Okinawa Lessons | Liskook

XXIII | Revelations and Realizations

A/N: I would like to thank the Calabria Family, without whom the Richland moscato would not exist; and Paulo Nardi for curating the 'classical music for when you are on a deadline' playlist on Spotify—both of which hard-carried me through to finish this chapter tonight.

Goddamn, it has been one hell of a month (like there is always something happening every week) and I have been given an extra day to catch my breath, so here it is.

To my readers, I would appreciate your votes, thoughts and reactions, calm or violent. Talk to me, okay? I don't wanna be writing chapters for a brick wall.

(That was the alcohol talking.)

Italics: emphasis, thoughts, foreign words
Bold: words from a phone screen
Bold-Italic: song lyrics

♤♤♤

Jungkook was bolting through the familiar halls of Gocheok Sky Dome, backstage at the SBS Gayo Daejun 2017, having just finished performing an enervative medley of Mic Drop, DNA and Not Today with his hyungs. The boys had just arrived in their designated dressing room to fix themselves before the finale, when the managers proceeded to give back their phones.

"Jungkook-ssi, congratulations for another successful performance. You have a message from Lisa-ssi," Sejin said, handing back Jungkook's phone with much glee, knowing that the golden boy always welcomed any news when it came to the said girl.

"Lili?" Jungkook tried not to look that much stoked, but his eyes lighting up instantly gave his bursting excitement away. He and Lisa used to be thick as thieves, but with the growing popularity of both of their groups, their own activities consumed the two and these days it became hard for them to have a decent conversation—much less to meet up.

His phone unlocked, the message read: "Guk, you won't believe what just happened."

A boyish grin broke through Jungkook's features, and as he saw Lisa typing a follow-up message, he couldn't help but begin typing himself.

"Lili, I missed you. Let's hang out after—"

"Mingyu asked me to be his girlfriend!"

Jungkook's fingers froze.

At that moment, the celebratory cheers of his hyungs and the staff around him muted away into oblivion, and it was just him, her text, and his heart stopping in his chest.

He did not understand it. He should be happy, right? After all, he had been helping Mingyu woo his girl best friend on the down low. He told the guy what to do and how to do it; so well, that he witnessed the woman slowly falling for him with every little thing that he did right. He knew this moment would come.

He just didn't expect it to happen so soon.

"'Bout time that bastard finally did it! What did you tell him?" Jungkook asked lightly, in contrast to his troubled thoughts. The sinking feeling in his ribcage was weighing down on him so heavily it took him everything not to fall on his knees on the floor—not because of Mingyu's bold confession, but because he knew exactly what Lisa's answer would be.

"I said yes, duh. Poor boy ended up crying LMAO he was so sweet! Do you have time? Come meet us at GOT7's. We're having a mini-Christmas party over here and it's missing you," her reply read.

"I'll be there in 10. Tell me how the damn bastard cornered ya, alright?" the dark-haired man typed, before handing his phone back to Sejin, whose eyebrows met at the sudden change in Jungkook's demeanor.

"Hyung, can you hold on to this for me while I fix myself for a while? I'm going to GOT7's dressing room to celebrate for a bit before the finale," Jungkook uttered to the elder. His previously bright aura seemed to have shut down in an instant, as if he went autopilot pacing towards the bright mirrors, grabbing a towel.