"jiah!" near yoongi's restuarant she finds a smiling jungkook, approaching her with a plastic bag in his hand. jiah rubs her eyes, smiling a little for him, although she doesn't really stop to greet him. jungkook jogs up to her, holding out his hand for a fist bump, which only annoys her, making her roll her eyes at him, walking straight ahead.

"hey," jungkook frowns, "what happened? not happy to see me?"

"what are you even doing here?" jiah hisses, "i've told you to stop following me all the time."

"sorry to break your bubble, missy. but i came here to get these pizza rolls for namjoon hyung, because he really likes this restaurant." jungkook says. "i'm not following you all the time, it's just destiny." he grins.

"fuck your destiny and leave me alone." she pushes past him, only to be stopped when he holds her hand.

"what's wrong? you weren't like this a week ago."

"well, surprise! people change."

"woah, okay? tell me what's gotten you so hot and mad?"

"fuck off, jeon. i'm serious." she warns him. jungkook gives her a challenging look, lifting up her hand to let her see the grip secured on her wrist. jiah mutters a curse under her breath, twisting his arm in one swift motion, although what jungkook does next is new to jiah, for he never really uses strength against her. today he has strategically got her cornered, leaning closer with a smug smile.

"oops, couldn't win today?" he teases. jiah's still glaring at him despite him being much taller and buff in front of her. "okay fine, just kidding. why are you so mad?"

"leave me." she tries to push him off, which makes jungkook frown, as he acknowledges that being playful and joking about the situation is not helping.

so he holds her hand, caressing her knuckles gently with his thumb, "you can tell me, jiah. i don't know if i can be a help or not, but at least you'll feel better." he suggests, "and as you know, i'm a great listener."

jiah shuts her eyes in frustration, taking a deep breath and then again, taehyung's words keep ringing in her ear. opening her eyes, she checks the time. it's only been half an hour since taehyung took jihun, and jiah's already so restless, unable to process anything else. tear return in her eyes, staring at the watch that's too slow today. "what's the time, jungkook?" she hushes, "is it- is it seven in your watch...?"

jungkook stares at her with a comfused gaze, following her eyes to the watch and pulls her in a hug, confirming that something's really bothering her. "no," he hushes out, as she's rubbing her eyes, "are you okay?"

"yeah," she nods subtly, sniffling lightly and looks up, pulling herself out of his warm embrace slowly, "i'm okay, it's just that..." she looks back, then at her watch again, "why's it not seven yet? is it broken?"

"jiah," jungkook speaks softly, cupping her face, "it's alright. there's some before seven. tell me what happened."

"jihun's not with me..." a tear slips down from her eye, "he'll come around- around seven. he's with taehyung right now, and i can't even- i'm sorry..." she shakes her head, taking a deep breath to calm herself down a little and avoid having a melt down in front of jungkook.

"he's with taehyung...? why?"

"because-" jiah stops, gulping slowly as she stares at jungkook, suddenly realising that he doesn't know who jihun's father is. she lowers her head, massaging her aching temples and sighs softly, "he's jihun's father..." she nods once.

"kim taehyung- he's your son's father?" jungkook repeats, "but he's... sorry if i'm being too nosy in your buisness. i don't get it. are you guys a thing?"

"no," jiah shakes her head, "and i don't think we'll ever be. not from my side at least... unless there's no other option. but that's not important, right now, jungkook. jihun is with him."

jungkook hums lowly, glancing down at the carry bag in his hand and asks suddenly, "do you wanna eat pizza rolls?"

jiah frowns at him, "what-"

"yeah, why not? eat something, it'll help you calm you down. and also, i'm sure jihun will be okay. i mean if you let him go with taehyung, then i guess he's a pretty reliable father?"

jiah nods slowly, "he is... but no, you don't get me. you won't get me because you don't have a child, jungkook." she hushes out, "jihun is my everything... i can't live without him. if anyone ever takes him away from me, i might die... it's only been like thirty minutes since taehyung took him, and i feel like crying an-"

"do you wanna go home?" jungkook asks.

"home..?"

"your place, i mean. mine is a little far from here. we can go to your place, so you can eat something and also tell me everything in detail. alley or street-talking is not my thing." he chuckles, getting a look from jiah.

however in the end she just gives in, not even trying to lie to herself about how comforting jungkook has been the past few days. if he's being a friend to her, he's nailing the job so far, and jiah finds it hard to thank him so openly. she looks away from him, getting on his motorcycle behind him. she sits close with her one hand on his shoulder and the other on his waist.

"what about namjoon oppa?" she mumbles.

"he won't die without pizza rolls." jungkook scoffs, getting a small chuckle from jiah which he doesn't miss thanks to the mirror. "do you wanna get something else? uh ice cream maybe?" his question is enough to make her smile. "we can take some for you, and jihun too of course."

"uhm not from here. remember the store where we met?"

"damn, of course i do. that's been my favourite place on earth." jungkook says dramatically, driving in a moderate speed to have jiah's voice clear to him.

stopping by the store to get a tub of chocolate sundae and some jellies for jihun, jungkook drives to jiah's place, insisting on carrying the bags and all for her. jiah leads him up the elevator to the very apartment where she lives with her son and opens the door, gesturing him to come inside. "sorry, it's a bit messy in here." she says, picking up her jeans from the couch and jihun's clothes and toys.

"it's fine. kids are a lot of work, i've heard that quite often."

"really? from where?"

"namjoon hyung. he likes to beleive that i have always been the messiest person on earth, although i strongly disagree with that." he says, and jiah laughs at him.

"wanna drink something? water, juice, coke?"

"just water." jungkook says, "and please, you don't have to be so formal. treat me like you'd treat amy of your other friends."

jiah chuckles at that, not minding when he follows her to the kitchen, "have you ever seen me with anyone else, jungkook?" she asks, pouring out a glass and hands it to him, leaning on the counter, waiting for an answer but more to see if he needs more water.

"no," jungkook says, placing the glass down after emptying it, and shakes his head to let her know that one glass is enough. "why's that though? i mean, about your other friends."

"because there aren't really any friends. if you don't count jaesung, the guy we met that day. and with him too, it's not like we talk a lot. i'm not a person who likes to text, so it gets hard for other people to be friends with me." she scrunches up her face, "and about close people, yoongi oppa is the closest to me. after that, namjoon oppa i'd say." she grins.

"well, that's enough." jungkook chuckles, "but from now on, when someone asks you about your friends, i hope you'll say my name."

jiah smiles at that, nodding her head, "of course, jeon jungkook."

"damn..." he places his hand on the left side of his chest, leaning back against the counter, features twisting dramatically in pain, "my name sounds deadly from your honey lips."

"you're so cringey!" jiah smacks him, laughing along.

with more talking and sharing pizza rolls that were initially meant for namjoon, jiah doesn't even realise when it's close to seven o'clock. she has changed into comfortable clothes, sitting with her legs crossed in front of jungkook, uno cards in their hands. she smirks, pulling out a plus-four and jungkook gasps.

"no! you can't play that!"

"i can." jiah grins, showing the rest of the cards and does a mini celebration dance, "i won!"

"you don't even know the rules." jungkook scoffs.

"i know them. it's my place, my cards, so my rules." jiah smiles widely, patting his shoulder as a gesture of sympathy. "when we play at your place, with your cards, then you can make your rules."

"you'll never be able to win if we play with my rules, baby." he winks.

"disgusting." jiah makes a puking face. jungkook chuckles at her, standing up and stretches his body, which is when jiah realises that it's been more than two hours since jungkook has been here.

she stands up as well, and jungkook ruffles her hair, "i should get going now." he says, "it was fun-"

"jungkook," she cuts him off, stepping closer and gives him a brief hug, "thank you." jungkook smiles at that, patting her back before pulling away and cups her face.

"it's nothing. i enjoy our time together, and i'm glad you enjoy it too." he says.

"still, it's all kinda new for me. i used to hangout with my friends back in high school, before the pregnancy- or even before taehyung came in my life if i remember correctly." she chuckles, shrugging her shoulders, "when college started i suddenly felt like i had to study a lot. and then i started dating taehyung, so my free time was his."

"ah, that lucky jerk." jungkook playfully hisses and jiah laughs lightly. "okay, now i should really go with new pizza rolls for hyung, or he'll be mad at me."

"yeah, right. sorry, you had to-"

"hush," jungkook whispers, patting her cheek gently as he winks, "bye, take care. and let me know when jihun arrives okay?"

jiah checks the time again, nodding her head slowly, the smile slowly fading away from her lips as she's going to be alone now. jungkook will leave and who knows what taehyung might be in the mood to do. jungkook notices her nervous expression, stopping by her and strokes her back, "do you want me to stay? i can wait until jihun's home." he says.

"no, it's not about that." she says, forcing up a smile, "i'm okay, thank you. you should go home."

jungkook stares at her with a soft gaze, holding her hand and makes her look at him, "how do these guys treat you, jiah?" he asks in a tender voice, "taehyung, jimin? are they good to you?"

jiah thinks about it, nodding gradually, since it doesn't really have to bother jungkook and chuckles, shrugging her shoulders, "yeah, nothing i can't handle."

jungkook forces himself to believe her, having no other option when she isn't willing to tell him. yet, he smiles at her and picks up his jacket, "i hope you'll open up to me one day. and that day, i promise to take all your pain away. you look better smiling." he pats her head, "bye. i'll call you in a while. don't worry too much, okay?"

jiah hums in response, "bye... reach home safely, jungkook. and uhm, please apologise to namjoon oppa for me."

"no, you call him yourself and tell him not to scold me when i get home." he scrunches up his face, "he listens to you and cares for you more than he does for me."

"it's not like that. i'm just a sensible person." jiah mocks at him, pushing his shoulder gently to lead him to the door, "now go."

"okay fine, sensible person." jungkook rolls his eyes as he walks towards the elevator with a faint smile on his lips, leaving jiah to smile alone to herself as well. she watches as the elevator door slides open, and there's taehyung standing there with jihun in his arms, hoseok behind him, holding a few bags.

jungkook stops in front of the elevator, staring at taehyung and the toddler in his arms. he takes a glance back at jiah, contemplating whether he's needed or not. taehyung steps out with his son and manager, without paying much attention to jungkook, who takes his place in the elevator, pressing the button to close the doors and head to the ground floor.

jiah opens the door wider, breaking into a smile as jihun cackles happily at the sight of her, moving in taehyung's arms so that he would leave him down and let him run to his mamma. "come," jiah mumbles into a smile, mostly to herself, opening her arms for her son and taehyung lets jihun down on his feet, chuckling fondly at how fast he ran towards her, not even minding a little fall on the way.

"hey," jiah chuckles, tears blurring her eyes as she carries him up quickly and hugs him tight, "my little baby, i missed you so much..." she whispers out, kissing jihun's face a couple times and strokes his hair, "i'm sorry, i should've-"

"it's alright," taehyung says instead of their son. his hand itches to caress her face, assure her that everything's fine, but he restrains the urge and pats jihun's head instead, "i'm sorry for saying all that to you. it wasn't your fault."

jiah ignores his words, keeping her eyes on jihun and never lets her smile fade away, "let's go inside, ji must be tired from all the outing today." she says, pecking his lips. jihun doesn't reply to her words, more focused on looking around for his teddy bear.

"ji' teddy..."

"it's here," taehyung assures, glancing back at hoseok and smiles at him, "please, get it inside, hyung."

"i'll help you," jiah offers quickly, putting jihun down and grabs a few bags from hoseok, who although protests, but jiah just smiles at him, letting him know that it's fine. "please have a seat, oppa. i'll get you some water. you must be tired of carrying all those bags." she says, getting a smile from hoseok, while taehyung gives her a look.

"it's not a big deal, jiah. i'm fine." hoseok says, but the girl is already back with a bottle of water and a glass, pouring out some for the elder. "thank you," he smiles, then takes a nervous glance at taehyung. jiah sighs and offers him a glass of water as well.

"thanks," taehyung hums, taking a seat beside his manager. jihun drags the the bags, making them fall on the carpet and takes out all the toys and clothes his daddy got for him today. he picks up the light brown, furry teddy bear and giggles, showing it to jiah.

she smiles a little, taking the teddy while jihun's ready with a car now, giving it to her. "you didn't have to get him all these." she says, looking at taehyung. "there are already so many toys at home. he doesn't even play with all of them."

"it's okay. he really liked them." taehyung smiles. "and this way, at least he'll remember me a bit more."

jiah resists responding to that, getting up from the couch and walks over the console, picking up her wallet, "how much is all this?"

"what?" taehyung frowns, "you're not paying me back, jiah. i got everything for jihun, and i think a father has every right to do that for his child."

"yeah, but as i said before, you didn't have to."

"i wanted to." he stands up, walking over to her and holds her arm gently, turning her around to face him, "please, i wanted to do it for my son. he was happy and i wanted to see him like that- smiling."

jiah's pulls back slowly, eyes awkwardly moving to hoseok who's still in his place, watching the two with a uncomfortable expression. "taehyung, you should leave."

he seems to read through her expression and steps back, nodding once. turning to jihun with a smile. he kneels down and opens his arms for a hug, which jihun gives him quickly by stepping in his safe embrace, "daddy has to go now. but he's gonna be around and take ji out more often, alright?" he cooes, kissing the toddler's forehead, making him giggle. "bye, daddy loves you."

"daddy bye-bye!" jihun squeals, moving his hands in the air playfully. taehyung stands up, glancing at hoseok and nods for him that they should get going now. jiah smiles at hoseok, waving at him and mouthing a subtle 'sorry' to him for what he had to see.

once jiah has closed to the door after taehyung and hoseok, and returns back to the living room, where jihun is already busy playing with his new toys. she smiles at him, sitting on the couch and brings him a in a hug, pressing a long smooch on his cheek, "mamma and ji will stay together," she declares, "your dad can just meet you when he misses you. but tell him that you're mamma's boy, and she's your favourite."

jihun giggles at her words, handing her the teddy bear and slips out of her arms. in a moment he returns back, but in his electric jeep this time. he stops in front of jiah, patting the passanger seat and babbles half the sentence telling her to get in, so he can take her a ride. jiah laughs at that, ruffling his hair and makes his teddy bear sit on the seat instead, "i'm sorry, mamma won't fit there. but ji can take teddy out." she says, and jihun pouts, but he eventually settles with it and drives away, taking a laps around the free space in the living room, in the corridor and around the kitchen island.

jiah's phone rings right then, taking her by surprise for she didn't really think that jungkook would actually call her. she answers the call, smiling amusedly to herself, "wow, i thought you just said it for the sake of it. but you really called- is it actually to check on me?" she asks quickly.

"i was kinda worried. you looked like you didn't wanna see taehyung." jungkook says, "are you okay, though? and how's jihun?"

"eveything's good." jiah smiles softly, eyes following jihun mumbling something to his teddy bear before stopping by the shelf and grabs another one of his toys, making it sit with the teddy as well. she sighs deeply, laying down on the couch and focuses on the call, "how are you talking to me? did you get home so fast?"

"no, i'm in front of your building." he says, "i thought i'd leave after making sure you're doing okay..."

jiah's even more surprised on hearing that, springing up on her feet instantly and makes her way to the balcony. she looks down and sees jungkook leaning on his motorcycle by the pedestrian, standing there with no particular work. she chuckles softly, biting her lip, "you could've left."

"i didn't feel like it." jungkook says.

"look up," it's almost like a whisper, and she fails to contain her smile when jungkook lifts up his head. his smooth voice fills the air, chuckling softly on the line, while he waves from the ground. "go home now, it's getting late." jiah says, waving back, which is when she feels a tap on her legs. looking behind her, there's jihun singing gibberish with all his heart. she laughs at him, carrying him up and leans on the railing, keeping jihun safe in her arms, "say bye jungkook," she tells her son.

"bye-bye!" jihun chirps.

"jungkook," she repeats.

jihun looks at her, tilting his head, "koo..?"

"yes, that's it." jungkook laughs on the line, "he can call me that."

"i guess?" jiah chuckles, glancing at jihun and points down at jungkook, "it's him, there." jungkook quickly waves up at them, catching jihun's eye, making the toddler jump in excitement and wave back with both his arms.

"i'll come again and this time, it'll be me and jihun bonding." jungkook declares.

"you think so?"

"i know so, baby."

_______

a/n: don't you just really love jungkook and jiah in this chapter??? like if this wasn't my book i'd be shipping them so hard and drooling over this jungkook 😩❤️ but since it's my creation, it's not that appealing to me 😓