feeling daecheon's sunlight casting between the lashes of his eyes, jungkook slowly pried them open and found a hand resting over his stomach.

you're here,

jungkook let go of the breath he didn't know was holding, a sense of relief unconsciously creeping through his being. 

you're still here. you're not leaving.

then, jungkook watched taehyung's limp body wiggling over the sand in silence, probably cold and itchy from spending the night at the beach. it was clear to him once again that the slightly older man was wearing a traditional hanbok — living up to his nickname, wasn't he? — but this time, it was the royal shade of maroon with glints of pastel gold. the fabric was smooth, silky and soft . . . it would be a lie to say that he didn't love every single inch of this moment.

"ugh," in a matter of seconds, taehyung opened his eyes and immediately covered them back, taking his precious time of adjusting to the sun.

jungkook swore he could feel his heart bursting by the moment taehyung clicked his lips in annoyance.

soon as taehyung finally regained the confidence to face the burning sun, he looked around and saw his former accidental boyfriend, only to mutter a sleepy, "oh?"

"morning, hanbok man."

i'm still here?

taehyung whispered to no one in particular, feeling both happy that he was given another chance to see jungkook, disappointed that he wasn't able to return to where he belonged. because the last time he fell asleep in modern seoul, he was pretty sure he got transported back to the palace. 

am i stuck in here?

"hey, what are you thinking about?" jungkook raised his eyebrow, noticing the slight worry that laid behind his expression. "are you okay?"

"i-i'm . . ."

"do you not want to be here?"

jungkook, don't pout! you're only making it harder for me when you pout! 

"n-no, i'm okay," taehyung shook his head, realising that one of his arms was still lingered on jungkook's covered waist. it gave him butterflies how he never really intended to let go of the cuddle, though it seemed like his counterpart wasn't planning to either. "just a little bit dazed that we're still here."

"well, if we should have been somewhere else, then where do you think we should be?" he stifled an innocent laugh, turning taehyung's heart into a garden of flowers.

"hmm . . ."

"oppa," before taehyung could answer jungkook's question, another voice suddenly blocked their focus as the pair looked up to meet the source of the childlike sound, a six-year old girl already staring at them with plastic shovels and a procrastinating facial expression. "why are you sleeping at the beach?"

"we, um," jungkook frantically elbowed taehyung, not knowing how to interact with a child in general (which unfortunately wasn't responded the way he wanted to, considering that both parties were just as clueless). "oppa was hanging out with my friend. hehehe."

"—min hyejin! breakfast is ready!"

moving their eyes past the girl whose name seemed to be min hyejin, jungkook and taehyung watched a young woman walking out of a small restaurant, just a couple meters behind them, only to step back in as soon as the girl yelled back an equally loud "alright, mom!". 

suddenly, an idea came up to their minds.

"hyejin-ah," jungkook sat up from the boiling sand and fixed his posture. "is your mother the owner of that blood sausage soup restaurant?"

"my parents are. why?"

"hanbok man," instead of answering hyejin's question, instead, jungkook looked at taehyung with pity in his eyes, for his stomach had been grumbling like the sound of an angry wolf ever since he woke up fifteen minutes ago. it wasn't his fault that the smell of warm soup had been greeting his senses. "should we get some food before going back to seoul?"

taehyung didn't think twice to nod.

"alright," jungkook giggled before he stood up, hands resting over the girl's slightly exposed shoulders. "hyejin-ah, will you let oppa and my friend have breakfast at your restaurant?"

three bowls in for jungkook and another two for taehyung, none of the pair risked to initiate a conversation as they felt hyejin's extremely young mother piercing her gaze through their souls. 

maybe the idea of eating blood sausage soup at nine in the morning was a little too uncle-like for those in their early 20s. maybe seeing two grown men spending the night at the beach with no tent wasn't something she would see everyday. or maybe their visuals were just too strong.

but regardless of her endless curiosity, both jungkook and taehyung were lucky that the quirky woman decided to call free on their meals as a token for playing with her daughter.

"eat more," hyejin's mother — whose name remained as mrs. min — encouraged, joy glistening by waters of her face.

"don't."

walking out from the kitchen by the end of the hall, a pale blonde-haired man who didn't look much older than jungkook and taehyung themselves took a seat next to hyejin, a cup of warm drink and newspaper on his hands. it was funny how his hair was messily tousled onto the very back, but his shirt was of the same colour with the rest of the women, giving him the vibes of a strong man with principals. all black.

"aish, hyejin's father!" mrs. min slapped his back in both playfulness and full force, trying to dismiss the embarrassment that was turning her cheeks red. "hyejin's new oppas are tired and hungry — just let them eat."

hyejin's father almost spat the coffee he was drinking. "o-oppa?"

so, this is how it feels like to have a caring, overprotective father who wants to keep his daughter safe from problematic men until the end of the world. 

"i was making sandcastles when i met them," hyejin nodded carelessly, still eating the lollipop that was held between her small fingertips. "so, this is jungkook—" she pointed at the extremely shocked jungkook, before fixing her gaze over the ever-eating man in traditional hanbok. "—and this is taehyung. they were talking when i found them, so when they said they wanted to eat at our restaurant, i said they could come with me."

"oh."

"oh," mrs. min mocked, trying to get the attention of her husband. "this is yoongi, hyejin's father. please don't get me wrong, but i believe we're not much older than the both of you, so feel free to call us hyung and noona."

"i'm the only one who can call you noona, though," yoongi sighed at the sight of his family, both his wife and daughter were too mesmerised to even bother that their only man wasn't feeling comfortable with not being prioritised.

on the other hand, mrs. min — now noona — who was already sensing the unspoken tensions between jungkook and taehyung ever since they arrived, could only reminisce the old days of her adventurous love life with mr. min yoongi, before blatantly asking,

"so, jungkook-sshi . . . how did you and taehyung meet?"

i've been gone for such a long time uwu :( first of all, we celebrated the tradition of nyepi (day of silence) here in bali, and all internet connection & other types of electricity were cut off for 24 hours straight — it's a self-reflecting hindu celebration & you can google it if you want. and last but not least, i'm currently having a two weeks worth of exams! hope this chapter can make up for the late update, though. sorry & sending lots of love ♡ ALSO THANKS FOR 1K OMGGGGG