To My Grumpy Idiot

“Why am I even attracted to a girl like you, Haekyung?”

His voice.

It played and played, swirling in the back of her mind. The words were faint, but light. It felt like someone was talking to her, but the girl still couldn’t grasp hold of the meaning behind it, not knowing if it was simply just a dream. All she could remember was that the last time she was awake, all her energy was drained out, with herself dozing off, holding the loose pencil in one hand.

The bright lights flashed above, and a small groan escaped from her lips. It was distracting.

She moved around a bit, feeling something support the back of her head.

Why is it so comfortable?

It was a weird feeling, but somehow pleasant. Did she pass out on the table?

With that familiar scent still lingering in the air around her, her senses became sharper. What was she doing in the first place? Oh right. Jungkook. House. Project. Sleep.

That was when her eyes snapped open instantly, and the first thing she saw literally made her nearly gasp in surprise. Those words from earlier almost completely faded from her mind. How long had she been in this position?! Just above her, he didn’t even notice her waking up as he scrolled through his phone, checking to see if there was any new messages.

Haekyung’s eyes widened when realization hit her.

Her head was leaning on the edge of the boy’s lap, with her hands folded underneath her to support herself when she mindlessly rolled around during her sleep. How did I go from sleeping on the table to his freaking lap?! She opened to speak, her tone of voice coming out partially uneven.

“..What are you doing?”

Honestly, she sounded like she was kind of freaking out, but tried not to. Usually, Haekyung was always calm and collected, not having to burst like a bubble here and there. But that was long before he had even came into her life. Looking down at the baffled girl, he glanced at her nonchalantly, brows raised. Jungkook held the urge to throw her a soft smile, somewhat loving her reaction. His phone sounded with ringtone he set, and the boy went back to texting.

“Being your pillow?”

Jungkook responded, as if it was the most casual thing ever. No, not really. Not for Haekyung though.

Is that all you can say?!

She looked at him disbelief for a second, her mind drifting towards something else.

“How long was I out?”

He checked the clock in his phone, tilting his head to one side in amusement. Was Haekyung the shy type after all? No way. Even though she showed the weirdest expressions when she’s flustered, the boy thought that she was still somewhat… really cute. Yeah, that’s the word.

No, nothing else.

Sure, that term sometimes appealed to him whenever Haekyung was present, but why did it feel kind of different this time? He remained impassive, shaking his head softly.

Great, how occupying.

Because by now, he couldn’t believe what he was even thinking of anymore. Earlier, he was most likely just too caught up to function. Maybe that’s why the sentence had slipped out unknowingly. Returning back to his nonchalant self, his lips curled into a small smile.  

“Two hours. If you want, I’ll lend you my lap again.” Jungkook teased, observing her.

“Say what?!”

She was still in the exact same spot, not moving an inch. He was content with it for a minute longer, until she shot straight up, her head accidentally knocking into the boy’s without a second thought.

Haekyung just couldn’t believe that she slept on him. More so the fact that, the boy had let her.

“Damn...” Jungkook sighed, lifting his arm up.

She clutched onto her forehead, not making any sounds. Haekyung shut her eyes tight, absorbing the pain. Jungkook bit his lips, palm on the sides of his head. He was about to shout at her, but then the girl didn’t even know what she was doing, for she was actually worried about him. 

It was her fault anyway.

She put her pain aside, one arm supporting her as she leaned over a bit, their shoulders brushing.

Stretching her other free arm, Haekyung’s hand travelled over to the tip of his soft hair, patting the boy’s head clumsily. She blinked, looking right into his eyes, only to find him staring back at her without a word. Jungkook shifted his weight over, slowly moving back. Not reflecting anything other than puzzlement, he felt the pace of his breathe lightly expand. The girl noticed his expression though, not knowing what to conclude. Huh. His level of unpredictability was really at its finest.

Her worried gaze was driving him a little off the edge, for he couldn’t look at her in the eye.

The girl’s innocent expression afterwards wasn’t helping the situation either.

Don’t look at me like that, Haekyung. I hate how adorable you – Wait, what am I saying?

He blinked, letting out a small breathe as the girl watched him. With Haekyung only showing an ounce of affection out of care, Jungkook had no idea that her simple actions would bring out such effects in him. It was really odd, to say.

What’s wrong with him?

Having the need of tilting her head to one side out of confusion, Haekyung wondered what was going with the boy in front of her. Hah. Was her head made out of steel or something? Even though it was an accident, she still felt sort of bad.

“..Hey. Are you alright?” Haekyung asked, eyeing him with uncertainty.

Really though, she tried not to laugh at his behaviour. A half-dazed Jungkook was really something.

Jungkook turned the other way, lifting himself off the floor. What was that just now? One second, the girl is all cold and blunt with her words, then soft and caring the next. Okay, yeah. Normally, if people end up in situations like this, they’d probably have the same reaction. But it’s Min Haekyung we’re talking about. The one who’s collected and grumpy most of the time.

It’s just funny, how the two have the almost same perception of one another.

He cleared his throat, trying to distract himself. Jungkook looked quite calm though, despite the pain that still lingered. His lips twisted in the most adorable way, before his answer came.

“No, I’m not okay.”

The boy walked out of the room, not sparing another glance at her.

Haekyung raised her brows, a small frown displaying. She lightly rubbed her head to smooth the pain, huffing. And to think she was kind of starting to care about him. Of course, a guy like him would definitely push her intentions away. Most girls at school probably would have done much more anyway, but Haekyung wasn’t like any of those girls. She wasn’t good at expressing her concerns.

Little did Haekyung know, that her shell was slowly cracking bit by bit.

She looked over to the counter before checking up on her progress. The girl smiled, happy that she did indeed get something done. But her attention shifted back to door. Did I hit him so hard on the head, that he’s acting all weird right now?

“Oh, what the heck. I will never understand boys.”

Uh huh. Especially a guy like Jeon Jungkook.

---

She hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Not ever since she was left alone years ago.

Yeah, to be having dinner with an actual family, although it wasn’t her own. But it was still nice. Haekyung bit her lips, looking down onto her plate as she kept quiet. Although the boys around her were rather loud, Jungkook’s parents couldn’t keep their gazes of adoration away from her. 

It was kind of weird, if you’d asked her.

Jungkook noticed, and he frowned at his parents. Especially his dad, who was busy smiling.

“I shouldn’t have spent my money on those chocolate pies. This is so much better.” Jimin groaned. A light smile replaced the boy’s lips as Jungkook slapped Jimin on the back, as if to cheer him up.

“Yeah, I told you so. How do you eat those things every single day anyway?” Yoongi laughed.

Jimin snickered loudly.

“Hey, you were who stuffed your faces with them in the first place! It was tempting, okay?”

Chuckling at the boys’ conversation, Taehyung shifted his attention back to her.

“You still tired, Haekyung?”

“Not really.”

Haekyung glanced up from her plate, gaze travelling over to Jungkook who sat directly across from her. She pursed her lips at him, and blinked. Seconds later, he looked up as well. Not needing to exchange words, the boy threw her a soft grin out of the blue, catching her off guard. Huh? I thought you were still mad at me or something. Guess not, Jeon Jungkook.

She abruptly looked away when Mr. Jeon started a conversation.

“How do you like the food? There’s more in the kitchen if you want seconds.” The man smiled.

Taking another bite out of the plate, Haekyung responded politely. “Thank you. It’s wonderful.” Though her voice didn’t exactly sound all too cheerful, Mr. Jeon could tell that she meant what she said. His smile deepened, and Mrs. Jeon laced her hands together in satisfaction, studying the girl.

They liked how Haekyung was reserved and straight forward, even though she was quiet.

Since this is such a rare sight, knowing that Jungkook never really associates with other girls asides from Sohee, the boy’s mother pulled away from her chair, heading up the stairs to grab an item. Haekyung didn’t even notice, since she was still busy eating. And the other boys, Yoongi including Jimin just continued to chat and bicker. Mr. Jeon then whispered over in a hushed tone to his son.

“Hey, Jungkook. When do you plan on making her your girlfriend?”

The words didn’t even register until seconds later.

Jungkook blinked, almost choking on his food when he wiped his head around to frown at his dad.

Taehyung turned, lending a hand to gently smooth Jungkook’s back as he coughed. Drinking the liquid out of the glass cup, the boy frowned as he regained his composure. What the. Girlfriend?

“Dad. We’re just partnered up for a school project.” He reasoned, shaking his head.

Arching a brow at the boy’s reaction, his dad just resumed with teasing his favourite son. Though Jungkook’s older brother was already in college, at least the older male had a girlfriend of his own. It wouldn’t hurt to see the youngest boy of the family to start dating sometime soon as well. With Jungkook being still the youngest, the boy had never actually had a girlfriend before.

He just simply never cared about topics like that, as he was content with everything he had.

It’s just a suggestion though. But hey, no rush, right?

“Oh really? That’s fine too. Haekyung’s quite a nice girl if I would say so myself.” Mr. Jeon chuckled.

When she was almost finished with her mashed potatoes, Haekyung turned to them with a straight face, curious. She thought that she had just heard her name being called or something. Were they talking about her? The boy then noticed her listening, and he just smiled at her usual blank expression. Jungkook didn’t answer, and shrugged his shoulders in response to that statement.

But the other two boys who sat closer to Mr. Jeon heard what he said.

“Yeah! Haekyung’s freaking awesome. We love her.” Jimin and Yoongi chorused, grinning.

She blinked, gazes set on the two, to see those huge dorky smiles plastered on their faces. Haekyung awkwardly leaned her head against her palm in cluelessness. “Um. Love you too..?”

Taehyung and Jungkook looked her way, hearing what she had just said to their friends.

Did the girl really just say that?

“Hey. What about me?” Taehyung questioned, his eyes gleaming in the most mischievous way.

Planting his arms on the table, Jungkook copied her actions as he leaned his head against his palm as well. He bit his lips, that small smile taking over. “Yeah, Min Haekyung. Just say that you love me too. I don’t mind.” Haekyung rolled her eyes lightly, not looking between the two anymore as she flicked a piece of vegetable towards Jungkook’s direction. He chuckled, darting it back to her.

“No comment.”

The girl answered plainly, and the two pouted cutely to themselves, as they were playing along.

“Hahaha! Haekyung likes us more~” Yoongi high-fived Jimin.

“Only because you all share the same hobby.” Taehyung huffed lightly, unsatisfied.

“And what would that be?”

Haekyung asked in a bored tone, wanting to know what it was. Jimin and Yoongi listened as well.

“Stuffing your faces with sweets all day.” The boy replied, laughing loudly.

“I agree with you.” Jungkook joined the conversation, throwing Haekyung a knowing look, to which the girl just rolled her eyes at him again before ignoring him. Mr. Jeon smiled, not missing a second of the moment. Oh, how much he loved Jungkook and his friends.

All he had to do now, was to add Haekyung to that list as well.

Coming down from the staircase, Mrs. Jeon held the digital camera with one hand.

Everyone turned their attention to her, eyes glued to the object she was holding. Eh? The only one who had one ounce of an idea of what was going to happen other than his dad was Jungkook. He blinked, wanting to face palm himself. The boy groaned, and the woman just smiled.

“Guys, what do you say we take a picture? To celebrate Jungkook’s new girl-“

“Mom.” Jungkook softly hissed, cutting her off.

“What? I meant to say your new friend.” Waving her hands, Mrs. Jeon shrugged his hesitation away.

Yeah, if not for the fact that I’ve corrected you just now. Jungkook rolled his eyes, sighing.

“Sure, a new picture? It’s been a while!” Jimin chuckled, slinging an arm around Taehyung and Yoongi. Mrs. Jeon gently pulled Haekyung up from the arm, and guided her next to Jungkook.

She blinked, still quiet. What the heck’s going on?

Meanwhile, the boy next to her just grinned at her reaction. Oh, Haekyung. You’ll get used to it. 

With Jungkook’s parents standing side by side, Mrs. Jeon steadied the camera in the air, moving her arms in the air dramatically, as if motioning everyone to make a simple pose or some sort.

Haekyung furrowed her brows, glancing at Jungkook in an awkward manner.

He only replied her with the look of his expression, which wasn’t much different from hers. But soon after that, he grinned at her and poked her cheek. She shifted away a bit, sticking her tongue out at him. “Your parents are sure interesting.” Haekyung acknowledged, a small smile forming. At least they were much better than her own. Not personality, but emotionally wise.

She sighed, when the subject lingered on her mind yet again.

“Tell me about it.” He responded, although he didn’t mind since he loved his parents either way.

Before Mrs. Jeon took the shot of everyone in the dining room, Jungkook walked around the girl, who was now in front of him. He then locked his arms around Haekyung’s neck and smiled softly. Her body froze, and she was still sitting there dumbly as the boy stood behind her.

Tightening his hold around her as if she was a teddy bear, Jungkook looked into the camera.

She flinched the second he had done that, and scowled before she could even attempt to shove him away. Snickering, he gently rested his chin on the tip of her head, posing a large grin. 

“Jeon Jungkook!” Haekyung grumbled, thoroughly annoyed with what he was doing.

The camera then flashed, and everyone separated after that. 

Yoongi snorted as he looked into the screen of the camera, only to find Taehyung’s hilarious expression. Jimin joined him, cackling like idiots as the other boy focused on something else.

It was the shot of Haekyung.

She was frowning deeply as her cheeks puffed out unknowingly, obviously not expecting Jungkook’s random approach during the time the photo was taken. Taehyung smiled as he stared at her face.  

How does she always manage to make such expressions? Oh. How cute.

The boy’s parents nodded in content at the picture that was just taken, checking the screen as well. “Jungkook, you sure you don’t want to take a look?” Mr. Jeon questioned, waving him over. He shook his head, sight remained on Haekyung who had a dazed and irritated look.

“No thanks.” Was all he said, as the boy sat back down on his chair, chuckling.

Haekyung frowned again, feeling the heat rise to her face. Was it anger, or just something else?

She quickly gave the boy a hard kick under the table before huffing. Jungkook then made a face at her, surprised. “I hate you, moron.” Haekyung stood up, walking away from him.

“ - Oww! You aggressive ahjumma.” Jungkook whined, as he held onto his ankle.

It didn’t actually hurt that much though, he just wanted to see if there was going to be any reaction from her. Most likely not, seeing how cold and grumpy she can be. Few minutes later, she muttered incoherently and sauntered back over to his side.

Haekyung stretched her palm out, as if she was hesitant to act this way. “Show me where it hurts.”

Jungkook looked up, not expecting her to stomp right back to his side.

“I was just kidding. What’s with that face? Now you’re just freaking me out.”

Faking a sarcastic laugh, the girl bent on her knees and tried to grab hold of his left ankle, but Jungkook just chuckled and dodged her attempts. “Stay still!” Haekyung yelled, losing her patience.

“I love how you actually care about me.”

Her frown deepened, and she stood back up almost instantly, “Don’t twist your words around, you idiot. I was just checking to see if you were lying to me.” Haekyung denied, shifting her attention away from the boy. Jungkook smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned back on the chair. “You’re really bad at lying, you know that?” The boy clicked his tongue, amused.

“Shut up, Jeon Jungkook.”

---

“Can’t you at least share the bike with me?”

She turned around, giving him that blank stare as if to state the obvious. “Nope.”

Haekyung smiled to herself, pedalling forward to speed away from Jungkook. Instead of heading home, the girl thought that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to pay a visit to the nearby store that just opened around the corner of the neighbourhood. Actually, it was more like a supermarket. 

And she had also seen the flyer that was distributed just earlier during the week as well.

Why not?

Jogging forward to catch up with her, Jungkook grinned childishly.

“At this rate, even a turtle can out speed you.” He whistled, in total relaxation as he smirked.

“Don’t make me ditch you.” Haekyung snorted.

Shaking his head at her challenge, he smiled. Haekyung blinked as he jogged right past her the next second. She frowned, rolling her eyes at the boy. “Show off.”

Jungkook turned around, his feet dragging him backwards. “It’s called being athletic, you grumpy one. Would you like me to coach you on that?” He offered, mocking her abilities. Exerting some more speed into her pedalling, Haekyung’s bike travelled back over to his side, her hair swaying messily as she managed to catch up. “You were saying?” She stuck her tongue out at him. The boy blinked, amused at her efforts.

“Why do you always have to challenge me?”

“Why do you always have to annoy me?” Haekyung retorted.

“This interrogation is never going to end, is it?” He interrupted her, ruffling her hair as if she was a pet. Laughing softly, Jungkook watched as she glared at him, leaving him behind.

How come he was never tired of seeing her this way? Even though, a smile wouldn’t hurt.

Biting back a small grin, Jungkook trailed after her.

After securing her bike, Haekyung headed over to the front entrance of the store to take a look.

Walking right beside her, the boy’s eyes did a quick scan of the place, only to curse out loud when a large crowd of people from behind the two, mainly adults, shoved past them to get through.

“Why are we here again?” He complained.

“Correction, why are you here with me, idiot?” Haekyung turned to answer him, unamused.

Jungkook smiled, shrugging his shoulders as he recalled what happened just twenty minutes ago, when the boy’s parents nagged him to drop Haekyung off at her house. Well, even if they didn’t do so, Jungkook probably would have done that anyways. Yeah, maybe.

“Let’s see, what favourite food does my grumpy idiot enjoy?”

His gaze travelled over to the sweets section, throwing a teasing look over to the girl who was close to scowling again. “None of your business. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I can handle it on my own.” Haekyung muttered, walking over to the other side to start checking out the items. 

Jungkook chortled at her answer, watching her from a distance.

Soon, he parted ways with her.

“Two for one sale, get your free sample here!” The worker dressed in a fluffy panda suit repeated.

Kids screamed in joy and ran past the girl, while the other adults chattered loudly.

There was seriously waaaay too much people. Okay, yeah, it’s obviously to be expected since it’s the grand opening, but honestly? There was almost no space to actually breathe. Haekyung groaned, her feet dragging her over to the bakery section to avoid the endless crowd.

By now, she had already long separated from him. Where did Jungkook even go?

Did he leave? Well, I can’t blame him anyways.

Searching for her phone in the pocket of her sweater, she unlocked her phone to see one new message.

Haekyung swiped her finger over the screen to open the mail.

From: Taehyung. 

Sent: 6:32 pm

Hey, sorry I couldn’t join you guys. But you should know how much I love mango tarts, right? I’ll pay you back when I see you in class. 

Thanks, Haekyung~ You're the best.

Closing her inbox, she pocketed her phone as she blinked.

It was kind of odd how Taehyung would send her a direct message like that. It wasn’t like they were particularly close or anything, just acquaintances at school. Well, sort of. But she shrugged the thought away and went straight over to the sweets section anyway.

Grabbing the mango tarts from the display case, the girl went over to the other side next.

Haekyung reached for one bottle of strawberry milk, holding it in her hand. Changing her mind the next second, she quickly grabbed another one, not knowing why she was doing so in the first place. Maybe because she still felt kind of bad for knocking into him earlier. 

Might as well get him one too.

She sighed when he was nowhere to be seen. Just great.

On the far end, Jungkook walked around boredly, not knowing what to buy. Did he even have anything to purchase anyway? Not really. The only reason he was here was because he was waiting for the grumpy girl to do her shopping or whatever she was here for.

“Hey, young man. Looking for something to buy for your girlfriend?” A voice asked.

He turned, only to see a young female part-time worker at the counter, waving at him with a grin. She looked like she was at least twenty. Jungkook shook his head, replying nonchalantly.

“No. I’m good.”

“Oh come on, don’t be shy. I’m sure she’ll like it!” The girl urged, winking at him.

He scrunched his brows at her, before another male worker pushed him towards a section he had already been to earlier.

“Hey, wait – “Jungkook sighed as he was literally dragged over. “These are really popular right now, you can get them at a price of two for one.” The male said. Jungkook blinked at what he was seeing. There was a large pile of huge lollipops sprawled all over, ranging from different colours and sizes. Just what on earth was he going to do with them?

“Seriously, lollipops?”

“Haha, girls love them, no? At least my girlfriend does.”

“Uh. Yeah, but that one person I know is kind of really grumpy, so I’ll pass.”

“Sure, but I hope you change your mind once you check them out a while longer.” The worker chuckled and walked away, tending to the other customers wandering around the place. Jungkook then looked around, still bored as ever.

He took another quick glance, to see a set of markers laying in a single basket on the side.

Apparently, it’s some kind of self-service with these products. Jungkook watched a couple of kids play and decorate with their own piece of candy, before he lightly scoffed. Oh, whatever.

Can’t hurt to try.

Reaching his hand into the pile, he flipped over a few to decide which one he should buy. Did it even matter though? The boy convinced himself that he was only buying something for her out of common courtesy. As long as it’s food, Haekyung would surely come to appreciate it, right?

Haha. Of course she would.

“In that case, I’ll take just one then.” Jungkook smiled.

Fifteen minutes later, Haekyung found him standing at the far end of the store.

“I thought you left, idiot. What are you doing over there?” She shouted, strolling over to where the boy stood. Jungkook turned, observing what she had gotten during the past half hour.

“Really? strawberry milk, and mango tarts only?”

“Yeah. Got a problem with that?” Haekyung rolled her eyes.

“You came all the way here just to buy those? Real smart.” He laughed, smoothly blocking what he had gotten behind his back. “Well, I just wanted to check this place out, okay?” She argued.

“Uh huh.”

The two walked back over to the cashier, paying separately.

When they were done, Jungkook blinked as he followed after the girl who was walking a little too fast for his liking once again. “Are you trying to ditch me again? Slow down, Min Haekyung.”

“Who’s the turtle now, huh?”

He snickered, taking long strides towards her as she unlocked the pad attached to her bike. Placing down the item he had purchased just now, he lightly flicked the girl on the forehead to gain her attention. Haekyung blinked before she looked his way, confused. 

“Check your basket later.” He tapped the front compartment of her bike.

“Why?”

“You ask too many questions.” Jungkook waved her off, turning around to leave.

“Hey, you idiot. Wait.”

“What?”

Reaching her hand in the bag, Haekyung grabbed the drink before throwing it over to him.

He caught the bottle of milk, staring back at her blankly.

“Okay. What’s this for?”

She scowled, shaking her head at his level of stupidity. Was he just playing dumb or what?

“For you to drink. No, cross that out. Use it to whack yourself on the head, idiot.”

Laughed loudly at her sarcasm, the boy popped the lid open to take a sip. “Aww, looks like you do care about me after all. Huh?” Jungkook teased, grinning as he waved the bottle in the air. “Stupid, who said that I cared?” Haekyung dashed right past him on the bike without looking back. Jungkook chuckled lightly, enjoying the taste of the drink as he headed towards the opposite direction.

---

Haekyung placed the light grocery bag on the kitchen counter, almost forgetting to retrieve that one thing he had told her about. What was it anyway? She rummaged through the basket, searching for it. When she found it, she twirled the sky blue lollipop in her hand, playing around with it.

It was attached to a piece of ribbon, and a note hanging.

To, Min Haekyung my grumpy idiot:

Why do I seem to like it so much, whenever you scowl at me like that? Yeah. It doesn’t really make sense, I know.

You’ll forever be an angry ahjumma, so just stick with being grumpy.

Okay? (:

Pft, girls like these sorts of things, right? Hold it or toss it, I don’t care.

It’s yours to keep anyway. 

His words sunk in to her mind, and Haekyung frowned. Just what kind of a letter is this? She could barely tell if Jungkook was trying to be nice to her or not. On the other hand, it was more like a note to remind her what she meant to him. But as clueless as she was, the girl only scoffed. Okay, I’ll just keep it. Entering her room, she pulled open the drawer to look for an empty space, storing the item there.

It’d be a waste to throw it away, right?

Jungkook, you stupid moron.

Eventually, Haekyung cracked a small smile.

Out of all the things she liked, how did he manage to guess correctly?