With an absolutely arbitrary deadline in mind, Jungkook dutifully headed to the bookstore the next afternoon. He bought you a caramel macchiato. “Last one”, he said as he left it on the counter for you.

You have started to get used to his wandering around the bookstore now. You still weren’t sure what kind of stunt he was trying to pull but you were fairly certain this will probably die down after a while, once he got bored or finds something better to do.  

He sauntered around the children’s section and found the book he saw you perusing that first time he came here. “Pfft, Winnie-the-Pooh”, he scoffed in a murmuring volume.  

But he still ended up taking a copy and flipping through it. Jungkook was focusing more on the pictures than the words, eventually he landed on one page that looked similar to what he saw you reading that day:  

“All I can tell you, Pooh and Piglet, is that right now I feel really rather Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All.

Which is why I haven’t bothered you. Because you wouldn’t want to waste your time hanging out with someone who is Sad, and Alone, and Not Much Fun To Be Around At All, would you now.“

Pooh looked at Piglet, and Piglet looked at Pooh, and they both sat down, one on either side of Eeyore in his stick house.

Eeyore looked at them in surprise. "What are you doing?”

“We’re sitting here with you,” said Pooh…”

—

Another day. Jungkook must have gotten tired of loitering in the bookstore, so he sat on the bench in the atrium of the mall facing the store, sipping on his iced chocolate while playing with his phone.  

You knocked off from work and contemplated sneaking off without him noticing but somehow you felt that would be too mean. So, you walked over and said, “Are you not leaving?”  

“I’m waiting for someone”, he replied matter-of-factly still looking at his phone.  

Oh, he was? Guess you weren’t the reason why he stuck around then, you were mentally reprimanding yourself for assuming.  

Just then, a low and refined voice came from behind you, “Why are you waiting here, you could have just waited at the restaurant”, the man who said this walked up to Jungkook. He was middle-aged, dressed in a bespoke suit and had a pleasant disposition.  

“I was waiting for this one to finish her shift”, Jungkook pointed at you while replying. So, was he waiting for you or him? This is so confusing.  

“Y/N, this is my dad. Dad, you wouldn’t mind if she joins us for dinner right?”, Jungkook said.  

“Nice to meet you Mr. Jeon”, you blurted out, at the same time suppressing your urge to just run away.  

“Nice to meet you too young lady. We are going to the hotel’s restaurant. Care to join us, Y/N? The chef we hired there is really good”, he asked as he gave you the friendliest smile you have seen from anyone of that stature. And wait, so they own the hotel annexed to the mall too?

Once you were seated at a corner table with a superb view of the city, the manager of the restaurant came over personally with the menu.  

“What would the two of you like to have today?”, Jungkook’s dad said while turning the pages.  

“Jungkook always gets the grilled steak here, Sir”, the manager said confidently, “medium rare again?”, he asked. Jungkook simply nodded his head without even opening the menu.  

“Oh, does he? I’ll take the lamb chop instead, what about you, Y/N?”, Jungkook’s father added.  

You ordered a pasta and his dad insisted on getting everyone a cup of coffee, although you really didn’t want one when it was already dinner time. The rest of the meal was cordial. A little too cordial.  

His father seemed genuinely kind, gentlemanly, fatherly, but he was as much of those things to you as he was to Jungkook; it was almost as if he treated both of you with hospitality. Your dad will probably know your favourite dish at a restaurant or if you didn’t like a particular drink. But then again, this man looks like he carries half the world on his shoulders. Maybe rich families were just like that.  

At the end of dinner Jungkook’s dad said the car was ready at the foyer, he reminded Jungkook to drop you off first at your hostel and excused himself to attend to a meeting.  

Jungkook and you were taking the elevator down when it stopped at a random floor. The door opened and revealed a man and a woman waiting for it. The woman was clearly older but was very attractive and you couldn’t quite guess her age, the man had his arms around her waist.  

The woman paused at the sight of Jungkook in the lift, and you could feel the intensity grow in the air surrounding him. The couple entered and the door closed.  

“You came here to have dinner with him?”, the woman said after a while, her words cutting the awkward air, evidently aimed at Jungkook.

“Definitely not to see you”, he replied and you could almost feel him seething.  

Who was she?

That was when the lift door finally opened at the ground floor, Jungkook contemplated dragging you out of there as quickly as possible but he stopped short of grabbing your wrist. He marched out past the two strangers and you were left to try to catch up to him.  

“Jungkook, Jungkook!”, the woman shouted after him. “What time are you coming home tonight?”, her steps wobbled, which could be a result of the high heels she wore or could be something else.  

When you caught up to Jungkook at the car, he shoved you in by the handle of your bag, and he got in hastily after you. The car drove off before she could make it through the lobby door.  

Was she his mother?

—

Two days passed after that, and with each you felt like Jungkook was different from what you thought he was.

You slowly learnt a lot more about his father; he never spoke of his mother.  

His father was the idol of his childhood. Even though everyone said his father married his mother for her riches, it never felt that way to him. His father would attend Jungkook’s school events, pick him up after classes and they would often hang out at an ice cream place after that. But then when Jungkook turned eight years old, his father became the CEO of the company one day and these things stopped. He hardly even saw his father around the house anymore after that.  

“You don’t blame him for priotising his work over you?”, you remember asking Jungkook once.  

He conveniently pulled out a Spiderman comic from the bookshelf next to where he was leaning against, “With great power comes great responsibility, Y/N. He’s to me what Peter Parker is to Mary Jane, but to the company and all the people relying on him, he’s supposed to be Spiderman.”  

Jungkook never blamed his father and he learnt that riches may bring some privileges but they also come with immense burdens.  

—

You were heading to lecture with Namjoon one day, and Mirae came running up to the both of you in the middle of the stairs leading to the lecture theatre.  

“Have you guys seen the news? Daebak…”, she whispered.

From your expressions she could tell that you both had zero idea what she was alluding to.  

“There’s so many articles up now about Jungkook’s mom, only daughter of the BH group”, Mirae moved closer to the two of you, “She’s having affairs. And yes, it’s affairs, not just one. There was apparently a singer called Julian Yoo, a trainee from some big company, can’t quite remember his name, oh and also the actor Daniel Park. And this is just apparently the tip of the iceberg. What even? Come to think of it, maybe this is why Jungkook acts this way”, Mirae was rattling on and on until she could see the look in your eyes turning annoyed at that last sentence.  

“We don’t know the full picture, and even if it’s true about his mother, should we really be dragging him into this?”, you questioned.  

“Even if we don’t the others will still. Wonder if he’s gonna be coming to class today after all this”, Namjoon said objectively.  

You sat in the lecture theatre constantly craning your neck to see if he was coming. Just a few minutes before the lecture was due to start, Jungkook strutted in in his usual posture. A backpack over one shoulder, hands in his pockets and looking as if the entire world can come at him but he wouldn’t bat an eyelid.  

The murmurs in the lecture hall became discernible, Namjoon leaned towards you and said, “Got to admire him for that couldn’t-care-less attitude he has.” Meanwhile, you watched him with worry.  

He glanced at you momentarily, registering your look of concern as he sat down at his usual spot at one of the rows below.  

Jungkook was in fact indifferent to what had happened, it was about time anyway. If he had no qualms about everyone calling him a trashy playboy, why would he be any more bothered by them gossiping about her? He was her son after all; promiscuity must be genetic.

Regardless, he turned his head ever so slightly towards the back row where you were seated and thought to himself, “but what great timing for this news to break.”

—

He didn’t show up at the bookstore that afternoon. After the lecture, you saw him walk out, blending into the crowd of people, and that was it.  

You tried to focus on your work. There was a new title that just came out and you were busy setting up the book display.  

The people who looked the calmest may bear the strongest storms within them. What if he wasn’t as indifferent to the situation as he looked on the outside? You were so deep in thought that you didn’t even notice your finger bleeding from a paper cut caused by one of the freshly-minted book covers.  

“You alright there?”, your store manager asked, eyes staring down at the droplets of blood pooling at your fingertips.  

You looked down and thought for a moment, “no I’m not, actually”. You took your phone out from your jeans’ pocket and decided to message Jungkook.

“Where are you?”, you actually just wanted to know this one thing. Maybe he’s fine and out partying somewhere, you hoped.  

Your phone buzzed.  

“Why? You worried about me?”  

At least he was alive.  

“Not exactly”, you typed but then deleted the message before you could send it. You were still deciding what to reply when your phone buzzed again, another message from him.  

“Last room, basement, arts faculty. Come if you want, it’s fine if you don’t.”

Arts faculty? Wasn’t he in business school? It didn’t really matter because there was a more pressing question – were you going to go?  

—

The room was clearly different from the other practice rooms, for the reason that it no longer resembled anything close to a practice room. Jungkook was sitting alone in the dimly lit chamber, cans of beer were strewn across the table and the floor. You walked in like you were entering a dragon’s den for the first time, trying very hard to make sure not to cause the dragon to stir.  

Your shoes brushed past a crushed can and the jarring clattering noises has Jungkook looking up at you. He exuded the same vibes as the first night you met him; eyes the usual shade of darkness, moat of nonchalance and arrogance surrounding him.  

He stared at you intently, and he spoke challengingly.  

“Are you going to ask if I’m alright again? I’m not. So, for the second time, what are you going to do about it?”  

What were you supposed to do in a time like this? What could you do for him? You walked over and sat next to him quietly.

Jungkook watched your every move closely. Were you just pitying him? Or does this mean his plan is succeeding?  

You two sat in silence for a very brief moment.  

“You know, Y/N, you should really take a page out of the other girls’ books. No guy will want you to just sit next to him when he is feeling down. That was not what I had in mind when I asked you what you were going to do about this”, his elbow was anchored on the armrest of the couch but his hands were waving around as he uttered those words.  

He always spoke with a tinge of frivolity, you wondered whether it was his defence mechanism.

“If you called me here for that sort of reason, then I’m sorry, you may have gotten the wrong person. And honestly, I don’t know what can actually make you feel better, Jungkook, really…”

It was the first time you said his name. He was surprised that he wasn’t even getting frustrated about you rejecting his advances.

“But, if I can’t comfort you… I can try to share your pain”, you said as you held out a hand.

A beat passes.  

“If that will make you feel less lonely, then take my hand.”

All he could do was stare at the hand you had extended to him. He said nothing, because what you said felt like everything.