when yerim wakes up nestled safely in jungkook's arms, she finds herself falling farther and farther from any resolve. before she knows it, her finger is reaching out to trace the curve of his jaw to the tip of his chin, skimming the roseate hue of his lips, barely brushing the tip of his nose. 

for what seems like an eternity, yerim stares at jungkook's handsome face, which is untroubled while wrought in the unfamiliar depths of slumber. his short, sparse eyelashes cast a straight shadow beneath the bleak rays of the telltale light of morning, and they flutter every few passings of time in accordance with the steady expanse of his lungs.

and in that fraction of a second, yerim feels a selfish twinge inside of her, a feeling of desire she's been suppressing all these years. her thoughts wander to the sappy pop songs about love that used to play on the radio, about wanting to be stuck in a moment, about that aching, yet blissful urge to hand out your heart.

perhaps she finally understands the lyrics she used to sing along to blindly, when jungkook would drive her to campus when he wasn't too busy with the company.

as the fluorescent green letters on his nightstand morph to display six fifty-one a. m., yerim considers asking jungkook when he wakes if he means everything he says, if he really does mean those occasional kisses that would happen here and then, (those kisses that were never brought up again afterward), if he might just really love her like she does him, even if it is just a little bit.

in the end, when jungkook's eyes open, dark sky still cloudy with fragments of his dreams, she doesn't ask. kim yerim is too afraid of the slightest possibility that the answer to her questions would be no.

"hey." he whispers as he stares back at her fondly. "what time is it?"

"almost seven." yerim answers before adding, "a little early, since work starts at eight for me."

the blonde then bites her lip at the thought, inwardly groaning at the reminder of her ty internship she had worked so hard to keep in the past few months. at least she wouldn't have her shift at the bar until the weekend.

"good," jungkook hums in content as she reaches out to brush away the strands of his dark hair, which dust the apex of his eyebrows. "that means more time for us."

yerim's lips form a small curve when jungkook's arm, which is wrapped protectively around her waist, tightens its hold around the dip of her torso.

"hot." she still grumbles despite thoroughly enjoying it, because jeon jungkook is practically a human oven. for as long as yerim could remember, he was always this warm--his hands were comforting in her own clammy hold, his touch was akin to fire as much as it was gentle.

jungkook, however, takes her protests as a cue to press even closer to her.

"i just miss you too much." he admits sullenly, "things have been on a tight schedule ever since the deadline for our demo was moved up a month. otherwise i'd make it a point to take you home with me every day."

yerim chuckles softly, because she doesn't quite know how to respond. she never has, really--she knows jungkook has a knack for sweet-talking girls, and had always taken it as such.

in short, kim yerim had always assumed that jeon jungkook was either joking around with her, or using her as practice. (she doesn't know why jungkook would go as far as to avoid other girls' advances in front of her, really. once again, she'd simply think of it as an act, because she was pretty sure he was ing those same girls behind closed doors.)

"kookie, you know i'll always be here for you as long as you don't leave me first." she finally says, slipping out of his hold as she sits up on the bed. the words roll lightheartedly off her tongue, but they conceal in each syllable her deepest insecurity.

"yerim-" jungkook begins, but she is already climbing out of the sheets. the boy is too often left wondering what he has done wrong.

"i'm going make you some breakfast today." yerim yawns, holding her arms above her head and stretching her back. "i know you haven't been eating properly. hoseok told me so."

"since when do you cook?" jungkook snorts fondly as he, too, stands from the bed.

"since now." yerim snaps back with a wink, "i have enough confidence not to underestimate my ability to follow a recipe."

jungkook scoffs good-naturedly in return before he fetches her clothes from the dryer for her.

"here, i washed them." he hands her the clothes along with one of his hoodies.

"and wear this underneath your coat. it got a lot colder today." he murmurs, and she complies gratefully. no matter what, jungkook always ends up taking care of her.

(and jungkook would never know it, but kim yerim had long carved out his name on her heart.)

yerim opts to change in the bathroom, and when she reappears, jungkook follows her to the kitchen.

"yesterday," yerim begins as she sifts through the pantry for flour, "we ran out of ramen and seungwan wasn't home yet. so i searched up how to make noodles."

she pours the flour into a large bowl before turning to the refrigerator in search of eggs. "it's pretty simple and it doesn't take long, since we don't have to wait for the dough to rise."

jungkook tilts his head before nodding. he reaches beside her, taking a handful of flour and sprinkling it onto the cutting board for her.

one of the first of the things a stranger would notice about the two friends is their familiarity with the other. often times, yerim doesn't need to say a word for jungkook to know exactly what she has planned, and yerim doesn't need to observe for long to know exactly what jungkook is thinking.

once she's kneaded the mixture, yerim pulls the dough out of the bowl and places it on said cutting board, her hands taking up the rolling pin.

"you know, you don't have to go to your internship today," jungkook suggests, leaning on the countertop and watching her intently. "i've probably asked you twenty times, but hoseok and i could really use you at the company."

"i can't take money from you, kook." yerim bites her lower lip when jungkook's hands loop around her waist from behind. "i don't want to take what's yours. i want to earn my own living anyways."

"you were the one who encouraged me to follow my ambitions." jungkook argues, resting his heavy head over her shoulder. "without you, there'd be no company in the first place. and besides, the company will be yours soon. so it won't make much of a difference if you take some money for yourself now, rather than later."

"what do you mean?" yerim scowls, "you were the one who worked hard for it, jeon jungkook. i'm not taking a penny from you."

"i mean, once we get married, i'll want to give you my everything, the company included." he says, a certain shine in his eyes that yerim can't quite pinpoint. "so there's no point in holding back now."

yerim's voice suddenly goes soft and falters a bit. "and why would you do that, silly?" she murmurs jokingly, a sad tinge to her voice.

kim yerim, kim yerim, she thinks. don't fall for it, kim yerim.

jungkook holds her a bit closer. "because i-" he begins, but he doesn't quite finish his sentence.

while jungkook does want yerim to know how much she truly means to him, he's too fearful of scaring her off. he wants what's best for her, after all, and if yerim wants to remain in the grey area of a fine line between a friendship and a romantic relationship, jungkook will accept it gladly.

after all, the only thing they are missing are the boyfriend-girlfriend titles. and what do those titles matter compared to her happiness anyways?

it'll be okay, he thinks, and as long as she doesn't leave him, he'll be grateful for every second he gets to spend with her.

because truthfully, kim yerim is just too scared, that once she says those three words out loud, he will leave her like a dream too good to be true.

this, jungkook knows--so he vows to prove himself to her, and, one day, she will realize that he does mean all the things he's said.

and so the two young lovers continue revolving around each other in their endless circle of maybe, maybe-nots.

"because i trust you, and i want you to be happy." jungkook tries again, and yerim goes quiet for a small moment as she slices the rolled dough into thin, straight lines with a butcher knife.

he, in turn, relinquishes his embrace, taking out the pot that had been hoseok's christmas gift (hoseok was surprisingly practical when it came to these things) and filling it partway with water. he places the pot on the stove and brings the water to a boil.

"jungkook, you already make me happy." she finally says after some time as she drops the elongated ribbons of dough into the water.

when she places the lid back onto the pot, jungkook takes her hand and pulls her over to the counter, where his hands cup her cheeks and his lips meet hers.

kim yerim does not love jeon jungkook.

to love is an action. to love is a simple thing. to say one loves another is a promise that can be broken easily.

jeon jungkook is not something to be loved.

because to kim yerim, jeon jungkook is love.

and when the two part ways reluctantly, eyes still half-closed, faint, dusty flour marks in the shape of jungkook's large hands are left on yerim's cheeks.

---

seulgi knows she's doomed the minute she shuffles into the practice room, because right there, in the far corner, standing with jongin, taemin, and a blonde girl named momo, is park ing jimin.

"seulgi!" momo calls out as soon as the brunette sets down her (yerim's) car keys and jacket on the bench.

seulgi just about dies a little on the inside as she makes her way over to the crowd, suddenly regretting listening to yerim and arriving early.

the two girls had quickly reconciled when yerim brought home seulgi's favorite donuts and two large cups of bubble tea. seulgi had admitted to stepping out of line, and yerim had brushed away the matter quite easily.

the younger girl had been in an exceptionally good mood today, for a reason seulgi could predict to be a healthy dose of jeon jungkook.

as seulgi approaches, jimin's eyes widen a little.

"so your name is seulgi." he says with a grin, and it takes every bone in seulgi's body for her not to facepalm in embarrassment.

damn it all.

"do you know each other?" jongin asks, and seulgi shakes her head so hard and fast that her bangs tremble, just as jimin answers with that blinding smile of his, "yes."

momo raises a single eyebrow. "how did you guys meet?" the blonde questions.

"last week-" jimin begins, but seulgi is quick to cut him off.

"what do you mean? i've never seen you before." she blubbers, cringing visibly, but jimin's smile only grows wider.

jongin chuckles at the sight, before reaching out and patting jimin on the shoulder. "anyways, i got a date to catch, so help seulgi if she needs it, okay? otherwise yerim will probably beat the living out of me."

when jimin blinks in confusion at the image of a five-foot-two girl (jongin had showed him pictures before) beating up the man in front of him, jongin adds, "she'll kill me online, at least."

"for real?" a boy named yugyeom chuckles from the side.

"dude, don't try it." jongin shudders with a shake of his head, "last time, when i broke up with soojung over some stupid , she murdered me over and over enough times that the game ing crashed."

at this, seulgi giggles before she realizes that she's supposed to avoid putting herself in the center of park jimin's attention.

but it's too late when jimin turns to smile at her--

when is that boy not smiling? what is that look in his eyes? curiosity? a tiny hint of interest, perhaps? aish, kang seulgi, he's probably just laughing at your misery.

--and seulgi is yet again willing herself to be invisible. the brunette ducks her head and practically cowers behind momo until taemin claps his hands together.

"let's start, guys. yugyeom, jimin, seulgi, in the front." taemin announces, leaving kang seulgi in a stuttering mess.

"but i'm a beginner-" seulgi starts, and taemin only shrugs.

"then you better learn fast," comes his reply.

seulgi gulps before reluctantly moving in formation next to jimin, and by the time they've rehearsed the first five sets, seulgi forgets about the golden-haired boy and focuses on willing her limbs to cooperate.

when taemin calls for a water break, seulgi's hair is matted with perspiration and she's chugging water like she's just emerged from the sahara.

it is then that seulgi feels park jimin staring at her in amusement.

this boy--why did he always catch her in her worst times? seulgi wipes the sweat off her forehead hastily with the back of her hand.

"hey," jimin whispers when seulgi turns her head to stare straight back.

"just let the beat become your mind. let it control your body." he says, mussing his golden hair, his skin glowing and his lips slightly parted.

seulgi blinks, nodding slowly. she can't help but ogle at the sight in front of her, and, god, he's so focused on her and her only, and that look in his eyes is there again--

kang seulgi feels the universe fade away.

"why are you looking at me like that?" he asks pushing the brunette girl out of her momentary stupor.

but seulgi is far from regaining control over her feelings.

"because you're so pretty." she murmurs unconsciously, not realizing she's said it out loud until jimin's response practically stops her heart mid-beat.

there's a dash of rose on his cheeks when he stutters, "you...too."

it takes her a quite while to recuperate before jimin suggests, "say, do you want to go out for drinks with yugyeom afterwards?"

rest in peace, kang seulgi.

---

namjoon shakes his head with a chuckle as he leans into irene's office from the doorway.

the clock on the wall reads eight p.m., and with the exception of the two of them, the office is deserted.

"don't you think it's time to take a break?" he asks, the dimple in his cheek resurfacing. "i don't recall your job description entailing an extra three hours every day in the office."

irene runs yet another hand through her flawless hair. "i told them two days. i thought i made it very clear." she hisses as she sifts through a stack of reports.

she glares at namjoon in protest when he reaches over and turns off the monitor of her computer.

"c'mon, we're going to go have some fun." namjoon says, but irene doesn't budge from her seat.

then, when he turns off the lights in her office, and darkness renders her unable to progress any further in her stack of reports, she relents.

"this better be good." irene grumbles, following namjoon out the door.

in the end, the two end up at namjoon's house, and irene ends up changing from her workplace attire to an elegant, floor-length dress that ribbons elegantly at the ends.

"yixing does wonders." namjoon laughs as he takes her hand in his, and irene agrees with a small twirl of her dress.

"where are we going?" she asks, standing still so he can adjust her hair for her.

"you know, one of those upper-class parties." namjoon, who is dressed quite lavishly himself, answers with a slight quirk of his lips. "i know you won't go out if it's not for work, so consider this part of your job."

"why? are we meeting someone there?" irene inquires, the mention of work seeming to have an invigorating effect on her.

"you'll see." namjoon muses, but says no more.

when they arrive, the extravagant venue is already filled with the smooth chorus of the string quartet at the balcony, and most attendees are already well immersed into the atmosphere, carrying about glasses of white wine and dolled up to look their best.

namjoon steps out for a phone call, leaving irene to stare out the window in a corner. without namjoon or yixing beside her, irene was indeed unwilling to socialize. she only met those who were important enough to be introduced to her by the two men, after all.

she takes her time observing the floral arrangements on the tables when suddenly, the room stirs.

and although the entire crowd quiets to a whisper, the atmosphere is deafening.

irene barely catches it in the corner of her vision.

it is almost like lightning--a flash of a man dressed in a black suit, then six more men who follow--then, when two men walk in from the double doors, one in a long, black coat and ebony gloves, the other in a conventional suit with a blood red cloth folded neatly in his pocket, comes the thunder.

the two men make their way across the room, and, gradually, the attendees return to their mindless social chatter.

irene, however, keeps her line of sight trained on the two, who begin to greet a tight circle of businessmen to the left of the wine table. she hears the name of the man in the coat--min yoongi--but it is the man with the scarlet handkerchief which catches her eye.

he doesn't seem to say much, but when he does speak, it is as if the world yearns to become his audience.

"who's that?" irene asks when namjoon returns at her side, and he smirks knowingly.

"kim taehyung." is all namjoon says before asking in turn, "are you interested? you almost never bring up anyone in front of me first, and even less ask me about a stranger."

"don't make jokes like that." irene scoffs. she parts her lips to scold him playfully when she feels the presence of another approach them, and before she knows it, he is standing right in front of her.

when the steps come to a halt and irene turns to face him, she finds herself peering into the smoldering abyss of kim taehyung's dark, dark eyes.

"namjoon." the man says, his words slightly accented lightly--was it a daegu dialect?--his voice deep and thrumming, as if it could pierce through irene's soul.

then, he turns to irene.

"nice to meet you." he greets her, and irene finds it pleasing that he has addressed her directly (most men would simply ask namjoon who she was, and disregard her from there). so she extends her hand with a professional, tight-lipped smile.

"bae joohyun." she says before adding in english, "call me irene."

"kim taehyung." comes his answer, and irene shudders at the tingling sensation that follows when she feels his fingers brush hers.

he is a beautiful man, she thinks, in the way that flames consume into ashes. it is as if he subdues the raw energy within him, as if his pretty face has tamed the intensity that grows within the longer irene stares at him.

his expressions are solemn, almost too polite. but his eyes, she muses silently to herself, oh, his eyes.

"i'm not conversational, so i'll take my leave from here." irene announces, and though he forces a disappointed dip of his head, the fire in his coal-black eyes only flickers brighter.

"do talk comfortably without my interruption." irene says, pressing a kiss to namjoon's cheek before she leaves.

as she turns to sift through the crowd of mingling elites, she doesn't miss the burning feeling of kim taehyung's eyes on her .