https://youtu.be/gLEOwksK2ik

I'm yours - Isabel LaRosa

Jimin

I wasn't in the mood of working out today. Semester exams were in two months. The time was flying by. It only seemed that we started the fourth year just yesterday. I stepped on the treadmill with the intention to incline-walk for twenty minutes and then move to CrossFit, but when I watched Jungkook's frame in the mirror, my eyes adhered to his reflection for a moment until I noticed he was coming in my direction.

I turned my gaze to the adjoining equipment, which was free. I could've assumed that he would occupy it, and he did. Waving at me, he smiled a little and put his sipper on the front console before his face towel.

Where were my headphones when I needed them? Like I said, I didn't want to work out today, so I didn't bring them. They would've saved me from talking.

I respected Taehyung's decision, but that didn't mean I was going to encourage being seen with juniors in a public gym. It was the only gym which was on the campus, and almost all the male population used it, including the teaching and helping staff.

"How are you?" I heard his voice as he pressed the speed button '6' on his treadmill and started brisk walking.

"Hm?" My eyes widened before I could control them and I willed my nerves to relax. Jungkook had a tendency to make me hyperaware and numb at once. Ever since that party, I've made sure to not be alone with him. I knew what he wanted, but it was not acceptable to me for obvious reasons. One, I was in a relationship with a woman. Two, Taehyung had eyes for him. I could only offer my cordiality to Jungkook as a pleasantry for being the love interest of my best friend. It felt wrong to even talk to him when Taehyung wasn't around. "I am okay. How are your studies going?"

He smiled the most engaging smile I've ever seen. Rose sometimes looked at me like that whenever she was drunk, but Jungkook appeared like he was constantly drunk whenever he smiled like that. His eyes captured mine. I was wary of my bearings, but not him. His body was as though on auto-pilot. He made it a point to not look away, as if he did, he'd suffer a stroke. "Thanks for helping me." He spoke in a grateful tone, his voice a little gravelly.

"Sure," I pressed the '10' on my console and my legs picked up speed. "Anything for a friend of Ulrich's."

He kept his frame a little towards me for a few seconds. Had anyone been watching, it would've been noticeable. He looked at me every time like his world stopped moving. I didn't want to get captured in his trance. Not alone, and definitely not with Taehyung.

As I took patterned breaths through my mouth while continuing to run, my heart settled into a fast rhythm. The footsteps sliding against the conveyor belt, the soft noise of the equipment, the synchronized steps of Jungkook with mine, they did something to me that I didn't want to stop first.

Thirty minutes and we were still going on. My legs were comfortable, settled into the new pace. I've been working out since the age when one was allowed in gyms. I didn't know about Jungkook though. Even if he looked fine, his shoulders were stiff and he looked as though he was putting in quite a lot of effort. I wanted to tell him to stop, but that would mean acknowledging his presence again.

My head must have turned a little bit to watch the speed on his console. Jungkook sped up to '15' and I stumbled.

People sprinted at this speed if they were preparing for sports or marathons, and that too, under supervision. He was essentially flying now, his feet were in the air. He would fall if I didn't stop him. And he was determined that he wasn't going to. What was he trying to achieve? One minute passed. Thirty more seconds passed. Heads whipped to watch him.

That's it.

I pulled his emergency key by reaching my hand over and stepped down out of my own treadmill. His body jerked and he stumbled back. I was ready to grab him, and I did. Then something happened that I didn't anticipate. His knees bucked and he turned, circling his arms around my neck. I wasn't ready yet to put my defenses completely, so when I gripped his waist, trying to pull him back up, he set his cheek on my shoulder and turned his grip tighter. "Jungkook?" I got scared for a moment, thinking he was blacking out, and feeling that I had to take him to the emergency room. "Hey, Jungkook!" I yelled out loud over the gym music.

His legs were shaky and his breath was coming in short puffs as his chest wheezed. He was trying to speak, but his lungs were prohibiting him, wanting to desperately suck oxygen through his mouth. I understood that. I let him cling to me. For a moment, I wanted to ask the trainer's help, who had appeared along with many others at the spectacle we'd created, but then I knew Taehyung would trust him with me more than anyone else, so I kept holding him.

"Hyung," he said after a few moments, his breaths still choppy.

"You are okay, Jungkook. Breathe." I slowly started sliding down on the ground. His body followed and I pulled his legs straight, quickly massaging them to soothe his blood circulation. I knew I didn't want to become a doctor, but being able to help people in a way that relieved their pain brought me a sense of satisfaction like nothing else.

He closed his eyes and his chest bobbed at a normal breath rate per minute, which I counted. That was when I pulled away, my back hitting the wall as I let myself lean on it. "What were you thinking?" My voice had a cutting edge now that I had assured myself that he was going to be okay.

"How else would I get you to talk to me? It seems like you dislike me so much that you turn the other way when you see me coming," he sat straight, supporting his back against a pillar, his eyes filled with emotions so strong that I didn't like them. I didn't like that I affected him this much. I didn't like that he was stupid enough to risk his health to get my attention. I didn't like that he was stringing Taehyung along when he was definitely not into him, and I didn't like to be the cause of anyone's pain. "Are you still briny about what I said in the beginning?"

"I am not. And we shouldn't be talking about it." I stood up quickly, dusting off my knees.

"Why?" He squirmed to get up as I reached over to the treadmill to collect his stuff.

"Stay down," I barked the order. "You are quite an idiot."

"Why, Hyung? Why shouldn't we be talking about it?" He soldiered on.

Because I have a fricking girlfriend. Because you know that Taehyung is endeavoring so hard for you. "Because it doesn't matter to me, Jungkook," I said, point-blank. "I have forgotten about it only because of Tae. And you should know that whatever you are doing here... It is making me uncomfortable."

He scoffed, his head turned the other way before hanging down. He didn't say anything, but his fists tightened. I was standing there, breathing heavily when he slowly lifted from the floor. "Stop acting like we are committing a crime. Stop running away from me like a coward. I am nothing to you, right? So why do I get your special treatment of being ignored? Stop acting as you do around me and I promise I'll not repeat anything like today."

I was flabbergasted at his confidence, his attitude, and his disrespectful tone as if he was speaking to someone his age or younger. What made it worse was that he said it all in Korean, which had much more impact on me than I'd have liked.

He was right. Why give him special treatment when he wasn't anyone special? I'd be lying if I said he didn't affect me. Knowing that he found me attractive was constantly running through my mind every time he was in my vision. Every time he chanced a peek at me, it boggled my mind to think what must he be thinking about me in his trance.

The same gender's fixation on me never bothered me until now. There is something about me that men find attractive, I've made peace with it. But when Jungkook looked at me, it wasn't a fleeting gaze, it was dangerous as if he wanted to drown and never come out, and it terrified me.

But he was right. I could act like it didn't affect me at all. I could put on a show. I nodded. "You are right." Patting a hand on his back didn't feel right, as if my lips were disconnected from the words. I felt his tensed muscles. "If you need my help with the study, let me know." I placed his sipper and the towel in his hand and walked out of the equipment room.

I didn't think I could carry on, so I beelined to the exit and found Tae right outside. "Jungkook's in." I winked at him, but it felt wrong. I wasn't going to share our earlier conversation with him, and hiding things from my friend only cemented the fact that I was deceiving my friend in a way.

I found Rose coming out of her swimming club. She smiled at me, about to say something when I lurked at her to kiss her. I wanted to channel all the anger into something, and this outlet was much better than any. "Someone might see us." She pushed me back, her eyes shocked as though she never expected such an action from me.

"Come with me," I grabbed her palm and we walked all the way to my dorm.

People watched and looked away as we surpassed them. I always preferred to have our private moments outside the campus. I didn't want any bastard to see her and have thoughts about her. I was possessive that way. That was why our group was planning to move out of campus and rent our own apartments nearby. Nonetheless, I didn't pay heed today. She was turned on by my lack of discipline and I made good on it the moment we closed the door behind us.

I had to keep her mouth shut to let her voice from getting out. It was the first time that someone else's voice and face crossed my mind multiple times as I climaxed over and over again.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾
4 Mar, 2023