"Hangover soup? It smells amazing!" Helen replied, sitting down eagerly and peering into the pot.

"You knew it was hangover soup?" Jungkook asked, pleasantly surprised.

Helen rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I watch a lot of Kdramas, so I've seen it before but never tried it."

"Really? Maybe you and I can watch some later," Jungkook said with a warm smile.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Helen said softly. Nick never understood her preference to stay indoors and watch dramas. She thought it would be nice to have someone to watch Kdramas with for once, even better if it was a Korean since he'd help her understand nuances that subtitles couldn't explain.

"Dig in! Let me know what you think," Jungkook replied, scooping some soup into a bowl and passing it to her along with a small bowl of rice.

Helen sipped gingerly. "Wow this is amazing! It's so spicy and hearty!"

Jungkook smiled proudly. "Told you I could cook."

Helen ignored him, entirely focused on the food. He laughed at her eagerness, heart warm as he watched her practically inhale her food. He had taken out some kimchi, pickled radish, and kimbap that his mother had sent him, and Helen went after each one voraciously, even expertly dipping her kimbap in the soup.

"You really do watch a lot of Kdramas, you went at it like a pro despite having never tried it before," Jungkook said with a laugh after they had devoured everything, even the side dishes.

Helen laughed. "It helps that the food was amazing!"

Jungkook started clearing away the dishes, placing them near the sink. Helen hesitated for a moment before joining him at the sink.

"Can I help?" she asked.

"I'd like the help, but you don't have to cause you're a guest," he replied.

"It's the least I can do since I've been imposing on you since last night."

"You weren't imposing, especially last night," Jungkook said with a wink, causing Helen to look away with a flushed face. He nearly put his arm around her waist, but settled for a hand on her shoulder. "And since we're friends now, it means you're welcome in my house anytime."

Helen was silent for a moment as she looked up at him, trying to judge how sincere he was. Jungkook's face was open and warm. She smiled. "Okay, thank you Jungkook. So...how about those dishes? I'm pretty good at washing them," she said, trying to roll up her sleeves.

Jungkook chuckled at her clumsy attempt, turning around to help her. He gently pulled her fingers out of the sleeves and carefully folded the cuffs above her elbow. Helen blushed. He held each hand ever so gently as he folded the cuffs, almost as if he was afraid she would draw away at any moment. When he finished, he also took off his apron and put it over her neck. He put his arms under hers as if he was hugging her and tied the strings behind her. He was so close that Helen could smell rosewood and bergamot on him, the same scent she detected on his clothes. She inhaled secretly, relishing the scent that seemed to fit Jungkook so perfectly.

"Ready to wash?"

Helen blinked. She just noticed that he'd stepped away and was holding out a sponge with a knowing grin.

"Oh, right. Yeah," she said, her face burning for the umpteenth time in 24 hours.

Helen and Jungkook quickly settled into a rhythm and cleaned the entire kitchen within a few minutes. She was surprised how easy it felt cleaning with Jungkook, but the possible implications were something she wasn't ready to face so she put it in a corner of her mind.

After cleaning, Helen dithered a bit, not sure how exactly to leave. She didn't want to go, but at the same time she needed alone time to process what she had just gotten herself into since last night.

Jungkook also awkwardly stood around, trying to figure out whether he should let her go or make up an excuse for her to stay longer. Looking around his apartment desperately, he was struck with an idea.

"Hey, are you busy today?" he asked Helen.

"Not really, just my usual Saturday errands. Why?"

"Wanna watch a kdrama with me?"

"Today?" Helen asked, surprised.

"Yeah, why not? I don't have any plans to leave the house today."

Helen pretended to think for a moment although every cell in her body wanted her to stay and spend more time with this hot stranger she could now call her friend.

"What would we watch?" she asked.

"Anything you like! I'll even watch a cheesy rom com if you want."

"Is that something you're willing to stand by?" Helen asked testily, an idea forming.

"Yeah, anything's cool! What do you say?"

"Sure! I'd love to!" Helen said with a mysterious grin.

Jungkook grinned widely, sending Helen's heart into somersaults. He led her to sit on the couch next to him and turned on the TV.

"What do you want to watch?"

Helen was on her phone already, pulling up her kdrama streaming accounts and figuring out which drama she wanted to see. She was about to choose the cheesiest one she could find when her eye was caught by a title. Wednesday 3:30 PM. She clicked on the drama, the information page opening to her despite her already knowing the plot. It was her comfort drama from how fluffy it was, but she had forgotten about it. Looking at it now, she couldn't help but sink into a contemplative mood. She had just realized that the female lead in the drama had a somewhat similar situation to hers, except Nick never cheated, and Aisha wasn't a bad person.

Jungkook realised Helen hadn't said a word for a full minute and turned to face her. She was completely still, staring at her phone screen intently. He caught the name of the drama on her phone and assumed she wanted to watch that.

"Wednesday 3:30 PM? Looks fluffy and cheesy from the cover, but if you want to watch it I'll watch it with you," he said.

Helen looked up in a daze, not paying attention to what he'd said. She was too busy thinking about the drama's storyline. It was a friends to lovers storyline where the male lead always took the female lead on friend dates to cheer her up every week at the same time to help her get over her ex. Helen had a crazy thought as she stared at Jungkook.

"What if Jungkook..." she shook her head as if to clear the thought away. "No, I can't think like that, we're friends and I'm not ready for romance."

"Helen?"

"Oh, sorry! I got caught up looking for the drama."

"No worries. I've queued it up, are you ready to watch it?"

Helen looked at the TV. Jungkook had already found the drama and episode 1 was ready to be played. She didn't know whether to tell him she wanted to pick another drama or not. But since it was already up and it was a short cute drama when she ignored the similarities in her life, she decided to leave it at that.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Cool! I'll go get some snacks for us while the opening song plays," Jungkook replied, pressing play and getting up.

He came back just as the first episode began, and the two got comfortable on the couch. Soon, Helen was able to put her own life out of her mind as she immersed herself in the episodes. It helped that Jungkook's well timed witty commentary made even the painful scenes funny and lighthearted. Snacking, they flew through 4 episodes before Helen's reminder app pinged with a note to run an errand.

"Oh, I've gotta go," Helen said, showing him her reminder.

Jungkook nodded, calling her a ride share and following her to the door. "I hope you're not planning to leave without exchanging numbers after all this, Helen."

"Oh, right! Yeah," Helen said sheepishly. She hadn't realized she didn't have his number.

After exchanging contact info, she dithered again at the door, heels on and last night's clothes in a bag that Jungkook so thoughtfully provided. Her rideshare was waiting outside.

"So, um, I guess I'd better get going," she began.

Jungkook smiled reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I really enjoyed last night and today, I'm glad we met."

Jungkook grinned, a real one this time. "Yeah me too. I'd like to get to know you more, so don't ghost me," he joked. "We still need to continue the marathon."

"Sure thing!"

"Um...text me when you get home?" Jungkook asked softly.

Helen nodded. "Bye Jungkook," Helen said with one last smile before leaving his apartment.

"Bye Helen," he whispered after she left.

Jungkook watched from the window as she got into the rideshare and rode away.

"I'm so screwed," he thought to himself, a wistful smile on his face.

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