The Void [JJKxOC] AU

Chapter Twenty Nine: Coffee "Dates"

How many people could say they had a boyfriend who rubbed their feet while simultaneously reading his assigned chapters for class? Raine could. She could say that because it was exactly what Jungkook was doing.

His hair had been pinned back in a hair tie, fresh undercut on display, and glasses sitting low on his nose as he looked down at the book.

"A Reynolds number greater than twenty-one hundred indicates turbulent flow." He mumbled to himself. "Any lower indicates laminar flow." He hummed in understanding. "Laminar."

Raine smiled as she looked past her own book at him. "Tell me more."

A toothy smile formed on his face as he continued to read. "Laminar flow is also known as viscous flow."

"Ooo, viscous. Keep going."

"Viscous flows occur when the effects of fluid viscosity are balanced by those arising from fluid inertia, body forces, and pressure gradients." He read.

"Body forces, you say?" She drawled flirtatiously as she rubbed his thigh with her other foot.

Jungkook only laughed and trapped her foot under his forearm. "Would you read your chapter?!"

"But it's so sexy. Just look at you."

"Well, don't look at me. Look at your book." Lord knows he needed to look at his. He had yet to share it with Raine, but every single assignment he had returned in Hwang's class was an F or a low D. He knew the material and was sure his work was up to par, yet Daehyun continued to fail him. Because of Raine, he knew that, but he had begun to question the quality of his work anyway. Now, it was starting to affect his confidence in other classes. Which is why he trying to hammer these Chemistry chapters into his head.

The midterm he could handle, but those red Xs on his every assignment, he couldn't. There was no question about it. He wasn't passing that class. He was scared and oddly disappointed in himself. Even though he was suffering an injustice of sorts, he couldn't do anything about it. That was the most stressful part of it all. Experiencing helplessness and hopelessness and not even being able to share it with Raine, fearing that she would be affected by it.

He was tired of life always being an uphill battle.

But at least he had someone he could leave all his problems at the door for, if even momentarily. Someone he could hold until he didn't think of failed classes or asshole teachers. Someone who overpowered his every sense by the look, smell, and taste of her.

He had Raine.

Still, he couldn't deny that he was more stressed than usual these days.

Raine could feel it. He was tense all the time. When he wasn't working, his head was in a book, his smiles seemed forced, and he was losing some of the easy-going nature he had developed not long ago.

"Hey," she nudged him with her foot, making him look away from his book. "Are you okay?"

Jungkook grinned and nodded. "Why wouldn't I be? I have you."

Pride swelled in her heart and she wished she could respond with an I Love You. But they hadn't vocalized that just yet.

Love was a tricky concept, though.

Raine thought she understood it before him. She thought it was simple enough at first. When she realized she was "in love" with Daehyun, it was because she desired him so intensely that she conditioned herself to believe it must've been love. Why else would she have been so enthralled by an individual who showed her bare minimum effort and affection?