"I um...I instigated the fight..." he answered quietly.
Jimin POV
So many thoughts were running through my mind at the moment and I was struggling to wrap my head around his words. My gaze drifted over to the sofa as I attempted to calm myself down. I felt confused and hurt, because I was so convinced that I was to blame. Sure he said that I wasn't, but he never told me he was the one to start it either.
My former informant lost their life when the gang realized that he was snitching on them for a cop. So, the very thought of Jungkook dying because of me terrified me to no end. There's no way I could handle another loss like that... I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair in exasperation. Even though I was angry, I knew I needed to hear him out first before jumping to conclusions.
"What do you mean you instigated it?" I questioned sternly as I finally looked at him. Jungkook flinched slightly at my voice, his gaze lowering to the floor as he began explaining.
"Well-I...I overheard them talking about you. They were discussing how they were going to punish you for meddling in their business. Tyler said that they were going to attack you a-and torture y-you for information," Jungkook replied quietly. I still didn't understand how it was his fault, but I remained quiet as he met my gaze again. "I couldn't stand back and let them hurt you, so...I barged into the back room to confront them."
"Jungkook!" I gasped.
"I just wanted to convince them not to hurt you... I begged them to find another way, but they wouldn't listen! I was about to call and warn you when one of Tyler's men came in showing the picture he took of us. So that's w-when, Tyler decided to send you that email and beat me up..." Jungkook finished, his words trailing off slightly towards the end.
"I can't believe you..." I said in utter disbelief. He smiled shyly as he let out an airy laugh. "It's not funny, Jungkook! I mean you...what if-what if I-I didn't make it in time?" I asked in a firm tone.
"I'm sorry, okay?! I-I...I was just trying to protect you." I stayed there briefly with a blank expression as I examined his face. I was pretty good at reading people and his response seemed genuine. I gave him one last glare before my body finally relaxed.
"You really are stupid," I muttered as I laughed dryly.
"I know," he answered bitterly as we stared at one another.
"You do realize I'm a cop? I can take care of myself, you know? I know you think I'm not capable of handling myself but-"
"No, I wasn't thinking that at all!" Jungkook exclaimed as he cut me off. "I know you can handle yourself. You proved that to me ages ago..."
"Okay, well then why did you put yourself in danger like that? You've never done anything like this before."
"Because when I heard them plotting against you I just- I just acted on instinct. I...I don't really know why..." Jungkook responded back, his voice laced with uncertainty. I brushed back my hair nervously as I searched his eyes, feeling slightly overwhelmed from his words. "So, am I forgiven?"
"...I suppose," I muttered as I moved to reach for the new bandages. "Just don't ever do that again," I ordered sternly as I squinted my eyes and pointed my index finger at him.
"Alright."
"I'm serious."
"Alright, I got it!" he insisted defensively.
"If you ever pull that again, I'll punch you myself."
"Oohh~...I don't think I'd mind that," Jungkook joked as he wiggled his eyebrows. I shook my head at his ridiculous remark, cracking a smile as I began arranging the new bandages on the coffee table.
"Shut up."
After several minutes I finally managed to apply the wraps to his ribs gently, in between stealing glances at his toned body. I never realized before that Jungkook had so many tattoos. Not only did he have a sleeve on his right arm, but he had several others all over his chest and torso. A tiger lily on the left side of Jungkook's chest caught my eye as I checked the bandages one more time. The design was simple and yet so detailed at the same time.
"My eyes are up here, detective."
My head snapped up at my informant's words and I found myself face to face with him. He had leaned in so I was a bit flustered at our sudden closeness, but I did my best to keep a neutral face.
"Now who's being full of themselves," I replied, mostly to convince myself that I most certainly was not checking him out. "I was just admiring your tattoos. I've always thought about getting one."
"Mmm...I think some ink would look absolutely stunning on your skin," he rasped as his hand lightly grazed my arm. My body shivered as he smoothed his fingertips along my skin gently, drawing imaginary designs as he went. "Maybe I could do it for you..." Jungkook offered quietly.
"W-well it was j-just a thought. I haven't exactly d-decided on anything yet..." I replied, fumbling over my words as I looked away.
"Well I think you should..." he murmured as he tore his gaze away from my arm and stared into my eyes deeply.
"Y-you do?" I asked breathily as I felt myself drowning in his eyes. He hummed in response as his gaze traveled down to my lips. I swiped my tongue across my bottom lip nervously as he followed the action briefly before looking into my eyes again with a hooded gaze. We stayed like that for a long moment, both of us just staring at one another wordlessly. "Well I should um- go grab you a change of clothes..." I said in an attempt to break the tension.
"R-right," he muttered as he retracted his arm slowly. I pulled back to look at him before getting up, his big doe eyes staring back at me. I cleared my throat unnecessarily as I stood up and turned to head to my bedroom. After only taking a couple of steps, I looked back at him hesitantly. "...What?" he asked with furrowed brows.
"I-I, um, just wanted to say...t-thank you." My informant quirked an eyebrow, clearly not aware of what I was talking about. "You know, for p-protecting me today," I added shyly. All at once, realization and understanding became evident in his eyes as he gave me a small smirk.
"You're welcome..."
With one final glance, I quickly retreated to my room to fetch some sleeping attire for Jungkook as embarrassment settled in. I shut the door behind me and closed my eyes as I leaned against it, struggling to calm down my erratic heartbeat...
Time skip (10 minutes)
While I was in my bedroom I picked out one of my oversized white t-shirts and a pair of black shorts for Jungkook to wear. I had also changed out of my police uniform and put on a blue graphic t-shirt with white shorts.
Since I wanted him to have a comfortable place to sleep tonight, I decided to change the sheets in the guest bedroom down the hall as well. My feet dragged me over to the door when I finished making the bed, but I stilled with my hand on the doorknob as I recalled our interaction from moments ago.
I gulped slowly as I remembered the way he had looked at me. It was frustrating that I couldn't always tell what he was thinking, especially since he mostly kept to himself. I mean we did occasionally flirt with one another, but nothing has ever gone beyond that.
But maybe I'm just reading into things... I have no idea how Jungkook feels about me. Perhaps it was just a look and nothing more. Right? Yeah. Let's go with that.
I shook my head at my thoughts as I walked out the door.
As I came around the corner, I saw that Jungkook was sleeping soundly on the couch. His head was tilted to the side so his bangs were partially covering his eyes and I smiled at him fondly. I stood in the middle of the floor for a moment just appreciating how handsome and peaceful he looked when he was sleeping. But then I heard the air conditioner in my condo turn on and I didn't want him catching a cold from not wearing a shirt. I sat beside him as I attempted to wake him up so he could put on the clothes I brought.
"Jeon," I called as I lightly shook his leg. He mumbled incoherently as soft snores escaped his pouty lips. "Jungkook, wake up! You'll catch a cold like this, pabo," I tried again, louder this time. His eyes blinked open as he turned his head to the left to meet my gaze.
"I'm up..." he groaned as he rubbed his eyes. I laughed at his adorable behavior as I showed him the outfit I brought him.
"This should fit you. These are the biggest clothes I could find in my wardrobe," I said as he let out a soft chuckle. "What's so funny?" I asked with a pout.
"Nothing, nothing!" he grinned. I glared at him as he reached for the clothes.
"Well it's just- you're so small that these will probably feel a bit snug on me," he said as he tried to keep from smiling.
"Yah! I'm not that small!" I frowned, jumping up off the cushion.
"Pfft...okay. Whatever you say, shorty." My cheeks puffed out as my face burned with embarrassment. "Aish, now you're being cute again," he mock complained.
"Wha- well fine! If you think they're sooo~ small then don't wear them!" I shouted as I snatched them back.
"No, I was only teasing. Give them back!" I moved them out of his reach as I took a step back.
"Nope, you can just sleep in the clothes the hospital gave you for all I care."
"Oh come on~!" Jungkook whined as he slowly but successfully stood up. Just as he went to take a step forward, he wobbled. I gasped as I rushed to his aid automatically.
"Sit down! You're going to hurt yourself you dummy," I grumbled as I held his arm to steady him.
All of a sudden he pulled me into his chest as he wound his arms securely around my waist. My heart skipped a beat as he leaned down to look at me. Our faces were so close and if he wasn't holding me like this, I would probably fall over due to how wobbly my knees were.
"Much better," he smirked as he tightened his grip. "Now, are you going to hand over those clothes...or do I need to take more drastic measures?" I silently shook my head as I held the clothes up for him to take, the little voice in my head criticizing me for giving in to him so easily. "Good," he said with a cheeky grin. When I tried to step out of his hold, he tightened his grip on my waist. "I could really use your help getting these on, detective. Unless of course you'd rather I not wear anything at all," he added seductively with a small lip bite.
"I-I-I...um-you...t-that's-! Ughh..." I covered my face with my free hand as I groaned, frustrated that I couldn't speak properly.
"Cute," Jungkook chuckled as he finally released me from his hold, taking the clothes out of my hand. I slowly removed my hand as I met his gaze, a huge smirk gracing his features. I rolled my eyes before I snatched the clothes back from him with a glare. "Hey!"
I ignored his protests as I plopped the shorts down on the couch and stepped forward to help him put on the shirt. I balled it up so that he could easily slip his head through as I presented it to him silently. Jungkook just snorted before he bent down slightly and I guided the top over his head. The smirk on his face immediately went away as he tried to put his arm through the sleeve, pain evident on his face.
"Careful..." I murmured quietly as I grabbed a hold of his wrist and helped him gently maneuver his tattooed right arm into the shirt.
I glanced up at his face to check for any signs of discomfort, but my breath hitched at the intensity of his gaze. My eyes darted back and forth between his piercing brown orbs before I lowered my head again, biting my bottom lip. After another moment we were able to get his shirt on successfully, then I worked on helping him with the shorts.
He was able to unbutton his own jeans without any problems and I tossed them aside once he had stepped out of them fully. Thankfully the shirt was somewhat long on him, it covered a majority of his boxers, but I still kept my eyes averted to the side. I cleared my throat nervously as I kneeled in front of him, reaching over to retrieve the black shorts from the cushion.
"You can use my s-shoulders for balance if you need to," I said as I stretched the waistband of the shorts and held them out for him.
"What's the matter?" Jungkook asked in an amused tone.
"N-nothing...why?"
"Well, you aren't looking at me," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"T-that's because you aren't fully dressed," I replied defensively, my cheeks turning a nice shade of pink. "Now will y-you hurry up and p-put these o-on?!" I demanded as I dramatically waved the shorts side to side.
"You seem a bit flustered detective. Is it too much to ask that you look at me?"
"What d-difference does it make i-if I'm looking at you or not?" I retorted with a frown as I continued to look at the couch.
"...I like it when you look at me."
A/N: Jungkook making Jimin all flustered~! 😉 I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll update again sometime this week. 💜💜