Jungkook sighed as he waited for the family in front of him to finally tell him the flavors of ice cream they had decided on. It had to have been at least five minutes since that little boy ran into the shop and placed his hands on the first of the ice cream coolers and four since the parents had joined him. It shouldn't take too long to decide on ice cream, should it? It wasn't like it was some life changing decision.

Choosing chocolate wouldn't make some crazed maniac somewhere kill his captives (or would it?) or picking confetti cake would take Grandma off life support. It was ice cream. It was simple. Simple like how easy it was to please a young boy, much like the one who's eyes lit up just by staring at the coolers in front of him.

Jungkook had been like that once. Fascinated by the small things and overjoyed over the smaller. His parents and Wonwoo used to come for ice cream at places much nicer than this, perks of living in the nice neighborhood, every weekend. Just the four of them. He could remember them being so happy. He would cling to Wonwoo and their Mom would smile and comment on how cute the pair was. He would always pout and try to say they weren't while his brother just smiled and accepted it.

What he would do to be "cute" with his brother again. To enter an ice cream store and hear Wonwoo order the usual cookies and cream with fudge sauce on the side and smile as Jungkook would order the birthday cake, the most brightly colored ice cream in the joint. To have bright blue smeared across his face for Wonwoo to wipe off, which he always did. To see his parents look and laugh at him with adoration rather than mocking or hatred.

He wanted to return to his youth where ice cream shops weren't just his place of work but his favorite place to be. To return to the easy times of trying not to tear up as he looked at a happy family being just that, because that was the one thing he had let slip past him and he could never get back.

"Excuse me, mister?" The little boy said, shaking Jungkook from his thoughts.

"Hi, what would you like?" Jungkook smiled down at him. He was a pretty cute kid, not as cute as Yoongi or Namjoon though. They would always be cute, especially to him.

"Can I get a strawburry cone, pwease?"

"Absolutely." The brunette opened the case and looked up at the boy's parents, "Is there anything I can get you two?"

"Two chocolates in cones, thank you." The father said as he pulled out his wallet.

Jungkook scooped out two scoops of strawberry and place them into a cone and handed it to the little boy, "Here you go, enjoy."

"Thank you!" He chirped before taking a big lick.

He got the parent's ice creams before heading over to the register and ringing up the cost, "₩18,000, please."

The man pulled the amount out and handed it over to the brunette who put it into the register. The family smiled and spent a second or two getting napkins and such before heading out of the shop and leaving Jungkook to his own devices.

The brunette took a deep breath and leaned against the counter. He was lucky that he even got to work today, Yoongi was one tough nut to crack. He understood his and Namjoon's concerns though, he did just get out of the hospital less than three days ago and his injuries were still pretty fresh. He just wanted to prove his worth and do things rather than be a burdenful lump on Yoongi's couch.

Though the mint haired had said over and over that he didn't have any problems with Jungkook staying at his place, the brunette couldn't help but feel like he owed the world to him, Namjoon too, really. They had saved him. They had taken him away from the cold pavement, away from his living hell. They stayed with him despite all they had seen and witnessed. They gave him a place to sleep and live in. They placed no pressure on him and ensured he healed properly. They showed him love and for that, Jungkook would be eternally grateful.

No one had ever shown him love, real love. No one since Wonwoo's passing. It was all out of pity or none at all. Nothing had ever been genuine and he had yearned for it so much after losing everything. He wanted to be held and comforted. He wanted warm words and to be understood. He wanted so much to only be greeted by nothing. He could only do so much to gain it before becoming annoying and causing people to leave, which did happen. Jungkook was left to think that love and comfort was a luxury, until he met Taehyung.

Taehyung had given him what he so desperately wanted without so much as a word or tear. He showed him the affection that he so longed for and he couldn't get enough. He was addicted to the warmth and would do anything for the older so long as he got it, even lie. And that's what he did. He lied. He did it so his position would stay the same. Taehyung would give him love so long as he continued to get hurt. Therefore, he would have to get hurt, and he was where he was. So he did what he had to do.

He lied with only one thought in mind, Taehyung's love. He didn't think that in reality, lying would only break apart everything he was trying to maintain, nor that it was a pretty damn toxic concept. Not only had he been forced to return to his broken home, but he had to go without the warmth and love he had tried so hard to protect. Everything had vanished in the blink of an eye, Taehyung wouldn't even look at him, no less give him the love he wanted.

Jungkook was thrown back into the cold with no chance of getting out, not for a long time. He couldn't repair things with Taehyung and that was his main regret. That he let his own wants and needs get in the way of trusting that the older male would still care about him no matter his situation. Instead, he let everything beat him up and further the distance between him and Taehyung. He hadn't seen the older since his last day of high school before he dropped out, but he hoped he was out there living a good life and giving his love and warmth to someone who was deservent of it.

As the weeks of isolation at home for Jungkook went on, he slowly became used to the cold and harsh treatment he was receiving from his parents and everyone else he knew. He slowly began to accept that this was how things were meant to be. It was his punishment for what he had done to his older brother, for lying, for being disgusting and worthless and nothing but a dead weight on everyone's shoulders. He avoided people, scared to be treated like he was in high school, scared that he'd lie and push them away again like in high school, scared to be hurt and hurt others like before.

That was, until Namjoon and Yoongi. The two were different from everyone else. Everyone else merely accepted that he was a loner and didn't want to talk, but those two, they were persistent and talked to him even when he didn't respond. They treated him so kindly and only wanted the best for him. They thawed out his frostbit heart and mind and showed him unwavering love, love that Jungkook knew he would never need to lie to receive.

They loved him before they even knew his situation. They loved him for him rather than loving him in place of what he didn't receive at home. He was thankful for them. Without them, he would still be cowering beneath a hood, afraid of being close to anyone. He would still be encased with fear of rejection and warmth. He would still think that he was only good for pushing people away. He would still be that loner with no friends that thought he deserved his situation because of all his wrongs and faults. With these two, he was building his self confidence back up and improving how he thought. He was beginning to understand that it's not all his fault, that Wonwoo would've wanted him to live. It was a slow recovery, but it was helping and that's what mattered. He has so much to thank them for, but he's unsure of just how to say it.

The bell above the entrance to the store rang as a customer approached the counter.

"Hey cutie." She said, leaning on the counter.

"Hey, Ryujin." Jungkook said, not bothering to look up, instead cleaning off one of the used scoops, "What can I get you?"

"Your number."

"You don't even know my name."

"Then I'd like that on top."

"Ha ha ha," Jungkook sarcastically laughed before looking up at her, "Really, what would you like?"

"Mint chocolate chip sounds nice."

"Alright, that'll be right up."

Ryujin hovered by the display case as Jungkook scooped out some mint chip and put it into a cone, her eyes watching him intently, "You know, I'm planning on going out for dinner tonight."

"Really, where to?" Jungkook asked, working on scooping out another scoop.

"I'm thinking Italian, maybe some place fancy." Ryujin rested an arm on the top of the case, "Maybe a movie after if I'm feeling up to it. I heard there's some great romantic comedy out."

"That sounds like fun."

"Yeah. I'd love to have a plus one. Dinner and movies always feel so lonely if you go alone. I'm thinking someone with brunette hair, deep brown eyes, and works at my favorite ice cream place."

Jungkook hesitated with the full ice cream scoop in hand, before shaking his head lightly and placing the mint colored ball into the vanilla cone, "Do you want any toppings?"

"Do you have those little chocolate curls?"

"We do."

"I'd like those please."

"Alright, give me a moment."

A date. God, a date. He hadn't been asked out on one of those in ages. He shot most girls down before they could even ask, but Ryujin, Ryujin was too persistent. She was going to ask no matter what Jungkook even said to her. She was a sweet girl, very pretty too, but Jungkook already decided the second she flirted with him for the first time that he was going to reject her. In fact, he had tried to every time she had come in, but she always found a way to get around it and continue. He didn't want to continue with this. It wasn't that it made him uncomfortable, in fact he had gotten used to her flirting, but it was more of a... Smack upside the head thing.

Ryujin's constant flirting made him realize that he wanted Namjoon and Yoongi to say those kinds of things to him, and only them. The way she looked at him, he wanted those two to look at him the same. He wanted them to love him and he them. He wanted them. But, would they want him the same? He loved them so much and didn't want them to leave him for it. He loved two people, it was bound to be thought of as weird, maybe even gross.

In retrospect, he supposed choosing ice cream flavors was a difficult decision. You could either choose something you were familiar with and know what to expect or choose something entirely different that you wouldn't know how it tasted until after you tried it. He was having to make an ice cream decision right now. He could either remain just friends and be risk free, or he could confess and risk it all. It was a hard decision, and the sweat on his brow wasn't dissipating as he watched Ryujin bite her lip.

"Here you go, Ryujin."

"Thank you, cutie. It looks just as good as you do." She winked as she took a lick.

"Thanks.. I guess." Jungkook turned to the register, "That'll be ₩6,000."

Ryujin pulled her wallet out of her purse and gave the designated amount to the brunette, "So, about dinner and a movie-"

"I'm sorry, Ryujin, I can't."

She pouted, "Why not?"

"I-I'm.." Jungkook bit his lip hesitantly.

"You're what?" Ryujin pushed.

"I'm- I'm interested in other people."

Ryujin looked at the ground, "Ah, I see."

"I'm really sorry-"

"Don't be. You can't control who you fall for." Ryujin raised her head and smiled, "Good luck, cutie."

"Good luck to you too, Ryujin."

She nodded and exited the shop.

Jungkook sighed. He'd chosen the new flavor with no idea of how it would turn out. He loved them far too much to just be friends. 

Word Count: 2200

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Welcome to the first of three slightly unnecessary chapters :)
Oh! I've been meaning to say, thank you all so much for 10K! I meant to say this like two, three chapters ago, whoops. While I may not have said it, it's certainly been on my mind. Thank you all.
Thank you for reading and I'll see you next week!