Part of the BTS Noona Squad @btsnoonasquad - Tumblr Blog

DISCLAIMER: I was actually inspired by @monimonimoon’s version of this request. I had a TOTALLY different idea and here she goes, just blowing it out of the water. Mine was clearly a lot different but I HAD to try the other side of the spectrum. Forgive me, for this is the first story I have posted.

Also, thanks to @gimmethatagustd for all the positive encouragement to try to keep writing. This isn’t the story I originally talked about (that monster is still in progress and … it’s gonna be LONG) but here is a little something to at least get me started!

And to my friends that I don’t have on Tumblr for encouraging me to write as well.

I also apologize for my awkward writing style. Normally it is a little different? Maybe not… either way, I wish you luck. It hasn’t been properly edited and I am winging it. This is the second draft and then I decided second draft was good!

THE NIGHTINGALE

Pairing: Jungkook x f!reader

Genre: I have no idea. Technically, enemy to lovers? Actually, more like annoyed to crushing? Fluff, I suppose. (I’m new to labeling this stuff; this is a disaster. XD), Slice of life.

Content: Older reader (than Jungkook, but not much older), being woken up? Y’all, this is harder than I thought it would be.

Word Count: 8,516

The groan that left you sounded inhumane. It was a combination of so many emotions - but mostly disbelief. Because you have GOT to be kidding. There was no way that this occurrence was happing yet AGAIN. Your rest was being interrupted - woken up by a voice. Now, it was a beautiful, nice sweet voice, that you will admit. But once again, it has pulled you out of your precious slumber when you have the dreaded work morning coming at you like a defensive team.

Why that particular description? Because of your lack of sleep, it feels like you are about to be pummeled by the event called life, and there was nothing you could do about it. And your body shook with attempted tears, though they avoided you. So instead, you settled for what any reasonable adult would: You trashed around, kicking your feet and your arms as if you were a toddler being denied chocolate in a candy store.

Normally you would just tense up and try not to behave like a child with no sensibility yet, but gosh darn it, you have a report you needed to work on that Jessi begged you to make perfect since she had a meeting with the higher-ups coming soon.

Cruel. This was CRUEL and unusual punishment! It had to be. You looked up at your ceiling, asking anyone why they were subjecting you to this. How does one get woken up by a gorgeous voice - wasn’t it supposed to put you to sleep rather than wake you up? This was all sorts of wrong and you demanded to speak to whoever was getting so much joy out of your misery.

After not getting any answers, you groaned once more as you turned to face your alarm clock - you needed to give your phone a break; you had millions of alarms on there - and glared at the numbers that taunted you, teased you, and was clearly laughing in your face brightly. There were only a few hours left until you had to drag yourself out of bed and get ready for the workday.

You were beyond pouting at this point. And it was all because of the new guy.

Now, he wasn’t that bad. This was the only complaint you really had. In fact, when it comes to neighbors, you have been quite blessed. Your previous neighbor was good. Though, to be honest, he was barely even home, which kinda made it perfect for you. Apparently, he worked for some music company and was out most of the time.

You had a theory that he only had the apartment so he could legally say he had an address and a home because that was how often he was home: It felt like never. You originally had been a mix of feelings when he moved out. That may or may not have been because you had a SLIGHT crush on him.

And that was no fault of your own: his demeanor was one that drew attention. Sometimes he seemed hard and like he would be annoyed at you for even looking at him, but there were moments when he looked so soft and all you wanted to do was lightly scratch his head as he lay on your lap and listen for a purr. He was just a genuinely nice guy who just happened to keep to himself. (Your mailman had a bad habit of putting his mail in your mailbox sometimes, so you were used to giving him his mail. If he wasn’t home, you got into the habit of putting it under his door with a sticky note. And you used to get some sticky notes on your door in thanks. You could survive for weeks when he did that.)

Though your friends teased you greatly about it, thinking it would help you encourage you to do something about it. But alas, it was not destined - plus, you liked the boundary a bit. Again, he was nice, but he didn’t seem like he was your type. Perfect for crushing, but unsure if an actual thing would be advisable.

With all that said - Yoongi NEVER affected your rest. You got steady sleep, even when he came home at ungodly hours. He didn’t sing or make enough noise to arouse you from your adventures within dreamland. No. The most he ever did was cause a loud sound when he crashed into his bed. And this barely ever woke you up. The couple of times it may have, you could go back to sleep, making you question if you even heard it the next morning.

(Those also tended to be the days when the two of you would leave your apartments simultaneously and exchange some neighborly greetings - you were on cloud nine those days. You couldn’t hide how giddy you were after those at work, which was probably the source and start of the teasing.)

So you were very surprised the day you came home one day and saw a ton of boxes, Yoongi’s door open, and his friends going back and forth as he continued to back. Though, he was kind enough to let you know that day that he had a younger friend who would be moving in. He even made sure to mention how your new neighbor was a good kid who tended to keep to himself, so you wouldn’t really have to worry about him. Though Yoongi did ask you to keep an eye out on him since we was a little younger - which you obviously agreed to.

And here we are now, you about to cry over your lack of sleep - if your body would just allow it - and the want to get some sort of rest before the little time you have left disappears. You almost wanted to laugh at the irony of Yoongi’s request instead of cry because you have never even SEEN your new neighbor. The only thing you knew about him - besides some of the tidbits that Yoongi told you - is that his name is Jungkook. And you knew that because the mail issue still happens from time to time (and as the nice neighbor you are, you sliding them under his door with a sticky note tradition has been kept alive).

You haven’t seen him, but man, can you hear him. You shoved a pillow over your head, trying to block out the angelic voice that came through the walls, placing it within the hallow that is currently your mind to haunt you. Under any other circumstance, you would be highly enjoying this - you honestly would. He has decent taste in music (though so much Charlie Puth, you wish he’d lay off the Puth), and sometimes he sang much better than the original. But the TIMING is what killed you.

First off, how the HELL does a college student who worked night shifts at a convenience store - information provided to you by Yoongi - have enough energy to be singing like this?!? You remember those days since it had only been a couple of years. You were so tired just thinking about it, and you had slept as soon as you got home, barely managing to somehow clean yourself up some days. Having both classes and a job was EXHAUSTING.

As you brushed away the shudders that had overcome you when thinking back on those hard and trying times, your brain noted that the singing had been reduced to a humming. You perked as you realized that his routine may be over soon - and then the sounds of the squeaking pipe signaling he was in the bathroom to probably take a show. You mentally celebrated - and possibly did a fist pump - as these were sounds you were accustomed to and would be able to sleep through.

Finally, you had enough quiet to squeeze in those last chances of sleep-

No. NO. How is it that your alarm is already going off? You just BLINKED and-

You looked at your nightstand once more to see if it was a cruel joke. But no, those mocking numbers flashed at you, stating that you had indeed rested for at least an hour and that you truly had to get up and prepare to adult today. You couldn’t help yourself as you threw a pillow at the connecting wall between you and the punk who had caused you to lose precious and much-needed time with your eyes shut.

Of course, he wouldn’t hear it thump - it was a pillow. But it helped to somehow cement in you that this couldn’t go on for much longer. You have had enough.

Or so you kept telling yourself as you debated if just rolling out of bed and rolling towards the bathroom was a legitimate option instead of walking.

—----------------

A loud guffaw came from over your cubicle walls, and your cubicle neighbor - and friend - was draped over it, causing you to jump into a proper sitting position. Your blinking eyes tried to take in the scene to figure out what all just happened as you subtly wiped the side of your mouth, just in case. After assessing what state you and your desk were in, you were able to figure out you had somehow drifted off while typing.

It was kinda obvious considering the row of ;;;;;;;; that littered your screen.

Why were you like this again?

“That bad again, huh,” the voice happily cackled, reminding you who had woken you up.

Once upon a time, you used to admire your co-worker’s sunny morning deposition. With as much as Taehyung claims it could be hard for him to get up in the morning, he always seemed so prepared and chipper as soon as he strutted into the office. You once asked him his secret, and he replied, ‘tons of soda.’ At the time, you had laughed heartily, thinking he was joking, but one day he showed you his mug that he brought in every morning and was at his desk throughout the day.

Your mouth had about dropped off when you discovered that it was indeed filled with Coca-Cola instead of coffee. Though these days, it was Coke Zero because he didn’t want to die from sugar - his words exactly.

However, this morning, with your limited brain capacity, a looming deadline to help out your other friend (and manager), and clearly not enough caffeine in your body, his grand disposition left you more of a sour taste of annoyance - and it was clear that your face was hiding nothing after he winced. As he looked down and up, you could tell he was mentally debating if it was worth staying up to talk or slowly sinking and disappearing behind the wall and avoiding whatever shots were aimed towards him with your eyes.

He chose the option that may lead to death, the brave soul. And to acknowledge his moment of courage, you responded with the stiffest nod that made you reach up and rub your neck, which in turn made him chuckle. “You know, you could just talk to him-” he started, having another ounce of adventure left in him.

This made you sigh as you looked up, still rubbing your neck. “I know, I know,” you admit, muttering. “You and Jessi tell me the SAME thing. And I swear to you I actually am planning to. If he sings again tonight, I am stomping my way over to his place and possibly kick down his door,” you replied, hiding your face from Taehyung’s knowing look.

Because you both know there was no way you were kicking the poor kid’s door down.

Taehyung took the opportunity to look at your screen and gasped, causing you to worriedly look at him, then follow his line of sight. “Speaking of Jessi, please tell me that report isn’t for her,” he said, a dramatic scene of horror and disappointment being broadcasted to a few of the other fellow cubical neighbors.

You were frowning - okay, maybe pouting - as you looked at it. Yeah, it needed work, but you were going to fine-tune it when you could. You just needed the outline and basics and then worked off of it. “Well, it isn’t done yet Tae-”

He tsked at you. “Our dear manager isn’t going to let you slide if you turn in that mess-”

You groaned, knowing he was right, and you plopped forward, your forehead making a clear thunking sound, emphasizing your embarrassing defeat. “You know better than that Taehyung. It’s just the rough copy, I swear-”

“You know that is due in like…. An hour right,” he asked, cutting you off.

THAT made you sit up and look at him with wide eyes, horror and panic shining as clear as day. “You. Are. Kidding me… right,” a shocked whisper that sounded like a victim who clearly knew their time was up. Please, PLEASE let him just be messing with you.

He gave you a knowing look as he lowered himself back down behind the wall. This made you slowly turn your head to look at the time on your computer and somehow held back a scream of dread. Why must all clocks be against you?

“At least I am awake NOW,” you mumbled, your hyper-focus kicking in. Call it your sense of survival re-engaging as your fingers went into hyperdrive, your eyes scanning and correcting as you went along, putting you on track for the fastest report ever recorded on your floor.

“Maybeeeee I should have started with that,” Taehyung’s voice came from the other side. You took a piece of wadded paper and threw it over, a splash hitting your ears and a smirk appearing on your face as he made a sound of unsuspected betrayal.

“My drink!”

—------------------------------------

When you got back home, the siren call of the couch could not be beaten as you somehow managed your feet to take steps towards it. When your body deemed it close enough, you flopped onto it, face first, shoes sliding off your feet as they floundered over the armrest. Okay, so this wasn’t the most comfortable position in the world, but man, did you just need to throw yourself onto something. You had BARELY made the timeline for your report for the new client (they wanted to address the problem they were having and the training options available and come up with a few possible timeline options for a solution. When you signed up for the Learning and Performance department, you never would have guessed it would be like this!), and Jessi had made a face that you knew meant she wanted to talk to you about whatever was going on.

And you also knew that it was the same issue you have had before, and it just - just -

You groaned because you KNEW a reasonable solution. It just… it….

It wasn’t that easy!

In an odd act of defiance, you managed to wriggle-worm your way up so your whole body was comfortably on the sofa as you debated how to actually address the said issue. It was a minor issue with your neighbor, but it was starting to bleed over into other aspects of life. Worst part? It wasn’t like you hated it! He genuinely had a great, amazing, ear-catching voice. It was fantastic. You would love to listen to it during the day - not at 2 AM. Or whatever sacrilegious time it appeared.

Maybe you should stop calling it angelic because it came at an evil time. What was a way to adjective-ise Siren? Sirenic? No, that definitely didn’t sound real… was it? Oh god, you were way too tired to even Google that madness.

Then it hit you - Nightingale. You could call him the nightingale. It wasn’t bad, just it happened at night when most people slept. Okay. So you had to figure out how to deal with your nightingale so it wouldn’t drive you crazy.

And that solved NOTHING. It wasn’t like you hadn’t thought of talking to him about it before - it was just all about timing. When you were awake, he was sleeping because his classes started later in the morning to help balance the fact that he had the graveyard shift at work.

Speaking of, doesn’t that mean he was closer to finishing college, right? Because otherwise, how would he have such leniency or understand how to work his schedule so it would be that way?

No, FOCUS Y/N. Back to solution finding! So, even though he woke you up at ridiculous times (Who the HELL decided it was okay for human beings to do anything at that ungodly, evil, inhumane hour? People who decided this should be a thing should be PUNISHED!), you didn’t have the heart to interrupt his sleep as you getting ready to go to work. And talking to him before you went to work was the only time that seemed that both of you were at home.

You quickly sat up, almost hearing your friends’ voices in your ears. Honestly, waking him up ONCE to let him know how it was affecting you wasn’t bad! You were doing it to let him know how inconsiderate he was to the working world adults who had to be awake for the grueling office work.

He knew he had neighbors, so why was he singing loudly like that? He knew people were functioning at a different schedule than he was - HE was the one with the odd schedule. So why were YOU being considerate about HIS sleep when he clearly didn’t care about yours?

These streams of thoughts were psyching you up so you could address this tomorrow morning because though people didn’t realize it - okay, it was obvious to everyone who knew you but still! - you were not one who sought confrontations. You did whatever you could to not create them. Maybe if you saw him in the hallway, you could have casually brought it up or mentioned it, but noooooo, his schedule almost seemed similar to Yoongi’s, where he was gone a fair amount. Or at least when he was home was when you weren’t.

Except you knew when he came home because the Nightingale sang at a stupid time in the morning.

Right. You could do this. It was not just for your well-being but for your co-workers, job, quality of work, and friends! You knew you weren’t as patient as you needed to be for your job - again, being a trainer seemed so different on paper - and this was not a sustainable way to be for much longer!

Your hands were held up in tight fists as if you were cheering yourself on, finally having enough adrenaline pumping through you that if he were to come home at that very moment, you would have marched over that very instant and settled this.

And that made you deflate a little bit because, again, it occurred to you that this was part of why you hadn’t done anything sooner. This Jungkook fellow wasn’t home. Not yet. And wouldn’t be until the wee hours of the morning.

Sighing, you plopped back onto your sofa, letting your body become boneless as you thought about the best way to handle this situation. There were times when he didn’t wake you - maybe even he has his limits and just slept instead of a nightly routine that included singing.

Or, you know, maybe those were his days off?

Either way, with all this thinking, planning scenarios, or just imagining riding in on a white steed, none of it really mattered because the truth is simple: He isn’t home right now, so you were at an impasse. And this was not something you just put on a sticky note and post on his door. He deserved to at least hear from you in person about it. Honestly, you just didn’t want to seem passive-aggressive. You did NOT need to become one of those notes shared online.

With this decision, you stood up and dragged your feet to the kitchen to reheat the leftover pizza from the previous night. Maybe you’d be lucky - maybe tonight will be one of the nights where Nightingale takes pity on you.

—--------------------

Why did you ever believe you had any sort of luck? Because this night was obviously NOT a night that you would have that sort of miracle happen.

You originally woke up confused and lost, as if trying to figure out where you were. This wasn’t where you were previously, and where was the person you were talking to-

Ah yes. Right. You had been dreaming. And there was something so cool going on in your dream, an adventure you almost could say, and it was just one of the most submissive dreams ever - but the longer you were awake, the faster the details of said dream slipped out of your head and disappeared into the darkness. Goodbye amazing cast of characters with a supposed purpose, hello real world and exhaustion. Soon, you were just laying in bed, eyes heavy, trying to figure out what dragged you into this world.

“Don’t, don’t you worry,

I’ll be there,

Whenever you want me.

I need somebody who can love me at my worst,

No, I’m not perfect,

But I hope you see my worth.”

Oddly enough, this made you smile, and you just couldn’t help yourself. God, he truly did sound amazing. He seems genuine while he was singing - the lyrics struck an odd chord with you. It honestly made you snort when your brain registered what was being said. Promising that he would put ‘you’ first.

If he really was going to put you first, he’d let you SLEEP-

Damn his heavenly delivery - Oh snap, you ARE tired if you let that word slip mentally! Okay, you couldn’t let this end like every other time. You couldn’t let it be like this anymore. You flung your blankets off of you, ignoring the chill of the night and the fact you aren’t fully covered - because seriously, those who sleep in long sleeves and long pants clearly couldn’t be trusted; you needed to have the option to freeze your leg or arm off if you wanted - and started walking out of your room as if you were preparing for war!

All the while resisting snapping and whistling along in time with his singing because he really was KILLING it!

Before you realized it, you were standing in front of his door, the cold finally seeping through your skin and bringing you back to reality from whatever thoughts and debates that had been raging within your mind. No, you needed sleep, darn it, and tonight was going to be the last night you woke up because of his singing.

The thought made you slightly sad for a moment, which made you shake your head at the absurdity! You need sleep, darn it, to function!

You knocked - harder than you meant to be honest, darn the cold that somehow made your hand heavier than normal - and shivered, rubbing your hands on your upper arms, trying to warm yourself up, as you waited for him to come. You paused to see if maybe you could hear some footsteps or any sign of him coming, but since there appeared to be no noise, you raised your hand to knock once more -

Only for the door to open. Your chattering teeth stopped as you were greeted with a sight you weren’t expecting.

There was an angelic person standing in front of you, the lights from his apartment really highlighting an ethereal glow about him. He was handsome, looking at you with wide, innocent eyes. His mouth was opened a little bit in shock as if he wasn’t expecting someone to actually be there when he opened the door.

And you just…

Stared. At him. Because holy cow. Did you die? Is this angel here to pick you up from this delusion and take you to a better place? Did you do something to earn a spot in a better place? And he looked VERY capable of picking you up. Though he had a loose shirt on, it was obvious he had muscles; his short sleeves showed more than enough arm muscles to have you figure out the rest of him is probably well-built. Hell, his shoulders were so wide-

Wait. Do angels have tattoos? Is that a thing now? Wow, heaven really is catching up to the times huh…

His pants were baggy enough to hide everything. Pity, because-

Oh. My. GOD. WAIT. You blinked a few times, trying to see if your eyes were pulling a prank on you once it settled on you that there was no way you died out here just knocking on a door. You FINALLY moved the hand that had been up to knock once more and adjusted it, so it was rubbing your eyes. Because there was no way the universe gave you ANOTHER super attractive neighbor that you somehow never saw.

“Uh… hello?”

His voice sounded thoroughly confused as you stood there, and though it was gentle, it snapped you back to why you were there. His voice was so nice-

NOT THE TIME FOR THIS!

“.... Keeping me up.”

Wait. Who just spoke? No, oh god, please, no. That was YOUR voice and you obviously did not make any sense. It wasn’t a full sentence. It did not explain a single thing. If anything, it made you look insane. Right?

“S-sorry,” your neighbor nearly whispered, tilting his head, clearly not understanding what was going on. He looked adorable -

No. You need to make sense! It was perfectly reasonable that he has no idea what is going on because what you said had no context, so, therefore, made no sense. “Sorry, let me try that again,” you managed, your brain finally catching up and your tongue and mouth somehow received the whole message.

This, this was better. Let’s watch and see if you could continue this progress.

You took a deep breath as you tried to keep looking at him - seriously though, being this good-looking was ridiculous - and you finally started speaking in complete sentences like an adult. “Your singing, it keeps waking me up,” you said breathlessly.

Breathlessly? At least you said it, you suppose. But you needed to have a discussion about this later - Who are you kidding? What is this man doing to the circuitry in your brain? Clearly, he has fried it.

It also occurred to you that this was a lot tamer than the whole spiel you had originally planned and prepared for. But it was enough as his eyes got wide as if he had been smacked as he backed up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I-”

He was stuttering. Oh no. No. This wasn’t the reaction you had prepared yourself for. This was a complete 180 almost or at least 90 degrees.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you could hear me,” he finally finished, looking down, a little ashamed of himself.

You couldn’t help yourself as you took a step forward, a hand on his arm to comfort him. You didn’t mean to hurt the puppy! “No no no, no big deal. I just wanted to let you know that I could hear you and ask if you could not sing so loud - especially at this time of night. Or morning. Or whatever it is,” you stated.

You felt HORRIBLE. He honestly had no idea that he could be heard. Oh, these walls were much thinner than he probably realized. “Don’t get me wrong! You sing wonderfully! Beautiful, really and if it wasn’t waking me up in the middle of the night, I would appreciate it and be a fan. But I just need to sleep because of work and all-”

You noted that you started rambling, but you also knew that you couldn’t stop it. You were tired, but most of all, you felt bad because he seemed too innocent and genuinely apologetic about it and you just hadn’t wanted it to turn out like this.

Jungkook managed to look up when your freezing cold hand was on his arm, a weak smile came to his face. “Thanks for the compliment, and I really am sorry. I didn’t know, and - and I’ll keep it down.”

His voice had a soft feel to it right then, and god, did it pull at your heartstrings.

No. Nope! You cannot do this again. You cannot fall for this boy-next-door once more. You cannot keep having useless and stupid crushes on every nice guy who moves next door! You quickly withdrew your hand once you realized where you had placed it, and it must have been extremely sudden because he looked shocked as he watched your hand move away. “Yeah, just… maybe if you could… change your singing time?”

Oh this was turning pathetic really quick. “I am so sorry, I just, I think I am tired and I need to reast and I just - and letting all this cold night air get into your home, and I’m just going to leave and thanks for your consideration,” you mumbled as you took a step back.

You can escape now and not say anything else. You can redeem yourself - “Good luck with your studies and uh - again, you have a nice singing voice, just please not at 2 in the morning and I’m good. Yeah. That. Bye.”

Nope. There goes redemption. And it was obvious how nervous you were as your voice had shaken right before you quickly scurried away to your door and shut it behind you without looking at his expression. You closed your eyes, trying to focus on breathing normally as your back was splayed against the door, your arms out as if you were trying to keep out a monster, your legs slowly giving out as your body crawled in decent towards the floor. That had to be one of the most embarrassing moments you have ever experienced - even more embarrassing than when you saw Yoongi leave his apartment and just stared at him with your mouth open.

You slapped your hands to your face, that memory being the cherry on top, the sound resounding in your apartment as you mentally asked the universe what did you do wrong to deserve such horrifically embarrassing moments such as this. In fact, why TWO? Same apartment even! Two good-looking neighbors who were way out of your league?

The groan that escaped you was because you knew you would have to share this tragedy with another attractive male because he was one of your closest friends, and he would definitely not let you live this down. And it would be ten times worse if he doesn’t hear about it from you.

(Yes, you and Taehyung are friends, but you knew he was attractive - the comments Jessi made before she, too, became friends and the looks he gets at the office made it obvious. Plus, you had eyes! You’d be stupid to not admit your friend was good-looking.)

Is there a way to edit details so it wasn’t so embarrassing and make sure that Taehyung didn’t catch onto your little white lie?

No. Of course not. That man is almost a lie detector. He would know if you were holding out on him.

You glanced at the time on your microwave as you debated if there was enough time to prepare yourself for both of your friends’ reactions to this disaster. Most likely not, but maybe some sleep would allow you to think so in a few hours.

—------------

Taehyung laughed so loudly at the lunch table that it made everyone in the vicinity look over. Once you gave in and told him the full version, the only one who seemed to be on your side was Jessi, as she gave him an exasperated look.

“You already bring enough attention to our table Mr. Greek God, but do you really have to laugh that loudly at Y/N’s expense? She is horrified, and I don’t need to field questions about if you two are dating or not. It’s bad enough people bug me to try to see if I can help them get close to you,” she stated as she tried to hide her own smirk. Oh, bless her for trying to hide her amusement at least.

… Wait, people try to have Jessi help them with Taehyung? Hold ON. Did people ask her if you and Taehyung were dating before?

“First, don’t think you can butter me up by calling me Mr. Greek God, Miss Manager. I will not be deterred,” Taehyung responded, winking at Jessi after wiping the tears from his eyes, which made her roll hers but smile as she slowly mixed her salad with her fork.

You eyed her food. She hated plain green salads, yet here she was, trying to diet yet again. You wanted to be supportive, but the looks she gave the leaves (as she called them) were ones that reminded you how much she detested it. Kale was not her friend.

“And it isn’t that bad Y/N,” Taehyung started, getting your attention once more. “Mostly because you can blame a lot of that on being tired. And honestly, it is understandable, since most people are not functional that early in the morning. Plus, I think he’s more embarrassed by the fact he was caught singing so often. On TOP of that, it woke someone up. I would be more mortified if I was him,” he added.

He then took a happy big bite of one of the chicken strips he had in front of him for lunch, humming in satisfaction as he watched you for your reaction.

“You think HE’S more embarrassed,” you scoffed. “Highly doubt it. Did you forget the part where I continuously kept telling him that I think he is a great singer?”

Taehyung nodded as he licked his lips. “Yup,” he replied, popping his ‘p’. “He might be the shy type that never really wanted an audience. He was singing in the supposed safety of his own home, and according to what you said, he had no idea that anyone could hear him. Obviously no one brought it up or told him before so he just - kept with it.”

Jessie eyed his tenders almost with jealousy, then looked to her own salad. She looked at his face, took in all of him, and pouted. “You disgust me,” she sighed.

He looked at her confused, his mouth a little open, as he tried to figure out what in the world he said to earn such disgust. Jessi motioned at him, moving her fork up and down, suggesting his whole being. “How do you look like that, and heat like THAT,” she stated, glaring at his tenders. “Life isn’t fair.”

You nodded in agreement - about life not being fair. “Yeah, like how do I get these handsome neighbors that I never see? And when I do, boom. I mean, really? I am doomed.”

This made Taehyung choke on his drink, trying not to laugh. “Wait, are you still hung up on Yoon-”

You quickly reached up and covered Taehyung’s mouth while making the shushing sound, completely forgetting that this may draw even more attention to your group when people finally started to lose interest. “We do not speak of said crush ever again. He’s getting popular and I do not need this to somehow reach his ears. Do you hear me?”

You gave Taehyung a look until he nodded, his wide eyes almost making you break the solemn character you were trying to maintain.

With his confirmation, you sat back down with a smile and wiped your hands on your work bottoms. “Good. Plus, I am actually over that now. Having some distance helped with that. My head is clearer without his presence around so I was able to finally just - let the crush pass. Plus, honestly, I know we would not have worked.”

Jessi snorted as she moved her salad around more with her fork. “I’m more surprised that Tae didn’t lick your hand. You must’ve really surprised him.”

Taehyung slowly turned his head to look at her, shock and surprise clearly written all over his face. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

That made Jessi laugh this time as she finally took another bite of her salad. Her smile made it look like she might finally be enjoying it today. It was because she was enjoying time with you and Taehyung, but hey, you could wish her enjoyment from that evil she was attempting to consume. “You can try it next time someone tries to cover your mouth.”

Taehyung made a disgusted face. “But their hands ight be filthy! I trust Y/N’s hands.”

You groaned and gave him an unamused look as you chewed your own meal. Once your mouth was clear, you couldn’t help but say, “Noted,” as you gave him a straight face and took another bite.

“I offer great information and advice and this is how your thank me? I am the one who will be noting Y/N,” he replied, then dramatically took another bite of his tender.

Both you and Jessi looked at each other and couldn’t help it anymore. Another bout of laughter came from all three of you. This is why they were your friends, they always could help you out one way or another. If it wasn’t great advice - and let’s face it, it normally was - at least they made you feel better and accepted.

That afternoon’s meeting about classes went a lot better.

—------------------------

You were still smiling when you got home and happily put your stuff down, just feeling the warmth and joy of your friends. Today, you had energy. It was a well-needed pick-me-up, honestly, and you had originally been drained from embarrassment from this morning - yes that IS a thing! - that you had slept well the last couple of hours to escape reality. So it all felt like a dream; maybe it wasn’t as bad as you had originally thought it was.

You didn’t realize it, but you were humming a song you had recently heard. It was the “We don’t talk anymore” by Charlie Put featuring Selena Gomez. She saved that song, and honestly, it was one of the few you enjoyed from him.

And you were so absorbed in the moment that you started singing aloud while you were trying to remember where you had heard this song and why it came to mind. It honestly made no sense. You didn’t seek out this song in particular and don’t recall it playing anywhere. Why was this song stuck in your head? You thought back, trying to recall if you had heard it on the radio or even at the office -

It was then that it hit you.

HE was singing it a few days ago. Ah, what a shame that you will probably not hear his voice again. He had really killed it. In fact, it might be because of him that you actually like this song! This revelation almost made you drop the spoon that you had been using to mix the shrimp you were cooking. He sang it so well that it just stuck with you, so you sang what little you remembered. It was a duet and you debated continuing alone when another voice joined you at what would have been Selena’s part.

“I just hope you’re lying next to somebody,

Who knows how to love you like me,

There must be a good reason that you’re gone.

Every now and then I think you might want me to,

Come show up at your door,

But I’m just too afraid that I’ll be wrong.”

This time you knocked over the lid you had beside you on the counter. That… that was Jungkook’s voice! Oh my GOD! He’s home?? And he heard you singing? AFTER you asked him to NOT to (at crazy hours, but STILL).

You were ready to die.

As you were debating what to do at this point and freaking out with your whole being, a knock came at your door. You winced as a loud CLASH happened right beside you - your lid dropped again. You debated picking it up or going to the door. The debate was obviously as you physically walked toward the door to turn around randomly to start heading to the lid, to turning right back around towards the door. It must have been quite a sight if anyone could see you. Finally, you realized someone is just hanging out there, hearing the chaos and the footsteps, with no idea what was going on. And that someone was possibly and probably the attractive male neighbor you finally met at, like …. Some ridiculous time early this morning.

You were chanting in your mind to please be wrong when you opened the door - to be greeted by the exact person you were expecting.

But his demeanor was completely different. When was he this tall? And he had piercings in his ears. And oh, there were more tattoos on his arm than you originally thought. It was a sleeve, you had missed some of it earlier. And wow, he didn’t seem like the angel he did this morning. Yes, he LOOKED the same technically, but there was just a different feel, and oh my god, you are looking at him again!

But who would blame you? He had his hands in his black sweatpants, a semi-cocky smile, and his eyes were shining with a bit of glee. Mischievous glee. And again, was he really this tall this morning? You had expected the angel again, and you got - this. And you had no complaints. He looked even BETTER than you remembered.

You know what, screw you universe. Screw. You.

You opened your mouth to apologize, but then your tongue froze. Why would you apologize? This is a normal time of day, it wasn’t abnormal and perfectly reasonable time to make some noise. PLUS he was normally gone at this time.

“I had today off, he explained, almost as if he read your mind.

You took a few steps back and opened the door more, inviting him inside wordlessly. He chucked as he came in and stopped in the entryway, looking around at your home. “Wow, you… I like your set-up. I wish I had thought of doing something ike this. This make it seem so roomy. And definitely like a home.”

You were trying to figure out how to make this less awkward as you closed the door and were so grateful he started talking first. “Yeah, I don’t get any of the credit. My friend Jessi came and helped me. Before she came over, most of my stuff was still in boxes to be honest. Just taking stuff out as I needed it or thought of it.”

Jungkook nodded understandingly as he leaned over and saw the pan on the stove. “Smells good,” he stated, then crinkled his nose. “Though it might be close to-”

“Oh my god I hope it isn’t burning!” You didn’t mean to cut him off, but the fear for your shrimp overcame you, and you quickly went to turn off the stove and move the pan. (Shrimp is expensive okay? You don’t have money to be throwing shrimp away!)

That made him smile again, and he seemed more like the man you met this morning. He started to lightly rock from the front of his feet to his heels and back again, looking like he was beginning to feel awkward - Oh!

“Come in! You can come in more Jungkook, don’t worry,” you stated, finally catching on.

He slowly walked over, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to figure out what to say. “So… I can see what you meant,” he stated after some hesitation.

You were confused as you tried to encourage him to continue. “I clearly heard you singing too. These walls really don’t hide much, do they,” he finished.

That made you chortle as you shook your head, pouring the shrimp pasta onto a plate. “You can say that again. I only learned because one day, Yoongi played music when he thought his headphones were attached - and they weren’t. I heard EVERYTHING. From the music playing, his yelp, and even him falling out of what I assumed was his chair when it caught him off guard.”

That brought a grin to Jungkook’s handsome face as he rolled his eyes. “I wish he would have told me,” he said once the laugh passed, his self-consciousness making another appearance.

You snuck a look at him, and he was looking at the ground, slightly scuffing his feet. How does he go from hot and sexy to adorable so quickly? Going to give you whiplash, this one will. “In his defense, I don’t thihnk he knew. He was out a lot. And if he was home for any period of time, he normally had his headphones on. But more often than not, if he was home, he was asleep.”

Jungkook nodded. “Makes sense, I suppose.”

But there seemed to be more he wanted to say. You put everything down and went to stand in front of him, arms crossed inf front of you as you bent to try to get within his eyesight. “Is there something wrong? You okay?”

Jungkook sighed as he finally straightened up, his height once again making itself known. “You don’t think… I wake up everyone, do you?”

You had to mentally tell yourself to breathe, as he was so precious. You could tell that he was feeling bad about the situation. “No, I don’t think so. Our two rooms share the same wall. So even if I hear you, the neighbor on the other side probably doesn’t. Distance and all that. Plus, they haven’t said anything yet, right,” you asked.

He shook his head, confirming that no one else had said anything to him, at which you let out air that you did not know you had been holding. Good.

“Also, my bedroom shares the same wall as your bedroom. If you haven’t noticed, the apartments kinda mirro each other.”

Jungkook took another look around, surprise coloring his face once more. “Oh… I wasn’t paying attention.”

You couldn’t stop the smile that filled your face as you nodded knowingly - missing his slight reaction to your smile. “And that’s okay! No harm, no foul.” You winced at the words that spewed from your mouth. Really? Busting out the old sayings like that? Dang.

You knew that Jungkook was younger than you - but you weren’t sure how much. It couldn’t be more than a couple of years, but it was moments like that that you felt like it was probably more. But he obviously didn’t notice. You noticed his body language, and he was loosening up, so whatever you said had actually helped.

“Feel better?”

He nodded enthusiastically as he noticed that you had made yourself dinner - a solo meal. He looked at you excitedly as if he just had a brilliant idea that he had to share. “Hey! So, how about I get you some dinner sometime to make up for the multiple times I woke you up? It won’t be enough to make up for the countless hours, probably, but i can be a start! The start of becoming a good neighbor.”

At that moment, he reminded you of a hopeful bunny, his eyes shining with excitement, and they want to make things right. You originally weren’t sure if that would be a good idea, but how in the world are you supposed to say no to those eyes? Plus, being on friendly terms with your neighbor would be nice.

It certainly didn’t help to squash your growing crush on him, but maybe being friends would help. Plus, he seemed nice, like a great person to add to your shorter list of friends.

“Sounds good, I’d like that,” you stated as you gave in. It made you feel warm inside at how joyful he seemed that you said yes. His smile was truly infectious. You can see what Yoongi meant - he truly was a good person.

You held out your hand. “Nice to meet you properly neighbor.”

He looked at your hand, blinked for a moment, but then enthusiastically took your hand for the shake. Olive branch received. His grip was a bit firmer than you had expected it to be, but his gratefulness was obvious. (And you are praying that you aren’t blushing. Does he realize he has this type of effect on people? God, you couldn’t wait for him to meet Jessi. She’s going to die.)

“You too neighbor.”

Jungkook looked at the clock on his phone when it dinged. Seems like he had gotten a notification, but it made him notice the time. “I should let you eat now so your food doesn’t get cold. It would be such a waste.”

He then handed over his phone to you after unlocking it. “Text yourself. That way we can have each other’s number and can arrange for the meal!”

You nodded and sent yourself a message. Your phone dinged on the counter, confirming it was successfully delivered. “Got it,” you stated as you handed his phone back.

He nodded again and waved to you as he was heading towards the door. Once he touched the handle, he stopped and looked back at you. “Hey… thanks. For being so cool about it. About all of it. You had every right to be really mean. I’m glad though that it was you - not because you lost sleep or anything, but because it gave us a chance to talk and stuff. I’ll talk to you later…”

“Y/N,” you stated, realizing you never told him your name.

“Y/N,” he repeated with a grin. Wow, him saying your name took your breath away too. Unknowingly to you, he affected him too. He opened the door and left, making sure it closed securely behind him.

You couldn’t help the smile that overtook you and just warmed your entire body. This… this was the same kind of happy and joy that you experienced with your friends, with a hint of something else. It was… nice. As you grabbed your dinner and walked into the living room so you could eat and watch tv, you couldn’t stop thinking about the interaction.

Yeah, you were glad too. That even though you lost some sleep, you got to meet your Nightingale.

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