Third Person's P.O.V.

"HAHAHA..." Hoseok was rolling on the floor, laughing his guts out while Seokjin sat sadly sipping on his juice box and trying not to pay attention to how Hoseok was ridiculing him.

"It's not even funny" he muttered as he chewed on the straw, taking his anger out on it.

"It sure is" Hoseok was still shaking due to his unending guffaw "especially because it's him!...The one guy you can't seem to get away from..." he giggled leaning to his side to nudge their shoulders together "Kim Seokjin...it seems like you're fated to deal with this guy one way or another" he was wiggling his brows as he smirked and Jin didn't know why his cheeks heated up and he snapped his head the other way.

"Shut up" he resumed sipping, heat spreading like wildfire from his cheeks to his ears.

"Don't tell me you still got a crush on him" Hoseak leered leaning in to catch a red-faced Seokjin.

"Nonsense!" Seokjin blurted pressing his eyes close and trying to stay angry. He was heavily regretting for ever telling Hoseok anything about Taehyung, how he might have had a really teeny-tiny bit of a crush on an athlete from Daegu he had met in the first tournament. However, he had also mentioned what an asshole his crush had turned to be.

"OMG!" Hoseok fake-gasped "denial is always the first sign!"

"Hobi...I swear-" "You know, everyone still thinks you ran away from Seoul because you lost to him" Hoseok informed, knowing the reality of why Jin actually had to leave.

"I don't really care about what everyone thinks" Jin replied, aiming to throw the empty juice box into the trash.

"Well, you showed them today that you had no need to feel intimidated by him" Hoseok smiled, eyes glowing with pride as he looked at his friend "congratulations for today, I bet your grandpa would be really happy".

"Hah!" Jin chuckled, wincing to see how he missed his aim and the juice box dropped to the dirt "that's debatable...he'd probably be happier to know that I won't be living in his house for the next three months".

Hoseok watched Jin look just as unmoved but he knew how Jin really felt, and the kind of life Jin had to live in that house.

"We are proud of you"

A new voice joined their conversation and Jin turned to see Namjoon and Yoongi walking up to them.

"Heck yeah! That should be something right?" Hoseok spoke, slinging an arm over Jin's shoulders and tried to lift his mood.

"Let's get a drink..." Yoongi suggested "I heard athletes aren't allowed to drink when they're training, so it's a treat from us to you before you begin training"

"Yeah!" Namjoon cheered "let's drink! To Seokjin becoming a national champion someday! Guys, we should get his autograph...who knows when he'll become a celebrity and would barely have time for us"

"Don't worry...your grandpa won't get to know" Hoseok assured him, nudging his shoulder against Jin's "and if he does...you are always welcome to my place"

Jin smiled quietly knowing they're were merely messing with him, but he felt lighter already because of the way they knew how to make him feel better.

"Fine...let's drink"

-

First thing on Monday morning that Seokjin noticed when they met, was the very formal and very respectful 90 degrees bow which Taehyung gave him.

"Anneyong! Let's be in good spirits Seokjin-ssi for we must-" "Shut up" Jin ordered in a cold unamused tone as he walked ahead and Taehyung instantly abided.

"Okay...dull boring silence it is..." he made a sign of zipping up his lips but when their coach led them inside the Taereung Training Center, he couldn't help but squeak a small 'hwaiting' to cheer themselves up but quietened down when he saw Seokjin glaring at him yet again.

Seokjin had decided to pretend that he was going for the training alone, not with this...anomaly. He turned to see Taehyung looking like a delighted duckling out to see the world as he bowed to everyone he met and smiled at them.

If he was being honest, Seokjin was rather confused. This guy beside him was nothing like the intolerably rude jerk he had bumped into years ago, and for some odd reason Seokjin felt uneasy to consider that Taehyung might have changed.

For years he had formed this image of this guy as the villain who disrupted his life, the imposter who had tricked him and taken away the medal which should have been his...Kim Taehyung was the awful, horrible, devil who should suffer in the fiery pits of Hell for how he had treated him...or more like how he had ruined the expectations Jin had.

Maybe Jin was more annoyed about that...about the fact that he was so stupid to not realize that to Taehyung he was just an opponent he wanted out of his way and not someone he would want to know more about.

"Eh..umm Seokjin-ssi" Jin felt a tap on his shoulder and finally broke out of his train of thoughts to see Taehyung calling him.

"Coach said to go this way" Taehyung looked a little confused trying to understand what was going through the other's mind to not have heard their coach's instructions.

Seokjin wished to throw another jibe at him but chose to stay quiet instead, as he followed along. However, at the end of the day's tiring training and exhausting incidents, it was time for yet another shock for Jin.

"The two you'll be sharing a room, be sure to show up at the field at 5 in the morning or you'll get yelled at...the gym is at the ground floor...there's a cafeteria in the third block and the laundry rooms' at the end of the hallway" the senior student spoke like clockwork before ticking a few boxes on the sheet attached to his clipboard "the kitchen closes at 10 p.m....so make sure to have your dinner before that".

Seokjin's insides went cold as he stood stunned before the dorm room.

"I want the bed by the window" Taehyung informed, sighing in exhaustion as well.

The door shut with a thud at his back, and Seokjin now began realizing the more what an awkward fix he was currently in. He came out of his reverie to see Taehyung drop his backpack on the bed he had chosen and began stripping out of his clothes as he strode across the room towards the bathroom.

"Wait!" Jin ordered, pinching the bridge of his nose "we need to set some ground rules if we have to share a room"

Taehyung stopped walking and turned around but he was still busy in pulling his sweat-drenched t-shirt over his head.

"Rules? In here?" He raised a brow, as he sat down on Seokjin's bed because it was conveniently closer, and began removing his shoes "why though?"

And Seokjin's words were cut off to see him, his mind going blank "you stink and your pants are dirty" he pointed out.

"Yeah...that's the reason I'm going for a shower" he spoke casually removing his socks too "where did he say the laundry was?"

"Get off my bed!!" Seokjin screamed at him, making Taehyung stun and he abruptly stood up "jeez...what's the fuss about? I said I was going for a shower"

"Now my bed's all smelly because of you!" Jin stood up too, stomping his feet in anger.

"You're clearly overreacting but fine!" Taehyung strode across the room towards his bed and snatched the bedsheet to carry it to Jin's bed "you can take this one!"

"Now even that bedsheet's covered in your sweat!" Jin yelled again.

"What the fuck do you want?!"

"Keep your stinky self away from my side of the room!!"

"As if your sweat smells like candy?!!"

They were busy in yelling at each other when a knock resounded.

"Hey! Keep it down!" A heavy voice rebuked from the other side of the door.

Jin hastened to the door, opening it to bow and apologise to the senior.

"Ah...y-yes...mianheo sunbae..."

When he got back inside the room, Taehyung was already taking a shower. So, he decided to unpack. It was already giving him a headache to think that he'll have to live with this guy for three months.

Truly, life isn't fair.

"Just ignore him" he spoke to himself under his breath, setting his clothes on his cabinet and arranging the shelves that were on his side "just pretend he isn't even here"

The moment he had said that, Taehyung appeared...freshly showered and covered barely in a towel that was wrapped low around his waist. And Seokjin gaped, while forgetting all his plans about pretending that the other wasn't even there.

"I'm starving...what about you?" Taehyung was busy running a hand through his wet hair, trying to shake off the water.

And the moment Jin realized he was staring, he grasped at the first thing on the bedside table to look inconspicuous before the other caught him.

"Uh..." Taehyung was confused when he turned towards Jin "are you...reading a calendar?"

"Ye-Yeah...I am" Jin had his face hidden behind the calendar still "just-just checking...how long is three months" he blabbered, making Taehyung frown at his weird actions.

"Umm...that would be ninety days...I guess" he went towards his duffle and searched for something to wear "aren't you coming for dinner? That guy said the cafeteria closes at 10" he was still speaking as he began dressing and Seokjin decided this couldn't go on, he just had to put a stop to that.

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

Taehyung stopped at the middle of wearing his track pants.

"Wearing my clothes"

"Rule 1-you do all this stripping and stuff inside the washroom!"

"But my towel's still on...it's not like I'm naked" Taehyung justified his actions because this was pretty normal among boys, he had done the same when their team went for tournaments and 4-5 of them had to share a room...it was completely normal for them to change in front of each other.

"Inside the wash-" "You said I can do anything on my side of the room..." he was already tired, hungry and now Seokjin was getting him annoyed "so, I can do whatever the fuck I want...on my side of the room" he declared, and with that he dropped the towel and changed right there, making Seokjin scram to hide inside the washroom to save himself from the embarrassment.

-

The first day they began their training, Seokjin had already decided to pretend that Taehyung didn't exist and that he'll give all his attention to becoming the best version of himself.

"I am your coach, Wang Yeo, I will be training you along with another coach" he gave an annoyed glare at Taehyung "because one of you muttheads had made a 'special request' to be trained by his own coach because apparently 'he is the best'" he was still glaring at Taehyung as he finished the sentence.

"He sure is the best" Taehyung boasted of his coach who had trained him for a decade "although his job was pretty easy because I'm a born athlete" he gave his boastful box smile at the grim man who looked completely unamused with what he heard.

"However, he said he won't come because he hates training you...but whatever", the coach sighed before continuing "so from today I'll be setting your routine for the day, I'll oversee your diet and you are not supposed to make any changes to it...I mean it, any change and I'll personally kick you out of here" he gave a hard stare at the two and was pleased to see both the boys gulp at his stern demeanour.

"Also, I am bad with names, so try to understand who I am talking to" he spoke turning away to head into the sports compound, leaving the two share a look of concern "hurry up now princess-feet!"

And the two scrambled after him to follow.

They walked in to see a crowd of boys inside the gym. The place was no different than theirs...well, it might have been larger in size but it was the same concrete walls reeking of sweat and one always felt kinda suffocated. It was as if a tradition to show off in here if you had a good physique, toned muscles or abs, and you could parade half-naked.

"5 sets of 10 bench press, 5 sets of 10 alternating dumbbell bench press, 10 reps of jump squats, 10 reps of burpee, 50 push-ups..." he carried on with the list and Jin tried to gulp down his apprehensions. More so when he saw Taehyung get to work instantly, while he was still confused about which meant what.

Yeah, he worked out but he had never really gotten any training as an athlete.

"Oi! What're you day-dreaming about?" the coach hollered at Jin.

"Uh...umm...I-" "He's never taken training before" Taehyung answered on his behalf, making Jin chew on the inside of his cheek as he took that as a taunt.

"No wonder you're so lanky" the coach complained "working out is essential for an athlete, it tones your muscles for the sport. I have never trained non-professionals...what have they put me in?" the coach grumbled under his breath "Hurry now, and get on the treadmill first...then you can take up-" "It's alright"

Jin saw a tall man in his forties with an amiable face walk up to them.

"I'll guide him...I have quite the experience to deal with aspiring athletes"

"Coach! I knew you'd come!" Taehyung sprang up to greet his teacher, eyes twinkling with glee.

"I'll deal with you later punk" the man's face turned annoyed as he spoke to Taehyung who went in for a bear hug without a moment's loss "you think you can tell the authorities to force me to train you?! Just when I thought I was done with enduring this boy..." he grumbled and scolded but Taehyung looked so delighted to see him and hugged him more despite the man trying to pry him off of him. Jin was so confused with Taehyung's ways of dealing with people, he debated if he had grown up with wrong etiquettes or was Taehyung seriously an anomaly.

They settled down after a while and Jin kinda liked the new coach better than the other. However, there seemed to be some kind of beef between the two coaches.

"Hello Wang Yeo...you look well, but I should probably commend your plastic surgeon for that..." coach Kim Shin jibed, as he casually ran a hand through his hair.

And they could see the other seethe in anger.

"Nah...it's the glow of being loved you see" Wang Yeo replied, elegantly trying to tone down his anger "but you wouldn't know it...being a lonely bachelor"

"I don't have time for women" Wang Yeo replied at the taunt.

"Thank goodness for that...it'd be sad for them to waste their time on a crusty old ajhussi like you"

Jin felt awkward listening to them and tried his best to concentrate on his workout, while Taehyung snorted and giggled at every jibe.

"Stop being rude and stay out of it" Jin whisper-yelled at him.

"Why would I do that when it's so much fun?" He whispered back with a grin and Jin wanted to smack his head.

By the time the coaches were finished with their squabbling, Taehyung and Seokjin were already done with their warm-up.

"Oi...come here" coach Kim hollered at the two "there's some new info"

And the two abided instantly, trotting closer to listen.

"Two more athletes will be joining you and all four of you will be the team for the baton relay event" coach Wang Yeo informed "they'll be joining today, so I want you to behave well and inform them the kind of training and schedule you follow, clear?"

"Yes coach" the two drawled in tired tones as they tried to catch their breath after their rigorous workout.

"Take a break and go get something to eat" coach Kim Shin instructed, and the two happily followed, heading first to chug as much water as they could.

It was when they saw the two new athletes walking in to practice their sprint, that they stopped and turned to see.

"Boys!" Coach Yeo hollered for the two newcomers.

Jin could already tell that these two were trained athletes, both of them looked like they worked out ten hours a day, both buff and well-built and really good-looking.

"They're recommended as the best athletes from the Seoul Sports Association..."

"Yeah...they do look like big money babies" Taehyung spoke under his breath, earning a petrifying glare from his coach to shut up and agreed to stay quiet as he saw them walk closer.

"Hi...I'm Park Jimin" the shorter one among them spoke with a jovial smile, slightly bowing in greeting and Taehyung could see he was a nice and lively person.

"Jeon Jungkook" the other introduced himself pertly, with no intention to bow or shake hands and Taehyung judged this one as another cold-hearted person...just like Seokjin.

Jin too would have called this one a tough cookie, until they decided to do a trial race to get their timings.

"Fuck! You're damn good" Jungkook was still panting but he was the first one to come up to Jin and commend him for how incredible a sprinter he was.

"They're pretty slow to match up with us" Taehyung spoke walking closer to where Jungkook stood with Jin.

"They're a part of our team so you better keep your rude comments to yourself" Jin warned him under his breath, scowling at the guy who came to stand beside him.

"How am I rude..? I'm just saying the truth...what do you think?" Taehyung pointed at Jimin "his sprint time for 100m is no faster than 14/15 seconds"

Well, Jin couldn't deny that because he too could see the truth.

"He isn't much better" he spoke pointing at Jungkook "but still no better than 12/13 seconds"

And Jin couldn't deny that either.

"No offense to the two of you but I don't get how the Seoul Sports Association believes we're gonna win with such a team...there's no way they could pull it off..." he earned an instant smack upside his head from his coach but it seemed like that didn't bother him as much as the thought of losing did.

"How did you do it though?" Jin blurted out the question that had been twirling around his mind for a while now.

Taehyung was confused at the sudden question as he frowned at Jin.

"I remember the first race I ran with you, your timing was about 15 seconds...but now it's almost the same as mine" Jin explained "how did you cover that gap?"

"Well..." Taehyung was a little surprised because he wasn't expecting the question "I like the gold medal better than all the other medals...so, I worked for it, simple as that."

"Then we gotta do that too" Jin suggested, his words simple but genuine "because we would get that gold only if the entire team does their best."

"That's some good advice"

Jin was a little startled to see Coach Kim and Coach Yeo standing behind them wearing a smile.

"If you can find faults, then you must find solutions to those faults as well."

And that is how began the long and gruelling process of their next level of training.

It had been merely a couple of days that they had been training with Jimin and Jungkook, and with the way Taehyung had been arrogantly commenting on the two, Jin kinda had a feeling that there would soon be trouble among them. However, as they spent more time together and shared their thoughts, they gelled up pretty well.

Unfortunately, Jin wasn't that big on sharing and his habit of staying quiet often made him feel left out at the lunch table. He told himself that he didn't need to bother himself about making friends with them anyway, they were just a team for the upcoming event and it wouldn't even matter after that ends.

He knew they'd all go their ways and forget about each other...that's how life is. No one bothers to look back and see who got left behind.

"Jin...? Hey...you there?"

Jin realised he had spaced out when he felt Jimin shaking him out of his thoughts as they sat at the bleachers, a few players practicing under the halogen lights in the field.

"He does that too often"

Jin turned to the voice and saw Taehyung looking at him.

"You'd think he's listening but he's actually lost in his own world" he gazed at him, he wasn't wearing those hazel contacts right now and Jin could see the dark chocolate hue of his eyes "it's been weeks but he still fears opening up"

"Tsk" Jin chuckled "who said I fear opening up?" He looked away trying to hide his nervous blinking, and hoped they couldn't hear his racing heart "I don't have fun stories like ya'll...I had a boring life"

"Is that why you ran away?"

The question made Jin freeze, his mind going blank as he whipped around to stare at Taehyung.

"Come on...you want me to believe that you ran away from the country because you lost a race against me?" He shrugged, leaning towards Jin as he noted how the other looked like a cold block of stone and taunted him "you know, people accused me of driving you away...why did you have to do that? Do you know how guilty you made me feel?"

Jin gulped to himself, getting angry all of a sudden. He didn't want to talk anymore...he didn't even want to sit there anymore...he just wanted to be alone now.

"Stop" Jin blurted, hastily getting up as he glared at Taehyung "I don't have to tell you anything...you're not my friend."

"Hey...calm down Jin" Jimin tried to get him to cool his anger "he didn't mean to hurt you or anything" he turned to Tae, gesturing him to apologize and Tae shrugged it off, since he didn't do anything wrong either.

Jimin's words infuriated Jin more as he realised that Taehyung had shared that information with Jimin and Jungkook, he believed that Taehyung had no right to reveal something that happened years ago to people he barely knew without his consent.

"What the fuck do you even know huh?" Jin spat at Jimin, eyes fierce with anger "did he also tell you how he cheated just to win a race!?" He turned to Taehyung, glaring at the guy "you shouldn't even be here! You're only here because you're a fucking liar who pretended to win that scholarship!" He was fuming in anger and the three of them had gone blank to see the quiet Seokjin be like this.

With that Jin left, briskly walking away from the three who gaped at each other to understand what just happened.

Before Taehyung went back to their shared room that night, he had already planned to apologize to Jin but the way Jin had accused him had kinda upset him too but he told himself that he had made the first error anyway...so, he should be the first one to apologize as well.

But when he entered the room, there was no trace of Jin. He checked the hallway, although he knew Jin wasn't the kind who had friends around with whom he could share or spend the night. He called up Jimin to check if they knew anything but was informed that they had no clue either. In the end he thought it was better if he informed their coach about the situation because they weren't allowed to leave the campus just like that and this could lead all four of them to get in trouble.

"Yeah I know" Coach Kim replied to Taehyung's anxious words about Seokjin not being in the dorms "he said he had some emergency at home".

"But...that's-" "Don't worry...he'll be fine" there was a soft assurance in the elder's voice that somehow made Taehyung's anxiousness tone down "I told him he can't miss practice tomorrow...so you'll see him in the morning" and Taehyung felt a weight lift off of his chest at those words.

"He's really coming back tomorrow?" Taehyung asked again to clarify.

"Yeah...he is" Coach Kim affirmed again "now you go n get some rest...and let me sleep as well."

The next morning, Taehyung woke up to an empty room yet again. He hadn't noticed till this day how he had gotten accustomed to Jin humming in the shower...or the way Jin would leave some warm water in the flask for him to have when he wakes up...or that scent of blueberries in Jin's body wash that he always found too girly.

And despite Jin not being there to nag at him to hurry, he was the first one to get to the field today.

"Coach said we've to decide on the sequence for the relay" Jungkook informed jogging into position.

"Is Seokjin not here yet?" Jimin asked, tying the laces of his shoes.

"He had to go home due to some emergency" Taehyung repeated what he had learned from their coach but he knew very well that Jin had made that excuse because he wanted to get out of the campus "though coach said he'll be back".

"I am"

They turned to see Seokjin walking up to where they stood, and they could see how haggard he looked but chose not to comment anything lest they upset him again.

"What?" Jin said as he joined them and saw them looking at him with concern.

"Is everything ok?" Jimin asked.

"Yeah..." Jin lied, and Taehyung could tell that Jin was a really bad liar. But he had promised not to pry or taunt or interfere in anything that might lead to Jin getting upset again. So, he just tried to deviate to the work at hand.

"We were deciding the sequence for the upcoming baton relay race" Taehyung mentioned taking the baton from Jimin and handing it to Jungkook "Jungkook will be the first sprinter for the relay...Jimin, you will be the second...and I'll go third" the two other gave a short nod, agreeing to the plan "and Jin will be the final sprinter" he said turning towards Jin "let's go".

They began the practice with full force and dedication. This would be their first race of the season and they were determined to prove their worth and excel in the events so as to hone their skills to perfection before the grand event that awaited them at the end of three months.

And the week went by in a rush of training, their days beginning at the ass crack of dawn and ended with them being utterly depleted by evening. The training happened to be so vigorous that some evenings they would hog whatever for dinner and pass out the moment they'd hit their beds.

"Guys...good luck" Jimin said, tension palpable in his eyes but it was evident that he was rooting for their team.

It was the day of the baton relay competition, and selected teams of athletes from varied universities had joined the competition in the hopes to win the competition.

Jin watched Jungkook take his position as the first sprinter for their team, his gaze calm and rigid as he seemed entirely focused on the race.

But Jin's attention was drawn to a restless Taehyung, pulling Jimin away who was ready to take his position right after Jungkook.

"I'm telling you this'll be better...I heard that their second sprinter has a record-" "What's going on?" Jin asked walking nearer to where Jimin stood looking uncertain and nervous.

"He wants to change the sequence" Jimin informed sheepishly.

"What? Why?" Jin retaliated, turning his concerned glare towards Taehyung.

"Well, it's for our benefit" Taehyung went closer to share his plan "I just learnt that the second sprinter of team 6 has a record timing of 12 seconds...Jimin will obviously lose to him" he explained "so, it's better that I go second...and he can go third...and you finish the race as planned"

"Uh..umm..." Jin debated, glancing at a restless Jimin "I think it's better we do as planned...it's risky to-" "But I think this could work better you know" Taehyung insisted, intent on winning.

So, Jin decided to abide...but at the end of the race he really wished he hadn't.

"I fucking told you!" Jin bellowed against Taehyung as they walked to the bus they had to take back to the Taereung Training Centre. He regretted accepting Tae's suggestion despite being hesitant of the sudden change.

Although Taehyung was correct that Jimin would have lost to team six, and Taehyung managed that time well but the next part of the relay Jimin fell back to three other teams and their team had a difference of 8 seconds. Despite Seokjin's super speed, he did make up as best as he could but their team still could only secure second position.

So, right now Jin was fuming at Taehyung's reckless decision while Jimin quietly followed, feeling upset and guilty for being the reason their team fell back in the race and Jungkook quietly walked by his side, carrying the silver trophy.

However, the yelling of Seokjin was nothing compared to the verbal thrashing that they received from their coaches for taking such foolish decisions at the eleventh hour.

And as their training began to get tougher and they moved towards new challenges, Taehyung and Seokjin found new things to quarrel about every day.

"10...9...8...yes faster! Push yourselves boys!" the coach screamed noting the seconds on the stop watch "4...3...2..." he was still too focused on time-keeping to notice the mishap that took place just as the two reached the finish line, and rushed to see how the two had toppled onto each other.

"That wasn't my fault!" Taehyung spoke trying to help Seokjin off the ground while Seokjin was scowling at him and wanted no help from the jerk.

"You were supposed to hand me to baton! Not crash into me!" Seokjin shoved the hands away that were trying to help him up "so, it's definitely your fault!"

"I know that! But I tripped-it was an honest mistake" Taehyung tried to clarify.

"I thought you're a 'born athlete'...and as far as I know, born athletes don't make these kinda mistakes!" Seokjin bellowed, limping and struggling but wouldn't take help from the other.

Jimin and Jungkook were resting at the bleachers, chugging down water when the quarrelling caught their attention.

"Fine...I'm sorry" Taehyung denied to turn a blind-eye when he could see Seokjin had hurt his ankle due to the fall, and he was worried how an injury could affect their performance at such a time "but it really was an honest mistake, so...let me help you"

This was probably the first time Taehyung had apologised for anything to him, and Jin was a little too stunned to realize that he was staring at the other. He got back his senses when he felt hands clasping at his upper arm to pull him up and Taehyung made him sling his arm over his own shoulder.

"Don't put your weight on that foot...and lean on me"

Seokjin had been so decided to hate the other that this sudden thoughtful action and kind attitude left him speechless and he did as told.

"What happened?" Jimin asked as they caught up with the two.

"We should take him to the nurse" Jungkook suggested glancing at Jin limping.

"Thankfully there's no swelling so I'm guessing an ice pack and a night's rest will be enough"

Taehyung's words made Jin blink, and he understood that the other had paid quite the attention to his injury, despite the fact that he didn't need to. And from a selfish, thoughtless and brazen guy like Taehyung, you can barely expect anything.

"I hope so too" Jin spoke trying not to let his mind read too much into this unexpected act of kindness.

The nurse took a look and handed him an ice pack. Thankfully it was a mild sprain on his ankle and just to be safe, she gave him a pain relief spray and instructed him to rest well.

Jin sat down on his bed with a tired huff after they reached their shared room.

"Here, I have often seen you drink this" Taehyung said handing a can of boba tea "take it as my apology".

"What?" Jin was confused as he looked up, he felt like Taehyung was being absurdly nice...a little too much than what he could expect.

"I know it's not much" Taehyung shrugged, pushing the can into Jin's grasp "I'll treat you with a meal once we win the Nationals"

Jin flinched a little when he felt Taehyung drop to his feet, getting busy to apply the pain relief spray on his sprained ankle.

"I-I can do that-myself" Jin fumbled feeling embarrassed to see the other hold his feet and place it over his knee.

"I know you can...but I wanna do it" Taehyung insisted "as your partner, it's my earnest wish that you get better soon"

"Nice joke asshole..." Jin scoffed, remembering how this same guy had once locked him so that he could win first position "that's rich coming from the most selfish person I have ever come across".

"Yeah, I am an all-in-or-nothing kinda guy...and I'm damn selfish about what I want" a smile tugged on his lips "so yeah...there's probably no one else in this entire world who wants you to get well soon because I need you in your best form to win that gold."

Jin realized a moment later that he was still gazing at Taehyung, who was applying the spray...that he felt all heated and confused just like that first time he had seen this guy...that he still wished he had the kind of hair and eyes that this guy had because of how good he looked.

He was startled when Taehyung's cell phone rang, and he clicked his tongue before moving away to answer it.

"Yeah...I ate...it was fine, just training and working out all day"

Jin guessed it was probably someone from Taehyung's family who had called, and watched him walking about the room and being busy in other stuff while he spoke.

"There's a laundry here, so no...I don't wear stinky clothes" he grumbled into the device.

Jin wanted to argue on that but decided not to voice his thoughts right now.

"Heard you flunked in maths again airhead" Taehyung was laughing and Jin guessed he was probably talking to a sibling, most probably a younger one because he couldn't imagine talking like this to his hyung.

But somewhere deep down he wished he could have such a light-hearted conversation with his hyung too.

When Taehyung was done with the call, he turned about to see Jin gazing at him and he had rarely seen Jin looking at him with such soft emotion.

"Uhm...it was just my younger sister...she's kinda annoying" he thought Jin wanted to know who he had been speaking to "my family's in Daegu...and they worry too much, so they keep calling" he scratched the back of his head not sure why he was telling all these to Jin when the other hadn't even asked.

"That must be nice"

Jin's words were softly uttered and Taehyung didn't know what he meant.

"What?" Taehyung asked walking closer, and he sat on his bed facing Jin.

"I mean...it must be nice to have a family who worries about you"

Taehyung was confused, and it was probably the first time he realized that he had rarely seen Jin talking. He had at times seen his phone flash with names like Hoseok, Yoongi or Namjoon...but never anyone from his family.

"You..." he was sceptical to ask and feared it might offend the other "you don't have...a family?"

And Taehyung instantly regretted asking because of how depressed and quiet Jin became.

"I used to think I did..." he didn't say anything else.

"That's okay...you have us" he tried to assure Jin but got no reply.

So, Taehyung decided not to ask anymore. He had no intention to pry, nor did he need to know more than what Jin was comfortable to share.

"Does your ankle still hurt a lot?" Taehyung tried to deviate the tense air that surrounded them right now.

"It'll get better...I'll just go to sleep"

Jin didn't speak much after that and quietly went to curl under his blanket. But that night was the first time Taehyung turned about more than a few times to check if Jin was okay before he went to sleep. He could tell by now that Jin had issues with his family, and it made him feel really bizarre to think of parents who didn't treat their children properly. He had learnt that Jin belonged to one of the most renowned families in Seoul, some even said that he was an heir to some multimillionaire and it irked him to think that such parents didn't treat their son well.

But it wasn't his family, and he had no idea what was the issue about and judging from how sensitive a topic it was, Taehyung thought it was better to stay out of it.

He turned around again, eyes resting on the figure huddled under the blanket and Taehyung realized that he was actually worried about Jin, and wished he could help.

The next morning Seokjin woke up to see a sticky note stuck to the pain relief spray. The note had only two words---'wait here'

Jin frowned at and looked around to see what could it mean but found nothing out of the ordinary. He carefully got out of bed and went to freshen up because their coaches would literally roast them if they got late for training. He checked the swelling on his ankle, it had gone down a bit but it was still a little painful whenever he tried to put weight on his left foot.

He was still showering when he heard the door open.

"Fucking shit! I told him to stay here"

Jin could hear heavy grumbling and found it kinda funny to see the other be so perturbed about him all of a sudden. He cut of the water and hastily pulled on the tshirt n pants.

"I am still here stupid..." Jin spoke walking out, his hair was still dripping wet and it got the neckline of his tshirt wet "what're you screaming for?"

"I asked coach if we can take a day off to rest, it's been a tough month...and it'd give your ankle some time to heal as well" Taehyung spoke walking closer and handing a sandwich to Jin.

"And?" Jin asked sceptical to think if that was a good decision because he was sure Taehyung had gotten quite the bashing for trying something like that.

"They agreed" He replied with a happy smile.

Taehyung didn't mention how he had to grovel and tail around his coach to get the permission but the current look of excitement on Jin's face made him feel so rewarded. However, he didn't know why he felt so.

Jin was still debating if he was joking.

"Why are you so happy?" Jin didn't know why the guy was grinning like that, and honestly, Taehyung had no answer to that. He was just happy...why did he need to find the reason why?

"That car you drove in, is that yours?" Taehyung asked packing some stuff into his backpack.

"Yeah" Jin spoke taking a bite from the sandwich.

"Then let's go" Taehyung didn't want to waste a minute, as he grabbed a jacket and a cap to head out.

"Huh...why should I give you a ride?" Jin spoke looking unamused, and saw that delighted grin on Taehyung's face turn to a sad pout.

"Who wants to waste a free day in here?"

"I do...I wanna sleep" Jin quipped crossing his arms over his chest, still denying to abide to Taehyung's wish.

Tae came back to clutch Jin's arm to help him towards the door "you slept all night and you can sleep again at night" he reasoned as politely as he could, being the nicest person at the moment "we're 19 not 91...we don't need to sleep all day."

"My ankle's hurt...I can't drive" Jin complained again, still holding against Taehyung's plan.

"I know that...so I'll drive" Taehyung spoke "I'm not a complete ass you know"

"Hah" Jin laughed guessing that to be a joke "you are though" he reminded him but begrudgingly abided, as Taehyung tugged him along to head out the door.

á na márië.