Aftertaste | J.JK

The Final Door

I squeeze my eyes shut as I prepare for what might come next.

Not might— will.

"Jeon freaking Jungkook!" Jin screams, flapping his arms like a bird on high. "Don't tell me you bit her. You better not tell me you bit her."

Jungkook smiles sheepishly, and I look at him incredulously. How could he possibly find this situation funny?

"Okay..." His voice trails into the blank air, and he picks at the back of his hair as he looks at Jin. "I won't tell you."

Jin's face looks like it's going to explode.

Hurriedly, Jungkook grasps my sleeve and flashes me a mischievous smile. He drags me into my room and shuts the door behind him, locking it even though we both know it wouldn't do any good.

"Jungkook!" I gasp as I glance urgently toward the door. "What are you doing? He's going to murder you."

"It's okay." He faintly smiles, eyes crinkling into happy crescents. "Don't worry— it's bad for you."

Letting go of my sleeve, he runs his fingers through his dark locks as he breathes in deeply. His features lift with ecstasy as he softly closes his eyes.

"I love this room."

It's so random and so sweet it takes me aback. But again, Jungkook was the definition of random and sweet.

I laugh, suddenly feeling a lot more warmer than the sixty nine degrees the room was set at.

"Why? It's small, it's cramped— there's barely any fresh air, either."

"I love it." He repeats, tilting his head back as he plants two hands against the bed. "I want to stay here."

"Forever."

"Forever?" I repeat incredulously. "I won't be here forever, you know. I don't have an eternal lifespan like you do."

He suddenly presses a finger to my lips, eyes still closed. His fingers taste like honey— which meant either I was going crazy or he really did have honey-flavored skin.

Which was crazy, but not so crazy at the same time.

"I don't want to think about that," He whispers. "I don't want to think like that. That's why I'm pretending like you'll live forever— like me. Like all of us."

He looks at me curiously.

"But if you want to be vampire, I'd be more than happy to turn you into one."

I'd never thought of the prospect before, but now it sounded intriguing.
Did I really want to live forever? Did I really want to be vampire?

In the end, all I can say is okay.

He looks frustrated when I turn back to him, brows furrowed and eyes shadowed. The light plays tricks— why can I never get used to his beauty?

"I wish you didn't have this allergy." He whispers before I can ask him what was wrong. "I wish you could go outside, see things. Touch things. There's so much you're missing— and you don't deserve that."

My fingertips tingle with electricity when I interlock my fingers against his.

"I'm touching you. Does that count?"

Instead of an answer, his fingers tighten around mine. Shyness overtakes me when I soon feel his cool skin, and I pull away, hugging my knees to my chest.

I wish I wasn't so shy.

"Hey."

Jungkook pokes me, and I look up to see his eyes. It's filled with concern and worry, and I want to tell him that I'm fine. I was fine—

Right?

"You're doing that again."

"What?"

"That," He stresses. "You're doing that. Blaming yourself for things that are not your fault. I wish you wouldn't do that— it makes me sad seeing you doing it."

"I'm sorry."

"See," He sighs, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. My eyes go wide as my balance gives out, making the two of us tilt into the wall.

Before my back can hit the surface, Jungkook slams his hand against the wall, supporting both of our weight.

"Are you okay?" He asks me, and my face heats up as his arms grow tighter around me.

My reply only escapes me in the softest whisper as he sighs again.

"You smell so nice, Elle. How do you manage to smell like this all the time? It should be forbidden."

When I gape at him wordlessly, he suddenly snaps his fingers. He tugs at my sleeve as he motions in the direction of his house.

"I forgot— I told you that I'd bring you a gardenia flower, didn't I?"

"Yes, but—"

Before I can say anything else, he disappears right in front of my eyes, making me jump in surprise. He seriously needed to stop doing that— it gave me heart attacks every time he did.

Knowing that he was going to the flowerbeds in front of his house, I rush out of my room to press my face against the large window.

I can see him there, standing in front of a beautifully colorful flowerbed with flowers colored pure white. I'd never seen one before, and it reassures me to see that they weren't ugly.

Jungkook stands there carefully, his face tilted as his eyes scan over each of the freshly bloomed plants. It makes me laugh how serious he looks now, compared to how he usually he was.

He was just picking a plant.

Finally, when he reaches down with his hands outstretched, his head suddenly jerks up to the right— a direction I hadn't looked at before.

There's a man there, yelling at him.

Jungkook looks confused. His eyes are wide as he stares at the man, who's still screaming with his face bright red. My heart rate rises when the man comes closer, speaking words I can't hear.

I want to open the window, but I can't.

Jungkook steps back blankly when the man comes too close, and a ray of sunlight washes down on his skin. My eyes go circular when his flesh shines and shimmers— glowing and bright in the shadows.

And then the man lunges, swinging his fists at Jungkook.

My heart shatters when Jungkook sees it coming, and purses his lips as the man slams his fist into the side of his face.

I don't watch to stay the rest, because I'm already racing downstairs towards the front door.

The logical part of my mind is yelling at me to get back inside— that this air could kill me. Going outside, for the first time— it could

Kill

Me.

But my heart turns my brain away, and my fingers fly on the keypad as I'd always watched my mother do it. The door unlocks, slides open.

First door.

Second door.

Once I opened the final one, I would be completely exposed to the substance that I'd traded my freedom to avoid. This could kill me— but right now I didn't really care.

I had to do something. And I wasn't just going to sit and watch while Jungkook got hurt.

Then the third door slides open.