when jungkook arrives at aria's apartment, he doesn't wait for anything while stepping inside and calling out for her, worried in unsaid ways for he had never heard her sound so fragile on the phone before. he looks around the place, the living room, kitchen, her bedroom and balcony too, but is only stopped on hearing her little sobs from the bathroom. he doesn't waste a second into thinking and opens the door, his eyes softening at the sight of his girlfriend sitting in the bathtub filled with water, her knees folded up to her chest while tears stream down her face, sobs betraying her hand that's pressed against her mouth to keep quiet.

"baby," jungkook calls softly, approaching her and kneels down on the floor right beside the bathtub. he reaches out to stroke her hair, and cup her face, "hey, what's wrong? did something happen?" he asks. voice dripping with concern and eyes holding nothing but sincerity for her.

aria leans forward towards him, hugging him over the wall of the tub pressing against her lower ribs, and some water that flows down due to the movement. jungkook caresses her back and kisses her shoulder, "i'm here, princess. tell me what happened."

"i don't wanna do this..." she cries, shutting her eyes and her hands clutched on the fabric of his hoodie, "please, jungkook do something. i can't love taehyung— i don't wanna marry him. i- i love you, and i wanna live with you... please... it scares me how things are going right now. i don't have a good feeling, jungkook."

jungkook sighs softly, closing his eyes and lowers his head on his girlfriend's shoulder, as though hiding in her embrace. his mother's recent words circle his head, making it hard for him to think of anything else. the smiles he gets to see at home on his mother's face when she's eager to do more for her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, for her elder son's wedding like it was her dream. when his father looks so proud and content with how taehyung turned out, and the choice of the girl for this marriage. and how taehyung has been happier these days all because he finds himself falling in love with aria. it's all good to see for the eyes, but a tortue to jungkook's heart.

he can't bring himself to snatch away that happiness from his family, but he can't watch his girlfriend crying for him either. it's like life is mocking at him and wants to enjoy seeing him struggling to choose between love and family. his silence doesn't go unnoticed by aria, for she pulls away from the hug, rubbing the tears off her eyes since jungkook didn't do it. she looks at him and tries to smile for him, her hands trembling when she holds his hands, "you love me, right?" her voice hesitates with the question, tears forming in her eyes almost instantly, but they don't get the chance to flow down, for jungkook cups her face, wiping them off as soon as they trickle down.

"i love you." he promises like a whisper, "i love you, baby. always."

"then take me from here." she pleads, biting down a sob and leans closer to him, kissing his lips, which jungkook gives in to, and she relaxes her under his touch that travels from her cheek down to her waist. "let's get away from here. i can't spend the rest of my life being the wife of a man who's not you."

"i know that," jungkook kisses her again, taking her hand and stands up, pulling her out of the water for her body's getting cold now. he takes the towel from the side and wraps it around her body, then carries her up in his arms. he places her on the bed, bringing another towel to dry her arms. aria watches him quietly, being so gentle with her as though he was scared to hurt her even if it was by mistake.

he kneels down next, placing her right foot on his thigh and leans down to kiss the skin softly, his warm breath is all that aria focuses on, closing her eyes until she feels his kisses reaching upwards to her thighs. "i love you," he whispers again, looking at her face while his lips remain in close contact with the soft skin of her thighs.

aria licks the dryness of her lips away, hands curled into the bedsheets as jungkook caresses her thighs before pulling the towel off her body. he sits properly, securing his place between her legs and lifts up her right leg, kissing her inner thighs. "i love you, princess, and nothing's gonna change that ever." he mutters, licking the skin and leaves wet kisses as his own body reacts naturally, always up to shower aria with all his love.

"jungkook..." aria's breath hitches as jungkook, slips his hand around her waist, pulling her more to the edge and parts her thighs to have her hot, glistening core right in front of him. he smiles softly at her face, not saying anything and just goes in for a kiss, sucking on her mound to elicit gasps and moans from her.

her fingers lock with his hair, pulling him closer if possible, but with the way jungkook's lapping up his tongue, sucking and often nibbling on the delicate flesh, it has aria on the ninth cloud. she falls back on the bed, propped her elbows to watch how jungkook devours her down. "i fucking love you, kim aria." he growls, breathing heavily himself when he pulls out to take some air, his own lips and chin glistening with wetness. for a moment aria thinks he's done, but the next thing he does surprises her too.

he stretches her out, spreading her legs and latches back again like he wasn't just feeding on her a second ago. this time, his fingers join his mouth, slipping inside her easily thanks to jungkook who keeps her wet and slippery. "ahh! jungkook!" she squeaks at the sudden stretch for he always starts with one finger or two sometimes, then takes it up to three gradually. "fuck—" she chokes out a moan as she feels herself clenching around his fingers, already close to her orgasm from the clitoral stimulation and now the penetrating fingers.

"jungkook, i'm cumming! don't stop! don't stop!" she moans loudly, pressing her head down against the mattress, her eyes closing and she hears jungkook chuckling, still so close to her while she comes undone. "fuck..." she breathes out, getting down from her high gradually and looks at jungkook, her chest heaving up and down in need of air.

"i love all of you, baby. never loved anyone more." he says, placing another kiss on her thigh and leaves a gentle bite, making aria smile softly. "no matter what happens with us, ari. i just want you to know that there will never be a day in my life when i don't love you."

she's about say something, but before that jungkook dives near her dripping heat again, licking up a stripe that makes her body shudder, "stop," she tries to pull away, but jungkook grins, holding her in place and repeating his action, sucking even this time.

"you're dripping cum, baby. let me just..." he trails off, eyes fixed on his girlfriend's face as he holds her gaze, while his tongue laps up the juices seductively with a smirk, watching how she struggles to keep her voice hidden. "good. so sweet for me."

aria blushes at that, lifting up her legs and rolls away from him, before grabbing his hand and pulls him in the bed, "take off your shirt. i feel naked." she whispers to him, hearing him chuckle as he gives in to her wish. throwing his hoodie away, jungkook quickly hovers over aria and leans down to kiss her lips.

"tastes good, right?" he teases, getting a smile from the girl between the kiss. he licks her lips, breaking the kiss to move to her jaw and neck eventually, "you're so perfect. i never wanna stop. fuck!" he groans, inhaling her fresh fragrance, that belongs to her shower gel. even the bath bombs smell fucking amazing, and jungkook really has to try hard to keep himself from touching and kissing aria all the time because of how good she smells.

"remove this," aria mumbles, undoing his belt and jungkook's suddenly slapped back into reality, the whole situation that doesn't let him sleep at night circling his head again. he holds aria's hands, stopping her from going any further and smiles softly. "what?"

"nothing, i just think you should rest." he says, getting on her side and pulls her in a hug, draping the covers over their body, especially aria's since she's not wearing anything.

"yeah, but one round doesn't hurt." she pouts at him and lowers the duvet, gesturing down at her exposed body, "aren't you horny?"

"not really, i'm tired as well." he says, kissing her cheek, "sorry. next time, okay? now cloe your eyes and sleep." aria watches him with slightly confused eyes, for all she knows jungkook is never like this. he wouldn't let go of any chance of having sex usually. just looking at aria wearing a tight dresses, crop tops and mini skirts was enough to work him up, but for some reason today he's not willing even when she's the one asking for it.

he covers her body, hugging her with no hesitation and presses another kiss on the side of her head, "i love you," he says again, making aria frown and look up at his face.

"what happened, jungkook?" she asks him.

"what? nothing. let's sleep." he assures, "i'm sorry for—"

"no, not that. you look stressed about something. this is not you... you can tell me if there's something." she says, shifting a little up to reach his face and pecks his lips. "now come on, spill it."

"it's really nothing," he clears his throat. "you should sle—"

"you're really bad at lying, jungkook. just say it." she chuckles softly.

he sighs deeply, laying straight as aria lays her head close to his chest, having his one arm wrapped around her and the other one folded under his head for support. "i love you, aria. always remember that..." at this point, his confessions of love seem bothersome, making aria gulp with uncertainty, staring at him with worried eyes. "don't ever think that i stopped loving you. even if i have to let go of you." he mutters, glancing at her, "okay?"

she blinks a few times, shaking her head, "no, what are you saying?" she voices out with horror, although she already knows the answer and it hurts her more that she's being proved right. tears well her eyes as she looks at jungkook desperately, wanting to hear something different, something that's not the same as him leaving her.

"we should end this..." he whispers, his own eyes watering with words coming out of his mouth. aria's arms loosen around him and he feels the tear that slides down from her left eye, meeting his skin and burning it like acid. he turns to face her and cups her cheek, "i'm sorry, ari. but please know that i still love you a lot. i love you more than my life, baby. trust me, i hate myself for doing this, but—"

"why?" she hushes out, sitting up with the covers pressed close to her chest as she shifts back, folding up her legs to her chest.

"ari—"

"why?!" she cries at him with tears streaming down her face, "i love you and i'm ready to do anything for you, jungkook! i was ready to leave my home, my family, everything for you because i fucking love you! all this time i felt guilty every second i spent with taehyung... i was thinking of ways to get out of this, so i could go back to you... why? i'm not stupid thinking about us all the time, am i?"

"no, it's not like that," jungkook sits on his knees, leaning in front of her as he tries to hold her hands, "please don't cry, baby. just hear me out, i swear it's just really complicated and there's nothing else i could do."

"you're saying that?" she rubs her eyes, glaring at him, "you could've talked to your family about us! if you weren't such a coward you would've introduced me to your family or at least let me introduce you to mine! now that i think of it, jungkook... did you ever even love me? why has it always been me who thinks about our relationship and tries to keep us together?"

"i do love you. i've loved you ever since i saw you! just try to understand that i cannot go and say the truth in front of my family just like that!" jungkook yells in frustration, although he regrets it instantly on seeing, aria flinching. he stops to take a deep breath and leans closer to her, "i'm sorry, baby. i really can't help it. y'know what mom told me today?"

"i don't—"

"listen to me, please?" he hushes out, cupping her face and tries to wipe her tears, but aria pulls herself back, sobbing to herself as she lays down quietly, facing the other way like jungkook wasn't even there. he rubs his eyes as well, laying beside her and hugs her from behind, "i'm sorry, baby. i know this is hurting you, and it's not easy for me either. i can't live without you... but i can't just go and ruin my family's happiness... we should break up, and you should focus on tae—"

"leave!" aria cries, pushing his arms away and screams when he tries to hold her again. "what?" she looks at him with bloodshot eyes, piercing through jungkook's heart, making it hard for him to hold his tears too. "you broke up with me. done? what are you here for now?!"

jungkook looks down in defeat, getting off the bed where he has spent so many nights with aria, cuddling to sleep, having the most amazing sex of their lives, cracking jokes, watching movies, ranting about some silly things, and telling tons of stories to each other. for the first time jungkook feels like it's all falling apart, and it is because of him.

he picks up his hoodie from the floor, pretending that he can't hear his love crying in the same room. it hurts him that he can't hold her and wipe her tears away. he always said that he couldn't see a single tear in aria's eyes, and would fight anyone who dared to hurt her. now he might want to punch himself in the face, or throw himself out of the window. glancing at her one last time, he walks out of the room with a heavy heart.

instead of going to the front door and leaving the place, jungkook goes to the kitchen and waits there for a while, cursing at himself for doing this for he knows very well that just like aria, he doesn't want to end this relationship either and dealing with it is going to be way harder than it looks. after a while he gets up, heading back to aria's room, trying to listen to her sound and opens the door on confirming that it's all quiet, meaning aria probably slept.

he places a bottle of water and a medicine for headache on the nightstand, knowing that she will need it in the morning after crying so much right now. then he leans down closer to her face and kisses her forehead, "i'm really sorry for hurting you like this... i love you, ari. i don't know about you, but i'll always be yours first before anybody else's." he hushes out, before pulling himself straight and sniffles softly, wiping off his tears as he walks out the room, picking up his keys from the table and locks the door.

leaving aria's place, jungkook drives up to a pub, needing a hard drink to get through all that happened. he can't stay sober and hear his own thoughts blaming himself for everything. although when he has parked in front of one of his frequently visited pubs, his phone rings to life by his brother's call. jungkook ignores the call twice, but the third time he finds himself giving up and answers, "yes hyung?"

"where are you right now? mom's asking about you."

"uh yeah, i'm... uh i'm a little busy. i'll be back in the morning."

"alright, but—" taehyung is interrupted by their mother's voice in the background, making him laugh, "mom's saying that if you come home drunk, she'll make you do the dishes for the rest of the month."

jungkook doesn't get the chance to say anything as the mother takes the phone from taehyung and starts scolding him, "please don't drink, kook. your sister-in-law will be coming home tomorrow. what impression do you wanna leave on her? if your friends are pressuring you, tell them you're a decent boy who does not like to drink, alright?"

jungkook sighs deeply, his eyes fixed on the entrance of the pub, "are you listening to me, kook? come home now, it's getting late. i want you to help me with a few things in the morning before aria comes home."

jungkook's fist clenches around the steering, but all he does for his mother is hum in response. "good," she chimes with a smile that jungkook has grown up seeing, and he knows it still must be adorning her face. "ah okay, i'm going now. you better be home in the next twenty minutes okay?"

"yeah, i'm coming." jungkook mumbles, "you should go and rest, mom. i'll be back safely."

"that's my boy," she chuckles, and then it's taehyung who gets the phone back, "wow, she doesn't love me so much."

jungkook doesn't reply, which makes taehyung quiet down as well, "are you okay, kook?"

"hm," he heaves out, "you can sleep too. i guess i'll take about half an hour. i'm kinda in the opposite side of the city."

"oh... sure, but you sound a little... disturbed? what's up?"

"nothing, i'm good. i'll see you at home. good night, hyung "

"alright, let's talk later." taehyung agrees, "for real though, don't drink okay?"

"i'm won't."

"good. see you in the morning then."

"yeah. don't tell mom that i'm coming late."

________

a/n: hey babies! how are you all? 💗🌼 please vote and leave your lovely comments if you liked the chapter. also, do tell me what you think about the characters so far 🤗 i am so excited to hear your thoughts <3