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11. CHERRY TEA
桜茶

JUNGKOOK STARED AT his phone until park jimin cleared his throat. "i'm sorry, is my talking interrupting your texting?" the older boy remarked with a quirked brow. jungkook's eyes moved up from his phone to look at his friend. "sorry. sorry, hyung." he placed the phone on the couch next to him.

"who are you talking to anyway?" kim namjoon appeared with a forkful of cheesecake in his mouth. "hyung, why do you keep eating my cheesecake?" jungkook groaned, looking up at the older man. "because it's delicious?" the eldest answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

jimin and namjoon were something else, to put it mildly, but the two boys were the only ones who seemed to understand jungkook and his nuances. jungkook barely spoke to anyone in his year, finding that their lifestyle not to mesh with his which made him feel out of his element.

jungkook preferred to appreciate the little things in life. like the taste of warm strawberry cheesecake. the taste of the cherry tea he had every morning instead of coffee – he was never fond of bitter things.

rainy mornings when the streets weren't busy and only a few people were out and he could stay in bed under his blankets. or when the night sky was such a vivid dark blue that the stars seemed to shine even brighter. or staying home to watch a movie instead of going out to a party.

jungkook didn't have much regard for loud things. the thoughts that kept him awake every night more than covered up for that. and that was exactly what all the first years were. loud. and he really couldn't relate to that.

namjoon and jimin were neither here nor there, skilled at balancing their lives. it was what jungkook appreciated most about them. they gave him a sense of balance. they might have been older and not in the same year as him but he felt more like himself around them.

sighing, jungkook shook his head, eyes glancing at the screen of his phone again. jimin's brows moved higher on his face. "who's she?" he asked softly. "hmm?" the younger boy's doe eyes rounded. jimin smiled small, thumb playing with one of the silver rings that adorned his fingers. "what's her name?"

he watched as his friend got flustered, hands twirling his phone around. sometimes jungkook hated the fact that jimin was a neuroscience major. the boy could always read him so well. but then, it also meant he was extremely easy to talk to and very understanding. he never judged, which jungkook considered to be an admirable quality to have.

"so it is a girl." namjoon settled down next to him. "when d'you meet her? does she go to our college? is she nice?" he barraged him with questions. the engineering major, on the other hand, was better at reading computer languages than people.

jimin's lips curled up, shaking his head at the older male. "hyung, you're smothering him." he remarked quietly. "oh, sorry." namjoon mumbled, stuffing his mouth with another forkful of cheesecake.

"so you want to tell us or you still want to keep her to yourself?" jimin's gaze shifted to the youngest in the room. jungkook cleared his throat, eyes casted downwards. "her name's lia." he let out quietly. "she's the girl i accidentally hit with my cart the other day."

"oh, the one you thought was cute. i thought you didn't really talk to her?" namjoon looked at him. "i didn't. i met her again last night. she invited me to her place." he answered. the eldest's eyes widened comically as he choked on cheesecake.

jungkook crinkled his nose, realising what that sounded like in namjoon's perverted mind. "it wasn't like that!" he exclaimed, raising his hands defensively. "it rained last night and i didn't have any umbrella so she asked me to her place to warm up. besides she lives with her family so there's no way it could have been like that."

jimin grinned, crossing one leg over the other. "so now you're texting her. she replied yet?" he questioned. the youngest boy shook his head with a slight pout. "d'you like her?" another question. there was a small frown, brows knitting together before he answered. "i officially met her last night. i barely know anything about her."

there was a ding and jungkook eagerly picked up his phone. it was lia.

• mamma lia!
nope still breathing

smiling lightly, his fingers deftly moved over the keyboard. his friends watched him as he typed excitedly before pressing send.

jungkook •
you sound disappointed

• mamma lia!
i am
i think the universe hates me

jungkook •
i think not

• mamma lia!
you think wrong
my friends are looking over my shoulder smh

jungkook •
mine are staring at me like the last slice of pizza

• mamma lia!
goals
i want someone to look at me like that

jungkook •
i prefer to be looked at like the last slice of cheesecake

• mamma lia!
have you ever considered the possibility that maybe you have a cheesecake addiction?

jungkook •
you saw me with cheesecake mix once lia

• mamma lia!
yeah like twenty boxes of it

jungkook •
that's an exaggeration

• mamma lia!
is it though
is it

jungkook •
it is

• mamma lia!
you had any today?

jungkook •
no

• mamma lia!
i can literally see the lie in that message wow

jungkook •
idk what you're talking about

• mamma lia!
the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, kook

jungkook •
if someone read that without context, they'd think i'm some coke addict

• mamma lia!
imagine adding coke to your list of addictions
yikes
#prayforjungkooksbloodsugar

jungkook •
yk what i meant

• mamma lia!
that you have a sweet tooth?
yeah
bet you're one of those people who can't drink coffee bc they can still taste the bitter undertone no matter what's added

jungkook •
how did you know
i prefer cherry tea
are you watching me

• mamma lia!
oh shit
i was right???
well damn

jungkook •
i refuse to be judged

• mamma lia!
this is a judge free zone
i have to go
my friend forgot her dye appointment at the salon and is making me drive her
i have to go beg darryl for his keys
rip my pride

jungkook •
ah okay
good luck with that
i get the sense you're going to need it
talk to you later
have fun

• mamma lia!
later cheesecake guy

"he's grinning like he got offered a lifetime supply of cheesecake." namjoon remarked as jungkook finally put his phone down. "i'm not." jungkook pouted. "are we going to the movies or not?"

jimin chuckled, getting on his feet. "we are. i'm not missing the first half because of you two again."