Celestine

twenty one // célestine

The studio I was supposed to be recording in messed up the dates, and someone was already in when I arrived. We moved the shoot to the next week. Jungkook's day off is today. This cannot be a coincidence, and we are using this opportunity to our advantage.

I come to his apartment straight from the studio, and he welcomes me with the widest and purest smile.

"I have a request for today," he says. "We mute our phones, close the blinds, and act like the world outside of this place doesn't exist."

"Do you realize this is the best idea you've ever had in your entire life?"

We do exactly that. Phones off, blinds closed, door locked. I haven't had breakfast yet, so Jungkook makes us two coffees and the best granola bowl I've ever had in Los Angeles. The food tastes even better when I pretend that's my whole life. This apartment, spending time with Jungkook, eating good food, resting.

I'm so tired after this month, and I can tell Jungkook's tired too, if his puffy eyes are anything to give it away. Despite the coffee I have along with food, as soon as I empty the bowl, my eyes get droopy.

"I wanna nap," I mumble, stretching my back.

"You too?" Jungkook chuckles, loading the dishwasher.

"Should we?" I say.

"You know I only have one bed."

"A bed we both fit into. Don't worry."

I'm not sure why the idea excites me so much. Is it a nap or the bed? Jungkook leaves half of the dirty dishes in the sink. He's only a clean-freak in his restaurant kitchen. Each time he's cooked here, I've never seen him wash a single plate.

He closes the blinds in the bedroom and turns on a mood lamp that puts actual stars on the ceiling.

"This is about to be a nap of my life," I say, obsessed with his bed. I can tell it's an expensive bed. And now the lamp. And the room smells sweet.

Everything is great. I'm ready to fall asleep. Almost.

Something's off. One small detail is missing, and I can't make out what it is. I twist and turn, not letting Jungkook fall asleep just yet. He's on his side, eyes closed. Until he's not, rolling onto his back with a sigh, and opens his arm.

"Come here," he says. His eyes stay closed.

I study his stretched arm carefully. The idea itself makes me breathless for a second, and when I actually put my head on his chest and wrap my arm around his waist, my body melts, and I grin. This is exactly what was missing.

"So you're gonna cuddle me," I mumble, already halfway there in the land of sleep.

"If that will make you stop moving around, I will," Jungkook says, both arms around me, chin on top of my head.

The last thing I register is how good he smells and how happy I am.

~~~

Jungkook has been practicing solving Rubik's cube since we both woke up. After napping for three hours, we moved from his bedroom to the living room, devoured apple pie muffins and turned a movie on.

I've never seen anyone giggle so much while constantly failing at something. With every move, he goes "yes!" and laughs when he realizes the move was wrong and the whole cube is messed up. He says he's had it since he was a kid and always planned to start, but never actually touched it until now.