9

It was scarier than the first time the Lees locked me in the basement. Scarier than waiting for the admission letter of the only private school I applied to. Scarier than being thrown into a room full of strangers, judging you with a sweep of their eyes. My heart felt like it was going to burst when it thumped against my chest. I had never felt anything like it before. I had a vague idea about what was happening, but I wasn’t sure about anything, which only made it scarier. And it all started when Jungkook smiled. Really smiled.

I never thought that I’d be a er for eye crinkles.

***

Impressed was an understatement as I stared at the dog pile at the center of the practice room. Sure, there was still perfecting that needed to be done, but learning an entire choreography, group formations and all, in only a week and a half is pretty impressive.

“Tired?” I teased, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to Hoseok, who was at the bottom of the pile, struggling to breathe but still content.

“A little,” he mumbled, tucking his chin into his arms and flashing a me a smile.

“Really? Because my limbs feel dead,” Namjoon groaned from where he was, sprawled across Seokjin with Taehyung draped on top of him.

“That’s just because you’re a bad dancer hyung,” Jungkook said from the very top of the pile.

“You brat,” Namjoon said without any bite. “You should’ve been at the bottom.”

“And risk breaking my back?” Jungkook smiled. “I’m too precious for that.”

“Jungkook-ah, please shut up,” Jimin groaned. “Your jaw digs into my back every time you open your mouth.”

Jungkook opened his mouth wider on purpose, making Jimin groan and smack him on the arm. Playful bantering continued for the next few moments as I watched them, my lips unconsciously slipping into an easy smile.

“Good mood today?” Seokjin asked, using Hoseok’s legs as a head rest.

“Not particularly,” I shrugged, sweeping the ends of his hair out of his face for him because his arms were pinned by Namjoon’s back.

“You know, this is the fastest we’ve ever learnt a choreography,” Hoseok said proudly. “Maybe it’s because you’re here to help us.”

“Don’t give me that much credit. I only helped you guys practice the moves,” I said, a blush rising on my cheeks. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”

“You guys tired?” Hoseok suddenly asked, a mischievous glint in his eye. A chorus of “no’s” and “not really’s” made him smile deviously at me. “Let’s do girl group dances then. I’m pretty Jungkook would love to see Michelle dance.”

“Hyung!” Jungkook whined, furiously shaking his head to assure me that he didn’t. The bright red on his face contradicted his actions.

“Call!” Jimin shouted. “I’ve only seen Michelle do powerful dances that are choreographed for males so I think it’ll be interesting.”

“I’d have no problems with that either,” Yoongi said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at me.

“Why not?” I shrugged. “This could be fun.”

“Michelle, I’m warning you now, you are going to regret this,” Jungkook whined, covering his face with his hands. “The hyungs are evil when it comes to girl group dances.”

“Shut up Jungkook,” Seokjin said. “Whenever we try to learn one, you’re usually the one that’s the toughest.”

I raised an eyebrow at Jungkook, who continued to shrink himself into a tiny little ball, still hiding his face from the world. The boys were all laughing as they slowly untangled their limbs, rolling Jungkook off from the top of the pile.

“What dances do you know?” Hoseok asks as he scrolled through his phone. I nearly choked when I saw all the SISTAR and Red Velvet songs.

Well, isn’t he an avid fan.

“I know ‘I Swear’ and ‘Something’ from Girl’s Day. That’s about it,” I said, sheepishly. “The majority of the dances that I know are boy group dances.”

“Jungkookie, she picked the y ones,” Taehyung cooed, having overheard what I said to Hoseok. Jungkook just groaned and turned to ram his forehead into the mirror. “Now, now Jungkook, we don’t want your blood to stain the walls.”

“Can we see ‘I Swear’ Michelle?” Jimin clapped excitedly, already finding a seat with his back against the mirror. The others were quick to follow.

“Sure, but don’t laugh at me because I’m really bad at girl group dances,” I said, backing away to stand in front of them.

The boys all had matching grin on their faces except for Jungkook, whose expression was still twisted into an embarrassed grimace. Hoseok pressed play and the song immediately skipped to the chorus, which gave me almost no time to prepare.

Here goes nothing.

When the chorus ended, I glanced at the boys, surprised to see that their mouths were all open.

“That bad?” I asked, shrinking into myself.

“Woah,” Namjoon whispered, and began to clap, a dazed expression still on his face. “Are you sure you’re bad at girl group dances?”

“Pretty sure because I almost twisted something in my hip,” I laughed. “I can’t dance or walk in heels either.”

A strange sound entered by ears, steadily growing louder and louder. I turned my head and found out that Jungkook was laughing. A thigh-slapping and tear-jerking laugh. When his giggles finally died down, A strange feeling came over my chest and I coughed, trying to take in air. The room suddenly rose a few degrees,

H-He has eye crinkles. Freaking eye crinkles.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, ignoring the tightness in my chest.

“N-Nothing, it’s just that I could probably do it better than you,” Jungkook wheezed, holding his stomach. Now that I had noticed his eye crinkles, I couldn’t keep my eyes off them.

“Oh yeah?” I challenged, cheeks growing warmer. “Prove it.”

“With pleasure,” he grinned, standing up cockily and dusting off the nonexistent dust on his pants.

“How about this,” Taehyung suddenly shouted. “We’ll judge who dances better and the loser has to give the winner a piggy-back ride!”

“I’m good with that,” I deadpanned, cocking my head and taking a seat next to Seokjin.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to carry me?” Jungkook teased, eye crinkles appearing again.

Damn it Michelle, stop looking at them.

“I won’t have to, because there’s no way you’ll win,” I said cockily, crossing my arms and trying to quell my inner turmoil.

This can’t be happening. Maybe it’s because he’s the first person I’ve seen with eye crinkles. How am I even sure I like eye crinkles? This is just a temporary thing. Relax.

“We’ll see about that,” Jungkook smirked.

The music started and my jaw promptly dropped. Jungkook just proved that male pelvises were just as flexible as female ones. His expression sent shivers racing down my spine and suddenly, the room felt freezing and sweltering at the same time. Jungkook finished with a pose that almost made me choke in laughter, with a hand cocked on his hip and the other in a sassy pose.

“So, how was it?” he said, flouncing over to make kissy faces at us.

“I was going to say you won, but after seeing that, I’m not so sure,” Hoseok teased, ruffling Jungkook’s hair.

“I second that,” Yoongi said, raising his hand. “But I’ll admit, Jungkook did win that one.”

The boys muttered among themselves before they came up with a decision, Hoseok clapping his hands pompously to declare the winner. “We have come to a decision!” he announced.

“We can see that,” I said dryly, already getting a bad feeling. Hoseok mock glared at me.

“We have unanimously decided that Jungkook is the winner and Michelle will give him a piggy-back ride!” Seokjin laughed, making Jungkook shoot me a devious grin.

“Think you’ll be able to make it back to the dorms?” he snickered, eyes alight with amusement. Again with the eye crinkles.

That’s it, I’m never looking at his eyes again.

“Easily,” I countered. “I’ll even carry you through the lobby.”

“Deal,” he said and motioned for me to turn around. Reluctantly, I let him swivel me around, trying to ignore the whistles and taunts of the other boys.

“Just hurry it up,” I muttered, bracing myself for the impact of Jungkook’s weight.

“I’m going to take a running start okay?” he said and I could practically hear the grin stretched across his lips.

“Are you trying to kill me?” I snapped, the anticipation making my heart pound and palms sweat. I closed my eyes and flexed my thighs as I heard the pounding of Jungkook’s footsteps. When he finally jumped and landed on my back, the air flew out of my lungs and I staggered a few steps before my hands found their way to the back of his thighs and I hiked him up higher on my back. “Why are you so heavy?”

“Maybe because I’m a lot taller than you?” he said,wrapping his arms around my neck in a light choke-hold.

“You’re not that much taller than me,” I protested, silently pleading Namjoon to help me open the door so I could exit the practice room. “I’m 177 centimeters.”

“I’m 178 centimeters so take that,” he said, kicking his feet for good measure. “Now hurry up and start walking otherwise we’ll never get back.”

“That’s one centimeter. Stop being petty,” I said, taking one staggering step forward and almost buckling under his weight. “What do they feed you?”

“Shut up, I’m not that heavy,” he said, brushing hair over my eyes as retaliation. “It’s all muscle and muscle is heavier than fat.”

“Whatever you say,” I huffed, blowing the hair out of my face. “Stop that, I’m going to trip on a stair.”

“You guys have fun okay?” Seokjin called from ahead with the other boys. “Enjoy your alone time, we’ll be waiting at the dorm.”

“Remember, you have to climb all the stairs,” Yoongi called, waving a hand.

The boys disappeared, their laughter echoing down the halls.

Was that a tear slipping down my face?

“Why aren’t you moving?” Jungkook asked, leaning down until I could see his face in my peripheral vision. I took another few steps to answer his question. Slowly falling into a rhythm, I kept on moving and I felt him relax, head dropping until his chin was on my neck. The fluttering of his breath on my neck made goosebumps pop all over my arms. My heart was beginning to hammer again and a thin film of sweat began to gather on my forehead.

Why does this boy have so much body heat? He’s like an oven.

“Let’s play a game,” he said, lips accidentally brushing my neck and making shudders erupt over my entire body.

“What game?” I asked, blocking out the weird stares that were thrown my way. Mostly from the staff and trainees. Jungkook was silent for a moment and I assumed that he was thinking about a game to play. Shifting him up higher on my back, I began to walk again, asking someone to push the lobby doors open for me.

“I don’t know,” Jungkook said and I felt him shrug. “Why don’t we just ask each other questions then?”

“You go first,” I said. By now, we were on the street and more and more people began to stare at us, expressions ranging from ‘they’re such a cute couple’ to ‘what the heck are they doing?’ “Jungkook, I think you should hide your face a little bit. Someone is going to recognize you.”

“Right, I didn’t even think of that!” Jungkook said ducking his head down. I almost regretted opening my mouth when I felt him bury his face into my neck.

“D-Do you not have a hat?” I stuttered, suddenly feeling lightheaded and short of breath.

“Nope, so I’ll just stay like this,” he smiled, peeking up to look at me. “So let’s continue with our little question game. “Where and how long did you live in America?”

“Los Angeles and thirteen years,” I replied, reminiscing the beaches and sunshine of Los Angeles. “Do you have any siblings?”

“I have an older brother, Jeon Junghyun,” he replied. “Favorite artist?”

“Either The 1975 or Troye Sivan,” I answered. “Have you heard of them?”

“I know Troye Sivan, but I’ve never heard of The 1975 before,” Jungkook answered.

“I’ll show them to you later then,” I said, excited about the prospect of introducing my favorite band to someone. A long and prolonged groan was torn out of me as I stared at the flights of stairs that that towered ahead of me. Jungkook laughed, his chest shaking and sending tremors through my back.

“Do you want me to carry you instead?” he teased, tapping his fingers against the side of my neck.

“I will complete my punishment with honor,”I said and grit my teeth together. My legs felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each as I labored up the steps, Jungkook laughing the entire way. My breathing was heavy and sweat was beginning to trail down my forehead. The familiar burn was racing through my thighs.

“Okay, that’s enough,”Jungkook said. “You look like you’re about to pass out.” The weight on my back suddenly disappeared and Jungkook laughed as I turned to face him with an irritated expression.

“I was almost there anyway,” I whined, shooting him a dirty look.

“We’re only a quarter of the way up,” Jungkook deadpanned, snickering as my face dropped.

“Come on,” he said, gesturing to his back as he lowered himself. “Get on.”

“You know we can just climb up,” I said, crossing my arms.

“You look exhausted and since I’m such a nice person, I’ll carry you the rest of the way,” Jungkook sassed. “Now get on, my thighs are getting sore from waiting for you.”

“Fine, whatever,” I scoffed, draping myself over his back and wrapping my arms around his neck. Jungkook began to climb up the stairs with apparent ease. “Am I heavy?”

“Not really,” he said, beinging my arms up as he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m also less tired because you carried me all the way from the practice room.”

“Brat,” I muttered, forgetting how close my lips were to his ear and how he could hear everything I said.

“Should I drop you?” he asked, sounding completely serious. I was about to say ‘go ahead’ but I remembered how far up we were and hugged his neck a little tighter.

“I’m good. Keep going.”

Jungkook laughed again and I ruffled his hair, making his fringe hang over his eyes just like how he did when he messed with my hair. Examining the toffee and caramel colored strands, I ran my hands through them, trying to see all the different shades.

“What are you doing?” Jungkook asked, titling his head and making the strands of hair slip out of my fingers.

“Trying to find all the different shades of brown in your hair,” I replied, touching his hair again. “How often do you dye your hair anyway?”

Does he condition? It’s so soft.

“I dye it at the start of every comeback and one or twice during promotions and hiatus so the color doesn’t fade,” he said. “I’m actually thankful that Bang PD-nim doesn’t make me dye it a lot of weird colors like Yoongi-hyung. He’s starting to worry that he’s going to be bald by the time he’s thirty.”

“You never know,” I said absentmindedly. “It can still happen to you.”

“Yah, stop scaring me,” Jungkook scoffed, shaking his head from side to side and making his hair bounce with his movements. “Do you dye your hair?”

“I’ve never dyed it before, but I kind of want to get a gray ombre,” I replied, twirling a long strand with my finger.

“We can go dye it together then!” Jungkook said excitedly. “I need to get it touched up soon anyway.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” I teased, smacking his head lightly.

“To the hair salon?” Jungkook scoffed. “Please, I can do so much better than that.”

I was about to retort when Jungkook finally arrived outside the dorm and raised a fist to knock. Namjoon opened the door and raised an eyebrow at us.

“I thought you were supposed to carry Jungkook here,” Namjoon said, casting me an amused glare. Cheeks colored, I shrugged and hid my face behind Jungkook’s back.

“She got tired,” Jungkook said, taking off his shoes and setting me on the ground.

“Wow, you guys have big feet,” I said, comparing the size of their shoes to mine.

“Well you know what they say,” Namjoon laughed, wiggling his eyebrows. “Big feet, big d-”

“Why are you guys loitering at the door?” Seokjin asked, glaring at Namjoon who shut his mouth a chuckle. I furrowed my brows in confusion and glanced at Jungkook who was just as confused as I was. Shrugging it off, we followed Namjoon into the living room where the rest of the boys were crowding the coffee table, arguing about what to eat. I glanced outside the window and squinted against the bright glow of the setting sun, painting the sky various shades of orange and pink. Concluding that it was around dinner time, I turned back to the boys who were now in a fierce rock-paper-scissor showdown to decide between japchae and bibimbap.

“Do you guys want me to cook?” I offered and all their eyes immediately snapped to me.

“You can cook?” Jungkook asked, completely shocked. I was offended.

“Well yeah, you learn after living alone for a good part of your life,” I said, wondering why they were so surprised.

“Nothing, nothing,” they all said, not meeting my eyes. I looked down at my faded gray joggers and worn out Converse.

Do I not look like the type.

“Anyway, what do you guys want? Korean or American?” I asked, heading over to the kitchen, surprised at how organized and clean it was.

Probably Seokjin.

“American,” Namjoon and Jungkook called, muffling Yoongi and Hoseok’s protests with their hands.

“How’s pot roast?” I called tying an apron around my waist.

“Never tried it,” came the boys’ reply.

“Pot roast it is then,” I said. Now was a good time as any to try something new. “Can anyone help?” It was unanimous that Seokjin was the only one who was qualified to step in the kitchen and he immediately came over to offer his assisstance.

“I have no idea what to do so just give me instructions,” Seokjin said, wrapping the other apron around his waist and tying his fringe up into a little palm tree. Decided that it was a good idea, I followed his example and gathered my hair into a messy bun, frowning when it flopped pathetically against my temple.

Whatever, it’ll do.

“Can you run the beef under water to thaw it and start chopping some carrots and potatoes?” I asked, digging through the freezer and handing him the hunk of beef that I found. “I’ll get started on the broth.”

Side by side, we worked in relative silence, letting the chatter of the boys in the living room fill the gaps in conversation. Just as I was sprinkling the salt in, Seokjin spoke, making me jump and I watched the salt shaker slowly beginning to tip in horror. Leaping towards the pot, I saved it just in time and breathed out a tremendous sigh of relief.

“Oh my god, sorry, I’m really sorry,” Seokjin yelped, flustered and flapping his arms like a duck as he tried to clean everything up.

“Seokjin-sshi, it’s fine, I managed to save it in time,” I grinned, shaking the salt playfully to reassure him, smiling when his panicked features slowly morphed into a sheepish smile.

“Seokjin is fine, you don’t have to use honorifics,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly. “We’re well past that point.”

“Alright then,” I grinned, turning back to the food. “By the way, why did you want to say earlier?”

“Oh right,” he said, helping me stir the broth and and drop in the meat and vegetables. “Um, how’s life?” I suddenly burst out in laughter, clutching the ladle like a vise as I bent over, giggling until my stomach hurt.

“That’s what you wanted to ask?” I asked, breaking out into giggles when I saw his embarrassed face. He shrugged and I calmed down, thinking about my answer to that question. “It’s not too bad right now. Although, Jungkook acts kind of weird. He always stares at me weirdly and tries out these lame pick up lines. I swear, he used this once during practice. ‘Hey, I have some bacon. Wanna strip?’ Yeah, it’s getting pretty weird.”

This time, Seokjin was the one who burst out in laughter, clutching his stomach and slapping the counter. “I can’t believe he actually went through with that!”

“Went through with what?” I asked, raising both my eyebrows in curiosity.

“Oh nothing, nothing,” Seokjin laughed, waving his hands dismissively. “But, to tell you the truth, this is the most I’ve ever seen him interact with girls.”

I snorted and sneezed when I inhaled a little bit pepper.

There goes my swag.

Seokjin giggled but didn’t comment. I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore that comment. Taking the pot off the stove, I ladled everything onto a huge plate that Seokjin dug out for me and carried it over to the living room.

“Smells, great,” Jimin grinned, eyes lighting up in anticipation. I set it down and Seokjin passed out everyone’s plates and utensils.

“Eat up guys,” I said, the wind flying through my hair as they all leaped towards the meat. Seokjin sent me an exasperated look that said this happened all the time. Laughing, I took a seat, waiting fro the feeding frenzy to be over before I took a portion for myself.

“I’m in heaven.”

“I think I just discovered my new favorite food.”

“Look! I found a whole potato under the meat!”

I cast Seokjin a weird look. He just shrugged and began to eat.

***

“Woah,” I muttered, glancing at my phone, eyes widening at the time. “I better go now. It’s getting late.”

“Thanks for the meal!” Hoseok grinned, flashing me a thumbs-up. “Jungkook, go walk her home.” Said person flushed and sputtered in response, giving his hyung a light shove.

“It’s fine, I’ve gone home later than this,” I shrugged slipping on my shoes.

“You sure?” Namjoon asked, handing me my sweater. “It’s really dark out.”

“It’ll be fine,” I grinned slipping on my shoes. “I’ll be going now.”

“Bye!” Jimin and Taehyung shouted while Yoongi and Seokjin gave me lazy waves.

Just as I was about to step out, I felt a hand on my shoulder, turning me around. “Did I forget something?” I asked, staring at Jungkook who was hiding behind the door frame.

“Nope, just here to remind you that you owe me for carrying you up the stairs,” he smiled, eyes crinkling.

I slammed the door in his face.

I better not be developing an infatuation.

~

Woohoo, I'm a little early again! I'm feeling a little more confident about this story now since I actually finished planning the plot out. Sorry if it might be a little cliche, but I'll try my best to add a little jazz here and there. I'm relating to Michelle so much right now because whenever Jungkook smiles, the first thing I look at is his adorable eye crinkles. Namjoon is hopping aboard the ship so that's always great. Also, my condolences to Taehyung. My heart broke for him and I sincerely admire him for being so strong. Enjoy.