Snow Storm | Jungkook 18+
βA severe snowstorm is set to hit us this weekend with temperatures dropping down to -16ΛC. It is therefore ill-advised for anyone to leave their houses during this period until the blizzard subsides as the fifth snow-induced traffic accident has been reported this week in our townβ¦β0
You have always marvelled at how the weather lady announces such things with such a passionate captivating tone.
βThe calculated probability of a city-wide power cut is currently at 72%, so please be well-equipped to stay indoors for the next two days.β
Oh shit. A power cut?
This is not good at all. Not like you have any plans for this weekend anyway, and you wouldnβt necessarily mind being stuck inside since you are good at entertaining yourself. But to possibly have no warm water, no internet in the duration of these few days?
You are currently snugly rolled up in the warmth of your blanket burrito, a mug of chamomile tea fitted in your hands, the steam of which evaporates under your chin into a slick coat. Friday evenings have never been eventful for you as long as Jimin doesnβt drag you out to some bar with him. As introverted as one can get, you much prefer staying in and watching TV or endlessly browsing the web.
The distinct rattling of keys spins your attention to the front door. Hearing the plunge of the metal into the keyhole is strangely satisfying to your ears. In steps a pink-nosed, frost-dusted Jungkook, all wrapped up in winter apparel thick enough to make him waddle clumsily.
A gust of cold flares inside from the harsh outdoors, stray flakes of snow flying in after him and landing on the rich oak tiles of the foyer. From the couch, you see his silhouette breathe out a visible grey huff. The door behind him falls shut, once again entrapping the warm temperature into the confines of these walls.
You watch your roommate, humming to himself with his black earpods hooked in his ears, as he unties the scarf around his neck. He probably hasnβt noticed your presence yet; heβs always been a little clueless afterall.
Then he looks up and meets your lingering gaze.
You both jump a little, his humming ceases instantly, eyes scrambling, darting away to your surroundings: the quiet television, the arching lamp, the white powdered window panes. Anywhere but at each other.
Clearing your throat, you greet him softly . βHi.β Your thumb rubs at the lip-shaped tea stain on the rim of your mug.
βUm, hi. Good evening, noona.β He dips his head at you, hood drooping lower over his head. You are two years his senior, and despite your supposed familiarity, he insists on formalities.
The weather lady has now been replaced with the anchorman, who is droning on about the car accident this morning. Awkwardness hangs in the air between you, as it always does every time you speak. Itβs now your turn to say something, youβre painfully aware. But what do you say?
βSnow storm.β It is a statement more than anything. As if he hasnβt noticedβ¦ Nice one. You immediately want to hide your face in the mint furry throw youβre wrapped in.
βYeah. Snow storm.β The rubbery sound of the careless removal of his shoes against the floor is louder than his response. βJimin didnβt make it.β
Your blood freezes. βWait what?! Oh my god! What happened to him?β It takes the blanket sliding off you for you to realise that youβve stood up abruptly. Your body is immediately flushed with a breeze of cold, devoid of insulation.
The car accidentβ¦ It canβt beβ¦
Jungkookβs attention flickers to the glaring screen as he paces towards you and realises how he mustβve sounded. βWoah, sorry, I worded it badly. I mean, Jiminβs stuck at Taehyungβs because the snow is too thick for him to drive back. And the service on his phone is whack, so he canβt reach you. Taehyung told me. Sorry, I didnβt mean he didnβt make it.β Nervous chuckle. Scratching the back of his head.
Never has he said this many words to you in one go, this must be a record. That, as well as your own silly misunderstanding of his words, makes you release a humoured breath. βOh rightβ¦ Hahaβ¦ Iβm stupid.β
βNo. my bad.β
Wow. If you two keep this up, this might just be your longest running conversation in the history of living together.
Because heβs looking at the floor rather than you, you feel the liberation to look directly at his face. His round nose is red from the freezing temperature, his teeth gnawing at his chapped lips. You follow his gaze travel across the dark wooden panels, reaching a halt at your feet.
βYouβve got a hole in your sock, noona.β He states.
Indeed you do. Under his wide-eyed glare, you canβt help but curl your toes inwards as if it would hide your pinkie jutting out of the fabric. The way he addresses you, how his lips form a pouted ring when he pronounces the βooβ, makes you particularly self conscious. βOhβ¦ Yeah, I know, itβs fine. Itβs my only pair of fuzzy socks.β These socks have sheltered your feet for three winters only to betray you now, during a bloody blizzard. The icy floor licks at your exposed skin tauntingly.
Silence draws taut between you. Like youβre tied to opposite ends of a string and are both trying desperately to escape, to walk away from each other.
Itβs his move nowβ¦ Why isnβt he saying something? But at the same time, what can he possibly respond to βItβs my only pair of fuzzy socks.β?
βRightβ¦ See you.β Jungkook nods politely and heads for his room. And you know you probably wonβt see him reemerge until tomorrow; itβs practically his batcave in there.
A shudder courses through your body. Though itβs not from the cold but rather the embarrassment of that encounter. Quickly switching off the TV, you hide back in the comforts of your blanket like a Halloween ghost and scurry into your own room to avoid seeing him again.
.
Jeon Jungkook.
Even the thought of his name makes you crease inward involuntarily like itβs some bad memory. Despite having lived under the same roof for more or less six months, neither of you have warmed to the other in the slightest. Itβs not that you have anything against him; youβre sure he must be a lovely boy, butβ¦
Well, when you put two shy individuals next to each other, you canβt really expect them to bond over their bashfulness. No, they both tend to retract into their shells.
How you came about living together is three simple syllables: Park Jimin. If it wasnβt for this one common thread you share, your worlds would never have collided.
Ever the caring friend, it goes without saying that Jimin would rent out his vacant room in his three-bedroom house to you without even a second of hesitation after Hoseok ditches the boys to move in with his girlfriend. Youβve met all his friends before. Jimin is a social butterfly afterall, how could he resist forcing all his best mates into a confined space and make them talk to each other, or more commonly known as a party?
Namjoon and you get along just fine, seeing as you both are whores for literature. Seokjin? As long as you compliment his cooking and force a giggle at his jokes, heβll accept your friendship. Surprisingly, Yoongi took a liking to you; you guess is due to your mild mellow nature which must clear his headaches caused by this chaotic bunch. Unsurprisingly, Hoseok took a liking to you, well, because heβs Hoseok and incapable of negativity. Much to Jiminβs jealousy, you have a soft spot for Taehyung, his mysterious charm and boyish charisma; your friendship was almost instant.
But then Jungkookβ¦
Your introduction was a blur of awkward hellos and unmet eyes. Every time you spoke to each other, itβs a nervous stutter from him or unwarranted silence from you. Worse, if the two of you happened to bump into each other in public, neither of you knew whether or not to say hi and commence a conversation like normal acquainted people, so it always ended up being an uncomfortably long pause before nodding out of courtesy then parting ways. Itβs not like you belong to the same friendship group and see each other every week or anything.
Jungkookβs playful childisness shines brightly when surrounded by the boys, witch-cackle laugh and all. However, for some reason unbeknownst to anyone, this goofy side to him is immediately switched off in your presence, as if youβre the rain that extinguishes the flame of his candle. His body stiffens, eyes widen, voice stammers. Which only leads you to mirror his behaviour.
βHeβs just really uncomfortable around girls.β Jimin has tried to offer the only plausible explanation. βPoor kid went to an all boysβ school his whole life, has only ever had one girlfriend who dumped him on their one year anniversary. Your femaleness scares him.β
That would be kind of cute, you guess, if you werenβt also a socially-uncomfortable hermit who requires soft gentle prodding in order to befriend. Because then you become two logs sitting beside each other, neither willing to inch towards the other.
Forgive Jiminβs mistake of thinking that sharing a roof would change this. Because how wrong was heβ¦ If anything, it only led to increased timidity around each other.
When you first moved in, Jungkook was eager to help you carry and unpack everything, seeing as he is the most physically apt person in the house. So you thought that it was his first step towards you, and that your dynamic was finally making progress into becoming one thatβs more comfortable. He even lingered around your room the first few days with Jimin to help you open all your cardboard boxes.
However, he has since struggled to utter more than five words to you. Which has continued forth until this day. In the morning rush to class, you never encounter him due to your proneness to punctuality and his to tardiness. If you ever do, itβs only ever just a quick good morning, noona without looking up from his cereal. You both enjoy the safety of your own rooms, hence rarely peak your head out unless itβs for food. Jimin is always the one to drag you out by the foot, even if its just to his room or the sofa to watch a film with him. You say drag, but really you just enjoy seeing Jimin all pouty and whiny and sucking up to you in order to earn precious quality time with you; you actually enjoy being around Jimin. Itβs worse for Jungkook though because he has his own ensuite bathroom, orders Deliveroo instead of coming out to eat with you two, and only ever joins social gatherings that youβre also involved in if a high enough bribe is offered.
Hence the time you and Jungkook are exposed to each other gradually diminished over time despite being roommates. At first you only suspected, but now you know for a fact, that he is purposely avoiding you like the plague.
It baffles you, if Jiminβs theory is true, how he could possibly be scared of you, regardless of his shyness towards the female specimen. Look at you, youβre this soft-mannered, quiet-spoken creature with a meek presence. You have more reason to be intimidated by his melon-sized biceps and aggressive shouts that echo from his room when heβs gaming at 2am.
So due to this mutually reciprocated mousiness, this awkward friendship-but-not-quite thing, has never been overcome in these months.
This is not a result of lack of trying, at least from your end. You do try to talk to him, exerting enough friendliness to burst your balloon of introversion. And you suppose he does make as much effort as he can as well. He once left you a note telling you to help yourself to the leftover pizza in the fridge. On your birthday, he gave you a card in which he drew cute little cartoon illustrations of you three housemates and wrote a short message.
Happy birthday, Y/N noona!
You are such a kind person, I hope we can speak more.
Jungkook :)
You thought the exclamation mark and smiley face were above and beyond for his standards. It made you smile for the rest of the day.
.
Itβs 6:23pm and your growling stomach is exacerbated by the cold that has made itself at home in your bones. Youβve always been an early dinner person while Jimin and Jungkook are the opposite.
Youβve managed to get a hold of Jimin through Taehyung; your FaceTime call with him lasted a total of twelve minutes before the connection got too poor that it hung up on its own. Berating Jimin for leaving you alone with Jungkook, especially in this snow storm where everyone is basically on house arrest, all he did was laugh at your feign annoyance. You know it isnβt Jiminβs fault but you still like to blame him for all the awkward predicaments that are bound to happen.
After this chapter of the book youβre reading, youβll go out to the kitchen and make some dinner, you decide.
Wait a second⦠Do you even have enough food in the pantry to last a whole weekend? Particularly since Jungkook can easily demolish three bowls of rice and a whole pound of meat, and still have room for dessert?
Looking out the window, you realise itβs snowing way too hard for you to feel confident to pop to the nearest grocery store without slipping and dying.
Shit! What are you going to eat these few days? Especially since the electricity can cut any minute?
Just then, you hear the echo of the front door shutting. Oh noβ¦ Jungkook did not just go out in this weather. He probably noticed the lack of food as well and decided to go for a shop. You know what heβs like, heβs a boy whoβs really certain of his capabilities, over certain in fact. He probably does not see the hazard of leaving the house in such heavy snow, especially in the evening. Because nothing stands in the way between Jungkook and Food.
Do you go after him? Hell, if you do, you would probably get lost somewhere and slowly freeze to your inevitable death. You can barely navigate in perfect daylight.
Scrambling for your phone, you begin searching for his number. Youβve embarrassingly only called him once, and that was when you and Jimin got locked out of the house after a pub night.
No one is picking up.
In fact, when you check your screen, you donβt even have signal. The blizzard must be getting so bad that itβs refracting the radio waves. Which means itβs even worse for Jungkook to be out right now.
Heβs such an idiot. Why did he think itβs okay to just take a walk to the supermarket right now in the middle of a snow storm? Youβre such an idiot. Why were you too lazy to stock up on food during the day?
You pace around your room, phone clutched in your hand in case you miraculously get signal somehow. How on earth would you explain to Jimin that your roommate, his friend, whom he left in your care since youβre his senior, went out in a blizzard to buy food that you were supposed to have gotten this morning, and ended up dead from hypothermia?
Are you overreacting? Surely youβre overreacting. Everything is going to be fine! Deep breaths.
Heβs going to come back any minute now and see you losing your mind over nothing. Right? Right.
Jungkook isnβt going to die. Youβre being paranoid. Ridiculous. Overly anxious as usual.
But you canβt help yourself from pressing your face against your window to try to peek outside for a sign of him. The glass is ice cold against your skin, and it sends a blood-chilling shock through your veins. You can barely make out any shapes in the sea of greys and whites.
If you canβt even see out the window, how is he walking outside right now?
Screw it, youβre going to find him.
Youβre a tornado getting dressed, whipping on your massive faux-fur lined puffer coat over two layers of fleece. A pair of gloves, double layer of socks, snow boots. Useless phone and hand warmers shoved in your pockets, you storm out of the house.
The cold that greets you burns up your nostrils and painfully invade your lungs. Snow is flying directly at your face, and youβre barely sheltered by your hood as you feel the icy flakes stab at your skin and melt away. Step by wary step, you steadily walk off your porch, careful not to slip. Your heart leaps out of your chest when your feet sink down at least 10 inches of snow, your squeal is muffled by the scarf youβre using as a ski mask.
Itβs now been at least 10 minutes since heβs left. Jungkook is a fast walker, but in the snow, perhaps you could catch up with him.
The flickering lamp posts light up the night, but they may as well not be working because all you can see is white. Barely able to keep your eyes open, and batting away the heavy wind thatβs threatening to blow you over, you trek in the direction of the local supermarket.
You donβt know how much time has passed when you realise that you donβt recognise the way anymore. Everything is a blur of snow. The cars, houses, street signs. All snow. Google maps is failing you; youβve given up removing your gloves each time, your fingers instantly freezing at the exposure, to zoom in or rotate the navigation which keeps hopping from location to location.
Youβre utterly and undeniably - lost.
Stopping dead in your tracks, you just plop down on your ass in defeat.
Where the hell are you? Where the hell is Jungkook?
Fear and frustration bubbles in your chest. It must have been half an hour now since you left the house. Surely he should be back, and surely he wouldβve intercepted you on the way. That could either mean one of two possibilities: he got lost, slash, injured, slash, died on his way, or you have somehow strayed from the route to the store and heβs now frantically searching for you.
The lump in your throat festers into a ball of panic and despair. Looking around you, thereβs absolutely no one. Just eerily-still buildings and snow-hidden cars. The only sound is the howl of the winter gust and your own uneven breathing.
Youβre scared, and cold, and alone.
Why the hell did you think you could find him in this snow storm? You watch your warm visible exhale disperse in the icy air, the stinging of desperate tears piercing the back of your eyes. What are you supposed to do now?
And then it hits you. Perhaps you could trace your steps back since your feet have imprinted a trail in the snow. Looking behind you, you see that the downpour of snow has already began filling the footprints nearest to you. Youβre praying that they havenβt already entirely covered your earlier steps closer to the house.
Gathering yourself together, you exert a lot of effort to stand up from the ground. Your butt is now wet, and a damp chill is seeping into your underwear. Determined, you follow your footsteps, which are growing fainter, back home.
Youβre hoping you recognise the way now, that youβre not just convincing yourself that the street looks familiar.
Then an awful realisation hits you.
Both your hands are stuffed into your pockets, holding those hand-warming packets and your phone. But not your keys. You forgot your keys.
βFuck!β Cursing is rare for you, but anyone would probably deem this situation as a very reasonable one to swear at.
Hot gushes of tears begin flooding down your face, painting streaks of cold that freeze over in a matter of seconds. How could you be this dumb? The snow is getting heavier right now. Checking the time on your phone, itβs 7 oβclock. The streetlights are dimming due to the weather, and the pitch dark night is starting to settle in around you.
You sink to a crouch.
This is it then, you guess. Youβve met your inexorable demise, rooted from your own stupidity. And Jungkook.
You canβt believe youβre going to die trying to find Jungkook in a goddamn snow storm.
The quiet sobs and sniffles that escape you are muted by the hood around your ears. A shiver overtakes your body as your muscles tremble as a last attempt to keep you alive. Your whole face is numb, teeth clattering, eyes clamped shut to stop the tears from freezing on your cheeks.
βNoona?β
The voice is muffled but you recognise it instantly. Your eyes fly open to see a pair of shoes halted in front of you. You look up.
And there Jungkook is, eyes wide in shock, quivering lips parted in concern, carrying four plastic bags full of food and supplies. The streetlight situated directly behind him shines a halo around his head, painting a heavenly image of him. Youβve never been more glad to see anyone in your life.
Unable to contain yourself, you fling your ice-stiffened arms around his waist and bury your face in his coat-clad torso. Your knees give in and hit the ground. New tears spring from your eyes, but this time itβs tears of relief, tears of joy, tears of gratitude. A surge of his warmth washes over you, and all of a sudden, the cold cannot touch you.
βW-What happened? Are you- Are you okay?β Jungkook is rooted to the ground, he wants to wrap an arm around your small head or help you up but his hands are full with the groceries.
Gripping his sleeves, you tug yourself up to face him. You probably look like a mess, red eyes, nose and cheeks. But you donβt care. Jungkook is alive, youβre alive, and youβve found each other. βYeah, Iβm fine, Jungkook. Everything is fine.β
βYouβre crying, noona.β His ears are neatly tucked under his black knitted beanie.
βNot anymore, Iβm good now.β Ferociously wiping the liquids profusely leaking out of your orifices, you give him the biggest grin your frozen cheek muscles would allow. βLetβs go home. Do you need help with the bags?β
βNo, donβt worry about them.β
Standing an inch apart, you walk side by side following his lead, assuming he knows the way. The material of your coats scrape at each other when either of you leans a bit too far towards the other.
βWhat are you doing out here though?β He asks quietly.
What are you doing out here? How do you give him an explanation that does not depict you as an idiot? Because once again, youβve been stupid and dramatic and stressed over absolutely nothing. Itβs twice in the same day now that you thought one of your roommates have died. When both of them turned out to be alive and well.
βUmβ¦ Well, I thought it was dangerous for you to go outside alone in this weather, especially since itβs getting darkβ¦ I tried calling you but had no signal so, uh, I decided toβ¦ uh, come out to find youβ¦β Embarrassment begins to creep itβs way to your senses, it claws digging into your skin.
You peak at him in your peripheral vision to see him stiffen, eyes eerily focused on the snowy path in front. What is he thinking? Is he going to laugh at you? Think youβre dumb? Find you weird and obsessive?
βOhβ¦ Um.β Clearing his throat, he glances at you and you quickly look away. Flustered. βYou didnβt have to, Iβm fine. I know this neighbourhood like the back of my hand, noona.β
βYeah, but you took so long. I got worriedβ¦β You whisper the last bit.
An awkward pause is birthed. Your fists tighten around the hand warmers in your pockets.
βI- Iβm sorry for worrying you, noona.β You hear his own fists tighten around the handle of bags as well, the plastic crinkling. βThe supermarket around the corner was shut so I had to find another one that wasnβt. I made it just in time, though, right before this one closed as well. Then I also had to find a store that sells those so-β He stops abruptly when he realises that heβs rambling.
βSells what?β
βDoesnβt matter.β Jungkook mumbles.
Another silence. The night has fallen, looking around, if it isnβt for the scarce light casted by the lamp posts, everything would be pitch dark. Youβre so glad youβre not alone. Worse come to worse, you wouldβve had to knock on these random houses and beg them to take you in for the night.
βWait,β he says, βThat doesnβt explain why you were crying.β
Well, crap. What are you supposed to say?
βUhhβ¦ Well, I got lost and my phone wasnβt working, soβ¦ I just kinda panicked.β If your face wasnβt red from the cold and embarrassment from before, it definitely is now. You feel the blood pumping to your head, enough to make you sway a little.
βOh shit. Iβm sorry, that was all my fault. I- I shouldβve told you I was popping out in the first place. Ugh, noona, Iβm sorry.β Youβve never seen him display much emotion towards you, but currently, seeing him so alive with exasperationβ¦ Itβs kind of endearing.
Screw earlier, this is the longest conversation the two of you have had, ever.
βNo, Jungkook, stop apologising. It wasnβt your fault at all!β
To be fair, you couldnβt have wandered that far if Jungkook found you on his way back from whatever shop he went to; you mustβve been close at least.
And so you two arrive safely to your house. Carefully wobbling up the porch slippery with slush, you stop in front of the door.
He looks at you expectantly. βKeys, noona?β Of course, his hands are full.
Here you are, thinking you couldβve gotten away with not telling him you had moronically left your keys at home. βUm, I forgot to bring them with me.β You utter, then add. βI was in a hurry.β
For a second, Jungkook looks like heβs about to tell you off for endangering yourself with such stupidity. But he just lets out a half-laugh half-sigh and bites down on his lip. βMine are in my left, no, right back jean pocket.β
Right. He is asking you to get his keys from his back pocket.
His back pocket.
You freeze.
Youβve never so much as touched Jungkook, if you donβt count brushing shoulders. Hugging him back there was purely out of hysteria, which you retracted from the second you registered your action. Now, youβre going to grope his ass. This day just keeps getting you more familiar with him, doesnβt it?
Gulping, you suck up your cowardice and slide your hand into his back pocket, intentionally not looking at him while doing so. The firmness of his buttcheek fits snugly in your palm while your index finger hooks around his keyring. And what the hell, you strangely get the urge to squeeze it.
You yank your hand out of there before it can betray you and act on that impulse. Glimpsing up, you see that his cheeks are also crimson as he stares up at the ceiling a little too attentively.
.
After changing into some warm dry clothes and setting your snow-dampened ones on the radiator, you go out to the kitchen to see Jungkook cooking some ramen, which doesnβt come as a surprise as he practically lives off them. Heβs dressed in sweatpants and a black hoodie; after cupping his ass through his back pocket, you canβt help but notice how round his rear is, especially in those bottoms.
God, what is wrong with you? You cannot seriously be checking Jungkookβs ass out.
This time his hood his down, and you appreciate how fluffy his hair is starting to grow. You canβt help but wonder what it sme-
Woah.
Why are you thinking so much about Jungkook?
Truth be told, that scare he gave you just now opened your eye as to how much you actually care about him. Despite never really saying much to each other, you guess youβve grown a sort of fondness for him that you didnβt realise you have. Itβs only natural; you have known each other for close to a year now, and half of which was spent under the same roof. Of course you would worry for his well being, you tell yourself.
The kitchen fan must be blocking his hearing because he doesnβt sense your approach, heβs singing softly to himself. Heβs got a lovely voice, both your roommates do. But whereas Jimin sings loudly and proudly, Jungkook only does so in the shower or when he doesnβt think anybody is listening.
When he notices you finally, youβre peering over his shoulder. He jumps. You jump. The chopsticks heβs using to stir the noodles fly out of his hands, clattering on the counter.
βOh jeez, you scared me.β He picks up the chopsticks.
βSorry.β You squeak and take a step back when you realise your proximity.
βHahaβ¦β He chuckles nervously, embarrassed. βNoona, you like jajangmyeon, right?β
Do you like jajangmyeon? You live and breathe jajangmyeon. You canβt go a week without jajangmyeon. Youβve had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner before all in one day. Those noodles in that sauceβ¦ Mmmβ¦
βYeah, theyβre my favourite.β Is all you say though, you figure he probably doesnβt care for a whole speech about your love for them. Surely he knows at this point, there isnβt a single day in this house where the ramen cupboard is devoid of jajangmyeon.
βGreat, Iβm making you some.β
Oh. Jungkook is cooking for you. A warmth creeps into your cheeks, and youβre not sure why.
βYou donβt have to, Jungkook. Just cook for yourself, Iβll make myself dinner after you.β But then your stomach chooses now to bellow aloud like a bullfrog traitorously. You look at him, abashed.
A smile is playing at his lips, though heβs trying not to show it.
βGo sit down, noona. Itβll be ready in a second.β His eyes are fixed on the bubbling water, chopsticks hauling up the softening noodles to check their texture. Though youβve never tasted his cooking, you donβt doubt ramen mastery, so you nod compliantly.
The bags of shopping are half unpacked on the dining table, so you decide to finish sorting them out. Heβs bought gimbap, bread, cheese, some salad, mostly food that doesnβt require cooking; you can tell he has thought ahead for the potential blackout.
Then something else in the bag catches your eye.
βDinnerβs ready.β Jungkook carries two bowls of brown noodles, garnished with sausage and cucumber, just the way you like it.
He sets the bowls opposite each other on the end of the table thatβs not packed with groceries. This feels extremely weird and domestic. Although you live together, you donβt remember the last time youβve had a meal together on this table, just the two of you without Jimin. Yet now, youβre about to eat jajangmyeon that he cooked for you, right across each other. Extremely weird.
βThank you so much for cooking, Jungkook.β You bow your head at him politely and take a seat opposite him.
βYouβre welcome, noona.β He also mirrors your action. You can kind of understand why it must be so annoying to Jimin how youβre so formal to each other, it must sound so forced and awkward.
Which is what this meal is going to be. Forced and Awkward.
Jungkook waits for you to take the first bite before digging, which you have to do so without rolling your eyes back and moaning out loud in satisfaction. Jajangmyeon tastes so flipping good! Your one and only true love.
Youβre too focused on slurping down the noodles that you donβt notice him smiling fondly at the rare sight of you so blatantly excited.
The meal goes by quietly, neither of you are talkers to begin with, much less while eating. Whether itβs because itβs your favourite dish, or because itβs a freezing cold winter day, or even maybe because itβs Jungkookβs own cooking, the food tastes especially scrumptious.
βThis is delicious.β Your eyes are practically glowing at him; he shys away from the praise by sipping on his can of coke. Who drinks coke in this weather? A smile stretches your lips at the oddity of this boyβs taste.
Jungkook mumbles a thanks, avoiding your eye as usual. But the jajangmyeon has put you in a good mood, youβre feeling rather chatty actually. βAlso, Jungkook, I saw you bought-β You dig into one of the grocery bags and pull out what you spotted earlier.
βOh yeah.β Jungkook stares at the two-pack of fluffy socks in your hand, wearing a slightly mortified expression. βUmβ¦ I thoughtβ¦ you could do with some new ones.β
Surprised, your whole body tenses. You had thought he bought them for himself after seeing you wear yours so comfortably. All thought flaps away from your mind like a flock of frightened birds, leaving an empty field. He- Why- What do you-
βOh.β Clearing your throat, you murmur. βWow, thank you so much.β Unable to look at him for any longer, your eyes fall onto your noodles. Your hand holding the socks drop onto the table at the weight of his kindness. Then a realisation creeps up on you. βWaitβ¦ They donβt sell these socks in supermarketsβ¦β
Glancing up, you find him fiddling with his fingers nervously. βUh. I went to another shop that does.β
Knots upon knots begin to tie in your stomach. So thatβs why he took so long out there, not only did he have to find another supermarket that was open, he also searched for a store that sells fuzzy socks. For you.
Why do you feel so warm everywhere?
When you fall into a silent trance of your own thinking, Jungkook gets worried. βNoona, do you not like them? Did I get the wrong ones?β
βNo, no, no!β You frantically dispute, forcing yourself to look at him. βThese are perfect! Iβm just surprisedβ¦ and touched. Thatβs all. Jungkook, you really didnβt have to.β The fabric of the socks feel heavenly to touch, your thumb sinks into the clouds of its softness. Truly, this has taken you by surprise and you donβt know how to react.
βItβs okayβ¦β Redness blooms across his cheeks like drops of watercolour.
First he cooks you your favourite meal, then he buys you fuzzy socks? Is this the same Jungkook youβve been living with all these months?
βNo, hereβ¦β You rip open the card of the packet and snap the plastic wire that holds the four socks together. βTake a pair, I only need one anyway.β
At you waving the socks in front of him, he leans back in refusal, shaking his head and muttering a string of no no noβs. Youβre not at all a strong-willed person by any means, but youβre not backing down on this, not when heβs been so lovely to you all night. When he realises that you wonβt take no for an answer, he sighs, scratching the back of his ears. βOkay, okay. You can have the mint ones.β
One pair is mint and the other is pink. You blink. He wants the pink ones?
When he realises what must be going through your head, he quickly says, βMint is your favourite colour right?β
Mint is your favourite colour. Though how does he know? All your possessions are in a variety of pastels: baby blue, cotton candy pink, mint green and lilac purple. He couldnβt have possibly guessedβ¦?
βYes, it isβ¦ But I seriously donβt mind if you want the mint ones, Iβm not gonna make you take the pink ones.β
βNo, itβs fine. I donβt mind.β Jungkook snatches the pink fluffy socks from you before you can argue and stuff them onto his lap.
Your heart does a little thing that you canβt describe.
The two of you finish your dinner in silence, mirroring each other with one hand gripping the socks ever so tightly and the other hand picking up the noodles with your chopsticks. Awkwardly, Jungkook take a glimpse at you. A tiny smear of sauce stains the corner of your mouth.
Does he tell you? It would make it awkward though, wouldnβt it? But then again, it would be worse for you to find out yourself when you look in the mirror and think that he didnβt tell you you have sauce on your face.
βSauce.β He accidentally says before he could finish formulating what heβs going to say to you. Shit. Whatβs wrong with him? Why did he say it like that? In response to your confused expression, he gestures dumbly at the corner of his own mouth.
Instantly a blush flames across the apples of your cheeks. You are about to wipe it away with your sleeve when you realise a second too late that youβre wearing a white sweater.
Your hand dangles a centimetre from your face, wrist caught in Jungkookβs fingers as he notices the mistake in your action before you. His whole body is leaned over the table in order to reach you. Wide eyes locked on each other, neither of you dare to move at his sudden outburst of motion towards you.
βUm.β He peeps. βCareful, Iβll do it, noona.β
Before you can register, he lets go of your arm allowing it to fall onto your lap. When his index knuckle brushes against the end of your mouth, a wave of shock zaps down your spine. Your heart lurches down an abyss at how soft his skin feels on your sensitive lips. Then his touch is gone, leaving a warmth tingling in his wake.
As he looks around for something to wipe his finger on, pupils round like a puppy, your eyes refuse to leave him. Thank you sits at the tip of your tongue but your throat is too clogged to utter a sound. The clockworks are trying to turn in your brain but all you can focus on is Jungkook.
How is he this nice, kind, gentle boy? And how have you completely missed this about him? In fact, why have you been so demure with him when heβsβ¦ an angel?
Watching his tongue poke at the inside of his cheek, a much scarier thought dawns on you.
Do you have a crush on Jungkook?
.
White screen glaring at you, the words of your unfinished essay frowns at your lack of attention in disapproval. You canβt write about Jane Austenβs exploration of feminism when Jungkook has overtaken your capacity to concentrate on anything other than him.
The radiator by your desk acts as your foot rest, blazing the pleasant heat up your legs. Ever few seconds, your eyes would wander to those mint green fuzzy socks youβre wearing, so brand new that its fluff caresses your toes like a flower bed. Just the thought that he went out of his way to replace your old hole-ridden pairβ¦
Stop.
Jane Austen. Focus.
But the phantom touch of his finger sweeping across the plump of your bottom lip is etched on your skin, the picture of his doe eyes staring at your mouth refusing to leave your memory.
What has happened to you? How have you just swung from two extremes: from hardly able to speak a word to him without stuttering, to daydreaming about his kindness towards you?
The cold is making you delirious. It has to be this godforsaken cold, because why else would you all of a sudden be so flustered from the thought of Jungkook?
You take a long hard sip of your coffee, and mark it as a new leaf. From now on, no more thinking about anyone else other than Jane Austen. Pushing up your sleeves, you straighten your slouching back and face the monster of you assignment head on.
Not 5 minutes later, your desk lamp begins to flicker. You throw it a quick glance as your fingers type on your keyboard. Weird, you just changed the bulb a few weeks ago. Nevermind it.
Then all of a sudden, all the lights in your room go out. Frowning, you get up and try the switch several times to no avail. Peaking outside your room, all that greets you is a cold darkness. So you turn on the flashlight on your phone and try other light switches of the house. Nothing. Even the heat begins to seep away from the heaters as they dim to a cool. Oh no, right now?
Using your phone as a torch, you pad towards Jungkookβs room and open his door before you can remember to knock. Perhaps your anxiety has overridden your common sense and courtesy. Unfamiliar with the orientation of his room, you trail your side against the wall to guide you.
βJungkook? I think the powerβs ou-β
Your phone shines onto a tall silhouette, illuminating a view that makes you shriek and stumble back.
There he is, standing with a white towel around his waist, beads of water splattered across his naked body and dripping rapidly out his wet slicked back hair. The swell of his biceps catch your attention first, lined with prominent veins running all the way down to his large hands placed on his hips. Which leads your gaze to the illustrious v of his hips that arch down to-
Without meaning to, your eyes travel down to this bulge. His hefty unmissable bulge. The towel protrudes out like a tiny hill, and you want to scream at it.
If you had a drink in your mouth right now, you would surely spit it out all over him and choke to your death. But you donβt, so all that comes out of you is a strangled cat noise. Looking away from that sinful area as quickly as you can, you arrive at his face - shocked, alarmed and confused. Your cheeks burning in the flames of hell, you spin away hastily to sprint out of his room in horror.
Except you run into the wall.
The impact hits your forehead and thankfully not your nose. Phone flung onto the ground with the light facing up, you fall onto you knees clutching at the eruption of pain. But nothing hurts more than your pride and image.
βNoona!β One hand securing the towel covering his manhood and preserving his dignity, he scrambles over to help you despite himself.
You flinch away at his hand on your shoulder because he is now right beside you. And itβs as if youβve zoomed in too far on a picture because his nakedness is suddenly magnified 100x. You want to Ctrl Z yourself out of his room and back into your own desk. Because what. the. hell.
What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?
Transfixed on the ridges of this abdomen, you cannot focus on anything other than the way his muscles groove up and down so smoothly to form a six pack. Shadows casted by the flashlight sculpting more definition onto his marble chest. Goosebumps are raised on his blemishless skin, which you almost want to stroke away with your warmth.
βIβm okay, Iβm okay, Iβm okay.β You chant cataleptically in a daze. Itβs more for your own reassurance than his. His bare upper body needs to let you breathe.
βAre you sure?β His concern is apparent in his expression, eyes examining your entire face for your injury.
βYes, yes.β Desperately wanting to shoo him away, you wince at the pulsing ache burgeoning in your forehead.
βIβm sorry.β You both say in unison, though neither of you understand why the other is apologising.
Though he seems abashed about being shirtless, his humiliation comes nowhere near your level. Why isnβt he scrambling to put a shirt on?
To be fair Jungkook does seem awfully self conscious, youβve caught him looking down at himself for about the fifteenth time now as he helps you up to your feet.
βIβll let you get dressed, sorry.β Is all you say after snatching your phone off the ground, not even bothering to check for a cracked screen, before making your timely escape. This time more successful than the last.
Clutching your throbbing head, you race to your room and catapult onto your bed. The picture of a wet, shirtless Jungkook with only a towel to shield you from his crotch is now ingrained in your mind. You think shutting your eyes will help but you still see his divine abs behind your lids.
Holy shit.
What perhaps scares you more is how attracted you are to him. Since when did you find your roommate hot? This is shy, quiet Jungkook who plays overwatch until 4am. How dare he have a Greek Godβs body to confuse you like this?
You need to stop thinking about his naked body right now.
Instead you check outside your window to see that the streetlights are off as well; it must be a blackout across the whole town, if not city. Without heating, the cold air begins to harshly sting your exposed skin. Panic starts to fester in your chest. How long can you last with no electricity whatsoever? You donβt even have phone signal, or something to charge your phone with except the one portable charger that may or may not be dead right now.
Though your door is wide open, Jungkook knocks on it politely outside your room. Which is what you shouldβve done with him, you mentally scold yourself. Though he is now dressed in an oversized hoodie, your image of him is forever changed after seeing him fresh out the shower, hair still dripping. You blink hard in attempt to rid that thought.
βHiβ¦β He whispers. Heβs holding two burning candles against his chest, their flames lighting up the underside of his sharp jaw.
βHi, come in.β
You can sense his hesitancy, the unease in the air between you, when he enters your room gingerly, feet clad in those pink fuzzy socks.
βSorry-β You both say at the same time again, then release a breath of laughter. Mirth twinkles in his eyes, though his shyness does not stray from him.
βIβm sorry for barging into your room like that.β Itβs an effort not to glance down at his adorable socks. βThat was completely my fault, so donβt apologise.β
He swallows. βItβs okay, noona.β
His eyes hold yours for a solid moment before dispersing. A familiar blush is starting to paint your cheeks, you feel the heat from your chest blare up to your entire face. Unable to help imagining those solid muscles underneath his clothes, you tug at the hem of your sweater.
βSo,β Jungkook places one of the candles on your desk. βThis is for you.β
βThanks.β
βInstead of using the flashlight of your phone, use the candle or one of the torches Iβve put on the table outside to save your battery. Iβve checked the main fuse, it isnβt switching back on. Good thing is that we still have running water and plumbing, just no heating or any electricity.β He glances at your own socks. βWe need to use the water sparingly though or the reservoir will run out. From the shops, Iβve bought some food that we can eat without cooking like gimbap or sandwiches. Thereβs also a stash of hand warmers in the drawer of the TV stand if youβre cold.β
Thatβs a lot of words to come out of Jungkookβs mouth in one go, all spoken to you. What heβs saying is sinking in and relief washes over you, yet you canβt help but focus your attention on the way his lips move as he speaks. The dark red gleaming with lip balm, curving over each syllable so prettily.
βThatβs great, thank you.β You finally snap out of it. βIβm so glad youβre here.β That last sentence slips out of you before you could stop it.
Pupils widening a fraction, Jungkookβs lips part in reaction. Why did you tell him that? Maybe you should just lock yourself in your room after continuously embarrassing yourself tonight. But then he pulls into a smile that melts away the ice thatβs numbing your limbs and burning your lungs. The front of his teeth slightly jutting out sweetly.
Again, a fondness tickles your chest.
βMe too.β The tingle spreads into a pulse that crushes your throat. Is that why they call it a crush?
You simply cannot suppress your own growing grin.
Jungkook begins to walk away, but then stops at your door and turns back. Thereβs a reluctance, an uncertainty to his slow movement as he faces you.
βIfβ¦ If you get too cold without the radiatorβ¦ you canβ¦β His voice barely a husk. βYou can come over to mine.β
Then heβs gone. The aura lit up by his candle gradually diminishes away from you as he walks down the hallway to his room.
Frozen in place, youβre not even sure if your heart is beating anymore. Those final words ring in your ear like wind chimes.
You can come over to mine.
Does he mean what you think he means? Is he offering to keep you warm during the night?
You watch the candle heβd placed on your desk, its flame mirroring the small fire kindling in your core for the boy who went out during a blizzard to buy you fuzzy socks so your feet donβt get cold.
On the other side of the wall, Jungkook is on the verge of combustion at his bold proposition to you, red burning the tips of his ears. Though the memory of the look of pure euphoria on your face when you took your first bite of jajangmyeon burns his heart hotter yet.
.
The cold is brutal and shows no mercy. Despite your tossing and turning and effort to warm yourself up, sleep does not grace you. Part of the blame goes to Jungkook, you have not been able to cease thinking about him and everything he has done tonight. It makes you reflect on all your past moments together, whether he has always been like this and you were only too closed off to pay heed.
Sitting up from your bed, you decide you wonβt be able to fall asleep without extra warmth. You need hand warmers stuffed down your pyjamas.
So, muscles stiff from the cold, you clamber out the little warm burrow of your covers and head for the living room, forsaking any light since your vision has adapted to the dark. On your way there, you walk past Jungkookβs room. Without knowing why, your legs betray you and stop outside his door.
You can come over to mine.
The low rasp of his voice still echoes in your head, stirring your unwarranted feelings for him into a warm pot of honey.
Had he really meant it? Did he honestly invite you to his share his bed? Surely not - this is Jeon Jungkook youβre thinking of, he doesnβt even speak to you most days, canβt not cower away from your glare. And he also knows what youβre like, how it took you two whole months to even warm to all of Jiminβs friends, how you only recently stopped using honorifics with those older than you.
And surely he must be at least mildly aware of the lack of boys and romance in your life, living just down the hall from you. Jimin is the closest male friend you have, and even so, you arenβt completely comfortable with sleeping beside him.
But thenβ¦ All that has transpired about Jungkookβs character tonight, how sweet and kind and thoughtful he is which completely falls outside your predictions of the boyβ¦
You realise you want to know more, want to explore the depths and mysteries that is your strange roommate. This intangible force that has been building up in the mere hours youβve spent together this cold winterβs night draws you to him.
So screw those hand warmers, they last way too short anyway. Who needs those fidgety packets when thereβs a whole Jeon Jungkook next door?
Gathering all the courage you can muster, you knock on his door.
The wood sends tendrils of cold into your knuckles. Thereβs a pause at first which leaves you thinking that heβs asleep, and to be fair, this late at night he has every reason to be. Youβre about to turn away and head forth down the hall when you hear sheets moving, followed by his muffled come in.
Timidly, you step into his room, mind still fresh with the memory of what had happened last time you entered here unannounced, mere hours ago. Letβs not think about that right now, shall we?
Jungkook is sat up in his bed, black hood engulfing half his head. A single scented candle lit on his bedside table beside him illuminates the whole room into a golden ochre hue, it smells of freshly washed sheets.
βHiβ¦β You peep out, stopping in front of his bed.
βEverything ok, noona?β His eyes are fixed on your face in wonder, but when you meet them, they dart to your socks.
βUm, yes.β How do you put this? How do you formulate those words? βI justβ¦ Itβs absolutely freezing with the radiators not working. Maybe- D-β You exhale shakily. Heβs gaze slowly crawls back up to your face as he realises where youβre going with this. βYou know how you suggested that we shouldβ¦ sleep tog- on the same bedβ¦ to keep each other warmβ¦? Wellβ¦β
Jungkook blinks at you. For a heartbeat, all you want to do is curl up into a ball and roll out of here. You couldnβt even finish what you were saying because your jaw has simply refused to move, refused to let you carry on embarrass yourself.
Then, although he was already on one side of the bed, he scooches over to the left. He doesnβt look at you when he replies, βOf course.β
Your heart is pumping fast, almost making you choke on your constricting throat. Warily you clamber onto his bed, but stop when only your knee is on the mattress. The bed frame creaks. Jungkook is regarding you with an unreadable expression, nibbling on his bottom lip. βWait, if this is weird, just tell me to go.β
βN-No. Itβs fine.β Pulling the covers over his chest, he crosses his arms shyly. Thereβs a pink tint to his cheeks, though you could be mistaken due to the odd lighting. βI was struggling to fall asleep from the cold as well.β He adds when you donβt seem convinced.
Both of you are making this a bigger deal than it actually is, you are fully aware. It honestly pains you how awkward you two are with each other; if this were Jimin, heβd be dragging you onto his bed by the waist, letting you flounder about in his arms like a cat trying to escape before smothering you with his affection. But this is Jungkook. Quiet, shy, awkward Jungkook. Jungkook who hasnβt spoken more than ten words a day to you before the events of tonight even though you live together. Jungkook who youβre slowly learning more and more about during this blizzard.
Plus, he was the one who offered to share his bed earlier in the first place. This is fine, just fine. Act normal.
Overly conscious of how heβs watching your every movement carefully, you slowly burrow into the comfort of his bed. Immediately youβre enveloped in his residual body heat under the duvet. Now you realise that he moved over to the other side of the bed, the cold side, so you can relish in the warmth that heβs been collecting under these covers.
Why is Jungkook so⦠considerate?
Again, the same fuzzy feeling as before tugs at your heartstrings. Suddenly you want to reach out to him, but instead, you tug at your sleeves.
Youβre both staring at the blank ceiling as if it is some fascinating art piece, with enough space between you to fit a Jimin. The candle has casted long grey shadows across the room, occasionally flickering haphazardly.
Everything that is currently whizzing through your head is driving you insane. This is actually happening. You are sharing a bed with Jungkook, the guy who you canβt even look in the eye when speaking to, your roommate who has only ever tried to avoid you. This day is a jack-in-the-box of Jungkook-themed surprises. Whatβs going to be next?
βFeeling warmer, noona?β He breaks the silence first, and you canβt help but glance over at him. His side profile is mostly masked by his hood, yet you can still see his jaw clenching. You can only imagine how uneasy he is currently feeling.
βYes.β Itβs barely a whisper you manage, so you clear your throat. βMuch better Jungkook, thank you.β
Another silence. Though this is an improvement from before, you still feel a chill in your bones; the cold is a resilient pest that aches your muscles and numbs your face.
βShould I blow out the candle then?β You ask.
βOh right, yeah.β
You huff at the small flame but it refuses to go out, and you kind of donβt want it to as it provides a strong beacon of heat as its smoke licks at your face. You huff again. Still, it only wavers. Youβre so cold that you donβt even have the strength to take out a candle. Peaking over at Jungkook, his eyes are locked on you patiently.
βIβll do it.β He leans across the bed over you, you feel his warmth radiate into your proximity as his should hovers over your face. His scent, a clean soft musk, swims up your nose; you never noticed how pleasant he smells. The veins on his neck are protruding as he strains to reach over. When he extinguishes the candle with a single harsh blow, embarrassment rains on you.
Darkness enshrouds you two. As he returns to his position, you notice that heβs closer to you than before, now only less than a foot away. The sound of his breathing provides a steady rhythm that soothes your wild thoughts.
Though your social skills are subpar by nature, Jungkook has a way of magnifying your awkwardness. Should you say something? Good night? Thank him again?
Then you realise, heβs shivering. Of course, his hair must still be wet from his unfinished shower that was cut short by the blackout. God, he must be freezing.
βYouβre cold.β You state, though you mean it more as a question.
βIβm fine.β Hums his response, yet his inhale is shaky.
Squeezing your eyes shut, you know what youβre going to do next is completely out of character and will require more guts than you actually possess. Your hand gropes at the space between you until you find his hand. Itβs ice cold. Jungkook jumps at the contact and you hear him turn his head towards you. You hope his sight hasnβt adjusted to the dark yet so he canβt see how abashed you are.
βYouβre not fine.β His fingers are stiff when you interlock yours between his. Everything is screaming inside you. What are you doing? What the heck? If Jimin were here to see this his jaw would drop all the way down to hell.
Unable to suppress the urge either, you also turn to look at him. In the dark, you can barely make out the outline of his face, the shape of his glossy eyes reflecting the moonlight seeping in through the window. Slowly, his fingers curl up around your hand. Your heart flips.
Blood roaring in your ears, you inch towards him like a frightened deer until your sides are pressed against each other. Your faces must be a handβs width apart, but the darkness fuels you with a brazenness that allows you to not cringe away. His whole body tenses in response.
βBetter?β Voice so soft he strains to hear you.
Jungkook nods, eyes never leaving yours. βBetter.β His response rumbles into your ear and percolate into your mind, and only now are you aware of how close he is.
An amalgamation of unidentifiable emotions stir inside you. You feel your own warmth trickle towards him as his does with you, and slowly his presence plucks away the cold you are plagued with.
βGood night, Jungkook.β
βGood night, Y/N noona.β
Though itβs only briefest of movements, you feel his thumb stroke over yours once, twice, as your eyelids fall shut.
The next morning, you wake up first with your head fitted cosily on his heavily breathing chest, his arm draped across your shoulder, shielding you from the chilly morning air.
.
The power still isnβt back on.
Itβs now nearing 24 hours since the blackout first hit.
Youβve wasted the day wandering about the house, unsure of what to do with yourself. Though you tell yourself itβs the withdrawal symptoms from the internet, itβs mostly due to the fact that you slept next to Jungkook last night.
The earlier half of the day was spent subtly avoiding him because what the hell are you supposed to say to him? Do you just carry on your usual selves around each other or are you, like, friends now? You caught yourself watching him sleep this morning, serene breaths in and out through his nose. Thereβs a tiny mole under his lips that youβve never noticed before. You had poked it with your pinky before you could stop yourself. And thankfully heβs a heavy sleeper, he didnβt even stir.
With more effort than you thought would require, you pried yourself out of his arms, a cold breeze instantly welcoming you in an embrace as you left his bed.
Those scenes keep replaying in your head: him finding you out in the blizzard, watching him cook you jajangmyeon, discovering that he when out of his way to buy you new sock, then walking in on him almost stark naked from the shower, and finally, falling asleep enveloped in his warm and scent.
Youβre definitely crushing on him.
Youβve stopped denying it when you saw him meander wearily out his room at noon, bed head ruffled, eyes still droopy from sleep. Wordlessly, you had passed him the ham and cheese sandwich you prepared for yourself and you donβt even know why because you were absolutely starving.
The downpour of snow only stopped for a good 10 minutes this afternoon, a tiny window in which you poked your head out for some fresh air. Jungkook had tried to shovel away some snow to clear the porch, but quickly ran back inside when he saw your worried face plastered to the window watching him.
There isnβt much either of you can do with no electricity, no internet, no television, trapped indoors. So you occupy your day curled up on the couch, nose buried in a novel, completely immersed in that beautifully crafted fictional world.
Until Jungkook walks out in a white t-shirt and shorts.
Your eyebrow raises, peeking at him from behind the pages.
βIβm gonna work out here, if you donβt mind. There isnβt enough space in my room.β He scratches the back of his head.
βSure.β You exhale, knowing your demise is looming over your head like a storm cloud. A lot of self control is exercised in order to not ogle at his calves.
Training your eyes at the novel in front of you with great determination, you turn the page. The first minute is easy enough, you just have to angle your book to block your view of him. But then his breathing grows heavier, panting every rep. At that, you canβt help but glimpse past the corner of your page.
Oh Lord. Heβs doing push ups.
Though his biceps are mostly covered by his sleeves, the muscles of his forearms tensing at every contraction catch you eye. You marvel at the way his tendons flex out, and the way his serpentine of veins snake down his hands.
Jeez.
Then he lets out an unholy grunt, setting your whole skin on aflame. Scarlet stains your cheeks, youβre sure of it. But the sinful sounds do not stop. Sweat his now seeping through his shirt, rendering the material transparent down his back. And his assβ¦
You snap your focus back to your novel.
Just in time as well because he stops onto his knees, head falling back as he sits on his ankles, panting. His neck is shimmering with his perspiration, droplets trickling down like a brook.
Jungkook glances over at you to see you reading intently, jaw clenched from what he guesses is due to the excitement of the plot.
But then you stand up so abruptly that it startles him. You canβt sit here and spy on his workout any longer, you physically cannot take it. Not to mention, it makes you feel so awful, like youβre perving on the poor clueless boy who only wants to break a sweat.
The both of you just stare at each other, flustered for different reasons. His breathing slows.
βIβm gonna-β You donβt know where youβre going with the sentence. Gulp. βUh, see you later.β
Scampering away into your room, you donβt wait for his response. Why are you panting heavier than he is when heβs the one exercising? Your book is pressed tightly against your pounding chest as you lean your back on your door. Your legs give way and you slowly slide down onto the cool floor.
Thereβs one thing you know for sure.
Jeon Jungkook is not good for your heart.
.
Itβs almost midnight and Jungkook is standing outside your door. Fist clenched, inches away from rapping on the wood, but completely frozen in action.
Just do it, idiot. He scolds himself.
After an ice cold post-workout shower, this time early enough so he doesnβt have to sleep with wet hair, you both had gimbap for dinner. It was an excruciatingly silent meal which he blames himself for, though he canβt help the way his tongue gets tied every time he wishes to speak to you.
And now, bed time, he is at a dilemma of whether or not to ask to sleep with you again. It may come across as too forward coming from a guy, he doesnβt want to scare you. But he also knows that he will be missing the warmth of your body beside him if he goes to bed alone.
Jungkook sighs and lets his hanging hand fall to his side.
If you wanted to, you would have gone to his room anyway. Might as well save the awkward rejection and just take this as a no.
However, your door suddenly swings open. Heβs confronted with a pyjama-wearing, baby-faced you, flinching back a step at the surprising sight of him.
βOp- I was justβ¦.β His sentence falls flat. He was just what?
βI was just coming to find you.β You mutter, eyes softening if he isnβt mistaken. A flood of relief rushes at him, so you were planning on coming to him tonight.
Wordlessly, you pad after him to his room. Everything is dark but you see his figure clearly in front of you. It gives you a false sense of confidence which leads you to trip over his charger wire you so clumsily missed.
You donβt know how he reacts so quickly to your yelp of distress, but he turns around in time to catch your outstretched arms by the elbows. βWatch out.β Feet fumbling over each other, he stumbles back onto his bed as you fall onto him. The weight of your bodies sink down onto the mattress.
Hard muscle cushions your fall. Chests pressed against each other, you donβt realise your hands have instinctively circled around his shoulders for balance. Your nose is touching his fabric of his collar, his musk instantly overriding your senses. When you look up, his eyes are a crystal clear pool somehow reflecting the constellations of the night sky in this darkness. His breath caresses your forehead. Your gaze drops to his mouth, pink and parted.
You want to kiss him, you realise. So badly. Every fibre of your being is currently yearning to meet his lips, longing to know whether he tastes better than he smells.
But then your limbs are moving for you, propping yourself up and off him. Your own mouth forms and quiet βsorryβ as you shuffle under the sheets. Itβs as if youβre watching your own actions through your eyes, controlled by your logic rather than desire. You couldnβt let yourself kiss him.
Jungkook silently squirms into his bed beside you, unwilling to look your direction as much as youβre averse to his.
So this is how itβs going to be again. Two sleeping logs next to each other.
Thereβs an ache of regret in your heart for being so timid. Annoyance at yourself drips down your throat, fist clenching at the sheets. You shouldβve kissed him right then and there, consequences be damned. When will you get another chance? But perhaps it was fate. You have no idea how he wouldβve reacted; the pessimist in you thinks he wouldβve been disgusted. Yes, it was fate. It was right not to have kissed him.
Wait, no. A boldness suddenly pours down on you. Shyness and introversion has gotten you nowhere before, and it will not help your situation now.
βJungkook.β Your voice comes out crisp and clear.
βHm, Noona?β
βIβm still cold.β Turning to face him, you see innocent confusion settle in his expression. The sound of your thumping pulse has reached your ears, your heart is a speeding motor flying off to find him. βCome closer.β
The shadow of his Adamβs apple bob as he swallows. His focus does not stray from you as he slides across the bed hesitantly.
βCloser.β
He edges further towards you. You can now just about make out the shape of the scar that flecks his left cheek.
βCloser.β
This time, his exhale tickles your neck. Warm bodies touching, confusion and perturbation cloud his glassy orbs as he scans your face for an answer to the plethora of questions swimming in his head.
βThank you.β You breathe, though it feels like no air is entering you. You canβt believe what youβre doing. This close to him, youβre entire being bathes in his presence, his aura; a familiar tingling ails your soul as your eyes flicker to his lips.
Every single muscle in Jungkook is frozen in shock, unsure of what is going on and why the sudden change in your demeanour towards him. And when you turn onto your side away from him and inch by inch back your body onto his front, his heart
stops
beating.
Nose buried in your floral-scented hair, vacillating thoughts tell him to put his arm around your waist and hold you close to him. You sense his unsureness in the way his hand rests on your side and pauses for too long before pulling you into his chest.
His frame engulf yours, the curve of your back lining perfectly with his. You feel safe, protected. His furnace touch on your waist burns through the thick fabric of your jumper and seeps into your core. The effect he has on you is nothing youβve ever experienced before, and neither have you ever been in this position with anyone. Although it isnβt much, merely just cuddling, this feels so remarkably intimate and intense, like youβve finally stepped through a threshold built into the emotional wall that towers between you and him.
Youβre not entirely sure if youβre breathing.
Despite being the one to instigate this, youβre awfully apprehensive, not daring to even twitch incase it rattles him and sets him scrambling away. The two of you are like a pair of squirrels, slowly approaching to sniff each other, curious yet easily frightened.
His hot breath rushes down your spine like smoke. You desperately want to know what heβs thinking. Is he as nervous as you? Do you feel comfortable to him as he does to you? Or is he already falling asleep?
You should close your eyes and try to. Though who are you kidding? Youβd never manage to catch a wink when youβre an accidental turn of a face away from kissing him, at least not right away anyway, not until you calm yourself down with a mental meditation exercise or something.
The urge to check if heβs indeed asleep is yanking at you, but you use all your willpower to resist, not wanting to risk rousing him when heβs as skittish as you.
But then you feel it.
Him.
Itβs subtle at first, just a gentle pressure at your bottom.
Innocent and untainted as you are, you donβt even realise what it is at first, so you shift your hips unconsciously.
Then itβs stiffness grows, and grows, until itβs a baton poking at your rear.
Something in your core ignites, your chest constricts, and a wildfire of lust youβve never felt before smoulders from your scalp to your toes before finally rooting itself in your sex. Ten hells, Jungkookβs boner is touching your ass. Jungkook has a boner and itβs touching your ass. Jungkook has a boner because of you and itβs touching your ass.
Your brain is devoid of all senses except a formidable hunger for him. Suddenly, though heβs almost surrounding you completely, the only thing you can feel is his hard member prodding you.
Is he asleep or not, you need to know.
Then a strange force possesses your lower half, and like a puppet on a string, your ass sinks back further onto him until his length is tunnelled between your cheeks.
The softest moan escapes him, almost a gasp even.
You think heβs going to say something, move away or stand up and leave. Instead he pulls himself away and slowly thrusts forward again. His clothed length slides smoothly up your crack, brushing ever so slightly over your slit. It sends a wave of arousal convulsing up your core, so powerful you almost choke.
Continuing to encourage him, your hips move in tandem with his, rubbing your ass all over his pulsing erection, occasionally letting it slide between your thighs against your clit. A pleasured mewl escapes, though youβre not sure who from. Youβve never felt anything like this, the ruin that overtakes your core at the friction. This is a divine sensation, luxury of the gods.
Jungkookβs fingers dig into your waist as his pace increases, his breathing slowly shifting into wavering panting. Finally you succumb to the urge to twist around to look at him. Your heart erupts at the pure devastation contorting his face. His brows angled in pleasure, teeth clamped down on his lip to suppress those unholy noises, lids hanging heavy at the weight of his thirst for you. When his eyes lock on yours, something unleashes in him and devours you wholly.
Fire and ice. His lips feel like both fire and ice. Fire because your entire mind is burning at his smoothness, fuelled by your unkempt want for him to take over you. Ice because everything that isnβt him feels numb and insignificant, and your feelings for this man holding you is the purest flake of snow.
Your first kiss, and itβs already the best kiss youβll ever have, youβre sure. Because the way his lips meld onto your, the desperation in the way he leans so far into you, the heat of his arousal forging itβs mark between your legs. Nothing in this world can top that.
βNoona.β He sighs into you. It drives you absolutely insane.
Fingers grappling in his wavy locks, you reposition yourself completely to face him. His length twitches against you as your leg swings behind him to pull him closer. He is holding your neck with a heartbreaking delicacy, thumb stroking your jaw like itβs the most fragile of chinas.
βJung-β You whimper. βKooβ¦β
Tasting of mint, his tongue gently laps at yours when you open for him. Youβre drowning in his essence, lungs filling with his air, though you welcome your sweet painless death like itβs a heavenly gift.
Knowing his docile nature, you move his hand underneath your top, giving him permission to roam freely on your skin. He snakes around your back and circles around your front before finally meeting your sore breasts. As he kneads them tenderly, you feel a warmth ooze out of you into a puddle of concupiscence in your pants.
Oh God.
Your own hands wander beneath his hoodie, raking up the bumps of his god-sculpted abdomen and taking hold of his muscular chest. His wet kisses are a drug, and youβre completely and utterly under its control.
βJungkook, I want you.β You moan.
When his eyes fly open, youβre met with pools of desire, seething into you like jets of lust. Never in your wildest dreams did you think youβd experience him like this, covetous for you and withering under your touch.
βNoonaβ¦ Fuck.β He trembles as your hand travels down his navel, daring to slide under the band of his sweatpants. βI want you so bad, noona.β
The whimper that leaves his mouth when you palm him through his boxers sends a flood of yearning down to your core.
Holy shit.
He feelsβ¦
Massive.
Heavy with girth, only about half of his length fits in your palm. You have to stretch your fingers in order to fully encompass him. He is fully at your disposal, groaning, grip tightening on you.
As he huffs into the edge of your jaw, his own hand comes down to find your pussy pulsing for his touch. When his touches your clothed slit, a compulsion forces your hips to buckle forwards. And when he begins to rub circles right on that tender spot, waves upon waves of ecstasy hit you.
Whining like an animal, your head falls back at the newfound pleasure heβs showing you. With you neck presented so openly to him like a platter of dessert, he plants dulcet kisses onto you, his gentleness kindling your fire for him. Despite your attempt to wind your focus back to him, your grip on his erection slackens at his vibrations on your cunt.
βCan I?β Jungkook whispers into your ear, softness tickling your lobe. You donβt waste a second before nodding eagerly.
Then his fingers slide underneath your panties. Sensitivity explodes at the contact between the pad of his thumb and your clit. A string of moans release from you. His fingers stroke tactfully up your slick, lubricated by your wetness for him. And when he slides his digit into you, the thread that holds your soul to sanity snaps.
βOh my god.β He pushes through the sleek pressure of your walls. βJungkook.β The whimper of his name rolling off your tongue sends a rush of blood down to his aching cock.
βNoona, is that okay?β The genuity in his voice squeezes your heart.
βYes, it feels so, argh, good.β
He latches his lips onto your neck and sucks clouds of lavender to your smooth seamless sky. His finger is slowly pumping in and out. It is a foreign feeling, so strange and unfamiliar, yet all the more exciting. The rise of his knuckles hit your wall at eye-rolling angles. Your hips roll in his rhythm to help him reach newer depths. The pleasure is unforgiving, relentless.
Another feeling gnaws at your chest, a longing to please him.
βI want to make you feel good, Jungkook.β You mumble, shy.
He looks up at you, finger gradually ceasing its movement. The pure passion alit in his eyes drives you thrumming for him.
βO-Okay.β
βYouβ¦ You have to teach me though.β Redness flushes your cheeks.
βOkay.β He says again, and you wonder if youβve broken him at the way heβs frozen.
Sheepishly tugging down his pants, you inch yourself down and settle between his legs, the duvet rested upon your shoulders. He bobs free from the restraint of his apparel.
Your eyes bulge at his cock that is, despite the darkness, standing tall and proud, beaming at you. How is that monster going to fit inside you?
A strong vein runs down the course of his length. Angry red tip swollen and trickling with a clear liquid. You look up to find him staring helplessly down at you, gulping. A nervous fear is eating away at your throat; youβve never done this before, how are you supposed to know how right now?
βTeach me.β Your fingers come around the base of his shaft and he gasps audibly.
βUh-β Another gulp. βLick the tip.β
You lick the tip. Drawing your tongue over his engorged head, tasting his salty precum that continues to leak out of him profusely. He curses.
βLike that?β Your mouth doesnβt leave him as you say.
βMhmm.β He runs his hand through his dark locks in exasperation. βSuck on it gently.β
You suck on it gently. Lips wrapped around his tip like a vacuum while you breath him in. Your cheeks hollow. You look up at him for approval. One eye is clamped shut, the other is barely held open to witness the most seraphic scene.
βFuck, noona, like this.β
You try to take in more, letting his wide cock slide into your mouth, careful not to scrape your teeth against his hilt. When he hits the back of your throat, you gag and splutter around him. Embarrassment shoots at you, yet when you glance up, he doesnβt seem to care.
Instead, he brushes your hair behind your ear and coos, βCareful, noona.β Heβs so sweet, so dear, you feel a crack in your heart.
So you try again, this time slower, swallowing as much of him as you can. Your hand swirl around his shaft while his massages the back of your scalp. You roll your tongue around his head every time you come up, flickering at his slit. Soon, your pace increases along with your confidence. Jungkook is a mess under you, thighs quivering, toes curling. Humming in satisfaction, your vibrations resonate into his dick and he yelps.
βNoona, stop before I cum.β The way he pleads sends your cunt throbbing. You pull his member out of your mouth almost obscenely, inhaling sharply for air.
He gently places you on your back, finger tracing your drenched lips in endearment. βWas that ok?β
βThat was perfect, noona. Are you sure that was your first time?β Doe eyes wide in awe of you. You giggle and nod, glowing in timid pride. βAre you sure you want to do this?β
At that, the reality of this situation hits you. This is happening, this is actually happening. Youβre going to have sex for the first time. With Jungkook.
Are you sure you want to do this?
You are sure you want to do this. If not with him, then no one else.
βYes.β You state firmly, eyes never once wavering from his.
His gaze on you is so soft, yet so intense, you want to melt under him. βOkay. I- I need to go find a condom in Jiminβs room.β
Fuzzy with your feelings for him, you watch him scramble off in the dark to the other room. Loud clangs echo down the hall, you canβt help but smile at the thought of him digging through Jiminβs pig sty, frantically searching with his rock hard cock.
Jungkook returns moments later to the sight of you completely naked on his bed. Gaping like a little boy, he almost falls onto you as he climbs onto the bed while he tears off his own top. For a minute, you two just stare at each otherβs bodies, allowing the beauty to sink in and etch itself forever in your souls.
βNoona, youβre so beautiful. Do you know that?β He leans over to kiss all over your face.
A warm prickle sieges your heart. No one has ever called you beautiful before. Emotion floods you like an ocean, and youβre suddenly met with a familiar sting behind your eyes.
He hovers over your lips, nose rubbing on yours so lovingly you want to cry. Youβre at a loss for words, so you just nod, not daring to peep a sound lest a tear escapes from you.
His hands are shaking as he rolls on the condom. Prudently, he kisses up your inner thighs before spreading them open with care. Finally, he pecks the top of your flower fondly.
Then slowly he rests his elbow beside your head and situate himself between your legs. Both your breaths are wobbly, you search his face for security and find it. His irises reflect his galaxy - you. And your fear ebbs away.
Stroking his tip along your wetness, he kisses the shell of your ear. βAre you really really sure?β
βYes, Jungkook.β Your fingers entangle in his hair assuringly.
βTell me to stop if it hurts a lot. Promise, noona?β His concern is heart wrenching.
βPromise.β You whisper, other hand locking with his.
Only then does he begin to ease into you. At first you donβt feel much, just his tip diving into you. Then the rest of his length pushes in, plunging through a tremendous pressure built into your walls. Pain blooms inside you as he enters deeper and deeper, itβs an ache that you anticipated but never imagined. You both cry out, though for different reasons.
βAre you okay?β You can tell heβs struggling to stay still, shoulders tensing at the temptation to thrust again.
βMhmm.β You manage to gripe. Because despite the blinding pain, you are okay.
βIβm gonna go as slow as I can.β He ensures you, fingers tightening around yours.
When he plunges into you again, you expect the hurt to lessen, but it doesnβt. It overwhelms your whole body, yanking inside you. Though, every time he kisses your lips so tenderly, your forget the soreness heβs impaling into you for a fresh second. Opening your eyes, you see him panting at your tightness, trying with every muscle in his body not to go wild at you.
βFuck, noona.β He exhales, forehead rested on yours.
Seeing him so berserk with pleasure calms your running anxiety. His thrusts inevitably quickens, and you just about begin to see pass the pain. Behind the ache, thereβs a gratifying sting clenching your walls. The slap of his hips against your thighs ring loud.
βStill okay?β Jungkook asks again, worry painting his face at your silence.
βYes, you can go faster.β You answer despite the ever-present soreness. When he drives hard into you, stars and tears blurring your vision.
Something in him snaps as you feel him twitch inside you. His movements grow sloppy and feral, just like the grunts that he heaves. Chasing his climax, you can tell how close he is to his sweet release.
βOh- Noona, Iβm so cl-ose.β Heβs whimpering into your neck.
βJungkook, baby. Come for me.β
At your name for him, he goes crazy, ramming into you with a strength and stamina that you couldnβt expect less of from him. βNoonaβ¦β He begs. The pressure inside you is easing, pain dulling, though you know you wonβt feel any pleasure this time round.
Then, in one last powerful push, he ejects into you with a loud cry. You pull his lips to yours immediately to soothe his euphoria. This look of pure pleasure on his face rips you to shred as he refuses to let go of your hand. His hips jerk into yours to ride out is high as his whole body deflates onto you.
Although itβs a freezing night, goosebump plaguing both your skins, neither of you feel cold. Instead, you are enshrouded by the warmth of your passion and desire, all you feel is each other.
You, wrapped tightly around him, and him, spasming inside you.
Heavy with exhaustion, he nuzzles up to kiss you. Long, slow and hard. You have never truly appreciated his beauty until this point, under the subtle snow-clouded moon, eyes boring into you with a never-dimming glow of adoration.
Jungkook removes himself from you, hastily disposing the condom to not miss a moment by your side. Dressing you first so you donβt catch a breeze of cold, his touch feels so much warmer, gentler.
Snuggled up under the covers, he holds you so close to him that you hear his beating heart. For a timeless passage, you stare into each other wordlessly, fingers tracing delicately over every patch of skin.
βY/Nβ¦β He muses out loud. βY/Nβ¦ You donβt know how perfect you areβ¦β
Again, he has rendered you speechless.
Caressing your cheek in his palm, he continues. βI wish you could see yourself through my eyes because then you would understand why Iβm so completely in love with you.β
At his words, your throat constrict. βWhat?β You choke out.
βIβm in love with you, noona.β His lips are trembling, chest pounding against you. Disquietude emanates from how heβs peering at you.
βOh.β
βI donβt know how you never knew, I mean- I guess itβs pretty obvious from the way I act around you. Even Yoongi-hyung spotted it right awayβ¦β He begins to ramble, focus hopping to the collar of your jumper that heβs toying with. βI justβ¦ I donβt know. Thereβs something so special about you that I canβt find in anyone else. I thought it was just a crush butβ¦ but then you moved in with us andβ¦ And my feelings for you just drove me insane. Thatβs why I kept trying to avoid you. I know I wouldnβt be able to hide it if I actually spent time with you, Iβm kinda stupid when it comes to girls if you canβt tell already.
βBut the truth is,β he takes a deep breath and sighs, βI am truly, deeply, madly in love with you, Y/N noona. Everything about you. The way you devour jajangmyeon as easily as breathing. The way you never go a day in winter without wearing these fuzzy socks. The way you only drink lattes and chamomile tea. The way you would rather spend your friday nights curled up with a book. The way you pretend to find Jimin annoying but secretly love the attention he gives you. The way you rushed out to find me in the snow and forgot the bring your keys. And the way you canβt talk to me without stuttering just like how I canβt look you in the eye when we have a conversation.
βI know this is a lot to spring onto you, and I donβt expect you to love me back at all. But just know that Iβm here for you whenever you need. Iβm your furnace in a snowstorm, hand warmer in a blizzard. And itβs okay if you donβt feel the same for me, Iβll still be here.β
Jungkook finishes with a final huff.
You stare at him, dumbfounded by his confession. Emotion floods your veins at the revelation, and you can all but break down into sobs. Jaw gaping, you regard him from his arms, trying to piece together your scattered thoughts.
βNoona, say someth-β
You kiss him, urgently and desperately. Like youβve been drowning in a sea of lostness, aimlessly floating about to try to find your way, and heβs your first gulp of air. Mist of perplexity is finally starting to clear away, and you see the path ahead of you with crystal lucidity.
Itβs Jungkook. Jungkook, who knows your favourite colour when even your own mother doesnβt. Jungkook, who waddled out into the freezing snow to buy you new socks. Jungkook, who so gently and delicately made love to you tonight. Jungkook, who has loved you unconditionally and will continue doing so regardless of your feelings towards him.
βI thinkβ¦ I think Iβm falling truly, deeply, madly in love with you too, Jungkook.β
.
The End
.
