form follows heart /jungri

xv. back hugs and threats

a/n: y'all istg I meant to finish this chap weeks ago but then classes started and I had to move apts and then life happened and stuff just got so crazy that I lit didn't get to touch this chap until a few days ago and ngl don't even love it but had to get it out 😭 am determined to finish this tho so stay until the end!!

thanks for patience and reading and commenting!! 💕💕

For the sixth time this week, Jungkook circled his arms around Yerim's torso.

The first time it happened, she almost dropped her container of leftovers. They hadn't officially announced their tentative relationship to anyone else in the company (except for Jimin and Irene), but it was still obvious. He was constantly beaming at her and bending too far into her space for it to be labeled work or friend appropriate. Despite all that, though, she had let him follow her to her car. She was even normal when she opened the door to her apartment and told him to get comfortable.

Yet, the moment his arms wrapped around her, his front pressed to her back, and his face dipped to the crook of her neck, her heart rate picked up. This was real. She had confessed her feelings, and they were actually going to try it. As she stared at her leftovers, resisting the urge to lean into his touch, she felt a mixture of elation and dread.

The next two weeks, the gesture became more familiar than strange. And as they slowly learned each other's habits, a routine developed. Jungkook, who was surprisingly good at cooking, handled dinner, while Yerim washed the dishes and wiped the table. On some days, after dinner, while Yerim visited her mom, Jungkook went to the gym. Other days, he would stay up to handle calls and finish any leftover work, all byproducts of being in such a high position. By the end of the night, they would collapse on the couch, each just as exhausted as the other. Tired as they were, though, they always made time for each other, which Yerim thought was a miracle.

Jungkook was also true to his words. He was incapable of keeping his hands off of her, not that she minded much. When they left the company, his hand would graze her lower back. When they were in line for coffee, he would lean into her embrace, so that their shoulders bumped and aligned. When they were having lunch with her mom and friends, one pinky would always, always be hooked around her's, a secret they shared under the table. There were bold, daring touches, and there were also subtle touches, ones that left lingering feelings dancing on their skins.

Yerim loved it, however reluctant she was in the beginning, but she couldn't curb the lingering fear that this was only temporary. Something would happen to rip this happy dream apart. Something always happened. The thought was fleeting, though, disappearing the moment he wrapped his arms around her.

Now, he was also nibbling her earlobe, completely distracting her from her bowl of pasta.

She tilted her head and at the same time said, "I need to eat."

"Mhmm."

Yerim fought the grin forming on her face. For a long time, she had only let herself indulge in a few moments of happiness, the guilt that usually followed prompting her to switch gears immediately. Nowadays, it felt more like happiness was the air surrounding her, instead of an electric current she could switch on and off. "I'm hungry," she protested with no conviction.

Jungkook moved down her neck. "I'm also hungry."

She suppressed a gasp at the feel of his teeth scraping against her skin. "We should eat."

"I am eating," he corrected before biting down softly.

Yerim was surprised she didn't drop her pasta.

Later that night, as Jungkook called his parents, Yerim sat on the couch and scrolled through her emails. She knew that accessing and evaluating a portfolio wasn't an easy task - she had done thousands and none of them went by quicker than the others - but she was still nervous that she hadn't received anything. After a few minutes, she refreshed the app. Still nothing. Just the sound of Jungkook's short and chipped words floating through space.