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　⠀　 　⠀　 　⠀　 　⠀　 INDEX

one ✧➳

when you sleep with your best friend and wind up pregnant, the last thing you expect after avoiding him for weeks is a marriage proposal.

two ✧➳

as the months blur and your proximity to jungkook tightens, so does the tension between the two of you, turning sharp and reckless. between now living together and working for the new york titans, it's unavoidable - evidently, so is winding up in his bed time more often that not. with the already bizarre situation, you agree that it's just sex and that the engagement is still just for the baby. . .until you can no longer fight the lies.

three ✧➳

you finally confront the feelings you’ve buried deep for jungkook, just as your last trimester and all-star weekend collide - bringing unexpected drama in their wake. the time to face the music arrives and it's a song that you've known all along.

bonus chapter ✧➳

before the wedding begins and long after it ends, you and jungkook find peace in the quiet moments together.

❖ practice — by @chryblossomjjk

— series [a, s, f]

❖ blazes of deceit — by @periminkle

When the opportunity to finally venture past the stone walls you’ve grown up in presents itself, you jump at the chance to discover the origin of those mysterious lights—even if the trip comes with a harsh truth and a suspicious, yet undoubtedly attractive, tour guide. — 26k [a, f]

❖ wartime child — by @ktheist

raising a baby in wartime isn’t easy. but when your baby starts showing signs of magical abilities, you’re forced to ring up the only other person you know he takes after: jeon jungkook. — 12.1k [f, a]

❖ the grove — by @junqkook

getting hurt and stumbling upon a goblin in the forest leaves you completely at his mercy, though you aren’t sure if that’s necessarily a bad thing. — series [s, f, a]

❖ out of the egg — by @happy-meo

The world you had once known is now bare and rotting with evil. Families were torn, houses were burned, and businesses were shattered by the Oppressors. In your world, there were only two possibilities -- if you weren't working with them, you were owned by them. However, a new faction arises that sings of hope and taking back the world that was once for the people, calling themselves "The Changers". Although you tried to go unnoticed by either of them, out of fear of being killed or captured, you soon find yourself deep in the middle of the rebellion after an unexpected encounter. — series [a, f]

❖ saudade — by @letjungcoook7

years after the breakup, jungkook spots you from across the room at a wedding he didn’t even know you’d be attending. and there you are: radiant, stunning, as always. a diamond ring gleams on your left ring finger, and your husband stands proudly by your side. — 7.2k [a]

❖ swan song — by @wintrbears

All vampires have a special ability which they invoke to lure mortals into their clutches, whether to feast on their blood or for the purposes of their pleasure. For Jeongguk, it’s his siren voice, and he’ll use it in whatever way necessary to attract you to his side and take you as his own. — 26.5k [a, s, f]

❖ what if i love you too much? — by @taleasnewastime

Jungkook. It’s only a name you learn after your son kicks his ball over the fence. Before that you only knew him as the hot new neighbour who mows his lawn topless. And though you have no intention of getting to know him anymore than that, inevitably you do. You don’t necessarily fall, it’s too slow for that, but you definitely develop feelings you don’t intend to feel. Because you know men like him, and you know that whatever you’re feeling, he’s probably not feeling the same. All the same, however hard you try, you can’t help yourself. — 20.6k [f, a, s]

❖ we can’t be friends — by @taegularities

Jungkook once planted a garden in your chest that he watered when he smiled and you killed when he left. But flowers withering isn't enough; that doesn't mend the ache. No – you want this entire story to die. — 34.4k [a, s, f]

❖ one more time — by @cupidsbling

You and Jungkook have been broken up for six months and the two of you have to co-parent your daughter. You may or may not still have feelings for him... — 8k [s, f]

❖ second chances — by @parkhabits

Work. One of the most important things to him. It kept him company at night, it was all he thought about, all he put his attention to. His work had become the mistress within your marriage. Years after you left him you’re back with only one goal in mind. Get him to sign the damn divorce papers. Yet you should’ve known that your husband wouldn’t let you go that easily. — 14.4k [f, s, a]

❖ opposable — by @aquagustd

You're invited to attend a high society dinner event, everyone is excited to meet your classy boyfriend but there's just one problem: you don't have one. Although your scruffy best friend could help, right? — 7.5k [a, s, f]

❖ the kids aren’t alright — by @sketchguk

sneaking around with jeongguk during your christian retreat is complicated when you’re both dedicated to your jobs as co-youth group counselors at your father’s ministry. — 10.5k [a, s, f]

❖ stars behind waves — by @taegularities

With a decade’s distance between Jungkook and you, your paths cross on the same island you deemed your second home years ago. And you realise once again – the ocean can never compare to the twinkle in his starry eyes. — 22.7k [s, a, f]

❖ lowkey — by @xpeachesncream

in order to pass organic chemistry and pay off your car damages from an accident, all you have to do is help the nerd, jeon jungkook, with a few things: pretend to be his girlfriend and teach him the ways of dating. — series [a, s, f]

❖ the young wolf — by @junqkook

he was promised to another, meant for another to hold and to love and to kiss. but when his hand lingered on yours for a moment too long to be proper, and when his eyes held yours for a beat too long to be a passing glance, you allowed desire to creep into your veins, to take root inside your heart. perhaps before you might have been permitted to love him freely. perhaps he might have even been promised to you instead. but war was no place for the wants and desires of two people, no matter how much they yearned for it to be. — 23k [a, s]

❖ cold as ice — by @ughseoks

although you and jungkook are teammates, you're also sworn enemies, both on and off the ice. but when you're seriously injured during one of your matches, jungkook realizes that maybe the emotion he feels for you isn't hate-- it's love. — 8.5k [a, f]

❖ pinned between them — by @gukcnt

what was supposed to be a study night turns into a dangerous game of dominance and desire when jungkook and taehyung trap you between them in the back of their car. — 6.8k [s, f]

❖ coquet — by @shina913

On your brother's wedding, you dread traveling to see your family–whom you have successfully avoided for over a year after moving across the country for work. In an effort to save face, you hire an escort to get them off your back and perhaps even make your ex–who happens to be the best man–a little jealous. — series [a, s, f]

❖ handle with care — by @dreamersparacosm

in which your landlord sends an electrician to fix your power, and you end up learning firsthand the magic of blue collar dick. — ? [s]

❖ pull me down — by @starryeyedkoo

— 22.9k [a, f]

❖ southpaw — by @starshapedkookie

Knowing Jeon Jungkook for the better part of your life, you thought you knew everything about him. Well, that was before you two disappeared from each other’s lives at least. When Jungkook suddenly finds himself buying you a coffee to rekindle your friendship, it leads to much more than you bargained for. — 30k [a, s, f]

❖ perhaps love — by @mangowillow

for as long as you can remember, you have been in love with your childhood friend turned roommate, but jeon jungkook remains oblivious even when he comes to comfort and help you sleep every night. — 12.5k [a, f]

❖ rivers over stones — by @ichorai

you hated jungkook the minute you laid eyes on him. the only reason why he was still in your life was because you both shared a goddaughter, hana. but everything changed unexpectedly when the two of you become her caretakers and you’re forced to live under the same roof. suddenly, you find yourself hating him just a bit less. or more, but who’s keeping track? — 37.6k [a, s, f]

❖ acts of service — by @jiminsafairy

using a tiktok trend to try to relieve your pregnancy back pain was supposed to be a sweet, innocent, wholesome moment. Jungkook certainly didn't plan on it turning into a messy fuck in the middle of the living room. — 7.3k [s]

❖ cult classic — by @pjminii

you were just renting your usual blockbuster from the stupidly hot guy at the video store, when it turns out you’ve been handed a tape you really shouldn’t be watching. are you an intruder, or did he give it to you on purpose? — 17k [s]

❖ waterfalls — by @joonie-joon

A sexy night with your boyfriend turns into him making you squirt for the first time. — ? [s]

❖ tell me no lies — by @jeongi

You chose to rob your boss, however; you never expected to fall in love with him. — 15.1k [a, s]

❖ the language of flowers — by @justimajin

— 9.5k [a]

❖ a lone wolf’s howl — by @justimajin

Jungkook and you have been like two peas in a pod for the majority of your lives; whether it was going through the ups of downs of the horrid teenage change, to transitioning to the racing world of attempting to be adults. Simply put, you’ve been inseparable and glued to each other’s sides longer than you can remember. But one fateful day seems to completely change everything you had faith in and you begin to wonder if there was ever a time where you and your best friend even knew each other’s true colors. — series [a, s, f]

❖ begin — by @taegularities

Before everything shatters like a mirage of an impossible dream, you teach Jungkook how to live a fulfilling life far from Heaven. His numb heart starts to gradually light up again; you make him begin believing in love and hope when not even starting afresh could. But then... everything shatters. — 26.6k [a, f, s]

❖ wonderboy — by @pjminii

your friendship with jeon jungkook made you truly believe that opposites do attract. it was a gentle bond, one you thought was unbreakable. but one night, he decides to end it all… because when it comes to his future, you’re merely a distraction. but of course, you can’t contain yourself. you have to tell him off. so a few days later, you stumble into his gym, ready to scold him… but jungkook has something else to say. — 17.4k [s, a, f]

❖ the best thing he never had — by @rosaetae

in this story, you have known your best friend for more than 15 years and you were utterly and wholly in love with him. — series [a, f]

❖ harana — by @cinnaminsvga

Unwilling to settle down with you after five years of dating, Jeon Jungkook decides to break up to chase after his dreams. In the aftermath, you leave your hometown, desperate to forget your past and relearn what it means to be on your own. Two years later while on your way to work, you pass by a familiar voice singing songs about a girl he had left behind. — 16.1k [a, f]

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"Fine, but I'm going to the pool." You stood up, grabbing your towel and sliding on your flip-flops.

"You know, for someone starting grad school at their dream college in a couple of weeks, you're surprisingly grouchy," Your dad commented as you began to walk away. You stilled momentarily, teeth sinking into your bottom lip as you made the decision not to respond.

Instead, you started your trek through the sand, but that didn't mean the words from your father weren't still ringing in your head. Grad school, dream college, these words did nothing but cause a giant pit of anxiety to unfurl inside of you. And admittedly, it was in fact the reason you had been acting so waspish towards your parents lately. They had been making comments about your irritable mood all summer, but to be fair you weren't doing your best at hiding it.

After graduating back in May, your parents thought it would be a good idea for you to move back in with them until you started grad school in early September. You were moving across the country, and wouldn't be able to see them as much as before, so you couldn't really argue with their reasoning. Not that you minded it. You and your parents had a good relationship, but that also meant they could tell almost immediately when something was off with you. Which was why you hadn't been too keen on living with them again. But hey, four months of not having to pay rent and having home cooked meals was a hard perk to turn down.

You hadn't meant to turn this past summer into a sulking fest. But as the deadline of getting in that car with the belongings you had acquired over your life to move all the way across the country loomed closer, you couldn't help but start to retreat into yourself.

The thing that killed you was that you had been so excited at first. You remembered reading the first line of the acceptance letter last year with all of your friends surrounding you, tears streaming down your face from the overwhelming joy; but now, you were scared, unsure, fucking terrified.

You were going to get your Master's in Architectural Engineering, which had been your goal since learning about the ins and outs of the job during an introductory class your freshman year. It was something you had worked incredibly hard to achieve, and now that you actually had the manifestations of all of your efforts sitting in the palm of your hand… You just weren't sure anymore.

Was it the right choice for you? Was it something that in five, ten, fifteen years down the line, you would end up regretting? Was it worth packing up your entire life to move to a place where the closest person you knew was a thousand miles away? And most importantly, would you fail?

The questions continued to rattle inside of your head, sending violent swaths of anxiety through your limbs every time a new disastrous hypothetical managed to conjure itself to life. You tried shaking them away as you pushed open the gate to the pool that sat outside the community of beach houses, one of which your parents had rented for the week.

It was a beautiful place your parents had picked. The houses were right on the beach, so you didn't have to walk too far after hours of soaking in the sun. All of the houses were lifted high into the air by stilts to protect them against the possible flooding from hurricanes. Thankfully, since there was actually one scheduled to pass by in a couple of days. Luckily it was predicted to miss for the most part, just some outer bands that could bring heavy rain and some power outages. Plus, it wasn’t supposed to happen until your second to last day here anyways.

You dropped your stuff onto one of the empty folding chairs. Didn't seem the pool was a very popular destination at the moment. You were the only one here. Great, more time to spiral in silence. You were expecting a rowdy kid, or something at the very least, hoping the splashing and screaming would do something to keep your mind occupied.

You walked over to the steps, slowly making your way down into the water. You sighed in relief from the coolness dulling the harsh rays from the sun. It was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky. You'd never expect a storm was coming soon.

You found yourself swimming towards the deep end, treading water for a moment, before forcing all of the air out of your lungs and yourself to sink to the bottom. Your feet scraped at the concrete flooring for traction, wanting to stay in this serenity just for a minute. Down here, with water engulfing your entire body, the stream of the jets reverberating in your ears, you found peace.

On land you couldn't stop the constant nagging about your impending future, but down here, even though it was even quieter, everything stopped. You weren't Y/N, future architectural engineer. You were just a mass of cells teeming beneath the surface. No thoughts, no future, just here—In the moment.

You stayed like that for as long as you could. Your body starting to betray your desire to stay down here as it demanded oxygen. You were just about to relent and push your way back to the to the top when the calm water around you suddenly fractured. You opened your eyes and started to turn towards the disturbance, but before you could completely twist your body in that direction, a pair of arms suddenly enveloped you; speeding you towards the surface.

The panic from being grabbed by whoever the hell this stranger was caused you to inhale on the way up. The water had filled your throat, causing you to start to choke as you finally emerged and felt the air around you.

"What the—" Cough. "F-fuck!" Cough. “Who the hell—" Cough.

Suddenly an open palm started to repeatedly smack down onto your back as you felt yourself being dragged back towards the shallow end. The hits helped more of the water clear out so you could get in some much needs breaths. Your chest was rising and falling rapidly as you felt your feet come into contact with the bottom of the pool.

"You okay?" The person who grabbed you—and almost killed you—asked.

Even in your adrenaline induced state, hot anger flared as you whipped to face this person who apparently thought it was funny to mess with people in vulnerable states. You had an insult already on the tip of your tongue, but when your eyes settled on this mystery man, the words disappeared like vapor.

You knew you had just been cursing him inside of your head, but almost murdering you aside, this man was absolutely gorgeous. He was muscular and tan, tattoos completely covering both of his arms. Black, wet hair pushed back off of his face that was adorned by an eyebrow and lip piercing covered in jewelry as well.

You realized unfortunately that you were not being subtle in the meaning behind your staring when his lips started to slowly curve into a smirk.

"Almost drowning certainly didn't stay on your mind long." He smiled. "Glad to be of service."

You scoffed. Great, now the arrogant bastard thought you were some air-headed idiot who would get over her near death experience simply because she saw a pretty face… And sure, maybe that had actually happened, but you weren't going to let him think that.

"The only reason I almost drowned was because of you." You scowled.

He cocked his head in confusion. "So I should've just let you die at the bottom of the pool then?" He crossed his arms, the sun rippling over the droplets covering his skin.

God, why did he have to look like that?

"I wasn't dying. I was…" You trailed off, not wanting to sound stupid, but at this point the situation was already past that. "I was trying not to think. I was about come up when you grabbed me. It scared me, and I inhaled some of the water. That's all."

Realization dawned on his face, hand scratching awkwardly at his eyebrow. "Wow, you must think I'm a total jackass, huh?

"Well, I thought you were a murderer there for a minute, but you seem… not the murderous type—for now." Smooth, really smooth. You were just going to use the excuse that you were still trying to get oxygen to your brain.

"Glad my name is cleared then." He laughed, the sound sending a shiver down your back. "I really am sorry. I just got off a shift at the marina down the road. I sometimes sneak in here after and just swim for a minute to unwind. I saw you at the bottom and just thought the worst."

Wow, he really did think he saving you. From his perspective you were down there for a while, making no move to come back up. Now you were the one that felt like a jackass for being rude to him. "I guess we both have jumping to conclusions in common then."

"Seems we do." He smiled. "I'm Jungkook, by the way."

"Y/N," You replied, rolling the sound of his name around in your head. "Thanks for saving me, even if I didn't need it. The thought that counts."

"Thanks."

"If anything, I'm sorry. You said you just got off work and I probably gave you a heart attack when you saw me. Wouldn't have been fun finding a dead body after getting off your shift."

Jungkook said he worked at the marina down the road. You had seen it when you and your parents were driving by earlier today. It was where people docked all their boats or where you could go to rent them for the day. There had been everything, from small fishing boats to luxury yachts. If he worked there that must mean he was a local.

"Definitely not." He agreed. "But really, no need to apologize about earlier. If anything I'd like to make it up to you. There's a hurricane coming in a couple days, can't let you leave here without making some memorable experiences."

You pursed your lips in confusion. "What do you mean?" Jungkook suddenly stepped closer to you in the water, hovering only about a foot away from you now. There was sparkle in his eyes. The action made you tense before throwing a hand in his face to stop his advancements. "Hey, you're hot and all, but I don't need you to make it up to me by using your dick."

His mouth dropped at your words, and then he was doubling over as he burst out with laughter. After he stopped his giggling fit, he brought his hand up to wipe a tear at that had formed at the corner of his eye. "You're funny, city girl. And you definitely weren't lying about jumping to conclusions."

"City girl?" Your brows furrowed, seemingly more irritated by the nickname than the fact that he basically just said he was not in fact trying to fuck you like you had implied ten minutes into meeting him.

"You can just tell after a while of living here." He shrugged, ruffling some of his still wet hair onto his forehead before leaning into whisper next to your ear. "And, uhm, the service I was going to offer you was unfortunately not as enticing as your idea. But hey, I'd be more than willing to help you out, if that's what you need to… What was it, again? Not think?"

There was an instantaneous rush of heat that sliced up the back of your neck and through your belly. You couldn't help the way you pressed your legs together in response. But you quickly pushed away the feeling, turning to whisper your own response back. "Wow, the beach boy is easy. I'm completely shocked."

Jungkook smirked, pulling his head back to look down at you. "Okay, I deserved that, but to be fair you brought up my dick up first."

"Simple misunderstanding." You tried acting innocent to your part in this whole conversation. "So if not that, then what were you going to offer me as an apology for almost downing me?"

"I was going to tell you that there are better things to do around here than sit at the bottom of a pool to get your mind off of whatever's bothering you."

You couldn't lie and say that you weren't just a little bit interested. Granted, you had just met Jungkook, but he seemed like he could be a fun time, even if it was just a hook-up at some point this week. Plus, regardless of whatever his ideas to distract you were, just being in his presence was a distraction in itself. With that decision, you made your way up the steps of the pool, grabbing the towel you dropped on the chair earlier. "Show the way then, beach boy."

— — —

"How long are you here for, by the way?" Jungkook asked, tapping at the steering wheel of his truck as he drove down the road.

Probably not the smartest idea to get into a strange man's vehicle, but you had at least told Jungkook you had to go let your parents knows you were leaving. They seemed a little hesitant about you going off with someone you didn't know. You were their kid after all. But after a brief description of the interaction you'd had with Jungkook they said it was fine, seeming to find the story amusing.

"A week. We just got here earlier today." You answered, leaning against the passenger's side door. "So, are you actually from here?"

"Born and raised." He tapped on his turn signal. He told you during the walk back to the parking lot that the place you were going was only a few minutes away. "Probably gonna die here too."

"Wow, morbid." You whistled. "Thought you guys were supposed to be all chill vibes. Fun in the sun, life by the water, all that jazz, you know?"

Jungkook chuckled, seeming amused by your stereotyping. "I never said I was sad about it. Just stating a fact."

"Actually, you're right. In all those country songs they're always talking about dying in their hometown and being happy about it or something, right? Never really got the appeal, but I guess I also don't live in a place like this. Maybe if I grew up five minutes from the beach I'd feel the same."

Jungkook hummed. "Don't get me wrong. It's not perfect. But it's hard to leave once you're here, and well, I didn't really have a choice in the matter, being born here and all."

You understood what he meant. For you, it was an easy decision to go to college a couple of hours from home after you graduated from high school. You lived in a decently sized city, but nothing special. Not like this place that Jungkook grew up in. It was one of those idealistic beach towns that you saw in movies and TV shows. It wasn't some huge, tourist riddled, spring break bait type of beachtown. There were still tourists of course, you were here obviously, but it was calmer, more serene. You saw how it would be hard to give this is up. Jungkook was pulling into a parking space as you finished up your thoughts on the matter. He opened his door before rounding the truck to open yours, a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"We have to walk like ten more minutes to get there from here. You'll probably have to put your shoes in my backpack."

You raised a brow, but still moving to hand him your shoes to put them away. "Why do we have to walk barefoot?"

"Because we have to go through the water?"

Your eyes widened, heart stuttering. "Uhm, how deep is this water?"

"About to your waist." He motioned for you to follow him, stopping at a clearing in the trees.

"We're going in that!? You gasped, skin already crawling. It wasn't that the water wasn't clear. You could see to the bottom, but it was a narrow channel carved out at some point in time by the ocean. There was lots of shrubbery on either side—plenty of places for animals to hide in. "What about snakes? Spiders? Sharks?"

Jungkook laughed, taking his own shoes off now. "You really think there's a shark in there?"

"You said it's waist deep! It's certainly possible."

"Yes, I will admit it's possible, but very improbable. It's so narrow. They wouldn't wanna risk getting stuck coming through here."

Even with his explanation you weren't sure if you could do this. You didn't like unknown. You wanted to see numbers, facts, guarantees. Not the wild mystery of 'improbable.'

Jungkook could clearly see your hesitation. He stepped down into the narrow channel of ocean water with no hesitation. "Come on. Get on my back." He twisted his backpack so that it was now over chest.

"You're gonna carry me?" You asked, taking a small step forward.

"Yeah, I can tell the second you stepped in some seaweed you would jump out of your skin." Jungkook teased, grabbing your hand to pull you closer to the edge. "Just easier this way."

You huffed, relenting as you slipped your legs into the water, and the second you were fully standing on the ground, shells, rocks, twigs and whatever the hell else touching your feet, you instantly jumped up wrapping your legs around Jungkook's waist, arms encircling his neck.

"Oh, god." You nuzzled your face in his neck. "Was this all just a trick to get my legs around you, because you could've just asked nicely instead of risking my life."

He laughed, the vibrations rumbling against your chest as he began to wade through the water. "Risking your life? We haven't even gotten to the fun part yet."

You were starting to think it was a mistake coming along on this little adventure, but you had to admit, you sure as hell weren't spiraling about grad school right now. "Just go fast. You said no sharks, but what about the snakes."

"Oh, there's definitely snakes."

You let out a small scream, clamoring your way higher up his body as he continued through the water. "Why the hell would you tell me that!?"

"Just trying to desensitize you is all. You said you were only here for a week right? Got a lot of stuff to show you over the next seven days."

"What?" You asked, starting to get a little more comfortable the closer you got to wherever this channel of water ended. "You're gonna be my personal tour guide for the week? I'm sure you have better stuff to do than—Oh, wait." You cut yourself off, suddenly realizing. "Is this like your thing? Swoon whatever girl you stumble upon for however long they're on vacation for?"

Jungkook turned his head, looking at you over his shoulder. His mouth not even an inch away from yours, making your breath hitch. "So I'm swooning you, am I? Haven't even shown you anything yet."

You didn't pull away. You accepted the challenge. "Well, you better hurry up then, or you might have to find a new girl of the week."

He smiled, eyes flicking down to your lips. "Noted, city girl."

He turned his attention back to the path the two of you were following. He was moving a bit more quickly now, and after another couple of minutes you saw where the path flowed out into the open goddamn ocean.

"Oh, what in the actual fuck?" You asked, squirming on his back. "Straight into the ocean?"

"There's a path on the side that'll take us to shore. I'm not evil. I'll let you have a break before I make you go in." He grinned devilishly as he dropped you from his back before helping you find your footing on the worn down path he had been talking about.

"Oh, so you're making me go in now?" You asked, hands on your hips as you stared down at him still in the water.

Jungkook lifted himself up, slinging the backpack over his shoulder. He leaned down, breath fanning over your jaw. "Yes, I'm making you. How else are you gonna get the sand dollars, sweetheart?" He reached up, gently pinching your cheek before pulling away and starting down the walkway.

You were left temporarily stunned for a moment before you turned to chase him down the path. "Sand dollars? Like the things they sell in gift shops?"

"Yes, except these are free, and not whatever upcharging bullshit they try to pullover on people like you." He winked.

You waved your hands in the air. "Ah, yes, the girl from the city doesn't know how to traverse the sea for these magical ocean coins. Call the police." But you decided not to mention that your mom had already bought at least fifty dollars worth of these sand dollar things and you hadn't even been here a full day, so maybe his comment was warranted.

"Traverse?" He snorted as the two of you finally stepping onto the actual shoreline. You breathed a little easier, your toes digging into the sand instead of branches and wet grass. "We're hardly traversing. We're just swimming to the sandbar out there."

You looked to where Jungkook was pointing and immediately went bug-eyed. "Excuse me? That light colored water is where we're going? That's at least fifty feet out!"

"It'll be okay." He dropped his backpack that held your shoes onto the ground.

Your heart was thumping wildly now. You weren't sure why you were like this. The ocean was one of the only entities that you had just never been able to get past. You went to the beach a couple of times as a kid but never went past your waist. The concept of all of the animals surrounding you as you trespassed through their home scared you, and it was just something you never really got over. So what Jungkook was asking you to do was simply impossible. You'd never gone out far, let alone go out fifty damn feet.

"Jungkook…" You trailed off, not wanting to admit how nervous you were. It was just a bit embarrassing. You were an adult and you couldn't just go out in the ocean. Even children could do that. It sounded ridiculous.

He glanced up at as he continued to rummage through the bag, doing a double take when he noticed your expression. He stood up, bringing one hand gently onto your shoulder. "Hey, I was just joking. You don't actually have to if you don't want to. I'll go get them for you."

You bit your lip, looking back and forth between Jungkook and the sandbar. You didn't like the fact that you were making this into such a big deal. You could do this. It was just water—albeit a massive body of water, but water all the same.

"I'll… I'm gonna try," You finally said after a minute.

He gave you a small smile, his hand lifting itself from your shoulder, fingers lightly grazing your cheek. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

There was a flutter beating beneath the bottom of your ribcage. The feeling trickled out slowly down your arms and legs. Wow, this guy was really good. You had to admit, this week was certainly going to be interesting.

"Sweet, but I don't think the sharks will care much about your promises to me." You slipped around Jungkook's reach, the quivering sensation in your stomach dissipating somewhat. You walked onto the shoreline, where the waves slowly lapped at your feet.

Jungkook joined your side, shoulder pressed against yours. "I'll keep a look out, and if I see one coming I'll just punch it in the nose. Easy." He shrugged. Just shrugged at the idea of getting into a fist-fight with a damn shark. "Might lose a hand. Which would suck because I wouldn't be able to play the guitar anymore, but hey, I have to keep my promise."

"You play guitar?" You asked, trying to delay the inevitable of going deeper into the water.

"I do." He grabbed your hand suddenly, pulling you further in, clearly noting your attempt at delaying this. The ocean now swaying at about your mid-calf. "Me and a couple of my friends play in a band at a few of the bars around here sometimes."

"Hmm, like Jimmy Buffet type stuff?" You asked.

He stopped, letting out a small laugh as he pointed to his face. "Do I look like I listen to Jimmy Buffet?"

"Doesn't everyone at some point? Just need the beach and a drink in your hand and I think his voice just magically starts coming from the clouds or something," You said sarcastically, but it earned you another chuckle as Jungkook paused once the water was at your waist.

"Trust me, I've heard that man's songs enough living here to last a lifetime." He was still holding your hand, moving to stand in front of you. "But I'll admit I can't help but sing along when I've had a couple drinks."

"Maybe I'll get lucky and see that at some point this week." Your breaths were getting a little shaky now, but Jungkook standing in front of you and blocking out the vast ocean was helping somewhat.

"Definitely a possibility." He brought his other hand up to tap the the underside of your chin, forcing you to look at his face. Jungkook really was something. His hair was dry now from sitting underneath the sun, the glare reflecting off of his piercings serving as shiny beacons fighting for your attention. "Yeah, just keep looking at me exactly like that the entire time, got it?"

You felt yourself get a little flustered. "Looking at you like what? I was being perfectly normal."

"I didn't say it wasn't normal, but thank you for confirming it with your defensiveness." He smirked. "But seriously, I'm gonna walk us backwards, and you're going to keep your focus on me. Try not to look at the water."

"Wouldn't it be better if I walked backwards so I can still see land?" That seemed the most logical.

"You would think, but you're just going to see it getting further and further away the more we go out. It'll freak you out seeing it like that until your feet can touch something again at the sandbar."

That made sense. Even if you glanced over his shoulder at some point on the swim over there it would still just look like the same ocean that you were standing in right now. But seeing the shore get smaller might send you into a tailspin. Your only saving grace in this situation was that the waves in this town were thankfully calm. Nothing you could go surfing on, just small caresses.

You nodded. "Okay, yeah, I'll just keep… looking at you."

Jungkook gave you a reassuring look—and then you were being pulled in. Water sloshed above your shoulders, your feet sliding down the steady decline of the ocean floor.

"Oh, fuck, fuck—" You were already panicking, and you couldn't help the way your head was already twisting to stare back at the beach. But before you could fully turn your head Jungkook grabbed your jaw forcing you to look at him again.

"Eyes up here, remember?" He was staring at you intently, water swaying gently beneath his chin.

You took his advice seriously this time, locking your gaze with his. you were glad to see there was no smugness or annoyance or just any type of negative emotion at your fear. Just the slightest hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he waited for you to say you were ready.

After about a minute of staring at him, his dark eyes waiting patiently for your answer, you were finally ready—or as ready as you were going to be. "Okay, go. Just do it."

Jungkook pulled you gently, the water finally reaching your lower face. "The bottom is about to be too deep for you to stand, okay."

"Okay." You nodded, still not breaking eye contact, and then suddenly you were off your feet, quickly beginning to tread the water as he continued to pull you forward.

"Just like that." Jungkook smiled at you encouragingly, and it made you feel surprisingly relaxed. Him looking at you with such pride at doing something so small. "See just like swimming in the pool earlier—well besides the sinking to the bottom part. Don't do that."

You laughed, relaxing a bit further as you continued to keep your head above water. "I mean at least you're here to save me again if that happens."

"Yes, I swear if at any point this week I see you drowning I will absolutely save you," He said, when a bigger wave suddenly lapped over the back of his head and straight into your face.

"Ugh!" You yelped, spitting out the saltwater that had managed to slide past your lips. In the commotion you didn't realize you must've panicked and threw your arms around Jungkook's neck, and he looped one of his arms around your back to keep you steady.

"Easy, girl." He whispered, reaching to smooth a piece of hair that had fallen against your forehead. "Here let's try something different the rest of the way."

"Like what?" You asked, nervous for change when you were already in an area that you couldn't stand.

"Keep holding onto my neck. Keep looking at me. I'm gonna lay on my back and kick my feet to pull you that way. It should be faster too."

As long as the idea didn't involve him leaving you stranded out here you truly didn't care, so you agreed to the plan quickly. But when he suddenly leaned back, his hair submerging in the water, you felt yourself being pulled closer to his chest from your arms being looped around his neck. Not only that, but his crotch was suddenly grinding against your stomach with every thrust of his legs propelling the two of you further out. You felt the tips of your ears start to heat up, because you still refused to look away from his face and that was causing a very lewd image to appear beneath you.

Jungkook bared his neck as he looked up at the sky, breathing heavy as he continued to pull both of your body weights through the water. You felt your eyes drift down his chest, the constant flex of his stomach beneath you making you unconsciously dig your nails into his skin as you imagined this scenario of you being on top of him in a different setting.

"You're not doing a very good job at hiding what you're thinking about right now," Jungkook said, amusement fusing with his voice. You looked back up at him wide-eyed, mouth opening and closing like a fish at being caught, but before you could lie and refute his claim, he continued. "I didn't say you had to stop imagining it."

"You are…" You trailed off, letting out an incredulous laugh. This man was seriously doing something to you. He made your body feel it was vibrating when he said things like that.

"I'm what?" He asked, not letting you get out of it that easily.

"You're not very humble, are you?"

"Hey, I was just pointing out the obvious."

You huffed, not liking this imbalance. "Well, sorry I'm so obvious."

Jungkook suddenly shifted beneath you, making both of your bodies go vertical, his arms squeezing around your ribs to pull you closer. You gasped, his nose grazing yours as you both fought to stay above the water. "Never said I wasn't thinking the same thing as you." He whispered. "I'm just better at hiding it."

"And why would you need to hide it?" You asked, starting to feel a little breathless from constantly treading water. Or at least that was the reason you were going to tell yourself why you were so breathless.

"Wouldn't want you to think I'm some sleazy guy who would take a scared woman out here for nefarious reasons."

"Nefarious reasons, huh?" You asked.

Jungkook tilted his head, lips just barely brushing over yours so closely you could feel the drops of saltwater on his mouth. God, you really wanted him to kiss you. You knew you shouldn't. You had literally just met him after all. However, it didn't seem to matter because suddenly he was yanking you forward, head falling into the crook of his neck.

"We're here." His voice echoed against your ear, and it took you a couple of seconds to realize what he was saying.

You slowly stretched your legs all the way out, the soles of your feet suddenly coming into contact with sand, the water sitting just below your hips. You breathed a sigh of relief before turning in Jungkook's arms to face the shoreline. Giddy laughter erupted from your chest as you stared back at your starting point. The backpack Jungkook had left on the beach now just a small black dot in the distance.

"I did it!" You clapped, jumping around in the water like a small child. "Well, you dragged me most of the way, but still!"

"Hey, I won't tell anyone if you won't." He smiled, sitting down to rest after what was surely a taxing journey for him.

You joined him, balancing on your knees in the sand as you took in the view around you. The sandbar itself was probably only about fifteen across, but it seemed like it went on for miles down the coast. It was strange, being so far out here but still being on stable ground.

"It's oddly calming out here," You said, continuing to look around you. You noticed a couple of boats off in the distance as they passed by.

"Ah, has someone gotten over their fear?"

"Not completely." You wished that this sandbar was just a bit taller, but after being over the open ocean floor this felt like a safe haven. "But definitely better."

"That makes me happy." He smiled, shifting his position to dig for something in the sand beneath him. "Now let's get to what we came here for?"

"The sand dollar things?" You asked, moving closer to him.

"Yes," He paused, his face lighting up when he seemed to find what he was looking for. He brought his hand up from the water, holding a white, patterned circle between his fingers. "The sand dollar things."

You reached out, taking it from him. You turned it over in your hands, grazing the random holes that were pierced through it. "Wow, so you really can find these things easily. My mom's gonna be so pissed when I go back with these for free."

He chuckled. "Tell your mom I'm sorry for not showing up sooner. Could've saved her the trouble."

"I will." You handed the sand dollar back to Jungkook, and you watched him shove it into one of the pockets of his swimming trunks that seemed to button shut. He would have to be the one holding them since you were only wearing a bikini. "So you just rub around in the sand?"

"Pretty much." Jungkook reached out, grabbing your hand beneath the water. He guided your hand to dig beneath the first layer of sediment. "There." You felt the hard object beneath your fingertips before pulling it out of the water, the disc almost the size of your face. "Wow, that's big."

"Look at you getting lucky on your first try." Jungkook grabbed it, putting it in his pocket with the other one. "Come on, let's walk around. Find some more." He stood up, still holding your hand until you found your balance.

You nodded, excited to do some more exploring. "Okay, let's go."

— — —

"How's my form!" Jungkook yelled, once again doing a backflip off the sandbar and back into the deep waters of the drop off. This was his third attempt.

"Eh, it's starting to get sloppy." You gave him an apologetic look as he climbed back onto the sand to sit next to you. "But hey, sloppy for you is still pretty good."

"Aw, thanks for the compliment." He leaned over, kissing you on the cheek.

Even beneath the hot summer sun that two of you had been playing around in for about an hour now, your skin still managed to prickle at his touch. Time had managed to slip by before you knew it out here. Jungkook's pockets had gotten full fairly quickly with all of the sand dollars you'd picked up. After that you just watched Jungkook swim around, the sight giving you a little bit of anxiety at first. Not liking your guide putting himself back in deeper waters, but as the minutes passed you realized that this place seemed to be made for him. Like when it was being shaped all those hundreds of millions of years ago, they had him in mind. He was just made for the water in a way that you couldn't explain.

"Are you starting to get thirsty?" Jungkook asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

"Uhm, yeah actually." You hadn't realized until he'd asked, but now you could feel that your mouth was incredibly dry.

"Sorry, I should've asked sooner. We've been out here for a while."

"It's okay." You shook your head. "I'm happy you brought me out here. I had a really good time."

"I'm glad." He smiled softly, reaching up and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. "There's a lot more I wanna show you this week. If you're still interested that is."

He was giving you an out. That maybe you didn't want to commit to continuing to hang out with some guy that you had just met today. But there wasn't a single thought in your mind that wanted to turn him down. "Yes, I'm still interested. I wanna see how life's lived by the water. Will you show me?"

Jungkook licked his lips, eyes flicking down to your mouth. Your body shifted closer to him. You hadn't even done it on purpose, like your limbs were working with a mind of their own; their mind wanted to be as close as possible to this man.

"I would love to show you," He whispered, head tilting towards yours. You could tell he was about actually kiss you this time. You angled your body towards him, getting ready to meet him in the middle, when a sudden interruption ended your impending serenity.

"Look who it is!" Someone yelled over a speaker. The sound making you practically jump out of your skin. It had only been you, Jungkook, and the sound of the ocean for a while now, so it took you by surprise. When you turned to look it was a boat not too far away. A group of people waved at the two of you.

Just closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Sorry, it's my fuck ass friends." He turned to the group and shot them the middle finger. "Fuck off," He yelled.

"Ladies and gentleman, just to your right here is a very rude man in his natural habitat." There was a brief pause. "And it looks like he's sitting next to an extremely lovely lady."

You snickered. "Charming."

"Sorry, they're idiots." Jungkook stood up as the boat got closer. "What part of fuck off was not understood?"

Now that they were stalling out about a ten feet away from the sandbar you could see the group more clearly. There was one guy and two girls. The man that was talking through the speaker earlier was still holding it when he replied.

He scoffed. "I see a stranded couple in the ocean, come to help, and I'm the bad guy? Wow, Kook, you really are something."

"Yeah, it wasn't just you being nosy or anything, right?" Jungkook quipped sarcastically.

"Kim Taehyung, nosy?" He grabbed at his chest dramatically. "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I'm charging you for a favor anyways." Jungkook reached down, silently asking for your hand to help you stand. You took it, pulling yourself up beside him.

"What favor?" Taehyung asked, not using the boat speaker anymore.

"This is Y/N. She's here for the week. Can we catch a ride back to her place." Jungkook turned to you. "Are you okay with that? Or do you wanna go back the way we came? Up to you."

You couldn't lie, you were pretty tired. All the swimming and baking under the sun had zapped most of your energy, plus you hadn't had anything to eat or drink in a while. You didn't know these people to just be getting on a random boat with them, but you trusted Jungkook decently enough. Well, as much as you could for knowing someone for less than two hours.

"Yeah, we can ride with them. That's fine. Guess I'll have to get a new pair of shoes though," You finally answered, looking at the beach where you'd left them in Jungkook's backpack.

"No, I'll come back and get them later. No one should mess with it."

The boat was already banking against the sandbar. Jungkook motioned for you to follow him. He climbed up the boat first before reaching down and helping you climb in as well.

You looked around at the group that was now staring at you in close quarters. "Uhm, hi. I'm Y/N. Nice to meet you guys."

"Hi," They all said in unison.

"Taehyung." The man with the speaker from earlier said, giving you a wave.

The two girls rattled off their names: Jihyo and Nayeon. You gave polite smiles as they introduced themselves.

Jungkook was rummaging through a cooler on the back of the boat, bringing a water bottle out. He handed it to you before guiding you to a pair of open seats. You opened the cap, practically chugging the entire thing in one go.

There was tsking sound coming from Taehyung. "You brought this poor girl out here with no refreshments. Shame on you Jungkook. Just shame."

"That's very funny coming from the guy who stranded you and Jihyo in the middle of the ocean for five hours because you ran out of gas," Jungkook replied as he grabbed you another water.

"God, don't bring that up. I just forgave him like a week ago." Jihyo stood up, walking over to place a quick kiss on Taehyung's lips as she ruffled his hair.

"I don't know, Ji. Think you should make him sweat it a little longer," Jungkook shrugged.

Taehyung threw an empty beer can at Jungkook. He laughed as he swatted it away. "I hope my friend has been nicer to you, Y/N, than he's being right now."

"Well, besides almost drowning me earlier, he's been pretty gentlemanly," You said, smiling as Jungkook palmed his face.

"Jungkook!" Nayeon yelled. "You're in the business of drowning tourists now."

"It was a misunderstanding." He explained. "I thought she was drowning, but she wasn't, and I may have made her accidentally inhale a bunch of pool water."

Taehyung was laughing hysterically as he began to reverse the boat off of the sandbar. "Kook, I promise there are better ways to start a conversation with a pretty girl like her than using the excuse that you thought she was drowning," He said with air quotes. "Which way am I going?"

Jungkook pointed in a direction. You weren't sure how he knew exactly where to go to end up back at where you were staying, but you guessed that was a perk of living in this town your whole life.

"I'm just going to exit that conversation," Jungkook whispered in your ear as the boat started off in the direction Jungkook had indicated. "But I do promise it wasn't on purpose."

"I don't know." You tapped your chin quizzically. "Maybe he has a point."

He made a sad expression, his head falling into your shoulder. "Ugh, not you ganging up on me too."

"I'm kidding." You giggled, pushing some of the wild strings of hair off his forehead.

He smiled up at you, placing a small kiss on your shoulder before sitting up straight again. "No rough driving, Tae," Jungkook said as the boat started to pick up speed.

Taehyung scoffed. "I'm a great driver. Don't believe him Y/N. He's just trying to make me look bad."

"Honey, I love you and all, but you're driving could use some work." Jihyo grimaced, shooting Taehyung (who you assumed was her boyfriend) an apologetic look.

"Unbelievable." Taehyung pouted. "Anyone else wanna throw in a jab while we're all at it?"

Everyone simply laughed as the boat picked up speed, making it hard to hear what anyone was saying over the wind. It felt nice though. The loud hum of the motor as the breeze blew against your skin. You hadn't been on a boat in a couple of years, and that was just a lake. Nothing like this.

Jungkook had his arm around your shoulder as you rode down the coastline. His hand squeezed your shoulder every time Taehyung drove over a particularly choppy wave. You'd only been riding for about ten minutes before Jungkook made a motion for Taehyung to slow down.

"Do you remember which house you're staying at?" He asked.

"Yeah, that light green one." You pointed.

Jungkook got up from his seat, walking back to where Taehyung was steering. Jungkook pointed at the same house you had showed him. Taehyung nodded, but then started to smile before whispering something in Jungkook's ear that you couldn't make out. Jungkook gave him an annoyed glare before lightly smacking him in the chest and returning to your side.

"I assume that was about me?" You asked, raising a curious brow.

It wasn't that you were offended that they were talking about you. After all, if one of my friends showed up with a random guy or girl I'd also probably make a playful comment or two.

"Yes, he said…" Jungkook trailed off, clearly not sure if he wanted to tell you.

"I won't be offended," You shrugged. "What? You hooked a nice piece of ass for the week. Something like that?"

Jungkook laughed, shaking his head. "No,no, he wouldn't say something like that when you were right here. Granted, he's probably thinking it." He paused, looking around awkwardly before continuing. "He said he was starting to worry if I was gonna end the summer on a dry spell."

"Dry spell?" You asked, confused. But before he could answer, the boat suddenly stopped not too far from the beach. You and Jungkook stood up, making your way to the ladder that led into the water. You turned to face everyone. "Thanks for the ride. Nice meeting you all."

"I'm sure we'll see you again," Jihyo said. "Hopefully we'll get to actually talk without Taehyung jerking us in every direction with his shit driving."

"Ji, you've been eliminated from the boat!" Taehyung yelled.

You couldn't help but giggle as you whispered, "Yeah, I'm looking forward to that."

You and Jungkook made your way down the ladder, the water you landed in coming just up to your knees.

"I'll be right back. I'm just walking her up. Don't try to leave me motherfucker." Jungkook narrowed his eyes at Taehyung who was grabbing his chin with a mischievous smile.

Once you were a little bit away from the boat you decided to bring back your question from earlier. "So what were you saying about a dry spell?"

Jungkook's head dropped slightly as you both continued walking towards the beach, face twisting as he tried to find the right wording. "Well, I'm sure you already assumed this, but obviously living here our whole lives, we've met lots of women who kind of just want to have a fun time while they're here on vacation."

You gave him a knowing look. "Yes, you would be correct. I did assume that."

Jungkook was an attractive guy, and you were sure he was the target of a lot of woman's desires when they noticed him while being here. Hell, you were one of them. So you weren't offended by this information, because it was something you had just assumed to be a fact.

"Well, I haven't been, uhm, partaking lately." He grimaced at the euphemism, but it made you choke with laughter.

"Jungkook, there's no need to be so polite about it. You have sex with a lot of woman who come here. I figured."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting the smile that was trying to bubble to the surface from the ridiculousness of this conversation. "I know, but I'm not usually telling them specifics. It's just implied."

You understood what he meant. You imagined most people just wanted the fantasy of feeling special when they met someone on vacation. Like it was some sort of precious moment in time. You unfortunately were a bit too cynical for that.

"Well, you don't have to use the innocent intentions act with me. I'm aware of what this is." He was your distraction this week, and he was turning out to be a damn good one. The time you'd been with him today was the most you hadn't thought about grad school in months. "So, is your dry spell ending or not?" You decided to ask straightforwardly.

Jungkook's eyebrows shot up, mouth curving into a smirk at your words. His demeanor suddenly shifted. No longer was the man trying to act coy and flirtatious, now his eyes glinted deviously like you'd awoken something in him. You felt your blood burn hot as he leaned down to whisper in your ear. "You want me to fuck you that bad, huh, city girl?"

You fought back the whimper that wanted to rattle past your teeth before responding. "I don't know. Will you disappoint me?"

He pulled back, looking you in the eyes with an intensity so scalding you felt your lungs shudder. His gaze dipped to your mouth, your lips parting just out of sheer want, and Jungkook didn't seem to intend to deny you; his tongue slipping past your mouth as his hand found the back of your head, crushing you into a devastating kiss.

You moaned, hand wrapping around his chained necklace to pull him closer since he wasn't wearing a shirt for you to grab onto. He hissed, gripping your hair even harder. His tongue gently stroked yours, and you suddenly felt the sensation of another piercing that was not the one on his lip. You gasped, and you could feel the way he was smirking against your mouth at your surprise towards his pierced tongue.

Fucking Christ, how was it possible for him to be even hotter than before? Unfortunately, the kiss only lasted a couple of more seconds before Jungkook was pulling back, giving your bottom lip a tug with his teeth.

"Fuck," You whispered, thumb soothing your mouth as Jungkook stared down at you. His mouth was red and swollen, and goddammit you just wanted to pull him right back in.

He tilted his head, thumb grazing your cheek. "Will I disappoint you?" He asked your question back to you.

Your breaths were still coming out a little ragged as he waited, but even with just that little taste you knew the answer. "No, you won't disappoint me."

Jungkook smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then? Meet you at the pool at five o'clock after I get off work?"

"Yeah, okay." You nodded, trying to shift your expression back to one of indifference, but that didn't last long as a familiar voice over a speaker began to crackle through the air.

"And ladies and gentleman, here we have two creatures in their natural environment partaking in a mating call involving a hot as fuck kiss."

Jungkook gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes as he threw a hand in their direction, silently telling them to cut it out. You found it kind of funny, however.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, water boy." You started to slowly back your away from him, towards the house you were staying at. Trying to snap this magnetic pull that wanted to you to stand next to him forever.

"Oh, I've been demoted to water boy now?" He laughed, also starting to back away but towards the ocean.

"See you tomorrow, Jungkook." You waved, turning your back towards him before your body physically forced you to run over and tackle him into the sand to keep kissing him.

"I'll be there," He said simply before jogging the rest of the way back to the boat.

And as you made you way beneath the stilted house and towards the steps that led upstairs, your heart was racing with one singular thought: this was going to be a very interesting week.

— — —

DAY O2: SHARK TEETH OVER SEASHELLS

The next day moved at the pace of a muddy crawl. Breakfast with your parents. Walking up and down the beach. Lunch with your parents. Walking up and down the beach. An afternoon snack with your parents. Again, walking up and down the goddamn beach.

There was only so much you could do in this place when you didn't know anyone. Well, technically you did know someone now. Unfortunately, he had managed to morph your brain chemistry within the span of a couple of hours to become completely obsessed with him. You rolled over on your bed, letting out a muffled scream into a seashell patterned pillow that matched the seashell patterned comforter and seashell pattered drapes. This room was starting to taunt you, with its perfectly themed decorations. Only because you knew there was so much out there that you could doing… that a certain someone could be showing you. You opened your eyes, staring up at the ceiling fan as it spun around the room. Time passing as you let yourself drift back to yesterday. Being in that open water, walking along that sandbar, kissing him. God, you couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. It was only a couple of seconds but so fucking intoxicating. You sat up immediately. No, you were not doing this. You were not going to waste time laying in this bed, thinking about a guy you had only known for a day. Absolutely not. Instead, you jumped up, shoving your feet into a spare set of sandals you had. Your flip-flops from yesterday still in Jungkook's backpack. When you opened the door to your room and made your way downstairs you found your parents standing in the kitchen making sandwiches.

“Honey, do you want one?” Mom asked, holding one in the air.

“No, I was actually gonna walk to that restaurant down the street.” You had noticed it on the drive in here yesterday. It wouldn’t take longer than ten minutes to get there by foot.

“Oh, yeah. What was it called again? The Rusty Pelican or something?” Your dad asked.

“Something like that.” You shrugged, not caring what it was called. You just knew it probably had a band and drinks, and that was what you could use to get your mind off the tattooed siren trying to consume your every thought.

“Thought you were meeting up with that cute young man you were telling us about yesterday?” You mom unknowingly brought up the very reason for your sudden departure.

“Yeah, but that’s still a couple hours from now. Just wanted to do something fun before then.” You weren’t even sure if you would qualify this as fun. It might end up being boring hell, but hey, you were trying here.

“Okay, be safe.” They both gave you a kiss on the cheek before you left.

You quickly made your way down the stairs and started on your walk to The Rusty Pelican. You weren’t sure if you liked that name, but it was just another thing in this town that fit the theme of where you were.

You were practically panting by the time you got there. That little ten-minute walk was a lot more brutal in beating sun than you had anticipated. There seemed to be a decent amount of people sitting on the outside deck. There was a band playing and lots of drinks flowing just as you had assumed there would be. You decided to sit down at the part of the bar that connected to the patio area, and through the large rectangular window you could see the inside where people were mingling and playing darts.

You turned your attention to the band playing in the back corner. It was a group of older gentleman, probably in their sixties, all wearing Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses. They were playing some sort of Bee Gees tribute from the sound of it. It was all exactly the sort of thing you expected. You wondered if that ever got boring to the people born here. Maybe that was what Jungkook meant yesterday when he’d told you that living here wasn’t all good. Though, you could say that about most cities or towns. The day to day never changed all that much.

“Need a drink, miss?” The question broke you from your thoughts about this place.

You turned back around to face the voice. The answer ‘yes’ almost formed, but your voice stuttered in your chest as you took in the man before you.

It was deja vu. The tattoos, the piercings, the gorgeous face. He was the same but different. Softer features and eyes that turned into amused crescents as you continued to stare at him for what was clearly an unnatural amount of time.

“Uhm, yeah.” You shook your head, clearing your shock away. “Mich Ultra, please.”

He smiled, winking at you. “Coming right up.” You watched as he grabbed a bottle out of a cooler, popping the top before sitting it down in front of you. You thought he was going to continue down the line of patrons next you to ask for their orders, but to your surprise he continued to stand in front of you. “So, how’s vacation going so far?”

“It’s my second day. Just decided to get out and see what there is to do around here.” You shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about this strange coincidence.

He nodded, scratching the back of his neck. “I know I work here and all, but there’s way more interesting things around here than this place, trust me.”

“Yeah, like what?” You asked, taking a sip of your beer.

He pursed his lips, mouth ticking into a slight smirk. “Could show you around after my shift if you want.”

You scoffed. This was truly unbelievable. The second time in two days a man had offered his services to you—probably with less than pure intentions. But at least Jungkook had attempted a conversation with you… Of course, it was after almost drowning you, but hey, semantics. You didn’t even know this guy’s name and he was already trying to get you to run off with him. Regardless, you already had someone who was haunting the corners of your mind.

“I’m busy—” You started to turn him down when a you were suddenly cut off.

“Sorry, Jimin. She’s taken.” It was a feminine voice that was vaguely familiar. You turned to see who it was, and to your surprise Jihyo was pulling out the seat next you and joining the conversation. “Hey, good seeing you again.” She leaned in, giving you a small hug that you returned.

“Ah, so which one of my friends was lucky enough to get your attention?” The bartender asked, whose name was apparently Jimin.

You laughed, because of course two people that looked like that in a place like this were friends. “Should’ve figured you knew each other. Same looks. Same tactics.”

Jihyo made a disgusted sound. “Jesus, Jimin. You were talking to her for all of two seconds and you were already trying something?”

Jimin threw his hands up in defense. “She—” He paused, looking slightly awkward. “I’m so sorry, and I know this doesn’t make me look any better… What’s your name?”

Jihyo tossed a wadded up napkin at Jimin’s head. “It’s Y/N, you fucking dog.”

You were honestly finding the situation extremely amusing. Being hit on my someone that looked like Jimin wasn’t exactly a negative, even if he was thinking about sex at the time. But hey, you couldn’t exactly blame him. You were in the same boat when it came to Jungkook at the moment.

“Hey, it’s fine. I really don’t care.” You attempted to calm the playful back and forth of them throwing things at one another while trying not to disturb the other customers.

“Good, would hate to tell Jungkook that you were completely turned off by him because his friends have no tact.” Jihyo gave Jimin a look when she said Jungkook’s name, and his eyes widened in response.

“Jungkook? Huh, so he's finally out of his little mood then." Jimin turned to look at you, giving you a sly smile. "Lucky girl."

"Wow, that's some high praise for him." You chuckled, surprised.

"Ah, so you guys haven't slept together yet," Jimin said, like it was a complete and undeniable fact. It made you half choke as you sipped your beer.

"And how are you so sure of that exactly?" You asked once you finally cleared all of the inhaled liquid.

"Because if you had you wouldn't be questioning my high praise." He shrugged.

Your eyes widened. "Wow, with how sure you sound, you make it seem like you've slept with him."

Jihyo busted out into insane laughter as Jimin made a disgusted face at your joke. She grabbed your shoulders shaking them, trying to catch her breath. "You do sound like a jealous ex-girlfriend right now, Jimin," She said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Jimin waved his hands back and forth, clearly denying your accusation. "I simply meant that I've heard so… Well, I've also seen so—but I was absolutely not the person he had his dick inside." He quickly added as you opened your mouth to make another quip.

You leaned back in your chair, mulling over what he'd just revealed. "So… a threesome then I assume is what you're implying.

"Jungkook's gonna kill me if he finds out we're taking about this." Jimin ran a hand down his face, but you could tell that he also found this line of questioning funny. Jihyo also seemed to be interested in how this conversation was going to to go.

"Oh, come on." You grabbed your drink, taking another sip. "I've known him for a day. Its not like I'm his girlfriend and this is some inappropriate conversation."

Jimin pursed his lips, tilting his head at your logic. "Fair."

"So tell me, Jimin." You leaned in closer to whisper. "How fast do you think Jungkook will be able to make me come?"

Jihyo half-screamed next to you. "Oh, my god! I literally love you. You're hilarious."

You couldn't keep up the serious face you were making, a grin slowly breaking across your lips as Jimin stared at you with his mouth agape.

"I'm kidding," You finally said. "I'll let it be a surprise."

Jimin smiled. "I can see why you're the one that's gotten him out of his little mood."

He turned to go ask other customers for their orders before you could ask what he meant by that. Yesterday, you and Jungkook had discussed his 'dry spell' or whatever he wanted to call it, but you hadn't gotten the chance to ask him the reason behind it. And apparently his hanging out with you was such a big deal that everyone who found out about it couldn't help but make a comment.

"Shots when you get a chance, Jimin." Jihyo suddenly yelled , and you watched as he gave a thumbs up. She turned back to you, practically beaming. "I'm so glad I ran into you here. I wanted to talk more on the boat yesterday, but the boys were in the way."

Jihyo seemed to have a very infectious way about her. If she was smiling you couldn't help but smile back. If she was laughing you couldn't help but laugh back, and apparently if she was taking shots you also couldn't help but partake with her. Because as the shots made by Jimin appeared in front of the two of you, they just as quickly disappeared.

"Me too," You finally responded after successfully not choking on whatever type of liquor had been poured into those glasses. "Sorry I didn't talk much yesterday. I was exhausted from all the swimming and the sun. I'm not used to it."

Jihyo waved your concerns off. "No, no, you're fine. Trust me, those boys are like fish. They were born here so they don't understand how tiring the water can be."

"Oh, you're not from here?" You asked. They all seemed so close, you assumed they'd all grown up together.

"No, my parents are older. They retired here when I was like fifteen. That's when I met everyone," She answered as Jimin set another round of shots down in front of you.

"Not sure if I should drink much more. I'm supposed to meet Jungkook in like two hours." Though, you had to admit you were having a good time and wouldn't mind continuing under different circumstances.

"Yeah, I totally get it." She grabbed both shots, handing one to you. "Last one?"

"Last one." You clinked your glasses together, downing that oh so addictive burn.

— — —

You weren't sure exactly what happened. Maybe after that second shot the logical part of your brain simply made way for the part that was enjoying all the fun you were having. Because at the moment you and Jihyo were currently heading a conga line around the bar, you're fifth, sixth (you weren't really sure), drink in your hand.

"Okay, let's sit down." You yelled over your shoulder to Jihyo, pointing at a table that was in front of the band.

"Yeah, sit down. I'll grab us some waters," She replied, hard to hear over all the music.

You nodded, practically collapsing into the chair as you passed by it. You really hadn't meant to continue drinking, but as you and Jihyo had continued to exchange stories about each other, it just kind of happened. You told her all about your worries of grad school. How you weren't sure if you were going to be happy. How you weren't sure if you were choosing the right path in life. While she admitted that she felt trapped in this place with her parents. She was the same age as you but knew that this place offered her no future. No job she could see herself having forever, but also feeling stuck because she didn't want to leave Taehyung who, just like Jungkook, seemed to want to die in this town. Her and Taehyung had been dating for a couple of years now, and she didn't know how to navigate her two polar opposite desires.

—So yeah, the two of you had gone a little overboard on the drinking. But hey, when you were talking about the heavy things in life, it was hard not to.

Jihyo eventually returned with the waters, and you immediately gulped down the entire thing in about two seconds. "That's better." You sighed, propping your elbows up on the table to hold your head.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't meant to make you drink so much." She frowned, looking genuinely apologetic.

You waved off her apology. "You didn't make me, and I'm fine. I promise I'm more buzzed than anything."

"Well, I still feel bad. How long until you're supposed to meet Jungkook?"

"About…" You glanced at the clock above the bar. "An hour."

"Oh, that's plenty of time to sober up." She stood up from her seat. "I'm gonna get us some more waters."

"Thanks. You're the best." You smiled, head slumping onto your shoulder.

She ruffled your hair and it made you relax further into the chair as you closed your eyes to wait for her to come back. The rowdy sounds of the afternoon vacationers surrounded you. It was strange, but the lack of silence was very peaceful to you. It always had been, ever since you were a kid. You let yourself get lost in the humming noise of conversation and glass bottles clinking, when a suddenly not so peaceful sound suddenly reverberated around you. The sound of a voice booming into a microphone next your ear startled you upright.

"Hey, no sleeping in paradise, young lady." It was the older singer from the band that had been playing since you got here. You gave him a sheepish smile, scratching at your head awkwardly. "Come on, let's get you awake!"

Your brows furrowed. "What—" Your question was cut short as he grabbed your hand, bringing you up onto the tiny stage that sat only a few feet away.

"How about a little impromptu karaoke everybody!" The singer yelled into the microphone, making the crowd cheer loudly.

Under normal circumstances you would've ran your ass right back to your chair, but you were tipsy, and you actually enjoyed singing and had been told you were very good at it over the years. All of the bars that hosted karaoke around your college had heard you on at least one occasion during a drunken night out with friends. Especially towards the end after you and your boyfriend had broken up. You had sang every song in the book about how badly that had went. So when he started singing a song that you were familiar with while handing you an extra microphone, you decided to just go with it.

You started singing with him, and you saw his eyes light up when he realized you could actually carry a tune. Everyone in the bar started to cheer, and it energized you further. The only time you could get up and sing like this was when you'd been drinking, never having the courage to do so while sober.

You continued on with the song, everyone starting to clap their hands in unison to the beat, and when you glanced down you saw Jihyo staring at you with her jaw hanging open and the waters in her hands. She set the cups down on the table and immediately started jumping up and down as she watched you.

"Yeah! Go, Y/N!" She yelled with her hands around her mouth.

You finished the final note, the singer who had dragged you up here giving you a big hug. "Now that's what time talking about! Who wants to follow up this lovely lady's performance!"

You jumped down from the stage, Jihyo immediately grabbing your shoulders in excitement. "You didn't tell me you could sing!"

"Only when I've been drinking." You shrugged.

"Well, if that's how you sound while drinking I couldn't image what you'd sound like sober." She handed you your water before looping her arm through yours and pulling you towards the bar that was way more packed than before.

People were holding their hands up to high five you for your performance, and you gave them all polite smiles as you passed. When the two of you finally managed to wedge your way in between the mass of people, Jimin was waiting on the other side.

"So, she's got a dirty mouth and she can sing." Jimin gave you a once over. "Jungkook may have found his match."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, yeah, just give me my tab. I gotta head back to my place to get ready."

Jimin shook his head. "No charge. Your performance was payment enough."

You scoffed. "Oh, come on. It was not that good."

"What're you taking about? You were awesome! Give yourself more credit." Jihyo shuffled around in her purse for a minute and threw a twenty dollar bill at Jimin. "Don't spent it all in one place, my friend." He did a little dance as he tucked the twenty into the waistband of his jeans, earning a laugh from you as Jihyo started pulling you towards the exit.

"That was a lot of fun," You said once the two of you found yourselves standing in the parking lot. "I'm glad I ran into you."

"Same! It was so fun. We have to hang out some more before you leave. But for now, let's walk you back to your place so you can get ready."

"It's like a ten minute walk there. You sure?"

"Of course. I can help you pick out something to wear." She did a little excited clap.

"That sounds great." You smiled, happy to meet someone like her while you were here.

The two of you started on the walk back to the beachhouse, and it was abundantly clear that you were both still extremely buzzed. You were a pair of walking hazards trying to stay up right as you made your way down the grassy path next to the road.

"God, it's so fucking hot." You panted, foot suddenly slipping as you fell ass first on the ground. Jihyo tried helping you but ended up falling herself. You both looked at each other in silence for a second before devolving into laughter.

"I don't know if we're gonna make it back in time," You said, when suddenly a truck that was passing pulled off onto the grass in front of you. It looked familiar, but all trucks looked the same to you for the most part, but when the door opened and the driver exited the vehicle, your heart began beating violently.

"Our knight in shining armor!" Jihyo beamed as Jungkook approached the two of you laying on the ground, an amused smile adorning his perfect face.

"Looks like you guys had fun." Jungkook knelt down next you, offering you a hand to help you sit up.

You dusted at the back of your head that was now probably covered in grass and dirt. You probably looked a complete mess right now. You silently cursed yourself for drinking so much.

"Yeah, I just went out for a beer or two, but, uhm, well you see how that worked out." You offered him an apologetic expression.

"It's okay," Jungkook said, pulling a twig out of your hair that you'd missed. "Ji tends to have that affect on people."

Jihyo scoffed next to you. "Hey, it wasn't me. It was Jimin."

Jungkook's jaw hardened slightly, but he still held a soft smile. "Ah, so you met Jimin. How'd that go?"

Normally you would've been more nonchalant, but the alcohol was making your tongue looser than normal. "Oh, you know. He just told me all about the adventurous threesomes you guys have had over the years. Nothing crazy." You shrugged, but Jungkook's eyes went wide, lips shifting into a thin line.

"I'm gonna kick his fucking ass when I see him." His eyes turning towards the direction of The Rusty Pelican.

"Hey, he also said some very nice things about you." Jihyo finally sat up next to you, grass and twigs still twisted in her hair as well. You reached over, taking some of them out.

Jungkook smacked his lips. "Oh, I'm sure. Like what?"

You couldn't stop the words from coming out of your mouth."That you had like the best dick ever, and I was going to enjoy myself very much." You paused. "Yeah, he said something like that."

Jungkook's annoyance disappeared almost instantly, laughter suddenly bubbling past his throat. "I don't believe he said that."

"Well, maybe not in such specific words, but he definitely implied it," You said.

"It's true. I was there." Jihyo leaned in, defending your story.

Jungkook pursed his lips, once again looking back in the direction of the bar. "Well, Jimin may be an oversharing jackass at times, but he isn't a liar at least."

You raised a brow at him. "About you having the best dick ever part or the me enjoying myself part?"

He leaned in slightly. "Don't worry. You'll find out soon."

You felt your breath catch, your eyes flitting down to his lips. You just wanted to have his tongue inside your mouth like yesterday. You almost closed the distance in your drunken haze when Jihyo broke the tension.

"Hm, this is kind of hot." She stood up, dusting off the dirt from her outfit. "Jungkook, take me to Tae's before you go to Y/N's."

Jungkook pulled you both up by your hands, steadying you as you wobbled slightly. "I obviously wasn't going to leave you on the side of the road."

"Perfect!" Jihyo ran to Jungkook's truck, opening the back door and jumping inside.

You and Jungkook were alone for the first time since yesterday. You were suddenly self-conscious now that Jihyo's bubbly personality was no longer a buffer. The things you'd just said to him and the situation he'd found you in suddenly making you feel flustered.

"Uhm, I'm sorry about this. I wasn't planning on drinking that much, and… ugh, this is really embarrassing." You hid your face in your hands, trying to muffle the shame.

However, Jungkook pulled your hands down, forcing your chin up to look at him. "Hey, it's fine. You had fun. Nothing wrong with that."

You gave him a small smile. "Okay."

He pressed his hand to the small of your back as he led you to the passenger's side door. He opened it and urged you inside before rounding the vehicle to jump into the driver's side. When you looked into the backseat, Jihyo was already laying down fast asleep.

— — —

Taehyung's house hadn't been that far from where Jungkook had found you and Jihyo. Jungkook got out to help Taehyung get her inside, both of you saying your goodbyes in the process. You really hoped you got to hang out with her again before you left.

It was about a half hour later when Jungkook was pulling back into your place. The pool where this whole thing had started came into view. You both got out of the truck, Jungkook grabbing his backpack from yesterday off the floorboard of his backseat.

"I got your stuff by the way. Flip-flops and sand dollars." He patted the bag.

"Thanks." You motioned towards the house you were staying in off in the distance. "I have to take a shower and change. Do you wanna come in while you wait?"

"Hm, having me meet the parents already," Jungkook joked, throwing an arm around your shoulder as you started walking.

You groaned. "I'm praying they won't be there, but I have a feeling I won't be that lucky."

"Why're you hoping they won't be there?" He asked, quirking a brow to insinuate your hopeful wishes were for less than saintly reasons.

You bit the inside of your cheek, not falling for his bait. "They just have no filter," You said simply.

"Well, I would hope not when it comes to the stranger hanging around their daughter. But also, if they are here, try to act like you haven't been drinking. Wouldn't want them to think I got you drunk just to sleep with you in this nice house they're paying for." He nipped at you earlobe, making you squeal.

You removed the key from your pocket to open the front door. "Well, maybe we won't have to even deal with it at all. They might be gone for dinner already." However, when it swung open, both of your parents stood on the other side, looking like they had just been ready to leave. You felt yourself sober up completely.

Dammit. So close.

"Uh, hey. You guys going out to eat?" You asked as Jungkook's arm dropped from your shoulder, his posture straightening out.

"Yes," Your dad answered, approaching the two of you as he adjusted the cuffs on his long sleeved shirt. "And you must the boy that Y/N mentioned yesterday."

"Yes. Jungkook, sir." He reached his hand out, shaking your dad's hand.

You wanted to shrivel inside your skin. You knew you were an adult, but things like this never got less awkward. And this wasn't even a boyfriend you were introducing, this was just a fun summer fling, and they both knew it.

"Well, he's certainly as handsome as you said." Your mom joined in, mortifying you further.

"Thank you, ma'am." Jungkook looked down at the floor shyly, but you could see the way he was grinning from ear to ear.

"At least this one has manners, unlike that last one. He who shall not be named." She grabbed her chin, looking at Jungkook with a bit more scrutiny. "Actually, he kind of looks like him, doesn't he, honey?"

You palmed your face, even though you had also thought the same thing at first, but not before you saw Jungkook give you a look of piqued interest at your mother's comment. You couldn't believe you were talking about your penchant for men with pretty faces and tattoos right now.

"Okay, have fun at dinner, guys." You grabbed Jungkook's arm, trying to force him towards the stairs up to your room, but he seemed to have different ideas as he held firm in his stance in front of your parents.

"I know you guys probably have your concerns about Y/N hanging out with a stranger in a place you guys aren't familiar with, but I promise she's in good hands. I won't let anything happen to her." Jungkook held a serious face as he faced your parents.

You couldn't help but be thankful as he said that. Even though your parents held a pretty lackadaisical attitude, you knew they still worried.

"We appreciate that," Your mom said, placing a hand on Jungkook's shoulder.

"Oh, I also have a gift for you, from me and Y/N." He started unzipping his backpack, pulling out the sand dollars from yesterday handing them to your mom.

"Oh, wow. Where'd you get all these?" She asked, shuffling through the dozen or so that you had found yesterday.

Jungkook motioned towards you. "Y/N got them when I took her to the sandbar yesterday."

"Wait." Your dad's eyes widened in surprise. "You got her to go out into the ocean? She's petrified of it. How'd you manage that?" He asked, looking genuinely impressed that someone was able to make you overcome your fear.

"Lots of patience." Jungkook chuckled, your dad laughing along with him.

"Well, alright then." He reached out, shaking Jungkook's hand once more. "You better watch out for her."

"Yes, sir." Jungkook nodded, his expression once again serious.

"Okay, honey. Let's go. We're already late." Your mom chimed in, motioning towards the front door. "It was lovely meeting you, Jungkook. You seem like a nice young man."

"Thank you. It was nice meeting you guys as well." He gave them a polite smile as they grabbed their car keys off the table and finally left, the door closing behind them.

You let out a breath that you hadn't realized you'd been holding. "That went just as poorly as I'd imagined it would."

"Really? I thought it went well," Jungkook said as he began to walk around the house. "I also got to learn some interesting stuff about you. Like the fact that you apparently have a type." He turned towards you, his face amused as he motioned towards himself.

You rolled your eyes, pulling at his shirt to get him to follow you to your room upstairs. "Yes, it's an unfortunate character flaw."

You really wished your mother hadn't brought him up. You and your ex-boyfriend had dated for two years, but broke up earlier this year. He said that long distance wasn't going to be feasible for him after you got your acceptance to grad school. You had been sad, but also kind of… relieved? You knew he wasn't the best person. He had rude and narcissistic tendencies. Your parents had never been a fan because of this. You had just felt stuck when it came to him, so when he ended it, you didn't feel the need too argue. Though it did upset you that he had ended it so simply, as if you were just some placeholder he'd held onto during college.

"Hm, guy really did a number on you, huh?" Jungkook asked, following you into your room as you made it to the top of the stairs. "We're not all bad though. Promise."

"Yeah, I see you're quite the charmer when it comes to parents." You walked over to the mirror, straightening out some of your flyaway hairs. You watched in the reflection as Jungkook laid on your bed, shirt hiking up around his ribs. You bit the inside of your lip at the sight. "So, what do you have planned for me today? More ocean adventures?" You asked, turning back to face him.

He flipped on his side, propping his head up with one of his hands. "No, I figured I'd give you a break after yesterday. I thought I'd go for something more relaxing."

You sat down next to him on the bed, his hand finding the top of your thigh. You glanced down at it. "And what is this relaxing activity?"

Jungkook smirked, lifting himself up so that his face lingered right in front of yours. "You already seem to have something in mind."

You tried to act coy, shrugging. "No idea what you're talking about."

He leaned in closer, his breath fanning over your lips. "Okay, then. Since you have nothing on your mind, I won't kiss you like yesterday. You can just go take your shower." He flopped back down on the bed, putting his hands behind his head as he closed his eyes.

You scoffed. Oh, this was absolutely not how this was going to go. Him making you seem like you wanted him so desperately while he simply went along with it.

You immediately went to straddle him, throwing your legs on either side of his thighs. His eyes snapped open in surprise, hands settling on your hips. You shifted forward and grabbed his jaw. His breathing was instantly heavier, and you could feel his dick getting hard beneath you—Well, that didn't take long. But you had to physically force yourself not to grind against him. Which was being made much more difficult by the fact that Jungkook was attempting to pull you back and forth over his length by your waist. You squeezed his face harder, and you could feel the vibrations of the groan clamoring up the back of his throat. You leaned in closer, and he tried lifting his head up from the bed to crash his mouth against yours, but you held him down firmly. You smiled as a pleading expression started to form in his eyes.

Perfect.

You forced his face to the side, your lips brushing against the piercings that lined the shell of his ear. "Who has something on their mind now, hm?"

You jumped off of him, noticing the wild expression as you slipped from his grasp. You went straight into the bathroom that was inside of your room and closed the door. Your heart was beating fast. You knew that you had put on that little performance for your own sake, but you were starting to think that it had backfired. You felt the tingling rush in your lower belly, and all you really wanted to do was go back out there and get back on top of him; preferably with less material between the two of you. But you pushed that feeling away, reaching for the shower handle to turn on the hot water before removing all of your clothes.

You didn't want to take too long, so you washed quickly. You scrubbed all the sweat and dirt off from being at the bar earlier, and the steam cleared any excess haze you had from the alcohol. Once you felt like you were finally clean you stepped out, wrapping a towel around your body. It was only then that you realized your mistake.

In your rush to get into the bathroom after teasing Jungkook, you had forgotten to grab a change of clothes. Fuck. You shook your head, no this was fine. He'd seen you less clothed yesterday at the beach. It wasn't a big deal, but you still felt awkward as you opened the door. Jungkook was still laying on the bed, his eyes immediately roaming up and down your damp body.

You ignored his stares, but you still felt his eyes burning a hole in your back as you turned to rummage through the dresser that held the clothes you'd brought for the week. You were holding up a couple of different shirt options when a sudden sensation running up the bare skin of your back shocked you into dropping them on the floor.

Your head snapped up, breath tangling in your lungs as you saw Jungkook's body behind you in the mirror. His head was slowly rising up between your shoulder blades, and you realized the cool, wet feeling along your skin was him dragging his pierced tongue up the curve of your spine. You couldn't stop yourself from whimpering as his eyes slowly revealed themselves over your shoulder. They were staring at you with such lustful intent, and you wanted so badly for him to take it out on you.

Your breathing went erratic as he snaked a hand into your hair, pulling it so that the side of your neck was exposed for him to continue his path up your body. He stopped as his mouth hovered over your ear.

"That was mean, you know," He whispered, wrapping his other hand that wasn't in your hair around you stomach to pull you against him. You hissed at the feeling of his cock pressed against your lower back. "Getting me hard and running away like that."

You swallowed, your mouth completely dry. You wanted to try and reply with a steady voice. "I was just getting back at you for teasing me."

Jungkook spun you around, and the reflection from the mirror had not been doing justice to the way that he was looking at you right now. His fingers played at the edge of your towel, pulling it slightly before it completely dropped to the ground and left you completely naked before him. His eyes raked over you, nostrils flaring as he took in the sight of you completely bare before him.

You were suddenly very aware of the fact that you were the only vulnerable one in this situation. Jungkook was still completely clothed. "Don't you think it's a little unfair that I'm the only one naked?"

He looked at you again, taking a break from his scowering of your body. "That just means you're going to be the one that gets to come. Doesn't that sound fair?"

You suddenly felt hot at the description of your apparently impending orgasm from Jungkook. You only managed to nod your head, and it made him smirk as he stepped closer, placing both hands on either side of your face. Your breath hitched as he leaned in, placing a kiss against your mouth before pulling back just an inch. He stayed there, the playful glint in his eyes seeming to say, 'if you want this you're going to have to come to me now.'

You didn't hesitate to close the gap, wrapping your arms around his neck as you crushed your lips against his. The gentleness he'd pecked you with earlier was extinguished by the caress of your tongues as he yanked you back and laid you flat on the bed. His mouth moved to your neck, and his teeth grazed at the skin of your shoulder, sending a wave of electricity straight to your center. You gripped the back of his shirt, making your realize that something needed to change.

"Take off your shirt at least. I don't wanna be the only one naked." You yanked the fabric up stomach.

He sat up, pulling the shirt over his head and throwing it onto the floor. The sight of him looming over your body made you quiver, arms shaking as you forced yourself to sit up on your elbows.

He smirked, one of his hands reaching down to squeeze the top of your thigh. "I think you just wanna watch me shirtless while I eat your pussy."

That was exactly what you wanted actually. To watch his back flex while he had his head between your legs—but you weren't going to tell him that. "If you do it well enough then I shouldn't even have the energy to look down at you… I've heard you’re pretty good with your dick, but maybe you're not very skilled in this area." You quirked a brow a brow, shrugging your shoulder.

However, Jungkook's face shifted, and suddenly he was pulling your hips down the bed, your head falling flat against the mattress. He leaned down, face hovering above yours for a moment. He placed one hand by your head, the other cradling the side of your face. He used him thumb to coax your jaw open, and your breath hitched as he slid his tongue inside of your mouth.

The kiss from yesterday had been intense but quick. It was something done in the midst of a goodbye, no time for anything extra. This… This was different. Slow, languid movements that had you threading your hands into his hair to keep him in place. You didn't want him to stop. You wanted that controlled and steady brush of his tongue to go on forever, and you realized that was what he was trying to show you. It had been a joke, you insinuating that maybe he wasn't good at going down on someone. You knew he was probably very good at it. But right now he was showing you everything that he was going to do to you between your thighs while he was inside of your mouth. The thought of it had to squeezing your legs together, and you could feel how wet your already were as you began to squirm. This went on for another minute or so, and you knew that he wasn't going to move his attentions to where you wanted unless you ended this kiss. He wanted to make you admit it. God, this man was killing you.

Eventually, you pushed him away. Your breathing grew heavy as you stared at the way his lips had turned red and glistening. "Okay, you win. You're good at that too."

Jungkook smiled. "Good girl."

He gave you a quick peck before he disappeared from above you, and your legs were suddenly being pulled over his shoulders. You sucked in a shaky breath as you felt him mouth his way up the inside of your thighs. He was torturing you, slowly making his way towards your center until you were fisting the covers as you waited. The longer it went on the tighter you squeezed.

Finally, you couldn't take it anymore. "Please—" You were going to resort to begging, but just as you said the word you felt the cool brush of his tongue along your clit. The sensation from his jewelry made you tense up, your thighs immediately trying to trap him there.

You could feel him chuckle against you as he forced your legs back apart. "I'm not going anywhere. I got you this fucking wet I'm gonna fix it for you," He promised before his mouth was back on you.

"Fuck, that's feels so good," You whispered, back arching off the bed as you grabbed the hair on the back of his head, urging him along in his movements. He groaned, the vibrations making you press your yourself harder against his mouth.

One of his hands traveled along your lower stomach, and he used his palm to press down gently, the extra pressure inside of you making your eyes screw shut. You didn't think it could feel any better until you felt the brush his fingers from his other hand caressing at your entrance. You were so wet. His finger slid inside of you and your mouth fell open as you bucked against him, trying to get it to go deeper. But he held you down with a growl as he added a second finger, an your legs almost instantly began to shake on top of him.

It took every ounce of resolve you had to lift your head up so that you could look down at the man currently devouring you. You felt the instant punch to your gut as you watched him work between your legs, licking you in every place that you needed him to, never straying from a spot that wouldn't make your toes curl. Every time his piercing slid against you clit you felt yourself getting closer and closer.

Jungkook glanced up, and your expression must of been of someone fucked out of their mind, because his movements slowed down as his eyes darkened, like he wanted to just flip you over and fuck you face first into the sheets. You also wanted that, and you almost hoped he'd do it. But instead he started to suck at your clit with light flicks of the tip of his tongue, and your head instantly fell back against the bed.

"F-fuck, I'm gonna c-come. Gonna come." Your hold in his hair was pulling even tighter now and you felt him hum as he continued to break you down. "Don't stop. Please, don't stop."

He didn't deny you. He kept going, fingers still pumping inside of you as you finally felt that building pressure snap and your lower belly convulse beneath his palm. You let out a high pitched whine as your hips lifted off the bed, your legs sliding down Jungkook's shoulders as he sat up. He ran his hands up and down your thighs, but your eyes were still squeezed shut as you tried to find some sort of control over your breathing again.

Eventually you were able find some minute amount of strength to sit up, but your body felt weak as you did so. You looked up, and Jungkook was staring down at you, patiently waiting for you to level out. But all you were focused on was the dripping wetness of your arousal still shining around his mouth and chin. His lips were swollen, and you couldn't stop yourself from crawling towards him on your hands and knees before throwing your arms around his shoulders to kiss him.

It wasn't like the one before where he was being slow with intent as he showed you the way he was going to eat you out. Which, truly hadn't even compared to the actual act you had just experienced. Instead, this kiss was messy and desperate. You could taste yourself on his tongue as your nails scratched into the back of his neck while his hands tangled in your hair.

You forced yourself to pull away after you lapped away all of your wetness from his mouth and face. "You're gonna do that to me again, right?" You asked, practically panting. "Before I leave?"

Jungkook grinned, pushing a strand of wild hair behind your ear. "Oh, I plan on doing that to you over and over and over again before you leave." He placed a kiss on your lips. "But not just with my mouth."

You looked down between your bodies, and your eyes widened. You could see the way his cock was tented against his gym shorts, the stretchy material leaving nothing to the imagination of how fucking big he was. You felt your core swell with that feeling of want once again. You started imagining how well he could fuck you with it when he tapped your chin forcing you to look at him again.

"Trust me, I want to." He paused, licking his lips as he stared down at your face like he also truly wanted it just as badly. "But once I start with you I'm not stopping, and I'd really prefer your parents not come home in the middle of you screaming while I make you come."

You felt yourself groan at the idea of him forcing yells of pleasure from you, but shivered in horror at the idea of your parents accidentally hearing it.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." But you found yourself glancing down at his cock once again, still completely hard. "Do you want me to…" You trailed off, not sure why you were being coy about the idea of returning the favor by giving him head after he'd just had his tongue and fingers all over you.

He shook his head, but you saw the way his dick twitched inside of his pants. "I told you earlier, you're the one who's naked, so you're the one that gets to come."

His words suddenly made you realize that you were in fact still completely naked. It was stupid but you suddenly felt yourself covering yourself slightly with your hands.

He laughed, standing from the bed and facing away from you. "Would you prefer if I turned around while you got dressed?"

"Haha, very funny," You said as you climbed off the bed as well.

"Wear something comfortable. Like sweats and a hoodie. I'm taking you down to the beach out front, and it's only like an hour till sunset so it shouldn't be too hot." He was still facing away from you, letting your dress in private. It was strange, he had a dirty mouth, but then he would do things like turn around while you changed after giving you an orgasm. It was odd, but kind of sweet at the same time.

You followed his suggestion, fishing out an oversized hoodie and some sweatpants. You put the items on quickly. "Alright, I'm decent. But not like you haven't seen everything at this point." Jungkook faced you again, his dick slightly softer but definitely still visible. You pointed at it. "You're going to scare the children, you know."

He chuckled, sticking his hand down his pants and tucking it into the waist band of his boxers you assumed. He brought his fingers into the air, wiggling them. "Magic." You snorted, watching as he grabbed a hoodie from his backpack that he'd discarded on the floor earlier. He slipped it over his head, and then walked over to you and grabbed your hand. "You ready?"

"Yeah, ready."

You interlocked your fingers with his, and he led you downstairs. Both of you headed for the backdoor and down the steps that went towards the beach.

"So are you showing me anything interesting today, or is this just a post-coital romantic walk?" Jungkook laughed as he guided you closer to the shoreline. He knelt down in front of you, pulling the legs of your loose sweatpants up to the middle of your calf. "What're you doing?"

He stood up. "We're going on a hunt for shark teeth, darling."

Your eyes widened as he turned to walk away, looking down at the sand as the waves lapped at his bare feet. Both of you opting to leave your shoes inside. "Shark teeth?"

He bent down, picking something up out of the sand. He held it up in front of you. It was a small, black triangle. "Mhm, like this."

Jungkook placed it in the palm of your hand. You poked at it with your finger. "Is this really a shark tooth?"

"It's millions of years old, but yes, it's real." He put his hand in your lower back, ushering you down the beach. "It's a tiny one, but you can find pretty big ones sometimes. They have so many teeth so they're pretty much all over the shoreline here."

" You know, you're really not helping the case for me getting back in that water this week. Showing me evidence of all of the creatures that could eat me."

He pointed at a place in the ground, and you leaned down to pick it up. "These guys have been dead a long time. They're not gonna give you any trouble."

This tooth was a little bigger than the last, maybe the size of a nickel. "Their offspring might revolt at me stealing their ancestors body parts though."

Jungkook laughed hard, doubling over. "I know I told you this before, but you really are funny, you know that?"

"Thank you. Now you can say you aren't just sleeping with me for my good looks." You flipped your hair dramatically, leaving him behind as you continued down the beach to search for more teeth.

Jungkook stayed a little bit behind you, looking around for any that you may have missed. It was hard to notice them when they were surrounded by distracting shells of all colors and shapes. You picked up one that was cream colored with maroon stripes. You turned it over it your hand. It reminded you of all the shell-themed decorations in your room. It was pretty for sure, but also so… typical? You weren't sure if that was the right word. But in the end, you threw it to the side, deciding that the hunt for the teeth of the things that you had always feared was much more interesting.

You wondered around for a little while, finding a couple more of those elusive triangles in the sand, when you suddenly saw something sticking up from the wet sediment beneath your feet. You leaned down, digging around and you finally were able to pull it out.

"Oh, my god! This was one's fucking huge!" You yelled, waving it in the air. Jungkook jogged over to you, an impressed look on his face as he took in the shark tooth that was the size of your palm.

"Damn, that's a keeper for sure," He said, putting it into his pocket.

You scoffed, reaching for it. "Hey, I'm the one that found it."

He laughed, pushing your hand away. "Calm down. You'll get it back, sweetheart. I'm just gonna do some stuff to it first."

You narrowed your eyes. "Okay, but you better not be lying."

"Never." He threw an arm around your shoulder, pressing a kiss to your temple. "Come on, let's go sit up on that hill. The sun's about to set."

You nodded. "Okay."

Once you guys managed to make it through the sliding sand, both of you giggling as you tried to stop the other from falling, Jungkook sat down, pulling you to sit in between his legs. He flipped the hood of your jacket up before pulling you back to lay your head on his chest. It felt comfortable in a way that it shouldn't for someone you'd known for so little time.

You glanced out at the ocean, the orangey-red sky bursting with color as it refracted through the clouds. It was beautiful, the sky slowing darkening around all that light.

"This is probably something even someone who’s lived here forever never gets tired of, right?" You asked, bending your neck to look up at him.

"You'd be correct. This is one thing about this place that never gets old." He smiled as he looked out at the sunset.

You couldn't help but admire how beautiful he was. The glow of the fading sun cascaded over his face, the scent of the salty breeze blowing through his hair.

You kept watching, and the corner of his lips tilted upwards as he leaned down to whisper against your ear. "You're missing the sunset, you know?"

"That's okay." You twisted your body, pressing your mouth against his for a brief moment.

His hand ghosted against your jaw as you pulled away. His eyes searching your face. "Can I ask you a question?" You nodded. "When I found you yesterday at the pool. You said you were just trying to find a place where you didn't have to think. I was just curious what it was exactly?"

You didn't expect that. Honestly, you had been so consumed by everything here for the past two days that you truly hadn't been thinking about all of your worries. You sighed, laying your head back against his chest. You weren't good at eye contact when you were talking about your feelings, so you opted to use the sunset as your scapegoat.

"It's stupid…" You trailed off. "I'm gonna sound ungrateful, but I'm moving across the country in a couple of weeks for grad school, and I'm just… I'm scared." You shrugged.

"Why're you scared?" He put his arms around you, locking his hands in front of you.

"I don't know. This has always been the plan since my first year in college, and I actually accomplished it. But now that it's actually happening, the idea of leaving everything behind to start over is kind of terrifying. Or what if I don't like it? This job I've decided is gonna be for the rest of my life… Like I said it's stupid." You squirmed as you started to feel awkward with your confession.

"It's not stupid," He replied. "Leaving behind places you're familiar with is scary."

You were silent for a moment, mulling over something that you also wanted to know. "Can I ask you a question too?"

"Mhm, anything."

"Is that also the reason you said you were probably never going to leave this place?" You asked, and he didn't answer at first. You sat patiently, waiting for him to find the proper wording.

Eventually, you felt him take a deep breath beneath your resting head. "That is something I've had to think about a lot in the last six months."

"Is this about the 'mood' people say you've been in lately?" You asked, remembering Jimin's comment from earlier.

He laughed. "I assume Jimin said that."

You nodded. "Yeah, sorry."

"No, it's okay. They were all understanding the first couple of months, but it's been a while now so my moping probably has gotten a little old at this point." Jungkook shrugged.

You turned around to face him. The sky was getting darker, not too much longer before the sun completely disappeared.

"Can I ask what happened?" You played at the string of his hoodie, twisting it beneath your fingers as he stared at you.

He cleared his throat, pulling his hood over his head. "This is gonna sound lame, but me and my girlfriend broke up."

You couldn't help your surprised expression. "You had a girlfriend?"

He laughed, clearly amused at your shock at the idea of him being tied down. "Yes, I do actually have the ability to not seduce every pretty tourist I come across."

You felt your face heat up, but ignored it. "So, what happened between the two of you?"

He smile turned into a thin line, looking like he was still pondering the reason himself. "We only dated for about a year. She moved here for a job, but decided this place wasn't for her. She wanted to move to the city. I didn't. Impassable difference."

That reminded you of what Jihyo had been telling you at the bar earlier that day. How she had desires to move to somewhere with more opportunities, but she knew Taehyung would never want to leave his hometown. Seemed it was the same for Jungkook.

Both of you held forlorn expressions as the sky continued to darken around you. You reached for his hands, holding them in yours. "Looks like we're both scared of change, huh?"

"Seems that's only me actually. You're still moving across the country even though you're scared."

That was true. You knew you were going there no matter how badly the idea made your chest feel like it was concaving. "Yeah, but just because someone you love asks you to do something doesn't mean you have to do it. If you love this place, then why should you leave?"

He leaned back, his fingers digging into the sand. "Yeah, but then I do have to deal with consequences of people I care about leaving when I won't."

You pursed your lips. "Yeah, can't really help you there, bud."

Jungkook laughed, leaning in to ruffle the top of hood. "Did you just call me bud?"

You started into a fit of screaming giggles as he tickled your sides. You rolled over in the sand, jumping up to run down the beach. He chased after you, both of falling you into a fit of hysterics as he caught you. His arms wrapped around you stomach but you both suddenly crashed to the ground as the ground shifted beneath his feet.

You both turned to face each other with wide grins. You tuned on your side, cradling the side of his face as he did the same to yours.

"I don't know if this is something I should say, but I'm glad you stayed and that I got to meet you." You bit your lip, feeling guilty that something that was causing him so much turmoil was the reason you were getting to experience this.

He didn't seem angry about your words, however. Instead he moved closer, pressing a brief kiss to your mouth. "And I'm glad that I got to meet you before you moved away."

You both turned to lay on your backs in the sand. You stayed like that for a while, talking about your lives as you stared up at the stars.

You sigh. When people fall in love, the process in which they procreate happens naturally. For most heterosexual couples, at least. It just didn’t for you. Or at least not yet, but you don’t want to wait, nor are you sure you can since… time is ticking. You want a child. A start of a family.

The science of love and partner-picking is uncertain. A lot is by chance, even if there are pheromones and stuff that help guide people to a biologically fitting partner, but when the clinic’s website before you is filled with donors of every kind and from every part of the world, you’d be stupid to just pick one more or less randomly.

As part of the clinic’s process, you’ve undergone a series of tests, some more optional than others. The mandatory ones were to test your fertility since there’s simply no use in continuing if you’re unable to carry. But you passed it, and so the next was a general check-up to see if you were healthy enough. You are. No vitamin deficiencies, no infections, nothing.

You chose not to pay for the mental description, finding it a bit too intimidating. Besides, after more than 25 years on this earth, you think you know yourself well enough, your strengths and weaknesses and all that. The clinic still screened you to make sure you’re not entirely crazy, but you don’t need to know more than that.

This is where the list comes in. The donors have all undergone extensive testing, including mental ones. The website has the individuals listed by last name, and the small preview offers their age and abbreviations showing the most important test results, including what genes they carry for other things such as eye color.

Despite finding the task at hand imposing, you do know pretty well what it is that you’re looking for.

You’ve known for a while that you’re a carrier of Friedreich’s ataxia, a relatively rare, inherited disease. Since you’re only a carrier, you don’t show any symptoms, but if you were to have a child with another carrier, the risks of producing a sick child would be one in four. Then that child would have its nervous system damaged over time by the disease, causing movement difficulties and a shorter life expectancy. Not something you’d want to pass on to a beloved child exactly.

So the first criteria on your list is that the donor has to have been tested negative for it. Since it’s relatively rare, it’s not included in the standard testing, which narrows down your options by quite a bit.

Not that it’s a bad thing, honestly. Your options went from thousands to maybe two hundred, which is definitely a more manageable number.

You’re not expecting very much when you click on the next name, being redirected to another profile, at least not for your breath to slowly die out in your throat.

Quietly, you resume breathing as you read through the information presented.

Age: 28. Hair, eyes: dark brown. Height: 178 cm. Physical fitness: excellent. Substance use: limited (alcohol). MBTI type: ISFP/INTP. Psychosocial evaluation: cleared.

A lot more test results follow, but you don’t really care about the odds of your child having freckles or the donor’s shoe size.

It was the big ‘FNX: not a carrier’ that caught your attention, but it’s the thumbnail of the video that keeps it. From the little image, you see what could very well be the most handsome man you’ve ever seen. Definitely dark hair and eyes, just like described, but also a strong jaw and cheekbones, and what looks like a casual but clean choice of clothes. Curiously, you press ‘play.’

Like the clips you’ve watched before, the man is filmed slightly from the side as he’s seated opposite the female doctor, who will be conducting a short interview. The first thing that hits you is that he looks comfortable. He’s wearing a dark grey crewneck, and he’s got great posture, relaxed but not lazy, and oozes confidence in a good way. If it’s one thing you don’t want even the slightest risk of being inherited, it’s arrogance.

The man is asked to introduce himself and tell the interviewer about his life and upbringing. He speaks about his hobbies, his education, his grades, and his social life, all while your eyes are glued to the screen.

There’s just something about him. He speaks warmly and has no problem getting his points across. He’s respectful to a degree you don’t think you can fake for the purpose of an interview, and when he talks about his interests with a handsome smile, you feel your heart perhaps skip a beat.

“So, tell me, why are you interested in being a donor here?”

“When I lived abroad, my friend who worked at a clinic like this one wanted to test me. He said that my genes and traits are what many women look for in a donor, so I agreed to let him test me. Sure, it pays well, but I mostly just wanted to help. If there are people who can’t conceive and need a donor, or someone starting a family on their own, and I can help them, I’m very happy to do so.”

Below the video is the doctor’s summarized analysis, and a few words definitely catch your eyes.

Humble, honest, respectful, charming.

It almost puts you off. You haven’t seen anyone else described quite like that. Then again, you watched the video, and you were charmed, weren’t you? Almost too charmed, but you don’t think that’s really a problem. 

Carefully, you lift your pen, noting down another name, this one underlined multiple times.

Jeon J.

Around a month and a half later, you’re back at the clinic, being led into an examination room by your usual nurse, Soyeon.

“It’s so nice to see you again,” she smiles as she prepares the gyno chair. “I heard you went with Jeon?”

Judging by just how many donors the clinic has, you’re surprised to hear that she knows him by name.

“Uh, yeah. He seemed like the best match for me. Do you know him?”

It’s an understatement if you’ve ever heard one. To be honest, Jeon not only ticked off all of your boxes and more, but you’ve started imaging your future child, what they might look like, what they might inherit from you and what they’ll get from him.

After scrolling through his profile, you looked at the ones previously bookmarked on your laptop, but no one compared. Too arrogant, too weird, too quiet, too cold; no one was like him.

“Oh, not personally, but I’ve met him when he comes in for check-ups. Nice man,” she smiles, but you have a feeling she’s controlling herself in order to be professional.

You’re not sure if you’re envious of her getting to meet him or not. He doesn’t know you, doesn’t know you’ve chosen him as the biological father of your coming child. Right now, you’ve only seen him on a screen, and to be honest, the image you have of him is very good, almost perfect. What if you meet him and he’s not like that? What if you meet him and he doesn’t like you?

Of course, you wouldn’t expect him to like like you, but what if you ran into him here, and he looked at you in disgust? Thought ‘fuck, my genes definitely shouldn’t mix with someone like hers?’

It’s not the impression you got from him, but who knows? Perhaps never meeting really is for the best.

Gyno visits aren’t your favorite thing due to obvious reasons, and so you’re wearing a maxi skirt to not feel so naked when Soyeon examines you. She’s gentle, and it doesn’t take long before she rolls her chair back and removes her gloves.

“Well, you’re definitely ovulating, so we can go ahead with the insemination now if you’d like?”

A happy smile pulls on your lips, and you nod. “Sure, yeah.”

Soyeon leaves the room to fetch the sample, and you barely miss her presence, busy thinking about when your little baby arrives and what they’ll be like.

The next two weeks are… special, to say the least. You’ve told a few people of your plans in the past but only your best friend Jeongyeon knows that you’re actually in the process now. You know of week 12 as the magical week and that most miscarriages happen before that, and so you don’t want to break the news to anyone besides her yet, just to be safe.

But you feel fine. Really, really good, actually. It hasn’t been long, definitely not long enough to show, but it’s like you can feel it growing in you.

Despite saying you wouldn’t until you were further along and safely so, you do accidentally end up at the mall, looking at baby stuff with Jeongyeon, ‘just in case.’

You could do an at home test. The clinic said that you might get a positive result as early as ten days after the insemination, but that it’s safest to wait until after you’ve missed your period. You’ve bought three tests already, sitting unopened in your bathroom cabinet and waiting.

But a few days later, you wake up to bloody underwear, and your heart sinks. To rule out an early miscarriage, you end up taking one of the tests anyway, but the test is negative, and you most likely weren’t even pregnant to begin with.

Soyeon’s voice over the phone rings in your head as you open the heavy front door and enter the clinic. It’s early, barely 9 a.m., and for the most part, you feel the same as the last time, two months ago.

“It happens. Not very fun, of course, and I’m really sorry that it did, but it happens to quite a few women, actually. We’ll just wait until you’re ready and try again when you ovulate.”

At first, you spent a few days moping around your apartment, thinking ‘this was it,’ but after finally calling to tell the news, Soyeon did a great job reassuring you. And yeah, it makes sense that the first time doesn’t always take. So while you’re still a tiny bit worried, you do feel mostly calm, which is also incredibly important.

Before being led away to the examination room, you first meet with both Soyeon and your doctor, Namjoon.

Namjoon, attractive just like Soyeon and looking smart in a white coat, repeats what Soyeon told you over the phone, but he also goes deeper into the biology of it.

“So, it’s not unusual, and it doesn’t have to mean anything. You’re fertile, we’ve already established that and so is your donor; he’s got a great and healthy sperm count, over 200 million per milliliter.”

You nod, sitting with your hands in your lap beside Soyeon with Namjoon behind his desk. “So, we could have just chosen a bad time, even during ovulation?” you conclude.

“Yes,” Soyeon answers, “Or, you know, we do what we can to keep the semen samples good and healthy, but it’s not impossible that it was a bad batch, so to speak.”

“Yes. But we’ll double check the temperature and the thawing process, and if you still don’t become pregnant, we do offer three tries before taking other steps,” Namjoon smiles.

It does make you feel better.

“So, what do you want to do? Do you need more time, or do you want to go ahead and try again?”

“I’d like to try again, please.”

“I’m so sorry, I’m not sure what’s happened.”

You glance down at your hands in your lap where you’re seated in the same white chair as always.

Soyeon isn’t present, only Namjoon, and he looks sadly at you. “As you know, we’ve tried three times now.”

You only nod. Three times is what they offer, and none has taken.

“But it doesn’t have to end here,” he informs gently, sorting through a few papers on his desk, making you look up to meet his understanding eyes. “You chose Jeon as your donor, and since none of his semen samples took, we’ve had to inform him, and he assured us that he stands by his policy.”

“His policy?”

“Some donors have them. If three straws are used and none takes, he offers manual insemination.”

“Manual?” you ask because he can’t possibly mean—“What do you mean ‘manual?’”

“To rule out bad batches and faults during storage, he offers to come here to do it manually if you want. Intercourse.”

You’re not sure if you missed a page of the brochure or if you just skimmed over the guarantees because you don’t really recall reading anything about manual insemination. Intercourse.

“Although it doesn’t happen too often, we have rooms specifically designed for the purpose here,” Namjoon continues, obviously sensing your surprise. “We aid in everything. He travels here, and during one week, you meet every other or third day in the morning to have intercourse.”

“And he’s up for that?” you question, blinking in surprise.

“Yeah. Obviously, these ‘mishaps’ also affect his statistics, regardless of whose ‘fault’ it is, but most importantly, I think he’s just a good guy, honestly. If you want to, there are other ways to continue. You can always pay to restart the process and choose another donor.”

Pay again? It was pretty costly the first time, something you’d been saving up for for a while, and you’re not sure you want to pay again. What if the same thing happens?

But. Meeting him? Having sex with a practical stranger just so you can get pregnant?

“What would you do? I mean—if you were in my shoes?”

“Personally, I’d take the offer. It’s at no extra cost for you, and who knows, it might just take. If you really want him, that is. Otherwise, and if you can afford it, you can always choose another donor.”

You bite your bottom lip. How uncomfortable the thought of having sex with Jeon might make you, you know that you don’t want another donor. You want it to be him almost as much as you want the baby itself.

“Okay. I think I’ll do it.”

Your meeting with Namjoon finishes, and you promise to take at least a month to really consider it. In the meantime, he promised that Jeon will undergo more testing, specifically to make sure he’s healthy and void of any sexually transmitted diseases. You, of course, will be doing the same.

During that month, you do end up scrolling through the donor options again, but just like you guessed, you simply can’t see your baby having anyone else as their father. They’re all wrong. You don’t want to be shallow, but you want your child to have an easy life, and men that are too short or not conventionally attractive enough are skipped as well as too confident men or men who are too much like you, shy and a bit reserved.

Jeongyeon also offers her thoughts, and when exactly one month has passed, you dial the clinic’s number.

Probably the most nervous you’ve ever been at the clinic, you open the front doors. It’s 8 a.m., and yet you’ve never been this wide awake.

You spoke with Soyeon over the phone yesterday, and she talked you through the process. She told you that she’ll meet you and introduce you to your donor and that maybe two weeks after your… encounter is over, they—or you—can take a test. Jeongguk lives a few hours away, so after this week, he’ll go back, and if it takes, it takes, if it doesn’t, then… well…

You didn’t catch much sleep last night, your mind in overdrive as you pictured today. You’ve scrubbed yourself squeaky clean, shaved every little piece of fuzz off, and moisturized yourself soft. To make a good impression—or at least not a bad one—you’re wearing a light blue blouse and black jeans.

It’s not like you’re doing everything to impress him, because why does it matter if he happens to not like you? It doesn’t, but you at least hope he deems you good enough to have his child.

One thing you haven’t done is douse yourself in perfume, and you hope he hasn’t either. If the pull he seemingly already has on you really means something—like you being attracted to him because you’re biologically compatible—you’re very curious as to what he smells like to you.

“Good morning!”

It’s Soyeon who calls out the moment she spots you from the reception desk, and despite the early hour, she looks happy and awake, her long black hair pulled into a sleek, low ponytail.

“Good morning,” you reply, trying to match at least her friendliness.

“So, I heard he was meeting with Dr Kim earlier, but they should be here any moment now,” she says, glancing at her watch.

It’s only a second later that you hear voices coming from a corridor to your left, the same corridor that houses Namjoon’s office.

“And just double check that there hasn’t been a power outage, will you?” a male voice says—one you definitely do recognize, but not from your previous visits to the clinic.

“Of course, we’ll look into it,” you hear Namjoon agree as they come into view.

You feel your eyes grow wider and your breath slowly die in your lungs.

“There you are! Hi, we’ve been waiting for you,” Soyeon exclaims, gathering their attention, and instantly, your eyes meet his.

They’re definitely the same kind of sweet, brown eyes you’ve seen in pictures and in the interview video. The hair is different though, a little longer with a slight wave to it.

He’s about the same height as Namjoon, and he’s quite a bit taller than you and Soyeon when they approach you. He’s wearing a thin brownish-gray sweater with a collar and light blue jeans, and he walks relaxed with the same kind of attractive posture you noted before. In his hand, he carries a black duffel bag.

Maybe you were wrong about your pull to him meaning something because you’re pretty sure there isn’t anyone attracted to men who doesn’t feel that pull.

He calls your name, to which you smile carefully, suddenly remembering that he hasn’t seen so much as a picture of you until now.

“Yeah. Jeongguk?”

Although perhaps a dumb question, he smiles at your mention of his name, and you once again think that you truly wouldn’t mind if your child inherited that smile of his. It’s youthful and so infectious, it makes some kind of warmth spread through your body.

“Are you ready?”

You nod, “Yeah, sure.”

“Good, I’ve got the key cards, and everything’s supposed to be in order up at the room.”

When he turns toward Soyeon, you do too, but she blinks in surprise. “Uh, yeah. Exactly, everything’s been set up, just call the reception if you need anything. Or me, if you’ve got any questions.”

You smile and nod again, and she bows and excuses herself, leaving you alone with Jeongguk.

“You know your way around this place?” he asks, gesturing for you to follow him around a corner.

“Uh, no. I mean, I’ve been here a few times for examinations and such, but you know, that’s in the other part of the building…”

He hums, “Understandable. The elevators are this way.”

You follow him, secretly admiring his back and shoulders until he stops to press the elevator button.

“What about you then? I take it you’ve been here at least once?”

“Yeah. Not a lot, but a few times. It’s a big clinic, and I have family in the area, so sometimes I schedule my regular testing here while I’m visiting anyway.”

You knew, even from the video, that you really enjoyed his voice, but hearing it in real life is even better. He sounds calm, confident, and even… humble, like his profile said. So, while he’s intimidatingly handsome, maybe it’s his voice that’s keeping your heart inside your ribcage. He also isn’t looking directly at you.

At least until you’re inside the elevator.

Jeongguk presses the button for floor three and then steps back, placing his hands behind him and leaning back with his knee bent and foot placed against the wall.

Though sweet in the way he looks at you, he… looks at you.

“I’m not really supposed to ask, and I definitely get it you don’t want to say… but, what’s your… situation?”

It shouldn’t be shameful, yet you feel blood start to travel to your cheeks. 

“It’s just me. I’ve always wanted kids, but, well, it hasn’t happened, and I can’t really afford to wait much longer.”

It’s not only embarrassing that you need a man like him to donate his sperm; you’re also not even with an infertile husband, or another woman. You just couldn’t find someone. Through the years, you’ve dated a little bit, but nothing has lasted.

Jeongguk’s smile grows, and it’s warm. “Good on you for taking the matter into your own hands.”

“You don’t think that’s a bit… weird? Wouldn’t you rather have your kid—well, uh.. offspring… have two parents?”

Your eyebrows are raised slightly, because although you think a single mother can be a really good family for a child, the odds for a good upbringing are definitely better with two parents. Two people’s time and attention, two incomes.

“No. My parents divorced when I was three. I was lucky to have an amazing mother who raised me basically on her own. Maybe it would’ve been a bit easier to be two, but I was really happy. Besides, I assume you’ve already thought about backup, like a little support network?”

You nod, a little taken aback by his confession. But is it really so surprising that—what at least appears to be—a really good and respectful man was raised by a single mother? But he’s right. You’ve got your parents to help you, your sister and her family lives close by, and Jeongyeon has already started to beg for babysitting opportunities.

“Then, I don’t think your kid will have it worse than anyone else,” he grins.

A loud ding sounds, indicating that you’ve reached your floor, and the moment the doors open, Jeongguk pushes off the wall.

Smiling a little to yourself, you follow him. He walks about two steps in front of you, leading you toward a door.

“Here it is.”

Swiftly, he reaches into his pocket, retrieving something out of a black wallet. It’s the key card, you realize as he holds it against the handle until a click is heard.

You don’t know what your feelings for him are. Carefully interested? Slightly infatuated? Charmed? Doesn’t matter what you’d call it, it grows when he, without hesitance or even much thought, holds the door open and motions for you to enter first. Like it’s second nature.

You hear the door click shut behind you while you take in the room. It’s surprisingly big, but otherwise, it looks just like a hotel room. There are even closets for your clothes. Not that you’ll be needing it because you haven’t really brought anything other than a clean change just in case… who knows.

There’s a small mahogany table in one end of the room with two matching chairs, one on each side. To your left, in the other end of the room, is the bed. It’s big, the frame also made from that warm, dark mahogany, and its pristine sheets are white and crisp. It certainly looks clean, even with your knowledge of how dirty hotel rooms can be.

“This is yours,” Jeongguk speaks from behind you, and when you turn, he holds a white key card out to you. “The room is ours for a week, so technically, we can come and go as we want.”

“Oh, okay.” You take the card from him, your hands grazing, and you realize that it’s the first time you’re touching.

He takes a few steps into the room, drops his bag onto one of the chairs, and you stare at the key card in your hand.

When he turns to you, it’s probably the moment you actually realize what you’ve signed up for. You’re supposed to have sex with the gorgeous man in front of you, who might not even actually really want to have sex with you. He’s just doing it to be helpful.

“We should probably go over the… logistics before we start anything,” he suggests.

“Yeah, sure,” you agree, placing your bag on the floor and sitting down at the foot of the bed. You’re not exactly sure what he means, but you’re relieved that he’s taking the lead because you’re not sure what to do. You don’t know what you think of it—and you’re not brave enough to try to figure it out—but the chances are that he’s done this quite a few times before.

“Okay, so,” he starts, pulling out a chair in your direction and sitting down, his legs spread comfortably, “I don’t know how much you spoke about the biology behind conceiving? Or like, how much you know since before?”

You fight to keep your cheeks from burning because you’re both adults, and you think you’re doing a good job. “Uh, I mean, I’d say I knew a lot even before, and we also went over everything pretty well, I think?”

“Okay, good. I’m just asking because, well… there’s also the male biology… Since we’re here for a week, we need to decide how many times we want to do this. Namjoon told me your ovulation is set to start tomorrow, so we should really start today since the ovulation window is limited and sperm can live inside the female for up to five days. That way we maximize your chances. I’ll also need a day or two between…uh… ejaculations so that my sperm count is high enough.”

It makes you smile when he pauses a bit sheepishly to say the word “ejaculations.”

Perhaps it’s not always easy to speak confidently about, even if you’re both adults.

“It’s recommended to do it every other or third day to have an optimal count but either way is fine for me, so it’s up to you,” he continues. “Also, there’s research saying that doing it early in the morning could be good.”

Doing it. Maybe he’s a bit cute too. You inhale and exhale slowly, trying to keep your nerves in check in order to do the simple math in your head.

“Okay… so today is Sunday. So, if we count today, then… Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday? If that’s, uh, okay with you?”

You definitely do think you’re blushing a bit because you’re essentially asking him to fuck you more than absolute necessary. But what can you say, you really want to increase your chances of succeeding.

“Yeah, of course. I don’t mind.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Silence settles. Fuck, of course you’re making it awkward, but what are you supposed to do?

“So,” Jeongguk begins, “I guess we should get started, then?”

“Yeah,” you agree quietly, watching him stand up.

The nerves you managed to suppress earlier are returning and doing so tenfold. What if he doesn’t think you’re hot enough? What if you’re so unattractive that he can’t even get it up?

In a swift motion, Jeongguk yanks his sweater over his head, leaving him in a white t-shirt that showcases his tattooed arm, and you try your best not to stare.

“The reason I asked about your… situation earlier was mostly because I’ve noticed that doing this… it’s easier and definitely less awkward to pretend like it’s just a one-night stand.”

“A one-night stand?” you question for some reason, watching him fold the sweater and hang it over the back of the chair.

“Yeah. Unless you’re not comfortable with that? I could just, you know, come in you if that’s what you prefer, but…”

“No, a one-night stand is fine. Whatever makes it easier.”

He raises his eyebrows, a small smile still present.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that,” you rush to explain, “because I do find you really attractive, so I don’t mind sleeping with you, I definitely wouldn’t mind outside of this either. But the circumstances, you know…”

“Oh. I get it.”

You look down at your hands. Jeongguk certainly is trying to make it as easy as possible, but your heart is beating like crazy, and you think your hands are sweating too.

“Are you nervous?”

You don’t look up, just laugh a bit uncomfortably, “yeah.”

“Is there anything I can do? If you’re unsure about anything…”

“I don’t think so,” you start, glancing up at him. “You’re, you know… really, uhm… And I really don’t need you to like me or anything, but… you know…”

“Okay,” he stops you, “If that’s the reason you’re nervous, you don’t have to be.”

When you meet his eyes next, he’s smiling happily, and it makes you smile too.

You contemplate for a second. “Then, I have kind of a weird request?”

He furrows his eyebrows. “What kind of request?”

Now or never.

“Can I… smell you?”

Your answer doesn’t make him look less confused, only more. “...Smell me?”

You chuckle, embarrassed, but much less so than a minute ago. “Yeah, I know it’s weird, but you know, science says we’re more likely to choose a partner that smells nice to us, and those that do smell nice are often the ones with a complementary immune system or something. And you’ve ticked off all important boxes on my list, but I’d like to see…”

“If I smell good to you?”

“Yeah? If that’s too weird, then—”

“Go ahead.”

Your careful smile grows, and with his permission, you stand up, taking the three steps that separate you until you’re standing in front of him. He’s taller than you, looking down at you with an amused smile when you, with a sudden burst of confidence, stand on your tippy toes to smell his neck.

To keep your balance, your hands hold onto his biceps, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Trying not to be too weird, you at least keep your nose from touching his skin when you breathe him in.

And, of course, because he’s almost too perfect on paper, fitting you and complimenting you so well, he also smells divine. Like safety and strength and some kind of musk and wood and even a trace of… vanilla?

“Approved?” he asks, grinning when you step down, and you nod determinedly.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for, but you don’t smell bad or anything—quite the opposite actually, so I guess I’m taking that as a sign.”

“That you chose the right guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Good,” he says, his voice suddenly a lot quieter and more breathy than before, and you can feel how some sort of tension grows.

He grabs your hand to stop you from moving away, not that you wanted to anyway.

“So, you’re okay with doing it right now, then?”

His eyes search yours, and you find yourself lost in him already. He’s got such beautiful eyes, so dark and kind, but with a little bit of mystery in the depths. You’re intimidated by him, but it’s not really his fault; in fact, he makes you feel safe despite the nerves.

So you nod, biting your lip. You’re not sure if you’re actually breathing or not.