Whiplash | jjk.

[46]: Fascination

It was lunch break at the office.

And while Hoseok usually went alone or simply posed the offer in passing to anyone who wanted to join, this time he approached Jungkook directly and asked him to come.

Able to sense the motive and suggestiveness in his partners voice, Jungkook happily agreed. They gathered the lunch orders from everyone, and left the office as just the two of them.

They walked together down the street, making their way to a lunch cafe only two blocks away.

The air was brisk and chilly, as they both strolled with their hands in their pockets. At the beginning, they were both silent and happy to just walk, until Hoseok inevitably spoke up.

"So, Kookie. Tell me about Y/N."

Jungkook's ears perk up in shock. He was not expecting Hoseok to mention something like that. "...What about her?"

Hoseok has a warm smile on his face as he looks at the concrete. "Well, we all saw the way you two acted towards each other last night, and I guess it caught us off guard. None of us knew about it before, but it's clear that there is something going on between you."

"Is it?" Yes.

Hoseok nods. Jungkook was glad somebody else had noticed. That meant that it wasn't just in his head.

He clears his throat. "Ah, well, honestly I have no idea what to say about that. I guess we were both pretty drunk last night, and weren't as careful as we should've been. But, we haven't really spoken about what's going on. Not clearly, at least."

"But you've addressed it? There is something?"

"In passing, yeah we spoke about it. But I personally think she's too hesitant to embrace it." He looks out at the road as he talks. "I get it. I really do. I was such an ass to her for so long, and she saw the ugliest parts of me. And yeah, of course I'm embarrassed about how I acted back then, because it's humiliating. Not just towards her, but to everyone. I was really going through it."

Jungkook loved Hoseok like an older brother, and he had since the first day he met him.

There was never any second-guessing his morality, or if Jungkook was safe to trust him. He just did. Hoseok's kindness and devoted loyalty was as obvious as a pride flag, and Jungkook never struggled to trust or confide in him. That's why it was easy for him to open up, even when the topic was so touchy.

"I'm just...into her. And it sucks that the past is still haunting me now, because all I want to do is get closer with her."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'm so fascinated by every move she makes. She's like a drug." He takes his hands out of his pockets to make hand gestures as he talks, thinking hard about every word. "It's like I can't get her out of my head."

"That's completely normal, Kookie. You shouldn't worry about that."

"I'm not worried, but I just feel...sad. Like the version of me who she got to know is so different to who I am now. And she's like her own prince in shining armour, so I can't just swoop in and win her over. She's always had to be her own hero, so that shit doesn't impress her. She has never been able to rely on anyone for anything before, and so she naturally has this resistance inside her towards me. She holds herself back from opening up, and I can't tell if it's just towards me, or everyone."

"Mm." Hoseok hums in gentle understanding. "Well my impression of Y/N is that she's naturally very reserved. I don't think she sees much safety in opening up to people, and after all the shit she told us last night, I get why."