Kookie(s) in my Oven

9. Shortbread

Karissa’s POV

I called my Mom first thing the next morning to tell her the news. Everyone else had already congratulated Kookie and me, but I was curious to hear what my family had to say about my new relationship.

Her response wasn’t at all what I expected.

“Honey, why would you get in a relationship with someone? You’re supposed to come home once you graduate.” She admonished, and I wasn’t sure what hurt more, the disappointment in her voice, or the fact that she was already planning my return to the States.

I was flabbergasted, “Ma, what do you mean? When did I ever say I was coming back home?”

“We all just thought this Korea thing was a phase. There’s no reason for you to stay there longer than you have to. I know you have friends there, but your sister and I-”

I frowned, feeling a rush of anger flood through me, “Why does she get to decide what I do with my life? You gave me life, so I’ll give you some room for opinions, but her? She can’t even manage her own life, yet she’s got her nose in mine!”

“Maybe if you came back to reality, I wouldn’t have to!” I heard shuffling in the background and my sister’s angry voice became clearer on the line as she took the phone from my Mom. “You really think those Korean guys actually give a damn about you? Whoever the hell he is, he ain’t gonna take you home to meet his family.”

It was like my sister went out of her way to press every button I had. No one on this Earth could piss me off like her, “...Brooke, get the hell off my phone.”

“What?! I’m your older sister, you don’t-!”

CLICK.

I threw my phone on my bed, feeling my face heat up in absolute anger. My blood was boiling, honestly. So much for thinking my family would be happy for me. Neither of them were.

The first hot tear slid down my cheek, and that made me madder. Why was I crying over the stupid things my sister said? Kookie waited for me for a whole year, there was no way he would be ashamed of me.

But once the tears started falling, they wouldn’t stop. I told myself to stop crying, but instead, I just started sobbing harder. When I heard a frantic knock on my door, I realized that I wasn’t home alone.

“Baby Girl?” Quinn’s voice floated in from the other side of my bedroom door, and I sniffed, trying to put a stop to the steady stream of tears on my face.

When I didn’t answer, Quinn just barged into my bedroom in a rush. I buried my face in my pillow so she wouldn’t see my face.

“I knocked first,” Quinn said, by way of explanation, taking a seat on the edge of the bed near me. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. “Why are you in here crying your soul out, Rissa?”

“My stupid sister.” Was my muffled response.

“I swear, she has ONE more time to do this to you, and I’m flying home to beat her ,” Quinn uttered through clenched teeth. Despite myself, I laughed at the mental image.

I sat up, grabbing Quinn’s closed fist with one hand, “Queenie, violence is beneath you.”

“Like hell it is. She has no business opening . How can she treat her family like that?!”

I nodded, wiping my eyes with my free hand, “I don’t know why she always gets to me. It’s not like I don’t know she’s bitter.”

Quinn tsked, shaking her head, “What bull did she utter this time?”

“I told them about my relationship with Kookie. I was really happy about it, you know? But they both just… shot it down, like it was nothing,” I replied, somberly, feeling angry all over again.

“What’d Ma say?” Quinn pressed, giving my hand a comforting squeeze.

I frowned, “She said that I shouldn’t be dating anyone here since I’m going back home.”

“Ugh. And your sister?”

“Said that Kookie wasn’t going to take our relationship seriously anyway. She said he’d never take me home to meet his family.”

Quinn scoffed, “Where does she even get off?! Baby Girl, give me your phone; I just wanna talk to her real quick.”

I chuckled, moving my phone further from Quinn’s reach, “Don’t go making this worse for me, Queenie. You’re going to do a lot more than talk to my sister.”

Quinn forced out a breath, “I just can’t believe your Mom is letting her go this far. Why wouldn’t they want you to be happy? All they had to say was ‘congratulations’.”

I sighed heavily, “It was wishful thinking on my part.”

Quinn shook her head adamantly, “No it wasn’t, Baby Girl. This nonsense is on them. Don’t beat yourself up about it. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I nodded, knowing in my mind that Queenie was right. My heart, however, felt a different way entirely. I hugged Quinn for a brief second, wishing Niah was here to hug me too.

Quinn released me, frowning at the expression on my face, “You can’t go around looking like that all day. I’m calling Kookie.”

“No! Don’t call him! Where’s your phone?!” I jumped out of my bed to go find Quinn’s cell phone in her bedroom, while she laughed and ran after me. I was so thankful to have a best friend like her.

We ran around the house like little kids for a few minutes, before Quinn swore she wouldn’t call my boyfriend and tell on me.

“Snitch,” I teased, sticking my tongue out at her while I made breakfast for us. I glanced at the clock suddenly realizing something, “Wait, why are you at home this late in the morning?”

“I have a dinner party this evening with Shinhwa’s company. They pay for a full day of translation services, but I don’t have to go in until tonight,” Quinn replied calmly, sipping on her coffee.

“What’s it like, still working for your ex?”

Quinn shrugged, “He knows I’m completely in love with Namjoon, so he’s gotten a lot better. He keeps saying something about waiting for me, but I don’t even pay attention to him anymore.”

“I’m surprised Namjoon hasn’t killed the guy yet,” I commented, spooning two servings of scrambled eggs on a plate.

“Namjoon isn’t worried either. He trusts me.”

“I thought Kookie trusted me too, but the last time I went to a party with my classmates, he lost his entire mind.”

“Kookie’s the youngest, so that makes sense. He’s a little hot headed too. Niah’s definitely got it worse, though,” Quinn teased, taking a seat on a bar stool.

We laughed together at that. Min Yoongi was certainly not a man to trifle with.

“Speaking of Niah, I just realized how much I miss her not living here.”

Quinn nodded, sobering up instantly, “It’s crazy, right? We just got so used to living together that living separately still feels weird.”

I handed Quinn a plate full of delicious breakfast food, “It does.”

Quinn grabbed a fork and dug into her plate, and I took a seat at the island beside her, enjoying the tempting smells from my own plate before I followed her actions.

“You don’t have class today?” Quinn asked, between bites.

I shook my head, “Nope, one of my professors is sick and the other one is giving us time to work at our internships. I just have to go to campus to turn in some paperwork, and then I’ll go see if Alex needs me today.”

“Oh, if you’re free later, you want to come to my event? Free catering,” Quinn waggled her eyebrows, making me giggle.

“Are the guys coming?”

“I asked Namjoon to come, but he said they had something to do tonight. I don’t remember what though…”

“Let me check on Kookie before I agree to anything,” I told her, pulling out my cell phone.

I hadn’t heard it go off, but once I turned it on, I realized I had already missed 3 text messages from Jungkook. He had sent me pictures of a pink leather backpack. I was smiling widely before I could stop myself.

“Queenie, how do I stop him? He’s going to spoil me, and then I’ll be accused of dating him for money.” I asked her, showing her the pictures.

“Just let him.” She replied simply, with a shrug, “You deserve it, and he does it because he adores you. Look how happy you are over it. Just let him make you happy.”

I sent him back a bunch of heart emojis, and finished eating breakfast. Since Queenie had free time during the day, she offered to take me to school, and then to the clinic. I was happy for the ride and the company.

Once we got to the clinic, Alex told me that he didn’t need me there. Quinn and I didn’t have any other plans, so we went to visit the guys at their dorm. When we arrived, Namjoon wasn’t there at all, and Jungkook, Taehyung, and Yoongi were sitting on the couch in the living room.

“My girlfriend is here~!” Jungkook cheered in a sing-song voice, trying to stand up from couch.

I shook my head, hurrying over to him with a frown, “Kookie, don’t get up. It’s okay.”

“Noona, I’m going to die in this room.” Jungkook cried dramatically, leaning against me with a pout, “I want to go outside. I want to look at something other than our dorm.”

“You can’t; I’m sorry,” I told him with a sympathetic smile.

Jungkook nodded sullenly, “It’s not your fault, anyway.”

“Isn’t it?” I joked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Kari, Queenie, what the heck? Y’all are stalking me,” Niah appeared from the hallway, grinning at the sight of Quinn and I. She pinched my cheek, then moved over to bump shoulders with Quinn, who was texting on her phone.

“What are you doing here, Niah?” I asked curiously.

“Stealing some Suga,” She replied, wiggling her eyebrows playfully.

Yoongi smirked, standing up from the couch, “Jagi, are you ready to go now?” He asked, stepping around the coffee table to take her hand.

Niah nodded, “We’re going to my place, Kari, you wanna come?”

I giggled at the intense stare from Yoongi that went completely unnoticed by Niah. I shook my head, knowing exactly what that look meant, “I came to see Kookie, so I’ll stay here.”

Yoongi gave a satisfied nod, and the two of them said their goodbyes to everyone, heading out of the apartment.

“Noona, have you talked to Tiana-ssi lately?” Taehyung asked softly from the couch, frowning at his cell phone.

Quinn pursed her lips in thought, “It’s been a few days, why?”

“She hasn’t answered my messages lately…” Taehyung replied, his eyes reflecting concern.

I pulled out my phone, checking the chat log between Tiana and I, “Now that you mention it, I haven’t heard from her in like a week.”

“It’s been three days,” Taehyung admitted softly, and I felt for him. I could tell he was genuinely worried about Tiana.

“She talks to Niah the most, so I’ll text them both and see what’s up,” Quinn promised, pulling her phone out of her pocket to do just that. Mid-text, Quinn’s texting notification went off. She turned to us, “They’re asking me to come in a little early, so I’m going to head out too. Kari, let me know if you need me to come pick you up later, ok?”

I waved her off, “I’ll figure it out. Have fun at work!”

“Ugh,” Quinn groaned, waving goodbye to everyone as she headed towards the entryway. That left me, Kookie, and Taehyung in the living room.

Jungkook turned to me, “Noona, let’s go to my room.”

I nodded, holding out my hand to help him stand-up. Kookie frowned, but took my hand, and I grabbed his arm, wrapping it around my shoulder.

“Noona, I can walk,” He told me, with a pout.

I nodded, ignoring his protests, “I know, but I want to help you.”

With Jungkook leaning against me, we slowly made our way down the hallway towards his bedroom. Nothing had changed in his room, except now he had pictures of me decorating his nightstand and vanity.

I helped him sit down on the edge of his bed, sitting down beside him before picking up a photo he had taken of me at the airport.

“I knew you were taking pictures of me at the airport! Ugh, I look so tired in this picture.”

“No, you look pretty,” Jungkook replied, taking the picture from my hand. He pointed at a gift bag on the vanity, “Did you see your present?”

I moved over to the mirror to take a look inside the bag. The pink backpack from his pictures was sitting inside. I took the backpack out, noticing that it had a section for both a laptop and a tablet.

“Are you ever going to stop buying me gifts?” I teased, placing my gift back inside the bag.

“Nope,” Jungkook replied, with a lopsided smile.

I climbed back on his bed, this time leaning back against the headboard, “I figured as much. I love my new backpack though, thank you.”

“...Do I get a reward for it?” Jungkook asked softly, his voice dropping an octave. From my position on his bed I couldn’t see his expression, but I understood that tone of voice. My heart raced instantly.

“I-If you want one,” I replied, feeling my cheeks getting warm.

Jungkook reached for my wrist, and in two seconds flat, his face was impossibly close to mine. He pressed a soft kiss to my nose first, making me giggle.

“Noona,” he murmured, kissing each of my cheeks, one after the other.

“Hmmm?” I was completely distracted when he gave me a quick peck on my lips, pouting because I wanted more than that.

“Don’t go home tonight.”

My breath hitched in my throat, and because we were so close to each other, Jungkook heard it. He gave me the iest smirk I’d ever seen in my entire life, and I wasn’t sure I could remember how to breathe. He kissed me slowly this time, now fully aware of the effects he had on me. When he finally pulled away, I was sure I was going to internally combust.

Jungkook cupped my cheek in his hand, “It’s going to rain tonight, and Quinn-noona's at work so... just stay right here, in this room, with me.”

I was ready to burst. Kookie had asked for a reward, but even now, he was only thinking of me and my feelings. My sister’s harsh words from earlier fell away from my mind completely. Jungkook truly cared about me.

I nodded obediently, closing the distance between our mouths once again. Since Jungkook had asked me to spend the night with him, I would absolutely stay right where I was. Brooke could kick rocks.

End Chapter 9