A black wrapped carton box is lying in front of me on the counter. The edges of the wrapping paper are neatly glued together and a silver ribbon, which has been curled is placed right in the middle of the gift.

After Nora and I ran into Jungkook in the small restaurant a few days ago and he invited us to his birthday party afterwards, we hurried back to the mall one more time in order to get him a present. Although I didn't know what he was into, as we hadn't known each other for that long, I discovered a shop at the last moment in whose storefront something was displayed that immediately reminded me of him. I have no idea if he is really into it and maybe it might be something childish, but I saw something similar during my visit to his workshop. I really hope he likes it. It would be really embarrassing to see him pretending to like it, which I used to do a lot as a child.

I have one last look in the mirror in front of me and brush my flower-patterned dress smooth. The weather made me put on this dress, as it is unusually hot today for a day in April. The pattern of flowers is kept uniform throughout the material and the sunny yellow color contrasts with my slightly tanned skin. 

I used to hate my tan and I was jealous of the porcelain white girls in my school who received compliments from everyone for their snow white looks. But with time I have learned to accept myself as I am and I must admit that I'm even proud not to belong to the crowd. My make-up today keeps a summer look–healthy glowing skin, bronzed contours, and long defined lashes, with a final touch of lip gloss.

I reach for the gift, careful not to tear the paper, and hurriedly walk to the front door to put on my white sneakers. I close the front door and wait at the main entrance where Nora is about to pick me up.

As I get into the car Nora whistles at me, showing that she approves of my appearance and I let out a relieved breath, glad that she likes it. We start driving to his workshop, listening to a faint song on the radio and I wonder why the drive takes longer than I remember.

When we arrive at the workshop, Nora pulls the car up a few meters outside the entrance before we get out and walk side by side to the place he said we should come to. The closer we get to the big entrance gate, the louder the music and laughter of the people inside become. As we stand in the entrance gate I notice that Jungkook has cleared out a part of the workshop to set up a big table with delicious snacks and refreshments.

The smell of grilled meat fills our nostrils and my stomach growls loudly because I haven't eaten anything all day to be able to taste everything at the party.

"There you girls are. We've been waiting for you," Jungkook calls, just running into the workshop from the back entrance, two big plates in both hands and a bottle of beer trapped under his arm.

"Come on, we just started barbecuing in the backyard." he waves us over after placing the plates in a sink. 

Nora and I slowly walk over to him and when I stand next to him he looks at me from top to bottom with enchanted eyes. Nora winks at me and disappears out the back door, ignoring the fact that she doesn't know anyone here, but interacting with strangers has never been her problem anyway.

"Hi. Thanks for coming," he breathes as only the two of us are left in the garage.

"Hi. Thanks for inviting me." I smile, reluctant whether to hand over the present now or later.

I decide to give it to him now because all his friends are in the backyard, so no one will see what I bought. I hold out my hand in which I hold the present and wait for him to take it out of it.

"This is for you. Happy birthday," I say.

"You shouldn't have bothered. Thank you very much." he beams with a smile on his kissable lips, the upper one thin and the lower one full and well-shaped.

He tears off the wrapping paper from the actual packaging, he carefully shakes the box with curious eyes to be able to find out what's inside, because the box doesn't reveal much of its contents. He finds the opening of the box, opening it at the top and looks immediately inside the box. A small gasp is audible and he looks up at me from the contents.

"Is this what I think it is?" he asks excitedly.

"What do you think it is?" I ask slowly, not knowing if he likes it or not, because he seems to know exactly what it is. 

"Is this Iron Mans Arc Reactor for self-assembly?" his voice is high pitched as he still looks at me in amazement and he takes the package with the small parts out of the box.

"Do you like it?" I put my hands in front of my belly, playing with my fingers, my head tilting to the side and my gaze a little unsure.

"Of course I like it. This is the best present!" he drops the package on the table next to him, coming right in front of me and giving me a big hug. I wouldn't have thought that he would be happy like a little kid and certainly I didn't expect a hug.

I squeal as he lifts me off the floor very slightly so that my feet are dangling in the air and I grip on his shoulders in case he might accidentally drop me. Of course I know that he would never drop me because his arms are much too tightly tied to my waist for that. Realizing the position we are in, he carefully lets me down on the floor again, but the smile never leaves his lips.

"How did you know that I like Iron Man?" he asks astonished.

"Let's say I pay attention to details." I grin.

"You are an excellent observer. Come I'll introduce you to the others," he grabs me by the hand and gently pulls me out of the back door where his friends and Nora are, my best friend, of course, settled in and having a good laugh talking to two guys. 

We stop in front of the small crowd and at this very moment everyone turns to us. There are only five unknown faces here in the backyard, but suddenly having all eyes on me makes me nervous and of course the fact that Nora and I are the only girls makes me even more nervous.

"This is Elaine," Jungkook introduces me to his friends before pointing to each of his friends and calling them by their names. I even recognize three of them, they are the guys who were sitting at the table with him that day in the karaoke bar.

"These are my friends Taehyung, Yoongi and Hoseok. We've been friends for three years. This is Seokjin. He's like a big brother to me." I swallow at the sight of the handsome man, well, handsome men. What did they eat to make themselves look like that? 

Finally, Jungkook points to a little boy, probably 11 or 12 years old. "And this little guy is Minho. He is Seokjin's cousin and is now working as a temp in my workshop during all holidays and weekends coming up this school year. It's his father's punishment for his bad grades this past term."

"Hyung!" the little boy groans and everyone else bursts out laughing.

I haven't been here long, but I feel comfortable already. His friends seem very nice and welcoming. The grill is already on and there are some big pieces of steak and sausage on the grill grid, the sizzling easily audible.

Jungkook hands me a chair to sit on and I thank him before I take a seat. We all talk while eating the meat that Hoseok grilled and drink our drinks on the side. The evening is generally very pleasant, everyone gets along well with everyone else and we laugh a lot. 

Games are played, the bets are placed and more beer bottles are opened before they are gulped down like water. We don't even notice that the sun had slowly left us until Seokjin unpacks some garlands of lights from inside, which he then attaches to the door to give us a clear view in the darkness.

I notice how Jungkook gives me a few gentle glances every now and then. I look away every time with a shy smile and he continues the conversation with his friends but not without grinning and repeatedly peering at me. It doesn't escape me that he, even though it is very slight, brushes his hand over mine when he hands me a glass of water.

It goes on like this all evening and I have to say that for a long time I have had fun again with so many people around me that I didn't know. It even came to a point where Nora and I started to have pain in our cheeks because Seokjin kept the mood burning with his dad jokes and his extraordinary laugh that resembled a windshield wiper and made us laugh so much that tears came to our eyes. 

However, because it is getting a bit late and because I want to be of help to Jungkook, I grab the dirty plates that had been left on the table and go inside the workshop to do the dishes in the small kitchen in the corner. As I'm about to load the plates into the dishwasher, a voice from behind startles me.

"Do you need help?"

I turn around to check who that voice belongs to because unfortunately, I can't quite tell them apart yet. I spot Hoseok, who is slowly walking in my direction, a friendly smile written on his features. He seems to be the most positive of the group. With his remarkable dance moves and noises, which I didn't know a human being could produce, he made us laugh a lot during the evening.

"Oh no thanks, I can manage. Don't miss out on the fun. I'll be done in a minute." I smile back. 

"I can't let a pretty lady like you wipe all the plates by yourself, can I?" he puts a hand flat on his heart as if he is offended that I would think such nonsense about him and I laugh, not knowing what to say in response to his compliment. 

We wipe the plates together and talk while we do it. He tells me the story of his meeting with Jungkook and I smile the whole time as the story unfolds. Jungkook is really a lucky guy to have such friends. 

As we are just about to wipe the last two plates we notice steps coming towards us and I turn around to see who the approaching person is.

Jungkook walks over to us with a less pleased face and I see how he pushes his tongue into his cheek. Did anything happen while Hoseok and I were in here?

"Thanks for your help, Hoseok, but I got this. Why don't you join the others?" he raises his eyebrows suggestively high, whereupon Hoseok smiles nervously and walks back out after patting Jungkook's shoulder with his hand.

"We were actually done. Let's go back to your guests," I quickly suggest, not knowing where this inexplicable tension in the air is coming from.

He walks a few steps behind me and before I can step completely out of the door, Jungkook grabs me gently by the hand to stop me. His body is suddenly very close to my back and I swallow as my breath hitches, my heart tumbling.

"Come with me," he whispers deeply into my ear with his honey voice before pulling me away from the crowd and running up the stairs while I follow him with quick steps, not knowing where we are headed to.

He unlocks a door after we have practically sprinted up two flights of stairs and I'm greeted with a roof terrace. There is no furniture or lamps in the open area, but there is a view from here over some roofs and of course to the shining starry sky.

I look up at the stars and gasp gently at the sight. Every single star is clearly visible, which together form all the signs of the zodiac.

"The sky is very beautiful today. The universe is blessing you on your birthday too." I smile as I look behind me at Jungkook, who is also just about to take in the beauty of the sky.

"I always come up here on my birthday to watch the stars, hoping that one day I might see a shooting star. See the brightest star over there? I always call him Uncle Haeseong because I think he is guarding me to make sure I don't do anything stupid," he laughs and his bopable nose scrunches adorably.

I can't take my eyes off him, because he looks so relieved and free at this moment as the moonlight shines in his face, the stars envious because his eyes hold the most beautiful ones I have ever seen.

I close my eyes and breathe in the fresh air of the night and a little shiver runs down my spine, the cold nipping at my skin and forming light goosebumps. A warm breath hits my skin and I slowly open my eyes again, where I'm greeted by a pair of sparkling eyes. 

Now standing in front of me he observes every detail of my face, his eyes wander from my forehead to my cheekbones, over my nose, and then remain fixed on my lips. His lips are slightly open and with every breath, I feel the warmth melt into my face. A curl of hair falls on my forehead and he lifts his hand to brush it out with a feather-light touch, his eyes following his every action. After he has tucked the lock behind my ear, our eyes reunite and we stare at each other silently like that.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers gulping and I can clearly see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

I take a deep breath, not knowing how to respond to his words, my eyes never leaving his. I wander back and forth between the two orbs, in which I can see my own reflection, his eyes so clear and the irises almost as dark as the night.

My palms begin to sweat and I grab the hem of my dress as I notice that he is closing the gap between us with a small step and coming even closer to me than he already is. My heart speeds as his hand brushes against mine, his gaze moving from my eyes down to my lips. He slowly leans down to me as he licks his lips and tries to read some kind of rejection in my eyes, but I express exactly the opposite with my gaze.

His nose gently presses against mine and we close our eyes at the same time. I can feel his breath flowing on my lips and he tilts his head a little to the side so that our lips are touching so tenderly without kissing me completely. The tingling feeling sends a shiver down my spine and I shake a little without him noticing it. I can't think of anything other than him being so close that my head starts to spin. 

Just as our lips almost completely touch, we jump as the door to the roof terrace is being pushed open and we pull away immediately. My head feels dizzy as I look over to Taehyung leaning against the door frame. 

"There you are. We have been looking for you guys everywhere. Elaine, Nora seems a little drunk, I think you should take her home," Taehyung explains, who seems to have no idea what was about to happen here.

"I'm coming," I mumble shyly, my cheeks probably redder than a tomato judging by the warmth of them. Taehyung turns around to leave us both alone so I slowly turn shyly back to Jungkook who has a big smile written on his lips.

"Thank you for the invitation but it looks like I should go now. Happy birthday again." I look up into his eyes, though I'm too bashful for that. They are sparkling and the smile is still present on his face. He nods gently without taking his eyes off me or saying anything.

"Good night," I whisper and dare do something I never thought I'd do.

I kiss him on the cheek as a goodbye.

________________

Once I have driven a drunk Nora home and made sure she is in her bed and not somewhere on the floor, and put down some painkillers for her headache in the morning along with a glass of water, I drive back to my own apartment.

I open the front door with my keys and put my purse on the wardrobe along with my shoes, which I kick off my feet. The evening had made me more tired than I had thought, but it was a very enjoyable evening. The little interaction with Jungkook on the roof comes to my mind and I blush again while smiling like a maniac.

Just in the middle of getting ready for bed, after removing my make-up and slipping into my pajamas, the doorbell rings. I wonder who could be coming by at this hour. It can't be Nora, because she is probably sleeping like a rock and doesn't have a car anyway, because I drove with hers to my apartment and I can't think of another person. 

I look through the little peephole in the door, but there's nobody in sight. Doubtful whether I should open the door at this time of day or not, not even to mention the fact that I couldn't see anyone through the peephole, my curiosity nevertheless increases, because it rings once again. I decide to open the door slowly and safely so that I can close it immediately in case of an emergency.

When I open the door a shocked gasp escapes from my mouth, because Jungkook leaning against the door frame comes into view, who is having difficulty standing upright.

He has been beaten up.

___________

A/N: whoopsie🙊 what do you think about this chapter?
Also, this is what Elaine got for Jungkook in case you were wondering what an Arc Reactor is