Kookie(s) in my Oven

10. Almond

Jungkook’s POV

I’m not sure what possessed me to ask my Noona to spend the night at our dorm, but as the first drops of rain began to fall outside my window, I was glad I acted on the impulse. The steady pitter-patter of raindrops was relaxing, not too loud or out-of-control. I hoped that it’d keep raining until tomorrow night, just to keep her inside with me.

Karissa and I had already gotten ready for bed, and got in it, laying in the dark beside one another. I told myself to be on my best behavior, so I didn’t scare her out of my bedroom. It would be difficult, but I was going to do my best.

“Kookie,” she murmured, breaking the comfortable silence between us. I knew she wasn’t asleep, and there was no way I was going to fall asleep either -- not with her lying so close to me.

“Hmmm?”

My Noona turned to me in the dark, reaching out to hold my hand. With our fingers intertwined, I was able to make out her expression just a bit. She seemed hesitant.

“I’m worried,” She confessed simply, and I tugged her forward, pulling her into my chest. I hadn’t even heard what she was worried about yet, but I wanted to comfort her no matter what.

“Tell me about it,” I told her.

Karissa sighed against me, burying her face in my chest for a moment. I touched her cheek encouragingly, hoping she would tell me what was on her mind. When she finally pulled away to speak, I stayed quiet, to give her a chance to talk.

“Am I really allowed to be your girlfriend?” She questioned softly, her voice taking on a vulnerable tone. I bit my cheek to hold back my immediate displeasure with her question.

What had made her think we weren’t allowed to have a relationship?

I moved away from Karissa to reach for the lamp beside my bed, quickly turning it on. I needed to see her hazel eyes before I could respond to her, if for no other reason than to hold back my annoyance at whoever made her feel this way.

Karissa was chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully when the dim light illuminated my room, drawing my focus to her pretty mouth for a moment. I took a deep breath, willing my mind to resolve this situation first, otherwise I’d kiss her until she could only think about me.

I took both her hands in mine, fixing her with a stern look, “Noona, the only permission I’ll ever ask for is yours. The only one who allows you to be my girlfriend is you.”

“But Kookie, what about your family and friends? What about your ARMY?”

I shook my head, cutting her off, “There’s no one else to think about. We don’t have to ask anyone for permission. You get to decide.”

Karissa eyed me curiously, “Don’t you have a say so too?”

“Nope. I’m weak against you, Noona, don’t you know? There’s nothing I can do except be whatever you want me to be.” I smiled warmly, amused by the irony. Before, the members of BTS had all called me impenetrable, and we all swore I’d never meet someone that could break the invisible barrier between me and the women around me. Now, I was ignorant to every woman in the world except the one laying in my bed.

Karissa smiled widely, her hazel eyes sparkling, “What if I don’t want you to be my boyfriend anymore?”

“Then, I’ll stay by your side until you want to get back together,” I told her, grinning playfully, watching a blush form on her cheeks.

“And if I make ridiculous demands before then?” She challenged, though I knew she wouldn’t do anything like that.

“I’ll do whatever you want,” I replied easily, vowing in my heart to do exactly that.

Karissa’s eyes grew wide in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected the words to come so easily for me, “Whatever I want? Absolutely anything?”

“If you want me to take you to meet my family tomorrow, I’ll call them right now. If you want to meet all my friends, I can schedule the meeting. If you want to personally interview all of my ex-girlfriends, I will find them for you… But that might take a few days.”

Karissa giggled, “Jungkook, you’re too honest.”

I hummed in disagreement, pressing a kiss to Karissa’s temple, “I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings between us. I saw how bad things got for Suga-hyung and Monnie-hyung when they weren’t honest with themselves, and it hurt everyone a lot.”

“Are you sure you’re the youngest? Sometimes, I feel like you’re more mature than Namjoon-oppa.” My Noona teased, and I pouted.

“Of course, I grew up some while waiting for you. I wanted to grow up, so I can protect you. I don’t want you to feel like you have to ask anyone else’s permission to be happy. Let’s just be happy, Noona,” I stated resolutely, hugging her tightly again. Karissa didn’t say anything in response, but I could feel her smile against my shoulder.

Since the crisis was averted, we laid back down to actually go to sleep this time. As much as I wanted to stay awake and watch her beautiful face the entire night, I found myself drifting to sleep in the comfortable warmth of her form beside me.

The soft click of a camera shutter woke me up the next morning. I sighed softly, peeking one open to see what my Noona was up to. Karissa was leaning her forehead against mine, closing her eyes to pretend to be asleep while she tried to take selcas of us in such an intimate position. When she opened her eyes, she nearly jumped when she found me watching her silly actions with a grin.

“Oh, y-you woke up,” She said, flushed with embarrassment at getting caught. I chuckled, reaching for her phone with one hand and pulling her impossibly close to me with the other. I pressed a kiss into her hair and took a selca, then pressed my nose against hers, taking a second one. I repeatedly gave her kisses on the lips, each kiss getting deeper and longer than the last one. I got a picture of that too.

“K-Kookie,” Karissa’s hazel eyes were half-lidded, her cheeks fully red, and I hoped I could see this expression on her face every morning. I dropped her phone on top of the comforter, angling her chin upwards just a bit so I could part her lips and dip my tongue in . My Noona buried her fingers in my hair, her other hand gripping my shirt tightly, clinging to me.

I pulled away for air, tracing my fingers against her skin while I peppered her face and neck with kisses. I was just about to push her further into the mattress when Karissa-noona’s cell phone started to ring. I pouted, leaning my ear against her collar bone and listening to her heart beat excitedly. She smiled down at me apologetically and reached for her phone.

“H-Hello,” She answered breathlessly, and I grinned, feeling proud of the effect I had on her. I was still annoyed at whoever called her though.

“M-Ma. Ma, slow down. I can’t understand you.” Karissa’s brow furrowed while she listened to her mother’s words on the other end of the phone. She sat up immediately, gasping in shock. “She what?!”

Her mother was speaking too quickly for me to overhear her, but Karissa was already getting up, untangling her body from mine as she listened intently to her mom over the phone. I frowned, getting worried by her expression.

“Ma, there’s no way Brooke came all the way out here. What would she even come to Seoul for? She doesn’t have a passport, does she?” My noona was already unplugging her phone charger, climbing out of my bed and heading for her clothes that hung at the back of my closet.

I bit my lip. Why did Karissa seem so upset about this conversation?

“I’ll call Quinn and Niah to see if Brooke talked to either of them. Don’t panic, Ma. I’m sure she just stayed out all night and forgot her phone.” She was trying to speak calmly, but I could tell from her expression that her mother’s panic was infecting her as well. I had no idea who Brooke was, but if I had to guess, it was probably a member of Karissa’s family.

Karissa ended the phone call, and came out of my closet, fully dressed, and ready to go. She sat at the foot of my bed, and ran her fingers through her endless curls, sighing heavily.

“My older sister disappeared, and for some reason, my Mom thinks she’s out here.”

“You have an older sister?” I asked curiously, sure that this was the first time I had ever heard Karissa mention her.

“Yeah. We don’t get along so I rarely talk about her.”

I moved towards the end of the bed to sit beside her, reaching for her hand while I asked, “Why not?”

“It’s a long story. To put it simply, my sister hates me. And as much as I don’t want to admit it… I kind of hate her too,” Karissa frowned at the realization, and I knew there had to be a lot of animosity between them for my Noona to say she hated the older woman. Karissa was always kind to everyone -- it was in her nature. “She makes my life hell for no reason at all. She’s just so angry and bitter.”

“And Mother-in-Law thinks Sister-in-Law came all the way to Seoul to see you?” I questioned thoughtfully, trying to piece together their family dynamic. It sounded much more complicated than I'd originally thought.

“Yeah, she-,” Karissa froze, turning to me wide-eyed, “M-Mother-in-law?!”

I grinned cheekily, “Noona, don’t you have some phone calls to make?” I teased, pressing a kiss to her cheek after I climbed out of bed, “I’m going to see if anyone else is awake.”

Karissa pressed her hand over her heart, “Let me get over this heart attack first.”

I laughed, stepping out of my bedroom so she could have some privacy while she made her phone calls.

End Chapter 10