Strawberry Wine

twenty

It was close to midnight when they made it back to Chae Young's flat. They had decided that Jung Kook returning to his dorm would be too risky.

"What about the others?" Chae Young had asked. She was thinking of Lisa. The other two were boys but Lisa would be terrified.

"They knew the risk," said Jung Kook matter-of-factly. "Besides, this isn't their first time."

Chae Young nodded.

Ji Rin had already gone to sleep by the looks of it. The bedroom door was closed, and the lights were off inside. Chae Young decided not to disturb her.

"Hungry?" Chae Young asked.

"Not really," he said, but she threw a pack of chocolate chip cookies onto his lap.

She tiptoed into the bedroom and groped her way to the cupboard where they kept extra futons and pillows. Ji Rin stirred in her sleep but did not wake. Managing to grab some from the light filtering in through the agape door, she tiptoed out again.

Jung Kook was halfway through a cookie when she emerged. He flashed her a sheepish smile and took another bite. The sight of him, in flesh and blood, sitting on her floor made her heart felt so full that she thought she might cry.

"Oh, sorry, I'll help," he said standing up.

Chae Young realized that she had stood there for some good seconds simply looking at him.

They set his bed together and she was trying hard not to think of how she wanted to sleep next to him.

"Do you wanna wash up?" she asked, nodding to the bathroom.

He decided that he would. Chae Young knew that she also ought to get ready for bed but couldn't bring herself to walk away.

Jung Kook emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping wet and a towel slung across his neck. The sight of him doing something so intimate made her lips curl into a smile.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm just happy to see you," she said.

Reluctantly she stood up from his bed. "Alright then, sleep well," she wished him.

He did not respond.

She walked to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Not long after, the lights went off in Jung Kook's room.

***

Chae Young could not sleep. The events of the night combined with the thought of Jung Kook sleeping in the next room took sleep and dreams far away from her. After a good while of tossing and turning, she decided to tiptoe to the kitchen for a drink of water.

Halfway to the kitchen, she heard a shuffle and Jung Kook's voice quietly called out to her in the dark.

"Chae Young-ah? Can't sleep?"

"You're awake?"

"Yeah."

"I was thirsty."

"Ok."

"Aren't you tired?"

He sighed. "I am. But I can't sleep."

She moved closer to his bed. "What happened? Are you not comfortable?"

"No, no. Nothing like that."

She took another step closer. "Then? Do you wanna drink milk or something?" she teased.

She was sure he was grinning.

"Come here and talk to me for a while," he said, and shuffled in his bed.