𝐄𝐘𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘

93 | falling

Jungkook's POV

"You know, Jungkook" Elena begins after a moment of silence, pressing her forefinger against her plump lips. "That night, I came to realize that doing a good deed can sometimes if not always, be the result of a bad one. If actions define who we are, how do we really know on which side we belong?" 

The words that so suddenly come out of her mouth earn a slight grin from me. Raising my brow I say swiftly, "We can never know for sure." All good deeds come with a price. Let's say that you're walking on the street with some change in your pocket and you encounter a homeless person and a sick lady begging for mere pennies. Naturally, you will turn to the first beggar you meet, depriving the second person of help. Or when you sacrifice your own life to save someone else's. That compassionate, empathetic individual with a savior complex thinks that everyone deserves to be saved whether they want to be saved or not and that can only end badly for them. That  good deed only results in something bad and just because this person accepted their demise with open arms it doesn't make them any much of a good person. It only makes them a complete fool. Doing too much good, only raises everyone' standards and expectations about you and they will always count on you to act a certain way. For me that's considered lunacy or just plain stupidity.

That girl sure can make me think. 

"Really?" Elena pipes. "So what I did... is it considered good or bad according to your code of ethics?" Normally, everybody's code of ethics differs from one another. Some people might blame Elena for bashing the bastard in the head while other people like me fully support her taking quick action. I have a really small conscience and at this point, if I were her I would have probably done the same. 

"Let's get something straight here Elena. According to the doctor, you didn't kill that man." I say a little harsher than I intended. "You only did what you could to protect Joy. And that has left a mark on you. Death always leaves a mark on you, whether it's someone important that passes away or even a mere worthless stranger. You're traumatized and it will haunt you for some time."

"Does it ever go away?" She inquires. "Do the nightmares ever come to an end?"

In my experience, I still see them on most nights. "When I'm with you every nightmare fades away." I say in a whisper and she gasps in response. She tilts her head a little and smiles luminously, her hand finding mine. 

"You're my dreamcatcher Jungkook and I feel safe when I'm with you." She beams and even though this might be the cheesiest thing she's ever said to me so far, it's the most beautiful thing that has come out of her mouth. "I'm so happy to hear that I'm yours too."

My free hand grazes her cheek and I caress her cheek affectionately. In this moment, I have everything I could have ever wanted and my skin is all warm. The nape of my neck is all sweaty and my heartbeat is accelerating like crazy. She finally told me her deepest secret and now that she knows that I would never change the way I think of her, all that is really left to do is tell her I love her. I love her more than anything, more than anyone. It's scary to think that she means the world to me and that I would go to extreme lengths to keep her safe and protected. 

Happy. 

That smile on her face that is shining brighter than a halo, is something I always want to see her wearing. 

I love her. 

"Jungkook?" Elena suddenly looks up at me with visceral eyes. Before she continues, I already know what she wants me to confirm.

I grin. "I could never think any less of you."

I don't believe in God, but God I love her so fucking much.

I love Elena so much, I think I will combust if I don't tell her.

And all that pent up emotion, all comes out in one single action as I lower down, my lips touching her forehead in the most delicate manner. Like a snowflake when it first touches the cement ground and it melts away in a matter of seconds before the next one falls from the sky, or when the smoothest feather brushes against your skin. It's such a small and simple gesture and yet it's the only way I can confess my feelings to her without having to worry about being rejected.

A simple kiss on the forehead will have to suffice for now.

I will tell her I love her one day.

Elena suddenly draws away, but raises my hand up to her mouth and kisses my knuckles one by one as a 'thank you'. My eyes almost flutter close when she does that.

"You're probably wondering why I told you all this." She finally says.

"Kind of,"

She sucks in a breath and holds it for a few seconds that seem to last several minutes. "Promise you won't be mad at me?" She pouts.

How could I ever be mad at you?

"I promise I won't be mad at you, but I can't promise that I won't get mad in general."

She shrugs and mutters an okay before she says "You know my boss Seokjin, the owner of Carpe Diem he offered me an offer I can't decline."

"What does that fucker want you to do?" I grit.

"Apparently, Seokjin's dad is the owner of the Empire Hotel and since their main goal is basically the expansion of their business he figured that I should take part in it." Elena continues. "The thing is that he wants to inherit all of it, so desperately that he needs to fight off his brothers for it." I know exactly who she's referring to. Kim Namjoon and Kim Taehyung. The competition has always been a cutthroat when it came to the chain of hotels and clubs their father owns. "There's no way to sugarcoat it so I'm just gonna say it; Seokjin wants me to work as a whore in the Empire in order to prove that he can earn a lot more than both his brothers combined."

Now, it's my turn to come clean. "I need to tell you something." 

"Yeah?" 

"The truth is, I know Seokjin." I say and she looks at me curiously. "I know him, because he's actually Taehyung' brother." Her eyes widen like plates.

"W-what?" she stammers. "Does he know that I-"

"No, he doesn't know about you." I assure her. At least, I think he doesn't know. "The only reason, why I even went to the Golden Closet in the first place is because his older brother, Namjoon suggested me to check it out. He was with me that night when you were on stage. You probably didn't see him because it was dark."

"Okay," she mutters, "why are you telling me all this?" 

"I'm telling you this because," I start, "there might be a chance they could help you out of this."

"What!" She yelps and I shush her. 

"Listen to me," I say. "We need to be smart about this. I know you don't want a lot of people to know about you, but Seokjin also probably knows that as well, which is why it was so easy for him to push you in a corner. Now, the only way to win is to be better at the game he's playing." Her eyes soften at my words and I proceed "We can trust Taehyung to handle him. Besides, he has taken quite a liking on you, so I don't really think he would decline."

"I don't know Jungkook..." She murmurs with uncertainty. 

"I don't want to tell him either Elena, but if by letting in another person to your secret means that you'll stop working there once and for all, I think it's worth it." I tell her. "That is, if you agree of course."

"Jungkook, you don't understand" she says "he has blackmail on me."

"Is it what happened at Carpe Diem?" I inquire.

"No, Seokjin is just dangling that as a chip in front of me." She replies. "You know...what he actually has over my head, it kind of involves you too."

"What do you mean?" I ask and she sighs.

"That bastard has cctv footage of you and me in B22." Elena finally says. "Seokjin told me that he will show the footage of us to NYU if I don't work in the Empire."

I'm on fire

hope u like🖤 i tried a lot with this chapter bc romantic shit isn't my forte