After (Jikook version)

Chapter 23

When I get back to my room Hoseok isn't back yet since his classes run two hours past mine. I start to lay out my books and notes to get ready to study,but decide to call Seulgi instead. She doesn't pick up, and it really makes me wish she was here with me at college. It would make things so much easier and comfortable. We could be studying or watching a movie together right now.

Still, I know that I'm thinking about this because of my guilt about kissing Jungkook is consuming me—Seulgi is so sweet and she doesn't deserve to be cheated on. I am so lucky to have her in my life. She's always there for me, and she knows me better than anyone. We have known each other basically our whole lives. When her parents moved in down the street, I was ecstatic to have someone my age to hang out with, and the feeling only grew as I got to know her and learned she was an old soul like me. We spent our time reading, watching movies, and bringing life into the greenhouse behind my mother's place. The greenhouse has always been my safe haven; when my dad drank I would hide in there and no one except Seulgi knew where to find me. The night my dad left was a terrible night for me, and my mother refuses to speak of it, ever. Doing so would shatter the perfect façade she has created for herself, but I still want to talk about it sometimes. Even though I hated him for drinking so much, and for pushing my mother around, I still felt the deep need to have a father. That night, stowed away in the greenhouse while my dad screamed and went wild, I kept hearing glasses shattering in the kitchen, and then, when it stopped, footsteps. I was terrified my father was coming for me, but it was Seulgi. And I had never been so relieved in all my life to see someone safe. From that day on we were inseparable. Over the years, our friendship turned into more, and neither of us has ever dated anyone else.

I text Seulgi that I love her and decide to take a catnap before I begin my studies. I pull out my planner and check my work one more time, I can surely fit in a twenty-minute nap.

Not even ten minutes into my nap, there's a knock at the door. Figuring Hoseok must have forgotten his key, I groggily pull the door open.Of course it isn't him. It's Jungkook.

"J-Hope isn't back yet," I say and walk back to my bed, leaving the door open for him. I'm a little surprised he even bothered to knock, since I know Hoseok gave him an extra key as backup for himself. I will have to talk to him about that.

"I can wait," he says and plops down on Hoseok's bed.

"Suit yourself." I groan, ignoring his chuckle as I pull the blanket over my body and close my eyes. Or rather, trying to ignore it. There is no way I am going to be able to sleep knowing that Jungkook is in my room, but I would rather pretend-sleep than face the awkward, rude talk we are bound to have. I try to ignore the sound of him gently tapping the headboard of Hoseok's bed until my alarm goes off.

"Going somewhere?" he asks and I roll my eyes even though he can't see me.

"No, I was taking a twenty-minute nap," I tell him and sit up.

"You set an alarm to make sure your nap is only twenty minutes?" he says,amused.

"Yeah, I do. So what's it to you, anyway?" I grab my books and lay them out neatly, in order of my class schedule, and stack the notes for each class on top of them.

"Are you OCD or something?"

"No, Jungkook. Not everyone's crazy because they just like things a certain way. There's nothing wrong with being organized," I snap.And he laughs, of course. I refuse to look at him, but out of the corner of my eye, I can see him pushing up off the bed.

Please don't come over here. Please don't come . . .

And then he's standing over me, looking down at where I sit on my bed. He grabs my Literature notes and turns them over a couple of times exaggeratedly like he's staring at a rare artifact. I reach up for them but—like the annoying jerk he is—he lifts them higher, so I stand and swipe at them.But he tosses them in the air and they fall to the ground in a scattered mess.

"Pick those up!" I demand.

He smirks and says, "Okay, okay," but just grabs my Sociology notes and does the same thing to them. I scramble to pick them up before he steps on them, but that's only funny to him.

" Jungkook, stop!" I yell, just as he does the same with the next stack.

Infuriated, I stand up and shove him away from my bed.

"You mean, someone doesn't like their stuff being messed with?" he asks, still laughing. Why must he always laugh at me?

"No! I don't!" I yell and go to shove him again. He steps toward me and grabs my wrists, pushing me back against the wall. His face is inches from mine, and suddenly I'm aware I'm breathing way too hard. I want to scream at him to get off me, to let me go, and demand that he put my work back. I want to slap him, to make him leave. But I can't. I'm frozen against the wall and mesmerized by his green eyes burning into mine.

" Jungkook, please," are the only words I finally find.

But they are soft. And I'm not sure if I am begging him to let me go, or kiss me. My breathing still hasn't slowed; I can feel his increasing, the way his chest rises powerfully. Seconds feel like hours, and finally he removes one hand from my wrists, but the other is large enough to hold both.For a second, I think he might slap me. But his hand moves up to my cheekbone and then he gently tucks my hair behind my ear. I swear I can hear his pulse as he brings his lips to mine—and the fire crackles under my skin.This is what I have been longing for since Saturday night. If I could only feel one thing for the rest of my life, this would be it.I don't let myself think about why I am kissing him again or what terrible thing he will say afterward.

All I want to focus on is the way he presses his body against mine when he lets go of my wrists, pinning me to the wall, and the way his mouth tastes like mint again. The way my tongue somehow follows his, and the way my hands slide over his broad shoulders. His hands grip the backs of my thighs and he lifts me up, my legs instinctively wrapping around his waist, and I'm amazed at the way my body somehow knows how to respond to him. I bury my fingers in his hair, gently tugging at it while he walks back toward my bed, his lips still molded to mine.

The responsible voice inside my head finds her way in, reminding me that

this is a terrible idea—but I push her back. I am not stopping this time. I pull Jungkook's hair harder, earning a moan from him. The sound elicits one of my own, the two mixing in the most heavenly way. It is the hottest sound I have ever heard and I want to do anything I can to hear it again. He sits back on my bed, pulling me so I'm on his lap. His long fingers dig into my skin,but the pain is wonderful. My body begins gently rocking back and forth on his lap, and his grip tightens.

"Fuck," he breathes into my mouth, and I experience a sensation I have never felt before as I feel him harden against me.

How far will I let this go? I ask myself, but I don't have an answer.

His hands find the hem of my shirt, and he tugs at it, pulling it up. I can't believe I'm letting him, but I don't want to stop. He pulls away from our heated kiss to get the shirt over my head. His eyes meet mine, then go down to my chest as he takes his lip between his teeth seeming to badmire my body.

"You're so sexy, Minnie." He says. The idea of dirty talk never appealed to me, but somehow Jungkook saying those words becomes the most sensual thing I have ever heard.

I rock harder against his lap, and he wraps his arms around my back and pulls my body to his, our chests touching . . .The door handle jingles. I push myself off Jungkook's lap and throw my shirt on, the trance I was in immediately broken.

Hoseok steps through the door and stops short when he sees me and Jungkook. As he takes in the scene before him, his mouth forms an O. I know my cheeks are bright red not only from the embarrassment but from the way Jungkook has made me feel.

"What the hell did I miss?" he gasps, staring at us both with a huge grin. I swear his eyes are practically clapping with glee.

"Nothing much," Jungkook says and stands. He walks to the door and doesn't look back as he walks out of the room, where I'm left panting and Hoseok laughing.

Thank you for reading!