Jungkook might've had his fun today, but I was certainly tired after running from that wobbly ass balloon prowler. So having to look for supplies right after having escaped it was like trying to pay attention in class after having spent the entire past night binge watching Anime.

"C'mon Chickie, we don't have all day!" Jungkook was far ahead already, the ever so unflaggingly machine he seemed to be, hopping in his steps that echoed as we crossed the rather small mall.

I flipped him off behind his back, but tried to speed up so that I wouldn't loose him. The mall had a glass roof that was covered in moss and a thin layer of green mold stains, making the sunlight flooding the place appear slightly green-ish. It was unusually warm and humid for what I supposed was early spring, the insides of the building feeling similar to one of these amazon houses in zoos.

It was silent around us, like always, chirping of birds dulled by the walls of the mall.

Jungkook was up front to prevent any more prowlers to ruin our day, being 100% enthusiastic to do his job of playing my personal bodyguard.

Thoughtfully, I watched him hop away childishly, thinking about what this man would be like to have around in a normal setting. What would it be like to go shopping with him? Or to the movies? Or simply relaxing alone, only the two of us? My mind slipped back to what Namjoon had told me about, to the refugee that could possibly grant us normality - I at least had to bring it up somehow, though I knew for sure Jungkook wouldn't like it.

He wouldn't want to be around other people who don't know about him, who might even be frightened by him, wouldn't want to be chained to a place again. I knew he'd feel trapped in there, unhappy even. I didn't want him to be unhappy.

But I had made a promise to Namjoon. One that I intended to keep.

Yeah, I just didn't find he right moment to bring it up yet.

I would get there, somehow.

The colorful display of one of the run down stores caught my interest and I stopped, turning towards the brightly decorated store windows.

Jungkook, who had already run past that particular store, stopped and turned around with a questioning look, laughing when he realized what had caught my interest.

"What?" I grinned, pushing the door open with some effort, "Candy doesn't expire, does it?"

The colorful aisles if the candy store were endlessly filled with marshmallows, cotton candy, chocolates of all sorts and forms and literally anything else you could possibly wish for. My heart soared when I walked through the shop, Jungkook following close behind in amusement.

"Get yourself a bag and take every thing you can get." I declared, "This is like Christmas and my Birthday together."

"Will do." Jungkook snickered joyfully, watching me with an awfully fond look, "It's gonna be good for you."

He wasn't wrong, one of the perks of our current situation was that I could actually stuff myself full with candy without worrying about gaining weight, because I already looked like a starved corpse at this point.

I tried to ignore the caring tone Jungkook's voice had taken, not currently ready to deal with the feelings his never ending care for me and just me awoke inside me.

We went through the aisles, hands grabbing anything we could reach, "Yo, Chickie, have you tried taking the top off the Oreo's and putting-"

"Putting the marshmallow in? Jungkook, darling, back in my home town I was famous for having invented this snack."

"You're absolutely making that up."

"And yet, there's no one left who can prove me wrong," I shrugged, before thrusting the bags of goodies into my bag.

"That's cold."

This store was an absolute blessing, because suddenly I was not feeling tired anymore.

"Let's find a safe place to stay for the night." I thre my bag over my shoulder, "We can still go back to find other supplies we need tomorrow."

"You really can't wait to get yer hands on this candy, huh?" Jungkook cackled, ruffling my hair.

___

They had found a safe looking apartment to stay in. It wasn't anything large (as expected in the center of Seoul) which made it a lot safer to stay in, easier to overlook and lock up.

Jungkook watched his little companion rip a package of pocky sticks open, hoping that her love for candy which he just discovered could somehow help her get a little more healthy.

Absentmindedly, he unwrapped a chocolate bar, nibbling on it while watching her eat happily. He wasn't that much of a candy fan, never having understood the appeal the tooth-rotting sweetness had. Granted, he didn't exactly grow up ever getting to eat this crap, so maybe he just never learned to love it.

All he knew was that his friend looked fucking adorable with chocolate smeared on her cheek and the corners of her lips.

He grabbed another package, an all green one that had no picture that indicated what was inside of it. "What's that, Chickie?"

He extended his arm so that she could read it for him, her eyes scanning the item quickly. She swallowed the remaining crumbs of her Oreo before talking, "Looks like grape gummies - I'd not try that if I were you."

He grimaced, "Alright."

He was a little distracted by the chocolate stain that she'd somehow managed to get onto the tip of her nose, not realizing that she'd looked back at him expectantly.

"Kook?"

"Huh?"

"Do you... want me to teach you how to read?"

He blinked for a second, tearing his eyes away from her face while suppressing the irrational urge to lick the chocolate off the corner of her lips, "Uh-" Being unable to read never bothered him, he had her to do it for him after all, but having her teach him sounded terribly nice, "If we find time, yeah."

"Great." She smiled widely, "How about we start now right away?" She looked excited, which automatically fired Jungkook up as well, waving him to her so he would scoot closer, "Alright, look, this symbol here is pronounced 'u'."

"The one that looks like a lil man standin' up?"

"I- yeah, it kinda does." She laughed, "Try to memorize them at first. Then you can try to write it."

He nodded, listening to her explain - or well, Jungkook is a terrible listener and on top of that unable to sit still for more than ten minutes, so his attention kind of slipped after some time. He would've felt sorry for her who was clearly making an effort to explain him all that confusing looking stuff, but the chocolate on her face was clearly demanding far more attention.

"J-Jungkook?"

"Hm?"

"You weren't listening, were you?"

"Uh." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry."

She sighed, "Don't worry, I know you have the attention span of a goldfish." She dropped the candy wrapping on which she'd shown him the different letters, leaning back onto her hands, "As long as you at least remember a little bit of what I told you."

"U looks like a little man." Jungkook stated proudly, making her laugh out shortly.

"So proud of you."

"You, uhm- Chickie?" This was getting ridiculous, why was his brain so fixated on this small thing? "You have chocolate- there-"

"Oh?" She wiped over a spot on her cheek, "Gone?"

He shook his head. She wiped over another part, missing it again, "Wait, Chibi lemme-"

He had no clue why he constantly felt the need to do that around her, or when his urge to do that started, he also noticed that she seemed sort of uncomfortable after wards - but Jungkook had never been good at suppressing impulses.

So, he leaned down slowly, making her lean back in surprise, one hand coming up to cover the other side of her cheek to prevent her from turning away with gently firmness. His face was so close to hers, he could feel her breath against his lips, his nose almost touching her cheek. His tongue darted out quickly, swiping over the corner of her mouth, licking away the chocolate that had been distracting him for a while now.

When he leaned back slightly he looked into a pair of - to put it mildly - stupefied eyes, small apologetic smile on his lips when he used the thumb of the hand that was still holding her face to swipe off the small stain on the tip of her nose.

"Now it's gone." He breathed grinning, trying to figure out what her incredulous look meant.

She cleared her throat, turning her head back to the pile of candy in front of them as soon as he retreated his hand, "Yeah. Uhm. Thank you."

He didn't quite understand what was going on inside of him, that made him do these things or why he hated that he couldn't tell wether she liked or hated it.

"We gonna pick up the lesson again tomorrow, okay?" He nudged her slightly.

She nodded a little bemused, getting up stiffly, "I'll go outside for a bit."

"But- Chibi s' getting dark, you sure you wanna go alone?"

"I'll be fine." She winked at him, taking out the small pocket knife he had given her for protection a wile ago - the one she used to kill her first prowler, "I have this, no?"

"That ain't gonna help you if you're being run over by-"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." She waved behind herself, already in front of the entrance door, "If I take too long come and find me, yeah?"

He wanted to stop her, but a small voice in his head (the only one with an ounce of emotional intelligence) told him that she might just need some space for herself.

"Yeah." He answered dully, dropping is hand to his side, "Be careful out there."

___