Whatever the future Jungkook was imagining, it was certainly not this.

"-We barely have enough to feed us. What are we gonna do with another mouth?! Huh?! You can't just come home with another man and announce he's gonna live with us! Where is he gonna stay even?! Your father is working till his bones ache, and I'm slaving myself to feed this family! What were you thinking, Taehyung-ah? Are you trying to kill your old mother at this age-"

Jungkook tuned out the rest of the rant. Chances are, he had already heard it because Taehyung's mother has been yelling the same thing, over and over again for the past 15 or so minutes. Started as soon as they stepped on to their front garden, a girl, whom Jungkook assumed to be Taehyung's younger sister, alerted their mother about his presence.

As soon as Taehyung said Jungkook was going to live with them from now on, Kim Hara had not closed her mouth. It had been a constant stream of scolding, lamenting and backhand insults. Taehyung barely managed to get them all inside, so that they wouldn't become a spectacle for the village. A few people were already starting to poke their heads out of the doors and windows.

For a moment, Jungkook entertained the idea about revealing his true identity. The woman, and the entire village for that matter, would fall on their knees instantly. They would not dare raise their heads even, let alone laugh at him. But then he remembered, that is not his identity anymore. For safety, it was decided that his name would be Do Hwan, although he would be using the name Kookie day-to-day. An orphan, with no family, no friends, no nothing.

"-He is not a nobody!!" Taehyung's raised voice made Jungkook snap out of his mind and focus on what's happening. "He is-"

Jungkook watched as Taehyung paused, mouth slightly parted with words stuck in them. What words? Jungkook didn't know. He didn't know what exactly he was to the elder. They never had a chance to talk about or put a name to what they had between them. Jungkook wasn't sure if they had anything even. Nor did they discuss it on the way, as Taehyung opted to give Jungkook the silent treatment instead.

What is he to Taehyung?

"What, Taehyung-ah? Who is he? Why is he here?"

Taehyung looked deep in thought for a few seconds, before letting out a defeated sigh. "He's my guest."

"Guest?! This is not an Inn! You can't bring random, good-for-nothing scum whenever you feel like it and demand we give them lodging!"

"Don't call him that." Taehyung's voice had a hint of defense that time, which made his mother back down a fraction.

"Why? Give me one good reason."

"Because he's my partner!" Taehyung looked like he finally snapped. "And as long as I'm in this house, so will he be too."

There was a stunned silence for about 10 seconds, where everyone, including Jungkook, stared at Taehyung with wide eyes and open mouths.

His mother was the first one to recover. "W-what?"

Taehyung didn't answer, he just gave a curt nod, reconfirming what he previously said.

"T-taehyung-ah.." Taehyung's mother's hands were shaking a bit, when she raised her hand to grab Taehyung's forearm. "Tell me this isn't true. You.. you're joking with your mother right? Right?!"

"No, mother." Taehyung's voice sounded frustrated. With the situation or with Jungkook, the latter didn't know. "It's the truth."

Jungkook watched as Taehyung's mom opened her mouth, without saying anything. Even Taehyung's sister, who had been silent all this while, made a noise of being surprised.

"But Oppa," Taehyung turned his head at the sound of his sister's words. "What about Dahyun?"

Taehyung's face morphed into a frown. "Dahyun? What about her?"

"Oppa, are you really that oblivious? She told you that she has feelings for you many times!"

Jungkook closed his eyes, as he didn't want anyone to see the moisture in it. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, it did exactly that.

"And I have told her I'm not interested in her, every single time."

"But Oppa-"

They never got to hear what Taehyung's sister wanted to say, because his mom exploded one more time, louder than before if it's even possible.

"So you mean to say that you rejected that nice girl, for this- this- scum?!" Her voice suddenly made Jungkook think of a banshee. "Do you know who her father is? Yoo Daeshin is a close relative to a minister in the palace! They are big people. We could finally have some nice things in life. We could have married your sister to a good place. You put all my effort into the river. You-"

Jungkook tuned out her voice again. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind, but he decided to focus on a gray patch in the ground. Taehyung, his mother and sister are arguing again and all three voices seem to be overlapping, making it difficult to understand anything.

Jungkook looked up when there's a tap on his arm. Taehyung was standing in front of him, his expression unreadable. Unlike his mother's and sister's. They were clearly of great dislike.

"Follow me."

Jungkook gave a soft nod, and followed Taehyung. The inner room was as big as half of Jungkook's bath chamber at the palace. And most of it was covered with various painting materials. A lone cupboard stood at the corner, a worn-out roll of bedding leaning onto it.

"You can put your clothes here." Taehyung said as he quickly cleared one of the drawers of the cupboard. "I'll do something about all this stuff tomorrow. Just adjust for today."

"This is enough." Jungkook said in a small voice. "Thank you."

"Well.." Taehyung looked around the room a few times, clearly lost at words. "Settle down, however you like. I need to go somewhere. Just.. don't go out of the room."

"I understand." Jungkook really did understand what was being said between the lines. "I'm sorry for all the trouble."

Taehyung's face was impassive. "You should be."

Jungkook watched as the elder walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"I really am, hyung." Jungkook let the first drops of tears fall from his eyes. "I really am."

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Taehyung didn't have any place to be, he just wanted to get out of the house. The cold persona that he was keeping with great difficulty, was starting to slip down at Jungkook's saddened face. He couldn't bear to see the defeated look in the young prince's face for another second, without pulling the latter into his embrace and assure him that everything would be fine.

Taehyung also wanted some time for himself, to gather his thoughts and make sense of this bizarre situation. He was not given any time to think, before everyone pushed him into this mess. He had gone from being worried about the younger, to being summoned by the king, to knowing that his friend, the one he spent a lot of time with in the last couple of months, was actually the prince of this country.

He was almost punished with his life for that friendship and then suddenly, was given with the responsibility of taking care of the said prince.

And within all those punches, the biggest one would be the reply to his confession. Wait.. not a reply. A step above his confession. Taehyung only expressed a rushed out likeness for Jungkook. He didn't even get a chance to do a proper confession. He didn't even get to say what was in his mind, didn't get to explain just how much he liked Jungkook.

Taehyung scoffed to himself. Who was he kidding? He didn't just like Jungkook. He loved him. He was in love with the prince of the country, but his love story was finished even before it started. Because now, instead of cherishing the younger like the gem he is, Taehyung had to break his heart. He has to shatter that dream to pieces, so that the prince would never even glance at his direction.

When Taehyung returned a few hours later, Jungkook was sitting on the floor, looking out the small window with a faraway look in his eyes. He didn't turn his head when Taehyung entered the room.

"You didn't change?"

Jungkook shook his head. "Wanted to have a wash. Was waiting for you."

Taehyung scoffed. "For me to take you to your bath house? My apologies, your highness. We have none."

"T-that's not what I meant." Jungkook's voice was barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean to imply-"

"Then what else did you mean?!" Taehyung's words were cold like ice, but not raised, like he didn't want the sound to carry outside the room.

"You told me not to go out of the room." Jungkook whispered, as he looked up at the other. "I wasn't.."

Taehyung looked away. He couldn't meet the prince's glistening eyes. Those eyes were speaking thousands of words, even if his mouth only uttered a few.

"Ohh.. Well, you can use the well in the backyard, if you wanna wash your face only. But for a body wash, you'll have to go to the stream down the hill."

"Oh."

"I'll show you where it is, if you want."

"That's okay. The well would do just fine for now. I don't want to be a bother." Jungkook gave a small smile to himself, before getting up from the floor. "At least not be a bigger bother than I already am."

Taehyung quietly directed Jungkook to the backyard. After having their hands and faces washed, Jungkook and Taehyung promptly return to the room.

"You must be hungry." Taehyung said as he stopped by the door. "I'll go see-"

"That's not necessary." Jungkook answered with a shake of his head. "I'm quite tired though. Will it be okay if I take a nap? Didn't get to sleep much last night."

"Ohh.. of course. Let me just pull out the bedding-"

"That's not necessary." Jungkook quickly cut the elder's words. "This is enough for me."

Taehyung watched as the prince laid down on the bare floor, using the bundle of clothes he brought as a pillow. The sight was too unbearable for Taehyung, so he quickly went out of the room. He stayed out for most of the day, not knowing that even though the prince had his eyes closed the whole time, the luxury of sleep was nowhere near him.

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A/N - please excuse the mistakes. I'm so sleepy but I finished writing this chapter after so many days and I just wanted to publish. I'll proofread in the morning okie...💜💜