Taehyung stands in front of the mirror looking at his outfit for the social with an unsatisfactory frown.

    "I look fat." He says, more to himself, as he turns to look at a different angle.

    "You look great." Jin says coming from the bathroom with the younger's jewelry. "Stop being a pessimist."

Taehyung sighs, adjusting the silk scarf tied around his neck. "I should skip."

    "Points will be deducted if you skip. You get ten free points for just showing up." The older says taking Taehyung's hand and slipping the rings on his fingers. "Just go and speak with at least one of the judges. Make them like you, please?"

    "Jungkook will be there." The bluenette says, finally voicing his true concern. "And he's gonna see my stupid hair."

    "You liked your hair I thought." Jin says meeting the younger's eyes in the mirror.

    "I did, I look like a fucking idiot now." Taehyung pouts, running his fingers through the blue locks.

    "You look good. Stop it." The older says fixing Taehyung's hair. "Mina is going to be so happy you're wearing her set for the social."

    "She better be." The younger sighs, looking over himself once more before turning away from the mirror.

    "Shoes and we'll go. We're already late." Jin says checking his watch.

Taehyung steps into his shoes before meeting Jin at the door.

    "You look good, Tae." The older compliments as they leave the room.

The elevator ride down to the ballroom is quiet, Taehyung too lost in his own thoughts and worries to notice the dead silence.

The elegant background music is heard clearly as the doors open.

Quiet enough to talk over but loud enough to drown out all the gossip floating around the room.

Taehyung rolls his artificially blue eyes at the thought, his annoyance for the modeling community never failing to make an appearance.

    "Kim Taehyung?" Asks the woman at the door, most likely one of the judges.

    "Yes. How are you?" Taehyung smiles robotically as they shake hands and exchange pleasantries.

    "Enjoy the social." She says ending the short conversation.

Taehyung nods at her before walking in before Jin, the room shifts towards him the moment he walks in, everyone's eyes on him.

    "I hate these people." The bluenette says quietly to Jin with a deceiving smile.

The older chuckles. "They probably hate you too, come on."

They find an empty corner to stand in, nursing champagne glasses as they watch the social with watchful eyes.

    "Kim Taehyung!"

Jin and Taehyung both look towards the direction the model's name is called, both internally groaning as Park Shinhye approaches them with a smile.

    "Shinhye-noonim." The bluenette says bowing with a smile.

    "It's always so good to see you here every year." The woman says, it's a lie.

Why would you be excited to see the guy who keeps beating you?

    "You as well, you look stunning. As always." Taehyung says, also a lie, he couldn't stand her style.

    "You too." Shinhye smiles. "Can't wait for the competition. See you there?"

    "Of course." The younger nods, still forcing a small smile. "See you there."

Shinhye winks at him before walking off into another direction.

    "I hate her." Taehyung says to Jin who finally releases the laugh he's been holding in.

    "You're too good at that." The older laughs, making Taehyung crack the smallest genuine smile.

The smile vanishes almost as quickly as it appears, his eyes widen slightly when he sees him.

After almost two years he was seeing him with his own eyes and he didn't know how to react.

Jungkook stands with a tall man, his hand in his with a smile on his face that Taehyung didn't know he missed until now.

Jin notices the younger almost exactly when Taehyung does, excitement bubbling in his chest after not seeing him for so long.

    "I don't think I'm ready for this." Taehyung says turning away so his back is to Jungkook.

    "Taehyung~"

    "I'm leaving. If he asks about me tell him I stepped out." The bluenette says already walking away.

    "Tae~"

    "I'm going to make friends with one of the judges." Taehyung says escaping to the other side of the room.

Jin sighs as he goes. "Great."

    "Oh, Jin-hyung?" Jungkook's voice calls getting Jin's attention.

The older smiles as Jungkook approaches him with an equally as bright smile, pulling the man along with him.

    "Jungkook-ah, it's so good to see you." Jin says as Jungkook let's go of the man's hand to hug him. "How was the trip?"

    "Good, the time difference is starting to kick in but I'm feeling alright." The younger answers pulling away from the hug and looking Jin over. "You look good."

    "Thank you, you do too." The older says, glancing at the man standing beside Jungkook.

    "Oh!" Jungkook says as if he's just noticing he failed to introduce Jongsuk. "This is Lee Jongsuk. My boyfriend."

    "Ah, it's nice to meet you." Jin says offering a hand.

    "You too, Jungkook talks a lot about you." Jongsuk smiles kindly.

    "All good things I hope." Jin chuckles.

    "Of course." The older laughs, taking Jungkook's hand back in his.

    "So where's Taehyung, Jin-hyung?" Jungkook asks as if he's trying to make the question sound casual.

    "Making friends with one of the judges. It's always good for scores. But of course you know that because you are a judge." The older laughs softly. "He's around here somewhere though."

Jungkook nods. "Well, if you see him before I do tell him that I'm really excited to see what he's wearing this year."

"Yeah of course." Jin smiles. "It's good to see you again, Jungkook."

"You too, hyung." The younger chuckles. "I'm supposed to be walking around so I'm gonna get back to it."

"Yeah of course. If you don't have to rush back after the retreat we should meet up." The older says.

"Sure." Jungkook nods, shooting Jin another quick smile before walking away.

Jin sighs as Jungkook moves on to talk to someone else.

The younger looked so happy and it was reassuring for Jin to see him that way, he only hoped he was truly happy on the inside and out.

Jin finds Taehyung mixed in the crowd talking to one of the judges with a forced smile on his face, it was almost funny to see Jungkook and Taehyung literally feet away from each other and being completely oblivious of one another's presence.

The social comes to an end and everyone starts to filter out, Taehyung saying his goodbyes to his new "friend" before finding Jin.

"Let's get the hell out of here." He says pulling the scarf from around his neck and leading the way to the elevators. "Did you talk to him?"

"Yeah. He wanted me to tell you that he was excited to see what you were wearing this year." Jin answers as they step on the elevator. "He's gonna be a good judge."

"And the guy he was with?" Taehyung asks, his expression hard and his eyes forward.

"Lee Jongsuk. His boyfriend."

"He's happy?"

"I think so."

Taehyung nods silently, stepping off the elevator and walking to his room without another word.

He didn't know how to explain the way felt in this moment, he couldn't find the words and he didn't want to find the words.

He just wanted to go to sleep and forget about everything but he knew that it wasn't possible.

He was happy that Jungkook was happy, it just hurt that he wasn't happy with him.

🖤🖤🖤