This is How We Break | Jungkook

Part 7

The photoshoot went by smoothly, with Taehyung sending you photos throughout the day and giving you a play-by-play of the whole thing. Your eyes almost popped out of their sockets as you zoomed in, seeing Jungkook wear a familiar black jacket, the one you'd gotten him. You knew he went back to your apartment years ago to retrieve it, as your friends narrated, given that it's how Da-eun and Namjoon met.

"Nice jacket," you'd texted Jungkook after the shoot.

"They asked me to wear something nice and I always thought I looked good in this," he replied.

"You do. And not to inflate your ego but watch your clients increase once these photos are out."

He laughed then, as your text conversation went on, which had become a regular occurrence, but you also weren't wrong. The photoshoot and interview were indeed free marketing, as they were posted on social media and widely shared online.

It gave their company exposure, and you as well. With your name credited for the design, as Jungkook insisted, you received a few inquiries about your services, which you happily took on the side.

That only meant that both you and Jungkook became too busy to meet up again, although there was no agreement whatsoever about it. One of you would miss your friends' regular get-togethers, and it's two months after your last meeting when you see each other again at a fast food joint for breakfast, en route to a lake house in Gangwon.

Work and wedding planning had been stressing Namjoon out, and he'd insisted on having everyone take the quick hour drive to a place he'd discovered, perfect for relaxing with the lake and mountains as background. It quickly became an anticipated event, as it's the first time that both Namjoon's and Da-eun's friends would go together on a trip. Even Taehyung and Hoseok, who'd extended his stay, were invited.

"I've almost forgotten how hectic city life is back here," you mumble over your afternoon beer as you all settle in the outdoor area, waiting for the noodles and grilled pork that some of the guys are preparing for lunch. "My sister and I would go sailing or drive to the peninsula every weekend in Melbourne."

"Wow, that's the life," Da-eun says as she leans on Namjoon. "I was always jealous of your trips whenever we video called and you showed us where you were. Must've been really liberating, considering how stressful work was back here."

You recall how years ago, working at an advertising agency sucked the life out of you. You were always craving for a trip out of town and everyone in your life then was always too busy to indulge you, especially Jungkook. The times that you did get Jimin, Areum, and Yoongi to go on a trip with you, your then-boyfriend rarely made it.

"It was, and I enjoyed it very much," you reply. It came with a price, though, as every trip you took just made you think of Jungkook, even if you tried hard not to.

There was always scenery you wanted him to marvel at with you, a meal you wanted to share with him, and an activity you wanted both of you to do together. They were thoughts you kept in a nook in your heart, storing them there at the risk of you breaking at how much you missed him, wishing he was still part of your life. But as you'd convinced yourself, and as was proven, there was a reason you both had to say goodbye.

"I'm pretty sure this won't compare to there," Jungkook pipes in, and much as you'd like to disagree that it would be a battle, looking at him being snug in his maroon hoodie, gazing at you then back at the mountains, you don't want to argue. This is comfort you've missed dearly.

The day passes by slowly and quickly at the same time. You spend much of the afternoon fishing with Yoongi and Jin and riding the boat with Jungkook and Hoseok. The evening caps off with some karaoke in the living room, with most of your friends passing out from the alcohol and tiredness, leaving you and Jungkook to clean up the mess because as Yoongi exclaimed, he'd been so tired driving and cooking the whole day.