Kookie(s) in My Oven

7. Oatmeal

Karissa’s POV

The storm outside had finally settled down, though it was still raining. Kookie had kissed me until my lips were swollen and my cheeks were flushed, the sound of my pounding heartbeat drowning out the terrible sounds that often left me shaking with fear.

“Noona, are you ok now?” We had settled comfortably in my hotel room, facing each other on the bed, speaking softly in gentle voices. His entire presence was having such a calming effect on me, and for once in my life, I wasn’t so scared of the rain.

I nodded, “I’m much better. Thank you for coming to my rescue,” I replied, with a light giggle.

Jungkook matched my laugh with a boyish smile, “You can always come find me when it rains.”

I grinned, “What do I do when you’re far away?”

He chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully, “Hmmm… You could just stay by my side. Like Quinn-noona and Monnie-hyung.”

I laughed outright then, amused by his simplistic approach to my problems, “Quinn is actually working for your company, Kookie. They definitely wouldn’t let me just tag along everywhere. Plus, I have to go to school and work.”

Kookie nodded, pouting reluctantly, “I guess I can settle for a phone call.”

I patted his hand, “That’s a lot more reasonable.”

Jungkook threaded our fingers together, caressing the back of my hand with his thumb, “Noona,” He murmured softly, looking at our hands together. He seemed to be hesitating, but finally, he bolstered his courage, “Why are you afraid of storms?”

I sat, momentarily stunned by his question. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting out of his mouth, but it certainly wasn’t that, “...I...ummmm…The truth is-” I stammered, struggling to think of the least embarrassing answer.

Kookie squeezed my hand, forcing me to look up at him. His brown eyes were warm and sympathetic, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

I shook my head, “No, Kookie. I-I want to.” I took a deep breath, calming my nerves before I launched into explaining my phobia, “When I was small, my Daddy died in the ocean. He was a Coast Guard, so his job involved being out at sea all the time. Even though I was only four when he passed away, when I found out that his boat sank in the ocean, it made me fear most things water related. I’m fine with swimming pools now because they’re man-made and controlled, but lakes, rivers, the ocean… Honestly, even being on this island makes me nervous.”

Jungkook gave my hand another gentle squeeze, giving me a second to gather myself, “I never really knew my Dad, since I was so young when he left us, but the more I avoided water and boats, the more afraid I became. Now, it all freaks me out. I know it’s irrational, but I can’t stop it. ”

Kookie grabbed my wrist, tugging me forward so he could hug me to him, “I’m sorry. I was so inconsiderate earlier. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”

I leaned my head against his chest, letting his scent wash over me. I wasn’t sure how I managed to fall for someone so caring, “It’s not your fault, Kookie. You didn’t know. It’s not like I told you.”

Jungkook pulled away from me, making sure he had all my attention, “That’s another thing. Noona, don’t hide like that. How can I fix a problem if I don’t know it exists? I’ll do everything I can to help you, but I can’t do that if you don’t tell me.”

I blushed in shame, “Are you sure I’m older than you? I feel like I just got admonished by Monnie-oppa.”

A warm smile spread across Kookie’s face as he chuckled lightly, “I just want you to understand my feelings.”

“I know,” I matched his smile with one of my own, “Thank you for listening to me.”

Jungkook inhaled slowly, “Ah, don’t look at me like that.”

I tilted my head curiously, “Like what?”

“Ahhh, you’re making it worse. I can’t deal with this,” Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut, making me laugh at his silly behavior.

“Ohhh? Kookie, what’s going through that handsome head of yours?”

Jungkook shook his head adamantly, “I can’t tell you, Noona. I really can’t.”

I leaned into his personal space, studying his features closely since his eyes were closed. His downturned eyes, his adorable nose, and his enticing lips… His mouth was only inches from mine so I gently, softly brushed my mouth against his.

Kookie’s eyes shot open and he placed his hand at the back of my neck, fixing me with a heated look that made my pulse race, “I warned you, didn’t I, Noona? Why aren’t you ever worried about yourself?”

He didn’t give me any time to answer him, attacking my lips with a kiss that made my fingertips tingle. All too soon, the kiss ended abruptly because someone had decided now would be the best time to knock at my hotel door.

Kookie pushed out an annoyed breath, and I laughed loudly, straightening my clothes and hair a little before I answered the door. Niah, Tiana, Taehyung, and Jimin stood on the other side, all of them smiling widely once they saw me.

“Oh, you’re ok!” Niah cried, hugging me tightly. Everyone filed into the room one-by-one with Taehyung being the last person to come in.

I nodded, patting Niah on the back, “Yeah, I’m ok. My phone died in the middle of the storm, so I was freaking out, but Kookie came and found me.”

Jungkook had gotten off of my bed and was sitting on the floor when the others entered the room, “Did everyone else go to bed?”

Niah shrugged, “Yoongi said he was going to bed, Namjoon and Quinn ran off to their room, anddddd I’m not sure where Hobie ran off to, but if I had to guess, he probably went off to find something to do.”

“And Jin-ssi said he was going to take a bath,” Tiana added, matter-of-factly.

“We just wanted to make sure you were ok, Kari,” Niah explained, squeezing my shoulder gingerly. “I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about you too much with JJ here!”

Tiana yawned, “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Rissa. Now that that’s settled, I think I should go to bed.”

“I-I’ll go with you! I mean… walk with you,” Taehyung stood up from his position on the carpet, his face flushing red at his mistake. Niah covered to hide her laugh, but Jimin and Jungkook laughed heartily.

“Sure, let’s go. Good night, everyone!” Tiana’s response was smooth, and very generous, as she chose not to comment on V’s slip-up. The two of them headed towards the door and said their goodbyes, heading back out into the hall.

Niah waved, “I should head back too, or everyone will have to deal with a grumpy Min Yoongi in the morning. Sleep well!”

Seeing as it was just Jimin left behind, Jungkook leaned over to put his arm around his shoulder, “Hyung, let’s go to my room so Noona can sleep.”

Jimin readily agreed and the two of them got up from the carpet. I walked them to the door, debating internally if I should ask Kookie to stay with me, in case the storm picked back up. The pair of them walked about four steps away from my door, when Jungkook turned around and came back to me, “Charge your phone so you can call me if you get scared again. I’ll be down the hall, ok?”

I nodded, feeling a wide smile spread across my face. It was like he had read my mind, “I’ll make sure to charge my phone AND my computer.”

“Good night,” He told me softly, invading my personal space and pressing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

“Night,” I echoed back, biting my lip to fight the uncontrollable smile on my face. It didn’t work. Jungkook waved at me as he ran back over to Jimin and I watched the two of them disappear down the hallway before stepping back into my room. I fell back on my bed and giggled like a high schooler with her first crush.

Jungkook’s POV

I had invited Jimin-hyung back to my hotel room because if I was honest, I didn’t want any other men in Karissa-noona’s room, even if it was just Jimin-hyung.

“You didn’t actually want me to come to your room with you, did you?” He asked, with a playful smile, and I immediately told him the truth. There was no reason to lie him.

“Not at all, hyung.” I told him with a smirk, glad that I didn’t have to explain myself.

“Well, I can just go back to my own roo-”

Both of us paused at the sight of V-hyung leaning against my hotel room door, fiddling with his fingers. His face was flushed red.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?” I questioned, wondering why he looked the way he did.

“Ah, I really can’t believe I said that in front of her!” V-hyung sighed, flopping against the door dramatically. He turned, pressing his forehead against the door, “I didn’t mean to say it that way, it just came out like that, you know!”

“TaeTae, I’m sure Tiana-ssi knew what you meant,” Jimin-hyung reassured him, but I was too busy laughing.

“You meant it exactly the way you said it, didn’t you, hyung?” I chuckled, pressing my key card against my room door, and pushing it open with V-hyung still leaning against it. The three of us entered my hotel room and claimed different spots on my bed.

“N-No! I’m a gentleman; I’d never approach Tiana like that.”

“Oh? But you’re already addressing her casually,” Jimin-hyung waggled his eyebrows at the implications of V-hyung’s choice to address Tiana by her first name only.

“She told me I could!” V-hyung cried defensively, “It’s not like we’ve done anything else.”

“Well, you did hug her.” I recounted, thinking back to when Tiana surprised us all at the airport.

“And you’ve held her hand before too, right?” Jimin-hyung added, both of us struggling to contain our laughter.

V-hyung gasped, “I did! I did both of those things.”

“Well, hyung, now you’ll have to marry her,” I joked, and Jimin-hyung couldn’t take it anymore, cracking up.

V-hyung pouted, throwing a pillow at me, “And what about you? You were in Kari-ah’s room alone for a long time.”

“I kissed Kari-noona last year though,” I pointed out with a shrug. I looked up to find both my hyungs staring at me in surprise.

“You what?! You never told us that!” Jimin-hyung gasped, shock written across his features.

“Well, I didn’t see any reason to tell either of you -- neither of you are in relationships, after all.” I replied with a pout, not seeing why they were so surprised by the news. I had never hidden my feelings for Karissa from any of my hyungs.

Jimin-hyung fell over on my bed, clutching his heart as if he was in pain, “I can’t believe our Kookie kept such a big secret from his favorite hyungs.”

“Ugh, I’ve never felt this kind of betrayal,” V-hyung agreed dramatically, falling on top of Jimin-hyung’s back with a fake sob.

“I told Monnie-hyung and Yoongi-hyung about it first, since they have the most experience.” I explained, rolling my eyes at their dramatics.

“Does this mean you two are officially a couple?” V-hyung asked me, and I paused, as it hit me just then that I honestly had no idea.

“...I haven’t asked her yet,” I replied somberly, chewing my bottom lip thoughtfully. I really needed to ask her.

“So you’ve kissed her twice already, but you haven’t ask her to be your girlfriend? Jungkook-ah, I’m disappointed in you.” Jimin-hyung tsked, wagging his finger at me.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve really had the chance to,” I pouted, crossing my arms in frustration. I wasn’t lying -- I really hadn’t.

“You should fix that as soon as possible,” V-hyung warned while Jimin-hyung nodded enthusiastically beside him.

“I will. I wonder how I should do it?” I wondered out loud, my mind conjuring up a million ideas all at once.

“Whatever you do, don’t do it like Monnie-hyung. How many times did he have to ask Quinn-noona to be with him before she finally said yes?” Jimin-hyung chuckled as we all recalled how many times Namjoon-hyung would come back to our dorm, deflated because Quinn-noona had shot him down again.

“Let’s not forget how Yoongi-hyung asked our Coffee-noona to be with him after punching someone in the face,” V-hyung added, bringing up that night at the club. Even though two years had already passed, I remembered that night vividly. It was the first time I couldn’t sleep because my mind was filled with thoughts of Karissa lying in my bed in the next room.

“I’ll definitely come up with a better way,” I vowed, determined to do something special. I wanted to start planning immediately. I didn’t want any more time to go by without my Noona knowing exactly how I felt for her.

End Chapter 7