The faint smell of cigarettes accompanied Yoongi as he stood there and it was obvious he smoked a couple sticks before coming here. Taehyung knew that much.

The first few seconds of their encounter was filled with silence, no words spoken except for the customary 'hey' and 'hi'. In the early morning, brisk and not fully bright yet, Yoongi had stopped by to bid him farewell as he was driving back to their hometown straight away after this.

His arrival was indeed a surprise as Taehyung didn't know he'd come to see him at all. It was even more surprising when Jeongguk was the one who woke him up, saying Yoongi was downstairs, wanting to speak with him. It was strange how the younger man wasn't alarmed by this but Taehyung didn't want to think too much of it. A part of him wanted to see Yoongi after all that had happened and he would've been a little sad if the man left without a goodbye.

They'd come to be good friends after all.

"So you're really going back, huh..." Taehyung mumbled, looking down, playing with the ends of his sweater sleeves.

When there was no reply, he continued speaking out of nervous habit. "I'm sure your dad will be happy to see you. He got his wish for you to move back and take over the company. I... I guess some things worked out for the best."

He would've rambled on more but a deep chuckle sounded which made him look up, seeing Yoongi smile for the first time today. A small sad smile. "Yeah, he's more than happy."

Now that they were actually looking at each other, the ends of Taehyung's lips slowly curved downwards. Yoongi saw this and frowned too. It wasn't awkward. No. Awkward would be picking at the sides of his nails or biting the inside of his cheek, wishing he was anywhere else but here. Taehyung wasn't doing any of that. This meeting was more melancholic and simply bitter.

Then Yoongi spoke the two words he dreaded to hear.

"I'm sorry."

No, no... why was he sorry? He didn't hurt Taehyung. He made a few mistakes, yes and he was paying for them. Though the consequences of his actions were debatable. It needn't come to this, really, not to the point that he deserved to be punched and certainly not to the point that he had to leave Seoul completely. Maybe Jeongguk and Jimin had a stronger reason to be mad at Yoongi but Taehyung didn't have one. How could you blame someone for having feelings for you?

There wasn't even a tiny bit of him that was angry. He just wished it didn't have to be like this.

"Don't," he breathed out. "You don't have to apologize to me."

"No, I do. If it weren't for me, things wouldn't have gotten so messed up."

Yeah, but it's really not your fault...

Taehyung sighed heavily, raising a hand to his forehead. Alright, he couldn't stop Yoongi from feeling bad. It didn't mean they had to keep talking about this. It was all in the past. He said he was sorry, so it's done.

"Then I forgive you," he said quickly. "Now stop blaming yourself. Please don't feel bad because of me."

He watched Yoongi stare at him for a moment before snapping his gaze to the side and nodded. "Al- Alright," the elder mumbled, looking stoic.

"And I know it's sorta impossible given our situation, but I don't want to be the cause of that look on your face. You're leaving. Can we just go back to the way we were before?"

There was some confliction on Yoongi's part. At last, he nodded again.

Taehyung smiled a little, feeling glad. "So um it's... it's gonna be a long drive to Daegu, don't fall asleep on the road or anything," he humored after noticing the dark rings around the other's eyes.

Yoongi looked at him, surprised by his words at first. Then he broke into a genuine smile. "I'll try not to." His tone was soft in a way Taehyung hadn't paid attention to before. They smiled at each other longer before a sudden look of realization struck Yoongi and he moved to fish something out from his coat pocket.

Patiently waiting, Taehyung had his hands in front of him, playing with the sleeves again. He glanced to Yoongi's car there to where his luggage could be seen thrown over the backseats haphazardly. Nothing in particular centered his mind. Not until his eyes moved back to Yoongi and saw what he was holding out between them.

His eyes widened.

Yoongi had a shiny card in his hand, glistening with various random patterns on it.

Goodness...

It was more of those temporary tattoos, like the one he did for Taehyung that one time they were alone in the parlor after Jeongguk and Jimin left. His attention specially zeroed in on one specific design. The star. The one Yoongi put on his wrist.

"I... I don't know if this is still right or-" Yoongi abruptly stopped, seeming to be struggling with his words. "I cleaned the place a while back and saw a bunch of these lying around. I was gonna throw them out but I- well, I've been meaning to give them to you for quite some time now."

As he spoke, Taehyung continued to stare at the tattoo designs. One clear thing taking over his thoughts. After all this time, he remembered...

"Jeongguk told me about your new job, y'know before everything... this was meant as a good luck gift. You don't have to-"

"Thank you." Taehyung took the card right away, holding it to his chest with both hands.

This was unnecessary. A small easily misinterpreted gesture and coming from a person who had feelings for him, it would've been best to not have taken it. But Taehyung had a problem. He cared too much. It was hard to refuse the elder when he was going through so much; disheveled, looking like he hadn't slept in days. This moment mirrored one of those obvious dating rules that everyone naturally knew- don't accept things from someone who's crushing on you when you're already in a relationship.

But who was this hurting?

Yoongi was leaving anyway.

"I'll probably be too scared to get another tattoo anyway so this is..." Taehyung grinned brightly. "This is perfect. Thank you."

Through his grin, he felt a tiny bit of guilt creep into him and this was when he really saw Yoongi in a different light. Not as a regular at the diner he used to work at, not as the stranger that helped him that one night, not as his best friend's boyfriend but as a single guy who liked him. He felt bad that it had to be him. So many other people out there and Yoongi fell for him and he couldn't return the feelings.

He could never.

Yoongi smiled at him, looking relieved almost. But then the man's eyes shifted up behind Taehyung for a split second and his smile disappeared too quickly after that. He cleared his throat, taking a step back while his hand ran through his hair.

"I should uh... I should get going."

Taehyung simply nodded, not another word leaving him as he stood there watching Yoongi retreat to his car. It was short. Both not feeling the need to say a 'goodbye'. They shared one last look through the window, no smiles, nothing. And then the sound of screeching tires screamed aloud before Taehyung was left there on the street alone.

He didn't move yet, processing all that just happened.

Funny, he felt so neutral right then. Any emotions in him were very filtered that he could almost feel it but not really. It was hard to decipher what he was feeling about all this.

With that inconsistent wave of emotions playing on his face, he turned around and looked up to the terrace of his apartment. No one was there but Taehyung still kept his gaze there for a moment. Then he finally sighed and moved his legs forward back to the apartment building, and out of the cold.

Every time Taehyung drove the Mini, he tended to forget about the little things. Like the careless turns he took that shook the entire car switching from one lane to the other. How the car would jerk forward when he pulled out of a parking spot or how he often forgot to turn the blinkers on and drove above the speed limit. Because this was a 'stick car', he drove it differently from a regular one. Still these were all serious violations of road safety but in his defense, he technically didn't know that he was doing anything wrong because Jeongguk never ever says anything about his reckless driving. 

Jeongguk would always be so calm next to him, a small smile resting upon his lips at how much the elder was enjoying driving.

Alas not everything can be kept a secret forever.

When evening came later in the day, Taehyung finally found out the truth to his driving skills. Cruising through the city with the beautiful intense orange shade in the background of the mighty skyscrapers would usually put a smile on Taehyung's face. Though it was impossible to bask in the panoramic view outside the window with Jin next to him practically chanting out 'I don't wanna die' and 'Can you imagine the world being deprived of seeing my beautiful face' every second.

Since his 'goodbye' with Yoongi this morning, Taehyung and Jeongguk initially planned to just relax and spend time at home. They wanted to simply be together as much as they could before things got hectic. After all, Taehyung was going to start his first day at his new job in a few days. 

But then Jin called, asking if they were still planning on attending the event for his new movie at a hotel today. They'd both totally forgotten about this, having agreed to going a few months ago. However, going to this event didn't disrupt their plans to be together so they decided to go. A night at a hotel sounded really nice actually. Since the event was starting at ten tonight, Jin told them to stop by his mansion some time in the afternoon so they could hang around for a bit and then leave to the hotel together.

Upon arriving at the huge house, they greeted Jin and Namjoon and then had lunch together. They found out that Hoseok wouldn't be attending tonight; busy with his shop.

Then Jeongguk and Namjoon found their places at the glass dining table in the kitchen, occupied with documents and files from their work scattered in front of them. Meanwhile, Jin and Taehyung were upstairs in the bedroom just lounging around, engaged in casual conversations. Jin was in the middle of telling Taehyung about his upcoming movie role when he remembered that he needed to drop by the ATM before it got late so long story short... Taehyung ended up driving him to a nearby vestibule as he didn't want to go alone and Namjoon and Jeongguk looked too busy to drive him anyway. 

They were on their way back now, luckily, because Jin looked to be paler than a ghost with every abrupt turn Taehyung made cutting past the other slow cars on the road.

"H-How do you even have a license?!" 

Taehyung scoffed without looking at him. "I'll have you know that a lot of people think I'm an excellent driver."

"What people?"

"Well... j-just a few people I know."

"So Jeongguk," Jin snickered.

The younger man shot him a brief glare at that. They were only a few miles away from Jin's mansion. There was a bit of traffic as it was the peak hour of everyone returning home from a long day of work. When the Mini came to stop behind another car at a red light, Jin finally relaxed a little. 

He released his grip on his seatbelt and turned to Taehyung. "So you're starting your new job soon. Are you scared?"

"Not really... I mean I was at first but Jeongguk already made me feel better about it," he answered with an encouraging smile, thinking back to the wonderful words his boyfriend spoke to him that night when he was so scared and unsure about everything. "Besides, I think it might be good for me to try something new like this..." 

Jin nodded at his words, facing the front. "You're lucky to have someone who supports you endlessly." A sigh. "I wish Namjoon would've been more understanding when I said I wanted to be an actor." 

Taehyung stilled for a moment, eyes narrowing. There actually had been one question on his mind for quite some time now- "Are you and Namjoon dating?" he blurted out without thinking twice.

It wasn't that he was oblivious or didn't notice the chemistry between his two hyungs at all. He always suspected that something was going on between them. He just wasn't sure if they were really dating or not. 

Then he watched Jin give him an incredulous look. "You're kidding right?" He ran a hand through his brown hair. "You don't know?" 

 A head shake.

"Yes, we are!" Jin stressed with insistence masking his face. "I can't believe you didn't know this entire time. Didn't Jeongguk tell you?"

"No..." Taehyung said after pondering about it for a while. Coming to think of it, "he doesn't really gossip. He's either always busy with work or some other grown up stuff." 

"Grown up stuff?"

"What I mean is he doesn't goof off at all. Like when I'm busy watching cartoons in the morning, he reads the newspaper and drinks his coffee and does some of his office work."

A hum left Jin. "Yeah, I can see that. Compared to the two of you, he acts like an actual adult."

"Is that your clever way of saying I'm childish?"

Jin rolled his eyes playfully. "Calm down. I meant I've never really considered Jeongguk as a grown up before this. To me, he's always been the baby of the group," he spoke with adoration and Taehyung smiled to himself until-

"...although now that he's with you, I see you've taken his place."

Taehyung scoffed again, about to shoot his friend a dirty look but the light turned green and he rushed to get the car moving again. "I don't act like a baby," he felt the need to say as he maneuvered the Mini into a right turn. He thought to himself that as he's gotten closer to Jin now, the elder was really starting to sound like Jimin with the endless teasing. 

"Alright, alright, whatever you say..." the other replied in an amused tone. Then Jin's eyes widened quickly when he caught something on the street outside. "What the-" He furiously started jabbing at the button on his side door to roll down the window. "I can't believe this guy!"

"What? What's wrong?" Taehyung asked, momentarily turning to the man next to him, wondering what was going on that had Jin unbuckling his seatbelt. Though he had to quickly bring his attention back to the front as the road ahead was getting narrower. They were currently passing by a row of shophouses.

"There's a trashcan right there! Didn't your parents teach you not to litter?!" Jin shouted on top of his lungs with his head stuck out the window, words directed at a teenage boy in his school uniform who just tossed an empty soda can onto the sidewalk. Judging by the youngster's sloppy attire, he looked to be a delinquent and proceeded to fire back his own string of cusses at Jin.

A horrified expression befell Taehyung's face. "A-Are you crazy?! Get your head back in right now-" With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached the other out to blindly grab at his friend. But he then noticed the curb dangerously closing in on one side at the subtle zig-zagging motion the car was moving in from his distractive surroundings and hurriedly focused on the road again. 

An accident was the last thing he needed right now. He already had the 'bad driver' reputation- although it was deliciously ironic that Jin criticized his driving and yet what he was doing right now was completely reckless.

Besides this realization, one thing certainly wasn't helping him at the moment.

Jin was still going at it.

"...oh really, I'm insane?! Well if you're what classifies as a sane person, then I fear for the future of this country!"

Taehyung's jaw fell wide open.

Gosh. That poor schoolboy.

"Hyung!" 

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded and they both jerked forward.

The impact from the hit vibrated through the car and Taehyung's eyes were wide as saucers. Oh god... He turned to Jin who was equally startled. 

"Oh no," Taehyung voiced in a whisper, pulling the handbrake up and quickly removed his seatbelt to get out of the car. 

He rushed to the front of the Mini where the bumper skirt under the right headlight had collided with the solid curb. His heart began its race while his hands went over his mouth in utter mortification.

Jeongguk's car...

Jeongguk's precious car...

The slam of a car door and some footsteps sounded and soon Jin was standing next to him, now both of them eyeing the obvious dent on the contraption before them.

They turned to face each other.

"This is your fault," Taehyung accused.

"What-" Jin breathed out. "How is this my fault exactly?"

"You distracted me!"

A snort. "I'm sorry but I don't recall blinding you in any way or restraining your hands and feet from driving properly! I was just speaking with my mouth." Jin crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his gaze back to the damage in front of them. "Taehyung relax, it's just a dent."

"I can't relax alright!" He frustratingly paced around for a moment. "This is bad. This is soooo bad."

By now, Jin was looking at him with confusion. "Why are you freaking out? Just tell Jeongguk that it was an accident. Don't tell me he loves his car more than you."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Taehyung sighed heavily. There was a worried expression taking over his face, honey-colored eyes glistening with lips set in a pout.

"It's scary when he gets mad."

It took less than a second for Jin to burst out laughing. Hunched over, hands on knees for support, he wiped the imaginary tears off the sides of his eyes and finally looked up to smirk at Taehyung.

"You really are a baby."

It was quiet in the spacious kitchen.

The shimmering orange glow from outside illuminated in through the tall windows taking up one side of the wall. Bits of a purple hue could be seen creeping into the orange as if informing the afternoon skies that it's shift was over; the night was here now. 

While the two others were out, Jeongguk and Namjoon had been knee-deep in their own individual work tasks all afternoon. After hours of sitting in silence with a sea of paperwork mounted before them, four to five coffee cups emptying one by one, they moved on to occupy themselves with the more boring responsibilities of adulthood. Now sharing a laptop screen, they sat side by side at the long dining table, focused on the contents displayed over a webpage.

"Now enter the pin number to start the transaction," Namjoon instructed from where he sat, back straight in a poised manner. As always. "Remember how I taught you before," he added shortly after.

Jeongguk squinted at the screen through his glasses, carefully tapping the keyboard to enter the correct digits at the same time glancing down to a sheet of a notepad with the pin code scribbled over it. "Alright, so after this I..." he started and then turned to Namjoon, hoping the elder would remind him what came next. 

Namjoon smiled, gesturing to the laptop. "You enter the recipient's account number and the amount you want to transfer, check the details and wait for the confirmation text message."

"Right, right. I know..." 

This was a regular thing between them. To meet up once a month where Namjoon would help Jeongguk with settling the apartment bills, his and Taehyung's insurances, organizing their monthly expenditure and other essential stuff. It was a bit more challenging now because Jeongguk had to do it himself with his hyung's guidance instead of Namjoon helping him with it directly like before.

In the beginning, Jeongguk honestly didn't know a single thing about any of this. This was a clear side-effect from having his parents over-shelter him all his life, controlling and doing everything for him, never bothering to educate him on these significant worldly matters. But when he and Taehyung started living together after returning from Japan, he told Taehyung that he'd manage all their finance by himself. Mainly because he didn't want the elder to know about the money his father lent them. 

It actually made Jeongguk mad upon realizing what a pampered life he'd lived up till now to not know anything about these basic protocols of life. So he went to one of the people he trusted the most in this world. He confided in Namjoon. To help him with these pesky matters and to also not speak a word about this to Taehyung. There was actually nothing wrong with Taehyung finding out but Jeongguk just didn't want to give him any additional stress. He was more than okay with taking care of this for the two of 'em.

A breath of relief escaped Jeongguk when the last of this month's bills had been settled. "Done," he said and slumped back into his chair, removing his glasses before carelessly tossing them over some scattered papers on the table there. Face tilted up. Eyes closed. He rubbed his temples with a hand, thumb and index finger applying pressure to the sides of his head in slow circles. 

Namjoon watched him for a brief moment. He patted the younger's thigh. "You'll get the hang of this soon okay, then you'll get it done quicker. It's always confusing in the beginning," he said assuredly and proceeded to stand up, reaching forward to collect all the empty coffee cups. 

"Shouldn't they be back by now?" Namjoon asked as he made his way to the extravagant kitchen island.

Jeongguk hummed, not moving an inch from his position. 

His buzzing mind went to his boyfriend, now actually wondering why he was taking so long just to drive Jin to the ATM. Though the adorable grin on Taehyung's face earlier when Jeongguk handed his car keys over to him had the man smiling to himself. Imagine, Taehyung used to be so afraid of driving and now? He was fearless. With that being said, Jeongguk honestly wanted to warn Jin about his boyfriend's 'unique' style of driving the Mini but eh... it was more fun for Jin to discover it on his own.

Seven peaceful minutes passed with the two of them not talking, basically waiting for both their significant others to return so they could start getting ready for the event together. It was the not-so-subtle bickering coming from the front of the huge house that had Jeongguk and Namjoon turning to each other with narrowed brows. Soon they were walking side by side out the kitchen, through the long hallway leading to the living room and finally ended up at the front wooden double doors.

Once outside, their eyes settled upon an interesting view- well, it was hard to exactly say what they were currently looking at. In the spacious driveway, Jin and Taehyung crowded around the front of the parked Mini. They were hunched downwards, focused on something there, harsh whispering slingshotting back and forth between them not aware of their boyfriends currently watching everything they were doing.

Jeongguk's head tilted to the side a bit as his arms crossed over his chest. Lips now set in a tight line when he took a few steps closer and saw Taehyung knelt down in front of his car and what he was doing. He had a rug in one hand, scrubbing the car's bumper with all his might. A metal tin of what looked like car polish rested near his knee on the ground.

"Hyung, it's not going away," Taehyung expressed in a worried tone. To Jin obviously.

But before the elder could've answered-

"What's not going away?"

The second that Jeongguk asked that, Jin and Taehyung froze like culprits caught in a serious act. Jin scrambled to stand up straight first, a nervous look on his face as his gaze flickered between the two others a few times. Then Taehyung upon taking in a deep breath, snapped his head to face Jeongguk. His eyes were filled with surprise and pending guilt, long silky bangs slightly damp from his effortful act falling over his face as a clear sign of his frantic state.

Their eyes continued to mingle in a piercing stare.

After that, Jeongguk glanced to the rug in his hand and then to the dent in his car before fixing his attention back onto the kneeling man.

Taehyung saw this and quickly tossed the rug to the side.

"Gguk-ie... I swear it's not what it looks like."

The one constant that had never changed from the start of Jeongguk and Taehyung knowing each other was that car. Thinking about it, that black Mini Cooper had been there all the time. Throughout most of the significant milestones in their lives... all those secret dates they went on, the countless make out sessions they engaged in behind those tinted windows, every journey they took in the car that led them to a new adventure which only brought them closer to one another. The amusement park, the night Taehyung learned to drive, the occasional night drives they took.

So yeah, the dent was a big deal.

Which was why Taehyung went through all the trouble to hide it from Jeongguk. He had literally never seen a scratch on the shiny surface of the Mini. Until today. Until he rammed it's bumper into that fucking curb- argh! This was all Jin's fault anyway... he and his overdeveloped sense of justice that made him yell at that boy. 

Oh Taehyung could only imagine what was going through Jeongguk's mind right now as they stood in the guest bedroom they always used whenever they stayed over here. There was some distance between them for now and the déjà vu in this situation had initiated a figurative timer in Taehyung's head as a countdown to when the ugly scolding would start.

From past experiences, he didn't dare move an inch and waited for Jeongguk to approach him. Feeling like a tiny insect standing in the shadow of a large creature, Taehyung held his ground and did his best to not flinch. He didn't move at all when Jeongguk's heavy boots pattered loudly against the tiled floor. Not even when the man's onyx eyes sparkled with knowingness, a somewhat teasing glint, a silent signal telling Taehyung to 'get ready'. All the blackness in his attire, eyes, hair and aura in general made him look like the devil again... huh, he looked sexy actually-

Dammit, not now!

Picking at the sides of his fingernails, teeth sinking deeper into his bottom lip, Taehyung prepared himself for the worst. But what happened next wasn't what he expected at all. Genuine confusion spread through him when he felt the warmness of two palms suddenly cupping his face gently.

"Are you okay?" Jeongguk asked. His gaze moved over every part of the other's face in a serious manner. "You didn't get hurt anywhere, did you?"

"What?" Taehyung voiced blankly. "Uh I mean, I-I'm fine. But you..." Eyes narrowed, he continued to watch the younger inspect him carefully for any slight injuries obtained in the supposed 'accident' he was in.

Lastly, Jeongguk's eyes found his with a thumb slowly caressing his cheek. "I'm glad nothing happened to you," he said and leaned in to plant a quick kiss onto Taehyung's lips. "Alright then, we should start getting ready." Jeongguk pulled away, heading towards their clothes bag resting on the edge of the giant bed there.

What... what was happening?

"You're not angry about the dent?"

Okay maybe it was good that he didn't get into any trouble but Jeongguk not getting even a bit upset about this felt off. It was worrying Taehyung in a way that he wasn't quite so sure about yet. There should be a reason- there always was one. Thoughts spiraling now, he was feeling nervous for some reason.

Jeongguk looked up from where he was seated on the bed. He smiled lovingly. "It's just a car, Tae. I don't care about a little dent."

Oh. 

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm." Jeongguk hummed and shifted his gaze to the white shirt in his hands. It needed some ironing. "Besides this isn't the first time that my car's been dented," he lastly said and got up.

Taehyung looked surprised. "You've dented it before?" He really couldn't imagine Jeongguk ever getting into a fender bender or crashing into a curb like he did earlier. The man was an excellent driver.  

"No, not me. It was Ji-yi when we-" Jeongguk abruptly stopped, eyes growing wide. The distress was evident on his face. He'd forgotten who he was talking to. That name- he fucking mention her name. Immediately, he strode over to Taehyung.

The elder was silent. 

"I'm sorry- I mean it was such a long time ago. Before we ever started anything with each other. You know I wouldn't-"

"It's fine," Taehyung brushed off.

Jeongguk studied his face for a moment. "Are you sure you're-"

"Jeongguk, it's been years. I'm not gonna get upset over something like this. It's fine, really," he assured and smiled.

There was nothing to get upset over anyway. Well okay, maybe hearing her name from Jeongguk of all people made Taehyung's insides twist with a little jealousy. Maybe his hand was fisting unnecessarily tight behind his back and his cheeks hurt from all the fake smiling. And did imagining Jeongguk and Ji-yi in that car when they were still dating back then squeeze his heart painfully? Yes. And maybe it did make him wonder more about Jeongguk's life before him. His parents, his rich friends, model-like girlfriend, big house, lavish lifestyle- every single thing that Taehyung had no relation to.    

He wasn't complaining. Their life together now was amazing and he loved every second they spent together. He was the happiest he'd ever been living like this. This was all just probably hitting him harder because Taehyung never truly felt like that 'other' part of Jeongguk's life had ever accepted him. 

But was he mad?

No, no...

He just felt this huge ball of frustration and hatred inside him for that bitch and so annoyed that he had to be reminded of her and all this today. And the fact that even though it's been years, she still had the power to make him miserable because she represented everything that Jeongguk knew before him.

So yeah... see? 'Not' mad.

Fifteen minutes past nine, they were both showered and almost ready to leave to the hotel. Taehyung still hadn't tied his tie yet and was busy putting on his earrings in front of the mirror in the en suite bathroom. A complete contrast to their tiny bathroom back home, this one was themed white, black and a gold color. Marble countertops were set in lines on one side of the wall, some with flat surfaces while two had identical sinks fixed onto them, faucets painted gold.  

A black porcelain bathtub sat in the corner of the place, a tiny shelf secured onto the wall next to it where bottles of flowery bath soaps and shampoos were arranged neatly on it. There was a window near the tub with potted plants of different sizes decorated around it, some down on it's sill while some pots hung from above. A separate shower stall stood at the other side of the bathroom following the same black theme with its gilded shower head and handle. From above, the soft orange-y lights bounced off the tiled walls, setting a particular ambience in there; an atmosphere that would make one want to simply sigh.

Which was what Taehyung did. With the sparkly row of earrings now adorning his ears (maybe three pairs altogether), he simply stared at his reflection and sighed. He raised his hand up to push some of the black curls off his right eye but they fell back in place. There was almost a permanent furrow in his brows as a result of the last conversation he had with Jeongguk. But it was nothing. Nothing to be upset about. Just forget it, Taehyung told himself and tried to think of the night that awaited them instead. A night out... at an exclusive hotel.

Now why didn't this excite him anymore-

Taehyung shook his head urgently, deciding to check his appearance one last time and then go find Jeongguk. He had a suit on for tonight, an attire he rarely wore. The snug black blazer overlapped his inner white shirt which was tucked into a pair of slacks that accentuated his legs nicely. Some oxfords hugged his feet in a matching black color, tying his whole look together. The only thing left was the tie that laid on the counter in front of him in a long silky swirl.

With another sigh, he was contemplating not even wearing it tonight given he didn't know how to-

A sudden embrace from behind pulled a gasp out of him. Taehyung's head instantly darted up to the huge mirror, his soft brown eyes meeting a darker pair. Even after seeing the same person everyday for the past few years, at a first glance he was completely taken aback by Jeongguk's looks. He knew the man was insanely attractive but ohhh... c'mon.

Perfectly fitted suit emphasizing his built body up to the collars around his neck where his tattoos stopped at, Jeongguk continued to stare at him in their reflection. Here it was a known musky scent that greatly enveloped Taehyung, slowing down his blinking into a gentle fluttering, also sparking that fiery thrill inside him. With hooded eyes, he let himself lean back into the younger's chest even more. Jeongguk's jawline looked sharper than a knife in the mirror with the way he angled his head towards the elder, smirking lips lightly brushing against the reddening shell of Taehyung's ear.

"You look incredible..." he uttered, deeply.

The teasing butterfly kisses down Taehyung's ear highlighted the slope of Jeongguk's nose, looking contoured to perfection in the bathroom's lighting. His glistening pitch-black eyes then narrowed at Taehyung as if to see how much his touches were affecting him, how weak the man was to him in general. His hand that rested at the elder's waist rode up his front, purposely smoothing over his chest slowly then to the exposed collar region where Taehyung hadn't buttoned his shirt up yet.

"Were you waiting for me to tie your tie?" Jeongguk rasped. His hair was neatly pulled into a semi ponytail, giving Taehyung a clear view to his face and the expression he made before he dove his head into the crook of his neck.

"Ahh..." Taehyung let out softly, eyes closing, feeling his stomach do somersaults as that pleasure began its ascend. His head hung back, giving more access to the intoxicating kisses Jeongguk was blessing him with. 

However, this heavenly moment met an early end when Taehyung felt the lips leave his neck. The hands on him carefully spun him around and he opened his eyes in slight bewilderment to be face to face with Jeongguk. The high from what they were doing before had Taehyung in a dazed state but he noticed the small heartfelt smile on Jeongguk's face. Next, he felt the back of a hand grazing his cheek in moderate strokes.

"I have something for you," Jeongguk said softly.

Taehyung's eyebrows rose at that, still quiet as he waited with anticipation to see what it was. He watched Jeongguk reach into his pants pocket and really, nothing, literally nothing would've prepared Taehyung for what was to come next. Straight away his breathing picked up its pace, chest rising and falling when the sight of a thin sliver chain appeared in front of him before his eyes landed on the pendant itself.

Oh god.

A diamond.

It couldn't be but yes, it was a fucking diamond pendant. A tiny circular shape it was, silver metal border surrounding it while it shone brightly in the center like a star in the night sky.

"Jeongguk..." he breathed out, peering up at the other man. Eyes starting to glisten with heavy emotions.

"Hey, hey," Jeongguk instantly voiced in concern and cupped his cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

Why was he crying?

Maybe because someone was giving him a priceless necklace like it was nothing. 

Taehyung swallowed. "I can't- This must've cost-

"Yes, you can. I got it for you. It belongs to you."

"No, but-"

Jeongguk shook his head with a smile, pulling Taehyung's face closer so their noses were millimeters apart. "I love you. You know how much I love you and it doesn't matter how much I spend as long as I get to make you happy. Alright?"

Just for a few seconds, Taehyung stared back at him. Being together this long... it still overwhelmed him at certain times when he thought about how deep Jeongguk's feelings were for him. He'd said this before...

"How did I get so lucky?"

Jeongguk's smile grew bigger as he playfully bumped their noses together. "I don't know, I guess you had bad luck in your last life so you're being rewarded now," he joked and Taehyung couldn't help but smile, eyes crinkling up. Still close like that, Jeongguk wasted no time in putting the necklace on him. Taehyung felt the coldness of the metal touch his skin, an electric-like wave tunneling down his body from this gesture.  

He kept his eyes on Jeongguk, witnessing the satisfied expression over the man's face as he admired the diamond hanging off the elder's neck. "There... it looks perfect on you." He looked up at Taehyung for a split second before his attention went to the abandoned tie on the counter there. "Oh, almost forgot... I have to tie that for you right?" He stepped aside and reached for the long fabric.

Okay, yeah whatever... Taehyung didn't know how to tie a tie. It wasn't a big deal. He probably wasn't going to wear another suit in a long time after this.

With barely any distance between them, Taehyung stood quietly as Jeongguk went to work in making that knot at the center of his collar. His dark eyebrows were narrowed in seriousness, lips slightly pursed which displayed one of his dimples. Taehyung couldn't stop staring at him, feeling this distant want inside him asking- begging for something. But he didn't know what it was yet... just that he needed to keep looking at this man in front of him for the answer.

Maybe it was because of what just happened with Jeongguk's gift but their proximity was suddenly making his heart pound harder and Taehyung didn't realize his hand lifting itself until it was weaved through Jeongguk's hair. Not giving away any facial expressions, he gently stroked the other's hair before dragging his fingertips down to the side of Jeongguk's face.

Jeongguk briefly stopped his actions to look at the elder but when Taehyung didn't say anything, he went back to his current task. Meanwhile, Taehyung almost seemed entrapped in another world. Heavily dazed, breathing reaching a subtle panting state, he strolled his fingers downer... right onto Jeongguk's lips. He felt the man stiffen beneath his touch and by now all he could feel was how suffocating that tie was around his neck.

Three agonizingly slow seconds ticked by and Taehyung noticed Jeongguk trying to remain unaffected by what he was doing. A noticeable weight fell upon them, shifting the atmosphere around them into a sensual one. The younger man still continued to tie the tie, in fact he was almost done. 

Then Taehyung spoke out.

"Gguk-ie..." he called in a whiny tone. He glided his tongue over his lips to wet them at the same time his fingers brushed over the other man's lips again. "...this tie is a little uncomfortable." 

Immediately, Jeongguk's eyes snapped up to his. Like a beast being awoken. They took on a darker shade than they were before. His jaw visibly clenched itself and the next moment fleeted by too fast. The tie being ripped off Taehyung's neck, landing on the tiled ground near their feet. The first two buttons popping off his shirt before a strong hand went straight for his throat.

A choked gasp filled the air and the impact from the act led them deeper into the bathroom as Taehyung's lower back came in contact with the counter behind him. While a pair of lips crashed into his, Taehyung's hands went up to Jeongguk's hair messing up his ponytail with his endless tugs. 

He felt a hot tongue dart into his mouth and moaned into the heated kiss, toes curling inside his dress shoes. The excitement from this act overpowered him greatly but hah... this was exactly what he wanted. The long endless kiss that Jeongguk always initiated to constrict his breath already turned him into a mess but now with that grip around his throat- fucking hell, it was transporting him into a state of pure bliss.

There was some pushing against each other to deepen the kiss and in the midst of it all, Taehyung pulled that hair tie off Jeongguk's hair which made his long shiny locks cascade down to his shoulders, some strands coming to frame his face in a very sexy way. They continued to make out, the motion of their wet tongues gliding against each other steaming up the atmosphere in the bathroom. With one hand, Jeongguk lifted the elder up onto the counter to which Taehyung instantly wrapped his legs around the man's slim waist.

Refusing to depart from each other and stop the kiss, Taehyung breathed out through his nose when another bundle of pleasure traveled through him. His hands automatically tightened around the other's hair when Jeongguk added more pressure to the grip around his throat, fucking loving how the chain of the necklace dug into his skin in the process. Too far indulged in the carnal act they were carrying out, Taehyung hoped it'd leave a bruise.  

Then Jeongguk broke the kiss after a while, bringing his lips down Taehyung's neck to where his hand was seconds ago. The stinging sensation of the pressure around there from before was still doing things to him and with Jeongguk nipping at his skin there, it had Taehyung's head falling back with his eyes screwed tightly shut. The biting and sucking went on all the way down to his collarbones and Jeongguk's hot breath fanned over his sensitive skin here for a moment.

"You don't have to wear a tie tonight," he rasped, licking a long strip along the elder's prominent collarbone. "But I'll make you walk around with these hickeys on display..." He bit down hard on one spot.

Taehyung groaned as his arms wrapped themselves around the man's neck. "Hahh... Jeongguk," he breathlessly let out. 

"Do you think you can do that?" Another bite. "Everyone's gonna see these marks on you and wonder who the hell has been fucking you-"

"S-Stop, Jeongguk..." Taehyung felt this tickling inside him with all this dirty talk. He could vividly picture what the younger man was saying and it was turning him on even more.

"What? Stop? No, darling..." Jeongguk lifted his head up from the canvas he'd painted with his lovebites and gripped Taehyung's jaw so they were looking at each other. Jeongguk looked different from earlier. Hair now falling down the sides of his face, messy and lips a deep red shade from their kisses. The glittery sparkle in Taehyung's golden eyes grew more intense with every second they bored into the black pearls of his boyfriend's. 

And then Jeongguk whispered,

"I can never stop when it comes to you." 

Oh... Taehyung didn't get a chance to process that before Jeongguk kissed him again. Pressing against him with much force until that pit of pleasure in his stomach demanded for more. While their lips continued to move against each other urgently, their lower halves gently brushed together a few times. 

But it didn't last long. 

Soon that gentleness turned into full-on grinds.

"Fuck... Tae, I want you so badly right now," Jeongguk murmured when he pulled away from the kiss. His hand went up to push some of the strands behind Taehyung's ear, lovingly. He licked his lips, seeming to be deep in thought for a brief moment. "We can't- we're already late. Jin's gonna call us downstairs any second."

He inched his face closer to Taehyung. "How about we get a room at the hotel later, hmm? Stay there for the night. After the event ends... would you like that, sweetheart?" Jeongguk's eyes were filled with hope, awaiting his response.

Taehyung stared back at him, eyelids heavy. Every part of him was buzzing at the thought of them alone in a hotel room. Though a lingering dissatisfaction was preventing him from fully looking forward to tonight. A part of him already knew what it was about but he dismissed it and leaned forward to peck Jeongguk's lips. 

He nodded after. 

"I'd love that."