"Jungkook," I take a deep breath, gaining the courage to look into his eyes, "I love you."

Silence.

I hear my hear hammer loudly in my ears as I stare at Jungkook expectantly. I was hoping something would come out of his mouth, anything, even a yell.

But nothing.

Silence.

I gulped and teared my eyes away from his hard stare, deciding that the dirty clothes on his floor were much better to look at. I fiddled with my fingers as we sat there in silence.

Is he really not going to say anything? Not even a word?

Oh, what was I expecting to happen? That he'd yell at me and tell me that I wasn't worthy enough of his love and tell me to get out? Or that he'd hug me and tell me to be with him forever?

"You—You love me?" I hear his voice come out barely above a whisper.

My head jolts up to face him again. "Yeah, I do. I'm sorry it took me this long to realize it."

"You love me." He mutters, mainly to himself.

Confused, I blink at him with my eyebrows furrowed. "Uh...Jungkook?"

Jungkook looks straight into my eyes, startling me for a brief moment. "You aren't playing some kind of joke, right? Because if you are, then this is officially the worst thing you could do to me."

I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach as my stare softens. I was offended at what he said. After finally realizing where my relationship stood with Jungkook and gaining the courage to confess my feelings, he had the nerve to say that I was joking with him?

Knowing my stubbornness, I wanted to yell at him for asking such a stupid question. But I knew if I did that, I would lose him forever.

I can't lose him now, not when I've only just latched onto him.

I gulp away my pride and stand up abruptly. "No Jungkook. This isn't some sick joke, this isn't a prank and this isn't something I would ever joke about. I have feelings for you. I want to be with you," I sigh and run my hands through my hair, hating myself for showing my vulnerability. "Look, if you don't believe me then that's on you."

He furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head to the side, a little mockingly. "Miyoung, you couldn't have expected me to believe that right away after nine years of you constantly telling me you hated my guts."

I clamped my mouth shut as I stared dumbfounded at him.

He was right. When he told me that he loved me, I didn't believe him because I had that mindset that he hated me.

I groan and mentally slap myself. "Oh God Jungkook, I'm sorry."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "It's fine," He stands up and walks towards me, only inches away from me. I feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I notice our proximity. "Miyoung. This, I can't believe it."

In a flash, he pulls me into a hug, wrapping his arms around my waist so tightly I could barely breathe.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that. I'm so happy right now, I'm probably the happiest guy on Earth right now." He whispers in the crook of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "I love you so much, Miyoung. Thank you."

Warmth erupts everywhere within me as I hug him back, absentmindedly pulling him closer to me. I shut my eyes and bury my head in his chest. "I love you Jungkook. I'm sorry for everything."

He doesn't respond and continues hugging me. We stay in that position for what felt like years after we finally pull apart, but he doesn't let go of me.

"Where do we stand now?" He whispers, his eyes searching mine.

I shrug and smirk up at him. "Enemies with benefits?"

Jungkook scoffs and hits me playfully, a laugh coming out of him. "Shut up, I'm serious." He brings his hands to cup my cheeks and squishes them. "I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too." I say lowly, my words coming out muffled due to him squishing my cheeks. His eyes light up as he lets go of my cheeks and puts his hands back on my waist.

"Will you be my girlfriend? Finally?" He says with a grin on his face.

I laugh and smile brightly at him. "Yes, I will finally be your girlfriend."

Jungkook leans down and presses his lips with mine, pulling me closer and cupping my face in his hands. I bring my hands to around his neck and tug at his hair, earning a groan from him. I giggle against his lips and pull away, pecking him one last time.

He pecks my nose, both cheeks, my forehead, my jaw, and lands on my neck. I roll my eyes playfully and start shoving him away when he starts kissing my sweet spot. I shove him off of me and see a blush stained across his cheeks.

I kiss his cheek and pinch them. "Since when were you so touchy?"

"I honestly have no clue," He says, the redness of his cheeks not fading any time soon. "I think it's just because I'm so happy with you right now."

"Touchy and cheesy? Wow, I never thought I'd live to see this Jeon Jungkook in my life."

He rolls his eyes and drags me to his bed, laying down and patting the spot next to him. I don't hesitate to crawl next to him and lay my head on his chest. He wraps his arm around my back and rests his hand on my stomach, drawing circles with his thumb as he sighs contently. "I love you."

I hear the pounding of his heart beat but decide not to comment on it, knowing that he'd either get defensive about it or say something super cheesy. "I love you too."

Jungkook decides to put on a movie and the entire time was spent goofing off, talking, or just pecking each other to see if we could catch the other one off-guard. I don't even think we paid any attention to the movie playing before us.

If you had asked me where my relationship stood with Jungkook at the beginning of high school, I would've gone off about how much I despised him and how he was my mortal enemy.

Back then, a rival was all I ever saw him as. If someone even mentioned Jungkook and I as a couple, I would immediately feel sick to the stomach and tell them off to remind them exactly where we stood, and it was definitely no where near romantic.

But now, it feels like my life did a complete 360. I found myself completely in love with Jungkook, and there was no way to get out of it. I found myself wanting to be with him and not knowing what I would do without him.

Jungkook was always someone special to me, whether he was a rival or not. He was always someone constant in my life, someone who was always there for me and someone who had my back no matter what.

I was too blind by everything to even notice him in a different light.

I wonder what would've happened if I hadn't gotten closer to him this year. Would Jungkook and I have found each other in the future? Or would we have always just seen each other as mere rivals and been on our way?

I also wonder what would've happened if I had answered Taehyung's confession and started going out with him. Would what Jungkook and I could've had just disappear?

Who knows, but all I know right now is I'm the happiest I've ever been with him right now. Cuddling together, goofing off and not fighting over the stupidest things. This is where I want to be. I want to be with him.

You could say that I feel like I won first place with Jungkook.