Kookie(s) in my Oven

5. Thumbprint

Jungkook’s POV

We had to get up at 3 am to get to the airport without our fans knowing. I could barely keep my eyes open while we rode from our dorm to the airport terminal. Quinn followed behind us in her SUV, my Noona waving cheerfully from the passenger seat. Since it was so early in the morning, it was easy for us to get to the airport and get to our designated waiting area without an issues. We were escorted to a VVIP section where we could wait for our five am flight without any worries of exposure.

I hadn’t been this excited to go on a trip in a long time. I had two spare camera batteries, and every intention to have my camera basically glued to my hand. I didn’t want to miss anything.

I had the camera rolling when Quinn and my beautiful Noona stepped through the double doors to join us in the waiting area.

Karissa had styled her lovely curls into two adorable buns at the top of her head, leaving the back of it unbound. She wore a long dress that wrapped around her amazing figure and reached the ground. I made sure to focus my lens solely on her as the two of them approached us, seeing her from a whole new point of view. My heart squeezed in my chest when she looked directly into the camera, finally noticing that I was recording her.

I really had missed her too much.

“Jeon Jeongguk, you’re not recording right now, are you?” She pouted adorably, and I stopped recording her immediately, grinning from ear-to-ear while I ended the feed, turning off my camera to cover my tracks.

“Noona, you’re just so pretty this early in the morning.” I told her, flashing a smile her way. I had no problem turning off my camera for now -- I had plenty of time over the next four days to record her.

“Where’s my Jagi?” Yoongi-hyung whined, trying to peek through a gap in the frosted glass wall that seperated our waiting area from the rest of the airport.

“Ugh, you’d think he hasn’t see her in weeks,” Quinn-noona joked, rolling her eyes at Yoongi-hyung’s antics.

“I think it’s cute,” My Noona replied with a giggle, and I frowned, which made her laugh even more.

“Sorry, we’re late!” A commotion at the double doors signaled Niah-noona’s entrance as she rushed through, dragging a suitcase… and a laughing Tiana behind her. The moment I saw Tiana, I reached for my camera again, turning it back on and hitting the record button, just in time to face V-hyung’s direction.

V-hyung was sitting in a chair at the end of the row, facing the doors with his headphones in. He did a double-take when he saw the two ladies, shaking his head and blinking repeatedly for a moment, as if trying to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

Finally, he shot out of his seat, yanking one of his headphones out of his ear while rushing over to the two of them, “T-Tiana-ssi?”

Tiana’s gaze softened when she heard V-hyung’s voice, and to all of our surprise, she walked over and hugged him around his waist, “Taehyung-oppa, surprise!”

V-hyung was obviously startled by the gesture, standing with his arms hovering around Tiana’s back, as if he were afraid to embrace her. In the span of a breath, he finally returned her hug, and Tiana’s smile grew as she asked, “Did I say it right?”

I checked my camera to make sure it was still recording.

Our group turned into an absolute mess at her words. Jimin-hyung giggled behind his hand instantly, and Quinn jumped out of her seat beside Namjoon-hyung, who was trying his hardest to keep a straight face; and failing. Quinn put her hand on Tiana’s shoulder, pulling her away from V-hyung, who was steadily growing redder in the face. Yoongi-hyung gave up trying to hide his snickers, laughing outright.

“Who taught you that word?!” Quinn-noona questioned, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at V-hyung. Behind them, Niah-noona was cracking up hysterically.

“Tae did! ...Is it something bad?” Tiana asked curiously, not understanding the gravity of her words.

“Taehyung-ah!” Quinn scolded, frowning. “What have you been teaching her?”

“Nothing,” V-hyung lied smoothly, grinning playfully. Quinn-noona tsked, leading Tiana over to a chair to sit beside her.

“Tiana, let’s have a talk about that word later, ok?” Quinn-noona told her, giving V-hyung a death glare. He just chuckled and took the seat beside Tiana.

My Noona giggled, “Poor Tiana. She’s gonna have to listen to Queenie’s ‘oppa’ lecture.”

Niah-noona burst into laughter again, taking a seat beside Yoongi-hyung, “When she said it to me earlier, I didn’t bother correcting her. If we have to suffer, so does the new girl.”

“Dayum, NeeNee, you’re evil when you want to be.” Karissa-noona’s cheerful smile was so beautiful that I turned off video and switched to camera mode to snap a few shots.

“Tiana-ssi, it’s a surprise to see you again! When did you get to Seoul?” Namjoon-hyung leaned over Quinn-noona to speak directly to Tiana in English, who gave a grateful smile.

“Niah and I had been planning my visit for a while. We wanted to wait until Rissa got back to this country so we could all be together, and things just happened to fall into place. When she told me about the trip to Jeju Island, I decided to push up my arrival day and come a little earlier.” Tiana bit her lip, a somewhat troubled expression crossing her face, “This is my first time traveling outside of the States -- I might not look it, but I’m really nervous.”

V-hyung noticed her change in demeanor, though I know my hyung didn’t understand every word she used to explain her feelings. He took her hand immediately and asked her, “Are you ok?” in English, and Tiana looked down at his hand for a moment, a small smile crossing her face.

“I’m okay,” she replied in Korean, and all of us could see the absolute awe in V-hyung’s gaze.

I turned away from them, deciding not to record those two any more and give them some privacy. Thankfully, our flight was called over the airport’s PA and we all gathered our possessions to board.

Namjoon-hyung freaked us all out when he thought he lost his plane ticket, but thankfully Quinn-noona had the foresight to hold on to it for him.

I had begged our manager to make sure I had a seat next to Karissa-noona, and to my immense pleasure, he got it for me. I let her sit next to the window, leaning over her to buckle her seat belt for her. The plane took off in no time and we were on our way to Jeju Island.

“Noona, have you been to Jeju before?” I asked her, watching her glance out of the window. She turned to me with her beautiful hazel eyes and shook her head.

“No, I never really had the time to go over there.”

I nodded, “We’ve had a lot of photo shoots there, and events.”

“You’re always working so hard…” Karissa-noona frowned, looking me over for a moment. I felt a little embarrassed with the way she was looking at me, but I stayed still, waiting as she lifted up the armrest between us, “Kookie-ah, let me see your hand.”

I looked around, wondering if anyone else had heard what she said. Was my Noona trying to tell me something?

I slowly held my left hand out, sliding my fingers against hers. Karissa-noona covered my hand with both of her’s, and began to massage my fingers one-by-one. It felt really nice.

“Noona, what are you doing?”

“I’m getting a degree in Sports Medicine, you know? I’ve learned a bunch of massages to help soothe the joints and speed up recovery for any injuries.” She reached for my other hand, and I willingly gave it to her, my left hand tingling pleasantly. “Your right hand is a little swollen… Did you do something to it recently?”

I thought back over the last week, wondering what would cause some swelling in my hand, “Oh, I had to pick up Jimin-hyung during a new choreography and he stepped on me.”

“Ouch, I’m surprised there’s no bruise.” Karissa-noona commented, bending my fingers for me. The rhythm of her hands around mine was comforting and soon, I was beginning to feel drowsy. I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes.

Karissa released my right hand, causing me to open one eye to find that she was finished. Not wanting our contact to end, I reached back out with my right hand, lacing our fingers together. I leaned into her, slouching in my seat so I could rest my head on her shoulder.

“Let me rest here for a bit…”

She nodded, giggling softly. I slid my eyes shut, wishing more than anything that the flight would never end. Of course it did, but I slept for most of the trip. I woke up in the most perfect way -- with my Noona right beside me.

Once we landed at the Jeju Island airport, we were chartered over to the resort where we were staying. Since our photoshoot was scheduled for the afternoon, we had over four hours to rest and get ready for our work.

We sat down for lunch at noon, and at fifteen minutes till one, all the girls excused themselves to “go get ready”.

“Jagiya, what are you getting ready for? We’re the ones with a photoshoot,” Yoongi-hyung commented, and the rest of us agreed, as the four of them stood from their seats.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about all that,” Quinn-noona teased, wagging her finger at him.

Niah-noona waved, “We’ll see you guys at your photoshoot by the pool!”

I dropped my fork as soon as the ladies disappeared from view, turning to my hyungs instantly, “Does that mean-?”

Namjoon-hyung coughed slightly, his cheeks tinting red unexpectedly, “Wangbi-ah showed me a little bit of her swimsuit when she was packing her suitcase the other day…”

“And?” Hobi-hyung leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice. We all did, even the manager at the end of the table.

“Let’s just say that I’m worried about our productivity.” He chuckled, but seeing that his cheeks were still inflamed, we all knew that he was only halfway joking.

Yoongi-hyung sighed loudly, gripping his chest, “I don’t think my heart can take this.”

V-hyung nodded, “I’ve never felt such mixed feelings. I want to see Tiana-ssi in her swimsuit, but…”

“You don’t want anyone else to see it either, right? I completely understand,” Monnie-hyung replied, and I agreed wholeheartedly.

Hobi-hyung chuckled beside me, “Well, I absolutely want to see it.” He gulped nervously when 4 pairs of eyes glowered at him, “Come oooonnn,” He replied, holding up his hand defensively, “I know everyone else wants to see it too.”

“Ugh,” Yoongi-hyung groaned, running his fingers through his hair, “Let’s just try not to make fools of ourselves.”

Everyone agreed on Yoongi-hyung’s suggestion and we all went back to our meal in contemplative silence.

After lunch, we went directly to the photoshoot area: an indoor pool at the resort that actually opened up to a larger, outdoor swimming pool. There were make-up artists and stylists already waiting to hand us our clothes and prepare us for the camera.

We were in the middle of deciding the line-up for the shoot, when the girls finally arrived at the pool.

Karissa's POV

Nearly every day of my life, I’m thankful for my friends.

They give me so much confidence when they are around -- confidence that took me a long time to have on my own.

Today, though, I was even more thankful for them. I was two seconds from running back to the hotel room, and just locking myself inside. I didn’t want anyone to see me in my swimsuit, especially not Jungkook, but none of my friends were trying to hear that.

“We’ll go in together, Kari, don’t worry,” Tiana led me by the hand towards the indoor pool where the guys were having their photoshoot. Niah and Quinn were in front of us, already walking through the doors to the indoor pool, and the deafening silence told me everything I needed to know.

All conversation stopped when my best friends crossed the threshold, each one of them a sight to behold.

Niah had been at the front of our little line-up in a sporty, one-piece swimsuit with bold color blocks in white, navy, and orange. Her toned frame was on full display and because she had felt a little playful, she had ped the front of her swimsuit to just the top of her chest, showing just the barest hint of cleavage.

Behind her was Quinn, her supermodel looks going strong. Quinn had put together a look that showcased her slim frame and amazing hips. Her swimsuit was bougie and y all at once: a saucy, floral print, tube top two-piece bikini with a see-through swim cover that billowed behind her like she had stepped right from the runway into real life.

I heard someone gasp audibly, and I giggled to myself as I imagined Namjoon passing out on the floor.

Tiana held my hand tightly as she pulled me through the double doors, and I caught the gaze of my two best friends, who were already in the room.

Tiana was strutting confidently in her swimsuit -- a golden yellow, off-the-shoulder bandeau bikini with high waisted bottoms that had a lattice pattern cut out on the sides of her hips, highlighting her smooth, even skin tone and overall natural glow. Like the stylist that she was, she had added a delicate, thin body chain, to create a shimmering line of glam from her neck to her waist. Tiana was only a tad shorter than Queenie but she was obviously more top heavy than I orginally thought.

Of course, none of my friends were the same size as I was, which made me even more self conscious about my apperance right now. I ducked my head, trying to hide at least some parts of myself behind Tiana, knowing full well that I couldn't.

Growing up, I had been teased for my shape, and called “fat” by my peers all the time. As I got older, my hourglass frame became popular in the media, but the moment I stepped foot in South Korea, I was back to being curvier than every other woman around me.

Most days, I was fine with my size and how I looked. But on other days, the bad days, I compared my shape to my 3 best friends' figures. I wondered why I had to be the “big one” when everyone else around me was smaller.

While the girls and I got ready in Queenie and Namjoon’s hotel room, I thought today would be one of those bad days. I was so sure that I would get made fun of, while the others got all the looks and comments from everyone around us. I honestly hadn't even considered anyone paying attention to me at all.

But when I finally stepped into the room and took one look at Jungkook, I realized just how wrong I was.

Jungkook’s POV

I couldn't speak. I couldn't think. I wasn't quite sure if I could breathe either, with how light-headed I was starting to feel.

As the girls stepped in one-by-one, I knew that everyone was going to at least spare them all a glance, if for nothing else, than pure curiosity.

Still, I wasn't ready to see my Noona this way. I should have taken time to prepare my mind and I just…

, “shook” was the only way to describe the response of every single person present.

Karissa wore a two piece set, with vibrant blue high-waisted bottoms and a ruffley top that was covered in strawberries and blueberries, set against a white background. She had piled her curls in a high heap at the top of her head, holding it back with a vibrant red and blue scarf tied in an adorable bow at the front of her hairline. So much of her luscious curves were revealed that I my lips, my mouth suddenly feeling dry.

She looked like a sweet dessert, wrapped up with a pretty bow. The icing on the cake was the red tint she had smoothed across her full lips. The color was subtle, but I could see it, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I just couldn’t stop staring at her.

CRASH!!

The sound of a light box falling to the ground woke us all from our stupor, though the assistant that had run into the pole was still staring in awe at the rainbow of melanin across the room, not even realizing what he had done.

Namjoon-hyung was the first to move, striding directly over to Quinn-noona to take her by the hand. He spun his finger in a circle so he could take a look at her entire outfit. She turned slowly for him, giving him a full, 360-degree view of her swimwear. She truly could have been a model.

“Gorgeous,” He kept saying over and over, making Quinn laugh.

“Be careful not to trip on all those jaws on the floor, Joon-ah,” She told him cheekily, winking at the flustered cameraman behind us, who was still staring with his mouth wide open.

I turned to glance at V-hyung, who was actually covering his mouth with his fist, rooted to the spot. Jin-hyung, who had gasped audibly earlier, was all smiles, running over to the girls, gasping loudly again.

“You’re all so pretty! Who told you to ruin our photoshoot like this?” Jin-hyung teased, running over to offer his arm to Niah-noona. She took it, giggling while she allowed him to lead her directly to Yoongi-hyung.

Yoongi-hyung frowned when the two reached him. removing the short sleeved, white terry cloth cover-up he had been styled with for the shoot, “Hyung! That’s my Jagi you’re touching.” Pouting, Yoongi-hyung sidestepped Jin-hyung, putting the jacket around Niah-noona’s shoulders and zipping it up to her chin, “You’re too distracting, Jagiya. How am I supposed to work when you're like this?”

Niah-noona blushed prettily, shaking her head, “Don’t try to sweet talk me to get your way, Min Yoongi. I’m not keeping this jacket on.”

Yoongi-hyung chuckled lowly, leaning in to whisper something in Niah-noona’s ear.

I immediately turned away from them, just in time to see Hobi-hyung slinging his arm around my Noona’s shoulder. He was saying something to her, but I couldn’t quite hear him over Jimin-hyung’s loud laughter at V-hyung’s inability to move. Tiana approached the two of them, laughing when she saw how red V-hyung’s face was. V-hyung tried to hide behind his hands in embarrassment, but Tiana laced her fingers with his, pulling them away so she could further.

I huffed, already making my way over to my Noona. If Hobi-hyung kept this up, I was going to give him the biggest earful of his life.

“Noona,” I practically purred, walking over to the two of them. Karissa-noona turned to me, her eyes widening like a deer caught in headlights. Good, she knew she was in trouble.

I gave her my most charming smile, and my Noona swallowed nervously.

“H-Hey Kookie,” She replied, waving slightly.

“You’re mistreating me again, Noona,” I warned her softly, staring down into her hazel eyes.

Hobi-hyung chuckled, patting me on the shoulder while he excused himself from our conversation. Karissa blushed brightly, opening to protest, but I shook my head, taking her hand in mine, “I’m not going to be able to do anything but think about you all day, and it’s all your fault. How are you going to take responsibility?”

“As your Noona, I should take responsibility, right?” She joked softly, and I nodded eagerly.

“You have to. I’m suffering so much right now.” I replied, clutching my chest dramatically with my free hand.

“I could…” She looked up at me through her long eyelashes, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. She was going to have to stop doing that soon, or I was definitely going to kiss her in front of everyone. “Let you take a picture of me?”

“Hmmmm, that’s a good start…” I mused, just as our manager called for all of the members to come over to him. Unfortunately, my time with my Noona was up.

“Jungkook,” Karissa touched my shoulder, grabbing my undivided attention, “I don’t… look bad, right?”

Her questioned squeezed at my heart. She sounded so vulnerable just then, and I wanted to do much more to reassure her than we had time for. Instead, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her forehead gingerly, making her cheeks flush, “You’re beautiful.”

She awarded me with a bright smile, and I moved away from her before I was tempted to do anything more. I waved goodbye and moved over towards the other members, completely ignoring our manager as the girls gathered together and headed outside, to the much larger swimming pool.

When they were finally out of earshot, I groaned, placing my head in my hands. Two seconds later, V-hyung took one more look at the girls, and did the exact same thing.

Namjoon-hyung burst into a fit of laughter, “I tried to warn you earlier!”

I pushed out a breath trying to calm my racing heartbeat, telling myself to focus on the task at hand. This was going to be the longest photoshoot of my life.

End Chapter 5