16

"Stay the night, won't you?"

I stared at him in shock and I froze before completely standing up.

"M-me?"

"Who else would I be talking to?"

I felt my cheeks warm up as he gave a teasing smirk at my obvious question.

"So, will you?"

"I-I don't know. I have to ask my parents and I don't know if your aunt will be okay with me freeloading again like last time."

"She doesn't have to knー"

"I heard that Jungkook."

Jungkook choked on his cereal as his aunt entered the kitchen and lightly smacked the back of his head. I couldn't help but laugh at his foolishness as he muttered, "I was just kidding," under his breath.

"I don't know where he learned his manners. I'm sorry you have to put up with him at school, but you're more than welcome to stay here tonight, so if you'd like to, go ahead and ask your parents."

I thanked her with a big smile before I called my mother, asking for permission to stay over again. She lightly scolded me for burdening others with last minute things like this, but she reluctantly agreed to let me stay. When I hung up, I looked up to see Jungkook with an content look on his face as he ate his cereal. He winked at me as he brought his bowl up to his mouth to drink the milk. I rolled my eyes at him and all of a sudden, my stomach growled loudly.

Jungkook tried to hold in his laugh as he drank his milk, but in the end, he ultimately failed and the next thing I knew, there was milk all over the table. My face flushed red in embarrassment as I glared at him while

hugging my stomach.

"Shut up, it's not that funny."

He continued to laugh for a few seconds before finally settling back into his chair with a ridiculous smile on his face. He cleaned the mess he made and stared at me for a while until he stood up to get a bowl and a spoon along with a box of Cheerios from the top shelf of the pantry. He placed them in front of me before fetching the milk from the fridge.

"It's fine, Jungkook. It's past ten. If I eat right now, I'll gain weight."

"Eat. I don't want to hear your stomach growling in the middle of the night while I'm trying to sleep."

"No. I don't want to."

"Well, your stomach disagrees."

"My stomach doesn't have a brain so it caー"

Before I could finish my sentence, Jungkook had already started pouring the cereal and milk into the bowl.

"Hey! I saー"

Jungkook shoved a spoonful of Cheerios in my mouth without letting me finish. He smiled proudly as he watched me chew with a scowl on my face. I glared at him before taking the spoon from his hand and eating the bowl of Cheerios on my own.

"See, that's what I thought."

"Hmph, whatever."

He went back to his spot at the table after putting his bowl away along with his spoon. We sat in silence as I ate and as he kept his focus on his laptop screen. When I finished the cereal, I took the bowl to the sink where I washed both Jungkook's and my bowl. I dried my hands and turned to see Jungkook waiting for me by the doorway of the kitchen with his computer and headphones in his hands. We went upstairs and he walked into his room with me

trailing behind. I paused before his door, debating if I should enter or not, but Jungkook only chuckled at my hesitation.

"You can come in. Just close the door behind you."

I did as told and slowly walked over to the veranda door to look up at the sky. The stars shined brightly and a smile spread onto my face as I watched them gleam and glitter in the moonlit sky. I turned my head to see what Jungkook was up to and I found him pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I immediately slapped my hands on top of my eyes, but before I could yell, Jungkook cut me off with a laugh.

"They're for you, don't worry. I wouldn't change with a girl in the room. Wear these after you wash up."

I peeked out from behind my hands with an embarrassed smile before thanking him and heading to the bathroom next to his room. By the time I came out, it was ten-forty. His clothes were oversized on me and I shivered as I knocked on Jungkook's door, listening for his permission to enter.

"Come in."

I quickly walked into his room to escape the chill that I felt in the hall. Jungkook gave me a strange look before walking to his closet and pulling out a loose jacket. He motioned for me to come and when I did, he draped the jacket over my shoulders. I put it on properly and found that it was entirely too large. When I turned to ask Jungkook if he had a smaller one, I heard the sound of a shutter followed by his laugh.

"Jeon Jungkook! Delete it!!"

I dove for his phone, but he moved it out of my reach at the last minute.

"It's only fair that I get to keep this picture."

"Huh? How come?!"

"You have a picture of me, right? I let you keep that one, so you should let me keep this one."

I glared at him and puffed out my cheeks before reluctantly agreeing. Jungkook gave a small, satisfied smile before returning to his desk where he went back to composing. I quietly opened the veranda door and shut it before walking over to the railing. I closed my eyes as I hugged myself to resist the cold chill of the night. I hummed quietly while slightly swaying from side to side along with the song.

How did it end up like this? Never had I ever thought that I'd someday be staying over at Jungkook's house for a second time, not to mention it was by his request too.

"Enjoying yourself, I see?"

Jungkook joined me on the veranda while pulling on the hood of his hoodie. His smile had faded back to an unreadable expression. The corners of his mouth were lifted, but his eyes glistened with an emotion that I could point out as anything but happiness.

"Jungkook..?"

"Hmm?"

"How come you always look so unhappy?"

The corners of his mouth dropped as he heard my question and he opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it again. He seemed to be out of words as he just let out a long breath before shoving his hands into his pockets. It seemed that he was looking back at some things from the past before regaining his voice.

"Life does things to you."

I glanced at him to see him staring at ground below the veranda. He had a frown on again as he stared at the flowers that were dying from the cold. I startled him by poking his cheek and pulling the corners of his mouth up into a smile.

"You should smile some more. If you do, I think I just might fall for you."