For the past few days, Jungkook has found himself in the same place—alone in his bedroom, his parents working overtime hoping to someday dig this family out of the debt-filled hole they've plummeted into (and yelling at him because lounging around the house and skipping school isn't contributing to the cause), and Chaeyoung too occupied with preparing for the fast approaching exams to let him crash at her place. He should be worrying about entrance exams too but it doesn't really matter to him—he'll end up in some nobody university, separated from Chaeyoung who aims for the sky.  And he won't stop her although he'll miss stealing her notes, because she deserves it. It's a real talent maintaining the grades she does when she's around someone like him.

Nonetheless, he's bored out of his mind. So he sinks into the bedsheets, now free of the fowl smell after Chaeyoung paid a visit simply to clean out his room and lock Nugget in a cage (though he lets her out often). There's one thought that lingers in his mind, keeping him trapped there for hours — Park freaking Chaeyoung. His childhood friend, his longest companion, the endurer of his bull, and recently, the only person that can both keep his heart at ease while simultaneously making him uneasy - a walking contradiction. The one thing he doesn't understand the most is why he feels like something inside him combusts every time she so much as smiles his way. 

“Why is that?” he turns to Nugget, laying silently next to him on the bed. The bird turns it's head around at the sound of his voice, tilting slightly. Jungkook scoffs, “yeah, of course you're no help.”

He wonders if hens ever get lonely without roosters — their loud, obnoxious male counterparts (is that what he is to Chaeyoung?).

He's considered the possibilities for the disturbance in his feelings. One - he hasn't finished going through puberty (would explain a lot of things) and is now experiencing something akin to the crush he had on the weather lady on channel 9 when he was twelve. The second - a parasite from the sashimi he had a few weeks ago has made a home out of his brain and he has approximately three weeks to seek help (what movie was that from, anyway?). Maybe it was the shock of Jimin suddenly entering their lives again with his revived crush on Chaeyoung. Very possible, he thinks. And then there's the last possibility that, although not as appealing as the third, must be considered—he has feelings for Chaeyoung.

The thought makes his blood run hot and his palms go sweaty. Could it really be that he's suffered the same fate as his best friend - swooning for her in the halls, stealing glances at band practice, writing cringeworthy poems about her (and then reading them to Jungkook who doesn't listen, earbuds plugged in tight). Nah, that isn't him. After all these years, why would it be her? He's always preferred noonas and Jimin agreed that an older girl would be good for him - wiser, able to guide him, able to tolerate him. But doesn't Chaeyoung already do all of that?

From the time they were kids, she would scold him when he went out of bounds - yelling back at adults in their daycare, breaking things, fighting the other kids. He wasn't scared of anything or anyone but somehow she managed to tame him with a gentle smile and a portion of her kimchi fried rice. She sang to him when he couldn't sleep, wrapped his injuries in gauze when he fell, made him reevaluate his decisions when he would push it too far, and to this day, nothing has changed. They're the same age yet she's always been so far ahead he thinks he might lose her someday in the fog of adulthood. It's a terrifying thought - that one day he wouldn't just be able to waltz into her apartment, listen to the sound of her voice, and feel like he's sleeping on cl—

BANG. His eyes snap open to the sound of the front door to the living room slamming open, followed by a closet mirror being shattered, the glass fragments scattering can be heard scattering across the tiled floor. Jungkook almost makes the mistake of hurrying out of his room, but the racuous voice shouting from the kitchen, “Jeon!! Where the are you?!” His heart skips a beat as his face drains of colour - he recognizes this voice.

Not a minute to spare, he crawls out through the window. He doesn't realize how high up ten storeys really was until now. He takes a deep breath, clinging to the frame of the window. The sound of wooden chairs snapping and croaky voices yelling only seems to be getting louder and closer by the second. Taking a glance down at the ground that seems a whole world away from where he stands, he thinks - it's do or die.

Maybe he really will get to sleep on clouds after this. Because he'll be ing dead. 

Chaeyoung shares a lot, if not everything with her mother, and love affairs were no exception. Most people find it uncomfortably awkward to discuss such matters with their mom but there's this underlying trust between them that makes her problems automatically her mother's. 

“So you're telling me it didn't work out with that Jimin boy because you couldn't hold a conversation?”

“It's more complicated than that.”

“That's what all of you kids think in your age of computers and smartphones. Everything is hard and complicated.”

Chaeyoung can't help but laugh at her mother's cynicism. She's what people describe with the three W's - wise, witty, and warm-hearted. The latter might explain why she has no complaints about letting Jungkook wander in and out of their house uninvited. It's pity, Chaeyoung thinks, because why else would anyone's mother let a boy (especially one as infamous as Jeon Jungkook) so casually frequent their home? Then again, her mother seemed to be charmed with him from the beginning. 

“I guess it's only expected that you two couldn't make it work.”

“What do you mean?” Chaeyoung momentarily stops eating to look up at her with questioning eyes.

“He wasn't the kind of person I had in mind when I had that talk with you.”

“I thought you liked Jimin oppa.”

“I never said I didn't.” Come to think of it, she never really thought much of the boy. Besides the fact that he bore a striking resemblence to Chaeyoung and participated in the school's choir, nothing else clicked in her mind. He was a nice boy, well-mannered and neatly dressed, but far from compatible. Knowing her daughter like the back of her hand, boys like that were only good for a time. “I just don't think he's your type.”

Chaeyoung giggles, “and how would you know what my type is?”

“Chaeng, I've raised you for nineteen years, you don't think I'm aware of the type of boys you giggle around and make eyes at?”

Her eyes widen, face tinting with colour, and that's how her mother knows she's nailed it. “Mom!” she exclaims, already replaying every awkward encounter with a boy that her mother has 'walked in' on. There's a knowing look on her face, eyes seeming to carry the weight of everything she's seen throughout her life, and Chaeyoung thinks perhaps it's best to keep an ear out for what she might suggest. 

“Anyway, don't let it discourage you. You're young. You have plenty of time to find someone,” she reassures, earning a raised brow from Chaeyoung who remembers quite clearly the same person going on a tangent about how she's worried about her daughter never finding love and settling down. “All I'm saying is, you should never settle. Find a guy, maybe twelve guys, and knock them down one by one until you have one that you know will stick with you through everything, be it war, famine, babies, miscarriages, or disease. That's what matters in a man. Not looks or interests. Loyalty.”

Chaeyoung looks at her for a moment, then nods. “Was father like that?”

“Your father would have walked to the end of the earth and back if that's what it took to keep you and your sister safe.”

The only memories Chaeyoung really has of her father starts to blur with every passing day, kept alive by her mother's stories. He was a good man - a humorous one that according to her mother, brought life to dead spaces but underneath the outgoing persona, cared deeply about his family. She doesn't know much else about him other than what he looked like (through browning photographs), what his supposed personality had been, and the amount of wealth he left behind - enough to support her through school. But something about the way her mother's eyes glimmer at the mention of her husband makes Chaeyoung believe he must have been something, perhaps a little more than what she knows. There's no doubt her mother will always hold whichever man that comes into her life with the same expectations as she did her father, but there's also no doubt she would want her to be happy regardless.

Her sister Chaeyeon was set to marry a man she had met in law school, and when the family came to visit him in her dorm, her mother took one look at him, and her smile faltered. He was tall, lean, and handsome - finely shaved, hair slicked back, and towering over them with broad shoulders. Anyone would have taken him for a millionaire CEO of some sort but their mother didn't seem entirely psyched about the prospect of having him as a son-in-law. Nonetheless, she didn't voice any disapprovements the moment she realized that Chaeyeon was head over heels infatuated with the man and simply asked, “are you happy?” A nod was all it took to earn her blessing.

A month before their wedding date, Chaeyeon discovered he had been cheating on her. She didn't know whether to be upset or astounded at her mother's otherworldly intuition.      

Just as Chaeyoung decides she wants to hear more about her father, they turn to the sound of the front door clicking open before softly closing again. Footsteps are heard approaching the kitchen before both are relieved to see a familiar facing peering into the kitchen but then disappearing again behind the door frame.

“Mrs.Park, can I please speak to Chaeyoung alone?” Jungkook asks, timidly poking only his head back into the kitchen like a frightened rabbit. Both mother and daughter look at him in bewilderment - this is absurdly strange behaviour. For someone who habitually walks straight into the house like a member of the family, eating their food and lounging in their rooms, this is an unsettling first. 

Chaeyoung looks at her mother for a moment, nods, and watches her disappear into another room before hopping out of her seat to make her way over to Jungkook. She doesn't get a chance to ask what in the world is going on when she sees the condition of his body, causing her to gasp - massive rips in the fabric of his jeans, bruises on his arms, and a small blood stain on his white t-shirt. 

“What happe—” she's about to scream when Jungkook slaps a hand over , frantically shushing her. 

“It's not as bad as it looks, okay?” he says, suppressed panting contradicting his words, “there are loan sharks in my apartment so I jumped out a window, landed on a balcony three windows down, and cut myself on a ledge - minor bleeding but I'm fine. Their window was open so I went inside hoping to escape through the hallway but their dog tried to eat me, ripped part of my pants but it didn't get through to my leg before I got their door open and cut the dog loose with a kitchen knife - don't worry I didn't hurt the dog, just my jeans. I made a run for it, got down to the lobby, called an uber but they were too slow and I could hear the gunshots coming from the top floor so I just ran straight here and I need to hideout for a while until the place is clear.” He explains everything in a huff, a shaky hand gripping her shoulder while his eyes desperately look to hers for reassurance. “You cannot call the police or the hospital or any authority that could get us in trouble, understand?”

She doesn't even know what to expect from him anymore. She's known about their family's situation for a while now - selling possessions, working overtime, taking job requests in faraway districts, and even borrowing money from sketchy places - but never would she have guessed they would resort to this. No, of course she would have guessed it. It's Jungkook's family. He's dragged her through many situations, some tedious, others life threatening, and now she's just glad he's alive. She gives a quick nod in agreement before he takes his hand off .

“Go to the bathroom, I'll get the first aid kit.”

A thousand times over, Jungkook thought he'd get used to the unbearable sting of disinfectant spray over open wounds, but it always manages to catch him offguard. It's a pain you don't quite get used to nor does it lessen with experience. Chaeyoung holds in a giggle as his body tenses up, fist clenching around the edges of the bathtub as the cold liquid hits the reddened bruise on his thigh. In the tips of her fingers, it's warm and pulsating. Under normal circumstances, Chaeyoung would have retched at the sight of blood, but when it's Jungkook, concern seems to overpower the petty fears. She's done this many times, smoothing over injuries from reckless childhood accidents. Except it dawns on her that this one isn't any accident. She could have lost him today.

“Where are your parents? Are they okay?”

“Yeah, they're both at work. I left them a message not to come home.”

“And when do you think you can go home? What if they lurk around there waiting?”

“Then we find a new place,” he says with a laugh, as if it's the easiest thing in the world. She isn't sure if this is a defense mechanism - to hide the fact that he's as scared as any normal person would be - or if he really isn't as weighed down by burdens as she is. She had asked herself the exact same question watching Keith, the enigmatic boy that embodied everything she thought constitutes Jungkook. Was it fate they had chosen that movie or a twisted coincidence?

When the pain of the initial shock subsides, the feeling of her fingers ghosting across his skin sends chills down his spine. Fortunately, she takes his trembling as pain, muttering an apology before loosening her grip as she wraps the gauze around the open cuts. She's done this countless times - it comes as a surprise to both of them when he jumps at her touch (though for completely different reasons). He can almost hear the blood pounding away in his ears, colour rising to his face, and all he can think about is how wrong this is. It's never been this way - it shouldn't - and the uncertainty makes him panic. 

“It's a parasite, it's a parasite, it's a parasite...” he subconsciously starts to murmur quietly to himself, eyes clenched tightly until she's finished with the bandages.

“Sorry about that, it's usually supposed to stop hurting after the disinfectant is on,” she pulls away with an apologetic look, brows knitted in slight confusion. She's right, it isn't supposed to hurt, and it didn't. But he'd rather have her believe that than figure out the cluster that's actually going on in his mind.  

“It's alright, you got it done,” he says after clearing his throat, already forgetting about the pain in the bend of his knee when he shifts his weight onto his feet. He watches her collect up all the medical supplies, tucking them neatly into the rectangular kit. She's so meticulous with everything she does, he wonders if surgery would ever be on her list of possible careers. Then again, she hates the sight of blood, the pungent smell of sweat and sickness, and her hyper empathy would make the experience doubly traumatic. But she would do it if she had to, he's sure of it, because there isn't anything Chaeyoung hasn't been able to grin and bare through. She'd do anything if it meant protecting the people she cares about.

Not like him. His nose crinkles at the memory of his parents. And then another thought intrudes, sifting away the previous thought as if it was nothing at all. He didn't have time to consider it when the first gunshots went off, sending his mind spiraling. Now, in his relaxed state, the realization hits him like a tidal wave, sending chills all over his body. 

“Do you think they're going to kill Nugget?” There's heavy concern in his tone.

“You almost died and you're worried about your pet chicken?”

His fists clench as he takes a step closer, startling her. “She's not just a pet chicken, she's my friend. She listens to me. How would you feel if those guys raided your house and you had no time to grab Snickles? You'd be pretty damn scared too.”

As hard as it is to process, he's right. She doesn't quite understand what kind of relationship he has with this 'pet' that she was sure he bought in the interest of annoying her. After a while, it started to sink in that perhaps Jungkook really did need a friend like that, even if it was in the form of poultry. “I'm sure she'll be fine. Where did you put her?”

“In that stupid cage you made me get her. Oh , they're going to eat her.” He pales at the thought, eyes widening. Before she can refute him, he brushes past her in a hurry to get to her front door. 

“Where are you going?!” she shouts, dropping the first aid supplies in a clutter on the floor before chasing after him. “You're not seriously going back there.”

“Of course I am. She's going to die without me. If they don't kill her then she's going to starve.”

“You're kidding, right? Have you seen the size of that thing? If it goes hungry, it can just dig into it's fat storages from all the times you overfed it.”

“Not funny,” he furrows his brows at her briefly, already on a steady pace for the door.

“If you go back there, they're going to blow your head off! What business would a bunch of loan sharks want with a bird? They're just there to get their money back!” Her hands fly to the sleeve of his shirt and she manages to trap him there with a leg raised to the door. “You're ing crazy if you think I'm letting you go back there.”

“They're a bunch of savages, Chae. They'd do anything to get their money back.”

“If anything, they're going to think it's livestock. What good would it do them to hurt it?”

“That's even worse! If they know Nugget is the only valuable thing we have left, they'll keep her hostage.”

Chaeyoung's face contorts at his blatant humanization of the animal. It's a strange thing to see him worked up about something that doesn't (quite) involve himself. “We'll get you another one.”

“She's not disposable, Chae. How about we get you a new dog?” He pulls his arm out of her grip and reaches for the doorknob, only to have it yanked back.

“How can you even say that? I've had Snickles since I was a child. You got the bird three weeks ago! How can you be ready to die for it?”

When he finally turns around, there's a darkness in his gaze that scares her, backing her up into a corner. He isn't visibly angry, just frustrated - like all the times he's been teased and asked about his affiliation with Chaeyoung but never had a coherent answer. He doesn't know what to say or do, except take in her utterly puzzled expression with a deep sigh. “You don't get it,” he says in almost a whisper, and then he's out the door.

Her mind seems to lag for a second on the last sentence, and then she's pushing herself off the wall to go after him. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into - she never does, but she goes after him anyway no questions asked (not that she could) because following him into chaos somehow became second nature to her.

The last thing that crosses her mind - the most unsettlingly simple thing - is that if she dies today on this expedition, she won't have to face those daunting exams after all.

Maybe simplistic thoughts is what one gets when they follow Jeon Jungkook. 

 A/N: Sooo what started out as a planned oneshot collection is now a full blown series. Yes, the storylines are all connected into one and I have mapped out a proper track that this story will follow. The only thing that hasn't changed is the free flow style. This could turn out incredible or end in a roadblock. We'll see. Thank you so much to supporters of this story + huge appreciation for commenters that I always forget/don't have time to reply to. It's always really encouraging to receive feedback as it gives me motivation to keep writing. Just a heads up - angst is on it's way as we grapple with confused teenaged boy Jungkook. Again thank you so much for subbing and commenting, love you guys. ♡♡♡