Chapter 24

I pocketed the picture safely in the inner pocket of my suit jacket and continued reading the card.

To: Jungkook hyung and Jinhee noona

Jungkook hyung please luv my noona with all your heart, she is very precious to me. I hope you two get married soon and have babies so they can play with me! I think Jungkook hyung is nice and I want him to become my brother. Thank you Noona for making me happy all the time. I wish that you and Jungkook hyung will be together forever and you both will love each other forever.

I could feel heat rushing up to my cheeks when I saw how much the youngster wanted us to be together.

He's adorable.

I kept the card together with the picture, clutching my heart in anxiety.

I hope she likes what I've prepared for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimin POV

I'd gotten Jinhee's birthday present a month before the actual day, just that it wasn't time to present yet.

Now, I'm at the airport, awaiting the arrival of a very excitable bundle of energy in the form of a gift box.

She'll love him.

I spotted a sign that read: Jiminie where are you?

Chortling, I walked towards the clueless kiddo who had just exited the gateway.

"Oppa there you are! I brought the present like you told me to!"

I smiled, ruffling my cousin's hair affectionately, "Gomawo Seowon ah. Thanks for coming and helping me with this."

She gave me a cheeky look, "Who is he for? I'm just dying to see my favourite Oppa's crush. She must be really pretty to be able to meet up to your standards."

I rolled my eyes, fighting a blush, and put the small girl in a headlock.

"Yah...yah...can't...breathe..." she choked out.

I released her and replied, "For the record, she is pretty, but she doesn't like me back. Jungkook has her in his sights. You'll see this afternoon and tonight."

"Woah that sounds depressing. Who on Earth wouldn't like my handsome cousin? I'm so looking forward to the first girl that hasn't fallen for my Oppa's charms."

"Shut up..." I grumbled, upset that she was right, Jinhee hadn't fallen for me, and embarrassed because she called me handsome.

Not something she does very often.

"Oh come on Oppa, it's not like there aren't other girls who like you. Practically everyone in your school is all over you and your group." Seowon huffed.

"That's the thing. Those girls at school only like me because I'm handsome or rich or whatever. They don't know me."

"Whatever the case Oppa, I'm sure you'll find someone you love even more than Jinhee unnie in the future."

"I doubt so..." I muttered under my breath as we made our way to the exit.

"Ooo...I hope there'll be cake there. Or any kind of food. I miss Korean cuisine. Hong Kong has been tough." 

"Oh there will be a lot of food, and maybe you'll even get to swim."

I watched her eyes grow huge and I smirked, keeping my hands on the steering wheel.

"There is a pool at her house?!"

"Yup."

"I'm starting to like the sound of her already."

Jinhee POV

I busied myself with work from school.

I had an extra class to attend today for Geography because that's the only subject that I can't ace in.

I hate Geography.

All those maps and graphs are hella confusing to me and I just can't seem to grasp the concept well.

What can I do?

This subject is just plain boring.

It was a little past four, and my brain was exhausted from the amount of information that I had had to shove into it.

My eyelids drooped and I forced myself to keep awake.

Suddenly, I got a call, which scared me half to death because the traffic junction that I was crossing was eerily silent.

"Hello?"

"Jinhee? It's Jungkook."

"Oh hey! What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to check that you finished your class. How was it?"

"Horribly brain-zapping."

His melodious laughter rang through the phone speaker, reverberating into my ears, soft and soothing.

I closed my eyes, standing at the side of the road that I was supposed to cross.

I must have looked pretty stupid, swaying on my feet by the road side, but his voice was so smooth that I couldn't even comprehend what he was saying.

It was just a stream of words that flowed like a lullaby into my ears, making me sleepier if possible.

"Hello? Jinhee are you still there?"

"Yeah sorry, I was distracted."

I started to cross the road, the nearby coffee shop being my next destination.

I was hungry. I stepped into the air-conditioned shop, savouring the feeling of the cool air blowing on my skin.

I chatted away to Jungkook, while I grabbed a bagel and a bottle of water.

I paid for them, but stayed a little longer, just because I could and because I didn't want to leave the coolness of the air-conditioning.

I hung around for another half an hour, until it was sunset.

Deciding that now would be a good time to go home, I made my way to the bus stop beside the shop.

I hailed a cab and went home, hanging up from the long conversation that I'd been participating so actively in with Jungkook.

By the time I arrived home, it was getting dark, around half past five.

I thanked the driver and paid for my fare, walking into my family's familiar estate, which was all dark.

Strange.

Where was everyone?

Usually when I come home late, Jinyoung would be here to welcome me home like the sweet brother he was.

I unlocked the front door and went in.

Before I could turn on the lights, I spotted a candle in the middle of the living room.

Huh?

I picked up the piece of rose scented paper which was lying beside the candle.

The back door.

Raising my eyebrows in confusion, I went through the back of the kitchen and stood in front of the door that led to the backyard. There was another piece of paper stuck to it.

Go ahead.

Curious, I did what the message implied. I turned the door knob, and slowly pushed the door open.

I gasped loudly.

The backyard was decorated beautifully with more candles and white roses, my favourite flower.

The fence surrounding the house had been used to tie balloons around, all in different colours.

Blue, green, red, pink and white, so many that I felt woozy just looking at them.

There were lights strung across the branches of the trees in the backyard, making the place look magical, like it was out of a fairytale.

What is going on?

As I let my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness of the lights, I walked around the area to check for more notes, but there were none.

Now what am I supposed to do?

I got my answer in three seconds.

One, the fairy lights went out.

Two, a spotlight was turned on in the center of the backyard.

Three, in the center of that spotlight, stood Jungkook, looking drop-dead gorgeous in a black and blue suit with a white under-shirt.

I walked to him and said, "Well? What's all this for?"

Even as I asked him, my heart started to race.

Was he going to ask me out?

Excitement and disbelief coursed through my veins.

With those dark eyes of his boring into mine sincerely, Jungkook started to speak.

"Park Jinhee, you have been my best friend for a month. Just a month, but over this one month, we have grown closer than I thought possible. You make me smile. You make me laugh. You make my heart pound faster than anyone I've ever met. It wasn't long before I realised why. To say that I like you would be an understatement, because I, Jeon Jungkook, am hopelessly in love with you. Will you do me the honour, of being your most trusted boyfriend?"

I covered my mouth when he knelt down on the ground and extended a bouquet of white roses.

It's really happening.

No more fantasies, no more dreaming.

This, was real.

Joy erupted from the pit of my stomach and swarmed through my body system like butterflies.

I knelt, taking the beautiful flowers in one hand and wrapping my other arm around his neck, whispering, "Yes!"