Chapter Text
Jeon Jungkook sighed to himself once he set eyes on the small, run-of-the-mill store. It was a little past 5pm, sun was setting and the cold autumn wind brushed against his face. Walking past the vacant parking lot, he thought to himself, can't believe a bunch of gangsters want me to fetch them their groceries, those american movies really over exaggerated their 'savage' lifestyle. Flicking away the cigarette and giving a hesitant pat on the back pocket of his pants, where his knife remained snug, Jungkook entered the store.
The lights were unusually dim and by the looks of it, the isles were deserted, it was the perfect set-up for him to gather everything he needed and run off undetected. Grabbing the closest basket, the raven haired boy slowly began collecting the items listed on his arm. He wasn't in a rush, instead he savoured the uneventful moment, it was the one non-violent order he had received from his superiors since joining and Jungkook missed everyday pastimes like this.
As he turned the corner, Jungkook caught sight of a little boy getting dragged by a large furious old man. At first, he assumed that the bigger man was the kid's dad with serious anger issues or something until this kid started ferociously screeching for help. Jungkook sighed. Where are all the staff in this place anyway? He approached the scene.
"What's going on?" He asked but without giving the chance for the larger man to respond, he punched him unconscious. Jungkook glanced at the small boy, who was gawking at him in shock, then walked over to his basket to mind his own business.
"Wowie mister. That was uncalled for." The kid squawked from behind, waddling after his rescuer.
When Jungkook was about to brush him off, he paused, "wha-? I saved your life, snotface. You should be thankful."
"Thank you, mister." The boy giggled, casually hopping into Jungkook's basket. Wait, what the fuck is happening right now?
"Hey-"
"You're one weird old man, mister. No one in this town has so many pictures on their body like you, sir." He muttered, tilting his head in wonder at the intricate designs inked in the other's arm.
Jungkook couldn't help smiling at the ball of cuteness perched between his groceries. "Listen here, little boy, first of all, I ain't old. I'm 19, not 30. Second, these pictures make me look cool, aight?"
"Okay, oldie, now you listen. First, I'm a girl. Second, I'm 5. 19 is the same as 30 to me. Third, those pictures are really pretty. Fourth, I can't count after fourth."
Jungkook felt flattered. No one's ever called his tattoos pretty.
"Alright you win, kid. I can only remember up to third." Jungkook hummed, he placed the butter behind the giggling girl. He pat her on the head and added, sternly, "don't you know it's bad to talk to strangers? Why're you alone anyway?"
"Well, I was with my papa at the bus stop but I got angry because he wouldn't listen to me when I told him I'm hungry so I ran here. Then this scary man tried to grab me and then you came and killed him and now here we are."
"WHAT? I did not k-k-kill him. He's just sleeping. Right? Oh my god." The tattooed boy dropped the basket and started muttering nervously. That guy couldn't have died right? He didn't even hit him that hard. Oh no. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What's the boss going to think about this? I could die for this.
"I know~ it's just a joke. You're so naive for an old man, mister." She giggled when she spotted Jungkook's small grouchy pout. He noticed that the little girl's smile was shaped like a tiny rectangle. A small boxy smile.
"Naive-??? You're psychopathic for a child. And why do you have such short hair, aren't little girls suppose to have long hair?" He scoffed, feeling the need to tease back out of pure pettiness.
The girl climbed out his groceries and glared at him. They started walking again. Unfortunately, Jungkook was almost done with his list. Unfortunately? "My papa told me that anyone can have any kind of hair if they like it. Papa said I look like a beautiful fairy mermaid princess with hair like this." She must love her dad more than her mom or something. He's all she talks about.
"Can't lie. You're frickin adorable. What's your name, kiddo?" Jungkook inquired, ticking off the last item on the list. Maybe he'll just pay for the stuff instead of stealing them. It's just for today and he had the money for it. He wouldn't dare to admit to himself that he was too soft to do it in front of this kid. He's done much worse anyway.
"Mai Kim but you can call me Fairy Mermaid Princess for short. What's yours, mister?" She replied, hopping on his back enthusiastically.
"Jungkook." They made their way to the front counter.
"Very cute name. Jungkook." Mai voiced, thoughtfully. She gasped. "Can I call you KOOKIE!!?!"
"Oi, respect your elders." Surprisingly, there was someone at the cashier. Jungkook was almost sure the entire place was abandoned.
"Okay, Kookie." She giggled. Jungkook chuckled unconsciously, he removed her from his back to place her on the countertop and gave a quick pat on her head-as if demanding her to stay put-before handing over the basket to the lady behind the counter.
As they were in the middle of checking out, the front door of the store banged opened, closely accompanied by loud panicked footsteps.
"MAI!?" A deep trembling voice bellowed.
"PAPA!!" Mai squealed. She hopped off the counter and ran in the direction of the voice. Jungkook awkwardly watched as the two reunited with a hug. A dusty blonde haired man, who seemed astonishingly young, was crying pools of tears, hiccuping unstoppably and had chunks of snot running down his nose. This was a father? He looked like a mess.
"Please, never do that to papa again. Don't leave like that okay, sweetie? I was worried." His voice cracked and his sentence came out in sobs, while squeezing the daylights out of the smaller.
"I'm sorry papa." Mai whispered, wiping away his tears with her tiny hands. "Please don't cry. Mai was just angry because you weren't listening me."
"I'm sorry too. I should've listened to you." Her father kissed her on the cheek as an apology and Mai giggled, giddily.
When Jungkook had finally paid for the stuff, he was about to bolt out of the store without having to get tangled in the family drama, Mai caught him by his shirt. This girl's got some reflexes.
"Papa, meet my prince charming. He saved me from a really scary guy earlier. That guy was sooo huge and told me to follow him to his car, said he had lots of ice-cream too. I prefer cookies."
Jungkook looked back at the disheveled (gorgeous) man. He knew exactly what he was thinking. Too many tattoos, too many piercings and too many bruises. He was probably going to kidnap my child. It's how people responded to Jungkook all the time so it was unsurprising. As Jungkook was about to turn back around and go on his way, this man puts down his daughter, stepped nearer to the younger so he could fold his arms around Jungkook's neck.
Wait, what the actual FUCK is happening right now??
"Uh-" The blonde pulled him even closer. Jungkook felt like he had no choice but to return the hug by wrapping his arms around the other's waist. This has been a really weird day.
"Thank you so much for looking after my girl. You don't even know how grateful I am to you." He started whimpering, wiping the snot and tears on Jungkook's shirt. He cringed.
"Um, no problem, I guess." Jungkook retaliated awkwardly.
The man finally released him but his face was still pretty close when he said, "It's so nice to meet you...?." Jungkook was taken aback by his beautifully contrasting features. His lips were all red and swollen but his eyes were wide and sharp. He was really attractive even when he looked like a mess. Anybody could have mistaken him for a model. Stop ogling the married man, Jungkook.
Jungkook almost forgot what he was going to say. "Jeon Jungkook. I'm g-" ay "glad that I ran into your daughter." Damn, mind your words.
"Oh, Jungkook, what a cute name." He muttered. "Can I call you Kookie?" Jungkook exchanged glances with Mai, who giggled. He was starting to see how they resembled each other. Taehyung's smile was identically boxy to Mai's. "As thanks for rescuing my little princess, let me take you to a near by café tomorrow evening. Please. Or I'd live the rest of my life in guilt that I never got to repay you." He's a bit of a drama queen.
"Sure?"
Jungkook was still startled by how easily this man, a father, trusted a sketchy looking guy like himself, never mind hug him. He could say the same for Mai. If Jungkook were in their shoes, he'd avoid himself in every way possible.
What a weird family.