CHAPTER FOUR

The following week went without a hitch. Jungkook would wake up at 7:30 each morning and be standing at Jimin’s door step, in prim and proper attire for work. As soon as Jungkook would step in, Jimin could be seen running for his car, tossing his pretty and grateful smile in younger guy’s direction with a quick ‘thanks and good bye’.

The good thing about this early morning arrangement was that Rose was mostly soundly asleep at that time, so Jungkook would quietly sit in one corner of her room with his idea pad open in his lap, Laptop perched open on the table beside him as he gives some important touch ups to his work… while keeping an eye on the girl.

Jimin tried his best to be back before 10 but most of the time he arrives back a few minutes after 10 which results in Jungkook strutting in his work place a bit later than 10:30am… earning a stink eye from his boss, which he usually ignores because in the end he cuts that time from his lunch hour and properly delivers his work well before 5pm, the closing time of their establishment.

The time from 5:30 to 7pm is usually more draining in energy than anything else. Not only is Rose fully conscious, her curiosity about several subjects at the same time is also exhausting. She ask non-stop questions related to Jungkook, the world, poor children, crayon colors, disgusting food and Mr. Yang next door- who Jungkook had not seen in his life but Rose still demanded to know why the man was so grumpy, all the time?

Jimin come back home at sharp 7pm every night, laden with takeout food as dinner and offers for Jungkook to stay but the later always gives the same excuse of having to do some important work, decline other’s offer. It’s transparent that Jimin doesn’t push him because he feels guilty for taking up so much of Jungkook’s time.

All in all, things work out perfectly for first week… that is until the weekend arrives. Jungkook debates with himself that it was okay to drop by on Saturday evening because good neighbors like to ask after each other’s health. Besides, he wishes to play with Rose… Jimin won’t find him burdening if he visits, right?

After much internal battle, Jungkook calls up on his neighbor in afternoon. Jimin looked delighted to see him, making Jungkook’s heart to skip several beats at the same time because of the bright eyes and grin Jimin bestowed him with. But things became more apparent when the elder man explained how he was running low on grocery and he wondered if Jungkook would spend a couple of hours with Rose so he can run his errands. It wasn’t fun playing with Barbie dolls- a scenario of a domestic house hold- Jungkook concluded after first ten minutes of playing the game with Rose. There was one taller doll that played the role of ‘Mother’ while a shorter one portrays the role of ‘Daughter’. It was after some time that Jungkook realized; Rose missed her mother tremendously… so as delicately as he could, Jungkook persuaded the girl that they should do something else rather than playing with dolls because, good gracious man! He was a 28 year old man!!

“Do you think my arm would be all healed up before my birthday?” Rose asked out of nowhere, just when Jungkook came to sit on her bed with his arms laden with all sort of coloring pens and several sketching sheets, so that the two of them could draw and color.

“Umm… that depends on when is your birthday,” Jungkook answered wisely but the girl looked scandalize that her favorite ‘Oppa’ doesn’t even know when her birthday would be. “You never told me so how would I know.”

“But I saw your top secret file and I know your birthday date,” Rose huffed superiorly.

“Okay Miss-know-it-all,” Jungkook said with slanted eyes. “Would you be kind enough to enlighten me about the holy day we all need to celebrate in honor of your birth?”

Rose giggled at the transparent annoyance on elder’s face, “It’s same as yours silly… that’s why I wanted to be your friend from very first day because I saw we both share the same birthdates.”

“Oh, silly me, I should have guessed,” Jungkook says in a slightly sarcastic and