Jungkook

What the frick frack was Jungkook doing?

Jungkook nibbled on his nails and watched the clock tick by as he sat in his cruiser under the night sky. He had given out three speeding tickets in the past hour, yet he didn't remember the details of any of them. He didn't remember much of his entire shift full of broken tail lights, idiot drivers forgetting what turn signals were, and pedestrians refusing to look before they crossed.

All he could think about was Jimin.

That stupid Alley Cat who smirked all day every day. The same person who would flirt with a beer can if it seemed interested. That man. The one who, the previous night, had offered to be Jungkook's friend.

It sounded like a trap. It had to be, right? Jimin was far too cocky for a man Jungkook suspected of various crimes. But who else could it be? Granted, New York City had more people than Jimin had alcohol in one year, and that was saying something, based on what Jungkook had learned about Jimin.

Whatever. Jungkook had to keep a clear head, especially for their "date."

Jungkook stayed planted in his car, parked on the side of the street and watching people file in and out of Serendminity, the name of Jimin's bakery. It was a play on the word serendipity and Jimin's name.

Jungkook kept his hands on his wheel and realized he was supposed to be off-duty. He could clock out for the night, yet he didn't dare take off his police attire. Meeting Jimin without a taser and handcuffs was suicide in Jungkook's eyes. So, he stayed in his uniform and didn't care that it was a bit hot with the jacket mixed with the lack of AC in his car. He had turned it off to focus. The less noise, the better.

Jimin was inside, which was rare, from what Jungkook knew. He was the CEO of a small business. Well, not so "small" anymore. Millions of views on the videos about the business. Hundreds of thousands of followers. Countless visitors every day. Jimin had become a New York superstar, and all in the past ten years.

The exterior was simple. Like Bibble & Sip, it opted for glass as walls so customers could see the interior as they walked by. There were two benches outside on either side of the double glass doors. Inside was a cat-themed bakery. Calico cats, to be specific. Not black cats, though he did have a plaque of Marbles on one of the support beams holding the ceiling up.

It had a milky white and sunset orange color scheme blended with some black accents. Calico. Again. At least it stood out from New York's otherwise gray appearance.

Jungkook grew a pair and stepped out of his cruiser into the wind carrying the sewage odor. He winced, sucked in a pollution-filled breath, and entered the cute cafe.

No bell rang when he entered. Inside were two customers thanking Jimin and tipping him for his giant, fudge-covered brownies wrapped in cute cat-themed plastic. Jimin flashed a toothy grin that crinkled his eyes and featured a dimple poking through on his right cheek. The two young women squealed and dashed off with their brownies, only pausing by the door to stare wide-eyed at Jungkook before darting away.

"Two fine male specimen back-to-back," Jimin said with a snort. "Guess they couldn't handle it."

"Sure." Jungkook cleared his throat and stepped away from the door, sniffing the scent of baked goods. Chocolate, vanilla, and everything in between. Beat the sewage any day. "Are you almost done?"

"Yep. Just gotta close down. Take a seat, Jeon. I'll get you a brownie on the house."

"Oh, no thank you. I watch what I eat."

"I don't." Jimin smacked his own ass. "Still have an ass Nicki Minaj is jealous of."

Okay, that was a stretch, but whatever. Jungkook decided not to question it.

Although Jungkook wanted to shove a brownie up Jimin's "giant" ass, he figured he wouldn't get any information if he was hostile. So, Jungkook slumped in one of the wooden tables and crossed his legs to ensure they wouldn't shake.

"I have a chocolate chunk right out of the oven for ya." Jimin, with his white apron tied around his cyan, fuzzy sweater and black dress pants, came out from behind the cat-themed counter and placed an also cat-themed glass plate in front of Jungkook.

"This isn't poisoned, is it?"

"Jungkook, if I was going to kill you, I'd do it in a far more dramatic way." Jimin winked and backed off to go clean tables and close the shop, leaving Jungkook with his brownie that kind of smelled good.

Kind of.

Jungkook swallowed and picked up the warm square. It was soft and almost melting in his grasp, so he took a quick bite and tasted the chocolate chunks inside. A low grunt slipped by, and Jimin paused and glanced up from his bent position. Bent from cleaning a table, of course.

"That good? See why I charge so much now?"

Jungkook closed his eyes and chewed the gooey brownie. He finished his bite and sighed before meeting Jimin's gaze. If eyes could smirk, Jimin's were doing so in that moment.

Jungkook huffed and took another bite. Through his chews, he muttered, "Whatever. You made it yourself?"

"I made everything today." Jimin straightened, tossed the white rag over his shoulder, and rolled up his sleeves. "Sometimes the staff deserve days off even when it's not a holiday." Jimin paused to grin. "Although, every day is a holiday when I'm around."

"Ew." Jungkook gagged on his brownie and coughed up some crumbs.

"I just cleaned that table." Jimin groaned and rolled his hickory eyes before sauntering back behind the counter to close up for the night.

Jungkook ate the rest of his brownie without making a peep or coughing up more crumbs. It took five minutes, but Jungkook finished his brownie, and Jimin finished closing the place, leading to the pair strolling the streets side-by-side.

Jungkook observed Jimin's defined side profile. He had a button nose, long lashes, and a unique jawline. It was sharp, yes, but it had almost a bit of a curve to it like a crescent moon. The moonlight softened his tan skin. Pale, pink freckles lined his cheeks. Only someone close could see them, that was how pale they were.

"Aren't you supposed to be questioning me, Officer?" Jimin asked without shifting his gaze from the cracked sidewalks ahead of them.

Jungkook snapped his eyes back to watch his thick, mud-covered shoes press against the pathway. He tuned his ears to Jimin's squeaky voice rather than the constant honks of the City. The tuning didn't stop his nose from flaring thanks to the sewage, though. The smell felt stronger than before. Likely because of the peachy aroma Jimin's bakery had.

"Um... what's your... favorite color?"

Jungkook facepalmed (in his head, not in reality) for asking such a stupid question. Police officers were supposed to be dignified and quick-thinking. Yet there Jungkook was. Walking with a criminal. Asking what his favorite color was.

"Of all things to ask..." Jimin trailed off and chuckled, shrugging and tilting his head from side to side. "Blue. Like the ocean. Used to live near a beach back in Busan."

"How was it? Busan, I mean?"

Jungkook's voice softened like the moonlight on Jimin's skin, and Jimin slowed. Jungkook mimicked the action until they stopped in the middle of the somewhat empty sidewalk. Late night crowds gravitated more toward Times Square. Nowhere near where they were. That said, there were people who scowled and strode by. One bumped into Jungkook's shoulder.

"Nice, I guess." Jimin's stare did a triangle from Jungkook's left eye, mouth, and right eye. Jimin licked his lower lip and smirked. "Why? Want me to take you?"

"What?" Jungkook almost stumbled over both the words and his feet. "No. I just... I've never really been, so I thought..."

"Riiight. So no romantic getaway for us. Sheesh, you're such a buzzkill." Jimin flicked Jungkook's forehead with his finger and stalked off again. Jungkook winced and scrambled to follow.

Jungkook somehow managed to maintain pace with Jimin. "We're barely friends. Why would I ever go anywhere with you?"

"You're going to dinner with me right now."

Well, shit. In his haste, Jungkook had forgotten about that. No wonder why he was blindly following the Alley Cat.

"Oh," Jungkook said, pulling on his jacket's sleeve. "Yeah."

"Weirdo." Jimin snickered, and Jungkook almost tripped upon hearing the delicate sound. It was high-pitched and full of little cracks and squeaks.

Jungkook opted not to open his mouth for the rest of the stroll. They made it to Mastro's Steakhouse, which was a less than ten minute walk from Bibble & Sip. It was a fancy restaurant with countless four-top tables inside. The tables were close to each other. Jungkook had a feeling Jimin planned it that way. More public. More pressure on Jungkook to stay civil.

"Ladies first," Jimin said, opening the glass front door for Jungkook.

"Asshole," Jungkook mumbled as he entered, and within minutes, they were seated at one of the countless white-tableclothed wooden tables. They had cozy black chairs and iced water already available on the table along with a cute steel mini lamp as a centerpiece.

The restaurant was loud, full of rich people wearing fancy smancy outfits, and admittedly smelled amazing. The classical music made it feel even richer, and the high ceiling made Jungkook seem small.

He fiddled with his fingers. "I can't afford this."

"I'm buying," Jimin said without taking his eyes off the menu. "I probably make more money sleeping than you do in a year."

"Okay then..." Jungkook trailed off and tugged on his sleeve again. "So, uh, how are you?"

"Ugh, don't get me started." Jimin set down the menu and did, in fact, get started. "This bitch named Tiffany..." Jimin paused to hold up both of his small hands. "And we do not like Tiffany." Then, he lowered them. "She ordered a wedding cake. I spent a whole week making that cake by hand, and you know what that bitch says when she comes in today to pick it up? It's not white enough."

Jimin scoffed, whipped his phone out, and rushed to his gallery to show Jungkook a picture of a very white cake.

"It was whiter than Casper the friendly ghost, but this bitch said 'Oh noooo, it's not white enough! My white ass ancestors are gonna have a heart attack!'" Jimin whined like a toddler. "I think she has some issues, dude. Like how much whiter can that get? Clouds are jealous of how white this cake is. After a while, I wondered if she was talking about the cake or me, cause like... what else could she mean?"

"So what'd you do?" Jungkook asked, and Jimin beamed.

"I charged her full price and ate the cake myself."

"You... ate a whole wedding cake?"

Jimin's grin widened. "In one sitting. Right in front of that Karen."

Jungkook took a slow sip of his water and smacked his lips. "Um, alright. Can I ask you something else?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you like..." Jungkook paused to motion to Jimin's face. "This?"

"You mean handsome? Perfect? Pretty? Confident? Brave? Fat-assed? Beautiful-"

"No, no," Jungkook interrupted with a sigh. "I mean, your personality. You can't be lacking that much self-awareness, right? You're weird, Jimin."

"I'm weird because society says so. If society didn't teach us manners and expect us to use indoor voices, everyone would be like me."

"I... somehow doubt that."

Jimin scoffed. "Everyone wants to be like me. Why do you think I have so many followers? Pretty face, slim waist, and a big ol' ass."

"Right. I just wanted to know why your personality is the way it is."

"Well, I don't have much reason. I am who I am." Jimin paused to tilt his head back and forth. "Too many people are worried about how others view them, but there are always gonna be people who love you, and there are always gonna be people who hate you. Sometimes you need a little hate to improve as a person, but the love is what keeps you truly going. So I love myself and try to find new ways to keep that love going."

"That doesn't explain your asshole side. Why put hate out in the world if you're so set on love?"

Jimin smirked. "Because I am the hate that people need. If a pretty thing like me is telling you you suck, you'd probably listen, right?"

Jungkook took a big gulp of his water and let out a deep breath.

This is going to be a long night.

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Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed!