✔️ Unconditionally [Book 2] | Jeon Jungkook

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This chapter has a soundtrack
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"Be good for Mommy."

Jungkook leaned over Hyori's car seat, peppering her cheek with loud smooches, not letting up until she was breathless from giggling, only to do it again as soon as she calmed. Handing her her rapidly wearing-out peach bunny, he gave her one more kiss and climbed out of the back seat.

A wave of deja vu washed over Hyun-Ji as she handed him his backpack and watched him swing it up and over his head to put it on. After adjusting his straps on his shoulders, his contrasting gaze met hers, and she reminded herself to stay strong.

He would only be gone for a night.

The corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

She forced her face to mirror his. "Ok. Have a safe flight."

"I plan to," he said, chuckling slightly in an attempt to lift the overall somber mood.

"Let me know when you land?"

"I will."

He bent down and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her in the air as he stood tall again. She clung to him the way an inept swimmer clings to a life preserver during high tide, burying her face into the curve his neck. Smoky cedar and warm vanilla filled her lungs as she inhaled deeply, and she hoped that what she gathered of it would hold her over until he returned.

It was only for one night.

Her feet once again touched the ground. The palms of his hands slowly slid from around her waist, torching the skin under her shirt and leaving it craving for more of his warmth and energy. Those hands then cupped her cheeks, lifting her face toward his.

Coffee and onyx gazed down at her lovingly, and his thumbs caressed the apples of her cheeks.

"I love you," he said softly.

"I love you too."

He would be back soon.

Contrasting depths peered deeper into hers, and Hyun-Ji's mind worked frantically to repair the emotional dam that was growing weaker with each passing second spent under his attention. His smile fell by a fraction, and she tripled her efforts, stacking up sandbags to hold the watery torrent at bay, praying that it held until the eye of the storm was reached.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

'You are strong, and you will persevere.'

It would just be for one night.

"I'm ok," she smiled.

His smile returned, bringing a brief flash of his hidden dimple with it. Their lips pressed together tenderly, lingering for a few precious moments before he regretfully ended it. He had a flight to catch.

"I'll call when I land."

Mustering one last brave smile, she nodded and waved him goodbye, watching until he had turned at the last moment to wave again before disappearing through the glass doors of the terminal.

A shaky exhale was blown out. She'd succeeded. Now she just had to get home.

Her shoulders slumped as she walked back to the car, and her body sagged in the driver's seat once she was inside. Hands resting on the steering wheel, she stared in a daze at the gauges that told her she had a half tank of gas left, that the engine was running at an idle 2,000 RPMs, and that her seatbelt still wasn't on.