Lifetime

Doublemint

Jungkook nudged his head toward the inside of the apartment, my eyes drawn to the way the muscles in his back moved. He walked down the hallway to the last room, kicking the door open with his bare foot.

"The bathroom is next to your room." He set my bags on the floor while I took a quick glance around the room. It was bare of decoration but fully furnished, the blinds open so that the sun shined through too brightly.

I moved to my carry-on bag, retrieving the pack of essential products I knew I would need upon landing and tugged the elastic from my hair, combing my fingers through the ends.

"Sorry if I seemed rude earlier. The trip was really long and I feel a bit discombobulated being in a different time zone. I don't even think I got anyone else's name." I explained.

"It's okay, get settled in. Taehyung ran out to get some fresh ingredients for dinner and will be back soon. We can do proper introductions later." He assured me, tapping on the door with his knuckles before disappearing back down the hallway.

Every piece of furniture was smaller than I was used to, my wide hips brushing against the shower curtain as it fell into place. The water rose just over being lukewarm, but it could have been freezing cold as long as it washed away the sticky feeling on my skin.

Wrapped in the one towel I brought along I snuck back to my bedroom, closing the blinds and sitting on the edge of the bed with little energy left to dress. When my eyes were too heavy to ignore I willed myself to my suitcase, pulling on a vintage t-shirt of my moms and underwear. I'd barely spread my favorite blanket over the bare mattress before my head hit the flat, firm surface and my eyes closed in exhaustion.

I woke to a thick, herby scent, the clinking of pots, and a soft, jazzy melody. A different light shined through the tiny spaces between the blinds, the full moon out and casting a dim glow into my room. My body was sore and my hair still a tangled mess since I hadn't brushed through it after showering. After rubbing my eyes and blinking enough that I was fully back from sleep, I slipped into a pair of leggings, cringing at the knots that I brushed through until my hair was detangled and I could pull it into a bun.

On my walk back down the hallway I was more observant, a bedroom with an open door and messy bed across from mine, a narrower door that couldn't be more than a linen closet next to it. The left side opened into the living area and kitchen while the right extended into a gallery of art, some canvases hung and completed while others rested partially finished against the wall.

"Do you drink? I bought a Castillo di Neive Barbaresco for your welcome." Taehyung appeared at my right, holding a bottle of wine in his palm and balancing a burgundy glass between his fingers.

"I do, but I don't know much else about what you said." I affirmed, taken by his sharp jaw and mischievous, boxy smile as he poured the glass just below the halfway point. Over my shoulder I could see Jungkook, a fruit printed kitchen towel draped over one shoulder as he stirred a pot on the stove. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself. I didn't even get Jungkooks' girlfriend's name." I stumbled over my last comment, still unsure about the relationships of the three people I'd met in my new home.

Taehyung laughed, walking next to me to the kitchen. He pulled out a barstool from under the island where Jungkook was chopping tomatoes, holding on to the back while I took a seat.

"Jungkook did you hear? Seline asked about your girlfriend's name." Taehyung giggled, pulling up his own chair next to me, so close that our legs were touching.

"She's not my girlfriend." Jungkook barely looked up from the cutting board, turning around to slide the vegetables into a pan.

Taehyung shifted his body even closer to me, but where I may have backed away at the immediate physical closeness of others, I felt more at ease with every touch of his arm against mine.