wonderland 「 jungkook 」

[fourteen] is this okay?

난 너의 따듯하미 필요해
i need your warmth wrapping around me.
괜찮다고 말해주잔하
i want to hear the words, "it's okay."

as the pair entered the house, it was already getting dark again. having not slept the night prior, they were both visibly exhausted. jungkook, for one, had deep, dark circles under his eyes. while he was out with alice, however, he hadn't noticed it. his eyes only started stinging with lack of sleep when the warm air in the house made his head feel foggy, his eyes threatening to close involuntarily at any second.

"it's getting late..." jungkook began speaking reluctantly, turning to the girl in his company who was taking her shoes off by the front door. "i guess i should be going now." although going home was the last thing he wanted now of all times, he didn't want to impose on her further than he already had. "i'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"no, you shouldn't be walking all the way home on the darkness; it's dangerous," alice intervened, catching ahold of his elbow just as he began walking towards the door. he tried to ignore the feeling of her bare, cold skin against his but came up unsuccessful. "you should stay the night here; i'm sure your parents would understand."

he but his tongue that threatened to spill the only secret he'd been keeping from her so far: that his parents were what he was running from all along. she probably thought it had something to do with his bullies; he couldn't think of another reason why she still hadn't asked about his condition.

"i insist, jungkook," she pressed when she saw his contemplative expression.

he stared at the floor for a moment before giving in like they both knew he would, nodding slightly and beginning to take his shoes off as well in response.

"we can walk to school tomorrow together," alice said as an afterthought. jungkook's heart flipped with joy. not only had he spent the whole day with her, but he'd be able to spend the night in her safe haven of a house and spend almost the entire day tomorrow at school with her as well.

"but for now, you need to eat. we spent all day out there without any food; you must be starving."

jungkook was always starving.

the pair went into the kitchen and ate some ramen she had stockpiles of in the pantry with crackers on the side. when they were done with that, she gave him some sweets for the extra calories. even if it was all from sugar and fat, she just wanted to make sure he'd had a sufficient amount of energy for the day.

when alice was satisfied with the amount he'd eaten, they began to speak.

"where will i sleep?" jungkook asked, even though he was certain that his place was on the living room couch.

"you can take my room," alice said. "we have a guest bedroom, but it's a giant dustball. it's not good for your breathing to sleep in there, even with all the windows wide open." jungkook just noticed when she said "we" that he hadn't had a single encounter with her grandmother since coming here. he quickly shrugged it off, as they left extremely early in the morning and elderly people usually went to bed extremely early. she was probably already asleep. he wondered what she would think if she knew that he would be staying the night.

"then where will you sleep?" jungkook asked hesitantly. "it doesn't feel right taking your room. i can just take the couch."