(when i say jungkook wearing a white hoodie, i mean this 👆)

•••

"careful," jungkook mutters softly, holding jiah's hand on his shoulder and the toddler with his other hand, who is sitting in front of him almost on the oil tank, too excited from the second the two-wheeler started moving. jiah gets down, smiling at jungkook and her son as she steps forward to bring him out of his seat as well.

jihun, however, seems to love the place and the motorcycle, refusing to let go of the handles and tries to accelerate it into motion. jungkook chuckles at him, glancing down at his face and pats his side, "you don't wanna get off?" he asks, getting a look from the little boy, who stares at him for a moment then taps on the tank, mumbling something along the lines of 'dwive', making jungkook laugh. "yeah? should we take another lap round the block?"

"no, it's fine." jiah intterupts, lifting her toddler up, which makes him whine loudly, clutching onto the handle with all his might. "don't do that, jihun. we're here to meet your uncles. you can go on a drive some other day, okay?" she tries to reason him, but that only makes jihun cry.

"it's alright, baby." jungkook smiles, removing the stand of his bike and starts the engine, letting jihun sit back comfortably. he notices jiah's gaze and arches up a brow, enjoying the reddish tint around her cheeks.

"are you talking to me or jihun?" she asks awkwardly.

jungkook smirks at that, twisting his wrist which makes a loud roaring sound from the rear tire of the motorcycle, forming a cloud of dust behind them, and he leans closer to jiah with a teasing smile, "i guess you'll have to figure that out yourself." with that, he accelerates and leaves jiah standing in front of restaurant alone, staring at his figure speeding away from her, although he tilts his head to glance over his shoulder, making her blink a few times and turn away quickly, touching her heating face.

with a few quick steps, she heads inside the restaurant, making her way past the front desk and a group of people, towards the vip dining hall where they usually gathered. just like the previous times, the elder males are already there, sitting on the regular table, laughing and talking, having coffee or tea as they please. a smile reaches jiah's lips, approaching them almost excitedly to see them all together after a while.

"oppa," she calls with a smile, earning glances from the three, making them break into smiles at the mere sight of her. "hi, did i keep you waiting for too long?"

"ah, no no, we arrived early." seokjin says, standing up to give jiah a hug, which she returns then proceeds to greet namjoon as well. "how are you doing, jiah? it feels like ages since we last saw you." he says, pulling out a nervous smile from the girl.

"i know, oppa. things weren't that great with me." she scratches her head awkwardly and sits down.

"where's jihun?" yoongi asks.

"jungkook took him for another short drive round the block because he wouldn't get off the motorcycle." she shakes her head.

"how far have they gone?"

"not too far probably." she shrugs.

"what if he cries for you?" seokjin asks.

"he won't, oppa. all he cares about at the moment is jungkook's motorcycle." jiah chuckles, check-in towards the entrance, seeing no sign of her son and jungkook. "anyway," she looks at the elders. "where's hobi oppa?"

"oh okay." jiah smiles at him, glancing towards the entrance for a brief second, and yoongi follows instantly, seeing jungkook making his way through the door with jihun sitting on his shoulders, legs hanging down from either side of his neck. the toddler keeps giggling as he munches on the big ball of cotton candy jungkook is holding for him and a helium balloon that is tied to jihun's wrist.

"wow..." jiah mumbles. "why the special treatment?"

"what are you talking about? he's my homie." jungkook grins, lifting up his free hand up and curls it into a fist, "ji, fist bump." he says, getting the baby's attention along with an actually fist bump from him.

"we're here to have dinner, young man." yoongi sighs, "he won't eat now that you got him that candy."

"oh..." jungkook's smile fades away slowly, looking up at the toddler, who has got some of the pink candy melted around his mouth and on his hands as well.

jiah stands up quickly, giving yoongi a look to not be rude to jungkook and steps near the guy, "come down now," she says to jihun, bringing him down from jungkook, although the child quickly laughs and tries to go back in jungkook's arms, grabbing his hoodie with dirty hands. "hey!" jiah gasps, pulling jihun away quickly and makes him sit in her place, while she stares at jungkook's white hoodie that now has a pink stain on it.

"shit, i'm sorry, jungkook." she sighs deeply, cursing under her breath as she picks up a napkin for him.

"it's okay, don't worry. it's not a big deal." jungkook shakes his head, and glances at his elder brother, "i'll go to the restroom, clean this off." namjoon nods, and then jungkook's eyes travel to jiah, virtually asking her to come help him. she gets it in a second, nodding quickly and turns to the elders with a nervous grin.

"i'll be back!"

at the table, the elders exchange silent looks, before bursting out into a fit of laughter, especially seokjin. namjoon just chuckles, shaking his head, while yoongi massages his temples, letting out a breathy laugh. "they're so cute!" seokjin declares, "i've never seen jiah like that with anyone."

"same." namjoon agrees, sipping his tea complete and puts the cup down. "even when her and jimin had a thing for each other, i don't think it ever got to such a point."

"i've seen it." yoongi says, earning amused looks from the other two, making him nod. "yeah, back in her college time when she was dating kim taehyung."

"you're pathetic." seokjin exasperates. "we're talking about good things here, not nightmares."

"what? i'm just telling the truth. it's really easy to read jiah. and when she's happy it's all over her." he chuckles.

"jungkook feels like a nice guy." seokjin hums against the rim of his cup, while yoongi shrugs his shoulders, glancing back towards the door that leads to the hallway outside.

•••

"where did you even take him?" jiah asks, standing beside jungkook as he cleans off his hoodie, which all though doesn't seem to work as the stain has only smudged around, making him hiss.

"there's this sweets shop, i don't know the name." he replies, "god! why's this not coming off?!"

"you just can't do it." jiah clicks her tongue, turning him to face and takes the paper towel from his hand. frowning, she focuses on the stain, holding the fabric in her hand and rubs it with the wet towel.

"is it working?" jungkook watches her from his height, not so bothered and lets her take her time with helping him out.

"no," jiah mumbles back, nibbling on her lip and huffs in frustration as she's unable to hold the fabric properly.

jungkook rests his hips against the counter, arms supporting the weight of his upper body as well, while he busies himself admiring jiah being so absorbed in something that's on his body. he keeps his mouth sealed, not even realising when his hand comes up to the lose strand of hair that kept falling in front of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. her only response is a light hum, as she tries to figure out the correct to way to hold the material of the hoodie and scrub the stain off.

she's beautiful, and jungkook feels bad that he hasn't yet received a chance to truly appreciate it. oh, how he wants to see her face as the first thing in the morning and the last before falling asleep every night. his only wish and prayer that he has noticed these days is to have her around, happy. the sound of her laughter, the pout on her lips when she doesn't like something, the cute little frown she wears on being too concentrated, her soft hands and the way she confuses his nicknames between herself and her actually baby— is all what jungkook wants to keep on cherishing more and more each day.

jesus fucking christ...

he releases a soft breath, awestruck by her beauty every time he looks at her. if anyone else heard jungkook's thoughts or spent a day in his head, they would surely declare him crazy in love; teenagery even for how impatient he gets, like a child being given his favourite candy but not allowed to eat it.

his eyes, after studying her gorgeous hair, every single loose strand that caresses her skin, the innocent eyes, and a pretty doll like nose, return back to where the venture started in the first place. her lips. so soft and welcoming, as though asking him to give her the sweetest and the softest kiss, just like the cotton candy he got for jihun. his brows pinch with an urge to free her lower lip from the bite of her teeth, wondering if those pillowy soft lips would hurt when he's the one biting them.

jungkook probably went too far with his thoughts, forgetting the real job until jiah's hand brushes the bare skin of his hard stomach, giving shivers down his spin and his breath hitching. the girl, however, looks so casually like it's not her hand that she just decided to slide inside his hoodie. she was probably trying to find a hood grip on the fabric to clean it off better, and didn't realise what she was doing. but it does make jungkook whine mentally, craving for yet another touch with her criminally innocent hands.

"is it coming off?" he asks, voice not higher than a whisper, and jiah nods.

"almost done." she replies softly, "you see, jeon, i did it better than you."

"oh yeah, definitely." he smirks, slipping his hands on her waist and pulls her a step closer, earning a look with wide eyes and a silent gasp, partly because of the proximity and partly because her hands are pressed on his  abs under the hoodie. "what? liking it too much, baby?" his head dips down closer to her face, breath fanning over her blushing cheeks as he steps aside and switches their position, having jiah against the counter now.

"you're so gorgeous, princess. so fucking gorgeous..." he breathes out, closing his eyes as he leans down to her neck, inhaling her scent. it makes jungkook smile to himself, despite every muscle of his body fighting against the urge to just get one taste of the skin that smells so delicious.

"thanks..." jiah gulps, removing her hands from under his hoodie and looks down. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to touch you, jungkook. i didn't even realise tha—"

"it's alright." he assures her, never opening his eyes and wraps his arms around her petite body for a hug. jiah pats his back hesitantly, not knowing what to do with her hands, and just keeps her eyes shut, making it a mission to calm herself down rather than looking like a high school girl blushing furiously after her crush talked to her.

wait, crush?

"did you have fun today?" jungkook asks.

"huh?" she chokes and ends up coughing, hating herself for not listening to his question.

jungkook pulls away, glancing at her face, looking worried all of a sudden as he rubs her side slowly, "are you okay?"

"yeah," she nods quickly, but fumbles again. "i'm- i'm perfect."

"oh?" jungkook arches up a brow, then suddenly his expression of concern changes into a confident smirk. he cups her face in his large hand, making her look up at him. "am i making you nervous, jiah?"

"what- no!" she answers, trying to pull herself out of his arms, which jungkook doesn't allow and keeps her between his body and the counter. "jungkook—"

"you're so cute," he smiles and kisses her cheek, taking her by surprise. "especially when you can't get your words out and blush like this. my adorable little tomato."

jiah closes her eyes, wanting to just dig a hole and crawl inside it at the very moment. jungkook just called her a tomato! his tomato! the insides of jiah's gut experience fireworks like she was a complete newby in the  department of love.

the last time she ever felt these butterflies was with taehyung, three years ago, when her life was almost like a dream came true with a handsome, loving boyfriend, a small shared apartment, fun university days, and a caring elder brother in yoongi. things felt beautiful back then and jiah was almost certain of them turning out even better.

she knows now for a fact that she wouldn't have aborted her child, although if taehyung stayed with her everything would have been way different than it is today.

"jiah," jungkook's voice forces her to look up again, hold his gaze, which she is unable to do right now. not after the trail of thoughts she just had. gulping down her nervousness, she pushes jungkook off gently, apologizing for an unknown reason. it's now that she suddenly sees her frequent smiles and extra friendly nature towards jungkook, when she was the one who told him to stay just as friends.

taehyung is out there trying to take her son away, and here she is getting caught up with a guy, who isn't even—

"what's wrong? are you not feeling well?" he asks again.

"i am. i'm okay." she says, pushing her hair back. "we should go back. oppa must be waiting."

"yeah, but—"

with that, jiah quickly walks past him, already near the door when jungkook catches her wrist to stop her. a frown creases his brows together, staring into her eyes, "did i— erm, make you uncomfortable? i'm sorry if i did. that wasn't my intention."

"no no, it's not you." she sighs.

"then what?"

jiah's gaze drops to her feet, contemplating how to phrase it in proper words to get her thoughts across without hurting jungkook or making herself look selfish. it's harder than it seems in her head and makes jiah want to just hide away from this beautiful, kind hearted soul. she cannot hurt him like this again and again.

jungkook is always ready to risk it all for jiah, while she becomes the one to withdraw back at times when she feels like a threat or being threatened. the one time job of pulling away seems to have turn into a habit these days, and with jungkook in front of her, she just can't bring herself to make a stupid move that would hurt him more than her pulling away. she's already too broken and messed up, caught up in her own issues with her ex, her son, unemployment etcetera, etcetera. she cannot just dump all that on his head and have him lift the weight of the things she is supposed to deal with. okay, maybe not dumping eveything on him entirely, but still she cannot go leading him on, giving him hopes with herself, then crushing them down as per the situation of (solely) her life, can she? that would harsh, downright ignorant and unfair.

jungkook might be a good friend— great friend for that matter— but he did not sign up to deal with jiah's problems, or comprising himself with something isn't going to affect him in any way.

the thought might not exactly be all right, but it does make sense and screams practicality in jiah's mind, making her finally look up to jungkook and take a deep breath, about to explain the tornado of thoughts and worries destroying her peace. she can't believe she was happy a while ago, had fun with her son and jungkook, blushing a few minutes ago, pressed against the counter by this stunning man, and now there are random trigger warnings flashing through her head and sirens blaring with warning indications of her overthinking brain.

too much for a short span of time.

she sighs, realising that jungkook is waiting patiently to hear what she had to say. so, she has no choice than to open her mouth, "uh uhm, it's... it's just— jungkook, listen. i'm— i don't know how to say this, but i think i'm gonna try. please don't get me wrong an—"

"hey," he calls softly. "you need to relax. i don't understand why you get so worked up in front of me. am i not— like, am i not caring and comforting enough? do you feel like you can't be yourself freely around me, jiah? did i do something to make you—"

jiah hisses at that, tilting her head to stare up at him and places her index finger on his lips, shutting him off at once, "you're not the one who does the overthinking, jeon." she says, but  jungkook gets it and ends up letting out a soft chuckle. "you're supposed to have a healthy, clear, mature thought process to make it easier for me to..." his gaze makes her voice trail off, nervous to let out the exact words, for jungkook seems to have caught on.

"leave me?" he asks with a soft look, almost as though he was trying his best not to sound or look too sad. "say it, jiah. finish what you were going to say."

"i..." she looks down, "i'm sorry... i'm so sorry, jungkook. this is why i feel like we should— you should stop this. i can't keep hurting you like this just because of my uncertainties and insecurities."

"just because?" he scoffs, "jiah, look me dead in the eyes and tell me if you see anything other than insane commitment. i do have an idea, baby, of what you have gone through, even though you never clearly brought it up, but i can only imagine so much. you say you don't need anyone, that you're enough, that your son is all what matters to you, that you— park jiah, are done giving men chances to hurt you. why? because deep down you know it too that you don't trust anybody. you keep going back and forth from trusting someone and reminding yourself that they might mean harm to you. that's when you take a step back from them, like you're doing right now with me."

jiah stares at him, shaking her head, about to refuse, when jungkook speaks again, "don't try to deny it—"

"mamma!" jihun's voice makes jiah frown and walk over to the door of the restroom, seeing him standing there all alone. the little boy enters inside, glancing at jungkook and blabbers something that includes a few words like 'koo', 'mamma', 'ji', 'no' and most importantly, 'daddy', while pointing at him. jungkook frowns at his tiny figure scolding him and lets out an amused puff of breath, crouching down to the baby's height.

"yeah?"

"ji' mamma sho goo'giwl! daddy an' ji wuv diah."

"what?"

"jihun." jiah scolds him instead, carrying him in her arms and smacks his back lightly. "i told you not to say that, right?"

jihun pouts at that, staring at her with his round eyes moistening instantly. "diah ba'giwl..."

"stop it, jihun. that's not how you'll talk to me."

jihun whines loudly, wriggling in her arms. for a moment jiah doesn't try to calm him down and watches, admitting all over again that she does not have time to waste if she wants to keep jihun with herself instead of letting taehyung take him and raise him into a man like himself. jihun's already learning stuff from him, and she hates it with her guts.

"jihun," jungkook pats his back gently, "what's wrong, buddy?" he asks, virtually asking jiah if he can take him. jiah doesn't protest, instead chooses to see what new jungkook would do to have her son listening that she, being the mother, could not. the toddler pouts, mumbling something to jungkook while pointing at jiah. "really? but she's your mamma." he pretends to understand and smiles softly at the little boy, making him stand on the counter and holds his hands.

"jihun's a big boy. and big boys don't bother their mom." he says.

"ji' goo'boy," jihun mumbles.

"of course, but then ji shouldn't misbehave with mamma."

"mamma ba'giwl!"

"i swear to god!" jiah breathes out, glaring at the wall instead of her son, knowing that it's all taehyung's fault for continuously making it look like she had to be his good girl, in front of jihun. "i don't owe your dad shit, okay? he doesn't even fucking care about anything other than himself and— well, you... but that doesn't mean i don't, ji." she trails off, voice turning more into a pleading as she rubs her eyes, "i'm not a bad person, ji. mamma's not bad." she pronounces, standing next to jungkook and holds her toddler. "i'm not bad, jihun. i love you. you're- you're my baby..."

"ji' shayin' daddy diah ba'giwl." jihun huffs.

jiah opens her mouth to say something, but then stops, feeling a warm hand on her back, rubbing circles in a soothing manner. she turns to jungkook, never looking at his face and just hugs him tightly, breaking into a sob. "i'm not a his girl, jungkook..." she whimpers with frustration. "if- if ji said anything like this to taehyung, he's gonna be mad at me. i'm— i can't deal with that..."

"he wouldn't do shit to hurt you," jungkook promises, stroking her head as he sighs, glancing at the toddler who looks confused and cautious seeing his mother cry. "taehyung will not lay a finger on you, jiah. i promise you that."

"he will." she whispers, rubbing her eyes, "he'll probably come to see jihun—"

"jihun is a child. he's only two, baby. he doesn't even know what's going on. why are you feeling bad of your toddler's words?" he cups her face, making her look up at him. "jihun is just a two-year-old baby, don't take his words like an adult's."

"but it hurts, okay?" she glares at jungkook, hitting his chest, "you probably won't understand this, but it feel pathetic to have your two-year-old son call you a 'bad girl' or saying that he's going to tell his dad about you not being his 'good girl'. that's fucking ridiculous! taehyung always told me to be a good girl for him, to- to listen to him, not scold jihun and stuff like that... all in front of him, jungkook. what is he going to learn? his father literally treats his mother like- like some..." she looks down, shaking her head, "it hurts me when i hear ji repeating those words he heard from his dad. it makes me wanna throw up..."

"he's—"

"jungkook," jiah inhales deeply, looking at him and holds his hand. "i'm sorry for what i said to you today. i don't know what's wrong with me, an-and maybe this is why i'm so unsure of everything around me. i just don't know what to think, what to believe, and between all this i don't wanna hurt you. you don't wanna be tied up to someone like me."

"someone like you?" jungkook repeats, smiling sadly as he shrugs his shoulders, "if you mean someone as strong as you, then maybe i do wish to be tied up to you. if by 'someone like you', you mean a girl as independent, caring, loving, bubbly, outgoing and adventurous as you, then sure i wanna be tied up with you. if 'someone like you' means someone as beautiful as you, as thoughtful as you; if it means a girl who loves to be held safe but is scared of letting go, a girl who goes out of her way for others but craves a loving pat on her back at night; then, park jiah, i would love to be tied to 'someone like you'. in fact, i just wanna glue myself to you."

jiah stares at him, her serious turning into a gradual frown as though he confused her, making him chuckle and lean down to peck her lips. "yeah. tie me with you, jiah. i swear i don't want anything else in my life. just you. i'll be the friend you need, your support system, your therapist, your personal assassin to whom you can just give the name of the person who bothers you, and i'll deal with it. i'll be your bodyguard, your driver, your- your simply anything. i just wanna be yours." he breathes out, still having her staring at him. "stop looking at me like that, my lines are done. now you need to say something."

"what?" she lets out.

"what, what ?"

"you just confessed to me, jeon." she gasps, covering her mouth, "while i was crying a minute ago and wanted to break our friendship because i might hurt you!"

"uh yeah, oops?" he grins, "so, what do you say?"

"what do i say— jeon! you cannot be serious right now! and how dare you kiss me—" interrupting her, he pecks her lips again, leaving her stare at him with eyes. "shit... i... jeon jungkook, oh my god!"

"what? tell me you don't like it." he challenges.

"but i'm sad right now." she pouts, hugging him again, "you're so bad. now i can't just let you go..."

"ah thank god." he hugs her tighter, lifting her off the floor and kisses her cheek a couple of times. "so uhm, can i kiss you properly?"

"you kissed me twice."

"i'm sure your ji kisses you the same. what i want is a bit more..." he looks down at her, licking his lips. "y'know?"

"not the time." she huffs. "we're sad right now."

"oh come on, you're not that sad. i made you smile."

"no, you did not. you didn't even wipe my tears."

"i can kiss them away, princess." he mumbles against her cheek, cupping her face, "nobody gets to make my girl upset. you don't need to worry about anything, alright? i'll be here with you through everything."

jiah smiles at that, glancing at him through wet lashes, "thank you, jungkook."

"anything for you." he says, then glances at jihun who is now playing with the soap dispenser on the wall. "hey! don't touch that." he pulls the baby away, checking his clothes and sighs in relief that he didn't got any mess over himself.

"oppas must be waiting for us." jiah gasps suddenly, "we've been here for so long!"

"i doubt they'd be waiting." jungkook chuckles.

"yoongi oppa would definitely wait for me."

"yeah, but my hyung knows me too well. and they might've just ordered and started eating."

"yoo'ki uncle eatin' ki'nchi." jihun says.

"see?" jungkook laughs.

"you're weird." jiah shakes her head, fixing herself a little and follows him out of the restroom. "don't tell oppa that i was crying."

"don't worry." jungkook hums.

___________________

a/n: i fucking need a jungkook in my life 😭 which god do i worship so i get a man like this jungkookie? 😔 i love writing this man, god! he's so sweet and caring and cheesy. he's such a fantasy✨

i know i'm a bit late, but merry christmas guys! 🌲❄️☃️ i hope all your wishes come true and your upcoming year turns out very fulfilling for you 💜✨

also. please follow me. idk why but i feel like you should follow me 💀