South Korea had been the paragon of a robust response to the virus. Aside from more frequent advisories on hygiene and cleanliness, the robust system of contact-tracing, and the widespread use of face masks, life had been mostly the same, but, by the second half of the year, things quickly became different.

Jihyo’s new movie had been hailed as a success, and it was the last time she had gone out and seen people move freely. But, soon after, the government had requested for limitations on public gatherings, and stricter measures in public areas. Ideally, this is an environment that she and Jongkook would enjoy, given the lack of people on the streets, but with the added regulations, some of their preferred establishments were either closed or limited to having their items taken out. The quietness of the streets also drew more attention to whoever wandered around, which was too risky for them.

It left them with no choice but to bring their meetings to their homes. Jongkook, the conservative man that he was, wasn’t entirely warm to the idea. But Jihyo reasoned out with him that they had no choice, if they wanted to continue meeting each other. They compromised with meeting at Jongkook’s place instead, as, for some obscure reason, he felt that she should keep the supposed sanctity of her home. Jihyo had a ton of problems with this argument, but decided that the compromise was already workable. She would wait for him to warm up to the idea in the future.

One Sunday afternoon, Jihyo walked up to Jongkook’s apartment. She just finished a promotion for her upcoming drama in the morning, and she was quite tired. She looked forward to eating and getting some rest at his place that afternoon. 

She put in his passcode and came in. “Oppa, I’m here!” she called out as she entered his house.

Jongkook walked out, clad in his favorite white shirt and black shorts - a combination that Jihyo decided she liked seeing him in. He pulled her in for a hug, “You’re here.” He took in her scent; it had been only three days since they last saw each other, and he had already missed her presence. She melted into his embrace, finding solace and comfort in his warmth after what felt like a long morning.

Jongkook started to pull back, and instead took her hand, leading her to the couch. “I already ordered some jjajangmyeon for us. I bet you’re hungry after all those press interviews,” he put one of the seat cushions on the floor, and motioned for her to take a seat. He then started to move towards the kitchen.

“Where are you going Oppa?” she called out.

“I’m just going to get us our chopsticks and bowls.”

“No need Oppa!” she started to open the paper bag, and pulled out the plastic bowl that the jjajangmyeon came in, along with the three pairs of chopsticks that came with it. “We can just eat from this and use the chopsticks that came with it. I don’t want to do the dishes.” 

Jongkook smiled. Truthfully, it’s what he would have done if he was alone, but he wanted her to be comfortable. He started to walk back to her, and admonished, “What makes you think I’m going to ask you to do the dishes?” He then took a seat beside her, watching her bite into a mouthful of noodles.

She tried to answer him, but she was also chewing what was in , so only muffled sounds came out. He laughed at the absurdity of a grown woman trying to speak with full, and noticed the black bean sauce that she’d messily left on the corner of her lips. He wiped it off with his thumb before swiping it on a napkin he’d managed to get from the paper bag. “Aigoo what a baby! I didn't understand a word of that,” he said, his voice still cracking over how amusing she had just been.

“I said, you won’t make me do the dishes, but it’s not like I’m going to let you do them when you already bought the food,” she tried to clarify before she defended herself. “And I’m not a baby. I’m already a woman.”

“Ne and you’re my woman,” Jongkook retorted nonchalantly, as he took his first bite from the bowl they shared. That earned him a smile from Jihyo, who really had nothing to say - only butterflies in her stomach.

After finishing their meal, they decided to watch some television as they sat on the couch. Jihyo hugged her knees, as she sat beside Jongkook. The show being broadcasted quickly became background noise, as she recounted the events of her morning. He simply listened to her stories, asking questions every now and then, and took her hand to massage it. As Jihyo felt more relaxed, she put down her feet on the floor, and rested on Jongkook’s shoulder. He moved up his arm, wrapping it around her and settling his hand on her waist. She finally rested her head on his chest, and felt herself drifting off to sleep. He brushed away the strands of her hair that stubbornly covered her face.

They both dozed off that way.

Kwangsoo folded his arms, as Haha tilted his head. They planned to surprise their hyeong with a visit that late afternoon to watch an episode of Runningman together, as Kwangsoo had been back from filming a movie outside of Seoul and Byul had taken the kids to her parents, giving Haha some