jeon jungkook and park chaeyoung had a lot of issues prior to getting together, mainly because he was favoured by the world and consequently, shipped with anyone that breathed within the same vicinity of him. shipping never bothered him so much, if he was honest. it was natural after all considering how often he’d hear his friends speak things like “wouldn’t they look good together?” or “they’d make a great couple.” but she didn’t like it. he realised that after while she’d mention a few names here and there, as though she were testing the waters. yeri. tzuyu. sana. lisa. he didn’t realise the correlation at first, if anything he thought that she was asking about what he’d thought of her friends (and so of course he’d have to put in a good word) but one day jin came into his room and smacked him across the head. “you’re so ing dense, your girl is crying.” jeon jungkook let’s out an expression of pure confusion, putting all the pieces together as he still rubs his hand against the back of his head to alleviate the stinging. “what happened? chaeyoung? sh— should i go talk to her?” kim seokjin doesn’t bother to reply, rolling his eyes, “... i’m going to see alice in five minutes, if you’re not in the car when i get there i hope you’re prepared for the line of perfectly decent idols waiting to steal your woman.” jeon jungkook runs to put on some proper clothes.

her eyes are swollen red by the time he arrives. she keeps her head down and low, in an attempt to conceal the glossy sheen in her eyes. “hey jungkook,” alice greets, smiling at kim seokjin, “... i, uh— think we should rain check lunch, i want to stay with chae—” at the words, park chaeyoung quickly nudges her older sister, “i’m fine, go, go.” “let jungkook keep her company, it seems they have a lot to talk about,” kim seokjin interrupts, “... chaeyoung if he does something, just call me i’ll beat him into a pulp no questions asked.” he watches as she lets out a soft giggle, head lifted for the first time their entire conversation. jeon jungkook cannot help but smile at the softness of her expression. despite the swollen red around her eyes, her expression remained intoxicating. alice and jin are quick to excuse themselves after reassurance from chaeyoung and a number of cautionary glares towards jungkook. when they leave, he turns to her and sees her wiping her face with the back of her sleeve, a sheepish smile across her lips. she was embarrassed. nose red from all the sniffling, hair a little messier than usual. “what’s wrong chaeyoung?” he asks, concern washing over her face, “... did someone hurt you?” park chaeyoung shakes her head no, making some excuse about how she’s been stressed about not seeing her parents in a long time. jeon jungkook doesn’t find it in him to push the topic further, “... have you eaten? let’s get something to eat, it’ll make you feel better.” 

jeon jungkook learns from kim seokjin later that night that park chaeyoung had been crying because of him. alice managed to figure things out when she’d accidentally searched through her little sisters search history, and felt further embarrassed about being insecure and jealous because they weren’t dating. at least not officially. by the end of it, he feels guilty. park chaeyoung carried through the day as though nothing had happened, but reality was that she was spending time with the one person wh