The Cupid Complex

44. Some Assembly Required

Jungkook never thought that assembling furniture would become such a big part of his life, but here he was yet again trying to assemble something. When Jungkook had discovered that Charming had fallen asleep next to Ame in her bed last night because he had felt too out of place on the couch, he had suggested that she get him a futon to sleep on. It was still a bed in a way, but he would be able to feel the metal braces underneath the thin cushion. The presence of the metal bars could serve to remind Charming of the cage he had, had at one point in time. Ame had agreed to the idea.

Jungkook figured that he would have an easy enough time assembling it since he had helped Taehyung to assemble their own. However, the futon that Ame had picked up at the discount store had directions that were poorly explained. It almost seemed as if Charming had been the author. It made about as much sense as he did at times. Speaking of Charming, he certainly wasn't helping matters though he was trying to offer to be helpful. He sat near Jungkook, watching him bite the corner of his lip as he studied the directions in his hands.

"What can I do to help?" Charming asked.

"I don't know yet," said Jungkook, "Just like I didn't know when you asked thirty seconds ago."

Jungkook put the directions aside, beginning to rifle through the plastic bags. Why were there so many this time? The futon was the same size as the one he and Taehyung had. 'Some assembly required' is what the box had warned in red block lettering on the outside. Talk about the understatement of the century.

"What are you looking for?" asked Charming as he watched Jungkook.

"The bag of nuts," he said. "I need them to hold the screws in place."

Jungkook saw Charming move to spring to his feet out of the corner of his eye. Charming rushed off to the kitchen where Ame was finishing up supper. After everything that Jungkook had done for her that afternoon - both with Charming and the money - Ame wanted to cook him a supper to thank him. She remembered her mother once telling her that food was the way to satisfy a man; that it was a way to either win his heart or to thank him. She was looking to do the later at this point in time. Jungkook had proved to be an amazing friend, even more so when he had offered to put together the futon for Charming so she didn't have to worry about it later.

Ame was under pressure to cook a dinner that Jungkook would like. She looked at the strips of beef she currently had sizzling in the pan before flicking her gaze over to her tablet that she had propped up against the backsplash. She currently had a YouTube tutorial on pause so she could follow it step-by-step. Why was cooking beef stir fry so hard?

"Ame, where do you keep the bag of nuts?" asked Charming as he stood in the kitchen doorway.

"Huh?" She asked, half turning to look at him in confusion, not having any clue why he would ask that. If she wasn't so focused on the cooking she was doing, she might have put two-and-two together.

"Do you have a bag of nuts in here?"

"I have a bag of pistachios," said Ame as she nodded towards one of the nearby cabinets.

Charming moved towards the cabinet she nodded at. He couldn't read all that well yet, so he kept grabbing up every bag in the cabinet until he had found the bag that Ame confirmed was the pistachios. Holding it tightly in his hands, he returned victorious to the other just as Jungkook tried (and failed) to insert a screw into one of the futon's legs. The screw that Jungkook had been trying to insert flew out of the hole and hit the nearby wall.

"I found the bag of nuts, Jungkook!"

Turning, Jungkook looked at what Charming held in his hand.

"Those aren't...you're nuts!" He said in exasperation.