♠︎ thirty five

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

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♠︎ JUNGKOOK

Jungkook knew that he'd fucked up.

When he left your room that day, he kicked himself internally. Why hadn't he just fessed up and told you the truth? He was, after all, somebody who prided himself on his ability to be straightforward. Misunderstandings made him angry.

So why had he landed himself right in the middle of one?

He knew the answer, of course. The answer was that he'd taken one look at your face, bewildered and panicked in the wake of what he was suggesting, and he'd chickened out.

Him. Jeon Jungkook. A coward.

He stood in the corridor outside your room for a long time, pressing a hand to his lips and remembering what it had felt like to just kiss you, because he had wanted to. He loved the way you let him do it for a blissful ten seconds, before the doubts had creeped in. He wanted to kiss you like that again - with no game plan. No agenda. Just to feel your soft mouth on his and know that you were his.

Fuck, he thought. What the hell was he doing out here when he should be in there with you?

Jungkook turned to face the door. But he couldn't do it.

The truth was, he realised as he moved away - he was scared. He knew he could make peace with you not feeling the same way, but he didn't want to. He wanted to look into your eyes and see the same adoration that he felt for you reflected in the way you felt for him. And Jungkook couldn't control that, which only made him more anxious.

He didn't intend on staying away from you for two days - to him, it didn't feel that long. But the first day he'd known he needed space, and the second had slipped by without him noticing, and by the time it was over he knew you would be angry at him for not coming to talk to you sooner. Sooner or later, he would just have to suck it up and accept that he was going to lay his heart down on the line. 

When that time came, he would hold his breath, and just hope you didn't trample it.

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The island was so quiet once Nia and the others had left, it was almost silent.

Once the plane had taken off and Namjoon, Yoongi and you returned from the airport, a stillness blanketed it in the haze of the afternoon. It was boiling hot, and aside from Taehyung - who was in the studio on a project call with one of their managers about a Celine campaign he was featuring in - everyone else was outside by the pool, lying around listlessly in the unforgiving sun. It was back to just eight of you.

The lack of people around, combined with the insane heat, meant there was a distinct lack of energy. Most of the boys were too hot to even move, and Jungkook noticed that you had gone as far as to immerse yourself in the pool permanently to cool off. When Yoongi and Jimin offered to go in and get cold drinks for everyone, nobody objected.

Jungkook lay on a lounger next to Hobi, who had already complained four times about missing his girlfriend Juli, and tried to block him out. He focused his attention on the water, but he couldn't stop it from drifting over to where you floated face-up and eyes closed, skin dappled in blue droplets, the sun kissing your skin perfectly. Jungkook had to swallow hard. 

You looked so damn good in that swimsuit.

When you caught him staring, you narrowed your eyes at him, and looked away.

She has every right to be mad, a tiny voice told him. It's been two days. You need to fix this.

Jungkook hated that tiny little voice in his head - one that was, weirdly, becoming to sound like your straight-talking friend Nia - but he knew it was right. There was no time like the present to make things right.

But fate had other ideas. The moment he leaned forward in his lounger to call out to you, Yoongi and Jimin appeared around the corner carrying the drinks, with mischievous looks on their faces.

"Bitches!" Jimin announced, crescent-moon eyes shining. "It's time to have some fun."

Namjoon blinked once. Nobody else batted an eyelid.

Jimin tutted at the lack of response, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, you guys are so boring today. I wanna play a game."

"Jimin-ah, no one wants to play, it's too hot," Jin whined, dramatically throwing an arm over his head where he lay back on his lounger. "It's like the sun ate nuclear fire noodles and spit them back out at us."

"You will want to play when you hear what the forfeit is for people who lose or won't participate," Yoongi chimed in over Jimin's shoulder. "You'll have to go skydiving."

Jungkook heard a splash as you righted yourself in the pool, standing firmly with your hands on your hips and glaring at Yoongi. "Wait, for real?"

If Jungkook wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of anxiety in your voice - not that it stopped Jimin from grinning evilly. "Yep. There's instructors arriving in a few days time for skydiving and parasailing. And the loser has to do both."

Truthfully, Jungkook thought that sounded like a whole lot of fun. But losing certainly didn't. Jungkook didn't lose. 

"This sounds like some crazy RUN BTS episode," you said now, splashing the water petulantly. "What if we don't want to skydive?"

Interesting, Jungkook thought, as Yoongi smirked at you. Were you afraid of heights?

"If you really don't want to we can't force you," Yoongi shrugged. "But imagine the shame of us calling you a chicken for the rest of your holiday, sweetheart. You really want that?"

Jungkook observed the way your eyes narrowed. It was exactly the same way they did whenever he challenged you, and his heart ached immediately at the fact that he knew this. 

"Fine," you conceded. "I'm in. What are we doing?"

"Let's do races!" Jimin clapped his hands now that he'd set the drinks down. "In the pool."

No one seemed particularly enthusiastic about this - and yet at the same time, no one except Jungkook really seemed to want to do the skydive - so you all nodded eventually.

Jimin rolled his eyes at how little effort everyone was putting in. "Remember to never try to have fun with you lot again. Okay - teams..."

The teams were decided, with Jungkook gaining Namjoon and Jimin for his team, whereas Jin and Hobi went to yours. Yoongi had, of course, decided that he was going to judge.

"It's a shame Taehyungie can't play," Jungkook overhead Hobi say to you from the other side of the pool, and he tensed up to hear your answer, but all that he heard was a quiet hum of agreement. 

You seemed distant today. Jungkook's heart ached. Your best friend had gone home, and he knew he was being ridiculous for not talking to you. He just wanted things to go back to how they were.

He snapped out of this thought as Yoongi explained the rules - which were about as complicated as a game of RUN BTS - and between him, Namjoon and Jimin they decided who would do which race, while your team did the same. There was some kind of obstacle course, a competition for who could hold their breath for longer, and a sprint to finish.

Jungkook wasn't worried. He knew he was a good swimmer - better than all of his hyungs. He just wasn't sure about you.

Knowing you, you were probably fucking brilliant at it, he thought - before he smiled a little to himself. This was what his hyungs often said about him. 

You seemed to have that in common.

"Hobi's doing the obstacles, Jin the underwater, and I'll do the sprint," you informed Yoongi, and Jungkook grimaced in recognition that he would be going head to head with you at the end of the races. It wasn't going to be pretty.

But Jungkook's attention was momentarily diverted from that final race by the shambles that was his teammates. Namjoon was first, up against Hobi in the obstacle course - which, he soon learned, was Yoongi's equivalent of 'throwing all kinds of shit into the pool that they have to climb over'.  Hobi was hopeless at it, but Namjoon was absolutely horrific - he stumbled clumsily the moment he tried to jump through a rubber ring, slipping off it and dunking himself in water, having to start the whole thing again. 

Jungkook sighed in helplessness.

It only got worse when Jimin went up against Jin at holding their breaths underwater. After about ten seconds, Jimin gave up, proclaiming to be bored of his own game - and Jin could barely believe his luck when he resurfaced. Yoongi glared at Jimin for being such a diva, who just smirked back.

So then it was down to Jungkook to pull it back.

The sprint was just one length of the main pool - only twenty metres, or so. He saw you step up to the edge of the pool in preparation, and felt a stab of anxious tension twist in his gut. 

"Jungkookie, you have to win," Jimin urged him with a painted on smile. "The sprint is worth double points and I will genuinely pee myself if we have to skydive tomorrow. I'm too sexy to die."

Jungkook rolled his eyes, and stepped up to the edge of the pool.

If he'd had more time, he would have watched you - the graceful lines of your body as you crouched to dive in, the way the sun had been kind to you over the last month, making your skin glow. He wanted to drink you in, poised and ready at the edge of the pool, like a coil about to spring open. 

He had a strange, sudden urge to paint you like that. 

But the moment was over before it had begun, and Yoongi was telling him to take his marks.

From them on Jungkook could focus on nothing else but getting from one end of the pool to the other as fast as he could. He couldn't see you next to him, had no idea if he was winning, so he pushed onwards, thrusting his arms through the water until his hands scraped the other end. When he finally looked up he saw you next to him, realising it must have been incredibly close, and feared he had lost; but Namjoon and Jimin were screeching and jumping up and down.

He had won, but you still wouldn't look at him. So he felt like he'd lost anyway.

Yoongi, who was standing on the steps of the plunge pool that sat at the end of the main swimming pool that you had both swum towards, smiled knowingly at both of you as Jungkook hoisted himself out of the pool. "Good job, Jungkookie. Now both of you come up here and shake hands. It was a good race."

Jungkook didn't know if Yoongi had sensed the tension between him and you over the last few days, and that was why he insisted on this strange gesture, which he hadn't asked any of the other members to do. Either way it was tense and awkward, as he saw you climb out of the pool and shuffle over to him disgruntled, holding out a hand but refusing to look at him. 

Jungkook could have been a gracious winner. He really could have been.

But something strang seized him in that moment, needing you to just look at him, even if it was in anger. And besides, he just couldn't help himself.

So when he grasped your hand in his, he pulled you closer so his chest brushed yours. "Enjoy your skydive, little one," he smirked.

A sudden flash of anger erupted in your eyes, and you snapped.

Before Jungkook knew what was happening your hands were on his chest, and then he was toppling backwards - not into the main pool he had just been in, but into the plunge pool.

The plunge pool, which was ice cold.

Ice felt like it was seizing his veins in an instant, and he kicked hard, gasping for air as the cold water enveloped him. When he surfaced, the others were still laughing. You still looked annoyed and defeated - but the sight of a fuming Jungkook, his hair plasted to his forehead and his expression like thunder, seemed to have cheered you up a little.

Any other day, Jungkook would have been whipped enough for you to find your smile endearing. But today you had issued a declaration of war. And Jungkook was not going to let it go. 

Every soft emotion he had felt towards you today was gone. He no longer wanted to paint you. He wanted to destroy you.

"You'd better fucking run," he warned, reaching out for the stairwell, but his hands were so numb with cold that it slipped from his grip. You laughed.

"I'm not scared of you, you overgrown bunny ass bitch," you shot back. "Congratulations on winning a race against a girl, by the way."

"Seriously," he tried to make his voice ominous, but he was panting hard to catch his breath from the icy water, and it came out far more breathless than he intended as he finally gripped the stair's railing. "You are in for it when I'm out of this pool."

But if you were perturbed by him finally getting onto the stairs, you didn't show it. "Oh, am I?" you mocked with pouting lips. "I'm sorry, bunny, I thought you liked ice. Remember?"

There was a nervous chuckle from the other boys, though none of them actually knew what you were referring to - but your voice was suggestive enough for them to guess. Hearing you talk about it out here - in front of all of his hyungs - was so brazen that it was making him fucking livid.

He was so angry when he managed to get to the top of the steps that he was nearly shaking. But true to your word, you didn't run. You really didn't seem to be afraid of defying him today - perhaps because your decision to go full brat mode was underpinned by being genuinely annoyed with him for another reason. 

So when he climbed out of the pool and grasped your arm, dragging you away from the boys and towards the house, you didn't even seem bothered. In fact, you were so unbothered that you turned and shouted over your shoulder.

"Be right back guys, the bunny rabbit is going to teach me a lesson," you called with a smile. "I hope it's on how to eat lettuce!"

Namjoon was shaking his head as he laughed. "She's gonna die," he observed, chuckling along with all the other boys who stood watching him, who murmured in agreement.

The fact that none of them seemed to be taking Jungkook's annoyance seriously was only making him angrier. By the time he had managed to manouevre you into the kitchen, he was so angry he was almost seeing red.

"What the fuck are you playing at?" he seethed, still gripping your wrist. "You think that was funny back there? Did you forget that half my hyungs don't actually know about this agreement?"

"Oh, it's back to being an agreement now, is it?" you retorted instantly, and it was only now that Jungkook realised your humour outside had been a facade. When you stood facing him now, ripping your wrist from his grip and crossing your arms over your chest, eyes burning with irritation, he saw how angry you were too. "Sorry, I wasn't aware, considering you haven't talked to me in two fucking days."

"I needed time," he insisted. He wanted to apologise for putting you through shit for two days, but he was so riled up by your bratty antics that he couldn't bring himself to back down. "You're so impatient."

"Impatient?" you repeated with a bitter laugh, eyes alight with anger and lust. "You know what, you're right. I'm too impatient to wait for you to come back and fuck me as if you're not leaving in two weeks to go back to some vapid supermodel, junior. So from now on, how about you leave me to my vibrator, hm? It does a better fucking job than you anyway."

The look in your eyes said, I don't mean it. This is me pressing your buttons.

But you had never pressed them this viciously before, with this much venom in your voice. And, bratty routine or not, Jungkook was fucking losing it.

For a split second, Jungkook thought about a couple of nights ago, when you'd let him put his arms around you as you'd curled up together around the firepit. About how you'd fallen asleep in his arms after the movie the other day. About how natural and right it had felt. How much he had wanted to protect you in that moment.

How was it that he could go from such pure, loving emotions, to wanting to bend you over the kitchen counter and fuck you until you couldn't form coherent speech?

He didn't know.

What he did know was that you had crossed the line. And Jungkook had learned enough about being a dominant now to know exactly what he had to do. 

Talking would have to wait.

He seized your waist, walking you back against the wall until you were pinned between him and the concrete. If you were surprised you didn't show it, and so he let his hands run over your body, roaming freely, and you let him do it.

"Why can't you just fucking behave yourself?" he tutted, squeezing your breasts in his hands and making you whimper, writhing beneath him. "For once."

"I don't want to behave myself," you shot back, dragging his body closer to yours as your back hit the wall. "I'm pissed off."

"At me?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, at you," you retorted, fingers tightening in Jungkook's damp hair. "Do you always have to be such a... such a fucking-"

"Winner?" Jungkook offered, knowing full well that wasn't the word you were looking for. "Champion?"

"Asshole," you managed, before having to bite your lip to suppress a moan when he gripped your hips harder. "You're such an infuriating, arrogant, confusing asshole-"

Jungkook saw it fit to shut you up right about then with a kiss.

The kisses grew more desperate, both Jungkook and you beginning to pant and moan against the other, seeking a release that had been denied to you both for days, and yet Jungkook's conscience couldn't let him get too carried away with himself. 

He had to remember what had led you here. There was no way the voice in his head would let him get away with doing this if you didn't at least acknowledge what had happened.

"I think it's pretty obvious we need to talk," he said, his voice strangely calm, but even as he said it he was prising your knees apart and slipping his own knee between yours, letting his thigh meet your core. You responded enthusiastically, grinding down against him, and suddenly the room felt several degrees warmer.

And his pants, several sizes smaller.

His words were calm and collected. But his movements were crazed, and desperate, and you were responding in kind.

"We do," you agreed, nodding. Jungkook chased your words with his tongue, letting it slip into your mouth and search for them. You let him. 

When he pulled away, both of you were panting. He was rock hard, so aroused he could barely see through his own desire, and yet the voice in his head was screaming at him to slow down. It was nearly impossible when you were using his pool-damp thigh as some kind of sex toy, rutting yourself against it with a force that Jungkook thought might make him come in his swim shorts if you weren't careful.

There was only two thin layers of swimsuit between him taking you up against this wall right now.

"Let's forget it," you proposed, breathless, nails digging into his shoulders. "For like... twenty minutes. Then we'll talk about it."

"Twenty?" he chuckled bitterly, running a hand over your ass and squeezing it. "I can go for longer."

"Doubtful, junior," you shot back. But Jungkook heard the moan behind it. Heard how much you needed to come for him. 

It was a good compromise, he reasoned. Twenty minutes in which you could both forget that the last few days had happened. Twenty minutes to punish you for being the stubborn, resistant, cocky little brat that you'd become in the pool.

Then, you could face reality.

"I'll make it twenty minutes, baby. I promise," he returned. "The question is - can you?"

Before you could protest he glanced down, at where you were still rubbing your core against his thigh. You stopped immediately, cheeks flushed red as you met his gaze.

And then you delivered the killshot.

"Oh, I'll make it. But you probably can't even make a girl come in under twenty minutes," you muttered, leaning in closer to whisper - "can you, bunny boy?"

Jungkook clenched his jaw, seeing the victory light up your eyes as the lust and rage pounded through his veins.

You were going to regret that.

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