"Lucky me." Iris breathes out, hating how her heartstrings pull her. She means to sound sarcastic, but she really just sounds as breathless as the sight of Jungkook's smile at her makes her feel. He chuckles softly, and if he notices her lack of oxygen, he doesn't say anything.
"So, I was going for a lighter kind of vibe. Think Jack Johnson. Y'know, the guy from Curious George?" He says, and Iris can't keep the beginnings of a smile off her face at the way his eyes light up in mentioning the movie.
"Just play, Jungkook." She insists, not wanting to risk him endearing her any more. He mumbles an, "okay, okay," before properly positioning his inked fingers on the strings and beginning to strum.
Iris almost immediately regrets telling him to play. It backfired immensely. Why did she think that Jungkook singing for her would make her less endeared? If anything, her heart only ached more for the charismatic man. His voice has such a unique and soothing tone, like silk on smooth glass. Mixed with the acoustic guitar, it was heavenly. But then Iris gathered her wits enough to listen to the lyrics, and the smile slowly fades from her lips.
Bronze skin, kissed by the sun But eyes that shine like moonbeams Your lips on mine, two become one Smooth as coffee fused with cream
The taste of maple syrup lingers With the sparks you left on my tongue Your skin is hot beneath my fingers We'll burn out, but won't it be fun?
This is about their kiss. It all adds up—the bronze skin, the taste of maple syrup. Iris can't get that last line out of her head. We'll burn out, but won't it be fun? Will it truly be fun? Maybe. Maybe it will be fun while it lasts, but the pain at the end will make all of the fun illegitimate. Jungkook acknowledging their chemistry being volatile proves to her she has valid concern, but unlike Jungkook, Iris isn't okay with accepting imminent heartbreak. She can't do it again.
Jungkook finally strums out the last chords, and looks up at Iris. She can't force herself to look back at him after seeing the initial hope in his obsidian irises. "Thoughts?" He asks, and Iris doesn't know what to say.
"Um, it's—Jungkook, you're—the song...ugh." She rambles, before standing with finality. Iris can't tell him what truly goes through her mind. She has to do it through her song, that's the only way she'll be able to keep her resolve without giving into her desires for him. "I'll just—I'll play mine now." She says.
"Oh, okay." Jungkook says. She's sat on the piano bench, back to him, but if she could see him, she'd see the utter confusion painted across Jungkook's face. Iris doesn't hesitate to begin playing, fingers methodically pounding into the keys. Where Jungkook's song was light, Iris's is heavy. The piano chords are dark and smoky, and they remind Jungkook of a Sia ballad, or Hozier, stripped down.
I know the seven deadly sins Always wonder if they're true Pray hell or heaven lets me in But no one warned me about you
You, with your eyes that lie And my stupid heart believes them You, with your hands that pry And my stupid body craves them
You're sacrilegious, but somehow devout A paradox, you have me fully I should learn to live without Someone so perfectly unholy
Iris's hands are shaking by the time she's finished the song, and her fingers gently caress the keys and lull the song to an end. Jungkook doesn't say anything, and Iris doesn't move to face him. She can't force herself. Where Jungkook's song expressed the excitement and appeal of the unknown, the happiness of the journey rather than the painful destination of their relationship, Iris's was the polar opposite. Iris's expressed the fear of the unknown, emphasized the bittersweet end.
Jungkook's song opened a future for them. Iris's song confirmed there could never be one.
"I'm sorry." Iris finally says, biting her lip, still refusing to look at him.
"It's all right. I understand." Jungkook says. Truly, he doesn't. He doesn't understand Iris at all. He can tell something is holding her back, some experience, some person. He's dying to know, but he knows he shouldn't ask. All he knows it how good it felt, how natural and just right.
He supposes Iris just doesn't feel the same. Maybe he was making up how lovely it felt to be close to Iris. Maybe it was all in his head.
"Friends?" Jungkook asks.
Iris knows she shouldn't be friends with Jungkook. If she's friends with him, she knows it doesn't completely close the door on their feelings. But she can't do that to him.
"Of course." She says.
Jungkook sighs. He'll take what he can get.
And then, they share their thoughts on the songs, objectively. Jungkook wants to keep them both, and so they launch into recording them. They focus on their work to distract themselves from the dissatisfaction of the end of their feelings that they had barely explored, but both know they can't risk trying to.
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
wowow happy tuesday! this is kinda short but next chapter is wiiiild
sidenote my songwriting is ass feel free to roast me in the comments bc it's embarrassingly bad 🤪
