"what the , joy?" yerim hisses, following joy to her car. "why the hell are you trying to pick a fight with seungwan?"

yerim reaches over and yanks joy's car keys out of her hands before the older girl can escape, fuming.

"i'm doing it for her own good." joy replies with an offended sniffle, as if she was the one being wronged. "she's a gold digger, yerim."

"what?" yerim demands, her nose scrunching in confusion.

"i saw her eating with my cousin." joy huffs, "he's actually not my cousin, but whatever. he's worse than a sewer rat."

"look joy," yerim snaps, "not everything has to be about you and your rich family issues."

"no," joy shakes her head defensively, rolling her eyes, "it's not about that, okay? who do you take me for?"

joy grits her teeth as she explains, "jackson doesn't date women. he plays around with women—he just keeps them around to throw it away."

"then why don't you just—"

"i tried to warn her, and you know what she said?" joy scoffs bitterly before yerim can finish, "she said that she didn't care as long as he had money."

"she's not like that." yerim argues, but her voice falters. seungwan had changed almost frighteningly in the past two weeks—she'd begun to go out clubbing regularly, often coming home drunk, and some nights she didn't even come home.

"i know she's not." joy acknowledges begrudgingly, "but it's what she's turning into."

"i think there's a reason behind it," irene interjects from beside them softly. she, like yerim, is troubled the truth in what joy has said.

—

jungkook doesn't have to ask when he opens the door and sees her standing there, arms wrapped around herself to know that she's feeling down.

"seungwan isn't home, and neither is seulgi." yerim explains with a pout that he finds too endearing.

"you know you can always stay here." yerim hears jungkook say as she buries her face into his shoulder, expecting to smell his warm laundry scent.

she's greeted instead, however, with a whiff of flowery, fragrant, perfume that was probably as expensive as it was distinctly feminine.

was jungkook seeing another woman?

yerim feels a churning in her stomach, as if the perfume has made her sick. "did you just get back from work?" she murmurs with a thin smile, realizing that he was still dressed in his suit.

jungkook nods, and yerim says nothing more as he leads her into the apartment. she'd rather not let herself continue to imagine jungkook hitting it off with some secretary in his office, anyways—or, for that matter, some wealthy, confident businesswoman that was more attractive than she would ever be.

that night, yerim slides into his bed, unable to shake off the fragrance from her mind. jungkook hadn't touched other girls since she had stayed for the night for the first time—at least, that was what he and others told her. was he finally moving on from her, now that she finally realized her own feelings for him?

jungkook reaches beside him to turn off the lamp after she settles in comfortably, rendering his face alight with only the blue from the screen of his computer. the deadline for his company's demo was approaching, and hoseok had just sent in a few files for him to review.

yerim watches jungkook under the covers for a while, but she soon props herself up and shifts closer to him, fingers smoothing the fabric of his shirt as she clings to him from the side.

"do you remember how we became friends?" yerim piques from next to him, her voice slightly muffled.

jungkook quirks an eyebrow at her unusual initiation of skin-ship, but he can't say he isn't basking in her sudden inclination to return what was usually his one-sided affection. "of course," he answers, his arm encircling her instinctively when she curls up comfortably with her head on his chest.

it was quite the interesting story, as were all their moments together. nothing associating with the relationship between the two was without its quirks. jeon jungkook had always reserved a special place for kim yerim in his life, however, even when she'd beat him into pixel pulp that one fated gaming session.

yerim sniffles audibly as she struggles to hide the smile forming on her face. "i miss those days in high school, when i could keep an eye on you." she mumbles after a moment, and jungkook raises an eyebrow.

jeon jungkook had graduated with stellar marks in high school, though his achievements were almost completely the result of being a natural prodigy, it had seemed, rather than a culmination of hard work. it was one of the main reasons why yerim had initially despised him when they met—because jeon jungkook never studied and could still maintain a rank at the top of the class when she practically buried herself in books.

the only subject jungkook tried to succeed in before was the study of kim yerim, and like all his studies, he excelled—even now, he perhaps knew her too well for her own good.

that being said, he knows exactly what she's thinking from the way she says it—he doesn't know what had made her think such things, however. possibly she'd heard something through an acquaintance, or he'd said something out of place again.

"you can still keep an eye on me." jungkook murmurs reassuringly in return, pressing his lips to her hair for a moment before returning to scrutinize a spreadsheet sent by hoseok.

usually, he'd say more, perhaps shower her in kisses and tell her what he truly feels, that he'd never leave her for another, but jungkook decides to be selfish just this once—after all, yerim would bring up the subject when she was comfortable herself.

he traces circles into her back soothingly, humming a small melody in her ear. "princess, what do you want to do next week? i can take the day off." he asks, keyboard still clacking softly as he types an email with one hand.

"next week?" yerim blinks, though she's not yet succumbed to fatigue, "i have my interview."

right, yerim thinks, the interview that might finally elevate her out of her intern status. the one interview that can't possibly go wrong.

jungkook chuckles. "yeri-ah, next week is your birthday." he reminds her gently, "i'm free to spend the day in bed with you. as you please."

it's already embarrassing enough that jungkook remembers more of the important days in her life than she does, and, when her cheeks turn a red as strawberry as her lips, she's even more agitated as jungkook lets out that wide, cheeky grin of his.

"j-jeon jungkook!" yerim stutters as she buries her head in his shoulder in pure abashment, her fist hitting his chest twice as he chuckles.

"you love me." he says, setting aside his laptop and pulling her closer to him with both arms.

she rests her forehead in the crook of his neck, giggling in static bursts of snorts, and the room seems to fall dead silent as she mumbles, "maybe i do."

it's a simple slip of the tongue, and it's something anybody can say, really--but both of them know the greater meaning behind her words, the greater question that has been avoided all these years.

hearing his heartbeat at her ear and every steady expanse of his lungs, lying in his embrace, yerim feels safer than anywhere else. but the thought of giving away this security one day to someone else—she can't bear to think of it, and suddenly her mind wanders to that flowery scent that she had detected on jungkook's shirt earlier.

it was just the push she needed to step out of the comfort zone she had drawn so tightly around her and jungkook's relationship.

"kook, i think," she begins, acting on an impulse (perhaps it was pre-interview stress, or perhaps it was because she felt widely threatened at the notion of jungkook having a new romantic interest), "i think i'm actually really in love with you, you know? not the friend-type."

yerim bites her lip, half-expecting jungkook to return her confession in his usual teasing manner, but he doesn't say anything, and yerim feels that sinking weight in her chest and suffocating her lungs.

he remains quieter still when she shifts her position to gaze into his starry eyes, and suddenly she's speaking in a flurry before he can say anything.

"i meant-i just didn't want you to feel pressure because i know this is sudden and we've never really talked about it before and i'm sorry, kook, just pretend like nothing happened because i thought about it a lot this past month and i wanted to tell you when we were both ready-"

"yerim," he interrupts her, and yerim finally remembers how to breathe. "it's okay." he says, feigning a blank, serious gaze.

yerim nods, too flustered to notice that jungkook is actually trying his best not to crack into a wide grin, the constellations in his eyes shining brightly.

"sorry." her eyes refuse to meet his, biting her lip once more in frustration. she'd surely ruined everything by now. "i just...god, jungkook, what are we? are we really just friends?" she ponders aloud, her eyebrows knitting defeatedly. she doesn't quite ask jungkook if he returns her feelings--she's in the middle of convincing herself that he doesn't when he answers.

"whatever you want us to be." he murmurs, his hand resuming its path on her back, drawing comforting, lazy curves into her skin. "whatever makes my princess happy."

yerim huffs softly. "it's not about me, jungkook, it's about us. and, hell, what if i don't know what makes me happy?" she grumbles dejectedly.

yerim is leaning against jungkook's chest again, her arms tightening around his waist unconsciously, to his delight.

"that's okay." he murmurs, no longer able to hide his smile. "we don't have to be like everyone else, yerim. we're just us, and it's okay if no one in the entire world understands. none of that matters if you're not ready. and i'll always wait for you, kim yerim, because you really do mean that much to me, and i-"

yerim feels his lips graze the exposed skin of her neck before landing on her jaw, the slope of her nose, then the tip.

"i love you, silly."

yerim pulls away slightly before his lips can reach her own, however. "jungkook..." she begins, uncertainty clouding her voice.

"i mean it, yerim." he says before she can ask, erasing her doubts. his words are simple, short and coarse, but the stars that have always twinkled in his eyes have never shone brighter. "i've waited for this moment since that time you lost to me in super smash bros brawl."

(the time in question, dating a few years back to hoseok's twenty-first birthday party, is a story that is different depending on who one asks to tell it. yerim had always argued that she had still technically won the video game hoseok had challenged them both to.)

"since my senior year in high school." jungkook repeats, "even though i knew you only paid attention to me because of what that happened with taeyong...even though i knew you only kissed me that one time because you wanted to forget him."

he glances down, and yerim is now peering at him with an expression he can't quite describe. a mix of confusion, disbelief, and vulnerability, perhaps.

"i tried so hard to get you to notice me. all those times i told you i hated grape jelly sandwiches and didn't want mine, all those times i would take your shirt or your pants in the morning so you would come back again at night. all those times i would purposely miss a question on one of my tests so i would lose our bets, just so you would come to my basketball games even if losing meant that you would cheer for lucas instead."

jungkook clears his throat. "i've never really told anyone before, but i'm pretty sure everyone knew it anyways. everyone except you."

"and i've always been wanting to really tell you, but i was scared you'd run away, and i would rather you keep me around than anything else. even if it meant pretending that i liked being just friends." he continues gently. he looks down to find her staring up at him, into his night sky eyes.

in the millions of stars that shine in the depths of endless galaxies, he sees her, and still only her, and he has never lost sight of her.

this is his love for her.

"is this the great jeon jungkook making a confession?" yerim jokes dryly in response, aiming to cover up the bliss bubbling at . joking was her natural defense mechanism to situations in which she didn't quite know how to react. "kook, i'm sorry i held you back all these years." she adds, unable to look him straight in the eye.

he shakes his head, responding, "kim yerim, you're one of the most important motivations in my entire life. you have never held me back."

"no, i did, for so long and—" she insists, "and it's unfair of me, isn't it? that one day, i woke up realizing that i never wanted you to leave me. but i always pushed you away because i was scared of that realization."

her eyes widen as she gazes guiltily at him, "and now i regret it, saying that i could never be your girlfriend, that i could never love you like that when i did all along."

"it's okay, princess." jungkook murmurs, extending a hand to muss her hair gathered atop her head fondly. "sure, we took our time, but none of it was a mistake, yerim. these years with you, walking beside you, have been the happiest moments of my life."

yerim blinks back a few frustrated tears. jungkook always made it worse, in that he had never blamed her, and he'd always forgive her. "stop being so nice to me, jeon." she says as she slings her arms around his neck, laughing in the midst of a line of sight blurred by tears. "you're the best boyfriend i could ever ask for."

jungkook stiffens suddenly like a deer caught in headlights, doe eyes wide, stuttering, "what did you just call me?"

"my boyfriend." yerim murmurs, before grumbling at the impossibly wide bunny-toothed smile that appears on his lips.

she switches the subject, however, before he can say anything, frowning, "wait a second. i so did not lose to you in super smash. i'd like to remind you that i beat your falco-shaped in the rematch so hard you looked like you were going to cry."

"but i won the first round! and to be fair, baby, you were the one who chose falco for me." jungkook pouts childlishly in defense. "you know i only like playing ike."

yerim rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "whatever, that game was rigged from the start. and plus, it was part of the bet, coconut-head, and it's not like i asked you to choose princess peach for me, either-"

yerim is cut off by jungkook's lips against hers, and before she knows it she's pinned down on the bed underneath him.

jungkook does find her the most irresistible when she's trying to argue with him, anyways.

"don't change the subject, princess," he murmurs, a bit breathlessly as he leans his forehead against hers, his hand slipping just under her shirt to rest on her bare hip. "i don't recall you ever asking me for permission to be your boyfriend."

it's not that he truly minds—he's simply being cheeky, just this once, while yerim still openly tolerates him. jungkook wasn't interested in the comings and goings of a normal romantic relationship, and he didn't care so much for tradition as he did a sliver of a smile on kim yerim's perfect little face.

yerim huffs in effort to hide her embarrassment, her finger reaching up to tap the mole below his lower lip playfully. "fine. wanna be my boyfriend, jeon jungkook?" she asks, somewhat begrudgingly as he grins gleefully in response.

"kim yerim, i've always been yours." he announces giddily, his hand beginning a familiar upward path against her skin. "the love of my life, finally asking me to be hers when i thought she'd never ask."

yerim snorts, her fingers finding their way into the silky locks of his hair. "so that's your answer?" she raises a teasing eyebrow.

he begins to nod, but hesitates.
"if i answer yes, will you also answer yes when i have something important to ask you in the future?" he questions back, to her surprise.

"important?" yerim tilts her head sideways, before murmuring, "fine. i accept your proposal."

realization finally dawns on yerim when jungkook suddenly smirks.

"i didn't mean it that way-" she begins frantically, but her words fall useless when he suddenly settles beside her on the bed, pulling her into his embrace.

"princess, i know you didn't mean it." he hums triumphantly in her ear.

"then why do you sound so smug?" she retorts in reply, her voice once more stifled by jungkook's shirt.

"because i meant it." he answers, and her heart practically bursts when he says, "marry me, kim yerim."

her eyes widen and her voice begins to falter. "yah, jeon j-" yerim begins in disbelief, flustered.

"i'll make sure of it that you'll have married me by the end of the year." jungkook insists.

yerim sniffles softly.

"i've wanted this for years." he tells her, his voice so blissfully full of warmth and dreams and ambition, "i'll spoil you, take you wherever you want to go. we'll take care of each other like we do now, yerim, and when we have an argument..."

she nestles her face farther into his chest, almost afraid to respond. it seemed all too unreal—jungkook really did want to spend the rest of his life with her.

"say something, yerim." he pleads stubbornly when she still doesn't speak. "trust me, just this once?"

"coconut-brain." yerim finally croaks, tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks and wetting jungkook's shirt.

"of course i'll say yes."

it isnt until yerim feels his tears wet her shoulder that she realizes he, too, is crying softly.

"thank you, yerim." he whispers hoarsely in her ear, his satoori accent slipping off of his tongue like it always does when he forgets to hide it. "thank you for believing in me."

she raises her head slightly, staring into his wide eyes full of constellations as she says, "jeon jungkook, i promise that from now on, i'll always believe in you.

then, pushing aside his dark locks from his brow with her finger, her lips graze his cheek as she adds, "and i love you. so much."

—

("yerim," he later tells her when they are on the brink of slumber and entangled in each other's arms, "i met my aunt earlier today. she wears really strong perfume, i think some of it might have gotten on me.")