When Taehyung was a child he was an avid fanatic of Dr. Seuss, and one of the things he learnt from him was 'the more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you'll go', and for a while that was his life motto, but as a grown-up he learnt the man was a fucking racist, so fuck him, really. Anyway, the man did say something wise once, 'Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened', and that was what Taehyung was planning to embrace now, smile at the memories he made with Jeongguk, how much he enjoyed sharing lunch dates with him, talking to him, kissing him, watching him fighting in the grove and how openly proud he looked by being the champion, just everything, and he was not going to cry anymore.

He really was trying to be strong, but he misses Jeongguk. Taehyung had not seen him, neither talk to him since the time in the club when he asked the alpha to leave him alone. Jeongguk was delivering that to him, he left him alone, no calls, no text messages, nothing, Jeongguk was simply not trying anymore. Part of Taehyung was relief because it was supposed to be easier to get Jeongguk out of his head by pretending he doesn't exist anymore, but another part, the least rational one of course, was upset because the alpha wasn't even making attempts to ask him for a friendly lunch.

Jeongguk was giving him the space he asked for, that was what Taehyung wanted. And being upset about it made Taehyung want to bump his head against the book he was currently trying to read in the library of the university. At least the library gave him a sense of peace he only found when he was surrounded by books, not too neat, or too dusty, always with the right amount of people taking books off the shelves and reading them. Taehyung likes it.

Once again, he tries to focus on the book for his literature class, pushing aside the fact every time he read a paragraph of the book it remind him of Jeongguk, just because the alpha suggested him to read that book, nothing else.

"Excuse me? Are you Kim Taehyung?" A girly voice speaks, and Taehyung lifts his head to look at a small omega girl holding the Yonsei newspaper tightly in her hands, a soft pink blush on her face when he nods at her with a hum, "I was wondering if you could sign this"

Taehyung furrow his eyebrows, blinking from the girl to the page of his article, "You want my sign?" he asks, and the girl nods her head furiously. It was silly to feel so ecstatic about the fact that a girl wanted his autograph on something he wrote, but he took it, proud and smiley at her, "Am I famous now?" he asks the girl, making her giggle.

"I'm from the reading club" the girl explains, unable to maintain proper eye contact with him, "It's been a whole since a new writer was published"

Taehyung smiles wider, nodding his head, "Thank you for liking my article then"

The girl blushes again, nodding her head and pressing the newspaper against her chest, "You have a whole fanbase now in campus" she says, almost yells at him, and Taehyung couldn't help the surprise in his face, and the silly smile in there. The girl bows a couple of times to him while Taehyung waves at her goodbye, and she leaves quickly.

He hears someone whistling, Taehyung looks up the other way and see Namjoon there, leaning against the closest shelve with a big book on his hand and his glasses on, "Oh hey hyung" he greets, trying to not sound as awkward as he felt. 

After Jeongguk left the club that night, Namjoon bought him a drink, and then asked him to dance, they did, and Namjoon kind of made a move on him. Of course Taehyung freaked out, still all over the place with Jeongguk in his head, and he rejected Namjoon's advances, and now he wanted to disappear in the library.

"Hello" Namjoon greets back, "You're popular now" he says, smiling and showing his dimples as per usual, "Everyone I know loved your article. Really thrilling story"

"Oh" Taehyung utters, looking down at his book, feeling shy, "Thank you... I'm still daydreaming about being published"

"You should be, it's a big deal" Namjoon smiles at him, detaching himself from the shelve and walking towards Taehyung just to brush lightly his hair, in a reassuring way, very caring. "Are you reading the one I recommended to you?"

Taehyung never felt so awkward before. Namjoon recommended to him Catcher in the Rye, but he was reading the one Jeongguk told him to read. 

"Actually no" he mutters, biting his bottom lip, "I'm reading this one first" he says, pressing a finger on the page he was currently in to not misses it, and closing the book to show the reddish cover of '1984', "I really like dystopian books" he half lies, trying to mask up the real reason why he chose that book, mostly because it made him feel childish with a silly crush on the wrong guy.

Really, it would be much easier to like Namjoon and not Jeongguk. They could be those bookish couples spending their nights reading books, exchanging notes and laughing at inside jokes only book readers would understand. But he kinda did that with Jeongguk too, more than once actually, because Jeongguk was smart too, and his opinion about books always clashed with Taehyung's but that made it more exciting, fun, and Taehyung was doing it again, thinking about the alpha when he was supposed to be having a nice conversation with Namjoon.

"Are you alright?" Namjoon asks, distracting him. Taehyung looks up at him clueless again, "I asked if you had lunch already" he says, and Taehyung opens his mouth. This guy was stubborn or didn't catch that Taehyung was not interested, "I'm being friendly!" Namjoon was quick to say, sensing the shift in Taehyung's mood, "It's just that you look like you haven't been sleeping well and I thought maybe a meal could help you..."

"Oh" Taehyung sighs, "Is this your way of saying I look like shit, hyung?"

Namjoon opens his eyes widely, shaking his head and hands at the same time. "Of course not! You could never look bad! Ugh I mean-" the alpha keeps rambling, and it made Taehyung smile, the alpha was clumsy and cute, and perhaps he could use a friend at the moment, to distract himself from the thoughts of Jeon Jeongguk.

"Sure, let's grab lunch" Taehyung says, standing up and closing the book properly, with a little sticker to remind him the page he was on, and walks with Namjoon towards a Korean dining room to eat, talking about mainly classes and Taehyung's experience about being published. 

It was nice, and Taehyung seriously hoped that Namjoon would be happy being just his friend.

---------------------------

Taehyung got home right after having lunch with Namjoon, not in the mood to hang out or to do anything else than lie in his bed while reading. Except chatting with Jimin and Seokjin, the latest made a chat group with the three of them and would constantly pester them with pictures of himself, asking to rate his pictures from 8 to 10, nothing less of course.

Dolls with balls chatroom ♥‿♥ 🔞

Seokjin best hyung (✿≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)👌

Gucci or Louis Vuitton?

Slutty or classy?

Help me out here! I have a hot date tonight

Jimin aka soulmate ( ≖.≖)

Omg, with who? The old dude from the charity event?

Seokjin best hyung (✿≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)👌

He was not old

And no, someone I met the other day at an event

Taehyung scrunches his nose, he could imagine what kind of alpha Seokjin was going on a date with. Old, and wealthy, yeah, Seokjin had a thing for older guys, claiming young alphas were immature and annoying. And when he talked about 'older' it was twenty years apart, minimum. Jimin explained to Taehyung once that Seokjin's alpha dad was old, around twenty-five years older than Seokjin's omega dad, 'daddy issues' Jimin said.

Taehyung ✍(ㆆ_ㆆ)

Go with Gucci

And classy with a hint of slutty

Old guys loves that

Jimin aka soulmate ( ≖.≖)

How are you even a virgin, Tae?

Seokjin best hyung (✿≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)👌

He may be a virgin

But he's not as innocent as he looks

Taehyung ✍(ㆆ_ㆆ)

Why am I friends with you two?

Jimin aka soulmate ( ≖.≖)

You love us, and I'm your soulmate

You're stuck with me forever

Seokjin best hyung (✿≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)👌

Gross

I'm off to my date now, remember this Saturday sleepover at mine!

Jimin aka soulmate ( ≖.≖)

I'm waiting for it! ♥

Taehyung ✍(ㆆ_ㆆ)

Me too ♥

Taehyung smiles at their chatroom, they always made him smile. He was really thankful that both of them took him in, and made him one of theirs, despite the short amount of time they had know each other, it really seem longer though, and Taehyung hoped it'd became longer. But the smile was quick to disappear from his face when he notice another couple of messages in his phone, belonging to no other than Bogum.

Taehyung sighs, hesitating into reading them, but he did, his curiosity taking over. The messages were from that morning, with a bunch of heart emojis that made him cringe. Bogum had been texting him, just asking how he was and that he was sorry, but Taehyung never replied. This time it was different.

+ 0XX-XXX-XXXX

A girl asked me out today, she wanted to go to the open cinema, but I couldn't because that was our place. Reminds me of how every time we went you got all angry when I interrupted you while watching a good part, I liked that. To see you pouty and cute, I miss you....

I saw your grandma today, I bought her those tiny cakes she likes. Remember when I used to buy those, and she would make us tea? I miss those days, I miss you, do you miss me?

Taehyung felt bad, of course he did, Bogum had been an important part of his life, but he also felt conflicted, because he didn't like those kind of texts, it made him feel guilty and overall, recoil in antipathy. He erased Bogum's number, but he didn't block him, and now he was really thinking in doing it if the alpha didn't take the hint of leaving him alone. It distressed him, extremely, Taehyung wanted Bogum to move on, to be happy with someone who would actually love him back, but he was turning into a querulous alpha, manipulating him with fond memories.

You should go out with her, be happy Bogum

The reply came on an instant.

Why are you so cold?

Did you forget about me this quick?

Are you with that Jeon guy now?

You're fucking him, aren't you?

No, I'm alone. And I don't want to be with anybody, not you, not him, no one

Goodbye Bogum, please leave my grandma alone.

Before Bogum could reply, Taehyung blocked him, and deleted the chat, wondering how the hell did he ever thought about mating Bogum. Almost unconsciously he opens the chat with Jeongguk, it's been a week since the alpha lasted texted him, but it felt longer for Taehyung, the urge of replying was consuming him, so he throws his phone away before he does something stupid like texting the alpha, instead he takes the book he needs to finish and resumes his reading.

-------------------------------

A couple of weeks passed, and it was slowly becoming easier to not think about Jeongguk, and his friends and family were good distraction factors. His grandmother got herself a smartphone just to send Taehyung pictures of his article framed in an obnoxious gold structure in his grandfather's office, they were greatly proud, and it was utterly hilarious reading his grandmother's text messages because she always sounded like a robot. On the other side, Bogum had become into some kind of stalker trying to win Taehyung back, and it was borderline scary.

It started with flowers, one day Taehyung came back early from classes to find his aunt in the kitchen fetching water to a beautiful bouquet of roses.

"Hi aunt Hana" Taehyung greets her, kissing her cheek from behind her and turning towards the fridge to get strawberry juice for himself, "Did uncle bought you flowers?"

"Taehyung dear, the delivery man brought these" She starts saying, smiling at the sight of the fragrant red roses, "These are for you" she says, handing him the little card attached to the bouquet.

Taehyung raises his eyebrows in surprise, taking the little card, expecting anyone to send him flowers but Bogum. His surprised expression quickly shifted to a mortified one once he read the card 'For my future mate, a red rose for each month we spent together'. Taehyung reread the card two more times before squeezing it in his fist and throwing it to the trash, Bogum didn't even count well because the bouquet had only twelve roses.

"Is everything okay, darling?" Aunt Hana asks, her face showing concern.

Taehyung smiles weakly at her, "No, just don't accept any more flowers, okay?" he asks, and she hesitantly nods her head.

But it was futile, next time Yoongi received them, clueless, and another time the manager of the building. Bogum went so far that he even sent the delivery man to Taehyung's college, surprising him in the library with a poem and a bouquet of lilies. It was in one of those unfortunate days that Taehyung saw Jeongguk again, to fuel his mortification.

Taehyung spotted the poor delivery guy strolling around the library early that day, with a huge bouquet of pink carnations. Taehyung ran away from him, waiting for his next class while wandering in campus, near the patio fill with round bushes and trees, perfectly combining with the climbing plants tangling in the Yonsei's buildings. But once he was closer to a small slope of grass to sit down and read, he saw Jeongguk already sitting there under a tree with a bunch of books around him and one specific big one on his lap. Taehyung thought about just turning around and leave Jeongguk alone, the alpha was concentrated enough to not notice him yet, but a part of him wanted to talk to him, a huge part of him actually.

So he walks closer, clearing his throat softly, "Hey" calls Taehyung.

Jeongguk looks up, his dark eyes seems bigger and rounder, more doe than usual, but it only lasted for a moment, suddenly his eyes were sharp and his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and his pink lips turned downwards, "Taehyung" he says, tone of voice a bit baffled, "Hey"

Taehyung offers him a smile, but he was too awkward to move near the alpha and start a casual conversation, so he just stands there, fidgeting with the sleeves of the blue cardigan he was wearing. He should had turn around and avoid Jeongguk, now he was positive he was blushing under the intense gaze the alpha was giving him, even his scent was somewhat becoming denser, because of his nerves, and because of how rapid his heart was beating.

"I-" He pauses, hesitates for a second, "Can I sit?"

Jeongguk cocks slightly an eyebrow at him, "Sure" he says, closing the big book on his lap, a law book apparently, and watching Taehyung with that usual predatory gaze of his, "Got bored of the library?"

"You could say that" says Taehyung, feeling mutant butterflies inside his tummy when he begin to get closer to the alpha, he sits down near him but not so close, legs crossed and his bag on the side. "It's been annoyingly crowded these days" he says, taking the book on his hand, and moving lightly closer just to press his back against the thick tree trunk.

Jeongguk glances over him, moving to give him more space, and taking a book that was lying in the grass and a yellow highlighter, putting it on his lap. He starts highlighting paragraphs, but the omega was watching him apprehensively. Jeongguk senses him and lifts his gaze, "What?"

"You're marking a book"

"Yes?" Jeongguk says with a questioning remark, pressing the highlighter and marking more words, seriously confused when Taehyung gasps looking at him like he was some criminal.

"You're ruining it" Taehyung tells him, hands almost reaching his to take the highlighter away, but he hesitated and retracted back, placing his hand under a thigh.

And Jeongguk snorts, "It's the Penal Code" he says with an eye roll, smiling more genuinely when Taehyung's expression seemed more mortified, "It's just a copy, Tae. I do this to study better" he says, and Taehyung seemed to let out the relief breath he was holding. Jeongguk laughs, "I bet if it was Bukowski you'd let me sketch on it"

Taehyung smiles, a big square-shaped smile that made his cheeks to pop and look pretty, "I would help you by adding some doodles on it" he says, and Jeongguk scrunched his nose, chuckling again. "I'll let you study then"  Taehyung says, opening his book and putting his glasses on to start reading.

"You're wearing glasses" says Jeongguk, more to himself, and unable to look away.

Taehyung looks at him, "Um, I have poor eyesight" he shrugs, and Jeongguk smiles at him, a kind of affection in his scent that made the omega blush lightly. 

Taehyung smiles back, feeling giddy inside, he likes it, to be able to have conversations with Jeongguk like before, perhaps being friends again, despite the obvious insane attraction he felt towards him and of course the feelings, the damn feelings that ruined everything. 

"Jeongguk" he begins, nervously biting his bottom lip, and not quite sure of what he wanted to say to the alpha, just wanting to tell him to not ignore him anymore, to tell him that he misses him...

"Kim Taehyung!" Both Jeongguk and him turned around to see who was panting while yelling his name. Taehyung sighed, groaning in frustration when he saw the poor beta delivery boy crunched down, hands pressed on his knees and the bouquet of carnations carelessly there too. The boy tries to recover the air of his lungs, "Mr," puffs "Kim" puffs "Taehyung" puffing more air, "You got a delivery"

"You have to be kidding me" He mutters, wanting to bump the back of his head against the tree. Jeongguk glances over him confusedly, and then back at the delivery boy.

"These are for you Mr. Kim Taehyung!" The guy says, walking closer to Taehyung and handing him the bouquet of wrecked carnations, and then process to clear his throat, "I miss you every day. My heart is bleeding for you. Please come back to me"

"Oh my God" Taehyung leaves the bouquet on the grass just to rub his face furiously, frustrated and trying not to cringe.

"Can you sign this, Mr. Kim?" the delivery guy says, handing him a clipboard with a pen. Taehyung rolls his eyes, taking the thing and signing it, "And a picture so I can report to my superior-"

"Go away" Jeongguk was the one to speak, "Don't make me punch you"

The beta blinks, confused, "Excuse me?" he asks, smiles, "It's just the protocol for-"

"I don't fuckin care" Jeongguk growls at him, serious, his scent spiking the burnt amber in it, "He's fucking uncomfortable, can't you sense it?" he asks, referring to Taehyung's distress pheromones that were filling the air around them.

The beta looks again confused, "I'm sorry, I'm just doing my job man"

"Fuck off" Jeongguk snaps, starting to stand up and freaking up the beta delivery guy who bows a couple of times before staggering away from them. Jeongguk grunts, coming back to sit properly with his study book, not asking questions.

Taehyung smiles at him, "Thank you" he says softly. Jeongguk stares at him, and nods, and Taehyung couldn't take it anymore, "Bogum has been sending those, he's very persistence" he says, and with that information Jeongguk frowns, raising his eyebrows and waiting for the omega to keep talking, "Um" Taehyung scratches the side of his neck, softly, "He's been kind of stalking me..."

"What?"

Taehyung shrugs, "It's okay, I can't handle him, really"

"It's not okay if you're minimizing a stalker's behavior" Jeongguk replies, obviously angry, and a bit shocked, "Bombarding you with messages and flowers to earn your attention is harassment and very unhealthy for you"

Taehyung looks down at his lap, then to the abandoned bouquet of carnations. It was the sixth bouquet of flowers he had received since the roses, with tiny messages. "I blocked him on my phone..." Taehyung admits to Jeongguk, "But he's been reaching at me with other numbers"

"Tae" Jeongguk calls him, making the omega to look up at him, "That's fuck up" he says, leaning in to grab the carnations and the little card, and scrunching his nose in disgust, "You can't let him do this"

"He's in Daegu" Taehyung replies, feeling scared thinking in the possibilities of Bogum becoming into a stalker to win him back, "I can't even stop him from visiting my grandmother"

Jeongguk stares at him for a minute, speechless, then he shakes his head, "Fill a restraining order against him" he says, and the omega frowns, looking more terrified, "I'm serious, Taehyung" the alpha says, taking Taehyung's hand to reassure him, "Do you feel harassed?"

"Yeah, I do..."

"Then fucking do it" Jeongguk says, "Stalking can be difficult to prove legally so gather all your evidence" he begin to explain, "Phone records, screenshots, those flower's receipts"

"But Jeongguk" Taehyung whines, "I always throw everything away, and I deleted his text messages too..."

Jeongguk stares, and then sighs, running a hand through his fluffy black hair, "Start gathering those from now on" he tells him, offering a small smile, "But you need to take legal action if the guy doesn't stop and makes you feel uncomfortable"

"I will" Taehyung says, smiles back, and they stare at each other for a minutes, until something started to shift in the atmosphere between them, something heavy in the air.

Jeongguk sniffs, looking away, "If anything happens just call me" he says, shrugs nonchalantly, "I always wanted to punch him" he says, and Taehyung shakes his head, still amused by the alpha. "I have to go" he says, checking on the Rolex on his wrist, "My exam starts in ten minutes"

"Good luck" Taehyung tells him, unable to take his eyes away from Jeongguk, "Break a leg"

Jeongguk offers another smile, kneeling near him to gather his books and putting everything on his backpack, "No worries" he says, "I been memorizing these shitty laws since I was nineteen" he winks at Taehyung, and inevitably the omega blushes. Jeongguk stands, throwing his bag on his shoulder, "See ya peachy"

"Bye, Jeongguk" Taehyung says back, watching the alpha walking towards the building, effortlessly walking like he owned the whole university, or at least Taehyung felt like he did, just by the way Jeongguk carries himself around everywhere.

Taehyung tries to resume his reading, tries, but his head was full of Jeongguk. So much for getting over the alpha, just a minute with him and all his efforts went right to the trash. A Jeon's effect on him for sure. And when Taehyung finally managed to concentrate into reading the book, his phone started to ring alerting him from an upcoming call from Song Minji. He opens his eyes widely to see the editor actually calling him on the phone and not just sending him an e-mail.

"Hello?" he answers.

"Taehyung-ssi, hello" Minji's voice was severe as always, serious and hurried, "Are you still in the University?"

"Um, yes"

"Can you come to my office? I need to talk to you about something important"

Taehyung knits his eyebrows, feeling suddenly uneasy, "I have classes now..."

"I'll give you a pass"

"Oh, okay then... I'll go now"

"Wonderful" she says, hanging up. Taehyung opens his mouth blinking rapidly, sometimes he swears the woman was a robot.

----------------------------------

Taehyung was trying to relax in the chair in front of Song Minji's desk, trying, but it was nearly impossible to do next to the alpha woman, with her pungent scent and serious expression. She was very much intimidating. The omega watches her typing on her computer, hard eyes not even blinking, the only sound in the small office was the tapping noise of her fingers against the keyboard and Taehyung's breathing.

Finally Minji stops, meeting his eyes and offering a harsh smile at him. "Your story have amazing feedback and reviews" she began to say, hands crossed under her chin, and voice as severe as she looked, "I talked to the school board and my boss and they all agree on a second part"

Taehyung blinks confusedly, "Um, second part?"

The alpha hums, "Apparently the topic of a secret fight club with a hot main character is appealing to everyone" she explains, with a tiny eye roll. Taehyung was awestruck, thinking in what would Song Minji say if she knew the 'Hot MC' was Jeon Jeongguk. "We'd like to offer you a section in the newspaper for you to write, monthly of course, plus a blog section on the website for you to answer the questions of readers and fans"

Taehyung took a minute to react, still lightly surprised, and enormously proud of himself, "O-of course" he tells her, "I wouldn't waste an opportunity like this"

Minji nods, the same severe smile appearing on her face, "Great" she says, "This is remarkable for your curriculum, Taehyung, I hope you know that"

"I do"

"It's settled then" says Minji, shifting her position on the chair, "Next issue of the printed newspaper is in three weeks, meanwhile we'll email you your username and password for your section on the website"

"Okay..." says Taehyung, not unable to hide his exciting smile or how giddy he felt about everything, "Thank you Minji-ssi"

The alpha nods, "Keep the good work"

"I will" he says, standing up from the chair and bowing a couple of times before exiting the office.

------------------------------------

Taehyung really didn't think what was agreeing when he said to Minji he would continue his story in the next issue of the newspaper, especially because that meant to talk with Jeongguk again, to ask him to take him to the grove again and watch him fight again. And if Taehyung were already having trouble staying strong, trying to keep space between them despite missing him, and just avoiding feeding into his own feelings, going to see Jeongguk in all his alpha's glory, would definitely take a toll on him. 

Jeongguk was just too good while fighting, and he looked too alluring, too enticing, and so badass. It made Taehyung's inner omega to surrender himself to Jeongguk, to give in, and want to hang himself over, body and soul.

It's been three days since his talk with Minji, since he saw Jeongguk on campus, now it was Friday, and Taehyung still haven't talk to Jeongguk. He groans, rolling over in his bed, until his head was buried in one of his pillows, stopping the turmoil of thoughts in his head. He just need to give the alpha a call without thinking too much about it. A friendly call to ask Jeongguk to take him to the grove again, and write the story, easy. 

"Easy, yes" utters Taehyung to himself, sitting once again on his bed and picking his phone, and when he was about to press the call button he groans again, squirming in the bed childishly, "Damnit... Ughh" he whines, rubbing his face with his hands, and then sitting again on the bed, "I can totally do this" he utters again, seeing the hour, 5 pm, Jeongguk had to be at home at this hour.

He calls, and a knot of nerves in his stomach made him curl into a ball on the bed. Jeongguk picks up after a couple of rings, "Tae?" Taehyung hears him say over the phone, and the omega instantly sit again, pressing the phone against his ear, he was really acting fifteen again.

"Jeongguk" he says, and he is meet with brief silence, "Hi..."

"What's up?" Jeongguk says, and oh my God Taehyung was feeling all giddy and stupid, all over again. What was wrong with him? It was exasperating.

"Are you fighting tonight?" Taehyung asks, nervous, anxious, and knowing that Jeongguk fights almost every Friday, almost.

He hears Jeongguk sniffing over the phone, followed by a chuckle, "Yeah" he says, "Why?"

Taehyung licks his lips before answering, thinking, and decides to just say it, "I want to go see you..." he tells, and Jeongguk stays quiet on the line, waiting for Taehyung to continue speaking. Taehyung takes a deep breath, "I need to keep writing my story... everyone wants to read what happen next so..."

"Ah" Jeongguk snorts, "Of course it's because of your story"

"Jeongguk, please... I won't bother you"

"I think it's the other way around, isn't?" Jeongguk replies, and he sounded so bitter it made Taehyung feel slightly apprehensive, "I'm the one bothering you"

"Why are you being like this?" Taehyung asks him, not liking the alpha's tone, not liking his attitude towards him, like he was angry, like Taehyung was doing something wrong, "You were friendlier that day at the university"

"It's because I don't understand you, Taehyung" Jeongguk was quick to say, voice sounding huskier, lower, "First you asked me to be friends with you, but you avoided me. Then you asked me to stay away, and I did, but then you were the one approaching me that day at the uni, and now you're calling because you need my help again?" He says, and yes, he was definitely angry, and somewhat hurt, "That's fucking shitty of you, peachy"

Taehyung gasps softly, eyebrows creasing together, and shaking his head even when Jeongguk could see him, "I can't believe you're telling me this" he says, "You know what's shittier?"

"Enlighten me"

"You fucking another guy" The omega snaps, feeling the anger he previously felt when he found out Jeongguk fucking another guy when he told him he wouldn't, and he spats, "That's fucking shitty. You're fucking shitty"

"Are you still on that? I was on my rut!" The alpha scoffs over the phone, sardonic, "Fine, I fucked a dude on my rut, I'm sorry I've hurt your feelings. Should I talk with my dad about not bringing more betas for my ruts? Or are you fucking offering yourself for it?"

"You're a fucking jerk" Taehyung says, and cuts the call.

Taehyung wanted to cry, he felt his eyes beginning to burn, and he was so angry at Jeongguk. And apparently the alpha was equally angry at him, those words he said to him were spitted with resentment, he was sure. He shouldn't have call him, shouldn't ask him for another favor when things between them were hanging from a thin thread. Jeongguk managed to make him feel upset about himself, like a selfish pompous prick.

He sobs, frustrated, he didn't want to fight anymore, he didn't want Jeongguk to be mad at him, and he didn't want to be mad at Jeongguk, after half an hour of self-pity he picks up his phone again, sending Jeongguk a text.

Taehyung ✍(ㆆ_ㆆ)

I really need to go to the grove

Jeongguk 💪(◡̀_◡́҂)👊

Dog Toy

An instant smile appears on Taehyung's face. Jeongguk was a jerk, but he was also kind enough to still let him come to watch the Fight Dogs. He texts him again.

Taehyung ✍(ㆆ_ㆆ)

Thank you

-------------------------------------------

The night was cold, as cold a November could offer, but it was still nice to walk while watching the yellow leaves adorning the trees in avenues, Autumn was definitely Taehyung's favorite season because of the beautiful sceneries. He would have chosen to dress sexier, just to impress the alpha, but the cold was superior and the beige coat with a faux fur hood he was currently wearing was quite warm.

Taehyung pays the driver, exiting the car, and walking towards the side entrance of the pine grove. A doubled number of security guards were securing the area, and using modern equipment like night vision cameras, motions detectors and taser guns. It was creeping Taehyung out. He recognized one of the guards, the same bald alpha that is usually there, and he nods his head towards Taehyung, half greeting him.

"Dog Toy" says Taehyung, and the man moves, letting him pass.

As he walked into the pine grove, Taehyung begin to tell himself to be careful, not about the wicked people attending the fight, but careful about Jeongguk. Taehyung knew the alpha was still annoyed with him, and anything could trigger something between them, so the omega switches to journalist mode, wanting to be professional, yes, he could totally do that.

The grove was crowder than usual, noisy, and full of alphas dressed in suits. The ring was different too. There were plush chairs just out front, and then the common tribune began. It was as if they had put a VIP part in the front, and they enlarged the rostrum. Guards were also securing the area inside, and everything seemed to be more legitimate. Taehyung felt slightly out of place, there wasn't more omegas around, just alphas looking elegant, like they weren't there to watch men fighting until on of them was knock out. 

He walks towards the bar, as he always did when he went to the grove, and he orders a coke. He chose to not go search for Jeongguk, he was there as a mere observer. He had to constantly fight the urge of standing up and going towards the tents area where Jeongguk must be at the moment, because just picturing the alpha getting ready was making Taehyung giddy.

Then he saw someone he recognized from Jeongguk's last fight. The ex-champion and Jeongguk's rival, the alpha called BI. It was easy to spot him in the crowd, he had a scary aura surrounding him, and his bleached blond hair was striking, again styled in a manbun exposing the perfect undercut. He was dressed in those usual fighting shorts, just covering his body with a red robe. He had three big guys around him, other alphas, who kept some men trying to engage in conversation with him away. They were coming towards Taehyung, to the bar area, and Taehyung turned around quickly, feeling slightly uneasy so close to them.

One of the alphas with BI sat next to him, ordering energy drinks for them, while the alpha fighter was listening to the other talk. Perfect opportunity for Taehyung to snoop and have more material to write about. "The Head of D.S.C is here, Mr. Edward Park" he tells, "You need to win and impress him"

"Easy" Bi replies to him, "I'm fighting The Beast today, no chances against me"

"Impress him then" the same guy speaks, "JK fights tonight, you know Edward Park must be aiming at him, not at you"

Taehyung hears the fighter growling, snaping the bottle of energy drink on the bar counter, "I'm going to fucking beat Jeon at the finals, you'll see"

"You have never beaten him, you need to prepare more, find a weakness in him" the other alpha says, sighing, "He must have one, everyone does"

Taehyung drinks from his can of soda, shifting in the stool he was seating, waiting for the alphas to leave to search on his phone about Edward Park, and to tell Jeongguk what he heard. But then one of the alphas with BI drops something, and when he bent to pick it up he follow the omega scent Taehyung was giving off, and their eyes met. Taehyung shifts again on the stool, looking away and just focusing on drinking his coke, and not on releasing distressing pheromones.

"Omega" the alpha says, and even BI turned to look at him, "What's an unmated omega doing here so lonely?" he asks, and Taehyung looks at him, the guy was big but wasn't near of being intimidating for Taehyung, so he cocks an eyebrow at him, plainly ignoring him and leaving his empty can on the counter, "I'm talking to you, omega"

"And I'm not interested in replying to you, 'alpha'" Taehyung says back, bitterly, earning a glare from the guy and a snort from BI just a couple of stools away from him.

"This is a dangerous place for omegas" the alpha replies, forehead creased together, and an ugly scowl on his face.

"Are you trying to scared the omega, John?" the guy sitting next to Taehyung asks, amused, and Taehyung turns to look at him, he looked like a trainer, or a manager, perhaps to what Yugyeom was to Jeongguk, he was that to BI. "Because it's clearly not working"

Taehyung looked unfazed at them, simply listening, but the alpha who was being rude at him got closer, scowling more, and obviously wanting to start some kind of argument with him. But BI stands up from his seat, walking towards them and placing a hard hand on the guy's shoulder. "Leave him alone, John" he says, shaking his head, "Why you always try to get the pretty omegas by pestering them?"

"I wasn't-"

"Go bring my stuff" BI orders, "I'm fighting next" he says, the guy groans but obeys, and then BI is looking directly at Taehyung. He wasn't as handsome to Taehyung's eyes, but he was definitely appealing, and probably every omega who meet him would think the same. "I apologize for my friend's behavior. He obviously doesn't know manners, and kind of get all alpha-like around pretty omegas"

Taehyung wanted to roll his eyes, but instead just nods, accepting the apology, "It's fine, I can take care of myself" he says, smile tight on his face, not looking away from the intense gaze coming from the bleached blond alpha, "But thanks..."

"I'm Hanbin" the alpha says, offers his hand to greet him more formally, "Can I know your name?"

The omega hesitates still feeling an irrational loyalty towards Jeongguk, which was very absurd, he didn't even know this BI guy, and perhaps he was nice. So Taehyung shakes his hand, "Taehyung" he says, and offers a small smile to the alpha who reciprocate it quite fast.

"Pretty name for a pretty boy" Hanbin says, flirty, but Taehyung just narrowed his eyes at him, "I hope you cheer for me, Taehyung"

Taehyung nods, "Good luck in your match" he says, just to be polite, but the alpha seems really satisfied with the omega's words, and with a wide grin he goes towards the ring, accompanied by the other alphas with him.

Taehyung watches him go towards the ring, the crowd around it letting him pass and the cheers and howls coming from them were echoing in the grove, whistling among the pines. Even Taehyung could feel the adrenaline coming from everyone around the pit. The ringleader starts to introduce the contenders, and when BI was the one to appear Taehyung applauded for him, clueless of who was watching every of his moves, until the person was sitting next to him, reeking of alpha pheromones. The type of scent alphas release when they want to step on someone with a lower rank, it was pungent and distressing, and Taehyung quickly frowns turning to look at the alpha releasing those kind of pheromones. Jeongguk's friend, Mingyu was the name Taehyung recalls.

"Fraternizing with the enemy?" Mingyu asks, not even looking at Taehyung, just smugly drinking a beer.

"Excuse me?"

"What are you doing here? Saw you talking with BI" the alpha asks him, a small glare towards his way, and it was making Taehyung nervous, not understanding why the guy dislikes him so much.

"I'm here to see the fight" he simply replies, turning his attention once again back on the ring, where BI was owning the other fighter known as The Beast, with skillful dodges and powerful jabs punches.

"Switching teams, right?" Mingyu replies, and it was so obvious the venom dripping in his words, as much as he wasn't directly insulting Taehyung, "Did JK got bored of you already?"

Taehyung furrows his eyebrows, turning to look at the alpha once again. The guy was attractive, tall, and has the rich alpha aura around him, but Taehyung had never met someone so unpleasant in his life before, someone so resentful, and he didn't even know why the alpha was like that with him. 

"I don't believe I know you" he replies, slightly moving away from Mingyu, "And I'm fairly sure you don't know me either so please back the hell off"

Mingyu smirks at him, chuckling, "Witty huh?" he says, "Let me tell you some advice" he begins, shifting in the stool to get closer to Taehyung, "Stay away from Jeongguk" he says, serious, glaring, and Taehyung recognized that hint in the alpha's eyes, jealousy. "He is immature. He doesn't know what he wants yet. Omegas are mere playthings for alphas like us. You are one of those too" he says, moving the bottle on his hand and chuckling again.

Taehyung hums, grinning tightly at him, "Can I ask you something?" he speaks, and the alpha looks at him slightly surprised, "Are you jealous of Jeongguk?" he asks, Mingyu frowns, "No? Oh, then you're jealous of the omegas around Jeongguk"

Mingyu snorts, "What are you talking about, omega?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong" Taehyung begin, tapping with his fingers his thigh, "You like him" he says, and the guy opens his mouth, still frowning, and his scent changed. "I'm right, am I?" Taehyung asks, smiling at him, "You don't like me because you think of me as a threat"

"You're not threat for me" the alpha taunts, but he was visible taken aback, and his scent was incensed.

Taehyung smiles at him, shaking his head, wanting to keep inquiring in the guy's nasty attitude towards him, but Jeongguk's scent was close by, he could sense him from afar, so distinguished. Mingyu seems to sense it too, and he shifts uncomfortable in the stool again, but then Taehyung was facing him again. 

"Your secret is safe with me" he tells him, "But don't fucking come at me again" he says, really hating to use bad words, but sometimes alphas wouldn't understand unless he was harsh on them. Mingyu scoffs, but stays silent, eyes focusing on the side of the grove where Jeongguk was walking towards them, with Yugyeom at his side.

Taehyung begin to feel nervous, Jeongguk looked serious, stern, cold, dressed in those flashy shorts and covered with a black satin robe, his hair pulled into a ponytail and walking firm steps, owning the whole grove around him. Jeongguk was simply magnetic.

"Hey" Taehyung greets him, him and Yugyeom, not wanting to sound awkward, but failing, probably.

"Hi Taehyung!" Yugyeom greets him back, cheery, a bit drunk apparently, "It's my birthday!"

"Oh, happy birthday" Taehyung smiles at him, chuckling a bit by how cheerful and bubbly the alpha looked.

"Thank you!" the alpha says, moves forwards wanting to pull Taehyung into a hug, but Jeongguk put a hand on his shoulder, and Yugyeom immediately stops. 

"Is this guy bothering you?" he asks, pointing with his chin towards Mingyu.

Taehyung snorts lightly, "No" he says, sensing how Mingyu's scent incensed once again, and made a smile grin appear on the omega's face.

"Come on Gyu!" Yugyeom begin, wrapping an arm around the other alpha, "Let's give them a minute, yeah?" he says, and despite Mingyu's protests, Yugyeom still dragged him away from Taehyung and Jeongguk.

Taehyung stares at Jeongguk who got closer to him, leaning against the countertop by his side, and softly looking at him, "He really didn't bother you?" he asks, "Because he's an asshole with omegas, just tell me and I'll give him a lesson"

The omega smiles, shaking his head, it was almost hypocritical coming from Jeongguk right? An asshole with omegas, Taehyung wonder how many omegas got their heart broken because of him. "Don't worry about it" he tells Jeongguk, turning his body to fully face him, "Are you fighting next?"

Jeongguk nods, clicking his tongue against his cheek, relaxing his body next to Taehyung, "I'm just fighting tonight because some important people are here to see me"

"Edward Park?"

The alpha cocks an eyebrow, half smirk on his face, "How do you know? Been doing your homework, peachy?"

"I was snooping around actually" Taehyung grins at him, wriggling his eyebrows, and earning a snort from Jeongguk. "I was wondering why the security seems tighter tonight"

"He is the owner of the biggest boxing company in Korea" Jeongguk explains to him, crossing his arms against his chest and looking towards the ring, watching The Beast recovering from a low blow, "Every fighter is eager to impress the man"

"Is this why you are fighting tonight?"

"Yeah" says Jeongguk, briefly looking at Taehyung, and then turning again to watch the fight, "Getting a deal with him would get me a lot of money"

Taehyung stares at him for a moment, stares at his side profile, how sharp his jawline look, and the way his Adam's apple moves every time the alpha spoke. Taehyung decided is better to look away, and set his eyes on the ring too, "I heard that Edward Park is here for you"

"I'm the champion" Jeongguk says to him, "And every fucking fighter wants to beat me" he shrugs, at the same time BI knocks The Beast out, and raises his arms in victory, the crowd erupting with cheers and howls. Jeongguk smirks and waves teasingly at BI when they make eye contact, but then BI is looking at Taehyung and winking at him, and Jeongguk frowns, tensing and turning to look at the omega. "What was that?"

Taehyung opens his eyes widely at him, and shrugs "I don't know"

Jeongguk stares at him with his brows creased together, and his lips jutting out in a pout. Taehyung smiles at him, amused, and he couldn't help himself but to reach Jeongguk's cheek and pinch him, hard, taken the alpha by surprise. Taehyung laughs, eyes creasing cutely just by seeing Jeongguk's ears red and his cheeks pink.

Jeongguk scrunches his nose and rolls his eyes, and then smiles softly at him, "I wanted to apologize" says Jeongguk, sniffs and gulps, "For being rude over the phone... I was a jerk so I'm sorry... it's just... it's been an awfully long day and I thought you were calling to hang out so... yeah, sorry"

Taehyung licks his lips, and smiles sincerely at Jeongguk, "It's okay... I'm sorry too" he tells, putting his hand in the pockets of his jacket, "I guess we've been a little messy"

"Still" Jeongguk says, eyes not wavering while looking at the omega, "Sorry" he shrugs, trying to look nonchalantly but Taehyung could notice how flustered he was, "I didn't mean anything I said... I'm trying to change, you know?" Jeongguk looked at him, and Taehyung tilts his head, knitting his eyebrows, "I want to change for you"

"Jeongguk I-"

"Please just hear me out first" begs Jeongguk, getting closer to Taehyung, his fingers brushing the satin fabric of Jeongguk's robe, and suddenly his heart was beating too fast by the proximity of the alpha to him, "Tae I've been thinking about you so much... and I want to prove to you that I'm changing... I even stopped sleeping around" he says, sounding slightly ashamed, "I've been just focusing on my studies and-"

"JK! You're up!" Yugyeom yells from near the ring, both Jeongguk and Taehyung turns to look at him briefly. Taehyung wanting for the alpha to keep talking, keep making him fuzzy inside.

Jeongguk clears his throat, scratching his hair nervously, "I want to make things right"

Taehyung smiles widely at that, "We could start as friends? This time without avoiding each other"

Jeongguk grins, "You don't want me away anymore?"

Taehyung was quick to shake his head, ashy honey hair falling on his eyes, "I kind of missed you"

Jeongguk returns the wide smile, "I kind of missed you too" he says, and both just stand there, staring at each other with silly smiles on their faces.

"JK!!!"

Jeongguk sighs, "I have to go" he says, and Taehyung really thought the alpha looked adorable a little shy and flustered.

"Go kick the guy's ass" says Taehyung and Jeongguk scrunches his nose again.

"Wait for me okay? I'll drive you home"

"Okay, don't hurt yourself" says Taehyung, reaching towards Jeongguk and softly pinching his chin, gently. Jeongguk grins at him again, and leaves, walking among an overexcited crowd.

Taehyung watches him getting on the ring, cheered by the crowd who kept chanting 'JK' over and over again, Yugyeom handed him his champion belt. Taehyung had never seen him with the item, and the urge of seeing it up close was thrilling for him, perhaps he could let him hold it later. Jeongguk took off his robe, remaining shirtless and holding the belt, gold in the center and the rest black, it suits the alpha, Jeongguk looked perfect holding it.

Jeongguk's opponent was someone Taehyung had never seen. They call him The Duke, slightly more muscular than Jeongguk but shorter. When the match started, Jeongguk was aiming for the kill, he wasn't teasing the opponent as he usually did, or playfully taunting just to get the crowd to roar with adrenaline, he was now looking dangerous, attacking ruthlessly at the other alpha, setting the rhythm of his fight. And the Duke had not chance to even attack back, he was just protecting himself by lifting his arms and avoiding getting hit on the face, preventing a quick knock out. 

Jeongguk fought like an enraged wolf, circling his opponent, owning the ring, and landing an amazing blow on The Duke's ribs, making him fall on one knee. The audience was roaring, catcalling, restless cheering for JK, for the undefeated champ. The Duke throws a punch, another one, just to prevent for Jeongguk to come closer, but Jeongguk was too quick, too feral on his movements, and lands a perfect jab on the guy's face, dropping blood from his nose, and mouth, and throwing him on the mat, lifeless and knocked out. 

The crowd erupted in cheers once again, feeding on the powerful play by Jeongguk, how fearless and imposing he was. Taehyung noticed how hard he was breathing, how sweaty he was, and how exhausted he looked, two arms in the air, one held by the referee and the other holding his belt. It was a boxing match, not MMA, not illegal rules, a genuine boxing match without time-ups. And despite being a fast match, Taehyung could tell Jeongguk's physical wear to win so fast. He could see the aftershocks of the match even from afar.

Then Jeongguk was getting out of the ring, Yugyeom passing him a bottle of water and Mingyu putting a towel on his shoulders to wipe the excess sweat from his body. Taehyung felt worried about him, wanting to go to him and ask him if he was fine. It was difficult when all the people near Jeongguk tried to talk to him, patting his back, and trying to take pictures with him, yet Taehyung approached, his legs seemed to move by themselves, and within the chaos around Jeongguk, Taehyung could see the small smile the alpha was giving him when their eyes met.

That was what the omega's needed as encouragement to get closer, to follow him towards the blue tent the alpha uses during his fights in the grove. 

"Hey" Taehyung says softly, ignoring the hard look Mingyu was giving him, or the teasing smile Yugyeom had on his face when he let Taehyung enter the tent.

Jeongguk smiles again, drying himself up with the towel, and Taehyung was right, the alpha was exhausted. "Hey" he says, "Enjoyed the match?"

"You were savage tonight" says Taehyung, earning a chuckle from Jeongguk.

"Got to impress Edward Park, remember?" Jeongguk grins at him, letting his shoulder slump a bit, and tilting his neck to stretch, "Took a toll on me though"

"Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine" Jeongguk replies, closing his eyes for a bit.

"Yo, Jk" Yugyeom calls him, checking his phone, "Edward Park wants to talk to you, he's coming here" he says, and Jeongguk raises his eyebrows, a small grin on his face, while Taehyung was not surprised, he still looked like he was.

"Tae" Jeongguk calls, taking his car keys from the jacket lying on the chair, "My jeep's keys" he says, handing it to him, "It's cold, you can wait for me there, okay?"

Taehyung smiles, and nods, "Thank you" he says, "Don't take too long, okay?" he says, loving how gentle Jeongguk was being again, loving the smiles the alpha gives him, only him, and he leaves the blue tent, walking towards the parking space, not missing how an old man in a suit, surrounding by alphas, was walking towards Jeongguk's tent. Edward Park.

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Taehyung had to wait for Jeongguk for almost an hour, but the Wrangler Jeep was warm, comfy, and smelt like Jeongguk. Taehyung used his time to write about that night, about Edward Park, and about Jeongguk. And more important, trying to keep his feeling in check. Jeon Jeongguk had that power over him, the power of turn everything up and down by just a look, a smile and charming words, but Taehyung wanted to stay strong, go slow and start again. Before, he accepted having a ridiculous infatuation towards the alpha, now the infatuation was gone, replaced by feelings, and feelings were always more dangerous, fragile, and just too powerful.

And Jeongguk had managed to make him feel a lot of different emotion, fascination? love? security? and a lot of pain too, which was what scared Taehyung the most. Love and pain actually, because those two sometimes come hand by hand.

The knocks on the car's window startled him, bringing him back from his thoughts. Jeongguk was there, smiling and with his lazy eyes almost close. Taehyung unlocks the door and Jeongguk moves to the jeep trunk, to put his gym bag in there, "Can you drive Peachy?" he asks meanwhile.

Taehyung chuckles, Jeongguk looked cute all tired, he looked younger, carefree, and not like the cocky alpha he always appeared to be, "Sure" he says, putting his stuff on his jacket, and getting out of the jeep to let Jeongguk hop on the passenger seat, "I have to tell you first... I've never driven a Jeep before"

"It's the same" Jeongguk snorts, getting comfortable on the seat, his eyes almost fully close, and now dressed on an oversized hoodie and sweats, "It's a bit heavier"

"I thought you were going to celebrate Yugyeom's birthday" Taehyung says, putting the car keys in the socket and starting the engine, the jeep roared, and it was making the omega excited, after all he only drove his tiny Porsche back in Daegu, "I feel badass"

Jeongguk laughs, putting the seatbelt on, "You look kind of badass" he says, "And yeah, I just want to sleep. Besides, I haven't been on the party mood lately"

Taehyung hums, starting the jeep and letting one of the valets guide him towards the exit. It was a familiar path for him, after all Jeongguk always took him home after his matches, "How did everything turn out with Edward Park?"

"He wants me to fight for his company" Jeongguk explains, head slightly thrown back, and eyes close.

"That's great!" Exclaims Taehyung, happily, but Jeongguk only hummed back, "Is it?"

"I don't know" Jeongguk says, sighing loudly, "My father... he wouldn't approve" he tells, open his eyes to look at Taehyung, "And I still have to defend my championship in two weeks"

Taehyung nods, setting his gaze on the road, not wanting ro scratch the black Wrangler, and he decides to change the topic, "Are you hungry?"

"Always"

"I'm craving a hamburger right now"

Jeongguk beams after hearing that, "Oh, there's an amazing drive thru near my apartment"

"Okay, guide me"

They fall into friendly conversation quite easily. It was late so the streets were mostly empty, and it was simpler for Taehyung to drive the unknown vehicle that way. Jeongguk dozed a few times as the co-driver, and Taehyung let him, only waking him up to ask him if they were in the right direction.

They made it to a drive thru named Mr. Burger, only one car was ordering before them. Taehyung turns to Jeongguk, "Should we get a big combo for two?" he asks, but Jeongguk didn't respond, he was asleep, with his head tilted towards the window, and his black hair falling on his eyes. Taehyung smiles at the sight, Jeongguk really looked young like that, bared face and peacefully sleeping. He seemed so different from the alpha who beat the other guy at the ring that night, so different from the flirty alpha with charming words and no manners, but he did look just like the guy who took Taehyung to that park that night to eat ramen, or like the guy who took him to fun dates that ended up in sweet kisses. The guy Taehyung likes the most.

He couldn't help himself but to admire Jeongguk's pure beauty, so bare and genuine. The scar on his cheek, the moles on his face and neck, surely his favorite was the mole under his lip, so pretty and endearing. Jeongguk was beautiful like this, and Taehyung wanted to touch him, run his fingers on his sleeping face for a moment, so he did. Lightly brushing his slender fingers on Jeongguk's cheek, dragging them to his lips, to his pretty mole. And Jeongguk reacted, moving slightly and licking his lips, but not waking up.

Taehyung felt his heart beating fast, and his cheeks heating up slightly embarrassed about almost being caught. He places a hand in his heart, feeling how fast and hard was beating. He closes his eyes for a moment, thinking, knowing, and admitting that the infatuation with Jeongguk was gone just because he fell for him, despite having his heart broken. It was stupid, he was being stupid, but he couldn't fight it, he was in love with the wrong guy, and he felt like crying.

Falling in love with Jeongguk was not Taehyung's choice, but it happened. And he was now admitting it, recognizing it, trying to figure out what to do with it. He was in love, but that didn't mean he was letting Jeongguk play with him.

"What are you thinking?" Jeongguk's gruff voice startled him.

"Um... something ridiculous, it's not important"

Jeongguk hums, "It's our turn" he says, and Taehyung moves the jeep next to the window.

They order big two combos, one without tomato for Jeongguk, and an extra big cup of coffee, to help him wake up. Taehyung drives the Jeep near a parking spot, recognizing how close they were to Jeongguk's apartment. And he got into big thought, just because Jeongguk was so tired.

 "Um, we could go eat at your apartment" says Taehyung, not looking at Jeongguk but sensing the alpha shifting his position on the seat, "I can call a taxi after.... I don't want you to drive me home, you're too exhausted to drive by yourself..."

"You want to?" Jeongguk asks him, hand barely touching Taehyung's knee to make him look at him.

Taehyung does, smiles and shrugs, "I really don't want you to drive like this" he says, shyly looking down at Jeongguk's hand, still so close to his knee, "And we are close to yours..."

"You know I won't let you take a taxi later, right?" the alpha asks him, eyebrows knitted together, and lazy eyes searching, "I'm gonna make you stay"

Taehyung subtly gulps, but nods, "I can sleep on the couch"

"Tae-"

"It's okay, Jeongguk" he says, smiling again, "I'm not that picky and... I kind of slept on your couch already so..."

"Alright" says Jeongguk, rubbing his hair and looking through the window, "Let's go before the fries get cold"

Taehyung knew the way to the alpha's apartment, but once Jeongguk was opening his door, Taehyung starts to feel a bitter feeling in his chest, remembering what happened the last time he was there. He really should had thought better before coming, now images of that beta boy with bruises in his body and the pungent scent of sex was bringing nightmares to his head.

"Taehyung?" Jeongguk calls him, he looked concerned, and a little bit anxious, and Taehyung thought that perhaps Jeongguk was struggling too.

Taehyung offers a weak smile and enters the apartment. The place was warm, warm enough for Taehyung to be comfortable without his jacket. Everything looked pristine, neat and smelled like tonka beans, like Jeongguk. The fact that no other scents lingered there gave a small sense of calm to Taehyung, it was silly really, but Taehyung was admittedly in love, fighting his feelings to keep them in check, trying to keep everything friendly.

"We order a lot" Jeongguk says, already sitting on his comfy couch with the food on the coffee table, "Come here peachy, or I'm eating everything"

Taehyung gasps, taking off his shoes and running towards the couch, sitting there cross-legged, grabbing one of the big burgers, "No way" he says, wriggling his eyebrows, "You are about to see another facet of me"

Jeongguk was surprised, and very satisfied, because the Taehyung always so prim and proper eating like a well-mannered prince was gone. Jeongguk laughs, enjoying the sight, "You like burgers that much?"

Taehyung swallows, nodding, "These are my weakness" he says humming content, "And these are delicious"

"You should have told me before" says Jeongguk, happily looking at the omega and eating too, "I would had taken you to eat burgers long time ago"

"We can still go, you can show me all the places you want" says Taehyung, after munching a big piece of the burger, "Hmm, so good"

Jeongguk scrunches his nose and lets out a chuckle. "Promise?"

"Promise"

Their chatter was natural, easy and friendly. Taehyung fell sleep in the couch after everything, too afraid of Jeongguk's bed just because it probably reeked of him, and that was trouble. But Jeongguk fell sleep in the couch too, which was worst because his scent and warm made Taehyung felt more in love, and really, he likes to be friends with Jeongguk, they get along amazingly well, but he also wanted to kiss him, and cuddle him, and forget everything bad that has happened between them. 

But it was too soon, and he wanted to be sure the alpha was changing, he didn't want his heart broken again.

It was difficult, to not cross that line again, specially when Jeongguk was sleeping so gently with a arm wrapped around Taehyung's waist, pulling him closer. It made tingles appear on the omega's body, and he did his best to just focus on sleeping, and not on the tattooed arm around him.

Falling in love with Jeongguk was out of his control, and it was terrifying. Taehyung was clueless though, that Jeongguk was equally terrified.