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🐰

It's late. The sun is setting, painting the sky a beautiful pinkish color. I have decided to walk by Jungkook's house before getting back to my hotel.

Namjoon's apartment complex is pretty close to Jungkook's house. I don't see why I wouldn't walk past, after all I have to keep an eye on my client.

I walk down his street with slow steps. Even though I haven't walked far, it feels as if my legs are almost giving up on me. The hotel I'm staying at is a good distance away from where I am and just thinking about walking there makes me want to give up. I need to catch a taxi or something.

Whilst I walk along the street, I suddenly see Jungkook walking from the opposite direction and towards me. He's far and looking down at the path in front of him. He hasn't seen me yet, so I take the take advantage of my luck and jump behind the nearest car, hiding. I don't need him to see me.

It surprises me to see him outside. What would he have to do if he really was that lonely? Did he visit Jimin again or did he meet up with someone else?

As he comes a bit closer, I notice the sides of his lips curved up. I squint my eyes, trying to figure if I'm seeing things or if it's actually a smile.

Jungkook is smiling. He looks happy.

But why?

I don't even get to make up assumptions about what has made him happy as I walk around the car and towards the side walk again. I grab my phone, pretending to be swallowed by the media while walking in a fast pace along the sidewalk, hoping to bump into Jungkook before he would reach the gates of his home.

I hear footsteps come closer and decide to accidentally crash into him. That would seem normal, wouldn't it? I've been taught that a lot of people in the 20s are too engrossed in their phones to look where they're walking.

I sway a bit in my walk, waiting for our bodies to crash but halt as I hear my name being called.

I look up and see Jungkook looking at me. There's a good distance between us. My plan failed, but succeeded nonetheless as I got his attention.

"Look where you're walking, you could get hurt." Jungkook says with a frown on his face.

I may have overreacted my motions a bit too much.

"Right, sorry." I shoot him a close-mouthed smile.

"What are you doing here at this hour? Do you live nearby?" He takes a few steps closer, creating a more normal distance between us as we talk.

"Not really... I..." I pull on the letter, trying to come up with an excuse for being here, "I visited a friend nearby."

I didn't lie this time, because I visited Namjoon. However he's not my friend, but Jungkook's.

Jungkook hums and nods and we both fall into a silence.

I don't know what to say to him. It's weird because I always know what to say to my client, but normally I am in control of things. Normally I don't bump into my client unprepared and having a normal conversation as if I'm a regular person. Because normally I know exactly what to do to help them.

A gentle breeze blows past us and the wind makes a shiver travel through my body due to the coldness. I put my hands in my pockets, trying to keep them warm.

"Are you cold? Where do you live?" Jungkook tilts his head.

In 2109, but as of right now, a hotel room.

"Quite far." I reply simply with a shrug.

"Do you want to come inside?" Jungkook asks and motions to the gate next to us.

My heart skips a beat as he asks.

I've never been to a clients house. I've never been asked and I never even wanted to. I shouldn't say yes. But, could this benefit the process of my mission?

If Dohyun was here right now he would scream no for me. He would give me a lecture on how amiss it would be to get involved with my client more than needed and I would roll my eyes at him even though I agree.

I have to say no. I cannot visit Jungkook's home. It's unprofessional and what will I really get out of it. I already know he's lonely... is there really more I need to know? I don't need to hang out with him. It's wrong, unethical, it's strange and negligent. And it's not a part of my duty.

"Yeah sure."

I mentally slap myself, but the no just wouldn't come out. Maybe it's the fear of failing my client. He's lonely and how would it make him feel if I rejected him? Maybe it's something else.

I follow quietly behind Jungkook as we enter his home.

It's small but cozy. It's messy and not nearly as aesthetically furnished and decorated as Namjoon's spacious apartment. Empty cups and dirty dishes covers the couch table's surface. It makes me scrunch my nose in disgust, but also my heart clenches at the sight.

It's sad to even imagine how much time he spends here, eating alone in this dark house with the curtains down and feeling too drained to even clean up after himself.

It's never fun to work with suicidal people, but this is the first time I'm inside a home of one, and it's unsettling to witness.

"Oh, sorry about the mess." Jungkook speaks.

I shake out of my stare and look at Jungkook. He must've noticed my eyes on the couch table. He hurries over to the mess, collecting as many dishes as he can hold and walks to the kitchen, putting them besides the sink.

He rushes back to the couch table to grab more plates. I see the way he's blaming himself for being this messy. His eyes reveals it all. He's embarrassed.

"Jungkook stop, it's okay." I say, walking to the couch table, "I'll help you." I smile and grab a plate.

Jungkook looks at me for a few seconds before he smiles and walks to the sink with some cups in a less rushed manner.

I observe him, feeling my heart clench even more.

Then I realize what I just did and that I'm standing with his used and dirty plates that I don't know (and don't want to know) how long have been on that table in my arms. I gulp down and rush slowly but hastily over to the sink, not to make Jungkook notice my discomfort and making him feel worse.

Why the fuck did I do that, I think to myself as I let down the dishes, internally puking.

"I'm sorry." Jungkook's voice sounds close and I feel his presence appear beside me.

I look up to the side and meet his eyes as he lets down the last cutlery into the sink.

"Shut up, what is there to be sorry about!" I say in a high pitch, trying to brighten the mood.

Closely after I finish my sentence, I understand that I just told him to shut up and I'm not exactly sure if that's offensive, but Jungkook doesn't seem to be phased.

"This." He says and motions to the dirty plates, cups and cutlery in front of us, "My mess, making you clean it up... Me."

"Jungkook stop." I say, placing my hand on his wrist.

He looks down at it and to me after.

"Stop apologizing for everything."

It feels strange to have him be so vulnerable in front of me.

He acted as if he was totally fine the other times I saw him, but maybe being in his home makes him vulnerable. Maybe, he doesn't even want me here.

I remove my hand as we stand in a short silence, looking into each other's eyes.

I clear my throat and straighten up, taking a step back from the kitchen counter.

"Do you want something to eat?" Jungkook asks.

I shortly wonder if he even has any clean plates left, but shrug the thought away as I feel my stomach rumble, "Yes please, I'm so hungry."

🐰

Jungkook has cooked us both ramen and I love it. It's funny to think about how similar ramen now tastes to the ramen where I'm from. There's almost 100 years between our time periods, yet these specific noodles hasn't evolved one bit. It makes sense though, because why change something that's already perfect?

We're watching something on the TV, not really talking much. I feel like I'm being pushy once again. Jungkook would probably rather be alone right now than with me. I know him, but he doesn't know me.

"So..." Jungkook speaks and turns down the volume on the TV a bit.

I direct my attention to him, preparing mentally to get up and leave. I'm sure he's going to ask me to leave and I'm fully okay with that.

"Were you a fan since you chose to approach me?" He questions.

I shift in my position on the couch and face him fully as I tilt my head, "A fan?" I act dumb.

Jungkook nods, his eyes big and wide.

"A fan of what?" I stay acting dumb.

I don't want him to know I've researched him. He can't know, it would seem creepy.

Jungkook cocks his head, squinting his eyes slightly. His tongue pokes the side of his cheek which is very visible to me and I can't help but be amused by his reaction.

Since he was a part of the biggest boyband in the world, he's probably much surprised that I don't know him. Despite their disbandment, he's still cocky about his fame. If only he would know that no one knows him nor BTS in 2109.

"You really don't know who I am?" He repeats his question, but this time his tone is different. It's like he doesn't believe me.

I wonder why he hasn't asked me if I knew him before. If he really was that self aware about his fame, why didn't he ask me if I was his fan when I approached him the other day?

I reckon it might be because he just grabbed dinner with me out of pity, as I explained how I know no one.

"No, am I supposed to?" I say with an innocent voice. It's quite easy to play pretend in this situation, because if I hadn't googled him, I wouldn't have known who he nor BTS was.

Jungkook shrugs, looking away.

I observe as he does so. He almost seems disappointed that I don't know who he is. There's a small smirk on his lips, as if he thinks it's ridiculous I don't know him.

"Who are you then Jeon Jungkook?" I ask.

He shakes his head lightly and his smirk grows a bit wider which is weird to see. Am I provoking him?

He turns to look at me and slowly his smirk turns into an innocent smile instead, "No one." He shrugs and looks down at his hands. I follow his eyes to the tattoos on his hands. He graze them and his smile fades slowly.

"Come on! Tell me!" I say, my voice rising sweetly at the end as I hit his arm playfully.

If he tells me, he might open up more and it might be easier to complete my mission.

He looks at me again and a smile finds his lips again. I love it when he smiles. It makes me more confident in my mission and it makes my heart pound a bit faster.

It also makes me wonder if the traveler watch really did fuck up. Jungkook is lonely, yes, but he doesn't seem suicidal. I am not supposed to be here right now. I am supposed to be in another time period, helping a little girl, but here I am with a guy who's not so little and in a completely different time period.

"I'm just me." He smiles again.

I scoff at his reply.

Why doesn't he want to tell me though? He seemed cocky about his prior fame. He seemed proud of it, so why doesn't he want to brag about it?

Is it because he's ashamed of something? Or is he just happy that someone doesn't recognize him for once?

"Well, you helped me out first by the way." I state, detaching my eyes from his.

"Huh?"

"You asked me why I approached you." I explain, "But wasn't it you who helped me the other day?"

Jungkook huffed at that, "Well I could not not help you, you were pouting like a little girl who just dropped her ice cream."

I gasp, acting offended as I put my hand to my chest, "Well that person was about to kill me!" I defend myself.

"Maybe you should just start looking where you're going." Jungkook replies quick-witted making me scoff.

I cross my arms over my chest and subconsciously I start pouting, which Jungkook laughs at.

"How are your hands doing?" He says and reaches for my arm.

I pull out my hands, showing him my palms, "They're fine." I say.

The wounds have already been scabbed over and they don't hurt anymore, but they're still visible.

Jungkook grabs my wrists, holding them in front of him. He looks at them intently as if he's searching for something.

As he does so, I find myself staring at him. It's hard not to explore his every feature, noting every small detail on his face, including the little scar on his left cheek. I want to reach out and touch it, but he's holding my hands. His thumbs start to stroke my palms where the wounds are. The sensation makes a shiver course through my body. My eyes stay locked on his face, going from his eyelashes to his button nose and to his slightly dry and chapped lips where a piercing accompanies his lower lip.

Suddenly I feel Jungkook's eyes on me and I look up before looking away immediately as he just caught me staring—at his lips. I get embarrassed and I pull away my hands, feeling my cheeks burn.

Fuck this is so embarrassing, I think to myself.

Why does my client have to be my age and handsome! What did I do to deserve this?

🐰

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Author note
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To those of you who are reading this... thank you <3