GOLDEN | JJK

68 days

Jungkook has always loved waking up in the morning when he's overseas for work. It seems counterintuitive, considering touring overseas requires a lot of performing and that Jungkook used to enjoy partying late into the night back before TPWSNBN. A normal person would dread having to wake up in a bed that isn't their own and pack up all their belongings to embark on another flight.

But, not Jungkook. To him, the light streaming in through the fancy hotel windows brings a start of a new day, a new adventure in a foreign place. The sun illuminates the pristine white sheets and fluffy white comforter that Jungkook wants to wrap himself in forever. No matter how many times he travels to a country, he feels like the little sixteen year old he once was setting out on his first international tour. He welcomes the nostalgia that washes over him with those thoughts of his emo phase and his fear of flying that disappeared within the first couple trips.

New York City is always one of his favorites to wake up in. He's no stranger to city life now that he has lived in Seoul for the past few years, but something about New York just feels different. It doesn't matter how late Jungkook stays up or how early he wakes--the city is always overflowing with life, bursting at the seams with it. People are always doing something, and, so is Jungkook. He has become so accustomed to his hectic schedule that he feels like he and New Yorkers share some common ground. Maybe that's why he likes the atmosphere here so much.

This morning, when Jungkook wakes up, he feels the same sense of contentment that he always does when he wakes up abroad. But, as soon as he takes in his surroundings, last night rushes back to him. He remembers the darkness, lavender essential oils filling his nose and tainting his dreams. He remembers a warm body that fits so perfectly imperfectly with his own, a tangle of limbs and strings of fate, at least he likes to think. And he remembers a soft, smooth voice, one that spoke words full of potential and hope and something along the lines of love.

Jungkook comes to his senses enough to realize that source of heat is not warming him to the core anymore, and his groggy hands fumble around the bed in search. He only finds fistfuls of sheets. He rubs his eyes a bit before looking properly, and, surely enough, Iris is gone. She traipsed away silently while he was sleeping, and as much as he loves waking up abroad, he still frowns. The only thing that could make mornings overseas better is waking up with her pressed to him in all the right places.

That is Iris's way, though, he admits begrudgingly. Transient and fleeting, so close but so far, lingering even in her absence. There, just long enough that he'll miss her when she's gone, but never long enough for Jungkook's liking.

Huh. Wait a second. That sounds like a good concept for a song.

Jungkook sighs and throws his legs over the side of the bed, rubs his eyes. Did last night even happen? Or is he just so touch-starved that he dreamt Iris slipping between his sheets? He wouldn't be surprised if he had, considering Iris tends to preoccupy his dreams anyway. 

"Jesus, I'm such a creep." He mutters aloud to himself as that last thought crosses his mind, his voice hoarse with the remnants of sleep. Like that, he forces himself to his feet and begins to collect his belongings. He packs his life into two suitcases, runs a comb through his hair and brushes his teeth, throws on a big, comfy black ensemble and leaves his hotel room for good. When he reaches the ground floor of the hotel, he finds his entourage waiting for him.

"Good, you're early." Namjoon says to him with a glance down at his watch. Jungkook raises an eyebrow and takes a peek at his own Rolex. 

"It's 9:30, that's when you told me to be here." He counters, but Namjoon just gives him a knowing smile. 

"I always tell you to arrive half an hour before you need to be here. Just so that in the case that you're running late--"

"I'm on time anyway." Jungkook finishes for him, offering his manager a grateful smile. The dimpled man just winks in response. "I seriously don't know how I'd function without you, hyung."