JEON JUNGKOOK'S POV
I shouldn't really have to ask, I already know the answer. Maybe I'm just shamefully hoping she'll lie, lie good enough to fool me temporarily. That would ease a tiny bit of guilt.
She doesn't, but her response isn't what expected either.
"Both of ours. Mainly mine, even. That's just how things worked out." She says, not meeting my eye. "It's fine, we still hang out a lot and we're still best friends, I don't think the jellybeans are a big deal..."
I chuckle sheepishly, running a hand through my hair. "I usually think it's too much time, but I guess that's not fair, right?"
She smiles and shakes her head. "It is, actually. If you had a girl best friend who you hung out with all the time, I'd go crazy."
"Really? That could get interesting." I say, smirking. She laughs and pushes me back with a finger to my forehead.
"Don't go befriending Sana now or some sneaky shit like that." She says.
"Your idea, not mine." I shrug, and I laugh and flinch away when she elbows me.
The tension floats away quickly, to our luck, and we leave the subject of Hoseok alone for now. I now walk with my arm around her waist, and we talk about random stuff as we walk for the next 5 minutes or so.
Finally I recognize the area, and instead of continuing along the sidewalk, I turn and start walking through the grass, which leads to a bit of forestry behind the houses.
"Where are we going?" Ji-won asks, looking around suspiciously as we step deeper down the grass trail. "I forgot we actually had a destination."
"At your request," I remind her, grinning as I continue tugging her through the shrubbery.
"Um, but, we're waking through a bunch of trees... there's probably a lot of bugs here." She whines, looking around cautiously.
"If we hurry then they won't get us." I say, meeting her eyes. Her smile says she accepts the challenge, and with that, hand in hand we start running through the forest. We keep tripping and stumbling around as we do, avoiding branches and bushes, laughing and trying to keep ourselves moderately hushed even though no one will hear us.
Finally I slow us to a stop, panting a bit and chuckling. "Not nearly as intense as our Namsan race."
"I beat your ass so bad that day." She says, smirking cockily.
"If we go back there one day, I'll redeem myself." I say, attempting to flick her forehead before she giggles and ducks away.
"It was kind of a crazy night." She says, taking a couple of steps back and looking around, finally noticing and taking in our surroundings. "Woah, how come I never new about this place?" She asks, a smile spreading over her lips. It's a clearing in the forest where a calm, large creek runs through. I know about it because a bonfire party was here during the summer, when me and the guys went skinny dipping. The water only gets up to 7 or 8 feet and it's not all that cold, a nice spot I hadn't been back to since then.
"Cuz instead of going out and exploring, you study in your room." I tease.
"Yeah, I used to before I starting hanging out with a certain dumbass that doesn't let me focus anymore." She replies, mocking my tone. I laugh.
"I'm glad I have that effect on you."
"Well not anymore." She says, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Oh really?" I ask, cocking my head to the side.
"Uhuh, we're chill now, no butterflies." She insists casually, smirking at me lightly. She's asking for it.
I start stepping closer to her and she starts stepping back, and I can't hold back a grin as I continue backing her closer to the edge of the water. She glances over her shoulder and notices that she's dangerously close to the edge, so she's forced to stop walking. I slowly near her, and she looks me right in the eye. She's challenging me.
"Nothing?" I ask, my voice low as my hands smoothly wrap around her hips, drawing her closer. She shakes her head, the smirk not leaving her eyes.
"Huh," I continue. I gently trail my hands up her shirt, caressing her waist. I lean in and softly kiss her jaw, before whispering "What a difference from before."
I continue to kiss her upper neck teasingly, as one of my hands seductively moves further up her side, till I reach the hem of her bra. I hook my thumb in the fabric and tug it playfully, and I hear her breathing go quiet.
I let my thumb out and hear the stretchy material snap back to her skin, making her shudder. I trail my lips to hers and give her an alluringly slow, soft kiss, but keep it short enough to be irritating. As I pull away I just barely bite her bottom lip.
"Nothing?" I breathe again, my lips still grazing hers, my eyes dimly open. She shakes her head hesitantly. I gently bring my hand to her cheek, but rather than pulling her in again, I trail my index and middle finger down to her neck and check her pulse. I grin when I feel it beating faster than I can count.
"Liar." I say, pulling away and stepping back, much to her obvious dissatisfaction. She stares at me with an astonished expression as I chuckle.
"You really drive me crazy." She whispers, walking towards me again and grabbing my collar, pulling me back to her. I'm pleasantly shocked as she brings her lips to mine again.
Before we can get into it though, she's switching our positions, so that I'm facing the riverbank. Before I even realize what's going on, I feel her grin against my lips as she suddenly pushes me backward. My eyes fly widely open and I yell as I fall.
She laughs hysterically and claps when I collapse into the water, back first. I gasp when I resurface and stumble to my feet, completely drenched. She giggles without a care in the world, and while she looks so beautiful when she's laughing like this, I can't look past the fact that I'm freezing and wet.
"You little bitch!" I yell, pushing myself out of the water and charging at her. She yelps and instantly starts running away, and it turns into a game of chase.
When I get to her, I scoop her up in my arms, bridal style. She's laughing while yelling at me, flailing her legs as I carry her to the water. Without another warning, I toss her in and she screams like crazy. This time I'm laughing manically when she resurfaces, gasping in shock and betrayal.
"Asshole!!" She yells, splashing a bunch of water at me. I chuckle and decide to fuck it, since I'm already drenched. I pull my shirt off over my head, toss it to the grass and cannon into the water, landing with a splash that attacks Ji-won. No words need to be exchanged for a splashing war to begin, and a violent one at that. We laugh and yell at each other as we splash and dodge, swimming and stumbling around. In that moment, I entirely forget that it's 2 in the morning, that the reason I'm with her right now is because my parents are on the brink of a split, that my happiness is Hoseok's pain, that my brother still hasn't woken up, that the year is ending soon and college might rip Ji-won and I apart. I forget all of it, and in the moment absolutely nothing and no one seems even remotely significant besides us.
It's amazing how she can do that to me.
Our arms eventually get exhausted from so much intensity, so we calm down and just swim around together, both of us stalling and talking as much as possible while we're alone and limitless. Neither of us wants to go back home, and despite the time I don't think it's possible to be tired right now.
We subconsciously move to the deeper part of the water, and I hardly even notice until Ji-won's head is submerged while we're bouncing about. I gasp and quickly reach for her, but she's just giggling while coughing as I pull her up.
"You're taller than I remember, the water's not even above your shoulders." She says. To not sink again, she grabs my shoulders, and to my surprise, also wraps her legs around my bare torso.
"Alright, take us back to where I can at least stand on my tiptoes." She says, gesturing to where we started. Her skin feels so smooth against mine, and the underwater sensation gives me goosebumps. I'd rather not put her down.
"Or we could stay here." I suggest with an innocent smile, slowly wrapping my arms around her lower waist. "Neither of us is drowning, right?"
She chuckles. "I guess not."
I hold her there for a minute and practically dissolve when she lays her cheek on my head and sighs, pressing herself closer to me. I just sway us around in circles, listening to the sounds the water makes as it swishes around.
As my hands caress her sides, I inevitably notice how transparent and fitted her shirt is at this point. It's impossible to stop my eyes from trailing to her middle, waist, bust...
I force myself to avert my gaze before she notices, because somehow she always catches me, like she's waiting for me to look where I shouldn't.
"What if my parents woke up?" She asks, tensing up a bit.
"Are they sleep deprived?" I ask sarcastically.
"I think all parents are."
"Well yours are probably still fast asleep, so stop thinking about them."
"Then distract me." She says, pulling a noticeably forced, unfazed expression. I can easily feel the nervousness radiating off her.
"How so?" I ask, my voice low. She shifts her legs slightly, and her feet graze my legs. Shivers are sent up my whole body. However, to my surprise, she requests something entirely innocent.
"A story." She says. "Tell me one."
I sigh. "I'm shit at storytelling."
She smirks. "Alright, then a quick tutoring session." I roll my eyes and she laughs, hitting my shoulder lightly. "How to properly tell a story:" She begins. I brace myself for a long lecture.
"All you need is a beginning, middle, and end. You can set the mood with your tone and word choice, and create the appropriate atmosphere." She says. "Go."
"Wait, what? That's it?"
"Go." She repeats, and I chuckle, flustered.
"Okay, um..." I think for a few moments. "Once upon a time-"
"Too generic. Start again."
I splash water on her and she squeals before I clear my throat and do as I'm told.
"There once was a young boy..." I begin, a familiar scene unfolding in my mind. "He was in 7th grade, thought he was all mature and cool, which he kind of was." I say, and she chuckles with a light grin. She knows exactly where I'm going with this.
"He was really popular, and one day he invited his other new friend from science to hang out with his group after school. Ever since that day, the other boy was added to the group, and everyone was happy."
She stared at me thoughtfully, playing with the water as she listened.
"But along with the cool new buddy, this weirdo girl was introduced to his life too." I say, and we smile simultaneously. She doesn't smack me yet, so I elaborate. "She was really preppy, really nerdy, wore her uniform strictly and always had her stressfully long hair in a tight, low ponytail. Super weird."
"She sounds pretty average to me." She shrugs.
"Anything but." I reply. "He hated her with a passion. She always commented on how dumb he was and how cursing was bad and how flirting with everyone was rude and being disrespectful to teachers didn't make me cute and-"
"You?" She asks dramatically. "I didn't realize this was an autobiography."
"Him." I correct myself mockingly. "Anyway, she was annoying as hell but he still had to tolerate her because she was his friend's best friend. That made the boy hate her even more, he was jealous that she was closer to his friend than he was."
Her eyes widen and she smiles. "I never knew you had a thing for Hoseok."
I glare and splash her again. "You know what I mean. Anyway, you would think she got less annoying over time, but no, it all carried on, and got worse in high school. Every year they were constantly around each other- at parties, at lunch, in classes, and they inevitably got used to each other's presence, but that didn't ease the hatred and constant annoyance."
"Trust me, I hated you so much more." She laughs.
"No, I definitely did."
"I tried paying Hoseok to stop talking to you multiple times."
"I tried to get a school restraining order on us by telling the principle you bullied me. She didn't believe me."
She gasped and pinched my cheek hard. "Asshole!"
I laugh and playfully smack her hand away, continuing. "They despised each other, and it carried on into senior year of high school. However, life took a dramatic turn in the first few weeks when the Principle decided to force them to be together more often than fucking siblings. He considered transferring schools."
"She even considered defying her parents to get out of it." Ji-won says, and I know that's like breaking federal laws in her eyes.
"But when they started tutoring, for the first time he noticed that she was kind of pretty. His entire view on her changed when he finally heard her cuss for the first time ever, after 8th period. She had said dumbass. Ever since that day, he wanted to find out her other side, see what only his friend could. He wanted to learn what was beyond that perfect posture."
She rolls her eyes. "Sitting up straight doesn't make someone a nerd."
"Fine, but low ponytails do." I insist. "Anyway, he did end up meeting her hidden half, and learned to love both sides. To this day, sometimes he thinks back to 7th grade. Maybe if he had tried getting past his hatred earlier, they would have more time together. He had always waited eagerly for graduation day, so he could be free and away from this annoying girl, but now he couldn't be more terrified for it.
The beginning of their story, the shallowness and hatred, lasted 5 years, the middle, the lead up, was much too short, at only a school year's length...
And... I guess I'm still shit at telling stories, because this one doesn't have an ending yet."
She stares at me, speechless. Her expression is unreadable- I don't know if I made her sad, stressed, nostalgic, or worried.
"I think it was perfect." She says softly. "This one doesn't need an ending."
My eyes trails every inch of her face, fully taking in this moment, how she looks right now, to remember tonight vibrantly.
"Why's that?" I ask, my voice gentle.
She hesitates, eyes searching mine for answers I don't have. She slowly brings her hands to my cheeks, trailing them all the way up my shoulders and neck.
"Because we can make the middle last forever."
She leans into me and presses her lips against mine. My eyes flutter closed and I will myself to let go of my worried feelings and live in this moment. This is more important than the future will ever be.
I kiss her back, holding her close. She leans over me, the small of her back slightly arched, her feet grazing my legs again. My heart pumps quickly as I slide my tongue in, kissing her more passionately by the second, allowing my hands to slide down her back. Her breaths get longer, grip more tight. We kissed like there was no tomorrow, no other tonight.
I broke our kiss for a moment to slickly slide her shirt off over her head. "You could see everything anyway." I whisper as I pull her back to me, and she grins against my lips.
I move us back toward the shallow end as we make out, and she's shocked when I lift her onto the grass by the riverbank. I push myself out after her, and we stare at each other for a few seconds. It's pitch black, only a sliver of moonlight providing almost no visibility. And somehow she's glowing, somehow I see her more clearly than ever.
"I love you Jungkook." She says softly, and I feel my heartbeat in my ears as it pounds rapidly. I'm unable to look away from her. She captivates me like no one and nothing else.
I crawl over her and push her back till she's laying flat on the ground. I lean my lips to hers, and before kissing her again I whisper "You already know you have me head over heels for you."
As we kiss passionately and she slides down her shorts, I'm thoroughly lost in my feelings, hormones, and repeating thoughts.
All I can think is I love you, you're beautiful, and I wish the middle could really last forever, but that's not how stories work.