A/N: Publishing this chapter 2 days before 2nd assessment end :3

[edited with ProAid Writing as of December 5th, 2021]

---

Jungkook pushed the café's door. The door touched a bell, ringing the bell that hung above it. It tingled as it shook, welcoming the couple and alerting the employees inside that they have customers.

The café was quiet, with its serenity comforted Nahee. The aroma of coffee lingered around the area, and it soothed her. And since the weather was hot, they somehow made her craved for Iced Vanilla Latté.

Both of them entered the café and went straight to the counter to order drinks. As both of them waiting for someone to welcome them at the cashier, a handsome, tall man turned around to go to the counter. The barista has a black apron hugged his waist, and a white buttoned up shirt enhanced his handsomeness more.

The man's plump lips curved when he recognised Jungkook. He also realised Nahee was beside him.

"Oh, welcome! First time with Worldwide Handsome?" The man greeted with a grin. He then winked, making Nahee flustered enough to respond.

She hummed as she made a glance at Jungkook before awkwardly chuckled when she heard him giggled. She did not know that a barista could be flirty.

"Excuse him. He's just a little bubbly." Jungkook chuckled, knowing Nahee would feel awkward after seeing how Seokjin seemed to act like a flirt. Chuckling at Jungkook's statement, she nodded her head, cooly accepting the fact.

"You bring another girl here. She's probably the..." For a while he halted to count, his lips mumbled random names whose he remembered Jungkook had contracted with. "The 10th or 11th girl," he continued. Laughing at the sound that resembled a windshield wiper, he then looked at Nahee as his laugh faded.

Jungkook rolled his eyes. It was unbelievable to him that his cousin counted how many contracted girlfriends he had back then and even remembered their names when he did not.

"I'm Seokjin. Jungkook's the most handsome cousin." He leaned over and rested his forearm on the counter, making long eye contact with Nahee. He connected his index finger and thumb in between his chin. And then he winked at her again. "Call me 'Oppa'."

This time, Nahee doubted if Seokjin was bubbly or a true flirty or he just played with her. But somehow, Seokjin reminded her of her cousin, Hoseok.

Awkwardly looked up at the menu sign that displayed above Seokjin, she tried to find Vanilla Latte in the menu but it was not available.

"Can you make us Iced Vanilla Lattes, hyung?" Jungkook asked, making Nahee surprised at it. It felt like he just read her mind. Making a glance down at Nahee, he curved his lips and then back to watch the café's owner.

"Alrighty! Your coffee going to be a little late, because it's Latte." The older man laughed at his own puns, making his younger cousin to facepalm. Nahee somehow could get what he meant, giggling at the puns. The barista then left the front counter to make their coffees while the couple left to look out for a table.

They both sat on a chair, facing each other and relaxed on the chair. Nahee tried not to be as awkward as their first meet. She calmed her nervous heart down, taking a deep breath and balled her hands, placing them on the table. Then she spoke.

"I —"
"Sor —"

Jungkook and Nahee chuckled when getting the sign that both of them wanted to talk. It was funny to them, thinking that they had the same mind.

"You first," he said, being the gentleman he was. Nahee felt opened to say something she wanted to tell. She nodded her head, and so she said, "I didn't know your cousin owns this place."

She then added, "I often come here for coffee. This place is a big hit!"

Jungkook chuckled at Nahee's action. Somehow, Nahee's compliments raised up Jungkook's feeling of proud of his cousin who had been with him through thick and thin. He grinned, showing his bunny tooth.

"Talking about my cousin, I want to say I am sorry on his behalf." Jungkook chuckled as he remembered Seokjin being flirtatious suddenly that day. "He is a bubbly guy, and I think something makes him excited today. That's why he acted like that. I apologise on his behalf once more."

Jungkook made a glance behind Nahee, to see if his cousin would come out with the orders. What made Seokjin seemed to be hyper that day made Jungkook thought if he made any new experiment for coffee. He might have drunk a lot of coffee because of the failures.

Nahee giggled, "it's okay. I don't mind. I have a cousin who acts almost like him."

"Then, I guess, we're the same."

Both of them laughed after that.

Just after the short conversation, Seokjin came with a tray with a big glass of Iced Vanilla Latte — two straws stood in the glass, a pancake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and honey on top and also, a medium-size bowl of chocolate-vanilla ice cream. He had sure come with too much stuff; the couple did not order those though.

"Latté, pancake and ice cream," Seokjin said, putting each dessert and drink on the table as he said. "I know girls like sweet stuff so I prepared vanilla-chocolate ice cream."

He added, "I prepared these only for your pretty girlfriend." Seokjin pointed at the ice-cream and pancake with two fingers. "But then I remembered I've my precious cousin came with her." He smiled at Nahee. He took a chair from a nearby table and sat with them.

"By the way, what's your name?" He asked, still with a smile plastered on his face. Nahee calmed down, reminding herself to think Seokjin resembled Hoseok.

"Kim Nahee," she said.

"Oh! We have the same surname. Isn't that fate?" Seokjin said, placing his chin on his palm as his elbow rested on the table.

Worried that the older might make his contracted girlfriend uncomfortable, Jungkook whined, "Hyuuung!" Jungkook whined.

Nahee became dumbfounded at Seokjin. She kept reminding herself Seokjin maybe hyper because of coffee.

Suddenly, both of them heard Seokjin sobbed. The couple furrowed their eyebrows.

Perhaps he added something wrong in his coffee?

"What's wrong with you?" Jungkook asked, scrunching his face. The older man was sobbing out loud.

Nahee quietly took a sip of Vanilla Latte. as she awkwardly smiled as she watched Seokjin sobbing. She then reached for a light brown tissue, which was placed on a tray, and handed it to Seokjin.

Seokjin took it and blew his nose, throwing it harshly on the table. It then bounced and fell to the ground.

"My confession got rejected!"

Jungkook sighed, remembering his cousin had a crush on a female regular customer.

"And I just knew she isn't straight!" The louder his sobs got, gaining the attention of the customers that the café had inside.

"These desserts are actually for her! But she abandoned it right after I confessed. She should've at least ate them!"

Nahee looked at him sadly while Jungkook sighed again, patting the crying man's back.

**********

"I'm sorry."

Nahee looked up at Jungkook who was beside her, scratching his neck awkwardly. Nahee frowned.

"Why?" she asked.

"I suddenly think that brought you to see my cousin today wasn't a good idea."

Nahee giggled, "why is that so?"

"Well, you see how he has a bad day. It's likely a wrong timing."

"Isn't that you know he had a bad day though," Nahee said, comforting the lad to avoid him from thinking that his idea was bad. After all, she thought Seokjin was fun, and he had a bad day did not bother her from interacting with the man.

Jungkook smiled at Nahee. He liked how she kept saying she was alright. It was admirable for him, seeing how she would smile on her dimples while saying she was.

Somehow, he liked how Nahee showed part of her positivity. Although the thinking came to his mind, however, he had to remind that some girls were plastic. They would show a fake side first and then show their true colour. He expected that the 25 months could be a good use to be in a relationship with her, although contracted.

**********

Jungkook was sending her home with his car and the atmosphere in the car they had was a silence. The car's grunt was the only noise at the moment.

In this situation, Jungkook felt like he wanted to slap himself for not turning on the media player for music to break the awkwardness in the car. His hands froze, his palm just stayed stuck on the steering wheel. He even has the heart of wanting to look at his girlfriend — contracted, he even reminded himself — but he could not understand why his cheeks would try to stretch, to smile as they formed a blush.

I swear he's not thinking something 'wild'.

Meanwhile, Nahee just stayed still, staring at the road as the car drove past. She could not breathe properly. Knowing that she was nervous, she compared this atmosphere with the atmospheres before.

She was — can say she was fine — at the gym where Jungkook worked. She was uncomfortable at first, knowing herself that she could not get used to the sight of men everywhere, but it was not like she had a phobia of men. Until Jimin came to fetch her and heard Jungkook's name as he had ordered Jimin to take her. She felt relieved; she felt happy for being able to see Jungkook faster.

Then next, when they walked together to Seokjin's café from the gym. The distance was not far. Little did she know, they communicated well a lot. She had comfortable feelings around him. She never knew she could get along well with someone she just acquainted.

And not to forget how she felt comfortable to laugh out loud as she witnessed how Jungkook acted around Seokjin while the cousin was there mentioning many kinds of pun jokes and being silly. She was not the type who would show a big mouth as she laughs. Probably got the influence from her brother for laughing with the mouth covered.

But now, imagining how she laughed, she assumed she looked ugly. She's a potato, after all. Even Namjoon acknowledged that.

'Why now we're awkward?' She thought. She nibbled her lips as she stared at the dashboard, mind blanked, not even knowing she would arrive at her house sooner.

Jungkook checked the GPS that was placed in front of them, in between. Turning the steering wheel for one last time and, his sight revealed a bungalow with steep slope stairs. He pulled the brake, releasing a straight creak noise and then faced Nahee, who was still in the other 'world.'

He tilted his head, trying to gain Nahee's attention, and lowered himself to get himself included in her vision. Still, she did not seem to notice him.

"Nahee," Jungkook called, and that pulled Nahee out of her trances. "Is this your house?"

Nahee looked up and recognised her home. She nodded her head quickly and quickly pulled the door handle to leave.

"Wait!" The sudden call made Nahee halt herself from widening the door. She made a glance at him with her eyebrows raised. "Yes?"

"Uhm... I'm not going to force you but, can we at least give a kiss on the cheek before you leave?"

Nahee's eyebrows frowned.

"Better not," Jungkook awkwardly chuckled, mentally slapping himself.

Not that he really wanted it, it was only a habit which he had brought up since he had the first contracted relationship. His first contracted girlfriend often left him with a kiss and that habit continued until the next, next, next relationship.

The women probably thought he was easy.

Nahee was not that easy, though. She buzzed as to find a solution to replace a kiss. It was awkward for her to kiss him, even when it was their first day in a relationship.

"Instead of a kiss, I'll hug you." Nahee pulled him into an embrace and, of course, the sudden changes of the idea gave Jungkook a surprise. He did not expect Nahee would give him an embrace without hesitation.

Who knows, they only started as acquaintances that day, but Nahee would hug him without thinking twice.

When Nahee let go him, she placed her hands on his shoulder and smiled, lightly revealing her dimples on her cheeks.

Looking into his eyes, she said, "thank you for today."

For a while, they locked gazes before Nahee finally left him in the car and shut its door. Jungkook watched as she approached the house's gate.

With a mind processing what just happened, Jungkook stared at her for quite long. She's different. That's what he thought about her. She was probably the first girl who did that to him. The first girl who rejected his goodbye kiss. Most girls he met during a contract relationship, all of them would kiss him on the cheeks before leaving somewhere when he asked.

'She's totally different,' he thought again.

Jungkook looked at Nahee, realizing that she was checking on him from the small gate entrance. She waited for him to leave first.

He let out a small smile before pushing the brake and pushed the accelerator pedal. He waved at her and Nahee waved at him back.

As his car left the area, the hug still lingered around his body as if the weight of the girl was still there, along with her sweet-scented perfume.

Somehow, the hug was comforting. His lips curved up into a smile.

________________________
|| A/N ||
Info: the difference between café and cafeteria
Café - a small restaurant selling light meals and drinks
Cafeteria - a restaurant in which customers serve themselves from a counter and pay before eating

I need your support! Please continue to support this book. Comment your feedback and vote! Thank you 💕👀