-------

His voice is low.

"You want to know how to make me alright?"

"Of cour-" you start to reply immediately, wondering why he would bother to ask such an obvious question.

But there's a dangerous glint in his eyes...

And you bite down on your lip to make yourself stop.

"No?" he whispers.

You take a HUGE breath.

"Of, of course I... I always want you to be alright, Jungkook," you confess.

You lower your eyes because you can't meet his dark, piercing gaze.

"I can't stand it when I see you tired, or in pain..."

Having just told Chae-young that you might like Jungkook... definitely lowered your guard against him.

You just want to be honest now.

Even if things are awkward.

Even if things are hard.

And knowing that he would push himself like this, to the edge of exhaustion and not even tell you that he was home...

You didn't get it.

Why he would do that.

Even if he didn't like you.

Why wouldn't he want to heal anyways, instead of suffering?

Did he dislike you that much?

You told Chae-young you might like Jungkook, even without the bond.

But Jungkook... did he hate you, without the bond?

"Why," you press him again, "why didn't you tell me when you got home?"

You brace yourself, your heart thudding.

You think you might cry if he said

"I heard you hanging out with Taehyung," he says instead.

His voice is quiet.

His tone is matter of fact.

But something... was off.

You sneak a peek at him.

He's looking up at the ceiling now, and there was some kind of tenseness around his eyes and mouth that isn't supposed to be there.

Some kind of...

Vulnerability.

"I was just waiting for you," you tell him. "If I knew you were home... I'd come heal."

You make the pitch of your voice as gentle as possible.

Like cooing at a kitten to come to you.

Like nudging at a shy puppy to play.

Like baiting a bunny...

You know it works the moment he sighs.

"It sounded like you were having fun," he breathes out.

"I know you don't have a lot of free time. You're busy with work, and you're always commuting to come heal with me. If you're relaxing, I don't want to bother you."

And there it was again, his mouth is so rigid as he speaks, like the words hurt him to let loose...

Like he was exposing something very deep from within himself.

Your heart melts for the maknae.

"Jungkook, please... don't worry about that. I need Healing too.

We might need each other...

But I'm... I'm okay with that."

And then his eyes widen...

And he's looking at you again...

And because the way he's looking at you... deep into your eyes... seems a lot more than what he was ready for...

Because it was already so difficult for him to admit, really, anything at all...

If it was hard for him just to admit he felt guilty asking you for Healing...

And you understood.

You weren't great at talking about your feelings either.

You decide to save him from himself, because there's he can put into words what he wants to without making himself too vulnerable.

He needs to wait until he felt okay opening himself up to you.

"Everything is as it should be," you say quietly.

And you reach across to his face, gently place your hand over his eyes, sweeping his eyes closed.

"Shh, just sleep. You look so exhausted...

Everything is going to be okay," you coax.

You can see his hand near you tighten for a moment.

Then he forces himself to relax.

His fingers twitch open, and he exhales.

"Thank you," he answers quietly.

"I'll be right here," you promise.

Jungkook drops his arm holding the sheet of lyrics as Slow Rabbit PDnim pushes the talk button.

"Ok, good work. Done!" comes the producer's voice through through the headset.

Bowing slightly, Jungkook takes off the headset and pushes out of the recording room, bowing to the older guy again.

"Gomawoyo, hyung," Jungkook says as he leaves the studio.

He puts on a smile, but he's gritting his jaw as he stumbles into the hallway.

His right arm, where his soulmate bruising had been, was throbbing with pain.

The rest of him was weak and sore...

The fatigue made Jungkook dizzy; he had to sing the last two lines of the verse 10 times, to his own dismay, to get it right.

Even Slow Rabbit PDnim was surprised by Jungkook's obvious struggle.

Jungkook tripped on his own foot.

He stopped, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily through his pain.

But the worst thing about Soulmate not being around was the .

It left Jungkook like he needed to gulp down an entire bottle of water, ... but he had none.

It burnt him any time she was gone for more than a few hours; he couldn't concentrate on anything until she was back.

Jungkook sighs and pulls out his phone as it vibrates with a second text from JHope.

JK your soulmate is here at the dorms!

She just got here. She's early today!

I told her you are at the studio recording vocals. She said she will wait here.

Pleasantly shocked, relieved and excited at the same time, Jungkook shoves his phone back into his pocket and takes off, searching for his driver to take him home.

--

The door clicks shut behind him and Jungkook's mouth is dry as parchment as he kicks off his shoes.

Pain ebbs through his body.

Putting a hand against the wall, he barely supports his legs as he trudges into the living room.

The lights are on but the room is empty.

She didn't leave, did she?

Just the idea of not getting healing... made him want to give up and collapse right then and there.

The lights are on in Jhope's room.

Perhaps she stepped out for a moment.

Perhaps Jhope knew when Soulmate would be back.

The door was wide open, and Jungkook leaned on the doorframe, sticking his head in to talk to Jhope.

But who he saw was Jimin.

Jimin, tucked at the foot of his bed with a book in his hand, eyes fluttering as he sleeps.

What left Jungkook speechless was that there was a form curled up in the sofa chair across the room that was clearly not Jhope.

Soulmate, wisps of hair draping over the arm of the chair, was dozing too.

Her brows creased lightly as though she was having a nightmare, she had Jimin's jacket thrown over her shoulders and was hugging Jimin's BT21 Chimmy pillow to her chest.

Jungkook doesn't know what he hates more.

But he hates it.

He hates that she looks soft under the jacket Jimin had clearly draped over her after she fell asleep.

He hates that she's gripping Jimin's pillow tightly, as though she needed it for comfort.

He hates that Jimin is all over her, even while Jimin himself sleeps less than five feet away from her.

He wants to storm in there and demand why she was sleeping in Jimin's room.

Why she didn't sleep in Jungkook's room.

But the fiasco he just had with Taehyung over the same damn thing hung in the air still, looming over Jungkook.

Just two days ago, she had told him that he could ask her for Healing.

Just two days ago, she told him it was okay that they needed each other.

Yet seeing her here, covered in Jimin, made him

Gripping his fists so hard it hurt, Jungkook turned on his heel.

--

"Jungkookie?"

Jungkook jerks awake as Jhope's voice drifts beside him.

"What," Jungkook mumbles.

He's collapsed in his computer chair.

He had passed out with his head in his arms, sprawled over his desk.

"Jungkook, when did you get back? Your Soulmate is waiting for you. Didn't you get my texts? She's sleeping in our room. Do you want to come get some healing?"

Jhope's confusion is so apparent that Jungkook can imagine his titled head and raised eyebrows.

But as Jungkook pushes himself up, he can see a second figure by his door, one that is clearly Jimin based on the height and build.

And just his presence reminds Jungkook of his soulmate, asleep under Jimin's jacket.

"No, I'm fine," Jungkook spits out.

"What are you talking about? She came here for you!" Jimin finally speaks.

"" Jungkook.

He sits up in bed so fast, his head spins.

And he's so thirsty for bonding that he almost falls right over.

But he ignores it.

"What are you talking about?"

Even in the darkness, Jimin's posture is clearly taken aback.

"You know she's here for me, so why is she sleeping in your room?

Why is she under your jacket, hugging your pillow?

If you know she's for me, "

Jungkook knows he is livid and savage, but he can't stop himself.

"Jungkook... she... was here when I came home. She was talking with Hobi hyung in our room and she fell asleep.

I gave her the jacket and pillow so she could be more comfortable while she waited for you.

And then Hobi hyung went out with Taehyung to get food.

He just got back.

We were waiting for you.

We were talking about you, Jungkook..."

Jimin leaned away, the hurt and defensiveness clear in his voice.

Jungkook doesn't know what to say to this.

He hates this.

He hates himself.

Jimin turns to leave.

"She was shivering from needing healing, Jungkookie. We were talking but she was so weak. You should go to her. She didn't want to bother you at the studio but Hobi hyung and I could tell she needed to heal."

It takes Jungkook barely half a second to make the choice.

He didn't even need to think about it.

He shoves away from the desk, ignoring his hyungs as they follow behind him and loiter in the hallway, watching him.

Long, quick strides across the apartment and he's storming into Jimin and Jhope's room, scooping his soulmate's sleeping form up in his arms, lifting her off the chair.

She huffs and tries to squirm away, her hands slapping the air in front of her.

He almost laughs out loud, but clamps down on it to stop from waking her.

Jungkook lets the jacket and pillow on her drop softly to the floor.

And as he stands there, looking at them, with his soulmate in his arms, he can't fathom why he had let these mere objects bother him so much.

He thinks that the soulmate bond is making him crazy.

He's over it, though, as he gently walks back to his room.

Jungkook sets her down on his bed.

Slowly, slowly, so slowly as to let her stay asleep.

He can see the dark circles under her fluttering eyes.

He frowns.

They were right. She was exhausted.

And Jungkook had let this happen.

Guilt and sadness gripped around his heart.

Jungkook didn't think he was doing a very good job.

Because he had a wider bed now, he silently lay down beside her, curled on his side, just to look at her close.

Jungkook wasn't trying to take advantage.

Only their forearms touched, Healing.

He just wanted to be close to her.

He watched her, wondering to himself why they had such problems talking to each other.

She was the most important part of his evenings.

He looked forward to seeing her, even if not for the Healing.

His hyungs had always told Jungkook You don't talk very much.

People have said often, Jungkook, you're not very good at expressing yourself with words.

Was it finally catching up to him now?

She beside him, and

It stabs Jungkook in the chest.

Jungkook presses his entire arm to her.

He blinks back the moisture in his eyes.

.

I'll do better.

For you.

With shaking hands

and a tear skidding down to his temple...

Jungkook pulls her into an embrace.

The gold light envelops him.

------

------

This is practically fluff.

No cliffhanger, fluff?

I don't even know who I am anymore.