jungkook wasn't in the guest room he'd been left last night.

her gaze surveyed the room in frantic, panicked glances and if it wasn't for the muffled conversation downstairs, she'd be tipped to the edge of a breakdown. lalisa trudged down the flight of stairs before storming inside the kitchen to find jungkook leaning over the counter and wearing only a pair of jeans.

as if sensing her presence, he turned around and their eyes connected.

"oh?" her gaze pinned him, following his every movement with palpable suspicion when stretched both arms and crossed them behind his head. every inch of his exposed skin glimmered underneath the sunlight and lalisa mentally reprimanded herself for almost lowering her gaze. 

"good timing." her eyebrow rose in a inquiring arch as if expecting him to further elaborate, to which he responded with only a curve of his lips. premeditatedly avoiding her confusion before providing her with another drawl of his raspy voice. "we were talking about you."

this time, her neck craned to stare at her aunt whose shoulders arose in a shrug.

"i wonder," her voice was painted soft, with just a smear of sharp edges and feigned interest, and her steps decreased the distance until she was standing beside her aunt. close enough to pinch her sides without jungkook taking much notice of it. "my aunt can be quite the chatterbox."

she swallowed down a wince and lalisa smiled in sheer satisfaction.

"your aunt dug into your most cherished memories." he touched the tip of his nose and smiled. not a genuine quirk of his lips but a rather teasing one that gave away his upper hand on embarrassing things about her. lalisa grimaced and slumped into her seat in defeat. 

the scrapping of another chair hammered inside her ears and her teeth gritted as jungkook sat diagonally from her. 

her eyes blinked wearily, still processing last night events, and her better judgment forced her gaze upon the white wall beside him instead of his toned chest. exposed and stretching along toned muscles.

she hadn't realize it then, but jungkook was vexingly well-built.

"i'm quite intrigued—" traitor. his voice dripped like honey but his eyes shone with the aching desire to torment her and the barest caress of his knees against hers caused her muscles to stiffen. "—should i call you puckered lips or miss mischief?"

he did not go there. her lips parted and all the colour drained from her face. 

"wait—" his chest rumbled in a raspy chuckle and he leaned over to pluck a strand of hair behind her ear. their faces inches apart and their breaths mingling. "—as much as both them sound fairly catchy to the hearing, i think you'd prefer spittle ki—"

svelte fingers curled around the nape of his neck and pulled him into a tight grip.

"don't you dare." lalisa spat in a menacing whisper and her fingers threaded through his sultry hair to tug at it as if to prove a point. he blinked, unfazed, before covering her hand with his much larger one and flashing her a pleased smile. 

"i knew you were the aggressive type, but i might have underestimated you."

-

"you punched me in the nose."

i should have done worse, lalisa mused. enjoying the sight of him clutching to the bridge of his nose a bit too much. 

in one clean, swift movement, her knee protruded to angle and press against his popliteal fossa forcing him to buckle over the ground. the position he was currently in making it easier for lalisa to twist his arm behind his back and mobilize him in a tight hold. 

"you puked all over my satin sheets." her rotula pressed deeper into his spine eliciting a grunt from the back of his throat. this was their second week going over their self-defence routine and she managed to hold him down which was a great progress. and pleasant. to have him bent over the floor and forcing his neck to crane so he could stare at her. "consider it a tit for tat." 

"you know—" lalisa was too immersed in the thought that she had the upper hand to even sense his free hand crawling up her calf. and maybe, just maybe, she might have messed up by not taking both of his arms into her hold. 

as quick as she held him into a lock, jungkook took her sudden distraction to pull at her leg and roll them over. the current position leaving lalisa in disadvantage as their foreheads bumped and a hiss slipped past her lips. 

"—that wasn't very nice." he rasped, breath tickling her face from how close he was. he had one arm on each side of her head and their chests were almost flushed if it wasn't for the leverage from his hands pressed against the floor to keep most of his weight from shifting down on her. 

"get off." her voice faltered and she cursed through grit teeth at the failed demand. jungkook, on the other side, seemed amused when tilting his head to the side and regarding her from beneath thick, curled lashes. "i think i'm comfortable like this." 

it was easy to project her leg and hit him were it hurt the most but he strategically had his knees between her thighs. use both arms then, her conscious screamed at her. and have him suffocate me with his weight? i don't think so, she remarked. 

"you look fairly beautiful from this perspective. beneath me." he grinned, each word pronounced slowly, deliberately and coated with an innuendo that had lalisa rolling her eyes in disgust. prick. her eyes fluttered in a gentle bat of her lashes and her hands inched close to his ribcage in what she hoped would be a successful counterattack. 

jungkook shrunk away from her tickling almost instantly, hunching over his knees to shield himself, and lalisa smiled in satisfaction. so he had a weakness. 

"that was unfair." he glanced at her and rubbed his sides to ease the pain inflicted from her nails sinking into his flesh earlier. maybe she went a bit too far, but the point is, she got rid of him without having to do much. "i never said i played fair, did i?"

as if on cue for lalisa to seal her mouth before throwing another remark, the door was opened revealing hyun-tae on the other side. something held between the extension of his fingers catching her attention as she stood up to dust her pants.

"there's something for you, lalisa. a letter."