THE MANAGER NIM

63. RED WINE

Oddly the questions and dares seem to be revolving around kisses and it starts a fire in your gut. It also constantly reminds you about Jungkook and your eyes float in his direction, only to find him staring back at you like a lost puppy. His eyes plead in a language that only you can discern and you quickly look away before your heart melts outta your system.

Everyone refills their glasses with their favourite drinks and the pillow starts to bounce off the hands again. This time it's Hobi's time to question Yoongi.

"So, Yoongi'shi! What's your body count?" Hobi sips his Whiskey with a dirty smirk.

"For what?" Yoongi asks with his usual nonchalant face.

"People you've slept with!" Hobi asks and the squad boos at him for asking such a daring question.

"Ohh! That! I thought you saw the basement! Well, abou_" Yoongi calmy continues.

"What?" Bewildered Hobi's eye dilates in shock.

"What?" Yoongi mimics Hobi's surprised Pikachu face and you all laugh like a drain.

The pillow moves around in sync with the music and this time the pillow ends up in Namjoon's hands and he chooses truth over dare. It is your turn to question him.

"Well Namjoon'shi, I got an easy one for you! Tell us something about your most favourite person, though you don't need to reveal the name as we all know who it would be!" You say and wink at Kiara, whose cheeks are already flushed.

"Hmm, about my favourite person? Cool, there is this one person who has a really special place in my heart. And if I have to say something about her...well, she is the most amazing human being I've ever met. She is a living form of a meme, with a huge ass heart that will even push her to jump in front of a psychopath to save a little puppy. She loves the soulful poems of Emily Dickinson and the sweet aroma of Lavender. If something is pressing me, she'll always be there with a warm heart to hear me out and an empathetic mind that'll either find me solutions or bestows comfort. In such a short time she eventually became my harbour from any storm. Her beauty begins in her eyes and ends in her heart, making her beautiful in and out. In my life, women may come and women may go, but she will be that special one forever."

You don't know when you stopped breathing, you just keep staring at his side profile which is glowing with the golden shadow of the campfire, while listening to his wholesome words about you. He turns around and your eyes collide with his soft ones, "I wish I met you sooner, but thanks for existing Y/n!"

Your mouth opens and your tongue suspends in the air, trying to find the words to thank him for such a sweet gesture, but nothing comes out. Your soul is silenced by his words. Tears start to accumulate around your eyes and threaten to roll down. "Thank you!" your voice sounds like a strong breeze and you quickly turn away from him to hide your overwhelming emotions. While trying to dive between the tides of emotions, you fail to notice Kiara, whose face shows nothing but pure regret for leaving Namjoon's side for such a long time which created the space for you both and Jungkook, whose emotions are eerily restrained and impassive.

The surrounding starts to feel quite cold, but Jimin interrupts and resumes the game. You don't know whether it's the alignment of the stars or your evil fate, this time the pillow stays in Jungkook's slender arms when the music halt.

"Truth or dare, birthday boy?" Kiara asks, though she pretends to be zealous you effortlessly see through her facade and how absent-minded her tone is.

"Truth!" Jungkook says and gulps the remaining whisky in his glass.

"Well, then tell us about one of your second-rate behaviours, which you've kept a secret from the world!" She asks faking a bright smile induced by the alcohol suffusing her system.

He smiles at her and shuts his eyes close, trying to come up with an answer.

"You might be the birthday boy, but we don't have all day Mr. Jeon Jungkook!" half-drunk Bang PD shouts sarcastically causing you all to crack up.

"Alright! Alright! I got this one, wait" a huge sigh departs his nostrils. "Well since childhood, I've had this crazy habit of considering everything is mine, as I go by the quote 'what's mine is mine and what's yours is also mine!'" he laughs, flashing his bunny smile.

"I get possessive over my things easily and I tend to write my second name 'Jeon' over things to let people know that it is mine and no one should touch or claim it, like under my ramen bowl, over my baseball and other such silly stuff and to be brutally honest I still do that, haha!" he laughs and the decibel seems to be increased by the influence of alcohol, rest of you laugh at his goofiness.

His head drops sloppily and his crazy laugh comes to an abrupt halt. His head slowly hoists up and his eyes linger over your face. "So, I was thinking, should I write my name over my manager nim too? JEON Y/N! Sounds nice right?!" he looks at Namjoon with piercing eyes.

_

Some people will have a passion to collect stamps, and some will collect coins, but yours is collecting different colours of stains on new clothes. Sometimes it will be curries and other times it will be paints, today it's wine. But this time you have outdone yourself, it is not just a drop but a mega pint of red wine on your brand-new turtle neck top.

When Jungkook addressed you as Jeon y/n the glass in your palm lost its grip and soaked all your chest area with wine. After successfully wasting 30 minutes trying to remove the stain, you strip off the shirt to wash it better. Though you had a camisole underneath, it still felt risky to stand there without a shirt, flashing all those dark purple marks.

Blocking the sink's drain, you dunk the shirt into the pool of water and twist the wet fabric to drain out the wine. A knock on the door hauls your attention from the stained shirt.

"Who is that?" you yell from the spot, thinking it might be some maid.

Cold silence lingers in the air. Your heart starts to race against time. "I asked who it is?" This time you slowly move towards the door and stand behind the lock. Though you can't say who it is for sure, you know who it must be. The lock slowly twists around and you slightly open the door to peek through.

As expected Jungkook stands there with a shirt in his hand.

"What?" Your peeking head asks in a grave tone.

"Got an extra shirt, you want?" he asks in a hesitant tone, his eyes drifting across the floor, probably searching for the courage to look into your eyes.

Your hand reaches out to grab the shirt, timely his eyes hoist up. As if something unearthly possessed him, his grip on the shirt grows firm and instead of letting it go, he pulls it back, along with you, exposing half of your body. His drowsy gaze narrows at the sight.

"Are those...mine?" he asks hesitantly in a strained voice as if he is trying to tame a feral beast.

Your brows raise up and your face grows impassive, liquid courage invades your conscience,

"So, what if?"