Wild Things

Jungkook POV

It was moving day.

I hadn't realized how much of hustle relocating was until I started packing a few weeks ago. There was just so much involved both physically and emotionally. I was nervous, excited, exhausted and all things in between. I did not have to worry about finding a place in the city because I had the coolest friends who became brothers in the city. I had known Namjoon and Jin since high school. While they were a couple of grades ahead of Tae and me, we had an instant connection and soon after we met, we created our small circle of friends. They took it upon themselves to look out for us.

Being an only child can be lonely at times and when they assumed the ‘big brother’ role in our lives, I basked in the attention without shame. Its times like this I was grateful for them. Since they already lived in Seoul, half of my hustle was done. I had let them know that I would be moving to Seoul and they were ready to help in any way they could.

Tae finally let me know that he had just landed a job at one of the biggest companies in the fashion industry and had to move to Seoul too. The timing was perfect and I had one less thing to worry about – which was being away from one of my closest friends. I liked that we were starting the next adventure of our lives together. With this new information, I let Jin know that I wouldn’t be moving in with them but would be looking for a two bedroom flat to share with Tae. They were more than happy to help find a place for us to stay.

A few days after, Jin called to let me know that they had found a gorgeous place, not too far from where they lived and it was in close proximity to both Tae and I’s workplace.

Tae and I went to the same university but his major was in Fashion and Design. He had been crazy about fashion in the same way I was crazy about IT. The boy was good at it and when I say ‘good’, I mean amazing. I envied his extremely creative mind. Then again I had no reason to because I was an indirect beneficiary of his work. Well, let's just say on many occasions, for his school projects, I was his mannequin. With him in my life, I committed less crimes against fashion.

But, I digress.

I was just so excited that I wasn't going to be a friend short in the big city.

Early Saturday morning, we set off in our rented moving truck. The decision to drive down, was on the premise that it would be fun. And with my crazy best friend and personal DJ in the passenger's seat, it would even be better. Also, I am very particular about my things, especially some of the high end electronics I owned and I did not trust the moving company to be kind to my babies.

The drive was fun and adventurous, just as I had anticipated. We sang our lungs out loud to the songs we liked and the food and snacks we had pre-packed fueled our crazy. We were taking the scenic route to the city took full advantage of it. We would occasionally stop to take in beautiful sites and take pictures. This made our journey longer but it wasn’t like we were in a rush. After all, we had a few days to settle in before we were both expected to report for work.

Photography was my second love after IT. I loved to capture beautiful moments. Through photographs, I could tell a story and give people a peek into who I was as a person. I incorporated personality and creativity in them and it was easy – if one was intuitive enough – to get a feel of what I was feeling when I was taking the picture. It is this love for photography that led me to save up like crazy and buy a high end camera that I absolutely loved.

“I could create a memory video with this,” I told Tae as he paused for a picture beside one of the beautiful landmarks along the way. These were some of the last photos we could take because we were on the outskirts of the city.

Even though my nerves were catching up with me, I was looking forward to seeing Namjoon and Jin. I was taking a big step moving away from home and the comfort I had become accustomed to but I was glad I was not doing it alone. They had promised to wait for us at our apartment. Being the darlings that they were, they had already cleaned, set it all up and all that was left for us was to move in. I was also looking forward to trying some of Jin’s amazing food. He was an amazing chef.

Even though we separated from them when we went to university to pursue our different majors, we kept in touch and got together as often as we could. Unlike Tae and me, Jin and Namjoon went to different universities with Jin majoring in Culinary Arts and Namjoon majoring in Film and Music. He had the dream of becoming a producer with main focus in music. In the final year of their studies, they got together and after graduation, they moved to Seoul to make something out of their careers.

Jin was nothing short of handsome. From his almond shaped eyes to his plump lips, Jin had the power to command attention when he walked into a room. His incredibly broad shoulders and bubbly personality were the first thing one noticed when they first met him. He had a weird sense of humor but even then, there wasn’t a way you could avoid cracking up when he spoke. He was one of those people who flicked hardship off their shoulder like a bug they could easily crash under their thumb because he would never let failure keep him down.

I admired his fierceness when it came to taking big risks. He was the kind to dive in head first and deal with the consequences later.

“What if you break your neck?” I asked him one time.

“Then you are dead,” he said in between laughs. It wasn’t even funny but I found myself laughing alongside him.

He had a signature laugh I could pick anywhere in a crowd. When he laughed, it sounded like someone was washing a window. It was incredible how he made a laugh sound like that.

Then there was Namjoon – his beautifully dimpled, long legged boyfriend with a sexy accent and shy personality. He was a couple of inches taller than his boyfriend. Namjoon was the level headed one in the relationship and I often felt that he was just exactly what Jin needed to stay grounded and focused. Just like Jin, he was heart stopping handsome.

He had perfectly rounded cheeks complete with deep dimples that came out to play whenever he smiled, a cute button nose and a gorgeous forehead. People often underestimate the importance of the forehead. His silver-brown colored eyes radiated warmth, honesty and gentleness. I often felt that if he would be born in an older era, he would be a noble. The way he carried himself screamed intellectual, gentleman, and noble.

Unlike Jin, he was more calculated in his approach to life and I always thought he would do well in any field he ever decided to pursue. This was one of the reasons ai looked up to him and respected him greatly. As a big brother, he helped keep me on track at a time in my life when I never worked at completing anything. I had so many abandoned projects and seeing this, he took it upon himself to see it to it that I had completed at least one of the many projects I had. It is because of him that I experienced the joy of completing something.

A couple of months after they relocated to Seoul, Jin opened his restaurant. It was a big risk, but he put his heart and soul into it and a few short months after its grand opening, it became one of the most popular spots in the city. Tae and I went for the opening and it was just as grand as Jin’s personality.

Namjoon, had later on started his production company it he was doing equally well. A few months back, he was mentioned in the media as an up and coming promising music producer and director. I would give it two more years and he would breaking barriers and launching into the international scene.

I couldn't more proud of my circle. It was this circle that encouraged me to put my best foot out into the world and conquer. It made me fearless. I was excited that we would be constantly in each other’s lives again.

“I am excited about this move,” I said to Tae who was mindlessly scrolling on his phone.

“Me too,” he said excitedly. “It feels like the beginning of something great!”

“I feel it too,” I replied with a smile and focused back on the road, pulling into the neighborhood that would be ours.

The tiny little streets in residential Seoul were pretty and well organized. They were so clean they almost looked unreal.

"I am gonna loooovvveeee it here!!!" I shouted while drumming the steering wheel. Alessia Cara's Wild Things blowing through the speakers in the rental truck making me feel like a rebel. Tae laughed at my excitement, threw his head back and let the music take over him as he danced in his seat.

We pulled into the street where our flat was located. It looked cozy with a scatter of boutique stores and restaurants. The trees lining the streets added to the beautiful aesthetics of the neighborhood and I wondered how it looked in the nighttime. Namjoon and Jin were waving at us at the end of the street with bright smiles as Jin bounced on the balls of his feet like an excited child waiting for an ice-cream truck.

"Don't they look cute?" Tae asked as he undid his seat belt and jumped out of the still moving truck.

"Yaahhh!! Let me park first!" I screamed at him but be didn't give me a second look as he ran into Namjoon's waiting arms. I followed closely behind after parking in the empty parking spot.

“It is so good to see you guys again,” Jin said amidst tears as I hugged him tight.

“I missed you,” I replied hugging him tighter.

His hugs could never be long enough. In his arms I felt safe and my worries often disappeared like the rain in the summer earth. In his embrace I was cocooned better than any butterfly-to-be. They came close to the ones that my dad gave me – wrapped in warmth, security and comfort.

After the hugs and cries, we made quick work of moving things up into our flat. It was a grand space for a two bedroom flat, to say the least. The living room was the first room as soon as we entered the house. It was spacious and well lit. The gorgeous chandelier hanging at the center of the ceiling flooded the room with light and the glass door that led to the balcony let in enough light giving it an open feel.

Through the living room, one entered a corridor that led to the kitchen-dining area on the left and the bedrooms on the right. The dining space was elegant in a minimalist sort of way and echoed the natural world outside. The table, made of oak table dominated the space and the chairs had come from the same tree, each one beautiful in its simplicity, all clean straight lines and high backs.

The kitchen had sleek, simply designed, bespoke, granite counters, stainless steel appliances, spotless, scrubbed, well equipped, utensils on hooks, matching cups, uncluttered and I had a feeling Jin had something to do with selecting this house for us.

The bedrooms were identical master en suite. Though identical in structure, they each had their own color schemes – one with a deep masculine blue and white palette the other with a combination of jungle green and peach. The furnishing was professionally well done and they gave me the homey feel. This was home.

"I am so tired!" Tae whined as he crushed into the L-shaped couch in front of the TV in the living room.

"Me too!" I responded, falling on top of him.

“Get off!” He grumbled as he tried to push me off. “You are uselessly heavy. What do you eat anyway? You are a like a rock! C-can't b-breathe. C-can’t… b-breathe.”

“I don’t wanna get off. You are like a comfortable bean bag,” I replied with a whine. He was warm, he had always been and I snuggled into him burying my head in his neck. "I am glad you are here with me," I said with a sigh. I don't do well on my own and so having him here gave me peace of mind and made me less nervous.

He ruffled my hair as he fidgeted to get into a comfortable position being careful that I don’t fall off.

"Tell me again, why aren't you two together?" Jin asked standing in the doorway from the kitchen watching us in amusement. We both looked at him and shrugged. I had known Tae my whole life, attached to the hip since our early kindergarten days. As a result of our friendship, his parents and my dad became close. I got the love of a mother from his mom and I was grateful that he was willing to share. While it didn't feel the void of not having a mom around, it helped me cope and shaped my perceptions about parenting.

That said, dating him wasn't something I ever thought about. Yes, we were close but I liked girls or I thought I did. When I was at the curious stage of experimenting, Tae and I fooled around. It just did not fit and based on that, I concluded that maybe I was straight. So we did not want to risk ruining our friendship and we filled the place of siblings in each of our lives. Tae was the brother I always wanted to have.

"Come my little ones," Jin said imitating a witch character from one of the many movies he watched, "Food is ready!" he announced rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Yaay!!!" We jumped up excited like little kids just let off from school and headed to the dining area where Namjoon was setting the table.

After hours of moving things in and setting up, we all settled around the table in the dining area to have Jin’s specially made chicken stir fried rice. He had been kind enough to go grocery shopping for us that would serve us at least for the first week. I was more than thankful.

This right here was family – my whole world that I wouldn't trade for anything. We got through lunch/dinner catching up, talking about Namjoon’s new project, Jin’s fancy restaurant to aour new jobs. The food disappeared just as fast as we were all famished.

Jin and Namjoon left later in the evening after making sure we were all settled in. We were all caught up, had swapped stories and experiences since we last saw each other, played card games and basically just had an all-round good time. I was thankful for the flat that they found for us. It was everything I imagined and more.

A shower later – feeling fresher and more relaxed, I was seated on the teardrop shaped rocking swing chair on the balcony. I liked the way the balcony faced west. If sunsets could go on forever, I would live right there on our balcony. The sun sank lower in the sky, light of day draining away, giving way to the velvety dark of night, different sounds filled the evening city air - the occasional hum of a car speeding down the street, the sound of a mother asking their child to slow down, the distant ring of the doorbell and voices engrossed in conversation as they passed by on the street below. The heat of the day had ebbed to a comforting warmth. My eyes drifted to the cool glass of sangria in my hand as I looked at the golden rays reflecting through the glass creating patterns on my hands.

Golden summer sunset... fairy lights... warm nights... love... love... love. I found my mind drifting as my thoughts skipped all over the place. The past few weeks had been a blur and for the first time I felt things were slowing down to a normal pace. Of all the thoughts and feelings that flittered through me, one thing stood out; a deep seated longing to find love.

“When would I ever find love?” I threw the question out there and let the evening wind carry it away. Lately, that question seemed to dominate my thoughts.

I was believer in true love and soulmates. I believed in one of a kind love that would hit like a lightning bolt and make one’s head spin so fast that it would knock the wind out of them. To me true love was all consuming. The butterflies and the heart flutters and basically not being able to do life without the other person. Hell! I sobbed like a child watching Titanic. So you have an idea of how love in my head looked like.

I caught myself in that moment and wondered why I was thinking about love. Truth is, when one looked at me, they would never imagine that I harbored such notions about love. I had a tough exterior and half of the time I was mistaken for a playboy and one to just have a good time but there was more to me than meets the eye. I was all fluff. But then again I never really showed this side of me because my friends would tease me into tomorrow. So I embraced my bad boy image to keep up appearances. It had gotten old though.

With music in the background, thoughts to myself and a drink in my hand, it was a nice way to wind down a warm summer night. My first day in Seoul wasn't so bad.

I was confident I was going to like it here.

•••

Being in love feels like baby-sitting a kitten,

It’s mysterious and mischievous and

You wonder what it is going to do next