𝐏 𝐫 𝐨 𝐬 𝐞 𝐜 𝐮 𝐭 𝐢 𝐨 𝐧 | 𝐉𝐉𝐊 𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐖

Verdict

Jungkook knocks on Joy's door, it was a Friday evening, and he was really eager to see her again. They'd both been really caught up with work, and went almost a month without seeing one another. Luckily, they exchanged numbers at the end of that cafe outing they had.

Jungkook pockets his phone, having made sure to remember Joy's message about knocking rather than ringing the bell. He was curious as to why she asked such a thing though.

She opened the door, smiling at Jungkook. She looks at the bouquet of flowers in his hand, he shyly offers it. "Oh, thank you! These are beautiful!" She gratefully accepts the flowers, stepping aside and welcoming him inside. "If you want, you can take your shoes off and leave them by the door."

He was glad she was so considerate to allow it, he wondered if it was because she knew his native culture or if it was just her being polite. Or perhaps she just didn't want dirt on her floors - either way, he felt welcomed. Jungkook notices a puddle on the wood panel flooring, minding his step as he walks into the living room, the home a higher elevation than the entrance hall. Joy gasps, "No, he didn't...!" Jungkook furrowed a brow, Joy placing the flowers in an elegant vase.

"Thank you for these, Jungkook. They'll make the house smell nice." He hears a soft growl, looking in the direction of it. Jungkook turned, seeing that the door to the laundry room was behind him. He notices puppy pads and a dog bed inside. On the massive dog bed was a small bluish-grey puppy, which stopped chewing a toy upon noticing him in the doorway. It had fuzzy floppy ears and a glistening blue-grey coat. But most notably, it's eyes were a stunning shade of blue.

"Oh, I see you've met Marble. He already knows he's in trouble." Joy chuckles, he was a really cute dog.

"How old is he?" He asked her, watching her grab a potty pad and place the absorbent side down over the puddle.

"He's a rescue, the center predicted that he's only a few months old. His mom couldn't be traced, so he was just on his own. I wasn't planning on getting a young puppy, but he gave me that look in his eyes and I couldn't resist." Joy explains, squatting down in the laundry room doorway, patting her thighs. "C'mere, baby. Come say hi." She cooed, the puppy looks up solemnly at her, icy blue eyes looking guilty. Jungkook coos, watching Marble get up and slowly make his way over to Joy, his head held low. He whimpered quietly.

"It's okay, baby," she scratches his ears. "He has a hard time warming up to people. When they found him he'd been abused, but there's no clear evidence on how long it's been going on for." She explained, Jungkook had never met a shy dog before. It was cute, though.

Joy lifts Marble into her arms, the puppy enveloped in her comforting embrace. He studied Jungkook with cautious eyes. "Let him sniff you and I'm sure he'll come around. He just takes some time. A few days with him and I think he'll love you." Joy explained as Jungkook held his hand out for the puppy to sniff, Marble's brown nose twitching as he sniffs him.

"I wanted you to meet this little guy, since there's a good chance you'll be seeing him more often as we spend more time together." She grinned, scratching the puppy's head. Jungkook didn't miss the way she said 'as we spend more time together' rather than 'if'. He was looking forward to it.

"What breed is he?" He stuffs his hands in his pockets.

"He's a blue weimaraner, and a bit of a fuzzy, one too." Jungkook chuckled, the puppy was studying him quietly, yawning wide. Joy coos, "Looks like he tired himself out. He was trying to work out with me earlier."

The two of them stand up, Joy setting Marble back in his large doggy bed. "How big will he get, do you think?" Jungkook wondered.

"Well, I like big dogs, he won't be small, that's for sure. Let me wipe his mess up and we can catch up together. Do you want a cupcake? My sister came by last night and gave them to me."

An hour later, Jungkook was settled onto Joy's comfy couch, her home was very lavish and modern, yet modest. Her decor wasn't too extravagant, but the furthest thing from boring. She had good taste. She had a grey, lavender and teal theme going, which he didn't think would work so well until he looked around.

"Do you have any upcoming plans?" Jungkook wondered, he was eager about something, and he really wanted Joy to be a part of it. She had gotten comfortable around him. Gone was the girl that hid her face and couldn't meet his eyes. Now, she was herself, and Joy was irresistibly amazing. How could one person be so appealing?

Her independence was sexy, not to mention her appearance. Even now, she was dressed casually in just skinny jeans and a t-shirt, yet she just seemed to beam, without even trying. Jungkook has come to realize how much he enjoyed her company, even when she wasn't there with him. Her presence could fill a room with warmth and security and laughter. She lived up to her name.

God must've put his special touch on her, because this girl... this woman was so incredible. Jungkook just knew this was a crush like no other.

He blinks, having barely heard Joy's explanation about her upcoming uneventful weekends. Claiming that Marble would be her company outside of work.

"So, my birthday is next Sunday..." he started. She grins at that, and God she had the most contagious smile there is. Jungkook kicks himself, finishing his statement. "Taehyung and a few friends of mine insisted that we go celebrate."

"That sounds fun." She sips her lemonade, Jungkook had his glass empty already.

"The thing is, they want me to bring a date, since everyone there will bring their girlfriends and dates." Jungkook sighed, looking at the ice cube at the bottom of his glass, the straw Joy gave him leaning in the cup.

She tilts her head, wondering where this was going. "And... I, uh... I'm kind of without one, so.... I was wondering if you'd like to be my date...?" Her furrowed brows smooth out a bit, but she looked worried.

"Where's the celebration?"

"It's at a dance club, my good friend Jimin picked it. Apparently they play the best songs, there."

"I don't know about clubs... they make me nervous." Joy admitted, looking as though she felt bad. She bit her lip. "I'd love to go, but..."

"I understand, Joy. You don't have to if you don't want to." He assured, and meaning that. He honestly didn't care much for celebrating, he was only going to be 23, it wasn't a special number.

"You know what? I'll go. It's been a while since I've been to a party," Joy stated, looking sure of herself. "That, and I want to support you for your birthday! How old are you going to be?" She asked him eagerly.

He dully stated what his age would be, further implying how unimportant it was to him. "It's not a special number or anything. I think my friends are just looking for an excuse to have alcohol." He didn't intend on it being much of a joke, considering how much of it was true. But he heard a sweet, harmonious giggle in response to his blunt statement.

Even her giggle was admirable. Damn, what was he going to do with himself?

"I'll send you the information as soon as Taehyung lets me know. It's supposed to be a 'secret'," he used finger quotes to emphasize the irony. "But they found it hard telling me I'll need a date without saying what for."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it. It'll be fun."