silence between punchlines
pairing: jeon jungkook x female reader
genre: fluff / slice of life
warnings: smoking, brief mild language
word count: 1.7k
summary:
one disastrous first cigarette and a rooftop view is all it takes for jungkook and a stranger to trade a stuffy black-tie gala for a late-night escape.
mlist
the rooftop was the only place the music didn't feel like a physical assault.
jungkook leaned his elbows on the cold stone railing, the city of seoul spread out beneath him like a circuit board of neon blues and frantic whites. he looked down at his hands, realizing they were slightly shaking—not from the cold, but from the sheer exhaustion of being on for three hours straight. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, the click of his lighter the only sound in the sudden, blissful quiet.
he had just taken his first drag when the heavy metal door behind him screeched open.
a girl stepped out, letting out a long, shaky breath that mirrored his own. she looked like she’d been running—or maybe just escaping. she didn't notice him at first, not until he blew a cloud of smoke into the night air.
she jumped slightly, her eyes finding him in the shadows. "oh. i thought i was the only one who found the 'secret' exit."
"great minds," jungkook said, his voice a low rasp. he didn't move, just watched her as she walked toward the railing, a few feet away from him. she looked stressed, the kind of stressed that makes you want to do something reckless. on impulse, he tilted the pack toward her. "you look like you need one of these."
she looked at the pack, then at him. she hesitated for a beat, then reached out. "actually... yeah. maybe i do."
he lit it for her, shielding the flame from the wind with his palm. she took a deep, confident drag—the kind of drag someone takes when they’ve seen it done in movies a thousand times.
the reaction was instantaneous.
she didn't just cough; she turned away, doubled over, her entire frame shaking as she hacked like her lungs were trying to exit her body. jungkook’s eyes widened, and he instinctively reached out, patting her back as she wheezed for air.
"oh my god," he said, but a laugh was already bubbling up in his chest. "wait—have you never done this before?"
"is it—" she gasped, her eyes watering as she glared at the glowing stick in her hand. "is it supposed to feel like swallowing a campfire?"
jungkook lost it. he leaned back against the railing, a loud, genuine laugh breaking through his stoic shell. "you took it like a pro! i thought you were a veteran!"
"i was trying to be graceful!" she shot back, though she was starting to giggle through the last of her coughs. "i wanted a 'moment.' you know? the mysterious girl on the roof, looking at the stars, smoking pensively..."
"instead you sound like a broken vacuum cleaner," he teased, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
she finally caught her breath, wiping a stray tear from her eye. she looked at the cigarette with a mix of betrayal and curiosity. "okay, so smoking is a lie. what else is a lie down there?"
jungkook’s laughter faded into a small, softer smile. he turned back to the view, the humor lingering in the air between them, making the silence feel comfortable instead of heavy.
"most of it," he said quietly. "the smiles. the 'it's so good to see you's. the champagne that tastes like vinegar." he looked at her again, really looking at her this time. "i’m jungkook, by the way”
"i’m y/n. and for the record, i usually have much better coordination than this."
"i’ll believe it when i see it," jungkook teased, finally putting out his own cigarette and leaning his weight against the railing. he watched her for a moment. she hadn't gone back inside, and neither had he. the silence between them wasn't awkward anymore; it was like they’d found a little pocket of the world where the rules didn't apply.
"so, jungkook," she said, mirroring his stance as she looked out at the city. "if everything downstairs is a lie, why stay? why not just... leave? the door is right there. you could be halfway home by now."
jungkook looked at the glowing red taillights of the cars far below, snaking through the streets like a slow-moving river.
"cause sometimes the lie is a job," he said, his voice dropping an octave, becoming more serious. "and sometimes, you stay because you’re waiting for one part of the night to feel real. if i’d left ten minutes ago, i wouldn't have seen someone try to fight a cigarette and lose."
she nudged his shoulder with her own. "hey, i didn't lose. it was a draw." she grew quiet for a second, her gaze softening. "i get it, though. the 'staying.' i stay because i feel like if i leave early, i might miss the one person or the one conversation that actually matters. like i’m waiting for the punchline of a joke i haven't heard yet."
"do you think life is just a series of punchlines?" he asked, turning his head to look at her profile.
"i think life is the silence between the punchlines," she replied, her voice thoughtful. "like this. downstairs is the setup—the noise, the clothes, the effort. up here? this is the part where you actually get to breathe. even if the air tastes like a campfire."
jungkook felt a strange pull in his chest. it wasn't often he met someone who spoke his internal language without needing a dictionary.
"it’s weird, isn't it?" he mused. "we’re total strangers. in an hour, we’ll probably go back down there and disappear into different crowds. but right now, I feel like you know more about what’s going on in my head than anyone in that ballroom."
"that’s the magic of rooftops," she whispered, a small, knowing smile on her lips. "no one brings their 'important person' persona to a roof. it’s too windy for egos."
they leaned their hips against the railing, shoulders occasionally brushing as they pointed out the glowing windows of the apartment complex across the street.
"okay, seriously," she said, leaning her elbows on the railing next to him, her voice finally back to normal after the smoke nearly took her out. "look at the building with the blue neon sign. fourteenth floor, third window from the left. what’s his deal?"
jungkook squinted, his eyes tracking the light. a man was pacing back and forth, waving his arms wildly while wearing what looked like a bathrobe.
"oh, that’s easy," jungkook murmured, a smirk tugging at his mouth. "he’s definitely practicing a breakup speech. he’s got the 'it’s not you, it’s me' hand gestures down perfectly."
she tilted her head, considering it. "no, way too much energy for a breakup. i think he just found a really huge spider and he’s trying to negotiate with it. he’s offering it half the apartment if it just stays in the bathroom."
jungkook let out a quiet huff of a laugh, his shoulder bumping hers. "you’re too kind. i bet the spider already moved out because his bathrobe is hideous."
they moved on to a woman in the next building over who was aggressively watering a plastic plant at 1 a.m., and a guy who seemed to be doing yoga in a kitchen full of pizza boxes.
"you ever feel like we're just sims?" she asked suddenly, her voice dropping into that casual, late-night tone where even the weirdest thoughts sounded normal. "like somewhere, someone is clicking on us and selecting 'stand on roof' and 'fail at smoking' just to see what happens?"
jungkook turned his head to look at her. the city lights reflected in her eyes, making her look like she was made of the same neon and gold as the skyline.
"as long as they don't delete the ladder to the pool while i'm in it, i think i'm okay with it," he teased. he took one last drag and stubbed the cigarette out on the stone, flicking the filter into a nearby bin.
"you know," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching, "the exit to this roof leads directly to the back alley. we could be three blocks away before anyone even notices we're gone."
she looked at him, her eyebrows arching in surprise. "wait, are you serious? you're just going to… ditch? i thought this was a big thing for you. i mean, isn't your manager or your team or someone going to notice if their 'man of the hour' just vanishes into the night?"
she gestured vaguely toward the door where the muffled bass was still thumping. "i don't want you getting in trouble just because i'm bored of eating tiny crackers."
jungkook waved a hand dismissively, his eyes fixed on hers. "they’ve got enough photos of me for one night. besides, if they ask, i’ll just tell them the wind blew me off the building and i had to walk home. it's a very believable tragedy."
she laughed, a soft, skeptical sound. "you're a terrible liar."
"maybe. but i’m a hungry one," he countered. "and i think i’ve earned at least one hour of being a normal human being. so, what do you say? do you want to stay here and watch the spider-guy, or do you want to find some food that is worth eating?"
she looked at the heavy door to the gala, then back at jungkook’s expectant face. she didn't hesitate for long. she reached down, unbuckled her heels, and picked them up by the straps.
"fine. but if we get caught, i'm telling them you kidnapped me," she teased, her bare feet hitting the cold gravel as she moved toward the fire exit. "where are we even going? if you say 'convenience store ramen,' i’m going back inside."
"give me some credit," jungkook said, catching up to her and holding the heavy door open. "there’s a 24-hour spot not far from here. the decor hasn't been updated since the eighties and the service is questionable, but they have the best spicy tteokbokki in the city. and they don't care if you're wearing a tuxedo."
"tteokbokki in a ballgown, sounds like exactly the kind of mess i'm looking for."
"perfect," he grinned.
[author’s note]
so i’m back writing here after so long! :,)
i really hope you like this one, i might make a part 2 if you enjoyed it, let me know<3
