"Y/n, come on. You shouldn't be close to him."

"Why? He's sweet. What people say about him isn't true, trust me," I explain, feeling some strong disappointment and pain whenever my friends blindly judge him. "Listen. Matt's brother was a close friend of his, and from what he said, he takes drugs, smokes, and is borderline alcoholic. Right?" she asks for Matt to valid, and he nods. "That's what he told me."

"Exactly, and on top of that, we all know he was an abusive boyfriend who hit his ex not long ago, so do not fall for this bad guy, he's gonna hurt you," she does not listen to me but the rumors that come from people who barely knew him. "His girlfriend was a bitch, she made that up just to look like a victim and destroy him. I know Jungkook, I can assure you that he'd never do such a thing. He's dealing with a lot of things already, so I wish people could listen to the truth."

"Y/n, you're the only who thinks that of him. So, you—"

"Have your brother said anything wrong about him?" I lift my hand up towards Matt to question him. "Well...he never said anything about what his ex claimed, but he did talk about the fact that he'd often lose it or get mad over nothing, and a little before the breakup, he would often get drunk or high and not be able to go to work. He's not sure if it was just alcohol or drugs too, but he knew that he was addicted to Adeine, I think? And apparently it'd kinda space him out because it's a strong one, and it helps you feel relaxed but numbs you."

I know about this drug. He talked about it with me.

"But he never hurt anyone. Sometimes, people who go through some horrible things can overreact without meaning to, so no one should shit on him for that. Especially when they don't know anything about what happened to him," I defend him no matter what, loving him way too much to let people say such words about him. "That doesn't justify the fact he may have hit his girlfriend. You can't trust him for sure just because he said 'I didn't do it' or something like that. If he was indeed addicted to drugs and alcohol, and that he'd easily go mad, he could have done it without even remembering anything at all."

"That girl cheated on him once, and he gave her another chance, and she then cheated on him again, so I'm sorry, I won't trust such a bitch who knew what he was going through and still used him. After knowing that, it's easy to pick a side," I let some anger take over me and get upset. "And how do you know he wasn't just super possessive and made that up to make you feel some pity for him?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," I do not argue any longer, putting an end to it and making it clear I do not like this moment at all. She knows nothing about him, yet she only listen to her own assumptions. "Whatever," she sighs and clears her throat with her drink. "You know, we're not judging him—"

"I am," she interrupts Matthew to not shut up about her disgusting opinion. "Tsk. Eve, stop. We don't know anything for—"

"So you'd rather believe that guy who was known for taking drugs and getting drunk? This is the exact fucking reason why victims don't ever speak up, no one ever wants to believe them," she does not even think twice before talking, seeing this from her point of view and no one else's one. "And you're the exact reason why innocent men get accused of stuff they never did, only because for people like you, women are always right."

"You're just letting this fucking asshole manipulate you! No guy has ever shown any interested in you, so you hold onto him because you feel like someone finally loves you when in reality, he doesn't give a shit about who you are. He either just wanna fuck the teenage, naive girl you are—"

"You're going way too far now, Eve. You shut your mouth," Matthew stops her as I stayed still and stared at her spit her words at me, but the pain, which she just filled me with after letting everything off her chest, forces me to stand up and leave them. I ignore Matthew, who said my name, and I get out of the restaurant while crying.

This is not the first time she talks to me or Jungkook like that.

"Y/n!" Matthew catches up with me and stands before me. "Hey. She didn't mean what she said, okay?"

"She did. There's no need to lie just because you feel bad," I wipe my tears away and avoid eye contact, feeling ashamed and dumb. "No...she didn't. We just care about you. We want you to be safe and happy, so her anger is just caused by some fear. I promise you," he finds the best excuses he can to justify what left her mouth. "I'm not judging Jungkook. I believe what you tell me, but you know how she is, she hates men and what a lot of them do. We're just worried about you because..." he heaves a sigh, trying to calm me down and reassure me. "Listen, I know you caught feelings for him, and I'm not going to tell you what to do, but we just want you to be very careful. That girl could have lied, but he could have lied as well, no matter how good of a person he is with you. Okay? We just want you to not let anyone use or manipulate you. You're still very young."

"Why are you talking about my age as if he was old? He's only twenty," I remark on what bothers me. "I know, but I just say that because you're still a minor, and you're in love for the first time. So, when you're in that situation, you often let your feelings blind you. I literally made that same mistake, so I know what this is."

I snivel, feeling much better after hearing him share a more objective stance. "I understand...I just cannot believe he'd be a bad person after all the time I've spent with him, and all the things I've got to know about him. He's the only one who cares and pays attention to me so much."

"I understand you too, and Eve would if she wasn't upset about the topic," he runs the bottom of his sleeve over my cheek to soak my tears, and I smile. "Thank you."

His lips shape in the same way. "Are you coming back? You're gonna have to cook if you go home without eating with us."

"I'd rather not. I'm going to pay for my dish though, but I want to go home," I take my wallet out of my bag, but he disagrees. "No need to. I'm paying. I'll pass by your house with the food when we're done eating."

"What? Why? I just need to transfer the money on your bank account because I don't have cash anymore," I close it after checking the inside. "No. I wanna pay for you. Stop complaining."

"Are you sure?" I still cannot accept it, but he grins at me and nods. "Yeah. Don't worry about it."

"Fine, you should go back in now. Your food must have been served," I place my bag back properly on my shoulders, getting ready to go. "Yeah. Be careful on the way home, I'll be there in less than a hour to bring your meal. Okay?"

"Okay, and thank you again," I show my gratitude, relieved to have him as a friend. "Don't, you deserve it," he pats my head and walks back inside the restaurant.

I wish this talk did not go downhill and ruined this day with my friends.

— Next day —

Saturday, May 1st, 2021.

1:30 pm.

"Hey," I comb Jungkook's hair to wake him up, his body remaining on its side as he has not left his dreams just once since I got here five hours ago. He must be so exhausted.

"Jungkook," I whisper in his ear and gently rest my upper body on his bare one, making sure I do not apply any pressure on his bruise. "Y/n..." he says my name in a husky voice, finally opening his eyes, and I smile in an instant. "Yes," I kiss his cheek, happy to see him awake. He groans but holds my arm to turn and end on his back. "Did you just get here?" he struggles to open his eyes to the full and speak, his voice giving him a hard time. "No, I've been here for five hours."

"Ugh. Why didn't you wake me up then?" he grumbles as if this was serious, but I answer with a simple 'Because' and climb over the blanket to lie onto him, but he touches my waist and expresses some opposition. "No, no, no," he slightly heaves my body up and drops me next to him. "Hey...why? Am I that heavy?"

"Because," he mimics me with a ridiculous voice that is not like mine, and I giggle but slap his arm and hear his soft laugh. "This bed is so cozy, no wonder you can't leave it," I get comfortable and rest my head on one of the pillows. "I know, right? You finally understand."

"I kinda want to—" I get cut off right when I lifted the blanket up to steal a part of it and saw him throw his arm down on it. "I'm naked."

"Oh," I cannot hide the smile this caused my lips to curve up into. "It kinda makes me want to lift it up even more," I pretend to not have said those words and look up at the ceiling. "Ah yeah? And why is that, sweetheart?"

I shrug and grin, and I set my eyes on him, feeling flustered and regretting my boldness. "To annoy you."

"Yeah, and you're really good at that, hm?" he makes that attractive noise I can never dislike or pretend to not hear, and I nod to admit to it. "I'm annoying, but I feed you, hug and kiss you, so isn't it a good compromise?"

He keeps his eyes fixed on mine, still looking sleepy, and he chuckles. "Yeah, sure."

"That sounds like you don't mean it, but okay," I do not move from my spot, feeling very comfortable and good here, with him. I look away from him and glance outside the window that is only half covered by some blinds.

"You know that if you don't leave the room, I can't leave my bed either?" he mentions after we both stayed quiet. "I know," I acknowledge without caring. "But I also know you got naked just to make sure I wouldn't hug you in the morning."

He clicks his tongue at me and slaps my thigh. "Stop saying dumb shit like that."

"Whatever you say," I smile and sit up, getting ready to leave. "You can hug me, but you better get out the room afterwards," he gives me permission to get the hug I always need after a long week away from him.

I dive in his arms right away and carefully wrap mine around his bare torso, and he holds me against him. "Your body's so warm," he tightens his embrace and nestles his head in the crook of my neck, grazing my sensitive skin with his plump lips and sending shivers everywhere inside me. "It's because of your hoodie, it keeps me warm."

"Yeah, that one you'll never give me back," he glides his hands up my back to put my hood on, and I raise my head up. "I'm not a thief. I'm even gonna give it back to you now so that you don't cry about it anymore," I straighten my back to take it off, ignoring his morning wood I can feel between my thighs, despite the blanket, but he grabs the bottom of the clothing and pulls down on it. "Keep it, I love complaining," he grins and does not retrieve his belonging, letting me wear his clothing. "And by the way, I washed your clothes from last week and put them in the wardrobe."

"So you saw my underwear and bra?" I pull the hood down, the temperature of my body raising a little too fast. "Well, what did you want me to do? Leave them in the washing machine and not wash my laundry until you'd come back?"

"Yes," I laugh and bend over to lie down again but put my arms around his neck, too scared to hurt him. "They're just pieces of fabric anyway."

"True but still, I'm embarassed," I speak in his neck. "There's no need to, I'm not a dumb teenager anymore."

"But I am," I grin but do not think otherwise. "You're not. You're way smarter than many people I know," he only leaves one hand on my back and runs his fingers through his messy hair. "But you gotta stand up and leave the room now. I need to take a shower."

I open my eyes, and after annoying and crushing him enough with my weight, I sit up and get out of his bed.

20 minutes later...

"Jungkook?" I knock on the door of his bathroom, holding a package in my hands. "Yeah?" he yells. "Can I come in?"

"Yes," he allows me to open the door, so I do it but fall upon his naked body. "What the fuck are you doing?!" he nearly slams the door on me after I gasped and turned around. "Get out!"

"The delivery man is waiting downstairs because you gotta sign for this package!" I keep my eyes closed to not see anything. "Dammit," he heaves a sigh, and I stay still as he seems to be doing something. "Why are you upset when you told me I could come in?"

"I never said you could!" he gets closer and snatches the package out of my hands, so I discretely open one eye to check if he is wearing something, and once I catch sight of a towel around his hips, I look at him while he is signing the paper. "How did you even get that guy to let you do this?"

"I told him I'd come back in a few seconds because you're in the shower," I hold my hands behind my back. "And I swear I asked you if I could come in, and you said yes."

"What? I heard you say 'Are you coming'," he hands me the paper but drops the package on his bed, and I grab it. "Well, that's not my fault then," I walk away to hurry back downstairs, and I run to the front door.

"Here it is, Sir," I give him the signed paper, and he thanks me, with a warm smile, and we both say goodbye to each other. I close the door now that he is gone, and I go back to the table to wait for Jungkook.

I cannot get the image of his naked body out of my head though.

Speaking of him, I can hear his footsteps as he is walking down the stairs, and while closing his belt, he heads up to me and sits down. "You saw my dick, didn't you?"

This is really the only thing he decided to say first.

"Well...should I be honest?" I take my fork and knife in my hands, not feeling so comfortable now that the topic is on the table. "Yes."

"Then, yeah. Kinda, but not really because I wasn't looking there, so it was just a glimpse. A very small one," I keep my eyes low, and for a few seconds, he does not answer with anything.

"A very small one," he quotes me. "You're talking about the glimpse, right?" his question gets me to nervously giggle. "Yes, that was about the glimpse, dumbass."

"Just wanted to make sure. I didn't want to have to fight you and all, you know?" he takes a big bite, probably out of hunger, and I chuckle. "Fight me?" I raise my eyebrows. "You wouldn't dare."

"You think so? I'm always ready to fight you if needed," he pretends, even though I know he would barely use any force against me in fear of hurting me. "Sure, I can't wait for that to happen then, but anyway, what was in that package?"

"That's none of your business," he speaks with his mouth full, staying pretty focused on me. "Must be a toy," I mumble so that he can barely hear me, and he hums to have time to swallow his food. "Maybe. What's wrong about having one?"

"Nothing wrong about it. I just hope it's not one of those dragon or monster toys I've heard of," my stupid remarks manage to make him laugh. "I don't stick anything up my ass."

"I'm eating," I cannot chew on my food anymore, but he just scoffs. "I can tell you're a virgin, but it's fine. I'm sorry. It's not like you brought it up yourself."

"I never talked about putting stuff in your ass, and I'm not so innocent that I can't handle talks like that, alright? I just want to eat with a clear mind," I try to defend myself a little too hard to not be suspicious, and he smirks, staring at me with self-assurance. "Are you offended?"

"I'm not. Why would I be?" I keep eating to distract myself from what he is making me feel, his soft sounds of amusement constantly escaping his nose or mouth. "That's what I asked myself."

"Well, you don't have to anymore," I attempt to end the conversation I thoughtlessly started, and he smiles but feeds himself instead of going any further.

•••

4:30 pm.

"Jungkook," I pronounce his name as he is playing on his PS5, and he hums to make me continue my sentence. "Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Yes," he does not hesitate, agreeing to it this weekend. "Have you told your parents about it though?"

"I told them I was at Eve's house," I speak the truth with him, but he clicks his tongue and peeks at me, expressing his discontent. "You shouldn't lie like that all the time. If they ever get to know you were actually with me the whole time, they're gonna get mad at you."

"I don't care. They wouldn't let me come here if they knew, so they don't give me another choice," I lean back to rest my head on the armrest, keeping my knees bent, with my cold feet against the side of his thigh to seek some warmth. "Have you tried to talk to them again?"

"No, it's useless. Since they heard Eve talk about you, they dislike you and don't want me near you. They don't care about the truth, they'd rather focus on work all the time than sit down and listen to me," I do not take my eyes off the large TV screen, watching him play a competitive game. "Hm. Like a lot of parents, unfortunately. The only great thing about parents like that is that you're free to do a lot of things since they don't pay attention, but they don't take care of you, so it's not so great."

"Yeah, I guess," I agree with his statement, believing I am not so unlucky. He had a worse childhood and youth, with an alcoholic and drug addict mother, and a father who also ended in the same situation after her suicide that caused him an immense amount of pain and grief, from which he was never really able to move or recover, but which also made him die from an overdose only a year ago, so I should avoid complaining about my parents to him. I know he loved his father a lot and misses him.

"I wanted to ask you something," I raise my head up to look at him, and he lets me speak.