"4236 words down, 6000 words left to go and I'm done!" Lisa says as she stretches her arms and groans. "Ugh all this sitting is not good for my bones."

Chaeyoung gives her a questioning look. "You realize the deadline is tomorrow, right? how are you gonna write 6000 words in one night?"

"Oh you know, the usual. I'm gonna pray to the procrastination god, get me like 3 refills of coffee-" she lifts her gigantic Attack On Titan travel mug, which she spent a good half hour just staring at because apparently looking at Levi's grumpy face gives her motivation. "-and hope I don't die by tomorrow." She chugs her coffee like a mad man and Chaeyoung can't help but shake her head.

"Well if you do die tomorrow, know you will be missed." Chaeyoung says

"Nice." Lisa shuts her laptop and puts it in her bag. "Now let's get the hell out of here, I'm too hyper and caffeinated for this quiet library."

Once they're out in the open, Lisa takes in a long breath of fresh air. "Gosh, I never realized how suffocating the library is. It's like there's no air inside!"

"Yes, that's how closed spaces work." Chaeyoung points out dryly.

"Don't be a smartass Chaeng."

"But you love me when I'm being a smartass."

Lisa gives her a side look "I'm starting to question that. Matter of fact, I don't know if I love you anymore."

Chaeyoung gasps dramatically and is about to act out a whole forlorn Shakespearean monologue when her phone chimes with a notification. Lisa immediately smirks. "How much you wanna bet it's your cheesy bunny boy?"

"First, he's not cheesy, he's adequately amorous-"

"ade-what?? are those even words?"

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes. "Second, I'm not a loner, I have friends and family that text me occasionally, so it's not always him."

"Yeah, but Mr. Aquietly homoroses-"

"How did you butcher that?"

Lisa waves her off and continues "-he texts you all the time, you guys even talk between breaks during classes!" she scrunches up her nose in disgust. "That is bordering on obsession!"

"We live in two different cities! And I haven't seen him in months!"

"Still not a valid excuse."

Chaeyoung snorts "Now you just sound bitter."

"Yes I am, and?"

Chaeyoung ignores her and pulls out her phone. "Here, I'll prove to you that it's not from him." She hits the home button and the screen lights up with a picture of her sleepy boyfriend wearing a cute frown on his face as he struggles to open his eyes. Chayeoung smiles fondly upon seeing it.

She took the photo last year when she came to spend Christmas with him but he was so sleep deprived that when she woke him up in the morning, he sat up on the bed with his eyes shut, mumbling that he was fully awake and was getting ready, only to fall right back asleep. Needless to say, she couldn't resist capturing the adorable moment.

"And there it is! See, I'm always right." Lisa's words bring her back to reality and only then does she notice that she did in fact get a text from none other than her boyfriend, Jungkook.

Jungkookie<3

Just got back from work

I'm so tired

My mind feels like a bottle of water being thrown around

Does that make sense?

Anyway, how is the queen of planet earth doing this fine Sunday evening?

She grins stupidly at her phone. Ok fine he is incredibly cheesy but she loves that, sue her.

 

Welcome back <3 I'm doing great

Your water bottle analogy makes perfect sense I felt that

Wait todays sunday

why were u at work????

Jungkookie<3

Our project presentation is tomorrow morning

Big investors are coming in we can't mess this up

so we're getting the final touches done

She frowns, worry clouding her brain. It's no secret that Jungkook is a workaholic, something that really threw her off at first and almost made her not pursue anything with him. She always thought of such people as hollow beings who cared more about chasing vanity and external validation instead of meaningful relationships. But Jungkook proved her wrong. Yes, he was obsessed with his job, but it was out of passion rather than seeking recognition. He's the type to fully immerse himself in the things he loves, and she knows that more than anyone, because he makes her feel so loved. However, that immersion comes at the price of neglecting himself completely that he often forgets to eat or sleep, and Chaeyoung can't help but worry all the time.

 

Don't overwork yourself :(( and dont forget to eat!!

And hydrate!! you're basically a house plant

u need water to survive

Jungkookie<3

can I call you now?

 

Chaeyoung coos, earning a barfing sound from Lisa. Not even that could ruin her mood.

yeah

Immediately, her phone rings and she grins as she answers.

"Hey."

"Oh my own fair maiden, How I misseth the soundeth of thy voice!" Jungkook's tired but soft voice immediately fills her with indescribable warmth. It's insane how much impact he has on her, even a small thing as hearing his voice through a ty phone can make her heart race faster than a cardio workout.

"You're a dork." her smile widens at the same time Lisa rolls her eyes in a mixture of disgust and envy.

Jungkook chuckles. "Oh come on, you like it when I talk Shakepsearian to you."

She bites her lower lip "I don't know, I think I'm more of a Dickinson girl."

"Liar! You have all of Shakespeare's books in your room, three copies of each!" he whines adorably "I don't understand your obsession with that man but I respect it."

"Trust me, once you read his poems, you'll understand."

He groans. "Enough about the dead guy. What are you doing now?"

"Lisa and I are on our way back to our dorm from the library. She says hi."

"I didn't say that." Lisa interjects loudly for Jungkook to hear and Chaeyoung glares at her.

He, however, finds it hilarious. "Classic Lisa." he comments.

Chaeyoung just sighs. She still doesn't understand how this friendly animosity between them is still going. It started when she first introduced Jungkook to Lisa, the two getting along immediately after they found out they're both big anime fans, but then it all went downhill when Lisa asked him if he loved Sword art online and Jungkook replied "Couldn't finish it. It was awful." That was when all hell broke loose and Lisa swore to never speak to him until he 'reevaluates his tasteless and misguided life choices'. Whatever that means.

So here they are now, still in this silly one-sided beef that Lisa refuses to let go of.

She hears him yawn, followed by the rustling of sheets. "You should sleep. You sound really tired." she mumbles, worry clear in her voice.

"I will. I just wanted to hear your voice first." She can hear the smile in his voice and it does nothing to stop the blush coloring her cheeks. How is she affected by the bare minimum? must be Jungkook's power.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

"Okay."

"And don't worry too much about your meeting. It's gonna go great."

"hm."

"Let me know how everything goes tomorrow, okay? " he doesn't reply, instead, she hears the gentle rhythm of his breathing and it draws a gentle smile on her face. "Sleep well." she whispers before she hangs up.

-----

Out of all the marvels and wonders she encountered in her life, meeting Jungkook was the most unexpected. Call it a of fate or a pleasant coincidence, but to Chaeyoung, it was simply life setting things in motion, because meeting him was the start of a wondrous journey in her life.

Ever since she was a kid, Chaeyoung had been raised to excel in everything, be it school, music, social activities; she had to be the best. Looking back at it now, it was mostly to please her strict parents, but she'd be lying if she said being on top of things didn't give her an ego boost. It made her feel good about herself and gave her a sense of control over her own life. Then middle school came and she fell hopelessly in love with this cute guy in her class named Jungho. He was tall and broad, with the softest eyes ever and the most gorgeous smile a ninth grader could have. Every walking being was a little in love with him, and it didn't help that he was nice and sweet to everyone. He made all the male protagonists of shoujo manga look tacky and lacking compared to him. Chaeyoung wasn't planning on confessing to him, she had her studies to focus on. Besides, her parents wouldn't approve of her dating at such a young age, but all reason flew out of her head when Jungho asked her out and she shyly said yes, and from then on, things seemed to be sailing perfectly. She gave him her first kiss, her first time, her first relationship, and in return, he gave her her first heartbreak. It happened at lunch period, when Yoohyung, the student council president back then, walked up to her table and glared at her.

"I saw you kissing Jungho yesterday. Who do you think you are trying to seduce my boyfriend!?" Those words cut a deep wound into her heart that, unbeknown to her at the time, would remain with her for years. After a good cry alone in her bed and a cold shower to bring her back to reality, she swore to not date anymore and to solely focus all her time and energy on school.

Men betray you, your studies don't. Lesson learned.

She worked by her advice all through middle school and highschool, despite the occasional crushes here and there. She was hell bent on living by her words but that all changed on her first day of university in Busan, far away from her home in Seoul, far away from her parents' expectations and the boy who ripped her heart apart. The new environment gave her a new sense of being and the courage to finally lead her life truthfully, and the truth was, she wanted to date again. In fact, she never really wanted to stop dating, it was just her own conscience punishing her for what happened, which is all shades of messed up. The blame is all on him, there's no excuse for cheating, and yet, for some odd reason, she felt like it was all her fault for not being enough for him, and she carried that mentality with her all through her teenage days. But after a lot of self reflection and late night deep conversations with her highschool best friend Lisa, she realized that she was never in the wrong. She deserved to chase what she wanted, and what she wanted was a second chance in love. A proper chance in love.

She wasn't particularly interested in anyone on campus and honestly, she didn't have time to mingle around and attend parties, she was still the same shy studious straight-A student she was after all, so her weekends were spent studying during the day and watching rom-coms that made her weep and swoon all in one setting at night.

And so, like an idiot, she shifted her quest of finding a boyfriend to Tinder. Yeah, not the brightest thing she ever did, but in her defense, it was Lisa's idea.

Nevertheless, she mustered her courage and went on a couple of dates that ranged from boring to extremely uncomfortable. At that point, she had given up all hope and was about to uninstall Tinder when a guy she matched with two days ago sent her a message to hang out. She thought of rejecting him at first, her heart really not into it anymore, but he seemed sweet and was really close by so why not? Even if things don't work out, it'd be a nice closure from all this online matching. She just hoped this Jaehyun guy would be decent enough to not make any unwanted advances on her.

They agreed to meet the next day at a local coffee shop downtown. Chaeyoung arrived early and took a seat in a secluded corner. It was a quiet Wednesday evening, everyone was walking hurriedly to get back to the warmth of their homes and somehow, the sight was calming her. She was so distracted by the outside world that she almost missed the guy sitting across from her, his elbows perched on the table, his head between his palms, staring intently at her with an amused smile.

Three things crossed her mind at that moment. One, She was flushing terribly. Two, this guy looked nothing like Jaehyun. And three, there was a literal stranger at her table.

"You finally noticed me." were the first words he uttered and for some odd reason, they made her heart flutter.

"I-I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The guy's smile turned soft and he offered her his hand. "Jeon Jungkook."

As soon as their hands touched, she felt the butterflies wreaking havoc in her stomach. It was something about those bright doe eyes, or maybe his innocent smile where his two front teeth stuck out adorably. Whatever it was, in barely 20 seconds, Chaeyoung was completely taken by him.

He explained that his friend Jaehyun caught a cold and couldn't make it so he asked Jungkook to stand in for him, which was an odd thing to ask of a friend but Chaeyoung was secretly glad for this turn of events. They spent the evening getting to know each other and she learned that Jungkook actually had a job, even though he was 19 like her. Apparently he was a child prodigy and had attended university at the age of 14, majoring in computer science. Four years later, he was personally recruited by one of the biggest video games companies in Korea, working as a game developer in their Busan branch. If it was any other person recounting this, she would have probably zoned out, but the sheer joy and delight in Jungkook's eyes as he was talking about his job and the way he'd jump in his seat in excitement whenever he recalled all the late nights he spent working on this massive game, made it hard for her not to focus on him. He was just so endearing to watch, there was not one boring moment with him. He listened to everything she said with utmost interest and cracked jokes here and there whenever he deemed appropriate. His radiant energy was so contagious that she found herself laughing out loud, and in the quiet moments where they took quick sips of their coffees, they'd steal not-so-discreet glances at each other and look away blushing.

When it was time for them to part ways, they lingered around the coffee shop's door, looking at the empty street with their shoulders touching, neither of them taking a step away from the other.

"I'm glad tonight happened." he said gently. "I mean, it's terrible that Jaehyun got sick, but I'm glad I met you."

Chaeyoung was glad too and she'd be damned if she let go of this magnetic spark between so soon. "Can we make tonight happen again?" her voice came out breathless, bordering on desperate, which made her feel pathetic, but one look at him told her he was desperate too.

He smiled politely. "What about Jaehyun? This date was supposed to be with him."

"But it ended up being with you and I liked it. a lot." she confessed in a spur of the moment.

He stared at her, his eyes suddenly hopeful. She liked that look on him.

"And I'd be an idiot to let go of you." In a swift movement, he handed her his phone and she quickly typed in her number. It was crazy how insanely giddy she felt at that moment, even crazier how his mere presence commanded her full attention and that was when she realized how far gone she truly was.

She was willing to give this charming stranger more than just her attention.

-----

Lisa sighs happily the moment she flops onto her bed, hugging her pillow close to her face. Chaeyoung walks past her to her own desk, fetches her laptop out of her bag and plugs it to the charger. It was still early in the evening, around 7 PM or so, and, unlike Lisa, she was done with her paper for tomorrow. Well, for the most part. She just had to proofread it one more time but she could do that later. Right now, she just wants to snuggle under her duvet and watch one of her favorite movies.

"Wanna rewatch Pride and Prejudice with me?" she asks Lisa, who groans as she turns to face her.

"As much as I love drooling over the goddess of beauty Keira Knightly, I still got a paper to finish. So," Lisa lifts herself up and fixes her messy hair. "I'm gonna go to Jennie's room and get it done. If I stay in this room any longer I'll just fall asleep." she explains as she picks her backpack and travel mug, ready to head out.

"Suit yourself." Chaeyoung makes herself comfortable on her bed and opens netflix on her phone. "Have fun!"

"Definitely will not."

"And try not to make out too much with Jennie."

"BYE!" she slams the door hard behind her, clearly flustered, and Chaeyoung chuckles. Lisa thinks she's discreet with all the sneaking around to Jennie's room but she's well aware that they're hooking up, though nothing serious has come of it. But it's clear as day those two like each other, it's only a matter of time before Lisa becomes happily taken.

She opens her drawer filled with snacks and grabs a bag of twizzlers before she presses play on the movie.

The first time she saw Pride and Prejudice was in seventh grade, when her sister had to read the book for her english class but instead of doing that, she decided to watch the movie, and little Chaeyoung was happy to spend time with her sister. By the end of it, she was tearing up with a mouthful of maltesers, unable to get over the absolute beauty of Darcy and Elizabeth's love story. And that's how it became her favourite movie ever.

The second time was after finding out Jungho cheated on her, and in an attempt to comfort her, Lisa came over and they watched the movie again, this time around however, the movie brought her more heartache than comfort. She found it hard to believe such a pure love could ever be true, and so, at that moment, she decided to never watch it again.

Until Junkook happened.

The third time was at his place, on a cozy wednesday night. They've known each other for over a month by then and have gone on a total of six dates. On their seventh one, he invited her to watch a movie at his apartment and she agreed heartily. She had no idea what movie he picked, so when the first scene appeared on his TV screen, she froze, her eyes widening in longing. It was like reconnecting with a dear old friend after years of absence; it felt magical. Even more magical with Jungkook by her side.

By the time they reached the iconic confession scene near the end, Jungkook paused the movie and sighed. "Unbelievable." he murmured.

Chaeyoung frowned. "What's wrong?"

He looked at her, disbelief making his face. "This Darcy dude totally upstaged me!"

Confused, she asked. "What do you mean?"

He huffed, seemingly offended. "Well, I was planning to confess to you by the end of the night, but this guy delivers this super heartfelt and beautiful declaration of love and now mine will look really stupid."

There was so much going on in her head at that moment. Did he just say he was confessing to her? Was he seriously mad at a fictional character? Sweet Mr. Darcy no less? Did he really say he was gonna confess to her? she stared dumbly at him, cheeks red as a christmas hat and he freaking had the audacity to laugh at her reaction.

"What?" she finally let out.

He stopped laughing and leaned closer to her, smiling cheekily "Is it that hard to believe that I like you?"

This was not good for her heart. She looked down timidly. "How were you planning on confessing?"

"Well, I was gonna sing like a cute taylor swift song and hope for the best."

Now it was her turn to laugh. "Taylor Swift?"

"Yeah!" he nodded enthusiastically, dead serious. "Like," he cleared his throat and started singing. "You're so gorgeous, I can't say anything to your face, 'cause look at your face~. or maybe like" he straightened up "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone, I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run, you'll be the prince and I'll be the princess, it's a love story, baby just say yes!"

She bursted down laughing again, hiding behind her hands. "So I'm Romeo and you're Juliet?"

He shrugged, unbothered. "It gets the message across." he paused and took a deep breath. "I really like you, if that wasn't obvious already." he chuckled but he was starting to get nervous, his right leg bouncing up and down on the couch as he waited for her reply.

She couldn't understand why he would ever be worried. The answer was obvious.

And so she started singing another Taylor Swift lyric "And all at once you are the one I have been waiting for, king of my heart, body and soul."

The way his face lit up innocently like a little kid was a memory she'll forever treasure in her heart.

God, she was deeply enamoured with this man.

--------------

Two hours and a quick shower later, she sits down at her desk with a tired sigh, her hair wrapped in a pink towel, and opens her laptop, ready to go over her paper again until she notices that the screen is still black. She presses the power button, but nothing happens. Confused, she checks the charger to see if it was plugged right, and as she expected, it's working fine, the white dot next to the port indicating it's fully charged, so what was the problem? She started randomly slamming the keyboard, panic slowly taking over her. She tries opening and closing it again, her face blanching when nothing changes. She stands up, pacing down the small room anxiously, her breathing quickening at an alarming pace. This can't be happening. No no no, this is not happening. That paper is worth 50% of her grade, she has to hand it by tomorrow and Mr. Kim is so not lenient when it comes to deadlines and he probably will think she's lying if she told him her laptop broke down and scold her for being irresponsible so not only will she be humiliated in front of her classmates, but she's gonna fail his class terribly and her scholarship will suffer greatly and that can't happen. That absolutely can not happen. The simple thought of failing physically and emotionally horrifies her. A wrecked sob escapes her lips as she tries to breathe but can't. She quickly calls Lisa, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she tries to find her contact.

"Hey Chaeng, you need something?" Lisa picks up on the first ring in a bored tone, but when she hears ragged breaths on the other line she stiffens. "Chaeng, is everything okay? Are you okay?"

"I-" she chokes on her own words. "Laptop-" she coughs loudly, painfully dry and Lisa immediately recognizes that Chaeyoung is having a panic attack.

"I'm coming right now okay? Just try to breathe Chaeng, I'll be there right now!"

True to her words, Lisa comes into the room in less than 30 seconds and finds Chaeyoung on the floor, holding her chest with an anguished expression on her face. She drops next to her and holds her in her arms and that's when Chaeyoung completely breaks. She lets out a distressing wail, tears blurring her vision as she cries into Lisa's shoulder.

"It's okay, Chaeng, breathe." Lisa instructs, running a soothing hand down Chaeyoung's back in hopes of calming her and it does. She tries taking as much air as possible despite the aching burn in her lungs and exhales shakily. She keeps breathing in and out until her chest finally feels less constricting and the pain turns into a mild numb twinge.

Lisa doesn't let go, and Chaeyoung holds onto her tighter, thankful to have her friend in her life. When she finally calms down, she tells Lisa about the lost assignment. It sounds like a stupid thing to panic about now that some of the initial shock is gone, but the fear of failure has always been her immortal enemy, despite her best efforts to combat it. All her life she was taught that trying without achieving is just another form of failure. Results are what truly matter at the end of the day, and for years she tried to unlearn all these horrid conceptions that made people feel less than what they are, she really tried, but some things get ingrained so deeply into you that you never realize how messed up they are, until they mess you up in the ugliest ways possible.

Lisa, thankfully, doesn't judge her and offers to help. "I'll see if I can find someone to fix your laptop, okay? just-" she she waves her hands around. "I don't know, take a nap or something." she sighs. "I promise you I'll find a solution. I just need you to believe me."

Chaeyoung absolutely does not believe her but she nods nonetheless. Her friend is already doing so much to help, she's not going to dampen the mood. Lisa gets up and grabs Chaeyoung's laptop. "I'll be right back." She drops a kiss to her forehead and exits, leaving Chaeyoung with her cynical thoughts.

She follows Lisa's advice and lays on the bed, staring at her bland white ceiling but her thoughts catch up with her and she starts crying again, until her eyes grow tired and her mind becomes blank enough to allow her to fall into an uncomfortable slumber.

-----------------------

She wakes up to the smell of tobacco hitting her nose and she scrunches her face in disgust. She lifts herself up and winces when her head starts pounding loudly. She sighs and massages her temples, blinking the sleep away, ready to chastise whoever's smoking at this hour, but her breath gets caught in when her gaze lands on the tall figure by the window, a burned out cigarette between his fingers

"Jungkook." she whispers breathlessly, catching his attention. He crushes the cigarette on the window sill and smiles guiltily. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

He looks incredibly exhausted, with dark bags under his eyes and his skin ashen in an abnormal way, but those little details are what makes her believe that she's not dreaming and that Jungkook is really here.

"What are you doing here?" she asks dazedly. He turns his body fully towards her, his doe gentle eyes slowly taking her all in and she can't help but blush.

"Lisa called. She said you needed my help." he explains calmly as if it all makes perfect sense.

"So you drove for three hours, alone at night, from Seoul to here?"

He doesn't reply. He doesn't need to. The lovestruck expression on his face says it all and it makes Chaeyoung want to cry again.

"Come here," she calls out but he reclines.

"I-I can't. I reek. You hate it when I smell of tobacco."

She does. She hates it so much that they once had a big fight about it. It was three months into their relationship, long before he got promoted to work in Seoul, and Chaeyoung was studying for her finals at his old place back in Busan. They hadn't seen each other in two weeks straight since they were both so busy but she missed him terribly that even finals couldn't pull her away from him, so there she was, on his large white desk, going through her notes and making highlights when the repugnant smell of cigarettes hit her hard enough to make her gag, she turned around to find Jungkook sprawled on his bed with a laptop on his lap and a lit cigarette between his lips.

"I didn't know you smoke." her words came off sharp, with a tinge of judgement that Jungkook picked on, but chose to ignore.

Gently, he pried the cigarette off his mouth and stubbed it out. "Sorry, I should've asked you first if you were okay with it. But yeah, I do smoke." he paused then added. "Occasionally. Like when I'm too stressed or anxious." he smiled reassuringly to ease the tension, as if he could sense her disapproval, and maybe if she were in a better mood, she would've talked it out with him calmly, but that wasn't the case. She was stressed, overworked, and sleep-deprived, and that combination made her extremely irritable.

"Well, can you stop? It's disgusting." she spat, glaring at him. He frowned, hurt clear in his eyes, but she ignored it and continued. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you smoke. Were you hiding it from me?"

"No, of course not, I just didn't think it was important to mention."

His reply seemed to fuel her even more. "Not important?" she scoffed. "It's a deal breaker! it's a turnoff! if I knew beforehand I wouldn't have pursued anything with you!" her words seemed to wake the frustration he's been concealing all this time and he finally snapped.

"Well maybe you should've done that instead of wasting our time on this relationship"

She stared at him in disbelief. "You think our relationship is a waste of time?"

He rolled his eyes. "Don't turn this back on me. You're the one who thinks I'm disgusting because I smoke."

She gaped at him. "I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. Your eyes say it all." his voice broke into a soft murmur that woke her from her blind rage and guilt seeped into her immediately. Before she could've uttered an apology, he stood up and wordlessly walked out of the apartment, the door closing softly behind him, and that somehow made her feel even more guilty.

She sat at his bed and waited anxiously, till the sun had long disappeared and the moon was the only source of light in the room. She stiffened when she heard the apartment's door open, her eyes hyper focused on the blanket underneath her, and when he finally appeared, she bursted out crying.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything of what I said. I shouldn't have said that." she sniffed, tears blurring her vision. "I'm so sorry, Jungkook. I'm so sorry I hurt you. I understand completely if you want to break up with me." she chuckled bitterly through the tears, "I mean, if I were you, I'd break up with me." she sniffed again, rubbing at her swollen eyes, her anxiety heightening when she didn't hear a reply, but then she felt his hands on her cheeks as he lifted her face up to look at her properly, and that's when she saw the pained expression on her face. It didn't suit him at all.

"Why in the world would you think I'd break up with you?" he sounded broken, as if the simple thought of being away from her was unimaginable.

She hiccuped. "I said some really mean things to you."

"And I said something mean back." he her cheeks tenderly. "I'm sorry too. I don't think our relationship is a waste, it's my favorite thing about this life, I don't know why I said that."

She shook her head. "I pushed you over the edge. It's my fault." she put her hands on top of his. "I let the stress of finals get the best of me and lashed out on you. I don't think you're disgusting, I swear!" she defended, earning an airy laugh from him.

"I know, baby. I know." the pet name melted her heart, "I just needed to get out. I didn't want this fight to escalate into something we'll regret, and I got us Ice cream." he pointed to the plastic bag lying next to him. "I thought it might help us cool off. And also, talk." he wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes. "Is that okay?"

She nodded frantically.

They spent the entire night talking. It was clear that Chaeyoung had strong opinions about smoking. The smell made her react strongly and, even though she didn't admit it loudly, she was worried about his health. But, at the same time, she understood how agitated and disoriented he could get sometimes without the feel of nicotine to calm him down and so he promised her to slow down on the smoking (and maybe quit if he can.) and she promised to buy him bubble tea for encouragement, which made him giggle.

She still hates the smell, she could never get used to it, but right now, as she stares at her man standing a good six feet away from her, tired and emotionally drained and in desperate need to feel him, she realizes that's the last thing to worry about.

"I really don't care, Jungkook. Please," she pleads quietly. "I need your touch." The words work like a magic spell as Jungkook takes two large steps to her and gathers her in his arms.

She sighs, burying her face into his chest, taking in every bit of his Atlantic scent mixed with nicotine, and that's all it takes for her to finally breathe. Chaeyoung isn't an open person and her circle is very small. She hardly had any time to make connections with anyone, and she liked it that way. But Jungkook somehow filtered through her tiny resolve and made a home out of every piece of her, leaving his mark on every fibre and every vein, until he consumed her heart whole and now it lays at his mercy. She knows it's not healthy, she knows how insane it is to be so attached to someone so intrinsically, she knows the risk of losing yourself in the name of love. She knows, and yet, she pretends not to know. So she leans even closer to him, willing to let herself get lost in him because she trusts him. Ardently and blindly.

"How are you feeling?" he whispers against her hair.

"Like I just downed a whole bottle of whiskey, except I didn't and I'm just stupidly hungover."

He chuckles, his hand running down her long hair. "Well, I'm about to change that."

"How?"

"I have some good news and bad news."

She tenses and Jungkook kisses the top of her head to help her relax. It works instantly. "Bad news is, your laptop can't be fixed, you're gonna have to buy a new one." he mutters and before she could start panicking he squeezes her shoulders and continues. "But! The good news is, my y brain managed to retrieve all your uni files, including your dissertation and the presentation due tomorrow, and I put them in a USB so-"

She lifts her head up to stare at him, eyes wide in shock. "What? seriously? you did?" she mutters hoarsely, searching his face for any sign that he's cruelly messing with her. But no, this is Jungkook. her sweet and sincere Jungkook that's looking at her like the world doesn't matter.

"Yup, turns out having a computer geek boyfriend has its perks! Now you-" she doesn't let him finish and clashes their lips together, her arms around his neck as she deepens the kiss, tasting the tobacco first-hand but she couldn't care less.

"." she breathes softly, her lips hovering over his, their forehead pressed together. "You're unreal."

He chuckles breathlessly, his lips. "You got any other problems to solve? 'cause I'd really love to be kissed like that again." he teases, earning a weak laugh from her.

She sighs again, relief washing over her "Thank you."

He smiles, his eyes soft under the dim room. "Of course. I got you."

"But-" she pulls her face back and frowns "Don't ever do this again."

He blinks. "Why not?"

She gives him an incredulous look. "You think it's normal to drive 3 hours at night just to fix my laptop? You do realize you still gotta go back to Seoul AND you have an important meeting first thing in the morning! Do you not see how crazy this all is??" she exclaims, but he remains unfazed. Instead, he tightens his arms around her waist and pulls her closer, a playful grin on his face before he starts singing.

"And you know damn well, for you I would ruin myself, a million little times~"

"Oh my god," she throws her head back laughing.

"And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid~"

"Stop quoting Taylor Swift songs! this is a serious conversation." she scolds lightly with a fond look in her eyes that only encourages Jungkook to further.

"I'm serious! I'm seriously singing her songs and I'm hitting these notes spot on! I'm a natural at this."

She boops his nose. "You're a dork."

"That I am. But you're right. I need to get going soon unfortunately." he grabs his phone to check the time and the screen flashes with a photo that makes her groan in embarrassment.

It's a picture of her holding a plate of avocado toast, her least favorite meal ever, with a pout on her face as she stares grimly at the camera. Jungkook had ordered it that day as a prank on her and clearly, it worked. She ignored him for the entire day, and by that she means for only like three minutes 'cause it's really hard to ignore Jungkook.

"Out of all the cute pictures I have, you chose that one as your lock screen??"

"It's cute. You're cute." He grins mischievously and pecks her lips.

God, it's so hard to be mad at him.

"I hate to do this, but I really must go now if I wanna make it to that stupid meeting." He sounds genuinely sad that he has to leave her and it makes her heart weak.

"Text me when you get back."

"I will." He drops one last kiss to her lips and gets up, gathering his stuff up. Once he's done, he leans on the door, his eyes drinking every inch of her from head to toe, as if he hasn't had enough of her, and it's so intrusive and intimate that it makes her curl into herself, her cheeks heating up. "What?" she asks.

He shakes his head, a wistful smile on his lips that holds a thousand unspoken words. She could see it in the subtle curve of his lips that there's more he wants to convey, more he wants to tell her, but he's holding himself back.

And honestly, she's just the same. She wants to feel him again. It hasn't even been a minute and she's already touch starved, this is ridiculous.

"Take care." He says quietly, before he opens the door and walks out.

She lets out a shuddering breath as she runs her delicate fingers down her lips, the taste of him still on her.

She misses him already.

She falls back asleep, with less difficulty this time, until the morning sun hits her in the face and she wakes up with a scowl.

"Morning lover girl."

She turns around to find Lisa sitting by her bed, her face the textbook definition of fatigue.

"You look like a raccoon with ruby eyes." Chaeyoung mumbles through a yawn.

Lisa holds her hand up "Don't remind me. I pulled an all-nighter and I feel like ." she combs her fingers through Chaeyoung's messy hair. "How are you feeling?"

She grins. "Perfect."

"Ew don't tell me you guys slept together here."

Chaeyoung throws a pillow at her. "Why do you make everything so ual?"

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't."

"True."

"Here." Lisa hands her a dark blue USB. "I assume Jungkook already told you the good news. He said all your school files are here."

"Thanks." Chaeyoung gets up and ties her hair in a ponytail. "For yesterday too. You were a great help. I'm so glad I have you."

Lisa puffs her chest. "Of course you are."

"But you really shouldn't have asked Jungkook to come all the way here."

"I didn't." Lisa gives her a knowing look. "I only explained the situation and asked him for advice since he's like a computer genius. I thought he might be able to assess the problem, I didn't think he'd travel all the way here to try and fix it. That guy has it so bad for you, it's honestly cute, and I'm incredibly jealous."

Chaeyoung looks pointedly at her. "Maybe if you get your together and just confess to Jennie, that jealousy would go away and I'll finally have peace of mind."

Lisa groans as she gets up. "I'm not having this conversation. nope. I will keep my feelings bottled up and take them with me to the grave." She grabs her laptop and darts towards the door "I'm leaving first. See you in class." she says before the door shuts close.

Chaeyoung shakes her head and picks her phone to find a string of texts from Jungkook.

Jungkookie<3

I thought I had it all together u know

I told myself 3 months without seeing you wasn't a big deal

And then tonight? this morning? happened

And it just hit me how much I ing missed you

Like I knew I missed you obviously, I always miss you

But it hasn't really dawned on me until I saw your face

And it shook me to my core how much I'm so drawn to you

How much I'm so in love with you

I don't think you know that

And I wanted to say it to you directly but I chickened out

or rather, I was just really embarrassed you'd think I'm lame

Which makes no sense cuz we say I love you to each other all the time

But this time it was just so intense and subconscious

Like my mind and body are just naturally meant to love you

Anyway, that's what I wanted to say

Oh and I'm back in Seoul safely

Good luck today!

She clutches the phone tightly in her palm, a choked laugh leaving her lips, and sure enough, she's crying.

The thing about being in love is that most times, your emotions overpower your sense of reasoning, and you end up making stupid decisions that you think are worth it, but end up regretting once the relationship goes sour. There's no guarantee a bond could last the trials of time, and yet, people still go far and beyond for their loved ones, because love forces you to live recklessly in the moment, and that's what's so beautiful about it. That's what makes people seek love. In a world that values the future and undermines the past, love makes us appreciate the present.

And right now, as Chaeyoung stares at his texts pensively, she thinks of doing something completely out of character, something her strict parents definitely won't approve of, because she's madly in love with Jeon Jungkook.

------------------------

The moment her presentation ends she jumps out of the classroom and runs back to her dorm room. She starts rummaging through her stuff quickly, getting all she needs for a 4 hours trip.

"Why were you running like you're fleeing a crime scene?" Lisa barges in and stops by the door, staring at Chaeyoung stuffing her clothes in a suitcase. "Why are you packing?"

Chaeyoung turns to her, beaming. "I'm going to Seoul."

"Right now??" Lisa bellows quizzically.

"Yes, right now! I gotta catch the 13 train!" Chaeyoung explains as she continues packing.

"When are you coming back?"

"Probably Sunday."

"SUNDAY?!" Lisa screams. "You're skipping classes the entire week??"

"Yeah. I've had perfect attendance since I came here, I'm sure a week of absence won't affect me in any way. I'll be fine!" Chaeyoung explains so calmly that Lisa's starting to think her friend has switched souls with some lazy college stoner because the Chaeyoung she knows would rather wash her hair with eggs than skip classes. Chaeyoung sees the questioning look in her eyes and sighs. "I can't really explain it, but I just really need to see Jungkook. And I mean like, be with him, not just for a couple of fleeting minutes, but for a long time. Preferable forever. It's like something in me is pushing me over to him right now and I can't fight it and I just really really need to be in his arms."

A stunned silence fills the room, where the two of them just stare at each other, until Lisa says "His game must be hella good if you're willing to skip classes for him. I mean, get it girl but damn!" And Chaeyoung throws her pillow at her. again.

--------------------

Five hours later, Chaeyoung finds herself standing outside Jungkook's workplace, her mini suitcase next to her. It's a giant building with a crazy amount of security you'd think it was the blue house. Chaeyoung has only been here once but Jungkook doesn't know it. It was around a year ago when she made him a lunchbox and wanted to surprise him but she couldn't get through the front door without a pass, and she didn't want to cause a scene so she just left. Even today, those security guys still scare her.

Just then she spots Jungkook leaving the building, worn out and heavily lacking sleep, but still so perfect and lovely it makes her heart ache deliciously. She abandons her suitcase and starts speed walking towards him, uncaring of the curious looks she's receiving from passersby, until she's close enough for him to notice her, his eyes widening in surprise, but she doesn't give him time to say anything as she jumps on him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso and burying her face in his neck. He instinctively pulls her closer to him, a muffled giggle escaping his lips. She pulls back a bit to look at his face and the sight of pure joy in his gleaming eyes is one to behold.

"Hi." she grins.

"Hi." he grins back. "I guess now's my time to ask you, what are you doing here?"

"Did you really expect me to stay still after that text you sent me?"

He looks away, his cheeks turning rosy. "I- that was- I don't know where that came from honestly, it just came out of me a-and.." he continues rambling, stumbling over his words to make sense of a feeling that was meant to be senseless. And with every incoherent sentence coming out of his mouth, she wanted to be left stranded by him, wanted to lose touch with reality and plunge deeper into his world until all she could ever breathe was him. Only him.

And at that moment, she knew exactly what to say, what language to speak to truly get to him.

The Taylor Swift language.

She shuts him up with a quick kiss and smiles as she starts singing. "The more that you say, the less I know, Wherever you stray I follow, I'm begging for you to take my hands, wreck my plans~" she nuzzles their noses together before she delivers the final line.

"That's my man."

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A.N:

*Tell me you're obsessed with Taylor Swift without telling me you're obsessed with Taylor Swift*

Me: this fic.

I wrote this to get out of my writing slump and I tried not to stress about it, otherwise it wouldn't have seen the light of day. So yeah, the writing here isn't my best but it's the best I could do at the moment.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this quick oneshot! and idk, if you're interested in these characters, I might write a bonus chapter about them, like the first time Jungkook meets Chaeng's parents or something else.