Kookie(s) in My Oven

2. Peanut Butter

Jungkook’s POV

Ever since Niah-noona told us that Karissa would be coming back to Seoul, I could barely contain myself. I felt like a child, eagerly waiting for a promised gift from his parents. I worked that much harder, doing whatever I could to make the days go by faster. It didn’t take that long for everyone around me to know something was up.

My hyungs commented on my behavior constantly.

“We should have told our maknae that his noona was coming back a long time ago -- he’s a lot more useful now,” Yoongi-hyung teased, during a break at rehearsal one night.

“Do we know what day she’ll be back yet?” Jimin-hyung asked, causing me to frown slightly. A month had already gone by since I had last heard anything, but I just knew it couldn’t be much longer.

Or at least... I hoped it wouldn’t be much longer.

“American college is different from our university schedule,” V-hyung stated, not looking up from his phone, “It might take another month.”

“How do you know that, Taehyung-ah?” Jin-hyung asked him curiously, tilting his head.

“Tiana-ssi told me,” V-hyung replied, a slow grin spreading across his face. A red tinge covered his cheeks, and Jimin-hyung to nudge me with his shoulder, subtly pointing it out.

A chorus of sly chuckles erupted from the other members, and Hobie-hyung dashed over to V-hyung’s side, “Hey, give me her contact info too!”

“No,” V-hyung replied sternly, immediately shaking his head. Yoongi-hyung snickered, rolling his eyes.

“TaeTaeeeee~” Hobie-hyung whined, and V-hyung frowned, declining once again.

“I absolutely won’t give it to you,” V-hyung told him resolutely. Hobie-hyung deflated dramatically.

“Everyone has a girlfriend except me!” Hobie-hyung cried with a pout, flopping to the ground.

“I don’t,” Jimin-hyung said gently, moving over towards Hobie-hyung to pat his shoulder comfortingly.

“Tiana-ssi and I can barely talk to each other,” V-hyung replied sadly, glancing down at his phone again. He sighed, laying out on the floor beside Hobie-hyung.

“Why not?” Namjoon-hyung questioned, lifting an eyebrow.

“My English is getting better, but it's barely enough. We’re both really busy…”

We all sighed collectively, understanding V-hyung’s problem.

“Well, I don’t have those problems at all. for you, Hobi-ah,” Yoongi-hyung bragged with a laugh, and Hobie-hyung flung himself back to the floor, groaning in frustration.

“As fun as it would be to discuss the pros and cons of our respective relationships,” Namjoon-hyung interjected, glancing pointedly at Yoongi-hyung first, and then the rest of us, “We should get back to practice, so we can get out of here before 2 am.”

Recognizing Monnie-hyung’s words as an order from our leader, we all stretched our bodies and moved into our positions without anymore chatter.

Karissa’s POV

“Now boarding, Flight AB4785, from Nashville to Seoul. Now boarding, Flight AB4785, from Nashville to Seoul.”

I looked up from the game I was playing on my cell phone to hear my flight being called. I glanced around while gathering my things together, hearing the families near me say goodbye to each other. Some were giving their loved ones kisses and hugs, and others even cried.

I felt a pang in my chest as the scene reminded me of my own family. My mom and the kids had dropped me off at the airport with my sister nowhere in sight, as usual. She had refused to speak to me since she found out I was going back to Seoul, showing her all over again.

The night I had received my acceptance letter had gone from sugar to in three seconds flat. My sister flipped out when she found out I was leaving again.

“What, are you too good to stay at home or something?!” She raged, storming over to me and snatching the letter from my hand. I had told myself not to react but her behavior was completely unnecessary.

“What the hell is your problem?!” I had shouted back, yanking my letter from her hand. From the kitchen table, my nephew started to cry. My mom came back in the kitchen from the living room, giving us both a stern look.

“Have y’all lost your minds?!” Mom yelled, running over to my nephew to pick him and glare at us both, “Why are y’all screaming and cussing in my house!”

“Ma,” My sister began, pointing at me accusingly, “She never can stay at home! She thinks she’s too good for us! What, you ain’t Black anymore? You think you’re Korean or something?”

“You know what, I’m sick of you!” I screamed, throwing the spatula I had been holding to the floor. Everyone stared at me open mouthed because I wasn’t the type to yell, ever, “I’m so tired of your angry, miserable ! If your life , that’s not my fault. You blame everything on me, when everything that’s ever happened to you has ALWAYS been your fault! Don’t come at me because I’m doing more for myself than you ever did. You’ve settled; you’ve ALWAYS settled and now you’re pissed because I’m doing well!”

I should have known my sister wasn’t going to take my anger well, but whatever I had expected, nothing had prepared me for the slap she gave me.

When my sister’s hand collided with my face, my Mom rushed in between us, facing my direction, “Kris, don’t-”

I held my cheek, taken aback, and even more angry now, “And you’re taking her side?! Ma, I didn’t even do anything! She started this!” I could feel tears welling in my eyes as both my Mom and sister stared at me, “You wanna know why I'm always leaving home? Because you two are insufferable! You feel so bad for leaving her behind after Daddy died that you keep letting her do and say whatever, but Brooke chose to stay with her ty baby daddy! Stop blaming me!”

“DON'T YOU DARE BRING UP YOUR FATHER!” Mama roared, her face distorted in pain. I knew then that I had said too much.

In no time, my niece started bawling while the three of us adults stared at each other like angry fools. I pushed out a heated breath and stormed out of the kitchen, grabbing my shoes and car keys. I left the house as quickly as I could. If I stayed there for one more second, I knew the arguing was only going to get worse.

I gripped the strap of my carry-on bag just a little bit tighter, frowning while I made my way over to the slowly growing line of people waiting to board the plane. From then on, our house had been tense and awful. My Mom tried many times to smooth things over between us, and in some ways it worked, but my sister still wouldn’t speak to me, and I wasn’t talking to her either.

“May I have your ticket, please?” The stewardess asked, and I nodded silently, handing over my ticket so she could scan it. When I finally got to my window seat, I put on my headphones and got comfortable. We were in the air in no time, and it felt like a weight was slowly starting to lift from my heart.

I texted Niah and Quinn to let them know I was on my way, even though I was sure that they were both asleep by now. After I sent my texts to them both from my American phone, I pulled out my Korean phone, leaving it turned off, but making sure to plug it in to charge. I wanted to have a full battery the moment I landed, even though this flight was technically a red-eye from the US to Seoul. I’d be there in the wee hours of the morning, but Quinn had promised me that my room at her apartment was ready and waiting for me.

I missed the girls so much. Since my sister and I had such a strained relationship, the girls had become the sisters that I missed out on. I missed Tiana too, which was surprising since I hadn’t known her very long. Tiana knew I was heading back to Seoul today too, but I had forgotten to tell her that I had boarded my plane. I set a reminder on my phone to text Tiana once I landed and then covered my eyes. The flight was going to take a long time, so I figured I might as well sleep.

Ten hours later, I woke up to my seatmate patting my shoulder gently. She was an older Korean woman with warm brown eyes and short, cropped hair. She was probably someone’s grandmother. She spoke to me in a sweet, soft voice.

“They’re bringing the food out now,” she told me gently, and I thanked her for waking me up.

After eating my on flight meal, I pulled out my Surface Pro and got to work on some homework that I had. My professors had all been incredibly helpful and gave me work assignments instead of a final, since I would be missing out on the last few weeks of the Spring semester.

“What are you working on?” The older woman asked me curiously, glancing over to look at my computer screen.

“I have to work on a paper discussing antibodies, and how they help the human body,” I answered softly, pausing in my typing to smile gently at her.

“Oh, are you a medical student?” She asked me curiously, and I nodded thoughtfully.

“Not in the traditional sense. I’m going to school for Sports Medicine and Kinesiology.”

“Oh, that sounds tough,” She said, touching her hand to her cheek, “What year are you?”

“I’m-” I began to say, but at that moment, a flight attendant came by to ask us what we wanted to drink. We placed our drink orders, and didn’t resume our conversation until we both had some hot tea in front of us.

“Now, finish telling me about yourself, dear.” The woman urged, taking a slow sip of tea. I nodded, taking a drink from my own cup.

“I’m in my fourth year, and then I have to go to graduate school.” I told her, saving my paper and putting up my laptop, just in case I spilled my drink.

“And you’re doing all of this in Seoul? You’re a brave girl.” She commented, taking another long sip. “Have you worked in any clinics yet?”

“Yes ma’am,” I grinned, “I worked at the clinic at Seoul U on the weekends.”

“That’s wonderful. You seem very smart.” She complimented and I smiled at her words.

“Thank you very much. And what about you? Are you returning home or are you visiting?”

“I’m going back home after a business meeting with my son. My husband and I moved to the States a very long time ago, and our son couldn’t bare to come back home with us and relocate his new family.”

“Was it a lucrative meeting?”

“Oh very. We were looking for a building to buy for my grandson as a gift for his 30th birthday, and we’ve found a great one!” She clapped her hands excitedly and I found myself smiling wider; her joy was infectious.

“Wow, an entire building for his birthday?” I asked curiously, tilting my head.

“Oh yes. You see, my grandson is also a doctor, like you’re aspiring to be.” The older woman held up her hand, and reached for her handbag, which she had tucked under the seat. She pulled out a business card and even in the cramped seats, she handed me the business card respectfully. I accepted the card in the same way, only reading it over after I had returned her bow.

“You own a family clinic, Mrs. Choi?” I stared wide-eyed at the card, finally turning to see her warm eyes twinkling merrily.

“We own several in our neighborhood. Give me your card, dear, and I’ll give it to my grandson. He speaks English too, as does our entire family. I think he’d like to meet someone like you.”

“Oh… oh my gosh,” I dug around in my bag for an old business card that I had received from the university. “I-I’m sorry, the number on here isn’t current, but I will write my cell phone number on the back and-”

Mrs. Choi waved me off, “That’s fine, you don’t have to apologize.”

I nodded, writing out my Korean phone number with shaky hands, “D-Do you think he’ll have a problem with the fact that I’m-?”

“An American? A student? Oh no, he knows all about working as a student. He’ll work with your schedule and if he doesn’t, he’ll have to answer to a very angry grandmother.”

I laughed, feeling some of my nervousness melt away as I handed her back my business card in the same manner she had handed it to me, “Thank you so much.”

“Oh, don’t worry. You may not thank me later when you see how much work goes into starting a new clinic,” Mrs. Choi said with a laugh, and I grinned, shaking my head.

“I’m a hard worker!” I replied cheerfully, flexing my arm, and making Mrs. Choi laugh again. For the rest of the flight, she and I chatted about anything and everything, and she told me hilarious stories about her kids and grandkids. In no time, the pilot was announcing over the intercom that our flight would be landing soon.

“I’ll give you a few days to get settled before I contact you again. Make sure you’re free in a week so I can take you to meet our Alex. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to meet you.”

“I can do that,” I told her with a warm smile, and Mrs. Choi matched my grin. We buckled our seat belts, and soon enough, I felt a floaty feeling in my stomach as the plane began its descent to the runway.

Jungkook’s POV

I plopped down on my bed after a nice, hot shower, rubbing my damp hair with a towel. As Mon-hyung had predicted, we had managed to finish practice by 1 am, giving us nearly an hour of extra time to ourselves.

I picked up my phone from my night stand, leaning back against the pillows as I put in my security code to unlock it. The clock at the top of the screen read 2 am exactly. I could feel myself getting drowsy already, but I had to call Karissa-noona’s phone before I went to bed, like I had every night since she left.

I clicked her picture and pressed the phone to my ear, closing my eyes as it rang. It rang once…

Twice…

Three times…

I knew the automated voice was coming soon, but I wasn’t going to hang up until I heard it, like I always had.

A muffled sigh filled my ear, before I heard her voice, “...H-Hello?”

My eyes shot open, and I sat up immediately, yanking the phone away from my ear to stare at it in surprise. I looked at the Caller ID, double-checking that I hadn’t dialed the wrong number. With my heart hammering in my chest, I pressed the phone back against my ear, just in time to hear Karissa-noona murmuring to herself.

“Ahhh, wrong language…. Y-yeoboseyo?” She tried again in this adorable, sleepy voice that made my insides melt.

“Noona,” I heard myself whisper on a hushed breath, unable to believe what I was hearing. She sighed again, and I could hear the soundsof her moving around through the phone.

“Jungkook, it’s 2 am, wha-?”

My heart stopped beating in that moment. If it was 2 am where she was and 2 am where I was, that could only mean-!

“Noona, where are you?” I asked in a rush, already climbing out of my bed. My eyes were moving a mile a minute, searching for a pair of pants and shoes.

“At home,” she replied on a yawn, and I stood still, running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

“Noona,” I stressed her name this time, as a warning.

“What? I’m telling the truth,” she replied defensively, and I found myself fighting a smile.

“Noona, what city are you in?” I asked her slowly and carefully, already knowing the answer.

“Seoul.”

The single word filled me from head-to-toe with a happiness I wasn’t prepared to feel. I sank back down on my bed, if only to keep myself from jumping for joy, “I’m coming to see you.”

“Jungkook-” She began to say, but she sighed and corrected herself, “Kookie, you can’t see me right now. I look awful and I just got off of a 17 hour flight, and-”

I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me, “I want to see you right now.”

“Kookie, don’t be impulsive. You have a schedule tomorrow. In about 4 hours, I might add.”

I definitely couldn’t let her get away with letting that information slip out, “Oh? How do you know that? Is my Noona keeping tabs on me?”

“N-No,” she lied, making me laugh.

“Noooonnna,” I whined playfully, and to my delight Karissa-noona giggled girlishly in my ear.

“I’m going to Niah’s game later.” She told me, and I read between the lines. I could see her there if I went to the basketball game.

“Suga-hyung mentioned it before. I’ll go.”

“Okay.”

“Are you sure I can’t come see you right now?” I wanted to try my luck, even if it was pointless.

Karissa-noona yawned again, making me smile widely, “Good night, Jungkook-ah.”

“I missed you, Karissa-noona,” I admitted to her, honestly.

She paused, and I heard her push out a slow, even breath, “Don’t forget the game tomorrow.”

“I won’t,” I grinned, imagining just how flushed her cheeks were. Karissa-noona was easy to tease because she got flustered so easily. “Good night, Noona.”

“Night,” she replied, and as much as I didn’t want to, I ended the call. I stretched out on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, feeling the excitement bubble up in me. I wanted to fall asleep quickly so I could see her as soon as possible.

Karissa’s POV

It took me a while to fall asleep after my late night/early morning phone call with Jungkook, but I woke up to find Quinn in my bed, poking my cheek gingerly at 10 am. I groaned, swatting at her hand as I came to.

“I thought you’d never wake up,” She teased softly, poking my nose with a smile. Seeing that I was awake, Quinn rolled over, closer towards the edge of my bed.

“She’s up!” She shouted, and then I heard thundering footsteps rushing down the hall. Fearing the worst, I covered my head, only to hear Niah shouting.

“RISSA!” She cried, before flopping on my bed to cover both Quinn and I.

“Get off!” I shouted, uncovering my head to see Quinn and Niah laughing cheerfully.

“We missed you so much!” Niah cried, puffing her cheeks out and rubbing her face against mine.

“Both of you are crazy,” I muttered, feeling a smile creep across my face as I pushed her away.

“That’s my line,” Quinn teased from the edge of the bed, laughing at Niah’s antics. “Come on, Sweets, before you suffocate the poor girl.”

Niah chuckled, finally sitting up and giving me room to move, “I’m so happy to see you!”

I wrapped my best friend in a tight hug, “I know, I know. I missed y’all too.”

“I would have gone with Quinn to come get you from the airport, but I was wiped from practice.” Niah told me, hugging me back just as closely.

“It’s ok, I knew you were busy. So what are you doing over here so early? Don’t you have a game tonight?” I questioned, finally releasing her.

“Yeah, but it’s tonight, not right now. Right now, I want to spend time with my best friends and have breakfast! We have a lot to fill you in on!”

“Speaking of filling us in, you might want to text your family. Your Mom called me last night wondering if you had landed safely.” Quinn said, unplugging my cell phone from the charger on my desk and handing it to me.

I rolled my eyes and set my phone down on my nightstand, “Well, isn’t that kind of her?” I mumbled sarcastically.

“Whooooa,” Niah commented, both she and Quinn turning towards me with concern in their eyes, “Hey, are you okay? What happened?”

I sighed, “I got in a big fight with my sister before I left. I’m just really not in the mood to talk to either of them right now.”

Quinn patted my back, “That’s ok. Your sister's a anyway."

Niah chuckled, shaking her head, "Quinn!"

Quinn sighed, "Anyway, I told your Mom that you were sleeping and would call her when you weren’t jet-lagged so that’ll buy you some time.”

“Thanks,” I replied with a soft smile.

“Of course! Now, should we take you to see Jungkook now, or is he coming over later?” Quinn teased, sticking out her tongue at me. Niah sat beside her, cracking up.

I giggled, “First of all, he’s not the reason I came back to Seoul-” I began, and Niah burst into a fit of giggles.

“Sureeee,” she joked, “Let me guess? You came back for your bias J-Hope?”

“That’s right! I’m going to get him this time for sure,” I said, nodding resolutely while laughing at my own ridiculous words.

“Uh-oh Niah, we better warn JJ,” Quinn warned, chuckling.

“Yeah, he’ll be devastated,” Niah added, still laughing.

I looked between my two best friends, watching their expressions carefully, “But in all honesty… How is he? Has he been doing okay?”

“You should be asking him that, girl.” Quinn stated, her smile saying what her words weren’t.

“Peanut’s fine, he just missed you like crazy. Don’t worry about it,” Niah explained, ruffling my hair.

“Peanut?” I questioned, curious about the nickname.

Quinn shook her head playfully, “Niah got hella drunk and started renaming everybody, so Jungkook got named after peanut butter cookies.”

“Quinn!” Niah shouted, pouting.

Quinn stuck her tongue out at her mischievously, “Hey, no one told you to drink that many bottles of soju!”

“Ugh, whatever,” Niah turned back towards me, pointedly looking in my direction. “Are you nervous?”

I nodded, winding one of my curls around my fingers, “A little bit, to be honest.”

“Well if you’re worried about your hair, don’t -- that cherry cola color is hoooooot!” Niah said, tugging on my hair.

“Yeah, it looks great,” Quinn added, with a smile.

“Ugh, I don’t even know what to wear to the game.”

“Something comfortable,” Niah replied with a shrug.

“Something cute,” Quinn amended, and I sighed loudly at their contradicting answers.

“You guys aren’t helping!”

My best friends just laughed at me, Niah reaching over to loop her arm with mine, “Let’s have breakfast first, and then we can vote on your outfit for your first day back.”

Quinn agreed, standing up from the edge of the bed, “I’m definitely down with that plan.”

We giggled together and headed towards the kitchen in search of food, basking in the joy of being reunited once again.

End Chapter 2