attraction.

Always You. 3/8

Jeon Jungkook had always been an expert in taking care of her and that was one of the qualities that drew her to him.

Among the idol world, Park Chaeyoung was relatively popular. There was a sense of intrigue and charisma that oozed from her aura just in the way she smiled that made her the subject to many confessions. At one point, the girls counted that she'd received five in one day (and that was before she even debuted!) but as always, she'd come home and rant about how no one made her heart feel warm. At one point, Lalisa Manoban said it was because she was too independent and complete on her own and warmed her own heart. For a while, Park Chaeyoung thought it was true, at least, until she met him.

Sitting on the passenger seat on his car with his coat on her lap, the seat heated as they drive through the Seoul night was reminiscent of the first time they'd officially held a conversation, the night she fell in love for the first time in her life.

Park Chaeyoung isn't someone who shares much about her life, even when she was asked. A part of her hated it, she had always been more of a listener growing up, listening to the stories from her older sister after a tiring day at school or hearing from her fellow trainees who'd open their hearts about their struggles. She felt as though her place in the world was to be a listener, rather than to be heard, that to be a burden to others would be the cruellest thing in the world. But it was because of that, that she turned into a sensitive soul, one that easily felt emotional about the smaller things in life—music, movies, storybook fairy-tale.

She had just recently debuted and had collaborated with her favourite idols in the special stage but even in the afterparty, something was not right. Park Chaeyoung was standing there making small talk, listening to others congratulate her but something in her heart didn't feel right. And she was right—taking a break from the crowds, she went to the hallway and opened her phone to get a message from her older sister, telling her not to panic but that her father had fallen down from the stairs and was in hospital. Somehow, the news makes it difficult for her to breathe.

"Chaeyoung-ssi," his deep voice stops her from almost hyperventilating as she looks up, seeing him bowing at her, "... are you okay?"

He had barely said a sentence but somehow, at that moment, she knew that he was different.

Jeon Jungkook calmed her amid her storm.

That night, he pulls her away from the party for a late night drive to one of his favourite ice-cream spots and he tells her that he doesn't need her to open up to him, if she's not comfortable. And as they sit in the car eating ice cream, she does. About her father. She tells him about how homesick she was and how much her heart hurt being so far from her family.

And he listens.

By the end of it, they're holding hands in the car.

Her first love.

He confesses weeks later that he'd had his eyes on her a lot earlier than that night, but felt as though it were impossible to approach her given her popularity and record of rejecting every guy in the industry. At the time, he just thought that he could at least be there as a friend. He felt like the luckiest man in the world, to be able to see her in such a raw and honest state.

It made her fall for her more.

Just like that night, he's looking after her and as always, he's not pressuring her to speak.

Though she knows that he's well aware of why she's not in a good place.

"Is the heater warm enough for her," he turns to her with concern, "... it's been a while since I had someone sit on the passenger side."

Perhaps—she feels relieved to hear.

"I'm okay," she confirms as she quickly reaches for her bag, looking for the swipe card for the dorm.

"Did you forget the key?" He's almost chuckling now, suppressing a smile across the sides of his lips, "... why is it that you haven't changed at all?"

She knows.

Park Chaeyoung remembers the various times where she'd be locked out from the dorm, but luckily at the fact that her boyfriend always waited for her to go inside before driving off.

"Do you want to wait in my apartment till the girls get back?" He suggests, "... if you're comfortable of course."

She nods, "... thank you, Jungkook. I'm sorry to disturb you."

"I don't mind being disturbed, if it's by you."

-

When they arrive at his apartment, she's surprised to see how little it's changed.

More so, their pictures were still on display by the cabinets which she looks at deeply.

So he hasn't throw those pictures too?

"Ah, about that," he clarifies as he re-emerges from the room to her with a clean towel and a shirt and sweatshirt, "... I've barely been in the apartment so I haven't had time to put things away. I just come here to get clean clothes and stay in the dorm most of the time."

"You used to always prefer the apartment to the dorm," she comments, "... I still have those photos too, in my room."

She sees his face turn red.

"I don't really have anyone to share the apartment with so it gets quite lonely. Besides, it's closer to the studio," he informs her, "... anyway, you should shower still the same, second door to the right of the hallway."

Everything seemed just as it was before.

His shampoo.

She knows that when she gets back to the dorm, everything will end up smelling like him.

When Park Chaeyoung re-emerges from the bathroom she's surprised to see him wearing comfortable clothes and sitting in the dining room table with ramyeon in the middle.

"Come eat," his voice is gentle as he smiles, "... tell me all about how you've been."

The pair barely get through ten minutes before she starts crying midway, words that were incoherent to the naked ear, but that his heart knew exactly what it meant.

Somehow they end up wrapped in each others arms, and she knows that he's crying too.