𝗦𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺 ||𝐉𝐉𝐊||

44

JK POV~

I stepped into her house quietly, gently placing her bag on the nearby table. The silence felt heavy, like the air itself was carrying her stress. I turned to her, noticing how exhausted her eyes looked, how her shoulders sagged beneath the weight of everything she was trying to carry alone.

"You should go freshen up" I said softly, offering a small smile. "I'll wait here and then I'll leave after you're settled, okay?"

But before I could move away.her voice stopped me.

"Jungkook… could you stay with me? Please? Just for today." Her eyes searched mine quietly begging. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

For a moment I just stood there watching her. There was a fragility in her voice I hadn't heard before a vulnerability that made my heart clench. I gave her a gentle nod smiling slightly to reassure her.

"Okay. Don't worry. Go take a bath and relax a little, hmm? I'll cook something for us in the meantime."

She nodded slowly and walked to her room, her steps tired, like she still didn't feel safe even in her own home.

Once she was gone I made my way to the kitchen. I didn't know what exactly she liked to eat when she was feeling low, but I figured something warm and simple would help. So, I prepared a basic meal ramyeon, some side dishes I found in the fridge. I set the table and left everything warm and ready.

When she came out of her room, hair slightly damp, wearing a simple and comfortable shirt, I noticed how distracted she looked like her mind was still at morning incident.

"Here," I said gently pulling out the chair for her. "You should eat something. I'll just take a quick shower and join you okay?"

She gave me a small nod but didn't touch the food.

When I returned from the shower, towel around my neck. I paused at the sight in front of me. She was sitting still, staring down at her bowl. The food untouched.

"You didn't eat." I asked coming closer.

"I was waiting for you" she said quietly, not meeting my eyes.

I sat down across from her and offered a reassuring smile. "You don't have to wait for me, you know. But let's eat now. Even just a few bites. You need the energy."

We ate together or at least I did. She mostly pushed her food around with her chopsticks. I tried not to stare too much, but it hurt watching her like that. So lost in thought. So burdened.

"Y/N," I said after a moment, "you should really try to eat. I know your mind is all over the place, but starving yourself won't help. I promise you everything will be okay. I'm here."

She looked up at me then, just briefly. But her eyes said a lot more than her lips ever could. After dinner I insisted on doing the dishes.

"You've done enough" she said softly."I don't mind," I replied rolling up my sleeves. "You cooked for me plenty of times back then. Let me do this."

But of course she still helped. When we were done I turned to her and said, "Now go rest. We'll figure everything out tomorrow."

She hesitated near the hallway, as if she wanted to say something else. Then she turned her voice quiet.

"You said we should face our fears… right?" I nodded. "Yeah. I believe that. But safety always comes first. Why?" Her gaze shifted, her expression unreadable. I knew she was thinking something. Something important. But she just shook her head.

"y/N" I said walking to her. I took her hand gently and led her to the bed making her sit down. Then I knelt in front of her and looked up into her eyes. "Whatever you're thinking… whatever you're afraid of just know I'm here, okay? If Noah really is behind all this, I promise you he won't get away with it. We'll get to the bottom of it. Together."