"Stay still," Jungkook breathed out. "You might hurt yourself."

I looked down, just to realize that our shoes were surrounded by the shattered pieces of the Chinese vase. He released me slowly and gazed down at me with a grave tone. " But then, do you really mean what you just said?"

"Of course!" I returned his gaze as we stood close to each other. "Y-yeah! You're more important to me than anything." I nodded repeatedly as I spoke. "You're precious to me ever since we were kids, and that didn't change until now."

Trying to hide his smile, he turned around and pretended to approach the sofa with a frown while laying the plastic bag of food I just noticed he had been carrying. "If I am more important than anything, then you should have kept your promise. You said you would come quickly after you're done with your business, but you never showed up."

"Tss, how can you still be sulking about that?" I exclaimed while following him to the mattress, making sure to not step over the shattered fragments on the floor.

"Ehh, a promise is a promise. You should have told me earlier that you would be busy for three weeks straight!" my best friend snorted while unpacking the take out food from the bag. Across the coffee table, he reached out his hand with a spoon and motioned me to eat.

Gulping at the sight of jajangmyeon prepared in front of me and suddenly feeling all the hunger inside after seeing the food on the table-

"But then..." he pulled away. "You should learn how to keep your promise next time."

I nodded quickly, immediately agreeing so that I could stuff my watering mouth with food. "I promise I won't do it again."

He displayed a dominant smile before giving me the spoon. "I don't like people who don't know how to keep their promise. I mean, why make a promise if they can't fulfill it?"

I stopped chewing my food as I was reminded of my broken promise ten years ago. He has a trauma on promises and has trust issues. Was it because of me? Once again, guilt took over me, but I tried to brush it off my mind and continued to focus on the food.

I gobbled the spicy noodles, not minding to check at him as the taste of the warm food filled my belly. I was so hungry that I almost forgot my best friend was there. The atmosphere was silent the whole time. When all the food was gone, I searched the plastic bag for more, gaining me an exasperated sigh. That was when my focus shifted to Jungkook, only to catch him sitting over his folded leg and crossing his hands.

"What is he thinking?"

"Jungkook-shi?" I asked, waving my hand and moving my body from side to side to catch his attention.

He blinked and shook his head, as if breaking away from his a weird thought. "Uh... you done?"

"Yes. Thanks for buying me a meal," I answered while wiping my mouth with a tissue and dumping it on the dirty plate. "What were you thinking?"

He shook his head with a smile and shifted himself into another comfortable position. "Nothing... you just remind me of someone who eats like a piggy."

"Ah... your ex-best friend," I casually guessed and nodded, my eyes eventually growing wide after realizing something. "WHAT?! Did you just call her a piggy?!" I stood up straight and pointed at him angrily. "He thinks I was a pig?!"

"Wow what's wrong with you?" He stood up too and made a confused look, his eyebrows arching in question.

"You just called 'her' a piggy." I frowned at him.

His eyebrows furrowed even more and peered at me in confusion. "I called her a 'piggy' because she eats everything on her plate when she's hungry and I think it was cute, not because she's fat or something."

"He thinks... I was cute? No way."

"Miss Lee... why are you getting mad for  her when you didn't even meet? Hm?" Jungkook stooped over the coffee table and pinched my cheek as I continued to give him a stare. "You're really just like her. Aigoo... Now come on. You have to finish your work."

"Jungkookah... you have no idea how very close I am with your 'ex-best friend'... because that was me."

Minutes later, we were on our way outside the gallery.

Jungkook was PATIENT ENOUGH to wait for me to finish my tasks. Actually his patience lasted for thirty minutes when he found himself bored, he started to annoy me and ask for attention. With such a nuisance accompanying me in the empty building, he successfully convinced me to go home.

The evening rain turned into a shower, so we had to share JK's umbrella as we walked towards his car.

"You should be thankful that I came, or else you would be going home alone late at night under a weather like this," he said with a smug look, "... and with an empty stomach."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms because of the cold breeze. "I can always call a taxi. And one more thing, I didn't tell you to come. Anyway, I'm still thankful for you for coming and giving me company in my office."

"You're welcome. Even if you almost sent me lying at the hospital," he dropped while we continued to walk.

"Why did you insist on driving for an hour just to come and annoy me at my office at 1:00 in the evening? Didn't you have a tight schedule tomorrow? You should have rested."

"I just wanted to see you. You know... I already got used to your presence in every photoshoot we had. It feels empty when you're not there. I had no one to tease around with and massage my back when I'm exhausted... "

"He missed me. I'm glad he remembers me even when I wasn't with him."

I felt something on my cheeks as I turned to my side to glance at him, his milky skin and 180-degree angle jawline visible to me. "I missed you too, idiot."

Noticing that I was cold, he tugged me close to his side and hung his arm on my shoulder. A strange feeling literally slithered on my skin after him doing that, making me pull my head immediately away from him and looked at him up and down.

"Jungkook-shi, what are you doing?"

"Why? Can't I do that to my friend?" He replied with an eyebrow raised and his eyes teasing.

"Are you crazy? Did you forget that you are a celebrity? I don't wanna see my face on Dispatch with you!"

"What?" Jungkook cracked a laugh and pulled me back to his side, letting our shoulders bump against each other. "Oh, come on, it's already the middle of the night, and there are no people around! And who wants to have a dating rumor with you? You're not even that pretty."

"Repeat that again."

"Sorry." He cackled and dashed off towards the door of the car.

"Stop right there!" I ran after him and tried to hit him with my bag, but he quickly avoided it, failing to open the car. "Did you just say I'm ugly?! As if you're the most handsome asshole in the world!"

Laughing loudly, he let go of the umbrella and ran around the car while I chased him.

"You're really not hearing a thing, huh? Wait till I catch you!" I threw my bag on the ground and seized him, Jungkook was still using the car to hide and run away.

I screamed and yelled while he was full of energy and laughter, making me warm up from his gentle smiles. The cold did not bother my skin anymore. We forgot about the rain shower wetting our clothes as we chased each other. This was the feeling. Being happy together and just being ourselves. And also, for a moment, I saw our younger selves chasing each other around a tree trunk.

"I wish we could stay like this... forever."

^^. . .^^

Finally, the day of the art fair we were waiting for came and was held in one of Japan's famous museums. I had a busy day, tending to different clients and meeting well-known art collectors and gallerists from every country. Artists from Europe never disappoint. They were always present on every occasion like today.

My team and I were excited at the beginning of the day, but as hours ticked by, we felt our energies drained and were eager to pack our things and go back home. After staying two days in the foreign country, my team flew back to Korea. We were all exhausted, but everyone was glad that all of our pressured days and efforts were worth it and was finally through. Following our arrival at the airport in the evening, we found ourselves yawning and could not wait to run home for a rest.

With heads hanging on low and slumped shoulders, we slowly dragged our luggage towards the van waiting for us to take us home. Our zombie walk got startled by a honk not far away from us. I recognized the familiar guy coming out of his Mercedez-Benz. Black cap, black mask, black leather, black car... the epitome of black combat boots, Jeon Jungkook.  "I'll get sick of seeing him wearing the same color each day. Anyway, it fits him every day."

Min-ho, who was staggering beside me, suddenly woke up from his sleepy state after recognizing him too. His eyes popped wide as he let out a surprised gasp. But before he could react, I covered his mouth and stopped him from calling the attention of paparazzi.

Although my employees at SSU Art Gallery were aware of my friendship with the artist, they could not contain their excitement as they saw him approaching, making me scoff at them with a smile. At least through him, they were able to feel temporary euphoria after a tiring day.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after, advancing forward to meet him.

With a secretive smile, he took my luggage from my hand and answered, "To take you home, of course."

"Did you really come to bring me home? I didn't ask you though," I wondered, still doubting if he really came to pick me up voluntarily. I don't always trust him ever since I got used to his tricks.

He nodded then looked over my shoulder to wave at the others.

Even though deep inside I felt grateful and happier to see him again, I realized how our friendship was progressing. We grew comfortable with each other and established a strong bond together. With a smile, I faced my team and made an announcement. "Thank you everyone for your hard work. Let's meet again at the gallery and discuss the result of the fair. But right now I want you to take a rest and make up for the time you haven't been with your family and friends. I am declaring a two-day day off for everyone who is here today!"

"Oh, that's what I wanted to hear right now!" A staff member yelled while fisting the air.

"Yey!" Despite their tired expressions, they were able to cheer up because of the good news.

"Ms. Lee! You are the best!"

"Thank you Ma'am!"

"That's it for now. Min-ho, please take care of the rest for me," I winked at him and waved farewell to everyone as I turned to Jungkook, signifying him that we were leaving.

Min-ho gave me a thumbs up with his lazy head tilted to the side. "I was hoping that you would let me join you, but yeah, anyway, I'm okay." He turned to the right and pulled himself together. "Everyone! Follow me to the vehicle."

I turned to JK, who was scoffing at Min-ho. "CEO Lee Shanshan is the best," he teased me before leading towards his car.

Minutes after we separated from the others, Jungkook asked me after we were on the highway. "How did the art fair go?"

"Tiring but satisfying. We had our products sold out," I answered while letting out a yawn. "How come you still have the time to fetch me at the airport?"

"Ah, I took three days off," he responded, his eyes looking straight in front while he drove.

"He always makes a way to see me."

"I heard that famous artists came to your exposition. Min-ho told me you even made a speech."

"It was not a big deal..." I spoke softly while leaning my head to the side of the car, the dark sky and streetlights making my eyes droop. "I had a speech representing the teams of South Korea because *yawn* I was the only one who could *yawn* speak English fluently."

"Really? I wish I was there to cheer for you. You would see me lifting a banner from the audience with a 'GO CUTEST IDIOT IN THE WORLD!' written on it."

I wanted to hit him right now but my sleepy mode had me stuck comfortably in my seat. Feeling myself getting more and more sleepy, I tried to focus on keeping my eyes open. I wanted to give Jungkook company and catch up with him so I tried to speak more. "I met some famous photographers too... like Mr. Moriyama..." I yawned once more. "...and Daisuke Takakura... I'm a fan of them...I was nervous with excitement because it was my first time seeing him. " I continued to talk until my eyelids became heavy and darkness shut me up. Before I knew it, sleep had already seized my body.



^^. . ^^

^^ Photo: by @stylebyJK from Twitter