The Lonely Prince (BTS Jungkook)

I Was Panicking.

We begin to make our way to the second floor, climbing up clay stairs. The floors are surprisingly empty with not much décor. Our room has a carved 1 on the door, and Jungkook pushes it open.

The first thing I notice is the bed. Large enough for two people with fiery red sheets and matching pillows. There's an open window, allowing music from down the street drift in, along with a few warm breezes. One small dresser sat beside the bed, big enough to put some clothing in. Besides the multiple throw rugs once again, it was empty.

Jungkook's saddlebag that he brought in without me noticing gets tossed on the bed, and I sit my wicker basket on the small dresser. My broom gets left leaning against the wall, and I finally spin around to see him.

"I'm going to the town center to find us something to eat." He rummages through the bag, pulling out a small coin purse. "I'll see if they have anything worthwhile."

Before I can tell him that I'm going to the hot spring, he takes off out the door. My hand is still raised where I was going to get his attention, and I let it flop down to my side, exhaling an exasperated sigh.

The hot spring is more than anything I imagined, so it takes me no time to wonder why people opt to stay in the Fire Kingdom. The water is almost boiling, it immediately relaxing my muscles. I'm the only one in the area, so I fully let myself relax and stretch out.

The hot spring consists of all natural white rock pools, with dim candlelight to truly let the relaxation soak in. I sit wearing nothing but a towel around my top half as I lean back into the rocky pool wall behind me. Somewhere along the way, my mind drifts to Jungkook.

Do I like him? Probably not. In fact, I don't think I've ever really truly liked a boy. Maybe I don't even know what it feels like to like someone romantically. Without picking my emotions apart too much, I come to the conclusion that he may be handsome, and he may say some smooth princely lines, but I do not like him. At least like that.

He's made a good travel partner so far, but we bicker and argue more than anything. I guarantee that when we find all the ingredients and I make the potion, he'll leave. That's all this is, anyways. Business.

I've almost got him completely out of my head when I hear a set of footsteps patter down the stairway. Thinking it's the lady who was working at the counter, I turn to look at the person. Boy, was I wrong.

Jungkook comes walking down the stairs, wearing nothing but a loose red towel hanging from his waist. He holds it in place with one hand, the other ruffling his black hair. It's out of its usual tight bun, and I can see it trail down his neck, stopping right before it gets to the top of his shoulder.

Sharp collar bones, abs that looked like they were carved from stone, and muscular thighs adorn his body. Not to mention his biceps that looked bigger than my own head. Multiple battle scars decorate him even more, and my eyes linger on the newest one from the fallen tree. My gaze stays there a bit longer than meaning to, noticing the slight patch of hair trailing down under the towel.

Holy shit.

I whirl my head back around, sloshing the water that's now losing its heat. It's just a business deal. I'm only with him for the potion. I do not like him. I repeat the last sentence over and over in my mind.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were here."

His smooth voice makes me jump, and I remember not to turn back around from fear of him accidentally seeing me naked.

"Don't worry, I wont look." He states, making the butterflies begin to flare up once more. What the heck is wrong with me? The comment makes my face flush once more, and I'm at a loss of words.

I hear the water in the pool farthest from me slosh around, and I'm relieved that he's far enough to not see anything. Suddenly I want to leave, my nerves getting excited.

"The lady upstairs brought us come clothes. I'm glad they had something comfortable for us to wear." The water moves around some more, and he continues talking. "I found some awesome steaks at the market. They're on sticks with vegetables. I hope that's fine with you."

"Sounds yummy." I nod. "If they're anything like this hot spring, then I'm sure they're amazing."

"This spring is crazy, isn't it?" He has a smile in his voice. "Its so nice to relax. Especially after my near-death experience."

I can't stop myself from chuckling.

"Oh, so it's funny, is it?" He speaks up. "I vaguely remember someone crying over me."

I stop my giggles. "I was panicking. Don't think anything of it."

"I'm still waiting on my thank you." He teases, the comment making me spin around to face him. His back is away from me, and I can barely make him out in the dim light.

"Thank you?" I question. "What about my thank you? Without me, your body would still be laying there in the forest."

He lets out a deep laugh, and I watch his back muscles twitch and move. "It's not my fault if you're incredibly unobservant. I mean, who doesn't see a whole tree branch falling?"

"Well," I huff, standing and grabbing the red robe next to the pool. I tug it on, stepping out of the water completely and turning to him. "This unobservant girl is going to her room. The rude prince can stay here by himself."

I sit on the bed in my new clothes, gnawing on the beef skewers he got us. The lady brought back a pair of red dyed overalls, these being like my old ones all except that these were shorter on the bottom, coming up above my knees.

I chomp on the meat when I see the door to the room open, and Jungkook walks inside. He's back in some regular clothes, thank goodness, because I'm not sure I could handle seeing him shirtless this close.

"Are they good?" He asks, plopping down on the bed opposite of me and picking up a skewer for himself.

He's ignoring our previous mini argument, for which I'm kind of glad. "Yeah. The meat is tender, and the onions and peppers really top it off."

"Nice." He gives a one-word answer, biting into the meat himself.

"I'll sleep on the floor." He blurts in between a bite. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

I'm grateful he's brought up the sleeping arrangements, since I didn't want to tell him that it would be weird to sleep in the same bed together. I mean, we've only known each other for a couple of days. It would be weird, right?

Nevertheless, when we both finish eating, the lamps in the room are dimmed, the window still open for the warm breeze to drift in, and I'm in the small bed by myself while the prince lies on the clay floor.

I feel guilty that he's laying there on the hard ground, but this was his idea.

He's got the multiple throw rugs underneath him for padding, and I even gave him an extra pillow and a blanket to use.

We lie there in an uncomfortable silence; the only thing being heard was our breathing and the festival happening down the road. 

***