#bantanarmynet

Discreetly, you glance in his direction, noting the way he sits behind his desk, leaning back in his chair, leg crossed casually over the other, and flipping through document pages with an arrogance you can see, even from here. You absolutely hate how good-looking he is. Why does someone so infuriating get to look like that? It somehow makes his whole attitude even worse.

His low voice calling your name snaps your attention. "Get in here."

Sliding your chair out from under your desk, you follow orders.

“Yes, Mr Kim, ” you respond, standing with hands clasped in front of you. Your posture and all-black attire, particularly the skirt, were requested by him.

“Where was my usual tea this morning?” he asks, eyes unwavering from the pages he's absorbed in. 

“The shop was closed this morning, sir, and I thought it best not to go to the other one, as you told me their tea 'looks and tastes like noodle soup.'” Your heart races with annoyance, as you chew the inside of your lip, attempting to hold back any smart-arse remarks.

I’ll tell you where I’d like to put your tea, sir, I’d shove it right up your-

“Then, what is this?” He points to the mug you left on his desk in replacement, a look of disdain twisting his face.

“That’s the tea I made for you, Sir.”

His eyes meet yours for a second with a hard stare. “Right, well next time, how about...don’t.” 

Your teeth clamp together, jaw tensing as you struggle to bite back your retort, instead opting to take the tea and down it right in front of him. The hot liquid burns your throat as it slides down uncomfortably, and you carefully place the mug back on his desk, wiping the corners of your mouth with your fingertips.

"Is that better, sir?" You smile sweetly, but it’s written all over his face that he knows it’s not genuine judging by the glare he throws your way.

Your stomach somersaults nervously, worrying you've gone too far before his eyes fall back down to his paper.

“I have an unscheduled meeting in twenty minutes, it’s important, so make sure I am not disturbed by anyone. Are we clear?” He meets your eyes again, the intimidating aura he radiates hitting you fiercely.

“Y-yes, Mr Kim. Should I delay the ten o’clock meeting then?”

“You’re a smart girl; figure it out.” 

He looks back down at his work, seeming bored of your presence, but you stand there aghast as to what you can reply to that without getting fired.

“Get out.” He waves a hand, dismissing you.

"Right away, sir." You bow dramatically before leaving and closing the door, forcing yourself not to slam it and wishing you could go and scream into a pillow. 

Mr Kim Taehyung can kiss your arse.

Sitting back down at your desk, searching for anything to get your mind off the frustratingly rude man, when your mobile phone rings, surprising you. Even more so when you see it's your mum.

"Yes, mama, I'll be down this weekend," you say quietly into your phone once you're finally able to get a word in. Keeping your voice low to avoid your slave driver of a boss hearing your personal call.

Your mother’s squeal makes you giggle. "Like I'd miss my parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary celebration."

"How long are you staying for this time? It's been too long since I've seen my baby!" she stresses.

You can't help the smile that tugs at your mouth. "I know, mama, I'm still working on that."

"You need to tell that boss of yours that enough is enough before he ends up working you to the bone!" Her disapproving tone makes you feel at home.

You see Mr Kim heading your way, "Hmm-mmm, listen, ma, I've got to go; I'll see you this weekend. Love you." You hang up abruptly and get straight back to typing.

"Personal calls should be taken at personal times," he says firmly, heading off down the hall.

Heat flashes up your chest, and your attempt to bite down a retort wavers, "That would mean me being allowed a personal life, sir, " you call after him.

His steps falter for a brief moment before continuing on with not another word or so much as a glance in your direction. 

You swallow and let out the breath you didn't realise you'd been holding, envisioning hurling your phone at the back of his head. I wonder how hard I'd have to throw it to knock him unconscious or to at least give him a concussion.

Taking a long breath and trying not to grind your teeth, something that has become a habit lately and focusing back on your workload.

A short while later, Mr Kim is sitting in his unscheduled “important” meeting, meaning you could blissfully get on with paperwork without interruption. However, glancing up from your computer, you notice how tense and somewhat uncomfortable Mr Kim looks, something most uncharacteristic of him. So it does not surprise you when your work phone vibrates loudly at your desk. Looking down, you see the message "Save me," sent from him, your usual code system to get him out of something he really doesn't want to be part of anymore.

Getting up from your desk and striding across the space, you knock quietly on the door before entering.

"Sir, you have an urgent call on--"

"Ah, here she is," Mr Kim beams at you, a sight that is not only shocking because of how rare it is but also how breathtakingly gorgeous his smile is. You stand there frozen in your spot, unsure what has caused this sudden change in his mood. "No need to stand on ceremony, sweetheart; Mr. Jung is well aware of our upcoming nuptials." 

You stare at him blankly, wondering if he's perhaps having some kind of stroke and considering whether or not you should call an ambulance. He comes over to your rooted feet by the door, and before you can say anything, his arm winds around your waist and guides you over to his desk. You're hyper-aware of his hand on you in such an intimate manner and it infuriates you, boiling your blood liquid hot in your veins. It feels like everything's moving in slow motion while you attempt to piece together all the chaotic thoughts happening in your mind, but nothing makes any sense. 

Upcoming nuptials? Hell would have to freeze over more than once for you to be hitched to a man as rage-inducing as him. In fact, you'd rather be a miserable, shrivelled-up spinster living with a household full of cats than walk down an aisle where he's waiting for you.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, and please, call me Hoseok." Mr Jung stands up and shakes your hand, offering you a dazzling grin. You don't fail to notice his suspicious gaze raking over you and your boss. "So, a wedding, that sure is exciting, huh?" he asks you, raising an eyebrow as he waits for your response.

You feel Mr Kim's hand dig into your waist, sparking you to say, "Yes, very. Who doesn't love a wedding?"

Hoseok laughs. "It's true, they are such joyous occasions. Are you prepared? Is everything set, I mean?"

Before you can say anything, you hear your boss's baritone voice beside you, sending vibrations through your body and muddling your mind even more. "There are still a few things here and there to take care of, but I have faith it will all be done in time."

"Perfect." The man smiles at you. "So your families know about this wedding?" 

Hell, I didn't even know about it, so they definitely don't.

"I don't have any family; both my parents died years ago, no siblings or grandparents alive," Mr Kim admits, voice impassive. You can't help but be surprised by this new piece of information. You’re unsure if that was true or part of his weird ruse, but your heart tugs a little at imagining someone not having anyone, even someone as vile as him.

"Oh, I am sorry," Hoseok offers, "and what about your family?" He aims at you.

"We were planning on telling her family this weekend," Mr Kim interjects. “It's her parents' wedding anniversary, so we thought we'd go up there for the bank holiday and surprise them, didn't we, sweetheart?" 

You clench your teeth together to stop your mouth from popping open in shock. He squeezes you closer to his side, a movement that has you tensing your jaw in an attempt to keep the searing in your veins down to a minimum. 

"Yes, yes, we are," you add, forcing a smile.

"So what happens now?" Mr Kim asks.

You glance up at him, then at Hoseok, who seems to be scrutinising your every move. You resist the urge to squirm uncomfortably in Mr Kim's grasp.

"Well, you'll both have to come in for an interview at some point. Provided you both pass this stage and I deem this marriage legitimate then, we'll fill in the necessary paperwork, you'll no longer be deported and your new visa will be valid."

You no longer hear the words being said, everything becoming muffled and moving in slow motion. Deportation!? Legitimate marriage!? That's why he's made this up, so he can stay in the country. 

You feel your stomach drop to your feet, heavy, yet threatening to shoot up and out of your mouth, decorating his office carpet.

"Great. Is there anything else you need from us, Mr Jung?"

He taps his chin and stares at you quizzically. "Just make sure neither of you are lying, then we'll have no problems. A fine and prison time is not to be looked at lightly."

What!? You laugh nervously. "People actually get sent to prison for that?"

He nods. "Sure, it happens all the time. You could face up to five years in prison and a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar fine, and yet people still think that they can trick us." He rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Anyway, I'll be sending you both a letter about when and where your interview will occur, most likely in a few weeks, I look forward to seeing you both then." 

You shake hands before he's gone and both of you are rooted to the spot, staring after him. 

Soon enough, Mr Kim moves back around to his desk, flicking through his papers, his eyes focused as if nothing out of the ordinary has just happened.

You stand there frozen, waiting for some kind of explanation, and when nothing comes, you speak up, "Excuse me, sir, but what was that?"

He sighs as if bored by your presence and continues to focus on the files in front of him. "They were going to fire me once I got deported and give Mr Park my job."

You stare at him, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. 

"Don't worry, we'll get married and get a quickie divorce. It will be over in no time."

You feel like your feet will surely collapse from the weight of this burden that has suddenly become yours. Without asking or consenting, you've ended up in a situation you're unsure how to deal with or get out of.

"Sir," you finally speak, breaking through your stunned silence and swallowing the burning you feel rising into your throat. "I cannot marry you."

Finally, he drops his papers and meets your panicked eyes. "Listen, you don't really have a choice; if you don't, I'll fire you and ensure that any new job you apply for will have zero interest in hiring you. I'll make something up so terrible you'll be blacklisted, and where will that leave you, after all the hard work you've put in during the last three years? Hmm?"

You stare into his cold, dark eyes and know there's no hint of a lie or an exaggeration in his words. 

“All of those late nights runs to the grocery store for me, all the weekend calls and late night working will have been for nothing.”

You struggle to find the words, feeling your world crashing in on you and smothering you beyond belief. Feeling yourself being pushed against a rock and a mountain with nowhere to escape, when all your legs want to do is run.

You suck deep breaths into your lungs. 

He would ruin your career and everything you've worked so hard for. In one fell swoop, your life would be over. For the last three years your job has been everything, not allowing an ounce of a social life; no holidays and no relationships, nothing has existed outside of your job.

Not to mention, how could you afford your apartment if you had no job? You'd have to move back home with your parents to small-town life...the thought made your stomach churn, that was more frightening than anything. 

"If I do this, I'm taking a big risk here, so I'm going to need some assurances."

He smirks, sinking back into his chair and folding his arms across his chest. The material of his blazer stretched across his bicep muscles, giving him an even more intimidating edge.

"I wasn't aware you were in a position to make demands."

Your hands clench into fists at your sides, longing to make a connection to his perfectly chiselled jaw, as anger bubbles inside the deepest pit of hatred you have for this man.

"I could go to prison! You're not asking me to go on a business trip; you're asking me to marry you so you can stay in the country! So, you either give me what I want, or I quit here and now, and bye-bye, Mr Kim, hello, Mr Park." turning towards his office door, your face flushes with angry heat. Feeling brazen and reckless, two can play at this game and if you are going to do this, you are damn sure you're going to make it worth your while.

"Wait," he says quickly.

Glancing back, you watch the smugness on his features slowly die as he realises how serious you are. "What is it you want?"

"A promotion. Not a bullshit one you make up so I can continue assisting you either."

He sighs and massages his temples. "Ok, ok, fine. How about the head of a department?"

You've wanted that since you started at this company; ever since you were hired, that has been your focus and the only thing getting you through this role.

"Hm, which department?" You act coy, knowing there's only one answer you want to hear.

He rubs his face and groans, his cool, calm exterior well and truly forgotten. "Design. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Taken aback by how he could have known that you pause for a moment before composing yourself once again. "Yes. I want it in writing and signed by you." 

"Fine."

You nod, feeling a triumphant bloom expand in your chest.

"Are we done here?" He asks.

"Ask me nicely." 

His hands come down hard on the desk; an exasperated look withers his face. "What?"

"Ask me nicely to marry you."

His mouth pops open, closes, and opens again. His cheeks flush, and the sight makes you smile. Who would have thought something so simple would make him blush?

"That's ridiculous."

"Ok, goodbye, Mr Kim; I wish I could say nice knowing you." You turn and push his office door open.

"Alright," he calls. "Just….shut the door."

You can hear the pleading in his voice, knowing how desperate he is and wondering how much you should take advantage of that. You do as he says, step back into the room, and watch with unashamed amusement as he stands up and rounds his desk, closing the gap between you rather sheepishly.

He takes a deep breath as his eyes stay fixed on your blazer's lapels. "Will-"

"On one knee, please." You interrupt.

His cheeks darken as he prepares to argue, but he second-thinks as his eyes flit desperately between yours. He slowly sinks down onto the ground at your feet and plasters on a fake and yet still dazzling smile, "Will you, please, marry me?" he finally says, sarcasm dripping off of every word.

For a moment, you enjoy the sight of him on his knees in front of you, looking up through thick eyelashes, but your abhorrence of him stops your mind from going any further.

“Are you sure you both have to leave?” you whine, flopping onto Taehyung’s bed.

“For the tenth time Y/n, yes. My grandparents really need my help on the farm.” Taehyung says, reaching for one of his folded shirts that lay beside you.

“And you know if I skip going home for the second year in a row, my mom’ll show up on campus and literally drag me home,” Jimin adds, zipping up his suitcase. “Besides, I still don’t know why you’re being so dramatic about going home with Jungkook. You’d think you’d be excited to pretend to be his fake girlfriend with how whipped you are for him.”

In response, you fling the nearest article of clothing at him, which just so happens to be a pair of Taehyung’s underwear. “Shut up, don’t be an ass! I’d be more excited if he didn’t react the way he did when I asked.”

“He told you he was just nervous he’d fuck it up, remember?” Taehyung reminds you.

“Yeah, but still. I don’t know how the hell I’m going to last a week pretending to date someone I wish was actually my boyfriend.” Jimin and Taehyung share a knowing look when you’re not watching, but don’t say anything more.

With one of your cousins getting married at the same time as your university’s spring break, your family is ecstatic. They’re looking forward to seeing you after being so far from home. Being a student from another country meant that when you moved to South Korea for school, you would be leaving behind your large, close-knit family. You use any opportunity you have to see them.

The problem, though, is that you know as soon as you show up, you’ll get question after question thrown at you. You’ll be asked where your significant other was and when you were going to settle down. As the oldest cousin in your family, you’re used to the interrogation, but that doesn’t make it any less grating.

That’s why when your mom brought the wedding up and asked if you were bringing your partner, you said yes, but intentionally avoided saying who it was.

You’ve asked every member of your friend group. Unfortunately, with Taehyung, Jimin, Seokjin, and your roommate Sana all going home for the break, that left your closest friend out of the group: Jungkook.

Jungkook, who you have also been in love with since you met two years ago and whom you’ve been pining over for just as long. You didn’t intend on asking him, but after Jimin threatened to tell Jungkook that you wanted to ‘suck the soul of him’, you caved and asked him when the two of you were in the library studying for a quiz.

“You know how last month, I mentioned that my cousin’s wedding is coming up during spring break?” you asked suddenly.

“Yeah.”

“And you know how I told you the other day that I had plans for us to go abroad on vacation together for spring break?”

This caught Jungkook’s attention. He looked up from his textbook, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Mmhmm…”

“Well, I need you to come with me and pretend to be my boyfriend.”

“What?!” he said a little too loudly, earning a dirty look from a student at another table.

“Oh, come on, you know how my family is. Always up my ass about dating and settling down. They’re all going to give me so much shit if I show up alone, so I told them that I’m in a relationship.”

"And now you're asking me to do what? Be your plus one in a fake dating AU?"

This wasn’t the reaction you expected, so you tried to ignore the hurt you felt at Jungkook being so against the idea of dating you.

“Please? I’ll still pay for your ticket like I said I would. I’ll make sure not to be all sappy in public and make you uncomfortable.”

You watched as multiple unreadable expressions flashed across Jungkook’s face. Every second of silence had you regretting asking him more and more.

“Alright,” Jungkook finally sighed. “I’ll do it. And you won’t make me uncomfortable. I just don’t want to blow your cover, is all.” He scratched the back of his neck, nervously looking away.

Relieved that Jungkook didn’t seem as turned off as he did with being your fake boyfriend, you brushed off his hesitance. “Is that what you’re worried about? Don’t be silly. It’ll be fine. We’ll just need to work on our story, is all.”

You went back to your textbook, feeling less stressed than you had going into this conversation.

Next to you, Jungkook sent a panicked text to Jimin and Taehyung, telling them he won’t be able to survive pretending to be your boyfriend because he knows it’ll never be true. He wanted more than anything to tell you how much he loves you, but you don’t feel the same, so he’ll keep it to himself.

The flight home is a long one and has both you and Jungkook feeling restless in your seats. You’ve gone through the account of how you got together at least every four hours of the sixteen-hour flight to make sure it’s solid. Since your mom and siblings already know who Jungkook is, having met him multiple times over video calls, you luckily didn’t need to fabricate too much.

When asked how you got together, the story is that Jungkook confessed to you three months ago when you were hanging out studying one night. You’re going to say you’ve always had feelings for him, so you said yes, and so far, it has been a fantastic time together.

Even though you’re an expert at hiding any reaction about your true feelings towards Jungkook, saying it out loud made you ache. More than anything, you wanted it to be real, but you had long since made peace with the idea that you and Jungkook would likely never get together.

He isn’t the first person you’ve been friends with that you had developed feelings for. There have been a few other occasions, but the first was in your first year of middle school. You had developed a crush on a boy you’d known all year and told him during a school dance, thinking it would be the perfect scenario to confess how you felt. Unfortunately, you had misread some supposed signals from him because he flat out rejected you and wasn’t too kind about it. You still remember the harsh words about how you would “never be his type,” and the laughter that followed.

Soon after, word had spread to your friend group, and he, along with a few others, stopped speaking with you. Just like that, you had lost some of your close friends because of a silly crush. You know Jungkook isn’t comparable to a childish teenage boy and that your current friends won’t abandon you (seeing how they all know how you feel). However, the fear and the hurt still lingers like a sour taste at the back of your mouth. The thought of ruining your friendship with Jungkook terrifies you. If that means you have to pine over him for the remainder of college and into adulthood, then so be it.

Upon finally landing and collecting your bags, your mind is still swirling with what-ifs around if you should admit your feelings to Jungkook, but you’re finally stopped when you hear your name being called across the airport.

Turning with your bags still in hand, you see your mom, brother, and sister waving you down as they rush over to you. Before you can properly greet them, your mom pulls you into a tight hug.

“Y/n! Oh my god, you’re here!” She sounds like she’s going to cry as she rocks you back and forth. “You’re finally here!”

“Yes, I’m here. I missed you.” You hug her back, getting misty-eyed yourself.

“Alright, mom, can we hug her too?” your brother calls from behind her. Reluctantly, she releases her grip on you so your siblings can each give you hugs of their own.

The four of you fall into chatter before you remember Jungkook standing awkwardly beside you.

“Ah, right! Jungkook, you’ve already met them on video chat, but this is my mom, my sister Kayla, and my brother Ray. Guys, this is my boyfriend, Jungkook.”

“Hi,” he chirps out, offering a small wave. Your mom immediately pulls Jungkook into a hug.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you in person!” He looks taken aback but returns the hug anyway.

After all the greetings are done, your brother leads everyone through the airport and into the parking lot. Your sister lags behind to walk next to you as Jungkook, your brother, and mom walk ahead of you, making conversation with him.

“Wow. He’s even hotter in person,” Kayla comments, eyes very clearly fixated on Jungkook’s ass in his favorite pair of ripped jeans.

“Um, can you not?!” You push her half-jokingly, but she barely notices.

“Oh, chill out. I’m not going to steal your boyfriend from you. I’m just admiring the scenery, is all.” You shoot her another look. “Fine, I’ll stop.” She loops her arm through yours as you continue outside to your brother’s parked SUV.

Ray and Jungkook pack both of your suitcases into the trunk as you pile in, your mom taking shotgun and Kayla sitting to one side, leaving you to sit between her and Jungkook.

The ride through traffic takes a little time, but your mother fills the silence with talk of your cousin's wedding even though you’ve already talked about the whole thing at least twenty times.

Your cousin and her soon-to-be wife had asked your mom to hold the wedding in the backyard of your childhood home. Your house was always where your family would convene for reunions, birthday parties, and barbeques, simply because it was the biggest, so naturally, this was your cousin's first choice.

Even though you already know this, and all of the other small details of the wedding, it doesn’t stop your mom from pulling up pictures on her phone. She shows Jungkook all of the centerpieces and goody bags they’ve already made. She gushes about how excited she is to see one of her nieces finally get married and says it while giving you a look that you know all too well. “And you’ll be next, right?” you can practically hear her asking you.

As if sensing your discomfort rising, your brother pipes up, launching into a story about a new client he’s building a house for and how hard it is being an architect. He shoots you a look through the rearview mirror, and you nod, letting him know how grateful you are at the conversation rescue.

“Wow,” you breathe out once the car is parked and everyone is standing in the driveway. Even after all these years, your childhood home has stayed the same. Pale blue paint on the outside with the same white shutters and white door. The lawn is slightly unruly, but the tree you’ve fallen out of plenty of times still stands tall and proud.

“It’s good to have you home,” your mother says from behind you, squeezing your arm before heading up the walkway.

Once inside, the all too familiar scent that smells like cleaning supplies and freshly cooked food surrounds you as you lead Jungkook upstairs. The two of you would be staying in your childhood bedroom, which your mother has, surprisingly, left untouched.

Upon entering, you can’t help but laugh as you plop onto your bed. It’s truly the same, you think, as you take in your My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy posters that line the walls and your desk that still holds a stack of Twilight books. Your queen bed even has the same pale pink comforter you left on it when you went away for college - clean and freshly washed, of course.

Jungkook eyes a few pictures you have hanging up on a corkboard above your desk with some of your high school friends and can’t help but smile at the sight of you in braces and mid-2000s fashion. Even if he had been in the same country as you in high school and met you then, he’d still love you the way he does now.

“So…” you speak, breaking the silence that had taken over the two of you. “This isn’t too weird, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“This.” You gesture between the two of you and your bedroom. “All of this. Lying to my family and being in my bedroom.”

“You act like I don’t hang out in your bedroom back at school.”

“Jungkook, you know what I mean. We’ve never shared a bed.” You shrug, playing it off as a casual observation as if your hand isn’t trembling at the thought.

As if the realization hits him at the same time, Jungkook’s eyes widen slightly as his gaze darts to the bed. “Oh, right. Well, I mean, I can always just sleep on the floor when everyone else goes to bed so they won’t know. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You don’t need to do that. It’s not that big of a deal. I was just saying.” Kicking yourself for even bringing it up, you try to think of a way to steer the conversation away from sleeping arrangements. You feel relief when there’s a knock on your door, interrupting the awkward atmosphere. “Come in!”

Your sister pokes her head in, eyes taking in your body still sprawled on the bed with Jungkook standing close by, not having moved from where he was observing your photos.

“Aunt Cora and Aunt Tia are here,” she informs you.

“Okay, we’ll be right behind you.” You jump up, anxious to leave the awkwardness behind, and follow her out of the room, Jungkook in tow.

“Did I interrupt?” Kayla mumbles in your ear, her eyebrow wiggling.

“No. We were just talking.” You clear your throat, hoping Jungkook isn’t listening.

“Mmhmm. Talking. Whatever you say. Tonight, can you just please remember that we share a wall? I can put my headphones on when I sleep. I just ask that you give a girl a heads up.”

“Kayla!” You nearly trip down the stairs at her words, your cheeks instantly heating up as she speaks to both you and Jungkook.

Thankfully, none of you can come up with anything else to say before your Aunt Cora spots you and immediately rushes over to pull you into a hug.

You spend the rest of the evening greeting your aunts and cousins, including your cousin Nikki and her fianceé Diana. All embarrassment about your arrangement with Jungkook is forgotten as you bond with your family. You haven’t seen your family since you left for school, so you prioritize getting caught up in everyone’s lives.

Jungkook himself also spends plenty of time bonding with the family. Once you play 20 questions with your family, they begin to question him about his family, how he grew up, and Korea in general. He graciously answers all of their questions, his figure visibly relaxing, and he even eventually falls into a more casual conversation with your cousin Jason.

At some point, your five-year-old cousin Gina decides that she likes Jungkook the most and proceeds to mold herself to his side for the rest of the night. Seeing how comfortable he is holding and playing with her makes your heart clench, and your cheeks hurt from how much you smile as you watch him.

“Looks like he’s good with kids,” your mom muses from next to you as you help her prepare some ears of corn for boiling. You both watch Jungkook at the kitchen table with Gina in his lap, reading her one of her books that she shoved in his face.

“Yeah, he is.” You hand her a corn cob as you hear Jungkook over the chatter of the rest of the family, making his voice a pitch higher while reading.

“Does this mean grandbabies are in the future?” This question jolts you out of your trance and you turn to meet her smirk.

“Mom!”

“Oh come on, don’t ‘mom’ me. He’s cute, polite, he’s good with kids, and it’s obvious you really like him. You haven’t even been here an entire day, but I see the way you look at him.”

“I-I don’t-”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. The way you both ogle each other is cute.” She shrugs and puts the last ear of corn into the boiling pot.

“What do you mean we ‘both ogle each other?’” You’d been ready to abandon the conversation until she mentioned that.

“Just like I said, honey. You’ve been doing it all evening. When one of you isn’t looking, the other is making lovey eyes at the other. It’s obvious you love each other.”

“Aunty! We lost the remote!” One of your cousins interrupts the conversation, running over to your mom and tugging at her shirt.

She tsks at the child but nods. “I’ll come and help you find it. Y/n, keep an eye on the stove, please. The macaroni and cheese should be done any minute now, just make sure no one comes over to pick at anything before it’s done.”

As much as you want to question her more on the looks she claims are mutual, your little cousin grabs her hand and all but yanks her away from you. She has to be imagining things. You’re sure the only looks Jungkook gives you when you aren’t looking are ones of exhaustion at having to pretend like this. It’s only day one, and you still have an entire week like this to go.

Dinner goes off without a hitch. Being surrounded by your family with your mom’s cooking makes you miss being back home with everyone. Still, having Jungkook at the table reminds you of the new life you’ve built in Korea, and you tell yourself that you could never abandon all of that.

After dinner and watching a movie, where half the room ends up talking through it, your family members begin to file out, saying their goodbyes and that they’ll be by tomorrow. You, Jungkook, and your siblings clean up and do the dishes before you all head upstairs into your separate bedrooms for the night.

Once all of the commotion has died down, and it’s just you and Jungkook again, the awkwardness from earlier returns. Only this time, you’re lying in the quiet dark of your bedroom with Jungkook in bed next to you.

Your mind is racing as you try and sleep. You’re distracted by the even sounds of Jungkook breathing next to you and the way heat radiates off of his body and onto you. You’re not sure if he’s actually asleep or if he’s also suffocating in the tense air of the room, but you’re too scared to ask. Eventually, you turn away from him, shutting your eyes and trying to count sheep to see if sleep will find you. The harder you force yourself, though, the tougher rest is to come by.

That’s why when you wake up the following morning, you can practically feel the bags underneath your eyes weighing you down as you get ready for the day. Your sister demands that you go with her to get a dress for the wedding since she, as is typical of her, waited until the last minute to get something to wear.

Jungkook stays behind at Kayla’s request, stating she wants sister time. You have an inkling that she actually wants to use this time to grill you about your relationship. Your suspicions are confirmed as you recline in the chair outside of the fitting room she’s in.

“So...you look pretty tired this morning, Y/n. Long night?” Her suggestive tone clues you in almost immediately.

“Yeah, the time difference is really fucking me up. I’m way too used to Korea time now,” you answer smoothly. This is partially true. You’ve been in Korea for nearly three years now, and your body quickly got acclimated to the different time zone.

You keep your unrequited love anguish to yourself.

“Mmhmm,” Kayla hums. She throws open the dressing room door, sporting a pale yellow spaghetti strap dress.

“Yep. And no on the dress. That color does you no justice whatsoever.” Waving her back into the room, you glance at your phone, not missing the huff she lets out.

“Oh, come on, Y/n! Give me something. I’ll accept mere crumbs even! You don’t have to tell me how big his dick is or anything. Just tell me he’s at least making you cum more than once!” Her loud tone echoes off her dressing room walls and catches the attention of an older woman walking by. She gives you a dirty look which you return with just as much malice, and she picks up the pace and leaves the area.

“Keep it down, okay? But, yes, he does.” Or rather you wish, but again, this is something you think and not vocalize.

“Thank you. If you told me he wasn’t doing it for you, I would’ve lost it. Remember that guy you tried to hook up with at that one party who couldn’t even stay hard and-”

“Anyways, any more questions?!” you interrupt, not wanting to revisit that chapter of your life.

“Yes,” Kayla starts as she steps out to showcase the next dress: a flowy black, strapless number. “Tell me more about him! I know the bare minimum from you talking about him when you were just friends, and I know last night you told everyone how you got together, but what’s he like? What do you like about him so much?”

“First of all, put that dress in the maybe pile. I know you have one more, but this is a strong contender.” You wait for your sister to disappear back into the dressing room and sit back in your chair. “What do I like about him? Well, he has an amazing sense of humor. He’s one of the funniest people I know, other than Seokjin, who you’ve also virtually met, but Jungkook always knows how to make me laugh no matter what. Last year, in our public speaking course, he made this joke while this girl was presenting, and I laughed so hard we got kicked out of class, but I was still laughing in the hall, so much that I got lightheaded and fainted.” You chuckle at the memory and remember waking up in Jungkook’s arms while he ran for his life to the infirmary with you.

“He’s also extremely supportive. I think it’s because he’s so hardworking and passionate about what he loves himself, which is also admirable. Still, because of that, he’ll back you on anything that he knows you care about. The number of times he’s let me ramble to him about Animal Crossing, even though he doesn’t play, is truly a blessing. He’s also crazy considerate and will literally give his all for people he loves. Oh, and the way he remembers things that I’ve mentioned to him maybe one time a year ago is beyond sweet.

“Also, did you know he can sing? The boy has the voice of a literal angel. Oh! And did I tell you he wrote me a short song for my birthday last year? I sobbed like a fucking baby. He kept saying it wasn’t much because it was only a chorus and a verse, but he’s also weirdly modest for someone who’s so perfect at everything, which he is, and he knows it but he isn’t a cocky asshole about it, you know?”

You didn’t realize you’d gone on a tangent until your sister’s knowing smile is staring straight at you. When had she even come out in a new dress?

“So, what you’re saying is, you're so utterly in love with Jungkook?” She chuckles, admiring herself in the nearest mirror.

“I-fuck, I love him so much.” Your friends know how you feel about Jungkook, but being able to say it all to someone else makes you feel lighter somehow. You let out a long sigh of relief at finally being able to say out loud the reasons you’re in love with your best friend.

“Well, I’m glad you’re in love and that you’re happy. Now, yes or no to the dress?” She gestures to the knee-length, red wrap dress she’s currently wearing, and you flash her a thumbs up, genuinely loving this dress the most. “Perfect! Let me go buy this, then we can get lunch, and you can listen to me complain about my lack of any sort of love life!” Kayla smirks at you before disappearing to change back into her clothes.

Your mind immediately goes back to Jungkook and stays on him through the rest of the day. Even when you’re on the way back home, he’s all that fills your mind. When you see him standing outside next to your brother as he works on his car, handing him tools as they laugh about something, your heart swells even more than you think it can.

Maybe, just maybe, you’d tell him how you feel soon. The brilliant smile he gives you when you get out of the car and walk over to him has you hoping that you’d get a similar one if you ever confess your feelings.

That night is spent similar to the one before. Your family arrives soon after you and your sister get back, and you help your mom cook dinner again. She even has Jungkook help, which he makes no fuss about as he chops and preps what she directs him to.

It’s after dinner, while you’re all crammed in the living room, again barely watching a movie, that the doorbell rings.

“Got it!” your brother calls as he hops up from his spot on the floor. Curious as to who it is, you watch from across the room as he opens the door and breaks into a smile. “Hey, man! Long time no see!” Ray’s outburst has everyone turning to look, and your heart nearly stops beating as Ray tugs your ex-boyfriend into the house.

“Hey, Namjoon is here!” Ray announces as he gives the room a wave. Your mom, sister, and cousin Nikki are up next, rushing over to hug Namjoon, followed by a few of your cousins that know him pretty well too.

Your mom leads Namjoon over to everyone else and introduces him as a refresher. When his eyes land on yours, your skin heats up under his gaze, and you want more than anything to bolt out of the room.

“And this is Y/n’s boyfriend, Jungkook. Jungkook, Namjoon’s family, has been our next-door neighbors since they were both babies. He and Y/n were attached at the hip the entire time they were growing up, and they even dated in high school.” She gives Namjoon a fond look as she continues, this time directing her comments at him and ignoring the way you choke on your drink at her words. “Jungkook and Y/n met while she’s been away at school. He’s Korean too,” your mom supplies as both men study one another. Namjoon makes a move to shake Jungkook’s hand, but the younger man doesn’t reciprocate and simply gives him a half-hearted wave.

There’s a beat of silence from the adults in the room as an uncomfortable aura takes over. Wanting out of the situation, you shoot up from the couch and beeline for the kitchen without another word. Behind you, the conversation slowly picks back up, and you do your best to tune it out.

It’s been nearly four years since you’ve seen Namjoon, and the sight of him has you in a tailspin. The last time the two of you spoke was when he broke up with you over Skype while he was away at college on the West Coast and you were about to graduate high school.

Namjoon always finished at the top of his classes the entire time you’ve known him, so the fact that he graduated early, a year before you, wasn’t surprising. It put a strain on your relationship with him, though, as long-distance wasn’t easy. The two of you had been dating since your freshman year of high school, and he was your first everything. Your first love, your first actual date, and the first person you’d ever slept with. Both his parents and your mom just knew that you’d get married and live happily ever after.

You were under the impression that it would be the case, too, until he threw a wrench in the plans you were building together. You were going to leave the East Coast and move to California to go to a nearby school so that you could be together once more, but all it took was a video call, a few months before your high school graduation, for him to tell you that he’s realized how hard medical school is. He couldn’t balance a relationship on top of it and suggested you not come and just apply to wherever you want to go.

The heartbreak of your first love hurt just as much as most songs say it does. You were a mess after the breakup, shutting yourself off from friends and losing interest in doing anything other than sitting in your room and lamenting over what you and Namjoon were. He, of course, had given you the classic “let’s be friends,” but aside from Instagram and being friends with his parents on Facebook, you more or less stopped talking to and about Kim Namjoon.

If people asked, you told them that you went to school in South Korea because you wanted a change—a fresh start—which was true, but you really wanted to get away and escape to a place where people didn’t know you as Namjoon’s ex-girlfriend, but as your own person.

You’ve grown and healed from your heartbreak and have gotten over it. For the most part, at least, because upon seeing him just now, just as tall, tan, and gorgeous as he’s always been, leaves you feeling a flurry of different things.

“Hey,” Jungkook’s sudden voice from behind you has you nearly jumping out of your skin at the kitchen sink. You’d gotten so lost in your memories that you didn’t realize you were standing motionless for as long as you have been.

“Hey! Sorry, I got distracted.”

“Are you okay? You seem off.” He looks concerned as he studies your face, making you more nervous.

“I’m okay. I’m just tired. I’m going to go shower and go to bed.”

Jungkook nods, “I’ll come with you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do-” Jungkook doesn’t give you a chance to protest as he heads back towards the living room.

“Y/n and I are gonna call it a night,” he calls out to your family. You wave off various shouts of protest, telling everyone you’ll see them tomorrow.

Ignoring the almond-shaped brown eyes that you feel watching your every move, you walk as quickly as your legs will take you up the stairs and into your room. Jungkook follows behind, not saying anything as you grab your pajamas from your suitcase and declare that you’re off to take a shower. You needed to be alone as soon as possible to arrange your frantic thoughts.

Jungkook nods and watches you go, saying he’ll shower after you. As soon as he hears the water running, he digs his phone from his pocket and calls Seokjin.

“Hello?” he answers on the 3rd ring.

“Did you know her ex would be here?”

“Jungkook? What are you talking about?”

“Y/n’s ex-boyfriend is here. He’s a family friend, and they dated all through high school, and now he’s here, and he’ll be at the wedding.”

“Oh wow. Are you worried about him? Like, do you think he’ll try and get back together with her or something?”

“Fuck, I don’t know! He came in, and he said hi to everyone, but he looked straight at her. Even when he said hi to me he was only looking at her.”

“And Y/n? How’d she react?”

Jungkook frowns, recalling how scared you looked when you saw Namjoon. “Bad. She bolted out of the room, and then we came upstairs to get ready for bed.”

“Hmm,” Seokjin hums, “sounds like she isn’t too thrilled to see him. That could be a good sign. If she isn’t looking forward to seeing him, then it doesn’t sound like you have too much to worry about.”

“I guess,” the younger man mumbles, “but I don’t trust him. I can’t let him be alone with her.” Jungkook paces as he talks, doing his best not to yell his frustrations too loudly the more he thinks about Namjoon and the possibility of him trying to win you back.

“Well, if you would just tell her you’re in love with her, then this wouldn’t be an issue, now would it?” Seokjin says, sounding exasperated. To be fair, he has reason to. All of their friends know how in love Jungkook is with you, but being his roommate, Seokjin has had to hear it the most.

“Hyung...”

“Yeah, yeah. She’ll never love you back and all that shit. All I know is that Jimin, Tae, Sana, and I have a bet going on whether or not you two will get together during this trip. Don’t make me lose money. I have a shopping list I need to go through.”

Jungkook sucks his teeth in response. “Alright, I’m hanging up,” Seokjin calls out a goodbye as Jungkook ends the call. He tosses his phone aside and flops onto the bed.

When he agreed to be your fake boyfriend for this trip, he initially didn’t want to, not being confident in himself that he wouldn’t blow his cover, but then he told himself it wouldn’t be so bad.

He was wrong.

Seeing you so comfortable and happy with your family these last two days only makes him ache for you even more. The glow that you have just from talking to your sister or playing with your cousins is one he’s never seen before, and seeing you genuinely happy, quickly becomes his favorite sight. The way your eyes sparkle and the musical laughter that comes out of your mouth only serves to make Jungkook fall harder and faster.

Knowing there’s someone else here that you have a history with makes him more anxious than he’s ever been. Back at school, Jungkook only had to fend off a few guys a handful of times. Most people on campus saw how you and Jungkook were practically inseparable, which tended to ward away potential suitors. This is different. This is someone who hasn’t seen you and Jungkook together, and most likely won’t be intimidated by your relationship. This guy knows you in a different way than Jungkook does—has experienced being with you in a different way than Jungkook.

This fucking sucks. He’s going to have to do a better job of making it clear that you’re together, even if you aren’t together, together.

At some point, he gets lost in his thoughts because he doesn’t even hear you come into the room.

“Jungkook?” He jumps at your voice and sits up so fast that he gets a little dizzy. “You okay?”

As his eyes focus, he watches you toss your clothes from the day into the hamper by your door. His eyes immediately lock onto your notably short sleep shorts, admiring how soft your legs look.

He gulps when you bend over to dig through your suitcase, and the tiniest bit of your asscheeks peek out from said shorts.

“I’m going to go shower now!” He almost yells as he trips over his own feet to leave the room. You watch him go, not thinking much of it since you’ve been wrapped up in your head since you got into the shower.

Once you’re ready for bed, you climb under the sheets before Jungkook and check your phone to see you’ve missed a few text messages from your sister.

Kayla: Hey, you ok? I saw your face when Namjoon walked in

Of course, if anyone is going to notice your reaction, it’s your sister.

Y/n: Idk. I didn’t think I’d just see him suddenly, you know?

She replies almost instantly.

Kayla: I know. I didn’t even know Nikki invited him. He told everyone he initially wasn’t going to be here until tomorrow but he wanted to come earlier to surprise his parents apparently

Y/n: Well I wish he hadn’t come at all. Now my head’s all fucked up

Kayla: Just focus on Jungkook. I know exes can be messy but remember your boyfriend

You let out a cynical laugh and barely even flinch when your phone falls on your face. It would be much easier to remember your boyfriend if you actually had one.

Surprisingly, you fall asleep soon after that text exchange, waking back up when Jungkook gets into bed. You peek an eye open and watch as he ruffles his towel-dried hair and turns off the lamp on the nightstand before lying down. He smells like his favorite soap that he packed for the trip, and your earlier stress melts away as you take in the familiar scent.

Feeling more at ease, you begin to drift off again until the feeling of Jungkook shifting and tossing an arm around your waist has you jolting. His breathing is even, and he makes no other movements or sounds. Did he fall asleep that fast? You know he can fall asleep quicker than anyone in your friend group, but it was barely ten minutes since he laid down.

Whether or not he’s asleep, you decide not to question it. You’d give more than anything to have Jungkook hold you the way he is right now, so you close your eyes and drift off back to sleep, enjoying the weight of his arm on your body.

Waking up with Jungkook’s arms still securely around you is in no way the worst way to be. You stay in this position as long as you can, but eventually, he pulls himself away and drowsily stumbles out of the room. As you’re listening to him shuffle down the hall and into the bathroom, Ray pops his head into the room.

“Hey, morning. You and Jungkook should get ready soon. Mom invited the Kims over for breakfast, and they should be over in an hour or so.” He flashes you a sympathetic look at the groan that comes out. “I know, I’m sorry. I tried to nicely hint that she shouldn’t, but you know how mom gets.”

“Yeah, believe me, I know.” You grumble from under the blanket you pulled over your head.

“Kayla and I will do our best to deflect any awkward questions or topics that come up.”

“Y’all are the best.”

“I know!” your brother calls, already halfway down the hall.

Jungkook comes back from the bathroom soon after, toothbrush in hand. His hair is still ruffled from sleep, and his eyes still look a little droopy. The way your heart races at the sight of him in the morning is all you need to know about your still very relevant crush on him.

When you tell him about the company you’re having over, you see a visible frown etch itself onto his face. He nods but doesn’t say anything and instead moves to his suitcase to get his clothes.

The two of you get ready for the day in silence, though you barely make note as to why Jungkook may be silent, as all you can think about is being so close to Namjoon again and talking to him after literally years.

As fate would have it, you’re the one that has to answer the door for Namjoon and his parents when they show up. With your mom monitoring the hot stove, your brother at the store for more juice, and Kayla in the bathroom, that just leaves you while Jungkook sets the table.

“Y/n! Oh my goodness, look at you!” Namjoon’s mom sweeps you up into her arms first, cooing in your ear about how good it is to see you after so long.

“It’s great to see you too, Mrs. Kim.” You can’t help but smile back at her. Your feelings and romantic history with Namjoon aside, his parents, his mom especially, have always been nothing but sweet and supportive, and you are genuinely happy to see them again.

When she finally lets you go, Mr. Kim pulls you into a much quicker, but still affectionate hug. Namjoon attempts to reach for you next, but you expertly evade his incoming embrace, and once his parents slip their shoes off, you follow them to the kitchen where your mom is calling out a greeting.

You take the empty seat between Jungkook and Kayla, fixing your attention on the food in front of you as everyone takes their seats. Ray and your mom are on either end of the table while the Kims sit across from you. Predictably, Namjoon sits between his parents so that he’s directly in front of you.

As waffles and scrambled eggs are passed around, your mom asks the Kims about their most recent vacation to Malta that they just returned from. During a story about Mrs. Kim and a stray cat outside of their hotel, you feel a socked foot give your calf a tap. Glancing up, your eyes meet Namjoon’s, and he smiles at you, small enough that no one notices, but enough that you see the way his dimples pop into his cheeks.

He gets a frown in response from you, but you do find yourself biting your lip to stop any traces of a smile. He can’t just waltz in here, looking as handsome as he always has, and expect you to just play nice with him. Seeing how your last real conversation was him breaking up with you, you couldn’t just pick up as best friend’s after he broke your heart.

“Y/n?” You look up suddenly and make eye contact with Mrs. Kim, who’s looking at you expectantly.

“I’m sorry?”

“I asked how you and Jungkook met.”

“Oh. I met him through our mutual friend Jimin. Jungkook transferred to our college halfway through his first year and shared a class with Jimin, who I had become friends with pretty much on the first day of school.”

“Aw, how sweet. Did you begin dating right away?” She prods. Everyone else had some form of interest in hearing your story, including Namjoon, who was staring at you, almost unblinking.

“Uh, no. We only started dating three months ago. We were friends until then.”

“How cute! Namjoon’s father and I were friends before we began dating too. Now look at us,” she sighs wistfully, giving her husband a loving look over Namjoon’s head which he returns.

“Well, you know, only about 28% of college students end up marrying their significant other after graduation.” Namjoon shrugs focused on cutting into his pancakes. “Not everyone is so lucky.”

“Oh, stop it, Joon!” His mom chastises with a smack on his arm.

“I’m just being realistic, I mean when you think about it-”

“Hey, mom! Why don’t you tell the Kims about the caterer for the wedding?” Kayla cut in, stopping Namjoon in his tracks and allowing your mom to chime in happily.

You whisper a thank you under your breath to your sister, who nods in return. When your eyes meet Namjoon’s across the table, he’s wearing an unreadable expression and continues to do so for the remainder of the morning.

Throughout breakfast, very few questions about you and your relationship with Jungkook are asked. Any that do come up, Kayla and Ray do their best to ward them off, including any other comments Namjoon could make. You barely remember any of the stories that get swapped due to how preoccupied your thoughts are.

At the end of breakfast, you quickly volunteer to clean up and carry as many plates as your hands can take to the kitchen.

You’re in the middle of rinsing them and loading the dishwasher when Namjoon comes in, startling you.

“Sorry. Came to bring you the rest of the dishes.” You wordlessly take the plates and cups as he hands them to you, trying to do your best and ignore the palpable feeling in the room. Namjoon’s presence unnerves you as you finish and when you turn around after starting the dishwasher, he’s still there leaning against the counter.

“Um, did you need something?” The kitchen feels so much smaller with how close he’s standing to you.

“Y/n, I think we should talk.”

“About what?”

“About the fact that we haven’t spoken to each other in so long.”

You go from nervous to annoyed in no time at his words. “And whose fault is that? You’re the one who dumped me, remember?”

“Yeah, and I shouldn’t have done that, but we agreed we’d stay friends.”

“We did, but it’s kind of hard to do that, when the man you loved rips your heart out, and just the idea of him causes you pain.” You hate the way your voice cracks at the end of your sentence. The last thing you want is to cry in front of him over your past relationship.

“Y/n, I’m truly, really sorry. But you weren’t the only one who was hurt. It wasn’t exactly easy to just end things the way I did.”

“Well, you could’ve fooled me. You dumped me in less than five minutes!” Tears are now brimming in your eyes, and you know he sees it.

“Y/n, please.” He reaches for your arm, and you snatch it away.

“I don’t need you to comfort me.”

“Yeah, your little boyfriend will do that for you, huh?” The attitude in his voice only serves to make you angrier.

“You know what? You have no right to be mad that I’m with someone right now, and I don’t need to stand here and talk to you.” Before you can leave, Namjoon’s hand wraps around your wrist to keep you.

“Wait, I-”

“Y/n?” Jungkook appears in the doorway, eyes locked to Namjoon touching you. “You okay?”

“Yes, but I’m going upstairs to lay down. I’m still tired.” Namjoon doesn’t put up a fight when you yank out of his grasp again and stomp out of the room. You say your goodbyes to the Kims, telling them that you don’t feel well, and they immediately fuss over you, saying they’ll bring you soup later and to get some rest.

After your mom says she’ll bring you some ginger ale soon, you’re ascending the stairs with Jungkook trailing behind, who commented that he’d make sure you lay down and rest.

You barely make it into the room before the tears that you’ve been holding back since you saw Namjoon spill. Jungkook closes the bedroom door and crosses the room instantly to scoop you into his arms.

He stands there holding you, letting you cry on his shirt for as long as you need. The sound of your muffled cries in the fabric of his shirt is all that’s heard. Once you’re only sniffling and wiping your tears with your hands, Jungkook leads you to the bed to sit down with you. He waits until the room is completely silent before he asks anything.

“So, are you going to tell me about him?” You already know that the ‘him’ he’s referring to is Namjoon. You’ve admittedly never told your friends about him because you really just wanted to forget. It was something you hoped you’d never have to bring up if you could help it. In retrospect, this was a foolish thing to think, and that was obvious now.

You let out a loud sigh and finally decide to be honest.

“Like my mom said yesterday, we’ve been friends since we were single-digit aged. We grew up together, and in my freshman year of high school, he asked me out, and I said yes. We dated all through high school until the year that I was graduating. He graduated a year before me because he’s basically a genius and went to Stanford for medical school because he didn’t want to stay on the East Coast.

“The plan was for me to follow him to California and go to school near him, but he decided to break up with me over Skype when I was months away from graduating. He said medical school was hard enough, and he couldn’t handle maintaining a relationship at the same time. He claimed he wanted to do it earlier than when he did, but he couldn’t talk himself into doing it until it was last minute. From there, we just stopped talking all the time except the occasional holiday or birthday text, and then we stopped talking altogether, and I ran away to South Korea, and here we are.”

Jungkook pulls you into another hug halfway through your story because you started to cry again. He hates seeing you like this; sad, defeated, and still so clearly in pain. Listening to you cry is breaking his heart alone, and he wants more than anything to make it go away. He doesn’t know how to help you, but if it starts with holding you as tight as he can, he will.

The rest of the morning and afternoon is spent with you and Jungkook lying in bed, talking more than you have since you’ve been friends. You tell him more about your family and who you were when you grew up in this house. You talk about him and growing up in Busan, and he says how badly he wants to take you to his hometown (which you will be doing during the next break, according to him).

At some point, your mom comes to check on the two of you and tells you dinner is ready, but she lets you eat dinner in your room, sensing you and Jungkook are having time to yourselves. When you go to bed that night, Jungkook lies closer to you and neither of you mind very much.

The day may have started as something you were dreading, but now the only thing you feel is the immense love you have for Jungkook.

Unbeknownst to you, Jungkook feels the same way as he lays behind you, relishing this time with you and pretending that you feel the same as he does.

The rest of the week goes by in a blur after that. While you’re not directly in the wedding party, you love your cousin, so you’re willing to help your mom and aunts prepare for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself. You spend the week making phone calls to the photographer and the videographer and making sure the cake will be ready for pick up the morning of. Jungkook stays busy too, helping your brother and a few of your cousins make sure all of the tables and chairs are probably set up in the backyard.

Even though you’re on the trip together, you and Jungkook barely get to socialize as much as you’d like after that day spent in your room, given how quickly the days pass and how busy you find yourselves. Luckily, this also means that you don’t have to see much of Namjoon, but that doesn’t stop him from texting you nearly every day.

At first, he apologized for making you feel uncomfortable at breakfast the other morning. Then he began to ask questions about what you’re doing during the day, if you’ve seen any good movies lately, what your favorite classes are, and asking you to share some songs you’ve been listening to recently. The conversation stays very surface level, and it's clear he’s trying to re-establish some semblance of a relationship, but you’re not sure how you feel about it. Just last week, you had given Namjoon no thoughts, but now you’re thinking about him more than you have in years.

By the time the rehearsal dinner rolls around, you feel both emotionally and physically exhausted and can’t wait for tomorrow, when the wedding will finally be here. You’ll be glad to see your cousin get married to the love of her life, but between your current feelings for Jungkook and your dormant feelings for Namjoon, you feel as though you’ve been through hell and back.

The backyard is set up in anticipation for tomorrow, with a few round tables positioned on either side of the yard and a clear path in between that leads to the large tree in your yard where the ceremony itself would take place.

You’re sitting at the same table as your mom, grandma, siblings, and Jungkook. Namjoon and his parents are at the table directly behind you, close enough that Namjoon simply needs to turn in his chair to talk face-to-face with you. During dinner, conversation among everyone is light, and you even put up with Namjoon asking you questions about school and some of your other friends back in Korea. Admittedly, you’ve had a few glasses of champagne to deal with the emotions swirling in your mind, and they’re catching up with you the more the night goes on.

While various family members offer toasts to your cousin, you’ve had at least three more drinks, and you’re feeling a heavy buzz settle over you. At some point, Namjoon turns his chair all the way around and is reminiscing about your high school days with you. It feels nice to talk to him freely once again and share jokes and stories that only the two of you know. Of course, you do have alcohol swimming through your veins, so you can’t say it’s just because you’re finally able to be completely comfortable with him again.

When your aunt brings out cupcakes for dessert, you’re on what you know should be your last glass of champagne. You’re so wrapped in laughing at everything Namjoon says and letting him occupy your attention, that you don’t even notice the way Jungkook is frowning from next to you.

He himself has been throwing back drink after drink since Namjoon first decided to strike up a conversation with you. He noticed that you started drinking as soon as you all sat down at the table at the start of dinner tonight and lost count of how many he saw you down.

Instead of stopping you as he should’ve, he wallowed in silent self-pity next to you while Namjoon got closer and closer to you and did his damndest to ice Jungkook out of the conversation, even though you attempted to include him when you could.

Jungkook isn’t sure how many drinks he had, but he was sober enough to notate every time Namjoon’s hand brushed against your knee or grazed your exposed shoulders. When Jungkook saw you come out of your bedroom in the form-fitting sundress that hugged your body, he could barely keep his eyes off you, but now, knowing another man other than him was enjoying seeing so much of your shape, it made him want to shield you and hide you away back inside the house.

You, on the other hand, think nothing of the subtle touches from Namjoon. It seems almost natural when his hand rests on your thigh or your hand.

“So,” Namjoon says, loud enough for Jungkook to hear from beside you. “How long have you been with him again?” He jerks his head in Jungkook’s direction, and it takes a few seconds for your mind to catch up.

“Nearly four months?” Your response comes out as more of a question than a definitive answer.

“Yeah,” Jungkook backs you up, listening intently.

“That’s a pretty young relationship. That would explain why you don’t seem very couple-y.”

“What?” Jungkook hisses, sitting up straighter in his chair and ignoring how the bistro lights above him spin.

“I’m just saying, the handful of times I’ve seen you two interact, you don’t hold hands or hug or anything. It’s a little weird.” Namjoon shrugs.

“Maybe we don’t like PDA,” Jungkook supplies through gritted teeth. You nod in agreement.

“Really? That’s funny. When Y/n and I were together, she was all about PDA.” Your former boyfriend sends you a wink that has heat creeping up the back of your neck.

“Joon, we were teenagers.” Your eyes dart to Jungkook, who’s frowning deeper than you think you’ve ever seen him.

“Yeah, but still. You could barely keep your hands off me, not that I’m complaining. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it.” Your eyes are transfixed on his plush lips as he speaks, and he must know because you watch as his tongue swipes slowly across his bottom lip.

Jungkook scoffs and takes a deep breath before grabbing your shoulders and turns you towards him from beside you.

“Jungkoo—” Your sentence is cut off by Jungkook’s lips smashing against yours.

Your eyes slip shut as you very quickly give into the kiss. This is the moment you’ve been waiting for since you first came to terms with the fact that you were head over heels in love with your best friend.

As if the kiss is written into a cheesy romantic comedy, everyone around you melts away. The voices of your family become dull and nondescript as the lights above your head become fuzzy. You know this isn’t the alcohol making you feel like this; this is what it feels like to kiss the man you’ve been aching for all this time. Your eyes start to mist at some point, but that’s also when he pulls away.

You gasp for breath, eyes still glazed over and fixed on Jungkook. His cheeks are flush, and he’s staring right back at you.

Namjoon lets out a scoff and excuses himself. Jungkook breaks your gaze to watch the older man go, a chuckle leaving his lips.

“Serves him right,” he murmurs.

Logically, you know Jungkook only kissed you the way he did to prove Namjoon wrong. It was to make your fake relationship appear genuine, and it seems to have worked, but all you can think about is his lips.

It’s why you lean forward again, catching him off guard with another kiss, but he doesn’t pull away. Instead, his large hands grasp your hips, drawing you closer to him. Your own hands are reaching up, intending to grip his brunette locks, but before you can get there, Kayla’s voice has you snap out of it.

“Ay, y’all are drunk, which I get, but take this upstairs, please. There are children, you know!” Sheepishly, you meet her eyes, along with the looks from a few other family members at neighboring tables.

“Sorry,” you and Jungkook say together, turning back to the table, both of you down the glasses of water next to your empty dessert plates.

Your visiting family members only stay for an hour or so longer, calling it an early night to get as well-rested as they can for the big morning. You and Jungkook offer to help clean up, but your mom makes your brother and sister take you both upstairs, declaring you both too drunk to be useful.

“We helped you upstairs, but we’re not helping with anything else. Figure it out yourselves.” Kayla says as she dumps you onto your bed. She and Ray both leave you bottles of water before leaving you alone. You and Jungkook are lying next to each other, still fully clothed with only the lamp on your side of the bed turned on.

You’re not as drunk as you were earlier, thanks to the copious amount of water you drank throughout the remainder of the night, but you’re still tingly and can feel a headache trying to creep in. As much as you’d like to get up and change into your pajamas, the desire to lay here and dream about Jungkook’s lips on yours is much stronger.

“Can I tell you something?” Jungkook speaks, making you jump at the sound of his voice.

“Huh? Yeah.”

He doesn’t answer immediately. A few seconds of silence go by before he speaks.

“I liked kissing you.”

“What?” You sit up too fast and instantly regret it, but you’re more focused on wrapping your mind around what you just heard.

“Sorry, was that weird? Did I just make this weird?” Jungkook jolts up too, visibly trying to steady himself.

“No! I, uh, I liked kissing you too.” His espresso-colored eyes crinkle in the corners when he gives you a genuine smile that has his front teeth poking out. The smile is gone as quickly as it appears, his face scrunching in concentration as he zeroes in on your lips.

He’s moving slow, but you know he’s coming towards you, his lips approaching yours again, and you make no move to stop him.

This time the kiss starts fast as he pulls your body close to his. Making up for the missed chance you didn’t get outside, you finally get a good handful of his hair between your fingers, and he groans in response. The gruff sound is felt in the pit of your stomach, shooting straight from there to your core.

You may not be sober, but there is still a voice in the back of your mind screaming at you, telling you that you’re kissing your best friend. Your best friend is running his warm hands over your shoulders and down to the front of your dress. Your best friend’s fingers are scrunching the fabric of your dress until it’s pulled high enough to expose the skin of your thighs.

“J-Jungkook,” you manage to say as his lips move to your neck. Your thoughts waver slightly at the sensation, nearly forgetting what you want to say.

“Hmm?” he questions, teeth now nibbling on the spot he was kissing.

“You’re drunk. Are you—do you know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I do. I want you so bad.” Jungkook pulls back, meeting your eyes. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

“Yes,” you breathe out.

“Good.” Jungkook helps you stand then, pulling your dress up and completely off of your body, tossing the fabric to the side of the room. His nimble fingers reach around you to unhook your bra, and that’s next to fall aside. You had forgone panties tonight, thinking nothing of it with the dress being so long, so you get to watch as his pupils dilate as they take in your completely naked body.

Feeling self-conscious under his scrutiny, you move you cover yourself, but he reaches out to stop you.

“Don’t hide from me.”

You answer him by leaning forward and kissing him, catching him off guard, and he trips, falling backward onto the bed. This new position doesn’t stop you from crashing your mouths together, savoring the taste of him again. His hands find your breasts, cupping them roughly and pulling on your nipples, which has you dry humping his muscular thighs.

Jungkook doesn’t stay on his back for long and quickly flips you over, his frame hovering over you. Your eyes follow his every move as he unbuttons his shirt, devouring the sight of him. His smooth skin, his built torso, and his tattoos that creep up his arm to his shoulder all have you clenching your thighs.

“Like what you see?” he teases, hands playing with his belt buckle.

“Jungkook, please take the rest of your clothes off.” Jungkook hesitates at your begging tone, only for a second, but recovers soon after and does as you ask. He leaves your body long enough to pull his slacks and boxers down, and you let out an actual whimper at how breathtaking he looks completely bare. His hard cock stands proud, just waiting to fill you up.

“Shh,” he motions behind him to your bedroom door as he repositions himself lower, on his belly between your thighs. “Your family’s outside. You have to be quiet.”

“Sorry, I-oh shit,” Jungkook is only between your thighs for what feels like a millisecond before his wonderful lips latch onto your clit, sucking hard enough to have your back bowing off of the bed.

You’re plenty wet enough for him to slide a finger into you, pumping it in time with his mouth as it moves against you. Your fingers tangle in his hair again as you hold him in place, bucking your hips up softly into his mouth. Soft slurping sounds fill the room as Jungkook eats you out better than anyone ever has. Not that you’ve had too many other partners, but the urgency as to which he moves and the skilled way his second finger slips in and crooks at just the right angle automatically put him at the top of the list.

Jungkook’s fingers move at a faster pace as he works you open, your breath coming out in frantic exhales as you get embarrassingly closer to an orgasm. Both hands find his head, fingers combing through the strands before gripping tight. Jungkook lets out a moan against you, the sound sending tremors through your body, and that’s all you need before you begin to unravel.

“Jungkook, I’m cumming, I’m cumming,” you pant out. The hand that isn’t knuckles deep in you comes up to cover your mouth just in time for you to let out a high-pitched moan. Your body shakes as you cum, squeezing your thighs around Jungkook’s head, and he stays exactly where he is.

You’re still shaking when he pulls his face away and obscenely licks his lips in front of you.

“That was—I mean—you—oh my fuck.” you babble out, mind still reeling from the feeling of his lips.

“If you thought that was good, I’ve got something else for you.” Jungkook motions to his cock, hard and red, and you open your legs impossibly wider. He scooches himself up, lining up with your wet lips. “Oh, I don’t have a condom if you—”

“Fuck a condom, I need you in me now, Jungkook.” His eyes widen momentarily at the commanding tone in your voice, but he doesn’t say anything else. Instead, he enters you in one slow motion, the two of you moaning in unison once he’s buried to the hilt.

“Holy shit, Y/n. You feel so fucking good.” He closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths at the sensation of you. He knew you’d feel amazing if the day ever came to be with you like this, but he didn’t expect to be so eager to burst at the first feeling of your silken walls around him.

“Please move. Please,” you beg. Jungkook counts to three in his head before beginning to rock his hips; the shallow motion alone has you panting. “Faster.” you plead through gritted teeth as you attempt to move your hips quicker.

As much as he doesn’t want to cum quickly, your desperation spurs him on, firmly grasping your hips and sitting up for better leverage. His eyes drink in the sight of you with your flushed, damp skin and needy pout. Your bottom lip is between your lips, and your hands desperately grab for any part of him that you can reach. This alone is all Jungkook needs to start thrusting into you faster; quick nut be damned.

You do your best not to make too much noise, but the way that Jungkook’s cock is stretching you out makes it difficult. You’re aware of how the bed begins to shake with the force of his thrusts, but you don’t care. He leans down while his hips are working to attach his lips to your neck, nibbling and biting at the skin which has your eyes rolling to the back of your head.

“So good, so good,” Jungkook chants into your moist skin, hands clutching your soft thighs.

“Fuck, don’t stop,” you whine. Your hands move up to clutch his shoulders, your nails digging into the thick skin there, but he doesn’t feel it. All Jungkook feels is you, and all Jungkook thinks about is you.

“Y/n,  I’m going to cum. I can’t hold it.” He’s panting as his thrusts become frantic, his hand fumbling to find your clit between your sweaty bodies.

The way in which you squeal lets him know he’s found the hard bud as he begins rubbing in rough circles. Your breathing becomes more erratic as you feel tears prick the back of your eyes at the pleasure.

“M-me too. I’m cumming. Jungkook!” Your body shakes violently as your second orgasm hits you and your mouth opens in a silent scream. Your cunt squeezing him impossibly tighter is what causes Jungkook to unravel as he cums right after you, his hot seed filling you, quickly dripping out around him.

The only sound in the room for a few seconds is of the two of you breathing heavily. Jungkook’s cock begins to soften, so he slowly pulls out, both of you hissing at the sensation. Your thighs are sticky with cum, and the rest of your body is covered in sweat, but be it the alcohol or the post-orgasm bliss, you don’t care at all. You feel better than you have this entire trip, and when you glance over at Jungkook, he’s on his back, a goofy smile on his face.

“Wow,” you say to him, and he looks over to meet your eyes.

“Yeah. Wow,” he breathes, echoing your sentiments.

You giggle, which is quickly followed by a yawn, the alcohol still swirling in your veins and making you feel both giddy and spent. Seeing your exhaustion, Jungkook reaches over the side of the bed and hands you his button-up shirt to clean up with.

You wipe yourself with as much energy as you can muster before flopping onto your side, facing Jungkook. He turns as well, the two of you facing each other with drunken smiles. Just as your eyes close, you feel Jungkook’s lips place a quick kiss on the tip of your nose, and that familiar tug on your heart that he causes is back and is all you think about as you fall asleep, Jungkook following immediately after.

“Hello! Get your asses up, lovebirds!” Kayla’s voice jolts you out of your sleep. When you sit up, feeling groggy from the night before, you see your sister’s head poking in your bedroom.

“What?” You reach for your phone on the side table to glance at the time. “Oh fuck!” The wedding starts in three hours, and you’re not ready in the slightest.

“Yep. You’re lucky Nikki and Diana are late too! Their car got a flat, so they’re waiting on AAA.  Get moving!” When she leaves the room, Jungkook stirs next to you. When he moves to stretch his arms above his head, the quilt covering him shifts down, and the sight of his bare chest reminds you very quickly of the night before.

You fucked Jungkook.

You and your best friend that you are in love with got drunk and had sex.

“What time is it?” Jungkook grumbles, fingers ruffling his messy hair. You’re reminded of just how soft the strands felt in your hand as he ate you out.

“We’re late. We need to get ready now.” You say in a rush as you climb out of bed. The cool air of your bedroom serves as a reminder that you’re completely naked. You catch Jungkook’s eyes as he turns towards you and watch how the brown orbs widen as he scans your body in the daylight.

Grabbing your pillow, you cover yourself and shuffle backward to your suitcase. “I’m going to go shower in my mom’s room. You can take the main shower.” Jungkook clamors out of bed with his pillow covering his crotch.

“Y-yeah, okay.” When he’s turned to his suitcase, you do the same, pillow now covering your ass while you search for your robe. Once it’s on and cinched tight, you grab your underwear and dart out of the bedroom without another word.

Your mom is in her room when you enter, coming out of her closet with the dress she’ll be wearing.

“Hey, morning, baby. You’re late!”

“I know. I’m showering in your bathroom.”

Your mom hums in response but thankfully doesn’t try to continue a conversation as she continues getting ready. You already know the rest of the day will be difficult, as you keep replaying last night with Jungkook. Still, you do your best to remind yourself that today is about your cousin and her special day and not your drunken decisions that could very well lead to the destruction of your friendship.

Luckily, once you’re out of the shower, your sister barges in to start on your hair and makeup together which helps distract you. It’s easy for you to take your mind off last night between her and your other cousins, who arrive shortly after, followed by Nikki and Diana.

On the other side of the house, Jungkook is in a similar situation. He spends his entire shower cursing himself for not being able to keep it in his pants last night. He was drunk, but he still knew what was going on. He knew he was having sex with you and what this could mean for the two of you, but he did it anyway. His biggest fear that he’d somehow fuck up your friendship due to his feelings for you was coming true as far as he’s concerned.

He was thankful that your brother had come to find him when he was out of the shower and dressed to help make sure everything in the backyard is up to par for the wedding. He busies himself, helping to rearrange tables and placing decorations where they should be.

In between saying hello to the rest of your family as they pile into the house and finishing getting ready, he sends a text to the group chat of Seokjin, Taehyung, and Jimin.

Jungkook: In case anyone is wondering, I’m a fucking dumbass

Jimin: Silly Jungkookie, we knew that already

Seokjin: *pretends to be surprised*

Taehyung: What’d you do this time

Jungkook: Y/n and I had sex last night

Jimin: WHAT

Seokjin: WHAT

Taehyung: WHAT

Jungkook: I don’t have a lot of time but long story short we got drunk and fucked last night

Jimin: Wow

Seokjin: You bastards owe me ₩22000!

Taehyung: No! You said you bet they’d get together by the end of the trip. It’s not the end

Seokjin: End of the trip, almost the end, same shit. PAY ME

Jungkook: We’re not together

Jimin: WHAT

Seokjin: WHAT

Taehyung: WHAT

Jungkook: We fucked, fell asleep, now we’re getting ready for the wedding. We didn’t talk about it all. She covered herself and ran out to get ready. I screwed up

Taehyung: Why do you think that? Maybe she was just nervous

Jimin: Yeah I mean it’s a lot you know. Like surprise I fucked my best friend

Jungkook: Idk like I said we were both drunk and horny so it just happened. She’s probably scared that I thought it was something other than a hookup

Seokjin: C’mon JK, do you really think Y/n is like that?

Jungkook: Hyung idk ok. It wasn’t a great post-hookup reaction

Taehyung: Talk to her after the wedding. You can’t just leave it

Jungkook: We’ll see

Jimin: Jungkook! Talk to her!

Jungkook: Gotta go. Everyone is about to go take their seats

Seokjin: Jungkook come on

“Hey.” The sound of your voice on the other side of your bedroom door has Jungkook quickly tucking his phone away. You step into the room when he calls back a hey in response, and Jungkook feels himself sputter. He had seen the dress you’d be wearing before you left school, but seeing it on you is entirely different.

The strapless light pink dress hugs your form better than anything Jungkook has ever seen on you. The fabric looks as soft as he knows your skin is and stops a few inches above your knees, giving him a fantastic view of your legs. Your hair is styled, your makeup is done, and Jungkook wants nothing more than to close the gap between the two of you and take you into his arms. The clear gloss you wear has your lips shining under the lights of your bedroom, and he aches to kiss you again, if even only for a few seconds.

“Ready to head downstairs? They’re starting the ceremony soon.” He nods dumbly back at you and follows you down to the backyard. The two of you greet family members you hadn’t seen earlier on the way and take your spot at the table you were seated at last night.

Jungkook’s eyes narrow in Namjoon’s direction, and he receives a smirk in response from the older man. Jungkook wants to smack it right off of his face. He can’t wait for this day to be over so he can potentially never see Kim Namjoon again if he can help it.

You have similar thoughts as you greet Namjoon and his parents, him giving you a soft smile in return. You make a mental note to have a proper conversation with Namjoon before your trip is over. You need to talk about everything that’s happened this week and decide what’s next for the two of you if anything at all. But for now, you push that away as the signaling of the start of the ceremony begins to play.

Everyone watches as your cousin’s two sisters and three brothers in her wedding party make the short trip from the backdoor to the large tree in your backyard. Diana’s wedding party follows after them, and they all join your uncle, who is ordained and will be conducting the marriage.

When the music switches to “Here Comes the Bride,” all eyes are on your cousin as her step-dad walks her down the aisle, followed by Diana and her dad. Your eyes mist over as you watch your cousin, whom you grew up with as if she was your sister, take her spot in front of her wife-to-be as your uncle begins his speech.

You’re not one to cry at romance and weddings, but something about seeing someone so important to you making such a huge life decision has your already fragile emotions even more sensitive. You wipe away a few tears with your napkin and feel Jungkook’s hand slowly tuck into yours, giving you a squeeze. It catches you off guard, and when you glance over at him, his cheeks have a dark red blush dusting his skin. You squeeze his hand in response and a small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.

The reception starts with everyone sharing hugs and tears, then transitions into the party part as the hired bartender begins mixing drinks. The catering team your family hired begins bringing out food, and the DJ (who is another cousin) starts playing a surprisingly well-put-together playlist.

Intending not to have another incident like last night, you only nurse two drinks and spend most of the afternoon dancing with your sister. Even though it’s evident to you that you and Jungkook still have something uncomfortable hanging between the two of you, your family is none the wiser, and your sister makes him dance with all of you anyway.

You end up enjoying your time and all thoughts of the night before, and your general drama is forgotten until you’re going back outside from a quick bathroom break.

Namjoon is in the kitchen leaning against the fridge by the backdoor, and stops you with a hand on your arm before both feet can step outside.

“Hey, Y/n, can I talk to you?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” You hesitate only for a second, eyes glancing outside. Everyone else is preoccupied, so no one pays attention to you backing up into the house.

“Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush. I miss you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I miss talking to you. This week has shown me just how much we’ve grown apart and how awkward it is with us right now, and I hate it. I want us to be friends again.”

“I guess you should’ve thought about that before you dumped me over Skype, then stopped texting me.” You hadn’t thought before you blurted it out, but it feels good to say it.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have ended things the way that I did. That was shitty of me. And I truly didn’t mean to stop talking to you. School just took over and occupied all my time, and by the time I had room to breathe, it just felt like it was too late to reach out.”

“You didn’t even try, though, Namjoon! All I got at first was obligatory holiday texts, then even that stopped. And yeah, I know, phones work both ways, but for fuck sake, I flew to the other side of the planet to start over and not think about how you literally ripped my heart out. I wasn't really feeling up to just giving you a casual call.” You do your best not to raise your voice, but your emotions are working to quickly get the better of you.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry, and I can’t even begin to describe how shitty I felt when I did it; how shitty I still feel! Breaking up with you was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I missed hearing your voice and seeing your face, even over a video. I missed sending you dumb memes and getting good morning and goodnight texts from you. I missed knowing that when I came home, you’d be here to see me.” Namjoon moves closer to you, taking your hands in his. “Please forgive me. I want to get to know you again. I know the romance ship has sailed, and that’s not an option anymore, but can we rebuild our friendship?”

His words are promising and sweet and make you feel warm inside. The idea of having your best friend back nearly makes you sob in relief. You can’t lie and say that underneath the hurt that you don’t miss Namjoon too. You grew up together, and he was your first everything. Those feelings don’t just go away.

“Namjoon-”

“Please? Do you want me to beg? I’ll get down on my knees and beg you, but Y/n, you’re one of the most important people in my life. I can’t let you go back across the world and think I’ve lost you for a second time.”

You sigh, gripping Namjoon’s hands. “Listen, I’m not about to tell you we’ll be best friends again who stay up on FaceTime all night or text all day every day, but we can work on it.” Namjoon smiles at you, relief visibly washing over him. You feel a weight of your own lift off your shoulders. Things won’t be the same as they were, and your friendship will need a lot of work and time, but you have to start somewhere, right?

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. Y/n, you have no idea how-” Namjoon’s sentence is cut off when Jungkook bursts into the kitchen and grabs him by the collar of his shirt, yanking him away from you.

“Leave her the fuck alone!” Jungkook pulls Namjoon outside and shoves him, the older man nearly tripping backward. “I’m sick of watching you hit on Y/n all goddamn week! You’ve been bothering her since you showed up, and it pisses me off!”

Everyone at the wedding stops what they’re doing at this point. The backyard is only so big, so it’s not hard to miss the commotion.

“Jungkook, you don’t need to—” You attempt to diffuse the situation, but Jungkook shakes you off.

“No, Y/n, I’ve tried not to say anything and to be as nice to him as I can since your family is here, but I’m done letting him hit on you when I’m standing right fucking here!” Red in the face and scowling intensely, Jungkook approaches Namjoon, the older man standing up tall to face him.

“Nice?” Namjoon scoffs. “You’ve been shooting daggers at me since I walked through the front door. It’s pretty obvious you don’t like me.”

“Because I don’t! I’m not going to tell you again, leave Y/n alone.” Your entire family is watching the heated exchange now. Your brother and a few of your male cousins step forward, poised to intervene.

“Sounds like you’re feeling insecure, little boy.” You watch Jungkook’s fists clench at Namjoon’s taunting words.

“Joon, please don’t provoke him,” you beg.

Namjoon throws his hands up, shoulders shrugging.

“Hey, I’m just saying. If your little college fling can’t handle you talking to other men, maybe there’s something wrong with him.” Eyes going back to Jungkook, Namjoon lets out a laugh. “If you’re not careful, someone may just come along and steal her from you, little boy.” Namjoon pokes Jungkook in the chest, and it’s almost in slow motion that you watch Jungkook draw his arm back to punch Namjoon directly in the cheek.

The older man stumbles, falling on his ass onto the concrete of the back patio. A beat of silence goes by as no one moves, until all at once, you’re launching yourself forward to grab Jungkook, and your brother and a cousin are rushing over to help Namjoon up.

“Jungkook, let’s go!” You pull him away from the scene, Jungkook staring Namjoon down angrily as Namjoon’s mom rushes over to him. Once you’re both in the living room, away from the rest of the wedding, you shove him onto the couch and glare down at him. “Are you serious right now?! I can’t believe you just did that!”

“He deserved it! He’s been up your ass since he showed up!” Jungkook argues, adrenaline still coursing through him.

“That was so inappropriate! This is my cousin’s wedding, Jungkook!”

“So then he should keep his fucking hands off of you!”

“He wasn’t doing anything today! We were just talking when you barged in like a lunatic!”

“He can talk to you without holding your hand and getting all in your face!”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Jungkook! Fuck, why do you even care!?”

“Because I love you, Y/n!” Jungkook screams, jumping up from the couch.

“What?” You freeze.

“You heard me!” Jungkook runs his fingers through his hair, tugging on the strands in frustration. Now that the rush of the moment has subsided, embarrassment and guilt at what he did make him feel tired. “It’s so exhausting trying to hide it. This trip has been so fucking hard. I have to walk around and kiss you and hold your hand and sleep in the same bed as you, and none of it is real! It sucks, and I feel like shit, and then to have to see some prick who blew his chances with you just show up and be all over you makes me so crazy. I’m sorry to you and your family that I punched him, but I’m not sorry to him.”

“So you’re in love with me.” You blink at him, your mind catching up to process his words.

“That’s literally what I just said.”

“And you were in love with me last night when we had sex?”

“Duh.”

“It wasn’t just the alcohol that made you horny?”

“Hell no. I’d do any and everything to you whether I was sober, drunk, high, tripping on shrooms or otherwise… also that sounded more romantic in my head.” he winces.

“Wow. And so you know I’m in love with you too, right?”

“Come on, you don’t have to just say shit to me to make me feel better.”

“Jungkook, I’m serious. I’ve loved you since what feels like the day we met, and this whole trip has been hell for me too. I spent all day today thinking yesterday meant nothing to you.”

Your best friend steps forward, his hands moving to cradle your face. “Yesterday meant everything to me, and you have no clue how relieved I am right now that you felt the same.” The two of you share a chuckle, any lingering tension now gone.

“So basically, what you’re saying is we aren’t just a ‘fake dating’ au, but we’re also an ‘idiots to lovers’ au. Got it.”

You let out a loud laugh at his words, smiling. Jungkook moves in to kiss you once your laughter subsides, catching you off guard, but you quickly kiss him back, the feeling of his lips on yours washing over you. Your body buzzes the same way it did the night before, and you momentarily forget where you are. You let Jungkook wrap his arms around you and deepen the kiss, the sound of a throat clearing behind you cutting through the atmosphere and stopping anything else from happening.

Kayla is leaning against the doorway, arms folded and a smirk on her face. “So, I won’t tell mom or anyone else that you’ve both been lying to us if you come back outside now. Nikki wants to do the bouquet toss, and Namjoon’s mom wants an apology.”

Jungkook winces from next to you, face flushing at the thought of someone’s mom being mad at him. You take his hand and lead him behind you as you follow Kayla outside. You decide to address the fact that she heard you and Jungkook confess to one another later, and focus on the wedding instead.

Back outside, everyone has gone back to doing their own thing, but you feel them all slyly watching you and Jungkook as you make your way over to Namjoon, who’s sitting next to his mom, holding an ice pack on his cheek. Namjoon catches your eye and waves his mom away before getting up and meeting the two of you halfway.

“So,” Namjoon starts, “to not prolong this and make this any more awkward than it is, Jungkook, I’m sorry for what I said. I was just being petty and wanted to piss you off. I’m not going to steal Y/n from you. I truly just want to rebuild my friendship with her.” He offers Jungkook a slight bow, and surprisingly, Jungkook gives one in return.

“I uh, I’m sorry too. I’m sorry I hit you. I overreacted, and it was childish.”

Namjoon shrugs and waves his hand dismissively. “It’s okay. Like I said, I was purposely petty. And besides, I was pretty impressed with the force behind that punch. It knocked me on my ass.” He chuckles, and Jungkook does the same.

It only takes this single exchange to have the tension between both men broken. Both Jungkook and Namjoon go back to their seats while you gather with the rest of the women for the bouquet toss. Glancing over at them, you see them chatting idly. Jungkook of thirty minutes ago would never.

“Okay, everyone ready?!” Nikki calls, bringing your attention back to why you’re gathered behind her and Diana. After counting to three, they toss their matching bouquet of roses over their shoulders. You watch the flowers soar through the sky momentarily as one lands in the hands of one of your aunts. You barely try, but by some bizarre stroke of luck, the second plops right in your barely outstretched hands.

Voices whistling and cheering from around you, flustered,  you speed walk to the table where Jungkook is also getting teased by your family sitting with him. He gives you a sheepish smile but still doesn’t hesitate to take your hand.

The remainder of the wedding continues without any further incident, which you’re thankful for. Jungkook seems much more at ease when holding your hand or giving you the occasional kiss on your cheek or forehead. Kayla spends the rest of the night shooting you knowing glances whenever you look her way, and you already know you won’t be leaving home without giving her all the details.

That doesn’t happen tonight, though. After the wedding is over, and after you say your goodbyes to your family members, Jungkook fucks you better than he did the night before. This time, you can feel how different it is now that you’ve admitted your feelings for one another. Each thrust of his hips is punctuated with a soft ‘I love you,’ and this time, when you feel tears prick your eyes, it’s because you know the man you’ve loved feels the same.

With the next day being your last full day at home, you spend it just you, Jungkook, your mom, and your siblings. The past week has been busier than anticipated with everything that went on, so you’re thankful for a final calm day to simply enjoy the ease of being home.

You admit to Kayla, Ray, and your mom the truth about you and Jungkook, and their only response is to laugh at you. It’s not as though you thought they’d shame you or make you feel bad, but you didn’t expect them to tease you.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry that you thought we’d pressure you to get married.” Your mom snickers, having finally calmed down from the initial laugh attack.

“You and aunties do it every time I talk to you! And with Nikki’s wedding, I just knew you’d be all over me.”

“Well, I’m sorry that we make you stress out about that. Look on the bright side; now we won’t ask you when you’ll settle down with someone. We’ll only ask when you and Jungkook are settling down.” She gives you both what you assume is her attempt at a reassuring smile, but it only makes you and Jungkook share a nervous look at the possibility of this upcoming interrogation.

The rest of the day is spent watching movies together, and your heart swells at the love that you feel being surrounded by your closest immediate family and your best friend turned boyfriend. As the day wears on, a few of your other family members stop by to say their goodbyes to you and Jungkook before you're off tomorrow morning. Everyone makes it clear to Jungkook that he’s welcome with you anytime and that he’s basically part of the family now. This only serves to have you even more emotional for the rest of the day.

That night, on your last night sleeping in your bed at home, you tear up while you and Jungkook cuddle together watching TikToks on his phone. He notices your sniffles and hurries to wrap you in his embrace, asking what’s wrong.

“S-sorry, I just- I’m really happy right now. I got to see my family, got to see one of my favorite cousins get married, and on top of that, I got you. I never thought I’d get to be with you like this.” You bury your face in his chest, feeling shy.

Jungkook lightly grabs your chin, bringing your face up to meet his. “Hey, I want you to know how happy I am right now too. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up from a dream any minute now and realize that I’m not actually holding you.” Jungkook’s words make the butterflies in your stomach flutter and your skin flush. He leans down to kiss you before you can hide again, his lips causing you to melt on the spot.

“I love you, Y/n.” he whispers against you when he pulls away for air. You smile back at him so hard your cheeks start to hurt.

“I love you too, Jungkook. So much.” You kiss him again as you feel your happy tears threaten to fall.

“You need to text me when you land.”

“I will.”

“And let me know when you’re on your way back to school.”

“Yes, mom.”

“And let me know when you get to school—”

“Mom! You know I’ll let you know.”

Your mom laughs at your interruption, then her face falls into a frown.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just going to miss you.” Tightening her grip on your shoulders, she pulls you into yet another hug. She and your siblings had driven you and Jungkook back to the airport, and she’s been holding you in a hug for the past five minutes.

“I know. I’ll miss you all too, but I promise I’ll come back soon.” She gives you a final squeeze before letting you go, allowing you to hug your brother and sister. They both say their goodbyes, making you promise to be back soon. Jungkook gets his own hugs from your family, all of them telling him to come back with you.

Your family watches you go as you finally head away through security to your plane.

When you and Jungkook are finally seated on the plane, ready for take-off, Jungkook checks his phone to text the group chat he has with the guys to let them know you’ll be home soon.

Taehyung: Can’t wait for you guys to get back! I’m bringing a bunch of food from my grandmother. You guys will love it.

Seokjin: More importantly, bring me my money! I won the bet for Y/n and Jungkook to hook up so bring me my wins

Jimin: Yeah, me too! I’ll even accept a digital transfer to my account please

Jungkook: Y’all know I can literally see this chat right

Taehyung: Oh chill out you already knew about the bet. And anyway what if Jungkook lied about them getting together? Like what if he just wants us to think he finally confessed when he didn’t because he doesn’t want us to clown him

Jimin: Hmmmmmm. Jungkook is it true???????

Seokjin: Ugh Tae makes sense he’s probably lying

Seokjin: YOU owe me then JK!

“Bunch of losers,” you grumble from next to Jungkook as you catch sight of the messages. “Here, give me your phone.” You give Jungkook a smirk, and he does as you say. You pull him closer to you and open the front-facing camera on his phone. “Kiss me.”

He doesn’t hesitate to bring his mouth to yours, and you give him the sloppiest kiss you can muster. It’s all open mouth and tongue, and you snap a picture of it. You pull away quickly, leaving Jungkook in a daze as he watches you send the picture to the group chat and turn his phone off once it successfully delivers.

“We’re about to take off. Phone off for safety,” you smile, sending him a wink. Your own phone begins to buzz over and over before you cut yours off as well.

“They’re going to be so pissed at us when we get back to school.” You laugh at the thought, already hearing Jin’s boisterous voice screaming about the picture and Sana grilling you for details.

You decide to worry about that later and instead loop your arm through Jungkook’s on the armrest. He immediately makes space for you and kisses your forehead, the heat from his lips spreading throughout your entire body. Your eyes close as you relish in the feeling of Jungkook and focus on being with him and only him for the next sixteen hours.