"I think you probably just made the biggest mistake in your life, Chaeng."

Chaeyoung's eyes enlarge as she turns to Lisa in disbelief. "I made the biggest mistake?" she asks, pointing to her own face and Lisa just looks at her, making an innocent face before she turns away, pretending that the dust in the air is so interesting. "You guys ruined it all by insulting him that way!"

Jisoo shakes her head. "I never joined in the insulting session, though. Jimin started."

"I was speaking the truth." Jimin shrugs.

"Besides, Chaeng," Lisa smiles at her wider, "we were just suggesting! In the end, it's your choice."

"Right," Chaeyoung deadpans as she side-eyes her friend. As she turns her attention towards Jungkook again, watching his back as he goes farther and farther, her guilt builds up, especially when the hurt look he has just right before he walks away keeps floating in her mind.

Jisoo nudges her side. "I don't think it's that late to-"

"Jungkook!" she yells before Jisoo even finishes her sentence, before she even realizes that she's yelling his name.

"Whew, talk about how fast things escalate," Taehyung says. "What happened to 'I can attend the wedding without a date'?"

Jungkook stops but doesn't turn around. Chaeyoung leaves her friends as she strides fast towards the man. When he turns to face her, he's still frowning, and she realizes how his hair is actually parted as he fixes the bucket hat on his head. His forehead makes an appearance and so are his eyebrows, and she thinks they're pretty and-

She swallows nervously, brushing away the thought of how his pretty eyebrows are furrowing at her and he suddenly looks intimidating, which just adds up 50 points to his attractiveness.

"I'm sorry," she says, after pausing or maybe glitching for seconds and realizing that he's been asking 'what' for three times. "I'm- I'm sorry about my friends. They can be kind of assholes sometimes. But they're actually nice."

Jungkook hums.

"Let me please buy you food," she says, and he narrows his eyes at her.

"That's fine."

"No, please," she unconsciously shifts closer. "Take it as me thanking you for taking me home. I owe you a lot."

*

It's actually enough if Chaeyoung would just buy the food and give it to him. But she insisted to sit and eat with him after she actually told her friends to leave. Jungkook would have rejected the offer if it was anyone else, but here he is munching on his food while sitting across of her. She's cute, he thinks for the millionth time as he stares at her after catching her trying to steal glances at him.

"For someone sweet and cute like you are, I don't get why you have such assholes as your friends," Jungkook says monotonously once he finishes swallowing.

Chaeyoung visibly flushes. "Did you just call me sweet and cute?" she asks.

"Why?" he asks. "You don't like compliments? Or you disagree with it?"

"Um. We're like total strangers."

"And?" he raises his brow with a smirk.

"And... I don't think it's normal? To compliment a stranger like... like that," she shrugs. She looks away and sips on her drink. "Unless we're like a celebrity and a fan. That'd make more sense. Or normal."

"That's what I thought," Jungkook chuckles, "but you changed my mind after you thanked me and called me handsome."

"What?" Her eyes were wide as she whips her head towards him. "I never said- When did I ever-" she stammers and Jungkook's eyes are fixed on her as he slurps his noodle. Her face falls as realization dawns on her. "Was it when you sent me home?"

He licks his lips and nods and amusedly watches her reaction.

Brows dropping as she releases a devastated sigh. Pale skin is now red around her cheeks. It further reminds him of how red her cheeks had also been on that night. He almost laughs but holds himself back seeing how embarrassed she is at that moment, trying to avoid his eyes while muttering something to herself.

After some time, Chaeyoung begins to tap her fingers on the surface of the table. Jungkook stares at her fingers for a few more moments before he begins to speak, "You know you can leave, right? You've paid for the food. Thank you."

"I'm not in a rush. I don't have anywhere I need to go," she says.

"Oh," he furrows his brows. "So why are you so... restless?"

"Nothing," she answers quickly, shaking her head and Jungkook narrows his eyes slightly at her. "Actually...um..."

"What is it?" Jungkook asks.

"Is it true?"

"What?"

"That... you're going to be homeless," Chaeyoung says, voice lowering towards the end of the sentence.

He simply nods. "Yeah."

She says nothing next, raises her hand to call the waiter and orders some more food to go. When the food arrives, it's the same time when he finishes his food. Chaeyoung seems to hesitate to do something before she gently pushes the food towards him and gives him a soft smile.

"What's this for?" he asks.

"For you. To eat. For dinner." Before he opens his mouth to say something, she quickly adds, "It's another gift! Just please accept it."

He raises one brow. "That's a lot of gift to give someone you barely know. Are you sympathizing me?"

"Yeah?" she shrugs.

Jungkook usually hates it when people do that, but weirdly, he doesn't feel offended this time. Is it her honesty? Is it her adorable face? Is it the way she's nervous around him? He can't point it out. He shrugs. "Thanks, I guess." He pulls the food on the table and stands up.

Once they're out of the restaurant, Jungkook doesn't expect to be followed by her and he ignores the way his heart beats weirdly when she lightly pulls his sleeve around his elbow. He turns around to Chaeyoung biting her lips and it takes three full seconds to look away from her lips to pay attention to her looking at him with puppy eyes. Oh, man.

"Um," she begins and fidgets briefly. "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Where's yours?"

"Maybe it's in my bag," she says.

"And you're holding your bag."

She looks down at her bag and sighs before looking back up at him. "Can you just please lend me your phone? It won't be long."

Jungkook hands her his phone, and she types something, makes a call to some number which he's certain is her number before she hands him back his phone.

"Do you want me to call you or something?" he asks, and Chaeyoung's face burns further.

"How did you-"

"Are you flirting with me?" he asks with a bigger smirk.

"I'm not!" she quickly denies, her expression is a mixed of angry and annoyance and embarrassment. "I'm just sympathizing you, remember?" she firmly says.

Jungkook suppresses his smile. "Okay."

"The offer still stands. If you change your mind, just call me. Or text me. Text is fine. Don't call," she says quickly and just like before, she avoids his eyes as she's speaking.

He nods slowly. "Why don't you find some other guy to go with you to the wedding? Pretty sure anyone would agree to go with you" he says. "Or am I just too irresistible?" he teases.

"Wha-?" Shock visibly surfaces on her face, shown clearly on her eyes. "I...I definitely would find some other guy to go with me! But, you're gonna be homeless, and I'm simply being nice here."

"Oh, that's very angelic of you," he laughs. "You know, if you're doing this for charity, maybe you can check out the people who are already homeless out there. Pretty sure you can find a bunch you can help by taking them as a date to the wedding. You're gonna change someone's world."

Chaeyoung looks taken aback and her face softens. "How about- how about you?"

"Me?" he grins. "I'm about to be homeless, yes. But I'll survive. Not yet a homeless person. I can find other ways to pay the rent. Are you concerned about me?"

"Other ways? Are you gonna rob a bank?"

"Do you think I'm crazy?" he laughs harder, putting a fist on his mouth. "I'd rather start a new life as a homeless person than a prisoner. Are you concerned about me?"

"But you could avoid being homeless," she mutters. "Why won't you just take up the offer?"

"Like I said, I think there are people out there with a far worse day who will need it more than I do," Jungkook shrugs and smiles down at her. "Are you actually concerned about me?"

"No," she scrunches her face exaggeratingly and scoffs. "So what ways are you talking about?"

Jungkook stares at her and his grin spreads wider. "Like, borrow some from the loan shark." He turns around and starts to walk away from her when her eyes slowly enlarge, her mouth hangs open. "Thanks for the food!" he says, lifting the food in the air.

"Are you crazy?!" she yells from behind him. "That's like digging your own grave! You have a much better offer and you-"

Jungkook spins around. "Are going to call you."

She blinks. "What?"

"I'll call you," he shoots her a smile.

Her face relaxes. "Really?"

"If I change my mind," he says and chuckles when a worried look reappears on her face.