Jungkook

"I never said I had one."

As those exact words roll past her lips, I swear I feel like the happiest man in the world. I haven't felt so relieved in a long time as I do now. Feels like I almost didn't manage to pull out in time but still did in the very last moment. 

And this is a bad example, I know.

"You don't?" I ask in bewilderment to which she shakes her head in confusion. "Oh, that's good. Um, I mean, it seemed that way because you gave me a man's shirt since mine was stained with coffee." I'm trying so hard not to smile right now, even though that actually takes a load off my mind. 

"Oh, the shirt. That's actually mine. I like to buy certain clothing items from the men's section. Sorry if that changes your perspective on women," she teases me jokingly. 

"No not at all, actually it's quite appealing, I must honestly admit. Sorry if it changes your perspective on men, but we love it when women wear men's clothing," I joke back.

I already love her company and it hasn't even been ten minutes since she showed up at my place. Comparing her presence to that of Ashley's, who was such a pain in the ass until a few minutes ago, I can say with all my heart that I like Elaine's much better. Her behavior is different from that of many women who have come across me. She doesn't seem to be interested in what I have in my pants, she couldn't even look me in the eye in the beginning and others would have undressed for me long ago. 

My image of a woman has unfortunately been distorted by some mistakes made in the past. The women I have had in my life have shown me nothing but what I feel today, maybe that's why I'm always attracting such women. And maybe that's why I noticed Elaine instantly, perhaps because she made a different, almost innocent impression on me even though she looked amazing that night. A dangerous woman indeed.

"And why is that?" she daringly asks by raising an eyebrow and tilting her head slightly to one side. 

"Well, that shows you belong to the man who gave you the shirt," I shrug, fidgeting around with the wrench in my hand now ignoring what I was working on. 

"Ah, of course, it's always this possessive need you have to objectify a woman," she chuckles humorlessly. "So that other men will keep their hands off what is yours?" 

What? That's not what I meant to say. I don't want our conversation to turn out this way. How did we even get to this point? I don't want her to think that I'm one of those possessive guys who think they have to control every move a woman makes. 

"No, it's not about controlling you. You belong to yourselves first. You are independent living beings, just like us men. What I mean to say is that I think it's a sign of intimacy, it shows that you are one, that you don't care about how you look or which shirt belongs to whom. It's cute when women waddle around like ducks in our oversized shirts because they want to be comfortable and that's the first thing they find in the morning. And I don't even want to get started on the smell you guys are leaving on it," I explain myself and wink at her when I notice that I have left her speechless while she presses her lips in a straight line because she has nothing to criticize. 

I would never give my shirt to a woman whom I shared just one night with, they come and leave the same way. I may be that kind of guy that has had one-night stands all the time but I never lost my respect for a relationship. It means a lot to me even though I never had one which didn't leave me heartbroken. But some things have to stay the way I imagine them and this is one of those. 

I look up at her and notice her leaning against the side of the car with her arms crossed in front of her chest watching thoughtfully while she is nibbling on her inner cheek as I now position the summer tires. A gentle smile makes its appearance on my lips, to which she returns with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. It is a somewhat sad smile as if she had forced it on herself.

"I'm sorry I attacked you like that with my words. Of course, I didn't refer to all men, it's just—" she takes a deep breath and continues. "I had a toxic relationship in the past and it still manages to affect my present." 

I put the tool in my hand down next to me on the floor to run to the rear tire, so that I can continue to work, wondering how stupid a man must have been to have disappointed her like that so that she would think men are mostly the same. He must have been an idiot for letting her go, to be honest. 

She laughs as she shakes her head, bringing her hand in front of her mouth and closing her eyes. "I don't know why I told you this just now. I must look pathetic. Please forget what I said."

"No, it's totally fine. I was cheated on in the past, and maybe that's why I'm so obsessed with the idea of proving that a woman belongs to me, so I guess we both have a reason to think the way we do right now," I'm now standing next to her, towering over her. She peers at me through her long eyelashes, a little puzzled by the unexpected closeness. 

"Can I?" I ask as I lean in a little. 

"W—what?" she leans even closer to the car with her eyes wide open to escape my approaching form. 

"The tire," I smirk amused by her flustered expression. "I have to get to the tire that you're standing in front of." 

"Oh, yeah, of course, I'm sorry." She inhales loudly, stepping away from the car to make room for me. As I step into her previous spot, I make sure to brush my arm against hers, which makes her tense up a bit. 

"So, Elaine, tell me something about yourself. If you feel comfortable doing so, of course," I change the topic to make things between us more relaxed. I'm dying inside to find out more about her, and since I have the opportunity now, I'm obviously not stupid enough to let it slip away. Who knows when or even if I'll ever see her again. 

"Well, there's not much to tell about me. I'm an architect, I like to occupy myself with art in my free time." I knew there was something artistic about her, you could clearly tell by the way she decorated her apartment. "And... wait. How did you know my name? I never mentioned my name." She looks down at me with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Your friend Nora told me over the phone. Besides, Ashley greeted you with your name earlier," I chuckle. 

She curses under her breath and smiles nervously, "Yeah, right. Silly me." 

Considering that we haven't always had the best of encounters so far, I can actually relate to her, we never really had the chance to have a proper conversation, let alone an opportunity to introduce ourselves to each other. Something awkward has always happened when we were together. 

So I extend my hand, which I wipe off with a clean cloth beforehand as I stand up from my seat, looking down at her expectantly. She looks at my hand and then back up at me with a confused smile plastered on her cherry-like lips. 

"Somehow we never got to introduce ourselves to each other so I'm making a fresh start. Hey, I'm Jungkook, what's your name?"

She takes my comparatively large one in her small and soft hand, shaking it. She giggles while her shining eyes are focused on me the whole time. "Nice to meet you, Jungkook, whose name I already knew. I'm Elaine."

We get entangled in each other's eyes, hands still shaking until the shaking gradually comes to an end and we both, completely under the enchantment of the moment, are simply standing there looking into each other's eyes, hands still bound tingling with a sensation of passionate attraction and a light smile painted on our lips. 

There is something about her that I can't explain which pulled me to her from the first time I made eye contact with her in the bar. Never in my life has my curiosity for a woman skyrocketed as it has now for Elaine. I don't know if it is her breathtaking eyes, which draw me into themselves like two pools of melted chocolate that I want to drown in without even complaining, or her pure smile, which manages for me to mirror it without me being aware of it, showing the little dimples on her cheeks where they shall bury me when I die.

Elaine makes me want to know more about her as a person and nothing else, which wasn't the case with other women who only served to satisfy my desires. I probably sound like the biggest asshole right now, but the feeling with other women was mutual, they fucked me and I fucked them. No feelings involved. They only existed to help me forget my heartbreak.

But with her, I seem to rekindle the fire that was extinguished by time and wrong decisions with the floods of deception. And maybe I'm exaggerating, but if a woman manages to throw me head over heels in such a short time, then I don't know what else she is capable of.

She clears her throat and slowly takes her hand out of mine, the warmth of which I immediately miss, and entangles it behind her back, now stepping aside and tucking her hair behind her ear with a shy smile plastered on her lips. 

I finish my work in silence while she observes everything as if it is something so interesting. I glance at her from time to time to make sure that she doesn't get bored but for some reason, I don't feel brave enough to ask any more questions to keep up the conversation. I don't want her to think I'm pushy or anything. 

"You seem very adept at this. How long have you been doing it for?" she eventually asks, breaking the silence with a pair of curious eyes. 

"I've been working in this garage for almost five years now. I took it over after my boss passed away since he had no family, and now I use it as home and workplace at the same time." I smile at her getting up from where I was sitting, as I have now finished mounting the last tire and clean my hands with a cloth. 

"I'm sorry for your loss." A sympathetic look takes over her beautiful features and she tilts her head to one side while I nod in gratitude for her condolences. "I think it's lovely that you're carrying on his business." 

"Thank you. It was hard for me at first because Uncle Haeseong was like a father to me. But life goes on, so at least I should honor him by continuing this." 

I step in front of her again, purposefully a little closer than usual in order to meet her radiating warmth, because it seems more comforting to me than I would have thought. A loose strand of her shiny hair hangs on the side of her face and the urge to tuck it behind her ear overcomes me, but I hold back as I swallow heavily. We stare at each other, my gaze drifting back and forth between her almond-shaped eyes and I unconsciously move even closer to her until I can feel her breath on my neck. 

"Thank you for changing the tires," she breathes out heavily. 

"Don't mention it." 

She's not the only one who's nervous right now because my heart seems to be bursting out of its cage any minute. 

"May I offer you something to drink so we can talk some more? If you're not busy, of course," I ask desperately to spend more time with her and maybe get to know her better since I do know now that she isn't taken. 

"As long as you don't spill coffee on me for revenge, I'd love to," she grins. 

I throw my head back and burst out laughing, amused that our little incident still makes her embarrassed. 

"I'll have to think about it," I tease jokingly and finally tuck the loose strand of soft curls behind her ear. 

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A/N: I love them already🥺💕