#not wanting f2l with guys is so true like…. i just want a FRIEND how hard is it bro 😭😭 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

foxymoxynoona · 1 year

Text

Tell Me What Changed: The Epilogue

Banner and lines by the talented @awrkive

Summary: Alex and Jungkook have been best friends since childhood –actual best friends. She is NOT in love with him, for real, and wishes people would stop assuming that. Why does no one question if he’s in love with her? Huh? But it might have to do with his successful fuckboy status, while Alex is very much… not that. Which is fine and doesn’t matter! Until Jimin’s impending wedding leaves her eager for a date and willing to put herself out there, and Jungkook can’t believe what happens next.

Fuckboy Best Friend JK x OC

CW and tags: fuckboy behavior, jealousy, pining, heartbreak, angst, bad language, explicit sex, sexy photos, alcohol, f2l, who knows what else I'm making it up as we go

Read on AO3 here or below cut

Previous Chapter | Masterlist

Four years later

“Hm.”

Jungkook nearly ran into Alex’s back as she stopped short in front of an aged metal sign. He pressed his hands on her shoulders and looked over her head at the circle with the line through it over words in a language they didn’t understand.

“That won’t stop me, I can’t read!”

“It’s pretty obviously telling you no,” Jungkook argued. “On what planet does a circle with a slash through it mean yes?”

“It kind of looks like the no parking sign,” Alex countered. “So we won’t park here.”

“Alex–”

“Come on, fuddy duddy, you tired? Besides, that guy didn’t tell us not to,” she said, and set off.

Jungkook hesitated despite the taunting grin she threw over her shoulder. Yes, they had talked to “a guy” –an old man with a herringbone cap and a brown dog with no leash that made Jungkook long for their baby at home. The man spoke Croatian and Russian only, which unfortunately was not on the very short list of languages Alex and Jungkook spoke. After gesticulating and trying various phrases in French, Italian, and German that they’d picked up in the last six weeks, he’d nodded “ein wenig” about the German and the had traded short German vocabulary words back and forth: Berg, Burg, Brücke.

How do we reach that ruined castle we see on that hill? That’s what they’d been trying to figure out.

He’d pointed them up the road, but for all they knew, that meant go to hell and it was just a coincidence they’d seen an opening in the stone wall. He overestimated their German and didn’t seem confident in his own. It didn’t reassure Jungkook one bit.

“There’s a path!” Alex called back to him. “Path means yes!”

Jungkook slowed and studied the “path” she stood so proudly on, a narrow, uneven ordering of flat stones and logs.

When he didn’t rush forward, she crossed her arms under her tits and challenged, “What’s the problem? You said we could find a way up.”

“Yeah…” He fidgeted, hands in his pockets, and tried to see the crumbling stone towers they’d spotted from the road but it was impossible from this angle through the trees. “It’s just we already got in trouble with the cops once since we got to Croatia–”

“We didn’t get in trouble, they just helped us figure out how to pay the fare.” That was true, they had actually been very nice, but it didn’t change that they’d gotten caught after Jungkook had been so confident no one would care about a couple tourists without stamped tram tickets. Oops. He still felt like an asshole.

“I don’t want to go to a European jail.”

“Yeah, me either!”

“They won’t send you to jail, you’ll be all cute and innocent looking and they’ll call your mom, but my tats will get me thrown in the slammer and you’ll have to get the President involved to get me out–”

“I really don’t think it’ll be like that,” Alex snickered. Jungkook didn’t honestly either. The truth was just that his stomach couldn’t handle any more anxiety right now, and getting lost outside a Croatian town during an innocent after lunch stroll only to hike a random-ass mountain to see a crumbled old building and possibly break a leg or get arrested for trespassing was just not on his European bingo card.

She sighed and hopped back down to him. She took his arms and he quickly let go of the things in his pocket so he wouldn’t send them flinging as she shook him.

“Babe.”

“Al.”

“Babe,” she said again. “I promise to do all the talking if we get arrested. I’ll do the blowjobs. I’ll do whatever it–”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he scowled.

“But I really think it’s fine. There’s no chain across the opening. There’s a path. And I really want to.”

“Why?”

“Because we walked so fucking far on my little stubby legs after you got us lost–”

“Oh, I did–”

“And I want it to be worth it by discovering a cool secret castle.”

“You don’t even know if that’s a castle,” he pointed out.

“The guy said so.”

“Berg and Burg don’t sound different enough for you to know for sure! He might just have been saying ‘you dumb fucks, it’s just a mountain, go to hell.’”

She sighed and pulled him into a hug. He towered over her but she dragged his head down to her shoulder even though it deeply hunched him, and stroked his back.

“Sh sh sh.”

“I’m just tired of castles,” he admitted. “We’ve seen castles in Spain and France and Germany and Italy and Austria and Sweden and Poland–”

“We didn’t see castles in Poland.”

“Oh, was it churches then? Cemeteries?”

He sighed and sank down on a fallen log and spread his legs out. They hurt, and if his legs hurt, he didn’t know how Alex was still standing. Except that now as they neared the end of their eighth week backpacking around Europe, he had learned this was how she was when things went wrong. When their train had broken down in the middle of the night in a small German town in the middle of nowhere, when the hostel they’d booked in Sweden turned out to be an empty warehouse and they had to drag their things through the pouring rain to find a new place and that was right after the boat from Denmark made them so seasick, when the trains went on strike in Paris and they got stranded for an extra two days than they’d planned, when–

Listing them out, none seemed as disastrous as they had felt at the time. It turned out backpacking was fucking hard. Changing countries every three to seven days for weeks on end was fucking exhausting. And as eager as they had been to see as many different places in Europe as they could cram into this ‘trip of a lifetime,’ the castles and ruins and churches and train stations and town squares were all starting to look the same. In Prague they’d gone to visit a Jewish Temple and he’d wanted to weep because at least it wasn’t another fucking church!

OK, that wasn’t fair. He was actually having a really great time overall. He wasn’t some big history buff or anything but it was really cool to see so many of the things he’d been forced to learn about in school with his own eyes. The Mona Lisa was way smaller and the Roman Forum was way bigger. German beer was much better and Prague clubs were so much wilder and Alex loved him so much she’d stayed out all night with him. Europe was so much older than the tourist shit they had in the States. Mostly he cared about the food, and that had been cool, even the bad meals, just to say he had. That was why they’d come to Samobor in the first place, because it was an easy day trip from Zagreb and they’d been bored and googling what to do before their epicly long train tomorrow to Greece –their final destination where they’d meet up with friends before flying home.

“Let it out,” Alex said, taking a seat beside him. “Oh god my legs are going to fall off my fucking body. I may not be able to get back up, I’m serious. Hope you’re ready to piggy back me, beefy buns.”

“I’m tired,” he admitted.

“Me too.”

“I miss my bed.”

“It’s our bed.”

“I miss my mom’s cooking.”

“Mm-hm.”

“And you know what I miss the most?”

“What?” Her eyes narrowed, clearly suspicious, but his answer was innocent and sincere.

“Bam.”

“I know, but he’s having the time of his life with Yoongi and Joon,” Alex pointed out. “He’s their trial baby. They’re spoiling him. He may be pissed when we come home.”

“Don’t say that,” Jungkook glared. “He knows whose baby he is.”

“Yeah, mine.”

“Mine!”

“He takes your side of the bed when you get out in the morning.”

“Yeah to be close to my scent when I have to leave for work,” Jungkook insisted.

“No, because he’s my husband.”

“Our dog is not your husband.”

“It’s ok, l’enfant, you’re still precious to me too.”

“What was that? How did you say that?” he teased. It had been hilarious to learn Alex sucked harder at French than anyone had ever sucked. She couldn’t make anything even close to the right noises. It made so much sense why she had completely flunked it in high school; she’d had to change to Spanish, and she’d sucked at that too but slightly less. Jungkook, on the other hand, had been told several times by French people he spoke his freshly learned sentences like a native. And ok, fine, Alex was correct it was women who had told him that, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t true!

Alex was pouting now at his teasing because it had also been revealed that she really wanted to sound sexy speaking French (alcohol, alcohol had revealed that) and her attempts at a few new phrases in the bedroom that night had not gotten the response she wanted. He’d tried to keep a straight face! Because she looked sexy and cute as hell in the light blue thing she’d picked up earlier in the day at his begging, way too sexy for the low-budget hotel room with its peeling wallpaper and chipped wood furniture, but god her French was awful.

“What are you smiling about? You’re thinking about Belgium, aren’t you?”

“Huh? No! I was thinking about Paris!” In Belgium, her drunk French after they’d spent a late evening in the clubs had made someone think they’d been doing drugs and alerted a nearby police officer.

“Oh, when you laughed at me in the bedroom.”

“I didn’t laugh at you, I laughed at your French. Just give up. You don’t need to speak French just because French girls liked me,” he assured her with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Don’t gloat just because they thought you’d be a pretty plaything–”

“I am a pretty plaything!”

“So pretty,” she readily agreed, and reached up to squeeze his cheeks together. “Look at that pretty face.”

“Don’t you… want to play with me…?” he tried to prod her into making a raunchy joke.

“You already got your ‘I fucked in Croatia’ stamp, isn’t that enough?”

He couldn’t help the chuckle. Alex had given him the “Assport” the first night they’d landed in Spain alongside a little stamp that said ‘I did it!’ to stamp each page as earned. “So you can say you fucked your way through Europe,” she’d giggled. “Even if you only get to ride the Alex-rail.” “Rail the Alex?” “Yes, your train can only enter one tunnel.” “You have more than one tunnel. Do I get a stamp per tunnel in each country?” “...No.” “A stamp when I enter and a stamp when I leave?” “Fine, whatever.”

It was hysterical. He loved that in the middle of stressing her hair gray in preparation for their nine weeks away, Alex had taken the time to make something so fucking stupid for him. So, to prove he was a good boyfriend who appreciated her, he’d made sure to fill her in. It. Fill it in. Well, both. Even when it meant shoving his barely hard dick into her pussy the single night they had in Belgium after he’d eaten something on their gastro tour that disagreed with him. She’d suggested a skip but he refused to let Belgium win! Now he’d always remember Brussels as the place with the pissing little boy status and also the place where he’d failed to orgasm. But she’d taken pity on him and let him finish her off with the vibrator and agreed when he insisted they’d fucked: his dick was in her body (however briefly) and she orgasmed. Stamp it.

“Ah, I love you,” he sighed and flung his arm around her shoulder to hold her in place for his sloppy kiss on her temple. She, predictably, squirmed away. Belatedly he added, “But just because I already earned my stamp doesn’t mean I can’t go again. What’s the point of illegally hiking a mountain to look at rocks if you don’t get a handy out of it?”

“Is that why your hand is glued to your pocket?” she teased. “You rock hard in there thinking about the cool rocks we’re going to see?”

He quickly pulled his hand from his pocket. “No.”

“Look if you really don’t want to go, you can stay here.”

“Why are you so determined?”

She pushed up from the seat with a groan and teetered the first few steps.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess because we’re here, we can see there’s a castle up there, we might as well see it. I mean when are we ever going to be in Samobor, Croatia again? Probably never, right? We’ll literally never be in this place again and I don’t want to live the rest of my life wondering what the castle on the mountain looked like.”

“Or the inside of a Croatian jail cell.”

“Exactly, you get it! I’m doing it for the ‘grams.” She gave him a wink and two peace signs, as if he was taking a photo. “Or at least the stories. This is the kind of trip we’ll talk about for the rest of our lives! I don’t want to say I got all the way here and wimped out!”

That would definitely not be the story. Since landing in Europe, Alex had been more outgoing and adventurous and motivated than he’d ever seen her. At home she’d whine about standing in line at the grocery store for too long, she’d demand a piggy-back ride from the couch to the bed, when their friends would suggest some weekend trip to do something, she’d give Jungkook that look like we would rather stay at home, right? Let’s just stay home. She was a creature of habit, he’d always known that about her, he was like that too.

The addition of Bam to their family lent itself to more adventures as they started taking him on hikes. Alex walked their baby as much or more than Jungkook did –though in his defense, it was because he was working two jobs these days so Alex was around more! He’d love to be walking Bam more. God, he wished he could walk Bam right now. What did it say about him that Alex was ready to hike a mountain just to maybe see something cool –she’d been ready to brave any crowd, any line, any obstacles to see the things you were supposed to see anywhere they visited– and life-of-the-party Jungkook wanted to just go home and walk his dog.

That made him sound like he wasn’t enjoying his time in Europe. He didn’t want to sound like that. He was! It just wasn’t exactly like he’d expected and right this moment he was tired and kind of cranky. He got like that sometimes, whatever! He hadn’t slept well last night; the walls at the hostel were too thin, the mattress was flat, and the sheets were heavily perfumed. He’d lain awake next to her in bed, comforted at least by her deep post-sex snores that she refused to believe, and worried because he was running out of time.

He watched Alex’s back as she hiked boldly up the path and once again shoved his hand in his pockets to fidget with the box that had been nestled there for eleven countries now. Eleven countries without exactly the right moment. What did that say about him that they were on a fucking once-in-a-lifetime backpacking trip around Europe together and there hadn’t been the perfect moment? There had been so many good moments, even great moments, but not that moment. He knew he’d feel it when it was time. He hadn’t felt it yet. He was running out of time.

He ran after her before she disappeared from view; obviously he wasn’t going to let Alex wander off into the wilderness without him. They didn’t have a scrap of navigation skill between them but at least they’d die together. He was her ride or die. That included ill-advised treks up mountains in foreign countries, apparently.

“I can smell that you’re right behind me.”

“Can’t you hear me?” he pointed out.

“Yeah but I wanted to comment on the fact that we’ve been away from home for two months now and you still smell like you just got home from work.”

He grinned and strode around her to lead, “You do too.”

“No I don’t!”

“Hey, it’s fine. I got used to you smelling like stale espresso years ago. The fact I even know what stale espresso smells like is all because of you, babe. You’ve really changed my life.”

“For the better,” she nodded.

“Hm. You think so? You think that’s what I meant?”

She laughed and tried to hit his ass but his backpack shielded him.

“Whatever, at least I don’t sparkle like Edward Cullen.”

“But I smell better than he does, I know it,” he argued. “Besides, you like the perks.”

“Of you playing with bubbles all day?”

“Of the bath bombs I bring home for you!”

“Yeah until I took so many baths I got that fucking UTI,” she laughed. Apparently that could happen. Fucking around so much when he was younger had left him overconfident that he knew everything about a woman’s body; living with Alex the past couple of years –both as roommate and partner this time– had taught him so much more.

“I do appreciate the bath bombs though,” she clarified, misunderstanding his silence. “I guess I’ll miss you coming home smelling so good all the time. You always smell like mall after Verizon shifts.” She paused to debate where the path split, but Jungkook noticed it just went around some trees and converged ahead, so they each took one.

“Maybe I’ll keep working at Lush.”

Her answer was quick, “No. Now that you don’t have to save for the Europe trip anymore, isn’t one job enough to live on? You work so much and if Verizon can’t give you the promotion you obviously deserve then maybe you should quit both places and go to T-mobile or whatever.”

It was sweet. It was sweet that she wanted his time more than his money. It was sweet that no matter what else she teased about, she was always ready to champion his career, to rage about him being underappreciated at his jobs, even when it wasn’t true. It was sweet she thought he’d needed a second job just to pay for the Europe trip. She knew how much money he made. She knew how they split their finances. She knew what this trip cost them each. Did she really not wonder where that extra money was going?! But he believed she genuinely didn’t, or at least didn’t care enough to wonder about the math.

“Look, a handrail,” she pointed out. “They wouldn’t put a handrail there if we weren’t allowed. Doesn’t this whole place have kind of a fairy tale feel to you?”

“If we meet a gnome, my tactic is going to be to convince it you’re related so it’ll leave us alone.”

“God you’re such an asshole,” she laughed and gave him a hard shove that barely budged him.

“It’s nothing personal! It’s survival!”

“Well if it’s a troll, you’ll be right at home.”

“Because I’m… big and strong?”

“Dumb and ugly.”

“See, but that’s not even a little bit believable,” he argued. “No one would think I’m ugly but you’re objectively short.”

“And ugly?”

“No no, that’s not what I said! You’d be so hot to a gnome. I bet he’d fall in love with you. He’ll lock you in these ruins. All the gnomes would beg to orgy you.”

“Oooh sounds kind of like Beauty and the Beast… I could go for that! I have no problem seeing past someone’s cursed, terrible, glittery, greasy, off-putting exterior–”

“Come on, you know the oil makes my muscles pop better in the photos. I get way more engagement on those posts–”

“Mmm, love my slimy boyfriend as long as he’s doing numbers. And the laundry.”

She could tease him all she wanted though because her support had been unwavering. He’d decided not to pursue a full time influencer career after all, but it wasn’t for any lack of encouragement from her. After years of building up his account and relationships with brands, he’d tried to commit to it full time for six months and wound up making almost enough to live off of, but the pressure it had placed on the way he looked and maintaining a certain online persona had driven him into the ground. Hard. Alex had scraped his self esteem back together and held him close to her chest as he eased off and found a healthier balance that didn’t hinge his self worth on how many abs you could see in any given photo. She also bought him a puppy.

Now the contents of his account were more diverse: showing off his cute dog, their hiking adventures, their lazy afternoons cooking and gaming, and sometimes funny things with Alex mixed in with fitness photos when he felt like it. He liked being hot on the internet, he just couldn’t handle it being the entirety of his life. He ended most of the partnerships though occasionally did a sponsored post if it felt natural and good. It had been a dark time for him but a deep bonding time with her. It had made him realize it was time to lock this shit down in a legal way even though she hadn’t ever once asked him about it.

That was over a year ago. He’d been the one to say they should finally make their Europe trip happen as a joint 30th-birthday celebration. He’d taken on the second job to save up the money he needed. And now… now he was waiting for the perfect moment to…

“I think we’re almost there,” Alex announced, veering ahead.

Maybe he was stupid. Maybe that was the problem, he was trying to make something happen that shouldn’t. The same doubts that had bubbled up for the last year did so now, in the quiet of this forest. Alex had never said she wanted to marry him. They didn’t talk about it at all! When people brought up marriage, she made a joke about taking twelve years to even start dating so why the rush. Once she joked about counting down to the day they met Common Law criteria and would earn some legal property rights through that “for free.” If it came up topically, maybe in a movie they watched, Alex would insist she really couldn’t imagine being a bride and also that the wedding industry was a sham.

So it was entirely possible, he considered not for the first time, that Alex didn’t want to get married and was going to turn him down if he didn’t make a compelling case for why she should bother. By now she knew what she was getting with him, so he needed something big to help her understand why this would be good for them. For legal reasons, sure, tax breaks, but also because he just…

“There!”

He realized she had gotten out of sight. Shit. He ran the last leg of the path and joined her in the grassy space preceding what was, indeed, a small ruined stone castle.

“We did it!” she grinned, and threw her arms around him, backpack and all.

“That’s… it?”

“Yeah, but we saw a random castle on a hill in Croatia and hiked our asses up it and there it is,” she beamed. “I wonder what it is though…” She released him and went closer but –to his relief– stopped on this side of the chain draped across the only path into the ruins themselves. Not that there was much space to go.

Jungkook pulled out his phone; his service was definitely better here but still spotty, so it was slow to return search results. In the meantime, he followed Alex along the part of the perimeter they could reach. They could easily see all the way to the other side though.

“Maybe it was like a fort or something,” Alex suggested. “Or a storage house. Weapons or grain or something.”

Jungkook’s phone loaded a page and he quickly shared, “So, there is a Samobor Castle, but this is definitely not it.”

“What?!”

“Look, it’s on the other side of the town.”

“How do you know that? You don’t know directions.”

“Yeah, look, that’s where we got cake, and it’s that way, but we went this way… I don’t know what this is. Google doesn’t know either. This is… nothing.”

Alex looked between him and the ruins.

“Well it’s not nothing,” she defended. “Basically we just discovered lost ruins–”

“They aren’t lost, we’re lost,” he laughed.

“Ok, so? I still think it’s cool! Who cares if it’s not the castle, right? We got to this place all on our own without even good directions.”

“Alex,” he called as she monologued her way to the other side of the castle.

“We saw a place we wanted to be and we went there! That is the spirit of adventure! We–”

“Alex, watch–”

“We seized the– AGH!!”

His warning came too late and he wasn’t fast enough to grab her as she slipped on the rotting leaves and went tumbling down the hill. All he managed to do was overbalance and go rolling with her. It happened so fast, both of them flailing and thumping as they tried to grab each other and brace themselves.

It must only have been a few seconds but felt like ages before Jungkook managed to dig his boots in enough to get traction and stop rolling, around the same time Alex grabbed a tree.

“Oh fuck,” he gasped, crawling towards her as soon as she stopped. “Are you ok? You’re ok, right?”

“I think I’m ok. Are you ok?!” They grabbed each other and inspected arms and legs and faces and heads. Her hair was shoved full of leaves and he pressed all over her skull, feeling for any gashes or bruises.

“You didn’t hit your head, did you? Why are you so breathless?”

“Because I just rolled down a fucking mountain in Croatia!!”

“Did you hit your head? Fuck, we should– we should go to a hospital and–”

“I didn’t hit my head, did you hit your head?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he insisted and felt like it was true. He patted his body one more time anyway. Face, head, shoulders, chest, backpack contents probably crushed now but nothing that could be too badly damaged, pants–

“Shit,” he hissed, realizing his pockets were empty. “Fuck, no!”

“What?!”

“My, um, my phone fell out…”

“Oh shit! Ok, well it has to be here…” He admired her determination as they both looked up the full length of where they’d rolled. They’d disturbed the leaves and low plants and the contents of his pockets could be literally anywhere. They’d never find it. Fuck. FUCK.

But Alex crawled forward on hands and knees and instantly cheered, “Keys! Hotel key, right here. Also put that in your backpack, not your pocket, idiot!”

“Yeah sorry, I wasn’t intending to go rolling down a hill because my girlfriend can’t watch where she’s going.”

“It was a hidden slope!”

“You have to look! We aren’t even supposed to be up here!”

“They could have put a sign or something,” she suggested, clearly predicting his rebuttal, “You would have ignored it anyway!” He couldn’t join her laughter though. His pockets were empty. This was bad.

He crawled slowly back up the hill, trying to look everywhere and not bury his things worse in the search. Finding the key gave him hope but it was also probably the last thing to fall out. His hands trembled with fear that he had just lost several very expensive things. One of which was going to ruin everything now. He couldn’t find the perfect time in Greece if he didn’t have the fucking ring!

“Found it!” Alex cried further to the side and held up his phone in trump.

“Ok great, uh– I lost some other things so just– why don’t you sit over there and catch your breath–”

“What other things? You really want to hunt for a lip balm right now? I’ll just buy you another one.”

“It was a really good lip balm,” he mumbled, not even paying attention to what he was saying. The box was going to be even harder to find, the black would blend in with the mud and dark leaves whereas his white phone case stuck out.

“Koo, forget the lip balm–”

“It’s not about the lip balm. Just sit, make sure you’re really ok before we have to hike down again.”

“Well tell me what else you’re looking for and I’ll help.”

“Just lip balm.”

“Huh?”

He realized what he had said didn’t make sense and stopped to clarify –only to realize she was not saying huh about the lip balm. She was saying huh about the small box she had just lifted from the leaves.

“It’s just a box,” he blurted out. Then, “It’s not mine.” But he could see on her face she suspected exactly what kind of box this was and that it was in fact, obviously, his.

He lunged for her, “Give it–”

She twisted away from him and popped the lid.

Defeated and incapable of facing her now, he reared back and turned away, fists clenched against his forehead.

But he had to see her face; he turned back to her. Every other possible denial or explanation or even a smooth, elegant speech that could save the day, all caught in his throat.

“I just want to,” he blurted out, pre-emptively answering the question he knew she would ask. Why? Why now? Why change things? Aren’t you happy the way we are?

“Want to what?” she asked slowly.

“Um, you know.” He gestured at the ring. “That.” She held the ring up, as if mocking how they were both being so suddenly awkward about such a little thing. But it wasn’t that little, it was actually a really big ruby! He’d looked into lab grown for ethical reasons but discovered they were significantly cheaper, so he’d gone big. Not tasteless big! But it was a rock on her hand, and with the smaller ones lining the band, that fucker sparkled. He knew she wouldn’t like something too crazy complicated because she tended to only wear simple jewelry, and yes, maybe he should have let her pick it out or talked to her first, maybe she would have liked a diamond more, he’d debated it forever–

“Jungkook.”

“I just think we should get married, ok?”

“This is what you’ve been fidgeting with in your –this is what you’ve been stressing about?”

“I’m not stressing! You’re stressing! What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, the whole trip, you keep having these moments where you just get kind of quiet and weird and then you’re crabby after for no obvious reason. I thought you were just homesick or stressed about traveling but you just felt… off….”

He swiped the box from her hand mid-monologue and quickly shut it. She didn’t wrestle it back but did stand. Their feet slid on the leaves, and he grabbed her arm and dragged her the short remaining distance back to solid land. She promptly sat down right there on the grass and, what the hell, he sat beside her. He didn’t think she seemed happy. Also she had scraped her knee.

“We don’t have to do it,” he assured her. “We can just get another dog.”

“I didn’t even suspect it was this. You never keep secrets from me. Not successfully anyway–”

“Yeah well. I wanted to um. Surprise you.”

“Oh I’m surprised.”

“Are you really though?” he demanded. “Is it really that surprising to you that I want to marry you? I’m not some twenty-three-year-old idiot anymore.” The moment felt too raw and he quickly added, “In one month I’ll be a thirty-year-old idiot, thank you.”

“You’ve been carrying that around this whole time? You’ve had it in your pocket the whole time we’ve been in Europe? Or did you buy it here– no, when would you have bought it?”

He glowered down at the box and crossed his legs, “I brought it with us… I just wanted to wait for the perfect moment.” His insides felt like they’d liquified at this point. She knew he had the ring. She hadn’t reacted some big excited happy way about it. She hadn’t rejected him yet but he felt like they were on the brink of it; that was an old shadow but he could still summon it when he felt vulnerable with her. He didn’t want to have to beg, that would be too sad even for him.

“And none of the moments were good enough for you?” she snorted, sliding her backpack off and dragging it around to her lap.

“No! I don’t know. I thought I’d ask you in some big cool place while we traveled and then every time it just felt like the moment was more about the cool thing we were seeing. The focus wouldn’t be on the right thing. But then the moments in between have all been so normal or exhausting or busy or just not some big– maybe you wouldn’t think it was worth saying yes.”

“You think I don’t want to get married?”

“I know you don’t really care about it! We’ve never really talked about it–”

“Exactly. You never asked.”

“Well I was going to ask–”

“NO!” she shouted. “No, shut up. Me first.”

“What?”

She shoved her backpack to the side and rolled onto her knee and lifted a box –her own box. Her own fucking box.

“Jungkook will you–”’

“What! No!” he shouted and scrambled to mirror her position.

“NO?!”

“Alex, will you marry–”

“Will you marry me Jungkook?”

“Alex.”

“I asked you first.”

“Bullshit you were holding my… are you kidding me right now?” he cackled and fell forward as it fully struck him: Alex had a fucking engagement ring in a white box. On her person. To propose to him. In falling forward he knocked her sideways and they sprawled on the grass, a tangle of laughter. “You have a ring? For me?!”

“Well you were never going to ask me!”

“Fuck that, yes I was!”

“I didn’t know that!” she cried.

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m always the one who asks!”

“Fuck off, that’s not true!” She tried to elbow him but he just twisted her arm away and glared down at her as she insisted, “It was my idea to move back in together. And my idea to get Bam.”

“But it was my idea we should date in the first place.”

“No, I had that idea way earlier.”

“Ok but I’m the one who did something about it.”

“Technically I did something first–”

“What, got a shitty boyfriend who wasn’t me?”

“Yeah. Although I guess you were already doing a lot of somethings–”

“Hey now! Well I said I love you first, so–”

“Ok, well I was doing something about this first!” she defended.

He kissed her. But he started laughing and had to roll to the side so he wouldn’t crush her because the laughter was bubbling out so hard it hurt.

“Did you really– let me see it,” he demanded, taking the box from her hand and tossing his onto her chest.

“Hey, ouch!”

He sat up and wiped at his eyes and opened the white box. The ring tucked inside was dark gray and silver, textured so that it looked like rock.

“It’s hammered meteorite,” she quickly explained. “I figured you can pick out your own wedding ring that you want to wear forever but this looked cool, kind of like the other rings you’ve worn except nicer.”

“Seriously, this is heavy! Wasn’t it expensive?”

“Jesus, not compared this fucking rock you bought. I only got a glimpse and it blinded me–”

“Well open it and look at it again,” he said. But his own gaze didn’t leave his ring yet, the one she’d picked out. To propose to him. “Why didn’t you propose yet, huh?”

“I thought I’d do it in Greece, on the beach or something. But I kept it with me in case a good moment came up. I didn’t realize it was a race but I’m really happy I won.”

“You didn’t win,” he scowled.

“I asked you first.”

“Only because you saw my ring for you!”

“But you didn’t ask me, for all I know it could be any kind of ring in there…” Her speech trailed off as he reached over to pop the box open again. “God, that ring is way prettier than anything I’ve ever worn. I love that it’s a ruby.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it just feels so… I don’t know. Special.”

He beamed. That was exactly what he had wanted. He wanted her to feel special. She wan’t just any other woman, she couldn’t have just any engagement ring.

“Get ready for my mom to tell you how important red is in Chinese culture as if you don’t already know.”

“I know, I thought of that too when I was trying to decide between a sapphire and a ruby.”

“I like the ruby. It’s sexy.”

“It’s lab grown. It’s not like a blood ruby or anything.”

“Yeah, Verizon doesn’t pay you enough for blood– oh my god, is this why you got the second job?!”

“Not all of us lived with our parents and built up savings for a year.” He pulled the meteorite ring out of its box and slid it down on his left ring finger. He wore rings sometimes but never on this finger. It felt bulky and awkward to have a ring there.

She didn’t even notice, still staring at the ruby ring. “I know but… but you could have asked me with something so much cheaper than this. You could have asked me with nothing! Or a Ring Pop or something!”

“I wanted to give you a reason to say yes.”

“You’re the reason to say yes.” She let out a noisy sigh and shook her head. “So pretty but so dumb.”

He clicked his tongue, “Sure, and I’m a good reason, but you’ve said things against getting married and I thought you’d need some convincing–”

“What things? I’m not against getting married! I don’t want a big fussy wedding but… but I want to marry you, Jungkook. Didn’t I say that in ninth grade?”

There it was. There’s what he wanted to hear. His heart gave a final twist in his chest and settled back into a steady beat, warm and comfortable. His stomach stopped tying itself in knots.

“I want to marry you too.”

“Then let’s get married!” She slid her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into the searing kiss he hadn’t been able to focus on a moment ago. But now he was kissing his fiance, the woman he was going to marry, the woman he already knew he was going to spend his life with but now everyone else would see it too. He pushed her back into the grass, wanting as much physical contact as possible for this first kiss of their engagement. A moment without photos for once in his life; a moment just for them that would live only in their memories. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled with her.

She squealed beneath him and kicked her little feet, “Ok ok, put the rings on already!”

“I’m already wearing mine, you’re the slow-poke.”

“You already put it on? Let me see. How does it feel?”

“Weird. Heavy.”

“I guess you don’t have to wear it… I know men don’t usually wear engagement rings but–”

“It’s pretty fucking rad. I’m going to wear it.”

His compliment was sincere and she glowed. He understood that feeling. He felt the same warmth as he tugged the ruby ring from the box and slid it onto her stubby little finger. He loved those stubby little fingers. He loved the hands that held his back, and arms that wrapped around him again, and the woman who breathed romantically into his ear,

“You put your ring on first so I double won.”

“ALEX!”

“Oh my god, do I have to take your name? Alex Jeon? I think you should take mine. Jungkook Song.”

“Just shut up and kiss me.” He pulled her close and kissed her again, running his thumb across the ruby and diamonds now perched on her hand. Kissed her in front of the ruined castle that was probably not even a castle and just some random old knocked down grain storage Kissed her and tried not to cry with relief because he did not want him crying to be part of their engagement story but it looked like he didn’t have any more say in that than he did the moment she’d found the ring..

He tucked her beneath his chin and held her close as she gawked again at her ring. “I can’t believe this. It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe I have a ring like this… you didn’t have to go this big…”

“I don’t care. I have no regrets.”

“It’s so heavy. It feels so weird to have on… is this going to get us mugged?! Maybe I shouldn’t wear it… but I don’t want to take it off.”

“I think we’ll be ok but I got crazy insurance on it too so if something happens just hand over the ring, ok?”

“Aw, babe, that’s so sweet!”

“I wasn’t being sweet, I just know you’re definitely going to lose it or something. You’re going to call me crying from work because you dropped it in the bean grinder–”

“No I won’t! I’ll never let anything happen to it.”

“Ok well… I’m glad you like it…” He was flustered now and glad she couldn’t see his face. He had worried it would be too flashy for her until the last minute. “And we don’t have to do a big fussy wedding,” he added. “We can just do a courthouse thing or we can elope, whatever you want.”

“We’ll figure it out when we get home,” she agreed. Her kiss on his neck gave him a full shiver. “But um… for our honeymoon…”

He chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows even though she couldn’t see. He was going to really fill up that Assport.

“Yeah?”

“I never want to go backpacking again,” she rushed out. “Don’t get me wrong, this trip with you is awesome and I’m really glad we’re doing this but I’m–”

“I’m so fucking tired!” he shouted his agreement. “I just want to be in one place for a while!”

“Yeah! I’m so tired of looking at tourist sites… I don’t even care anymore! We’re going to see the Parthenon in Greece and be like yep, looks just like the pictures… there it is…”

He laughed and shook her side to side, “Yes yes yes. God I’m so relieved you said that. You’re so adventurous on this trip, I thought you’d found a new thing you love and I was going to have to get used to wearing the same five outfits for weeks at a time–”

“And you still wanted to propose?”

“Yeah! I’m really great, aren’t I?”

She laughed and burrowed against his chest, “Yeah, all right, you’re pretty good. But let’s never do this again. Let’s go to Greece and see the Parthenon and then lay on beaches and that’s it.”

“Yeah, like maybe for our honeymoon we just go to one place and stay there for two weeks. A beach or something.”

“Yeah.”

“Just nap in hammocks and I can watch you toddle around in hot bikinis–”

“I don’t toddle.”

“You do after a few pina coladas. Glad you didn’t push back on the bikini. It’s going to be great. I can already close my eyes and see your tit popping out.”

“It’ll be great,” she at least agreed. “Whatever we do. And this trip has been great! I’m really glad we did this. I’m glad we’ll have these memories of the time we backpacked through thirteen countries–”

“We aren’t spending the night in Belgrade though, we’re just connecting trains, right? So I don’t think that counts.”

“It’s seven hours from Zagreb to Belgrade and then sixteen hours to Thessaloniki–”

“God why did we say we were doing trains everywhere instead of flying?”

“Because we’re stupid,” she laughed. “But we’ve got a private room on the overnight!”

“Oh.” He grinned. “Oh I see. I fuck you on the overnight train, I get the stamp for Serbia– but hey, we pass through like four countries, not just Serbia–”

“I don’t know, that’s a lot of fucking–”

“I think our engagement has refreshed me,” he taunted. “Boyfriend dick was tired but fiance dick is ready to rail–”

Instead of responding to his humor she just gasped, “Oh my god, we’re engaged. We’re meeting everyone in Greece engaged.”

“Yeah? You feel some kind of way about that?”

“Yeah I’m stunned,” she admitted. “I’m so happy, I can’t believe this.” Jungkook felt like his chest would burst open at that point. She said yes! The train rides to get to their last stop would be long, but then they’d have a whole week on Greek beaches with their friends before flying home as a group. And then it was going to be so good to be home. Home with his pup and his fiance.

“I think I have some cake in my backpack! It’s probably squished but we should eat it to celebrate. Should we call home and tell everyone we’re engaged, or just surprise them in Greece? God, I can’t wait to be on the beach as a sexy engaged lady.”

“What does that even mean?”

“You know, bikini, big rock, stud fiance.”

“So you finally admit I’m a stud.”

“I’ll admit whatever you want once you’re Jungkook Song.”

“I am not–” She kissed him and he quit arguing. For now. It didn’t matter, nothing mattered, not the exhaustion or the homesickness or the long train ride ahead. She’d said yes. She’d been wanting it too. In a couple weeks they’d turn thirty and enter a new decade of their lives together, and after that at some point take on the titles of husband and wife as well. Would it feel very different? The thought of calling Alex his wife was good. Really good. He couldn’t wait to call her his wife even if he couldn’t have explained why it mattered so much. It just did.

“Let’s at least call Bam and tell him,” Jungkook insisted.

“Ok, baby. But you know, Namjoon or Yoongi will have to answer the call for him because he can’t work the phone with his big clumsy paws, so they’ll know. And Namjoon isn’t great at keeping secrets…”

“It doesn’t have to be a secret. That’s the point of the big ruby, right?”

“Hello?”

They gasped and turned at the voice from behind them. A man in slacks stood by the path with a walkie-talkie. It looked like a uniform, though not police. Still Jungkook leapt to his feet. The man asked the question they were familiar with now in pretty much any language What language do you speak?

“English.”

“Oh. You cannot be here,” the man told them.

“Ha! I was right,” Jungkook crowed at Alex.

“The path was open,” Alex insisted. “We thought it was ok.”

The man just pointed back, “It is dangerous. You go now. Bye.”

Jungkook grabbed her hand and dragged her along before she could argue further. The man didn’t seem angry or like they were in major trouble or anything, just like they ought to leave. Stupid tourists, he was probably thinking.

Jungkook clutched Alex’s hand in his, distracted by the weight of his engagement ring. He liked that it felt weird right now. It meant something felt physically different, not just emotionally, and he thought it was stupid men didn’t wear engagement rings more often. Why did girls get all the fun? He hadn’t even known he wanted a ring but Alex had surprised him.

“So you want to go to the real Samobor castle?” he asked her as they found themselves back on the road. He knew he was still smiling like an idiot, the flush of getting caught swirling with the flush of a happy engagement.

“No….”

His eyes narrowed.

“Ok, fine, I do! It’s now or never and it’s not going to be as good as the one we just saw but let’s see it and then we’ll take the first bus back to Zagreb and–”

“Ok,” he cut off her persuasive speech. He pulled his phone out again to check the map.

“Really?”

“Yeah. We should make the most of our time even if we’re tired. I don’t want you to regret it later. No regrets with me, got it?”

She squeezed his hand, “I don’t have any. I hope you don’t either.” With a wink she set off.

He tugged her hand the opposite direction, “I will if you go that way, it’s the wrong way.”

“No, the map!”

“It’s not a compass, that’s not north.”

“How do you know?” she demanded.

“Wait,” Jungkook decided, seeing the man who’d chased them off coming down the path. “Excuse me! Can you tell us the right way to go?”

“Ah, my hero,” Alex beamed and just ogled her ring, leaving him to figure out directions to the castle he didn’t even care about.

But actually he did care. He understood enjoying the moment to the fullest. He wanted to see everything too. He really did feel refreshed, like he could once again fully appreciate how cool it was to be walking through a town on the other side of the world from home, hand in hand with Alex.

His fiance.

“Hey let’s take a photo together at the castle and pretend I proposed there,” he suggested.

“No way. I’m going to tell everyone the whole story. Falling down the mountain. How you almost lost the ring. How I proposed first.”

“How you led us to a place we weren’t supposed to go?” he pointed out. “And almost got us killed falling down the mountain?” It was an exaggeration. He didn’t care.

Gleefully she pointed out, “How you followed me up and falling down the mountain?”

“Yeah well… I’ll follow you anywhere, I guess.”

“All right, follow me into the next cake shop on the way. You deserve another piece,” she deigned, and patted his cheek with the hand sporting his ring, the result of all his extra hard work and planning.

“Yeah, I really do.”

“Why did you say it like that?!”

“It’s hard work being your ride or die, Alex. You take me places I’ve never been before–”

“I know! Just think, without me, you’d never even know how much you like prostate org–”

“Heeeey, come on. Why are you bringing that up? We’re talking about cake!”

“Just thinking about what we’ll do if we call it an early night tonight.”

He snickered and assured her, “That’s cute, your little idea, but let’s be real, you’ll be snoring on the bus back and I’m going to have to carry you to our hotel.”

“I seem to remember you were the one who fell asleep after you swore you’d stay awake and made us miss our stop in Austria–”

“Ok but why was I so tired, Alex? Because someone got too drunk our last night in Prague and I was up all night holding her hair back–”

“Yeah what the hell was in those drinks?”

“That you kept ordering?!”

“Well. Oh damn, soon I’ll be able to say ‘well you married me’ as a comeback,” she beamed up at him. “That’s going to feel so good.”

“Yeah. Real good self-burn there. You’re so good at comebacks.”

“Well, you’re the one who wants to marry me, so…”

He let out a noisy sigh and admitted, “You’re right. I’m pretty stupid, huh?”

“Wait! No!”

He leaned down and dropped his voice, “Hey, speaking of cream cake to celebrate–”

“Oh my god, seriously?”

“You’re the one who wants to marry me. Damn, you’re right, that does feel good as an insult.”

“From now on when I want to strangle you, I’ll just gaze at my ruby and remember why.”

“Because you love me,” he grinned.

“Hm.”

“Because you want to spend forever with me.”

“Love my ruby.”

“And me. Say it.”

She rolled her eyes. “And you.” But her smile cut through the playful sigh. She was happy. He was happy. Bam was going to be so happy when they told him too even if he didn’t understand because nothing was really changing, he would just be excited because they were.

He kissed the top of her head and then pulled the bakery door open for her so they could get a celebratory treat on their way to another fucking castle. Every day was an adventure with this one and he looked forward to a lifetime of them. As long as there was Alex and cake, he’d be good to go.

And that's a wrap! Thank you so much for every comment, like, reblog, and moment of your time you spent reading my little story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing these two! <3

Story Masterlist || My Writing Masterlist

#jungkook ff #jungkook x oc #jeon jungkook x oc #jeon jungkook ff #jeon jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook au #jungkok smut #jungkook f2l #jungkooksmut

84 notes · View notes

miekasa · 3 years

Note

mie!! since u write such beautiful gorgeous astounding breathtaking life-changing tearjerking fics, do YOU have any good fic recs that you personally love 🤔

I do! I have a whole blog of wonderful fics I’ve read (tho I desperately need to update it/reblog the ones in my drafts and tag them) @ackermeun for more if you want because there are many lovely, talented writers; but I’ll list a few of my faves for Levi and Eren below 😌😌

Levi

kiss me more by @vennilavee

Now, I could recommend you anything and everything by Saran and I have no doubt that you would love all of it. There’s not a single thing in her masterlist that I dislike, she even made me okay with the idea of pegging Levi bye. The entire tbah universe (specifically parental moments one) has a special place in my heart, but recently the perpendicular world has been on my mind, and might be coming for number one. Either way, you’re gonna love it. She writes Levi in his slightly bitchy, kinda needy, implicitly affectionate, true to nature form, and I am so grateful for it. Also, Saran is a comedian.

silver soul by @oi-levi (now posting from @bibblelevi)

I suck at keeping up with series, and, so, naturally, I’m terribly behind on this one, but I’m gonna go ahead and rec the whole thing to you anyway, because I have no doubt that the other chapters are just as great the two I’ve read so far. The way she writes Levi... when I tell you I could wrap myself up in a blanket and binge this whole series, and her entire masterlist, and be very content I mean it; her writing feels warm, that’s the only way I can explain it.

the art of tea composition by @karikarasuno

I don’t remember how or when I found this fic exactly, probably just scrolling through the tag, but I love it. Domestic fluff with Levi, allowing me to pretend I’m a morning person, and just the right kind of smut to go with it. Simple and very, very effective. I’ve reread it a few times by now, no shame.

where you’re meant to be by @deludedimagines

After you read this, I also suggest just going after the whole masterlist. I cannot express how grateful I am to have found this blog PLEASE. Her characterization of Levi is perfect, and something about her prose feels very clean and simple, but elevated and layered at the same time. This one-shot in particular is one of my favorite canonverse pieces, I’m a sucker for a classic injured lover trope.

the ones who matter most by @deludedimagines

Yeah... this shouldn’t be a surprise. Fantastic writing, fluff in canonverse has a special place in my heart because I think it can be really hard to pull off well; it’s difficult to balance a sense of softness within the aot universe for the obvious reasons, and getting Levi’s caring nature right can be (unfortunately) so hard to find. Good thing people like Sorcha are here. Enjoy more fluff. Also this fic is particularly fantastic to me not just because of the injured lover trope, but because the 104th babies pay a visit and you all know how much I love a good glimpse of reluctant adoptive dad Levi hehe

bullet by @jean-does-not-have-a-horseface

If you can’t tell by now, I love canonverse fluff, tho this fic isn’t fluff in the traditional sense, but I think that makes it all the much better. Perfect depiction of real life shit that would go down in the aot world paired with Levi’s need to protect his s/o. It’s fantastic.

the knife by @therealvalkyrie

I didn’t mean to turn this into Mie’s Favorite Canon Fics Showcase, but here we are anyway. As much as I love a good injured lover trope (and this does have that hehe), I love a good kickass reader insert, too. Shoutout to Valkyrie for included both in this fic, and Levi being proud of his s/o... well you can imagine how much I liked that bye

dante’s inferno by @alrightberries

College au + roommates au with Levi... that should be enough for you to read this lmfao, no but actually it’s adorable. Not to mention friends to lovers... if you know me you know how I feel about that, I’ll gobble up every f2l fic until I’m dead and gone. Not to mention there’s a cat and Levi won’t admit he likes it, or he’s jealous of it. Simply cannot go wrong here.

waves know shores by @onwiings

Bro I don’t even like the idea of public sex and I’m not even a fan of water like that but this fic has me wrapped around it’s pinky lmfaoooo. Some of the best Levi smut I’ve read and you already know how I feel when Levi and reader have cute interactions with the 104th in fics. Really it’s checking every item on my list.

Eren

speed racer by @emeren

I’m pretty sure I found this fic during my midterms last semester, and when I tell you I’m so grateful for it lmaooo. It’s really just a good au, I think it fits Eren (honestly barking at just the concept) and the writing brings it all to life.

under the moonlight by @murmikaa

I’d have to be dumb not to recommend this to you. I love reading longer fics, and if you do, then this will 100% satisfy you. The whole story is great and immersive, not just between Eren and the reader; their relationships with the other characters are really what makes this special imo. There’s also beach sex, so. Obviously it’s good.

untitled.avi by @puredivinity (now @celestidarling)

Naur you must of thought wrong if you thought at least one of Mara’s fics wouldn’t be here. I’m obsessed, I think I’ve read it three times minimum. I read all her Eren fics, and you should too. She writes him in such a dreamy way, almost like he’s right there and too good to be true that you must be hallucinating. Immaculate.

midnight snacks by @writertitan

Dumb, college-typical antics and fluff with Eren... obviously you know I’m about that. The whole concept is so mundane, but so cute, you can’t help but fall for it because it could be so real!! I love that kinda stuff hehe

i’m your satellite by @ackerfics

Comparing hand sizes with Eren!! YEAAAAH!! No, okay, but I read the summary and was ready to dive in because... size kink go crazy, but when I tell you I was so blown away to find out that it was not only from Eren’s pov, but that he was being a complete simp and down terrible the whole time. Normalize boyfriends being completely fucking in love with their gfs that simple shit like the size of their hand makes them wanna simp even harder!!!!

eren as an ass man by @hznji

I’m dying on the hill that Eren is an ass guy and you should too because it’s the objective truth. Fluff, Eren being a complete dog as per usual, Eren’s being touchy (I will also die on the hill that he’s touchy as fuck and has no concept of personal space) and just in genral snarky but cute banter. Gotta love that.

Jean

tears over beers by @appplepii

When I tell you this is my favorite Jean fic, I mean it. Friends to lovers with hopelessly pining Jean + oblivious reader = everything I could have asked for in a fic, AND it’s from Jean’s pov too!!! INCREDIBLE!!! The pining made me yearn, and the smut was so well done, too.

this drabble by @arlerted

Whatever, whatever, WHATEVER!!! I DON’T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!!! Cal is right, don’t do drugs but... this mf... this imagine.... has been burned into my mind since the first time I fucking read it bye. Callie also writes a bunch of filthy (affectionate <3) fics and drabbles and lewds and you should read them, preferably when you’re alone and with the lights off.

#anonymous #um you probably didnt ask for 1k words worth of reviews but here u go anyway!!!#fic recs

344 notes · View notes

whatifyoulivelikethat · 4 years

Text

heated, m | jjk

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: An (innocent?) conversation about D/s dynamics accidentally leads to you confessing that you think about your childhood best friend while getting off. To your childhood best friend, Jeon Jungkook. Erm. This is after he told you that you would be “an awful sub”, btw.

warnings: rated M (18+) for language, discussions about adult topics; reader is bisexual; smut (fem reader, dry humping, fingering, [tiny bit] m-receiving oral, penetrative sex); fluffy af; non-idol!AU; F2L; softdom!Jungkook x softbrat!reader; you kind of have a forearm kink and you never let Jungkook have his lovey-dovey moment, whoops

MMA 2020 ‘ON’ Jungkook? Yeah. That one.

“I could never be a sub.”

You clicked rapidly as you spoke, mashing the right button on your mouse. It was quite loud, paired with your mechanical keyboard.

“Why not?”

The music coming from Jeon Jungkook’s smartphone was a rhythm game, nearly as loud as you, since he was grunting angrily at it. It was very obvious when he missed a beat.

“I can’t imagine that being me, you know?”

You, on the other hand, were on your computer, playing with the new items in League of Legends from the latest patch. Using the practice tool, you had loaded up your favorite champion, Jhin, the Virtuoso, and messed with various builds, trying to find the best combination. So far, Lethality was feeling pretty good.

“Like why would I ever let my pleasure be handled by someone else?” you mused, reading the high damage numbers of each shot. Oh, the fourth shot felt nice. “That sounds stupid.”

Jungkook rolled over on your bed, growling in his throat as the level ended. He restarted it, trying to get a better score. “Maybe people like to let go sometimes. You know, not always be in control.”

You snorted. “I could never trust someone else with my body.”

“You got an alien body or something?”

“Shut up, Jungkook.”

“No.”

“Fine.”

“Anyway,” Jungkook continued, ignoring your outburst. “I didn’t ask if you could be a sub, I just asked what you thought of domination and submission as a dynamic in general.”

You shrugged, trying to see if you could do Baron alone. Welp, you needed lifesteal, of course. “I mean, I’ve tried it in various situations. I was never the sub.”

“Kinky.”

“Shut up, Jungkook.”

“No.” Jungkook suddenly sat up, excited that he achieved a higher score. “Look, look. I got ninety-eight.”

You craned your head to look at his phone screen. “Why isn’t it one hundred? You’re a disgrace to this family.”

He bopped you on the nose with his phone. “If I was part of your family, your family would be even more dysfunctional than it is now.”

You rubbed your nose and looked up at him. “How much gel did you use in your hair? You look like a wet dog.”

Jungkook’s eyebrows went up and he touched his long black hair. “It’s not crunchy though.” He grabbed your hand and lowered his head, placing your palm on his slicked back hair. “See?”

You pulled your hand back, staring at your palm. “Still feels weird though. I call sorcery.”

He shrugged, creaking the black leather jacket he was wearing. He wore a black t-shirt under it. The black jeans he had been wearing were on your bed, swapped for the black joggers he kept at your place. You weren’t really sure why he left the jacket on. Maybe he was cold or something. It was pretty cold in your apartment. You were wearing fleece green pajamas with Pikachu all over them.

“You want me to turn the heat up?” you said, gesturing to his jacket.

Jungkook looked down at his chest. “Eh. It’s fine. Saves you money.”

You shrugged, getting up from your chair, leaving the League client open. “You’re only staying a little while, right? Party to go to and all that?”

Jungkook followed you as you left your room. “Told you it was cancelled, so I was just going to sleep over. No reason to go back home.”

You turned around, walking backwards. “When did you say it was cancelled?”

Jungkook raised his dark eyebrows. “Literally when I walked in your apartment.”

“Hah.”

You turned back around and went to your fridge, grabbing an aloe juice. Jungkook went to your water kettle, hunting for hot chocolate among your tea packets.

“You’d make an awful sub anyway,” Jungkook said, returning to the original subject as he filled the kettle with water from your filtered sink faucet. “Like, probably the fucking worst.”

You took a large swig and glared at him. “Alright, first of all, you wouldn’t even–”

“You’re terrible with authority.”

You paused. “Okay, true.”

“You’re angry, twenty-four, seven.”

You walked up to him and slapped him in his very hard pecs. He gestured at his chest, as if to indicate, exhibit A.

“And you’re super uptight.”

“I am not uptight.”

“Control freak.”

“That’s–”

Jungkook turned around and placed the kettle on its stand. You swooped in with a Pikachu-themed kitchen towel and wiped the excess water away, scowling. Jungkook raised his eyebrows at you, brown eyes laughing.

“That’s literally a safety hazard!” you exclaimed, waving the towel at him.

Jungkook rolled his eyes and pressed the button to start heating the water. “Haven’t you ever just… not freaked out over every little thing? Done something spontaneous and stupid?”

You placed the kitchen towel back in its proper place. “No, because that would be spontaneous and stupid, Jeon Jungkook.”

He leaned against the counter, watching you perfectly fold the towel into three parts and hang it on the rail. He scratched his nose, shaking his head. “You should be more like me.”

“Having the police called on you because you were standing on a lawn chair tooting a party horn at four in the morning?”

“That was one time! Stop bringing it up,” Jungkook groaned.

You raised your hands in innocence. “Well, I was the one called to pick you up because you literally couldn’t remember any other number and I was very disturbed on New Year’s Eve, where I should have been peacefully sleeping and not hauling your drunk ass across town.”

Jungkook sighed exaggeratedly. “I’m sorry, okay? I won’t drink that much again. Jimin made me do shots–”

“You always blame Park Jimin,” you interjected, smiling. “Jimin’s the kind of guy who only wears clothes to take them off.”

“Well, it gets him laid, so I guess it’s working.”

The kettle whistled noisily, cutting through the conversation. You took a sip from your aloe juice as Jungkook grabbed a mug from your cupboard and poured the hot chocolate powder into it.

“You want some milk?”

He looked up. “You have milk?”

You went to the fridge and took out a small carton. “Because you said you were coming.”

“Aw, what a sweetie.”

“Shut up, Jungkook.”

“No.”

That’s how it was with you two. Growing up together was the same conversation over and over of you constantly saying shut up and Jungkook always replying with no. If both your dads hadn’t been such good friends, you probably wouldn’t have been able to tolerate him. Since they were, you were forced to, which turned out to be okay, since it turned out you had similar interests in games and such. It drifted apart a bit when you two entered high school, but you two reconnected once university started.

The dysfunctionality Jungkook was referring to was your two older sisters, who both got pregnant out of wedlock and thus caused a lot of tension between them, your parents, and you, the one who hadn’t actually done that yet. And you were trying to keep it that way.

Jungkook poured half-water and half-milk, stirring it with a silver spoon he found in your drawer. You lived alone, having gotten a full scholarship to be able to pay for tuition, meals, and part of a small apartment. Your parents paid for the rest – another point of strain between you and your sisters. That’s why you kept your grades up and rarely went out.

“When was the last time you fucked a guy?”

You sucked the inside of your cheek. “Dunno. Maybe two years ago.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrows and took a long sip. “So, only girls, huh?”

You tilted your head and sighed. “They don’t get you pregnant.”

“Neither does a condom.”

“That’s a ninety-eight percent chance, not one hundred.”

He licked the excess off his pink lips. He looked like he wanted to say something, but reconsidered, taking another sip before replying. “You don’t miss dick?”

“I mean, a dildo is a dick.”

Jungkook nearly spat out his hot chocolate. You snatched your Pikachu towel again and threatened him with it. He raised a hand, coughing.

“A dildo is not a dick,” he hacked out. “You insult me.”

“Hmph.” You turned back around and placed the Pikachu towel back in its place, making sure the graphic was perfectly centered.

“You tell your parents?”

You narrowed your eyes. ‘Why the fuck would I tell my parents that I fuck girls instead of guys to avoid getting pregnant?”

He shrugged. “Give them peace of mind?”

“You think too highly of the generation before us.”

Jungkook gave you a weird look. “So… you’re just using them?”

“No.” You paused. “Okay, maybe a little, but it’s not because they’re girls. I guess I haven’t found someone who understands me yet.”

He took a long, noisy sip of hot chocolate. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“No one can understand you if you only fuck once and drop them.”

“Wouldn’t you fucking know,” you replied irritably.

“Now, I fuck multiple times before I realize it’s not going to work out,” Jungkook countered.

You shoved your bottle of aloe juice back into your fridge. Suddenly, you weren’t thirsty anymore.

“Is that the only reason?”

You closed the fridge door.

“Reason for what?”

“Is fear of pregnancy the only reason you fuck girls?”

“I don’t know!” you shouted, throwing your hands up. You spun around, blowing hot air. “I don’t fucking know why I do it, Jungkook. I don’t know why I load up dating apps to only hook up with girls, I don’t know why I don’t try to get into relationships with them, I don’t know what is wrong with me and why I can’t give anyone a chance and I don’t know why you pop up in my head every time I try to fucking masturbate! It is annoying and I do not like it, so I try to get off with someone else!”

Your chest was heaving with exertion and annoyance, hand curled onto a fist and planted on your kitchen counter, glaring at the space past Jungkook’s head, muscle twitching in your cheek. Your heart was beating so fast it didn’t feel real.

Silence.

“Fuck you, Jungkook.”

And then you turned around, stalking back to your bedroom.

Or would have, if you didn’t hear the clink of the mug touching the kitchen counter and Jungkook grabbing your upper arm, yanking you back, slamming you against his muscular body. You hissed, staring into his chest.

“Let me go.”

“Hold on a second.” You watched Jungkook take a deep breath, his toned, tan skin rising and falling. The silver necklace on his collarbones flashed as he breathed. “Just hold on a damn second.”

Your eyes were on the low neckline of his black shirt. It felt weird being close to him. Not that you two haven’t been physically close, because you had. But it had never been like this. Since you realized he wouldn’t leave your mind every time you tried to masturbate. Since you started looking to other people to push him out. Since you were sure that it was not just a passing thought, not just your brain playing tricks on you. And being this close to him now, you understood.

And it scared you.

“You cannot dump all that on me and expect me not to react,” Jungkook said quietly.

“Shut up, Jungkook.”

“No,” he snapped. He grabbed both your upper arms and shook you violently, making you jerk your head up to blink at him. Jungkook furrowed his brows, his dark eyes glaring at you, jaw clenched tightly. “I will not shut up. Why should I shut up? I should shut you up.”

And then he kissed you.

Your eyes widened. Jungkook’s pink lips were on you. You. On your lips, pressed firmly against them, gripping you so tight you were losing feeling in your arms. You tore back, stumbling, touching your lips, shoulders shaking, not sure why your heart was beating out of your chest, not sure why your lips tingled and wanted more, not sure why Jungkook slowly opening his eyes and flickering to you made your knees knock together uncomfortably.

“What are you doing?” you sputtered. “You don’t even… what…?”

“I’m kissing you,” he growled, walking up to you and pinning you against the counter. “I’m fucking kissing you because you want me to.”

“I don’t…”

“Just shut up, please.”

And then Jungkook kissed you again, harder this time, pressing you against the kitchen counter, hands coming up and taking you by the waist, pulling you to him and his leather jacket, him and his black shirt, breathing your name into your lips, your hands grabbing his t-shirt and yanking him to you, gasping into his mouth. And you wanted to say, no, no, you weren’t supposed to know, but it was too late because you were shoving his leather jacket off, grasping his shoulders, fingers pressing into his hard muscles, sliding down his biceps.

You yanked your head back and his hand came up to grab it back, kissing you more, more, tongue licking your lips, hissing your name, grinding his hips against yours. Your hand came up in between you two, stopping him, stopping him and his insatiable lips.

“You have to s-say–” You moaned, feeling him harden against your fleece pajamas. “You have to say it.”

“Say what?” Jungkook muttered impatiently, kissing your hand, speaking into your palm.

“Say you’re okay with it,” you gritted out as he rolled his crotch into yours.

“Obviously I’m okay with it,” he grumbled. “Why else am I humping you in your kitchen?”

“You said I’m a c-control freak,” you groaned, throwing your head back as Jungkook slid his hands down to your ass and squeezed it, grinding against you.

“You are,” he grunted. “You can’t let go, you can’t enjoy yourself, you can’t even tell me you like me so I can fucking fuck you already, instead of me cancelling my parties so I can spend time laying on your bed and staring at you playing video games wondering when you’re going to fucking notice that I want to bang you.”

“What?” you replied breathlessly.

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “You’re so busy controlling your own life that you don’t even notice the people around you anymore.”

“What?” you repeated again as Jungkook hoisted you up by your ass and began to walk, forcing you to grab him by the shoulders and stare down his right arm, the fully tattooed one with flowers and script and the tiny circle with angry slits for eyes and a frown on the inside of his elbow, the one Jungkook said was for you and you had slapped him in the chest and told him to shut up.

“Let me take over for once,” he mumbled, placing his chin on your shoulder and nudging you with his head and his non-crispy but still not quite soft dark hair.

“You said I would be an awful sub.”

Jungkook dumped you on the bed, shooing you upwards. You didn’t move, frowning at him. He sighed dramatically.

“You would. You are,” he corrected, planting a hand on your chest and pushing you down, bouncing you against your Pikachu bedsheets. He sandwiched your arms at your sides and straddled your torso. The bed bowed far too low and you almost slid off. Hurriedly, you scooted upwards and Jungkook followed, unbothered.

“You said I’m terrible with authority.”

Jungkook wrestled your arms back down and pinned them with his strong thighs. “You are.”

“You said I’m angry, twenty-four, seven.”

He cocked his head, slowly unbuttoning your pajama shirt. “Still true.”

“And you said I’m uptight,” you added ruefully, pouting.

Jungkook shrugged, reaching in between his legs to unbutton he last few ones. “I’ll fuck it out of you.”

“Jungkook!”

“What?”

He paused, towering above you, eyebrow raised. His black hair curled around his ears, against his silver hoops and base of his neck. His dark eyes pierced down at you, tiny mole under his lips clearly visible from this position. You could see the bottom of his sharp chin, the black t-shirt clinging to his chest, the shape of his tan arms, one tattooed, one not, from below.

“Y-you’re pinching my right arm…”

Jungkook looked down, moving his left leg. “Sorry.”

You winced, pulling out your left arm to rub the other. He tapped your forearm impatiently with his finger.

“You’re ruining the moment,” he scolded.

“You ruined it by bruising me,” you shot back, backing up to your pillows on your elbows, grimacing as you soothed your arm.

“I’m going to bruise you more if you keep being a little brat,” Jungkook growled, following you on hands and knees, the neckline of his t-shirt hanging down, revealing way too much of his skin. Your eyes widened and you slipped, a white plush Poro bonking you in the head. He grabbed it and tossed it aside, the poor guy rolling on the floor.

“That’s very rude,” you muttered, but he was over your body now, breathing hard, staring down your now open shirt and the curve of your breasts into your black bra.

“Why do you get hotter every year?”

You raised an eyebrow. “I… don’t?”

Jungkook shoved the sides of your pajama shirt apart impatiently, reaching under your back and pinching the bra clasp, undoing it with one hand.

“Yes, you do,” he exhaled hotly. “Every year you get prettier and prettier and it pisses me off so much that I have to work out to look half as good as you.”

You felt your ears and cheeks get hot. “Well… you do look very, erm, good.”

“You’re very convincing,” Jungkook chuckled darkly, pushing your bra up and sucking in his lower lip as he revealed your hard, quivering nipples.

Your eyes shifted away from his hungry eyes. “I, uh… am very wet.”

A single, perfectly shaped eyebrow ticked. “Show me.”

“Um…”

He lifted himself off you, pointing down.

“Show me,” Jungkook commanded.

You tried to move your arms and found them tangled in your clothes. You frowned and shrugged out of your pajama shirt, chucking it and your bra aside, before gripping the waistband of your green fleece pants. You hesitated and looked back at Jungkook, who just flapped his hand downwards, giving you a neutral expression.

You puffed your cheeks and raised your hips, yanking your pants and panties down your thighs. You had to bend your legs a bit to fully take them off since Jungkook’s knees were on the outside of your thighs.

Now you were fully naked in front of your childhood best friend. And he was still fully clothed.

“Er, aren’t you going to–”

Jungkook cut you off. “You still haven’t shown me.”

You blinked at him. “What do you want me to do, become a fucking pretzel?”

Jungkook shrugged. “Any way you can prove to me you’re wet.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Fucking…” You bent your right leg and slid it up between his thighs, brushing against his sweatpants and feeling his hard-on for a hot second before you jammed your leg into your chest and lifted it out, pressing your thigh against your torso and raising your calf into the air. You turned your head to the left, letting out an exasperated huff.

“There. You see it?”

Shit, this position was embarrassing for some reason. You could feel cold air on your dripping pussy. Maybe he couldn’t see or something. You lifted your right arm to wrap around your thigh, pressing it down against your breasts since Jungkook wasn’t saying anything.

“That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jungkook breathed.

“Okay, going to put my leg do–”

You gasped, suddenly feeling Jungkook’s fingertips touch your heated core, smearing your juices around the lips, his hot breath against your ear as he touched you. You shuddered as he stroked your folds, your name on his lips, his lips kissing your ear.

“Had to touch you,” he whispered against your neck, tone desperate. “I’m sorry, I just had to touch that beautiful pussy, all wet and slopping for me.”

Your eyelids fluttered as his middle finger found your clit, pressing on it. “J-Jungkook… That’s my…”

He chuckled deep in his throat. “Yeah? That’s your what?”

Slow, lazy circles, pushing it around, moan leaving your lips. “My c-clit…”

“Want me to touch it?” Jungkook purred. “Want me to handle your pleasure?”

But he as already touching it, nursing the sensitive bundle of nerves and rousing your lust, igniting it and setting it on fire.

“Y-yes…”

He kissed down your neck, whispering softly, licking your collarbones. “You trust me? You trust me with this pretty, perfect, hot, sexy, fuckable body?”

You arched your neck, giving him more access as he ran his pink lips all over, rubbing your clit, mouth on your throat. Your whole body shook, hips rolling into his finger.

“Y-yes…”

His breath so electrifying that you could barely focus, barely speak as Jungkook’s other hand came up behind your head, long fingers burying into your hair, holding tight, so tight it almost hurt, teeth nipping at your skin.

“Want to mark you,” he mumbled. “Want to give you a big fat hickey you can’t explain, want to bruise you so bad you’ll be staring at it for weeks, thinking about my lips on you, remembering my teeth gave you that.”

He pressed another finger to your clit, increasing the pace, and all you could do was hiss out a yes, a burning yes, a pleading yes, please, Jungkook, whining as his teeth sank into the spot where your shoulder and neck connected, sucking hard, his tongue licking away the prickling pain. His hips rolled into your thigh, his hard cock pressing against you, straining against his pants.

Jungkook moaned into your skin, so hot, so intense, rubbing your aching clit faster, harder, more urgently. Sucking and humping your leg as the feeling of his teeth and his fingers overwhelmed you, one hand clutching his shirt and one hand curled into your sheets as your thighs shook, trying to close but unable to because Jungkook was so strong, so there, so overpowering that you could only lay there and take it, take it as his name poured out of you in a breathless wail, throwing your head back as you felt your pussy clench around nothing, your juices becoming slicker, thicker, the scent of your orgasm staining the air.

He shoved the two fingers inside you and unlatched his mouth, moaning with you as he felt you squeeze his fingers, pumping you in long, slow strokes, all the way to his knuckles. You whimpered, tightening your core and Jungkook moaned again, eyes closed, his hair in disarray as you fucked his hand, clamping your hands on his right forearm, gasping at the feel of his muscle. Pussy throbbing around his fingers, hips meeting his knuckles over and over.

His eyes opened, watching your fuck yourself with his hand, an almost bored expression on his features, but you didn’t care because you felt him flex his fingers and his arm, telling you to continue, telling you he liked it.

“I thought you were going to let me do it.” Jungkook’s voice was low, trying to stay even despite his shallow breathing. “Have to control everything, don’t you?”

You caught your lower lip in your teeth, eyes moving to his face, his handsome, angular face with his black hair curled around his forehead and his cocked eyebrow, smirk on his lips.

“I’m not in control,” you panted. “Your forearm is…”

Jungkook flexed it under your hand and you moaned pathetically, breath hitching.

His smirk grew wider.

“It’s getting you off touching it.”

You swallowed, close, so close and Jungkook was taunting you and for some reason you couldn’t tell him to shut up, because he kept tensing his arm and it was so fucking hot that you really were going to orgasm.

“Say it,” he purred, breathing your name. “Tell me you like my forearm.”

Your eyes shifted down to his arm in your hands, the tiny angry face tattoo in his inner elbow frowning at you.

“I fucking love it, Jungkook,” you gasped. “Fuck, I love your delicious, sexy-as-fuck forearms.”

He grinned and began to thrust his fingers into you, fast, so fast you couldn’t even fathom how he could be that fast like a fucking vibrator, sending torrents of pleasure through you and his arm was so hard and his skin so soft that your eyes rolled back into your head, moaning his name far too loud. Jungkook placed a hand over your mouth and you screamed into it, liquid gushing down your thighs, but he didn’t stop, he kept going until you felt it again, pussy throbbing, back-to-back, eyelids fluttering, nails digging into his arm as the crescendo slammed into you, taking your breath and senses away, lost only in the feeling of Jungkook’s secure presence above you.

He slowed, breathing hard. Gently, carefully pulling his fingers out of your pulsating pussy, gasping as he removed his hand. You vaguely heard Jungkook place his fingers in his mouth, sighing wantonly at your taste.

“You taste so good,” he whispered around his fingers. “Fuck, so sweet and thick and delicious.”

Your brain could not compute what the fuck was happening. Did Jungkook just give you three mind-blowing orgasms in a row after you exploded at him and admitted to thinking about him while masturbating?

Holy shit.

He pressed his face into your hair, inhaling your scent.

You swallowed thickly.

“Jungkook, do you, ah… want something too?” you asked quietly.

You heard him snicker. “If I take my clothes off, I’m going to want to put my dick in you.”

“… I’m cool with that.”

“I thought a dildo was the same as a dick?”

You cleared your throat. “Ah… Well, I didn’t think you’d want to put a dick in me.”

Jungkook laughed. “If I had five dicks, I’d put them all in you.”

“Erm… mathematically speaking, that doesn’t really work…”

“Shut up.”

Jungkook sat up, looking down at you with a smile. The same smile he always had, but a little different now, because he didn’t have to hide his attraction to you anymore.

“You really let me put it in you?”

You narrowed your eyes. “With a ninety-eight percent chance, only.”

His smile became mischievous. “That’s not one hundred percent.”

You puffed your cheeks.

“I’ll take the two percent chance for you and only you, Jungkook.”

He grinned and turned around, throwing himself to the end of the bed where his jeans were barely holding on. Fishing through the pockets, retrieving the foil packet from the back pocket. You blinked at him.

“How long has that been–”

Jungkook gave you a silencing look. “I bring a new one every time I come over, in hopes you become drunk enough to sit on my dick.”

You blinked at him. “What.” Not a question, just you stating it.

“Because you’re paranoid.”

You frowned. “I’m not–”

He launched himself over the bed and silenced you with a kiss, deep and longing. You leaned into it, breathing softly, tongue against his, pressing back against him. Jungkook drew back slowly, thumb on your cheek. Eyes looking into yours, careful and tender.

“I don’t want you to worry,” he said against your lips. “I’ll do anything you want. I know it’s not easy for you. I know you’re not ready for the million babies I want from you.”

“I can’t have a million babies. It’s not scientifically possible,” you interjected.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes. “Can you just let me have one romantic moment?”

“Erm, sorry.”

“You want me to have a damn vasectomy or something? Because I’ll fucking do it. That shit’s reversible.”

“No, that kind of requires more time and I’m pretty horny for your dick right now. Condom will do.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes. “You are a shitty sub.”

“I will do better after I’ve had the dick.”

Jungkook straightened and yanked his black t-shirt over his head. “No, you won’t.”

Your eyes roamed over his toned chest. Damn, he was ripped. Maybe he was insecure about you being hot or something, but you were certainly benefiting. “You never know?”

Jungkook sent you a pained look and pressed a hand to your chest, shoving you back into your bed. “I’ve known you way too long to believe those words coming out of your mouth.”

You were going to reply, but he ran his hand over your chest, inhaling sharply as he brushed against your nipples. He ran his fingers over them, squeezing a little. You whined, trying to get more, but Jungkook pressed his palm down on your breast, breathing hard.

“Listen, woman, I’m about to explode in my damn underwear. Stop sounding so sexy this instant.”

Your eyes found his, pupils blown wide, lips pursed, and jaw tight. Your lips parted a little, tongue peeking out, a soft moan of his name emitting from your throat. You saw a muscle in his eyebrow twitch. He looked like he wanted to throttle you, at least a little bit.

You grinned.

Jungkook narrowed his eyes.

“You are lucky you’re cute,” he muttered. “And lucky I want to be in this pussy more than I want to be alive.”

“Don’t you ne–”

Jungkook planted his hand on your mouth. “The only words I want to hear out of you are, “Fuck me harder” or my own name, you got that?” he snarled, pressing his hand into your face for emphasis.

You nodded quickly.

He sighed, almost in relief, and yanked his pants and underwear down, wincing. There was a large wet spot on his boxer briefs, strings of pre-cum clinging as he pushed it down his muscular thighs.

“You made me a giant mess,” he muttered, eyes flickering up to you. “What do you have to say?”

You blinked at him and gave him a thumbs up.

He grinned. “You do know how to listen.”

In truth, you couldn’t say anything because you were breathlessly staring at Jungkook’s thick cock, red head glistening with pre-cum, dripping everywhere. You slid down quickly, startling him, and wrapped your lips around the head, moaning as his strong taste invaded your mouth. He hissed, gritting his teeth as your tongue swiped around, licking his length all over, feeling the veins and contours, memorizing them.

“F-fuck,” he gasped. “You wanted to clean me up that bad?”

Your eyes traveled up his abs, his pecs, his neck, to his face, giving him your best imploring look. He smirked, placing a hand on your forehead, and gradually, with great effort, pulled out of your tight mouth. Tight because you sucked in your cheeks, not wanting to let him go, but Jungkook was stronger than you. You frowned, but he shooed you away.

“I allowed it this one time. Now back to your spot.”

You backed up, tsking as you watched him roll down the condom, groaning as it covered him.

“I’m actually glad I have this fucking condom,” Jungkook muttered, glaring at you.

You couldn’t say anything, so you spread your legs. His eyes dropped down and he bit his lower lip, crawling to you, grabbing your thighs. Placing himself right in front of your soaked entrance, staring down at your pussy as he guided himself, sinking into you.

“Holy fuck,” he gasped, squeezing his eyes shut.

You moaned, feeling Jungkook’s cock stretch you out, so different from a silicone dildo or multiple fingers, because it was Jeon Jungkook praying for air as you clenched around his length, his cries of pleasure as he rocked his hips into you. Those long nights with your vibrator and his Instagram open on your phone were incomparable to his cock molding to your walls, his hard hips finally hitting your thighs, all the way in, and it was so good that you throbbed around him, shuddering.

“J-Jungkook…” you pleaded.

“I know,” he panted, hands gripping your knees tight. “I know, but give me a second to appreciate this pussy, holy fuck.”

He jerked his cock inside you and you cried out, definitely crushing your sheets, but Pikachu had seen a lot by now and there was only going to be more.

Jungkook finally began to slide out and push back in, groaning, starting slow and deep because quite frankly he needed to last more than five seconds and your pussy was not letting up. You had too much control over your vaginal muscles and he was too into you to not be hugely turned on by it, shoving your legs up higher so he could go deeper, feel more of you surround him and massage his length.

“H-harder…” you whimpered. “Please, Jungkook, fuck me harder…”

And how could Jungkook say no to that? Begging so perfectly, with just the right amount of desperation, and you didn’t even know it was driving him insane, because he knew normally you were so wound up, always worrying about being perfect, always worrying about doing the right thing, but now you were unraveling on his cock as he bent down and put more force into it, pounded you harder, watching the ecstasy in your eyes, your mouth opening and tongue peeking out, hot breath in his face. Knuckles white as you clutched the sheets, pleasure radiating up his length as you came with a cry, his name, his name on those perfect lips, lips he always watched with envy, wondering who had them, wondering who was so lucky to capture them.

And now it was just him, just him and you, and his hips slapping into your hips, pussy nearly choking his cock, but it felt so good, so fucking euphoric as you fucked him back, raising your hips to meet his, loud, wet, and lewd, probably causing a ruckus next door. But neither of you cared, your names mixing together, your eyes staring to Jungkook’s piercing brown ones, hot pleasure radiating up your stomach, your chest, to your head and there was no one else.

No one else but Jungkook’s name tumbling out of your mouth as the wave soared into you, pussy spasming as you came again, unsure at what number it was, but it was the one Jungkook wasn’t prepared for and he groaned, smacking into you one last time before you felt his cock throb and pulse against your walls, spilling into the condom. You gasped at the feeling, clenching around him, his right hand reaching over to grasp yours and hold it tightly, intertwining your fingers.

“W-wow…” you whispered breathlessly. “Nice cock.”

Jungkook burst out laughing. “You’re unbelievable.” He reached down and gingerly felt around in your dripping folds, finding the end of the condom and pulling out carefully.

“Fuck. It’s so much,” he gulped, brows knitted in worry.

You waved a hand. “It’s fine. I finished my period yesterday. Likelihood of you getting me pregnant is pretty low.”

Jungkook jerked his head towards you.

“Why the fuck didn’t you say that sooner?” he roared, slapping your leg. “I was scared shitless over here!”

You placed your hands over your ears. “So loud. Shut up, Jungkook.”

“No!”

masterpost

#jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jeon jungkook x you #jungkook smut #jeon jungkook smut #bts smut

2K notes · View notes

jishyucks · 3 years

Text

It's the Thought that Counts ‣ njm

‣ genre: implied f2l, fluff, pining, female reader

‣ wc: 1.3k

‣ summary: In which you're Jaemin's plus-one to a wedding and questions start to run through your head rent-free

‣ an: (pretend Jaemin and Jaehyun are cousins in this)–idk if this is cute, but it was cute to me (◕‿◕), it's lowkey cliche but who doesn't like cliches... anyways, gonna start writing 'shorter' scenarios so I can post more frequently, enjoy!!

There was no denying that you’d rather be at home binge-watching a kdrama right now instead of attending a wedding. But because Jaemin had asked you to be his plus one ever so cutely, you couldn’t help but give in to his pleas before he could even begin his nearly endless tangent about why attending weddings was somehow significant to other events in life.

You had nothing against weddings, in fact, you’ve watched the Crazy Rich Asians scene so many times you can’t even count every single time you did, but it was the formality that made you not want to go. Though it was understandable why it was a formal occasion, you wished you didn’t have to care so much about what you wore just to go. Yet here you were, sitting in the passenger’s seat of Jaemin’s car all glammed up to go to his cousin, Jaehyun’s, wedding

“The guys are going, too, so not everyone will be complete strangers,” Jaemin mentioned, “I wanna see your reaction to them in suits and ties.” He turns into a parking lot in front of a venue that was completely packed. You could see other guests making their way into the building, smiles plastered effortlessly on their faces. You figured that this wouldn’t be that bad, especially because of how joyful the occasion was.

Jaemin pulls into a free parking spot, double-checking his reflection in the mirror, “Why didn’t you tell me my hair is all weird?”

You shrugged, “I didn’t think it looked bad.” And it was true, Jaemin looked good no matter how he was styled, but you swore to yourself you were not going to admit that out loud. Especially not to Jaemin.

You hear him huff before reaching up to fix tufts of his hair to look neater. He pats it down before nodding in satisfaction and turning to you, “Are you ready?”

“Yeah, especially since it took you long enough to fix your hair,” you joked. Pulling the car door handle, it pops open, allowing you to slip out easily. Jaemin follows in pursuit, dusting off his suit as he stands up.

“Ya! Na Jaemin!” You look around almost instantly, trying to pick out who called your best friend from the fairly large crowd of people. After a short while of searching, you finally identify them. Among those entering the wedding’s venue, you find the one and only Lee Jeno waving his arms shamelessly to catch yours and Jaemin’s attention, “Over here! Jaemin! Y/N!

You smiled and waved back, trying not to laugh obnoxiously at how ridiculous Jeno looked. As you and Jaemin begin making your way to him, you could see Mark and Chenle join Jeno at the curb, waving along.

“You guys look handsome as always,” you compliment, wondering why Jaemin wanted to see your reaction as if you’d be laughing your ass off at the sight of boys in suits.

Mark beams, “You look beautiful, as always.”

You miss Jaemin throwing a look at Mark before turning to you, “Hey, you didn’t say that to me…” You turned to find Jaemin looking back at you with a pout and a puzzled set of eyebrows, “Don’t I look good?”

You feel your heartbeat quicken in pace at your friend’s wish for a compliment, “Only a little.” A lie. He looked the most attractive out of basically everyone present, but you knew that if you did end up telling him that he looked handsome as hell, it was you who was gonna be losing your shit and not Jaemin. Jaemin would use this opportunity to tease you, and any boosted attention from Jaemin was basically someone asking to be punched in the gut (and hard).

Ignoring the stank glare Jaemin gave you for your reply, you turn back to Mark, Jeno, and Jeno, “Anyways… Where are the others?"

“Inside getting seats,” Chenle replied, “I guess we should go in and join them.” The rest nodded, all turning towards the building and following the other guests through the many entrances. You stuck by Jaemin’s side, who had suddenly gone quiet at the sight of all of his relatives and family friends

“Jaeminie! Is that you?” Out of nowhere, an older boy approaches your small group on the way to the main ceremony area. Jaemin motions for you all to go ahead of him, “Wait! Who’s this? Your girlfriend?” Before you could leave Jaemin’s side to follow the other three, the curious look Jaemin’s relatives had been giving you stopped you in your tracks. He was talking about you.

Jaemin abruptly chokes on air, brows raising in a slight panic. His attention shoots towards you, eyes wide at the assumption, “Oh! Nononono, this is my–uh–really good friend, Y/N!” He laughs awkwardly and turns back to his relative. Did you notice the way his ears turned red?

You would be lying if you said that that hurt a bit, but it was true. You nodded, “Nice to meet you!”

“Y/N this is my cousin, Youngbin,” Jaemin introduces, “Well, Youngbin, nice talking to you, but we really need to get to our seats before they’re gone.”

“No problem,” he smiles, “My mom’s holding my seat, I just had to go find something.” Jaemin nods before maneuvering you towards the actual ceremony area, leaving Youngbin without hesitation.

“I’m sorry about that,” he mumbles, “He’s always been really blunt and stuff.” You two spot the others sitting closer to the front but still in the middle seats.

“It’s okay, Jae,” you say, “It happens.”

Jaemin could only respond with a smile before you both were settled in a spot together between Donghyuck and Jisung.

“You two look cute~” Donghyuck whispers into Jaemin’s ear. There was a hint of a joking tone lining his words, yet Jaemin could sense he was serious.

“Hyuck, shut up,” he whispers back, poking his thigh, “My cousin already mistook her as my girlfriend and she looked offended.” The guests were quickly getting settled, meaning that the ceremony was about to begin.

“You do look like a couple, though, not gonna lie,” Donghyuck shrugs and shifts away into Mark’s side before Jaemin could even attempt subtly poking at him again.

“Yeah, whatever,” Jaemin mumbles. I wish.

The ceremony soon begins, shutting up any ongoing. conversation within the room. Everything went as planned. It was just like they were in movies or shows or books. The groom’s reaction to the bride’s entrance was your favourite part; the reactions of the guests to the bride was a beautiful experience too.

Throughout the entire ceremony, you couldn’t help picture how your wedding would be like or how you would want it. Yes, it was somewhat selfish thinking about yourself during the joyous occasion of another, but there was no stopping your active mind, especially since you were currently attending a wedding.

Would it be better for there to be many guests or only limited to close family and friends? What about the colours? A theme? Which of your friends would you choose as the maid of honour? Where would want it to be?

You let your thoughts run free while miraculously still paying attention to the emotional ceremony. At one point during the vows, you felt a tear threaten to fall, but you sucked it back in.

If someone had been able to read your mind, they were probably drowning in countless of your questions to yourself. It was then the final question had somehow overshadowed the previous ones.

At that moment, the minister spoke with his chest, “You may now kiss the bride!

Watching the two newlyweds lean kiss, you feel yourself unconsciously turn your head up to look at Jaemin, who had been completely stuff throughout the wedding.

Who would your groom be?

As the guests all begin to clap for the couple at the front of the room, your eyes settle on Jaemin, heartbeat skyrocketing.

Jaemin was already looking back at you. And little did you know, he was asking himself who his bride would be.

221 notes · View notes

rkived · 4 years

Text

year 22 (m) — jjk

‘‘I knew you’d be standing in my front porch light, and I knew you’d come back to me.’‘

Pairing: childhoodfriend!jk x f!reader

Genre/Tags: angst!!!, drama, a lil fluff, f2l, e2l-ish, pining, slow burn, smut

Rating: M +18

WC: 11.5k

Warnings: time jumps, underage drinking, jk being a douchebag for most of the fic, reader can’t catch a mf break, mention of character death ((no major one tho)). smut in the form of oral (f. receiving), fingering, nipple play, unprotected sex ((wrap it b4 u tap it y’all)), my being called pretty kink making a brief appearance soz

A/N: i listened to cardigan for the first time n had it on replay the whole time i wrote this so ig u should do it too ! this is my first time posting smut on here but who would i be if i didn’t throw in some good angst ? also tysm to @periminkle for being my unofficial beta reader n checking it up for me, she knows i’m constantly looking for her validation n i def wouldn’t post this if she didn’t love it ilu vira thx for being the best ever mwah !!!

You’re five, cowering behind his mother’s legs, sniffing as tears stream down your face. In front of you both stands Jungkook, there’s remorse written all over his face as his mother stares him down with hands on her hips and a look that just screams that this is only the beginning of his punishment.

‘’Apologize to Y/N right now Jungkook, or I’ll have your father have a word with you,’’ she threatens with a stern tone, making her son quickly shake his head no. ‘‘You need to learn how to share your toys.’’

You peek behind her lanky leg and find the slightly older kid looking at you with narrowed eyes, ‘‘I’m sorry, Y/N.’’ He apologizes with a bow, but he’s obviously displeased with the whole ordeal.

His mother sighs and Jungkook pouts at the look on her face. She urges you to come out from your not-so-secret hiding spot and to go back to playing with him, even though you seriously doubt that will do any good to what just happened.

Jungkook’s bedroom door is kept open as he sits back down on his city patterned carpet, you twiddle with your thumbs and stare at the Spiderman poster on his wall. There’s an awkward silence between you two until you feel a toy bump your crisscrossed legs.

It’s the shiny red car he had refused to lend you before, provoking an argument between you two which eventually made you run out of his room in tears as you ratted him out to his mom.

‘‘Wooow,’’ you whisper in awe, taking the car in your hands with so much care, treating it like it’s one of your newest dolls.

Jungkook huffs, crossing his arms as he looks at you with distaste and he’s forced to settle with other boring toys as you giggle to yourself, making the car follow the carpet’s tracks. He learns then to never trust his mother again. If she ever says she’ll bring a new friend for him to play with again, he’ll refuse wholeheartedly.

He doesn’t like sharing his toys, and it’ll probably take him a long time to learn how to.

You’re nine as you hand Jungkook one of the multiple Valentine’s Day cards you carefully crafted the night before with your mother, adding all kinds of pretty stickers and shiny glitter to make each one of them unique. His is different from the rest, though.

You added hearts to the dots in the I’s, there’s a hint of your favorite body splash enveloping the pink construction paper and it fills Jungkook’s nostrils with so much force that he feels he could gag at the smell.

‘‘What do you think?’’ You ask the fourth-grader with a big smile on your face, cheeks tinted with a light shade of red as you see him reading the little message you wrote inside the card.

Jungkook lets out a mocking chuckle, ‘‘Are you serious? You like me?’’ He asks you, but it doesn’t look like he’s looking for answers. Your smile slowly fades away, looking at him with glossy eyes, ‘‘I don’t like you, you’re just a dumb little girl.’’

His card was the one you had invested the most time in and yet it only took him a second to crumple it with his hand, and another five for him to toss it into the trash can near you before he goes back to his group of friends in the school’s playground.

You learn how to hold your tears in then, thinking it’s a great accomplishment and that maybe now he’ll stop calling you a crybaby.

His friends receive him with high-fives and he smiles with gratefulness because they just saw how much of a badass he can be. Once recess is over and everyone’s going back to their classrooms, Jungkook nears the garbage bin where he had thrown the Valentine's card in, but finds it’s now dirty with yogurt someone tossed inside.

He grimaces at the sight and sighs, there’s no way he can save it now.

You’re twelve and you’re the only girl in the treehouse who hasn’t gone through puberty yet. It wasn’t something that bothered you until just recently, when it became pretty evident why none of the boys would even give you a onceover compared to the other girls.

“I don’t know if I want to play,” you mumble after Kim Jihyo suggests playing spin the bottle. You’re the only one who opposes the idea, though you could count Jungkook in given as he just sat there without saying a word.

Park Yerim rolls her eyes, “You’re so boring, Y/N!” The comment makes the rest giggle as you pout at being the designated party pooper.

It’s all fun and games of truth and dares to whoever the bottle lands on and you’ve been lucky enough to avoid the tip of the plastic Coca-Cola bottle to point at you, until it lands on Jungkook who has done a few funny dares so far.

“Alright, Jungkook, let’s make things even more fun!” Jihyo announces since she’s been the one who has assigned most of the embarrassing challenges and questions, “I dare you to kiss one of the girls here for ten seconds.”

The dare makes the boys cheer with excitement and the girls gasp with anticipation, hoping one of them is the lucky chosen one. Your lips part slightly as you stare at him sitting across from you, he’s clearly not comfortable with the dare, but knowing him, he won’t express his current discomfort.

His eyes land on you as you stare back at him with concern, hoping that he’ll speak up to avoid himself the embarrassment. Has he even kissed someone before? If this is his first kiss, you’ll witness it alongside everyone else and you can only imagine how terrifying that must be. Even though Jungkook’s always been a brave kid, you can always tell when he feels under pressure.

“Uhm, I’ll uh—“ Jungkook keeps staring at you and you feel your heart start to beat like you just ran the usual ten laps around the gym in P.E class. Are you about to have your first kiss? With him?

You nod your head absentmindedly, a sign to let him know it’s okay for him to pick you from all the other developed girls who probably have more experience kissing than you do, but it’s okay because you’ve always been a quick learner.

“Yeji,” Jungkook says after what feels like forever, though it’s only been a mere few seconds, “I’ll kiss Yeji.” He adds, removing his eyes from yours and settling them on the girl with the high ponytail and pink colored nails.

You bite your bottom lip hard, breaking the dry skin as you feel yourself taste blood. It doesn’t matter because no one’s paying attention to you and instead they’re focused on Jungkook’s neverending kiss with Yeji.

When you get home that night, you look at yourself in the mirror and frown at your lack of everything. Is this the reason as to why he hadn’t picked you?

You’re fourteen and Kim Taehyung just sent you a message through MSN in which he confesses to have feelings for you. Your eyes widen, rereading the message several times, rubbing at your eyes just to make sure you’re seeing things correctly.

You run off across the street to Jungkook’s house, ringing the doorbell quickly for someone to open up. You’re greeted by him looking at you with an annoyed expression, he had to pause his GTA game to come and open the door.

“What do you want?” Jungkook asks harshly, crossing his arms as he stares into somewhere that’s not your face. He’s anxiously waiting for you to spit out whatever it is you’re there to say.

You calm yourself down by breathing in deep and out, blowing the air right at him, “Does Taehyung like me?” You ask him, making Jungkook’s eyes widen in surprise and his brows to raise.

His reaction tells you that you might’ve just discovered a secret you weren’t supposed to and it only makes your heart beat even faster because if it’s true, then this is a pleasant surprise. Kim Taehyung is one of the hottest boys in the tenth grade and he happens to be one of Jungkook’s closest friends. You think he must know something since you see them hanging out at lunch.

“Uh—I don’t know, Y/N.” Jungkook mumbles, rubbing at the back of his neck, finally looking at you and he feels a gut wrenching punch in his stomach at the sight. “Taehyung isn’t a really good guy, you shouldn’t—“

“What are you saying?” You interrupt him with a question, confused as to why Jungkook was painting a negative picture of his friend. “He was really sweet with what he said, he thinks my eyes are pretty when they sparkle — I didn’t even know they did that!”

Jungkook grimaces and sighs, there’s really not much he can do here. You’ve always been so stubborn, so relentless. No matter how many times life tries to tell you something’s not meant for you, you challenge each and every one of it’s obstacles until you take what’s yours.

“Okay, then what are you gonna do? Date him? You haven’t even had your first kiss yet.” Jungkook reminds you with a mocking tone and you furrow your brows together because, how does he know that?

You stammer, “I-I have! I had it at camp last summer, actually!” That’s a lie, but he wasn’t there so he can’t prove the veracity of your statement. “And what do you care? So what if I want to date him?” You add with anger, not understanding why couldn’t he just support you in search of true love.

The thought of dating Kim Taehyung had never crossed your mind, thinking he was way too out of your league for him to ever notice you. But that confession sitting in your MSN chat now served as a nice feeling of knowing you aren’t as invisible as you think you are.

Jungkook scoffs, “Taehyung would never date you, okay? He’s older than you, he’s cool, he goes to parties and has kissed almost every girl in his grade, do you think he’d really like someone as boring as you?” He doesn’t mean to be so harsh, but you’re just so difficult and impossible to get through.

Jungkook’s used to the trembling bottom lip and the teary eyes that you give him everytime he says something that definitely strikes a nerve within you, but he’s always impressed on how you always refrain from crying in front of him. Last time you did that you were both kids and he probably took the last lollipop from your batch of collected halloween candy.

“Screw you, Jungkook,” you say through gritted teeth, and if looks could kill, he’d be dead already.

He looks at you quickly stomp your way back to your house, only heading back inside once you slam your front door shut. Jungkook enters his room to find two new messages in his MSN.

$$ kIm tAaEhyYyuNG $$: it worked!

$$ kIm tAeEhyYyunGG $$: she fell for it xDxD where did u even come up with the sparkly eyes thing?? that’s gold bro rofl

Jungkook sighs, ignoring the messages and shutting his computer down.

You’re sixteen and you’ve been invited to your first party. Granted, it was Jungkook’s, but he knew that if he didn’t ask you to come you’d probably tell on him with his mom. No matter what age he was, he’d always fear his mother’s scolding.

“Drink this!” Park Jimin says with his beautiful smile and you’re starting to realize why they gave him that very same superlative on the school’s yearbook. You take the red solo cup without any second thought, placing the rim straight to your lips and choke once you feel the liquid burn your throat.

“Ugh—What’s this?” You ask, cleaning the droplets of liquid around the corners of your mouth.

He chuckles, “Fruit punch!” The liquid is indeed red like the familiar drink you’re used to, but there’s definitely something else mixed inside. “Oh, and vodka,” he adds with wiggly eyebrows as he shows off the small flask he was hiding in his sweatshirt’s front pocket.

You gasp and hand him the cup back, “No, I don’t drink alcohol, sorry.” Jimin rolls his eyes and it reminds you of the many times you’ve received this same reaction from your classmates before. Always a party pooper. He’s about to take the plastic red cup from you until you quickly drink the spiked punch in one go.

The boy howls in excitement, “Woo, go Y/N! Another one coming right up.”

Jungkook knows he should be making sure everything’s alright downstairs. If his mother notices there’s at least one misplaced object, she’ll know right away something went down in her house while her husband and her were away for the weekend on an emergency trip to their hometown. Leaving him unsupervised only because they both believed their son was old enough to tend for himself.

But Jung Eunha had dragged him into his room with the excuse of wanting to see what it looked like, but the mini tour had turned into them kissing on his bed and Jungkook is thankful he changed his Spiderman sheets in exchange for some boring plain grey ones. Eunha smells like fresh mint and Jungkook is way into his head to focus on properly kissing her.

It’s not until his bedroom door is abruptly open, slamming against the wall that Jungkook literally jumps to his feet, making Eunha gasp as they both look at the person who has interrupted their awkward makeout session.

“Guk-ah, what are you doin’?” You curiously wonder, a hiccup following right after which makes you giggle. Jungkook’s chest rises and falls with quickness as he notices you look different from the last time he saw you twenty minutes ago when you were talking to Jimin. “Guk-ah, were you—you kissin’ Eunha?” You ask once more after not receiving an answer to your previous question.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asks in concern, coming closer to analyze your weird state. You stretch your arm out to avoid him from nearing you, making him falter in his place as he studies your expression.

You hum, “Guk-ah, you busy. Sorry,” you apologize in a shy tone, ready to head back down and have more of that fruity alcohol punch you now found tasty, but you stumble and only avoid yourself from falling by holding onto Jungkook's door frame, he’s already reaching out by then.

“Are you fucking serious, Y/N? Get out!” Eunha complains with irritation, getting up from the bed and ready to kick you out of his room, but his free arm stops her from getting near you. “Whu—?”

“Eunha, go back down. I’ll deal with her myself.” Jungkook says as calmly as he can, thinking three’s a crowd and dealing with you wasn’t an easy thing in of itself. She’s about to argue, but he interrupts her again, “Go down, now.”

She rolls her eyes and bumps her shoulder against yours harshly once she steps out of his room, “Whatever, that kiss was shitty anyway.”

He pretends he didn’t hear that and takes you in his arms instead, dragging you to lay on his bed as you cuddle into his favorite pillow and hug it close to your body. How much did you drink? Why did you even do it in the first place? Jungkook knows you’ve never tried alcohol before, which means he’ll be in big trouble if you show up back to your house like this.

When you open your eyes hours later, your head hurts and it feels lightweight when you move it side to side. The room you’re in is familiar, that spiderman poster is still hung on the wall, but there are no more toys laying around the floor; they’ve probably been stored somewhere in his garage or sent off to a donation center under his mother’s demand.

The pillow that you’re hugging smells just like him and any other day you’d hold on to it tighter and inhale his scent like your life depended on it, but you abruptly sit on the bed as you’re reminded of how you got here. The action is not appreciated by your dizzy head, but you look around the room to notice how dark it is and there’s no more music playing downstairs.

You quickly jump to the ground, only to hear a “Fuck, ouch!” from below, stepping on Jungkook’s leg unintentionally. It makes you gasp, looking down to notice the older friend laying on the cold floor, having gotten rid of that childhood carpet of his. His head’s laying on a makeshift pillow made out of a towel and he’s trying hard not to shiver.

“I’m sorry, sorry, sorry!” You quickly apologize, stepping away from his figure as he soothes the shin of his leg you stepped on. “Jungkook, what happened?”

He sighs, “Someone decided to drink like five cups of spiked punch knowing damn well it was their first time drinking alcohol, stepped into my room like a crazy person, and then crashed on my bed like they—What’s with the face?”

“Bathroom.”

Jungkook grimaces while he holds your hair back, you’re throwing away all the liquid you had taken with a few additional snacks you had munched on earlier, “Are you done?” He asks in a tired mumble and you shake your head no.

He feels guilty that you’re in this position. He didn’t even want to kiss Eunha, but she was one of the most popular girls in his grade and he knew that if he turned her down she would most likely put a bad word in with the rest of the girls and the guys would make fun of him for being such a wuss.

That would’ve been better, because after laying you down on his bed he had to go down and tell everyone that the party was over, putting an excuse that the neighbors had warned him and threatened to call the cops. They all cleared pretty quickly, but he knew he was going to be the butt of the jokes come Monday. He even had to call your parents to let them know you had gone home to a friend’s house for a sleepover, which he knew wasn’t totally believable, but it had somehow gotten them convinced that their daughter was alright because they trusted Jungkook to never hurt you ever.

Once you feel like you’ve puked your stomach out, Jungkook hands you a pill accompanied with a glass of water and hands you clothes of his that might be more comfortable to sleep in.

“Good night, Jungkook,” you whisper once you’re laying back on his bed, still hugging the pillow he preferred to sleep with. He makes a sacrifice to make it up to you.

His back is going to hurt by the time the sun comes out in a few hours, but it’s okay if it means you’ll sleep comfortably after the events of tonight. “Good night, Y/N.”

He’s unable to sleep, but finds entertainment in your hanging hand beside his bed. The skin on your palm looks soft and there’s this strange urge inside of him that makes him want to grab your hand in his, but he refrains.

To calm the current chaos in his head, Jungkook finds peace in the light snores coming from his bed.

You’re just about to turn eighteen and your date to the prom is Jeong Jaehyun, who had only asked you out a day before the event because the girl he had initially wanted to take had been asked and he didn’t have a plan B.

Jaehyun is okay, at least he managed to get you a corsage that matched the color of your dress. He even smiles in the pictures your parents take of you both as you awkwardly try to look comfortable with his arms around you even though by then you had only exchanged a few sentences.

The prom’s theme is Summer Nights and you think it’s fitting considering this is the very last event before the graduation ceremony, meaning that you’d most likely never see most of these people ever again. You had purposely applied to a college that was outside of your hometown for that same reason. You’re ready to live the life you’ve always wanted to live, without anyone judging or knowing you.

Your date spends most of the night talking with his group of friends as you’re left alone on your table, looking at your well manicured nails. You knew you weren’t going to get the same prom experience the high school kids on T.V enjoyed, but you at least hoped it would’ve been a little more fun than this.

A tap on your shoulder makes you turn around to see Jungkook trying to loosen the tight tie around his neck. He looks incredibly handsome and you suppose his mother helped him pick the suit out, Jungkook rarely ever wore fitted clothing, so this is one of those once in a lifetime moments..

“Hey you,” you say and he gives you half a smile, wondering why you’re sitting by yourself at an empty table when everyone else was either mingling or dancing. “Where’s your date?” You ask with curiosity, you’re surprised that Jinsoul isn’t trailing alongside him given how she had behaved for the past week ever since he asked her to come with him.

“Retouching her face or something,” he answers casually, “what are you doing sitting here? Where’s Jaehyun?” Jungkook asks.

You shrug your shoulders, “Don’t know, probably talking with the guys of the basketball team. He’s been gone for a while.” Not like you care, anyway. If your conversation with him inside his car on the way to the venue had been any indication of what it would’ve been like for the rest of the night, you’re glad he's not here trying to make any more small talk with you.

Jungkook huffs, thinking he’ll kick his ass if he sees him. He had asked him to invite you so you wouldn’t come alone, and yet here you are, sitting all by yourself while the douchebag’s making a social life somewhere in the crowd. He calms down once he notices how unbothered you are by it, though. You’re a big girl now, you’ve been through too much to be affected by something as simple as this.

“Is there something you wan—“

“Dance!” You interrupt with excitement and Jungkook chuckles.

“I was gonna ask if you wanted something to drink, but—alright, let’s dance.” Jungkook can’t dance for shit, but you took lessons when you were younger and he can still remember how you’d always show him the routines you learned in class. He’d always boo you, but in reality you were pretty good. He wonders why you stopped, he doesn’t recall you ever telling him.

It’s just his luck that once you both step into the dancefloor, the hired DJ stops the up-tempo song playing before and switches to a much slower romantic one, “Alright everyone, I want all the couples on the dancefloor for this one.”

You step away from him with nervousness, it’s couples only after all. But Jungkook holds onto your lower back firmly, pulling you closer into his space. Your eyebrows raise as your lips part, “Uh, s-should we, uh—?”

“It’s just a song, Y/N. You wanted to dance, then we’ll dance.” He tells you with such confidence it makes you feel like this is totally normal and something all friends do. All the known High School couples are dancing together, heads tenderly placed over chests and chins resting lovingly above them. You wait for Jungkook to take the lead because you have no clue of what you should be doing, you might’ve taken dance lessons years ago but you’ve never slowed danced in your life.

Jungkook places his hand on your hip, the touch makes goosebumps crawl in your arms. He pretends he doesn’t notice it as he takes your right hand in his. You stare at the way he delicately holds it like it’s his mother’s fine china. “Place your other hand on my shoulder,” he instructs and you do as asked, your palm coming to rest on the strong muscle.

He’s only slowed danced once before at a family member’s wedding where his mother taught him how to, with her as the teacher. Back then he thought it was incredibly ridiculous, but now he’s sort of glad that happened because he’s the teacher now and you’re now looking at him with your big eyes as you sway alongside him.

You clear your throat, “This isn’t that hard.” Jungkook nods as he stares down at you, noticing how uneasy you are given that you’re looking at everything and not entirely immersed in the moment.

“You look beautiful tonight.” He says out of nowhere, making you look at him like a deer stuck in headlights, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He had never called you that before.

An awkward laugh escapes your lips, looking away from his intense gaze as you try not to take his words too literally, “Ha ha, that was a good one.” To you there’s no other explanation than this being one of his mean pranks on you.

But Jungkook doesn’t falter both his words and gaze, “I’m not laughing.” There’s seriousness in his voice and you have to look back at him again just to make sure he really isn’t, “You look beautiful, just take the compliment.” You nod and there’s silence between you two after that. You’re digesting the romantic lyrics that the singer is talking about and hope that the song ends soon, because you’ve never been this close to him and it’s starting to feel too crowded.

You clear your throat, “So…”

“So…,” he repeats.

“What are you doing for summer?” You ask him in an attempt to break the tension and wanting to take advantage of the little intimate moment since Jungkook rarely ever lets you pry into his private life.

“I think I’ll train before heading off,” he answers. It was more than obvious he was going to earn that sports scholarship he had been aiming for, he was one of the best athletes on the school; though you considered him to be the number one between them all. “I’m kinda scared, not gonna lie.”

You look at him with surprise, tilting your head to the side, “You’re scared?” You ask in disbelief because as long as you’ve known him, he’s never been scared of anything. This is the same kid who instilled your fear of monsters in a closet after watching Monster’s Inc. together, also the same kid who helped you get over it after he realized you had actually taken it seriously.

He chuckles lightly, “Yeah, I’m just scared about starting over.” It’s interesting how his biggest fear is the one you’re looking forward to the most, but you suppose it’s fitting for someone who has never had to worry about what people think of him. In this town, Jungkook has swam freely without any concerns. Out there, he’s just another fish in the big and scary ocean. “Aren’t you?” He questions, hoping that you’re able to relate to what he’s feeling.

“Honestly, I—“

You’re interrupted by Jaehyun clearing his voice in front of you two, making you both turn your heads towards his direction. You quickly separate from Jungkook and he feels his body lose the warmness you were providing.

“If you wanted to dance, you could’ve just asked. I’m your date after all.” He says smugly and you chuckle awkwardly, nodding because he’s right.

Jungkook wants to punch his stupid face, how dare he interrupt you both when he had been ignoring you the whole night? Why does he suddenly want to dance with you when he’s probably still upset at him for asking Jinsoul to the prom before he could?

“Your date’s looking for you, buddy. She doesn’t look too happy.” Jaehyun adds with a smirk as he takes your hand in his and drags you away from Jungkook towards another place on the dancefloor.

He’s left to stare at the way he holds your hand, and he only hopes he’s doing it ever so carefully.

You’re twenty when Jungkook sees you for the first time since you both left for college two and half a years ago. He’s rendered speechless when he spots you in the crowd, there’s a manly hand around your waist as you giggle into the stranger’s mouth before placing a kiss to his lips.

There’s only so much social media can provide him, pictures and stories aren’t enough for Jungkook to keep up with you. He thinks you’ve changed, not only appearance wise but you seem way more outgoing, carefree, and happy. Did he miss the boyfriend announcement picture? He’s sure he didn’t, he checks your profile almost every day and he’s never even seen him in any of your stories.

A gasp escapes your lips once you spot him, completely forgetting about the possibility of bumping into him given that both your schools were playing against each other that night. You tell Namjoon you’ll be right back and he nods, going back to a conversation with the group of college friends you had made.

You surprise him by jumping into him, arms around his shoulders as you hug him from behind. You let out a shrill of excitement and he blushes as his friends chuckle at the unexpected approach from this unfamiliar girl.

‘‘Jungkook! You didn’t tell me you’d be here,’’ you say once he turns around to face you and he’s able to see you better upfront. You look beautiful and he thinks the Instagram pictures are not doing you enough justice. You’re glowing, and it has nothing to do with the highlighter you applied on your face and collarbone area.

The both of you aren’t able to properly talk until you suggest moving to a different area, Jungkook apologizing to his friends as he explained he needed to catch up with an old friend. They don’t complain and instead shoot him teasing looks and small pervy comments that go by unnoticed to you.

Jungkook listens with intent to your ramble about what you’ve been up to. From your courses, to your roommates, the parties you’ve attended, and even the fact that you handle your alcohol better now. He’s happy that you seem so too, but it irks him that you hadn’t been capable of telling him that you had a boyfriend now. Is there a reason as to why you omitted that important piece of information?

‘‘And what about you? How’s college?’’ You ask with curiosity.

He blinks a few times, realizing you had stopped talking about yourself and was now wondering about him instead. ‘‘It’s fine,’’ he answers with a tight lipped smile, the lack of detail compared to you was astonishing, but even though you were still hungry for more you decided not to pry any further.

There’s fear in revealing that he’s been having a hard time catching up with the rest of his peers. College was indeed fine, but it could be better. He’s settled with the idea that this is as good at it’ll get, some things just aren’t like you expect them to be. At least you’re happy, and that fact brings him comfort.

‘‘Was that your, uhm─boyfriend?’’ He finally asks after a while, both about to head back to your respective group of friends.

The question takes you by surprise, looking at him with raised eyebrows and mouth agape. ‘‘Who? Namjoon?’’ He nods, though he doesn’t know anything about the guy he had first seen you with. You let out a wholehearted laugh, ‘‘Hell no, too many commitment issues with that one,’’ you answer and Jungkook’s forehead creases with confusion.

Why were you kissing him then?

‘‘We’re friends with benefits,’’ you inform him as if you had read his mind. ‘‘He’s a nice guy, though. Also, super smart, he’s helped me with a few of my─’’

‘‘You’re not a virgin anymore?’’ He abruptly asks, disbelief in his tone as he internally screams to himself for thinking out loud. Jungkook expects you to berate him about such an imprudent question, but is surprised when he sees you giggling.

‘‘Duh, silly. I think I lost it freshman year?’’ The carelessness in your voice makes him look at you like you’ve gone crazy. Why are you so lax about this? Why are you telling him about losing your virginity without a care in the world? ‘‘Anyway, are you going to be home for the─’’

Jungkook interrupts you once again, ‘‘Was it with your boyfriend at the time?’’ He asks in genuine curiosity and you sigh, rolling your eyes slightly at him.

‘‘No, it was some random dude at this party I went to. Could you please─’’

‘‘Y/N, are you insane? Why would you give up your virginity to some fucking stranger like it’s nothing?’’ Jungkook’s voice raises as he scolds you about being so negligent about yourself, ‘‘You can’t do shit like that!’’ He fumed, making you let out a breathless chuckle.

‘‘Could you stop treating me like a fucking child for once in your life? I’m perfectly fine, Jungkook. I’ve been doing pretty well for myself without you here, actually. I don’t know why you think you have a say on what I do, is it the entitlement you have of me that you still carry around because we grew up together? Because if that’s it then you can drop it, I let go of my little girl who wanted a friend and was treated like pure shit in return complex a long time ago.’’

He knows you’re right, but he thinks he’ll always have this odd sense of protection over the five year old girl who cried to his mom about not lending her his favorite toy. He’ll always want to apologize to the eight year old girl who declared her love for him with a Valentine’s Day card while he ended up breaking her heart in exchange. He’ll always wish to look for help within the twelve year old girl who witnessed him give out his first kiss to another girl who he didn’t even like. He’ll always feel guilty towards the sixteen year old girl who had gotten tipsy on a spiked fruit punch and crashed on his bed. He’ll always hate himself for not asking the seventeen going on eighteen year old girl to prom when he knew he could’ve, but chose not to in fear of ruining your friendship.

You only wanted someone to be there for you growing up and Jungkook had never been the brave boy you thought he was, always running from his fears in hopes he’d have a wide advantage margin from them. Yet here they are, standing right in front of him in the form of a twenty year old you, and they’re there to let him know that you’ve never needed him, yet he’s always needed you.

He can’t even apologize, he only looks at you with wide eyes as he fidgets in his place. Either you’re both too old now to understand each other or you just realized that you’ve outgrown Jungkook.

Your mouth set in a hard line as you crossed your arms, the night’s breeze feeling colder than usual. ‘‘I miss you Jungkook, but I can’t keep playing this cat and mouse game with you any longer.’’

You leave him behind to go back to Namjoon’s arms, seeking refuge in his sweet embrace as you try your hardest to put on practice what you learned all those years ago when Jungkook broke your heart for the first time, you should be used to it by now.

You’re twenty-one when you’re back in your hometown to attend the funeral of the old lady down the street, the one that always scolded you and Jungkook growing up.

You had been scared of her as a child, but always following along your friend’s footsteps when he proposed playing around her garden. It tugs at your heartstrings even if you hadn’t known the woman well. Her death was imminent seeing as she’d been ill for quite some time.

A taller figure stands next to you as you both stand way in the back of the ceremony. He looks tired and you figure that it’s because of the fact he arrived late into the night, you heard his car’s engine from your bedroom window. Dressing in all black, you notice he bought a new suit. You’re sure that the one he wore for prom no longer fits considering he’s bigger now.

You haven’t talked to each other since last year when you both left off on a sour note. The hurt you felt was no longer present, though. You chewed on your bottom lip as you thought of a way you could talk to him again without making things awkward, but you let out a small gasp once he placed his arm around your shoulders, giving it a small squeeze as he sighed and kept his focus on the service.

Watching the casket be lowered into the ground felt weird. She was a human being just like you, but her existence was a reminder of your childhood. Would it be okay to say that her death meant a part of you leaving with her too?

Once it hits you, it’s Jungkook who consoles you by hugging you tight. Your eyes are too blurry with tears for you to realize this is one of those rare moments where he’s holding you close without hesitation. He lets you ruin his tuxedo’s jacket with your mascara covered tears as he brushes your hair as a sign of comfort.

You know things are back in order when he proposes the idea to go back to the old lady’s porch, for old times sake. ‘‘Will we ever let her rest?’’ You ask him with a small laugh as Jungkook sits on the doorsteps of the old lady’s empty home, opening the bag of candy worms he bought at the grocery store.

He shrugs, ‘‘She loved us, always told my mom how much she missed us running around the street.’’ The revelation makes you smile, hoping it was true. He pats the empty space next to him, indicating for you to fill it up with your presence. Once you do, you feel the familiar warmth of his proximity.

Jungkook seems different and you only hope he’s changed for the best.

‘‘When are you going back?’’ You ask him with curiosity, hoping that he’ll be in town for a few more days so you can catch up with him on a better note this time around.

He munches on one of the snacks, ‘‘Tomorrow morning, I have training camp and can’t miss it.’’ His answer makes you sigh with disappointment, but you nod nonetheless. ‘‘What about you?’’ He asks in return, and you inform him that you’ll stay for a few more days to spend time with your family. There’s silence after that and Jungkook can only offer you the gummy worms in the bag, you take one with a small thanks.

‘‘College fucking sucks,’’ he says out of nowhere and it makes you look at him in bewilderement, ‘‘I hate it there, I wanna drop out so bad. But I’m a year away from graduating so it’s too late now.’’ You see his shoulders visibly relax, like a weight had been lifted off them. ‘‘Plus my mom would kill me if I do so,’’ he adds with a chuckle.

Last time you asked everything was fine. Had things changed or had they always been this way and he was just now being honest with you?

You rest your head on his shoulder and focus all of your undivided attention on him as he keeps rambling about what his life has been ever since he left this town. He’s had bad games, bad grades, and bad girls. But he’s also had incredible games, good grades, and a couple great hookups, and yet he still feels empty, it’s not enough.

‘‘I miss you,’’ he mumbles as he faces you, ‘‘I’m sorry for being such a shitty friend, you deserved better.’’ His apology is genuine and you can feel it in the way his voice trembles, sincerity has always scared him after all.

Jungkook’s never known when the time is right, and he misjudges the look on your face. When he leans down to press his lips against yours, he’s blinded for a mere moment into believing that you wanted to kiss him just as much as he had been waiting.

You abruptly separate from him with wide eyes and parted lips, ‘‘Jungkook, I’m─I’m dating Namjoon now.’’ He can physically feel his heart shatter, the revelation coming out like an old newspaper headline he should’ve read a long time ago.

He lets out a breathless chuckle, ‘‘He got over the commitment issues?’’ The rhetorical question is bitter.

You scoff, ‘‘And what about it? I preferred to wait than to rush into getting my heart broken.’’ Plus it’s not like you were expecting Namjoon to grow feelings for you, the whole no strings attached arrangement was named that way for a reason.

Jungkook looks at you with narrowed eyes and he shakes his head sightly. Old habits never die down, still so stubborn and challenging as ever.

He’s startled as you stand abruptly, fuming as you look at him, ‘‘I don’t even know why you care! Did you forget that you threw my Valentine’s Day card into the trash? Or that you kissed Yeji in front of my face? Or that you let Taehyung date me as prank between your friends? Or that you were making out with Eunha while Jimin kept giving me alcohol? Or that you asked Jaehyun to take me to the stupid prom even though I was perfectly fine going without him or anyone for that matter?’’

‘‘We were just kids!’’ Jungkook argues back at you.

‘‘It still fucking hurt,’’ you counter, ‘‘still hurts, actually. You think that by giving me a measly apology and kissing it better I’ll suddenly forget about all of it?’’ Jungkook knows it won’t ever make up for all those years, but he had at least hoped you’d be willing to give him a chance.

He wishes he could say something else. Explain that he had just tried to protect you in his own shitty way from everyone else or himself maybe, he doesn’t know anymore. He wants to speak up again, but there’s disappointment written all over your face, you’re not angry at him...just saddened.

‘‘Hope you have fun at your training camp.’’

Jungkook watches as you leave him sitting by himself on the old lady’s doorstep. A hand runs through his hair as he feels his eyes water, and he can almost hear a whisper in the wind that asks him why he didn’t stop you when he could’ve.

Jungkook didn’t think that his family coming together with yours for Christmas dinner would’ve been a great idea. You’re cold to him at first and it’s fitting for the winter weather, but as always it only takes for him to sit next to you for things to warm up again.

It’s with the excuse that you’ll run over to your house to grab a new bottle of wine from the kitchen counter that Jungkook trails behind you, both slightly tipsy on the different alcohols your families had offered each other.

Years have passed since he last stepped foot inside your home, you used to visit him more often than he did anyway. It still smells and looks the same; the only difference is that there’s new pictures of you hung up on the walls, updated accordingly to the changes you’ve made ever since you left off for college.

You’re sporting a big smile in all of them, which in exchange makes him copy the action as well. His lack of presence in your life has done you better than compared to when he was around, and if that’s the case, then at least he did something right.

There hasn’t been much said since the beginning of the night, just a simple hey out of courtesy. There’s so much he wants to say, but with no clue where to begin. Another apology is due, though he thinks it’s a little too late for that. He also wants to ask about what you’ve been up to since he last saw you, are you still dating the Namjoon guy you had told him about after he kissed you? If he’s still there, Jungkook rather keep quiet and not wonder out loud to you, he’s sure that it’ll hurt if it’s true.

Growing up Jungkook always mistook your bravery with stubbornness and your courage with relentlessness. You’ve always been challenging, but only because you wanted him to do so too. It’s moments like this that prove him that you’ve always been the stronger between the two.

‘‘So, we’re just gonna pretend like nothing’s wrong between us?’’ You ask, speaking directly to him for the first time that night. It makes him look at you like a deer stuck in headlights, surprised by the sudden question and out of all the years of knowing each other, he feels small under your gaze for once. ‘‘How much time is it going to pass until you want to finally talk things like adults?’’

Jungkook gulps the lump in his throat, his brain quickly thinking of the right thing to say, ‘‘I just wanted to protect you from─’’

‘‘From what? From you? Everytime you’ve done that I end up getting hurt in the end. I’m left to pick the pieces up by myself,’’ you interject with anger in your voice. ‘‘It fucking pisses me off that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you kissing me, I haven’t stopped thinking about you and─’’ A sigh, you close your eyes to center yourself again as Jungkook waits for the final blow, ‘‘and you look like none of this has ever bothered you in the slightest because, you don’t really care about me do you?’’

‘‘I do care about you.’’ He’s sure about it, even though he’s been extremely bad at showing it.

Even though your eyes are threatening to spill tears, you still muster up the last bit of what’s left of your courage to step closer to him until you’re a few inches away. ‘‘Prove it, then. Show me that you care.’’

His brain is sent into quick overdrive due to your close proximity. There’s a slight hesitation because he only hopes that what he’s about to do is what you’re demanding him to prove. He doesn’t care if you’re still dating the Namjoon guy because he’s settled with the idea that it’s okay if you don’t correspond, it’s not like he did the same to you when you were both younger.

Once his lips press against yours, there’s no turning back. He’s waiting for you to push him back and let him know that your heart’s still taken, but you kiss him with such fervor that he knows in that moment that you’re right, it’s better to wait than to rush right in.

It’s no fairytale kiss, though. There’s desperation in the way you chase his lips, as if you were to slow down he’d find a way to escape from you. You grip the cotton material of his crewneck into your small fists, holding on to the fabric like your life depended on it. The small kiss you had both shared last year was nothing compared to this, and Jungkook’s taken aback by your neediness.

He doesn’t know how you manage to drag him to your childhood bedroom without missing a beat, only separating once you both realize you need to catch your breaths, and even then Jungkook can’t have a minute to take just happened in because your lips attach to his neck to get more of a taste. His fingers curled around your arm, sighing at the way your kisses felt like electricity on his skin.

‘‘Y/N,’’ he calls your name out in a breathy tone, but you’re too immersed in your little bubble to even realize it.

Jungkook groans when you bite into the skin of his neck, then blowing over the red mark as you kissed it better. It’s going to be bruise and he doesn’t like when that happens, but he’s not bothered at all if it comes from you. He forcibly grabs your chin so you can face him, looking at him with big eyes, a small pout, and with your chin messed with drool.

It’s then that Jungkook kisses you hungrily, making you feel like you’re in a dream-like state, though you could partially blame the Christmas eggnog for that. The way he bites at your lips and how your tongues clash together is an extreme juxtaposition as to how you could describe this moment. It’s as if you’re floating on air, clouds surrounding you in a heavenly embrace, angels singing in the background every time his hands touch, grab, hold and caress every part of your body. And yet, even with such a difference, it’s perfect because it’s Jungkook. You’ve been waiting for this too long, which is why your hands creep beneath his crewneck, touching his tonified abdomen tentatively and enjoying the way goosebumps arise on his skin at the sensation of your fingers trailing patterns wherever they caress.

It’s only fair that he pays attention to yours as well. Jungkook’s lips trail from your mouth onto your jawline, planting wet kisses on each space until he begins sucking on the skin of your neck, making you moan in the process. He chooses then that his new favorite sound is the way you voice out the pleasure he gives you. ‘‘Hurry up,’’ you say, ridding the bottom of the crewneck higher over his stomach, making him shiver at the sudden change of temperature.

Jungkook chuckles before completely getting rid of the material, ‘‘Calm down,’’ he sighs as he gives you a sweet smile, ‘‘You know our moms could talk forever.’’

You ogle his chest, admiring the way his training camps have obviously done wonders to his body. ‘‘It’s not them I’m talking about,’’ you correct him with a teasing smile that only makes his grin grow wider, chuckling at your impatience. Jungkook lets out a small gasp of surprise when your hands grasp at his shoulder blades, turning him around so you can back him until the back of his knees hit the edge of your bed. It’s funny how he lets himself be bossed around by someone who’s way smaller compared to his frame.

Jungkook finds leverage on his elbows splayed against the mattress, your knees resting on each side of his hips as you leaned into him and kissing him just as widely as you had done before. Jungkook could fill just how quick things were escalating, especially the way his crotch area was beginning to become a problem he couldn’t possibly control at the moment, not with your own being directly on top of it. In any other situation he would’ve apologized with an awkward laugh, but his breath hitches once your hips start grinding over him.

His hands make their way on the inside of your knitted sweater, provoking goosebumps on the exposed skin. You let out a shaky laugh, halting your movements so you can quickly get rid of the fabric as Jungkook’s eyebrows lift in surprise at your haste and then at the sight of your bra covered breasts. His hands are still steadily placed on each side of your waist, only brought up because your own had redirected them over your breasts, hoping he gets the message on what you want him to do now.

Jungkook hesitantly squeezed one of the round globes, provoking a small moan to come from out of your lips. He wishes to hold you as close as he possibly can because the idea of ever being away from you again has been his main fear as of lately. But he refrains, you look so delicate and he feels like you could easily break. He stares at your body lovingly and your cheeks heat up at the way his eyes ogle your chest like a kid in a candy story. You give his arm a light slap and he chuckles, leaning over you to place a passionate kiss on your lips.

“You’re beautiful,” he says frankly. It doesn’t help to dissipate the flush on your face, but the compliment doesn’t bother you in the slightest. Jungkook leans in to trail kisses past your collarbones and into the swell of your breasts, making you bite your lip with anticipation. He looks at you asking for permission and you nod quickly with parted lips as you start to become impatient for him to make his next move. Jungkook lowers the cups of your breasts, freeing your hardened nipples and immediately envelopes one of them with his lips. “Mph—!” A sigh escapes your lips as you try to memorize the way his tongue traces over your tit. He pays attention to your other one, fingers rolling over the bud and pinching ever so often.

You can feel your panties damp by then, trespassing into the fabric of the black leggings you’re wearing over them. Reaching behind your back, you fumble in unclasping the hooks of the now uncomfortable bra. Jungkook’s forced to stop the undivided attention he had places on your breasts to look at you like he’s lost, why are you going so fast?

Once your hands delve with the buckle of his belt, he has to hold on to your wrists with a firm grasp, ‘‘What are you doing?’’ He asks with quick breath, you blink stoically towards him.

‘‘Uh─getting you naked?’’ You answer with a nonchalant tone, but his hands don’t let go and your demeanor changes, ‘‘D-Did you not want this?’’ Your voice turns smaller, embarrassed that maybe you had pressured him into something he didn’t want to participate in.

Jungkook quickly shakes his head no, ‘‘No, I-I do want this! It’s just─you’re going so fast,’’ he tries to explain, ‘‘I’ve been waiting for this for too long, I don’t wanna rush.’’ Your eyes lit up at the revelation as he waits for you to answer back, only for his back to hit the comforter with a small thud, giggling at the way you urgently kiss him again, but this time with much more care.

‘‘Why didn’t you say so before, stupid?’’ You mumble with a sheepish look, ‘‘I thought it was just going to be─nevermind, I need you right now.’’ You have to force yourself from spitting out any details that could possibly ruin the moment between you two, deciding to wait instead for any emotional confessions you want to make.

He switches positions between the two, panting as he brings you down to the mattress and Jungkook can feel the goosebumps on your skin, whether from the coldness of the room or because of the sheer electricity of his hands caressing your body like it was molded just right for him. He dips his hand lower, cupping your clothed heat on his hand. It makes you tremble and you whine, encouraging him to keep going.

“Baby, you’re really wet,” he comments with a teasing tone and you pout at him. His fingers hook into the waistband of your leggings and he pulls them down as he travels with them, greeted by the sight of the damp cloth of your panties. He exhales with content, caressing your thighs in an up and down motion. You twist underneath him and he has to hold your hips down to calm you down, “Patience is a virtue.”

“I’ve been too patient, do some—Ah!” Your whining is interrupted once Jungkook moves your underwear to the side holding it with his free hand, fingers coming to trace the slick covering your pussy lips. He becomes entranced with the transparent gooey liquid, bringing them close to his face as he separates his fingers and sees a strand connecting between them. “Guk-ah, p-please…” Your needy voice brings him back to reality, delving his fingers back into your exposed heat but this time with intent.

Jungkook’s thumb lifts the hood covering your clit, mouth coming down to give it a small tentative kiss. That action alone has you writhing above him, it makes him chuckle to himself as he dives back in. The moans you let out are loud and clear inside your bedroom, thankful that it’s only you and him inside your house. Your hand pulls at his hair, making him groan against you and the vibrations are felt throughout your body, only adding to the euphoric pleasure you already possess. His fingers trace the inside of your thighs until they reach your entrance, circling the fluttering hole which makes you pull at his hair harder and with your other you hold on to the bedsheets of the comforter tightly into your fist.

Jungkook’s tongue is still working your engorged bud, but he focuses his eyes on you as he dips the first finger inside you. “Oh—fuck,” you let out in a breathy moan. He tries to maintain a rhythm between his two ministrations, but it’s hard when he wants to focus on all of them at once. “‘Nother, please,” you begged once he let your clit rest, quickly following your request by adding another into your warm heat. He lets out a breathless chuckle as he notices how easy it is to thrust both fingers inside of you, your whole crotch area is covered in slick and his wet chin is a dead giveaway to where he was seconds ago.

He watches you unravel over him with such adoration, not even his wettest dreams or dirtiest fantasies could prepare him for this. Seven minutes in heaven he plans to stay in forever. “Guk-ah, I wan’ you. I-Inside, please.” You plead with teary eyes, and he slowly stops, removing his arousal covered fingers from inside you as he makes you sigh in the process. He kisses you again and again, your hazy brain is probably hallucinating all of this right now, but damn is it good. You tug at the crewneck he’s wearing, he’s too overdressed for this occasion. He tends to your demands, quickly getting rid of all the layers of clothing that stop him from being inside of you fully.

“I don’t have a—“

“I’m on the pill.”

You both speak at the same time, making each other chuckle. Jungkook gulps at the idea of taking you raw as the first time together, and you salivate at his hardened length; the head already oozing precum out and you want nothing more than to wrap your lips around it and lick the tip up. You’re just about to when Jungkook quickly grabs your wrist to stop you from reaching him, you look up at him with the big sparkly eyes he has loved for too long.

“I just—I wanna be inside you right now,” he sheepishly admits, and you smile with a nod; sharing the sentiment. You back up until your head rests on the pillows comfortably, relaxing into the mattress as you wait for Jungkook to ready himself. He places a kiss on your lips before placing a hand next to your head, using it as leverage above you. His free hand takes his cock and rubs the tip along your folds, making you squirm with anticipation. Jungkook chuckles, “Are you ready?” He asks with a sweet smile.

“I’ve always been,” you whisper, your hand tucking a strand of his long hair behind his ear.

A caress to his cheek as he nods, slowly pushing the head of his dick into you. You bite into your lip hard, it’s been a while since you had sex with someone and Jungkook’s size and girth was different from the rest. Your walls are tight around him and he has a tough time trying to reach the hilt with you squeezing him so hard, “Baby, relax for me.” He pleads and you nod apologetically, breathing in deep as you feel him reach parts inside of you, you didn’t know existed. Once he’s all the way in, he waits for you to give him the go ahead while he presses kisses into your heated cheek. You wrap your legs around his waist and give him a nod, letting him know he was allowed to start thrusting.

Jungkook manages to hit all the right places, keeping a steady pace as he enters and exits you each time. You’re left to moan and writhe underneath him, letting him take you as he pleases. Your kisses become messy, teeth biting into each other’s lips, teeth grazing against each other as you both tried to fight for the dominant position. It’s that heavy makeout that incites you to push at his shoulders, making him turn in his back, exiting you in the process. Jungkook pants, chest rising and falling with quickness as you straddle his lap, arms connecting behind his neck.

“You always want to win, right?” He chuckles with half lidded eyes, enjoying the way your pussy lips grinded over his twitching length. You bat your eyelashes at him, offering him an innocent smile. The same technique that used to get you everything you wanted when you were younger. Same determination as you seek for what’s yours. He’s under you after all, still a victim to your charms.

Jungkook takes the bulbous head of his cock and teases it in your clit, if you weren’t holding on to him tight you would’ve collapsed into his chest. And by the way you moan his name out, he knows you’ll always look for him no matter the weather. “What a pretty girl,” he coos into your hair and you pinch his nipple in retaliation which only makes him groan in return. “My pretty girl.” He states before sinking himself deep into you again, sighing at the feeling of your hips circling over him. His rough hands guide them as you bounce up and down his length, moaning every time you rose and hissing when you came back down.

He makes sure to keep this image engraved on his head forever. Your breasts bouncing over his face, your thighs working extra hard to keep up with his thrusts, and the way your sounds bounced off the walls of your bedroom.

“You’re doing s-so good, baby.” Jungkook praises you, kneading your ass cheek. “Taking my cock s-so well,” he falls into a trance of admiring the way his length would appear and disappear inside of you, covered in a thick layer of your arousal. It makes him drill into you faster, sitting properly against the bed’s headboard as he takes your hips with force. He’s too turned on to keep treating you so delicately, and the way you moan and pant at the increase in speed only lets him know you enjoy him like this way more. “I-Is it good, baby? Am I-I fucking you well?” He asks in between rapid thrusts, your thighs had given out by then.

You nod and a whimper escapes your lips, “Y-yes, Guk-Ah. S-so good, feels amazing.” Your praise is honest, the fucked out tone in your voice is a clear indicator of how well of a job he was doing. A minute longer and you’ll be right on cloud nine, never wanting to come back down. “Wanna cum Guk-Ah, plea—“ There’s no need for you to even finish your sentence because his thumb rubs your clit in figure eights, making you groan with the intensified feeling of his hips circling inside you deliciously. You can almost see the blinding white light ahead as Jungkook kisses you feverishly. You feel tears escape the corners of your high, the familiar feeling tickling inside you as Jungkook’s thrusts don’t let up. ‘‘Ah! Yes, yes, fuck,’’ you cry out once your orgasm hits. Jungkook holds you close to his chest, trying to soothe your shaking body with his arms. Your walls squeeze and relax continuously around him, it serves him as the impulse he needs to chase his own high.

‘‘I love you, Jungkook,’’ you confess in between panting breaths, ‘‘so much.’’

His release shoots out and he groans, digging crescent moons into your hips. You hiss at the sensation, but giggle at how his eyes are screwed shut and brows still furrowed together, as if he was holding on to the last of his orgasm. In reality, Jungkook is just hoping that once he opens his eyes you’ll still be in his arms. Your fingers tilting his head to face you are very much real, he sees spots once he opens his eyes as they adjust to the room’s lighting.

‘‘I love you too.’’ He says with a fixed gaze and you coo at how perfect this is.

You’re twenty-two when Jungkook’s finally yours.

You’re both twenty-three and it’s another weekend spent at his apartment, he’s been playing for three hours now and you’ve given up on having him pay attention to you. Deciding to switch your plan around and join him instead, if only he would let you play.

‘‘Jungkook, you said it was going to be my turn five rounds ago!’’ You complain with a pout, crossing your arms across your chest.

His gaze is still stuck on the T.V screen, ‘‘Baby, shhh, you’re gonna make me lose.’’ He mumbles as he tries to remain concentrated on the game in hand, but he can hear your humph’s from behind him, ‘‘Patience is a─’’

‘‘Virtue, yeah, who cares.’’ You interrupt him with a roll of your eyes, familiar with the saying a little too well. ‘‘Hope you remember that for later tonight,’’ you add in a mumble, but he doesn’t hear it because of the loud sounds coming from the game on the screen.

‘‘What did you say, babe?’’ He asks with a raised brow, hitting the buttons of the controller with expert ease.

‘‘I’ll call your mom and tell her you don’t wanna share.’’ You joke with a threatening voice, but Jungkook knows better than to take your words so lightly. He pauses the game and turns to look at you with an are you serious? expression on his face, you giggle as you’ve finally got what you wanted.

He apologizes by covering your face with kisses, pleading for you not to tell on him with his mom. You promise not to do so this time, knowing that the woman was probably tired of having to scold his son at his big age.

Plus, ever since Jungkook surprised you with the almost exact replica of the Valentine’s Day card you gave him all those year back, you’ve taken advantage to tease him even more knowing he’s at your beck and call. You always remind him that he came close because the stickers he used were not like the ones you had, but he remembered to add the hearts on the I’s so that’s good enough.

‘‘Alright you can play, but━!’’ He says after he finishes his attack of kisses, ‘‘I’ll be your guide, I can’t risk you messing my record up, no offense baby.’’ None taken as you nod excitedly, you’ll always take whatever chance he gives you.

Jungkook’s finally learned how to share his toys after all.

#heartsforbts #bangtanhq #btswritingcafe #jungkook smut #jungkook au #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook scenario #jungkook fic #bts smut #f: year 22

3K notes · View notes

btssaysstudy · 3 years

Text

Assumption || pjm.

Request: Hiii first of all I looove your writing💜 I would like to request a scenario with Jimin where he likes y/n but they think Jimin likes their friend? It can end however u want but make it fluff pls😭 Pairing: Jimin x reader Genre: college au, f2l, mutual pining, angst w/ fluffy ending Warning(s): Swearing, implied unrequited love, thirdwheeling Note: My first ever scenario request and it made my heart flutter when I received this ask!!

“Thanks for the ride again, Jimin.” You hopped off his car, turning around to face your self-proclaimed chauffeur. He tilted his imaginary hat, “Anytime, boss.”

You laughed, “See you tomorrow! Get home safely.”

“I will, see you yn!” Jimin winked goodbye before rolling the windows back up and driving home. You smiled to yourself as you watched his car move further away before turning down the road to his place.

You and Jimin lived pretty near each other and ever since Jimin found out about this, he always insisted to drive you home whenever he could. You felt bad for treating him like a driver but Jimin always assured you it wasn’t the case.

“You know, guys would only send you home if they have a thing for you.”

“He sends you home too, you know. That’s what friends do. If I had a car, I’d do the same.”

Your best friend, Young Ha, hummed to herself, “Alright, you have a point.”

“Where is he, anyway?” You grabbed your phone to see the time. Young Ha and Jimin were both in dance as their extra-curricular that started in an hour yet none of you had eaten dinner. You always joined them for dinner, separating to head to the library while they went to dance.

Young Ha sighed, “Late, as usual. Probably busy fixing his hair in the toilet.”

Just as you were about to agree, you both hear someone yelling sorry in the distance. “Speak of the devil.” Young Ha chuckled, looking at someone behind you. You turned around to see Jimin running towards your table, waving his hand with a cheeky apologetic grin.

“S-Sorry,” he panted as he placed both his hands on his knees, head hung low as he tried to catch his breath. “I… I took a nap and over…over-slept.”

“Why am I not surprised?” You remarked, earning a non-threatening glare from him as he sat beside Young Ha. “Did yo guys already order?”

“Yep, we got your usual. Just waiting for the food to come.”

“Thank you.” He breathed out, running his hands through his hair to fix his disheveled hair. You tried your best not to stare too long at your close friend. He looked good even when he just ran over and had his hair all messed up. You blinked hair, looking away at your phone as a distraction to get your mind off of him.

“Anyway, our instructor said that for the pair dance, you and I are partners.” You felt your muscles freeze as you heard Jimin and Young Ha talk about their upcoming production.

Young Ha nodded her head with a sigh, “Thank goodness. After pairing up with Matt last production, pairing with you is a dream come true.”

Jimin chuckled, playfully nudging her, “Matt wasn’t that bad.” “Yes, he was, that’s why he left. That guy is a great dancer but sucks as a dance team member.”

You usually loved to hear their dance stories, you liked to live vicariously through their stories. Young Ha and Jimin met through dance and she introduced Jimin to you. That was how you three became a trio - inseparable in fact. Though, you knew how close they were because of dance. However, you didn’t feel too interested in learning their pair dance for that particular production.

As much as you hated to admit it, they were very close and even looked good together. You even had a hunch that Jimin had a thing for Young Ha.

“Earth to yn.” Jimin’s teasing tone pulled you out from your thoughts. You looked back to meet his gaze, “Huh?”

“I was asking if you’re going to wait for practice to end.”

“O-Oh,” You rubbed the back of your neck, “I don’t think so. I might head home early today.”

You looked away, facing Young Ha’s confused face, and had missed Jimin’s dejected look. “I thought you said you had lots to revise today?”

“Y-Yea,” You shrugged your shoulders, “But I’m feeling kinda tired.”

“But I’ll drive you home!” Jimin offered once again, you purposely ignored Young Ha’s smirk as you shook your head. “It’s alright Jimin, I’ll head home early today.”

This time, Jimin frowned, jutting his lower lip out in a pout and you tried not to cave in that moment. “Alright… Another time then!”

“Sure.” You smiled at him.

You had received a text from Jimin to meet you near the carpark after your class so he could drive you home. You smiled at your phone before tucking it into your pocket, making your way to the carpark.

Just then, someone draped their arms over your shoulder, pulling you closer to them. Shocked, you clenched your hands into a fist as you pulled your body away to punch the person.

“O-Ow!” Jimin coughed, clutching his stomach as he groaned in pain. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” You gasped, reaching out to place your hand over his shoulder, bending over to see his face covered with a mischievous smile instead of a painful wince.

He laughed, standing upright as he clutched his stomach, “Your face! Priceless!” You rolled your eyes, shoving him away as you started walking off.

“I thought I hurt you!”

He jogged up to your side, grabbing you bye your wrist to pull you beside him. “You won’t hurt me. I’m fine!”

The two of you made your way to his car, as you buckled in, he handed you his phone. “Check out our rehearsal video!”

You raised an eyebrow at him, “Shouldn’t I wait for the actual production?”

He winked at you as he started the car, “You deserve a sneak peek since your two best friends are in it.” You laughed, shifting your focus on the video when you pressed play.

It was hip hop, something your two friends were very good at. It being a partner dance, there were definitely moves that you wished you were Young Ha in the video. Your mind tried to please your heart as you imagined it being you dancing with him instead. You kept the proud smile of your face as you watched the entire clip.

“You guys are really good.” You uttered out in awe once the video ended, you watched Jimin’s face light up. “You really think so?”

“Yea, you guys are great partners.”

Jimin nodded his head happily as he kept his eyes on the road, “Yea I think we are too! It’s really such a fun piece.”

You nodded your head in agreement, eyes casting down on your hands as you fidgeted with his phone. “R-Right here’s your phone.”

“You can help me hold it till we reach, thanks yn.” He quickly stole a glance at you, smiling charmingly at your way. “Sure,” you returned the smile, “But yea, I think this piece is great.”

“I agree, I’m glad Young Ha is my partner this time.”

“Why’s that?” You tried to pry as subtly as you could. He shrugged, “She’s the closest one in the club. I just feel the most comfortable with her.”

“That’s nice.” You didn’t expect your voice to sound as soft as it came out. Jimin seemed to have caught it, quickly adding on, “Of course that excludes you. I’d love to dance with you too if you were in dance!”

You smiled at him, deciding to tease to erase his concern, “You can keep dreaming for that to happen.”

“Alright, that’s what I’ll keep doing.”

—

As much as you tried to get rid of your feelings, it was nearly an impossible task as you saw him almost everyday. Lately, you’ve been trying to keep yourself distant as you saw your two friends grow even closer and physically more comfortable with each other.

You knew this would happen since they were partners for their production. You tried to be happy for them, knowing that both sides were a great catch.

“Hey,” Someone tapped you on your shoulder. You took out your earpiece and turned to see Jimin’s concerned eyes staring at you. You instinctively shifted your head away, noticing how close his face was to yours.

Jimin had noticed it as you watched the slight twitch in his eyebrows, taken aback by your reaction. “New study space?” He looked at your studying area and the surroundings. The library had been packed lately and you needed a new spot to feel refreshed. You found yourself sitting down on an empty bench placed along the corridor.

“Yea, the library’s packed.”

Jimin gestured to the empty seat beside you, “May I?”

“Sure, go ahead.” You shifted to give him more space, and to give yourself more space away from him. “Are you going to let me drive you home today?”

You smiled, shaking your head, “Not today.”

He let out a frown, tilting his head towards you as he mimicked a poor puppy look. You sighed as you ignored the rapid beating in your chest, “Not going to work Jimin.”

“But it always does.”

“Not today.”

Jimin slumped his shoulders in defeat, “Are you avoiding me?”

You jerked your head towards his direction, “N-No I’m not.” His skeptical look clearly showed that he didn’t believe you. You shrugged your shoulders, “I’m just not staying that late in school lately. I don’t want to travel late at night.”

“But that’s why I’m here to drive you home!”

“You’re not my chauffeur Jimin—“

“Yo Jimin!” The both of you turned to find Taehyung walking over to your table. You gave him a smile and waved ‘hello’. You knew Taehyung through Jimin since he would crash your pre-dance dinner time to time. You weren’t that close to him but he was very easy to be around with as well.

Taehyung must have been looking for Jimin to head for dance practice that night. Jimin waved at him, “Gimme me a sec!”

He abruptly stood up, grabbing your school ID. You gasped as you tried to reach out to snatch it back but his reflexes helped him jump away outside your reach.

You stood up, ready to tackle him for your ID but he shocked you as he grabbed your wrist to pull you close to him, bumping into slightly. Your breath hitched as he leaned closer with a cheeky grin on his face. “Now you can’t go home without this. I’ll see you later!”

He released his grip and happily skipped away as he twirled your school ID card in the air. You let out a big exhale as you placed your hand to your chest, feeling the rapid heartbeat and the adrenaline slowly dissipate.

You couldn’t stay angry at that boy.

So you waited for him to end that night. It had been a while since you did. It had forced you to get some work done too. However, you were way past saturation point and decided to head over to the dance studio to wait outside.

Once you placed your belongings down, you headed to use the bathroom. You could hear people laughing and talking outside the toilet and you figured it was the dance club since this was the far end of the college and these washrooms were mainly used by the dance club. As you were washing your hands, you recognised a familiar voice.

“She knows?”

Jimin.

“She was the one who told me, dude. She told me that you’re super obvious. You suck at hiding your feelings.”

It was Taehyung’s voice. Who told Taehyung what? It couldn’t be you since you didn’t talk to Taehyung that often.

You heard Jimin sighed and you turned off the faucet. You knew you shouldn’t be eavesdropping but something was compelling you to listen.

“Am I that obvious?”

“From what I saw today, yes.”

“I don’t want to make things awkward you know. We’re all part of a trio and the fact that she told you that I’m so obvious—“

Trio? They must be talking about Young Ha.

“You won’t. I’m sure she likes you too.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Let’s go back, don’t want to keep your partner waiting now, do we?”

You heard the two chuckle and their voices moving further away. Your heart sunk as you realised your assumption had just been proven right. Jimin definitely had a crush on Young Ha. This production made them even closer and Young Ha even talked to Taehyung about it.

You felt lump grow in your throat, as you looked back at your reflection in the mirror, catching your eyes well up with tears. You forced a swallow, tilting your head backwards to look up at the dull white ceiling of the toilet. With a sigh, you collected your emotions, giving yourself extra time in the bathroom before heading out.

—

“Yn!!” You heard your friend Young Ha shout your name, you looked up from your phone to see Young Ha and Jimin approach you, ignoring Jimin’s arm draped around her shoulder.

“See you on Monday!” Jimin pulled Young Ha closer for a quick side hug before she waved goodbye at you and headed off in the opposite direction.

“Where’s my school ID?” You crossed your arms as you stood up, resting your weight on one leg. Jimin laughed, taking it out from his pocket and handed it over to you. “Here you go. Let’s go home.” He winked at you as he placed his arm over your shoulder.

You had mixed emotions, knowing that Jimin liked Young Ha yet still enjoying the moment of being close to him.

As you both buckled up, Jimin started the car and you two made your way home.

On the ride home, the two of you shared about what has been going on for the past week since you barely went home with him that week. When the conversation had slowly died down, you started fidgeting with your hands, hesitant on whether or not you should bring it up.

“You know… Your little crush isn’t that subtle.”

Jimin let out an embarrassed laugh, “You too, huh. Well, I guess the gig’s up.”

You nodded your head as you looked straight on the road. “I think it’s cute.”

“You do?” He asked with a hopeful tone in his voice. You smiled, masking your sadness. “Yea, I do.”

“So you don’t think it’s weird?”

“Of course not.”

Jimin smiled, his eyes fixated on the road. “Maybe I should make a move then.”

“Maybe you should.”

“I think I will.”

—

During that weekend, you barely texted with Jimin and Young Ha. You needed to go “AWOL” as you tried to figure out your emotions and how you would react to them being together.

You knew Jimin was definitely going to make a move and probably soon since he was clearly encouraged by your talk that Friday night.

You didn’t want things to be awkward as you three were all friends. You didn’t want to make it obvious too that you had a crush on him. So you spent the entire weekend, training and preparing for whatever was going to happen the following week.

When Monday came, it seemed that Jimin didn’t make his move. It seemed normal. He sent you home as usual, even brought you snacks while you studied and waited for dance practice to end.

Tuesday came.

Nothing.

Jimin had not made a move either. Young Ha even seemed to be talking about her new eye candy in dance club with Jimin around. You were beyond confused. Jimin was a great actor, you concluded. He seemed so nonchalant about her eye candy and even teased her about it.

Wednesday came.

Jimin had offered to pick you up in the morning to send you to school, surprising you with your favourite drink as well. You wanted to bring it up with Jimin but you didn’t want to pressure him as well. You figured he was having cold feet from asking Young Ha out. You selfishly decided to enjoy the last few moments of him being single as well.

Then Thursday came.

“Hey yn, wanna skip studying for the day and head out for dinner?”

You looked at your friend, confused, trying to catch for any negative reaction. She seemed okay with it, encouraging you to take a day off and spend the night out. “How about you?” You directed your question at Young Ha.

“Don’t worry about me!” She laughed, “I’ve got my own plans.” She wriggled her eyebrows and you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, snapping your had back to Jimin who still had his charming smile on his face.

“S-Sure, why not?” You gave in.

The two of you enjoyed dinner and headed your way to his car. “You didn’t have to treat me you know.”

“I know,” He grinned and you did your best to ignore the fluttery feeling in your heart, “I just wanted to.”

“Anyway, about what we talked about the other night in the car.” You decided to bring it up at night since Young Ha wasn’t around. You felt that it would be the most comfortable place for Jimin to share his plans.

“What about it?” He asked with a teasing tone in his voice that you had missed. If you weren’t caught up with trying to manage your own emotions and facial expressions, you would’ve caught that mischievous tone in his voice.

“When are you going to do it?”

Jimin laughed, “How eager of you, yn.”

You shook your head with a smile. Seeing how happy he was thinking about it, you knew you just had to be happy for him and your friend.

The two of you got on his car and finally made your way home.

That night, Jimin insisted to walk you to your apartment building’s lobby. You basked in the moment, enjoying the feeling of Jimin being with you, sending you home after dinner.

He had stopped walking and you did as well when you noticed he wasn’t walking alongside with you. You turned around to see a serious look on his face, “You alright?”

Jimin pulled his hands out from his pocket, stepping closer to you as he reached out for your hands. “Since you already made it clear that you know about my crush… Will you go out with me?”

You felt yourself stop breathing for a moment, as you took a couple of blinks to process what had just occurred. You stepped back in shock, “W-What?”

“What?” Jimin returned, confusion appearing on his face. “I thought you had a crush on Young Ha.”

This was the last thing you expected that night. That didn’t mean it was a bad thing. In fact, happiness started to settle in as you realised that Jimin had been referring to you that night. You had been the one Jimin liked all this time, yet you kept assuming that it was your friend.

Jimin ran his hand through his hair as he replayed the conversation you had with him in the car. Neither of you had said who he had a crush on, both of you had made assumptions. Complete opposite assumptions. “W-Wait, that night, you were referring to Young Ha?”

“Y-Yea, was it not her?”

“No-no it was you,” He paused, eyes widening as he realised what he had just done. Jimin’s hand went up to rub his face as he groaned, “I just screwed up our friendship, didn’t I? That night… I assumed you were saying that you knew that I liked you—“

“Wait wait, no- I was- wait, you like me?”

Jimin’s cheeks turned red as he pinched his nose in embarrassed, looking up to the sky, anywhere else except making eye contact with you. “Fuck me.” He said with a laugh. “Could we pretend that this didn’t happen? I mean, I know it’s hard not to—“

You laughed, reaching out to pull his hand away from his face, “W-Wait, I like you too.”

“Really?” “Yea,” You admitted shyly, “I assumed you liked Young Ha and was a bit sad about it but I wanted to be happy for you guys even though I like you.”

Jimin smiled dearly, pulling you in for a hug, “Why are you so sweet? It’s no wonder that I like you.” He laughed and you smacked his back as your arm wrapped around him. “Not funny.”

“You’re the one I like, yn. I thought it was obvious to you. But, I’m glad we finally cleared this misunderstanding.”

"I'm so glad to." Jimin nuzzled his nose against yours, as he asked in a whisper, "May I kiss you?"

"Yes."

—

“Oh my poor yn,” Young Ha frowned, “My sweet oblivious yn. Even a blind man could see Jimin likes you.”

You playfully shoved her away, “Stop teasing me. I swear I had reasonable assumptions—“

“Assumptions, something you should never do my dear.” She winked as she leaned back in her seat. “I must say, I’m so glad I can finally see you two being such a cute couple.”

Jimin laughed as you pulled you in closer to him, your head resting on his shoulders. “I’m glad too.” He pressed his lips softly on your forehead and you tried to suppress a blush.

Young Ha groaned, “Just don’t be that gross in front of me.”

105 notes · View notes

luffles424 · 3 years

Text

Theory into Practice

☼ Pairing: Yoonji x reader x Jungkook

☼ Genre: fluff, smut, pwp (with some plot), teeny bit of angst, f2l, college au (technically more so grad school au)

☼ Count: 10.2K

☼ Warnings: 18+, drug use (pot), mentions of alcohol use, threesome, dom!Yoonji, dom!reader, sub!Jungkook, big dick!Jungkook, teasing, dirty talk, one thigh smack, thigh riding, fingering, hair pulling, breast play, oral (f & m receiving), face sitting, unprotected (pls stay safe), aftercare

☼ Summary: A normal night in with Yoonji leads to some interesting revelations with her and surprisingly, Jungkook.

☼ a/n: lmao it’s been a while. Hope you enjoy the Yoonji thirst, my girl doesn’t have enough fics out there. Let me know what you think! My ask box is always open ~

———

“Who of our friends do you think is the subbiest?”

You blink. It’s really a testament to how much you and Yoonji have smoked tonight that your immediate reaction isn’t to splutter at her question. Instead, you just blink slowly, the question slowly making its way through your synapses before you can articulate a response. You take another hit, using it to buy yourself a little more time. Holding the joint back out to her, you let the smoke slowly seep from your lips.

“Who says I’ve thought about it?”

You know exactly who you want to be subbiest. But you’re not going to reveal that. Maybe not yet. You might be high, but you still have enough of your wits to keep from spilling things you want to keep hidden. You’ve had good practice at that, smoking often with her and never divulging your crush, even when the topic of partners has come up. Which does come up fairly often as you both attempt to navigate dating while in grad school.

There’s a snort from the other end of the couch and Yoonji’s head lulls against the back of it so she can fix you with hazy, unimpressed eyes, though there’s a smirk just barely tugging at her lips. “I didn’t. But we’re talking about it now.”

Pursing your lips, you think of how to respond. In truth, you’ve thought about it a little, but not particularly in relation to your whole group of friends. Maybe just a person or two who you were particularly interested in that are in said friend group. Most notably, the women sitting on the other end of the couch from you currently.

Yoonji laughs, foot kicking out to nudge you, and you grin at the flood of happiness that always accompanies hearing her laugh. “Damn, it’s not that deep. Why are you thinking so hard?”

Catching her foot, you dig your thumb into the sole of her foot, causing you both to dissolve into giggles. “We have a lot of friends,” you shoot back. An excuse and you both know it.

You and Yoonji have been friends for too long for you to really be able to avoid answering a direct query. It’s only been luck that has kept your crush hidden from her. You’ve been friends since you met in 2nd year of undergrad, paired randomly as roommates and then continuing to remain roommates until even now when you live off campus in an apartment together. And many of your friends have come together and you both now share a common friend group.

Once Yoonji wrestles her foot free of your tickling grasp, she shifts in her seat, face far more serious than the topic at hand should really call for. “Fine, fine. I’ll accept your excuse,” she gives you a look that’s hard to interpret, though you mostly just don’t want to think too hard about the calculating look she’s giving you. It leaves you feeling exposed, like she can read your thoughts and knows all of your deepest secrets. Which is partially true, you and Yoonji share everything, save your feelings for her. “Which way do you think Jimin goes?”

She’s really going to make you do this? Well, you might as well give some actual thought to this. “With his praise kink? Definitely more sub leaning?”

Yoonji raises an eyebrow. “Leaning?”

“Well yeah. He’s definitely a switch. You’ve seen how he is when he’s focused. But he also likes helping others. Plus,” you pause, mostly just to be dramatic as you smirk knowingly, Yoonji leaning closer as she waits for what you’re going to say next, “Siyeon said he’s as good a dom as he is a sub.”

Scoffing, Yoonji reaches over to give you a little shove. “That’s cheating!”

You giggle, catching her hand before she pushes again. “It’s not!”

“It is! That’s insider information! This is supposed to be our opinion.”

Waving her off, you settle back onto the couch. “I gave my opinion. I would’ve had that before Siyeon told me. All she did was confirm.” You pause thoughtfully for a moment. You don’t want this to be all you, so you pose the next friend to her instead. “What about Seokjin?”

Yoonji drums her fingers on her bare thigh and you have to fight the urge to get lost in staring at the vast expanse of smooth, exposed skin she’s subjecting you to tonight while you’re impaired like this. You want to know if they’re as soft as they look. You know her hands aren’t, not anymore since she started learning guitar, finger’s growing rough and calloused. The first time she had held your hand after had startled you, now you love feeling the slight roughness brush against your skin. Dragging your gaze from her fingers to her face, you watch as she starts to speak, trying to remain focused on her words and not the way her pretty pink lips form them.

“As much as I’d love to say sub because he would be just absolutely gorgeous all tied up and begging. I think he’s a bit more dom-ish.”

Mulling it over for a moment, you nod. He likes caring for all your friends, you can certainly see that transferring over into the bedroom. You add, “Yeah… But like, a soft one, ya know? He’d be so gentle and caring about it. I bet his aftercare game is amazing.”

Shifting, Yoonji stretches her legs out and echoes your thoughts. “Definitely. You’ve seen the way he cares for all of us, but definitely the younger guys. He’d be so amazing at that. What about Taehyung?”

“Hm, a dom. Maybe a little less gentle than Seokjin, but still a soft-ish dom. Namjoon?”

“Dom leaning switch. Sometimes he just really needs to get out of his head and let go of control. Hoseok?”

“Straight up switch. I think he probably doms more often but he’s all too happy to go with whatever his partner is in the mood for. Jungkook?”

Yoonji’s face lights up. “Oh,” she coos. “The sweetest sub ever.”

You stare at the way her eyes seem to glaze over with her words and something like jealousy swirls with heat in your belly. You can’t tell if the spike of jealousy is about the way she sighed her answer so sweetly, like she’s thought a lot about this. Or if it’s because you have the same thoughts and some part of you feels possessive over Jungkook. “Why’s that?”

She shoots you a coy smile that leaves you feeling slightly uneasy. “He’s just such a sweet boy and always so eager to please.”

You can’t deny that you’ve also thought that, dreamed that were true. You’ve heard rumors of how Jungkook is in bed. Domineering, cocky, rough. But it doesn’t stop you from imagining him beneath you, whimpering and begging. Yoonji nudges you and you blink at her, realizing that you must’ve zoned out for a moment. She purses her lips, barely hiding her knowing smile.

“One more,” she declares.

Frowning, you think through your shared friends, but can’t imagine who she might be referring to. “Who?”

Her answering smirk has your heart stuttering in your chest, equal parts dreading what’s about to come out of her mouth and anticipating. “Me.”

You swallow. She’s really going to make you answer that to her face? While you’re both high? You chew your lip, looking her over slowly. You know exactly how she leans, the benefit and downside to living together for so long. The words stick in your throat though, not quite able to bring yourself to voice your knowledge. To give yourself away like that, to show just how much you’ve paid attention. Yoonji says nothing though, looking at you expectantly as she waits for your answer.

Taking a deep breath, you rationalize that this is just a game. You’re just giving opinions. It doesn’t have to be incriminating to anything deeper. You just won’t give reasons, just an answer which way she leans. “Dom.”

She grins, looking pleased with your answer. “You too.”

“What?” you blink at her, confused by what she means.

“I think you’re a dom too.”

Your breath catches. You hadn’t thought about the fact that if you knew her preferences then she likely knew yours well. You’ve both talked about your sex lives with each other, but you’ve never delved deeply into what happens when you’re in your room with others. Staring at each other, your mind races. How much has she heard? How much does she truly know? Her gaze drops to your lips for a moment.

But before the conversation can go any further, there’s a knock at the door. The tension that built between the two of you suddenly breaks as Yoonji crows happily, jumping from her seat to go retrieve the food you’d ordered. Burying your face in your hands, you take a few deep breaths, trying to get your thoughts under control. You really can’t be sitting here, high and horny and thinking about Yoonji and Jungkook. Especially not while one of those people is sitting here with you.

By the time she’s back with food, you’ve got your tangled thoughts mostly controlled and the previous conversation isn’t brought up again. Yoonji complains about something Namjoon did while they were studying earlier in the day and then you’re both complaining about school and theses and classes and thoughts on doms and subs is forgotten about entirely. And you’re all too happy to just forget it happened at all.

At least for the most part. You can’t help it if in the late hours of night, when exhaustion reigns and sleep eludes you, if you let your thoughts slip to less pure things as you hand slips into your panties. If when you’re alone, you think of you and Yoonji knelt over Jungkook as his big, shiny eyes shine brighter with overwhelmed tears and begs his noonas to let him cum. You don’t let it leave those times though, left in the dark and forgotten in the daylight hours. You ignore the thoughts when you go to lunch with Jungkook, have dinner with all your friends, go grocery shopping with Yoonji, let yourself act as if that conversation never happened.

You assume Yoonji has forgotten it too. Or at least chosen to leave that conversation with that night.

Until you come home from buying snacks one night for the weekly smoking session to find Jungkook there too. Which in and of itself isn’t too strange. While you and Yoonji are the primary partakers of this night, all of your friends rotate in and out when the mood strikes. Most of the others usually go out drinking. Or study. And everyone rotates between the three activities with whatever strikes their mood (or is required by their grades).

But Jungkook had said earlier in the day that he was going out with Tae and Jimin. He’s not even dressed for it, like he was just stopping by for a moment and then going to meet up with the others. Instead dressed comfortably in loose gray sweats and a matching sweatshirt, his blond hair still slightly damp from a shower under the hood he still has pulled up.

You give him a smile as you set the snacks on the coffee table and move to sit on the couch. “I thought you were going out to drink?”

Jungkook shuffles from foot to foot nervously, glancing from you to Yoonji, who’s sat on the other side of the couch. “I uh… changed my mind?”

You frown, unsure of his odd behavior. He’s acting as if he’s never been to your apartment before, despite the fact that besides the two of you, he’s here the most. But Yoonji simply beckons him to sit, which he does so after a moment of hesitation, nervously tugging his hood off his head. Once he sits, you expect Yoonji to pull out a blunt and get the night started, but the silence stretches and she makes no moves to do so. You reach out to nudge her, head tilted questioningly.

She gives you a quick glance before looking at Jungkook. “I have a proposition. For you both.” Brows furrowing, you’re about to question her when she continues. “Your noonas have a little theory they’d like to test.”

Your heart stops. There’s only one possible thing she could be talking about that would involve both a proposition and a theory that you both had. Is she just planning to ask him? But that wouldn’t involve a proposition…

Oh.

She’s planning to ask him to let you both dom him. Stomach knotting uncomfortably, you worry that this could ruin the friendship the three of you share. That it could ruin the entire friendship dynamic of the whole group. You could lose a roommate, friends. But even with the bad scenarios running through your mind, you can’t deny the bolt of heat that sears straight to your core at even the barest hint of possibility of getting the pretty boy before you underneath you instead.

Jungkook swallows, gaze darting from Yoonji to you and back. You wonder what Yoonji said to him to get him to come tonight. “What… What’s the theory?”

She gives a soft smile, but there's a predatory edge to it. You’ve seen it on her when you’ve gone to bars and clubs, wielded against unsuspecting people that she wants to spend the night with. You’ve seen the effects of that look on people and Jungkook is no different, already looking like he’s hooked on her every word, even if there’s still a touch of nerves in the tense line of his shoulders. She gestures for Jungkook to move from the chair to sit between you both on the couch. He hesitates before shuffling the short distance to sit where directed. You can’t help but note that he’s good at following instructions. It makes something hot twist in your belly.

Yoonji shifts, kneeling on the cushion so she can press closer to Jungkook, close enough to whisper in his ear, though her tone is loud enough for you to hear too. “Your noonas have a theory that you are just the sweetest little sub ever.”

Jungkook tenses up at the words, and though it’s hard to tell if it’s from discomfort or just shock at Yoonji’s bold statement, you slide closer to be a reassuring hand to counterpoint Yoonji’s boldness.

“If anything makes you uncomfortable, Jungkook, just tell us. We don’t want to cause you any discomfort, okay?” you murmur soothingly, hand rubbing gentle circles on his back. Yoonji peaks around to give you a grateful smile, although you’re unsure if it’s because you are joining her in her proposition or if it’s because you know enough to ensure that Jungkook’s comfort is the most important thing here.

Thinking for a moment, Jungkook gives a small nod and Yoonji takes that as her sign to continue. “Would you let your noonas find out if they’re right?”

“B-both of you?” he swallows, gaze darting between the two of you.

Leaning closer, you let your lips brush his ear, relishing the shiver you feel run through him. “Your noonas have seen the way you look at them when we dance together on nights out.”

He stiffens beneath you and you pull back just enough to see the flush starting to color his cheeks. In truth, you know he’s not the only one that does. Jimin and Taehyung fairly regularly comment on how you both steal the show. And you and Yoonji aren’t blind, you know the way you both captivate an audience when you’re together, dressed up and putting on a show just for the thrill. But you’ve definitely caught Jungkook staring the most. Eyes hooded and lips parted like you and Yoonji are there solely for his entertainment. The way you’ve seen him have to restrain himself from approaching the both of you. It’s even more thrilling than the eyes of strangers on you.

Yoonji coos. “Do you like watching your noonas together, baby?”

She doesn’t allow him a chance to answer though because as soon as the question has been asked, she’s nudging him back so he’s more reclined, leaving the two of you staring at each other over his chest. A moment passes, where you just stare at each other, as Jungkook looks between you both.

There’s a wry twist to her lips and then she’s reaching out to pull you in for a kiss. The sudden press of her soft lips to yours has your brain short circuiting. All thought and reason leaving you, focus narrowed entirely down to the pressure of her mouth on yours. She tastes like strawberry and the sudden, lightest brush of her tongue across your lip has your brain kick starting again just as she starts to pull away. That simply won’t do. Hand tangling in her hair, you keep her close, keep the kiss going as you deepen it and you relish the slick slide of her tongue against yours.

You’ve imagined kissing her so much, but it’s nothing compared to reality. Yoonji is demanding, just as demanding as you are, and there are moments where the kiss turns a little rougher as one of you tries for the upper hand. It’s addicting, the feel of her, the rush, that you get lost in the kiss. So much so, that you entirely forget about Jungkook beneath you until he lets out a soft whimper. Pulling away from Yoonji, you both glance down at him and you nearly coo at the sight. He looks much like he does on nights that you’ve caught him watching you dance. But up close like this, you can see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, the way his tongue darts out occasionally to lick at his pink, bitten lips, how blown his eyes are already and he hasn’t even been touched yet.

Disentangling yourself from Yoonji, you run an affectionate hand through Jungkook’s hair. “Do you want this, baby?” When he starts to nod again, you tighten your hand in his hair, halting his movement. “We need your words, Jungkook.”

His mouth opens, but no sound comes out. He clears his throat, eyes darting down in embarrassment before trying again. “Yes, noona. Want this… Want you both…”

Pleased, you let your hand drift down, cupping his cheek and thumbing gently along his cheekbone. “Yeah? Have you thought about this a lot? Have you thought about your noonas often?”

Swallowing, his gaze darts between the two of you nervously. And oh, you had just been teasing. But the nervous flit of his gaze, the way he won’t focus on either of you for longer than a moment. He has thought about the two of you. You wonder what he’s thought about, for how long. Has he touched himself while thinking about one of you? Both of you? Yoonji seems to pick up on the implication of his nonanswer too, because her lips are curling into a teasing smirk.

“Have you, baby? What a naughty boy. Thinking about your noonas like that.” Jungkook squirms, mouth open like he’s about to protest the statement, but Yoonji continues speaking. “Noona has too. Thought about how pretty you’d look and how good you’d be.”

Jungkook falters, blinking big eyes up at Yoonji with wonder. Like he never imagined that either of you would think of him the way he thinks of you. A breath shudders out of him as his eyes squeeze closed. You make the decision to move this from the couch if you’re going to go through with it.

Shifting, you push yourself to your feet, glancing at Yoonji to see that she follows your actions with a questioning furrow to her brows. Jungkook blinks his eyes open at the movement, blinking up at you both. You hold your hand out and after a moment, he takes it. Pulling him to his feet, Yoonji grabs his other hand and takes charge in leading Jungkook down the hall to her bedroom.

The air in Yoonji’s room feels thick with heat. She flips a light on, letting soft, purple light fill the room and leaving it cast in subdued shades. You both release Jungkook’s hands, moving in near perfect synchronicity despite the fact that you’ve never done this before. There’s something unspoken that moves you both together. Standing side by side, you both face Jungkook, gazes slowly trailing over the younger man. He shuffles on his feet under the scrutiny, hands clasping in front of him like he’s a child about to be scolded.

Yoonji’s head tilts, finger coming up to tap her chin in thought. “Something seems wrong here, doesn’t it?”

Humming, you nod in agreeance. “Yes, yes it does. Jungkook,” the boy starts at the call of his name, head jerking up to stare at you, like a deer caught in the headlights.

Yoonji snaps her fingers. “You’re right. Jungkook, baby, strip for your noonas.”

“N-now?” His fingers twitch where they’re clasped before him.

It’s cute how shy he has become. You’ve seen him shamelessly strip his shirt off at parties to do body shots, confidently pick up women at bars, boldly barge into rooms and capture everyone’s attention. You’ve only seen him this shy once, and that was when you all had first met him, before he had come out of his shell and grown close to you all.

When he makes no move to start undressing, you speak up. “Jungkook,” you wait until he’s looking at you. “Do you know the stoplight system?” He thinks for a moment before nodding, face clouded with confusion. “Color?”

Gaze darting from you to Yoonji and back again, his tongue peaks for a moment. “Green.”

Yoonji grins proudly at the answer. “Aw, are you just shy then, baby? Nervous about being naked in front of your noonas for the first time?”

Ducking his head, Jungkook gives you both a quick nod that you just want to coo over, however inappropriate that reaction may be right now be damned. Instead, you shoot for comforting. “How about we start slow then? Just your shirt. You can do that, can’t you, baby? We’ve seen you shirtless plenty of times before.”

Jungkook fidgets for another moment before his fingers grip the edge of his baggy sweater. Eyes squeezing shut, there’s only only a second more of hesitation before the sweater is being pulled up and off. He clings to it, the fabric hanging in his hands in front of his chest, but doing very little to hide anything. He peaks an eye open and sees the way Yoonji quirks an eyebrow at him and the sweater drops from his hands to the floor.

You’ve seen Jungkook shirtless plenty of times. Your entire friend group has. There was a period of a few months back towards the beginning of your friendship after he had gotten comfortable with you all that you would’ve sworn that he was allergic to shirts with how often you saw him shirtless. You know how toned he is, have been subjected to his ridiculous workouts on occasion, how diligently he works out simply for the fun of it. Muscles that shift under golden skin that you’ve seen at parties and on beach trips, that you’ve allowed yourself to glance out, appreciate and take in, but never to stare for too long and get caught.

Now though, you drink your fill of the sight before you. Jungkook is tall, and when he’s shirtless he exudes a cockiness born from the hungry looks of others; his posture always making him seem taller, take up more space. But now, now his shoulders are hunched, like he’s trying to make himself smaller, seem less big even though his muscles make that nearly impossible.

He glances up at you both through the curtain of blonde bangs and you can see the way the flush from his cheeks starts to spread down his neck and chest. It makes you itch to mark the pretty skin up, stake a claim on the sweet, shy boy before you.

There’s a pleased hum from beside you. “Such a good boy, Jungkookie. You’re so good for your noonas, aren’t you?”

He nods quickly, eyes positively shining at the praise. Well, you both certainly pegged that one right. Oh, now there’s an idea. That might have to wait though. You don’t want to completely overwhelm him right at the start.

“Now the pants, baby,” you grin, watching the way he swallows at the command.

Hands trembling slightly as he reaches for the waistband of his sweats, his nerves seem to grow now that he’s about to be fully exposed before you both. He takes a deep breath and then shoves his sweats and underwear down his legs. Your breath catches in your throat and you know Yoonji must be having a similar reaction given the sharp inhale you hear from her.

Jungkook is absolutely stunning naked. You’ve known that his thighs were thick and just as toned as the rest of him, catching glimpses of the thick, corded muscles whenever he ditched sweats and his baggier clothing for jeans that looked like they’d been painted onto him. His hands immediately come together again in an attempt to cover his cock, already hard and leaking. But his hands do little to cover his long, thick cock, but it’s endearingly adorable that he tries.

“So pretty,” you murmur, eyes tracing over every inch of skin. You don’t know what you want to do first to him, so many ideas flash through your mind as you stare at him.

“So good, too. Can you lay down on the bed for us now, baby?”

Shyness seemingly forgotten for a moment, Jungkook nearly launches himself onto the bed, landing with a little bounce before he’s shuffling around so he’s stretched out in the middle of Yoonji’s bed. His eagerness is a good sign, showing that even if he’s nervous, that he very much wants to be here. The dark bedspread makes his skin seem to glow more and he looks absolutely gorgeous spread out for you.

Yoonji moves closer to the bed and you move to follow suit and stand beside her at the foot, both of you just taking a moment to look at Jungkook. His cock twitches where it rests against his belly and heat pools in your belly at the knowledge that it’s yours to touch. At least for tonight.

She turns to you then, hands landing on your hips to pull you closer. Chewing her lip for a moment, there’s an emotion that briefly flits across her face but before you can pin down what exactly it is she’s leaning in to press her lips to yours once again. Not letting yourself dwell on her expression, at least not now when there’s a very eager boy spread out for you both and Yoonji’s tongue slipping into your mouth. You can overthink later. Right now, you should just let yourself fall into the feel of her.

Her fingers dig into your hips and you let her get away with it only because you take the opportunity to slip your hands beneath her shirt, gripping her waist just as tightly for a moment before you’re tugging her shirt up and off. Kiss momentarily broken, you take the brief pause to look her over. Her bra is black and lacy, pushing her breasts up in a way that makes you want to get your mouth on them . You also know for a fact that it’s her ‘getting laid’ bra. Meaning she must have been pretty confident that the two of you would agree to this. You’re a little mad that she didn’t give you any sort of heads up to let you wear something better than just a comfy, colorful bra you use for daily wear. At least it’s cute.

Leaning in, you nip harshly at her bottom lip in retaliation and you know by her giggle that she knows exactly what it was for. What a cruel tease, you’re definitely going to get her back in the future. You don’t know how just yet, but you will. You sooth the bite with your tongue, but you don’t get a chance for another proper kiss because Yoonji takes the opportunity to tug your shirt off as well. She pulls away after dropping your shirt to the floor, hungrily eyeing you up as her tongue wets her lips. You feel a heady rush at being able to pull such a look from the typically collected Yoonji.

A moan pulls your attention back to the bed, where Jungkook has taken it upon himself to start lazily stroking himself, muscles shifting as his hips flex up into his grip. Exchanging glances, you and Yoonji quickly rid yourselves of your bottoms before climbing onto the bed on either side of Jungkook. This behavior simply won’t do.

Sitting on your knees beside his thigh, you're quick to let your hand smack against the skin there. The sound echoes in the quiet room and Jungkook jerks, though you don’t know if it’s more from the sudden sound or the heat that blooms across his thigh even if the smack you gave him was fairly mild in terms of punishment. But it has the desired effect, his hand halting on his cock, though he doesn’t remove his hand from himself. His expression morphs into a mix of betrayal and confusion.

“Oh, sweet boy,” Yoonji coos, hand wrapping around his wrist. “Have you ever done this before?”

Swallowing, he looks nervous again, gaze darting around the room, but never landing on either of you before he minutely shakes his head. Yoonji gently pulls his hand from his cock, letting it slap wetly against his belly.

“Aw, you poor thing. Have you always had to be the one in charge, huh? Do those girls see your big, pretty muscles and tattoos and just assume that you’re going to be domineering too? No one’s ever taken care of you like you deserve?” Yoonji murmurs, eyes burning as she speaks.

Jungkook’s breath hitches as he blinks up at Yoonji. He shakes his head slightly and you can see how deeply he wants this. Wants to try, to let go and have someone else take control for once. Letting your fingers trail up his thigh, you trace a single fingertip up his cock with a featherlight touch, drawing a delightful gasp from him. He’s so sensitive to touch, it’s going to make this so much more fun.

“Lesson number one, baby. No touching without permission. That includes your pretty little cock. Bad boys get punished.”

“And punishment can get much worse than a little slap on the thigh, sweetheart.”

His eyes widen. “I-I’m sorry! I d-didn’t know!”

Shushing him, you rub soothingly at the red mark you left on his thigh. It’s light and fairly small, a testament to how tame the smack was, but it makes you want to leave more, make them darker. Marks that remain for days, that remind Jungkook of your hands on him. “It’s okay, baby. You’re still learning. You won’t be punished.” You smirk teasingly. “This time at least.”

Licking his lips, he looks between you both. You can tell he’s thinking about something, but you can’t tell if the thought of punishment might actually be enticing to him or if he’s trying to figure out the rules without being told. Always the overachiever.

Yoonji releases his hand, letting it fall to rest against the bed once more. “We’ll go easy on you, baby, don’t worry. You’ll be a good boy for us, won’t you?” Jungkook nods quickly, hands clenching at the bedspread. “What do you want, baby?”

“Want…” he licks his lips, seems to think slowly over his wants in this moment. “Wanna see you kiss again.”

You giggle. “Aw, sweet thing,” you glance over at Yoonji, “doesn’t even want a kiss for himself.”

Yoonji tsks, wide grin matching yours. “Someone must really enjoy watching.”

Planting a hand high on Jungkook’s thigh, Yoonji mirrors your actions as you both lean closer to meet over Jungkook once more. This kiss is slow, you take your time and enjoy the feel of her soft mouth against yours. You could easily get lost in the kiss again, it would be so easy. Jungkook’s thigh twitches beneath your hand and you give him a small squeeze, acknowledge that you haven’t forgotten about him and it draws a soft moan from him.

The sound seems to spark something in Yoonji, as she surges closer, deepening the kiss. Her free hand comes up to rest on the side of your neck, thumb brushing along your jaw. Not wanting to be outdone, you reach out and let your fingers trace her collarbone before following her sternum down until you can palm at one of her covered breasts. That draws a soft gasp from her that you greedily swallow down.

Her hand tightens on your neck, pulling like it’s possible to pull you closer and her other hand abandons Jungkook’s thigh to grope at your breast. You both get greedy for the feel of each other. Your hand quickly leaves Jungkook’s thigh as well, slipping behind Yoonji to undo her bra. It falls slack on her shoulders, hindered from coming off by her hands on you. Bumping her hands off for a moment, you tug the offending article free from her and toss it off the bed. Yoonji wastes no time in getting her hands back on you once you’ve removed the bra and you’re now free to palm her tits in your hands.

Jungkook whimpers below you both, his hand bumps your thigh before it’s being jerked away. “N-noona…”

Parting with a gasp, you both look down at Jungkook, his hands fisted at his sides, knuckles nearly white. Your hands fall from each other as you give the prone man your attention. You’re impressed with his restraint, you hadn’t expected him to be so well behaved the very first time. But that’s actually pretty typical of Jungkook, excelling at anything he tries.

His pupils are blown with lust and he swallows his nerves as he speaks. “C-can… Can I touch too?”

“You wanna touch your noonas while they kiss, baby?” Yoonji asks. He nods, eyes wide and Yoonji’s answering smirk is bordering on mean. “Why?”

“W-what?”

“Why do you want to touch your noonas while they kiss, baby? I thought you just wanted us to kiss and touch each other?”

He looks to you, seemingly lost by the question. But you simply raise an eyebrow and wait for an answer. He squirms a little, cock twitching. “Um… I… I…”

“Have you thought about touching us before?” you murmur, reaching out to cup Yoonji’s breast, thumbing at the nipple and drawing a sigh from her. “Have you thought about noona’s pretty tits and how they’d feel in your hands?”

Whining, Jungkook nods his assent eagerly, eyes fixed firmly on where your hand plays with Yoonji. Yoonji presses a quick kiss to your lips, casting a teasing look to Jungkook before she’s reaching up to unclasp your bra and tug it off of you to toss it behind her. Yoonji raises herself up onto her knees, pulling you with, and she leans you both together until your breasts press together. They’re just as soft against you as they were in your hands. If you weren’t focused on teasing Jungkook, you’d pin her down and get your mouth on them.

She glances to the side to look at Jungkook. “How do you wanna touch, baby?”

His eyes drag down your bodies slowly, gaze darting so quickly like there’s so much he wants to touch and he doesn’t know where to even begin. “Noona…” he whines.

You chuckle. “Aw, baby. Do you need your noonas to help you?”

“Please.”

“Put your hands on our hips.”

He’s eager and quick to comply, hands coming up to rest hot and heavy against the curve of your hip. His fingers flex against you, like he wants to move his hand to touch more but they remain in place. Yoonji leans in to kiss you again and you think you could kiss her forever. After a moment, you break the kiss, trailing your lips along her jaw and down her neck. Laving your tongue over her pulse point, you relish the shiver that runs through her. You’re overcome with the urge to mark her and so you let your teeth sink into her skin before soothing it with your tongue and sucking kisses. Yoonji groans in the back of her throat and you move down her neck to suck another dark mark and draw more noises from her.

You know logically that she’s been as affected by all this as you, but hearing the proof is intoxicating. It goes straight to your pussy and the longer you go on, the more you feel drip from you to soak your panties.

“What do you want next, baby?” Yoonji pants, hand reaching to cover the hand on your hip. His gaze drops to where your breasts are pressed together, but he doesn’t say anything. “Do you wanna touch noonas’ tits? Greedy boy,” she chuckles breathlessly, ending in a gasp when you nip at her collarbone.

His hands twitch against you like he is fighting the urge to just do what he wants, to do what he’s always done with women. But he remains diligent and keeps his hands where he was told too. Pressing one last kiss to Yoonji’s neck, you pull away, staring at the darkening marks while a possessive heat curls in your belly. You shift then, nudging Jungkook’s thighs slightly apart and then you’re throwing a leg over to straddle his thigh, dropping down to press your clothed pussy against the corded muscle. The damp material drags deliciously against your pussy and any other time, you would ride his thigh until he was begging you to touch him or let him touch.

Gasping, Jungkook’s hand tightens enough to bruise and you grin down at him. “Can you feel how wet noona is for you, baby?”

He nods a little dazedly, looking down where you’re pressed against his thigh like he can’t believe what he’s feeling or seeing. Giving a little grind, you feel a rush of desire run through you at the breath that rushes from Jungkook’s lips.

“Baby,” you purr, “didn’t you want to touch noona’s tits?”

“Please…”

“Go ahead, baby.”

His hand quickly abandons your hip once he’s given permission; big, warm palm cupping one of your breasts like it’s the most precious thing he’s ever touched. You have to fight down the urge to giggle at the unexpected tenderness. Yoonji moves beside you, straddling Jungkook’s other thigh and she takes the opportunity to move Jungkook’s other hand for him, placing it over one of her breasts.

Gaze darting from one hand to the other, his hands remain frozen for a long moment before he’s tentatively squeezing. Then he quickly grows more confident, seemingly more familiar with at least this part as his fingers tease at your nipple. Leaning slightly to the side, you press a kiss to Yoonji’s shoulder until you have her attention and then you’re pressing your lips to hers once more. Letting your hand slip into her hair, you tilt her head, deepening the kiss. Her hand lands on your waist, fingers tracing a burning path down until they can grope at your ass.

Your hips jerk, clit dragging across Jungkook’s thigh and a moment later, you feel his muscles shift as he flexes. Breaking the kiss with a gasp, you glance down at him with a smirk. Jungkook looks perfectly debauched beneath you both. The flush dusting his cheeks stretches down his chest, his bright eyes burn with want as his hands work on both you and Yoonji. His cock rests heavy against his belly, tip dark with neglect, but he seems wholly oblivious to it even as your attention zeroes in on it.

“What a good boy you’re being. Giving noona something to grind against?”

His dick twitches at that and you let a finger brush gently down the length. A loud gasp leaves his lips, hips straining upward but he can’t get very far with the combined weight of you and Yoonji pinning his legs down. You give a deliberate grind down, Jungkook’s eyes quickly zeroing in on where your clothed pussy meets his bare thigh. Hands falling still on your breast, he licks his lips before his hand is slowly sliding down to timidly tug at the waistband of your panties.

“Can… Can these come off?”

Yoonji hums. “Wanna see noona’s bare pussy, baby?”

Nodding quickly, he looks up at you both with wide eyes. “Yes, please. Wanna see.”

The hand on your ass slides around to rest just on the waistband of your panties. “You wanna see just how wet our pretty baby boy has made us?”

Breath shuddering, he nods again, eyes trained on Yoonji’s hand as it finally slips into your panties. You groan as her fingers slip between your folds, fingertips teasing across your clit before dipping lower to gather your wetness. Before she can do much more than leave a few teasing touches, she’s pulling her hand from your panties and holding her hand up for you all to see. Jungkook’s gaze bores into the glistening digits, licking his lips slowly.

“Open,” she commands and his mouth falls obediently open, hope shining in his eyes when her fingers inch closer to his lips. “Do you want to taste noona?”

“Yes,” he breaths out, tongue extending like it’ll get Yoonji’s fingers to his mouth faster.

She stops just before she reaches his tongue and when he strains closer in an attempt to touch, she pulls her fingers away, keeping them teasingly just out of his reach. “Answer noona’s question first, baby. Good boy’s always answer when asked a question. And you wouldn’t want to be bad, now would you?”

Blonde hair flies as he quickly shakes his head no. “No! I’m good! I promise! Please, I wanna taste noona!”

Yoonji’s smile softens. “What a good boy.”

With that, her fingers press against his tongue. Moaning, Jungkook’s lips close around the digits as he sucks enthusiastically. You wonder if he’s as enthusiastic when he’s eating someone out and your pussy clenches at the thought. A few moments later, she pulls her fingers free and Jungkook’s lips purse in a pout, drawing a laugh from both of you. You shift, finally tugging your panties down to discard over the edge of the bed. Jungkook’s eyes are drawn back to your pussy, now bared for him to see.

His hand twitches where it rests against your hip, but it doesn’t move and there’s a rush of heat that accompanies the fact that he’s doing so well already. Turning to Yoonji, you begin to tug at her panties, earning a laugh from her as she moves to help you get them off of her.

As much as you want to take in Jungkook’s reaction to you both being naked before him, you can’t stop the greedy part of you that reaches out to slip your hand between her legs to touch. A soft sigh leaves her lips and you can’t help but lean in to smother the sound with a kiss. Your fingers find her just as wet as you are yourself and you relish in the moment to tease your fingers along her pussy.

Whining, Jungkook squirms beneath you both, thigh inadvertently bumping your hand harder against Yoonji and further smearing her wetness across your palm. You pull your hand away and Jungkook follows the movement with laser focus.

“Want to taste your other noona, baby?” you tease.

“Yes, please,” he murmurs.

Biting your lip on a smile, you move your hand slowly closer to his open mouth, watching the way his eyes light up with excitement. But before you reach his lips, you stop, drawing a pretty pout from the boy. Then you wink and you quickly bring your fingers to your own mouth instead. Twin gasps greet the action as you slip two fingers into your mouth and moan at the taste of Yoonji on your tongue. Your eyes slip closed as you suck your fingers clean and when you pull your fingers free and glance down to Jungkook, you’re met with a look that is equal parts jealous and hungry.

Hand dropping to the bed beside him, his eyes widen as you lean over him. “Still want a taste, baby?”

His gaze darts to your lips as he nods. You seal your mouth over his, taking advantage of the surprised part to his lips to slip your tongue in. He whimpers, hands coming up to rest on your hips as he chases the taste of Yoonji on your lips.

Kissing Jungkook is nothing like kissing Yoonji. He’s like putty beneath you, following your lead where Yoonji fought you for control, kept you on your toes. Not necessarily aggressive, but Yoonji kisses you with a consuming hunger, burning you from the inside out. Jungkook is like a breath of fresh air, he’s soft and needy, making these quiet little huffs with each brush of your tongue. You wonder if he realizes that he’s moved his hands, that he’s touching you when he’s not supposed to be, but you decide to let it slide just this once. You’re much more interested in drawing out more of those sweet, little sounds from him.

A moment later though, his hands are being pulled away and Yoonji is tutting him as she leans against you to pin his hands to the bed. “Naughty boy, what did we say about touching?”

With a whine, he pulls away from your mouth. “‘M sorry... “

You snicker. “Is noona so good at kissing that you forgot the rules, sweet thing?”

Jungkook lets out a low whine again. “Noona.”

Yoonji shifts against you, hands adjusting her grip on Jungkook’s wrists and you’re momentarily distracted by the press of her breasts against your back. Pressing again, she forces you to drop fully against Jungkook as she hooks her chin over your shoulder.

“I’ll just have to hold you while noona kisses you, hm?”

He squirms beneath you and you see him strain feebly against Yoonji’s hands. You all know that he could easily break her hold; that the strain he shows is feigned and exaggerated. But his acquiescence to her grip, to you both taking control, is the most telling thing to his desires. He wants this, just as much as you both. Even if he’s new and inexperienced in this aspect, he wants.

His lips part with small huffs and you can’t help yourself when you dip back down to kiss him. He squirms again before melting entirely into the kiss, letting Yoonji hold him still while you lick into his mouth. A heady rush fills you at his pliancy, you always imagined him submitting, but it was nothing like this. Jungkook behaves like he’s been subbing for you both for ages, like he knows the routine, that the momentary lapses in following the rules is nothing more than being a little bratty to provoke a reaction.

The kiss stretches, you don’t know for how long, getting lost in the feeling of Jungkook beneath you and the softness of Yoonji’s breasts pressing into your back. Jungkook’s hips twitch, his cock brushing wetly against your side and you finally decide to have some mercy on him. Lifting slightly, Yoonji gets the hint and sits up fully, allowing you to do the same. You smile at the way Jungkook is laid out, eyes lidded, lips kiss swollen and flush sitting high on his cheeks. He looks fucked out already and barely anything has happened yet.

Taking Yoonji’s hand in yours, you lift it to your lips to press a soft kiss to the palm. “I think it’s time to reward our baby, hm? He’s been so good for his first time.”

Her fingers brush your cheek as she smiles. “He does.” She turns her attention back to Jungkook. “How do you want your noonas, baby?”

Swallowing, his gaze flicks back and forth between the two of you. He takes a long time to answer, seemingly nervous. “I… I don’t know… I’m s-sorry…”

“Aw sweetheart, there’s no need to be sorry. You’re just overwhelmed, huh?” He nods, lips pursed in a pout, and you continue. “Do you want your noonas to pick something for your reward for you?”

“Yes, please… There’s too many things… I can’t pick…”

You pat his side affectionately. “It’s okay, baby. Noonas will take good care of you.”

His eyes shine at your praise as he nods eagerly. You and Yoonji exchange looks and seem to be thinking the same thing as you move off Jungkook’s thigh to move further up the bed and Yoonji shifts to fully straddle his hips.

Yoonji grins as she sees the way Jungkook follows your movement. “Ever had someone sit on your face, baby?”

Eyes widening, his gaze darts to Yoonji before turning back to you and you raise an eyebrow when he doesn’t answer. “N-no…”

“Pinch my thigh if you need to stop for any reason, okay, baby?” You wait for him to murmur a quiet ‘okay’ before moving to throw your leg over his head.

You feel his breath hot against your wet folds and when you glance up at Yoonji, you see her focus is trained where you sit just above Jungkook’s mouth. With a lick of your lips, you lower yourself until your pussy presses to Jungkook’s mouth, which instantly falls open, tongue darting out to lap at your slit. Groaning, you grind against his tongue, giving yourself a few seconds to enjoy the pleasure sizzling in your belly.

Then you’re reaching up for Yoonji, grabbing her hips to tug her until she’s hovering over Jungkook’s cock. One hand slides from her hips and you let your fingers trace lightly along her slit, knuckles brushing his cock as you do.

You hold Yoonji’s gaze as you begin speaking, fingers dipping between her folds to tease at her clit. “Gotta get noona ready for you, baby. Get her nice and stretched for your big, pretty cock.”

Jungkook whines against you and Yoonji lets out a low moan as you slip a finger into her. Yoonji is warm and wet and tight around your finger and your breath stutters as she clenches around the digit. Letting your finger curl, you rub against her walls, searching for that spongy bundle of nerves.

It takes a few seconds, your attention being pulled by Jungkook’s tongue as he enthusiastically eats you out. But you find it quick enough, signaled by the sharp gasp that leaves her lips when you finally brush against it. Grinning victoriously, you tease at the bundle until her thighs begin to quiver, pleased to have wrung such a reaction from her.

Her hand darts out suddenly, gripping your wrist tightly. Her gaze is dark when it meets yours and she arches an eyebrow at you. “I think you’re enjoying yourself more than getting me ready for our baby,” she teases.

Your body heats. She’s not wrong, you maybe did forget what you were doing a little bit. Grinning, you slide your finger out until just the tip remains before thrusting back in with two. “Guilty.”

She opens her mouth to speak again but you let your thumb brush her clit and it effectively silences her retort. She glares for only a moment before letting her head fall back with a groan and letting herself enjoy the slow pumps of your fingers.

Slipping a third finger in, Yoonji’s hips start to move, little grinds that push your hand against Jungkook’s cock. You lift your hips slightly, giving Jungkook a moment to breath.

“Are you ready for noona to ride you, baby?” you ask as you pull your fingers from Yoonji.

All you get in response is a whimper as you grasp his cock with your wet fingers, other hand settling on Yoonji’s hip and you guide him to her entrance. You give her hip a squeeze and she lets herself drop, pulling your hand away so her hips can settle flush to his. You can feel Jungkook’s breath panting hot against your pussy, his hands squeezing tightly at the sheets.

“How does noona’s pussy feel, baby?” you murmur. He whines and you give his nipple a pinch, making his hips jerk. “When noona asks a question, she expects an answer.”

“‘M sorry… Noona feels good…”

You let your free hand settle on Yoonji’s other hip. “How’s he feel?”

“Fuck… so good. He’s such a good boy.”

Jungkook’s hands suddenly wrap around your thighs. You jerk in surprise, ready to reprimand him, but before you can say anything, he’s pulling you back down onto his mouth. Yoonji laughs breathlessly, hands coming to rest on his belly as she starts to lift her hips.

“How’s his mouth?”

Giving her a groan in response, you grind against his tongue, toes curling as his fingers tighten against your thighs. Both of you fall quiet, save for pants and moans, letting yourselves be consumed with chasing your own pleasure for a moment. Heat simmers in your belly, building with each swipe of Jungkook’s tongue and teasing suck to your clit. Jungkook’s efforts combined with the view of Yoonji riding his cock has your orgasm building until one harsh suck pushes you over the edge.

Head falling back, you moan as your orgasm spreads through your veins, igniting like fire and leaving you shuddering as Jungkook seems to get even more enthusiastic below you. You vaguely hear Yoonji swear under her breath, but you don’t have it in you to look at her as Jungkook draws your orgasm out.

Finally you lift your hips, overstimulation beginning to creep in, and you and Jungkook pant together as your high slowly ebbs away and you come back to yourself. Blinking your eyes open, you see Yoonji’s have slipped closed as she moves and you find your gaze glued to the way her tits bounce with each movement.

Seeing an opportunity, you reach forward, letting your fingers find her clit and her eyes shoot open with a gasp at your touch. You grin, shifting so you’re knelt beside the pair. “Baby,” you coo, “look how pretty noona looks sitting on your dick.”

It takes him a moment, but Jungkook’s head lifts and your pussy clenches at the sheen of your slick covering the lower half of his face. His lips are parted as he makes sweet, little noises, soft moans and whines, and his hazy eyes trail over you both like he doesn’t truly know where to look. You swirl your fingers, drawing a wheezed gasp from Jungkook and you can’t help the teasing grin that forms.

“Aw, baby. Did noona tighten up? Is she close? Are you gonna be good and let her cum on your cock?”

Jungkook’s nodding before you even finish speaking, hips twitching in small little thrusts and you pick up the pace on her clit. Leaning forward, you take one of her nipples in your mouth, teeth teasing the bud before you sooth it with your tongue.

“Fuck… gonna-” She cuts off, moving faster until her hips slam down as she starts to cum.

You keep your fingers going, gradually slowing down as her orgasm shudders through her. Jungkook whines and squirms beneath her, but remains more still that others would. She tugs your hand away finally as she continues to shiver with aftershocks. You bring your fingers to your mouth with a teasing glance and lick them clean as she watches through hooded eyes.

Jungkook whimpers, drawing both of attention to him and Yoonji lifts herself off his cock, drawing an even louder whine from him.

You pat his side soothingly. “Don’t worry, baby. We’re gonna take care of you. Want your noona’s mouth?”

He blinks wet eyes at you both, cock twitching where it lays against his belly and Yoonji laughs. “I think that’s a yes.”

She takes him in her hand and his hips strain up into her grip. He’s so desperate already and you have barely even teased him or drawn this out. He’s definitely going to be fun in the future. Leaning down, you let your tongue swirl around the tip, licking up the taste of Yoonji and Jungkook together. They taste wonderfully divine. His hips strain upwards again and you and Yoonji each use a hand to hold his hips down as you continue your slow, teasing licks. Once you’ve licked all traces of Yoonji from him, you take him into your mouth, humming in content at the way he stretches your lips.

“‘M g-gonna… please… please can I?”

“Aw, you’re asking permission? You’re such a good boy. Of course you can cum, baby. You’ve been so good to your noonas.”

It takes only a couple bobs of your head for his back to bow as the first spurt of salty fluid hits your tongue. He cries out, body strung tight as he cums down your throat. You let your tongue rub at his frenulum as you and Yoonji work to draw out his orgasm as long as possible. When he begins to tremble and whimper, you finally pull away, licking your lips clean as you do.

Jungkook’s eyes are shut tight, shuddering through the last aftershocks and he looks beautifully debauched. Glancing at Yoonji, you see the same fond look on her face that you know to be on yours. Leaning down, you pepper a few kisses to his lips and cheeks before stretching out beside him and cuddling up to his side.

“You did such a good job, baby. You were so good for us,” you murmur, letting your hand rub his belly.

Yoonji mirrors you and after a moment, halts your rubbing by interlacing your fingers with her. The look on her face is hard to read, but she gives you a reassuring squeeze.

“The best baby,” she agrees, turning to Jungkook and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Jungkook gets a goofy grin, seeming to melt between the both of you at the praise. At the rate he’s going, he might have a bigger praise kink than Jimin. You all fall silent, breath evening out and simply enjoy the afterglow. You assume Jungkook at the very least has fallen asleep as your mind begins to swirl with the implications of what just happened.

Leave it to your overthinking to ruin a nice postcoital cuddle. But you can’t help but wonder where this leaves the three of you. Was this just a one time thing? Does it mean anything deeper? You want so badly for it to mean more, but you also know that getting your hopes up leads to more hurt in the end.

Jungkook surprises you by breaking the silence, voice rough like he’s fighting sleep. “What does this mean?”

He sounds so small when he says it, it makes your heart ache a little. You’re not sure how to answer him though, because you also don’t really know what this means. You know what it means for you, but you can’t speak for Yoonji, or even Jungkook.

Yoonji pushes up onto her elbow so she can look at you both and you see that same fond look in her eyes again. It makes something warm and content twist in your belly. “I thought I had made my intentions clear, but I guess not. I like you.” Before the hurt you feel can stretch too far, she looks at you. “Both of you. I had intended to get that done first tonight. But, uh, well things got a little carried away.”

Jungkook snorts. “Only a little?”

She pulls her hand from yours, giving him a quick pinch. “Hey! Don’t go getting mouthy now.”

Grinning in response, he wraps his arms around you both, tugging you somehow closer. “I like you both too… I have for a really long time…” he pauses, seeming to think for a moment before continuing. “And I really liked tonight… What we did… I’d like to explore more of that…”

They both look at you and you can’t help the giddy grin that spreads across your face. You push yourself up just enough to lean across to give Yoonji a kiss and then turn to give Jungkook one too. “Of course I like you both. God, who couldn’t? You both are so wonderful.”

Jungkook giggles happily and then in the blink, he’s managed to get you and Yoonji pushed together as he hovers over you both. He gives you each a kiss to the forehead. “So does this mean you’ll be my girlfriends?” Laughing, you give him a nod and he glows with happiness. “I have the prettiest girlfriends.”

You and Yoonji both reach up, each cupping one of his cheeks. Warm floods you, feeling happy and content with them both.

“And we have the prettiest boyfriend.”

#bangtanarmynet #kwritersworldnet #ksmutclub #yoonji x reader #yoonji smut #yoonji fic #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jungkook fic #bts smut

380 notes · View notes

foxymoxynoona · 2 years

Text

Tell Me What Changed (Pt. 2)

Banner and lines by the talented @awrkive

Fuckboy Best Friend JK x OC

CW and tags: fuckboy behavior, jealousy, pining, heartbreak, angst, language, sex, sexy photos, alcohol, f2l, who knows what else

Read on AO3 here or below

PREVIOUS | MASTERLIST | NEXT

“And you’re sure he knows it’s a date,” Jungkook said, not for the first time. Alex gave him a scathing glare as the hangers screeched at the violent way she dug through the clothing rack.

“Yes he knows it’s a date,” she snapped. “It’s obviously a date.”

“But did he say–”

“Why are you acting like an asshole about this?” she demanded, turning to him, arms crossed. She had to look up at him. It was always funny when she crossed her arms because she always struggled to decide whether to cross them under her tits or over them. Personally he preferred over because it made her arms really high and short looking and diffused whatever discomfort he might have about her being mad at him. Besides, under drew too much attention to her rack for what he felt like was appropriate for his apparently-not-ace best friend. Look, he wasn’t into her but he also wasn’t fucking blind.

He blinked himself free of distraction (she’d chosen beneath) and clarified, “Because he’s your superior and I want to make sure he’s not taking advantage of you.” That was actually partially true!

“Seriously,” she rolled her eyes.

“You told me all about it. He’s your superior. He’s older than you. He could be–”

“Actually he’s risking more than I am by asking me out. It means I can’t go work at his store and I’m one of the best employees Starbucks has!”

His mouth twitched, endeared to hear her talk about herself that way. Usually she was so flippant about work but he got the sense that she really was one of the best. Granted most of her coworkers were weirdos. He’d asked before why she didn’t want to move to corporate because she talked about how the pay and hours were better, but she always said that wasn’t something for people like her, whatever that meant. He’d even tried to get her to come to Verizon where at least she could make some commission, though he did think she’d need to get better at flirting to really make bank. He’d been trying to be nice but she just teased him about his work polos. So he got them a size down so they’d be tight around his arms and shoulders, so fucking what? He worked on commission!

“Yeah so why is he risking it? I’m just worried–”

“Because he likes me maybe? Is that really so hard to believe?”

“I’m just worried he sees an easy lay or something.”

“Seriously?”

He didn’t know what to say to that as she turned back to the racks.

The truth was, this was weird. He had thought Alex was fucking with him when she’d come home last night to tell him she’d asked Hoseok out when he was about to ask her out and now she had a date. He’d had to leave for a date of his own but wound up not going home with the girl because apparently she’d thought it was a date date and while he could be a perfectly charming guy, he really wasn’t looking to actually date date anyone. It was totally cool if a girl wasn’t down for a hook up! But he was pensive now, trying to figure out how the wires had gotten so crossed between what he was looking for and what she wanted. Maybe meeting girls off his insta wasn’t always such a great idea but he thought that was usually a pretty clear disclaimer…

So instead of getting cardio minutes in someone else’s bed, he’d been home to hear Alex freaking out about what to wear for her alleged date, and he’d been coerced into accompanying her today on a panicked shopping trip because she insisted she had nothing that was right. Even though he’d pointed out plenty of things she could wear. No, nothing was good enough for Hoseok. For a dinner and movie date, which was just about as tame as it got. His suggestion she just wear her uniform had gotten him punched in the stomach. He’d tried so many times to teach Alex to punch but she refused and just put all her rage into her tiny hands or her tiny kick. It actually wasn’t bad; he’d never admit it actually kinda hurt sometimes.

“You aren’t going to be able to defend yourself,” he pointed out. “At least let me teach you how to punch before–”

“I’m not going to punch his beautiful face!” she cried. “And I won’t need to anyway. He’s a total sweetheart. He’s not trying to take advantage.”

“Maybe he thinks he can just get easy sex–”

“Yeah!” she laughed. “He can totally get easy sex with me.”

Jungkook shook his head like he’d been sprayed in the face with water and argued, “Nah, you aren’t– didn’t you always say you thought a problem with Yoongi was that you guys did that too soon?”

“Hoseok isn’t Yoongi.”

“You really have a thing for Korean guys, huh?”

Her rage scream amused him as she defended, “No, I don’t! Actually you make Korean guys seem unappealing, so that should really tell you how awesome someone like Hoseok is to make me overcome my–”

“Your prejudice?! I didn’t realize I was rooming with a racist–”

“You aren’t helping me at all,” she frowned, shoving the ugly blouse she’d been looking at back on the rack. “You’re just spending all this time acting like it’s so shocking that someone would want to go on a date with me.”

“No. Come on, I know you’re great, I just didn’t realize he knew you well enough to–”

She backhanded him in the stomach, “Just shut up and either help me or go home. Do you just not think I can look good in anything here?”

The eyes she turned to him were the tiniest bit too glossy. The downturn of her lips was missing the defiant chin jutting forward.

Fuck. He’d hurt her feelings.

It wasn’t often that he hurt Alex’s feelings. That was one of the coolest things about her, that they had the same kind of sharp humor and could joke around without really going too far. If he did, she just called him out on it and he appreciated that straight-forwardness. No playing coy, no sulking, no making him guess. He couldn’t joke like that with other girls, but it also meant he could try out some humor on her before he used it in the field because she was still a girl. But occasionally he did go too far because she wasn’t actually a guy or because she got hung up on weird things to be sensitive about sometimes. Like definitely no jokes about weight and only limited jokes about height. Lately, any jokes about appearance at all seemed bad. Which was stupid honestly because obviosuly if he thought something was actually wrong with her, he wouldn’t joke about it! He wasn’t a total asshole!

Because she liked someone, he realized. That was probably why she was so sensitive about her appearance lately. That Hoseok fucker had her feeling not good about herself.

She was staring at him now, waiting for an answer, and he realized he had seen her like this before, when she’d dated Yoongi. And when she’d dated that other guy Hasan, and it had only lasted two days or something.

“Oh,” he realized. Liking a guy made her weird. It made her worry about things she didn’t need to worry about, like how to impress someone. It meant Jungkook could see right then and there that Hoseok wasn’t right for her and that this was not going to be a good thing for her. She’d basically stressed herself sick when dating Yoongi, trying to impress him but reporting back that nothing she did was good enough. It had made him hate Yoongi until he’d actually met him while hanging out with Jimin and realized it was basically all in Alex’s head. Yoongi thought she was cool. Why did they break up? Jungkook actually still didn’t know, except that the sex had been bad and Alex had been really upset about getting dumped and he’d thought she had realized she didn’t want a sexual relationship with anyone anyway. She’d said that! And he’d thought she meant it!

Maybe the best thing she could really do was have a bad date, bad sex, remember all of that, and call it quits as fast as possible. It wasn’t like Jungkook could talk her out of the date. The more he tried, the more she would dig her heels in. If he fought her too hard about this, she’d be stubbornly marrying the guy in six months just to prove a point. And she’d hate Jungkook for all of it.

“Oh?” she repeated. “Whatever, fuck you. I’m going to call In’am or Sabina or– literally anyone would make me feel better about myself– like you’re my friend, your job is to gas me up before a date I’m this excited about–”

“Ok ok fuck, sorry, I know. I’m fucking up the friend thing,” he said, quickly taking her arms and steering her away. She gave him a suspicious double take. “You’re just looking at the wrong stuff.”

“What do you mean….”

“That’s not your style. Buy something that’s your style. I mean, he likes your style enough to go on a date with you, right?”

“Well I mean he usually just sees me in my uniform… or like my regular clothes… but I wanted to dress up nice.”

“You don’t need to work to impress this guy.”

“That’s what you do when you like someone,” she insisted.

“I thought you said you just wanted him to think you’re an easy lay? So we should just go right to that section,” he said, gesturing towards the back of the store beneath the hanging sign Lingerie. Although truth be told it looked like they just had a bunch of pastel lacy and boring bras. He knew they were in a plus size store but Alex was short and anyway, all sized women should get to wear better stuff than that. Maybe this was just a boring store.

Alex immediately flushed and backpedaled, “I just said I’d be happy to have sex with him, not that– not that I’m going right to that on our first date. The goal for tonight is just to, like, get to know each other better as people. Like he only knows me as a stellar barista and shift lead or like a mediocre volleyball player. We can like… get to know each other. And do that later, whenever it feels right.” She was looking down at the ground, not making eye contact, serious in her sudden shyness.

Fuck.

Jungkook looked at her and saw how the next few weeks would go no matter what he said. It was inevitable. Dragging his feet about helping her find something to wear would not change the course her crush had set her on. She wasn’t understanding at all what he was trying to save her from here.

So Alex really liked this guy, not for just a fuck which would have been weird but easy to bounce back from. Not that she hadn’t been obvious with her crush for the past two weeks, but what Jungkook hadn’t expected was that the guy –who’d just seemed kind of bubbly and bland to him– would actually like her back. As of last night, that appeared to be true. Which made Jungkook immediately question his motives, obviously. Not because Alex was unlikeable but because she was funny and smart and that guy seemed like kind of a happy-go-lucky idiot who wouldn’t know to appreciate that in a woman. Based on their brief interaction at the arcade.

They’d go out and Alex would be sweating every tiny detail of their interactions as she tried to figure out if it was going well and if not, why not. And then suddenly the relationship would end and she’d be heartbroken and Jungkook would say and do everything wrong trying to comfort her. He sucked at that kind of thing. Not because he didn’t care, but because he just didn’t know what to say. The whole thing about relationships just seemed inconvenient and painful to him, and he couldn’t help but look at Alex right now and think she was just setting herself up for more pain. If she wanted to start dating, she should start with someone she didn’t like so much.

Doubling down on his earlier thought, he suggested, “Look, why not have sex on the first date? You said it was this big build up thing with– uh, before. Just get it out of the way, all the cards on the table. Either it’s good and then, hey, he’s seen you in nothing at all and you know he likes it, right? Or it’s bad and you save yourself some–”

“I know he likes sex? Or that he likes seeing me naked?”

“Uh… both.”

“No, you know what? You are the last person who can give me relationship advice. You’ve never even had a girlfriend–”

“That��s not true!” he immediately defended, knowing she was going to say that. He’d had three girlfriends when they were younger and Alex liked to pretend they hadn’t existed just because she hadn’t gotten along with two of them and one had been when they were pretty young. But it still counted! That was actually his longest relationship!

“You are a total relationship anti,” she adjusted. “So far you’ve told me not to have sex with him ever and also to have sex with him immediately. I’m not asking you for dating advice, because I actually like this guy and maybe he actually likes me too, unlike the girls you bring home for– you know, because then you don’t have to worry about whether they actually like you or anything and you don’t have to be good for them or–”

“Hey, I’m good for them,” he interrupted, stepping close and leaning in so they weren’t quite shouting about this across the store. “I take care of the women I’m with–”

“For one night! And then you never have to see them or hear what they really think or anything like that.”

“Yeah…. So?”

“So I’m not looking for relationship advice from you. I’ll get that from Jimin and In’am, thanks.”

He sighed, annoyed at her dismissal of his good intentions, and demanded, “Then why did you bring me?”

“I thought you could at least help me pick something I look good in, but fucking forget it. I forget you can’t even pretend for one day there’s anything appealing about the way I look and–”

“Alex, come on,” he sighed. There, exactly that! She was doing that thing again! “That’s not true.”

“I get it, I’m not your type, I’m one of the guys, but I thought you could help me just this once for like what someone who maybe does think I could be their type would think looks good on me–”

“There are plenty of things that look good on you.”

“Yeah, could you even say that with a straight face?” she scoffed, and stomped away.

She was nervous. He knew that, he saw it behind her jabs now. She really liked this guy and Jungkook didn’t know how to warn her anymore than he already had without her just getting totally pissed at him.

He scurried after her, bumping his arm against hers as he insisted, “If he already makes you feel bad about yourself–”

“He doesn’t, you do.”

“Why do you give a shit about what I think? You aren’t trying to find something to impress me.”

“Yeah but…” She breathed out angrily through her nose. “Whatever, you’re right. You’re the wrong person to ask what looks good on a body like mine.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You aren’t exactly bringing home girls that look like me,” she pointed out. “So I don’t know what I was thinking–”

“Hey! I am an equal-opportunity fucker,” he glared, while trying to run mental calculations. He didn’t often meet girls who looked like Alex at parties or on instagram. They didn’t approach him at the gym or in a bar. Was that his fault? He wasn’t avoiding anyone. It wasn’t like he had a size limit or anything! But he knew his mind-wracking was obvious on his face because she was standing there with her arms crossed again. “You’re trying to say I only fuck skinny girls.”

“Yeah. You do.”

“That’s not true–”

“At least skinnier than me.”

“I don’t avoid uh…”

“Fat girls.”

“Are you… fat?”

“It’s only a bad word if you say it like that.”

“I just– I don’t want to say anything that sounds wrong. But yeah girls your size are still hot! What’s the problem? I can show you some instagram models who are–” He started to pull out his phone as he puffed his cheeks out, remembering just how hot that latest post was from–

“Ok, so it’s just me? You can’t help me find something that looks good–”

He sighed loudly and insisted, “It’s not about it being you. I’m here, aren’t I? But I think you look good in sweatpants and my shirts so…” He gestured around the shop, since that was definitely not what they sold here. It was all dresses with birds and color blocks, and gauzy blouses, and ripped jeans. Trendy and not really how Alex dressed.

She just stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed, “Well obviously I can’t wear that on my date. I wanted to wear a dress so he knows I’m a girl…”

“He knows you’re a girl, Alex.”

“What if I wear a jean jacket with something like this…” she said, darting past him and going to a rack.

“It’s too hot for a jean jacket.”

“But it’ll be cute.”

“You’ll get too sweaty,” he argued. “You could wear a denim vest…”

“What about with a dress like that? And boots–”

“Ok Cowgirl…”

“He’s so stylish though!”

Jungkook sighed, “Yeah but he was going to ask you out, right? So I guess he already knows you aren’t stylish and it’s fine. Ow.” She backhanded him in the stomach and moved further down.

It was inevitable, he confirmed. Alex could be so stubborn. She’d decided she liked Hoseok and she was going to go on this date and however many dates it lasted until whatever Hoseok’s motive for asking her out came out and he hurt her. But Jungkook also could see that there was nothing he could say that would convince her to be careful. The best he’d be able to do was get her really pissed at him trying to protect her and it might mean she didn’t feel like she could talk to him later, like when she and Yoongi broke up and she’d tried to hide it from him. She had said her family dog died! He called her mom so sympathetic… it was embarrassing.

So fine, he’d help her find something that made her feel good, so at least she could maybe believe that it wasn’t anything she did wrong when it felt apart. If a guy didn’t like her, that was their own problem. And hopefully she wouldn’t be such a sad weirdo and hide it this time, and he could just think to himself ‘I told you so,’ and life could go on like it always had. He’d do his best to comfort her and probably say the wrong things but they’d get through it just like last time. Life wasn’t so bad just the two of them, right? He’d help her remember that.

“Here, do something like that,” he said, moving past her to pull a hanger off the rack –a dark pink dress with a lot of lace and a high neckline and then flowy fabric. “You can wear it with the vest or like a sweater, whatever, or just on its own.”

“Won’t it make my arms look weird?”

He made a face and snorted, “They’re… arms? How are they supposed to look?” Of course he knew what she meant. It wasn’t like he’d never heard girls complain about their arms before. Girls were obsessed with complaining about how their arms looked, but didn’t want to go to arm day at the gym or listen to him say that guys didn’t really notice or care what arms looked like. Well, sure, he could admire a girl who was really built but even a strong arm squashed out when you– Whatever. He knew what she meant and he thought it was dumb so he refused to acknowledge it.

“You know, fit–”

“If you don’t get a second date, it won’t be because of your arms.”

“Jungkook! Jesus, you’re such an–”

“I didn’t mean that to be shitty! I just mean your arms are fine! They’re arms! Are you sure you really want to go out with this guy if he’s making you feel weird about your arms?”

“Yes,” she said. Terse. He was on thin ice. He wasn’t sure the thin ice was in a funny way.

“Ok then wear this, it’s a good color for you or whatever,” he said, handing it to her. “I don’t know what size you wear though,” he realized.

“I’ll try it on… I don’t know…”

She wound up getting the dress and boots and a denim vest. It wasn’t her style at all but she’d looked cute and seemed pleased when he said so. She was happy, but still going on her date, but he felt like this was the best he could have done. He didn’t know who this Alex was who wore flowy dresses and denim vests and ankle boots but as long as she was happy for now, whatever. Hoseok hadn’t seemed like anything special when he’d met him, so he doubted this particular Alex would be trying this new style out for long. With any luck it was a one-time thing and he’d be a nice friend and agree to pretend it never happened.

“You look stunning,” In'am texted, quickly repeated by Sabina in the groupchat, and Rebekah in another message, and Amy in another. Milo was typing and she stared at the flickering dots until his message came through, “Damn, too bad he’s not still in corporate, our store rank would zoom up.”

Maybe she’d gone overboard texting people for feedback on her outfit. Maybe she was feeling a little deflated by Jungkook’s casual shrug earlier when she’d asked if she should wear danglies or hoops.

“You never wear hoops. Why start now?” That had been his response. That was his response! As if he couldn’t fathom wanting to look good for someone, even if you didn’t normally. But yeah, what did he know about it? He never had to work to impress anyone because he just existed and girls bloated his DMs. He had his persona he pulled on like a pair of shoes before he posted or left the house and that was easy for him. She didn’t have that kind of body and face to hide her personality behind.

But being called “stunning” by In'am was a real mood changer. Amy assuring her Hoseok would think she was “hot stuff” was exactly the adorable feedback she wanted from her cool mom co-worker.

Hoseok would be arriving soon –assuming he was as punctual in his casual life as in his professional life– so Alex breezed past Jungkook carting his bowl of ramen to the couch where his character waited in lobby, the voices of Taehyung and a couple others she didn’t know annoyingly loud over the chat. Usually she liked when he played with the PC connected to the TV so she could watch him while she did really important things like catch up on Buzzfeed quizzes and find all the good Reductress posts to show Jungkook. Sometimes she painted her nails so Jungkook could predictably complain about the smell and demand she open windows without ever once taking his eyes away from the game. Sometimes she harassed him and his friends, leaning in close while he was too focused to notice and then saying weird or obnoxious jokes over his mic to make his teammates laugh.

It was a good time but she wouldn’t be around for it tonight and actually, it was a weird thing for him to be doing on a Saturday night too.

“You aren’t doing anything tonight?” she asked as she leaned against the wall to wrestle her ankle boots on.

“Yeah.”

“I meant you’re staying in?”

“Yeah? Is that a problem?” He let out a grunt as he sat on the couch, perching his ramen on an upturned laundry basket for a coffee table.

“No but it’s Saturday night.”

He shrugged, “I’ll call someone if I get lonely. Don’t worry about me.”

“Oh, I’m not worried.Just surprised… you’re never home on Saturday night.”

“Don��t worry, we’re not changing places.”

She rolled her eyes and he gave her a wide grin, making clear he’d meant it obnoxiously. Just as quickly his grin slid into a frown, which made her frown.

“What’s that fucking look for? You picked out this outfit, asshole!”

“Yeah, I did a great job, but what are you doing again?”

“A movie.”

“Your legs are going to freeze, you know they blast the a/c in there.”

“So? If it’s too bad I’ll steal his jacket.”

“Maybe he’s not the kind of guy who brings a jacket to a movie date. Also no way are you going to last in those boots.”

“You said they looked cute in the store!”

“Yeah for a girl who’s used to wearing heeled ankle boots. You’re going to be whining within fifteen minutes.”

“We’ll be sitting in a movie theater and sitting at dinner. Besides, he’s Asian too so I’ll take my shoes off when I get to his place–”

Jungkook froze, hand with controller hovering, as he pressed, “You already know you’re going to his place?” She had expected an eyeroll, not that glower.

“I don’t know,” she said, deciding to lean into it. “If I feel like it. Why not? We’re two consenting adults–”

Jungkook relaxed and rolled his eyes, “Yeah, ok, now I’m not worried.”

“Oh but you were worried? About me? That’s so sweet–”

“Look, you’re just not a sex on the first date kind of girl but if you’re wearing heeled ankle boots and hoop earrings maybe you’re getting yourself into trouble.”

“Trouble because of…. Ankle boots and hoop earrings.”

“You don’t need to make him think you’re someone you’re not. If he tries to take you back to his place tonight, blow your rape whistle and run.”

“Just hours ago you were telling me to be lingerie and go for it–”

“Yeah, I was joking and you were too. And if he’s really the kind of guy who tries to take you home already tonight–”

“But you bring girls back here on the first date all the time,” she pointed out, crossing her arms.

“Yeah because I am that kind of guy and I don’t care about a second date.”

“What if I don’t want a second date? I mean it. What if I just want to fuck?”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, “Yeah, sounds weird when you say it. You’re not that kind of girl.”

“Maybe you don’t know what kind of girl I am! You’re supposed to be gassing me up, you know. I could get laid! I’m twenty-five, I deserve to get laid! I want to get laid!”

The doorbell rang.

“Good luck getting laid,” he called as she gasped and spun towards the door, as if Hoseok was going to just walk in and hear her.

“One minute!” she yelled, then hissed at Jungkook, “You’re such an asshole. Why are you being like this? I’ve never been anything but supportive when you have a date.”

“You mock me all the time.”

“Yeah but not like this…”

He sighed. He sighed like she was inconveniencing him and Alex felt herself getting so mad she wanted to spit at him and kick. He set his controller aside and pushed up from the couch and came to her. She tried to kick him but he avoided it easily and grabbed her shoulders.

“Alex.”

“What.”

“Have a good date. Have fun. Don’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to do. Text me if you need me to save you. You look cute and if he makes you feel anything less, call and I’ll come get you.”

Alex’s eyes got very big and her mouth turned down and she touched Jungkook’s chest.

“Oh my god. That was so sweet.”

“Yeah I’m a pretty cool guy once you get to know me.”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I will literally only do things you wouldn’t do,” she joked, spirits buoyed. He did care! She hadn’t realized how much it would mean to her to hear Jungkook say she was cute and offer to come get her like that. Was that why he hadn’t made plans? No, surely not… No! That would be too cute… But maybe Jungkook really was supportive and just bad at saying it. Maybe he was just nervous on her behalf. It wasn’t like she went on dates a lot or anything. Maybe he was afraid this was going to go well and he was going to lose her and have to get a new roommate who wasn’t as cool about him stealing their conditioner and perfume.

She gave him a grateful smile, then punched him in the stomach for good measure. He managed to flex so it clearly hurt her hand more than it hurt him. She complained and shook her hand as she opened the door.

Hoseok stood beaming, perfectly patient, holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh my god no,” Alex gasped and covered her face.

Hoseok burst into laughter, “No, don’t tell me you hate flowers!”

“I’ve never gotten flowers!” she admitted, lowering her hands just so she could see. It was a bright, beautiful bouquet, as beautiful as Hoseok –yellow and purple and red and green. He thrust them towards her and she had never felt simultaneously so awkward and so like a pageant queen. “They’re beautiful, oh my god!”

Suddenly Jungkook was at her shoulder, offering, “I can put ‘em in water for you.”

“Oh! Ok. Thanks! Can you put them in my room?”

“No, I’ll put them on the table. I want to enjoy them too,” Jungkook smiled. “Hi. Me again.”

Hoseok’s smile stayed perfectly at ease, “Hi again, Jungkook. Thanks for putting those away. We better get going so we can enjoy dinner before the movie. Ah, Alex, you look amazing, look at you.”

Alex felt red-faced and mortified and over the moon at how easily Hoseok flattered her. He made no secret of leaning back to look her up and down but it didn’t feel lecherous at all. She felt cute! She felt appreciated. She had not possibly expected to feel her confidence suddenly bloom just by the way Hoseok greeted her because this was Hoseok and he was beautiful and she was Alex and she was… fine. She was ok! She had a good face and a female human body and– but right now, she felt damn fucking cute. Hoseok just seemed so sincere when he praised you.

“We should get going,” Alex agreed, shoving the flowers against Jungkook’s chest and following Hoseok out. Jungkook could close the door, she was busy trying to elegantly run her hand along the railing so she wouldn’t be wobbly in her boots until she got the hang of it. The stairs made her nervous and she touched Hoseok’s shoulder for balance without thinking about it as he walked slightly ahead of her.

“Yeah, hold onto my shoulder if you need to!” he said, grinning at her over said shoulder. “Should I give you my arm?”

“No no, sorry, I can walk in heels!”

“Ok but let me feel like a gentleman,” he insisted, touching her hand, pressing it down onto his shoulder again and holding it there until they reached the bottom of the stairs. The boots weren’t that high, and even with them, she was just to his shoulders.

“You’re so tall,” she blurted out, craning her neck to look up at him.

His face lit up, clearly flattered, before suddenly going serious as he asked, “I was about to say…. But are you a short person who will stab me if I point out how cute it is? Tell me before we get to dinner with knives!”

“No, it’s fine, but if you taunt me about all the things you can see and reach that I can’t, I do bite ankles.” Instantly she thought of Jungkook constantly lording it over her, intentionally putting things up high, pretending to toss her into the freezer when she tried to reach something and needed his help, standing annoyingly behind her when he brushed his teeth right over her head and then snickering oh, sorry, didn’t see you there. He loved this joke when they went grocery shopping together where he’d pretend to have forgotten her at home and look around, calling for her, while she stood right there with her arms crossed and her foot tapping. He thought he was so funny.

Meanwhile, Hoseok actually was funny, and kind, and thoughtful, as he assured her, “Ok I will not taunt, only assist, and you can just focus on surviving those shoes. If you break an ankle, we’ll go to the emergency room and still make a good date of it but I think the movie will be more fun. There’s my car.”

The bright blue Elantra looked so shiny and bright in the parking lot, surrounded by the boring cheap dinged cars everyone else here drove.

“Let me get your door,” he said, diving in front of her when she made a beeline for the door. He gave her that bright smile again as she sank into the seat rather ungracefully. There was no graceful way to get into a car, she didn’t know how it always looked so graceful in TV shows. She sort of flopped and then hurried to correct her skirt and fought the panicked, uncomfortable feeling of her ankles being held at an odd angle by her boots. She set her purse delicately on the floor and buckled her seatbelt as he closed her door and walked around. Her hair got messed up by the seat belt. She clicked it into place and adjusted the straps, which hit uncomfortably right over her belly and nearly across her throat. She tucked the belt strap under her belly, but worried then it just accented her tummy otherwise somewhat hidden by the drape of her dress. She decided to hold her purse in her lap and lowered the shoulder strap height, but it still hit her collarbone funny. It wasn’t this high in her car and Jungkook’s car had a foam pad around the belt so it didn’t cut into her collarbone like this.

“You ready?” Hoseok asked. His hair fell across his forehead just so, as if it had been delicately styled by the gods.

Alex decided just to hold the strap down from her collarbone and nodded. Anyway, it gave her something to do with her hands, because she felt the need to fidget, because why was this perfect specimen of man taking her on a date?

“Ha, you really look nice tonight,” he said again, shaking his head as he put the car into reverse. He leaned back when he drove, one hand on the wheel, and it was so fucking sexy. And he was flattering her again!

“You do too,” she said. “I mean… like really good…”

He smiled. She smiled. And the craziest thing was that even though butterflies were richoecting around her stomach, she actually felt very safe and comfortable with him. Hoseok was just like that. And she got to go on a date with him.

She would not fuck this up, if it was the last thing she did! Which, hopefully it wouldn’t be, so they could go on another date….

***

“I gave her flowers once,” Jungkook grumbled into his headset as he flopped back onto the couch. He lifted the ramen bowl but it was hot to touch and he’d been trying not to let it show when Alex was watching because she’d make fun of him. Without her here though, he leaned forward and noisily slurped the noodles up –muted, he wasn’t an actual animal– as his friends responded to his random comment.

“Who?”

“He means Alex. Technically your mom gave her flowers at her graduation.”

“Bullshit, I’m not talking about that. I mean when we went to homecoming together,” he defended, briefly pushing the button on the cable so he could talk with his mouth full.

“High school? He’s talking about high school?” Taehyung’s peel of laughter came through loud and clear. The other guys in the lobby with them, guys they knew only from playing online together for the past year, laughed and agreed.

“High school doesn’t count. We were all just doing what our moms told us then.”

“Why, she complaining you don’t give her flowers?”

“No, her date brought her flowers. One of those cheap bouquets from the grocery store I think.” He squinted at the bouquet, which he had set on the table and not yet put into water. They didn’t own a vase. He’d briefly thought of calling his mom to borrow one and really surprise Alex, but nah. He’d have to cut them down to fit in one of the mason jars they’d wound up with after another high school friend’s wedding. They were at that age, apparently, where people were starting to get married a lot.

“That’s cool. He seem nice?”

“Yeah, whatever, we playing or what?”

“You eating ramen? You’re going to be distracted. We can’t go into a match with a distracted sniper.”

“Nah, I’m good, I’m good.”

He was, but Taehyung wasn’t. They were exactly sixteen minutes through the twenty minute match when suddenly Taehyung said,

“Oh hey shit you guys, Sabina is naked and needs my help so… bye.”

“Wait, what?!”

“Tae? Dude? You can’t just drop out–”

“He’s gone, bro. You would be too, no hate. We’re almost done, we can wrap without him.”

They did, but Jungkook was sulky about it because he thought they had all agreed to a “no ditching in the middle of a match for anything,” but since Taehyung and Sabina had gotten serious, it was like he thought the rules didn’t apply to him anymore.

He glanced at the clock and let out an annoyed sigh. It had only been half an hour. Alex’s date had only just begun and it was stupid because she had made that comment about him being lame tonight and hadn’t seemed to realize at all he’d stayed home so he could see her off on her date. He figured it was best if Hoseok understood they really did live together and she had a big strong guy at home in case she needed him. He wanted to be available in case she called and needed a getaway. She might not know how to leave a date on her own since she didn’t exactly have much practice with dating. But it meant they didn’t have a good protocol established and so hadn’t even noticed or appreciated that he’d cleared his schedule to be her man in the wings if needed. He hadn’t even made a joke about following her on her date or anything! He was being so respectful and supportive!

Anyway, now he sat there feeling conflicted. And resentful. Alex did not seem to have any of the concerns he did that Hoseok might be predatory because he was older and corporate and all that. It was sus to him that he’d wanted to go out with her. Meeting the guy again reminded him though that Hoseok just seemed kind of bland… maybe he wasn’t sus, he was just…weird or dumb or something, which could still be dangerous for Alex and that little porcupine heart of hers! Like what Korean-American dude dyed their hair blonde? And that bright yellow shirt with orange stripes he was wearing looked like something a pedo wore in the 60s but it could also just be bad fashion sense. Hopefully the worst danger Alex would actually face with this guy was sheer boredom when he didn’t have even a shotglass of personality to match all of hers.

But it had already been half an hour and she hadn’t texted him to bail her out.

She might not, he realized. And he would be sitting here all evening worrying about her for nothing. Sure, playing games for an evening was fun, but now Taehyung was getting his dick wet too. Alex was right, this was way too lame for Jungkook.

“Hey guys, I gotta go too. Getting a booty call and I want to check this one out.”

“Ah man, women are a plague on society,” one joked.

“That might be why you aren’t getting any,” Jungkook teased back, then disconnected and pulled out his phone to see who he felt like hitting up for a bounce.

Thalia had the kind of ass cheeks you wanted to bury your face between, they jiggled so deliciously with each fuck. Jungkook often did, pulling out to crouch down and lick figure eights around her holes, adding sloppy saliva to the mess between her legs, moaning into her pussy until she’d grind against his face and whimper. Then it was back to fucking. Jungkook loved the way she whined in that moment about her poor pussy left untended by either tongue or cock, a problem quickly rectified. He gripped her waist and pushed it down, trying to best enjoy the full roundness of her backside–

When suddenly his phone went off.

“Sorry, wait,” he said as he yanked out of her, as if Thalia was the one doing the fucking. He scrambled across the bed to grab his phone and see who had messaged him, just in case.

It was a coworker texting to see if they could trade shifts tomorrow.

Annoyed, he tossed it and crawled back to Thalia. She had the prettiest pout.

“What?”

“You just had to check your phone then?”

“Yeah, uh…” He shirked his shoulders and then nudged her hip to flip her onto her back, “My roommate is out with someone right now and might need an emergency bail out if the situation gets dangerous, you know?”

“And you would do that mid-fuck?”

He gave her his most charming smile and answered, “You think I wouldn’t do the same for you if you called me in trouble, princess?”

“While you’re fucking someone else?”

“Oh sorry, are you complaining? Do you want to go?” he teased and leaned down to kiss her, so he could swallow her groan as he sank back into her. Always the best-tasting groan.

“Only if you stop fucking me again.”

“Yeah, I won’t. Even when you beg me to.”

“Kookie…” The nickname was lost to another moan as he picked up the pace. Women loved calling him that. Alex hated that women called him that, which made it extra funny to him. He was indifferent, but he liked women liking things to do with him, so he encouraged it.

He did in fact stop fucking Thalia eventually, but not until he’d wrung what seemed like a pretty fucking great orgasm from her, and enjoyed his own release on that beautiful backside. She stretched out, lazy as a cat in a block of sunlight, while he tossed the condom and rinsed off. Headed back to the bedroom, he realized he still hadn’t put Alex’s flowers in water, which in retrospect felt kind of shitty since he’d said he would.

So he grabbed the flowers and swung by the kitchen to dig out a mason jar and filled it with water, and was in the process of carrying it back to the table when the front door swung open and Alex literally vaulted into the apartment.

“I’m back!” she sang, arms in the air, “And it was– what the fuck, put some clothes on!!” she screeched as Jungkook yelled and quickly lowered the flower vase to try and hide his dick.

“JK?” Thalia called, sauntering down the hall. Thank fuck she was dressed at least, but just wearing one of his shirts and he actually didn’t really like when girls he fucked just helped themselves to his clothes like that. “Everything ok– oh. Hello.”

“Hi,” Alex said simply, and gesticulated wildly at him, “Jesus, go! Goddamnit, my poor innocent flowers, what were you doing with them?”

“Just putting them in water,” he mumbled and turned his back to her. Whatever ok fine, she could see his ass, it wasn’t the first time. He had a great ass. She should consider herself lucky. He practically threw the vase down and cupped his junk and strode quickly down the hall.

Thalia followed him, crawling onto his bed as he pulled on boxers and sweatpants.

She sounded surprisingly soft as she asked, “She was the one in a potentially dangerous situation, huh?”

“Oh. Um, yeah…” he admitted, trying to figure out her angle. “On a date… you know, you can’t trust guys these days…”

Thalia grinned, “Oh I know. That’s so cute you worry so much about your sister.”

“Ah, she’s not my sister,” he said, dragging on boxers and sweatpants.

“Oh. You’re just roommates?” The tone shift was immediate. Then immediately changed again. “Well she seems to have had a good time so I think you’re off the hook now. Want another round? I don’t think I’m quite worn out yet, Kookie.”

“Uh, I actually have an early shift at work tomorrow so I’ve got to call it a night. Can I have my shirt back?” He held his hand out, suddenly annoyed with Thalia for reasons he couldn’t explain. He usually preferred going to the woman’s apartment for hook ups to avoid a situation like this, where he kind of wanted the woman to get lost. Sometimes he just got that feeling that he needed to be done with something, he wanted to pull the ripcord and be out. Yes, he knew that was kind of shitty but it wasn’t like he had promised anything more than a fuck, and Thalia had been only too eager in her response. “Wyd dtf?” was pretty fucking direct, as was her kissy face emoji response.

“Are you kicking me out?” she asked with surprise. “We literally just finished fucking.”

“No, no of course not. I just meant if the shirt is dirty, I’ll put it in the hamper.” Oops. An important part of being a successful fuckboy was not being a shitty fuckboy who upset women. They talked. They tweeted. If you burned the wrong one they had no problem at all trashing you in the comments of your thirst trap. “Just give me a minute, let me make sure she’s ok and I’ll be back. Do you need anything?”

“Water would be nice. Hey, you have a toothbrush I can use?”

He wagged his finger at her and playfully scolded, “Early work day for me. No overnights.”

“But your bed is so comfy.”

“I’ll get you water and we can uh, snuggle,” he suggested, and stepped from the room, forgetting to grab another shirt. Fuck, he really did not feeling like snuggling with her right now.

Alex wasn’t out anymore; her bedroom door was open and she’d put the flowers on her dresser and draped herself across the bed. She was already changed too, wearing plaid pajama pants and a t shirt.

“Hey,” he said, leaning in the doorway. “It went well?”

“Seems your night went well too,” she mused and didn’t look at him.

It made him tilt his head and pout his lips unhappily.

“Uh, are you mad at me?”

“No, why would I be mad? I mean, not exactly the welcome home I was looking for but I see you’re halfway to being dressed. Real proud of you, Kookie.”

He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, well I got bored. She’s going soon though and you can tell me how your date went. Wanna play some games?”

“Nah, I’m talking to people, you go enjoy your uh, your own date.”

“She’ll be gone in just a few minutes. I want to hear how it went.”

Her response was delayed. She texted furiously on her phone, giggling under her breath. She didn’t actually need to say more. She was obviously in a fantastic mood. But Jungkook wanted to know why!

“Alex.”

“Hm?”

Still not looking at him.

“Xiuying!”

“Whaaaaa?” she yelled back, finally dropping her phone. She looked annoyed and it hurt his feelings because he had a naked girl begging for sex in his bedroom right now and here he was trying to be a supportive friend and hear about how her date had gone.

Now he was annoyed too and mumbled, “I just wanted to know how your date went.”

It annoyed him even further that she so quickly slid right into joy, pushing up to her knees and slapping her hands to her thighs like a kid getting to go to Disney as she said, “You actually want to know? It went so well. Oh my god, he was such a gentleman, Koo, and he already asked me out for a second–”

“JK?”

The voice instantly silenced Alex. Jungkook turned as Thalia wandered from the bedroom.

“What’s taking so long?”

Alex’s eye roll annoyed Jungkook as she said, “Better get back to that.”

“But what did he do that–”

Her attention was lost though, focused once again on her phone as she threw herself back on her pillows. Jungkook didn’t think it was fair to have to drag details out of her when he didn’t even like this guy. He’d left his own good time to put her flowers in water and hear about her date! And she couldn’t even give him more than a sentence without going back to her phone? She was the one letting Thalia interrupt!

“Fine bye,” he grumbled, and closed her door. He grabbed Thalia’s arm, “Come on.”

“Weren’t you getting water?”

“Yeah I’ll get you water. Didn’t I tell you to take that shirt off? I want you naked in my bed when I get back with the water, k? Sorry for the interruption, baby.” She giggled as he tugged the shirt up and slapped her ass.

Alex had completely lost track of time. Who could blame her? For their third date, Hobi had brought her to a strawberry festival. How he even knew about it was crazy since she’d lived here her entire life and didn’t know about it (he later admitted Amy brought her girls here and Hobi thought it sounded like something he would enjoy doing with Alex; adorable.) They’d picked a little quart, and eaten free strawberry shortcakes with whipped cream, and posed for a photo with their faces in a giant wooden cutout so they looked like two strawberries with human faces. They rode a hay ride and fed some noisy goats and cooed at bunnies in a hutch.

And then, when he dropped her back at her place, he insisted on walking her to the door even though it was broad daylight, and asked, “Can I kiss you?”

“He asked first?” In’am asked with surprise, eyes going wide.

“He’s respectful!” Alex assured her, hands clasped in her lap around the beer bottle. “It was so romantic… I had a strawberry leaf in my hair… and his lips were so soft…”

“So three dates in now and he’s as good as you thought he was?” Minxi asked. She was an Alex addition to this social circle, though she didn’t work at Starbucks any more, and now did something fancy in marketing. Alex’s mom had met her once and still to this day asked how is your good friend, Minxi? She’s so respectable. As if the rest of her friends weren’t!

She could see Jungkook, Jimin, and Taehyung poking holes in beer can tabs to shotgun them. Bad example. Oh mama, if you could only see what Jungkook is like when you aren’t around… It might break her heart. Or maybe she already knew but he just would keep that special protected spot in her parents’ heart –undeserved!!-- until the day he died, probably heart attack during sex or something at the age of 93. His mother would say how active and athletic he was until the end (because obviously her mother would live to be 118, that seemed entirely possible.)

But Minxi had asked about Hobi, because Minxi, In’am, Sabina, and Rebekah cared to hear the answers that Jungkook had just rolled his eyes about and even Namjoon had been unable to feign much interest in, wandering off as soon as the topic came up.

“He’s so good,” Alex sighed. “He’s polite and handsome and thoughtful and considerate. On our first date he took a jacket to the movie just in case I was cold! He offers to drive everywhere, he offers to pay, and don’t look at my like I’m not a feminist because he makes a lot more money than I do.”

“No, girl, get yours,” In’am laughed. “What a relief! Jimin always offered to pay for things but he was broke as shit and I felt too bad… our first arguments were all about whether we could split the tab…”

Alex remembered listening to those from Jimin’s side, when he and In’am were just starting. Years ago. Years from now, would some new couple be listening to her stories about when she and Hoseok first started dating? She was certainly telling a lot. How could she not? He was fine and funny and cheerful and hard-working. No one here knew him, so there was an air of mystery.

The thing was, Alex wasn’t used to this kind of thing. She wasn’t used to being in the middle of a ring of girls asking about the new guy she was dating. She was used to listening to their dates, or going on beer runs with Jimin, or making drunk concoctions with Taehyung and Namjoon in the kitchen, or taking on Jungkook in Smash because she was one of the only ones who could bring him down. She took great pride in that, though truth be told she was a little rusty these days because they didn’t play much anymore. But he was rusty too because, you know, he started fucking girls instead of gaming with her on the weekends, so.

“When are you going to bring him?” Rebekah asked. She’d only recently started coming to these parties and still looked around with a sort of wide-eyed wonder when people got loud or rowdy. It wasn’t even always alcohol’s fault! Tonight was pretty tame, only about twenty people. “People still do this after college?” she’d asked Alex at the first one.

“Soon,” Alex assured them. “Soon, I think! Why not, right? I mean… I mean people here aren’t that different than my co-workers or anything….” She looked around nervously, then grimaced. “Do you think it’s too soon?”

“Eh… if he really likes you, I bet he’ll put up with these assholes no problem,” Sabina assured her.

“I thought about inviting him tonight but he has to work anyway… their soft open is Thursday! I’m so excited for him. I mean I already knew he was great, hard-working and all that, but he’s going to be so good at managing.”

“Will you go work in his store?”

“Oh, no, I can’t, total company violation for us to be… dating…”

“Why did you say that funny?” In’am asked, arching her eyebrow.

Alex swallowed heavily and insisted, “Nothing. No reason.”

“Why do you look like this?” Sabina laughed.

“Fuck, I just realized that like… if I had brought him tonight, what would I introduce him as?! My friend?? He’s not my boyfriend yet. It’s only been three dates… That’s too soon for that kind of thing… right?” She looked around their faces for feedback because it hadn’t been like that with Yoongi. By the time they’d left the music festival, they’d kissed and camped together and it just happened that they decided they were boyfriend and girlfriend. She didn’t even remember who had said it first or how it had come up. But it had come up, despite what Jungkook said. They had been boyfriend and girlfriend for real!

“Don’t worry over nothing,” In’am told her, and Rebekah agreed, “You’ll know when the time is right. Sounds like he’s a chill guy who won’t freak out if you just ask him– when you’re ready to ask him!”

Alex giggled and shirked her shoulders, “I bet I’ll be ready to ask before long. God he kisses so good… I can’t believe he’s kissing me…”

“Ya, don’t kiss and tell or he might stop,” Jungkook warned, wandering past. “You’re still talking about him? Move it along, Song.”

“We don’t mind hearing about it! We asked!” Sabina defended.

“Have you met him?” Rebekah asked. “What did you think?”

Alex was quick to explain, “They only met for like a minute. Hobi is totally cool with–”

“Hobi?” Jungkook interrupted. “You’ve been saying his name wrong this whole time? Fuck, that’s embarrassing–”

Alex launched over the back of the couch and hit at him as he laughed and ducked away.

“He said I could call him Hobi,” she gritted out through her teeth.

“Cuz you can’t say his name right?”

“I say his name right! Are you fucking kidding me?”

Jungkook was laughing though, the alcohol giggles setting in. Jimin grabbed his arms and marched him along while Taehyung draped himself around Sabina to demand a kiss. It was so sweet. So was the way In’am and Jimin just made eye contact and smiled. Alex watched these couples and longed for what they had. She didn’t used to give a fuck but now that she had a taste she found her stomach growling for more. She wished Hoseok could have come after all. He’d be impressed with her friends, right?

Shouts from the other room preceded a crash, and then Jimin’s shout, “Everything is fine!” Namjoon went barrelling through the room towards the source of the noise, obviously worried anyway.

Ok, maybe she thought Hoseok was probably a little too mature for the average drunk party but she thought he was also one of those people who could just get along with anyone. He was like In’am tier of sophistication. And he liked her, didn’t he? He was fun and cool and easy-going. He’d do great with her friends, she was sure of it. And she felt this weird bubbly giggly hope that actually maybe soon she would be Hoseok’s girlfriend. He’d kissed her! Today! That meant things were going well, and even if there were occasionally awkward moments on their dates, Hoseok just seemed to take it all in stride and maybe she kept talking about him because she was just in disbelief that this was happening to her.

“We’ve lost her,” Minxi laughed, nudging her. “Still on your date?”

“I just can’t believe it,” Alex sighed, letting her head flop back against the couch.

“Well if he’s as great as you are, he’s thinking the same thing right now while he’s stocking bathrooms or whatever.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Yeah, he definitely is,” Sabina assured her. Alex let the warmth grow in her chest and tried to believe it, pretended to believe it. But she let conversation move on and made a point of not bringing him up again, because now Jungkook’s words made her self-conscious. Was she talking about Hoseok too much? But it was just so exciting… they’d all get it once they met him… and hey, Ever-Single Alex was not completely single anymore!! It made it so much more bearable, when Jungkook disappeared and she figured he was off fucking some girl in a closet or whatever he was up to tonight. She wasn’t left behind. She was moving in her own direction now, with Hobi.

“So you haven’t met the guy?” Jimin asked, eying the table as if it would make any difference on his serve. The game was getting sloppier after they shotgunned those beers. He hit the ball and it bounced into the net. On the other side of the table, Namjoon laughed and dropped his head because that was Jimin’s third attempt at a serve.

Perched on stools against the patio wall, Jungkook and Taehyung shared a bowl of unflavored popcorn because Jungkook had pitched a fit when Taehyung wanted to load it up with butter and sugar. You know if you get a girlfriend who loves you for you, you can enjoy carbs again, he’d teased. To which Jungkook had answered know what’s better than carbs? Pussy. To which Taehyung had laughed you think I don’t get mad pussy? And I always know it’s going to be good. You know, throwing in Jungkook’s face that his hook up last weekend –a woman who’d asked for his number after he’d upgraded her plan at work– had been disappointing. She’d been boring and generic and made this weird high-pitched grunting noise like she’d seen a bad porn once and decided that’s what she was supposed to sound like. He should have guessed; women who picked him up at work tended to be like that. You know, safe in bed, paper-thin personality, won over by a salesmans’ flirting, took it to mean more than just that Jungkook wanted to have the highest rating at work for another month.

“Yeah I see him when he picks her up,” Jungkook said, annoyed that even these guys wanted to know about the new mystery guy. He thought escaping out here would be safe not to have to listen to Alex rave about him again.

Taehyung snickered, “You don’t sound impressed…”

“Yeah, he’s bland. I don’t think they actually have any overlapping interests, you know?”

“Based on.. .what exactly?”

Jungkook glared at Jimin’s skeptical look and said, “I mean even just based on their dates. So fucking boring. They just go to the movies.”

“Sounds like today they went to a strawberry farm,” Namjoon corrected. “That’s cute. Good date idea.”

“Yeah if you don’t actually know anything a girl likes. I mean, Alex picking fruit?”

“She seems to have enjoyed herself.” Taehyung wriggled his eyebrows.

“Well yeah her standards for dating are– she’s barely ever dated.”

Jungkook did not miss the looks the others were trading as Namjoon ran to get the ping pong ball he’d hit way too hard.

“Oh dear, this will leave you as the only one who’s never had a– oh,” Jimin suddenly sighed, coming closer and touching Jungkook’s arm. “We know this is a hard time for you but–”

“Oh fuck off,” Jungkook laughed, knocking Jimin’s hand away. “She’s my friend, of course I’m going to have a standard– and anyway, I just mean, she’ll settle. She’ll settle because she doesn’t know any better. She’s just getting caught up in this whole thing of having this guy’s attention who she thinks is so great, but he’s really not–”

“What makes you say the guy is a settle?” Taehyung asked at the same time Jimin pressed, “You know she had to date someone again eventually.”

“Did she?” Jungkook demanded. “She didn’t seem to be missing out on a boyfriend. I thought she was asexual! It’s not like she was always whining about wanting a boyfriend or anything, and if she needed someone to do something with, I was right there. She’s got you guys too. Then suddenly we run into the guy once at the arcade and he’s all I hear about, this guy. Came out of fucking nowhere, I just don’t trust it.”

Jimin doubled over against Taehyung, laughing so hard his whole face tightened into an asshole. Taehyung’s mouth was a straight line, nostrils flared, as he clearly tried not to bust up too. Namjoon had heard this last part as he returned and shook his head with that same stupid grin.

“Ah, Jungkooka, that’s kind of how it goes, right?”

“How what goes?” Jungkook demanded. “You guys are being weird.”

“Feelings.”

“Yeah,” Jimin agreed. “You don’t know someone until you meet them. You don’t like someone and then you suddenly do. Someone does something you didn’t expect and suddenly you fall in love. Next thing you know, your friends are duking it out to see who gets to give a speech at your wedding about how the whole thing came out of nowhere”

Jungkook rolled his eyes so violently it made him wobble off the stool; he grabbed it quickly enough he wouldn’t fall on his ass.

“Well I wouldn’t know anything about that,” he salvaged, giving them his biggest smile to get another laugh. “But it’s not that serious between them yet, so don’t rush it.”

“Don’t rush it!” Jimin repeated, looking at Taehyung with an imploring giggle. Taehyung tried to hold it together but couldn’t.

“What? I just mean, it probably won’t last so–”

“God, you’re such a dick,” Taehyung snorted, shaking his head, pinching his nose.

Quickly Jungkook insisted, “No, don’t tell her that but–”

“Yeah because even you know you’re being an asshole–”

“No, it’s just that statistically–”

“Statistically, dude, they could wind up married,” Namjoon said, letting his hand rest heavily on Jungkook’s shoulder.

“She’s barely ever dated before!”

“I married the first woman I ever dated.”

“And divorced her.”

“I married her at twenty-two. Alex is already twenty-five… I don’t know, dude. Me think thou doth protest too much…”

“The fuck does that mean?” Jungkook scowled as they all started laughing. This was annoying him now. What the fuck were they all crawling up his ass about this for? Anyone could objectively agree that saying Alex was going to marry this guy three dates in was crazy. Jungkook had met him and didn’t get that vibe. Alex had her head in the clouds but that shit always came crashing down, and hard, and when it did, Jungkook was the one who’d be there just like he’d been after she and Yoongi broke up –once he figured out what happened, and in his own way. She hadn’t said much but she hadn’t needed to. He’d kept the horror movies and Rocky Road coming and instead of criticizing her black fingernail phase, he’d just painted them for her because he had steadier hands. He was a good friend, so why were they making him sound like a tool? He was just trying to look out for her!

“Whatever, you guys are the assholes. Don’t tell her anything I said,” he added for good measure. He knew the nuance of what he was saying would be lost on her if a bunch of drunk assholes went stumbling over to tell her Jungkook thinks you and that guy aren’t going to make it far. It wasn’t because he thought she was a loser or anything! He knew Alex and he thought she was great! She just couldn’t quite picture her and Hoseok in his head at like, her family’s Lunar New Year celebration or– ugh, if his family celebrated, he was probably the type to wear hanbok. Maybe he wasn’t very Korean. But his name was Hoseok, not like Jason or something, so he’d probably like gone to Korean school and everything too. Was he at the top of his class? Jungkook had been at the bottom but only because he thought it was stupid, not because he was an idiot.

Angry about everything and nothing, he stomped inside to find Alex on the couch with a game controller in her lap, unblinking in her concentration. He didn’t think she could have possibly seen him but she shouted, “Hey, Jeon, come play for me for a second, I need to piss!”

Yeah, could sweet blessed Hoseok be trusted to cover for her in Smash while she vaulted over the armrest to empty that pea-sized bladder she’d been cursed with? Definitely not!

“All right, I’m back,” she said, squirming down onto the couch beside him and trying to wrestle the controller back.

“Yeah get your own.”

“That’s my character!”

“Not anymore. Hold your piss better.”

“Jungkook!” she cried and boxed his shoulder. It didn’t matter, he still won. But when she began to get up with a huff to get another controller, he gave it back and had Chris pass him one so he could beat her on his own.

It was a little before two when Jungkook came up behind Alex, let his head fall all the way down to her shoulder, and whined, “Let’s go home.”

“Wha, you’re still here? Unsuccessful hunting tonight?”

“I wasn’t on the prowl,” he scoffed. Then, “I don’t have to get laid every Saturday night.”

“No?” she turned a playful pout up him at.

He laughed, “You look stoned.”

“I’m tired, you asshole.”

“Yeah, let’s go home.”

“I can’t drive.”

“Me either, let’s walk.”

“Waaaaalk,” she whined, but waved at their friends and followed him out the front door. “But it’s half an hour…”

“More than that if you’re dragging your feet like that.”

“I’m not dragging my– I’m tired… why don’t we take a cab…”

Instead of answering her complaints, he grabbed her hand and hooked it through his elbow to help propel her along. Even this late, it wasn’t quite quiet in this part of town on a Saturday night. Not quite the suburbs, not quite the city. Namjoon had said he didn’t want to be too far away from downtown, it made it too hard to meet people.

“It must be weird living alone after being married,” Alex mused.

“Hm?”

“Namjoon didn’t used to have people over every weekend like this. He was always kind of the quieter one in our group.”

“Well yeah he had a high school sweetheart locking down his every move.”

“You think Shanna was that bad? I thought the divorce was pretty mutual…” Though to be fair, Alex had never really gotten along well with her; they never hung out on their own together or anything.

Jungkook looked up at the sky, meandering them a bit, as he said, “I don’t know. Maybe she wasn’t that bad if they had met when they were older or something but you change so much in your twenties and they just kinda changed in opposite ways. But obviously Namjoon is a catch and she held too tight and I think that’s what ultimately led to him calling it off.”

“Wow.”

“What?”

“You’ve thought about this a lot, huh? And I mean not everyone changes. We haven’t really changed since high school.”

“Oh come on, I’ve changed so much!” he argued, looking absolutely offended. She loved when he got all huffy like that, especially when he was super wrong.

“Have you?”

“I have such an easy time with women now–”

“Oh, I thought you meant changed for the better.”

“Hey! Get fucked!”

“Maybe soon I will,” she grinned at him. He dramatically rolled his eyes. “But I mean I don’t think we’ve really changed, have we? We have jobs now and a little more money but not that much. We live together instead of with our parents. Have we changed at all?”

Jungkook’s shit-eating grin gave away something stupid coming from his mouth, “Maybe we don’t need to change. Maybe we’re already perfect.”

“Literally no one thinks that about us.”

“I do!”

“You don’t think I’m perfect, you think you’re perfect.”

“Well yeah but I wouldn’t live with you if I didn’t think you’re pretty all right.”

“God you suck–”

“ALEX!!”

“What?!” she shrieked in response to his panicked shout. He grabbed her shoulders and comically thrust her in front of him, which was obviously the last thing he should do if there was danger! “What? What? Oh– Jesus are you fucking kidding me?”

“Let’s just cross the street,” he said, taking a step towards the curb. But when one of the three raccoons moved in that direction, Jungkook took a step backwards and froze.

“Kooooo,” she laughed, reaching back for his arm. “It’s just–”

“Yeah I know what they are, so let’s cross the–”

“They’re more afraid of you than you are of them,” Alex insisted between giggles. Because she knew exactly how Jungkook was going to respond and he didn’t let her down.

“Yeah, they look really afraid of me, Alex! Raccoons don’t respect human muscle! All they know is food and grabby hands and–”

“Jungkook!”

“You know there was one in my car and it ate through my gym bag and it was just waiting for me when I sat down in my–”

“Yeah I know that but it wasn’t personal! You just let food in your car and the windows down–”

“It waited for me, Alex–”

She was laughing so hard she could barely stay upright as she walked towards the racoons, waving her hands and shuffling her feet, “Shoo, shoooo.” They stared at her as if confused by what she thought was so fucking funny, but when she got close enough they did calmly pick up the McDonald’s bag they were ripping into and carried it off to the side.

“Ok you big baby, come on.”

“I’m not a baby just because–”

“Just because you’re scared of raccoons like a baby and you need your short threatening friend to chase them off for you. It’s ok, widdle baby, come on–”

“Yeah you’re close to their height! They think you’re one of them!”

“Ok girls, get him,” she said, jerking her thumb in his direction.

Jungkook grunted in complaint and grabbed her arm as he power walked past them on the sidewalk, dragging her along until they’d cleared the block.

“Yeah we’ll see who’s giggling when you’re crawling into my bed tonight.”

“Why would I do that?! I would never!”

“You always do that when you’re drunk.”

She tried to think of a witty response but she couldn’t because the suggestion of bed made her tired again, and cold even though it was summer.

“Did you change your sheets?” she asked skeptically.

He threw his head back to laugh, “You didn’t even argue! You’re already thinking about it!”

“But only if you changed your sheets! I don’t want to wake up in a pool of your cum or whatever.”

“I mean it would be dry by now–”

“Jungkook!”

“Ok first of all I use condoms, I don’t just leave cum pooling everywhere, that’s disgusting. Dude cum is gross, that’s why I prefer to put it on or in a woman. And second of all yes I changed my sheets. I don’t have my lays rolling around in someone else’s sweat. I’m a classy–”

“But you aren’t getting laid tonight,” she beamed up at him.

“I know, I’m going to sleep with your stubby legs jammed into my ribs–”

“They aren’t stubbly!”

“No, stubby.”

“They aren’t stubby either! How dare you! They’re proportionate… aren’t they?”

“Your hair tries to strangle me at night.”

“It does not, my hair is not a failure, if it wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”

“Someday I’m going to wake up with it wrapped around my dick–”

“Yeah you’d like that, huh??” she cackled, giving him a rough shove to try and knock him into the street.

Immediately his face softened into disbelief, “NO! Wait, I just meant–”

“I’m seeing someone, thanks.”

“I meant because you leave hair all over my bed when you sleep with me.”

“It’s because you’re so hairless. My body feels bad for you. Those are donations.”

“God you are nonstop when you’re this phase of drunk,” he snorted, then choked on it because he’d done it too strong and it hurt his throat.

“It’s pretty good, right? Way better than you pissing yourself because some raccoons were just trying to have a fry snack.”

“Ugh fries sound so good right now,” he said.

“There’s a McDonald’s just one more block that way! We can make that dream come true for you!” Alex insisted. She fully expected him to say no because he’d had so much beer and he wanted to watch what he was eating and all that bullshit.

“Yeah. But you’re not eating them in my bed.”

“Right, we are eating them in your bed.”

“No! Ugh… no. I’m putting my foot down!” he said.

But he didn’t. And they ate fries in his bed, giggling about drunk dumb thoughts that had to be shared even at the risk being laughed at by the other, until finally they fell asleep, Alex’s legs jammed perfectly into his hip.

Alex had the afternoon shift, during which rushes of customers were harder to predict. In the mornings and evenings, the times were obvious, they knew exactly when to get the prep work done and when to get the breaks out of the way and when to be ready for the tide coming in. But in the afternoon, a butterfly flapped its wings in Majorca and suddenly nine cars were in the drive-through demanding frappuccinos while two people had bags of coffee to grind and Miss Clavelle at the register had a promo coupon for an orange mocha from six years ago she wanted made even though they didn’t even carry that nasty syrup anymore.

One such unexplained rush had just ended and now the shop sounded statically quiet in its wake, even though half a dozen customers still lounged at tables or adjusted the cream in their coffees at the milk bar or perused the bin of mugs on clearance to make space for more summer iced coffee tumblers. It always felt like the aftermath of battle to Alex, when everyone settled down and they had to then take stock of what they’d run out of, what had spilled, what needed to be cleaned. Especially in the summer, you had to assume another wave would come through soon and the last thing you wanted was to be caught without the right mocha or any prepared bases.

She stood on a low stool to stir big vats of mocha powder into warm water by the back kitchen door. The others on shift hated this particular task because if you poured too quickly the powder puffed up in your face and had been petitioning the manager to start getting already prepared liquid mocha, but Alex kinda liked stirring it, watching it thicken, inhaling the smell of warm chocolate into her brain cavity. But she was too short to stir the big vat on the counter and needed the stool and she suspected everyone tried to leave that particular job to her so they could giggle about her being short.

Alex didn’t care. There were advantages to being short. Like being able to grab things out of the milk fridge without crying about her back every time. Like being able to dart around everyone to get away from the less desirable chores. Like being able to hide and sneak up on people, if she so chose. She had long grown used to people remarking on her height, even though it wasn’t like she was the shortest person in the world or anything.

Being at an unexpected height was apparently enough to render her invisible because as she stirred the mocha, she heard what was clearly Jungkook’s voice ask awkwardly at the register,

“Uh, is Alex here?”

Milo gave a short laugh, then laughed harder, “Wah, you don’t recognize her when she’s a foot taller!” Alex turned just as Milo pointed to her and Jungkook looked oddly relieved to see her.

“Jungkook? What are you doing here? Oh my god, did our apartment burn down–”

“No no,” he said, shuffling to the side of the pastry case as she left the mocha for a moment and dusted her hands off on her apron. She knew he’d worked that morning but he was wearing regular clothes now, off for the day to do who knows what. Hair still wet so maybe he’d already been to the gym and showered too. Was it kind of pathetic for her to know his routine so well? In wondering this, she almost missed the casual way he shrugged, “Nothing’s going on. I just wanted a lemonade or something.”

“A lemonade.”

“Uh… this is Starbucks. People come here to get drinks.”

“Yeah but you don’t,” she pointed out. Jungkook was in fact her only close friend who didn’t regularly come in hoping to use her employee discount, a practice obviously against the rules but it tended to depend who was on.

“I just felt like it today,” he said. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. He shifted uncomfortably, obviously and adorably hiding something. No wonder he never got away with shit when he was a kid; he always said his parents could read right through him and Alex always thought yeah, doesn’t take a genius.

He sighed, “That’s it. I’m thirsty. And I had this kinda weird dream last night…”

There it was. Jungkook believed very strongly in the power of his dreams. It wasn’t that Alex didn’t believe dreams could mean something; it was impossible to shake that superstition because her mom had planted it in her so young, but while Alex was a skeptic, Jungkook had been her mother’s willing disciple. Eomma only believed in pregnancy dreams so when he had something he felt strong about, he went to Mama Song.

She looked at him and he looked impatiently back, so she sighed, “OK, tell me what happened in your dream.”

“Well you died…”

“Uh huh. In a really painful way?”

“I don’t know,” he said, looking somber. He was such a chucklefuck about everything except dreams. “You were just gone. I mean I knew you were dead and I was having to box up your things for your parents and… it just felt so real, you know? I kept thinking about how I needed to talk to you about it but I never would be able to again.” He looked so genuinely broken up about it that it kicked Alex’s defense engine of humor right into gear.

“Yeah nightmares can do that, and I’m really flattered that me dying was a nightmare for you but–”

“Yeah it’s not even funny to joke about,” he scowled.

“Well I’m neither dead nor dying.”

“Yeah but what if it’s a warning or– hey, maybe you should stay in tonight or something.”

Alex crossed her arms and leaned against the counter and pressed, “Is this because you’re mad at me I have a date over arcade night?”

“What? What the f– no! You know me, I don’t mess around with dreams, and I had a really bad feeling about–”

“Look, I’m sorry it’s on Thursday night again, it just happens to be the night me and Hoseok both have off lately. I know I missed last week but– but you always complain about the arcade anyway…” She trailed off. She’d felt kind of shitty about it at the time for no reason, because it wasn’t like they always had to go. Sometimes one of them was working, or someone had a family thing, or whatever. Jungkook hadn’t seemed to give a shit when she said she was missing for a date. She wouldn’t normally but, a week after Hoseok’s store opening, it was the first opportunity she had to see him outside of the store (which of course she had gone by, multiple times, to support him! As had several of her coworkers so it was not a weird girlfriend thing before he’d even called her his girlfriend yet! It was normal!) But today… well, she’d told Jungkook days ago and again he hadn’t seemed to care and maybe it bummed her out a little he didn’t care but she was the one missing arcade night so she was her own punishment.

She grabbed Jungkook’s wrist and said, “I’m sorry I’ve missed arcade night twice for a guy. I’ll make it up to you. But I’m not dying.”

“It’s not… it’s not about that.” His scowl deepend; he looked down and away like he did when he didn’t want to admit something. So maybe it was about that. Maybe he thought it was about that. Maybe he was feeling bothered she was starting to be away more? What was it, five times in a month now? Hey, that was pretty good, she realized! This weekend would be– “Oh my god, I’ve been dating him a month,” she whispered, leaning in. “That’s kinda crazy, right?”

“Really? A month already?” he looked skeptical.

“Yeah! Wow… he must really find my tolerable I guess…”

“Look I just think maybe it’s a good idea for you to stay home tonight. Is there harm in it?” he prodded.

“Why do you sound like my mom right now?! Sound like your own mom!”

“My mom would tell you to–”

The door opened and Alex hadn’t even looked at it before Brittany yelled, “Hoseok! What are you doing here?”

“Ah, he called! Yeah, I’ve got the case back here,” Amy said, waving at him.

Hoseok smiled and waved at them, but his gaze scanned the bar quickly and his smile changed when he saw Alex. It grew. She was the recipient of the full power of his smile, even though he had just come for a supply run and even though he hadn’t known she was working.

“Oooh, under-ordering, huh?” she taunted as he came over. He had to, because the door to the storage room was behind her, but it still made her giddy that he approached her. That they were dating was starting to become known and Alex felt like she was going to explode with fear someone would ask her if they were boyfriend-girlfriend before she knew because she actually didn’t think they were yet but then he looked at her like that.

“You say under-ordering, I say we’re more successful than expected. We need two cases of soy,” he countered. His optimism made her laugh. Seeing him in uniform made all the dates make even less sense, like there were two different Hobi’s, because when it was just the two of them hanging out it was just so casual and fun and easy to forget he was also a big-shot at work.

“With the soy crowd, huh? Big tippers?”

“You know it.” He winked at her. “Regretting not coming over?” He didn’t wait for an answer, just started laughing at his own joke, then transitioned smoothly to, “Hey Jungkook, good to see you again.”

And Jungkook got mega weird? He like turned towards Hoseok and reached out to shake his hand, and his voice lowered, and he returned, “Yeah, good to see you too,” like they were old professional acquaintances.

Hoseok went into the back to get the soy cases, and Alex elbowed Jungkook, demanding, “What was that?”

“What?”

“You were being so weird!”

“No I wasn’t!”

“Yeah you got all like… I don’t know, you reminded me of the way your dad gets when he meets contractors and doesn’t believe they’re going to do good work on the house.”

“That is so specific,” Jungkook snorted. “But I know what you mean… but I wasn’t like that! But I’m just– Alex, he’s driving tonight, right? What if you get into a car wreck or something.” The way his hand shot out to now grab her arm showed how suddenly real the fear was for him.

“Jungkook… it’s not… ok. What about if Hoseok and I both go to the arcade with you and you can keep an eye on me the whole time?”

“Huh? No, that’s–”

But as soon as she’d said the words, she realized it was the best idea she’d ever had! Other than asking Hoseok out, that had been an even better idea.

“Yeah! Yeah, I bet he’ll go and we can spend time together. That way I’m not bailing on arcade night and you two can get to know each other better.”

“But you said he’s not a gamer and–”

“I bet he’ll do it for me,” she said. Did she think that? Actually she realized Hoseok might hate the idea. Maybe it was a sort of test in a way though… was he up to try things that she liked even if he really didn’t?

“Alex–”

“Hey Hobi,” she said as he came out the swinging door with the heavy cases in his arms like they were nothing. “Could we go to the arcade tonight? With Jungkook? I think I told you I usually go with him and I feel bad bailing two weeks in a row but I really want to see you too and–”

“Say no more,” Hoseok said, giving her a playfully serious look. “I think you’ve spent enough time with me to not be scared off by how bad I am but I guess we’ll see!”

“Yeah she takes games really seriously. It can get pretty intense,” Jungkook volunteered. “And if you’re not really into games…”

But Hoseok just smiled, “I think it’ll be fun. You guys can teach me what’s good. I don’t mind sharing Alex for a date. Should I still pick you up?”

“We’ll meet you there,” Alex said because it was obviously easier. “And if we finish early, maybe we’ll go somewhere after.” Why had she said that? She didn’t know where or what she meant, just that now she was starting to think this through and wondering if it was really such a good idea. She did get competitive with Jungkook, and Jungkook was so competitive, she worried he would never like Hoseok if this was his first real meeting with him, and also she couldn’t just make out with Hoseok somewhere if Jungkook was along…

“Text me,” Hoseok told her and winked and then hauled the soy away, the whole conversation watched by her coworkers who pretended very poorly not to have listened.

Now suddenly dreading the very thing she had suggestion, Alex decided her only option was to double down and never admit she’d fucked up. She clapped Jungkook on the shoulder and said, “There, see? You can make sure I don’t die.”

“By playing third wheel on your date?!”

“It’ll be fun. You’re going to go, right? I think your dream means you have to.”

“I’m bringing a date too.”

“What? Who?!”

“Literally anyone. See you at home.”

He wound up not even getting his drink.

The arcade date was off to a rough start. When Alex had so roundly dismissed his dream, he’d gone to her mom because he was really worried! Ok, wait, not directly to her mom, but he’d gone by his parents house which was right around the corner and he’d taken their mangy little dog for a walk and Mrs. Song just happened to be pruning the flowers in her front garden bed like she was most afternoons and Jungkook got to talking to her about the dream, and whether Alex could be right that he was just feeling abandoned because she was seeing someone now and hey, it wasn’t his fault she hadn’t mentioned that to her mom yet!

Oops.

So Alex was pissed and not talking to him by the time they drove to the arcade, and he did genuinely feel bad because he wouldn’t have 100% purposefully ratted out her dating life to her mom. She didn’t do that to him. He wanted to be considered trustworthy and now he was a snitch and he felt bad. It was a bad start to this group date she had signed him up for that he didn’t want to be on because one thing was for sure: the dream did not mean he wanted to spend any more time with this Hoseok guy.

Although on the way he realized a potential value in this, which was actually getting a sense of what Alex and Hoseok were like together. Sure, he’d heard all about this alleged god among mortals. He didn’t believe that. The dude dyed his hair blonde and overdressed for dates and just seemed too ‘adult.’ It was creepy. And it wasn’t what the guys seemed to be accusing him of, that he was an asshole and had some shitty idea that Alex was a bad girlfriend. He actually didn’t think that, as long as Alex was the kind of girl you actually liked! She was a pretty good roommate and a really good friend, even if he wasn’t going to say these things to her face just like that, so it stood to reason that as long as you were a decent guy, she’d be a good girlfriend. He just didn’t see Hobi as someone who could appreciate all the things that made Alex Alex. But what he did see was Alex working really hard to dress up for dates and buy new clothes and talk about Hoseok like he was this amazing guy and Jungkook just thought that was kind of fucked up, ok? He thought Hoseok was probably saying or doing things that made Alex feel like she wasn’t as good as him and since this thing hadn’t run its course yet, he was beginning to worry he needed to step in more as her friend before it got away from them. Maybe Hoseok had some ulterior motive. Maybe he was just really into an image of Alex that was no more real and wholly her than the charming ladies’ man Jungkook let his hookups see. You couldn’t build a relationship on that. He knew that. Did she?

He parked and she jetted out of the car just as he tried again, “Hey, I’m really sorry I told your mom about–”

“It’s not your business to– you don’t even know what you just–” She let out an angry, clenched scream and slammed the car door. He caught up to her as she stomped across the parking lot, short legs working double time to try and lose him. When he easily caught up to her, she continued as if there had been no break, “You owe me so I expect best behavior tonight. Be nice to Hobi. Make friends with him. Don’t be the weird pissy asshole you were to Yoongi.”

“Wait what?!”

“Hey!” Alex called, voice totally changed. It disoriented Jungkook until he realized she was waving at Hoseok walking across the parking lot; she even left the sidewalk to go back to him, as if she needed his presence to endure Jungkook right now.

Even worse, Anita was right behind them.

Jungkook did not need the visual of Hoseok bending down to kiss Alex somewhere on her face; he looked away before he could see where, and then made a point of kissing Anita on the mouth when she reached him.

“Oh, hello,” she beamed at him. Jungkook smiled back. Then turned expectantly to Hoseok and Alex, who were giggling about something he’d missed. He put his arm around Anita’s waist and pulled her close. Ok. No, this was fine that Anita had been right behind Hoseok, so they could all meet on equal ground here on the sidewalk.

“So Hoseok, now you’re officially meeting Jungkook I guess–”

“What makes it more official?” Jungkook immediately asked, because he’d met Hoseok before, he didn’t know why she was saying that.

“And…” Alex looked expectantly and a little embarrassed at the girl, as if trying to decide if she’d ever known her name before. She ought to know her name! They had met when Jungkook had her over a few weeks ago and he had definitely seen them talking on Anita’s way out the next morning! Again, he preferred going to the woman’s place so a woman who got to spend the night was a little more special.

“Anita,” she said, reaching out to shake hands. “Hoseok and…”

Alex stared Anita dead in the face and answered evenly, “Alex. I live with Jungkook.” Jungkook didn’t think Anita had done the slight intentionally, but it comforted him a little for Alex to lose the upper hand.

“Oh.” Anita looked more closely at Alex, as if trying to remember, then laughed brightly, “Ok, I remember! This is so funny, I’m the only not Asian person, huh? Are all your friends Korean, JK?”

“I’m Chinese,” Alex said, voice lifting half an octave. Jungkook had no time to smooth over this disappointing, awkward blunder and instead decided to look like the bigger man as a distraction. He reached for Hoseok’s hand too, and pulled him in for a hug and tapped his back with a grunted,

“Hey man. Good to see you.”

“Oh! Alex said you aren’t a hugger!” Hoseok said, looking thrilled about this. Jungkook ignored whatever face Alex was no doubt making. He needed to keep control of this situation so Alex would have zero complaints about him –especially after he kind of sort of told her Mom about Hoseok which was like one of the cardinal best friend sins. He got it! He fucked up!.

Jungkook opened his mouth but Hoseok gestured, “Shall we go inside?” Shall!? Who the fuck was this guy?

Jungkook stumbled as Anita moved away from him; he tripped a bit on the curb. He tried to play it off that he was just brushing his hair back. He usually wore a beanie to the arcade anyway because there was a pattern to their Thursdays to the arcade and this was fucking not it. Shower before work, nap –maybe a wank preceding if he felt like it– and trash pizza and fries from the Sbarro just around the corner in the mall. Sometimes he’d go to the gym later, or at least the next morning. His one scheduled cheat a week.

There would be no trash pizza tonight. Apparently Hoseok didn’t eat dairy. Jungkook thought that right there was probably enough to doom them because Alex loved her dairy. Especially cheese and ice cream, but god save you if you suggested she have a coffee drink without half a cup of dairy involved. She’d gone through an americano phase, right after she started working at Starbucks, and had gotten real huffy when Jungkook pointed out it was basically a latte if you put as much milk in it as she did.

Jungkook had not thought about this deviation to their plans and what it meant though until they stepped inside and Anita asked, “They have food here?”

“Oh. Uh… they have like… uh candy and stuff…”

“Candy?”

“We can get pizza around the corner,” Jungkook decided. “Um… are you hungry right now?” Just as she opened her mouth, he added, “You eat pizza, right?”

“Uh sure, pizza is fine,” she said. “I don’t need to eat yet.”

Jungkook had hoped Alex would be jealous about the mention of pizza but she and Hoseok were already getting their token cards at the counter and hadn’t even heard. He rolled his eyes as Hoseok pretended to pay for Alex’s card, even though it was free tonight, and they both laughed. It wasn’t funny? How lame.

He did no such stupid thing with Anita as she got her own free ticket card and he used the machine to add tokens to his worn in one, scratched from literal years of use by now. He’d never lost his, even though Alex had gone through like a dozen by this point. Right behind his driver’s license, he liked to brag, which inevitably led Alex to take it and pretend to throw it away. But she didn’t, because she knew how much it meant to him. The token card, not his driver’s license. Although it was a pretty good picture of him, as far as licenses went.

“What do we play first?” Hoseok asked, turning to circle up, holding his card like he’d never held any kind of card in his life, pinched between his fingers.

“You like racing games,” Alex said.

Jungkook made a face, “I mean, I like them ok but–”

“Ha, no, I do! That’s true,” Hoseok said. “But we don’t have to start with what I like!”

“What games do you like?” Jungkook asked Anita.

Anita looked like he’d just handed her a rifle and told her to catch them dinner; her mouth opened before she admitted, “Um… I think I like racing games too.”

“Fine, let’s start with racing games,” Jungkook agreed, even though it annoyed him because those were dull games to start with. He was fine at racing games, great actually, but usually they started with something like House of the Dead or Lara Croft, something with lots of action to get their blood bumping, and saved racing games for when they were ready to have a sit down.

When Alex got distracted on the way over, Jungkook crossed his arms, grinning smugly. Ok, good, she wasn’t throwing over her routine that quickly. He didn’t even mind then when Hoseok offered to play with her; there was a similar game next to it Jungkook and Anita could play.

“There’s not friendly fire, right?” Hoseok asked. He and Alex laughed. Jungkook didn’t know if that was an inside joke.

“What’s friendly fire?” Anita asked.

“It’s not in this game,” Jungkook assured her. As the first giant monsters jumped onto the buildings to climb, he aimed and fired his plastic gun, trying to quickly take out his giant lizard and then moving over to the giant ape the next building over.

“How does it… uh… I don’t think I’m shooting.”

“Pull the trigger.”

“I’m pulling the trigger.”

“No, pull the trigger while you’re aiming at the….” He trailed off as the level reset; it was too hard to talk and focus at the same time. “Yeah, aim at your lizard and— no, pull the trigger.��

“I am–”

“Oh, ok no that’s not the trigger, you need to reload on the side.” He reached over and grabbed her gun, reloading it for her then focusing back on his own.

“Oh, ok, thanks…”

Obviously the game didn’t last very long. He could have kept going, but once she was out after the second round, it would have been boring to continue on his own. Besides, Hoseok and Alex were finishing up their game, both laughing their damn heads off.

“What’s going on over here?” Jungkook asked, then remembered to motion Anita over with him. He took her hand because she seemed unhappy and he didn’t want her to feel bad about sucking at shooting games.

“He’s so bad,” Alex giggled, while Hoseok huffed indignantly, “I’m doing ok!” He was smiling though, laughing at his own lack of skill. When the score page showed in between scenes, Alex’s kill count was not only significantly higher, Hoseok had mostly hit the puppy dogs and birds that would move across the screen, which you were supposed to avoid hitting.

“Animal murderer!” Alex laughed, grabbing his arm playfully.

He dramatically pressed his gun alongside his face like James Bond and play-acted, “Alex, there’s something I have to tell you. I’m not who you think I am…”

“Ahhh, evil mastermind, huh? That explains all the coffee drinking, you’re up all night plotting–”

“A mastermind!” Hoseok laughed. “Ah, you’re too kind, you think too highly of me. I’m a henchman at best!”

“A henchman?! No way, I’m a henchman,” Alex insisted.

Hoseok adamantly shook his head, “No no you’d be the shadow master, secretly pulling the strings.”

“Yeah, so you be the boss and I can pull your strings!”

“Ok!” Hoseok instantly conceded.

Fuck it was cheesy. Jungkook quickly turned his attention to Anita, pressing his hands to her hips and grinning,

“All right, let’s find something you like playing more.”

“Oh! Ok… I don’t play a lot of video games but racing games would be good or… I mean, I’ll go along with anything, I just won’t be good,” she told him, smiling, giggling when his hand roamed up her side to pull her closer. Maybe Hoseok was laughing so much because he was embarrassed not to be good at games, and Jungkook didn’t want to make him feel bad at it and anyway, Anita was here as his date, so he’d pay more attention to her to make sure she had a good time. Alex was already mad at him and if he had to be around cheesy shit like that, his eye rolls were going to get him in even more trouble.

“Let’s try that one,” Jungkook suggested, pointing to the whack-a-shark (no, it conceptually did not make as much sense as whack-a-mole.) “We can work together.” It was romantic to work together. Except when he and Alex played and used it as an opportunity to crush each other’s hands and compete for who could hit the most. He wouldn’t do that with Anita. Romance.

He glanced over his shoulder as Hoseok and Alex moved a few machines down to play a big piano game together cooperatively. Ugh, same idea but obviously way less fun than bashing sharks…

“Good, baby, good,” Jungkook encouraged, hands on his hips to help Anita position herself in the right place for skeeball. He tried to hold her still as she reared back to roll. It should have been smooth and right up the middle but her wrist jerked to the side, she didn’t let go quick enough, and the ball soared through the air to before landing right in the foremost, 0-point gutter.

“Fuck,” she mumbled.

He patted her ass, “Don’t worry, you’ve got more balls.”

“I swear I’m better at other balls.”

“Yeah, I remember,” he winked at her. “Hopefully you’re never in the mood to throw mine down a gutter anyway…”

“From what I remember, you’re already in the gutter…”

Jungkook wanted to gloat and flirt and do all of those things, but he was interrupted by Alex’s shriek of laughter, followed by Hoseok’s equally as loud yell and chuckle. The bounce the moving Jurassic Park ride injected into their voices was not welcome because it immediately made Jungkook think about other types of bouncing. And anyway, not everyone wanted to listen to them shriek about a kid’s game. Some people wanted to flirt with the woman they were hoping would let them sink balls deep into them in a few hours.

It wasn’t that Jungkook was bitter Alex and Hoseok had decided to do a very long two-player game –even though, to be clear, he was Alex’s first; they’d beaten that game together like a decade ago. But Jungkook found himself rolling his eyes because Alex was just so… different.

The truth was that despite being decent at racing games, Hoseok sucked at just about everything else. Which until now had always been something Alex despised in men. She had said on multiple occasions that if a guy couldn’t keep up with her in video games than what the fuck were they even going to talk about. But not only had Alex apparently found plenty else to talk about with Hoseok, she didn’t even seem bothered that he sucked. The normally competitive demon shrew that was Alex Song was nowhere to be seen right now. This giggly, floaty Alex was weird. Jungkook half expected her to break out in Disney songs or start doing duck-lips selfies unironically. It just wasn’t her.

This Alex was undeniably happy though as she and Hoseok left the Jurassic Park game, his arm around her shoulder as he shoved his other hand into his pocket like a cool guy and let his laughter settle into a chuckle. Jungkook knew that move. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Was Hoseok using moves on Alex? Oh fuck that. If Jungkook did anything as Alex’s friend ever, it should be to weed out the fuck boys.

“How did skee ball go?” Alex asked as they approached, directing the question at Anita. “Jungkook didn’t break the machine, did he?”

“No… he does that?”

“He throws too hard when he’s trying to shove off,” Alex teased.

Jungkook glared, “I can’t help it that I used to pitch–”

“In middle school.”

“Whatever, your short weak arms give you an advantage at skeeball,” he glared, and turned Anita away. She’d used up the last of her balls anyway and gotten a ridiculously poor score for all of Jungkook’s efforts.

“Oooh, why don’t we do the bowling game? Hobi used to be on a bowling team–”

“Ah, I told you that in secret,” he immediately laughed, covering his face. “I didn’t mean to tell you that…”

“Why not? It’s cool!”

As if either Anita or Jungkook had said anything, Hoseok waved his hands, “No, I just signed up in high school to get out of athletics. But it was actually a lot of fun!”

“Yeah, bowling is fun,” Jungkook said slowly and glanced at Anita.

She quickly nodded, “Oh yeah, in high school I used to go bowling with friends after school dances! Then we’d have the ticket stubs to prove where we were before we snuck off to…” She arched her eyebrow at Jungkook. It made him laugh.

“Smart, very smart.”

“Jungkook wasn’t devious,” Alex informed Anita. “He was still busy– oof,” she broke off as Jungkook walked past her, backhanding her in the stomach. He already knew Anita was not into skater boys, anime, or video games, and so didn’t need Alex bringing up any of those. It wasn’t like he was bringing up stuff she might not want Hoseok to know! Other than the whole telling her mom she was seeing someone thing…

“Oooh mysterious,” Hoseok laughed. Jungkook didn’t think it was very funny though that Hoseok would joke when they didn’t know each other very well.

“Let’s play something,” Jungkook suggested, grabbing Anita’s hand. “But not bowling, that’s kind of lame once you’re twenty-five.”

Hoseok grinned, “Ah, you stop worrying about being lame when you’re twenty-nine. Maybe I’m lame sometimes. I don’t lose sleep over it.”

“I don’t think you’re lame,” Alex quickly assured him, then mouthed something to Jungkook that looked like swallow a fork and die. “Anita, is there anything you want to play?” she politely asked his date, as if trying to make a point. That must be all she meant, because as soon as Hoseok motioned her over, she went right to him.

“Oh, let’s do this one. I think it can earn a lot of tokens,” Hoseok said, patting the lightning game fondly.

“What do you need tickets for?” Alex asked, not even correcting Hoseok incorrectly switching ‘tokens’ and ‘tickets.’

“To get you something.”

“You don’t have to get me anything here,” she insisted.

“Something for each of us then. Little bracelets or something–”

“These machines are just luck anyway,” Jungkook informed him. Hoseok scanned his card anyway. He stopped the light one away from the jackpot zone. “See? You’ll only ever be one away.”

“You’ve never won this one?” Anita asked Jungkook, looking fascinated by this. He thought that must mean she assumed he could win everything, which felt pretty good. He lifted his arm around her shoulder and smiled and was about to make a joke when suddenly an alarm went off.

Not an emergency alarm though. The game went off and the lights started flashing and Alex threw her hands up and whooped.

“Wait–”

“He got the jackpot!” Alex yelled, clapping her hands, as Hoseok looked stunned and thrilled.

“Woah! How many tickets?!” Anita gasped, sliding away from Jungkook to see. 452. 452 measly tickets and the girls were acting like it was the end of the world.

“Wow, your reflexes must be so fast–”

“It’s rigged,” Jungkook said. “It must go off every like thousandth time or something.”

“Oh, wouldn’t the payout be a lot bigger then? It only goes up a few tickets every time I play,” Hoseok said, pointing to where the blue jackpot display had reset.

“Mr. Detective,” Jungkook mumbled.

Alex lifted her nose snootily at Jungkook and said, “I don’t think it’s rigged, I think your reflexes just aren’t as fast.”

“That’s bullshit. You’ve seen me play this game for years.”

“Yeah, and never win.”

“Alex…”

“Try!” Anita suggested, grabbing his arm. “Now that you know you can win. Look, the green one is on 315.”

“Move to the pink one if you’re going to keep playing,” Alex told Hoseok. “It’s at 268.” Jungkook glanced up at Hoseok shifted spaces with annoyance as he stopped the light one shy of the jackpot. It started again and Hoseok’s look of concentration was mirrored by Alex’s. It would be cute if it wasn’t kind of stupid. This wasn’t a skill-based game. Why was Alex so impressed?!

“Try try,” Anita chanted excitedly and patted his shoulder a few times. So Jungkook tapped his token card again, and watched it again stop several bulbs away.

“It’s rigged,” he repeated after several tries, frustrated and not wanting to waste any more tokens on this shit. He turned to suggest he and Anita find something else when that fucking alarm went off again.

“Oh my god!!”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jungkook asked, eyes going wide as Alex threw her arms around Hoseok’s neck, jumping to reach, cheering loudly. Because yeah, Hoseok had somehow gotten the lucky break again and won another jackpot. Which seemed completely fake because wouldn’t they program the machine to not even allow that? And if it wasn’t rigged, what were the odds he could do it twice?!

“It’s ok baby, you’re good at other things,” Anita teased and winked. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t comforted, he was annoyed because really?

“Oh stop sulking,” Alex immediately noticed. Then, to Hoseok, she explained, “He’s a terrible loser.”

“Oh, well, we weren’t competing though…” Hoseok pointed out as the machine noisily counted out the tickets it was adding to his card.

“Let’s play something else,” Jungkook said through gritted teeth. Of course Hoseok was a modest winner.

“Let’s get a drink,” Anita suggested. “Or food? I’m hungry.”

“Yeah let’s get some pizza,” he decided in an instant, hoping to make Alex hungry too. That’s all it took when she was hungry, just the word and within seconds she’d be melting against your arm, whining like a house cat left unfed for three days (in her mind; Jungkook grew up with cats, he knew what they were about, as full of shit as Alex.)

Except she didn’t do that this time, just grabbed Hoseok’s arm and jumped like an overexcited child, still incredulous about his victories.

“You have so many tickets just from one game!”

“Yeah, let’s keep playing–”

“Alex. We’re going to get pizza. You want any?”

“Oh, no I ate before I came, remember? You guys go, just come find us after!” She didn’t even wait for a response, just ran off with Hoseok.

Anita hadn’t wanted pizza after all, so they’d walked all the way across the mall to get burgers from this little weird organic place. The food was all right but overpriced and it took forever. Jungkook was impatient to get back, certain that Alex and Hoseok had probably just ditched as soon as he left.

“Are you ok?” Anita asked as they walked back. “You seem kinda weird today…”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“No, sorry, it’s not– sorry if I’m being shitty. This Hoseok guy is Alex’s new boyfriend. They haven’t been dating very long and she doesn’t date very much so…”

“Well he seems super nice so she did a good job!”

“Right well that’s what I’m trying to make sure of.”

“By… getting over competitive at that light game?”

He forced a laugh and took her hand in his, “No, no. By just pushing a little, you know? Me and Alex have been friends since we were little. I know the kinds of thing she likes or can’t stand and any guy she dates needs to be able to keep up, you know?”

“So are you in love with her?”

Jungkook choked on his own spit and had to steal a sip of her soda to wash it down before he could admit, “Fuck she would be so happy to hear you say that. She gets asked that all the time because of… you know.” He gestured up and down his body.

“Uh huh.”

“But no,” he assured her. “Not even a little. More like protective big brother.”

“Well you know it’s kind of sexist to be too protective. Hobi seems nice, she seems happy, I think you can relax. It’s not like he’s going to show some dark sinister traits in a fucking arcade anyway, right?”

“I guess… wait, how is it sexist?”

“Because she’s a big girl. She can ask for help if she needs it.”

“You can’t… you can’t call someone a big girl just because– I mean she’s short and–”

“Oh my god!” Anita gasped. “No, I didn’t mean like that! I meant she’s a grown up! Oh my god, no, it’s fine! She’s beautiful! I would never comment on someone’s body!”

“Ok. Ok, thank fuck, you scared me, I thought I’d have to like walk you right to your car and delete your number–”

“Aww, see that’s sweet, if you don’t want anyone talking shit about your friend,” Anita told him, taking his arm. “But fronting her new boyfriend… not so cool. Just chill.”

“She doesn’t have a lot of experience.”

“You already said that. But if you’ve been all weird about it, she won’t feel like she can talk to you about it if something does come up. And anyway, gotta tell you, he’s not setting off a single red flag for me,” she continued. “You on the other hand!”

“What? I have red flags?”

“Are you kidding? You’re insanely competitive. You’ve spent the whole evening paying more attention to your friend than your date. We still haven’t played the racing game I suggested. You’re a sore loser about the one game you aren’t any good at–”

“Ah, Anitaaa,” he sighed, and turned her, boxing her in against a wall. He stared down into her face, turning on the charm. “I’m sorry, baby.”

She didn’t actually look mad about it though, just grinned, “Yeah, you’re really not boyfriend material.”

Because she was smiling, he played along, grimacing, “No? Bummer. What kind of material am I?”

The kind I want to shred in a rage with my bare hands, is what Alex would have said, and Jungkook would have laughed his ass off at her extreme violence.

But Anita offered, “The kind that looks good on top for a night here or there.”

“Hm, ok, I can work with that.” He leaned in to kiss her forehead.

“Wanna work on it right now?”

Damnit.

“We won’t stay much longer,” he said, taking her hand. “Like you said, he seems fine…”

Alex stared in horror, hands over her mouth, as Hoseok quickly spun and covered his face. She was frozen, utterly immobilized, as were Jungkook and Anita. A shiver of horror ran through her body. She broke out into a cold sweat.

“JUNGKOOK!” she shouted, then dove towards Hobi.

“It– it wasn’t my fault!” Jungkook cried. “He pinched the puck–”

“You hit it like a fucking rocket! Hobi, hey, are you ok–”

“Damn,” Hoseok said, already smiling but with his hand still clutched to his jaw. He scrunched his whole face up in a way that looked like it could be play-acting, but then his expression shifted and Alex saw the glimpse of real pain.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said, as if she had anything to do with it. But fuck she knew that must have hurt, to take the puck right in the face like that. “Where did it hit? Are you ok? I swear to god if he broke your tooth–”

“Ah, no, it’s my jaw, that’s it.” Hoseok let her push his hands away and press her fingers to the bright red spot on his cheek. It was definitely going to bruise.

“Does it hurt?”

“Well, ah… it’s just stinging a little right now, I don’t think it’s too bad.”

“Your eyes are watering.”

“It’s fine! They’re just watering from the surprise!”

Alex pressed her hands along his jaw and glared at Jungkook over her shoulder, which made her look like a grumpy anime character because she had to stretch and twist.

“I’m really sorry,” Jungkook said, finally letting go of the mallet because obviously the game was now over. “I didn’t mean to hit it that hard–”

“Noooo, I pinched it– pinched it? Is that what you call it? I knocked it into my own face!” He shook his head and smiled down at Alex, “Ah, I don't think I can keep up with you two at air hockey. You’re fierce!”

“Yeah, hide behind me, let’s finish this,” Alex said, nudging him back.

“Huh?”

Alex grabbed the mallet and glared at Jungkook, “Let’s do this.”

“No, let’s call it,” Jungkook said, waving his hand. “I’m really sorry, Hoseok, I guess I get carried away… I definitely didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

“Yeah, don't worry–”

“Oh, I bet I can get you some ice,” Anita said, and ran off before anyone could argue.

“Alex–”

“Finish the game, Jungkookie, or are you scared?”

“Yeah, I’m scared! You have murder in your eyes. I didn’t hurt him on purpose!”

Alex took the puck and shot it straight into his goal. Hoseok had been behind scorewise but it was no issue for Alex; she’d come from further behind.

“Alex…”

Fuck, she was really pissed. She glared at him as she marched around to take the puck from his return, then marched back to her side and shot it straight in again, at a completely unnecessary strength. The sharp noise of it made him jolt.

“I didn’t hurt your boyfriend on purpose!”

Oops. That froze her up. Her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open and her hand gripped the mallet. Jungkook could see her thought process as if he was reading it on the glasses he had noticed she never wore on her dates with Hoseok –only contacts. He noticed these things!

Suddenly she was in action again, “Oh yeah, just like you didn’t talk to my mom on purpose?!”

“Ah, sorry sorry!” he yelled and stepped away as she shot another one in. To end this before he risked his own life, he took the puck and slipped it into his own goal two more times.

“I got ice,” Anita called, returning with a ziploc bag of it and a papertowel to wrap it in.

“Oh, thank you,” Hoseok grinned, taking it from her. “You missed an intense showdown.” He was smiling and nudged Alex, who looked up at him with actual shame and misery.

Oh, Jungkook understood. It tugged something in his chest because he knew exactly what that remorseful look from her meant. Anita arriving had broken her fit of rage and she didn’t want Hoseok to have seen her like that. But Hoseok smiled at her and teased, “My champion. Won the match for me after I was struck down!”

“I think it’s a good time to go,” Alex sighed deeply.

Jungkook was immediately flooded with regret.

Fuck. Fuck this wasn’t at all how he’d wanted this to go. Instead of actually understanding Hoseok more, he felt like he’d just pushed the guy into Alex’s arms. Worse, he’d made Alex truly pissed, which didn’t feel great. Now she definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to him about anything going on with Hoseok.

“No, hey, let’s just go get drinks or something,” Jungkook said.

Anita quickly interjected, “No, she’s right, it’s getting late and we’re running out of tokens.”

“Yours are unlimited tonight,” Jungkook pointed out. “You can just go and they’ll recharge.”

“Yeah, let’s call it a night.”

“Wait, I need to redeem my tickets,” Hoseok said, and surprisingly looked as disappointed for it to be over as Jungkook felt. Jungkook didn’t understand his angle but suddenly felt like nothing was making sense anyway. He followed them to the prize counter even though Alex sent him a deathglare. As they debated over what to get, Alex clutching Hoseok’s arm like he was going to get ripped away, Jungkook stepped around them and redeemed some of his tickets for four monkeys that could be slingshot across the room at someone or could just looped around your neck for a hug. They were deceptively soft –which Anita squealed happily about as he handed her the orange one. Pink for Alex because she always got huffy when people assumed she didn’t like pink just because she did some tomboyish things. He let Hoseok choose between green and orange.

“Oh, hey thanks, JK!”

“...Thanks,” Alex mumbled, eyeing him distrustfully. He knew why, because he knew that she knew that he was hoarding his tickets, saving for the 15,000 ticket Slushee Machine and the 6,500 ticket 36” stuffed Rottweiler for their apartment. These weren’t the most expensive ticket items, which would have been cool just to say he got, but he already had an Xbox One and he didn’t want to save all of his tickets for a fucking Roomba. The Slushee Machine and Stuffed Rottweiler would be cool and he’d been saving for them for a while now while also balancing maximizing their fun in obtaining tickets rather than just doing the easy ticket-grabs or whatever. Like he wasn’t going around just winning that cyclone game every week or anything.

But the monkeys were a peace offering and he knew Alex knew that as she tugged on it around her neck while she and Hoseok debated. Jungkook hated that the two of them had matching monkeys now but he had one too and even Anita had one so it wasn’t like a big deal. Anyway, it wasn’t like they wouldn’t have matching things. They were dating. Neither of them had even corrected his gaffe calling Hoseok her boyfriend. And soon they had matching slitted sunglasses and matching gray and pink paracord bracelets. Even Hoseok had gotten gray and pink. Jungkook hated that one of the things he judged guys on was whether they were an ass about the color pink, and that Hoseok apparently passed that test no problem.

Hoseok still held the ice to his jaw, but only ever so often, like he was embarrassed about it. Jungkook felt bad, even if it wasn’t entirely his fault. He just got carried away…

“We’re going to head out,” Alex said, matter-of-factly. “You can take my car. Hobi will bring me home later.”

“Oh, you uh– you already discussed–” He didn’t know when they’d talked about that, but now argued, “I don’t need your car. Anita and are I going out for drinks.”

“I didn’t bring my car,” Anita said. “You don’t have yours here?”

“So you do need my car,” Alex clarified.

Jungkook hated having to admit, “Yeah… ok. I’ll get it cleaned on the way home tonight.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said, making a face. Fuck, she was so mad at him.

“No, I… I do,” he said. “Nice to hang out with you, Hoseok. Sorry about your face. Uh… hope to see you again soon.” If your ‘girlfriend’ doesn’t hold a pillow over my face while I’m sleeping tonight. I’m a deep sleeper. It wouldn’t even be hard.

“Yeah, this was fun! Well maybe not the air hockey,” Hoseok said with a laugh. “I was warned though! I saw you two play before! I should have known I was out of my league!”

“Night,” Alex called with a short wave. “Nice to see you, Anita.”

“You too, Alex! See you around!”

Well at least Anita was in a good mood as Jungkook led her out to Alex’s car. He had to borrow a car, his friend was pissed, he may have just accidentally turned them into boyfriend and girlfriend, and he had low hopes he’d be able to get it up tonight even if Anita did decide to go home with him after drinks…

“I’m sooooo sorry,” Alex started as soon as they were in Hoseok’s car. “I swear he’s not usually… like that…”

“Like what?”

She thought Hoseok was just being kind and insisted, “I mean, he gets competitive, but he was just… weird tonight. He’s usually really chill and cool so I don’t know what the fuck was his problem.”

“It’s fine,” Hoseok assured her.

“It’s not. And he hit you in the face!”

“Ok, he didn’t punch me!” Hoseok laughed. He was so kind. So forgiving. So nonplussed. “I shouldn’t have played against him. Anyway, I just think he takes his arcade time with you seriously.”

“Maybe… but he invited his date along too… he kind of kept forgetting her though…”

“Have they been dating long?”

“I’ve only ever seen her once in my life so no, I think he just didn’t want to be a third wheel tonight.” As she said it, Alex chewed on her thumbnail. It was only now, as she talked about it, that she realized maybe Jungkook was a sulky little boy because the arcade had always been their place and then she’d brought Hoseok along. Maybe it would have been better if they’d hung out somewhere else first, like just at the apartment, or at one of Namjoon’s parties or… or like literally anywhere else. Like when you had to introduce your new puppy to your bratty old cat and they suggested you start in neutral territory or whatever.

“It’s my fault,” she sighed now. “Maybe I should have known he’d be kind of a little brat about me bringing you to the arcade…”

“Hey, can I ask a question?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah… no… nevermind.”

“No, ask it. Oh my god, is this about my mom! Look, Jungkook fucked up and told my mom I’m seeing someone, that’s what he meant about the boyfriend thing. He just told her today and she chewed my ear off about not telling her but I swear it doesn’t mean we need to rush into anything–”

“I figured that out,” Hoseok grinned. He only had one hand on the wheel but the second hovering, looking both sexy and responsible at the same time. “And I’m not freaked out, don’t worry. My mom already knows so uh… maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Oh!”

“You know how moms are…”

“I know how my Asian mom is. So nosy! Anyway, it’s not like– I mean I just didn’t tell her yet, not for a reason except I knew she’d be full of questions.” Alex felt the panic rising. Now did Hoseok think she’d hidden it from her mom for some reason? Did he think she didn’t get along with her mom? That she was a bad daughter?! “I love my mom and we’re very close.”

Hoseok beamed, “Me too, I’m close with both my parents. That’s good. I know it’s not that way for a lot of people but mine are great. I actually wanted to ask you something about Jungkook…”

“Yeah, he’s probably going to have sex with Anita tonight and then not talk to her again for months.”

“No, no, uh… ah, it’s awkward, but it’s ok whatever the answer is! I just want to understand… is he in love with you?”

“I’m sorry, what now?”

“Don’t make me ask it again!” Hoseok laughed. “I’ll sound so insecure!”

“No please, I desperately need to hear that question again.”

“Is he in love with you?” Hoseok asked, face a grimace.

“YES!” Alex shouted, pumping her fists in the air, dancing in her seat, kicking her legs. “YES YES YES!!!”

“Uh…”

“WAIT I mean NO. But– god I can’t tell you how incredible it feels to finally have someone ask me that.”

“I’m going to admit this isn’t the answer I was expecting–”

“No, look, he’s not in love with me, trust me, and I am not and have never been in love with him. We are the most platonic of platonics. You don’t have to worry about that at all.”

“Ah ok, I just thought… he was maybe being protective of you.”

“He is, in his own addled away,” Alex considered. “LIke if a knight got kicked in the head by his own horse and decided he needed to defend the horse for the rest of his life by not letting anyone else ride the horse. Wait, this is a weird metaphor.”

“It’s weird,” Hoseok agreed, laughing. “Are you the horse?!”

“I think I’m the horse in the metaphor… I really felt like I could kick him in the head today.”

“That would be quite a move. You’re a lot shorter than he is.”

“Yeah but maybe if I got a handstand going– Anyway, I swear. Nothing going on there. But people always assume I’m in love with him because, you know… he looks and acts like that… I mean, he runs this like thirst-trap instagram, he plows through women, he can be so charming when he wants something.”

“Uh huh…”

“Hobi,” she laughed. “Trust me, I know him way too well in all the wrong ways to love him, and he feels the same about me. Like he doesn’t even really think of me as a girl.”

“Well then he’s an idiot.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“I mean, I can be an idiot too. But right now I’m just relieved. And hungry. You want something to eat?”

Alex beamed ear to ear and agreed, “Yeah. Thanks for not being upset about him. I’ll give him hell later.”

“Not on my behalf! I knew I’d have to impress your friends along the way. He’s not impressed with me yet but maybe I’ll have more luck with your other friends…”

“It’s not you, it’s him,” Alex assured him. “I told you, he got kicked in the head. By me. And will again. Let’s get food!”

Why was it so easy to just talk like that with Hoseok? In retrospect, she realized what a thing that could have been. Hoseok could have been jealous or upset. She could have said the wrong things. He could have refused to believe her. Even telling him about her mom could have set any guy into panic mode! But Hoseok was just so easy to like and easy to get along with and easy to feel good with. Apparently not even Jungkook being a sulky baby could ruin that for her. And if he really did clean her car (she doubted it), maybe she’d forgive him for the whole debacle of a day and they could try again, and she wouldn’t invite Hoseok to arcade night again. After all, they’d needed to figure out some peaceful routines but she had the exciting suspicion Hoseok was going to be around for a long time. Maybe a really long time.

PREVIOUS | MASTERLIST | NEXT

#jungkook x oc #jeon jungkook x oc #jungkook smut #jungkook f2l #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #bangtan smut #bts smut #jungkook fanfiction #fuckboy au #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook series #jungkook/reader #jungkook/oc #jungkook

234 notes · View notes

ppangjae · 4 years

Text

DIE FOR YOU | Jaehyun

—You won’t find no one that’s better.

SUMMARY. Jaehyun swore to never fall in love again after five unrequited crushes. But when all of his best friends get married and leave him behind, he might just break his oath. He just hopes that this time around, it’s not another unrequited love because he’s tired of throwing up flower petals.

GENRE. fluff and angst + f2l!au + hanahaki disease

note. hanahaki disease is a fictional disease. it’s an illness that occurs due to an unrequited love. the person experiencing unrequited love will throw up petals of their crush’s favourite flower. once the person experiences requited love, the disease will disappear.

WORD COUNT. 20.5k+ words (someone PLEASE stop me)

—I think I’m right for you.

Being inexperienced in falling in love would be an understatement. It wasn’t a choice, it was more of a predisposition made by fate. You’re not quite sure what you had done wrong in your past life that caused fate to curse you with such a boring love life. But as you blow out the twenty-two candles on your birthday cake, it reminds you that this is your twenty-second year of existing and yet you still don’t have someone that makes your heart flutter or skip one beat. At this point, you’re ready to give up. In fact, you’ve envisioned a future where you’d be single for the rest of your life and the only thing that’ll give you company will be your three puppies. Three cute puppies, yep, that sounds just about right.

“Let me guess,” Jungwoo grins, “You wished for the miraculous improvement of your love life and possibly meeting the love of your life within the next two days.”

You let out a loud scoff. You’ve made the same wish for the past six years. Six years of making the same wish and it’s more than enough to give you the harsh reality that your wishes will never come true. Wishes never come true, if they do, they’re called miracles.

“Wrong,” you smirk. “I wished for something else this year.”

“Oh?” He quirks an eyebrow. “What did you wish for this time?”

Your smirk drops. “If I tell you, my wish won’t come true.”

“Your wishes never come true, what makes this wish different?” He snickers.

Jungwoo had a valid point. What makes this wish any different from all the wishes you’ve made? Since none of your wishes ever came true, what makes it any different that this wish will actually come true? Well, the difference this year is that the wish isn’t for you. The wish isn’t for your failing love life or for your defying fate. The wish is for your best friend Jaehyun.

You spot Jaehyun poking his slice of cake with a fork. A warm, soft smile begins to spread your lips at the sight of your best friend.

The closest feeling to falling in love that you’ve felt was surprisingly indirect heartbreak. You’ve never fallen in love, but you’ve watched Jaehyun fall in love five times. You’ve also watched Jaehyun’s heart break five times. Indirect heartbreak. Although you’ve never had an unrequited crush, you’ve seen Jaehyun experience it, and you can feel the pain—the heartbreak—that he goes through.

You’ve always had a soft spot for Jaehyun. You’re the only one that knows about all his unrequited crushes. You’re the only one that knows about his disease, the sickness he feels whenever he experiences an unrequited love. You’re the only one that knows about his oath; that he swears to never fall in love again. But you think he deserves so much more. He deserves the whole entire universe, along with its galaxies and stars.

And as his best friend, you gave up your birthday wish for him.

You wish that the next person he falls in love with will be the one and not another unrequited love.

“The cake is really sweet,” Jungwoo says as he reaches over to cut himself another slice. “Where did you get the cake?”

“Cha’s Cherry on Top,” you reply.

Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow. “Eunwoo made this?”

You smile while nodding your head. Jungwoo pulls out his phone and takes a picture of the cake along with the business card attached to the box.

“Eunwoo makes birthday cakes for you but not for me?” Jaehyun pouts. “So much for a best friend.”

“I guess that’s one of the many downsides of having a birthday on Valentine’s Day, Valentine boy.” Jungwoo teases. He receives a glare from Jaehyun in return.

You nod your head at Jungwoo’s phone. “You should really check out the bakery with Clara. You might be able to find the perfect wedding cake, discounted too!”

“Clara loves her discounts.” Jungwoo laughs. “At this point, anything helps.”

“It’s best to save more money for your baby,” you suggest. “She’s due in December, right?”

Jungwoo nods his head in reply. “Four months before our wedding.”

“Have you thought of names yet?” Jaehyun asks.

You and Jungwoo share a look that Jaehyun fails to notice. He’s too busy picking at his cake. Jungwoo clears his throat.

“We have but only names for a baby girl,” Jungwoo answers. “But we’ve been having trouble thinking of names for a baby boy. What do you have in mind, Jaehyun?”

You glance at your best friend. You bite your lip nervously. Jaehyun always wanted to start a family with the love of his life. But after experiencing five heartbreaks, it seems like he’s slowly changing his mind about his future.

“I’ve always wanted to name my son Yuno,” he confesses, finally scooping a forkful of cake and taking a small bite. “You should name your baby boy Yuno. I give you full permission. I’ll be his favourite uncle.”

Jungwoo’s face softens. “You’ll definitely be the favourite uncle, Jaehyun.”

The conversation ends at that. Jaehyun spends the rest of the day imagining how different his life would be if he just met the one. You spend the rest of your afternoon imagining how perfect of a father Jaehyun would be to his kids. That is, if Jaehyun decides to give love another try. You hope your birthday wish comes true. You hope Jaehyun finds the one.

Fate better get on with it.

Jaehyun experienced his first unrequited love at the sweet age of seventeen. It wasn’t the least bit pleasant. But she was so beautiful, she had a heart of gold, she was perfect. If he were to ever associate her with a colour, she’d be pink and yellow, just like the sight of pink and yellow peonies that he grew to hate because of her.

At the young age of seventeen, he learned to hate flowers. Flowers of every kind. He was diagnosed with Hanahaki Disease. The disease is only present whenever he experiences heartbreak from an unrequited love. When his feelings aren’t returned, it causes him to throw up petals of a flower. It could be any flower, but usually, it’s his unrequited lover’s favourite flower. It didn’t take him long to hate flowers no matter how beautiful they were because he never expected it to become a reminder of how far he was growing apart from the love of his life.

On the bright side, at the age of seventeen, he met you, his best friend. On the day he was rejected, he had mistakenly gone into the women’s washroom out of sheer panic and nervousness. The only thing on his mind at that moment was that he wasn’t feeling too great and he needed to throw up. You had entered the washroom a couple of minutes after, not expecting to see a guy throwing up pink and yellow peony petals in the toilet. It was a weird encounter, but that encounter soon became a secret only you and Jaehyun shared.

He’s been in love five times. He’s been heartbroken five times. But they all have hurt differently, especially his last relationship. He thought she was the one. He thought that she’d be the woman he’d spend the rest of his life with. He thought that she was his whole world. He thought she loved him the way he loved her. But she didn’t. At the same exact time, he didn’t expect to have a growing hatred for red roses.

“Are you feeling better?” He hears you ask as he coughs. He leans away from the toilet and flushes the rose petals. He presses his back against the wall and looks up at you.

“I’m tired,” he whispers. Your eyebrows knit together in confusion. As you take a seat next to him, you rest your head on his shoulder. “I’m tired of this, of everything. Why am I still in love with her?”

“When you love someone so much, letting go hurts so much more.” You mumble. “One day, she won’t even cross your mind. You just need to give your heart some time to heal.”

“It’s been eleven months.” He coughs again and you can feel and hear the emptiness in his lungs. He lets out a bitter chuckle. “Who knew that loving someone could hurt this much? To the point where my body gives in? To the point where I get sick?”

“People come in and out of everyone’s lives. It’s a given. But you can’t stop someone from stepping out of your life.” You explain. “She chose to leave. She chose not to stay. But one day, someone will choose to stay. Someone will choose to love you.”

“Do you think there’s someone out there that’ll choose me?”

You look up at him. He has an uncertain smile spread across his lips. You frown and hit his arm. He lets out a loud groan.

“Of course!” You exclaim. “She’s out there! It’s not the end of the world, Jaehyun.”

He laughs. “How could you say that when you haven’t even been in love or in a relationship? Aren’t you getting impatient? I’m sure you have doubts about your love life.”

You shake your head. “I know he’s out there. I’m not impatient. I’m very patient. Fate will bring us together someday. You just have to be faithful.”

“I wish I was as patient as you.”

“What can I say? I’m an expert. I’ve been single for twenty-two years!”

You find yourself sitting on Jungwoo’s couch accompanied by Jaehyun at ten past eleven in the evening. Jungwoo’s rummaging through his mini fridge for beer and you and Jaehyun are watching a Spongebob Squarepants rerun.

There must be a reason as to why you and Jaehyun were dragged to Jungwoo’s small apartment out of sheer will. You were in the midst of cooking your dinner when Jungwoo showed up at your door. Oh how you wish you were at home right now, enjoying a tub of ice cream after having a scrumptious steak dinner.

Jungwoo’s not sure what to expect from this, but his heart nervously beats faster than the ticking of his clock hung up on the wall. He tries to sneak a glance at his two best friends behind the fridge door and lets out a sigh. After arguing with himself, he juggles the cold cans of beer in his arms and joins you in the living room. Right when he plops his butt onto the couch and places the cans of beer onto the coffee table, his eyes meet yours.

“Spill it, Jungwoo.”

“Drink some beer first—”

“There must be a reason why you dragged me out of the comfort of my own home—”

“So, this isn’t a hangout?” Jaehyun asks you. You nod and the room is silent. It’s so silent that you could hear Jungwoo gulp nervously. “Spill it, Jungwoo—”

“I hate being a burden to you guys but,” he begins before sighing frustratingly. “Clara and I are having trouble finding a perfect wedding planner. Since Clara is pregnant, the last thing I want her to do is stress out over our wedding.”

“We’ll help you find a wedding planner. You could’ve just asked.” Jaehyun chuckles before the dots start connecting in his head. He glances at you and you’re looking back at him with the same expression of realization.

“Wait. You want us to be your wedding planners—”

“Yes, please.” Jungwoo begs. “I’ll even pay you for your time and work!”

“No.” You and Jaehyun say in unison.

Jungwoo whines. “Do you not have some sort of sympathy for me, Jaehyun?”

“Nope.” He replies, pursing his lips into a tight line. His dimples show for a brief moment.

“Y/N?” Jungwoo looks at you with hope in his eyes.

You smirk. “Do I look like a wedding planner to you?”

“Well—”

“Then, no.” You cut him off while grabbing your can of beer from the coffee table. You take a sip of your beer and think about Jungwoo’s situation a second time. You tilt your head after much thought. “Actually, I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Jaehyun looks at you as if you’ve gone insane. “Are you being serious right now?”

“Jungwoo’s going to pay us.” You shrug your shoulders. “All we have to do is just show up and pick and suggest what’s best for the wedding. It seems pretty simple.”

“You’re both our closest friends and we figured you knew us best. Thus, this would be a great idea.” Jungwoo convinces you.

“He has a point.” You tell Jaehyun. “I’m in. Cheers to securing the bag.”

Jaehyun stares at you and Jungwoo as you clink beer cans. Jungwoo takes a sip of his beer and turns towards Jaehyun to give him puppy eyes. Jaehyun avoids his gaze and focuses on the TV. The characters on the show are laughing and their laughter echoes through Jaehyun’s mind, taunting him, haunting him, urging him to accept the offer.

You watch the two with amusement and fold your arms. Jaehyun squints his eyes at Jungwoo and lets out a defeated sigh. There’s a fire that ignites in Jungwoo’s eyes.

“When do we start?”

Cha’s Cherry on Top is everything you imagined it to be. It’s a busy bake shop filled with dedicated workers that display distinct personalities. For instance, the cashier that greets the three of you as you step in exudes nothing but a bright and cheery aura. It’s evident from her polka-dotted apron and cherry earrings. Working away behind the countertop are pastry chefs sporting pink aprons and rosy cheeks. But amidst all the hustle and bustle of the shop, Cha Eunwoo can be easily spotted with the human eye.

In fact, he’s the first one you notice when you step into the shop. He’s frosting a freshly baked cake. You can’t help but swoon over how handsome the young pastry chef and owner is. It’s a shame that he’s off the market.

“My strawberry shortcakes are finally here!”

You snap out of your thoughts as Eunwoo brings you back to reality. He’s making his way towards the three of you.

“Did you enjoy your birthday cake?” Eunwoo asks you.

“It was delicious, thanks again.” You smile.

“I’m glad to hear that.” He chirps. “Jungwoo! Congratulations on your engagement!”

Jungwoo sheepishly smiles, feeling all shy from the sudden attention he’s receiving.

“The reason we dropped by was because—”

“You want me to create your wedding cake, don’t you?” Eunwoo grins. He throws his arm over your shoulder and you’re caught off guard.

Jaehyun stares at Eunwoo’s arm that’s thrown over your shoulder. He’s not sure when or how you got close with each other. He doesn’t remember Eunwoo having so much skinship with you.

“You came to the right place.” He flashes his pearly-white teeth as he smiles. His eyes form into beautiful crescents. “You’re lucky you’re good friends with Y/N. I always give discounts to her friends and family.”

You blow a kiss in Jungwoo’s direction. “Consider me your guardian angel, your one-way ticket to a perfect wedding. I’m expecting higher pay for this job, Jungwoo.”

Jaehyun nods his head at Eunwoo. “Do you have any samples prepared for us to taste?”

“Yep.” Eunwoo’s smile wipes off his face. “Hey, you didn’t show up to the group function for the third time! You didn’t even get a chance to taste the new chocolate croissants I baked!”

“At this rate, I’m going to get diabetes with all the cupcakes you bring to our hangouts.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes. “I’m sure Jungkook would be more than happy to take your treats instead.”

“Stop being a no-show at our hangouts and have fun for once. I swear you’re always cooped up in your apartment.” Eunwoo raises an eyebrow at him.

“I agree. Please take him out of the apartment for me. It’s so difficult. It’s not an easy one-man job.” You sigh, following Jungwoo to an empty booth.

Jaehyun and Eunwoo break out into smiles and follow suit. The four of you sit in one booth and one of the cashier employees drops by with the menu.

“Is there anything in particular that you have in mind? Ideas? Suggestions?”

“Clara has quite a sweet tooth. She really loves red velvet cakes.” Jungwoo starts off.

Eunwoo hums. “I guess we can start from there. I’ll bring some slices of different cakes and you can taste them, see if you like them, and then we can choose your top three.”

“Am I missing something between the two of you?” Jaehyun asks you once Eunwoo heads to the back of the kitchen to fetch several slices of different cakes.

You raise an eyebrow. “No?”

“You and Eunwoo seem oddly close. He told me that he has a new girlfriend.” He shrugs his shoulders.

Jungwoo kicks your foot underneath the table and you have to bite your lip to contain the painful yelp threatening to come out. You send him a death glare.

“We’re not dating.” You laugh and the serious look on his face surprises you. “Wait, did you think his new girlfriend was me?”

“If I didn’t know you or Eunwoo, I would’ve been convinced enough to think that the two of you were dating.” Jaehyun mumbles.

Jungwoo’s eyebrows raise and he turns to face you. You look at him questioningly. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Didn’t Eunwoo have the biggest crush on you—”

“Here are the samples.”

Your mouths clamp shut when Eunwoo arrives with a tray filled with several slices of cake. You and Jaehyun meet eyes and he squints them at you.

“These are all the red velvet cakes we serve.” Eunwoo explains. Sitting on the table are a variety of red velvet cakes, it’s almost difficult to find a difference between each one.

“They all look the same.” Jaehyun chuckles.

“Shall we start cake tasting?”

Everyone glances at Jungwoo and he smiles sheepishly.

“Let’s dig in.”

As the three of you dig into the first slice of a red velvet cake, Jaehyun finds himself glancing at you as you take a bite. Unknowingly, you get some of the cream cheese icing on the side of your mouth. He feels a sudden urge to reach out and wipe it off for you. He decides not to, and instead, kicks your foot underneath the table. You jump in your seat, looking up and your eyes meet Jaehyun’s. He points at the corner of his mouth.

“You have icing,” he mumbles and your eyes slightly widen. You wipe the side of your mouth and he chuckles. You look quite endearing and adorable right now. “No, you missed it.”

“I did?” You pout, wiping your mouth again until Jaehyun gives up.

He reaches over from across the table and wipes the icing off the side of your mouth with his thumb. Your doe-eyes look into his. Did your heart just skip a beat? You’ve never felt your heart beat this fast. You’ve never seen Jaehyun up this close. His face is so close to yours that you could count his eyelashes.

“You could’ve just given her a napkin to wipe it off.”

The two of you tear away from each other like two repelling magnets. You look at Jungwoo, completely in a daze. His eyes dart between the two of you and a grin slowly spreads across his lips. Jaehyun, however, looks unbothered.

The cake tasting session takes up two hours of your afternoon and ends up with Jungwoo choosing three distinct red velvet cakes. The wedding cake will be a three-tier red velvet cake, with each tier being one of the three cakes Jungwoo chose, respectively. And just as Eunwoo promised, Jungwoo got a discount for the wedding cake.

The three of you are metres away from the bake shop when you hear your name being called out from behind. When you look over your shoulder, you find Eunwoo jogging up to you with a small cake box in his arms.

“Y/N!”

“Eunwoo, slow down before you fall on your face.”

He catches up to you and grabs your hands to place the small box onto them. You quirk an eyebrow.

“It’s for your mother. We made too many batches of strawberry shortcakes.”

You smile. “You really didn’t need to, but thanks.”

Jaehyun watches you beam at Eunwoo. He barely notices the unsettling feeling in his gut at the sight of the two of you. Jungwoo’s in the middle of answering a phone call.

“Today?” Jungwoo’s flustered. He scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah—Well—we can probably make it on time, I guess. You’re open until six?”

Eunwoo bids a farewell and jogs back to his bake shop. Jaehyun looks at you suspiciously as you look back at him with a questioning look. Jungwoo clasps his hands together.

“I guess we’re making a trip to the flower shop. Their client booked for today cancelled last minute and offered to meet with us instead.”

You and Jaehyun share a look. Jaehyun has a growing hatred for flowers and going to the flower shop would be his biggest nightmare. Jaehyun looks nervous but he covers it up with a small smile.

“Let’s get going then. We wouldn’t want them waiting, right?” Jaehyun insists.

“What—Jaehyun—” He cuts you off with a look that tells you that he’ll be just fine. You frown, watching him follow Jungwoo to his car.

Jaehyun looks over his shoulder. “Are you coming or not?”

He doesn’t want to be here. Clearly. It’s evident through the intense staring contest he’s having with the shop’s lit up sign, Lina’s Blooming Flowers. This is his biggest fear and nightmare. Stepping foot inside the flower shop would be major character development for him. It’s similar to the feeling of stepping on the edge of a cliff and counting down before bungee jumping. Nervousness and anxiousness is etched all over his face.

For a brief moment, his nervousness fades away when he feels your hand being placed on his shoulder. You give his shoulder one reassuring squeeze. He glances at you and you give him an encouraging smile.

“We made it just in time with an hour to spare before their closing time!” Jungwoo says excitedly.

The last time Jaehyun stepped foot inside a flower shop was when he bought his mother flowers for Mother’s Day. At the time, he wasn’t aware of the disease he had. He vividly remembers the scent of fresh lavender and hyacinth. Back then, the fragrant smell of flowers brought him warmth and a sense of rebirth or renewal. Now, just a whiff of flowers makes him nauseous.

As the three of you enter the shop, you can hear Jaehyun let out a breath that he’s been holding in for heaven knows how long. Standing at the front desk is a woman around your age, wrapping a bouquet of flowers in plastic wrap. It’s an assortment of white and red roses. Red roses. It’s the flower that Jaehyun has grown to hate because they remind him of her. You feel yourself wince and shrivel up, trying to think of ways to distract Jaehyun from seeing the roses. But it’s too late when she catches everyone’s attention with a gasp of panic. Jaehyun stares at the bouquet of roses and feels his lungs start to clog up just at the sight of them. The florist is quickly finishing her job before approaching the three of you.

“Jungwoo, right?” She asks.

Jaehyun snaps out of his gaze and looks at the woman walking towards the three of you. His eyebrows raise.

“Yes! That’s me.”

“Great! Sorry for the wait,” she apologizes sheepishly. “I’m Lina, the florist of this shop.”

As she shakes each one of your hands, she extends her hand out to Jaehyun and he looks at her in complete daze. She giggles when Jaehyun is brought back to reality, finally shaking her hand. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and you don’t fail to notice how red Jaehyun’s ears are. This is the first time Jaehyun’s heart skipped a beat since his last breakup. He earns another nudge from you.

“Are you okay?” You mouth at him and he nods his head.

He’s surprised. It’s the first time he forgot about his hatred and fear for flowers, even if it was just for a brief moment.

And it’s all because of a beautiful florist.

“Let’s get started with the colour scheme.” Lina suggests, guiding everyone to the front desk. She pulls out a book filled with many colour schemes and hands it to Jungwoo. She smiles at you and says, “Is there anything you had in mind for your wedding?”

You break out into a chuckle. “Oh, no, I think you got it all wrong—I’m not, no—me? No. I’m not the fiancé. I’m just a—”

“She’s my wedding planner.” Jungwoo cuts you off and points at Jaehyun. “He’s my wedding planner too.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She exclaims. “I had no idea. It’s my fault for making such assumptions.”

You wave it off. “It’s alright. No worries.”

She laughs nervously. “Shall we continue choosing the colour scheme?”

Jungwoo’s busy skimming through the book and having a FaceTime call with his pregnant fiancé to pick the colour scheme together. Jaehyun’s eyes scan the shop, looking at all the different types of flowers. He spots the peonies placed in metal vases along with roses of different colours. He could probably run a flower shop himself if he fully overcame his hatred and fear of flowers, all because he knows every single kind of flower that exists.

It seems promising.

“Have you been here before?” He hears someone ask and he turns around. It’s Lina.

“Maybe once when I was younger.” He replies.

“Oh, I see.” She purses her lips into a tight line. “You look familiar. Did you come to the shop with your grandmother, perhaps? On Mother’s Day?”

His mouth forms into an ‘o’ shape. “Yes, I have.”

“No wonder!” She exclaims. “So you’re the little boy I wanted to befriend when I helped my mother run the shop.”

“So, we’ve met?” Jaehyun scratches the back of his neck and she nods vigorously.

He tries to dig through his memories to try and remember Lina. It takes a while until he squints his eyes at the familiar set freckles on her cheeks and her light brown eyes. He lets out a soft gasp.

“You’re the little girl I accidentally bumped into!”

“And you made me spill all the water from the watering can!”

Soft laughter can be heard from the front desk. It breaks your focus on helping Jungwoo with the colour scheme. You look over your shoulder to find Jaehyun laughing along with the florist, Lina. They seem to be very engaged in their conversation. Jaehyun looks… happy. There’s not a single wave of nervousness or anxiousness on his face or in his gestures. It makes a wide smile form on your lips.

But why do you feel a little bit left out? Why do you feel like you’re missing out? Why do you feel slightly jealous that someone else is putting a smile on Jaehyun’s face? Is it wrong to feel jealous?

“Y/N.”

Your head snaps in Jungwoo’s direction and he looks at you with concern. You barely realize that your eyebrows were furrowed the entire time until you feel your face soften. “Yeah?”

“Everything alright?” He asks. “I asked you the same question four times and you didn’t answer.”

“O-Oh, were you? Sorry, I was just—what were you saying?”

It was a huge relief for Jungwoo and Clara when they realized that they didn’t need to hire a photographer. It just so happened that you, their wedding planner slash best friend, has a huge knack for photography. Thus, the engaged couple will not need to worry about the expenses.

“This is sick.” Jaehyun utters out when Jungwoo pulls up to the photo shooting location.

You look out the window. Jungwoo and Clara decided to have their prenuptial photos taken at a location where they had their first date. It’s extremely romantic. They had their first date out on a large field of sunflowers. Sunflowers are scattered across the field, along with some grass patches where couples and families would have a small picnic.

The first thing you notice is how Jaehyun pays no mind to the sunflowers ahead of him. He’s looking at them with his two eyes and not a single reaction is coming out of him. That is, until he breaks out into a smile.

You tilt your head in confusion. Huh?

Jaehyun’s taking some photos on his phone. “I should send these to Lina. I think she’ll love it.”

You raise an eyebrow. You grin. “You seem to be getting very close with Lina.”

He blushes. “We are. I actually asked her to hang out with me this Friday.”

“Look at you!” You exclaim with a teasing grin. “Since when were you picking up girls without telling me?”

“I was going to tell you today.” He laughs and it dies down when he thinks of something. “You know, I have a great feeling that she may be the one.”

The one? Your smile slightly falters. Of the five times that Jaehyun told you that the woman he has fallen in love with could be the one, you’ve always been extremely happy and supportive. But why was it that this time around, you didn’t feel as happy?

“Let’s get started with the shoot! I found the perfect place!” Clara says.

“R-Right!” You exclaim, grabbing Jaehyun’s arm. The two of you jog to catch up with the engaged couple.

As you reach the spot, Jungwoo and Clara do some quick fix ups on each other. You’re busy setting up the equipment and Jaehyun’s in the midst of having a phone call with Lina. Every now and then, you find yourself trying to sneak a glance at Jaehyun, only to see him smiling so wide that his dimples were showing.

Suddenly, you feel a sharp pain in your lungs. Your tripod collapses onto the grass as you gasp for some air. Clara notices and immediately rushes over to you. You’re still trying to catch your breath. You feel as if you’ve run a marathon. Your breathing is low and deep. Your throat feels like it’s on fire.

“Y/N?” You hear Jaehyun ask as he heads towards you. “Everything alright? What happened?”

Clara is handing you a bottle of water. You pry the cap open and chug half of the bottle down. You gasp for air and start a small coughing fit. “Do I need to call an ambulance? Y/N, you’re getting pale. Have you been feeling unwell since this morning?”

Your legs feel like jello and they give out, sending you to the grass. You clench your eyes shut and you could barely answer their concerns. It takes you a couple of minutes to get back to normal.

“Y/N, look at me.”

Clara is forcing you to face her when she cups your cheeks with her hands. Jungwoo is in complete shock, not saying a single word. Jaehyun looks extremely concerned for you.

“I’m okay. I think it’s because I skipped breakfast this morning.” You say as you finally catch your breath.

The pain in your lungs goes away instantly. You’ve finally gained power to stand up again. You’re not sure what happened to you because you’ve never experienced this in your life.

“Are you sure? It didn’t look like it.” Jungwoo bites his lip nervously.

“I’ll be fine.” You reassure them. “Let’s get on with the shoot.”

After five minutes of them protesting you to go home and get rested, they finally give in to your stubbornness and decide to finish up the photoshoot.

The photos come out beautifully. There are photos of Jungwoo and Clara running through the field of sunflowers. There are single shots of Clara caressing her baby bump with one hand and holding a sunflower in the other. There are solo shots of Jungwoo hiding behind sunflowers and popping out from behind it.

“You should really start a photography business.”

You look over your shoulder to see Clara. She’s looking at the photos you’ve taken through the viewfinder.

“Should I?” You ask and she nods.

“You’re very talented, Y/N. I know a couple of photographers who run their own businesses. I could hook you up.” She winks at you.

“I don’t know, I have a lot of things I want to accomplish.” You say, feeling unsure.

“You should give it a try. You never know what the future has in store for you.”

“He said he’ll be running late.”

You tell Jungwoo as you catch up to him. The three of you were supposed to go venue-hunting for reception. However, ever since the three of you visited the flower shop, Jaehyun had started to bail out on the wedding plans. You couldn’t blame him, he probably needed time off to himself after spending a whole afternoon with flowers. But what threw you off was the sound of feminine laughter when he had called you to notify that he’d be running late.

“Late?” You nod. “Weird.”

“It’s alright. We can do it without him.” You reassure the soon-to-be groom.

The two of you arrive at the first venue. It’s a reception hall for roughly a thousand guests. It’s huge and spacious. Your eyes scan through the venue and you immediately spot the huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. You frown.

“I don’t think Clara will like it,” you say as you point up at the chandeliers. “Doesn’t she hate grand decorations like chandeliers?”

Jungwoo hums in agreement. “Shall we get going to the next venue?”

You nod and head towards the owner of the reception hall. You fake a smile.

“We’ll get back to you if we’re interested in renting out the space.” You insist and the owner agrees. “Thank you for your time.”

The second venue is everything it promised to be. You stare at the venue in awe. If you were to ever get married, this was the venue you’d choose. It’s a venue where modern meets boho. Instead of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, there are potted plants and flowers with fairy lights wrapped around them. The chairs are wooden and the tables are long enough for roughly ten guests. On both sides of the room, there are large windows overlooking a field of flowers.

“Clara would love this venue,” Jungwoo says in awe.

You nod in agreement. “I think so too.”

You hear the owner greet customers and you turn around to see Jaehyun arriving with… Lina? You and Jungwoo share a look.

“Sorry for running late,” Jaehyun apologizes.

Lina smiles sheepishly. “I’m so sorry for tagging along. I hope it’s alright with you, Jungwoo.”

Jungwoo lets out an uneasy chuckle. “Yeah, no worries. You are the florist for our wedding, how can I say no to you?”

The owner approaches the four of you. “I’m assuming the two of you are also looking for a venue for your wedding?”

Jaehyun and Lina stare at each other before blushing. You feel your eyes squint in suspicion. Jungwoo feels confused. Since when were these two close? Did something happen between the two of them?

“We’re not getting married.” Lina shakes her head. “We’re just friends, right, Jaehyun?”

“Yeah, we’re just best friends.” Jaehyun tells the owner.

You stop yourself from scoffing. Best friends? Since when were they best friends? They clearly just met a couple of days ago and now they’ve upgraded to best friends from being strangers?

Jungwoo nudges you. You snap out of it. “Let’s just keep this venue on the list and move onto the last one, alright?”

Why are you looking into it too much?

“S-Sure.” You mutter.

You never consider yourself hot-headed. But this is the first time you’ve ever felt your blood boil and your blood pressure shoot up. Jungwoo hops into the driver’s seat. You decide to sit in the front passenger’s seat, looking at the rearview mirror to see Jaehyun and Lina hop in the back. They’re sitting awfully close to each other, with their shoulders brushing. You huff out a breath, looking away and distracting yourself with the clouds in the sky.

Jungwoo tears his gaze from the road and glances at you. A soft smile spreads across his lips when he sees you mumbling to yourself. To you, you don’t think it’s obvious. But to Jungwoo, he can see how jealous you are over the two lovebirds sitting in the back of his car. He looks in his rearview mirror to see Jaehyun holding Lina’s hand.

He sighs.

“Today’s going to be a long day.”

“Of all the times Jaehyun bails out, he decides to bail out on the suit fitting too?”

Jungwoo’s standing in front of the mirror, fixing his tie. One of the tailors, Jungkook, who’s a close friend of Jaehyun’s, is standing right behind him with a rack filled with other suits. You sigh, shrugging your shoulders. There’s nothing much you could do. You could scold Jaehyun for being such a slacker, but you decide not to.

“The grey looks great on you,” Jungkook compliments Jungwoo. “I’m wearing a grey suit to my wedding too.”

“You’re getting married?” You blurt out and Jungkook chuckles.

“I’m surprised you haven’t gotten your invitation yet.” He mumbles. “It should be coming in the mail in the next couple of days. My fiance and I just mailed them out last Friday.”

“I got my invitation.” Jungwoo adds. “I guess we’re all getting quite old since I’m attending weddings left and right.”

Jungkook smirks. “I bet Jaehyun’s going to be next.”

Your ears perk up in curiosity. Jungwoo looks at you through the reflection in the mirror. As he studies your reaction, Jungkook helps button up the ends of his sleeves.

“Jaehyun?” You ask.

“Yeah, at the rate, him and that florist will end up together.” Jungkook shrugs his shoulders.

You frown but you try to cover it up with a smile. “Cute.”

“They’ve been hanging out a lot recently,” he adds, fixing up Jungwoo’s collar. He dusts off his shoulders and turns back around to look at Jungwoo’s reflection in the mirror. “I think the reason why he bailed out on you guys today is because they’re going to an amusement park.”

Jungwoo furrows his eyebrows. “He bailed out on this for a day at the amusement park?”

“Don’t tell him I told you.” Jungkook warns him. “If he ever finds out, he’ll have me dead.”

Jungwoo glances at you and you try to avoid fuming in anger. Who would’ve thought that Jaehyun would choose a woman he barely knows, over his own best friend who’s getting married in a couple of months? There’s disappointment written all over Jungwoo’s face and it fails to remain hidden. Jungkook, on the other hand, feels like he has just ruined the entire atmosphere and decides to give Jungwoo a discount on his suit in compensation.

As Jungwoo’s paying for his suit, you’re scrolling through your social networking account and right when Jungkook’s cashier machine lets out a soft ‘ding!’, you find Jaehyun’s new post.

And indeed, it’s a picture of him and Lina at the amusement park.

Why do you feel sad? Why do you wish that it was you instead of her? Why do you always feel like you’re missing out whenever he’s with her? Why is he spending more time with her and less time with you?

Why do you feel this way?

You’ll never know.

Clara looks stunning in her wedding dress. You stare at her in awe as the tailor is zipping up the dress for her. Her baby bump is starting to show underneath her dress. You’re too distracted by her beauty to notice that Jaehyun and Lina are entering into the shop.

Clara’s gaze tears away from you as she spots Jaehyun and Lina. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion. “Jaehyun, you came?”

Jaehyun nods. “Jungwoo told me to accompany you. You know him, he believes in that stupid superstition.”

She waves at Lina. “I’m guessing you’re Lina?”

“Yes, you guessed right.” Lina giggles and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. It’s probably a mannerism of hers whenever the attention is on her, you note.

“How do you like the dress, ma’am?” The tailor asks the bride-to-be.

“It’s nice, I think I might take this one. I’m not really particular with the dress.” She replies and an idea pops into her head. “Do you perhaps have any bridesmaid dresses ready for fitting?”

“Yes, we do. Do you want to start with the fitting for the bridesmaids?” The tailor questions.

“Yes. I want my maid of honour to pick out a dress—”

“Clara,” you look at her with surprise. “I literally just ate a hamburger, I feel bloated—”

“Stop overreacting and put a dress on. You look fine. You look beautiful.” She cuts you off. “Besides, we’re already here.”

“Fine.” You sigh with defeat, following the tailor into the back of the shop to pick out some dresses.

The dresses come in different colours. The couple plan on having the plain grey and white colour scheme. Your eyes scan the selection before you point out at two different dresses. The tailor looks at you and flashes a smile.

“You have a great eye for dresses, ma’am.” She compliments you and you chuckle.

“I guess being a wedding planner was a good idea.” You muse.

The first dress you put on is an elegant dress that reaches the floor. It’s strapless and has a long slit on the side, revealing your leg. As you look at yourself in the mirror, you bite your lip. You’ve never seen yourself dressed up like this.

“Let me see!” Clara exclaims.

As you walk out of the fitting room, your eyes meet Clara’s. She looks at you like she sees a ghost. You begin to panic.

“What? It looks bad?” You frown.

“No, you look,” she begins. “You look beautiful, Y/N.”

“T-Thanks?” You let out an uneasy laugh.

“You really look beautiful, Y/N.” Lina adds and you’re not sure what to say.

You look at Jaehyun, who’s too busy texting someone on his phone. He remains unbothered and uninterested. Somehow, you have the urge to make him look at you.

“Shall we try on the next dress?”

You snap out of your thoughts, looking at the tailor. “Sure.”

As you’re putting on the second dress, the tailor is helping you zip up at the back. The dress is a mermaid dress. It shows your curves at your hips and while the dress is off-shoulder, it reveals your collarbones, perfect for stacking necklaces.

“How do I look?” You ask as you step out of the fitting room.

Jaehyun looks up from his phone when he hears Lina and Clara let out a gasp. The moment his eyes are on you, his eyebrows raise. You look stunning, it’s almost effortless. Your hair is put up in a messy low bun with strands of your hair framing your face. The last time he saw you dressed up like this was prom night. Time slows down for him and it feels like it’s just the two of you in the room. You’re laughing over a joke Clara probably said, but he finds himself getting lost in a trance by your beauty.

“Jaehyun?”

He snaps out of his trance to see Lina nudging him. He glances at her and she points at one of the dresses hung up on the rack. “Hm?”

“I was just telling you how that dress could look so beautiful on Y/N. What do you think?” Lina asks.

Jaehyun shakes his head. “No, I think the dress she has on is the one.”

“Really?” He hears you say. Both of your eyes meet.

He slowly nods his head, almost falling into another trance.

“It looks perfect.”

May 2nd.

“I tried creating your wedding cake yesterday and this is how it turned out.”

You’re too busy looking out the window. The cherry blossoms have finally bloomed and there’s a plethora of couples out on dates. Eunwoo and Jungwoo’s chatter is drowned out by your thoughts and the sight of a young couple taking a selfie in front of a cherry blossom tree. There’s a small smile on your lips but it drops from your face when you’re reminded of Jaehyun.

“Y/N?”

You slowly turn around. Eunwoo is asking you to join them in the kitchen. You push yourself off the window sill to join them.

Jungwoo frowns. “Where’s Jaehyun? Did he bail out on us again?”

You nod. “Unfortunately. He said he wanted to take a day off from the planning.”

He scoffs. “A day off? There was never a day where he was with us.”

The three of you are cutting yourselves a slice of the wedding cake. Eunwoo can’t help but notice how quiet you’ve been since you entered the bakery shop. Your mind is flooded with thoughts that you can’t seem to explain or describe. They’re thoughts only you can understand.

Eunwoo gets a phone call. “Excuse me, I have to take a phone call. Please go ahead and taste the cake.”

Eunwoo leaves the two of you in the back kitchen with a three-tier wedding cake. You’re poking your slice of cake with a fork and Jungwoo nudges you.

“Is everything alright? You’ve been quiet all morning.”

You smile. “I’m alright. I guess I’m just a bit tired.”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

You sigh. “Is it that obvious?”

“Very obvious,” he mumbles and tilts his head. “Did anything bad happen between you and Jaehyun?”

“What? No.” You answer. “Why? Does it look like it?”

Lately, Jungwoo’s been noticing a lot of things. He’s been noticing how whiny and angry you get whenever Jaehyun bails out on the two of you. He’s seen the longing stares you have whenever Jaehyun is around. He sees how nervous you get whenever you’re around Jaehyun because of the ridiculous amount of times you’ve fiddled with your fingers. You’re jealous and you don’t even know it.

He sees himself in you. The last time he’s been like this was when he first fell in love with his fiance.

“Y/N, can I ask you something?”

“Jungwoo, I need your help.”

The both of you look at each other and laugh. He takes a bite of his cake. “Oh, this is delicious! Anyways, you go first.”

“How do you know if you’re in love with someone?”

He chokes on his cake. You pat his back and offer him a glass of water. “Sorry, repeat that for me.”

“How do you know if you’re in love with someone?” You ask again. “I’ve never been in love before, so I figured you would be the perfect person to ask.”

“It depends.” He starts off explaining.

“How so?” You mumble.

“It’s different for every person. When I fell in love with Clara, I always felt happy around her. I’d always find myself putting in more effort. I’d find myself thinking about her even though I shouldn’t be, I’d wonder if she had eaten her meals, if she’s getting enough sleep. But I knew that I was falling in love with her when she started liking someone else. I figured that I would shoot my shot whether she liked me or not because I felt that I owed it to myself.”

You smile. “And all this time, she was in love with you.”

He nods his head with a warm smile. He wiggles his eyebrows. “Have you been feeling that way?”

You’ve always felt happy around Jaehyun. You and Jaehyun are like two peas in a pod. You’re both stuck together like glue. He makes you a better person everyday. You can’t imagine your life without him.

You’ve always been putting in more effort. When Jaehyun got his heart broken five times, you’ve always been there. You chose to stay.

Lately, Jaehyun has been on your mind more than usual. Ever since he started bailing out on helping Jungwoo plan his wedding, you’ve been wondering if he’s doing alright or if there’s anything wrong. Ever since he started hanging out with Lina, you’ve been wondering if she’s been treating him out for his favourite ice cream or if he’s been eating his meals with her. Sometimes, Jaehyun would make you worry and all it took for those worries to go away was one phone call or text from him.

But maybe you’re falling in love with Jaehyun. Ever since he started showing interest in Lina, it was slowly starting to make you realize that you too, have feelings and you too, can fall in love. You’ve been comparing yourself to Lina. You’ve been craving to hold Jaehyun’s hand. Whenever he smiles at you, it’s like the whole world stops and you’re not sure how to act. You feel shy around him, which is unusual for you. You’re never shy around your best friend.

But I knew that I was falling in love with her when she started liking someone else.

“Holy shit.”

You’re in love with Jaehyun. You’ve been in denial about your feelings for him this entire time. You’re in love with your best friend, Jaehyun.

“Language!” Jungwoo scolds you.

I figured that I would shoot my shot whether she liked me or not because I felt that I owed it to myself.

“I have to go.”

Jungwoo watches you scramble for your things. You’re in a rush. As you leave the kitchen, Jungwoo can’t help but smile. He knows. He knows that you’re in love with Jaehyun. You don’t need to tell him because he sees it.

“I’m just a couple blocks down from the cafe, the driver can park in front of the bakery—Y/N?”

“I have to go! Let me know how it goes!”

Eunwoo looks at you bewilderedly as you wave at him. You’re running down the street with your purse barely slung over your shoulder. He tilts his head in confusion.

“Where is she going?”

Jungwoo steps out of the bakery and places his hand on Eunwoo’s shoulder.

“She’s going to shoot her shot.”

As you reach the bus stop, you see a bus loading on passengers. You let out a groan and sprint to the bus, hoping to get on it. Fortunately, you hopped onto the bus, completely out of breath. Pulling out your phone, you dial Jaehyun’s phone number.

“Hello? Y/N?” You hear Jaehyun’s voice after a couple of rings.

“Jaehyun!” You greet him. “Where are you? I need to tell you something.”

“Perfect timing! I have something to tell you too.”

“Let’s meet at the pier, where the cherry blossoms bloomed.” You suggest and you can hear him smile on the other line.

“Perfect. I’m almost there. I’ll see you!” He chuckles.

“I’ll see you.”

A couple of minutes pass and you look out the window to see cherry blossom trees. The bus halts to a stop and you rush out, walking fast in search of your best friend. It’s a difficult search because there are too many couples roaming the pier. Just as you’re about to give up and call Jaehyun—

“Y/N!”

You look to your right to see Jaehyun jogging towards you. As the two of you meet halfway, you timidly wave at him. He looks so beautiful with the cherry blossoms behind him. You find yourself staring in awe.

“What was it that you needed to tell me?” You both ask in unison.

“You go first.” You insist.

“Are you sure?” You laugh, playfully hitting his arm.

“Go first.”

He bites his lip, a smile threatening to spread across his lips. He looks nervous. His dimples are showing. His ears are extremely red. You feel your heart skip a beat too many. Your heart is beating so fast that you’re afraid he can hear it.

“I asked Lina to be my girlfriend and she said yes!”

Your smile threatens to fade away. But you don’t even dare let it fall off your face, no matter how shattered your heart is. It’s fascinating how Jaehyun can make your heart beat faster than normal and shatter it into pieces in one day. You’re not sure if you’re happy for him or sad that you just got rejected.

“O-Oh! That’s—That’s great! Con—Congratulations!”

Jaehyun notices that your eyes are glassy. He pays no attention to it when you pull him into a tight embrace. You rest your head on his shoulder, blinking away the tears threatening to form in your eyes. He pulls away from the hug.

“What did you want to tell me?”

You look up at him. “Oh. It’s nothing. It’s not that important anymore—”

“What? No, you’re lying—”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about starting a photography business. Clara managed to convince me. She might help run it with me.” You tell a white lie.

“Really?! I’m so proud of you!” He exclaims and pulls you back into another hug.

You find yourself hugging Jaehyun tighter. It might be because this may be the last time you could hug him. He belongs to someone else now. Your chance is gone. You wish you could blame yourself for being a little too late, but you’re too busy drowning in your sadness.

A little too late.

Just a little.

And you hate being late.

That night, you find yourself sitting in your bathroom. Hugging your knees to your chest, you let out a soft sob. The fear and vulnerability you feel is that of like a huge bucket of ice cold water being poured on you. Scattered around the bathroom floor are cherry blossom petals. You glance at your camera that’s still turned on, with a candid photo of Jaehyun focused on the viewfinder.

Everything was starting to make sense.

From your nauseous episodes to your shortness of breath, it led up to this. Everything feels numb. All you can remember is Jaehyun’s dimply smile and the beautiful cherry blossom trees behind him. You never thought it would come to this.

In the toilet are cherry blossom petals. You manage to gather yourself and you slowly get up to flush the toilet. You watch all the cherry blossom petals go down the toilet.

Jaehyun loves cherry blossoms.

The more you stare at the cherry blossom petals that you’ve thrown up, the more you start to hate them. You’re starting to hate them because it reminds you of your heartbreak, it’s a sign of rejection, and it tells you one thing; Jaehyun’s not in love with you.

“The invitations came out beautifully!”

You tell Jungwoo who lets out a soft chuckle as you’re showing him your invitation that you had just gotten from your mailbox. He flashes two thumbs up through your laptop screen. Behind him, you spot Clara taking pictures of their newly renovated baby room.

“Have you heard from Jaehyun, lately? I haven’t seen him since we all met up to finalize the invitations.”

You ponder on whether you should pretend to have mistakenly hung up on the video call, but you know that Jungwoo wouldn’t buy such a lie. You gnaw on your lip, thinking of an answer to tell him.

You give up. You shake your head. “I’m sure he’s busy with Lina. They’re dating now.”

“What?” Clara yells, disregarding her photo taking session to join in the conversation. You chuckle lightheartedly. Jungwoo furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “He has a girlfriend now? And it’s not you?”

“Did you want it to be me?”

“Uh, yes?” Clara answers. She frowns. “Is that why you’ve been looking down lately?”

“Have I?” The couple share a look and nod in reply. It’s true. You’ve been feeling down because of the heartbreak, but you can’t help it. You’ve learned that when you fall in love with someone, you fall hard. However, you’re never ready for the heartbreak.

“Your crush on Jaehyun is quite obvious, Y/N.” Jungwoo points out. “It just took you longer to realize it.”

“I’m happy for him,” you muster up a smile. “This just means that it isn’t meant to be.”

You’re not meant to be together. You know it from the cherry blossoms that you flush down the toilet. You know it from the sharp pain in your lungs and the breathing attack you have because of it. You know it from how distant Jaehyun has been. You know it because of her.

You won’t ever blame it on her because you have come to the conclusion that you’re not meant for Jaehyun. The cherry blossoms are a sign for you to move on.

“Well, I think you and Jaehyun are perfect for each other.” Clara attempts at convincing you but you barely buy it. “You guys are like two peas in a pod. I can’t see one of you without the other.”

You flash a small smile. Your smile doesn’t reach your eyes and you know that the couple can see how fake your smile is through their laptop screen.

“He has Lina now. I think that’s what matters. He doesn’t need me anymore.”

“Are you even listening to yourself—”

There’s a knock at the door, interrupting your conversation. You’re not expecting any guests at the hour and you don’t have any packages arriving until tomorrow. As you excuse yourself, you shuffle towards the door to look through the peephole. Standing on the other side of the door is a tall guy, holding up a box in front of his face. You giggle.

“Cha Eunwoo! What are you doing here?”

He moves the box away from his face and beams at you.

“I decided to pay you a visit! It’s been quite a while since I’ve come over, huh?”

“It feels quite odd having you over.”

Eunwoo quirks an eyebrow. He’s cutting two slices of chocolate cake, one for you and the other for him. Standing right next to him, you pour two glasses of wine for the both of you.

“What do you mean?” He laughs.

“You never come over.” You shrug your shoulders. “When you do come over, it’s usually because you’re having girl problems.”

He scoffs. “I do not have girl problems—”

“You do.” You cut him off, looking up at him with a grin. He squints his eyes at you.

“Now you make it seem like I have this huge issue when it comes to girls and my dating life—”

You stifle a giggle. “But it’s true, though.”

He frowns. “Is it really?”

You nod your head. “Sadly.”

The coffee table is set up lazily with Eunwoo’s cake that he had made for the two of you, along with a bottle of wine that you’ve barely touched since receiving it as a birthday gift. A movie is playing softly in the background as you and Eunwoo catch up with each other’s lives.

“Have you seen Jaehyun, lately?”

“No. I figured he’d be busy helping out with Jungwoo’s wedding.” Eunwoo replies. “Is he not helping out?”

“Ever since he started dating Lina, he hasn’t been showing up. It’s only been me helping Jungwoo plan out his wedding.” You explain.

“He’s dating? Since when?”

“Not sure. I haven’t seen him.” You swirl your wine in your glass before taking a huge sip.

“Shouldn’t you know? I mean, you’re his best friend, his partner in crime. If there was someone who knew him most, it would be you.” He takes a bite of his slice of cake.

“Surprise?” You chuckle. “I don’t know anything about his current relationship. Sorry to disappoint.”

You start to feel slightly dizzy. You’re not sure if it’s the wine or if you’re experiencing the same symptoms. Within a couple of minutes, your head starts to pound. Eunwoo takes notice of how quiet you’ve gotten, staring at you to make sure everything is alright. You grab your forehead, eyebrows knitting together as your head continues to pound. You feel weak. Seconds later, your lungs start to tighten and your breathing slows down.

“Y/N. Are you alright?” He asks.

You try to look up at him but your head feels heavy. You nod your head but he doesn’t believe it.

“Excuse me,” you whisper as you struggle to get onto your feet.

The symptoms are showing up again. You’re stumbling on your way to the bathroom. Your lungs feel full, causing you to have trouble breathing. As soon as you reach your bathroom, you bend over the toilet.

You spend fifteen minutes throwing up cherry blossom petals into the toilet. You’ve been too distracted by your condition to notice that you’ve left the bathroom door open. Eunwoo rushes over to the bathroom and stops in his tracks.

His eyebrows raise in surprise. What he sees in front of him is all too familiar. Scattered around the floor are petals of a cherry blossom. His eyes travel towards you. You’re bent over the toilet, throwing up petals. He feels his blood run cold.

“Y/N.”

You cough, sighing with relief. Your lungs finally empty out again. Your headache vanishes. As you lean your restless figure against the wall, you look up to see Eunwoo standing at the doorway. He’s just as surprised as you are.

He gestures at the petals. “They look… beautiful.”

You fake a smile.

“But Y/N, my mother went through the same thing.” He confesses. “This all reminds me of her. Instead of the cherry blossoms, she had stargazer lilies.”

“Those must’ve been beautiful,” you mumble.

He takes a seat next to you. “Who would’ve thought that something so precious, so beautiful, would end up looking like this?”

You fiddle with your fingers. “Eunwoo, can you promise me something?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t tell anyone about this. Not even Jaehyun.” You beg. “He can’t find out.”

The dots were connecting in his head. If you didn’t want Jaehyun to find out about this, this only meant one thing.

“This is all because of Jaehyun?” His eyes round in shock and you slowly nod your head. He picks up a petal from the floor and analyzes it.

“Promise me, Eunwoo. Please.”

He tears his gaze from the petal to look at you. Your eyes are filled with sadness.

“I promise, only if you promise to do something in return.” He insists.

“What do you want me to do?”

He places his hand on top of yours. “Please get yourself checked. I’m afraid you have the same condition as my mother.”

You nod.

“I promise.”

Later that night, Eunwoo helps you book an appointment with a doctor at the local hospital. You can’t help but appreciate the effort Eunwoo has been giving. During the times where you have been going through a lot, you would have expected Jaehyun to be there for you, just like how you were there for him. But t times where you needed Jaehyun the most, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, Eunwoo has been the one who stuck around.

You can’t help but think that being apart from Jaehyun may be nothing but for the better.

The first thing you do once you step out of the Doctor’s office is let out the longest, tiring sigh. The next thing you do is stare at a short list of prescribed medications. You let out yet another tiring sigh. Falling in love should be a paid job if it’s getting you all worked up for heartbreak.

“Y/N?”

It takes you a couple of seconds to realize that your name is being called. The soft voice calling out your name snaps you out of your trance. Standing a couple of metres away is Clara, who looks surprised to see you in the hospital. She looks at the small Doctor’s note with your medications in your hand and slowly looks up at you. Behind you, she reads the sign on your Doctor’s office door. Disease Specialist. When your eyes meet, her gaze transforms from curiosity to concern.

“C-Clara, hey.” You let out a shaky laugh. “What brings you here? Check up? Ultrasound?”

“I’d like to ask you the same thing, what brings you here?” She replies.

You scratch your neck nervously. “Nothing major. Do you have a ride going home? Is Jungwoo picking you up?”

She nods her head. “You can come with us. We’ll drop you off—”

“I’ll be alright—”

“Y/N, I want you to remember that you can trust me. We’re like sisters, remember?” She says and it’s all that it takes for your eyes to flood with tears.

“Y-Yeah, like sisters.” You stutter. Your voice cracks and you cover it up with a cough. “I’ll explain everything when we get in the car.”

You don’t explain everything when you get in the car. Instead, the car ride is silent. You find it difficult to bring it up. Jungwoo looks at you through his rearview mirror and he feels Clara tightly squeeze his hand. He glances at her and she gives him a look of doubt.

“S-So,” Jungwoo starts off a conversation. You look away from the scenery of cars driving on the highway outside the window. He smiles at you through his rearview mirror. “The weather’s been really nice today, huh?”

You snort. This is the first time you’ve laughed since last night. In fact, you did not sleep well last night because of the nervousness you were feeling. It’s been a couple of weeks since Eunwoo referred you to a disease specialist when he encountered you and the cherry blossom petals filling up your lungs. But even after the appointment, you still feel nervous.

“After today’s ultrasound, it’s safe to say that I’m not expecting twins.” Clara sighs with relief. “Imagine how painful delivering two babies in one go would be. Can’t relate.”

The couple continues to talk about the baby and you’re not sure when you can start telling them. You can sense that they’re trying to make you feel better just so that you can feel more comfortable telling them. When their conversation dies down and as Jungwoo turns right into your neighbourhood, you decide to drop the bomb.

“I have an illness.”

Jungwoo slams on the brakes and Clara scolds him.

“Hanahaki Disease,” you mumble, chuckling bitterly. “Have you heard of it?”

“Y/N…” Clara trails off. She doesn’t believe you. You? Of all people, why did it have to be you?

“It started when Jaehyun started dating Lina,” you explain. “The breathing attacks, the shortness of breath, the cherry blossom petals. It all led up to this.”

Jungwoo frowns. “Is that what I saw? Those petals lying around on your bathroom floor?”

You nod. There are tears streaming down your cheeks and you wipe them away, one by one. Clara grabs some tissues and hands them over to you. Jungwoo has no words to say.

“All I wanted to do was find love.” You whisper. “But look where it got me. Whenever I see those stupid petals, I feel like this is all wrong, like falling in love is wrong.”

“Falling in love isn’t wrong. It shouldn’t feel wrong.” Clara reassures you. “Whatever feelings you have for Jaehyun, those feelings aren’t wrong and shouldn’t be.”

“Have you perhaps told Jaehyun?”

You shake your head. “He can’t find out.”

“Why not?” Jungwoo asks.

“If I tell him, I’ll lose him.” You reply. “I don’t want to lose him.”

“Why did the Doctor say?” Clara asks.

Clara watches you fall silent, choosing not to answer as you gather your things. You bid them a farewell and thank them for driving you home. As you step inside of your home, you slowly slide down the door.

“From your x-ray, it is safe to say that you have Hanahaki Disease. Have you heard of it before?”

You nod. “My best friend has it.”

“Perfect. I’m assuming you are more familiar with this disease than the average person. Let me give you a quick breakdown.”

Your eyes follow your Doctor who’s pointing at the leftover petals sitting in your lungs at the moment. He points at your x-ray.

“The reason why you have this disease is solely because of unrequited love. You may have experienced rejection recently or the past couple of months, which resulted in the occupation of cherry blossom petals in your lungs.” He explains.

“How long will I have this disease? Is it curable?” You ask.

“It’s curable. There are three ways to cure this disease. The first possible cure is if you fall in love with someone else who so happens to return the same feelings. The second cure is if the person who caused your heartbreak falls in love with you, which reverses the unrequited love.”

“And the last possible cure?”

He purses his lips into a tight line. “The last cure is to permanently remove the petals through surgery.”

“Surgery?” He nods his head.

“Yes. But beware,” he warns. “Once you have surgery, those feelings you once had for that person would be permanently removed as well. You will no longer fall in love with that person anymore.”

“Where’s the bride-to-be?”

All of the ladies turn towards the door to see an unfamiliar woman entering the small restaurant. You turn around and you feel your blood run cold. Lina enters the small restaurant and greets Clara by kissing her cheek. She hands Clara her gift and makes her way towards you. Clara looks at you apologetically.

“Y/N! Nice to see you.” Lina smiles.

Indeed, Lina looks beautiful. She screams Jaehyun’s ideal type. You wish you were as beautiful as her, as charming as her.

You smile back at her. “Nice to see you too, Lina.”

“I don’t really know anyone here except for you and Clara. Clara invited me last minute, since Jaehyun and I started dating and all.” She explains.

Your eyebrows raise. “Oh, that’s—that’s nice. Why don’t you go ahead and grab something to eat first?”

“Oh, right! I’ll go ahead. Thanks!” She exclaims, grabbing her plate and heading towards the buffet to get food.

Clara approaches you and nudges your side. “I’m sorry, I had to invite her or else Jaehyun would suspect something. Besides, she’s his date to the wedding, it would be awkward if I didn’t invite her to my bridal shower.”

You shrug it off. “It’s alright. I’m not bothered by it at all.”

The evening goes by smoothly and peacefully with Lina sitting right beside you at the table. Clara is busy opening all the bridal shower gifts with a fake veil on the crown of her head. You’re watching Clara as she opens Lina’s gift, and it so happens to be a bonsai. Clara gasps in surprise and rushes over to thank Lina for the gift.

“It seems like she really likes it,” you chuckle.

“Jaehyun suggested it as a gift.” Lina adds. “Y/N, I’ve been wanting to get close with you, since you’re Jaehyun’s best friend.”

You turn around to face her. “Sure. We can be friends.”

“Jaehyun talks and thinks very highly of you. You’re very special to him, as his best friend. I hope we can be the same. It might be a bit awkward because I abruptly came into his life and everything.” She looks hesitant.

“He does?” You ask. “I am?”

She nods. “I envy you, sometimes, because aside from me, you’re also important to him. I guess it’s just a given, where it’s normal to envy your boyfriend’s best friend who so happens to be a woman.”

“You don’t need to envy me,” you chuckle lightheartedly. You lie. “I don’t have any feelings for him, if that’s what you want to know—”

She cuts you off with a look. “I know you’re in love with Jaehyun.”

Your mouth clamps shut. You’re not close with Lina, therefore, you’re not sure how to react. You analyze her reaction, to see whether she’ll burst out in anger, if she’ll shove you off your chair and start a catfight, or if she’ll peacefully deal with the situation.

“I’m not in love with Jaehyun, I promise you—”

She smiles. “I’m not blind, Y/N. Anyone can see it, even a stranger. The heart never lies.”

You hesitatingly place your hand on hers. “But he’s in love with you, not me. Don’t worry about it, Lina. He’s absolutely in love with you. You should keep your chin up and take care of him.”

Lina looks at you with an expression you can’t read. You were feeling all the symptoms again. Your head was beginning to throb in pain and your arms and legs were starting to feel weak. At this point, you knew when it was going to happen. You excuse yourself, wobbling your way towards the washroom.

You experience the symptoms whenever you’re around Jaehyun, whenever you’re around Lina, or whenever he’s the one being talked about. Those are the times where you think about Jaehyun the most, and it brings you back to May 2nd where he had indirectly rejected you. Anything that relates to your rejection or unrequited love will trigger your symptoms.

You bend over the toilet and throw up the petals. It’s a large batch this time, you notice. Your lungs feel like they’re on fire.

Jaehyun steps inside the restaurant venue to pick up his girlfriend when he finds you rushing towards the washroom. You look sick. He grows concerned and shoves his phone back into his pocket. As he heads to the washroom you’re in, he stops in front of the door at the sound of you throwing up. He has a feeling in his gut that he can’t explain, and it urges him to barge into the washroom.

Cherry blossom petals. It’s the first thing he sees. They’re scattered all over the floor. He follows a trail of the petals and it leads him to a stall that’s been left open. He peeks through the stall and he grows pale.

You’re bent over the toilet, throwing up cherry blossom petals. To be more exact, you’re throwing up petals of his own favourite flower. Only someone with the same exact condition would be able to understand it and connect all the dots.

You’re in love with him.

But he’s not in love with you.

And that’s why you’re throwing up cherry blossom petals.

You have the disease, and it’s all because of his unrequited feelings for you.

He wishes this was just a terrible nightmare.

“Y/N?”

You freeze in your spot. You turn around to see Jaehyun standing at the doorway of the stall. With widened eyes, you try to utter out an explanation but he’s too busy looking at you with shock.

“You have it too?” He whispers. “And it so happens to be cherry blossoms. But you didn’t dare tell me?”

“Jaehyun—”

“How dare you keep this a secret from me?” Anger and a look of betrayal is washed all over his face and you slowly get up from the floor.

“Jaehyun, please just let me explain.” You plead.

“You don’t need to explain. I see it with my own two eyes, Y/N.”

He shakes his head in disappointment and disbelief, barging out of the washroom. You take off your heels and chase after him. As Jaehyun steps out of the washroom, he walks past Jungwoo. He looks at Jaehyun confusedly.

“Jaehyun?” Jungwoo watches as you chase after Jaehyun.

“Jaehyun, wait!”

Jungwoo is completely speechless as he watches Jaehyun storm out of the restaurant. Jaehyun feels like his world is spinning. His thoughts are clouded that he barely notices the heavy rain that’s slowly drenching his clothes. He’s not sure what to do except run, run far away. But he hears you calling out his name.

“Jaehyun, let me explain!”

He stops in his tracks and slowly turns around to face you. It is only when he sees you that he realizes that it’s raining. “How could you do this to me?”

Your tears blend in with the rain that’s dripping down your face. “I was going to tell you after I told Clara and Jungwoo—”

“Tell me what, that you’re in love with me? That I’m the reason for those cherry blossoms?” He cuts you off, letting out a bitter chuckle. “Don’t you think it’s a bit too late, Y/N? I feel like you betrayed me. Everyone knew except me—”

“I didn’t tell you because I know you’re in love with her.” You explain. “I thought that if I told you, you’d end up leaving me.”

“Were you supposed to tell me all of this that day we met up? When I told you that Lina and I started dating?” He asks and you’re too afraid to answer. He lets out a frustrated sigh. “You’re afraid to lose me but the moment you kept all of this a secret from me, was when you started to lose me.”

“Jaehyun, I’m sorry—”

He shakes his head. “I can’t return the same feelings for you, Y/N. You’re my best friend. But I don’t think being your best friend would be good for you.”

“No, Jaehyun, we can work things out—”

“We can’t work things out, Y/N.” He cuts you off. “Just leave me alone. I don’t think I could ever trust you anymore. It’ll be the best for the both of us.”

“Jaehyun,” you beg, reaching out to him. You grab his hand but he shakes your hand off.

“I don’t want to see you ever again.”

It’s almost like you lost your voice. As Jaehyun hops into his car, his headlights blind you before he drives off. You feel yourself fall to your knees, your sobs getting louder and louder. Jungwoo steps out of the restaurant and stands underneath a roof to find you crying your heart out. Clara rushes outside to get you back inside the restaurant. Jungwoo knows that the sound of your loud cries will haunt him forever.

Jungwoo sighs.

This didn’t end well.

1 ½ years later…

“You chose the perfect place!”

You smile, clinking glasses with Clara. As you overlook the exhibit, you take a sip of your champagne. You would have never thought your life would transform into something different within one year. But here you are, one year later, running an exhibit for your photographs. There are visitors of different professions, some are art students, others are fellow photographers.

Someone clears their throat. You turn around, seeing Eunwoo. You eye the bouquet of gardenia and sweet pea in his arms.

“Congratulations on your exhibit.” He hands you the bouquet and you chuckle. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was wondering why you were late,” you mumble, sniffing the flowers. “Thanks for the flowers, they look lovely.”

“No problem. I’m really proud of you, Y/N—”

“Y/N? We have a bid for one of your photographs.” Your personal secretary, Hyejeong, interrupts the conversation. You raise an eyebrow in surprise. “He wants to meet you.”

“Sure,” you nod your head. You give Eunwoo an apologetic look. “Sorry. I’ll talk to you right after meeting the bidder!”

He waves it off. “No worries. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

As you follow Hyejeong, you carry the bouquet in your arms. There are fellow photographers greeting and congratulating you, and you feel heat rush to your cheeks by the sudden attention. Hyejeong leads you to the far end of the exhibit. You feel your pace slow down.

“He’s right there.” She points at the bidder.

You follow her gaze and it falls upon a man. Just from the sight of his back, you know exactly who the man is. A lot can happen in a year, and it’s evident through his hair that’s dyed a blue-black, even through his drastic change of fashion. He looks more mature.

You let out a breath. “You can leave us, Hyejeong. I’m sure Clara needs you to help her entertain the visitors.”

She nods her head. “Let me know if you need me.”

As she leaves you and the bidder alone, you feel your grasp on your bouquet begin to tighten. You approach the man who seems to feel your presence. He turns around and a gasp is caught in your throat.

You gather yourself together. “Can I help you with anything?”

Jaehyun stares at you in shock. You’ve changed. Your hair is no longer long, for it’s cut short and stops right at your shoulders. You look more composed. You no longer look shy and introverted. But you look beautiful.

You look so beautiful that it hurts him.

“R-Right—” He stutters and points at the photograph behind him. “I’d like to make a bid.”

You look at the photograph he’s pointing at. It’s a photograph of him. You had taken that photo of him during Jungwoo and Clara’s prenuptial photoshoot. He’s standing in the field of sunflowers with his arms stretched out. You named the photograph, Renewal, because it was the first time Jaehyun had overcome his hatred of flowers.

You purse your lips into a tight line. “I’d like to have you know that photographs on this side of the exhibit are not up for auction. Did you not read the notice before entering the exhibit, sir?”

He scratches the back of his neck. He eyes the bouquet in your arms. “Is that so? Sorry about that, I guess I’ll keep on looking.”

“Sure.” You mumble. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

“Y/N.”

You quirk an eyebrow. “Yes?”

He hesitantly smiles. You barely budge an inch and your expression remains blank.

“It’s nice to see you. It’s nice to see you doing well.” He says with a hopeful gaze.

You nod your head and you prepare to say something extremely harsh, no matter how warm his smile is. You can’t let your guard down. You have every right to be mad at him.

“I wish I could say the same to you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other clients to speak to.”

As you turn around, you feel your heart ache. Jaehyun watches you walk away from him, and he’s completely astonished. He expected this. He expected you to be coldhearted towards him and it’s all his fault. He acknowledges it, but he wasn’t prepared to see it happen right in front of him.

You’ve changed. A year is more than enough to change someone, for better or for worse. But after seeing you, he’s not sure if time has changed you... or if he himself changed you.

It was a couple of months ago where you were cured of the disease. You no longer threw up cherry blossom petals, and you were no longer experiencing the symptoms. The reason for your cure remains unknown. It could be that an unrequited lover has fallen in love with you or you have fallen in love with someone else who so happens to return your feelings. You’d like to think it was the latter.

You don’t believe in the idea of unrequited lovers realizing their undying love for you, especially when it’s too late. That only happens in fairytale stories.

“My date is looking beautiful tonight.” You hear Eunwoo say as he joins you out on the balcony. You giggle, rolling your eyes at him.

Jungkook had just gotten married a couple of hours ago. You’re sure that he’s probably wasted on the dance floor with his wife scolding him for getting too drunk with their guests around. You feel a bit tipsy yourself after having a couple of glasses of wine. You decided to get some fresh air, not expecting your date, Eunwoo, to join you. You figured Eunwoo would be getting wasted with his newly-wedded friend. Guess not.

“I guess we’re the last ones who need to find fiances.” He sighs, sipping his wine.

“Don’t even think about proposing to me, Eunwoo.” You mutter. “I don’t plan on getting diabetes because of all the sweets you’ll bake for me.”

He laughs. “Well, if I were to be honest with you, I did fall in love with you at some point.”

“You have?” You raise an eyebrow, surprised. “You should’ve told me. I would’ve dated you in a heartbeat.”

“You would?” He asks, surprised. You nod. “Wow, this truly tells me we’re not destined to be together. My timing was quite off. The Eunwoo a year ago should’ve just confessed.”

You smirk. “There’s no such thing as second chances, Eunwoo, so don’t even think about shooting your shot with me again. It’s not going to happen.”

“I liked you a lot, Y/N. But it looked like you were so in love with Jaehyun, so I didn’t bother. What’s even more funny was that I lied about having a girlfriend to see if you’d get jealous, but you barely reacted.” He reminisces, and the two of you share a good laugh together.

All this time, Eunwoo had proclaimed that he was officially off the market. Who knew that he did it just to earn some sort of jealous reaction from you? His timing was definitely off.

You pat his shoulder. “You’ll find someone special. You just have to wait a bit longer.”

Eunwoo doesn’t reply and you look up at him questioningly. He’s looking at someone at the door. You follow his gaze and you let out a tiring sigh. Eunwoo glances at you and pats your back.

“I’ll head back inside, alright?” He insists. “Call me if you need anything.”

Eunwoo passes by Jaehyun, who’s standing at the door. The two of them glance at each other for a brief moment before Eunwoo tears his gaze. You look at Jaehyun for a brief moment before downing your glass of wine. You wince, the wine no longer tastes fruity and sweet, it tastes bitter.

“Are you following me?” You ask him, turning away from him to look up at the night sky. It takes him a couple of seconds to stand a metre away from you.

“I just wanted to talk to you.” Jaehyun says softly.

You scoff. “What is there to talk about?”

“Us.”

He sees you roll your eyes. “There was never an ‘us’. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Are you just going to ignore the fact that you were in love with me?” He dives straight to the point. “Are you still in love with me?”

Are you still in love with me? You chuckle bitterly, turning around to face him. You look over his shoulder to find a butler to fetch. You need another glass of wine.

“Would my answer matter to you?” You argue back. “Last time I checked, you left me for her.”

“It was a mistake—”

“By the way,” you muster up a smile. “How are you guys? Is the relationship going well? I wouldn’t know, it’s been a while since you left.”

“We broke up.” He answers, and it comes out barely above a whisper.

A butler finally comes around and hands you a glass of wine. You grab an extra glass for him. He doesn’t budge, looking quite astonished and speechless. You shrug your shoulders, placing it back on the butler’s tray.

“How sad,” you say. “Didn’t you tell me that she was the one?”

“Look, Y/N, I’m in love with—”

You close your eyes and cut him off with a sigh. “How long has it been? A year? Since you left me out there in the rain? I still remember that night. You must’ve forgotten because here you are, trying to befriend me again.”

Jaehyun remembers that night so vividly. He remembers how shattered he left you. But most of all, he remembers how guilty he felt for pushing you away. If he had the chance to turn back time, he’d do things much more differently.

“Well, I should get going. It was nice seeing you again, Jaehyun.” You fake a smile and he can see through it. You’re not happy, not the slightest bit.

“Y/N—”

“And I hope this is the last time I’ll see you.”

Are you still in love with me? That’s a question you feared the most. It terrifies you because yes, you’re still in love with Jaehyun. You don’t see yourself being with anyone else. No matter how much he hurt you, you’re still in love with him. No matter how much he doesn’t deserve you, you’re still in love with him.

And that in of itself is more than enough to ruin your life.

Jaehyun is stubborn.

He finds himself standing in front of your exhibition. This time, your exhibition is in a different city. He made the extra effort to drive to a different city in hopes of seeing you again. You may hate him for this, but he knew that he owed you an explanation. And if it was going to take many tries to get through to you, he would do it. He would do it in a heartbeat.

“One admission ticket for Y/N’s exhibition, please.”

This time around, he didn’t show up empty-handed. He stopped by a flower shop a couple of blocks away from the gallery to pick up a fresh bouquet of—

“You saw the exhibit back in Seoul, but you’re here in Busan to see it again?”

You’re standing in front of one of your photographs with your back facing him. He looks at the photograph, it’s a photo of Jungwoo and Clara’s shadows shown on the pavement. He can clearly make out that the photo was taken after their wedding for Clara’s shadows perfectly show a veil sitting on the crown of her head and the skirt of her dress.

You turn around. “Cat bit your tongue?”

He hesitatingly approaches you, handing you the bouquet of flowers. You quirk an eyebrow. It’s a bouquet of violet lilacs, your favourite flower.

“I know you hoped that our paths wouldn’t cross again but—”

“Thanks for the flowers.” You cut him off, gently grabbing the flowers from his hands. You take a quick sniff of the flowers and a smile threatens to form on your lips. But you’re quick to stop it.

“Oh, hello there, stranger.”

The two of you spot Jungwoo, who’s entering the exhibition with his wife, Clara. Jungwoo feels a bit wary with Jaehyun being near you, and it’s evident with the lines on his forehead. Clara looks at you for reassurance and you bite your lip.

“Long time, no see.” Jaehyun mumbles.

“I was wondering where you ran off to after our wedding—ow!” Jungwoo’s sentence is cut short when Clara elbows him in the stomach.

Clara fakes a smile. “Nice seeing you, Jaehyun. Of all places I’d expect myself to bump into you, I didn’t expect it to be at Y/N’s exhibit.”

Jaehyun barely utters a word. The atmosphere excuses nothing but awkwardness and tension. You clear your throat.

“Did you drive all the way from Seoul to Busan?” Jungwoo asks him.

He shakes his head. “I took the train.”

“Do you need a ride going home? We can drive you home, after you stroll around, of course.” Clara offers.

“Clara,” you hiss through your teeth.

“If you don’t mind,” Jaehyun says sheepishly. “I hope I’m not a bother—”

“Oh, you’re definitely not a bother.” You say sarcastically. As you let out a sigh, you hand Clara the bouquet of lilacs. “Excuse me, I have some visitors to speak to.”

Clara watches you as you walk away, leaving the three of them. “Y/N—”

As the three of them are left behind, Clara’s shoulders slump in defeat and turns around to face the other two. She puts on her sunglasses and slings her bag over her shoulder.

“Want to grab a cup of coffee with us?” Clara asks Jaehyun.

He purses his lips into a tight line. “Sure.”

Jungwoo snorts. “Great. I could definitely use an espresso shot right now.”

The couple lead the way, leaving Jaehyun following closely behind. He looks over his shoulder to see you talking with one of the visitors. You have a warm smile on your face. It’s a smile he misses so much. He misses the times where you’d smile because of him.

But now, he’s the reason for all your frowns.

“I apologize for Y/N’s… behaviour.”

Jaehyun places down his cup of coffee onto the table. Seated across from him are Jungwoo and Clara. He waves it off. “You don’t need to. I kind of expected her to be like that, especially towards me.”

Jungwoo scoffs. “As you should.”

“Look,” Jaehyun begins. He wraps his hands around the warm mug of coffee. He avoids their gaze, but he feels the two of them burning holes through his head. “I regret everything. I deserve all of this. But all I want is for her to forgive me.”

“Are you sure that’s all you want from her?” Clara asks. “A second chance?”

“I think I have a better chance at being her best friend again. But a chance at being a lover? I’m not too sure.” Jaehyun confesses.

Jungwoo and Clara share a look. Clara takes a sip of her tea, completely surprised by the subtle confession. She clears her throat. “You’re in love with Y/N?”

Jaehyun nods his head. “I think I’ve always been in love with her.”

“Took you long to realize it.” Jungwoo smiles. “But I think you’re a bit too late.”

Jaehyun raises an eyebrow. “You really think I don’t have a chance?”

“Y/N gave up on love a long time ago.” Clara says truthfully. “But there may be a sliver of hope. That is, if you’re persistent enough to keep up with her. If you keep it up, she may give you a second chance. But once you give up, she’ll probably hate you forever.”

Jungwoo smirks. “You act like you don’t know Y/N, Jaehyun. I’m sure she’s still in love with you. All you have to do is show her that you’re in love with her. She can’t resist you.”

“You think so?”

“Y/N’s been your best friend for the longest time. It won’t take much to break down her walls again, especially if the one to tear down her walls is you.” Clara reassures him.

“Wait, when did you realize it?” Jungwoo asks.

“Realize what?”

“That you’re in love with her.” Jungwoo mumbles.

“Seven months ago? I was on the search for her seven months ago.” Jaehyun replies while scratching the back of his head.

Jungwoo looks at his wife. She looks back at him and he watches as the gears start to turn in her head. It’s not long until she finally figures it out. Jaehyun stares at the two of them communicate with their eyes.

Clara looks at Jaehyun. “You may have a huge chance, Jaehyun.”

Seven months.

When Jaehyun started to fall in love with you seven months ago, you had just found out that you had been completely cured of the disease.

“Text us when you get home!”

Jaehyun waves at Jungwoo and Clara, who dropped him off at a bus stop near his home. In a rush, they were only able to drop Jaehyun off at a bus stop because they had to pick up their daughter from the babysitter. He watches their car get smaller and smaller as it travels farther down the road. He looks up at the sky, and a raindrop falls onto his cheek. Suddenly, the raindrops start to fall more frequently. He clicks his tongue.

“I should make a run for it,” he says to himself, beginning to walk down the sidewalk.

It starts to rain. He starts jogging down the sidewalk when the rain gets heavier and heavier. But he’s completely out of shape and finds himself opting to walk in the heavy rain instead. His clothes are soaking wet, and all the people walking past him don’t bother offering an umbrella. As soon as he spots a convenience store, he hears a loud honk. He glances to his left to see an unfamiliar car parked by the curb.

The window rolls down to reveal you. You look at him with concern.

“Get in. I’ll drive you home.” You insist.

“I’ll be fine, I don’t want to be a bother—”

“Just get in or else I’m leaving you here.” You cut him off. “Take it or leave it.”

He hesitatingly walks to your car and hops into the passenger’s seat. You drive off. The ride is silent, and he distracts himself from the lit-up signs and billboards. You remember where he lives. He would have expected you to completely shut him out of your life, where you would even forget his address. But you remembered.

“How could you not have an umbrella on you? Did you not hear the forecast today?”

He looks away from the window. You’re focused on the road. Your expression remains the same; completely blank. He doesn’t say anything.

“Look at you, you’re completely wet.” You mutter to yourself. A smile threatens to spread across his lips. You care. You care about him, even if it was just a slight bit. “Great. Now my car seat is completely wet too. So much for maintaining a clean car.”

He probably looks like a fool for smiling at you. You tear your gaze away from the road when you reach a red stoplight. When you look at him, he quickly looks away. You can feel your heart ramming in your chest.

“Thanks for driving me home.” He says in advance.

The stoplight turns green. You step on the gas, mumbling, “It’s nothing.”

It’s a complete lie. You decided to visit your old place, maybe drop by the nearby convenience store to eat a nice hot, steaming cup of ramen. But you didn’t expect to park by the curb, only to find Jaehyun ready to walk inside after walking in the heavy rain. The sight of Jaehyun’s wet hair and clothes made you feel bad.

As you park your car, you glance at Jaehyun who’s fallen asleep. He shivers in his sleep and it immediately makes you check his temperature. Surely enough, Jaehyun has a slight fever that will probably last the entire night after getting soaked by the rain. You sigh, turning off the engine of your car.

“Jaehyun.” You nudge him awake. He rubs his eyes and you notice how he’s beginning to shiver. “Give me the keys to your house.”

“Huh—”

“You have a slight fever.”

“I can take care of it myself, don’t worry—”

“Knowing you, you are incapable of looking after yourself. Hand me the keys.” You extend your open hand out to him and he fishes his keys in his pocket. “Let’s head inside.”

As you support Jaehyun on the walk inside, you notice how his body leans comfortably onto your side. He leans in closer to your warmth. As you jam his keys into the lock, you swing the door open for the both of you.

“Geez, you’re heavy.” You say with a grunt. You reach up to feel his forehead and indeed, his fever is getting worse. “Let’s get you to your bed.”

Thankfully enough, he’s brought to his bed in one piece. You dust your hands off, walking into his bathroom to prepare a damp cloth for his forehead. Jaehyun’s teeth clatter as he shivers on his bed. Through hooded eyes, he sees you wringing a cloth in his bathroom. You place the cloth along with a bowl of water on top of his bedside table and grab a pair of pajamas from his drawers.

“Could you do me one favour and change into these? I’ll be outside. Call me when you’re done changing.”

And so you find yourself standing outside of his bedroom. Your eyes linger across his living room until they stop at one of the walls. The wall is decorated with a collection of Polaroid pictures. Curiosity gets the best of you and you get closer to the Polaroid wall to get a better look at the pictures.

The first picture at the top left of the wall is a picture of Jaehyun and Jungwoo. They’re holding up a peace sign. It’s the first Polaroid picture Jaehyun took with the Polaroid camera you gifted him for his birthday. As your eyes scan the pictures from left to right, you start to notice how they’re all pictures of.. you.

You shake your head, shrugging off your thoughts. You turn your back against the wall, but his coffee table grabs your attention. On his coffee table, there’s a couple of advertisement flyers. They’re flyers of your photography exhibit.

“This can’t be,” you whisper to yourself.

Your feet drag you to his kitchen. On his fridge, you spot a couple of notes you’ve written and left for him. From reminders to small words of encouragement, your handwriting is found all over the notes. It’s noticeable how old the notes are, for some of the adhesive is wearing out, causing the corners of the sticky-note to peel off.

Everywhere in his home, Jaehyun has a reminder of you. Even after a year and a half, he never once pushed you out of his life. But he offered to walk out of yours himself.

But why did he hurt you? Why did he leave you? Why did it take him one year?

Your eyes well up with tears. Suddenly, you hear Jaehyun open the door and call out your name. You turn your back against him to quickly wipe your tears.

“Coming.” You mumble. You sniff softly, gathering yourself together.

And right before you enter Jaehyun’s bedroom, you look back at the Polaroid wall one last time.

While you thought Jaehyun walked out of your life for good, you somehow remained in his life through memories.

The cafe is busy with university students rushing in and out with their caffeine boost. You almost bump into one. Seated at a table for two, your eyes meet Lina. She flashes you a small smile, sending you a wave. The beat of your heart speeds up out of nervousness.

“I didn’t think you would come.”

You bite your lip. “Me either.”

“Look—”

“You’re getting married?” You cut her off. She avoids your gaze, slowly nodding her head. You take out the invitation she had mailed to you. You read the names on the invitation. “Does Jaehyun know?”

“He knows—”

“And how does he feel about it?” You question. “I hope you didn’t hurt his feelings. He was very much in love with you, Lina—”

“Jaehyun and I dated for four months, Y/N.” She tells you the truth and you look at her confusedly. “We broke up because of you.”

“W-What?” You stutter.

“Two months into the relationship, I started to notice how important you are to him. Everything we did reminded him of you. I was starting to question whether he was in love with me or not because all he did was talk about you.” She explains. “Y/N this, Y/N that. But I brushed it off, and I let it drag on for another two months.”

“He told me that you were the one,” you shake your head in disbelief. “We were all sure that the two of you would end up together—”

“Jaehyun’s in love with you.” She gets straight to the point. “You deserve him. He deserves you. I mean, after you got my invitation, the first person that came to your mind was not you, but Jaehyun. I hope you’re still in love with him, Y/N.”

She was right. After you received the invitation, the first person you thought of was Jaehyun. You wondered if he was heartbroken by the news of her engagement. You wondered if he was taking it easy, if he was doing alright.

“I hope you can come to my wedding, Y/N.” She smiles. “Although we’re on awkward terms, it would be nice to have you attend. I still consider you as someone I’d like to be friends with.”

“I’ll think about it,” you purse your lips into a line. “Thank you for even thinking about inviting me.”

“I hope you’ll get the closure you need.”

Jungwoo pulls up to the venue, parking his car and turning off the engine. He’s never felt so nervous for a best friend. He looks at you through his rearview mirror. You’re anxious. There are strangers dressed up in suits and dresses, all huddled up in groups outside of the venue. They’re most likely long-time friends of Lina and her soon-to-be husband.

“Are you sure you will be alright on your own?” You tear your gaze from a couple who are taking a selfie.

You smile. “I’ll be alright. If anything, I’ll call you.”

You feel awkward standing by yourself. Jungwoo had already left you after giving you one last peptalk. You decide to head inside the venue to wait for the couple to arrive. The venue is beautiful. Their wedding theme so happens to be a backyard wedding, making their guests feel more comfortable. You can tell that they wanted a more home-y concept for their wedding. It’s shown through the white chairs scattered across the grass, the rose petals spread across the aisles, and the right amount of candles lit around the perimeter.

“It’s beautiful, huh?”

Jaehyun shoves his hands inside his pockets and looks around the venue. You grow confused, turning around to see him standing a couple of metres away.

“You were invited too?” You ask and he nods his head.

He chuckles. “I actually don’t know anyone here except you.”

From the corner of your eye, you can see him stand next to you. He has the sudden urge to hold your hand, but he knows that it wouldn’t be a good idea to do. You’re afraid that he can hear your heart that’s beating tremendously loud and fast. Little did you know, the two of you are standing in the middle of the aisle that leads up to the front, where the groom and bride are to be wedded. Oh, how Jaehyun wishes that he’d be standing at the front to watch you walk down the aisle for him.

“I don’t know anyone here except you,” you say.

He glances at you. “Can we at least be friends just for today? I don’t think I’ll be able to handle being on my own.”

You snort. “Last time I checked, you told me to stay away from you. Now you’re asking me to be friends with you for a day?”

“I’m just taking my chances.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Besides, I regret everything I said to you that night.”

“Rightfully so,” you mumble. You face him. “Fine. But once this day is over, I want you to do one thing for me.”

“Sure.”

You fold your arms. “Stay away from me. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

He stares at you for a brief moment. You look beautiful. You’re wearing a long lavender purple dress that stops just above your ankles. It’s an off-shoulder dress, and you style it up by wearing stacked gold necklaces.

He extends his hand out for you to seal the deal.

“Deal.”

The wedding was everything you expected it to be. Lina and her husband have been best friends since they were in diapers, and it was a given that they would end up together. It made you wonder how your life would’ve been different if Jaehyun was in love with you and if he returned the same feelings you have for him.

You wish the night would be over, where you could lay down on your bed and hibernate for a couple of months. You’re not into social interaction, especially with people you barely know. It was a shame that you and Jaehyun were assigned to sit at a table with complete strangers. At this point, you’re depending on Jaehyun to spice up your night by keeping you company.

“Y/N,” he nudges you as the lights in the hall start to dim. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“It’s our favourite song.” He smiles.

You listen carefully and indeed, it is your favourite song. A smile threatens to spread across your lips. As Daniel Caesar’s ‘Best Part’ starts to play, you feel yourself go back to prom night. You had been stood up by your date and Jaehyun found you sitting outside of the venue all alone. He had offered to be your date for the last couple of hours of prom night. A smile forms on your lips when you remember Jaehyun playing this song and offering to dance with you.

“Shall we dance?”

You’re brought back to reality. You glance at him. He looks back at you with a look you can’t read. His eyes are trying to tell you something, but you can’t make out what he wants to tell you.

“Will it be good for me?”

“We won’t know until we try.”

And so you both try. On the dance floor with many other couples, Jaehyun grabs your hand and your fingers interlock. Your hands fit perfectly together. He places his hands on your waist and you carefully place yours on his shoulders. He’s standing so close to you, you could feel his hot breath hit your skin.

“I don’t remember if I told you how beautiful you look,” he says softly.

You blink. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

Jaehyun’s eyes trail down to your plump lips. You look away from him. The song is so intimate and holds a memory that you wish to forget. As the song comes to an end, your eyes meet Jaehyun’s one last time. Before you could process it, he’s slowly leaning in. His lips brush yours and you’re so close to getting carried away by pulling him closer.

But you catch yourself right on time. Before the kiss gets passionate, you pull away by pushing his chest. He looks completely surprised. You touch your lips, shaking your head.

“This is wrong—”

“Y/N—”

“Stay away from me.” You warn him. “Stay right there. Don’t follow me.”

Out of shock, you barge out of the reception venue. Your eyes are tearing up. You told yourself that you’re never going to fall in love again. You gave up on love a long time ago, but all it takes is one look from him and you’re doomed—

“Y/N.”

You slowly look over your shoulder to see Jaehyun standing at the door, out of breath. He had chased you.

“This was a bad idea. I knew it was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have—”

“Y/N, I’m in love with you.” He confesses. You turn your back towards him. “You don��t know how long I’ve been wanting to tell you that. Seven months, Y/N. Seven months of—”

“Those pictures of us in your living room. Why do you still have them?”

“Because I can’t bring myself to throwing them out. They’re precious memories, Y/N. I kept them because it’s the only thing I have left that reminds me of you.” He explains.

Tears start streaming down your cheeks and you let out a scoff as you wipe them away. “Why am I like this around you? I hate being like this. Whenever it comes to you, I find himself going back to you when I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t be in love with you—”

“I—”

“Jaehyun, you’ve had six relationships. You endured your sickness for six relationships and you didn’t fight it alone because I was there. I was there because I chose to stay.” You will yourself to turn around and look at him. He looks broken. “But when the tables turn and I fall in love for the first time, when I need you the most, you leave me. In fact, you left me for her.”

“You have every right to hate me,” he whispers.

“I was fighting all alone.” You bite your quivering lip. “Jungwoo got married. Jungkook got married. Eunwoo is planning on proposing to his girlfriend. And me? I’m still fighting on my own. I’m still in love with you when I clearly shouldn’t be.”

“Please, Y/N—”

“I’m tired of being in love with you.” He looks at you with hopeless eyes. “If you really love me, you would do me a favour and leave me alone. Isn’t that what you told me to do in the first place? Leave you alone?”

Jaehyun doesn’t know what to say. You look exactly how you looked that night he left you. You’re still broken. You’re still not over him.

“Y/N—”

“You sealed the deal earlier, right? When I told you that I hope I’ll never see you again, I meant it. I don’t want to ever see you again. It’ll be the best for me.”

He’s completely speechless and you take it as your cue to leave when Jungwoo pulls up in the parking lot. Jungwoo looks concerned from his seat in the car. Just as you’re about to leave, Jaehyun says your name one last time. You look at him over your shoulder. There are tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

He’s selfish.

“Fine.” You mutter. “Have it your way.”

“If fate thinks we’re destined to be together, I hope you’ll know where to find me.”

“Stop skipping your meals and eat.”

It’s been weeks since Lina’s wedding. It’s been weeks since you last saw Jaehyun standing in front of you, broken and hopeless. You haven’t been doing great. In fact, you’ve been feeling horrible. You feel like your heart has been run over ten times and back. You’re not sure what to feel, but Jaehyun’s voice confessing his love for you echoes through your head every now and then.

You toss a tissue into the trash can. “Jungwoo, shouldn’t you be picking up your daughter from the babysitter?”

“I asked if she could stay a bit more. I can’t just leave you here looking like this, Clara will kill me if she finds out.” Jungwoo frowns. “Could you please just take care of yourself?”

“I’m not in the mood to eat, if that’s what you were wondering.”

“Stop being stubborn.” Jungwoo says sternly.

He looks around your room and his eyes fall upon a framed picture sitting on your bedside table. He squints his eyes to get a clearer view of the picture. It’s a picture of you and Jaehyun from prom night. He has his arm thrown over your shoulder. The two of you are standing close to each other, pulling off your funniest face.

“Hey,” he says, nodding his head at the picture. “You still have that? You kept it all this time?”

You follow his gaze and it lands on the picture of you and Jaehyun. “Oh, I forgot to throw it out—”

“Don’t even try to lie. I know you can’t bring yourself to throwing it out.” Jungwoo interrupts you.

“Stop reminding me of how deeply in love I am with Jaehyun when I shouldn’t be.” You plead. “I didn’t ask to be reminded of him—”

“Why are you stopping yourself from wanting what your heart wants?”

You fall silent.

“Your heart wants Jaehyun. You can’t change your heart’s mind because your heart has no mind.” Jungwoo explains.

“You have a point. But still,” you shake your head. “I am not going to give up on a year’s worth of moving on.”

“But you never truly moved on if you’re still in love with him, Y/N. It’s been a year and you’re still in love with him. Besides, he’s in love with you. Shouldn’t you just give him a second chance?

“No.”

“God, you’re so stubborn.” Jungwoo sighs.

“He’s the reason for those stupid cherry blossoms and that stupid disease—”

“Y/N, there’s something Clara and I wanted to tell you in relation to that.” Jungwoo says and looks like he’s just realized something. “When we took Jaehyun out for a cup of coffee—”

“I don’t want to hear it—”

“Just listen!” He exclaims as you cover your ears with your hands. You can still hear him, unfortunately. “He told us that he realized his feelings for you seven months ago.”

“So?” You raise an eyebrow.

His shoulders slump. “Didn’t you get cured of the disease seven months—”

“Wait.” You cut him off. Your hands slowly uncover your ears. “What did he say?”

“Jaehyun told us that he realized his feelings for you seven months ago.” Jungwoo repeats himself and he sees the gears start to turn in your head. “Seven months ago, Y/N. Didn’t you get cured of the disease—”

“Seven months ago.” You finish it for him. “Holy shit.”

The first possible cure to your disease is if you fall in love with someone else, who happens to return the same feelings. That cure rules out because you’ve never fallen in love after Jaehyun.

The second possible cure to your disease is by surgically removing the petals itself. You decided not to get the procedure done because your feelings would be compromised and there was a chance that you would never fall in love again.

The third and last cure to your disease is if your unrequited lover happens to fall in love with you, reversing the unrequited love.

Jaehyun fell in love with you seven months ago. At the same time, you were cured of the disease.

Holy shit.

“You said you were picking up your daughter, right?” You say, in complete shock. “Start your car. I need you to drive me somewhere.”

As you and Jungwoo hop into the car, there’s only one person you have in mind. It’s Jaehyun. As Jungwoo drives down the road, you look out the window. Your first place to find Jaehyun is your exhibition. He’s always been there just to look for you.

Jungwoo stares at the cherry blossoms lined up on the sidewalk. “The cherry blossoms bloomed beautifully, huh?”

You nod your head. “Yeah, focus on your driving.”

Jungwoo chuckles.

He parks in front of the exhibition and you don’t hesitate on getting out of the car. The security guard greets you and you rush into the exhibition. Your eyes scan the room. He’s not in sight. You sigh, running your hands through your hair.

“If fate thinks we’re destined to be together, I hope you’ll know where to find me.”

You finally realize it.

“God, why do you have to be so complicated, Jaehyun?”

Jungwoo finds you rushing out of the exhibition. You’re starting to jog down the sidewalk and he looks at you confusedly. He hops out of the car and calls out your name.

“Y/N! Where are you going?”

You stop in your tracks, turning around. “I think I know where he is. Thanks for the ride!”

Jungwoo smiles. “You’ll figure it out.”

You look up at the cherry blossom trees. There are petals slowly falling down. You glance down at your phone and coincidentally enough, it’s May 2nd. You continue to jog down the sidewalk, turning a left and a right. Finding Jaehyun is harder than you thought, especially when there are couples scattered down the strip of the road.

Jaehyun steps out of the cafe with an iced americano in his hand. He looks up at the cherry blossom trees and a smile starts to form on his lips. It’s a beautiful day, he thinks to himself. But it’ll be much more beautiful if he sees you—

“Y/N?” He spots you jogging down the sidewalk across the street.

You’re stopping at each shop and cafe to look through the window. You’re checking to see if Jaehyun is in any of the shops. Unknowingly, Jaehyun is crossing the street to chase after you. You’re walking way too fast, Jaehyun notes. You’re crossing the road that’s slowly coming to an end. You’re ready to give up at this point.

As you reach the end of the road, you let out a sigh of defeat. You hunch over, trying to catch your breath.

“Y/N?” You hear a voice.

You straighten up your posture, turning around to see Jaehyun standing behind you. He’s completely out of breath and he lets out a breathless laugh. You look at him with doe-eyes.

“You walk so fast, I was hoping you’d slow down—oof! Oh, alright.” He says as you crush him in a huge hug.

You pull away from the hug to whack his arm. “Why were you so vague with your hint? I spent a whole ass hour trying to look for you—”

“You were looking for me?” He blushes.

“Yeah,” you mumble. “Sorry, I just—”

“The cherry blossoms bloomed perfectly, don’t you think?” He cuts you off, gesturing towards the tree hovering over the both of you.

“Yeah, it did.” You say softly, scratching the back of your neck. Why do you suddenly feel so nervous around him? “It was nice seeing you, I should probably get going—”

“You’re leaving already?”

You slowly nod your head. “I—I just wanted to say hi. That’s all. I’ll see you around, Jaehyun.”

You’re too nervous to tell him. You feel like you’ll get rejected again. As you turn around, you feel his hand grab your wrist, pulling you back. You look up at him with hopeful eyes.

“You’re leaving right after you found me?” He asks.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Jaehyun.” You say softly.

“You’re not going to tell me that you’re still in love with me?” He says as he looks into your eyes.

His eyes are easier to read now. It’s all crystal clear. It’s laid out perfectly in front of you.

“I’m still in love with you,” you whisper.

“I’m in love with you,” he confesses. “Always have.”

His face brightens up. He never thought that he’d hear it from you. He feels like the luckiest man on Earth. Fate surely thinks the two of you are destined to be together, for it brought you both together at the perfect time and place the heart only knows.

“So, when do you want to get married?”

“Slow your horses, Jaehyun.”

He lets out endearing laughter.

He’s surely going to marry you one day.

author’s note. this took so long to finish, i am so sorry for the long wait. i hope you guys enjoyed this! i think i’m going to take a few days off because writing this huge fic of a monster made me want to pull my hair out. again, i hope you guys enjoyed this!

send me feedback! comments? suggestions? let me know!

1K notes · View notes

ggukcangetit · 4 years

Text

If The Bra Fits - JJK Fic

Final part of The Unbearable Lightness of Being... Something More series

Part 1 | Part 2 |

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Genre: ex-roommate au, f2l, fluff, smut, low-key crack

Rating: 18+

Summary: Jungkook knows you hate it when he pops into your apartment to borrow something, but in the 2 years that you’ve known each other, that hasn’t deterred him much. But one day when he manages to (accidentally) ruin your favorite bra while raiding through your emergency snack supply, he knows that he’s fucked. With only a brand name to help him on his search, Jungkook spends the next 48 hours buying all the bras that look even remotely like the one he ruined. The only problem is - how would he figure out which was the correct size without asking you?

Warnings: a lot of talk of breasts and the trials and tribulations of finding a good bra, oral sex (f receiving), masturbation, kissing, grinding, nipple play

Word count: 3.8k

a/n: thanks a ton to @hesperantha for beta-ing this! i was super nervous about writing proper smut >.< anywho, hope y’all enjoy this!

Jungkook knew he was fucked. Worse than when Jimin had walked in on Yoongi doing the do with his girlfriend. Worse than when Taehyung had lost his pet frog in Seokjin’s spice drawer. Worse than-

“Fuck.”

He would probably have to leave the country. Maybe he could move to Canada? Or New Zealand? Anywhere that wasn’t here. Or he could change his name! That might work…

“H-hello?”

“What the hell, Jungkook? You were supposed to meet me for lunch 40 minutes ago! This is rude and, frankly, inexcusable behavior on your part.” Seokjin’s annoyed voice, talking at 300 words a minute, rang through the phone’s speaker. “And why the hell do you sound like that? Did you walk in on Yoongi and Soya this time? I swear, that guy needs to learn to lock his door. Or maybe just change his locks. I mean this is probably-”

“Seokjin!” Jungkook pinched the bridge of his nose as his friend slowed his word flow. “I’ll be there in 10 and explain everything.”

Hanging up the phone, he surveyed the site of the massacre once more before stuffing the offending object into his backpack and rushing out. True to his word, he was at the hole-in-the-wall dumpling place in 10 minutes, attempting to explain to an irate Seokjin, the reason behind his tardiness.

“No! You did not do that!” Seokjin yelled, nearly choking on the hot soup dumpling that was hanging - half eaten - from his chopsticks.

Jungkook had, in fact, done that. That being the most cardinal offense his frazzled brain could think of at this point. That being sneaking into your apartment when you were at work, hoping to swipe some of your favorite shrimp puffs, placing his cup of steaming hot mocha on your study table, rummaging through your emergency snack supply but somehow inadvertently knocking over the coffee on the table, and cleaning it up with the nearest article available, which tragically, happened to be your mint green bra.

“She’s going to kill you. No” - Seokjin picked up a egg cream bun and popped the whole thing into his mouth - “she’s going to whip your ass and then hang you upside down from that metal pole on Hobi’s balcony.”

Jungkook stared at the way the cream bun smoothly travelled down Seokjin’s throat after a couple of chews, and shivered. “What do I do??”

“Why do you have to do anything? She won’t know it was you who spilled coffee on her table and then wiped it with her bra. Unless...”

Jungkook stared at his fingers guiltily.

“You took the bra with you, didn’t you?” Seokjin sighed, lightly smacking his friend on the back of the head for good measure. “Well, you could always blame it on Namjoon. That’s what I would do. Heck, that’s what I did when I accidentally broke Hobi’s favorite figurine.”

“I don’t know…”

“You have to commit to something, Jaykay.” Every time Seokjin used his nickname for Jungkook, it meant there was some kind of terrible scheme being cooked up. “Either be a complete little shit and blame it on Namjoon, or just go and own up to y/n. You can’t teeter on the edge like this.”

“I could always just sneak back in and leave her bra where I found it.” Jungkook felt better already. This was it. This was the middle ground he was aspiring towards - the sacred path between Seokjin and Hobi, the Yoongi of all decisions.

“You might not have to sneak in” - Seokjin held up his smartphone where the group chat was open to a bunch of notifications - “Tae said we’re meeting at y/n’s place for tacos and UNO.”

“Why is Tae so invested in our UNO games? He gets confused every time we play it.”

“Because” - Seokjin swiped his credit card at the counter and thanked the cashier with a quick wink - “like every good strategist, he plans to improve by observing everyone else’s style of play. He definitely knows how to play by now. He’s just giving us the confused puppy look so that we underestimate him and he can learn all our little tricks. Just you wait - a few more games and that sneaky shit will be handing our asses back to us.”

Jungkook, while mildly interested in Taehyung’s card game antics, was more concerned about returning your bra without arousing any suspicion. The perfect moment presented itself when Seokjin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung and Hobi were immersed in a game of UNO, while you and Soya were munching on tacos - because let’s face it, food trumps just about everything else. Coming up with a half-convincing bathroom excuse, he snuck off towards your room, hoping to finally rid himself of the mint green burden.

Seconds before he pushed your door open, a snippet of conversation floated towards him and made his heart stop beating.

“I can’t find it anywhere.” You were complaining to Soya about something, loud enough for him to hear. “I must’ve turned my room upside down looking for it.”

Soya didn’t seem too perturbed. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a bra. Yoongi regularly loses my underwear after we have sex in new locations.”

Jungkook chuckled because he could almost see the look of horror on your face at receiving this piece of information.

“Ignoring that TMI,” you continued. “That’s my favorite bra, Soya! You know how our sizes keep fluctuating - well, this was the first bra I bought after getting measured at a proper place. It literally changed my life. Do you know how fabulous it feels to have your boobs at normal chest level - neither squished up towards your collarbones nor jiggling like that everlasting jello Seokjin keeps buying? I’m tellin-”

Jungkook stopped listening at this point. If he didn’t, there was little chance that he’d be able to think of anything other than that. As it was, the mere sight of you these days, was enough to get blood flowing to certain parts of his body.

There was clearly only one thing to do.

“You want me to help you do WHAT?” Once again, it was Seokjin who barely managed to stop himself from choking on yet another scrumptious food item on yet another lunch date with Jungkook.

“I’m going to replace her bra.” The resolute expression on Jungkook’s face crumbled ever so slowly under the scrutiny of Seokjin’s pure, unadulterated skepticism. “It’ll be easy. I-I already know what it looks like, and all the information I need is on the itchy tag she always complains about.”

Seokjin’s thick brow remained masterfully arched.

“Are you going to help me or not?” Jungkook whined in frustration.

“What do I get in return?”

“Why would you want anything in return? Why can’t you just help me out this time??”

The masterfully arched eyebrow did it’s trick once again.

“Fine. You can borrow all my gaming equipment for a week.”

“A month.”

“No way!”

“Good luck shopping for y/n’s favorite bra.”

“Fine! A month! Now can we get a move on please?”

Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to find the particular store that you had bought your favorite bra from. It was a niche boutique on the third floor of the mall, full of politely judgmental staff members and pointedly supercilious patrons, all of whom were highly skeptical of Jungkook’s grey and black hoodie-sweatpants combo.

“Guess they didn’t really get on board with the whole athleisure concept,” Seokjin whispered, earning a hard elbowing from Jungkook.

The looks of skepticism were further enhanced when Jungkook produced the ruined bra, asking one of the assistants where he could find the same one. Jungkook hadn’t received such a disapproving look since his junior year of college when he had eaten 8 cups of instant ramen on a dare, done a celebratory jig, thrown up all over Yoongi and Hobi’s sofa, and promptly passed out.

“Er… I, uhm, need something!” The exclamation from Jungkook was received by a few expertly raised eyebrows. One assistant, in particular, narrowed their eyes at him and walked over.

“This is a lingerie store” - they scanned him up and down a couple of times - “sir. If you’re here to buy any lingerie, I’d be happy to assist you.”

Jungkook gulped at the expensive clothes and flawless complexion of the shop assistant. So far, things were not really going according to plan.

“Ow!” He felt a bony elbow dig into his ribs and glared at Seokjin, who was glancing between him and the assistant so rapidly, Jungkook was surprised he hadn’t gotten dizzy and passed out already.

“Right. Umm, I’m actually looking for this particular one” - he produced the once-pristine, but now covered in ugly brown splotches, bra from his backpack - “in this exact same size. Do you have it?”

If the shop assistant didn’t look particularly eager to be breathing the same air as him before, they now looked like they’d rather choke on month old guacamole than be near him.

“Our products are made for exclusivity. We do not carry the same sizes as the general marketplace. There are 4 basic sizes with 4 variations to each size. And this particular product” - they held the ruined bra delicately between two fingers and examined the tag - “is now only available in 3 particular size variations. You are free to choose whichever one you think is the closest fit.”

Jungkook’s doe eyes widened as he realized the itchy tag that you always complained about, truly had no other purpose but to inconvenience you. His panicked stare fell on Seokjin who had busied himself examining a very interesting leaf on the potted plant near the entrance.

It was up to him now, Jungkook realized. His fate was in his own hands. Walking over to the shelf carrying the mint green bras identical to the one he was holding, he inspected the 3 options carefully.

“I think I’ll take this one.” Was what he said out loud. Inwardly, however, he was screaming a very different tune.

“HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DECIDE?? I’VE NEVER BOUGHT A BRA BEFORE! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SIZE WOULD BE APPROPRIATE! IT’S NOT LIKE I SPEND ALL MY TIME SCRUTINIZING Y/N’S BREASTS!”

Thankfully, no one was privy to his internal screams except for himself.

“Thank you, sir. That will be $89.99.” Jungkook took out his debit card as the song playing over the system changed to No Tears Left To Cry.

Once out of the store, Seokjin let out a low whistle. “Wow… that was, undoubtedly, one of the most awkward situations I’ve ever been in. And I wasn’t even really in it.”

“At least the toughest part is over.” Jungkook felt like he had been running a 50 mile marathon while simultaneously figuring out the square roots of 5 digit numbers. In short, he was exhausted.

“Depends on what you think of that…” Seokjin pointed at a familiar figure, slowly walking towards them - someone Jungkook hadn’t expected to bump into in any of his worst case scenarios. You.

Confronted with an exceedingly dire situation with a bleak set of options, Jungkook vaulted into the nearest store, his entire being on high alert as it entered survival mode. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been paying attention to where he rushed into because-

“Congratulations! You’re our 100th customer this week! You get a complimentary hair spa and perm!” Five extremely eager faces stared back at him as he realized he had walked into some sort of hair salon.

Whoever was writing the script for this day was definitely high on something because Jungkook walked out of the salon 3 hours later, slightly traumatized, with a head full of small curls, clutching onto the cursed purchase with every fibre of his being.

Seokjin had left hours ago, dropping a text to Jungkook which read something along the lines of catch ya later sucker - but that was the least of his problems right now.

It was nearly midnight when he finally entered his apartment after managing to sneak in the new bra into your apartment. Thankfully, you lived two floors above him, so the trek back to his place wasn’t too long. The stress from the past couple of days was finally catching up to him and Jungkook would give anything for a nice long massage and a bowl of steaming hot ramen.

Unfortunately, all that he had at home was a few leftover containers Taehyung had left behind on his last visit a couple of days ago. There was also bread, eggs, and milk, but he didn’t feel up to making anything at this point. So dinner ended up being heated, two-day old dumplings.

Just as he was about to head to sleep, a loud pounding started on his front door. It was well past midnight at this point and Jungkook wondered if he should be carrying some sort of weapon with him while answering the door.

There really wasn’t any need for worry because on the other side of the door stood a very angry, very disgruntled, very flimsily dressed-

“Y/n?! What’re you doing here?”

“You!” Jungkook stepped back as you poked him in the chest. “What the heck is your problem?” Many more pokes followed, which Jungkook barely registered but which left your index finger increasingly bruised.

“I- uh, I guess you found the parcel I left for you.” He scratched the back of his head, looking everywhere but at you.

“I CANNOT believe you!” You were fuming and Jungkook was contemplating calling someone for backup. Maybe Namjoon? Or Yoongi? Mayb- “First, you ruin my favorite bra! What were you doing in my apartment anyway? Trying to steal more stuff from my emergency snack supply?! Why can’t you just buy your own s-”

You definitely had a point about the snack stealing. But Jungkook couldn’t stop himself from going over and taking something that would undoubtedly attract your attention, because the last time that had happened, you both had ended up making out aggressively against the wall.

“-and not just that!” You were clearly not done with being mad at him. “You go ahead and try to replace my favorite bra? With this???” You held up Jungkook’s purchase from earlier during the day.

“What’s wrong with this? It’s the same one, isn’t it? I went to the shop to make sure it was the same.” He didn’t really understand why this particular fact was making you so upset.

“You think this is the same?” You were standing very close to him and Jungkook gulped as he caught a whiff of your lavender body lotion.

“Yes?”

“You think my boobs are this small?? After the way you basically kneaded them with your hands last time??”

Jungkook’s eyes widened, his face growing hotter with every word you were speaking.

“Why the fuck do you look like that?” you muttered, crossing your arms over your chest.

“L-like what?” His voice came out sort of strangled as he tried to make sense of the situation.

“Like you’ve been caught eating the last cookie.”

Jungkook didn’t know how to respond to this. He was very aware of the fact that you were wearing a flimsy grey t-shirt and very old, very small, sleeping shorts. He gulped and wondered if this was some kind of dream that he’d suddenly wake up from.

“I’ve been waiting for you to make a move since you stuck your tongue down my throat last time. But nope! Nothing.” Now he knew that there was something wrong. This didn’t seem like the rational next line in a dialogue between real people who had just been in a, slightly one-sided, fight. “So, are you gonna kiss me or not?”

“W-what?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper at this point and you scoffed loudly before fisting your hands in his t-shirt and crashing your lips to his.

It took him a few seconds to get his bearings, but Jungkook was soon responding with impressive enthusiasm. His lips glided over yours with a desperation borne out of nearly two years of attraction and chemistry. He groaned in pleasure as your hands travelled into his hair, your fingers running through his freshly done curls. His hands travelled down your back before cupping your butt-cheeks and squeezing them until you moaned into his mouth. The feel of your body against his was enough to make him slowly lose his mind - but your tongue swiping into his mouth brought out a strangled noise from deep inside him. This was so much better than the first time you had both made out - there was more experience and knowledge of each other, and you seemed much more determined than the last time.

“Tell me what you want,” Jungkook’s voice came out huskier than you had ever heard, sending a surge of electricity to your core. “Tell me what makes you feel good, y/n.”

His voice was sultry and his body rock-hard at the perfect places - his breath falling in harsh pants as he recovered from the intensity of the kisses. But his eyes held the soft sincerity you had grown to lov-

“Against the wall,” you breathed, your face flushing as you verbalised your request. “And then on your bed.” You took one of his hands and placed it on your breast, firm with arousal, and guided his other hand to the waistband of your shorts.

A beautiful pink blush dusted his cheeks as he captured your lips once again. He had you against the wall in seconds, his lips leaving a trail of devastation from your lips to your throat to your breasts. You moaned loudly as you felt his fingers rub against your clothed core while his tongue flicked over your nipples at a deliciously slow pace.

“Gguk…” God he loved to hear that name coming from your lips. He loved it even more now that it was in the midst of him pleasuring you to the best of his ability.

“Bed. I can’t… stand...” You managed to say. He obliged, placing his hands below your knees and scooping you up with ease, all while his lips kept pressing soft kisses to yours.

Once on the bed, you removed your t-shirt and shorts, instructing him to do the same. Jungkook stared at your bare body for a moment, his eyes glazed with lust before he stripped himself of his clothes and continued kissing every part of your body he could find.

Your insides were coiling, the heat growing at your core as you watched Jungkook’s magnificent, completely naked, body move over yours. Your hands itched to run over his abs but your eyes were fixed on his throbbing dick, your core growing wetter by the moment.

“Can I?” Jungkook’s hoarse voice broke you out of your dilemma, his face hovering over your thighs. “Only if you want it, y/n.” You were pretty sure his soft, caring words would be enough for your undoing, but you nodded your head anyway.

The first swipe of his tongue against your core had you arching yourself off the mattress, your legs kicking up involuntarily. This was definitely where his gym prowess came in handy, as he held your thighs down with enough force for the feeling to be unbelievably pleasurable. Your hands found themselves in his curls once more, as his mouth alternated between dropping feather light kisses on your core and swiping along the wetness with a swipe of his tongue.

“I-I’m not…” You didn’t have to complete the sentence as stars exploded in your vision, the high hitting you with more force than you had ever experienced.

Something inside you tightened as you watched Jungkook emerge from between your thighs, his curls sweaty, and his mouth slick with your arousal. He smiled at you, dropping a light kiss on your lips, even as his dick stood red hot and angry with arousal.

“Can I help?” You asked, although your voice was hardly above a whisper, the tiredness seeping in, as you came down from the orgasm.

“Next time?” His voice was soft as he gave himself a few strong pumps before spilling onto his stomach.

He grinned at you sheepishly. “I’m also kind of exhausted today.” Getting up quickly, he went into the bathroom and cleaned himself off, before coming back with a wet towel for you as well.

You smiled shyly as you took the towel from him, wiping between your thighs quickly.

Jungkook was beside you in a few moments, cuddling you from behind as sleep slowly overtook you both.

“Jungkook!”

You cracked your eyes open slowly, wondering why someone was yelling at the crack of dawn. You were still pretty much wrapped up in Jungkook, both your legs entangled as your head rested on his chest while he snored softly.

“JUNGKOOK!”

A second, much louder, yell, woke Jungkook up as well. His eyes widening in alarm as he realised what was going on.

“It’s Tae! What’s he doing here?!” He whispered, his voice still thick with sleep.

“Umm what?” You were panicking now. As much as you had been wanting things with Jungkook to pick up, you did not want Taehyung to find you both wonderfully naked after a night of wonderfulness. “He cannot see us like this! Not yet! I refuse to let this be how everyone finds out about us!”

“Jungkook, I’m coming in!”

Jungkook quickly pushed you below the covers, fluffing it up sufficiently to hide the fact that you were under it. He barely managed to close his eyes before Taehyung walked in, much too sprightly for this early in the morning.

“Aww!” His deep voice sounded through the room. “Jungkookie, are you still sleeping?”

Much to his horror, Taehyung made his way over to the bed, his long fingers smooshing Jungkook’s cheeks together as the poor boy tried to feign sleep.

“Did you sleep late last night?”

“Mph.”

“Jungkookie’s still sleepy? Aww!” The cheek smooshing continued, and Jungkook wondered how much longer you could stay hidden without Taehyung’s perceptiveness deducing that you were there.

“Hmmmm.” Jungkook managed to grunt out, tossing over to trap you underneath him.

“Okay, go back to sleep.” With one last cheek smoosh, Taehyung got up and left the room.

“Thank god!” Jungkook whispered in relief, pulling the covers off your face.

“I’m so glad he didn’t figure out I was here,” you sighed in relief.

Jungkook grinned at you, his bunny teeth poking out adorably as he pulled you closer to him. You giggled, reaching up to place small kisses on each of his moles - there were 5 according to your last examination.

“The curls are cute,” you said between kisses, running your fingers through his hair. He sighed contentedly, resting his forehead on yours. If it were up to him, he’d stay here forever.

“Oh and y/n-” You both stiffened as you heard Taehyung’s voice from the living room. Apparently, he hadn’t left yet. “-thanks a lot! Seokjin now owes me 50 bucks!”

please reblog this post if you enjoyed reading the story! thank you 😊

#bts fic #bts bookclub #jungkook fic #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jungkook fluff #bts fluff #bts smut #namjoon #yoongi #jimin #taehyung #seokjin #hoseok #c me write bangtan #magicshopnet

497 notes · View notes

goldenclosetnetwork · 4 years

Text

23 | Jungkook’s Birthday Project [Masterlist]

In celebration of Jungkook’s birthday, GCN is hosting our very first project! In honor of our Golden Maknae turning 23, our project will be based on 23 Prompts and 23 AUs!

Thank you to everyone who joined us!! We hope you had loads of fun writing for JK’s bday!!

Official Post

⥼ Header & borders made by @mindays ♡

⤚ A Hero’s Journey by @hansolmates

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Jungkook and Jisoo are the mightiest power couple. However, one drunken confession and that whole facade fades in an instant. You realize that maybe you need to break from your unvaried life for a bit and be the hero of your own love story ⤜ genre: best friend’s boyfriend au, slice of life, angst, smut, graphic designer au, editor au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ EXPLORER by @1kook

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Jungkook does not want to impress the frankly tyrannical ways of his planet on you. He just wants to stay here and keep your couch warm for you, hold your hair back when you wash your face in the morning. ⤜ genre: fluff, smut, strangers to friends to lovers, alien au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Good Different by @prettyboongi

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: You and Jeon Jungkook have been best friends for as long as you could remember. Everyone knows you two as "The Gruesome Twosome" and you'd be so lost without your best guy. So imagine your shock when one day Jungkook suddenly confesses his true feelings for you and asks you to be his girlfriend! Surprised and anxious, you accept his feelings and agree to try out a relationship with Jungkook while wrestling your own conflicting feelings towards him. ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, friends 2 lovers au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Here Comes The Bride, All Dressed In Pride by @hansolmates

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: You and your cousin Doyeon have had beef with each other since the sandbox. When she plucks the last straw, you decide to end your long-simmering fight by claiming that you and her ex—Jeon Jungkook, are now boyfriend and girlfriend. ⤜ genre: fluff, crack, fake dating au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x reader

⤚ Into The Shadows by @mikroparadise

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Late nights at the office were never really your thing. But when the new guy Jeon Jungkook asks you to stay late to help him with a personal project one evening, despite you barely knowing him from Adam, you can’t bring yourself to say no to him. Your first coffee break of the night proves to be horrifying, however, when you accidentally witness an event that you should have never been there to see. And now, you and Jungkook have to run like your lives depend on it. Because they do. ⤜ genre: angst, smut, mafia au, s2l au, mafia au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x reader

⤚ i wanna do (whatever you wanna do) by @joopiterjoon

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Jungkook gets into trouble a lot, but that's okay because his three hyungs always forgive him. ⤜ genre: fluff, slice of life, mxm, poly au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x Rapline

⤚ Losing It by @yoonseoksoftie

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: there are many ways jungkook thought he’d lose his v-card. prom, at his debutant ball, at jin’s crazy house parties, during his first semester at college or maybe a one night stand. but never did he think it would be to you. ⤜ genre: fluff, smut, fuckgirl au, f22l au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x reader

⤚ Love Language by @ezralia-writes

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: “Relationships grow better when we understand each other. Each love language is important and expresses love in its own way. Learning the way we feel loved and appreciated helps create a stronger bond in a relationship.” ~ The Five Love Languages Perhaps the reason two best friends retained unrequited crushes for each other all these years is simply because neither of you could understand the different ways you express your undying affections for one another. ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, f2l (idiots 2 lovers) ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Personal Galaxy by @baepsaesbae

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: You and your boyfriend, Jungkook, go on a stargazing date to celebrate your anniversary. ⤜ genre: smut, fluff, established relationship au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Prince of Darkness by @suqakoo

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Your coven has protected the Prince of Darkness for centuries before you were even born. He was never supposed to wake without his mate, unless...she lives. ⤜ genre: smut, minor angst, romance, vampire au, witch au, soulmate au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Roseraie by @yeojaa

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: What you had - so brilliant and beautiful and bright it was almost impossible to look at head-on - was what was tearing you two apart. It was your love that would be your demise. ⤜ genre: angst, soulmate au, hanahaki au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ 神奇 (Shénqí) by @heyitsmeee2

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Lost in a magical forest is not what you expected. Neither was being stuck in a fairy village for the unforeseeable future. But you didn't mind it too much, especially when there was a sweet fairy willing to help you out. ⤜ genre: romance, fantasy au, fairy au, s2l-e2l-f2l au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (gender neutral) reader

⤚ Stupid Love by @daydreamindollie

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: you want to be honest with him but saying you love him would be stupid; he wouldn't know love if it slapped him across the face ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, superhero au, best friends 2 lovers ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Sugar Pink by @dewykth

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: maybe asking his brother's best friend to teach him about sex was a stupid, impulsive decision. but jungkook has never been one for good plans. besides, it's not like it could get any worse than this right? ⤜ genre: romance, angst, smut, brother's best friend au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x reader

⤚ The Most Lonely Creature by @astraljoon

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Playing with an old radio seemed silly, but you had nothing better to do. you didn't expect to come into contact with someone, or something, and they so happened to be on the other side of the cosmos. ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, smut, alien au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ There You Are by @joonkookiemonster

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Everyone around him found their mates already and he is very anxious about his. Out of all scenarios he had imagined, it didn't cross his mind that his omega comes into his house as the shy fried chicken delivery girl, under his big pet dog. ⤜ genre: fluff, smut, werewolf au, a/b/o au, alpha au, omega au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x reader

⤚ (Un)welcomed Addition by @honeyj00ns

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: After a drunken one night stand with your neighbor, you have your reasons for wanting to forget it ever happened and never talk to him again. Unfortunately, Jungkook wins the award for the world’s worst neighbor so his 3 am wakeup calls and mail stealing have you banging at his door on an almost weekly basis. You just want to make it to the end of your lease so you can leave all the traces of the fuckboy next door behind...unless your feelings get in the way of course. ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, neighbors 2 lovers au, fuckboy au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Wherever You Are by @suhdays

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: It’s not that he was afraid, he was just unsure of how to connect to those so unlike him. It’s not that he was never in love before, he just never loved anyone quite like he loves you. In all of the decades that has passed since his turning to a vampire, Jeongguk wanted nothing more than to be with you. ⤜ genre: fluff, slight angst, vampire au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Your Eyes Tell by @pars-ley

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: When your best friend’s a prince and inherits the throne, he needs to find a wife to rule alongside him as Queen, you’re more than happy to help him choose an eligible bachelorette. But what happens when you, who only wants to marry for love, are forced to be one of the participants? Jungkook already knows he wants to choose you. He’s loved you for years but could he do that to his best friend; force a marriage of convenience and a life of loyalty to the throne onto you, when he knows all you desire is love and romance? ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, royals au, arranged marriage au, unrequited love au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

⤚ Zero to Hero by @btsxdoll

⥼ read here ⥽

⤜ summary: Life hadn't been kind to Jungguk but that hadn't stopped him before, so why would it not? ⤜ genre: fluff, angst, romance, greek mythology au ⤜ pairing: Jungkook x (f) reader

#goldenclosetnet #gcn23 #project masterlist #masterlist

503 notes · View notes

def-initely-soul · 4 years

Text

house rules {1}

pairing: jimin x reader (f.)

genre: fluff; angst; roommates au; kinda new girl au; smut; f2l au

rating: explicit

warnings: sexual content; mention of emotional abuse; mention of manipulative relationship; mention of body issues; explicit smut

words: 26.3k

summary:

↠ {living with two guys has always its pros and cons. Pros being someone will always get you popcorn for your midnight cravings. Cons being you might like one of them…?} ↞

or alternatively, the shenanigans of five friends, where two of them are in a loving relationship, one is Kim Seokjin and the other two don’t know what the fuck they’re doing

The clock on the other side of the wall keeps ticking, each second driving you closer to madness over the insistent sound.

You click your pen open and closed. Open and closed. Open and closed.

And yet you still have no freaking clue on how to begin this godawful novel.

Godawful as in the mere effort it takes for it to come to life is starting to make you want to flick yourself off from a window.

Like, god, you’ve been staring at an empty piece of paper for almost two hours now, your coffee’s gone cold.

And yeah you write in paper. No laptop, no typewriter, just you, your pen and a currently empty piece of paper. It seems more direct, more intimate this way. Put you in front of a blank screen and your brain will surely follow it.

Although, today it doesn’t seem like you have much luck with paper either.

With a tired sigh, you rest your mighty pen on your desk, taking out your noise-cancelling earbuds and stand up from your chair.

You stretch out your limbs, your back already killing you from hunching over your desk for two hours now and you trudge over to the living room where the rest of your friends are having a movie night.

“Guys, the old crone decided to join us…” Hoseok comments from his side of the small couch as you drag your feet to your designated spot beside Jimin on the big couch.

“Quick, hide your popcorn, and hide your jelly beans!” Seokjin joins in on the mocking as Jimin scans through Netflix for a decent movie none of you has seen yet.

You know you’ll end up watching Dirty Dancing again because the chances of finding a movie none of you has seen yet are nearly non-existent.

“Ha, ha, your superior sense of humour is astounding…” you mumble as you sit cross-legged on the couch and Ana turns to you from her spot next to Hoseok.

“No luck with the novel still huh?” her eyes are looking at you sympathetically and you grumble a response, crossing your arms on your chest.

“Don’t worry, Y/N, it’ll come to you eventually,” Seokjin says, stretching his hand from his armchair to your right to nudge your knee and you let a deep breath infiltrate your lungs once he retracts it.

Jimin gives you a side glance before his eyes return to the screen. “Yeah, until she gets a different idea and the cycle repeats itself.”

“Hey!” you lightly punch your best friend in the ribs, earning a groan from him, “I just have to find a way to start this bloody thing and then it’ll turn out to be the greatest book in the century, you’ll see!” you defend your cause, eyes wide and challenging on Jimin who simply smiles at you with a winning smirk.

“That’s more like it…” he replies, the glint in his eyes your only hint giving away the intention behind his words and again you groan. Refusing to let the smile on your lips appear.

“I hate you when you do that…” you mumble, a small note of fondness only Jimin can distinguish, hiding in your voice as he finally picks his choice of a film with a smile hanging from his lips.

“Shh, the movie’s starting!” Ana interrupts everyone when -surprise surprise- Dirty Dancing starts playing. All of you have a certain liking towards the movie- I mean what’s not to like? Summer romance? Patrick Swayze with half-open shirts? Heated dancing? With Patrick Swayze?- but you can say for certain Ana takes the cake as a Dirty Dancing fan.

“How can you still be this much excited for this movie?” Hoseok comments from beside her and even though he sounds judgey there’s only lovesick fondness in his eyes when he looks at Ana.

Although when Ana turns to look at her boyfriend, she looks completely serious. “Keep this up and no sex for a month. We don’t condone this kind of behaviour in this house.”

You and Jimin try to suppress your giggles as Hoseok’s eyes widen in fear. “You can’t do that, what about you?!”

Ana simply smiles back with too much sweetness. “My hands aren’t just good for making you cum, babe.”

Disgusted protests come from the rest of the group as you’re sure you won’t ever be able to unhear this.

“Why, why did we have to hear that?” Jimin complains as Seokjin makes a gagging sound next to him.

Hoseok just smiles. “Oh, come on Jimin, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy tapping this hot piece of ass!” and another round of puking sounds emerges in the room.

Truth is Ana didn’t date Hoseok in the beginning. In reality, she got added to your group only after she started going out with Jimin in the second year of college. And even though she and Jimin didn’t work out in the end, she had already become an essential part of your group and they even remained great friends after the breakup.

Not long after that Hoseok asked her out. And you swear no couple ever made more sense than those two. Although you really hate when they get down and dirty in Hoseok’s room which is right next to yours.

You first started living with Hoseok and Jimin in the first year of college, five years ago. Jimin was a guy you barely knew from high school but he was the greatest of options you had when looking to share an apartment with someone. You didn’t want to live in a dorm but it wasn’t like your parents were rich or something, so there was no way for them to afford an apartment just for you. So looking for a roommate was the best solution.

Hoseok came a little bit afterwards. You and he shared a class and you became friends fairly quickly. So when he told you the situation at his dorm was unbearable, you couldn’t help but think of the empty bedroom in your apartment. And the rest is history.

Seokjin became a part of your group only months before Ana did. He and Jimin worked at the same part-time job as waiters in a local restaurant. And while Seokjin went forward to run his own restaurant and Jimin followed his passion as a dance instructor their friendship persevered. So it wasn’t long before he joined your group.

And it wasn’t long before you got this stupid crush on him.

Not that it matters anyway. He doesn’t know and you don’t plan on ever telling him to be honest. You know how easily things could go wrong and you’re fine with simply being his friend.

“Okay, babe, that’s enough for now…” Ana quiets down her boyfriend with a small kiss on his lips and finally pipes down to focus on Patrick Swayze’s biceps.

Your eyes rest on the screen as another exhausted sigh escapes you. This novel is your chance of having something of yours published. What if you can’t make it in time? What if it’s shit? What if you finally realize after all this time that being a writer was never what you were supposed to be and all those years believing that were in vain? What if-?

Your thoughts get interrupted when you feel a palm laying across your knee and squeezing it gently.

The fog in your head clears a bit when you find Jimin looking at you with a soft smile. One that tells you not to worry. Jimin could always read you like a book so it’s no surprise he could sense you spiralling.

And it’s not a surprise that with a single look he can calm down your racing thoughts.

He’s one of your closest friends after all.

“Hoseok you can’t keep using Ana’s departure as an excuse to not help with cleaning up!” you yell towards the couple saying goodbye at the front door, while Seokjin giggles as he dries out some of your plates.

“Shut up, you heathen, this is true love we’re talking about! Also, I can and I will!” your roommate yells back and you roll your eyes. On the other side of the room, Jimin picks up several empty beer cans as Ana kisses her boyfriend.

“Go on, babe, before they drive a stick through your ass,” she chuckles.

Hoseok pouts, the gesture almost etched to his features by now. “Oh, and you haven’t even done it that thing you wanted yet!”

“Again keep your weird sexual life out of this god-respected household,” Jimin comments and at once everyone turns to stare at him confused.

He stares back before, “Okay, yeah, I just heard it…” then he proceeds to take the trash out.

Ana chuckles before pressing another kiss on Hoseok’s lips. “Okay, I’m off. Bye guys!” to which you all respond with a chorus of “byes”.

Hoseok closes the door with a dreamy sigh before trekking over to the kitchen island to watch as you and Seokjin clean up. “Is it weird that I miss her already?”

Seokjin coos at the same time you react too. Although your reaction comes closer to a gagging sound and now both of them look at you like you just kicked a puppy.

You clear your throat, “oh, I- I meant… ''awww”...” you reply quickly, avoiding their stares to clean up the rest of the plates.

“Don’t mind her Hobi, she's just jealous,” Seokjin comments as he rests his towel on his shoulder.

At that, you scoff. You’re not jealous! You just hate corny things!

“Jealous? Pff. Who says they miss someone right after they leave? That’s just cheesy! I mean, yeah, you and Ana are perfect for each other, you’re cute together and you complete each other, and there’s intimacy and feelings and mutual respect…” your voice becomes sadder at the end and ultimately fades out, leaving you staring at the floor.

Where were you going with this?

The guys look at you with knowing glances and you groan out loud.

“Oh, shut your faces. I’m not jealous!” “Who’s not jealous?” Jimin asks once he’s back into the apartment.

“Y/N, of our relationship,” Hoseok’s quick to respond.

“Yours and mine?” Jimin queries.

Hoseok rolls his eyes but he responds in all seriousness “No, Ana’s and mine.”

Jimin just shrugs. “Makes more sense.”

Your eyes narrow and you scoff. “No, it doesn’t because I’m not jealous!”

Seokjin places his palm on your shoulder. “It’s okay, Y/N, I’m sure you’ll find someone someday to be grumpy with.”

You pick his hand and drop it off your shoulder. “Thanks, but I’m fine. Besides I got my novel to write, I don’t have time for a boyfriend.”

“Oh, I’d marry rich if I was expecting anything of that novel!” Hoseok comments with a laugh but everyone freezes, including you. Is that what he really thinks? That you’re not gonna make it?

All of you turn to look at him, but Hoseok remains oblivious of your stares for a few moments. But when he realizes you’re all looking at him, he looks confused.

“What?” he asks, visibly perplexed.

Jimin’s eyes widen, disbelief in his voice. “Dude!”

Hoseok shrugs though his eyes widen in almost fear. “It was a joke!” his voice is one pitch higher as slight traces of panic are evident in his words. When no one responds, he turns to you, desperation and honesty in his eyes. “Y/N, really, it was just a joke.”

You stare for a moment too long, before you nod, giving him a smile to spare him from his misery, deciding to not let such a simple comment affect you. “Yeah, yeah, I know, of course!”

“I didn’t mean any of that okay? It was a stupid joke!” Hoseok nearly screeches, regret in his words as he doesn’t seem at all convinced by your answer.

You force a laugh to calm him down.

“Hobi, I’m fine! Don’t worry too much,” you smile at him, patting him on the back and moving to put the plates Seokjin dried out to their respective cabinets.

He still doesn’t seem convinced and he’s ready to pester you some more before Seokjin intervenes, sensing you’re starting to feel uncomfortable with all the attention. “Anyways, Hoseok you said you wanted my opinion on something?”

Hoseok’s attention turns to Seokjin once he speaks up. “Ah yeah! Actually, my three-year anniversary with Ana is coming up and I’m all out of ideas,” he responds sheepishly as he rubs the base of his neck.

“Ehm, hello? I’m her best friend, why don’t you ask me?” you complain, putting your hands on your waist with one eyebrow cocked up.

“Y/N your most serious relationship lasted two months and it ended because you fought over which peanut butter spread is the best,” Hoseok raises an eyebrow at you as he and Seokjin walk over to the couch, trying to brainstorm ideas.

“I’m sorry but whoever thinks smooth is better than crunchy is simply not human,” the memory sends a shudder through you and you look at Jimin for confirmation and he’s quick to nod his head and agree.

“Oh, yeah, that relationship had no future after that,” he washes his hands at the sink as he looks over to Hoseok who simply giggles.

“Okay, yeah, I can give you that one. But you really have no idea of relationships, so I’m sorry but I’m not taking any suggestions,” he softens the blow with a flying kiss in your direction.

You scoff, indignant. “Rude. True but rude!” you admit as you finally place the last of the plates in its place. Hoseok and Seokjin are now deep in conversation, throwing one idea after the other and if he decides to go with any of these, you’re sure Ana will dump him before he gets the chance to utter “break up sex”.

Seeing as there’s nothing else left for you to do, you decide to head off to sleep, making a mental note to talk to Hoseok about his date ideas and salvage whatever you can.

“Okay, I’m going to bed, goodnight guys!” you wave them goodnight before turning to the hallway when Jimin comes towards you.

“I’ll walk with you,” he says, following you into the corridor.

You walk in silence, not that it’s weird or anything. You and Jimin have reached that point in a friendship where you don’t have to fill the silence to be comfortable around each other. You could be in the same room, doing completely different things, not talking at all, and still, you wouldn’t feel the need to fill the silence.

Once you reach both of your rooms, as they are right across from one another, you ready to say goodnight when Jimin interrupts you.

“Ah, wait…” he stops you just as you reach for your doorknob and you turn around. “What is it?”

He sighs before, “look, I know you know Hoseok didn’t mean any of that but I also know words tend to get into your head…” he begins, voice gentle and eyes cautious on you as you fidget on your spot uncomfortably.

“And I just want to say-”

“What?” you cut him off with a tired sigh, “everything will turn out okay? That suddenly I’m gonna be blessed with divine inspiration when I least expect it?” you give him a weak smile, crossing your hands on your chest.

What you don’t expect is Jimin to laugh. “No, no, all of that is just a pile of crap!” he chuckles and you can’t help but laugh along with him.

“I wanted to say that whatever goes through that little mind of yours shouldn’t keep you from writing. That’s what you do, you write! And, yeah, some of it may come out as complete bullshit, but that’s just how it has to go before you get better,” he says simply, voice filled to the brim with honesty and you rest your eyes at your feet, suddenly feeling very self-aware.

“Because I know you’re gonna get better. You just need a push,” he finally smiles softly at you, warmness spreading through your heart as if his smile is a portable heater, radiating warmth to the people closest to it.

“Thanks…” you mumble back, letting your eyes find him to truly express how thankful you are.

You aren’t good with expressing your feelings, not when it’s not on top of a piece of paper. Everyone knows this, Jimin even more so. You know you don’t have to say anything for him to understand how you truly feel.

And so he smiles back and nods as if to say “you’re welcome”.

And for a few moments, you stay like that. Both of you leaning on your doors, staring at each other as another silence fills the corridor.

But this one is different. Still comfortable but there’s something else hanging in the air. It’s the way you look at each other, basking in each other’s presence, comfortable and not ready to say goodnight yet.

It’s the way Jimin’s looking at you. Smile slightly fading as his eyes remain on your face, ever serious, ever intense as if they’re saying something his lips can’t, something you can’t quite understand, something that makes you feel-

Jimin breaks the stuffed silence with a shake of his head. “Anyways, um… goodnight, Y/N…” he says, voice thick with something and his words seem to revive you as well as he opens the door to quickly go into his room.

“Ah, yeah, goodnight, Jimin,” you reply casually before you enter your bedroom and close the door behind you.

That felt… weird.

As much as you try to put a name to what you felt out there, you can’t. The situation felt too foreign, too much for your drunk mind to comprehend.

You shake your head, passing it off to the many beers you had and without giving it much of another thought you go to sleep.

Although, three weeks pass after that talk and you still can’t get it out of your mind.

You figured you would’ve forgotten about it by now, blaming it on the amount of alcohol you had consumed that night but no. Those last few moments before you parted in the middle of your hallway still linger in the crevices of your mind, not unlike a bunch of vultures scavenging for prey.

Even now, at Seokjin’s birthday party, it’s all you can think about instead of paying attention to the birthday boy himself and the subject of your affections. If he even knew you weren’t focusing on him on his own birthday party he would flip.

Did Jimin want to say something to you? It seemed so but since then he’s made no indication as to show he wants to talk to you. It’s been three weeks and there was no other talk of that weird conversation outside your bedrooms. No sign that it ever happened. You wonder what was going through his mind at that time. You wonder what he’s thinking about it now, if he even thinks about it still like you.

“Earth to Y/N! Hello?” a floating hand breaks your inner monologue, Ana looking at you with scrunched eyebrows and a glare to match. The two of you are currently alone amidst the crowd of partygoers as Ana dragged you aside to excitedly tell you about the amazing anniversary Hoseok had planned for them, last Saturday. You guess you lost focus somewhere in the middle.

“What?” your voice gets defensive and Ana’s glare seems more intimidating as seconds pass by.

“You stopped listening!” she slaps you lightly on the arm and a yelp comes out of your lips as a form of protest.

“I didn’t!” you try to defend your guilty self as you rub the afflicted spot.

“Yeah, no, I thought so at first “Y/N would never just stop listening” so I started casually throwing Seokjin’s name into the conversation, that always worked like a charm to get you to focus, but you still didn’t listen!” she retaliates and you shrink back in shame.

“Sorry…” you mumble in all honesty, biting your lip in embarrassment. “But I heard the most important parts!” you perk up, “And the whole concert then cooking at home date idea was really insightful and cute! And full disclosure, if I hadn’t interfered and let Hoseok listen to Seokjin, you would’ve ended up at a screening of cats!” you shake your finger at her and she giggles out loud.

“Although I gotta admit, Hoseok cleaned up really well on its own…” you smile at her and she nods with a dreamy sigh before taking a sip of her drink.

“Oh, and you have to thank me for stopping Hoseok from using his “free Hoseok love” coupon as a gift.”

Ana’s eyes widen in grave seriousness. “Oh, he did use that…”

You wince at that. “Oh god, I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t fret too much about it, he also bought me that cute pair of boots I wanted!” she pats you on the back before she bites her lip as a child that’s about to get scolded, “~and… I also kind of enjoyed it…” she says with a wink and you roll your eyes at your friend.

“The leather ones that were really expensive?” she had rumbled over the course of a week about how she fell in love with those boots but their relationship would’ve never worked (in simpler words she couldn’t afford them).

She nods at you. “Marry him,” you respond with urgency and Ana laughs at you.

But as her giggles die down her face turns solemn once more.

“Are you okay though? It’s not like you to not pay attention, even more so when it’s about Seokjin…” she says with a chuckle at the end, yet her eyes remain cautious and you sigh.

“Yeah, it’s just that Jimin-”

“Y/N, wait… I’m sorry but you do realise that I was talking about Seokjin, right?” her stare is a bit weirded out, “and that we’re currently at his birthday party and you choose to hang out with me instead of talking to him?” she skillfully observes, making you feel uncomfortable at how her words trigger something you haven’t acknowledged before and you’re certainly not ready to do so now.

You shrug. “I guess I don’t know what to say…” you choose to say instead, hoping it’s enough of an excuse to get out of this conversation.

“What do you mean? You never had a problem with that before…” she counters, genuinely confused at your bizarre behaviour and you press your lips in a tight line as you shrug once more, not really knowing how to address that.

At your hesitation to breach the subject, something seems to click in Ana’s mind and she sighs in realization.

“Can I tell you what I think without you getting all grumpy and defensive?” she asks, eyes careful and hands in the air as if to pacify you. You shrug again, albeit a bit curious about what she has to say.

“I don’t think you really like Seokjin- ah, ah! Let me finish!” she shushes you when you begin protesting, “I mean not anymore, it was pretty obvious you were crazy into him when I first met you but now…” she takes a breath, eyes looking at you wearily as she prepares for the finishing blow, “now I think you cling into the idea of liking him because it’s comfortable. Because it’s easier to fall back into the safety net of liking someone and not doing anything about it than making yourself deal with the fear and uncertainty that comes with meeting someone new.”

Your cheeks flush as you stare at her, feeling vulnerable as if someone cut you open and went through your most inner thoughts, even when you feel like there’s something else that neither you nor she hasn’t been able to pinpoint.

Ana’s observation finally put what you’ve been feeling for a while into words. You haven’t realized it but the more you think about it, the more sense it makes.

And yet you still stubbornly act like it’s not the case at all.

“I… I’m not afraid to meet new people…” your protest is as weak as your voice and Ana looks at you unimpressed and thoroughly unconvinced.

“Really? Then you’ll have no problem talking to Seokjin’s friend from high school,” she points at the tall, blond hunk with the glasses and the cute dimples currently chatting with Seokjin.

“Namjoon?! Are you nuts?! He’s way out of my league!” you screech in panic. Namjoon is a sight to be held and in your opinion, people should pay to see him up close. Would that be considered a fucked up way of prostitution? You’re not sure.

Ana rolls her eyes. “First of all, “leagues” aren’t a thing and second of all, you’re totally scared boo!” she says plainly with a victorious grin and you flinch instinctively.

“I’m not! I just don’t have time for a relationship!” you say, still trying to get out of this conversation even though Ana doesn’t seem at all deterred.

“No one talked about a relationship, you baboon, it could be just sex. But, out of simple curiosity, how long has it been since you had sex? Seven, eight months?” she retaliates, in all ways but physical backing you up into a corner.

You groan, hiding your flaming face behind your hands.

“This is the perfect opportunity to hook up with someone and never having to talk to them again for the rest of your life. No strings attached, no awkward first dates, no phone calls. Just one night of drunken sex to get you to relax a bit and who knows? Maybe it’ll help you get your inspiration back,” she concludes with a tilt of her head. And the more you think about it, the more you realize she’s right about everything. About Seokjin, about using him as a distraction, about needing to relax and this being the perfect opportunity for it. It’s been a while since you’ve felt any sort of attraction for Seokjin. No excitement or accelerated heartbeat, no sweaty hands, no unbearable giddiness when he decides to throw a visit.

You guess somewhere along the way those feelings faded out, giving place to the love and comfort that comes out of a years-long friendship. You’re not attracted to him anymore.

And Ana’s suggestion does seem kind of appealing. You suppose some sex would help you get rid of all the nerves that come with writing a book.

And Namjoon is kinda hot. Okay, scratch “kinda”, “unbearably hot” is more fitting.

You just worry if he’ll able to surpass the last time you had sex. For some reason, you’re almost convinced he won’t.

“Okay, you’re right, I’ll do it,” at that Ana squeals and claps her hands happily.

“But I have to talk to Seokjin first,” you continue, resulting in a confused expression masking Ana’s face.

“What? Why?”

You shrug. “I spent those four years crushing on him, I feel like I need some kind of closure,” you chuckle and Ana stares at you dumbfounded before she shakes her head.

“Fine, do what you have to, but don’t take too long! Namjoon is like a walking modelling billboard, most of the people in this party have their eyes on him. Boy, if I wasn’t dating Hoseok would we be doing things right now…” she reveals as she stares at the man in question while biting her lip and you stare at her disapprovingly.

“What? I said if,” she says as if abdicating all blame and you shake your head at her with a laugh. Hoseok wouldn’t mind and to be honest they’d probably be talking about how to convince Namjoon for a threesome.

“Okay, I’m going, wish me luck,” you announce as you begin making your way towards Seokjin.

“What you need is alcohol, not luck,” Ana yells at you as she goes to find her boyfriend and you give her one last smile before turning your attention to the birthday boy.

Only now realizing what you’re about to do and, great, your hands are trembling. Maybe you did need some alcohol.

But it’s too late to make a run for it when Seokjin spots you and a smile graces his lips.

“Y/N! Come over here! You know Namjoon right?” he rushes to include you into the conversation, eyes wide with hidden meaning as he nudges you towards Namjoon and the man with the dimples smiles at you.

“Ah, yeah, we’ve met before. How are you?” you smile back at him and the longer he smiles, the deeper his dimples become and the more adorable he is.

“Can’t complain. How about you?” he chuckles, the sound almost illegal, as he pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Oh, right, he also has a deep and mellifluous voice. How is this man not famous for something?

“Pretty well I’d say. Um, do you mind if I steal the birthday boy for a bit? There’s something I need to talk to him about…” your hand is already dragging a confused Seokjin away, even if you’d rather be doing that to the other boy.

Namjoon blinks at you, as perplexed as Seokjin before “Ah, yeah, sure…”

“Thanks!” you yell over the music, although you’re sure the man mustn’t have heard you as you’re already making your way down the corridor towards the back of Seokjin’s apartment.

“Ugh, Y/N? What’s going on?” Seokjin’s voice is beyond weirded out as you finally reach his bedroom, that’s off-limits for the party. You push him in and close the door behind you.

“Sorry, I just needed some privacy for what I’m about to do…” you admit with shaking hands as Seokjin’s eyes widen in fear and confusion.

You take a breath before fixing your posture and stare bravely at the man in front of you. “This may come as a shock to you but I…” you take one final breath, “I used to like you-” you begin, dreading the moment Seokjin decides this is too odd for him.

“I know.”

Seokjin’s voice takes you by surprise as your mind processes the words that just left his mouth, a different kind of dread overwhelming you.

He knows?

“What? What do you mean you know?” your voice comes out offended, as Seokjin puts down his drink with a sigh and turns to look at you.

“I mean I know. You weren’t exactly subtle with the stares and all…” he comments calmly although your mouth falls open to join your feet at the ground at the absurdity of the situation.

He knows. All this time, he knew?!

“Well, why didn’t you say something?” you throw the words at him accusingly and he rolls his eyes.

“I didn’t want to embarrass you! I figured since you hadn’t said anything that you didn’t want to act on it so I never said anything either!” he defends himself, voice high-pitched in true Seokjin fashion.

“Oh my god, that’s so embarras- Wait,” you cut yourself when his words strike you as odd and another thought makes itself known in your mind. “You mean that if I had said something…?” you look at him weirdly and Seokjin sighs, eyes already confirming your suspicions.

“I might… not have said no to a date…” he admits, scratching his ears and your mouth drops open.

You could have dated the Kim Seokjin and you didn’t because you were too scared to make a move?

Wow, your past-self would be seriously pissed at you.

Seokjin rushed to explain. “But that was back then when I didn’t know you that well!”

You gasp at the offence, crossing your arms on your chest. “You mean now that you do know me, I'm not that dateable, Kim Seokjin?!”

He groans, rubbing a palm over his face. “I just meant that back then I was willing to risk our friendship because we weren’t that close in the first place! But now we’ve been friends for almost half a decade and even though you are extremely dateable” he says with a roll of his eyes but you’re still satisfied, “I just can’t see you in that way. And even if I did I wouldn’t be willing to risk our friendship over something like that,” he concludes with a sigh.

“Oh,” you reply simply, satisfied with his answer before you continue.

“Well, that’s good actually, because I just wanted to tell you that whatever those feelings were… they’re gone now. So I just… wanted to come clean I guess…” you admit softly, finally feeling like a weight has been lifted off your chest.

“So, we’re okay?” Seokjin asks with hope and you smile, lightly punching his arm. You find yourself relieved after Seokjin’s confession and you know you’ll be fine.

“We’re okay,” you nod and Seokjin smiles back.

“That punch was lame,” he retorts and you gasp. “Do you want me to punch you for real, you masochist?”

His smile widens. “No, you freak of nature, I want a hug!”

Immediately, you begin protesting. “No, no, no, no, no. No hugs, you know this!” you begin moving away from him as he comes closer with a predatory grin. You absolutely hate hugs. They’re unnecessary long and intimate, you never know where to put your hands and you always end up having someone’s hair in your mouth.

Seokjin pouts as he nearly chases you into the hallway. “Come on, I just found out I’m not your crush anymore! Do you know how much of a hit is that to my ego!?” he says, standing in front of you, effectively blocking your way to freedom.

You sigh, already regretting, the words you’re about to say but seeing no other way out.

“Fine, but you have to promise me to not tell anyone! I have a reputation to upkeep!” you yield, shaking a threatening finger at him but his grin only grows bigger.

“Deal!” he squeals, eager to grasp this rare chance of affection from you, seeing as he has tried numerous times to get a hug from you but being unsuccessful. Till now that is.

His hands wrap around you in a soul and bone-crushing hug as your arms end up being squished between your bodies. You try to control the smile on your lips as you struggle to break your arms free and wrap them around his impossibly wide shoulders. Actually, this doesn’t feel so bad. It feels like being enveloped in a giant, fuzzy blanket. If that blanket had an unquenchable thirst for strawberry shortcakes.

A few moments pass before you begin to pull back. “Okay, you giant carebear, that’s enough,” you giggle as Seokjin retracts his hands.

“Now, wasn’t that refreshing?”

“If I let you know, I’ll have to kill you,” you mumble fixing your clothes and Seokjin’s trademark laugh echoes throughout the corridor, making your smile grow.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he throws you a cheeky wink.

You shake your head at him with a laugh before another thought crosses your mind and you bite your lip. “So… about Namjoon…”

Seokjin’s mind instantly follows your train of thought but he lets out a surprising -to say the least- groan. “Seriously?”

You find his reaction a bit too odd for your liking. “Why?”

“Uhm, you dragged me away to my bedroom at my own birthday party. He probably thinks we jumping uglies right now,” he fixes you with a disappointed stare. Fuck, you didn’t think of that.

You grunt in frustration. “Great, now what?”

Seokjin’s eyes glint when he comes up with yet another brilliant idea. “If we split we’ll find him faster!” he exclaims enthusiastically and your eyes widen.

“Genius thinking!” you declare before you sprint down the hallway, the both of you looking for Namjoon.

You would think it would be easy finding Namjoon in an apartment as small as Seokjin’s. But it’s not. It’s anything but.

When you finally do find him after almost 40 minutes looking for his perfect ass, it’s with his mouth stuck against another person’s neck so any hopes for a one-night-stand are going down the drain. So instead you resort to drinking the rest of Seokjin’s sparkling rosé collection until you have to pee your weight in alcohol.

You abandon the living room where the party is still going strong, in search of the holy grail that is Seokjin’s bathroom right now, hoping you get to relieve your misery.

But as you approach the door, you fail to register the voices coming from inside. Maybe then you wouldn’t have to live through the impending embarrassment.

Instead, you bust the door open in your haste to pee, but all of that goes to shit once you see Jimin inside the bathroom. Or, more precisely, Jimin’s mouth sucking on the pulse of some blonde’s girl neck -who feels oddly familiar- like he’s a fucking vampire.

Your eyes widen, meeting with fear Jimin’s livid ones before “OhmygodImsorrypretendthisneverhappened!” you yell in one breath, anxious to get out of there as fast as possible and before Jimin gets the chance to curse at you, you close the door and disappear down the hallway.

Ugh, oh my god, why are you so awkward?

You rub your hands on your face as you walk down the corridor, wondering where you’re supposed to pee now. Couldn’t they bone at Seokjin’s room?

Though, among your thoughts emerges one particular one that makes you stop dead in your tracks as you finally realize why that girl seemed familiar.

She wasn’t just some random girl. No, she was a very specific blonde girl, one that happens to be the pure personification of evil on the face of the earth, one that you’re sure hides horns beneath that perfect hair.

Jimin’s ex, the girl who manipulated and abused him repeatedly, the girl who broke up with him nearly a year ago to be with someone else, after he caught her cheating. The girl who broke his heart.

Dinah.

Fuck.

You remember the first time you met Dinah, although she hadn’t left any particular impression on you. She was a high school friend of Taehyung, with whom Seokjin shared some classes with and were kinda close. It was your fourth year in college when Taehyung was still hanging with you guys before he found a job opportunity overseas and left. Now he texts every now and then or visits even more rarely.

Seokjin’s birthday party is one of those rare visits, hence why Dinah was also present last night.

The first time you met her, almost two years ago, was in a scheduled study group in one of the local cafes. It was you, Seokjin, Jimin, Taehyung, Hoseok and Dinah, most of the guys, studying to prepare for their last year through college and Ana couldn’t make it so honestly, you were relieved you had another girl to go through together the boys’ antics.

Although if Ana was there, she would’ve probably spent all of her time being coupley with Hoseok and that kinda defeats the purpose.

Dinah was studying for a math exam and Jimin had offered to help her since she wasn’t very good at it. You didn’t think much of it, mind already going haywire over your new novel idea so you didn’t really pay much attention to anyone.

It had been when Jimin left for the bathroom when you saw her scrolling through her phone that you decided to help her with a problem even Jimin couldn’t quite get.

Only her reaction was a tad bit different then what you’d expected. She had interrupted you even before you got to tell her you wanted to help, with a kinda sharp tone saying she didn’t need your help. You had backed off then, kinda bummed out about it but you could already tell she was into Jimin and wanted his help specifically.

But as you had turned to pay attention back to your novel, your gaze couldn’t help but fall on her open notebook. And there it was, in a hidden corner of the page in messy scribblings the solution to the problem. Her handwriting.

You didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t your cup of tea to hide your intellect to raise the ego of the boy you were into and besides feeling a bit sad for her, you didn’t do anything else. Who were you to judge?

It wasn’t until the two of them started going out that you started feeling some sort of dislike towards her. And not just you, the rest of the group as well.

It was obvious to everyone how shitty she treated Jimin. At first, of course, there were no signs as if to warn you of Dinah's manipulative nature, they were still in the lovey-dovey, honeymoon phase. But as time passed, Dinah’s facade began to crumble. Jimin’s interaction with the opposite sex were limited due to Dinah’s extreme jealousy, which meant you and Ana barely got to be around him, let alone talk to him. Her snide comments and judgey behaviour made him feel inadequate over everything. How he got her the wrong gift, how the movie he chose was stupid, how the restaurant he picked was disgusting, and the list goes on and on.

At first, Jimin tried to talk to her about those things, certain she would understand what she was doing once he’d brought it up. But when you’re in love it’s easier to ignore all the red flags. It’s easier to blame yourself for everything when you can see no fault in the person you’re in love with.

Soon the relationship turned toxic. Dinah became similar to a parasite, sucking the life and happiness out of Jimin, as he fell prey to her every whim. Making him even more insecure in himself when she knew he already had some issues he was trying to work on. But that didn’t deter her. Instead, it gave her leverage, to use all the ugly, little things Jimin thought of himself against him.

At some point, it had gotten so bad Jimin refused to eat.

It was then that all of you tried to intervene.

Unsuccessfully that is.

It had gotten pretty ugly in the span of a few minutes with how angry you and Hoseok were at Dinah and at Jimin’s unwavering loyalty to her. Soon it had become a yelling match between the three of you as Seokjin and Ana had tried to bring some sense to all of you. In retrospect, none of you handled the delicate situation well.

In the end, Jimin had stormed out of the apartment, furious at all four of you, to go to Dinah or to the only one that got him as he had put it.

Only to find her in bed with someone else.

He had come home hours later, stinking of alcohol, telling you what had happened through red eyes, tear-stained cheeks and hiccups.

You had put him to sleep and the next morning Dinah was breaking up with him over the phone.

The next few months were awful. But he survived them. He survived and realised he deserved better, not this hell Dinah made him go through. That wasn’t love.

After all of you encouraged him to talk to someone about everything, Jimin went to a therapist and he came out stronger. Sure, some of the issues were still there but so were the rest of you. He knew you’d be there for him if he ever needed you.

That’s why you’re so pissed this morning.

Ana and Hoseok look at you like you’re a ticking bomb about to explode at any minute from the other side of the kitchen island as you munch on your cereal and send death glares at Dinah, currently sitting on Jimin’s lap on the dining table.

If only “death glare” was a bit more literal.

You can’t understand Jimin. He was supposed to be over this. Doesn’t he remember what she did to him, how miserable he was?

“I haven’t seen you staring so long at something since that time you tried to microwave popcorn with your mind,” Ana’s hushed whispers reach you as not to alert the couple and Hoseok almost sputters out his milk.

“Did it work, though?” Hoseok’s eyes stare at her expectantly and you roll your eyes.

“Not gonna dignify that with a response,” is her cryptic answer.

“Seriously, am I the only one who’s pissed over this?” you say through gritted teeth, the happy couple wholly oblivious to your little conversation. Ana and Hoseok seem too calm, given you have a fucking demon at your dining table.

Ana sighs. “We are too, Y/N, but let’s face it, what can we do about it?”

You look at her in disbelief. “Talk to him?!”

“Yeah, and look at how that worked out last time…”

“They broke up.”

“After he caught her cheating…” her words are slow as if talking to a child, “and it wasn’t even him who initiated the break-up! If Jimin wants to be with her we just have to accept it and be there for him if something happens again,” she concludes, taking a sip of her coffee and you can’t believe your ears. She can’t be serious.

“Hoseok, what’s your say in this?” you ask, rather loudly might you add, so you steal a glance making sure Jimin hasn’t heard.

Hoseok shrugs in answer to your question. “We all know she was the devil incarnate. But maybe she changed. Let’s give her a chance.”

Your mouth hangs open when your last possible ally walks over to enemy territory. “Give her a chance? She’s not Andrew Garfield in the Amazing Spiderman!”

Ana’s expression gives away her utter bafflement. “I have so many questions…”

You shrug. “Everyone hates him but I think he was a great Spiderman.”

Hoseok’s incredulous stare doesn’t last for long. “Anyways, all I’m saying is Jimin went through a lot…”

“So he should know better!” you retort.

Hoseok doesn’t seem amused, “So there must be something that changed his mind! He’s a big boy, he can take care of himself. If he gave her a second chance, so should we.”

Ana nods at her boyfriend’s words and they both return their eyes on you, waiting for confirmation of your part that you’re gonna be nice.

You regard them with an ominous glare, “Traitors…” you mumble before you groan. “Fine. But I’m gonna be watching her every move. Like an owl!”

“I’m fairly positive it’s supposed to be “like a hawk”...?” a confused pout takes over Hoseok’s lips.

Ana chuckles, “It is “like a hawk”.”

Your confusion is evident. “Really? But owls are nocturnal animals, therefore have better eyesight!”

Ana rolls her eyes at you, tired of all the bird talk. “Even so! Please promise you’ll behave!”

You take a deep breath when a shrill laugh echoes throughout the apartment and you can already feel yourself fuming.

“I promise.”

After the two “lovebirds” have left your apartment for an impromptu date, which the declaration of had you nearly barfing on sight, you crawled back into your room, in search of inspiration, daring to take another shot at your mostly unfinished novel.

You gather your hair up in a messy bun, glasses on top of your nose, iced coffee next to your papers, preparations all ready to freely embark on the raging seas of creativity.

If writing a novel was that easy.

After writing another three chapters, well after the sun has settled in the horizon and your eyes are barely keeping themselves open, a knock thrums against your door. But before you get to reply, the door creaks open and Ana pops up behind it, walking in with observing eyes and a bag of cheddar-flavoured chips.

“Why do you even bother knocking?” you sigh, taking off your glasses to rub your exhausted eyes.

“The knock is a warning, not a request for entry,” she plops on your bed with a smile, crossing her legs on your duvet and pats the space next to her.

It’s not uncommon to have Ana spending the entire day here, after all, she is one of your closest friends, an elementary part of your group and Hoseok’s girlfriend.

You get up from your desk, limbs aching for the various positions your body has been in the midst of writing, and with a tired smile you sit down next to her.

“No luck with the book still?” she asks, passing you the chips and you hum appreciatively, your tongue already tasting the divine taste of those chips.

“Well, I’ve written some stuff… just not any particularly good stuff,” you munch through the snack with a grubbled noise of satisfaction and Ana nods in understanding at your words, “and honestly that whole “Dinah” thing is infuriatingly distracting! I’m still pissed and I can’t even stop thinking about it.”

“Wait…” Ana interrupts you and if her face says anything is that she just came to a sudden realization. One she doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy.

“Are you sure this isn’t because of…?” her words hang in the air as she regards you with careful eyes, waiting for you to grasp the meaning between her words.

Though you’re none the wiser. “Because of…?” your utter obliviousness is infuriating and Ana groans, rubbing her palms on her face, pinning you with a ridiculous look.

Right then, it’s as if a moment of clarity strikes you and you finally understand what she means.

Your eyes widen in horror.

“What? Ew, no! Why would you even think that?!” you immediately protest, entirely disgusted by the mere notion of what Ana is implying.

She doesn’t seem at all bothered by your extreme reaction. “I’m just saying, it happened!”

“Yeah, eight months ago!” she can’t be serious. There’s no way she actually believes that.

She cocks an eyebrow. “It was also the last time you had sex.”

You let an exhale drop from your lips, as you take a trip down memory lane, all the way back to eight months ago.

It was April, four months or so after Dinah had broken up with Jimin, leaving him a complete wreckage in her absence. It became a group activity, trying to get Jimin back on his feet. Making sure he ate, taking him outside for some fresh air, helping him get out of his funk.

One night, you took him out for drinks in a bar close to home, to help him get over her through alcohol and hopefully some meaningless sex with a stranger. And Although both of those things happened, it wasn’t a stranger lending him a helping hand that night. Or a helping mouth if you want to be accurate.

You had woken up the next morning in his bed due to the unsettling feeling of dread curling in the pit of your stomach. What the hell were you thinking? What if this changed everything? You were best friends and roommates, what now?

But when Jimin woke up, everything seemed to be back to normal. You were relieved things didn’t become weird, his words immediately putting a rest to your worries over your possibly ruined friendship, joking lightly about the whole thing and how the others might react to the whole incident. It wasn’t a big deal because you never let it become one. It was but one night of mindless sex, one that left you both satiated and you could both agree it meant nothing. Jimin just needed some rebound sex and you… well, it had been a while. And you had needs.

Although you did get a lot of teasing from the rest of the group for the next few weeks. That wasn’t anything fond to remember, especially when you were still thinking you were into Seokjin and he had a large part in said teasing.

But that was in the past. You never felt anything for Jimin in the first place.

“It’s not that, okay? She’s just an awful person and I don’t want to even think about the consequences of her doing Jimin dirty again,” your calm voice and demeanour finally convince Ana as she lets out a relieved breath.

“Okay, good. Got scared there for a second, things could get really messy,” she admits with a small smile.

“You don’t have to worry about that. If anything that’s the least of your worries right now,” you say munching on some more chips as you eye the clock on your wall.

Ana looks at you perplexed. “What do you mean?”

You press your lips together. “Hoseok is alone in his room right?”

Ana looks even more baffled now, not sure where you’re going with this. “Yeah…?”

You press your lips in a tight line. “It’s 10 o’clock…” you relay, a sense of urgency in your voice.

Ana’s eyes widen. Hoseok’s latest obsession is watching Glee reruns on TV, which wouldn’t be that bad if he didn’t insist on singing every episode’s songs for the remainder of the week.

‘You can still stop him if you run…” you offer and Ana is immediately off your bed.

“Hoseok put down the remote!” she yells, running out of your room, down into the living room as you giggle and munch on the chips she left behind.

Your mind travels back to Ana’s worries about your feelings but you laugh them off.

You and Jimin? The entire idea is utterly ridiculous. He’s your best friend, you could never look at him that way.

Although, you too can admit he can be a sexy piece of ass when he wants to.

With a sigh, you throw the empty bag of chips on the floor and get under your covers, your mind too tired out to continue writing.

You just hope this thing with Dinah is only temporary. How long can a fling last when you already know the bad side of your lover?

When another week passes and they’re still going strong with no prospects of a breakup anywhere on the horizon, you realize it can be long.

Very long.

You wake up each day to giggles, picking thrown out clothes off the couch, listening to their yucky canoodling as they insist on making out on every surface of the apartment like a bunch of delinquents. While the rest of you are still present!

You swear if you hear another one of her obnoxious laughs you’re gonna drive a glass dildo through your ear canals to stop yourself from hearing altogether.

“I can’t take this anymooooore…” Hoseok whines quietly as you, he and Seokjin are crammed in the two-seat couch, while the lovebirds currently occupy the entirety of the big sofa.

It’s not that there’s no space for you to sit there as well. More like their insistent snogging effectively grosses the rest of you away.

“Me neither, but what can we do?” Seokjin whispers back while shuffling on the sofa, trying to find a more comfortable position and instead, managing to elbow both you and Hoseok in the process as an episode of Brooklyn 99 plays on the TV.

At the other side of the coffee table, Ana smiles triumphantly at you as she crosses her legs on top of the only armchair in the room. She was faster than the rest of you, that mean son of a bitch.

Hoseok squints at her with hatred before leaning in to whisper. “Is it wrong that I’m turned on by how mean she looks?”

Both yours and Seokjin’s protests of disgust are immediate.

“Lower the tent you perv,” Seokjin makes a face.

“Too late, this tent is the sturdiest thing ever built. I mean it’s so strong, so efficient, this stick is never gonna go down-”

“Okay, we have to do something or else I’m gonna finally kill Hoseok. After all those years of putting up with his weird sexual energy… this is gonna be the last straw,” your serious eyes turn to Seokjin to stress out the gravity of the situation.

Hoseok giggles mischievously and Seokjin sighs almost like he’s on auto-pilot. “Okay, okay, what do you propose?”

Hoseok pulls a face. “Really? That’s what convinces you? I’m hurt and as your friend of nearly four years I won’t stand for this kind of dishonour of my name!”

You both stare at Hoseok for a minute, no reaction whatsoever.

“Okay, I have a plan,” you ignore Hoseok in favour of turning to Seokjin and Hoseok groans, mumbling a grumpy “fake friends”.

“For the last time, Y/N, I refuse to be involved in your -honestly frightening- lust for murder,” Seokjin gives you the stink eye.

You gasp, offended. “I never said anything about murder!” you exclaim and Seokjin’s shoulders drop, looking somewhat remorseful.

You bite your lip though, knowing full well he’s not gonna like this suggestion either. “I just said we could sedate her and put her in Jimin's room.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes, entirely disappointed but not surprised. “No.”

“Why? It’s a win-win situation! We don’t get to hear her and the couch is free!” you protest but Seokjin’s eyebrow raises.

“How’s that a win-win situation?”

“It’s a win-win situation for us! None of the wins is for her,” you shrug before Seokjin flicks you in the forehead and you yelp in pain.

The sound somehow alerts the couple and they both stop kissing to look over to the three of you weirdly. You and the boys immediately stop talking, trying to look as inconspicuous as ever. Which only makes you look even more suspicious.

“You guys okay there?” Jimin asks, voice questioning and wary.

All three of you smile at the same time, which honestly gives you a creepy “Stepford Wives” vibe, and you speak up when an idea pops into your head.

“Yeah, it’s just that this couch is kinda um… small for the three of us. But we’re fine!” you feel Seokjin staring at you wildly and you discreetly nudge him to play along.

Jimin’s face falls. “Oh, I didn’t realize! Some of you can come sit here.”

“Oh, no!” Seokjin waves his hands dismissively, “You guys seem really cosy there, we don’t want to ruin that!” he says, finally following your line of thought and you nod quickly as if to agree with him.

“Ah…” Jimin replies, voice soft and a second passes where his face hardens. But then it’s gone and he taps his finger on his chin as he thinks it through before-, “Well, you three can sit here and we can sit on the smaller couch if you’d like.”

The three of you are already standing up, ignoring the pout and slightly sharp glare Dinah is giving you.

Suck it up, demoness.

“Well, if you’re sure-”

“We’d really appreciate it-”

“Aren’t you two the sweetest-”

Jimin smiles at you, probably already knowing what’s going on and yet he says nothing, urging Dinah to stand up and follow him on the smaller sofa.

You and the boys fall to the bigger sofa with moans of appreciation, finally free to spread out your limbs without touching each other.

“Oh, yeah… that’s the stuff…” you moan as your arms lie limblessly to your side, not touching Hoseok’s or Seokjin’s for just a few centimetres but even those little centimetres of distance come as a blessing.

Ana chuckles at your antics and Seokjin sends her a glare.

“You don’t have laughing-at-the-rest-of-us rights, anymore, Brutus!” he shakes a finger at her but Ana’s smile doesn’t deteriorate.

“I’d let that Brutus impale me with her blade anytime…” Hoseok adds unnecessarily and you groan.

Jimin takes a pause for having his soul sucked from his mouth from the dementor next to him, to look mildly curious. “How would that even work?” he asks and Dinah looks less than thrilled to not have his whole attention anymore, making you feel somewhat in the mood to gloat.

Ana rushes to explain. “Well, you see it can happen when you have purchased a specific type of-”

Seokjin immediately shuts Ana with his palm over her mouth. “Did you have to ask?!”

Jimin giggles. “I just wanted to know!”

“Yeah, and I wanted to not be traumatized by that image at 8 o’clock on a Thursday night but here we are!” Seokjin interjects and an involuntary laugh escapes your lips before Hoseok joins you.

And then Ana and Jimin do too before Seokjin relents as well at the sound of your laughter and you all end up cackling like maniacs in the middle of your living room.

Well, all except one.

Dinah sighs a little too loud when your giggles don’t seem to die down and she slowly gets off the couch. Her sullen face, an indication she visualised this whole evening to play out a little differently.

“I think I’m gonna head home…” She addresses Jimin and he stands up too.

“Oh, no, so soon?” your sarcasm can’t be helped. Hoseok elbows you in the ribs in return and you just barely conceal your groan.

“Why? Stay a little while longer…” Jimin pouts at her, that one specific pout that makes him seem like a kicked puppy, therefore makes him irresistible to refuse. You purse your lips as you guide your attention to the latest adventures of Jake Peralta but your treacherous ears can’t help but follow the rest of the conversation.

“I can’t. I have to be at the office early tomorrow…” she sounds remorseful as her hands rest on Jimin’s chest. But as said before you’re definitely not looking at them, so you can only guess.

“I’m sure those kids can wait a little- You know what, I felt bad for saying that, so forget I ever did,” Jimin says quickly as he circles his hands around her waist. Again you guess.

Ah, yeah, you forgot to mention. Dinah is a damn paediatrician. How could a person as evil as herself be something in such close proximity to children will forever escape you.

She smiles at him before- “Buut… you can come over instead if you’d like…” she says in a low voice and your eyes widen. You drag them away before Jimin’s surprised ones find you.

He can’t do that! Well, obviously, he can but Jimin wouldn’t do that to you-.

“Actually I promised Y/N we’d watch Space Jam tonight…” he tells her somewhat apologetically but still you feel relieved. Watching Space Jam is kind of a tradition between the two of you. It was a favourite movie of both, a feel-good movie if you will and long ago you’d promised each other that when things got rough for one or the other and you needed a little pick-me-up, you’d watch the movie together. You didn’t have to say anything else, just ask if the other one wanted to see the movie. And whatever the two of you had planned instead didn’t matter, you were always there when the other needed you.

You asked him this time. Your novel wasn’t going that well and some serious doubts over your writing skills had plagued your mind. You needed a getaway. And you weren’t about to let her get that away from you.

“Oh… okay…” she responds, face crestfallen and sad eyes looking at her feet and you almost scowl. She’s doing this on purpose! She knows it’s a tradition between the two of you and by acting like this she hopes Jimin will bail out on you.

Well, joke’s on her, because that won’t work on-.

“But, I’m sure Y/N won’t mind if we do that some other time!”

You freeze. Did he just-? No, Jimin wouldn’t. But the smile on his lips, so hopeful, says otherwise.

You can feel everyone staring at you, waiting for an answer. Do they seriously expect you to be fine with this?! Jimin knows how much this means to you, what it exactly means about your state of mind right now! Is he seriously about to blow you off?!

Ana is staring at you with alarm, sensing you’re about to explode, warning you against it. She knows it’ll just hurt Jimin and you know that too, but what about you?

You ignore her stare, opening your mouth to give a piece of your mind when you meet Jimin’s eyes.

There’s no sign of ulterior motives in their familiar brown, just expectation as your best friend waits for the answer. You forget what you wanted to say and you just stare back. Why is it so damn difficult to say no to him?

A few seconds pass and Jimin, having sensed your hesitation, opens his mouth with a sigh. “Nevermind, we can just-”

“It’s fine! You can go!” you exclaim surprising everyone including yourself. Jimin turns to look at you flabbergasted but you just smile at him. You don’t know what drove you to do that. You just couldn’t bear to hear the disappointment in his voice while knowing you’re the one causing it.

“Are you sure…?” his voice is cautious, not wanting to go if it means it’ll get you even a little bit uncomfortable. Sweet Jimin, always thinking about others’ feelings. You smile again to spare his feelings, disregarding completely your own.

“Yeah, go ahead,” you reply and the sweetest smile takes over his lips, making all of this seem worth it.

“Great! Thank you!” he says, rushing to press a quick kiss to your forehead, taking you by surprise before turning to Dinah, “Just lemme grab some stuff,” he disappears down the hall into his room.

He reappears a few minutes later with a small bag over his shoulders, the smile still present on his lips.

“Ready to go?” Dinah asks as Jimin gives her a peck on the cheek and nods.

“See you tomorrow, guys. Y/N, again thank you,” he waves at all of you and flashes you a smile. You smile back, waving as well as he exits the apartment first.

Dinah though stops before walking out the door and then she turns to you with a grateful smile.

“Y/N, thanks for that, I knew he wasn’t gonna come if you weren’t okay with it. And I’m sorry for stealing him away. Have a good night,” she addresses you before moving to exit the apartment.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome…” you reply and as soon as the door closes behind her you continue, “...you little bitch!” you move wildly to get out of the couch after her at that blatant display of her having Jimin wrapped around her little finger, while Hoseok and Seokjin are immediately trying to hold you back.

She did that on purpose! She knew what that movie represented, she just wanted to spite you! You don’t care how sincere she looked, she did that on purpose!

“Hey, hey, calm down, they’re gone!” Ana steps in front of you to calm you down and slowly your breaths even out. Your tired limbs fall lifelessly on the couch, not anymore resisting Hoseok’s and Seokjin’s hold.

Once you’ve calmed down, all of them stare at you cautiously. You hate that. You hate the pity in their eyes, you hate how they know exactly how much this hurts you, you hate feeling like you need their help.

You hate feeling vulnerable.

“I’m fine,” you snap, shaking their arms off, even if your own still have a slight tremble and you stand up.

They exchange stares and you press your lips together as you stare at the ceiling. Taking a deliberately slow breath to control your trembling.

“I’m going to bed,” you announce, your tone final, not waiting to hear their responses before you leave the living room for the safety of your own room.

None of them makes an attempt to follow you and you’re grateful for that at least.

You stomp into your room, closing the door loudly before grabbing your laptop and sit on your bed with a huff.

You don’t need Jimin to watch Space Jam and feel good afterwards! It’s the movie that makes you feel okay, not the person you’re watching it with. That’s what you try to convince yourself as you search for the movie on Netflix.

But as you sit there fuming through the first few minutes of the film, you can’t concentrate. You feel pushed aside as if you don’t matter, from none other than your best friend.

You press pause and with a sigh, you push the laptop aside. Tonight wasn’t supposed to go like this. You were supposed to watch your favourite movie with your best friend, to make jokes and laugh with Bugs Bunny, to feel better for once in the entirety of the last month. To feel comforted and safe in the presence of your best friend instead of moping miserably on top of your bed and feeling worse than before.

Instead, you grab your phone from your nightstand, scrolling through media in a poor attempt to distract yourself.

That’s how you spend your Thursday night and before you realize it you fall asleep with your phone still on your hands.

“Y/N. Y/N, wake up…” a soft voice brings you back from your slumber and you sleepily open your eyes to see Jimin hunched over you with a small, tender smile.

“What… What time is it?” you mumble, rubbing at your eyes and Jimin’s smile widens ever so slightly.

“It’s twelve past one. Come on get up, you’ll be dying in the morning if you sleep like this…” he responds quietly, urging you to abandon your current sleeping position for one that is more comfortable under the warmth of your covers. You’ve been curled up like a cat next to your laptop that’s still paused on Space Jam.

Jimin’s careful eyes flee to the screen, only for a second before they return to you, ever so gentle.

“Oh, okay then…” you mumble kinda dumbly in your sleep-infused haze and Jimin looks at you expectantly for a moment too long before he pushes you further across the mattress, to leave what you belatedly realize is more space for him.

“Scout over…” he whines, voice still quiet and you look at him perplexed. Why does he wanna sleep here, he has his own bed.

“Why?” you ask, purely confused and not at all hurt by the previous incident as Jimin expected but nonetheless his smile saddens before he stares shyly at your duvet.

“I was thinking, perhaps, we could still see the movie if you’re not too tired…” he mumbles, eyes wide effectively nailing the “puppy stare” he’s infamous for and naturally you find resolve crumbling. The previous anger is long gone when you stare at him so you smile back as you move aside and draw the covers for him to get under.

“Get here, you rascal,” you whisper back and his smile matches yours when he obeys and climbs in, dragging the laptop forward to restart the movie.

The both of you get comfortable against your headboard, Jimin’s arm hanging loosely around your shoulders as you watch Michael Jordan get sucked down a golf hole to the Looney Tune’s world.

The truth is you’re extremely tired and you most probably will fall asleep during the movie but you don’t mind sitting next to Jimin as the movie plays in the background and you bask in his warmth. Because at last, you feel the raging sea of your thoughts subside. Your mind is once again calm and serene, all your worries thrown aside in the favor of this one moment that makes you feel content.

Ana’s warning faintly echoes through your head but the words are not enough to dampen your mood or make you spend a little more of your focus on them, even though Jimin’s arms feel safe. Feel like home.

A small smile stretches your lips. Even when you feel your eyes heavy with sleep, you still snuggle closer to your best friend.

{Jimin’s POV}

He’s a terrible, terrible friend.

The thought repeats inside the crevices of Jimin’s mind like mockery as he drives. His fingers tap against the leather of the steering wheel impatiently, matching his haywire of thoughts in a weird kind of fucked up way.

He shouldn’t have left. He shouldn’t have made the subtle request in the first place. He knew you needed him, how could he not? It was stupid and selfish of him to leave you behind when you needed him.

But when Dinah gave him a distraction, a way to keep himself occupied… that’s what he wanted. Right? A distraction from everything, something to keep his mind off of things, to keep him from making any mistakes.

But even as he was lying on Dinah’s couch he couldn’t stop thinking about you. About how he left you behind in a time he knew was difficult for you just so he can finally breathe freely, focus on something else other than-.

Dinah was good at that. Making him forget.

But as awful of a friend he was, he’s apparently an even worse boyfriend.

When his thoughts got too much to handle, too much for him to ignore and pretend he didn’t feel any remorse for abandoning you, he left Dinah’s with an excuse. It was a stupid one, he knew, she knew but still, she let him go. Because, as much as she made Jimin go through before, she changed. Jimin could recognize that in the way she acted, the way she talked, even the way she kissed him. That’s why he gave her a second chance in the first place.

And then he goes and probably ruins it by being the worst boyfriend. A stupid decision really.

He parks his car in front of their building and he locks with a sigh.

It’s late, too late for you to still be awake. And if you are awake at such an hour, it’ll probably be because you’re writing and you most likely won’t want to be disturbed.

But Jimin can’t help it. His guilt is killing him, eating him up from the inside so he has to at least check.

When he softly taps on your door and gets no reply, he pushes it open.

He finds you fast asleep, curled up on top of your covers, phone still on your hands and laptop still open next to your form.

He smiles softly at the image before he approaches you quietly, taking the phone from your hands to place on your nightstand before he wakes you up.

“Y/N. Y/N, wake up…” he whispers softly, unable to keep the smile away from his lips at your adorable sleeping form. Waking you up is a necessary evil; otherwise, the next morning will consist of your sore muscles and your grumpy behaviour in all its glory.

“What… What time is it?” you ask quite drowsily and Jimin is relieved to see no sign of hurt in your voice. Nothing that exposes any malice or grudge hold against him.

“It’s twelve past one. Come on, get up, you’ll be dying in the morning if you sleep like that…” Jimin pushes you softly to move under the covers when his eyes find the screen of your laptop.

Paused in the first few minutes of Space Jam.

His chest constricts uncomfortably and he moves his eyes away in shame. The pain in his chest can only feel like a blade has impaled him with all the implications of how much of an awful friend he is. God, great job, Jimin.

But as you move over your mattress and under the covers, completely serene and calm, Jimin decides to make it up to you.

Towards the end of the movie Jimin realizes you’ve fallen asleep.

You’ve been quiet for a while now but it isn’t until he turns to point something out that he realises your eyes are closed.

You’re breathing slowly, snuggled up next to him, face pressed into the pillow as your chest rises and falls ever so gently.

His lips stretch into a smile, pushing a stray hair out of your face. He picks up the duvet to properly cover you and the movement makes you shift closer to him, to press your face on his side as if searching for him even in your sleep.

His smile widens. And then it falls.

God, he wants to-.

He stops the thought before it emerges.

His movements are deliberately slow and as quiet as they can be as he gets out of bed. He closes your laptop, leaving it on top of your desk before he walks to the door.

He stops then. He turns to take one last look at you and then he leaves.

{Y/N’s POV}

Next morning you wake up feeling fully rested.

You rub the sleepiness off your eyes before sitting up, hands landing on your soft covers, toes on the cold floor and you wiggle them back to life as you stretch your back with an appreciative moan.

You check your phone for the time, shocked when you find it’s too early for anyone to be awake on a Friday morning and you contemplate diving back into the haven of your covers. But the truth is you don't feel sleepy anymore and you were never the person to loll around in bed either.

So with one last yawn, you put on your slippers and make way to your kitchen. Since you’re the first one up, you could cook breakfast for the boys, reminding them of how much of a good roommate you are and riding them with guilt about the fact both of them haven’t bought any popcorn this last week.

Oh, maybe eggs and bacon? They’d love that! And plus, the tastier the recipe, the more prominent the guilt. You’ll have popcorn to spare for the rest of the year.

But as you make the turn for the kitchen, someone else is already banging pots and whisks in their attempt to concoct a delicious breakfast.

Jimin’s humming some song, whisking some batter as a pan rests on top of the stove, eggs already crackling on top of the boiling oil and the smell fills your nostrils as you get closer.

Dammit, no free popcorn for you. But at least you won’t have to cook.

“God, that smells amazing…” you comment as you take a seat on the kitchen island and Jimin turns around, eyes wide in reaction to the sudden noise but quickly smirks once it realizes it’s just you.

“Morning to you too,” he chuckles with a roll of his eyes as the whisk never stops moving in his hands. He quickly looks back on the stove when the crackling gets louder and he puts aside the batter with a curse to inspect the eggs.

“Want some help?” you can’t help the soft smile on your face, surprisingly ready to step up and aid his ministrations despite feeling relieved earlier of not having to cook.

He blows a stray hair out of his eyes before he relents. “Please.”

With a giggle, you abandon your spot to help the poor man as Jimin finally finds some time to drink some water. “Where do you want me, chief?” you ask with your hands on your waist.

Jimin chokes on his water, coughing uncontrollably and worry fills you as you’re quick to pat him on the back.

“Hey, easy with the water bud!” you joke and once his coughing stops he gives you a weak smile.

“Got it. Um, you could whisk the batter as I fry the bacon. It needs some more stirring…” he turns to take the done eggs out of the pan, face red from the coughing fit and you mumble a quick confirmation before taking a hold of the whisk.

The kitchen is then filled with the sounds of your whisking and the crackling of the oil in the pan, as Jimin continues humming that unfamiliar song. You gather your hair up in a ponytail to get them out of the way as you continue whisking next to Jimin. It’s been a long time since the two of you have been like this; cooking together, spending time next to one another and still feel close even when you say nothing. The comfortable silence stretches around you as sun rays lighten up the space, hitting at all the right spots to illuminate the two of you.

Your eyes move on their own accord, fleeting to Jimin’s concentrated face as he adds another bacon strip. His brown eyes are focused on the task ahead, eyebrows scrunching whenever a particularly loud crackling sound emerges and your lips move into shaping an involuntarily smile. The sun streams run through his hair, flecks of dust floating in the air around him, almost like a halo, bathing him in an almost ethereal glow. As if you’re his lover and he makes you breakfast after spending the night together, tangled between the sheets.

Your mind short-circuits and you blink when the thought catches up with your reason.

What the fuck was that?

At that moment Jimin leans almost too close to your face, as he ducks to avoid some oil spitting out of the pan.

Your eyes widen at the close proximity and you suck in a breath, realising your mistake as soon as his natural scent infiltrates your lungs.

God, he smells so good. It reminds you of the fresh scent of rain and flowers and something so obviously him.

Jimin leans away immediately and you almost lean forward.

Y/N, what the fuck?

His smile is blinding. “Sorry…” he says before taking out the bacon strips, and you shake your head to get the weird thoughts out of your mind.

“It’s fine…” you mutter, returning your eyes to the batter.

Suddenly very aware of Jimin next to you.

After you’re done with cooking and putting some aside for Hoseok when he wakes up, the two of you sit down on the kitchen island to finally eat.

“So how did you sleep, Y/N?” Jimin’s voice is coloured with a teasing timbre as he regards you with wiggling eyebrows.

You groan out loud. You remember falling asleep during the movie very clearly and he’s never gonna let you live that down. But you’ll be damned if you let yourself go down without a fight. Or at least bringing him down with you.

“It happened once! Plus I wasn’t the one ditching my best friend to go get laid!” you tease him back, although a bit of your bitterness over last night’s debacle slips through your words, the jab at him a little more serious than you intended at first.

Although your pettiness quickly ebbs away once Jimin’s smile falls and he looks at his plate with a downtrodden face. You suddenly regret saying anything, realising how much of a jerk you’ve been to bring it up when you already decided it wasn’t worth to keep a grudge over. You don’t want to be the reason he looks like this.

“I was just joking, Jimin, I’m not really mad,” you rush to comfort him, placing a tentative hand on top of his palm.

You feel at ease when you don’t feel him pull back. Though a grim sigh rolls off his lips.

“Maybe you aren’t, but that does not make the way I acted last night okay…” he admits, voice low as he rubs the base of his neck with his other hand. He bites his lip in thought and your eyes stick there for a moment before you shake your head back into reasoning.

Thankfully Jimin doesn’t seem to catch up on that. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I was a terrible friend. I knew you needed me and I decided to leave. Please forgive me?” he begs with a pleading smile and damn it, it’s difficult to refuse anything to these eyes.

You sigh dramatically, tapping a finger on your chin as you pretend to ponder on it. “Say I do forgive you. How do you plan on replenishing those hours of agony I was forced to spend due to your absence?” you say with a mock-strict voice and Jimin smiles, already knowing you forgave him.

“I’ll do anything you want. Consider me your personal Genie,” he jokes, jutting his chin out and puffing up his chest.

“Does that mean I get three wishes and a spectacular musical number?”

He’s quick to glare at you. “Let’s not stretch this too much, okay?”

You chuckle when an idea pops into your mind. Oh, he’s gonna hate this, perfect.

The smirk that graces your lips can’t mean anything good, Jimin realises with a sigh.

“How about a little competition…?”

Jimin’s eyes widen in fear. “You don’t mean-?”

“A Just Dance Competition!” you announce loudly, grin threatening to split your lips as Jimin stares at you with a fond smile.

“Oh, god, I should’ve expected that…” he chuckles, the sound resigning as he shakes his head.

In your first years of college, competing on Just Dance choreographies was almost an everyday thing. You and Jimin would give your best dancing moves and Hoseok would judge. Although after many times cheating and being overly competitive to the point of threatening the poor judge, you decided to leave the activity behind.

“Come on, just this once…” you hold up one finger and bring out your best puppy stare to sway him. Jimin just stares at you with crossed hands on his chest.

“You said anything…” your voice visibly loses its excitement as your face turns a bit crest-fallen.

He doesn’t last for long.

“Fine. We can do this, I guess…” he relents.

“Yes!” you do a little victory dance at Jimin’s answer.

“But just this once! And no one else can see but Hoseok!” he protests, shaking a finger scarily at you and you groan but agree nonetheless.

“Okay! It’ll just be the three of us. Partners in crime!” you declare, enthusiasm ruling over your body, standing proudly with your hands on your hips.

Jimin shakes his head. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m your friend…”

You stick your tongue out to him. “Because you looove me,” you sing-song, pecking him on the cheek, with a loud smack.

Jimin’s frame remains still for a moment. Staring at you as you climb out of your stool to wake up Hoseok and share the news before he reaches out.

“Wait…” his hand grasps your arm, halting your steps as you turn around to him with a questioning look.

He takes a deep breath before a smile befalls his lips. “I just… I never got to thank you.”

You stare back, confused, trying to think of what he wants to thank you for, but as time passes and you come by with nothing, you get more and more perplexed.

“About what?” you sit down again, kinda curious of what is so important to him that he wants to thank you.

His smile is grateful. “You know, for being so considerate with this whole situation. I mean, we all know Dinah… And I appreciate you being so cool about it,” he says calmly, thankfully as he takes your empty plates to put them on the sink.

His words send a fresh wave of guilt through you and you bite your lip. You need to tell him the truth.

“Actually about that…” you turn to look at him, trailing off and unsure of how to tell him you actually, kinda, sorta hate his girlfriend with a burning passion.

“Yeah?” Jimin’s unaware eyes and sweet smile meet your shameful and guilty ones. He looks so oblivious and so happy. You can see he likes her, you can see he wants to make this work and even you can admit Dinah’s behaviour has changed. Maybe this is it for them. Maybe all that shit had to happen so the second time around they’d know better of each other and themselves.

Maybe they were meant to make it work from the beginning.

A lump gets stuck in your throat.

“... Of course,” you smile through the sickening feeling in your chest, one you choose to ignore, despite its magnitude, “I’ll always be there to support you no matter what.”

Jimin’s smile turns wider, radiant and you feel like it swallows you.

Like it’s the only thing you see.

It’s the next evening that you put on your dancing gear and get ready to beat Jimin’s ass.

Saturday is one of the few really free days you have. Jimin has no classes scheduled to teach today, Hoseok’s radio show isn’t scheduled for Saturdays and you’re just a writer with time to spare.

True to your words, you haven’t said anything to the other two friends of your group, keeping this little event strictly between the residents of this house. Although to be fair, there was another reason for the missed invite.

It’s not the first time during those two days that Ana’s words came to haunt you. To nag at your mind, making you wonder if there’s any truth to the accusations. Those accompanied with your behaviour around Jimin yesterday can only spell trouble for you and your dynamics.

No, there’s no way you feel anything else for Jimin besides cordial friendship. Ana just messed with your head, putting all those silly ideas in it to confuse you, hence why you can’t stop thinking about him naked.

Oops, did you say naked? You meant “in all those domestic scenarios where he’s your lover”.

You sigh. That doesn’t sound any better.

Okay, focus. You don’t like him. There’s no way.

Making your way into the living room, you find your roommates already in the area. Hoseok searches for Just Dance videos on youtube while Jimin stretches on the floor, leaning forward to touch his toes while granting you a perfect view of his plumpy behind.

God, what did I just say?!

You shake your head. That doesn’t count! You can still be attracted to someone and regard them only as a friend. Right?

Bottom line is you don’t like Jimin.

“Are we ready gentlemen?” you shot them a confident smile, already pumped up for this.

Jimin regards you with self-assurance colouring his features. “Ready for you to eat my dust? You bet I am,” he boasts, a sly smirk gracing his lips and you snort out loud.

“We’ll see about that…” is your collected comeback, not really worried about the outcome of this competition. You know you’re about to serve him his ass on a platter.

“Your trash talk sucks dick. Thank god I’m not the judge of that, both of you would be slammed to the ground right now…” Hoseok retorts with impassiveness as he puts a video on queue.

“You’re not here to roast us, you’re here to judge buttercup, so shut your hole and judge,” you bite back, the rush of the impending competition already getting you lightheaded, as you stare Hoseok down.

His eyebrow twitches in return. “Do you want me to change the song?” he challenges you.

At that, you and Jimin turn around immediately to see Twice’s Feel Special tutorial staring back at you from the screen and you realise that no. You don't.

“You’re fucking kidding me…” is Jimin’s less than excited response at having to dance the one song you’re a thousand times better than him.

This is gonna be a piece of cake.

“No, I’m done! You clearly cannot appreciate my natural charisma, which is simply a blasphemy! A blasphemy, I tell you! People would beg to be judged by me, you degenerates!” Hoseok bursts out of the couch, the dancing tutorial still echoing softly in the background.

“No, Hoseok, please! We promise we’ll be good!” you beg with not as much as a tiny speck of sympathy for your deteriorating dignity.

Jimin scoffs, crossing his hands on his chest. “We? I had no part in this disrespectful disruption and that should be duly noted!” he rushes to save face. Truth is you’ve gone a bit too far.

“Y/N, you threw your phone at me!” a sheepish smile takes over your lips as Hoseok’s eyes marvel at your completely nonchalant behaviour.

“I didn’t… throw my phone at you per se....” you struggle to find an excuse, “I… threw it to you!” you explain with a giggle once your words make somewhat sense.

“What?” Hoseok’s furrowed eyebrows are a clear indication he’s not buying your shit.

“I threw it to you, not at you! So you could... film us! And naturally, the competition would be fairer!” you say in explanation, making your story on the way though it seems none of your roommates believe you.

You suppose that’s fair.

“I would’ve believed you if you hadn’t screamed straight to my face, -and I quote-, “What do you know of judging you freaking cocksucker?”,” Jimin lets out a snort, one he’s quick to hide behind his lips once your ominous glare finds him.

“Well, that leaves us with no judge and we’re currently at a tie, so what will we do?”

Hoseok simply shrugs before heading off to the corridor. “Not my problem anymore, compadre!” he beams at you before disappearing into his room.

Another heavy sigh tumbles from your lips as the song in the background changes into a softer ballad and you turn around to Jimin.

“Well, I guess this was for nothing then…” you huff out but Jimin simply smiles.

“No, I don’t think so…” he responds cryptically and before you can question him about it, his hand grabs yours.

“Come on, let’s dance…” he mutters quietly as he drags you forward closer to him.

Your breath hitches as your palms rest on his chest, heart suddenly beating wildly out of rhythm. You try to chase away Ana’s suggestion, blaming these feelings only on the fact that he’s hot. That’s all. Nothing more.

“But it’s a ballad. It has no tutorial…” you sputter, panic lingering in your words in a futile attempt to get rid of that unexplainable warmth enveloping you as Jimin’s hands end up encasing you.

“So we’ll slow dance…” is his simple answer, clearly not at all as affected as you.

You don’t know why that drives something ugly through your chest.

There’s nothing else you can say to get out of this without making it weird, so you simply let him guide you.

It’s easy to fall into a routine, slowly swaying to the beat of the music as you rest your chin on Jimin’s shoulder. You let your hands find their way to Jimin’s back, sliding upwards to rest on his shoulder blades as his own spread comfortable warmth to the small of your back.

It’s easy to pretend like this. Easier to close your eyes and let the beat slowly fill your ears, as you bask in the safeness of Jimin’s embrace. Like it’s nothing but another normal Sunday night, and not a favour to you because he left you to go hang out with Dinah.

Dinah. The name brings a pang of dull ache in your sternum.

There’s a small lump in your throat that you swallow away.

You’re just worried for him.

A small voice wonders when you’ll grow tired of this.

Jimin’s audible sigh brings you back to reality. You lean back to find him staring at you. His eyes bore into yours and you can’t look away.

There’s something in them, something unreadable but it makes your cheeks scorch with the attention. Though you’re unable to avert your gaze from them. They remind you of that night, outside of your doors, when you were sure he was about to say something but ultimately choose not to.

Again, you wonder what that was. If he’s about to say it now.

But his lips remain pierced shut.

When the silence gets overwhelming you decide to break it.

You clear your throat. “So, uhm, have you done your christmas shopping yet?” you mumble, eyes zerowing on your feet that step side by side to Jimin’s.

His eyes still seek your own. “No, not yet…” he replies casually, hands soft upon your waist. “What about you?” he asks and you’re glad for the more than welcome distraction.

“Oh, yeah, I’m done with mine. Just haven’t figured what to get for Seokjin yet… You know how he gets about presents…” you mumble with a smile before you accidentally step on Jimin’s foot.

He hisses and your eyes widen as you rush to apologize.

“Shit, I’m sorry, maybe we should stop…”

Jimin shakes his head, “No, it’s fine…” he says, though his voice is a bit stiff and his eyes avert your own.

Nonetheless, he doesn’t stop dancing with you.

Again, there’s silence between you, only the sound of the song wafting through the living room. But this time it feels as if something else is floating through the air. Something tense.

You’re quick to fill the silence with a question that’s not easy to ask but it’s the only thing you can think of.

“So… you and Dinah, huh?” you just barely cover your shaky voice.

Jimin’s eyes find yours again. “Oh, uhm, yeah… I mean who would’ve thought, right?” he says with a surprised chuckle, “I mean after everything you’d think I would’ve stayed clear of her…” he says bewildered and an uneasy chuckle escapes you.

“Well, yeah, to be completely honest, we all were caught off guard…” you dare to say, remembering seeing him and Dinah in Seokjin’s bathroom that night. Only now thinking of his lips on her skin makes your stomach clench uncomfortably.

Jimin chuckles in response. “Yeah, I know. And I’m glad you are this civilized about it. I admit it wasn’t supposed to go this far, she was just there when I wasn’t okay and needed a distraction. She was familiar and comfortable. But then we ended up talking and… she’s really changed, Y/N. She kept apologizing for everything and I couldn’t help but think about how it would be if we tried again. I mean everyone deserves a second chance, right?” he concludes with such clarity and insight.

There’s a part of you that wants to say he’s stupid and naive for believing her. But the truth is he’s right. Everyone sane can see she has indeed changed and it reflects on their relationship as well. Jimin returns from their dates feeling happy and content.

You don’t know why that feels like a punch in the gut.

Your lips tug into a forced smile. “Right… wait, why weren’t you okay?” you ask, finally realizing you have no recollection of that. If he had been feeling less than okay at Seokjin's party, you can’t recall.

Jimin laughs your worries off, even though the nervousness in his features is obvious. “It was nothing. I just… saw something I shouldn’t have…” is his evasive answer. His eyes find yours again and they don’t dare to avoid you. Neither do you.

There’s something tense between you, something unspoken. You don’t think you can take any more of this without going mad.

But Jimin’s gaze doesn’t deter. It remains on you, as his hands tighten on your waist. The traitorous fluttering of your heart progresses and you mask your trembling inhale just barely. And suddenly an unexpected yearning blooms inside your lungs. One that’s swallowing you whole, threatening to take hold of your reasoning, threatening to push you forward and-.

Another Just dance tutorial comes into the screen and causes you both to jump in surprise and break apart.

Warmth spreads through your cheeks as you realize what you were about to do.

You were about to lean in.

Jimin clears his throat, eyes searching for his phone and he checks the time. “Oh, shit, I promised Dinah I’d go over there after we’re done…” he mumbles and you can’t help the slight sting that grows in your chest.

“Oh, yeah, go ahead…” you wind up saying, “I mean there’s no one to judge so technically there’s no competition anymore…” you try to get rid of the uneasiness with a chuckle.

Jimin looks at you with a carefree smile as if nothing happened. And you don’t know what hurts more, Jimin’s nonchalance about it or that nothing actually happened.

“Great, then I’m off. Bye, see you tomorrow!” he says, grabbing his phone and keys before stepping out of the apartment.

You stand there in the middle of the living room, eyes stuck on the closed front door. Knowing he went to find her and your chest constricts painfully.

You place your palm to steady your beating heart but it does not work. Not at all. Not when you keep wondering, wishing it was you in her place.

With terror, you realize you’re in deep shit.

You avoid Jimin as much as you can after that. December progresses, people flooding the streets to either buy presents, meet up with loved ones or visit the Christmas market at the centre, spreading love and warmth through an otherwise cold period.

Sadly that liberated flux of emotion cannot penetrate your tough walls of “perpetual desolation”, as you had once drunkenly described, and paired with the newly-realized feelings for Jimin, it renders you a real-life Scrooge.

That’s how Wednesday finds you with Ana and Seokjin, holed up in a cosy, little coffee house while trying to plan out this year’s New Year’s party.

It’s been a tradition of some sorts for you and your friends to host a New Year’s party at Ana’s apartment, given it’s the most spacious one, inviting all the people you know to celebrate the start of the new year in the best way possible.

You normally would be really pumped up about organizing the event, getting a small taste of the thrill the party would be weeks before. But today your mind isn’t at all able to focus on the preparations. Not that you could focus on anything else besides Jimin since Saturday.

“Okay, I’m sorry but we have to stop. Y/N clearly isn’t paying attention,” Seokjin acts out, his loud whining succeeds in startling you and you finally turn around to realize both of your friends stare suspiciously at you.

Seokjin is just confused, you can tell but Ana’s eyes tell a different story.

That night, after Jimin left for Dinah’s, you immediately called your friend, voice full to the brim with panic as you explained with a nervous stutter what happened. What you had realized and she tried to provide comfort in the best way that she could. She came over with a tub of ice cream, ready to talk it out with you and figure out what your plan was going to be. You also plead with her not to tell Hoseok, the boy couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.

So you’re left sitting here, trying to plan out a party and instead wondering what your course of action should be.

And also wanting to tell Seokjin, hoping he’d have something different to say than Ana. Her suggestion was not what you wanted to hear. Not in the slightest.

“What’s going on?” the man in question asks once he deciphers the mild look of despair in your eyes, voice a tad more empathetic than before.

Your eyes find Ana’s.

She lets out a sigh, before closing her notebook. “Guess I’ll have to say it then…” she muses and a grateful smile masks over your lips. It’s still quite difficult for you to wrap your head around this sudden, inconceivable situation, let alone utter it out loud.

Seokjin’s confusion reflects in the state of his eyebrows; scrunched in, twitching upwards as his eyes zero in on Ana.

Ana rolls her eyes, takes a breath and then-.

“Y/N realized she’s in love with Jimin.”

“Ana!” you protest with wide eyes at her choice of words, feeling your cheeks redden as Seokjin gasps in astonishment.

“Okay, okay, “likes” Jimin,” she reformulates although she doesn’t have you convinced she believes this.

“Jimin?!” the man’s wide eyes are filled with disbelief, mirroring your own sentiments about the current turn of events.

You nod quickly yet somehow bashfully as another gasp falls from Seokjin’s lips and Ana mumbles a quiet “I know”.

“What? How? Who? No, wait, we know who,” he cuts off himself but not for long, “When? When did your feelings change? Was it after your one-night special of passionate love-making? God I have so many questions!” his whole form is trembling with excitement, giddiness over the newly discovered news that leaves you sort of confused.

“I don’t know actually…” you mumble, overly self-conscious and yet you push yourself to continue, to pour out everything that came rushing over you in the last couple of days. Maybe it’ll help. “It feels more as if… as if those feelings were always there? Only I hadn't realised them until recently…” you mutter, eyes on your cup as you stir the now-cold americano.

It still amazes you how much of those words are real. You like your best friend and in some way, you think you always did. Though you guess you were too dense to ever really pay attention to that bubbling feeling in your chest every time he was near.

Not until Ana pointed it out.

“How did you realize it then?” Seokjin’s query is deceptively calm and you figure from the insistent nail-biting, he’s holding back to not scare you off. An act you greatly appreciate.

“Well, Ana and I had a talk the other day which gave me a lot to think about… And after spending some time with Jimin alone and I started to observe myself and my behaviour around him… how he made me feel… I realized it for what it was. For what it is…” you stare at your cup while stealing careful glances at Seokjin, who looks ready to burst with whatever he wants to say but refrains from doing so.

You roll your eyes with a chuckle. “You can talk now.”

A loud gasp tears through his mouth before, “Oh my god, this is so exciting! I already ship it, you’re perfect for each other! If I’m being honest here I never made a move on you cause I also thought you had something going on with Jimin, oh sweet baby Jesus this ship is sailing itself. It’s canon! I-”

“Wait, Seokjin, I think you forget a very important detail,” Ana interrupts him, gaze stern as ever and Seokjin visibly hesitates.

“What?”

“Dinah,” Ana answers and Seokjin’s eyes glaze over with recognition before his shoulders drop.

“Oh, right…” he remembers solemnly and steals a glance at you full with guilt.

You smile although a bit saddened. “It’s okay…”

“But, Y/N… Are you actually in love with him? Or was this just something Ana said to tease you?” he regards you with wary eyes.

You rush to answer the question, minutes before so certain of your answer, only for your lips to remain shut with uncertainty. “I… I don’t know. I mean I thought it was just a crush but I’m not so sure anymore. He’s all I can think about, all I could think about even when I didn't know I liked him, something he said, or the way his voice changed, wondering what the cause of it was. I catch myself actively wishing to be in Dinah’s place, to be the one Jimin goes home to at the end of the day, the one to get to call him hers…” your feelings catch up with you and you find yourself needing a moment to breathe. A moment when you realize it’s not just some stupid crush.

You take a shaky breath. “Fuck, I’m screwed…” you say, the consequences of your breakthrough taking over you like a tidal wave, as you come to a startling conclusion. “I need to tell Jimin.”

Ana takes a tense breath. “I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

But you don’t listen, just like you didn’t after your talk. “I’m not expecting anything out of it so it’d be okay either way, then I can move on at last.”

She shakes her head disapprovingly. “Y/N, no, you don’t know how he’s gonna react! He’s not some rando you happen to stumble upon the same bar four nights a week. He’s your best friend with whom you live together. If things head south, it wouldn’t be as simple as just changing your hangout spot to avoid him! He’s always gonna be there.”

Her words sound ominous and, more frighteningly, reasonable, slightly wavering your resolve but you don’t back down just yet, turning a blind eye to the worst possible outcome even if the chances of that happening are so much more than the opposite. “It’s Jimin, no matter what happens between us, we always have managed to work through it.”

Ana sighs, eyes sad as she stares at you, once again having to fight her way through to make you see reason. “Honey, this is not as simple as him stealing your cereal…”

You swallow the lump in your throat, stubbornly refusing to let it go. “Yeah, but what if-”

“There’s no “what if” Y/N!” Ana lashes out, eyes wide half with irritation half with concern as both you and Seokjin are left to simply stare at her. “There’s no way to tell if he’s feeling the same and he’s currently dating Dinah, who he’s happy with! All you’re gonna achieve now is getting him all confused and uncertain. Do you realize how that may affect your friendship afterwards? Do you really wanna jeopardize what you have over a “what if”?” Ana’s rant is over and finally, you can’t hide behind your finger anymore as her words echo in your mind. Although there’s a large part of you that wishes to deny it, you admit with a heavy heart she is right.

You can’t tell Jimin. Not right now.

You bite your lip as you avert your eyes, trying to suppress your tears as you shake your head, to show you finally see reason. Even if it hurts like hell.

Ana sighs, regret filling her otherwise soft voice. “I’m sorry for being so blunt, if the situation was any different I would be right there with you, being the first to support you in your decision to tell him. But it’s not. And I just don’t want to see either of you getting hurt…” she confesses, as she reaches her hand out to tentatively cover your own.

You let her as you swallow the lump in your throat. The one that makes you feel like you’re drowning.

“I have to agree with Ana on this… I think it will be for the best if you didn’t tell him for now. But whatever you decide to do…. We’ll support you…” Seokjin adds with tender words, that Ana nods furiously to agree with, as he squeezes gently your other hand.

A sad smile manages to find its way onto your lips as you give them both a gentle and thankful glance.

“Thank you, guys…” your voice is barely audible. Then you shake your head, blinking the tears away and slap your cheeks to get rid of the choking in your throat.

“Okay, enough of this. Let’s go back to what we actually came here to do!” you exclaim with a smile and Ana and Seokjin smile back as they open their notebooks once more.

You might be going through a heartbreak but at least for now, you’ll be fine.

After that conversation, Ana and Seokjin took it upon themselves to help you find someone else, even if you told them a thousand times you weren’t interested.

Ana proposed Seokjin could give Namjoon your number but Seokjin was quick to inform you he was currently seeing someone. Ana tried to hook you up with a work friend but to be honest, there really was no spark with Youngjae so you gave up on that fairly easily. But there’s this guy you see a few times a week at your favourite coffee shop and just a few days ago he approached you asking for your number. At first, you were hesitant to give it but you knew Ana and Seokjin were right on the whole dating thing. If you want to get over Jimin, you need to give another person a chance. So you gave your number to Jaehyun and now, a week later after your talk with Ana and Seokjin, just two days before Christmas, you’re getting ready for your date. Seokjin had suggested you had the date at his restaurant and the probability of being somewhere familiar, somewhere comfortable was like music to your ears.

In the meantime, your avoidance of Jimin hasn’t subsided. There are moments when you think he’s on to you, or that he thinks something’s weird but whenever he tries to bring it up, Seokjin or Ana or your disappearance halt him.

The truth is you hate it. It feels awful to avoid your best friend, it’s horrible pretending as if you don’t see the hurt in his eyes when you dismiss him. But you don’t trust yourself enough to not spill anything to him yet. And Ana was right, you can’t afford to risk it.

So that’s your plan for as long as needed. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Although when the front door closes with a loud bang, you have a feeling it’s not gonna be that easy today. Hoseok’s over at Ana’s as she promised to keep him there to give you and Jaehyun some privacy. So the only other possible explanation is Jimin returning earlier from his date.

You peak out of your bedroom to see him marching down the hall. His eyes stare stubbornly, intensely at the floor as if they try to burn holes through the carpet as his heavy steps boom through the apartment. That vein in his forehead is pulsing, threatening to burst at any moment, his lips pulled into an angry frown as he takes off his jacket. He tries to rip it off with hasty movements as if it’s something tangled to him, choking him.

“Jimin, is everything okay…?” you ask cautiously as he still struggles with his jacket in front of his bedroom.

He curses through clenched teeth, ripping the jacket off his hand with one sharp movement. “Yeap. Everything’s okay. More than okay! Perfect! Everything’s perfect!” he exclaims, even though the irony in his voice doesn’t do much to convince you.

“...Do… you wanna talk about it?” your voice is careful, wishing quite selfishly and guiltily he doesn’t, because you know if he does want, there’s no chance you’ll be able to deny him, date or no date.

He huffs before searching for his phone. “What’s there to talk about? That my girlfriend is a successful doctor that apparently gets paged in the middle of our date? That children need her and I can't complain? That I’m searching for my phone and I can’t fucking find it?!” he bursts before taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Your stomach flips uncomfortably in response to the hurt hiding in Jimin's eyes. His face is filled with worries, marking the space between his eyebrows and you want to smooth your thumb over the lines. Your chest constricts in a bothersome matter when you spot his glassy eyes. It’s not an image you like to see on him.

So, against your better judgement, you do what you’ve tried so long not to.

You talk to him.

“You’re not a bad person for feeling angry. As long as you don’t put the blame on her you’re okay. It’s normal. You just want to spend some time with your girlfriend…” you respond, trying to hide the sadness colouring your voice at the word “girlfriend”, as you walk out of your room into the hallway to talk properly to your friend.

His eyes, filled with something akin to shame, find yours and you wanna wipe that frown from his lips with yours.

But you control yourself. You’re not an animal.

“Also, check your jacket…” you point at the article of clothing with a soft smile, and as he follows your advice, he gives you a small, closed-lip smile. But it’s still a smile.

With a tired chuckle, he finds his phone in one of the pockets and shakes his head before his eyes find yours. Although as they land on your form, the chuckle fades out, confusion written on his skin.

“Are you going somewhere?” he asks, pointing to the mini black dress you’re wearing and sudden heat scorches through your cheeks.

“I, uhm… Yeah, on a date…” you chuckle nervously, rubbing your arm, eyes on your feet. “Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m going, the guy’s too hot for me…” you try to joke but Jimin has none of it.

“Bullshit, you’re too hot for him! You always do that, you put yourself down, thinking you’re not good enough, but Y/N, they’re not good enough for you! You’re amazing, funny, smart, kind and, yeah, sometimes grumpy as hell, but you deserve more than feeling like one of someone’s many choices. You’re the only one. So treat yourself like one as well.” Jimin interjects, voice serious and kinda fed up but his last words soften. He looks at you with such tenderness you can almost pretend he feels the same. You can almost pretend he wants you too.

Almost.

You clear your throat. “Thanks, sport…” you respond with a chuckle, trying to chase the tension away, but Jimin’s eyes won’t budge. They seem uncertain as if he’s trying to figure out something, but their intensity only tortures you more and you have to say something to break free from them.

“Uhm, yeah so I have to go now…” you move back to your room to get your purse and coat and Jimin’s eyes finally move away from you with a cough.

“Yeah, uhm… Yeah, of course…” he rushes to say, eyes fidgeting anywhere but close to you as he struggles to open his door.

“...Unless you want me to cancel?” you propose, knowing full well if he says yes, there’s no way you can say no to him. And that Ana is probably gonna beat your ass.

Jimin almost chokes at that, face flushing, turning his body towards you yet his eyes look at the floor. “What? Why? Why would I want you to cancel?” he stutters, eyes fidgeting between you and his door.

“Well, I figured you’d want to talk some more about Dinah…” you say softly, thinking you must have hit a nerve on his pride but he visibly relaxes at your words.

“Oh, uhm, no, don't worry about it, I’ll be fine. Go enjoy your date, and say hi to Seokjin from me,” he responds with a smile, although it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

But before you get to ask him if he’s sure, or how he knows the date is at Seokjin’s restaurant, he’s already hiding in his room, behind his closed door.

You sigh. Maybe he wants to be alone. To be alone and think it over by himself. Yeah, he’ll be okay.

You don’t do a good job of convincing yourself as you put on your coat and walk to the front door.

He’ll be fine.

20 minutes later, you find your way back into the apartment, throwing your keys on the glass bowl next to the door, taking your shoes off in front of a very confused and suspicious Jimin who watches a movie on the couch.

You take off your coat and plop yourself down next to him, as he keeps on watching you weirdly.

You pick up some of his popcorn, before. “What are we watching?”

Jimin presses his lips together in a poor attempt to conceal the grin threatening to spill all over his lips before he schools his face into a strict expression. “I told you I’d be okay…”

Your eyes are glued to the TV as you feign ignorance. “I know. And I didn’t bail out on him. He did,” you said, sudden interest in the movie piqued.

Jimin’s eyes widen, shuffling on his spot with newly found vigour. “What? You want me to talk to him for you?”

That takes you by surprise. You turn to look at him only to see his eyes stuck to you, as serious as ever. Does he even know Jaehyun?

Oh god, he shouldn’t talk to him.

“Ah, no, no, he didn’t do it on purpose! He just… had somewhere to go. We’ll just reschedule,” you reply knowing full well you’re not gonna do that.

Even if Jaehyun was entirely too eager to do that when you told him you had a family emergency.

Truth is you didn’t drive too far before you yielded and texted Jaehyun to cancel. Thinking Jimin would’ve been stuck at home alone and sulking didn’t sit well with you.

Jimin’s suspiciousness doesn’t leave his eyes but he visibly relaxes. “Oh, if you’re okay then…” he simply says before his smile reappears. Then he goes on to answer your previous question, informing you about the movie playing in the background.

You rest your chin on your palm as you listen to him intently. Absorbed by the excitement in his voice, the glint in his eyes as he explains the plot to a movie he clearly enjoys. His cheeks are flushed, heated up by how quickly he’s talking, voice melodic and excited. His hair falls on top of his forehead, messy and shiny, moving slightly with every tilt of his head when he’s thinking over something. His lips form a pout when he’s uncertain over a specific detail but the truth is you don’t care.

Not about the movie.

It’s towards the end of the movie when you feel Jimin turning towards you.

You copy his actions, turning to face your best friend with a questioning glint in your eyes. “Spill it out, champ.”

Jimin smiles at your words, resting one arm at the back of the couch, behind you. “I just wanted to thank you for staying-”

You gasp, once again pretending you don’t know what he’s talking about. “I told you the date got cancelled, I had to come back! Didn’t you listen, you dingus?”

Jimin’s smile widens, looking away with a low chuckle. “Right…” he says, though not looking very much convinced. “Even so… you being here means a lot, so thank you…” he concludes with soft eyes, a kind of tenderness you’re not used to seeing reflecting in his gaze, at least not directed towards you. But it’s not foreign, not even one bit.

A gentle smile graces your lips as you answer. “Of course. You’re my best friend,” you respond in an as-a-matter-of-fact way while you give him a playful nudge on the ribs.

He chuckles, eyes falling to his lap. “You know, I might be joking about regretting being your friend when you annoy the shit out of me…” you both laugh at that, as you shuffle in your spot, “but if I’m grateful for anything in my life is the years you’ve been a part of it. I wouldn’t risk our friendship for anything. You’re the best friend I could ever have and I hope I’m at least half as good a friend to you,” he concludes, words filled with emotion, even though his voice is serene and soothing.

The display of emotion tugs at your heartstrings but when it’s your turn to return them words fail you. You can’t even begin to put what Jimin means to you into words, newly-discovered feelings put aside. What his friendship means to you, what those years spent together made you cope through and how they changed you, those things are bigger than the strict barrier of words.

So, you do what every self-respected awkward human being would do.

You joke about it.

“Did you swallow a Barbie DVD or something? Where did that come from?” you chuckle in borderline embarrassment, as you try to get off the couch.

“No, Y/N, I’m serious,” he reacts, voice stern as he rests his palm on your leg to stop you from leaving.

Though both pairs of eyes widen at that.

Because you never changed out from the mini black dress and when you moved earlier the fabric had ridden up your thighs.

So now Jimin’s palm lays on the top part of your smooth, bare thigh.

Instant heat washes over you, as you barely manage to mask the gasp bubbling up in your throat. Your eyes fall to his fingers, not daring to meet his gaze as you feel the warmth of his skin spreading through to yours.

Your heart beats wildly inside your chest and there’s a certain, familiar discomfort in the pit of your stomach.

He doesn’t move his hand. You can feel his eyes on you and there are goosebumps where his gaze trails on your skin.

You let your eyes find his own.

You’re not at all ready.

Not for the darkness in them, not for the haziness and tension, certainly not for the dark part in you that tells you there’s more to them than those things. No, not for the intensity and lust hidden in their dark depths.

No, you’re not ready.

But their existence is as tangible as it could ever be.

You can’t move, not an inch and even if you could, you wouldn’t. You’d choose not to. The heat in his stare sends chills down your arms, your cheeks scorching and your gaze falls to his plump lips, a sharp yet quiet inhale escaping you at just a small peek of his tongue.

And then you swear you feel-.

“Sup, guys? How have you been?” Hoseok’s voice fills the apartment as he steps inside from the front door. The sound of his cheerful entrance has you both instantly jumping away from each other in panic.

“Uhm, fine, we’ve been fine!” you struggle to reply, voice an octave higher as Jimin looks away and nods with you.

Hoseok takes off his shoes nonchalantly, not having a single clue about the thick tension in the air when he notices your outfit. He scrunches his eyebrows in confusion. “Did you go somewhere?”

You swallow nervously, foot tapping the floor. “Ah, yeah, I had a date…”

Hoseok looks ever more confused now for some unknown reason. “You did?” he asks, eyes moving to Jimin.

Jimin rushes to explain. “It got cancelled.”

“Ah… I see,” Hoseok replies as if somehow this makes more sense.

But you’re too preoccupied with Jimin’s proximity to question Hoseok’s reaction, instead focusing on trying to appear calm and not at all flustered and worked up as you are. You stand up from the couch as calmly as you can. Though you admit it’s not very much calmly. “Uh, yeah, so anyways I should go change. Goodnight guys!” you mumble quickly, eager to escape and you run off to your room.

Hoseok’s confusion is back when you disappear into your room and he turns to Jimin who also gets up and discreetly readjusts his pants. “What’s up with her?”

“Wouldn’t know. Actually, I’m quite sleepy too, so goodnight!” Jimin rushes to exclaim and then he’s off, walking rushedly towards his room.

Leaving Hoseok alone in the living room and baffled as hell.

Your legs can’t take you into your bedroom any faster and you rush to close the door with a slight lightness of breath.

Oh, god.

What just happened?

Your knees still feel weak, legs trembling and you immediately sit on the floor. Not trusting your limbs to carry you as far as your bed is, eyes and mouth wide in shock as you bring your hands to cool your heated cheeks.

You’re not crazy, you couldn’t have imagined this. You swear it wasn’t just your wishful thinking. No matter how much you want this, there’s no way your mind could have imagined such an intense way of staring. His eyes seemed like black holes, swallowing you whole and you would’ve gladly let him if Hoseok hadn’t interrupted.

Which reminds you. Right before Hoseok walked in you’re certain you felt the edges of his fingertips moving. And not away, as if belatedly realizing of his slip up.

Moving upwards.

“Fuck…” is your breathless realization, biting your lip as heat pools between your thighs. Making you reminisce of your little rendez-vous eight months ago and all the ways he made you feel, of how he felt pressed against you, inside you, drawing moans out of your lips as if it was the last thing he’d ever do.

How his mouth felt against your skin.

You slap some sense into yourself.

No! What were you thinking?! What was he thinking?! He has a girlfriend! A girlfriend whose sudden departure had him feeling upset merely hours ago. Maybe this behaviour was just a cry for attention caused by this event and you shouldn’t encourage it.

There was attraction, that is true. If there wasn’t any attraction between the two of you, you wouldn’t have slept together all those months ago in the first place. But this is not the time, nor the place. Not when he has a girlfriend and not when your feelings are so much more than just that.

It’s bad news and you gotta do your best to nip it in the bud. Crush it before the frustration gets any stronger and threatens to take hold of your sanity.

You let a deep breath infiltrate your lungs. As if the fresh air could bring a new sense of logic, resolve and determination to help you get through this unscathed.

You get up off the floor to get ready for sleep.

Only, it’s close to 4 am and you still can’t sleep.

You fuss around in your bed, the rustling of the sheets the only sound breaking the otherwise calm serenity of your dark bedroom.

You huff in annoyance, throwing the covers off of you, suddenly too warm for your liking. You’ve been trying to sleep for three hours now, but instead of blissful numbness, when your eyes close your mind is filled with the look in Jimin’s eyes from this afternoon. Turning you on despite your best efforts.

You sit up, back on your headboard, hands crossing over your chest as you tap your fingers on your arm. The shorts you wear to sleep feel uncomfortably stifling with sweat and you shuffle quickly out of them.

Only a particular movement has you clenching your thighs from the pleasurable friction on your clit and you bite your lip to keep the moan from spilling out.

Jimin’s dark eyes come to mind once more.

You inhale deeply, fingers playing with the hem of your shirt, now dressed in only that and your panties. You bite your lip once more in thought and concealed shame.

You shouldn’t.

But your inhibitions don’t stop you from recalling that night.

{{You throw another shot down with a blissful smile as you watch Jimin do the same, only with significantly less enthusiasm than you. It’s already been one hour since you’ve been here, drinking your guts to help him move on, and already two girls walked away from him. It might be the way he slouches on the bar, droopy face that screams “recently dumped and still in love” but you refuse to leave here tonight without Jimin getting laid. Or at least having some fun.

“Come on, I’m sure someone else will approach you!” you nudge him playfully and Jimin scoffs as he proceeds to order another drink.

“Yeah, right. If anything I’ll just make a fool of myself again…” he grumbles, eyes focused on the empty shot glasses on the bar.

You throw an arm around his shoulders, determined to cheer him up. “Well, it’s because you’ve gotten rusty, bud! Give it some time, you’ll get better!” you observe vigorously, poking his cheek but the gloom expression doesn’t abandon him.

“I don’t think I will…” he mutters, almost too quiet for you to hear, but you do.

“What? Why?” your perplexion is audible in your words and Jimin lets out a breath.

“I just… I don’t get why would anyone bother to approach me. What’s there to like anyway…?” he admits quietly. His eyes avoid yours but you can see the sorrow, the defeat lacing their edges. The response fills you with unbridled rage over how her insistent verbal abuse has seeped into his mind and made him question himself and his worth like this.}}

Even now, that rage hasn’t subsided completely, finding yourself getting pissed at how much his previous relationship with Dinah had ruined him.

{{“Follow me for a second,” you say through gritted teeth as you drag him out of his stool to a more quiet place of the bar.

You step into the hallway that leads to the rooftop with a pretty begrudging Jimin trailing after you. The corridor is currently devoid of people, hence rendering it the perfect spot for what you're about to say.

“Why are we here?” Jimin asks like a weary teenager, crossing his arms on his chest as he rests his body on the wall.

“We’re here because you’re a freaking idiot and people would’ve probably stared if I laid it on you back there! You seriously cannot believe there’s nothing likeable about you!” you scold him with your hands on your waist.

Jimin’s eyes fall to his shoes, a pout forming on his lips.

“Well, there isn’t…” he responds genuinely and you swear you’re gonna swat him with a broom.

“Well, better buckle up soldier ‘cause I’m about to send your princely ass to confidence town,” you declare with ferocity and Jimin regards you with a confused but amused smile.

“So am I a soldier or a prince, I’m confused.”

“You’re both, you’re a prince who served on the front line in the dragon war,” you respond, deciding to humour him, seeing at least that brings a smile back on his lips.

“Is that from your book?” he asks back, a very carefully-hidden smirk gracing his face.

“No, it’s not, I- Hey!” you stop once you realize what he’s been doing, “Stop distracting me! Now stop and listen to me you bastard!” you point your finger at him and his smile shows he’s not in the least sorry.

“People go crazy about you everywhere you go! Seriously you’re the most likeable person I know, I could see that even back in high school when we didn’t hang out as much! You’re just… You’re the most perfect human being ever!” you exclaim with zeal, desperate to make your best friend see himself as you do.

Jimin shakes his head even if a small blush starts to bloom on his cheeks. “Now you’re just messing with me…”

“No I’m not!” you interject, taking a step closer until you’re standing right in front of him. “You’re the kindest and smartest, I mean you passed your college exams with flying colours!” a shy smile graces his lips at that, “And on top of that, you’re so handsome! I mean look at your lips dude! People literally pay to get their lips like this!” an impromptu laugh escapes him and resonates in the empty hall, “And the way your eyes crinkle when you laugh is just plain adorable, but on the other hand girls - and guys - would kill to lick those abs, or have a grasp at your pecs,” you cite all of Jimin’s great characteristics, but in your desire to show him how perfect he is, a slight slip of the tongue happens.

“And your thighs-” you begin but instantly stop, regret filling your mind as soon as you realise what you were about to say.

Truth is you always had a weakness for his thighs. You admit, his body is pretty phenomenal as a whole but his thighs, in particular, are a certain weak spot for you. In shame, you admit you fantasized about them trapping you between them more than once.

But, alas, Jimin catches on that and he stands up straight, a questioning look in his eyes.

“What about my thighs…?” he asks curiously, eyes regarding you with interest as they dare you to continue. You swallow nervously and the movement has Jimin’s eyes glint with sudden realization.

“Um, they… um,” you lose your train of thought as the look in his eyes changes to something darker and he takes a step closer.

“They are...um, toned!...” you say in relief at finding a pretty innocent word but Jimin doesn’t slow down. You take a step back.

“And…?” he demands, not at all satisfied by your explanation, unrelenting and asking for more. He takes another step forward to cover your own, diminishing the distance between you.

“And firm and… sturdy…” you mumble as if in a daze as the predatory glint in his eyes only grows.}}

In real-time, the look in Jimin’s eyes matches the one from earlier tonight and you rub your thighs together for some needed relief.

{{“And…?” he asks, voice low and commanding as he effectively traps you against the wall, palms resting on each side of your face, dark eyes pinning you in place.

You swallow the lump in your throat, feeling a sudden emptiness between your legs as your eyes fall to his plump lips.

“And... thick…” you finish softly, breathlessly as your chest moves quickly with each intake of breath, struggling to keep your head straight.}}

Your hands find their way down your body as if they have a mind of their own.

{{“So you like my thighs then…” he whispers, his breath fanning over your lips, a soft gasp rolling off your tongue.

“I- I don’t…” you don’t even manage to convince yourself and the predatory smile returns on his lips.}}

Your hand rests on the hem of your underwear.

{{“Really?... So…” he trails off, smirk ever-present as he slowly moves his right leg. “... it wouldn’t matter if I did this?....” he teases and presses his thigh against your clothed centre.}}

They move the article of clothing aside to press at your aching clit.

{{You don’t manage to conceal the gasp that trudges over to a moan, as his toned muscle presses against your panty-clad clit underneath your skirt. Your hands fly to grab at his biceps and a low chuckle falls from his lips as his face lowers towards your neck.

Your cunt clenches over nothing and your hips buck into his thigh desperately.

“Do you want more…?” he whispers with a tantalizing hum, intimately beneath your ear and a shiver runs down your spine.

You feel his thigh flexing against you as if teasing you about what’s to come if you say yes.

In your drunken and lust infused mind you can’t find a single reason to say no.}}

Your fingers move slowly, rolling the swollen nub between them as a quiet sigh breaks free from your lips, remembering the way his thigh felt against you. Your movements are soft, careful, not wanting to rush it as even more memories flood your mind.

{{It doesn’t take long for Jimin to take you home after you say yes. You drive back in his car, barely keeping your hands to yourself as he drives. It takes all your willpower not to make him stop the car and ride him in the middle of the street. Instead, you only let one hand palm him through his jeans and the other dive beneath your skirt to toy with your folds. Pleasuring both of you at the same time and having Jimin going completely mad with want, a promise hiding in his eyes as he drives.

Once you reach your building, you’re immediately on each other, not caring who might see. You climb up the old stairs in a haze, hands exploring each other’s bodies, grabbing at the tender part, lips tracing the exposed skin until you reach your apartment. Your back hits the front door, a moan rolling off your tongue and Jimin swallows it eagerly as his lips devour yours.

His hands are rough at your hips, grinding his crotch against you, your bare thighs rubbing against the roughness of his jeans as you blindly search for your keys.

“Could you- could you stop for a second and help me get the door…” you mumble against his mouth when your fingers finally grasp at the metallic key in your pocket.

Jimin doesn’t stop kissing you though. “Honestly, I don’t mind fucking you senseless against it,” he growls at you, biting your bottom lip as his fingers dig into your hips.

“Fuck…” the image his words paint arouse you a great deal more than what you’d like to admit. Your head hits the door as the image floods your mind.

“No, we can’t…” you say, still somehow self-conscious, “People might see…” you mumble with closed eyes as Jimin leaves open-mouthed kisses on your collar bones.

“Let them see then…” he responds with confidence as he grips at your chin and forces you to look at him.

His eyes are hooded, completely dark under his heavy gaze on you. He licks his lips as he stares at you like he wants to ravish you and you lean your head down to capture his thumb between your lips.

You stare at him innocently through your eyelashes, sucking the digit into your mouth. Jimin’s eyes widen even more. You roll your tongue teasingly around him, making sure your eyes remain on him, as he breathes heavily and then you let it go with a loud “pop”.

Jimin stares back at you. Tongue running across his bottom lip before-.

“Fuck, okay, okay. I changed my mind. I don’t want anyone seeing you like this but me.” he curses softly, before taking the keys from your hands to open the door.}}

Your fingers are faster now, soft whimpers falling from your lips. Too quiet for anyone to hear as your other hand travels beneath your T-shirt to grasp at your breast.

{{You’re a mess of limbs and kisses as you stumble towards Jimin’s room. Jackets have been discarded somewhere in the living room and you don’t even bother on closing the door. Hoseok’s is bound to spend the evening at Ana’s, so you don’t have to worry about being quiet either. You have the place to yourselves.

“I want to suck you off, can I suck you off?” you mumble between kisses, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. You can’t wait to feel the weight of his length on your tongue and judging by how he’s straining against his jeans you’d say he can’t wait either.

Another curse rolls from his tongue as he rushes to help you undo the last few buttons. “Yes. Fuck yes,” he grunts in anticipation once his shirt is off.

You push him to sit at the edge of his bed, too impatiently. You kneel between his legs, hands running up and down his thighs as he leans back, palms supporting his weight against the mattress as he stares at you lazily, biting his lip.

You let your eyes wander over the expanse of his smooth chest, taking in the sight of his sturdy muscles, his perked up nipples and his sculpted abs. A high pitched whine escapes you at how absolutely perfect he is. You want to ruin him.

Jimin smirks lazily at you. “Like what you see?”

You only nod, licking your lips and indulging yourself.

You move upwards carefully, placing a few butterfly kisses against his chest, letting your tongue roll over his nipples, which he greatly appreciates if his loud moans are anything to get by.}}

You roll one perked nipple beneath your fingertips. A quiet moan comes off your lips in response and you buck your hips into your hand, aching for something more.

{{You move lower, letting your tongue trail the edges of his abs. The warm muscle drives the man insane by the traitorous pace it takes as his chest rises and falls with every breath.

His hand winds up tangled in your hair, threading through the lock to tug softly at the roots and making you groan in arousal.

You’re quick in unbuttoning his jeans, pushing them downwards until they’re off. Anticipation rolls over you in waves as you move to the waistband of his boxers and Jimin tucks some strands away from your face.

You let his cock spring free and it taps against his stomach. Your mouth salivates at the sight. Pulsating veins run down its shaft, its head a pretty pink, tip glistening with precum and you lick your lips with wanton. He’s not very big, not in length, but the size of his girth seems to compensate for that more than enough. He’s thick, thicker than what you’re used to and even if you had some lengthier ones, you’re sure this one will put them all to shame.

Jimin’s patience runs low and a low whine echoes in his dulcet voice.

“Don’t just stare at it…” he mumbles and for the first time since the club, he sounds almost shy. Something which makes your stomach flip in arousal.

A smirk meets his eyes as you lower your head, his hand still in your locks and you take a tentative lick at the tip.

Jimin lets out a shuddering breath, eyes never abandoning you or your movements as you rest your hands at his thighs for leverage. You keep on teasing him, feeling his muscles tense beneath your palms and a crooked smile paints your lips.

You lower your mouth again, taking his head into your wet cavern and a soft moan breaks free from Jimin’s lips. His hand tightens its grip at your hair, nudging softly forward, not enough to be forceful but enough to clue you into what he wants.

Instead, you hollow your cheeks and a sharp gasp escapes him.}}

Finally, you move your underwear aside to tease your entrance and proceed to insert one finger into your throbbing cunt.

{{You begin moving your head up and down his length slowly, torturously and his eyes roll back into his head as it lols back. You don’t increase your pace, letting your jaw adjust to his wide girth, slowly letting each inch delve into your mouth.

“Fuck…, you-” Jimin tries to talk only for another gasp to tear through his lips as you take him deeper. Coating him with your saliva and hollowing your cheeks again. He moans loudly, his hand rolling your hair into a fist, tugging at the roots as you take him fully, feeling him resting heavily on your tongue.

You pick up the pace steadily, bobbing your head and nails digging into the unmarred skin of his thighs. A hiss tumbles from his mouth in response.

You readjust your position to take off your shirt and bra. You then put more weight into your knees to give your full focus on sucking him off. You keep your cheeks hollowed, going faster and faster, a sturdy grip on Jimin’s bare thighs as your eyes remain stuck on his face.

You swear you’ve never seen anything more beautiful than Jimin’s face as he drowns in pleasure. His eyes are tightly shut, scrunched in concentration to not miss the feeling of your mouth on him. His mouth is agape as he struggles to breathe properly, soft gasps escaping his mouth instead.

It strikes you hard; how magnificently ruined he looks. How absolutely wrecked you have him, and the stickiness in your underwear grows knowing he looks like this because of you.

Then he opens his eyes lazily, orbs lost in desire and as they rest on your bare tits, his hips instinctively buck into your mouth with a cry before he stops himself.}}

You take a quick break to stop yourself from finishing too early and instead pay attention back to your clit.

{{“Fuck, stop for a second…” he breathes out harshly, pushing you away from his cock as he runs a hand through his hair.

“Why?” you say thoroughly confused and Jimin chuckles breathlessly at your puppy stare. He then moves forward to press a soft kiss to your lips.

“Cause I was about to cum on your tits and I’d rather do that inside you…” he whispers against your mouth and you find yourself biting your lip to suppress a moan.

“Now please let me taste you…” he mumbles seductively as he forces you up. You stand up in front of him, his head in level with your breasts. His eyes stare up at you, wide and deceptively innocent before he wraps his mouth around one nipple and rolls it with his tongue. You gasp out loud, arching your chest against him for more. His fingers graze your thighs in the meantime, moving upwards to wrap around your underwear and get rid of it, leaving you bare beneath your skirt.

“I don’t…” another gasp interrupts your words as he runs a finger through your folds. “I don’t think I have the patience for that…” you stutter, hips rolling over his fingers.

A harsh suck at your nipple has you crying out loud, grabbing at Jimin’s locks. While he drives two fingers in you, without warning.

“Fuck, Jimin!” your high pitched protest resonates around the apartment and Jimin curses, moving the two fingers slowly inside you.

“Fuck, you take my fingers so well, baby…” he murmurs against your chest, his low timbre sounding like heaven in your ears. His fingers move slowly against your walls, just barely find your g-spot that has you seeing stars.

“You’re so wet, look at you…” he brings the two fingers between you. They glisten in the soft light of his nightstand, strands of your arousal connecting the two digits as he moves them into a V shape. He stares at them, mesmerised before pushing one digit into his mouth. He moans at the taste, before pushing the other finger towards your lips.

Instead, you grasp at both fingers and suck at them obediently, making sure to suck all your slick from his fingers. Your eyes remain on Jimin, whose eyes almost roll in bliss.

“Okay. Fuck, okay. Get that skirt off and get on the bed,” comes his urgent reply as he all but throws you on the mattress after the skirt has joined the rest of your clothes on the floor.

You lay across his sheets, spreading your legs wide for him and Jimin all but falls on his face trying to take off his boxers, making you giggle in response.

Once they’re off, his movements are more smooth as he steps on to the bed. His eyes are dark, swimming in a pool of desire, never straying away from your face as he crawls towards you. His hands rest on each side of your head, hips pressing against your own as his eyes fall to your lips.

You’re breathing heavily underneath him, chest brushing against him with every breath and you arch your back to press closer against him.

“Do you have a condom…?” you say before biting softly at his earlobe, your hand wrapping sloppily around his thick length.

He bucks into your palm desperately before he nods. He reaches his hand on his nightstand, never leaving the warmth of your body, and grabs the foil package. You take it from him and rip it open with your teeth, too fucked out to wait and Jimin gapes at you as you pretend not to notice the twitch on his dick.

You roll it on him as he lets out a long breath and his grip on your hips tightens.

“Are you sure about this…?” he asks cautiously, giving you one last chance to step back.

You grab at his neck to push him downwards into a kiss. Your lips are rough against him and he presses further, letting his tongue dive into your mouth to find your own. Your kiss is sloppy, urgent, not caring for tenderness. Getting you even more aroused as Jimin instinctively rolls his hips against yours.

“Okay, got it,” is his answer to your kiss. His hand grasps at his cock and giving it a few pumps before sheathing inside you with one sharp thrust.}}

You let two of your fingers dive inside you at the memory, drawing a long moan, quiet enough to be heard only in the confinements of your own room.

{{Both of you moan loudly at the intrusion, feeling complete and utter fullness with the way Jimin is pulsating inside you. It takes a while to get used to him, breathing slowly to help yourself relax as Jimin presses soft kisses to the skin above your breasts.

Soon though his kisses turn hungrier, messier, bordering into bites and you can’t help but moan and clench at the sensation.

Jimin hisses and reacts with another sharp thrust, making your eyes roll to the back of your skull in pleasure.

He starts a brutal pace, slow but rough deliberate thrusts, moving you further into the bed.

He pushes your legs on your chest in a new position, as he leans on top of you and drives his cock even deeper into you. He hits your g-spot almost repeatedly, having you crying out and your eyes well up by how good it feels.

“Fuck, Jimin, fuck, don’t stop…” you cry breathlessly even though Jimin doesn’t seem like stopping anytime soon.}}

In real-time, you pick up the pace of your fingers, driving them deeper to press against your g-spot, as you keep panting upon your sheets.

{{“Fuck. You. Feel. So. Good.” he punctuates each word with a thrust, as they come out in loud, rough growls, eyebrows scrunched in concentration as precipitation gathers at his temples, wet hair hanging in front of his eyes.

You cry out in ecstasy with every rough snap of his hips, shifting your hips to feel more of him, desperate for as much as he can give.

Then Jimin stands upright, grabbing your legs to push them into his chest and away from your own, wrapping around them and using them as leverage. His movements don't stop and he grunts lowly with each thrust, making you see stars each time he hits your g-spot.

He pants above you, driving his hips deeper into you, his muscles taut as he flexes his thighs and his thrusts become even rougher.

“Shit, Jimin…” you plead yet you don’t know what for as his motions make your body move up and down against the mattress.

“What is it, baby? Tell me,” he hisses, eyes furrowed as he stares at your lips. “I’ll give it to you…” he grunts, his thrusts now matching his pants, hands getting tighter at the supple flesh of your hips.

“Jimin, please…” you whine, driving your hand to tap on your clit to clue him in.

He curses again, bating your hand away for one of his own to land against your nub and begin rubbing circles into it.}}

You remove your other hand from your chest to press at your clit as you drive two fingers harshly into your soaked pussy with the other. You feel your high approaching and you don’t dare stop.

{{You scream in pleasure at the added friction, legs moving as Jimin releases them to wrap around his waist. You drive your heels against his ass to press his cock further into you.

“How are you so fucking wet for me, huh? Did my thighs turn you on this much, baby?” he asks harshly as his fingers pick up their pace, sending you into a wholly new sensation.

You moan out loud at his words, nodding your head quickly as if you’ve gone mad. “Yes, fuck, Jimin. I love your thighs, love how thick they are. Wanna rub my cunt all over them, want my clit to go numb with how hard I rub it on them. Want my folds to leak on top of them and stain your jeans. Fuck!” you yelp when your words have Jimin giving a particularly rough thrust.

“Fuck, yeah baby that’s right. Those thighs are gonna make you cum so fucking hard, you won’t be able to walk tomorrow,” he hisses from above you, spreading your legs, the stretch burning delightful as another groan falls from your hips.

Finally, you feel yourself getting closer and closer to cumming, high-pitched moans echoing inside the room and your cunt begins clenching uncontrollably.

Jimin realises this as his hips move even harder against yours and his fingers are relentless on your clit. “Are you gonna cum baby? Are you gonna cum like the dirty little slut you are?”

His words send you over the edge with a loud cry of his name.}}

You repeat the words over and over in your head until you’re a sobbing mess and come harder than you ever did before pressing your palm on your mouth to prevent any noise from getting out.

You lay on your bed spent and breathless, the memory ebbing away once you’re satisfied and your limbs are relaxed in a blissful numbness.

But, that soon also ebbs away, giving its spot to shame.

You just rubbed one off to Jimin.

And yeah okay you did sleep with him once, but you hadn’t used the memories to pleasure yourself before.

Oh god, this is getting out of hand.

You gotta end this crush of yours before it devours you.

#95line.net #btsguild #bangtan bookclub #kwritersworldnet #jimin scenario #bts scenario #bts jimin scenario #jimin fanfic #bts fanfic #jimin bts fanfic #jimin #bts #bts jimin #jimin smut #jimin fluff #jimin angst #bts smut #bts fluff #bts angst

156 notes · View notes