jeongguk watched taehyung like a hawk for the entirety of their time at taipan.

he didn't enjoy how it felt like taehyung knew all his secrets.

he was determined to figure taehyung out even if it was the last thing he did.

taehyung was quiet, reserved and extremely timid above all else.

his voice shook as he spoke, his occasional laughs were quiet and short-lived, his hands trembled uncontrollably all the time.

jeongguk hated it.

it almost reminded him of himself.

in fact, it did remind him of himself.

his old self, that is.

back when he was still a pushover and a crybaby. back when he wouldn't fight back. back when he wasn't as fucked up as now.

those days are long gone, though.

maybe that's why jeongguk was so bitter towards taehyung. so aggravated by his behaviour and personality.

it reminded him of a time when he himself had a chance to be saved.

back when he was like taehyung.

lost but not too far away.

floating but not too high up.

broken but not completely destroyed.

taehyung's pieces could be salvaged...

he could be put back together.

but jeongguk?

no.

he was far past that point. far past the point of deliverance.

so maybe that was why he didn't care for the way taehyung acted.

because it reminded him of a time where he wasn't unfixable. a time where he could've escaped or been rescued.

but he never was saved.

he didn't get the chance to free himself.

instead he was forced to descend deeper into his own shame and self-hatred until he became...

this.

this thing.

jeongguk didn't know who or what he was anymore and the worst part is that he didn't really care.

not enough, at least.

who does taehyung think he his, huh?

he thinks that he can have a second chance?

that he can get better and move on from whatever the fuck he's going through?

no, because i didn't get that. i never got to do better, i never got to be happy. the calm after the storm never came for me. instead it turned into a fucking hurricane and now look at me. now i'm too numb to even feel the cold or hear the rain of it all.

jeongguk continued to glare daggers at taehyung who was visibly uncomfortable.

suddenly hoseok pulled on one of his wing's feathers to get his attention, "chill out bro."

jeongguk startled before looking over at him, "what?"

"you look like you wanna rip the cutie's throat out." hoseok deadpanned.

"maybe i do." jeongguk grumbled.

"you better not. he's too precious to be missing his trachea." hoseok warned.

"i won't spare him just because he's cute." jeongguk gritted his teeth.

"you sure? you're literally the horniest person i've ever met." hoseok pointed out

"i didn't ask for my dad to be born the way he was, did i?" jeongguk rolled his eyes.

"touché." hoseok said.

jeongguk could never deny how gorgeous taehyung was, no matter how much he resented him.

the wrathful side of him wanted to rip taehyung apart limb by limb until he was practically unrecognisable.

however, the lustful side of him wanted to do far more than that. something very different to the other side of him.

while this conversation went on, yoongi had fallen asleep at the table.

jimin was slightly confused and hoseok noticed it.

"he has narcolepsy." he simply commented.

"narco-what?" jimin asked, even more confused now.

taehyung jumped in, "it's a condition that causes sleepiness throughout the day and an irregular sleep schedule which, in turn, causes one to randomly fall asleep sometimes, especially in relaxing situations. it's caused by a lack of hypocretin in the brain which is the chemical that regulates sleep. people with it can also suffer from other things like sleep paralysis or hallucinations too sometimes. it's not a very serious health hazard but it does impact daily life since it's very inconvenient and may be hard emotionally."

jimin was used to taehyung's random outbursts of overwhelming knowledge so he nodded and smiled, "oh thanks."

hoseok and jeongguk looked utterly dumbfounded.

"woah, you know a lot about it." hoseok said, raising an eyebrow.

that's when taehyung realised that he wasn't supposed to be showing any of his angelic traits yet here he was practically parading his intelligence.

"oh, w-well-"

"wait, i think i remember you telling me about it before, actually... doesn't your cousin have that?" jimin asked, discreetly winking at him.

wow, jimin's really smart.

"yeah, he does." taehyung nodded, going along with jimin's story.

"oh, i see." hoseok nodded, now given an explanation to taehyung's extensive knowledge on the subject.

jeongguk wasn't having any of it, though.

there's something up with him. he thought.

it's his cousin, not even his brother or anything so why would he need to know so much about his medical condition? besides, he said that it wasn't that serious in terms of health hazards so why would he put in so much effort to research it. on top of that, he even knew the chemical that was deficient in the brain that caused it. that's so extra and not needed.

you thought you could try and figure me out, huh? well, it seems like we all have our secrets then.

jeongguk was too busy analysing taehyung that he didn't even notice that yoongi had now woken up.

"hoseok, i tell you to keep me awake but i always end up falling asleep fifty million times a day. you're so useless." yoongi yawned, rolling his eyes.

"listen, your body is telling you to sleep, who am i to deny your brain?" hoseok held his hands up in surrender.

"choke." yoongi huffed.

taehyung could literally feel jeongguk's eyes burning into the side of his head but he decided to just act like he didn't know.

jeongguk's definitely suspicious of me now, yikes. taehyung thought.

suddenly, someone burst through the door. taehyung had never seen them before.

"drag race at recluse pit!" the person yelled before running back out in the same direction as a hyperactive crowd of other teens and young adults.

"drag race? sick. wanna go? recluse pit ain't that far." hoseok asked the group collectively.

"sure." yoongi agreed.

"fine, i guess." jeongguk stood up.

all three demons looked to the disguised angels.

"you two coming? i mean, you said you wanted some fun here in loxosceles, this seems like a perfect opportunity." hoseok suggested.

jimin and taehyung gave eachother a look before turning back to the three demons.

"sure."

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

•1097 words
•not edited or proof-read
•HEYYYY
•it's been a while, i'm sorry
•also this is a shorter update so sorry ×2
•i was really overwhelmed with school but thank god school is over for the summer so i'll be able to update a lot more for the next 6-ish weeks
•i hope you don't lose interest lmao
•STAY SAFE!!!
•love youuuu

peace out xoxo,

nixy.