it all started when the young, shy boy who hardly ever acknowledged her at school, became her beloved little best friend as she grew up next door. from eating lollies together to watching all movies known in existence, the two of them had loved each other's company; which sometimes was a weird fact to not only her parents but also to herself, knowing her introverted personality. at the age of eighteen, she had to leave her hometown to move to the capital of the country for the sake of her profession. it was a tough decision, but it had to be made someday.

that day, she remembered weeping to herself in the room, not wanting to leave home. except her dreams were more necessary and she'd do justice to them, she had reminded herself. she'd come so far, and there was no turning back at all.
there was nothing to distract her.
certainly nothing.

except when the said teenager came waltzing into her life from the sidelines.

"delivery for house number 905?" said someone from the door and y/n gasped, recognizing the owner of the high pitched voice immediately. but not to react like a maniac and get disappointed, she opened the door first before saying anything.

beyond the threshold stood the tall guy with a boyish grin, a box of homemade cookies in his hand. she looked back up to him and her lips stretched into a wide toothy grin before he spoke up, leaning on the edges of the door.

"freshly baked kookies from busan, ma'am!"

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"what in the world are you doing here?" y/n asked, grabbing another cookie from the box and handing it to jungkook who was busy smelling the candles in her living room.

"ensuring the safekeeping of a very important item," he replied, keeping back the scented candles and giving a tap to her tummy while walking towards the bed. "yeah, right" she scoffed, visibly confused. "and where are you staying?" she inquired further as he plopped down on the mattress. "two floors down, 705" he answered and her perplexed expression intensified.

"you rented a flat? for what?" she exclaimed and he looked at her discreetly and silently for a moment, pursing his lips. he then rolled towards her side of the bed, crouching his legs before stretching them wide as he now sat next to her standing form with a hand resting on a cushion supporting his body.

his big doe eyes blinked at her with a small grin etching around the corners of his lips, slowly turning into a full-fledged smile.

"i got enrolled in the seoul national university, noona! and now there's nothing that's gonna stop me from pestering you" he smiled until the sides of his eyes crinkled, swiftly extending his right arm towards her.

she rolled her eyes before uncrossing her arms and staring at the ceiling, naturally carrying out their special handshake with a hidden smile while he smugly stared at her with a grin.

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"i am here to take care of you and protect you from big-scary-muscly men." he'd crossed his arms with a serious, manly look on his face with an eyebrow raised which in return made y/n's own serious expression turn into a burst of squeaky laughter. and that until now, the socially awkward baby teen who stuck to her like glue had ever since been her little koo.

the fuck not.

over the years, everything changed. slowly, but drastically. in no time, the boy had grown up, taller than her, bigger than her. now she was the tiny one, cleaning around his mess he carelessly made in her living room because apparently 'your television was bigger and more fun to play games on' and trying to dominate him twenty-four-seven for being the elder, which obviously did not work. the situation was obviously getting out of hand.

she cherished the guy- he was her best friend. he had been with her all the time and she never wanted to detach herself from him. but as they say, age, for him, hit like a mirror flipping truck, changing him from head to toe, and it was no surprise to y/n.

it was a surprise to her. hell yes, it was.

her world shook from top to bottom. before she knew it, the guy with the cute little dimples and big, dorky nose had turned into the guy with long-ass jet black hair and tattoos adorning his right sleeve. and this guy started having an effect on her.

"you really won't sit and listen to me, would you?" she grunted, following the man who was busy flexing his muscles as he strolled from one side of the gym to the other side to engage with another piece of equipment. his heavy steps were accompanied by her small and hurried ones, trailing behind his partly exposed back contrasting with the huge hoodie she had worn.

"nope," he popped his lips and y/n narrowed her orbs. "you look as if someone asked you to run a hundred miles though i'm the one working out. what's wrong?" he asked her and she sighed, tilting her head. 

"uh..." she stared at the small five kilogram weights trying to blurt out the trouble. "i just wanted to ask you if you would do modelling at my agency for a week." she spat in a breath, squinting her eyes even though she weren't facing him but the stand.

"huh?" he uttered and y/n turned her face towards him, giving a tight smile. "you know my agency? the one with the... models and all? the one i work for?" she asked and he muttered a small hmm, listening intently.

"well we have this event, and my new senior-"

"the one that's been acting like shit?"

"-yeah, her. well, she has asked me to recruit somebody. anybody."

she finished, frowning a little bit. "i really need somebody to model for me," y/n added, lacing her tone with a tiny bit of sympathy.

a few sighs and heavy breaths, and his hoarse voice surrounded the almost empty community gym. "i'll do it" he muttered, keeping down the weights and walking towards the treadmill.

"huh?" she asked again, running behind him for the thousandth time. it was obvious to her that he was doing this on purpose, his manifest intimidation for the attention he was so wanting to receive; but for now, the elder didn't mind it as long as he was agreeing to her requests.

"i'll do it~" jungkook replied again, increasing the speed of the treadmill and y/n gasped, a wide smile genuinely appearing on her face out of happiness. "so the puppy face worked?" she asked with much more enthusiasm and he snorted with a snicker. "clearly," he mocked, dropping his smile and not looking at her as if it was no big deal, making y/n nearly squeal.

she gave a loud clap, leaning on the arms of the treadmill. "you see, i gotta tell them what theme we will do for you! cute, or charming, or sexy," she wiggled her eyebrows ardently and he glanced at her face before laughing out loud.

"what say?" she cupped her cheeks with her palms and he stopped the running treadmill, bending towards her. seemingly in deep thought, he stared at her wordlessly before sighing. "one day, okay?  do whatever the heck you want. just don't turn me into the next joker..." he scrunched his face and she scrunched her nose at him instead.

"i absolutely adore you" she dramatically formed a huge heart above her head and he beamed at her. "i would prefer the sensual concept, though" he breathed out with a frown for emphasis. the realisation made her blink several times unconsciously, the grin slowly fading from her face at the unrealised proximity. and that's when the boy softly chuckled before he booped her nose with his fist, walkingy away along with a little smile not giving much regard to her frozen state.

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"i was wondering if you would-" she casually sat on his leg's calf which was hanging in between the couch and the table as he rested his ankles on the top of it. "ow ow ow ow!" he squinted his eyes before she could complete as she happily stared at him. "get OFF!" he winced trying not to drop his legs which would result in her butt getting hurt.

"oh okay!" she said, quickly standing up while innocently licking her ice cream. "yeah, so i just wanted to suggest something," she sat on the floor and he joined her, sliding down the couch. "yes?" he asked, lowering the volume of the television and leaning his head on his fisted hand with the elbow on his knee.

he was currently at her house as he'd returned after shopping for groceries, and she was finally home after a long day of work. her enthusiasm wasn't less, though, because today she'd received the approval for jungkook to volunteer as a model from her senior. and for now, she was just roaming around the house in her hoodie with a few candies hidden in its pockets and an ice cream in her hands which she was eagerly devouring.

"oh my god, that's snow-white" y/n exclaimed, turning her head towards the television. "jungkook, you're watching snow white!" she further announced with an amused grin adorning her face. "okay, fine, move on" he huffed, grabbing the remote and switching the channel with a grimace and snatching the sweet from her hands.

"how about i do some experiment on your face?" she cutely blinked and he frowned. not saying anything, he focused on the chocolate chips in the vanilla and ate them all one by one. "you give me your face for a day and i do my magic on you" she raised an eyebrow up and he mirrored her expression, narrowing his eyes. "...and i'll cook for you in return"

"here," jungkook handed her the ice cream which no longer had any choco chips on it but only the vanilla part left. her face turned into a scowl but she ate the rest nevertheless. "i absolutely hate the fact that you make me agree with you on everything," he responded after a while with a sigh and she laughed, standing up and pulling his arms and trying to drag him. seemingly it was too hard to even make him stand up, but she kept tugging on his fingers making him give up on whining and following her with evident stomps.

"oh, close your eyes!" she said frustrated and he did, waiting for her brushes to stop moving on his eyelids. "done?" he asked and she pressed her lips together. "patience, idiot" she murmured making him scowl at that. "i don't like this, i might fall asleep!" he whined and she shook her head. "okay, done!" she enthusiastically piped, standing back up. his eyes fluttered open and he looked at himself in the mirror, the one that was attached to her dressing table in her closet.

"oh" the word left him as y/n stared at his face through the mirror and so did he. "i like this chapstick, can you buy one for me?" he secretly licked his lips and she quickly answered with a clear "no." a natural pout formed on his face but he replied with a small "okay" without arguments making her snicker.

"you should do this more often," she voiced but he didn't react to that. "how about you click a picture for now?" he suggested and patiently turned towards her. after a nice click, y/n insisted on applying a darker shade of eyeshadow on his face to change his look. "eyes closing time~" she sang, receiving a quick response. "how about i nap while you're at it, huh?" he asked making her shrug. she was about to lean down when she discerned his serene appearance, his features appearing more defined and definitely more handsome. 

y/n let out a deep breath, biting her inner cheek.

a smile took over her features before she softly poked his cheek with a finger, giving an airy chuckle when he slightly frowned. she put some product on his left eyelid, stopping to check if it was perfectly applied. happy with the result on one eye, she quickly admired it, running a hand on his cheek. the unconscious action was welcomed differently by the guinea pig whose eyes shot open, making her flinch and recoil.

"i... gotta pee," she whispered before leaving him there and running to the washroom. he had a frown intact on his face as he inspected it, noticing the lack of makeup on one of his eyes making him look weirdly demonic. he stretched out a hand to pick up the brush y/n had formerly used and ran it on his cheeks with his eyes closed.

that isn't it, is it?

he then picked up a small blender and ran it on his cheek again, in hopes of curing his curiosity.

nope, not that either.

y/n peacefully walked back into the closet only to find the formerly occupied chair empty. about to walk out of the room, she turned around to meet a jungkook standing right behind her with a monstrous grin and a fist full of facial powder.

it wasn't too late before the powder was completely dumped on her face.

she blew it away, coughing a little bit before blinking her white eyelashes and glaring at the boy who was eagerly waiting for her reaction, but all she did was go back to the dressing table. this convinced him a little that she was not too ardent on his playful approach at the moment, so he nervously followed her like a lost puppy wondering if he really upset her.

standing behind her, he muttered a small "noona?" only to earn a tight grip on his arm. already surprised, he got even more confused when he received a sweet smile from the older right before she grabbed a small lid and painted his lips fully by bright red lipstick. "shit!" she exclaimed when he pushed her down on the floor and turned her hand towards her own face ending up with the red cosmetic to be sprawled across her entire cheek.

she laughed along with him, trying her best to grab some other weapon but to no avail since he held her down, holding her wrist while painting her other cheek as well. he yelled upon having her cheek rubbed against his own colouring his face as well.

"HEY!" he bellowed and she pressed her fist on his stomach "YOU STARTED IT!" she answered instead and he forcefully unstrangled himself from her hold, all while wholeheartedly laughing like a maniac with y/n mirroring his expression.

jungkook ran out of the closet and into the living room jumping on the couch while she chased him around, he scampered back into her room after a while but she quickly caught up. y/n couldn't hide her chuckles, grabbing a pillow from the bed and throwing it at him as he let out sluggish giggles.

"oh, no" he mumbled when the pillow he threw at y/n as revenge tore apart and turned into small white feathers. "jeon jungkook!" she shouted before taking another pillow and throwing it on his face which ended up with a few feathers in his nose. he violently coughed while making his way towards her.

"now that's enough for today" he groaned, pulling her down on the bed along with himself and sighing loudly after noticing the wide smile on her face, her teeth not daring to hide. "you're buying me new pillows, young man" y/n said, their pants quietening. "sure, i can do that, noona" he agreed readily, laughing a little before turning his head towards the woman lying next to him, shaking her head.

his grin turned into a soft smile, moisturous doe eyes staring into hers.

there it was, that effect.

it was nothing too extreme - but at the same time, it definitely was. there was nothing wrong with the intimacy or the little gestures he did, it was his way of showing his affection, which she was well aware of. but it became confusing when his gaze changed; the way he looked at her was no more how he used to before. it was different, not the one that made y/n insecure or creeped out, but it wasn't the typical look your best friend usually gives you. it was distinctive, it made her think and perceive more than it should.

the effect was so familiar that she could feel it every time he was near her. y/n had started feeling conscious before she knew it, and that never happened with the boy who used to sit with his legs sprawled in her lap and she wouldn't even mind it.

the effect was embarrassing too, it made her want to run away from him but stay right next to him all the time, without letting anyone else get closer to the young man. it was like an impulse, the possessiveness and the proprietorial behaviour came reflexively as if she was born with it. see, that was the fact; y/n didn't behave like this before, jungkook was just her best friend after all. but this was recent, and exposed her mindset all the time. but jungkook never complained.

it wasn't there before, but now it was. it made the woman slap herself internally but the silent treatment she gave him whenever she was too ignored by him for a certain time period, easily did it for him. he could feel it that she charmed more of his attention and he never protested, giving her the type of comfortable time that she wanted around him, rightfully.

but then again, when he would be sprawled on her couch, casually flipping over television channels, the effect would make her stare at him from the back, admiring his face from the side focusing on the LED screen, oblivious to her adoring expression, unveiling itself only for her to relish.

the effect affected her real crazy when he called her "noona" with his low tone and deep voice in certain quiet and delicate moments. it made her wanna curl up in a corner and cry, it was melodious to her ears. she wanted him to keep calling her again and again, for the sake of god.

the effect was so effective that she couldn't ignore it, the thumping of her heart when he came close to her after a work out like the one he was doing earlier, sweat dripping down from his forehead, exhausted, drooped eyes waiting to be calmed down and heavy, laboured breath adding to it as a cheery on the top. but she were to stay oblivious to this, chanting "it's just jungkook" to herself a thousand times before he would disappear from her sight.

the effect was troublesome whenever he grinned at her, whenever y/n stood in front of his face like that. the grin he gave, was solely him displaying his bona fide emotions to her, for him. but that grin, every time it revealed itself, made her want to clench her fists until her nails dug into her skin, trying to stop her face from showing any emotion that could be easily caught by him at this propinquity and that could be adverse than what it should be as his best friend.

but little did she know, this effect and its occurrence, was intentional.

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