BO-YOUNG
We stay like that for a moment. My lungs ache, reminding me that I stopped breathing the moment Jungkook caught my arm. I finally snap out of it, delivering a soft punch on his arm. Jungkook laughs, his usual happy-go-lucky demeanor back instead of the strange, much more sensual Jungkook that I'd never seen before. He steps back, slightly hunched over in his light laughter.
"You!" I say accusingly. My face is probably beet red. "You cannot do that! My heart-"
Jungkook patiently waits for me to string together a coherent sentence, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"What would you do if I suddenly just died on the spot, huh? Give me a warning next time," I say, all in one breath. When I look at Jungkook, I see that the satisfaction has left his face and has been replaced with mild surprise. Within seconds, the smirk returns tenfold, and this time it isn't satisfied, it's teasing.
"Oh, you want there to be a next time?" he asks, his tone knowing and somewhat taunting. I cover my face with my hands in abject horror at what I implied.
"Wh- what? I- well, you see-" I stutter, my thoughts muddling in embarrassment. I barely have time to notice the sound of my bones cracking before I find myself buried in a pile of my own clothes. My fight or flight response was so heavily triggered that my body decided to shift.
I can hear Jungkook approach the pile of clothes, his shoes tapping against the pavement with fervor. He moves some of the clothes out of the way to find me, still trying to process what's happening. He laughs.
"Bo-young, did you just shift out of embarrassment?" he asks between his laughter. I glare at him, hoping that my beady rabbit eyes convey the disdain I feel. He chuckles. "Cute."
He scoops up the pile of clothes into his arms, making sure I'm nestled in there safely and in a way where I wouldn't get too cold. His steps are much quicker than they were before as he speed-walks in the direction of our apartment.
I call it our apartment when, in reality, I contribute nothing financially. All Jungkook gets is my company, which, to be fair, is the best company there is. It's not like I sleep until midday and stay up so late at night that it's technically morning making strange concoctions in his kitchen and generally being noisy.
I look up at Jungkook. Even from this angle, which is usually the worst angle to be seen from, he looks great. The vibes are like when The Baron is carrying Haru up the side of the tower. Very magical.
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye, but I turn away. He continues forwards, a small smile now adorning his lips.
"Are you mad at me?" he asks, his tone not serious or worried, more light-hearted. He slows his pace so he'd be able to look at me more safely. I shake my head. "That's good," he says.
A moment of silence passes. I watch Jungkook as we pass by streetlights, enthralled by how the lighting defines his face. He looks peaceful and content, and much more comfortable than I've ever seen him before.
"When we get home, I have a surprise for you. I don't know how much of a "gift" it is, but you mentioned that-" Jungkook cuts himself off. "I can't say more without spoiling the surprise."
I can't say anything, seeing as I'm a rabbit, and rabbits physically cannot speak, but I definitely feel grateful, if not anxious. Jungkook already gave me a gift, so what on earth has he arranged now? What have I mentioned?
The familiar apartment comes into view. Jungkook struggles to open the front door, but he somehow manages. Next come the stairs. It's a bumpy ride, to say the least. When we reach his door, he places me and my clothes down on the ground, and unlocks the door.
After turning back into a human in the bathroom and redressing myself, Jungkook and I sit down on the couch.
"Okay, so," Jungkook begins, but he pauses as he fiddles with the hem of his ridiculous sweater. "A while back, you said you wanted to find your old home."
"Oh, you didn't," I say, covering my mouth with my hand to stifle my gasp. "Did you find it?"
Jungkook nods.
"It wasn't that hard. After Taehyung and I found out about the ordeal surrounding your past, it didn't take long for us to find a few articles about it, some of which had pictures of the house. The hardest part was finding which city it happened in so that we could find newspapers detailing the events," he explains.
"Oh, so it "wasn't that hard"?" I mock, imitating Jungkook. "That's a hell of a lot of work. A lot of guesswork too."
Jungkook shrugs before taking out his phone and showing me a picture of a sizeable wood-framed house. There's no doubt about it, it's my old home. I frown. For some reason, it doesn't bring me the nostalgia I once thought it would. All I wanted mere months ago was to find that house, but now, I see no point in it.
"You went through all of that work for me. I feel kind of bad," I say truthfully. Jungkook tilts his head, confused. "I wanted to find my home, but now that I'm here, that place isn't my home. To be honest, I forgot about locating my old home around two weeks into living with you."
Jungkook gives me a sweet smile, which reluctantly turns into a grin. "That's good to hear. I'm glad you can get this closure," he says, beaming. "I'm also glad that you see this place as your home."
"Jungkook, wherever you are will be like home to me."
(AN: Tbh, I hate this chapter with a burning passion. I hate cheesy things, and this chapter is v cheesy. I hope y'all like it though. I also wanted to tie up some loose ends and some plot points I never resolved.)