When It Comes To You |j.k

20: 坦白

"Jungkook."

He's been ignoring me all day. Today all he does is pop his cheeks and daze out. Just like he promised, he took me to my shift, and the manager was kind enough to keep me on the counter. I'm now sitting at Jungkook's table, trying to gain his attention.

"Jungkook." I lightly poke his cheek, and his eyes jolt to mine. His face doesn't light up like it usually does when I call his name.

Something's bothering him.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, why?"

"Because you don't look okay." I lift myself up from the chair and he does the same after me. We head out to the leave the café and he puts my arm over his shoulder and carried me out the door. All Eunji got was detention but I'm the one that has to deal with a sprained leg and a bruised body.

"I'll get an uber." He sets me down on the bench and grabs out his phone.

"Aren't your parents in town?" They were arguing at home just last night. He nods at my question. I'd guess that'd also mean that their driver is too, but instead of calling him he's getting an uber. Why?

"Shouldn't you just call your driver? Wouldn't that save more money?"

"I'd rather not."

"Hey," I reach for his arm and attempt to pull him down to the bench with me, but he doesn't budge.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He hisses, stuffing his phone back in his pocket and finally sitting down next to me.

I don't like this side of him.

"It's not nothing, what is it?"

"Stay out of it, it's none of your business."

"Why are you talking to me like this?"

Like a child, my eyes get watery over his cold response. He turns his head to look at me after hearing my voice crack and his hardened face finally softens.

"I'm sorry. I'm being an ass. It's just..family stuff. I don't even know if I should call it a family. It's just..problems with my parents." He waves it off as if it's nothing, but it only starts to worry me further.

"How long till the uber arrives?"

"Around five minutes."

"Well then you've got five minutes to explain to me why you're so down and why you've been ignoring me all day."

"Aera-"

"Please tell me. I want to know. Is this about last night?"

He stares at his shoes and quietly replied, "Of course."

"That's okay, I'm sure a little argument won't break your family. Just go home and try to sort things out with them peacefully-"

"That's the last thing on my mind, Aera."

Oh?

"I'm worried about us, about you. My parents are going to tear us apart."

"We don't have to let them."

"You think we can? They'll hurt you before they hurt me, Aera. You're going to get hurt the longer you stay with me."

"No need to be so dramatic, Jungkook." I chuckle, trying to loosen up the atmosphere-and which I fail.

"I'm not. You know who my parents are, they can do whatever they want, and they will."

I laugh, "What could they possibly do to me?"

"Anything. They know about your parents, they know about the illegal things that you've done to be where you are now. They can get you out of school and take you and your sister out of your apartment. They're going to hurt you, Aera, I mean it."

"So what is it," I chest tightens. "You want me to break up with you?"

Please say no, say that you'll protect me from your parents, that you'll keep me safe in your arms, that you'll never let go.

"...maybe."

No.

"If you want to break up I won't stop you from leaving me, in fact I'd expect you to."

"Protect me."

"That's what I'm trying to do."

"Breaking up with me won't, it'll just make us miserable. Protect me from your parents, by staying with me."

"If I had the power to then I wouldn't be thinking about breaking up with you."

"Can we not talk about it now? Your parents haven't done anything yet, maybe we're too quick to judge."

"Aera-"

I don't want to talk about this anymore.

I hold his cheek in my palm and pull him towards me for a kiss. He immediately takes it. His angel lips press against mine and his hand on my waist sends electric waves under my skin. His lips are plump and soft, but his teeth rake my bottom lip and I shudder. My hand slides up his chest and I feel his heart beating just as fast as mine. I pull myself away from him and he breathes heavily.

"Jungkook," I mumble, staring at his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"Don't say that again."

"Why not?"

Is he rejecting my love?

"You'll regret it, it'll come back around to hurt you."

"No it won't."

He was right, I should've listened.

He sighs, then cuts his gaze to the car stopping before us. He studied the licence plate and it seemed like he recognized it. Jungkook pulled me to my feet and hooked his arm around my waist and supported me until I made it safely into the car.

If only I let go of him on this day when he suggested me to. Because it was when I grew to love him too much, that I learned there was no going back.