Park Chaeyoung had insisted for the pair meet at the restaurant, but Jeon Jungkook wouldn't have any of that.

He likes to think he is a modern man, yet, there were some things that he felt were a man's job indeed and that included picking up his date.

For a brief moment, he finds himself overthinking after she finally agrees, only a few hours later when he's parked in front of her home, he checks his phone to see that there's no response at all. Had he been ghosted? And if so, would it be a stranger for him to just show up? The young gentleman spends the next few minutes wondering where he went wrong, considering the probability that she was just being polite and didn't know how to turn him down considering how they often worked with each other. He tosses between waiting for a few more minutes in the car for a reply, or knocking at her door, or simply taking his loss and going home.

Luckily, he didn't need to make the choice.

He sees bright blonde lock peering through the window as she quickly rushes to the door, waving her hand and calling out his name.

"Jungkook!"

He swears her voice is hot enough to melt him alone as he quickly gets out of the car and walks towards her.

"I'm sorry, I got caught up with work," she explains frantically, "... is it okay if you wait inside for a bit? I promise I'm not usually like this, I'd never make a handsome man wait... well, much."

She's teasing.

He knows because there's a devilish smirk across her lips as she opens the door wider, as though she were welcoming him into her sanctuary.

"Work on a Saturday?" He clarifies as he walks in, getting a wiff of the floral scent against her body as she closes the door behind him.

Wait a minute... she finds him handsome?

The delayed revelation makes his cheeks turn bright red.

She must've noticed because she quickly rushes to the kitchen and gets a cold class of water, giving it to him.

"Parent-teacher interviews start on Monday night, and they're usually due on Monday morning but apparently they're due tonight," she explains, "... I thought I'd get as much done now before we head out, so that I wouldn't be anxious about the deadline."

"Did you finish it all?" He questions her before drinking the water.

She shakes her head, a slight pout against plump lips revealing her disappointment, "... but I don't have much left, I didn't realise it was already 7pm. I'm sorry, dinner's on me. I just need a couple of moments, I need to pack my bag and lock the windows."

He simply watches as she rushes around the living room searching for her bag.

Usually, when he'd visit, everything was neat and tidy. Today it was different, her laptop was still opened on the dining room table, with sheets of paper everywhere. She begins rushing to the kitchen, closing the windows before coming back and double-checking her things.

"Wallet.. wallet, where did I put it...?" She ponders to herself.

He wants to tell her that she doesn't need to bring it anyway since there's no way in hell he'd ever let her pay.

"I swear I'm not usually messy," she informs him, "... but when you have thirty students' reports to write in a short time, it gets to the best of us."

He chuckles, folding his arms closely together, "... it must be hard to manage at times, right? Being a teacher, but also being a foster mother?"

His eyes watch as she stops for a minute, nodding, "... hectic, but... I really love it."

"It suits you," he responds.

-

"Mommy, it's Miss. P!"

The pair had barely entered the restaurant before she was recognised, as a young boy runs up and greets her with a polite bow and greeting. Jeon Jungkook simply watches from beside her, as she kneels down on instinct and gives him a hi-five, before making a little small talk.

"Hongjun, it's so nice to see you. Are you having dinner with your mum and dad?" Her voice is bright and slightly higher than usual.

The little boy nods.

Not long after the parents emerge, gasping in excitement, "... oh fancy bumping into you here! Hongjun was just telling us about how he can't wait to go home and do his homework on space. You know, I wish you could teach his older brother too because getting him to do homework is as difficult as winning the lotto."

The adults laugh quickly before the mother turns to notice him.

"Oh, I didn't realise you were here with your husband," she comments.

Jeon Jungkook finds it endearing to see the way her face flushes a deep crimson, panic across her eyes as young Hongjun starts commenting something about having cooties.

"No, no, I'm single we're just having dinner," she quickly clarifies.

"Oh, sorry we must be disturbing your alone time, it was nice to see you," the mother addresses before hushing her child and husband away.

"Doesn't seem like you'll be single for long," the father comments when passing by with a smile.

-

Park Chaeyoung can't help but feel as though he's the perfect man.

He opened the door for her and pulled out a chair for her to seat without even asking. But most of all, she enjoyed the way he simply looked at her with intensity as she spoke, validating to her that he was indeed listening. She'd mention small things, and it seemed as though he remembered by the way he would bring up random facts in his stories, and she couldn't help but think that her best friend Jisoo Kim was right when she said she needed to give dating a go.

It had been a while.

She never thought she'd experience the day when she'd feel butterflies in her stomach, even as a twenty-six-year-old woman.

"You must want children of your own right? It's why you're working with kids and doing foster care," he brings up mid-way through their conversation.

Suddenly, she feels her entire body freezing.

Park Chaeyoung knows that he hadn't done anything wrong, yet, she can't find the words to speak.

How could she be so pathetic?

"You don't need to explain, I'm sorry, I think I must've asked an uncomfortable question," he quickly responds.

She wonders, whether he really is that aligned with her feelings, especially since no one seemed to see through her poker face before.

"I'm sorry," she manages to whisper.

"No, you don't need to apologise," he tells her, "... how about sport? Do you follow any sport? You look like a tennis fan."

Later on, as he drives her home, she decides that she really enjoyed the short time they'd spent together, and invites him inside for a pot of tea.

He happily obliges.

When they get inside, she notices him looking at an oversized flannel shirt that was hanging by one of the sofas, clearly not her size.

Ah, he was jealous.

Perhaps she actually likes how easy it is for her to read him.

"I borrowed it from one of the other teachers," she explains as she watches him from the kitchen, "... one of the kids threw up on my shirt that day. I just washed it and put it there so I don't forget to bring it on Monday."

Park Chaeyoung can't help but smirk as she notices the way he bows his head, hiding his embarrassment.

She emerges to the living room and puts the tea on the dining room table, offering one of the glasses to him.

"About earlier..." she begins, deciding that for some reason, she wants to open up to him.

"The flannel, I'm sorry... I don't know why I was being weird—" he quickly apologises.

"No," she puts her hand on his knee, pressing her lips together, "... well, I think this is a weird topic for a first date but, I oddly feel comfortable with you, and I also don't want to get your hopes up too but five years ago, I found out that I was infertile, so I think it's something that... can be difficult to navigate sometimes."

She wonders if it's normal to feel so relieved to let go of something she'd kept to herself for so long.

Jeon Jungkook doesn't speak at first, clearly too stunned to respond.

"I think that having children is a big thing, so... it's okay. I understand," she simply whispers, confirming how in her heart, she did have feelings for him too, "... I had a really great dinner tonight, thank you—"

"It's not something you need to navigate alone," he tells her, "... let's navigate it together."

When it's time for him to leave (mainly because she still has reports due!) he takes off his leather jacket and hands it to her.

"Bring this to school in case you need it, you don't need to take anything from another man," he attempts to speak cooly, only the way his ears and face was red say otherwise.

"Wh— what?" She seems surprised, "... I don't think we need to move this fast, Jungkook."

"I want to make it clear that I like you, a lot. And our date tonight really affirmed it," he explains to her, "... I'm not saying that we need to be boyfriend and girlfriend, or need to look at marriage anytime soon... but right now, I'm only interested in you, and I hope it's the same for you."

For a minute, she pauses, looking at the jacket that was in her hand, heavy against her arm.

Was she really ready for something like this?

She doesn't know, but for once, she wants to follow her heart.

"Okay," she replies, "... let's see where things go."

His eyes light up at her response, before he leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

She feels her heart beating, even though half an hour had passed since he'd left.

Park Chaeyoung has a lot to update Jisoo Kim on!

When she's finished the reports at 11:55pm, she sees a text from him.

From: Jeon Jungkook

Didn't want to distract you from report writing but hopefully you've finished by now.

From: Jeon Jungkook

I want to thank you for a perfect date today. Are you free tomorrow? I heard there's a good jazz bar nearby.

Little did she know that the kiss on the cheek would turn to their first kiss on the lips on that second date.