#redest

Sweat slowly trickles down the back of Jungkook's neck as he stands behind the fiery heat of the burger grill. He's been gripping the metal spatula for so long that there's an angry red dented mark in his right hand. The greasy smell of oil from the french fries has penetrated through his nose for hours now; at this point, he has no other choice but to breathe sparingly through his mouth. God, he hates working overtime.

But he desperately wants to provide for you financially, and working overtime at his local burger joint was just one small step closer to financial stability when you both graduate. It's the least he can do for you.

Jungkook adjusts his red hat, which is part of his work uniform and checks the clock hanging on the wall. Ten minutes and he's out of here. He can definitely take this hot, stuffy kitchen for ten more minutes. He's been through a lot worse in his life; in comparison, this was nothing.

Ten minutes pass painstakingly slowly, but once the clock strikes 10 p.m., Jungkook pushes the spatula into his co-worker's hands and dashes out of the kitchen, grabbing his casual clothes from his corner at the back and rushing into the restroom to change. He hates the greasy, fast-food smell that clings onto his work clothes even more than you do.

And today's supposed to be a special day. Normally after a late shift, Jungkook likes to go home and lay in bed with you as you stroke his soft hair until he falls asleep. But today is definitely a special day.

When Jungkook comes out of the bathroom wearing his normal black jeans and an oversized hoodie, he sees his long-time friend Yoongi waving at him in a corner seat of the parlor. Jungkook smiles, rushing over to slide into the seat across from his friend.

"Hey," Yoongi says. "Just finished your shift?"

"Yeah," Jungkook answers.

"How was it?"

"It was okay," Jungkook lies. "It's bearable. And it's extra money."

"It's been a while since we got to meet up like this, huh?" Yoongi sighs. "How are you holding up?"

"Since..." Jungkook whispers.

Yoongi nods. "It's been nearly two years, Jungkook, but I know how much you miss them... or him."

Jungkook nods solemnly. Yoongi's right. It has been nearly two years since the Crescents collapsed and everyone but Jungkook was murdered on the spot. He's been having nightmares about that night ever since it had happened. Nightmares about his best friend... Taehyung... He shudders just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Yoongi says. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for it."

"It's really fine," Jungkook says, shaking his head. "It's not a big deal... I just miss Tae once in a while. It doesn't always plague my thoughts," he lies. "Besides, I have Y/N, you know?"

Yoongi nods, smiling. "You lost a loved one so the universe brought you another."

But Jungkook doesn't think anyone could become the Taehyung of his life—not even you, though he loves you more than mere words can describe.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you, Jungkook," Yoongi says, leaning forward in his seat and grinning. He's trying to lighten up the mood; Jungkook can tell. "My wife's pregnant!"

"Really?" Jungkook gasps, his eyes turning wide as he stares at his proud-looking friend. Well, this was news that he hadn't expected at all. "Wow, congratulations!" He really means it.

"I dunno about congratulations, but I am pretty glad I'm finally going to be a father," Yoongi hums. "Except that child is hoarding my wife's attention. And I'm kinda nervous," he sighs. "A lot of pressure to be a perfect example now..."

Jungkook nods. "I can imagine. But you'll be a great father."

His friend smiles. "Thanks. That means a lot. Anyways, how's school been going?" Yoongi asks, resting his head on his propped up hand. "I know you were kinda worried because of the age gap and everything..."

Yoongi's right. It wasn't easy to start up school again after neglecting to go to college in his early adult years. He would be at least three years older (or more) than everyone else in his classes... and he hadn't touched a textbook or actively listened to a lecture since senior year of high school. He was worried that he would be severely behind all the bright and chipper students who hadn't taken several gap years. And he was behind at first. But his determination to be somehow involved in law was just so much greater than the adversities that academics hurled at him, that he fought through. Of course, you'd helped him as well. So, as of now, school was going—

"Great, actually," Jungkook answers. "It's because I'm doing what I'm interested in."

"Good," Yoongi answers. "My wife sends you her best of luck. She said being a paralegal will definitely suit you."

Jungkook smiles. "Tell her I said thanks. That was sweet of her."

"You know my wife," Yoongi snorts. "Always trying to do the right thing. Oh yeah," he pauses, "how's the love of your life?"

"She puts up with me," Jungkook chuckles. "She's been great. We've been talking about her moving in for a while and it finally happened a few weeks ago."

"That's amazing, Jungkook," Yoongi says, smiling. "You really love her. I can tell."

Jungkook laughs, face heating up just thinking about you. "You know what's funny? I hated you for the longest time—no offense—because you left us, you know, for your wife. But now I know what it feels like to be crazy in love."

Yoongi snorts. "Yeah. Wait until she's pregnant with your kid, though."

"I still think I would love her as much as I do now," Jungkook says. "I don't think our love can ever fade."

Yoongi laughs out loud. "Oh, to be young and in love!" he declares.

Jungkook makes a face that makes Yoongi laugh even harder. "You're only a year older," Jungkook protests. "And if you were in school, we'd be in the same year!"

"Sure, sure," Yoongi says.

Jungkook's about to say something snarky to get back at Yoongi when he hears the familiar tune of your favorite song playing on his phone. Last Valentine's Day, you'd gone out of your way to customize Jungkook's ringtone when you call him. It was some Christian song that you belted out every Sunday at the top of your lungs—a song that Jungkook knew every word to after listening to it so many times. "Hold up, my girlfriend's calling," Jungkook says, fishing out his phone and clearing his throat to answer.

Yoongi leans back, nodding to himself as he watches his younger friend get excited over a call from his girlfriend. Jungkook presses his phone against his ear, lips already pulling up into a smile just at the thought of talking to you.

"Hey, baby!" you chirp the moment Jungkook picks up. "Can we please have ramen for dinner? I'm craving it so hard for some reason! And it's not like we can really afford anything else..."

"Of course, baby," Jungkook says, unbelievably happy just hearing your voice. "Do you want me to make it when I get home?"

"Yes, please!" you exclaim in your bright, golden voice. "We have a nasty quiz in ethics tomorrow, remember? I have no idea how you're hanging out with Yoongi knowing that, but whatever. I've been FaceTiming like six of my friends to cram for it... But also at this point, I'm kinda getting distracted—frick, I'm going off into tangents again. Wait, okay, sorry, Kook, I have to go."

"Don't worry about it, babe," Jungkook says. "Study well, okay?"

"Okay! Bye, Kook. Have fun with your friend!"

Jungkook can tell you're smiling just from your voice. "Bye, Y/N!" He ends the call, putting down his phone and looking a bit dazed.

Yoongi laughs at him. "God, Jungkook, you really love her. It's been like what, a year? And you're already even living with each other."

Jungkook scrunches his forehead. "You ran away from the only family you ever knew to be with a girl you've reunited with for less than a year," he retorts.

Yoongi chuckles. "Touché. Maybe we're both deranged love-seeking lunatics."

Jungkook laughs. "Maybe..." he muses. "Or maybe we've found our true soulmates and we're not stupid enough to let them go."

"Ha, good one," Yoongi laughs. "If I told my wife that we were soulmates, she'd tell me to open my eyes and wake up."

"Really? But she loves you and you love her," Jungkook says.

"So?" Yoongi asks. "You loved my wife too, once. So did..." he hesitates. "So did Seokjin and Taehyung... Just because we love each other doesn't make us soulmates."

"I loved your wife a long time ago. That shouldn't even count. And that was before I knew my soulmate existed," Jungkook huffs. "I guess maybe Y/N and I are lucky."

Yoongi smiles. "Extremely fortunate," he says. "True love like that doesn't happen often in this cruel universe." He folds his hands in front of him like a wise man, leaning in as if he were going to tell Jungkook a secret. Naturally, Jungkook leans in to listen to what the wiser man has to say. "You deserve it, Jungkook," Yoongi tells him. "You deserve to have someone like Y/N to give you purpose to live. To put purpose in your life. You deserve a lot, and from what I could tell, Y/N is the 'a lot' that you deserve."

Jungkook can't stop the wide grin stretching his lips. It's rare that Yoongi has such heartfelt words to say so openly in public. He must be out of his mind—or insanely excited about becoming a father.

"Thanks, Yoongi," Jungkook says.

Jungkook knows that Yoongi's always been a practical man who doesn't believe in soulmates or destiny or any of that cutesy, Disney princess, Hollywood shit. And for months, Yoongi was Jungkook's makeshift role model—someone to take the place of Kim Taehyung, who was dead now... But Jungkook knew he and Yoongi were too different when he met you. You were something else. Something so completely different that when he's with you, he feels like he's taken to the moon. He has to disagree with Yoongi on this one. Destiny exists.

Because destiny, and what was written in the stars of the vast universe, is what brought you and him together to fall in love.

You immediately sit up in bed when you hear an ear-piercing scream, quickly reaching across to switch on the bedside lamp and turning to your boyfriend. He's kicking the covers and whimpering, sweat running profusely down his face as he squeezes his eyes shut and frowns at the figures in his nightmares. You put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Kook?" you whisper, yawning and trying to blink away your drowsiness. "Hey, you were screaming again," you say, shaking him softly.

Jungkook nearly hits your head with his when he jerks awake. And the moment you see the fear in his wet but alert eyes, your drowsiness vanishes. "Baby, you're crying," you say, pulling him into your arms and hugging him.

He relaxes a bit in your embrace for a split second before tugging back and shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, Y/N," he groans nearly breathlessly as he massages his head with his hand. You try to wipe his tears away with the sleeve of your nightshirt. "It's so early in the morning... And we have a quiz today. You need to sleep."

You shake your head, ruffling Jungkook's hair. "Sleep is the least of my worries, Kook. Tell me, it's about your friends again, isn't it?"

Jungkook stays silent, still trembling slightly from the leftover shadows of his nightmare.

"C'mon... I wanna help, baby," you say, reaching out to hold Jungkook's hand. He's sweaty and his skin feels hot against yours but you don't mind. "You can tell me. It'll make you feel better, I promise."

"It was horrible," Jungkook finally whispers. "And you were right. It was about the Crescents again..." he hesitates and you patiently wait for him to gather his thoughts and continue. "I-I watched T-Taehyung be b-brutally tortured. A-And I... I couldn't do anything about it b-because I was in invisible restraints." He lets out a gigantic sigh, shivering from the last remains of the nightmare in his mind. "Everyone else was already dead and bled out," he quickly says, spitting the words out so fast he doesn't have time to stutter. "I want to spare you the details." He's shaking as he tells you this, eyes fogged up and lips set in a thin line.

"Oh, Kook..." you breathe. You reach out to hug him. "Hey... do you want me to get you an ice pack and a glass of water?" you ask, rubbing slow circles on his back. "We can talk about it in-depth when you're feeling better."

"No," Jungkook murmurs softly in your ear. "I swear, I'm fine, Y/N. You don't have to do anything. It was just a dream..."

"It was a nightmare," you correct him, pulling back from the hug. "And you keep having them. What can I do to help?"

"You're helping right now," Jungkook says. He gives you a grateful smile. "I'm sorry I keep waking you up at ungodly hours of the night."

"You shouldn't be sorry," you reply. "You've been through a lot, Kook. It would only make sense for you to have bad flashbacks about it... Hey, if you don't want to go back to sleep, I'll stay up with you."

Jungkook shakes his head. "No way. You need your sleep."

"You do too, silly," you say. "How about we both go to bed?"

Jungkook smiling, slipping back into the covers and dragging you under with him so that you're using his pillow instead of yours. "Can you stay by my side until I fall asleep again?" he whispers hopefully.

"Of course," you say, "you're really warm, anyways." You snuggle against your boyfriend, closing your eyes immediately to relish in the darkness. "Goodnight," you whisper. "I'll pray for you so that the nightmares won't bother you again this night."

"What would I do without you, Y/N?" Jungkook sighs as he closes his eyes too, wrapping an arm around you.

"Everything," you murmur. "You're... a strong man... Kook..." you trail off. Jungkook waits for you to continue, but it seems like sleep has overtaken you before you could say any more.

Jungkook smiles. When he's in your arms, he can finally have a peaceful slumber away from the nightmares and horrible memories. He dozes off the sleep again and this time, he isn't plagued by the fatal cries of his friends' last words.

When the 2 p.m. alarm rings, Jungkook's the first one up, hopping out of bed and checking to see if you are awake. You obviously aren’t, so he decides he's going to let you sleep for a little bit longer while he makes breakfast—er, lunch.

It's Friday, which means you and Jungkook only have one class today—ethics. Jungkook has a habit of studying for his classes little by little and every day but you tend to cram last-minute. You were up until 3 a.m. last night studying and you'd also woken up at around 4 to comfort Jungkook. Feeling a little guilty, Jungkook pads into the kitchen with heavy, drowsy feet and lets you get the extra sleep you deserve.

The smell of bacon sizzling on the pan permeates through the small apartment's air, reaching the bedroom to wake you up. Soon, you're making your way into the kitchen, stretching your arms as you yawn.

"Hey, baby," Jungkook greets you, turning around from the stove to give you a warm smile. "Sorry about last night... er, early morning."

You yawn again, waving a dismissive hand as you open the fridge to take out some eggs and apples. "It's nothing, Kook. Can you scramble these eggs? I'll cut the apples."

Jungkook nods, taking the eggs from you and cracking them open expertly against the fry-pan before letting the contents fall out. He takes the cooked bacon from the pan before it burns, looking around to find some plates to set them on.

"Here you go," you tell him, handing him just what he needed.

Per usual, it's like the two of you have telepathic communication.

Once the bacon is hot and ready on the plates, the eggs are scrambled into a golden yellow and the apples are freshly washed and cut, you and Jungkook sit down at your small table and eat. Jungkook's just about to finish up his eggs when you sigh. Jungkook looks up at you, and he sees that you have abandoned your silverware, twisting around your gold purity ring—it's a small habit you picked up when you're nervous.

"Is something wrong, Y/N?"

"No, nothing's wrong, Kook," you tell him. "I'm just worried about you. You keep having nightmares, baby, and I just think it might be detrimental to your mental health...”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” he lies, shaking his head in denial. “I’m fine. I promise, Y/N.”

You know he’s lying, but you don’t say it out loud. “In that case, I have a verse from the Bible for you,” you say, pausing to close your eyes. “Maybe repeating this in your head can somehow help you...” Your brows furrow as you concentrate to pull up the scripture from memory. "Be strong and courageous,” you begin, “do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

"Joshua 1:9," Jungkook finishes for you. "I know, Y/N. I know."

He doesn't really, though. Jungkook respects your closeness to God; he respects your religion and your beliefs, but he, a murderer, a major sinner, cannot possibly receive salvation. He can't take back the lives he's ruined, the people he's tortured and turned insane, the victims he'd killed slowly, taking his sweet, sweet time... You understand his struggles, so you don't push the subject of religion on him. But it had been a hard move for you to choose to date Jungkook. To choose to move in with him. To choose to sleep on the same bed and maintain your purity. Jungkook understands. And this mutual understanding—even though none of it was spoken verbally—is what makes the two of you so special.

You connect on a level that transcends speech and language.

"You don't deserve being haunted by the things you did when you were younger," you say. "Former mafia or not, you're a good man, now, Jungkook." You grab his hand from across the hand, encompassing it with your own. "That's what matters."

He smiles, nodding. "Thank you..."

"Of course," you say. "Hey, after class, wanna eat out for dinner? You know, to celebrate another quiz."

"Ah..." Jungkook sighs. "I can't, baby. I have to work overtime today."

"What?" you pout as a frown places itself on your lips. "You worked overtime yesterday. And you didn't get a good night's sleep today..."

"Well, we need all the money we can get," Jungkook says. "I'll be fine. Maybe you can get dinner with your friends? I'll meet you outside my workplace at 10?"

You sigh. "Alright, Kook, but you have to promise you'll sleep in tomorrow."

"I promise," Jungkook grins. "Hey, I'll clean up so you can cram a bit more for the quiz."

You laugh, shaking your head as you gather up your utensils and your plate. "No way, Kook. You know, I don't have to try as hard anymore. I'm not going to intern abroad."

"Really?" Jungkook asks, frowning. "But that's such a great opportunity, Y/N! You can't just miss out on it..."

"Well, going abroad would mean we'd be long-distance... And what if I never come back?" you say. "I'm not gonna risk that. I'm not going. I'll have to explain that to my parents... somehow."

"You don't have to give up on your future for me..."

You laugh out loud. "I think God meant for me to have a future with you, Kook."

Jungkook hums. "In that case, I can't really argue against what He planned for you, can I?"

"No," you giggle, shaking your head. "You can't."

Jungkook smiles; God or not, you and he were meant to be, and he'd prove time and again that he is worth your love.

After the ethics quiz that had gone fairly well, you and Jungkook part ways after he kisses your cheek goodbye. Usually, Jungkook walks straight to the burger parlor, but, today, he takes a little detour to the flower shop.

He's been buying you one sunflower every week since the two of you began dating. He doesn't really know how that tradition started, but it never really stopped because the two of you enjoyed it so much. But today, he wants to get you something special.

Jungkook feels a little guilty, after all, that you'd given up your internship abroad to be with him and that you always had to wake up in the middle of the night or at early dawn to comfort him through his nightmares. It isn’t much, but sunflowers give you happiness.

He makes his special purchase and walks to the burger parlor where the smell of grease and oil isn't as bad today—his mind is preoccupied with your reaction when he gives you your present.

You're already waiting for him outside the burger parlor when Jungkook comes out, a bit sweaty with the smell of burgers still lingering on his skin.

"Hey, babe!" you say brightly, hugging him and immediately taking his hand. "How was work? I went to get some street food with friends. It was so good! I have to take you there some time—goodness, are those—" Your eyes turn huge as you see the packet that your boyfriend is holding.

"Sunflower seeds," your boyfriend smiles. "I know I usually get you sunflowers... but I figured it would mean more if we could plant them and grow them ourselves."

You gasp, putting a hand to your heart. "That's so thoughtful, Kook. I don't even know what to say."

Jungkook shrugs shyly, face blushing. "It was nothing, babe... But hey, did you walk here alone? That's kind of dangerous..."

You laugh, shaking your head. "Oh no, my friend dropped me off here. I didn't even wait that long for you. You don't have to worry."

"Sorry," Jungkook says, squeezing your entertained hands. "I'm just... paranoid, I guess."

He's referring to Jimin and you know it. "Hey... I'm fine," you say. "It doesn't hurt to worry or be cautious, you know. Wanna start walking home?"

Jungkook nods as the two you begin to walk down the familiar streets, the bright moonlight illuminating what was otherwise dark. A few minutes pass before you speak again.

"It's a full moon, tonight," you say, looking up at the sky.

"I really like full moons," Jungkook hums.

You turn your head to look at him in shock. "Really? I always thought crazy things happen on the night of a full moon. Like men turn into werewolves and witches brew their potions and warlocks cast their spells?"

Jungkook laughs as he looks at you fondly through his half-opened eyes. "Maybe," he giggles. "But... I don't know... it's just that it's a better, more completed version of a crescent moon. I feel like it guides me in the right direction."

"I thought I did that, not the full moon!" 

Jungkook smiles. "You're better than the moon," he says, pointing at the stars twinkling in the night sky. "You're the stars, Y/N. You're the sun. You're my sunflower!" he exclaims confidently.

You smile, a faint, rosy blush tinting your cheeks. "I really don't know what I would have done without you."

"You'd be abroad," Jungkook says. "Studying a foreign language and becoming successful."

You shake your head. "Not at all. I'd be unhappy. I'd feel stuck. You know I hate what I'm learning..." you shrug. "Without you, I wouldn't have anyone to lean on."

Jungkook smiles. "Me too."

You smile, about to say something sweet right back to your boyfriend, but you halt walking instead. Jungkook stops with you, looking around to see if anything is wrong.

"Hey," he says. "You good?"

"Was that always there?" you say, tilting your head and looking curiously to the right. "I've never seen it before."

Jungkook looks to where you're looking and smiles curiously. It's a little shop, the windows displaying glowing potions and little sparkling trinkets. "A magic gag shop?" he asks. "Maybe it's new."

"Gosh, it's adorable!" you gasp, running toward the windows to peer inside. "Look, baby! There's a cute little flying teacup set! I can barely see the string that's holding it up!"

Jungkook catches up to you, looking in to see exactly what you are talking about. "It seems so professional," he says in awe. "Do you think the owner works in the film industry or something? Some of these look so real. Look at that!" He points at a crystal ball in the middle of the shop, displaying vibrant images of sunflower patches. "That's insane!"

"It's like it was made for us," you laugh. "Let's check it out!"

"Woah, uh," Jungkook hesitates, "it's late, Y/N. The shop's probably closed."

"The lights are on," you pout. "C'mon, I wanna talk to the owner! I wonder what they're using to get such vivid photos on that thing!"

With that, you tug your boyfriend into the little magic shop with you. One step in, it's like you've entered a new universe.

—next chapter

It's like you stepped into a drawing where all things are possible. The shop itself looks old and cozy but the little trinkets inside are energetic and sparkling. You find yourself completely enamored.

"The graphics are amazing," you breathe. The potions bubbling in the corner and the cauldron boiling grass-smelling green liquid seem so real. The sparkling lights floating around the shop look like little fairies dancing about.

"Technology has never really been this fine," Jungkook comments. He approaches the crystal ball, which is still playing collages of sunflower patch photos. "Do you want this?" he asks.

You're just about to answer when someone steps out from the little dark corner of the shop. She's an old lady with a velvety purple cloak draping around her small figure. She's aged kindly, with a nice, round face and wrinkles around her eyes. She looks friendly.

"Hello!" you call out to her. "Do you own this shop? It's absolutely beautiful!"

"Thank you, my child. I run it myself," the old lady says. Her voice is surprisingly smooth and her gestures are graceful as she motions the two of you over. You immediately follow her while Jungkook trails behind, still in shock of the beautiful surroundings. "These are ancient spellbooks," she says, tracing her finger along the spines of aged books. "These took me years to collect."

"Spellbooks?" you ask. "That's very cool!" you offer. "What do they say inside?"

"Oh, many things, darling," the old lady hums. She gestures Jungkook to come closer. "Don't be shy, dear. I don't bite."

You giggle as you tug your boyfriend closer to you and the ancient spellbooks.

"This one," the old lady says, pulling out an emerald green book with weathered pages and stained cover, "holds all of Merlin's greatest accomplishments. I recommend reading it, young ones. Very insightful..."

You and Jungkook give each other a look.

"Merlin?" you finally say. "The fictional wizard?"

The old lady frowns. "No, child, not fictional..." She shakes her head, eyeing you and Jungkook up and down before sighing. "You do not believe in magic," she accuses, her kind features turning dark in just a split second.

Jungkook's taken aback, grabbing your hand and tugging you back slightly. The shop owner notices and chuckles to herself, mumbling something under her breath. You, however, don't believe she is as creepy as Jungkook does.

"I'm sorry," you apologize. "I'm afraid I don't believe in magic."

You squeeze Jungkook's hand reassuringly, which helps him relax just a little bit.

The old lady hums, returning back to her kind self as she nods understandingly. She glances at you and Jungkook before saying, "But your love for each is magical. Is it not?"

You and Jungkook give each other another look.

"I mean... yes," you say, "but in a way..."

"In a way?" The shop owner does not seem to understand. "Do you believe your love is purely coincidental?"

"No, no," Jungkook sighs, getting just a teeny bit frustrated. "Our love is definitely not coincidental. It's like destiny."

"We'd find each other and fall in love again in any given circumstance," you add, grinning.

"Soulmates," Jungkook says.

The old lady raises a doubtful eyebrow. "So..." she muses, "you believe soulmates and destiny exist... but not magic?"

Jungkook fidgets uncomfortably. The lady has sort of an overbearing presence on both of you and even you, who's usually so bright and chipper, are shrinking slightly at the shop owner's accusations.

"We don't want to offend you," you try. "And we're sorry if we did. We'll get out of your hair. Have a good night," you say as you begin to walk away with Jungkook already ahead of you for once.

"Wait."

Shivers run up Jungkook's spine at the sound of the old lady's voice, but there's something about it that makes you and him both obey.

"Take this," the old lady says, dropping something into your hand. "I hope your love for each other never ceases."

"T-Thank you," you stutter. "Thank you so much."

"You shall follow your dreams. Whatever they may be. And you," she stares at Jungkook as if she can see into his soul. "You have been through a lot. You will find someone like him again." With that, she takes a step back into the darkness and disappears.

You and Jungkook give each a look before nearly dashing out of the magic shop, eyes wide and hearts beating. Jungkook pulls you away until you're at a safe distance from the shop and finally lets go of your hand when he checks at the coast is clear.

"What the fuck was that?" he asks. "What the hell did she give you?"

There were so many crazy things that had just happened. How had she known about Taehyung? Or maybe it was a lucky guess.

"Kook..." you remind him softly.

"Sorry," Jungkook sighs, shaking his head. "I didn't mean the insults."

"I know," you say. "Here, she gave me these."

You open your hand to show Jungkook two, small, purple gumdrops. They are coated with sugar that seems to twinkle in the palm of your hand, and they smell strongly of blossomed roses.

"They look so good," you say. "As disorientating as that was... I mean, the lady was rather understanding, don't you think?"

"She was delusional!" Jungkook scoffs. "I guess when you turn old, you lose the sense of what's real and not..."

You giggle. "Definitely. Here," you say handing Jungkook the other gumdrop before popping the other in your mouth.

"Y/N!" Jungkook shrieks. "You can't just eat that!"

"Why not?" you laugh, chewing insistently. "It's good! I wonder where she got these," you say. "We should pick some up some time. I didn't know this flavor even existed!"

Jungkook sighs. Maybe he still has major trust issues... Maybe he's overreacting. But he and you had definitely offended the old lady... Though she'd uttered kind parting words, Jungkook still isn’t so sure about her intentions. But you're happily munching on the gumdrop and you haven't quite dropped down dead yet, so Jungkook shrugs, popping the gumdrop in his mouth.

You're right. It's delicious. It doesn't even taste like typical candy. He can't quite describe it, but it's good; that's all he can really say.

"This is really good," he says and you nod.

"I know, right? Maybe she sprinkled some magic on it," you joke, laughing.

Jungkook rolls his eyes. "Of course she did."

"Oh, c'mon, Kook, she probably had good intentions," you giggle. "And you were adorable, defending out relationship like that. You really think we're destined to love each other?"

"Yeah," Jungkook smiles. "Of course."

You reciprocate his smile, grabbing his hand and leaning against his warm figure. "What a night," you whisper.

Jungkook's about to say something back when he realizes you've completely knocked out against him, your head limp and your eyes closed. You would've fallen to the ground if it weren't for him.

"Y/N?" he says, but you, the usual light sleeper, do not respond. "Y/N? Are you okay?" He even shakes you in hopes of waking you up.

But you don’t. You don't even move. You're breathing because Jungkook can feel your pulse, but it's not like you to just faint like this out of nowhere. Jungkook panics. He looks around the dark street, but no one's there to help. He quickly crouches down, cradling your unconscious body as he frantically reaches in his pocket for his phone. What could've caused this? You were definitely not the type to just... fall asleep anywhere. Or maybe you were tired after a long day?

His mind suddenly flashes back to the strange gumdrop you'd consumed.

No way...

It couldn't have been poisonous, right? Fuck. I ate that shit too, though.

Sweat starts to accumulate on his forehead from the stress of the circumstances. Jungkook's just about to frantically dial the emergency number with shaking hands when he feels his consciousness slipping as well. No... No. His eyes start to close, his limbs feel heavy against his will and he can't seem to think straight. He tries to fight it, tries to dial the last number on his phone. But it slips from his hands as his feet slip out from underneath him. He tries to reach you, call out your name one last time...

The last thing he sees before he completely blacks out is your unconscious body lying on the late-night streets.

"Hey, I just met you and this is crazy!" a perky, young voice serenades. "But here's my number, so call me maybe!"

You groan, tossing and pulling the blankets over your head. It's the twentieth time you've been awoken by the familiar tunes of the lively violins and the all too well-known beat of the drums. It's one of your roommates' wake-up alarm: Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson. You're starting to really despise that song. You've been trying to get Yoojung to switch to a song that wasn't released nearly a decade ago, but she just won't budge. You've even suggested a whole bunch of Korean songs that she could use as her alarm, but Yoojung assures you that she's working on her English skills, and to do that, she must absolutely listen to American music.

So you're stuck with Call Me Maybe and that was that.

You sigh rubbing your eyes as Carly continues on with her perky singing. "Yoojung, please get your alarm!" you groan.

"She's literally dead," your other roommate snorts. "Had too much to drink last night." Chayoung rolls her eyes as she seizes Yoojung's phone and shuts off the alarm for her.

On days like this, you wish you had your own room. You adore Yoojung and Chayoung, but sometimes, they were a lot to handle. Your small dorm room was always crowded and sometimes smelled weird the day after Yoojung brought boys over. Don't even get yourself started on the bathroom situation. No offense, but sharing one with two other girls is not fun at all. But you can't really complain. Though Yoojung and Chayoung are a bit far for God, they are kind-hearted people and you all care for each other.

"Hey, babe... I'm worried about you, though," Chayoung says as she sits at the edge of your bed. "You were crying so hard yesterday... You know, after the ethics quiz..."

"Oh no," you sigh, rubbing your forehead as the memories from the day before flood back to you. "I'm fine," you fib. "Totally fine!"

"That motherfucker!" Yoojung shrieks as she finally greets the day with a yell. "How dare he mess with you?!" she cries, rubbing her eyes and trying to hair her morning hair before shooting you a look. "I can kill him if you want," she whispers with a mischievous grin on her face. "No one makes Y/N cry!"

You laugh, shaking your head. "No, it's fine, Yoojung... I mean, technically it's not fine, but... Dang it. I really hate him."

"You should just tell your professor that you weren't feeling well when you took the quiz!" Chayoung suggests.

"I can't just lie like that," you say.

"Well, you tried to cheat, so you can totally tell a lie," Yoojung laughs. "I mean, no offense, but why would you ask that fucktard for quiz answers? You're in the same class."

"I didn't ask!" you protest. "He told me the prof uses the same quizzes every year and one of the upperclassmen still had the answers... He was the one who asked if I wanted answers! How could I say no?"

"Man, you're stupid sometimes," Yoojung snorts. "Why the fuck would he give you the answers all of a sudden? You two hate each other!"

"I know," you sigh. "I got desperate. Plus, I suck."

"Aww, baby," Chayoung soothes as she hugs you. "Jeon Jungkook can literally fuck himself. The nerve of him to lie to you and give you the wrong answers on the quiz!"

"Ugh, I know!" you cry. "I can't freaking believe I believed him!"

"He's such a quiet evil!" Chayoung defends you. "I mean, you'd never think the cute, shy guy with big eyes and a hot ass body would ever double-cross you. It's not your fault, sweetie," she says. "Besides, we can help you think of ways to get revenge."

"What are we, twelve?" Yoojung rolls her eyes. "But I'm down. Let's give that fucker a taste of his own medicine!" She dramatically pumps her fist in the air.

"It's funny," Chayoung starts, "because I have no fucking idea why the two of you hate each other."

"I can't even remember why I hate him," you say. "I'm supposed to forgive him... And I've been trying to, but he keeps pulling these tricks on me! And then I'm right back to despising him."

"Ha!" Yoojung laughs. "Doesn't it make you especially pissed that he's actually pretty hot too?"

You scrunch your face, sticking your tongue out in absolute disgust. "Hot? Please. Jeon Jungkook is a disgusting two-faced snake."

"You tell him, sis," Chayoung giggles. "You tell him."

"Or you can tell everyone he's a fuckboy," Yoojung yawns as she starts to get up from her bed. "Won't that be more substantial?"

"Hm, I don't know..." you say. "Don't you think that might be a bit extreme?"

"Okay, Y/N, but you literally need to let out your pent up anger once in a while," Yoojung says. "The man literally killed your ethics grade. The least you can do is spread a nasty rumor about him." She winks. "I've got connections. The rumor'll be spread throughout the whole university by the end of this day."

"He won't be able to bed anyone for months when we're done with him," Chayoung giggles. "Unless he was saving himself..."

"Jeon Jungkook is definitely not Christian," Yoojung snorts. "Have you even heard of the girls that spend a night with him? Man's a fucking beast. It's always the quiet ones that are freaky in bed, I tell ya. You know, he's into younger girls too. I've heard some stuff around campus that he dropped out of college when he was in America, but he came to Korea to start his education again after a few years. I have no idea how hard he's studying though. He's with different girls every night. Jungkook wouldn't even know the Bible if Y/N smacked one in his face."

"Oh my," you murmur. "Maybe I should smack him in the face with one."

"That could be Plan B," Yoojung says. "Well, I'll get dressed and visit all my sorority girlies," she laughs. "Nothing's better than a good ol' rumor spread about an absolute asshole. You better not back out," she tells you. "You can forgive him after you get revenge. C'mon he actually deserves it."

"That's true..." you sigh. "I was supposed to keep my grades high to apply for that internship abroad... Ugh. Should I ask the prof for extra credit or something?"

"You're literally his favorite student. He'd do anything for you," Chayoung laughs. "Ask and you shall receive. As for that bastard of a man, Jungkook, don't you dare waste your tears on him. He's literally not worth anything."

"Thanks, guys," you say. "You're both amazing."

"I know," Yoojung laughs, sassily flipping her hair to the side.

"We're only looking out for a friend," Chayoung says.

"That's it! Brunch is on me!" you yell, standing up on your bed. "For the three of us roommates!"

"Fuck yeah!" Yoojung yells. "I'm fucking broke!"

"Thanks in advance!" Chayoung says. "But your wallet will be sorry when I'm done with my meal."

You grin. No matter how bad Jungkook can mess up your grades, he can't take away your friends. He can't take away who you are. Jeon Jungkook, however, is a loner. You've never seen him on campus with anyone other than himself. That fact alone makes you feel better about yourself.

You nervously twist the purity ring on your finger. After your revenge, you can ask God to give you the strength to forgive... But that was after Jungkook gets a taste of his own medicine.

"Oh my fucking God," Jungkook groans as he slams his cup of coffee on Yoongi's dinner table. "Remember that bitch I've been telling you about?"

"Ohh," Yoongi laughs, leaning back in his chair. "Yes. You suddenly become very wordy when you talk about her. Are you sure you hate her? You might have a secret infatuation with her and that may explain why you like to talk about her so much."

Jungkook mocks vomiting as he scrunches his eyebrows in pure revulsion. "No way!" he cries. "I talk about her because I hate her!"

"You? Hate women?" Yoongi laughs. "Are you sure? Don't you still sleep around?"

Jungkook pouts. "Old habits die hard," he mutters. "And besides, I haven't been getting laid because last week, that bitch told everyone I sleep with girls and throw them out after I'm done with them. Now no one will even talk to me. Goddamn, she infuriates me."

"I mean, you did give her the wrong answers on that ethics quiz of yours... on purpose."

"It gives her no right to sabotage my reputation," Jungkook huffs. "She even asked the professor for extra credit and he gave it to her. Can you believe it? I'll have to think of another miraculous plan to spite her ass."

"At this rate, you'll never find a girlfriend," Yoongi laughs.

"I don't fucking need one," Jungkook huffs.

"Or a best friend? You need to start making some friends at your college, you know."

"No one can live up to Taehyung and you know that," Jungkook says.

Yoongi sighs as he leans forward to grab his coffee mug. He takes a sip of his warm coffee before setting the cup down and staring into Jungkook's eyes. "You need to move on, Jungkook," he states as if it were a matter of fact. "It'll save you a lot of trouble once you do."

"Sure," Jungkook scoffs. "Like you moved on from all of us. Like you left everyone to die so you could be with your wife."

"Hey," Yoongi says, frowning. "Calm down."

"God, I just—" Jungkook pauses, rubbing his forehead. "Sorry, Yoongi. I shouldn't have said that. You're happy with your wife now... You're right. I should move on. But it's hard, Yoongi. I've been having nightmares... And it's hard to just... move on when I have flashbacks of that night when I sleep."

"Therapy," Yoongi simply says. "Why don't you try that?"

"Money," Jungkook answers. "I need to save up. Besides, I'm not admitting to anyone I was part of the Crescents. It's part of my past that I want to cover up."

"You should get rid of the gang mark on your thigh," Yoongi says. "If you keep seeing it, it'll make it harder to let go of it."

"I never had the luxury to re-scarify my mark as you did," Jungkook says. "I was in a rush when I left. I was running for my life. Re-scarifying myself was the least of my worries..."

Yoongi sighs. "I wish I could be a bigger help, Jungkook."

"You don't need to help me," Jungkook says. "I mean, you're gonna be a father, so you're probably busy, huh?"

"Well, yeah..."

"You don't have to worry about me at all, then," Jungkook says. "All I want is to graduate. I'm not looking for anything else. I'm not going to make friends. I'm not going to find another Taehyung. But I'll just accept it, I guess."

"I just think it's sad you have more enemies than friends," Yoongi says, shaking his head in disbelief. "Why do you even hate Y/N so much, anyway?"

"God!" Jungkook shouts. "Her whole fucking existence pisses me off! She's always doing everything wrong. And she's such a complete bitch about everything."

"I get that," Yoongi says, raising his eyebrows. "But why? Something must've started the train of hatred."

"That, I'm not quite sure of," Jungkook huffs. "I don't remember how it all started, actually. But it doesn't even matter! What's important is that she sucks and I hate her. She's so two-faced, honestly. Have you seen her walking around carrying her Bible with her like it's her baby? God, she pisses me off."

"No, I have not seen her walking around," Yoongi snorts. "I'm not in school."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. "It was rhetorical, Yoongi. God, you suck at sympathizing."

"That's what my wife used to tell me all the time," Yoongi laughs. "But she loves that about me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jungkook sighs as he stands up from his seat, sauntering over to the kitchen to place his empty mug in the sink. "Thanks for the coffee, Yoongi. I have to go to work though. I'll see you later."

"Don't overwork yourself," Yoongi says.

"I won't," Jungkook calls as he begins to make his way to the entrance of his friend's apartment.

"And Jungkook?"

"Yeah?" He turns back momentarily to see what his friend had to say.

"Taehyung would be proud of you," Yoongi says. "Everyone would be. Keep them proud."

Jungkook smiles, nodding to himself. "Thanks," he says. "Really."

Yoongi gives him a shrug of indifference as he motions Jungkook to get out of his place. Jungkook merely grins as he opens the door and steps out of Yoongi's home.

He's not so alone as he thought. He has Yoongi... and the spirits of his dead friends with him. A bitch like you can't ruin his one true goal: to become a paralegal. Jungkook's going to make Taehyung proud. And there's nothing that anyone can do to stop it.

—previous | next

You wake up feeling slightly cranky, groaning as you turn over to your side in early-morning contemplation.

How the heck am I going to face Jeon Jungkook, now?

Maybe he was right. Maybe the two of you should've been drunk yesterday when you'd spilled all of your secrets and confessed your guts out.

Gosh. Now it's going to be awkward.

You scrunch your nose just thinking about it. But the Jeon Jungkook you'd seen yesterday had been so different from the one you hated. He seemed like a genuine person. A person who had gone through too much. A person who was looking to make things right with the little he could impact in this vast universe.

He wasn't as bad as you thought.

Your head rings with the advice he told you. At this age, you should know what's good for yourself. Follow your own dreams.

For a guy who apparently sleeps around, he's wise. And considerate. But then again, he's been through a lot. You hadn't known that his friends had been murdered. The story almost seems implausible, but you have to stop yourself and remember that America is a whole other country with a very different culture and society. Maybe street violence is prevalent in the states. Maybe violence is prevalent there.

You sigh, throwing your covers off of yourself and quietly getting ready for class so you won't wake up your roommates. You guess you'll just have to try to avoid Jungkook until you can get your head back on track and really figure out what was up between the two of you.

But, of course, you should've known it would be impossible to avoid Jungkook. There's some magnetic quality about him that always attracts you subconsciously. You end up bumping into each other at the lunch hall.

Your friends had snorted, about to cuss Jungkook out until he'd spoken a soft, "Hi, Y/N," with a genuine smile etched out on his lips. Their jaws dropped open.

"Uh, h-hey," you'd stuttered. "Yeah, hi."

"I'm starting to think fate really likes us together," he'd said with a little laugh.

"Yeah," you'd agreed. "I, um..." You'd looked between your friends and Jungkook before sighing. If there was no way of avoiding him then you might as well—"Can I have lunch with you?"

Your friends and Jungkook had simultaneously said, "What??"

After the initial shock was sorted out, you'd ended up leaving the lunch hall with Jungkook, each holding your lunches.

Now you're sitting on the grassy lawns of your campus, basking in the noon sunlight as the rather awkward silence encompasses the two of you. You take a small bite out of your dainty finger sandwich from the local bakery. Jungkook just sips his drink in his water bottle. When the man makes no move to talk to you, you take another bite of your sandwich—this time, a larger one. By the fourth bite, your sandwich is gone and there is still silence.

You don't really feel like eating a second sandwich so you brush your hands free from excess crumbs and begin to twist the ring on your finger.

Jungkook notices your anxious movement, his eyes flickering down to stare at your hands.

"That's, um, that's a pretty ring," he offers.

"Thanks," you say. "It's my purity ring."

"Oh."

Silence again. But you like the silence better. It's better than arguing with him about stupid things.

"So..." you say, looking up at Jungkook who's sipping on his drink again. "I, um, it was nice last night." Your cheeks flush as the words leave your mouth and you stutter to clarify. "I mean, I know we haven't been the best of pals for whatever reason... But I don't know. Something about yesterday was pretty eye-opening, don't you think, JK?" The nickname slips from your lips easily—almost as if you've been calling him that since the beginning.

"I guess it was one of those days," Jungkook mutters. "You know, when you feel like you have to share your ordeals..."

"Yeah... I'm glad I got everything off my chest," you say with a smile. "It feels good to know that someone else knows my secret."

Jungkook nods as he continues sipping his drink. "Yeah..."

But he sounds distant, almost lost in his thoughts. And his eyes wander off into the distance, looking nowhere near you or where the conversation was supposed to be. He seems to be thinking.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um," he struggles to come up with what to say. "I dunno. Maybe."

"Maybe?" you say.

"I... Well, I didn't tell you everything," Jungkook says. "But, of course, you're not obligated to listen to me or whatever... It's just that I felt weird. That you told me everything but I left things out."

"Oh, JK," you say. "No, really. The least I can do is listen. I've been terrorizing you for way too long."

"I don't know," he replies. "What I tell you might terrorize you even more."

You cock your head. "What do you mean?"

"God," Jungkook sighs, massaging his forehead. "This is so weird. I just feel like telling you all of this. Even though I shouldn't. I just feel like I have to do this."

"Do what? Tell me what?" you say. "I'm curious, now!"

"You never asked questions yesterday."

"Well, I didn't want to interrupt you."

"I feel like I need to confess this part of my life to you. I weirdly trust you."

"I'm a trustable person," you smile.

"Strangely, I agree with that..."

"Okay, so what was it that you should've told me yesterday but you didn't so you have to tell me now?" you ask, tilting your head curiously at the man in front of you.

"I don't know... You might dump a load of holy water on me or condemn me while clutching that cross necklace of yours," Jungkook sniffs. "But it'll explain a lot of things, I guess."

"That's not how Christianity works!" you huff. "There's something called forgiveness," you say, crossing your arms. "And besides, if you're stalling that much, then maybe you shouldn't tell me. Maybe it's better for me to not know." There's silence after that. "But I want to know, so please, do tell," you admit while twisting the ring on your finger. "Is it that bad?"

"Yeah," Jungkook nods. "It's that bad. But whatever. I should've told you yesterday..." he sighs. "I don't know how to start telling you this," he confesses. "I never told this to anyone."

"You can start anywhere. I won't judge," you tell him, picking up another one of your finger sandwiches and taking a bite.

"Okay," he breathes nervously. He looks around to see if anyone was listening in, but the other students are consumed in their own activities. "Well, I was rich in America."

You frown. "Wha—"

"You promised you wouldn't judge," Jungkook sighs.

"Okay, okay, fine," you say. "I'm sorry. You can continue."

"Okay. Where was I? Oh yeah, I was rich in America. Wait, no... Let me back up. Before I was rich, um, I went there to study while my parents stayed in Korea. I was all alone in a vast country. I was Asian, Americans thought I was Chinese but I was Korean. I had an accent. I looked different. I had squinty eyes—or so they said... I was different and lonely and scared." Jungkook pauses his story to take a deep breath.

"But that's when I met my friends. There were eight of us in total. Seven boys including me and one girl. I had a huge crush on her back then... but um, she married one of the other guys. Anyways, we were pretty tight. All of us were foreign students from Korea, too, so we had a lot of similarities already," Jungkook smiles at the memories. "It was great. They were with me all the time. I met my best friend there. Kim Taehyung. He was the kind of best friend everyone wants but very few are gifted with. I was lucky to have him."

Jungkook takes a sip of his drink again and clears his throat. "I used to prank the other boys with Tae... Good times," he sighs. "Things went uphill when one of the boys—Jimin—thought the... um, the mafia was some cool stuff. We spent our days pretending we were secret members. Pretending we were in luxury suits and going on important missions and all that. Wasn't long until the pretending manifested into a reality."

You audible gasp. "Mafia?" you whisper, tilting your head. Gosh. You should be more surprised than this. But you're not. You should have more questions. But you don't.

"Yeah... the mafia," Jungkook nods. "I dropped out of college. So did Jimin and Tae to pursue it. We were entranced by the promising riches, mostly. It didn't occur to us then that what we were trying to do was necessarily bad. The rest of the boys continued with their education... And the girl... well, we left her out of all of this."

You interrupt. "But I thought the eight of you were friends. Why'd you leave her out? I mean, granted, she dodged a bullet but... c'mon."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. Her older brother was Jimin and there was no way in hell he'd let her join the mafia. Plus, the Park family was expecting their children to graduate with master's degrees in medicine or some sort. With Jimin out of the picture, she had to step up, I guess. We didn't even tell her where we were going. We just... left one day."

You scrunch your nose but you don't say anything.

"And then, the mafia business started, I guess. It wasn't that hard. LA had a lot of gangs already. We just had to pretend we knew what we were doing. Before we knew it, we were rich. Um, we had a big mansion with hundreds of rooms, a huge kitchen and expensive cars and limos... We were called the—"

"Crescents," you breathe.

Jungkook whirls at you with wide eyes. "How did you—"

"I-I, uh," you stutter. "I don't know. It just came to me. And you were staring at the crescent moon yesterday so I just assumed..."

"Wow. Yeah. We were called the Crescents... I uh, still have a scarification mark to show I was a part of it. It's on my right thigh," he says. "Tae's was on his left thigh..." Jungkook trails off. He takes some time for himself before sighing deeply and continuing. "We were a family, the Crescents. We had each other's backs... At least, that's what we thought."

"What do you mean?" you whisper.

"Our perception of family was kind of an illusion," Jungkook sighs. "First of all, there was a goddamn hierarchy. Tae, Jimin and I were at the bottom of it. Basically, it was because we didn't go to college. We were the only three hitmen in the seven-member gang. So yeah, we got stuck with a lot of the dirty work. House chores and shit."

"I'm sorry..."

Jungkook gives you a sideways glance. "It wasn't that bad at the moment. I didn't really mind doing the chores because I'd always be doing it with Tae. But thinking about it now... man, it was unfair. We were like the servants of a rich family." He sighs, staring at his hands before closing his eyes and frowning in disgust. "I've had blood that wasn't mine on these stupid hands."

He refuses to look at you, squeezing his eyes shut as he continues. "T-There was a torture room. And Tae, Jimin and I would hang around there... We'd get our vengeance through violence. Through inflicting pain on our enemies. Through hurting them so much they wished they were dead. That's the life I lived, Y/N."

"Jungkook..."

"It gets worse."

"Jungkook," you call his name again, moving to encompass his hand in yours. Sudden sparks erupt the moment your hands meet, the force of it making him open his eyes and look at you. He takes your breath away. You squeeze his hand in an attempt to calm him down. "I'm still here to listen," you remind him. "You've changed a lot... since your debut as a member of the Crescents. I won't judge. You can continue."

Jungkook takes a shaky breath before nodding. "Okay," he breathes. "Okay... Um, the Crescents had this business... an underground black-market kind of business. Um, arms dealing. We hooked up all the gangs around the city. That's how we actually got rich. We were a great gang. Everyone was either afraid of us or respected us. But..." Jungkook pauses. "We were kind of a fraud."

"Fraud?"

"Yeah. Normally gangs are pretty large. There's the boss, the underboss, and hundreds and hundreds of hitmen or new recruits. The Crescents consisted of seven members. So we lied about our numbers," Jungkook explains. "The Crescents were one of the largest gangs in the city—or at least, that's what everyone thought. No one dared to challenge us. Until..." he sighs. "Until they killed Jimin."

"They?"

"We never figured out which gang did it," Jungkook says. "It wasn't a murder done out of hatred either. Uh, so, basically, sometimes, when new recruits join a gang, they have to prove they are made of 'gang material,' which means they have to murder as a tribute to join. Usually, the victim is an innocent passerby. And... well, Jimin was the unlucky victim of a new, merciless recruit."

"They just killed him? Just like that?" you whisper.

"That's the mafia for you," Jungkook sighs. "They didn't just kill him. Before that, they tortured him. By the time we got to the body, we could barely recognize it."

"His sister..." you breathe. "Did she...?"

"That's when things started picking up. We knew we couldn't run a gang with only six members. So we brought her in."

"You brought her into the mafia??"

"Yeah..." Jungkook trails off. "That caused a bit of a problem. I mean, we lied to her to make her stay."

"Oh gosh."

"I know," Jungkook sighs. "We told her that her brother was killed by an enemy who wanted to go after her as well. We were trying to scare her into staying. Keep in mind, she hasn't seen us or her brother in six years. It took her a while before she realized she needed us to protect her. We were also the only key for her to get revenge on her dead brother. So, just like that, we became a seven-member gang again."

"Wow," you breathe.

"She hated us at first. And all of us were confused. It was weird seeing her again after so many years... And she was mourning—we all were. We didn't expect anyone to get killed, but it happened, and all we could do was move on. But the night she found the torture room, she tried to leave. I thought it was going to be over then, but Yoongi... the guy who married her later, managed to convince her to stay. From there, it went pretty well. I think she started accepting our ways, despite the violence and cruelty. We all thought we were a family again. Until she left. She took Yoongi with her too. It happened so fast. They fell in love, she wanted to leave the mafia suddenly, so they left. I caught them leaving too. I caught them in the dead of the night, getting ready to leave. God, I was so mad, then. But I let them leave. They didn't deserve the family if they didn't appreciate it.

"The Crescents were a five-member gang now. We felt like we lost everything. Morale was low, days were depressing... the family was falling apart more than before. And just when we thought it couldn't get any worse..."

"Oh no," you breathe.

" 'Oh no,' barely even cuts it," Jungkook says. "Maybe the other gangs saw them leave. I don't know. Something happened and the they found out the Crescents were a five-member gang.

"They ambushed us in our own home. In our own fucking torture room. But they couldn't get to me because I was hiding in the dark corners. They didn't see me. But I saw everything they did. They tortured them first. There wasn't a spot on the floor that wasn't red with blood. I didn't know what to do. Taehyung saw me, in his last moments, and he begged me to leave. He risked more pain and more torture for me. I watched him die because I couldn't leave until they left. But I sprinted out of the place the moment they stopped guarding the door. I didn't know where to go. I would be a target anywhere, so I knew I had to get out of the country.

"I've been here ever since."

It's silent as you try to digest the contents of the tragedy that you were told of. "Gosh..." you begin, shaking your head as your look up at Jungkook's doe eyes. You can tell he's tearing up—especially when he turns away to wipe his eyes with his sleeve. "You must have so much trauma," you tell him. "I'm so sorry."

"It's all right," Jungkook sighs. "At this point, I'm kind of used to the nightmares..." He shakes his head, frowning. "God, this was such a sob story. I'm sorry. I feel bad for telling you all that."

"No, don't feel bad," you say, taking both of Jungkook's hands in yours. "I'm glad that you were able to get the story out to someone."

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Y/N... You didn't sign up for all that gruesome stuff."

"Hey, JK, I'm really fine," you say. "Besides... um, it sounds weird but I feel like you've told me this before... Or, I don't know, I feel like I've heard this story sometime else."

Jungkook hums. "Is it weirder to say that I agree with you? Maybe I felt comfortable telling you because I felt like I told you this before? I don't know."

"For some crazy reason, I get what you're saying."

"Me too."

"I mean, this... this whole thing is crazy!" you say, shaking your head. "Two days ago, I would've done anything to spite you."

"I would pour a bucket of ice water on your head if I could," Jungkook laughs under his breath.

"What??"

"Two days ago, that is," Jungkook clarifies with a snort.

You nudge him, releasing your hands to cross your arms over your chest. "Very funny, JK."

His heart flutters every time you call him that. In fact, his heart flutters every time you near him, and he can't quite understand why.

"So," you begin, "we've called an official truce. Is that it?" you grin. "You'll be there for me when I want to rant about the stupid classes I have to take to get my degree, and I'll be there for you when you have your bad dreams... Or just whenever you need a friend."

"Well said," Jungkook nods. "It's official, then."

He laughs when you hold out your hand, preparing for a rather professional handshake. But he grabs your hand nonetheless and shakes it.

Invisible sparks fly every which way; both of you cannot see it, but both of you can feel it. Something feels right. Something feels familiar.

The past few weeks have been strange without your usual animosity-filled exchanges with Jungkook. But it had been replaced by friendly talks and discussions.

The more you talk to Jeon Jungkook, the more you like him, and the more you want to spend your time with him. He's an inspiring soul, ex-mafia member or not. He wears his big heart on his sleeve and shares his generosity with you.

It's funny to see him do a complete one-eighty from the man you used to know, but at the same time, you know he can be mean when he tries, which may come in handy in the unlikely chances that you were robbed on the streets of Seoul.

Your days are usually spent researching on getting a teaching degree or learning how to become a great elementary school teacher. Ever since Jungkook told you to pursue your dream, you've been trying to do just that. Your nights are spent hanging out with your friends—mostly Jungkook. Your late nights are spent with you awake in your bed at strange hours of the night. But you don't really mind getting less sleep these days.

Sometimes, it's easy to get carried away in your life—especially when you're surrounded by everything you like. Today, you spent your whole day on your laptop, writing up an application to start online teaching courses. By the time you look up from your screen, it's dark outside. The only source of light comes from the sliver of the moon that clearly illuminates the sky.

A crescent moon.

Suddenly, you feel the urge to get outside for some fresh air. You quickly grab a thin jacket and leave your dorm, mindlessly walking around your campus. After staying cramped up in your room all day, the nighttime exercise does you good. You're feeling so much more refreshed by the time you've walked for almost an hour.

But when you're making your way back to your dorm, you catch sight of Jungkook. He's sitting on a metal bench, staring up at the crescent moon with a nostalgic look in his eye. He looks lonely. Sad, even.

Before you know it, you're already approaching him. "Hey," you say, sitting down next to him.

"Hey," he replies, quietly. He doesn't take his eyes off the moon. "Did you know I was gonna be here?"

"No," you confess. "I just wanted to get some fresh air tonight."

"Oh," he says. "It's a crescent moon," he murmurs.

You don't know if he was talking to himself or if he was remarking for you to answer. You reply just in case. "Yeah... Do you need someone to be by your side?"

"Mhm," he hums.

"Is it Taehyung, again?" you whisper.

Jungkook jerks his head toward you, making you jump back just slightly. "God, I tell myself to move on, but I can't," he admits. "He plagues my thoughts, my dreams... But I don't want him gone. I don't want to lose my memories of him."

You slide your hand over Jungkook's. "It takes time to move on," you say. "It'll be fine."

The man next to you takes a deep breath. "Be strong and courageous," he says, turning to stare into your eyes. "Do not be frightened—"

"And do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go," you recite along with him with a small smile on your face.

"Joshua 1:9," Jungkook whispers. "Saying the verse out loud helps me calm down sometimes."

"That's great, Jungkook," you say. "I'm glad it can help."

"You know, I couldn't sleep tonight," he says. "I just... I kept getting nightmares the moment I closed my eyes. I didn't know what to do. Something told me you'd be out here and I just—"

"You knew I'd be out here?" you say. Your heartbeat quickens the moment Jungkook admits that and your cheeks flush warm heat.

"I-I just got a feeling," he says. "And we're always meeting, anyways, so I thought my chances were pretty good."

You smile. "I think it's just meant to be, then. Right JK?"

Jungkook grins wildly. "Right Y/N."

He doesn't stop himself when he suddenly leans in, softly taking your hands in his. You let out a little gasp when your noses touch, your eyes fleeting down to his delicate lips as he takes a moment to cherish the proximity.

"You know what's weird?" Jungkook whispers, scrunching his nose.

"It feels like we've done this before," you whisper back, smiling.

"Yeah..."

He leans in to meet your lips for one, single, chaste kiss. Both of you pull back, the invisible sparks flying between the two of you warming up your insides and making your cheeks hot. Your purity ring burns on your finger, a reminder that you won't lose yourself completely to Jungkook tonight.

But you let him take you away to his tiny apartment that—for some reason—seems familiar as well. Everything about him seems familiar. Even when he kisses your cheeks and lays you down on his bed, his touch, which should feel rather foreign, is comfortable. It feels natural. When his kisses turn deeper with more tongue, your head goes crazy, and your mind goes absolutely blank.

You're breathless by the time he's pulled away. All of your clothes are intact and are just the way you'd put them on before, but you feel vulnerable under his eyes. But you trust him enough to feel that way.

You end up falling asleep under his covers, completely knocked out after a busy day. Jungkook watches you sleep, making sure the blankets are tight around your figure to keep the warmth in before slipping under the covers as well.

His heart beats uncontrollably in his chest as he waits patiently to fall asleep. And when he does, for the first time in a very long while, Jungkook isn't plagued by his nightmares. Maybe it's because you're by his side.

—previous | next

You got in bed at a record time of 8:00 p.m., but you just couldn't fall asleep. Usually, on Friday nights, you go out with your Bible study group and have some nighttime tea while discussing a new verse. Today, however, you had to cancel for some alone time with God. And maybe try to catch up on some sleep and finally get rid of those hideous dark circles under your eyes.

But you are wide awake. You've tried everything. You spent an hour closing your eyes, hoping you would drift off to sleep. You even counted sheep up to three thousand. But you're still awake.

Sighing, you flip your covers off of your body, sliding out of your bed. You're alone in the dorm right now, with your roommates probably out and about in notorious frat parties. There's really nothing much to do. Well, you suppose you can study, but you don't really want to do that. Law is incredibly tedious for you, and every test you've taken so far, you'd crammed for it the night before to have minimal contact with the subject. But, it's a bit of a secret that you don't care about it.

Apparently, you're a law prodigy—and maybe your IQ is pretty high and your memorization and comprehension skills are through the roof. But pursuing law was obligatory for you; it wasn't a choice that you willingly made.

You feel suffocated in your small dorm room (that still smells a bit musty for whatever reason—must be that dang boy Yoojung brought in last night). And you've always connected to God better in the open—with no walls surrounding you and the natural air caressing your face.

I'll get out to the rooftop, then.

It's the perfect space for you to sit down and have some time alone, be introspective and pray for a little while. Maybe you'll get some answers from Him as to why it's so hard for you to fall asleep these days. There are only a few lights in the rooftop of the dorm building, so the darkness will surely help you with your thoughts. You'll maybe spend less than ten minutes there, so you don't bring a jacket with you. Besides, the rooftop has a few patio heaters you hope will be working when you get up there.

In your short sleeves and shorts, you quickly make your way to the rooftop, climbing stair after stair to reach it. When you finally push open the heavy metal door that opens up to the roof, you breathe a sigh of relief. The night air is cooler than you expected, which makes you shudder in your lack of warmth. You hear the heavy door slam shut behind you as you venture forth the rather dark rooftop, crossing your arms over your chest to preserve body heat.

The patio heaters seem to be off and so are all the lights. The only thing that seems to give you the tiniest sliver of light is the full moon up in the sky, but it's not bright enough to discern anything within five feet of you. So you have to squint to maneuver yourself around the dozens of couches and patio chairs spread across the ground. You're just about to collapse on a beanbag and catch your breath after the rather tortuous stair-climbing session when you hear a loud:

"Is someone there?"

You freeze. Oh no. Ohhhhh no.

How on Earth is this possible?

That was no-doubt, Jungkook's voice. Why he was up on the rooftop at night, alone, with all the lights off, you had no idea. But you know you have to leave. Your plans might have to be put on hold for now. There's no way you're staying up here, in the dark, with Jeon Jungkook.

Quickly, you stand up, creeping back towards the entrance and trying to heave open the heavy door. No use. It won't budge. You try again with both hands, putting all your strength into your arms. But the door won't pull open. You begin to panic, tugging on the handle as the door rattles against the wall.

"God, you can't even open that by yourself?"

You whirl around to come face to face with none other than Jeon Jungkook. He must've heard your desperate attempts to leave.

"I'd like to see you try," you bite back.

"Fine," he says. "Step aside, then."

"Gladly."

You can see the strain in Jungkook's arm muscles as he tries to force the door open but also to no avail.

"Oh, c'mon, Jeon. I thought you were stronger than that," you snort.

He grunts, "Shut up," as he tries again. No success. He whirls around to you with an angry look on his face. "What the fuck did you do?"

"What do you mean?" you say. "I didn't do anything!"

"You made the door get stuck!" he exclaims. "Now we're fucking stuck here. On a Friday night. Where everyone else is getting dumb drunk and having sex. God, now I'm stuck with the biggest virgin on planet Earth. What are you even here for? To pray or something?"

"It's not my fault!" you retort. "And as a matter of fact, yes, I came here to pray!"

"Why??" Jungkook groans in frustration. "Why is it always you?"

"I'd like to ask the same thing," you say, shivering when a strong gust of wind raises goosebumps on your bare skin. "Why does this keep happening to us?"

He eyes your lacking attire and rolls his eyes. "Don't ask me. I would've fixed it if I knew the reason."

"Fine. Why are you here, then? If you wanted to go on a Friday night rampage?"

Jungkook ignores you completely, walking away from you and fiddling with the patio heaters in an attempt to turn it on. "Damn," he curses when he realizes they're more or less broken.

"I asked," you repeat as another cold gust of wind makes you take a step back, "why are you here?"

The man jerks up to stare into your eyes. "None of your business," he says.

"Jeez. Sorry for intruding," you say sarcastically. "We might freeze to death up here at this rate."

"Well, I'm planning on living," Jungkook scoffs as he sits down on a plush couch and taps the spot right next to him. "Come here."

"What?" you huff. "If you think for one second that I'm going to—"

"It's for warmth, idiot," Jungkook says. "Fine. If you wanna die of hypothermia, that's not my problem."

You pretend to think about his offer for a bit before finally settling down next to him. But you have to admit, he's warm, and it heats up your skin, blocking away the cold night air. Jungkook casually drapes an arm around you, making you flinch.

"If you try anything..." you mutter threateningly.

Momentarily, under the dim moonlight, you can see that Jungkook looks offended, but he's able to hide it immediately. "You're not my type," he retorts. "You were shaking because you were cold so I'm helping you. I'm mean but I'm not that mean..."

"Fine," you say curtly before leaning against him, cheeks heating up just slightly. You're the epitome of awkward as you shift your legs so that they're not digging into Jungkook's. It's kinda sad how little contact you've had with males, but for some weird reason... this feels familiar. It's silent as the two of you melt in each other's warmth. You might dare say this was the most peaceful you've even been with your so-called nemesis.

"Hey, what did you do with the sunflower seeds?" Jungkook suddenly asks you. "The ones... um, I gave you at the festival or something."

"Oh," you say, "I planted them."

"Really?" Jungkook says as he turns to you with wide eyes and a small smile on his lips. "I thought you threw them away."

"Why would I do that?" you mumble. "They were a present... And besides, it would've been a waste of perfectly good sunflowers seeds."

Jungkook nods as his hand softly grazes your shoulder. "It's good," he mutters, "that you planted them..." You nod but you don't answer, mind too occupied with the close proximity of the man next to you. It's crazy how you're letting him, the one you thought you hated, hold you close in his arms. It doesn't seem like you to be this... welcoming. But you just can't shake off this weird feeling of familiarity. This weird feeling that you've somehow done this with him before.

Freaking déjà vu.

"You know," Jungkook suddenly says almost making you jump. "It's because of the moon."

"What?" you frown. "What's because of the moon?"

"You asked me earlier why I was here," Jungkook says slowly. He avoids eye contact with you as he answers, "I'm saying that it's because of the moon."

"Do you have some sort of penchant for full moons?" you laugh. "Or are you into space and all that jazz?"

Jungkook snorts. "I could never with astronomy. It's kinda personal, I guess." He shrugs. But you can tell the sudden shift in his aura—he's calmer, sadder. As if he's mourning a loss of some sort. He looks like he needs someone to lean on, someone to listen to his troubles. You've never seen him look this small before; usually, he's got a smug look on his face and refuses to back down on any argument. But he looks different now. Forlorn. Lonely—though you're next to him. He seems to silently howl to the moon, drowning in solitude and pleading for a friend, company, anything.

Sure he may be your enemy, but no one deserves to be unheard.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" you ask him carefully, treading the waters. "I'm a good listener."

Jungkook laughs under his breath. "I..." he starts. "I dunno. You gonna start a rumor about me again?"

"I only did that because you screwed me over first!" you protest. "And I regret doing that. You probably didn't deserve it."

"Are you trying to apologize to me?" Jungkook asks. But before you can answer, he speaks again. "Well, I'd like to say I'm sorry too. You know, for nearly giving you a hemorrhage."

You laugh. "In that case, I'm sorry too, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I don't know, Jungkook, you're being weirdly nice today."

"Or maybe I was just always this nice but you never gave me a chance."

"Hm," you hum. "I guess so... But I promise, Jungkook, that whatever you tell me here, today, I'll keep it a secret between the two of us."

"You don't really hit me as a liar," Jungkook hums. "So maybe you're telling the truth." He shrugs. "But I've never told this to anyone... Not that I have anyone to tell it to."

"You're a smart guy... And you're not too bad-looking either. If you tried, you could've made a lot of friends," you say.

"I'm not looking for friends," he simply answers. "I'm here at this university for one thing and one thing only. To become a paralegal."

"So the rumors are wrong?" you say.

"The rumors?"

You scratch your head awkwardly. "I mean... there's a lot of crazy stuff about you flying about campus..."

"Like what?"

"Um... like you sleep around with girls... a lot. But never with the same girl twice... And, uh, that you're 'freaky,' which aren't my words, but everyone else's," you say. "And that you probably picked up that habit from America..."

Jungkook scoffs. "I mean, I guess that's true to a degree... Maybe I do have a crazy sex drive. It's a habit that won't die I guess."

"What did America do to you?" you snort. "That place is such a culture clash from around here."

"I was born in Korea, but my parents thought it would be better if they sent me away abroad to pursue my studies," he says. "I spent so much of my childhood there... made some friends, got involved in crazy groups. Learned a few bad things... yeah. That's what America did to me. I came back here to get out of there."

"Were you continuing your American studies in Korea?"

"Oh God, no," Jungkook says. "I dropped out of college in America. But... I guess some bad shit happened... I didn't come to Korea initially to study. I came for closure, I guess. But then I got interested in law."

"Oh... wow," you breathe. "Just, wow."

"My best friend was murdered," Jungkook blurts out. "My closest friends were murdered in front of my face back in America."

Murdered???

You jerk your head towards him, jaw slack and unclosing with disbelief. You notice that he trembles when he says this, and you can hear the tears in his voice. His hand shakes against your shoulder, and without even thinking, you automatically place your hand on top of his.

"They were kicked and tortured and I couldn't do anything but watch in the dark, in the sidelines," he begins to sob. "I couldn't bring myself to abandon them... But I had to. My best friend, Taehyung, he told me I had to leave to save myself. It was so selfish of me. But I left. I didn't even call for help. I left."

The words tumble out of Jungkook, almost overwhelming you with the cruel story—the story of his past.

"Oh my gosh," you breathe. "Jungkook..." You've never seen him this broken in your life. He looks so hurt, so miserable that for the first time, you feel sorry for him. You've heard about violence in the states—maybe more than you'd like. And Jungkook was just an indirect victim of it.

"Now I want to go into law," the broken man continues. "Criminal law. I need to right the wrongs. For Taehyung. For my other friends who died that night."

"Gosh, Jungkook..."

"I've never gone into this much detail about this, Y/N," Jungkook says. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for bombarding you with all of this... I don't know. For some reason, it felt right to tell you all of that. It's stupid, I know."

"I don't mind, Jungkook," you say. "You needed to vent to someone." And besides, you think. I'm not that surprised, internally. Almost as if I heard of this same story coming out of his mouth before. What is it about this man and déjà vu? "I'm sorry for all of your losses," you tell him. You mean it, too. "You're strong, pushing through like this. You know that? Hey, I even know a Bible verse just for you."

"Really?" Jungkook smiles. "I'm not well-acquainted with the Bible or God. But I'm willing to listen."

"Well, it goes something like this," you say, closing your eyes and repeating the lines by memory and by heart. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go—"

"Joshua 1:9," Jungkook whispers.

You whip your head around to face him. "How did you know that?"

Jungkook looks surprised at himself. "I actually have no idea. Maybe I heard it somewhere before? I dunno."

You smile. "Well, you should keep that verse in mind when you're in the slumps," you tell him. "It can help a lot."

"Thanks, Y/N," Jungkook says, cocking his head as he looks at you curiously. "So," he sighs deeply, "you know my motive for law school... And we're in the mood of spilling our darkest secrets... So, can I ask yours?"

You snort. "I don't really have a motive," you confess. "If I have to be really honest, I don't really care for law."

"Then..."

"Family rep," you say. "I come from a very long line of lawyers. So it was pretty much predestined for me to study law at this school."

"I'm sorta surprised, Y/N," Jungkook says. "I always thought the law prodigy was in love with her subject."

"I guess you never really know until you talk to her, right?" you say. "Besides, you're the first person I've ever told about this... My parents would flip if they found out, but I've always wanted to become an elementary school teacher. Kinda too late to start that now, though."

"It's not that late," Jungkook says. "You should pursue what you want."

"It's not as easy as you think," you say. "My devout Christian parents would literally have a heart attack if I told them I was going to break family tradition. They might even cut me off like they cut my sister off for going to music school." You nervously twist the purity ring around your finger. "If they found me here, you know, so close to you, they'd literally pass out on the spot. I'm not really supposed to be in your arms right now."

Jungkook laughs. "Yet you're not leaving."

"I'm not," you say. "My parents are strict, so sometimes I can let myself break their impossible rules."

"You should do what you want," Jungkook mutters as he subconsciously tugs you closer to his chest. "At this age, you should know what's good for yourself. Follow your own dreams."

"Really?" you say. "Thanks." You look up at the man to smile at him, and he stares right back at you, smiling as well. The two of you stay that way, in silence, looking into each other's eyes as heat flood through your cheeks. Jungkook pulls away first.

"God," he mutters. "This whole conversation would've been better if we were drunk."

"Well, then we wouldn't have remembered it," you say.

"I know," he answers. "That's the point."

You laugh. "I don't even know if I hate you that much anymore, Jungkook."

"Really?"

"I mean..." you sigh, trailing off. "You're a nice guy, JK—can I even call you that? I can see it now. I have no idea why I hated you so much."

"Hated? Past tense?"

You smile. "I told you. I don't really think I hate you as much as before."

"Okay, good. I'm glad that the feeling is mutual," Jungkook answers. "If we die out here, just know that I take back all of the insults I ever told you."

You giggle, shaking your head as you blow on your numb fingers. "You really think we're going to die here?"

"It's fucking cold, Y/N. We could totally die," Jungkook says, hugging you close to him. "It's a good thing I got my secrets off of my chest. They'll die with us."

You laugh. "Same for me too!"

Looking up, you can see Jungkook staring fondly at you again. Once more, his presence is so familiar, so calming for you. And his body pressing against you feels natural. With him, you don't feel uncomfortable at all. He's so close to your face that you can smell the hints of what's left of the spearmint cologne he probably put on this morning. Wow, is all you can think. He's much more stunning up close.

You have no idea why on Earth you had hated this sweet man with doe eyes. He, though at times a bit argumentative (but what kind of law student isn't?), is sweet, thoughtful and strangely caring. You feel like you know him much better now, and the fact that you know his darkest secret makes you want to stay by his side to give him a hand sometimes. So he's just a little bit less lonely.

And with Jungkook, you almost feel so much more... loved? Was that the right word? With him, you feel a feeling you cannot describe. A feeling that you're sure cannot blossom from just one good conversation. But it did, anyways. It's inexplicable, but he feels right.

He has the prettiest doe eyes that almost call you into their depths. You're staring into them without realizing.

Until—

"Woah, holy shit, am I interrupting something?"

The loud voice shatters everything.

The door to the rooftop entrance is opened and some guy—a freshman, perhaps—is holding it open, with an amused look on his face.

You and Jungkook scramble apart from each other, you particularly red in the face.

"Um, no!" you shriek too loudly. "I, uh, no, we got stuck and we were cold!" you protest, rubbing your hands against your bare arms. "We didn't do anything. Right, JK?"

A wave of déjà vu hits Jungkook.

Right, JK?

Right, Tae.

He struggles to find words on his tongue, and gets out, "Right, Y/N," just in time before you ask if a cat got his tongue.

From there, you and Jungkook awkwardly part, which was better than your usual animosity-filled partings. Jungkook bids you a goodnight's sleep and you bid him one as well. He slips into his bed that night, heart beating wildly in his chest and thoroughly confused.

It's just too much, he thinks.

Right, JK?

Right, Tae.

Right, Y/N.

There's no way... But there might be. Jungkook doesn't know for sure.

He falls asleep soon after and isn't awoken by any vicious nightmares throughout the whole night. The whole time, in dreamland, he wonders if you'll be his new Kim Taehyung.

—previous | next