The Art Teacher | Jikook ✓ | The Next Chapter

Part 17

Yong-gi

Nam-gi fiddles with my hand as he watches the television, the smell of honeysuckle percolating through the fabric of his (my) shirt so it can lightly tickle my nose. I close my eyes as my boyfriend leans his head against my bare upper body, pressing his lips against skin every so often.

The last of the trilogy turns off and Nam-gi looks up at me with his dark eyes, his emotions obvious on his countenance.

"Thank you," he whispers. "We've been watching since six-forty-five. It's about to be two-twenty."

"Do you feel better?"

"I do." He plays with my hand more before smiling at me. "You take the best care of me, Yong-gi. My perfect Red."

Chuckling, I roll my eyes. "I try my best. I'm glad you feel better, baby."

Nam-gi inhales sharply and crawls into my lap, straddling me. "You always make me feel better. Even when I'm mad at you, you somehow manage to make me feel better." He scowls cutely, running his fingers over my collarbones. "Whether I need you around or space, you know what to do. You're fluent in Nam-gi."

His words make me bite my lip and I kiss his forehead. "I've wanted to be fluent in Nam-gi since I met you, baby."

He blushes. "Why me?"

"As in why I'm still with you or why I chose you in the first place?"

"The latter."

"You were really cute and fiery. This rich kid just waltzes up into the underground rap game and demands a place. You seemed so sweet, so I told you that people wanted to embarrass you by having you go against me. But you didn't care. Instead, you wished me luck. It was really hot, I'm not gonna lie. And when you freestyles... you just became this entirely different being."

He covers his eyes.

"Performer Nam-gi is really a sight to behold. You become powerful and confident. It's what makes countless Spr!tes fall in love with you. But you're so down to earth and precious." I ruffle his hair.

Nam-gi spreads his fingers apart to take a peek at me. "I like performer Yong-gi too. I think I first fell in love with how you performed, how gentle you were, and how patient you were with me."

"Like how I took care of sick Tink?"

"Yeah." He giggles. "And how you ate all the snacks because you were hungry. Something about you always sneaking into my room was so incredibly cliché and hot."

I sigh dramatically. "I'm sorry I can no longer climb through your window. Our apartment is much too high up for that."

Nam-gi covers me in kisses. "I wouldn't want you to fall. I'd be incredibly sad if you got hurt."

Humming, I nod in agreement. "You hate when people get hurt."

He rests his head on my chest. "Being an idol is a lot more dangerous than I thought. I remember when Jung-nam broke his foot."

"Yeah, you and Ki-moon cried a lot."

"And Ki-moon hates when people see him cry." Nam-gi exhales. "He broke down on stage and ended up carrying him off because Namie wouldn't let anyone but Moon touch him."

"He was only fourteen. We were still new." He touches my elbow. "When you dislocated your elbow on the set of our music video for 'For You,' I was super upset."

"They just popped it back in." I move my arm. "I'm all better."

Nam-gi kisses it. "It was still scary. Dae-ho lost his voice once and Jung-nam had to cover his parts while Ki-moon covered his own and Jung-nam's. It's just... when that happened, I just remembered that I'm the reason you're here and if it wasn't for me, that wouldn't have happened."

"I love being an Asp!re member, hardships and all. They just make the good times all the more sweeter."

He looks at me with big eyes. "You really think so?"

"I know so. Don't you love Asp!re?"

"Of course. They're my family—the siblings I was never afforded. I love making music with everyone. I love playing games with Jung-nam. I love Dae-ho's cooking and how we can make random noises and he always knows what note they are. I love how Ki-moon is our bonding glue and is our leader by just making us confident in being ourselves. And you. I just love you, Yong-gi."

"I love you too, Tink."

Nam-gi looks at the ceiling. "You know what?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss them." He smiles. "Dae, Moon, Nam... Joon, Jin, Tae, Aera... not to mention Jimin, Jungkook, and the twins! Golden is our home, you know? As an only child who never really even hung out with cousins or extended family. The older adults are like a bunch of aunts and uncles who give me more attention than my parents could due to their busy schedules. It feels nice."

My fingers card through his hair and I kiss him. "We can go home if you want."

"You're my home too, Yong-gi. This trip is making me appreciate the people at Golden more, but it's also making me fall even deeper in love with you and I didn't think that was possible. Like, you planned this trip so perfectly. We're parasailing tomorrow! Although I'm super scared, I'm also so excited! The fact that we get to be together to do it fills me with confidence."

"Well, I'm glad you're excited about our vacation. I hope there are enough do nothing days to even out the action."

He grins widely. "There are! I can't wait to just cuddle with you, be all homey, and watch you workout." He wiggles his eyebrows at me. "My sexy boyfriend, showing off his strength. I'll help you too. Maybe I can play switch online with Dae and Jung-nam on some of our off days too."

"As long as you enjoy yourself."

Nam-gi pokes my chest. "You better enjoy yourself too, Red! If you just focus on my comfort, I'll be really sad. You don't want to have a sad Tink, do you? Sad Tink is no fun. And overly selfless Red is no fun either." He starts covering my neck in kisses.

My eyes fall closed and I slowly lie down and let myself sink into the mattress, the younger sprawled out on me like my own living, breathing weighted blanket.

"Trust me, baby, I'm having a great time."

Author's Note: I hope you like this update. 2-gi is a cute ship because of how comfortable they are with each other and their history. They've been together longer than Jikook and I feel like their interactions show that. They're a lot smoother than Dae-hyun and a lot better at communicating than Ki-nam. They're practically married at this point.

What do you think of the story so far?

Make sure to take care and love yourself as best as you can.

With lots of love,

-BBM