Already on Sunday morning, my heart felt as if it were made of lead. How could I only allow that Jungkook turned my head in such a short time?! Until now, I just found BTS sympathetic...and now...now I had the salad! I struggled out of bed, crossed my living room wrapped in my blanket and stood on the balcony to be invigorated by the cool morning air. As I stood there looking at a pair of birds nesting in a tree, I wondered if Jungkook had already landed in Seoul. At the same time, I was a bit irritated and the past two days still felt like a surreal dream. A very nice dream that would have been too good to be true. I shuffled back to the apartment, made myself a coffee and decided to call Lina....

"You have WHAT?!" she screeched in my ear as I told her about yesterday. I lay on the couch, fiddling with the ends of my hair. "Kissed us, yes.", I repeated, instantly feeling the butterflies at the memory and running my own fingertips over my lips. "Oh my God!" exclaimed Lina on the other end of the line. "Not only did we just spend the evening with a K-pop band for once, you actually snagged one of them!" "Linaaaaa...", I admonished her. But in her excitement, she didn't even get that. "You're a heartbreaker!" I sighed and looked down at my feet, which I had propped against the wall. "Rather the other way around. At least he bought me a drink..." "Has he contacted you yet?" she interrupted me. It was as if, like a reporter, she was picking out only the most important main information for a good story. "No, but I'm sure he's still on his way too...Lina, are you still there?"

It had become suspiciously quiet on the other side. But then I heard a sign of life. "Oh, that's too bad. You absolutely have to keep me informed, okay?" I promised her. Shortly after, she had to hang up because her mother was calling her on the other line. I spent the rest of the day finally cleaning out my bag from Friday, reading a bit in my book, and watching a few music videos on Youtube, all of which included BTS. Again, the incredulous voice inside me announced that Jungkook had actually kissed me. The scenes of the chain carousel, Ferris wheel, and the bar counter and the kiss at the bus stop played over and over in my head endlessly. To make sure that all this hadn't been a dream after all, I pulled out my cell phone and stared at his name, which I had saved along with his number. Three weeks JK had said...well that could take now....

Wednesday, 1st week: Pling! A message from HIM! It was about time! With each day that passed, I became more impatient and excited. The idea of reporting myself? Pah, no, for it I was then nevertheless too proud! In addition, I had read in the meantime that it was better if man reported first. Because if you show men the cold shoulder, it probably triggers some kind of hunting instinct. Ha, I won - I thought as I unlocked my phone, opened WhatsApp and dived into our chat history:

JK: I don't like microwaves!

...what? Confused, I stared at the display before I could answer.

Me: Um, good bless you?
JK: I figured you should know that.
Me: aaaah yeaaaa...of course...I don't like pizza either by the way.
JK: seriously?!
Me: you'll never find out.
JK: xD
Me: Good, I see we understand each other.

My smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Quynn?" my boss brought me back to the meeting I was actually in. "Huh?" My phone disappeared under the table in a split second. "I just asked you to explain to the customer how we're planning the supply chain," he kindly helped me out again. "Oh, yes, of course..." I straightened my shoulders, got up from my seat and walked forward to the presentation area.

Friday, Week 1: I had just indulged in an oven cheese with pretzels and was now excitedly sitting in front of my laptop with a glass of red wine. I had checked my blouse for any grease stains and taught my bladder as a precaution. Nervously, I glanced at the clock:

16:57p.m.

I decided to dash back to the bathroom and check if there was anything left in my teeth from the day. The answer was: No.
So back to the laptop!

4:58 p.m. ... no stop! 4:59PM!

I did consider another place to sit than in front of the couch...and sat down on the couch. Camera attitude check: Did I look somehow unflattering from here?

Just as I was trying out different sitting positions, the call came that I had been waiting for since Wednesday. Quickly I clicked on "Accept call" and I was already in the Skype call with JK. He was wearing a XXL black T-shirt with a V-neck and his hair was sticking out in all directions, as if he had run his hand through his hair several times. He also looked a bit exhausted. No wonder, it was now midnight for him. That made me instantly think of the BTS song '00:00'. "Hi you.", I greeted the camera and waved fleetingly. A tired smile appeared on his handsome mouth. "Hi yourself." Excitedly, I ran a hand through my hair. "You're looking good. Seriously." he instantly reassured me. I noticed my cheeks flush briefly with warmth and tossed my hair over my shoulder. "Thanks."

After we both grinned at each other like two dumbasses with a crush, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "It's good to see you. How are you? How's Seoul doing? Are you rehearsing the next choreo's already?" He faltered briefly at the flow of sentences and blinked several times. I could literally hear the gears rattling in your head. "I'm fine...and even better since I can look at your face, thanks for asking. How Seoul is?" It wasn't until he got up and took the laptop that I registered that he was already lying or sitting in bed. He carried his laptop to the window, turned me around to face the window, and turned off the light in the room. I could remotely see the skyline of the illuminated city. This sight had to be just insane in real life. "Oh my god! Tell me you have another porch outside that window!", I exclaimed excitedly. The light came on and he turned the laptop back so I could see it. "What do you think?" he asked teasingly, causing your pierced eyebrow to bounce briefly. My grin resembled that of a honey-cake horse. His gaze turned thoughtfully briefly to something behind the camera.

"Has time been sneaking up on you since Saturday night, too?" I snorted disdainfully and rolled my eyes playfully as I put my hand on my chest. "What? To me? Where are you thinking!!! Pff, tss...don't make me laugh!" His response was a mischievous grin and the renewed raising of his pierced eyebrow. "And whether the time sneaks!", I finally blurted out. "How do you think I went off on Wednesday when I got a sign of life from you!" He laughed, dropping his head into the pillow behind him. "You might as well have come forward first," he then countered, amused. I pursed my mouth and shook my head like a six year old. "Nope, never ever. That would have meant I was making myself far too much of you. You see, I have my principles." "Ah well, I totally understand." he chortled before his face took on a calmer expression again. "Wait a minute!", I exclaimed, raising my index finger before he could even take a breath to say anything. Questioningly, he squinted at the camera. Admonishingly, I shook my hand in his direction. "You didn't get into a fight so you could use the laptop here, did you?" Already his serious expression was gone again and I was happy just to watch him laugh. As he slowly got himself back into it, he smiled at me liberatedly. "Thanks, I needed that...and no, I didn't have to fight again. You know, I'm making my own money now, which I can use to buy stuff I'm into on my own." I widened my eyes playfully. "Don't. Your. Seriously?!" As he shrugged, his gaze briefly slid away from the screen into the distance and then back again. Then he sighed. "I wish you were here with me..." he muttered. Was it my imagination or did he really get an accent when he was tired? My hand ran down his cheek on the screen. "I wish I could say the same. Is it really two more weeks until you're back here in town?" He pursed his mouth and nodded. "Yep. Have you got that time all planned out?" I was about to answer when Jungkook suddenly flinched in fright and the next moment Jimin held his face upside down around to the camera.

"Hi Quynn!" In response, I waved in trepidation. "Heyyy...." Jimin's mop of hair disappeared from view again and he said something in Korean, whereupon Jungkook threw a pillow at him. Dirty Jimin's laughter echoed in the background before the door was heard closing. Shaking his head, JK turned back to our conversation. "So, uh, where were we?" "At what I'm going to do for the next two weeks until we meet again," I replied, tilting my head. Thoughtfully, I propped my head on my hand. "Hmmm, maybe I'll go shopping and get something pretty to wear for you..." Noticing his hopeful look, a diabolical smile spread across my face. "I was thinking of a bunny costume. One of those sexy full-body suits that you really sweat under, you know?" He looked at me like I was from another planet. Then he snorted. "Well, I can't wait to see how that looks on you," he chortled. I, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Don't hold back."

I didn't even notice how quickly the time passed. It wasn't until he yawned and I could watch his eyes get smaller and smaller that I glanced at the clock. "I think I'll let you get some sleep. You look pretty beat." I finally stated. Tiredly, he smiled at me. "I can't wait to see you again Q." That put a smile on my face. "I feel the same way about you. Sleep well." Again, a tired smile. Then he threw an air kiss at the camera and was gone. I closed my laptop and decided to end the evening with a book in bed.

Tuesday, week 2: Pling! I was on my way to work and was sitting on the train. I hurriedly dug my cell phone out of my pocket.

JK: If I'm not mistaken, it's morning for you.

Me: Wow, Sherlock Holmes has struck again :P

JK: ...Touché...I googled the time difference.

Me: Haha :P

JK: Stop sticking your tongue out at me.

I grinned widely before replying:

Me: Whaaaat you gonna dooo?

It took a little moment. Then he sent me a GIF with the devil grinning at me.

Me: Okay, now I'm scared.

JK: Muhahaha

I was on hot coals. It was still over a week away. What was I doing in this time apart from my work? Sighing, I let my head fall back and bumped against the window of the train. The woman across from me grinned to herself. Great, I thought. That's going to bruise...

Thursday, week 3: Thank goodness the bump had healed. It would have been so embarrassing to report to JK that I hadn't caught it in an epic fight over a cake, but had brought it on myself. I had also made good on a promise to get an outfit for our reunion. The outfit was already on the chair at my house ready for me to put on. Jungkook had written to me that he would be landing at the airport tomorrow afternoon. Together we had planned to order a really fat pizza, buy a bunch of candy, and get really comfortable on my couch with movies. I insisted on presenting him with my favorite Disney movies and he had responded with an eye-rolling and then a smiling smiley face.

I was on my way home from work - it had gotten late today so I could get off work early tomorrow to pick up Jungkook from the airport by car. When I unlocked my apartment door at 8 pm, darkness greeted me. I flipped the light switch, then made myself some food in the kitchen, and then began to clean up and prepare the apartment for tomorrow. Lina contacted me again and asked if everything was okay with me. We talked on the phone until midnight before I said goodbye to her, hopefully to get at least some sleep before I would see him again tomorrow.