BO-YOUNG
My legs dangle off the side of the bed uncomfortably as I slowly stir awake. I can hear Jungkook softly snoring next to me. The sun shines through the large window, almost reaching my face.
I carefully stand up, making sure not to disturb Jungkook as I lift myself off the bed. I rub my arms with my hands, warming myself. Jungkook and I both seem to have fallen asleep while chatting. The crisp autumn air is cold, so cold that I can see Jungkook shivering. I lift the blanket over him from one end, covering him with it as well as I can.
After making sure that Jungkook is fine, I make my way downstairs. The wooden stairs creak under my weight as I tiptoe down. My mind is so preoccupied with food that I don't care much about the noises made by the old steps.
I prepare a bowl of cereal for myself before making my way to the large doors at the back of the house. Through the window, I see water in the distance. Intrigued, I walk over to the door, opening it and sauntering out.
Beyond the wooden patio is the familiar lake I saw in the painting. The water is littered with red and orange leaves, small twigs floating among the leaves. The wooden pier that was depicted in Jungkook's painting is weathered and old. A small pathway of rocks leads from the beach to the deeper end of the lake parallel to the dock.
I sit down on the edge of the patio, my legs resting on the grass next to the path leading to the pier. I shiver as the wind picks up. The door creaks open.
"You know, I was planning on bringing you here later today," Jungkook says, sitting down next to me before covering our legs with a quilt.
"I couldn't wait," I say, taking another spoonful of my cereal. "Did I wake you?"
"No- well, yes. I woke up to you walking down the steps. Thought I'd come to join you for breakfast," he tells me.
"I'm sorry. I tried to be quiet," I apologize.
"Done be sorry, I'd rather join you for breakfast than sleep in." He smiles fondly at me, his hair messier than I've ever seen it before. He looks aloof and half asleep.
"What's up with the rocks?" I ask, pointing to the line of stones.
"No clue. It's been there for as long as I remember. Sometimes we'd fish off of it," he reminisces. "The rods broke a couple of years ago, though. They were old, and no one used them anyways."
"How did they break if no one used them?" I question, now feeling much warmer thanks to the quilt.
"I may or may not have stepped on them," he replies nonchalantly.
I snort before asking: "how on earth did you manage to step on them?"
"I stepped on one, and it broke. I thought I should send the other one up to fishing rod heaven with it, so I stepped on that one too," he laughs. "I was having a bad day, but destroying some fishing rods made it better."
"I will not question your coping mechanisms," I chuckle.
"And I will not question your fears of organ harvesting ghost murderers," he teases. I lightly smack him on the arm.
"I will never live that down," I mumble to myself, knowing very well that it's a lie, and that I will probably do something even dumber within the hour.
It's silent for a moment. Jungkook is leaning back, enjoying the sun shining on him whilst I'm shivering and eating soggy cereal.
"Jungkook?" I break the silence. "Why did you stop coming here?"
Jungkook is quiet for a moment. "It's a lot of things. The last time I visited was what made me sure I didn't want to come back. There's someone who lives here who I don't want to run into," he tells me, his voice regretful and weary.
I don't know how to respond to that, so I just nod silently, settling the now-empty bowl next to me before leaning back to match Jungkook.
"That person must have done something really bad to you to make you not want to return," I say quietly. Jungkook hums in agreement.
"Not to me, but to Hoseok. He said some horrible things about him behind his back. Tried to convince Taehyung that he was a savage," he explains, becoming tender with anger. "According to him, large hybrids are always feral and dangerous."
"That's bull," I huff. "There are more accounts of small and 'domesticated' hybrids attacking humans."
"That's because the larger hybrids are never given the freedom to attack. Jimin wanted Taehyung to buy a shock collar for Hoseok 'incase he attacks one of us,'" Jungkook says, quoting his friend. Wait- Jimin?
"Park Jimin?" I ask, now sitting upright and looking at Jungkook with wide eyes.
"Yes," Jungkook replies, surprised that I know his full name.
"He was so nice to me at the store. I would have never pegged him for a hybrid hater," I sigh.
"You ran into him?" Jungkook asks, his voice slightly raised.
"Indeed I did. He approached me yesterday at the store. He helped me find the cereal, then we exchanged numbers," I tell him. Jungkook rubs his temples exasperatedly.
"I should never have sent you there alone. Of course, he was nice, you're a small hybrid who doesn't seem like they could hurt a fly," Jungkook says, sounding as if he were arguing.
"How do you know he's still like he was before? Maybe he's not as discriminative as he was back then. People change," I suggest, not wanting to believe that the cute guy with the eye smile would be shady.
"People don't change just like that, Bo-young. I do love your optimism, though," Jungkook smiles at me.
"Do you want me to delete his number?" I ask, hoping to be able to put Jungkook in a better mood.
"No, do what you want with it. I'm not going to let a personal quarrel decide how you deal with your relationships," Jungkook says, a stiff smile on his face. It's not hard to tell that he's not okay with the idea of me befriending Jimin.
"That's really thoughtful but unnecessary. I've got enough reasons to avoid him," I smile.
"A part of me hopes that he's really changed too, Bo-young. Maybe you could go see if he has," Jungkook suggests through gritted teeth. "He was my childhood friend. A part of me still doesn't believe that he'd say what he did."
1110 words
(AN: This chapter is a mess...)