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𝙠𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙩 ⁷
@cocofics

Jul 24, 2019

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taekook au when popular youtuber jungkook gets dared to stand on top of the railings of Han bridge for 5 mins, what he doesn’t expect is for a naive country boy w/ a shabby bicycle to hold unto him begging for him not to jump bc “ur life matters & if no one loves u then i will”

character intro: jungkook ➵ a free spirited youtuber with millions of subs ➵ living the internet celebrity life ➵ he came from a chaebol family but is being disowned bc according to his father: instead of running a company, he’s out there making “silly” videos

taehyung ➵ innocent, sweet & naive ➵ was born and raised in the mountains & just came to seoul 2 months ago ➵ doesn’t know how to use cellphones, internet, etc. ➵ because of his ignorance to the city life, he easily gets scammed but he remains a little ball of sunshine

before i officially start, please know that this au: ➵ is written out + social media ➵ contains a soft taehyung ➵ will be updated /at least/ 3 times a week, i have other on going aus sooo ➵ should be enjoyed! :) QUOTE instead of replying to the thread

Jungkook doesn’t like falling. He doesn’t like falling, in every sense of the word. He doesn’t like falling asleep. The world is wide and wild — he doesn’t wanna miss a thing.

He doesn’t like falling in love. It’s too complicated and he knows what it does to people — it makes them weak. He doesn’t like falling — the literal kind. Heights make his stomach churn, the fear of imminent death or physical hurt cloud his mind.

Which is why right now, standing on top a railing, he’s taking fast shallow breaths. He’s sweating. Just a strong blow of wind or one wrong move and he’ll be sent spiraling down into the waters of the Han river. “For the vlog.” He curses under his breath. “The fucking vlog.”

His loyal fans and viewers know exactly how much he dreads heights. And the fact that he’s doing this right now guarantees millions of views more than what he usually gets. He’s been counting in his head, he believes there’s just about 2 minutes left until he finishes the dare.

He can come down then, he can finally breath, he can — “AAHHH!” Jungkook shouts as something suddenly slams against his legs. The good thing is, there are limbs wrapped around him that keeps him from falling off the bridge.

The bad thing is, the monopod he was holding in his right hand slid off from his grasp due to his shock. He doesn’t hear the sound of the camera when it reaches the water surface. It’s too far, anyway. He’s dumbfounded, he thought for a second he’s gonna fall.

He swears his heart stopped momentarily. What he hears though is someone pleading. “Please! Please don’t do it, sir!” The person hugs his legs tightly. “Life is b-beautiful!” Jungkook looks down at that person but all he sees is a mop of blonde hair.

“Please don’t jump, sir! Please. Your life matters,” The blonde boy sniffles. “And if no one loves you then I will.” “Okay?” Jungkook utters, his voice small and unsure. “C-can you let go of me?”

“What?!” The blonde now looks up. He’s beautiful, Jungkook thinks. He has a slightly tanned complexion, his eyes are big, his nose is perfect, and his lips — his quivering lips are full and pink. He seems to be on the verge of tears. “I — I can’t do that!”

The boy vigorously shakes his head, and Jungkook’s heart thrums in his chest because the movement might just cause an imbalance and send him off this time. “H-hey! Stop moving!” He panics. “I’m not gonna jump, I swear! I’m coming down.”

The boy complies. “P-promise?” He bits his plump lips. “I promise!” The blonde slowly lets go of his legs, but he’s still eyeing him warily.

Jungkook sighs heavily and immediately hops off from the railing and onto the pavement. He clutches his heart, finally calming himself down. “I’m gonna love you, sir...” The boy shamelessly takes his hand into his, his eyes are sincere and teary and they shine with the promise.

“I’m not so easy to love.” Growing up as a rich man’s son, Jungkook has always been told to be careful of who to trust. The rich know— they know that love doesn’t come easy for people like them. The idea that most are just affectionate to them because of their assets is grim.

Aside from the few real friends he’s made over the years, he’s now “loved” by many because of his online presence. But do fans really love /him/? Maybe they love his videos. Maybe they love his looks. Maybe they love the mere idea of him.

But strip him of all the riches, his status and his physical appearance, do they love him? "Although a lot claim that they love me," Jungkook retracts his hand from the boy's grip. "As you would have realized by now, knowing who I am."

The boy looks at him with furrowed brows, a bit confused. "Oh come on." Jungkook says unbelievably. The boy's kinda weird, sure. But, really? "Don't tell me you don't know me. Everyone who uses the internet does."

"Oh." The other says in a small voice. "... I don't know how to use the internet." Jungkook looks at him from head to toe. Well, he does look poor. He has baggy clothes on that are multiple sizes bigger for him.

His shoes are worn out and he's wearing a straw hat that's so unfashionably rural. But he gotta be kidding, right? No one doesn't use the internet— not in this era! "You know what? Let's just talk about the camera." "What camera?"

"My GoPro. It fell into the water because you surprised me." The boy's jaw falls. "C-camera? Isn't that thing expensive?" "Yeah. My manager would be so pissed. It was a new model, too. I knew your intention was good but I wasn't even trying to end my life."

"I-" The boy pales. "I'm gonna pay you, then. B-but I don't have money right now... My salary is for rent and for food... and for Yeontan... And I can't get a loan now, I already have an existing one because Jihee needed the money last week so she can

go to her idol's fanmeet in Busan... Then I-" "Wait a minute." Jungkook cuts the other's blabbering. "Fanmeet? Last week? In Busan?" The blonde thinks for a moment, trying to remember something. "Uhm. Yes. I’m not sure what a fanmeet is,

but she said she had to buy a plane ticket to Busan,then she had to pay for a hotel and then other expenses like food. She really wanted to meet this Jungkook!" That’s it. He must be faking this all. Jungkook can’t find a suitable reason why this stranger is feigning ignorance.

“Yeah?” He says sarcastically. “Well, I gotta go, blondie.” “Wait! Wait!” The boy grabs his arm urgently. “How about the camera?” “I just wanted to hear your apology, I don’t like people who don’t say sorry.” He states. “I can afford a new one, anyway.”

“I-I’m sorry..." The blonde pouts. “But you can’t go yet. You didn’t even give me your name. How can I love you better if I don’t know you?” Jungkook tries to free his arm but the other just just grips it tighter. He tries it again, and the boy proceeds to hug his arm.

“Blondie... you’re cute but if you don’t let go of me I’ll call the police on you.” He threatens although it’s an empty promise. The other’s eyes slowly widens. “W-what? Why would you do that, sir?” He says, teary and sniffling again. “I just want to get to know you!”

“I’m just,” Jungkook softly pushes the boy away. “...not...” He shakes his arm to free it from the latter. “...interested!” He successfully does, but the blonde drops and koala hugs his leg instead.

Jungkook sees the first drop of tear, and he panics because why the hell is this stranger weeping? “Waaaah!" The boy is now full on crying. “Waaaaaaah!" “Hey hey hey!” Jungkook urgently says, he puts his hands on top of either the boy’s shoulders and shakes him gently.

“Why the fuck are you crying? Stop it!” “I— i j-just... waaaah!" The boy utters through his tears. “Wanted to love you... waaaaah! B-but the p-police... waaaaah! ...Don’t w-wanna go to j-jail... L-love you... Wanna l-love you... waaaah!”

Okay! Okay, I’m not gonna call the police! But can you shut up?” Jungkook pleads. They’re in a public place and Jungkook wants the ground to swallow him whole because the wailing boy keeps chanting “Wanna love you!”

Aside from this being extremely embarrassing, what if someone who recognizes him snaps a photo or records a video? He can only imagine the silly headlines to come. A traffic police approaches the duo and gets their attention. “Excuse me,"

When the blonde lays eyes on the officer, he immediately closes his mouth and bites his lip in an attempt to muffle the sounds he’s making. He hides his face behind Jungkook’s leg, obviously afraid of the authority.

“Can you both take your love quarrel home? You’re so loud and it can distract the passing motorists. We don’t want to cause an accident, do we?” “O-of course, sir.” Jungkook bows a little. “We’re sorry."

He pulls the blonde up. “Come on, let’s go.” The latter’s still silently crying but thankfully, he stands up. Jungkook drags him away hurriedly. “Hey!” The officer calls after them. “Who’s bicycle is this?” He points at a shabby bike discarded beside the pavement.

Jungkook looks at the blonde in question but he just keeps hiding behind Jungkook, avoiding the officer’s line of sight. Jungkook gets it, though. So he goes towards the bicycle and picks it up, the blonde trailing behind him while keeping a hold on the back of his shirt.

The officer follows them until they reach Jungkook’s car which is parked nearby. Jungkook just stands there looking from the boy to the bicycle and then back again. The officer raises an eyebrow at them and Jungkook has no choice but to shove the crying boy in the passenger seat.

After he put the bicycle (which, to be honest, seems like it’s one day away from its funeral) in the trunk of his car, he gets in the driver’s seat and starts driving away.

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Jungkook heads to the restaurant’s mini counter, where he sees a man in a white long-sleeved polo offering him a smile. He hands his credit card over to the him and gets a couple of bills from his wallet. “Uhm...” he starts. “Can you give this to the dishwasher?”

The man raises an eyebrow. “You wanna give a tip to the... dishwasher?” “Yeah.” Jungkook gnaws on his lower lip, contemplating. The man smiles, however, dimples showing on his cheeks. “Okay, no problem.”

“I- actually,” Jungkook says. “I wanna give that to the dishwasher with blonde hair. He... has big eyes and uhm, he owns a shabby bicycle? And uhm,—“ “Oh, you mean Taehyung?” The man smiles more brightly. Taehyung. So his name is Taehyung.

“Taehyung.” He utters, loving how the name rolls off his tongue. “Yeah, Taehyung.” “Sure. Will definitely do.” He hands back Jungkook’s card. “Can you give it to him while I’m here? I mean, don’t tell him it’s from me. I just, you know, kinda wanna see his reaction.”

While that is true, Jungkook actually wants to be sure it’s handed to the proper recipient. The man just nods and proceeds to open a door behind him, obviously leading to the kitchen. He hears him ask Taehyung to come outside for a second, and Jungkook shuffles to the

nearest table, putting on his mask and his sunglasses. The blonde finally appears, he’s on a fitted plain black collared shirt and black pants. He’s also wearing a protective hairnet. “What is it, Namjoon hyung?” “Tae, a customer gave you a tip.” The man informs him while

handing him the money, his tone congratulatory. “Me? A-are you sure, hyung?” Taehyung asks, eyeing the notes on his hands, genuinely confused because who the hell would give him, a dishwasher, a tip? “I can assure you the customer said to give it to the dishwasher.”

He smiles fondly at the other. “B-but I’m not the only dishwasher.” “Well, he clearly said it’s for the blonde dishwasher. Joohyuk isn’t blonde, is he?” Jungkook finds himself staring and his chest tightening because Taehyung’s face suddenly lights up.

He smiles a smile so bright the sun could’t rival, his eyes turn into slits and the skin beside it wrinkle so beautifully. His cheeks go up, making it look chubby and Jungkook has a dying his urge to pinch them. He stays staring, even after the boy slides behind the door.

And that’s how Jungkook knows he did something wonderful today. He made someone happy. He gave a token of appreciation to someone who most definitely haven’t received any before. This isn't like him, he knows. "You're a selfish brat", his father would always tell him.

He's always believed him, but the way Taehyung's eyes twinkle like Christmas lights tells him otherwise. He savors the moment, indulges in the flattering feeling brought by making someone happy. If he's being honest, he doesn't know if he's ever made someone truly happy in his

life. In a way, his father is right: he's selfish. He stands up from where he's seating and goes out of the establishment. He heads to his car without looking back. It was a nice feeling and Taehyung's smile was a sight to see but it's the last time he'll witness it, right?

People come and go in his life, and the blonde's certainly ain’t special. He feels his phone vibrate inside his pocket and he fishes it out. It’s Seokjin asking him what does think he’s doing— most definitely referencing to his recent tweets.

‘What am I doing?’ he asks himself. He doesn’t even know the answer to that. He repeats the sentence in his head, repeats it over and over again. He repeats it even when he finds himself going back to NomNamu the next day.

He repeats it when he gives Taehyung yet another tip and the blonde receives it gleefully like a kid receiving candies, as he watches discreetly from the corner of the room.

He repeats it when he asks Namjoon, who turns out to be the owner of the place, what time Taehyung's shift ends tonight.

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Later in the evening, he sees Taehyung already on his bike. He happily counts his money before stuffing it inside his sling bag. When he starts driving away, Jungkook hurriedly lowers the window of his car and calls after him.

To his dismay, the blonde boy doesn't hear him and just continues ahead. He follows after him but Taehyung maneuvers the narrow streets better with his bike than Jungkook with his car. He tries his best to keep his eyes on the boy, nonetheless.

To his surprise, Taehyung stops outside a police station. He hops off his bike, and enters the building only to reemerge with a police officer not even a minute later.

While Jungkook's looking for a spot to park his car, he sees Taehyung hand money to the policeman, which the latter accepts almost discreetly. They say a few words to each other and then Taehyung's bowing and mouthing a couple of thank you's.

Jungkook doesn't even have the time to process the scene because Taehyung's mounting his bike again and exiting the compound. He trails after the boy but loses the sight of him just a few minutes into the highway. He sighs.

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“Jungkook?!” Taehyung exclaims right when he lays eyes on the person leaning by a black car outside the convenience store near his apartment. Jungkook straightens up as the other hastily gets off his bike and throws his arms around him. “Jungkook!"

He gulps at the sudden proximity. “Jungkook! Did you come to see me?" Taehyung asks with a blinding smile. "I go to Han bridge every night & wait for you,you know?" Jungkook pushes the boy slightly from him, locking eyes with him. “Wait, what? You wait there every night for me?”

The blonde nods enthusiastically. “Yes! And i get sad every time you never show up!” Which is everyday. For 3 nights. He doesn’t know why he feels a pinch to his heart at that. Damn, he doesn’t know a lot of things these days. “W-why would you do that?”

“Because I want to spend time with you?” He states like it’s obvious. “Didn’t I say I’m going to love you better?" And here comes the ‘not knowing’ again. Great. This time it’s not knowing why his cheeks suddenly feels hot.

“You know what, Jungkook? I’m so lucky because I received tips from customers for two days straight even though I work in the kitchen! So look!” He points excitedly at the plastic bags placed carefully inside the basket of his bike.

“I bought ingredients to cook seafood tonight! It’s my favorite!” “You could’ve bought a new bicycle with that money.” Jungkook tells him what he expected the other would’ve done. “Yeah..." Taehyung says less energetically. “But there are more important things than getting

a new ride.” Jungkook thinks back to seeing him handing money to a policeman. His curiosity is piqued so he starts, “Ah, about the—“ “Jungkook, why don’t you join me for dinner?" He breaks into a boxy smile again and that’s enough for Jungkook to respond with a “Sure.”

On the way to Taehyung’s house, the boy never stopped talking. He talked about everything— his day, his neighbor’s dog, the beautiful plant he saw in the market a while ago. And Jungkook walked beside him, content with listening to him for now.

Turns out, the blonde lives in a rooftop apartment. He says he’s so lucky to be living in that unit because there’s a wide space up front and it overlooks the whole neighborhood, although Jungkook thinks not many people actually want this spot because of the hassle of

going up and down a flight stairs. "Jihee said she'll be home very late tonight because she's going to a club with her friends." Taehyung informs him while he fries the shrimps, and Jungkook's comfortably sitting on a mat on the floor. "I guess that's better, she doesn't allow

me to bring friends over. I would've offered you to watch tv while I cook but she doesn't like it when I touch anything that's not mine too." "Taehyung," Jungkook voices. "You know my name?" He asks, too happy about it.

"Uh, your boss told me when I had lunch at NomNamu today." "You went to where I work? You should've said hello!" Jungkook clears his throat. "I knew you were busy. Anyway, who's this Jihee, Taehyung? Is she your sister?"

"Oh... No. Well, we used to be close when were kids." His voice is melancholic. "Our families were friends, they used to live in the mountains with us too but her parents decided to transfer to the city. Although, they still come back once in a while to buy vegetables directly

from the farms and sell it here. But Jihee, she... isn't the same Jihee I used to know. Maybe my grandma was right, the city life changes people." "So how come you're staying with her?" "I don't know anyone in Seoul aside from her. And if you're wondering where her parents are,

they're constantly on the road and they live in Goyang." Jungkook has so many question but he asks the first one that's puzzling him the most. "But when we first met you said something about paying the rent and getting a loan for her?"

"Oh yeah. I pay the rent because she said the allowance her parents give her isn't enough -" "Wait, do they even know she's letting you shoulder all the rental expenses?" "Uhm, she kinda told me not to tell them." Taehyung shrugs.

Jungkook's initial impression is right, the boy's too naive. He's too naive for his own good. "And like I said I got a loan—it's because she said it's payment for overstaying my welcome here. But it's fine! It's worth it,she used the money to go to a Jungkook's fanmeet in Busan!"

Jungkook can only sigh heavily. "Which makes me remember... I told her I met a Jungkook! But she yelled at me, saying I shouldn't be fantasizing about her future boyfriend." Taehyung giggles. "We're not even talking about the same Jungkook, are we?"

Jungkook smiles fondly at him. "Maybe." His voice is teasing but the other doesn't catch the underlying meaning to it, anyway. Taehyung ate to his heart’s content. He pouts when he munches on his food, a trait Jungkook finds cute even though he tries to deny it to himself.

Taehyung’s talking about how today feels like his birthday (he only gets to eat garlic shrimps and sweet & sour fish on his birthdays), how he’s happy to be sharing it with Jungkook, how he wishes he’ll get to eat the same dishes on his actually birthdate in three months to come.

Jungkook talks about how his friends Yoongi and Jin go fishing every month, how always decline their offer whenever they invite him and how he’d tag along with them the next time only if Taehyung comes with them.

They talk about the littlest things and a part of Jungkook wonders how the conversation flows easily with Taehyung, something he doesn’t the luxury of having with most people he meets.

They were done eating when there’s a loud tapping on the door, accompanied by a shrill voice calling out Taehyung’s name. The next thing Jungkook knows, the blonde is pushing him inside his bedroom, asking him to stay there and be quiet.

When Taehyung opens the front door, Jungkook hears a girl scolding the other for locking the door, saying there’s no need to lock it unless he’s secretly having someone over. “I’m not, Jihee.” Taehyung responds. Then, that Jihee girl demands for the dining table to be tidied up,

but not after Taehyung gets a couple of alcoholic drinks for her and her friends. “Aren’t you too harsh on him?" Jungkook hears a female inquire right after, he supposes, Taehyung went out of the house.

“He deserves it. He’s stupid.” Jihee answers nonchalantly. “Stupid enough not to realize we’re asking him to buy alcohol because we’re all underage to do it ourselves.”

"Are you sure he’s really your maid though? I mean, where do you even get the money to pay him monthly? You’re just a university student.” Another person asks. “Y-yeah!” Jihee stutters, clearly fabricating a lie inside her head now.

“My parents are... kinda loaded. How else can I afford to have a night life and treat you guys once in a while, right?” She laughs nervously. “Whatever you say, Jihee." The same female dismisses.

“For all we know he’s actually your boyfriend," a male now voices his opinion. “I mean, if he’s not, just look at him. I’d definitely tap that ass.” “Do it, then. I’m pretty sure he’s a virgin, too.”

Jungkook haven't known Taehyung that long. God, this is even only the second time they've actually interacted with each other. But oh how he feels so personally wronged bc Taehyung is being treated this way. How come the kindest souls are given the shitiest people in their lives?

Jungkook thoughts are still tangled when Taehyung slips through the door. He doesn't know how long he was pondering there, sitting in a corner. "I'm sorry, I had to clean up the kitchen." Taehyung whispers. Jungkook stares at him as he strips and changes into sleepwear.

"Is it fine if you stay here until Jihee and her friends finishes whatever they're doing?" His eyes are pleading. "So I should stay the night, you mean? I don't think they'll be done until the wee hours of the morning."

The other pouts and looks around his room. "I'm sorry, I don't have a proper bed. I do have a foam that's good enough for the both of us, though." "It's fine." Jungkook assures him. "Do you want more comfortable clothes?" "No, I'm good with these."

Taehyung arranges the bed and gives Jungkook a pillow and a blanket. He smiles and invites him to lie down as he stands up to turn off the lights, the only illumination in the room now is the moonlight seeping in through the windows.

"Are you going to sleep now?" Jungkook asks in a low voice, although he's pretty sure neither Jihee nor her friends would be able to hear them as they are drinking at the open space outside the house. "Not yet, I'm still full." Taehyung says, tucking himself under the sheets and

facing sideways, to Jungkook's direction. Jungkook mimics him so they're facing each other, eye to eye. "Taehyung," Jungkook murmurs. "Don't you think Jihee is taking advantage of you?" The other looks down and shrugs. "I don't think so..."

"She is." Jungkook tells him frankly. "Trust me, she is. You know you can always transfer to an apartment of your own, right? I can help you find a cheaper place." "Thank you but I don't wanna live alone. That's lonely." He offers a toothless smile.

"Why did you come to Seoul?" Why did he take take the risk to come to a new place, a whole new world from where he came from, all alone? Jungkook watches as the other's features turn subdued. "I'm looking for my dog Yeontan."

He nibbles on his lower lip for a moment before continuing. "Jihee and her family went to get vegetables from Daegu a little over two months ago, and we suppose my dog got on their truck or something. I got help from my friend there and called Jihee's mom and she said she's

pretty sure she heard barking from the back while they were traveling, although she didn't notice a dog when they were unloading the vegetables the moment they got to Seoul." His eyes are now glossy.

"My grandma gave me Yeontan as a birthday gift two years ago. I can't just lose him, Jungkook." "Where's your grandmother now?" "If I tell you about my family, would you tell me about yours?" Taehyung hopes. "I want to get to know you too..."

Jungkook sucks in a deep breath because that is a touchy topic for him. Even Jin and Yoongi know it's a taboo subject. What's there to talk about, anyway? He's not very proud of his father who cares more about status than his own family, or his mother who loves her husband more

than her children, or his older brother who loves Jungkook the most but can't love himself enough that he lets their father control his life. It's not easy to talk about them, but he opens up to Taehyung, nonetheless. He's aware, so consciously aware that tonight he just let

someone break down one of his walls. But he doesn't regret it, believes he never will. That's just a piece of cake in comparison to Taehyung baring his heart whole when he tells Jungkook about how his parents died when their truck fell off a cliff during one rainy night ten years

ago, or how he was solely raised by his grandmother after that, or how she died 6 months ago, or how he's been working hard these days so he can pay the policeman who swore to help him find Yeontan. The fucking policeman.

"Taehyung, the police isn't supposed to receive monetary payments from citizens. That's illegal. It's why he's accepting it discreetly from you." "R-really?" Taehyung's eyes widen at the information. "But h-he said-"

"You're being scammed all this time. I doubt he's even looking for your dog. You have to promise me," Jungkook half demands and half pleads. "Promise me you'll never give him money again, not even a cent." "I-" He stutters. "O-okay." "Promise me." Jungkook repeats.

"Let me help you instead. If you have a picture of Yeontan, I can post it online. I don't know how to explain it to you but I - I have a huge reach and we have a bigger chance of finding him that way." "O-okay... I promise." Taehyung finally tells him in a shaky voice.

“I trust you, Jungkook." Trust. Another thing he's deprived of in this lifetime. And yet this person in front of him, who's eyes are turning glossy, gives it to him almost unquestionably. With profound determination, he vows, "We'll find Yeontan."

"Thank you, Jungkook." Taehyung whispers. "Thank you." Jungkook only meets his gaze silently, the rawness in Taehyung's eyes rendering him speechless. "You're so lucky." He wants to ask him why but his words are still stuck so lamely in his throat.

"You're so lucky because you even though you don't see them eye to eye, at least you know your parents are out there— alive and healthy. And then there's your brother who keeps you dear in his heart." His lips quiver in the slightest.

"You have your family." He sucks in a shaky breath before continuing with a voice so quiet that if Jungkook hasn’t been listening intently, he won’t even catch it. “I only have Yeontan left in my life, and now he’s gone too."

A lone tear escapes Taehyung’s eye and trickles sideways, down to the bridge of his nose, and he wipes it so hastily with the back of his hand as if it shouldn’t have been there in the first place, as if that wetness shouldn’t have went past the rim of his eye.

The first night Jungkook met him, he witnessed him bawl his heart out at the Han Bridge but that’s so distinctly unalike as tonight, so different by the way Taehyung now has his eyes purposely closed,

seemingly willing to keep his tears at bay, to keep the storm inside, to not let the last ounce of vulnerability break free, to fight and drown and survive every emotion all on his own. All on his own, all alone. All alone.

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Jungkook puts his phone down, on top of the rim of his indoor jacuzzi. The warm water relaxes his stiff muscles, he wasn’t lying when he said he did excessive workout today. It felt good when he got to release, especially during boxing, the angry flow of energy cursing through

him since last night. And now it feels good to be in this tub, facing a window that overlooks the city of Seoul. It all feels good, but not good enough.

He’s frantic, distraught. All the activities he’s done so far since he got home this morning were all supposed to give him the peace he craves and calm his nerves, but they don’t. They feel good for a moment, then they don’t. They make him feel good and yet they don’t.

He picks up his phone again and unlocks it. He scrolls through his Twitter timeline but doesn’t find anything interesting enough. He switches to Instagram and not even the pictures of pretty girls, even the provocative ones, could distract his mind from the one thing that keeps

gnawing at his consciousness— the image flashing in his head that he wants so badly to drown out. He can’t— he can’t unsee the lone tear that spilled from Taehyung’s eye. Or unhear Taehyung’s choked breathing afterwards. He can’t not think about the sadness that adorned his

big eyes and the tragedy in his voice. When Jungkook closes his eyes, he can still picture how the moonlight hit Taehyung’s features, how beautiful he thinks the other looks, even with the sorrow spread out on his visage that he’s so utterly undeserving of.

“Fuck it." Jungkook mutters to himself. He stands up and gets out of the tub. He grabs a towel and starts walking over to his walk-in closet, leaving droplets of water in his wake. Ten minutes later, he’s zooming past the gates of his house on his Audi RS5.

Never in his life had he felt such longing, a longing to make something right. He’ll probably won’t make it right, but he wants to do something about it— he needs to.

So when he reaches his destination and parks his car, he wastes no time and get outs out of the vehicle, his designer sunglasses on. He enters the station and looks for the man. He still remembers his face, & when he spots him sitting behind one of the desks, he approaches him.

“Sir, can I talk to you outside?” “How may I help you, young man?" He sweeps his eyes over Jungkook, before returning his gaze on the computer monitor in front of him. “And why do we need to talk outside?"

“Oh, believe me, you wouldn’t wanna do it here." The police officer’s brow flies to his hair. “Try me.” He challenges. “Kim Taehyung.” Just two words & the man visibly stiffs, his eyes scanning the surroundings, checking for perceivers.“He kind of told me to hand you the mon—"

The man quickly shushes him, getting on his feet and beckons him to follow him outside. They stop by the parking lot, under a tree. “Okay, where is it?" The policeman asks in urgency. “The money?" Jungkook feigns innocence.

The other narrows his eyes at Jungkook. “Who are you, huh? Are you his friend? If you want that dog to be found you better not waste my time like this.” Jungkook initially just wanted to tell off the man, to confront him and maybe threaten him a little, because he, who’s bound

by duty to serve people and who’s expected to promote justice, is the one taking advantage of someone as naive as Taehyung. Jungkook thinks about how Taehyung works all day washing dishes for two months, thinks about how he opts to go to around the city in a shabby bike just

to save money, thinks about how happy he was when he received a tip — and to what? To give majority of his money to this man? He swings his arm and lands a punch to the policeman’s face.

The latter staggers back due to the impact and Jungkook thinks that this— this is what feels good /enough/. Before the man can recover his stance, Jungkook grabs him by the collar. “It’s either that punch,” he spits. “Or you lose your job and go to jail.”

He looks scared enough not to fight back nor say anything, so Jungkook gives him a final glare and goes back to his car.

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“We got a big issue here and you’re still thinking about that?" Seokjin half-yells at him, exasperated because he just announced he has to go soon to meet up with Taehyung and go over their Find Yeontan mission.

“Help me, Jungkook, because I don’t think you even feel an ounce of regret with what you did." Damn right he doesn’t. Well, not yet. For now he’s relishing in the satisfaction brought by giving that cop what he deserves. No, actually he thinks he deserves more, but that will do.

Seokjin has been screaming for the past hour about the damages that ‘blurry’ video is doing to Jungkook’s ‘influencer’ status, about what ifs and about strategic moves they could use to get past the issue.

But Jungkook doesn’t want to hear any of these now, can’t these wait till tomorrow? He just wishes to have a peaceful night. Seokjin opens his mouth only to close it again when interrupted by the sound of the house’s buzzer system.

“I didn’t know Yoongi would be coming?" He’s already heading to the door when he hears Seokjin respond, “I didn’t know too." He twists the handle and pulls the door open, only to be greeted by the sweetest voice he used to love so much. “Son."

She smiles, smiles like all is good in the world and she’s taking a step inside the house, one arm moving forward to reach out to him. Jungkook would have greeted her back,

if not for the sturdy figure that appears behind her and pushes past her to slap Jungkook across the face with the back of his hand. The force sends Jungkook to the floor and as a reflex, his hand flies to his numbing cheek.

Within seconds, his mother is crouching by his side and frantically calling his name. “Oh my goodness! Jungkook!" She pushes his hand away and examines his cheeks by herself. “Honey!” She shouts at her husband. “You said you’re just gonna /talk/ to him!"

Jungkook looks up at his father, the man now rearranging his tie and then smoothing the sleeves of his suit. “Oh my god, he’s bleeding!" His mom distresses. Of course he’s going to get a cut, his father slapped him the hand where he wears this big family heirloom ring.

“Get up, Jungkook.” He demands while fiddling with his French cuffs. “GET UP!" His deep, booming voice echoes throughout the house. When Jungkook doesn’t make any move, his father strides closer to him. “Oh, you’re not going to?"

“M-mr. Jeon!" Seokjin puts a hand on his father’s chest, stopping him from advancing further. His father shakes off Seokjin’s touch,as if it’s contaminating. His mother wraps protective arms around him,glaring at his father. “You’re not laying a hand on our son again, Jae-Hwa!"

“That son of yours," His father angrily points down at him. "Doesn’t have a regard for his family name!" He shouts, voice trembling with every uttered word. “First he forsakes the future we laid out for him to become some clown online,

now he decides to humiliate us all by getting himself into a scandal?" “Honey —" "My patience is running out, Jungkook." Jeon Jae-hwa states. "One more strike and you can officially say good bye to your family."

He chins up, straightens his body— poised as the big shot, privileged man that he is. He turns away and exits the door, demands his wife to "leave that brat be." His mother presses her forehead to the side of Jungkook's head and closes her eyes for a moment.

"You shouldn't have done that, son. Don't do something like that again." She murmurs, careful and pleading. She presses a kiss to his temple, and with that, she's on her husband's heel.

It’s funny, funny how her mother says not to do it again when she didn’t even bother to find out why he did it in the first place. And it’s funnier, how his father can threaten to disown him when it feels like he’s already done so years ago.

Jungkook's glaring into space and massaging the inside of his cheek with his tongue as Seokjin pulls him up and drags him back to the living room, sitting him on the couch. He says something about Jungkook staying put while he gets the first aid kit,

but Jungkook couldn't be bothered with any of that. As Seokjin rummages through the cabinets in the nearest bathroom, he gets on his feet and out of his house.

With locked jaw and gritted teeth, he drives away, away from it all. He'll never admit it, but the pain of the wound on his cheek is nothing compared to the one in his heart. And rather than feeling so many emotions at once, he'll turn himself numb of it all.

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Jungkook’s already on his 5th glass when Min Yoongi sets foot on the club’s VIP floor. He strides over to Jungkook, whose arm is draped over a girl’s shoulder and whose lap is occupied by another one.

“Hey, Kook.” Yoongi greets him, the other just nods in recognition. He sits on the edge of the large circular sofa, draping one leg over the other. “Not gonna lie, I heard about what happened." “Of course you did." Jungkook smirks, the girl on his lap nibbling at his hear.

“Do you wanna talk about it?" "I’m here to forget about it, hyung, not talk about it." He says rather coldly, but Yoongi knows better than to take offense from it.

“Right." He shrugs. “I’ll be by the bar, then. And no fucking right here, I’ll book you a room upstairs so you better do it there.” Threesome? That doesn’t sound so bad. It’s been a while since he’d had that.

The girl on his side pushes her chest into Jungkook, and he reaches to cup her breast, squeezing it to her delight. The one on her lap asks Jungkook if he wanna dance but the crowded dancefloor doesn’t look too appealing at the moment so he declines.

"Do you wanna dance?" He asks her and she responds, “I do, oppa. Do you want me to do it here?" And so she starts giving Jungkook a lap dance. She dances against him, dances on him, grinds on him— the globe of her ass massaging his crotch.

He’s hard, he’s so painfully hard. But there’s something missing, something that doesn’t sit right. Any other day, he’s already banging these girls out of their wits.

The other girl pulls on Jungkook’s hair and tilts his head to her direction. She presses her lips to his, until their tongues are twisting with each other, lapping together.

These girls are gorgeous, they’re sexy and they can absolutely get any man in the room. So why? Why are they not good enough for Jungkook? What’s wrong with him this time? He just wanna lose his mind to pleasure and drown out all his thoughts.

The girl on his lap rubs hard on him and he throws his head back, shutting his lids and moaning a little. The next time he opens his eyes, he gets a blinded by the blaring neon lights in the club. He blinks, blinks again, and then surveys the girls with his hooded eyes.

They got smiles on their faces but why don’t those curves exude warmth? Why do their eyes scream lust, and not innocence? And their hair, why are they not... blonde?

These girls couldn’t love him right, not even for one night. Love may not even be the word for it. And Jungkook’s confused because isn’t this what he wanted? Be with people who don’t even care about the cut on his cheek?

Jungkook pushes the girls gently from his body, he stands up and begins to march towards the stairs. He just goes, not even offering a “sorry”, just leaves without explanation. No, they wouldn’t be able to satisfy him tonight.

He pushes past the sweaty bodies, his head a little bit light. He’s not drunk, not even tipsy, just got kinda dizzy due to the thundering music and blinding lights. He gets on his car and lets his instincts lead the way.

Which brings him here, standing outside a rooftop apartment and knocking not so gently on its door. It takes minutes before he hears shuffling inside and then Taehyung opening the door. “Jungkook?" He exclaims, then gasps and clasps his hands over his mouth because he forgot to

be quiet; Jihee’s asleep in one of the rooms. He sweeps his eyes over Jungkook’s face, then fixates his gaze on his left cheek. He cups it, asking in a hushed tone, “What happened to you, Jungkook?"

Jungkook can’t tear his gaze from Taehyung’s soft and worried eyes. Oh his eyes— his eyes that are so innocent and sincere. He doesn’t give him an answer, and after a moment, Taehyung’s returning his gaze too. “Your eyes look sad." The blonde murmurs.

Jungkook gulps, his throat dry— dry despite the amount of drinks he’s had. His voice is hoarse when he says, “Love me, Taehyung.”

“I do, Jungkook.” Taehyung responds, the tone of his voice mellow. “I do love you.” His words are oozing with sincerity and Jungkook believes him, of course he does, how can he not?

Taehyung steps close, closer, much closer than Jungkook can take right now, because Taehyung loves him and although Jungkook thinks that the universe is too good to give him a love it thinks he needs, what about the love he wants /tonight/?

He’s just human and humans tend to be greedy, always wishing for /more/. He just can’t help himself of the unwanted thoughts, forgive him, because Kim Taehyung is a sin waiting to be committed.

Jungkook tries to avert his eyes but Taehyung’s lips keep drawing his sight back in. They’re so rosy, they’re so plump, and he itches to feel them against his own. Would they feel as soft as they look?

Taehyung is currently wearing baggy pants, but Jungkook can never forget how his work slacks accentuated his perky ass. And yesterday when Taehyung innocently stripped in front of him to change into sleepwear? He won’t deny that his eyes /roamed/.

Jungkook would do anything to get the images of his honey-colored skin and long legs from his head right now because Taehyung is closing the space between them and then he’s hugging him.

When Taehyung says, “Don’t be sad, Jungkook. I’m here," his breath fans on Jungkook’s neck and it makes every hair on his body stand up. No, no, no. Jungkook can’t take this proximity right now; his skin feels so dangerously hot from where they touch.

He can’t even bring to wrap his arms around Taehyung, can’t give the gesture of affection back, because if that happens, he might not let go. He might just bring him closer, if that’s even possible, until there’s literally zero space between them,

until their ends meet and the intricacies that is Jeon Jungkook is simplified into a whole. Taehyung is just so beautiful— ethereal, even— so soft, so pure, that Jungkook has the urge to wreck him.

And that thought alone is terrifying, so fucking terrifying because Taehyung is not a replacement for those girls. He is not a drunken one night fuck. He deserves more than that. Fuck, he deserves the world, not Jungkook’s filthy desires.

Taehyung pushes away from him and gives him the sweetest of smiles. The blonde places his hands on either of Jungkook’s cheeks and tugs the corner of his lips with his thumbs. “Smile, Jungkookie.” He whispers.

Jungkook thinks it probably doesn’t resemble a smile, but the other seems to be satisfied with it, judging by the giggle he erupts into. “See? You look better when you’re smiling.”

Jungkook’s eyes soften because Kim fucking Taehyung. Kim Taehyung is kindness personified. Kim Taehyung is the living proof that angels do exist. Kim Taehyung is warmth and comfort and a burst of color in Jungkook’s monochromatic world.

Before he knows it, he’s being dragged inside the house and into Taehyung’s room. “Before you go, let me tend to your wound first." Taehyung get a first aid kit from the cabinet and starts on cleaning the cut on his cheek. “Can I stay here tonight?" Jungkook asks.

“Sure, Jungkook.” Taehyung responds almost immediately. “Jihee will go to uni at around 8:00 am again, so you can sneak out of the house after that.” “Actually, can I— can I stay here for a few days?” “But how about Jihee? You won’t be able to freely go out—“

“It’s fine.” Jungkook cuts him off. “I’ll be careful. I’m willing to be locked up inside your room all day.” Taehyung regards him for a moment. “A-are you sure?"

He nods, pursing his lips. “How about you, are you sure?” The blonde tilts his head in confusion. “Aren’t you worried I’m, like, hiding because I committed a crime? You’d go to jail too as an accomplice if I get caught.”

Taehyung juts his lips forward, releasing a “pssh” sound. “You’re not a criminal. You won’t do anything like that. I trust you, I told you, right?” Jungkook swallows a lump in his throat. What did he do to deserve him?

“And I’m not prying, but can I ask what happened to you? I’m just genuinely worried.” “It’s... my dad.” He confesses quietly. “He hit me. But it’s fine. Nothing I can’t take.” The other gives him a sympathetic look, and Jungkook knows that he doesn’t believe him when he said

he’s fine. Taehyung continues working on his wound and after a while, he brightly informs, “I’ll be getting my monthly salary tomorrow! I’ll bring you something delicious for dinner, Jungkookie!”

The next day, Jungkook wakes up with Taehyung already gone for work. He finds plates of food beside the bed, good enough for breakfast and lunch, and a note that says, “Help yourself with the snacks in the kitchen cupboard.

Don’t touch whatever’s inside the refrigerator though, it’s Jihee’s and she’ll get mad at me if something goes missing.”

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True to his words, Taehyung brings home a delicious dinner for them. The “delicious” food being fishcakes and lamb skewers he got from street vendors, but Jungkook surprisingly loves it, and loves eating with the blonde boy even more.

Taehyung has been babbling about receiving his salary today, about how he has much more extra cash now that he doesn’t need to give most of it to the cop, when Jungkook gives him the idea to buy a cellphone for himself.

“But I don’t know how to use a cellphone..." His voice is low and sad. “I will teach you!" Jungkook promises and Taehyung’s face lights up. “Having a phone is advantageous, Tae, and it can help you in so many ways.

And we can also—“ Jungkook gulps, a little shy. “We can also contact each other." That’s how they ended up going down town the next day, purchasing a phone. Jungkook chose the best plan for Taehyung, and the boy’s been giggly since they left the mobile store,

too excited for finally owning a phone for the first time in his life. Jungkook himself can’t help smiling witnessing Taehyung point his phone camera at everything, even at things that are remotely picture-worthy.

They also visit a thrift shop because Taehyung says he needs new clothes. Jungkook, who has never shopped in a thrift shop before, is amazed by the variety of cheap clothes and ends up choosing outfits for Taehyung.

In exchange, Taehyung treats him to a cone of ice cream which they happily eat on the way home. In the afternoon, it isn’t that hot so they’re sun lounging at the open area in front of the apartment. Of course they don’t have sun loungers so they brought out a couple of

plastic chairs. Jungkook is slouching on his, sun glasses on and his face facing to the sky with his head resting on top of the chair’s back. Taehyung, however, is laughing his ass off beside him, binge-watching Jungkook’s YouTube videos.

After he taught him the basics of how to use a cellphone, he also introduced him to the internet. And yes, he told him the truth about his profession— that he’s a big youtuber,he’s considered as one of the nation’s top internet influencers and that he’s basically someone popular—

although, he believes Taehyung can’t fully grasp the meaning of it yet. Right now, the best thing he does using the internet is open the YouTube app and type Jungkook’s name in the search bar.

It’s also cute witnessing Taehyung send his first text, which was to Jungkook’s phone. He was so happy, eyes turning into crescents and all, for doing something as simple as that successfully. Jungkook can’t help breaking into a fond smile too whenever

Taehyung calls him on the phone everytime the other goes a few meters away and they’re divided by a concrete wall (like when Taehyung went inside the house to get juice and he rang Jungkook to ask what flavors he fancies).

Jungkook can’t deny that he slightly regrets introducing YouTube to the other though because it’s all he ever gives attention now. Even when Jungkook pokes his sides or his cheeks, his eyes stay glued to the little screen. Jungkook can only pout in disappointment.

Later at night, when they’re back whispering to each other inside Taehyung’s room because Jihee’s already home, the blonde hands him money as a payment for the help he’s gonna give him in finding Yeontan.

“Tae, I’m doing it on my own free will. You don’t have to pay me.” Jungkook would have been offended if he isn’t familiar with Taehyung’s innocence. Since he has more money than he needs to survive this month, he asks Jungkook to accompany him to the amusement park tomorrow

instead. It’s on his bucketlist and it’s also something he hasn’t experienced before. Taehyung’s insistent on paying for Jungkook’s ticket, so they’ve come to the agreement that he can only if he lets Jungkook pay for the food and any souvenir they wanna buy.

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Jungkook shuffles near the door when he catches Taehyung’s name in the conversation Jihee and her friends are having. “— go break the bathroom door if you really want to fuck him that much." A female’s voice teases. Jungkook hears Jihee’s shrill laughter next.

“And what? Force myself on him?” A male sniggers. “I’m not that desperate, Yoona.” “Yeah, no need to force him cos he’ll probably give consent if you tell him the world’s gonna end tomorrow if he doesn’t.” Jihee says. The bunch erupts into laughter.

Jungkook doesn’t even notice his hands fisting or his knuckles turning white from it until Taehyung comes inside the room in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and Jungkook had to bring his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Naive. He’s too naive.

A gentle knock is heard next, and Taehyung’s gesturing for him to hide behind the door but he makes no move and mouths, “Don’t open it.” at the blonde. Jungkook believes that Jihee doesn’t knock gently so he knows exactly who it is.

And hell be raised if that guy pushes his agenda on Taehyung. Not on Jungkook’s watch. When he’s sure the guy gave up on his pursuit and is away, he tells Taehyung,

“You can’t do that, Tae. You can’t just walk around half-naked with other people around. You don’t know what they’re thinking.” He comes off quite harshly and the other utters a “Sorry” but Jungkook doubts he fully comprehends the advice because

Taehyung just proceeds to untangle the knot on his towel with Jungkook there. Isn’t Jungkook “other people” too? And “you don’t know what they’re thinking” definitely applies to him. If only Taehyung knows the things that ran through his mind that night he came here from the

club. Jungkook wishes he was drunk that night so he can blame those unwanted thoughts to the alcohol. But hey, at least now he has the decency to look away before Taehyung’s towel hits the floor and his eyes could lay on more honey-colored skin.

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It's fairly early in the evening, around half past 8, and Jungkook’s sure the person he wants to talk to hasn't gone to bed yet. He knocks on the door and seconds later, a girl who’s wearing a skincare headband with rabbit ears on cracks it open.

She has white cream all over her face and only her eyes, brows and mouth are visible. “Jeon Jung—" Jihee utters in disbelief. “J-j-j-jungkook?!"

Jungkook smiles sweetly at her, but she’s too absorbed in the shock of seeing him on her doorstep to notice that it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Hi, Jihee.” The girl begins chanting "Oh my god” and then she’s screaming, then she’s jumping, then she’s fanning herself.

“Jungkookie?" Taehyung comes up behind her, his eyes kinda wide. Upon hearing it, Jihee looks at Taehyung, brows furrowing. "Wait...” “U-uhm, Jihee. This is my friend Jungkook!”

Jihee looks between the both of them and then back again. “Wha—" She narrows her at the blonde. “She’s /your/ Jungkook?” Taehyung tilts his head, puzzled with the tone the girl uses. “Yes. He’s my friend Jungkook, you know, the one I told you about?”

“B-but... he’s /my/ Jungkook too!" Jihee exclaims, accusatory. “I—" Taehyung stutters. “He’s Jungkook Jungkook? Y-your future boyfriend Jungkook?" Jihee's jaw drops and she immediately turns to Jungkook, trying to gauge his reaction.

Jungkook keeps a straight face, but he's actually dying to burst into laughter. "Shut up!" Jihee mouths at Taehyung. She bites her lower lip in embarrassment and looks at Jungkook sheepishly.

Jungkook clears his throat. "I actually came for you, Jihee." He gives her a dazzling smile. Now, don't get him wrong. He despises the girl for how she treats Taehyung, but if he wants those pictures of Yeontan, then he gotta use his advantage.

"M-me? Oh!" Jihee points to herself, becoming more giddy by the second. "You see, we're looking for Yeontan. And Taehyung here said you're willing to help?" "I didn't say-"

"He says you might have other pictures of Yeontan?" Jungkook cuts Taehyung before he can fully deny it. "I have to post it on my social media..." "Of course, oppa! Of course I can give you those pictures, it's all on my phone!" She gushes.

"B-but can you give me a moment? Come in, though! Come in!" She turns and walks rapidly into her room. Jungkook sits on the sofa, Taehyung following suit. "So you’re gonna be her boyfriend?" Taehyung asks weakly.

"What? No! Nah." Jungkook doesn't even know why he's hastily disagreeing, he’s just following his instincts to not let Taehyung get the wrong idea. "I mean, she's just saying that. Most fan girls say that, I guess."

"Oh." Taehyung stays quiet for a moment, pondering. "So you're the Jungkook he went to see in Busan? The one who had a fanmeet? So you're really... popular?" Jungkook shrugs. "Well, I told you I'm quite popular, didn't I?" Taehyung nods and murmurs an "oh" again.

Minutes later, Jihee comes back, face free of the white cream, and did she put make up on? She sits beside Jungkook, close, much too close and hands him her phone. "Look, oppa! Here are the pictures of that dog I have!" Her voice sickeningly sweet.

When he gets what he needed, he bids goodbye to them, Jihee blushing and batting her eyelashes at him. "Don't forget to call or text me before you sleep, Tae." He says to the blonde who's peeking from behind the girl who monopolizes the doorway space.

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It's 11 in the evening and Jungkook's sitting on Yoongi's black leather sofa, checking his phone every minute. It's 11 in the evening and Taehyung told him an hour and 20 minutes ago that he's going to take a shower, his usual routine before going to bed.

It's 11 in the evening and he knows Taehyung goes to bed at around 10, something he noticed from the nights they've spent together. It's 11 in the evening and Taehyung hasn't texted him yet when he said he would before he'd sleep.

Maybe it's just unnecessary worrying. It's silly too, to be honest. Worrying because someone forgot to send you a good night text? But can you really blame him? Taehyung has a knack of getting into adverse situations because of his naivety.

He can’t take it anymore so he calls him. It keeps on ringing until it goes to voicemail. He calls him again. Then again. Then again. Then a couple more times, and he’s growing anxious because Taehyung is a light sleeper;

he would have been awake within a few seconds after hearing his phone ring. “I have to go.” He announces. His friends turn to him, quite surprised, but Yoongi just smirks as if he knows something the others don’t.

“Come on, man. First you’ve been so absent-minded, always on your phone. Now you’re gonna leave?" Yugyeom complains. “It’s just 11 pm, Kook.“ Kihyun looks at him funny. “Exactly, it’s 11 fucking pm.” He retaliates.

“You got a curfew now? What are you, a married man?" Seokjin sniggers. Jungkook rolls his eyes. “We’re done discussing about the project, anyway.” He starts pacing towards the door and Yoongi says, “Kook, it’s raining hard, be careful on the road!” “Will be. Thanks!"

Yoongi lives nearer to Taehyung’s place so he arrives in just under 10 minutes. When he exits his car, he lifts his jacket over his head to partially shield himself from the rain. He runs up the stairs as fast as he can.

When he nears the house, he catches a figure with a mop of blonde hair sitting outside the door, head on his knees, curling on himself. Jungkook crouches in front of Taehyung, confused and panicked when he sees him shivering.

“Tae?” He says above the sound of the pouring rain, putting his hands on either of the blonde’s shoulders. “Hey, Taehyung!" Taehyung lifts up his head and Jungkook notices his jaw slightly quivering, teeth clattering.He immediately takes off his jacket and puts it on the other.

“Kookie?" “Why the fuck are you outside?" He questions, his heart sinking at the sight of Taehyung. Only half of Jungkook’s body is being covered by the roof, his backside is now getting drenched, but he couldn’t care enough. “Why? Why are you here?”

"It’s my f-fault." Taehyung presses his arms closer to his own body, seeking more warmth. Jungkook couldn’t help but wrap his own arms around the boy. "Jihee locked me out."

"What?! Why would she do that?" He spits angrily. "T-here’s this drama I wanted to watch and she caught me using the television.” Taehyung says weakly, his head resting on Jungkook’s right shoulder.

"You’re paying the damn rent, Tae. In full. And she wouldn’t even let you watch tv?" Jungkook grits his teeth. "And you should’ve called me! You’re gonna catch hypothermia at this rate! Come on, get up."

Jungkook guides him up. He hears him sniffle, and he lifts his head up to see the boy crying. He shushes him, wiping the rapid flow of tears with his thumbs. Taehyung fishes out his cellphone from the his pocket and shows Jungkook its cracked screen.

“S-she threw i-it on the f-floor." Taehyung explains through his choked sobbing. "My phone... b-broken now." Although Jungkook thinks the gadget should be the least priority now, he knows how important that thing is for Taehyung:

it’s his first ever phone and he got it with his own money. That device is like a portal to a whole new world for him and Jungkook clearly remembers how happy he was when he got it.

“Why would she do that?" He asks more out of anger than curiosity, but Taehyung’s response makes his blood boil, more than it already does. "Because I- I wouldn’t give her your number."

He pushes Taehyung aside and taps on the door heavily. He’s been tapping on it and yelling Jihee’s name for a few of minutes already when she finally cracks it open.

"What the hell, Tae—" She blinks her groggy eyes rapidly. "O-oppa?" Her mouths slacks a bit, gazing at a furious Jungkook. “What the fuck is wrong with you, huh? Don’t you care about him even just a little bit? He was gonna die out here!” Jungkook screams at her face.

“You and your rotten personality disgust me!" Jungkook pulls Taehyung inside the house, Jihee moving out of the way, taken aback by Jungkook’s outburst. He sits Taehyung on the couch and goes to get a blanket from his room and wraps it around him.

His shivering lessens by the minute, Jungkook sliding his hands up and down his arms, trying to create friction. Jihee just stands there, sheepish and teary-eyed. "Wait here, okay, Tae? I’m gonna get your things."

He shuffles to the blonde’s room and grabs the only bag he sees; it’s a huge backpack. Taehyung doesn’t own a lot of things, so he stuffs them all inside. A few clothes, some accessories, his worn-out shoes, his straw hat, two small boxes of random things,

his pink bunny stuffed toy he got from the amusement park. When he’s sure he got everything, he goes back to Taehyung who’s still quietly crying. "Let’s go, Tae." "O-oppa, where are you taking him?" Jihee asks, still hovering by the doorway.

"Why do you care?" He glares at her, the tone of his voice venomous. Oh, how he loathes her. God forbid, the only thing that’s keeping him from being violent towards her is the fact that she’s a girl.

He’s had enough of her. He’s had enough of worrying everyday about the harm her friends might bring to Taehyung. He’s had enough of everyone treating Taehyung like shit. "I—" "He’s going to live with me from now on."

sorry it took me quite long to update this one, it’s bc i was preparing for my birthday (which is tomorrow

) Please tell me your thoughts about this update. Or idk, just tell/ask me anything: curiouscat.me/cocofics

Taehyung doesn't shiver much inside the car. The blanket that was draped around his body now pools around his waist, discarded during the process of him moving his arms to rub his eyes with his hands. He's been rubbing it like a child and been hiccuping, couldn't seem to stop

crying even though Jungkook keeps telling him comforting words. Jungkook tries his best to keep his eyes on the road and not steal glances at the crying boy in the passenger seat but he can't, not when all he wants to do is wrap his arms around him.

A thunder roars and he sees Taehyung in his peripheral view visibly flinch. The blonde turns to Jungkook, panicky, pouty, eyes bloodshot, and reaches to grasp the sleeve of his wet sweater. He understands Jungkook has to drive, though, that's why he justs fists on the fabric,

his eyes closed, face scrunched, brows furrowed in fear. Jungkook understands him too, so he stretches his arm to hold Taehyung, engulfs his hand with his own up until they reach his house and he has to unfasten their seatbelts.

He leads him from the garage and into his house, hand in hand, tugging him forward. The blonde looks around, and as they go further inside, the more his steps falter. "Is t-this your house?" The luxury intimidates him.

"Yeah..." Jungkook stops and turns to look at him in the eyes. "You're gonna live here now too." He states. The other shakes his head. "But-" "We'll talk about it tomorrow, Tae." He says as gently as he can. "For now, please rest."

He ushers him towards the guest room, the room nearest to the living space. It's fairly big, but not as big as Jungkook's, of course. Nevertheless, it has a double sized bed and a bathroom of its own. He puts the bag with Taehyung's things on a chair and proposes,

"Why don't you take a hot shower, Tae?" Another thunder roars & Taehyung steps closer to him,his hand clutching Jungkook’s tighter. He doubts the sniffling boy will be fine on his own tonight so he does the only sensible thing he can think of: he drags him to his own bedroom.

Taehyung is rubbing an eye with his free hand again as Jungkook convinces him to go shower as it can prevent flu and cold. He promises to wait outside. It doesn't even take him long, he exits the bathroom a few minutes later, in Jungkook's black Dolce & Gabbana silk pajamas set

that's probably unused till now. Jungkook takes a quick shower too. If he were drenched in the rain any other day, he would have preferred a bath but he's anxious for the boy outside— the boy scared of the sound of lightning.

When he finishes, he finds Taehyung sitting on the couch hugging his folded legs, head on his knees, still sniffing. He approaches him carefully and when he lifts his head, Jungkook fixes his gaze on his red lips. It's most probably red due to being bitten for long,

or bitten hard, but who cares how it came to be? The things is: it's so luscious that it makes Jungkook gulp, then makes him close his eyes for a second or two because he doesn't want to go to /that/ zone again. Especially not now.

With a shaky breath, he asks Taehyung to "Come." and blow dries his hair, and then his own. He tucks him in bed afterwards. He slips under the sheets too, and although he knows Taehyung can't sleep without hugging a pillow, he doesn't offer him one.

He scoots closer to him instead, closing the distance between them despite the width of his California King bed. He tentatively wraps an arm around him, and his heart skips a beat when Taehyung relaxes under his touch and returns the hug.

"That night," Taehyung says quietly. "It was thundering that night." "I know." He whispers as Taehyung presses his forehead on his shoulder. Taehyung didn't need to explain because Jungkook suspected that his fear might have been brought by the trauma of losing his parents

during one rainy night years ago. Judging from Taehyung's reaction, however, Jungkook doesn't know how he survived all these months alone whenever lightning strikes. Sure, he had his grandmother, but he lost her earlier this year too.

'He has me now.' Jungkook tells himself as he pulls the boy a little bit more to his body. "You know what, Tae? You really make me believe that angels do exists." He shares a random thought. "I do?" "Hm."

After a long silence, Taehyung sleepily murmurs, "Good night, Kookie." "Good night, angel." He sleeps peacefully that night because finally, Taehyung is safe in his arms.

------ Jungkook isn't a morning person. His father would say it's not a trait of a successful man, and so it's one of the things he hates about Jungkook. His life now, however, doesn't require him to wake up early and it's definitely among the nicest perks of /freedom/.

He awakes today, nevertheless, before the sun rises. It's an instinct, maybe, because he knows it's not just him in this house now. There's someone else with him- that someone currently sprawled out on the other side of his bed.

He's disappointed for not waking up in the same position as he fell asleep but he dismisses it before he can further think about what the feeling entails. It's Friday too— his live-out housemaid is on a day off. The old lady usually cooks for him, and during the days that she

isn't around, Jungkook opts to order food. But today he has the strange impulse to get up to cook food himself, not wanting to feed Taehyung those shitty breakfast deliveries. He generally doesn't cook much, but he tries. When he stayed over at Taehyung's, he usually gets served

a Korean type of breakfast, so he decides to make the same. He prepares Galbi, bean sprout rice, tofu with seasoned soy sauce, cold cucumber soup and vegetable omelet. He also adds some Western-style food, just in case the blonde would prefer it—

sunny side up eggs, pancakes with syrup, toasted bread and jam, and some fruits. He knows this is probably over the top and it's a little tiring, but the moment Taehyung comes in the kitchen and utters a "Wow..." as his eyes rake over the variety of food on the dining table,

is when Jungkook knows the effort is worth it. As Taehyung munches his food happily, Jungkook opens the topic about Taehyung's move to his house. "But Kookie... This place looks so expensive, I don't think I can afford to pay the rent." Taehyung tells him honestly.

"You don't have to," he says immediately, nervousness bubbling in his chest because what if Taehyung doesn't want to be here? With him? "You don't have to think about rent because I own this house. Okay? It's paid. I had it made years ago."

Taehyung cutely pouts and after a minute, he resumes eating his pancake. He's still not giving his verdict, and Jungkook taps his fingers on the dining table in anticipation. "It's such a big house, you see? And I live alone. And there’s so much space." He tries again.

What if Taehyung doesn't actually like Jungkook's company and he'd much rather prefer to rent some rundown place downtown and probably share it with some creepy stranger? Would Jungkook be able to sleep at night with all the worry that will give him?

"If you’re worried about being a free-loader, then what if, uhm," He desperately scans his head for an idea. "What if you, like, buy groceries for us... And then you could cook for us from time to time...” He proposes, hoping the other finds it somewhat fair.

“Oh...” Taehyung takes a sip on his orange juice. His lips slowly stretches into a smile and Jungkook finds himself sighing, chest lightening when he announces, “Okay, Kookie.”

Jungkook convinces him to take a day off from work, saying he needs to rest and relax a bit after last night’s event. So he calls-in sick, thankful that Namjoon doesn’t have a problem with it. Jungkook shows him around his bachelor pad after that,

Taehyung awestruck with how big the property is for someone who lives alone. The house is Jungkook’s pride: he’s been eyeing this neighborhood situated at a hill that overlooks the city since he was a teen, and finally, just after three years as a vlogger,

he had enough money to have it built. He shows Taehyung his home gym, taught him how to run the smart technology and security system of the house via phone, brings him to the small garden at the back, lets him check out his collection of books in his mini library, and finally,

escorts him to his basement “home office” (that doesn’t really look like one). Taehyung’s jaw drops as he surveys the space; it’s the ultimate game room. It has a billiard table, an air hockey table, a foosball table, a bar, a two-lane bowling alley, arcades, dart boards,

multiple tvs for video games and computer screens huddled in one corner of the room. A door on the side also leads to the home theater. “I started as a live streamer." Jungkook explains. “I play these video games and broadcast it.

I still do it, but I mostly stick to vlogging these days.” He points at the computers. “My friends and I are working on creating our own online game. Yugyeom, Mingyu and Kihyun hyung are software engineers and they do the coding, obviously. Eunwoo and Jackson do the animation,

while me, Jin hyung and Yoongi hyung do the producing and game testing. We’re hoping to release it next year." “I don’t know what half of that means, Jungkookie, but I’m always here to support you!" Taehyung exclaims. "Fighting!"

Jungkook breaks into a face-splitting grin and asks Taehyung if he wants to try playing some video games. That’s what they end up doing the entire morning. In the afternoon, they spent time in the garden, basking in the sun while Jungkook reads a book and Taehyung watches some

prank videos on YouTube using Jungkook’s tablet. After dinner, Jungkook busies himself in editing his videos inside his room and around 8 in the evening, Taehyung comes knocking on his door.

“Kookie..." Taehyung stares down at his own hands, fiddling his fingers, quite nervous. "Can I watch tv? There’s this drama..." "Of course, Tae. I’m not—" He’s not like Jihee. "You can use anything in this house. Anytime. You can go play in the basement, go get a book to read

from the library, go watch tv. Anything. You don’t have to ask, okay?" "Really?" The blonde asks gleefully, giving Jungkook his boxy smile. "Thank you, Kookie!" He turns away, slamming the door in excitement.

Jungkook continues to work but after a while he decides to join Taehyung in the living room. He finds him giggling, hugging a pillow to his chest. He sits a feet away from him. Jungkook doesn’t find the romcom show interesting, but Taehyung’s reactions are.

He even squealed when the actor tells the actress some cheesy line. When it got to the kissing scene, the blonde goes quiet and Jungkook turns to him, curious of his reaction. But he finds that Taehyung’s eyes, surprisingly, are already on him.

The blonde looks shy, a shade of pink dusting his cheeks. He averts his gaze back to the screen, face turning red now, but Jungkook stares continuously at him, tension in the room palpable.

And the fucking characters won’t fucking stop kissing yet. Jungkook fucking swallows because /no/. Taehyung is a fucking /friend/.

He gets up wordlessly and goes to his room to take a shower. He still has further editing to do but maybe he should call it a day. He twists and turns on his bed later; he can’t sleep. And then he hears the sound of the rain again, it’s slow at first, until the gentle downpour

turns into a hammering on the roof. He only has one thought— a thought concerning a scared blonde-haired boy— but before he can act on it, the same boy knocks on his door, pushes it open, lips sticking out in a pout. “C’mere, angel."

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twitter is acting up so for social media part【 41 】up to【 45 】i made a separate thread, but the rest of the au will still be under this thread also, for the love of god stop replying to the thread so it doesn’t break ;((( you can QUOTE instead twitter.com/cocofics/statu…

𝙠𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙪𝙩 ⁷
@cocofics

Oct 12 19

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【 41 】 #taekook au #taekookau

Jungkook never really thought about thunder in general. But now he realizes he hates it when it happens because they bring back Taehyung’s trauma. At the same time, he hates it when they don’t happen because there’s no reason for Taehyung to come knocking on his bedroom door,

seeking his comfort. Jungkook isn’t a fan of physical contact and if it wasn’t for sex, he wouldn’t be having much in his life. Oddly, he misses Taehyung’s touch, misses his warmth, misses the calmness his close proximity brings.

Right now, they’re sitting on either ends of the wide sofa in the living room, their legs propped up on the space between them, and Jungkook subtly but surely closing the gap between their feet. He just needs the touch, the contact, okay? So he succumbs to the pull.

Taehyung doesn’t seem to mind when he starts caressing his feet with his toe, he even starts doing the same motion moments later. They definitely got closer over the past few weeks, as one’s everyday life gets weaved with the other’s. Jungkook doesn’t mind it though—

from having Taehyung in his house, to waking up early to bring him to work and managing his time to fetch him from there at seven pm. He actually looks forward to breakfasts now. And dinners. And the random bonding they do before bedtime. And their weekends together.

“Tae, what do you wanna do in life?” He asks out of the blue. The blonde looks up from his phone (that they had fixed at one of Yugyeom’s repair shops downtown after it suffered damages from Jihee’s hands). "Like, do you have a dream job or something?"

It’s not like being a dishwasher is bad, but he can surely upgrade to something he actually loves. “I’ve been thinking about that these days." He replies. "I’ve always thought that I’d go back to the mountains after I find Yeontan."

Hearing those words is like a stab in Jungkook’s heart because he never considered the possibility. "But?" He asks in a small voice, hopeful and nervous.

"But the city life isn’t so bad either. Although I still get scammed every now and then." He pouts and looks down on his lap. "Maybe I’m just stupid." “No, Tae, you’re not." Jungkook assures him. “You are perfect just the way you are, okay? And if it was up to me, I wouldn’t

want you to change any part of you but," he sighs. “But you have to keep in mind that not everyone has a heart like yours. So don’t be too trusting. You have to be wary of people’s intentions because there will always be those who are selfish, and greedy, and opportunists.

And it’s not ideal to always put others before yourself, Tae. It’s not selfish to prioritize yourself." Jungkook brings his legs down from the sofa and scoots over to him. He puts a finger under his chin and lifts his head up so they’re eye to eye. “Do you understand?"

Taehyung slowly nods. "If you don’t like something, say it. If you’re in a situation you don’t want to be in, get out of it. If you like something, say it. If you want something, go for it. The world is yours, Tae."

Taehyung hesitates but a few heartbeats later, he murmurs, "Then can I hug you? I /want/ to hug you." Jungkook softens, melts. He wants that too. So bad. "Of course." The words come out of his mouth breathily, he wonders if Taehyung even heard, so he opens his arms instead,

inviting him in. The blonde snakes his arms around Jungkook’s neck & rests one side of his face on his shoulder, his nose almost touching his neck. "Thank you, Kookie. For being here." "I’ll always be here." He promises. "Now about the thing that you wanna do in your life..."

"All of these are new to me, Kookie. I’m literally discovering a whole new world and I find everything interesting as of now. That’s why I’m not sure yet what I really want. But—" He cuts himself. Jungkook encourages him to go on. "But I think like taking pictures." Jungkook,

excited with the information, shows Taehyung his DSLR camera. The blonde is so amazed with it that he starts to take pictures of anything and everything in front of him. He seems very fond so Jungkook promises to bring him to the park tomorrow so he can take photos of nature.

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Taehyung is reading a novel in the living room, lying on his stomach as he munches the chocolate chip cookies that his boss Namjoon distributed among the employees yesterday. He skims through the paragraphs, eager to get to the interesting part, but he’s disturbed by the sound of

the buzzer system. He hastily gets up, not even annoyed for the interruption because he’s more excited to go to the park, he can actually feel the anticipation thrumming in his veins. Within the past few weeks, he has met Jungkook’s friends, the ones who work with him on the

game project, at least. They sometimes crash at the place, mostly at the big couches in the basement, but Jungkook stopped letting them come as freely as before, and they never did come anymore whenever Jungkook’s out.

It didn’t even come across Taehyung’s mind that the one at the door right now might not be his friends nor it’s Jungkook, because why would Jungkook ring the doorbell to his own house?

Stands in front of him, instead, is a young woman— a beautiful one at that. In Taehyung’s eyes, she looks like she just came out of a magazine cover. She’s wearing a short black dress that accentuates her curves, a khaki jacket draped over her shoulders, stiletto heels and an

oversized sunglasses perched on her head. She’s holding a handbag on one hand and a phone on the other. She purses her lips, her hot red glossy lipstick catching light, before asking Taehyung, “Who are you?"

The blonde blinks once, twice, and when he finds his voice, he greets her, “Hello," he utters cheerily. "I’m Taehyung." She shrugs, pushes past him and questions, “Are you new?" She hangs her coat on the coat rack and goes towards the living room,

sitting on the space Taehyung was occupying. “Yeah." The blonde responds, he doesn’t know exactly what she means, but maybe she’s asking if he’s a new resident of the house. “Where’s Jungkook?" Her voice doesn’t even have any trace of friendliness in it, nothing like Seokjin's

or Yoongi’s when he first met them. "He’s at Eunwoo’s. He’ll be back in a few." He stands in front of her, not sure of what to do yet. The woman narrows her eyes at him, then sweeps her eyes over him, from head to toe and back again.

"Hm." She bores her eyes into his and crosses her arms in front of her chest. "Won’t you at least offer me something to drink?" She says sharply. "O-oh. I—" Taehyung stutters, suddenly ashamed. "I’m sorry. I’ll go get some." He shambles towards the kitchen.

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Maybe Seokjin is right, maybe he’s just overprotective of Taehyung that he’s wary of every person he meets. Soomin is nice, as far as Jungkook knows— and he’s known her since childhood. But like most people born with silver spoon, she can be a brat at times,

and the fact that she’s already bossing Taehyung around doesn’t sit comfortably in his chest. It’s not a secret that Jungkook sleeps around, messes around. Mostly it’s one night stands since he doesn’t want commitment nor does he want his partners catching feelings (it happened

before), but with Soomin it’s different. She understands him— she understands why he stays single, understands that they can never be more than friends with benefits. The first time they had sex was when they were in high school, inside of their classroom, funny as it may sound.

And he appreciates her because she never asked for /more/, she just wants exactly what he does. They’ve been having casual sex since then, except the couple times Soomin was in a relationship. But more than that, she's a friend; She’s special to him just like how special Seokjin

and Yoongi are. When he reaches his house, he finds her engaged in a conversation with Taehyung. The blonde is telling her about his job. When he comes into view, Taehyung gives him a small smile and not the usual enthusiastic greeting he gets.

“It’s been a while." The model-turned-actress tells him, trailing her sight after him as he sits on the love chair beside the sofa. "Soo," he acknowledges her. "It’s nice to see you. But I’m afraid today’s not a very good time. Taehyung & I already have plans to visit the park."

He goes straight to the point. She raises her eyebrow ever so slightly at his dismissal, her features turning sour, albeit in a moment, it’s gone and she’s sporting a gracious smile on her face. "Kookie, it’s fine.” Taehyung speaks up, his tone dispirited.

"She told me about her busy schedule and how she came here to spend time /alone/ with you. I’m just—" He stands up. "I’m just gonna go." "What? You’re going there alone?”

“No. Actually my co-worker Joohyuk invited me yesterday to come over to his apartment because I told him I’ve never watched a superhero movie and he said we could watch Ironman today, but I declined. I guess i’ll take up his offer." He smiles, though it doesn’t reach his eyes.

"But Tae—" "It’s fine." Taehyung interjects. "I’ve already booked a taxi too so you don’t have to drive me there." He bids goodbye to them,

and Jungkook sits there feeling betrayed because hey, Ironman is /his/ favorite superhero and /he/ should be the one he’s watching the movie with.

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Jungkook tongues the inside of his cheek, half-listening to what Soomin is saying. She slides over to the end of the sofa, near him. She puts a hand on top of his arm and begins to draw circles with her forefinger. She repositions herself in a way that Jungkook has a perfect view

of her cleavage. But he couldn’t care less; he’s not in the fucking mood. Over the next two weeks, Jungkook never got to bring Taehyung to the park like he promised. Strangely, Soomin keeps on showing up these days and disrupting their plans.

The most they meet up before was 3 times a month at most, given her busy schedule as an actress. Jungkook never would have mind her presence before but right now it kind of annoys him. He just wants to have an alone time with Taehyung and he can’t because she comes at his house

during the weekdays and doesn’t go home until past Taehyung’s bedtime. She comes on the weekends too, which are Taehyung’s days off. Taehyung’s adamant on giving them their space too so he opts to go and hang out with his friend Joohyuk instead.

It’s like a cycle now: Soomin comes, Taehyung spends time with Joohyuk. It’s always Joohyuk now. Joohyuk, Joohyuk, Joohyuk. Even during the little time he spends with Jungkook, like during breakfasts or the car ride to his work, he would talk about Joohyuk.

Joohyuk this, Joohyuk that. We did this, we did that. And it just irks Jungkook. It might be childish but he asks himself, where does he fit in Taehyung’s life now? Is Joohyuk a better friend? A better companion? Does Taehyung prefer Joohyuk over him?

Earlier today, Taehyung told him he’s going to a music festival held at Joohyuk’s university. He tried to reason with him, saying music festivals are too crowded and too noisy and too messy and too dangerous. He tried to think of a hundred more reasons to convince Taehyung

why he shouldn’t go, but the blonde just giggled and told him, “Don’t worry, Kookie. Joohyuk will take care of me." He doesn’t know why his heart sank at that, but it did, so he decided on an impulse that he’ll go with them.

They were about to go when... Soomin appeared at his doorstep again. He really wanted to go with Taehyung so he offered her that she could come with them, but she declined and started a rant about how she’s a famous actress and that Jungkook’s a popular person too

and how it isn’t safe for them to attend such a crowded event. He begged Taehyung not to go but he said he promised Joohyuk and he’s actually excited to experience a music festival. That made Jungkook shut up. He sulks as he watches the blonde go.

Later in the evening, as per Soomin’s request, they’re watching her latest movie on Jungkook’s bed. She’s asking for honest feedback, and Jungkook actually concentrates on the movie— it's doing a good job of distracting him from thinking about Taehyung and Joohyuk.

They’re on a sitting position, backs resting against the headboard. Soomin, out of the blue, places her hand on his crotch and starts massaging it. Jungkook grips her wrist and puts her hand away, asking her to stop whatever she’s doing.

“Why?" She asks and there’s an edge to her voice. “Why won’t you have sex with me anymore, Jungkook?" He glances at her, he doesn’t say anything, hoping a look will make her recede with the questioning. "Is it because of Taehyung?"

“No." There’s an urgency in his utterance, and he brings his brows together. "Why would be it because of Taehyung?" He asks her, but he asks himself too. "He’s a /friend/." “And I’m also a friend." Soomin states, challenges. She leans forward now, facing Jungkook squarely.

"It’s not like that between us, Soo. He’s just a friend." “This is not like you, Jungkook." She accuses. Her voice tinged with anger. "Stop saying that, you sound like Jin hyung." It’s what Jin told him weeks ago too, but at least his was more of a teasing than an allegation.

She clicks her tongue, then rolls her eyes. "It’s true. This isn’t like you." Her voice rises. "I’ve been here countless of times before and you always, always, ask me to go home no matter how late it is, no matter how I ask to spend the night here.

And yet, here you are inviting someone to fucking live with you." Jungkook shuts his eyes, inhales deeply and exhales heavily, he pinches the bridge of his nose. "Don’t you think I notice the way you look at him? The way you’re so gentle to him, the way you worry about him,

the way you talk about him like he fucking puts the stars in the sky?" Jungkook can’t do this, he doesn’t want to hear any of this. She’s speaking the words he denies to himself. "You don’t even touch me anymore despite my advances."

Jungkook runs a hand through his hair, gazes down at his own lap— unable to look her in the eyes. "You’re a friend before you’re anything else, Soo. Can’t we spend time like normal friends? Stop making it seem like all you ever are is a fuckbuddy."

She straightens up to a kneeling position and Jungkook sees her unbuttoning her shirt in his peripheral vision. “Before Taehyung came into your life..." She says calmly now, breathily, seductively. "When was the last time we met up and you didn’t fuck me out of mind?"

Jungkook closes his eyes again, fisting his hair because she’s completely topless now. She slaps Jungkook’s hand away from his face and the sudden contact makes Jungkook snap his head at her direction. At her, at her body, at her flawless skin, at her full breasts.

"If he’s /just/ a friend and if nothing changed like what you’re saying, then fuck me, Kook.” Jungkook grits his teeth, he swallows the lump in his throat, and he lets her pull down his sweatpants because it’s true, right? Taehyung is just a friend, right?

He lets her pull off his shirt too because this will prove to her and, most importantly, to himself that Taehyung is just a friend. Because Jeon Jungkook doesn’t do romance.

She wraps her hand around Jungkook’s length and starts stroking it. She bends down and puts it inside her mouth. And her mouth, it’s warm. So so so warm. He inhales a shaky breath, and convinces himself that yes, this is okay.

He feels something heavy in his heart, but still, he tells him that this is okay. They’ve always done this. This is okay. She bobs her head up and down, then licks at the base and Jungkook shivers because damn, it feels good. When was the last time he had sex?

And Taehyung. This is fine because Taehyung is in a music festival and music festivals don’t end until midnight. She’s sucking harder now. And it feels good. But there’s a throbbing in his chest.

And Taehyung. Holy shit. This doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel okay. Taehyung. Taehyung. Taehyung. The door bursts open. “Jungkoo—" And then there’s Taehyung, eyes widening, frozen in his tracks. Jungkook feels like the whole world is crashing on him right at the moment.

He hastily pulls the blanket over him, over Soomin. She sits up and turns to Taehyung— Taehyung who’s gripping the doorknob so hard. The blonde let’s out the breath he’s holding and opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

His hair is kinda wet and it’s just then that Jungkook notices the sound of pouring rain outside. Taehyung lowers his gaze at the floor, shakes his head a little and closes his eyes for a second.

When he opens them again, he sweeps his eyes over them, he gulps, unadulterated pain coursing through him. He murmurs, "I’m sorry." And turns on his heel. After the door closes, Jungkook mutters a “Fuck."

He quickly pulls up his sweatpants and scrambles to his feet, not bothering with a shirt. He runs after the blonde. He sees him down the hallway, running towards his bedroom. He calls out his name but he just goes inside the room, slamming the door shut.

Jungkook twists the knob but it’s locked, so he taps on the door heavily, repeatedly. He’s panicking now because Taehyung won’t open it. “T-tae. Please." His voice cracks. He doesn’t know what to do. Why won’t Taehyung open the damn door no matter how much he pleads?

He keeps on tapping on the door even when Soomin comes, and pushes his arm to stop the motion. “What the hell, Jungkook?" She yells at him. She has her shirt on but it’s unbuttoned, showing the middle of her chest. "You said— you said he's just a friend!"

He doesn’t mind her, though. He still knocks on the door, chanting Taehyung’s name. "If he’s just a friend to you then why does it matter if he saw us?" She screams, begging for his attention. “If you’re just a friend to him then why is he fucking crying right now, Jungkook?!"

The more Jungkook hears Taehyung’s muffled sobbing, the more his heart breaks. He has to go to him, he has to hold him, he has to go tell him he’s sorry. So so so sorry. He figures the blonde won’t be opening the door any time soon so he hurries towards the hallway by the

entrance of the house and scans among the keys in the key holder. Soomin comes up beside him and pushes him with all her strength. He stumbles sideways. He snaps his head at her, glaring.

"I’ve always wanted to be /more/!" She screams. Her lips are quivering, tears rolling down her beautiful face.

"I’ve always wanted us to be more!" She screams again because she has everything in life: loving parents, beauty, money, even a flourishing career— everything, except Jeon Jungkook’s heart.

"Soo, you’ve always known that I don’t do rom—" "Romance?" She spits. "You don’t do romance? Well, joke’s on you. Look at you panicking right now because you don’t do romance!" She says sarcastically. "Shut up! Will you shut up?" Jungkook finally yells back at her.

"It’s so fucking unfair! You’re so unfair!" She announces, voice laced with pain. "You’ve known me all your life and you’ve known him how long?" "This is not about—"

"Don’t you know I’ve been trying for years to get with you? Don’t you know how much it hurts that you were never interested to be... more? Don’t you know I only got into relationships with others to try to get you to be jealous?"

Jungkook’s confused, then he’s unbelieving, then he’s sorry. How come he never noticed her feelings? Soomin gives in to the heaviness she feels and drops to the floor, crying her heart out. Jungkook crouches in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Soo... I’ve always made it clear to you that we can never be more, right? And you’ve always said the same." He squeezes the flesh under his hands gently. "I’m so sorry."

He is sorry. She’s crying but he stands up because Taehyung is crying too and he can’t not go to him. He’s sorry. He leaves her there and goes back to Taehyung’s room, successfully opening it now.

"Tae..." He goes over to him who’s crying into a pillow, face down, lying on his stomach. Jungkook tentatively puts a hand on his back, rubbing it softly. "Hey, Tae..." He says carefully, gentle and pleading.

The blonde lifts his head up, shaking it. “I— I don’t like it. I don’t like it." He says through his tears. "I’m sorry..." What is he sorry for, exactly? "For what happened. I’m sorry if I... did it with her..."

"I don’t like it. I d-don’t like it. I don’t like it." The blonde keeps chanting. Jungkook thinks back to when he advised him: 'If you don’t want something, say it.' And maybe this is Taehyung saying now that no, he doesn’t like what he witnessed.

Jungkook nudges Taehyung’s shoulder to try to make him face him but to no avail. "Angel, please." Thunder rumbles in the distance and the blonde flinches. Jungkook immediately wraps his arms around him, but he shakes him away as if his touch physically hurts.

Taehyung lifts himself up on all fours and scrawls to the edge of the bed, away from Jungkook. He sits up, hugging his legs. His hair is a mess, strands sticking on his forehead. His nose is red. His cheeks are wet.

Jungkook reaches out to him but he moves away again, shaking his head. "No. Don’t. No." He declines his touch. Jungkook’s heart shatters into a million pieces because Taehyung is supposed to seek his touch since it’s raining and thundering but he seems to abhor it now.

His heart shatters into a million more hearing his choked sobbing, as if he’s catching his breath. He did this. He did this to Taehyung. "Okay, I won’t touch you for now. But I’ll be back, okay?" His voice cracks at the end. "I’ll be back before you know it."

He goes back to where Soomin is. She’s still in the same position, clutching her heart. He crouches in front of her again, and wipes her tears away with his thumbs. This, after all, is Soomin. Soomin who he grew up with. Soomin who has been there for him through the years.

Soomin, his friend. He loves her, not in the way she wanted to be loved, but he does. "I’m so sorry, Soo. Let me take you home." "Take me home? It’s really so unfair, Jungkook.” She sounds defeated. "It’s so unfair. How can you choose him over me?"

"I am choosing you right now." He is. He is choosing to take her home, to take her to safety, to be away from Taehyung even if his entire being screams not to be, to risk Taehyung’s welfare and leave him here alone even though he knows full well he’s scared of thunder. For her.

He pulls her up, buttons her blouse, get her things and lead her to his car. She stops crying along the way and gets out wordlessly when they reach her apartment building. When Jungkook comes back home, he finds Taehyung asleep, body curled and on his side.

He’s hugging a pillow and Jungkook removes it from his hold. He settles beside him on the bed and lifts his head softly and puts his arm underneath. With his free hand, he sweeps Taehyung’s blonde locks from his face.

"I’m so sorry, angel." He utters quietly as to not awaken Taehyung. He presses a kiss on Taehyung’s puffy eyes, and tells himself that Taehyung is just a friend.

He presses a kiss on his cheek, then on the other, then all over his face, still telling himself that yes, Taehyung is just a friend. He presses a fluttery kiss on his lips. And well, maybe Taehyung is /more/ than just a friend. And maybe, Jeon Jungkook can do romance.

this update has 6.2k words uwu i hope it’s worth the wait ksksk ngl, half of the time i was busy, the other half i just didn’t have the motivation to write this, so i have a favor to ask! tell me your thoughts about this update/au, it motivates me: curiouscat.me/cocofics

Jungkook doesn’t like falling. He doesn’t like falling, in every sense of the word. He doesn’t like falling asleep. He doesn’t like falling— the literal kind. And he doesn’t like falling in love. Yet, here he is— utterly and irrevocably in love with Kim Taehyung.

He tried hard not to fall for him, but who wouldn’t? Taehyung’s entire existence embodies everything Jungkook ever doubted in. He’s pulling him in, and he fell— deep and hard.

Jungkook had always thought love isn’t for everybody, certainly not for someone like him. His parents didn’t marry for love, although they eventually did develop feelings for each other. His brother and sister-in-law didn’t marry for love either, nor did Soomin’s parents—

it’s more for status and convenience in /their/ world. Love is real, somewhere, he just never thought it would be for him. Who would love Jeon Jungkook, anyway? Who would love him— the naked him— past his riches and prestige and everything superficial?

He had always thought love makes you weak— a give up of control, a surrender, a vulnerability. In this dishonest world, he thought it was a waste of time and energy. But looking at Taehyung beside him right now, sprawled on the bed, lying on his stomach, chubby cheeks squished

against the pillow, mouth slightly ajar, an arm over Jungkook’s chest, one leg tangled with Jungkook’s, face bathed in the morning sunlight, he realizes that indeed love makes you weak— weak on your knees kind of thing. And who said that was bad?

He’d always thought love was scary, something that only reduces you to ashes. But love is warmth— much like drinking a hot coffee on a cold day. It's a burning that calms the chaos raging within you. It's a hope for better days, a dream of flowers and buzzing bees.

It's something that makes a winter day feel like a spring day. Yeah, all that shit. Although the romantic movies weren't lying, they never justified the feeling. Movies can never give you that thrumming in your veins or prepare you for the tingling sensation in the pit of

your stomach or portray the heat that spreads out all over your chest with just one touch. Yeah, all that shit too. Taehyung stirs in his sleep, mumbling incoherently. Jungkook moves his face closer to his, until their foreheads and the tips of their noses are touching.

He doesn’t want to awake Taehyung early today; it’s Sunday, after all. He just needs the proximity, he just wants to basks in the blonde’s glory. He can pretend for a few minutes that Taehyung is /his/, right? To be honest, he doesn’t know where they stand.

When Taehyung opens his eyes, what would they talk about? Does Taehyung feel the same about him? A part of him thinks that the blonde does, judging from how he acted last night. But hope is a dangerous thing because what if, in all his purity, Taehyung doesn’t even know the

reason behind his own actions? What if he doesn’t even realize his own feelings for Jungkook? What if he has feelings for Jungkook but isn’t ready to be more than friends? So many what ifs. Jungkook sighs. Maybe it doesn’t matter if Taehyung romantically likes him back or not.

Maybe love is about giving and not receiving. He can just love Taehyung— love him endlessly— even if it’s one sided. Jungkook slowly gets out of bed, feeling giddy. He’s a stranger to this all,but he can’t wait to shower Taehyung with the kind of love and dedication he deserves.

He rummages through the cupboards and the refrigerator, thinking about what breakfast to make Taehyung. It’s nearing the end of the month and they don’t have much supplies now, so he decides to just go buy Taehyung’s favorite waffles and bagels from that one bakery downtown.

When he comes back home with the baked goods though, he finds no Taehyung in the house. He feels his heart drop and then feels it spring up and hammer loudly in his chest in nervousness because it’s Sunday, so where could have Taehyung gone?

Paranoid, he checks if the blonde’s clothes are still in his closet, or if the rest of his stuff is still in the room. Gladly, everything is still intact. He lets out the breath he’s unconsciously holding. At least, Taehyung is coming back /home/, to /him/.

He fidgets the entire day. He might have had called Taehyung at least twenty times, sent a couple dozens of text messages asking him where he was, only to find out hours later that Taehyung left his phone on the sofa in the living room.

Jungkook is restless, growing more worried as another hour passes. He even searched up and dialed NomNamu’s contact number already, asking if Taehyung was there but they told him he wasn’t. When it hit seven pm, Jungkook lays down on the sofa, patiently waiting for the blonde.

He falls asleep moments later. When he awakes, it’s due to the sound of a door being shut. He opens his groggy eyes to see a blanket draped over him and Taehyung’s phone gone from where Jungkook placed it on top of the coffee table.

He pads towards his own bedroom, deciding he should just let Taehyung rest for now. It’s late and he has to work tomorrow. ————————

Jungkook made the effort to wake up really early because he knew Taehyung would try and avoid him this morning too. The sun literally hasn’t risen yet when he witnesses the blonde tiptoeing along the hallway, all dressed up for work, ready to leave the house.

“Aren’t you too early for work?" Jungkook makes himself known. He’s leaning by the kitchen door frame, raising an eyebrow at Taehyung who lets out a little squeal at the shock of Jungkook’s presence.

“Are you just gonna leave the house without eating breakfast? Like what you did yesterday?" Jungkook’s voice is stern, with an undertone of anger. He didn’t mean for it to come out harshly, but it might be the result of his bottled up feelings sincere yesterday—

from the disappointment of Taehyung leaving the house without a word, to the worry of where he was all day and the yearning to talk to him so bad. “Where were you yesterday?"

Taehyung looks at him sheepishly, then proceeds to lower his gaze at his fingers that he starts to fiddle with. To Jungkook, he looks just like a guilty puppy. “I’m sorry..." Taehyung murmurs so quietly, still refusing to meet his gaze.

Jungkook says nothing, just watching him, waiting for him to say more. He doesn’t say more though. When Jungkook sees the first drop of tear, he instantly melts. Whatever he was feeling a second ago, it reduces to the urge to protect, the urge to chase the tears away

and assure that things are alright. He walks to and stops in front of Taehyung. He lifts his hands but stops himself before he can touch him, thinking that the last time he attempted to, the blonde denied it.

He lets his hands hover for a moment, then finally puts it on Taehyung’s arms. Jungkook feels like a weight is being lifted from his shoulders when the blonde doesn’t flinch at his touch. “Hey, I’m not angry, angel." He whispers. “I’m sorry, please don’t cry."

Taehyung rubs his eyes, full-on crying now. Jungkook wraps his arms around him and they stay like that for a while. He tugs him to the living room. He sits on the sofa, then pulls Taehyung to sit on his lap.

Jungkook was never comfortable with people sitting on his lap. He has always thought that this position is too intimate, but it’s Taehyung and Taehyung owns the most intimate places of his heart.

His left hand rubs Taehyung’s lower back, while the other wipes away the tears from his cheeks. He shushes him. “I-I’m sorry, Kookie. I’m just so embarrassed." Taehyung says through his tears, eyes still shut, the corner of lips tugged down.

His hands fly to rub his eyes from time to time, but Jungkook stops them, he doesn’t want him to irritate his own eyes. “I t-threw a tantrum a-and,” he hiccups, “you and Soomin were yelling at each other because of me." “Angel, it’s not your fault, okay? It’s not."

"I shouldn’t have s-said anything." Jungkook clicks his tongue. "Angel. Open your eyes, look at me." He demands. Taehyung cowers at his tone and obeys. "There was nothing wrong with how you acted, or what you said. I told you to stop thinking of others before yourself.

It’s good that you told me you didn’t like what we—" Jungkook gulps, nervous to talk about the details of that night, but they have to, “—what i a-and Soomin were doing." Taehyung cutely pouts while hiccuping, tears still streaming down his perfect face.

When he says nothing, Jungkook asks, “Right?", just to get him to talk. Taehyung nods reluctantly. “R-right." Jungkook pulls him in for another hug, and he obliges, putting his arms around Jungkook’s neck and buries his face on its crook. “Right. I didn’t like it."

Jungkook gets a little bolder and kisses Taehyung somewhere by his ear. He tightens his hold on him and tells him, "I'm sorry if I did that. I'm not— I won't—" He stutters. It's most probably because he never spoke commitments to anyone in his life,

but how can words be so difficult? He clears his throat. "I will never do anything like that again, Tae. Not with her. Not with anyone else. I promise." He hopes the other feels the weight of his words. Now that he realized his feelings for him,

Taehyung doesn't even have to ask for exclusivity because he'll willingly give it."Only you, Tae... You're the only one I'll touch. And you're the only one who can touch me." He announces, not sure if Taehyung catches the sexual connotations of those words.

But as far as "touch" is concerned, he means it. "Like this. Like— sitting on my lap. You're the /only/ one who can sit on my lap, yeah?" Taehyung, after a minute, asks, "And this is fine?" He says against Jungkook's neck. "Sitting on your lap is fine?"

"It's more than fine, baby. I like it." They cuddle on the sofa for an hour, then they have breakfast and drive to NomNamu right after. Taehyung plays some songs in the car and cheerily sings along to them, and Jungkook’s just happy he got the old Taehyung back.

In the evening, when they’re back in the confines of the house, Taehyung asks to sit on Jungkook's lap again while they're watching tv. Seokjin, who comes to drop some documents for Jungkook, catches them like that. He guffaws at the sight, teasing Jungkook who shushes him,

not wanting to awake the boy who fell asleep in his arms not long ago. When Seokjin has gone, he carries Taehyung to his own bedroom, wanting to sleep beside him tonight. They sleep together every night after that. Taehyung might as well transfer his stuff to Jungkook's room

and call it his own at this point. They cuddle before sleep too, Jungkook finding out that caressing Taehyung's nape is one of his favorite things to do. Sometimes they hug, sometimes they drape their limbs over each other,

sometimes they rub their feet against each other's, sometimes they just draw shapes on each other's skin. They touch, but not just for the sake of touching— they hope the tips of their fingers convey the feelings they cannot tell each other.

【 50 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 51 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 52 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 53 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 54 】 #taekook au #taekookau

“Jungkookie, I have something to tell you!" Taehyung says excitedly during breakfast. “Hmm?" “I think— I think I finally know what I wanna do in life!" Taehyung smiles brighter than the morning sun. Jungkook doesn’t even stop himself and reaches over to pinch his cheek,

cooing at his cuteness. “Didn’t you wanna be a photographer? You said you like taking pictures right?" Jungkook retracts his hand and pops a grape into his mouth. The blonde shrugs. “Yeah, but not professionally." Seeing Jungkook’s empty plate, Taehyung feeds him a grape from

from his own, which the other happily accepts. “I want to be a pastry chef!" Taehyung announces proudly. “I always find myself fascinated with the pastry chef’s work in NomNamu, which was why I started watching YouTube tutorials of how to bake.

At first I thought I was just curious, but I realized I wanna pursue it!" The blonde exclaims excitedly. “I asked the chef for some advice the other day and she said it would be ideal if i get formal training and enroll in some baking classes!

So I decided— I will work hard and save for the tuition fees!" Jungkook lightly rubs his chin with his forefinger, his mind reeling. “Actually you don’t have to wait that long. You can enroll anytime you want."

Taehyung furrows his brow. "But don’t culinary programs cost so much?" "You do have more than enough money." Jungkook states, but the blonde just blinks cluelessly at him. "Remember when we went to the bank and opened an account for you?" Taehyund nods. "Remember why?"

"Well, you said I could keep my savings there. But I haven’t deposited money there yet—" "Look." Jungkook grabs Taehyung’s phone from where it’s placed on the table, he clicks on the bank app and have Taehyung enter his security details.

He does a balance inquiry and shows Taehyung the result. The blonde’s eyes go wide, refusing to believe the digits that came up. "Jungkookie, do banks give you money when you open an account with them?!" He asks innocently.

Jungkook chuckles. "You’re so cute, Tae." He comments. "I transferred that to you. That’s the money you’ve made so far for all those YouTube videos we uploaded." “But Kookie—" "That’s rightfully yours. You can’t just appear in my channel and not get paid."

Jungkook dismisses before he can even protest. "Every vlog you made with me, I divided the earnings between us. Do you even know how much I make with just a single video?" He stares at his phone, jaw slacking, like this is the biggest shock of his life. "I’m rich." He whispers.

Jungkook reaches out to him again, but this time to flick his chin. "Then I guess you’ll get richer and richer from now on, you committed to do the Taehyung Bakes series, you know. More videos to make means more money to earn, angel."

【 55 】 #taekook au #taekookau

Jungkook bids goodbye to his friends despite the opportunity to stay longer. They tease him, saying again that he seems like a married man with a curfew. He ignores them, even when Jackson says he’s boring now, that he’s not like

the old Jungkook who drinks a lot, parties a lot, stays out late a lot. When Yugyeom tries to convince him to come with them to the club tonight, saying the hot supermodel who he once wanted to screw will be there, he silences him by responding, “I’m only interested in Taehyung.”

To say his friends are shocked by the statement is an understatement (except Seokjin who just smirks, and Yoongi who doesn’t seem fazed with the revelation but is surprised that he actually put his feelings into words and announced it to everybody).

He drives back to his house, sullen, tongue poking against the inside of his cheek. As if on cue, he sees the exact reason of his sour mood outside the gates of his subdivision. Taehyung has his back on him, talking to who most definitely is Joohyuk.

Joohyuk is tall— taller than both Jungkook and Taehyung. He's lean too, like an athlete. And astonishingly, the guy's good looking. 'I'm way more handsome', Jungkook comforts himself, childish and bitter, gnawing on his bottom lip.

From the angle of Jungkook’s sight, Taehyung seems to be looking down, probably at his fingers which he probably are fiddling with— a gesture he does whenever he's nervous or shy or guilty. The guy smiles, and then he's saying something.

Taehyung nods and the next thing that happens has Jungkook's heart reeling. 'It's just a hug. Just a fucking hug.' He tells himself. He doesn't want to take his eyes off them but the gates are opening and it would be suspicious to the subdivision guards

and to Joohyuk if he stays there. So he zooms past the gates but stops a few meters away from the guard house where he has the perfect view of the duo on the sidemirror of his car. When it's been a minute and they're still not pulling away from each other, he grits his teeth,

grips the steering wheel until his knuckles turn white, and drives away because he can't stand the sight anymore. He spends an hour or two at his home gym, boxing away the jealousy than runs grim through his veins.

He knows he said he's content with loving Taehyung, even if its one sided, satisfied with having what they have. But now he realizes it's not enough— it will never be enough. He wants to be /more/, he wants to kiss him, wants to hold his hand in public,

wants to sit him on his lap without people questioning the nature of their relationship, wants his commitment, wants to call him his boyfriend, wants him to be /his/. He wants to have it all, he wants to have all of Taehyung.

He wants to have the right to be fucking jealous of people hugging him. He doesn't know how Taehyung feels towards him, but he'll surely tell the blonde about how he really feels, about how he wants them to be more than friends— and he'll he do it sooner rather than later.

If it turns out that he feels the same, then Jungkook will be the happiest person in the world. If not, then he’ll spend a lifetime, if needed, trying to make Taehyung fall in love with him.

On his way to his bedroom, he sees the sliding door that leads to the garden open. It's time for Taehyung's favorite romcom drama and he's curious as to why he would be outside instead of watching it, so he paces towards the opening and takes a peek.

The blonde is laying on the sun lounger, staring at the stars in the sky. He seems preoccupied with thoughts and Jungkook doesn't have to wonder about who he's thinking of. It's obviously that Joohyuk guy.

He goes on to his room, takes a short shower, and distracts himself by playing Overwatch but stops not long after, pissed of his in-game performance. He lays on his bed, relishing the comfort of being under the soft blankets, but he's still petulant and glaring at anything and

everything and nothing in particular, really. He's ready to pretend to be asleep when Taehyung comes inside, but to his utter disappointment, Taehyung doesn't sleep beside him that night.

He's dying of curiosity of what was said between Taehyung and Joohyuk that night, he keeps on waiting for Taehyung to share what happened but the blonde doesn't talk about it the next day. He doesn't even mention getting a hug from the guy.

In the afternoon, Taehyung leaves work early so they can buy his tuxedo for Soomin's parents' party this weekend. Jungkook keeps his hand on the blonde's lower back as they are walking around the mall, having observed how people stare at Taehyung.

Taehyung's undeniably good-looking, some would even do a double take after laying their eyes on him for a mere second. For some reason, it pisses Jungkook off, so he leaves no space between them the entire time and calls Taehyung "angel" or "baby" for everyone near to hear.

He glares at the clerk who shamelessly ogles at Taehyung's ass when he bends down to pick up a pair of dress shoes and at the saleswoman who blushes when Taehyung comes out of the fitting room looking godly in a tux.

He's elated when Taehyung goes to bed with him that evening. He hugs him close. He presses Taehyung's head on his chest; he's sure the other can hear his racing heartbeat.

When Taehyung's breathing becomes more even, he takes the opportunity to kiss the top of his head a couple times, dreaming about the time he can finally call this boy /his/. —————————

On Friday, the night before the party, Taehyung watches some tutorials on YouTube on how to slow dance, just in case someone invites him to the dance floor. He’s so excited, he’s only ever seen formal parties in television.

If someone told him a year ago that he’d be attending one, he would have never believed them. He’s really happy, it’s like his world is expanding and he gets to do many new things, most especially because of Jungkook.

He’s grateful that Jungkook came into his life, he’s changing it for the better. He gets up from the sofa, wanting to ask Jungkook if he can practice dancing with him. He said he’ll be down in the basement to do a live stream of him playing an online game called Fortnite.

That was two hours ago, though. So maybe he’s done with it. Taehyung opens the door to the basement quietly and takes a peek, just in case the stream is still going on. He doesn’t want to disturb Jungkook, if that’s the matter.

He sees no Jungkook on the computer area, albeit the monitors are still on. He sweeps his gaze around the room and finds Jungkook standing across the room, body poised and aiming a pin to the dartboard.

“You’re finally going to confess?" He hears Yoongi’s voice from the speaker of Jungkook’s phone. “Tomorrow?” “Yes, hyung. I’m quite nervous." "And you chose to do it tomorrow because you heard there’s going to be a firework show?" Yoongi sounds amused.

“Yep." Jungkook answers, extending the “e” sound of the word and popping the “p”. Yoongi laughs. "Ah, turns out you got sweet bones in your bones, Kook. What happened to the kid who kept on saying he doesn’t do romance, eh?"

“What can I do, I’m in love." Jungkook says. Upon hearing it, Taehyung’s heart lurches to his mouth— in a bad way. "You two have chemistry. I think it will work out just fine. Hopefully you have a lover by the end of the night.”

“I fucking hope so too." Jungkook throws a pin to the dartboard and it lands on the red circle in the center. A bullseye. “I have to go now, hyung. I promised Taehyung I’ll cook carbonara for dinner—"

Taehyung slowly shuts the door and runs back to the living room, pretending to be engrossed in his YouTube marathon. Sure enough, Jungkook comes up minutes later. He asks Taehyung if he wants to watch him make the dish but he says that he’s still watching a documentary.

Jungkook says “Okay, angel." and disappears to the kitchen. Taehyung feels like his heart is being squeezed, he wants to cry. He really wants to cry. He hates how he’s such a crybaby. He looks up at the ceiling, trying to keep the wetness that gathered in his eyes from falling.

When the threat of tears has gone,he searches up funny videos on the app, hoping it would enlighten his mood. The thing is, Taehyung likes Jungkook. He likes him more than a friend. He likes him the same way those protagonists in the romantic dramas he watches likes each other.

If he’s being honest, he spent so many nights imagining Jungkook and him kissing on the lips just like how those characters do. He wants to go on dates too. He wants to tell Jungkook cheesy lines too. He wants to have a happy ending to a love story with Jungkook too.

And now he’s sad, so sad, because Jungkook is confessing to someone and that someone is obviously not him. Now that he thinks about it, how can Jungkook be interested in someone like him?

Someone who’s stupid and unsophisticated and ignorant because he lived his whole life up in the mountains.

It’s silly, /he’s/ silly— he even daydreams at work about them getting married in a beautiful beach with white soft sand. He imagines they will be barefoot, wearing white, and there will be little flowers adorning his blonde hair. Yeontan would be the ring bearer,

holding the handle of a cute basket which contains a velvet ring box with his mouth. Their friends and family would be there— in flower-patterned clothes— and the event would most likely happen during sun rise or during a time in the afternoon when it isn’t too hot.

Now, his hopes and dreams are being crushed. If Jungkook likes him, then Jungkook would’ve told him already, right? They live in the same house. And thinking back, Jungkook wouldn’t have done the dirty with Soomin if that’s the case.

This is his own fault, he let himself hope. After the night he threw a tantrum, Jungkook said he won’t do anything like that with other people again, he said Taehyung’s the only one can “touch” him.

That time when he requested to sit on Jungkook’s lap again, it was far from innocent. He asked Joohyuk earlier that day if friends sit on each other’s lap and he said that friends don’t do that— it’s far too intimate. So Taehyung was happy because Jungkook lets him to do so.

They’re not lovers but it made it seem so. He was happy. Joohyuk also said that friends don’t call you pet names, but Jungkook does, doesn’t he? He calls him “angel” and now he calls him “baby” too. He even kissed Taehyung one time, on the lobe of his ear.

For sure, friends don’t usually do that, right? Friends don’t cuddle every night too, right? Maybe he read the signs wrong. He dug his own grave by thinking he could mean more to Jungkook than just a friend.

A tear escapes the rim of his eye and he immediately wipes it away. He walks over to the bathroom and splashes water on his face, chanting “Don’t cry." in his mind. When he’s calmer, he returns to the living room and waits for Jungkook to call him for dinner.

The carbonara tastes really good. It’s so creamy and it has chopped bacon and sliced mushrooms— he loves it. Jungkook tries to engage him in a conversation but the dejection must have shown because the other asks why he looks sad.

He lies and says his mood is a result of watching a sad documentary. Jungkook says, “I hope you won’t watch those kind of shows anymore, I don’t like seeing you sad." And of course, Taehyung’s heart skips a beat. His heart should behave; Jungkook likes someone else.

Like their usual routine, Jungkook joins him in watching his favorite drama. He doesn’t seem to like this drama now, though. Not when the actor gives the actress a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear and they’re so happy that Taehyung can’t help but envy her.

He spaces out, not really interested in the show anymore. Jungkook puts a gentle hand on his leg, asking if something’s wrong. “Kookie.” He utters seriously, turning to look at him directly in the eyes.

He initially didn’t want to tell him this because he didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. But now he thinks it must be said so that Jungkook would have the impression that Taehyung is capable of finding love for himself too—

and that Jungkook should pursue a romantic relationship with the person he likes without Taehyung tying him down. Jungkook shouldn’t burden himself with the promise he made Taehyung.

Jungkook must’ve been not telling him his plan of confessing to someone because he’s kind and he doesn’t want Taehyung to think that he’s going to break his promise— his promise to not touch someone other than the blonde.

How can he possibly have a lover and not touch them, right? Taehyung doesn’t want to be selfish. He wants Jungkook to be happy, to go on and do whatever he wants. "Kookie, that night when Joohyuk brought me home, he said he likes me.”

Jungkook retracts his hand from Taehyung’s leg. The short fake laugh that follows is unfamiliar,but Jungkook uses it to mask the growing fear in his gut. "Of course, Tae. That’s unsurprising because everyone likes you! Even my friends like you. Especially jin hyung & Yoongi hyu—"

"That’s not what he means." The blonde cuts him off. "He likes me, t-the same way as those people in the drama I watch. He explained it to me. He said he wants to be my boyfriend." He relays the truth.

He’s so busy dealing with his own emotions right at the moment that he doesn’t notice how the light disappears from Jungkook’s eye or how he forcefully grips the edge of the pillow he’s holding.

Jungkook looks at him, face devoid of emotion, observing his teary eyes. “And what did you tell him?" Taehyung was hoping he wouldn’t ask that question,but he hopes his honest answer still serves the purpose of this conversation. "I said I’ve always just saw him as a friend..."

He looks at Jungkook’s adam’s apple bob up and down, he looks at him suck in a deep breath, he looks at him purse his lips before he asks, “But?" Taehyung shrugs. There’s no buts. That’s it. Joohyuk is just a friend, will always just be a friend.

In Jungkook’s mind, however, a “but” has endless possibilities that Taehyung might not just want to share with him. ‘But I realized I like Joohyuk too.' and ‘But I think I should give him a chance.’ are on top of Jungkook’s list.

There’s a hollow in his chest because what if Taehyung’s actually interested now? What if Joohyuk treats Taehyung better than he does? What if Taehyung likes someone taller? Someone a bit older? Can Jungkook’s heart take that? Can he give Taehyung up?

No. He can’t. He won’t. “We should rest. We still have a party to attend tomorrow." His voice is stern. He turns off the tv, takes Taehyung’s hand and leads him to /their/ room.

Just when Taehyung thought they shouldn’t cuddle anymore, Jungkook holds him tight against his body— tighter than usual, like if he stops caging Taehyung, he would be snatched from him. Taehyung snaps from his chain of thoughts, he doesn’t want to falsely hope again.

They shouldn’t be sleeping at this proximity too because tomorrow Jungkook is getting a lover and that lover of his wouldn’t want Jungkook to be cuddling with someone else, would they?

Taehyung should get used to an empty bed now— to not having the other’s warmth lulling him to sleep. ——————————

The next day, Taehyung busies himself with baking. He spends a good amount of time trying to make chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting, its recipe he found online. It's a very simple gift, something that might not even be appreciated by Soomin's parents because

for sure, they'd get luxurious presents later. Even Jungkook is gifting them with designer crystal glassware. Yet, here's Taehyung giving them food, though Jungkook has assured him that Soomin's mom will be happy with it since she loves pastries and above anything else,

it's always the thought that counts. Jungkook is quiet today, he spaces out a lot. Taehyung doesn’t even have to wonder why— it must be because he’s nervous about his confession later.

Taehyung, on the other hand, is downcast, more than ever. He’s not that excited about the party anymore, but he has promised his attendance and already bought clothes and shoes. He just has to be strong and try not to cry all throughout the night.

The car ride is silent, both of them caught up with their own thoughts. Taehyung’s jaw drops when they reach the venue, not only is the place majestic, but everyone is dressed in beautiful long gowns and tuxedos too— just like a scene out of a movie.

His eyes keep roaming— from the huge crystal chandeliers, the band playing classical music upfront, the flower arrangement on every table, the drinks in champagne flutes offered by the waiters, to the screen that plays a video tribute to the couple.

There are at least a couple hundred of guests and he is being dragged by Jungkook to meet some acquaintances of his. Taehyung gives them a gleeful smile, although he is anything but cheerful on the inside. Yoongi and Seokjin, being Soomin’s friends, arrive too.

All four of them chooses to sit on the table farthest from the mini stage, close to the refreshments table. As the other three chat, Taehyung excuses himself to check out the variety of food on the buffet table.

He’s fascinated with the array of pastries, so he grabs a plate and gets one of each, he’ll try them all to get an inspiration of what to bake next. “Taehyung.” “Hi Soomin!” He greets her, genuinely happy to see her again. “You look great!” She does, as always.

She’s wearing a sleeveless gown with rhinestones, a plunging neckline and a slit that shows off her perfect legs. Her hair is French-braided in a high bun and she looks like she just came out of a magazine cover.

“And you look ugly.” She shrugs. The blonde’s change of facial expression is instantaneous, dismayed at her words. “Stop pouting. You look cute, okay? Happy now?” Taehyung smiles his boxy smile and says, “Thank you, Soomin!”

“I’m just joking, you really look ugly.” She brings he gaze from his face down to his feet and then back again. She raises her eyebrow but the corner of her lips tug up in the slightest, a ghost of a smile evident. “You’re pouting again.” “It’s because you said I’m ugly again.”

“It’s just a joke, Taehyung.” She rolls her eyes playfully. “I actually think you should think about modeling. I can introduce you to my agency, if you want.” “R-really? You think I can be a model?” Taehyung almost blushes at the compliment.

Soomin hums and picks up a plate for herself. She starts to pick up some appetizers, her diamond-studded bracelet sparkling as she moves her hand. “Thank you. But I wanna be a pastry chef and I’m going to pursue it!”

“Must be why you’re hoarding pastries on your plate right now.” “Yeah!” Taehyung goes back to placing pieces on his plate, thankful that Soomin’s still civil after what happened the last time they met. Taehyung thinks back and realizes he never said sorry for how he acted.

“Soomin… about what happened—” “Don’t worry about it. You weren’t at fault.” She says firmly. “I don’t wanna hear an apology, okay?” “But—” “Hello, Soo.” Jungkook comes up behind him and places a hand on his back.

“Kook.” She offers a smile but Jungkook knows better. No matter how she acts tough, he can see it in her eyes that she’s still negatively affected by his presence. “Have you met my parents yet?” “Not yet. But I’m sure I’ll catch them around later.”

“I’ll take them to your table before the program officially starts.” True to her words, she brings her parents to say hi to them. Her parents are really nice, they even shake Taehyung’s hand when Jungkook introduces him.

When Jungkook tells them about Taehyung’s gift and his plan to be a pastry chef, her mom offers to text them a list of the best culinary schools in Seoul. When the program starts, Taehyung’s mind flies to the thing he’s dreading again.

He starts to observe everyone in the room because anyone of these people might be the one Jungkook is confessing to. He’s curious as to what kind of person they are. Are they a woman? A man? How do they look? Are they kind? What is it about them that made Jungkook fall?

It literally could be anyone. He scans among the crowd. Is it the good looking man that sits across them? Jungkook gave him a half hug a while ago. He’s also handsome.

Is it that woman over there who’s emerald dress turns heads? From what he observed, Jungkook has a really nice style and maybe he likes someone who’s a fashionista.

Or maybe it’s that man who has a dazzling smile and introduced himself as Attorney Choi. Maybe Jungkook likes intelligent professionals. Taehyung sighs. He wants to cry, but he shouldn’t. His head hurts now too, with all the overthinking.

After they ate a sumptuous, luxurious dinner, Jungkook excuses himself to the restroom. And on his absence, Taehyung can’t help the desire for knowledge that gnaws at his entire being anymore, so he asks Seokjin if he knows who Jungkook is confessing to.

Seokjin’s eyes comically widens, his hand that brings up a glass of wine to his mouth freezes midway. “You know about it?” He asks the blonde. “I heard him and Yoongi hyung talk about it.” His voice is laced with sadness. “But I don’t know to whom.”

He starts to fiddle with his fingers again, and he knows Seokjin can see how deflated he is because of it. “I’m sorry, Tae. I don’t know who his special someone is.” Seokjin tell him, but there’s no sympathy in his voice.

He’s pressing his lips together too, almost as if he’s trying to contain laughter. But why would Seokjin laugh? Is there something funny about this? About what he asked? He nods and pouts in response.

The program resumes with the toasts— chosen family members and friends goes upfront to share their personal messages to the couple. It’s when Soomin speaks up that Taehyung is hit with the idea that maybe Jungkook is confessing to her. How come he never thought about that?

It would make sense. They’ve known each other for so long, they’re obviously comfortable with each other and… they did the dirty. Of course, it’s Soomin. Tears gather up again and he blinks rapidly to chase the moisture away.

A moment later he sees Seokjin whisper in Jungkook’s ear. Jungkook’s eyes automatically lands on him and he wonders what is being conveyed. He bites his lip. Seokjin wouldn’t tell Jungkook that he asked about it, right? That would be embarrassing.

Jungkook averts his eyes, and by the time Seokjin pulls away, Jungkook is sporting an amused smile. The emcee tells everyone to have a good night & informs them they could watch the fireworks show outside in a few minutes.People scatter to socialize,some head to the dancefloor.

Yoongi stands up, telling them he’s gonna ask Choi Hyun-hye to dance. Seokjin just sits there with them, enjoying his drink, while Jungkook keeps on gnawing at his lower lip, leg bouncing in a nervous manner.

Taehyung is sulking, thinking that this is it, Jungkook is going to excuse himself any minute now to go find that person he’s going to confess to. This is it— he’s going to lose Jungkook.

He was never his to begin with but all the possibilities of them getting together is now going down the drain. The emcee announces that the fireworks show is going to start in five minutes, and Seokjin turns to Jungkook expectantly.

Jungkook returns his gaze briefly and there’s a silent conversation that happens between them. “Tae, should we see the fireworks?” Jungkook stands up and reaches out to offer a hand to him.

Although Taehyung is confused as to why Jungkook is still spending time with him, he takes his hand because he /wants/ to experience his first fireworks show with him. The guests file on the balcony, but Jungkook leads him to the grounds, saying that there’s a more private

place by the lake where the view would be spectacular. They walk for a few minutes until they reach the small arch bridge over the lake.

Jungkook lets go of his hand and they both look up, watching the beginning of the show. Taehyung wraps his hands on the railing of the bridge, as his eyes witnesses the display of colorful lights in the sky. It’s wonderful— just like how he has always imagined it.

It’s made more amazing because the colors get reflected on the surface of the water in front of him. “Taehyung.” Jungkook says above the noise. “I love you.”

Taehyung heard him perfectly well, but he doesn’t turn towards his direction. He keeps his sight on the skies, gulping down the dejection that threatens to reduce him into a crying mess.

He knows, he knows that Jungkook loves him— as a friend. There’s really no need to mention it. He feels it, by the way he treats him. It showed, with everything that he has done for him. “I know.” He utters loud enough for the other to hear.

Whoever ends up as Jungkook’s lover is so lucky. He’s kind and loving and thoughtful and funny and generous and selfless and he’s everything Taehyung wants but can not have. He swallows the lump in his throat and faces Jungkook. He looks at his face— his handsome face.

He tries to memorize his features, tries to engrave in his memory just how beautiful Jungkook is, especially tonight, in a turtleneck shirt worn under a tuxedo, his bangs slightly parted in the middle, a little part of his forehead showing.

There is magic unfolding in the skies, brightening up the dark night, and Jungkook could be out there declaring his love to that certain person but here he is, wasting this perfect moment with Taehyung.

This is such a beautiful moment, but it shouldn’t belong to Taehyung. He should let Jungkook /go/. “Kookie. I think—” he starts. “I think you should go. You should go confess to that special someone.”

“But I am.” Jungkook declares, voice soft and sincere. “I am confessing.” Taehyung’s eyes widen and his lips part as the realization comes creeping in. His heart hammers in his chest, butterflies swarm in his stomach when Jungkook says, “I am in love with you, Kim Taehyung.”

i deadass wrote this instead of studying for an international test im taking tmrw

but good news, after that im gonna be free for WEEKS, which means i got time to write write write! so happy with the msgs last time, hope you give feedback this time too: curiouscat.me/cocofics

"Me?" He must be hearing things. Desperation, next to twisted hope, is a dangerous, dangerous thing. "You're in love with me?" He asks, more elaborately, because somehow, it makes it real— realer. "How can you be in love with /me/?"

Him, who's /nothing/ compared to everyone inside that opulent hall. Him, who doesn't quite belong in Jeon Jungkook's world of grandeur. Him, who's as simple as the word simple can suggest.

"How can I not be?" Jungkook counters, his words come out as a breath. "How can I not fall in love?" And Jungkook's the most vulnerable Taehyung has ever seen him. He rakes a glossy pair of eyes over Taehyung and puts his hand tentatively on either of his shoulders.

He gently squeezes the flesh underneath, as if the blonde is fragile, as if he's precious he has to be handled with utmost care. So precious. "Who wouldn't fall in love?"

Taehyung inhales a shaky breath, and he finally succumbs to the urge to cry, he blinks and lets the tears roll down his cheeks. He was stressed, distressed all day. "I thought— I thought you liked someone else."

Jungkook's hands flying to cup his cheeks is immediate and instinctive, thumbs caressing the expanse to chase the wetness away.

"It's you. Only you." He sweeps his gaze all over his face— on his quivering lips, on the red tip of his nose, on his long lashes, until they settle on his eyes. "Always you. I love you, Tae. So much."

The blonde shuts his eyes, draws his eyebrows together as he full-on cries, and it reminds Jungkook of the first night they met, when Taehyung was clinging to his leg and he was irratedly trying to get him off, trying to shut his loud mouth.

"Is t-this a prank?" Taehyung questions, accuses, his lips turned down but slightly parted. "Is this like— for the— the prank videos Yoongi hyung uploads on his channel?"

Taehyung trusts Jungkook, don't get him wrong, but this is all too good to be true. He opens his eyes and scans the surroundings briefly, trying to locate a cameraman. When he doesn't find any, he just wails louder, because this is /real/. Jungkook loves him. Him.

"Angel." Jungkook mutters, and there's panic in his utterance. Did he say something wrong? Is him confessing too much for Taehyung? "I'm sorry. I'm— shit." He shushes the blonde. "It's not a prank. But, please don't cry. I'm sorry. I—"

A newfound energy blazes inside Taehyung because the other is getting it wrong— he's crying not because he didn't like hearing those words drip out of Jungkook’s mouth, but because he's a little bit pathetic and a whole lot happy.

And Jungkook is saying sorry, and he might take his words back, take all of this away, just to cease Taehyung's cries. He doesn't like Taehyung shedding tears, he said so once.

And Jungkook is still saying sorry, and Taehyung is scared he's misunderstanding this, so he grips Jungkook's collar with both hands, and pulls him in, pulls him to him, pulls him until their lips are on each other's.

Jungkook's words die on his mouth, and his entire being is vibrating with astonishment. He didn't, literally, absolutely, in a million years, saw this one coming.

Their lips stay pressed like that for what seemed like an eternity, their eyes screwed shut, until Taehyung is puckering his lips, jutting it towards the other's. Jungkook can't quite seem to fully wrap what's happening around his head yet but he smiles through the kiss.

He's about to part his lips in an invitation when Taehyung pulls away and regards him with his wide innocent eyes. He's still dazed, eyes hazed, but snaps out of it after a few moments because Taehyung is pouting and then sobbing again. "Tae?" What's wrong this time?

"I don't even know how to kiss properly." He bawls, like a kid. "I'm s-sorry, I ruined our first kiss." He snakes his arms around Jungkook and rests his chin on top of his shoulder, pleading, "Please don't unlove me, Kookie."

The laugh that trembles in Jungkook’s chest is unsolicited. No matter how cute, how amusing he finds Taehyung is for being guileless, those words are obviously rooted from an insecurity. "I will never." He hugs him by the waist, telling him, "It's the best kiss I ever had."

"Really?" "Yeah," he pushes the blonde from his body, and looks at him, sheepishly, like a child admitting a mistake. "But that wasn't our first kiss." Taehyung's breath hitches and gets stuck in his throat. "What?" He asks in a whisper, confusion written all over his features.

Jungkook averts his gaze, somewhere else that's not Taehyung's eyes. "I, uh, kind of, kissed you... the night you were crying and I found you asleep when I came back." Taehyung blinks, blinks twice, and exhales an "oh."

"But we can kiss again!" He offers. "We can kiss for the third time." "Even though I don't know how?" He sniffs and turns his sight downwards, suddenly finding the pattern of Jungkook’s tux more interesting.

"I've never kissed anyone before," he pokes his tongue out to wet his lips momentarily, and the motion doesn't go unnoticed by Jungkook and it's doing things to him, making him crazy, "anyone but you."

Of course he has never, Jungkook wouldn't know what to do if Taehyung has been tasted by anybody that wasn't him. He imagines how the mere thought would pierce through him, how he can never live with that knowledge.

Jungkook is selfish, that he knows of, and that's long established, courtesy of those who are close to him— those whose opinions /matter/. And he's selfish, just like this, happy with the revelation— more like confirmation— that Taehyung is untainted and untouched.

He's selfish in the way he feels powerful that he's the only one who can explore Taehyung— and he'll spend the rest of his life making sure of that.

Separated from the fact that he never had anyone to be possessive of, he didn't think he can be this territorial. But then again, you know what they say: you never really know yourself until you fall in love.

"There are no rules to kissing. Nothing else matters, just as long as you kiss me, angel." This time, it's him who initiates it, he steps closer to the blonde, tilts his head and dives in for an open-mouthed kiss.

Although Jungkook is blazing, he keeps the kiss languid. He darts his tongue over Taehyung's lower lip, then sucks on it, memorizing how it tastes. The blonde eventually opens his mouth, eager to mirror whatever Jungkook's doing.

He's brazen enough to meet the other's tongue, and soon enough the circling of tongues and nibbling of lips are sending shivers to their nerves and making their body tremble.

And Jungkook breaks them apart, breathing fast and shallow, "Let's go home. I wanna kiss you some more." Taehyung nods, still dazed, lips numb and red, and he lets Jungkook drag him to his car, hand in hand, because he wants to kiss him more too. ———————

Their fourth kiss happens inside the car, during a red light and Jungkook can't wait to reach home to press their mouths together. It's slow and it only lasts seconds. Their fifth kiss is deep and hard, Jungkook pinning Taehyung on the front door the moment it shuts.

It's fast and sensual, and Jungkook is sure he has never been this needy in his entire life. He hoists Taehyung up, the latter immediately wrapping his legs around his waist. He maneuvers them towards his bedroom and throws themselves on the bed.

He places his forearms on the space next to either sides of Taehyung's head as their bodies compress together and he continues his assault on the blonde's mouth.

He's painfully aware of how hard he is, his pants already tight. Heaven knows how long has he desired to be in this exact position, doing exactly this to Taehyung. He knows he mustn't go any further as this is already going too far— he just confessed, for God's sake.

Taehyung didn't even directly say he feels the same about him, albeit actions speak louder than words. Still, he can’t stop. He rolls his hips and it elicits a sound akin to a moan from Taehyung.

He is trying his best to stay in his lane, but the fact that the blonde is so pliant doesn't help— at all. Taehyung is fisting Jungkook’s hair, trapping Jungkook's waist inside his entangled legs,

legs pushing Jungkook's body more onto him, seeking more warmth and friction, does it almost subconsciously, and this— this will be Jungkook’s death. Taehyung will be Jungkook's death.

He breaks the kiss only to devour the blonde's neck. He sucks, marks him up. He grinds their crotches again and he can't stop thinking about how there are only four layers of clothing between them.

It would only take a second to pop the button of Taehyung's pants open, another second to unzip it and another more to pull it down along with his underwear. It would take the same amount of time to do it with himself, wouldn't even take ten seconds to do it all.

He probably should stop thinking too about how he wants to wreck the other, how he wants to feel his heat enveloping him, how he wants to prep him and just take him to a whole new world of highs, of pleasure, of satisfaction, as he pounds into him in an animalistic pace.

But he shouldn't, mustn't, can't— yet, at least. He loves Taehyung— loves him enough to prioritize him. He lifts himself up, latches himself off of the other. They're panting, and all he could say is, "I'm sorry."

He finds the flush on Taehyung's cheeks pretty and his disheveled state exquisite. His plump lips glisten with saliva, and the thing in Jungkook's pants is so treacherous it twitches. "You shouldn't be." Taehyung mutters, ghost of a shy smile on his face.

"We should probably, you know," Jungkook gulps, still fighting a fight against himself, "change and go to sleep." He excuses. "Okay, Kookie!" The blonde chirps. He gets up from bed and skips to his own bedroom.

And he had the audacity to smile brightly as if he didn't just cause earthquakes and upheavals to Jungkook's world. Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung.

Jungkook saunters to his bathroom, strips and goes under the hot shower. He wills himself to relax, but Taehyung /lingers/. He can still smell him on himself, still can't forget the image of him lying on the bed, so enticing.

He doesn't think his manhood will calm down anytime soon, so he actually /does something/ about it. He knows Taehyung will sleep beside him tonight, as he always does this past few days; he can’t afford to lose control.

He doesn't remember the last time he did this; he's Jeon Jungkook— he can get laid anytime he likes, people would be more than willing to offer themselves.

When he got his release, he washes himself, brushes his teeth, changes into clean clothes. And still, Taehyung fucking lingers. In his mind, on his body— he can still feel him on his lips, still feel him under his palms.

He exits the bathroom and finds Taehyung on the bed, underneath the blanket, flashing him a tight-lipped smile. He settles beside him and he kisses him because even though he lingers, it's nothing compared to the real thing.

He kisses him, gentle then hard then back again, just kisses him, keeps his hands locked on the back of his neck, just there, nowhere else, just kisses him until they're both too tired to do no more. ——————————

Jungkook wakes up to giggling— it's his favorite sound— and he thinks life has never been this good. Taehyung is tracing circles on his arms, then he feels him place a peck on his lips, and definitely, his life has never been this good.

He cracks an eye open to find Taehyung’s face hovering above his, staring at him with a smile brighter than their day ahead. He giggles once more and Jungkook can't help but return his smile.

"Kookie, I kissed you five times while you were asleep!" The blonde admits proudly. "It's your punishment for stealing our first kiss." He sticks his tongue out. "How can you have that experience for yourself?"

"So you have five kisses up your sleeve, huh? But first kisses are very important, I think you should punish me some more." "Oh, I will, everyday!"

He cups Taehyung's cheeks and lifts himself up to place a little kiss on the tip of his nose. They stare at each other for some time, just enjoying the moment until Taehyung declares in a quiet voice, "Kookie, i love you... I'm in love with you too." And Jungkook just melts.

"That's— that's the best thing I've ever heard." He replies, heart doing somersaults in his chest. What did he do to deserve this? He watches as Taehyung loses the confidence in his eyes and casts his sight downwards, "Are we...?"

"Boyfriends?" He guesses. Taehyung nods, mouth sticking out into an almost-pout. "Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" The blonde lifts his gaze and searches his eyes, "I do." "You don't know how much I wanna be your boyfriend too, Tae." "So we're... boyfriends now?"

"We are, angel." Upon hearing it, Taehyung covers his mouth to contain a squeal. He falls back onto the bed and puts his hands over his eyes this time, mouth stretched into a beautiful boxy smile while his feet are lifted and kicking into the air.

Jungkook laughs breathily, enjoying everything. The blonde suddenly springs up and throws himself on top of Jungkook, hugging the shit out of him. "I'm so so so so so happy!" He exclaims. "This means I can kiss you anytime, right?" "Yep."

"And sit on your lap?" Jungkook hums. "And call you mine?" "Of course, angel. All yours." "And—" Taehyung starts, voice hopeful, eyes shining. "And we'll get married someday? At a beautiful beach?"

Jungkook's heart thunders, threatening to jump out of his ribcage. Taehyung doesn't only love him, doesn't only want to be his boyfriend, but he already has thoughts of marrying Jungkook?

He can only hope he doesn't look ridiculous right now, with heat spreading out across his cheeks. Out of the pool of things he wants to say, he asks dumbly, "You wanna get married on a beach?" "Yeah!" The blonde replies dreamily. "How about you, Kookie?"

"On a beach too," He traces Taehyung's jaw with the back of his fingers, whispering, "because that's where you want it to be." "No, I mean, where /you/ want. Your personal preference."

He admits, "I've never really thought about getting married." The prospect of it isn't really appealing when you grow up half-expecting to be married off to a stranger who'd be beneficial to the family name rather than doing it because of pure personal affection.

"But now I wanna get married, if it's with you." Taehyung rewards him with a kiss on the cheek. "Someday!" The blonde promises.

Suddenly, "someday" seems too far, too vague, and it feels quite bitter in Jungkook's ears. He bites his tongue to keep his thoughts from spilling from his mouth, seeing this is already quite odd— talking about marriage right after deciding to be boyfriends.

He knows they have to give it time, have to give the relationship enough space to grow, go deeper, but he wants to claim Taehyung in every way he can— wants Taehyung to claim /him/ in every possible aspect.

He knows he'll fall in love once in his life, anyway. And it's with this person, the one currently leaning in for more morning kisses. ———————————

【 56 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 57 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 58 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 59 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 60 】 #taekook au #taekookau

Taehyung resigns from NomNamu weeks later, having enrolled in a culinary school. Namjoon accepted his request to be released earlier, the guy even invites Taehyung to have his apprenticeship there when the time comes.

The blonde decided to get an associates degree in pastry arts that would take two years to complete. It's a mild surprise for Jungkook that Taehyung is very diligent in his studies.

Aside from reviewing his school materials, he would squeeze time to read related books, watch YouTube videos to observe techniques, and practice what he learns. As a good boyfriend, Jungkook supports him in every way he can— he helps him review, makes him questionnaires,

volunteers to be an unbiased taster and judge to his baked goods, makes his lap available at all times for Taehyung to sit on while he reads his books, and he even had his kitchen reorganized to make space for the gifts he bought Taehyung—

new ovens that serve different purposes, baking tools and kitchen wares. Seokjin, as business-minded as ever, keeps on giving Taehyung advice like, "Aside from developing actual baking skills, you should focus on your business courses, Tae.

You're an internet star now, if you open a pastry shop, imagine how people would /flock/. Look at how the other influencers use their advantage to build successful businesses. You could create an empire." And the blonde, it seems, is taking his words in mind.

As the master mind and strategic planner, he's also convinced Taehyung to make his own YouTube channel, for reasons like boosting income (Taehyung would be earning additional and separately from Jungkook) and building a personal brand.

【 61 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 62 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 63 】 #taekook au #taekookau

Taehyung cried at the news. He was fidgety on the car ride to the restaurant, saying he can't wait to see Yeontan and hold him in his arms again. Although they're yet still to find out if it's really his dog or just another that looks exactly the same, he's hopeful.

He practically runs to the restaurant, dragging Jungkook behind him. They're led to a private space and the first thing Jungkook sees is Seokjin who's petting a dog. When he looks at the person who's seated directly in front of Seokjin, however, he freezes in his tracks.

"J-Jihee?!" Taehyung calls out, utterly shocked. After a moment of dumbstruck, he gets distracted by a shrill barking. He darts his gaze to the sound and his eyes fill up with tears again. "Tannie!" He crosses the room and snatches the dog from Seokjin's arms.

Yeontan looks as happy to be reunited with Taehyung, fervently wagging his tail and licking up every inch of his face. The blonde kisses yeontan in return, chanting the words "my baby". "You know each other?" Seokjin questions. Taehyung answers him with a nod.

When he comes down from the overwhelming feeling, he turns to hug Jihee. "You b-brought Tannie back, Jihee. Thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to me!" He tells his old friend. "He's my only family left."

Taehyung releases her, and she says in her sickeningly sweet voice, "Of course, Tae! I used the best of my abilities to find him, for you!" She flashes a smile. "Now, about the /reward/, I know Jungkook oppa offered $10,000, but can I ask for something more?"

"Of course, what is it?" "Can you include me in one of your videos? I want to start my own channel too! So can you, like, boost me or something?" She asks brightly.

"That's it?" If it's just clout she needs, he'll be happy to help anytime. That's nothing compared to what she did for him. "Sure, Jihee!"

The waiter arrives with the food and Seokjin sits down, Taehyung is pulling out a chair too, as well as Jihee. Jungkook should be celebrating that they finally found Yeontan too, but all of this doesn't sit comfortably on his chest. His gut is screaming at him.

"Jihee," He utters. He walks to and stops in front of her, hands folding high up on his chest as he clicks his tongue in disgust. "Tell me the truth or I'll call the police on you." The room falls silent. Seokjin's eyebrow shoots up, wondering if he's joking.

It was Taehyung who asks, puzzled. "Kookie?" "I don't believe for a second that you just magically found Yeontan. We were trying for /months/." He accuses, giving her a pointed look.

"How did you find him? Where did you find him? What did /you/ do? There are cctvs around town, I can trace your actions before you came here."

"I—" She tries, like a deer caught in a red light. Jungkook actually gives her time but all she says is, "I don't know what you're talking about, oppa." "If you won't tell us the truth," He fishes out his phone and pretends to dial,

but he's just actually pulling up the recorder app and presses the start button. He lifts the device to his ear. "Then maybe the police can make you talk. If you're found guilty about something, say hello to juvenile detention for us, I guess." He scares her.

"Hey, Kookie." Taehyung regards him, then he's reaching for Jungkook's hand, probably trying to stop him from "calling" the police, but he moves a little to dodge his touch, determined to put the girl in her place.

"Hello sir, I'm calling to—" Jungkook fakes,but is cut off by Jihee pleading. "Fine! Please! Wait!" She panics. "I'll tell you the truth!" Taehyung's brows furrow deeper. Jungkook puts down the phone from his ear & waits for the girl's explanation while drilling holes into her.

"F-first of all, it wasn't my fault that that dog got on our truck that day!" She gazes at Taehyung sheepishly, then gulps and looks at her feet. "When we got to Seoul, I found him at the back, with all the vegetables,

and this idea struck me so I- I hid him before my parents could see him— they know he's your dog." Her next statement is enough to convince him that she's the worst person he has ever met. "I thought I could make some money by selling him, so that's what I did."

She glances at Jungkook. "You couldn't find him all this time because I sold him to an old couple who kept him indoors and who probably don't have access to the internet..."

Jungkook is seething. Taehyung might be someone who chooses to see the gold in every person, but Jungkook was able to see through her ever since the beginning. He's aware of how the girl parties a lot, spends money she doesn't have,

tries so hard to be someone she's not and how she's a social climber. And now he wonders, what irrelevant thing did she spend the money she got from selling Yeontan on?

How can someone be this rude— evil, maybe— to watch your childhood friend suffer from a loss when they’re the one who put them in that situation in the first place.

Jungkook opens his mouth, but Seokjin is spitting angrily, "Do you know what you put Taehyung through?!" He turns to Jungkook. "Let's bring her to the police station. That's theft!"

"I actually recorded the whole thing." He smirks, but he turns to the blonde. "What do you think, baby?" The lack of emotion in Taehyung's face, however, is concerning. He's just standing motionless there, staring at Jihee.

She reaches out and grasps his arm, "Please, Taehyung, I don't wanna go to the police. We're friends, right?" Her face contorts, lips turn down in plea. "Right?"

Taehyung blinks and withdraws his arm from her. "Don't." His voice is subdued but cold. "We're not bringing you to the police but," he turns to Jungkook, "send me that recording."

"Wha-? Are y-you— are you uploading that or something?" She asks in alarm. Taehyung won't, he's gonna do something worse, but something more appropriate. He sends the file to a contact and calls that person. They pick up in three rings. "Hello, aunt Hee-sun."

Jihee's eyes widen in terror upon knowing who he's talking to— her mother— and she automatically extends her arm to snatch the phone from the blonde but Jungkook quickly goes in between them, stopping her advance.

"Yes, auntie, I found Yeontan today. But turns out, he was stolen. You can listen to the file I sent you, I think you'd know who the voice belongs to." He ends the call. He purses his lips and gazes at Jihee, his eyes full of hurt.

He should've done this before, talked to them about her. He saw how Jihee milked her parents who works really hard to provide her needs, he saw she spends the money on her friends, on alcohol and bar trips.

"Fuck you, Taehyung!" She curses at him. "If my parents ground me or worse, stop sending me to school, it's all your fault, you stupid, ambitious slut! Go back to the mountains where you belong!"

Seokjin's face and ears are red, he shouts, "Are you fucking serious right now?!" And Jungkook has to hold him back. Before further chaos could ensue, he drags both Jin and Taehyung to the door.

Just before they can fully exit the room, Jihee shamelessly yells, "How about my ten thousand? I still gave the fucking dog back!" With final glance, Taehyung tells her, "You don't deserve even a cent." ———————————

Taehyung finally breaks down the moment he sits down on their sofa at home. He wails, letting all the frustrations, hurt and feelings of betrayal out. Jungkook is immediately beside him, rubbing his upper back.

His heart hurts for him, he's literally the kindest person in the world and he doesn't deserve shit. He vows he's going to protect him from those kind of people— it's going to be his life's mission.

Yeontan, who's previously sniffing around the living room, runs and jumps on the blonde's lap upon hearing him cry. It starts licking his jaw, which might be it's way of comforting.

"Angel..." Jungkook utters, but suddenly Yeontan's barking loudly, angrily at him that he actually backs off a little. "Hey, little guy, it wasn't me who made him sad! Don't you all get defensive!"

The dog hops down to the floor and proceeds to bite the lower part of his pants— which is Prada, by the way— tugging him away from Taehyung. "What the—?"

He shakes it off, but it's stubborn and still aggressively flailing its head while producing snarling sounds. "Taehyung, help me!" He asks, genuinely getting worried it might tear his pants off— and who knows, it might go for his legs next.

The blonde takes his hands from his eyes, observing the scene before him. It's ridiculous but cute at the same time. Jungkook's face is frowned and he looks so helpless, which makes everything funnier. Soon, his cries turn into stomach-aching laughter.

"Tannie!" He crouches down and scoops him up. "You have to be nice to Jungkookie, Tannie. You're gonna live with him from now on." He kisses the dog on top of its head.

"Hey. I comforted you first, so why does the crazy little thing gets a kiss and I don't?" Jungkook whines. The blonde gives him a look. "What? I'm the bad guy now? He attacked me!"

"He's sorry, isn't he?" "No, he's not." Jungkook responds unbelievably. "He is! Look, he's behaved now. Come on, pat him on the head."

Jungkook extends his hand but when he nears, the dog gives him a warning bark. "Tannie!" Taehyung exclaims, jaw slacking. He scoffs. "See?" He says with lifted chin.

They end up cuddling on the sofa, all three of them, with Yeontan warming up to Jungkook /a little bit/ moments later. And Taehyung knows all is well, all will be well, as long has he has two of the most important figures in his life beside him. Just like this.

【 64 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 65 】 #taekook au #taekookau

<A/N:> nsfw content ahead. there’s a smut scene but i’m gonna upload it in screenshot form and you can completely skip that one if you’re uncomfortable. so uhh, enjoy, i guess.

—————————— They make out everyday. That’s a fact. They share kisses, little innocent kisses, pecks, brushes of lips on the skin or on the lips, presses on the head, but these days those little kisses always turn into full-on make out sessions.

Doing things with Taehyung— and to Taehyung— is primal to Jungkook, and now he doesn’t restrict himself from roaming his hands all over him, from devouring what he can, from littering kisses on every inch of his golden skin and placing marks on it,

because Taehyung is his, and he is Taehyung’s, and if you put it in that context: skies should be the limit. They’re always hungry, needy, lustful— like hormonal teenagers. With Taehyung, it’s understandable; he’s new to all of this.

But Jungkook, well, he should’ve been long past this stage, putting into consideration all his past experiences, but he’s with /Taehyung/ now, it’s Taehyung, and that alone should be easily understandable.

It’s funny, how they end up doing things anywhere in the house, be it in the kitchen, while Taehyung’s baking and Jungkook just hugs him from behind out of nowhere, kissing his nape, and it escalates until he’s hoisting up the blonde on the counter,

Taehyung pulling off Jungkook’s shirt with his flour-covered hands, and it just escalates some more. Or in the garden, while they’re having their weekend picnic and Taehyung asks for some kisses and Jungkook puts down the book he’s reading and they kiss,

their mouths tasting of cinnamon and apple juice, and it escalates to them rolling on top of each other. They never had sex, though. Not yet.

But today— today, Jungkook saunters, in all his naked glory, into his own bathroom, genuinely forgetting that Taehyung told him ten minutes ago that he’d be having a bath in there.

The blonde’s eyes go wide to the unexpected intrusion. But then Jungkook’s mouth is tugging into an easy smirk by witnessing how the other is darting his eyes on anywhere else, a beautiful shade tainting his neck, ears and face.

Jungkook treads to the shower, as if it’s nothing, doesn’t even say anything. He washes himself, and when he’s done, he walks over to the bathtub, where Taehyung’s soaked, with his rubber ducks floating on the surface of the water—

rubber fucking ducks that he bought because he said they never had bathtubs in the mountains and he never had the luxury of having rubber fucking ducks to play with while on a bathtub when he was a child.

He looks up, painfully slow, from Jungkook’s manhood to his chiseled abs and his handsome face. And Jungkook stands there, taking in the sight of Taehyung checking him out. And he stands there because he enjoys teasing the blonde, just like this.

Not that they haven’t seen each other naked yet. Actually, they’ve seen more than that— they’ve seen each other squirm as they come. Just last week, Jungkook jerked Taehyung off before going to bed. The day after that, Jungkook sucked his dick for the first time.

Two days ago, the blonde— with his excruciatingly wide innocent eyes— asked permission if he can suck Jungkook’s dick too. "Can I go in, baby?" He asks and Taehyung nods. He sinks down the tub, on the other edge of it, opposite Taehyung.

A couple of moments later, he asks the blonde to sit on him, which the other complies, shy but willing. He rubs his length on the crack of his ass and soon, Taehyung’s straddling him as they kiss like there’s no tomorrow.

The air is charged differently this time, the tension deeper. He stands, hugging Taehyung’s waist as Taehyung locks his legs around him, still kissing each other fervently.

As much as he thinks it’d be hot to have their first time in the tub, and as funny as it may sound, he doesn’t want to do it in the presence of rubber ducks.

They couldn’t bother with wiping themselves dry. Jungkook throws Taehyung on the bed, climbing on top of him afterwards. He reaches to cup his voluptuous ass, kneading it as quiet moans spill from Taehyung’s lips.

Skies should be the limit, and if Taehyung consents, then what is the point of waiting for the inevitable? So he finally asks, “Do you wanna have sex?” Taehyung nods, bobbing his head again and again to say yes, he really wants to.

“I need words, angel." “Yes. Please." He mutters in a small, low voice. They pant, inhaling each other’s breath, and Taehyung tentatively asks, “H-how?”

Jungkook dives in for another passionate kiss and lets the question hang between them. He kisses him, kisses till their lips are numb, but his mind is roaming, roaming, roaming.

Jungkook is a free-spirited person. He’s adventurous, always thirsty to try new things. But taking it up, literally, in the ass is something he has never ventured into, it’s a possibility he never considered.

But as he breaks off the kiss to catch his breath and gazes at Taehyung— his Taehyung, his whole heart and entire life, Taehyung that he loves so very dearly— he drowns in the thought that this is Taehyung’s first time.

And Jungkook was never a bottom in his life, but Taehyung was never /anything/.

Jungkook only knows how to pound, to ram, to thrust, to make people crumble underneath him. But he can’t push the bottom agenda on his boyfriend, can he? Sure, the blonde wants to have sex but he asks “how” because he was never anything and he doesn’t know his preferences yet.

If it was the old Jungkook, he would have just taken, as he only knew how to take. If he were to ask permission and not get the answer he wanted, he would’ve coaxed it out, and not take into consideration anything else but himself— he was selfish just like that.

“Taehyung.” Jungkook swallows the lump in his throat and his next words are something he never thought he’d say, not in this lifetime. “Fuck me.”

part 1

part 2

—————————— Taehyung hears the door bell, the sound of it echoing throughout the house. He dashes to the front door, and opens it to reveal Jungkook’s mother.

He’s surprised to find her there, beaming, all so prim and proper in her simple white dress, hand clutching a Hermès Birkin bag. She exudes prestige, and she’s reaching a hand to Taehyung, which he shakes meekly.

"You must be Taehyung." Her eyes crease on the sides, just like how Jungkook’s do when he smiles. Her voice is warm and even the way she speaks is classy. She seems to be happy to finally meet him.

"I am. Good afternoon, ma’am." He greets her and ushers her inside her son’s house. "Jungkookie isn’t home." He sadly informs. "He isn’t?" She stops in her tracks, face falling quite a bit. "I informed him last week I’m visiting today. Or did he forget about that too?"

"Oh... it must be because there’s a lot on his mind lately. The launch of their mobile game is nearing." She continues to the living room and sits on the large sofa. Taehyung mirrors her. "Mobile game?"

"Yes. It’s an online game that he’s creating with his software engineer and graphic designer friends."

"Ah..." She looks sad for a moment because that’s quite a project and she was never informed all this time. But then, her eyes begin to light up, happy that her son /is/ doing something. "That’s great." "Do you want some cake, ma’am?" He offers. "A drink?"

"Some glucose would be nice." She laughs a little. "And a glass of water, please." Taehyung comes back from the kitchen with food and drink, placing it on the coffee table in front of her.

"You made this, I suppose?" She digs into the cake with a fork and brings a bite into her mouth. "I did!" Taehyung confirms, proudly. "Hmm," she chews. After gulping it down, she admits, "It’s delicious. I watch your vlogs, you know." She confesses.

Taehyung’s eyes widen at that, quite embarrassed at the revelation. "You do?" She nods, smiling kindly at him. She eats her food in silence, Taehyung awkwardly sitting there, eyes following her movements. After a while, she says in all seriousness, "My son is a selfish person."

To say Taehyung is dumbfounded is an understatement. Never did he expect those words from her— Jungkook’s own mother. He studies her, keeps his mouth tightly shut. For sure, she’s coming from somewhere, right?

A mother doesn’t just say that, doesn’t just flaunt those words around. And maybe it’s because she’s his mother that it gives her a different kind of understanding, of knowledge, because if it’s Taehyung’s, he’d say Jungkook is the most selfless person he knows.

She gracefully sips from her glass of water, gracefully sets it back down, gracefully turns to Taehyung to search his eyes. Her gaze is soft and he meets her with his eyes, doesn’t shy away.

They study each other until the edges of her lips tugs sidewards in a small smile. "I get it now. He has changed— or he’s changing, at least." She says so softly, as if she’s baring an intimate part of her heart. "Thank you, Taehyung." "I didn’t do anything."

"Maybe your presence in his life did." She replies. "Sometimes it takes maturity to change, sometimes circumstances, but sometimes all it takes is one feeling— one person." Taehyung takes her words all in.

I love my children more than anything else, and I’m not saying this because I’m siding with my husband in their feud. I’m saying it because it is true, or at one point it was. Although my husband isn’t entirely faultless, of course. I’m not taking sides, they both have mistakes."

She purses her lips, exhales through her nose in defeat. "Jungkook’s selfish in so many ways. He’s selfish in the way he’s impulsive, in the way he did things just because he feels like it, not thinking about how it would affect the world around him,

in the way he’s inconsiderate of others but of his own self. Even to his own friends. I heard he’d always make Seokjin worry, and Yoongi too. But I’m grateful he found people like them. True friends are a gift.

Now, my husband is a different story. Although I must say, they don’t see each other eye to eye because they’re both stubborn and they let pride rule them.” "He’s always been selfless to me..." Taehyung finally puts his opinion into words.

"And that is true, too." She utters, hopeful, "It’s a ripple effect and I think there’s a chance he’ll finally come around." She reaches a soft hand on Taehyung’s. She squeezes it gently.

"The reason I came here was to convince him to attend his father’s birthday dinner this weekend. He stopped attending the celebrations four years ago. Can you convince him for me, Taehyung?"

He nods, eager to help the woman who wants nothing but for her family to fully come together. "I will do my best." He promises. ————————————

Turns out, convincing Jungkook wasn’t that much work. He agreed, partly because he has to tell his family about Taehyung. Oh, they know about Taehyung by now, but they don’t know he’s serious about him.

He’s not introducing him yet, though, as it might not be the best time for that. He’s a permanent fixture in his life now and his family has to /know/ that, whether they accept it or not. He doesn’t even want to think about his dad’s reaction.

He also agreed, partly because Taehyung has been comparing their situations— the blonde being an orphan. He said life is short, and Jungkook doesn’t want to fully admit it but it scares him to lose his parents.

So yes, he’s going, and hopefully the night doesn’t end up with him taking a blow to the face again. It’s ironic, how he’s thinking about all these things and the moment he scans the restaurant with bored eyes,

they land on his parents, sitting six tables away from where he, Seokjin and Yoongi are seated. They are meeting some investors over dinner to go over the launching process of their mobile game project next month, and it seems his parents are just having casual meal

with the Lee family, a long-time friend. Jungkook was the one who recommended this restaurant for tonight, as he knows no other place as fancy and perfect for their purpose, it just sucks, his parents have to be in the same vicinity.

He clicks his tongue because they appear to be done, and he knows his mother is not going out of this place without paying him a visit. They would know Jungkook’s here too, of course, his parents know everything— they know everything except Jungkook’s feelings.

Or, they’re aware about it but they just don’t care. His father always know everything that's going on his life, keeps tabs on him, it’s annoying. He darts his eyes away from them and tries to focus on whatever Yoongi’s saying.

He’s proven right, though, because a couple minutes later his mother is by their table greeting him and his friends. He smiles at her, a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, as she kisses both his cheeks delightfully. She’s saying something about the time she met Taehyung,

but his focus is on the fact that he’s seeing his father, in his peripheral vision, sauntering over to where they are. Usually his father doesn’t bother, most of the time he ignores him. But today, he’s coming, actually taking steps, towards him.

What does he want? Jungkook grits his teeth. His father must have known by now that he’s promised his attendance to his birthday party this weekend, he texted his mother about it. That’s a big deal, that’s a big step. So what more does he fucking want from Jungkook?

He stands next to his wife, peering down at Jungkook, doesn’t even acknowledge the presence of his friends. He stands there, tall and proud, his stance alone screaming millions. With his hard eyes and sharp gaze, anyone could tell that this man doesn’t answer to anyone,

doesn’t kneel for anyone. And if he’s not his son, Jungkook would’ve already crumbled under his piercing eyes. Jeon Jae-hwa puts a hand on the lower back of his wife. She’s saying, "See you this weekend, Kook-ah!"

His father speaks one sentence to him that night, but it’s enough to elicit a feeling of dread on the pool of his stomach. He says it authoritatively, his voice making the hair on Jungkook’s arms rise. "Bring the boy along." And it’s a demand he knows he cannot afford to deny.

would you support me if i start writing on ao3? im so tired of trying to make things less poetic, less descriptive here bc i always worry about the word count, imagine the freedom i’d have there :o also, 2 more updates and this au is ending hehe im sad curiouscat.me/cocofics

y’all i did NOT mean i was gonna transfer this au on ao3, i meant if i start writing <new> fics there kdkdkwsk

—————————

The night wouldn’t end well, Jungkook is sure of that. It wouldn’t, judging from the twisting in his gut as he and Taehyung step into the Jeon residence, a mansion in northern Seoul.

Taehyung looks around, mildly intimidated by it. “Your house is so big". He comments just as Jungkook grabs his hand. “Not really.” Any other day, the mere sight of the place would instantly calm him. It’s where he grew up in, it holds so many dear memories of his childhood.

He sees the front yard and he’s instantly reminded of the good old days he spent running around with his older brother Sungjin, scraping their knees and playing hide and seek until the sun had set. He looks at the farthest windows & he’s hit with nostalgia—he misses his old room.

That room has witnessed all of his moods, from being happy when he got his first video game tapes when he was seven, to being irrationally angry and throwing a lampshade against the wall during his rebellious high school days.

He wonders, do his parents consider him to be still in his rebellious phase? He can’t be anything but distraught to be in this house tonight, however. He expected to be in a suit and for this occasion to be held in a function hall somewhere downtown, not here,

wearing casual clothes, here where his parents only allow family inside. He was hoping for a bigger party, with his father’s business associates present, as it would mean lesser chance for a confrontation.

He was hoping that the extended family would be invited at the very least, but there are no other cars parked around but his brother’s Porsche Cayenne. He feels so terribly tricked by his mom into this.

She has been making all sorts of effort to “mend” his relationship with his father for years, and although he admittedly is seeing a new perspective ever since Taehyung came in his life, he wouldn’t have brought him here if he knew how the setup would be.

His father is so unpredictable lately and he doesn’t know how he would treat Taehyung.

The blonde waves enthusiastically at his mother, like she’s his long lost friend. She gracefully struts towards them, kissing their cheeks, beaming as though it's the best night she's had for a long time. She ushers them to the garden where the rest are.

His brother is grilling meat a few feet away from the pool, his wife is helping the housekeepers arrange the dishes on the table, while his father is at the head of it, cradling Sungjin's 2-year old son. He introduces his boyfriend to all of them, leaving his dad for last.

Everything screams homey, it's peaceful and warm— just like how his father wants his Sunday mornings. And maybe, this is exactly how his father wanted to celebrate his birthday this year, for a change. Intimate. If only he and Jungkook can set their differences aside.

"Dad," he utters when they reach him, voice tight, body rigid. "Happy birthday." He's saying, hadn't said it in years and it feels incredibly awkward to be finally spitting the words out.

His father looks up with the same hard eyes he has grown accustomed to, surveys him, and then Taehyung. Jungkook had to gulp. "Happy birthday, Sir!" Taehyung grins and bows. He straightens back up and holds a hand out, to Jungkook's fear.

His father wouldn't take it, he knows it. He can tell as the older Jeon sharply glances at Taehyung’s extended hand, the end of his lips quirking ever so slightly.

Jungkook gave his boyfriend a much needed prep talk last night that centers around "my dad can be an ass, so please don't be offended by anything." And yet, his chest constricts painfully to the thought of Taehyung being humiliated like that,

his Taehyung who deserves everyone's kindness because he himself gives it so freely, his Taehyung who went all the way to bake his father an egg pie when he learned it's his favorite. So Jungkook begs, "Dad." There's no animosity in his voice, just desperation in his eyes.

His father can degrade Jungkook all he wants— and he asks this with his gaze— just not Taehyung. Not Taehyung. Especially when said blonde is here upon /his/ request.

He's beyond relieved when his father relents with a pursing of his lips and takes Taehyung's hand in a gentle shake. The blonde’s grin gets wider, and he turns to Jungkook with twinkling eyes, as if to say, “see?” He gives him a tight-lipped smile in response.

His mother accepts Taehyung's box of baked good, gushing, "this is so sweet of you, Tae!" "It's actually from Jungkookie and me." He turns to his boyfriend's father. "He's the one who told me you like egg pies."

Jungkook never offered the idea to Taehyung, the blonde /asked/ about it. But he knows exactly why he's saying this. Jungkook is pompous enough to think that his presence tonight is his present to his father.

He places a hand on Taehyung's lower back, guiding him to the farthest seat when Sungjin's eldest child throws himself and clings onto his legs, cutely growling, "roar!"

"Miro!" He exclaims, grinning from ear to ear. He lifts the 4 year old, attacking his cheeks with kisses. "I missed you, buddy. Did you miss uncle?" "Yeeesh! Grrrr." Miro scrunches his nose up, probably imitating The Hulk or a mountain lion judging by the noises he's making.

The kid stays on Jungkook's lap until dinner's ready and he climbs onto his grandfather's instead and demands everyone to sing the Happy Birthday song. Taehyung ends up to be the one who sings the loudest, while it's Miro who blows out the candles.

It's heart-warming, Jungkook thinks. Everyone has soft smiles on their faces. How he wishes it stays like this for the rest of the night, but the imperfections of his relationship with his family is catching up and it’s a vicious monster.

"So you're gay now." His father addresses him in the middle of their dinner. His mother instantly ceases her talk with Hyori, his sister-in-law. Her features turn sour, while his father continues to cut his steak in nonchalance.

Every adult at the table turns to Jungkook, except Taehyung, his innocent baby who continues to munch his Chicken Kiev like nothing is wrong in the world. “Thought you knew that already.” He answers, lifting a slice of filet mignon into his mouth, pinning his eyes on his plate.

“The last time I checked you were bisexual.” There’s an edge to his voice, “and you were dating Soomin.” Jungkook’s breath hitches because Taehyung finally snaps his head to his father’s direction at the mention of her name.

Taehyung doesn’t mention it but he knows she still strikes a chord deep inside him, the lewd memory of the two of them in his bed still fresh, for sure. “We were not dating.” He’s quickly corrects. “And does it matter what my sexual orientation is? I’m dating /now/.”

He spats at his father, brows furrowed. “Can we not talk about this at the dinner table?” His mother speaks up, distressed. “Let them be mom,” Sungjin shrugs, “they’ve gone so long without talking about the problems and look where it got us all?”

He whips his head to his front— to where his brother is— offended, “my sexual orientation is the problem here?” “Of course not.” Sungjin shakes his head in disbelief. “I meant whatever your differences are. It’s time to talk about it. And settle it.”

His tone is almost demanding and it leaves Jungkook speechless because his brother has always been his polar opposite— soft spoken, formal in disposition, the perfect brother and ideal son who never raises his voice at the family table.

Yet, he sees him sigh across him, like he’s reached the peak of his patience. “I could care less about your preferences, Jungkook.” The oldest Jeon’s voice booms among them. “Just as long as you don’t ruin your future with the life choices you make.”

Taehyung is his future, he wants to say. Taehyung is not a wrong decision, he wants to announce, if that’s what his father is trying to imply. But his tongue is tied, mouth slightly parted, lost in his own feelings.

His father sets his eyes on Taehyung now. “What about you, boy?” He puts down his knife and fork, focusing on the blonde. “Do you have a concrete life plan? Or are you also confronting everything with covered eyes like my son?” “He has a name!” Jungkook snaps. “It’s Taehyung!”

His father ignores him and continues, “I heard your from the mountains. For all we know you haven’t even went to school.” Jungkook stands up and grabs his boyfriend’s hand, pulling him up. If degrading Taehyung is what his father is aiming at, he won’t let it happen.

Taehyung however cups his elbow, trying to stop his advances. He looks up at Jungkook and smiles a little, “it’s fine. I wanna stay.” Jungkook scrutinizes him, sees the pleading in his eyes that manages to melt his resolve every single time.

Jungkook is a simple man— all he wants is to make Taehyung happy. So he swallows down his pride and sits back down, ignoring the voice in his head to just get out of this damn house.

The blonde intertwines their fingers under the table, thumb caressing Jungkook’s knuckles in a way to calm him. Taehyung smiles at him once more, a more encouraging one, and Jungkook is forcefully reminded that he doesn’t walk alone anymore.

He’s found a partner who’ll hold his hand every step of the way, someone who will laugh with him during his abundant days and cry with him during the hard ones. He’s twice stronger now, and definitely on his way to becoming a better version of himself.

“I’m actually a high school graduate,” Taehyung states confidently. “But I never bothered with college knowing I was going to live my whole life in the countryside. But lately, I discovered my passion for pastry arts and through Jungkookie’s help,

I was able to monetize my presence on YouTube and enroll. I’m currently in my second semester, I just need to get through this and two more, and I’ll get my degree.” He gives Jungkook’s father a faint smile despite the hardness on the latter’s features.

“You know your social media successes may not be forever, right?” The oldest Jeon on the table narrows his eyes, directly staring at him. “Yes. I’m still quite ignorant about social media but they have explained it to me.”

He starts getting genuinely excited while sharing, “I’m also planning to put up a bakery after my internship! Seokjin hyung and Jungkookie will help me with everything.” “That’s great, Taehyung.” Hyori comments. “I suppose you’ve already learned how to bake cakes?”

“Oh yes he did. I had a taste of his raspberry cake earlier this week.” Jungkook’s mother informs, the excitement in her voice breaking the tension in the air.

Hyori clasps her hands together, suggesting in a tender voice, “would you like to make Miro’s cake this year, then? It’s his 4th birthday in three weeks!” Taehyung’s eye widens, while Jungkook’s mother agrees with the idea. “B-but—“

“It’ch mah burfdaaay!” Miro jumps on his seat, mouth still full. “You can do fondant decoration, right?” Hyori smiles hopefully, “because Miro would be having a Superhero birthday theme.”

“I-I do, I took extra classes last semester to learn it in advance, but I swear, I’m still an amateur!” Taehyung feverishly waves his hands in front of him. Jungkook rubs his back in encouragement. “You can do it, baby.”

“You take extra classes on top of your regular ones?” Sungjin questions, amazed. It’s Jungkook who responds with lifted chin, proud, “he’s very hardworking, hyung.”

Jungkook’s mother throws praises at the blonde and they fall into an easy conversation about his student life, with Hyori and Sungjin chiming in from time to time.

All the while, Jungkook’s father eats quietly at the head of the table. He can’t decipher what the old man could be thinking as his face is devoid of any emotion, although he seems like he’s listening intently at the words being exchanged around him.

Around dessert time, the topic shifts back to Miro’s upcoming party and the boy gets enthusiastic again, singing “Happy birthday Miro”, to everyone’s amusement.

“Yes, big boy, it’s your birthday soon,” Sungjin wipes his child’s mouth with a napkin. “Now go tell uncle Taehyung what birthday cake you want, he’s the one making it.”

Miro hops down his seat and runs around the table, climbing onto the blonde’s lap. With big eyes, he babbles, “uncle! Spider— I want— Bafmaaan! And Captain Ame'ca! Suuuperman!” Taehyung giggles, and it just melts Jungkook’s heart and all the previous stiffness in his body.

After they’ve concluded their meal, they decide to huddle inside the living room while Jungkook sits on a stool at the mini bar on one side of the room. He swishes his wine glass briskly before putting it back to his mouth to sip, glad that the Pinot noir doesn’t taste too oaky.

He watches Taehyung across the room, laughing heartily as his mother shows him an album of Jungkook’s childhood photos. He has his phone on his hand, taking pictures of it. Hyori is straddling her youngest son, telling Taehyung random stories about Jungkook.

His father is on the sofa next to them, teaching Miro some game on an iPad. The man is suspiciously quiet since dinner, suspiciously calm about the rest of the family bonding with Taehyung. Jungkook drinks, and he ponders, and he reflects.

His mind is lost, trying to break down the very concept of his relationship with his father, piece by piece, down to the most elusive details. And he tries to uphold himself and his actions through the years— for some of it he finds justification, the rest he struggles to defend.

“Kook.” His brother sits beside him, his own glass in hand, and he pours himself wine. He regards his brother, a frown settling on his face, and he reluctantly asks, “have i always been selfish?”

Sungjin smiles to himself, he takes his time, sips his wine, but before he finally offers Jungkook his words, he taps his shoulder twice. “You are dad’s son, afterall.”

Jungkook huffs although he’s nowhere near offended, just does it for the sake of giving an immediate response. He side-eyes his brother and what he sees is a man who had to sit down, for years, on the family table without a brother.

And Jungkook might not be fully responsible for Sungjin's incomplete family, but he certainly is partly at fault.

People don't change overnight, sometimes not over months or years, it's a gradual feat, and Jungkook’s slowly getting there but he's still immature and so he declares, "I hate Dad."

"No, you don't." Sungjin responds a heart beat later. He sniggers, mostly because he's accustomed to his younger brother's defense mechanisms but it's getting funnier, sillier as time passes.

"You love him, and you respect him, that's why you're here now, why you mostly don't talk back to him even during the couple of times he laid a hand on you."

Jungkook's lips thin into a line as he puts his glass down on the counter top. "It's thrice now." He corrects. "He has hit me thrice. Once during high school when I took his beloved vintage car, got into an accident because I was drunk and sent a man to the hospital."

"Oh, I remember that one." Sungjin shakes his head. "Your wildest most rebellious phase in life." "The second time was when he learned that I dropped out of college. The last one was…. you know." He whips his head back at Sungjin who's eyebrow shoots up.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know, hyung." He rolls his eyes. "I'm not acting like I do not know what you did," the older rebukes. "I'm acting curious as to why you punched a policeman, Kook."

The worst thing about being prideful is when your walls are finally breaking down in good cause but you still hold on to your twisted judgment as a way of self-preservation because you've loved your pride for so long.

It's probably the hardest phase to overcome, but Jungkook /tries/, and he sees a light, and he doesn’t think his father should have hit him but he knows he downright deserved it.

"You know Dad isn't a bad father, Kook." Sungjin is saying, and Jungkook watches his father as he patiently assists Miro through a mobile game. He's reminded of all those times his father canceled meetings just to witness his school performances or attend his graduation,

of those times he chose to spend his rare days off teaching his sons how to ride bicycles and fly kites. "But he isn't perfect, either. I believe his mistake was failing to see that you are your own person. That you're not like me who's pliant and willing to go after his steps.

But believe me, he just wants nothing but the best for you." "What if the best for me is the life I'm living right now?" he asks, voice low. "I think Dad is just bitter, still is, even after the years, that you won’t work for the company.

He built the company more for us than his legacy, and I believe he's hurt because for him, you going on a different route is a gesture of neglect to his hard work. But then, he still let you have your way, didn't he?"

There’s a pregnant pause, and they let it consume them for a moment, until Jungkook asks the same question he has been asking his brother for years. "What about you?"

Sungjin shrugs. "I am happy with the life I have, Jungkook. Stop worrying about me and overly antagonizing Dad in your head." He sips his drink before he continues, "I am my own person too, and I pushed myself into this as much as Dad did."

He turns to his side to return Jungkook's gaze, and he utters each of his words profoundly because for the first time, Jungkook is actually listening to him. "You love the thrill of adventures and making online contents, I love the thrill of routines and becoming a CEO."

Jungkook is nodding, like he absolutely understands, but the truth is he needs time to grasp it all, completely without exceptions, but he understands, yes. "Okay." He rolls the stem of his wine glass in between his fingers, he watches as it turns from where it stands on the

countertop. "Okay." He repeats. He asks about his most important concern, "what about Taehyung?" "What about him?" "I—" he tries. He nibbles on his lower lip, thinking of proper sentence. "Where does he stand in all this? Mom loves him. Do you think Dad approves—"

"Dad knows full well he doesn’t have a say in who you love," he cuts him off. "As you know full well he doesn't invite strangers to his house. Taehyung should anticipate more interrogation-like conversations with Dad though, he's testing the waters.

He can see you're serious about him, and he has to /know/ him if he's gonna be part of the family." Jungkook turns his head to his brother. "That doesn't mean he should be an ass to Tae."

The older of the two sighs heavily in defeat. "But he is an ass— sometimes. Haughty, condescending, insulting ass." "He is." Jungkook sneers and his brother's throat trembles in a short laugh. "But you're there to put him in place."

"I try to." He confirms. "B-but hyung, you really think Tae will be fully welcomed to the family? I'm barely a part of it now…"

His brother claps his back. "I don't seem like it, but I'm really happy tonight, you know? With you coming here, Dad inviting Taehyung..." He cracks a smile, his shining eyes resembling their mother's as it turn narrower.

"Things take time, Kook. And you and Dad will be okay again. He just has to be more… accepting. And you," he waves a hand in the air, gesturing around them. "You just have to keep coming to family dinners, yeah?"

This isn't some fairytale, it's reality. Jungkook knows relationships take effort, mending broken ones more so. And just like people, relationships don't change overnight, sometimes not over months or years. It's a gradual feat— one that takes a conscious collective effort.

【 66 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 67 】 #taekook au #taekookau

【 68 】 #taekook au #taekookau

“Thanks, hyung.” Jungkook tells Yoongi as he takes a sip of the mojito the older just handed. Just as he puts the glass on the mini table next to his sun lounger, Seokjin throws a bottle of sunblock that lands perfectly on top of his stomach. He grunts in surprise to the impact.

“Put some.” Seokjin commands. Jungkook makes a face but he sits up and obeys. Kihyun’s girlfriend invited some of her friends to come with them, and one of the girls who has been blatantly flirting with him since they got here goes to sit at the edge of his lounger.

“Do you want me to help you?” She offers. “I can manage, thank you.” He rubs the lotion on his arms, legs, neck and chest. The girl leans forward suggestively, trying to emphasize the fullness of her boobs, as if the bikini she’s wearing isn’t doing the job well.

“What about your back, Jungkook-sshi?” He lays back down, legs carefully folding so he doesn’t touch her. He adjusts the sunglasses that sit on top of his nose. “The back isn’t really important, but thanks.”

He dismisses her, but she doesn’t dismiss herself, she remains on Jungkook’s sun lounger, continues to /invade/ Jungkook’s space. Now she’s blocking the view and he’s getting annoyed by her useless advances.

The entire nation knows he’s happily taken and yet some still try. He can't even look at these almost-naked girls for more than two seconds without thinking he's somehow cheating on his boyfriend.

As if he’ll ever get involved with anyone when every fiber of his being screams Taehyung. And oh Taehyung— he misses him terribly.

After the successful launch of their online game two months ago, he and his team had to attend a big gaming convention in China earlier this week to further showcase their product. They stayed for a couple of days there,

and then went straight to Jeju Island for their long overdue vacation as a celebration for the hard work they’ve put into the project. And sure, this outing is fun, but it would have been perfect if Taehyung’s here.

It's been four days since he saw his boyfriend and it’s eating him alive. He can’t even fully enjoy his time here because in everything he sees and does, there’s an accompanying “if Taehyung’s here—”.

Just like when he watches as Kihyun and his girlfriend giggle in the pool, splashing water on each other, he can’t help but think that if Taehyung’s here, he and Jungkook would probably be doing the same thing.

Or, when he observes Yugyeom, Jackson, Mingyu, Eunwoo and the girls play volleyball nearby, he wonders: if Taehyung’s here, would he join them? Jungkook takes a sip of his drink, loving the coldness flowing in his throat, but then his thoughts go back to a certain blonde again—

a blonde who, if here, would definitely not enjoy this drink because he doesn’t like anything alcoholic, or anything bitter, so he’d probably have one of those fruity glasses of juice, or perhaps eat ice cream while sitting comfortably on Jungkook’s lap.

Jungkook sighs and mutters “fuck” under his breath. Only if Taehyung doesn't have classes to attend to, he’d be in Jungkook’s arms right now.

He fishes his phone from the pocket of his shorts and sends a text to his boyfriend, saying “I miss you, angel”. He presses the send button, but realizes the sentence is terribly lacking so he quickly adds, "so much. it's driving me crazy."

He has sent him a hundred— probably— texts like this over the course of the few days they've been away from each other, and Seokjin even told him he's being obsessive already— which he's not, but he'd admit he's addicted to Taehyung.

The blonde is a psychedelic high he constantly craves for. More, more, more— he's high on him and he has no plans of getting sober, ever. He's counting the days in his head when his phone lights up. He sees Taehyung's name on the screen and his mood immediately brightens up.

The blonde sent an "I miss you more" in all caps accompanied by heart emojis of every color. A second later, he receives a selfie of Taehyung with kissy lips and fingers crossed to shape a heart. Jungkook is grinning; how much cuter can Taehyung get?

He says he's already in the car with Mr. Kang, the bodyguard-slash-driver Jungkook has assigned for him, heading home instead of hanging out with his classmates after a half-day of lectures because he's not feeling well.

Though he assures Jungkook that it's nothing serious, and that the past days have just been too tiring. Still, Jungkook calls his favorite restaurant to order food and have Mr. Kang pick it up for Taehyung.

"Was that the Gagnaire place you and your family frequent at?" Seokjin asks after he finishes the call. Jungkook hums. "And why are you ordering food for Tae?"

"He says he doesn't have an appetite, so I ordered that one soup that I always get whenever I'm not feeling well." He explains as he types a text to his boyfriend, telling him to get some rest after eating what Jungkook got for him. "....Might make him feel better too."

Seokjin rolls his eyes despite his tinted sunglasses. "Yeah, sure, and Taehyung will definitely eat it if he finds out it's a 60,000 won soup?" "He won't find out." He simply shrugs it off, fingers busy and eyes still religiously stuck on his phone.

Yoongi, who's chilling next to Seokjin, audibly sighs. "I really can't understand rich people, man. A 3,000 won soup literally tastes the same as that 60,000 one." He pours the remaining bit of his Caribbean Rum Punch down his throat.

Jungkook finally tears his sight from the device in his hands and cranes his neck to his friends' direction. "It does not. And the ingredients to this one were meticulously picked—" He starts, his tone defensive. "The health benefits—"

Yoongi throws his hands up in the air in surrender, announcing, "okay, okay. Whatever, I get it." Jungkook scowls. "You act like you can't afford to eat this soup three times a day, hyung. You earn almost as much as I do from YouTube."

Yoongi crosses his arms in front of his chest, head turned towards Jungkook now, too. "Now let's be honest here. Hypothetically I lose everything under /my/ name...I don't have my last name to back me up." He's says as-a-matter-of-factly, calm and sharp. "I'm not a fucking Jeon."

Jungkook tilts his head, mouth starting to open in rebuttal, but Yoongi adds, "Also, you do not compare our incomes, /Jeon/ Jungkook. You earn waaay more than I do from YouTube, not to mention all your other business ventures and financial investments over the years have been

nothing but fruitful." The other shakes his head, simpers before speaking. "You really think my dad would pick me up if I go bankrupt? He'd gladly watch me be homeless while telling me 'I told you so' over and over again until my ears bleed."

"Oh he will watch you be homeless," Seokjin speaks up again, "for like, a week. And then he'll take you back under his wing, dress you in gold from head to toe." "He won't." He snaps, he's not angry, nowhere near pissed, but he says it with force to draw some finality.

But Seokjin is unfazed. "You know daddy dearest has a soft spot for you deep down, Kook. Don't deny it. And even if he won't, it's not like he's the only one with money in your family. A few hundred millions wouldn't hurt your mom or your brother to help you start back up

from scratch again." He clicks his tongue, swipes his hands in the air quizzically. "I can't believe we're talking about this because of a soup. It's just a fucking soup, for god's sake." Such wouldn't even make a dent in his bank account.

He declares, "the point is, it doesn't matter even if it costs a million won per bowl, I'd gladly buy it for him everyday. Taehyung deserves only the best, you know?" Yoongi starts chuckling at Jungkook's earnest expression but Jungkook ignores him and continues,

"Hypothetically he asks me to drain my bank account for him," he utters the first word in mimicry to Yoongi's previous way, "I will, hyung— I'll surrender every single thing. Down to the last cent."

Yoongi stops laughing, brow flying to his hair while Seokjin sits there with slacked jaw. There's a pregnant pause as Jungkook turns his attention back to his phone and his friends patiently wait for him to say something more, for a punch line or some sort.

But there's no punch line, and Yoongi realizes this after a minute of silence from Jungkook, so he turns to Seokjin and says almost unbelievably, "I told you he's in too deep, Jin hyung."

Seokjin eyes Yoongi for a moment before he regards Jungkook who's now smiling down at his phone like the whipped man that he is, typing away while biting his lower lip.

"Hey," Seokjin calls for his attention. "Hey, Jungkook!" He tries again, and this time the other finally looks at him. "I know what you're trying to say, okay? That money is just money. But—" he shrugs, and reminds him, "but money was never just money to you.

You worked so hard to be financially independent from your family, to prove to everyone that you can make it on your own. You spent years, Jungkook, and now you're here."

It's true, Jungkook takes pride in it: his financial stability, his properties, every possession he got without the help of his family's wealth. It's the gratification he thirsted for since the day he moved out of his parents' house.

"Don't get me wrong. Taehyung deserves no less than this level of dedication from a lover," Seokjin continues. Jungkook’s knows what he's trying to say too. And he has every right to be concerned because in more ways than one, Jungkook wouldn't be where he is right now

if not because of Kim Seokjin's brilliance, guidance and nonpareil friendship. "But you of all people— just— I wasn't expecting you to be saying things like you'll give up everything for /someone else/, even if it's your boyfriend."

Jungkook looks down, drums his finger on his thighs. He takes Seokjin's words in, takes Yoongi's too. He takes not only their words in, but also all the things left unsaid. It's true, he's way in too deep. And he's way too high on the drug that is Kim Taehyung.

But no matter how many words he takes in, no matter how many truths he's presented with, his feelings are way bigger than anything. "Well, Taehyung is not just 'someone else'..." He says in a soft voice, too low for his own liking but not too low to be unheard by the other two.

He utters more forcefully, "and he wouldn't just be my 'boyfriend'," his next words are both a declaration and a promise, "because I'm gonna marry the fuck out of him soon."

————————— "Get off your phone, man!" Yugyeom snatches Jungkook's phone and makes a run for it. Just as he nearly catches up to him, Yugyeom throws it to Eunwoo’s waiting hands. Jungkook bends down and grabs a fistful of sand.

"Angel," Eunwoo pronounces dramatically, reading Jungkook's text conversation with Taehyung. "Two more days and I'll get to—" He gets cut off by a mass of sand hitting his forehead. He curses loudly, "what the fuck, Kook!"

He wipes his face & ruffles his hair to get rid of grains. He's busy & that makes it easy for Jungkook to seize the device back from his grip. Jungkook walks back to the rest of his friends who are laughing at their antics. He sits back down on a beach bag & drowns a shot.

“Is Taehyung still awake? It’s almost midnight.” Jackson queries, as everyone knows by now that Taehyung doesn’t sleep later than 10pm. He nods. “He slept the entire afternoon because he wasn’t feeling well, that’s why he's wide awake now.”

“It’s the weekend, you should have told him to come here.” Kihyun voices. It’s Seokjin who responds. “Who told you he doesn’t have classes even on the weekends? My boy’s hard working.” “Really?” Kihyun’s eyes widens. “Does he even rest?”

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t have schedules on Wednesdays and Sundays, and some days his classes only run for a few hours.” Jungkook assures them. “What do you two even talk about?” Yugyeom frowns. “I swear I’ve seen you on your phone the entire day.”

“You’re exaggerating.” Jungkook throws a little white stone at him, which he gracefully dodges. “And I was just convincing him to stop trying to respond to every DM he receives on Twitter. I’m sure the fans understand that he can’t reply to everyone…”

Mingyu smiles to himself, hand rolling a glass of beer in a circular motion. “Sometimes I can’t believe that someone like Taehyung exists… he’s too kind for this world. Like,” his shoulders lift and fall, eyes narrowed, looking for an answer in Jungkook’s face, “how?”

“I know right?” is the only response Jungkook can muster. The breeze by the beachside is getting colder but the alcohol in their bodies keeps them warm. They proceeded with their drinking game, having too much fun and being too loud.

They went easy on Jungkook whenever he lost as most the punishments included body shots and making out with the girls, and they respect his relationship status, so mostly with him it was downing shots.

At one point, Jackson lost and was forced to get a new tattoo then and there at the resort’s 24-hour tattoo shop, Jungkook went with him. At around 3 in the morning, they go back to their hotel rooms, & Jungkook FaceTimes with Taehyung for a few minutes before sleep claims him.

Four hours later he awakens, rays of sunlight hitting his face, its warmth grazing his skin. He briefly visits the bathroom, then plops down the bed again, he plans on sleeping but decides to check his phone first.

His heart sinks as fast as his brain processes the content of his boyfriend’s text message. It’s one sentence, seven words: “Someone asked what I think of this.” No overflowing emoticons like the usual, no nothing, just an attached photo.

It’s a photo that drains the blood from Jungkook’s face. He scrambles to his feet and opens the door to the attached suite. He half-runs towards Seokjin’s bed and he shakes him awake.

“Hyung,” he pleads, urgency in his voice. “Can you please book me the earliest flight back to Seoul?” The other rubs his eyes, baffled. “Why?” “Just—” he stands up, “please do. I need to pack my things now.”

He didn’t bring a lot of clothes nor did his stuff are all over the room; he’s thankful. His hands fumble as he throws his possessions inside his luggage.

He hears Seokjin pad towards him. The guy is now leaning against the door frame, groggy but intrigued. “Jungkook, calm down. Is there an emergency or something?” Jungkook gulps. “Someone sent Taehyung that photo of me making out with that supermodel by the beach.”

————————— He’s boarding the plane two hours later. He tried to reach Taehyung but it went straight to voicemail. He takes deep breaths, calming his nerves. Taehyung, most definitely, is still dead asleep, seeing as he was still awake at four in the morning.

Still, he calls Mr. Kang to check on his beloved, just to be /sure/. The man says Taehyung is indeed in their bedroom, sleeping soundly. He dozes off on the plane for a good hour, spends the remaining one dealing with his tangled thoughts.

Seokjin did assure him that Taehyung would understand, that his love for Jungkook is bigger than anything, but he can’t help but think, what if Taehyung leaves him? What if he goes back to the mountains? The blonde sometimes mentions how he misses the rural life.

There’s already a car waiting for him outside the airport and he demands to be taken home as fast as possible. He fists on his hair, he’s leaning down, elbows on his knees. He knows Taehyung loves him more than he deserves to be,

but negative thoughts are clawing their way into him. He glares at his shoes— his white shoes that soon become blurry. He’s sniffing now, and for some time he doesn’t move, just lets the hot flow of tears cascade down his cheeks. He can lose everything else, but not Taehyung.

He just can’t. His driver probably thinks he’s pathetic, and Jungkook’s getting bothered by that thought so he straightens up, wipes his face with the back of his hands and soon presses his palms against his eyes hard enough until they hurt.

He basically runs inside the house a moment later, fiercely punching the code on the front door. He’s zooming past the living room when he hears a sound akin to a refrigerator door being slammed, so with drumming heart, he marches towards the kitchen. He halts by the door way.

A good amount of relief surges through him as he studies Taehyung’s figure. The blonde’s back is on him, he’s wearing that certain Gucci pajama set Jungkook gave him. It’s loose, as most nightwears, but he can still make out the plumpness of his ass.

Taehyung lifts a phone to his ear, and a couple seconds later, he feels buzzing inside the pocket of his jeans. He doesn’t pick it up, doesn’t say anything, he’s paralyzed on the spot for a reason unbeknownst even to himself, but his sniffles soon give him away.

Taehyung’s body spins towards his direction, his hand lifting a glass of water to his mouth. His eyes widen at the sight of him. The glass leaves his mouth and he places it on top of the breakfast counter, along with his phone. “K-kookie?” He crokes.

His deep voice that goes even lower after a night’s sleep is music to Jungkook’s ears. He finally takes a step forward, one after another. Taehyung’s are more hurried, padding to meet him in the middle.

The blonde’s arms stretch out, cups Jungkook’s face in his hands, but the latter engulfs him in a tight embrace. Taehyung gently pushes him until they’re face to face, he studies his face, concern etched on his features. “Kookie… why are you crying?”

Jungkook breathes in, breathes out, sniffs again, and he swallows his fears because Taehyung might be here, but he has to /keep/ him. Seokjin told Jungkook before he left Jeju Island that he somehow can’t understand why Jungkook has to rush back home,

that for sure Taehyung won’t hate him or go away, but seeing Taehyung’s swollen eyes right now, he is reminded of why he mainly had to be here. Taehyung might not be mad at him, but it doesn’t mean he isn’t hurt by what he saw.

“L-listen. I didn’t cheat on you, okay? I would never do that to you, angel.” He traps the other’s face between his hands, caresses his cheeks with his thumb, pushes back strands of his blonde hair from his forehead.

“I swear, that was an old photo, my— it might seem like it’s not b-because it was also on a beach side but believe me, I—“ he struggles for the right words. “Please believe me. Don’t leave me, baby…I’m so sorry.” He begs, his lips wobble, convulsive gasps escaping his throat.

He'd do anything, whatever it takes for Taehyung to stay. He may be exaggerating the situation, but Taehyung has witnessed him and Soomin doing obscene stuff, and he cried because of it, pushed Jungkook away because of it, and that was all before they were even in a

committed relationship. Now, he had to see a photograph, albeit taken two years ago, of Jungkook eating another person's face, with his hand in between her legs, her bikini bottom set slightly aside, obvious enough to make out how his digits were clearly inside of her.

The picture didn't spark controversy online until a year after it was taken. And although it was obviously him, only a portion of his face was visible so it was easy to deny it to everyone. But the thing is, he can't do the same now, he can't deny it to Taehyung.

It's something from the past, and what's in the past should stay there, but Jungkook's a fool for thinking his previous actions wouldn't cast a shadow in his present. It does, and it made Taehyung's eyes puffy.

For Jungkook, his boyfriend is wonderfully flawless, but the blonde constantly looks down on himself, and his insecurities make him jealous. He would ask things like, if Jungkook ever misses hooking up with different people

or if Jungkook's sure about him because according to him, he's plain and nothing but a country boy. All throughout Jungkook's stay in Jeju, he would question, in fake nonchalance, whether there are lots of sexy ladies and hunks around.

"Please," he whines, begs. He shakes his head aggressively, trying to convince the other, "my eyes— it only see you now. And—" he takes a shaky breath in, blinking the moisture away as he captures Taehyung's gaze, "and the clothes I was wearing in the photo,

I don't even have those anymore! And it may not be really noticeable but my hair was brownish there, have you noticed? Have you? M-my hair's black now. I think that's the last time I colored my hair brown. And I have evidence, Tae, I think I still have the other photos from that

vacation saved on my laptop, I’ll search for them now and then I can—" he's just babbling at this point, words too rushed, voice strained under the pressure of his emotions. "I trust you."

“—show you and you’ll see I wasn’t lying. You’re—” he stops talking, his breath hitches. He tries to wrap his mind around the other's words. "W-what?" "I said I trust you. You don't need to show me any kind of evidence, I've always trusted you."

As if his words aren't enough affirmation, he places a kiss on Jungkook’s lips. He brushes his palms on his face, wipes the wetness away, he focuses on that, then next on giving him pecks all over- on his cheeks, on his chin, on his forehead, on his nose.

He tilts his head down to Jungkook’s neck, places a kiss there too. He trails kisses upwards, until his lips are on his jaw and he continues his assault there. "Is that why you're crying? You thought I'm mad at you?"

Jungkook is peering down, unable to hold eye contact just yet. He whispers, "I thought you'd leave me." He cannot fathom why the universe thinks he deserves Taehyung, how the stars aligned for them to meet in a world with billions of people.

There's something surreal about all of this, and he's starting to think he's nothing but a daydream, but once again, Taehyung's warm lips that leaves a burning on his skin reels him back to reality.

"Hey," Taehyung soothes, an adorable pout on his lips, "you know I can't live without you, right?" The other regards him with heavy-lidded eyes, he keeps his mouth shut, but he moves closer, lifts the blonde by the back of his thighs and sits him on the island countertop.

He snakes his arms around his waist and nuzzles his neck. Taehyung locks him in between his legs and rubs his back lovingly as his chest heaves in uncontrolled breathing. They stay like that for a while, no words exchanged, just loving, comforting touches.

When Taehyung deems the other has finally calmed down, he pushes his head from where it rests on his shoulder, forcing him to face him. He gently lifts his chin with the tips of his fingers. "Don't be sad anymore..." "But it hurt you," guilt is swimming in Jungkook’s eyes.

"I'm not hurting anymore, I may have cried a little but—" He frowns. "It wasn't a 'little', your eyes are puffy." "—I'm not hurt anymore. It just wasn't a pleasant sight, that's all."

Jungkook,however, looks gloomier upon hearing it. Taehyung whines, "Kookieeeeee," he pouts, stretches Jungkook’s lips by tugging its edges with his thumbs, just like he did so many months ago when Jungkook showed up on his old apartment's doorstep after wasting himself at a club.

"Smile!" He commands adorably. It's futile, though, so he offers, "should I kiss the pain away?" He bends down, face now leveled with Jungkook's upper trunk, "does it hurt here?" He kisses— presses his lips hard against Jungkook's clothed chest— the area where his heart is.

But Jungkook flinches, almost takes a step back & he mutters "ouch". Taehyung might just be as startled as he is, and soon the blonde's face morphes into one of confusion. He glances at his lover questioningly because there's no way emotional hurt could hurt physically too,right?

"It's—" Jungkook was so overwhelmed about the whole situation that he completely forgot about /it/. "It's still sore." The blonde's eyebrows pinch together. "Sore?"

Jungkook's hands fists the edges of his loose black shirt and in a swift move, he takes it off, lets the fabric fall carelessly to the floor. Taehyung's gapes at the sight in front of him. He's astounded. Dumbstruck.

There, on Jungkook’s left chest, is Taehyung’s name, tattooed in bold black letters. It's simple, clean, the font not too big, it's beautiful and eye catching— a dark contrast to Jungkook’s milky white skin.

When he finds his voice again, he breathes, "Kookie, why would you…?" Jungkook got it last night, it's why he went with Jackson to the tattoo parlor.

Most of his friends have a bunch of tattoos; he never had one. He appreciates them but never got one because most of the time he easily gets bored of things very quickly, and he's afraid to get bored of something he'll have forever.

But last night, he knew exactly what to get, something he would never regret. Something meaningful: "TAEHYUNG". Taehyung, the meaning to his existence.

"Because I love you," he answers him. He looks down to his own chest, to the word— a branding— engraved on his skin. "And because I'm yours." Taehyung gulps, eyes getting teary. He lifts a hand but hesitates when his fingers are about to touch the ink.

He knows that tattoos are basically open wounds in its first several days, so he can't touch it yet. "It must have hurt…" he comments, observing the redness around the letters.

He hates how he cannot kiss the pain away so he makes a mental promise to shower it with kisses when it heals, anyway. His boyfriend confirms, "quite, yeah. But it's worth it." He stops staring at the tattoo, now brings his gaze to Jungkook’s intense one.

He may not be able to kiss Jungkook's chest right now, but he can kiss his lips. So he does. He wraps his hands around Jungkook's neck, his legs around his waist. He kisses him with so much fervor, so much love. They suck each other's lips, tongues dancing and sparring.

They break it off to catch their breaths. Taehyung confesses, "five days is too long. I missed you so much," and Jungkook thinks that maybe, Taehyung is as addicted to him as he is to Taehyung.

Jungkook dives for his mouth, kissing more hurriedly this time, more aggressively. He lifts him up from the countertop, his hands on either of his buttcheeks, squeezing them as he walks towards their bedroom.

—————————

A/N: Pure filth ahead

To those uncomfortable w/ smut, I’m not uploading it in screenshot form this time bc there’s something important to be said and you may not wanna miss that. I suggest skimming instead of fully skipping. —————————

Taehyung doesn't latch himself off him even as he lays him down the bed. They start grinding against each other like the sex-deprived beings that they are. Five days is agonizingly too long.

"You do not know how much I kept thinking about this." Jungkook sits up to twist the buttons of Taehyung's pajama top open. "I did too…" the blonde shyly admits, his cheeks dusted with pink, "kept thinking about making love to you."

Jungkook's fingers halts in its pace, eyes narrowing at Taehyung, an amusing idea popping into his head. "Did you touch yourself?" The other shakes his head furiously, denying in alarm, like he's being accused of something so embarrassing. "No, I didn't!"

"Why? You could've, if you wanted to." He resumes his work on his shirt. "No… I only want you to do it to me." And there comes his baby voice again, and Jungkook thinks his angel might just be a demon too; how can anyone talk so endearingly and yet spurt the most erotic words?

"I only want /you/ to make me c-cum. I bet my hands wouldn't come close to how you make me feel, anyway…" Jungkook is finally able to remove Taehyung's shirt completely. He drops himself immediately and sucks on Taehyung's nipple.

He sucks all over his chest, leaving red blotches on his skin, marking him up like a painter painting on a canvas. Taehyung himself is an art, but just like this he is /Jungkook's/ art.

He sits up again, now working on his own jeans. Taehyung does too, kicks his bottoms and underwear off. They're fully naked, and Jungkook takes his time marveling at Taehyung’s beauty, eating him up with hungry eyes. He licks his own lips.

His tongue almost tingles in need to taste Taehyung, the tips of his fingers dripping with the excitement to touch. Even his nose itches to catch more of Taehyung's scent. More.

He bends down to give the blonde's dick a chaste kiss, then he marks him up more along the inside of his thighs. He sucks on his legs as Taehyung moans. Lust and love are supposed to be immaterial, but for Jungkook, they materialize in the form of Kim Taehyung.

He flips him. Now he's lying on his stomach, and now Jungkook has the perfect view of his ass. He kneads it, oh how he missed these glorious globes. He leans down to bite the meatiest part of Taehyung's body, bites hard enough for it to hurt and Taehyung to gasp.

"You know what? You wouldn't have seen that photo if you just listened to me about engaging with strangers online. I told you not everyone has good intentions." The person who sent Taehyung that photo might just be genuinely curious, but who knows?

Might be hoping to create a rift between them too. "You're a bad boy, baby." "M'not." The blonde disagrees, ass in the air after Jungkook pulls his hips up. "You are." He gently rubs Taehyung's buttcheeks, soothing the smooth skin that now has a bite mark.

The next moment, he sends a spank to the same area that has Taehyung's entire body falling back down the mattress. He heard an "Ah!" slipping from Taehyung's mouth.

He doesn't give him the time to process the bittersweet sensation; he hits him again, this time along the crack of his ass, down, slightly near his balls. He smirks because just as he expected, Taehyung /moans/ loudly.

He peppers the red skin with soft kisses, blowing on it. He kisses, and kisses, until Taehyung's butthole is too tempting to ignore. He spreads his cheeks apart, admires his hole for a few seconds, and then starts licking it.

Taehyung squirms with it, moans with it, whines Jungkook's name with it. He dips his tongue inside, reaching as far as he can. He twists his tongue, shakes it inside, brings it out, pushes it back in. He sucks his hole, then does the magic with his tongue again.

He flips Taehyung again, and seeing the drool on one side of his mouth makes Jungkook harder. His baby looks so fucked out already, so hot. He grabs the bottle of lube that's always sitting ready on their bedside table. He lathers his fingers with it.

He pushes a finger inside which Taehyung so easily takes. Another joins and Taehyung shuts his eyes hard, so Jungkook distracts him by wrapping a warm hand around his cock, bringing it up and down, up and down.

He dips a third digit in, then a fourth, and at this point Taehyung's chest is heaving, lower lip trapped between his teeth. Jungkook retracts his hand from his length and reaches to place his thumb on Taehyung's chin,

grips it lightly and pulls the flesh down, "don't do that, angel. Wanna hear you." He releases a moan just as his lip gets freed from captivity. The noises he's making are symphony to Jungkook’s ears. "P-please, Kookie."

"A bit more, angel. I have to prep you well, I don't know many times I'll fuck you today." He penetrates him with his fingers some more, his own cock already leaking with pre cum.

Soon, he's lubing up his length and then leans down, his left forearm supporting his weight as his right hand guides his dick to Taehyung's waiting hole. He slowly presses into him, he hisses, mouth parting.

The overwhelming feeling of being inside Taehyung again got him gritting his teeth.He fucking missed this, fucking daydreamed about this while he was hundreds of miles away surrounded by sexy ladies & hunks, when he was supposed to enjoy white sands,humid air & beautiful beaches.

Nothing can compare to this, to Taehyung. No greater pleasure than this. It's the only paradise there is. "Did you really miss my cock that much?" He completely falls on top of him, letting him adjust to his size. "Y-yes. Felt so empty without it."

He clutches at the flesh on Taehyung's hips and he thrusts hard. The blonde shamelessly lets out a salacious cry. Something inside Jungkook reignites to life, and he fucks him hard, fucks him with all that he got, the bed creaking with their movements.

"On all fours, baby." "I wanna—" "You can do whatever you want later, now you get on all fours." He demands, his tone got Taehyung's dick twitching.

The blonde obeys. Jungkook grunts, curses as he watches Taehyung's hole take him so well. It's a marvelous sight: the dip of Taehyung's lower back, the curve of his hips, the bouncing of his ass as Jungkook penetrates him balls-deep.

"Ahh, ahhhhh, mmmmm," Taehyung's noises dominate the room, "hnng, you're— you're mine, Kookie. Aaah!" "Fuck," he groans. "I love you so fucking much."

"I love you too," the other squeaks. Jungkook pulls out, and Taehyung instinctively straightens up, he gestures for Jungkook to lay down. He's kneeling on the bed with Jungkook's hips between his spreaded legs, he sits down, snuggly fitting Jungkook's dick back inside him.

"Ahhhh! Love you too, so much, so much, so, so, so much!" He rides him, bouncing up and down passionately. Pride blooms in his chest upon seeing Jungkook being a mess, mouth hanging open, groaning in tune of Taehyung's own whimpers.

Jungkook's fingers dig into his thighs, thrusting up, meeting his eager movements. "You said you can't live without me, baby?" Jungkook asks, brow arching up. Taehyung shakes his head, "I-I can't."

"Yeah?" He stretches an arm to pinch his nipple. "Wanna be with me for the rest of your life?" Nodding repeatedly, Taehyung leans down and clasps either of Jungkook's muscly arms, trying for a new angle. "Yes."

"Then should we—" he tries to gain more control of his voice, "should we get married?" He's been thinking about this for months, since the day they officially got together, since Taehyung mentioned it.

Taehyung's been thinking about this way before they became boyfriends, so why isn't he answering? He moans though, he moans with his now hoarse voice.

Jungkook waits until he’s able to capture his eyes and he tells him again, now more firmer, words clearer, doesn't let his voice strain despite the hard fucking he's doing. "Angel, let's get married."

Taehyung’s eyelids flutter, and Jungkook’s sure he absolutely heard him well. However, Taehyung doesn't respond, he just moans again, his eyes rolling back.

Jungkook grits his teeth, jaw locking, increases his momentum, fucks him harder, fucks him better. So good that Taehyung comes without being touched. His fingers dig into Jungkook's arms, drags down until they create angry red lines.

It will be there on Jungkook’s skin for days, but he'll proudly flaunt it— scratches made during sex are another form of love notes written on skin, another form of branding. He fills Taehyung up not long after, his hips stuttering out of rhythm. He comes as hard as he fucked.

Taehyung's falls limp on top of him, their bodies sticky with cum and sweat. When he comes down from his high, he flips their position. He slowly pulls out of him. He sits in front of Taehyung, hands on his knees as he spreads his legs apart for a better view.

He observes his own cum trickle down from Taehyung's hole, the sight enough to give him another erection. But he gets on his feet and grabs a damp towel from the bathroom to clean them both.

When he's done with the aftercare, Taehyung makes grabby hands towards him and he plops down the bed and into his embrace. They exchange i love you's and i missed you's once more before Jungkook falls into a deep sleep.

When he wakes up, he joins Taehyung for a shower. He fucks him again there. This time, it’s more emotional, a little bit harsher, a bit angrier because his mind keeps replaying how he asked Taehyung to marry him but not getting a response.

He suppresses the hurt that bothers him, tries so hard for sadness to seep out through his pores. He pushes the blonde to a kneeling position and shoves his dick inside his mouth. He fists on his hair, guides the movement of his head. He voices, "you're just mine, right?"

"Ngyesh." Taehyung answers, but with something that slides in and out of his mouth nonstop, it expectedly comes out wrong. Jungkook understands he means a /yes/. He asks further, "promise me. Promise me you're just mine forever."

There's a subtle pleading in his voice and his heart drums nervously in his chest. "I— nggh— pram'sh." Jungkook would have preferred to hear him say it more clearly, but he wants Taehyung to remember that he made this exact promise while choking on Jungkook’s dick.

————————— “I’m so easy to give up on, aren’t I?” Jungkook questions out of nowhere. He stares at nothing in particular, unblinking. Seokjin looks up from his phone with a frown, Yoongi from his laptop.

They’re at the latter’s house, they finished discussing business matters half an hour ago. Both busied themselves with their gadgets right after, Jungkook with his negative thoughts. Yoongi scoffs. “What the hell you talkin’ about?”

Jungkook gives him his eyes. "I mean, it was so easy for my parents to give up on me. All I did was get out of the house and tell them I wasn't interested in working for the company, my dad was furious, but then, they just… let me do what I wanted."

One side of Seokjin's upper lip tug upwards, his eyebrows knit together. He regards Jungkook's as if he's gone crazy. "Isn't that what you wanted? For them to /let/ you be?"

The other shrugs, purses his lips in contemplation. "But, they could've forced me to live the life they wanted for me, you know."

"And yet they didn't. What's got you bitchin' about this?" Seokjin tilts his head, legs crossing, his attention fully on Jungkook now. "First you wanted them to stop bothering you altogether, now you're bothered that they didn't force you into what you didn't want?"

He sighs, leans with his elbow on the armrest, inclines his head towards his hand and fists his hair. "Nothing. Just—" he whispers, "I just realized I'm so easy to give up on." He doesn't see what their reactions are because he keeps his gaze at the coffee table.

They don't say anything for a minute, for two, for three. The only sound in the room are Yoongi's incessant tapping of the keyboard and the low beat of music that plays from his speaker. He looks up with just his eyes, head still inclined downwards,

and he sees Seokjin occupied with his phone again. His friends are busy again and Jungkook just doesn't want to be left with his own thoughts anymore. So he jokes, “see? Even you guys just gave up. Won’t you ask more? Probe?”

Seokjin snickers at first, looks at him unbelievably. “What is wrong with you today?” Then he starts laughing. Seokjin’s laughter is high-pitched and piercing, the kind that makes you laugh too. Jungkook joins him, even Yoongi cracks a smile as he shakes his head.

Seokjin points out Jungkook’s pettiness, still chuckling, mostly talking to Yoongi. Yoongi agrees, adding bits of remarks that they laugh at too. At some point it stops being funny for Jungkook and the smile disappears from his face, his chest stops trembling with laughter.

His friends don't notice the change in his expression, suddenly sullen, downhearted. He struggled— struggles to hide the vulnerability in his voice, but it’s there, so evident in his tone and utterance, “Taehyung doesn’t want to marry me.”

It shuts them up. They snap their eyes at him, shocked by the revelation but somewhat still gauging if it’s another joke. “No way.” Seokjin scoffs. Yoongi adds, “he’s as whipped as you are.” “Right. That boy gushes about getting married to /you/ at a beach.”

Jungkook’s eyes lightens up in the slightest. “H-he does?” “Yeah,” Seokjin confirms. “Mentioned it to me a number of times before. So why wouldn’t he want to now?” “I don’t know, hyung, you tell me.” His mood dwindles again.

‘He mentioned it /before/’. The thing is: feelings change, preferences change. The world revolves around change; things fucking change. And Taehyung might have wanted to marry him /before/, but that can change too.

Jungkook is nothing special. The surface of his waters is inviting but now that Taehyung has dived deep down into his depths, maybe he saw how dysfunctional he is— for god’s sake, he can’t even fix his relationship with his dad right away.

He is trying his best to change for the better, for himself and Taehyung alike, but what if he’s really someone that’s so easy to give up on? Taehyung is the most patient person he knows, but there’s only so much a person can take,

and maybe Jungkook just isn’t worthy of people’s patience. Taehyung might already be fed up with Jungkook’s past, he can’t even promise the lewd picture will be the last one because in some way, some other form, his past will haunt them still.

It’s unfair, he understands; Taehyung is so pure but Jungkook has been everywhere. He can’t even ask Taehyung to not be bothered by the past because he himself would be out of his fucking mind if Taehyung had one.

Secretly, he even gets irrationally jealous about Taehyung’s closeness with Joohyuk although the two of them weren’t even an item. He pulls his hair in frustration. Maybe Taehyung realized he deserves better or that marrying Jungkook is just too big a step ahead.

“Did he really say he didn’t want to?” Yoongi is skeptical. “No. He just...” he clears his throat, “moaned. And didn’t say anything.” Yoongi replies a heartbeat later. “Maybe that moan means yes?”

“Well, I told him twice. He moaned in response to both.” He rests his head on top of the backrest of Yoongi’s black leather sofa, stares at the ceiling. “I asked other questions before that and he answered with /words/.”

“Wait,” Seokjin’s voice raises a pitch higher, realizing something. “Moan? Did you, perhaps, asked him to marry you while you were having sex?” Yoongi’s eyes widen in amusement, just then realizing. He barks in laughter, hand flying to his stomach, “what the fuck?”

“Exactly!” Seokjin’s face scrunches. “What the fuck, Jungkook?” “Why? What’s wrong with that? Sex is intimate. What’s wrong with talking about marriage while having sex?” He rolls his eyes.

“You know, if I were Tae, I wouldn’t marry you too if you asked me during sex. Couldn’t you have been more romantic about it? You hella confessed to him during a fireworks show! But you can’t ask his hand for marriage during a romantic dinner, at least? There’s even no ring?!”

Seokjin keeps nagging, looking stressed. Jungkook throws a pillow at Yoongi who’s still laughing. He complains, “I got rejected and you think it’s funny!” “Basically you didn’t get rejected yet.” Yoongi chucks the pillow back at him.

Seokjin shuts his eyes for only a moment, massages his temple like this is literally giving him headaches. “Just ask him again, I’ll set it up, book a ticket to fucking Paris where you’ll kneel on one knee in front of the Eiffel Tower, I guess.”

“No.” There’s still amusement in Yoongi’s face but he’s serious when he says, “don’t. If he’s really hesitating, then it’s better to talk to him casually about marriage. Doing something grand might just be too much.

And to be prank, Taehyung has the tendency to be too selfless. You don’t want him to say yes out of kindness or pity, right?” That’s undeniably true, and the thought pierces right through Jungkook’s heart.

“Well, if you put it that way, communication is the key.” Seokjin agrees. “But, Kook. Don’t you think you’re rushing in? How long have you been together?” “For almost nine months.” “Nine months is nothing compared to the rest of your life.” Seokjin reminds him.

He firmly says, “I know, hyung. But I don’t think I’m rushing in nor am I being impulsive about this. And the length of time we’ve been together doesn’t matter, it doesn’t change the fact that I am sure he’s the one.” Some things change, but this one is definitely constant.

The older hums, shrugs. “Okay. Talk to him about it, then. Just like what Yoongi said.” —————————

Taehyung puts his phone in front of Jungkook’s face, “Kookie, look! There’s this new restaurant near my school. My friends said the beef there is good! Are you busy tomorrow? Will you join me for lunch?”

“Sure, baby.” He smiles down at the blondie who’s lying on the couch, head on Jungkook’s lap. “But you prefer seafood.” “You always bring me to seafood restaurants, I want to bring you to beef steak houses too. And it’s fine, they have pasta.”

He doesn’t dislike beef but everytime he eats it, he feels kind of guilty because he grew up raising cows. He nuzzles Jungkook’s stomach, happy to have another date tomorrow. He has a peculiar fondness for Jungkook’s toned abs, as well as his muscly arms and thighs.

Jungkook used to like his body, as he worked hard to achieve such form. But seeing the passion and admiration in Taehyung’s eyes every single time, he has learned to love it.

The blonde now hitches up Jungkook’s nightwear and starts caressing his stomach, loving how the muscles feel underneath his palms. He’s threading near a dangerous zone, so before one thing can lead to another, Jungkook starts speaking.

“Angel, what do you think about marrying me soon?” He finally asks. He refuses to spend another day suffering from being kept in the dark. But he’s anxious, he crosses his fingers for good luck. “I want to marry you already. Don’t you wanna get married?”

Taehyung sits up, knowing how serious this matter is. He looks at Jungkook, but his eyelids flutter and he gulps audibly, clearly nervous. It’s been a week since Jungkook first talked about this but the blonde never addressed it.

“You said—” he tries again because the other’s lips are still painfully shut tight. “You said you love me, and you can’t live without me. You said you’re mine forever. So don’t you... wanna marry me soon?”

Taehyung beholds him with his wide, honest eyes— they’re honest, and Jungkook can clearly see the uncertainty in them. The blonde lifts his legs up and onto the couch putting it between them, like a protective barrier from Jungkook.

He averts his eyes, down to his hands. Jungkook was hoping he wouldn’t fiddle with his fingers because he knows what that habit of him suggests. But he does, and Jungkook’s spirit spirals down low.

Words are powerful. Words can either make you or break you. Words can hurt, they can violently tear your heart into a million pieces. Nobody ever told Jungkook that silence can do that too.

Silence is cruel. It is ruthless. It can mean anything and yet, it gives away nothing at all. He made mental scenarios in his head on how this conversation would go. He gird up his loins for this. But nothing could have prepared him for /silence/.

All the times Jungkook’s father hit him, everytime he had an episode of ugly confrontation with him, he used to run away from his feelings. He would go to the club, he’d go waste himself, distract himself and do impulsive things that he’d mildly regret in the next few days.

He was never good at dealing with pain. “You know what? It’s fine, angel.” He composes himself— tries to. He convinces Taehyung, convinces himself too, “it’s fine. We’re good. Nothing changes even if you don’t want to, okay? I will still be here.

But let me just—” he stands up because he was never good at dealing with pain. “I’ll just be in the bedroom.” Not in their bedroom, he means. In the guest room, maybe.

He stopped running away from his feelings when he met Taehyung— he learned to run /to Taehyung/. But now it is Taehyung’s silence that hurts him, so where does he run to? He’ll deal with this pain the only other way he knows how to: deal with it all by himself.

He takes a step away, takes another. Never did he feel the need to be away from Taehyung like this. He almost even went nuts during the five days they were apart, but now he wants to put distance between them.

Taehyung, however, reaches out, cups his wrist in urgency. He touches him, stops his advance, stops him that way, doesn’t even stop him by calling his name. He just gives Jungkook silence.

Jungkook halts, turns to him again but he doesn’t give him his eyes, he just sets his sight on Taehyung’s outstretched arms. He removes Taehyung’s grip on him. “Really, Tae. It’s fine. I am okay.”

He isn’t okay. He steps backwards, once. All of this is stealing his breath away, literally. It feels like there’s something clogged up in his throat. He’s looking at the floor, he breathes in shakily, exhales just as shaky.

To the utmost of his capabilities, he tried to keep his emotions in check, but sometimes his best isn’t just enough.

He promised himself he’d never get angry at Taehyung, would never let himself /sound/ anything near angry. Or pitiful. He doesn’t want Taehyung to feel pressured and doesn’t want Taehyung to marry him out of kindness. Or pity.

He needs Taehyung to marry him for no other reason aside from pure, absolute want. He swears he isn’t angry at him. And he doesn’t resent Taehyung, he can never. But he is hurt. He grits his teeth, his clenched jaw ticking. When he becomes conscious of it,he relaxes his mouth.

Each word is loaded with emotion when he mutters, “I have never wavered in my affection for you,” his voice breaks at the end. “Not even once.” It sounds so wrong, it sounds like an accusation. But maybe, it is an accusation.

For someone who claims to have a writer’s block, i managed to produce a 12k words update

but half the time i felt like i forgot how to write lol also sorry for the cliffhanger THE NEXT UPDATE IS THE LAST ONE. Please give me your thoughts ami: curiouscat.me/cocofics

Jungkook's statement was spitted out of instinct, a mere ray of light seeping through a crack between the curtains that mask his turmoil of emotions. He planned to never sound this way at all, but sometimes, plans just don't work out.

He doesn't regret the slip up, though. It surprisingly feels good to put it out there, he thinks, because he might not deserve Taehyung but he does deserve /answers/. His words crash like big unexpected waves on the other, and they hit hard in all the right places.

"H-how could you—" the blonde starts, his voice weak but sharp. "How could you question my love for you just because I don't wanna marry you?" Jungkook's breath hitches, the impact of Taehyung's words vibrating through his body.

His lips set into a line, and at this point he's head on fighting back tears. "So you really don't wanna marry me, huh?" he blatantly accuses now, his voice low and vexed. He feels so small, so stupid, so unworthy, so betrayed.

The one person he couldn't live without doesn't feel the same way about him, why did he ever get his hopes up? "Was that so hard to /say/? You could've told me that sooner, you know? It's not like it wouldn't hurt the same."

Taehyung's forehead creases, his lips turning into a pout as he denies, "it's not like that. I meant— you think I don't want to—" he spurts, but Jungkook is scoffing. He continues, nonetheless, "but I do, Kookie. B-but, i-it's just that…" he trails off.

Jungkook raises an eyebrow, questioning. It's obvious thay Taehyung is scanning his own head for the right words, maybe to minimize damage, and Jungkook just can't do this anymore.

"You know what? You don't need to explain. And you most especially don't need to say you wanna marry me when you actually don’t. I can do just fine without your charity work."

Marriage should always be a personal decision, not a favor. And he can take "no" for an answer, but not an unwilling "yes". He turns on his heel and starts walking away while his heart is still intact. He needs to cool down, needs time to swallow the hurt.

A solid but soft mass collides with his back, and his eyes widen in surprise. He whips his head around and he sees the fluffy throw pillow on the floor, right at his feet.

Before he can process the fact that Taehyung threw a pillow at him, or how out of character that was, the blonde gets on his feet and shouts at him, "you're so stupid!"

The corners of Taehyung's mouth are drawn down and his eyes are blazing with hurt and indignation. He runs past Jungkook and into the guest room, slamming the door heavily. Jungkook stands there for a good while, perplexed with what just happened.

His angel had never told him anything negative before, not even something close to "stupid". They never had an argument like this before too, not when Taehyung's so understanding and Jungkook’s always willing to lay down everything at the blonde's feet, just to see him happy.

This time Jungkook doesn't want to back down, though. He is hurt. And so he heads to the master bedroom and slams the door just as loud as Taehyung did. ——————————

Jungkook is bitter. Aside from the fact that it was Taehyung who approached him first all those nights ago at the Han Bridge and that Taehyung made the effort to go back there every night in hopes of meeting him again,

Jungkook thinks it has always been him who "chases" after him more often. It was him who snuggly fit his presence into Taehyung's life, it was him who knocked at his door late night after coming from a club and asked to spend the next few days together,

it was him who asked Taehyung to buy a cellphone so they can communicate with each other, it was him who brought Taehyung to live with him and thus their lives entangling together, it was him who confessed first and made the move for them to be officially together,

it was him who followed Taehyung around like a puppy after they got into relationship, who would always bend for Taehyung. His past might hurt Taehyung, but he has been a faithful, dedicated lover to him. He worships the ground the blonde walks on.

He showed him his love every single day. All he wanted was Taehyung. Instead, what he got in return was silence, a pillow chucked at him and be called "stupid".

He believes he's entitled to his emotions, but then Taehyung was angered by his anger instead. And no he doesn't find logic at comparing their gestures of affection, but devastation does make you irrational.

Now he's glaring at the empty space on /their/ bed, hating how Taehyung hasn't bombarded him with morning kisses yet, asking for sorry. Can't he be the one to chase after Jungkook this time? Reach out?

He gets up and drags his feet to the kitchen, because as much as he wants to sulk inside the bedroom all day, it's Monday and he's always the one to drive Taehyung to school, unless of course whenever he has an urgent business to attend to.

He slices up some fruits, sits down to munch some. Taehyung comes in about ten minutes later, all dressed up, looking pristine in his culinary uniform. He doesn't spare Jungkook a glance, he just walks past him and goes to grab a bowl and pours cereal and milk into it,

plainly ignoring the plate of fruits Jungkook has prepared for him. He doesn't sit at his usual chair across Jungkook on the dining table, he settles on the stool by the breakfast counter instead.

The tension in the room is palpable and Jungkook’s jaw ticks, annoyed at the other's snobby attitude. He has never seen Taehyung act like this, with chin lifted and eyes almost rolling when Jungkook let out an audible, telling sigh.

The blonde sets up his phone on the counter and watches a JiHope vlog while he eats. He's giggling when Jungkook clears his throat. The smile fades from his face, he stops the video and clicks his phone shut, still not giving his boyfriend his eyes.

He puts the bowl and utensils in the sink and then pockets his phone. "I'll just change my clothes and then we can go." Jungkook's voice is hard.

He's still pissed but amusement kicks in because Taehyung actually releases a "hmmp!" like a brat. His mouth is pouty, sticking out even when he says, "Mr. Kang is driving me today. He's already outside."

Jungkook follows him to the living room, ready to start an argument about Taehyung's /dismissal/ and his behavior, to demand an explanation. But the blonde calls out for Yeontan, who comes into their view seconds later, little feet padding along the tiled floor.

Taehyung bends down and gives the dog a little hug, and then he's walking out the door, doesn't even say goodbye to Jungkook, doesn't even give him a parting kiss. Jungkook stands there, tongue-tied and bewildered. His angel is indeed acting up.

Yeontan rushes at his feet. The dog stands on its hind legs while its front paws lean on his knees, asking for attention. “Go away, Tan.” Jungkook dismisses and walks towards the sofa. He plops down, crouches, face twisting into a scowl.

Yeontan jumps onto his lap, his barking almost a whine. Jungkook stares down at the dog. "Why did you get a goodbye hug and I didn't get my goodbye kiss?" He asks bitterly.

"I get that he's angry at me, but to think about it, why doesn't he ever get angry at you? Even when you tore his lecture notes to pieces!" The pomeranian licks at his jaw, as if trying to console him.

He softens at the affection and hugs Yeontan. He nuzzles his fur with his face. "Taehyung is being mean, Tan. As his son, you better make it up to me." Jungkook lays down and falls asleep on the sofa, cuddling with his "baby number two". ——————————

Taehyung continues being grumpy for the next two days. He refuses to acknowledge Jungkook's presence, decides to sleep in the guest room and dismisses Jungkook's effort to at least drive him to and from school. At first it was like a game of whoever approaches first is the one

who loses, but a day into it and Jungkook is already struggling to play because it's terrible to be not able to hold him, to talk to him, to hear about how his day went. He's so near and yet so far. How can Taehyung not miss him too?

This morning, Taehyung rolled his eyes at him— just like a kid— after Jungkook caught him stealing a glance his way. Grumpy Taehyung is cute and downright entertaining, it's a side of him Jungkook never knew of until now,

but he is still royally exasperated and has the dying urge to fling the blonde over his shoulder and throw him to /their/ bed to punish him for his bratty behavior. And in all seriousness, Jungkook's the one who should be angry, not the other way around.

On the third night, he is furious because it's late and Taehyung's still not home, stubbornly refusing to have Jungkook pick him up. The blonde has been at his friend's house since afternoon, hanging out there after his class,

but stuck because it started raining around an hour ago. What makes it worse is that the said friend is Joohyuk.

【 69 】 #taekook au #taekookau

Roughly two hours later, Jungkook is freshly showered. He spent time channeling his frustrations at his home gym, his knuckles reddish from hitting the boxing bag without gloves.

He’s worried about Taehyung, but if the blonde wants to spend the night at his /friend’s/ house, then so be it. It’s not like he can bring himself to restrict Taehyung’s social life. He won’t.

But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s jealous. And pissed, so pissed. He deems his jealousy is irrational because Joohyuk is actually a good friend to Taehyung, he’s one of the few people who treated Taehyung right when he was nothing but a naive country boy who just

stepped into Seoul. What’s more irrational than his jealousy, though, is Taehyung’s pettiness. He checks his phone and is suprised when there are multiple missed calls from his boyfriend. He’s going through the logs when another call comes in.

“What?” He half-shouts, brows knitted together as he sits down the bed. What he hears is sniffling from the other end of the line. “‘M sorry…” Taehyung whispers. “Kookie, p-please pick me up. Please... ”

“The rain has stopped. You don’t have anything to worry about anymore, do you? So why change your mind now? Sleep there!”

“Nooooo,” the blonde whines. “Please… I wanna go home to /you/, and the public transit is already closed.” He softly cries, and it does melt Jungkook’s heart a bit. “I don’t w-wanna spend a night away from you, Kookie… ‘m sorry I was bad.”

The other scoffs. “What’s the difference? You’ve been spending nights away from me, Taehyung.” It shuts Taehyung up for a couple of seconds, thinking about their recent sleeping situation, before he protests, “but at least we’re in the same house!” He wails now.

“P-please, I wanna g-go home. I swear t-to god I regret being a bad boy, I— Kookie. Puh-lease.” He rudely ends the call without responding, but he does grab the car keys and throws a jacket over his shoulders.

Fifteen minutes later, he's knocking at Joohyuk's door. "Hey dude." The guy greets him. Joohyuk scratches the back of his head. "It's great that you could come. Tae started crying out of nowhere, but I couldn't bring him home 'cause i don't have a car."

Jungkook gives him a tight-lipped smile, nodding. "It's fine. I'm sorry for the trouble and thanks for taking care of him." Fortunately, Joohyuk doesn't make a weird face at the sight of his outfit—leather jacket over a pajama set— he just opens the door, inviting him in.

"Oh no, he's no trouble at all." Taehyung comes up behind him, eyes wet and nose red, "i-is that—" his eyes widen with relief upon seeing his boyfriend. "Kookie! You came!" He pushes past Joohyuk and jumps on Jungkook, arms wrapping around his neck, legs around his waist.

Jungkook immediately plants an arm on his back for support. The blonde hides his face on his neck and cries. "Taehyung, get off." Jungkook demands, but he just shakes his head. Joohyuk scrambles inside the house and returns with Taehyung's backpack, handing it to Jungkook.

"Go wear your shoes, at least." He latches off of him and obeys, says goodbye to Joohyuk in a small voice. He tightly hugs one of Jungkook's arms, and they walk to the car like that, with him hiccupping loudly.

They don't talk on the way home, Taehyung's so busy rubbing his eyes and Jungkook glaring ahead. When they reach the house, Taehyung showers in /their/ en suite bathroom, the first time in three days that he does it there.

Jungkook changes into a clean sleepwear and goes under the blanket, closing his eyes although he's nowhere near sleepy. He's adamant on ignoring the other this time.

He hears Taehyung's shuffling not long after, and then feels the bed dip with his weight. He keeps his eyes shut even though every part of his body is so conscious of the blonde's movements. He currently has his back on him.

"Will you marry me?" He hears Taehyung ask and his heart drums in his chest, threatening to jump out of his ribcage. But he's pissed and getting more so by the minute, so he keeps on feigning sleep.

"K-kookie… I said, will you marry me?" The blonde sniffles. He starts poking Jungkook's side repeatedly. "Hey... I know you're awake."

It's getting ticklish so he softly slaps Taehyung's hand away. He snaps, "why would we get married? You didn't want to!" "But I did! I do!"

"So now you suddenly want to? Why? Because I'm mad?" Offended, Jungkook kicks the blanket off him, sits up and makes a move to get off the bed. Maybe it's his time to occupy the guest room now.

Taehyung halts his advance by pushing him back down the bed, climbs on top of him, straddling him. "You're not going anywhere!"

It's by this that Jungkook is deeply reminded that Taehyung is a man. He might be soft on all edges, but still, he's a man. Whereas Jungkook is more muscly, Taehyung is actually broader. He's taller than him too— an inch at that.

His hands are big, coarse, unlike most girls', and he's firmly planting it now on Jungkook’s chest to pin him down. His thighs are strong and they lock Jungkook in place, squeezing him from either sides.

Jungkook squirms underneath him. "Tae, don't—" "No! You're gonna stay and you're gonna listen to me!" They lock eyes, Taehyung with his tearful ones and Jungkook with his angry orbs.

The blonde cups Jungkook's jaw and he bends down. He studies Jungkook's face closely and on the process, a drop of his tear lands on Jungkook’s cheek. It bothers Jungkook, Taehyung crying bothers Jungkook, always has. And he feels his resolve slipping from his fingers.

Taehyung leans closer and attaches their lips. Jungkook completely melts. He missed this so much—the feel of his lips, the burning it gives, simply /how/ Taehyung kisses. The blonde pulls a breath away, eyes fixed on Jungkook’s. "Don't you want to marry me anymore, Kookie?"

Jungkook shamefully blushes under his boyfriend's intense eyes, his stomach full of butterflies. "O-of course I do." He turns his head to the side. "It's you who didn't want to. I asked you many times, and you didn't respond. Do you know how much that hurts?

"Then you threw a pillow at me and called me stupid." Taehyung sits up, his ass pressing against Jungkook's crotch again. His chest heaves, hands rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I was so bad. I'm s-sorry, Kookie. 'was just so angry. Y-you were—you were implying that my love for you had wavered and you thought that I— I didn't wanna marry you. You don't trust my feelings at all. I was angry, that's why. I-I'm sorry." He says through his tears.

The other whips his head back again. "Of course I'd think that. It's not a matter of trust. You kept your mouth shut!" Jungkook scolds. "Why? Why did you keep silent?"

"Be-because I'm stupid too…" He sobs louder. "I was s-scared to offend you if I told you the reason why I didn't want to marry you /yet/. I didn't want to hurt you, but I ended up hurting you anyway."

Jungkook just watches him cry for a whole minute, but his chest is tightening at the sight of his lover. "Baby, stop crying." He soothes. "Don't be scared to offend me. Can you please tell me the reason why?" He gulps, reaches to pull Taehyung's hands from his eyes.

"People said—" the blonde glances at him, but averts his eyes to Jungkook’s shirt. He fiddles with a button. "They said you're— you're impulsive." "And /you/ think I am impulsive."

It's not a question, but Taehyung confirms, "sometimes you can be, yeah." He glances at his direction, trying to gauge his reaction.

Jungkook shrugs. "Okay." he sighs, Taehyung is right— he's stupid. And his friends have a point too— he really shouldn't have asked during sex. "Fair enough. But to clear it up: I knew exactly what I was talking about."

The blonde looks down again, embarrassed. "I'm sorry… I just wanted you to think more about it. Marriage is a decision of a lifetime. I don't want you to marry me and then regret it later on. If you tie the knot with me I never want us to—" he gulps. "To— to…"

"To what?" Jungkook raises a brow. "And how can you say I'll regret it? You're the love of my life, angel. I will /never/ regret being your husband."

To some people, marriage, at the end of the day, is just papers— a legalization of union. It used to be like that for Jungkook too, but now it means what it should be in the first place: an intimate promise.

It's a partnership that extends beyond the reach of social contracts and laws of land. "What if you eventually lose interest in me? B-because I'm boring."

Jungkook's face falls and he has the urge to reprimand him, raise his voice to get his point across, scream that his love isn't superficial to be breakable by something so silly as that. But he calms himself. "I've never met anyone more interesting than you."

He tells him instead because it's true too: Taehyung is an endless wonder. Everyday is a new discovery. Everyday he's still the same Taehyung and yet so different. Every glance, every kiss, every giggle and every little thing he does is different from the last—

Jungkook would never want to miss a single thing. It's fascinating— the moles scattered on Taehyung's chest, the way his lower back dips, his laughter that sounds low and deep on some days and a tone higher on others, his reactions and no-reactions when Jungkook tells jokes,

how he styles his hair differently each day, his eyes that are so big and innocent and yet turn concupiscent during "sexy times".

Taehyung can literally exist doing the bare minimum and Jungkook would think he's the most enthralling creature to ever grace the planet. And if Taehyung needs reassurance everyday, then so be it. He'll build him up until he drowns all his self-doubts.

"What more can I do to make you believe that you're special to me,angel?" He asks softly,enunciating every word with clarity. "I made you my boyfriend. I wholeheartedly committed to you. I branded you on my skin,knowing it's gonna be here forever. & then I asked you to marry me."

"Also," Taehyung starts, giving little thought to what Jungkook said, "w-what if I get really annoying? I'm such a cry baby & I cry at the tiniest inconveniences. That's annoying, right? These days I tear up whenever the thoughts of you making out with someone else cross my mind.

W-what if I see another photo like that and I'll throw a tantrum? I just can't h-help it. I'm sorry Kookie, I'm overreacting, aren't I? I know it's in the past and I said it doesn’t hurt me but it does. I'm uncomfortable seeing things like that and— and—

you're bound to get annoyed at some point and you'll regret you married me." Jungkook's stomach churns with guilt, he grabs his boyfriend's hand, and forces him to look at him.

"Tae, baby. Hey. You are entitled to your reactions. You can cry all you want and hate me all you want. But I'm never gonna give up on you or think you're a nuisance. It's me who should be sorry," he kisses Taehyung's palm, the back of his fingers, traces pecks along his wrist.

It's unfair, life is unfair; he didn't know someone like Taehyung would come along, and now his past manages to make a dent in their present. "I'm sorry. If I could turn back time. I'll redo it all, baby. I'll erase the past if it means you'll stop hurting."

"I will never hate you, though." Jungkook pulls him down and kisses his reddened nose, swipes his blonde hair from his forehead. "And you won't ever give up on me too? Even if I can't promise you that the past won't bother us anymore?"

"I will never." He hiccups. Jungkook hums, places a kiss on his lips. "So we'll get married?"

The blonde's nose cutely scrunches, "it depends… If you're really, really, really sure. Like 101% sure about it! About me! 'Cause it's my dream to get married only once. And I only want to do it only with /you/, and I want it to be a forever kind of thing."

He's babbling, face inches away from Jungkook. "As I said, if we decide to do it, I don't want us to ever— to ever—" he gulps, as if the next word will physically hurt to utter. "To—" "To what, angel?"

He whispers, "to… D word. It's so scary, I don't like it." He shivers— actually shivers. "Huh? What's 'D word'?" Jungkook questions, eyebrows knitted together.

The other purses his lips, shakes his head. "Please don't make me say it, Kookie." When Jungkook's features still scream confusion, he tries to explain, "you know when people get married and later on it doesn't work out and, uhm, you know…"

Jungkook stifles a laugh, face lightening up in amusement. "Oh. You mean 'divorce'?" Taehyung flinches and Jungkook can't hold his laughter anymore. "Is it that scary for you?" "O-of course! I want to be your husband and stay as your husband until my last breath!"

"So we'll really get married, eh? Because I don't plan on /divorcing/ you, no matter what." Jungkook grins up at him, but Taehyung's hand flies to cover his mouth. "Kookie!" He whines. "Don't say that word!"

Jungkook cups his wrist and removes it from his lips. "Divorce is not a bad word, angel, especially because we won't ever do it—"

Latching off him, Taehyung shakes his head more vigorously. He covers his ears and goes under the blankets, facing away from Jungkook. "I don't wanna hear it! I don't like it! It's s-scary."

Jungkook giggles, "okay, sorry, sorry. I won't say the D word again. And we won't ever resort to that, I love you too much to let you go." He pulls Taehyung so he lays flat on the bed. He climbs on top of him and nuzzles his neck.

"What does it take for you to believe me? Do you want a prenuptial agreement?" "What's t-that?" "It's a contract made concerning the ownership of assets, should the marriage fail." Jungkook lifts up his head and stares at his lover.

"We'll have a legal agreement that all my assets go to you in the event that I break off the marriage, what do you think about it? Is that enough assurance for you?" When Taehyung just blinks at him, he offers further, "if I cheat on you, I'll lose all of it to you too. Hmm?"

"Kookie," Taehyung mutters, tears gathering in his eyes again. "Why would you give me money? Why are you coming up with those ideas? You talk as if there's a possibility that you'd really D word me." He cries, big drops of tears falling down his cheeks.

Jungkook panics, "angel, it's not like that! A prenup is supposed to protect my assets but I'm giving it all up." He wipes the wetness on Taehyung's face with his thumbs. "I'm sorry. Ssshh. No prenups, then. I never wanted one, anyway. What's mine is yours, what's yours is mine.

I was just desperate to make you believe that I'll never leave you. Ever." "Promise?" "I promise, angel." Taehyung narrows his eyes. "If you're sincere, pinky promise me!" The other lets out an airy laugh. "A pinky promise is all it takes?"

He nods, pouting. "Pinky promises are sacred." He offers his pinky and Jungkook hooks his, locking them. They seal it with a kiss. "I'm gonna marry you." Jungkook states, revels in the fact. He smiles wide, bunny teeth in full view. "Finally."

"You haven't said 'yes' yet, Kookie." "What?" "I asked you if you'll you marry me and you haven't said yes yet!" "Wait." Jungkook's tone rises in disagreement. "I asked you first! A week ago! You should be the one to give me an answer."

"But that already passed, I asked you just moments ago. Mine's more valid." He reasons out, unwilling to back down. "If that's the case, then I'll ask now. Angel, will you ma—" "No, I won't! Unless you say yes to /me/."

Jungkook's jaw drops, he stills. "You're unbelievable." He utters under his breath. "When did you become such a brat?" The blonde shrugs. "Well?" He raises both eyebrows smugly.

Jungkook can only sigh heavily. "Yes." He relents. "I'll marry you. I'll give you the best beach wedding in the world." He dives for an open-mouthed kiss, one of the many more he'll share with his future /husband/.

—————————— Taehyung's last class of the day just ended ten minutes ago and he is excited to have the overdue date with Jungkook at that steak house near his school. He's grinning from ear to ear and there's a skip on his steps as he heads to the parking lot.

"Mr. Kang?" His smile falters, seeing that it's not his /fiance/ waiting for him. "Where's Jungkookie?" "Hello, Sir." The old man greets. "Sir Jungkook says I should bring you to him, as he still has some business going on down town, but rest assured you both are

still going to the dinner you agreed on." "Oh, okay." He slips inside the car. "And I told you to stop calling me 'sir', Mr. Kang!" He pouts. "Sorry, force of habit." The driver smiles warmly, the side of his eyes wrinkling. Taehyung guesses, "are we going to Eunwoo’s?"

"Yes." He fishes out the new airpods that Jungkook got for him and listens to classical music as he leans his head against the window of the car, watching the city pass by.

He's surprised when Mr. Kang parks near the Han River bridge, a site too familiar to him since NomNamu, his previous workplace, is just around the corner. "Why are we stopping here?" "Come on, Sir Jungkook's waiting for you."

"But I thought he's at—" he's cut off when Mr. Kang goes out and slams the car door shut. He scrambles out too. Bewilderment is etched on his visage as he follows the driver.

The creases on his forehead deepen when the other halts but points forward, ushering him to continue towards the Han bridge. It's a long bridge but Jungkook is indeed there, he can see his figure, unmistakable despite the distance.

Jungkook is standing, hands on his jeans pockets, peacefully staring at the horizon. "Kookie?" He utters when he reaches him. Jungkook doesn't turn to him, so he stands beside him and looks ahead too, scanning the darkening sky,wondering what's got Jungkook's attention.

"Angel, do you remember this spot? It's exactly where we met all those nights ago, when you stopped me from 'jumping off'..." he cracks a smile, eyes fluttering in reminiscence. "You said 'life is beautiful'."

The blonde cranes his neck to Jungkook’s direction, still confused as to why he is saying these things, because of course Taehyung knows these. It's their precious "first", it's a memory that his consciousness constantly brings up.

Sure, they've made so many memories together since then, but how he got to meet the love of his life sits on a special corner in his heart. Jungkook finally looks at him. "Life is indeed beautiful,"

there's a shine in Jungkook’s eyes as he studies him, as if Taehyung is the sole definition of "beautiful", as if his existence is what gives Jungkook life. "If there's a God up there, I thank Him for letting me cross paths with you. Sometimes I wonder, if I decided to do the

dare a day late, or if you passed by minutes earlier, would we have met at another time? What if you never came to Seoul? What if I didn't become a youtuber?" He gulps. "I don't want to imagine a life without you."

Their bodies fully turn to each other and Jungkook cups his shoulders, sliding it down to his elbows and up again. He's biting his lower lip, his dimple that Taehyung loves so much is peeking out.

"I know I already said yes to you, but I wanna do this formally." He detaches his hand from Taehyung, digging into his pocket. He drops on one knee. "Do me the honor of spending the rest of your life with me."

Taehyung's mouth parts, eyes automatically focusing on the ring box in Jungkook’s hand containing two identical thin gold rings with diamonds scattered like stars across the band. "Of course." He whispers but his voice is laced with conviction. "Of course, I will, Kookie."

Jungkook slides the jewelry into his fourth finger, and Taehyung does the same when Jungkook stands up. The blonde stares down at their hands, at their matching rings, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "It's so beautiful."

The other wraps his arms around Taehyung, placing a sweet kiss on his lips. "It's so beautiful!" Taehyung repeats, too absorbed in his own thoughts to hear passers-by throwing congratulations at them or to notice Jungkook's cameraman approaching them for a better shot. ———————

【 70 】 #taekook au #taekookau

"I'd marry you tomorrow, if I could. Or at least by the end of the month." That was what Jungkook told Taehyung the night he proposed. It's not impossible, per se, but it's wishful thinking because a beach wedding is not easy to organize, especially when it's a /Jeon's/ wedding.

Taehyung being busy with his studies also complicates it further, so they have decided to have it a year later, right after Taehyung's graduation. Despite the swamp of responsibilities in Taehyung's hands at the moment,

he's taken it up to himself to start the wedding preparations already, too excited as he drafts multiple ideas— from the invitation cards design down to the flower arrangements.

Meanwhile, Jungkook's family is ecstatic, except for his father who is yet to give a comment. Though he supposes apathy is better than a total indifference. If his father is strongly opposed to the idea, he would have bombarded Jungkook with text messages by now.

His mother's overenthusiasm is posing a threat, however. She has presented to /help/ Taehyung with the planning, which is much appreciated, but her strong opinions are bound to sway Taehyung's decisions.

"I mean, I’m happy that she’s so passionate about this, and you know I could use some help. I love her, she's so kind and all, and she definitely knows a lot about throwing parties,” Taehyung is saying.

“But I really want the main accent to be purple… and she said teal and peach, or red, are the best options for beach weddings.” Jungkook throws a hand over his fiancée’s waist, who in return scoots closer to him, their feet brushing against each other’s

under the blanket as they lay on the bed. “The ‘best’ is actually subjective, and I know you don’t want to offend her by going against her ideas but this is /your/ wedding. Weddings are personal. Don’t worry, baby, I’ll talk to her.”

The blonde nods, agreeing. “And I also informed her that we wanted to do it in Maldives or in Koh Samui in Thailand, but she said it can be a hassle to transport five hundred people abroad compared to somewhere local, so she suggested an ocean-front wedding in Busan instead.”

He sulks. “But I want a beach wedding, Kookie. Like, literal sand under our feet. Not just an ‘ocean-front’. And five hundred? Do we even know that many people?” “Our family does,” Jungkook rubs his back, pacifying him.

“We’ve made many acquaintances through the family business. But I agree, we don’t have to invite that many people, just the closest ones. I want it to be intimate too.” He releases an amused huff, “you know what? We could get married with just the two of us— I definitely would.

Marriage is a union between /two/ people, so who needs guests?” He playfully says, although he means every word. He knows the idea is absurd, and Taehyung seems to think the same, if the grimace he sends Jungkook’s way is enough indication.

Two weeks later, Jungkook finally receives a call from his father, but there’s not a word of “congratulations”. The old man reminds him of the importance of protecting his assets through a prenuptial agreement,

and that he’s expecting Jungkook to be responsible enough to make sure there’s one.

When he tells Taehyung about this, the blonde just shrugs it off, saying he doesn’t have any problem about signing a prenup because he doesn’t care about co-owning any of Jungkook’s properties or money.

“All I want is to be husbands, Jungkookie. And oh— never to ‘D word‘, of course!” He adoringly states, then goes back to scanning Pinterest for more wedding ideas.

Jungkook would only consider signing one if the contents are all in Taehyung's favor, like what he previously offered. "Dad would hate me for this but I want everything to be conjugal." "Do you even have the heart to tell him that?" Taehyung questions.

Jungkook doesn't answer; he doesn't have the courage to tell his father /yet/. They've just started mending their broken relationship, but then here's another roadblock, another argument in the making.

Another two weeks later, Taehyung is repeatedly poking Jungkook's chest as he sits on his lap, their naked bodies flushed together inside the huge bathtub. He's gnawing on his lower lip, hesitancy written all over his features.

"Kookie," he murmurs, "does the offer still stand?" "Hmm?" His voice drops lower, "you said if it's up to you you'd marry me by the end of the month. Does the offer still stand?"

Jungkook who's been staring at Taehyung’s finger on his chest tattoo, looks up to meet his eyes. "You mean— get married next week?" he's almost goggled-eyed when Taehyung confirms with a nod. "Oh," he utters, excitement bubbling inside of him.

"Yeah. Yeah. We— I— I guess I can look for an organizer that can set up a beach wedding within a week—" "Nope. I meant— get married with just the two of us… Like you said." He corrects him, inhibited for some reason.

Jungkook takes his time processing his words, stunned that Taehyung is even considering his incongruous suggestion. "Angel, are you saying this because of the stress my parents are giving us lately?"

"Kind of… but mostly, I just realized that you're right. Marriage is intimate. I want to get married without the worry of having the perfect wedding seating plan, or centerpieces, or— or what people would say. I just want to marry you already. We can, right?

We're adults, we don't need anyone's permission. We can get married on the 26th. That number is special, it’s the same day of the month we officially became boyfriends.”

"But it's your finals next week. You'd be busy to even shop for clothes. Although we can fly to Maldives on the night of the 25th."

He shakes his head. "We can literally get married in our garden, wearing our pajamas, and I couldn't care less, Kookie. We can still do a grand wedding next year like we decided to, I still want a beach wedding and I know you also fancy one wherein everyone is present."

"Of course. That's a great idea, angel. The sooner the better." He leans in to kiss him torridly, hands under water roaming along the curve of Taehyung's back.

"The only downside is that people will be offended with what we're about to do, especially your family." Taehyung manages to say through the kiss. "No one has to know."

【 71 】 #taekook au #taekookau

"Kookie, the official will be here in 30 minutes!" Jungkook jolts awake, blinking rapidly to chase away the blurriness in his sight. "What? Why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

Taehyung rubs a towel against his dripping wet hair. "I'm sorry, I got carried away with the dinner preparations." He apologizes before disappearing to their walk-in closet. Jungkook hastily gets out of bed and showers, thinking maybe he shouldn't have taken an afternoon nap

and left Taehyung to cook for their after-wedding dinner. The blonde just had his last examination of the semester yesterday and he hadn't had enough time to rest because as soon as he got home, he started baking a wedding cake for them.

Jungkook, too, was exhausted, his weekdays were unexpectedly busy with the updates for their game app. The little extra time he had, he spent decorating their garden. He was working on it even this morning, and he's quite proud of the results.

After showering, he blows dry his hair, styling it. He puts wax and pushes it back, he rarely does this but today is a very special day. He chooses a black tuxedo from his array of options, a piece that he thinks will complement Taehyung's gray one.

Taehyung is wearing the same tux that he used all those nights ago during Soomin's parents' party, as they didn't have time to shop for one. When he steps into the living room, Taehyung is there, combing Yeontan's fur.

The dog is already dressed up in a tuxedo too, looking so lovely. Taehyung turns to his direction and gapes. He mutters, "wow" under his breath. "Do I look that good? Should I style my hair this way more often, hmm?" he smiles, pleased with himself.

Taehyung continues to stare at him as if the sun rises and sets with him. "You look… dreamy." Their housekeeper, Mrs. Song, a middle-aged woman who has been working for Jungkook since he moved into the house, strides in. "The official is here."

She announces, offering a warm smile as always. She's going to be the witness to this afternoon's ceremony, along with Mr. Kang. They shake hands with the legal official, thanking him for doing this service upon a short notice.

They proceed to the garden right after, eyes twinkling at the sight of white rose petals scattered on the ground, at the arch of Jungkook's making, adorned with a silky white draft and faux leaves and flowers.

When the sun bleeds into the moon later on and envelops the world in darkness once more, this place would look so stunning, so simple and yet so magical with all the candles laid all over their lawn and the lamps hanging on the tree branches.

Jungkook just knows tonight's dinner would be the most romantic one he'll ever have in his life, the first one he'll have with his /husband/. They'll eat to their hearts' content, drink wine till their systems couldn't take it no more— here, in this garden, at their house.

He wouldn't call this house insignificant before Taehyung came into his life because it has always been special. It's his first house, a symbol of his success and independence.

But it's crazy how Taehyung gives new meaning to the simplest of things; this garden will never just be a garden anymore. It will be where they'll become /one/, it will forever hold the memory of their union.

Jungkook thinks that when he gets old and gray, he will still survey this place with warm eyes as he relives this very moment a million times over.

The official stands there under the arch and both of them in front of him. The witnesses, Mr. Kang and Mrs. Song, sit on one side, with Yeontan on her lap and a camera on Mr. Kang's hand.

The ceremony follows the basic civil wedding structure. And then there comes the time for them to say their vows. Jungkook goes first, he brings out a paper from his pocket, reading the words he'd carefully scribbled.

"I didn't know much. I didn't know much about love, about commitment, about being responsible, about life in general. I've always been happy go lucky, always self-serving. And you might say I wasn't as bad as I think I was, and maybe you're right, but I'm definitely better now.

I know much better now. I know that I love you and that I found an infinite friend in you, someone who always sees the gold in me, someone I can bare all my intimacies to, someone who always sees through me and aware of how I wear my heart on my sleeves

and yet doesn't use it against me, someone who loves even the most unlikeable parts of me. I will love you just the same, I'll love you through and through, inside out, all your angels and all your demons.

I don't even know if love is the right word. Love is easy, the dictionary can define it. People throw that word around so carelessly. But I know better now. Being "in love" is giggles and butterflies in the stomach, it's kisses and blushing a deep shade of red

and promises of forever as if forever isn't a long journey. But what happens when there's no food on the table anymore, when affection burns out, when kisses turn into shouting and giggles into slamming of doors— because we are two opposite poles?

That's where being "in love" and "love" differ. Love is a daily conscious decision. It is knowing that forever consists of "every day". Love means I'll choose you everyday, Tae. I'll choose you every step of the way.

When things between us break, I'll choose to fix them instead of throw them away.

You're scared of this marriage failing, of— of the "d word". But I know better now. I know marriages don't "fail"; it's people who fail. And I promise you I will never fail you, my feelings won't ever fail you. Just like I know you won't ever fail me.

I was scared of romance because a part of me thought that the other person will trample upon my table of contents and when they find something they don't like, they'll rewrite me whole.

I never thought I needed a bit of editing, until you came. You did proofread me, but the parts of me you omitted, you never once thought they were ugly— just unnecessary. I didn't know much, but now I have you— my better half— and I know better now.

I feel like majority of my life I was falling apart, it's crazy how you came and everything is falling in place. I spent my life running around in circles and ignorantly treading the world. I spent so many nights checking in different hotel rooms… Now I found a home in you."

Taehyung stares at him with parted mouth. There's a haze in his eyes and Jungkook has to cup his elbow, a physical reminder that it's his turn now. "Wow, that's so—" the blonde gulps, "poetic. I never knew you were poetic." He comments.

Jungkook only swam in the shallow end of poetry. He never read that many books, was never really that passionate about literature. Although, yes, he has built a home library. When he was thinking about his vows, however, words just flowed naturally, dripping from the deepest

parts of heart. "I, uhm," Taehyung shrugs, sheepish. "I don't have words as beautiful as yours. I tried to construct an impressive vow, but I don't think I can translate the feelings in my heart into words. But— but I can show you, instead. Everyday."

His lips curve into a smile. "All I know is love you, Jungkookie. I will feel for you with something that is more than love. I promise you I'll be a good husband! I hope that is enough."

He regards Jungkook with a questioning look, eyes adorable like a puppy's. Jungkook melts, chest filled with unexplainable warmth. "Of course. Of course, angel. That's more than enough."

Jungkook beckons Yeontan forward. The dog jumps down from Mrs. Song's lap, mouth clutching a basket containing their ring box. Jungkook watches him proudly. Yeontan is a fast learner, Jungkook just trained him today for this task.

They exchange rings. Now, on their fingers sit thick gold bands with a single brilliant-cut diamond solitaire at the center. The design is far from subtle, completely opposite compared to their engagement rings. It's eye-catching, something people wouldn't miss.

Jungkook let Taehyung choose the design, but it's shockingly satisfying how this is exactly how he wants it to be too. "I now pronounce you," the official starts, "husband and husband. I invite you to seal your promise with a kiss."

They lean in, lips attaching, sharing their first kiss as a married couple. When they pull away, Taehyung is sporting a huge boxy grin, while Jungkook's lips wobble emotionally.

Taehyung's cheeks are tinted with a vibrance more beautiful than those of the colors adorning the skies now that the sunset is softly touching them. Some sunsets are exceptional, a tad more special than the others. This is one of those sunsets.

The light of the dying sun casts upon them, stretching their shadows longer, tinting their skins with the radiance of its golden hue, bathing them in new beginnings.

"We did it, angel. We did it. You're my husband now." Jungkook wraps his arms around the other's waist. Taehyung pulls him closer, whispering, "and you are mine."

【 72 】 #taekook au #taekookau

. 《 3 YEARS LATER 》 .

Their beach wedding happens two years later than they initially intended, mainly because their plan of keeping their “too intimate” garden wedding as a secret failed miserably.

They opted to not wear their wedding rings because “no one can know that we got married”, but then Jungkook’s mom was visiting them one day, and Taehyung had the pictures of the ceremony printed out and carelessly left it lying around the house.

His mom saw those, and it was messy after that. She was insulted, saying it was selfish of them to do it behind the family’s back. His father was equally offended, if not more.

Jungkook and his father had a bit of falling off again after that. The old man refused to talk to him for over a month. He had to actively work on mending their relationship. He and Taehyung had to attend dinners at the mansion multiple times a week and not just on Sundays.

He started attending parties and events that required his presence as a Jeon to appease his father, started to play golf with his father and brother during Saturdays even though he hated the sport.

It was all worth it though, his father eventually softened, and their bondings soon turned happier instead of forced.

Taehyung, with his unexplainable gift of charming people, also managed to get under each of Jungkook’s family member's skin. They love him. Everyone was even present during his graduation day.

Jungkook’s friends surprisingly took the revelation well, they all said the same thing: getting married secretly was something Jungkook would definitely do.

Since their marriage had been publicized, they didn’t put too much stress into the second wedding, especially when Taehyung got busy with his internship and after that, with starting up his own business. The success of Taehyung’s pastry business has been spectacular.

With Seokjin’s and some experts’ help, in just a year, Taehyung has opened three stores in Seoul. The in flock of orders come mostly from their online fans, and at first his products just ranged from cookies in a jar to simple birthday cakes.

But now Taehyung has extended into pastry catering for big parties. When Taehyung got everything under control and has fully adjusted to his new lifestyle, they decided to do the long overdue renewal of their vows.

The ceremony is grand, it happens in a private resort in Koh Samui. It's everything Taehyung has imagined it to be; the happiness in Taehyung's face is everything Jungkook has yearned for.

There's pure white sand under their feet, water of palest and deepest of blue in front of them, a clear sky above them. The guests are in flower-patterned clothes, some of them barefeet, some with flip flops on.

Taehyung and Jungkook are in an all-white casual outfit, a purple flower pinned on their chests. Jungkook’s vows this time are simple, he didn’t even prepare a speech, he just bares his raw feelings, molds them into words.

Taehyung, however, is proudly clutching a piece of paper in his hands. He announces, “I’m not poetic, but I tried. Started drafting this one month ago.” The guests keep giggling at Taehyung’s cuteness, at his poem-like speech that’s full of rhyming words, metaphors and hyperbole.

Jungkook stands there, fondly chuckling. They exchange the same rings once again, share a kiss once again. This time, there’s a round of applause and whistling around them.

Three years have passed since they first got married. A lot has happened since then, but it felt like it was just yesterday. They’ve matured since then, been into more fights, shared more triumphs, surpassed more trials together.

But each day they fall deeper in love, the promise to keep choosing each other everyday isn’t hard to keep at all— it comes naturally for them.

As their loved ones around them cheer for their union, Taehyung chooses to grasp Jungkook’s hand. He surveys his face, looks deeply into his soul. Taehyung’s visage reflects an emotion that can only be joy. He tells Jungkook,

"Your eyes don’t look sad anymore.” Jungkook smiles, reminiscing about the times Taehyung used to say the opposite. Today, Taehyung is right too— his eyes aren’t sad anymore. They haven’t been for over three years. They won’t be for a very long time. —𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙀𝙉𝘿—