But I Still Want You | Jikook ✓

Chapter 9: I Never-

Jimin

It's been about a week since Turniphead brought me here and I've already entered a groove with Calcifer and Yoongi. We all get along well, save for Calcifer's occasional bickering when I try to get him to do literally anything.

"Calcifer, you're going to let me cook, dammit. I'm sick of eating bread, butter, and fruit. Yoongi and I deserve to eat a hot meal." I roll my sleeves up determinedly and force a cast iron skillet down over the demon as he tries to move away.

"No! I refuse! Why should I? Jungkook is in charge of me. I don't have to do anything for you." He fights against me. "I'll burn your fingers off."

"Just do it and our deal is off." I say evilly and Calcifer stops fighting me. "That's what I thought."

Yoongi gawks at me from his place at the table. "Are you sure you aren't a wizard, Jimin?"

I smirk. "Watch your back, Yoongi."

Humming, I reach for the food.

Calcifer scowls, mumbling just audibly, "May all your bacon burn."

I point at him. "Now, look here, you little shit—"

The sound of the door opening quiets all of us and the plate of ingredients slips from my hands, but I'm so out of it that I can't hear the shattering of glass.

Before me is who I would guess to be none other than Jeon Jungkook. But I know him. That's my wizard from before. He's the one who saved me. Jeon Jungkook saved Park Jimin.

But why?

Jungkook walks closer to me, making my mouth dry up. "Now, what do we have here?" He smirks, the hunch in my back causing him to tower over me than he had that fateful day in the alleyway.

I pull my hat further on my head, trying to hide myself. He's so handsome. How could I ever measure up to him? He's gorgeous. "I-I'm the new cleaning person."

"Ah. Did Yoongi let you in?"

Since I'm too scared to look into his eyes, I stare at the ground instead, but in my peripherals, his attire catches my attention. The cloak he is wearing is different from the one he wore when he had saved me. This one...

It looks like the one the person who visited my flower garden wore.

My throat closes up and my heart rate increases to a dangerous tempo and I can hear it in my ears. It's crescendoing, crescendoing, crescendoing. I can't hear anything. It's a voluminous pounding. I'm being crushed to death. Why can't I remember how to breathe? Is it possible to even forget how to breathe?

Spinning, spinning, shaking. My sense of self is nonexistent as my world turns itself left, right, upside down, and inverted. Reality as I've known it is all topsy-turvy.

The setting spirals as I feel myself getting sucked into a vortex. The castle dissolves and all that remains is Jungkook. He's everywhere around me. Even the blurry person of my dreams starts to turn into him and my body shakes before my muscles give out.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Jungkook grabs me, pulling me upright. "Are you okay? What's happening? Are you sick? Are you dying?"

"Yes." My eyes clench shut.

A hand gently cups my face and I flinch for a second, scared of him seeing me, but he doesn't move away. "Hey, look at me."

I look directly into his eyes, feeling small.

His touches are gentle and I notice the plate of ingredients from before never fell to the ground. I never heard the glass break because it's suspended in air, the wizard keeping both the plate and me held together.

"Hey, breathe with me." Jungkook's voice is songlike, luring me in. "Look into my eyes. Only focus on me and breathe with me."

Dazed, I nod, unconsciously placing my hands on his chest. His heartbeat is steady, relaxing. And he's so warm. I've never noticed how cold I've been all my life until this moment. How did I survive without this feeling of warmth?

Maybe I've been slowly dying of hypothermia all my life.

"In," Jungkook says softly and we breathe in for a while, "and out."

I breathe out shakily, letting his heartbeat ground me as he works on pulling me out of my anxiety attack.

"You're doing so well," he says, complimenting me.

Once I can breathe on my own again, I quickly look down. "I-I'm sorry about that. I don't know why that happened."

Well, that was a lie. I do know why it happened, but I can't really tell the most beautiful man in the world that a creepy old man is obsessed with him.

Oh my god, I'm hideous and he is holding me like I—

"Calm down." He pokes my forehead. "There is no reason to be worried. I just wanted to know if you were friends with Yoongi. He told me of someone that he visits in Busan from time to time. Are you that friend? Did he bring you in because you're cursed?" The ends of Jungkook's hair shift from black to a vibrant green as he asks more and more about my relation to Yoongi.

Yoongi scoffs. "Calm down, Jungkook. No, I wouldn't have even just brought someone here without telling you."

"Oh." He smiles and his hair shifts back to black. "Then how did you get here?"

"C-Calcifer let me in and then I hired myself as the cleaning man. This place was a wreck." I narrow my eyes at him.

Jungkook's eyes widen and his hair-ends flash pink before he looks away. "Well, I didn't think I'd be having company." He lets me go and I miss the contact immediately.

"Yeah, sure. It's interesting how the most eligible and sought after bachelor in the land is really a slob." I continue to tease him, feeling light, like when I'm with Hoseok and Jin. It's like being around a friend again.

He smiles at me and I smile back. "Okay. What you say is law." Jungkook bows playfully. "Now, I must be off to bed. I've been out for a while and sleep is calling to me."

I blink. "Wait, that's it? You're just... okay with me being here?"

Jungkook snaps. "Oh yeah! Stay out of my room. That's all."

"Don't you think you're being a little reckless? I mean, I get that you're supposed to be this big, bad wizard, but I'm a stranger. You know nothing about me. Not even my—"

In a flash, I'm pinned to the wall with a smirking Jungkook looming over me. "I know exactly who you are, Park Jimin."

The plate of ingredients levitates to us and Jungkook hands it to me before eyeing Calcifer with a stern expression.

"Calcifer, do what Mr. Jimin says and don't make his job harder or else," he warns.

The way he says "mister" feels teasing in a way, like he's going out of his way to be overly formal for some reason. I scoff, getting ready to open my mouth when the young wizard leaves us without a second thought.

My face warms up and I start cooking for just Yoongi and myself since Jungkook acted like he was turning in for the day. I can't help but think about him though. He was so gentle with me. It was almost how I imagined how lovers interact. His big brown eyes were inviting and offered solace. He feels like my safe place and I don't know why. He just feels right.

And the way he says my name fulfills me.

"Wait a minute." I pause.

I never told him my name.

Author's Note: HMMMM. How do you think Jungkook knew Jimin's name? Was it magic or something else~

What do you think of the chapter?

Make sure to take care and love yourself as best as you can.

With lots of love,

-BBM