You've missed the warmth and energy of a cafe in Seoul, and you try not to think too much about how searching for a new one to try used to be one of your favorite dates with Jungkook.
Your eyes are wandering, appreciating the minimal design yet cozy feel of the cafe when the door opens and Jungkook comes in, clad in ripped jeans and a plain white shirt, greets the barista, and searches the place. He breaks into a smile as he sees you and you stand to greet him in reflex, realizing what that implies.
You stand in front of each other awkwardly, until you both burst into laughter.
"Oh, what the hell? We're having coffee. Come here," he opens his arms out and you approach him and hug him back, smiling into his white musk scent.
"What does having coffee have anything to do with giving you a hug?" You giggle.
"Nothing, actually, I don't know why I said that."
You return his smile and proceed to order, with Jungkook recommending their best-sellers, all of which happen to be your favorites. It's not lost on you that he knows this, too, but there's comfort in knowing he hasn't forgotten.
The food and drinks are decided on, with a slice of pie on the house because apparently, Jungkook's team covered the launch of the cafe when it reopened after rebranding, hence why he's a regular here.
"You sure it's that and not because the server has a crush on you?" You cock an eyebrow, having noticed the flirty smile on the server's face right as Jungkook entered.
"Hmm, maybe it is, but she's written her number on the coffee cup multiple times and I never called; she probably got the message," he shrugs.
"Oh wow, what a heartbreaker," you tease. "Is that part of your image now, huh?"
"Tae says it adds to the charm," he states. "I guess it works though since she still gives me free food every time."
You both laugh and the conversation takes off. He shows photos of his apartment and shares what he envisioned when he chose it, which isn't much. He just needed space big enough to work in and do his exercise since he doesn't want to spend on a gym membership.
You make notes as you go and it's not long after when you leave the cafe and walk the two blocks to his apartment.
"So, this is the place," Jungkook says, as he stands in the middle of his semi-empty living room, boasting the "super comfy" leather couch he got for a cheap price online.
It's a nice loft that he got for a steal, he shares, with good storage space for his exercise equipment that he uses in the common area. The lone upstairs bedroom has a spacious corner, where he wishes to set up his working space. He likes the floor-to-ceiling windows that make up for the lack of outside space, which is fine since there's a park not far away.
You watch him talk about what else he needs, which is definitely a lot, and he laughs at himself for some of the silly purchases he's made because the low price attracted him, that last bit not surprising to you.
In this space that is his own - far from the university dorm he didn't like you visiting him at because of how tiny and unkept it was - where he can rest and create, he looks so free and so much more like himself. Even in your seven years together, it wasn't a normal occasion seeing him look this proud and this happy.
"I don't want to limit your creativity so buy whatever you want, don't mind my budget," he breaks you out of your thoughts.
"Am I hearing this right?" You fake gasp. "Jeon Jungkook not minding the budget?"
He playfully rolls his eyes. "I obviously have terrible judgment when it comes to purchasing items but I trust you that you'll make this place feel like home without breaking the bank," he laughs.
There's a glimmer in his eyes that you match and you want nothing more than for this place to be something he loves and be even more proud of.
"This was a good purchase and I promise you it'll look better once we've spruced it up. I want you to be really happy here, you deserve it," you say softly.
"I know I will be," he returns.
He breaks the comfortable silence by offering to tour you around and taking photos of the areas you ask. He takes you upstairs and begs for you to find him a nice bed so he could replace the mattress he took from his apartment with Taehyung. You assure him of this and ask more questions about how he wants his bedroom to look and what kind of storage he needs.
"Not much," he says. "I've just got a few personal things in here and most of them I'd rather keep in the boxes."
He doesn't meet your gaze this time and there's that thought in your head about which parts of you remain and that maybe, he feels it's better to keep those in the boxes. Out of sight, out of mind, you think, and you can't blame him. You left him in boxes, too, afraid of what you'd find if you dared open them.
It's cliche, but that box which held seven years of your life was kept in the far corner of your closet until you left them with your friends when you moved. It contained many things, like the hedgehog stuffed toy he bought when you said it was cute but couldn't afford getting a pet, or the dandelion glass lamp he got you as a birthday gift because you insist that's how fairies are made, or the multiple music boxes he'd find online and surprised you with because you said it was your comfort item. When you returned, they gave them back to you and there again, in the far corner of your closet, is where it lies.
"I think I got everything I need here, Jungkook," you finally say. "I got the photos and noted your wishlist and I'll come up with a mood board to guide us."
"I'll wait for your call, then. Next time, let's have lunch."
**
With your respective busy schedules, you and Jungkook can only really meet on Sundays for a few hours of shopping, and that always includes lunch. After that first tour, you presented to him your plans, from the color palette to the affordable items you found online. You saved on labor costs by assigning his best friends on paint duty and your friends on furniture assembly responsibilities.
Taehyung convinced Jungkook to have you work on the other rooms that won't be featured in the photoshoot but still need some love, like his closet and bathroom. They all needed lighting, storage organizers, and design pieces so that they wouldn't look out of place.
You were happy to work on those and only cost you one Wednesday evening before the rest of the items like the pillows, rugs, and paintings arrived.
It's on that last Friday night, the day before the photoshoot, that you show up at Jungkook's, ready for the final touches, as the linens and other decorative pieces were delivered as well. All your friends are set to arrive some time later, and you want to surprise them with the new look, as they haven't seen the place since they helped out a few weeks ago.
"I got you a little something, too." You hand him the box with a bow on top and he cutely scrunches his eyebrows at the unexpected gift.
"You're the one doing this for free and now give me a gift, too?" He whines but proceeds to open it, his eyes widening in joy at the single-serve coffee maker that he was eyeing at one of the stores you went to. "You didn't have to get me this."
"My boss got a voucher and I sweetly asked her for it. I saved 40%," you wink.
That appeases him and he gets out the other things inside. You bite your lip as he looks at the scented candles you got him.
"You used to like the bamboo scent I had in my bathroom and just thought that you would... you know, want them here, too," you say shyly, worried of what he might think.
His smile softens at the gesture because he does love this scent and had been looking for the ones you had but the brand name always escaped him. More than anything, it warms him that of all the gifts you could give, it was this, one that reminded you of your time together.
"I love it," he says, smelling it. "Just like how I remember."
You smile and turn away, then decide to work on his bedroom before your friends arrive while he cleans up in the living room and prepares it for dinner.
You pull the crate that holds some of the pieces you'll set up in the built-in shelf - a vintage camera, framed photos of his friends and family, basketball player figurines, and some decorative items.
Clearly, this shelf isn't made for not-so-tall people like you, as you try to grab on the sides and other things you can hold onto to keep your balance. As you try to place a frame on the top shelf, you mistakenly grab on a box that falls over before you could catch it, causing all its content to spill on the floor right next to you.
Movie tickets, birthday cards, little notes of good luck on your exam and I miss you, comic strip doodles, photo booth picture strips, and trinkets bring a surge of memories - all seven years of love and laughter and pain in a box. But this one doesn't live in the far corner of his closet; it's living on a shelf by his bed, where all his favorite things have found their home.
Jungkook quickly runs up the stairs at the sound of something falling, loudly asking if you're okay, only to find you knelt down on the floor with a longing smile on your face.
"I was looking for this! I thought maybe I lost it but it's been with you all this time?" You giggle, picking up a photo strip that you both took at a college fair. "And oh my god, this was the cheesiest and cringiest thing I ever wrote to you," you scowl at a love letter. "I told you to burn this!"
You uncover more things and laugh at the ones you see, the memories vivid with each item you pick up.
Jungkook looks down at you, glassy eyes at the exposure of what he'd been keeping all this time - your memory, all kept in a box within his reach, because he never wanted to let go of it, hoping that one day, when you come back into his life, he can show you that though you said goodbye, it never meant it was the end. Not for him, at least.
He kneels down next to you and laughs along at the notebook of pick-up lines you made for him, and the collection of post-its that you left all over his dorm that one time you surprised him for his birthday, and the Halloween couple photos, and the mixtapes you made for him because they were "more organic than Spotify playlists."
"Wow, I was such a hopeless romantic," you laugh.
"I mean, you were dating me. Can't blame you," he returns.
"God, you're still a closeted cocky little shit," you pinch his arm, causing him to squeal and your laughter blends with his, and it's a sound you haven't heard in a very long time, and you'd forgotten how much you missed it.
"Those were the best seven years of my life, you know?" Jungkook starts after the giggling has died down and you both scan the other items on the floor. "I'll never trade them for anything. You were the best part of me and I wish I'd been better so that we didn't have to let each other go."
The silence is close to giving Jungkook a heart attack until you look at him with glassy eyes.
"You were the best part of me, too, Jungkook. I hope you know that, and however we ended, I'm just glad I get to meet you like this again," you smile. "You have no idea how much it means to me that you're happy. What these few weeks have shown me is that that's all I ever wanted."
He wants to say more, that he was happy with you and that he could be happy again with you but the words get caught in his throat. He's holding onto this, at the image of you holding pieces of your relationship in your hands, clutching them as if you don't want to let go.
But you do, eventually, as the doorbell rings, signalling the arrival of your friends.
"I'll clean this up and leave it on the floor because I can't reach it," you grin.
He laughs. "I'll get the door."
And right as he leaves, the tears you were holding back finally fall.