Kookie(s) in My Oven

8. Ginger

Jungkook’s POV

Our trip ended much faster than any of us wanted it to. Tiana went back to the States the day after we returned to Seoul, and everything went back to normal quickly. In two weeks’ time, Karissa-noona had started working and attending her summer classes, and my schedule continued to get packed with more and more events and appearances. It was getting difficult for us to see each other, which frustrated me to no end.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that either of us could do.

“Jungkook-ah, move over to the right a little more,” Hobie-hyung shook me from my musings during rehersal one day, grabbing my attention with his incessant pointing.

“How far am I supposed to move over, hyung?” I tried very hard to keep the annoyance out of my tone, but I could tell by the looks on everyone’s faces that my attempt was unsuccessful.

“Just take two more steps over…. Yep! Stand there. Make sure you land right there, every time.”

I nodded, keeping my lips sealed this time, so I didn’t make another mistake. If I complained, or got angry, this would take much longer, and I was determined to see Karissa-noona today, even if it was for just a few moments.

“Ok, let’s start from the top,” Namjoon-hyung called, and the music for “Fake Love” began. The routine began as normal, but when it came time for my new stunt with Jimin-hyung, I ran up behind him, jumped over his back and... landed directly in front of him, in the wrong position, directly on my ankle.

Every sound around me faded except for the loud POP! that filled my ears, followed by an immediate pain in my ankle. I took in a gulp of air to keep from shouting and fell to my stable knee.

“Holy , Kookie, are you ok?!” Yoongi-hyung came rushing over to me first, while Jimin-hyung just stood beside me, his eyes filling with unshed tears.

“Jungkook-ah, I’m so sorry!” Jimin-hyung finally dropped to the ground beside me with his head down, and despite the burning in my ankle, I patted his shoulder.

“D-Don’t worry, hyung, it’s not your fault. I should have been paying more attention,” I bit out, trying to speak through the pain. Yoongi-hyung tsked, reaching for my ankle, but I drew back, knowing that if he touched the quickly swelling appendage, I might burst from the pain.

“Can you stand at all?” Namjoon-hyung was the next person to come over, and I shook my head adamantly, gritting my teeth together.

How the hell did I manage to do something so stupid in the first place?

“He needs to go to a hospital,” Yoongi-hyung surmised, and V-hyung nodded from beside Jimin-hyung.

“Do you think it’s broken?” Hobie-hyung asked, and I shook my head again, but Jimin-hyung immediately disagreed with me.

“I *heard* it popping from where I was standing, Joon-hyung,” Jimin-hyung explained, looking at me worriedly.

“.” Yoongi-hyung cursed again, and I honestly felt like cursing too.

“I’ll call the manager right now. Should we call your family too?” Namjoon-hyung wondered out loud, pulling his phone out and dialing our manager. In the meantime, I let Yoongi-hyung roll up the hem on my jeans, wincing at even the slightest touch. My ankle was getting redder and redder as the minutes ticked by. I looked away, trying to think about anything besides how much I was hurting.

“Kookie, we’re going to get you to a hospital really soon. Let’s help him up and get him downstairs,” I was incredibly thankful for Namjoon-hyung’s calm voice and rational mind. He looped his arm around my waist, while Hobie-hyung wrapped his arm around my shoulder and with Yoongi-hyung’s help, I was able to stand up on one foot. It hurt to move, but I knew I had to at least get downstairs.

We had just reached the company’s lobby when Quinn-noona came out of the breakroom, a greeting smile on her face. Her expression quickly shifted into a look of concern as she approached us, waiting for the manager to bring the car around.

“JK, what’s the matter?” Quinn-noona asked, examining me with a critical eye. She noticed my ankle right away. “Oouuuuuchh. Damn, that looks painful.”

“It hurts, Noona,” I whined, and Quinn-noona gave me an apologetic nod, patting my head soothingly.

“Let’s get you to a hospital right away. Do you need me to take you?”

“It’s okay, Wangbi-ah, our manager is going to take him,” Namjoon-hyung interjected with a reassuring smile.

“I’ll ride with you, at least. What hospital are you going to?”

At Quinn-noona’s words, it suddenly hit me that this was what I had been hoping for. I had been wishing for two weeks to see my Noona, and now, despite the absolutely awful circumstances, I could finally see her. It was the most selfish desire I’d had in a long time, but I needed to go to a hospital anyway.

“Can you take me to Kari-noona’s hospital?” I asked softly, hoping no one would catch on to my plan.

But both Quinn-noona and Namjoon-hyung were too smart for that. Quinn-noona giggled a little bit, shaking her head in disbelief, “If that’s what you want. It’s just a family clinic though.”

“Even better. There will also be less people there, right?” I asked, hopefully.

When our manager asked us where to go, I let Quinn-noona give him the address to the clinic where my Karissa-noona worked. It was a short ride, and I tried not to visibly wince from every bump and dip on the way, but by the time we arrived, I was biting my bottom lip so hard, I was certain I’d draw blood.

As Quinn-noona had described the clinic was small, but that was perfect for us -- I couldn’t see any patients waiting inside from the windows.

“Can you get him inside, Joonie?” Quinn-noona asked, already climbing out of our van. Namjoon-hyung nodded, looping his arm around my shoulder again. Quinn-noona walked ahead of us, holding the door open for the two of us as I hobbled into the lobby.

“Oooohhh, is that who I think it is? It’s great to see you again, gorgeous!” A dark skinned man called from behind the counter. He was wearing a pristine lab coat, standing up to greet us all.

Quinn-noona pursed her lips and walked over to the man speaking to her, while Namjoon-hyung gripped my shoulder tightly, leading me to the nearest chair to have a seat.

“Abel, I don’t have time for you today; where’s Kari?” Quinn-noona replied in English, crossing her arms over her chest. The man just grinned in amusement.

“Ouch, you just got here and you’re already being an Ice Queen. It’s ok, I worship the ground at your feet.”

Quinn-noona laughed easily, “Are all the doctors here shameless flirts? I should sue you guys.”

The older man laughed, picking up a clip board, “I think Kari is in the back having lunch.” The man looked around around Quinn-noona to finally acknowledge us, “What’s up?”

“My boyfriend’s younger brother hurt himself, and since Alex never works, I figured it’d be best to bring him here and give you some work to do,” Quinn-noona explained in a snarky tone of voice, making all of us laugh.

“Hey, I’m a doctor too!” The man came around the counter with a clipboard and handed it to me, “I can tell right away that you’re the patient.” He told me, in accented, but fluent Korean, “Fill this out for me so we can take a look at you.” He turned to Namjoon-hyung and regarded him cooly, “And that makes you the boyfriend, I guess.”

“Hi,” Namjoon-hyung replied tightly, the hostility in his eyes growing by the second.

“Dr. Abel, are you out here bothering people ag- Queenie, what are you doing here?” From a hallway to the right, Karissa-noona finally appeared, looking absolutely lovely in a set of hospital scrubs. Her mass of curls were piled in cutely on top of her head, and she had barely any makeup on. She glanced over Quinn-noona’s shoulder to see me watching her from my seat, a smile creeping across my face unintentionally. When Karissa-noona got a good look at me, she hurried over her eyes wide.

“Oh. My. God. Jeon Jeongguk, what happened to you?” She drawled in her native tongue, looking me over frantically. It was like I could feel her gaze hone in on my ankle immediately. I bit back a laugh at her expression, until she touched the inflamed skin on my ankle, making me wince.

“He fell during practice,” My hyung explained, and I frowned, not wanting him to tell her any more than that.

“Fell?! And why did you let him fall like that, Namjoon-oppa? You’re supposed to be the leader, aren’t you?” Karissa-noona admonished, her words taking on a unique lilt, turning my ankle this way and that with the slightest, softest touch. It still hurt, but the pain wasn’t so bad with her hands on me.

“Wow, the Tennessee just jumped out, huh?” Quinn-noona commented with a laugh.

Abel grinned, “This entire time I’ve been questioning where Kari came from, and she’s actually hiding an accent like that. Just, wow.”

“Dr. Abel, you’re supposed to be doing your job right now,” Karissa-noona whirled around, pointing an accusing finger at the older man. He held his hands up defensively.

“Hey hey, don’t turn on me. Quinn’s little brother was already filling out his paperwork before you came over and bothered us.”

Karissa-noona released an irritated breath, and grabbed the clipboard from me, handing it over to Namjoon-hyung, “Either you or the manager can fill this out. Dr. Abel, I’m taking him to Room 3. Please get ready to come see him as soon as possible.”

I laughed behind my hand as Dr. Abel obediently did as he was told -- it seemed that Karissa-noona actually ran the show at this clinic.

“Queenie, can you go get Alex? He went behind the building to smoke,” Karissa-noona explained, heading back behind the front counter. She came back with a wheelchair and I blanched. Quinn-noona readily agreed and headed out the front entrance, presumably to go find the person she was talking about.

“Noona, I can walk on my own,” I protested, shaking my head adamantly.

“If you walk, you might make it worse,” She reasoned, but I didn’t want to. I shook my head again. I expected my Noona to get frustrated with me, but instead, she took a seat in the chair beside me and gently placed her hand on my knee. She gave me a smile, sweet and reassuring, and I completely forgot about my pain for a moment, “If you won’t do it for yourself, will you at least do it for me?”

“I feel like you’re being unfair again, Noona,” I warned, my voice dropping to a lower pitch unintentionally.

“I’m not sorry for it. You came here so I can help you, right? Let me help,” Karissa-noona’s expression was resolute, and I knew I had no chance of winning against those determined hazel eyes. I sighed, and stood up, allowing Karissa-noona to help me into the wheelchair.

Namjoon-hyung stayed behind, saying something about waiting for Quinn-noona, so the two of us headed towards the examination room on our own.

It was a small room, sterile and all white, like most other hospital rooms. I knew that Karissa-noona’s clinic was too small for major injuries, which was actually a bit reassuring. If I had done something too extreme, they would have rushed me to the emergency room, so whatever I had done to my ankle, it couldn’t be too bad.

“Tell me everything that happened. Don’t leave anything out,” Karissa-noona dropped me off at the foot of the examination table, moving to grab various tools and devices around the room. I climbed out of the wheelchair and up on the table, watching her work.

“We were at practice, and Hobie-hyung explained a stunt to me, but I wasn’t paying attention because I missed you. But then-,” I paused when Karissa-noona dropped the thermometer on the floor, cursing softly to herself. She re-cleaned the thermometer, and placed the sanitary covering on the device, moving back over to me.

“I’m going to put this under your tongue,” She explained, and I nodded obediently while she did exactly that. After a few moments, the device beeped, and she pulled the probe from my mouth. “Do you do that often?”

“Do what often? Talk to Hobie-hyung?” I asked, playing dumb. Karissa-noona gave me a pointed look, making me laugh while she took my blood pressure and pulse rate, “I always miss you when I don’t see you. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“Too long,” she murmured softly, and I was sure my readings were going to be off with the way my heart was pounding in my chest, “You’re so busy though.”

“That’s why I had to come today.”

Karissa-noona laughed, “I know you didn’t get hurt to come see me, but this is extreme, even for the Golden Maknae.” She removed the blood pressure cuff and wrote down all of my numbers, placing the chart on a side table. She removed a purple stethoscope from around her neck, placing the device in her ears, and nodding her head in my direction, “Lift up your shirt.”

I grinned, covering my chest, “Noona, is this proper? Why is a student doing this much? Are you sure you’re not just trying to undress me?”

My Noona blushed prettily in response to me teasing, “Kookie, you’re the worst. It’s standard, ok?”

I nodded, lifting my shirt with no hesitation, but once Karissa-noona got close enough to press the cold metal on my chest, I couldn’t look away from her pretty face.

She was standing so close to me with her eyes closed, listening intently, and I could smell whatever it was she had put in her hair. I started counting the freckles on her face to distract myself, when suddenly she opened her hazel eyes to stare at me.

“Calm down,” She whispered on a hushed tone, but her words did nothing to make my heartbeat slow down.

“I can’t when you’re so close,” I told her honestly, reaching for her. I pulled her in closer to me by her waist, and she sighed contentedly, letting the diaphragm fall from my chest. “I’m always this way when you’re around me.”

“Aren’t you in pain?” She asked me softly, and I could tell she was genuinely worried about me.

“I’m only in pain when you’re far away from me,” I told her resolutely, smiling at the ridiculous admission, “Noona, I need you to stay by my side on days just like this. You'll be my girlfriend, right?”

Karissa-noona blanched, her hazel eyes growing three sizes in surprise, “You’re asking me that right now?!”

I chuckled at her response, “I had planned something way better than this, but I haven’t seen you in such a long time. I can’t wait anymore.”

She stared at me critically for a long, unbearable minute, before nodding once, “Ok.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?” I asked, puzzled, “Just… ok?”

“I’ll save the rest for when you’re not waiting to be treated for a sprained, or possibly broken, ankle,” Karissa told me with an amused smile. She stepped out of my arms and I pouted, “I’ll go get Dr. Abel for you. Let’s see if Namjoon-oppa finished your paperwork.”

I crossed my arms, not responding as Karissa-noona turned away to put all of her tools away. She moved towards the door, but paused at the last step, her hand on the doorknob.

“Noona…?”

“Are you sure you won’t regret it?” She asked softly, her back still turned to me. I noticed the tremor in her voice, but I decided to ignore it… for her sake.

“I’ve been waiting an entire year to ask you -- I won’t regret it, no matter what.”

Karissa-noona only nodded and slipped out of the room. I just hoped she knew I was telling her the truth.

End Chapter 8