Jungkook's pov

I wake up to birds chirping and sunlight streaming in through the window, to a faint headache and the scent of coffee. Where am I?

I roll over in the massive bed as full consciousness hits me, and with it the memory of last night. Of Taehyung's family, me confronting his father, his amazing hyung and dongsaeng. Holding hands as we walked along the beach. Me and my loose tongue, feeling more comfortable around Taehyung than I ever had before. We spoke about past relationships and I told him about mine.

We kissed right outside this bedroom door. I asked him to be reckless with me.

And he said no.

I turn over in bed again and stare up at the ceiling. He was being rational. Nothing good would come out of sleeping together, regardless of how good it would feel. And while yesterday had felt natural, it wasn't; it was me fulfilling my end of the bargain.

From the sounds outside my bedroom door, he's already up, doubtlessly already hard at work. I allow five more seconds of feeling sorry for myself before I jump into the shower and get dressed.

There's a steaming cup of coffee waiting for me on the kitchen table when I get out, and an opened bag of bagels. Taehyung is already typing away at his laptop, hair wet from his own shower.

"Morning," he tells me. "Sleep well?"

"I did, yes."

"Help yourself." He nods at the food. "You'll need your energy today."

"I will?"

"Yes. We're working for a few hours, and after that we're going sailing."

I sit down opposite him and reach for the coffee cup. "You were serious about that?"

"Dead serious, Jungkook." His brown eyes look solemn, but there's humor there, too. "I hope you packed a swimsuit."

I did, but the idea of stripping down around him... I take another pull of coffee and wince at the strength. He brewed it dark.

Taehyung cocks his head. "Are you game?"

"Yes, of course I am. Show me the ropes."

"Oh, I will. You'll be a sailor when we're done."

I walk around him to see what he's working on. It's the opera house, and he rotates the models, letting me see the changes. "I added the beams here that you suggested."

"Wow." It's a completely different entryway now. I sit down next to him, absently tearing off a piece of bagel. "That looks great."

"It does, doesn't it. Here, why don't you open yours..."

I log on to the same project on my computer, and we spend the rest of the morning side by side, designing an opera house for the ages.

-

-

It's early afternoon when we finally pack up our things and head out to sail. The drive to the marina is calm, the radio playing a song. Taehyung's tapping along to the beat of the song and I steal a sideways glance at him. I'd been intrigued and attracted to the man he was in the office-an efficient hardass. Now, seeing him relaxed in his element, I'm dangerously close to another feeling entirely.

He shoots me a sideways look. "You've been quiet this morning. You're not thinking about last night, are you?"

"No."

His lips twitch, like he knows I'm lying, but he doesn't comment. He pulls into a small parking lot and guides me through a set of trees in silence. The ocean glitters through the leaves and then we're there, at a beautiful natural harbor with boats bobbing on soft waves. It looks heavenly.

"Come on," he says. "Our boat is over here."

At the end of the dock, I stop in my tracks. "This thing?"

"Yes." He tosses our bag with snacks and water onboard and begins untying ropes with quick, steady hands. He pauses when he realizes I've stopped. "Something wrong?"

"This boat is massive."

His eyes light up. "No, it's not. It's mid-sized. Don't worry, we'll mostly use the motor, not the sails. We can handle it with two people."

"But I don't know how to. I'll be in your way."

"No chance. I have faith in you."

I want to say that I don't-I don't know how to tie a single knot-but I don't want to sound weak.

"Don't worry," he says, eying my expression. "You're sailing with the winner of the Paradise Seaside's Junior Sailing Regatta. You're in good hands."

I laugh, the tension broken, and climb onto the boat. It's solid under my feet, rocking rhythmically with the waves. "All right," I say. "Tell me what to do."

He's a good teacher. I'm given instructions, clearly explained, to turn the key in the ignition. To turn the handle toward the starboard side-"your left, Jungkook, your left"-and then we're moving.

He ties up the last of the dock lines and comes to stand next to me at the helm.

"Go to the bow," he tells me. "Help guide me out of the harbor."

"Okay. What do I look out for?"

"We need to stay between the red buoys. They're clearly marked."

The bow of the boat quickly becomes my favorite spot. I watch as we cleave the glittering blanket of water in two and feel the spray of seawater.

Taehyung barely needs my instructions-he steers us out of the harbor on memory-but I give them regardless. And then we're cruising along the coast, with little coves and rocks and windswept trees.

I close my eyes and lean back. The sun is warm on my skin and the smell of ocean is all around me. Why have I never done this before?

"Enjoying yourself?"

I look up to see Taehyung at the helm, a hand on the steering. With his thick hair swept back by the wind and a pair of sunglasses on, he looks like he belongs on the water.

"Yes!"

I close my eyes and lose myself in the feeling for a bit, of not doing anything. No work, no expectations. I don't know how long we sail for, in silence, the only sound that of waves and seagulls and the motor.

He steers into a small cove and cuts the engine. We cruise softly to a stop, in the middle of a dark-blue lagoon, the shoreline rocky and tree-covered. It's gorgeous.

Taehyung's undoing his shirt, button after button revealing skin and taut muscles. "Come on."

"What?"

"We're swimming."

"We can't swim here."

"Why not?" He's tosses his shirt aside. His skin is faintly tan, a smattering of hair on his chest, leading down to a taut stomach with the outline of a six-pack. Somehow, with all his desk-sitting, he finds the time to look like this? He radiates vitality with every limb.

Taehyung meets my gaze. "Ready?"

I square my shoulders and reach for the hem of my T-shirt. I pull it over my head, and while I like my body and has six pakcs, nerves still dance in my stomach.

"So," I repeat, and kick off my shoes. "You go in first."

Taehyung's eyes sweep over my form in one smooth motion. His face is completely impassive, almost pained in its tautness, and then he dives off the edge of the boat and clears the surface in one strong, beautiful line.

I take a deep breath and jump in after him. The water is shockingly cold, far more than I'd imagined, and I push up to the surface as fast as I can.

"Shit! It's freezing!"

Taehyung laughs at me, water droplets flying as he shakes hair out of his eyes.

"Yes."

"Is it always this cold?"

"Yes," he says, completely unapologetic, and swims toward me with strong arms. "We're right on the coast, battered by ocean currents."

"You knew."

"Of course I did." He flips over and floats past me on his back, the picture of serenity, as if the coldness doesn't bother him. "Are you saying this is too cold for you?"

I splash him.

He straightens and sputters, something flashing in his eyes. "Juvenile again?"

"I guess you bring it out in me. No, don't you dare-" I'm splashed back, a wave that plasters my hair to my face and brings me sputtering to the surface. "You're impossible."

"You started it." He's closer now, long legs kicking beneath the surface. My mouth is salty from the seawater and I flick a tendril of wet hair back.

"It's not that cold when you get used to it."

He smiles, wide and true, and nods. "Profound."

"You seem so relaxed out here, on the water. When did you learn to sail?"

"As soon as I could walk. It's sort of the official Kim family pastime."

"Like building?"

He grimaces and dives. I kick to stay afloat and watch as he glides underneath the surface, only to appear many feet away, finding a rock to stand on. With his hair slicked to his face and his wide shoulders rising up from the water, he looks like he belongs here.

I swim after him.

"Yes," he says, "although I'm the only one who pursued that."

"But that was because you liked it. Architecture, I mean. No one could build an opera house like that if they didn't truly love it."

He looks at me for a long moment. "I did love it. Still do."

"We're similar that way."

"We're similar in many ways. More than I thought in the beginning."

I dive below the surface too, icy water closing above my head, and take a few long strokes. When I surface, I'm much closer to him than I thought. Dark eyes gaze back at me.

"There's more space on this rock," he says. "If you can reach it with your toes, that is."

I can't, and he laughs, arms closing around my waist as I nearly dip below the surface in my attempt to reach the rock.

"Just one of the ways in which we're different. You're a dwarf."

"I'm not, I am just few inches short. And there's nothing wrong with dwarfs.My bestie Jiminie is."

His smile doesn't falter. "Never said there was, shorty."

My hands find his forearms under the surface, holding on, and they tense like steel bands under my grip. There are little water droplets in his eyelashes.

"I'm on to you, you know."

"You are?"

"Yes. I'm your date to ensure we get more work done on the project, and I accept that reasoning. But it's not the only reason." I tilt my head, regarding him under my lashes. "Am I moral support? Was that the reason yesterday, with your appa?"

"No. I didn't bring you as my bodyguard, but you did an extraordinary job at it nonetheless. If I ever need one, you'll be my first call."

"Really?"

"Yes," he says, his voice growing patient. "I've been disagreeing with my appa since the day I was born. I came early, and he didn't make it to the hospital in time. We didn't exactly get off on the right foot."

"He's an idiot, then."

Taehyung's smile widens. "He's difficult," he qualifies. "Sometimes a complete asshole. But he taught me how to sail, how to work hard. How to build stuff. And if you ask any of my siblings, they'll be the first to tell you I'm the favorite."

"I imagine that wasn't always easy."

"Mhm," he says. "No, I suppose it wasn't."

The mood has turned serious, and I smile again, wanting to see his own in response. It's become addicting, drawing out those rare smiles of his. "So if I'm not here for moral reasons... why?"

He chuckles, and the hands on my waist tighten. "You won't take my answer at face value, will you?"

"No. It's clearly not because I'm inconvenient, since you didn't want to sleep with me yesterday. I was determined not to mention it, but here I am, bringing it up."

He smiles crookedly, and my heart does a pathetic little dance in my chest. "That's what you thought? Jungkook, I wanted to. I've never wanted anything more."

"Hmm. Really?"

"Oh yes." He ducks his head, pressing a salty kiss to my lips. I cling to him fiercely, and he pulls me closer, our bodies molded together under the surface.

"I could kiss you forever," he murmurs, pushing my mess of wet hair back, "but I know that I shouldn't."

"Hmm. You're good at not doing things you want to do."

He laughs. "Yes. You asked me for my workout routine, Jungkook, but it's this. It's me doing things I don't want to do, day after day."

I slide my hands up his shoulder, coming to rest around his neck. "That's not a very fun way to live."

"No, but it gets things done." He releases me and flips on his back, starting a slow paddle toward the boat. "It also helps keep me from making a mistake."

Because sleeping together would be a mistake. It's something I already know, but I've desperately been trying to forget.

When we finally climb on board, I stretch out on deck. The sun is hot and my shorts small-it shouldn't take long to dry. Next to me, Taehyung is wringing out his hair with a towel, but he stops and looks me over. With my sunglasses down, it's easy to pretend I don't see his heated perusal.

"I should never have hired you," he mutters, and something dark flips in my stomach. Yes, I think, even though that would mean my career was over. You shouldn't have.

On our way back, Taehyung shows me how to hoist the main sail. He teaches me how to tie a clove hitch knot with strong, assured hands. And then he cuts the engine, and we're cleaving the water silently, just us and the waves and the sun.

I don't think I've ever experienced anything better.

Taehyung sits next to me on the helm. "You like it?"

"Sailing?"

"Yes."

I can tell my answer is important to him, that he's sharing something he loves with me. "Yes. It's peaceful. I feel like it's just us and the ocean, the coves, nature... and there are no rules."

"Not many," Taehyung says. "We do have to follow the laws of the sea."

"Why do you like it?"

"Sailing?"

"Yeah."

He reaches over to flick a strand of hair back from my forehead. Its drying in large waves, the salt bringing out a few curls. His eyes, normally reserved, are brown pools of emotion.

"My mind goes quiet when I'm at sea," he says. "There are no goals or plans. Everything about shore life fades away, and there's just stillness. We've been doing this for millennia, you know."

"Sailing?"

"Yes. A sailor from two thousand years ago could command this vessel just fine."

"I've never thought about it that way."

His small smile is back, a curve of his lips. My heart, already in danger of falling entirely for him, does a little flip. "I'm glad I could share it with you."

"I'm glad you did, too. Even if you didn't warn me about the water temperature."

"And miss out on your reaction? Never."

We sail back in comfortable silence, the sun beating down on us, the waves lulling me into a state of bliss. Under his guidance, I help steer, and he laughingly calls me captain. The marina eventually comes back into view and we have to roll down the main sail. I feel a pang of sadness when he turns on the motor again and the beautiful silence is replaced by the dull sound of it churning.

He sees it in my eyes and smiles.

"You get it," he says. "I knew you would, you know."

We anchor along the dock and he shows me yet another knot, this time to secure the boat against the constant rocking of the waves.

"Let's stay here for a bit," I say on impulse. "At the dock. We don't have to go back yet, do we?"

Taehyung doesn't protest, sitting down on the weathered dock. "Not yet."

We bask in the late afternoon sunshine and the sound of waves. It's almost like being at sea, without the constant to-do-lists and things to accomplish.

Taehyung has closed his eyes, leaning back on the dock, and I take the opportunity to study him.

He's a hardass, an impossible man, an enigma in expensive suits. And he's a man, sitting next me in an old sailor's sweater and a faint smile on his face. His skin has already begun to tan from the day outside, with the ease of skin that's long been exposed to the sun. I can imagine his younger self clearly, a carefree smile against slight tan skin and thick brown hair. Daek brown eyes alight with laughter.

He's so handsome, so beautifully out of reach, that I can't tear my eyes away.

Taehyung doesn't open his eyes. "You're staring at me."

"No, I'm not."

He opens one eye. "Yes, you are. See? I always win."

"This isn't a competition."

He leans back on his hands, eyes closed again. "Everything is a competition."

Is it?

For so long I've been of the same mindset. I've met him step by step and game for game. I've loved our witty battles, to stretch my mental legs with him.

It's felt like foreplay, layered with deeper meaning.

I always win. He had told me that himself, once. When had I forgotten that that included me? He admitted to wanting to sleep with me, but not to losing any points in our imaginary game. Is that really why he stopped it last night?

Taehyung sighs and stretches, starting to get up. "Unfortunately, we have plans tonight."

"Ah, yes. Our mini bachelor and bachelorette parties."

"Yes. I'm sorry I have to surrender you to my hyung like that."

"I'm not. I like Jin hyung. Besides, I'll see you at the house later."

His eyes glitter, and something in my stomach clenches tight. It might be a game to him, but my attraction feels real-more real than it has in a long, long time.

"You sure will."

-

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To be continued.........

The sexual frustration is on it's peak what wi happen ti the wedding last??