sea-kissed 🌊 || j.jk+k.th

{3} new home 🌊

The first few seconds, Jungkook stared confusedly at his ceiling.

It was white, not gray like he remembered it to be. And higher, way higher. The fan that would always hum was silent ; in fact it wasn't there at all. The stains from his Ironman poster, the one he had only kept for a day until it just fell on his face during the night and had him throw himself out of his own bed, had disappeared too.

Finally he remembered ; he wasn't home, no, not anymore.

He had gotten to Seoul Station a few minutes past midnight, and jumped on the first train ; he had stared out the window for hours on end, hugging his backpack hurriedly filled with some clothes and his few prized possessions. 

Then he had gotten off at the very end of the line, and climbed on the first bus to leave the station ; that's how he had arrived at Gimyong, met Kim Namjoon, and ended up in this hotel room.

Right. The hotel room.

Slowly, Jungkook sat up in his bed, taking it all in. He observed the room in details, once again, trying to think of it as familiar ; but the ceiling was white instead of gray, the sheets were blue instead of black, the air smelled like jasmine and not ramen, and the view outside the window was breathtaking, instead of comfortably boring.

He got on his feet, noticing the unfamiliar texture of the parquet, and made his way to the windows -higher, and wider than his own.

Outside, the sun was already setting. The restless night on the train had made him exhausted, and as soon as Namjoon gave him the keys to his bedroom -number 397-, he immediately collapsed. He didn't even bother taking a shower nor a look at the lifeguarding guide Namjoon had unexpectedly pulled out of his glove compartment, while driving him to the RJ Hotel. He had slumped into the mattress, and into a dreamless sleep.

For some time Jungkook contemplated the sunset. He wondered why it was so much more overwhelming than a daybreak could ever be. The image of the delicate pinks and yellows that had appeased his mind in the morning faded away before the intense purples and oranges overtaking both the sky and the sea. Somewhere deep in his chest, he knew this scenery would stick with him for years, if not the rest of his life. Seeing how beautiful it was, he thought he had made the right choice coming here.

He could, however, only keep this lyrical stance for a limited period of time, and was soon reminded of his humble human disposition by the growing hunger in his stomach. He had slept through both breakfast and lunch, and his body was loudly requiring what had been long due.

Careful to slip his room's key in his pocket before leaving, he closed the door behind him and began to wander in the empty corridor. Since the moment he had stepped in the hotel with Namjoon, he still hadn't met anyone, client or employee, and it was seriously starting to remind him of a video game he used to play a few years back. And if abandoned and haunted hotels were pretty cool in video game designs, it was certainly less cool to be the one to go down the stairs and hear his own footsteps echo throughout the building.

Fortunately, he was soon reassured by the smell of food -as you do. Guided by the familiar scent of kimchi and pork, Jungkook found his way through the main hall and its generic paintings of the sea, and into the dining room. There finally, there were people, although not many ; an old couple wearing matching shirts and eating noodles silently, and one businessman staring angrily at his rice cake.

Jungkook sat down at one of the tables and squinted to read the menu written in cursive on the black board across the room.

"May I help you ?"

Jungkook jumped at the voice and met a pair of dark and mischievous eyes.