It’s been some time since Jongkook last woke up after a date night to a beautiful woman in his bed. 

Last night felt like a dream. Except it’s real because Jihyo is pressed up against his chest, still and lightly snoring. A far cry from how alluring she was hours ago, but he loves how cute she is when she sleeps.

A month ago, he’d call himself out for this weirdness of staring at her. But now? Of course he had to admire the woman he’s officially dating. 

He presses a soft kiss to her temple, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment as the light rays from the sun streak in through the windows. Maybe he should think about making her breakfast in bed. Romantic, right? She was always hungry these days anyway, eating for two.

But as Jongkook gazes down on Jihyo’s sleeping form again, he really doesn’t want to leave her side. What’s a few more minutes in bed anyway? So he snuggles back in with her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He takes a whiff of the floral scent from her shampoo when she instinctively nuzzles herself against him, and smiles contentedly.

It’s funny how he’s always finding himself in these situations with her. It feels like months ago when they had to share a bed. Or what about that time after their passionate activity in that hotel suite he booked for her? Moments all different, and yet somewhat alike. 

Because Jongkook was always in love with Jihyo all those times. 

And now? Now he could happily say that he wasn’t afraid to confess his true feelings. He could cuddle up with her for a few more moments without feeling guilt or worry — he was dating her, and he even got down on one knee to ask!

Breakfast in bed would have to wait a couple more minutes.

The first thing Jihyo notices when she wakes up is that this is not her bed. 

The next thing is that she’s alone and very under the covers. Also, it must be late because the sun’s bright and up high in the sky. 

The very last thing that comes to her attention is the smell of bacon wafting through the air. Right on cue, her stomach starts to growl, and she looks down, smiling. 

“Alright, baby girl.” Jihyo whispers to her belly. She read somewhere that babies really liked to hear voices, so she’s been voicing her thoughts more often. “Let’s go find out what’s cooking outside.”

She searches for her dress on the floor but she can’t seem to find it anywhere, so she settles for the next best thing — a black shirt folded neatly beside his bed. That would have to do. She can’t go out stark (even though he has seen it all).  

Jihyo slips the shirt over her tiny frame, disappearing under it even with her growing baby bump. By the time she steps out of the door, the smell of breakfast was invading her nose, making water.

Her feet subconsciously take her all the way to the kitchen, where Jongkook’s currently cooking up pancakes with his back facing her. He has a set of clean clothes on too, so he must have put her dress in the laundry. Additional perks of living with the man you were dating, she thinks. 

She wonders if she could surprise him with a back hug, but maybe that was too forward of her at this point of their relationship? Or not when he’s flipping pancakes with a spatula — like what if he burns himself? So she avoids him at the last moment, opting to lean against the fridge where his schedules are put up. 

“Whoever said men look y when they cook was right.” Jihyo comments lightly, watching as he turns to her in surprise, no burning accidents required. 

“You’re awake?” Jongkook frowns, concentrating as he transfers a pancake  to the stack of freshly made ones. “I was hoping to catch you off guard with breakfast in bed...”

“Very romantic.” She notes in approval, a brow raised.

“You could always go back.” He grins.

“I could.” She laughs, holding herself back from going up to him and giving him a peck on the lips. “Okay, I think I will. Surprise me, oppa.”

“Definitely.” He finally turns off the stove, and takes a good look at her. While the shirt was showing off her slender legs, she was looking very cute in his clothes. “I love your outfit, by the way.”

Jihyo spins, turning and posing for him. “I couldn’t find my dress. This shirt, on the other hand...”

“I think it’s going to be yours now.” Jongkook smiles, gazing over at her tenderly. “Give me five minutes?”

He’s actually serious about serving her breakfast in bed. She tears her eyes away from him to focus on the stack of pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs by the table, and wonders if she can wait that long. “Okay, but if it’s not there in five, baby girl and I are going to be very disappointed.”

She can still hear him chuckling as she makes her way back to his room, completely ignoring the door down the hallway that led to hers. 

Jongkook enters the room in under ten minutes instead, but Jihyo’s too preoccupied with her phone to be mad. She’s found her way under the covers again, lazing on the bed while scrolling through her emails. 

“You’re late.” She complains, beaming at the plates as he settles them on the bed beside her, careful not to spill. 

“Worth the wait?” He smiles, watching her cut a bite of pancakes with the fork. He waits until she chews thoughtfully, anticipating her answer.

“Definitely.” Cutting another bite for him, she reaches out and feeds him a forkful. “It’s nice to know that you can read the instructions for pancake mix.”  

“Hey,” Jongkook protests, still in the middle of swallowing, “Pancake mix is still delicious. Plus, the bacon and scrambled eggs were a lot harder to put together!”

Jihyo nods, gigging softly while she puts down her fork on the tray. “I know, and it’s really sweet you decided to make breakfast.” She leans over to him precariously, aware of the food between them as she cups his face, his cheek gently. “I loved it.”

“Yeah?” He whispers, wondering if he should kiss her right now. Turns out that he doesn’t have to make that decision, because she goes ahead and does it for him, pressing her lips against his as they pucker instinctively to give her a tender kiss. He can’t wipe the silly smile off his face when she pulls away, gazing into his eyes. “Although I might want to add that you’ve slept through breakfast and it’s way too late to call this brunch.” 

“Very funny.” She rolls her eyes, turning her attention back to the food. She could get used to this, waking up to him. It’s a pity she’s only lying in his bed because of last night... Does she want to go back to the guest room where she’s been sleeping to give each other some privacy? 

As she feels his eyes on her, she doesn’t feel like going back. Sure, they weren’t officially a couple yet, but wouldn’t it be nice to cuddle up to him every night? She bites her lip, thinking about the other dirtier things they could do to each other if they were sleeping in the same bed...

“What are you thinking? You’ve gotten really quiet.” Jongkook breaks her out of her thoughts, and Jihyo flushes like she’s been caught. 

“Nothing, just enjoying the nice meal you’ve made.” She raises her fork happily, taking another bite. “Anyway, what’s the special occasion? Breakfast in bed sounds like a luxury.”

“Just wanted to make something amazing for my date.” He grins.

It does get her thinking though — Jongkook’s been doing a lot of things for her. He’s spent a lot of money on lunch and takeouts and all those flowers and the hotel stay and ugh, even singing those ridiculous songs to her. He’s been the one putting in all the effort courting her, and all she’s done is be at the receiving end. It takes two to clap, doesn’t it? She should be doing something more for him, even if he probably wouldn’t mind investing all his time and effort on her.

“Well, all your ex girlfriends must have been very lucky.” Jihyo comments, tilting her head to look up at him knowingly.

“Yeah, but they weren’t you.” 

“Very smooth.” She notes, rolling her eyes. He hasn’t said a word about how they weren’t technically boyfriend-girlfriend level yet, but she knows he’s dying to ask. 

She returns to her pancakes, pretending not to be bothered, but she’s actually thinking about her next move. It’s her turn to do something special.

Turns out, it’s a little difficult to find something for the man whose only dream in life is to live in a gym. It’s hard for Jihyo to admit it, but she’s not exactly the most romantic person in a relationship. Her past boyfriends might call her a workaholic, but that’s not what she’s going for this time (even if Jongkook is in the same line of business as she is and probably doesn’t need a hundred roses delivered to his doorstep). 

Wait, could she get a hundred dumbbells delivered instead? 

Perhaps that’s a stupid idea; he probably already had a hundred favourite ones at the gym. She’s going crazy over this. Maybe she should just buy him a gym and get over it.

Except she’s not going to be that type of girl. Money doesn’t solve the world’s problems; she better find someone who knows Jongkook well enough to suggest something good. 

Someone like...

“That is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of.” Ha Ha says bluntly, looking at Jihyo weirdly. “And Kwangsoo once told me he gifted a girl Jaesuk hyung’s autograph because she said she liked him. First of all, what kind of person doesn’t like Yoo Jaesuk? Secondly, an autograph? It’s like Kwangsoo wanted to be dumped.” 

“I didn’t say I was legit going to buy oppa a gym.” Jihyo rolls her eyes. “I just said I needed some help.”

“Even if you didn’t say that, I knew you need help the moment you called to say you were coming to see me.” It’s not that he didn’t meet up with her often, it’s just that she used to be so busy. It would be hard to even get her to meet up for drinks or dinner after filming, but now that she’s knocked up? Ha Ha’s finally had the chance to sit with her in his restaurant to give her relationship advice. After all, he’s the only one with three kids and a loving wife. 

Or maybe she just wanted to use him for a free meal? He can’t quite tell. 

“Look, hyung’s a very simple man.” Donghoon knows Kim Jongkook like the back of his hand. This is the man who once relentlessly persisted to get him paid by some scam company that tried to use them for free promos. He’s also the man who co-owns this very same restaurant with him, so maybe in some way, Jihyo’s meal wasn’t free if Jongkook got a cut out of it so...

Ha Ha shakes his head; he had to stop going off track. “So what I’m saying is: just go out for dinner with him. Tell him that you want to have his babies forever. See? It’s not that hard.”

Jihyo grimaces openly, stabbing the bibimbap bowl with her chopstick. “That is  literally one of the stupidest ideas I’ve heard.”

“Hey, you don’t get to use my words against me!” Donghoon gulps, watching her mix her rice aggressively. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so snarky with a pregnant woman; he has bruises that are emotionally implanted in him forever after the lashing out Goeun gave him when she was pregnant with all their children. “What’s wrong with dinner?”

“He’s taken me out for those. And lunch. That doesn’t sound very special. Are you sure Goeun is happy with you?”

Now he’s offended. He gasps dramatically, frowning at Jihyo while he reasons with her, “I’ll have you know that we are very romantic! Fine, how about you book a hotel stay or something? That’s literally the peak gift you can give someone. Think of all the lazing around, the —“

“Oppa!” Jihyo hisses, cutting him off. “Anyway, he kind of did that last month.”

“, and none of you told us?” Ha Ha’s more than offended now; he’s hurt and devastated that his favourite couple in the Running Man family left out such a big detail. “I can’t believe you two! How long have you been sneaking behind our backs?”

Jihyo wants to facepalm herself right smack into her bowl of bibimbap now. “It wasn’t like that! At least, we weren’t dating then... It’s kind of a long story. Oppa, he’s been giving me all these thoughtful gifts all month long and I haven’t done much. Don’t you think you can spare me some suggestions?”

“I can’t believe you came to me and not Jeon Somin. She’s like the guru when it comes to all this nonsense.” Ha Ha grumbles, still upset. 

“Didn’t you just say you were super romantic? Anyway, Somin’s supposed to be resting.”

“Yeah, you think I don’t know about your hour long phone calls? She calls me too, you know!”

“Oppa.” Jihyo all but sighs, accepti