TIME AFTER TIME ; jjk

24

Chapter 24

JEON JUNGKOOK

Cool ocean breeze broke through the warmth of the day as we walked along the beach, adoring the gigantic sand sculptures, leaving trails on the sand behind us. Twelve sand sculptures were displayed, towering over us. Haeundae Jurassic City by Kim Gilman, one I could name and was my favorite by far. This year, the festival only featured Korean artists. On the far left, there was an open scale of sand mountains, the kids running around the expanse of the Haeundae beach view, some of them digging into the piles of sand, working to shape a huge chunk into cute characters. A lot of people had come to see the exhibition and take pictures. We stopped in front of the Recovery and Soohyun asked me to take her photos. I positioned away from her with her phone in my hand as she snaked her arm around Taehyung's waist, a smile stretching across her face, brighter than that sunny day.

I swept my hair back off my forehead. "Can we go to On The Plate tomorrow?" I asked as I handed the phone back to Soohyun, letting her check the photos. She seemed pleased about them.

"Oh my god, Jungkook, I was just about to say that. They've got bombass breakfast menu, they say," Taehyung said.

As soon as we finished seeing everything in the exhibition, we made our way back to the Paradise Hotel which took only a few minutes to reach. My room had a breathtaking ocean view, and though my bank account was practically hurting, it just felt right. To have days off work. To think of where I'd like to go next instead of appointments.

"It's even better at night, you'll see," I said to Soohyun. Taehyung suggested he'd take a nap first and had gone straight to his room while I actually felt the exhaustion from the four-hour drive.

"Have you always been here to see the festival kick off?" Soohyun asked me.

We were interrupted by a ringing of a phone. Jiwon was calling me again, trying to talk. I was patient enough not to block her number. I put it on silent mode and put my phone back into the pocket of my cargo shorts. "I've only seen this four times. Twice when my parents brought us here when I was a kid. The rest I came alone."

"This is my first time experiencing this festival. I've always watched this on the news, though."

I flashed a smile. "I'm glad you made it with us, then."

. . .

Half an hour before lunch, I found Taehyung standing at my door. I let him in and followed him out the terrace of my room. He grabbed a chair and settled into it comfortably, crossing his leg over the other. He ran his fingers through his hair before saying, "How are you?"

I looked at him, weirded out, as I sat next to him. "You've been asking me that for the past few days."

"I don't see anything wrong with my question. You dodge it every time. Suspicious."

"I'm okay."

"I don't believe you."

I stared at him in disbelief. "I gave you an answer and you won't believe me."

Taehyung's brows arched at me. "I saw you almost losing yourself in the workroom the other day. You seemed like you wanted to cry. I heard Doctor Won lashed out on your team."

"I was just frustrated."

"And it happens all the time."

"Taehyung." Just tell him. He deserved this from me after all the dismissing I had done.

"Hmm?'"

"I'll finish residency..."

"Uh, of course?"