jk

Heyyy

You looked up. "Why are you texting me? I'm literally, like, 2 feet away from you."

Jungkook shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I was just making sure you hadn't blocked me yet."

"I... fair. But if you keep being weird, I'm gonna block you for real."

Buzz.

"Kook."

"Kidding! Please don't block me."

"That's sounding like a fantastic idea right now."

"Ah, don't be like that, Cupcake!"

"Wh-"

The door suddenly burst open with a bang, nearly making you jump out of your skin. (lol pd-nim cameo)

"Lunchtime!"

Seokjin poked his head in the doorway and held up a white plastic bag. Judging by the places that jutted out, some lunch trays were inside. He walked over and set the bag down in front of the blanket nest.

Hey, now was your chance! You could dart out the conveniently open door right now, while everybody was distracted, and flee to freedom. It was the perfect opportunity to escape.

But you hesitated.

You weren't completely sure why.

Was it the yummy-looking food sitting in front of you that tempted you to stay?

Was it Seokjin's intimidatingly wide shoulders that made you question your chances of slipping past?

Or... was it because you actually started to enjoy being here?

The music was good, the snacks were good, and as annoying as he may be, Jungkook was a pretty okay person to hang out with. There was no tension or awkwardness, at least this time.

It was comfortable. And that's all that you could really ask for.

Anyway, you hesitated too long, because Jungkook poked your shoulder and said, "Are you thinking of escaping?"

"How did you kno- n-no. No."

"That was awfully suspicious."

"I-I know, but I definitely didn't mean it to be."

"It becomes five times more sus when you say 'definitely.' I'm gonna hold on until Jin hyung closes the door."

"What do you mean when you say you're gonna hold..."

You trailed off when Jungkook grabbed your wrist.

"Oh." You made a face and tried to shake him off. "Hey, stop that. I'm not a toddler anymore."

"Woah, you didn't start screaming and kicking and biting me?" Surprise was written all over his features. "Such character development. Very improve. Much impress. Wow."

"Stop that," you repeated. "Again, I'm not a toddler anymore. And stop trying to blow up the fourth wall. You already used up all the dynamite in the song."

Seokjin cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, I think I'll just go now..." He backed away slowly and carefully pulled the door shut.

You waited for approximately 2.013613 seconds, then jerked your arm out of Jungkook's grasp and wiped it on your shirt (technically his shirt but still).

"That's gross, man. Ew."

"I'm not gross!" Jungkook protested. "I shower every day and use deodorant and do laundry with Tide High Efficiency Laundry Detergent."

You rolled your eyes. "Uh-huh. How 'bout we dig in now, 'cause I'm about to digest myself from the inside."

"I don't think that's physically possible because the mucous lining-"

"Save it, Doc, and let me eat in peace. Bon appétit!"

He sighed. "Bon appétit to you, too."

The food looked and smelled positively mouth-watering. Stir-fried kimchi, lil seafood patties, mini dumplings, one perfect, perfect dome of white rice, and-

You inhaled it in three minutes and twenty-eight seconds.

How did you know? Because Jungkook told you so.

"Three minutes and twenty-eight seconds flat!" he had exclaimed once you'd swallowed the last chopstick-full of food.

You daintily dabbed your mouth with a napkin, slurped your iced tea, sighed, smacked your lips, then looked over. "What did you say?"

"Look!" Jungkook pointed at his phone, which showed a stopwatch displaying 00:03:28.00 in large, white numbers. "Precisely three minutes and twenty-eight seconds. So perfect~"

You arched an eyebrow. "You timed me? Weirdo."

"Hey, I have a bet with Jimin hyung to uphold," he said, withdrawing his phone and tapping around on it.

"You bet with my brother to see how fast I could eat??"

"Uh, yeah? I won, by the way."

You smacked his arm. "You're twenty-two, not four. Act your age."

Jungkook shook his head and grinned. "Twenty-two is the perfect time to be weird because they'll blame it all on hormones and newly-found adulthood. I'll be fine."

He then shoveled some rice into his mouth and proceeded to fly into a coughing fit. You thumped him on the back until it subsided.

"Nah. I just think everyone isn't bringing it up because they know you're naturally dumb," you said, grinning.

"That's not nice," he said with a pout, but chuckled afterward. "Ahem. Um. I think I have some rice stuck up my nose."

"Dude." You weren't sure whether you should laugh or be extremely disappointed in him. "Go to the bathroom and try to snort it out or something."

"Okay, Mom."

You rolled your eyes at his retreating back and turned to your food to get the last grains of rice. These trays were always so small. How was this supposed to keep you until dinner?

Your eyes trailed over to Jungkook's tray.

Y/N, no. He's not your brother. You don't get to steal food from him like that. You don't get to share food with him like that. You don't get to- Y/N, no! Stop! He's gonna-

"Cupcake?"

Sooo busted. Like, your chopsticks were in his kimchi and everything.

"I-it wasn't my fault!"

"Uh, sure?" He said it like a question and raised an eyebrow.

"No, really! I tried to tell her no but she just went and, ah..." You stopped yourself here, realizing that if you went on any longer, Jungkook might actually drag you to a mental hospital.

"Ummm, okay." He walked over, sat cross-legged behind his tray, picked up his chopsticks, then looked up at you. And proceeded to hold your gaze for an eternity and a half.

You blinked, not totally sure what he meant by it. "What?"

"Y-you have a little, um, right here..." He pointed to the corner of his mouth.

Your cheeks grew hot and you quickly swiped at your mouth. God, Y/N, drooling?

Jungkook sighed, as if he'd just lost an internal battle with himself. "Okay, I give up. Say ah."

"What?" you asked again, rather stupidly.

"Ahh. Say it." He was holding a seafood patty in his chopsticks and looking at you expectantly.

"Um, ah...?"

The next thing you knew, something warm was sitting on your tongue and Jungkook's chopsticks were empty. You chewed on instinct, and it tasted, hmm... it tasted like a seafood patty.

Wait-

Did that mean Jungkook just fed you?

OhHHhHh gOd nOOoo

Didn't you adamantly refuse to be fed by him in, like, Chapter 10, just to go down so easily now? What happened the strong, independent woman who needs no man that you were supposed to be??

"Okay, that's enough!" you yelped as he stabbed a mini dumpling.

"Wha- only one? I thought you wanted all of it."

"What I wanted was to save your self-dubbed 'ridiculously sexy' abs a bit, not the entire thing," you said. "Eat the rest or you'll starve to death and I'll be jobless and that would be sad."

He scoffed, but ate.

After a while, Jungkook sighed and set down his chopsticks. "Mm, I'm stuffed."

"But- but-" You couldn't even finish your sentence. You gestured to the tray that still held about 1/4 of its original contents and turned to him with wide eyes.

He shrugged. "Guess I got used to that idol diet, you know? You can have the rest, if you want."

When you shook your head, he shrugged again, stretched, then flopped backward. His shirt hiked up a little, revealing a bit of the infamous "ridiculously sexy" abs.

You had to admit, you couldn't argue with the name.

But, since you were nice, you tugged his shirt down.

"There's nobody here for you to impress, so don't even try it," you mumbled, only half-intending for him to hear.

"Huh? Oh." His lips stretched into a smirk that would've impressed Azula, but a frown quickly replaced it. "Wait, what do you mean 'nobody?' You're here."

You blew some air out of your nose. "That's right. I'm nobody."

Jungkook was not impressed.

"Either you're being sarcastic, or this level of self-esteem really isn't healthy, Y/N," he said, completely serious.

"You know me." You shot him a self-deprecating grin and gestured to yourself with your thumbs. "Y/N is my name, unhealthy coping mechanisms are my game, heh."

He then turned and held your gaze for a very long time, which seemed to be a habit of his and irritated you in astronomical quantities.

"You're serious," he said after you'd gained sixteen grey hairs.

"Uh, yeah."

Jungkook sat up, stared at you some more, then snapped his fingers.

"Aha! I have enlightened upon the cure of your tragic malady."

"Why do you talk like a wannabe Shakespeare?"

He pinned you with his uncomfortably intense stare again. "Listen. I'm... gonna... compliment you until your self-esteem improves or you spontaneously combust. Whichever one comes first."

"Uhh...?"

"You know, one thing that I like about you is that you're really rude."

"Excuse me?"

He coughed. "That didn't come out right... ah, I meant blunt. In a good way! Like, you're not afraid to tell others the truth, even if they're gonna get mad at you for it, and I respect that."

You shrugged. "Not so sure 'bout that. I'm way too polite for my own good."

"No, you're not. You wouldn't have any trouble saying something embarrassing is wrong with me to my face, would you?"

You started to shrug, then nodded. "Then I guess I should point out that a piece of green onion's been hanging out between your teeth for the past, like, ten minutes."

His cheeks grew red. "Could've said that earlier," he mumbled, trying to discern its location with his tongue.

"Just go to the bathroom!" You snickered and nudged him with your foot, making him blush harder and get up. "And close the door! I'll pass on a complimentary in-depth tour of your mouth, if you will."

The door slammed shut and you failed to stifle a snort.

"Okay," Jungkook said once he'd returned, sans green onion. "Do you agree that you're, uh, positively blunt?"

"I could just be a rude person."

"It's more of a good thing than not. If I'd gone through the entire day with that stuck in there, I'd be judged—a lot. You saved me from all that."

"I guess."

"Look, I'm making progress!" He grinned and seemed very proud of himself.

"Don't give yourself so much credit. I'm still not totally convinced that I'm all you say."

"Okay, okay! Uhm, another thing I like about you is that, while you insist that you're not good at anything, the opposite is actually true."

You raised an eyebrow. "Are you talking about yourself?"

"Nope! Think about it. You can do a million different things, even if they're random, for one. Two, you were spectacular in school and everybody adored you, except maybe the Phys Ed teacher. And three, you beat me in a race."

That made you laugh a little. "You say it as if me beating you in a race is something absolutely phenomenal."

"It is, right? I mean, look at those—" Jungkook gestured to your legs. "—and look at these." He raised one of his own legs and struck a pose.

You made a sound that was somewhere between a snort, a scoff, and what. "You look ridiculous."

"See? You're blunt AF!"

"Mm. Point taken."

"But you really are talented. You know that, right?"

"Hrrrggnmmphhh."

"I'll take that as a yes. Moving on. You are, like, really pretty."

"Ha, now I know you're just making stuff up." You chuckled, swirling your tea so that the ice clattered inside.

"I'm serious, Y/N. Have you even looked in a mirror?"

Blowing air out of your nose time. "I try to avoid it when I can. I don't like what stares back at me."

Jungkook sighed. "That's literally face dysmorphia you have going on right now."

You crossed your arms. "And?"

"Frankly, you're seeing things that aren't there. That can hardly be good."

"So, now I have schizophrenia?"

"You know that's not what I meant."

You looked at the floor, suddenly self-conscious. "I really don't see how I'm attractive in any way, though. What do you see?"

"I see the face of an angel."

Blinking in surprise, you looked up.

He was smiling, but it seemed sincere. "I'm serious. How many times do I have to say it for you to understand?

"You are beautiful. And, I know it's cheesy, but you're damn cute on the inside, too. Your sense of humor and little idiosyncrasies are incredibly attractive and can trump any external flaw. You don't have to have perfectly symmetrical features or Instagram-esque proportions or any of that crap society keeps telling you. You're gorgeous just the way you are."

It took you a moment to collect yourself. "D-damn, Kook. I... I didn't know you could compose motivational TED talks on the spot like that."

"I guess I'm just cool like that," he said, all mock-smug.

You rolled your eyes, but nodded. "Thanks, though. That actually kind of boosted my self-esteem."

"Really?!"

"J-just a bit. Really small. Tiny. Practically microscopic."

"It's better than nothing!" he said brightly, and you had to smile a bit. It was kind of cute.

Dammit, he was kind of cute.

That wasn't even a compliment. It was just a fact.

The way his face just lit up like someone flipped a switch, the way he did The Head Tilt™, the way his eyes turned into little sparkling half-moons when he grinned; it was all so, so cute.

Just a fact. Nothing more.

"Got anything else?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. You never let go."

Alarms went off in your brain. Something wasn't quite right. But that didn't make any sense, so you just said, "Are you implying that I'm somehow less fabulous than Queen Elsa of Arendelle?"

"Of course not. I'm just saying that you have your opinions, and you're not easy to influence."

"You're saying I'm stubborn."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess."

You hummed in thought. "Dunno. I think I'm pretty easy-going, so-"

He chuckled, cutting you off. "Oh, no, I beg to differ. You are not easy-going at all. You're literally so stubborn, and honestly, you won't listen to reason if you believe you're right. Or anything, really, once you're off on a tangent."

You crossed your arms. "Mm, and who's off on a tangent, now?"

But Jungkook didn't seem to hear you. "Never. Ever. I'm willing to bet that nobody can change your mind once you've got your heart set on something. You're obstinate incarnate, Y/N, practically to the point of bullheadedness, and that's not a good thing."

You fumbled for words, surprised at how sharp of a turn the conversation had taken. "I-I... I thought we were talk... t-talking about the good-"

"No, no, believe me, this is bad. You'll literally shun everyone and everything to stick to what you believe. Hah, if anyone tries to say something other than what you think, NOPE, they get blocked, unfriended, and avoided until the next lifetime, and possibly even beyond. The bigotry you possess is insane."

You really didn't like where this was going. "Jungkook-"

"No, Y/N!" He was full-on ranting now, his cheeks flushed and a crazy sort of glimmer in his eyes. "Don't you see? You. Are. Not. Right. All. The. Time! You never pause to wonder if there's anything other than what you see, anything that the other person's dealing with, anything outside of your perfect little bubble. Well, guess what? There is! But you refuse to listen!"

He paused to catch his breath and you stared at him, lost for words.

What... what was happening?

Your head felt light and heavy at the same time, and you seemed to have lost the ability to swallow.

And then you felt them.

The sparks of emotion shooting through the fog, their colorful flashes bright against the grey of your mind.

The first one was a purple color.

"I... I don't understand, I... I thought... I thought we were trying to boost my self esteem, so, s-so why are you trying to put me down?"

He looked up at you through his parted bangs, which were wet with perspiration, and smiled wryly. "You think I'm putting you down?" Insert a single sardonic laugh here. "I'm not. You've got it all wrong, Park Y/N. I am telling you what the hell you're doing wrong. What you've been doing wrong, and what you'll continue to do wrong until reality slaps you in the face."

You blinked, and then you felt the next flash. Blue.

"Kook, I'm..." You took a shaky breath and felt your eyes prickle with tears. "I-I'm so sorry. I'm not sure what I did, but I'm sorry that I hurt you. I-"

"You don't know what you did? Oh, really? You don't know? Is it so... so insignificant to you th-that you won't even spare the room in your brain to remember something that ripped my world apart?"

You felt your jaw go slack. Was he talking about-

Suddenly, red.

"Is that what you think, Jeon Jungkook?!" you exploded, unable to contain your anger. "That, because you're extremely vague in your accusations, I'm the one at fault? And who said it? Who said they wanted to leave? Was it me?"

"It might as well have been! You never showed up when I asked to hang out, never found the time, made excuse after excuse until I simply could not take it anymore and-"

"What the actual hell. It was YOU who did all of those things! I was constantly trying to make time for us, but you were always s-so busy."

"Excuse me? NO. You, Park Y/N, YOU started acting all weird way before I... before I even noticed the signs. When I realized what you were doing, I knew that I had to call it quits before you inevitably did it in any way that was more psychologically damaging."

"I wasn't even thinking of leaving!" A single freaking tear rolled down your cheek because that's how freaking fed up you were with all this freaking crap he was spewing. "I was begging you to stay! And why the hell are you saying that I did literally everything YOU did? I could spit those words right back at your face and not be lying one bit!"

"Is that what you think? Huh. So, what if I told you that everything I said is true? Because it is. Who would be the liar here?"

"I- ugh!" You clenched your fists and stared at him and tried your very hardest not to cry. What in the world? He was saying YOU were the one showing all the signs, but it was HIM who did all of those things!

But the most frustrating thing of all is that he really seemed to mean what he was saying. There were no tell-tale signs of lying on him, nothing that could suggest a fib.

Does that mean you really were the one who ended it all, without even realizing it? Or was he just manipulating you to his every desire? Or... or could it be something else, something you could've never guessed ?

wth.

oh, lord .

you wEre so sick and done with all this bull.

so you took a deeP breath

let it
o
  u
     t

got up amp&;; walked
to the door

and kicked that Piece of wood as hard aS you could.

it didn't shatterrrr r r  or crack or eVen dent in any way,,

but whEN you kicked it AgaiN, it slowly, very sl owly, swung Open

you walked down the hall and thrOugh the  r o o m s

ouT the front doo r .

down the street
you went

y/n.exe has stopped working.

A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Author will close the program and notify you when a new chapter is up.

[close the program]
💜