Mikayla

I smile to myself as I watch the coffee pour into my mug. That silly smile doesn't go away, especially in moments when I'm alone and thinking about all the memories that just make me happy.

It's already been two weeks since the weekend I stayed at Jungkook's house and all I can say is that those were the two best days we spent together. Despite everything that happened before that.

I'm just thankful that everything is settled between us now, even though I think we still have a long way to go to really know each other entirely. There are a lot of things I don't know about Jungkook, although I imagine it's not like that the other way around because I can't keep my mouth shut and I share unnecessary information about myself.

Which Jungkook seems to like, mind you.

It's ten a.m., a little later than I usually make my coffee, but I almost fell asleep in front of the computer. Only a few weeks are left until the new creative director will be announced and it makes me a little jittery inside because we will then know how the two groups will be split. I hope Megan is in my group.

The coffee maker stops steaming and I take the mug in my hand, the smell filling my nose. I take a big sip and hum to myself in delight. But I still think coffee smells better than it tastes.

Adding an extra spoonful of sugar to the coffee, which would probably be frowned upon because I'm adding it too late, I give it a stir and am now happy with the way it tastes. Work is calling me and that's why I turn to go back to my seat, but I stop in my steps when I see Jungkook enter the kitchen.

His mouth rises on one side into a lopsided smile that looks bumpy. It's untrained like he's tucked it away to show it for special moments only, but it's his interpretation of a smile. His way of saying he's happy to see me at this moment. And I can't help but flash him my warmest smile back.

"Hey," I say as he then stops in front of me.

"Hi." he breathes back, his eyes traveling down my body and back up again for a split second. "I was on my way to a meeting and saw you here as I was walking by."

"Coffee makes me fidgety, but I couldn't help but make one because otherwise I would have fallen asleep and not even an apocalypse would be able to wake me up." I laugh and he leans his elbow against the counter.

The material of the jacket around his arms strains with this position and I get a glimpse of his muscular upper arms. And his broad shoulders. Or the shirt that tightens across his chest. I clear my throat and contemplate my decision of wanting to drink a warm coffee. I should have gone with something cold.

"You didn't sleep well?" he asks, his eyebrows coming together as his eyes burn into mine.

"I did, but still." I wave him off, assuring him it's no big deal. "You know I'm probably related to koalas, judging by the amount of sleep I get."

A puff of air leaves his mouth, resembling a laugh. I wonder what it would sound like. When he genuinely laughs. Heartily. Without restraint or boundary.

He then pushes himself off the counter, looking down at my mug. "What are you drinking?"

"Oh, that's—"

Jungkook typically lets me finish even if it's just trash coming out of my mouth, but lately, his lips seem to love stopping me mid-word. But before it can go anywhere else, his lips are gone again and I'm left yearning.

Reminding myself where we are right now, I quickly look around to make sure no one has seen us. I'll make sure to scold Jungkook someday into being more careful, but right now I'm just speechless and staring at his lips.

He was the one who said he couldn't kiss me in the building and yet he's the one breaking his promises. He's endured it for two weeks and that's actually quite impressive, considering I caught him stopping himself from leaning in.

Patience apparently is his middle name.

He licks his lips. "Cappuccino with sugar."

"Correct." I smile. "Oh, do you want me to make you a coffee for the meeting, too?"

He shakes his head. "I just got what I need to be awake for the meeting."

He seriously needs to stop saying things like that or it won't be long before I turn into a puddle at some point. Jungkook doesn't talk much, but when he does say something, well...

"I'll see you later, yeah?" he announces with a jump of his right eyebrow that I find shamelessly sexy and I can't form any coherent words so I just nod.

I watch his back as he exits the kitchen and I'm left alone with my cheeks red and hot. He makes me feel things that no one else has been able to. I've had a handful of boyfriends - well, maybe only three to be exact - and they've said similar things, but I don't know.

This bond between us is a tad inexplicable and even confusing at times. In a good way, of course. Maybe he does it unconsciously, or maybe it's just his nature coming more and more to the surface with each little step he feels more comfortable with me.

The first time he used the word girlfriend - yeah, I was ready to drop my panties right there and then. Even though he didn't propose in a completely eye-opening way, I knew we had taken a step forward in what we have. I was just stunned to hear it so nonchalantly.

He said he wants to be with me, to have it work between us and I want the same, so we don't need to frantically seek any more words. We are enjoying this little and private relationship we have right now and I can't complain at all.

I start to feel hot and flustered again as memories from that particular morning flood my head. I'm lucky I'm alone right now or someone would think that I'm about to pass out.

The way he touched me, the words he heavily whispered in my ear with his deep voice. I can feel his scent all over my face, even though he's already gone. The softness of his fingers is all over my skin.

I put the coffee mug into the sink, no longer able to bear the warmth of the drink. Fanning myself, I try to make the temperature and the redness disappear from my face. This is not good for my health.

After I am sure that my face holds no traces of the memories of our private moments, I go back to my seat. But the concentration on work disappears as I unconsciously start thinking about the things he told me. About the glimpses into his life I got that weekend.

I still don't know what to feel. How I'm supposed to react. It's hard to pretend as though I don't know anything when I have total awareness of what's going through his head. The thoughts he has when he's alone and sometimes when he's not alone.

I knew there was more to the eye than Jungkook shows to the people around him. However, I don't know if he is trying to hide that to protect himself or to ignore it, to cover it up.

I have to admit that a lot of things make more sense to me now. The way he reacts to some issues, I mean. It helps me understand him better even though I wasn't judging him for the way he acted, to begin with.

And I can't help but think back to the piece of paper I accidentally dropped and caught a glimpse of, not realizing what was on it, of course. I didn't mean to be intrusive, but the words left me speechless and I couldn't take my eyes off of it until Jungkook took the paper out of my hand.

I can only imagine how hard it is for him to carry so many responsibilities and expectations on his shoulders. The assumption of what people who don't even really know him think of him. How much stress he has to endure, thinking he has to live up to the expectations of others.

I couldn't read much of his scribbling because the page was literally full of it, and I can only think how chaotic his head must be that the pen in his hand never ceases to write. But what I have seen is that he wants to be the version of himself that everyone thinks he is.

He wants to be the person that everyone sees in him. That perfect human being who can do everything and isn't afraid of anything. The person who runs an entire company at a young age and is one of the most successful businessmen.

Maybe he even lost himself in the process. No longer knew who he actually is, what his values and beliefs are. The fear of not being able to achieve what others perceive him to be perhaps has grown day by day inside him.

Knowing that Jungkook was in therapy for this and allowed himself to fall so deep into a dark hole hurts me beyond measure. I wish there was something I could do to show him what an amazing person he is, even if he's not perfect. Even if he makes mistakes.

I have never had to deal with depression and severe anxiety, thankfully so, so I'm not sure if it's something I even have the right to have an opinion on. I will never know what Jungkook really went through or what he felt. Still feels.

But the fact that he was so open and honest with me, confessed something that I know was hard for him to confess, makes me proud and appreciative about it. He trusted me enough to open up and share things about his life.

I couldn't help but think about it the last few days, wishing he would get over all of this if it's still the way he feels. Maybe I can help him understand how much he means to all of us.

This all also explains why he comes in earlier and leaves later than everyone else, so he doesn't have to run into anyone. Or the times he's become fidgety when he's anxious and nervous. And why he scolded Mr. Park to drop the matter when Mr. Park mentioned he was good at everything he does at the spa resort.

I can't help but think he doesn't like it when people praise him because it makes him feel like he has to perform harder than he already does.

He needs to understand that the people around him don't like him because he is successful or good at what he does. He means a lot to me because he is just him, with his beautiful qualities and his flaws.

He makes all the butterflies in my stomach flutter around with just a simple glance of his deep eyes. When his mouth tugs up, it's everything I want to look at. He is in the smallest things, making sure everyone is okay even if he looks like he doesn't care.

And while it took some time for us to even get to this point, I can say that he's shown a lot of gentlemanly gestures over the past few weeks.

"I can smell your thoughts from fifty miles away," Megan whispers in my ear, disengaging me from my absence. "If you keep smiling that big, I'm afraid flies are going to start gathering in your teeth."

Turning back to her, I see the teasing look in her eyes. "I'm a vegetarian."

"Gross." She wrinkles her nose and goes back to her work.

I laugh under my breath, berating myself to stop thinking about Jungkook at work or in public in the future because I can't help the smile that always fights its way onto my lips.

I shake my head and shove all the butterfly-provoking feelings into a box and head to the corner with the printers with a stack of documents to scan.

I place the document on the machine and close the flap before hitting the scan button and making sure the settings are the right ones. I send it from the device to my email address for further processing.

After I'm done scanning all the documents, I turn around, ready to go back to my seat. Lunch break is in half an hour, so I want to work until then, but I stop rooted to the spot when I spot someone standing at the end of the hallway, which for a brief moment startles me.

It's Ethan.

He looks in my direction and with our meeting eyes, his confidence skyrockets and he takes this as an invitation to walk slowly toward me. Panic rises in me, not because I'm afraid of him trying something again. I don't think Ethan is stupid enough to make a scene with so many people around.

I'm just not in the mood to deal with him right now and give him my precious time. I am done with Ethan and everything he has caused and the last thing I want to do now is talking to him about whatever he wants to talk about.

I cradle the documents in my arms closer and ignore his gaze on me. But just as I'm about to walk past him, he blocks my path by standing in the middle of the hallway so I can't escape to his right or left.

"Mikayla, I just want to talk," he says as I make another attempt to slip past him.

I scoff. "I believe we have nothing to talk about because you've shown that words aren't enough for you to respect someone else's decision," I say, keeping my head held high despite my heart beating fast in my ribcage.

"I know I messed up, but all I want from you is to let me explain." he takes a step closer and I take a bigger one back to keep the distance between us. The hallway is empty, but if he dared touch me I wouldn't hesitate to let everyone know.

"What do you want to explain, Ethan?" I draw my eyebrows together. "That you can't handle the fact that a simple woman like me rejected you? Or maybe the bruise you left on my arm that didn't fade for days?"

My voice is filled with disappointment because for the longest time I thought Ethan was an honorable man. When Jungkook saw the bruise on my arm, he literally boiled with anger.

"Yes, you are right. I don't know what got into me and it's something I regret doing." He tries, but I shake my head. "I'm not that kind of man."

"I'm sure you're not," I say with little conviction. "But I'm not interested in finding out."

I get ready to walk past him, but he takes another step closer. I look up at him and his blue eyes are filled with pleading and desperation. How many times do I have to tell him I want nothing to do with him?

I glance around me to check if anyone is around. And that's when I realize we're in the hallway that leads to the conference room Jungkook walked into an hour ago.

I don't know how long his meeting will last, but if it ends in the next few minutes, he will see Ethan here with me because he has to walk through this hallway to get to his office. Panic rises in me because the last thing I would want is for problems to arise with Ethan's arrival.

"Just one chance to make it up to you." I hear Ethan's voice.

I take a breath. "I don't—"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

The voice echoes through the hallway, deep and menacing. I know right away who it is, and I wonder why the odds aren't ever in my favor. I could have handled this - I think - without making a scene, but now I'm not confident about it. And hearing Jungkook swear like that at work confirms it. This is serious.

"Jungkook, it's okay—"

"Let me handle this, Mikayla." he croaks as he walks in our direction. "I think he didn't get it last time."

God, no.

If my heart was beating fast earlier, it's beating much faster now. Last time, this incident ended with a fist in Ethan's face, of which I can no longer see any traces of if it left any. And this time I have a feeling it won't end with anything less.

"I'm not talking to you, Jeon." Ethan counters with a bob of his head. "You're not her bodyguard."

Before I can react, Jungkook has taken the last few steps and reaches for Ethan's collar, pressing him firmly against the wall. Ethan's eyes widen and though he tries to take Jungkook's hands off him, Jungkook's grip is stronger than death.

"I am her fucking bodyguard, problems with that?" Jungkook hisses in Ethan's face and I just stand there in shock.

A good sign possibly is that this time Jungkook didn't immediately let his fists do the talking, but instead simply pushes Ethan against the wall. Someone walking by, however, would definitely smell the tension in the air even if they couldn't see much.

"Jungkook, let's—"

He interrupts me, fire burning in his eyes. "If I see you near her again, I'll break every bone in your body."

Ethan tries to break free but is unsuccessful. This whole situation is so messed up that I don't know what I can do to stop it. And I can't help but feel bad because somehow I'm the cause of it.

"If I find you trying again, hell, even if I find out you're just thinking about her." my boyfriend inches his face closer to the other man's to make his words understood. "I'll make sure you need people to carry you to whatever damn place you want to go. Got it?"

I see a small group of people walk by. They're from the company's finance team and they can't keep their curious eyes off the scene. I want to ask them what their problem is and why they're gawking because it's none of their business, but they're already walking away whispering.

Ethan manages to get Jungkook's hands off his collar, or maybe it's just the grip easing. Either way, his gaze is just as hard and challenging as his opponent's, who is now reaching for my hand. His skin feels warm and comforting against my trembling one.

Although Ethan doesn't nod or give any other sign of agreement or understanding, I know - I can tell - by the look on his face that he has indeed understood that from now on he'd probably better not step foot in this building - or anywhere near me.

Jungkook pulls me to his side. "And tell your daddy that I'm backing out of the contract because his useless son screwed everything up."

We don't wait for another word to come from Ethan, and Jungkook leads me away from the hallway by my hand. We make our way to what I assume is his office and I can't help but stare at the back of the head of the man who protected me a second time.

We stop in front of Kiyara's desk. "Ethan Stan is banned from now on, Mrs. Blue. Make sure the front desk and security don't let him or anyone else who comes on his behalf into this building."

His voice is hard and low, cold as an icy wind as he gives his instructions. Kiyara seems dumbfounded, not understanding why all of a sudden everything is going up in smoke with a partner we have worked with for years.

But we don't give her time for questions and enter the office with Jungkook's hand still wrapped around mine. I bite my lower lip as he leads us further into the room and up to his desk, where he pours me a glass of water.

He hands me the glass and quietly asks me to drink it. I let the refreshing liquid run down my throat, only now realizing how dry my throat has become from the whole situation.

"Are you okay, did he do something?" he asks as I set the empty glass back down on the desk while he checks my body from top to bottom. I shake my head and hear him exhale a reassured sigh. "I'll make sure he never comes near you again."

I look up at him, his previously fiery eyes now calmer and softer. I nod again. "Thank you," I say appreciatively.

I'm not sure if Ethan would lose his mind and act pathetically again as he did two weeks ago, but I'm glad Jungkook got me out of the situation. I don't know if I could have stood it if he had tried to touch me.

Emotions are still swirling inside me and I still can't quite grasp what happened a few minutes ago. I can't help but let the words Jungkook said run through my head again. And then a soft laugh escapes my lips.

Yeah, I must be out of my mind.

"Why are you laughing?" Jungkook asks, a confused look on his face.

My laugh then morphs into a simple smile. "I have no idea. I just didn't think such a respectful and calm man like you could be so... furious."

He steps closer. "I'll be furious if there's a reason for it, Mikayla. I hate to know that he has the luxury of thinking about you without me being aware of it."

I look up at him, my head tilting back from the way he towers this tall over me. "You do?"

"I do," he confirms. "Only I'm allowed."

"What exactly?" I ask in a haze, my eyes pulling in his hooded ones.

"To think about you."

"That's kind of possessive, don't you agree?"

He chuckles deeply, letting his head drop for a few seconds before looking back up. "Maybe. But I don't want anyone to get the idea they could kiss you like me. Touch you like I do." his hand lifts to my neck. "Or have you in ways I can only dream of."

A shaky breath breaks from me and I feel my heart skip several beats. He has me gripping the edge of his desk as his fingers wander to the sensitive spot below my ear, marking their territory.

"I want to be the only one who hears you laugh. Who listens to your endless hours of babbling." his eyes drop to the desk behind me. "Maybe even bend you over this desk one day, if I'm lucky enough."

Oh.

A shiver runs down my spine and I swallow to distract myself from the way his breath fans my face, but his scent makes it all that much harder. When exactly did he turn into this man who utters such toe-curling words? Where is my Jungkook who only spoke a few words?

Because I'm not sure if I can handle this Jungkook.

A knock on the door brings us both out of the trance we were in and Jungkook's voice echoes through the room, giving the person on the other side permission to enter. He takes two steps to the side and I can finally feel myself breathing again.

Mr. Park enters the office and approaches with large strides. "That real, what I just heard?" he asks, his voice sounding annoyed in a way.

"What did you hear?" Jungkook asks, his tone now more neutral and emotionless.

"That you grabbed Ethan by the collar in the middle of the hallway." Mr. Park's right eyebrow rises, waiting for Jungkook's response. The latter doesn't answer, and that's answer enough for Mr. Park. "What the hell, Jungkook? Why? You know our company has an image."

"Do you really think I walk around grabbing people by the collar for no reason? He deserved it." Jungkook states and Mr. Park looks back with confusion. "He made an inappropriate move on Mikayla, made her uncomfortable, and today he came to do the same thing. You're wrong if you think I'm going to let someone do that to my girlfriend."

I turn back to him with that word and his gaze jumps to me. My heart races a marathon because of what he just said next to my other boss.

"He knows," he explains and I feel my face take on umpteen shades of red.

I slowly bring my attention back to Mr. Park and he looks horrified and confused. "That's awful, I didn't know." his eyes find mine. "I'm sorry you had to experience that, Mikayla," he says in a soft voice and I nod in appreciation. "I'll talk to security and make sure he never comes near this building again."

"No need, I already told Kiyara." Jungkook says before Mr. Park has left the room.

"Good, I'll take care of everything else."

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A/N: Mr. Jeon dirty talk has been unlocked 🕳 👩🏻‍🦯