The three gathered in the small dining table next to the kitchen (not really though, Jungkook went to the living room and lounge on the couch). Chaeyoung, being the honorable guest yet she felt as if she was intruding the two brothers’ space, helped Namjoon set the plates on the table and place the chickens in a big one.

“Chaeyoung, it’s fine, you don’t need to help me out,” Namjoon said, chuckling at the girl who’s helping her. “Usually Jungkook does the work, but he’s being a lazy .”

Jungkook, who was slouching on the couch whilst scrolling through his Instagram, shouted from the living room. “I can hear you, hyung!”

Chaeyoung giggled as she placed the last two chickens on the place at the center of the table. “It’s fine. Better to do something than to be a nuisance in your place of stay.”

Namjoon flashed her a kind smile. “I can tell you’re well-mannered.”

“Well, better to be nice than to be an .” Namjoon and Chaeyoung laughed at the obvious statement. After the laughter died down, Jungkook came over and sat down on one of the four chairs with a hungry stomach.

“Alcohol or soda?” Namjoon asked as he went to the fridge, to which the other two teenagers replied, “Soda.” Seeing that they both answered at the same time, they high-fived and chuckled at their synchronization. But since they already bought Red Bull for themselves earlier, Jungkook stood up and went to get the two drinks that was placed on the coffee table still in the plastic bag.

“It’s okay, bro!” Jungkook shouted, grabbing the two cans out of the plastic bag and walked back to the dining table. “We just bought some Red Bull before you came.”

“Oh, good. ‘Cause there’s only one can of coke left,” Namjoon replied as he placed his drink beside his plate and sat down. He waited for Jungkook to sit down and once the latter did, he clapped both of his hands together and said, “Alright, let the feast begin! Chaeyoung, you go first.”

“O-Oh…” Chaeyoung blushed sheepishly and motioned her hand to signal Namjoon and Jungkook to eat first. “You guys go first.”

“Come on, don’t be shy. I assume that we are neighbors and because of that, I will let the guest take one of these delicious-looking chickens first,” Namjoon said with a smile. The reassurance from the older boy gave Chaeyoung a slight feeling of being welcomed. “I mean, seriously. We’re not dining in a fancy restaurant. We’re just eating chicken.”

Chaeyoung giggled, taking a big chicken from the big plate at the center. “If you insist, then. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten a proper dinner. All I eat these days are either ramen or tteokboki.”

“Seriously?” Jungkook had a worried look on his face. He studied Chaeyoung from head to toe and noticed how the girl looked a lot skinnier than she was before the final exams. The frown on his lips deepens. “Why would you do that to yourself?”

Chaeyoung shrugged casually, digging in on the chicken that caused her to moan in satisfaction. “So good…”

“Rosie, I’m asking you a question,” Jungkook referred the girl with the nickname he came up with, causing Chaeyoung to look at him rather surprisingly. “You shouldn’t torture yourself like that and I’m actually being serious about this. If you don’t have any food at your place, don’t hesitate to come by.”

“He’s right, y’know,” Namjoon nodded, agreeing to what Jungkook had said. “We can cook something up for you or maybe order delivery if that’s alright.”

Chaeyoung couldn’t believe welcoming the two brothers were, considering that they just met her this evening and was immediately showering her with outstanding hospitality and kind gestures. “Is it really okay? I mean, I don’t wanna be a bother.”

“You’ll never be a bother to us. Well, maybe for other people but for us, I don’t think so,” Jungkook assured the girl beside him. Namjoon nodded as he grabbed a piece of chicken.

Chaeyoung smiled sheepishly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well… this might sound shameless, but my mom is in Australia for two months. It’s okay if I come here every now and then?”

Namjoon smiled and bites into his chicken. “Our door is open for you 24/7. But I prefer that you don’t come during Friday nights, Jungkookie over here needs his ‘alone time’. If you know what I mean.”

Jungkook was just about to eat before he heard his brother teasing him. He whined, “Hyung! Geez, I don’t… do it often anymore.”

“Ah, so you do admit it,” Chaeyoung looked at him with a smirk. Jungkook pinched her arm a little too hard which caused the girl to yelp in pain. “Ow! Namjoon, your brother is abusing me!”

Jungkook gasped dramatically. “Did not!”

Chaeyoung fought back, her hand hitting the back of Jungkook’s head as a form of revenge. “How’s that for abuse?”

Jungkook groaned in pain, rubbing the back of his head whilst complaining to Namjoon, “This woman’s insane, hyung!”

Namjoon chuckled as he chugged his can of diet coke. “I’m genuinely surprised. How did you two meet, anyway?”

Chaeyoung made a sweet, innocent smile upon her face as she retells her and Jungkook’s fateful encounter. “I caught him blowing out smoke outside of the apartment. Funny enough, I actually got out to do the same thing but up on the roof.”

“Oh…” Namjoon said, nodding his head. “So you do smoke?”

Chaeyoung turned shy all of a sudden. “Y-Yeah… Does it bother you?”

Namjoon shook his head, smiling gently at the girl. “No, not at all. I’m pretty sure everyone’s entitled to do whatever they want to do with their life. I’m sure you know the consequences of smoking, right?”

Chaeyoung nodded. “Mhmm. I’m trying to tone it down since I’m graduating soon and also going to university afterwards.”

Jungkook scoffed. “You used three of my cigarettes already.”

Chaeyoung chuckled, playfully nudging him from the side. “I’ll give you three of mine, quit being a baby.”

Jungkook glared at the girl. “I’m not a baby.”

“Truth to be told, he kind of is,” Namjoon joined on the teasing. “I mean, he can’t even hold a steady conversation with a girl before he starts stuttering like a little .”

Jungkook had his eyes open wide and mouth agape, meanwhile Chaeyoung was laughing out loud with her hands clapping. “Hyung! Seriously?”

Namjoon shrugged. “What? It’s the truth.”

-

“So, yeah. That was my brother.”

Jungkook and Chaeyoung were sitting on two beanbags at the balcony that overlooked the evening city lights of Seoul, both holding a cigarette between their index and middle finger. As the night grew darker and the air grew colder, they were lucky to be wearing hoodies which help give warmth to their bodies. It was the perfect time to smoke as well, so Chaeyoung went back to her apartment and came back with her own cigarette pack (not forgetting to give three cigars to Jungkook, of course).

Chaeyoung nodded, blowing the smoke out of . “I noticed. You two don’t look alike, though? Was he adopted?”

Jungkook also nodded, staring the cigar between his fingers. “As a matter of fact, he was. I was 6 and he was 9 when he first came into my house one day. I was glad my parents brought him in – we sort of felt like we’re missing one person in our little family, so them bringing home a brother for me to look up to was one of the most memorable moments of my life,” Jungkook turned to look at Chaeyoung, then smiled happily. “It feels great to have him around. Although he can be a pain in the , he is what I consider family.”

Chaeyoung thought it was nice to hear Jungkook say something sweet about his brother, and then she remembered her family. “I have a sister; her name’s Alice. She didn’t join me, my mom and my dad to move to Korea, though it was fine for the three of us and we didn’t force her to come along. She moved into our aunt’s house before we left. I haven’t been able to visit her for the past three years because I was so busy with school, however my parents could fly back to Aussie and stay there for a couple of weeks. The only way of communicating is through Skype, but… it’s different,” Chaeyoung chuckled. “I miss her.”

A frown was formed on Jungkook’s lips as he felt sympathy for the girl beside him. In hopes of comforting her, he lightly pats on Chaeyoung’s shoulder with a gentle smile. “You can visit her after graduation. By then, you’re practically free.”

Chaeyoung returned the smile. “I got it covered. I’ve been saving up to get a plane ticket. You should come too, if you want, it would be nice to give you a private tour around Melbourne.”

Jungkook’s smile was wider now. “Sure, why not?”

And the two fell into comfortable silence. Diving into Jungkook’s thoughts, he never expected to befriend someone he hardly knew in an instant, let alone a girl. But as his eyes began to stare at Chaeyoung who’s putting her cigar between her lips as she took a slow breath inwards, he wonders how someone could look so beautiful doing so; he wonders how in the world did they become close with one another; he wonders how can he act so casual and not a fidgeting mess around a person of the opposite .

But then, he thought that maybe he doesn’t need to know all the answers. Maybe, just maybe, the answer was literally right in front of him.

“Can I say something?” Jungkook spoke up, breaking the silence.

Chaeyoung turned her attention towards the boy. “What?”

Jungkook took a deep breath before saying, “Tonight was perfect. I can’t quite put it into words, but… out of all the billions of people breathing on this planet; one person had the ability to take mine away. And even though it’s going to sound really cheesy and cliché, that person just had to be you.” Jungkook smiled like it was his birthday tonight. “And I’m really glad that I met you.”

The butterflies in her stomach were going to burst at any moment; the rapid beating of her heart is going to give her a heart attack. The honey-coated confession said by Jungkook was enough to turn Chaeyoung’s cheeks into a tomato. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting this to happen, let alone from a person whose history with females has never gone past from the word ‘awkward’.

“Jungkook…” Chaeyoung said, but she couldn’t say anything else.

“And, just to make sure what I said on the roof is true,” Jungkook continued, his own heart mimicking the tempo of Chaeyoung’s. “It is. I think you’d be a pretty good girlfriend.”