iris . vkook

seventy four

칠십 오

Jay walked into the hotel room, a bag of food from the nearest convenience store in his hand. Bora was sat on the chair, unpacking all her makeup and setting her outfits out.

"Are you sure he won't be angry?" Jay asked the man on the other side of the phone, a former enemy, Ten.

"He's either gonna cry or get super pissed, the kid's unpredictable. I thought that you, of all people, would know." Ten murmured. He was currently in the mansion where the ball would take place: Taeyong, Taehyung and Boss telling everybody their places and what to do, how to act. Despite being scolded by his soulmate a minute prior, he continued to snack on the bits of food that were being laid out. 

"So, he still thinks I'm dead, right?" Jay questioned.

"Yup." Ten said through some crisps, "he has literally no idea that the corpse in the coffin wasn't you. Who was that, whilst were on the topic?"

"Dunno." Jay shrugged, though Ten couldn't see, "some random Vietnamese tourist."

Ten snickered, fist-bumping the air (not in a subtle way, earning him weird looks), because he'd been right. 

"How has my bunny been, is he okay?" Jay asked, worried, his faux parental instincts kicking in.

"Yeah, he's been great. Moved up in his Taekwondo ranking. His mother died, so he was upset for Jeong-ja. Met his soulmate. Completed so many fucking missions, the kid is immortal, he's amazing." Ten said in awe, "it's like some shit from Mortal Kombat."

Jay smiled, pleased Jeongguk had been doing well. The pang in his heart diffused and filled with love, delighted that he hadn't gone off the rails.

"He met his soulmate? And moved up in Taekwondo?" Jay grinned, "I'm so fucking proud of him."

"Pft, too right." Ten snorted, "his soulmate is so sweet. Jeon is full on whipped, like, wrapped around Kim's finger."

"Mhm, Boss mentioned Kim. Apparently Bunny had to kill him?"

"Yeah, Jeon had the intention to, but then started taking him out on dates and shit. Kim fell in love with him before he even knew they were soulmates." Ten replied, unconsciously smiling as he heard Taehyung on the phone to Jeongguk, cheeks flared pink, wide smile and tiny giggles tumbling out of his mouth.

He could almost, if he tried hard enough, imagine Jeongguk's squeaky laugh. Nothing made Ten laugh more, especially when Jeongguk began choking on his own laughter, then laughing silently. Ten was pretty sure that he'd nearly pissed himself when Jeongguk once full-on snorted during a fit of laughter - Taeyong literally cracked a rib.

"Pft, trust my Bunny to do so. How is Kim? Does he get along with everyone?"

Ten nodded, "oh yeah, everyone loves him. They had no choice, since Jeongguk showcased him to everybody, but Boss is pretty much in love with him. Jeon remains his favourite though, but I think Kim is a close second. You're going to adore him, he's just like Jeon. Except, way more shy and timid. He got embarrassed because I saw his thighs, and then you get Jeon who just walks around in the buff."

"He still walks around naked?!" Jay exclaimed, "for fuck's sake."

The two laughed at Jeongguk's weird antics, even more so once they realised that Taehyung was used to it. 

Jay trailed his eyes to Bora, seeing that she was fast asleep, slumped on the chair. Putting the phone on speaker, he put it on the dresser. Carefully, he picked Bora up, holding her in his arms as he carried her to the bed. He laid her down, making sure her head wasn't at a funny angle before tucking her in, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her cheek.

He left the phone on speaker, tidying around the room.

"Anygay-"

"Did you just say anygay?" Jay interrupted.

"Yeah, Jeon said it the other day and I can't stop saying it. Honestly, it's kinda my trademark."

"Oh dear. I've raised an idiot." Jay groaned.

"He's pretty stupid. Anyways, you know what time and when to come in, right?" Ten asked for reassurance.

"Yes."

"Okay. Don't fuck this up."

"Dude-"

"I still high-key hate you."

"All I said was that you were nearly bald when you got that haircut. That was like three years ago, dude!" Jay groaned.

"Tragic. I'm still traumatised. Goodbye."

"Ugh, fine." Jay said, before grinning, "make sure you've got some hair."

"Literally, fuck off." Ten laughed.

Jay laughed back, before hanging up and flopping on the bed excitedly.

"I get to see my bunny in two days!" Jay exclaimed, happiness taking over him and making him feel dizzy. Nerves twisted in his stomach and exploded into his heart, adding to the euphoria within him.

Bora didn't reply, just quietly snoozed - though if she was awake, she'd be jumping around and squealing.