Not For Long

.22

Jungkook gazed at the floor with his back glued to the wall. He stood next to her door with food in his hands. They had been eating take-outs more than they used to and more than they liked but it was something that neither of them could avoid as their work began to pile up with each day passed. Chaeyoung had been busying herself with the final stage of her work and Jungkook himself was busy with his own.

There were soft sounds of heels clacking against the floor and Jungkook straightened himself, a smile appeared even before it met the person who was meant to get the smile. When Chaeyoung finally came to his view, his smile broadened on his face, waiting for her to look up at him as she walked with her head down.

She lifted her head up when they were a couple steps away and Jungkook could feel his eyes crinkled even more with his lips stretching into a wider grin when her slightly startled expression replaced with a slow sweet smile of hers.

"I hope you're hungry," Jungkook said, lifting the plastic bag higher to the level of his chest.

Chaeyoung breathed in softly as she stood next to him while opening the door to her house. "That smells nice."

He nodded his head with a soft bite on his cheek, trying to stop himself from smiling further. "Yeah, it's your favorite food from your favorite restaurant."

He sat across her and waited for her to get her first bite before he started to dig in for himself. There was something so relaxing about that moment, like nothing had ever gone wrong in the past. It felt amazing to be feeling that way and he wasn't so sure what the reason or reasons could be.

Perhaps it was because of how easily her smile had slipped for him these days. He could have just thrown her a small smile and she'd return it just as quick as a heartbeat.

Perhaps it could be that she was finally able to accept the reality of all that had happened and had learned how to let go.

Perhaps, it was caused by something that happened between her and Taehyung on the day she went to visit the latter. After that very day, Jungkook couldn't help but notice the positive changes on her.

Chaeyoung began to stop ignoring her own health. Although she wasn't always eating like before, at least, Jungkook was glad that she filled herself in without the need for him to tell her to do so. She could finally sleep well without having a company or sleeping on his bed. Despite being sad over it, Jungkook was also glad because it meant that her sleeping pattern would no longer be affected. Sometimes, she talked about her past memories with Taehyung's mother but instead of making it a sad situation, she chose to reminisce it in all the good ways.

No longer did she talk and focus about the downside of the lady leaving and instead, she talked about all the nice things and the very great memories of them. It made him smile when she smiled. Although at times, her voice became slightly wobbly and her eyes got a little teary, but it all were rid with a chuckle.

Despite all these, though, there was something that kept him from being a hundred percent grateful and calm and feel at ease.

Chaeyoung sometimes would stare into space, though briefly, and when he asked her what was bothering her, she would just brush it off with a smile and tell him not to worry about it. The thing was he always caught the slight discomfort or worry that painted her countenance every single time after she told him that it was nothing to be worried about.

He knew there was something, there was definitely something that had probably inhabited her mind, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Trying to crack his brain for an answer had always resulted in nothing. He just couldn't think of any reason that would be close to being logic given the current situation of her.