For The Reason That

Chapter Nine

"Come on, come on," Seokjin whispers under his breath as the two tops continue to spin. Jungkook cheers as his spinning top hit Seokjin's, making it slow down. Seokjin ignores him, staring intently at his toy and praying for it to win.

"Ah yeah!" Jungkook throws his arms in the air cheering as Seokjin's spinning top comes to a stop, falling helplessly to the ground. The people around them who were watching clap their hands and applaud Jungkook.

Seokjin goes up to Jungkook. "What is it that you wish from me?" Seokjin asks, wanting to get this over with.

Jungkook squints his eyes, thinking hard. He shrugs, "I haven't decided. Once I do, I'll tell you." The two had challenged each other with a game of spinning tops. Whoever wins, will get a wish granted from the other.

Seokjin's flabbergasted as Jungkook walks away. He grabs Jungkook's sleeve. "Just tell me now. I don't want to be indebted to you," Seokjin announces to Jungkook.

"No can do," Jungkook pulls his sleeve from Seokjin's grip. "Looks like you owe me something," he grins devilishly. He turns his back to Seokjin, continuing forward. Seokjin sighs, regretting his agreement to this deal.

They weave through the bustling marketplace, Jungkook leading the way. "Do you draw often?" Seokjin asks as they continue walking. He recalls Jungkook's small drawing of a tiger lily. Though seeming only like a doodle, it held quite a resemblance to the real flower.

"Here and there," Jungkook says causally. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering," Seokjin says.

"Not because of the flower I drew on the note?" Jungkook asks with a light smile on his lips.

"N-not everything is about you," Seokjin blubbers, a not very princely thing to do. Seokjin doesn't know why he keeps accompanying Jungkook when all he does is tease and bicker with Seokjin.

Jungkook comes to a stop in front of a booth, taking Seokjin's left hand in his. "Jeon, what are you..." Seokjin's voice trails off as Jungkook takes a paintbrush and dips it into white paint.

He brings the paintbrush to Seokjin's hand. Seokjin tries to pull his hand away but Jungkook stops him, "Stay still." He rests Seokjin's hand on the counter so that his fingers were facing up. Then he pushes Seokjin's sleeve back to reveal his forearm. In the middle of his forearm, the paintbrush touches Seokjin's skin.

Reluctantly, Seokjin stays still. He watches as Jungkook starts drawing on him. "You don't need to worry about people seeing it since your sleeve will cover it anyway," Jungkook tells him, eyes trained on the brush.

So far all that is on his arm is a sort of oval shape with flowing lines to accompany it. "What is it?" Seokjin asks, not able to guess the odd drawing.

"Patience, Jin," Jungkook says, his eyes taking a break from the drawing and meeting Seokjin's, "I'm fast but all good things need time." The words ring in Seokjin's ears as Jungkook focuses on drawing again.

"What if it doesn't turn out good?" Seokjin mumbles to himself but Jungkook hears it. Seokjin gasps as Jungkook wipes paint onto his face with the paintbrush. "Jeon!" Seokjin yells in a hushed whisper, touching where the paint is.

Jungkook snickers, "Just sit still and be quiet for a bit. You do that a lot back at the palace."

Seokjin reddens at his statement, feeling shame. In the corner of his eyes, he notices a paintbrush sitting next to a jar of black paint. He grabs the paintbrush and dips it into the paint, making sure to take a big glob with him as he paints Jungkook's face.

"Jin!" Jungkook shoos his hand away, a black hole on his cheek.

Seokjin sets the brush down, a giggle escaping his lips. "Now, we're equal," he beams. The irritation on Jungkook's face goes away as fast as it came and his head drops back down to the drawing. Seokjin raises a brow, surprised he didn't throw a snarky remark back.