Wild Pursuers
::chapter 25::
THE FIREWORKS SHOW
•ღ•
-THIRD PERSON POV-
"What the hell is taking them so long?" Yoongi exasperated, dropping the restaurant menu on the table with an undeniable tantrum. "Why are you concerned, hyung?" Hoseok nonchalantly countered, not even eyeing his hyung whom was beside him, uninterested eyes scanning the menu as his hand flipped to the next menu page.
The others started eyeing Yoongi with confusion as to why someone so apathetic to Yoo Y/N would care so much for her absence; however, as much as they didn't want to admit it to themselves, they did care about the fact that she was alone with Jungkook for more than thirty minutes already.
"I'm not fucking concerned, alright? I'm just pissed that I wasted my night hanging out here when I could be doing better shit, if only I knew a bunch of you would just prefer to run off with her." Yoongi was specifically burning his gaze to Namjoon, who continued to fiddle with his newly bought charm bracelet from underneath the dinner table.
Yet Seokjin was looking at Yoongi like he knew that Yoongi didn't completely mean what he said, like he was trying to hide something as much as everyone else was, "You don't mean that." Seokjin whispered to himself, not realizing that Taehyung, who was beside him, heard. Taehyung quietly breathed out and looked down, for he knew Seokjin's intention more than anyone, even when he was unaware of his own.
"The real question is why they're taking so long." Jimin said, loud enough for everyone to hear, yet soft enough for everyone to mishear.
The boys then had a silent understanding on their youngest best friend, a quiet assumption that was most likely a confirmation. Before anyone can say anything else in reply to Jimin though, Taehyung caught sight of Y/N entering the restaurant, alone.
"Oh! Y/N, over here!" Taehyung called out with an enormous smile, alerting all the other men to face their attention to the young lady. Jimin quickly noticed that Jungkook was nowhere in sight, "Jungkook?" He asked with a small quirk of his eyebrow.
Y/N gave a half-smile with a shrug, while Taehyung pat at the seat to his left, in between him and Jimin for Y/N to sit. As soon as she sat down, she greeted everyone and apologized for not coming any sooner. Jimin just continued to gaze at her.
Y/N then suddenly scooted her head down a bit to duck below Taehyung's menu, this certainly caught Taehyung off-guard, as he couldn't help the small blush creeping on his cheeks. She then innocently asked, "What do you think I should order?" Yet Taehyung couldn't reply because of his self-consciousness to the proximity.
He stammered, and Y/N looked up to tilt her head at Taehyung's lack of response; however, Jimin then quickly grabbed Y/N's hand that was resting on the table. This gesture alerted both Taehyung and Y/N, the latter tending her gaze to the man on her left, "Just have whatever I'm having." Jimin grinned a bit.
Taehyung's jaw dropped at Jimin's boldness to hold Y/N's hand when that was all he had to say. Diagonally in front of Y/N, where Namjoon sat, he murmured to himself, "You didn't need to hold her hand."
Before Y/N could so much as nod, as she was stuck in an awkward disposition between Jimin holding her hand and Taehyung's closeness, Seokjin suddenly interjected.
Seokjin reached his hand over Taehyung to hold Y/N's shoulder, alerting all Jimin, Y/N, and Taehyung. "Y/N, I think you might like the bento set which has ramen and tonkatsu better." Seokjin said, in his usual calm demeanor, but the way his hand lingered on Y/N's shoulder did not go unnoticed by Jimin whom was still holding Y/N's hand, and Taehyung whom was surprised at his eldest hyung's abruptness.
Then, Yoongi, slightly irritated for a reason unbeknownst to even himself, shot his hand up in the air and shouted, "Waiter!" Subsequently, Hoseok, who was directly in front of Y/N, pushed a mortar filled with sesame seeds, which also had a pestle, to Y/N, "Start grinding the seeds, Y/N, you'll be needing it for your tonkatsu sauce." Hoseok said as he tapped the bowl filled with a certain thick sauce which was to be put over the mortar once the seeds were already ground.
"O-Okay," Y/N finally found her voice again. Since she needed to use her hands for this task, Jimin finally let go of her, Y/N moved away from Taehyung, and Seokjin's hand left her shoulder.
•ღ•
-YOUR POV-
I thanked the guys after our seemingly pleasant meal, mainly for not making it too awkward between all of us.
In the end, Jungkook didn't even come by to eat with us. This, of course, made the guys worry, Jimin also decided to buy takeout in case we hopefully see him in time for the Fireworks Show. Namjoon looked like he wanted to ask me about what happened, but he refrained himself from doing so. Hoseok seemed like he knew that something was up from the way he gazed at me for a few, short seconds, yet like Namjoon, he decided to not say anything.
When we exited the restaurant, it was already around 9:30 pm, with the show starting a little bit before 11 pm, the group — mainly Taehyung and Jimin — had then decided to walk around for a bit and maybe buy souvenirs around the booth stalls for remembrance.
I was walking beside Jin as we made our way to the city square once again, we both didn't say anything to each other for the time being. Although the scenario reminded me heavily of the times when me and him would walk together to school and ride the bus going home. Jin opened his mouth to say something and I looked up to him, yet we were suddenly alerted when we heard Jimin, whom was in front, exclaim, "Oi, Jeonggukie!" Even his small Busan accent shone through at his surprise.
Jungkook was still at the fountain where I left him around an hour ago, only he was now sitting on a ledge, watching the people pass by. I started to feel guilty at the idea that I left him all alone here, but I knew that I wasn't the only one at fault. Jin looked down at me and saw my expression contort into regret, yet he chose to remain silent.
"Hyung," Jungkook then got up, tucked his hands in his pockets, and approached our group. I swore his eyes met mine for a millisecond, yet his attention quickly focused on Jimin. "Yah, kid, where the hell were you?" Namjoon scolded as he nudged Jungkook rather harshly.
"The fuck you sitting here for, punk?" Yoongi, without restraint, I may add, insulted as he kicked Jungkook's leg a bit. I couldn't help but gawk at how their temperaments, their tones, and their choice of words differed when they were just naturally talking to each other, as a group of friends. "Aish, good thing we brought takeout for you." Even Taehyung's speech changed from his usual kid-friendly demeanor. Hoseok then clicked his tongue a few times in tandem with flicking Jungkook's temple.
"Don't be surprised, they're always like this when you aren't around." Jin suddenly said, "I figured." I replied.
"Just don't go running off on your own again, yeah?" Jimin said, handing the takeout to Jungkook. "We were worried, y'know? That's what they mean." Jin added, which caught the attention of everyone, besides myself. Soon enough, all eyes were on us. Jungkook's eyes lingered on me and Jin, and his expression was so serious that it actually scared me.
"Yeah, sorry," Jungkook finally said with a soft voice, looking down in thought. "Whatever, let's get going." Namjoon nonchalantly said, ushering all of us to keep moving.
Soon enough, however, the unexpected happened.
The first thing I heard was the clinking of metal, a distinct sound I heard only in movies, the first thing I felt was Jin's hand brushing against my own, and the first thing I saw was Jin's confused expression mirroring mine.
"And we have a Cupid's Catch!" A shrill and high-pitched voice giggled. Me and Jin immediately looked behind us to see a petite girl with blonde-dyed hair dressed in a pink uniform. We then gazed to our right to see a stall illuminated with a blinding pink neon light, with a huge lettering that said, "Cupid's Catch."
The ruckus alerted the other guys in front of us, making them stop in their tracks and swarm around us with confusion and wary.
Only then did I realize the situation me and Jin were in: our hands were handcuffed to each other.
"What the hell? Ma'am, we aren't interested, please release us." Jin exclaimed, trying to pry the handcuffs off, by doing so, my own handcuff started bruising me, "Ow," I hissed, and Jin whispered, "Shit, sorry."
"What's going on?" Jimin impatiently asked, the girl then giggled, "Are you guys here for the Fireworks Show?" Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, "What's it to you?"
She giggled again, "Well, these two friends of yours seemed like a lovely couple! I just wanted to give you guys an advantage! You see, if these two comply with our game, all of you will get tickets to an exclusive part of the viewing deck which is the best place to watch the fireworks."
Hoseok scoffed, "No way is that legit." The girl then went over to her booth and got a ticket, "You guys have tickets to enter the viewing deck, right? This is the same type of ticket, only it upgrades you guys, kinda like VIP." She handed the ticket to Hoseok, whom eyes it suspiciously. He then sees a guard and walks over to him, showing the ticket, the guard nods and speaks for a bit to Hoseok. Once Hoseok joined us again, he sighed, "It's legit, these are upgraded tickets to an exclusive viewing deck."
The girl sing-songs, "Told ya!" She then grabbed eight tickets, "Here, I'll even give each one of you the tickets right now, you don't even need to pay!"
All of us eyed the tickets suspiciously, Jungkook then interjected, "What's the catch?" This time, the girl laughed, "Isn't it obvious? These two sweethearts will have to spend time together, and return here to unlock your handcuffs in an hour."
I gasped, "An hour? No way." I grabbed my phone using my free hand and checked the time, it was nearly 9:45, "The show starts at eleven."
Before I could even protest further, Jin suddenly spoke, "What if we don't return in an hour?" I looked at him like he was out of his mind for even considering this. The girl giggled, "Then you two will miss the show! Or worse, be handcuffed together overnight."
"Are you fucking kidding me? No way are you two doing that—" Yoongi's disapprobation was caught off by Jin, "We'll do it."
"Eh?!" Everyone, including me, exclaimed, while the girl only giggled, "Fantastic!"
Taehyung grabbed Jin's shoulder, while eyeing me, "Hyung, are you sure about this? This might as well be a scam." Jimin continued, "Worst yet, a waste of your time."
"There's free food and booze~" The girl tempted.
"Fine." All the boys said in unison.
"Wait, I still haven't agreed to this!" I exasperated, at this, Jin leaned down and whispered, "It's okay, an hour will pass by quickly. It's not like we're strangers to each other, right?"
I sighed heavily before hesitating, "Okay, let's do this."
"We all got our tickets, right? Let's split up for now. Meet at the viewing deck before eleven, alright?" Namjoon concluded before the others started walking away as they waved at us from a distance.
Then, me and Jin started walking in the opposite direction, our hands continuously brushing against each other, causing a blush to creep on my cheeks.
"Good luck!" We heard the girl call from behind us.
Yet, unbeknownst to either of us, the girl grinned to herself before whispering, "You'll need it."
•ღ•
"Are you okay?" Jin asked after some while. "I guess," I responded with a sigh. "Are you feeling awkward?" He asked, facing ahead. I looked up to meet his eyes, but they were concentrated with just moving forward. I took the chance of a lifetime to just gaze at him for a few seconds. His strong jawline, the shape of his lips, the color of his eyes, the length of his eyelashes, how his eyebrows furrowed in thought, and how the moonlight did wonders to his complexion.
"In all honesty?" I whispered, and he nodded, "No, actually not. Which surprises even me."
He looked down, "How about you?" I asked and he replied, "I don't find it awkward at all. This reminds me of us just walking together every morning, besides the handcuffs of course. Odd as it sounds, when I'm with you, I'm just... comfortable."
I couldn't help but to smile, "I feel the same way."
Soon enough, we both stopped in our tracks when we caught sight of something.
"Want me to get you one?" Jin asked with a small smirk, I shook my head, "Save yourself the hassle, those things are rip-offs."
However, Jin just looked at me with a smirk, and started leading the way to the claw machine. I protested, but he was much stronger than me, and I couldn't help but laugh at his determination.
"Now, Yoo Y/N, what do you want?" Jin inquired as he faced me, "You don't give up, do you?" I replied.
"The big pink teddy bear." I sighed, and Jin laughed, "Cliché, I see." I rolled my eyes, "Bears are cute, okay? Besides, I doubt you'd win it, anyways."
Jin looked at me one last time, then inserted a bunch of coins from his wallet.
Then, as if it were magic, the claw clung onto the stuff bear tightly, to my utmost surprise. From there, I couldn't stop myself from giggling like a schoolgirl as I started jumping while enveloping my arm around Jin's in a fit of bliss. Then, Jin miraculously, on his first try, won the stuffed bear.
Jin bent down and grabbed the bear, handing it over to me with a proud smirk. I gasped and squealed in happiness, as I hugged the bear close to my chest. "Oh my gosh! It's even bigger than my face, Jin!" I ecstatically rejoiced and Jin couldn't help but laugh.
"How did you do it?" I asked once I calmed myself down, "Y/N, you should know that when I was in middle school, me and the boys would hangout everyday at a rundown arcade with sloppy games. The only machine that worked perfectly though, was the claw machine, ironic as that sounds. All the guys had a hard time, yet everyday I spent nearly an hour on that thing. Because of that, I basically perfected this game, believe it or not. I literally won Taehyung a stuffed alpaca which he slept with everyday for three years with."
"Damn, Jin, what can you not do." I joked, yet there was some truth to it, the older only shrugged.
"Hey," I started after some while, as we continued to walk around as it was around 10:15 pm, "Thank you."
"For the bear? It was no big deal." He replied, and I continued, "No, not the bear, though I am thankful for it. I know you paid for my dinner even if we agreed to split the bill." Jin looked at me with a slightly shocked face, "You think I wouldn't notice?" I laughed.
"Why did you do it though?" I asked, and Jin shrugged, "No reason, I just wanted to."
I smiled slightly, then Jin breathed in, "So, what do you want to name the bear?"
"Jin." I said, "Yeah?" He replied. I giggled, "No, I mean, I'm naming the bear Jin."
He stopped in his tracks and I did the same, "Why?" I looked up at him and he looked at me solemnly, "He reminds of you. You're comforting, and warm, and so, so easily lovable. I can just hug you when I'm sad, just like this bear. I can just tell you anything when there's something weighing heavily on me."
For a second, just for a minuscule fraction of infinity, I saw Jin's emotions unfolding in his eyes, and the words he cannot dare say expressed through his face.
Then, Jin's handcuffed hand grabbed my own, as he started leading the way to somewhere unknown.
He brought us behind a curtain and into a tiny room where there was a seat for only the two of us.
"A photo-booth?" I questioned as I placed the bear on the floor and sat beside Jin, he then whispered as we were in close proximity, "I don't want to ever forget this moment with you."
Those words, those simple words alone that came from his mouth, made me electrified with emotions I couldn't begin to comprehend.
He was still holding my hand when the camera began its countdown. The first few pictures were innocent, with either simple smiles or wacky expressions. Yet, the last three caught me completely off-guard.
Number one: a kiss on the forehead.
I blushed.
Number two: a kiss on the cheek.
My insides felt warm.
Number three: a kiss on my hand.
My heart pounded erratically in my chest.
When it was over, his lips lingered on the knuckles on my hand, and I couldn't bring myself to clear my throat or tell him the photos were completed. Instead, I admired Kim Seokjin once again, and it's as if time has stopped. What was left was just him and I, and I felt like every second with him lasted a beautiful eternity.
As his lips left my hand, his eyes met mine and he smiled, "Let's go, it's almost 10:45." Yet, even he sounded despondent as we took our photos, exited the booth, and entered reality once more.
•ღ•
-THIRD PERSON POV-
"I hope you two realized something even Cupid himself cannot understand."
Jin and Y/N kept repeating the words of the girl who handcuffed them in the first place in their heads, as their now free hands and free selves rushed over to the viewing deck, VIP ticket in hand.
A part of them understood what she meant, but at the same time, they didn't want to put too much thought into it.
Soon enough, the other guys caught sight of the two of them entering the deck, Taehyung frantically waved them over as it was just barely a minute until the fireworks show started.
As they found their place with their friends, Jin and Y/N, whom was still clutching her stuffed bear, still stayed beside each other. As the clock ticked to eleven in the evening, the fireworks exploded in the air and gave beauty to the sky in eccentric colors.
Everyone: the pessimistic Yoongi, the seemingly uninterested Hoseok, the uptight Namjoon, the ecstatic Taehyung, the suave Jimin, the on-edge Jungkook, the sophisticated Jin, and the resilient Y/N, all gazed at the fireworks in utter awe and amusement.
Between the shining light and the benevolent scenery, Jin and Y/N's hands brushed against each other once more, and it stayed like that for the rest of the majestic show.
For they knew, when morning came, everything will be back to how it was yesterday.
When the show concluded, Y/N immediately got a call from her older brother, Kihyun, telling her that he was already there and she should come quickly, since it's getting really late. Even though Y/N didn't want to go home yet, she couldn't help but to agree.
"Man, that was amazing!" Taehyung exclaimed, "Yeah, I was enchanted. Daebak, even Yoongi-hyung and Hoseok-hyung were enjoying themselves." Jimin continued, Yoongi opened his mouth to protest, yet he knew they weren't lying.
Y/N then cut in as she bowed in front of them, "Thank you for tonight, everyone! I really had fun and I hope we can do something like this again. Thanks for inviting me! My ride home is already in the parking lot so I need to go already."
"Aw, so soon, Y/N?" Taehyung pouted, and Hoseok hit him behind his head, "What do you mean, so soon? It's already midnight! It's fine, Y/N, we understand."
"Thanks for coming, Y/N, I had fun too." Jimin smiled and she smiled back. "Yeah, thanks for spending some time with us." Namjoon said and Y/N nodded happily.
Yoongi simply nodded his head at her, even when he was slightly facing away, Y/N still appreciated the gesture. "Get home safely." Jin concluded, a warm smile on his features, Y/N mirrored the same expression, "I will." Came her reply.
However, Jungkook was the only one to not say anything, and Y/N understood why.
"Bye everyone!" Y/N said finally before leaving. The others waved at her retreating figure, and once she was out of sight, they fell silent.
After some while of silence, Hoseok spoke up in a tone none of them were expecting, "Hey, Jungkook," All eyes were on Hoseok, whom was not looking at Jungkook, and the latter, whom was leaning against the glass pane. "You like Y/N, don't you?"
Jungkook sighed, crossing his arms, "You already know the answer, don't you?"
Yoongi scoffed, Hoseok smirked, Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, Taehyung bit his lip, Jimin gripped his fist, and Jin clenched his jaw.
All the boys' thoughts were now confirmed, yet even with the closure, this revelation seemed to weigh heavier than their ignorance to the truth.
Because maybe, just maybe, they all had a similar emotions towards the girl Jungkook says he loves. Even if they were unaware of it right now.
•ღ•
a/n: and so it begins.
Wow, have ya'll listened to MAP OF THE SOUL: PERSONA?! because if ya'll haven't, please do! our boys are so talented! while you're at it, stream 'Boy with Luv'!
Hehe, funny how this is a 'Boy in Luv' AU, but their new song is 'Boy with Luv'.
What's your favorite track? Mine has got to be Mikrokosmos <3 I put it on top of this chapter since I think it fits the mood of this chap hehe!!
Please don't forget to VOTE, COMMENT & SHARE! <3 thanks for 40,000 reads everyone!!
I love you all! xx
-Dream