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“Please tell me why we are going to the airport at 4 in the damn morning?” you groan, handing your suitcase over to your cab driver who is trying hard not to laugh at your current state of sweatpants wrapped in a denim jacket.Irene rolls her eyes, “Y/N, we are only going to be in Vegas for 2 nights. We need to make the most of it. Plus, the tickets were like $100 less than if we left later in the afternoon. Just sleep on the plane.”She gets in the back of the cab, hoping to close the door before your sharp tongue can come with a witty remark. But you aren’t about to let her off the hook that easily. You throw open the door, sliding into the seat next to her.“Y/N, I don’t want to hear it. You are not going to ruin this for me! It’s my bachelorette party. I only get one” Irene snaps, holding her hand to your face as you buckle your seat belt.“If you’re lucky,” you mutter under your breathe, making your best friend smack your thigh loudly.The rest of the drive is spent in silence as both of you are too tired to try and make conversation, especially since you had been up almost the entire night watching Irene pick out her clothes for the next 2 nights. Two of you spent almost an hour picking out a black dress that looked identical to every other black dress she owned, but swore was different. As the dark purple circles settled under your eyes this morning, the only thing on your mind was getting through security and popping a Nyquil so that you could spend the rest of the flight in peace.“We’re here,” Irene whispers, shaking your shoulder to wake you up after what felt like five minutes. Her eyes shift past you, focusing the on something behind you, “I should have probably told you sooner, but Jungkook is coming.”“And you’re telling me this now?” pointing to the airport outside the window “You decide to inform me that my ex-boyfriend is coming on this trip right now? You told me two days ago that he wasn’t coming because of work.” you hiss, chasing your best friend out of the car and towards the trunk.“And he wasn’t going to! But then he called Namjoon yesterday and told him that he had managed to get the time off.” Irene all but pleads for forgiveness, hiding behind the cab driver.“You should’ve told him he wasn’t invited! That the plane was completely booked! The hotel was completely booked! Anything!”She shrugs, “He’s Namjoon’s best friend, Y/N. And he had already bought his ticket, what was I supposed to do?”You take your suitcase from the driver and make a beeline for the airport entrance, “I’m not speaking to you until we get to the gate.”Irene knows better than to push you when you’re upset, that law school and your work had given you a short fuse. Your attitude worked in the courtroom, helping your clients leave feeling happy and content and divorced while they fill your pockets with the end of their marriage. But it didn’t always translate the same to your personal life and most of your loved ones knew to stay far away when you were upset, knowing that your emotional time bomb was slowly ticking away.It isn’t until you’ve both winded your way around the security line that you turn your attention to your best friend and ask, “Is he on our flight?”Irene chews on her lip before answering, “He and Namjoon are already waiting at the gate.”You take a deep breath, trying your best to mentally prepare yourself for seeing your childhood sweetheart for the first time in almost a year.“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Y/N. I just panicked and thought that if you knew he was coming you wouldn’t come on this trip with me. You’re my best friend, and I would never intentionally try to hurt you, not when it comes to Jungkook. It wouldn’t feel right celebrating with everyone unless you were there. I’m sorry.”You shrug, “It’s fine. I mean, I wish you would have told me so I could have at least brushed my teeth and put on some concealer so I could show him what he’s missing but it’s too late for that now. I checked all my makeup.”She smiles as she takes your hand in hers, “I mean, the good thing about this weekend is that hopefully we’ll all be drinking so much that you won’t even realize he’s there!”As soon as you reached the gate, your eyes landing on the muscular man who used to be the one you considered the love of your life sitting with his carry on, you knew that was going to be impossible. He looked exactly the same as he always did, his features still stuck in a time where things were easier. The remnants of your teenage years still clinging to his face. You remembered when he got that scar on his cheek after a fight with his brother. It wasn’t fair how he just the sight of him was enough to set you back several years, the feeling in your gut was the same one you felt the first day of high school when Jeon Jungkook walked into your home room class.But that was years and several grey hairs ago.Jungkook must have sensed your presence, the ice that hung in the air as soon as the two of you were in a room together making everyone around you shiver. He stared at you with a blank face, unsure how to handle you standing in front of him in sweatpants. His adam’s apple bobbed up and down his neck as he swallowed down his nerves, knowing better than to try to start a conversation before you had your first few cups of coffee.You settle in a seat as far away from him as possible, there weren’t any open seats near him anyway, and try to distract yourself by scrolling through social media. You can’t help yourself but type in the username he has been using since high school into the search bar. The idiot still had his profile unprotected, allowing your eyes to scan through photos of the past 12 months you hadn’t been together. It was strange to a new face wrapped around his arms. The two of them looking cozy in the familiar backdrop of Jungkook’s favorite bar. At least someone had managed to move on.It had been several weeks since he had posted anything about her, maybe they broken up. Maybe that’s why Jungkook changed his mind and suddenly wanted to join his best friend and his fiance and his ex-girlfriend on a trip to Vegas. You catch yourself, shaking your head as you remind your heart that Jungkook’s life is no longer any of your business, and it hadn’t been for a very long time.“Flight 901 to Las Vegas is ready to board at gate 4E” a voice announces over the loud speaker, making everyone waiting at the gate stand up and slowly file over to line up one by one.“Are you okay?” Irene whispers as you take your place in line several people behind your beanie clad ex.“I don’t know,” you answer, watching him hand his boarding pass to the woman in a neatly pressed uniform.As you walk down the aisle of plane you feel yourself getting nowhere, the narrow stretch somehow seeming like it was miles long as you make your way towards your seat. Jungkook was settled into a middle seat with no one around him, hoping that your aisle seat would not be the one next to him.But that familiar smile appears on his face when you stop in front of his row which was now your own. The plane suddenly feeling four times as small. You slip the your carry on into the overhead compartment next to the dirty old gym bag you had bought him when you were 18. At least one thing seemed to make it over the years, you think to yourself as you hesitate to take the seat next to him.“Just sit down, Y/N. You’re hovering and I’m already nervous enough as it is” are the first words he says to you in almost a year.His eyes remain glued to the back of the seat in front of him, staring the television flashing welcome, as you occupy the aisle seat. Jungkook removes his arm from the armrest in order to put as much distance between the two of you as possible in the limited amount of space. It’s awkward to be sitting next to him, to smell his familiar cologne mixing with the smell of his shampoo. The fragrance stirring up years of memories that you shove to the back of your brain, chasing it down with a Nyquil in hopes you can sleep through the several hours long flight.And you almost do until the smallest amount of turbulence jerks you awake. You head was resting not on the back of the seat, but to your right, and with the weight of someone else pressing against you. Jungkook. Immediately you straighten yourself out, pulling your body away from your ex boyfriend. He doesn’t move, his head slightly dropping but his mouth remained open, a glimmer of drool threatening the side of his mouth. Your hand reaches out, the small part of you that still cares, to wipe his mouth but as his eyes flutter open you drop your hand. Hoping that he didn’t see your attempted gesture.“You’re drooling,” you tell him.“You’re staring,” he scoffs, wiping the side of his mouth your fingers almost touched.“How are we going to do this?” you ask bluntly, making Jungkook roll his eyes.“How are we going to do what?” he asks sarcastically, knowing the answer to his question all too well.You choose to ignore his indifference and carry on, “You know what I am talking about Jungkook. This is Namjoon and Irene’s weekend. We can’t get in the middle of that.”He scoffs, “First of all, there is no ‘we’. You made that pretty clear the night we broke up. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s old news. If I wanted to fight with you I could do that at home and not spend too much money on watered down alcohol in Las Vegas. I’ll stay out of your way as long as you stay out of mine, okay?”The tone in his voice is catches you off guard and all you can do is nod and mutter, “Okay.”“Can’t I just stay in the room?” you ask dramatically as you flop down on the hotel room bed several hours of champagne later.“No!” Irene slurred as the alcohol was already starting to take a hold of her, “You promised you would go out with me! Y/N!”“Are you a child?” you ask, throwing your suitcase open to find the dress your best friend had made you pack.Your best friend peeks her head out of the bathroom door with her head of hair half curled, “I am not a child, I am a bride!”“Okay, princess” you tease, rolling your eyes as you start to undress, replacing the sweatpants from this morning with the snug black fabric.“I look ridiculous,” you mutter as you take in your reflection of the hotel closet door. The dress clung to your body, highlighting areas you only really paid attention to when someone else’s hands were on you.“Holy shit, look at you!” Irene shrieks, walking into the main room of the lavish hotel room, “Jungkook is going to die when he sees you!”“Please, can we not talk about Jungkook? I just want to get wasted and make out with someone I will never have to see again.”Irene giggles as she returns to the bathroom to finish her make up, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!”“Never say that again,” you warned as your phone starts to vibrate in your bag.Even though you had told the firm you would be out of office and unreachable, they still insisted on forwarding every single message to your inbox. The small device in your hand was one of the many reasons why you were still single. After becoming a partner at one of the top divorce and family law firms in the city, you had very little time for other people or yourself for that matter. You try to type your response quickly, knowing that Irene would give you a lecture about not working if she caught you.“Are you ready?” she asks, making you jump from your place on the bed. Her eyes narrow, “You were working! Weren’t you?”“Irene, you can’t expect me to not check my e-mail this entire weekend. I just took on a new case,” you sling your bag over your shoulder, giving yourself one last check for lipstick on your teeth in the mirror before making your way to the hotel room door.Your best friend grabs you by the wrist before you can leave the room, “You promised me! No work for the entire weekend! You’re hot and young and it’s time you start acting like it or you’re going to get wrinkles!”“You’re the one giving me grey hairs!” you retort, letting her drag you down the hallway.It only took 30 minutes and several terrible rounds of small talk that you wished you had stayed in the hotel room. The rest of the group invited to celebrate Namjoon and Irene’s impending nuptials were people you had nothing in common with. They were the creative types, working in music like Namjoon or members of the art world with Irene. You could see how their eyes glazed over when you responded to their questions about your work, choosing instead to nurse on your overpriced and watered down drink at the end of the bar instead.Out of the corner of your eye you could see him pushing through the crowd. Sweat kept his bangs pushed to his forehead and there was a panting in his chest, he must have just come off the dance floor. Quickly, you turn your gaze to the cocktail napkin in front of you, hoping he didn’t catch you staring. But when you gave yourself permission to look, he was gone.“Looking for me?” He whispers in your ear from behind, making you choke on the drink you had just started to drink from.“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you wipe the spilled alcohol from the corners of your mouth.Jungkook reaches out a finger, swiping his callused hands along the bottom of your chin, “You missed a spot.”The two of you stare at each other with locked eyes, unsure if this interaction is going to turn into a battle that neither of you would win.“What are you doing Jungkook?” you finally ask, “I thought we agreed to stay away from each other.”He shrugs, “Yeah, but that was until I met all of Namjoon’s friends. It looks like you and I are both in the same situation. I know you hate Irene’s friends”“I don’t hate anyone,” you snort, rolling your eyes at Jungkook’s words.He leans against the bar, “Then why are you sitting at the bar, alone?”“It’s none of your business.”“You’re miserable.”You glare at him, “You’re an asshole.”Jungkook smiles, “At least I can admit it.”The bottom of your jaw becomes unhinged as you stare at him. He wasn’t normally like this, but there was a fire in his eyes that burned brighter as he winked, slowly disappearing into the crowd and leaving you alone. You sink the rest of your drink down in one shot and it’s quickly replaced by a full one, the dark liquor promising a night you would probably regret in the morning. But you weren’t about to let your ex-boyfriend get the last word in.You weren’t miserable, you were just married to your job.But tonight, you weren’t going to work. Irene had dragged you to Vegas to have fun and that’s exactly what you were going to do.The dance floor was crowded, full of swaying bodies clad in their best clothing. Strangers showing off their moves in hopes the person holding their hips ends up kissing their lips between sheets after last call. It’s been a long time, since law school, that you had gone to a club like this. You’re more likely to be seen in a swanky cocktail bar full of suits than a darkly lit dance floor. But you’re on vacation, you remind yourself, letting your body move to the music for the first time in too long.It feels good, a welcome distraction from the fact the person you had once promised the rest of your life to was in the crowd. As your body swayed to the beat your mind went blank, pushing the files waiting on your desk to the back of your mind. Despite the thumping bass all you felt was quiet. You made a mental note to do this more often, to let yourself unwind.The moments of blissful silence are interrupted when you feel his presence. His fingertips no longer having to touch your skin for you to feel him. Slowly, you open your eyes to the dark club, blinking several times in order for your eyes to adjust to the dim lights. Jungkook’s not far, standing only a few meters away, staring. You stand in the middle of the floor like a deer locked in headlights, unsure of where to go or what to do, but feeling incredibly vulnerable under his gaze.He makes his way towards you, making it seem like everyone in the room is disappearing and its just the two of you left. But you know what comes next. You know how this all ends, and you can’t bring yourself to let him meet you in the center. Shaking your head, you back away, silently telling him that you can’t do this again. He freezes, letting the crowd surround him until he’s no longer in your line of sight.It takes several attempts and one sharp jab of your shoulder into a man with too much cologne for you to reach the neon lit bar. You were not drunk enough to handle this, not by any means. The dance floor wasn’t safe. The table with Irene’s friends would surely put you to sleep. If you wanted to salvage any remaining part of the night you wanted to feel the tingle of a buzz. You order your favorite cocktail, but made sure to make it a double. The alcohol stings your lips as you swallow it done. The fire you’ve been craving slowly starts to burn with each sip.“Easy tiger,” he warns, watching you turn your drink into nothing but a glass of ice.“Don’t tell me what to do.,” you slur.Jungkook nods in the bartender’s direction, “It looks like I have some catching up to do.”You roll your eyes, “Do whatever you want, Jungkook. I don’t care.”“Clearly,” he chuckles, taking his own glass into his hands.You look at the dark colored glass, his standard order of whiskey and coke with a lime, “You’re predictable.”“So are you!” he fires back, pointing to the only thing you ever order.“What the hell did you think you were doing back there?” the blunt words rolling off your tongue with the ease of liquid courage.He shakes his head, “You’re fully aware of what you do to me, Y/N. I don’t think I need to tell you that.”“We can’t keep doing this Jungkook. You and I both know we’re not good for each other. We haven’t been in a very long time.”You can see his hand tighten around the glass as he takes a long deep breath, “How did we end up here, Y/N? I thought I was going to marry you and now you’re looking at me like I have 12 heads.”“We were young and naive when we made those promises, Jungkook. We’re not the same people we were back then.”He nods his head, “You’re not the same.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” you ask through narrowed eyes, “Are we really going to talk about this again? Here?”“No, but I do have one question,” he tells you, a dark flicker spreading across his eyes, “Why is that I still hate you, but I still want nothing more than to kiss you right now?”You stumble backwards, his words catching you off guard as 20 seconds ago the two of you were about to get into a yelling match. You tell him, “I have to pee,” before running to the safety of the bathroom.The bathroom of the club is one of the nicest you had ever been too and you’re almost unsure if you should even be inside it. There is a lounge covered in cream and gold fabrics, making it look like the suite of a hotel room, not a place to touch up your makeup. The gold sinks lead to bathrooms the size of the one in your apartment. As soon as you latch the stall door behind you, you let out a sigh of frustration.You hated him. You hated Jungkook and how his stupid bunny smile made you weak in the knees. You hated how your heart raced the second his eyes locked on yours. In the 10 years you had known him you would have thought that you were able to figure out how to defend yourself from his charms, but every time he looked at you you could feel yourself easing back to how it always was.It would be good for a while, your relationship. The two of you would get back together and act like whatever fight happened between the two of you didn’t exist. But it wouldn’t take long for the shine to rub off, the cracks hiding beneath the surface unable to be held together by the glue the two of you applied sloppily. It was a vicious cycle that the two of you had spent years trying to break and for the first time in over a year it seemed like you had, until tonight.The zipper on your dress was easy to get down, but after you finish breaking the seal far too early, you can feel it catch on the fabric unable to move even a millimeter.“Fuck,” you mutter after a particularly hard yank results in the sound of fabric ripping. You were stuck and with a completely exposed back.You knew that texting Irene would be pointless, there is so way she was sober enough to feel her phone vibrate in the loud atmosphere of the club. For as busy as the place was, there was no one else in the bathroom. No one to help you get out of the mess you mad. You had no choice but to adjust yourself, hoping that if you didn’t make any swift movements that your dress would remain in place.“Y/N!” you hear Jungkook shout over the music. He had been waiting for you.“Not now, Jungkook!” you hiss, not wanting to risk exposing yourself in front of your ex-boyfriend.“What’s going on with your dress?”Your hands fly to the back, trying your best to hide the snagged zipper but it was already too late. Jungkook’s hands were swatting at yours, trying to pry your fingers off the pull.“I don’t need your help,” you hiss as his callused hands succeed in taking yours over.“How the fuck did you manage this?” he struggles with the zipper, trying his best to undo the mess you had made like he always did.“I had to pee!” you whine.He grabs you by the shoulders, “Will you please just stay still and let me help you?”You let out a sigh, “Fine.”Jungkook doesn’t say a word, his rough hands fixated on untangling the metal from fabric, but you can feel the tension rising between the two of you. You curse yourself for not wearing a bra, leaving your entire back exposed and Jungkook’s mind open to wander. His hands barely touch your skin, only for a few seconds, but it is enough to send your body into flames. Your body’s automatic response after years.“All done,” he whispers, letting his fingers hover over the freed zipper, “Do you want me to zip you up?”“Y-y-yes,” you manage to choke out, holding your breath as you feel his fingertips make contact with your spine.He slowly drags them down the center of your back, leaving a trail of goosebumps soon to be covered by fabric. Each vertebrae he passes hums, the joints of your spine having missed his hands. Your lower back twitches as his fingers pass one of your most sensitive areas, your Achilles heel located in your back. The pads of his fingers hover, unsure if he wants to zip you back up or take off your dress completely. You can hear him swallow nervously, tugging the metal upwards, covering the areas he set ablaze with your black dress.He clears his throat and mumbles, “You’re all good.”He’s about to leave before you stop him, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him back to face you. Jungkook stares at you, knowing that if something is going to happen between the two of you that it’s going to be on your terms. He waits for your decision that you’re unsure if you should be making in your condition.But you make one anyway.“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?” you ask, waiting patiently for him to respond.Jungkook’s pupils blow, eyes darkening as he realizes what you’re asking. He nods a yes, closing the distance between you in seconds. His hands grip your face, fingertips settling perfectly along your cheekbones. He’s cautious, still waiting for you to make the first move, worried that you’re going to change your mind the second he advances.It only takes two kisses before Jungkook has you pinned between the wall and his chest, your lips eagerly making up for the past 12 months you went without physical or emotional contact. The motions come easy, having memorized the steps to make him go crazy years ago. You’re too caught up in the scent of the cologne he has been wearing since you bought it for him when you got in law school and how his hands fill the spaces on your hips to care who sees you. The dimly lit hallway to the bathroom isn’t crowded, but you know that neither one of you will be able to control yourself for much longer.“The bathroom,” you breathe in the moment he lets you come up for air, his lips taking place in the spot where your jaw meets your neck, kissing along raised skin.“You sure take me to the best places,” he taunts.“Stop talking,” you warn, grabbing your ex boyfriend by the wrist and dragging him into the room you just came out of.The elegant bathroom you’re about to defile with moans and pleasure is still completely empty, but you don’t want to take any chances. You drag Jungkook into the very last stall, slamming the door with a little too much force, making it rattle on its hinges. He stares at you with pupils blown so widely you can no longer see the dark brown eyes you had loved so much.“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to touch me?” you quip, reaching out to flick the buckle of his belt.“What do you want me to do” he asks, sending a wicked smile across your face.“Kiss me”He smirks in return, “Where?”The liquid courage has the words tumbling from your mouth, letting out a side of you that you rarely showed, “You choose.”“Alright,” he murmurs, slowly sinking down to his knees in front of you.The sight catches you off guard, maybe Jungkook had changed. Your selfish ex-boyfriend hardly ever returned the favor but you can’t contain your excitement as you look at the head of messy brown hair between your thighs. Your hands gain a mind of their own as they lace themselves in his soft locks, waiting for the moment you need to brace yourself with their help. Jungkook bites and licks a trail up your thighs, pushing your dress further up your waist until the lace is completely exposed.“These are nice,” he purrs, dragging his finger between the silky band and your skin.“Take them off,” you breathe knowing that the overpriced material was already ruined with how wet you were. It would have been embarrassing if it had been anyone else, but Jungkook was no stranger to how you reacted to his touch and slipped the damp underwear down to your ankles without as much as blinking.“Spread your legs for me baby,” he encourages, using his palms to guide your shaky legs open.“No pet names,” you warn, tugging on the long locks in your fingers.He responds by spreading open your lips and sharply swiping his tongue across your extremely deprived clit. The jolt of pleasure makes you jerk, rolling your head back against the wooden bathroom stall door. His warm hands find your folds, spreading them open so he can to flick along you slit. The slurred moan that escapes your lips encourages him to strike again, his tongue swiftly moves back and forth, running against your heat from top to bottom.Jungkook knows what you like and purposefully avoids the hood of your clit, knowing that as soon as his makes contact you’ll be cuming all over him. It had been months since you last lay, a lousy one night stand with a lawyer you had seen around the courthouse, and every single swipe of his tongue makes you quiver, your legs threatening to buckle as your thighs want to close around his head.“I think someone likes that,” he smirks, pushing your thighs back to their original position and using the opportunity to slip a finger inside of you.You tighten the hold on his hair as he syncs the pumping of his finger with the flick of his tongue. The newly added pressure making your go completely blank. The small of your back arches off the wood door as the pads of his finger tip finds the right spot. He teases you slowly by dragging his fingertip up and down that small patch of nerves and you don’t think you can take it anymore. He gets the hint, wasting no time to press his tongue flat against the hood of your clit while continuing to pump his finger in your walls.“Oh fuck,” you gasp as he takes your overly sensitive bud in his mouth, flicking his tongue back and forth repeatedly, gaining speed with every motion.It doesn’t take long before your hands press into his hair, holding your shaking legs up against the stall as you feel your orgasm starting to spread across your body. Jungkook licks up your juices, not letting a single drop go to waste as his tongue encourages you to cum on his lips.“I’m going to fucking cum,” you cry, unable to hold back as your ex-boyfriend takes your entire clit in his mouth and tugs. He doesn’t stop until the shaking in your legs settles and your body hums in relief and pleasure.He wipes your orgasm off his lips, proud of his accomplishments as he stands up to meet your gaze. He bites his lips as he takes your face into his palm, swiping his tongue against his bottom lip and swallowing anything that lingered. There was a smug look on his face that would have made you angry if you didn’t want him to take you back to the hotel.“What now?” he asks. His hands finding your clothed nipples, sending shock waves down your stimulated system.“I want you to fuck me,” you tell him, reaching forward to grab onto his belt.“Are you sure?” he asks slyly before pressing a kiss against your neck, “If you let me take you back to my room we can rack up the mini bar bill on Namjoon’s credit card. And I’ll fuck you any way you like.”The sound of the bathroom door makes you jump, reminding you of the reality of the situation you had put yourself in. You had just let your ex-boyfriend go down on you in a Las Vegas club bathroom, making you think for a split second that you had lost your mind. But there was something in the way Jungkook was staring at you that made you not want the night to end, knowing that in the morning you each of you would file this into the memory bank of mistakes.“Let’s go before I change my mind,” you tell him, leading him out of the bathroom as soon as the sound of the lock in the stall several feet down clicked into place.The morning sun hits you like a ton of bricks, the normally happy sunshine making the pounding in your head triple with every second your eyes are open. The room blurs into focus and you soon realize that you’re not in your hotel room and there is someone who is not Irene holding you closely to their naked chest.You squeeze your eyes shut, hoping that some sort of last minute prayer was enough for the person next to you to not be who you thought it was. But it was too late as your hungover eyes focused on Jungkook. You stare at the man sleeping next to you. By the drool pooling near the corner of his mouth you knew that the lack of your body weight next to him wouldn’t be enough to wake him. It wouldn’t be hard to sneak out of the room.Each pulse of your temples alerted you that you had made a terrible mistake last night. One you would not be looking forward to explaining to Irene when you finally got back to the room. You start to wipe the sleep from your eyes when you feel it, the foreign object on the ring finger of your left hand. You never wore rings so the presence of a band of gold wrapped around your finger set your body into a panic.You quickly slip off the bed to search for any sort of evidence that this was all a joke. That the ring on you finger was something from a quarter machine the two of you had found when you went to get something to fill your stomachs that wasn’t alcohol. There is no way that the two of you had managed to get married in one of Las Vegas’s drive-thru chapels. You might have been drunk, but you certainly weren’t that dumb.The crumpled manila folder you didn’t know you were searching for was resting on the hotel desk under a pile of empty bottles from the hotel mini bar and you head straight for it.“Fuck,” you whisper as the glass bottles hit the floor and turn to look to see if the noise had disturbed Jungkook but your ex-boyfriend was sleeping like a baby.You had seen hundreds of marriage certificates as you made a living off making them no longer exist between an unhappy couple but seeing your name printed next to Jungkook’s was something you never thought you would see. Sure, years ago you had imagined that one day he would call you his wife, but things had changed. The two of you had changed. Marrying Jungkook was something of that past, but now it was very much your present.“What the fuck am I doing to do?” you whisper to yourself. You think quickly, if you snuck out of the room now you could run to the hotel room and get your laptop and research the marriage laws of Nevada. There was no possible way this marriage could actually be legal as you didn’t even remember it happening in the first place.“Please don’t tell me you started round two without me,” Jungkook’s sleepy words call out from where he was tangled in the sheets.The sudden sound of his voice makes you jump out of your skin, one hand gripping onto the back of the desk chair while the other sends the papers in your hand flying across the room.“Easy tiger, I didn’t mean to scare you. Come back to bed,” he taunts, completely unaware that what happened last night would be enough to squash his morning wood.“No, I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” you shake your head furiously while your hands pick up your drunken marriage license.The bed sheets rustle and the mattress squeaks as Jungkook pushes his weight off the queen size pillow top. He can sense something is wrong as he makes his way towards you. The warmth of his hand of his hand used to be comforting, but all you could see was the cheap gold band on his fourth finger, the twin to the one on yours.“Y/N, it’s okay. We don’t have to figure out what it is going on between us right now. I know last night was a lot,” he smiles, “And I sure as hell don’t remember a lot of it, but we can talk about it when we get back home. Let’s just order room service and fuck all morning in denial”He places a kiss on your lips but you stay frozen like a statue made of ice and he quickly realizes that you aren’t playing a game, “What’s going on, Y/N?”You don’t know how to tell him, how to speak the words, “We got married last night while we were blackout drunk and according to the documents in your hand it was very much legal” so you shove the manila folder into his and and blurt out, “Read this.”Jungkook furrows his brows as you watch him read, chewing on his bottom lip to help his hungover brain focus on the text in front of him. You watch as all the color drain slowly drains from his face as he reads the marriage certificate. When he finally has the courage to look at you the whites of his eyes are blinding, like a deer caught in the headlights of rush hour traffic.“W-w-w-hat does this mean?” he asks, pointing to the paper in his hands.“Legally,” you hold up your left hand, “You’re my husband.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Y/N!” you heard Jungkook shout from somewhere outside in the backyard, “What’s taking so long? Did you go to New York or something? It’s just beer!”

You roll your eyes as you finish pouring beer from the keg into the second cup in your hands, “I’m teaching you patience!”

As soon as the second cup is filled you head back out to where your best friends and impatient boyfriend are waiting for you around the campfire. You take a second to take in the surroundings, knowing that it will be that last summer that all of you get to spend together. Each of you going your separate ways and to separate universities. All your life you had spent waiting for this moment, but now that it was here you weren’t really sure if you ever wanted it to end. These people and this place was all you ever knew and leaving the nest was scary.

But as you watched Jungkook laugh and smile with Namjoon and the others you were glad that at least the two of you would be together. Jungkook’s ears must have started to itch as he turned to look at you, sending you a silent smile as if he knew what you were thinking.

“Y/N!” he shouts, “Thank god you’re back. Namjoon is trying to get all sentimental on us.”

You blink back tears, not realizing you had started to cry as you make your way back to your seat, “Of course he is!”

Jungkook’s arms wrap around your waist, pulling you into his lap before you could settle in the plastic chair next to him. Cheap beer spills out over the lip of the cup and you jab an elbow into his ribs as your canvas shoes are now going to need to be thrown in the wash several times to get the stench out.

“Are you okay?” he whispers as he pulls the hair that had fallen out of your bun off your neck.

You nod, “I’m just feeling a little sad, that’s all.”

Your boyfriend intertwined his fingers into yours and squeezes, “Don’t worry, we have all summer.”

“Will the two of you please get a room!” someone shouts.

“Fuck off!” Jungkook fires back.

Namjoon shakes his head, “Honestly, I never thought the two of you would last.”

“Why do you say that?” you ask even though you already know the answer.

Jungkook’s best friend smirks, “The two of you are polar opposites but also made for each other at the same time. I mean, if the two of you don’t end up married with a bunch of kids there is seriously something fucked up in the universe.”

The words make a large bunny like smile appear across your boyfriend’s face, “No one else would be able to put up with her so I think I am really doing everyone else a favor by marrying her”

The confidence in his answer makes you snort, “Look who’s talking.”
The sunlight coming through the hotel window hits the cheap gold ring you hold between your fingertips as you think about all the times the two of you talked about marriage. Back in the days where everything seemed possible and life hadn’t gotten in the way yet. The two of you had plans, the ceremony wasn’t going to be anything fancy, just a small gathering of close friends and family, but they were plans. You were going to walk down an aisle lined by trees and fairy lights and Jungkook would be waiting for you at the other end as he pretended he wasn’t about to cry.It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be a night you would never forget, not one you would never remember.“Y/N!” Irene shouts from the bathroom, “Are you almost ready?”The question makes you jump out of your skin and you rush to hide the gold ring under your pillow. It had been several hours since the discovery of your drunken nuptials but you didn’t have the heart to tell your best friend, knowing that she would have chewed your ass out for your stupidity. You would tell her when you were back home. There was only one night left in Vegas and you didn’t want to ruin it for her.“You’re not dressed!” she scoffs when she notices you still in bed, “Aren’t you coming with me?”You shake your head, “I’m not hungry.”Your best friend looks at you like she doesn’t believe a word you’re saying, “You’re hungover, you have to be hungry.”“If I eat I think I’ll puke.”Irene gives you a side eye, but knows better than to try and force you to do anything you want to do, “Will you at least order room service so at least the bile in your stomach won’t rip a hole?”You nod, pulling the covers tightly to your chin, “Yeah.”“And don’t think we aren’t going to talk about how you didn’t sleep in your bed last night! I need to hear all the details you tramp!” she shouts as she leaves the room, closing the hotel door behind her with a click.A long sigh escapes your lungs as you pull the blankets over your head, burying yourself in the soft hotel linens, “What am I going to do?”You think back to earlier in the morning and the way Jungkook’s face dropped as soon as he processed what you had told him. His whole body turned stiff, turning into a statue instead of the warm human he usually was. He could barely bring himself to look at you out of either embarrassment or shame. His silence made you feel sick. Jungkook had looked at you angrily before, but he was never not able to look at you. You felt small and vulnerable and like a dog with its tail between your legs you left the hotel room.You knew him well enough to know that he wouldn’t try anything as long as you were hiding safely in your hotel room. But as the minutes passed by, increasing the silence between you, you got nervous. You wondered what he was thinking and if he was feeling anything remotely like how you were. It was turning your stomach into knots.The sound of the door unlocking made you angry. Irene never knew how to just drop it. However, she was not the one who pulled the covers off your frame.“We need to talk,” Jungkook tells you with a stern tone in his voice.“How did you get in here?” you ask, covering up your chest even though you were wearing a t-shirt.“Irene gave me her key.”You aren’t sure if you are more annoyed at the fact that Jungkook waltzed into your hotel room without asking or the fact that Irene decided it was a good idea to give him access.“Have you eaten?” he asks, crossing his arms to tell you that he wasn’t going to leave very easily.“No.”He nods over to your suitcase, “Get dressed. I’ll wait outside.”You wander into the bathroom after Jungkook leaves the room. The reflection staring back at you reminds you college. The circles under your eyes aren’t dark enough to hide your swollen cheeks. Jungkook seemed impatient so you knew that he wouldn’t be willing to wait for you to attempt to put yourself together, but he has seen you in far worse conditions than this. You slap cold water on your face and brush the night out of your teeth before throwing your hair into a mess on your head. Jungkook was waiting with his back pressed up against the hallway wall with eyes squeezed shut. Your presence made him jump, his eyes fluttering open rapidly as if he had fallen asleep standing up. He gives you the once over, giving your appearance an eyebrow.“What?” you ask as you look down at your dirty jeans and t-shirt, “You’re lucky I bothered to brush my teeth.”He holds up his hands, “I didn’t say anything.”“But your face did.” He sighs, “Can we just not do this right now?”“Too hungover?”“Y/N, come on.”“Fine, I’ll play nice.”“Thank you.”You chew on your lip, “Where do you want to talk?”Jungkook shrugs, “I don’t care but I need to eat something before I puke again.”You hesitate knowing all too well what happens when you have conversations like these in public. Someone always ends up in tears, holding it in as much as possible to not gain anymore attention than the raised voices already gave you. It wasn’t fun, having strangers hand you napkins after the other person walked away after throwing money for the bill in crumpled piles on the table. But the mention of food has your stomach doing flip-flops, the hangover threatening to spill bile and who knows what from your gut in case you didn’t put something greasy in it fast.“I think I saw a diner not too far from here. We can try that?” you suggest, trying to pick something neutral. “I could go for a burger,” Jungkook agrees.“You could always go for a burger,” you remind him, taking the first shaky steps towards the elevator. “You’re right, but I especially need one now. My head feels like it’s going to explode.”“Good.”You felt like everyone in the diner was staring at you as the two of you followed the waitress in a pink 1950’s dress took you to your table. It was as if they knew more about what happened the night before than you or Jungkook. In the back of your head you knew that wasn’t possible, that what you were feeling was embarrassment and anxiety about the impending conversation that it was starting to affect how you were interacting with everyone around you.Her question of, “Would you like the booth or the table?” made you jump out of your skin. Jungkook answered for you and the two of you were seated at the large booth with menus several inches thick before you could even process a response.“Are you alright?” he asked as you buried your nose in the large menu. “Mhm,” you mumble as you try to decide if you want a burger the size of your head or a stack of pancakes that could feed a family of four. Jungkook’s hand pulls down the menu and the two of you make eye contact for a brief second before you can feel your cheeks turn red and you look away. “You know, you’re not the only one feeling this way, Y/N” he reminds you.“I know.”“So are we going to talk about it or are we just going to eat breakfast in silence.”“Technically it’s lunch time,” you quip.He sighs, temporarily giving up as he presses the back of his head into the sparkly red cushioned booth, “When are we going to talk about it?”You press your fingertips into your temples, “Can I please have some coffee first? It feels like someone is trying to crack my skull open with a dull axe.”“Fair enough.”His eyes don’t leave you as you sip on your black coffee, wishing you could down the whole the whole mug in one go but you didn’t want to risk burning your entire tongue. You didn’t know what to say and there was only so much banter the two of you could spit before one of you ran out of things to say. “Can I get you two something to eat?” the same red haired waitress asked after coming back to your table for a third time. You stare back down at the menu and still have no idea what you want. Eggs or pancakes or a burger, everything sounded good to your stomach acid lined stomach. You close the menu and decide to order the first thing that rolls off your tongue. “I’ll have the buttermilk pancakes with two fried eggs and a side of bacon please.”The waitress chuckles, “You got it sweetie.”Her eyes fall onto Jungkook and the familiar face that you knew all too well spread across the face. You got used to it after a few months, the way waitresses and baristas and every other woman you came across looked at him. He was beautiful and he was charming, completely irresistible to anyone who ever came in contact with him. Sometimes, they would turn their attention to you, giving the once over before deciding that they couldn’t understand why he was with you. You would watch as their faces fall when he wrapped his arm around you, pulling you into to plant a kiss of comfort on your forehead. “What can I get you sugar?” she asks in a voice that’s syrupy sweet.“A cheeseburger with avocado and can I get some hot sauce on the side?” he orders his standard order without even blinking.“Can you leave the tomato off the burger? He won’t eat them,” you chime in.She nods, smiling as she thinks she understands the relationship between the of you, and walks towards the kitchen.“What was that?” Jungkook asks as she is out of earshot, typing your orders into a touch screen register. You roll your eyes, “Jungkook, for someone who hates tomatoes you never order your food without them. I’ve had to sit and watch you pick of probably thousand tomatoes over the years I have known you. It drives me fucking crazy. Just ask for it without them!”He snorts, crossing his arms in front of him as he focuses his attention to the black and white head shots of famous actresses that lined the walls of the diner. You stare at his features, his face was just as handsome as when you met him at 16, but the years the two of you had shared were visible. The smile lines around his eyes were deeper. The circles under his eyes a bit darker. But he was the same Jungkook, silver earring and all.“Why do you still wear that thing?” you scoff, wrinkling your nose at the dangling piece of metal. “Because I like it,” he snaps back with a mouthful of cheeseburger.“Don’t you think you’re a little old to be wearing it still?”“Don’t you think you’re a bit young to be nagging like your mother?”His jab makes you choke, spitting out the water you had just attempted to swallow, “Take it back!” He smiles, “You take it back first!”“Never. That thing is disgusting.”“That’s what I thought. You are turning into your mother.”You pick up the object closest to you and throw it at him as hard as you can but the straw only lands a few inches from where it started. Jungkook’s smile widens, knowing that he has succeeded in getting under your skin. You start to pout, sticking out your bottom lip as the words continue to exist in the universe. “Jeon Jungkook! You take that back right now or I’ll shove a french fry up your nose” you whine in a baby voice. Your threat makes him laugh, shaking his head as he tries to calm himself down.“What’s so funny?”“I’m just remembering why I can never stay mad,” he runs his fingers through his hair, “What am I going to do with you?”His question makes the air around you go silent. The glimpse of happiness and laughter now gone as the two of you start to face the reality of the night before. Neither of you know where to start, chunks of hours missing from your memory due to the overpriced cocktails and the hotel minibar bottles.The waitress interrupts, placing your orders in front of each of you quicker than you expected for how crowded the place was. She stares back and forth at the two of you and you aren’t sure what is going to say. The tension between the two of you was thick enough to cut with a knife so there was no way she couldn’t have felt it. “The two of you are just so cute together. Enjoy your breakfast! I’ll come back with refills for your coffee, love.” her words making your cheeks go red at her mistake.Each of you take several bites of your food, unsure when the appropriate time to bring up the events of the night before, but you can’t hold it in after you watch Jungkook eat half of his burger in one bite.“I looked over the documents all morning long and did as much research as I could on my phone without Irene yelling at me to stop working. And it seems like everything is legally binding. We can try to file papers for an annulment since neither one of us can remember what happened.”He nods, "The last thing I remember is closing out the bar tab after I went down on you in the bathroom.”Your cheeks flush as the events of the bathroom stall flash in your mind and you can’t look at Jungkook as your body aches in remembrance.“I was proud of myself for that one,” he teases as he recognizes the look of embarrassment on your faceYou shoot him the look, "Jungkook, we have been fucking each other on and off for about 10 years, of course you made me cum.”He smirks, “Do you remember anything?”You shake your head, “No, I don’t. I just remember getting back to the hotel and ordering room service before we started drinking again. And then it goes blank.”He shakes his head, “How the hell did anyone let us do this?”“I don’t think they really care. They marry hundreds of couples everyday probably so they probably didn’t even bat an eyelash. But they cover their tracks alright. The paperwork is legally binding.”“Of course it is,” he mumbles before taking another large bite of food.“You really don’t remember anything?” you ask cautiously as you know what you’re about to insinuate could blow up in your face.He shakes his head, “Just what I already told you.”“You’re sure about that?”Jungkook was about to throw several french fries in his mouth, but the repeated question makes him put his food back down on his plate, “Why are you asking me this?”“I just want to make sure!”His eyes narrows, “Do you really think I would do that to you, Y/N? I know you think I’m a jackass because of everything that happened but do you really think I am capable of something like that? Did Irene put that idea in your head?”“No! I haven’t even told Irene yet! I didn’t, I mean, I just,” you sigh, “That’s not what I meant, Jungkook. I know you wouldn’t do anythi-”He interrupts, “You’re right, I wouldn’t. I told you everything I remember, now let’s figure out what the hell we are going to do about it.”You shrug, “It should be pretty easy. We just need to keep our receipts from this weekend as evidence of how much we drink so we’ll need the bar tab and the receipt from the hotel mini bar. And since we don’t want anything from each other I don’t see it taking a very long time.”“When should we file?”“I can take care of that part but I don’t think we should start the process until we get back. Irene already thinks I’m acting strange and I don’t want her to get any ideas.”He wrinkles his eyebrows, “I thought you would have told her.”“No,” you shake your head as you take another sip of coffee, “I haven’t. She’s already stressed out about this weekend enough that I didn’t think it would be right to tell her about our mistake until it was over. Did you tell Namjoon?”Jungkook mutters under his breath, but you thought you heard him repeat the word mistake to himself. He shakes his head, “I haven’t told him.”You take a deep breath, “So, we agree that we won’t tell anyone or file paperwork until we get back from our trip?”He nods, “Yeah.”“Okay. Do you have any questions?”“Nope, it seems like you have it all covered.”The two of you eat in awkward silence as the conversation you had been dreading ended a lot quicker than you anticipated. Neither of you could look at each other so you just ate as much as you could to ease the worst hangover you’ve had since college. Not even the night you got your bar results could compare to the throbbing in your temples.It was strange, the two of you sitting across from each other like strangers. How only a few months a part could turn Jungkook into someone you felt like you barely knew. There were so many questions you wanted to ask. So many things you wanted to know, but you didn’t know where to start so you chose the easy route.You ask, "How is work?”“Since when do you care about my work?” he asks as he shoves a mouthful of french fries slathered in hot sauce into his mouth.“I’ve always cared about you-” Jungkook gives you a look and you don’t finish your sentence.“It’s fine. I own the shop now.”“What? You own it?” your eyes widen as listen, “What happened to Taecyeon?”“He retired a couple months ago and put the shop up for sale, so I bought it from him.”“That’s amazing Jungkook!” you smile, trying your best to sound sincere.“It’s no big deal. I’ve been basically running that shop for years. The only thing that’s changed is the paperwork.”You nod, “Is business going alright?”“Yeah, we’re the only foreign car shop in town. The rich dudes have to take their cars somewhere.”“That’s good!” you smile, thumbing your fingertips against the side of your mug as you run out of ways to keep this conversation going.“How is work for you?” Jungkook asks only out of politeness.“It’s the same as always. Wives who have been cheated on file for divorce. I go after their husbands for not paying child support. The usual,” you try to not think about the workload that is sure to be waiting on your desk when you get back into the office, “I might be made a partner soon.” “Nice,” the word comes out like ice.The topic of your promotion at work was a sore spot in many of the arguments the two of had over the years. You knew you had a problem, that you could never say no to the things your boss asked of you. But you were proud of your work and the people you helped. It might have put a wedge between you and Jungkook, but all the tears were finally paying off in that you were a shoe in to become the youngest partner at the firm.The next question tumbles out of your mouth in desperation to change the subject, you instant regret ever saying them, “Are you dating anyone?”Jungkook doesn’t look at you as he answers, “I think you know the answer to that.”“What are you talking about?”“You accidentally liked one of my instagram photos,” he calls you out with a mouthful of french fries.“Oh, you saw that,” you mutter embarrassed that your social media stalking hadn’t gone as smoothly as you thought it.“Yep, you know that I still get a notification even if you unlike it right away. Real smooth, Y/N.”“I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright!” you try to excuse yourself.“You could have just called.”“No, I couldn’t.”“Isn’t that what friends do?” he questions, finally shifting his attention from his food to you.“Friends? When have we ever been friends, Jungkook?”He shrugs, “I don’t know. Sometimes I think about calling you just to see how your day was. We’ve been in each other’s lives for so long that it’s weird not having you around.”“I don’t know if I know how to be your friend.”He smiles at you, “Well, let’s start now. Are there any new stories about that overgrown troll?”“You mean my boss?” you shake your head at his use of the nickname the two of you called the man in charge of writing your paychecks.“Yeah. Do I need to kick his ass?”You shake your head, “No, he hasn’t done anything lately.”“Lately?”“I haven’t slept in my office in about a month.”“That’s a record!” Jungkook was only half-kidding.You were known to sleep in your office, nestled on a large stack of papers the night before you had to be in court to go after someone’s ex husband. At one point you hadn’t slept in your shared bed for almost a week when Jungkook stormed in and demanded to speak to your boss but he was escorted out by security before he could even get a word in.“Do you remember the time I tried to help you at the garage?” your memory flashes that day in your mind like it was yesterday.Jungkook presses his fingertips to his temples, “How could I forget? You spilled red paint all over a brand new box of air filters.”“It wasn’t my fault that you had them on the floor! They should have been in the storage closet with the rest of your shit!”Jungkook gives you that look, “Y/N, come on.”But you don’t give in, “You’re the one who agreed to let me help in the first place.”Both of you burst into a fit of laughter as you remembered how desperately you tried to save your mess but instead spread red paint across the garage even further. It took you hours to clean up that mess and by the end of it your entire body, shoes, clothes and even ears were covered in paint. You vividly remember the sound of Jungkook’s laughter as he made you stand in the middle of the shop’s parking lot so he could hose you off before even setting foot in his car. You remembered the look on your mother’s face as you walked into the kitchen wearing the grubby t-shirt he had found buried in the trunk. She just shook her head and smiled because she knew that there was no way he would let you set foot in the shop while he was working again. It felt nice to be around Jungkook like this. The two of you just sitting around and laughing while stuffing your faces with food. There wasn’t any pressure. There weren’t any expectations. It was two old friends catching up. “That was nice,” you tell him as he walks you to your hotel room. He nods, “It was. I forgot how funny you can be when you don’t have a stick shoved up your ass.”“Watch it,” you warn, slapping him in the chest. “Think we’ll be able to make it one more day without killing each other?”You shrug, “Maybe. If you’re nice.”You prepare yourself for Jungkook to ruffle your hair as he always does when you snap back at him but he doesn’t. Instead he pulls your into his chest and wraps his arms around your frame tightly. The sudden impact of his touch and smell catches you off guard but you can’t help but embrace him back, your hands winding around his broad back. Neither of you pull a part, each of trying to deny that this wasn’t something you also missed. Jungkook finally takes a step back and they way he is staring at you makes you feel completely exposed. He always knew how to read your mind and it was in moments like this that you actually hated it. He’s looking at you like he wants to kiss you and you are sure you are looking at him in exactly the same way. Neither one of you wanting the other to leave, but not wanting to be the first person to ask. You had agreed to be friends, and this isn’t something that friends should do.“Can I come in?” he asks, leaning in to press his forehead against yours.You nod, “Please.”You’re about to insert your key card into the hotel door when you remember that you had roommate, “Wait, Irene might be inside.”Jungkook presses against, taking your hand into his and guides it to the sensor, “Namjoon texted me while you were in the bathroom that they all went to the casino. I don’t think we have to worry about them. But I can leave if you want me to.”You turn around and grab him by the shirt and pull him inside your room, “No, I want you to stay.”He stares you as you pull him back towards your bed, “One more time.”“I want you.”You stumble your way back to your bed not really sure if what was happening was actually happening or if it was a projection of what what your hidden heart wanted. Jungkook’s lips found yours and you kissed him eagerly, soaking up his taste in hopes that you would somehow come to your senses. He kissed you like he always did, teasingly. There was something about the way in which he pressed his lips lightly deeply against yours only to pull away as you kissed back that made you crazy. He pulled his head further away as you tried to bring him closer, only for you to end up grabbing onto each side of his face to crash your lips against his.Nervous fingertips hover over the bottom hem of his shirt as you hesitate to pull the piece of clothing off. Your ex takes the hint and breaks away from you to discard what you couldn’t and the cotton falls in a crumpled heap on the floor. Your eyes hover over the familiar chest and can’t help but notice how much more defined it had become since the last time you had been in this situation. He skin twitches as your trace your fingertips along his sensitive collar bones, following the trail your touch from years ago left behind. A smile cracks your lips as you see the goosebumps raise on his skin, remembering how sensitive he is to being touched.“What are you doing?” he murmurs, taking your hand into his.“I can’t take my shirt off if you’re holding hands,” you tease.“Let me do it,” he all but begs, waiting for your nod of approval before he slips the oversized shirt off your back.You hadn’t bothered to put a bra on when you got dressed to go lunch so you were left completely exposed. Nipples perked from the heat between the two of you.Jungkook gently eases you onto the mattress, pushing you down until your head hits the down comforter.“Can I take them off?” he asks with fingertips running along the button of your jeans.“Take all of it off,” you tell him.He sinks down to his knees and makes the rest of your clothes join the pile already formed on the floor. He plants tender kisses on the caps of your knees before he stands back up and undresses himself. You take the time to pull your legs back on the bed and switch your position so that your head is nestled onto the pillows and your feet are off the floor. Jungkook slowly creeps up your body, still nervous about what is happening between you.You can sense his feelings and pull his lips back onto yours, kissing him eagerly, letting him know that it’s okay for him to touch you like he always did. It only took one moan to escape your lips for all the awkwardness to fade away. The way he moved his lips from your lips towards your neck drove you crazy. His lips finding the spot where your neck meets your shoulders that’s especially sensitive. He kisses back and forth until the goosebumps raise on your own skin, his form of payback for what you did to his chest.His hand finds it’s way to your hip, grabbing onto your flesh in a way that makes you feel like he’s scared you’re going to leave. But the way he is making your every nerve tingle that is the last thing you want. You roll your hips, encouraging him to explore your skin with any part of his body he wanted. He chooses his lips, kissing down from your neck to your stomach to your hips. Tracing along your imaginary panty line with his mouth.He pushes your legs a part and your mind flashes back to the night before. You know that his tongue is wicked, able to please you in minutes like he did in the bathroom stall. You don’t want it to end that quickly. You beckon him towards you lips.“Kiss me, please.” you almost beg as he shifts his body weight back towards your mouth.“But I like how you taste,” he whines.His words make you blush and you immediately hide your face in your hands.“Did I embarrass you?” he teasingly pulls back your fingers one by one until your reddened cheeks are in full view.“No!” you try to lie.Jungkook leans forward and kisses the apples of each cheek making you let out a whine in protest, knowing that he is prolonging the contact that you had missed more than anything. But he doesn’t leave you hanging for long, his plump lips returning back to yours eagerly. His tongue flicks against your lips, making you open them in an instant so he can deepen the kiss between you. You’re drunk off his taste as he explores your mouth with his and as his hands roam around your sensitive body.Your nipples raise as he brushes his fingertips against them, knowing all too well how sensitive they are to any form of touch or lick or bite. It drives you crazy how he plays with them, rolling the harden buds between his digits, gently pulling them back and forth until you let out a moan of pleasure in response.The noises escaping from your lips encourage him to explore further, his hands dropping down to your waist and you spread your legs without having to be told twice. Jungkook’s harden length presses up against your thigh and you feel that he is just as eager as you are, neither one of you ashamed that kissing and touch is enough to have your senses sent into overdrive. His lips find their way back to your neck, threatening to leave his mark behind on the skin he is playing with.“If you give me a hickey, I’ll kill you,” you warn, reminding him that the two of you are no longer the teenagers you once were and that your boss surely wouldn’t approve of you showing up to court with a deep purple mark on your neck.He swipes his finger along your wet slit, making your bones jump at the sensation, “What was that? A threat?”You know better than to engage in his taunts, that it would only end up in your begging for him to touch you or fuck you or do anything that would make you come unraveled. You’re not about to give the satisfaction but you can’t help the words that come out of your mouth, “You heard me.”He bites down on your neck in response, but quickly lets go of your skin before any damage can be done. Jungkook’s fingers slip between your folds, coating themselves in your excitement.“You’re so wet already,” he purrs, dragging his pointer back and forth, slighting brushing against your clit every time.You groan, “It’s been too long.”“We fucked last night,” he smirks.“It doesn’t count if we can’t remember, asshole.”He inserts a finger as soon as the insult slips your lips, making your legs twitch as his finger brushes against your walls, “What was that?”“Please, just fuck me,” you groan as he starts to pump the finger back and forth.Moans replace insults and banter as he fucks you with his finger. A second one slipping in easily as your core continues to get wetter. He knows how to please you after having years of experience and it doesn’t take long for the pads of his fingertips that make you moan out his name. A third finger won’t be enough to satiate you and you both know what you’re wanting.“Please,” you all but beg, “Jungkook, I want you.”You whimper as he gives you one last hard pump before removing his fingers from your core.“Do you still have your IUD?” he asks.“Yes, and I haven’t had sex with anyone else,” you admit to your several month dry spell.Jungkook nods, “I’m still clean.”“Okay,” you smile knowing that what you never will admit you’ve been missing is about to happen.Jungkook presses a kiss to your lips before shifting upright to adjust himself to your entrance. You can feel him staring at you with hooded eyes, biting his lips as he slips the head of his erection into you. You exhale, letting yourself relax into him as he slowly slides the rest of his length between your walls. In the months you had been apart you had forgotten how good it feels to have him between your legs.Your hands move their way behind your head, grabbing onto the fluffy down pillows of the hotel bed as Jungkook starts to move his hips back and forth. The rhythm he sets makes your back slide down the mattress, but his strong hands shift and grip your hips into place, locking both of your bodies together as he moves.Sex with Jungkook was always mind blowing, regardless of his was pulling your hair and calling you names or if it was like this, gentle but with enough want to have you panting in just seconds. The years between you had made it easy for you to find each other’s weaknesses and use them to your advantage. He shifts your legs, pulling one higher than the other so that his length reaches deeper inside your walls. The angle of this thrusts making your grip tighten.“Fuck, you look so good,” he groans, licking his lips as he watches your body bounce against his hips.You smile through half closed eyes, you would never admit out loud how good it felt to be fucking him. But Jungkook knew. He could see right through your moans and your groans. He was enjoying it just as much as you were.His cock slips out, disrupting the pleasurable pace he had settled into and you both take the moment to stare at each other. Your ex leans forward, kissing you with sweaty lips as he pumps himself with your slick.“Do you want to get on your knees?” he asks through haste kissing on your lips.“Fuck,” you mumble, hating how predictable your reaction was, “Yes, I do.”He playfully pulls on your nipple, making your exhale sharply before you turn and shift yourself onto your knees. You grab one of the pillows you were just holding onto and position underneath your chest. You needed something to moan into or else the entire hotel floor will know what the two of you are up to.Jungkook quickly follows you, shifting himself to the new angle. His length sliding against your clit makes you groan, this position was always your favorite. And he used that to his advantage, moving his hips back and forth until a loud smacking sound can be heard throughout the entire room. It’s embarrassing how easy it is for him to make your legs shake, forcing you to bury your moans into the pillow as he pushes your closer and closer towards a climax.Neither one of you are able to formulate words, each past the point of no return as you give in to your senses. Drops of sweat fall onto the small of your back as Jungkook leans forward, pushing himself farther into you as he starts to chase his own orgasm. Neither of you are going to be able to last much longer and the sound that finally escapes your throat sends Jungkook into overdrive.He reaches forward to rub your clit as his the only thing that has his attention is making you cum. And he does. The sparks start in the small of your back, spreading through your hips and to your soaking core. It’s as if fireworks have been sent off in your senses and you can’t help the curses and names and sounds that spill through your lips in a constant stream of pleasure.“Come on, Y/N, cum for me,” he encourages with sharper thrusts and it’s all you need as the floodgates open and you’re coming undone around him.Jungkook groans, refusing to relent as he pumps you through the rest of your orgasm. The sound of your moans, and the sensation of your walls tighten around him make Jungkook hungry for release. And it happens after just a few more pumps, quickly pulling out of you to cum onto the small of your back.“Fuck,” he groans, “I’m sorry about that. I should of asked”You lay down onto your stomach as your knees are no longer able to hold you up, “It’s okay. You know I like it when you cum all over me.”He chuckles, “Let me get a towel.”You nod towards the bedside table, “There’s tissues over there.”The touch of the tissue on your back is gentle, but it makes you jump as he wipes his orgasm off of you. You watch as he throws the crumpled material into the trash can and lay down in the bed next to you.The familiar silence of earlier falls between you as the two of you stare at each other. Each of you coming down from your highs as you realize what had just happened. Neither of you sure what to do because you both know that friends don’t fuck like that.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The textured pattern on the hotel ceiling was starting to make your vision twist, neon green splotches imprinting in your irises as you stare at anything besides the man sleeping beside you for the second time today. You had built an invisible barrier between you for the past 20 minutes as the two of you let the reality of what you just did in the past 24 hours sink in around you. The rise and fall of his chest as he gently snored reminded you that you were not in fact dreaming, and that you had soberly taken your “husband” to bed with you.The sound of your phone alerting you of a new text message makes you both jump as the noise breaks through the invisible barrier. Jungkook stretches his feet, moving his toes back and forth as he tries to work out the stiffness, a side effect of the long hours he spends on his feet. He rolls over, making you pull the white cotton fabric over you head in an attempt to hide yourself from responsibility.But there isn’t a high enough thread count to keep Jungkook out.“Are you going to read them?” he asks, very clearly annoyed by the fact that your phone won’t stop rattling on the hotel desk.“No.” you answer.“Are you going to come out?” Jungkook pulls on the blanket, making your knuckles whiten as you try to maintain your grip.“I’m too shy,” you whisper.He scoffs, “Since when are you shy?”You pull the sheets even tiighter, “Since just now.”“Why are you acting like this? It’s just me?”“That’s the problem!” you shriek.Jungkook laughs, attempting to pull the covers from your head but you refuse to give in and for a second you think you’re in the clear as the tugging stops. In a sneak attack Jungkook’s hands move from the fabric down to your exposed thighs and his hands slip under the blanket and latch onto your side in the just the right way to get you to drop everything.“Stop tickling me!” you warn, kicking him in the shin as the rest of your body flops back and forth on the bed as you try to wiggle yourself out of his grasp.He loses his balance, bracing his arms on either side of your head and the room once again goes silent. You stare at the freckle under his lip, a safer place to look that his dark irises that were currently tracing every single detail of your face.“I have cum on my back,” you announce abruptly enough to watch as Jungkook’s face turn a deep shade of crimson, “I should go shower.”He nods, removing his arm from the other side of the mattress, letting you slip out of the bed and run into the bathroom as fast as you can.You don’t bother turning on the fan as the hot water begins to make the bathroom steam, fogging your reflection until you can no longer see the evidence of the mistakes you made as soon as you landed in Vegas.“Ouch,” you hiss as the water stings your skin, but you take it as a form of punishment, washing away all your sins.Under normal circumstances you would never shower this long as you thought it was a giant waste of time and resources but you didn’t have to worry about paying the hotel’s water bill so you stayed. Hoping that by washing your hair three times in a row would give Jungkook a hint that you didn’t want him to be waiting for you when you got out. You wanted to be alone. Without him. Without Irene. Without Namjoon. You just wanted to leave your phone behind and take a walk down the strip and surround yourself with strangers who didn’t have any expectations of you.You knew that was never going to happen. That Irene was probably already on her way to your room to drag you out by your teeth, if that’s what it took.But at least tonight was the last night. There was only 24 hours left of your stay and then you would get on a plane and head back home. The two of you could forget that any of this ever happened and only communicate when it was time for each other to sign the papers. It would be quick and easy and painless, unlike many of the cases waiting for you on your desk right now.You can feel your fingertips start to wrinkle, taking it as a sign that you should probably get out of the security of the bathroom. As you wrap yourself in the plush hotel towel you contemplate how much money they would charge you if you took one of these home to replace the worn out formerly pink towels you’ve had since your first year of law school.Jungkook had tried so hard to get you to buy any other color except for the baby pink that had caught your eye as soon as you stepped into the towel section. He had warned you that they would get dirty quickly and be unable to hide any stain that they may encounter. But you didn’t care. These towels represented more than just cleanliness. They were one of the first adult purchases you had made and if you wanted them to be baby pink, they were going to be baby pink.You can feel the tension as soon as you open the door to go back into your hotel room. Your fears turning into reality as you see Jungkook sitting on the edge of the bed half dressed with an irritated looking Namjoon standing in front of him.“I think you should get dressed,” Namjoon hinting at the fact that the three of you were about to have a very long conversation.Jungkook shoots you an apologetic glance, blaming himself for the fact that the two of you had gotten caught. You just shrug and thank your lucky stares at it was Namjoon and not Irene.It takes you awhile to find clean clothes, hearing your best friend’s voice in your head reminding you that this whole situation could have been avoided if you actually used the packing cubes she gave you for your birthday last year. But you grab the first few items of clothing that you hadn’t worn and throw them on as soon as the bathroom door shut. You can’t help but shake your head and laugh as your mind wanders back to several years ago.
“DAD! What are you doing in here?” you shriek as you walk back into your bedroom, almost dropping the glass of water you had gone into the kitchen to get.

Your father turns to look at you, crossing his arms in front of his chest, “I heard you go down the stairs but then a few seconds later I heard a loud crash coming from your room. And since we don’t have any pets, my fatherly instinct kicked in and I found this boy halfway out the window.”

“I’m sorry!” Jungkook croaks.

“Would you mind explaining to me what exactly is going on here, Y/N?”

“We didn’t have sex! It’s not like that! We haven’t even kissed yet!”

Heat rises in your father’s cheeks as he takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself from the images that you put in his head, “That is not what I was saying, Y/N. I trust you to make your own decisions, but when you’re in this house I expect you to follow my rules.“

“I’m sorry,” you mumble, dropping your eyes to carpeted floor.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“I won’t do it again?”

Your father snorts, “I highly doubt that. It seems like it wasn’t the first time this boy has snuck in and out of your window. Does he not know how to open the front door?”

“I thought you would hear the front door opening and closing so the window seemed like the best option.”

“What’s your name?” your father asks Jungkook.

“J-J-Jun-Jungkook,” he stutters with wide eyes.

“Jungkook? I am sorry that my careless daughter put you in this situation. She is a bit selfish and doesn’t seem to care about the health and safety of other people as long as she is getting what she wants. Please use the front door this time.”

“Dad!”

Your father looks at you, “Will you please show Jungkook how to use the front door?“

Jungkook slips off the bed but before the two of you can leave your father stops him and extends a hand out. Jungkook looks at his hand, at you and then back at the hand before taking it, "It was nice to meet you Jungkook, hopefully we can meet again under different circumstances.”

“That’s enough!” you mumble, ripping Jungkook’s hand out of your father’s and dragging him towards the front door before he asked Jungkook if he kept condoms in his wallet.

“What is with your dad?” he whispers in hopes that your father doesn’t overhear your conversation.

You shrug, “He’s weird I know.”

“He’s seriously not going to ground you?” it wasn’t the first time someone was bewildered by your father’s antics.

“Oh he will, he just doesn’t believe in public embarrassment. He’s probably already nailing the window screen in place.“

"I’m sorry.“ Jungkook mumbles, shifting the weight of the backpack on his shoulders.

You shrug, “It’s fine. I mean, he was right. It was my idea for you to come over.”

Jungkook shakes his head. “No! I could have said no! I shouldn’t agreed to it.”

You nod. “So it’s both of our faults.”

A soft smile spreads across his lips. “I guess that just means I’ll have to take you out on a real date.”

You stop in your tracks, your hand barely making it onto the knob of the front door. He had said the word date. Jeon Jungkook wanted to take you out on a date. You turn around to face him, letting the door hold your wobbly legs upright.

He tries to cover his tracks. “I mean, um, only if you want to.”

“I want to!” you tell him a bit too eagerly, wincing at the volume of your voice in the otherwise silent house. “But knowing my dad I’m going to be grounded for at least a month.”

Jungkook’s smile widens. “That’s okay. I can wait a month.”

You stare at him, not sure what to do next. Do you hug him? Do you dare try to kiss him? Your father was just up the stairs. You couldn’t decide so you stand in front of him, heart pounding with anticipation.

Jungkook leans forward, planting his chapped lips onto yours. The contact make your legs weaker, and if it weren’t for the fact your back was pressed up against the front door you would have fallen into a pile of mush on the floor. The kiss doesn’t last long as Jungkook doesn’t want to risk your father walking in on the two of you again. But it was enough to keep you satisfied until the next time the two of you could be together outside of your school’s hallways

Jungkook finally looks you in the eyes with a huge grin on his face, "I’ll see you at school on Monday.”

You nod a little too enthusiastically, “I’ll see you Monday.”
“How did this happen?” Namjoon asks, waving his hands between you and Jungkook.You stare at the floor, realizing unlike your father, Namjoon wasn’t going to be as accepting.“Stupidity?” Namjoon snaps.“Don’t call her stupid,” Jungkook warns.“I’m calling the both of you stupid,” Namjoon corrects, “Or maybe we’re the stupid ones for thinking that the two of you would be able to keep it in your pants.”“Why are you getting so upset about this, Namjoon? It’s not your relationship.” You remind him.He gives you the look that you have seen hundreds of times by now, “I know that, Y/N. But you are my closest friends,” he points at Jungkook, “And he is my best friend. I know what happens when the two of you start to casually fuck again. You guys think you can handle it and that you’re fine with being just friends. But the thing is you were never just friends! It’s physically impossible for the two of you to fuck and walk away from each other. I have seen it time and time again.”“Namjoon, I know how it may look but-”“It looks like every other time! The two of you start sneaking around and attempt to hide it even though you’re shit at it. And then you fall back into the same toxic cycle. Didn’t you have enough the last time?”A visible wince ripples across your face as Namjoon mentions the last time you broke up. You didn’t need him to remind you what had happened and the words that were exchanged between you and the man sitting on the bed in front of you.Jungkook reaches out, signalling to his best friend that he is about to cross the line of being an overprotective friend to being Irene, “Can you please just calm down? We aren’t in high school anymore.”“Then act like it!” Namjoon shrieks, pinching this bridge of his nose.“What are you doing in here anyway? This isn’t your hotel room,” you question.“Irene forgot to bring her sunscreen and you know how she is,” he points at you, “Don’t try to change the subject!”“I’m not! I am just curious about why you’re here.”Namjoon laughed, “You should be thankful it’s me and not Irene who found him half naked!”You sink down onto your best friend’s bed, “Good point.”“Y/N, I haven’t told him anything, I swear.”You make eye contact with Jungkook and know instantly that he is telling the truth, “I know.”“Wait a minute, did this happen more than once?” Namjoon presses.“Maybe,” Jungkook mumbles.“How many times?”“Three, I think.”“Three?” he shouts, running his fingers through his hair, “I leave you alone for 5 minutes at the club and the two of you manage to fuck like rabbits.”“What did you think was going to happen Namjoon?” Jungkook’s voice is laced with annoyance, “Did you really think that Y/N and I would be able to stay away from each other when you and Irene and everyone else on this fucking trip is constantly handing us a shot or buying us a drink or taking us to another bar? That’s bullshit and you know it. And while Y/N and I might not have thought everything through this weekend is it really that hard to believe? We aren’t sixteen anymore, Namjoon. We don’t need your fake concerned talk when we both know you’re only doing this to save yourself from Irene when she finds out.”“And she’s never going to find out, right Namjoon?” you question.Namjoon throws his head back, “You guys know I am terrible at lying.”“It’s not lying, it’s just not telling her what you saw.”He gives you a look, “Is that supposed to make me feel any better?”“Hey man, at least you’re not the one who got drunk and slept with his ex and then proceeded to get married while on a weekend trip to Vegas.”“JUNGKOOK!” you shout at the same time as Namjoon yells, “What the fuck!”“You’re not serious, guys? You didn’t! No, you couldn’t? What? When? How?” Namjoon rattles off a million questions as his brain tries to comprehend what Jungkook just said.“Fuck! Y/N, I-m sorr-”Jungkook is quick to apologize but in the moment you really don’t want to hear anything he has to say. Your mutual friend slumps back against the desk, using the chair to hold his balance as he looks between the two of you.“Y/N, is it legal?” Namjoon knows better to ask you than the knucklehead sitting on the other bed.You nod, “I am afraid so.”“Shit. You can’t like go back and say you take it back?”“I wish legal binding documents were that easy.”Namjoon furrows his eyebrows, “But the two of you were drunk. There has to be some sort of loophole that gets the two of you out of it, right?”“I’m afraid not. I’ve looked over the paperwork a hundred times. We both signed a clause that said the wedding chapel is not responsible for any decisions made while drunk and will not cover any legal fees if the couple decides to divorce or annul their marriage afterwards.”“Shit.”“You can say that again,” Jungkook mumbles.“Namjo-” you are about to begin.“You want me to lie to Irene.”“Please.” you all but beg.Namjoon takes a deep breath and you can see how the weight of everything is already pressing down on him, stuck between two of his oldest friends and having to lie to the person he was marrying in a few weeks. You felt guilty, knowing that you should have been able to control yourself better, that you shouldn’t have let yourself get as drunk around Jungkook as you were before. But you couldn’t help yourself. And neither could he. The toxic cycle that you both thought you were free from had sucked you both back in.“I will tell, Irene. I promise,” you try to offer him some comfort, “But I’m not ready to tell her right now and probably won’t be until the divorce papers are filed and almost completed. I can’t handle one of her freak outs right now. I just want to get through the rest of this trip and go home. Okay?”Namjoon’s dimple falls into a pattern of appearing and disappearing as he chews on his bottom lip and debates his choices. No matter where he turned he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He looks at you and then back at Jungkook as he makes up his mind.“I won’t tell her, but if she finds out that I know, I am throwing the two of you under the bus, alright?”“I think I can handle that,” Jungkook smiles.“Can I leave the two of you alone or do I need to chaperone you to dinner?”You smack him on the shoulder, “I think we can handle it.”“Good. Irene is probably going to head back in like 45 minutes so you should probably not be together once she does.”“Got it,” you nod, making sure that Namjoon understands that you want him to leave.“What are we going to do now?” Jungkook asks as soon as the automatic lock of the hotel door clicks back into place. “What do you mean?” you’re surprised by his question.Your ex-boyfriend shrugs, “I don’t know. We just had sex. Sober.” "What’s your point? We both agreed that once we got back that we would proceed with the divorce paperwork and go our separate ways.”“Even after the sex we just had? You want us to act like this weekend never happened?”“Jungkook, I don’t know what you want me to say. We both agreed that this was for the best an-”“But is it really? Don’t you think this is some sort of sign?”His words sent a million signals off in your brain.“Please don’t start with that right now.”“What? Is it so bad for me to be hopeful?”“Jungkook, I really can’t talk about this. This whole weekend has been so hard for me. And I’m so confused about everything right now. I just, I just can’t have this conversation right now.”He nods, dropping his head between his shoulders, "It’s a lot for me too, you know. I wasn’t the one who wanted things to end.”“I know, Jungkook. I know how hard this must be for you. But I don’t want to lead you on or give you false hope. This weekend has been great, you always ar-”“Please don’t say but again.”“I just need some space, okay?”He brings his eyes to look at yours, his dark irises peering at you through his disheveled hair, “So what am I supposed to do now? How can I pretend that none of this happened? I’m a mechanic, not an actor, Y/N. I can’t compartmentalize my feelings like you, Y/N.”You try to ignore his jab. “Let’s just go to dinner, eat a lot of food and try to enjoy our last night. And then we will get on the plane tomorrow morning and go our separate ways and pretend like this marriage never happened happened.”“If that’s what you want.”“It is.”“Then I’ll see you at dinner.”As soon as everyone arrives at the expensive looking restaurant, Namjoon conveniently pulls Jungkook aside, making him sit at the complete opposite side of the table from you. A preventive measure that no one else but the three of you at the table would even question. Irene was too busy trying to be the ideal host, ensuring everyone that her and Namjoon would be footing the bill so everyone could eat and drink to their heart’s content. “Have a little too much fun this weekend?” the man you vaguely recognized from one of the soon-to-be married couple’s parties.“What?” you were caught off guard for several seconds, thinking somehow this total stranger had managed to figure out what you and Jungkook (and now Namjoon) were hiding. He nods to your empty wine glass, “You’re not having anything to drink.”You look over at where Jungkook is seated and he’s staring at you, “I think I’ve had enough alcohol to last me the next ten years.”Apparently your joke was funny and the man next to you bursts into laughter, “I’ve been there but ever since I got promoted to vice chairman I have had to cut back. You know, start acting like an adult.”You ignore the fact that he just dropped his title at work in an attempt to impress you, like many of Namjoon’s friends had tried in the past despite it failing every single time. Jungkook watches as one of you engages in conversation, too caught up in his own ego to realize the only responses you were giving him were “uh huh” and “yeah”. You watch as Jungkook downs his glass of whiskey with just a splash of coke. He was jealous.And you try not to be as you see him turn on the charm, flashing that bunny smile that used to make you go weak in the knees every time his nose did that thing. But you try to not let it bother you, repeatedly telling you that this was for the best. And maybe the guy next to you wasn’t so bad. 15 minutes later you wished you had continued to give him the bare minimum instead of actually engaging in conversation. He hadn’t even asked your name let alone anything about you. He was rude to the waiter. And he talked with his mouthful. His income could have 15 zeros and it still would never be enough for you to engage with him anymore than you already have. “Ah, I am so rude!” he exclaims, rolling up his sleeves to show you the fancy European watch on his wrist, “I haven’t asked anything about you.”He proceeds you ask you one of your most dreaded questions, “So what do you do?”“What?” you have to double check to make sure he was talking to you, “Me? What I do? I’m a lawyer.”“OH!” he responds, shooting his eyebrows straight into his eyelashes, “And what kind of lawyer are you?”He asked the question almost as if he didn’t believe you, his type never did, “I’m a divorce attorney.”“Interesting,” he chuckles, “You must be pretty busy. I bet you could make twice as much if you moved here. Especially with all those 24 hour wedding chapels. Have you ever thought about cashing in on that?”“Divorce rates are declining.”“Really?” he pretends to be interested, “Why do you think that is?”“Less people are choosing to get married.”“Interesting,” he claims even though the tone of his voice was flat, “But it must be fun nailing cheating bastards, right?”You don’t even bother to look him in the eye as you respond, “Actually, I don’t find joy in the work I do. These people made promises to each other because they thought their love would last forever, until one day it didn’t. It’s rare that both parties involved actually want the legal separation to happen. And it gets incredibly messy when children are involved. But my job is to serve my client so I try my best to make a shitty situation a little less shitty.”The mini rant you went on worked, and the man sitting next to you nodded his head, taking a sip from his wine before emotionless-ly saying, “I see,” and turning his attention to the person on his left.No one notices that you get up from the table as they’re too busy making small talk and eating the fancy looking food on their tiny plates. The dark restaurant turns into a mirrored hallway that surprises you as you attempt to find the bathroom. You look at yourself for the first time in almost 24 hours, finally facing the person you had betrayed the most. The two of you are in a stare off, your reflection unyielding in reminding you of the events leading up to this point.“What am I going to do?” you mutter as you tear your gaze away from the stranger in front of you, unable to look at yourself any longer.“That guy seemed nice.” Jungkook taunts from behind you.“Are you stalking me?” you question, narrowing your eyes in annoyance.He points to the sign behind you, “I have to take a leak.”“Right,” you mutter, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.“You’re too good for him,” he whispers, his breath tickling your neck as he walks past you.Instinctively you grab his arm, stopping him from entering the bathroom.“Jungkook”“What?” he asks, staring at your knuckles clutched around his white button up shirt.“Don’t do this.”He scoffs. “I’m not doing anything.”“Yes, you are. Please don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”He looks around to see if anyone, mainly Namjoon, noticed that the two of you were missing from the dinner party and shakes his head, “I don’t know how you expect me to just walk away from you again.”"You’ve been dating someone else, Jungkook! I know you have and I’ve seen the photos.”“Have you been stalking me on social media?” he looks at you with wide eyes, ripping his arm out of your grasp.“No! Come on, do you really think I don’t know you look at my account? I saw you accidentally like and unlike one of my photos.”“I was drunk.”“It was at 2 PM in the afternoon.”“What am I supposed to do, Y/N? I can’t just erase you from my life. We’ve known each other since we were sixteen, of course I am going to check up on you. I want you to be happy.”“I want the same for you!” you try to hold back tears."I was happy with you.” he hisses.The way he stutters the last few syllables makes your heart crumble into a million pieces. You hated watching him cry, knowing that his anger was just a mask he used to hide everything he held in his chest. And when it was because of you, it hurt even more. You held out your hand to wipe a stray tear, but stop yourself. You can’t always be the one taking care of him, at least not anymore.“I’m sorry,” you cry, unable to hold it in any longer.He shakes his head fervently, “Why are you apologizing Y/N?”You sniffle, “I know that you hate me. And that I am the one who put us in this position in the first place. But look at us. We have spent 48 hours with each other and we’re already fighting. What Namjoon said in the room was right, we clearly can’t do this. And I don’t want to be the one who hurts you. ”“You can only hurt me if I let you.” he wipes away a loose tear that had rolled down your cheeks.“Then don’t let me.”For the first time in a very long time, he doesn’t have something waiting at the tip of his tongue. He falters, staring at you blankly before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. In the moment you finally bring your gaze to look at his, he takes a large step backwards, almost completely retreating into the men’s bathroom. He crosses his arms in front of his chest as if it was a way to protect himself, and his heart, from the situation the two of you had put yourselves into.“I’m not going to let you hurt me again, Y/N. I can’t go through that again. And neither can you. Seeing you like this just reminds me of every single other time we have tried to make it work. We have this conversation, agreeing that both of us can’t stay away from each other and drop everything to be together again. We pretend like we can pick up right where we left off but we both know we never can. It’s never the same and it hasn’t been for a very long time. I think I just got so caught up in the emotions of this weekend, and what we did, that I forget about everything I’ve worked on on the past year away from you. And I don’t want to go back to how I was before. I don’t like it. I don’t like that Jungkook.”The truth in his words stung, but offered a sense of relief. The two of you were finally agreeing on something for the first time in what felt like (and probably was) the first time in years.“It’s probably for the best that when we land we continue to not speak to each other.” He reminds you of the terms the two of you had set durig your last break up.“What about the divorce?” you ask, unsure how he wanted the two of you to handle the legalities.Jungkook takes a deep breath. “You’re smart. I trust you to figure it all out. Just tell me when and where you want me to sign and I will.”“Okay. I can do that.”“Good, now go back to the table and eat something, alright? You haven’t touched a single thing on your plate.”“What are you going to do?” you ask, wiping away any evidence of the tears that had fallen from your eyes.He shrugs, “I already told Namjoon I wasn’t feeling well so I’m just going to go back to the hotel and get a head start on packing. I want to get in bed before Namjoon so his snoring doesn’t keep me up all night.”“You’re not avoiding going back because of me, are you?” you ask.He shrugs, “Maybe a little bit.”You whisper, “I’m sorry.”“There’s nothing to be sorry about, okay?” he begins to walk towards the bathroom door, “I just want you to be happy.”“I want you to be happy too, Jungkook.” you try to smile.The faintest smile spreads across his lips. “I think I will be.”You stare at the large gilded bathroom as he closes it behind him, leaving you alone with several versions of yourself in the dim hallway. You try to understand what you’re feeling, a mixture of heartbreak and closure and so many other things you couldn’t quite put your finger on. It was for the best, you know it was, but there was still a small part of you that hated the shape of his back as he walked away.“Are you okay?” a voice calls out from behind you, making you jump against the mirrored wall.“What the fuck!” you hiss as you realize it belonged to your best friend. “Why do you sneak up on people like that?”“You’ve been gone from the table for so long I thought you fell into the toilet.” Irene gives you a look.You wave her off. “I’m fine. I just got distracted.”She looks around, trying to figure out what could possibly distract you for this long. “What? Did you get distracted by your appearance?”You can practically see the light bulb go off over her head as she presses you further. “Did you talk to Jungkook?”You can feel yourself start to panic. “No.”Irene looks past your shoulders, taking a head count at the dinner table. “What the hell did he do to do you?”“Nothing!” you groan in frustration. “It’s just hard seeing him after all this time. I wasn’t prepared. I just….”Your best friend softens as your voice trails off into silence.“I’m sorry.” she apologizes only briefly before she starts back up again. “I told Namjoon that this was a bad idea! But he didn’t listen! He insisted on letting Jungkook come and now look at you! You’re crying alone! Where is that asshole anyway?”“Can you please just stop?” you ask firmly. “I can’t deal with this tonight. I just want to eat and get back to the hotel and sleep.”Irene looks at you and you know that look. It’s the one she gives you when you do something she doesn’t like, but knows better than to say anything. She presses her lips into a thin line, looking over at the table full of guests.“Okay.” she sighs. “But we are talking about this as soon as we get back.”You nod, already walking away from her, too emotionally exhausted from the day."Are you sure you have everything?” Irene asks the next morning, kneeling on the floor to check under her bed. “Irene, for the thousandth time, yes. I have everything,” you make no attempt to hide your irritation. Your hand brushed against an unfamiliar material as you place the swimsuit you never even wore into the messy folds of your suitcase and you don’t remember packing something like that. The hurt falls everywhere as you realize the small black bag contained your “wedding” ring. The chapel the two of you went to was too cheap to give you a box, instead placing what was probably only plate 14K cold in what looked like used to be a potpourri bag. You had never thought that something so small could weigh so much as you stared at it. It’s golden reflection making a mockery of your heart. “What’s that?” Irene asks, sending your hand deep into your dirty laundry as you hide the only physical evidence from this weekend. “N-n-nothing,” you answer.“Was that a condom?” she asks excitedly as there was no one who was more supportive of you getting laid than her, “Did you sleep with someone this weekend?”“No!” you lie, “You know I was in bed for most of the weekend with a migraine.”She pouts, “That’s right, you were such a party pooper.”“You didn’t even notice,” you retort as you zip your suitcase shut, “Can we go now?”Your best friend holds her hands up, “I’ve been waiting for you! Don’t try to pin this on me!”Deja vu hits the moment you step out of the cab in front of the departures lane at the Las Vegas airport. Your mind flashes back to the moment when Irene warned you that Jungkook was going to be on this trip. And you should have known that the ice between you would only take hours to melt. That the magnetic pull would always exist between the two of you, but it was always the same. Two negative ends getting close enough to touch, but something never preventing you to stick together. Always destined to breakup, and this time there would be no making up. Even though the two of you were legally married, the bond between you was still severed. It was clear that in the past 72 hours neither one of you had moved on, your emotions playing a dangerous game that had you teetering over the edge. Waiting for one more misstep to send you into a pit of quicksand, knowing all too well how hard it is for you to escape once you’re trapped. Saying goodbye to Jungkook was never going to be easy, not when there was over 10 years of history between the two of you. He was the first great love of your life, a love that had brought you so much joy over the years, but also brought you crashing down when you least expected it. It felt as though you were split down the middle, half of you never wanting this plane ride to end and the other wishing there was a way to travel at the speed of light so you could get out of the metal cage as soon as possible. You watched from several rows back as his head started to lean against the window in a position you knew would give him trouble when he woke you. You shake your head and remind yourself that Jungkook is a grown man and fully capable of taking care of himself and it wasn’t your job anymore.He kept his eyes glued to the carousel as you waited for your baggage to be unloaded. The twenty minute or less wait that was guaranteed by the airline seemed to take a million years as you waited to try and find your bag amongst the almost identical suitcases. When you finally found yours, Jungkook was gone.“Do you want a ride home?” Irene asks after pulling her own suitcase off the belt.“What?” you shake yourself from your sadness.She rolls her eyes, “I asked if you want a ride home. Namjoon drove and parked in one of those economy lots even though I told him it would be just a waste of money.”“I heard that,” Namjoon huffs from several feet away. Irene must have lifted her “no work rule” from the weekend as he was glued to his phone.“I think I just want to be alone right now.”Irene takes a step closer, dropping her voice to almost a whisper, “Are you okay? Did something happen with Jungkook? Do I need to kill him?”You shake your head, “It’s nothing like that. I’ve just been around so many people in the past 72 hours that I just want to be go home, order pizza and not talk to anyone until I get into the office tomorrow morning.”Irene nods, “It’s probably going to be hell as soon as you get back.”“I’m already anticipating the soon-to-be ex-husband of one of my clients to storm into my office because I’m taking his ass to court for not paying his child support in six months.”Your best friend looks horrified, “Please tell me you have security.”“Don’t worry, mom. Jungkook made me install a panic button under my desk.”“Who knew being a lawyer would be so dangerous,” she mutters in disbelief as the three of you make your way out of the airport.“I’ll call you sometime this week, okay? We can go get lunch or something?” you nod at the signs for the ride share service you use, which was in the opposite direction of your friend’s car.“See you soon!” Irene waves.“Get home safe!” Namjoon nods to something behind you.As you turn around you can feel your heart sink. Jungkook was standing at the opposite end of the waiting area, eyes focused on the screen of his phone. He doesn’t see you walk over, putting as much distance between the two of you as you can in the allotted area. You immediately pull out your phone and type in the address of your apartment, double checking the zipcode as you still weren’t used to your new address.5 minutes. That’s all you had to wait.You tried to ignore it for as long as possible but his gaze was too powerful. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, trying your hardest to convince yourself that this was the best. That you needed to stay in your corner of the waiting area. That it wouldn’t do either of you any good to walk over to him and to tell him you were being stupid. That you wanted nothing more than to go back to the same place as he was.He knew it too. The silent look between the two of you spoke more words than you could ever pronounce. The painful feeling of loving someone so much but knowing you weren’t right for each other was the worst kind of pain because no matter how much happiness you brought into each other’s life it would never be enough. Love wasn’t enough and after 10 years together the two of you needed to realize that.Jungkook looks behind you, recognizing that the car pulling up to the curb is the one he is supposed to get into and you know better then to try and stop him. His hand hovers over the handle of the car door as he debates his choices, running the past ten years and 72 hours in his head. For a second you think he isn’t going to get in, but in one swift motion, without even looking back he slips into the SUV.Leaving you alone as you watch the taillights disappear into the evening.“Y/N?” the gruff voice of a man asks through the rolled passenger window of a car that had just pulled up beside you.“Sorry! That’s me!” you tell him as you quickly wipe away your tears.“Have a nice flight?” he asks as he takes your suitcase from your hand and puts it in the trunk of his car.“Oh, it was alright,” you breathe as you take your seat and buckle your seatbelt.“Coming home or on vacation?”“I live here,” you tell him, trying to make it obvious by the sound of your voice that you just want to sit in silence.“Nice! Where did you fly in from?” he smiles through the rearview mirror.“Vegas.”He chuckles, “I can tell by the sound of your voice that you must have had a great time! But you know what they say, right? What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The words printed on the large stack of white papers in front of you was nothing new. You had seen them a thousand times before, sliding them across your large wooden desk towards your clients. They looked like deer in headlights as they stare at the document they are about to sign, unsure if the decision they are about to make is the right one. Their heart making them hesitate despite the fact that their head is reminding them of all the chances their spouse had been given. You understand the fear of not knowing what comes next, the fear of who you would become once the relationship you swore would last forever ended, just not emotionally but legally.You walked them through it every time, assuring them that this was the right decision. That they would be happier once it was all over and they were free from the chains of their unhappy relationship. It was a fresh start. A second chance at love and happiness, even for those who had been divorced several times.But now that you were in their position, you understood it all. You understand why it took some of them four different visits to your office to get the courage to sign the papers. You understood why your client last year threw up the second she scribbled down her name.Yet all of them managed to do it. They all signed their names on the dotted lines, except for you.It had been two weeks since you returned from your disaster of a vacation and you had barely made it past the first page despite the fact you carried the documents with you everywhere you went. Keeping them in your bag at all times. You never let them out of your sight for fear that someone find out how much of an idiot you actually were.This was never supposed to happen. The two of you should have stayed on opposite sides of the city. You thought you had moved on, that the two of you would have been able to act like mature adults about the situation. But here you were, filing for divorce from a marriage that should have never existed in the first place.You flip the page and it the white paper feels like it weighs a hundred tons. You could probably fill the entire form out with your eyes closed and with your left hand and backwards, but as you read the letters on the page none of them seem to form words you can understand.It was almost done, you had gotten yourself drunk on cheap wine from the corner mart in hopes that the liquid courage would be enough for you to do it. You did make progress, filling it out almost to completion until you spilled your glass all over the brand new cushion.And you had been avoiding it ever since. Every time you tried to sign your name on the line, your body was physically unable to as if there was some sort of invisible barrier around the page. You did manage to successfully get your pen onto the line, but your hand was unable to move. The joint locked in place as if it was in denial.“Y/N?” There was a knock on your door.You panic, immediately shoving the papers into a folder on your desk before your secretary opens the door and steps inside your office.“What are you still doing here?” Bona looks at you with confused look on her face.“What?” you immediately open your calendar. “Did I forget about an appointment?”She shakes her head. “Not exactly. You’re supposed to be having lunch with Irene right now. It’s Friday.”“Oh shit!” you curse out loud and grab your things as fast as you can. “Where are we supposed to meet?”“The ramen place a few blocks away.” Bona watches you in amazement as you run around your office in what feels like fast forward as you make sure you have your wallet, keys and phone.“Do you want me to bring you back anything?” you ask as you shove your sunglasses onto your face.Your secretary shakes her head. “It’s okay. I brought my lunch.”“Alright, I should hopefully be back in an hour.” you tell her.She nods. “I’ll be here.”“Wish me luck.” you sigh, dropping your shoulders as you take a deep breath.“Is she mad at you? I mean, for more than being late?” Bona was no stranger to the wrath of Irene.“Not for now.” you sigh, ending the conversation before your confused secretary could ask another question.You all but run the distance from your office to the ramen shop. Irene had already sent you a string of irritate emojis to let you know she wasn’t going to wait for you much longer.The door to the restaurant is lighter than you expect and you fling it open dramatically, scaring the host and making several tables seated near the front stare at you in annoyance.“How many?” she asks as you try to straighten yourself out.“My friend is already here.” you pant, winded from the very little amount of exercise you just did.You spot Irene in the back, a large plate of gyoza was settled onto the table next to a large pot of your favorite green tea.“You’re late.” she announces at your arrival to the table without even looking up from her phone.“I’m sorry, I got caught up with a case.”“You forgot.” she looks at you, setting her phone down on the table to give you a once over. “Why do you look like shit?”“I look fine!” you grumble, taking a seat across from her.Your best friend raises an eyebrow, “Is some asshole giving you trouble?”“When are they not?” you quip before taking a sip from your water glass.She nods. “True, but you’ve been especially quiet since we got back from our trip. This is the first time we’ve seen each other in two weeks.”“It’s just been really busy at work.”“Have you taken on new clients?”“A few.”You were being vague on purpose, trying not to get yourself stuck in a web of lives. It’s not like you were lying, you had met with a mother of four who caught her husband sleeping with the nanny.“Are the two of you ready to order?” your waiter interrupts.Irene looks at you. “Are you ready?”You nod.“The usual?” Irene asks even though she already knows the answer.She looks up at the waiter and smiles, “Two bowls of tonkotsu ramen, please. Extra pork belly in both.”The waiter scribbles down your order with a nod before disappearing into the bustling kitchen.You fill your ceramic mug with green tea and hold the warm cup in your hands, staring into the swirling steam that escapes the surface. You don’t want to be here. You don’t want to have to lie about the mess you had made that weekend in Vegas. You didn’t want to have to skip around the subject. But you couldn’t tell her. You know how she would react.She hadn’t been the most enthusiastic person when it came to your relationship with Jungkook since he decided to drop out of college and leave your relationship behind. She was the one who helped you put the pieces back together each time you fell a part, at this point she had them all memorized. Making sure you had enough ice cream and pizza and romantic comedies for you to cry over during your first few days of mourning.“So what’s new with you?” she asks, popping a crispy dumpling into her mouth, making you snap out of your day dream.“Is there ever anything new in my life?” you remind her as you take a gyoza for yourself.“Well, I don’t know. You seemed to hit it off with my friend at dinner.”You give her a look. “You can’t be serious.”“What? I saw the two of you talking! It looked like it was going well!”“I was definitely not the one talking. He couldn’t shut up about himself for the entire time and he was talking so loud as if he wanted everyone around us to hear about how successful he was. And he was rude to the staff.”Irene sinks back in her seat, “Okay, so maybe he was a poor choice.”“Oh? You don’t say.”You can see your best friend start to get defensive. “Well, anyone is better than Jungkook.”“Irene-”She holds up her hands, “Let me explain. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”The waiter comes back with two large bowls of piping hot noodles in his hands you’re definitely going to leave him a larger tip because of his unknowingly impeccable timing.As soon as he sets the bowls down, she starts up again. “I guess what I am trying to say is that I am proud of you.”“What do mean by that?” you ask, raising an eyebrow as you take a bite from the soft boiled egg in your bowl.Irene finishes her mouthful of noodles before continuing. “I just know how hard it must have been for you to be around Jungkook all weekend. It was the first time you had seen him in a very long time and I just sort of sprung it on you at the last minute.”“Thanks for that.” you flash a fake smile.“I know, I’m sorry. But I think you handled yourself a lot better than I would have in that situation. I would have been a total mess, obsessing over who he was talking to and what he was doing. I don’t think I would have been able to enjoy myself at all. I don’t even think I saw the two of you within five feet of each other all weekend.”If she only knew.“Did the two of you even say a word to each other?”This is when the lying starts.“Not really. I mean, we can’t really act like we’re strangers.”“Of course.” Irene nods her head.“But we didn’t catch up over drinks or anything like that. I think the both of us just wanted to try and enjoy the weekend despite the circumstances.”“I’m really happy to hear that.”“Why?” you ask as you continue to make a dent in the very large bowl of noodles in front of you.Your best friend sets her chopsticks down and you take that as a sign she is about to get serious.“Y/N, you know how I feel about Jungkook. I have watched the never ending cycle of you crying your heart out over him only to get back together a few months later for years now. It breaks my heart every single time because you’re always convinced that it’s going to be different. You’re always so sure that this time is going to be the time that the two of end up staying together forever. But it never is. Sure, things might be better for the first few months but at the end of the day you’re still the same two people. You’ll start to fight and push each other’s buttons. And then it just all falls apart and I have to see my best friend heartbroken all over again.”“This is the longest we have been broken up.” you chew on your bottom lip as you listen.“It is, and I am so proud of you for being able to move on. I know Jungkook is always going to have a special place in your heart. The two of you had been together for what over 10 years now? That’s a really long time and not many people understand what the two of you shared. But you’re moving on. You’re letting go and I am so proud of you for that.”Your heart sinks to your stomach as you watch a warm smile spread across your best friend’s face. The guilt you were feeling as you listened to her praise your progress made your heart beat heavily. You aren’t as strong as she says you are.If you were, you wouldn’t have gone into the bathroom with Jungkook. If you were strong you wouldn’t have let him take you back to the hotel. If you were strong you wouldn’t have gotten so drunk you married him in a drive-thru Las Vegas wedding chapel. If you were strong you wouldn’t have slept him with him the next day, completely sober.You were a fraud, someone unworthy of the praise your best friend was singing. Yet all you could do was force yourself to smile back.“I guess so, but sometimes I don’t see myself that way.”“What do you mean?”You pause, your chopsticks freezing halfway to your mouth. “I just feel like if I was as strong as you say I am, I wouldn’t have gotten back together with him so many times. I would have just let him go back to our hometown and live his life. I would have graduated college and gone to my first choice of law school instead of staying nearby. I would have a completely different life.”Your best friend reaches across the table and holds your hand. “You shouldn’t hold your past decisions against you. They made you who you are today. It’s not fair to punish your present self for something your past self did. Okay?”“Okay.” you nod, trying to convince yourself that you believed her.“Anyway, let’s change the subject. I don’t want you to cry into your ramen.”“I wasn’t going to cry.” you sniffle. “The ramen is hot.”Your best friend gives you a look. “Whatever you say, Y/N.”“Anyway, I think we have spent enough time talking about him and I don’t want to make you upset.”“I’m not upset!” you shriek a little too loudly.Irene gives you the look you hate. The one she gives you when she feels like she’s right and you roll your eyes, refusing to give her satisfaction. “Are you doing anything this weekend?”“No.” you shake your head as you decide to throw the towel in on your lunch, setting your chopsticks down and wiping your chin clean of any broth that wanted to stay for later.“You should try and get a date!” she encourages. “Aren’t you on one of those dating app thingies?”You scoff. “Hell no, I barely have time for clients right now. So how am I supposed to start dating? I’m fine with having no plans for the weekend. I have so much laundry I need to do and I should probably deep clean my apartment because its become a giant mess ever since I came back from Las Vegas.”“Do you ever do anything besides work?”“Do you?” you counter, knowing that you best friend was a pot about to call a kettle black.“Fair enough.” she gives up, knowing that she has no place to talk about being addicted to working.The waiter returns with the small leather folder containing the check. The two of you watch him like a hawk, both of determined to get your hands on it before the other. He jumps back as the two of you spring up, fighting over whose turn it is to pay the bill.“I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” he announces, shaking his head as he walks away.“Let me pay. I was late.” you remind her as you try to yank the bill from her hands.“But I almost made you cry.” she counters, twisting the leather until it slips from your fingertips. There was a satisfied look on her face as she slipped her debit card into the slot, not even bothering to look at how much it cost.“Do you want a ride back to the office?” she asks as the two of you step out into the street a few minutes later.You shake your head. “No, my office is just a few blocks away.”“Are you sure? It’s pretty cold out today.”“Yes, I want to avoid going back to work for as long as possible.”She pulls you in for a hug. “If you change your mind about this weekend just let me know, okay?”“I will.” you nod even though both of you know you definitely won’t.You head back to the office with Irene’s words swimming in your head. She always had a way of knowing what to say, even if at times you didn’t want to hear it. You could still her voice telling you she was proud of you despite the fact that you were no longer in the same room.You didn’t know if remembering to pick up your wet towel off the bathroom floor caused for a round of applause. But it was only because every time you did, you heard his voice in the back of your head. You could see the way his shoulders dropped as he sighed, slowly picking up the wet towel and folding it neatly in place on the towel rack in the bathroom.You could feel his stare as you took things out of the fridge, leaving the door wide open until you put them back in its place on the shelf. It’s something you wouldn’t dare do now, remembering his lectures as to how your behavior lead to a waste of energy as the fridge would have to work harder to keep it cool.He was in so many ways, the reason you were the person you were today. Some of your most influential years had been spent by his side, picking up on his habits and world views. There would be times where you would say something to a coworker and could hear his voice come out instead of your own. But at least it was better than your mother’s.As you step into your office, you feel scared. You realize for the first time in many years just how dependent you were on him. How he had influenced your life in so many different ways. Jungkook propelled you forward by encouraging you to chase your dreams. He was by your side all throughout law school, holding your hand every time you wanted to give. He was always your biggest fan, making you believe that you could do anything in the world if you just tried hard enough.But as much as he pushed your forward, he held you in place at the same time. For over 10 years you were scared of your life without him. You tried to fit yourself into whatever shape he needed you to be in that at times you could barely recognize yourself. He did everything for you, leaving you a crying mess on your bedroom floor the night the light bulb in your bedroom went out and he was the one who always fixed it.You sit down at your desk, pulling out the file you had shoved into the depths of your handbag. You pull the papers out of the large stack of photographs from the private investigator your newest client had hired and grab the first pen you can get your hands on.It was time to let him go.And without thinking twice you sign your name.“Bona?” you call out for your secretary and she immediately appears in your office.“Yes?” she gives you a puzzled look.“I’m going to the courthouse to drop off some paperwork.” you tell her, almost repeating the exact same steps as earlier this afternoon.She follows you, “Now? It closes in 15 minutes. I’m sure it can wait until Monday!”You firmly shake your head, “No, unfortunately it can’t wait.”“What case is it for? You filed everything on Wednesday. I don’t understand how I could have missed something.” she starts to blame herself as she pulls out her phone to double check her work.  “It’s not your fault. I fucked this one up so I’m going to fix it. But I won’t be coming back to the office afterwards.”“What?” she gives you a double take and for a second you think she is going to ask to take your temperature.“Go home, Bona. You deserve an afternoon off.”“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” she asks as she takes a seat in her chair.  You smile, “I’m perfectly fine. I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”And you were okay, for the most part. But your nerves grew stronger and stronger as you seemed to hit every single red light as you drove towards the courthouse. You cursed every time you had to press the brakes, your eyes flicking between the clock and the traffic light ahead of you.When you finally reach the government building, you run out of your car as soon as the engine stops. Your feet weave in between cars as you race towards the front doors.“Y/N!” the familiar security guard is surprised to see you this late. “Are you okay?”“I’m fine!” you tell him, running towards the clerk's office. Your heels echo loudly on the marble floor until you reach your destination.You take a deep breath and attempt to pull yourself together. You could do this. You had to do this. You needed to do this. You repeat the phrases as you look at the clock on more time. There were five minutes left.“Can I help you?” the disgruntled woman behind the desks as you, clearly annoyed by the fact that you had showed up right before it was time for her to leave.“I just need to file these documents.” you hand her your preliminary divorce papers.Despite the fact that the two of you had worked with each other for years, you were still complete strangers. Yet the way she arched her over-plucked eyebrow made you feel exposed as she made sure everything was filled out correctly, taking notice of the name that was signed to the page.“Everything seems to be in order. The other party involved will be notified next week.”“Thank you.” you hesitate before leaving, unable to put one foot in front of the other.“Can I help you with anything else?” she asks, looking at you above her glasses.“No.”“Then do you mind leaving my office? It’s time for me to go home.”You immediately start to move towards the door. “Right, of course. Thank you. Have a good weekend.”“Treat yourself to something nice.” she calls out softly, making you sigh.But you didn’t have time for that.You spent your entire weekend working, catching up on a mountain of paperwork you somehow thought bringing home would make you work on it. And now, two weeks later you were suffering the consequences and trying to cram it in between laundry and mopping.By the time Monday rolled around you felt like you hadn’t actually had a weekend at all.You had just finished with your newest client and you were exhausted. The first sessions were always the hardest as you spent most of your appointment playing therapist instead of lawyer. Comforting each of your clients as they tearfully recollect the journey they took to get to this point and offering them a tissue every time they tried to hold back their sniffling.The second your client had e-mailed you, you knew this one was going to be a tough one. He had already processed through several stages of grief and was now processing anger, and he had a lot of it. He spent the entire two hours pacing the room as he told the story of how he caught his wife with the pool boy and the gardener and their private chef in bed together. At the same time.You had to stop him every time he called her a bitch or a string of other curse words, warning him that if acted this way in court he would certainly not be granted custody of their four children.By the time it was over all you could think about was having a large shot of whiskey (or two), breaking your rule of no drinking during the work week.You hear your cell phone ringing in the bottom of your bag, and hope it’s not one of your clients as you don’t think you could handle someone else in hysterics this afternoon.“That’s odd.” you mumble to yourself as Namjoon’s name flashes across the screen. You couldn’t remember the last time Namjoon called you, yet alone in the middle of the afternoon on a Monday.“Hello?” you ask, preparing yourself for the reason why he was calling.“Hey, Y/N?” Namjoon’s voice sounds strained as if he was trying to lift something heavy and talk at the same time.“What’s going on? Are you okay?”“I’m sorry to bother you.” he apologizes through gritted teeth, “But I didn’t know who else to call.”“Who are you talking to?” a very slurred voice asks Namjoon.Namjoon’s attention was diverted from your phone call and you could hear the sounds of struggling before he yells at someone in the room with him, “Will you just sit still for five fucking minutes or do you want me to throw you in the shower fully clothed?”You could hear the sound of familiar giggling, “You can’t even pick me up! I’m too strong!”“I’m strong enough to kick your idiot ass!” Namjoon threatens before slamming a door shut and making everything go quiet.“Namjoon?” you start to panic. “Are you okay? Is everything okay?”“It’s Jungkook.” he sighs.His name makes you sink down into your office chair. “What about him?”“He’s at my apartment.”“Okay?” you fail to see the issue.“He’s drunk. Completely fucking wasted and I can’t get him to calm down.”That made more sense.“How? Why? It’s the middle of the afternoon!” you rub your temple with the pads of your fingertips, a tension headache already starting to brew under your skin.“I don’t know. He showed up like this and every time I try to ask him what’s wrong he just slurs something about being served papers.”You feel your heart drop seven stories. “Divorce papers.”“What?” Namjoon asks you to clarify.“I filed for divorce on Friday. I didn’t think he would have been served this fast. The courthouse is so slow that it usually takes a few weeks to process so I thought I would have had a few days to tell him.”“You didn’t warn him?” Namjoon groans. “You should know better than to spring it on him like that.”“He knew it was coming!” you try to defend yourself. “We both agreed that I would file the paperwork as soon as we got back. We promised to make the whole situation as easy as possible and that I would handle everything.”“Y/N, you know how sensitive he is. You can’t just file for divorce and expect him not to react. You should have told him as soon as you dropped those papers off.”“I know.” you start to chew on your bottom lip. “I just didn’t know how.”Namjoon scoffs, “All you had to say was ‘Jungkook, I just wanted you to know I filed for divorce so you might get served papers in the next couple of weeks.’ How is that hard?”You hated being lectured by Namjoon. “I know. I know. I should have told him.”“Yep, and now I have to clean up the fucking mess you made. Again.”“Just let him sleep it off. Don’t you and Irene have an extra bedroom?”“Yes, but he can’t stay here.”“Why not? You know how he is when he gets drunk. He’ll pass out in like 30 minutes and sleep like a baby for the rest of the day until it wears off.”“No!” Namjoon shouts through the phone. “Because my dumbass agreed to lie for the both of you to Irene. If she comes home and finds this fucking idiot passed out on my couch she is going to ask questions. You and I both know that drunk Jungkook can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life.”“Yes I can!” you hear Jungkook yell in pout.He must have escaped because you hear the sound of shuffling, and your ex-boyfriend cackling at Namjoon’s attempts to contain him.“I told you to go lay down!” Namjoon hisses, clearly in over his head with the drunken antics of his best friend.“What do you want me to do?” you sigh.“Take him.”“Namjoon, I don’t kno-”“No.” He cuts you off. “You owe me this, Y/N. I am lying to my fiance for you so taking Jungkook is the least you can do.”You hated that he had a point. “What am I supposed to do? I’m the last person Jungkook wants to see right now.”“I don’t fucking care. Just come get him before he pukes on my couch.”“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”“It better be soon.” Namjoon warns as his patience was practically gone as he hangs up the phone without saying goodbye.You hang up the phone and lean forward, letting your forehead hit your desk with a loud thud.“What the fuck am I supposed to do?” you feel like crying as you try to process the mess you had just made.“Y/N? Is everything alright?” Bona asks through the door, knocking to make sure it was safe to enter.You had forgotten you were at work.“I’m fine.” you mutter, trying to pull yourself together and hope there isn’t a red spot on the middle of your head as you sit back up.“I thought I heard yelling, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.” your secretary slowly opens the door.“I’m fine.”“You don’t look fine.” she tries to read the expression on your face.“It’s just been a long day.” you try to smile.“It’s only Monday.” she painfully reminds you.“Then it’s going to be a long week. But I’m leaving early.”“What? Again?” she wasn’t used to those words coming out your mouth, and especially not twice in less than a week.“I have a personal emergency to deal with.”“Is anyone sick? Do you want me to order flowers?”You stand up from your desk, “No, no. That’s very sweet of you but it’s nothing like that.”“Is there anything I can do?” she pulls out her phone, ready to accomplish any task you ask of her.But you shake your head, “No, I don’t think so. Just forward any calls to my voicemail for the rest of the day. And tell my associates I’ll be back in the office tomorrow.”She nods. “Of course. But are you sure there isn’t anything I can do?”“No, Everything will be fine.”But as you walk up to the door of Namjoon and Irene’s apartment, you aren’t too sure of that.You contemplate entering in the password and letting yourself in, but you don’t know how Jungkook would react to you suddenly appearing in front of him. So you decide to knock, shakily banging your fist against the navy blue door.“Who is it?” Jungkook’s slurred speech calls out over his loud thudding footsteps.The door swings open and the two of you stare at each other silently. His eyes are bloodshot, glazed over from alcohol and crying. He takes one look at you and inhales deeply, his chest rising several centimeters like he’s bracing himself for impact.“Go away.” he hisses before slamming the door in your face.“Jungkook!” you hear Namjoon hiss behind the door followed by a large thud which could only hopefully be Jungkook landing on his ass.“I’m sorry about that.” Namjoon apologizes. “He’s a bit of a mess.”“I had it coming, I guess.” you try to play it off like it didn’t bother you.Namjoon opens the door to let you enter the apartment and as soon as you do you can feel his eyes glaring at you from the large leather couch he had taken hostage in.“Why did you have to call her?” he whines at Namjoon.His best friend sighs, “Because Irene is coming home soon and you need to get the fuck out.”“Just call me a cab.” he waves Namjoon off.“There isn’t a single cab driver in this city who is going to let you into their cab. You’re too drunk.”Jungkook’s eyes narrow. “I never throw up.”Namjoon throws his head back in defeat, clearly at his wits end with his best friend. He turns to look at you, almost begging at this point. “Will you please take him home?”You nod. “I’m probably going to need help getting him to my car.”“Where did you park?” Namjoon asks, unsure if he wants to know how far he’s going to drag the much more muscular man on the couch.“Out front.”“Good.” he nods as he walks past you, grabbing Jungkook’s work boots from the front door and heads towards the couch.“I can put my shoes on myself.” Jungkook grumbles, ripping the tattered boots out of his hands.You hear an invisible clock counting down the time left before Irene was set to arrive at the apartment as Jungkook struggles. His drunken finger tips are unable to lace up his boots like a child learning how to do it for the first time.“Let me do it.” Namjoon bends down to tie his shoes for him, much to the annoyance of the person whose shoes were being tied.“Did you bring anything with you?” you ask once Jungkook is standing.He looks around the room and points to a pile of clothing on the floor. “Just my jacket.”Namjoon is already picking it up, checking it’s pockets for Jungkook’s keys before holding the coat up and signalling Jungkook to put it on.“Why are you treating me like a toddler?” Jungkook pouts but still follows his best friend’s request.“Because you’re acting like one.” Namjoon responds flatly.“Am not!” Jungkook starts to retaliate but Namjoon ignores him and pushes him towards the front door.The three of you step into the elevator in complete silence. Each one of you irritated for a different reason and the small confined space isn’t helping the situation either.“Will you let me know once you’re home and he’s asleep?” Namjoon asks you once the elevator reaches the ground floor and you step into the lobby, dragging Jungkook along with you.“I will.” you try to smile but it’s pointless. Namjoon is already pressing the button to shut the elevator door and return to his home.Jungkook walks five feet ahead you, not bothering to look over his shoulder to see if you’re following him.“I’m parked to your right.” you give him directions.“I know what your car looks like.” he reminds you, marching over to the vehicle he helped you buy and waits for you to unlock the door.You slip into the driver's seat, hesitating before putting your key in the engine.“What?” Jungkook asks, clearly sensing your nervousness.“Nothing. I just-.” you stop yourself before you start apologizing. “Nevermind.”“Whatever.” Jungkook mumbles before sinking into the passenger seat and staring out the window.It only took a few red lights before Jungkook was passed out with his head against the window. Out of the corner of your eye you could see the faint trace of the scare on his cheek. The one you had kissed over a thousand times. You could still see the 16 year old boy you fell in love with many years ago as you looked at him. He had certainly grown into his nose and ears, but past his hardened exterior he was still the same.“Shouldn’t your eyes be on the road?” he whispers, opening his left eye to look at you.“I wasn’t staring.” you immediately straighten up.“Whatever you say.”“Why are you being such an asshole?” you start to understand how Namjoon felt.Jungkook immediately sits up in his seat and looks at the city streets around him. “Where the hell are you taking me?”“What?” you try to keep your eyes focused on the road.“Where are you going? We live over there! Turn left!” Jungkook slurs.“Jungkook, I live over here.” you correct him, slowly watching him process what you had just said.He sinks back into his seat, “When did you move?”“After the lease ended. I would have moved out sooner but I couldn’t afford to pay rent on two different apartments.” your voice becomes softer as you speak.Jungkook nods, chewing on the inside of his lip. “Makes sense.”You know by his shortness that this is the end of the conversation and you don’t bother trying to get anything out of him the rest of the drive home. And it was probably for the best, as you didn’t think you could handle how he was behaving at Namjoon’s.“How much longer?” he asks after several minutes of awkward silence.“30 seconds.” you tell him, already turning on your signal to pull into the parking garage of your building.“This looks fancy.” he touts. “Must be nice to finally live where you want.”That was the final jab you could tolerate. You pull into your assigned parking space, turn off the engine and turn to glare at him. “Are you done yet? Or are you just going to insult me the entire time.”Jungkook scoffs. “What’s wrong with what I said?”Your eyes narrow. “You know exactly what you meant by that. I’m not going to sit here and have you make me feel like shit. Yes, I moved and maybe it’s fancier for the last place but I’ve sacrificed a lot to be able to afford it. So the last thing I need, especially from you, is to feel guilty about how and where I spend my money. You were the one who refused to let me pay more in rent because your giant ass ego got in the way. I told you I didn’t mind if that meant we could live somewhere nicer. So don’t you fucking dare try to make me seem like something I’m not.”He doesn’t say anything as he gets out of the car, crossing his arms as he waits for you to give him directions.“The elevator is over there.” you point towards the silver doors.“What floor?” he asks, fingers hovering over the buttons once the two of you step inside.“Fifteen.” you hold onto your purse tightly, trying to resist the urge to fix his hair.“I’m sorry.” he mutters as the two of you walk down the hallway towards your apartment. “I know what work is like for you.”“It’s not even that fancy.” you tell him, unlocking the door to your apartment. “It’s just a studio.”You immediately head towards the couch, wanting nothing more to sink down into the cushions and come out after this whole thing is over while Jungkook lingers at the front door. He takes his time taking off his shoes, his drunken stature wobbling as he tries to slip his boots off with as little effort as possible.“This apartment definitely looks like you.” he sighs, hesitating to enter your living space.“Do you want to take a shower?” you ask him, sitting up from the couch as soon as he sits down.“I just want to sit for a few minutes.” he tells you as his eyes were already closing.“You need to eat something before you fall asleep.”“I’m not falling asleep.”“Then why are your eyes closed?”He opens his left eye and looks at you. “Do you have any beer?”You scoff. “ No and I think the last thing you need right now is another drink.”But Jungkook knows you too well, he’s already getting up off the couch and heading towards your fridge. “You lied. Your voice did that thing.”“It did not.” you watch as he finds exactly what he was looking for.He pulls two of them out of the fridge. “Yes it did. Your voice quivered when you said no. That’s how I always knew.”“Oh, you mean like how you can’t look me in the eye every time you lie?” you catch the beer he tosses to you. You want to scold him for tossing something carbonated, but you bite your tongue.“Exactly like that.” he smirks, knowing he’s got you.You’ve reached the point where you having nothing witty left to say. You’re exhausted and it's only been a half hour. You were going to need many more of these beers if you were going to make it through the night.“How did you even get here?” you ask after taking a long sip from your can. “Did you drive?”Jungkook shakes his head. “No. I took the train.”“Good. I’m glad you were smart enough to not drive.”He almost looks offended. “Did you really think I would drive drunk?”“No! I just wanted to make sure your car wasn’t parked in a place where it could get towed. You know how weird parking permits are around here.”“We wouldn’t want that, would we?” he taunts, chugging his beer until there is nothing left.“Why are you such an asshole?” you tighten your grip on the aluminum can in your hand, making it pop loudly between your fingers.“I was served divorce papers today.” his eyes narrow as you prepare yourself for round whatever it was of arguing.“You knew I was going to file.”“Is that supposed to make it any easier?” he grits his teeth.“Jungkook, we agreed!”“You had them sent to my work. My employees could have seen them. And how the fuck would I have explained that?”“I didn’t know your new address! I figured getting them sent to the shop was the eas-”“You should have texted me. I would have given you my address.”“I’m sorry, okay? I thought I was doing the right thing.”“You always do.” he rolls his eyes.“Can we not do this right now?” you slam your empty beer can on the coffee table. “You’re so fucking selfish sometimes. You act like you’re the only one hurting when I’m right here with you, feeling exactly what you’re feeling.”“And what am I feeling, Y/N? Please explain my own feelings to me.”“Don’t put words in my mouth, Jungkook.”“I’m not.”“I can’t have this conversation right now.”“Of course, it’s just like you end things when you want them to.”You glare him. “That’s not fair, and you know that Jungkook.”You stand up from the couch desperate for a place to go but you had to sign a lease for a studio. The only place you can think of is the bathroom. You can’t even look at him as you walk down the hallway, heading towards the only private place in your tiny apartment.You sit down as soon as the door is shut behind you, not bothering to turn on the light. God, you hated this. You hated fighting with him, remembering how the two of you spent a majority of your relationship at each other’s throats. When you were good, it was good and when it was bad, it was really bad. The two of you throwing sucker punches and low blows until one of you waves a white flag in defeat or shouts the words, “I think we need to break up.”There was a knock at the door.“Go away.” you tell him, pulling your knees into your chest.“I have to pee.” he tells you flatly.Jungkook’s eyes are bloodshot and you know he’s hit his limit.“You should shower.” you tell him as you walk past him. “You stink.”For a second he looks like he’s about to snap back at you, but he doesn’t. He closes his mouth and enters the room you just left without saying anything.You head towards the your fridge and take what is left of the twelve pack you were saving for a rainy day and walk towards the sink. You open each can one by one, dumping their contents down the drain.There was a bottle of whiskey hidden somewhere in your pantry and you know that Jungkook had a 6th sense when it came to finding any and all alcohol so you search through boxes of macaroni and cans of tomatoes before your fingers find the small glass bottle. It hurts you to dump it, but you know that it was for Jungkook’s best interest to remove any other forms of self-destruction down the drain.You dump it all in your recycling bin, sighing as you look at all of the money wasted but tell yourself. “It’s for the best.”In the bathroom, Jungkook turns on the fan followed by the sound of the shower running. You take a deep breath, thankful for the fact that you’ll have the next hour to be by yourself as Jungkook liked to take his time in the shower.It used to annoy you every single time the two of you started to get ready for a date or even just a Sunday afternoon. You would walk into a bathroom so thick with steam that you could barely see inches in front of you. You would nag about his showers causing mold and he would snap back about how you never rinsed the toothpaste out of the sink.Except now, it wasn’t your problem anymore. He could take as long as he wanted, your utilities were already included in your rent.You scroll through your phone, continually sipping on a large glass of water in hopes it will wash away all the complicated emotions you were feeling. You tried to occupy yourself with other people’s lives but your feed was filled with nothing but happy couples announcing their second pregnancies or photos from their wedding that happened 8 months ago. You drop your phone to your chest, and down the rest of your water wishing it was whiskey instead.“Y/N?” Jungkook’s voice calls out from the bathroom.“What?” you don’t exactly jump up off the couch to help him.“Do you have anything I can wear? I don’t want to put these clothes back on.”“I think so. Just give me a minute.” You stand up, feeling all the blood rush to your head and you have to grab the back of the couch to steady yourself.You know you have a box somewhere buried deep in your closet, it was just a matter of playing tetris with luggage and a vacuum in order to get to it.“Can you hurry?” he slurs.“Can you be patient for five minutes? I’m looking.” you huff, lifting a box of cleaning supplies that you think the box underneath.You have to take a deep breath once you see it. The worn label reading “kitchen” was scribbled in Jungkook’s handwriting from the first time the two of you moved into an apartment together. Somehow this one box managed to make it through, even though one of the sides was taped together with duct tape.Nostalgia hits you like a train, or maybe it was the beer and you can’t help but feel sad at all the memories the cardboard contained. There were old pictures, movie stubs from date nights you had saved and who knows what else. And buried in the bottom was a pair of old gym shorts and the shirt Jungkook had worn when he painted over the walls of the second apartment the two of you moved out of, separately.“What took you so long?” Jungkook teases as he stares at the clothing tucked underneath your arm.But you don’t say anything, you shove them into his chest and return to your spot on the couch.“Where did you even find these?” Jungkook asks as he enters your small living room a couple minutes later, running his fingers through his wet hair.“I found it in a box of your stuff.”“What stuff?” he asks with a wrinkled eyebrow.You nod towards where you left the box on the floor. “It’s over there.”He notices it before you finish your sentence, his eyes tracing along his worn out handwriting.“Shit.” he mutters as the box threatens to break in his hands. You try not to notice how his muscles flex as he carries it over to the couch, gently setting it down on the coffee table as if it was made of glass.“I don’t even know what’s in there.” you tell him, both of you nervous about the Pandora’s box he was about to open.Jungkook rummages around the box, pulling out random objects that once held meaning to the both of you. The stuffed alligator he won for you when you both ditched school on a Friday afternoon and went to the beach instead. you watch him as he goes through his emotions, each item he touches bringing out a string of different ways he could furrow his eyebrows.He reaches in one last time and his whole body freezes. He looks at you with glossy eyes and you know it’s not just because of the all the alcohol he consumed. He pulls out the small velvet black box and you understand.You watch as he stares at it, turning the box between his finger tips. Jungkook wants to open it, to see if the diamond lost any of it’s shine but he doesn’t. He places it exactly where he found it and closes the box, turning his face away from you.“Are you okay?” you ask, even though you can already see the tears forming on his bottom lashes.“I just don’t understand.” he murmurs.“What don’t you understand, Jungkook?”He turns to look at you as a single tear rolls down the scar on his cheek. “I don’t understand how you’re able to move on and shove our relationship into a box and I’m still fucking hopelessly in love with you.”“Jungkook-”He doesn’t let you finish. “I don’t want your pity, Y/N. I know you’re over me. You’ve made that very clear. I just wish I could do the same because sometimes it feels like you’re the only person I’m ever going to love.”“That’s not true, Jungkook.” you try to keep your voice soft.“Do you still love me?” the way he looks at you breaks your heart.“That’s not what I meant.”And you hate the way his shoulders curl as he hunches over at your words. You hate this. You hate every second you spend hurting him, again.“You will find someone. You are far too caring and loving and giving to spend the rest of your days alone. You’ll meet someone and you’ll completely forget about me.”He shakes his head. “No, I don’t want to.”“But you have to Jungkook, please. You have to do this for yourself. I can’t keep having this conversation with you. It breaks my heart.”“Okay, then we won’t have this conversation.”“Come on, that’s not what-”Jungkook looks at you, clearly defeated and you stop talking, not wanting to open the wound anymore than you already have. "I’m tired. I want to go to bed.” he waits for you to get off the couch. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything?”“No.”You sigh, “Okay. There are more blankets in the closet if you get cold.” you tell him, getting up from the couch.You had almost made it to your bed before you realize you don’t want the day to end like this. You don’t want to wake up in the morning with him hating you more than he already did. But you had run out of words to say, your apologies carried no weight when it was all Jungkook ever heard from you. When you tunr around he’s already sleeping, curled into your couch in a tiny ball of limbs and blankets. He looked peaceful, almost at ease. And you didn’t want to ruin that for him, even if it was only going to last until he woke up the next morning with a hangover from hell.Before you turn off the light you search for an extra phone cord you swore you had buried somewhere in your junk drawer. You found it underneath the menu from the place down the street and for a second you think about ordering some. Jungkook would need it in the morning once his hangover took over and there was nothing better than greasy noodles and fried chicken.You remind yourself that he isn’t your problem anymore, you didn’t have to take care of him more than you already have. But that doesn’t stop you from putting a large glass of water with several pain relievers on a napkin onto the coffee table for him and plug is phone in so it can charge.It was hard for you to fall asleep knowing that Jungkook was only 10 feet away from you on the couch. You couldn’t stop yourself from waking up every couple of hours to make sure he hadn’t puked on your new rug. Because it was white and you didn’t want to have to replace it, especially since you had been waiting several months for it to go on sale.You tried one of those ASMR videos Irene was always going on and on about to try and help you relax but the sound of someone cutting soap just made you irritated at the fact they were being wasteful. You tried listening to the sound of waterfalls but it just made you have to pee. And when you walked back from the bathroom you couldn’t help yourself but to make sure the drunk on your couch was still breathing.Blindly, you reach for your phone in the dark, hoping that it was still early enough to get some sleep. You couldn’t help but sigh as your clock read 4:35 in the morning. Your first alarm was set to go off at 6 AM, making you accept the fact that you’ll need to actually wear makeup to work to hide the exhaustion on your face.You hear Jungkook stirring on the couch, and you hold your breath as you wait for any signs of sickness. Through the dark you can see him stretch, rubbing his eyes as he takes a look around the apartment. You close your eyes and pretend you’re asleep the second he looks over at your bed and you hope he couldn’t see you staring.He downs the cup of water, setting it down on the coffee table before you hear him get up. His footsteps echoing through your apartment as he shuffles across the space, dragging his feet like they weigh 100 pounds each. For a second you think he’s just going to the the bathroom, but he makes a detour and ends up at the side of your bed.You roll over, hoping that he is still drunk enough to not notice the fact that you’re wide awake. Jungkook lifts the comforter off you and you feel the bed dip as he slips underneath, pulling the blanket up to his chin like he always does. He rolls over and you can feel his breath on your neck, followed by the weight of his arm wrapping around your waist so he can pull himself closer to you.You know that you should kick him out. That you should banish him back to the couch. But his presence is comfortable, he’s warm. His steady breathing relaxes you more than any slime video ever could. And you hate it. You hate how easy it is for your eyelids to feel heavy, making it impossible for you to do anything about the man in your bed.The sound of your alarm makes you groan, it was going off far too soon for your liking. You reach out towards your nightstand in a desperate attempt to hit snooze but instead you end up knocking your phone to the ground.“Fuck.” you mutter, hoping you didn’t shatter the screen as you try to pick it up with minimal effort and turn off the alarm. That’s when you realize the arm that was holding you in place, was no longer there.The other side of your bed was empty, the pillow showing no signs of the head that had been resting on it.It couldn’t have been a dream, you try to tell yourself as you search your apartment for any sign of him. His shoes were gone. The blanket on the couch was folded neatly over the back. In your tired haze you remembered you let him look at the box of things you had kept. It wasn’t on the coffee table where you swore he had left it. You stumble over to the closet and pull the chord on the light. It wasn’t there.He had taken the entire box for whatever masochistic reason he had. And maybe you owed it to him, having those things might just be a part of his healing process. For all you know he could have taken it to set it on fire and watch it burn until it was nothing but ash. You had certainly thought about it.You run your fingers through your bed head as you try to process everything that had happened in the past 12 hours. You had felt so sure of your decision and the space you had put between the two of you, but it was all murky. Your head was swimming with indecision as you tried to process everything. Irene’s words from Friday’s lunch were replaying in your ears despite the fact that the sound of your heart was calling out for Jungkook. Somewhere hidden under sheets, your phone starts to vibrate. You keep your fingers crossed hoping that it was Bona texting you to tell you that your first client cancelled and that you weren’t needed in the office until later that morning.But it wasn’t.You sink down on the edge of the mattress as you read his text.Jungkook 6:06 AM: Thank you for taking care of me last night, but can we please pretend like it never happened?

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You try took at your watch as discreetly as possible, worried that your lack of patience would make the already stifled room become fully stagnant. It had been 2 hours and 12 minutes since you stepped inside the judges’ chambers with your client. Mr. Choi sends glances laced with daggers at the women he was in the middle of divorcing. This was the longest the two of them had been in the same room for months and you were worried that the storm brewing underneath the surface would turn into a hurricane. You had spent the morning briefing your client on breathing techniques and different meditations he could do to prevent himself from spewing steam from his ear’s like a cartoon character.But as the session went on you couldn’t help but notice how his cheeks started to redden, starting from his ears and spreading across his cheeks. It would only take another snide comment from his ex to set him off and you prepared yourself for any possible outcome. “My client is offering unsupervised visitation every other Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM.” the lawyer across the table slides over the paperwork.You snatch it from the large wooden table you had been sat in for the past hour before your client could get his hands on it. Out of the corner of your eye you could see his chest start to rise and fall and you don’t know how much longer he is going to be able to hold it in before he bursts at the seams. You give the document a once over, placing it underneath your folded hands.“My client rejects your offer.” you tell the older lawyer who gives a weary look to the woman at his right.“What does your client want?”“Mr. Choi client would like visitation one night a week to take the children to dinner or help with their homework. And we request that they spend every other weekend at his home.”His soon to be ex-wife stares at him with daggers pointing from her pupils. “Overnight visitation? Absolutely not! Not with that tramp you’re living with.”You really wish she didn’t say that.“The tramp I’m living with?” Your client starts to raise his voice. “You are the one who cheated on me! With my best friend! The two of you waited until I barely made it out of driveway before you let that fucker move into my house. The house I built. That I paid for!”She rolls her eyes, adding fire to the flames of anger.Your client gets up from his seat, leaning over to point a finger at her. “You’re an ungrateful bitch and you’re lucky I didn’t put your ass on the streets!”“That’s enough!” you exclaim, standing up from your seat. You try to pull your client back to his chair, but he overpowers you. He continues to throw out curses and names from his mouth and you watch in horror as the spit flies as fast as his vowels.“Can we take a recess?”: you desperately as the judge as the man in your grasp tries to wriggle out of it.The old man nods in disapproval, letting you grab your client by the collar and drag him outside the mediation room.He kicks the water fountain with a loud thud. The sound of metal rattling makes you jump, hoping he didn’t do enough damage to get arrested for it.“You need to get yourself under control, Mr. Choi.” you warn through gritted teeth. “Did you forget that this a custody hearing? Because believe it or not, this has nothing to do with your wife.”“She’s not my wife, she’s a bitch.” he grunts, pacing back and forth as he wipes the dribble off the corners of his mouth.“Regardless of your marital status, she is the mother of your children. And your children are why we are here today, not her. Do you want them to taken away from you completely? Is that what you want? Because from our conversations I was under the impression you loved your children dearly and you want them in your life.”Your client stares at you.“And if you don’t get your attitude under control, it’s going to be a cold day in hell before you get to see them. She will make sure of it. Her lawyer will make sure of it. And so will that judge.”He shakes his head. “They can’t do that.”Your cross your arms in front of you. “Yes, they can. And they will if you continue to show violent behavior.”“I would never lay a finger on my kids.” he spits.“You just screamed at your ex-wife, calling her names and pointing fingers. How is that judge supposed to believe that? You’re going to be lucky if you even get supervised visitation. That judge could require you to go to counseling and complete an anger management program before you are allowed to even give them a hug. So I suggest you put your big boy pants on and forget about your cheating ex-wife and think of your kids the next time you’re tempted to act like one.”The look on his face tells you that you’ve hit a soft spot. From the first time you met with your client until now, all he had talked about was his children. He loves them more than anything else in this world. But like so many of your other clients, as soon as they saw their soon-to-be-ex all they can see is red. You’ve watched as they spiral out of control, resulting in paying more child support or fewer visitation hours or even losing custody of the family pet.But you’re not their babysitter. They’re grown adults who choose to act this way instead of thinking about the bigger picture. There isn’t much you can do except warn them about their behavior. And some check themselves into place. And then there are some like Mr. Choi who spends the rest of the hour cursing and calling names before the judge declares he has had enough and demands your client enters an anger management program.Of course, he blames you. Taking out his frustrations of things not going your way as you “not doing your job” and reminding you that “you work for him” and countless other insults he hurtled your way.You were drained, completely and utterly drained as you drag yourself back to your car after three hours of getting absolutely nothing done.As soon as the door locks, your throw your hands on the steering wheel, letting out your own string of curse words and hexes. You scare yourself as your hands press the horn, sending out a loud honk among the otherwise silent lot of the courthouse. You want nothing more than to pull out of the parking lot and head home to solace of your apartment and spend the rest of the night with a large bottle of wine and whatever takeout your fingers land on first.But you can’t. You have to go back to the office where a mountain of paperwork and over 30 unanswered emails wait for your response.Grid lock.Everywhere you look all you can see are metal cars of various shapes and sizes all at a standstill. Every driver you can see is just as frustrated as you are, each of you looking for an escape route on your phones in hopes that the nearest exit would give you the momentum you wished you had.You search for the cause. It was 2:25 PM, way too early for evening rush hour to start. And it was off-season for your city’s sports team. Your phone tells you there was a four car pile up just a few minutes from where you parked on the freeway. Luckily no one was hurt, but it seemed as though it would take the crews awhile to get everything cleared up.You’re thankful you remembered to use the bathroom before leaving the courthouse as it didn’t seem like you would be moving anytime soon. The channels on the radio offer nothing but commercials and songs you didn’t recognize, so you turn it off. Hoping that a little bit of silence will be enough to mentally prepare you to return to the demands of your clients.The red car several feet in front of you catches your eyes and you lean forward onto your steering wheel to get a closer look. Your heart always ached when you saw a car that resembled your father’s. The one you would always steal the keys to any time he had to leave town for work, taking your best friends out for late night drives in the countryside and using it to stay at the library once the seldom city buses stopped driving.But it wasn’t your dad’s car. It wasn’t even the same manufacturer, but there was something about that shade of red that made your heart remember the first time you laid your eyes on him.
“Please. Please. Please.” you beg to the universe as you make the right turn down the dusty road, swerving to avoid the large pothole that would certainly only put you into more trouble than you already would be if you didn’t get it fixed.

Again.

The old neon sign flashed “Ope” as the n was still out even though it had been six months since you told Taecyeon that it had gone out. He clearly didn’t seem to care.

You take a deep breath, hoping that he would have time for you. It was near the end of the day and you know how he gets when you show up near closing. His attitude isn’t enough to deter you as you pull your dad’s car into the empty garage, put into park and turn off the engine.

“Hello?” you call out to no one as you get out of the car.

“Taecyeon?” you call out his name, hoping that he was in his office watching basketball.

The beat of your heart quickens as you realize he’s not there, panicking that for some reason he had closed but forgot to lock up and turn off the sign.

And then you remembered that it was Taecyeon and this shop was his baby. There was no way he would leave it in a state like this.

You’re about to pull out your phone to call your mechanic when a voice calls out from behind you. “Can I help you?”

The sound of his voice makes you jump, spinning on your heels to face the source “What the hell! Don’t you have any manners?”

The boy who scared you laughs, wiping his grease stained hands on the rag he had shoved into a pocket of his coveralls. You wanted to wipe the smug smirk off his face as he walks over to your father’s car.

“I was wondering when I was going to meet you.” he laughs, flashing a set of almost perfect teeth as he walks in a circle, assessing the damage in the red paint.

“What is that supposed to mean?” you cross your arms in front of your chest in defense.

The boy leans down in front of the dented bumper. “I’m pretty sure you keep this place in business. How many times a month do you stop by the shop?”

“I think you’re exaggerating. I haven’t been here in at least a month and a half.”

“Weren’t you in here two weeks ago because you scratched the paint on the trunk?” he looks over his shoulder at you, clearly taking pleasure in this conversation.

“What’s your point?” you scoff. “Where’s Taecyeon?”

The boy stands up and shrugs, “In the city for the weekend. I think.”

“What? So who is going to help me fix my car?”

“Your dad’s car. That you shouldn’t have the privilege of driving.”

You choose to ignore the dig he just took at you. “Why is the shop if no one is here to fix it?”

“I can fix it.” he smiles.

“I’m sorry but can your feet even reach the pedals?” you question him as you give him the once over.

It only takes him three steps to close the distance between the two of you. His large frame towering over yours as a smirk appears across his face. You try not to notice the scar on his left cheek or how white is teeth are. Or how he smells like a mixture of motor oil and cologne and sweat. And how you don’t mind it at all.

“I’m taller than you.” he muses, taking a step back.

“Is that supposed to make me feel any better?”

He shrugs. “It’s either me or dealing with your dad.”

You chew on your bottom lip, debating your choices. “How long will it take?”

The boy looks over at the dent. “Five minutes?”

You nod your head. “Good, my dad’s plane just landed and I need to get his car home before he does.”

He looks at the clock behind your head. “It’s rush hour so you probably have some time.”

“Thank god.” you huff, taking in a seat in the uncomfortable squeaky chairs Taecyeon has set up so customers have a place to sit while they wait.

“You don’t recognize me, do you?” he asks as he grabs what looks like a large suction cup out from a pile of tools.

“Should I?” you question, looking up from your phone to take a second look.

“We got to the same school.” he grunts as he applies the contraption to the metal.

“What grade are you in?”

“The same as you. second year.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jeon Jungkook.”

“Do you know my name?”

“Y/N.”

“Oh.” you mutter, feeling guilty for being so clueless.

He shakes his head, pulling the metal back into place. “I figured as much. Girls like you don’t really pay much attention to guys like me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you aren’t sure if his comment was an insult to you or to himself.

He stands up. “I don’t care about college. I don’t care about team spirit. I don’t care about my social life.”

“You should.”

Jungkook wrinkles his nose at your words. “Nah, not my thing. I’m in the work study program already so I’m only in school for the first few classes before I come here and work.”

“They have a program like that?” you lean forward in your chair, giving him your full attention.

“Yep, Taec says that as long as I graduate he will help me pay for proper mechanic school.” he tells you as he places the machine back onto the table.

“At least you have a plan.” you try to smile weakly.

“You don’t? Aren’t you top of the class?” he wipes his hands on the dirty towel at his waist.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have everything figured out. I think I want to go to law school, but I don’t know. There is just so much I want to do that the thought of graduating high school is really overwhelming. I feel like so many I know have it all figured out and I’m just sort of, here. So I guess jealous any time someone knows exactly what they want.”

“We’re only 16.” Jungkook reminds you. “Why do you have to have it all figured it now?”

“How are you so relaxed? It’s our future! Of course I am going to care.”

“I think you need to relax. Take a second to smell some roses or some shit.”

You shake your head. “Wait, why do you even care?”

Jungkook stares at you. “I don’t. I mean, I just. Forget it.”

The way he squirmed trying to answer your question made you happier than you wanted to admit. He was flustered, something you already knew didn’t seem to happen often.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he huffs, folding his arms across his chest which only made him seem even cuter.

Not that you thought he was cute.

“I’m not looking at you in any way.”

“Whatever.” he rolls his eyes, taking a seat in the empty chair next to you.

The beat of your heart faltered at the closeness of his body. You try not to make it obvious that you were staring at his forearm and how close the muscular skin was to yours. Strongly denying the large part of your brain that was desperate enough to reach out and trace his veins.

This wasn’t like you. You heart didn’t flutter over any of the boys at school. Yet here you were, making a fool of yourself in front of one.

You are about to open your mouth to speak when you feel your phone start to vibrate in your hand.

“Fuck.” you mutter once you see it was your father calling you. Jungkook leans back, resting his head against the wall as you answer.

“Hey Dad.” you answer, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Hi sweetie! I’m almost home! What do you want for dinner?” he asks you brightly, clearly glad to be back home after his extended business trip.

“Thai food.” you answer, while you stare at Jungkook who looked like he had already fallen asleep sitting up.

“Great. Do you want the usual?”

“Yes, extra sauce please.”

“Alright, I’m going to pick it up before I head home so hopefully I won’t be much longer.”

“Okay,” you try to do the mental math of how long it would take for him to place the order and get home.

“See you soon, sweetie.”

“Bye.” you hang up the phone.

“You should probably get going.” Jungkook opens his left eye.

“Yeah.” you stare at the ground feeling unsure if you were going to be able to fight the magnetic pull that kept you in your almost broken chair. You knew that if you didn’t get in the car right now, that your Dad would possibly beat you home and you would have to explain why the engine of his pride and joy was warm. And why you were behind the driver’s seat.

“Here, take this.” he hands you curled up piece of grease-stained paper. “In case you need an alibi.

You take it from his fingertips as quickly as you can, not wanting to risk accidental contact that would definitely get you into more trouble than you were prepared for.

“I will.”

You get up from your seat and head towards the driver’s side door. Your hand hovering over the door handle and you remember that you hadn’t paid him for his work.

You turn on your heels and call out to the boy who was already walking away. “Wait!”

“What’s up?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow into his messy locks.

“I haven’t paid you.”

The boy shrugs. “This one’s on me.”

“Are you sure?” you start to reach into your bag.

He nods. “You’re a terrible driver. I’ll just start a tab.”
The car behind you honks, waking you up from your daze behind the driver’s seat. You quickly wave, apologizing for not realizing traffic had started to move again. The red car in front of you had already disappeared, making its way through the traffic and out of your sight.A part of you wished you had followed suit, pulling off the highway to play hookie the rest of the day. Especially since the second you set foot in your office, one of the partner’s was knocking at your door, blocking the exit so you had no choice but to accept his offer of treating the whole office to lunch.So here you were, surrounded by a group of stuffy middle aged lawyers and your secretary who kept giving you apologetic looks from across the table each time one of them tried to order another round of drinks in the middle of the afternoon.“So Y/N!” the one to your left unnecessarily shouts as he places at hand on your shoulders. “How are you doing?”You look at him, unsure of what his intentions are with a question like that. So you remain tight lipped simply answering with. “Fine.”He chuckles. “You seem a little tense.”You immediately shrug his hand off of you, resisting the urge to hurtle your glass of water into his wrinkled old face. But you don’t.“I had meditation this morning and it didn’t go well.”“It was with Mr. Choi.” Bona pips in, hoping to take the attention of you as everyone in the office was aware of your client.“Is that bastard getting divorced again?” One of your coworkers shout from down the table.“Yes.”“Is that his fifth marriage?”“Fourth.” you correct. “But I’m sure it won’t be his last.”“I bet men like him make you never want to get married.” The lawyer next to Bona teases, wiggling his eyebrows.Your body goes tense, preparing yourself for the uncomfortable conversation you know is about to be forced upon you.“Y/N has been with the same man since she was 16! What’s his name? Jungwoo?”“Jungkook.”The lawyer smacks his knee. “Ah! That’s right! How is he doing?”Bona looks at you with an apologetic smile as you try to figure out how to answer the question without sharing too much of your personal life while the men you are forced to work with, not tolerate stare you down.“He’s doing really well, actually.”“How come we haven’t see him at any dinners lately? He wasn’t at the golf outing last month, either.”“I wasn’t at the golf outing either.” you remind the partner, smiling weakly as you take a sip from your water.“Uh-oh. Did the the two of you break up?”The question mixed with the faux concern in his voice makes you cringe. You wish you could dig yourself into a hole or do anything to get every single pair of eyes that were now staring at you to disappear.“We are taking some time apart.” is all your give them.“His loss!” the man responsible for the entire situation puts his hands on your knee in his inappropriate attempt to comfort you.You stare at it, trying to figure which finger would hurt the most when you bent it back as far as the joint would allow. Before you can act on impulse, you see Bona’s hand reach out across the table with her phone in her hand.“Y/N, it’s 2:05. We should be getting back to the office.”“No! Don’t go!” the rest of your coworkers shout in various forms of protest.You shoot your secretary a thankful look and stand up immediately. “I don’t think judge Kim would appreciate having to wait.”The men around you shudder at your lie, knowing the temperment of the district’s least favorite judge all too well.“Thank you for the meal.” you tell them flatly and head towards the exit with your secretary in tow.“I’m really sorry.” Bona apologizes as soon as the two of you are alone in your car.“It’s not your fault.” you try to smile weakly, turning the engine on.“I should have said something sooner. I didn-”You close your eyes, “Please, don’t apologize. You know how they get once they start drinking.”“But that’s no excuse! They’re disgusting.”“I know and I plan on quitting as soon as I can.”“Why haven’t you yet? I know you’ve gotten offers. I’ve seen that lawyer from the fancy law firm downtown try to win you over. Why don’t you get a job there?”You start to head back to the office. “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?”“I don’t want to step out of line, but you deserve better.”“I know I do.”“So why don’t you leave? Fuck all of them and go somewhere you where they would appreciate all the hard work you do.”“You sound like Jungkook.”“I’m sorry.” Bona apologizes again.“You don’t have to keep apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong.”“Do you want to talk about what happened?”You shrug as you stop at the red light. “I don’t really know what to say, to be honest. I was the one who ended things with him this time.”“Why?”You chew on your bottom lip. “I guess, I don’t know. I just felt stuck. Every single day was the exact same thing. The excitement was gone but maybe that’s to be expected since had been together for so long. It wasn’t necessarily bad. He’s an amazing boyfriend. I just, I don’t know. I felt like I needed to make a change. And that was the only way I knew how.”“And is your life any different now?”“I live in a different apartment now.” Is the only answer you can give her after several moments of silence. “I see.” she smiles at you weakly and you know you haven’t fooled her.Your secretary’s words linger with your for the rest of your day, making it difficult to pretend to care about the stack of paperwork on your desk. But you somehow managed to get it all done by the end of the day. The white sheets were tucked neatly into their envelopes and you drop them off at her desk.“Will you make sure these all go out tomorrow?” you ask, making sure she understands you aren’t expecting her to stay late.“I-I can drop them off on my way home.” she puts on her coat quickly. “The post office near my house is open late.”But you stop her, placing your palm firmly on the stack of papers so she can’t take them from underneath your grasp.“They can wait. Go home, have a glass of wine. Don’t make the same mistakes I have.”She looks at you, knowing the meaning behind your words. “I’ll get going.”You nod. “See you tomorrow.”By the time you left your office, traffic was light. You hit every single green light and you felt it was in some way the universe’s way of apologizing for making you suffer throughout the entire day.But the exhaustion of the past 12 or so hours set in once you cross the marble entryway of your building. You still stop at your mailbox despite the fact you know it’s going to be empty. All your bills are paperless and you can’t remember the last time someone sent you a postcard. So you drag your feet to the elevator, hoping you don’t run into any of your neighbors as you press the button to your floor. The walk from the elevator to the front door seems to stretch on and on for miles. Each step you take seems to add rather than subtract the distance traveled. You stop halfway, slipping out of your uncomfortable heels and shove them into your work bag, sighing with relief as your feet hit the cool concrete floor. You fumble with your keys, still trying to figure out which one went to your front door and which one belonged to the office. The silver keys were almost identical except for a few jagged edges at the tip. You had been meaning to get one of those keycaps shaped like a cheeseburger or pikachu, but you hadn’t had the time.After fumbling with the lock, you finally open the door, stepping inside to the comfort of your apartment after one of the worst days at work you could remember.
“Y/N!” Jungkook shouts from the kitchen. “Is that you?”

Before you can answer, his head peaks around the wall dividing the living room from the kitchen.

“Hi.” you all but whisper, dropping your work bag onto the ground and tossing your heels onto the pile of shoes from the front door.

He looks at you with eyes full of worry and disappears back into the kitchen. You can hear the sound of him turning off the stove, covering whatever he was working on with a lid before making his way towards you.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asks, gently cupping your face in his callused hands.

The question makes you burst into tears, unable to hold your emotions in after the events of today.

Jungkook wraps you in his arms tightly, barely giving you room to snake your arms around his waist, letting them fall without effort against his warm frame. He presses a gentle kiss into your hair before you nuzzle into his neck seeking safety.

“Do I need to kick anyone’s ass?” he rubs your back with his palms.

“No.” you gurgle between sniffles.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he leans back to look at your face, wiping away the tears that had fallen down your cheeks.

“I don’t think I can do this.”

His eyes widen, confused as to what you mean by that statement as it wasn’t the first time you had said it to him.

“They’re just so awful.”

“Who?”

“My clients.”

You feel his body relax as he realizes this conversation wasn’t about him.

“What happened, baby?” he takes your hand, urging you sit on the couch.

You sit on the cushion with a thump, trying to figure out where to even start.

“I just don’t get it.” you shake your head.

“All of these assholes cheat on their partners and then expect me to make them look like the good one. They try to manipulate and lie in order to get what they want in the divorce agreement. And I just refuse to do it. I will not sit there and tell a judge lies so that they can protect the money they’ve been hiding in foreign bank accounts or the fact that they put their secret lovers up in a penthouse for the past six months. So then I have to deal with them screaming at me for ruining their lives but I’m not the one who couldn’t keep it in my pants.”

“Can’t you just threaten to drop their cases?”

“If I was a partner I could, but this is my first year at the firm. I have to take every case I can.”

Jungkook shakes his head, “No, you don’t. Tell them to fuck off. No one should be treated that way, especially you.”

You sigh. “One day this will all be worth it. I can open up my own firm and pick and choose what cases to take on. I won’t have to deal with any of this. I just need to wait it out.”

Jungkook isn’t satisfied with your answer and presses his lips into a thin line in an attempt to reinforce the tongue he was biting. He hated watching you push yourself past your breaking point, his concern growing every time you come home to him in tears. But he has the routine down by now.

If you aren’t home by 7:30 starts dinner, having it ready and warm on the stove for when you finally leave the office for the day. Once the two of you finish eating, he goes into the bathroom and draws you a bath full of bubbles and your favorite oils. He’ll give you 15 minutes alone in the warm water before bringing you a glass of wine and ice cold water before pressing a kiss to your forehead and letting you soak until the last of the water drains from the tub.

Tonight, you spent almost an hour and a half soaking. Your toes were shriveled from the warm water but you couldn’t bring yourself to get out until your eyelids could barely stay open. You spend less than 2 minutes on your skincare routine as you cried off all your makeup during your lunch hour. You slip into the pajamas that Jungkook had left for you, take one last look into the mirror and you promise yourself that it will get better.
You flick the switch, illuminating your apartment from the dark shadows of the evening. You slip out of your shoes without bothering to tuck them next to the other pairs on the floor. The bag you had been carrying around drops to the hardwood floor with a thug making you cringe as you forgot you had brought your laptop home with you to catch up on some paperwork.The stack of dishes you had left in the sink since last night will have to wait for tomorrow as you walk straight passed them and head towards the fridge. You pull out the takeout containers full of leftovers, opening the lids and smelling them to make sure they were still edible. The two of them balance in your hand as you use the other to grab a plate and cutlery from the drawers and shelves you keep them in.Chinese food spills onto the plate in a portion you know will be too much for you, but you still stick it into the microwave for a few minutes. You pick up the cold pieces you dropped onto the counter and head to your closet to change out of the stiff fabric you had been wearing all day and into cotton sweats. On the way back your grab your laptop, setting it on the coffee table just in time for the timer on the microwave to echo through the silence.“Ouch.” you mutter as your fingers singe from the heat of the plate you just grabbed. So you try again, pulling the sleeve of your sweatshirt around your fingers like an oven mitt and try again. The walk back to the couch is hurried, not wanting to accidentally dip your sleeves into the sticky reheated sauce on your plate.The coast is clear once you set it down on the coffee table, letting it cool off a bit before you even try taking a bite. A small part of your brain that wants to relax is screaming at you to put down your laptop as soon as you pull it out of it’s sleeve, but it’s overpowered by the workhorse inside of you. But you have to give yourself some credit as you open your personal (not work) e-mail and check through today’s contents.You don’t know what you were expecting as all you received throughout your day were mailing list emails from food prep companies and blogs that specialized in cooking for one. Maybe you thought that he would send you an explanation through email, as he did many times in the past. Too scared to call, and not even characters to text. But there is nothing, just $80 off your first week of meals and a coupon for a day at some spa you never heard of.You shut your laptop and reach for your plate so you can spoon a large portion of leftovers into your mouth, wiping the corners of your mouth as you try to swallow it all in one bite. The vibration of your phone buried somewhere in the cushions makes your heart jump out of your chest. And you close your eyes as you unlock the screen only to open them and feel your heart sink back into its place.But it was nothing more than a text alert from your bank, reminding you that the automatic car payment you had set up was going to be withdrawn from your account in the morning.“Great.” you mutter, double checking the balance in your checking account to make sure you didn’t have to pull from your savings this month.The knife twists deeper into your chest as you torture yourself by scrolling through social media. Lessening the amount of food on your plate in attempts to dull the ache that was slowly starting to build in your chest.There wasn’t much to see. No one followed had gotten engaged this week or announced they were pregnant so it didn’t hurt as much when you scrolled through countless photos of happy couples smiling for the camera.“What time is it?” you ask yourself once you place the emptied plate into the sink with all the others, gently spraying it with water in hopes it wouldn’t take five minutes to scrub off once you finally decided to do the dishes.It was 8:27. There was a slight chance your father would still be awake. You had missed your scheduled weekly two days before as you were caught up in the office and unable to answer. So you try again, hoping that maybe he would answer. Your leg starts to shake as soon as you hear the dial tone ring twice. You heart knew he wasn’t going to answer by the third and you hang up as soon the pre-recording of his voicemail apologize for not answering the phone. You felt silly for calling your best friend out of the blue, knowing that her work schedule was almost as unpredictable as yours. But you needed to hear a friendly voice, something familiar that could get you out of your head space and back into a centered reality. You wanted to hear someone tell you that it was going to be okay, that you could get through it.So you press her number on speed dial and hope she answers as you feel the tears start to bubble in your chest.“Y/N! I’m at an event right now, I can’t talk. I love you!” she yells over the thumping bass and hangs up before you can even get a word in.The first tear falls as you lock your phone screen and you can’t hold it in any longer. You pull your knees into your chest and bury your face into the cotton of your sweatpants. The broken sobs you can’t control bounce off the walls of your empty apartment, making you feel even more alone than you were before.Suddenly your phone starts to ring and you scramble to pick it up in time before you send the caller to voicemail.“Hello?” you sniffle, wiping away the tears.Your father sighs on the other side of the line. “I knew something was wrong when I saw you called. Is everything alright, Y/N?”“No.” you shake your head despite the fact your father couldn’t see you.“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks you softly.“Can I come home?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Where the hell is it?" You mumble as your hurried fingertips flip through your briefcase, double checking the documents you had already triple checked just a few moments ago.
 
You run your fingers through your hair, sighing as you try to remember the last time you had the file in your hands. You turn back to look at the elevator to your apartment, retracing every step you had taken since you got home from work last night and started to pack. It hadn't fallen behind your backseat. It wasn't tucked into the pile of mail on the kitchen table. The only other place it could be was the office.
 
You pull out your phone, pressing the first contact on your favorites list and wait for her to answer.
 
"Hello?" There is confusion in Bona's voice as she answers.
 
"Hey. Have you seen the Choi file? The one with the custody agreement draft?" You ask, starting to pace back and forth in anticipation.
 
"Yes." Bona replies flatly. "I'm staring at it right now."
 
"Oh thank god." You sigh, finally closing the trunk of your car. "Okay, I am about to head out so I'll be by the office in 10."
 
"No."
 
You hold the phone away from your ear, double checking to make sure it was Bona on the other line. "Excuse me?"
 
"You are on vacation." She replies flatly.
 
"It's not a vacation." You start to get defensive.
 
"I double checked your schedule this morning. It very clearly says that you are on vacation for the next four days."
 
"That's just for formalities. I don't think going home to see your dad is an actual vacation."
 
"If you are taking time off work for a reason other than medical or mental health issues, it's a vacation."
 
"Do you want to get fired?" You huff, sliding into the driver's seat of your car.
 
"You aren't going to fire me." Bona laughs.
 
"Yes, I will!"
 
"For what?"
 
"Holding my file hostage!" You can't hold in your laughter as you start the engine.
 
"Y/N, you need a break." Bona's voice becomes serious.
 
You rest the back of your head against the headrest. "I know."
 
"This is me trying to take care of you as your assistant and secretary." She quickly adds. "And your friend. There is nothing left for you to do. You don't need to file anything. Your e-mails are automated with your vacation. The only thing you need to do is make sure you drive safely. Okay?"
 
"Okay." You reply quietly, overwhelmed with the kindness being sent your way. Bona really needs a raise and you are going to give her one as soon as you can. "I'll see you on Wednesday."
 
"I'll see you Wednesday, Y/N." She replies, hanging up the phone without another word.
 
The reality of what you were about to do sparks as soon as you start the engine. There is something about going home that pulls you in every single direction. You love your father, and you love spending time with him but there was something about going home that makes you dread it every time. The house and the town you grew up in is still the same, frozen in time as if it is a time capsule determined to hold onto your youth.
 
This long weekend was either going to be everything you needed or you were going to end up in a flood of your own tears wishing you had just stayed at home and ordered takeout every single day. You send your dad a quick text, telling him that you'll be home in a few hours.
 
It is too late to back out now.

It would not be the smartest idea in the entire world, but you definitely could make the drive to your hometown with your eyes closed. You have lost track of how many times you made the just about two hour drive. Every time you pass a sign that counts down the distance until you reach the right exit twists your stomach into tighter knots.
 
Your father might be worse at texting than Namjoon. He hasn't replied to any the messages you sent this morning, although knowing him he was probably lost in his garden somewhere pulling weeds and cursing all the rabbits that nibble on his bok choy. You laugh at the image of him chasing the small bundles of fluff out of his herbs. You had shown him tutorials on the internet about how to keep his vegetables safe, but he never did put up that fencing as there is a part of him that enjoys their company.
 
The music on the stereo pauses as you call him through bluetooth.
 
"Sweetie!" He answers the phone with a large smile in his voice. "Are you almost here?"
 
"Oh, so you did get my texts!" You scoff, knowing your father all too well.
 
"Did I forget to respond? Oops. I'm sorry, it's just that I have been out in the garden all morning and my hands have been too dirty to respond."
 
You called it.
 
"I'm about to pull off the exit and I'm going to stop by the market before I head home. Do you want me to pick you up anything?" You ask, turning on your blinker to merge into the exit lane.
 
"Oohhh." Your father takes a second to think. "I don't think so, but you don't have to go to the store by yourself! We can go tomorrow morning and get whatever you want then."
 
"When was the last time you bought coffee?" You ask, raising an eyebrow despite the fact the only thing he can see is the tone of your voice.
 
"Well, I-I-I don't know. I don't really drink the stuff."
 
"That's what I thought, but really I don't mind picking up a few things. Do you have everything you need for dinner?"
 
"Of course! I grew it all myself." He laughs.
 
"Alright, well it shouldn't take me long so I'll see you in about 20 minutes, okay?" You pull into the parking lot, finding a spot as close to the entrance as you can.
 
"Okay, and maybe if you're feeling up to it, can you get me some tangerines?" He adds sheepishly.
 
"I thought you didn't need anything?" You tease, reaching for your re-useable shopping bag from behind the seat.
 
"I always need tangerines." He responds very seriously.
 
"Well, I will make sure to pick the best ones just for you."
 
"That's my girl." He smiles into the phone.
 
"I'll see you soon." You respond before he starts to get sappy.
 
"See you soon."
 
You take a few moments to sit in silence, mentally preparing yourself for who could possibly be shopping right now. This town is small enough to run into someone you know no matter where you go and there is nowhere to hide when everyone knows each other. Gossip spreads like wildfire on a hot summer day. You know that if you enter the dangerous waters of small talk with someone, it will somehow find its way to your friends or even your dad. The time you need to get everything on your list should only be about five minutes, giving you enough time to get in and out without seeing anyone from your past.
 
And it almost seems too good to be true as you check off everything on your list in peace. The only person you've talked to is an employee who showed you what aisle they moved the nondairy milk to you. You feel like you can finally relax, loosening the tension in your shoulders as you make your way down the coffee aisle, saving the best item on your list for last.
 
You pass by the corporate brands, bending down to take a look at the stock from local shops. There weren't many options, but there were certainly more than the last time you were shopping for coffee here. A simple brown bag catches your eyes and you try to remember why the name sounds familiar so you pick up a bag of their single origin off the shelf and try to remember why. Then it hits you. This coffee is from one of Jungkook's friends. He had mentioned that one of this friends decided to open up a shop, taking a risk on roasting his own coffee in a part of the country that runs on chains.
 
You put the bag into your basket without thinking too much about it and make your way to the check out.

There is nothing to worry about.

You tell yourself as you stand in line at the express checkout. You made it in and were about to make it out in one piece.
 
But then your good mood comes crashing down as soon as you hear a familiar voice call your name from across the store.
 
"Y/N! Is that you?" Your high school homeroom teacher calls out to you as she almost runs over to where you are waiting to check out.
 
"Hi, Ms. Kwan." You offer up your most passable fake smile as she corners you.
 
"I thought that was you!" She smiles warmly. "How are you, dear? Are you in town for career day?"
 
"Excuse me?" You ask her to repeat herself.
 
"Friday, well tomorrow, is career day at the high school. Didn't Jungkook tell you?" Her question breaks a tiny piece of your heart.
 
"He hasn't mentioned it." You try to smile through gritted teeth.
 
She waves her hand. "I should have known. You can't tell that boy anything. Well, we have reached out to several alumni to come talk to the seniors about their jobs. We would love it if you made time to come to speak to the kids about being a fancy lawyer."
 
You drop your gaze in embarrassment. "I don't know about that."
 
"Oh come on! It'll be fun! You'll get to see a lot of your old classmates. And I am sure your teachers would love to see you." She starts to press you, making you look over your shoulder to see if it was your turn to put your groceries on the belt.
 
"Can I think about it?" You try to compromise.
 
"Well, career day is tomorrow so ideally I would need to know now." She lowers her voice to the tone she used every time she lectured Jungkook about showing up to homeroom 10 minutes late almost every day senior year. "But since you are still my favorite student, if you do decide to participate tomorrow you can come first thing in the morning. The sessions start right after homeroom."
 
"Next." The grocery clerk calls out, annoyed with the fact that you haven't loaded your basket onto the belt.
 
"Well, I should let you go." Your teacher smiles. "But I hope I see you bright and early tomorrow!"
 
Somehow, your father doesn't hear your car pull into the driveway or hear the sounds of your footsteps as you approach him in his garden. You pause, trying to figure out a way to say hello to him that won’t scare him too terribly. He is talking to himself, muttering quiet words that you cannot hear over his breath.
 
"Who are you talking to you?" You ask, coming to terms with the fact that there is no way around scaring him.
 
Your father jumps back onto his heels at the same time a small brown rabbit bolts from the garden and into the bushes. He turns around to face you, almost falling over into a large snap pea plant, but catches himself with one hand. He clutches at his chest with the other.
 
"Y/N!" he pants. "You can't scare me like that, your father is getting old! I could have had a heart attack."
 
You roll your eyes. "Well, you should start by getting your hearing checked because you didn't even blink when I honked the horn when I pulled into the driveway, old man."
 
He waves a dirt covered spade at you. "Watch your language, I am the only one allowed to call myself old."
 
You laugh, taking in the fact that your father was covered head to toe in dirt. You nod towards the bags in your hand. "I'm just going to go put this stuff inside and then I'll be back out, okay?"
 
"Do you need any help?" He asks, pulling out a bandanna to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
 
"No, I got it. I packed light." You smile, before taking a deep breath and preparing yourself to step into the time warp that is your childhood home.
 
As soon as you open the screen door and cross the threshold you notice something different about the place. The couch you spent many nights staying up way too late watching movies and reality tv on during your summer vacations was no longer there. The worn dark blue fabric is replaced with a sleek leather couch. You run your hands over the fabric, feeling impressed by the quality of the materials. Your father wasn't much of a materialistic person, so the fact that he seemed to drop a decent amount of money on a couch was surprising.
 
You dump your bags onto floor next to the cushion as going into your bedroom sounds like the worst idea you could have at the moment. You place your groceries in the kitchen and fill a large glass of water before back outside.
 
"Did you put on sunscreen?" You ask as you shove the glass of water into your father's hands.
 
"This morning." He chugs the entire glass in two seconds. "I needed that."
 
"You're going to get sun burnt. You need to apply it more often if you're going to spend the whole day out here."
 
"Well, I can finish a lot sooner if you get down here and help me." He retorts, already getting back to work tending to the plant in front of him.
 
You sink down onto you knees and watch your father work. He was harvesting peas into a giant wicker basket and once you get the hang of his motions you start to work on the plant in front of you.
 
"When did you get a new couch?" You ask as you start to pluck the peas and put them in the basket with the others.
 
Your dad wrinkles his nose in thought. "Oh, a couple months ago I guess. I spilled pickle juice on the old one and figured it was time to get a new one."
 
"How did you get pickle juice on the couch?" You question, unsure if you want to know the answer.
 
"I was eating them on the couch and just got too excited watching the game." He laughs at his own clumsiness.
 
"I'm not surprised." You smile at the image of your dad in your head.
 
"I'm lucky to have gotten that thing!" He waves his hands over his shoulder. "Someone else at the thrift store was thinking about it but I was faster."
 
You shake your head. "And I wonder where I get my competitiveness from."
 
He nudges you gently with his shoulder. "You should be grateful you take after me."
 
You give him a look out of the corner of your eye, making him burst into laughter. The silence that follows after is one you have grown to love since childhood. The familiar comfort of being in your father's presence was something you didn't understand the importance of until now. He knew exactly what you needed, even if it wasn't anything at all.
 
"So why-"
 
"I ran-" You both stop speaking as soon as you start as you realize you were about to talk over one another.
 
"You go first." Your father encourages, settling his weight back on his heels so he can listen.
 
"I ran into Ms. Kwan at the market. Do you remember her? She was my homeroom teacher in high school."
 
"Yes, I do. She cried during your graduation speech."
 
Your cheeks flush. "Yeah, well I guess tomorrow is career day and she invited me to come be a panelist. Well, I actually don't even know what I would be doing but she wants me to go be there."
 
"So why don't you?" He questions, his fingers already back to work.
 
"I haven't been to my high school since I walked out of graduation."
 
"So? What's the worst that could happen?"
 
"Teenagers." You shudder at the thought.
 
Your father laughs.
 
"They're scary. They're full of hormones and questions."
 
"Well, I think that if you can handle the divorce of cheating spouses, you can handle a few hormonal teenagers."
 
"I guess." You chew on your bottom lip. She had mentioned Jungkook when she was talking to you, but made no mention of whether or not he was going to be there. You start to play several scenarios over and over in your head of what could happen if you run into each other tomorrow. All of them breaking your heart more than you would like to admit. You fall silent, trying to pull yourself out of your invasive thoughts before you let the beautiful afternoon go to waste.
 
"What were going to ask?" You ask after a few more peas are added to the basket.
 
"You know I love you, and if I could convince you to move back home I would. But it's not a holiday or my birthday so why did you decide to come home this weekend?"
 
Your hand freezes just as it is about to pick another pea. His words sting like you have just been caught up in a beehive, prickling several parts of your chest. You know that you don't come home enough, only three or four times a year if you're lucky. Although your father would never admit it, you know he must be lonely in this house alone but you know he didn't mean to guilt trip you. He was always very to the point and that often lead to your embarrassment.
 
You haven't told him about Vegas or even that you had broken up with Jungkook. You don't have the courage to say it out loud yet. As much as you know your father, you have no idea how he would react to your drunken antics.
 
He gets up from the ground, brushing the excess dirt off his clothing before tucking the basket of peas against his hips. He places a gentle hand on your shoulder and you resist the urge to grab onto it tightly and not letting go. "It's okay, Y/N. You'll tell me when you're ready."

"Do I look okay?" You ask as you step out of the bathroom, adjusting the cardigan over your shoulders the next morning.
 
Your father looks up from the morning paper, staring at you above the rim of his reading glasses. "You look great."
 
You look down at the dress you were lucky enough to pack. "It's appropriate enough for career day?"
 
"Yes." Your father nods. "I don't see anything wrong with your outfit."
 
"Well it's going to have to be fine either way because this is the best I can do." You hover over the coffee pot, debating whether or not it would be a good idea to drink caffeine before you go speak in front of a bunch of kids. You were already shaky enough without the added stimulant, but then you come to your senses. You take out the beans you had bought yesterday, feeling grateful that you had bought your dad a nice coffee grinder and machine (although it was mostly for you to be completely fair).
 
You make some toast while you wait for your coffee to brew and once everything is ready you sit across from your dad. He folds the paper he was just reading neatly, placing it perfectly on top of the other sections he has already made his way through. You know that gesture means. He is about to pull a serious father card. You try to ignore the way he folds his hands gently by grabbing the lifestyle section and starting to chew on your toast.
 
"Where did you sleep last night?" He asks the same way he would every morning after you snuck in.
 
"The guest room." You tell him, wiping crumbs from the corner of your mouth.
 
"Why?"
 
"The king size bed." You technically aren't lying. Your childhood bed still had a twin mattress, a tactic your father used to try to prevent illegal sleepovers with Jungkook.  You just not telling him that you were heartbroken and the last thing you need is to sleep in a room covered in photos and memories of your ex-boyfriend.
 
He gives you that look, the one that tells you he is going to bring up the subject later but for now you're in the clear. He picks up another section of the paper and continues on with his morning routine.
 
"Wish me luck." You ask of him as you get up from the table, placing your empty dishes in the sink.
 
"You don't need luck!" He tells you. "You're going to be great!"
 
"Thanks." You mumble, wishing you believed in yourself as much as he does.
 
"Remember to have fun!" He calls out as you make your way out the door.
 
"Have fun." You repeat to yourself as you stand in front of the entrance of your high school.
 
You walk into the school and head straight for the administration office in hopes that they know what is going on, because you certainly don't. It doesn't surprise you as you walk into the office and see the same receptionist sitting at the front desk. She looks the same, maybe a few more wrinkles and the lenses on her glasses have gotten thicker, but is still the same sourly woman from your years as a student.
 
"Can I help you?" She asks without taking her eyes off the large computer monitor.
 
"I'm here for career day? Ms. Kwan invited me." You tell her, taking a hesitant step towards the desk.
 
She looks at you through her lenses with no emotion. "Y/N, we thought you weren't coming. Jungkook is already in his assigned classroom."
 
"We drove separately." You swallow your words, offering up a small smile to try and melt the ice in the room.
 
She hands you a name badge and a sharpie. "Write your name on here. Your guest badge must be on you and visible at all times while in the school building. You will be speaking to Jung Hoseok's class in room 11. Do you need a map or do you remember how to get around?"
 
"I-I remember." You tell her, grabbing the badge and quickly scribbling your name on the sticker before putting on the left side of your cardigan.
 
"There is still five minutes left of homeroom but you can make your way to his classroom and wait for first period to start." She tells you with eyes already glued back on her computer screen.
 
You wander through the hallways feeling like someone just painted a large target sign on your back as if it any second now you could run into a former teacher, or him. You hope that his classroom is on the other side of the building and on a different floor so that when you are done speaking you can bolt out of the classroom like a racehorse on a track to prevent running into Jungkook.
 
The door to the classroom is open and you can see rows of empty seats. He must not have a home room class. You quietly knock, stepping into the doorway to find Hoseok sitting at his desk. He looks up from a stack of papers, his warm breaking into a heart shaped smile as he recognizes your face.
 
"Hi." You smile back, instantly feeling at ease in his presence.
 
"It's been a while, Y/N." Hoseok gets up from his desk and meets you in the middle of the room.
 
"You still look the same." You tease, glad to be in the safety of an old friend.
 
He runs his fingers through the crown of his head. "It's the highlights. They hide my grey hairs."
 
You can't help but laugh at his silly joke. "I can imagine being around teenagers all the time will do that to a person."
 
He looks around as if it to make sure no one is listening. "You have no fucking idea."
 
"Hoseok!" You laugh, swatting at his arm. "Teachers aren't supposed to swear."
 
"It's my free period." He smiles just as the bell rings, making his shoulders drop. "Well, not anymore."
 
"I'm nervous." You admit, moving to the side of the classroom as you wait for the students to arrive.
 
"Don't be. They're all talk." He encourages you. "You'll be talking to my third year political science students."
 
You nod. "What exactly am I supposed to do?"
 
Hoseok shrugs. "If you have a presentation I can pull it up on the projector."
 
You groan. "I didn't even think about that."
 
"It's okay! You can just have an open forum and let them ask questions." He assures you, switching into teacher mode as his students file in one by one.
 
You wait nervously as class begins, watching as your old friend takes attendance and collects homework. You aren't surprised that Hoseok became a teacher. He was always helping out your classmates with their work, spending extra hours after school tutoring and the like. You were just surprised to see him teaching here, at the same high school he went to. You always imagined him in a big city, but you should know by now that nothing ever goes according to plan.
 
"Alright class, I am sure you all know by now that it's career day." Hoseok turns his attention towards you. "Now, we are extremely lucky to have Y/N speaking with us today. She is a practicing lawyer in the city and has years of experience under her belt. Her knowledge is valuable and I expect you to ask her respectful and thoughtful questions, alright?"
 
The class groans and agreement that seems to satisfy their teacher enough. He turns to where you are sitting and gestures for you to move to the front of the class. "Alright, the next 40 minutes are yours."
 
"Thank you." You smile at him, cautiously stepping in front of the class.
 
You turn to look at them, hoping they can't smell the nervousness hanging in the air. Luckily it seems like a majority of them have better things to do. Some are not so secretly on their phones, others have their noses buried in their textbook, and only a few seem to be giving you any sort of attention. You look over at Hoseok who gives you a thumbs up, encouraging you to push forward.
 
"Hello class, my name is Y/N." You clear your throat. "As Hoseok said, I am a lawye-"
 
The first hand shoots up from a boy three rows back.
 
You nod, encouraging him to ask his question.
 
"What kind of lawyer are you?"
 
"I'm a divorce attorney." You tell him. "That means I specialize in family law so if anyone needs help with filing for divorce or coming to an agreement on division of assets or child custody, I can help my client with that."
 
The d word makes several students turn their attention towards you.
 
"What is the worst way you've caught someone cheating?" Someone asks without raising their hand.
 
"It doesn't really work like that. Some of my clients hire private investigators that catch their spouses cheating. But that is completely separate from what I do. And as far as the worst, I can't say. I don't think there is a way to rank the ways in which someone cheats. It's a terrible thing to have happen to you regardless of the method."
 
A girl in the front row raises her hand. "Does being a divorce attorney change your views on marriage?"
 
You shift your weight back and forth on your feet as you answer. "No, it hasn't. I still feel the same about marriage as I always have."
 
"What about dating? Do people not want to date you because you could get their asses in a divorce?"
 
Hoseok gets up from his desk, walking over to lean at the window just a few feet away from you. "How about we ask Y/N relevant questions? You are wasting her time and my time by asking these highly inappropriate questions. If this continues you can expect an extra 500 words on the essay due Friday."
 
You send a silent thank you to your friend before turning back to the class. "Do any of you have questions about applying for law school?"
 
Almost every single hand shoots up at once. 
 
When the bell finally rings you're exhausted. The teenagers have sucked the life out of you in just 40 minutes and you need a coffee, a nap, a drink or all three at the same time. Hoseok leads you out of the classroom and into the hallway full of teenagers making their way to their next class. 
 
"You survived!" Hoseok smiles, trying to turn the look on your face into something other than exhaustion. "Are you alright?"
 
"Yeah, thanks to you." You remind him, making your friend shake his head.
 
"Nah, you totally had it."
 
"I just wasn't expecting them to ask so many questions about my love life."
 
Hoseok nods. "Teenagers smell fear. Once you show any signs of weakness in front of them they pounce and use it to their advantage."
 
"Were we like that as teenagers?" You ask, moving out of the way as two boys almost crash into you as they wrestle over a snack.
 
"No, you were definitely not like that. Ms. Valedictorian." He teases.
 
"I was not the valedictorian. That was Namjoon." You correct him. "That asshole. I worked so hard to beat him and somehow he still managed to upstage me."
 
"Are you still friends?" He pauses, slowing his pace as you reach the entrance of the school.
 
You nod your head. "He's actually getting married to my college roommate."
 
"Damn. You're never going to get rid of him."
 
"Unfortunately." You laugh.
 
Your answer stalls the conversation and the two of you stand near the front doors as the minute bell rings, warning lingering students they need to get to class.
 
"I should go." Hoseok smiles, chewing on his bottom lip as if there are things he is about to leave left unsaid.
 
"It was nice seeing you, Hoseok." You genuinely mean it.
 
He smiles back. "How long are you in town for?"
 
"I'm here until Tuesday." Nerves start to take over as you realize the direction the conversation was heading.
 
"Would you like to get dinner?" He sounds nervous. "With me?"
 
You look at him in surprise, making his cheeks turn five different shades of red.
 
"I mean, unless Jungko-" His voice trails off, unsure how to finish his sentence.
 
"There is no Jungkook anymore."
 
"I didn-"
 
"Dinner sounds really nice." You interrupt him, handing him your phone so he can add his contact information.
 
The bell rings, signalling the start to class and Hoseok hurriedly enters in his information. "I have to go, but I'll see you maybe tomorrow? Or Sunday?"
 
"Any time." You smile, feeling bashful as he gives you one last smile before turning around and heading into his classroom.
 
You bring your hands to your face, touching your cheeks with the backs of your hands to feel the heat from. You can't remember the last time someone asked you out on a date and maybe it is just because you are standing in the middle of your high school, but you feel sixteen again. And you had to admit that it felt nice. You smile to yourself, pulling off the name tag as you no longer will be needing it and turn around to leave.
 
But as soon as your eyes lock onto his you feel all the warmth drain from your skin.
 
Jungkook is standing at the end of the hallway, pretending to stare into the trophy case although you both know he could’v have cared less about high school sports. You see him look at you out of the corner of his eye, his whole body going stiff as he turns to face you. The look on his face is one you know all too well, and it stings a part of your chest as you realize he had heard the entire conversation with Hoseok.
 
Your feet stay rooted in place as he walks over to you, unsure of what you could possibly say to each other in this situation.
 
"I always knew he had a crush on you." he scoffs, stopping several feet away from you. “
 
“He did not have a crush on me.”
 
Jungkook roll’s his eyes at your response. “Well, I hope you two have a lovely time together..”
 
You know better than to take the bait and that you should just hold your head up high and walk away, but you are far too stubborn to let Jungkook have the last word. You glare at him, trying to figure out what the point of him acting like this is. 
 
"It's just dinner." You hiss. “I really don’t appreciate you projecting your own emotions onto my relationships with other people. I haven’t seen Hoseok in years and it’s going to be really nice to catch up with him over lost time. I am sorry if seeing that made you upset, but I will not apologize for having friends. What do you expect me to do, Jungkook? What do you want from me?”
 
He immediately turns away, staring at the emergency exit sign hanging from the ceiling. "I don't expect anything from you anymore, Y/N. I think you made it pretty clear at your apartment."
 
Closing your eyes at that moment was a mistake as all you can see is Jungkook's face as he stares at the engagement ring you had hidden away in a box in your closet. Memories you had dwindled down to one piece of cardboard as if it was enough to contain over 10 years of loving someone. You bite the inside of your cheek, giving your body another source of pain to focus on and give your heart a break from the aching you feel.
 
You open your eyes to see a look of sadness spread across Jungkook’s face. You regret your tone, wishing you could take it back. You take a step forward. “Jungkook, I-”
 
He backs away towards the front door, putting several feet of distance between the two of you. “I told you to forget what happened. I hope the two of you have fun.”