Walking back to the apartment in the cool air, the 20 minutes walk didn’t feel long at all as their hands sat comfortably in each other’s, none of them complaining about the cold as the warmth for their hands were enough.

She had allowed herself to be wilful for the night - just for one night where she could give in to her desires and finally hold Jungkook’s hands in hers, something she had always wished for the past six years whenever she saw couples walking down the streets in New York. She turned to look at him, and found that the boy was already staring at her with a wide smile on his face.

“What?” She chortled and the boy merely shrugged while swinging their hands. “I know this might not mean anything to you, but having your hands in mine is possibly one of the most blissful feelings ever.” He said as he smiled shyly, casting his eyes towards the ground while the girl silently grinned, in contrast to the rapidly beating heart in her chest.

Letting go of their hands when they arrived at the apartment, they both missed the warmth of each other the moment they let go. She knew he was waiting, but it took everything in Jihyun not to reach out again as she unlocked the door with the keys instead. She could see from the corner of his eyes that he was disappointed, but her rational side had overtaken her.

That was enough.

She entered the apartment to find Miyoung and Sooyoung dozing off on the sofa while Junghyun was silently reading her book. She jumped off the sofa in excitement when she saw her mother, giving her a hug as she wrapped her small arms around the girl’s neck. “Eomma, you’re back!”

After that, Junghyun had skipped over to Jungkook at the back as she tugged onto the boy’s coat. He grinned as he squatted to meet her eyes. “Yes, cutie?” He cooed as he carried her into his arms. “Uncle Jungkook, can you read me the story again tonight? I loved it!” She pumped her hands in the air ecstatically and Jungkook laughed, “Of course. I’ll freshen up first, okay?” He asked and she nodded her head furiously before wriggling out of his grasp and running to the bed.

“Thanks guys.” Jihyun said as she pulled the two sleepy girls into a hug while they merely shrugged, “No problem. We love spending time with Junghyun, Ji. But the girl’s energy really never runs out.” Miyoung said as she wiped off imaginary sweat beads off her head.

As they exited the apartment, Jihyun prepared herself for the night. “Junghyun seems to prefer your bedtime stories nowadays.” She teased and Jungkook chortled, “I like reading to her too. She’s always so excited for the ending.”

“Oh, which one do you read to her? She loves Cinderella and I read that-”

“I told her my favourite story.” He cut her off and she looked perplexed. “What is the story about?”

“It’s our story.” He remained calm and a small smile appeared on his face. “But there wasn’t a happy ending for that.” She said quietly and his expression fell.

“I intend to make it a happy ending this time.” He said with determination, and Jihyun was unsure what to say. On one hand, she knew that she had never stopped loving him for the past six years, even though she should have. She knew it when he held her hand and her heart pounded fiercely against her chest, she knew it when she realised how much she missed that mesmerizing smile she used to wake up to every morning, and she knew in her heart there was a sense of hoping that there’s a possibility of having a happy family with him.

But then, she knew better than to hope. He was an international pop star, with dozens of girls by his side. Moreover, he had caused the biggest heartbreak of her life - she didn’t know if she was ready to trust the boy again.

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m just telling you how I feel.” He assured and the girl nodded slowly, shuffling to the kitchen quickly to wash the dishes while Jungkook headed to the bathroom to wash up.

--

Just when Jungkook thought everything was going well, Jihyun had gone back to her usual self again the next day, acting as if the moment between them last night had never existed. She had gone to bed right after her shower, and Jungkook barely talked to her as she immediately fell asleep. Humming a soft reply, she continued doing the house chores.

“Do you want anything?” She asked all of a sudden and he cocked his head in confusion, “For?”

“You did me a huge favour yesterday, I should give you something back in return.”

“Well, there is something that I’d like.” He said and she turned her attention to him. “What is it?”

“Now that your major photoshoot is over, do you mind giving me some time for the rest of the week?” He asked and she raised her eyebrows, “What?”

“Well, you did say that you had too much annual leave to spare and was going to stay in New York for a while, weren’t you?” He said as he brought up the conversation he had eavesdropped on when she was on the phone with Taehyung.

It was true, her assistants had informed her that the interview editing was almost done and she spent the morning finishing up before sending the final draft to Mina. There wasn’t much to edit, Jungkook and Jessica knew all the right words to say as she merely had to compile and change a few grammar mistakes. The magazine would be out in the next few weeks and Mina had told her to take the rest of the time off - she had a significant amount of annual leave left and her break had officially begun.

Pondering over his suggestion, she realised that she had never really taken a day off in the last six years. The years had been filled with work because Jihyun couldn’t stand having any free time at all - it made her unhappy as she was constantly overthinking about numerous scenarios which could never happen.

“Can you give me the rest of the week before I leave? I would like to bring you and Junghyun out.” He asked with hopeful eyes while she didn’t speak. “I just want to spend some time with you, even as friends. I know you said it’s hard to be friends with me… but please let me try to work this out. We have been best friends for so many years even before we were together, you’re the one who knows me best, Ji. I don’t want to let this all go.” It had been six years since he had called her that nickname, and even though many others called her that, it felt so right when it rolled off his tongue.

“And you want Junghyun to come along too?” She asked and he nodded quickly, “Of course! It has only been a few days but I love the kid already.” Her heart raced quickly when she heard him say that. He loves Junghyun?

She couldn’t resist those doe-like eyes and her heart softened. “Okay.” She said softly and she saw his eyes light up. “Really?!” He asked again and she nodded, “Just friends.”

“That’s more than enough.” He said excitedly as he rushed to the room to change, “Go change into something comfortable, we’ll head out in a bit!” She couldn’t help but chuckle, he seemed like he was 18 all over again.

Changing into a comfortable oversized knitted sweater and leggings for herself and for Junghyun, the two settled on the sofa while Junghyun continued eating her breakfast. When he appeared, she noticed that he had put in the effort to comb his hair and spray her favourite scent - the Calvin Klein cologne that she had always told him she loved. She hid a small grin to prevent herself from smiling too widely.

It turned out that Jungkook had it all planned out - with the help of Sooyoung and Miyoung. The two girls were not completely dumb - they figured out that something was going on the moment he asked more about Jihyun, and they knew that he meant more than just a friend to the girl. Heck, they had been friends for such a long time - they knew it when Jihyun wasn’t acting right.

He had asked about her likes and dislikes, her favourite places in the city, child-friendly places, where she had always wanted to go, and the things she always wanted to do. The two girls helped Jungkook plan their remaining days together while Jihyun was at work, and he was silently thankful for their help.

“Where are we heading to?” Jihyun asked in curiosity as they stepped out onto the cold streets and Jungkook turned to her, “I’m bringing you to the ice-skating rink at Rockefeller Centre.”

“No way! You hate ice-skating!” She exclaimed, but he could see her excited eyes as she continued to take small skips with Junghyun as they walked towards the destination. He chuckled, “I changed my mind.” The truth was that Jihyun was extremely excited because she had always loved ice-skating in the winter and that was something she had wanted to experience with the one she loved, but Jungkook was always reluctant because he felt that winter was already too cold.

She didn’t respond after, but she smiled to herself that he actually remembered.

They arrived at the rink in thick clothes and masks - a perfect cover-up for Jungkook.

“I’ll get tickets. How old is Junghyun? Children below the age of 8 don’t need tickets.” He asked casually. “Oh, perfect! She’s 6 this year. We save on one ticket.” She grinned widely as she turned her attention back to Junghyun while strapping the boots on her.

“Junghyun is 6? Does that mean that she got pregnant the year that we broke up? Doesn’t that mean there is a possibility of me being the father? This is too much of a coincidence.”

The girl didn’t seem to have realised that she had given up important information to him, and merely steadied Junghyun on the rink before she got on it when Jungkook finished buying tickets. Snapping out of the trance, he decided to revisit this issue later - his priority was Jihyun and Junghyun today.

Heaving a deep br