Baby Daddy

25. Lets Be Kids

"Why do you have my phone?" asked Jin again to Ava as the ring died away completely.

Seol - who was still enjoying the chili cheese fries - turned to look at Ava as she stayed frozen near him; Jin's phone clutched tightly in her hand. Ava was trying to think of what to say, but words were failing her. Words didn't usually fail her. Usually she was the one coming up with the witty comebacks and the sage words of advice. Now her mind felt like it was constantly buffering like a bad wifi connection.

Jin made a move forward to try to grab it from Ava's hand only for her to lean back and away from his touch. Seol swallowed the bite in his mouth as he watched Ava get up from her seat and start to walk away. Jin stared after her baffled.

"Is she really walking off with my phone?" asked Jin as he looked at Seol.

"Well, it would appear so seeing as I'm looking at the same thing as you."

"You must think you're so cute with the witty comebacks just like your father."

Seol gave a huge smile then which couldn't have mirrored Jungkook's more if he had tried. Jin rolled his eyes as he moved to get up from the table to walk after Ava. Ava was walking down along the river's edge with the phone still in her hand. Jin was trying to walk as fast as he could to catch up with her.

"Hey! Stop!"

Hearing the word 'stop' just seemed to propel her along even faster. Jin increased his pace, soon reaching Ava. He grabbed her by the arm to stop her.

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"I just...I was making sure you didn't answer the call..."

"Okay. Well, I didn't and I won't. I just want my phone back."

Ava stared at him before looking down to see that his hand was still clutching her wrist tightly. Jin looked down when he noticed Ava's gaze lower, immediately letting go.

- - -

Silence seemed to be their constant companion. Rai looked over to her right as she walked, looking at the person beside her walking all covered up. Maybe things would be better in her mind if she pretended he was just someone average.

"What kind of places would Jin want to go?"

"Well, I have a few in mind," said Jungkook. "They shouldn't be too far off."

He turned his head to the side to look at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just...thinking. Sorry."

He pulled up short on the sidewalk. Rai felt as if she were being studied and picked apart as he looked at her, half wishing the ground would open up and swallow her. She never felt more awkward in all her life.

"Come here," said Jungkook as he grabbed her hand, pulling her off the sidewalk and off onto the grass.

It was then that Rai realized what they had paused near. It was the community playground a few blocks from her apartment; one that she drove past all the time on her way to work. Jungkook kept a hold of her hand as he walked through the playground with her.

"What are you doing?"

"I feel like there is too much tension between us," said Jungkook. "We're stressed adults, so lets be kids for a bit."

"You can't be serious..."

He pulled the mask down so it rested under his chin in order to show off his charming grin. He dropped Rai's hand to move towards the monkey bars. She couldn't help but to smile herself as she watched him jump up to grab the bar. Jungkook's smile was contagious. Now she knew that for a fact.

"What are you doing?"

"Showing off my sick monkey bar skills," he said. She watched as he swung across all of them before grabbing one of the thick outer bars, pulling himself up with ease until he was on top of the bars. He soon sat there, dangling his legs down as he looked over at her.

"You're going to break your legs trying to get down from there."

"You have such little faith in me."

And just like that the flirting seemed to come natural between the two of them. Was it really that easy?

"You should come up and join me," continued Jungkook.

"Nah. I prefer my feet on the ground."

"Where is your sense of adventure?"

The grin stayed on Jungkook's face as he beckoned her towards him.

"Come and join me. I'll pull you up."

Rai felt her stomach flip flop. It was no doubt doing so for a variety of reasons. It should have stopped her right in her tracks, but she still found herself moving towards Jungkook.

"Jump up onto the big bar first and I'll pull you up," said Jungkook, watching as Rai did what he said. She felt his strong grip on her hand, shifting so she could hold it firmly as he helped to pull her up on top of the monkey bars. Soon Rai was settled down beside him.

"Welcome," he said. "It's not the most comfortable seating arrangement, but it has stellar views."

She smiled as she looked over at him seeing that he was smiling too. Her heart felt like it was in her throat.

"Stellar views that we could have seen on the ground," she said. "Are you sure this can support our weight?"

"Are you calling me fat?" Jungkook asked with a smirk.

"No."

"Well, good. And I know you can't be calling yourself that, so stop worrying. We're kids for now, remember?"

Rai nodded as she took a deep breath of the night air, casting her gaze up at the stars. Her anxiety and worries were still eating her up inside. As Jungkook looked over at her, he could tell something was off. He moved gently to put his hand over hers, causing her to look back over at him.

"Kids tell each other secrets," he said softly. "You can trust me."

"What secret do you think I'm hiding?"

"I don't know exactly, but I feel you're hiding something from me," he said, "Because I'm hiding something from you too."

- - -