Work Text:
“Let’s end our relationship.”
Those were the first words you said to me that morning. There was no love in your eyes. That spark of innocence and fondness that had me falling for you was worn out over time. Too many broken promises and false acts of kindness became tossed around over the years like a rag doll.
“Do you want to stay here, then? I can find somewhere else to go while we figure out the arrangements.” I said in a monotone voice as I refused to look you in the eyes.
“That won’t be a problem. I already found a place to stay. I’ll be with a friend. You can stay here until you can find other living arrangements. It’s best if we just try to avoid each other as much as possible.” You stated as you stared down at your phone and tapped away on it.
“Alright. Just take what you need. There should be an extra suitcase here. I won’t need it.” I muttered before I walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.
You didn’t say anything else as you gave a small hum in response. I watched you smile and laugh at your phone before you went upstairs.
A suitcase and duffel bag were all you had on you as you came into the living room. You were dressed up nicely and wore the cologne that I once complimented you on.
“Hope you can find a place soon. The lease should be up soon in this place, anyway. Just text me when you’re moved out so I can grab all of my things. I’ll take care of the rest of the rent.” You explained before you grabbed your car keys off the table and walked out the door.
There was nothing else that could be said. Our relationship had already been over for a while now. We were just living in denial and delaying the inevitable. That’s why I didn’t try to stop you that day. Six years of our lives together and our memories left with you once you walked out of that door and I didn’t bother to collect them.
I never cried so much in my life until I crawled into bed and realized that you wouldn’t be with me. There was nobody I could wrap my legs around when I wanted comfort. Nobody to giggle with in bed when we watched a funny video on your phone. I’d have to stare at the empty space in the bed that once was your home and my place of comfort.
My hand felt cold already as it ran over the dip in your side of the bed. Years of our love were permanently etched into the fibers of our bedding. Your pillowcase had become faded from washing it so much. You always loved to tease me about my drooling habits, but you assured me that they were adorable. I would tease you back about your fake loud snoring and it would always end in giggles and stolen kisses.
Promises of our love were whispered in my ear as you lightly ran your fingers through my hair before gently pressing your lips to my temple. I promised you a love that would last forever before my eyelids would grow heavy and sleep took over.
Still, it wasn’t always a beautiful love. You hated it when I would spend time with my friends. You told me that they were a bad crowd and didn’t trust them and so I turned my back on them to keep our love safe. There were times when you would drink too much and raise your voice. Doors would be slammed and books were thrown all over our shared apartment. Then you would tell me it was my fault that you were acting this way and I would apologize and promise to do better by you because I loved you.
Sometimes I would catch you looking at the co-worker that you said was just a friend. I would catch the two of you laughing in secret about something, but the two of you would quickly grow quiet whenever I walked near you. Whenever I would confront you about the co-worker, you would get so angry and raise your fist in the air and stare at me in anger before you would yell and storm off to our bedroom.
Where did we go wrong? Was our love doomed from the start? Did we try hard enough to keep our love going? What did I do wrong?
Two weeks passed by when I moved out of the apartment. I never heard from my ex again even after I texted that I left the apartment. My friends encouraged me to go on a cruise to take my mind off my now-expired relationship.
“I don’t think there’s anything that interesting in the water. You’ve been staring at it for the past ten minutes now.” A familiar male voice stated.
I looked up to find my orange-haired friend named Park Jimin giving me a questioning look.
“Sorry. I was just thinking.” I shrugged.
“I hope you’re not planning to jump because I definitely don’t want to tell your parents that you died on my watch.” Jimin visibly shivered.
“No. I’m not ending my life because of a failed relationship. I was just wondering where things went wrong.” I sighed as I rested my arms on the ship's railing.
“Taehyung, there were a lot of things that were wrong in your relationship on their part. You were just so blinded by your love that you couldn’t see it. I hope in time you’ll realize that.”
“I hope you’re right. Love hurts.” I mumbled.
“That’s why we’re on a booze cruise. Time to get you drunk so you can forget about your problems for a while. Just stay away from the edge. Can’t be too careful.” Jimin warned me before he slung an arm around my shoulders and walked us over to our other friends.
Jung Hoseok and Min Yoongi were casually sitting in the lounge chairs on the pool deck when we approached them. They were talking quietly before the conversation abruptly stopped when we came closer.
“So, what did we miss?” Jimin asked as he sat down next to Yoongi, earning a groan from the elder mint-haired male.
“We’re trying to make plans for what to do tonight. I mean, it’s a cruise, so we can only go so far, but I heard there was a party going on here later. Yoongi doesn’t want to attend because he’d rather sleep.” Hoseok laughed as I sat down beside him.
“A party sounds fun. We’ve been here two days already and all we did was walk around and be lazy. It’s time to have some fun,” Jimin mentioned as he excitedly clapped his hands together like a small child.
“I agree. This is a party cruise and we haven’t done any partying so far. No objections, you two,” Hoseok chimed in as he shot glances at me and Yoongi.
“Fine,” Yoongi grumbled.
“I guess.” I shrugged.
“Great! Let’s all meet back up here as soon as it gets dark, then.” Jimin stated before he grabbed Yoongi’s hand and dragged him off.
“How are you doing, Tae?” Hoseok asked as he turned to look at me.
“I care. Is it wrong of me to still care?”
“Not at all. You shared years of your lives together. Feelings don’t just go away that fast.” Hoseok explained.
“No. You’re wrong. I still care, but I feel no love at all. Haven’t felt any love in quite some time. I guess I always knew that our relationship was doomed from the start.” I muttered as I looked out at the ocean.
“It’s good that you’re aware of things now so you can move forward. You know all of us will always support you. Don’t blame yourself for what happened. The love was there at one point, but the bad outweighed the good in the end. It was better for the both of you to end it and cut ties before things got worse.” Hoseok said softly as he gently patted my shoulder.
“Thanks. I’ll head back to our room and get ready for tonight, then. Are you coming?”
“Not yet. I’ll sit here a little longer. Go on without me.” Hoseok smiled.
I smiled back at him before I stood up and stretched. Taking one final look at the ocean, I let out a small sigh before I walked off to the room that I shared with Hoseok to get ready for the first party I would be going to without you. I was never one for parties, but you always insisted that I go with you, even if I told you how much I didn’t like them.
The deck was packed with people holding plastic cups of alcohol and loud music. Laughter and mindless chatter could be heard as I tried to weave my way through the crowd of people trying to find my friends. People were busy grinding on each other as I struggled to make my way through the crowd after spotting my friends on the opposite side of the deck.
Before I could finish making my way through the crowd, I ended up bumping into someone’s back, causing them to turn around and stare at me. It happened to be a very attractive male around my age. He was dressed in a white button-up shirt with floral-printed swim trunks on and black flip-flops. His black hair was down to the nape of his neck and was flipped out on the ends. He had multiple ear piercings, and his arm was covered in tattoos that went all the way down to his fingers. The male was fit and clutched his half-empty drink while the rest left a wet spot on his shirt showing off his toned stomach.
“I am so sorry.” I stated as I continued to stare at him.
“It’s fine. I’ll just have to go get another drink for her. You can have it since you caused me to spill it.” The male stated as he hastily shoved the fall empty cup into my hands before he quickly made his way through the crowd with ease.
Was that guy trying to get this drink for his girlfriend? Did I just ruin something for him? These thoughts wandered through my mind as I stared down at the cup in my hand before I mindlessly made my way through the crowd to my friends.
“Tae, you finally made it! I see you already got yourself a drink.” Jimin said as he took a sip from his own cup.
“Actually, someone gave it to me. You know I don’t drink.”
“Well, I’ll drink it then if you won’t. I’ve been dying for a drink, but the crowd is too intense right now.” Hoseok mentioned before he took the cup from my hands and chugged its contents down.
I watched him empty the cup that the attractive stranger gave to me and found myself frowning at the sight for some unknown reason.
“So I’ll go get the drinks for us tonight.” I said, earning shocked looks from my friends.
I even surprised myself as the words came out of my mouth. I was never one for drinking, but I was curious about the guy who gave me the drink and I had hoped I would catch him at the bar.
My feet started moving on their own as I made my way over to the bar and looked around for the stranger from earlier. I found myself pouting as he was nowhere to be seen, but I couldn’t leave empty-handed, so I grabbed a few drinks before heading back to my friends.
The night carried on with us having a good time and a not-so-sober Jimin decided it was time to drag us all out onto the dancefloor. Jimin immediately cuddled up to Yoongi as the elder held tightly to his waist. It was so obvious how they felt about each other, and I couldn’t help but smile at them. Hoseok was busy dancing with some strangers as I stayed by myself.
Not long after I started dancing, I felt the warmth of another person slide behind me before I felt them press tightly up against my back.
“Don’t stop dancing. Just stay like this,” the slightly familiar voice whispered in my ear.
I smiled to myself as I realized it was the guy from earlier who gave me his drink. For some reason, I felt oddly comfortable in his presence.
“Why are we dancing together, exactly?” I whispered back as he put his ear near my lips to hear me better over the loud music.
“You kind of owe me for my shirt and drink. There’s someone here that I’m trying to avoid, and you were the closest person to me.” He replied.
I didn’t respond as I felt him gently place his hands on my waist as we moved in time to the music. My body heated up at his touch as I slowly spun around to face him. He was wearing a black button-up shirt that was partially open, and he gave me a slight smile, showing off his bunny-looking teeth. My arms wrapped loosely around his neck as he pulled me even closer to him. I inhaled the scent of his cologne and felt myself grow weaker with every gentle touch that he gave me.
We pulled only from each other just enough to look into each other’s eyes. His doe-like eyes seemed to hold the entire galaxy in them as they caught me in a trance. He had me mesmerized as we continued to look at each other before he broke our gaze first. He looked behind me before he slightly frowned and looked at me again.
“Do you think you can trust me for a minute and follow my lead, no matter what it is?” He asked in a serious tone.
“Sure. I’ll do whatever you want me to.” I quickly replied.
He just smirked at me before he threaded his fingers through my head and pulled my head back before he began pressing his lips against my neck. My body grew completely limp in his hold as he continued to kiss and lick all over my neck before he slowly worked his way up under my chin, only stopping short right below my lips. My body felt like it was on fire as he kept a tight hold on me, as if I were his prey to torture and torment before he would eventually devour me. It only took a mere second later before he came to claim and devour my lips and I made no attempt to stop him.
I didn’t even try to fight him off as my hands gripped at every part of his body that they could grab and he didn’t try to stop me, either. His nails snuck their way down my back and dragged down it slowly, causing me to moan in his mouth before I opened my eyes to look at him. He had his eyes focused elsewhere before he quickly pulled away and we were both panting messes.
“Thank you for that. You don’t owe me anymore.” He breathed out before he quickly took off, leaving me standing there on the dancefloor feeling confused and hurt.
I woke up the next morning with a slight headache and a growling stomach. My head was still reeling from what happened last night and just who that guy was. He took over my thoughts, and I already wanted more of him in every possible way, and that scared me. Nobody ever made me want them so badly, not even my ex, and I couldn’t let this guy get away with what he did last night without answers.
The breakfast buffet wasn’t very crowded since it was still pretty early in the morning and I knew my friends would be passed out at least until noon. It seemed like I was one of the few people who didn’t drink anything last night. I loaded up my plate with food and made my way over to an empty table before sitting down and quietly began eating my food.
Half of my food was already gone before I caught sight of a familiar face. He was dressed in a similar outfit that he wore last night as he stood in front of the breakfast buffet, eyeing its contents. I stood up with my plate before walking over to the trashcan that was near him hoping he would notice me, but he seemed to be too lost in his thoughts, so I decided to act first after placing my plate in a bin.
“So, do you usually kiss strangers and then leave?” I asked as I watched him freeze up before turning around to look at me.
“Not always, but you agreed to it.” He shrugged.
“Why are you grumpy? Are you not a morning person?” I questioned him.
He didn’t respond as his eyes looked behind me instead and he let out a low groan. I turned around to see what he was looking at, only to find a female around our age smiling away at the male. For some reason, seeing her smiling at him really bothered me.
“Did you seriously use me last night to cheat on your girlfriend?” I hissed.
“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a passenger on the ship who won’t leave me alone. She was the one who wanted me to get that drink last night that you ended up spilling on me. There seem to be a lot of people like you on the ship this time.” He sighed.
“What? Like me? What are you talking about?” I wondered as I crossed my arms waiting for an answer.
“Broken people looking for a quick hookup or a rebound. Whatever you want to call it. I see people like you guys come through often.” He mentioned.
“Often? How many times have you been on this cruise? What’s wrong with having a consensual hookup?” I asked in a curious tone.
“I work on this cruise ship if you really want to know. I didn’t say there was a problem with consensual hookups, but people like to take advantage of the employees here and threaten to have them fired if they don’t do what they want, which is wrong. I’m not the relationship type myself and I thought that if she saw me with you last night that she would give up on me, but apparently that didn’t work in my favor.”
“So you basically used me last night to avoid sleeping with her?”
“To put it in simple terms, yes, I did.”
I don’t know what came over me, but the next words that came out of my mouth were words I had never spoken to anyone before in my entire life.
“If it will help you, then you can use me while she’s around. I don’t mind being used by you.” I muttered as I looked him directly in the eyes.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying right now? You and I are strangers and in no way will we be in a relationship. I’m not up for dating anyone.” He shook his head at me.
“I’m not saying this to be in a relationship with you. I’m saying that we can have heated moments while she’s around to get her from bothering you. If she sees us being all over each other, I’m sure she’ll give up on you eventually.” I nodded.
“Are you sure about that? She’s pretty determined to sleep with me. Besides, why would you help me? We’re strangers.”
“It’s like you said earlier. Broken people are looking for people to use, so I’ll use you and you can use me too. Do we have a deal?” I smiled at him.
“Fine, but remember, this is only in front of her and we won’t be in a relationship like ever, and definitely no sex. I want to remind you again that I don’t do relationships.” He smiled back at me and I felt my heart speed up.
“Works for me. Quick question. Will you get fired for major public displays of affection?” I wondered as I looked over at the female, who was quietly sipping her drink.
“Not at all. The manager is one of my closest friends. Why do you ask?” He arched a brow at me.
I didn’t waste any time as I pressed my lips against his and gripped his waist. Thankfully, he caught on quickly and pulled me closer to him, and took the lead. I could hear small gasps and people whispering as we continued to kiss each other, which caused my heart to race. We only pulled away when we heard a very audible groan from someone.
A middle-aged male stood in front of us, holding an empty plate in his hands as he stared at us.
“Do you two have to do that in front of the scrambled eggs? I’ve been waiting all morning to eat.” The male grumbled to us.
“Sorry,” We both said in unison as we walked away from the buffet table.
I looked around and found no sign of the female from earlier and I couldn’t help but mentally smirk at my victory.
“By the way, I’m Kim Taehyung. It’s nice to meet you.” I said before flashing my boxy smile at him.
“I’m Jeon Jungkook and it’s nice to meet you too,” Jungkook replied as he flashed me his bunny smile.
My face had a permanent smile etched on it as I made my way back to my room after breakfast and eventually slipped under the bedcovers. Giggles escaped me as I kept thinking back to how Jungkook’s lips felt so perfect against my own. He was so gentle with me and I fell into a sweet slumber with thoughts of his lips on my own again.
When I opened my eyes, I caught Hoseok staring down at me before a yawn slipped past his lips. His hair was disheveled, and he nodded at me.
“Looks like we got a late start to the day. Pretty sure we missed breakfast and lunch already, so we’ll have to make it on time for dinner.” Hoseok explained before he walked off to our shared bathroom.
I couldn’t tell my friends about the agreement I had made with Jungkook. They would think I’ve gone crazy and that I’m taking my breakup harder than I had them believing. So I planned to keep it a secret from them because I didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on my friend’s faces. I couldn’t live with it.
I quickly got out of bed and threw on some different clothes while Hoseok was busy taking a shower. It wasn’t long before Yoongi and Jimin came into the room wearing tired expressions on their faces.
“Rough night?” I chuckled as they both blushed before quickly looking away from each other.
“Something like that,” Yoongi mumbled so quietly that I almost didn’t hear it.
“Where’s Hobi?” Jimin wondered as he tried to change the subject.
“Taking a shower. Pretty sure it’s already time for us to go have dinner.” I mentioned.
“Yeah. I’m starving.” Jimin whined.
Just then, Hoseok stepped out of the bathroom with damp hair and a sly smile.
“Let’s head to dinner.” Hoseok said as we all slowly followed behind him out of the room.
We made it in time for dinner and quickly found an open table that would seat all of us. I scanned the dining room to see if Jungkook was around, but I saw no signs of him anywhere and I couldn’t help but look down at my plate and frown.
“You ok, Tae?” Jimin asked me before he shoved a piece of food in his mouth.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” I muttered.
“Was last night too much for you?” Hobi asked me.
“What? What do you mean?” I asked as I felt my body heat up.
“With being around all the drinks. We know you don’t like to drink and we did kind of bail on you when we were on the dancefloor.”
“Oh. No, it’s fine. I honestly had a good time last night.” I said as I smiled, thinking back to the moment when I felt Jungkook’s lips on mine.
As if I had silently summoned him, Jungkook came into the dining room from what looked like an employee-only door with another male I hadn’t seen before. They were happily talking to each other and laughing about something that I couldn’t hear them saying. The male he was with looked older than us, but he was very handsome. The two of them continued to talk about something before the male walked off leaving Jungkook alone.
Jungkook glanced around the room but stopped once our eyes met. He gave me the smallest of smiles before he walked back behind the door he just came out of. It soon became hard to focus on anything but Jungkook as I forced myself to eat what I put on my plate and listened to my friends talk about what happened last night.
“You guys go on ahead. I want to take a walk around the ship. I’ll meet you back in our room later on.” I informed my friends as I caught sight of Jungkook going through a door on the deck.
“Alright. Be careful and take your time. There’s no rush. We’re all still pretty tired from last night.” Jimin said as he linked arms with Yoongi and Hoseok before the trio walked off.
I smiled at them and watched them disappear from my sight before I decided to follow after Jungkook and went through the door he did just moments before.
As soon as I stepped through the door, I entered what looked like a lounge. There was casual seating with a minibar and a television. It was a small room, but it looked cozy.
“You do realize you’re in the employee’s only lounge, right?” Jungkook chuckled as he popped his head up from behind the counter of the minibar.
“Sorry. I saw you come in here and got curious.” I shrugged.
“Well, I’m on my break right now, so you have good timing,” Jungkook replied as he walked near me with a water bottle in his hand.
“I guess I do. How did the rest of the day go? Did that girl bother you again?”
“No, but she did keep sneaking glances at me.”
“Good. Maybe she’ll finally leave you alone.” I mumbled.
“Are you sure you want that?” Jungkook asked as I looked up at him.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Once she leaves me alone, that means our arrangement comes to an end. Something tells me that you don’t want it to end,” Jungkook said softly as he set his unopened water bottle on the countertop.
“You don’t know what I want,” I muttered as I looked down at the ground to hide the heat on my cheeks.
I felt Jungkook cup my chin with his hand before he gently lifted my head, forcing me to look at him before he softly spoke, “I know exactly what you want.”
Before I could reply, I felt him gently brush his thumb across my bottom lip as he maintained eye contact with me. I could feel my body start to grow weak just by a simple touch from him. Why do I feel so weak and so strong in front of him?
My eyes fluttered closed as I watched him lean closer to me as if he were about to kiss me, but the sound of the door opening caused me to open my eyes and jump back. I heard Jungkook let out a low sigh as I watched to see who interrupted our moment.
The guy from earlier whom I saw Jungkook talking to came walking into the room with a frustrated look on his face.
“I can’t believe him, Kook. He said he has some paperwork he wants to work on so he doesn’t want to spend time together. This is annoying.” The male whined as he looked at Jungkook.
It took a moment of silence before the male noticed my presence, to which he quickly composed himself.
“Friend of yours, Jungkook?” The male asked as he cleared his throat.
“Something like that. This is Taehyung and this guy is my friend and manager named Kim Seokjin.” Jungkook explained as he made quick introductions for us.
“Nice to meet you. It’s the first time Jungkook brought a friend to the lounge, so I’m surprised to see you here, but in a good way. As he said, I’m the manager here. My partner, Kim Namjoon, is actually the owner. We both run the cruise line together. You’ll probably meet him soon.” Seokjin said as he smiled at me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll have to bring my friends to meet you tomorrow, if possible. They partied a little too hard last night.” I chuckled.
“Good! I’m glad all of you had a good time. Our cruise is famous for its parties so it makes me happy to hear people are enjoying their time here. If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll take my leave now and Jungkook, please head to my room later so we can talk about the next steps. It was nice meeting you, Taehyung.” Seokjin said as he made his way out of the room, leaving the two of us alone again.
“So I’m the first person you brought to the lounge?” I asked as soon as we were alone.
“I didn’t invite you to the lounge. You broke into it. There’s a difference.” Jungkook rolled his eyes at me.
“Fair point. I guess I should head back to my room as well. Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Probably. The ship isn’t that big and there are only so many places a person can go.”
I just shook my head at him before I left the room. As soon as I stepped back onto the deck, I turned around and looked through the window on the door. Jungkook sat down at one of the barstools at the counter and rested his head on his arms on top of the counter. I placed my hand on the door and watched him in silence for a few more moments before I made the walk back to my room.
Jungkook was on my mind as soon as I woke up the next morning and it wasn’t a shock to find him not long after I woke up. What was a shock to me was the look of determination on his face as he walked towards me before he pinned me against the wall of the hallway that connected the guest quarters to the main deck.
Before I could fully process things, he held my arms above my head and had me trapped so I couldn’t escape. Not that I would ever try to escape in the first place. There was a burning desire behind his eyes before he captured my lips with his own. Just like every time before, my body grew weak for him and submitted right away. He was still so careful and gentle with me as he began kissing up and down my neck, earning the tiniest of moans from me.
My body grew hot with desire and want as I unconsciously found myself grinding against him, which caused him to groan into my neck.
“Please,” I whimpered in the tiniest of voices.
“You want it, don’t you?” He whispered in my ear before he nipped at it.
I moaned as I felt his hand reach the edge of the waistband of my shorts.
“Tell me what you want,” Jungkook whispered as he trailed his hand down my shorts and gently tugged at the top of my boxers.
“You. Want you.” I muttered as I shamelessly rubbed against his thigh.
Jungkook let out a low growl as he nipped at my neck before he gently bit into my flesh, causing me to let out a very audible groan. As if he were shocked, he quickly pulled away and stopped while I was a panting mess. I looked up at him and saw both fear and worry in his eyes.
“Sorry. We can’t. I’m sorry, Taehyung.” Jungkook said quietly before he took off running from me.
I didn’t see Jungkook again for the rest of the cruise.
It was the last night of the cruise and I tried to avoid as many people as possible, including my friends. Ever since that day in the hallway, I had been missing Jungkook more than I would admit. He consumed every thought that I had and whenever I would see Seokjin or Namjoon, I secretly hoped that he would appear too, but it never happened. I knew he was avoiding me, but for what reason, I didn’t know.
So here I was in the middle of the night roaming the ship deck, which had been completely deserted. Moping wasn’t something I ever did and yet here I was aimlessly roaming the ship like a lost and rejected puppy.
My feet dragged me along the side of the deck when I caught sight of Jungkook. His back was turned to me, but I could definitely make out his figure. I bit my lower lip as a sudden thought crossed my mind. This time, I wanted to be the one to make the first move, even if he was ignoring me.
As soon as I walked up to him, I pinned him against the wall and he immediately tried to break free from my hold.
"You can't hide from me forever," I whispered in his ear as I watched him start to relax in my hold.
“What are you doing, Taehyung?” Jungkook whispered back as I loosened my grip on him and let him turn around to face me.
“It’s my last night on the cruise and I know you’ve been avoiding me.” I frowned.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to end up in the same situation I was in before.” He said in a saddened tone as he looked down at the floor.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve been down this road before. Last year, I met someone on the cruise who had recently gotten out of a relationship and I fell hard for them. We spent all of our time together while they were a passenger and it was great. They were my first everything and when it was time for the cruise to end, they promised they would contact me as soon as they got home, but they never did. I never heard from them again and I found out that they met someone else not long after they returned home. So I don’t want something like that to happen ever again. It made me feel awful, like I was just someone to be used and tossed to the side. Still, when you and I made our arrangement, I thought it would be for fun, but when I saw you looking at me and going out of your way to find me every day, I knew it wasn’t just an arrangement. Despite all of that, I still let you find me time and time again because I like you.”
Jungkook looked more distraught than I had ever seen him before, and I watched as a few tears slid down his cheeks. He truly looked broken, and it made my heart hurt to think about how someone could treat him so poorly.
“I wouldn’t ever treat you like that. I genuinely like you Jungkook and I knew it the moment I spilled that drink on your shirt. I know what it’s like to be used because that’s exactly what happened in my previous relationship. We were together for six years and it truly felt one-sided. I’m not using you as a rebound or for a one-time thing. I really do like you and want something serious with you, but I respect that you don’t want to be in a relationship. That’s why I didn’t ask you about a relationship each time we were together, because I wanted you to open up to me on your own. I wouldn’t dare force you to do anything that you didn’t want to do. If this is just a fling while I’m a passenger, then so be it. At least I was able to create happy memories with you while I was here, and that makes me glad.” I said as I smiled at him before I gently wiped away the few tears he had left.
It was hard to say who made the first move, but in an instant, our lips met and I felt Jungkook fisting my shirt as if I would disappear at any given moment.
“Will you spend the night with me?” Jungkook asked me as we slowly pulled away from our kiss and looked each other in the eyes.
“Are you sure?”
Jungkook nodded at me before we captured each other’s lips again.
That night Jungkook touched me in no way I had ever been touched before. His hands roamed over every inch of my body as his lips placed feather-like kisses in every part that I kept hidden from public view. He had me chanting his name like a prayer as he worshipped my body.
I woke up the next morning to a beautiful sight. Jungkook was sleeping peacefully next to me and I even caught him smiling a few times. I gently brushed his bangs out of his face before I place a soft kiss on his forehead.
“Morning, Kook.” I whispered as I heard him grunt before he slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.
“You won’t disappear on me, will you?” Jungkook whispered back as he touched the side of my face.
“Of course not. I’m right here.” I replied as I gently grabbed his hand and kissed the back of it.
Jungkook didn’t say anything as he slowly slid out of bed and headed off to his bathroom to take a shower. It was hard to read his thoughts, especially when he closed the bathroom door and I heard a click sound indicating that he had locked it so I couldn’t follow after him.
I followed after him and stood outside the door with my hands pressed against it and hoped that what I said next would reach him in more ways than one.
“Jungkook, I meant every word I said to you last night, and I still mean it. I like you and I don’t want to force you into anything that you don’t want to do. I respect your choice of not wanting to be in a relationship. So I’ll wait until you’re ready for a relationship. I don’t care how long that takes. I won’t disappear on you. I promise. I won’t treat you like those in your past did. I hope that the next time we do meet you’re able to open up your heart to me, even if it’s just a little. Waiting for you is worth it because I know what’s waiting for me at the end and it’s you and your heart. My feelings won’t fade for you when I step off this ship and even when I return to my home. I’ll wait for you.”
I didn’t hear any response from him, but I could hear the sound of the shower still going. That was my last chance to lay out everything, including my feelings, and even with no verbal response from Jungkook, I knew he had heard every word I said. So I quickly got dressed and headed back to my room and smiled at each one of my friends.
That morning was the last time I had seen Jungkook. He didn’t show up when I stepped off the ship with my friends, but Seokjin and Namjoon were there to bid me farewell and even slipped me their contact information so we could keep in touch.
I made it off the ship bridge and back onto familiar land. My feet stopped on their own as I slowly turned around to look back at the ship that was still docked. A few passengers were still walking off as I looked around the area and frowned when I didn’t see any signs of Jungkook. Part of me felt like he was secretly watching me so I put my hand in the air and waved just in case he was somewhere he could see me.
“Tae, are you coming or not?” Jimin asked in a calm tone as I turned to look at him.
“Yeah. I’m right behind you.” I said with a smile before all of us walked further and further away from the ship.
Jungkook would always be worth the wait.
Two years passed by in what felt like an instant and here I was boarding the same cruise ship that I had met Jungkook on. So much had happened over these past few years and I felt a wave of emotions as I took my first steps on the same ship that I was a passenger on before.
This time I decided to go on the cruise alone. I eventually told my friends about what happened with Jungkook and they scolded me for not staying with him. So as their form of punishment, they told me to go back on the cruise and properly confess to Jungkook in a face-to-face setting. They kicked me out of my own apartment and told me I couldn’t come back until I brought Jungkook with me.
So here I was, taking shaky steps on the cruise that held my past and now possibly my future. As soon as I made it to the deck, I was greeted by Namjoon and Seokjin. The three of us kept in contact over the past two years and they were also in on the plan that my friends had come up with.
“Tae! I’m so glad you’re back with us!” Jin exclaimed as he enveloped me in a quick hug.
“Glad to be back.” I chuckled.
“Hey, Tae. We sent Kook to the employee lounge for a bit, so he’s all yours. Good luck. You got this.” Namjoon winked at me before the couple shooed me off.
I let out a heavy sigh as I made my way down the deck and to the familiar employee lounge that I had walked into after following Jungkook. My heart was pounding in my chest as I stopped in front of the door and looked in the window. I saw a figure standing in there with their back to me and I took a deep breath before I walked in.
“Jin, I’ll take care of it in a minute,” Jungkook said, as he didn’t bother to turn around.
“You should probably take care of it now cause it might be important,” I replied with a chuckle.
Jungkook instantly turned around and had a look of shock on his face. His appearance had changed slightly over the past two years. He looked even more muscular now, and he had a lip piercing and his black hair was cut just a bit shorter. There were tears gathering in his eyes that threatened to spill over, but he ran his fingers over his eyes to silence them.
“Taehyung!” He shouted out before he came running up to me.
With a sudden case of shock, I was met with his lips on mine before his eventually trailed all over my face in a hurried and sloppy way. He started kissing me over every inch of my face before he let out tiny whines and huffs. It made my heart flutter before I followed his lips and captured them in a kiss that silenced him completely. My hands held both sides of his face as our lips began to connect in a much slower and deeper way. He was the first one to pull away and look at me as if he were dreaming.
“You’re really here. You didn’t disappear.” Jungkook said softly.
“Of course not. I promised I wouldn’t.”
“I like you, Taehyung. I’ve liked you the entire time. Since you spilled the drink on me that one night, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted you ever since. I wanted every part of you, but I was so scared because of my past relationship. I heard your friends talking about how upset you were over your ex and I thought that you would just use me to get over them, so that’s why I agreed to us using each other, but I was so greedy and wanted more. I still want more. I want you. I want you as my boyfriend. I want you as my partner, Tae.”
“And here I wanted to be the one who would sweep you off your feet with this big heartfelt confession, but you beat me to it.” I giggled.
Jungkook and I leaned in and sealed our lips together for what felt like the first time, and my heart couldn’t stop racing. I pulled away first and just smiled at him.
“So you’ll meet my friends officially once we dock again, right?”
“Of course. I’ll meet your whole family if that’s what it takes to be with you.” Jungkook mentioned.
“I’m glad you finally know what you want and I’m so glad I waited for you. You’re worth the wait.” I whispered before I planted a quick and gentle kiss on his lips.
“We should probably take this to my room now. After all, we have two years of waiting to catch up on.” Jungkook whispered in my ear before he pulled back and smirked at me.
I grabbed his hand before I let him lead us to his room where we spent hours getting caught up on the past two years that we had missed and he worshipped every part of my body just like he did before.
Where one relationship ended for me, another one was soon beginning and would prove to be the best relationship I had ever been in.
It would take another two years before we moved in together and another six months after that before we entered a commitment to spend the rest of our lives together.
Jungkook was worth the wait.