Empty Space | Jeon Jungkook

Part 09

**

You're already anticipating another appearance, as Jungkook knows your Tuesday shift and Jin said the two cops end theirs around lunchtime, hence the regular visits.

Your back is turned to the door as you're serving a customer who's engaging you in conversation. You don't hear the bell ring and you turn to serve a table by the door when you crash into a brick wall, which you realize is actually someone's chest because you feel a hot breath glaze over your forehead.

And something wet.

You look down at the pitcher of water that's spilled on the man's clothes then you look up to say your apologies because this is an absolute no-no in this profession but of course, it just had to be him.

"I, uhm... I'm sorry, I'll just..." You stutter and try to turn but a chair is blocking your left and he encompasses the area to your right and he isn't budging.

"Do you mind?" You ask, your eyes focused on the floor.

You see his feet make way. You walk towards the counter to retrieve some napkins then walk back to him, suddenly aware that you can't bitch around because you just spilled water on a customer and while you don't think it's anyone's fault - shit just happens - you apologize anyway. Other people are looking at you and you can't break.

You hand him the napkin, teeth biting your lower lip and you finally look at him.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

He takes them and a small smile forms on his lips; his month is already made, he thinks.

"Don't worry about it, I should've been more careful."

He proceeds to wipe the mark on his button-down shirt and honestly, you don't even know what that could do. But you're standing there and looking at him, suddenly lost in the little action he's doing of wiping water off of him and your eyes trail his fingers, then his forearms, then the scrunch on eyebrows and his...

You snap yourself out of the daze you find yourself in. You can't fall into this. This is how it started the first time - him doing something mundane and you thinking it's the most spectacular, attractive thing in the world.

You bow at Taehyung, who found the entire exchange amusing and oddly satisfying, considering that he knows how his partner has been coming back here to try to talk to you.

"The usual?" You ask Taehyung with the smile that you recover.

"The usual," he replies with his signature smile.

He turns to Jungkook and offers his partner the jacket on his back to cover the water mark, which the man in question takes - arms spread out to try to fit into the piece of clothing that's probably a half size smaller. At that moment, your brain decides to glance at him and of course you see his shirt buttons fight for their lives and you gulp loudly. Your eyes widen in fear that they might have heard you.

They walk towards you and you offer their drinks. Just as Jungkook is about to say more, you bow at them again then excuse yourself for another break. He groans at your absence and knows he's got to be more intentional.

How he constantly blanks out and stutters in front you is a mystery to Taehyung. He knows his partner to be firm, deliberate, calm yet impassive. This Jungkook doesn't seem like that rookie cop who busted drug dealers from years back; but this Jungkook has always been different when it came to you.

Meeting you had been calculated - befriend the best friend, "accidentally" run into her after researching everything, seem uninterested when with her friends. But spending time with you - from movie and game weekends, convenience store and market runs, to the nights you'd laid naked together, talked about your dreams, and woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes - those were real.

His laughter with you, the blush on his cheeks, the way his heart skipped a beat whenever you mindlessly took his hand - those weren't calculated. He wasn't undercover police officer Jeon Jungkook then. He was simply Jungkook, bright-eyed man who had fallen for the woman with golden eyes and heart-shaped lips, the woman who'd lost her family so she treated everyone close to her like her own, who handled her pains with such grace, no one would think she was hurting in the first place.

He couldn't tell you all this, though, afraid it would break his heart even more, the same way it would break yours. That fateful day, he delivered his scripted speech, led you to the police car and into the station, gave his statement, then asked for a transfer.

He walked away without saying goodbye; he had to, but you didn't know that. He was trying to protect you, but he can't blame you if you won't listen, if you even look at him.

He betrayed you in the name of duty, and broke his heart in the process. The only way he could protect you was to break yours even more.

**