Y/N's POV:
"Mrs. Bee!"
An angelic sweet voice chirped, greeting me as I walked into the larger room with children in it.
"Hello, Lily!"
I smiled brightly, bending down and hugging the girl as she darted into my arms. I squeezed her tightly, feeling the love and joy fill my heart overwhelmingly. Her strawberry hair, patchy and all gave off the scent of freshly washed soap and her skin, the part that was without burns, was smooth
and also gave off a gentle scent.
Her slender arms held tightly around my neck, giving me her own little squeeze.
"Are you coming with us!?" She quickly pulled back at looked at me hope.
Her green eyes bright with excitement.
"Of course! Why else would we be here?"
I flashed her a smile, and then she furrowed her brows.
"We?" she questioned, and that's when her eyes looked behind me and found the large man walking up to us.
Her eyes got big, her lips went into a wide smile.
"Mr. Kook!" she squealed in more excitement, running from my arms to instantly wrap her arms around the man I called my husband.
He chuckled and bent down onto one knee and wrapped his arms around the tiny girl as she tried to wrap her own arms around his neck. It was a struggled to reach all the way around, but she did and he smiled at the actions.
There it was again. That damn smile.
I quickly tried to ignore the grip on my heart and looked at the other children, seeing my favorite little four year old man walk up and hold his arms up at me. My heart just melted. I smiled at him and bent down, lifting him up and holding him in my arms.
"Hello to you too Luke. How are you?"
He pulled back and didn't answer, still being a quiet one. He shoved his thumb into his mouth and sucked on it as his chocolate brown eyes studied my face.
"Are you ready to go to the zoo?" I asked him. He nodded in response.
"You like animals right?"
He didn't do anything for a moment, but then after thinking about it, he nodded. That's when he looked down at some toys by my feet and pointed to the lion drawing on it.
"Lions? You like lions?" I asked him. His eyes traveled back up to mine and he nodded.
"He loves them! But he's afraid of bugs, so he is probably scared of animals too."
Lily chimed in, as she took Jungkook's hand and pulled him towards me. I threw Luke onto my hip and held him with one arm.
"Ahh, I see. It's a bit chilly out though, Lily. You and Luke should go put on a jacket and gloves. Everyone else seems to be about ready."
"Okay!" She agreed and let go of Jungkook's hand and darted towards her room. I put Luke down as one of the nurses came forward to us. Luke just stood beside me and held my hand, not letting it go.
"Mr. and Mrs. Jeon, so good to see you again!" she smiled.
"You as well." Jungkook replied.
"I can't thank you both enough for this. The children rarely ever get out even when in tip top shape. The hospital just doesn't have the funds to make a bigger area for the children, let alone take them all out to the zoo. You can rest assure that we will get you the papers regarding this donation so that you can use it to tax purposes."
Jungkook held up his hand and I looked at him with confusion.
"No need for that. The money isn't an issue and I'm not worried about it. Thank you though. I want this to be for the children."
he looked around at everyone.
"Do you have everything necessary for them?"
She peeked at them then turned back to us.
"Oh yes, we do. Myself plus two other nurses will be coming as well, as planned to keep an eye on them medically. All are in good health right now, but they are going to be bundled up a bit more than necessary to keep them warm."
"Sounds perfect." I smiled at her.
"Yes. I'll go down and make sure the bus is ready." Jungkook told me, gently resting his hand on my lower back. Chills ran up my spine at his gentle touch.
"O-Okay." I blushed lightly.
"I'll be down shortly with everyone." His eyes softened at me and I felt my cheeks turn beat red as he bent over and
placed a kiss to my forehead.
There he was being all sweet and adorable again. Memories of what we had shared the night before came rushing back and I had to pray that I would be able to keep myself together today. Jungkook left my side just as he said he was and went to the small bus we had rented. The twelve children that were here getting treatment, plus the three nurses that were coming along, we figured a small bus would be much more comfortable than a large van.
This way we only had to take one vehicle and didn't have to worry about the kids squeezing together with their burns.
"I'll gather the rest of the children."
The nurse told me, smiling and walking away. I felt a small tug on my hand. Still occupied by the little Luke, I smiled
at him.
"You need help with your jacket?" I asked him. He nodded.
"Alright. Let's go put it on."
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"Blooming Binder Park Zoo" Was displayed across the large arch of the entrance as we walked into it.
The children were all bundled up with large smiles beaming out from under all of it. It was a bit chilly, but the children had to dress much warmer because of their severe burns. Their body wasn't able to regulate heat as well and they could easily become hypothermic.
I couldn't help but feel a bit excited as well. I hadn't been to this zoo since I was younger. It was one of the more joyful memories I had with my mother.
The nurses, Amanda, Cindy, and Lucy were leading the entire group as they held the map and kept the children between them.
This was a smaller zoo compared to others, but it was the closest one and I honestly didn't mind. This zoo had actually been expanding slowly over the years, and while some of it looked familiar, a lot wasn't. I looked around and saw all the wooden path that guided us up and into the park more.
Looking down at my hands for a moment, I saw Lily smiling from ear to ear while she held my hand and Jungkook's in the other. It was sweet how she wanted to be with us both. Jungkook seemed a bit flustered at it, probably more embarrassed than anything, yet he did so anyways. It was adorable to witness.
I peeked over at my other hand and saw that Luke was holding that hand with big wide eyes. He was a bit more clingy being more afraid of the unknown surroundings than anything.
I kept him close to give him comfort.
"Look!" Lily gasped letting my hand go and pointing towards the first spot where they held animals. All the children scrambled forward in excitement towards the fence. Lily pulled us quickly and I couldn't help but chuckle at it.
As I walked up and looked through the fence I was able to look down at none other than two large black bears. Luke didn't say anything, but huddled closer to my leg and watched in amazement.
"They're huge!" Peter, another child with us exclaimed.
"But ugly!" another one chirped.
"No they are beautiful!" Lily scolded him. "Right Mr. Kook?"
she looked up to Jungkook and waited for him to agree with her. He watched the bears closely and then shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess."
"You don't like bears, do you?" Lily frowned at him.
"They just aren't my favorite." he replied.
"Oh really? What animal do you like!?" she asked.
I hated to admit it, but I really wanted to hear his answer as well. What did this handsome man find appealing? What were some of his favorites? I knew he liked sports, but animals? How much did I really know about him?
His expression actually softened a bit as he looked down at Lily to answer her.
"Probably Lions."
At the mention of lions, Luke peaked out from behind my
leg to look over at Jungkook. But as soon as Jungkook saw him, he quickly pulled back to hide at my side. He had met him once before, but Luke is a very shy child. He rarely talks, and actually rarely smiles. I only caught him smiling once and that was during a story.
"Just like Luke!" Lily smiled brightly.
"Can we go see more?!" she then pressed, already wanting to see the other animals. The nurses then took a few hands and started heading over to the next exhibit.
The children loved seeing all the different kinds of animals. We saw snow leopards, kangaroos, red pandas, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, and monkeys. Now, we were headed towards my favorite animal.
The cheetah.
We came up and I couldn't help but instantly feel just as excited as the children as they tried to see past the railing to see the beautiful creature. My eyes scanned the area quickly, trying to spot any sign of the famous spots.
Suddenly, I felt a large hand gently touch the small of my back again, causing me to blush. I looked towards Jungkook as he leaned down, coming closer to my face. His eyes though were focused on an object in the distance. He held his hand out and pointed towards something.
"There is one."
I quickly followed his eye sight and finger to finally catch sight of the animal I loved so much. I smiled brightly as I watched the cheetah slowly rise up and sit. God it was beautiful!
"Must be nice to be tall and see everything." I mumbled playfully. He shrugged.
"It has it's perks I guess." He too watched for a minute but then turned his attention onto me.
"I'm guessing cheetahs are your favorite?"
"Was it that obvious?" I chuckled and smiled again at the creature.
"I want one."
Jungkook raised a brow, surprised. "Like... as a pet?"
"Of course! They are big cats! I love cats. And they are just so beautiful!" I winked at him. He just gave me a strange look.
"I don't think I can pull that one off."
It was my turn to give him strange look. What did he mean by that? Was he seriously thinking about giving me whatever I wanted? He had already done more than enough for me, there was no way he could be thinking that way...
Could he?
I quickly changed the subject and looked at the children.
"Hey everyone, who's hungry?" I asked. Instantly everyone turned and threw up their hands.
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Jungkook's POV:
We took all the kids to one of the restaurants in the park. It was greasy food, but it wasn't bad. I paid for all of it, making sure that even the nurses got something to eat as well. It was a large bill, but it really wasn't that much for me. So far the day had gone well and I was even enjoying myself. The kids were happy and had more energy than I could muster up in a day. In a way, it was actually refreshing.
I wasn't used to being around a lot of kids, especially younger ones like them. Yet, I was surprised at how much I actually liked them.
Was that because of Y/N?
I never really gave any thought of spending time with kids or even wanting some of my own. With Jiyeon it was always just about growing my business and doing whatever it took to do it. Sure, I donated a lot to charities, but how much had I missed out by actually doing the charity work? There was a big difference.
So when Y/N had come to me and said something about how they were so cooped up in that small hospital and how it would be nice for them to escape for a while, we came up with this plan.
Y/N loved it.
The little girl Lily was a handful but it made me happy when she continued to grab my hand the best she could and pull me around. Luke on the other hand, had clung to Y/N like his life depended on it. He had said hi to me before, yet he hide from me whenever I looked at him. Did he not like me? Or was my size once again intimidating? I get that he is only four and very small compared to me, but I had hoped that he wouldn't be so afraid of me.
I guess what really bothered me was that he reminded me of Jungsan when he was that age.
Jungsan was timid as well and always afraid of everything. Especially my father. That's why I took all the beatings. Jungsan couldn't handle anything like that. He was so small and tiny that one hit would probably kill him.
Guilt once again filled my chest. If only I had done something more... I looked over at Y/N and watched her closely for a moment. Her face was alight and beautiful. Her smile bright and loving as she helped a few children into the chairs so they could eat. Her hair was down again today, which I personally liked better, and she wore something simple: Jeans with a t-shirt and a grey hoodie over it. Yet, she looked beautiful regardless of how dressed down she was.
Today I actually enjoyed the fact that I could also wear a pair of jeans with a shirt and hoodie. It's been a while since I could go out and just be in something comfortable. I loved that Y/N didn't care what I wore. Yet again, I remembered how much I had to put on a front when I was with Jiyeon.
Why did I ever think that I was in love with her? That I should marry her?
As much as I hated to admit it, since it did cause me a lot of grief, Jiyeon cheating on me and breaking things off was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because now I was married to the most amazing woman there was.
How did my luck turn around so suddenly with such a bad situation? I mean... Y/N and I were married due to a crazy night of drinking too much! But after being with her for these four months I... I really didn't want things to change like we had agreed.
"Are you alright, Jungkook?" Y/N's voice broke through my thought process. I quickly focused on her grey eyes.
"Of course. Why?"
"You're just sitting here staring off into space. Something on your mind?"
She pulled over a chair and sat down and waited for my reply.
This wasn't the time or place to be talking about my thoughts.
"No, it's nothing. Just resting."
"You sure? You looked pretty lost in thought."
I couldn't help but look down at her lips as they formed into a sweet smile. Damn. How can such a small, innocent thing cause me to get excited?
I quickly looked off to the side and cleared my throat.
"I'm sure. We have one more stop after this, right?"
"Right. The Lion's den is the last thing to check out, then if you want to stop at the gift shop too of course."
I threw my hand up and rubbed the back of my neck, scanning the group of kids.
"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. They probably would like something to take with them. Don't you think so?"
As I brought my attention back to Y/N's form, her eyes were focused on me with a dreamy look.
"What?" I raised a brow, interested.
"Oh it's nothing really." She smirked. Ahh. Touche'.
"Ha. Ha. Smarty pants." I chuckled and grinned as well.
"I thought so anyways." She winked.
"Do you want children, Jungkook?"
the question came out so suddenly, I about fell over. Before this, I could see myself scoffing and throwing the thought away as a joke. This time though, I actually found myself thinking about it.
"Honestly?... I'm not sure." I sighed.
Leaning forward so that I could rest my elbows on my knees I rubbed my eyes.
"It's not something I ever really thought about until recently."
"Until recently?" she whispered softly.
Did I just hear her breath hitch? Was that hope I heard in that whisper? I studied her closely, then went back to
looking over Lily again.
"W-Why recently?"
Oh shit. Did I just say something I didn't want to say? Crap. I frowned and stood up from my seat.
"I need to use the restroom. I'll be back.