Oh God, who is cutting onions beside me? đđđ¤§. This is short but written so well. All the emotions have been captured here so beautifully. I love everyone in this fic đ. Some tears slipped unknowingly from my eyes after reading the final line.
filed under:Â itâs emo hours
notes:Â iâm sorry in advance but ya girls an angst hoeÂ
your daughter, you quickly learn, is her fatherâs carbon copy. maybe thatâs why she loves you so much.
yoongi doesnât know how you do it, because mayaâs at that age where she can sense something is wrong without being able to place it, let alone express it. itâs such a tricky age to manoeuvre but if anyone were to navigate through so seamlessly, itâs you. thatâs what worries him.
âi can take her while youâre at your appointment,â yoongi says, not really an offer but a statement. heâs taking her like it or not and heâs going to buy her copious amounts of ice cream one way or another.
you smile at him, a thank you and i love you in one, and itâs moments like that with your hair undone and the house quiet that yoongi thinks his love for you will suffocate him. he watches you twirl your fingers through mayaâs hair while she sleeps on your lap. âitâs okay, i cancelled last night. i wanna stay home with you two tomorrow.â
yoongi does that thing where his mouth thins into a line and his cheeks dimple unhappily. â___.â
âmm?â
as much as he revels in that faint cheekiness, remnants of who you used to be, he forces the words out. âno skipping. you promised me youâd go to every session.â
a sigh. âi know.â
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Words: 9.7k Genre: Fluff. So much fluff.Â
Read more at Service Series
He called and you came running.
Knock Knock.
The door swings open; a boy dressed in a white shirt, blue jeans and timberlands greets you with frightened doe-eyes. âAre you-â
âYes I am.â You push your way in, not having enough time to slip off your shoes politely. You take one quick scan of his apartment. âHow much time do we have?â
âSheâs coming in five minutes.â He says in alarm, scrambling to look at the clock.
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"He remembered how to stayâand you learned that some things are worth the mess, that love sometimes comes too late, but longing never does."
â Pairing brother in law! Jungkook x widowed fem!reader
â Genre forbidden love! au, childhood friends to lovers, angst, smut, fluff
âW.C 17.10k
â Warnings oc is going through it, Jungkook is a flirty menace, ceo jk, lovesick jk, simp jk, possessive Jungkook, jealous Jungkook, rich people lunch time!!, mentions of blood and injury, mentions of drinking, yoongi makes an appearance, he has no lines, namjin, yearning?, bathroom escapdes, silly banter, sexual tension kissing, making out, explicit sexual content, fingering, an almost handjob, penetrative sex, dirty talking, soft Dom jk, praising, creampie, bathroom sex, fluff (you don't even wanna know my definition of fluff), hoseok is a victim, minho is haunting the narrative as he should, angst (sorry girls Itâs my brand đ), doomed siblings
â Playlist dress by Taylor swift, I can't be more in love by the 1975, in the woods somewhere by hozier, I can see you by Taylor swift, last words of a shooting star by mitski
âA/N Hii! Hello!! First things first: THANK YOU. Like, thank you in all caps lock. The love you all poured into Guilty as Sin honestly made me giggle to myself more than once. Every comment, message, share, and heart, It meant the absolute world to me. Youâve made this messy little story so much more than just words. You made it matter. And it was just so disrespectful of me to keep you waiting so long for a part 2 that wasn't really in my plans but yeah. Life got a little too unbearable, the plot bunnies misbehaved (you know how they are). But I really hope itâs worth the wait and not me just reheating my own nachos đ đ This is also most probably the last thing I'm gonna write for this story, at least for a long while. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being patient and most importantly,thank you for being kind. I love you and please do let me know your thoughts. Message me. Tell your plants. I'm all ears.
| PART 1 | PART 2 |
A thing about churches is that they were built for quiet.
Not silence. No, silence is an absence. This is presence. Heavy and hushed and holy.
There was something about the air inside themâperhaps the solemn, how it was weighty, drenched in devotionâthat made the world outside feel far-flung. The towering arches, the glow of candlelight flickering against stained glass, the low murmur of prayers threading through the smother.
The light is softer here too, filtered through the glassâfragments of crimson and gold painting benches and pressed shoulders. Candle flames sway slightly, flickering like they know secrets, like they remember everyone who ever sat here in search of something they couldn't name.
You tell yourself this stillness is what you needed. That this spaceâsacred and slowâwould help clear your head. But the truth is, the quiet here doesnât comfort. It exposes. Peels you open from the inside out.
You hear too much in it. Feel too much in it.
Even on days when you could still hear easy synchronicityâhands clasped, laughter spilling into the cool air. Especially on days like these.
Or maybe you're mixing that up with something else. Something that has been coloring your days blue for a while now.
Something that doesn't pauses for holidays, doesn't make exceptions for birthdays, doesn't even bother to step aside for just one evening and let one breathe.Does not give way to leaded glass windows or the allay of a congregation. No, it lingers, seeps into places meant for worship, curls around the edges of pews and prayers alike. Certainly doesnât soften on afternoons like these. Even though the flowers hadnât wilted.
You hadnât given it much thought.
Or rather, you had avoided thinking about it altogether.
Perhaps that is why, sitting here nowâhands folded neatly in your lap, shoulders drawn tightâyet you feel it, heavy as ever.
Your mother-in-law had insisted you come, refusing to leave you alone, her soft-spoken request leaving little room for refusal. Mira had chimed in too, linked her arm through yours with a smile that tried to coax you back into the land of the living, or like she was letting you in on some joke only the two of you shared.
And so, here you were.
Church had never been a place you frequented, even when Minho was aliveâhe hadn't been particularly devout, preferring to spend bargaining his way through the sunday market and believing in the way the sky could shift from blue to violet in the span of a single eveningâthough you both had come when his mother had asked you to, of course, had sat beside him in these very pews, but never like this.
Not without him whispering some irreverent joke about heavenâs waiting list, about how maybe angels got bored too.
But now, you found yourself here more often.
If only because there was no reason not to because what waited you was a quiet apartment, a neatly made bed you hardly slept in and a day untouched by plans, by purpose, by anything remotely significant.
Also because you thought he wouldnât be here.
Your mother-in-law had told you he wouldnât be able to make it, had mentioned something about work, something about how he's not big on religion, much like his brother and oh, how youâd clung to those words. Let them blanket your nerves in fragile relief. One more hour. One more day ofâknowing you wouldnât have to see him today, that you could go on one more moment pretending you weren't aware of the inevitable, that you weren't unraveling at the seams every time you so much as thought about him.
That, that's why you had been skirting around him.
Maybe not consciously. At least, thatâs what it looked like (You knew. Deep down, you knew.) But ever since that nightâGod, you really don't want to think about that or him in front of.. God without feeling like you're going to burst in flames. But its not exactly easy.
Not here, where the quiet literally wangles you into the deepest darkest of your thoughts. Thoughts that you're sure would.
Because the quiet here curls around your memories like smoke, drawing them out from where youâd hidden them. It coaxes them up your throat and behind your ribs until theyâre a dull, burning pressure you canât shake off.
You shift slightly in the bench. Mira breathes beside you, soft and steady. You press your palms flat against your lap, grounding yourself.
It hardly works. Especially not when he arrives. That strange, electric knowing. Like the air knows him. Like the space adjusts around him.
The low creak of a door, the faintest hush falling over those nearest the back.
Late, quiet, slipping into the back like a ghost who had learned how to walk among the living, embodying every bit of the word 'handsome' in the most tailored of ways. Hair laid out in perfect symmetry. A ironed, muted blue suit hugging every bit of his perfect posture. Eyes so probing, so demanding of attention that you wonder why you ever got confused when everyday a new number of girls would approach you at school, especially at university for his number.
Then he had just been your doe eyed friend who you wanted to spare from heartbreaks. Not aware of the term-"heartbreaker" that had been given to him. Ironic, really.
Now you feel like you understand. You feel like you sense him before you see him. Sense every bit of his presence that you maybe had overlooked before. A shift in the air, the faintest murmur of acknowledgment rippling through the congregation.
Both Mrs Jeon and Mira are turned towards the figure, thier expression brightening in recognition, waving small hands at the figure that is approaching your way, pulse quickening with the footsteps.
No.
He said he doesn't do church.
He wouldnât.
He wouldnât sitâ
The soft creak of the seat behind you made your breath hitch.
The older woman only smiled, a pleasant suprise. For her, atleast. "Jungkook-ah! You came! Oh, how lovely!"
She's sure the reason is that he is finally letting divinity in, you're sure you're losing yours.
You donât turn but Mira does as she shifts beside you, knees bumping against yours to smile in greeting. Saying something about how her husband should learn a thing or two from him and give this a try, accompany her once in a while. A deep, warm chuckle in reply hits you square in the back of your head and your shoulders tense.
Low, rich, like warm amber poured over ice.
It lands like a bruise.
You feel itâreal and impossible and close.
You swallow hard, keeping your eyes downcast, determined not to react any more. You fix your gaze on the marble altar, on the golden flicker of votive candles.Heâs behind you. Of course he is.
Because where else would he be, if not the one place you prayed he wouldn't?
Even as the sermon continued, voices rising in unison for prayer, you could barely hear them, could barely not feel your dirtiest secret behind you, close enough that if you leaned back even slightly, you might brush against him.
The service moves forward, and you try to focus. You try to listen. Tried to will your ears to listen, to stay anchored in psalms and promises and the choirâs distant swell. Just get through this.It couldnât possibly be so difficult. No one knows. No one suspects a thing. The polished congregation kneels and stands with rhythm and faith, unaware that your spine was stiff with a secret, that your breath refused to steady. Only you knew. Only he does. And that truth grips your tounge so hard thereâs no way itâs ever slipping past your mouth.
But then a touch happens. As if maneuvering. A whisper of movement behind you, so faint it could be the air shifting, a trick of your mind.
Light. Fleeting. Not direct. Not quite.
You freeze.
Just the faintest brush of fingertips against the ends of your hair that spilled over your shoulders, the softest, most cursory pull. Just a teasing pass, like heâs testing the silk of it between thumb and forefinger. Thereâs a pause, then the strand is gently looped once, slow and idle, as though heâs turning it over in thought.
Then released.
The answer to that is that it happens again. A lazy twirl of a strand, a slow release.
Not enough for anyone to notice. Not enough to draw attention. But enough for you to feel it. Enough to make your skin prickle, your heartbeat stutter.
You shift in your seat, pressing your hands tighter into your lap, back rod-straight, lungs stuck in a breath that wouldnât come. The sensation was too distinct now, too exact to mistake.
It doesnât stop. Another strand. A drag of fingertips. A near-caress.
What the fuck is he doing?
You donât turn. You donât react when you should have thrown him a warning glanceâbut that would mean acknowledging him. That would mean facing him.
And you didnât know how to look him in the eye and not think about it.
His mouth. Your sigh. The sound of your name said like prayer and profanity.
Didnât know how to hear his voice and not remember the way how his lips shaped against your skin. Venal. Hungry.
Didn't know how not to follow the tattoos that ran through his sleeve and pretend that you haven't took your time exploring them. Aversly. Teasingly.
Didnât know how to feel the weight of everything you werenât supposed to want pressing down on you like a second heartbeat.
The way he had tugged your shirt up with reverence and bitten down like he wanted to leave a mark not even salvation could scrub away.
Do not react.
Do not move.
But he kept going. And the sermon blurred.
Gods, you were going to burn. You were going to hell. And he'd be there already, waiting with his hands in your hair.
When the sermon concludes, you stand too quickly, push your hair forward and Mira shoots you a look, her fingers grazing your wrist in question. You shake your head, offering her a quick, brittle smile before stepping toward the exit. You walked. Out of the stall. Out of the building. Out of your goddamn mind.
To your reliefâyou were still a perfectly coordinated bundle of cells when you were out. The sun hit you outside, sharp and sudden, dragging long shadows over the stone steps. You sucked in fresh air like someone who had been underwater too long.
The relief lasted long enough until Jungkook spoke under the sun casting long shadows against the stone steps. âIâll drive.â Voice cutting through the polite chatter.
âOh, that would be great, dear. Y/N, Mira, come on.â Your mother-in-law, oblivious, beamed, completely unaware that you had just spent forty-five minutes debating if setting yourself on fire in the house of God would be less painful than what had just happened.
The car ride should be easy.
It should be nothing. A short drive. A forgettable stretch of road between church and the Jeon family estate.
Should be.
But as you are pressed against the window, your coat bunched beneath you like a failed barrier, you want to either open the window for air or bolt from the moving car, with every inch of your skin crawling with awareness, tight and buzzing and flushed in ways that had nothing to do with the temperature.
The cabin is too quiet. Too warm. The low hum of the engine does nothing to drown out the sound of your heart, which feels like itâs beating directly into your throat.
And then thereâs that scent again.
The scent of leather and something distinctly Jungkook curling in the closed space. A mix of his cologneâsomething dark and woodsyâand the faintest trace of laundry detergent, clinging to his shirt like it had no intention of leaving. It shouldnât be so familiar, but it is. And thatâs the problem.
âThat sermon was lovely, wasnât it?â Mrs. Jeonâs voice is light, warm, like freshly baked bread. The kind of voice that belongs in a home, not a car filled with tension so thick it could choke you.
Mira hums in agreement beside you. âIt was.â
You blink, only now realizing how little of the service you actually absorbed.
âOf course,â Mrs Jeon continues, turning slightly in her seat, eyes alight with something rebuke, ânot everyone was paying attention.â
You tense, breath catching, even when the accusation isnât aimed at you. You feel it anyway.
âWhat?â He finally speaks, voice even. A little hoarse, like he hadnât spoken in hours. Like his vocal cords were dry from silence and prohibition.
âOh, donât act like you donât know, Jungkook-ah." his mother huffs, shaking her head. âYou join for the first time ever in a while, sit in the back, and then spend half the time looking like you didnât even knew where you were." she finishes with a scolding tone.
Jungkook exhales through his nose, hand tightening against the steering wheel. He doesn't argue.
Because It did seem so.
Mira, ever the enabler, bites her lip to stifle a laugh, glancing at you with barely concealed amusement.
You do not look at Jungkook.
You absolutely do not.
Mrs. Jeon, unbothered by the quiet tension thickening in the car, continues, âYou know who else was praying a little too hard?â
Silence. No one answers with whatever self preservation they have.
Not because they donât want to. But because they know better.
Because when Mrs. Jeon starts on church gossip, thereâs no stopping her because apparently it's what it's best for.
She leans in, lowering her voice like sheâs about to reveal something sacred. âMrs. Kang.â
Mira gasps dramatically. âNo.â
âOh, yes.â A firm nod. âShe was crying, dear. Again. Right in the middle of the third hymn.â
You blink. âWhy?â
The older woman tsks, as if the answer should be obvious. âThat husband of hers. You know how he is.â
You makes a thoughtful noise, tilting your head. âDidnât he⌠move to Seoul?â
âYes, but does distance stop a man from causing stress? I donât think so.â You didn't think so too.
Jungkook exhales, long-suffering. âWhy do you know all of this, eomma?â
His mother waves a hand dismissively. âPlease, son. I hear things.â
Mira leans in. âDid she cry last week too?â
âOf course,â Mrs. Jeon replies. âBut last week was because he didnât call her for three days. This week, I believe heâs dating someone half his age.â
Mira sighs. âMen.â
You let out an involuntary snicker before you can help it. You donât even know if itâs a real sound or something your soul exhaled out of disbelief.
Then, you make the mistake of glancing toward the front.
Because Jungkookâs eyes are on you.
Not on the road.
Not on his mother, who is still detailing the tragic love life of a woman you barely know.Not at the red light blinking in the distance.
His eyes are dark and unreadable, barely hooded, like heâs watching you and also thinking about the last time you were under him, gasping. Like maybe heâs remembering the way your nails looked against his neck. Or the way you said his name like a prayer, far more pledged than anything the pastor could conjure.
And every so often, you caught him.
The first time, you looked away immediately. The second time, you stared out the window so hard you gave yourself a headache. The third time, you stared back, even as something molten and dangerous simmers in the quiet between you.
His gaze held yours for a beat longer than necessary before shifting back to the road.
Every part of you was aware of him.
Of the way he adjusted his grip on the wheel. Of the way the veins along his forearm flexed when he turned. Of the way he never looked away fast enough.
Mira nudged you gently. âYou okay?â
You nodded through the lie. "Fine."
Your mother-in-law again turned in her seat, smiling warmly. âI hope youâll stay for lunch, Mira. We have invited the kims too. Itâs been long overdue." The word âlunchâ doesnât quite capture whatâs waiting at the Jeon house.
Because it isnât just lunch.
Itâs crystal glassware, centerpieces too elaborate for a midday meal, and courses that require cutlery you donât know how to use properly. It's a show. A subtle flex. A performance wrapped in linen napkins and wine pairings. And if you had to guess, this lunch isnât just a friendly catch-up.
Itâs Mrs. Jeon doing what she does bestâplaying politics with a smile. Maybe itâs her way of returning the favor after that party the Kims threw. Maybe sheâs angling for something else entirely. But itâs definitely not casual.
She then adds as an afterthought. âWe thought it would be nice to host something a little more intimate after such a wonderful service.â
âOh, Iâd love to.â Mira grins, relaxing against the seat. âY/N, you up for it?â
You forced a small smile. âUh-yeah. Yeah, of course!â
Itâs automatic. Reflexive.
Because you can't say what you really want.
Which is to get out of the car.
To breathe. To clear the fog from your chest that smells like leather, and cologne, and fire.
From then, from the backseat, you had counted the moments until you could step into open air again and feel the crisp edge of early spring, the scent of freshly turned earth and blooming jasmine lacing through the quiet garden. The table was set beneath the sprawling branches of the old oak, where dappled sunlight filtered through on the delicate porcelain plates, silverware so polished it reflected the light, dishes, conversations lively and layered with subtext in the way rich families knew how to be.
You, too used to know the dance.
Used to let the brezzy hum of conversation wrap around you, used to nod along at the right moments, used to catch the way Minho would kick Jungkook under the table just to make him crack a smile.You remembered that.
Now, Mira sat beside you, her elbow jolting against yours as she reached for a serving spoon, her plate already filled to the edges.âTry this one,â she whispered, already loading her plate still like she hadnât eaten in days. And then there was Yoongiâher husbandâsitting with a plate he barely touched, scrolling through something on his phone until Mira shot him a look. He cleared his throat and slid it away.
Across from you, your mother-in-law delicately dabbed her lips with a napkin before resuming conversation about Mrs kang with a woman- namjoon's mother- who had grayer streaks in her hair that only painted the greater picture of elegance, her voice carrying that effortless ease of someone used to commanding a room. Someone who had enough money to command at all
Then there's Jungkook who sits two chair away from you, separated by separated only by a stretch of linen and eating irons. Jungkook who could barely catch up to Namjoon's enthusiasm about his dad dying, something about the shifting board members, something that should require Jungkookâs full attention."And now that my fatherâs out, the balance is shifting," Namjoon said. âWeâve got a chance to pull things clean, finally. The new proposalâs solid.â
Especially when his father speaks. "Youâve seen the numbers, Jungkook," His deep voice cutting through the low hum of conversation. âThe dealâs been in discussion for months now. The board expects your response by next week.â
âIâll look it over.â He acknowledged it with a slow nod.
"Not look over, son." His fatherâs tone was measured, but firmâthe kind of voice that had always left little room for negotiation. "Confirm."
Jungkook exhaled through his nose, setting his wine down. "I wonât confirm anything without making sure itâs solid first."
He pauses. A glance. His fatherâs sharp gaze flickered over him, assessing. Not questioningâno, never questioning. Because Jungkook had earned his place, had spent years proving himself, had molded himself into the kind of son his father could rely on, because Minho never did.
Not that Minho ever needed to. Not that he ever wanted to.
Jungkook had understood that early on. That Minho had been different. That Minhoâs place had always been elsewhereâwith paint on his fingers and art in his head, with you curled into his side, laughing in a language he had willed himself to forget. And so it had fallen to him.
And JungkookâJungkook hadnât minded. Not really.
Not when he could see the relief in Minhoâs eyes every time their father skipped over him in business conversations, every time he looked at him liked he had birthed a catastrophe. Ambition morphed into inheritance and starry eyes jaundiced. Jungkook realized that this was what he was born for. That his older brother was a fool for denying everything that had been laid on a silver platter for him.
And because it had been easier than actually admitting that maybe he wasn't a fool at all. That maybe it wasn't the legacy he was born for.
Because every waking moment he finds himself tangled in the thoughts about what was right in front of him.
It had been days, yet it remained, stitched into him like something permanentâlike the ink on his skin, like the weight of his own name.
It wasnât just the memory of it. Not just the way you had felt beneath him, the way his name had left your lips in shuddering breaths. It was everything elseâthe before, the after. The way you had looked at him, wide-eyed and hesitant in the dim light of that unfamiliar room, as if realizing for the first time that he was capable of something like this. That he had spent years knowing, wanting.
Jungkook, who had spent years perfecting restraint, found himself breaking under the weight of it at only the sight of you that brought the memory of the night where he pretended you were his, like fever rushing through.
Because you would not look at him.
Because your eyes had skimmed past him all afternoon, slipping over him like he was nothing, like he hadnât once been pressed against you, groaning into your skin.
And fuck if it didnât drive him insane.
His fingers curled around the stem of his glass, his knuckles white as he brought the wine to his lips, stealing glances of you reaching for a pitcher of water at the same time as Mira, your fingers brushing, the smallest of startled laughs escaping you.
Soft. Effortless. Rivaling the intoxicity of the drink in his hand. He couldn't remember when it was the last time he heard it, only the withdrawals that came with it.
Jungkook exhaled sharply, setting down his glass before he did something recklessâbefore he let himself stare too long, let his thoughts slip into something visible, something impossible to ignore.
And then, as if the universe were intent on pushing him closer to the edgeâyou left, something he used to be best at.
You pushed back your chair, the scrape of wood against stone barely registering above the conversation which started with Mrs Kim going- âI should probably head home soon,â she said. "Joon's father probably running the househelp ragged by now.â
Namjoon huffed a laugh beside Jungkook, reaching for the hand resting on his thigh. âLet him. Maybe theyâll finally get him to stop redecorating the library every three months.â
Seokjin, seated beside him, shrugged. âOr maybe heâll burn the place down and finally have an excuse to build that âmodern masterpieceâ heâs been threatening to commission.â
Mrs. Kim sighed, exasperated but fond. âI wouldn't put it past him. Heâs been threatening that âmodern masterpieceâ since 2003.â
Mrs. Jeon clapped her hands together. âOh, nonsense. Stay for tea at least. Mr Kim will be fine. Yoongi, youâll take another pour, wonât you? Y/N, dear, why donât you grab the set from the kitchen?â
"Of course. I'll be right back." you murmured, barely loud enough for anyone to catch, save for the ones listening too closely. Save for him.
Jungkook watched as you stepped away, disappearing through the doors of the house, something tightening in his chest.
The moment his hand closed around the stem of his glass again, Jungkook knew what he was about to do.
Would it be too obvious? Too stupid?
He doubted it.
Maybe it was reckless. Maybe it was childish. But as his grip tightened and the glass stem cracked beneath his palm, sending shards of glass and a sharp jolt of pain through his hand, he felt something darkly satisfying settle in his chest.
The table fell silent.
And all eyes fell on him. "I-I'm sorry. I didnât realize." He cleared his throat and started to rise up from his seat.
Namjoon, the closest to him, attempted to reach for his hand and he instantly flinched. Just because the wound was intentional, didnât mean it didn't hurt.
"What the hell, Kook? Are you okay?"
âIts nothing,â he muttered, jaw clenched as he pressed his uninjured hand to his palm, watching the thin trickle of crimson bead against his skin.
âJungkook?â His motherâs voice came next to break through the quiet, sharp and immediate, her chair scraping against the stone as she pushed back. âOh my godâwhat were you thinking? Do you need me toââ
âNo,â he cut in, firm but even, already standing. âIâve got it.â
Seokjin, looked up from beside his boyfriend, a just as suprised and bewildered expression taking over his face. The same one that mimicked every other person's that sat around the table, with Mira looking like she was going to choke on her food as she met his eyes before her husband smoothed a hand down her back.
"Are you sure? You donât need any helâ"
"I'm okay, hyung. I said I got it." He said it with perhaps too much irration shimmering beneath his words and the table fell silent again.
Jungkook ignored them all.
He was already moving.
Already following.
Through the hallway, past familiar frames on the wall.
He finds himself checking his reflection in one, taking note of his hair that seem tousled and runs a smooth hand over them.
He finds you in the kitchen.
The afternoon light streamed through the windows, casting golden lines across the marble counters, across the soft fabric of your dress. You stood with your back to him, your hands grasping somethingâkettle, tray? Don't know.
You just know that you feel him before you hear him like you always do, the weight of his presence shifting the air, settling around you like something impending. You pretend you donât notice. Pretend youâre too preoccupied with the cups in your hands, as if arranging over the same sets of cups for the fourth time will make it any more legible. Itâs pointless, reallyâYou had always known Jungkook, even in silence.
âGonna keep avoiding me?"
Itâs not exactly a question.
Not accusing, but certain. Because yes, you have. Not because youâre angry, not because you regret it, but because it scares you how little you do.
You swallowed. Still not looking. âIâve been busy.â
He drawls out. âHave you?"
That makes you look up.
By this time you should have realized that it's always a mistake when you do that.
Because heâs leaning against the counter, a hand tucked casually in his pockets, sleeves still rolled up, collar slightly undone. And heâs watching you.
Not like at the table, where his expression had been smooth, unreadable or like that one time where you had been exactly where you are now and he was exactly where he was. Just then, it had been the same illegible look.
Here, in this quiet, his eyes are darker. He looks at you like he knows.
Its in the way his gaze dips, taking you in and how the amber light fluidly danced across your hair that framed your guilty face. So fucking adorable. "So busy you won't even look at me."
You hated how your breath hitched. Hated how you had no answer that didnât sound like a lie.
You forced a slow breath and placed the napkins in the space left in the tray. "I've had a lot to do."
"No you didn't."
"I did."
"No you didn't, Y/N."
You force yourself to move, to wrap your hands around the tray, to act as if this conversation isnât happening. âWhat do you want me to say?â
Instead, he pushed himself off the wall and came closer, close enough that the warmth of him touched your spine, close enought that you could see everythingâthe way his jaw tightens, the way his throat bobs when he swallows, the way his fingers twitch at his sides and when he finally spoke, it was low, just for you.
"Tell me you don't hate me. I can't go on like that." Has no idea how he has done that for years and has no intention to relive that ever again. He's a buisness man now. Buisness men learn from their losses and never give up profit.
Heat curled in your stomach.
Minutes passed. Too many, too few.
And he waits. Heâs patient like that. He always has been.
But your eyes were drawn to something else entirely.
His hand.
The sharp contrast of crimson against his skin, fresh and glistening, pooling at the edge of his palm before dripping onto the tiled floor in slow, schemed drops.
You inhaled sharply, setting the tray down with a quiet clatter, your pulse kicking up. âWhat theâJungkook, what happened?â
He didnât answer right away, didnât even glance at the wound. Instead, his eyes stayed fixed on you, dark and unreadable, watching the way you reached for his arm, fingers curling around his wrist, your touch careful and instinctive. Maybe it wasn't that bad of an idea, he thinks.
You turned his palm over, assessing the damage. A deep cut, but nothing catastrophic. "You're bleeding."
His voice was slow, aforethought. âI noticed.â
Your head snapped up, irritation flickering behind your concern. âWhat do you mean, you noticed? Why didnât you say anything? You shouldâveââ
Your breath catches, shifting your weight, as he steps closer, the space between you dwindling.
You try to ignore it. Try to recoil from it. Try to do anything but this. Because you recognized it now. This wasnât about his hand.
Not really.
Not when his gaze flickered down to your lips in that moment.
Not when his fingers twitched at his side, like he was waiting.
Not when the air between you suddenly felt too thick, too warm, too charged. Too much like that one hallway.
You swallowed, cursed under your breath and forced your eyes away from his wound to take hold of the abandoned tray. You didnât trust yourself enough with his. With him.
He seemed to revel in that fact.
His fingers brushed against your wrist in protest, dwadling, intentional. His head leaned in, lips grazing the curve of your jaw, just the lightest touch, just enough to rattle the glasses on the tray, just enough to summon a maelstrom of sensations.
Your hand flexed beneath his grip, and for a moment, the room felt smaller, quieter, like the world outside of it ceased to exist.
No. No. You reminded yourself of the straight stuff.
âJungkook, let go. Everyone's ouââ
He doesnât let you finish.
Jungkookâs breath ghosts over your cheek, his nose brushing against yours, the scent of himâsylvan cologne, something faintly sweetâpulling you under, drowning you in it.
He turns you, presses you back against the counter. His eyes are dark, searching of the surroundings for a moment before they are back on you. Then, so is the unrelenting heat of his mouth, catching your lips with his, slow and deep, like he had all the time in the world to corrade you.
His lips moved against yours, insistent, beguiling you to open up, to give him what he wanted. Because it had been days. Days since he had his first taste. Days since you have deprived him off it.
And so you did.
You gasped against his mouth, your fingers curling against the handle of trays, gripping, steadying yourself. He groaned at the way you responded, at the way you always responded, despite every calmour, despite every attempt to put distance between you.
You didnât know who reached first, who needed more, who ached betterâonly that neither of you pulled away.
The kiss deepened, his uninjured hand slipping beneath the curve of your jaw, his thumb dragging against your cheek, his teeth grazing against your bottom lip. The wounded one curled around your waist. You gasped at the contactâat the warmth of his blood seeping through the fabric of your dress, staining the pale church blue with sin. You felt it against your ribs, hot and sticky. You didnât care. You whimpered into his mouth, heat pooling low in your stomach, and that was all it took to prouduce a low, guttural noise in his chest, his fingers flexing against your waist, gripping, needing, wanting
And suddenly, the counter is the only thing keeping you upright. Your mind is spinning, lost in him, lost in this, in the fact that this is happeningâ
Here.
Now.
Where anyone could walk in.
âY/N?â
Your heart stopped.
Jungkook froze.
Your mother-in-lawâs voice was distant but getting closer.
Your breath hitched, panic flaring in your chest, but before you could pull away, Jungkook caught you again.
Pressed his lips to yours, stealing another kiss, this one shorter, sharper, like a punishment, like he was branding you with it as if he hadnât already stained you with his blood, making sure youâd feel it long after he let go.
But he didnât.
âPleaseâ he breathed against your mouth, he kisses you deeper, hungrier. He drinks you in like heâs been starving, like he wants to ruin you.
Like he already has.
His tongue brushed against yours, hot and sure, and your stomach twisted, heat
licking at your spine. âTell me you don't."
A voiceâyour mother-in-lawâs, calling your name grows closer and semblance slams into you like a freight train.
Yet Jungkook stands untouched, refusing to let go, refusing to understand what's he doing, how it could end.
"Jungkook, stopâmhmmâMom's coming!"
Your resolve is slipping.
Falling.
Falling.
Gone.
And then, when you finally find your voiceâ
You donât tell him to stop.
You whisperâbreathless, aching, a confession and a surrender all at once.
âI donât.â
Jungkook groans a curse and he's swift in the way he pulls away because it's only in a second away that another figure breezes into the space.
Your mother-in-law stands in the doorway, looking between you and Jungkook , her brows pinching in mild confusion.
âWhat was taking so long, dear?â
Jungkook is the first to move, straightening, rolling his shoulders back like nothing happened. Like his tounge wasn't down your throat.
You, though, find it hard to hide the compact it had on you. You're sure everyone in the room can hear how your heartbeats, can hear how it wants to get out of your constructing chest. Your wide blown pupils gaze roams everywhere and stops at the tray in your hands.
Yeah, right.
You start to speak. âI was justââ
But before you can finish with whatever you come up with, her eyes land on his still-bleeding hand that's making a mess on the once polished clean floors.
âWhy havenât you cleaned that up yet, Jungkook-ah?â she scolds, sighing. âYouâre going to get an infection.â
Jungkook exhales through his nose, and swips his tounge over his kiss bruised lips. âI was going to."
âIâll help him, mom. Why don't you take this?â you blurt out, too quick, too loud.
Your mother-in-lawâs eyes flicker to you. Something unreadable passes through them.
Then, after a long beat, she nods, smiling. âYoure a sweetheart, Y/N. I'll take this.â
She steps forward, plucks the tray from your hands, and turns toward the dining room without another word.
The moment the door clicks shut behind her, the weight of everything crashes into you.
Your pulse was still erratic, your lips tingling from his kiss, your hands shaking as you turned to him.
You whirled on Jungkook, eyes blazing at his audacity.
"What were you thinking?"
You wanted to kill him.
Your fingers curl into a fist before you can stop them, and you swat his chest, your palm colliding against solid muscle.
He catches your wrist before you can pull away.
And before you could yank off, he pressed a kiss to your knuckles. Your breath stutters.
His eyes flicker down to meet yours, dark and knowing. His expression pleased. Deliciously so. Almost resembling the look that crossed over his face after he had made you come on his mouth for the second time, saying something along the lines of how he could stay buriedâ
Oh, shit. Uh, scratch that.
âYouâre going to be the death of me,â you heave out.
His lips quirk. âLikewise.â
You inhale sharply, snatching your hand from his grip, grabbing his unsullied wrist instead.
âShut up and come here.â you mutter, tugging him toward the hall.
Jungkook lets you drag him to the bathroom, silent, unresisting. He thinks if it's you he has to follow, he will, even to the ends of the world. Wherever you want.
For now it's the bathroom that was silent, except for the soft drip of the faucet and the sound of your own heartbeat thrumming in your ears. The space was impossibly small with him in it, the air thick with something that hadnât dissipated even after your mother-in-law had nearly caught you both in the kitchen.
And the moment the door closes behind you.
You realize two things.
One: His hand is still shaking, still bleeding, still a mess of raw skin and recklessness.
And two: You really donât trust yourself to be alone with him.
Yet you always found yourself in closed rooms. Closed bathrooms, for this instant. Only places you can afford being this close.
You turned the tap, watching as the water rushed down, steam curling into the air. Jungkook stood behind you, leaning against the sink, his injured hand still cradled in his other. His shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, exposing strong forearms, tendons shifting beneath inked skin as he flexed his fingers experimentally.
The sight shouldnât make your stomach twist the way it did.
âYouâre a idiot." you muttered again, reaching for the first aid kit tucked behind the mirror cabinet.
Jungkook hummed, the sound deep, amused. "So, I've been told."
You turned, finally looking at him, and immediately regretted it. Because he was watching you. Again. Not passively, not carelesslyâbut like he was memorizing something, like he was still thinking about the way you had whispered I donât against his lips only minutes ago.
Your throat tightened. You gestured toward the sink. âHand. Under the water.â
He didnât move.
Instead, his head tilted slightly, a slow smirk ghosting at the edges of his lips. âThat an order, angel?â
You exhaled sharply, grabbing his wrist before he could make another smart remark, forcing his injured hand under the warm stream. He hissed at the contact, fingers twitching, but otherwise didnât complain. Blood swirled in the sink, a diluted pink that spiraled down the drain.
You repeated, biting the inside of your cheek. âWhat were you even thinking?â
Jungkookâs voice was ceaseless, unfaltering. âThat I wanted you alone.â
Your hands stilled, fingertips just barely brushing against his palm. His words lingered between you, weaving into the steam, settling into your bones.
Slowly, carefully, you lifted his hand out of the water, watching as droplets slid down his fingers, over the sharp lines of his knuckles. The cuts were shallow but jagged, the skin angry and raw, small flecks of glass still embedded in his palm.
Your chest ached.
You reached for a towel and dabbed carefully around the wounds.
This was ridiculous. He was ridiculous. But he was also In pain and a part of you has never liked him In pain. It reminded you of nights where he'd think too much about where he actually belonged. Something very candid. Something very raw. Something a child shouldnât have to think. You had known how to bandage scraped knees and scuffed elbows. Knew nothing about those nights.
You refocused on his hand, plucking a pair of tweezers from the kit and leaning in, carefully pulling out the slivers of glass still buried in his skin. Your breath brushed against his wrist, your fingers gentle, your focus unwavering. Jungkook didnât move, didnât even flinch.
But he watched.
Watched the way your brows furrowed, the way your lips pressed together in quiet concentration, the way your hands trembled just slightly when his thumb twitched against your palm.
He inhaled deeply. "You're good at this. You always have been."
You ignored him, reaching for the antiseptic. âThis is going to sting.â
Jungkook smirked. âYou sure you donât want it to?â
You pressed the gauze down harder than necessary.
Jungkook inhaled sharply, his good hand gripping the edge of the counter. âYou're enjoying this, aren't you?â
âA little,â you admitted, pressing again just to make a point.
His laughter was quiet, but it was real.
You forced yourself to focus, wrapping a clean bandage over his palm, fingers tracing lightly over his knuckles as you secured it in place. His skin was warm beneath yours, solid, alive. You wondered if he could feel the way your pulse was hammering.
You sucked in a breath, finally, finally releasing him, stepping back like distance could fix what had already unraveled.
"This is reckless." You spoke, not knowing yourself if you meant his hand or him following you to the kitchen. "We need to stop doing this." You finished and looked up to gauge his reaction to your words, only to find that he was already staring.
Too close. Too secure. Too much.
You werenât sure what you were excepting. Hurt? Regret? Guilt?
Definitely not the recap of what happened in the kitchen. Definitely not his good hand lifting. Again.
Itâs imperceptibly, resolute. His fingertips brush your hip first, featherlight, a touch so barely-there that you almost convince yourself you imagined it.
Almost.
Until he grips.
Until he tugs.
And suddenly, you're slamming right against his unmalleable frame,
Your eyes fly up, locking onto his.
Jungkookâs gaze is unreadable, filled with something that makes your stomach clench. His hands plant themselves firmly on either side of you, caging you in.
âYou tell me to stop,â he said quietly, âand I will.â
Your fingers tighten around his forearm.
You should.
You should.
But you donât.
Because he shifted, tilting his head slightly, the smallest movementâone that said heâd do it again.
Kiss you.
Undo you.
His gaze flickers down, lingering on your parted lips. "Yet all you do is look at me like you want me to fuck you on this damn counter. And Jesus, angel, if it doesn't make me rock hard."
The crude words leave him like thereâs no consequence to him. To you they rise goosebumps all over your body. For a moment, you try to convince yourself that it's a warning sitting heavy on your skin.
It shimmers through your mind, something about distance, about lines, about how youâve already crossed too many. You could still say it.
You could still put an end to this before it tattered beyond repair.
But then Jungkookâs grip on your waist tightened, and suddenly, the ground wasnât beneath you anymore.
Your breath caught as he lifted you. Effortlessly, hands firm, unwavering. The air shifted around you, heat rolling off him in waves, and before you could catch your breath, the cool press of marble kissed the backs of your thighs.
You swallowed hard, fingers instinctively curling into the fabric of his shirt. He settled between your parted legs, the warmth of his body bleeding into yours.
Your pulse thrummed, a frantic, uneven rhythm against your ribs.
"That," you breathed, trying to sound firm, trying to anchor yourself in reason, "sounds like a bad idea."
Jungkook exhaled through his nose, the ghost of a smirk playing at his lips. "It does."
And then he kissed you again.
It wasnât fair, the way he kissed.
Like he knew exactly how to disentangle you.
Like he knew that every time his mouth met yours, resistance becomes a footnote.
His tounge moved with yours, fingers traced the edge of your knee, palms gliding up the sensitive skin of your thigh before finding its mark at your hip with a confidence that says its his anyways. A soft ache that doesnât seem to matter anymore. He doesnât move closer. He doesnât have to.
The space between you is already non existence.
But his hands need to be closer. Preferably, inside so one of his hands slides higher, disappearing beneath the hem of your dress. Unhurried, exploring, teasing.
Your thighs tensed against his hips, heat coiling in your stomach, something familiar and overwhelming pressing at the edges of your ribs. His bandaged hand then found the small of your back, fingers splaying against your spine as if mapping you, tugging you still until you could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against yours and the outline of his bulge against your thigh.
Your fingers curled into his shoulders, anchoring yourself, gripping onto something solid as his touch grew more confident, more certain when he found the wet spot forming on the lacy white materialâso thin, so damn easy to tearâand something primal glinted in his gaze.
His lips dragged along the planes of your chin, the corner of your mouth, before he exhaled against your skin, voice hushed, but steady. "Still want me to stop?"
His answer was you pressing into his hands instead of pulling away, your breath catching when his fingers brushed higher, thumb pressed bolder and stroking slow patterns against your clothed fold, dragging his knuckles along the delicate fabric.
Your head tilted back slightly, your breath uneven, and Jungkook watched youâwatched the way your lashes fluttered, the way your fingers dug into his biceps, the way your body responded to him, even without words.
He knew.
And he liked it.
His lips found your throat, his voice low, rough. "You should." A kiss, slow and deep. "You really should." Another, this one firmer, teeth grazing over your pulse.
A shiver rolled down your spine and desperation rolled on.
"Don't stop. Want your fingers." His cock twitched in his pants and he bit harder onto your neck. He thinks he's again gonna make a wreckage in his pants at the realization of you trembling for him.
"Good girl, angel. Already so wet for me." he breathed, and eased down your soaked panties from your thighs. His eyes glinting again when the thin white late is revealed to him. And god, when it slipped down, revealing glistening skin beneath, he exhaled something broken. "Fuckâhave you been waiting for this? Is that what it is?" He wantons and bunches the fabric in his hand to tuck it in his pocket. You flush at the implications, at what he just did, at what he might do.
"Have you?" You dodge the question and he grunts, parting your folds with his thumb and forefinger.
"You have no fucking idea." His forehead pressed to yours, jaw clenched. "The idea of having you like this again consumed me. You consume me."
A soft whimper slipped from your throat, and he grunted again at the sound, his fingers pressing more firmly now, tracing, exploring, teasing you apart. "Did that charming mouth used to get you a lot of girls out there?" The question sounds like a taunt but tastes like lemon on your tounge. You donât know why you ask itâwhy you let the thought slip past your lips when you could have buried it like all the others. Maybe now, with his hands on you, with the past and present colliding so violently in the space between breaths, the thought worms its way in.
If he had kissed someone the way he kissed you. If his hands had crammed the shape of someone elseâs body. If, somewhere across an ocean, he had found something that didnât taste like longing.
His fingers stilled. A sharp breath. A pause thick enough to drown in.
Thenâhe laughed. A low, disbelieving sound that sent a shiver curling up your spine. Not amused. Not really. More incredulous than anything, roughened at the edges with something else.
His bandaged hand tightened around your thigh, dragging you closer. "You think Iâve wasted this mouth on anyone else?"
His voice was low, velvet-soft but weighted, pressing into your skin like the heat of an open flame. Your stomach clenched.
"I donât know." You swallowed, pulse fluttering against your throat. "I never heard anything, butâ"
"But what?" His thumb dragged along your folds. âYou think Iâd let someone else have whatâs yours? Thought Iâd put my hands on someone else and think of anything but you?" The pads dig into your skin, his grip an demand for honesty because this is all he plans to give you now. The honesty that every time he tried to want something else, it was your voice in his head. Your name on his tongue.
Your lashes fluttered, the words sinks into your bones, pools at the base of your core. It terrifies you how much you like the way it sounds coming from his mouthâlow aching, like it had been a curse, like you had ruined him without ever meaning toâ how much you like the way him stressing every word with press of his fingers.
âI want things with you,â he said, the words dragging out of him like theyâd been kept in a vault. âNot just this. Not just your bodyâthough fuck, Iâll worship it until Iâm in the ground.â
His hand stilled again, the stillness worse than movement, because now he was looking at you. Really looking. Voice softer now. Like he was afraid to let it live in the air.
"I want it all." He whispered. "I want every morning with your hair on my pillow. Every night with your hands on me." Your mouth parted, but no sound came outâjust breath, shallow and stunned.
His fingers moved again, slow and reverent, his touch suddenly less about taking and more about giving. "Your clothes in my closest." Showing.
Promising.
Your head fell back against the mirror, your breath coming in sharp, uneven pants, every flick of his wrist sending another spark of pleasure shooting through your limbs.
"Jungkook," you gasped, barely able to form his name.
"Your name on every piece of paper that has mine." he kept going, his voice low, yet the way two of his digits slipped inside, slow, stretching, filling, setting a rhythm that had your thighs trembling wasn't exactly something you could keep quiet for. "Your moans in my ear that I'm gonna keep just for myself."
Your cunt clenched around him and head dropped to his shoulder in an attempt to muffle the sound. "Mhm. Fuck." Your body arched into him, chasing the fire that threatened to consume you whole. His pace quickened, his touch growing rougher, more desperate, as if he needed this just as badly as you did, as if he needed to become a devotee of the way you fell apart in his hands.
"Say it." He curled them just right, making a consistent squelching sound that bounced off the walls. "Tell me you want it. Tell me you want me." His mouth was scornful when it spoke but affectionate when it peppered kisses on the crown of your head.
"You know I do." Your voice was wrecked, barely more than a whisper against his skin, hips stuttering beneath his touch.
"Not enough." He growled, voice thinned by impediment, fingers curling again, slow and deep and your grip on him was the only thing keeping you from floating away.
"IâJungkookâI" You broke off, a cry catching in your throat as he pressed and flicked. A merciless rhythm of knowing.
"Come on. Be my good fucking angel." He murmured against your hair, fingers pushing in and out of your slick hole with practiced ease, working you open, watching every shift of your body, every tiny gasp and shudder.
"I feel it," you breathed. "God, I feel itâI want you."
He too could feel how you seized against his fingers, how your breath started to come in short pants. "More." He husked. "I want you to lose it for me," his voice took a pleading note, his head dunking down, lips finding the curve of your jaw, his teeth scraping lightly before soothing the bite with his tongue. "Fall apart. Come on my fingers knowing what I want with you. Knowing you're it. Let go, baby."
And then he found that spotâthe one that drove knuckles deep into your quivering cunt, curling and flicking, shattering you, the one that had your eyes rolling back, your breath catching in a sharp, broken cry as teeth dug unconsciously into his shoulders, hips shifting, chasing his touch, needing more and he felt the urgent need to bury his cock into you the next second.
âRight there, fuckâJungkook,â you whimpered, eyes fluttering shut, lashes damp.
âDonât stop. Iâmâgod, Iâm gonna cum. So close. So fucking close.â Eyes stayed fixed on your face like it was a masterpiece made for him alone. The heat of your slick coated his fingers, the way your body clenched down around him driving a ragged curse from his throat.
Your orgasm hit with brutal force, crashing into you like a wave breaking at high tide, leaving you boneless, trembling, and Jungkook caught you, his arm wrapping securely around your waist, his lips pressing into the side of your neck, as if searing the moment into your skin.
As if he had no intention of letting you go. As if he never had.
"Beautiful girl." He mummered. "So fucking perfect when you come for me." He praised and pulled his two digits drenched with your essence out of your pulsating pussy to slide them into his mouth. Eyes closing when the taste of you settled on his tounge, reacquainting himself what has been taken hold of every inch of his mind. The appreciative hum that starts to leave his mouth gets lodged in somewhere in the middle when he feels your thighs wrapping around him, your front pressing against his cock that throbbed with the need to be lamented inside your salivating warmth.
He cursed under his breath, his control fraying at the edges. "Needy little thing." he growled, half in awe, half in torment. "Still aching for me?"
You blinked at him, all wide-eyed innocence, but your hips shifted again, grinding up into him in a way that had his jaw clenching, his breath turning ragged.
âI can feel how hard you are,â you whispered, voice barely there. âWhat if I want more?â
"Fuck," he gritted out, "I need to be inside you." He needs and his hands gripped your thighs, clutching you closer with the intention to rub against your bare, soused pussy. You felt the heat of him, the weight of the orgasm he had wrung from you with nothing but his fingers, the sheer presence of him pressing against you, and your pulse fluttered, a mix of nerves and overwhelming want.
His hand that you mended, hooks up your chin. You barely registered his words at first, too dazed, too lost in the lingering ache of pleasure still pulsing deep within you. But thenâhis voice, low and thick with something rekt, something wanting.
"Think we've got enough time?" He asks, shrugging a glance at his rolex. His hands traced over your thighs, palms spreading against flushed skin to bunch up the silk material of your blood stained church dress, the delectable longness of his erection pressing against you. And though it was phrased like a question, it sounded rather possessive and certain, as if the answer had already been decided.
Your fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, torn between reason and the undeniable heat pooling low in your stomach. "We'll have to find out." You whispered, teeth biting onto your lip as you grinded in response, letting you feel himâhard and urgent, straining against the fabric that abstracted youâuntil it didnât.
Your fingers moved without permission, trailing down his stomach, feeling the taut muscle beneath the crisp fabric of his shirt. Lower still, to the belt that had been teasing you with its presence, the polished metal of the buckle cool beneath your fingertips.
Jungkook inhaled sharply when you undid it, the sound rough. His hands around you clenched, but he didnât stop you. Didnât pull away.
Didnât want to.
You took your time, savoring the way his breath hitched as you worked open the button, the zipper, how his body tensed beneath your touch. And thenâwhen you pressed your palm against him, feeling the full length of his needâhis head fell back, his throat bared in a perfect, aching display.
God.
Your breath stilled in your chest.
He was beautiful like this.
Not just in the obvious wayânot in the way the world saw him, sharp-suited and composed, the perfect image of a man in control. No, this was something else entirely.
You traced your gaze over him, over the column of his throat, over the way the muscles in his jaw tightened as he swallowed. Over the way he looked like he was waging a war against himself.
âY/N,â he gritted out, his voice tight, strained, as if he were warning you.
Or begging.
But you only pressed a little firmer, fingers teasing, tracing, thumb swiping over his swollen tip that leaked with pre cum.
With a growl, his hand wrapped around your wrist, halting your movements, dark eyes snapping open to meet yours. "Fuck, baby. I'm not patient enough for this."
And then he was lifting your hips, guiding you against him, his tip poking at your entrance, making you let out a shuddering breath. He leaned in, his lips brushing over your cheek, feather-light, a stark contrast to the way his hands gripped your thighs.
"Let me feel you," he hiss, more plea than demand, his voice thick with restraint. "Let me have you all of you, angel."
And when you noddedâwhen you let him pull you to the very edge, let him replace his fingers with something hotter, heavierâyour hands fisted in his shirt, nails biting into his shoulders as your breath hitched.
Jungkook groaned against your ear as he pushed himself all the way to the hilt, sworeing how he would never get enough of you, his fingers flexing at your waist as he stilled, letting you adjust to the sudden intrusion of his massive length, letting himself revel in the feeling of you wrapped around him like you always would in the sweetest of his dreams, like you did a certain night away. And from that moment he had wondered how had he ever functioned without this? How will he ever function without you if you keep yourself away from him?
Your hands slipped up, cupping his face, tilting him toward you until your lips brushed. âMove,â you whispered, voice barely there.
Slow at first, rolling his hips into yours, his mouth catching every broken sound that left you, his hands never stopping their worship of your body.
And when he felt his willpower leave him, when slow became desperate, when his name spilled from your lips like a prayerâhe answered.
He met you in every way you needed.
It was urgentâmessy and desperate and filled with everything neither of you could say out loud. Could only afford in hushed whispers and lips tracing sin on skin. Something he'd taken pain from you if it meant he'd get to kept this. Because it was better than nothing, better than those years when he wanted you with a desperation that shouldâve dulled with time, with grief, with regret.
But it hadnât.
It had only grown sharper.
It was too much. It was not enough.
The way he gasped softly as he pushed himself inside youâinch by inch, stretching you around him, your hands fisting his shirt like you couldnât decide whether to pull him closer or push him away.
He pressed you further onto the counter, knocking over something ceramic that shattered on the tile, neither of you caring. The pace of his cock driving inside you turned desperate, driven by something raw, something that tasted too much like loss but felt too much like home.
Your fingers found his hair, tugging just enough to make him groan against your lips, his hands sliding up your back, pulling you closer, closer, closer. "Oh yeah! Fuck, just there!" You panted, hips snapping against his, encouraging him further as he outright pounded into you.
"Youâreâfuckâso tight,â he rasped. âSo warm. I knew it. You were made for me.â He highlighted with a squeeze to your boob, rolling your pebbled nipple between his digits. Your walls fluttered around him, still so tight, still taking all of him like you had been made to, eyes fluttering close when he gave it a pinch.
And fuckâhe wanted to see that again.
âEyes, Y/N.â he murmured, his voice rough, strained.
Your lashes lifted, glassy and unfocused, your lips parting around a soft gasp as he rolled his hips again, hitting deeper this time.
He smiled, dipping his head, lips brushing over your cheek, your jaw, the corner of your mouth. âThatâs it, baby. Let me see you.â
You swallowed hard, fingers pulling into his hair. âJungkook I can'tâToo much!â
His grip on your waist tightened, his pace faltering slightly. âShhh. I've got you,â he whispered, voice shaking. âYou donât have to do anything. Just take me.â He cooed, his head falling to the crook of your neck. His teeth grazed over your pulse, tongue following, lips dragging along heated skin.
The sensation sent a shiver rolling down your spine, sharp and electric.
Your back arched, pressing further into him, your thighs tightening around his waist. You could feel yourself spiraling, the coil in your stomach winding tighter and tighter with every roll of his hips, every deep, mind blowing thrust.
You felt full.
Overwhelmed.
Like you were going to break apart any moment.
Jungkook must have felt itâthe way your nails dug into his skin, the way your breath stuttered against his earâbecause his grip shifted, one hand slipping between you, fingers pressing against your most sensitive spot, rubbing slow, lazy circles.
Your body jolted at the added sensation, a sharp cry tumbling from your lips that he caught in his own.
And he smirked.
âMy angel's so close, hmm?" he murmured against your mouth.
Your breath hitched, a whimper escaping before you could stop it. "Yeahâshitâyeah. Wanna come again. Want come so bad, Jungkook."
Jungkook groaned, his cheeks hollowing, brows furrowing like he was barely holding himself together. âFuck, you sound so pretty when you do that.â
You were right there.
Jungkook felt it.
And he wasnât about to let you go without making you fall apart for him.
His thumb rubbed faster, tighter circles, his thrusts rougher, deeper, his lips brushing over your ear, his voice low, wicked.
âYouâre gonna come for me again,â he promised, panting. âRight here. Around me. Look at me when you do.â
The coil snapped, pleasure crashing over you like a tidal wave, your body tightening, then releasing all at once. Your vision blurred, your entire body trembling, your nails raking over Jungkookâs back as you moaned his name, breathless and undone. "Shit, that's right." He heaved.
His thrusts started to get sloppier, trying to constraint the sound of his hips slapping against yours in the tiled bathroom only while he pursued his own release. More urgentâless about control and more about instinct. He could only last so long with your pussy milking him for all he's worth.
"Fuckâbaby," he rasped, voice wrecked, forehead pressed hard against yours, sweat-slicked and trembling. "Iâm close⌠fuck, Iâm gonna come. Gonna fill you up."
You found yourself nodding mindlessly, relating with the wretched appetite in his voice to be warmed up to within.
âSuch a needy girl,â he murmured, voice rough as gravel. âSo desperate to be filled, huh? You want all of it, angel?â His hand moved from your waist to your jaw, thumb swiping your lip like he was trying to soothe something uncontainable.
Jungkook's thrusts slowed into something deeper, deliberate, chasing every inch of you as he buried himself to the hilt and groaned, full-bodied and guttural, like it had been torn straight from his chest. His release hit him hard, cock twitching deep inside you, thick warmth spilling in hot waves as his fingers dug into your hips hard enough to bruise like he was trying to memorize you, like he hadnât spent the better part of his life trying to memorize you in ways he had never deserved.
He didnât stopâjust kept grinding into you, riding it out, chasing the feeling of being so deep inside you that the world didnât matter. His jaw clenched, eyes squeezing shut as he emptied every last drop, as if he could carve his name into you from the inside.
Like the years had never carved a distance between you, like nothingâno oneâhad ever come between this pull, this thing that always seemed to exist between you and him.
And yet, reality was creeping back in.
You could hear itâthe soft murmur of voices beyond the door, the distant clatter of dishes, the low hum of conversation that you were supposed to be a part of.
The world you were supposed to return to.
You exhaled shakily, body still trembling in the aftermath, shifting against the counter, trying to gather yourself, trying to think. Your fingers curled weakly into his shoulder, and you felt itâhis chest rising and falling against you, his breath warm against your temple, the quiet steadiness of him as he held you there, as if neither of you were quite ready to move just yet.The sweat cooling on his skin glistened where the low light caught it, and his nose nudged softly into your hairline, inhaling you like he wasnât ready to let go yet.
"Still with me, angel?"
You hummed a airy "barely" and he kissed one, featherlight and sweet, dragging his mouth lazily toward your jaw. He was taking his time. He didnât seem to care that your clothes were halfway off or that you were still tangled around him.
You werenât sure how long you stayed like that, wrapped up in the quiet. You sighed, resting your head back on his shoulder, content and warm and glowing all over. The mirror behind you was fogged with breath, the air still thick with the scent of heat and sweat and him.
âWe should go back now," you whispered and when you moved to slip away, his hands curled against your thighs, halting you in place. Not tight, not forcefulâjust there, just asking.
He shook his head, exhaling through his nose, his thumb brushing absentmindedly over your skin where he adjusted the hem of your dress after wiping the remnants of him with a tissue, doe eyes giving away the look a kicked puppy would have. âNot yet. Give me a minute."
Not yet.
Not donât go. Not stay.
Just not yet.
And maybe that was why you didnât move.
Maybe that was why you let yourself linger for just a second longer, your fingers smoothing over the collar of his shirt, tracing a wrinkle that your own grip had left behind. A pointless action, an excuse to touch, to feel the warmth of him for just another moment before you had to pretend like none of this happened. "Fine. I mean I wouldn't want to walk back smelling like sex and you."
Jungkookâs gaze darkened. His hands slid up, brushing over the curve of your cheekbone, his touch slow and sharp like satisfaction curling under his tongue.
âThat right?â he murmured. âYou smell like me?â
The question caught you off guard.
Too late. He was already drunk on it. He ducked down, nosing along your throat, breathing in deep with a groan like the idea physically did something to him. âFuck. You do. You smell like me, angel."
You blinked, your fingers stilling against his shirt, your breath hitching in your throat.
Something darker lit his eyesâsatisfaction painted in shadow. âGood.â
Your breath caught. âItâs good that I reek of you?â And definitely not the hottest scandal the neighborhood will get their hands on. Right.
He dipped his head, nose brushing your neck, lips skimming your pulse. âYou should smell like me,â he whispered. âYou should walk out there with your thighs dripping and my scent all over you. Glowing because you took every inch of me." he murmured, voice low and reverent. "Let them wonder."
You whimpered, helpless under the press of his mouth, the press of his words.
âIââ you started, but your thoughts tangled as he sucked gently at your neck, just above where your collar would hide it.
He pulled back just enough to meet your gaze again, a smirk tugging at his mouth.
âStill want to go back?â
"Yes."
Jungkook studied you for a second longer, his eyes searching, tracing every inch of your expression, as if he was looking for something, as if he was still waiting for you to change your mind.
But you didnât.
So he only exhaled, pressing his lips to your head. And then, finally, finally, he let you go.
You breathed out, fingers curling at the edge of the counter before you shifted again, moving to slide downâto plant your feet back on the ground, to leave but not before letting yours eyes drift to him for a second where he tucks himself in his slacks.
âY/N.â
His voice was softer this time, but it stopped you all the same.
You barely had time to react before his fingers found your jaw, tilting your chin up, forcing you to look at him.
Your breath stilled.
Jungkookâs thumb brushed against your bottom lip, slow, lingering. And then, so softly, so quietly he askedââwhen you walk out from here will you start avoiding me to the next Sunday again?"
Your brows scrunched up and you attempted to look away.
"Please don't, angel." He pressed his lips to where the crease formed for a brief moment.
And god help you, you wanted to listen.
The evening (6:25, you noted from your wrist watch) was quiet, the sky yawning open into a stretch of velvet dark, the stars distant pinpricks of light like secrets kept at a distance. You had always known the halls of the university to be fullâfull of voices, of conversations that layered over each other, of common stories and repeated gestures. Even today, it had been the same.
The evening air carried the last remnants of warmth, a hesitant shift between winter and spring that clung to the pavement, to the air, to you, you could feel reprieve take hold instead of a sort of suffocation.
You pulled your coat tighter around yourself, your breath curling in the cool air. The once-busy campus had emptied out, leaving only a handful of cars scattered beneath the flickering glow of overhead lights.Your heels clicked against the pavement, hurried, purposeful, as you wove between the cars, searching.
Hoseok was ahead, his figure easy to spotârelaxed posture, a casual sway in his step, his tan coat catching the dim light. It wasnât hard to catch up with him. He moved like someone who never rushed, even when he should. But you still called his name, breathless from the rush.
âProfessor JungâHoseok, wait up.â
His tailored blazer was unbuttoned, sleeves pushed up to reveal lean forearms, his usual crisp attire softened by the slight ruffle of his hair, undoubtedly from running a frustrated hand through it after a long day. His dark eyes lifted at the sound of your approaching footsteps, and when recognition flickered across his face, his lips curled into an smile.
"Ah," he mused, had just reached his car, one hand already on the door handle when he turned at the sound of your voice. His lips curved into an easy smile as he leaned against the frame. "To what do I owe the honor of you sprinting across the lot?"
You huffed, coming to a stop beside him, shifting the strap of your bag on your shoulder. âI think some of my test papers got mixed up with yours. I noticed a few of my poetry essays were missing, and I have a hunch they ended up with your psychology midterms.â
Hoseok made a thoughtful noise, rubbing his chin. âThat⌠would explain why I was grading a sonnet on existential dread instead of cognitive behavioral theories.â
You sighed. âI knew it. I must have switched the stacks when I was in a rush earlier, I'm sorry."
âDonât worry about it," he assured you, resuming unlocking his car. "Iâll check when I get home. Worst case, Iâll bring them to you tomorrow.â
You nodded, relief sagging through your shoulders. "Thanks, Professor Jung. You're a life saver. I planned to finish grading them tomorrow."
Hoseok made a mock grimace. âYou work too hard.â
You smiled, shaking your head. âSays the guy who spent last night preparing an extra credit seminar.â
âThat was different. That was for the kids who actually care about my class,â he countered, before nodding toward the nearly empty lot. âYouâre headed home? Want a ride?â
It was harmless. A casual offer from a friend, from someone who had sat across from you in faculty meetings, who had lent you his pen more times than you could count, who had laughed with you over shared frustrations about students turning in assignments late. There was no reason to hesitate.
It had been a long day, longer than you realized. You would actually prefer it rather than waiting for the bus that always seems to be running late by minutes.
Yet the answer that came was.
"She's already got a ride." The voice wasn't yours. It had been the one you had come to realize that avoiding was futile, that whatever admissions it breathed into your ear ran deeper that you would have assumed, affected you more than you'd liked and you have started to come terms with it. The words werenât sharp either, werenât cruel, but they cut through the quiet with the ease of something unquestionable.
Hoseokâs brows lifted slightly as both of you turned toward the voice, towards the faint crunch of footsteps against pavement.
The raven haired man who had once been standing a few feets away, watching, was now stepping forward, minimizing the distance until he was right beside you, hands tucked into the pocket of his coat that was as dark as the night, the sharp cut of his jaw illuminated by the glow of the streetlights. His eyes didn't lock with yours as they usually would, instead they zeroed In on the psychology professor who was unaware of the sudden tension buzzing through the air.
What the hell?
âOh, I didnât realize you had someone waiting.â
You swallowed, grounding yourself. âUhâyeah.â You cleared your throat. âHoseok, this is Jungkook. Myâ" You cringed at how visibly you struggle to come up with words when the ardour of the man beside you pressed into your side. God, he was always so warm.
When Hoseok, ever perceptive, raised an eyebrow you snapped out of it and continued. "Minho's brother."
Hoseok glanced between the two of you, and his mouths part in understanding. Dots connect. His eyes glance at you with a look that says 'That Jungkook?' And you blink, 'That Jungkook.' All that you've ever told him about Jungkook making it clearer.
"Ohhh." He grins and extends a hand without hesitation, always one for politeness. âWell, nice to finally meet you, Jungkook. I'm Jung Hoseok. I first met Y/N at a masters program. Been friends since then."
Jungkookâs gaze flickered to the offered hand before he shook it, firm and brief. Just a little tighter than necessary, enough to make Hoseok chuckle under his breath.
âOof. Strong hands,â he said, raising an eyebrow but otherwise unfazed.
"Nice to meet you." There was nothing outright hostile in Jungkookâs voice. Nothing overly tense but you still felt like you were caught between two frequenciesâone warm and familiar, the other crackling with something dangerously unspoken.
Hoseok seemed to pick up on it. He glanced between the two of you again, the corners of his mouth tilting into something unreadable before he shifted his weight.
âWell, I wonât keep you if you're settled then,â he said easily, flashing you a small smile. âSee you Tomorrow?â
You nodded, grateful for the out. âYeah,
see you.â
Hoseok gave Jungkook a small nod before slipping into his car, headlights flashing on as he pulled out of the lot.
You exhaled slowly, shifting on your feet, resisting the urge to lean into him. No, you were supposed to question him first.âWhat was that? And what are you doing here?â
âWhat was what?â He hummed, his mouth no longer set in that stern shape, his hand slipping from his coat pocket to brush a stray strand of your braid that barely seemed to hold its own away.
You narrowed your eyes, looking around instinctively before back at him. âYou know what.â
Jungkook took a slow step forward, not even bothering that you were out in public, the space between you shrinking, charged. His head tilted slightly, voice deceptively light, tounge pushing against his cheek; That little tell of his, a habit you learned and found more attractive that it should have been, a habit he did when he was displeased with something. Maybe even pissed. Or both. "Didnât know you were that close with Hozook, angel."
You blinked, thrown by the sudden turn in conversation. âItâs Hoseok.â You scoffed. âWe work together, Jungkook. Iâve known him for years."
His lips pressed together, as if that information did absolutely nothing to quell whatever had flickered across his face moments ago.
Thenâhe opened his mouth, about to say something else, when you cut in, tone flat, unamused, every word sharpened.
âYouâd know that if you hadnât ghosted me for years.â
Whatever he was about to say dissolved right there on his tongue. His jaw twitched once. His brows dipped slightly, something unreadable passing through his gazeâbut he said nothing. Good.
After a beat, he exhaled, shaking his head before motioning toward his car when he noticed the thin layers of your clothing, a dress shirt paired with a half sleeved sweater. âCome on.â
You frowned, your feet hesitating. You should be walking the other way. Should be dealing with public transport, going through the motions of an evening that should have belonged to you alone. He wasnât obliged to be a part of this. âYou didnât have to come pick me up.â you say, smoothing down the strap of your bag.
He shrugs and his hand reaches you, or most specifically your bag, fingers curling around the strap and taking in his fist. âI was in the area.â
You snort, unimpressed. âRight.â
Still, you don't protest when he opens the door for you for reasons you don't want to analyze. And when you slide into the passenger seat, you don't mind how natural it's starting to feel.
He drives with one hand on the wheel, the other resting against his thigh. The city hums past you in streaks of gold and red, the kind of light that makes you feel like youâre inside a dream you once had and forgot the ending to. The faint murmur of the radio filling the space between you.
Youâre both quiet for a while.
ThenââHow was work?â he asks, without looking. His tone is mild, almost too careful, as if the question isnât just about your day but about the right to ask.
Itâs a simple question, casual, but the way he says it slows your thoughts. Like heâs trying, like he wants to know you again.
You shrug, shifting in your seat. âFine. Uneventful. Spent half the day grading, the other half convincing students that deadlines actually mean something.â
He hums in amusement. âThey donât.â
You glare at him. âThey do when I say they do.â
âTerrifying,â he muses, the corner of his mouth twitching.
You roll your eyes but it does little to conceal your own smile. âWhat about you?â It feels like you owe him the same curiosity.
Jungkook exhales through his nose, a slow, measured thing. âHad a meeting. Went as expected. Some numbers that needed fixing. Boring stuff.â You had always understood your husband's disdain for a life that was a repeat of listening to some guy talk too much, lose his temper when his ego would be on the line. But you had never known why Jungkook would prefer this or even why he wouldn't.
You look at him then, the sharp cut of his jaw, the way the city lights flicker across his skin in intervalsâlight, dark, light, darkâlike the world couldnât quite decide how to hold him. You werenât sure you could either. Maybe you never asked enough questions, never studied every crease on his face liked you'd with minho and inspect it to hell.
âSounds exhausting.â
âIt is.â He steals a glance at you, quick, assessing. âLess exhausting now, though.â
But now that you do, now that you want to, you understand what he means.
Itâs easy, this. Talking like this. Falling into a rhythm you hadnât realized you still knew, one that had been untouched for years but still existed, waiting beneath the veneer. The intimacy of nothing in particular.
Jungkook has to force himself to focus on the road, fingers flexing again as he shifts gears.
If you scrutinize deeper, you'd also find that thisâthis slow glide through streets neither of you had named, the soft murmur of the radio, your shoulder nearly brushing his in the dark. This is what heâs always wanted. Not the secrecy. Not the stolen minutes behind doors that you had to double check if they are locked.
But this.
A ride home after a long day. A quiet conversation. The sound of your addictingly sweet voice in his car, in his space, in his life in a way that feels so woefully unpolished that it almost hurts.
âYouâre not driving to my place.â Your voice pulls him back, your gaze sharp now, watching as the streets grow less familiar.
He doesnât even pretend to be surprised at your realization.
âNo.â
Your brow furrows. "Can you for once just drive me to my apartment without taking me to some place I don't want to go?"
"No."
That alone makes your fingers twitch where they rest in your lap.
You had spent so much time trying to untangle your own thoughts about him, about whatever this was turning into. Picking at it. Trying to name it. But Jungkook had been the picture of certainty. Unflinching. Unbothered. Like none of it had touched him the way it had touched you. Like he had already made peace with something you were still trying to name.Like heâd walked back into your life not to ask if he could stayâbut to decide that he would.
Tonight, he seems different.
Its in the way his jaw tightens every time you shift in your seat, like heâs bracing himself. The way his tongue swipes over his bottom lip before he speaks, only to change his mind and stay silent. The way his gaze flickers toward you like heâs waiting for something.
You donât know what to do with that.
Jungkook and hesitation have never belonged in the same sentence. At least, not since he came back.
You try again. âWhere are we going, Jungkook?â
His mouth pressed into something unsure. Jungkook, unsure. It wasnât something you were used to seeing now. It wasnât something he looked when he pressed you against the kitchen counter, hadnât sounded like this when he whispered his most cordial of dreams into the corner of your neck.
When he finally speaks, his voice is even, controlled. âSomewhere I want you to see.â
âThatâs vague.â
He huffs a quiet laugh, but it doesnât reach his eyes. âItâs a surprise.â
Something about the way he says it makes your stomach pull tight.
Because youâve seen Jungkook confident. Youâve seen him arrogant, smug, amused. Youâve seen him angry, cold, unreadable. But nervous? No. Not since he came back from a different life, not since he became the man that no longer fit into the spaces you had once saved for him.
And yet, right now, here he is. Inside, the space, one hand loose on the wheel, the other resting against his thigh, fingers drumming idly like a song he hadnât decided to play yet. It was a small thing, a habit from when he was youngerâback when he used to tap against the wooden desks in class, always restless, always itching to move.
Some things hadnât changed.
Some things had.
Your fingers curled against the fabric of your coat. âYouâre being weird.â
"Iâve always been weird, angel."
"No you haven't." There's something defensive in the way you phrase these words. "Don't change the subject."
This time, he smiledâbrief but real. It softened something in his face, something he so rarely let slip anymore.
âYouâll like it,â he murmured after a beat, voice softer now, like he was almost convincing himself of the same thing. âI think.â
Just turned down a street you didnât recognize, the road quieter here, the buildings spaced apart, until he finally pulled up in front of a modest, modern structure with floor-to-ceiling windows and a single light illuminating the entrance.The kind of place you wouldnât look at twice if you didnât know what you were searching for.
You couldn't help but ask again. "Where are we? What is this?"
Jungkook cut the engine, but he didnât move right away. His fingers tapped against the wheel once, twice, before he finally exhaled and turned to you.
"I bought this place," he said simply.
You blinked up at the building again. "What?"
His lips pressed together, eyes flickering away before he cleared his throat. "Justâcome inside."
You followed him out, your steps slow as you took in the building, the way the large glass panes mirrored the stars. The sky leaned against the windows like it, too, wanted to press closer, to see inside. There was a sign by the entranceâsimple, elegant script, almost shy in how little it asked to be noticed. You donât recognize it, and that alone makes you reconsider.
Jungkook said nothing as he unlocked the door, the quiet snick of the key turning loud in the stillness. He held it open for you like always, but this time his eyes didnât meet yours.
You stepped inside and the push of the door revealed âA gallery.
Not just any gallery.
Paintings. Everywhere.
Paintings stretched across every wall, soft pools of golden light falling over their frames. Each piece breathed colorâbold, bruised, aching with emotion. Blue melted into umber, ochre kissed the edge of crimson. Every brushstroke pulled something raw from your chest.
You moved forward, like your body remembered the path before your mind could catch up. Your fingers hovered in the air, trembling as they traced the lines without touching them, as if the act of reaching alone might wear you.
All of it look like what had been painfully dear to you.
Your stomach twisted.
Because you knew this work.
You knew it. Not just the style, not just the way the colors lived together in layered silenceâbut the soul of it. The way it looked back at you. The way it knew you.
You knew the hand that had created it. Been the first and last one to hold them close to you.
You reached for the closest canvas, your vision blurring at the name signed at the corner.
Jeon Minho.
The name cleaved through you like a wave, cruel and kind in equal measure. Your heart twisted. Your fingers hovered over a piece, afraid to touch, afraid it might slip through your hands if you werenât careful. It was hisâall of it, the way he saw the world, the way he translated it onto canvas.
It was like standing inside his head again, like hearing him laugh through color, like stepping back into a time where his presence still existed beyond memory.
Your breath shook.
âThisâŚâ Your voice wavered. âThis is his.â
He was watching you instead, hands in his pockets, shoulders tense like he was waiting for you to feel it before he explained it.
And you did.
God, you did.
In the farthest corner of the room.
Your feet carried you again, before your mind could catch up, before you could brace for the impact of what you were about to see.
The world blurred at the edges.
The painting was soft, muted in color, like it had been caught in the golden hour of a fading summer. Three figures sat at the edge of a dock, backs turned, feet dipping into a painted lake that rippled with every brushstroke.
Two boys who's curves of smiles you would know even from behind.
One girl who knew.
It was them.
It was you.
Your throat tightened painfully, a memory rising unbidden, curling at the edges of the canvas, spilling into the quiet of the gallery until it was no longer just a paintingâIt was then.
You were twelve the summer Minho decided that the best way to survive the heat was to sit at the edge of the lake until the sun stopped trying to kill him.
Jungkook had been the first to follow, feet kicking idly at the water, arms propped behind him as he leaned back, his oversized t-shirt damp from an earlier splash war that he had definitely lost.
You had been the last to sit down, cross-legged between them, tossing small pebbles into the lake just to watch the ripples expand.
It had been quiet, warm, easy. The afternoon smelled of earth and sun, of laughter spilling into the open air.
âStay still, Minho!â you giggled, reaching over to press another blade of grass into his already messy hair.
âWhy?â he huffed, cracking one eye open. âYouâre ruining my masterpiece.â
âYouâre ruining my masterpiece,â you shot back, grinning as you tucked another strand behind his ear. A few away, Jungkook sat cross-legged, watching the two of you with quiet fascination. He was younger then, still round-cheeked, his dark eyes wide and serious as he curled his fingers in the grass.
âAre you gonna put grass in my hair too?â he finally asked, tilting his head.
You paused, considering, then reached over and plucked a small daisy from the ground.
âNot grass,â you said, leaning closer. âBut hold still.â
He did.
Even then, Jungkook had been good at thatâat waiting, at being patient in a way that seemed too big for his age.
Carefully, you tucked the daisy behind his ear.
âThere,â you murmured, sitting back.
Minho snorted, pushing himself up on his elbows. âNow he looks really ridiculous.â
But Jungkook only blinked, reaching up to touch the flower gently, like it was something delicate, something that had been given to him and him alone.
He didnât take it out.
It stayed there like the three of youâtrapped in summer light, forever twelve, forever laughing, forever somewhere time could not reach.
A quiet exhale broke the silence behind you. But the deep ache stayed spread through your chest, slow and unforgiving.
"He never showed me this," you murmured, voice barely above a whisper. "He painted it the year before heâŚ" Jungkook hesitated, the words catching. His Adamâs apple bobbed as he swallowed, his gaze tracing the familiar lines of Minhoâs signature. "Before he passed."
Your chest constricted. The truth never stopped feeling like a knife.
From the first time since you stepped inside, you finally turned to Jungkook then, eyes searching, waiting for him to tell you why.
Why he had done this.
Why had he crushed that one devastating voice in your head that would make it's appearance timelyâyou are forgetting him. You are forgetting the exact way his laughter curled at the end. The domesticity of how his step fell beside yours. Those were slipping with every sunrise you surived without him. Dissolving like fog under the sun. You are forgetting your min min.
And one night, you'd wake up desperate, breathless, trying to recall the way he said your name but you wouldn't. And the guiltâGod, the guiltâwould sit on your chest.
Until now that Jungkook had gathered every fragment of Minhoâs soul and brought it back to life. Not as a ghost. But as something immortal. As something known. Someone someone will always know. A hundred things rise to the surface. None of them make it past your lips.
Jungkook exhaled softly, running a hand through his hair before shoving it back into his coat pocket. His shoulders were drawn tight, but his voice was steady when he finally spoke. "I started looking for them a while ago. A month before I came back, maybe longer. They were scatteredâsome in old studios, some with collectors. A few were in storage, collecting dust. I tracked them down, bought back what I could."
He hesitated before continuing. "Hyung's anniversary is next month." The words felt heavy, like they were scraping raw against the throat of a boy who had never quite come to terms with losing the only man he's ever looked up to. "And Iâ" A pause, like he was choosing his next words carefully. "Weânever really did anything, did we?"
You blinked hard, trying to push back the sting behind your eyes.
"No." Your voice was barely there.
A muscle in Jungkookâs jaw ticked. "I didnât want this year to be like that. I wanted to do something. Do you like..this, angel? We could open this to the public too if you want. Show mom and dad."
Something rises within you, vast and unnameableâless a feeling, more a tide. It isnât just the gallery. It isnât just Minho.
Itâs the echo of affinity stitched into every frame. The invisible thread that leads back to Jungkook.
Itâs the fact that Jungkook did this. That he spent God knows how long making this happen, gathering Minhoâs work, making sure his art wouldnât just sit in forgotten portfolios, lost in the quiet corners of time.He unearthed what time tried to bury. Preserved what you feared was lost.
And the immensity of itâthe quiet significance of what heâs saying, of what heâs not sayingâhits you harder than you were prepared for.
The gallery holds its breath. Your pulse does not.
Slowly, carefully, you reach for his hand like you would in the dreamiest of dreams.
Jungkook stills.
His fingers are warm beneath yours, rough at the knuckles, tense. But he doesnât pull away. Not from you. Never from you.
âThank you,â you whisper. It doesnât feel like enough, but itâs all you have. Like gratitude too big for language. Like grief softened into approbation. âThis isââ Your throat closes, a breath hitching past your lips, eyes blinking away tears that had nothing to do with sorrow and everything to do with love."This is beautiful. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Jungkook doesnât speak, but something shifts in his face, something almost imperceptible. In a way that made him want to take this moment where you're looking at him like he had hung the stars back in the sky and bury it deep inside his ribs, somewhere no one could ever touch it.
And when he does speak, his hands intertwine with yours, eyes holding yours like gravity. "You're beautiful."
Your lips parted, caught off-guard.
A muscle of his cheek clenches. âI meantâyour face is all red. Itâs distracting.â
You smiled, watery and gentle, and he swore if he if he had even a silver of the talent his brother carried in the cradle of his hands, he wouldâve painted you too.
With your face flushed from crying and the faint glimmer of laughter still clinging to your lashes. With your fingers looped between his like you didnât even realize you were holding on.
He wouldâve painted you in soft oils and pale light, your presence the only subject, the only truth. And maybe heâd leave a smear of color just beneath your eye where your tears had dried, like a signature only he could understand. Not even someone who couldâve looked at it years from now would have understood.
But Jungkook couldnât paint.
Couldnât even draw a straight line without it wobbling under pressure. He had no brushstroke to offer you, no canvas that could carry the weight of this feeling blooming in his chest like it had always belonged there.
So he squeezed your hand instead, pulled you into him and pressed a kiss to the crown of your head, repeating how you're so beautiful, how he wants to spend the rest of his life telling you so, how he will lay the world on your feet if you only just smile like that for him.
What he doesn't say is that he came back for this. He stayed for you. He'll always stay.
And how still, in the soft lull that followed, his mindâtraitor that it wasâpulled him somewhere else.
Back to the night he first listened to Minhoâs voicemail.
He hadnât planned to.
It had sat in his inbox for two weeks after Minho passed, unopened. Just a little notification bubble, small and silent, like it knew it wasnât ready to be heard.
But that night, something in Jungkook had split.
Maybe it was the cold. Maybe it was the way the world kept turning like nothing had happened. Maybe it was just loneliness.
Heâd climbed up to the roof of some rented building in Daegu, drunk off something cheap, the stars sharp above him, the world far below.
And he played it.
"Jungkook-ah." Minhoâs voice cracked a little. Old, soft, raspy. Too gentle for someone whose lungs had been fighting him for years.Too familiar, too. The kind that had once read bedtime stories and yelled over bicycle crashes.
âI figured youâd be too pissed to pick up. Canât blame you.â A soft chuckle, winded.
"I know itâs been a while. Years, actually." He waited, if considering whether it's worth a try or not before resuming. "Too long, huh?"
"I saw your name the other day. Don't even remember where. But it made me stop. Not that I got too much going on for me." Another shaky chuckle followed. "I donât know what kind of life youâre living now. Maybe something busy. Maybe something brilliant. But if youâre hearing this⌠I want you to know I was proud. I am proud. Even when I was angry. Especially then, maybe. Even when I didnât understand you. I watched you become your own person, and it scared the hell out of me. I didnât wanted to see you turn into our father."
His voice wavered, raw and fraying.
"But you didnât become him. You didnât. And I wish Iâd told you that sooner."
âBecause you're my little brother. You always will be and I'm sorry I forgot that for a moment and I..I donât know how much longer Iâve got so I had to tell you this." He paused, and Jungkook could almost hear the way Minho looked up at the ceiling when he was thinking. Like there was something celestial about regrets once theyâd been said out loud.
"They donât say it, but I can tell. I can see it in the beautiful brown of my wife's eyes."
Jungkook remembered pressing his palm against his chest like it could stop the ache. It couldnât.
"Though it has dulled a shade ever since the coughing starting hurting worse. I suppose, I should be sorry for that too, but I don't want to die drowning in sorrys. I don't want to die regretting. Even if it kills me that I'll never hear your name in the news again, that I will never see her in morning light and think that heavenâs not far off."
He cleared his throat, like it hurt to speak. Maybe it did.
"I want to be content with all that I've had. With all that I've become. I want to be hopeful that the world will be kinder to her. To you. That you'd not spend your whole life outrunning ghosts."
Minhoâs voice lowered, like it was just the two of them now. Like it had always been.
"I hope itâs not too late." I hope I'm not too late. "I hopeâwhen the dust settlesâyouâve still got something to hold onto. Someone. And I really hope she forgives you."
Silence stretched, one last time for minho, perhaps. For his little brother, it was the sound of his own breaking. He tried to hold his breath. Tried to stay still. But the pain didn't stay quiet. It raked up his throat, rude and coarse, until the first sob slipped out, ruptured and helpless. His hand, the one holding the phone, trembled violently. The other curled into a fist against his thigh, knuckles white, nails digging into his palm like that might stop the shaking.
It didnât.
âIâll be somewhere soft. Donât rush. Just⌠be good. Remember your hyung. I love you, Jungkook-ah."
Static.
He pressed the phone harder to his ear, like if he clung to it tightly enough, Minho might speak again. That maybeâsomehowâhe could rewind, could stop it, could change everything.
Only static.
"The centre of every poem is this: I have loved you. I have had to deal with that." â Salma Deera, Letters from Medea (2015).
âł thread of bts opening their mouth
{{ noun //Â a love affair, usually secret; a lover }}
To love would be committing the greatest sin.
Fluff. Angel/Demon AU. 6,127 words. Song.
Catalyst Series: a collaboration with @dreamscript and @zephyoongist
Seokjin / Yoongi / Hoseok / Namjoon / Jimin / Taehyung / Jungkook
âââââââ
Letâs get this straight.
Youâre not an angel.
As a matter of fact, youâre quite the opposite.
And while your angelically good looks come in handy when luring unsuspecting humans to their utter demise, youâre tired of being mistaken for an angel. The nauseating pet name âangelâ coming from the lips of those silly weak humans sickens you to the point where you dispose of their souls faster than you normally do. Even your mortal enemiesâthe actual angelsâsometimes mistake you for one of their kind. And, the look of pity and slight repugnance when they realize who you actually are repulses you.
So you let off your anger through capturing more souls than your usual amount.
Normally, you like walking around in disguise and collecting the souls of unsuspecting people. It is quite fun, really, and you and Taehyung enjoy causing a traffic jam in the underworld with the growing line of souls to be sorted. Satan threatens to throw you two down to the depths of hell, but hey, youâre already in hell. Nothing can scare you now. But ever since your partner in crime discovered this revolting thing called love, youâre on your own.
And today, thereâs something new and unwanted shoved into your schedule: a newbie wandering in your turf.
Slightly annoyed, you walk briskly over to him and tap him on the shoulder. âHey, you, Iâd appreciate it if you go and collect souls somewhere else.â
Startled, the boy turns around abruptly, causing his wings to fly out from his back.
Oh.
He has white feathered wings.
Heâs an angel.
You hate him already.
Keep reading
Pairing: idol husband!Jungkook x wife!reader
Genre/Rating: NC17 due to heavy themes on mental health. Hurt/comfort fic.
Wordcount: 2.9
Summary: âTill death do us partâ Your husband JK will do everything in his power to help you see how much he needs you to stay. đđĽ°đŠđ˘đ angst and fluff. Depression. Recovery.
Tags/Warnings: Depression. Recovery. Mentions of suicide. Tiny mention of religious theme.. đ˘ Soft, happy ending đĽ°
a/n:Â This is a commission from the lovely Mina @bangtanmademedoit for the ARMY for AAPI fundraiser! Please consider donating or checking out the Army Advocates resources! Mina, I hope this is not too angsty. đ
Thanks to @augustbutwinter and @jin-fizz for betareading
Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxPj3GAYYZ0
The air on the rooftop is chilly. Itâs cold up here. Quiet too, as it should be at 3am. Another sleepless night for you. The doctor adjusted your meds again and itâs making it hard for you to fall asleep.
Antidepressants are such temperamental things.
Itâs nice to be alone for a while. You came to check out what the roof looked like. Wanted to see if itâs really scary looking down the edge of a sixty-storey building. Would you be afraid or just numb? Fearless or finally relieved that youâve seen it and know what to expect?
Just a few more steps and youâll find out.
But first, you look up into the heavens with nothing between you and the big, black sky. There are no stars tonight; there havenât been any for a long time in Seoul. Funny how the bright city lights make the sky look so much darker. Like a bolt of deep velvet, its expanse is breathtaking and dangerous, able to envelope you and swallow you whole in a moment. Naively, you look for a star anyway, faintly hoping for a sign among the smoky red clouds to just stay for a little longer.
The sky stays dark and silent. No angel. No flash of lightning. Nothing.
You take another slow, measured step. A few more and youâre near the edge. Itâs not like youâre going to do anything. No, not tonight, you think. Youâre here to see what itâs like. Just to see. Only to see.
âY/N.â His voice, that famous one which carries the weight of the first line of so many songs, the one amplified to reach thousands, recorded to reach millions, comes clearly to you, just for you and only you tonight.
You turn to face him. Heâs in his dressing robe and slippers, floofy hair mussed from sleep. His beautiful doe-eyes though, are wide and alert. âWhatchu doing up, baby?â he asks quietly. Like he has just gotten up and found you pottering about in the living room.
âCanât sleep. Just wanted to be alone. Wanted to see what itâs like up here,â you whisper, eyes darting to him and then back to the edge thatâs just a few more steps away from your own slippered feet. It had taken you so long to work up the nerve to climb those thirty-four steps in the roof-access stairwell from the penthouse to this roof. Youâre finally here, and you donât want to go back. Not yet.
Jungkook senses your hesitation and seizes the moment to speak. âStay, baby. Donât go there without me.â
âOkay, Kook. Iâll wait.â
He walks calmly to you, careful not to startle you, careful to hold your gaze, careful not to overwhelm you with all the things he wants to remind you of. Things like how much he loves you. Or how much your students adore you. Or how much joy and light and love you bring to his little heart that has only grown bigger and bigger to absorb all the goodness you are to him.
Heâs relieved when heâs finally next to you and his arm can secure you in his embrace. How he wishes he can secure your heart and mind too, make sure none of the bad stuff can reach you.
If he could, he would put on a full fucking suit of armor and fend off those treacherous thoughts, thoughts dark and deep that sneak in after breakfast, ambush you before lunch, corner you at dinner, lure you in the middle of the night.
If he could, he would go into the ring with just his bare hands and fight with his last breath to shield you from the despair he has seen swallow you and spit you out and swallow you again and again.
If he could.
But Jeon Jungkook knows the battle is not his. Itâs yours. And so he arms you. Arms you with his love. His attention. His tenderness. His time. His presence.
Except, he fell asleep tonight and you had slipped away. Something woke himâ an unspeakable urgency to get to you. Maybe it was⌠god? He doesnât know. But heâs here now and just in time.
âWhat do you want to do now, baby?â he asks, just like how he did at the carnival for your first date together. It was the mother of all first dates, filled with salty pop-corn and sweet cotton candy, with good rollercoasters and bad photo-booth pics that revealed too much love in the eyes of two people on a first date.
âI-I just want to see what it's like. To stand at the edge.â
âOkay. We can do that.â His heart is pounding. He thinks back to his wedding vows, how he has sworn to have and to hold you, cherish you and love you in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. Till death do us part. Heâs not going to let you go if he can help it.
With one hand around your waist, the other holding your hand, he shuffles with you to the half a foot away from the edge.
âC-can I look down?â you ask. Youâre half scared yourself, not terribly good with heights since you were a kid. Coming up here alone was a bad idea, you realize.
âIâll hold you okay? Weâll both look.â He helps you lean forward, while bringing his dominant foot back to stabilize you both.
Itâs dizzying. Little roads and little cars and little street lights twinkling in the downward distance.
âDo you want to sit here or go back in?â he asks.
âLetâs sit here. Just for a while. Please?â
âSure, baby.â He eases you back a foot or two away from the edge, and then helps you sit down carefully, making sure he has your waist in a firm grip, bringing you in the curve of his arm. As you lean against each other, the silence brings up the old question again.
âWhy do you always come for me, Kook?â
Because you matter.
Because I love you.
Because every beat of your heart is every beat of mine.
âBecause,â he says, using that line again, the legendary one his father used on his mom a lifetime ago, âI'm kind of into you if you havenât noticed by now.â It's the same line he used on you when he proposed.
âJust kind of?â You know the routine. It was how his mom had replied.
âJust the tiniest bit.â He smiles.
Which, of course, is not true. Because his devotion confounds you.
On your bad days, he doesnât tell you to snap out of it, doesnât belittle your pain.
On your bad days, he goes into the darkened room and lies beside you, bringing that clean laundry smell with him that reminds you of your grandmotherâs house.
On your bad days, he holds you, whispers to you little jokes and stories from his childhood.
Heâs so good to you. Too good for you, if youâre honest.
âIâm sorry, Iâm such a mess,â you say quietly.
âHey, Iâm a mess too. Look at my hair.â He ruffles it up a bit more to make it look messier than it really is. âWeâll be a mess together. Mr. and Mrs. Mess.â
âYou know what I mean,â you sigh. He has accompanied you to countless doctorsâ visits for meds, driven you himself to your appointments for psychotherapy, fed you soup, fetched you water, brushed and braided your hair when you could barely get out of bed.
Itâs funny how good he is at all those complicated braids. French? Dutch? Waterfall braids? Heâs an expert now. After doing up your hair, heâll get a handheld mirror and show you off to the mirror, a husband proud to introduce his gorgeous wife. Heâll call you princess, call you beautiful, call you his. Then, pouting his lips, heâll take a silly selca with you, coax a smile from you and maybe even earn the sound of your tinkly-bell laugh.
âI do know what you mean,â he murmurs into your hair, its weight and texture he already knows so well. âIâm lucky to have you. Bong Bong is too. No one loves us like you do. We donât deserve you.â
Bong Bong. A perfect name for the yellow lab you brought home together from the animal shelter when you got married three years ago. The poor puppy was rail thin and skittish in your arms, but over a period of six months of constant, watchful care, he grew sleek and strong, confident and playful. No one loves Bong Bong like you do.
But Jungkook. Jungkook had a string of girlfriends before you. You wonder whether they had loved him like you do. Or if you love him like they did. Whether any of them or all of them combined would be as much of a burden to him as you are right now.
âKook. Do you regret this?â You point to the wedding band hanging around your neck in a thin gold chain. It doesnât fit around your finger anymore. Youâve had too many of those days where food brought neither comfort nor pleasure.
âNever. Never, ever.â Itâs said without a momentâs hesitation, said with a certainty backed by all the gold in the world. He twines his fingers with yours and lets you feel the hard wedding band that he has never, ever taken off since it went on. âYou?â he asks, all quiet and serious.
âSometimes. Sometimes I feel like Iâm too much. That Iâm holding you back. That youâre better off--â
âWith you.â He plants a kiss on the top of your head like a period to a statement which needs no further elaboration. âIâm better off with you.â
He remembers the first day he met you. You were subbing for his regular guitar teacher who called in sick. When you walked into the practice studio, Jungkook forgot his own name, who he was and where heâs been. All he could remember was the way your fingers strummed against the strings, the way you smelled, the way your eyelids fluttered open and close as you pulled music from mere wood and metal.
He knew he was a goner. Knew heâd have to marry you. Knew heâd want to play music and make love and live life with you for all of his days and all of his nights.
When youâd asked him which song he was working on, he couldnât answer. He was lost in his own world, thinking of how to ask you out without seeming desperate, or weird, or superstar-ish. How to do it sincerely, but casually; to appear interested, but not too invested so that your rejection might not sting as much because surely, surely someone as beautiful and soft and sweet as you must already be taken.
Only when you asked him for the third time did he answer shyly that he was learning how to play Youâre Beautiful by James Blunt.
âYouâre a romantic one, arenât you?â youâd chided gently, quickly pulling a poker face while you wondered who he plays that song for.
âAlways,â was his reply, the tip of his ears blushing as he gave you a bashful, sideways grin. âWhat about you? What do you like to play?â heâd asked so as to drown out the loud pounding inside his chest he knew you could hear, wishing so much that the soundproof studio could wrap around his heart instead.
âEric Clapton. Tears From Heaven.â
He knew that one and tried it with your help, your gentle fingers guiding his across the guitar frets. Heâd shuddered inwardly at the first feel of your soft skin on his hand against the hard steel of the strings. Your touch on his fingers burned deeper than the dark ink tattooed there, seeped right through his skin, into his blood, into his very heart.
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
It was after the song, both of you barely breathing from the weight of the moment, when he met your gaze and impulsively asked if he could kiss you. You hid your yearning with a laugh, and replied you donât usually take kisses as payment for the first lesson.
âThen we need more lessons,â he said.
So of course there were more lessons, followed by payments of every kind, in every way, given everywhere. Payments that made you gasp, and hitch a breath. Payments at sunsets and sunrises, by the beach and on his bed.
He loves to overpay you, loves to lavish you with all that he has and all that he is, which explains why heâs here, next to you, ungodly hour be damned as he tenderly strokes your hair in what has been your worst episode of depression.
âThank you, darling,â he says stroking the sides of your arm, his nose lodging gently in that little curve of your temple. He loves to breathe you into his very soul, chase every molecule of your scent, every second he can get.
âFor what, Kook?â you ask, staring down at the ocean of city lights spread before you.
âFor taking your meds. Making it to all your therapy appointments. For choosing to stay even when itâs hard." He pauses, thinking about how strong youâve been even though you feel weak. "For fighting everyday. Fighting for us, for you.â
From all the way up here on the edge of this tall, tall building, to all the way down in the depths of your heart, a flood of gratitude fills you. Jungkook affirms your fight. He knows.
You say nothing, a squeeze of your hand back on his is all you can muster as the tears youâve been holding in finally slip down your face.
âI love you so damn much.â His voice is cracking a little, but he pushes on, determined to convince you of whatâs true and sure. âYou ground me, you know? You keep me safe from me. Make me good. Make me better.â
You know his tendency to push himself, how he always takes on a lot more than the rest of the members, always willing himself to go faster, go harder, go higher until he burns out like the candle on the cake that doesnât quite make it to the end of Happy Birthday to You.
You know how easily he gets drunk, no, not on soju, but on work, how he inebriates himself with fatigue, drowns himself in success, addicted to the myth of the golden maknae. For Jeon Jungkook, just one more was never enough. Not until you came along.
You know him. And yet you chose him. And this, Jungkook thinks, this makes him the luckiest man in the world.
âI need you here. Need you to remind me that thereâs more to life than that craziness. So donât fucking say youâre holding me back. You keep me safe, okay?â His eyes are all bleary and red now, face crumpling with emotion. âDonât â donât leave me, baby.â
You reach across to him and press yourself into him. Nothing moves you more than when he lays his heart bare before you. âOh Kook. Kook.â You want to say it, feel it at the tip of your tongue, yearn with heart and soul to swear to him youâre not going to leave him this soon, this way.
But⌠but you just canât quite say it yet.
Heâs crying now. His tears are dripping down to the side of your cheek, merging with your own tears, reminding you that heâs here to stay. Your pain is his sorrow; your joy, his triumph. Teardrop by teardrop, the truth slowly sinks into you: Jungkookâs the strong tower you can always run to. Heâs your refuge, your hiding place. Thereâs no need to go anywhere else.
Youâre not sure how long you hold him and he holds you. All you know is that youâre so very glad to be in his arms, to be his girl.
He starts singing that familiar tune, the one that knotted his heart to yours from the very beginning.
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?
And somehow, you find the strength within to sing with himâ
I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
With the darkness above, the lights below, and him around you, you listen to the last, mellow notes of your voice harmonized with his. It sounds like something youâd want to keep hearing.
Wordlessly, he leads you up and brings your body flushed against his, envelopes you in his big, strong arms, swaying to an invisible rhythm that only you and he are familiar with, the dance thatâs just for the two of you.
âYou know you belong here, right?â he asks, arms tightening around you.
You pull yourself closer to him, drawn to his warmth, to the goodness and steadfastness of this man.
Youâre sure of your answer now.
âI know, Kook. I know I belong here.â
Itâs true. You belong here and youâre going to stay.
~END~
Strong tower / refuge /hiding place imagery taken from Psalms and Proverbs, Holy Bible.
If you need help, please reach out to the nearest Samaritans hotline in your area. Youâll find someone who will listen. Hugs.
More from my masterlist here
Posted on April 14, 2021 by sahmfanficbts. All Rights Reserved Š 2021 @sahmfanficbts. Please do not translate, post or upload this content on to any platform including YouTube without permission. This is a work of fiction.
2 + 27 w jk??đ
+ #12 with kookie please đđ
â prompt: 2. things you said through your teeth + 12. things you said when you thought i was asleep + 27. things you said through a closed door
⣠ pairing: jungkook x reader
⣠genre: fakedating!au + postbreakup!auÂ
⣠synopsis: jungkook asks you to be his date for his sisterâs wedding because his family doesnât know that you guys broke upÂ
âYouâre late,â Jungkook whispers as you sat next to him, preparing for the dinner rehearsal set.
âWell excuse me if I was working,â your narrow your eyes at him, fixing your posture as you took a sip of the glass of water from the table, drained out by your job at the hospital.
âI had to order you the salmon and potatoes.â
You look at him as you set down the water back onto the coaster, scrunching your eyebrows at him. âIâm allergic to salmon.â
Keep reading
summary: Jeon Jungkook is a successful realtor with a big house, nice car, colorful dating life, and a spunky 7-year-old daughter to bootâŚheâs also your best friend who you used to be in love with. Of course, he was never made aware because you swear itâs all in the pastâŚuntil it isnât. But going on a cruise with Jungkook and his daughter whom you adore should be harmless. Absolutely nothing can go wrongâŚRight?
pairing: jeon jungkook x reader genre: fluff, angst, crack, idiots [i say that with luv for my characters] word count: 16.2k rating: pg-13 tags/warnings: singledad!Jungkook, bestfriend!Reader, a child [Mai] is present throughout the entire story, implication of absent birth mother, serial dater JK, so much pining, pg cussing like three times, conversation about sleeping around/risking pregnancy, legal-aged drinking and getting drunk, hurtful words, heated argument, isolation, blurb about reader struggling to eat, Mai experiences anxiety [I promise she is okay]..kind of a tongue kiss, lots of cheeseyâŚmuch fluff and angst all because muster JK wrecked me
credits:Â the picture of JK is from tearleaves blog [literally love their blog sm] I made the banner [I am not a graphics profesh smh]
Thank you to the realest one, @hyungieyoongi, for not only wanting to beta-read this insanity for me when I enlisted her for help but for hyping me up while doing it. Her editing gave this story clarity ;; I will only allow myself to be bias-wrecked by Yoongi if itâs coming from you :p
a/n: I have to make this disclaimer just due to the warnings above; the portrayal of Jungkook in this story is purely fictional and does not reflect who he is in real life nor do I claim to believe it does. Also, this story is not apart of my dad!bts series, it actually follows his summer scenario. GUYS. I wish I was kidding when I say that this story was simply created because I was under the influence of sowoozoo/muster JK. I am so beyond excited to share this cracked out fic with you, I truly hope you all enjoy it and just have fun reading it. Please drop a line to let me know what you think! It would mean the world honestly. ok les get it~
âYouâre doing a great job, Jungkook,â you pat his tattooed arm.
Jungkook looks back at the drawing, giggling to himself. Caught in his stupor and the innocence of his daughter, he comes to, looking at you; âthese last seven years would have gone a lot differently if we didnât have you though.â
Keep reading
pairing: dad!jungkook x mom!reader
word count: 4k (pls this was never meant to go over 2k but I suck)
genre: lots of fluff, domestic, parents au, established relationship, implied smut
summary:Â itâs been almost two years since your little weekend getaway at the beautiful lake house, the place that granted you memories you hold deeply in your heart. Now, itâs time to visit again as a family of three, and to add more of those wonderful memories to your ever growing collection.
a/n: hi loves! hereâs a follow up piece for the wishing for you fam! I guess this can be read as a stand alone, but will make much more sense if you have read the story first, so if you havenât done so, go check it out! I dedicate this one to my sweet and lovely @vaekth!!𼰠thank you so much for giving me this wonderful idea sweetheart, and for always being so supportive of my work and kind to me! I really hope you enjoy it!!
The scenery outside is just as beautiful as you remember. Just as mesmerizing as it was when you first admired it two years ago. The bright spring sun is reflected in the calm water, surrounded by greenery and pretty blooming flowers of all kinds of colors. The same small canoe docked at the side of the pier making the sight look straight out of painting. Itâs wonderful.
Keep reading
You made a vow to hate Jeon Jungkook ever since he packed up and left you without a single explanation, but when he shows up at your door after years of radio silence, it turns out that maybe your resolve isnât as strong as you thought.
pairing: producer!jungkook x songwriter!reader rating: 18+ (minors dni) genres/warnings: exes au, fluff, Angst, smut; THE REASONâ˘ď¸, crying because obviously there's gonna be crying, mentions of hobi leaving :(, cursing, uhm she hits him; kissing (well, of course đ), br*ast play, t*tty s*cking, oral s*x (f. receiving), f*ngering, unprotected s*x, r*ding, cr*ampie, uhm idk i think that's it word count: 6.9k (poetic, i know) note (1): holy fucking shit i am literally shaking like a chihuahua as i'm writing this a/n. what the hell it's finally here. we've been waiting for this for almost a year and a half. TREMENDOUS thanks to Jo @daechwitatamic, Ari @wintaerbaer, and Jazz @jeonwiixard for beta-ing this for me and for reassuring me that it's not a load of crap (probably) and especially Jo for telling me if i back out she'll come kick me. frick! gaaaah. okay i'm gonna let you read or i'll go out of my mind
series masterpost / playlist ; moodboards ; taglist
as always, iâd appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading âĄ
I want you to smile, to feel like enough 'Cause you deserve yellow and lions and love I hope you come back when you're doing well Forgive me for being the worst of myself
New Recording 28 - Chelsea Cutler
The second the door is closed, his mouth is on yours again.Â
His hand on your waist, yours in his hair, itâs similar to how it was mere minutes ago, just the urgency has increased tenfold. You want his suit off as much as you want your dress on the floor.
Jungkook detaches from your lips to let you breathe as he cages you between his body and the door, but itâs not like you can focus very well on breathing when he starts kissing down your neck, sucking bruises into your skin. His hands travel south, one palm curving around your hips to grope your ass, the other settling on the back of your thigh to lift it up, opening your legs wider so he could better slot in between them. With your leg lifted, it makes the slit in your dress ride up, exposing your core to the cool air of the room. You can feel his growing bulge pressed against you, right over your panties.Â
You whimper his name when he sucks on the sweet spot on your neck, his hips grinding against you slowly.
âYeah?â You can hear the smirk in that one simple word and the honey that drips from his voice. âWhat is it?â
âWant youâŚâ
âIâm right here,â Jungkook says. His slender fingers rub you over the pink lace that youâre wearing underneath your dress, teasing your opening through the fabric for a few beats before he pushes your panties aside. âFuck, youâre so wet.â
His breath is hot on your neck. He presses his lips against your skin absentmindedly, the tip of his index circling you but not pushing inside just yet.
âTell me you want me too,â you pant, your arm hooking around his neck to hold him close.
âI want you.â
Truth.
You pull him in for another bruising kiss before you blindly push him further into the room, your hands roaming the broad expanse of his clothed chest. He stops when the back of his knees hit the bed.
âHey.â Jungkook breaks away from the kiss to look at you. âAre you sure?â
If Jimin knew what youâre doing right now, heâd say that you have zero self preservation instincts.
Heâd be right, though. If you had any self preservation instincts, you wouldnât be doing this.
Your stupid, battered heart has only ever wanted him.
âIâm sure,â comes your immediate reply. Itâs desperate, but you donât have it in yourself to even care. âIâm sure. I want this. Please.â
âYou were drinking.â
âIâm not drunk. I promise.â
Maybe itâd be better if you were drunk. Then you could at least blame this lapse of judgment on a pathetic state of inebriation and not on your stupid self whoâs always weak for him.
He stares at you for a minute, searching for any sign of your willingness being driven by alcohol. He seems relieved when he finds none, and it isnât until then that he shrugs off his jacket, before helping you take off his dress shirt and trousers.
You havenât seen him like this in so long.
Every defined line on his body, accentuating every detail that you could spend hours running your fingers over.
He looks different but at the same time, not really. A tad more muscular, but still the same lean frame. Hard chest and abs on full display for you. God, your fingers are fucking twitching with the need to touch him.
Once heâs been stripped down to his boxers, he leans down to kiss you before you stop him with a hand on his chest. The lone tiger lily on his arm catches your attention.
Your fingers reach out to trace the black ink on his body, the lines delicate, your touch feather light. Youâre suddenly curious. When did he get it? You canât remember if you two ever talked about getting tattoos.
âWhat does it mean?â you ask. It strikes you with the realization that this is just one of the thousands of things that you missed, a reminder of your lost time.Â
âPlease love me,â he says, bringing his hands up to cup your face. He looks at you, just for a few seconds, before clarifying, âIt means âPlease love me,ââ then kissing you again.
Jungkook clumsily and blindly searches for the dressâ zipper on your back, giving it a few impatient tugs until it finally starts gliding down your body. Your lips never part from one another as the dress falls to the floor, pooling at your feet. But once you step out of it, he does pull back to look at you from head to toe. His eyes fall to your chest, clad in a lacy pink bra that matches your panties. The look he gives you is the same one that he did when he saw you in your dress earlier today. But thereâs something else in his eyes - realization, pride, perhaps a question too.
His hands are back on your body instantly, throwing you onto the bed, crawling over you like a predator. He discards your bra with ease, flinging it to the floor with the rest of your clothes. You shiver when the chilly air meets your bare chest, but the sensation quickly goes away when he takes your breast into his warm mouth. You let out a delighted sigh, arching your back to push yourself further into him as his tongue flicks over your stiff nipple. One of his hands comes up to squeeze your other breast to make sure that it isnât neglected, rolling your pebbled bud between his thumb and forefinger. He switches to sucking your other tit after a while, then pawing at the one he just had in his mouth.
âJungkook,â you whine his name when he makes out with your tits for too long, because thereâs somewhere else that desperately requires his immediate attention. âNeed youâŚâ
He releases your nipple with a wet pop, and he looks pleased with himself when he sees that theyâre thoroughly glistening with his spit. âSorry,â he says with a chuckle. âDidnât mean to keep you waiting.â He starts making his way down your body, kissing every inch of your skin thatâs on display for him, before you put a hand on his shoulder when his face gets close to your thighs.
âWhat are you doing?â
He looks up at you as his fingers ghost over the fabric of your panties. âCan I?â
You lick your lips, contemplating whether or not you have the patience to wait for him. But alas, you decide, âOkay.â
Jungkook makes quick work of sliding your underwear down your legs and letting it join the pile on the floor. Even in the dim light, he can see just how wet you are, practically glittering with arousal, looking so utterly inviting that it makes his mouth water. All of this, just for him.
He doesnât waste another second, diving right into you to lick a stripe up your dripping folds. Swiftly burying two fingers into your heat, he doesnât stop until heâs knuckles deep. Your lips part in a silent but delighted moan. You forgot how good he used to make you feel. Your fingers could never feel as good as his, not thick enough to stretch yourself open and not long enough to reach deep inside of you.
âFuck,â you drawl, your eyes fluttering shut when the tip of his tongue meets your throbbing clit, teasing it until youâre practically grinding against his face. You thread a hand into his hair, gripping his dark locks until heâs groaning, sending blissful vibrations all throughout your body. The figure 8âs that his tongue draws on your clit sets you alight, sends you into a whole other dimension completely as pleasure courses through your veins.Â
âSo good,â he mumbles. To you? To himself? You canât tell, but that doesnât really matter. âStill so good.â
You hear it, just how soaked you are, as he begins thrusting his digits in and out of you. He strokes your walls delicately with each press of his fingers, scissoring you open for what you know is to come.Â
His tongue dips into your entrance then, teases your dripping hole as you pant heavily,Â
Your legs close in on his head as the orgasm nears, but he keeps your thighs apart, firmly holding them open as he makes you unravel.
This is fucking unreal - Jungkook with his whole face tucked between your legs, desperate to make you come with his talented mouth. You never would have anticipated this when you woke up this morning.
No, just a while ago you were crying by yourself down at the beach. Now youâre crying out his name as he smothers himself in you.
Once he starts curling them inside of you, itâs embarrassing how fast you come. You clench hard around his fingers as the orgasm washes over you, dripping down his fingers and he uses the added wetness to carry you through the high.
âJungkookâŚâ you whimper, sounding completely fucked out even though itâs only just beginning. After a while, the heightened pleasure fades into the background, and he presses soft kisses against your inner thigh.
He crawls his way up your body until heâs facing you again. You watch his fingers and the way theyâre coated in your juices, wondering what heâll do with them next. Jungkook languidly smears the wetness all over your lips like heâs carefully painting them, only to kiss you afterward. When you moan against him, he takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. Your hand finds its way into his boxers then, wrapping your fingers around his hardened length, pumping him in your fist until heâs shallowly rutting against you.
The kiss gets broken when he suddenly pulls away, realization dawning on him. âShit,â he exclaims. âI donât have a condom.â
âOh.â You blink at him, then you both just look at each other for a while. This isnât a problem with no solution, even if the solution is a disastrous one in hindsight. You just want him, so badly that you canât think of anything else.
He waits for you, doesnât dare say anything else until you do.
Yet again, the opportunity presents itself for you to stop.
But youâve already gone this far, and though itâs damn near impossible, you want him even more than you did before.
âAre you clean?â you ask.
Itâs evident that heâs surprised by the way his eyes widen, and his silence that follows for the next half a minute. âYeah,â he tells you.
âOkay. Then we donât need a condom.â
He says your name once, his fingers brushing your hair away from your face sweetly. You always did like your name best when it used to fall from his lips so softly. âAre you sure?â he asks.
âIâm sure. I promise.â
Jungkook sucks in a breath, like heâs steadying himself, before he rids himself of the remaining piece of clothing on his body, then settles between your legs again. This time, his cock rests directly on your bare pussy. The anticipation makes it harder for you to breathe, makes you squeeze your thighs around his waist to not let him leave.
âHow long has it been?â
Your answer is vague. âToo long,â you say. You donât want to tell him that thereâs been no one else since him, but you have a feeling that he understands it anyway. You think that heâd be pleased with your answer, that maybe it would boost his ego in a way, but thereâs only a certain sadness that settles in his eyes.Â
âOkay.â Regardless, he pushes past the sudden gloom that befalls his features, blinking away the disheartenment swimming in his irises, to align himself with your entrance. He rubs his cock against your pussy to coat you in his precum, even though you yourself are certainly more than wet enough for him to slide home easily. âReady?â
âYes,â you confirm, bracing your hands on his shoulders as he eases the tip into you, making the both of you moan at the contact. You feel him, all of him.
For a second, you wonder if he has ever forgone protection with anyone else, or if itâs only ever been just you.
Jungkook takes one of your hands off his shoulder to lay it flat on the bed next to your head, lacing your fingers together, giving your hand a slight squeeze. âBreathe. You can do it.â
âGive me a minute.â
âWeâve got time,â he says, his voice smooth like velvet.
âCan you kiss me?â you ask, almost like youâre shy even though heâs balls deep inside of you.
He chuckles lightly, so endeared by you and your silly question.
His lips meet yours sweetly, like doing so would help make the stretch less painful. Maybe it does, at least a little bit.Â
You can feel his cock throbbing inside of you, and heâs probably trying so hard to hold back, but he keeps kissing you nonetheless.
âYou can move,â you say after a while.
âIâll go slow, okay?â
âOkay.â
He rears his hips back, slowly, then thrusts forward again. You whimper from the slight burn, but itâs nothing you canât handle. His movements are gentle for the next couple of minutes or so, and it isnât until you start opening up more that he sets a steadier pace. Even when he starts to fuck you faster, one of his hands is still on your hips, rubbing your skin soothingly.Â
âFuck,â Jungkook grunts out, followed by a sigh of your name as he pumps into your cunt, every ridge and vein of his cock dragging deliciously in and out of your walls. âYou feel so good.â
He gazes down at you as he moves, and thereâs just something so intimate about it that it makes you want to cry again.
You know what itâs like to have him fuck you, and this isnât it.
No, this is something else entirely.
I love you, you think. I love you so fucking much.
âMissed you.â His words come out hushed, caught in half a moan, half a whimper. âMissed you so fucking much.â
âDid you think about me?â
âAlways,â he says, without even missing a beat.
âNo,â you clarify. âWhen you were sleeping with other people, did you think about me?â
âI only thought about you.â His hips stutter as he tells you this, like heâs confessing to something that he shouldnât. âI couldnât stop thinking about you.â
You never admitted this to anyone, not even Taehyung even though he probably sensed it, but you used to feel like you could be physically sick just looking at the photos on his feed every time youâd lurk on a drunken night. They were never flashy, just subtle enough for you to know that there was someone. It made you nauseous, because the place next to him was always supposed to be yours.
You just stare at him, not knowing how to process this bit of information. Sure, itâs an ego boost. Thereâs some pride in knowing that you were the one on his mind even if you werenât together.
Heâs so utterly gorgeous like this that you canât form a single coherent thought, too lost in the way his eyes bore into yours and in the blossoming warmth that spreads all over your chest from hearing his words.
How did he manage to get even more beautiful? Sculpted by the gods. The standard for all men.
âWhat is it?â he asks when you stare at him for too long.
âIâŚâ You blink away the daze. âI wanna be on top.â
âOkay.â
Jungkook slips out of you just long enough to get seated with his back against the headboard and pull you into his lap. You hover over him, letting his tip rub against your dripping hole for a moment before you sink onto him. You tip your head back and sigh as you envelope him fully again, the only difference is that you can feel him so much deeper like this.
He grabs your ass with both hands, kneading your skin as he helps you ride him. The sounds that you make together are downright obscene, bouncing off the walls, ringing in your ears.
âHarder,â you tell him shakily. âDonât wanna hurt you.â
âI want it to hurt,â you say, holding onto him like youâre bracing for impact, because you know heâll give you what you want. âMake it hurt.â
Jungkook sighs once, then digs his heels into the mattress to steady himself before his hips go wild, thrusting into you with such force that it nearly has you sobbing, your head falling onto his shoulder. It makes you burn with pleasure, like a star before it becomes a supernova. When the tension starts building quickly, you canât help but slam your hips down harder to meet his thrusts, to chase that high.
You press your lips against his skin, any spot you could find - his jaw, his neck, his shoulder. âTell me you love me.â
The words are ready on the tip of his tongue, like heâs been waiting for an opportunity to say it. He doesnât miss a single beat as he tells you, âI love you.â
âMean it.â
âI do mean it. I love you.â
Truth.
For some sick and twisted reason, his words send you crashing over the edge, falling into that abyss of pleasure that youâve been searching for. You say his name, over and over again, like youâre making up for all the years that he wasnât around to hear it.
Your walls convulse wildly around him as you cry out, your toes curling, your thighs shaking. He holds you close, thrusting into you through your orgasm until youâre dizzy, like you could actually pass out from the overwhelming bliss.
âIâm close,â he tells you in a raspy voice.
You catch your breath long enough to say, âCome for me.â
âWhere do you want it?â
âInside,â you say without much thought. If you were in a clearer state of mind, you would know that itâs reckless and stupid. Youâre not on birth control, and if anything were to happen, you would have no one to blame but yourself.
But you arenât in a clear state of mind, and maybe this is even more dangerous than if you were fueled by alcohol. At least you can sober up from alcohol.
You just want him so badly that rationality seems like a luxury you canât afford right now.
âY/N,â he whispers shakily, though thereâs a warning edge to his voice that you understand.
âI want you to come inside me. I want it. I want it so bad. Please.â
Jungkook groans at your answer.Â
He doesnât ask you to look at him, instead choosing to hide his face against your neck where you feel something wet glide down your skin as he grips your hips. Itâs followed by a sniffle, and hands that hold onto you like youâre a lifeline.Â
Heâs crying, and that breaks your fucking heart.
You donât know what to do. Part of you wants to tilt his chin up to look at you, because it feels strange without his tender gaze on you, but you decide against it even though the tips of your fingers tingle with the need to do so.Â
Your walls clench with purpose, squeezing around him, trying to help you get there. Itâs not that long before you hear your name falling from his lips in a choked out moan, so needy and beautiful and makes you nostalgic. He empties himself inside of you, making you shudder from the sudden warmth that he paints along your walls.
You stay in the same position for a few more minutes until your chest is no longer heaving with exhaustion and euphoria. He gently pulls you off his lap to lay you down on the bed, pressing an apologetic kiss against your bare shoulder when you wince from the oversensitivity, from any kind of movement at all.Â
When he moves to throw on his boxers and goes to stand up, you reach for him. âWhere are you going?â You instantly feel pathetic for asking.
He pauses, then squeezes your hand as that sadness from before makes an appearance in his eyes again. âIâm just going to the bathroom,â he tells you, his voice quiet.
The relief on your face must be visible. âOkay,â you say. Rationally, you know he probably wouldnât fuck you and leave you the second the deed is done. But again, rationality is a luxury at the moment.
Jungkook returns a couple of minutes later with a warm cloth, and dabs it between your legs to clean you up. You grimace when he touches you there, evidently sore already from the activities you just engaged in.
âSorry,â heâs quick to say, though it isnât really his fault. Or maybe it is his fault. Youâre not sure if that even matters.
When heâs done, he gets under the covers with you. âCome here,â he says, then shuffles your body closer to his until heâs holding you with his hands on your bare waist. He leans down to kiss you, and you let him. God, you feel like youâre fucking melting.
Itâs different from the kiss down at the beach, and itâs different from the needy ones you shared in the past hour. Itâs soft and slow and easy, like thereâs nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about.
Jungkook breaks away eventually, and rests his forehead against yours then. One of his hands on your waist slides up to your ribs, until his thumb could brush the underside of your breast. The touch is gentle, sweet, completely innocent.
âYouâre so beautiful,â he whispers. He means everything he tells you. âYouâre perfect.â
You even blush, like youâre a stupid lovesick teenager. âTell me,â you say.
âAnything.â
You reckon itâs self-indulgent at this point. Youâre only asking to feel better about your place in his life, or rather, the place that used to be yours.
âTell me you canât live without me.â
He nudges his nose against yours. No hesitation. âI canât live without you.â
Truth. You know itâs the truth.
Nonetheless⌠âLiar.â Your tone is soft. Thereâs no bite at all. You touch his face, trying to commit to memory every detail, how his soft skin feels under your touch as if itâs the last time youâll ever get to see him like this. Maybe it is. You never got to have a last time with him, never got to know that it was ending before it already ended. Youâre not thinking about the morning because you donât want to, but the seed of anxiety is there in your belly. Your fingers trace his jawline as you say, âYou lived without me. You were doing fine without me.â
His lips ghost over your cheek. âIt wasnât much of a life,â he says. âI couldnât bear it without you.â
The thing is, you know that heâs being honest. And it should make you feel good that you affected him as much as he affected you.
But then⌠it keeps leading you back to that question. The question that you thought you could go the rest of your life without knowing the answer to. But for that to be possible, you needed him to stay gone, stay out of your world forever.
He shouldnât be here, tangled up in the sheets with you and kissing you like his life depends on it.Â
He shouldnât tell you that he misses you, that he loves you. Shouldnât tell you to please, love him too.
Itâs contradictory, isnât it? You needed to never see him again if you stood a chance of moving on with your life. You needed it and yet, all you wanted was to have him back by your side.
The tattoo catches your attention again. It feels like itâs laughing at you, mocking you.
You clench your teeth once, your eyes beginning to turn glassy. Jungkook sees it, and heâs quick to break up your train of thought. He presses his mouth to yours, shushing you with a deep kiss that makes your head spin, despite it all.
âDonât think about it,â he mumbles against your lips, so desperate to get you to stop. As if he can sense where this could lead.
âHow could I not? I donât know who you are anymore.â
âYou know me.â He holds onto your wrist, to keep your hand on his face before you can pull it away. âIâm still the same.â
âNo, youâre not,â you say quietly, absentmindedly.
âYes,â he insists. âYes, I am.â
Maybe thatâs true. Maybe you do see the person you used to know. But you only ever see him in glimpses and it always leaves you with a terrible, nauseous feeling afterward.
He doesnât understand how much it hurts you to catch glimpses of the boy you used to love - the boy you still love - only to realize that maybe that isnât the person he wants to be anymore. It feels like he keeps trying to kill that version of himself, like he despises the person who meant the world to you.
Are you gone forever?
Come back quietly.
âHow old are you?â you ask after a moment.
The question makes him pause, his soft features twisting in confusion. He leans back a bit, so his eyes could focus on your face better.
âWhat?â
âHow old are you?â you repeat.
It takes him another while to answer as he tries to see where youâre going with this. But when his search comes up empty, he just answers, â29.â
"I don't know who you are at 29. The last time I knew you was 24. No. You hadn't even turned 24 yet. Where was 25? 26? 27? 28? Itâs unfair that you still know who I am when I don't know who you are. I feel like I never aged a day past 24. You carried on living but I'm still here."
His eyes well up once again, but this time, you can see it. The first tear spills over, lands somewhere on your collarbone. This is what you used to want, right? To see him hurting, just like how you were hurting? Well, be careful what you wish for.
No part of you feels victorious that youâre making him cry, that the score is finally being settled, because none of this undoes all of the shit you had to go through. If anything, it makes you feel even worse, like youâre still losing.
âI never moved on from us. I couldnât move on from you,â he says, voice cracking toward the end. Your heart is doing the same thing in your chest, but youâre glad that he canât see it. âI swear I miss you every day. I wanted you with me every day. You have no idea how much I wanted to come back to you.â
Jungkook looks so dejected, like a reflection of you these past few years. You recognize that look in his eyes. You know that sadness all too well. He was in as much pain as you were.
He loved you when he left you. He still loves you even after all this time.Â
You inhale shakily. For the first time, you feel infinitely selfish for only focusing on your own misery without even stopping to give him the benefit of the doubt, to consider the possibility that maybe letting you go wasnât something he wanted. Maybe he isnât the antagonist that you spent years making him out to be.
Thereâs more to it, and you need to know.
âThen why did you leave me?â
Graduation was just shy of a month ago, and two weeks before that was Hoseokâs flight when he left you all behind.
You and Jungkook, along with Taehyung and Jimin had gone to see him off at the airport. Of course you did, you were his best of friends after all. The goodbye was full of jokes accompanied by sniffles, and tears that overflowed without permission because you all agreed that you would hold yourself together for Hoseok. Jimin was probably the one who cried the most, even though inside, you were equally sad to see your friend leave.
A part of your life was ending, and that in and of itself was depressing enough already, but you thought at least the whole group would still be together and start the next chapter by each otherâs side.
Nonetheless, it wasnât the end of the world. All of you could still make it work, even if it wasnât the most ideal of situations. You promised to keep in touch, promised to message the group chat every day and have video calls every weekend. You were still kids, and kids tend to be optimistic like that.
What none of you could see coming was how everything would fall apart in a matter of mere weeks.
Jungkook thinks that decades from now, when heâs old and gray and helpless, he still wonât be able to forget that day.
He shouldâve been more concerned when your mother contacted him out of nowhere, asking him to meet with her, asking him not to let you know where he was going.
Heâd shown up half an hour early to the cafe where they were supposed to meet, just because he didnât want to risk being late and have your mother disapprove of him even more. Not once had she expressed anything other than disdain toward your relationship, but youâd always told him it didnât matter, that you were the only person who could decide what to do with your life, not anyone else, let alone your mother. He always believed you back then, even if deep down, he still wanted her to see that he was enough for you. Her unattainable approval still mattered to him.
Jungkook spent thirty whole minutes running on nothing but anxiety and caffeine. That was probably his first mistake, ordering a cup of coffee which only made him more nervous than he already was.
When your mother arrived, it barely took her any time at all to get right into what she came here to say. She hadnât even bothered with a drink.
Was that how it was always going to end? Should he have seen it coming from the beginning? Was he the only one who thought it would be you and him all the way until the very end?
Maybe he was more of a hopeless romantic than he thought.
It was the way she had called him a phase that she hoped youâd grow out of. That she had let you keep this relationship for long enough, but now that youâd graduated - now that youâd be starting a life for yourself - she couldnât sit back and watch you throw it all away for a boy who could never give you what you deserved.
It was the way she told him she didnât want history to repeat itself. How she didnât want to subject you to the same fate that she and your father had to suffer through. How she had left your dad because in the end, he wasnât enough for her and you, even though you were a child and you deserved to grow up with a father and with love.
She said the same thing would happen to you and Jungkook, because you were meant for greater things and he was not meant to deserve you. She made it clear that he would always hold you back, that he would never amount to even a fraction of what you should receive in life.
âIf you love her, you would let her go.â
ClichĂŠ, right? Like the kind of stuff you only ever see in movies? Well, movies have to take inspiration from somewhere.
He thought about his own mother then, and about how people could have such different ways of showing love. He believed that your mother loved you, and he still believes that. She wouldnât have gone through the trouble of seeing him if she didnât care about you. She wanted the best for you, and that wasnât him.
She didnât have to tell him to keep it a secret from you, because he wouldnât have told you regardless. He was well aware of how strained your relationship with your mother was, and letting you know would only drive it closer to the edge. She knew he wouldnât tell you. He loved you, and that was the one thing that she could count on.
Just sitting there in that cafĂŠ, Jungkook felt like all of the air had been sucked out of the room, even though he was surrounded by the other patrons and their lively laughter as they chatted away. The pitiful way that your mother kept looking at him forced him to learn what it was like to feel truly worthless.
The pity in her eyes only intensified when he couldnât even say a single word in response, couldnât think of anything to defend himself.
Silence meant agreement, and that was what he chose. Jungkook - the naive boy that he was - stopped believing in you. Heâd believed her instead.
He was just a kid, what else was he supposed to do?Â
She was your own flesh and blood, and he knew nothing could ever replace that. He would rather let you hate him, resent him for the rest of your life, than let you lose your family.
That day, he lied to you for the first time ever, saying he couldnât come over because he was tired. The sunflowers he bought for you just hours prior ended up dying on his windowsill.
He wouldnât see you again for a few more days, then for months afterward.
July was supposed to represent a blossoming summer, but all he could remember was the dreadful promise of a winter that would inevitably come.
You call his name when he takes too long to answer. âTell me.â
âI love you,â he merely says. His hand brushes your cheek.
You frown, despite the way the three words make your chest tingle.
âI love you,â he says it again, trying to ease the furrow between your brows.
âThatâs not what I asked.â
âIâm sorry.â
His voice is soft, barely even audible, but itâs this gentleness that makes his words ricochet, ringing in your ears loudly like a gun going off in the quiet of your room.
Again with the apologies.
Fuck this.
Itâs hard to take it to heart when you donât even know what heâs apologizing for.
You gave Jungkook the chance to explain himself, but if he doesnât take it, then thatâs not on you. There isnât much else that you can do.
You swallow hard, then shove him off of you so you could get out of the bed. Your legs instantly tremble as you attempt to stand, but you soldier on as you put on your bra and underwear, then grab your dress from where it lays abandoned on the floor. Youâre shaking, but itâs difficult to determine if itâs because youâre angry, or cold without his warmth nearby.
Heâs quick to his feet too, rushing toward you before you could leave.
âDonât touch me,â you hiss when he reaches for your arm. He doesnât listen, because when has Jeon Jungkook ever fucking listened?
âY/N, wait-â
âWait for what?! I asked you a simple question and you canât even answer me.â
He runs a hand over his face frustratedly, clearly torn over something. He holds your angered gaze, but the way he looks at you is much milder, gentler even if itâs equally frustrated. âIâm trying to protect you.â
You donât know if itâs the wrong answer or not. You just know that in this moment, it irritates you to no end.
âOh my god,â you gasp mockingly. âSomeone is trying to kill me.â
âWhat?â
âSomeone is trying to kill me. Someone is waiting outside that door right now, waiting for me to come out so they can kill me. Holy fucking shit, Iâm about to be assassinated.â
âY/N, Iâm serious.â
Thereâs that burning sensation behind your eyes again. âAnd you think Iâm not? What do you mean youâre trying to protect me? Protect me from what? Do you think this is a fucking k-drama? Jesus Christ,â you scoff harshly. âWhat do you want from me? What the actual fuck do you want?â
Jungkook aims for you again, and in an attempt to ward him off, your swinging fist inadvertently collides with his chest. The dress falls to the floor again, laying next to your feet, that useless piece of fabric.
It probably doesnât do much damage to him, but heâs a bit startled regardless. So are you, if youâre being honest. But you do it again, and surprisingly, he lets you.
âYou coward.â You shove hard at his chest, making him stumble backward. âYou unbelievable asshole. You fucked me, you said you loved me, and you still canât tell me why you left me.âÂ
He allows you to push him until his back is pressed against the wall. And even then, you donât relent. Your fists continue beating against his chest as you start sobbing, spilling âI hate youâs in between so many expletives it could make his grandmother faint.
He might bruise in the morning.
You hope he bruises in the morning.
The least Jungkook could do is bruise for you.
You want him to curse him out for so many things - for loving you, for leaving you, for not even having the balls to tell you why he broke your heart. For coming back to remind you that you still love him. For proving that he still has you in the palm of his hands, and every twitch of his finger can make you feel like the walls are crumbling down on you.
But even as you tell him how much you hate him, youâre still thinking: Come back. I donât want to keep losing you. Come back to me.
Because heâs the only person who can hurt you like this. When you think about him, it used to make you so depressed that you could hardly function. Thereâs no other way to put it to make it sound less pathetic. Thatâs just how it is.
You shouldnât have agreed to this weekend, shouldnât have been nice to him, shouldnât have let him convince you not to think about it. You shouldnât have opened the door for him in the first place, because there was always a part of you that knew he could get under your skin so easily just like that.
This wasnât your second chance at holding onto him. It wasnât a do-over. It was a re-enactment.
The years havenât made you wiser, that much is clear.
You donât know how long this goes on for, but at some point, you begin to wear yourself out. Your movements start to slow and the energy to violently sob leaves your body until youâre nearly collapsing. Jungkook catches you when you donât have the strength to hold yourself up anymore. Why are you always so fucking helpless?
âYou justâŚâ Your voice gets caught at the end of a sob. This is rock bottom all over again. âYou make me so sad.â
You grasp his arm weakly, feeling like your own lungs are failing you. You canât breathe. Itâs too much, too infinitely humiliating. Heâs doing this to you again, and this time you have to shoulder most of the blame, because you are the one that enabled your own heartbreak for the second time.
Youâre still crying, and you hate that this is the first time heâs ever seen you cry like this.
âIâm trying to protect you,â he says firmly, looking at you like heâs trying so hard not to break down alongside you. âPlease, Iâm so sorry.â The words come out as a whisper now. You can feel the tremble in his voice and the shake of his hands where they hold you. His big bambi eyes - the usual home of constellations - now house tears that threaten to spill onto his supple cheeks. âPlease. What can I do to make you believe me?â
Itâs those stupid fucking eyes. Itâs your stupid fucking self.
âYou need to tell me.â Your tears keep on falling no matter how much he tries to wipe them away. âI canât take it anymore.â
âItâll make things worse,â he tells you, his voice cracking as he does. He sounds like he means it, and maybe he does believe that whatever heâs hiding from you will only hurt you more. It almost has you caving, but you canât do this a second time. Youâre exhausted, both physically and emotionally. In the morning, youâll think about how this is all so dramatic, the way youâre acting right now. The most k-drama-esque thing that has ever happened to you. But in the moment, you just feel like someone plunged a knife in your chest, and they keep twisting it, twisting and twisting,...
In the end, you decide that itâs a risk youâll have to take, because nothing can be more painful than the absolute hell heâs putting you through. Heâll never understand how utterly excruciating it is to experience this kind of heartbreak.
âIf you donât tell me now, I wonât be able to survive you again.â
up next...
our beloved summer (08) ⤠aka the JK centric chapter
all rights reserved Š jeonqkooks. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted september 30, 2023]
Dextrocardia. Originally a medial term, but also a way to describe someone who's got their heart in the right place.
"She's been moved to another operation to help out. This pairing is necessary because you'll be undercover as spouses. I know you two can be professional about this."
"What?!" It's Jeongguk's upset voice that sounds, and for once, you share his displeased opinion.
Spouses.
pairing:Â cop!jk x f detective!reader
genre:Â undercover cops, fake marriage, e2l au, angst, fluff, smut
word count:Â 5.3k
warnings (serious):a ton of sexist (police) men (jk included), there will be different kinds of assault in later parts, more specified warnings will come but probably don't read if you have traumas and feel bad reading about stuff like that
warnings (less serious): jk is hawt. tattooed, strong police man who dislikes wearing shirts, also he's mean :(
rating:Â NC-17 â Adults Only
masterlist
part 1/?Â
Š dextrocardia is copyright jeonstudios. this fic can not be modified, re-posted, or translated without my permission.
The station is filled with the familiar scent of coffee and the comforting sound of printers, small talk, and footsteps.
Some mornings, it reminds you more of a typical office than a police station, your own two feet contributing to the sounds as you walk along with the chief, careful to keep your distance from the tall man even when some of the hallways are a tad bit too narrow.
"And since a neighbor just moved out, we've decided that there's an invaluable chance here.â
You hum, feeling the male officers' snarky gazes and eye rolls as you reach the office space where they all sit, their desks organized into landscapes. To say that youâre not very liked in these parts of the station is an understatement.
âWhat about my current case? Theââ
"âItâs on hold for now. We're gonna have to move quickly, so you'll be shipped out in a few days. Move in next door to the Jungs and hopefully solve this thing once and for all. I've already picked out an officer to go with you."
Thereâs no time for you to ask questions before the chief opens the dark wooden door located at the back of the room and motions for you to enter his personal office first.
You do, but the sight of whatâs inside nearly causes you to stop and the chief to bump into you from behind. The sight of whoâs inside.
Jeon.
âAre you kidding,â you hear him mutter under his breath, and itâs obviously not because heâs so elated that his detective is you. No, itâs because he despises you.
Disgusted eyes burn holes in the side of your face as you follow the chief's command and sit down next to your colleague from another division.
The tension definitely doesn't go unnoticed, but Jeon Jeongguk isn't an exception; you know that all male officers feel more or less the same way about you. It's the reason that the tension goes unmentioned and why youâd hoped for your usual female detective partner to sit there.
"Where's Jihyo? I assumed we'd work together as usual," you question, ignoring your own annoyance and the immature man next to you, who you know is doing his best to let you know just how much you appall him purely by facial expression.Â
"She's been moved to another operation to help out. This pairing is necessary because you'll be undercover as spouses. I know you two can be professional about this."
"What?!" It's Jeongguk's upset voice that sounds, and for once, you share his displeased opinion.
Spouses. Not only has the chief dismissed a really important case that youâve been trying to get flying for a long time, but youâre supposed to play⌠spouses? Unfortunately, you know better than to anger the chief more than necessary, so you focus on suffocating the most urgent fire.
"I'm sure that's not needed," you argue calmly, attempting to sound like the more mature one in the room. "One of us could go alone, or I could go with Sana? People are much more accepting of same-sex couples nowadays."
"Of course, you man-hating lesbian."
"Oh, grow up, you fucking child,â you bite in Jeonâs direction before returning your hopeful (and desperate) eyes to the chief. âShe and I could be roommates? Cousins?"
"Stop it," the chief warns half a second before you can suggest acquaintances, and itâs easy to see that the slightly above middle-aged man feels like he's talking to two preschoolers.Â
"Look, I'm not going to argue about this. We don't send anyone out alone, you know that,â he berates lazily from behind his desk with a pen pointed in your direction.Rumor has it that heâs set to retire in a few months, and youâre sure heâs looking forward to it more than ever at that moment.
âHereâs whatâs gonna happen. You two are newly-weds, moving in basically across from the Jungs. It's a bit of a religious neighborhood, but like, weirdly so, so you'll be a housewife and Jeon a lawyer. It allows you to stay home during the days to get to know the neighbors, and Jeon can say he's taken a week or two off to help settle in."
Your jaw clenches as the details keep coming, and you know, without even looking, that even if heâs just as upset as you are, at least your "professions" are amusing to Jeongguk. Heâs probably even smirking.
âWhat about him then?â you question, nodding toward Jeongguk while keeping eye contact with the chief, âHeâs got his whole arm covered in tattoos, wonât that be a problem?â
âNo, a lot of the suspects have them too, so it doesnât matter.â
âOh, so itâs only a trip back in time for women, got it,â you seethe. It can't get any worse than this.
The chief ignores your comment, "Look, this is what we've deemed the most inconspicuous; a young, married, heterosexual couple. You'll blend right in, and being recently married, it'll give you an excuse to seem a little⌠distant."
You understand perfectly well what heâs implying, but you can't help but question it. "And what does that mean?"
The chief sighs and lowers his head a little, "It means that you two need to put on your happy faces and act like you're madly in love and like keeping your hands off each other is harder than the donuts Officer Kim brings on Tuesdays. That way, sneaking off together and whispering in each otherâs ears, as well as a missed neighborhood barbeque or two, might go unnoticed. Or at least seem⌠well, inconspicuous."
A scoff sounds from beside you. "I don't get why I have to be the one to go with her? Isn't there another detective to do all that pretend lovey-dovey shit with her?"
Apparently, that's the thing that really upsets Jeongguk, and even though you find him self-centered and immature, it still hurts a little to know that even fake being in love with you is unmentionable.
"No. Like I said, I won't argue. Time is of the essence here; I need a man and a woman that can pass as a couple and work together. You're a great officer, and she's a great detective."
"You sure about that? And what about my safety, then? I don't want to "accidentally" get shot because I'm a man and she feels inferior to me!"
Ah, there it is. The reason you're so insanely disliked. A mission ends with a gunshot wound to the thigh of your former detective partnerânow officer and Jeonâs best friendâand suddenly everythingâs your fault and everyoneâs turned against you. It wasnât your fault, and itâs not like you ever wanted or planned for it to end that way!
For the first time, you turn your head to really look at the man beside you, your glare powered by years of anger and frustration. His face is flushed, revealing just how irritated this whole ordeal is making him.
In another universe, one in which men don't have personalities, you'd for sure want him. There's no denying the attractiveness that oozes from him, but masculinity is both a blessing and a curse.
He's gorgeous, raven hair parted to expose his just as dark eyebrows and his forehead. Heâs got cheekbones and a jaw from another world, and it looks like he's wearing the black pants of his uniform but has foregone the shirt in favor of a dark blue sweatshirt with the police academy's print on it. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his veiny forearmsâone of which tattooedâ and hands are on display, and it's hot.
He's hot. Intimidating and hot.Â
But he's also so⌠mean. So spoiled and entitled and just such a man. Itâs been less than a year, maybe eight months or so, since he transferred from another district, and during those months, you've never spoken more than a few sentences to each other.
Still, youâve known of him since before he even put his foot in the building, his reputation preceding him. Unfortunately, he's one of the best officers to grace this part of the country in a long time; his accomplishments piling up like golden trophies.
It's harder to measure for a field officer, still, the dude has an unbelievable rate of cleared and successful cases, surprisingly few complaints made against him, and the fitness competitions held every year among the officers are just another opportunity for him to improve his previous impressive record. He could probably bench five times your bodyweight and kick in whichever steel-reinforced door he wants. Everything turns to gold underneath his skilled fingertips, and it makes it all exponentially worse.
Perhaps he deserves some of the praise, but you still stand by the fact that Jeongguk is spoiled and entitled and just such a man. Almost all the males inside this building are. Pumped full of the worst kind of drug, produced by their own bodyâtestosteroneâand you're so fucking tired of it.Â
Before you can defend yourself, bite back that he needs to shut the fuck up, you're interrupted.
"She's still not allowed to carry,â the chief clarifies calmly. âYou've done mostly field, and she's done investigating. You'll work together, combine your strengths and eliminate your weaknesses. Okay?"
"Fine," you huff, "but I'm bringing my dog."
When you leave the roomâJeongguk exiting behind you only to be greeted by another male officerâyou hear it.
âYouâll put her in her place, right, Jeon? Put an end to all of this and show her itâs a manâs world sheâs living in?â
âOf course,â he replies just as confidently, âIâll show her.â
And you know you might as well start writing your will.
Â
Three days later, youâre sulking in the passenger seat of a sleek black car, being driven by none other than Jeon Jeongguk himself. Itâs not his personal car, and it for sure doesnât belong to you; yours is still at the repair shop where itâs been for faulty brakes three times in the last six months.Â
You wanted to drive, but apparently, your fake new neighbors are so sexist that you canât be seen stepping out of a car after driving your âhusbandâ around. Because everyone knows driving is a manâs job, right?
Jeongguk has a big suitcase in the backseat. You have two, one containing clothes and whatever you need for your stay and another that holds food and other dog stuff. In the actual trunk, inside a crateâbecause you value his safety over everythingâyour Doberman sits.
You donât know much about the house except that itâs big and mostly empty. The basic furniture has apparently already been moved there yesterday, but the rest of âyourâ furniture and possessions are scheduled to arrive within the next few days.
Ideally, youâll manage to solve the case before the moving trucks pull up, sparing you the work of hauling heavy objects inside when you know itâs just for show and that someoneâs gonna want them back eventually. If that happens anyway, youâre already contemplating leaving it to Jeongguk since he wants to be the man so badly. Heâs obviously not happy about being partnered with you, but it at least brings him joy to see you have it worse. Except for having to be around you, heâs living the dream, getting to be a lawyer and have a housewife to be serviced by.
Among the chief's instructions is a dress code, and so today, Jeongguk is wearing black slacks and a white, crispy button-up shirt while youâre wearing a dark blue off-the-shoulder sundress. Unsurprisingly, you need to look put-together at all times which makes you hate your new fake neighbors even before meeting them. Well, a few of them are suspected to be some of the most successful bank robbers in the countryâs history, but besides that.
The thought makes you huff quietly, and even with your gaze out the windshield, you see from the corner of your eye how Jeongguk glances at you. Probably giving you more of a glare, if youâre being honest.
There hasnât been much going on conversation-wise either. The arguing of who was to drive happened an hour ago, and after that, youâve laid a few comments on his choice of roads, and heâs answered them with just as much attitude as youâve muttered them. You see this adventure ending in one or two waysâyou and Jeongguk becoming friends isnât one of them.
At five p.m., you pull up in front of your new house, and at first glance, itâs lovely. The entire neighborhood is. Big, pristine houses painted in white with green, mowed lawns and backyards, and white Picket fences. Your house is no different.
When the engineâs silenced and the key in Jeonggukâs right palm, you start feeling nervous. But you canât let him know, so you focus on the task at hand.Â
Your hands are a little sweaty, and to lessen the tremors, your fingers play with the diamond on your ring finger. Itâs fake, but theyâre done so well these days that even a professional would have a hard time differentiating. Thereâs a ring decorating Jeonggukâs finger too, a gold wedding band that you have to admit really suits his brand.Â
Another thing he has with him is a gun, something youâre not allowed. But jokeâs on anyone who thinks youâd willingly go unarmed. You have razor blades with you, sometimes a blade lies in your bra, protected in a plastic case. Other times, itâs strapped to your thigh. Like now.
As soon as you open the car door and step out with a fake smile on your face, you head to the trunk to get Fenrir. Itâs unnerving how you can see your closest neighbors peeking out through their windows already, and you know instantly what kind of neighborhood this is. The brown Doberman jumps out, wagging his undocked tail and stretching after the drive.
âSince people are watching,â you hear Jeongguk from behind you. When you turn around, you almost lose your breath.
As heâs grabbing your bags to carry them inside, heâs wearing a smile that looks so incredibly genuine youâre almost left speechless. But of course, you can tell by his gritted words that heâd gladly let you carry them yourself if there werenât witnesses. Actually, if no one was around to see, heâd probably just deck you with one of them.
âFuck you, I can bring them myself,â you mutter through a sweet smile of your own, head tilted slightly.
âJust go inside before anyone can come here and start interrogating us, we still have things to go through.â
âFine,â you snap, and together with Fenrir, you walk toward the entrance, unlocking it.
Jeongguk isnât far behind, dumping your bags by the door that he closes behind him before turning to you.
Youâve gone through a few things regarding your disguise, but a lot of details still need to be agreed on.
Jeongguk is Kim Jaehyun and youâre Kim Yeji, high school sweethearts that married just a few months ago. The honeymoon was set in Paris at Jeonggukâs request, making you roll your eyes at the laziness. Jaehyun is just such a romantic.
But only a few minutes after the door is closed, a gentle but firm knock is placed on it. You exchange somewhat panicked looks with Jeongguk before inhaling and exhaling deeply and reaching for the door.
On the other side, dressed in colorful blouses and flowy skirts and with a plastic container each, two women stand.
âHi,â you start, trying to channel your shy but polite inner housewife.
âHello! Welcome to the neighborhood!â one exclaims happily, nudging the other subtly with her elbow.
âYes, hello! Such a surprise to see new neighbors already! Iâm Jung Eunha and this is Min Hyeji, we live just across the street. Or at least I do, Hyeji is your next door neighbor!â she nods toward the other woman.
âOh, uh, nice to meet you,â you greet, hoping that the discomfort behind your smile isnât visible. âIâm Kim Yeji, and this is my husband Jaehyun.â
Improvising, you turn around hastily and go to⌠well, touch him somehow, but heâs closer than you expected and so your hand bumps into his shoulder, and you just⌠keep it there somewhat awkwardly before slowly dropping it.
âNice to meet you,â Jeongguk starts, his focus laying beyond you. âYeah, weâve been looking for a new home for a while, and when we saw this, we just fell in love immediately. Such potential and with a really nice neighborhood.â
âYes,â Hyeji smiles proudly, âPerfect for when you get little ones!â
You feel yourself hurling on the inside, disgusted by the thought of having kids with someone as vile as Jeongguk, but he manages to keep his cool even though you assume heâs taken by surprise as well. How can they already know that you donât have children? Unless they really supervised your entire arrival?
âYeah, weâre not really there yet, but I agree; itâll be perfect for our future kids, right, honey?â
He looks down at you. They all look at you.
Honey.
âOh, yeah, absolutely!â you smile, trying to blink away the image of your archnemesis gazing at you so fondly. You wouldâve never guessed it, but when theyâre not overflowing with murderous disgust, Jeon Jeongguk has the prettiest brown eyes. Soft, brown eyes.
âWell, itâs so nice to meet you, but we gotta run. Here are some cookies,â Eunha excuses, taking a step closer to push her container in your hands. Hyeji follows, stacking hers on top. âWeâll see you around soon!â
And then, theyâre gone, and the doorâs closed.
You remain silent for a moment, just to make sure no oneâs lingering and hearing stuff theyâre not supposed to.
âDude, what was that?â Jeongguk asks, and when you meet his eyes this time, the softness is gone, traded back for that familiar hatred.
âWhat?â you question with an irritated whisper, still paranoid the women might stand with their ears pressed against the door.
âI thought you were supposed to be a good actress?! Yet you touched me like I was your new colleague? âH-hi, Iâm K-kim Y-yeji and th-this is m-my husband J-Jaehyun.ââ
âShut the fuck up,â you grit, walking away to place the containers on the kitchen counter.
âMaybe you donât understand, I wouldnât expect you to, but we need them to believe us. Either you touch me like you love me or you donât touch me at all.â
After a few more digs at each other, you split up. Jeongguk disappears somewhere further into the house while you unpack Fenrirâs bowls, the gifted containers left on the counter. The big dog follows you closely to the kitchen sink, propping his snout in between you and the counter and hoping youâll fill his bowl with something tasty.
âNo food now,â you explain, setting the water-filled bowl down in an appropriate spot in the kitchen. âThere you go, you must be thirsty.â
Although surely disappointed, Fenrir sniffs at the bowl before lapping at the water. You take a step back, watching him with a crease of worry between your eyebrows.
This whole arrangement has you incredibly nervous. Youâre used to spying on people and such, but itâs usually just... observing. Many times, youâre seated inside a car with binoculars, or youâre tailing someone through the mall. Rarely, you even have to talk to the suspects, and now? Youâre living next door to them, trying to get to know them.
You donât even know whatâs worse; living in the house next to your enemy, or living with your enemy. For all you know, Jeongguk might suffocate you in your sleep with a pillow over your face before the armed robbers even get the chance at taking you out.
âYouâre the only man I can trust,â you coo, scratching Fenrir behind his ear when he approaches, a few leftover water drops making it onto your dress.
But with a sigh, you accept the fact that youâre stranded in the house for the coming days, and so you might as well follow your partnerâs lead and look around.
Itâs a nice house, you conclude. Not the very biggest, but still spacious enough. On the ground floor, thereâs the kitchen, a dining area, and living room, all equipped with the basic necessities.
The dining area has a large dining table and eight chairs surrounding it, and the living room harbors a huge, gray couch and a very nice wooden coffee table. A wooly blanket hangs over one of the armrests, and a huge tv is mounted on the wall opposite the couch.Â
What you donât necessarily like is the fact that itâs... open. There arenât really any separating walls except for around the kitchen, which means that if you need to hide from someone, you canât. Well, maybe you can lock yourself in the bathroom, and hopefully, the bedrooms also have doors with locks.
The stairs creak a little under your feet, and you definitely take notice of it as you climb them to check out whatâs upstairs.
To your surprise, the first thing you see is Jeonggukâs back. Confusion sets in as you watch him. Heâs looking inside one of the two bedrooms, frozen with his hand on the handle.
You approach carefully, not sure you want to one; be so close to him, and two; know whatâs gotten him so... confused? Confounded? Surprised?
Maintaining as much distance as possible, you peek inside. But itâs just a room? You canât see the entirety of it since youâre not about to squeeze yourself through the doorway with Jeongguk still in it, but it looks⌠normal? Nice, actually.
Thereâs a queen-sized bed placed against the cream colored wall, drowned in beige linen bedding with an oak nightstand on each side. On the opposite side, to your left, there are doors leading to a built-in closet, an oak dresser, and a gray, empty plant pot, standing in the corner.
âYou... like this one, orâŚ?â you turn your head to glance toward the other door, leading to the other, unexplored, bedroom.Â
You donât want to let him choose before youâve seen both because you know heâd rather die than give you the better one without a fight, and youâre not about to sleep in a bed covered in rat shit or something.
But before you can even walk toward that other door, Jeongguk opens his mouth.
âYeah, well I have to, since this is the only room with a bed.â
At his surprisingly casual words, your heart drops. No. That canât be true. Your steps are quick, and when you glide the door open, you curse to yourself. The room is empty, completely barren.
With your hand still on the handle, you turn your head toward Jeongguk, horrified. âIâm not sleeping with you.â
âAnd you think Iâd wanna fuck that?â he snaps, eyeing your body with disgust.Â
You hate him, you really fucking hate him, and you wish his words didnât mean anything to you, but they do. The dress youâre wearing makes you uncomfortable, it makes you feel vulnerable under his gaze, and you wish you were allowed to wear your own comfortable clothes and not the ones given to you.
Itâs beautiful, it really is, but you loathe that it leaves your shoulders, arms, and lower legs exposed. You hate that youâre supposed to be pretty for your âhusbandâ and even other men, and you hate that they always have to look, that they have to judge. Your value as a woman lies in the way you look, you learned that at a young age just like everyone else, and you hate it. You just donât wanna be perceived.
Despite already being well aware that the number of men willing to date you would be close to zeroâif youâd even want to date, that isâyou feel like heâs stabbed you right through the heart.
It especially hurts because heâs so goddamn beautiful, so of course, you respond with the usual anger. âI didnât mean it like that, you fucking idiot, but yeah, the feelingâs mutual.â
Briefly, you see how Jeongguk rolls his eyes before he lets go of the door and steps back. âSo what do we do? Iâm not sleeping next to you; I heard you carry a knife wherever you go.â
Well, itâs not technically a knife, but he might as well continue believing that. âYeah, well there are men everywhere I go? And donât tell me youâre stupid enough to believe Iâd come here unarmed?â you question. How many brain cells does he have? One? âAnd thereâs a couch, so I suggest one of us just takes that.â
You glare at each other. He knows, just as well as you do, that no one is going to volunteer. âFine. Weâll take turns.â
Sleeping on a couch isnât necessarily the worst thing that could happen, you just donât want to sleep out in the living room and feel so exposed and vulnerable. But youâre also tired, fighting with Jeongguk has taken so much of your energy already, and by the looks of itâof himâheâs not gonna give in very easily.
You sigh and roll your eyes, âFine, you can take the first night.â
He smirks victoriously, immediately going downstairs to retrieve his suitcase to unpack his clothes. Since a neighbor could visit literally any second, you need to be able to keep the act up inside the house as well, and so, as soon as Jeongguk is finished unpacking his clothes, you bring yours. And you hate seeing them hang next to his in the closet, just like you hate him.
Just a few hours after your arrival, there are more knocks on your front door. Youâre upstairs when you hear it, descending the stairs to see Jeongguk at the door, talking to one of the women from earlier with a small bouquet in his hand. Eunha.
âWeâd love it ifâoh, hello again!â she greets when you come to stand next to him. âI was just telling your husband about the barbeque weâre throwing on Saturday! Youâre more than welcome to join us if you want. Get to know your neighbors and all that,â she smiles excitedly.
âWell, we canât pass up an opportunity like that,â Jeongguk chuckles, âRight, honey?â
Youâll never get used to it. The way he looks down at you so fondly, with warm brown eyes and a sweet smile. It both melts your heart and sends an ice cold shiver down your spine.
âYeah, no, of course,â you smile, looking forward as you try to ignore Jeongguk wrapping his arm around your waist.
Meanwhile Eunha just watches the two of you with heart eyes, smiling when you meet her gaze. âWeâll bring meat of some kind, some... chicken? Maybe?â
âGreat idea, and some beer,â Jeongguk adds, finally tearing his eyes from the side of your face. You breathe out. Heâs just so intimidating, no less when heâs as close as he is, his disguised scrutinizing gaze on your face and his warm hand on your waist.
âGreat, see you then!â she nods, taking a few steps back.
âSee you, and thanks again for the flowers,â Jeongguk grins before closing the door and thrusting the bouquet in your hands.
âExcuse me?â
âBe of use and trim the stems and put them in water.â
âThere are few people ruder than you, Jeon Jeongguk,â you hiss quietly. âVery few people I hate more.â
âItâs not as if youâre very liked, so go ahead,â he scoffs.
Asshole, you think, but still move toward the kitchen with the flowers in hand. Theyâre actually very pretty, and you turn the bouquet around to admire them. Youâre not very familiar with the different sorts of flowers, and the only kind you can identify are daisies. Theyâre blended together with other kinds in a variety of colors and sizes. There are light yellow ones, pink ones, and a few tall, blue ones. You especially like those blue ones.
Trim the stems and put them in water, Jeongguk said. You open a drawer in search of some scissors and find a pair that looks like they could get the job done.
Then you start cutting. Itâs harder than you thought; the stems are much thicker and the scissors arenât sharp enough.
What you donât notice is Jeongguk, standing behind you and peering down over your shoulder.
âOh my God, step aside,â he exclaims in annoyance, making you jump. Before you know it, heâs grabbed a knife from a drawer and pushed you to the side. âHave you never gotten flowers or what?â
You back away, scissors lowered uselessly. âShut the fuck up, you idiot.â
âSo, you havenât?â he taunts, âI donât know why Iâm surprised, flowers are for pretty girls after all.â
Lips pressed together in frustration and humiliation, you watch his back as he finishes the job, clearly happy with his remarks.
You hate it so much, how thereâs nothing for you to retort with. Jeon Jeongguk is gorgeous, heâs smart, and heâs talented. He learns a new skill in the blink of an eye, and can get anyone to like him. And the worst part is that heâs very aware of it. He knows heâs unmatched, and thereâs nothing you can say that would hurt him.
âI hope you get kicked so hard in the balls that they rupture.â
Jeongguk winces slightly at your words, not long before he rummages through another cupboard and produces a glass vase to store the flowers in. âRough,â he comments, and you roll your eyes.
âBy the way, you know that dress looks horrible on you? You donât have the tits for it.â
You swallow, feeling your heart break further and your confidence thatâs already ninety percent anger, crumble. You feel even uglier around him than usual, humiliated to have to be perceived.
More than anything, you wish that you could just rip your clothes out of that closet, stuff them into your suitcase, take Fenrir, and go the fuck home, but you canât. You know youâre one misstep away from being fired, and you wouldnât exactly get the best of recommendation letters with as much shit as youâve accidentally stirred up. Not that it was your fault. Still, no one in your field is going to hire you, so itâs better to stay, even if that means Jeon Jeongguk will be the death of you.
âWe need to plan,â you mutter, subconsciously folding your arms over your chest to hide yourself. âThe barbeque is in two days.â
Jeongguk carries the vase to the dining table and sets it down in the middle before turning to you. You make sure to maintain enough distance and focus your eyes on his face and not the way heâs leaning back against the tableâhis weight supported by his armsâor the way his shirt strains over his chest. Ridiculous how he can be so pretty but so vile.
At least youâre relieved that he seemingly turns his professional mode on as he bites his lip, thinking.
âWell, we know the ultimate goal is toââ
ââGet inside the Jungsâ house.â
âYes,â Jeongguk agrees. âWe need to figure out a way to get inside the house so we can bug it. Thatâs gonna be the best chance, and hopefully, weâll get some kind of confession. Maybe theyâll even lead us to the money.â
It takes you ten minutes to plan for the next two days. Itâs a bit rough, mostly open to let you see what happens and adjust accordingly, but itâs a good start.
In forty-eight hours, give or take, youâll show up at the Jungsâ house for the barbeque. You have a feeling Jung Eunha isnât that involved in her husbandâs criminal adventures, but she could be sitting on valuable information. If not about the heists or money, then at least on how to get inside their house.Â
So, your focus lies on her and the other wives, while Jeongguk will try to get close to the men, and thus, Jung Hoseok, himself.
You pack away the blue dress.
author's note: so that's the first part, please tell me what you thought, i decided not to do tag lists for this series <3<3
Rosa (She/Her || 24) ~~ I reblog my favourite fic and create reading list.
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