lovestrippedbare | 𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕠

They're romantic in different ways, Jungkook knows, though he doesn't bother to protest Yoongi's point. For Jungkook, he feels like years of stories and fairy tales have built up in his mind and woven a compendium of experiences he knows he wants to share. Even if some of them end up being overly hyped, even if so many of the ideas are stereotypical to a fault, there's still the desire to grab after every one with Yoongi and file them away in his memory. And with Jungkook's bias leaning towards more visual experiences, he figures the ability to catalog every image will at least make such escapes unregrettable.

He wants to kiss Yoongi in front of the ocean. He wants to kiss Yoongi on a bridge, lifted high above the water and with cars rushing in the background. He wants to kiss Yoongi on the top of Namsan Tower, wants to kiss him behind one of the back fences at school — all the places that have been meaningful or that Jungkook dreams of are places where he wants Yoongi to feature.

It's really as simple as that.

But romance from Yoongi is another matter entirely, little gestures and moments that wouldn't mean half as much if they were shared by anyone else. And that, Jungkook thinks, is just as precious to him, if not more.

Grinning broadly as soon as he feels Yoongi's fingers slip into his own, Jungkook picks up the pace and heads back toward the street. "Ddeokbokki sounds so good, I saw a place where everyone was lined up. The ddeok were, like, huge! Twice the thickness of anything I've seen back home," Jungkook says, nodding at the stall some distance away.

Yoongi strokes his thumb along Jungkook's hand, glancing over with a bright smile as he follows in the direction Jungkook indicates. It's only, he thinks, because people scarcely pay attention to the people they pass that they're able to avoid being noticed, because he's pretty sure there's no hiding how fucking smitten he is. He might have tried, if they were back in Seoul, but here, he really doesn't give a fuck. His boyfriend is romantic and ridiculous all at once, and he doesn't care who knows it.

"Well, then we have to try it," he says. He's not a fan of long lines, but they don't bother him so much when the two of them are out and about together. It's easy enough to keep each other entertained while they wait. "This one here?" He eyes the stall curiously, taking in the sight of the food and the rich smell wafting over from the stand.

"Yeah, that's the one," Jungkook says, his smile widening eagerly as he pushes himself up on his toes to get a better look over the crowd, intrigued by how much sauce is simmering in the pan. There's a nice variety of ingredients that seem to be mixed together, including some vegetables, some fish cakes, something fried that Jungkook can't quite identify at a glance. Ddeokbokki stalls might be a dime a dozen back home, but he's pleased to have found a place that seems to have changed the formula a little bit, and the long line seems indicate that they've chosen well.

"Ah, look, it must be spicy," he points out, watching a couple of teens off to the side gasping and reaching for water. He squeezes Yoongi's hand, then lets his thumb trace along the side of his palm, the movement small enough to be unnoticeable to everyone else. "Man, I thought I was full earlier, but now I think I could eat two orders of that stuff. Or maybe save some room for grilled sundae."

Edited 2019-03-09 01:57 (UTC)

Yoongi huffs out a laugh. "Keep it up," he teases, "and we'll have to roll down the beach." It's not about to stop him, though, from sampling everything Busan has to offer. So many of the foods here are the same ones they'd find at home, but everything about the stalls seems different to him. Some of it is the differing recipes, but some of it, he knows, is just that he's excited to be here. As it turns out, feeling free makes everything taste better.

And it does smell delicious, the rich scent lingering on the air, promising something new and sharp and spicy.

"Two orders, you think? Not just for you, obviously."

"Would you still love me then?" Jungkook asks, snickering at the mental image. His metabolism has yet to fail him with being able to process greater amounts of food when he decides to treat himself a little, but he has to admit that the thought of being relaxed and indulging with Yoongi, picking up a few pounds here or there over time, isn't a bad one. He's seen pictures of his parents together before his dad died, and there's no doubt that both of them had picked up a little between their wedding and raising Jungkook.

It's kind of nice, Jungkook thinks.

"Ah, fine, I'll just eat the one order. Unless yours ends up being too spicy for you," Jungkook teases, even though he's pretty sure that Yoongi can handle his spice just about as well as Jungkook does.

"Little brat," Yoongi says, and it's a term of endearment, his hand squeezing Jungkook's as they take another step forward, the line advancing bit by bit. Granted, he may not have much right to call Jungkook little, even on his own birthday; he's resigned himself to not growing anymore while Jungkook only seems to get taller and taller. That's never going to stop him.

He huffs, smile managing to be at once fond and wry. "Of course I'll still love you. Even if you're big as a house, I'll love you." He realizes after he's said it that he's forgotten to keep his voice down, but everyone around them is engaged in their own conversations and none of them seem to have noticed or cared. Besides, there's no one here who poses a real threat to them.

Edited 2019-03-10 08:48 (UTC)

Words of endearment or not, no one around them seems to mind, and Jungkook finds his shoulders relaxing further still at how normal it all is. How they're just like any other pair of young adults out here, enjoying food, enjoying the slow transition of winter to spring. Maybe it's just his imagination, but the weather really does seem warmer down here, the world a little brighter and the possibility felt with every hint of the salty air that brushes by.

"Yeah, I've got you pretty good, huh?" Jungkook smiles, tilting his head back and forth. The past three months have been more than enough time for Jungkook to feel fully confident in them, to erase even the slightest trace of doubt that they might be fueled by the newness of a relationship. No, this isn't some honeymoon phase, Jungkook's sure — they've been comfortable with each other since forever, and now it's simply a matter of how much freedom the world will give them.

"But y'know, I really might become big as a house someday. Gotta keep hitting up the gym," Jungkook smirks, raising his free arm and flexing. There's really not anything that can be seen through the loose sleeve of his jacket, but Jungkook knows he's bulked up a bit since the year before, maybe even a tiny bit since winter. He likes the feeling of really using his body to exhaustion, seeing what it can do.

It doesn't hurt that he has extra incentive now, loving the way it feels to be able to pick Yoongi up on a whim, sometimes carrying him all the way from living room to bed.

It's not like Yoongi can see anything, but he can imagine, mind briefly filling in the gap with memories of those muscles under his fingertips, beneath his lips. Not for the first time, he wonders if he should try working out, too, if only to keep up with Jungkook.

He usually ends up deciding he's too lazy for that.

"Yah," he exclaims, rolling his eyes. "Isn't it enough that you're taller than me? You have to be stronger and hotter, too? Leave something for me." Though, considered that way, Yoongi has to admit that, as much as Jungkook has him, he's got Jungkook pretty good, too. No doubt trips to the gym come with their share of eye candy, but Yoongi knows Jungkook's eye never wanders (or, if it ever does, it's equally gratifying to imagine that no one else measures up).

"Stronger, yes. Taller, yes," Jungkook ticks the attributes off one by one, as though proudly claiming his trophies. Some of them aren't necessarily earned — as much as he eats, he's pretty sure that doesn't actually impact how tall he's able to grow — but Jungkook can't deny that there's a bit of pleasure to be found in any way that he manages to catch up to his hyungs. Someday, he hopes that the gap he feels between himself and them will be so small as to be negligible, when he's every bit the responsible adult who's able to pull them all away from work and treat them to a nice meal.

It's one of the better motivators to keep on pushing hard in school.

Lowering the volume of his voice, Jungkook leans in, until the breath from his words fans nicely against the shell of Yoongi's ear. "Never gonna be hotter than you, though," he murmurs. "Pretty sure the way you look when you're fucking me is the hottest anyone can ever get, period."

The sound Yoongi makes at that is small, almost indignant, and he has half a mind to pull Jungkook out of line and to the nearest place they can find some privacy, even if it means heading all the way back to the hotel. He can't help it when just those words brings back flashes of memory, of the way Jungkook feels around and beneath him, the way he tries to watch every single thing Yoongi does even as his head tips back, throat soft and exposed. Fuck, how he wants.

"We'll have to agree to disagree," he says, sotto voce, as he turns to speak into Jungkook's ear in turn. "Because no one's as hot as you are when I fuck you." Desire stirs and sparks within him, and it's a dangerous game, perhaps, when there's really nowhere they can go to sate that growing want, but it's a game two can play and he doesn't like losing.

Although he's so distracted, he doesn't notice at first when the line keeps moving, and he has to take a quick step forward, slightly abashed by his distracting.

Jungkook shivers, can't help but wonder if the movement was visible as he did. Hopefully people won't think twice of it; it's early enough in the year that it's still occasionally chilly, and Jungkook's never been good about dressing appropriately for the weather. But perhaps it's too much to hope that people would draw such an innocuous conclusion when Jungkook can practically feel the fire spreading across his face, when his gaze turns slightly unfocused as his mind gets tugged back to those nights when Yoongi's shoulders stretch broadly over his own, when Jungkook can watch the planes of his stomach as Yoongi fucks into him, slow and torturous.

"Nope," he chirps with a shake of his head, laughing through arousal and embarrassment alike. "No way. I probably look like an idiot, lips gaping and all that." Yoongi wears focus beautifully on his features, a determined look that practically wills music out of the air. In comparison, Jungkook's pretty sure he looks lost, overwhelmed. (At least, sometimes that's how he feels, to be sure.)

But right now, there's the opportunity to laugh when Yoongi clumsily closes the distance between himself and the patron in front of them, Jungkook bumping his shoulder playfully against Yoongi's as he catches up. "Eyes on the prize, Min Yoongi. Can't lose our place for ddeokbokki."

"No, that would be the end of the world," Yoongi agrees wryly. What he wants is to turn to face Jungkook, to take his face in his hands and kiss him, to make sure he knows he doesn't look even a little bit idiotic. He settles for squeezing Jungkook's hand, leaning close to whisper in his ear again. "And you look beautiful. Always beautiful."

It's a simple word, but it's honest. In Yoongi's eyes, at least, Jungkook is perfect as he is, every sound, every gesture art. He wishes he had the skill to make art of it, to turn those moments to music or any other more permanent form. But perhaps that's part of it, how fleeting those nights are, stunning in their impermanence.

Pulling away to step forward again, he makes their order, sneaking glances at Jungkook. The flush in his cheeks is familiar, sending warmth spreading pleasantly through Yoongi's chest; he always looks so good like this.

Beautiful might not be the first word that comes to mind when Jungkook considers his aspirations. He spends so much of his time working on becoming stronger, smarter, more capable and adult. But there's no word that touches him quite as deeply, coming from Yoongi's lips. Beautiful is the type of word that gets attributed to music, to art, to all the things that the two of them love most and have shared since they day they meant, and so it feels precious to hear that word as it pertains to himself as well. After all, Jungkook knows exactly how beautiful he finds Yoongi in every moment, both intimate and the more commonplace.

How beautiful he finds Yoongi right now.

He doesn't put up any argument when Yoongi is the one to place the order this time, eyes trained instead on the shape of Yoongi's jaw, how it seamlessly meets the curve of his neck when he leans forward. How there's such a quiet reliability in everything that Yoongi does, leaving Jungkook feeling safe, no matter where they are. Only once they have their order, one steaming cup for each of them, does Jungkook reach out for Yoongi's hand again.

"You know, moments like those... I mean, obviously I love doing it because it feels good, but it's also. I don't know," Jungkook mumbles behind a smile, fingers toying with the rim of his ddeokbokki cup. "It feels good to be open like that with you. Things that I'll never want to share with anyone else, because with you it's just... safe, and perfect. I don't know if I'm making any sense."

There's something about being out in public together that always heightens Yoongi's awareness of Jungkook. It's all the things he can't do or that he has to lower his voice to say. It's frustrating, but there's a certain pleasure, too, in the restraint required. In the knowledge that he'll make up for it tonight when they get back to their room.

Right now, he'd like to reach over, his hand at Jungkook's cheek, and step closer to kiss him, the food he carries be damned and all the people around them with it. Instead, he simply smiles. "No, you're making perfect sense," he says. He might keep his hands to himself, but he can't take his eyes off of Jungkook. "I don't ever want to share that with anyone else either. I like being yours. In every possible way." It's hard to imagine sharing any of this with another person now. He wouldn't want to; it wouldn't be fair. Even if, by some awful twist of fate, they were separated, he knows he could only ever compare anyone else to Jungkook, always unfavorably.

Even though Jungkook can't say he was looking for any sort of affirmation from Yoongi just then, receiving it pulls the smile to his lips all over again, Jungkook's cheeks flushing faintly as he steps a little closer to Yoongi's side. He's been of a fairly romantic mind as long as he can remember, believing in the notion of soulmates, believing in the joy to be found in sharing oneself completely with another person. Sometimes, he thinks that the reason why his household can't quite fit together seamlessly is because his mother and his stepfather both gave parts of themselves away in previous marriages, and no matter how good they are for one another, it's not quite the same.

Being with Yoongi is like that, Jungkook thinks. There's already a part of him that lives fully with Yoongi, that can't be extricated no matter what else happens in their lives. Perhaps that comes with risks of its own, but Jungkook can't think of a gamble he'd rather take.

"You really are mine, huh?" Jungkook muses with a small smile. "Ah, I have such a good soulmate. Everyone should understand why I'm being selfish with you this weekend."

"Yours in every way," Yoongi agrees. Something so all-encompassing might frighten him under other circumstances, but here and now with Jungkook, it's exhilarating to know this kind of love. It's as if, in giving himself fully and freely to Jungkook, he becomes still more himself, better and brighter and freer, too.

"Anyway, it's not selfish," he adds. "Not if it's what I want, too." It would be nice, sure, to celebrate with the others, but they had last night, with cake and presents, and he prefers this, casual and special all at once. They've never had an opportunity like this, and it's better, he thinks, than anything else he might have done with his weekend. "I'm sure they get it. And if they don't..." He shrugs. "It's my birthday."

It's probably still a little selfish, Jungkook thinks to himself, but it's the kind of selfish that he thinks the both of them can afford a little more often than they have. Early on in the relationship, Jungkook knows that both of their schedules changed a great deal, making far more time for one another and less for the group. But lately, they've fallen back into more of an equilibrium, each one of them spending time with their other friends — Yoongi probably spends more time with Seokjin and Hoseok than Jungkook does, and Jungkook's smaller age gap with Taehyung and Jimin has always made those connections easy.

So pulling Yoongi back now feels... well, self-serving.

But Jungkook's okay with it.

"And there's no way you'd rather spend it than with me, huh?" Jungkook asks, smile wide and just a touch smug. "Far away from home, where we can just... be. Feels almost like it's my birthday."

There's a playful self-certainty in Jungkook's tone, but Yoongi's agreement is entirely in earnest. He nods, smiling warmly. Of course there's no other way he'd want to spend this day. He loves the others terribly, he really does, his five brothers, and he's glad they had a chance to celebrate together. But what he wants, probably more than anything else in the entire world, is just to be with Jungkook and free.

"We'll do something special for your birthday, too," he says. "If you want." He won't begrudge it if Jungkook would prefer a more traditional celebration, a party with their friends. He's gotten a little better at not feeling so selfish for wanting Jungkook to himself, and he's privately proud of that progress, but he wouldn't want to intervene if Jungkook had something else in mind. Anyway, that's months from now, and they have plenty of time to figure out what they'll do for the day.

He picks up a piece of rice cake, still faintly steaming, and bites into it. It's thicker than he's accustomed to, but good all the same.

"But yeah," he says once he's eaten it. "Yeah, there's nowhere I'd rather be."

Edited 2019-03-15 10:02 (UTC)

Jungkook hasn't done much thinking about his own upcoming birthday yet, more focused on making sure this weekend is absolutely perfect to celebrate Yoongi's, but he gives it a little thought now as he picks up his first rice cake and chews it slowly. On the one hand, he wonders if he should be using every excuse he's got to pull all of his hyungs back together — after all, Seokjin and Namjoon and Hoseok will all have graduated as well, and it might not be easy to coordinate with their schedules. But Jungkook is also pretty sure that setting a party on his exact birthday won't be the thing that makes or breaks whether or not his hyungs come back.

But insofar as a date matters, that his own mind will be focused on it, Jungkook thinks there's little better that he can do to celebrate than spend that time with Yoongi.

"Of course I want," he confirms after swallowing his bite, licking some of the sweet, spicy sauce off the corner of his mouth. "I don't know if we'll be able to make a trip like this while you've got uni lectures and stuff, but I'm sure we can work something out. Some special way to spend the time. Making time for my birthday seems like one of those boyfriend duties, you know."

Jungkook pokes a fish cake with his toothpick, swirling it around in some of the sauce. "Worth the wait," he declares, slurping up the thin cake.

"It's good, right?" Yoongi says, nodding to his cup. He doesn't mind the wait regardless, as long as he's waiting alongside Jungkook, but at least it was worthwhile. "And it's definitely a boyfriend duty. Besides, I won't have lectures if we do something on the weekend."

He's pretty sure of that, at least, and anyway, he thinks, he could afford to miss one or two. He's skipped enough classes over the years to have faith in his ability to catch up to his classmates after the fact. He'll just study extra hard beforehand. It'll be worth it. Even if he's not going far, he knows, it'll take work to figure out how to see Jungkook as often as possible, but he's not about to let school keep them apart.

"Anyway, it's a while off," he muses, "so you have plenty of time to think of what you want to do."

"Mhm," Jungkook hums in agreement. "I've got like six months to conjure up a long list of things I want you to do for my birthday." He offers a cheesy smile afterward, a piece of ddeok tucked away in his cheek. He doesn't actually plan to have any sort of running list of asks — he's not quite that needy of a boyfriend, he likes to think — but Jungkook likes the idea of having so much time to muse on things that might be fun for the both of them. A trip is definitely the most tempting of his current ideas.

Jeju Island would be a dream come true, but it might be too hard to swing, considering plane tickets would be involved.

"Should we starting heading over to the water? Or do you want to buy something else to take with us before we go?" Jungkook asks, taking a pause to pull out his phone and glance at the map. There must be places to eat by the waterside if it turns out that they haven't had enough, Jungkook figures, though food here is also probably cheaper.

Yoongi huffs out a laugh at the idea, imagining Jungkook with a list of requests a foot long. He's lucky, he thinks, in that they're both relatively low-maintenance, happy just to be together. All the same, he plans to make Jungkook's next birthday memorable, the way this already is. It's a day he knows he's going to cherish for a long time.

"Yeah, let's head to the water," he says. "I want to see the ocean." He hasn't been to the beach that often in his life, but the trips that have been made have all become happy memories of their own. He knows this will, too. It's only his food that keeps him from linking arms with Jungkook as he heads out and down the street. "Lead the way."

They're probably too far from the water yet to actually hear the ocean waves, but still Jungkook feels like he can hear the crashing in the distance, anticipating the cool spray of water on his face. It'll be slightly different than their previous trip to the beach, facing off to the west, knowing that land is only a brief plane or boat ride away. Staring off of the southern coast of Busan feels like it'll be looking towards infinity, endless possibilities in every direction.

"Sometimes I wonder why I like the water so much," Jungkook admits, poking at the ddeokbokki with his toothpick and dragging it through the sauce. "If it's just in my blood or something. I always thought being by the water or deep in the countryside was where I wanted to end up. I guess it's possible that I just don't like crowded cities."

Yoongi nods, thoughtful. He likes the city, but he thinks that's probably because there's always noise in the city, the world a symphony of traffic and voices. He imagines instead a life in the country with Jungkook, though, and he thinks that would be alright. The house wouldn't feel so quiet, so strained, with the both of them there. Silence wouldn't feel the same. Sometimes they curl up together and don't say a word, and Yoongi never minds that.

"Then we'll live by the water," he says, "or somewhere in the countryside." He likes the city, but he loves Jungkook, and he'll follow wherever he goes, indulgent and adoring. "Where would you want to go?"

Jungkook swiftly moves his cup of ddeokbokki to the opposite hand, freeing up his right arm to wrap tightly around Yoongi's, pulling him close with a delighted smile as they make their way down the street. Maybe it's obvious, but he can't bring himself to care when they're taking the time to talk about their future, sketching out mental images that he'll constantly be able to revisit whenever he needs a bit of extra motivation to work hard. Saving up has already helped them come this far.

Eventually, it'll let them leave everything behind.

"I don't even know," Jungkook admits brightly, laughing to himself. "I feel like I haven't seen nearly enough to know where'd be my favorite. Maybe the answer is to get one of those camping cars and just spend a year driving all over the country, until we find a place that looks like it's ours."

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