***

Frowning deeply, I stared down at the black round object in my hands. A helmet. I bring it closer to my face hesitantly and tilt it, watching my blurry reflection on top of its smooth surface,

“you are supposed to put your head inside it, you know? Not glaring at it” JungKook amused voice break the silent and I lift my head to look at him as he sit on top of a red motorbike, holding a small chuckles,

“I thought we will use the jeep” I commented, ignoring his tease and throw a glance at the black jeep that parked neatly among the other five vehicles that each boys owned. I know each of them have a different taste for their rides -I’ve visited the garage a handful of times to know this, they sometimes vanished and could be found here, pampering their rides- and figured that there's no way the youngest doesn’t owned one but what I didn’t expect is the fact that it is a motorbike. This is the first time I see the thing actually,

“I figured I should introduce you both sooner or later” he grinned, patting the two wheeled vehicle gently and I could actually see the love he had for it. He looked almost like a proud father, I shake my head at the thought, amused,

JungKook took the helmet from my hand and strap it on, grinning wider as he look at me,

“why haven’t I seen it until now?” I ask out of curiosity  when he turn on the engine and the thing purred to life. I always think that a motorbike sounds were louder and more harsher that cars but this one actually sounds so smooth, almost soothing if I may say, I could see how much love and times JungKook actually pour into this thing,

“I usually keep it at my household, Jin hyung didn’t like it when I’m riding it around too often, saying that it's dangerous and all, you know how much he love being a worry wart” JungKook shrugs as he answered, annoyed frown decorating his face as he did so and I giggled. Of course, SeokJin is the only one who could make the stubborn Jeon JungKook away from the thing that he loves, being an overprotective brother and all but I can see JungKook actually did enjoyed the attention he got no matter how many times he hide it, pretending to get annoyed each time, it’s quite embarrassingly hilarious thing to watch because of the way they both acted sometimes,

“Jimin hyung have his convertible rooftop opened all the time and we both know that NamJoon hyung’s Jeep wasn’t exactly that safety either with all that newest modification that he applied to the poor thing and yet I was the one he bugged the most. Jin hyung just loves growing white hair” the youngest boy continued his complaints and I let him, sympathizing with him a little knowing exactly how suffocating Kim SeokJin overprotectiveness single handedly,

Giggling lightly, I fold a hand in front of my chest, head tilting slightly at him as I ask, despite of already guessing the answer, “and did he know you are taking me for a ride on it?”,

JungKook visible shudders at my question and shake his head “of course not! He’ll going on a rampant and I won't be surprised if he actually banned me from taking you out with me again next time if he know, so, you too,” he paused dramatically and shot me a stern look which I countered with a slightly raised eyebrows, waiting for him to finish his words,

“don’t tell him, understood?”, I laughed when I heard it and nod my head then making a zipping movement on my mouth to let him know that I wont tell the oldest Kim which satisfy the boy in front of me as he give me his own nod of approval before straightening his body back and put both hands on the handlebar. I eyed his movements quietly, watching the gloved hand make the engine purred again,

JungKook throw me a side glance, grinning from behind his helmet as he caught me staring, “well, come on, hop on”,

“before one of them heard us and come down, I’ll be damned if they actually ruined our date, they have monopolized you enough. It’s my turn now or else it won't be fair” he added jokingly, jutting his lips as he rushed me over by slightly pulling on the end of my sleeve,

Shaking my head slightly after making a quick glance towards the door that lead to the palace, I hop on to the bike and looped my arms around JungKook’s torso, the material of his leather jacket felt cold and nice against my palms and I unconsciously pressed the side of my face more onto his broad back, rubbing my cheek over the smooth material of his jacket and getting comfortable before I felt JungKook laugh, “snuggly” he teased, an air of smugness start to float, making me roll my eyes at him before smacked his abs hard enough to make him stop polluting the air around us but keeping my arms intact around his torso, doesn’t even bother to change my position from gluing myself onto the boy because man, he’s way too cuddly to let go,

“stop that and drive, or do you really want SeokJin to hear your bike sounds and come down here? You know that boy have a pair of unbelievably sharp ears even for a vampire” I hissed casually and successfully silenced the snickers as he took a quick glance towards the heavy door that leads to the palace then agreeing with my warning and start moving,

We drive through the thick trees surrounding the path that leading towards the palace in a peaceful silence as the cold moon light shine upon us, illuminating the road whilst casting the shadows of nature in its path, the sounds of creatures of the night reaching my ears as they accompanying our ride with their voices. I found myself closing my eyes in delight as I felt the wind caressing my skin as if they’re a warm embrace of a mother, I tighten my arms around JungKook’s waist and feel him leaned back as he smile, releasing one hold on the handle to squeeze my hand lightly before putting it back on it’s previous position, contented,

In about half an hour of driving, we reached the town skirt and I noticed JungKook slowed down his bike before finally pulled it into a full halt in front of a rather tiny restaurant a little bit on the less crowded side of the town, heck this could even be called the deserted side of the town if you ask me, there’s only a bunch of houses filled the land, about 5 other houses and only a few couple of people hanging around the street, minding their own business and only spare a quick glances towards us when we arrived before flash of recognition marred their faces when they see JungKook and then turn their attention back to their previous activity as if nothing happened while peeking curiously at me occasionally and I wonder if JungKook often go to this place to the point there’s no commotion occurred because of his presence. I mean he’s one of the infamous heirs, duh,

Hopping off of the bike, I look around and quickly regretted my decision when my eyes meet with one of the villager eyes. It’s as if they studying a very interesting object and cant take their eyes away from it. I grew more and more self conscious as I felt their glances glued at me, it’s not the usual heated gaze filled with hatred and disgust that I usually get almost in daily basis around the school and our noble society, instead I felt the genuine curiosity and awe which is I found quite confusing but still, I feel like hiding my face or maybe myself all together back into the woods behind us. The familiar discomfort of being watched are coming back from the back of my mind, the feeling that I’ve been put away ever since I get back from the Reaper realm, shaking the wall of the fragile fake confidence that I’ve been build up and instantly, I feel like a freak

JungKook put a finger beneath my chin and forcing me to look up -apparently I’ve been staring at my boots the whole time since I felt the stares- gloveless finger on the cold skin as he smile at me, “let’s get you inside, yeah?” he said quietly, nodding his head towards the tavern and I blinked before turning my attention to the small building,

Seeing it in a full view now, the place really is small and simple yet mesmerizing, it even passed as a house instead of a place to eat, with calming and soft colors on its wooden walls, flower pots full of rare petals either hanging around the corner or on the floor beside a rubble path leading to the two swinging doors, it looked like one of the cottage that you could only find in a fairytales when a bunch of forest animals would suddenly peeking with their round curious eyes out of the windows to greet you. All in all the place radiating such a warmness that I couldn’t help the slight uplift of the corners of my lips at the sight and I sighed in awe unconsciously, JungKook laughed at my starstruck state as he too hopped off of the bike and take my helmet from me to put it on the seat safely before taking my hand and lead me inside,

Warm, indeed, that was the first thought that hit me when I step inside and my eyes found the fireplace as we make our way through a bunch of people that either playing a simple games of pool and darts, choosing song from the juke box or simply sitting on their tables, enjoying a simple meals, conversing between themselves or take a few seconds to greet my mate -again, they don’t seems to mind JungKook presence that much, as if this is an usual encounter- which JungKook answered with equal delight while dragging me behind as I taking in my surrounding with big round eyes,

We finally reached a rather quiet corner and JungKook pulled the chair for me before pulling the one in front of me himself and grinned as he watch me still looking around in awe, “cute” he said as he reached out to pull a single strand of red hair from the corner of my lips and successfully brought be back from whatever state I’ve been into, I turn my eyes towards him with a light frown,

“I’m not cute” I hissed,

He chuckled lightly, countering my glare with his usual smug looks as if challenging me “but you are”,

Groaning painfully, I throw both hands in the air in dramatic ‘whatever-I-give-up’ manners and turning my eyes back to my surrounding as JungKook laughed, preparing to talk back to me before got cut off even before he could do that when a brown haired woman stopped right beside our table, dressed in a knee length black and white dress with a water jug on her hands, her apron secured tightly in her hips,

I look up and found her smiling down at me, her excitement was so palpable that I could almost taste it on the tip of my tongue, “good lord, I’ve been wondering when would this day come” she said happily, keeping her gaze at me two second longer before turning them to JungKook who grinned as he scratch the back of his sheepishly, looking like a little boy whose waiting for his parent compliment after getting a good grades in his assignment. Which is, a quite adorable sight to see if you ask me,

“good evening, my dear Princess, you have no idea how many times I’ve asked for Prince JungKook to bring you too whenever he came to visit” the kind woman smiled at me warmly, glancing accusingly at JungKook which he answered with a light chuckles,

I fidgeted, doesn’t know what to say in this kind of situation, not to mention I still haven't used to 'that' title -I dont think I'll get used to it no matter how long it takes though- so I just scratch the back of my head as I tried to muster anything but then the woman laughed, understanding my confusion as she speak again, “my, where’s my manners, my apology, I’m Hyori, I’ve been hearing about you from JungKook since your coming of age day, there’s no visit day passed without me or my husband got a full details about you from him” she giggled and I blinked at both the fact that JungKook has been tattling about me to a total strangers and the casual way she addressed him this time. She sounds like an overly excited mother who finally get to know her son crush after a long time,

JungKook laughed at my bewildered face as he observed me and my reactions with chin rested on his palm before exchanging looks with Hyori and grinned smugly, “I told you I’ll bring her someday”,

Hyori rolled her eyes and shake her head “I get it why it took you this long to finally get her to go on a date with you if this is the kind of attitude you have in daily basis,” she crossed her arms as she continued “and I don’t blame the other Princes for being strict either”. This woman actually put JungKook on his place more effectively than SeokJin ever did!

Pouting, JungKook huffed as he turn his head aside -looking like a scolded child- while I watch the two in amusements before Hyori  once again turn to smile at me, her sweetness coming back and I found myself wondering if ever she suffered the same bipolarism as HoSeok did, “now, what should I get you two?” she asked,

I turn to look at JungKook for help, doesn’t know what to order and he got the message as he chuckled, “I’ll have my usual,” pausing before staring at me for a milliseconds long and then grinned as he ask “apples?”, laughing when he saw my eyes brightened at the mention of the fruit,

“anything with it then” JungKook said without taking his eyes off of me,

Catching on fast, Hyori clapped once, “we have the perfect dish! Excellent!” she exclaimed delightfully before throwing me another big smile and then excused herself to prepared the foods,

I turn my body to face my mate and put my chin on tip of my open palms as he watch me in amusement, “so why here? Don't get me wrong, this is nice and all, if anything I love it but I’m curious… is this where you go whenever you went missing?” I asked, tilting my head slightly and JungKook grinned, showing me his adorable bunny teeth as he leaned down on the table with both elbows on top of the surface, mirroring my pose,

“yeah, nice isn't it? and Hyori and her husband and child makes it all better” he answered, looking around for a few seconds before focusing back at me and I could tell he really did love the place,

I hummed, agreeing with him and he continue “I usually came here to sketch, or when the situation gets murky, this place helps me calm myself,” he said in a far away tone, eyes wandering towards the kitchen door as he smile. I do know that JungKook enjoys sketching and painting, he likes sketching people the most and I caught him lost in his own world staring at people handful of time to actually became familiar with this habit of his,

“do you know that Hyori resembled my mother before she knew of my father affair? She’s not always that strict and cold person, there’s time when she was kind and loving”, I frowned, knowing where this is going and felt quite wary but JungKook just turn his head back at me and keep smiling, a sad one but still he tried. His family issues is never a good thing to talk about,

JungKook shake his head right when I opened my mouth to say something to lighten the mood “I talked with him, you know? My half brother”, I blinked slowly, listening tentatively as wait for a sign of the usual discomfort and hatred to surfacing but nothing shown, he just shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back to get more comfortable on his seat,

“you did?” after making sure that nothing’s wrong and he merely wanted to make a light conversation out of it. JungKook always show his distaste towards his half brother clearly and I know just how much he hate him as he already been showing me that hatred for almost all the time I knew him in the past, using me as a place to pour all of the hates that he felt towards his half brother. So when I heard that their estranged relationship somehow fixed -no matter how small the differences is- I smiled, feeling genuinely happy with this news,

He hummed “hm, he’s not all that bad, if I may say”,

“how so? I mean, how this happened? Knowing you, there’s no way you’re the one who took the initiative” I smirked when he send a playful glares at me but then laughed a second later,

“I caught him staring at one of my paintings in my arts room the last time I visited the manor and he panicked when he saw me standing at the door,” JungKook chuckled,

I could actually guess where the next scene going judging by the looks on my mate face,

“he thought he would get scolded but found me asking him if he interested in arts, if only you saw how big his eyes were that time, I low key expecting them to popped out of their sockets and start rolling down the floor” he snickered at the memory and I laughed,

JungKook talked more about his brother afterward and how he found they actually shared more than one interests, they clicked just fine and he talked about how things get easier for him since. Sure, his parents would still fight but JungKook finally get one burden lifted off of his heart, because the weight of hatred is none too light. I keep smiling and let him do all the talk as he looked really eager to tell me about his brother. He already adores the younger boy,

“so, when do I get to meet him?”,

JungKook stopped right on his track and light frown start to shows on his forehead as he looked at me as if I just asked to marry his brother,

“nope” he said firmly and I blinked rapidly at his sudden change of mood. Confused and amused at the same time. I mean, I just said that to , his reaction is kind of expected seeing how possessive he is but to have it actually happened is such an amusing thing to see,

Decided to a bit more, I put on a pout and whine “aww, whyyy? Yoongi oppa let me meet SaeRa so why don't I get to meet yours?”, JungKook frowns deepened and he glared at me this time, crossing his arms in front of his chest and I found myself secretly appreciating the view as his wonderful biceps shows up for the world to see. Can you blame me? Beside Jimin, JungKook has a body shape of a greek gods in the human mythology!
 

“this is different” he growled and I bit down my sniggers as I pouted even more, huffing loudly,

“stingy” I retorted while JungKook rolled his eyes at this as he pretend that he didn't hear me no matter what names I call him to rile him and after half a dozen tries, I gave up and giggled quietly,

Half a minute passed in a peaceful silence since our conversation as we listening to the buzz of people around us, the other customers don’t really paying attention to us anymore, seemingly finally lost their interest -or being reprimanded by Hyori herself when she passed their tables on her way back to the kitchen earlier as I saw her stopping for a second before with hands