Two Worlds | JIKOOK ✅

18.

JUNGKOOK POV

I tipped back the last of the whiskey and swallowed then
set the glass on the table.

I accepted a second but
there would be no more.

I'd be driving in a while and
even with my shifter resistance to alcohol, I never wanted to be behind the wheel without 100 percent of my senses firing.

The place was a dump but
Jimin really seemed interested
in buying it.

I had no idea why.

Or maybe I did.

The price was fair and if he
could afford the down payment, it might be a good investment
for someone who could be a hands-on owner.

And there was potential.

A lot of the things that were negative about it were
cosmetic or so I believed.

I wasn't a contractor or
anything.

Which brought to mind the question of why I'd come
here to start with.

Sure, Dalsu was asleep but I could have carried him home
and tucked him in easily.

And I didn't spend a lot of evenings at bars.

My job in the pack kept me pretty busy.

I should leave.

No. Stay. Mate.

You sound like a cave wolf.

Stay.

Fuck.

Why did my wolf keep saying that?

A human could not be my mate.

I nursed that drink and
watched him limp around, making drinks and talking to
his coworkers and customers.

He never let on how tired he
had to be but as the evening wore on, I could see it.

The strain in his smile.

The occasional wince.

He had to ask for a drink
order to be repeated a couple
of times.

By last call, my wolf was
pacing inside me in anger and frustration and it took all I
had not to scoop him up and carry him out of there.

If it was this much work every night, maybe buying the place wasn't a good idea at all.

He had a boy who needed him and didn't even take the time
to care for himself.

There were still a fair number
of customers, mostly the
heavier drinkers, some of
whom had ordered two drinks
at last call, an old drinkers'
trick, so it was quite a while before the last of them was
gone and also his coworkers.

Leaving Jimin alone with a
lot of the cleanup left to do.

"Jungkook, you still here?" He
asked, pausing on his way to
lock the door after the last
of them left.

"Hang on and I'll be right
back."

When he returned, he
stretched his back and shifted
his weight so most of it was
off his sore foot.

"You'd probably better go
too, unless you need some
thing? It's getting pretty late, and you always get up so
early in the morning."

"I'll keep you company." I told him.

"What can I do to help?"

"Nothing." he insisted,
hobbling toward the doors
to the back.

"You're a customer and
shouldn't even be in here
after closing."

"Like hell."

"You've been working all
evening with that head and
that leg and I'm going to
give you a hand."

"It's the least I can do."

"The boss won't like it..."

I looked around.

"Is he here, somewhere?"

"Because I don't see him and
I won't tell him I helped you
if you don't."

He took a step and his leg wobbled.

He grabbed the edge of the
bar and cursed under his
breath a little.

"You know what?"

"I would like to get home to
Dalsu, He's in such a new situation and everything."

"Oh, very true."

Whatever would get him to
let me do the legwork.

"Can you maybe sit on a stool while you get the glasses in
the trays for the machine?"

He smiled but his cheeks
were pale.

"Yes, I can do that."

"And the servers wiped the
tables but I need to mop."

I couldn't help it.

I looped an arm around his
neck and drew him in for a squeeze.

"You're a strong man and a
good dad, I'm proud to give
you a little support."

I released him and moved into the back then returned with the mop in its bucket on wheels.

"I filled it up with hot soapy water. Is that all right?"

Jimin was holding two glasses over one of the dishwashing trays they used.

"Yes, more than okay."

"For the next hour, we both worked."

"I mopped and then wiped off
a couple of tables that didn't really look clean."

I carried the trays of glasses back to the commercial dishwasher then set it going according to his instructions
and when it was all done, he gave such a heartfelt sigh it made my heart beat harder.

"Thank you."

"You're the best."

He leaned in and pressed his
lips to my cheek but the
feelings that had been growing since I met him surged high
and I turned into the kiss.

I enfolded him in my arms
and kissed his lips.

I couldn't know if he'd welcome my attentions, didn't even know how he'd feel about a male kissing him but his response couldn't have been sweeter.

His lips parted under mine
and I deepened the contact, easing my tongue inside and finding his to twine with and taste.

He was heady and my wolf's growl came from deep inside.

Then he shifted again, as he
had earlier, getting the weight
off that bad leg and I cursed
my inconsideration.

I scooped him up.

"Come on."

"Let's go home." I carried him out to my car and set him in
the passenger seat.

When he protested that he
had his own car, I promised
to bring him back to pick it
up in the morning.

I wanted my mate, not my
mate safe under my roof.

My wolf insisted on it.

And he didn't argue too long.

He'd overdone it for his first
day because I was no sooner
on the road than he'd fallen asleep where he sat.

We'd have to talk about how much he was doing.

He had a lot of healing still to
do and I'd find other ways to help him while he did.

But he was not my mate.

He couldn't be.

Mate.