50 minutes later...

[ is everything going alright with choco? >

I send a text to Joonha to make sure he is doing fine alone at the house, and I take another spoon of the grape sorbet Mister Jeon ordered for me, but once I put it in my mouth for it to melt and spread all the flavor, I gaze up at Mister Jeon to see what he is doing but make eye contact.

He seems to love looking at me when I am eating in front of him.

"Is it good?" he smiles, not even ignoring the fact that I caught him staring, and I lick the spoon but nod. "It is," I dig it back into the sorbet and fill it to heave it up towards him. "Try it."

He does not say no but tastes it, and I eat more right after him. "Hm. It's delicious," he shows how good his taste are. "But you really love grape in everything you eat and drink."

"Not everything, but I love purple grape flavor," I do admit that I am a fan of it, and he chuckles. "Have you already tried grape-flavored milk?" he mentions one of my favorite drinks, and I raise my eyebrows. "Of course I already did. Grape juice, grape-flavored milk, soda, ice cream, sorbet, candies, water, and I think that's all," I remember as many as I can but see him laugh. "What about mochis?"

"Oh, I actually never tried them," I realize I have not tasted everything possible with this flavor, and he licks his lips but leans over to come closer and lay his forearms on the table. "I'll buy you some one day."

"I can't wait," I take another spoon but notice his eyes go down to my mouth for a moment, and we make eye contact, so I nervously lick my lips and smile, feeling too shy to not be jittery when he does this. "What?"

"Nothing," he does not give a reason for staring at me so lovingly. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No, but I'm shy," I look down, not hating the attention he gives me but not knowing how to handle its effect on me. "I see that. You're adorable," he compliments me again and drifts his big eyes somewhere else. Now, I eat since he is not staring anymore but catch sight of his phone screen lighting up.

"I'm picking up because it's Joonha, is it okay?" he takes hold of it, and I agree without any problem. "Sure."

"Thank you," he picks up the call to not send his son to the answering machine. "What's wrong?" he asks him, and I take a peek at my phone to see if he answered my text but do not see a single message from him. "It's going alright too, we'll be home soon, so don't worry. We ate at a restaurant since we didn't have dinner," he runs his fingers through his hair to pull them back and leave them tangled in it. "Yes," he scoffs for a reason that I do not know, and he gives me a brief look but brings his hand down his neck. "I will. See you later, love you," he smiles and after probably getting an answer from him, he hangs up.

"Is he okay?" I ask for the information from him since the little jerk did not answer me, and he nods. "He is. He just wanted to make sure everything's going fine. I also asked him what he ate for dinner since I did not have time to cook for him, and he told me he ate some rest there were in the fridge."

"Oh, great," I feel relief at the sound of this but notice a notification pop up on my phone screen, so I open it and read the text Joonha just sent me.

< yep, he's sleeping on my bed while I'm playing, separating our beds and breaking our children's room since I'm not the one you want kids with:c ]

[ do you realize that if my dreams were ever to come true, I'd give you siblings? >

< shut up, I don't want siblings:< can't believe you're not even sad ]

[ I am! You better not destroy any room and keep our double bed, alright? >

< I'd put your bed in the children room, don't worry, I won't destroy but rearrange ]

[ it's never gonna happen, your dad will never date me so stop already >

< you don't know about that ]

[ do you? I'd never consider you as a stepson anyway >

< id never consider you as a stepmom either, I can't, my brain will never process that thought, I can consider you as everything possible, a sister, a girlfriend, a best friend, a stepsis, but not a mom or stepmom, even if I'm okay with the thought of you dating my dad ]

[ a sister or stepsis is okay?-_- >

< yes I'd be your stepbro:) I'd be very helpful, imagine one day you're stuck, you'll call me and scream "stepbro, I'm stuck, stepbro" and I'll be here to unstuck you:) ]

[ omg I'm leaving >

I stop texting him since I do not want Mister Jeon to believe I am bored with him, and I take one last spoon of the sorbet, then feed him the rest. "I'm so full, it feels good," I straighten my back to release some tension, but he smiles. "I'm glad you are. I love to see you eat well."

"I love to eat too," I chuckle but lean back in my seat, and he takes his wallet out. "Tell me whenever you want to go back to the car, alright?"

"We can go now if you want," I do not stay since I feel like he is eager to go back home. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I stand up now that our meal is over, and I take my phone to never forget my most precious friend. I put Mister Jeon's jacket back on as he left the money for the bill on the table and grabbed his bag but mine as well. "Let's get to my car then," he softly touches my back, and I move out of the restaurant but make sure he remains close.

While I am heading towards the exit, I take a look at what he is doing with the bags but notice he is rummaging through his. Then, he takes the fluffy cat ears out. "Slow down for a minute," he steps before me as I stopped, and I let him put the headband over my head, trusting him enough to put my hair properly. He fixes it as soon as it is on, and he smiles but brushes some strands in the front of my face to leave them within sight and not put them behind my ears. He knows what looks the best.

"Here," he caresses my cheek to make me feel like a proud and happy girl. "I'm noisy now," I cannot ignore the sounds of the small bells that are ringing nonstop since I am walking, and he combs my hair again. "I love it."

I have never felt so vulnerable to someone. Never felt so in love with someone. It scares me

•••

9:50 pm.

"Here we are," he drives into the garage now that we are back home, the darkness making it much better. He stops the car but does not turn the ignition off yet. "I need to talk about something before we get in," he turns the lamp on to be able to see each other, and he takes the bags he left in the back. "Tell me."

"I may have hidden something from you since earlier," he looks inside the back as I am panicking, not knowing what he is talking about. I keep my eyes fixed on him, and he gets a small box out of it. "This is for you," he gives it to me, and I stare without doing anything at first. I am too taken aback for my brain to send the messages to my limbs. "For me?"

"Yes," he mocks my reaction, and I grab it, feeling like I know what this box might be hiding. I take another peek at it out of nervousness but open it, and once I see what it contains, my heart skips a beat, and this leaves me open-mouthed. "That is so pretty..." I pull the ring out of its cushion, finding it terribly gorgeous and similar to the one I gave him. I find it even more beautiful than mine, and the fact that it is from him makes it much more special.

"I had a hard time picking, but I thought I was lucky to find something so similar to the one you gave me, so I wanted to buy one of those. I hope you like this one too," he expresses some worry about my opinion, and I put it on my ring finger where I always wear my rings. "I love it, Mister Jeon. This is so pretty, and it's a gift from you, so it makes me even happier."

"I'm relieved," he gazes at me as I put it on, and we both smile at each other. "Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means," I feel on the verge of crying when this is something normal for normal people, and given the way he is staring at me in the eyes, he must have already noticed the tears.

I need to stop, even if these are not caused by pain or sadness, I must run dry at some point, I have cried enough today.

"You're not crying, are you?" he tilts his head, knowing what is happening to me, so I avert my eyes from him and deny the truth. "I'm not."

"Hey, I know you're lying. Look at me," he cups my chin and turns my head with gentleness. "You're such a lovely woman, you're making me weak," he smiles but brushes the tear, which rolled down, away from my cheek. "It just means so much to me...no one ever did that. I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, sweetheart. The smile on your face is enough," he strokes my jawline and leans closer, but I turn my head, and he stops himself right when our faces are close enough to touch as I must have done a wrong move at a wrong moment. His eyes gaze down at my lips for what seems like an eternity, my heart pounding hard to the point of taking my breath away, and he kisses my cheekbone but fills me with tingles and warmth.

For a second, I truly thought his lips would touch mine.

"You're a very precious and beautiful woman, you deserve much more than a gift," he leans back without ever looking away from me. "And I don't ever want you to doubt or forget that."

"Thank you," I show gratefulness, believing this is the right thing to do in this type of situation. "Don't thank me," he shakes his head and turns the ignition off. "We can go back into the house, your mother apparently went to a friend's house, so we're alone with Joonha tonight, and everything should be back to normal in your house tomorrow," he tells me things I did not even know about and goes out of the car, so I do the same and follow him inside the house. I remain as quiet as I am even if I know Joonha must be too busy playing to hear us come back, and I take my shoes off like Mister Jeon is doing.

"The other bracelet is for him, right?" he puts the bags down on the dining table next to us, and I nod. "Alright. I leave it here then," he does not touch it anymore but undoes his tie. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know, probably draw and sleep soon because I'm tired," I grip the back of a chair, standing near him while he is undressing himself to get comfortable. "True, you're an artist. I never saw more of your drawings by the way."

"Oh, well, I can show them to you after taking a shower if you want, I don't mind," I hope for him to accept, feeling flattered to know that he cares about my passion. "Sure, I'll take a shower and come into your room if you're alright with it."

"I am," I nod and cannot wait for this to happen. I cannot explain why, but whenever he gets into my bedroom, this feels much more intimate between us.

"Okay, see you in a few minutes then," he passes behind while unbuttoning his vest. "And don't forget to take off your cat ears to shower," he smiles at me, and I nod but hear the little bells.

I should hurry to take this shower, get into more comfy clothes, and be there to show him my work.

30 minutes later...

The minutes passing by without Mister Jeon knocking on my door, I remain on my desk chair and answer Joonha's text while waiting.

< are you still busy with my dad rn? ]

[ I'm in my room but I'm waiting for him to come bcs he said he wanted to see my drawings >

< okay, I won't come down then, but come and give me a hug before going to bed, alright?:< ]

[ I will, don't worry babyboy c: <3 >

< I'm weak for that shit, stop it:> ]

[ I know, that's why I said it lmao >

< I don't like the fact you know about my weaknesses now ]

[ you're the one who told me about it, so you're at fault >

< I know:') ]

The sound of some knocking makes me put my phone down, and I stand up to go and open the door. He is here, finally, in a black t-shirt and pajama pants.

'JUNGKOOK'S P.O.V'

"Come in," she steps back to let me in, so I go forward, and she closes the door, noticing that she is still wearing her cat ears, I drop my eyes on her black pajama romper with hearts on it but feel my heart melt. "You can come here," she hurries to get on one of the chairs as she seems very impatient to show me her work, being an adorable bean. I smile and join her at the desk without sitting down, and she opens her large sketchbook.

"Tell me what you think without lying to not hurt my feelings, okay?" she raises her head up to look at me, and I run my fingers through her hair but nod. "I will, but I know I won't have to lie."

She smiles in one of the most contagious manners, looking completely happy, and she shows me the first one. "That is so beautiful," I tell the truth at the sight of the rose that she drew with no flaw, and she passes to the other one, this time, it is a wonderful landscape. "This one is gorgeous too. You're truly so talented, sweetheart. You don't seem to realize it."

She does not say anything as if she had a hard time dealing with compliments, but I am not surprised, this is not the first time I notice it. Once she turns the page, she reveals another type of drawing, a face. I do not know who this man is, but this looks so realistic, I cannot believe that she actually was able to do this with pencils and her hand only. This looks like a picture that was printed.

"Gosh," I bend over to lay my hand over the desk and hold the back of her chair. "You do so much better than some famous artists that earn millions of dollars for what they do."

"Thank you," she shows me the other one which is an anime that I heard a lot about. "This one is a drawing I will give to Joonha for his birthday," she points her finger at it, and I feel no surprise. I knew this was Joonha's favorite. "Aw, that's so sweet of you. He will totally love it."

"I hope so," she turns the page to reveal the other one, which is another portrait. "This one is not done yet, so it's still ongoing and messy."

"Well, a lot of people would love their drawing to be as messy as that," I chuckle and look down at her, loving how smiley she is tonight. This truly brightens up when I see her feel genuine good emotions. "I have way more than that, but they're at my house," she closes the book to slide it away, and I straighten my book. "Well, I'd love to see them all one day," I hide on hand in my pocket and touch her cat ears. "I'm going to go and smoke a cigarette before reading to sleep, so you can come—"

"No," she gently wraps her hand around my forearm. "Don't smoke, please. It's not good. Stay here instead," she gazes up into my eyes with her gorgeous ones that I cannot resist. "Sweetheart, I cannot really decide. I'm addicted to it already, and I'll probably start shaking if I don't."

"I'll hold your hands," she gives me one of the softest smiles. "Sit down," she pulls on my arm to make me join her at the desk, so I do it, but she comes and gets on my lap. "Now you're stuck with me," she puts her arms around my neck, convincing herself she will be able to keep me here. I do not even argue with her, I grab her by the waist and pick her up the bridal way and stand up. "I can walk up to the door and leave right now."

"I'm gonna lock the door or attach you to me," she threatens to do, and I sit back down but rest my arm over her thighs. "Attach me to you? And how are you going to do that with those small hands and arms?" I flex with my six feet four inches. "I have some scarfs, belts, or other stuff I can use."

"Hm, I see," I do not comment on that since this would not be appropriate, and I lean back. She nervously smiles but glances down at my arm to touch it, so I relax on the seat, and she turns my arm upside down to look at the tattoos on my forearm. Without saying a word, she tenderly skims the inner part with her fingers, stimulating this very sensitive spot again when she already did it multiple times today and sent shivers all over my skin. I watch her scrutinize all the art inked in my skin while rubbing her back. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I love your tattoos," she gives some strokes to the same spot. "Have you already tried the same as you did to Joonha when you drew his tattoo?"

"I did, I put it over my thigh, and I loved it," she tells me, and I imagine her with a thigh tattoo. "That must have looked so good on you. Which thigh was it?" I take this opportunity to pull my arm away and not feel the arousal she causes with the rubbing, and she shows me her right one, which is the closest. "And was it all over it?"

"Yes, it was a big one, but I tried different ones a bit everywhere," she speaks more about herself, finally sharing some things that I did not know about her. "You must look amazing with tattoos."

"I felt much better with tattoos, to be honest," she looks down at my lips that I licked. "Why is that?"

"I don't know, I feel special, like...I have something attractive that I don't have when I'm myself, I cannot explain," she reveals some insecurities I never like to hear from a woman. "You're attractive and special even without tattoos, sweetheart."

She smiles at me but obviously does not think like I do about herself. "I mean it, y/n. The thing I love the most about you is that you're a beautiful woman but not only from the outside, from the inside as well. Your personality is so lovely and adorable that it makes you even more gorgeous," I speak with honesty and brush my thumb over her thigh. "I'm happy you think that of me..." she leans in to hug me, and since I love how comfortable and good she seems to feel when I hold her, kiss her, or touch her, I embrace her body with my arms and rub my thumb over her ribs.

This is so evident that she has never received this type of affection, she craves it, and I sincerely want to be that person to who she goes when she needs some safety, some comfort, some advices, or attention. I want her to know that she can trust me and that I will always be here for her.

"When are you going to bed? Do you want to—" the sound of my phone ringing in my pocket cuts me off. I did not expect anyone to contact me at this hour, so I take my phone out as y/n straightened up, and I check who is calling me.

Harin?

I thought she was busy.

I ignore the call since I am with y/n, not wanting her to feel like she does not come first, and I wait for the call to end.

"You can pick up if you want, don't hold back just because I'm here," she tells me, in a different tone of voice, but I refuse to do this. "I don't want to. She'll leave a voice message if this is important," I watch the screen go back to the menu once the call is over, and I already receive a text.

< hey, can you call me back, please? I want to talk to you ]