THE DEVIL WORKS HARD (Kookjin)

Chapter 33

Jungkook shrugs in despair, reaching for the second piece of ribbon. "That's it? That's all you did?"

With a curt nod, Dali simply hums.

"You do not want to tell me do you?" Jungkook probes further, now crouching to his knees in front of his daughter. "You know I'm your father and you can tell me just about anything and everything right?"

Again, Dali nods.

"So why aren't you going into details about the fun you had then? You were up in his room all day yesterday and refused to come out until dinner time. You both even refused me from coming up the stairs talk less of coming into the room. It wasn't nice of you two at all, especially you young lady, I'm your fath__"

"Are you feeling left out Appa?" Dali questions abruptly, thereby cutting Jungkook off mid sentence.

Jungkook swallows nervously, eyes darting all over the strawberry drawings on his daughters dress except at her very inquisitive face. Had he been way too obvious? He legit thought he was doing a really great job at masking his emotions.

"Hmm Appa?" Dali further questions, this time gently tapping on her fathers shoulder as she did.

With a breathy huff through his mouth, Jungkook hauls himself up to his feet in one go, clawing at his nape like a deer caught in headlights. "What? That's absurd ladybug, of course I don't feel left out of anything, you know I have my own business to attend to around the house right?"

"Good" Dali simply stated, hopping down the stool with a soft thud. "It's almost time for our tea party, I'd better go then" she announces excitedly, rushing head on for the door.

"Wait!" Jungkook's left hand comes up almost immediately to halt her in place. "Tea party? You're having a tea party with sir Seokjin?"

Dali nods quicker than the speed of light.

"Since when did you two suddenly grow inseparable?"

The constant snickering escaping her lips at her fathers question sounded like pure happiness, which caused her to run back to him, wrapping her small arms around his waist. "Appa thank you for working here" she began, "Papa often doesn't have much time to play with me because of his job, but sir Seokjin plays with me all the time"

Before Jungkook could come up with a proper response to such a gut wrenching confession, Dali was already out the door with nothing but her tea party in mind.

The day pretty much went by in complete silence for Jungkook, he'd either laid on the couch with his cellphone in hand or eaten a few snacks here and there to while away time. Although the very same couldn't be said of a certain boy and his little friend. Even though Seokjin's bedroom was located all the way down the hall, Jungkook could still hear the excited laughter and clinking of tea pots coming all the way down the stairs. He tried to shake off the feeling of not being invited once again, but it wasn't really working considering how he'd roll his eyes whenever either of the pair laughed out a little too loud.

His quiet time was soon disrupted by the tiny feet sprinting towards him and before long the shrill voice of Dali rings out "Appa, Appa, can I go in the pool?" She asked, now standing before him.

"Why?" Jungkook questions, barely sparing her a glance.

"Well sir Seokjin told me there's a pool in the house and I'm sweating a lot Appa"

"Why wouldn't you sweat when you've been playing all day?" Jungkook whispers underneath his breath.

"Pretty please Appa, please" Dali desperately hops up and down in place, her lashes batting up at her father in a silent plea.

"You should take her to the pool, it's a hot day afterall" Seokjin says, sneaking up from behind them.

This action quickly causes Jungkook to jolt up from the couch, smoothening out his rumpled clothes in the process. Maybe it was true or maybe it was just him thinking too much, but it sure felt like it's been ages since he last saw the boy up close, hence why he kept an unwavering gaze on him.

"How did you, I mean when did you get down?" Jungkook asked, still keenly staring at Seokjin.

"A minute ago" Seokjin responds with a nonchalant shrug

Sensing how ignored she now felt in the entire conversation, Dali resumes her plea. This time grabbing hold of her fathers hand and tugging him downward.

"Pretty please Appa"

Jungkook knew he couldn't win in the argument against the two, so he gave up with a long sigh of exhaustion while gazing down at Dali. "Fine, but you can't go in the pool with your dress can you? So go change"

Without needing to be told twice, She sprints out of the presence of both adult in the blink of an eye.

"She's so cute" Seokjin praises in adoration.

"Of course she is, I'm her father afterall" Says Jungkook, trying desperately to still Seokjin's attention on himself instead.

"Yea_right"
**********

Jungkook smiles down at Dali as he tucks her into bed. She pretty much was passed out at this point considering all the day's activities she engaged in both with Seokjin and by herself.

"I bet you'd sleep in for the entire day tomorrow" Jungkook teases quietly before standing to his feet and pulling the comforter up her chest.

After exiting the room, he makes his way up the stairs towards Seokjin's bedroom. There he finds the boy seated in the middle of his bed with his comforter pooled together in front of him.

"Not sleeping yet?" He asks, pointing out the very obvious as he strolled towards the bed, pulling out a stool for himself.

Seokjin said nothing, only batting his long lashes at the man who he now realized he hadn't really been seeing much of since Dali's arrival at the house. So seeing him so up close after what felt like forever, made his stomach tingle with an uncertain feeling he could swear was accompanied by butterflies.

Seokjin clears his throat, averting the man's gaze "Weren't you supposed to come tuck me in?"

"Well I didn't know you still needed me around considering how invisible you've been treating me these past few days" Jungkook expresses rather casually, oblivious to how distressed he sounded.

Seokjin smiles very sheepishly while properly adjusting his posture. "You sound jealous, pained even"

"I'm not, I'm really not"

"Haha, bet you are!" Seokjin claps back, laughing out hysterically at this point.

Jungkook was sated, he knew better than to engage in a word off with him, so he opted to steer the conversation in a whole new direction instead.

"Fine you win and moreover it's about time I praise you for stepping out of the house again today. You really accompanied Dali to the pool on your own and I think that was extremely brave of you" He praises, giving Seokjin a big thumbs up.

Seokjin didn't even know it was possible for him to smile any wider than he had already been doing, but he sure did. And when the man got up from his seat to give him an head pat of praise, his heart involuntarily leaps out from his chest causing him to swallow so hard that he heard the loud gulp in his ears.

At this rate Seokjin knew something indescribable was definitely going on with him, but he had no idea what exactly it was and why it was even happening in the first place.