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접촉
YURI AND JUNGKOOK stumbled into Yuri's penthouse after a very long and awkward taxi ride. Yuri wasn't sure if Jieun or Taehyung knew that she left, but she didn't really care at that moment. The taxi ride was enough to sober her up a little, and she just wanted to drink something hot before going to bed.
"I-I'll make some tea," Yuri mumbled to Jungkook as they walked inside, turning on the lights to her kitchen as the rest of her house remained dark, and cold.
"No, let me," Jungkook offered. "Just sit down and rest."
Yuri lazily hopped onto one of her bar stools, leaning her head into her hand as her eyelids grew heavy.
"So... how old are you?" asked Jungkook as he turned on her electronic stove to heat the pre-made tea.
"How old are you?" Yuri asked, glancing up to him. He leaned back onto her counter, his arms crossing. From the sweater he was wearing, Yuri could easily make out the shape of his biceps through the sleeves, the broadness of his chest on display.
"I just turned 25."
I'm a hundred years older than him, she sighed, rubbing her face. Way to make me feel old.
"Take that number and add a hundred," she grumbled. Jungkook immediately raised his eyebrows in shock, staring at her with wide, yet excited, eyes.
"So, noona?" he timidly asked, a slight curve to his lips.
"Please refrain from calling me that," Yuri whined, causing a chuckle to fall from Jungkook's mouth. "It makes me feel old."
"Don't worry," Jungkook hummed and made his way to the stove as he heard the beginnings of the screaming of the kettle. He switched off the stove, carefully pouring tea into two mugs. He gently placed one in front of her with an innocent smile on his face. "I think you look great for your age."
A smile would have crept onto her face if it wasn't for the looming headache she began to feel, a result from the alcohol. Instead, she huffed as she brought the mug to her lips, blowing gently before taking a short sip, Jungkook doing the same.
"I think it's amazing," he chirped, before gasping excitedly. He made his way over to the bar stool beside her, taking a seat and swinging his feet as he faced her. "What were the 80's like? I've always wanted to live in that decade! What was the fashion like? Did you watch Back to the Future in theaters?"
Yuri smiled a bit at his excitement, his bright energy contagious as she straightened up in her seat. "We had no iPhones, or whatever you call them. We had to manually reach for the television and switch the channel from there, due to the absence of remotes. And yes, I watched Back to the Future in theaters," she answered.
"That's crazy," Jungkook scoffed, his smile never fading as he listened intently. "Who did you spend all that time with?"
Yuri's face fell, her eyes falling to her hands as she swallowed at the thought of Jisung. Did she really want to tell Jungkook about him? She'd never talked about him to anyone before, as she'd never been able to muster the courage to tell about their tale.
But there was something so comfortable, so innocently pure about Jungkook that she knew he would listen, that he would be there for her, despite only knowing each other for a few weeks.
"Yuri?" he tilted his head in a bit of worry, glancing at her softly.
"Apologies, I-" she took a deep breath. "I spent most of it alone," she stated, caressing the side of her mug with her thumb.
"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Jungkook bit his lip, reading the situation.
"No, don't be," she sent him a gentle smile. "I didn't spend all of it alone. I want to tell you about... my first love."
Jungkook's eyebrows raised as his curiosity piqued before shifting on his bar stool to get comfortable. He was willing to listen.
"We met in 1924, when I was celebrating on the eve of my 28th birthday in my 25 year-old body. We fell in love, and when people started to suspect that I was a Roamer, we packed our bags and moved to Daegu. I knew he would be my soulmate, because everything just... clicked with him, you know? However, he had to attend overseas on a business trip, and on that trip, he met his actual soulmate," she explained, her eyes fixed on her hands. "Yet, he chose me, and we moved to Busan in 1941 to start over again, except he appeared much older than me, to the point where our relationship had to be confined behind closed doors, or else people would find out who I truly was. I did not pay mind to it, though. I was willing to risk everything even if it meant I could be with him," she licked her lips, trying her best to contain her emotions.
"Of course," Jungkook hummed in approval reassuringly, as he continued to listen to her.
"In 1953, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I took care of him, taking him to as many places in Busan as I could, because we knew he wasn't going to survive it. Technology was much, much different back then," she took a deep breath. "He passed away in 1954, and after that event, I just... I moved away, I ran away to Jeju island, where I stayed 24 years before moving to Gwangju. I was a cook at a nursery home, spending time with the elderly who were mentally the same age as me, just so I could feel less alone. Though, as I didn't age, I had to leave again, and I came back to Seoul in 1990. I was alone until I met Taehyung and Jieun a few years ago, and.... here I am," she finished, releasing a deep exhale.
She slowly turned to glance toward Jungkook, resulting in her face softening as she noticed the tears on his cheek, his watery eyes staring into hers.
"Yuri, that must have been so hard," he furrowed his eyebrows. "I-I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he sniffled, wiping the tears off his cheeks as he composed himself, a sweet sympthetic expression on his face. "And I'm sorry for everything I said about being a Roamer."
"You did not know," she shook her head, smiling gently at him.
"Your life sounds so beautiful, Yuri. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise," he said, reaching his hand out to lay on top of hers, the feeling of his skin sending a shock through Yuri.
Her heart raced. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered.
Yuri's eyes widened a bit as she glanced at his hand, the sight sending a warm feeling to her heart as it also dropped to her stomach in realization. She hadn't felt this way in decades, the excitement from the feeling of the skin of another. The electricity that was almost addicting.
Jungkook is my soulmate, she realized.
Suddenly, a pang of fear consumed her, letting her body take control as she quickly withdrew her hand from under Jungkook's, her breath hitching in the process.
"I-It's late, it might be a good idea for you to head home. Perhaps make a call to Jimin, he might be looking for you," Yuri cleared her throat. Jungkook slid his hand off of the counter, dropping it to his lap as he hesitantly nodded at her words.
"Sure, i-if that's what you want," he agreed, standing up and putting his empty mug into the sink.
Yuri followed him to the door, sending him a proper farewell, as any normal human being would do to be polite.
"I guess I'll see you sometime?" Jungkook tilted his head, an innocent little smile on his thin lips. "Thank you for talking to me, Yuri. I'm always here for you."
"Thank you," she said quietly before watching Jungkook exit her house. She let out a sigh as the door shut closed, a new headache forming in her head, just not from the alcohol.
Rather, the newfound information that Jungkook was Yuri's soulmate.
