Jungkook One-Shots

Better than Nostalgia

Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word count: 917 words

I'd barely heard the sound of the front door being opened before Jungkook's chirpy voice resounded throughout the house, calling for me.

"So why did you ask me to come?" He said loudly into the air by way of greeting, and I dashed to the entrance of the kitchen before he found me there on his own and ventured inside.

"Go and sit," I shooed him towards the dining area. His eyebrows hitched up just as his mouth opened in wonder at what I was doing, but he kept on walking towards the direction he was being pushed towards without any complaint. Satisfied that he wasn't going to peek when I heard the scraping of a chair on the marble floor outside, I returned to the kitchen. Giving the simmering contents on the stove a few last stirs, I turned it off and reached for kitchen towels to protect me from the heat as I lifted the pot by its handles.

Jungkook's comical wide-eyed, mouth agape look was still in place as I brought it out and set it on a large coaster on the dining table. Without any explanation, I turned and mysteriously returned to the kitchen. When I made it back to him, I found him smacking his lips once, twice, thrice in an exaggerated tasting action. My eyes shifted down to the bowl I'd set on the table before he arrived. It seemed like he'd decided to serve himself. My own bowl, placed at the seating opposite his, had been filled as well. I tried not to giggle. Jungkook was so childish sometimes.

"It's a little sweet," he commented as soon as he saw me.

"That's why I made these," I said with a roll of my eyes, placing a plate stacked with freshly baked buns next to the pot. The lightly sweetened bun was meant to balance out the gentle sweetness of the soup. "You're the one who couldn't wait to dig in."

Jungkook ignored my gentle rebuke, opting to reach for a soft bun to dip into the soup instead. The combination of hot liquid coating the fluffy bun made him hum in satisfaction. "What brought this about?" He finally managed to ask after devouring his second bun.

"Remember when we went to Gottenheim and had breakfast at that little cafe?"

"Mmhmm," his answer was muffled by the ridiculous amount of food in his mouth, but his rapid nods conveyed to me his enthusiasm. It was the first and only time he'd raved about soup. I agreed wholeheartedly with his opinion; the vegetable soup was sublime. He even had thirds. Truthfully, I wasn't sure when he'd stop if the two of us didn't have to rush for our train. Unfortunately the time constraint meant that I never had the opportunity to ask for a recipe.

"Someone gave me the recipe for this and I thought I'd try it," I explained. The only thing I'd known about the best soup I'd ever had was that it was vegetable soup. I had no idea what was in it. What vegetable was used. The delicious food came to my mind once in a while, but I'd thought that without any idea what ingredients was used to make it, trying to look for a recipe online was useless, so I'd put it aside. However, when a friend brought up the vegetable soup that she'd made over the weekend, I found myself asking for the recipe.

However, it was clear that this was not the same soup that we'd had in Germany before. A clear sign was that the one in front of me now was a pretty light green colour, while the one we'd had was brownish orange in hue. The taste was, without a doubt, different as well, far from the slightly spicy, wildly flavourful one that Jungkook loved. "I know it doesn't taste the same, but..." I paused. There was really nothing to say. "I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" The incredulity of Jungkook's question was magnified by the bits of pastry flying from his mouth. I shrugged. For some reason, I felt sorry. Perhaps I should have made for myself first instead of springing the first trial on him. Although it wasn't like I raised his hopes up or anything, since he didn't even know what I was making before he came.

Even though his mouth was busy munching, I could hardly miss the pursing of Jungkook's lips as he got lost in his thoughts. They were probably the same ones running through my head, because when he opened it again, it was to ask, "What's in it?"

"Broccoli, celery, some potatoes, whipped cream," I listed some of the main ingredients in the soup.

"No wonder it's green," he remarked.

"Yeah," I agreed dejectedly, but he shook his head, perhaps correctly interpreting the reason for the downcast look on my face.

"It looks pretty."

"It doesn't taste as good as the one you liked so much," I said simply.

He responded by lightly kicking my leg under the table. "It tastes different." He took another mouthful, as if gauging the taste again. "Actually, I think it tastes even better than the one I remember."

Those words, patronising to my ears, made me scoff and frown. "Don't lie to me. Why would this taste better than the best soup you've ever had?" Jungkook grinned, finishing what was in his bowl and reached for the ladle for a second helping.

"Because you made it."