he's ruffled and sweaty, weighed down by gym gear. his brow creases when he spots me, his eyes unsure. he puts a hand out to hold the elevator door.

i can feel my heart bursting.

"kook!" i scream as i run at him. he has enough time to put his arms as i jump. he hits the back wall with a grunt as i manage to get my arms and legs around him.

"woah, slow down babe," he chuckled.

his sweat smells like rainwater and cedar, leaving a faint rosemary-pine tingle in my nostrils. i press my face against his neck and breathed in.

i try to muster up the strength to let him go, but the addictive press of our bodies together is stronger than my willpower.

"okay then." he begins to walk down the hallway. i'm clinging like a koala to his front, coat flapping, my bag bumping against his gym bag.

i lean back enough to see his face, seeing amusement shining in his eyes as he puts down his bag beside his door and begins sorting his keys.

wait, we had a deal earlier.

before he could put the key into the door knob, i instantly grabbed the handle.

"i won!" i squealed.

he looked at me with a confused expression, "what?"

"our deal, remember? racing to your unit?"

his tongue poked the side of his cheek. "i think i technically won. i was in the building first."

"no. it should be the one who gets in the dorm first." i argued.

"but we aren't inside yet."

"but i held the knob first, so . . . i won, i won!" i repeated until he laughs and concedes.

"okay, fine. you won."

i hugged him harder as we enter his unit. his collarbone fits nicely under my cheekbone. he's wearing a hoodie and his body feels humid and damp.

i hear him drop his gym gear into the basket. he toes off his sneakers, which seems a little bit more difficult, and he takes my bag. he then presses a button on the heating control.

"you're still not putting me down?" i asked.

"no. i like having you in my arms," he calmly replied.

he walks us into the kitchen and bends to look in the refrigerator, making me grip tighter. he fills a glass and i press my ear to his neck to listen to him swallow.

honestly, him carrying me around with those veiny arms of him turns the hell out of me.

i tighten my legs around him, and he slides a hand to my butt, squeezing it once in a friendly way. then, he gives it a slap.

"ow! kookie!" i yelped, releasing the grip of my legs onto his waist.

"sorry, there was a . . . fly." he pouted, yet i know that he's lying.

i arched an eyebrow at him and rolled my eyes. "where are your hyungs?" i asked.

"families. in their own apartments. fishing."

"fishing, huh? i guess that's jin oppa."

"and yoongi hyung. jin hyung always asks him to go with him, so he does. even if he doesn't catch any, he just goes because jin hyung loves fishing," he stated.

i flashed a sweet smile, realizing how much they love each other. and to hear how yoongi oppa, who is known to be a cold-person, expresses his care for them immensely warms my heart.

i then noticed the little whiteboard with a weekly meal plan written on it. i knew that it was his, judging from the hand writing. he's such a freak.

"okay, well you're clean and i'm not, thanks to you who pressured me into arriving here first. i need a shower."

"how do you smell so good after the gym?" i questioned. i didn't even notice he hasn't showered yet.

i go into the living room and throw myself down onto the couch with a groan. i sink into it like it's made of memory foam.

"i didn't think i did," he replies from the kitchen. i'm hearing water boiling and the fridge opening, followed by the teaspoon clinking.

he then appears, and i see a slice of heavy bare shoulders revealed by his hoodie sliding off. he's wearing a tank under there, making my mouth puddle with drool.

he puts his finger on the zip, and i unconsciously bite my lip. then he zips it up to his neck as high as it will go.

"drink your tea, you little pervert," he says, making me look away. he smirked at me and headed towards the shower room. after a minute, i hear the water dripping onto the tiles.

as predictably as night follows, i begin to fret as the minute passes. i kept myself busy though, to remove my mind from imagining him in the shower with a bar of soap.

it's sad to know how i'm slowly becoming like him — a pervert.

•••

after what felt an hour, the shower room door opens, revealing him on some soft black sweats, a black t-shirt, and nice bare feet. his hair damp and ruffled in every direction. he looks like he just had a shampoo ad. can't he at least have a flaw?

"you hungry yet?" he asked, to which i nodded. he then gestured me to follow him to the kitchen. there, i watch him cut vegetables into ridiculously neat little sticks.

"is omelet okay?"

i nod and continued watching him prepare the meal.

"can i do anything?"

he shakes his head and i watch him crack six eggs into a metal bowl.

"last time you were here, you were my caretaker. and now, you're my . . . girl." he said, smiling as he uttered the last phrase.

"yeah, a caretaker who caused your injury in the first place," i reminded. "but in my defense, it would have never happened if it weren't for your childish bets. who even suggested that in the first place?"

he stiffened for a moment, followed by him coughing out awkwardly. i waited for his response, but he just shrugged.

"remember when you tried seducing me here only for you to fail?" he asked while grinning.

i put my hands on my face in embarrassment and he just laughs a bit to himself. ah yes, the day when i decided to get back at him for his unexpected stripping in front of me.

he takes out a pan and begins to fry the vegetables in a single, stingy drop of oil, while i continue to stare at his structure, specifically those broad shoulders.

"i can feel you eye-raping me, babe," he says as i hear the deep sizzle of the egg being added to the vegetables.

i cleared my throat and looked sideways. "museun mariya?"

he covers the pan and turns. "imagine if i never backed out from kissing you that day. maybe we would had sex by then, right here — on the counter," he says as he slaps his down firmly on it.

he's still thinking about that?

"you're a big ass pervert but you always back out when the opportunity's right in front of you," i hissed.

he bent forward, leaning towards my face. i straightened my back and gulped.

"i'm trying to make sure that when we do, you won't have any regrets. and besides, it's just sex. we can still satisfy each other in different ways."

"and what are those ways, mr. jeon?" i arched an eyebrow.

"this," he groaned and put one arm around me and the other one on the table. he then leaned in and tickled my sides.

i shoved him gently. "ya! geumanhae!"

"stop what?" he innocently asked as he continued tickling. i squirmed and giggled, falling into his arm that was supporting my back. i continued to laugh as i desperately try to free myself from him.

"that's the sound i like to hear!" he laughed, finally removing his hands on me.

i scoffed and rolled my eyes, "how the hell did you find satisfaction in tickling me?"

"hearing you laugh," he said. "it's my favorite sound."

a big bubble of happiness fills me.

"apart from your sweet moans, of course," he continued with a mischievous smile on his face, making me scoff. big bubble of happiness popped in an instant.

he chuckled and peeked in at the omelet. "go back to the couch, put the tv on."

i drop myself into the plush perfection of his couch, turning the television on. he follows to the room and hands me a plate and fork.

"yum, this looks good!" i can smell fresh basil as he puts the omelet onto the table.

we watch the news and he takes my empty plate. then he gives me a bowl of vanilla ice cream. he doesn't have for himself, however.

"you have ice cream in your freezer and yet you're not having one. why even bother?"

"in case i have unexpected sweet-tooth visitors."

i can't help but grin at the thought. "it wouldn't destroy those abs to have one little spoonful. it's protein, right?"

he looks at the bowl, and sighs. he takes the spoon from me and steals a huge mouthful. "mmhm," he murmurs, his eyelids fluttering.

"you should treat yourself to something small each night. no point in being cruel to yourself."

"something small, huh?" he looks at me pointedly. "arasso."

i take another mouthful of ice cream as i fully lie down onto the couch. that's when it hit me — his tongue, my tongue.

he smirks, unfolding a fluffy gray blanket over me. he sits at the far end, near my feet, and i stare at his side profile as he continues to watch the tv.

once done, he takes my empty bowl as he kisses the little hinge of my jaw until i gasp.

"you're all i could ever wish for, lisa," he whispers.

i pulled him to my side and intertwined our fingers. the couch wasn't that big, but we managed to fit. he then wrapped his arm around me and sniffed my hair.

i could never have imagined one day i'd be lying on a couch, my mouth tasting vanilla, with my head on jungkook's chest. i close my eyes and breathed.

"kook, can i ask you a question?"

"what is it?" he laces his fingers into mine and rests our hands on my stomach.

"when did you start to like me?"

i was genuinely curious. did he just like me after all those bickering we had? isn't that too shallow?

"i don't know," he whispers. "it's just that when i saw you, every love song made sense. then i spend most nights, at that time, falling in love with the idea of you."

"maybe it was love at first sight," i jokingly said.

"i don't think it was. more like familiarity. something like, oh, hello, it's you. it's going to be you. i fell for you so fast that i think the universe already knew you are supposed to be mine. i made a wish lisa, and you . . . you came true."

i turned around, facing him. "but what if it's not?"

he furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, remaining silent. few seconds later, he planted a kiss on my forehead and softly smiled at me.

"then we'll make it work. i'll make it work," he replied.

"but what if your feelings fade?"

"you know what, when i see you — the world . . . it stops. it stops and all that exists for me, is you and my eyes staring at you. there's nothing else. no noise, no other people, no thoughts or worries. the world just stops and it's a beautiful place and there's only you. just you, and my eyes staring at you. when you're gone, the world starts again and i don't like it as much. i can live in it, but i don't like it. i just walk around in it, and wait to see you again for it to stop."

i stared at him in silence. i can't believe i'm falling deeper every time he utters another word.

"kook," i said in a soft voice. i wanted to tell him lots of things, yet his name was the only thing that managed to escape my lips.

"baby," he whispered as he caressed my cheek. "you're the best thing that ever happened to me. whatever it looks like — or whatever may come, i am yours. always and forever. and that's a promise."