suddenly laughed, and my forehead wrinkled.

"Why are you laughing? Are you making fun of me?" I pouted.

"No, of course not. Sorry, ARMY, you're just so cute."

"My name is Calista. I have already told you my name."

"Yes, I remember your name, and I can see that it really suits you." My eyes widened when he slightly pinched my nose. "Your name means 'most beautiful,' right?"

"Y-yes."

"You look cute when you're blushing."

I quickly covered my cheeks with both hands, pouting because of what he said.

"Do you have something to do after this?" he asked, changing the subject, but a wide smile was still on his face.

"None," I quickly replied, my hands still on my cheeks.

"I'm hungry. Let's eat?"

"Sure! I don't have any right to decline."

"Good, let's go."

A huge smile spread across my face as we walked back to his car. Just like before, he opened the door for me before getting in himself. I felt like an excited child in the passenger seat, because what ARMY wouldn't? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that might never happen again.

"So why am I your biased?" he asked while driving.

I answered him with full enthusiasm and honesty, and I didn't even notice how much I had said and told him. We were having so much fun talking that I was surprised when he suddenly stopped and parked in front of a beautiful building.

"We're here," he said with a smile after turning off the car's engine.

I had never seen this place before. Maybe it was a newly opened restaurant? I peered outside to see if there were other cars parked. If there were, it meant there would be many people inside, and I wasn't sure if it was safe for him to go in.

"Let's get inside," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Are you okay walking around in public like this?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah, it's fine. Besides, I know the owner," he said, giving me a wink before opening his door and getting out.

I pouted and followed him out of the car. I still felt uneasy.

"Hey, I said it's okay," he whispered with a smile, holding the still-closed door of the restaurant.

"It's just that I don't want you to get hurt inside," I grumbled.

"Not all people can still remember me. Not all people here are ARMYs like you."

"How are you so sure about that? We don't know the people inside."

"ARMY, calm down. Here, wear this." He put his ball cap on my head and slightly fixed my hair. "I don't want to ruin your private and personal life, and our ARMYs don't deserve other people's nasty and rude comments."

"What about you? They might recognize you."

"I'm worldwide handsome, so with or without this cap, people will recognize me anyway."

He had a point. In all my years as an ARMY, I'd seen how quickly fans could recognize them, no matter how much they tried to hide.

"Just trust me, and I'll make sure that you'll be safe."

He smiled again before finally opening the door and letting me walk in first. As we walked through the middle of the restaurant, I could see people in my peripheral vision whispering and looking at us. I lowered my head even more and pulled the cap down on my face. I knew that even if he said we were just friends, not everyone would believe that. That's what always happens to people in their industry.

"Seok Jin."

I almost bumped into his arm when he suddenly stopped. A man in a formal suit, who looked like a bachelor that girls would swoon over, called his name. He smiled and quickly walked toward us, playfully punching Jin's arm, who just laughed.

"Long time no see, Dom," Jin said.

"Yeah, it's been a while. I didn't know you were here in the Philippines. When did you arrive?"

"Just the other day."

He must be the owner Jin mentioned. The restaurant's design was indeed classy and fancy, just like the well-known 5-star restaurants in other countries.

"Are you here for vacation or business?"

"Both, I guess."

He was handsome; I couldn't deny it, but Jin was more handsome. I felt shy and slightly lowered my head when Dom looked at me.

"Who is she? Do you finally have a girlfriend?" he teased Jin.

"Well, she's an ARMY, and you know that ARMYs are our girlfriends."

"Come on, Seok Jin. So, she's a fan."

"Yes, since our debut," Jin answered proudly, looking at me with a smile.

"Loyal."

"Of course, they are."

"What else can I expect from the biggest fan base of any group in the world?"

While they were talking, I glanced around and saw that some customers had their phones out, pointing them at us. I knew it. He was going to get recognized. I shook my head in worry because I was sure I was in their pictures and videos, and I might go viral in the next few days and get bashers. Jin must have noticed me getting closer to him because he also looked around.

"Can we use your VIP room?" he asked calmly.

"Sure! Let me walk you guys there."

Jin gently placed his hand on my back, which made me look up at him as we followed Dom.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"I guess."

"You are fine. I'm here," he said, smiling to reassure me.

His eyes calmed me down a little, so I smiled and nodded at him. Dom opened the door for us when we got to the VIP room. When we got inside, the first thing I noticed was the beautiful figurines of angels and Greek gods. Unlike the classy and fancy design outside, the interior of this VIP room looked more like the Renaissance era.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll just ask my staff to serve you the best food on the menu," Dom said with a smile.

"Thank you, bro," Jin replied.

"I'll be back in a minute or two."

"Oh! Wait," I said, quickly stopping him before he could leave. Both Jin and Dom looked at me in surprise.

"Why?" they both asked at the same time.

"Um—" I looked up at Jin's puzzled face. "I just want to make sure." I then shyly looked at Dom, who was waiting for me to speak. "Can you make sure that the food doesn't have any garlic or potatoes?"

He paused for a moment, his gaze going back and forth between Jin and me.

"Jin is allergic to those," I added.

There was a long silence between us. Dom laughed lightly and shook his head.

"Hey, Seok Jin," he said, holding back his laughter. "You should get married. Since you can't marry all your fans around the world, at least give them some reason to move forward and find their own man."

Jin just laughed at what he said, while I felt like my face was completely red from embarrassment.

"You guys are so lucky to be loved by millions of loyal and beautiful girls," Dom added before finally leaving the VIP room.

When he left, I felt like I was frozen in place and couldn't look at Jin again. I wanted to cover my mouth, so I wouldn't say any more stupid things, but I also didn't want him to get sick while he was with me.

"You know that I can somehow tolerate garlic, right?" he said.

"I know!" I grumbled. "But I don't want to put your health at risk, and I'm sure this restaurant can still serve us good food without garlic and potatoes."

"Okay, fine. I'm sure they can do that," he said with a laugh. "But before anything else—" I gasped when he suddenly held my shoulders and turned me to face him. "Let's remove this cap now." He slowly took the cap off my head, and our eyes met.

My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. What did I do in my past life for this to be happening to me right now? He gently fixed my hair and tucked some strands behind my ears. Every time his skin touched mine, it sent an electric jolt through my body. I couldn't believe that the boy I knew who couldn't keep eye contact with anyone was now a man who was staring into my eyes as if he wanted me to get lost in them.

"I'm sorry that you had to hide your beautiful face earlier."

I quickly looked away and slightly stepped back, afraid that I might not be able to control myself and do something I shouldn't. I saw that he was slightly surprised by my sudden movement, but he quickly hid it and just smiled at me.

"It's okay. You don't have to be sorry about that," I said with a forced laugh. "Besides, I wanted this because I don't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"I feel the same. This is the first time I can eat with an ARMY. You know company policy, and I never had any time to do this before." He was smiling, but I could see the sadness in his eyes.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I knew that back then, all they did was practice, create music, perform, and tour. They had to follow strict company policies, even if they sometimes broke the rules. They debuted as teenagers, so they never got to do the things normal kids their age do. It was as if their opportunity to live a normal teenage life was stolen just so they could achieve their dreams.