#linh.fic

You look out to your left. The sun’s still high up in the sky for how late it is, bleeding its last bit of light into the clouds. Couples and families are walking past you, chatting and laughing, holding melting ice cream in their hands. You hear the laughter of children playing tag down the street, another handful are chasing each other with a water gun. Through the cracked window, you feel the warm and humid air come in, hitting your cheek. It’s at that moment you realise it.

It’s sad.

But at the same time, you realise it’s fitting. Summer arrives with magic every year—the nights somehow seeming endless, the days stuffed with almost suffocating and paralysing potential, indeterminate relationships and friendships, and the air filled with infinite possibilities and promises, all within reach, so close and still not close enough, a hopeful humming accompanying it. It’s reeling. 

So of course, time passes quicker. Of course, summer is fading and fleeting. Of course, it’s all over in the blink of an eye. It’s magical after all.

It’s that magic that prompted you to ask out your crush your sophomore year (you (fortunately) lasted less than a handful of months), that gave you the foolish courage to cut your hair with a pair of blunt kitchen scissors at two in the morning your junior year (it was a disaster), and made you climb out of your window Tangled style after you got grounded so you could spend the last days of summer with your friends under the night sky your senior year (some of the greatest nights of your life). 

It’s the same magic that provokes you to turn to Sooyoung and ask her this when she comes back with an armful of snacks (without the Cheerios you asked for though).

“You wanna go on a roadtrip?”

It’s a stupid idea you conclude halfway through planning.

Because three issues come up. First, neither of you have much saved up (read: barely anything), which makes paying for the hotel stays and the car you’re going to rent (since yours is shit and Sooyoung doesn’t have one) a lot more difficult. And second, Sooyoung can’t drive, which would make you the only driver, which obviously, you can’t be on a cross country roadtrip. Last but not least, Sooyoung’s and Namjoon’s two year anniversary is coming up, and while she hasn’t made it the official third issue, you know she doesn’t want to spend their anniversary apart.

But Sooyoung somehow comes up with a solution to all of the problems.

For the first (and third) issue, she suggests taking Namjoon with you. This way you can split the costs for the hotels and the car. And obviously, if he’s on the trip too, they won’t be apart during their anniversary. You’re more than happy with the solution. The same can’t be said about the solution she suggests for the second issue.

“Look, if he came along, we’d have a second driver and—” You walk over to the snacks section but Sooyoung follows you, her grocery list long forgotten. “—we could split the costs of the hotels and car by four!”

You closely examine two poorly designed bags of cookies, neither looking all that appealing, pretending like you couldn’t hear her. You go with the cheaper option.

“Y/N,” Sooyoung says and pokes you in the ribs. You flinch and almost drop the cookies. You give her a scowl. “Consider it?”

“I already said no.” You turn on your heel and walk away.

“Please, Y/N,” she whines, catching up with you and blocking your way. 

You purse your lips and narrow your eyes. “Can’t someone else come with? Does it have to be him?”

“Kook’s Joon’s best friend,” Sooyoung says, and you cringe at the nickname. You don’t think you’ll ever get used to her calling him that. “They’ve actually also talked about going on a roadtrip before, you know? So when I mentioned it…”

She trails off, but you don’t need her to keep talking. You know where she’s getting at.

“No, Soo, I just-” You cut yourself short, and shake your head. “It’s just so embarrassing. I bailed, dude. I didn’t even bother to wait for him to wake up and shit.”

The image materialises in front of your eyes; the morning you woke up next to the doe-eyed boy you never thought you would get this close to, or even talk to. It feels like a fever dream. Not only is it unlike you to hook up with a stranger, but of all people, you could have fallen into bed with it was Jeon Jungkook? Sometimes you’re convinced it was all just a fever dream, it never happened, until you remember you forgot your keys at his place in your haze. Your lost keys remain the only piece of evidence that stops you from convincing yourself you only hallucinated it all.

“Yeah, but it was two years ago!”

You scrunch your face. You’ve heard this all before, and you don’t want to hear it again, so you walk past Sooyoung and head for the checkout, placing the cookies on the conveyor belt. 

“Y/N, can’t you at least think about it?”

“I have.”

“No, you haven’t,” she hisses. “You immediately said no! You didn’t even take a second to consider it.”

You look at her. “Soo, you know exactly how I feel about this- him. Don’t force me to be stuck in a car with him, please.”

Sooyoung opens her mouth but is interrupted by the cashier. The arguing ceases then, and you’re grateful. The peace doesn’t last long though, Sooyoung picking up right where you left off as soon as you finish paying.

“You make it seem like you guys have some major history when you just hooked up. And that was two years ago! It’s been ages! There’s literally no reason for you to still avoid Kook.”

You dig out your keys and unlock your car, slipping into it just to regret it. You groan because even though you made sure to park in the shade, the sun had moved when you were in the store and turned your car into a goddamn sauna. You feel your skin glueing to your seat. Ew. 

You keep the door open to let in some air, and you’re about to tell Sooyoung to do the same, but she interrupts you.

“I actually think he has forgotten about you,” she says, and you toss the cookies in the backseat and tuck your hair out of your face, grabbing your make-shift paper fan. It doesn’t bring much relief, but it’s better than nothing. 

The comment, although you should be happy about it because it’s all you want, irks you the tiniest bit. Because you haven’t. You haven’t even begun to forget him, and the thought it might not be the same for him, that you didn’t leave a single mark in his mind, it hurts a bit

“You think?”

“I know.”

“And how do you know?” 

“Because in the past two years he’s never brought you up, or even alluded to you or the night,” she argues.

“That’s because he doesn’t know my name,” you say. “Probably only knows me by my face. I’m probably that dumb girl that left her keys at his place in his mind.”

Sooyoung sighs, rolling her eyes at your stubbornness. “He’s really nice! You’d know if you would have just gone out with us once.” 

When Sooyoung and Namjoon started dating, it didn’t take long for your two friend groups to grow into a big one, the two organising parties and meetups. You never participated in anything when there was even the smallest chance of Jungkook being there too. No one ever noticed.

“And he’s also really funny-”

“Date him then,” you mumble, which earns you a deserved hit against your arm.

“Y/N, you know I’m in a happy relationship with Joon!” 

“So you’d date him if you weren’t with-”

Another hit.

You laugh, but Sooyoung doesn’t join you, glowering at you instead, and you wonder how this conversation took this turn so quickly. Minutes ago she was giving you puppy eyes and begging you to think about it and now she’s scowling at you and scolding you like a mother.

“I’m serious, Y/N. And before you say we’ll do it next year, you know exactly we won’t. It’s like when you said you’d stop buying so many books this year, or when I said, I’d learn Spanish. The moment we postpone the trip, we’re not doing it anymore, and you know that.” Sooyoung stares into your eyes, waiting for you to say something. When you don’t—because unfortunately, she’s right, and you don’t want to admit that—, she sighs. She takes your hands into hers and tosses your paper fan to the side. 

“Hey-”

“Y/N, look,” you quiet down when you see the stare she gives you, “I don’t want to force you into anything. I’m gonna respect your boundaries if you really don’t want him on the trip—” You hear the ‘but’ before she even says it. “—but I promise you first, Kook doesn’t remember. Second, even if he does, he’s not gonna be weird about it. And third, I know he won’t be weird about it because Kook’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.”

You think Sooyoung’s done, but she opens her mouth again. “Also,” she sits up, “Joon and I are gonna be there too! So even if it’s weird, which I highly doubt, we’ll serve as buffers! And if you don’t wanna talk to him, you don’t have to either. No one’s saying you have to become friends with Kook, but it’s just-”

She deflates after. She can’t find the right words, but it’s fine. You know what she’s trying to say. You’re not stupid. Without Jungkook this trip won’t be happening. It’s as simple as that.

You sigh and close your eyes. You do realise how ridiculous how you’re acting right now. Like Sooyoung has pointed out, your history only consists of one drunken night. It’s barely anything. Bits and pieces. Scraps really. But it’s enough to have your cheeks burning up.

But if Sooyoung’s right, if Jungkook has actually forgotten about you (which wouldn’t be so unlikely since it’s been two years and you’re sure he’s hooked up with other girls in the meantime), you really don’t have anything to worry about. But if Sooyoung’s not right and he brings it up, you’re fucked. You don’t think you can handle the embarrassment, the questions of why you so rudely fled in the morning. 

On the other hand, you really do want to go on the roadtrip. You think it’d be the perfect way to spend the summer, stretch it out a bit more, fill it with memories you’re going to look back on fondly in a few years. You think it would be the perfect way to savour the summer. It’s all you want, to spend time with your best friend and make memories.

You look at Sooyoung. She’s still staring at you. She’s going to wait for your answer, however long it takes. Because (and you know that) she’s convinced it might just be a ‘yes’. You heave out a sigh.

She’s right, unfortunately. You hope the same will be the case with Jungkook.

“Fine.”

It’s almost comical how quickly her face lights up, the corners of her lips turning up into a gigantic grin.

“Wait, really?” she gasps quietly, clasping her hands together, almost like in a prayer. “You’re sure about this?”

No, you’re not, not even a bit. But the things you would do to ensure a great summer with your best friend. You sigh and nod. Just as Sooyoung’s about to burst, you shove your finger into her face.

“But promise me,” you stare her down, “that you’ll stick with me. You can’t leave me hanging!”

She quickly nods, so vigorously you think her head’s going to fall off. “I won’t. I won’t. Don’t worry, Joon doesn’t exist on the trip. You’re my sole focus, I swear.”

“So you promise me?”

Sooyoung stares you down. “Y/N, I promise you I won’t leave you hanging.”

You smile at each other. It’s decided then. Jungkook’s coming on the trip too. You can already feel regret building up in you.

“Also, we gotta get back inside. I didn’t buy shit.” Sooyoung produces her grocery list from her pocket.

You roll your eyes. “You better be quick.”

In your years of friendship with Sooyoung, she has only ever let you down two times. 

The first time was in your sophomore year when you had just begun dating your first boyfriend and told your parents you were going to stay over at her place and she screwed up covering for you, which led to you getting a three hour long lecture on honesty and being in a relationship so young.

The second time was two years ago when she forgot to tell you she was going to leave the party early with a certain dimpled boy from her Chem class because you’re convinced if she had, you wouldn’t have wandered around looking for her and landed in the arms of a certain doe-eyed boy. Yes, you blame Sooyoung for you hooking up with Jungkook, at least partially.

But those two occasions were the only times she’s ever let you down. Today, however, marks the third time, and this time it’s bad.

Because when Jungkook pulls up to your apartment, Sooyoung and Namjoon aren’t standing next to you like they should be. And they’re also not running late. No, they’re in a completely different city.

Your emotional state is confusing; somehow you’re nervous and pissed off at the same time. It’s hard to find a balance, to think straight with both emotions brewing inside you.

You think time stretches thin when you watch Jungkook park and get out, eyes meeting yours before searching for the two familiar faces. You can’t figure out if he recognises you or not as he walks up to you. Your heart tumbles more and more with every step he takes.

“Hey,” he greets you, and you can see traces of a smile on his lips.

You search for something in his eyes, anything that will tell you if he remembers you, if you look familiar to him at all, but you find nothing. Either there’s really nothing and Sooyoung’s right, or you’re simply too nervous to process this entire thing to analyse the situation at hand.

“Uh, hi,” you breathe out, sounding vaguely out of breath and reedy. You scrunch your nose.

“Where’s Joon and Soo?”

And with that question, you decide he doesn’t recognise you. Maybe you’re wrong, but it’s the conclusion you decide to come to. It’s the only one that allows your voice to gain some firmness, that allows your mind to clear up a bit, that has the nervosity simmering down to a light bubble, allowing space for your anger at the situation at hand.

“They’re not here.”

“Wait,” he frowns, and looks behind you, like maybe he overlooked them somehow, “where are- oh, are they late? Did they text-”

He’s about to pull out his phone, but you stop him, dropping the news on him.

“They’re not coming.”

Jungkook snaps his gaze to you then, a knit forming between his brows.

“What do you mean they aren’t coming?” 

He stares at you with huge eyes, doe eyes so big you think they’re about to fall out. One good slap on the back of his head and they’re out. You’re sure. 

You sigh and close your eyes, your jaw on the verge of breaking. Sooyoung’s dead.

“They just called me,” you hold up your phone as if you needed proof, “and well, turns out they’re out of town and stuck there because the railway companies went on strike.” 

You press your lips together. “They aren’t coming.”

Jungkook stares at you like you’ve just grown a second head, and you can’t blame him. It took you a number of “Wait, wait, wait, what?”s and “You’re kidding, right?”s to process this information too.

He presses his hand to his forehead. “So, what?” The knit between his brows deepen as he comes to the same realisation you came to just a few minutes prior, leading to you cursing out Sooyoung over the phone. “It’s just you and me? No Joon? No Soo?”

You reluctantly nod.

Jungkook blinks at you in total five times before he reacts again, his face morphing into something you can’t pinpoint. It’s something between worry and fear, you think.

“Can’t we go pick them up?” he suggests, a proposal you’ve already made.

“No,” you begin and look into the distance, repeating what Sooyoung told you over the phone. “The issue is that we already booked all of our hotels, so if we were to pick them up, our reservations would fall through. And no, they also don’t let you reschedule either. I guess that’s the service you get when you book the cheapest hotels possible.”

You can see Jungkook think, desperate to find a solution to this. You want to tell him that you’ve thought about it all already, that you don’t want to go on a roadtrip with just him either, but you refrain, pressing the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth.

He lets out a hollow chuckle when he comes up with no solution. The sound arises from the back of his throat. It’s meant to lighten the mood, you think. “Well, what fucking genius suggested booking our hotels beforehand?”

You let the question hang in the air for a moment, scrunching your nose and looking down to your shoes before answering, fingers fumbling in front of your stomach.

“I did.”

Jungkook quiets then. Maybe you should have bitten your tongue and not said it.

“Well, I mean,” he scrambles, “you couldn’t have known-”

“I mean it’s not just the hotels,” you interrupt, probably saving Jungkook from embarrassing himself further and possibly even insulting you again. “We also already rented the car.” You gesture behind him. “And Soo and Joon also don’t want to inconvenience us. They said they’d take the next train back and try to, uh, catch up with us.”

He nods then. A prolonged silence stretches between you like gum, sticky and gross. You don’t look at him, and he doesn’t look at you. 

In the end, he speaks first again, clearing his throat. “So, uh, we’re going on this trip together then?”

You press your lips together and tuck a strand behind your ear, still refusing to meet his gaze. It’s almost ironic how good the weather is today, perfect for a roadtrip, a roadtrip you no longer want to go on.

“Unless you want your money to go to waste, yeah, seems like it.”

Jungkook stares at you, and then nods. You look down at your suitcase and put your hand on it. 

This is happening.

You heave out a long sigh.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” Sooyoung tells you, and you know there’s an apologetic look plastered on her face. But it does nothing to calm your anger, your grip on your phone only tightening. “I genuinely feel so bad, Y/N. I swear. I’m truly so sorry.”

“If you’re so sorry—” You look out the window to make sure he’s nowhere. All you see is a stressed-out father hushing his kids back into the car, the gas pump still in his right hand. “—how about you get your ass here right now?”

Sooyoung’s quiet for a moment, and you know she’s looking over to Namjoon. She sighs under her breath, running a hand through her hair. 

“Y/N, I explained it to you, I-I can’t,” she whispers, sounding as guilt-ridden as she did when she called you to tell you she screwed up covering for you. “I wish I could, but we’re stuck here. We-we can’t get away.”

You shut your eyes, feeling the rigidness of your jaw. Deep down, you know this is out of Sooyoung’s control. Still, you can’t help but spit, “I just don’t get why you guys had to go out of town a day before our trip! Just- what were you thinking?”

It’s then that you hear Namjoon in the background ask Sooyoung to hand him the phone, and although she tries to protest, the next thing you hear is his voice.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Joon, hey.” You try your best to not sound annoyed, emphasis on try.

“Please don’t be mad at Soo. This is my fault. I’m the one that organised this and brought her out here. So blame me.”

You curse under your breath. When Namjoon does this—taking full responsibility for everything, putting the blame solely on himself—, you find it incredibly hard to stay mad. And it’s all you want to be because you’re stuck in a shitty situation. You need to be mad! You have every right to! 

You heave out a sigh and curse. “I guess neither of you could have foreseen this, huh?” 

You can practically hear Namjoon nod, and knowing him, he’s probably making his ‘yeah, exactly!’ face, the one Sooyoung adores so much. 

“Yeah, this was just meant to be a one-day thing for our anniversary, you know?” 

You cringe in disgust and annoyance, not wanting to be reminded that the only reason why Sooyoung and Namjoon are out of town right now is because he wanted to be a romantic and spend some time on their own for their anniversary. You feel awfully single and lonely all of a sudden. 

“I’m sorry.”

You close your eyes. “It’s fine.” 

There’s a moment of silence, and you know exactly what Sooyoung’s about to ask. Your face sours when you turn out to be right. 

“Uh, where’s Kook by the way?” 

“He’s getting gas,” you say. He’s certainly taking his time, you think. You don’t mind now because you get to talk to Sooyoung for a bit, but you hope it won’t be like this for the rest of the trip.

“How’s it going?” she asks, and you hate that you can hear the smile on her face. “You guys bonding?”

“You know if I hadn’t paid for the car and hotels already, there would be no way I’d be here right now, right? If I could have somehow cancelled it all and gotten my money back, I would have?” you tell her, wanting- no, needing to make it very clear to her that you aren’t on this trip by choice, that if you could have not gone and still gotten all of your money back, you would have.

“But for your information, no, we’re not bonding. We just drove in silence for the last ten minutes until he pulled over for gas. It was awful,” you spit.

“Well, I’m sure it won’t be like this for the rest of the trip. Right, Joon?”

And like the supportive boyfriend that he is, Namjoon’s quick to agree. “Yeah, Kook’s really shy and awkward with strangers.”

“You guys just need some time to warm up,” Sooyoung adds, and you hope it’s just that.

“Or I was right,” you mutter, shuddering at the thought. 

So far he hasn’t mentioned anything, but so far your interactions were limited, consisting of you explaining the dilemma you were in, you struggling to load your suitcase into the trunk, a process in which he got into the car and watched you in the rearview mirror, and you two sitting in silence before he (rather abruptly) announced he needed gas and turned into the next gas station.

You don’t remember this awkwardness hanging between you two years ago. But truth be told, you only remember the night in fragments, like a montage in a film, a few handful of images stuck in your brain, nothing concise, pieces of an unfinished film roll—the smile he gave you when you accidentally ran into him, the laugh he coaxed out of you with a joke you wouldn’t remember even if you had been sober at the time, the game of beer pong you won together; and at some point, his place, sitting on the couch, whispers of are you sure? spoken into one another’s ears, whispers that turned from questions into something more delicate, and slowly, also more daring; the taste of alcohol on his lips when he first kissed you, brief and shy, before diving back in, braver this time, almost eager; tender hands that quickly wandered, going beyond where they should be, pieces of garments discarded left and right, a trail to his bedroom; the layer of sweat coating your skin, the air you gasped for however stifling, before finally, in the end, slumber, quiet and peaceful, with smiles on your faces.

You shudder. For once, you want nothing more than to be wrong. You don’t want him to remember you. And before you can hear Sooyoung assuring you of just that (because obviously, that’s what she’s going to say), the sight of Jungkook walking out of the gas station, hands full with snacks, catches your eye.

“Oh.”

That’s why he was taking so long.

“‘Oh’? What did you see?”Sooyoung asks, and you’re too confused to answer her. “Y/N?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry.” You snap out of it. “He’s, uh, coming back. Gotta hang up.”

“Well, yeah, go hang up. Please have a fun time with-”

You end the call before Sooyoung can finish, partially because Jungkook’s getting awfully close, but mostly because you don’t want to hear the rest of her sentence.

“Hey,” he mumbles quietly when he slips inside and you return his greeting, adding a quick and awkward wave too, gripping your phone. “Sorry for the- for keeping you waiting.”

You wave him off. He stares at the snacks. You think he’s going to hand you a bag, offer you some chips or nuts, tell you it’s meant for your trip, to keep your stomachs full, but he just reaches behind and puts them in the back. (After all, you’ve got more than enough space.) 

So those are for him, you conclude with a scrunch of a nose, just for him. But that’s alright. He’s not obligated to buy you snacks too, or share them. You’re mere strangers after all. Still, your jaw grows rigid, and you look off to the side to hide it.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Jungkook do a double take when you take out your earphones. You don’t care. If he wasn’t going to buy you snacks, you’re not going to sit here in silence and twiddle your thumbs.

You don’t pay any attention to the song you’re blasting through your earbuds, much more focused on being the worst passenger possible. 

You unlock your phone.

[You - 10:33] : he bought snacks

[sooyoung !! - 10:34] : OH

[sooyoung !! - 10:34] : thats so cute :((

[You - 10:34] : for himself only

[sooyoung !! - 10:34] : wait what

[sooyoung !! - 10:34] : just for himself???

[You - 10:34] : he put them into the back

[You - 10:34] : didnt offer me anything

[sooyoung !! - 10:34] : oh

[sooyoung !! - 10:35] : well joon did say he’s shy

[sooyoung !! - 10:35] : he probably doesnt know how to interat with you

[You - 10:35] : youd never make these types of excuses for any other guy

[sooyoung !! - 10:35] : wait are you on your phone rn?

[You - 10:35] : nah im texting you on a brick

[sooyoung !! - 10:35] : y/n

[You - 10:35] : wdym am i on my phone?? obviously??

[sooyoung !! - 10:35] : you cant be on your phone!! thats so rude

[sooyoung !! - 10:35] : you’re being such a bad passenger

[You - 10:35] : hes being a bad driver by only buying himself snacks

[sooyoung !! - 10:36] : put down your phone

[sooyoung !! - 10:36] : dont make me block you

[You - 10:36] : lmao like youd dare

[You - 10:36] : you dont have the balls for it

And when your last message doesn’t go through, you freeze. You type up a handful more, none of them deliver. This is a joke, you think. Sooyoung must be messing with you. She’s unblocking you any second now. She has to. She’s your only escape from this! She can’t leave you hanging, again.

But she does.

You close your eyes and swallow the sigh, not even able to begin to fathom the situation you’re in right now: you’re going on a cross country roadtrip with Jeon Jungkook, who happens to be a mere stranger to you aside from the fact, of course, that you hooked up two years ago and you fled his apartment like your life depended on it. But not only that, Sooyoung, your supposed best friend, who has let you down once already today, just fucking blocked you. You think the universe has fun seeing you in misery and-

“... please?”

You take out an earbud. “What? Sorry?”

“Oh, I just-” Jungkook clears his throat, and you realise he’s not really looking at you, eyes dancing around. “I asked if you could hand me a water bottle.”

You blink at him before taking out your second earbud. “Sure, yeah.”

“I should have one in my bag,” he tells you, pointing behind. “You see it?”

You do. It’s in the far corner. There’s no way you’re reaching that. Your bag, however, is a lot closer. So you take out your water bottle.

“Here. Couldn’t get to your bag, so if you don’t mind, you can, uh, drink from mine,” you tell him and try to hand Jungkook your water, but he’s too focused on looking at the road, his hand grasping air several times. 

“Thanks,” he says when he finally gets a hold of it. Five attempts, you count. You bite away your smile. You fail though when you see how much Jungkook struggles to unscrew the bottle. And when he brings it to his lips with shaky hands, you think you’re about to laugh. You don’t though, and reach out to help him instead, steadying the bottle.

“Oh,” he says, surprised, and takes two big gulps. “Thank you.”

You hum and take the bottle from his lips, grabbing the lid too and screwing it back on. You doubt he’ll be able to do it. You don’t bother putting the water bottle back, keeping it in your lap instead. 

For the next ten minutes, it’s silent again. You don’t go on your phone again, not because you feel bad and don’t want to be a shitty passenger. No, definitely not that. You don’t go on your phone again because you don’t want to. 

You watch the traffic, and after a while, you let out a yawn. You think it’s a combination of the mundane view and the fact you barely slept yesterday. You rub your eyes, a gesture that prompts Jungkook to look over to you.

You turn to him too, thinking he’s going to say something. He opens his mouth, but clamps it shut the next second. You blink a handful of times and raise a brow because what was that? But you don’t bother asking him, deciding to look away too. 

And even though you didn’t make a fool of yourself, he did, you feel deeply embarrassed too. Heat crawls up your neck and settles on your cheeks. You think the Germans have a word for that. They call it fremdschämen. Well, you’re fremdschämen-ing.

“If, uh, you-”

You snap your head around. Jungkook isn’t looking at you, eyes dead set on the road, almost like he can’t bring himself to direct his gaze your way.

“Yeah?”

Jungkook takes a deep breath and collects himself. Before he begins to speak, he clears his throat, “If you’re tired, you can nap for a bit. I wouldn’t mind.”

“Oh,” you blurt out, shaking your head to snap out of it. “Thanks, uh, for the offer. I appreciate it. But I’m not tired.”

And even though you can see that he wants to argue with you, bring up how you just yawned, Jungkook closes his mouth.

It’s silent. It feels like a decade passes by. 

“If you’re tired,” you say, remembering to return the offer, “just tell me and we can switch.”

“Yeah, but I’m not tired.” He waits a moment. It feels like another decade passes by. “So you can, uh, nap for a bit if you want to.”

You can’t help but smile a bit at his words. It’s a nice thing of him to say. “Thanks. I’ll just see what happens.”

“Alright.” He nods. “You mind if I put on some music?”

You gesture for him to go ahead. “Not at all.”

You don’t recognise the song Jungkook plays, but you like it. You like it so much you ask him for the title.

“It’s, uh, ‘Never Not’ by Lauv,” he tells you, and you perk up at the name of the artist. You know him.

“I think I’ve got one of his songs saved.” You pull out your phone to see which one it is, unable to recall the title. 

“‘Paris in the Rain’?” Jungkook says, and you snap your finger at his words.

“Yeah, that’s it!” you say, screwing your eyes shut and pressing your hand to your temple. “How could I forget?”

He smiles at you then, and you mirror him.

And when you fall into silence again after this, it feels a lot less awkward. It’s then that you realise you’ve completely forgotten about your history, the dread that plagued you before at the thought of being in the same car as Jungkook. It disappeared for a moment, but now that you’ve thought about it again, it appears again. You curse yourself.

But before you can spiral, go back to awkwardly sitting in your seat and looking out the window and feeling completely mortified, Jungkook looks over to you. This time he speaks the first time.

“Hey, can I ask?” He doesn’t wait for you to tell him yes. “How did you meet Soo?”

You have to smile at the question. “It’s a long story,” you warn.

“Well,” Jungkook laughs, “I think we might have time.”

You would have rolled your eyes at him for his smartass comment if you knew him better. But since you don’t, you refrain and begin the story instead.

“We went to the same middle school.”

And then you tell Jungkook how Sooyoung and you started by hating each other, for reasons neither of you know. (It was hate at first sight, Sooyoung always likes to say.) You recall how your hatred spawned a series of snarky side comments, snide looks, and scoffs over a period of one year. In the end, it was a boy that brought you together, well, your mutual hatred for him. 

Wongshik was his name. He transferred to your school. More importantly, he was obnoxious, loud, arrogant, and overall, incredibly annoying. Class with him was horrible, so horrible Sooyoung and you couldn’t stop cussing him out during break. And ever since, you two have been joined at the hip. You no longer talk about Wongshik, barely think about him anymore. But you are, in a really weird way, incredibly thankful for how annoying he was. You aren’t sure you would have found one another if it hadn’t been for his obnoxiousness.

“How did you meet Joon?”

Jungkook waves you off. “Our story isn’t that great.”

“You don’t want to tell?”

“Well,” he hums, “I don’t mind. I just don’t think it’s all that exciting. We didn’t go from enemies to friends, you know?”

“I’m sure it’s still great,” you try, and Jungkook scratches his neck, sighing in the end.

“We got assigned as partners for an art project in high school.”

“And then?” 

It’s after you’ve asked the question that it dawns on you that there’s nothing to it, seeing the pink that dusts his cheeks a second too late.

“Nothing. That’s it,” he coughs and shrugs. “We became friends after that.”

“Oh.” It’s all you can say for a moment. “Well, that’s a cute story too!”

Jungkook levels you with an unconvinced look. You hold his gaze for a second before cracking.

“I tried.”

He hums. “I appreciate it.”

And then, you share a laugh. It’s short but genuine. It’s enough, more than you ever expected. This isn’t so bad, you think.

You don’t fall asleep for almost another two hours. The exhaustion sneaks up on you though, slowly coming on around the one hour mark. You don’t know if Jungkook notices, but once he switches to his lofi songs, it starts to lull you to sleep. 

It’s the sound of the seat belt snapping back that wakes you up.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” Jungkook apologises when he sees you peel your eyes open. “The seatbelt was jammed and I-”

He stops when you wave him off, a soft smile on your lips. 

“It’s fine. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” you tell him, voice still thick with sleep. You yawn and rub your eyes, taking in your surroundings. You’re at a rest stop. “Why did we stop?”

“Uh, toilet break,” he admits, not daring to look at you when he speaks. Adorable, you think. Does he think you don’t pee too?

“Yeah, what time is it?” you ask and stretch as much as you can, your joints cracking in relief. 

Jungkook shows you his phone, and you think you must be hallucinating when you see you’ve been asleep for the past three hours. You’ve been on this trip for four hours now, and you slept for more than half of it. Not only that, Jungkook had to drive all this time. Great, so where’s your award for being the world’s shittiest passenger?

“God, fuck, I’m sorry. I slept so much.”

“What? No, don’t apologise! It’s fine,” Jungkook quickly assures you and gives you a smile. “Don’t worry about it.” He pauses, and looks off to the side when he says it. “I’m glad you got some rest.”

You don’t know what to say to that, your mouth drying up at his words. Your brain is especially slow, still half asleep. So you end up not saying anything. Which is probably the worst thing you can do because an awkward silence hovers around you.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” you tuck your hair away, “you said you needed to pee?”

“Right, yeah, yes, I did. I said that. I gotta pee, yeah.” Jungkook clears his throat, and even though you’re not facing him, he knows you’re cringing. Even he is cringing at himself. 

“Let’s just… go.” You click off your seatbelt and get out before Jungkook can even answer. You throw the door shut and begin walking, not waiting up for him. And as you make your way to the little convenience store, you shove your earbuds back in. Maybe you’re being a little rude, but you can’t bring yourself to deal with this right now. You just woke up for God’s sake!

Inside, you beeline for the snacks, needing to look busy. You pick up a bag of chips and pretend to read the back. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Jungkook head towards the restrooms, and you think you catch him glancing in your direction. You refuse to think about it.

You read the ingredients lists like you know what any of these things are. It’s stupid, you know, but it’s the only thing keeping you sane since panic texting Sooyoung isn’t an option anymore. Your music blasting through your earbuds helps too. 

However, it’s also your downfall. You don’t even hear him approach you.

“Hey.” 

You instinctively take out your earbuds. The wrong move because you can no longer pretend you can’t hear him.

His greeting sounds harmless enough, friendly some might even say, but when you look at him, you know you’re in for it. God, fuck. It’s obvious. His smile gives it away, the corners of his lips turned up a little too much. You already know, getting him to leave you alone won’t be easy at all. 

“Uh, hi,” you mumble before pretending to go back to reading when really, his presence is the only thing you can focus on. You’re more than aware of how close he is to you, too close.

“I’m Minki,” he tells you, and you give him a hum, regretting not buying those big noise-cancelling headphones. “And you-?”

He inches closer to you. Your grip around the bag of chips tightens. You swallow and take a step back. Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe he’ll get the hint. He doesn’t. He steps closer.

“Uh, I’m Y/N,” you mumble, voice weak, your heart beginning to thump a bit louder. You look around yourself. No one is here. The store is hauntingly empty. You feel your throat tighten. You are on your own.

“Y/N?” he repeats, and you don’t think you’ve ever had anybody say your name like that. On his tongue it sounds wrong, sticky somehow. He emphasises the wrong syllables, rushes and slurs the wrong letters. 

“I like it.” His smile widens. “Fitting for someone as pretty as you, sweetcheeks.”

And you think you’re going to retch. No, seriously. You think you’re going to start dry heaving in the corner right fucking now. Disgust doesn’t even begin to describe how you feel. You don’t think there’s anything grosser than a guy unironically calling you sweetcheeks. You want to throw yourself in front of a car.

“It’s Y/N,” you assert, your face hardening.

“Oh, do you not like sweetcheeks?” he asks and smiles innocently at you. Your jaw locks at his question. “Babydoll then?”

Your grip on the bag of chips tightens, the sound of it crinkling pierces the air. But he never looks away from you, eyes relentlessly staring into yours. He’s trying to get you to break and crack, to cave. He wants to see you squirm, enjoys it, you know that. It takes you everything to not give him the satisfaction he’s craving. Especially when he dares to take a step closer to you.

“Buttercup?” He raises a brow. “How about we talk about it in my car? It’s parked just outside.” 

He points to the doors, like you care where his stupid car is parked. 

You grit your teeth, heart pounding in your chest at this point. He takes another step towards you, and you take one back. You’re about to hit the wall. He’ll have you trapped then. You swallow.

It requires all of your courage to keep your voice level. “Please leave me alone.”

“But why? I feel like there’s a connection here, baby-”

“Connection?”

Your knight in shining armour comes just in time. You’ve never believed in perfect timing, but you might now, convinced Jungkook has it. 

Relief flushes through you at his sight, something you never thought his appearance would elicit. So far it has only ever been apprehension and anxiety. It’s a welcome change.

“I don’t think so, buddy.” 

And even though Jungkook’s smiling, he looks scary. There’s a threat tucked between his teeth, pulling on the upturn of his lips. It’s not directed at you, and still, you swallow. The guy’s actually a bit taller than Jungkook, but he looks shorter, probably because he’s cowering under Jungkook’s gaze.

He puts on a brave face though, a frown settling on his features. “Don’t call me buddy. My name’s Minki-”

“Well, you just called my girlfriend baby, didn’t you? Why can’t I call you buddy then?” Jungkook laughs, but it’s hollow and mocking. “What? You don’t like it when people don’t call you by your name?”

You make sure to make no movement or sound. Not that it would make a difference. They are far too invested in staring each other down to pay you any attention. You could have probably knocked over the display, and they still wouldn’t have turned to you.

“I-”

“What do you even want?” Jungkook interrupts, words sharp like daggers, snapping off from his teeth. “What are you talking to my girlfriend for, huh? Interested in sharing maybe?”

Jungkook doesn’t put an arm around your waist or pull you close to him. You think he would, expect him to, but all he does is stand close enough to you to not raise any suspicion. You wouldn’t mind if he did, but you appreciate him making an effort to respect your boundaries even in this situation. 

“I was just trying to be nice,” the guy mumbles, disgruntled and annoyed. “No fucking need to get all defensive and shit.”

Jungkook quirks a brow at his attitude. He tongues his cheek. His features darken. 

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” he spits and you think you hear a growl too. The smile stays on his lips, and you think that makes him even more intimidating than if he had just dropped it.

You find absolutely zero traces of awkwardness in Jungkook’s words. It’s like he’s unlocked another version of himself, a confident and confrontational one. You’re in awe, to say the least.

“Who are you calling defensive? You’re the one that just dared to bother my girl,” Jungkook hisses like a snake, on the edge of attack, his eyes fixed on him. You don’t think anyone has ever called you their girl before. It has your heart rumbling in your chest.

“Look, I was just-”

“Trying to be nice?” Jungkook scoffs and clicks his tongue. “Go be nice somewhere fucking else.”

The guy looks ready to protest, nostrils flared and chest heaving with deep breaths, but when Jungkook takes one step closer to him and levels him with a glare that would have hell freeze over, he backs away. Of course, not without hissing something about Jungkook being unreasonably hostile and him just wanting to be nice. Jungkook doesn’t jump on it. He just drills his eyes into the guy’s back until he’s out of sight. And the moment he’s out of sight and earshot, Jungkook relaxes and backs off from you, stepping out of your personal space.

“You alright?” 

You almost get whiplash by how quickly his demeanour changes. It’s like a whole new person is standing in front of you.

“Uh, y-yeah,” you stammer dumbly, unable to quite wrap your head around what just happened. “I’m alright. Yeah, uh, thanks.”

“You don’t gotta thank me,” he tells you and rubs the back of his neck, looking shy, and you don’t know how to make do with the different versions of Jungkook presented to you right now. You’re fascinated by how he seamlessly shifts between being both awkward and confident. It should be impossible, but he does it, somehow.

“You wanna get those, uh, chips?” he coughs and takes them from you before you can answer. You don’t, but you don’t find it in you to tell him that. You follow him to the checkout counter.

The clerk comes out from the back and silently rings you up. You’re about to pull out your wallet when Jungkook beats you to it and puts a five-dollar on the counter and slides it over.

“Wait, no, let me-”

“It’s fine,” he tells you, waving you off. The clerk takes the money before you can tell him not to, and you’re left to put away your wallet.

“I’ll pay you back,” you say, and Jungkook shakes his head and gives you the bag of chips. He’s about to repeat himself, but he stops when he sees the guy from before. 

You thought he would leave the store, but you guess you shouldn’t have had any expectations for someone like him. Your face sours when you realise he’s standing right between you and the exit. 

Before you can think of ways to avoid him, Jungkook takes your hands into his, fingers perfectly slotting with yours. You look down, the sight making your stomach twist in your stomach—his tattooed hand cupping yours.

“Let’s go.” He gives you a smile over the shoulder. And somehow, that gives you the confidence to walk past the guy from before with your head held high.

By the time you’re back in the car, you’re smiling.

“Thank you,” you tell him again, and Jungkook waves you off.

“Anytime.”

You put the chips to the other snacks in the back and pull the seatbelt across your chest. “He looked so scared of you.”

“As he should be,” Jungkook laughs and you hum. He slots the keys into the ignition, seatbelt strapped in place. 

“Can’t believe you just did that,” you mumble when you pull out of the gas station, spotting the guy walking out of the store from the corner of your eye.

Jungkook laughs again. “Sorry if I made you, uh, uncomfortable by the way,” he mumbles, and you sit up.

“What? No, you didn’t!” you quickly assure him. “Don’t worry.”

“Yeah?” He chuckles. “Just, uh, so you know I didn’t step in because I thought you couldn’t handle yourself or anything, but I just,” he avoids your gaze, “couldn’t help myself. He was being so aggressive and pushy- I just had to step in, you know? He triggered something in me- I don’t know.”

You smile. “It’s fine.”

Jungkook glances your way as if to make sure you weren’t lying to him. He smiles when he sees no trace of deception in your eyes.

You let a beat pass. “I do have to say,” Jungkook stares at you with big eyes, clearly expecting the worst, “I was surprised by your… confidence.”

“Oh.” And then he laughs, hiding half of his face in his hand. “Yeah, uh- I-I can’t explain it either.” 

He clears his throat, and you let him take his time to find the words. Jungkook sighs at his inability to form a sentence. 

Finally, “I’m sorry for being so awkward,” he looks your way for a split second before focusing on the road again, grip tightening around the steering wheel. He clears his throat one more time. “I just-I just don’t wanna mess this up, you know? You’re Soo’s best friend and she’s dating Joon- and I know she means everything to him, so I don’t want to make a bad impression as his best friend, you know?”

You learn once he starts, Jungkook doesn’t stop, words spilling from his lips in an endless stream.

“I’ve been told I give off a rather unfriendly and rude vibe too. Like I know how shitty I must have looked when I, uh, didn’t help you with your suitcase, and when I kinda insulted you before- also, actually, the snacks I bought earlier?” He gestures behind him. “They were meant to be for you too. For some reason, I just... couldn’t offer them to you?” He shakes his head. “You must think I’m a douche.”

Jungkook looks at you then, and you would have made fun of him then if you were closer and if he hadn’t just heroically saved you from a creep. A smile finds a place on your face, one that bothers on a grin.

“I mean, yeah,” you tell him but are quick to cut back in when you see the mortification set in with him. “I mean, no. I’ve figured you’re kinda awkward. I mean everybody is, right? Some more than others, I guess.”

You realise what you’ve done a second too late. You should feel sorry, incredibly remorseful, but instead, you have to laugh. The face Jungkook pulls amuses you in ways it probably shouldn’t. You’re definitely going to hell.

“No, wait, I didn’t mean it like that,” you say but the laugh that accompanies your words makes it certainly hard to believe you. “Sorry, I just can’t help myself. I swear I don’t mean it like that.”

Jungkook gives you an unimpressed look. 

You gather yourself, but the smile doesn’t disappear completely off your lips. “Okay, look, it’s fine. Now that you’ve explained it, I get it. You’ve got nothing to worry about!”

Jungkook presses his mouth into a line. “So you’re not gonna tell Soo I suck?”

You don’t try to bite away the smile. “No.” He lets out a relieved sigh. “I’m just gonna tell her you’re a douche.”

And for a second, Jungkook believes you, his doe eyes meeting yours. You laugh. He doesn’t join you. He does roll his eyes. It does nothing to lessen your laugh, to his dismay.

“I’m kidding,” you say, just to make sure he won’t get any wrong ideas. “You’re fine. Just… relax. No need to be awkward.”

Jungkook huffs, but there’s a smile on his lips. “I’ll try.”

“Great.”

And when you go back to silence, the air feels much lighter than before.

You switch after a quick stop at McDonald’s for a cheap and greasy lunch. It sits heavy in your stomach, but you don’t have the courage to suggest walking it off. So you get back in the car.

“Can I skip this song?” you ask because you’re the driver and the song makes it hard for you to concentrate. It’s awful. You hate it. You don’t tell him that though.

“Yeah, of course,” Jungkook tells you and skips to the next song. You don’t like this one either, but you don’t say anything. “You can put on your music too if you want, you know?”

“It’s fine. Your music is good.” And you can’t help but quietly add. “Most of the time.”

Jungkook gawks at you then. You have to laugh. “Sorry, I’m just joking.”

“No, no, actually-” He doesn’t finish his sentence and pauses the song. “How about we make a playlist together? Since we’re gonna be stuck in the car for a while, let’s try to make it as enjoyable as possible.”

“Oh, that sounds fun,” you say, really liking the suggestion, and Jungkook’s quick to open Spotify and create a new playlist, sending you the link to it too.

“‘Y/N’s and Jungkook’s Ultimate Summer Roadtrip Soundtrack’,” he says. “What do you think?”

You smile. “Great name.”

“Great.” He grins. “And obviously, the first song has to be ‘Midsummer Madness’ by 88rising, right?” 

You actually agree. The song belongs on every summer playlist.

“Add Jeremy Zucker to it too. ‘supercuts’ and ‘all the kids are depressed’,” you tell him.

Jungkook hums and does as you say. “‘Indigo’ by Niki and ‘100 Degrees’ by Rich Brian, yeah?”

You laugh. “You really like 88rising, don’t you?”

“You don’t?” he shots back, and you roll your eyes. Of course, you do.

“‘Everybody Talks!’ and ‘Animal’ by Neon Trees.”

“Bringing back the 2010s, huh?” Jungkook hums. “‘Sunday Best’ by Surfaces?”

“I don’t think I know this one,” you tell him, and he gasps at you, shaking his head and typing into his phone. A second later, the song plays over the stereo, and instantly, you see his point. “Okay, yeah, add this one.”

“How about ‘Electric Love’?”

You’re more than quick to agree. “Oh, that one for sure.”

“Okay, great,” he hums, and counts the number of songs under his breath. “Nine songs. That’s enough for now, right? We can add to it later.”

You nod. “Now, put it on.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He adds a salute too, and you roll your eyes.

By the time you get to the hotel, it’s late, the sun is long gone. You shut off the engine with a sigh, ready to collapse on a bed.

“Oh, we made it,” Jungkook groans, rubbing his eyes and stretching in his seat. You hum, too tired to speak. “Thank god. I’m done.”

You stretch too, your back cracking like a glowstick, and click off your seatbelt. But your seatbelt clearly doesn’t want you to leave, staying put even when you repeatedly press the button to unlock it.

“Wait, let me,” Jungkook says when he notices you struggling. 

He moves to help you. And right then, your hands brush. It’s stupid, really stupid, but you feel heat crawl up your neck, reaching the tips of your ears, rivalling the warmth of the summer. You even freeze for a second. When you thaw back to life, you flinch and turn your head to the side, screwing your eyes shut as if doing so would change anything.

Jungkook clears his throat awkwardly, and you’re grateful he keeps his gaze trained downwards. You’re certain you would have died of embarrassment if he had looked at you. 

“This seatbelt- it’s a bit, uh, tricky” He fumbles with it as he explains. “You gotta—” He speaks through pauses, voice strained. “—really push it down and-”

It clicks off.

And even though it wasn’t too tight before, you can breathe much better now. Maybe it was the seatbelt and you, somehow, didn’t notice all this time, or maybe it was because breathing got a little difficult when Jungkook was so close to you. But you’re convinced it’s not that. Sure, could you count all of his long eyelashes (which, might you add, are also unfailingly naturally curled too)? Yeah, but that’s not the reason why you feel so relieved. It’s because the seatbelt was digging into your ribs the entire time. It had to be. 

“Thanks,” you cough out and avert your eyes, looking out the window to the hotel. “Let’s, uh, check in, yeah?”

The thing about being four broke college students that are hellbent on going on a cross country roadtrip is you’re willing to cut corners at any point. And one of them is your accommodation. Four people means four hotel rooms. That’s not in your budget, not even when you take three rooms instead of four (with Sooyoung and Namjoon being a couple and whatnot). Two would be in your budget if you weren’t such ambitious shits and insisting on going cross country, meaning you’d need to stay in hotels at least a couple of times throughout the trip. So in the end, you settled for one room. 

One room for four people. 

Well, now it’s just two people.

“Oh,” you say when you walk in, stopping dead in your tracks, the key card still sitting in the lock, hand hovering over the light switch. Jungkook almost bumps into you when you abruptly stop.

“What?” he asks, and you will yourself to respond, but your throat is dry all of a sudden, so you step to the side.

You glance in Jungkook’s direction, curious to see his reaction. He doesn’t react much at all, his lips parting only the tiniest bit as he sees what you did when you walked in. 

“Uh, didn’t we ask for two beds?” he asks, a knit between his brows.

“We did,” you say, frantically scanning the room. Maybe you overlooked the second bed. Maybe there’s one and it will magically appear if you look around once more-

You stop. There’s only one bed.

“They must have forgotten, I guess,” you mumble and take a few steps inside, still holding out hope that maybe just maybe there’s a second bed somewhere. It’s foolish and naive, you know.

“I could go ask if they’ve got another room,” Jungkook proposes, putting down his huge travel bag by the door.

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“I’ll be back in two.”

“Don’t forget the key card,” you remind him on his way out, and he gives you a smile before grabbing it and shutting the door. You sigh and wander over to the bed, carefully sitting down on it like it was made of glass. It is big enough for the both of you, but there’s no way you’re sleeping in it together.

You feel the duvet. It’s softer than you expected it to be, with how cheap this room was. You scan the room one more time before finally letting yourself fall back. For a moment, you lay there in silence before pulling out your phone and checking it for the first time in hours.

Two missed calls from your mother, alongside a handful of texts. You call her back, already knowing what’s about to follow. You hold your phone to your ear. She picks up after just a ring. She’s been waiting.

“Hey, mom.”

“Honey! Are you alright? You didn’t answer my calls and texts!” There’s obvious worry laced with her words. You swallow. Maybe you should reconsider and not keep your phone on silent, at least for the duration of the trip.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’m alright,” you tell her. “I was driving, so I wasn’t on my phone. We just checked in.”

“Oh, well, how’s the trip? Are you having fun?”

You close your eyes and hum. “It’s fun, but I’m also tired.”

“I can imagine. Driving so long isn’t good for your health. You sound very tired,” your mother says, and you think she’s going to launch into the speech she gave you when you first mentioned to her you’ll be going on a roadtrip. She doesn’t though, thankfully. You’re too tired for this. 

“But you know that already. At least, you’re having fun, right?” She only continues when you hum. “Well, how’s Soo?”

You peel your eyes open and grip your phone a little tighter. “Great,” you lie, knowing better than to tell the woman who sat in the kitchen in the darkness, waiting for you to come home after Sooyoung fucked up covering for you, that you were on a roadtrip with a complete stranger, a guy on top of that too.

“Is she doing well? Are you two eating well? What did you have for lunch? Dinner?” your mother asks.

“Uh, we stopped by McDonald’s,” you tell her, and you cringe at how reedy your voice sounds.

Your mother immediately makes a disapproving noise, of course. “For lunch and dinner? You should get something proper. Don’t eat too much McDonald’s. That’s not good for you.”

“Noted.” You decide to keep your answers short, and you hope your mother chalks it up to you being exhausted rather than you trying to hide something from her. 

“And how is it with the two guys? What were their names again? Namjoon and-?”

“Jungkook,” you supply with a cough.

“Ah yes, right, Jungkook. Are they trustworthy?”

“Yes, of course, mom,” you quickly assure, chuckling but it sounds wrong. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. They’re really nice.”

Your mother hums. “Well-”

It’s then that you hear the sound of the key card being inserted into the lock. You shoot up. 

“Uh, mom, I gotta go,” you tell her, the words stumbling from your lips clumsily. 

“What’s the hurry? I thought you were in the hotel-”

“Well—” You lock eyes with Jungkook and you’re quick to gesture for him to not say a word, panic in your eyes. “—uh, Soo just called for me. She needs my, uh, help.”

“Oh, in that case... go help her,” your mother says, and you think you can hear suspicion in her voice. You cringe. She knows something’s up. Why can’t you be a better liar?

“Yeah, I’m gonna do that,” you mumble, and Jungkook slowly closes the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”

And then, you end the call. You breathe out.

“Who-”

“My mom,” you say and throw your phone on the bed. “So? What did they say?”

Jungkook looks confused, taking a moment to connect the dots. “Right, uh, yeah, well they told me we didn’t actually book a room with two beds. Only one with one bed.”

You stare at him. “Oh.”

So you fucked up the reservations, huh? 

“Anyway, I asked if we could maybe switch, but they said,” he rubs his neck and averts his gaze then, “that they didn’t have any other rooms left.”

“Oh,” you repeat and sink back down on the bed. Jungkook leans against the closed door, staring at his shoes. “No rooms?”

“No rooms,” he confirms.

You press your lips into a thin line and search your brain for a solution. But you come up empty. Sooyoung has always been better than you at this. You’ve relied on her for problem-solving since middle school, so that part of your brain is rusty, to say the least. It doesn’t help you’re tired too.

“I could just sleep on the couch.” 

You jerk your head up, and follow Jungkook’s gaze, to the shabby little grey thing you don’t think classified as a couch.

“What? No!” you exclaim and shake your head. “That’s too small.”

“It’s fine,” he says, and you frown at him.

“It looks like it’s about to fall apart.”

“It doesn’t.”

You level Jungkook with a hard gaze. He doesn’t cave, to your dismay. You sigh.

“Fine,” he perks up, “I’ll sleep on it.”

“No- what? I’m gonna sleep on it!”

“No, sorry, I am,” you tell him. “Look, my phone’s already on it.”

He frowns. “It’s not.”

“Now, it is.” You’re just about to toss your phone on the couch when Jungkook beats you to it, throwing his gigantic travel bag across the room. You watch as it slowly tumbles from the couch to the floor.

“Sorry, my bag is on it.” Jungkook points at it like it didn’t just fall to the floor.

“It’s not.” And at your words he quickly rushes over and places his bag on top of the couch before sitting down himself. You stare at him. 

“Yes, yes, it is.” He smiles.

You grit your teeth. “You’re not gonna sleep well on that thing. I slept in the car a bit, so it doesn’t matter if I don’t sleep well now. Plus, I’m the one that fucked up the reservations, so I should be the one sleeping on the couch for it.”

Jungkook hums as if he’s considering your words, but then he clicks his tongue and pats the couch. “I think I’m gonna sleep just fine on this thing.”

“Stop lying-”

“Someone’s calling you.” He points to your phone in your hand, the screen lit up with a call.

You look at it.

Sooyoung.

You contemplate not taking it to continue this argument, but before you can make a decision, Jungkook does it for you. “Go take it. We’ll continue after.”

So even though you’re more than unhappy about this interruption, you do as he says, accepting the call and pressing your phone to your ear. Jungkook gestures over to what you assume must be the bathroom. You don’t bother locking the door when you walk inside. 

“Hey-”

“Oh, so you’ve finally unblocked me, huh?” you hiss and blink a couple of times, the fluorescent lights of the bathroom far too bright. It strains your eyes.

“Look, I had to,” Sooyoung says. “You were being a bad passenger and texting me when you should have been talking to Kook!”

You roll your eyes. “You left me hanging, again. I needed you, you know?”

“Oh, please.” You know exactly what look she has on her face right now. It’s the one where she thinks you’re being dramatic. “You survived, didn’t you?”

“Barely,” you spit. “A creepy guy approached me and wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“What? Are you alright, Y/N?” Sooyoung quickly asks, voice dripping with a mix of worry and exasperation. 

“Yeah, yeah,” you assure her, looking at yourself in the mirror and brushing through your hair with your fingers. “Jungkook came and did the entire ‘why are you talking to my girlfriend?’ shtick.”

“So, you’re alright?” 

You hum.

Sooyoung waits a moment. “So, Kook saved you?”

You practically hear the smirk in her words. You groan. “You’re so annoying, you know?”

She cackles.

“Seriously, Soo, shut up,” you hiss, deciding to change the topic. “Are you guys still stuck?”

“Yeah, the railway companies are on strike until tomorrow morning. We’ll be back in town in the early afternoon. But that’s not important. What’s important is how it’s going with Kook and you. Is he still being awkward?”

You press your lips together. “I mean, no? It’s not as bad as I thought it’d be, but still... I’d much rather have you here too. I really wanted to go with you. It would have been so much fun.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Y/N,” Sooyoung mumbles, and you’re both quiet. She’s about to cry. You can hear it in her voice. You know she must be wracked with guilt, so in an effort to spare the tears, you change the topic, “Oh, by the way, officially, you’re still on the trip with me. I didn’t tell my mom.”

She chuckles then, but it doesn’t sound all that real. “Alright, I’ll cover for you.”

“Do it properly though this time. I swear to God, if you fuck this up again, we’re done,” you joke and elicit another chuckle. It sounds more genuine, but it’s still not quite there. You sigh and tell her something you know will definitely take her mind off things.

“Did I tell you? I fucked up the reservations.”

There’s a pause. 

“What? How? Are you roomless?”

“Worse,” you tell her. “There’s only one bed and the hotel is booked out.” 

For a moment, Sooyoung doesn’t say anything until she bursts out into laughter, prompting a ‘What’s so funny?’ from Namjoon. 

“Holy shit, Y/N! You’re joking, right?” You screw your eyes shut. At least she doesn’t sound like crying anymore. “What in the Wattpad fanfiction is this?”

“Stop fucking laughing, Soo. I’m miserable, alright?”

Your embarrassment triples when you listen to Sooyoung explain the situation to Namjoon. 

“Soo!” you hiss. 

“Sorry, sorry.” She’s still laughing though. Sometimes you wish your rivalry in middle school never stopped. “I’m just- this is just so funny. So what? You guys gonna sleep in the same bed?”

You hate the teasing tone swinging with her words, hate it so much you’re ready to just end the call then and there.

“You’re being a bad friend, you know?” you press through gritted teeth. “But no, we’re obviously not sleeping in the same fucking bed.” You make an effort to keep your voice low, aware that Jungkook’s just outside, sitting on the couch. You doubt the door is soundproof. “That’d be so weird.”

“Why not? I think that’d be a great bonding activity.”

You pause and if she was in front of you, you’d stare daggers into her. Your lips press into a line.

“Soo,” you begin, low and threatening, almost like how Jungkook spoke to the guy at the rest stop, “are you telling me to sleep with Jungkook?”

Sooyoung waits a moment, the silence that stretches between you feeling like forever. And then, “Hey, babe, Kook’s single, right?”

You faintly hear Namjoon's affirmative answer, followed by a confused ‘Why?’, and you think you’re ready to break off your friendship with Sooyoung.

“I fucking hate you,” you whisper, eliciting another round of obnoxious laughter. 

“Look, I actually didn’t mean that,” Sooyoung tells you when she’s finally calmed down. “I was strictly speaking about actual bonding, as in friendship, you know? You’re the one that went there!”

“You said ‘bonding activity’!” you exclaim, clamming your hand in front of your mouth when you raise your voice a bit too much. You look at the door, listening to any sounds from the other side, but luckily, it stays quiet. 

You lower your voice into a hiss. “Don’t blame me for going there! You worded it weirdly.”

“Ah, so it’s never your fault, is it? Just accept it, you’ve got a dirty mind-”

“I’m hanging up. Goodbye.”

And without hesitating, you end the call, watching as your screen darkens. You sigh and run a hand through your hair, shaking your head and her words out of your mind. Sooyoung’s stupid and absolutely wrong. 

With that conclusion, you take one deep breath, making sure to compose yourself before heading out. One look into the mirror, you realise the frown plaguing your features has deepened. You smooth it over as much as possible.

When you walk out, you’re ready to pick up right where you left off, but instead of seeing Jungkook sitting on the couch, you find him curled up on it, knees uncomfortably tucked to his chest, a pillow under his head and a blanket thrown over him. You don’t know where he got both of those things from as the bed is still untouched. His travel bag sits on the floor next to him. 

Jungkook’s sleeping.

Or well, he’s pretending to be asleep. It’s obvious he’s faking it with how stiff he’s lying on the couch. 

“Seriously?” you mutter under your breath and throw your hands into the air. “What happened to talking about it after?”

No response. 

You walk over to him, expecting Jungkook to open his eyes at one point. You know he can feel your gaze on him. There’s no way he isn’t. You’re practically digging daggers into him.

“I know you’re faking,” you say, but again, no response. You contemplate pulling off the pillow and blanket, but you can’t bring yourself to even lift your hand. 

With Sooyoung, you wouldn’t hesitate at all, but with Jungkook, you’re still careful. Because even though you just spent the day getting comfortable with each other, you’re scared you might cross a line and catapult you back to your starting point. You definitely do not want to be the reason for that. 

So you don’t try anything. 

You heave out one heavy sigh. 

“Jungkook, you said we were gonna talk,” you mumble, tired and disappointed. “You’re not being fair.”

You think you see the slightest twitch in his face, the tiniest knit between his brows like he’s contemplating maybe opening his eyes. But then, it’s gone, the lines smoothed over and you know you’re not getting him to drop his act. 

Admitting defeat, you wander over to your suitcase and open it, grabbing your toiletry bag and a change of clothes. 

“Just gonna say you’re gross for not brushing your teeth. They are gonna fall out, you know?” 

You wait for a reaction, but of course, you don’t get one. You roll your eyes and walk into the bathroom, shutting the door with more force than necessary.

Getting into bed feels weird. You’ve never liked sleeping in a bed beside your own, but you especially don’t like it when you see Jungkook curled up in that same uncomfortable and stiff position as before. You want to say something, but you know it’s in vain. So you turn off the lights and crawl under the covers.

You close your eyes, trying to sleep for a few minutes before giving up, eyes peeling open. And it’s not because it feels strange sleeping in a foreign bed. It’s because there’s a coil in your stomach, brewing and stewing in there. 

A coil of guilt.

Taking a deep breath, you throw the covers off you and swing your legs over the mattress. You’re determined as you walk over to Jungkook. 

“Get up,” you say with confidence you don’t know where you got from. “Jungkook, stop pretending. I know you’re not sleeping”

You think it’s the annoyance in your voice, the strictness swinging with it because finally, Jungkook does as you say and peels his stupid doe eyes open. Your gazes meet. He looks sheepish, embarrassed almost, and you click your tongue.

“Come on,” you say and grab his blanket. “You’re not sleeping on the couch.”

“It’s fine,” Jungkook repeats, pulling back the blanket. “Seriously, the couch is comfortable-”

“Oh, shut up,” you groan and throw your head into your neck. “You’re not sleeping on the couch, okay? You’re almost falling off this thing! Look at yourself, curled up like a goddamn shrimp. How are you gonna sleep like that?”

Jungkook opens his mouth but falls short. 

“See!” you laugh because this is so stupid, and he looks away, defeated.

You take a deep breath before continuing, knowing once you say this, you can’t take it back. 

“Just come sleep in the goddamn bed with me.”

Before Jungkook can even begin to comprehend your words, you grab his blanket and walk over to the bed. You throw the blanket on it.

“Uh,” confusion and uncertainty swing with his voice, “both of us? In the same bed?”

You can feel heat crawl up your neck at his question. You blame him for it, for the way he words it. It’s weird, sounds wrong. 

“Don’t make this weird. I’m just saying- there’s enough space, right?” You gesture at the bed. “And I-” You pause for a moment. “We’ll use your pillow as a barrier.” 

Even though you try your hardest to sound confident and not let any of the embarrassment leak through, you can hear the quiver in your voice. You hope Jungkook doesn’t. 

When you look at him again, he’s still staring at you, sitting up now though.

“I mean if you don’t wanna,” you’re starting to lose all of the courage you had before, “that’s fine too. I just thought that since, you know, the couch-”

“No, no, no,” he interrupts and grabs his pillow, standing up, “I’m just-” 

Jungkook pauses. A smile finds his lips. You lock eyes.

“If you’re comfortable with it, I’m too.”

You don’t think you’ve seen Jungkook look at you like this before, quite frankly you don’t think anyone has ever looked at you like this. There’s so much sincerity and honesty in his eyes. You can’t handle it. You avert your eyes.

“Yeah, uh, I’m fine with it,” you cough, and wave him off. “Just, you know, a barrier.”

He places the pillow right in the middle. “Good?” 

You nod before crawling under the covers. For some reason, breathing gets a bit harder as you do.

“Uh.” You snap your gaze to Jungkook at his interruption, eyes big when you look at him. “I think I’m gonna go wash up and change,” he tells you, gesturing at himself, still in his clothes from today. 

“Oh, yeah, of course,” you say. “Go do that.”

“Wouldn’t want my teeth to fall out, would I?” he smiles, and you roll your eyes at him. You don’t think he can see it in the darkness, but then you spot a grin on his lips.

“Just go.” You wave him off.

The fluorescent lights of the bathroom spill into the room through the crack under the door, and in the darkness, they seem especially bright and straining. You close your eyes.

“Ah, shit,” you hear Jungkook curse, followed by the faint sound of his toiletry bag dropping to the floor, and then, the calm sound of running water. Usually, you would slowly fall asleep, the sounds serving as white noise, but you can’t. Not when the realisation dawns on you Jungkook must have heard everything before. 

You figured the door wasn’t soundproof, but you didn’t expect it to be this thin. Jungkook heard everything. You’re sure of it. Before you were embarrassed. Now, you’re mortified.

You dig the heels of your hands into your eyes and bite your lip, stopping yourself from groaning.

By the time Jungkook comes back, you’ve decided to go with his tactic of pretending to be asleep. Unlike him, you’re actually able to put on a pretty good act. Your acting abilities are confirmed when you hear him stop dead in the tracks.

“Oh.”

It’s quiet, barely audible, not louder than a slight puff of air, but you hear it loud and clear. Your senses are heightened and focused solely on every sound Jungkook makes. His steps are feather-light, making it difficult for you to follow where he is in the room, but when you feel the mattress dip, you know.

Jungkook moves slowly, not wanting to wake you. You almost smile at his carefulness. Sooyoung would never act like this. (In fact, she would probably bang on doors and turn on the lights just to wake you up and complain to you about how you fell asleep too quickly.) 

Like it weighs a ton, Jungkook slowly lifts the blanket. You want to tell him to hurry and get into bed, but you bite your tongue, letting him do his thing. This must be a world record for the longest time to get into bed, you think.

When he’s finally lying next to you, Jungkook lets out a sigh. You can feel his presence beside you, his body pressing into the pillow. It’s hard not to notice. 

Nothing happens for a few minutes, and you wonder if you could peel your eyes open and take a peek, see his back turned to you. Just as you’re about to though,

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

And then, you feel Jungkook tug the blanket closer to your chin, covering you up even more. Heat crawls up your cheeks. You decide to keep your eyes closed.

Your mouth drops open when you see Jungkook’s plate, a marvellous stack of golden brown pancakes with the perfect slap of butter on top and a tiny bowl filled with brown sugary sweet maple syrup. Your bun with jam looks incredibly sad and plain in comparison, unappetising even. When you walked along the buffet, you didn’t see pancakes. How did you miss them?

“You wanna try?” Jungkook asks you, scooting closer with his chair and pointing at his pancakes. You tear your gaze to him.

“No, it’s fine.” 

“You sure?”

He levels you with a serious gaze, and you know he’s not just offering you out of politeness. “Yeah, just eat.”

You try not to look at Jungkook’s plate, eyes focusing on your cup of coffee, but you can’t help but take a peek when he pours the maple syrup on top. It’s illegal how good it looks. He catches you staring. Your eyes grow big before you bring yourself to look away, pretending like you’ve got a piece of lint stuck to your pants.

You bring your cup of coffee to your lips and take a sip. It’s in that moment when Jungkook transfers half of his stack of pancakes onto your plate. You start choking.

“Jungkook!” you exclaim, causing other guests to look your way, but you can’t be bothered to give them an apologetic smile. “What are you doing?”

“Just eat,” he tells you and picks up his fork and knife, slicing into his remaining pancakes. You shake your head and quickly put down your cup to give him his food back, but,

“Y/N, don’t you dare. I gave it to you. It’s a gift. You can’t refuse a gift.”

You gawk at him. 

“Jungkook,” you start, but he waves you off again, shoving the bite into his mouth. “It’s your food.”

“Not anymore,” he tells you, mouth still half full, and you think you would have cringed if he hadn’t just given you half of his stacks of pancakes. “It’s really good.” He points at his plate. “You should try.”

Admitting defeat, you heave out a sigh and tear your bun in half, placing it on his plate.

“Y/N-”

“It’s a gift,” you repeat. “You can’t refuse a gift.”

Jungkook stares at you then before smiling and shaking his head. 

He’s inside, handling the checking out, when you realise you’re inherently weak. What other conclusion are you supposed to come to when you can't lift your suitcase into the trunk?

You groan as you try once more, propping up your leg to use as leverage, but it’s not enough. Your stance is weak, and you start toppling. Just before this can end badly, with your butt on the concrete and your suitcase on the floor, your knight in shining armour makes a second appearance. 

Jungkook places one hand behind your back, steadying you, and takes your suitcase from you with the other. Like it weighs nothing, he puts it in the trunk. A part of you is offended by how easy he makes it look.

“You alright?” He turns to you, giving you a worried look. You wave him off, feeling vaguely out of breath. Whether it’s due to you straining to get your suitcase in, or the fact Jungkook still has his hand on your back, you don’t know and also don’t want to know.

“I’m fine,” you huff in the end, and his touch leaves you. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“Honestly thought you were gonna watch me in the rearview mirror again,” you mumble, and his hands still around the hatchback, gaze finding yours. You crack a smile. “I’m joking. I know you’re not a douche.”

He rolls his eyes at you, but there’s a smile on his lips as he does. You fish the keys out of your pocket.

“Ready for another day of driving?”

You’ve been on the road for almost three hours when you decide to make a stop, Jungkook needing to use the restroom.

“I’ll be quick,” he says and is already halfway out of the car but stops when he sees you fumble with your seatbelt.

“I’m getting out too,” you tell him when you notice his look. “My legs are sore. But you can go first. I know you gotta pee.”

“Oh, no, I can wait.”

You don’t respond, far too busy with the seatbelt. Maybe you should not get out. Maybe that’s your sign that staying in the car would be better. But, like all of the times before, Jungkook’s here for your rescue.

“Can I-?”

This time you make sure to pull your hands away fast enough, but you still don’t dare to look as he works on the seatbelt, cheeks ablaze for some reason. Deep down, you know. It’s the proximity. It’s the fact that you can see every mole speckling his skin, the fact that you can cup his cheeks, lift his face to you and push your lips against his-

Oh, God.

It’s the lack of sleep. It’s definitely the lack of sleep.

You close your eyes and bite your tongue, focusing on thinking about anything but how close Jungkook is to you.

You only open your eyes when you hear the click of your seatbelt. Jungkook leans back, and you start to breathe again.

“What would you do without me?” he asks, grinning, and you don’t meet his gaze.

“Probably be stuck in the car forever,” you say, swallowing thickly, the words coming out breathlessly.

He grins, picking up on none of that. “Probably.”

The moment your feet hit the concrete, you sigh, in need of some movement. Your mother’s right. Driving so long really is not good for your health.

Jungkook trails behind you as you walk into the little convenience store, your steps much more hurried than his. He almost bumps into you when you stop dead in your tracks. He’s about to ask you what’s wrong when he sees the other customers, all men, older men. It’s an intimidating sight. You swallow, reminded of yesterday.

“You alright?” Jungkook asks quietly, giving you a smile and stepping in front of you.

“Uh, y-yeah,” you say and clear your throat. “I mean yeah, I’m alright. It’s just-”

“You want to hold my hand?” 

The question catches you off guard. You look up to Jungkook. “W-what?”

“You know because-”

He doesn’t finish his sentence and just looks behind him. You don’t follow his gaze because you know what he’s saying. You take this short moment to admire his face, the softness of it.

“I mean you also don’t gotta,” he clears his throat. “Just so we can prevent yesterday from happening-”

Jungkook stops when you take his hands into yours, fingers slotting with his. He looks down before meeting your gaze, a smile spreading on his lips.

“Thanks,” you whisper into his arm, and he squeezes your hand.

“Anytime.”

‘Everybody Talks’ by Neon Trees just finished playing when Jungkook turns his head to you, his phone in his hand.

“Joon texted they got back,” he tells you, and you hum. “Reminds me, you never told me why Joon and Soo were out of town.”

“Did I not say?” You pucker your forehead. “Well, you know how it’s Joon’s and Soo’s anniversary?” He nods. “Well, he decided to take out Soo for a romantic getaway.”

“Oh, that’s cute,” Jungkook says, and you wrinkle your nose.

“You mean gross.”

“You think so?”

“You don’t?” you shoot back and look at him, raising a brow. You focus on the road again. “Also, look how their romantic getaway turned out. They ended up missing the roadtrip, and now we’re stuck here.”

Jungkook eyes you, words clearly sitting on his tongue, but he swallows them. 

“I guess.”

So far you haven’t hit traffic yet. So when you do after hours of travelling, you can’t even be pissed. You are, however, bored. 

Because there’s a sleeping Jungkook to your right, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his head stiffly pulled back. 

You keep yourself entertained by playing the playlist he and you created through your earbuds, quietly jamming to it until you run out of songs and start adding to it. 

You just added ‘warm’ by Junggigo and ‘Butterflies’ by Fiji Blue to the playlist when Jungkook shifts next to you. Your gaze lands on him, and you hold your breath as you watch him stir and stir until slowly, he peels his eyes open.

The first thing he does is groan.

“Ah, fuck.”

His voice is deeper than usual, thick with sleep, and his face contorts with pain. You know it’s his neck. Your assumption is confirmed when he holds it, rubbing it.

“Morning,” you greet him, quietly, earphones and phone landing in your lap. “You okay?”

Jungkook looks at you, putting on a smile.

“Hey, yeah, morning. I’m fine.” He’s definitely not. “I just slept weird.”

Jungkook rubs his eyes and stretches, groaning as he does. He blinks a couple of times, taking everything in.

“One and a half days, right?” he says, sighing. “I mean no traffic. That’s not too bad?”

You hum. “Yeah, guess we’re lucky we only hit traffic now.”

Jungkook exhales again, long and heavy, still somewhat drowsy, and looks out the window, taking in the beautiful blue sky.

“You wanna play a game?”

You turn to him at his sudden question. “A game?”

He smiles, wide awake now. “Yeah, to pass the time.”

You hum. “What game?”

“21 questions.”

“When you said play a game, you meant... ask me questions?” you say and smile when you see the look on his face.

“Well, it’s still a game-”

You give him a look, nose scrunching. “Sure,” you say. “Now hit me. What’s your question?”

“Okay, so,” a knit forms between Jungkook’s brows, “do you want to improve the world we live in?”

You still, and turn to Jungkook, your face twisting in confusion. “That’s your question? I thought 21 questions was meant to be casual, not deep.”

“Just answer the question, Y/N,” he says. “Or what? You’re too scared?”

You raise a brow. “Too scared? You think I’m too scared?” You laugh and shake your head. 

“Fine, yes, I do,” you sigh. “I do wanna improve the world. I mean obviously, right? The world is shit, so of course I wanna change it.” You pause. “Do I think I will? No. But would I like to? Sure.”

Jungkook smiles. “See! I feel like I know you much better already. Okay, what would-”

“What are you doing? What game is this when I’m the only one answering questions? This isn’t an interview, right?”

He sighs. “Fine, my answer’s the same-”

“You’re not answering the same question. That’s boring,” you say and click your tongue. “No, you’re gonna tell me—” You pause to think, a knit forming between your brows. You light up when you come up with something. “—what your biggest weakness is.”

“I thought this was not meant to be an interview?” 

“Just answer the question, Jungkook,” you parrot. “Or what? You’re too scared?”

And then he shakes his head before puckering his forehead in thought. “I suck at social interactions. Like, I’m awkward as shit.”

You click your tongue. “Doesn’t count.”

“What do you mean-”

“It means I already know that and these questions are supposed to get me to know you better. Think of another weakness.”

Jungkook grumbles but doesn’t protest it, pausing to think. “I can’t think of anything else right now-”

“Are you saying you’ve got no other weakness?” You drive up when the line moves. “Wow, that’s arrogant.”

“Fine, let me think.” He pauses, and you’re about to tell him it’s fine when he continues. “I guess I’m immature- well, immature isn’t the right word. I think I’m sometimes a bit... reckless.” He levels you with a look. “Good enough?”

You hum. “A great weakness. You’re hired.”

Jungkook grumbles. “Okay, now my turn. What would you change about yourself?”

“Change about myself?” you repeat under your breath, scrunching your nose as you think about it. 

“I mean I think I’d like to be more disciplined. Have more self-control, you know?” You press your mouth into a line. “I’m not a very confrontational person either. If I can, I will avoid uncomfortable situations at all cost, even if that means it inconveniences me.” You shrug. “I feel like there’s always something to change though, right? We could always work on ourselves and be a better and kinder version of ourselves, don’t you think?”

“Wow, you must be great at interviews,” he says, and you grin. “Your turn.”

You hum as you try to think of a question. “Tell me your greatest strength.”

“You know you’re asking awfully lot of interview questions for the fact that you teased me-”

“Just answer the question, Jungkook,” you repeat. “Or what? You’re too-”

“My greatest strength,” he interrupts loudly, and you grin, “is probably… my patience. Also, I feel like I’m pretty nice once you get to know me and get past all of the, you know, awkwardness.”

You let out a high pitched sound. “Don’t know if I’d agree.”

He snaps his head to you, eyes blown out, and the way he’s looking at you now reminds you of the way he stared at you when you told him Sooyoung and Namjoon weren’t coming. Once again, you’re convinced if you slap him on the back of his head, his eyes would fall out.

“Y/N!”

“I’m joking!”

Jungkook stares at you, face hard and serious. You know you should take him seriously, but all you can do is laugh when you look at him. 

“Stop teasing me!”

“It’s fun though,” you tell him, smiling. “Also you’re gullible. Another weakness.”

The groan that escapes him only makes your smile widen even more. 

“Whatever,” he mumbles and crosses his arms in front of his chest. You want to poke him in the cheek and tease him for being such a moody teenager, but you think that will earn you a glare.

“You still wanna play your little game?”

“I thought it wasn’t a game-”

“So you don’t.”

Your words have Jungkook snapping his head to you, and you can see the conflict in his eyes. On one hand, he wants to tease you. On the other hand, he does want to continue playing. At this point, you’re beaming.

“Just ask,” you say as a sort of peace offering, a silent promise you’ll stop teasing him so much (for now at least). And he takes it, somewhat reluctantly but definitely gladly.

“What’s your biggest regret?”

You pause, and almost forget to drive up when the line moves. Unlike with the previous questions, you think a lot longer about this one, a sight that makes Jungkook smile.

“Good question, isn’t it? Got no answer, do you?”

“Well, you tell me your biggest regret then.”

He tsks you. “This is your question. You gotta answer it, not me.”

You purse your lips and think. “Probably when I decided cutting my hair with a pair of blunt kitchen scissors was a good idea. You’ll find no pictures of me during junior year.”

“That’s your only regret?” He arches a brow. 

“I once touched the hot stovetop and burned myself pretty badly.”

“How old were you?”

“Six maybe?”

“That doesn’t count then,” he tells you, and as much as you want to protest, you know he’s right. Being a kid and doing stupid stuff is a given. It shouldn’t be a regret.

You sigh. 

The only other thing you can come up with is the time you decided to hook up with Jungkook. It’s not the act in itself was something you regretted, but it just feels weird for you to share such a history with him. It’s unlike you. You know in a separate universe he and you hooking up probably lead to something more, a relationship maybe, one that you grew happy being in. But this isn’t the universe in which you get together with Jungkook. It’s the one in which you have to anxiously sit next to him as you hope he’ll never remember you.

“Well, I have had too much and done some stupid stuff,” you tentatively begin, trying to be as vague as possible, not wanting to possibly jumpstart Jungkook’s memories.

“Like?”

You look out your window and press your hands into your thighs. “Like think I can dance or sing all of a sudden, or that texting my ex is a brilliant idea.”

“Feel like we’ve all done that.”

His eyes are on you. You can feel it, and you know he’s not letting this go until you give him something.

“Well, once I…. went home with this guy.” 

You instantly regret speaking. You don’t dare to look at Jungkook, far too scared that recognition might reflect in his eyes. You don’t know what you would do then.

“He was that bad, huh?” A laugh accompanies his question, and you try to mimic it, keeping the atmosphere light.

“I mean no, but it’s just… not like me at all, you know?” You gesture around yourself. “To hook up with people. Not something I’d do sober. It’s just… embarrassing. It has nothing to do with him, just- you know, me-”

Jungkook looks at you then, his mouth opening to say something, but you stop him, desperate to change the topic.

“Oh,” you pick up your phone, “right! I’ve, uh, added a couple of new songs to the playlist.”

He knows what you’re doing. Jungkook’s not stupid. But thankfully, he lets you off the hook.

“Put them on.”

“I’m banning McDonald’s,” you say when you walk out of the third clown restaurant in less than two days. “I can’t do this again.”

Jungkook laughs next to you, still sipping on his coke. “Well, it does look like we’re gonna be at the hotel early. We can go look for a proper place to have dinner then.”

“Please,” you sigh and tuck a strand behind your ear when you feel a gust of wind. Your steps are exceptionally slow, stomach filled with a mediocre cheeseburger and greasy fries.

“Alright, we’ll do that then,” Jungkook hums. “Keys?”

You fish them out of your pocket and hand them to him. You’ve fallen into a routine. Around lunchtime, you switch. 

You perk up when you see Jungkook rub his neck, face twisted in pain. You’ve already noticed him rubbing his neck earlier when you were eating. 

“Hey,” he stops and looks at you, “I just remembered. I need something from the store.” You point at the little convenience store next to McDonald’s. “Go ahead. I’ll be right back.”

And before Jungkook can offer to go with you, you walk inside, hoping you’ll find what you’re looking for. They must have them here too, you think. It takes you a minute to find them, but when you do, you beam. But your smile is quickly replaced by a frown when you see the price. When you remember how he’s been rubbing and massaging his neck for the last hour, it disappears and you walk over to the checkout.

Jungkook replaced his coke for his phone when you come back, a frown etching into his face when he sees the plastic bag you’re holding.

“What did you-”

He stills when you pull it out. You hold it out to him.

“It’s for you.” 

You shove it into his hands.

“Y/N,” he begins, voice soft and quiet, face softening. “Why?”

“Because obviously, your neck is hurting. Now, try it out.”

Jungkook gives you a look before sighing and putting the neck pillow around his neck, leaning into it.

“And? You feel supported?”

He smiles. “Very.”

You ball up the plastic bag and throw it into the back. “Great.”

“How much was it? It must have been so expensive,” Jungkook says, and you roll your eyes. “I’ll pay you-”

“No, you’re not,” you say. 

“Just tell me how-”

“No.”

He removes the neck pillow and levels you with a look. 

“Y/N.”

“Jungkook,” you repeat, not nearly as serious though. 

The corners of your lips quirk up when he heaves out a sigh. He closes his eyes. “You’re not gonna tell me, are you?”

“Of course not,” you grin and put on your seatbelt. “Now drive. I wanna have a proper dinner.”

Even though you’ve never been to this city before, the park reminds you oddly enough of your local park. You think it’s the Magnolia trees.

Looking around, you’re glad Jungkook suggested you get takeout instead of sitting in the little dingy Chinese diner when your initial plans of going to the city’s best sushi place fell through. (They didn’t accept walk-ins.) As sad as it was (and it really was because Jungkook spent an hour comparing dozens of restaurants on Yelp and sacrificed a good chunk of his data), you’re happy you ended up in the park. Something about having dinner under the summer sky is just especially calming and beautiful, the warm sticky evening air blowing in your face. 

“I like it here,” you tell Jungkook, and he hums, mouth stuffed with fried rice.

“It’s nice,” he agrees with you, and you pick up your chopsticks again, shovelling your noodles into your mouth. “But the food…”

He trails off, and you almost start laughing. 

“Yeah, it’s not great,” you say and swallow. “The noodles are weirdly greasy.”

“Yeah, I can see.” Jungkook points at your oil-soaked paper container. “The rice is not good either. Too wet, and it has a weird aftertaste too.”

You hum. You did switch to noddles for a reason. 

“But,” you look at him, pulling up a chopstick full of noodles, “still better than McDonald’s.”

“That’s for sure, and,” he picks up a spring roll from your shared box sitting between you on the bank, “the spring rolls are actually really fucking good.”

You grab one for yourself. “Yeah, they got those right.” 

The sun isn’t setting just yet, but it is slowly losing its vibrancy, fading into the background. The light it does have left filters beautifully through the leaves and flowers of the Magnolia trees, creating soft and delicate shadows on the concrete that dance in rhythm with the wind. You sit right underneath a majestic Magnolia tree, and from your bench, you can see a small family of three having a nice little picnic on your left and a group of kids playing football on your right. You tuck your hair out of your face when a breeze blows past you. It’s not too hot or humid today.

It’s the perfect summer day.

And once again, you notice how fading and fleeting the warm months are, notice how it’s all slowly coming to a bittersweet ending, how this trip will be the thing defining your summer until next year. You smile at that thought. Oddly enough, you’re fine with that.

“It’s a really beautiful day though,” you mumble, and Jungkook looks over to you, mouth stuffed with fried rice. He pauses. “Makes up for the mediocre food.”

He sticks his chopsticks into the rice (something his mother would scold him for) and wipes his mouth. His eyes are on you, solely on you. You don’t notice. He smiles.

“Beautiful indeed.”

When you finish eating (and by finish you mean when neither of you can stomach any longer of the mediocre Chinese food without risking possibly getting food poisoning), the sun has slowly begun to set, golden hour coming to an end. The little family is long gone at this point, and the group of kids you watched a minute ago are nowhere to be seen either. 

You’re gathering up your leftovers, packing them all up and making sure to leave nothing behind, when Jungkook suddenly straightens up. You’re far too busy to notice it, and by the time you do, he’s already up and walking away, leaving you without an explanation.

“Uh-”

The rest of your sentence gets lodged in your throat when he begins to run. You see it then. An ice cream truck. You hear it then too, the faint little tune coming from it. You spot the group of kids huddled around it, holding their wallets up in the air. That’s where they went, you think.

When Jungkook comes back, you’ve long finished packing everything up.

“Here,” he says, holding out a Spiderman shaped ice cream to you. “I mean unless you want Iron Man.”

You laugh and gladly accept Spiderman. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you gonna let me repay you?”

And when Jungkook just moves the plastic bags to the side and sits down next to you, you know the answer. 

Is it a good idea to eat ice cream so shortly after all of that Chinese food? Definitely not. Do either of you care? Not at all.

“You think they’re on a date?” you ask when you spot two teenagers by the ice cream truck. Even from afar, you can see their fidgeting. You smile, remembering how you used to be like that too. Sometimes still are even.

“Look at him,” Jungkook laughs, gesturing towards the boy. “They’re definitely on a date. You can see he wants to hold her hand.”

You hum and go back to eating.

“You think people think we’re dating when they look at us?”

You stop. For a moment, you don’t react at all until it hits you and you snap your gaze to Jungkook, eyes wide.

“W-what?” you sputter and almost choke.

Jungkook instantly begins to laugh, a gigantic smile growing on his lips. “What? Is it so bad if people might think that?” he asks, taking a bite from his ice cream, and you would have cringed and told him not to do that if your brain wasn’t reeling from his question.

“I- what? I-I don’t-”

You stop when he laughs even more, and soon enough your face twists in annoyance, nose scrunching. A pout grows on your lips and you avert your gaze, cheeks ablaze.

“It’s not funny,” you inform him, but Jungkook doesn’t agree, grinning at you. “But no, I don’t think so.” 

You still don’t look at him when you speak.

“Really?” There’s disbelief in his voice. “I mean I’m not trying to imply anything, but, you know, you and I are sitting on the bench together, eating ice cream and-”

“Sure, yeah, but this is also not a romcom in which we dance under the stars, go on coffee shop dates, and sneak out to meet in the middle of the night, Jungkook,” you interrupt, the words spilling from your lips quickly. “This is the 21st century. People no longer assume we’re dating because you’re a guy and I’m a girl and we’re having ice-”

“Didn’t you assume that they’re dating because they are a guy and girl getting ice cream?” Jungkook asks and points at the two teenagers. You still and press your mouth into a line.

His gaze lingers on you as he waits and waits for your defence. You can’t come up with anything though. So in a desperate attempt to save face, you get up and grab one of the plastic bags. 

“I’m tired,” you announce, voice thin and weak.

You know Jungkook’s smirking. You expect a comment, but nothing follows. He just gets up, grabs the other bag and happily takes another bite from his Iron Man ice cream as he catches up with you.

This time you didn’t fuck up the reservations. This time there are two beds, so when you get back, there’s no discussion and fight about who takes the couch. This time you both just claim your beds.

Jungkook lets you have the bathroom first, and when you’re done, showered and washed up, you find him eating the rice from before.

“Thought it tasted off,” you say as you dry your hair with a towel, and he hums.

“It does,” he looks at you, “but it’s still food.”

You smile and sit down on the bed, pulling out your phone and checking your messages; assuring your mother you’re fine, making plans with Yeji and Sana to go shopping after the trip, and telling Sooyoung you’re back in the hotel.

“Gonna wash up,” Jungkook tells you, and you look up to find him no longer eating, everything packed up.

“Alright.”

The call comes right when you hear the shower turn on.

“Y/N!” Sooyoung greets you, the smile audible in her voice.

“Hey,” you mumble and lie down, rubbing your eyes and suppressing a yawn. “What’s up?”

“Oh, I just wanted to check in with you.” You look over to the bathroom. The shower is still running. You have time. “How’s it with Kook?”

You press your lips together. “Fine.”

“See!” You have to hold your phone away from your ear, cringing at her volume. “I told you it wasn’t gonna be bad!”

“Yeah, whatever,” you mumble and sigh, closing your eyes as you feel the exhaustion taking over you more and more. 

“How did you solve the bed dilemma yesterday?”

“Soo,” you press through your teeth, hoping it’s enough for her to get the message.

“Oh, Y/N, just tell me! Did you guys sleep in one bed?”

You pinch your nose bridge and sigh. “Please, stop.”

“You gotta tell me! Don’t leave me hanging like that,” she tells you, and you want to groan, but refrain when you hear the shower stop.

“He took the couch, okay? Happy?” you hiss. It’s not a complete lie. Jungkook did take the couch, for around ten minutes.

“Oh, did he? How gentleman of Kook,” Sooyoung says, but you hear a smirk on her lips. You frown. “But,” your heart sinks in your chest, “Joon told me Kook told him you ended up sharing the bed.”

“I’m hanging up again,” you say and end the call early once more.

When Jungkook comes back, you’re already tucked in, phone charging on the nightstand and eyes squeezed shut. You hear him still at your sight before his footsteps resume again. 

There’s silence. 

Until there isn’t.

A thud.

You turn on the lamp, just to see Jungkook sitting on a sunken bed.

“Did you break-”

He presses his mouth into a thin line.

“Yup.”

Jungkook didn’t break the bed. The hotel staff informs you there’s a loose screw. It’s been fixed but needs fixing again. They apologise profusely.

You sigh when he finishes relaying all of the information. “So moving rooms, huh?”

“Yeah, uh, about that...” 

Jungkook gives you a look you can’t place, but when he picks up the bedding and throws it all on the couch, it dawns on you.

“Don’t tell me…” You don’t finish your sentence. “How?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Seems like a lot of people are going on roadtrips now.”

You bury your face in your hands. This feels like a fucking joke. Sooyoung’s right. What in the Wattpad fanfiction is this?

“Okay, but clearly I’m sleeping on the couch,” you say, and Jungkook’s quick to lie down before you can act.

“Look, Y/N, let’s not do this again. It’s my bed that broke, so I should sleep-”

“But your neck!”

“Goodnight.”

And with that, Jungkook pulls the cover over his body and turns his back to you, letting out the most obnoxiously loud and fake snore. 

This time it’s not a full-size bed. This time it’s just a twin size bed. This time you still can’t let Jungkook sleep on that stupidly small couch, not with his neck pain for sure. (Why can’t hotels have decently sized couches?)

“You’re not gonna let me sleep on the couch, are you?” 

You get a loud snore in response. You heave out a sigh.

“Can I trust you?”

There’s no snoring this time. You think he knows where you’re going with this. You fumble with the covers, heart thumping in your chest.

“We can’t… put a barrier this time.”

And like he’s been stung, Jungkook sits up, his eyes wide as he looks at you. You look away, and you hope the lamp is dim enough to hide the embarrassment etched into your face.

“Just-” Your voice is weak, cracking. You’re running out of air. “I can trust you, right?”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Jungkook’s eyes soften. “Y/N, I’m really fine with sleeping on the-”

“Well—” You tuck a strand behind your ear, feeling hot all of a sudden. The AC is running though? “—I’m not. You’ve got the neck pain and the couch is also fucking tiny. Just, you know, don’t be…. weird.”

You’re certain. The AC must be broken. How else is it possible that your entire body is on fire, burning up as you speak? That must be it. The AC must have just broken.

Jungkook doesn’t say anything for a while, thinks about your proposal, and you can hear your heart grow louder in your chest, pounding harder against your rib cage.

“Are you sure?”

He asks this quietly and tentatively. It gives you the courage to look back at him. He levels you with the same look he gave you when you offered to sleep in the same bed before. You hold his gaze, somehow.

“Yeah.”

And then, Jungkook gets up, taking his bedding with him, but you stop him.

“I don’t think-”

He pauses and you gesture at the bed to finish your sentence. There’s no space. That’s what you want to say, but it never leaves your lips. He understands though, and leaves the bedding on the couch.

There’s an awkwardness hanging between you as Jungkook walks over. It’s comical really, especially when you think about the fact that he and you have done a lot more than sleep in a bed together. Sure, you had alcohol buzzing through your systems then, but still, it’s ridiculous how tense it is right now.

When he lifts the cover, you can instantly feel the tininess of the bed. He and you will be sleeping centimetres apart from each other.

“Sorry,” Jungkook apologises when he bums your hand with his, clumsily slipping into bed. The apology is pointless though because his entire arm ends up being pressed against yours.

“I’m just gonna-” 

You don’t finish speaking and just turn on your side, back facing towards him. He nods before doing the same. You turn off the lamp. Jungkook shifts, and when you peek over your shoulder, you see him lying on the edge of the mattress, on the brink of falling out of the bed.

You sigh. “Do you-”

He perks up when you speak, and you have to pause to gather your voice. It’s hoarse for some reason.

“Do you want to come closer?”

You whisper the question. It’s barely audible, but with Jungkookso close to you, he hears it, clearly, like you whispered it into his ear.

“I’m fine-”

“You’re falling off the bed,” you tell him, and close your eyes before forcing the words out, clearing your throat. “If you want to, you can, uh, put your arm around me.”

For a moment, Jungkook doesn’t say anything. You think he’s going to decline, tell you it’s the last thing he would want-

“Are you, uh, sure?”

You want to throw the covers to the side. It’s too damn hot, your face on fire at this point.

“Yeah.”

Nothing happens and for a while, all you hear is his breathing before he starts to shift, his arm lifting underneath the cover and hesitantly sneaking around your middle.

“Is this, uh, okay?” he asks, careful to not put too much pressure on you, and you nod.

“Y-yeah.”

He clears his throat. “Alright.”

Jungkook is breathing into your neck. He must be close, you think, so close that if you turned, your lips would almost be touching. You squeeze your eyes shut at the thought, glad you’re facing away from him.

“Goodnight.”

You can’t tell him the same, your voice long gone at this point. 

“This is why you wanted to check out so early?” Jungkook thanks the waitress when she takes back the menu. “So we could have breakfast?”

Your face is scrunched up in a frown, confusion etched into your features. “Why couldn’t we just have breakfast at the hotel?”

Jungkook beams at you. “Hotel breakfast doesn’t compare to café breakfast, does it?”

“Yeah, but I could have slept another hour,” you say and run a hand through your hair, rubbing your eyes.

“Slept that badly, huh?”

You look at Jungkook. His face is twisted in something you can’t pinpoint.

“Stop,” you tell him, shaking your head. “I’m just always tired.”

He doesn’t respond then, and just curls his fingers around the orange cup, sipping on his coffee.

You’re not lying. You actually didn’t sleep badly, and you think you should assure him of that, tell Jungkook that you’re naturally always tired because you’re a college student, that sharing a bed with him isn’t the reason for your exhaustion, but somehow, you can’t will yourself to form the words.

“It’s nice here,” you say, looking around the café, the scnet of buttery pastries and freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air, powdered sugar floating around, the quiet hissing of the coffee machine in the back accompanying the piano music playing through the speakers.

“Best café in the city,” Jungkook told you, and you raise a brow.

“Did you scour Yelp-”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

Jungkook makes a face then, and you know longer than anyone else would, hours at least. You shake your head in disbelief and mutter under your breath, “You’ve got too much time on your hands.”

“Well, you like it here right? Totally worth it then,” he says, and as much as you don’t want to, heat crawls up your neck.

Your food arrives shortly after; a handful of golden brown waffles topped with powdered sugar, slices of strawberries and blueberries, and a steaming buttery croissant with jam on the side. The sight is Instagram worthy, your jaw dropping wide open.

“See, scouring Yelp for hours on end was worth it,” Jungkook grins, taking a picture of your food, and you frown.

“How much did you sleep?” you ask, reaching for your coffee and blowing across the surface, narrowing your eyes. There’s a click when you put it back on its saucer, a drop of coffee spilling on it. Brown clashing with washed-out purple.

“Enough,” he tells you, and you know he’s lying, the espresso shot he had added to his coffee selling him out. “Anyway, I’m starving. Let’s just eat.”

You comply, ripping your freshly baked croissant in half, steam wafting from it in hazy waves. You place one half onto Jungkook’s plate. He does the same, transferring half of his waffles to you.

“Is this what we do now?” he asks you when you pick up some of the jam with the tip of the butter knife.

“Seems like it.”

You smile at each other.

“Thank you,” you mumble when Jungkook helps you, once again, to click off the seatbelt. “One day I’ll be able to do it myself.”

He smiles and throws the door shut. You jump out too. “Sure, Y/N. One day.”

You give him a look, and he offers you a smile. Side by side, you walk across the mostly empty parking lot before entering the convenience store. They all look more or less the same, you realise. You see no difference between this one and the first one you walked into.

Jungkook takes your hand into his almost automatically, and you don’t even stop for a second to think about it, gripping it back.

“Is this what we do now?” you ask as you browse through the aisle, looking for something that’s not chips and nuts.

He smiles. “Seems like it.”

You give him a look before shaking your head and leading him towards the refrigerator aisle, eyes finding a prepackaged box of sushi.

“Hey, you in the mood for sushi?” You pick up a box, inspecting it carefully. It doesn’t look too bad actually.

“When am I not?” he shoots back, and it’s decided then. Rest stop sushi for lunch it is.

You pick up another box and hand it to Jungkook before walking over to the checkout, grabbing two water bottles on your way there. The clerk hasn’t even begun ringing you up when you pull out your wallet and place an obscene amount of bills on the counter.

“Y/N!” Jungkook protests, but you ignore him, shoving his wallet to the side.

“You should have let me pay,” he tells you when you walk out of the store, still holding hands for some reason, and you snort.

“Well, then you should let me pay for gas.”

“I have let you-”

“Once.”

“Twice!”

You click your tongue. “You should let me pay every time.”

Without looking, you know he’s rolling his eyes. You don’t care, a smile on your lips. Paying for lunch is a win in your books. You’re sure you’ll be paying for gas too by the end of the trip.

The sushi is mediocre at best, and worse than the Chinese takeout you had yesterday at worst, but for some reason, neither Jungkook nor you stop eating. The wasabi helps. It overpowers the refrigerator taste that’s stuck to the rice.

And as you eat, occasionally taking sips from your water, watching the cars speed past you on the highway with the AC blasting in your faces because it’s still summer and your roadtrip playlist playing in the background, you have to smile. You don’t know why, but a smile just finds your lips. And when you look over to Jungkook, it widens. Even more when he notices your gaze and gives you a smile too.

Once more, you realise how beautiful summer is, how everything feels possible and impossible at the same time, how every hour reminds you of a childhood you’ve never had, how the months are filled with either melancholy or exhilaration.

You spent too much time at the rest stop, you conclude, when you arrive at the hotel, much later than planned. Because after you both finished your sushi, you suggested walking off the food. So, you both jumped out again, and walked a couple of laps, talking about everything and nothing. And hitting traffic soon after certainly delayed things by quite a bit as well.

The problem with arriving later than planned at the hotel means responding to your mother later than planned, so when you finally do, you’re not surprised your phone lights up with a call from her a minute later.

You look over your shoulder. Jungkook just went into the bathroom, meaning you had around ten minutes to get this done if sharing a hotel room with him for the past three days taught you anything. That should be more than enough.

You’re met with the usual questions—are you alright? Did you eat? Are you enjoying yourself?—and you answer them all with relative ease, staying quiet when your mother scolds you for having chips as dinner. It’s a like any, until-

“Yes, I will-”

You’re cut off by the sound of Jungkook’s soothingly soft singing that’s very much deserving of praise and attention any other day but elicits panic in you now. 

“Uh,” you start coughing and making extra noise, hoping to drown out Jungkook as you quickly walk out into the hallway, grabbing the key card before the door clicks shut.

“Are you sick, honey?” your mother asks.

“Oh, no, no, I just… choked on water,” you explain to her quickly. “I’m fine though.”

“Yeah? Be careful.” 

You hum, glad she didn’t bring up the-

“Also, who was singing just now?”

You screw your eyes shut and curse.

“Singing?” You try your best to sound confused. “What singing?”

Your mother shifts on the other side, and you would have definitely caved under her gaze if she was in front of you now. 

“Didn’t you hear? For a moment before you started choking, I heard a voice, singing. A boy, I think.”

You chuckle. “Yeah, uh, I don’t know-”

It’s the faint call of your name that halts you. You look at the door. It’s coming from there, you think. You pause to listen but nothing. You’re about to go back to dismissing your mother when the door opens, and a freshly showered Jungkook stands in front of you, hair dripping with water, droplets landing on his shirt, his eyes big.

“Y/N,” he says at your sight. “God, I already wondered where-”

“Mom, sorry, I gotta, uh, go-”

“Don’t you dare hang up on me, Y/N,” your mother interrupts you, and you freeze, feeling like a child. Your eyes lock with Jungkook’s, face contorted in horror. He presses his mouth shut, offering you an apologetic look.

“Who’s that?”

You close your eyes for a moment. “Jungkook.”

You don’t look at him when you speak his name.

There’s a long pause. “Can I talk to him?

And although she worded it like a question, you know it’s not. You hold your phone towards Jungkook, and his eyes grow gigantic. He shakes his head, backing away, but you shove it into his hands, mouthing to him just how sorry you were.

“Uh, h-hello?”

You push him back into the room, almost stumbling over his own feet as he does. You take your phone from him and put it on speaker.

“... to meet you.”

“Ah, yes, very, uh, nice to meet you too, Ms Y/L/N,” Jungkook coughs out and you sit down on the edge of Jungkook’s bed. (Yes, there are two beds, neither broken.”

“I just heard you singing,” your mother informs him, and you throw your hands into the air. How in the hell did she hear him?

“Oh.” 

Jungkook looks terrified, and you grab onto his hand resting on the bed, awaiting your mother’s words with him, sharing nervous looks. He interlocks his fingers with yours, your thumb brushing over his tattooed knuckles.

“No need to be embarrassed,” she says with a smile. “You’ve got a good voice.”

“T-thank you very much.”

There’s a pause then, and you lock eyes with Jungkook once more. You think maybe you can take the phone from him, but right just as you’re about to, your mother begins again,

“In what kind of relationship are you with my daughter?”

You think it's the straightforwardness of the question, the bluntness and casualness she asks it with. It has your jaw dropping open and your eyes screwing shut in horror. Embarrassment flushes through you, and you want to say something, but the words are all muddled on your tongue.

“Are you her boyfriend?”

You can’t even bring yourself to look at Jungkook, too mortified to peek into his direction.

“Uh, I-” He’s stammering, struggling to find his voice, and you can’t blame him, words failing you and refusing to come out too. What you can’t understand though is when he decides to say this, 

“Yes.”

You think you would have had a bigger reaction if you weren’t so tired. But you are, so all you do is stare ahead of you for a few seconds before crashing down on the bed, face burying into your hands.

“Oh,” your mother says, and you don’t know if she’s happy or not, if she’s going to ask Jungkook to give back your phone and scold you like she did sophomore year. “For how long now?”

“N-not long.”

“But you are serious, right?”

“Y-”

You shoot up and take your phone from Jungkook, putting an end to this before he can spew more bullshit.

“Mom, we gotta go,” you quickly say. “We’ll talk later. Bye.”

And before your mother can tell you not to hang up on her, you do and throw your phone to the side. Silence hits you, and you close your eyes again, not wanting to look at Jungkook. He shifts next to you and clears his throat. It takes you a while, but when you think you’re not going to end up strangling him, you peel your eyes open. 

Your mouth parts to speak, but no words leave you. It takes you a few tries to find your voice. All you manage is a simple but desperate and confused, “Why?”

“I got nervous-”

“So you told my mom we are dating?” you exclaim, snapping back, and stare at Jungkook. He doesn’t meet your gaze, wringing out his hands.

“Well, I- you know how awkward I am!” he argues, but it does nothing to calm you, exasperation carved into your face. “When she asked if we were dating, I-I just panicked, okay? I didn’t know what to say and-”

He deflates, and you’re stuck between deciding to yell at him and silently passing away. In the end, you choose the latter, burying your face in your hands and leaning back. You can already feel the headache building up. Your mother won’t let this go. You’ll hear an earful. As much as you love her, it’s frustrating how she still sees you as a child in need of protection every step of the way.

“I’m tired,” you say after a while. You don’t know how much time has passed. 

Neither of you have moved. There’s heaviness in the air. You get up without a word, slipping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind you. You don’t hear the sigh Jungkook lets out.

And with that, you’re knocked right back to the starting point. All of the progress you’ve made in the last three days, the friendship you’ve built, crumbles right to the floor, lying there in shards.

You can’t sleep.

Again, it’s not unusual for you to struggle to fall asleep on your first night at a hotel. The mattress is either too comfortable or not comfortable enough. The cover is either too thick or not thick enough. The pillow either sinks in too much or- You get the point. But you know that’s not why you can’t sleep. It’s the heaviness that weighs down your chest, the tension that fills every corner and crack of the room, the rigidness you inhale with every breath.

You turn on your back. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Jungkook on his back too. The two of you lying in your respective beds, and even though you’re only a handful of steps away from each other, it feels like a rift, a gaping hole, splitting you up, stranding both of you on your own lonely islands.

“Y/N?”

It’s quiet, tentatively.

“Yeah?”

Your voice sounds short and odd. You’re no longer mad- you don’t even think you were that to begin with. You were just… frustrated.

“I’m sorry.”

You turn your head to him and grip the covers. Words sit at the back of your throat, assurances that he doesn’t need to apologise, but before they can form on your tongue and spill out, he continues.

“I-I know that I put you in a weird spot, but I just-” There’s a pause, followed up with a sigh. “If you want, I’ll explain it to your mother- I just got flustered and nervous. And you’ve got every right to be mad at me, but just know I am sorry-”

He halts when you sit up and turn on the lamp. You both blink at the sudden brightness, but you move on quickly, needing to set the record straight.

“Jungkook, no,” you begin, shaking your head, eyes staring firmly into his, “don’t apologise. You don’t have to talk to my mother, I’ll figure it out myself. And actually, I wasn’t mad at you. I was just,” your gaze lowers, “frustrated because- my mother, she’s a bit protective of me, you know? She’s always been super critical of the guys I date, you know? And I’m just gonna get an earful-”

You pause and take a moment to breathe. “But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I should apologise. So I’m sorry, Jungkook. I put you in a weird spot. I’m truly sorry for that.”

He sits up too, crossing his legs. A soft smile finds his face. “Looks like we’re both sorry, huh?”

“I’m more though.”

His smile turns into a grin. “No, I am.”

You raise a brow. “Pretty sure I am.”

He tuts you. “I’m going to have to politely and respectfully disagree with you. I definitely feel more sorry.”

You hold his gaze. “This is gonna go on and on, isn’t it?” When he smiles, you sigh. “I’m going back to sleep. Goodnight.”

You turn off the lamp. He laughs.

And even though the issue is resolved, you don’t slip into sleep. It’s like the exhaustion that plagued you previously has dissipated, and for some reason, you’re cold. It keeps you up. You want to turn off the AC, but you don’t want to get up either and risk waking up Jungkook. So you do nothing.

An eternity passes, and you still find no sleep. Your eyes trace over to Jungkook’s side. He has his back turned to you. You press your lips into a line. In the dark, you can’t figure out if he’s sleeping or not.

“Jungkook?”

And like you yelled his name, he snaps his head around. “Yeah?”

He’s wide awake. Still, you keep your voice small when you continue, “Are you sleeping?”

“Yes, I’m sleeping right as we speak,” he tells you, and you send him a glare in the darkness. You think you can make out a smile on his face.

“I can’t sleep.”

You’re not sure why you tell Jungkook this, how he’s supposed to solve that problem for you, but the words are already out there and you can’t take them back. You expect a snarky comment, something annoying that will make you roll your eyes, but you’re met with the opposite.

“Do you want to watch something?”

You look at him with big eyes. “What would we be watching?”

“Anything you want,” he tells you, and even though you’re very much overwhelmed with the unlimited choice, you smile.

“Let’s.”

And just like that, the lights get turned on again, the night feeling foolishly young once more. 

Jungkook digs out his laptop from his suitcase and you fish out the only bag of chips you have left from the first day.

“Where do we…”

You trail off, but Jungkook knows what you’re asking. 

“My bed?” 

You nod and grab your pillow while he sets everything up. 

When you’re both finally in bed, covers thrown over you, hands taking turns to reach into the chips bag, he presents you with the hardest question anyone has ever asked you,

“What do you want to watch?”

You frown as you look at everything Netflix offers. You can’t choose, of course, so you choose to shoot back the question.

“What do you want to watch?”

Jungkook starts scrolling, mouth pressed in a line. “A film or-”

“Film.”

“Alright,” he clicks on the film section, “let’s see what- oh, how about Spirited Away?”

You’re quick to shake your head. “No, no, no, that’s too scary-”

“Scary?” Jungkook raises a brow.

You look away. “Look, I get scared easily, okay? No face is kinda scary, don’t you think? It’s also the middle of the night-”

“But I’d be watching with you.”

You scrunch your nose, shaking your head no again. “Let’s just watch Totoro.” 

You feel bad for shooting down his suggestion. 

“We can watch Spirited Away after.” You shove a handful of chips into your mouth, mumbling while chewing, “You can protect me then.”

Jungkook looks at you, his hand stilling in the chips bag. You don’t return his gaze.

“You know, since you’re my boyfriend or whatever,” you add quickly and clear your throat, hoping it’s obvious that it’s a joke as you search up Totoro. You don’t have to look to know there’s a smile on his lips.

“Gladly-”

You start the film, and Jungkook quiets down. You don’t feel cold anymore, not with him pressed to your side.

And as you lean back to watch, quietly munching on the chips, you know you were wrong. You weren’t knocked back to the starting point of your friendship. He and you have come a long way, figuratively and literally.

You’re first to wake up.

The first thing you notice is the weird taste in your mouth, and you curse your past self for thinking having chips after brushing your teeth was a good idea. The second thing you notice is the arm around your middle, an arm that unmistakably belongs to none other than Jungkook; the tattoos confirming your assumption. The third thing you notice is just how close he is to you; his breath in your neck, his chest against your back, warmth radiating off him. 

Your heart beats heavy in your chest, heavier than usual. It should scare you, but for some reason, it doesn’t. For some reason, when it’s Jungkook, you feel at ease.

And even though waking up in the same bed as him prompted you to run out last time, you don’t even feel a smidge of that same panic. In fact, you don’t feel anything at all. Actually, no, you do feel something. You feel like closing your eyes again, slipping back into slumber with him.

So you do.

Before you drift back though, you wonder what would have happened if you hadn’t run out two years ago.

When you finally wake up, it’s the middle of the day. A glance at the clock and you come to the mortifying realisation that you have exactly five minutes to check out. Clearly, not enough time.

You’re hurrying around the room, picking up everything that belongs to you and throwing it into your suitcase (because even though you didn’t unpack, you still have quite a bit lying around) when Jungkook suddenly stills, neck pillow in his hand.

“Do you want to stay another day?”

“What?”

“I mean, we’re not gonna check out in time anyway, right? And so far we haven’t had the time to explore any of the cities we’ve been in either, so how about we do it now then? Let’s stay another night.”

Your brows knit together. “But I mean…. don’t we have to, you know, drive-”

“It’s just another eight hours until we’re-” He cuts himself off, flicking his wrist. “You know what? Forget it. It’s a stupid idea.”

Jungkook dismisses his suggestion before you can even think about it, going back to packing up, hooking the neck pillow to his bag before grabbing the clothes he has lying around. You watch him for a few seconds before taking out the shirt he just folded and throwing it onto the bed. 

“Let’s stay another day,” you smile, expecting a smile from him too, but Jungkook doesn’t, face twisting in something you can’t figure out. “What? What’s wrong?”

“I ironed the shirt before the trip. It wrinkles really easily,” he tells you quietly, a strange noise coming from the back of his throat. He’s in pain. “But it’s fine. I-I can iron it again. At home. Later. Actually, I didn’t want to wear it on the trip anyway.”

It doesn’t sound fine at all.

You cup your hands in front of your mouth. “I’m so sorry-”

Jungkook stops you from walking over to the bed and desperately try to smooth out the wrinkles, shaking his head. 

“It’s fine, Y/N,” he assures you again, and now it actually sounds fine. “Really, it’s fine.”

“I’m sorry,” you tell him nevertheless and rub your hands together, eyes drifting to the side.

He gives you a smile. “Well, I’m gonna go down and talk to the reception about us staying another night.”

“Go do that.”

And when the door shuts, you smile.

Being alone for once, you take the chance to pull out your phone to text your mother a long-winded explanation of last night and how Jungkook and you are merely friends. You think that will do for now, assure her you didn’t keep another boyfriend secret from her. Still, you’re certain you’ll get an earful once you’re back.

“And now, if I may draw your attention to your right here—” You turn your head, a smile growing on your lips as you watch Jungkook struggle to find the rest of his sentence. “—you’ll see this… gorgeous little famous brick building.”

You raise your hand. He picks you. “What is it famous for?”

“Ah, yes, great question, young lady,” he coughs, and you can quite literally see the wheels turn in his head. “It’s famous… for its ghosts.”

And even though he doesn’t word it like a question, it very much sounds like one.

“Ghosts?” you repeat, raising a brow.

“Yes, ghosts,” Jungkook repeats, doubling down. “Happy ghosts though. Not spooky ghosts. I know how easily you scare.”

You roll your eyes, regretting revealing this information to him. “Please continue your tour.”

“Right, yes, follow me.”

Once your reservations were settled, you realised neither of you know what to do with all of that extra time. A city tour was thrown around, but it turns out booking a city tour on such notice is more than difficult. But Jungkook was quick to tell you anyone could give a city tour. Hell, he could do it!

So here you are, walking through the streets with Jungkook as he scrambles to make things up as you go, pointing at buildings you walk past and telling you about their supposed history.

“And this,” he stops and you look up, “is probably the most famous sight-”

“A McDonald’s?” you deadpan, scrunching your nose.

“A McDonald’s,” he says with a nod, and you raise your hand again. “Yes, please?”

“So where can I get my money back because clearly, this tour is a scam-”

“Y/N!”

“You’re telling me that McDonald's is the best thing this town has to offer? This is supposed to be the best city tour ever? A sham, I tell you!” 

“I’m trying here.” A dramatic pout grows on Jungkook’s lips, and you can’t help but laugh. You pinch his cheek. 

He scrunches his face and pushes your hand aside. “Y/N!”

“Well, if you’re gonna pout like a child, you’re gonna be treated like one,” you tell him, smiling.

“If you’re so dissatisfied with the tour, do it better-”

“I never proclaimed myself to be the best tour guide around though,” you shoot back, and he scrunches his nose.

“Being a tour guide is hard, alright-”

“You just suck.”

Jungkook presses his lips into a line and stares at you. You give him a smile, enjoying this far too much.

“You’re mean, Y/N, you know that?” he hisses, and you laugh. “I’m not doing the tour anymore.”

“Thank god,” you exhale, placing your hand on your chest, feigning relief. Jungkook gapes at you. You laugh again. “Come on, let’s just go.”

“Where to?” he asks you, and you hook your arm with his, smiling.

“Anywhere,” you say.

Jungkook blinks at you before finally, cracking a smile too.

“Anywhere it is.”

You walk side by side, exploring the streets and corners and shops this city has to offer, dipping in and out of cafés and bookstores on your way. And at some point, you’re holding his hand. You don’t notice it until you have to let go at some point and reach for Jungkook’s hand again. You can’t say whose hands wandered first, but you can say it feels oddly natural. It feels oddly right.

“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jungkook asks you with a smile when the credits start rolling, the outro music of Spirited Away filling the air around you. He turns his head to you.

“Shut up,” you mumble, downing the last bit of wine you have left in your paper cup (this hotel is the opposite of fancy). “But no, it wasn’t.”

He grins at you over his shoulder as he puts away his laptop. “See, I told you.”

“The film still traumatised my young self, alright? The ghost-”

“No Face,” he supplies.

“Right, yeah, anyway, that guy’s fucking scary when you first watch the film. The way he follows Chihiro and won’t leave her alone?” You shudder and shake your head.

Jungkook’s still grinning when he fills up his paper cup with wine, gesturing for you to hand him yours. 

“Cheers.” 

Jungkook clinks his paper cup with yours, and your shoulder shakes with laughter as you drink, eyes locked with his. You’re first to break, your hand quickly coming up to your mouth to stop any of the wine from spilling.

“You’re so stupid,” you tell him when you’ve managed not to make a mess of the sheets, coughing a bit. Jungkook laughs. 

You place your half-empty paper cup on the nightstand and lie down, tired from the day and alcohol. You’re tipsy, for sure. Jungkook follows you, throwing the blanket over you. You’re quick to snuggle into it. Your faces are close, inches apart. One of you should back away, allow for more space, but neither of you even think of it. You just lie in the quiet together.

The warm yellow glow from the lamp on the nightstand spills beautifully down Jungkook’s face, softening his features to butter. It accentuates the gentle slope of his nose, contrasts the moles imprinted on his skin, and brings out his starry doe eyes, eyes filled with so much gentleness and goodness you think your heart is going to burst if you looked into them too long.

Gazing at him, you can’t help but smile at the thought that all of this wouldn’t have happened if Sooyoung hadn’t convinced you. You would have never gotten to know Jungkook the way you do now, seen all of his sides—the awkward and shy one, the brave and protective one, the caring and kind one—, and realised he’s one of the best people you’ve ever met.

You thank Sooyoung.

“Hey, Y/N?”

He speaks quietly, in a whisper. You match his volume.

“Yeah?”

Jungkook doesn’t avert his eyes when he speaks, “Are we friends?”

You blink a handful of times, taking a moment to think about his question. A smile curls on your lips when you come up with the answer, “Almost.”

He raises a brow. “Almost?”

“Yes, almost.”

Jungkook stares at you before chuckling, shaking his head. “I’ve never gone on a roadtrip with any of my friends, or even shared the same bed with them. Not even Joon, and he’s my best friend. And now you tell me we’re just almost friends?”

Your smile widens into a grin. His eyes are digging into your face. You don’t meet his gaze. “Looks like you’re not that close with your friends then.”

He lets your words settle into the air, only expressing his disapproval with a click of his tongue and a scrunch of his nose.

“But it’s weird, isn’t it?” you begin quietly, still not looking at Jungkook. “It’s weird to think about how quickly we’ve grown close. This trip almost didn’t happen, you know?”

He looks at you.

“When Soo suggested you’d come, I wasn’t… thrilled.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry,” you chuckle. “But can you blame me for being hesitant to be stuck in a car with a stranger? I didn’t want it to be awkward.” You turn your head to the side, eyes finding his. “And I wasn’t wrong. Remember when-”

“Yes, I remember,” Jungkook quickly interrupts. “I remember how awkward it was-”

“You mean how awkward you were,” you correct and earn yourself an eye roll from him. “What? Are you denying it?”

“I’m not,” he mutters, scrunching his nose. “But it’s not like you tried to make it less awkward.”

“Well, sorry, I didn’t say anything when you put the snacks in the back, or when you silently watched-” 

“I get it, Y/N,” Jungkook interjects, a dramatic pout forming on his lips. It takes you everything not to pinch his cheek. 

“You know, I was so sure I was going to regret it, you know?”

“Agreeing to let me come?”

“Yeah, I mean you and I were strangers before this. Even with Soo and Joon around, I wasn’t sure it wasn’t gonna be… weird.”

“But you don’t regret it, do you?”

You think about the last couple of days, think about all of the experiences you’ve made, how you’ve won a new friend, and you can’t contain the smile that slips onto your lips, stretching from one cheek to the other. The answer is obvious.

“No, I don’t.”

And even though you aren’t looking at each other, gazes tracing the ceiling together, you know there is a smile on the other’s lips. Silence hits you, comfortable silence. 

“Hey, Y/N?” 

You hum in response, growing too tired to speak, eyes starting to fall shut. You think Jungkook notices, think that’s why he’s pausing, to contemplate whether or not to continue. But you’re wrong. He doesn’t pause because he picked up on your exhaustion, his mind racing far too fast for him to. He pauses because he doesn’t know if he should bring it up in the first place, let the words slip that have been on his tongue forever now. 

Jungkook takes a deep breath. “But we aren’t strangers, are we?”

He speaks quietly, and you don’t think you would have heard him if you weren’t lying in bed together, side by side. You want to turn your head, but for some reason, your neck feels oddly stiff. Your brows knit together.

“What… do you mean?”

And then there’s another round of silence. 

It allows your mind to ponder over his words, dissect them into their own pieces, pull them apart, syllable for syllable, figure out the meaning of them separately and then together, and before you can come to any kind of conclusion, Jungkook speaks again,

“Remember when you asked me about my biggest regret and I wouldn’t tell you?” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “Do you still wanna know?”

You should probably ask him where this was going, tell him he’s jumping from one thing to another, but-

“Yeah.”

Jungkook shifts. There’s a feeling growing in your gut. It’s not bad, at least you don’t think. It’s just there, alerting you.

“There was this girl,” he starts, and you listen closely. “I met her during a party two summers ago. She bumped into me. Almost spilled her drink all over me. We talked the entire night, even played a round of beer pong even though neither of us like beer.”

Your heart begins thumping in your chest, heavy and hard. The realisation hits you so fast you can’t even look away. It whips you right across the cheek. 

Jungkook remembers.

“Somehow, we ended up at my place, and,” something like a smile finds his lips, “well, one thing led to another. The next morning though,” you know what he’ll say, “I woke up alone.”

You close your eyes and swallow.

“So my biggest regret is probably never asking for her number,” he whispers, his words breathed into the air, floating around in the room, lifted by the warm light, presented right in front of your eyes. You don’t want to look at them, heat crawling up your neck at their sight. He doesn’t know what he’s saying, you tell yourself. It’s the exhaustion and alcohol. That must be it.

“Or you know, not telling her I’d love to get to know her more and she can stay for breakfast if she wants,” he says. “I would have loved it to wake up next to her.”

You are his biggest regret?

It makes no sense. It seems absurd to you. He must be joking, you tell yourself. There’s no way any of this is real, that he didn’t get upset at your disappearance but simply disappointed and sad, that the night you shared together left as much of an impression on him as it did on you. 

“I can’t believe you remember,” you say, voice thin and weak. 

“Of course, I did.”

He turns to you then, and instantly, your heart stops in your chest. You wait, count the seconds, anticipating his words. You don’t know what you’re expecting him to say, but it’s not this,

“I thought you were really cute.”

His confession knocks the air right out of your lungs, all of it escaping you in one go. If you had it in you, you’d turn to him and meet his eyes. But your gaze remains stuck on the ceiling.

He’s drunk, you repeat to yourself. The words are laced with alcohol, for sure. His mind is clouded with drunken foolishness. It must be.

“Jungkook-”

The rest of your sentence never leaves your lips, a terrible knot in your throat. Words are clumsy on your tongue, your mind jumbled with thoughts you can’t even begin to dissect. It’s terrible, the minute of silence feeling so full and empty at the same time. You learn just how loud being silent can be, how deafening, how heavy.

“I’m serious.” 

But still, you can’t respond, your mouth opening and closing in a desperate manner to get something to spill out. Nothing comes out though. You can’t quite find the words, but you think he knows. You think he knows you want to apologise for leaving the morning so abruptly, think he knows you haven’t forgotten either, think he knows you would have stayed if he had just asked you to.

The click of the lamp snaps you out of your thoughts, suddenly plunged into darkness. Jungkook lies back down, pulling the covers over you. It marks the end of your conversation. 

Your mouth presses into a line and your eyes flutter shut because you know very well you aren’t going to find your voice until tomorrow morning. You curse yourself and your inability to speak. It’s stupid. You know very well how much courage it must have taken him to tell you all of this, and here you are, lying in silence and-

Your train of thought is stopped when Jungkook grabs your hands underneath the covers and interlaces his fingers with yours. It’s then that you look at him, head twisting to the side, eyes meeting his. And you know, this isn’t the alcohol speaking. It’s him speaking, every word is his.

Jungkook glows, you discover, because, in the darkness, you can see him crystal clear, bright as the stars and the moon combined, outshining everything and anything.

“I still do.” His eyes stare into yours. “I still think you’re really cute.”

And when Jungkook carefully puts his arm around your waist, you know it’s fine you can’t respond right now. You inch closer to him, your bodies practically melting into one. His touch is warm and comforting. It feels right.

You fall asleep.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” you say, scrunching your nose and looking at the McDonalds bag in your lap. “Our last dinner on the roadtrip.”

“For now,” Jungkook adds, putting on your shared roadtrip playlist. He takes the brown bag from you and unpacks it. “Don’t forget, we still have to drive back in a week.”

You take the cheeseburger he hands you. “What happened to my McDonald’s ban?”

Jungkook unwraps his burger and bites into it. “Well, we’re in the middle of nowhere and unless you prefer stale chips, go ahead.”

You’re pouting as you unwrap your cheeseburger. “Whatever.”

He smiles.

You haven’t talked about last night. When you woke up, you thought you would, but you didn’t. You honestly can’t say how, but it’s not awkward. Still, there’s an elephant in the room, or, well, in the car, sitting in the back with you and patiently waiting for one of you to address it. 

“Can’t believe we never thought of eating in the back,” Jungkook mumbles, dipping a fry into the sweet and sour sauce. You’ve arranged a spread on the middle seat, the bag serving as a plate.

“I know, right? It’s so crammed in the front.”

“Well, now we know better,” Jungkook says, and you hum, grabbing a chicken nugget and throwing it into your mouth, wiping your greasy fingers and mouth on the napkin you have in your lap.

“Can’t believe we’re almost there,” you mumble, taking a deep breath, the weight of the journey dawning on you. “We really drove for five days straight, huh?”

“Four,” he corrects. “But yeah, crazy to think about. Didn’t feel all that long though.”

“I thought it would be worse and more exhausting.”

Jungkook locks eyes with you, a smile forming on his lips. “Yeah, it was really fun.”

You smile too. “Yeah, really fun.”

And then you go back to eating, munching on your respective burgers, grabbing a fry or chicken nugget in between bites. By the end your bellies are so full, neither of you want to move, in need of a break. All you manage to do is gather your garbage in the McDonald’s bag before collapsing again.

“What was your favourite part about the trip so far?”

Jungkook turns to you at the question, eyes meeting yours. He frowns. “Probably when we had Chinese food in the park.”

You nod, approving of his choice. “Yeah, that was really great and fun.”

“What about you?”

A smile grows on your lips because you already know your answer. “Your shitty city tour.”

Jungkook levels you with a look, shaking his head. “It wasn’t that shitty.”

You laugh. “It was.”

“Y/N-!”

“Just accept it. It was really bad.” He pouts. You grin. “But it was really fun too.”

“You mean fun for you,” he hisses. “You laughed at me.”

And at his words, you have to laugh again. As much as he tries to act upset, Jungkook has to mirror you, the corners of his lips involuntarily pulling up.

“Sorry.”

“Please, you’re not sorry at all.”

“I’m not,” you admit and grin at him.

Jungkook rolls his eyes and shakes his head. You look at him when he suddenly sits up.

“What?”

“Let’s take a picture!”

You blink at his enthusiasm. “What?”

“We never took any pictures.” He pulls out his phone. “Let’s take some now.”

He pats the seat next to him and you’re quick to move in, knees knocking against his. You adjust your hair to your liking, Jungkook patiently waiting for you to finish, his phone already up in the air and ready to go.

“Alright?”

You nod, giving a small smile and holding up a peace sign as Jungkook clicks on the shutter. He mimics you, his smile toothier than yours though. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” you say and he stops, turning his gaze to you. “The way we’re sitting-” You click to view the pictures. “Look, it’s kinda awkward.”

Jungkook hums, agreeing with you. “How about this?”

You stiffen when he puts an arm around you and pulls you even closer to him. But you relax soon after, a smile forming on your lips.

“This good?” he asks you, loosening his hold on you, clearly ready to back off again, but you’re quick to nod. In fact, you inch a bit closer to him, your face right next to his as you prepare for the new set of pictures.

Your faces quickly morph from toothy smiles to tongues sticking out and your features contorting in odd ways. The pictures go from casual to silly in a matter of seconds. In the last couple ones, you’re squishing each other’s cheeks, and by the end, you’re laughing.

“Oh, this one’s cute,” Jungkook says and shows you his phone. You lean over to look. It’s one of the first ones when you were still trying. You’re smiling into the camera, your hand thrown up in a peace sign. Jungkook has his arm around you, a smile on his own lips, but instead of staring into the camera like you, his eyes are on you.

You pause, the look on his face surprising you. It’s so soft and gentle. It’s like he’s looking at something very dear to him, something precious, something he loves. But he’s simply staring at you.

“Yeah… it’s cute,” you mumble, voice much quieter now. And when you lift your eyes and meet his gaze, your voice disappears into thin air. Because Jungkook’s right there, in front of you, his face inches away from yours.

This is it. You know. If you were in a romcom, you’d kiss. You’d share your epic first kiss, sitting in the back of your shared car after four days of driving across the country, four days of getting to know each other, four days of sharing the same bed. This is the moment. The moment that will define this summer, the moment in which you’ll tell Jungkook all of the things you wanted to say yesterday but didn’t have the courage to. The moment that will bring you and him together.

It’s there, right in front of you, dangling and waiting to be grasped and held tight, seized.

Your eyes darken as they lower to his lips, heart thumping loud and heavy in your ribcage, everything inside you screaming at you to do it, to finally find the bravery you couldn’t muster up yesterday and two years ago when you first ran from him. Your hand grips onto his knee for support, and Jungkook’s here to provide it, his hand gripping yours, encouraging you; the other one finding anchor around your waist, his phone somewhere on the floor, forgotten about.

You feel his breath on your lips. It’s about to happen. You’re mere split seconds away from it when the sound of your phone ringing cuts through the air.

It’s gone.

The moment dissipates into thin air right in front of your eyes, leaving behind a cloud of awkwardness.

You break apart, the distance between you feels endless. Your heart sinks in your chest, the feeling of Jungkook’s touch imprinted on your skin, still hot and burning, questions hanging in the air.

You’re scrambling to the front when you pick up the call, pressing your phone to your ear to the point your knuckles turn white. And even though there’s a part of you that’s glad that you were interrupted because you don’t know what would have happened after the kiss, there’s another part of you that’s cursing yourself for switching your phone from silent to loud.

“Yes, hi,” you sputter, clearing your throat and stumbling into the passenger seat.

“Hey, Y/N!” Sooyoung greets you, and you don’t look in Jungkook’s direction when he gets into the driver’s seat, his phone back in his pocket. He lowers the music. “Where are you guys?”

You frown. “Uh, we-we are having dinner.”

There’s a pause, and you hate the silence because it makes you so acutely aware of the silence between Jungkook and you.

“Are you alright? You sound weird.”

“Weird?” you say with an exaggerated chuckle. “What? No, of course, I’m alright.”

Sooyoung hums on the other side, sounding more than less convinced. “Well, if you say so.”

“I’m alright. It’s alright,” you repeat, and you don’t know if that’s for her, you, or Jungkook. “Anyway, why, uh, are you calling me?”

“Oh, right-” Sooyoung cuts herself short and you think you can hear someone talk to her. You frown, the voice sounding a lot like Taehyung, but just before you can ask, she returns. “Uh, can you tell me when you’ll be at the hotel?”

“Why do you wanna know when we’re at the hotel?” you ask, your frown deepening. You glance over to Jungkook. He has the same look on his face.

“Just because.”

Now it’s Sooyoung who sounds weird.

It takes you a moment to get it, your frown slowly disappearing at the realisation. 

“Soo, are you at the hotel?”

Jungkook snaps his head to you, and you turn on speaker phone. There are hisses and curses from the other side until-

“Surprise!”

You wince, the onslaught of voices blowing out your speakers. Jungkook and you look at each other.

“Yeah, hi, we’re at the hotel,” Taehyung says, confirming your previous assumption. The smile’s evident on his lips. “So hurry the fuck up, you two lovebirds, and get your asses here.”

“Lovebirds?” Jungkook sputters, exasperated and embarrassed at the same time. “We are no- what are you talking about, Tae?”

You can practically see Taehyung roll his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, just-”

He’s cut off by Seokjin. “Hey guys, how are you?”

“Uh, good,” you answer for the two of you, confused and struggling to wrap your brain around this. You’re not catching up really. “H-how are you guys all at the hotel? How did you get there? And who’s at-”

“Everybody. Everyone’s here, grandmas. How are we at the hotel before you when you had like a two-day head start?”

The insults continue, your friends berating you for taking so long. Namjoon puts an end to it, taking the phone and telling you to just get here as fast as possible, promising to explain everything once you’re at the hotel. 

When you hang up, you feel tired. Your eyes lock with Jungkook’s.

“Ready?”

Somehow, there’s no awkwardness anymore. You’re not sure how that’s possible, if it’s the fact that your friends are all waiting for you at the hotel that distracts your minds enough, or the fact that it can’t ever be awkward between you anymore because there’s trust and comfort. Either way, you’re glad.

“Sure, yeah.”

You sound less than ready, and Jungkook smiles before slotting the keys into the ignition.

“We’ll be fine.”

You hope he’s right.

It turns out that once Sooyoung and Namjoon got back in town, Hoseok was quick to propose to drive after you guys. After all, he’s just finished all of his exams and is down for a little adventure. Jimin joined in next as the second driver. And with Jimin in on it, Sana and Yeji jumped on board too. Soon enough your gigantic friend group was packing up their things for a last-minute summer roadtrip, Nine people crammed in three cars. With so many people, the costs were down to nothing, hotels and food costing a penny, and the great number of drivers allowed them to go for hours on end without breaks.

And by the end, you feel dumb for not suspecting anything earlier. You should have because Sooyoung’s daily calls stopped all of a sudden. But you were too preoccupied to notice.

“I’m really so sorry,” Sooyoung tells you once you’re in your room, and you sit down on one of the two beds.

“It’s fine, Soo,” you say, patting her hand. “It was actually fun with Jungkook.”

“Yeah?” She’s studying your face for any hints of deception. “You’re not just saying that? You can be honest now. We’re not on the phone anymore.”

“Well,” you sigh, “as much as I hate to admit it, but you were right. He really is nice. So no, I’m not just saying that.”

And at that, Sooyoung lights up. “Told you so!”

You give her hand one more squeeze before lying down, sinking into the mattress. She follows you.

“Oh, did he recognise you, by the way? I’ve been meaning to ask.”

You keep your gaze trained on the ceiling as you contemplate what to tell her. You don’t think you want to get into it all, not now at least when so much is still not resolved, when you don’t know yourself what’s going on between Jungkook and you.

“No.”

“Oh.” Sooyoung sounds disappointed, you think. “Well, glad I was right again.”

You hum.

Your conversation quickly moves on to her romantic getaway with Namjoon because she hasn’t gotten much of a chance to tell you about it, the fact she was stuck in another town taking precedence.

“Anyway, I think I’m gonna wash up,” Sooyoung tells you and slaps your knee before getting up. It’s only then that you see her suitcase in the corner of the room. You straighten up.

“Wait, are we sharing a room?”

She looks at you from her crouched position, pyjamas in her hands. Her brows knit together. “Who else do you think you’d be sharing a room with?” Her lips quirk up into a smirk when you don’t respond. “Kook?”

You laugh, but it sounds off. “What? No! I-I thought you were sharing a room with Joon.”

She shakes her head and gets up, her toiletry bag and pyjamas in her hands. “No, you’re stuck with me, Y/N. Kook’s with Joon.”

You nod and barely register Sooyoung walking into the ensuite bathroom, one thought occupying your mind.

You won’t be alone with Jungkook anymore.

[jeon jungkook - 00:32] : hey are you still up?

[you - 00:32] : yeah whats up?

You watch as the three grey dots appear and disappear for a few seconds, and you’re about to ask him to spit it out when-

[jeon jungkook - 00:32] : you wanna meet up in the car?

You’ve typed out the answer and hit send faster than you can blink.

[you - 00:32] : be right there

You don’t even check if Sooyoung’s actually sleeping or not when you climb out of bed and leave, your phone and the keycard to the room are the only things with you. And even though it’s summer, it is a lot chillier at night. You shiver once you’re outside, but you push through, marching across the empty parking lot.

When you get in, Jungkook’s already sitting in the passenger seat.

“Nice pyjamas,” he tells you with a smile, and you roll your eyes. He’s still in his clothes from before.

“Thanks,” you say, shutting the door, shivering when the AC hits you.

“Are you cold, Y/N?” Jungkook asks you, disbelief on his face, and you grumble.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m a wuss that gets scared by everything and is also cold sensitive.”

“You’re not cold-sensitive, Y/N. You’re slight temperature changes-”

“Is that why you texted me?” you interrupt.

Jungkook sits back and shakes his head. “Obviously not.” 

He pauses and shuts off the AC before taking off the flannel he’s wearing. “Here.” He holds it out to you, and you can’t meet his eyes when you accept it. It’s a bit big on you. It brings instant warmth. You smell him on it.

“How is it with Soo?”

“Fine,” you say. “How’s it with-”

“Fine too.”

Neither of you say anything for a moment. “Is it just me-”

“-but it’s weird to share a room with other people, right?” you finish his sentence, and he’s quick to agree with you. 

“Yeah, it does feel… weird.”

There’s another pause.

Jungkook claps his hands together. “Alright, let’s do this.”

You frown. “Do what?”

But instead of elaborating, he just gets out, gesturing for you to follow him. Left with no other choice, you do, wrapping his flannel tighter around your body when a breeze hits you.

“What do you-”

You’re cut off by the sound of ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder playing through Jungkook’s phone. He gives you a smile when you look at him, walking over to you and grabbing your phone and the keycard out of your hand to put it on the ground, next to his own phone.

“What are we-”

Once again, you don’t finish your question, Jungkook taking your hands into his.

“We’re dancing,” he tells you with a grin, and before you can even protest, he spins you around.

“Jungkook,” you say when you’re facing him again, cheeks ablaze. “I can’t dance.”

“Just go with it,” he says, but when he sees the knit between your brows, he adds, “Trust me.”

And with that, you can’t help but let him lead you, his hands guiding your every move as you dance in the empty parking lot, spinning like you’ve got a clue of what you’re doing.

“See, you can dance,” Jungkook whispers when you’re back in his arms. “You’re great at this.”

You shake your head at his compliment, disagreeing, but it’s a nice thing to hear. 

And so you continue, clumsily and slowly dancing around, feet shaky and hesitant as you move. Stars are dotting the night sky, shining down on you, the moon high up there, smiling, the lonely street lamp you’re under illuminating you like a spotlight, the flannel billowing out around you with every spin you do. At this moment, as you hold Jungkook’s hands, you’re convinced it’s just you and him in this world. 

And right at this moment, you can feel it—the summer magic in the air, the endlessness of tonight, the potential and possibilities all around you, the looming question of where is this going?. It’s all right here, surrounding you, and for some reason, it’s not scary.

It’s not scary when the air is warm and fuzzy and the moon and stars are above you, lighting up the sky, and summer is puncturing every minute that passes by. It’s not scary when you’re holding Jungkook’s hands and gazing into his eyes. 

By the end of the song, you’re out of breath, panting. But you’re smiling too. And when it plays again, neither of you let go of one another. Instead, you start to sway. You rest your head on Jungkook’s chest, eyes closing as you listen, his heart beating under your ear. His arms sneak around your middle. He holds you close.

You never thought you could feel at peace and terrified at the same time, never thought you could feel like this when the realisation sinks in with you.

You’re falling- no, tripping for Jungkook, stumbling over your own two feet and plunging head first into darkness, the unknown.

The fall is inevitable, you realise. It’s been happening for the past two years; starting on the first night you spend together and continuing with every quick glance you caught of him when you walked across campus, fuelled by the stories Sooyoung would relay to you every week, the jokes she’d tell you he made that day, and now propelled faster by this trip, by the hours locked in the car together, the nights slept in the same bed, sharing the same blanket, hearts beating side by side, closer than ever.

There’s no stopping this, and you don’t know if you would want to even if you could.

You’re not sure what it is, if it’s the summer magic floating in the air, but falling in love, giving your heart to someone, pulling it out of your chest, loosening it from its roots in between your ribs, gift-wrapping it and tying a bow around it, to hand it over to Jungkook for safekeeping, for it to be his and his only, seems less daunting than ever. In fact, it seems right, the only possible thing you could be doing now, a natural progression.

And even though you haven’t landed yet, haven’t gotten to the end of your fall, you know it will be fine. You know it will be soft and gentle. You know there will be someone to catch you. Putting your heart into Jungkook’s hands, as terrifying as it is, is the natural thing to do. You shouldn’t be so willing to give a piece away from you, to hand it over so easily, should want to run away in panic, but for some reason, you’ve never wanted to do anything more.

“We’ve done it all,” Jungkook whispers into your ear during the harmonica solo, and you stop swaying.

“What do you mean?” you ask, and you can hear him smile.

“You said this isn’t a romcom in which we dance under the stars, go on coffee shop dates, and sneak out to meet up.” You peel your eyes open and look at him. He’s grinning at you. “We did it all.”

“Jungkook-”

“Can I tell you a secret?” he whispers and gazes deeply into your eyes, his features soft and glowing under the streetlight. He’s never been more beautiful. You can feel your heart in your ears, every beat. You think you know the secret.

You nod.

“I love you.”

And even though you already knew it, your lips pull up into the biggest grin, fireworks exploding in your stomach, heart swelling in your chest to the point of eruption.

“Can I tell you a secret?” you ask him, voice shaky with excitement, and lean impossibly closer, hands gripping his shirt because you need something to hold onto.

“Please,” Jungkook practically pleads, and you don’t hesitate a second to say it, letting the three words escape you that have been sitting inside you for ages now.

“I love you too.”

And then, you press your lips to Jungkook’s, going up on your toes to reach him, eyes fluttering shut, finally doing what you should have done a long time ago. He holds your middle, his nose bumping yours as he kisses you back, firmly. Even though this isn’t your first kiss, it does feel like it—sparks ricocheting through your entire body, time freezing to a stop, nothing mattering more than him right now. Jungkook is every star and every moon in this world. He is the summer and the autumn and the winter and the spring. He is everything. 

The kiss ends far too soon. You’re already yearning for his lips again, for him.

“You think your mother is gonna kill me if she finds out I kissed her daughter?” 

You smack his shoulder, or, well, you try because you’re breathless and can’t muster up much. It’s a hit, and barely qualifies as that. It’s an attempt. It’s enough to make him smile though.

“Jungkook,” you say, “I swear to God, if you mention my mother again after kissing me, you’re never going to kiss me-”

He cuts you off, pressing his lips to yours one more time, cradling your cheeks. You allow it, leaning into it and kissing him back, grip tightening around his shirt. It feels too right to stop. You already know, you won’t ever get enough of the kisses, won’t ever stop kissing Jungkook, for even a second.

And when you part this time, you rest your forehead to his, needing the support, and there’s no doubt in your mind, Jungkook will always be there to provide it. He’ll always be there to be your rock, your person to lean onto, you can count on.

“Oh,” he says, digging through his pocket, and you watch as he pulls out a set of keys. They shine under the streetlamp, bright and dazzling. He takes your hand and wraps your fingers around them, the jagged edges lightly digging into your skin.

“You forgot these at my place.”

Your eyes grow big, mouth dropping wide open.

“Jungkook-” you begin but don’t finish, sputtering. You shake your head, a smile on your lips. “You know these would have been useful two years ago, right? I had to walk to Sooyoung to get the spare key from her.”

He grins at you and wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you close to him and pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Well, better late than never, right?”

You meet his gaze and smile. He doesn’t say it, but you know. “Right, better late than never.”

Jungkook and you are the last ones to arrive for breakfast, strolling up to the table together, enough space between you not to raise any suspicion, not wanting to reveal the news to your friends just yet. It’s best not to drop this first thing in the morning, you decided together. Luckily for you, there are exactly two empty seats next to each other. 

You’ve just come back from the buffet (waffles for you and pancakes for Jungkook) when Sooyoung looks at you.

“Did you go out last night?”

You freeze. “What?”

“I think I heard you sneaking out in the middle of the night,” she says, taking a sip from her coffee.

“Oh.”

You don’t know what else to say. It’s all you can muster up.

“Well,” you refrain from looking at Jungkook, “no, I, uh, didn’t.”

“Huh.” She blinks. “I could swear I heard the door opening at night-”

“Wait, Yoongs, didn’t you say you saw Y/N and Kook last night in the parking lot?” Hoseok brings up, and you stiffen in your seat, fingers curling around the armrests. Jungkook sucks in a sharp breath, his knee jerking uncontrollably. Everyone around the table quiets and looks at you two. Probably not the best idea to sit next to each other.

“Y/N?” Sooyoung says, her eyes as big as saucers. Namjoon chokes on his drink next to her.

Sana gasps, clamming her hand in front of her mouth. “Shut up, are you guys-”

“No, what? Don’t be ridiculous!” Jimin denies, shaking his head. “There’s no way-” He pauses when he sees the look on Jungkook’s and your face. “Wait…”

“Did you really see-?” Taehyung turns to Yoongi, sitting on the edge of his seat, and the older takes a sip from his orange juice, keeping everyone waiting, the suspense rising with every moment of silence.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Oh my god,” Yeji mumbles under her breath before turning to Jungkook and you, her mouth slowly splitting into a gigantic grin. “Are you guys-?”

You share a look. “Uh, I, well-”

“Didn’t you kiss too?” Hoseok blurts out, speaking without thinking. “That’s what you said, right, Yoongs?”

“You kissed?” Taehyung sputters before beginning to slow clap, and Namjoon’s quick to tell him to stop it.

“Kissed and slow danced,” Yoongi confirms, clearly believing Jungkook and you have been a thing for a while now, failing to realise that he’s revealing your relationship to everyone on your very first day as a couple. “Or was that not you?”

Jungkook and you share another look. Even though this isn’t the way you imagined telling your friends, you don’t mind. Because what difference does it make?

“No, that was us,” you say.

“You didn’t see wrong,” Jungkook confirms with a nod.

And at your confession, your friends gasp before erupting into hollers and cheers. None of them care that guests are shooting them dirty looks. They’re far too happy for Jungkook and you to care. You love them so much, as embarrassing as this is. The support is heartwarming.

“Congrats to you guys!” Namjoon grins, Sooyoung next to him is far too shocked to say anything.

“Yeah, fuck, I’m so happy for you two!” Yeji coos.

“A toast from the newly wed couple please!” Seokjin gestures at you to stand up, but neither of you make a single move.

“We’re not married!” you say, and Jungkook thanks Sana when she slaps Seokjin’s shoulder.

And since the two of you aren’t really toast-making people, Jungkook saves you by lifting his glass of water into the air like it’s an expensive flute of champagne. 

“Cheers!”

You’re first to raise your glass too, clinking it with his. Your friends are quick to follow suit. 

Jungkook looks over to you.

To us.

You grin.

Sooyoung gives you a tight hug, whispering into your ear just how happy she is for you and that she’ll pack and switch rooms. You thank her; for everything, you say, truly everything. She shakes her head.

And when Jungkook and you look at each other again, you know you’ll always get half of his breakfast and he’ll always get half of your breakfast, and he’ll always hold your hand at every rest stop and gas station and every time you need it, and you’ll always buy him a neck pillow when his neck acts up again and hold a water bottle to his lips when he’s thirsty and driving. You know you’ll never have to fight over who sleeps on the couch anymore, but you’ll always have to fight over who gets to pay.

You smile, and it widens when Jungkook transfers half of his pancakes onto your plate. You do the same.

“Good morning,” Jungkook smiles when he sees you stir and peel your eyes open, putting his phone aside to lie back down with you, pulling the covers over the two of you. Your eyelids are still heavy with sleep. Keeping them open is hard.

“Morning.”

Your mood doesn’t drop until you think of today’s agenda and remember, you’re driving back. You groan. 

“I don’t wanna go,” you say, a pout growing on your lips, and Jungkook smiles, pulling you closer to him.

“Neither do I,” he tells you. “But we have to.”

You sigh. “I can’t believe it. How has it been a week?”

“Well, time flies when you’re having fun.”

You bury your face into his neck and pull the covers tighter around you, your body pressed up against his.

“And when it’s summer.”

Jungkook grins. “Yeah, and when it’s summer.”

“And when I’m with you,” you mumble and look at him with a smile. Jungkook cups your cheek and presses his lips to yours. And even though the kiss lasts mere seconds, you feel the same sparks ricochet through your body like when you first kissed him. He’s still every star and moon in this world, still summer, autumn, winter, and spring. He’s still everything. And you know, that will never change.

“And when I’m with you too.”

→ links don’t work, but i’d love to hear your thoughts/feedback! thanks for reading !!

You shoved your phone back into your pocket and took the costumes from Jungkook, holding them up.

“It’s Joker and Harley Quinn. It’s not cute. It’s basic. 2016 called and asked for its costumes back.”

He pouted at your words.

“I’m not wearing a shirt with ‘Daddy’s Lil Monster’ written on it. Forget it. No matter how much you pay me,” you hissed, shoving the outfits back into his hands.

“Wait, that’s what’s written-” Jungkook paused and examined the costume, squinting to see if you were right. He gasped when he read it.

“You didn’t know?” You raised a brow. “What? Too busy staring at girls’ asses?”

And before he could defend himself, you walked away, swiping through the next rack and leaving him to put back the clothes alone.

Soon, he was by your side again though, following you like he was chained to you. “How about this?”

It took you one single look to decide, and Jungkook seemed to decipher the answer from your face, slowly putting back the mermaid costume.

Shaking your head, you moved on to the next rack, not waiting for him to follow you. He did though. He had followed you around ever since you stepped inside the shop, not leaving your side for once. No matter how much you tried to walk away, he would appear behind you mere seconds later.

“You can go look on your own, you know? You don’t have to follow me,” you told him for the third time now, hoping Jungkook might get the message now.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Seriously. You don’t have to stay with me. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Jungkook smirked. “You’re not getting rid of me, cabbage.”

You frowned at his words. “Getting rid of you? That’s not-”

“Oh, please.” Jungkook clicked his tongue. “I know exactly what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to get rid of me so you can sneak away and ditch my ass.”

You stopped looking through the racks and turned to him, your frown etched deeper into your face. “What? I would never do that.”

Jungkook’s face lit up at your words, a smile growing on his lips.

“Are you saying you enjoy spending time with me?”

It took you a second to understand his words, and when you did, you almost burst out into laughter. You shook your head. “I’m saying I like money and getting paid.”

Jungkook looked at you, face blank, before letting out a laugh in response. But it didn’t sound quite right, something about it off.

“Right,” he laughed, the same weird laugh he just did, and shook his head. “You’re never gonna enjoy spending time with me, are you?”

You scoffed automatically, already turning away from him like you always did. At this point, it was almost routine. “Do I look like I’m enjoying myself right now?”

You missed the way Jungkook’s face crumbled for a split second, the way he pressed his mouth together and his eyes darted off to the side, to the floor.

“Well, good thing I’m paying you,” he whispered, voice strained. You perked up, raising a brow, but you were met with a smile on his lips. The same smile you had seen too many times now already.

“Jeon-”

“I’m gonna look over there, yeah?”

He pointed somewhere behind him, walking away before you could even get another word out. You watched him slip away, brows creasing together.

He had tried to hide it, but you could see it in his eyes, in the quivering corners of his mouth.

Your words had hurt Jungkook.

You sighed and ran a hand through your hair, eyes screwing shut. A part of you wanted to chase after him, stop him and apologise, but you couldn’t move, feet glued to the spot. Maybe it was for the best though. You had no idea what you were going to say.

When you peeled your eyes open, you almost expected to see Jungkook in front of you, smiling at you. He wasn’t there. Your heart sank the tiniest bit in your chest.

You hated yourself.

Not in a self-loathing and self-sabotaging manner. More in an annoyed and pissed off one. Because if you were maybe just a little meaner and stronger, you wouldn’t be in this situation. You wouldn’t be doing this. And by doing this, you meant standing outside Jungkook’s class, waiting for him, a paper bag pressed to your chest.

You were contemplating for the fifth time now whether or not it was too late to dip (whether or not this was a good idea has been long established. It wasn’t.) when the doors opened and students filtered into the hallway.

The first person you recognised was Seokjin. He was swiping through his phone with one hand and pushing through his hair with the other, brows furrowed. If you were honest, you weren’t actually sure if Jungkook was in this class. He had mentioned it once before, you think at least. You could be dead wrong and have wasted your time. And so, just to be sure you hadn’t (and to not continue looking like a complete idiot, standing outside a class), you flagged down Seokjin. Or well, you tried to because, with his eyes set on his phone, he didn’t see you. Until he almost bumped into you.

“Oh, sorry- Y/N?”

“Uh, hi, Jin.” You put on a smile. It looked awkward, especially compared to Seokjin’s who seemingly didn’t know what awkward is, his smile so convincing he might as well just be shooting a commercial right now.

“Hey, it’s been a minute! How are you?” The words rolled off his tongue effortlessly. He put away his phone, giving you all of his attention.

“Good. I’m good. How about you?”

“Doing great too.” An awkward beat hung between you. He broke it in the end, of course. “Now, how can I help you?”

You cleared your throat and tucked a strand behind your ear. “Uh, this is weird, but Jeon is in this class too, right?”

And then Seokjin’s smile grew into a smirk. “Oh, is this a surprise for Kook? I see.” Before your cheeks could heat up in embarrassment, he continued. “That’s so cute! But yes, he is. He should be coming out just now. Do you want me to look for him?”

“No, no, no, it’s fine,” you quickly assured him, the paper bag crinkling when you put up your hands. It caught his attention.

“What do you have there?”

Seokjin was already moving to look into it. Panicked, you pulled it away from him, pressing it close to your chest and hugging it like it was a treasure.

“Oh-”

“Sorry,” you smiled as well as you could, “it’s, uh, a secret. I-I can’t let you look.”

It didn’t click with you just how misleading all of this must have seemed until you saw Seokjin try to bite away his laughter, his smirk causing your face to grow as hot as the sun.

“Stuff that he forgot?”

“No! God, no,” you stupidly stammered, trying to come up with an explanation, but your mind was wiped blank.

“Cabbage?”

You had been so caught up in your conversation with Seokjin, you had completely missed Jungkook walking up to you. You jumped at his appearance, heart dropping into your stomach.

“Hi!” you said a bit too enthusiastically, voice a few pitches too high. “You scared me there!”

Jungkook blinked at you, mouth wide open before twisting up into a smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” He looked between Seokjin and you. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh,” you started gesturing around, pointlessly. You couldn’t think straight, not with Seokjin smirking at you and Jungkook staring holes through you. “I, uh-”

You never finished your sentence, deflating.

“I’m gonna leave you two alone,” Seokjin announced after a second, patting Jungkook on the shoulder before sharing a look with you, his smirk never leaving his face. “It was nice talking to you, Y/N.”

“Yeah,” you breathed out, raising a hand to wave him goodbye. “It was nice, for sure.”

Jungkook raised a brow when he was gone. You could barely meet his gaze.

“What was that?”

“I-” You tried, but failed. Seeing that people were beginning to look your way, you grabbed Jungkook’s hand. “Uh, let’s go first.”

You didn’t need to say it for him to understand. Jungkook nodded and led the way, but not without peeking over his shoulder and giving you a grin.

“My car?”

“Where else?”

Jungkook smiled at your response, agreeing with you under his breath before holding the doors open for you.

The walk to his car was relatively short. The moment you shut the car door, Jungkook turned to you, an annoyingly big smile on his lips.

“Don’t-”

“Can I just ask how happy that just made me? Seeing you waiting for me?”

The way Jungkook looked at you surprised you. Eyes bright and big, crinkled at the corners, cheeks bunched up, mouth split into a gigantic smile, nose wrinkling just the tiniest bit. It was all too precious; a sight that made your heart fumble in your chest in ways it shouldn’t.

He looked soft, gentle, kissable, loveable-

Wait, what?

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jungkook asked, tearing you out of your thoughts. He had a smirk on his lips, like he just read your mind and knew exactly what you had been thinking.

“Uh, nothing. I’m not. I just-” You finished your sentence by waving your hand around in the air, a dismissive gesture.

He raised a brow at you, his smug smirk growing with every second.

“You’re just, what?”

You bit on your tongue and shook your head. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“You sure-”

“Yes, of course!” The words shot out of you too fast and too loud. It made you cringe.

You stared at the paper bag you were holding, and you wished you had just shoved it into his hands and ran away.

Jungkook looked at you. Discomfort was practically oozing off of you. So even though he wanted to dig the answer out of you, he dropped the topic, moving on smoothly.

“Tell me,” he clapped his hands together, ridding the air of the awkwardness, “why were you waiting for me?”

You looked at him before turning back to the paper bag in your hands. You had been clutching it so tight it had wrinkled. Now that you could finally speak, you realised you hadn’t thought this through at all. You had been so focused on getting his class right and getting there in time, you hadn’t spent any time figuring out what you wanted to say.

Concluding there was no good way to start, you thrust the paper bag into Jungkook’s hands.

“Oh, okay,” he breathed, surprised by your decision. With a chuckle, he looked inside. Your heart thumped a bit too heavy in your chest as you watched him dig through the bag, swallowing when he pulled it out.

For a second, Jungkook seemed confused, just staring at it. The lack of reaction scared you, had panic bubble up in you.

Rubbing your hands, you explained, “I’ve been kinda thinking about what we could, uh, dress up as and I came up with this. It’s a stupid idea. I just figured you might like it-”

“Like it?” Jungkook stared at you, mouth splitting into the biggest smile, genuine excitement gleaming in his eyes. “Are you kidding me? I love it!”

You blinked at him, thrown off guard by his sudden reaction. “Yeah?”

“Of course! I mean, look at it, cabbage!”

He showed you the costume like you didn’t order it, waving it around in the air. You should tease him for his eagerness, roll your eyes at him. But something about how stupidly excited Jungkook got over this—eyes scrunched up in crescent moons, sparkling like the stars—made you smile too.

“Wait, if I’m gonna be,” he pointed at the costume, “are you gonna be-?”

Jungkook didn’t finish his question, almost like he thought if he said it out loud, you would scoff at him and deny it. You were tempted to tell him no to mess with him, but you couldn’t do it. Not when he was looking at you so hopeful, holding his breath in anticipation and nibbling on his bottom lip.

“Yeah.”

And like you had told him the greatest news possible, Jungkook cheered. It was stupid really. You knew he was going to get excited, but you didn’t think he would get this excited. It was cute in a way.

“Oh, I can’t wait for the party now!”

You could only hum in response, not quite sharing the same sentiment. He didn’t notice, too enthralled by the costume.

“How much do I owe you?” Jungkook suddenly asked you and was already pulling out his wallet, but you stopped him, shaking your head.

“No, it’s fine,” you told him. “I mean you’re already paying me... and for everything we do, I can also, you know.”

“That’s not what’s written in the contract,” he said, but happily put away his wallet. You hummed and shrugged. “Well, thank you then.”

And then, Jungkook turned his gaze to the costume in his hands again, staring at it like it was the most precious thing he had ever seen. The tiniest smile pulled on your lips as you watched him.

“You’re welcome.”

It felt awkward for you to say that though. Because really, Jungkook had paid for the costume. With the amount he was depositing into your account weekly, anything you were buying now was paid by him. It felt wrong-

“Hey.”

You snapped your head around, surprised to see that Jungkook was looking at you now.

You quirked a brow and shifted in your seat. “What?”

And then, you watched his face break out into a smile, eyes staring down yours.

“Thank you.”

The smile he was giving you was soft and gentle, delicate. It made your heart skip a beat and your throat grow tight. You didn’t know how to react. An awkward silence filled the air, your lack of a response to be blamed.

“Uh, yeah, sure thing,” you mumbled before turning away, dismissing him with a flick of your wrist.

“No, seriously-”

“It’s fine. I get it,” you chuckled nervously. Jungkook stared at you, the corners of his mouth twisting up in an amused smile. Before he could say anything, you announced, “I actually have to go now,” you grabbed the car door, “so I’ll, uh, see you around, or whatever.”

Jungkook opened his mouth to stop you, but you jumped out of his car and shut the door on him, hurrying away like you were running late to something. Just as you thought you could breathe again, you heard your name.

Turning around, you were met with the sight of Jungkook jogging towards you, the car door wide open, abandoned, like he didn’t care if anyone got in right now and drove off.

You frowned when he stopped in front of you. “What?”

Jungkook smiled at your puzzled state, his hands reaching for yours. You tensed, eyes growing wide, the urge to pull away building up in you. You resisted. People were looking.

“Uh, what are you doing?” you chuckled nervously.

Jungkook didn’t respond right away, taking a moment to look at you instead and take you all in. His smile widened.

“I love you.”

He said the words just loud enough for you to hear. You stared at him with big eyes, heat crawling up your cheeks and reaching the tip of your ears. Your mind was wiped blank at his words. You cursed yourself. Why did you still get this flustered whenever he did this?

You opened your mouth to respond, but Jungkook shook his head and squeezed your hand.

“Don’t,” he told you, his smile growing bigger. “It’s fine. I just wanted you to know.”

And before you could even comprehend, tell him that he had told you this before, that you knew already, reprimand him because you had told him to stop telling you he loved you when he clearly didn’t, Jungkook leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Sorry,” he whispered, his smile breaking out into a grin. “I had to.”

Jungkook squeezed your hand one more time before pulling away and walking away, leaving you standing there, frozen, mind reeling, trying and miserably failing to understand what had just happened.

What the fuck was that?

You were in the middle of getting out your notebook in preparation for class when Jisoo found you and slipped into the seat next to you.

“What did I hear about your boyfriend and you cuddling it up on campus and being all coupley and gross?”

You whipped your head around, the question leaving you speechless.

“What?”

She rolled her eyes at you. “Just fess up. Don’t play dumb-

“I-I’m not playing dumb,” you defended yourself, cheeks ablaze at the suggestion that Jungkook and you were being overly affectionate in public. “We didn’t do anything. I don’t know what you heard, but it’s not true.”

“So there was no kiss?”

“Kiss? No!” You paused, and she raised a brow. “I mean-”

Jisoo gasped, her jaw falling wide open as if she had just caught you in a major lie. You were quick to stop her from making any suggestions, your glare silencing her.

“Stop, Ji! It’s not like that. You’re being ridiculous. You know I don’t like PDA,” you hissed.

“But you just said-”

“I didn’t say shit,” you said, looking at your hands as they pulled on the hem of your shirt. “I was just going to say that he kissed my forehead. Nothing more. It’s really not a big deal.”

Jisoo raised a brow and eyed you carefully. She stared at you before smirking. “Then why are you being so weird about it?”

“What? How am I being-”

“You’re avoiding looking at me and you’re playing with your shirt. Almost like you’re nervous,” Jisoo hummed, and you rolled your eyes at her.

“Who are you? Sherlock Holmes?” you huffed.

Jisoo snickered, clearly enjoying this a little too much. “Well, I’m glad to see you and your boyfriend doing well.”

“Of course, we’re doing well. What would make you think we aren’t?” You clicked your tongue and shook your head, as if the suggestion that things between Jungkook and you weren’t going so great was ridiculous, as if things were going on between him and you to begin with, as if this wasn’t all a ruse.

“I don’t know. We just realised we’ve never really seen you two kiss and stuff,” Jisoo pointed out and unpacked her stuff for the lesson, your professor slowly finishing setting everything up.

You stared at her in surprise. You hadn’t thought that Jungkook and you not kissing each other would raise suspicion.

“I mean, you know that I’m not overly affectionate,” you said, and Jisoo hummed.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She shrugged. “But there was the occasional kiss when you were dating, uh, you know who.”

You blinked at her, hands flattening out against your thighs because Jisoo had a point. When you were dating him, you would share a kiss here or there with him in front of the others. God, shit. Maybe you had to break the contract.

Maybe you had to kiss Jungkook at one point.

You had to give it to Beta Tau Sigma. Their house actually didn’t look half bad. It seemed like they put in some effort into decorating it—cobwebs covering the windows, chains of lights illuminating the house in a warm orange hue, pumpkins lining the front door. It was more than you had expected from them.

Their choice of music, however, was... poor to put it nicely. Not even the shots you had taken before to take the edge off could make up for how awful the music was. It didn’t help how loud it was either, your ears hurting already. People seemed to enjoy themselves though, the house packed. There were about a dozen standing outside, red solo cups in their hands, all in various costumes. You spotted witches, firemen, superheroes, cowboys, nurses, and even two Harry Potters and a Waldo.

Jungkook appeared next to you, eyes focused on the house. A gigantic smile adorned his lips. Even in the dark, you could see the excitement glimmering in his eyes.

“Are you ready?” he asked you, shifting from one foot to the other. You blinked at him before looking down at yourself and swallowing away the sigh. Why did you have to choose this costume?

When you glanced at the house, you could feel the ball of anxiety grow in your gut. People were already intimidating to begin with, even more so when they were drunk, but especially if the guy by your side was none other than Jeon Jungkook. He was like a walking light bulb, drawing attention to him everywhere he went. You knew if you stepped inside the house, everybody would look at you. It was a mortifying thought.

You wanted to bail, go home. You really did. But you reminded yourself, you had agreed to this. So you put on a smile and nodded.

“Yeah, uh, sure. Let’s go.”

You had barely stepped out onto the street when Jungkook pulled you back.

“What?”

“You alright?”

There was no smile on his face anymore, no childish excitement swimming in his pupils. Instead, a frown was sitting on his face.

You blinked at him a handful of times. “What?”

“You alright?” he repeated and pulled you closer to him when a car passed by, placing a protective hand on your back.

“What?” You realised then that you’ve said the same thing three times now. You snapped out of it. “I mean, yeah, of course. What makes you think-”

“You’ve got this look,” Jungkook told you, gesturing at his face and contorting it to mimic you. “This weird look. You look uncomfortable.”

You didn’t think he would pick up on your discomfort (so early on as well), figuring he would be too excited to pay you any close attention. You didn’t know how to respond.

“Are you sure about this? We can go home if you want to.”

You opened and closed your mouth. Your hesitance seemed to be enough of an answer because Jungkook tugged open the car door.

Maybe it was the fact that you weren’t one to chicken out of things, or maybe it was how excited Jungkook had looked when you first arrived here, or maybe it was because you realised now how considerate and thoughtful Jungkook had been to you all this time and it melted your heart into a puddle right then and there, but you closed the door.

“No, it’s fine. I’m sure about this,” you told him, swallowing the anxiety and offering him your best smile. “Let’s go. I wanna go.”

And before Jungkook could voice any kind of protest, you led him across the street.

It began the moment you stepped onto the lawn.

“Hey, Kook! We’ve been waiting!”

“Dude, you made it! Finally!”

“Good to see you! Wanna do some shots?”

“Ah, hey!” Jungkook smiled back, lifting his hand for a wave. You thought he would stop and greet the people, catch up with them, joke around maybe. He didn’t. Jungkook just kept on walking.

You were about to make a comment, ask him if he didn’t want to say hello and tell him you were fine with stopping for a moment, but he tugged you inside the house.

And if you thought it was a little much how people went out of their way to greet Jungkook, it paled to how people inside reacted to his sight, the entire house erupting into cheers. People’s moods visibly lifted when they saw him. It was impressive. You knew no one else that could have such an effect on people.

“Wow, you’ve got a lot of friends,” you muttered under your breath.

“They’re not my friends,” he told you through his smile, in between the greetings he shouted back at people.

You quirked a brow, scrunching your nose when you noticed it—the way his voice wavered, the way the smile on his lips didn’t reach his eyes, the way his entire body was tense, almost like his muscles were pulled on by some invisible force, pressure sitting heavy on him, threatening to crack him into little pieces.

“Oh.”

“Hey, you’re Y/N, right?”

Attention wandered from Jungkook to you.

You stiffened. “Uh, yeah, hi.”

Your voice was not even half as loud as Jungkook’s, wavering so much you were sure everybody could have heard it if the music wasn’t eating up your every word.

“You guys look great! Wanna go do some shots together?” A guy in a vampire costume and snapback shouted, holding up two glasses.

“Thanks, but-”

Jungkook paused when someone placed their hand on his shoulder. A girl dressed as a cheerleader with pigtails, ribbons securing her hair, and knee-high socks, a perfectly charming smile on her shiny lips.

“Hey, Kook! You wanna play beer pong with me? I need a partner.” She ran her newly manicured hand down his arm. “It’d be fun! We could-”

“Sorry, Narae,” he pulled away from her, “but we’re gonna go grab something to drink first. Why don’t you ask your boyfriend? I’m sure Yugyeoym will be happy to be your partner.” His smile widened into a blinding grin. “Excuse us, please?”

And then he ushered you into the kitchen, his body close to yours as you moved. Almost like he wanted to protect you, shield you from prying eyes.

There were around a dozen people crammed in the kitchen, all of them going out of their way to greet Jungkook in between shots and drinks they were pouring. You breathed out when no one tried to strike up a conversation with him or invite him to any drinking games.

“You good?” Jungkook studied your face, brows knitted together like he was certain you were going to crumble right in front of him at any point.

“Yeah, yeah.” You waved him off. “All good.”

“Okay, great,” Jungkook mumbled absentmindedly, eyes searching the room as if to see if someone would maybe approach you.

You looked down at your hands. He hadn’t let go, his thumb rubbing soothing circles into your skin. You hated to admit it but you did relax under his touch, the tension in your shoulders ebbing out of you.

“What do you want to drink? I’ll make you a drink.”

You looked around yourself, heaving out a breath when you imagined the next hours. A bit hesitant, you grabbed the vodka bottle from the counter, holding it up to Jungkook.

He raised a brow. “You sure?”

“Nope,” you admitted breathlessly. “But I don’t think I can do this sober and a beer is just not gonna cut it. I already kinda feel like throwing up-”

“We can go home-”

“Jeon,” you cut in and put down the bottle, “stop. I appreciate it, I do, but please stop offering-”

“I just wanna make sure you’re comfortable.”

“And I know that. I appreciate it, a lot. But I’m also an adult. If it gets too much, I’ll tell you.”

You must have spoken rather animatedly because-

“Trouble in paradise, huh?”

You snapped your head around, eyes landing on none other than Taehyung. A part of you had hoped you wouldn’t run into him. It was wishful thinking.

Taehyung was grinning as he sipped from his red solo cup, his mouth overlined with lipstick in the signature Joker way. His hair shimmered green when the light hit it the right way.

“Didn’t you say you don’t go to parties, love?” Taehyung hummed.

You shrugged as nonchalant as you could. In reality, your heart was beating a bit quicker, heavier. “Changed my mind.”

“I thought you were pretty adamant about not going,” he said.

“Well, you thought wrong,” you shot back, swallowing because your voice was shaking a bit. You really needed some more alcohol in your system.

Taehyung hummed, eyes flickering to Jungkook. “Seems like it.”

The looks didn’t go over your head, but you didn’t know how to stop them, awkwardly standing there as Jungkook and Taehyung had their silent conversation.

“You know,” you looked at Taehyung, “when I heard there was a fire boy and water girl running around here, I should have known it was you.”

He shook his head, as if he was disappointed in himself for not figuring it out earlier.

“You like it? Y/N suggested it,” Jungkook grinned.

You had to admit red suited him. It reflected him—fiery, passionate, intense. The red knee-long robe with matching pants was highlighted by the golden belt around his waist. More golden accents were stitched along the hem, details of flames decorating the edges. To say that Jungkook looked good today would therefore be an understatement. Especially with his tattoos out and about, you couldn’t deny how stunning and beautiful he was.

You were almost jealous you hadn’t gone for the costume yourself. But your costume—a blue floor-length robe with a thick white belt, blue pants, and matching white boots—kept up with his. You contrasted Jungkook, your costume exuding calmness, peacefulness, and control.

Together you complimented each other perfectly, made up the perfect pair, balanced each other out.

“Wait, love, you suggested this?”

You looked at Taehyung. “Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Just-” He leaned closer to you, eyeing Jungkook. “Is he blackmailing you? Paying you to do this? You can tell me.”

You froze at his words. You knew he didn’t mean it like that, knew he was simply teasing you, but your heart skipped a beat nevertheless. Were you not convincing as a couple? Could he see that you-

“Shut up, Tae,” Jungkook scoffed, pulling you closer to him. “You’re just jealous.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Right, I’m so jealous I’m not in a cringey couple’s costume-”

“You say this like there won’t be multiple Harley Quinns running around here.”

Taehyung pressed his lips together, sipping on his drink. A smirk grew on Jungkook’s lips. “You know, 2016 called and asked for its costumes back.”

You perked up, the words ringing oddly familiar.

“Well-”

“First of all, I said that first, Jeon. Don’t steal my words. And second of all don’t pretend like you didn’t suggest dressing up as Joker and Harley Quinn-”

“Cabbage!”

“Yeah, put him in place, love!” Taehyung cheered, clapping for you, but you scowled at him.

“Don’t get it twisted, Kim. I also think that your costume is unoriginal.”

In an instant, his smile disappeared, hands slowing to a stop.

“Love! I thought-”

“Y/N?”

You whipped your head around at the call of your name. Hoseok and Chaeyoung. They stared at you with big eyes.

Jungkook turned to you, brow raised.

“I might have told my friends I wouldn’t be coming,” you mumbled into his ear, and he stared at you before smiling and shaking his head because of course, you hadn’t.

Hoseok was the first to snap out of it, his mouth splitting into a smile. “Holy shit, Y/N, Jimin’s gonna flip.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You guys look good,” Chaeyoung said with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s creative.” Hoseok then looked at Taehyung, a smile appearing. “Oh, hi, I’m Hoseok.”

“Hi, it’s Taehyung.”

“Chaeyoung.”

You wrinkled your nose when you saw what Hoseok was dressed up as, Harry Potter. It was as creative as Taehyung’s Joker. The glasses were cute though, you had to admit that. So far you liked his version of Harry Potter the best, the other ones you had seen not coming close to looking as good as Hoseok.

When you saw Chaeyoung’s costume, Hoseok’s lack of creativity was forgiven. With the wand in her hand and an unmistakable Gryffindor robe hanging off her shoulders, it was obvious who she dressed up as, Ginny Weasley. They had come in a couple’s costume. It was cute.

You weren’t the only one to notice.

“God, I get it. You guys are all in love,” Taehyung groaned.

“What? Oh, no, Seok and I aren’t, uh, a couple. We’re just friends.”

“But you’re Ginny, right?”

“No, god, no! I’m not-”

“Isn’t that the Gryffindor symbol- oh, are you meant to be Hermione?”

“No, you’re misunderstanding.” Hoseok jumped in. “Chae is just some random Harry Potter character. This isn’t a couple’s costume.”

Taehyung gave Hoseok a look. He wanted to disagree but stopped himself. After all, they just met.

So you did instead.

“It still looks like you guys are in a couple’s costume.”

“But that’s not what we were going for! I-I just didn’t know what to dress up as and-” Chaeyoung deflated. She turned away, towards Hoseok, who was quick to give her a reassuring smile. You exchanged a look with Jungkook, the two of you rolling your eyes.

Taehyung groaned. “I’m going. I can’t deal with this. It was nice meeting you guys though.”

He was gone before any of you could bid him farewell.

“Well, I think we should, uh,” Hoseok glanced at Chaeyoung, “look for Jimin maybe? He’s gonna be so happy to see you guys.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good thing to, uh, do. I think I saw him last in the living room.”

“You guys go ahead. Jeon and I’ll follow you guys in a minute. Need my drink,” you said, and Chaeyoung and Hoseok didn’t stay much longer, practically running out of the kitchen.

“When do you think they’ll start dating?” Jungkook asked, and you snorted.

“Considering they’ve been like this forever now,” you heaved out a sigh, “hopefully soon.”

You picked up the vodka bottle and held it up. “You gonna make me my drink now?”

Jungkook paused, eyeing the bottle. With a sigh, he took it from you. “I’m not gonna convince you otherwise, huh?”

You hummed and watched as Jungkook grabbed a clean red solo cup and expertly filled it with various liquids. When he presented the finished drink to you, you raised a brow, narrowing your eyes. You grabbed it from him and took a sip.

“And?”

“It’s,” you cursed yourself for what you were about to say, “good.”

Jungkook grinned at you. “Of course, it is. It’s made by me.”

You rolled your eyes. “Let’s just go. Jimin’s probably already tearing the entire house apart looking for us.”

You took another sip from your drink. It really was good. It made you wonder how much Jungkook must drink if he was this good at making drinks.

“Come on.”

You grabbed his hand and walked out of the kitchen. The hallway was packed. You bumped into shoulders and elbows as you tried squeezing yourself through the crowd. It was even worse in the living room. You hoped you would find Jimin soon.

“Do you see him?” you asked, needing to get awfully close to him for him to hear you.

“No, do you?”

You shook your head and scanned the room one more time. You stopped when you spotted Jisoo in the corner, with someone. Jungkook followed your gaze.

“Oh, I didn’t know Ji was dating Jennie,” he mumbled.

“She’s not. At least I didn’t know she was dating anybody.”

Jungkook and you locked eyes when Jennie put her hand on Jisoo’s arm, sensing the chemistry from across the room. You smiled.

You were glad to see Jisoo hitting it off with someone, especially after the heartbreak she had to go through previously.

Jennie was donning a nurse uniform, stethoscope hanging around her neck, and Jisoo was dressed in a stunning icy blue dress, the french braid making her unmistakably Elsa-

The air was knocked right out of you when Jimin leapt into your arms. You almost fell, but Jungkook was there to catch you, his hand on your back steadying you. How you didn’t spill your drink on yourself was a mystery to you.

“Holy fucking shit!” Jimin screeched into your ear, somehow louder than the music. “You fucking came!”

Like a child on Christmas day, he beamed at you. His expression contrasted his dark (and surprisingly detailed) vampire costume—fake blood stained the corners of his mouth and the robe falling from his shoulders reached the back of his knees, red accents making the costume look incredibly elegant.

“I can’t fucking believe it! You said you wouldn’t come!”

“Yeah, surprise!”

“Dude, this is the greatest fucking surprise ever- oh my god, you guys are dressed as Katara and Zuko!” He put his hand over his heart, bottom lip jutting out and eyes glossing over. “You guys look so fucking cute together!”

“Thanks,” you smiled. “But have you seen these two already?”

You turned him around.

“Is that-?”

“Yes.”

“With Kim Jennie?”

“Mhm.”

“God, you’re all just coupled up today, huh?”

You shrugged. “Hey, have you seen Chae and Seok yet? They were looking for you.”

“Oh, no, I haven’t. I’ve been moving around a lot.” He grew quieter. “I can’t stay for too long.”

He gestured for you to come closer. You complied.

“Joon might think I clogged the toilet upstairs and he might be looking for me right now.”

Jungkook smiled and put his hand on Jimin’s shoulder. “Don’t look behind.”

Before Jimin could tell him not to scare him like that, someone wrapped their arm around his shoulder. Someone who was fittingly dressed as a cop, toy handcuffs and baton strapped to his hip. You identified him as Namjoon.

The colour drained from Jimin’s face.

“Hey, buddy,” Namjoon smiled, and you shared a look with Jungkook. Anger was definitely bubbling under that smile. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Were you running from me?”

“What?” Jimin laughed. “No! God, don’t be ridiculous. Why, uh, would I do that?”

“So you weren’t?”

“Of course not-”

“Good, then you wouldn’t mind coming with me for a minute and talking, right?”

You almost couldn’t stop yourself from laughing when you saw Jimin’s panicked face, his eyes darting to Jungkook and you, pleading for help. It was Jungkook who caved.

“Hey, Joon, have you-” He finished his sentence by gesturing towards you, and Namjoon looked at you for the first time. In an instant, his smile turned genuine, dimples making an appearance.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you guys there,” he said. “I’m Namjoon.”

“I’m-”

“Y/N? Yeah, I know. You’re practically famous in the house here,” he laughed. “Kook always talks about you.”

“Oh.” You looked at Jungkook, quirking a brow and smiling when you saw his cheeks turn red. “You do? What do you say?”

“I, uh-” Jungkook stammered stupidly, gritting his teeth. “Joon is exaggerating-”

“So you don’t talk about me? I’m not worthy of being mentioned?”

“What? No! That’s not-”

“Wow, you’ve got some power over him, huh?” Namjoon laughed, and you shrugged, smirking though as you drank from your cup. Jungkook didn’t even try to deny it, looking off to the side with gritted teeth.

“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you,” Namjoon said, and you reciprocated, telling him the same. “I like your costumes by the way. Katara and Zuko?”

“Oh, you like it?” Jungkook exclaimed, suddenly no longer embarrassed anymore, and struck a pose, grinning proudly. “It’s cool, isn’t it, Joon?”

“Yeah, it’s cute and creative,” Namjoon complimented, and you didn’t think you had seen Jungkook look this excited before. You got it now why the others teased him in the diner.

“Anyway,” Namjoon turned to Jimin, pulling him closer, “let’s talk now?”

“Ah, I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” Jimin chuckled. “That would make Kook and Y/N feel left out, wouldn’t it? We can’t do that, can we?”

“I don’t think-”

“Yeah, let’s just all talk together.”

You turned around at Yoongi’s voice, surprised to see him standing behind you, beer in his hand. He had, by far, the laziest costume you had seen tonight—a cheap pair of cat ears on his head and half-assed whiskers drawn on his cheeks.

“Why can’t I just talk to Jimin for a minute?”

“I’m just saying, why can’t we be involved in the conversation? Aren’t we all friends?”

Jungkook and you looked at each other, confused on why Yoongi was defending Jimin so much. But he seemed to be more than glad to have someone on his side though, adding, “Yeah, that’s a great point. I think since we are all friends, we should-”

You didn’t hear the rest of his sentence when Yoongi leaned closer to you, “Hey, wanna know a secret?”

“Spill,” Jungkook prompted, and the older did, proudly, in between sips of his beer.

“I clogged the toilet and paid Jimin to take the blame.”

Like you had timed it, Jungkook and you rolled your eyes, shaking your heads because god, this was so stupid! You smiled.

“Which is exactly why-”

“Nope, we’re talking,” Namjoon interrupted, not even the slightest convinced by Jimin’s arguments. “Let’s go.”

And even though Jimin tried protesting, Namjoon easily pulled him away from you. The pleading look he gave over his shoulder was met with snickering.

Yoongi heaved out a sigh. “I’m gonna….” He pointed to where they had walked off to. “Just to make sure Joon doesn’t murder Jimin.”

“Go do that,” Jungkook laughed.

“It was nice talking to you guys though.” Yoongi looked you up and down. “Your costumes aren’t that bad either.”

You blinked. “Was that meant to be a-”

“Yeah, that’s the closest thing to a compliment you’re gonna get from him.”

“Huh.”

You took another sip from your drink. You could feel its effects, the buzz building up in your veins. It was nice. You didn’t feel very observed and self-conscious anymore, the music starting to sound better too. You were like a completely different person with alcohol in your system.

“You like the drink?” Jungkook asked you again, grinning, clearly proud to see that you were actually drinking it.

You rolled your eyes. “I already said it was good.”

“Well, I want to hear it-”

“Kook!”

You whipped your heads around. It was the girl from before. Narae, you think. The one who was dressed like a cheerleader. The one with the perfect smile.

“Hi,” Jungkook greeted and tightened his hand around yours.

“Hey, I see you got your girl a drink now.” And even though she was speaking about you, she didn’t look your way. You scowled. “I still need a partner, so why-”

“Y/N.”

Narae raised a brow at you. She was wearing that smile well, you thought.

“Sorry, what?”

“Y/N,” you repeated, sounding bored. You weren’t about to feign friendliness. “My name’s Y/N, not Jeon’s girl.”

“Oh.” Narae blinked. “Well, hi then Y/N. It’s Narae. Nice to meet you.”

You drank from your cup. “Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you.”

An awkward silence hung in the air.

“Well, anyway,” Narae laughed loudly and turned to Jungkook again, “you wanna go play beer pong with me now, Kook? And before you bring up Yugyeom, we broke up.”

“Oh, how unfortunate.” Jungkook didn’t sound sincere at all. You would have laughed, but something about Narae made you purse your lips. “But I don’t-”

“Please, Kook, let’s just play together? You know, like old times. Remember?” Narae added, smiling sickly sweet, and put her perfectly manicured hand on his arm. You gulped down your drink.

Old times.

She said old times.

You pressed your lips together. Old times implied there were times where Jungkook and Narae would play beer pong together, laughing, having fun. Times where Jungkook would make the last shot and she would cheer for him, call him her hero, and then wrap her arms around him, a gesture he would not only welcome but reciprocate. Times where they would maybe get closer and closer. Your grip tightened around your cup. It crinkled.

“I’m gonna get myself something to drink,” you announced and let go of his hand, lifting your empty cup for him to see.

“What?” Jungkook turned to you. “Oh, let me go with-”

“No, no, no,” Narae jumped in, her smile growing bigger, her lip gloss reflecting in the light, “Y/N’s an adult. She can go get herself a drink. But I really need a beer pong partner, Kook.”

You walked away, not wanting to catch Jungkook’s answer. He called after you, but you ignored it, pretending that the music ate up his words.

Pressing your hand to your temple, you tried to soothe the headache coming up, but-

“Y/N!”

Jisoo grabbed you by your wrist.

“What? What do you want?”

“What do you mean what do I want, Y/N?” She slapped you with each word.

“Ow! Stop! What did I even do?”

“Excuse you?” Jisoo pointed at Narae and Jungkook who were standing where you had left them.

“And?”

She glared at you. “Do I need to slap some common sense into you?”

“Yeah, why would you leave your boyfriend with Kang Narae?”

You turned around at the comment, realising now that Jennie was standing here too.

“Oh, I’m Jennie,” she told you. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to intrude or anything.”

“No, it’s fine.” You waved her off. “Y/N.”

“I know,” Jennie smiled. “I don’t think anybody at this party doesn’t know your name.”

“Narae didn’t,” you snorted.

“Bullshit,” Taehyung hissed, and you whipped your head around. “She knows your name, love.”

“Where did you come from?” You frowned when you saw Seokjin next to Taehyung too. “What the fuck? Do you guys just multiply?”

“Heard Narae was talking to Kook.” Seokjin shrugged. “Had to come.”

The pirate costume he was wearing looked worn out, like he had been putting it on every Halloween and never bothered to give it a wash. The stain on his shirt proved your assumption.

“You’re being real stupid right now, Y/N,” Jisoo told you.

“Hey! Don’t call me-”

“Yeah, this isn’t your smartest moment, love.”

“See, even Taehyung agrees with me!” Jisoo said. “By the way, I’m Jisoo.”

“We’re doing introductions? I’m Seokjin.”

“Jennie.”

“Anyway,” Jisoo turned back to you, “you’re being stupid.”

“Really stupid,” Taehyung added.

“Shockingly stupid-”

“What the fuck is happening right now? Don’t gang up on me!” you hissed.

“Well, seems like we have to,” Taehyung said. “Because for some inexplicable reason you left Kook with Narae.”

Jisoo nodded. “Yeah, you should go and get your man!”

“Get my man?” You frowned. “Am I supposed to pee all around Jeon and mark my territory-”

“Finally! You got it. Now go pee around him.”

You shrugged off Jisoo when she tried pushing you towards them.

“No! God, don’t be ridiculous, Ji. He’s just talking to her. Don’t make a big deal out of this!”

Taehyung eyed you. “You know their history, right?”

You stared at him, your heart freezing in your chest. They had a history?

“Oh, you don’t know,” he whispered, offering you a sympathetic look, like you were a child.

“Well, I don’t think they actually dated, right?” Jennie hummed.

Seokjin snorted. “Kook would never date her, but Narae has been trying to get him-”

Taehyung noisily sipped from his drink, and you all turned to him.

“What? No! You’re joking,” Seokjin exclaimed, mouth falling open.

Taehyung pursed his lips, looking at you like he was trying to figure out whether or not he should tell you this or not.

“You wanna know?” He raised his brows at you, wiping his mouth.

You blinked at him, mind blank. Because did you? Well, actually it shouldn’t be a question. You shouldn’t care at all, shouldn’t want to know. But you did, your heart thumping harder in your chest as you nodded.

Taehyung eyed you, giving you a moment to change your mind. But you stood by your answer, nodding once more.

“Fine, only because you said so.”

He held up his hands as if to rid him of any guilt that might come up.

“They technically never dated, but,” his voice grew quieter, “freshman year they did have a thing going on there for a while. I just remember catching him sneaking out at night a few times.”

Oh.

So you were right.

When Narae said old times, she was actually referring to old times.

Huh.

The information shouldn’t hit you in the way it did. It shouldn’t affect you at all. You weren’t dating! None of this was real—he wasn’t your boyfriend, and you weren’t his girlfriend! But the image formed in your mind; the image of him kissing her, sneaking out for her at night, running around like destined lovers, holding her in his arms, staying with her until the sun rose again. It had your heart breaking, and your throat growing tight, and your lungs collapsing, the air draining from you.

“Look, love, it’s not that big of a deal,” Taehyung quickly assured you. “It was never serious! And freshman year! Kook broke it off too. He’s your boyfriend now. Clearly, he isn’t interested in her anymore.”

“I don’t think you got anything to worry about,” Jennie agreed. “Looks like Jungkook isn’t responding much to anything she says.”

“I’m honestly surprised she didn’t try pulling anything before today,” Seokjin said.

“Well, she did date Yugyeom for a week or two. Pretty sure it was just to make Kook jealous,” Taehyung mumbled. “She just broke up with him.”

Just in time for today, you thought.

You lifted your gaze to Narae and Jungkook right as she stepped closer to him and brought her hand to his cheek. He winced and moved away from her touch, but she was persistent, staying close to him nevertheless.

You could feel it in the pit of your stomach, grow from there into your chest and wrap around your heart, squeezing it in a deathly grip. It flared up in you, bitter and ugly, clouding your mind. In all your life, you had rarely ever felt like this, but you could identify this feeling immediately.

Jealousy.

Your jaw flexed uncomfortably, hands tightening into fists at your side. Taehyung silently offered you his drink. You barely looked at it before exchanging it for your cup and downing whatever he had in there.

“Damn, love. Slow-”

You thrust the cup into his hands, before turning on your heel and making a beeline for the two.

“Jeon!” you called over the music. He snapped his head around, staring at you with big doe eyes. Narae’s smile slipped at your sight, but she was quick to put it back on. That perfect smile of hers.

Jungkook opened his mouth to say something, but you shut him up, grabbing him by his neck and pulling him down to you, your faces closer than they had ever been before.

And even though you told yourself you only did this because you wanted to prove the legitimacy of your relationship, deep down you knew you did this because you wanted to see Narae’s face fucking crumble, the alcohol buzzing through your veins and jealousy clouding your mind and judgement.

Jungkook froze when you kissed him, eyes wide open and hands up in the air. It took him a moment to reciprocate. But when he did, he made sure you knew he wanted this too, eyes fluttering shut. He held onto your waist with one hand, pulling you closer to him, and cupped your cheek with the other one, lifting your chin to deepen the kiss.

It surprised you how easy it was to kiss Jungkook, how moving your lips against his felt natural to you. You didn’t have to think about it at all, your body knowing exactly what to do, like it had been waiting for this to happen all this time.

Your fingers curled around the fabric of his costume, needing to steady yourself somehow. Everything around you faded away. It was just you and him, lips pressed together, noses brushing, heads tilted to the sides, hands holding each other in place.

Jungkook’s touch was hot, you realised. It burned through your blue robe. You were sure if you looked now, you would find a handprint shaped scar on your back, find the mark Jungkook just left on you.

When you broke apart, faces still impossibly close, your breathing was heavy and uneven. Jungkook had his eyes closed, a grin sitting on his lips. A grin you mirrored.

“Hi,” Jungkook mumbled breathlessly, peeling his eyes open, blinking at you.

“Uh, hi,” you whispered, and he cupped your cheek.

“You enjoying yourself?”

You chuckled. “Yeah, sure.”

“Yeah? Great,” he hummed, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose.

You stood there, holding each other, relishing in the aftermath of your kiss. This moment was yours, all yours. No one could take it from you.

Until cheers broke out.

Just like that, the moment cracked into pieces, crumbled to the ground. Your self-awareness returned, and in an instant, you felt out of place again, like you didn’t belong, embarrassment creeping up your neck and heating up your cheeks.

Your smile disappeared. You let go of Jungkook and stared at him with big eyes. He understood immediately, taking your hand and brushing past a fuming Narae without sparing her a single glance.

You bumped into shoulders and elbows again. It was uncomfortable. But it didn’t compare to how uncomfortable you grew when you saw that Namjoon, Hoseok, Chaeyoung, Yoongi, and Jimin had all found their way to the living room too, standing there, front row.

The next few moments were a blur to you. By the time you snapped back, you were standing in a bedroom. Jungkook’s bedroom you realised; the same family photo you had seen as his wallpaper before sitting framed on the desk.

You looked around. There was nothing special about his bedroom. Cleaner than you thought. Clothes were only strictly littering one corner of his bedroom, not the entire floor. You couldn’t say the same.

“You okay?”

You snapped your head around. His brows were furrowed.

“Uh,” you puckered your forehead, “yeah, I think so.”

And then you just stood there, staring at each other until you realised you were still holding hands. You immediately let go, like his touch was burning you.

“I- no one’s around anymore, so…” you trailed off, awkwardly gesturing around. You didn’t know why you were behaving like this. It was like you were twelve again, the same embarrassment growing in you that you had felt after your first kiss.

“Oh, y-yeah, right,” Jungkook chuckled and cleared his throat.

You fell into silence.

It hit you a moment later.

“What?” Jungkook asked upon seeing your expression change.

“Fuck,” you cursed under your breath and closed your eyes, burying your face in your hands.

“What?”

You sighed, peeling your eyes open, staring at him blankly. “They probably think we’re fucking in here.”

The thought made the tips of your ears burn.

“Oh, yeah,” Jungkook laughed, clearly finding this to be more amusing than embarrassing. You groaned to yourself.

“Well, it could be worse.”

“How? How could it be worse?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. But I don’t believe people thinking we’re doing it is the worst thing.”

You pinched your nose. “Of course, you don’t.”

You sighed and plopped down on his bed, the mattress dipping under your weight. You needed to lie down.

“You know if you think about it—” You had a feeling Jungkook was about to say something stupid. “—this is kinda like prostitution.”

You shot up.

“I mean I’m paying you to date-”

You had aimed for his face, but the pillow hit him in the chest instead. Well, actually, it didn’t hit him at all since he caught it. You turned to grab the next pillow just to realise with great disappointment he had only one.

“You’re so annoying.”

You let yourself fall back onto the bed when he started chuckling.

The alcohol made you feel tired, so you closed your eyes, focusing on calming down and processing everything that had happened. You listened as Jungkook walked over to you, feeling the bed shift when he lay down next to you.

“Hey, cabbage?” He was speaking quietly, whispering into the air. You hummed, sensing he was serious for once.

For a moment, he said nothing, and if you had looked at him, you would have seen him open and close his mouth several times, struggling to find the beginning of his question. He held his breath.

“Why did you kiss me?”

You peeled your eyes open and stared at the ceiling.

“Can we talk about that later?” you whispered back.

You thought Jungkook might bring up the contract and how you broke it, thought he would try to pull the answer from your lips.

“Later?” Both of you knew what later meant. “Okay.”

You closed your eyes and ignored the amused smile you heard in his voice, ignored the vivid image that formed in your mind—nose wrinkled, cheeks bunched up, the corners of his eyes crinkled.

“I think we can go out now,” you said after a few minutes, craning your neck to look at Jungkook. You sat up.

“Let’s not go out yet.”

“Why not?”

Jungkook gave you a sheepish smile. “It hasn’t even been ten minutes.”

“What?”

He sighed. “Well, I mean,” he fumbled with his belt, “if people are thinking we are, uh, well, doing it in here and it hasn’t even been ten minutes and you walk out- how am I gonna look?”

His reason was so stupid you initially couldn’t respond. This was the exact kind of stuff you expected to hear from him though, remembering he was a frat boy after all. You heaved out a sigh, rolling your eyes.

“Jesus,” you huffed under your breath but lay back down. “I’m giving you five more minutes. That’s it.”

“Thank you,” he smiled, and you were so tempted to kick him.

You had to admit, you enjoyed just lain here with Jungkook in silence. There was something oddly calming about this. Because even though you could still hear the party downstairs, feel the floor vibrating under you, in here, in Jungkook’s bedroom, you were in your own little bubble, in your own little world.

You enjoyed it.

Maybe a little too much.

So when the five minutes ticked away, you shot up. Jungkook hesitated, like he thought you would grant him another five minutes if he waited long enough. You didn’t. His knees cracked when he stood up.

“Where do you wanna go?” he asked you, hand on the knob.

“Let’s look for the others.”

“Okay.”

Jungkook offered you his hand and you took it.

When you climbed down the stairs, people were quick to look your way, whispers filling the pauses between the songs. Jungkook squeezed your hand and stayed close to you as you pushed through the crowd. It took you ages to find your friends.

You never thought you would see this; both of your friend groups sitting together in a circle in the backyard. There weren’t many people outside anymore, the autumn night too chilly for many. Not for your friends though.

Chaeyoung spotted you approaching them first, notifying Hoseok and therefore everybody else. You were fully expecting cheers, applause maybe. You were prepared for at least teasing and cheeky comments. You were met with silence.

“Hey,” Jungkook started and awkwardly raised a hand.

“Hey, Kook!” Namjoon smiled, dimples making an appearance. The issue between him and Jimin seemingly resolved, the two sitting together.

“You guys wanna join us?” Hoseok gestured at two empty chairs, two empty chairs reserved for you.

You looked at each other. “I mean, yeah, sure.”

Hesitantly, you sank into your chair. You folded your hands in your lap, counting the seconds for someone to say something about what had happened (and with someone you meant either Jimin or Taehyung). But everybody stayed quiet, like someone had strictly told them not to make any kind of comments. (Your guess was Chaeyoung.)

“Drink?” Jennie offered you a cup. “It’s water. You could have something else too. We have an entire set-up here.”

She leaned back for you to see all the bottles on the floor. You raised your brows, impressed.

“Uh, yeah, no, water is fine.” She handed you the cup. “Thanks.”

You let your gaze wander. It was odd to see your friends mixed with Jungkook’s, sitting together like you were all one big friend group. It was also... weirdly nice.

“Well,” Namjoon clapped his hands together, “you were saying, Chaeyoung? About that customer?”

“Right, yeah,” she straightened up, returning to the story she had been telling, “the customer kept on insisting I should go look in the back for it and that I definitely must have missed it the first time. I mean, yeah, look at me.” She gestured at herself. “Clearly blind.”

“And stupid,” Jimin added, smug and proud.

“Right, I’m just so stupid. I mean I am friends with you,” she hummed.

Jimin snorted. “You’re all friends with me, so jokes on you, Chae, you just insulted everybody!”

“We are friends?” Seokjin asked, feigning surprise.

“Yeah, I always thought we were just doing charity work?” You looked around innocently, your words making jaws drop wide open.

“Holy shit, cabbage,” Jungkook mumbled before breaking out into laughter, infecting all of you in the process.

Jimin stared at you, flabbergasted and confused about how this turned on him. He tried to feign hurt, but you could see through it, the corners of his lips betraying him. Laughter filled the air, joy etched into your faces. Sitting here, you felt like you all knew each other, felt like you were friends- had been friends for years now; hanging out, joking around.

Jennie recalled a similar story she had with a customer at the bookstore she worked at, making you all burst out into laughter by the end. More and more stories were exchanged throughout the night, stories unrelated to annoying customers, stories about them; personal ones, ones that took place in their childhood. You listened intently.

Jisoo had just finished telling you about the first real party she went to in high school when Taehyung straightened up and looked at you.

“Oh, love!” You stilled, your cup hovering in front of your lips. His eyes were sparkling, a smirk on his face. “How is it? Your first ever Beta Tau Sigma party, I mean. Got any improvements for us? We are very open to criticism.”

You looked at him before rolling your eyes, feigning annoyance but the smile on your lips made it hard to believe. “Well,” you sighed, “I’m not really a fan of the music if-”

You stopped when Jungkook put his hand on yours and squeezed it.

“Don’t,” he whispered. You grew even more confused when you saw grins grow on Seokjin’s and Taehyung’s faces.

You were about to ask when-

“These are my songs.”

You whipped your head around. Yoongi didn’t look hurt. He didn’t look like he was feeling much, to be honest, face blank.

“What?” Your brain wasn’t keeping up. “Wait, you composed-”

“Composed, wrote, mixed, produced. Did everything, yes.”

Shit.

“I’m so sorry, Yoongi,” you stammered, feeling your entire face burning, “I-I wasn’t-”

He smiled. “It’s fine. To be fair, this is my old stuff, like really old. I’ve got better things in store. Plus not everybody can like my music anyway.”

“Okay, so you don’t like Yoongi’s music.” Taehyung puts up one finger. “What else? What else can we improve on?”

You pressed your lips together, scared to propose anything else now.

“You know you said that the first time too,” Jimin recalled with a hum.

You turned to him.

“Oh, right, this isn’t actually your first Beta Tau Sigma party.” He flicked a bug off his knee. “You’ve been to one before. Remember the first party I took you to?”

You frowned. “What? No, the party you took me to was at a club-”

“Yeah, but it was thrown by them.”

“Wait, which one are you talking about?” Namjoon asked.

“The one like a month or two ago?” Jimin recalled, shrugging. “Maybe a bit more. Not too long- oh, it was the birthday party for-”

“I don’t think that counts,” Yoongi said. “That party was weird.”

“Yeah, love, don’t worry. This is your first official Beta Tau Sigma party. Forget the other one. That was shit,” Taehyung snorted.

You smiled. “Good, because I don’t recall having much fun.”

“Probably because you were locked in the bathroom for most of it,” Jisoo recalled.

“Because you all ditched me!”

“They ditched you?” Namjoon raised a brow.

You were about to get into it when-

“Oh!”

You looked at Seokjin. He had his phone pressed to his ear.

“Dude, you’re here?” he said, a grin spreading on his lips. “Wait, I’ll come get you. Stay there!”

“Who was that?” Taehyung asked.

“Cinnamon guy,” Seokjin said, like it was supposed to mean something, shoving his phone into his pocket. “I’ll be back in two.”

And then, he was gone, sprinting back to the house.

“Cinnamon guy?” Jisoo raised a brow.

“Oh, he’s a family friend of Seokjin. Business partners with his dad,” Namjoon explained. “He’s been dying to introduce us to him. Says he’s the funniest guy we’ll ever meet.”

“Funniest?” Hoseok raised a brow. “That’s-”

“Hey,” you turned to Jungkook when he spoke, not hearing the rest of Hoseok’s sentence, “are you tired? We could get out of here if you want to. It’s late.”

He showed you the time on his phone, and you were surprised to see it was way past midnight.

“Uh, are you tired?”

“I mean, not really.”

You looked around. You never thought you would say this, but you were enjoying yourself. Jimin was right. They weren’t as bad as you had made them out to be. He had a point. You were judgmental.

Your voice was quiet and meek when you spoke, “I, uh, wouldn’t mind staying a bit longer.”

Jungkook stared at you before smiling- no, grinning. “Yeah, okay, sounds great.”

He squeezed your hand.

“Guys, guys, guys!”

Seokjin’s voice cut through the air. He stopped in front of you, panting. You exchanged amused glances with Jungkook.

“Let me introduce you to cinnamon guy please,” he heaved, grinning.

Your drink almost hit the floor when you saw who it was, your heart sinking in your chest. It felt like a joke, a really cruel and bad joke.

“Guys, meet Jaehwa.”

Jungkook turned to you, searching your eyes, but your gaze was stuck to him. You thought you wouldn’t see him again, thought bumping into him in the café would be a one time thing. You should have known though. Cinnamon guy. Only one person in this world was obsessed with cinnamon as much as he was, to the point he would be dubbed this nickname.

The devil costume was fitting, you thought. Only a devil could break hearts the way he had.

“Hi, I’m Jaehwa,” he smiled. “Nice to meet-”

It was Jimin who he spotted first. You didn’t have to look to know fury was etched into his features. Chaeyoung and Hoseok were the next people he saw, both staring him down. Jisoo gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath, garnering a worried look from Jennie.

You were the last one he saw. You didn’t draw his eyes to you anymore.

“Oh.”

Your throat constricted in a terrible knot when you locked eyes. He took your breath, in the worst ways possible. It felt like you were dying, choking to death.

And if you weren’t dying then, you definitely would be now when she came along, angel wings clipped to her back, two cups in her hands.

“Here, babe,” she said, not realising what she was walking in on, eyes trained on the cups. She froze when she lifted her head.

Your world came crashing down right then and there, going up in flames in front of you and burning down to ash. You stood there helplessly as the walls you had built collapsed in on you, burying you under all the rubble, lungs caving in. You tried to breathe, survive this- him, but you knew you couldn’t.

You didn’t feel Jungkook tighten his hand around yours, or hear him say your name. Your entire focus was on him, eyes unable to tear away. Jaehwa wasn’t like a car crash. He was the car barreling towards you, leaving you lying on the sidewalk, alone, wounded, hurt, on the brink of death.

“Uh, what’s going on?” Seokjin asked, gaze shifting between Jaehwa and you. His words barely cut through the tension hanging in the air.

His question was enough to snap you out of it though, your eyes shooting to Jungkook. Your gaze was desperate, pleading.

“We gotta go,” he announced, standing up and shoving your cup into Yoongi’s hands. Jungkook acted fast, placing his other hand on your back and getting you out of here, shielding you from the others with his body.

You lowered your head, not wanting to see the expression on their faces as you walked away. They didn’t know you were clawing away from a car crash.

Jungkook hurried his steps, barely hearing Jawhwa call your name. He caught up to you, hand wrapping around your wrist and pulling you back. But Jungkook was quick to intervene.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” he hissed, pushing his hand off you and stepping in front of you.

Jaehwa opened and closed his mouth several times. It was obvious. He had a lot to say, but couldn’t find the words.

“Please,” Jaehwa whispered, looking past Jungkook, trying desperately to catch your eye. But you avoided his gaze, squeezing Jungkook’s hand for dear life, staying ducked behind his broad shoulders.

“I’m sorry. Can we talk? Please? I just- I’m so sorry-”

“Dude,” Jungkook spat, drawing Jaehwa’s eyes back to him. It took him everything not to raise his voice. “Clearly, she doesn’t want to talk to you, or even be fucking near you. So leave her the fuck alone. I don’t care if you’re Jin’s friend, I won’t hesitate to throw your ass out of here if you keep going like that.”

It wasn’t an empty threat. Jungkook was dead serious. There had always been a cheerfulness swinging with his voice. Not now. His voice was low and icy, threatening almost. You swallowed.

“I-I just want to- Five minutes. Give me five minutes. It’s all I’ll need-”

“No,” Jungkook hissed, glaring down Jaehwa, “listen, she doesn’t want to talk to you. Fucking respect it. Don’t push this any further.”

You squeezed his hand.

“I just want to explain-”

“Jaehwa!”

Chaeyoung.

“Leave them alone,” she hissed, gaze hard and unreadable, jaw flexed. You were glad it was her and not Jimin. “Don’t be like this, Jaehwa. Not after the shit you pulled.”

Her words seemed to do it, Jaehwa finally backing away. He deflated, stared at you like a kicked puppy. It made Jungkook scoff. His grip tightened around yours as he led you away.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.”

You squeezed your eyes shut.

Hearing Jaehwa say your name felt like a punch to your gut, like a knife through your already cracked heart, like the final blow to your head.

When you slipped back into the house, you heard nothing; the music, the shouts of your names, none of it reached you. It was like your head had been dunked under water, like your ears were still ringing from the car crash.

Jungkook didn’t offer up any friendly smiles to the people that tried to invite him to drinking games, walking past them like he hadn’t heard. He was mad. It was easy to see—the tension in his shoulders, the rigidness of his jaw, the heavy steps, the deep breaths. You could see it burning in his eyes. You hoped he wasn’t mad at you.

The silence continued in the car. The air was stifling tense, the walls trapping you in it. You didn’t dare to make a sound, didn’t dare to lift your gaze and look in his direction. You didn’t know what to expect.

You were sitting at a red light when Jungkook broke the silence, his eyes stuck to something in the distance.

“Are you okay?”

And it was that question, his voice soft and gentle, a total contrast to his demeanour, that broke you, cracked you in pieces, tore down your last defences. The tears came rushing down your cheeks, with no warning or build up at all. Your composure dissolved into nothing right then and there.

You bit your lip and turned your head away, trying so hard to make no sound. But Jungkook saw- knew. It broke his heart.

You curled your hands into fists, nails digging into your skin, leaving angry red marks as you tried to hold it all in. But the sobs ripped through your throat, forced your teeth apart and your mouth open.

Jungkook placed his hand on your knee, squeezing it.

“I’m here.”

You cried harder.

“I’m sorry.”

He turned to you. You were parked in front of your condo building. You weren’t sure for how long already, but Jungkook had just let you cry it out quietly, waiting patiently by your side.

“Don’t,” he told you quietly, squeezing your knee. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

You pressed your lips together and looked at his hand, where it rested, holding you tight. You thought of how he hadn’t let go even once. You turned it around, intertwining your fingers. Your grip was weak.

“No, but I do,” you whispered weakly, pressing your lips together and taking Jungkook’s hand into yours. You thought about how he hadn’t let go of you once during the entire ride- the entire night actually, you realised. You had always been the one to let go of his hand, not the other way around.

“What do you mean?” he asked, and you couldn’t meet his gaze, swallowing.

“I lied to you,” you admitted quietly, lowering your head in shame. “He isn’t bathroom guy.”

You closed your eyes. You didn’t want to see Jungkook’s reaction, see how his opinion of you changed. You didn’t think you could bear it.

“I know.”

You snapped your eyes open.

Jungkook smiled at you, smiled a soft smile. “I never actually believed you. It didn’t add up. Why would you storm out of the café if he was just some guy you talked to in the bathroom of some party?”

He knew. He knew and had let your lies slip. You felt like crying again.

“It’s fine,” Jungkook told you, as if he could sense it. “You don’t owe me the truth.”

You shook your head. “But I do-”

“Y/N, seriously. You don’t. You don’t have to tell me anything if you’re not comfortable with sharing-”

“No, Kook,” you said, cutting him off. He stilled. You had called him ‘Kook’.

You made the decision right as you looked at him. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was because you were tired and the exhaustion made you weak, or maybe it was because you were done keeping up this front—rolling your eyes and groaning at every word he said.

“I want to. I want to share. I want you to know- to understand.”

Jungkook nodded. “Okay.”

“He isn’t bathroom guy,” you repeated, voice shaky. “Jaehwa- he is my ex. He and I dated for all of high school. He was my first boyfriend.”

You swallowed the lump growing in your throat. “He broke up with me the summer before college.”

Jungkook tightened his hand around yours. Your vision blurred, but you blinked it all away.

“His parents didn’t approve of our relationship anymore.”

Your voice was quiet, barely above a whisper. But he heard you loud and clear. You looked out the window, traced the stars in the distant night sky.

“Anymore?”

Jungkook asked this quietly, like he wanted to give you the option to pretend you didn’t hear.

“Yeah.” It came out weak. You wanted to laugh at yourself. “His parents were fine with us dating in high school. They,” you actually laughed then, the things you were about to recall so fucking ironic, “were really nice to me.”

“What happened?”

“Well, they wanted for him to date someone proper in college.”

You could barely bring yourself to continue, the words hurting you to say.

“Someone more like them.”

Jungkook stared at you, his mind slowly beginning to piece together what you were saying.

“You know how Namjoon said that Jaehwa’s a family friend. A business partner?” You tucked a strand behind your ear. “Well, Jaehwa’s family has money. A lot of it.”

Jungkook sat back, his lips parting.

“They wanted someone more like them.” Your voice grew more and more bitter with every word. “Someone that knows why they give you different forks in those stupidly expensive restaurants. Someone that could also tell stories about their trip to Bali last month. Someone whose parents weren’t working multiple jobs to get by.”

He squeezed your hand, his mouth pressing into a hard thin line. Silence engulfed you, your words sinking in with him. He understood now, understood why you were so quick to judge, to roll your eyes and scoff at him.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry, cabbage.”

You nodded, appreciating his words. But the memories hurt all the same, tore your confidence and self-worth to pieces.

“They were really nice to me, you know?” you mumbled, feeling your throat constrict with tears. “They would let me stay over for dinner or stay over when it got too late. They would remember my birthday and get me presents too. They were so fucking nice to me. I-I just don’t understand.”

The tears fell. Jungkook wiped them away for you, realising soon enough though that it was in vain.

“I just don’t understand how they could smile at me and deem me as less than at the same time- deem me not worthy of their son.”

You screwed your eyes shut.

Jungkook lowered his head. He had nothing to say, nothing of use anyway.

You hated that you were crying, that after all this time, speaking about it still left you a wreck. You wished you could just forget about it, move past it. You wished you could say the experience hadn’t burned you.

The tears flooded down your cheeks endlessly, like a dam that had been broken through. Your hands were shaky as you dragged them under your eyes, over and over again, and though your cries were quiet, they pierced through the air clearly.

You couldn’t recall how long you sat there, crying, but by the end, your eyelids were heavy and swollen.

“I’m- I’m sorry,” you hiccuped, wiping away the last bits of tears. You knew you had to look like a wreck now, but Jungkook gave you a gentle smile, his doe eyes softly gazing into yours.

“Don’t. Stop apologising, cabbage.”

He wanted to ask you if you were fine, if you needed a hug maybe, but he knew not to. A few moments passed between you.

“What, uh, are you gonna do now?” Your voice was raspy, shaky, broken. “I mean,” you cleared your throat, trying to gather your composure, “are you, uh, gonna go back to the party?”

“Oh.” Jungkook puckered his forehead. “Yeah, I guess so. Where else would I go?”

You nodded.

“I think I’m gonna go now,” you mumbled after a few more moments, the seat belt snapping back. He nodded. You should rest, he thought.

You stepped out before turning to him. He offered you what was meant to be an encouraging smile, but you could see the exhaustion in his eyes.

“Goodnight, cabbage,” he whispered. “Please sleep-”

The question spilled from your lips before you could think too much about it, “You wanna come up?”

Jungkook froze.

“I mean just to pass some time- you don’t look like you wanna go back to a party,” you quickly added, heat crawling up your cheeks when you realised how it had sounded.

He looked at you. And you watched as his lips split into a smile. “I’d love that.”

In the first week you moved into your one-bedroom apartment, one of the light bulbs burned through. You hadn’t bothered to change it out yet, so when you flicked on the lights, your home was only dimly lit.

“Just, uh, make yourself comfortable, or whatever. Sorry for the mess.”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry,” he told you with a smile, kicking off his shoes.

You stared at him. You never had guests over. It felt weird to see Jungkook standing in your home.

You hastily picked up your clothes from the floor and tossed them into your laundry bin. “Uh, you want something to drink?”

“Yeah, water would be great,” he told you, looking around. “Thanks.”

You nodded, tempted to tell him there wasn’t much to see. Your one-bedroom apartment was sparsely decorated, your home equipped with the very most necessary furniture. But Jungkook gazed around like he was in a museum. You swallowed the words, and walked over to your refrigerator, picking up an empty ramen cup you had lying around and throwing it into the bin.

You grabbed two water bottles. You were about to call for Jungkook when you saw him inspecting the pothos you were propagating on your window sill—the only form of decoration you had made—and his name died on your tongue.

You couldn’t shake the feeling. It was weird to see him in your home, standing among the four walls you called yours. It felt like he was seeing more of you, like you were letting him in. Whether or not you liked that, or wanted that, you didn’t know.

“They’re cute,” Jungkook said when you handed him his water.

“Thanks. Just trying my best to keep them alive.”

You plopped down on your shabby little couch the tenant before you had left for you. The leather was worn down to the point it had split, little holes forming. Your couch looked like a slice of cheese. You used blankets and pillows to make up for it.

Jungkook followed you, sitting down as he sipped from his water. You were facing each other, sitting on opposite ends, cross-legged. Your knees were almost touching.

“I think my mother has these too,” he told you, looking over his shoulders at the pothos.

“Yeah? They’re very popular,” you said. You lifted the bottle to your lips, the cool water running down your throat. “You’re close with your family, aren’t you?”

He paused, raising a brow at you. “What makes you think that?”

“Oh, I just, uh,” you felt the heat crawl up your neck, “saw the family photo on your desk, so I assumed-”

He gave you a smile, and you were so tempted to kick him then.

“I’m close with them. I have them as my wallpaper too.”

He showed you, and you didn’t say you knew this already. You hummed, mumbling something about how they looked good. He grinned and put away his phone.

“It’s actually why I joined a frat,” he told you, and you looked at him. “When I moved out for college—don’t laugh now—,” you started smiling, “I was scared to live all on my own-”

Your smile turned into a grin.

He sighed. “Yes, I’ll admit it.” He put his hand above his heart. “I, Jeon Jungkook the Great, am also scared of things, one of them being living on my own and not finding my group of people in college.”

“‘Jeon Jungkook the Great’?” you snorted. “And you wonder why I’m judgemental.”

“That was a joke-”

“I know. I’m not stupid. I’m not Chae.”

You both shared a look, your lips splitting into smiles.

“Okay, but seriously?” you asked. “You were scared of not finding your group?”

He shrugged. “Believe it or not.”

“Well, everybody loves you now.”

“Please,” he waved you off, “not everybody-”

“People cheered when you walked in! They were all screaming your name like you were a rockstar! Don’t try to downplay it now.”

“Fine, people like me,” he sighed.

You looked at him and paused. “Did you?”

“What?”

“Did you find your group of people then?”

Jungkook stayed quiet, eyes drifting to the side as he thought of your answer. He smiled, nodding.

And he didn’t have to elaborate for you to know who he was talking about. Jungkook had found his people, just like you had with your friends.

“Do you ever feel guilty?” you asked, and he raised a brow.

“About what?”

“I mean we are lying to our friends when we say we’re,” you gestured between him and you, “you know?”

“Dating?”

You nodded.

“Well, not really.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t really feel like lying to me.”

You opened your mouth to tell him that should feel like lying to him because you were fake dating but-

“Do you?”

You sighed, puckering your forehead in thought. “I mean, yeah? A bit? Jimin’s gonna be so disappointed when we break up- I don’t know.”

“Do you want to stop then?”

The question had your head snapping up, and you were surprised when you were met with nothing but sincerity in Jungkook’s eyes.

“What?”

He shrugged. “I don’t want to keep this going if you feel guilty.”

“But… your bet with Tae?” you brought up, brows furrowing.

Jungkook waved you off. “So I’ll lose. I’ll survive.”

You frowned.

“No.” You surprised yourself with that answer. “No, don’t be ridiculous. We’ve already gotten so far. We’re committing.”

He smiled at you. “Okay.”

You looked away and busied yourself with your water, unscrewing it and taking a few big gulps. You fell into silence. You let your mind wander, think about the past couple of hours.

“Can I ask you a question?”

He looked at you, smiling. “One. You get exactly one question.”

You rolled your eyes. “Fine, I’ll ask you exactly one question.”

You straightened up. You could feel your voice growing smaller in your throat.

“When we walked into the party,” you began, “you said the people there weren’t your friends.”

You closed your mouth, realising you weren’t sure what you wanted to ask.

“Is that your question?” An amused smile formed on Jungkook’s lips until he saw the knit between your brows and the serious look in your eyes.

“I don’t know. Maybe?” You sighed. “I just realised- you didn’t seem…. all that happy. You looked tense, stiff, and- really uncomfortable. Your smile was also,” you paused to find the right word, “off. It didn’t look all that genuine, and it’s not the first time I’ve realised this. When we were at the diner or when we were picking out costumes in the shop-”

You paused, sighed. Your voice grew quieter. “You force on your smiles, don’t you?”

Jungkook averted his gaze at your words, looking at the water bottle in his hand instead, and you watched as his smile slowly disappeared. You knew the answer. Your heart clenched in your chest.

“You know, cabbage,” he began, quiet like he was telling you a secret now, “for a while, I found it hard to find actual people that I could trust. People that were friends with me because they wanted to, and not because,” he chuckled wryly, “they were hoping I’d buy the shots at the bar for them, or get the most expensive gift for their birthday.”

Your face crumbled.

“You’re probably right when you say I, uh, force on smiles, but-” He paused, sighed. “I’ve come to realise that people don’t really wanna hear about the shit you’re going through. They wanna see you happy and enjoying yourself, so they can be blissfully happy and enjoy themselves too. And what better way to convey this but with a smile?”

Jungkook looked off to the side, shrugging. “In my head, I’m just always asking myself if they wanna talk to me right now because they care about what I have to say, or if they just wanna talk to me because they want to have a rich boyfriend who will fund their lavish spending habits?”

You knew he was referring to Narae, but you didn’t doubt for a second that there were other girls too.

“I mean I realise how stupid,” he rubbed his neck, “and privileged this sounds compared to- the thing with Jaehwa and you because at least I was—” you could see how hard he was thinking right now, desperately trying to find the right words, “—-never looked down upon, but-”

He sighed, lifting his gaze to you.

“It’s just hard for me to find people that like me for me- to find genuine people.”

You had never seen Jungkook this serious. It made you swallow. You wondered what he thought of you, how he saw you. You wondered if he thought you were genuine or not. Probably not. Why would he? He was paying you to fake date him. Right at that moment, you wished, for the very first time, that he and you had met under different circumstances, that the contract, the bet, all didn’t exist.

“Do you think I’m-?”

You trailed off, your voice giving up on you. But Jungkook knew what you were trying to ask.

“That was just your second question,” he reminded you, and you blinked at him.

“Right, I’m only allowed to ask one question, huh?” you huffed. He smiled, but it faded away when he saw the expression on your face.

He leaned back. “Can I tell you what I think of you?”

You looked at him. Your gut told you that you wouldn’t like what he had to say. For your own good, you should say no, spare yourself. If you were kinder to yourself, you would.

“Shoot.”

Jungkook straightened up and folded his arms in front of his stomach.

“I think—” You could barely hold his gaze. “—you’re scared. I think you’re scared to be open and honest. To be vulnerable. I don’t think you want to let people in. You don’t want them to get too close and see the real you behind all of the eye-rolling, scoffs, and snarky comments.”

“You’re actually someone who's kind and nice. Someone who cares deeply. Someone who would drop everything to pick up her drunk best friend in the middle of the night and sit on the curb with them.”

He paused.

“Someone who’s also judgemental at times, but that can be forgiven.”

A weak chuckle was the only response you could muster up, eyes tearing away from Jungkook because his words were ripping through you, digging in between your ribs and pulling out your tiny heart from there, pinning it to the front of your chest, like a brooch, stunningly beautiful but so goddamn fragile and delicate at the same time. He uncovered pieces of you that you would have liked to stay hidden, pieces of you that you thought would stay buried. He uncovered you like a book long forgotten about, the spine cracking when he flipped it open for the very first time in years.

You felt seen, completely taken in.

It terrified you.

“But that’s just what I think,” Jungkook finished, shrugging.

You bit your tongue.

“Well, I’m definitely not gonna miss being psychoanalysed by you when we break up,” you joked, trying to sound nonchalant. You didn’t think you succeeded.

“You gave me permission.”

And to that, you didn’t know what to say, your lips sealing shut. You focused on the water bottle in your hands, on how the cool spread into your fingertips.

“What are you gonna miss then?”

You lifted your gaze to Jungkook, throat growing tight.

“Maybe this?”

You watched as Jungkook pulled something out of his pocket, tossing it into your lap. With big eyes, you stared at the paper bag, the logo of your favourite bakery stamped on it, Seo’s Bakery.

“I asked Jisoo,” he said, giving you a smile.

You looked between him and the paper bag, mouth wide open.

“These are the right ones, right? The ones she had been talking about in the car? She didn’t trick me, did she?”

“Y-yeah,” you stammered, eyes finding his. “They, uh-” Your features softened. You nodded. “Yeah, they are the right ones.”

When you opened the bag, the faint smell of chocolate chip cookies wafted through the air, your mouth immediately began watering. But then you remembered where Jungkook had kept them, and your face soured.

“How long did you keep them in your pockets? Tell me you weren’t carrying them around all this time.”

“I had them in my car.” He rolled his eyes. “I was gonna give them to you by the end of today.”

You narrowed your eyes, pursing your lips.

“If you say so,” you mumbled and pulled out a cookie, hesitantly biting into it.

“Good?”

You nodded. You tasted no difference.

“Do I get one now?” Jungkook grinned, stretching out his hand. You would have laughed if you weren’t eating.

“No.”

He gawked at you before scoffing and shaking his head. “You’re unbelievable-”

The sound of his phone ringing cut through the air. You watched him pull it out with a sigh, mumbling something about how you were just saved by the bell, his screen lit up with Namjoon’s contact.

“Hi, what’s- yeah, no, we’re all good,” he said, and your chewing slowed. Namjoon’s voice was faint, barely audible.

You pulled out your own phone, swallowing when you saw the dozen of missed texts and calls. You were about to reply to them, assure your friends you were okay when out of the corner of your eye, you saw Jungkook try to steal one of your cookies. You slapped his hand away.

“Jeon!”

“Ow, shit- what? No, no, everything’s fine, Joon.” A dramatic pout formed on Jungkook’s lips as he looked at you, blowing on his hand. You rolled your eyes, but there was a smile sitting on your face, one that made him smile too.

“Yeah, I’ll be back soon. Yes, I promise, Joon.” He rolled his eyes, acting like Namjoon was an annoying mother. You laughed quietly.

“Don’t worry. Yes, Joon, I promise, again. I’ll see you-” Jungkook froze, his smile slipping. He lowered his head a bit. “Oh. Well, uh, thanks.”

You raised a brow when Jungkook finished the call.

“What was that?”

He waved you off, dropping his phone into his lap. Your suspicion grew.

“What, Jeon?” you pressed.

You could see how reluctant he was to tell you this, see the discomfort in him. It didn’t make you back away though. You wanted to know.

“Joon just-” Jungkook sighed and looked away. “He just told me they asked him to leave afterwards. They ended the party shortly after.”

His eyes flickered to you when he finished. You blinked at him, your mind having a hard time processing the information. You didn’t think they would ask Jaehwa to leave, or end the party for that matter.

“Oh,” you said, the only response you could come up with at that moment.

Your gaze shot to his phone when it lit up again, a new message. His lockscreen—the picture of him and the boys on his birthday—caught your eye.

“Was that, uh, your birthday?” you asked, clearing your throat. You hoped Jungkook would go along with it. He did.

“Oh, right, yeah! It was.”

“No big Beta Tau Sigma party for you, huh?” you chuckled, trying to lighten the air. It worked.

“Yeah, no big Beta Tau Sigma for me on that day,” Jungkook said. “I had two birthday parties. One on my actual birthday,” he showed you his phone, “and one a couple days later.”

You tongued your cheek. “You’re so privileged.”

He grinned. “You’re just jealous.”

You snorted and shook your head, but the smile on your lips was making it hard for him to take you seriously.

“You’re gonna thank me by the way?” Jungkook asked you, and you stared at him before comprehending what he was saying.

You rolled your eyes, sighing. “Thanks, or whatever.”

He clicked his tongue. “‘Thanks, or whatever’? Is that how you thank people? How you’ve been taught?”

You stared him down before heaving out a sigh, forcing on the fakest smile.

“Oh, Jeon, how may I ever repay you for your kindness? Thank you so very very much for buying me cookies. You’re a saint!”

You stopped smiling.

“Happy?” you hissed.

He clicked his tongue again. “I think you could do better. I just think your tone... could be more genuine, more thankful. I don’t know maybe I’m expecting too much from you too-”

You threw your half-eaten cookie into its paper bag before dropping it to the floor. Jungkook was challenging you, and you took it, gladly.

Thinking back, you still couldn’t figure out what prompted you to do this—whether it was the smug smirk on his lips that you wanted to wipe off, or the slight buzz you were feeling from all of the alcohol, or the fact that your heart had begun thrumming so hard and loud in your chest every time you looked at Jungkook now and you just couldn’t keep on ignoring it, especially not when he looked so beautiful sitting in your home.

The rest of his sentence died on his throat when you grabbed him by his collar and pulled him towards you, mouth crashing against his. As you kissed him, you noticed just how soft his lips were, realising you had never kissed lips this soft.

Jungkook was slow to react again, eyes wide and hands up in the air. But when it hit him what was happening, he pulled you close to him, hands finding around your waist, grip firm, fingers digging into your skin.

You ended up being the one to pull away.

“Thankful enough?” you breathed against his lips, face still impossibly close to his. You could count his eyelashes.

Jungkook stared at you, swallowing. He didn’t know how to respond, mouth opening and closing several times. You would have teased him for it if your heart hadn’t been pounding in your chest the way it was. You wondered if he could hear it, thumping against your ribcage—all because of him.

“You know what?”

“Uh, n-no,” he stammered, sounding breathless.

You smiled. “I think I can do better.”

You didn’t give Jungkook a moment to process your words before kissing him again. Your hands curled around his neck, fingertips in his hair. He pulled you into his lap, wrapping his arms around your waist and locking you in place. Like he was afraid if he didn’t hold on tight enough, you would disappear, turn out to be a figment of his imagination.

You weren’t sure whose hands wandered first, but by the time you parted, your costume was slipping off your shoulders, and Jungkook was sitting in front of you with half of his chest exposed. He cupped your face.

“You sure about this?” he asked you quietly. “I know you had a bit to drink.”

He gazed into your eyes. You knew Jungkook would put a stop to all of this the moment you said the word, the moment you gave him the impression, for even just a second, that you didn’t want this. You knew he wouldn’t mind crashing on your couch, or even driving back home. It made answering so much easier.

“I’ve never been more sure,” you told him. “Are you sure about this?”

And then, he gave you a smile, a smile that had your chest growing tight with anticipation and excitement, and a fire rising in the pit of your stomach, your entire body set alight.

When Jungkook kissed you, your breath hitched in your throat, taken aback by the vigour he was pressing his lips against yours. He swooped you up in his arms, standing up from the couch to wander to your nearby bed. But the sound of something cracking interrupted you two. You pulled away and looked down.

Jungkook had stepped on your cookies. He cursed. The corners of your mouth turned downwards, your bottom lip jutting out.

“I’ll buy you cookies first thing tomorrow,” he said upon seeing your expression change, pressing a peck on your pout. “I’ll buy you an entire bakery.”

You turned to him, grinning. “Really?”

“Anything for you.”

And then you were kissing him again, hands cupping his face like you were holding the most delicate thing out there. Jungkook carefully and slowly placed you on your bed, the air knocked out of you when you hit the mattress. A giggle tumbled from your lips. He laughed too, hovering above you, caging you in with his arms.

“You good?”

You nodded, grabbing his face to plant another kiss on his mouth. Soon enough your smile disappeared, his lips trailing down your jawline and neck. Your breathing shallowed out. It made a smirk grow on his face, a smirk you usually would roll your eyes at, but you didn’t have the nerve to now.

The kisses never stopped. Jungkook kept on pressing them to every inch of your skin you allowed him to see and touch, like he never wanted you to forget how soft his lips were, like if you were going to forget this night and him at one point, you were at least going to vividly remember the kisses he stamped on your body, marked you with.

By the end, the sun was slowly spilling into the night sky.

“Your first sunrise,” he pointed out, and you smiled.

“Yeah, my first sunrise.”

The sky was clear, the sun white as it inched up the horizon, bleeding its light into the night and colouring everything in a breathtakingly beautiful orange, warmth expelling the cold autumn night. And right at that moment—as you lay in Jungkook’s arms in your small bed, in your even smaller one-bedroom apartment, your breaths slowly evening out, naked and exposed in every sense possible—you found a sense of peace. It planted itself in your chest, wiggled through your ribs and settled there. Everything was fine, perfectly fine. You knew, it was too good to be true. But you stopped yourself from thinking about it, quieting that voice in your head that told you this was going to end up in flames in a few weeks time, that told you to run and hide. You allowed yourself to enjoy this, for now.

“The second thing you did on your bucket list today.”

You tore your gaze to him, raising a brow.

“Second?”

Jungkook smirked.

“Yeah, I mean you just did me, right?”

You blinked at him a handful of times before scoffing and turning away, shoving him by his shoulder. You rolled your eyes. You should have known. Jungkook laughed and when his laughter died down, he twisted you around and captured your mouth in a kiss. And as much as you wanted to act like you were annoyed with him, you couldn’t resist the kiss, so your hands winded up in his hair.

“You were never on my bucket list,” you told him when you parted, mumbling it against his lips.

Jungkook laughed, humming before pressing kisses to your face after every word. “I should be.”

You scrunched your nose and tried to twist away from him, but you failed miserably—maybe because your bed was small and there was no space to escape to, or maybe you were tired, or maybe, just maybe, because you weren’t actually trying, didn’t want to pull away from his kisses, maybe you didn’t actually want to pull away from him, maybe you liked having Jungkook in your arms, liked holding him, liked being around him. You were quick to bury those thoughts though, settling on the first reason, lack of space to escape to.

Jungkook pulled the blanket over your bodies when he saw how heavy you were blinking, realising sleep was taking over you.

“Didn’t you tell Joon you’d be back soon? You’re not scared you’re gonna be in trouble?” And even though the vision was blurring, you saw the grin that grew on his lips. Jungkook wrapped his arm around your middle and buried his nose into the crook of your neck.

“You’re worth the trouble.”

And then, he pressed one more kiss to your shoulder. You didn’t try twisting away his time, mustering up a tired smile, your eyelids falling shut. Slowly, you slipped into sleep. But you still heard him say it, the words mumbled against your skin, quiet like a secret.

“I love you, cabbage.”

→ links don’t work, but don’t forget to message me with any thoughts/feedback! i’d love to hear it!

Jungkook feels his heart drop. Fuck, he thought he walked out of sight!

“No, I didn’t, Tae,” he hisses, pressing the earpiece further into his ear.

“You flinched! We can still see you- ah, okay, not anymore. But we saw that-”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I definitely did not flinch-”

“Denying it is pointless. We all saw it. Back me up here, Jimin.”

“You definitely flinched.”

Jungkook stops dead in his tracks, is about to walk back to the car and tell them that they must be hallucinating because he definitely did not flinch when-

“Can you see her already, Kook?” Namjoon asks and for a moment, Jungkook forgot why he is here, you.

He looks around himself, and it doesn’t take him long to find you, sitting on a bench, under a big tree, soft shadows dancing on your skin.

“Yeah, I-I see her,” Jungkook says under his breath.

“Okay, good. I’m gonna need you to focus up then,” Namjoon continues, and Jungkook nods like Namjoon could see him.

“Yeah, if you screw this up, it’s your fault if we end up in jail-”

“Tae!” Namjoon warns, and judging from the ‘ow’ that follows, someone punched him. Jungkook’s guess is Jimin.

“What? I’m just saying-”

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you come,” Namjoon mumbles and runs a hand down his face. “Hey, Kook, don’t listen to Tae, yeah? He’s just messing with you.”

“Yeah… I know,” Jungkook mutters, and he means it. He really does know that Taehyung is messing with him, but there’s a part of him that takes it to heart, that is worried sick about how he’s going to fuck this up and be the reason for why they all end up in jail.

“Don’t worry, Kook,” Jimin cuts in, taking the phone from Namjoon. “We’ve got your back. All you have to do is repeat after me, say what I say. You’ve got this. Remember what I taught you?”

“Always smile and laugh and never talk about yourself. Keep the conversation about the other person because people love talking about themselves,” Jungkook repeats, and looks at you again, heart heavy in his chest.

He shouldn’t feel like this, wishes he wouldn’t. But he can’t help it. This isn’t how he imagined he’d meet you. Jungkook thought he’d meet you at some fancy event, sipping expensive champagne, or at some luxury clothing store maxing out your parents’ credit card—after all, your mother is a world famous art curator. But instead you spend your time at playgrounds, babysitting.

There’s actually no reason for Jungkook to be this nervous. Jimin did practise with him this exact scenario, but he can’t help but think that with a flute in his hands and some alcohol buzzing through his system, he’d feel more comfortable. But here he is, in the middle of a sea of children.

“Kook, do you copy?”

“What? Sorry, I wasn’t…” Jungkook pauses. He shouldn’t admit that he wasn’t listening.

“Get your head in the game, please,” Namjoon tells him over the earpiece.

“Sorry, you’re right. I’m here,” Jungkook says and starts to walk again even though he still feels fucking lost as a goddamn adult at a playground. Gureum follows him when he tugs on the dog leash.

“Okay, good. Just- just try your best,” Namjoon says, voice a bit muffled. “You’ve got this.”

Jungkook could swear that there’s a waiver to his words.

“Don’t worry. We’re here,” Taehyung tells him before Jungkook can think about it too much, distracting him from the quiver he heard.

He stops behind a tree, close enough for Gureum to spot you, but not close enough for you to spot them. His knees crack when he kneels down to stroke Gureum’s ear.

“Hey, Gureum? I’m gonna unleash you in a second and then I’m gonna need you to run towards,” Jungkook points as discreetly as possible to you, “her, yeah? Just like we practised? Remember? Remember how you ran towards Seok and Yoongi? Do it exactly like that again, okay? If you do, I’ll get you your favourite treat.”

Gureum doesn’t run away instantly when Jungkook unclips him because he’s trained, but when he points at you and whistles, he’s gone.

You react surprisingly calm to a dog barreling towards you, barely flinching. You lean down and greet Gureum.

“Approaching target now,” Jungkook mumbles quietly and can only faintly register how Namjoon tells Taehyung to be quiet from now on, all of his attention on the mission now.

With the leash in his hand, Jungkook jogs towards you, heaving extra hard to sell the act of a dog-owner-who-has-been-chasing-his-dog-for-the-last-ten-minutes to you.

You look up to him when he stops in front of you, eyeing him. Jungkook stands there, bend over, his hands on his knees, breathing like he’s struggling to catch his breath.

“Uh…. hi,” you start, brows pinched together.

Jungkook puts on his most charming smile, ignoring his thumping heart to the best of his abilities.

“Hi.”

“Oh, we’re starting- okay, showtime: I’m sorry, are you okay? My dog- he just ran and I couldn’t stop him. I’m so sorry,” Jimin says in his ear.

“I-I’m so sorry.” There’s a quiver to Jungkook’s voice, and it isn’t on purpose. “Are you okay? He just ran and I-”

“It’s fine,” you tell him with a small smile, still petting Gureum who has clearly taken a liking to you. During practise with Seokjin and Yoongi, Gureum always ran back to Jungkook, but now he’s staying at your feet, relishing in your pets. “Is that your dog?”

“Yes, yes, it is. I’m so sorry. I just unleashed him for a second, but then he ran away and I couldn’t catch up with him. Are you okay?”

“Yes, and I’m so sorry. I just unleashed him for a moment, thinking it was okay, but-”

“Can you prove it?” you interrupt and Jungkook pauses. “I mean that it’s your dog. It’s just that he isn’t really reacting to you, you know?”

Jimin’s response comes a bit late. “Oh, yes, I can. His name’s Gureum and he is- what’s the breed of your dog again? I don’t remember. If you look at his collar, you’ll see I’m telling the truth.”

“Oh, yeah, I can,” Jungkook smiles, wiping the non existent sweat from his temple. “His name’s Gureum and he’s a white Maltese dog. If you look at his collar, you’ll see that I’m not lying.”

You actually look at the collar and part of Jungkook is offended that you don’t just believe him. Does he look like a liar to you? “Actually, I have pictures too-”

“No, no, it’s fine. I believe you,” you say before gesturing for Gureum to go back to Jungkook. He does, but somewhat reluctantly and Jungkook doesn’t know how to interpret this.

“Ask her if she’s okay again.”

“Are you really okay?” Jungkook says and offers you a smile the way Jimin taught him to. “I really am sorry about-”

“It’s fine,” you tell him and wave him off. “Nothing happened. Don’t worry about it. Just leash your dog.”

And then, you turn away from him. Jungkook stands there awkwardly for another moment before kneeling down to Gureum, absentmindedly petting him, mind filled with questions because what now? How does he communicate to the others that you turned away from him? That the conversation has ended and he has no idea how to start it again?

“What’s going on Kook? Is she smiling-”

“Ah, Gureum, no,” Jungkook cuts in. “Don’t turn away- I can’t leash you if you do that. Don’t turn away.”

“Oh, shit, she turned away, huh?”

“What now, Jimin?”

“Shush, Joon. Let me think, yeah?”

Jungkook fiddles with the leash like he has a problem clipping it, hoping that maybe you’re going to offer him your help. You don’t. And why would you? He’s an adult after all.

Before Jimin can come up with anything though, the solution to the problem presents itself. It comes in the form of a girl running and tripping right next to Jungkook and him catching her just in time before she can faceplant in the dirt and scrape her knees open.

“Oh, hey, careful here!” Jungkook brings the girl back up on her two feet. She stares at him with big eyes, and he recognises her from the pictures. It’s Siyeon, the seven year old girl you babysit regularly, the reason why you’re spending your afternoon at a playground today. ”You okay?”

“Kook, what’s happening right now?” Namjoon asks.

Siyeon looks at you, and you’re already kneeling beside her, fixing her hair.

“Siyeon, I told you not to run. See, you almost fell now!” You say it the same way a mother would, less strict though. “If he hadn’t caught you, you would have hurt yourself, wouldn’t you have? Now, what do you say?”

“T-thank you,” Siyeon mumbles, and Jungkook isn’t sure if she’s staring at her hands because she’s embarrassed or just about to cry.

“Who’s that? Who are you talking to? Who’s he talking to?”

“Was that a kid?”

“Are you okay?” Jungkook asks Siyeon, ignoring Namjoon and Taehyung to the best of his abilities.

“Y-yes, thank you.” She won’t look at him.

Jungkook smiles. “Well, I’m happy that you didn’t get hurt there.”

“Kook, answer please. Do you need help?”

“Should we interfere?”

Jungkook’s about to snap. Does it seriously sound like he needs help? He’s talking to a seven year old, for fuck’s sake! Sure, he didn’t practise this scenario, but God, he was capable of improvising!

“Thank you. She’s really clumsy,” you say to Jungkook.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m like that too. After all, I let,” he looks down at Gureum and finishes his sentence by gesturing to him and then you. You laugh.

And that’s when Siyeon seems to notice Gureum for the first time, eyes growing big at his sight like she has never seen a dog before. A chance.

“His name’s Gureum. You wanna-”

“Do you think we should go over there? See if he’s okay?”

And with that, Jungkook snaps. Yoongi is going to give him an earful for destroying his oh so precious equipment, but he can’t do this any longer with Jimin, Namjoon and Taehyung in his ear. So in one smooth movement, Jungkook digs out the earpiece and crushes it between his fingers, hiding it in his hand.

“Sorry, a fly, I think,” Jungkook says, swatting at his ear, and before you can think about it, he moves on. “Do you wanna pet Gureum, S- Is it okay if I call you Siyeon?”

Siyeon stares at Jungkook like he can’t believe he just asked her that. It’s probably the first time an adult has asked her for permission to call her by her name, and she seems to appreciate it immensely because she beams at him and gives him a huge nod.

“Okay, Siyeon, do you maybe wanna pet Gureum? He doesn’t bite, I promise.” Jungkook can feel your eyes on him. He’s doing it, charming you!

Siyeon turns to you.

“Can I-?”

You hum. “If Gureum is okay with it-”

Siyeon kneels down. “Hello, Mr Gureum. Sir, can I please pet you?”

Jungkook melts, and so do you.

Receiving no response from Gureum, Siyeon looks back up to you. Jungkook quickly takes his paw and waves. “Hello, Mrs Siyeon, if you promise not to hurt me, you can pet me. I like it especially if humans pet me at the back of my head. Just, please, be nice to me.”

In all of the years he has had Gureum, Jungkook has never tried to imagine what his voice would sound like, but he knows for a fact that he doesn’t sound like a chain smoker. It’s a questionable choice, but he doesn’t regret it. Because not only does it make Siyeon laugh, it also elicits a chuckle from you.

You look at him with a grin. “I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet, have I?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Jungkook says, and you two rise to your feet when Siyeon starts to pet Gureum and he doesn’t bite her.

“Well,” you stretch out your hand, “I’m Y/N.”

Jungkook swallows the ‘I know’ that wants to slip him and takes your hand. He has to stop himself from bursting with pride, only allowing his smile to grow into a blinding grin.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N,” he says, and he means it. It’s really nice to meet you. “I’m Jungkook.”

A Week Ago

“So why do you guys think we’re here?” Taehyung looks around, drumming on the desk. “Any guesses?”

Jungkook swivels in his chair, looking past Taehyung to where Namjoon and Seokjin are standing, watching them try to figure out how to get the projector to work. 

“Probably a job, right?” Hoseok says, snacking on his protein bar. “Why else would we be here?”

“You think?” Yoongi raises a brow. 

“I mean money’s getting tight, isn’t it?” Taehyung hums and Jungkook frowns.

“I’ve barely touched the money from the Jang’s job,” he says, and Taehyung looks away. “Tae, have you blown through your eleven million already? It’s barely been two years since the job though!”

Jimin snorts. “It’s Tae, Kook. What did you expect?”

“What did you spend it on?” Hoseok asks, shoving the last piece of his protein bar into his mouth, balling up the plastic wrapper in his hand. 

Taehyung turns away, a flush creeping up his neck that makes it rather obvious that he most definitely blew all of his money on stupid shit like luxury clothes and cars.

“Jeez, Tae,” Jimin teases, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. “Get it together, buddy.”

Taehyung gasps. “I’m not the only one with no money here! Yoongi spent all of it too!”

Everybody turns to him, but unlike Taehyung, Yoongi doesn’t even bother to react, offering everybody just a lazy shrug.

“So? What else am I gonna do with money? Save it until I die?” Yoongi combs through his hair. “Plus, I didn’t spend it on stupid shit like Tae did. I spent it on equipment. You’re all benefiting from it.”

And then, Taehyung deflates, mouth sealing shut because he’s got no defense anymore. Lucky for him though, Namjoon and Seokjin finally figured out how to get the projector running, their presentation casted on the wall.

“Ready, guys?” Namjoon asks, walking up to the front and raising a brow. When everyone nods and gives him a hum, Namjoon grins and looks to Seokjin, who’s dimming the lights right now.

“Jin,” he calls out, “what time is it?”

And in the most dramatic fashion possible, Seokjin rolls up his sleeve and looks at his watch, feigning surprise when he sees the time.

“It’s time-for-another-job o’clock,” he gasps.

Namjoon gapes at him. “Oh, is it?”

“Yes, yes, it is. Look.” Seokjin holds up his watch, a grin growing on his lips. Namjoon leans forward and squints even though it’s pointless because Seokjin is standing at the other end of the room.

“I see now! It really is,” he gasps and Jungkook’s not the only one cringing, the others pulling a face too.

“Isn’t that-”

“Please stop,” Yoongi interrupts and gives both a look. “Just start the fucking meeting. This is painful.”

Seokjin sighs deeply. “None of you appreciate our humour.”

Namjoon mirrors him, clutching his heart. “Fine, let’s start.”

And right after Seokjin skips to the first slide; a picture of the National Museum of Korea appears.

“Anybody know what’s being displayed there in three months?” Namjoon asks, gesturing behind him, in serious moed now. He looks around like a teacher waiting for his class to get the answer, and Taehyung’s the perfect student because he practically shoots up in his seat, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

“Tae?” Namjoon points at him.

“‘The God, The Demigod, The Nymph, and The People’, right?” he says, the corners of his lips slowly turning up into a smile. “Are we-”

Namjoon smiles. “Yes, we are.”

And that seems to be the greatest thing Taehyung’s ever heard because his lips splits into the biggest grin possible and he crashes back into his chair with such force he almost topples over.

Jungkook raises a brow. “Uh, what exactly are we stealing now?” 

“This painting,” Seokjin says and clicks to the next slide. It’s a picture of an incredibly detailed and stunning painting, depicting a crowd of people kneeling in front of the Demigod with the God watching above him and a single nymph emerging from the water, approaching the crowd.

Taehyung shuffles in his seat, catching Yoongi’s attention. A teasing smile grows on his lips. “You good, Tae?”

“Yoongi,” he responds and stares him down. “You don’t get it. That painting,” he points it, “is the hottest art piece on the market right now. People are fucking dying to go see it.”

“How hot are we talking about?” Yoongi quips back, clearly thinking Taehyung’s exaggerating. For once, he’s not.

“Like eighty million dollars hot.”

Taehyung says it so casually it takes Jungkook a moment to comprehend, his mouth falling open. He never knew a painting could be this expensive. The information takes a second to sink in with everyone.

“W-wait, what? Eighty million?” Hoseok repeats, eyes gigantic.

“What the actual fuck?” Jimin laughs. 

“Holy shit,” Jungkook curses too because even though they’ve stolen millions before eighty million is still a stupidly large amount of money to them. “Maybe we should have become artists.” 

Yoongi turns to Seokjin and Namjoon.

“How do we get it?”

“Well,” Namjoon starts. “Right now, we don’t get it because it’s hanging out in the Met, but-”

“-in three months it’s coming to Seoul,” Seokjin continues, the transition seamless. “It’s coming right here, scheduled to be displayed,” he skips to the slide of the museum again, “here.”

“What's the security like?” Yoongi asks next, brows furrowed together like he’s already calculating the chances of them successfully pulling off this heist.

“Absolutely insane,” Taehuyng answers. “I’ve already looked into it. Aside from guards, they’ve got multiple independently wired security cameras, pressure sensors and laser nets that are randomly generated, making it fucking impossible for us to plan out way through it. You trigger anything and the doors and windows automatically lock themselves. Not to mention, they’ve got some of the best firewalls out there. Firewalls even you, Yoongi, won’t be able to hack into.”

“So how are we supposed to pull this off then?” Yoongi asks, and Namjoon and Seokjin smile at his question.

“We deactivate their security system.”

Yoongi stares at Namjoon like he’s joking. “Right, because Taehyung just said it was so easy to do-”

“There’s a master code.”

“There’s a- what?”

Namjoon’s smile widens, hands shoving into his pockets. “A master code.”

“Great, isn’t it?” Seokjin hums. “You have the master code and you can overwrite and deactivate the entire security system. One click and shit’s all gone, and we can walk in and out without a worry.”

“A master code?” Yoongi raises a brow. “There’s a master code? Why would they have a master code? That’s so dumb-”

“How do you guys even know?” Taehyung asks, face scrunched up. “I’ve never found anything about a master code when I looked into the museum. You sure that’s reliable information?”

“It’s very much real, Tae. The master code is a six-digit code that’s changed every week,” Namjoon explains. “Now, there are only a handful of people who have it. One of them is,” Seokjin skips to the next slide, “Y/L/N Y/M/N, the museum’s art curator.”

“Where is it kept? The master code, I mean,” Hoseok asks, still fumbling with the plastic wrapper of his protein bar.

“Laptop.” Namjoon puts up his hand before anyone can say anything. “No, Yoongi, you can’t just hack it. The laptop isn’t connected to any network, and actually kept in a safe, in her office, at home.”

“So to get it,” Seokjin continues, “we have to physically grab it from the laptop. Which means-”

“- that one of us has to get in,” Namjoon finishes the sentence. “Because—” the next slide reveals the kind of house Jungkook has only ever seen on TV, the kind of house reserved for the filthy rich, for people that Jungkook and the others steal from; neatly cut hedges, a big golden gate, white pristine columns and a perfect red mailbox, “—breaking into the house is rather difficult. They’ve got several security cameras around the property, a gate and a housekeeper who is always in and out of the house.”

“And to get in, we need,” Seokjin pauses, skipping to the next slide and a blurry picture of you appears, “her. Y/L/N Y/N, daughter of Y/M/N.”

“Because her mother never invites staff back to her home, getting the master code through her is impossible. But if we get close to Y/N, well, then it’s a cake walk.” Namjoon smiles. 

“What about the safe the laptop is kept on?” Jungkook asks and Namjoon waves him off.

“Don’t worry about that, we’ve got the code for it.”

Jungkook’s about to ask where they got it from when Jimin cuts in. “And what about the guards at the museum? We deactivate the security system, but someone’s gonna notice that, right?” 

“Surprisingly, the museum barely has any guards at all,” Seokjin laughs, shaking his head. “And the handful of guards that they do have are inept, to put it nicely. They’re the least of our problems.”

“So let me get this right,” Yoongi sits up, closing his eyes as he tries recalling the steps of the plan, “we have one of us,” he looks at Jimin, “you, infiltrate their family, get the master code and then I’ll deactivate their security system during the heist and Hoseok just… goes and gets the painting?”

Namjoon raises his hand, clicking his tongue. “Not really- I mean, yes, but the other problem I haven’t mentioned yet is that Y/M/N’s always at the museum-”

“- except when she’s meeting new artists and inspecting their work for the next big exhibition,” Seokjin says and turns to Taehyung. “You like to paint, right?”

Taehyung laughs and rolls his eyes, the question pointless because it’s been long established that Taehyung likes to paint. After all, he’s their art guy.

“So we have Jimin get close to Y/N and Taehyung pose as an artist?” Yoongi corrects and Namjoon nods.

“We’re pretty much just pulling a Night Owl and Circus Mirror then, right?” Jimin asks, and Jungkook stares at him like he’s grown a second head, none of the terms making any sense to him. But Seokjin understands him perfectly.

“Plus Twin Swap,” he adds.

“Twin Swap too? Really?”

“Yeah, why not?” Seokjin grins.

“Any other questions?” Namjoon asks, already turning off the projector, assuming there aren’t any because most heists are usually more or less the same.

Namjoon and Seokjin come up with a foolproof plan, Jimin plays the inside man, Yoongi hacks into the security system, Taehyung poses as an artist or buyer or whatever pretentious artsy person they need for the job, and then Hoseok alongside Seokjin and Namjoon, maybe even Taehyung and in the rare cases even Jimin, break in and get whatever they’re stealing. And then, there’s Jungkook… stuck being the wheelman of the group, responsible for their gateaway.

Truth be told, Jungkook hates it.

Since everyone else had a clearly established role in the group when they brought on Jungkook, there wasn’t anything left for him to do than be the wheelman. So he’s been doing that for the past three years, but if offered, he would definitely switch his role.

Jungkook’s not trying to be ungrateful here, he’s aware of how lucky he is—after all he became a millionaire by just being a glorified uber driver—but he just… wants to help out more, play a more central role during the heists. Because, well, being a wheelman is boring, to put it nicely.

And look, Jungkook knows he lacks experience in comparison to the others, knows he still has a lot to learn—it’s why he has been okay with being the wheelman—but now, after almost three years of being stuck behind the wheel, Jungkook wants to branch out, grow into an even better thief, show the others how much he has improved, prove himself to them.

“Uh, I have a question” Jungkook coughs out, and Namjoon stops and looks at him. 

They all turn to him, and all of a sudden, his heartbeat spikes. Jungkook shifts in his chair and clears his throat, knowing that he has to do this now, that this is his chance and if he doesn’t take it, he won’t ever. 

“I-I was wondering if I could maybe do something else,” he says, voice shaky. “During the heists, I mean.”

“Oh,” Namjoon says, clearly surprised by his question, turning to Seokjin. “What do you think?”

“I see where Kook is coming from,” Seokjin begins, scratching his head. “He’s been an excellent wheelman, but that’s not the role you chose, is it?”

Namjoon hums. “What could you do?”

The question isn’t directed at Jungkook but Seokjin. That’s fine, he thinks to himself. He understands. The others know better.

“How about he comes with Hoseok and us when-”

“How about he gets the master code?” 

Jungkook turns to Jimin, staring at him like he has grown a second head.

“What?” Jungkook pauses long enough for Jimin to tell him he was joking. He doesn’t. “W-what would you do?”

“I could still infiltrate. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea if we had someone on Y/M/N’s team too, right? In case she abruptly comes back or raises suspicion during the heist,” Jimin explains, and Jungkook looks to Namjoon and Seokjin. They stare back at him, no expression on their faces. It’s obvious though. They have their doubts, and so does Hoseok judging from the slight frown. 

Jungkook can understand. He’s worried too. Transitioning from being a wheelman to helping out Hoseok during the heists is the most logical conclusion. This way he’d be working on a team, have others around to save his ass if he was to mess up. But being an infiltrator? That’s going solo, one of the riskiest roles to take on.

And even though infiltrating is something Jungkook has wanted to try to do forever now, there’s a part of him that’s hesitant to jump on the opportunity. After all, if he fails to get the master code, the plan falls apart. He has to get his part right, or they are fucked. It's a huge responsibility, a responsibility Jungkook isn’t completely sure he can bear.

“Who would do transportation then?” Seokjin asks.

Yoongi raises his hand. “I could do it. I can hack from anywhere.”

And then it’s quiet.

“So, Kook,” Namjoon clears his throat, “you up for the challenge?”

Jungkook doesn’t miss the look Namjoon shares with Seokjin. He knows exactly how to interpret it. And while he understands completely, he wishes that they’d have more faith in him. He knows that he doesn’t have much faith in himself right now either, but maybe he would if they believed in him at least. The fact that they don’t hurts him and his pride, bruises his ego, pushes him in the end to give the answer that Jungkook maybe shouldn’t have given.

“Y/N’s her name, right?”

When Jungkook walks into the safe house with the others, Seokjin, Hoseok and Yoongi are already there to greet them. Seokjin’s eyes are searching their faces for signs of defeat, signs of ‘Jungkook fucked it up and now Jimin has to step in’. 

“And?”

Namjoon, Jimin and Taehyung turn to Jungkook.

He grins. “Went well.”

“Yeah?” Seokjin breathes out when he nods. “Great!”

“Don’t worry, Jin,” Taehyung tells him, patting him on the shoulder as they move into the living room, the hallway too small for seven people.

Jungkook throws himself on the couch because god, he’s tired. Physically he didn’t do much, but mentally he feels like he just took the SATs.

“Oh, just remembered.” Jungkook digs around in his pocket, pulling out what was left of the earpiece. He hands it to Yoongi. “I’m sorry. I had to.”

“What the fuck, Kook?” Yoongi stares at the earpiece, well, what was left of it. 

“They wouldn’t stop talking!” Jungkook defends himself and points at Jimin, Namjoon and Taehyung. “I had to, for the sake of the mission! If I didn’t, it would have failed.”

“You owe me,” Yoongi grumbles, and Seokjin pats him on the shoulder.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Taehyung begins, “I was thoroughly impressed by Kook today. He talked to her for like two hours straight, and he did it all without the help from a certain someone,” he eyes Jimin, who freezes and stops petting Gureum, ”because they choked up.”

“Shut up, Tae,” Jimin mumbles. “It’s not my fault that Y/N was nothing like I expected her to be.”

“What did you expect?” Hoseok asks and takes a sip from his protein shake. 

Jimin wrinkles his nose. “Well, usually children of these rich art people are all more or less the same: snobby, arrogant, annoying, superficial, shallow. That kind of stuff. But she was just… normal. It threw me off! I had an entire plan, but she didn’t bite-”

“I’m sure you did,” Taehyung teases and laughs when Jimin glowers at him.

“I did! I had a plan-”

“That’s what I’d say too if my position was in danger-”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Seok!” Jimin huffs. “You have no idea what it’s like to-”

“Enough, enough,” Seokjin cuts in, clapping his hands together. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is the fact that Jungkook did a great job today. Let’s celebrate that, yeah? How about pizza? I’ll pay.”

And while Yoongi furiously makes his case for pineapple pizza to the others (again), Namjoon leans over to Jungkook.

“Good job.” 

Jungkook smiles, his cheeks hurting a bit from how big his smile is.

“Thank you.”

The next time Jungkook sees you, you ask him what he does, and Jungkook repeats back to you what Jimin tells him to say. He’s a freelancer, he says. It isn’t a lie. But he conveniently leaves out the fact that he’s freelancing in… theft. The praise rings a little louder in Jungkook’s ears this time.

Four days later, he sees you again. This time there’s no Jimin in his ear, no one waiting in a car in the distance. You tell him about your dream of becoming a teacher, and how much you adore Siyeon. He gets it. It’s hard not to like her. Gureum looks sad when they have to go. The others pay for Jungkook’s dinner.

Two days after that, the sun’s shining bright, hanging high in the sky, when he approaches you. You look up with a smile. Jungkook left Gureum at home.

“Hey-”

“Can I have your number?”

Jungkook knows for a fact that he shouldn’t ask you like this, that this isn’t the smoothest and most charming way he can do it, but he thinks he will lose all of his courage if he doesn’t ask you immediately. And he can’t go back to the others without your number.

You blink at him before grinning. “Sure.”

Hoseok puts Jungkook in a headlock when he shows them your number. “Ah, I knew you could do it!”

And even though Jungkook can barely breathe in this position, he grins. How could he not? Getting your number just proved himself to the others. No one could deny it, he was useful! Capable! 

“God, where’s Jimin when you need him?” Hoseok groans, and Jungkook wishes the older would be here too. Because almost an hour has passed and they still haven’t settled on a text to send to you.

“Why can’t we just call him and ask him what to text?” Yoongi throws his head into his neck. It’s a rhetorical questionbecause they all know why. Jimin’s out with Seokjin right now, putting in the steps to get him on your mother’s team. Do not call or text unless there’s an emergency, Seokjin told them.

So Jungkook’s stuck with consulting Yoongi and Hoseok instead. It takes ages, but by the end they settle on a boring ten word text that Jungkook can no longer recall now. He throws his phone away the moment he has hit send and goes for a shower.

When he comes back, you have responded. He probably shouldn’t if he didn’t want to sit there for another hour again, but Jungkook goes and looks for Hoseok and Yoongi. But they’re nowhere to be found. They have dipped. And when Jungkook walks into the basement where Taehyung is, he gets an old paint brush hurled at him. 

So, Jungkook sits down in the living room and texts you all on his own.

Turns out, texting you is actually… easy. It’s most definitely not credited to Jungkook’s social skills, but more so to the fact that you’re simply easy to talk to.

Somehow, Jungkook ends up texting with you for the entire remaining week, from morning to night, his phone never leaving his hands.

He starts to enjoy texting you.

And it shows.

“Holy shit,” Taehyung gasps when they’re all sitting around in the living room and having take out together. Jungkook jerks his head up. “Look at that smile on your face! Who are you texting? Y/N?”

Jungkook stares back at Taehyung, tongue tied. 

“Oh my god, he’s really smiling,” Jimin gasps, and Yoongi looks too, smirking when he sees the flustered look on Jungkook’s face.

“What? I-I’m not smiling!” Jungkook tries as a defense and puts away his phone, grabbing his box of noodles.

“Sure you’re not,” Taehyung cackles before winking at him. “You liar.”

Hoseok snorts and Namjoon chuckles to himself, exchanging a look with Seokjin.

“Just eat your fucking food,” Jungkook hisses and turns away. He has to admit though, his cheeks do hurt a little bit.

The first phone call happens two week after he’s first met you. Jungkook initiated it. He didn’t want to. Not because he didn’t want to talk to you, but because he was scared of rushing things and scaring you. But the others insisted that it was time and assured him that it was fine. 

If she hasn’t ghosted you yet, then you’ve got nothing to worry about, Hoseok told him before going on a tangent on how Jungkook’s a horrendous texter and anyone willing to put up with it must, at least, like him (or pity him, according to Taehyung).

“Hey?” Jungkook says, nibbling on his bottom lip, when you pick up.

Jimin and Seokjin are here too, carefully watching him and listening in. Seokjin’s sitting on Jungkook’s old office chair that squeaks with every move, a pack of crackers in his hands, and Jimin’s lying in his bed, Gureum resting on his stomach, relishing in the pets Jimin’s giving him.

Jungkook wants to make it clear, he does not want them here. He protested this, telling them that he was capable enough to have a phone call with you on his own without supervision, but they wouldn’t listen. It’s frustrating, but Jungkook gets it. If he fucks this up, says the wrong thing and offends you, the plan is fucked and they have to start all over again. 

“Hey,” you say. “How’s your day been?”

Jungkook gives Jimin and Seokjin a quick look before scooting away from Jimin, the mattress dipping when he shifts his weight.

“Good,” he starts, running a hand through his hair. “It’s been… boring but good.” He’s silent until Jimin kicks him. Jungkook scrambles for words. “H-how about you? How’s your day been?”

You’re quiet for a second and Jungkook thinks he has just fucked it up, but then he hears you chuckle. 

“I’m good too,” you say. You’re teasing him, your tone making it very obvious.

“Yeah? That’s great to hear,” Jungkook laughs and internally curses Jimin and Seokjin because if they weren’t here, he wouldn’t be nervous. Yes, they’re the only reason for why he’s nervous. There’s no other reason for why his heart is beating as fast as it is. It’s all their fault!

“Jungkook,” you say and he perks up. “Are you nervous?”

He buries his face in his hands. You asking him this would already be bad enough if you were alone, but with Jimin and Seokjin here to witness it, Jungkook wants for the earth to swallow him up. Even though he isn’t looking at the two, desperately avoiding their gazes, he can see the smiles on their lips, how they grow into smirks. He wants to punch both.

“No.” 

You laugh. “Stop lying.”

“Stop laughing at me.”

“I’m not,” you say with a scoff, offended by the assumption that you’d laugh at him.

“Sure, you’re not,” Jungkook says quietly, feeling the tension in his shoulder blades.

“Well,” you say and judging from your tone, you’ve given up on trying to deny the truth. “Are you seriously expecting me not to laugh at you when you’re nervous just because we’re on the phone together?”

“W-who said I was nervous because we’re on the phone?”

“Hah, so you admit it! You’re nervous!” you cheer and you sound too happy for his liking. Jungkook presses his lips together, cheeks burning. 

Maybe they just got bored of listening to you two talk or maybe they just want to offer him some privacy and get off his back, but Seokjin and Jimin slowly get up. ‘Keep going!’ Jimin mouths, slowly picking up Gureum, and Seokjin shoves the last few crackers into his mouth, chewing as silently as he can. Jungkook breathes out when they shut the door.

“Told you you’re nervous,” you continue, and Jungkook snaps back.

“God, shut up,” he groans with a playful eyeroll, and lets himself fall on his bed, splayed out like a starfish, his phone pressed to his ear. “Why don’t you tell me about what you did today?”

“You’re just changing the topic because I’m right,” you snort. “But fine, I’ll be so nice and let you change the topic.”

And then you continue telling Jungkook all about your day; how you woke up late for class today and your stomach growled in the middle of class because you didn’t have breakfast. You complain to him about how much you hate your professor and how you don’t understand how he’s supposed to teach you how to become a teacher when he sucks at teaching himself.

Jungkook listens to it all, intently, especially when you start talking about the boy Siyeon met on the playground today. And as he listens to you, he wonders if he should have gone to college too, taken up a more honest job, if this was maybe the wrong path. He stops himself from thinking about it too deeply.

He isn’t sure how, but you end up talking about cinnamon rolls, and when he tells you he’s never had one before, you let out one dramatic gasp.

“You’re kidding. How?”

“I don’t know. It’s not that big of a deal-”

“Not that big of a deal?” you repeat. “Jungkook, listen, you’re missing out- have been missing out! I can’t believe this!”

Jungkook laughs. He likes how dramatic you’re being. He finds it cute how you get upset over such little things. “Well, how about we change that then? Take me out and get cinnamon rolls with me?”

You click our tongue. “I’m not gonna do that,” you tell him. “We’re gonna make them ourselves instead. The store bought shit doesn’t hold up.”

Jungkook blinks three times before it clicks with him and he shoots up from his bed, a huge grin spreading on his lips.

“I don’t have any baking equipment though,” he says and he hopes you will take the bait, invite him to your place. You do.

“Why am I not surprised to hear that?” you laugh. “Just come by my place.” Jungkook shoots up from his bed, feeling this spark of energy growing in him. He could dance. “You free this weekend?”

“Yeah!” he says, probably too quickly, and bites his hand to stop himself from sounding too happy. “I’m free. No plans. None. This weekend sounds perfect.”

Maybe his excitement leaks through his words, maybe it doesn’t. Either way, you laugh, and Jungkook thinks he’s never heard a more lovely sound. “Great, I’m looking forward to baking with you then!”

Jungkook catches himself in the mirror, surprised to see how big his smile is. It’s practically spilling over.

“So am I.”

Jungkook doesn’t know if he likes or hates this, standing here at the top of the stairs, waiting for the others to gather downstairs so he could walk down and reveal his outfit to the others. Because how funny would it be if we did that? Jimin said. All Jungkook wants to do now is curse at him. 

He smooths down his white button and adjusts his black jeans. Pulling up his sleeve, he glances at his silver watch that matches with his necklace.

“You can come down now, Kook!” Taehyung calls from downstairs, and Jungkook cringes at his voice. Slowly and carefully, he takes the first step.

Almost instantly whistles ring through the air. Jungkook wants to run up the stairs again. He resists.

“You look good!” Namjoon tells him, and Taehyung cuts him off by taking Jungkook by his arms, his mouth wide open as he looks at him.

“Look at you, buddy! Actually wearing shit that fits and doesn’t just hang off your body.” Taehyung’s repeatedly slaps Jungkook’s shoulders, soon transitioning into shaking him. Like he wants to make sure that Jungkook’s actually real. “I never thought that I’d see you in anything but your sweats and oversized shirt!”

Jungkook brushes Taehyung off of him, enough of the abuse. And even though he rolls his eyes, he’s smiling, grinning almost because okay, maybe he does like this. Maybe he does like the attention, the praise, the approval, the validation.

“You look like you’re about to attend prom or something,” Jimin grins.

“I know! I feel like a parent sending my son off to prom.” Hoseok places his hand on his chest, faking a sniffle. “They grow up so fast.”

Jimin puts a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder and gives him a wisteful look. “I raised you so well.”

Taehyung snorts. “You didn’t raise shit-”

“Yeah, if anything, I raised him well.” Seokjin points at himself.

“You?” Jimin scoffs. “Pretty sure you didn’t do shit-”

Before this can get out of hand, Namjoon steps in, trying to deescalate the situation, emphasis on trying. “Let’s say we all raised him well-”

“What? What are you talking about?” Jimin scoffs. “If it wasn’t for me recruiting his ass, Kook wouldn’t be with us.”

“But who recruited your ass?” Seokjin argues, gesturing around himself. “Me! And who told you to look for someone to recruit? Exactly, me again-”

“Mom, dad,” Jungkook says, placing a hand on both of their shoulders. “Hate to be the one, but if you guys keep arguing, I’m going to be late for prom.”

“Prom!” Seokjin exclaims with a level of drama only he could conjure up, continuing like he wasn’t just about to fight Jimin. “God, you’re all grown up now. I can’t believe we’re sending you off to prom-”

“Yeah, it’s unbelievable,” Yoongi deadpans. “Except that we’re not actually sending him to prom, but to Y/N to get close to her and get the master code.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes at Yoongi, mumbling something about him being no fun, but he just ignores him.

“And instead of losing his virginity and planting his dick,” Yoongi digs around in his pocket and pulls out a bug, “he’s going to plant this.”

Jungkook stares at the bug like he has never seen one before. “Wait, what? I’m planting a bug too? Why-?”

“Just in case,” Namjoon explains. “Maybe we’ll hear something that will be interesting.”

“Yeah, why not?” Hoseok says and Jungkook just nods because he always nods and agrees.

“Okay, listen up, dude.” Yoongi snaps his finger. “Do you remember the blueprint of the house? We want you to stick it in the office. You remember where it is right? On the second floor, next to one of the twenty bathrooms. It’s best if you stick the bug to the underside of the desk, and remember you have to activate it-”

“I know how to use a bug. I’ve done it before. You don’t have to explain.”

“You said that with my earpiece too. And what happened to-”

“I said I was sorry.”

Yoongi grumbles and hands him the bug, but not without adding that this was his last chance.

“Okay, so can I go now?” Jungkook asks, glancing at his watch. He really should get going. He doesn’t want to keep you waiting. It’d be rude.

Namjoon holds up his hand, and leans over the couch, and Jungkook’s eyes grow big when he sees what it is.

“Don’t make that face,” Seokjin laughs. “You’re wearing a button down already. You might as well.”

Namjoon shoves the bouquet of flowers into Jungkook’s hands. 

“Ready?” Jimin asks and Jungkook looks at him, at the flowers in his right hand and the bug in his left. He takes a deep breath and gives them his best smile.

“Ready.”

Jungkook waits for you to open the door, and when you do, his smile drops.

“Oh.”

It isn’t you. 

It’s Yerim, your best friend. 

“Hi,” Jungkook starts and puts on a smile. “Sorry, I- I’m here for Y/N?”

“Jeon Jungkook.” Yerim crosses her arms in front of her chest. “That’s you, right?”

He shifts from one foot to the other. “Yeah? And you-”

“I don’t like you.”

Jungkook stares at Yerim and she stares back at him, her gaze hard and penetrating. Looking into her eyes, he feels like she can see through him, detect the bug in his left pocket, read his mind and figure out that he’s only getting close to you to steal from you.

“I don’t like you and I don’t trust you. Not even the slightest,” she says nonchalantly. “I don’t know you, but I don’t like you-”

“Yerim!” you hiss sharply, appearing behind her. “Stop this!”

“I’m not doing anything.”

You call bullshit, rolling your eyes and pointing behind you. “Just go inside, please.”

Yerim doesn’t budge when you tug on her arm. Only when you repeat her name does she move, but not without fixing Jungkook with a long look. I’m watching you. 

“Sorry,” you sigh, gesturing for him to come inside. You give him a pair of red house slippers and he changes out of his black chelsea boots for them.

“Did you have difficulties finding the house? I know the hedge blocks it a bit,” you say while walking inside.

“No, no, the directions you gave helped,” he lies. He didn’t need them. He has done his research before, surveilled your house with the others already.

Jungkook scans the living room. It looks nothing like he thought it would. He expected for it to be overly modern, sleek, and minimalistic. Instead, it’s properly furnished, plants sitting on the window sills, books spilling from the shelves, colourful artworks and family pictures decorating the walls, fuzzy rugs on the floor. It looks like a proper home. 

And right in the middle of the couch is Yerim. Even though she’s on her phone, Jungkook knows that she’s watching him, keeping an eye on him-

“Are those flowers?” He snaps his head around. “You brought flowers?”

The question hangs in the air and takes him a moment to understand. When Jungkook does, he feels the need to hide them and tell you to forget it, but then you grin at him and his heart stops.

“I- yeah, but I just-” he stops himself. Jungkook isn’t sure what this feeling in his chest is.

“Well,” you say with a heartwarming smile. “They are for me, right? Are you gonna give them to me then?”

“Right, uh, yeah.” He offers them to you, awkwardly. “Uh, h-here.” 

You inspect the flowers before burying your nose into them and taking a big whiff.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” you say with a laugh. “You know how on TV people always smell flowers? I always wondered if flowers really smelt that great.”

Jungkook grins. “And?”

You crinkle your nose and give the flowers one more sniff, shrugging. “Eh.”

Jungkook laughs and you join him.

“Right, yes, hi, hello, I’m also still here.” Yerim waves her arms around.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” you smile and share a look with Jungkook. “I haven’t actually introduced- that’s Yerim. My best friend.”

Jungkook nods like he doesn’t know already, and stretches out his hand. “Hi, I’m Jungkook. Nice to meet you.”

Yerim just stares at his hand. Awkwardly, Jungkook pulls it back. 

“Yerim!” you hiss the same way you had just before. You turn to him. “Sorry, she’s actually really nice and-”

“Yeah, but not to you because I don’t like you,” Yerim interrupts.

“Yerim!” you repeat for the third time, gaping at her. “Just- just give us a minute, yeah? Find a vase for the flowers, please?”

Clearly, Yerim isn’t happy about being sent away, but she does seem to understand why you do it. Jungkook has a feeling though that she usually doesn’t do what she’s being told to.

“Sorry, again,” you repeat when she’s gone, and Jungkook waves you off. “No, seriously. She-” You wrinkle your forehead and sigh, walking around and sitting down on the couch. He follows you. “She’s just protective of me.”

“I’ve noticed.”

You scrunch up your face, frustration tucked into every line of your face. “She just thinks I’m too trusting. It’s why she’s here by the way. She didn’t want me to be alone with you the first time I invited you over.”

“Oh, your parents-”

“Working.”

He nods and thinks for a second before humming. “Well, I think it’s nice that she cares about you.”

“It’s not so nice when she jumps every guy I talk to.” But you clearly don’t want to keep talking about it because you wave your hand around and change the topic. “Why are you so dressed up?”

Jungkook looks down at himself, the question surprising him. “Ah, well, I, uh-”

“It looks like you’re going to prom or something,” you laugh and tug on his shirt. You’re mocking him, but he doesn’t feel offended or the need to defend himself. In fact, Jungkook laughs with you.

“Jimin said that too,” he lets slip and Jungkook’s quick to explain. “A friend of mine.”

He says it a little awkwardly, the words not rolling off his tongue quite right. It isn’t a lie, but it also doesn’t feel like the whole truth either.

If you notice the awkwardness, you don’t say anything. You just hum and nod, pausing a second to think before dropping your hands to your knees with finalty.

“Ready to bake some cinnamon rolls?”

Jungkook can’t remember the last time he has baked something. To say that he’s practically useless in the kitchen is therefore no exaggeration. He confesses this to you, tells you that he isn’t sure how much he can help you, if at all. You laugh at his confession.

“I’ll coach you through it,” you tell him with a grin, and pat him on the shoulder. “I’ll be your teacher.”

He’s measuring out the sugar and you’re warming up the milk on the stove next to him when Yerim walks in, flowers now in a pretty and rather expensive looking glass vase.

Jungkook forgot she was here too. 

“You’re seriously-” She cuts herself short, groans instead.

“What?” You don’t take your eyes off the stove, continuously stirring the milk.

“I thought you were joking when you said you’re gonna bake,” Yerim mumbles, walking in without sparing Jungkook much of a glance, putting the flowers in the middle of the kitchen island. 

“Seulgi just called.”

“And?”

Yerim sighs and gives Jungkook a quick glance.

“She forgot her keys.”

You jerk your head up. “Oh. What are you still doing-”

“She said she was gonna grab some groceries first. I’ve got time. But I still have to go,” Yerim mumbles.

You turn off the stove. “So go.”

Yerim’s face soures at your suggestion. “Yeah, but-” She glances at Jungkook instead. He asks himself if she’s trying to be subtle at all. 

You deflate at her words, face twisting with frustration. At least that’s what Jungkook thinks you’re feeling. It might also be annoyance. Maybe even both. He still can’t read you confidently.

“Yerim-”

“Uh,” Jungkook starts, and you both look at him. He offers a smile. “I-I’m nice, you know. You can trust me. I’m a…. nice guy.”

Great. Nothing sounds more trustworthy than a guy claiming to be a nice guy. Maybe Jungkook should add that he also enjoys watching girls when they sleep. It’s definitely going to convince Yerim and you.

Jungkook’s about to explain himself, but then you put your hand on his arm. “It’s fine, Kook. Just keep measuring the sugar. We’ll be back.” 

Before Yerim can protest, you pull her into the hallway. Jungkook tries listening to what you’re saying, but he hears nothing.

He pulls out his phone, partly to offer some updates to the others and partly to ask for help because god, he really just fucked that up, huh? The responses follow immediately, like they are all just sitting in front of their phones and waiting for Jungkook to text them.

[yoongi - 12:57] : have u planted the bugs yet

[jungkook - 12:57] : no

[jimin - 12:57] : wdym there are other ppl too??

[yoongi - 12:57] : plant it then

[seokjin - 12:57] : Do you need help?

[yoongi - 12:57] : remmeber u have to activte it to

[jungkook - 12:58] : her best friend’s here to

[hoseok - 12:58] : lmao i thought this was a date or smth

[seokjin - 12:58] : Kook, do you need help, or no?

[namjoon - 12:58] : Do you need us to come get you out of there?

“Sorry,” you say, and Jungkook immediately shoves his phone back into his pocket, like it’s a secret that he has one. You frown, but you don’t push it. “She went home.”

“How’d you convince her?” he laughs and leans against the counter. You take the butter out of the fridge.

“I’ve got my ways. I’m really convincing, you know?” you smile at him, grabbing a small butter knife and a new pan, putting it on the stove. As you wait for it to heat, you cut up the butter into small cubes.

For a moment, it’s silent. 

“I-”

You look up at his interruption. Jungkook sighs. “I just wanna clarify- it sounded weird when I said that I’m a nice guy, which I mean, I am, but I don’t mean it in a-”

“It’s fine.” You put down the knife and pull out a wooden spoon. “I wouldn’t have known what to say either.” You stir the butter in the pan, watching it melt and sizzle. “Don’t worry about it. I know you’re nice and trustworthy.”

“Do you?” Jungkook laughs.

You turn to him, smiling. “Yeah, I do.”

“How are you so sure?”

Jungkook isn’t sure why he’s asking this. He shouldn’t. He should be glad that you think he’s nice and trustworthy. But he couldn’t help himself but ask.

You turn off the stove before answering. The smell of melted butter wafts through the air. “Should I not trust you?”

“W-what, no, I’m just-” Jungkook deflates. “Maybe Yerim has a point when she says you’re too trusting.”

You blink at him, think about his words before ultimately shrugging. “Maybe. Or maybe she doesn’t.” You tilt your head to the side. “But I can trust you, right?”

Jungkook opens his mouth, but a knock on the door interrupts him, and he has never felt more relieved. He isn’t sure how convincing he could have lied just there.

“Oh,” you say when you see who it is.

Jungkook recognises her from the pictures Namjoon showed him during one of the meetings. It’s your housekeeper, Kang Sunyoung. 

He noticed it before already, but she always has a smile on her lips, the kind of smile only people with their heart at the right place are able to produce, the kind of smile that warms everybody’s heart. Jungkook already knows she’s nice. He’s right.

“Sunyoung!” you beam. “You’re already back? I thought you were coming back tomorrow.”

“Surprise! I’m back early!” 

You pull her into a hug.

“How’ve you been? How’d you survive the two weeks without me?” Sunyoung smiles and you wave her off.

“Don’t worry, we managed just fine.”

“Yeah? Soon you’re not gonna need me then, are you?” 

“Don’t say that. We’re always gonna need you.” You roll your eyes, eliciting a chuckle from Sunyoung. You laugh with her. 

“Oh,” Sunyoung says upon seeing Jungkook. He puts on a smile.

“Hi, I’m Jungkook.” He stretches out his hand, and Sunyoung takes it.

“Oh, right.” You touch your forehead. “Totally forgot to introduce you to each other. This is Jungkook.” You pause to think. “A friend of mine.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jungkook. I’m Sunyoung, the housekeeper.” 

Jungkook doesn’t miss the look Sunyoung gives you, the silent exchange that happens right before his eyes. He wants to grin. 

“Well, I’m gonna go change, and leave you two alone again,” Sunyoung says, turning to him. “Nice meeting you, Jungkook.”

“Nice meeting you too.”

Sunyoung shares another look with you before she goes. It’s telling, and it’s extremely difficult for Jungkook to not pat himself on the shoulder. You have no idea.

“Please tell me that we can add some flour,” Jungkook says, holding his dough-covered hands into your face. You roll your eyes, but relent, sprinkling some on top of the dough. “More-”

“No, too much flour will make the buns dry and hard.”

“But the dough’s sticking all over my hands!”

“Just keep kneading, it will smooth out.”

Jungkook pouts. He doesn’t do as you say, trying to peel the dough off his hands instead. He eyes the bag of flour you’re holding in your hands, thinking that some flour would definitely solve the problem, but you’re protecting the bag of flour like your life depends on it. 

“Just knead. It will smooth-” 

“You said that five minutes ago.”

Jungkook expects you to repeat yourself, maybe sprinkle some more flour on top of the dough to get him to shut up. What he doesn’t expect you to do is to dump out the entire bag.

A huge cloud of flour puffs up. You two start coughing almost immediately. 

“Why would you-?”

“You asked for it!”

He stares at you, wide-eyed. “Did I?”

You both crack up, and Jungkook isn’t sure if it’s his face that makes you laugh or the ridiculousness of the situation because holy fuck, you really just poured a bag of flour on the dough. And even though you two are breathing in flour as you laugh, neither of you stop.

One moment you two are just laughing, the next you are grabbing handfuls of flour and hurling it at each other. It turns into a full on... flour war. 

You definitely should not be doing this—the mess you’re creating is going to be a pain in the ass to clean up later—but neither of you care. It’s too much fun to stop, the sound of your laughter too beautiful to interrupt.

You end up admitting defeat when Jungkook corners you, your lips split into a gigantic grin as you put up your hands.

You dust yourselves off, and Jungkook isn’t sure if he’s inept or stupid (or both) or if you’re just better at it because you bake in your freetime and therefore are more often covered in flour, but it simply won’t come off his clothes, no matter how many times he pats himself down.

You look up. He looks up too, face twisted in desperation and frustration. There’s a moment of silence. It doesn’t last long though, your laughter cutting through the air.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Jungkook tries but cracks up too.

“I-” You shake your head, unable to control yourself.

“You’re mean,” he tells you with a scrunch of his nose, and you keep on going, your laughter tumbling out of you like pearls of a broken necklace. 

Jungkook pouts, dramatically. You keep on laughing at him, and when he moves to walk away from you, you stop him, hand holding onto his shoulders and pulling him back.

“Wait, no, don’t go,” you say with a grin, not even trying to hide it. “I’m sorry. Don’t be mad. I’m sorry.”

“Hard to believe when you’re still grinning like that,” Jungkook points out with a click of his tongue. He tries his best to keep up the act, but his mouth betray him.

“But you’re grinning too!”

“No, I’m not!”

He turns away from you, but you’re quick to grab his face and stop him. “Look, no, you are! See, you’re kinda smiling right now!”

And you’re right. Jungkook is kinda smiling right now, but it’s slowly fading away, breaking because holy shit, you’re close to him right now. His heart gives out in his chest. 

“Oh.” You’re staring at his cheek, fingers brushing off the flour. “Is that a scar?”

You skim over it, your touch featherlight. It sends goosebumps down Jungkook’s back. “How’d you get it?”

“When I was seven,” he swallows, the proximity stealing his breath, “I, uh, fell from the swing.”

He expects you to coo, pat him on the shoulder, tell him how much the fall must have hurt. He expects you to show him empathy. 

You don’t. 

No, you show him the opposite. You start laughing, right into his face, without a care, like it isn’t a rude thing to do.

Jungkook exclaims your name in the most dramatic fashion possible. “You can’t laugh at me!”

“I can’t? Then what am I doing it right now?” you hum, an unabashed grin on your lips.

He narrows his eyes at you. “That fall hurt. You can’t laugh at that. It’s my trauma.”

“God, you’re so dramatic.” 

“Dramatic?” He points at his cheek. “I got a scar- a scar from the fall! I’m not being-”

“Please, that scar doesn’t count as a scar. It’s miniature. Tiny. Invisible practically-”

“You saw it!” 

“Only because I looked really closely.”

Jungkook opens his mouth to argue with you, but closes it again. He has nothing to say because you’re right. Not knowing what else to do and not wanting to admit defeat, he turns away from you, the pout on his lip so dramatic it makes you roll your eyes.

“Jungkook.”

He pretends not to hear you. 

You stare at him, wait for him to give up the act, stop being petty. Nothing happens. Turns out though, it’s hard to keep up the act of being offended when you take his face into your hands, turn him to you, and press a kiss against his scar.

“Here, I kissed it. Acknowledged your scar. Fixed it for you.”

It’s not. 

You didn’t fix shit. The scar’s still there. If anything you just opened up his scar again, the skin around it throbbing all of a sudden. But the kiss did do wonders. It gave Jungkook confidence he didn’t have mere seconds ago.

You don’t seem to register what kind of effect that kiss had on him. In fact, you don’t seem to think that it was a big deal at all. You still have the same easy smile on your lips, are still holding his face in your hands.

Tension fills the room. Your grip loosens. You’re unsure, but when Jungkook puts his hands on your waist and slowly leans in, you cup his face again. He gives you time to pull away, or tell him you don’t want it. You don’t. 

Your eyes lock. It’s a silent exchange, a silent confirmation. It’s all he needs before Jungkook presses his lips against yours.

The kiss isn’t phenomenal. This is no TV show or romcom. There aren’t fireworks going off in the background, no butterflies soaring through the air, no time-freezes-to-a-stop when your lips meet. No, it’s a sweet and tender kiss, a kiss Jungkook won’t be forgetting for a while. 

There’s something stirring in his stomach, growing and disrupting. He ignores it.

You pull Jungkook closer to you, and he does the same. You smile into the kiss, and he does the same. You tilt your head to the side, deepening the kiss, and he does the same, swiping his tongue on your bottom lip. And when you pull away, needing to breath, he does the same, reluctantly though.

It’s quiet between you, the kind of quiet when you have just done something brave, something you have wanted to do for a while now, something you have been waiting to do. You crack a smile.

“A friend of yours, that’s how you introduced me, right?” Jungkook recalls with a hum.

“Exactly.” You lean into him again, lips colliding with his once more. “Just friends.”

He snorts, kisses you a third time. “Just friends.”

You hum, pausing and looking into his eyes before kissing him again. This time it’s deeper, hands tighter, bodies closer, hearts quicker, grins bigger, kiss needier.

An hour later, the cinnamon buns finally go into the oven, and while the kitchen is back to its original form, the two of you—even though you dusted yourselves off—still have flour in your hair. You offer Jungkook to take the shower first, but he declines, telling you that the little bit of flour is fine. So you take it, leaving him alone in the kitchen.

He pulls out his phone.

[seokjin - 14:01] : How are things going? Just say a word and we’re there if you need any help. We can get you out of there.

[namjoon - 14:31] : Are you okay?

[yoongi - 14:47] : dont frget to activate the bug

Jungkook freezes upon reading the last text. He has completely forgotten about the bug, about why he’s actually here, so wrapped up in spending time with you and baking and, well, making out with you, it slipped his mind.

He shakes his head at himself. He can’t believe he forgot! Pressing his hand to his forehead, Jungkook closes his eyes and focusses up. If he wasn’t remembering the schedule wrong, Sunyoung should be in the basement doing the laundry right now, and you, well, you’re still showering. Meaning, this is his chance.

With a deep breath, Jungkook walks out the kitchen, looking over his shoulder as he does. And as he goes down the hallway, he’s thankful that Jimin forced him to memorise the blueprint of your house. Else he’d get lost, for sure. 

Careful, he climbs up the steps, and when he finds the office door, next to one of the many bathrooms, he glances over his shoulder. Slowly, Jungkook presses down on the handle before slipping inside. The lock quietly clicks shut behind him.

Jungkook doesn’t breathe out when he’s inside. Truth is, he’s even more tense than before, vision blurry on the sides when he walks over to the office desk, not even seeing registering the big safe in the corner. 

He fumbles with the bug, hands so shaky he almost drops it. Hastily, he slaps it on the underside of the desk before activating it. The confirmation beep is quiet, but Jungkook cringes, the sound ringing painfully loud in his ears.

With bated breath, he gets up and inches the door open, peeking into the hallway. Seeing no one, he slips out and hurries down the steps, sighing when he reaches the bottom, having not bumped into anyone-

“Jungkook?”

His heart seizes in his chest.

Slowly, Jungkook turns around, a smile on his lips. You stand in front of him in a new shirt and pants and a towel thrown over your shoulder. Your hair’s sti.. wet from the shower. “What are you doing?”

“Oh,” he laughs. “I needed to use the bathroom.” 

The lie slips easily from his lips. The bathroom lie always works, Jimin taught him. Feign innocence and confusion. Jimin’s right. The bathroom lie really does always work.

“I probably should have given you a tour first, huh? Could you find it?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Got a bit lost, but I- I found it.”

You nod before pointing behind you, to the kitchen. “Wanna see if our buns are done yet?”

His chest tightens for some reason. Jungkook doesn’t know what it is, but he doesn’t think he wants to. All he knows is that the corners of his mouth hurt a little when he smiles at you.

“Sure.”

Seokjin and Namjoon ambush Jungkook the moment he walks in. They drag him into the living room where Hoseok, Yoongi and Jimin are already waiting for him. 

“So?”

And then, Jungkook begins to recap the entire day for them. He tells them how Yerim was there because she didn’t trust him, how you laughed when he gave you the flowers, how you baked cinnamon rolls together, how your housekeeper came back, and how he planted the bug when the chance presented itself. 

Jungkook tells them everything. 

Everything except the kisses you shared.

Something in him tells him not to share that with the others, to leave that part out, to keep it a secret.

“Good job!” Namjoon pats him on the shoulder.

“You did good,” Seokjin says too, nodding approvingly. “Very good.”

And even though Jungkook’s been waiting to hear this all day, been waiting to come back, tell them what an amazing job he did and get praised, he doesn’t feel as happy as he thought he would; no smile automatically appearing on his lips. It’s weird. He doesn’t understand.

“Thank you,” Jungkook simply says at the end, and shrugs off Namjoon’s hand.

“Wow, so you really managed to not break my equipment this time, huh?” Yoongi hums, and before Jungkook can roll his eyes, Taehyung walks in, paintbrush in his hand. 

“I need new colours,” Taehyung says, looking positively dead, like he hasn’t seen the sun in weeks. Paint is stuck to his shirt and hands. Before anyone can respond, he walks away, dragging his feet as he does.

“What’s with him?” Jungkook asks, and looks at the others, but they don’t answer. Namjoon gets up from his seat and follows Taehyung.

“It’s fine,” Jimin says before snapping his finger, remembering something. “I haven’t told you yet, have I?”

“Tell me what?” Jungkook asks, and Jimin smirks, proud.

“I made it on the team.”

Jungkook blinks at Jimin. It takes him a moment to understand what he mans. He made it on the your mother’s team. 

“Oh.” 

The older grins. “Yeah, got the call today. I’m hired.”

“We were going to text you, but we wanted you to keep your focus on the mission,” Seokjin explains. “I’m grabbing something from the kitchen. You guys want anything?” 

Jimin and Jungkook decline, and Seokjin leaves them two alone.

“Hey, if you need any help now,” Jimin smiles, “I’m there to save your ass.”

Jungkook laughs. “Let’s hope I won’t need you.”

“Hope so too. But I’m there if you do. I got your back.”

“That’s great.”

And for some reason, that feels like a lie. For some reason, Jungkook doesn’t think it’s all that great. For some reason, Jungkook feels quite the opposite.

His phone vibrates in his pocket. He pulls it out, and when he sees who it is, a smile appears on his lips.

[you - 20:21] : had fun today!! hope you got home safe

[you - 20:21] : lets do it again some time!

And you do. You do it again and again and again and again until it becomes a routine for Jungkook to hang out at your place. He spends every day with you. 

Yerim’s also there, at least for the next couple visits. And even though Jungkook fails to gain her trust, you manage to convince her to leave you two alone. Sunyoung’s always home when he’s there, but he barely ever sees her, she’s always off doing some chores. And even though Jungkook has spent hours at your place, he has yet to see your parents, both somehow always working. 

So it’s always just you two, spending every minute together.

Most of the time, you bake something. There’s the occasional handful of flour that gets hurled at the other, but it never turns into a full on flour war like the first time. Sometimes, Siyeon’s there too. It’s fun with her, Jungkook must admit. She has energy neither of you have anymore, but it rubs off, most days at least.

Today’s not one of those days, the two of you lounging on the couch as you watch her put on a dance performance for you, some pop song Jungkook doesn’t recognise playing from your phone.

“Hey,” you whisper, and Jungkook glances between you and Siyeon, not wanting to miss a single thing because even if her moves are uncoordinated and badly coordinated, he’s still amazed. 

“My parents-” you cut yourself short.

“Yeah?” Jungkook whispers, very interested now because anything concerning your parents is interesting, incredibly so. “What’s, uh, with your parents?”

You inch closer to him. “They wanna meet you.”

Oh.

It’s not what Jungkook expected you to say. He doesn’t know how to react. It shows. 

“I mean only if you’re down for it too. No pressure. They just heard a bunch about you from Sunyoung and me and are interested in you, but obviously, if you’re not comfortable, no one’s forcing you-”

“No, no, no-”

“Y/N! Kook! I’m dancing!” Siyeon says, stopping and putting her hands on her hips. 

“Right, sorry, go on,” you smile, and Jungkook waits the appropriate amount of time before talking again, voice much lower. 

“No, I-” He jumbles up his words and he can’t help but think that Jimin wouldn’t have. He sits up and looks at you. You turn to him too.

“Meeting your parents sounds lovely.”

You blink at him before smiling. “Meeting your parents sounds lovely,” you mock and snort, eliciting a gasp from Jungkook. He’s about to say something too, call you mean, when Siyeon lets out a huff.

“You guys aren’t watching!” 

Siyeon glares at Jungkook and you like you’ve committed the worst crime possible, hands crossed in front of her chest. He laughs. How could he not? 

“Ah, I’m sorry, Siyeon,” you say in between chuckles. “Start again. Kook and I are watching now.”

“Yes, we’re sorry, Siyeon,” Jungkook repeats, the grin on his lips making it hard to believe though. “Please start again.”

And as you go to play the song again and Siyeon walks back into position, he and you lock eyes. You grin at each other.

“Smile, always smile,” Jimin says and Jungkook isn’t sure if this is the hundredth time he has repeated it or the thousandth time. Either way, Jimin’s words only elicit one reaction from Jungkook: he rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, smile, I got it.”

“I’m serious! You have no idea how far a smile can go! People are more likely to believe you and like you-”

“When you smile and laugh a lot. Yes, I know,” Jungkook says and grabs his watch from his nightstand, strapping the silver jewelry around his wrist. “You’ve told me before.”

“Look, I’m just saying. Parents are usually a little bit more difficult, especially those artsy parents. They think they’re the real shit and look down on whoever they don’t deem worthy because of whatever reason. You screw up with her parents and you might screw it up with her. You don’t know what influence they have on her.” Jimin hands Jungkook his necklace. “I just don’t want everything to fail because she has shit parents. They probably are. Be prepared for the worst.”

“Assuring, Jimin,” Hoseok says, standing in the doorway, hands in his pocket. “Very assuring.”

“I’m just being realistic.”

Hoseok gives Jungkook a look. He doesn’t agree, clearly.

“Ready?”

Jungkook opens his mouth to answer Hoseok, but he isn’t sure. Part of him wants to say yes because Jimin is making him nervous, but part of him doesn’t because fuck, it’s just dawning on him that he’s meeting your fucking parents and if he screws this all up he’s so fucked- actually, no, fucked will not begin to even explain how fucked he will be-

“Hey, Kook?” Jimin places his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. “You good?”

“Uh, y-yeah, I just-” Jungkook shakes his head and catches himself in the mirror, suddenly questioning his choice of choosing a dark blue knit sweater and black slacks. Maybe he should go for a button down again. Or maybe change out the watch or take out the earrings. But he does feel the most comfortable-

“Look, you’ll be fine,” Hoseok says and walks in, putting an arm around his shoulde, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “You look really good, and you’ve been doing a good job and you’re going to keep doing a good job. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Kook.”

Jungkook wants to ask Hoseok how he’s so sure, what he would do if he doesn’t do a good job again, but he bites his tongue. Jimin slaps Jungkook on the back. 

Downstairs everybody gathers around him again. Like last time, Namjoon hands him a bouquet of flowers.

“Ready?” Jimin asks, and when Jungkook goes to answer the question, there’s a lot less conviction swinging with his voice, the smile on his lips not quite reaching his eyes.

“Ready.”

You’re already standing in the doorway when Jungkook gets out of his car, like you’ve been staring out the window and waiting for him. The thought makes him smile.

He isn’t sure if it’s because you dressed up today or if it’s the soft sunlight hugging you, but god, you look breathtakingly gorgeous today. Well, you always do, but today just especially. His heart skips a beat.

“Hey, Kook!” you call out.

“Hey, Y/N!” he calls back, and you giggle. Jungkook thinks he’ll keep doing anything that will make you giggle. It’s his favourite sound, he realises. How could it not be?

“Brought flowers again?” you smile and point at the bouquet in his hands. He smiles.

“I did, but they’re not for you.” You let out a dramatic gasp. He laughs. “Sorry, but not today. Next time.”

You step aside and let him in. “So there will be a next time?”

“Isn’t there always?” Jungkook quips back with a grin as he follows you down the hallway.

“If you keep going like this,” you look over your shoulder and purse your lips, stopping, ”maybe not.”

Jungkook stops too, gapes at you. “But I didn’t do anything-”

“You sure?”

He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t need to. The silence and tension between you is enough, the looks you share containing everything you want to say, all of the quips that dance on your tongues.

You raise a brow. He does too. You inch closer. He does too. You’re daring him right now. The way your lips curl up and the way your eyes sparkle andthe way you tilt your head making it obvious. It’s a dare Jungkook wants to take and will take, but right before he can, before he can drop the bouquet to the floor and cup your face and press his lips against yours and melt into you and steal your breath, your father walks in from the living room.

“Oh.”

You two jump apart like you’ve been stung by bees, like someone has lit your feet on fire.

“Dad, oh, hi,” you laugh, wringing your hands together.

“What were you two doing?” your father asks, gesturing between you, face hard. 

You’re quick to answer, your voice higher than usual. “N-nothing. We weren’t doing anything. Just, uh, standing.”

“Very closely, don’t you think?”

You try to say anything, but no words leave your lips.

“Young man,” your father says and Jungkook jumps, eyes doubling in size. “Are you just gonna stand there or introduce yourself? Has no one taught you manners?”

“Uh, I- yes, of course. My, uh, name is Jungkook. Jeon Jungkook.” He clears his throat, hands tugging on his sweater. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Your father narrows his eyes. “Sir. It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”

“Dad!” you hiss, but your father doesn’t even look at you, staring down Jungkook instead.

“R-right, excuse me, Sir,” he apologises and averts his gaze, feeling like a child being scolded. “I-It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”

He stretches out his hand, but your father just stares at it, face hard and stiff. Slowly, Jungkook drops his hand, giving you a panicked look, but you don’t seem to know what to do either, staring back at him.

Jungkook’s heart is pounding in his chest. He’s about to run, pack his bags and flee the fucking country when your mother appears, an apron tied around her waist.

She hisses your father’s name. “What are you doing? Stop it! You’re scaring them!”

And then your father cracks a smile.

The tension dissipates instantly.

“Sorry, I was just messing with you,” he explains, and Jungkook and you stare at him like he’s grown a second head, neither of you comprehending. The shift in his demanour confusing Jungkook even more.

“I’m so sorry, Jungkook. Excuse my husband please,” your mother says and steps forward, stretching out her hand. She tells him her name. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Jungkook takes her hand, offering her a smile, still somewhat confused though.

“Uh, h-hello, it’s very nice to meet you, ma’am. I’m Jeon Jungkook.”

Your mother looks mortified. For a second, Jungkook’s thinks she recognises his name and knows who he is and what he does and that he’s only here to-

“Oh, god, please don’t call me ‘ma’am’. It makes me feel ancient.”

“But-” Jungkook finishes his sentence by looking at your father, and your mother is quick to hit him.

“This is all your fault! Look what have you done? Proud?” 

Your father grins, shrugging. “I was just joking.”

“God, dad,” you sigh and bury your face in your hands, shaking your head. 

“I’m sorry,” your father says and pats Jungkook on the shoulder before pointing at the bouquet. “Are those lilies?”

Jungkook looks down. He almost forgot. Quickly, he offers them to your mother. “These are for-”

“Lilies! My favourite flowers!” Your mother cooes. “How’d you know?”

“Ah, just a lucky guess,” Jungkook laughs. It’s a lie. He knows because he’s researched you and your family, extensively. “I’m glad you like them.”

“No flowers for me? I see how it is.” Your father clutches his chest and feigns a sniff. “I’m just not important, huh?”

“What? No, I-I wasn’t-”

“Stop,” you place your hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “It’s fine. He’s just messing with you.”

Your father scoffs. “I’m not. This time I’m not joking.” He turns to Jungkook. “I’m telling you this now, Jungkook, I’m not appreciated in this household. I’m warning you-”

“Yes, you’re very underappreciated.” Your mother rolls her eyes. “That’s why I made your favourite food today-”

Your father looks at your mother. “You-”

“Yes, now come.” She tugs on his arm. “Let’s have dinner.”

“You guys go first,” you tell her when she turns to you. Jungkook looks at you. “We’ll be there in a minute.”

He doesn’t understand, and neither do your parents judging from the looks they share. But they go anyway, leaving you two alone.

“What-”

The moment they’re gone, you press your lips against his. Jungkook’s taken aback for a second, hands hanging in the air before they find their way around your waist. He pulls you close to him and smiles. It’s the last thing he expected you to do, but he more than welcomes it, loves it. Your one hand is fisting his sweater, pulling him down to you, and the other one is holding his cheek, thumb brushing over his scar. Jungkook feels his heart in his throat, your touch electrifying.

“What was that for?” he asks you breathless when you part, smiling when he sees the grin on your lips.

“Felt like it,” you tell him, shrugging. “They interrupted us before.”

Jungkook laughs.

You take his hand into yours. “Come, let’s go. They’re gonna be suspicious if we keep them waiting for too long.”

“Right, because staying back was not suspicious at all, was it?”

You roll your eyes. “Just come.”

By the end of the night, Jungkook concludes two things. 

One, you are, truly, your parents’ daughter; you look hauntingly similar to your mother and your mannerisms are almost completely identical to your father’s. 

Two, Jimin’s wrong, again. Because your parents aren’t judgemental or arrogant or superficial. They’re the opposite, humble, smart, kind, funny. They’re just like you.

“So, how was it?” you ask when you come to a stop next to his car. 

The wind’s tugging on your cardigan. You hug the garment closer to your body. The night’s dark today, pitch dark, but Jungkook sees you clearly, you shining brighter than the stars in the sky tonight. The moonlight casts a soft white glow, enveloping you.

You look breathtakingly beautiful.

“Was meeting my parents as lovely as you thought it’d be?”

Jungkook smiles. “It was.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m happy to hear that.”

“Are you?” he laughs, and you hum.

“Of course.” The moonlight brings out your eyes. “My parents like you too, by the way.”

He tilts his head. “Do they? Did they tell you that?”

You smile at him. “No, but I know.”

He raises a brow. “How do you-”

“I just do,” you tell him with a scrunch of your nose.

Jungkook laughs. “Well, that’s great, right?”

“Very,” you say and take a step closer to him. “Don’t know what I would do if they didn’t.”

“It's that important to you that they like me, huh?”

“Well,” you hum, “yeah.”

You take a step closer to him, the pebbles crunching under your shoes. You pick a piece of lint off his sweater, discarding it. 

“You see, my grandparents didn’t like any of my mom’s boyfriends,” you tell him quietly, tilting your head. “Except for my dad. He was the exception.” You place your hands on his chest. “Look at them now.”

Jungkook laughs. “You think we’re gonna turn out like your parents then?”

He expects you to tell him no, to tell him that obviously, it takes more than that for you to end up like your parents. You don’t. You just stare at him, a smile on your lips. Slowly, Jungkook’s heart begins to break. 

“Maybe,” you whisper into the air.

And before the guilt can eat him up, plant itself deep within his chest, bury itself in between his ribs and tear him apart from inside, you press your lips against his. Jungkook reciprocates because kissing you is all he has wanted to do all night. But he can feel his heart tighten, feel it crack in his chest.

Because he has done it. 

Jungkook has deceived you, completely gained your trust. He has done what he has been tasked with, has fully infiltrated you and your family. He should be proud of himself, should be over the moon right now, jumping up and down, itching to rush to the others and tell them. 

He should be happy. 

He is not.

Instead, Jungkook is sorry, truly sorry.

→  links don’t work, but don’t forget to message me with any thoughts/feedback! i’d love to hear it!

“I’ve said this before,” Taehyung places his shoes next to Jungkook’s, giving Gureum one more kiss before straightening up and looking around, “but do you really not want a bigger place? It’s a bit crammed, don’t you think?”

He gives Jungkook a look before gesturing around, wrinkling his nose at the size of his living room.

“I like it.”

Jungkook follows his words with a shrug. He knows that it’s pointless to explain to Taehyung again why he likes this shoebox of a space more than any of the luxurious and spacious homes the others own, knows he won’t understand why Jungkook likes feeling like just another twenty something year old, struggling to get by, and not like a master thief with millions in his bank account.

“If you say so.” Taehyung holds up the bag again. “Let’s eat. I’m starving.”

Even as they sit there, enjoying breakfast together—Jungkook’s mouth filled with bites from a buttery croissant, flaky and dissolving on his tongue in an instant, still a bit warm even, accompanied by the occasional sip of coffee—Jungkook can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong, that this is no ordinary visit. Turns out, he’s right.

“You know, I noticed something.”

He knows then. Something is about to come. The real reason for this visit will be revealed now. He puts down his croissant and swallows the bite.

“Things are moving fast between you two.” 

So this is about you and him.

Gotcha.

Taehyung lets his words sit in the air for a while, looking like he’s thinking of the next thing to say. But Jungkook has a feeling he knows exactly what he wants to say.

“Don’t you think so too?” he asks and takes a bite from his bagel, peanut butter and jam spilling out from the sides, chewing loudly. “You’ve already met her parents, and it's only been two months. You’re making progress, fast.”

“Isn’t that… good?” 

“No, it’s great.” Taehyung’s smile is a bit too big. “I’m trying to say that you’re doing a great job.”

And even though he just paid him a compliment, Jungkook feels... offended. His words don’t make a smile grow on his lips or want to thank Taehyung. Instead, his heart tugs in his chest. Jungkook wishes he wouldn’t have said anything.

“Thanks,” he says before quickly focusing back on his breakfast. At least that’s what he wants.

“I didn’t think you would be so good at deceiving people.”

Jungkook just hums in response. He doesn’t like that Taehyung called it that, deceiving. It’s such a bad word, such a bad thing to do. It perfectly describes what he’s doing. 

“Jimin might just be out of his role-”

“I don’t think I’m gonna do it again.” Jungkook surprises not only Taehyung with his response but himself too, mouth opening and words spilling out before he can realise it. “Infiltrate, I mean. I don’t think I’m gonna do that again.”

Taehyung blinks a couple of times before his face twists into a frown. “Why not? You’re good at it-”

“Yeah, but I just don’t think it’s something I wanna do again. I also wouldn’t wanna take Jimin’s role from him. He’s better at it than me anyway.”

Taehyung doesn’t say anything for a second. He just stares at Jungkook before nodding. There’s something in his eyes though, something that makes Jungkook look away.

“Okay.”

And then, it’s quiet. The silence feels different, heavier. Luckily, it doesn’t last long.

“Is everything okay?”

Jungkook pauses at the question.

“What?”

Taehyung puts down his bagel and straightens up. 

“I just noticed. You haven’t been coming around as much. You haven’t been around… us for the past week.”

And again, Taehyung has a point. Jungkook hasn’t been spending much with the others. Even when they’re in the middle of a job, he’s at the safe house most of the time nevertheless. But as of lately, he hasn’t been there, at all. 

“Is everything okay?” Taehyung repeats and raises a brow. Jungkook knows he has to choose his words carefully now.

“Yeah, obviously.” He puts on a smile. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Why haven’t you been coming around as much then?”

This is an interrogation. Anything Jungkook says will definitely be passed on to the others, to Seokjin and Namjoon.

“I’ve just been spending a lot of time with Y/N.” He shrugs. “Shouldn’t I be spending time with her?”

Taehyung presses his mouth into a thin line. “You usually drop by afterwards, and you haven’t been. I wondered.”

“I’ve just been more tired lately,” Jungkook explains. “Did I miss something important? I can come any time if you guys need me.”

And then Taehyung doesn’t say anything. He stays quiet for longer than before. In the end, he shakes his head.

“No, you haven’t missed out on much, mostly just Jimin coming back and complaining about your girlfriend’s mother and how specific she’s about the smallest thing,” Taehyung snorts, and while Jungkook knows he’s joking, calling you his girlfriend only for shits and giggles, his heart skips a beat at the suggestion.

You, his girlfriend. 

Oh, how he wishes.

“Don’t worry. It’s all good. I just wanted to make sure you’re fine.”

Jungkook clears his throat awkwardly. “All good. Thanks for asking.”

Taehyung smiles. 

“Great then.”

Jungkook smiles too, well, he tries.

“Great.”

Siyeon is playing around with Gureum and Jungkook’s watching her when you come back to sit down next to him, phone still in your hand.

“Who was it?” he asks quietly, not wanting to interrupt Siyeon. He glances in your direction before focusing on Siyeon again, watching her giggle as Gureum licks her face. Jungkook smiles.

“Oh, just my mother,” you say and he hums, not really listening to you.

“... Kook? You here?”

He turns to you when you call his name.

“Huh? Sorry, what?” He looks at you with big eyes. You smile softly.

“It’s fine.” You wait a beat, hands folding together in your lap. “I have to ask you something.”

And now, Jungkook’s completely focused on you. He sits up straighter. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no, don’t worry,” you laugh, almost nervously. It makes him raise a brow. “Everything’s fine. Perfect, really. It’s no big deal at all- you can totally say no, by the way.”

He frowns. “What is it?”

“My mother,” you begin and chew on your lip, looking off to the side. “She- have I ever told you what she does?”

He shakes his head awkwardly.

“Okay, well,” you tuck a strand behind your ear, “my mother- she’s an art curator and- ugh, this sounds so weird to say, but my mother is kinda… a big deal in the art world.”

Jungkook barely reacts initially until he realises that the information should elicit at least some kind of reaction from him. 

“Oh, really?”

You nod. “Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is that she, uh, sometimes organises these big events, and she just called me to tell me that there’s one next week again. And I- I have to attend because I’m, well, her daughter.” 

And then it dawns on him what you’re trying to get at. A smirk grows on his lips when he sees the embarrassment written on your face. You’re fucking adorable. 

“Okay.” 

You stare at him. Clearly, you don’t want to say it. You’re hoping he’ll simply get it and tell you he’ll go with you, but Jungkook wants to hear it. He wants to hear you ask him. 

“Do you know what I’m saying?” You rub your hands together.

He blatantly smirks at you, not even trying to feign naivety. 

“No, I don’t. What are you saying?”

You groan and throw your head back. He bites his tongue to stop the laugh from spilling out. You mutter something underneath your breath, most definitely curses aimed at him. It makes his smirk double.

“Doyoumaybewannagototheeventwithme?”

“Do I- what?”

You groan again and slap his shoulder. He cracks up then, and you stare at him with exasperation etched into your face. A pout forms on your lips. He grabs you when you start turning away from him, keeping you in place.

“You’re so annoying,” you hiss.

Jungkook gasps, feigning hurt. “Well, have fun looking for a date then.” 

He is about to pull away from you, but at the very last second, you take him by his shirt.

“No, wait, no, you’re not annoying. I take it back.” 

He immediately brings you back in his arms, forgiving you instantly because how could he not? You soften in his hold, and before he can stop himself, he presses his lips to yours.

It takes you a second to react. When you do, you put your arms around his neck and smile. Jungkook pulls you into his lap. Before he can kiss you silly, you stop, shaking your head.

“Siyeon,” you whisper and look over your shoulder. 

He follows your gaze. She’s too busy with Gureum to take notice of you, but Jungkook knows you are right. Still, he keeps you in his lap, arms firmly wrapped around your waist.

“Fine,” he whispers and presses a soft kiss to the side of your neck, making you squirm and giggle.

“Stop,” you hiss, but you don’t try to climb off his lap, hands still resting around his neck.

“I know, I know,” Jungkook says. “Don’t worry, I’m keeping it PG.”

“You better,” you tell him, but let him press a quick kiss against your lips anyway. 

“I take that as a yes by the way.”

He raises a brow. Your hands move up to his face, thumb brushing over his scar. You stare at it before looking Jungkook in the eye, smiling.

“You’re coming with me to the event, right?”

He lets out a puff of air and shakes his head, not to disagree but because he thinks it’s obvious.

“Is that even a question?”

You grin at him. He mirrors you.

Before Jungkook genuinely thought that this is where you would spend your time, where he’d meet you. But now, he knows better, knows that you’re not the type of person to spend your time at functions among the filthy rich, exchange pleasantries with them, and sip champagne while servers run around you and tend to your every need without sparing them a glance.

Still, it surprises him to see how uncomfortable you are, how the smile you force on your lips doesn’t even come close to looking realistic, how you go out of your way to not converse with the other guests here, but how you do go out of your way to talk with the servers and general staff, thank them, and give them all a genuine smile. 

He likes that about you, a lot.

But eventually you two get tired of being surrounded by people. So you seek refuge on the nearest balcony, leaning against the railing and looking inside through the glass doors. You point to a guy who’s just finished hissing at a waiter.

“He probably calls his father ‘daddy’,” you say and Jungkook snorts, deciding to join you.

“I bet you he swivels his wine and sniffs on it before taking a sip from it, but he actually has no idea about wine whatsoever,” he continues and you start grinning.

“He’s had a monkey as a pet before because he thought they were cool.”

“He definitely gave it away after a week though when he realised that having a pet actually takes work and time.”

“Has definitely asked people who he is before.”

“And demanded to talk to the manager.”

“How many assistants do you think he has?” 

Jungkook pretends to seriously think about your question, rubbing his chin and furrowing his brows.

“Three. One for home, one for friends and one for work.”

You raise a brow. “Wow, really? You think he works? Isn’t that a little bit too much?”

Jungkook locks eyes with you. Like you timed it, you two burst out into laughter.

You are about to say something when a girl throwing her fork back down on the plate catches your attention. There’s a displeased and disgusted look etched on her face. 

“What do you think caused that?” you ask, taking a sip from your champagne flute as you watch her throw her hissy fit. You need the alcohol, you said, to get through the night. Jungkook understands, mirroring you and raising his glass to his lips before answering.

“Probably found croutons in her salad,” Jungkook snorts.

“Croutons? Don't laugh, Kook! How dare they put croutons in her salad?” You shake your head. “She could have died!”

Jungkook laughs and looks at you. Right then, the wind blows through your hair and tugs on your dress. The light from inside reflects in your pupils. His gaze softens, your sight melting his heart in his chest.

“Don’t you know? Bread is poison- why are you looking at me like that?”

He smiles and takes the glass from your hands, placing them both on the railing. His hands sneak around your waist. He pulls you closer to him, pressing a kiss to your temple. 

“You look really beautiful today.”

You roll your eyes. “You’ve told me already.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to remind you again.” 

You stare at him before sighing, the corners of your lips twisting up in a small smile. 

“Thank you.” You squeeze his arm. “You look really good today too.”

Jungkook’s hair is slicked back, freshly cut. He’s donning a perfectly fitting dark grey suit, one of Taehyung’s actually. He looks stunning in it, so much so Taehyung offered to give it to him. Jungkook is considering it.

“Thanks,” he says before pressing another kiss to your temple. You laugh.

There’s a peaceful smile on your lips when you turn to him. 

“You know,” you start, grabbing his hands and squeezing them, “going to these events would have been bearable if you’d always been by my side. I would have actually had fun.”

Jungkook stares at you, unable to answer because god, you’ve no idea, no idea what’s going to happen in just a month’s time. He wonders what you’d say if you knew, if you’d scream at him and curse him out or if you’d stay silent. Jungkook wishes to never find out.

“Do you wanna-”

Right then, the glass doors open.

“Oh, mom,” you say, taking a step back. And for once, Jungkook’s relieved that someone walked in on them, unable to take you standing so close to him. He thinks he might just break.

“Hey, honey,” your mother smiles and stops in front of you. “I’m glad to see you two here! Are you enjoying yourselves?”

She looks at him.

“Uh, yes, sure,” Jungkook coughs out, smiling. “It-it’s fun!”

It’s a terrible lie, so terrible it makes your mother laugh. “Ah, you can be honest, Jungkook. I know this isn’t how you two wanna be spending your evening, I understand. But I’m very glad you’re here. I appreciate it.”

“Well, as long as all we’ve gotta do is be present, we can do it,” you say.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna be asking for more.” Your mother shivers when a breeze blows past. “Are you two not cold? It’s so windy today.”

“I’m fine. I’m not cold at all.”

Your mother smiles at your answer. “Well, I guess if you’re cold, Jungkook would just give you his jacket, wouldn’t he?”

Embarrassment colours his cheeks. “Uh, I-”

“Would you not?” your mother smirks.

Jungkook is quick to answer.

“N-no, of course, I would,” he stammers, and he doesn’t know why he can’t speak properly. “I-I would never let Y/N freeze.”

Your mother seems to like this answer. “Good. Take care of my daughter, will you?”

You groan. “God, you make it sound like we’re getting married or something.” 

“I’m just saying. I’m happy you have Jungkook, honey,” your mother tells you and shares a smile with Jungkook. He smiles back, but he can feel his chest tighten. 

Maybe he should have chosen a different profession, one that allowed more normalcy, one that was more honest. Maybe then his heart wouldn’t be breaking right now.

The glass doors open again. 

When Jungkook looks and sees who it is, he freezes, fear grasping him.

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” She’s wearing a big smile on her lips, voice sickly sweet when she speaks.

Jungkook can feel his heart in his throat, the panic building up in him like a monstrous wave, sweeping him off his feet and knocking the breath out of him. He thinks he’s going to drown, die a painful death.

And he does.

He does when he sees your face light up, your feet moving towards her before Jungkook can even think of stopping you.

“Aunty Jang!” you call out, throwing your arms around Jang, laughter spilling from your lips.

The realisation hits him like a second wave, leaving him cowering on the floor, buried under all of the water.

Jang, the woman they stole seventy-seven million from, the woman who’s been hunting them down ever since. She knows your family.

For a second, the panic doubles in him, the thought that she’s about to expose him to you and your mother crossing his mind. It’s a real possibility, a real fear, until another realisation hits him, a third wave. 

Namely that there’s no way that the others missed this.

There’s no way that in their extensive research on your family all three—Namjoon, Seokjin and Jimin—failed to realise that Jang is close with you. 

They didn’t miss it. 

They just didn’t tell Jungkook.

And then, he knows. Jang’s in on all of this. She has to be. There’s no other possibility. 

Something akin to anger starts building up in him, replacing the panic soaring through his chest. The feeling’s bitter, intense, dangerous, brewing, cooking under his skin. It tastes like betrayal on his tongue, like mistrust. His hands start to shake.

“Y/N, how are you? How’s university going?”

Jungkook wants to rip you from her claws, stand between Jang and you, protect you from her. 

You wave your hand in front of your face. “It’s… stressful. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Ah, I’m sure you’re managing just fine, Y/N.” Jang squeezes your arm. 

Jungkook grimaces. He hates how Jang says your name. Never did he think that anyone could make your name ever sound so awful and ugly, but she’s doing it somehow.

He continues watching you talk, your mother joining in on the conversation. You are smiling, occasionally even laughing, but Jungkook hears nothing, mind a mess, incoherent, because fuck, he can’t believe the others didn’t tell him this! Who else knows besides Namjoon, Seokjin and Jimin? Yoongi? Taehyung? Hoseok? Do they know? Why didn’t they tell-

“Kook?” you call out with the slightest hint of concern lacing your voice. Snapping out of it, he realises everybody’s looking at him. Jang too.

“What? Sorry?”

You take his hand and pull him close to you. He stumbles forward.

“This is Jungkook,” you say to Jang. “He is,” you pause, “a friend of mine.”

Jungkook watches her mouth quirk up into a smirk, smugness gleaming in her pupils. 

“And this is Jeong Jang, one of my mother’s old friends. I used to spend a lot of time at her place as a kid,” you say, and Jungkook doesn’t recall reading that in the file Namjoon, Seokjin, and Jimin created on your family.

The others definitely didn’t miss this. 

There’s something else going on Jungkook has got no idea on. 

Jang tilts her head and cocks a brow, pausing before answering, spitting out the words painfully slow. “A new friend? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Jungkook.”

She stretches out her hand, and he stares at it before mustering up a smile and taking it. 

“A new friend, you said?” she repeats and you nod. She turns to your mother. “Remember when we used to make friends?”

“Oh, yes,” she laughs. “Can’t remember the last time I made a new friend. We’ve gotten old, haven’t we?” 

“Ah, I wouldn’t say that,” Jang laughs, pursing her lips. “I think we’ve just gotten less trusting. Back then, making new friends was so easy because we’d trust anyone, wouldn’t we? But with age, you learn.”

Jang pauses and shares a short look with Jungkook. It doesn’t last long, but he knows. She’s playing a game with him, a game he doesn’t know the rules of, a game he never realised he entered. And Jungkook’s miserably losing.

“You know, Y/N,” she starts, turning to you and taking your hand, “one piece of advice I’m gonna give you is to not trust everybody.” She leans into you when she continues like she only wants you to hear what she says next, but she doesn’t bother lowering her voice. “Especially not a funny guy with a charming smile. They’re deceiving, you know?” 

She lets her words settle into the air, hanging awkwardly there because clearly, she’s talking about Jungkook here, right? Warning you from him-

“But of course, I don’t mean Jungkook. He’s not that type of guy, right?” Jang turns to him, narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips. “You would never lie to Y/N, now would you?”

Jungkook bites his tongue and forces a chuckle past his lips. It sounds strained. He hopes you won’t notice. “Of course not. I would never.”

“Well, aren’t you lucky then, Y/N? You’ve found a good one!” Jang laughs too loudly. “Hold onto Jungkook, yeah?”

Your smile looks awkward. “Uh, I will.”

Jang smiles at your answer, satisfied with it. When she turns to him, Jungkook stiffens. He can’t help it. His face hardens visibly, jaw locking up and mouth pressing into one thin line. 

Before you or your mother can notice though, the glass doors click open for a third time.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt,” he starts, voice buttery smooth, “but your husband is looking for you, Mrs Y/M/N.”

Jungkook snaps his head around at the voice, surprise reflecting in his eyes for just the shortest second. He didn’t know he’d be here too. No one told him.

“Oh, Park- I haven’t introduced Park to you yet, honey, have I?” Your mother looks at you and you shake your head. She waves Jimin to her. Jungkook and he meet eyes for the shortest second. “This is Park Jimin, my newest employee. Very capable. And this is my daughter, Y/N.”

You stretch out your hand. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Ah, yes, very nice to finally meet you too,” Jimin smiles so easily, and Jungkook understands why he’s the infiltrator of the group. He could never smile as naturally as Jimin.

You quirk a brow. “Finally? Has my mother been complaining about me to you?” 

“I never complain about you, honey.”

You look at Jimin. He laughs and shakes his head.

“She never does. Only says good things.”

You grin. “Well, I’m happy to hear that.”

“Oh, and this is Jeong Jang, an old friend of mine.” 

Jimin doesn’t flinch when he looks at Jang. Sure, it might be because he’s a master in controlling his expressions, or it might just be because Jungkook’s right and they’ve all known of Jang’s connection to your family already and are actually working together with her.

She stretches out her hand. “Ah, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Jimin smiles, taking her hand without batting an eye. 

“You said my husband was looking for me, right?” Your mother sighs. “I should go then before he starts complaining about how he’s underappreciated,” she mumbles to you and you laugh.

“I should go with you. I haven’t said hello to him yet,” Jang chimes in, and your mother nods.

“Please follow me then.”

 Jimin offers you a slight bow as a goodbye. You reciprocate it, adding a smile too. Jungkook tries catching his eyes, but Jimin doesn’t look at him, his gaze deliberately avoiding him. 

The tension pulling through Jungkook’s body doesn’t dissipate when they’re gone and the glass doors click shut. He can still feel how tight his shoulder blades are, the anger and rage pumping through his veins. He’s still on the brink of exploding, of snapping, of bursting at his seams.

But then you place your hand on his arm.

“You okay?” you ask him, voice small like you’re telling him a secret.

The anger and rage slip away. One look at you and it has all evaporated. It’s the way you gaze at him, the way there’s so much hope and light in your eyes as you look at him. It makes Jungkook weak. 

He shakes his head, snaps himself out of it. Uh, y-yeah.”

“You sure?” You grab his hand and squeeze it. 

“Don’t worry. I’m fine,” he tells you, but the same worried look stays on your face. 

“You-”

The rest of your sentence dies in your throat when Jungkook presses his lips to yours, effectively cutting you off. He wraps his arms around your middle, and you grab onto him for balance, overwhelmed by the sudden kiss.

You sigh into him, hands sneaking around his neck. Jungkook smiles when you pull him closer to you.

And right at this moment, as he kisses you, Jungkook allows himself—as selfish as it is—to forget all about Jang and the fact that the others have lied to him, that he’s meant to steal from you, that he will lose you in just a month’s time. It’s just him and you, standing on this balcony with the spring night air tugging on your clothes, holding and kissing each other. 

In this moment, you are the sun, the moon, the sky, the stars. In this moment, you are the most important thing out there, the only thing that matters. 

Everything is perfect and peaceful.

And when the moment ends, when you part because you need to breathe, Jungkook keeps his eyes shut for a few more seconds. He just needs to indulge in the peace and quiet, hold onto it a little longer.

“Hey,” you whisper, your breathing’s jagged and heavy. Jungkook looks at you, staying close to you, so close he can count the eyelashes framing your eyes.

He wants to kiss you again when you crack a smile, your hands gripping his jacket. It takes him everything to control himself.

“Yeah?” Jungkook whispers back and grins when you do.

“You wanna get out of here?”

The question hangs in the air for a second, floats and floats, waiting to be taken and given an answer. But it doesn’t come. Jungkook never responds. He just takes your hand and drags you out.

You don’t try to be subtle at all when you sneak out, the two of you boldly pushing through the crowd. Neither of you care, laughter spilling from your lips as you run down the hallways and turn the corners, feet carrying you to the big front doors.

The air is warm when you step out, the streets still wet from the afternoon rain. The night sky is decorated with pretty stars, stars that you outshine easily. People look your way, brows raised, but you only have eyes for each other—everything else around you blurring into a haze. You run down the street, the sound of your steps drowned out by your laughter. 

Jungkook turns to you, hand tightening around yours. Your eyes are so bright and beautiful and full he thinks he can see the entire world in them. His heart is thumping in his chest, beating in his ears. 

Looking at you, he knows. 

This is what happiness feels like.

Jungkook knows this now. The thought scares him, but he doesn’t back away. He doesn’t drop your hand and runs in the opposite direction. Instead, he tightens his grip and runs faster with you. 

He can’t let this go.

Jungkook can’t let you go.

He almost drops his keys when he tries putting them into the ignition. Right as the engine sputters to life, you put your hand on his.

“Can we go to your place?”

You ask this question quietly, like you’re scared of the answer being no.

During his training, Jimin never told him you couldn’t come to his place. And maybe he didn’t because he figured it was obvious that you couldn’t, or maybe he didn’t because you could- it’s for sure the first. Jungkook should definitely not let you come to his place, should definitely tell you that it’s better to go back to yours, should definitely-

“Sure.”

Jungkook almost forgets to shut the front door when you finally get to his place. His lips are on yours in an instant. Your hands tug on his jacket, and like it’s burning him, he pulls it off, throwing it down to the floor. You laugh.

“In a hurry?” you tease, and he rolls his eyes.

“Shut up,” he mumbles against your lips before going in for another kiss, pressing you against the wall. His hands are all over you, desperate to grab you, hold onto every piece of skin, of you, get everything he can from you. You giggle when his nose bumps yours.

“You’re always giggling,” Jungkook tells you, cupping your face.

“Sorry-”

“No,” he says and smiles at you. “I love it.”

And then, Jungkook dives right back in, lips back on yours because he simply can’t get enough, stop himself. It’s like he’s an addict and you’re the sweetest drug out there.

Jungkook chases your mouth even as you fall down onto his bed. You pull him down to you, and he immediately starts to line your jaw and neck with a thousand kisses, pressing them on every bit of skin he can, he can reach. On every bit of skin you allow him to. He smirks when you take a deep breath.

“Hey,” he whispers against the shell of your ear, pausing for a moment. “I just need to check with you. Are you sober? I don’t wanna do anything if you’re not absolutely sure-”

“I’m sober. Don’t worry,” you quickly tell him, leaning up to pull him into another kiss already. Jungkook stops you.

“No, seriously,” he looks you dead in the eye, “I need you to be sure about this. I don’t want you to regret this.”

“Do you want me?” you shoot back at him, and Jungkook thinks it’s a stupid question because obviously, he does. Every cell in his body is screaming for you. He literally can’t get enough of you. 

“God, of course, I do,” he whispers, closing his eyes. 

You cup his face and force him to look at you, your thumb brushing over his scar, a grin on your lips.

“Good, because I want you too, Jeon Jungkook.” You peck his lips.

Moonlight is spilling into the room, the smallest crack in the curtains. It’s enough though. Jungkook can see you clearly, and god, you’re just beautiful. He can barely believe that you’re in front of him, that you’re real.

“Yeah?”

His heart is pounding in his chest and his hands are itching for you. He just needs to ask one more time, make sure again you’re not going to regret this- regret him by tomorrow. “You sure? We can stop, any time.”

And then you say something Jungkook never expected you to, your voice unwavering as the words leave your lips.

“I love you, Jungkook.”

You smile at him. 

You’re not scared to tell him this. 

“I love you, so much,” you repeat. “And I want you. So please, will you just-”

Jungkook slams his lips against yours, the kiss desperate and frantic because he thinks he’s just lost his mind—your words doing things to him he can’t even begin to comprehend. 

He wants to tell you the same, say the three words too. But he can’t. He can’t be in love with you. You’re just a pawn in this game. Nothing more. 

At least, it’s what Jungkook tells himself. But his thumping heart betrays him, tells him that he’s lying to himself. Because if you didn’t mean anything to him, he wouldn’t want to tell you how much he loves the way you laugh and giggle, the way you always brush his scar whenever you cup his face, the way you trust and believe in him so much he thinks he might just go insane.

Because if you didn’t mean anything to him, Jungkook wouldn’t want to tell you how much he loves you.

He says none of that, swallows all of the words, grits his teeth to stop them from slipping out. He can’t tell you any of that. He shouldn’t because in just a month this will all be over, and Jungkook will no longer have you, or hear you laugh and giggle, or watch Siyeon with you, or have you in his arms and hold you tight to him, or have you in his life, at all.

And so, Jungkook kisses every inch of your skin instead, whispering into your ear over and over again just how beautiful and breathtaking you are in hopes that you’ll maybe understand this way, understand why he can’t repeat the same three words back to you.

Jungkook hopes you’ll understand that he loves you so much too.

He just can’t say it.

It was the first sunny Sunday morning after weeks of rain when twelve-year-old Jungkook would first learn of his father’s egg theory. He remembers it well, his father explaining it to him with pride swelling in his chest. 

“If you can cook eggs for someone exactly the way they like the first time, you two are meant to be then.”

He continued to tell him that this is how he and his mother fell in love, but she was quick to deny this claim, insisting that it wasn’t the eggs. To this day, it’s still a thing his parents argue about. 

Jungkook has never put his father’s egg theory to test, or even thought about it at all. 

Until today. 

Because when Jungkook wakes up the next morning, it’s the first thing that pops into his mind. So after washing up, he goes into the kitchen, turns on the stove and grabs eggs from the fridge.

Jungkook’s so focused on getting them just right, careful not to undercook or overcook them, he doesn’t hear you waddle into the kitchen. It takes you wrapping your arms around his waist and pressing your nose into his shoulder for him to notice your presence.

“Morning,” you mumble into his shirt, and he looks over his shoulder.

“Morning,” he repeats back, the corners of his lips pulling up into a smile. “Slept well?”

“Mhm,” you hum and close your eyes, tightening your arms around his middle. “Still tired though.”

Jungkook pats your hand and turns off the stove, letting the remaining heat cook the eggs. He twists around and wraps you into his arms. “You should go back to bed then.”

“You made food though,” you tell him, head resting in the crook of his neck, eyes closed. 

You sigh into him and Jungkook hugs you closer to him, the eggs quietly sizzling in the pan behind him, finishing cooking on their own. The sound of birds chirping outside leaks in from the cracked window.

“That can wait,” he tells you, pressing a kiss to the top of your head and rocking you back and forth.

“No, it can’t,” you mumble quietly, your eyes still shut.

“You’re tired,” Jungkook tries, but you shake your head.

“I’m not-”

“You just said you were,” he reminds you and you peel your eyes open, looking at him with the tiniest and most adorable pout on your lips. He grins. “And you almost just fell asleep-”

“It’s just because you’re so comfortable,” you mumble and Jungkook laughs. 

When he then leans down to press a kiss to your mouth, you turn away from him. 

“I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

Jungkook blinks once, twice before turning your face back to him and kissing you. You reciprocate, albeit hesitantly. Your hands wrap around his neck, and you even pull him closer to you. A smile forms on his lips and he can feel one growing on yours too.

“You’re gross,” you tell him by the end, turning away and covering your mouth. 

“Yeah, gross for you,” Jungkook laughs, and pries your hand away, pecking your lips one more time.

You roll your eyes and right as you’re about to say something, Gureum walks in. He practically leaps at you, tail furiously wagging around as he tries to greet you, unable to contain his excitement. You kneel down and welcome him into your arms. 

“Hey, buddy! How are ya?”

Jungkook watches you with a smile before crouching down too and stroking Gureum’s ear. “I think he’s hungry.”

“Yeah, probably.” You look around for Gureum’s bowl, snorting when you read what is written on it. “‘Daddy’s Favourite’?” 

You raise a brow and Jungkook lets his head hang in embarrassment. “It was a gift.”

“From Jimin?”

Jungkook freezes when you mention his name, heart dropping into his gut because how do you know that Jimin and he know each other? Were they too obvious yesterday-

“That was your friend’s name, right? I’m not sure if I’m remembering right or if I’m just mixing it up with the name of the guy from yesterday.” 

And then Jungkook remembers. He’s let Jimin’s name slip before.

“Uh- yeah, that’s… right.”

“So?”

You turn to him, blinking expectedly at him, and Jungkook frowns. “So what?”

“Did Jimin get you the bowl?”

Jungkook’s quick to deny it, shaking his head a little too much probably.

“Oh, no, he didn’t. A different friend did.” 

“Yeah?” You take a moment to think. “You know now that we’re talking about it- I don’t think you’ve ever talked about your friends.” 

You stop your pets and focus completely on Jungkook. 

“Haven’t I?” he chuckles awkwardly.

“I don’t think I know any of your friends’ names except Jimin,” you mumble and look back down to Gureum when he starts whimpering, craving your pets.

“Oh.” Jungkook clears his throat and rubs his neck. “Looks like I haven’t talked much about my friends, huh?”

“I’m not forcing you to tell me anything,” you clarify. “I’m just saying. But I guess you also haven’t met any of my friends except for Yerim now, have you?”

You let your words hang in the air before shrugging. “Whatever. I’m hungry now. I’ll go wash up.”

Jungkook stops himself from sighing.

“Yeah, do that. I’ll, uh, finish breakfast then. You should find a toothbrush in the cabinet under the sink.”

You mumble a quick thank you before walking out.

By the time you come back, Jungkook has plated the eggs on two pieces of toast, cut up some fruit (apples, banana and handful of strawberries he had left from his last grocery run) and put out three different pitchers; juice, water, and coffee. 

“God, I feel like the main character in a Disney film,” you laugh when you sit down, looking at the buffet in front of you. “You didn’t have to make so much.”

Jungkook shrugs. “It was no problem. Oh, and I wasn’t sure if you preferred juice, water or just coffee.”

“You should have asked,” you say and shake your head. “It’s water, by the way.”

You smile when Jungkook grabs the pitcher and pours you a glass. He’s about to do the same for himself when you stop him.

“Let me.”

Jungkook hands over the pitcher.

“Thanks,” he says, and then pauses, eyes tracing to your plate with your untouched eggs. He swallows. “Let’s, uh, eat, yeah?”

“Sure,” you say, plopping a piece of apple into your mouth before picking up the piece of toast. Jungkook does the same, carefully watching you though, his heart thumping in his chest deafeningly loud as you take a bite.

“And?” 

Jungkook holds his breath, praying that he’s done it right.

You nod. “It’s good.”

“How are the eggs?” 

You chew and chew. It takes you seemingly ages to swallow and answer him, and Jungkook thinks he’s going to go insane.

 “Perfect.”

Perfect.

You said perfect.

“Yeah? They’re not overcooked or undercooked? Not too salty or something?” he asks you, just to be sure, sitting on the edge of his seat.

“No, they’re perfect,” you assure him, already going for the second bite. “I like them this way.”

And then, the biggest grin appears on Jungkook’s face, relief washing through him in ways he can’t describe. His heart swells in his chest, deciding right then that he will believe his father’s egg theory.

“What?” you ask, raising a brow at him, his reaction confusing you.

He shakes his head and takes a bite from his toast. 

The eggs are good. 

The text comes right after Jungkook dropped you off at your house (you needed to get back to a couple of assignments you procrastinated doing yesterday).

[namjoon - 09:58] : You dropping by here today?

And even though Namjoon didn’t say so, Jungkook knows he’s actually asking him to come to the safe house as soon as possible. For a genuine, albeit short, moment, he contemplates just going home, ignoring the text and feigning ignorance. 

When he comes to a stop in front of the safe house and shuts off the engine, the thought pops into his mind once more. He dismisses it again. 

There’s no one standing in the hallway waiting for him when he unlocks the front door. There’s also no one in the living room. The house is empty, not a soul to be seen. Jungkook thinks they’re in the meeting room until he hears faint laughter coming from the kitchen. He looks at his watch. They’re probably all having breakfast together.

With slow steps, he walks towards the kitchen, their voices growing louder the closer he gets. He slows. The door to the kitchen is wide open, allowing him from his angle to see them even before they see him. They’re laughing, munching on pieces of toast. Hoseok the only exception, choosing oats instead.

Everyone is there.

Everyone except Jungkook.

Namjoon’s the first to see him when he walks in, leaned against the counter, in the middle of making himself a cup of coffee.

“Ah, Kook, good to see you!”

Jungkook tries smiling back, shifting as he stops at the doorway.

“Come on in! Why are you standing there like that? Sit down, we’ve got food left,” Seokjin laughs and waves him in. Jungkook slowly slips into his seat next to Jimin.

“Only coming for the food, huh?” Jimin teases him, a smile on his lips, and Jungkook just stares at him, baffled. He thought he would arrive here and immediately be presented with an explanation of yesterday’s event, why they’re clearly working with Jang, and why it has been kept a secret from him all this time.

Hoseok grabs a clean plate and puts it in front of Jungkook. Yoongi hands him two pieces of toast before sliding peanut butter and jam across the table, the two spreads Jungkook always gravitates to. Taehyung gives him a napkin because Jungkook always creates a gigantic mess when he eats, somehow always putting on a little too much peanut butter and jam on his toast. Jimin is in the middle of pouring him a water when he says it,

“When were you guys gonna tell me about Jang?”

Everyone stills. Jimin almost loses his grip on the water pitcher. The smiles slip away, the facades breaking away. It all crumbles to the floor, Jungkook’s question hitting the others like a ton of bricks—hard and heavy, right in the middle of their guts, knocking the air out of them.

He patiently waits for an answer. His gaze is unwavering as he looks at each of them.

Namjoon, who has mostly been busy making his coffee, stiffens. Seokjin slowly puts down his toast. The two lock eyes. Jungkook can practically hear their conversation.

In the end, it’s Namjoon who speaks.

“Soon.”

Jungkook scoffs at that response, anger flaring up in him. He feels hot all of a sudden, muscles pulling taut.

“Bull-fucking-shit,” he spits through gritted teeth and glares at Namjoon. The older isn’t phased at all, just stares back at Jungkook, like he isn’t looking at him like he’s ready to murder.

“We were going to tell-”

“When?” Jungkook barks back, brow raised. “When were you gonna tell me, Joon? Huh? After we finished the job?”

Namjoon doesn’t respond. He knows that no answer is going to satisfy Jungkook, or calm him down in any way. So he decides to say nothing.

Jungkook squeezes his eyes shut and breathes in, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. When he speaks again, his voice is quieter, calmer. But anger is still lacing every word.

“Why? Just tell me why.”

“It’s a little more complicated than you think.”

Jungkook turns to Seokjin when he speaks up, jaw flexing because he’s growing a little impatient here. No one is giving him the answers he’s looking for. 

He quirks a brow, tongue poking around in his cheek. “Well, clearly not so complicated you wouldn’t explain it to the others. Just complicated enough to not explain it to me, huh?”

Seokjin gives him a long look. “You’re right. That wasn’t fair, but we did have our reasons. In our defence, we didn’t plan on telling the others too. Joon and I were gonna keep it a secret-”

He groans. “But you ended up telling the others- I don’t care if you didn’t plan to. You did in the end. That’s what matters here. I’m the only one who was left out!” Jungkook feels himself inching closer and closer to exploding, the anger growing in him like a wildfire. “I’m in this just as much as you guys! I have a right to know what the fuck’s going on- to know the details of the plan just as much as the others.”

No one says anything for a second. What could they say? Jungkook’s right. His words settle with everyone, silence lying between them all until Namjoon sighs, his coffee long forgotten now. 

“Okay, look, Kook, when Jang found us, she didn’t ask for her money back.”

The older pauses and folds his arms across his chest, legs crossed at his ankles.

“She did threaten to bust our asses and throw us in jail. But she said she wouldn’t if we did as she wanted.”

And when Namjoon pauses again and refuses to speak again, it starts to click with Jungkook. It’s so obvious to him now. Part of him is angry at himself that he didn’t figure it out earlier. The clues have been there all along; the fact that Namjoon and Seokjin know about the master code to the museum when no one else does, that they’ve got the code to the safe where the laptop with the master code is kept. 

“She wants us to steal the painting for her.”

“Exactly.”

“But she fucking knows Y/N’s family- she’s friends with them!”

Namjoon and Seokjin exchange glances at Jungkook’s words, clearly neither of them understanding what he’s trying to say here.

“So?”

“She’s asking us to steal from her friends- that’s not okay. It’s immoral! Wrong! You don’t steal from your friends.”

Jungkook looks around to see if anybody agrees with him. He thinks someone has to, someone has to understand where he’s coming from, and share the same stance as him. They all stare back at him, faces blank, mouths sealed shut.

Hoseok breaks the silence. “Kook, we’re thieves. What we do is inherently immoral.”

“No,” Jungkook shakes his head, “that’s not the same. Yes, we’re thieves. Yes, we steal from people. But we don’t steal from our own friends. We steal from rich, awful people- people that won’t be affected if we steal from them! People who don’t care if they’re out of a couple million because they’ve got hundreds of millions in their bank accounts anyway, and that have insurance that will cover it!”

He thinks he’s made a good point, that this will be enough to convince the others that what Jang’s doing is immoral, that he’s right, that he’s got a goddamn point when he-

“You know that Y/N’s family is all of that, right?” 

Jungkook looks at Jimin with big eyes, opening his mouth to disagree, to argue that he’s wrong, but no words leave him. He tries, again and again, searching his brain for some argument to prove him wrong. He comes up empty.

“But, no, my point stands!” Jungkook says in the end, his exasperation morphing into frustration and desperation. 

He remembers the way you lit up when you saw Jang, how you ran into her arms, how you looked at her with such adoration. It makes his blood fucking boil knowing that Jang’s betraying you. 

“It’s not okay to fucking task people to steal from your friends! To smile at them when you know they’re about to be stolen from-”

“Okay, but does that matter?” Jimin shoots back and raises a brow, face hard and unreadable. “Does it matter if it’s morally right or not? Even if we agree with you that it’s wrong what Jang’s doing, it’s not gonna change anything. We’re still gonna go through with the plan and steal the painting. Arguing here whether it’s immoral or not is pointless. It’s a waste of time.”

Jungkook stares at Jimin. He isn’t sure what he’s feeling as he looks at Jimin—if he’s just flabbergasted or baffled by the older—but he can feel something crumbling right in front of him.

Jimin can feel it too.

“Don’t look at me like that-”

“Like what?” Jungkook laughs, mocking.

“Guys,” Taehyung hisses under his breath, but neither can hear him.

“Like I just said something wrong.”

“Did you not?”

Jimin scoffs and shakes his head. He runs a hand through his hair and pokes his tongue into his cheek before muttering under his breath, “This is why we decided not to tell you.”

“What?” Jungkook laughs again, adding a scoff. “Because I wouldn’t agree with you guys?”

“No, because you wouldn’t understand,” Jimin spits back, straightening up. Taehyung grabs him by his shoulder to stop him, trying to de-escalate this entire situation, but Jimin ignores him. “Because we knew you wouldn’t get it if we explained it to you. Don’t you understand that it doesn’t fucking matter if we think what Jang is doing is right or wrong? Because we’re still gonna be stealing that fucking painting for her because we cannot pay her back and don’t wanna rot in jail?”

Jungkook groans. “God, fuck! Of course, I understand! I understand that we don’t have any other option, that we have to do this, that arguing about the morality of this all is pointless-”

“Then why are you still so angry? Why do you keep arguing here when you know it’s pointless? When you know it isn’t gonna change shit?”

Jimin has a point. Why is Jungkook still so angry? Why is he still arguing? He’s not stupid. He knows that nothing’s going to change. They’re still gonna end up stealing the painting for Jang, but- He can’t explain it. It’s the image of you smiling at Jang, so unaware of how she’s betraying you, lying to you. It has the anger brewing in him, cooking and boiling over, spilling out from his mouth, snapping from his tongue and teeth.

“Jimin, calm down,” Hoseok tells him, looking over to Seokjin and Namjoon, hoping one of them would intervene, but they just let it all play out.

“Calm down? Why? Why should I calm down-”

“Because we’re not gonna have a productive discussion if you’re angry,” Yoongi spits before Hoseok can.

Jimin scoffs, and as Jungkook looks at him, he knows. He has to go, get out of here. He can’t do this. It’s all too much. He can’t handle this, head throbbing.

“I promised to have breakfast with Y/N. I’m late.” 

Jungkook stands up so fast the chair scrapes uncomfortably against the tiles. Hoseok says his name and Taehyung tells him not to go, but Jungkook can’t hear them, already running down the hallway and throwing the front door shut. 

No one follows him. It doesn’t surprise him. He’s glad no one does. Jungkook needs to be alone now, needs to think for a second without anyone around him. He needs a moment for himself.

The ride back to his flat is a blur to Jungkook. It’s like his brain decided to shut off for those minutes. One moment, he’s fiddling with his keys, trying so fucking hard to get them into the ignition, and the next he’s standing in the middle of his home.

Gureum comes to greet him, barking at his feet, tail wagging, but Jungkook can’t bring himself to put on a smile for him and pet him.

He doesn’t know what to do.

And he definitely doesn’t when he checks his phone.

[y/n - 11:08] : hey just wanted to thank you again for going to the event yesterday and keeping me company

[y/n - 11:08] : i had a really great time yesterday!! i hope you did too

[y/n - 11:08] : you wanna hang out later?

→ links don’t work, but don’t forget to message me with any thoughts/feedback! i’d love to hear it!

You didn’t know how you ended up like this.

You didn’t know how you ended up sitting on the floor with half-filled boxes in front of you and handing the champagne bottle back and forth in complete darkness when you should be running around and transferring everything by him into the boxes because Junmyeon and Minseok were coming tomorrow morning and Chanyeol had promised them you would be finished with packing up by then.

“Remember,” Chanyeol started and you took a swig of the bottle before handing it to him. He took it and started gesturing with it. “Remember our first date?”

You wiped your mouth with the back of your hand as you let out a chuckle and nodded, answering nevertheless because you weren’t sure if he could see you, the curtains drawn shut and not allowing any light from outside to leak through.

“Yeah,” you hummed and fiddled with a thread on your sweater (technically, it was his, but at this point, it was more yours than his). “Do you?”

Chanyeol paused and turned his head to you, the bottle hovering in front of his lips like he was contemplating whether or not he should take another sip from it.

“Of course,” he said before tipping the liquid into his mouth, and you rolled your eyes at his answer. Something about the way he said it, about the way he chose ‘of course’ over a simple ‘yes’, irked you, had your nose crinkling, but it came to no surprise to you.

But still, you asked, “Why’d you say it like that?”

Without looking, still occupied with fumbling with the thread that was growing longer and longer the more you pulled and tugged on it, you gestured for the bottle, and Chanyeol placed it into your open palm but didn’t let go.