Recalling Affection

Chapter 24

“Hey! I was gonna—!”

“You can cook from here,” he said, kissing her temple and stepping back with a cheeky grin. “I like watching you.”

She rolled her eyes, but her smile gave her away. She adjusted her seat and reached over, flipping the poor, neglected pancake with ease.

Jungkook leaned beside her, his hand brushing her knee, just looking at her.

At the way her brows furrowed in concentration. At the way her tongue peeked out slightly between her lips as she worked. He memorized every detail.

This—this—was his favorite version of life.

She forgot about her illness. He forgot about his fame.

They were just two souls in a sunlit kitchen, burning pancakes and stealing kisses between coffee sips.

“Jungkook,” she said softly after a while, her voice gentler now.

“Hmm?” he turned toward her, brushing hair from her face.

“Do you ever wish… we could stay like this forever?”

His breath caught. She didn’t remember, not right now. Not the pain, not the fear, not the ticking clock of memories she might one day lose.

He reached out, cupped her face, and smiled with a love so big it filled the whole room. “Every second of every day.”

Saga looked at him, eyes wide and full of that innocent sparkle he adored. “Promise me you’ll remind me, if I ever forget. Not with words. With pancakes and kisses and coffee just like this.”

“I promise,” he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead.

In that kitchen, with sunlight dancing across their skin and burnt pancakes forgotten on the stove, they lived in their own little world.

Where love was louder than memory.
Where time bowed to tenderness.
Where nothing mattered but them.

And in that golden morning, they had everything.

Later, they tangled together on the couch, Saga tucked under his arm as some old animated movie played in the background. 

Neither was really watching. 

Her fingers traced idle patterns on his chest, his hand gently combing through her hair. 

“Kookie?” 

“Hm?” 

“Do you ever… miss it?” she asked softly. “The stage? The fans?” 

He didn’t answer immediately, pressing his lips to the top of her head. 

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “But not like I thought I would.” 

She tilted her head up, studying him. “Really?” 

He smiled. “Really. Because no amount of screaming fans ever made me feel as whole as you do just by existing next to me.” 

Her breath hitched. 

He cupped her face, thumb brushing her cheek. “You’re my greatest adventure, Saga. Not the fame, not the music, YOU.” 

Tears welled in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. Instead, she surged up, kissing him with a quiet desperation, as if she could pour every ounce of her love into that single touch. 

Jungkook met her with equal fervor, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her impossibly closer. 

The movie kept playing. 

The world kept turning. 

But in that moment, nothing existed except them. 

And that was enough. 

MORE than enough.

The days that followed blurred into each other, slow and sunlit and filled with the kind of love that made the world feel small and safe.

They slept in late. They cooked questionable meals. They danced barefoot in the living room to music only they could hear. They curled up under blankets and watched old movies with sagging plots and faded colors, laughing at all the wrong places. They kissed like the world wasn’t ending, like memory wasn’t something fragile and fleeting.

Jungkook barely looked at his phone.

Saga barely thought about anything beyond the next moment with him.

They lived in a bubble made of warmth and whispered promises, pretending they had forever.

And for a while—it felt like they did.

A week passed.

And on a lazy afternoon, when the sky outside was cotton-candy pink and the breeze through the window carried the scent of impending rain, they were curled up on the couch again. Saga was tracing stars on his forearm with her fingertip. Jungkook was humming softly under his breath, head tilted back, eyes half-closed, just… existing.

It was peaceful.

Perfect.

Until his phone buzzed on the coffee table.

Neither of them moved at first.

Saga looked up with a soft, sleepy smile. “Ignore it,” she whispered, snuggling closer.

But the buzzing continued—persistent, insistent.

With a sigh, Jungkook reached for it, more out of habit than curiosity.

And then he saw the name on the screen.

His body went still.

His smile faded.

Saga sat up slightly, sensing the change. “Kookie?”

He didn’t answer.

He just stared at the screen for a long second before finally pressing accept.

“Hello?” he said, voice low.

Whatever was said on the other end wasn’t loud enough for Saga to hear—but she didn’t need to.

She saw the way Jungkook’s jaw clenched. The way his shoulders tensed. The way his eyes darkened in quiet disbelief.

And then came his whisper, barely audible.

“…Are you sure?”

Saga’s hand found his without thinking, fingers curling into his.

Jungkook didn’t look at her.

He just kept listening.

And the golden week they had built—soft and sacred—began to tremble at the edges.

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See you guys in next chapter...
Till then love you guys...
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