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~~~
"And then what happened?" Namjoon questioned emotionlessly, pretending as if he wasn't on the edge of his seat and couldn't care less about the story but unable to hide his interest.
"Well, then I thought for sure I was dead. You know, considering she was probably mad I was drunk and I couldn't even remember what I had done."
"Yeah about that," Namjoon spoke while crossing his arms, Jungkook swallowing hard upon the sight.
"Please don't tell Jin!" He begged, "Please hyung, I won't do it again!"
Namjoon sighed and massaged his temple with his fingers.
"I won't. And if he finds out, we'll just lie and say you didn't know the difference in the legal drinking age. Just keep that promise. Continue with the story."
Jungkook beamed in relief, then paused a bit before continuing when he realized what happened next in the story.
"Well, then she..." He awkwardly fiddled with his fingers and bit his lower lip while Namjoon raised an eye brow.
"She...?"
Jungkook became flushed under the sudden pressure and remembrance as the moment flooded back to him. It was only the day after and he was still trying to comprehend what had happened himself.
"Um... she..." Jungkook awkwardly coughed before slightly tapping his lips with his forefinger, Namjoon's eyes widening while suddenly a new person appeared on the screen.
"SHE KISSED YOU?!" Jimin exploded, pushing Namjoon out of the way while suddenly hogging the webcam with his presence.
Jungkook backed up a bit in shock for a second before angrily blushing.
"HYUNG! Why is Jimin here?" He whined, angrily struggling to find the button to end the call due to his friend's unwanted presence in the private conversation. Namjoon quickly shoved Jimin back and defended himself.
"I'm sorry, I thought I locked the door! Don't hang up-"
"Just make Jimin leave."
"Excuse me?!" Jimin huffed, "Jeon Jungkook I'm so offended! Why do you only tell Namjoon everything?! I want to hear about it too!!! I WANT DETAILS!"
"Hyung!" Jungkook whined, becoming more and more embarrassed by the second as he hid his red face in his hands.
Namjoon pushed Jimin out the door in attempts to end the chaos, the shorter male struggling to get final words of anger and interest out but failing as the elder shut the door in his face and locked it, breathing out in relief after the complaining was muffled.
Jungkook was now too embarrassed to say anything as Namjoon returned to the camera with a guilty look on his face.
"Sorry again. Go on?"
"I-I can't," Jungkook stammered. "I mean... that's basically it."
Namjoon raised his eyebrows in shock once more.
"So she did kiss you?!"
Jungkook could do nothing but nod as he bit his lower lip in embarrassment and tried not to smile under the words.
"Yeah. I guess she did. She wasn't mad... exactly. It was just that so much had happened to her that she hadn't known how to deal with anything. She was more sorry than anything else. I'd made mistakes too... so obviously the only thing that was missing was communication."
"Yeah, I'd say sucking on her neck after she had been physically and emotionally abused wasn't the right choice."
Jungkook flushed red again.
"I know! You don't have to remind me, OK? I-I wasn't thinking straight and... uh-"
"Don't explain!" Namjoon quickly cut him off, smirking a bit. "I don't need to hear."
Jungkook swallowed hard.
"Yeah."
Namjoon beamed at the younger.
"So everything is resolved then? You two talked, made out... everything's good, right? Happy ending?"
Jungkook smiled and pulled on his shirt collar nervously before his expression faltered a bit.
"Sort of..."
"Sort of?" Namjoon interrupted, a bit flustered, "What do you mean!? Didn't you ask her out? Aren't you dating now? Wasn't everything discussed?"
"That's just the thing." Jungkook took a deep breath. "This was yesterday. Yesterday, everything was resolved and worked out. We uh... kissed... then Sam came and we all hung out. Things are definitely different, but also the same if that makes sense. But there's still something lingering. Something I need to address, but I can't. I need your help."
"My help? What do you mean?"
"There's so much I want to tell her. So much I wish I could say. But... my English... even if I was a pro, I still think I'd falter in front of her. She just has that effect on me I guess." Jungkook chuckled awkwardly and ruffled his hair a bit. "Anyway... everything I want to say I physically can't. And I did my best yesterday, but I still feel like something is lacking just because I'm not able to completely convey what's on my mind. So... you've done so much for me hyung and I'm really so thankful... but I need one more favor."
Namjoon arched an eyebrow in confusion.
"And that is?"
Jungkook took another deep breath.
"Please... can you translate for me?"
~~~
You took a deep breath, not quite sure what you were feeling but knowing that regardless of worry you would be fine. Of course you were nervous to go to school. With all that had happened, who wouldn't be?
May had tried to knock you down and definitely expected some sort of defeated you to walk in those school doors. Contrary to the past though, this time you wouldn't be alone. And because of that, could your state really be labeled as defeated?
You breathed out slowly and shuffled a bit in order to adjust the backpack better on your shoulders. You clenched your front doors doorknob in your hand and twisted, opening the door slowly only to yelp when none other than Jeon Jungkook immediately came into view... and right into your personal space.
He was beaming and clearly quite chipper and upbeat; a rarity indeed for him in the morning hours.
"Jungkook?!" You barely made out before he was pushing your shoulders back into your house and against the wall next to the door.
"Morning!" He quipped in exuberance, a smirk replacing his grin in a heartbeat as he drew closer to you.
"GAH NO," You squeaked, pushing him away and frantically whipping your head about in order to make sure his actions weren't seen.
Jungkook did his iconic head tilt as fake puppy-like confusion covered his face.
"No?"
"No-" you paused, flustered and still aware of his firm but playful grip on your shoulders, "No as in not n-now."
Jungkook burst into a smile and cockily let you go, you glaring at him but unable to hide the flush on your cheeks.
"Later then," he spoke over his shoulder to your irritation as he turned and opened the door for you. "Now we go to school."
You sighed, shuffling slightly as you looked at your cocky friend. School... you bit your lip. Vince, May... Emily? Emily. You still didn't know what to think about what had happened, and even Sam would say nothing on the matter. Regardless you figured you had jumped to conclusions. It was unjust of you to assume she had ratted out private information to May. The thought of confrontation seemed to make the bruises on your body ache slightly more.
Jungkook watched you as you passed through the door and followed, shutting the door behind the two of you. You turned to him, nervously grinning.
"Well... m-maybe now actually." You corrected yourself from earlier, wanting a distraction from your thoughts as you gripped his hand in yours. To your surprise, Jungkook's confidence went down the drain as color leaped to his face and he looked away.
"N-no, we go to school," he stammered nervously, quickly pulling away and surging ahead. You watched as he speed walked down the road, a car honking as his distracted form didn't notice the oncoming vehicle. He bashfully waved a sorry to the angry driver as the car went around him.
You laughed. Jungkook was a mystery for sure, and although he could be very cocky, playful, and full of himself, he often times was just as shy and bashful. You loved that even with the events of yesterday, he still blushed and got embarrassed over something so simple as grabbing his hand.
You let out a sigh of bliss and skipped after him, he shyly smiling as the two of you matched paces on the walk to school. That's when you realized, not even the worry in your mind could over come the happiness that surged through your body when the two of you were together.
~~~
School was absolute chaos. Even before walking in the building, chatter could be heard and flooded your ears almost instantly. You and Jungkook looked at each other in confusion before walking in cautiously. Your heart sped up as you were immediately met with the sight of people running around and speaking loudly, clearly gossiping as something big was happening. For a moment your heart stopped. Did word get out that you and Jungkook were there? Did everyone know what had happened? What about the chaos that drunk Jungkook had caused? Was that was the school was so lively and abuzz? Jungkook seemed to be thinking similarly because his shoulders tensed in preparation as some people spotted the two of you.
However, their glances were simply glances, and they went back to their chatter as if the two of you were invisible after a split second. You blinked in confusion. Jungkook tilted his head and also didn't seem to understand what was happening. To your ultimate surprise, people who had never spoken to you before began flooding around you.
"(Y/N)!" they quipped in excitement, out of breath from all the talking and acting as if you were their long time friend. Jungkook grabbed your arm as you tensed and waited for harassment. "Did you hear?"
You blinked.
"Sorry? Hear about what?"
"Sam!" They quipped with large eyes, excited to be portraying news to unknowing people.
"Sam?" Jungkook stepped in, now worried about his friend. "Sam is where?"
"The office! You should have seen it, it was insane! He cornered May and apparently threatened her! We don't know what he said but May went crazy and started yelling, her dad took them both to the office! Some people say he tried to attack her!"
"Emily was there too," another girl quipped, "Don't forget that."
"Oh right! Not sure what happened with her but I guess she's in the office now too."
Shock flooded your senses as you and Jungkook blinked at each other.
An object on the other side of the room caught your attention. In front of May's locker, a shattered camera lay on the floor. Your grip on your backpack straps tightened. What had happened?!
"They might come out of the office soon, gotta go!" the girls quipped and were gone just like that.
Slowly, Jungkook broke into a smile.
"What?!" You spoke in shock, "What is so great that has you smiling? Sam might be expelled!"
"Don't let them win. If they say something, kick them in the head," He recited plainly, smiling goofily.
"What?" You questioned, knowing you had heard this before but unsure of what he was talking about.
"Sam does not loose," he stated simply, "He would never let them win. We go to class."
"But-" You began to protest, but Jungkook interrupted you by briskly kissing your cheek, taking your hand and pulling you along. You blushed, wondering when it had become Jungkook that had to persuade YOU into going to class.
School flew by and there was so sign of May, Emily, or Sam. You worried but it was hard to do so when Jungkook acted so happy. On top of that... You couldn't believe it but... people were approaching you and CONGRATULATING you and Jungkook for your new... "relationship?"
"You two are so cute!" A girl cooed, placing her lunch tray next to yours. Jungkook was busy talking to some random guys about Taekwondo and soccer, so he didn't notice the girl.
"Thanks," You wearily stated, unsure but hopeful. Not one person had given you a negative look today. You were confused, but... happy. At peace.
"I've got to know though," she giggled, "Are you two dating now? Like, are you official or whatever?"
You paused, allowing the girls words to enter your brain.
Official?
"Like... what do you mean?" You questioned, not knowing what she was getting at.
"Are you girlfriend and boyfriend!"
"Oh..."
Why did you not have an answer?! You felt like an idiot as you paused, but you didn't know what to say. Flushing, you realized that you and Jungkook hadn't gotten that far in conversation the day before and that the lip locking had consumed most of the time before Sam had gotten there and the three of you had hung out. You clenched your teeth in embarrassment and slightly cursed yourself. You hadn't even had time to think about it but... what were you and Jungkook at this point?
Your silence made the girl shuffle slightly and you blinked as you realized you weren't saying anything.
"Oh! I mean, uh-"
"It's OK," she spoke with a laugh, "Just update me later!" You watched as she left, turning towards Jungkook who was laughing with random guys about spin hook kicks. You realized that Emily's missing presence weighed on you. Having a girl to talk to would be nice right now. You bit your lower lip and looked down at your lunch, watching Jungkook and smiling at his enthusiasm.
You figured you and Jungkook would talk about it soon. After all, you promised to make the most of the time you had left before he had to leave. Jungkook smiled at you as if to check up on you and your heart leapt in joy but also slight nervousness. You hadn't... exactly admitted fully that you loved him, but you did. And you vowed that the second this Sam and Emily thing was resolved you would tell him.
~~~
You and Jungkook watched in shock as Sam slowly made his way to the front door of Jungkook's house, looking unbothered. As if he hadn't been the talk of the whole school that day.
"Sam!" You exclaimed, irritated that he was walking so slow.
He blinked.
"What?" He asked in an almost annoyed tone, stretching as he finally approached the two of you.
You were flustered and didn't even know what to say.
"What happened?" Jungkook finally spoke, bouncing in excitement as if Sam was his new favorite superhero. RIP Iron man.
Sam shrugged.
"Listen guys, what happened this weekend went far beyond stupid highschool drama. It was an issue that needed to be dealt with and hopefully won't ever happen again." He turned to you. "(Y/N) I'm so sorry. For everything that has happened to you because of one person and her effects on others. That's gotta suck. But hopefully now things are better."
Sam handed you the shattered camera. For a second, you didn't say anything. Then a tear fell down your face and dripped onto the broken device. In panic, Jungkook grabbed the camera and threw it, thinking it was the cause of your tears.
"Ah! Kookie," You protested, "I'm fine, don't worry. I think I'm... happy."
Jungkook cocked his head, now very confused.
"Happy? About... broken camera?"
You laughed and shook your head, realizing that Jungkook didn't know the context and cringing when you remembered it yourself.
"May did some trash things, Emily told me. I saw the picture by the way, not so flattering so I deleted it." Sam piped up, motioning to the direction of the shattered device. You hung your head, not knowing what to tell Jungkook or if you even should. "I'll tell you later Jungkook," Sam added before you could say anything, "and after that I think maybe you should have one more word with Vince. I'd like to think everything else is taken care of or will work itself out."
"What did you say to her?" You spoke up, "Did you really threaten her?"
"Did you kick?!" Jungkook added in excitement, forgetting his confusion about the camera momentarily.
Sam grinned.
"No kicking... unfortunately. But Emily and I just said some stuff and she got freaked out, so we've been in the office all day with her dear daddy. I might be expelled, but if I am, I'm suing. Cuz I didn't touch her and didn't lie." Sam looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hey Jungkook, think you can be a lawyer?"
Jungkook perked up.
"Lawyer?" He questioned, unsure of what Sam was saying.
He just grinned.
"Don't worry. My mom is. No one is touching me without facing the severe consequence, and I don't loose."
"S-Sam," You stuttered, "I still don't understand."
Sam groaned, but a small smile still played on his face.
"All you have to understand is that I'm a good babysitter, and no one touches my kids."
You and Jungkook looked at each other before bursting into laughter, remembering the sleepover that seemed so long ago. Not knowing what else to do, the three of you embraced. Slight tears still stained your cheeks but they quickly dried in the warm embrace of your friends. Was it really over? Just like that? You didn't know what Sam had truly done or said but just being in his carefree and sure atmosphere was enough to make you believe him. He was truly an amazing friend, and you felt a safety around him similar to the way you felt around Jungkook. Not the same... but sort of like an older brother aura. Safe. Jungkook quickly made sure there was space between you and Sam however by pulling the two of you away after a few seconds.
Sam rolled his eyes.
"Alright, no more questions. Just let me know if anyone bothers you. By the way (Y/N), Emily wants to talk to you eventually. But I think Jungkook has something important to talk about with you first." He winked at the two of you while Jungkook blushed before waving and walking away.
"Remember!" He called out over his shoulder, "Leave space for Jesus! And Sam! That's a significant amount of space Jungkook,"
Now the two of you were blushing, but the smiles didn't leave your faces.
"So... we're just going to assume everything is OK now?" You questioned.
"And not worry," Jungkook added, "No more worry. You do it too much."
You laughed shyly, knowing this was true and the cause of too many problems.
"You're right. But what did you want to tell me?"
Jungkook blinked, then looked at his watch. Without saying a word, he grabbed your hand and pulled you inside his house. You didn't protest but confusion fell over you as he tugged you up the stairs and stayed silent. When you came to his bedroom door he paused and took a shaky breath as if he was nervous.
"K-Kookie?" You stammered, a bit flushed upon seeing his bedroom before he dragged you in and shut the door behind the two of you. You stood still and watched in curiosity as he went to his laptop and fiddled with it, eventually bringing the computer and placing it on the floor.
"Oh!" You squeaked in surprise when he pulled you towards the computer and pushed on your shoulders until you were sitting on the floor. Jungkook sat across from you and opened the top of the laptop that was placed between you.
With a few more clicks, the screen flashed to life and a familiar face greeted you.
"Hey (Y/N)," Namjoon spoke casually. You looked at him in surprise before looking back at Jungkook's extremely nervous form in front of you.
"Um, hey!" You greeted, "What is going-?"
"My name in Namjoon and today I'll be your personal translator. Few rules! Number one, do NOT make out in front of me. I refuse to see that. Rule two, Jungkook, do not cut in while I'm speaking. You talk, I'll translate. That's how it goes. Rule three! Actually there is no rule three but I suppose I'll put extra emphasis on not doing anything in front of me. Also a side note, this is all confidential and I will never reveal this conversation to anyone." He paused. "And upon Jungkook's request especially not Jimin."
...
What?
"You're our personal what now?"
No one answered, instead Jungkook began speaking in Korean. You loved it when he spoke in Korean. Immediately you were captivated and froze in place upon hearing the uncyphered but riveting words flow across the room.
"I want you to know that I wouldn't want to do it like this if I had the choice," Namjoon translated like clockwork, Jungkook's words now known to you as he repeated them back in English. "But I'm just not confident enough in my English to be able to say this to you the way I want to without messing up. I want you to fully understand what I'm about to say to you and I want to be able to tell you without choppy language barriers. If you don't like it, just let me know at any time because I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I can always write it out if you don't want a translator?"
Jungkook paused and looked at you as if waiting for your response. You said nothing, so he took a deep breath and continued. More Korean came and you listened intently, relishing in his first language even before the translation.
"When I first met you, I was nervous. So nervous. It was odd though, because usually when something makes you nervous you want to stay away. I however took any and every opportunity to get closer. You drew me in like a magnet, and when you finally let me stay close I never wanted to leave. It's funny how it worked, we could barely even communicate, but I knew I had to try."
Jungkook took a deep breath and began speaking again, more and more confident as it went on.
"You became my best friend. I loved it. And throughout all the hardships, I just wanted to stay close to you. Eventually, I figured out that this closeness I was craving stemmed from attraction and... I really started to like you. A lot. The worst part was that it was hard for me to communicate my feelings to not even you, but to myself. I asked for help from everyone I could, but I could never get any answers that I was able to follow."
Jungkook laughed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck, nervous but smiling as he kept talking.
"I want to be more than your best friend, and even more than someone who's there for you. I want you to be there for me too. So no matter what we go though, we can go through it together. Our relationship goes over barriers relentlessly and ignores the ones that don't matter. Sure we overcame May and school issues and even me not paying attention in class, but there's one barrier we never even had to avoid because we had already flown over it. Our relationship, what we have... most anybody would call our different languages a barrier. But we've always had a connection way past that that no one could understand. When we look at each other, I feel a connection that doesn't even need words. One that doesn't need speaking."
Jungkook was beaming now, and tears began to stream down your face.
"I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I want to make our connection official, and I want to be more than your best friend. I want you to be my girlfriend and-"
"I want to say in English," Jungkook cut in, Namjoon a bit angry at first the he had broken rule number two but his face disappearing as Jungkook closed the laptop. He took a shaky breath and grabbed your hands, the two of you making eye contact as you looked into his nervous but blissfully happy deep brown orbs. You couldn't help but smile back as your vision got murky through unhelped tears. He brushed them away and smiled bigger.
"I love you," He recited perfectly, a bit shy but sure in his words as the smile on your face grew bigger and the tears dripped off your chin. "I love you, (Y/N)."
You laughed, looking at the computer to make sure it was closed before closing the space between the two of you and pressing your forehead to his. Jungkook put his arms around you and pulled you close, his happiness radiating as he closed his eyes and you felt his bangs brush against your eyes.
"I love you (Y/N)," He repeated, words brushing lightly against your lips.
"Saranghaeyo, Kookie."
~~~
Eh, I'll end it here and write what happened with May, Sam, and Emily next time ;) please note this is unedited and sorta rushed. Only four chapters left~
A lot of love to those of you who never stopped sending words of support. They were greatly appreciated. I hope you are all OK during these hard times, don't forget you are loved.
I will only accept criticisms on my untimely manner if you are also attempting to achieve a robotics degree or something of similar stature. I do apologize on time, I know it's been awhile, and if you're here and supporting me I really can't believe it and love you so much. Thank you to those of you who have been so patient and have checked up on me! I know you were excited and waited for a long time so I really wanted to give back <3
Look back at the footprints but never stop aiming to make more. You never know when the tide will hit.