Taehyung

"T-Taehyung?"

"Jungkook...?" His friend looked completely shocked. Which was so strange, because Taehyung had never seen any other expression on the bionic besides blankness. Jungkook remained speechless, and Taehyung took a step forward. "What a coincidence...? What are you doing here?"

"I...I could ask you the same thing? Taehyung?"

"Yea-woah!" The black haired bionic suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Taehyung. Surprised was an understatement to what he was feeling. What the hell...? "Jungkook?"

"I'm so glad to see you Tae!" Looking up at the taken back bionic, Jungkook smiled at Taehyung with eyes that emitted such happiness, it caused Taehyung to physically started to choke. "Hyung? Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm good I'm just so...confused."

Jungkook shyly nodded and scratched his head. "Me too, I was just excited to see a friend out of the blue."

"E-excited?"

"Yeah, oh um...there's a lot to explain hyung."

"Yes, definitely. What happened to you Kook?"

"I...it's a long story..."

"We have time."

"Yes but they're waiting inside."

Taehyung took a seat on the curb and patted the space besides him. "Quickly tell me then."

Jungkook did as he was told, and sat besides his orange haired friend who smiled and ruffled his hair. Taehyung really was glad to see his dongsaeng, and was glad to know that he was okay. It had been such a while since Jungkook had started this mission, and while the older had thought about his friend from time to time, he had only one option which was to trust that Jungkook was alright. He had seen him earlier on in the month at the shopping centre, and before he hadn't wanted to get in the way of his assignment but now, clearly their paths were bound to cross again at some point. Since Jimin and Yoongi were both friends.

"So Kook, how's the assignment going?"

"Assignment?"

"Isn't that why you're all the way in Busan?"

Jungkook looked down. "No, it isn't. Well, it was but...uhh..."

"Just say it, in the plainest way you can."

He nodded, and rubbed his hands together from the cold. "The manager wanted me to do a favour, I was drugged, then I woke up out here without the memory of what had happened before that."

"What?"

"Yeah, and when I woke up I could feel."

"What?!"

Jungkook turned to Taehyung with that same smile on his face. He looked so young, too young, and too...happy. "Yeah, I can...feel emotion now hyung. I can feel. I realise now why I had felt so empty before."

The older swallowed, and stared down at his own hands. Jungkook had felt empty too? So...is that why he felt empty now? He didn't want to accept this. No way was Yoongi hyung right. "Are you absolutely sure Kook?"

"Yes, I am. I didn't want to accept this before but, hyung, I'm really...happy now that I'm like this."

"Y-you are?"

Jungkook nodded, and glanced back at the karaoke bar. "I made a friend who allowed me to stay with him through the winter before I'd make my own way back to Seoul, and he's..."

"He's what?"

Jungkook smiled again. "He's someone I've come to care about."

Taehyung felt his stomach drop, and tangled his fingers up in his scarf. Why did he feel so uneasy about this? Shouldn't he be glad for his friend? Standing up from the pavement, the older held his hand out to Jungkook. "We should go inside now. I really am glad that you're okay Jungkook."

"You were worried about me?"

"I...Yeah, I suppose so."

Jungkook grinned like a child, before pulling his hyung to the entrance. "You're going to love Jimin, he's the one who helped me, and Taemin hyung and...wait." He stopped in his tracks and looked at Taehyung with a frown. "You already know Yoongi hyung?"

"Yeah, he was that client I told you about. The one who was a shut in."

"Wow. That's...such a coincidence."

"Yeah. It is..."

"Anyway, come on hyung."

"Wait a moment."

Taehyung pulled his arm back, and folded his arms. Jungkook also stopped, and frowned again at his hyung. "What?"

"We should keep our friendship a secret for now."

"What? Why?"

"I feel uneasy about all of this."

"Why?"

"I just do. It doesn't make sense why you'd be dropped off here without any warning, and why I was stationed here at the same time. I should call Namjoon-"

"It doesn't matter hyung!"

"What?"

There it was again: that carefree smile. "Nothing will happen if they know we're friends. I doubt they have anything to do with what's happened."

"How do you know Jimin isn't a part of it?"

"What are you saying? Of course he isn't, he barely knows anything about our kind."

"I'm sorry Jungkook but I have to be skeptical, this just doesn't feel right."

"Why do you sound like Namjoon hyung? You've changed too hyung..." Taehyung opened his mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. It was true; the older had been more...cheerful back at the factory. Jungkook pulled him to the bar again. "Trust me hyung. It's fine. It really is a coincidence that we met up, that's not a lie. You can call Namjoon when we get inside, I'd also like to speak to him too."

"Jungkook, why were you placed here? The board doesn't make these decisions lightly."

"All I can say is that my version must have had some sort of fault, because others who're the same version also disappeared."

"They, what?"

"It's like 5.2 bionics never existed."
Jungkook gave Taehyung a weak smile before shoving his hands in his pockets. "I don't regret what happened at all hyung. Whatever happened, I think happened for the best."

Taehyung was almost speechless. "Didn't you say you were only staying with Jimin through the winter?"

"Yeah. I'll still go back to the factory because I need answers. But..." He paused, with a glint in his eyes Taehyung could only wish he himself could manifest, "I want to come back."

"What? Jungkook that's-"

"-crazy, I know. It's never happened before."

Taehyung placed his hands on either side of the bionics head. "Are you sure you've thought this through? You're deciding way to fast-"

Jungkook only nodded. "I have. Hyung, I like being this way. Happy."

"I..." Taehyung could no longer retaliate. "O...Okay." Was he really going to accept Jungkook's sudden change of mind? There were so many complications running through his mind-

Jungkook once again grabbed his hand, and the orange haired bionic allowed the younger to drag him into the bar. He was in a daze with what his friend had just explained to him, and he couldn't believe what had happened. And now Jungkook didn't want to return to his normal bionic life? He couldn't say he was unhappy with his friends decisions, because frankly, it wasn't his fault he was in the situation he was in. But that didn't detain the perturbation which was spreading across his abdomen.
Something about Jungkook...well, everything, had changed. Right now, for the better.

Right now. For now.

***
Jimin

"Yah hyung, did you drag me into the toilets for something?"

"You already know what I wanna know you little shit." Yoongi folded his arms, and leant against the basin. "Spill."

Jimin could feel that the alcohol had gone to his head, and he grinned at his hyung. "What's there to spill?"

"He did something to you didn't he? Jungkook."

"Did what exactly?"

"You know precisely what I'm talking about. Jimin are you drunk?"

"No. Just a bit tipsy."

"Good, so you can answer my question."

"He didn't do anything~"

"Yes he did I'm not stupid. You two kept looking at each other like..."

"Like what?"

Yoongi looked away. "Like you're...closer. You haven't had sex have you?"

Jimin felt his face heat up, and he slapped Yoongi as he stuttered. "O-of course not, what the hell hyung?!"

"Hey I'm your friend, I had to ask. I'm guessing you have by your reaction?"

"No! We haven't! I can't believe you would ask me that!" Yoongi shrugged, and walked up to a urinal before unzipping his pants. Jimin instinctly looked away, and patted his warm cheeks with his hands. "We...we kissed."

The room went silent, before the sound of the urinal flushing could be blatantly heard. Yoongi turned back around and began washing his hands. "So are you dating now?"

"N-no...it's complicated."

"How is it? You both clearly like each other."

Jimin blushed again as Yoongi grabbed some paper towels from the dispenser. "Is it really that obvious...?"

"Yeah, it is you pabo."

"No, it isn't, he doesn't...I don't know if he feels the same. He said he was confused with how he was feeling because he never had before-" Yoongi flicked his ear suddenly, and Jimin whined at the tiny strike. "Hey-!"

"He may not understand what he's feeling, but it's obvious that he likes you."

"R-really?"

Yoongi nodded. "It's so obvious. Just give him some time to work it out in his head. This is all new to him, trust me on this."

"You know hyung, you sound like you know a lot about this kind of stuff. It's surprising."

They walked out the bathroom, with Jimin grinning shamelessly at his hyung. He needed that kind of talk, that kind of encouragement. He had so much self doubt in his mind, and right now Jimin knew too that Jungkook was just new to this. So the fact that his feelings were probably unconsciously reciprocated made his stomach do little flips as they made their way back to their karaoke room.

They met with Yoongi's friend who had bright orange hair and was wearing a long trenchcoat. Taehyung. He was pretty friendly, and Jimin found himself getting along quite nicely with the orange haired man.
But with the scarf around his neck, Jimin and Taemin couldn't possibly have known that he was also a bionic, until Jungkook announced that Taehyung was a friend from the factory, to which Jimin replied with an excited squeal.

And he was too tipsy to notice the frequent stares he had recieved from his newly made acquaintance.

i'm back. and pretty ill 😂
oh i love cold season.

i didn't plan on this fic being this long, but i really want it to flow nicely to the end, so by the looks of things there will still be more to come. so look forward to that :}

also it's been over a month since i published the first chapter and we're already nearing 500 reads!
thank you so much if you're still reading!
and i hope you're enjoying this so far :)