Everything seemed to be moving slow the next morning.

There was a touch of coldness lingering in the air as it'd rained a couple hours prior. Not heavily or anything, just a light shower. While the chilly weather was nice, it prompted Taehyung to dress as warmly as he could. Some slacks and a soft-knitted sweater were sufficient and his thick brown coat hung off the back of the high stool he sat on. He left his hair to cover his forehead in a disheveled manner, the lack of care in his appearance today mirroring just how depressed he truly was.

Sat alone at the counter in front of the coffee station in Hoseok's shop, Taehyung read a book quietly. The ends of his sleeves almost covered his hands completely as one rested against the side of his head in a fist and the other turned the pages of the book. The place itself wasn't too crowded, peaceful almost, as the light clattering of coffee mugs and metal utensils drowned into the distant voices of people preoccupied in their own conversations. 

"I thought you'd both be here," Hoseok said, standing in front of Taehyung on the other side of the counter.

Taehyung lifted his head up to look at his hyung who was dressed in a black chef's outfit. "Yeah no, Jeongguk- he said he had a work thing."

Hoseok nodded with a tight smile. "But he's picking you up later, right?"

A hum left the younger man.

"Alright, so what do you want for breakfast?"

"I already ate."

"What?!" Hoseok's eyes grew big. "I clearly told Jeongguk on the phone for you two to not eat anything. I wanted to cook for you guys." He groaned with a playful glare. "This is just great. Jeongguk's not even here and you've already eaten."

Taehyung gave him a sympathetic look. "Sorry."

"At least have some fruit," the man settled on and continued with, "and I'm making you something to drink. Just gimme five minutes."

"Alright... thanks."

As soon as Hoseok walked away, Taehyung started thinking about earlier. How odd this morning had been indeed. Jeongguk waking him up and telling him to get ready. He didn't really say where they were going and Taehyung obliviously hadn't bothered to ask, too out of it and still half-asleep all morning. Then things took a stranger turn when Jeongguk suddenly had to go to his office for some work emergency so he dropped Taehyung off at Hoseok's.

A deep sigh left Taehyung, his hand unconsciously moving towards the diamond pendant hanging off his neck, shining brightly against the dull brown-colored sweater he had on. A brief memory of him getting dressed this morning replayed in his head. He was standing in front of the mirror, taking off his earrings from last night when Jeongguk came up from behind him.

"Won't you leave the necklace on? I don't want you to ever take it off," Jeongguk murmured sweetly into his ear.

This had Taehyung jolting awake from that sleepy stance for a moment and he nodded right away, heart beating too fast to speak with words.

When he thought back to how Jeongguk had been acting all morning, Taehyung couldn't shake the feeling that the man was up to something. Maybe what he said last night stuck with Jeongguk? Oh Taehyung didn't mean to be so brutally honest with what he said about Mr and Mrs Jeon and everything else. It was the overwhelming emotions that got the best of him at that time.

Ugh.

Maybe he shouldn't have said anything yesterday-

"Here we are," Hoseok interrupted his worrying thoughts. Fortunately. The man placed a bowl of fresh fruit in front of him, a fork sticking out from one side of it. Taehyung couldn't take his eyes off the pretty strawberries in all their plumpness and rich red shade.

Another thud sounded when Hoseok set a tall glass down before him. Filled to the brim with ice-cubes, the drink was a light brown color while the bottom appeared to be more saturated and there was a ton of whipped cream decorating the top of the glass in a large swirl. The aroma of coffee momentarily wafted into the air and Taehyung was already frowning.

"It tastes good. I make the best coffee." Hoseok slid the glass closer to him. "This is a caramel macchiato."

Taehyung glanced at the coffee, then back to the chef.

Hoseok sighed. "C'mon. At least try it."

"Fine." Taehyung begrudgingly took a sip from the straw poking out of the fluffy whipped cream.

He made a face.

"It's sweet."

"Yeah," Hoseok said. "There's caramel in it. I mean you don't like bitter coffee so I made a sweet one for you."

"But... I hate sweet drinks."

"What?! What do you mean? You love sweet things! I've seen you with ice cream and cakes."

Taehyung nodded. "Yeah, but that's food. If you've noticed, I only ever drink green tea besides water or the occasional beer," he explained.

"Okay, so then you should like bitter coffee, right? I mean because those green teas are bitter."

"No, I don't."

By now, Hoseok had an extremely frustrated look on. "So let me get this straight," he breathed out, leaning closer to Taehyung. "You like sweet things but not sweet drinks especially if it's coffee, and you like bitter drinks but again, still not coffee?"

Taehyung grinned at him, enjoying this. "What can I say? I'm just not a coffee person."

Hoseok sucked in a deep breath, not liking his clear defeat. Then he chuckled, smiling a bit too forcefully. "This isn't over, Kim-" He played along with their little stare down but then his gaze suddenly drifted to the front entrance.

"Hey, isn't that your friend?"

Huh? Taehyung arched a brow before turning, looking to where Hoseok's eyes were focused on and no amount of readiness would've prepared him for this very moment. What the-

"Jimin?" he whispered out.

Goodness.

Jimin, he was right there! Standing at the entrance of the shop in some ripped-jeans and a t-shirt with a denim jacket on top. A worried look masked his facial features, hair looking longer from the last time they saw each other. Not believing this, Taehyung's eyes were big as saucers, taking in every inch of his best friend, feeling happy, guilty, relieved and confused all at the same time.

The man slowly walked towards him, their eyes never leaving each other. The closer Jimin got to him, the more Taehyung felt himself move to stand up. He might've heard Hoseok excuse himself to leave them alone but he wasn't sure. All he could do was look at his best friend. Here. Standing before him after everything that'd happened between them.

That's when he started to feel the regret. It slapped him harder now than ever before.

Why didn't he call Jimin sooner?

Why did he stupidly give up on their friendship so easily like that?

Why did he ever think it would've been possible to live his life without Jimin in it?

He'd always felt bad for the way they left things but now that his friend was standing in front of him, Taehyung felt like the worst person on this planet.

Jimin gave him a small smile first.

"Tae-"

He didn't get to finish for Taehyung already had his arms tightly wrapped around him. Jimin hugged him back immediately. As they held onto each other, Taehyung realized just how much he needed this. How much he needed a friend right now.

Jimin showing up was a miracle.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung quickly said when they pulled back. "I-I should've called first- god, I'm just so happy that you're here. You're actually here..." His eyes gleamed brightly, feeling like he was gonna cry. "I don't know why I didn't call you. You have no idea how much I've missed you," he went on and on, wanting Jimin to know how truly sorry he was.

"Tae please, you have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one that screwed up."

"No, you didn't-" Taehyung shook his head before sighing. "It doesn't matter. None of it matters. I just want us to be friends again."

Jimin gazed at him with glistening eyes. "O-Of course," he breathed out. "I want that too... maybe we can start by having a drink together?"

Taehyung nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes we can." He let go of the other man to pull out the stool next to his. "Here, have a seat."

There were too many things that needed to be spoken between them... dammit! All that time they wasted not speaking to each other. Taehyung regretted it so much. He wanted to tell Jimin everything. Jimin looked like he wanted to do the same. Although neither knew where to start from. 

Once they were both seated side by side at the counter, Taehyung smiled at him, still unable to believe this was actually happening, buzzing with elatedness at having his best friend back when one major question suddenly popped into his head.

"Oh wait, how did you know to find me here?" Taehyung asked.

Jimin froze before he broke into a nervous laugh, raising a hand to the back of his neck. "Well about that... I was talking to Jin and he told me what happened to you and Jeongguk last night."

Wait, what?

"Jin told you?"

"I sorta asked him how you were doing. I always..." Jimin paused, smiling nervously again. "I always ask about you when I talk to him. And I don't know what got into me really, after he told me about last night, I was just so worried so I called Jeongguk this morning."

Taehyung was certainly surprised to hear this. He couldn't believe it.

"You actually called Jeongguk?"

"Yeah, I didn't know if I should've called you directly so I called him." Jimin chuckled a bit. "I seriously thought he'd hang up on me but he spoke really nicely. I just wanted to ask him if you were alright and that'd be the end of our conversation but he suddenly told me- well, more like asked me if I was willing to make up with you and told me that you'd be here."

As soon as he'd said this, Taehyung felt butterflies in his stomach.

This was unbelievable. "Are- are you serious?"

"Yeah."

There was this intense need in him to see Jeongguk now. To hug him and kiss him and thank him for this wonderful thing that he'd done. The shocked expression stayed on his face as he looked at Jimin. "What did Jeongguk say exactly?"

Jimin smiled at him again.

"He said that you needed a friend."

Oh man, suddenly Jeongguk's behavior this morning made a little sense. Did he drop Taehyung off here, knowing Jimin would show up to meet him? If so, then was there really a work emergency at his office? Seriously... Taehyung didn't know what to think anymore. He was extremely happy for Jimin being here but there was a mixed feeling playing inside him and he couldn't get Jeongguk out of his head. 

Just where are you?

Jeongguk took his glasses off and tossed them over to the empty passenger's seat. He pressed his head back against the headrest for a brief moment, allowing his eyes to close. He'd been sitting in his car in his parents' driveway for the past seven minutes.

He couldn't sleep a wink last night as Taehyung's words ate away at him. How hard it was for them... just because they love each other. Why was their relationship anyone's business? Why couldn't everyone just shut up and leave them alone? Why was it such a problem that they were together? Now, where did it all start? The source to all their troubles and misery. Jeongguk opened his eyes, turning to look out the window at the house he grew up in.

The mansion was huge and beautiful but it'd never looked so empty before. He couldn't recall having any good memories in here. Just beyond those doors, his parents were probably having a quiet night. His father working in his study, his mother watching TV or something- she loved the cooking channel. They had no idea what was about to happen.

What Jeongguk was about to do.

Let's just get this over with. Telling himself to be strong one last time, Jeongguk left his car and made his way to the front steps, not looking back.

It'd taken him a long time to understand it, the fact that there were two sides to his parents. One, the completely sober, strict personas they radiated off each time they were in the presence of the public. The other side was the one that only stayed behind the walls of this house, never to meet the light of day, the flaw, the drunk, the perfect depiction of two unhappy people living together.

Jeongguk never comprehended it. Why his parents still stayed together even though they clearly weren't happy. Their marriage was arranged, that much he knew. For a while, Jeongguk had figured it wouldn't be so bad... meeting a complete stranger, getting hitched first and then slowly falling in love with them. This sounded so innocent, so pure and not impossible because it worked for some people in this world.

Although after witnessing with his own eyes how truly depressing and awful it was seeing his parents' endless fights and how they'd shamelessly cheat on each other with other people, suddenly the idea of an 'arranged marriage' was the scariest thing in the world for Jeongguk. There was a brief period in his teen years when all his friends' parents were getting divorced and he felt guilty for wishing it but yeah... he actually rooted for his parents to separate.

He waited for that moment to arrive where they'd announce their divorce but they never did. That's when Jeongguk finally realized that they never would because to them, their image was everything. Their perfect name that could not be tarnished, the approval of their friends that they needed to feel good about themselves, even if it meant living in hell with each other.

In so many ways, his parents were modern, forward-thinking and highly intelligent people... what they lacked however, was that emotional intelligence. It was simple to them: as long as Jeongguk had a roof over his head and food in his mouth, then he shouldn't have a single problem.

All that mental dilemma, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem every teenager goes through- hah, that didn't exist in his parents' eyes. If Jeongguk were to bring it up, then he'd be labelled 'over-emotional' so to say. The worst part of this all was that he knew no matter how hard he tried to explain all this to his parents, they would never understand it. Because they were oblivious, because they had never experienced it themselves- they didn't know love from their own parents and each other.

So how on earth were they to show love to their own son when they've never been loved themselves?

The plan was simple. Jeongguk took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. He wasn't going to go through the dilemma of arguing with them (at least he hoped he didn't have to). He already had that deal with his father so they were well-aware of what was going to happen after Jeongguk paid them back the money they lent him. It was a little steep, withdrawing the huge amount of money to return to his father and to be honest, Jeongguk needed a few more months to be in a position to pay it back but it didn't matter now, he took whatever he had out.

He could get another job- maybe two or three if need be. He just couldn't work for his father anymore... anything was better than living like this.

Anything... anything to end this little game he had going with his parents, to cut the leash they had on him so he'd finally be free.

Free with Taehyung.

Yes, it had to be now-

"Jeongguk?" his mother's shocked voice sounded when the door opened. Her face switched from a happy one to a worried one like she didn't know what to feel seeing her son stand before her after months of not seeing each other. "What are you doing here? I-I mean come in," she said and stepped aside.

"How are you?" Jeongguk walked into the place, reminding himself of his plan. To make this short and brief.

The giant wooden doors shut behind him. "I'm fine," his mother gladly answered. "It's so good to see you." The woman smiled. "I can't believe you're here. You should've called. We could've had dinner-"

"I actually just need to speak with you and dad. I have somewhere to be after this."

Her face dropped. "Oh- well, your dad's in his study. I'll go get him-"

"No," Jeongguk dismissed. "I'll go to him."

By now his mother had picked up on his curtness. That this wasn't a normal visit. She silently trudged behind him as Jeongguk headed straight to his father's study. He was nervous, no doubt about that. Somehow whenever he stood up to his father, he always let his emotions get the best of him. But he couldn't let anything go wrong this time. This was it. The final confrontation.

He took in another deep breath when he was standing in front of his father's study. He raised his hand and with a couple of knocks to follow, a distant 'come in' sounded from the other side.

"Dad," Jeongguk called once, heart beating a little faster now.

The old man glanced up from where he was looking through some papers, sat behind the huge mahogany desk. His eyes widened for a split second, surprised. "You... you're here?"

Jeongguk stepped forward until he was closer, right opposite his father. He pulled out the thin folded sheet of a cheque from his pocket and placed it on the desk. His father looked at him confusedly before dropping his gaze down to the cheque. The man took it into his hands, reading it briefly.

"As part of our deal, here's your money back," Jeongguk simply stated.

His father narrowed his eyes, looking to be having a hard time processing all this. "What... what is this?"

"I'm quitting."

"Quit?" Mr Jeon straight away raised to his feet, a look of disapproval glued to his wrinkled face. "What the hell are you saying? Jeongguk, you can't-"

"We agreed that I didn't have to work for you anymore if I returned the money you lent me," Jeongguk spoke calmly. "And now I have."

The old man was baffled, beyond stupefied.

"S-So what? This is it?"

Jeongguk nodded. "Yes. You don't have to concern yourself with me anymore."

"Jeongguk, please!" His mother suddenly appeared next to him, grabbing a hold of his arm. "You don't have to do this. Your father didn't mean-"

"You're not quitting! You don't get to decide this!" Mr Jeon shouted.

Jeongguk felt his hands fisting by his sides. Even now, he saw his parents as nothing more than the mess they truly were. He was suppressing it all in. It was over. He'd come and said what he had to and now it was time he turned around and walked out of here to go back. Back to Taehyung.

"I'll be leaving now," he said without any trace of emotions and gently pulled his arm back from his mother's grasp to leave the study.

It broke his heart a little to hear his mother's cries behind him but he kept walking. So near to the door when his father spoke out.

"You're doing this all because of him aren't you?"

Jeongguk stopped.

Fucking hell.

He couldn't go through one civil conversation with any of these people without them mentioning Taehyung. He was sick of it. Jeongguk sighed and turned around to look at the older couple.

"What?" he gritted out.

"He's making you do this, right? You're completely manipulated by-"

"Stop." Jeongguk felt all the emotions he'd pushed down start to resurface within him. "This isn't about him. This has nothing to do with Taehyung so just stop-"

"No." His father shook his head. "This is about him because you've never rebelled before. Everything started after you met him."

Jeongguk clenched his jaw- damn, he hated it so much when his parents blamed Taehyung. "Nothing started after I met him. It's just taken me this long to realize how unhappy I was living the life you planned out for me."

His father was practically shaking in anger. "How ungrateful are you going to be? You caused us so much trouble with what you've done. The wreck you were in high school, breaking the engagement, running off to Japan... do you have any idea how much shame you've brought us? And still, we welcomed that boyfriend of yours and-"

"Stop. Just stop talking. You don't get to be the victim here. Yes, I'll admit you did help me when we got back from Japan but you forced me to work for you. You weren't going to give me the money if I hadn't agreed to take that job. Dad, you only do things when you're benefiting from it."

The old man stared at him for a moment. "You wouldn't have taken the job if I hadn't done that."

"That's exactly my point. You don't get to force me to do something I don't want to. No person on earth likes to be forced to do something and that's what you two have been doing to me my entire life," Jeongguk said, feeling those emotions kick in. "But I don't want to talk about the past- frankly I don't care anymore. Everything that you two did, it might've been right in your eyes so I don't care. And I know you two tried to be nice to Taehyung but the thing is, you're never really going to accept me being with him."

Mrs Jeon was crying so much at his words. "Jeongguk-"

"I can't blame you guys for not trying because you did. Having dinner that one time didn't sound so bad and Taehyung seemed so happy that you were starting to accept him. But I started thinking about what you said to him that night at the hospital. You told him to stay away from me and he was willing to leave me because of it. I know you two very well. I know that it'd only be a matter of time before you or mom tells him to leave me again-" Jeongguk let out a stuttering breath.

"I just... I can't bear the thought of that happening again. That's why I stopped Taehyung from seeing you two. I'm sorry for hurting you both but I don't trust you guys. Not one bit."

Jeongguk took a step back.

"I have to make a difference. For me. For Taehyung. If I don't start somewhere, then it's never going to change. I want my life with him to be free from this twisted obligation to be perfect in the eyes of others, to care about what people we barely know say, to live a miserable life that pleases the world rather than ourselves. We get to decide who we want to be. Not anyone else... especially not you two."

He was breathing hard now, feeling the guilt from seeing and talking to his parents like this. Although along with that guilt came relief. Jeongguk felt lighter now from getting this load off his chest. There was no going back now. He'd said almost everything.

Right then, he locked eyes with his mother. The woman was a mess. "Jeongguk please..." she sobbed out. She could cry all she wanted but Jeongguk knew she'd never go against his father's word. As for the old man himself, he stood there with a displeased look on.

They'd never give in.

They'd never admit their mistake.

They just wouldn't... change.

Jeongguk inhaled, feeling better than he did walking into this house.

"I'm sorry for not being the son you wanted me to be, sorry for breaking this family apart and sorry that it has to be this way, I truly am," Jeongguk said softly, his own eyes glistening. "But I love Taehyung with all my heart and as of right now he's the only family that I need. He means the world to me... I just can't let anything threaten to break us up."

Finally with those very last words, Jeongguk turned and walked out.

In a matter of minutes, they jumped back to the way they were. It really felt like nothing happened these past few months, like they hadn't fought, like the whole Yoongi issue never happened.

"Get. Out. Really?!" Jimin shoved Taehyung out of shock. A habit. "So, he beat the guy up right there?" Jimin exhaled, shaking his head. "Dude, I've never really told you this but sometimes, Jeongguk scares the crap outta me."

"Yeah well... he does give out an intimidating vibe at times."

"What happened next?"

A groan left Taehyung as he let his face fall into his arms on the table. "I sorta scolded him for what he did. Man, I feel so bad. I could tell that he was hurt with what I said."

"And what did you say?"

Taehyung lifted his head. "Everything. I told him everything. How I felt about his parents and how different we were that makes it so hard for us to live peacefully," he said, thinking about Jeongguk right now, where he was, and if he was feeling miserable too. "And you know what the worst part is?" Taehyung sat up straighter. "I don't think we even made up properly. I slept on the car ride home last night and we didn't speak about it this morning. He dropped me off here right after breakfast."

"Did he look upset?"

"Hmm..." Taehyung tried to recall if Jeongguk seemed even a little bit distraught earlier. "Not really. He was acting normal."

"Then you have nothing to worry about," Jimin said encouragingly. "You were the one who told me that he does whatever it takes to make you happy. This'll be over sooner than you know it."

It was nice to hear these words from Jimin. They helped a lot but above that, Taehyung was really just glad that they were talking again. He missed this so much. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't wondered about Jimin from time to time and it was that fear of confrontation that held him back from reaching out to the other. It was only a matter of who was willing to be the bigger person and cave in first.

And it looks like that person was Jimin, with Jeongguk's help of course.

Taehyung smiled a little, at his thoughts and his friend's last words.

"Yeah... alright."

After returning his smile, Jimin noticed the iced coffee sitting on the table, barely touched, ice-cubes melting as the tall glass left a ring on the marble counter. "What is this?" He took the glass into his hands. "Coffee?" Jimin widened his eyes in utter surprise.

"You drink coffee now?" He gasped. "Who are you?"

"Calm down. Hoseok made that for me. He thinks he can get me to start drinking coffee," Taehyung said, cheek snuggled into his palm, watching Jimin sip the beverage until it met its halfway mark.

He couldn't hide his smile, loving this familiarity.

"What? You're not gonna drink it," Jimin said and put the glass down. "This is good coffee by the way."

"Yeah, that's what I've been told."

"This Hoseok, is he Jeongguk's chef friend?" Jimin asked.

Taehyung nodded. "Yeah, I think I've told you about him. Wait. Haven't you met him before?"

"No, I don't even know what he looks like."

"What are you talking about? You've seen him- I mean that guy that I was with when you got here-"

Jimin jumped in his seat, abruptly leaning closer to the other. "That was him?! He's the chef?"

"Yeah- W-Why are you so surprised?" Taehyung narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing, it's just..." Jimin trailed off, moving back to his seat before fiddling with the straw in the coffee glass. "He's younger than I thought. I just figured he'd be in his thirties, y'know with having owned a whole restaurant and all."

Taehyung chuckled. "I know, he's something alright. I don't think I could ever own a business. Much less a successful one. All that planning and strategic thinking and taking care of the money... I could never."

"I couldn't either. It's because we're art people," Jimin said confidently.

"What people?"

"Art people. We believe anything can be expressed through art. Whether it's writing, painting, acting or dancing, there're no boundaries, y'know. We don't see the impossible in what we do. That's why we struggle to think realistically at times." Jimin spoke fluently and then smirked at Taehyung. "That's why you suck at math."

"We got the same grade on the final."

"No." Jimin urgently shook his head. "I got a point five higher than you."

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's a huge difference. You're a genius." He placed a piece of fruit in his mouth when a thought came to him. "Wait, if we're art people... then what about those out there who are good at both? I mean, I guess culinary is a kind of art. They're creating food and maintaining a good business at the same time. What makes these people?"

Jimin made a thinking face before he grinned.

"Better than us?"

Seriously. Taehyung snorted. "Thanks, that makes me feel really good about myself."

"Oh come on, you don't need to be good with numbers. You're a great writer..." Jimin stirred the coffee before taking another sip. "Or maybe not. I wouldn't know since you never let me read anything you write."

"When have you ever asked me?"

"You should offer!"

"Oh whatever." Taehyung turned away, taking another piece of strawberry from the bowl of fruit. "It's no good anyway..."

"So tell me now, what do you write about?"

Taehyung instantly became still, heart leaping into a fast rhythm. The strawberry stayed between his fingers, inches away from his parted lips.

What does he write about?

Jeongguk's face appeared in his head.

He thought back to the last time he sat in front of his laptop. It was four in the morning and he was in bed with the device on his lap, its bright blue screen light shining over his face. Jeongguk was asleep next to him.

He remembered staring at the beautiful man. Jeongguk looked so peaceful while he slept and Taehyung couldn't keep his eyes off him. Long hair all messy in a sexy way, luscious dark lashes hugging his rosy cheeks while his pinkish lips were slightly parted with the subtle breaths leaving him. More often than not, he slept without a shirt on and the blanket only covered him up to his waist. This put his flawless porcelain skin on display, every muscle curved to perfection in all the right places, hard abs, broad shoulders and those tattoos... ugh, they made Taehyung want to swoon, really.

To be truthfully honest, ever since he started writing about Jeongguk, nothing else really interest Taehyung anymore. He just couldn't stop. There were so many things he had to write about the younger. It was more of an obligation he felt to note down every single thing he found endearing about Jeongguk, down to the last intricate detail. Or maybe his justification was simpler than that.

Writers wrote about what they loved right?

What did Taehyung love more than anything in the world?

Jeongguk. So, there it was... his reason.

Basically his entire writing scheme had been altered almost completely just to fit Jeongguk. There was a specific style, intonation and expository he used in his writing that was only meant for Jeongguk and nothing and no one else. It could be said that Taehyung was obsessed with the man he loves.

He didn't see anything wrong with that though. He wouldn't have it any other way because after spending countless hours in front of his computer now, he realized something truly revolutionary: the rush and excitement he felt writing about something he loved for once in his life.

Back to Jimin's question...

"The weather."

Jimin scrunched his face in an 'are you serious?' manner. "The weather?" He chuckled. "Taehyung, what's there to write about the weather? It's sunny, it's cloudy, it's rainy, full stop. Do you know how boring that sounds?"

"It... it's not boring to me," Taehyung squeaked out, avoiding the man's gaze.

"No, you're lying," Jimin leaned closer to him, smiling widely. "I know that look. God, Tae... you make it so obvious," he teased more. "You write about him, don't you?"

"What?!" Taehyung exclaimed, struggling to keep a serious face.

Jimin patted his shoulder. "It's okay, don't get shy now. I think that's sweet."

At this point he didn't bother to refute. After all, he never could lie in front of Jimin. Taehyung sighed instead. "Right..."

"So does he know?"

"Are you crazy? Of course not. I don't know what I'd do if he ever does. Probably die from embarrassment..."

"Then can I read it?"

Taehyung turned to Jimin and smiled. "No."

"Come onnnn..." the smaller man begged. "I won't judge. I promise. Even during the love making scenes- ouch! Stop hitting me!" 

Red-faced, Taehyung gave another hard hit over his friend's arm. "People can hear," he whispered alarmingly.

"Fine, alright. Sheesh..." Jimin rubbed his arm with a pout. "I forget how crazy you get over these things." He gave a tiny glare to Taehyung before his eyes drifted to his watch. "Oh shit! I'm gonna be late for work."

"Work?" Taehyung watched the man scramble to put his jacket on. "You mean rehearsals?"

"Nope." Jimin smiled proudly. "I got a part-time job teaching."

"Oh, I already feel sorry for your students," Taehyung teased and earned a smack on his shoulder.

"Shut up, I teach the cello."

Jokes aside, Taehyung really was impressed with this news. He grinned. "That's amazing, Jimin. Where do you teach it?"

"Down at that recreational center. I started a month ago. There's no pay actually. It's more of a volunteer thing. I do it whenever I'm free. Yeah, those kids love me." Jimin spoke with genuine fondness in his tone. It was obvious he loved doing this. "Well, I guess I'll see you then."

Taehyung nodded eagerly. "M-hmm, get there safely..."

"I will. Goodbye."

He was about to reply when Hoseok popped out from the other side of the counter again. He smiled at the two friends, holding out a brown paper bag. "Here. Take this with you. On the house," Hoseok said to Jimin.

Beyond surprised, Jimin stared at the elder for a few seconds, glancing to Taehyung then back at him. He broke into a smile. "Uh... t-thanks." He shyly spoke, taking the doggy bag from the man. After peeking into it, Jimin gasped. "Cinnamon buns?" 

"Yes, I made them myself. I hope you like them."

Jimin's face must've been redder than a tomato right then. "Y-Yeah... thanks again." He nodded, passing one final look to Taehyung, mouthing the words 'goodbye'. With that, he walked out of the place.

Taehyung and Hoseok kept their gazes on the front entrance after he was gone.

"Y'know, cinnamon buns are his favorite."

The chef chuckled. "Oh really? I guess a good cook knows his customers well."

"You're crazy. This was his first time coming here," Taehyung said, turning back to face Hoseok. 

"I guess I'm just that good."

Taehyung innocently scoffed at his words and reached for his book sitting on the counter there. He wasn't really in the mood to read but staring at these words was far better than worrying about where Jeongguk could be. He desperately wanted to call him but what if the younger was in a meeting or something. No, Jeongguk said he'd be here around two to pick him up so he should just wait. If he doesn't get here by then, Taehyung would call him.

Yes... he just needed to be patient.

After opening the book to where he left off, Taehyung read through one sentence- not even one sentence actually, barely, like five words before his gaze flew to the clock on the wall at the side of the place. One fifteen. Dammit, why was the time suddenly moving so slow? He sighed, slamming the book shut.

"Hyung."

Hoseok looked up from where he was standing by the expresso machine, cleaning one of those tamping stands thingy. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Oh, sure."

"What was Jeongguk like in high school?"

The elder didn't respond right away. Taken aback by the sudden question, he froze with a nervous look on. "What- why are you asking?"

Taehyung thought deeply about it. He always felt like there was this missing link in Jeongguk's past that he didn't know about. Something that happened, something that made him turn out the way he is now. Maybe an incident that occurred when he was in high school? Taehyung has had his doubts about this for a long time now and when that guy yesterday mentioned he went to high school with Jeongguk, his curiosity grew. God forbid Jeongguk would ever tell him if he asked so Hoseok was his best option right now.

"I just wanna know. Jeongguk, he- he rarely talks about his past." Taehyung spoke seriously, watching his hyung get a little fidgety at his words. "Did something happen back then?"

"No. Nothing... nothing happened- why would you think something happened- "

"Hyung..."

Hoseok stared at him for a moment longer before he sighed. "Look Taehyung," he started and set aside the things in his hands to walk towards the other. "I really think that you should talk to Jeongguk about this. I shouldn't be the one to tell you."

"So something did happen. Tell me."

"Taehyung- "

"Please... Jeongguk will never tell me if I ever asked. I have to know- he won't find out that I heard it from you, alright? So please..."

"Alright, alright fine," the elder gave in. "Man, where do I start... okay, first lemme just say that Jeongguk and I didn't become friends right away. I first saw him when I was in my senior year. He was three years younger than me. But everyone in school knew who he was." A smile spread across Hoseok's face, old memories fleeting across his dark brown eyes, speaking with admiration.

"Smartest in his class, good at every sport- I can't tell you the number of times they'd call him up on stage during morning assemblies to receive an award for some great thing he did that week. Everyone loved him..."

There was a tinge of sadness in Hoseok's smile now. "But of course, there were those who were jealous of him. They hated him for being so... perfect, y'know. And Jeongguk knew this- I mean, it was normal right. It's high school. No matter how nice you try to be, there's always one person who'll hate you for no reason. As for Jeongguk, he was a fairly reasonable person back then. He ignored them. For as long as he could that is."

Taehyung listened intently, sensing the ugly side of the story about to unfold. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know now. Even with the air-conditioned air surrounding him, he was sweating a little from the nervousness.

"One late evening, I'd just left the library and was making my way out the back of the school building. It was a shortcut most students took, a back valley of sort. The place itself wasn't very nice. It was eerie and dirty and I definitely didn't expect to see Jeongguk there that day," Hoseok spoke distastefully. "He was there alone with these three other boys..."

Oh no... Taehyung felt his heart beat faster.

"I hid at first, not knowing what I'd be walking into. But then I saw it-" Hoseok stopped to breathe out, seeming to be dreading his next words.

"They were bullying him."

The fuck- Taehyung raised a hand to his mouth. "What?" he whispered out, unable to believe this. No, he didn't want to believe it. How could this be? How on earth could- "You can't be serious- h-how? He was bullied?"

"I wished I was lying, Taehyung," Hoseok said and sighed. "But it's true. When those boys left, I walked over to Jeongguk. I'll never forget that look on his face- I don't think I've ever seen a person look so helpless before... I asked him if he was alright but he didn't answer. He just walked away. For a couple of weeks since then, I'd find him at that same alley with those same boys. They'd accuse him for cheating in class, that his parents bribed the school and that's why he was doing so well in his academics and sports," the elder went on.

"Sometimes, he'd come to school with a black eye or a cut in his lip. When people asked, Jeongguk just gave them some excuse but it was so obvious. I don't know why the teachers or his friends didn't see it. I mean it was just... so obvious, what was going on. And I guess his parents had no idea about this because Jeongguk couldn't really tell them with them being on the school's board and everything. Y'know, that whole image crap..." Hoseok shook his head, looking a little pissed. "I couldn't stand it anymore so one day after school, I quickly followed Jeongguk. I was going to confront him, to tell him that I'd help him if he was having a hard time with those bullies but I wasn't ready for what I was about to see."

Hoseok kept a firm gaze on Taehyung, tone more serious than ever. "I remember calling out to him but he ignored me and continued to walk into that alley, towards those three boys. I followed him, scared, thinking he was going to get bullied by them again. Over and over again, I kept shouting his name and then I remembered stopping. Because right then, I watched with my own eyes as Jeongguk beat those boys up. By the time I ran to him to stop him, they were all terribly injured, bleeding like fuck-" Hoseok momentarily closed his eyes, having a hard time reliving this unpleasant memory.

"It was horrible Taehyung," he mumbled lowly. "Jeongguk looked so frightened, afraid- I could see that he didn't know what he'd just done. It was the endless torture that'd led him to do something like that. I would've taken his hand and brought him away from there, I would've helped him myself but a teacher saw us and she called us to the principal's office immediately. We managed to clear the misunderstanding but of course his parents were informed."

Taehyung felt that lump in his throat from holding in his emotions. He didn't know. All along, he had no idea that all this happened... and yesterday, he scolded the younger like that- fuck! He was more desperate to see Jeongguk now and tell him how sorry he was. He wouldn't have opened his mouth last night if he'd known all this. 

It made sense now... what drove Jeongguk to possess this uncontrollable rage.

"You can probably guess what happened next... his parents did everything they could to hide this issue. Two of those boys transferred to different schools, not that badly injured and one ended up in the hospital for two months. As for Jeongguk, his parents kept a tighter leash on him, sent him to that fucking therapist-" Hoseok scoffed. "Like he was sick, like he was a psycho for beating those boys up. They should've just talked to him. What he needed the most back then was for someone to be there for him but his parents pushed him aside to confide in a stranger and only cared about keeping the rest of the school from finding out about the fight."

Hoseok was trying to calm his heavy breathing, getting agitated just by telling this story. "Jeongguk was different after that day. I mean he still did good in his studies and all that but he pushed everyone away. Was always alone." The man then looked at Taehyung with a small smile. "That's when we became friends- he didn't like me at first." He chuckled. "I remember the first few times I sat with him at lunch, he'd stare at me like I was a crazy person and not reply to a single thing I said. But eventually..."

Hoseok's smile grew and Taehyung's heart felt a little lighter.

"... Jeongguk would nod here and there and say a word or two. I'd invite him over to my house- I lived with my sister back then and she worked all the time so I was in charge of all the cooking. Jeongguk would watch me cook sometimes and then-"

"He learned to cook?" Taehyung beamed with a big smile.

Hoseok nodded. "Yeah, soon it became a regular thing for us to cook together. I didn't know he'd be so good at it. I told him that I wanted to open up a tiny restaurant after high school and hah-" He laughed. "He said that he wanted to be a chef too. It was the cutest thing ever and I told him that I'd hire him. In fact, he did work with me for a bit but his parents forced him to quit when they found out. Nevertheless, I could see that he was getting better. His parents still monitored his every move but Jeongguk was smart. He'd sneak out of the house-"

The elder's eyes suddenly widened. "I remember him waking me up at two in the morning once -I didn't even bother to ask how he got into my room- and he dragged me to a street race. That was the first one we went to. He told me he liked cars and soon, he started racing them. I never went to another race with him after that but he went by himself almost every night until he was eighteen, even made a few friends there and then drove up to my house one day in a brand-new Mini Cooper. He'd won a bet in a race and got the car."

"What?" Taehyung instantly sat up straighter in his seat. "You mean... t-the one he has now?"

"Exactly the one," Hoseok answered and smirked. "Do you really think he'd keep the car if his parents had bought it for him?"

"No."

Of course not. Jeongguk wasn't like that. He worked hard for the things he wanted, he barely depended on people and Taehyung couldn't get over how impressed he was by this. Jeongguk really has come a long way... "Tell me more," Taehyung said, starry-eyed with the side of his face resting into his palm comfortably, gazing up at the chef.

"Well, he started getting tattoos when he was a senior in high school. He got 'em on his forearms first, careful to not let it show through his uniform but after he graduated, he didn't hold back and got more."

"What about his bike? Did he win that in a race too?"

Hoseok smiled and shook his head. "Nope. Jin bought that for him for his nineteenth birthday."

Wide-eyed, Taehyung stared at the man. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, by the time Jeongguk entered college Jin and him were pretty close. They'd already known each other from being neighbors and all so it was easy for them to get along. He became friends with Namjoon later on," Hoseok explained. "I've met most of Jeongguk's friends from college but the ones I really clicked with were only Jin and Namjoon. That's really how we became close."

Taehyung nodded, soaking it all in.

Then he remembered something.

He hesitated at first, debating whether or not to ask this but- ah, whatever. He might as well take this opportunity to clear his doubts.

"Was this also when his parents made him date Ji-yi?"

Hoseok watched him without saying anything first. "Yeah... they knew her parents and she and Jeongguk had known each other since they were little so it had always been their plan to have them marry."

This probably didn't matter anymore. Still Taehyung couldn't help but feel a little depressed upon hearing this. It just annoyed him that things had to turn out this way. The past that he couldn't alter no matter what. Before that annoyance could've really brought him down, a hand landed on his. Taehyung looked at his hyung standing over on the other side of the counter.

"Hey... don't think about it," Hoseok soothed comfortingly. "She's out of the picture now. Jeongguk chose you. He loves you."

He was right.

Taehyung hummed and laid his head into his arms on the counter. Hearing Jimin and Hoseok's endless assurances that everything was going to be okay made him terribly anxious because he felt stuck. Like he couldn't move on from this unsure feeling inside him, like he was going to remain feeling depressed like this until he eventually sees Jeongguk. Which led him to his second concern:

Dammit Jeongguk, where the hell are yo-

"Ah, looks like he's finally here..." Hoseok suddenly voiced out.

In less than a second, Taehyung shot up in his seat. He wasn't aware of Hoseok's voice calling him, or the looks he got from the customers around or the fact that he may have knocked over his stool as he ran to the front door.

All he could feel was his heart hammering in his chest.

The first sight of Jeongguk greeted his eyes there, outside the shop, getting out of his car, wearing the same clothes he was this morning, a small smile on his perfect face- fuck, it was hard to explain this feeling. It felt as if Taehyung was never going to see Jeongguk again but somehow he was given a second chance.

Not sure if this had something to do with Hoseok's stories about the younger man but Taehyung was just filled with this deep sympathy and responsibility to make sure Jeongguk never goes through something like that again.

In a way this probably was his second shot- his second chance to see Jeongguk for who he truly is now that he knew the man's past.

And Taehyung was not going to screw up this chance.