pretend | j.j.k

day one - let me in?

"morning, baby." you feel a hand caress your cheek, gently to not agitate you this early in the morning. it's all too familiar. 

park jimin.

you're awake, but you keep your eyes closed.

it's just a dream. go back to sleep.

so you roll over to lie on your side.

—   

your eyes flutter open, only to be greeted with a pair of gentle brown ones. 

jungkook smiled teasingly, "now you're awake? come on, you have ten minutes."

you groan, exasperated when you see what the clock reads, "jeon, are you being serious right now? it's six in the morning! where could we possibly go to make some girl jealous this early? and— who the fuck let you in?"

"slow down, racer. just be ready in ten. and i let myself in, i have keys too, remember?" he chuckles, ruffling your hair.

you turn and bury your face into your pillow, muffling, "i can't believe my mum insisted you have your own set cs she wanted you to feel like family— that is not normal."

he only laughs in reply, and you hear your door close.

you shout into your pillow, "weak! you think you can get me out of this bed that easily?"

seconds later, you're both wriggling on your bed, tickling each other. in the midst of the childish tickle fight, you catch him staring at you and maybe it's just you but there's something different about his gaze. so you ask, "what is it?"

"it's... nothing, it's nothing. just... it's been a while." he looks down, smiling to himself.

"hm?"

"i haven't seen you laughing like this since..." and he stops himself. 

he clears his throat and straightens his clothes. "get ready. i'll wait downstairs, alright?"

"and i'll also help myself to cereal and milk, thanks!" he smiles cheekily and runs off.

you chuckle, shaking your head. 

—   

you walk to the kitchen, knowing that you'd find jungkook stuffing his face with cereal while enjoying an episode of sailormoon. 

you didn't want to brag, or did you? best friend bragging rights, am i right? but only a few see this side of jungkook. 

at school, it's jeon jungkook, confident smartass with a heart of gold and the perseverance and passion of a fighter. right here, it's still jeon jungkook, fighter and all, but also a twelve year old stuck in the body of a twenty one year old body builder. sometimes hesitant and unsure, but always with good intentions. the same boy you met ten years ago when he moved in next door. 

you get lost in your thoughts when he gets up and holds your hand, "alright, let's go."

with one hand occupied with yours, and the other holding the strap of the backpack slung over his shoulder, he guides you to a park.

after a while he stops walking and turns to you. he holds your shoulder and lowers his stance to match your eye level. "trust me, yeah?" 

you relax at his soothing voice, and you didn't realise you were tense before. it's stupid really, but no one else had ever held your hand this way except jimin, your guard was up. but now it isn't, not when jungkook's smiling and tightening his grip on your hand in reassurance. so you smile, and you nod. something about him was different. in that moment he was someone more than the boy you spent a decade of your life with. 

when you arrive, you're greeted with a picnic mat— all crumpled and placed messily. two thermos bottles, you assumed filled with hot water— placed next to two ramen cups. you chuckle when he asks, "like it?"

he sits and pats the space across him.

"definitely our kind of breakfast." you reply, shooting him a smile.

"you should smile like that more." he says, and you wave off his comment.

two cups of ramen and a bunch of inside jokes later, jungkook hesitates, but he asks, "you wanna talk about it?"

you tease, "about what?"

he groans, "you know!! that..."

you laugh and give him a small smile, "i'm kidding, jeon."

you pause before adding, "yeah. i'm sorry i shut you out after what happened. you didn't deserve that."

"you know, if you had let me, i could've found him and beat his sorry ass up for you." jungkook mumbles, stirring his leftover soup.

"i don't know, kook. we all tried looking for him. we couldn't find him, no one could. it would've been a waste of time. and maybe there's a side of the story we haven't heard. and!! in this household, we don't condone violence!!"

"coming from you?? i get my head smacked more than— ah!"

"you were saying??" 

"nothing." he replies, but he's quick to continue angrily, "but why do you keep defending him? he was a coward who left and didn't deserve you." 

you look at him sadly, and jungkook sighs, "i'm sorry. i just... couldn't bear to see you like that.  it hurt me, knowing that it was over a prick who wasn't worth your tears."

you offer him a sad smile, "at a point of time he did make me happy, kook. but thank you, jeon jungkook, for staying by me. i shut you out, but you stayed. and i don't deserve it, but i'm so glad you did. i'm so sorry."

"i'll always be here for you, you know that. so trust me. tell me how you're feeling every now and then. rant to me when you're angry. i'm here, for the long run. so please, don't push me away. just... let me in."

i swear i'll protect you. i'll never let anyone hurt you again.