The phone rings and Tae answers it while smirking triumphantly.

It was about time they called.

"You guys finally give in?" He asks cockily.
.
.
.
"Taehyung" a voice speaks and his blood goes cold.

He grips onto his phone so tightly that his hand was beginning to turn white. He hasn't heard this voice for years and he never wanted to again.

"...아버지 (father)" he says with no emotion in his voice.
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Jimin and Yoongi smirk after a heated discussion, now proud of their plan and Kook gulps once more at the evil glint in their eyes.

Jimin's phone rings and he smiles wickedly when he sees Taehyung's name flash across his screen and excitedly picks up.

"Boy, do we have a surprise for you later a-" he starts off cheekily but his grin drops immediately and after a moment, a serious look takes over his face.

He glances at Kook from the corner of his eyes and whispers something back into the phone, and then nods once before saying a quick goodbye and hanging up.

With just one look Yoongi seemed to understand what was going on and cursed, before standing to head to the car.

Jungkook furrows his brows. "What's going on?..."

Chim gives him a slightly weary look and hesitates before finally coming to a decision. "...it's not my place to say...You'll need to ask Taehyung himself about it when you see him...until then I need to go back to your place to sort some things out okay?"

Your place

Kook's breath hitches. Right...technically it was his and Taehyung's house now but before he could pinpoint how he felt about that, he realizes what Jimin had said and glares.

"Don't do this...tell me what's happening so I can help too. What's wrong with Taehyung?" He demands and Chim frowns.

"Kook. I promise he'd tell you if you just asked. If you got over your pigheaded anger towards him you'd be able to understand him really easily; It's not like he's really holding anything back, it's just you. " Jimin says with a thoughtful expression, and with those cryptic words, He looks away but not before mumbling one more thing.

"...the man you knew before you found out the truth is still the same man who owns the house that's over your head now. Put aside all your judgment on his fortune because there's more to him than his wealth...Nobody is born into it you know? And neither was Tae" he pointed out.

Kook knew deep down that he was right, yet he felt the need to put a barrier between whatever connection he had with Tae.

It was dangerous for his heart and Kook never let his guard down without thinking things through first...it was what got him into his fucked up life in the first place.

However, It seemed that every time he was with Tae, all those trepidations flew out the window.

...and that scared him more than he'd ever admit because what would happen if Kook stopped holding back and let himself be happy?

The world didn't ever allow him to stay that way and this was no different.

Jungkook felt the pressing throb of a headache incoming from the sudden rush of reflection he was doing, but still considered Jimin's words carefully.

Chim smirks cynically when he sees the wavering look on Jungkook's face, before going in for the final blow. "...you know it's ironic how you continue giving Taehyung shit because of how you assume he judged you, when you're doing the exact same thing to him" and with those parting words, he stands.

"...if you don't take the chance when it's right in front of you, you'll regret it because it won't wait for you forever..." Chim muttered more to himself but Kook heard him clearly.

His eyes widen in understanding and he grits his teeth because once again, he was proven wrong.

How many reality checks did he need before he stopped being so stubborn?

Quicker than he could blink, Chim had gone back to his normal bubbly self as if he didn't just bare his heart out and Kook had to wonder if this really was one man speaking.

"I'm going to call a friend now to come get you and you'll chill with him until we sort this out okay?" Chim asked with a grin but didn't wait for a response and started dialing a number.

Kook sits still in his seat with more to think about than ever.

"...Jimin is right...I've been such a jackass to Tae and yet he still fucking wanted me to be with him...God, when I see him again, I'll make things right. But I'm not going to let him get away with being such an arrogant ass. I know I'm missing something because he couldn't have always been that way, but what is it?..." he thinks despondently and realized that the entire time he had been taking his anger on Tae only because he couldn't accept the fact that he lied to him.

"But then again, that's also hypocritical of me because I've had been lying to people my entire life as well. What gives me the right to punish Tae for that?..." he muses.

Chim curses under his breath and Kook looks his way, seeing a worried expression cross his face as he feverently typed a message on his phone; definitely about what was happening to Tae at the moment.

Why was he so affected by Taehyung, and why did his heart ache painfully when he imagined the pain he might have been going through...

The shops bell chime and Chim looks up from his phone with a sigh of relief and walked to meet the man halfway. "Sorry for the last minute call Hyung...I'll make it up to you I promise." he says apologetically while clapping his hands in a regretful manner.

The man waves him off "Jimin, if this involves Tae, you know I don't mind helping your jamless ass out." He said with a wolfish smirk.

Chim chuckles dryly but pats him on the shoulder in thanks one last time before waving to the confused Jungkook and then leaving the cafe.

The stranger takes a seat in front of Kook casually.

"You must be the man nobody can shut the fuck up about. I'm Namjoon" he says, offering his hands with a calculating look and Jungkook tenses before firmly grabbing and shaking it.

"...Jungkook" he mutters back, not sure how to handle this new person.

Namjoon eyes him carefully. "I guess you're probably confused with what's going on and nobody bothered explaining anything to you right?" He asked with a sigh and Kook pauses.

"Well he caught on quick..." Kook thought in surprise but nods anyways, making Namjoon groan.

"Aish. I told Yoon and Chim they needed to work on that but they're the type that reacts first and thinks later, so I guess that's not going to happen." He explains and Kook chuckles dryly.

"I've only known them for a couple of hours but I see know exactly what you mean..." Kook answers in dry amusement and Namjoon nods his head with a small smile, bringing up a cute dimple.

Kook stares. "...fuck. I take that back. I should just always expect that everyone I meet will either be extremely attractive or crazy. Maybe both..." he thinks but Joon doesn't notice.

"Anyways. Tae's been going through some tough times even though it may not seem like it. He's just the kind of guy that would never let anyone see his burdens and opts to carry the entire weight himself" Joon begins and Kook leans forward slightly now.

"...there was a point in his life where he had nothing except his mother who worked hard to provide everything she could for Tae." He briefly mentions and continues.

"I first met Tae when we were both in middle school and he was the guy who would never shut up in class, but could make even the driest person smile." Joon says with a wistful smile.

"...I was the guy who didn't have friends and put studying before everything" he continues and Kooks eyes widen at that.

The piercings and tattoo he could see totally contradicted his statement and Joon laughed at Kooks shocked expression.

"...I know. Completely different from how I am now but that was because of Taehyung. He was stubborn and would always do the dumbest things to make me smile and one day I was ganged up by a bunch of high schoolers. Tae saw them shoving me around and even though he was smaller than me, he didn't even hesitate to come help." Joon says with a furrow of his brows and Kook, who was totally immersed in the conversation, was in awe.

"...so he helped you kick their asses and you guys became friends afterwards?" Kook finishes for him and Namjoon bursts out into laughter.

"What? No way! Tae was tiny back then. He may look tall and lean, but back then he was such a lanky guy..." he answered with an amused snort and Kook gave a crooked smirk.

He could totally imagine a scrawny Taehyung.

Joon continued "...no...we both had gotten beaten up badly and as we were laying on the ground with our bruised and cut up bodies, I realized that if there was a man who could sacrifice himself so easily for the sake of someone he didn't even know, he was someone I wanted to trust." Joon finishes seriously and sighs.

Kook knew that Tae's kindness was instinctual, but he had no idea that he had always been this much of a selfless man.

"Anyways. Eventually we went into high school together and that's where the two idiots came in. Taehyung studied extremely fucking hard and I helped but didn't realize why he was doing so at the time. But one day when we all secretly got drunk he told us everything." Joon explained and Kook listened.

"The happy go lucky Taehyung, who we all thought had the perfect life was actually struggling to be perfect for his mom and worked two part time jobs so that she didn't have to do everything herself. And that was when he made a promise..." Joon added with respect in his tone.

"He said with so much conviction on the rooftop that day that he'd one day earn enough money to make sure his mom would never struggle a day in her life ever again. We all believed it too. His mom is his everything and was probably the one who encouraged him to be open about his sexuality too" Joon said with a laugh and Kook smiled.

"You should've seen him that day. He was drunk out of his mind and bursted out in tears, going on about how we would all hate him after he told us he'd been keeping something from us the entire time. We all thought he had done something horrible but then he said he was gay -expecting the worst reaction from us- and of course we ended up kicking his ass for even thinking we'd stoop so low." Joon reminisces with a scowl.

"Actually now that I think about it, we were all happy he swung for the other team because that meant we'd have more chances with the girls if Tae was out of the picture" he joked and Kook knew exactly what he meant as he recalled all the stares Tae would get from girls when they used to hang out.

"But yeah. Eventually he did well on his promise, as you can see now." He explained and Kook furrows his brow.

"...Tae never talked about his mom though...and what happened to his dad" He asked cautiously and Joon froze.

He gave him a sorrowful look.

"...she died" he answered truthfully and Kook clenched his fists, but wasn't surprised.

He had a feeling something was off earlier and he quickly made a speculation.

"So then where was his dad in all of this? Did he finally try to step in after his mother was gone and only when he knew Tae was making money?" Kook asked angrily with a snarl.

Joon shook his head.

"No...he...he was..." Joon tries to say but shuts his eyes.

"...no I can't. I can't tell you everything. That wouldn't be right...just know that after everything that happened, he never went back to being the mischievous Tae we all loved..." Joon admitted sadly but looked at him with a flash of emotion Kook couldn't read.

"...that is, until he told us about the man he had met...the man who was young but had experienced tragedies no one else should have gone through"

Kooks heart thuds.

"...The man who had connected with him on a deeper level..."

His hands were trembling now.

"The man who listened and cared about every word he said, even if it was stupid..."

Tears were building up as he bit his lips to stop himself but Joon wasn't done yet.

"...and the man who brought back the Tae we knew from middle school..." he finished with a pained smile and Kook shut his eyes.

He didn't know...he thought Tae had always been that man; the one who knew exactly what to say to make someone feel better.

He now knew he was someone who had guarded his heart more so than Kook's own.

"...and the one who had finally made him fall in love" Joon thought to himself as he studied Kook once more, hoping that the man in front of him could help heal Tae's broken heart.
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Sorry for such a late update and thank you all for being so patient with me!!

I just finished my surgery and was waiting so that I could post this and I realize that someone do you probably have given up on this short book 😭

I love you all though and I hope Joonies entrance in this chapter helped soften the late update 😅

How did Tae's mom pass away? What did his dad want from him?

Is Kook finally going to lower down his shield and let Tae in? Will those two have any chance at a successfully relationship?

What role does Hobi and Jin play in this story?

Find out soon~