Jungkook's POV:

My head immediately shot up towards the crowd, as I craned my neck to look for her. Hak-dong park was quite a big park, so the chances of her being in this area were quite slim. I didn't care.

"Jungkook, what are you doing?" Tae whispered, elbowing my side.

"She's here, Tae." I said hurriedly. "Jihye's in this park right now. Do you think she knows we have a performance?"

He gave me a pitiful look. "Don't look for her. You'll only be disappointed."

I ignored him and stood up, trying to get a better look. 

"So, we are- Ah, o-our maknae seems excited to perform...?" Jin stuttered, surprised by my action.

"What? O-Oh, yeah!" I forced a smile. "What about you guys?"

The small crowd screamed loudly, waving their hands and jumping. I jumped up and down too, trying to spot her. 

Jin got up too, glaring at me. "It's time to start! Everyone, please settle down."

I looked at him desperately, and he shook his head. I headed back to my seat, sadness washing over me. Why had I hoped that she would show up? She probably doesn't even know about this performance. She's probably even forgotten about me. 

Tae took my hand and squeezed it, while Jin leaned slung an arm around my shoulder. Yoongi gave a toothy grin, making me smile. This was their way of comforting me.

Maybe she'll attend our next concert. Hell, I'll be happy if she just called me 'assface' again. 

Jihye's POV:

Jungkook looked good. Really good.

I lingered at the back of crowd, standing on my tiptoes to get a better look. His hair was brown now, and he had somehow managed to become even more muscular than before. I had seen him in the subway a few times, playing on his phone and slicking his hair back. I wondered if he still thought of me.

His head suddenly shot up as he looked at the crowd, as if searching for someone. I hid behind the girls in front of me, not wanting him to know I was here. I couldn't face him.

"So, we are- Ah, o-our maknae seems excited to perform...?" I heard Jin's voice falter as Jungkook suddenly got up from his seat.

"What? O-Oh yeah!" Jungkook smiled. "What about you guys?"

The crowd went crazy, yelling and jumping as if they were little kids. Only I stood still, staring at Jungkook who still seemed to be looking for someone.

Jin announced that they would be starting, and Jungkook returned to his seat. He stared at the floor as the others began to sing. He seemed sad.

"The first song is going to be..." Tae grinned, taking Jungkook's hand. "Coffee!"

Nostalgia flooded my mind. I thought back to the time when he had gone to a coffee shop after one of our exams, and I had told him I hated coffee. He ordered almost all of the drinks on the menu and made me drink them, hoping to change my mind. After tasting about 50 different flavors of coffee, I still didn't like it, but I told him that my favorite flavor was mocha, just to make him happy. 

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at the stage again.

Tae was staring right at me.

"Jungkookie." He began, not breaking eye-contact. "What is your favorite type of coffee?"

He thought about it for a while. "Mocha, I think."

"That's strange." Tae smiled slowly. "I thought you loved espresso. When did mocha become your favorite flavor?"

"Does it matter?" He scratched his head sheepishly.

"I'm sure our fans are curious." He glared at me. "Some more than the others."

I gulped and looked down. 

"Hey, hey, that's enough." Yoongi scolded. "Let's begin!"

Jungkook cleared his throat and Tae finally looked away. The music played, and they started to sing.

"Baby baby, you're a caramel macchiato; Your scent is still sweet on my lips; Baby, baby, tonight..."

Jungkook's unwavering voice effectively silenced the crowd. I'm pretty sure that even the birds and cars stopped to listen to it. 

Yoongi performed the rap verses, and while everyone sang along and cheered, my eyes were firmly locked on Jungkook. His voice hadn't changed at all. It still managed to leave me breathless.

He kept walking to the front of the stage (which was literally a sandbox) and kept turning his head here and there, looking for something. Or someone.

Maybe it wouldn't be that bad if he knew I was here.

After two hours of them singing their hearts out, and me jumping and trying to make myself more noticeable, all of us were pretty tired. They bowed to us one last time, and walked off the box of sand.

I sighed as I watched them leave. I hadn't expected him to know that I was here, but it still hurt a little. 

I slung my bag over my shoulder and checked my phone as I started to walk back home. A single message from an unknown number flashed across the screen.

"Long hair suits you. By the way, did you like my performance? Did I sing well?"

My heart stopped. It could be Tae, but wait, I had his number saved. Maybe it was Yoongi. Wait no, he wouldn't have send such a-

"It's your little Kookie."

I contemplated throwing my phone across the park and then making a run for it. Or I could just not reply.

"Are you wearing my sweater? In this heat?"

I looked around in panic. Was he watching me?

"I can seeeee youuuuuuu."

"Where are you?"

I turned around, stood on my tip-toes, even walked around the park, but I couldn't find him.

"I'm not telling. Your cheeks seem chubbier btw." 

I hissed at my phone, scaring a couple of kids that were walking by me. "Assface" 

"ahahahaha I knew you would call me that. You owe me ramen."

"No I don't?? Where the hell are you?"

"Lol I'm not telling you I don't wanna die. Anyway, when are you free for ramen"

"Never."

He didn't reply after that, so I turned off my phone and started walking back, my bike trailing by my side. His texts kept eating at my brain. Did he know I was there the whole time? Was I the one he was looking for? 

I stopped in front of a coffee shop. I was contemplating whether to give mocha another try, when my phone started to ring.

"Hello?" I rocked back and forth on my feet, looking at the menu.

"You remember that one time I made you drink all that coffee, just because you said you hated it?"

I inhaled deeply as Jungkook's voice rang through my ears.

"Yeah." I said, voice shaking slightly.

"You told me you liked mocha the best." His voice was low. "I hated mocha."

"I know." I bit my lip. "Why did you say it was your favorite?"

"Feelings change, I guess." He chuckled softly. "Let's have mocha together. I already have a drink in my hand, so go in and get yours."

"Are you in the cafe?" I patted my hair and straightened up my sweater. 

"Nope, I can't actually meet you face-to-face." He sighed. "I'm technically supposed to be heading back to the dorm now, so our manager would be pretty mad."

I simply hummed in reply, feeling slightly disappointed that I wouldn't actually see him. He kept talking to me.

"So did you like my singing?"

"Your voice hasn't changed a bit." I tapped my feet, waiting for my turn to order. "You sung well."

"Thanks." I could hear the shyness in his voice. "You cheered well"

"You saw me?" I said, feeling surprised. 

"Nah, I heard a manly voice yelling in the distance, and I assumed it was you."

"Brat." I hissed. He simply laughed.

"Ah, I missed hearing you call me a brat." He chuckled. "Brings back memories."

I ordered a cup of mocha for myself. My eyes caught sight of the espresso machine, and I wondered if I should've gotten a shot of espresso as well.

"So..." I drummed my fingers on the marble counter, waiting for my drink. "How have you been?"

"Good." I could hear the sudden awkwardness in his voice. Maybe he finally remembered how abruptly I had left the last time we had met. "We've been really busy lately."

"I see." I thanked the cashier and headed to one of the tables by the window. "Are you guys preparing for a new album?"

"Yep." He coughed. "We're writing new songs, new choreos, stuff like that. It'll be really cool."

"I'm looking forward to it." I replied mechanically.

I was silent for a while, not knowing what else to say. I absentmindedly stirred my coffee with my finger, a habit that used to drive Jungkook crazy.

"Stop using your fingers as a spoon, it's disgusting." 

"Seriously, there's no way you could see that if you weren't in this cafe right now." I huffed impatiently. "Just tell me where you are."

"Look outside the window."

I turned my head, looking out on the street. A guy wearing a white shirt on the other side of the road raised his cup towards me, so I knew it was him. I could still make out his bunny like smile, even though he was pretty far away.

"Cheers, Jungkook." My lips curved into a smile as I raised my cup of coffee in recognition.

"Quit being so formal." He complained, making me chuckle. "It's Jungkookie to you."

"It feels weird call you Jungkookie." I continued to stir my coffee, giggling when he made a 'yuck' sound over the phone. "It's like we're back in school again."

"Those were better times." He sighed. 

"They were alright, I guess." I sipped at my drink. "How were they better?"

"You weren't so awkward around me." He sighed dramatically. I looked out the window and caught him shaking his head.

"I-I suppose." I sputtered. "Things were different back then, I mean...um, you know-"

"Yeah, things were really different." His voice sounded oddly smug. "For example, you weren't completely infatuated with me back then, unlike now."

"Yeah, I guess." I laughed. "It-"

Wait.

Oh .

"I knew it." He said, ever so slowly. I felt my soul leaving my body as the next few words came out of his mouth. 

"You like me, Choi Jihye. You actually like me."

--

//laughs bc cliffhanger 

I'm so sorry to update so late guys! I have a lot of stuff to do, so writing has taken a back seat for a while ㅠㅠ I'll try to be more frequent with my updates~~

(Also do you guys think that this story is getting too long? Because I wanna develop their characters well, but I don't want you guys to get bored ;-;)

Happy new year (in advance) ~~