"This tastes really good." Jungkook says through a mouthful, munching and smacking his lips.
You weren't even surprised to see the red sauce staining the corners of his lips, proof of how much he was enjoying his delicious slice of pizza.
A sudden déjà vu hits you, and you experience the same feeling from the restaurant by the beach, except for this time you don't tell, but rather show him.
He stops chewing when you use your thumb to swipe at the tomato sauce on the corner of his mouth.
That seems to catch him off guard, but then, to your astonishment, he follows your finger with his mouth and licks the remnants off of it.
You stare in silent horror as he smirks and resumes chewing.
"I don't know if I should be disgusted by the fact that you eat like an infant or that you just licked my finger like a freaking popsicle." you blink.
"You liked it, didn't you?"
"Oh hell no!" you screech." In fact, I'd like it if you kept that dirty mouth of yours as far away from me as possible." you say, wiping your finger on the hem of your shirt and then digging in your own slice of pizza.
His eyes darken at your words and he sweeps a look at you shamelessly from head to toe.
"I could take that in a different context but it's better if we don't rush things for now." he says, abandoning what's left of the pizza to the sheet spread on the sand.
You choke.
He chuckles in delight and then leans forward, putting his palms face down on each side of yours.
You go cross eyed at the face looming in front of you as it violates every rule of ethical distance.
"Sharing is caring." he says and stares at the slice of pizza hanging from your lips.
You refuse to be flustered by his antics.
It had happened a number of times by now but that belonged in the past.
Jeon Jungkook had no idea who he was messing with.
Without blinking an eye, you keep munching on the food, not giving a damn if his face was literally a couple of inches from your own.
You point a finger at the unfinished slice of pizza laying on the sheet.
"I don't like the crust." he says, without even throwing a glance its way.
"Well, then starve." you deadpan.
With a flick of his wrist, you're robbed of the heavenly delicacy and all that's left is a small chunk of cheese dangling from your lips like a pendulum.
"Hey! That's my food, you idiot!"
He only offers you a smug smile in return.
"Where do you even put all that, anyway? Is there a black hole in your stomach?"
His eyes flick to his abdomen, the expanse of rippling muscles discernable even through the material of his shirt.
"Dunno. Fast metabolism, I guess." he answers while munching away.
Despite promising yourself not to yield, one look at his stuffed cheeks makes your features soften.
How controversial, you thought to yourself.
There he was, sitting in all his glory, overgrown messy hair reaching past his cheekbones, delicate lashes fluttering against his skin and... and his mouth struggling to chew the food in one go.
A loving smile sneaks into your face.
"Jungkook....is it bad that I feel happy?" You let yourself voice the thoughts in your head.
He stops chomping on the food for a moment and silently observes you.
"I mean," you continue. "I know it sounds absurd saying it right now. We're practically homeless and the money we have will barely be enough to get us through this, but....it feels nice. Being with you, I mean. It's different from when I was by myself. I didn't have anyone."
He seems to be contemplating your words, capturing his bottom lip with his teeth.
"That was kinda cheesy." he remarks, while looking at the pizza.
You burst into laughter.
Being with Jin-hyung for too long had definitely made an effect on him.
"But I know what you mean." he continues. "I feel happy too."
A blinding smile breaks across your whole face.
"Come here," he says softly and pats the seat next to him.
After having put some distance earlier, your legs now move on their own accord, snuggling closer to him. You lean your head on his lap and he doesn't object, even daring to run a hand through your hair, untangling it from the messy knots caused by the wind.
His fingers are careful, gentle and as they draw invisible patterns against your scalp, you suddenly feel your eyelids droop.
You'd both started to grow more comfortable in each other's presence, not scared to show affection anymore.
It was a good thing, you thought.
You didn't really care about labels.
Girlfriend, boyfriend— those were just words that had lost their true meaning nowadays.
Did it even matter if in the end you would be willing to give your life for him, dramatic as it might sound?
"Don't sleep." you hear him say, but his skillful fingers still continue to caress you.
"I'm not." you reply with your eyes closed.
His thumbs travel from your head to your face and graze past your jaw.
Then, something soft and plump touches the tip of your nose and you open your eyes only to see Jungkook kissing it.
It lasts for a second and he pulls away, taking with him his long dark locks which had tickled your face just a moment earlier.
He leans back on the heels of his hands, satisfied, but it is quickly replaced by surprise when you reach up to kiss his own nose.
You then let your head fall down onto his lap and giggle like a four year-old.
He throws his own head back and bursts into laughter.
The action makes his whole body shake and you, having leaned into him, tremble as well, continuosly bumping the back of your head on the solid muscles of his thighs.
"Ouch! Jungkook, stop working out so much. Your thighs are not comfortable."
"I thought you liked my thighs."
"They're nice to look at, but not to sit on. Er.. lean on. I mean lean on."
You almost slap yourself in embarrassment.
His eyebrows shoot up and a lop-sided grin hangs on his lips.
"You can always sit on them if you like." he teases.
You quickly clamp your hand around his mouth, shutting him up for good.
"Shhhh. Let's pretend this didn't happen." you whisper, but as expected, Jungkook kisses the hand around his lips while you're at it.
This boy was gonna be the death of you.
* * *
Wandering through the streets hand in hand didn't exactly make the sun move slower towards the blue line in the horizon. It kept sinking lower and lower as if drawn by an invisible string, ignoring all of your prayers to just stay up for a little longer.
It would soon be nighttime and you knew what that meant.
Darkness.
And danger.
The horrors you'd lived through had definitely made their toll on you and even though Jungkook's reassuring hand squeezed your own every time you tensed, you couldn't help but feel a little frightened.
It was weird, how your incident had made you see things in a completely different way.
You felt jittery when you saw ropes or jagged rocks, shrunk into yourself every time an older man came near to your space.
You'd unconsciously developed a fear you didn't even know was possible.
It had been hard the first days at the hotel. Having to fight on your own, with no one by your side, unprotected.
Knowing that no one was gonna come to your rescue even if your throat turned raw from screaming.
So you'd held.
Struggled like hell.
Refused to give in to the impending doom threatening to take over you.
But now...
Now you had Jungkook, right?
The boy had been through even worse than you, but here he was, offering to be your shield from now on.
You'd surrendered yourself to him, showing him all of your fears and weaknesses and he'd quietly accepted them.
"You okay?" he says and pulls you closer to him when he notices the distance you try to keep from people bumping into you.
"Yeah." you say, wary eyes flicking in every direction. "It's just that I got used at the hotel where there were no...strangers. And lights were on the whole time."
He only nods in return.
"I sound ridiculous don't I?" you add.
"No, not at all." he objects. "I cried for two days after I did...what I had to do, and would swat away every single hand that rested on my shoulders to console me."
Your chest tightens painfully at the honesty in his words.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Jungkook."
He stops walking and turns on his side to face you.
"Hey, we talked about this. It was not your fault."
"But–"
"No buts."
You sigh deeply.
"I keep ruining the mood. We were doing fine a while ago, eating pizza and stuff."
"You're right," he says, eyes lighting up in anticipation. "We need some food. Let's go get something."
He starts to drag you along but you plant your feet on the ground.
"Aren't we spending a little too much?" you ask. "We need to save the money for the flight tickets and if you've noticed, there are no jobs lying around."
"Dammit, I hate it when you're right twice in a row."
A soft chuckle escapes your lips and you wrap your arms around his waist while looking up at him.
"Sorry, can't help it."
"Are you in for an ice-cream though?" he offers.
"Let's count the money first. We don't even know how much we have."
"Alright."
"Um... where should we do it? I don't want people to watch us."
His face distorts, trying to hold in a laughter.
"Oh my God, Jungkook, what the hell?! People accuse me of making dirty jokes all the time, but I'm starting to think you're the real pervert here."
"If I'm a pervert, then how did you know what I was thinking?"
You open your mouth but then close it, not having an argument strong enough to prove him wrong.
He looks at you expectantly, eyebrows raised.
"Yeah, yeah, alright. I'm a pervert. You're a pervert. We're all perverts. Now let's go."
You grab his shirt and force him to follow you to the beach once again.
It wasn't so crowded since it was almost nightfall and you kinda liked it better than other places.
Jungkook sits down on the sand and pulls out his satchel along with the money inside of it.
His fingers flip Euro after Euro, lips moving inaudibly as he counts to himself.
"992 Euros." he says after finishing.
"Wow."
"You earned way more than me, though. I'm ashamed."
"You only worked for one day, Kook."
"And ruined it too. I still can't believe you worked for fifteen hours."
"It's not that big of a deal. Look how toned my arms are."
You flex your biceps proudly but he pushes it down with one hand.
"Not funny." he grumbles.
Dismissing his persistence with a roll of your eyes, you grab the money from his hands and fold them neatly.
"The tickets are 600 euros each. We need at least 200 more."
"It's not that much." he says with a forced air of nonchalance. "Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy."
"How are you so confident?"
"Trust me, everything is possible when you have Jeon Jungkook by your side."
You huff a laughter through your nose.
"Can you get me my bucket hat?" he asks you.
"Why? What do you want it for?"
"It's my lucky charm."
Shaking your head in disbelief, you unzip the suitcase and retrieve the hat from its pocket, putting it a little further on the sand.
"Hey! I said to give it to me!" he whines.
"There's no need to put it on. Lucky charms don't necessarily work that way. Plus, I like seeing your hair."
He grins like a maniac.
"I'm gonna cut it soon."
"Like hell you are!" you exclaim, horrified. "I'll destroy every single pair of scissors if I have to."
His grin only grows bigger.
"Okay, then. Do whatever you want. I'm in your hands."
Damn it.
You'd started to think that it would've gotten easier to handle his flirtatious replies by now.
You were wrong.
You try to fight the furious blush spreading through your neck as you fish for some coins in your pocket and start making shots straight for the hat.
One.
Two.
Clink.
Three.
Clink.
"Wow, you're good." Jungkook breathes.
"You're not the only talented one here, Kooks."
"I beg to differ."
"Well, you can sing."
He hums in approval.
Clink.
"And dance."
Clink.
"And you're good at sports."
Clink.
"And....I don't know, man. I guess you're good at everything." you finish and throw all the coins in one go.
He throws his head back and laughs while clapping his hands like a seal.
"You're still forgetting one thing." he says in a low voice.
"What?"
"I can make you smile."
As if on cue, your lips stretch into a wide smile and it feels like pure bliss.
"Speaking of talents," he continues. "I never got to show you my new song."
You unconsciously lean forward, trembling with anticipation.
"You made a new song?"
"It's not finished yet, but I'd like it if you gave it a listen."
"Please do." you insist.
"Okay, then."
His eyes close on their own and it's like he turns into a whole new person.
It left you in shambles every single time.
The way he felt each word and sound flowing like sweet honey from his chest.
When I see you smile in the screen
You're good at everything, you're just perfect.
Feels like I've never been you.
Do you even see me?
Do you know who I am?
Or how do I look now?
You don't like me like that.
Come and tell me so much, beautiful heart
Oh how I'm gonna listen to you, please.
All the numbers too big, can't get out of your game
Oh I want to paint it like you, please.
I want to be your decalcomania
I want you
I want to be your decalcomania
I want,
I want you.
Your eyes turn blurry with unshed tears and you're ready to pounce on him and tell him it was the most beautiful thing you'd ever heard in your life, when suddenly you hear the clink of coins in the hat.
A middle aged woman smiles at Jungkook and takes her leave.
You both turn your heads and lock eyes with each other.
Busking it is.