Crimson Park

Chapter 19

A sound startled you awake. You sat up straight to realise you were staring down the barrel of a gun. Behind it was Dongnam standing at the foot of your bed.

"What are you doing?" you asked, trying your best to keep your voice from sounding panic stricken. You heard the click of the safety.

Suddenly, you felt Jungkook's arms wrap around you as he pulled you into his chest, shielding you from Dongnam.

"No!" you scream to Dongnam as you watched him pull the trigger.

Bang!

You bolted upwards in bed. The room was white with the light of the morning sun. Your breathing laboured and as quick as your beating heart, you looked down to search the bedsheets for what you expected to be a pool of blood. But it wasn't there. You were dreaming. You looked around the room, hoping to see Jungkook somewhere but he wasn't. You climbed from the bed and wandered over to the door to peer down the hall.

There! There he was. You sighed a breath of relief. He was alive. He was sitting at the table by the window, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. He had bedhead for hair and was wearing his grey sweatpants and white undershirt. Satisfied that Jungkook was still alive and breathing in your home, you snuck back into your bedroom and into the ensuite.

You looked yourself over in the mirror. You looked like pale, exhausted shit.

It had been a few days since the meeting and the shootout, and even less days since you and Jungkook were held at gunpoint. Dongnam had sent his arsenal out to retaliate and the streets were running red. You and your team had been cooped up inside and everyone was starting to go a little stir crazy. Perhaps that was the reason for your nightmares. This one had been the fourth one of the week. They were all a little different. Sometimes it was Dongnam waiting for you at the end of your bed. Sometimes it was the police raiding your home. Sometimes you shielded Jungkook and sometimes he shielded you. Regardless, they all ended the same – a gunshot and you and Jungkook separated by death. They were just nightmares, you told yourself – but you couldn't shake the feeling of them for hours afterwards. It had begun to weigh on you.

You brushed your teeth then splashed your face with some cold water, trying to bring a little life back to your skin, then headed into the main area to greet Jungkook. When he saw you, he set his paper down and smiled brightly. You twisted your lips into a faint smile as well, hoping to mask the fact that something was weighing on your mind.

"Hey," Jungkook took a hold of your wrist as you passed him. He then gently pulled you down to him so he could kiss you. You let him; let his kiss linger and his thumb brushing softly over your wrist shoot goosebumps up your arm. It was so nice to wake up to him every morning. But you were afraid to get used to it; knowing still that it wouldn't last. "Something wrong?" he asked, noticing your reluctance. Damn. He knew you too well now.

"No," you lied. You knew he wasn't convinced, but he pretended he was anyway. You sat down across from him and poured yourself a cup of coffee, then nestled yourself into the chair and looked out the window at the dim but beautiful fall sky. Jungkook reached over and grabbed a hold of your chair, dragging it in one swift motion towards him. He then reached under your ankles and pulled your feet to rest up on his lap, returning to reading the news while idly rubbing your feet.

You watched him for a while... admiring his features; investigating his cast; contemplating both your lives; building the courage to do what you had to do.

"Why are you staring at me?" he spoke, knocking you from your trance.

"I need you to do something tomorrow," you sighed.

"What's that?"

"Did you ever visit our tailor?"

"Yes."