You know what ? When you're on this awesome roll with your bias, and then somebody suddenly shows up and totally yanks on your heartstrings. Yeah, it . And he doesn't even have to do much! All he has to do is, I don't know, smile or laugh or breathe, and then bam! There went my iron resolve. It's like he's got me chained up, and I'm about ready to explode! x_x anyways, here's chapter 7, my faithful readers! I apologize for the slow progress ^^' Love you!

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I sat on the bench without moving and stared at Jungkook, unsure of how to respond. I’d admitted my feelings about him after realizing that I didn’t just think he was cute, and now that he was standing over me, I was overwhelmed. I had to remind myself that it would obviously be best to act natural, and I smiled slowly, shaking my head with a soundless laugh. I scooted over on the bench even though there was already a lot of room, and gestured for him to sit next to me. He walked around and did so, keeping his posture upright and formal, respectful.

I looked out over the river, taking a deep breath. I was about to tell him that I was only feeling a little ill and had gotten the day off when he beat me and spoke first.

He leaned forward a little to be able to look at my expression. “Are you having problems with your boyfriend again?”

I blinked a few times in silence, trying to find the words to converse with him. He had no idea how big my problem with my boyfriend really was, and he had no idea that he was also involved in my situation just because he simply existed. He was genuinely worried about me, and that warmed my heart even more, my feelings growing. I ended up shaking my head, and rested my chin on my knee once more. “No. Solmi just thought I should take the day off since I’m not used to such a quick lifestyle.” I laughed at my own wording. “Well, you know what I mean.”

He nodded, smiling a little more. He was starting to loosen up now, but he was still treading carefully. His hands on his knees, he rubbed his legs lightly in thought and remained silent. I looked at him, chewing a little on my lip. The moment was somewhat awkward, but not cringe-worthy yet. After a few more seconds, Jungkook finally relaxed his posture and leaned back, his hands folded loosely over his abdomen. We both looked out at the river in comfortable silence.

“The truth is,” I murmured suddenly, closing my eyes as I continued to speak, “I was thinking about quitting.”

Stunned silence came from the other end of the bench, prompting me to open my eyes and to turn and look at him. He was staring at me with wide, open eyes, the true picture of innocence. My chest tightened and I couldn’t look at him for much longer, but I also couldn’t bear to look away. I’d noticed it before, noticed that something he possessed that made it hurt to look at him, but that also made it impossible to turn away. Although my self-esteem was attacked viciously every time, I couldn’t fight the desire to stare.

“Why?” he finally asked me, baffled. Then he was concerned for me, and my chest tightened further. “Did something happen?”

I was so not about to tell him what happened. Instead, I shook my head and decided to tell him what I had started telling the coordis unit. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this job, and—”

He cut me off immediately. “Stop. I really hate your answer already.” He shook his head quickly, refusing my response.

I was surprised by his reaction, yet not surprised at all. Smiling to myself, I shrugged lightly. “Well, I think I’m not good enough.”

He groaned, shaking his head, his hands lifting to press against his chest dramatically. “I hate it. Stop.”

I started laughing, his reactions hilarious. “It’s because I definitely at my job—”

He covered his ears and groaned some more. “Noona, stop. What’s wrong with you? My skin is crawling.”

Full-on giggling now, I straightened up more on the bench and continued to watch him. He looked at me and broke into a small smile, having successfully made me laugh to get me out of my gloomy state. We were comfortable with each other once again, as friendly as we had been during work.

Smiling gently, Jungkook told me, “Really, though. I don’t want to hear you say that ever again. You’re really good at your job, and…” His cheeks turned a little red. “You’re not allowed to quit unless I say so.”

My heart skipped a beat, but then I decided to get sassy on him. “Oh? Unless the young master says so, huh?”

He broke out laughing lightly and then jumped up from the bench, gesturing for me to stand up too. “Come on, noona, let’s go get something to eat.”

My face fell swiftly. “What? Won’t that be dangerous?” He suddenly pulled out a face mask, some sunglasses, and a baseball cap. He started putting them on while I watched, my eyebrows up and my lips split in a grin. I laughed quietly and folded my arms loosely across my chest. “You look like a creeper.”

He took off his sunglasses to show me his narrowed eyes, keeping them off his face to compromise a little bit. He gestured again for me to stand up. “Hurry, I’m hungry.”

Amused, I stood up slowly and swept my arm out. “After you, young master.”

He rolled his eyes, chuckling lowly, and started walking while I trailed after him. He slowed his stride to match his with mine, and we were soon walking side by side. After a few minutes of friendly quiet, he nudged me very lightly with his arm, barely touching me at all. I looked at him, waiting to see what he had to say, pretending that I hadn’t felt a jolt of electricity the moment his arm had brushed mine.

“Is it too forward if I ask how you met your boyfriend?” he inquired gently, his voice slightly muffled because of the mask he wore over the bottom half of his face.

Moderately surprised by his topic of choice, I shrugged lightly and clasped my hands against my lower belly as I walked, remembering the first time I’d met Jihoon. “We met at a bookstore. He was with his friends, and they started hitting on me, but in a pretty rude way, and rather than falling into their goading, I bought the books I’d gone in for and left them talking to themselves. Jihoon was the only one who caught up to me to apologize.” I rolled my eyes. “I had thought he was a nice guy up until he asked me for my number, and I left him hanging too—but we ended up running into each other at that same bookstore not too long after.”

Having listened very intently as I’d been speaking, Jungkook nodded and then asked, “So he asked you out again the second time?”

I sighed, unable to keep myself from smiling now. “And the third time, and the fourth time.”

“You said no over and over?” he asked, incredulous.

Laughing quietly, I nodded. “I didn’t really like him, and I didn’t think it would be fair to say yes if I was only going to lead him on.”

“So you ended up falling for him because he kept on trying,” he said, nodding with understanding and with somewhat of an a-ha feeling.

I hesitated and then refuted his assumption. “No. I said yes the sixth time—”

“The sixth time?!” he repeated, flabbergasted.

A little self-conscious, I nodded. “The sixth time…because, well, I felt bad and thought, ‘Wow. He must really like me’. So now I don’t know how to breakup with him without hurting his feelings.” I rubbed the back of my neck, thinking that the only reason I was even considering breaking up with him now was because of the boy walking next to me.

Jungkook was silent for a good thirty seconds. He turned his head to watch me. “You really don’t love him at all?”

“Not like I should after three years,” I whispered, my hands dropping limply to my sides. “It was a serious mistake. I ended up leading him on after all.”

“So you feel nothing after hugging him?” I shook my head, exhaling roughly. “Holding his hand doesn’t give you butterflies?” I looked at him blandly. “Kissing him…?” Although I blushed a little because he asked me that, I still shook my head, averting my eyes. “Have you even—never mind,” he changed his mind, his ears turning a bright red.

I looked at him skeptically, my eyebrow raised. “Have I what?”

He shook his head quickly, almost violently; what little of his face that I could see was now burning crimson. “Nothing, forget it.”

“No, I want to know what you were going to say,” I insisted, before finally interpreting his body language and turning a bright red myself. “Jeon Jungkook, you don’t ask a girl that!”

Clearing his throat, he dashed up to a restaurant’s door and opened it for me, his head turned to the side so he didn’t have to meet my eyes. Still very embarrassed, I hurried inside and sat down at a table, waiting for him to take his seat across from me. We were both still very embarrassed, our heads still lowered by the time the waiter came to ask us what we wanted. We ordered our food respectfully, and then ended up sitting awkwardly. It was cringe-worthy at last.

“You really aren’t in love with him,” he finally said, resuming our conversation but straying away from the last thing we had said. I nodded, brushing my hair away from my face. I rested my elbow on the table and then placed my chin in my hand, feeling sulky. It was helping to talk about it at last, however, even though it wasn’t really providing any solutions for my extraordinary predicament. Jungkook was thoughtful across from me, looking at the grill in the center of the table we’d be using shortly, his hands at his sides. He removed his face mask and hat, deciding we were safe for the most part in the restaurant, setting his disguise aside on the table. He raised his gaze to look at me at last. “You know there’s no other way around it. You have to breakup with him, noona.”

I pressed my face into my hand, covering my forehead, and closed my eyes to think. He was right, of course he was right, but I felt like breaking up with Jihoon would be a risky move. I had work to think about, the contract, and I needed to have multiple things keeping me away from Jungkook, the forbidden fruit. Well, they say forbidden fruit is the sweetest. I was determined to keep myself from finding out just how sweet Jungkook was—and realizing how dirty that sounded, I grew red once again. Glancing up at Jungkook, observing his features, my heart pounded; joining him had been a mistake.

Jungkook’s eyes suddenly met mine and he blinked multiple times rapidly. “What? Is there something on my face?”

I shook my head, dropping my gaze. There was nothing wrong with his face at all, and without makeup, he was still devastatingly handsome. It was unfair how attractive he was, and yet I wanted to thank his parents profusely for all they’d done for the world by producing such a fine creature.

An idea struck and I looked at Jungkook again. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”

He was surprised by my sudden question, and then he burst out laughing, although his ears had turned pink. “No way. That’s impossible.”

My eyebrow furrowed. “Do you have a dating ban?”

“Dating ban or no dating ban, I don’t like girls,” he told me bluntly, and I felt my eyes just about pop out of my head. Realizing what he said, he held up his hands and shook them around quickly. “No, no! I don’t like guys either, I’m not gay!”

I looked around, teasing him a little. “No, no, of course you aren’t. I mean, I wouldn’t judge either, you can be what you want to be, it’s a free world.”

He winced. “Noona, don’t be like that.”

“Hey, I’m being absolutely supportive here, buddy.”

He groaned. “I don’t like girls, I like women.”

Laughing, I reached forward and ruffled his hair. “Just what do you know about women, Jungkookie?”

Reaching up to brush his hair away from his eyes, he looked right into mine as he said, “I know I like them a lot.”

My heart pounded and I had to clear my throat a couple times, and when that didn’t work, I served myself some water. The waiter had perfect timing and showed up with our food then, so I got to grilling to keep myself busy and so I could better hide how flustered he’d made me. His short, high-pitched laugh made me smile, though.

“I’m not a little boy, you know,” he told me, and I rolled my eyes.

I knew that a little too well, but I didn’t say so. “Yes, yes, you’re all grown up now.”

He tried to help with grilling the meat, but I didn’t let him, needing that as a distraction. I couldn’t have him impressing me with his cooking skills either, because I was already having trouble with my wayward heart.

“So there’s no one you like?” I asked him, curious to know the answer. If he had someone he liked, then I could focus on that to break my own heart and move on. Heck, crushing on Jimin was safer than liking Jungkook.

“IU,” he blurted, and I just about choked on my own saliva. I could see that was a real tough rival to beat, but at the same time, I didn’t really think she could be a rival at all.

I was pretty sure I’d heard that she was dating somebody, but I didn’t say that. Instead, I asked, “No one else? Like… I don’t know, someone…” I wanted to say without a boyfriend, but I didn’t want to be mean and bring that up. I cleared my throat. “Someone else…?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

He was pretty dang adorable. I smiled as I gave him the first taste of the grilled meat, and he ate it up hungrily, not hesitating at all to take up what I offered. He chewed happily, practically wriggling in his seat. “So good,” he was able to say after a little more chewing, and I offered him some more—and he practically lunged for it, super excited.

After I had my own bites—the meat seemed to melt in my mouth, absolutely delicious—we got some bowls of rice, he ordered some soda, and I requested extra of everything, prepared to treat him to the meal because I’d unloaded my problems onto him. I kept on grilling and he kept on eating eagerly, looking like a kid in a candy shop… Although I acknowledged that I had to stop referring to him as a child since he was definitely growing up well.

“Well, if it isn’t IU, then I’m still unlucky,” he murmured, taking a sip of his soda.

I looked at him, confused. “Why? Because of the dating ban?” I assumed.

He shook his head. “No—well, sort of.” He was now chewing on a bite of food thoughtfully. Swallowing, he shrugged. The tips of his ears were growing pink again, and I just about lost it, wanting to reach forward and pinch his cheeks. “She’s unavailable.”

“Oh?” I cocked my head to the side. “Does she have a boyfriend too?” I gasped. “Oh! Is she another idol? Does she have a dating ban, too?”

He shook his head quickly, waving off my guesses with his hand. “No, no. She’s…” He paused, then changed his tune. “Yes. Yes, she is an idol. But she’s older than me, and she’s got a boyfriend already.”

Having him confirm that he liked someone else did kind of break my heart, but it was also good to hear it so I could forget my stupid infatuation. Then I narrowed my eyes. “Wait a minute—you’re not still talking about IU, are you?”

Jungkook burst out laughing, and in a very unbelievable tone of voice, said, “No!” It was too difficult to discern whether he was or wasn’t.

“Quit yanking my chain,” I told him, reaching forward to ruffle his hair again.

He only laughed, reaching up again to fix his hair.

Just as I was immersed in eating my rice, he spoke up again, making me forget about the food altogether.

“So, if you don’t love your boyfriend, then is there someone else that you like?”

Oh, what a dreaded question. I honestly had to take a moment to consider my new reality, because after such a simple way of life, suddenly things were getting so very complicated for me. Yet, it wasn’t just suddenly; it was all thanks to my new job, and Jungkook’s involvement contributed. Before accepting my job, before working with the boys, I’d lived simply and easily, drifting along day by day without a storm in sight. As soon as our paths coincided, the waters became tempestuous, and I was suddenly caught up in a tidal wave of complications. What was once easy, was now a challenge. I knew who to blame for the sudden passion in my life, and even my once-simple feelings became mixed.

It was hard to dislike them for ending the perpetual boredom I had been trapped within.

Taking a sip of water because I didn’t trust myself with the soda, I gave myself time to craft up an answer. I met his eyes briefly, my heart swelling in my chest, absorbing all of my feelings. A stupid confession had begun to formulate in my head, but life is cruel, and I knew I couldn’t do that to him, and I was still in a relationship with Jihoon. The urge to scream in frustration surfaced, but like my feelings for the golden boy, I squashed it. I shrugged as I smiled shyly at Jungkook. “I don’t think so. Maybe I’m incapable of love.”

His eyes narrowed and I recalled Hyori’s second sight and just about had a panic attack. If he could see through me like she did, then I was screwed.

He frowned and looked down at his plate, pushing his food around quietly.

“Did my answer disappoint you somehow?” I wondered aloud, my heart jack hammering.

He looked up, his head at an angle that made him even more handsome, especially with his serious expression and mysterious gaze. I knew he was completely unaware of it, but he was a total heartbreaker. “Everyone is capable of love, noona. Your answer not only disappointed me, but it upset me.”

Jungkook was making it exceptionally difficult to dislike him! Experiencing him using such manly expressions, words, and actions, I was about to suffer a .

“You’re actually pretty negative, aren’t you?” he observed aloud, looking at me thoughtfully. “You’re naturally pessimistic.”

I took a drink of water, then set down my cup slowly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Shaking his head coolly, Jungkook contemplated his next words briefly before finally telling me seriously, “It’s surprising how much you lack in passion.” Just as I was about to feel offended, he added on, “Stop being so negative, stop being so simple, and live. If you don’t live for yourself, then who will?”

I was getting a life lesson from Bangtan’s youngest member. I took a couple of deep breaths and laughed lightly. “You’re seriously something else,” I mumbled, and rubbed the back of my neck absentmindedly. As I did that, his eyes zeroed in on my wrist, then flew off to the side. I watched him clench his jaw and figured that he thought I wasn’t taking him seriously. “I hear you,” I reassured him, dropping my hand to my side. “I’m just surprised that I needed to hear this.” I sighed. “I’ve gone about life noncommittally,” I confessed, “and I’ve always taken the easy road for most everything, and that’s why I’m here now, in regards to my relationship.” And in regards to my feelings for Jungkook, that kept on growing no matter how hard I tried to stifle them. I laughed quietly, covering my mouth with the back of my hand as I watched him. “You know, you’re supposed to be younger. Let me be the adult.”

“We’re both adults, so let me be the man,” he retorted lightly, and then realized what he said, changing colors quickly, ending with his face a bright pink.

I gasped at his words, then laughed quietly again, still covering my mouth. He gave up and laughed shyly with me, and I conceded, “We’re both adults.” I smirked. “And I guess you can be the man.”

He laughed. “Then I guess I’m paying.”

My smile dropped. “What? No, I was going to—”

He spoke over me, “I’m the man!”

His comical outburst made me laugh again, and we both ended up giggling like children, which was ironic since we’d called ourselves adults just seconds before.

We ended up back at the river, and I paid for ice cream after winning at rock-paper-scissors. After a while of walking and finishing our ice cream, we sat down at a different bench than earlier, and soon we had our phones out to look for different songs, comparing our musical tastes. I was surprised that he knew so many American songs, but then again, it was also kind of odd for me to know so many, too. What surprised me more was that he was also a fan of some rock songs, and I totally surprised him by being a huge fan of hard rock and heavier bands. I showed him a couple songs, and he showed me a couple songs, and we ended up listening to the music together, staring out at the river while we admired the music and the sight before us. It was the most fun I’d had since I could remember.

“Oh! You like this song too?” he asked me when my phone got ahead of me and shuffle started playing a random song from my play list.

I raised my eyebrow at him. “You know this song?”

He glared at me mildly. “I thought we were over this.”

Grinning shamelessly, I shrugged my shoulders and then confirmed my fondness for the track. “Of course I like this song, I wouldn’t have it if I didn’t.”

He scrolled through his phone quickly and then showed me the screen to show me that he had the song too.

Playfully, I mimicked him: “Oh! You like this song too?”

His bland expression made me laugh, but then he retaliated. “Of course I like this song,” he said in a high-pitch voice, making me burst into a fit of laughter immediately, “I wouldn’t have it if I didn’t.” He concluded his imitation of me with a hair flip.

Regaining my breath, I smacked his arm lightly. “Hey! I don’t sound or act like that at all!”

Chuckling, he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s hard to imitate someone so un-cool,” he teased, and I gasped and smacked him again, maybe a little harder this time. He laughed at my reaction and then continued to scroll through his phone before playing another song, prompting me to turn off mine. I listened to the first few bars, then raised my eyebrow. My reaction pleased him, I could tell by his smirk. “You need to get this song immediately.”

“What’s the title and who’s it by?” I asked immediately, fascinated by the guitar, charmed by the voice, and mesmerized by the beat.

He showed me his phone instead of saying it out loud, and I wondered if he was shy to speak English around me. Miguel - Simple Things. I had a few songs by Miguel myself, but I’d never heard this one before. Once again, he impressed me.

“Cool,” I said with an unplanned bubble of laughter, and then leaned away to gain some distance so as to clear my head. The lyrics were making my imagination run wild, and I was especially fascinated with the title and lyrical content, because simple was supposed to be the theme of my story. Still listening to the song quietly, Jungkook sitting still beside me, I closed my eyes and pretended, just for a second, that him showing me this song was a type of confession. I pulled my legs up onto the bench, knees bent, and with my arms folded over them, I half-hid my face so he wouldn’t see my smile. “I really like it,” I admitted, listening intently.

“Me too,” he agreed, and continued to be a playful little rascal by adding on, “I wouldn’t have it if I didn’t.” I looked over just in time to see him do another hair flip.

Bursting into laughter, I leaned over and smacked his arm continuously, but not hard at all. “Jeon Jungkook, you punk!”

He laughed, semi-shielding himself, laughing triumphantly.

As our laughter died down, I leaned back in the bench and stretched lightly. “Oh, man.” I slumped a little. “I ate so much so carelessly.”

He looked at me, his eyes still gleaming mischievously. “Oh? You feel guilty only after?”

I laughed lightly, then nudged him. “Hey. Aren’t you supposed to be mindful, too? I won’t get in trouble with Jihyuk, will I?”

Shaking his head, he reached over and patted my head. “No, no, don’t worry. Although…” He side-eyed me. “Maybe we should have a quick contest?”

I narrowed my gaze. “Pardon?”

He laughed and stood up from the bench. “Come on. Let’s do push-ups.”

I scoffed. “Push-ups? No way. If we’re competing, you’ll win easily. I don’t have your upper body strength.”

He paused in thought, then suggested, “I’ll do push-ups, you do sit-ups.”

That sounded more doable. I raised my eyebrow. “What’s the prize?”

“Freedom from guilt for all we ate,” he said with a laugh, and I ended up chortling with him. I ended up standing up too, and dusted myself off.

I sighed. “Okay, okay. First one to…what?”

“Twenty-five?” he suggested, and I nodded.

“Deal,” I agreed, and lowered to the ground after setting my phone on the bench.

He put his phone next to mine and joined me on our makeshift playing field, kneeling first. He looked at me and I nodded, and we both got into position. He looked comfortable in his high plank position, and I was already lying on the cool ground. “One,” he began to count, “two, three!” and then we were moving.

It was a little difficult for me because we had just eaten, and my stomach started burning a little earlier than usual, but I didn’t give up, counting quietly to myself. I could hear him counting to himself too, and we were pretty close.

“Twenty-five!” we said practically at the same time, and an argument on who was first ensued.

I sent Jihoon a message when I got in and told him I was home, not mentioning that I actually hadn’t gone to work. He didn’t answer me immediately, and I started to worry that maybe he was upset, but his response, when it came, was light and easy, and not upset at all as far as I could tell. He mentioned going to sleep early because he had to go into work at a horrible hour, and I told him I’d be going to sleep too, because I also had to go into work pretty early. Relieved because there wouldn’t have to be an argument, and also quite happy because I’d enjoyed my day much more than I had originally expected, I took a quick shower, singing horribly while I washed up, and then jumped into bed after donning my pajamas. Snuggling into my little nest, I was prepared to get some awesome sleep.

Then my phone bleeped and I looked over at it slowly, suddenly afraid. Had Jihoon changed his mind and gotten angry after all?

Checking the message I received, I ended up smiling more and typed a quick message in reply, then resumed snuggling in before finally drifting off into a deep and restful sleep.

Don’t thank me, I should be thanking you. I had fun too. Goodnight Jungkookie

I ended up braiding my hair again for work the next morning, and I applied makeup with a little more care, and I even sprayed a little of my favorite perfume on. I donned a loose, fresh button-down blouse, a pair of jeans, some low-cut boots, and a light coat. I didn’t get a message from Jihoon like he promised, so I sent him a quick morning greeting, and then I was off to work. As I walked, I listened to music, particularly the songs Jungkook had shown me, but most especially Miguel’s “Simple Things”. I was excited for work again, recharged and set to take on the world.

Then I happened to see a familiar figure approaching the company building at the same time that I was heading over from the opposite direction. I smiled, wondering what the heck the universe had planned for me after all because he was carrying a couple of bags with snacks, his head lowered so he wasn’t aware of me yet. I ripped out my headphones and dashed for the doors, and then I opened the way for him.

“Oh, thank you very mu—noona!” he exclaimed, surprised at first and then smiling immediately thereafter. “Thank you.”

I laughed and followed after him into the building, continuing to walk with him towards the elevators. “Good morning, Jungkookie.”

He smirked. “Glad to see you’re reporting to work.”

Rolling my eyes, I entered the elevator with him. He hit the button for the practice rooms’ floor, and I hit the button for the floor below that, where I’d be meeting the rest of the coordinators and handlers. “Yeah, yeah. Some punk said I couldn’t quit unless he said so, and I couldn’t argue with the young master, so here I am after all.”

He laughed at my indirect insults, and leaned against the wall of the elevator. Then, rather suddenly, he sniffed the air obviously before he paused and looked at me. “Noona… Is that perfume yours?”

I stiffened, wondering if he was allergic. “Um. I think that’s what you’re smelling, yes.”

“Oh, okay,” he mumbled, looking away with disinterest again.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Hey. What’s with that?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “It’s okay.”

I scoffed. “It’s better than okay, it’s a great perfume.”

He laughed. “Feeling confident today, are we?”

Our easy banter was interrupted way too soon by the pinging of the elevator signaling our arrival to the floor I was supposed to step out into. I took the steps out dutifully, however, and turned around to smile and flutter my fingers at the young man in the elevator while he smiled back at me charmingly. “Practice hard, young master,” I teased, and the doors closed on him laughing. I was still smiling by the time I made it to the main office.