THIRD PERSON POV

After successfully recording the whole song in one go, Jungkook added a few backing vocals and ad-libs. It took him only half an hour to record the whole thing this time.

He was taking off the headphones when the door to the recording room burst open and the producer walked in, looking satisfied. "If I knew, I would've given you this break 2 hours ago," he joked, patting the boy on the back. "You can go home now."

Taehyung was also trailing behind. He walked to Jungkook and hugged the boy. "It was amazing, Kook! I loved it!!" He congratulated.

Jungkook smiled in return and thanked him. They both went back home afterwards. They sat on Jungkook's bed, playing video games for a while when Jungkook's phone dinged. He checked it quickly and frowned on seeing the sender.

He didn't open it and just shrugged it off when Taehyung asked who it was and if he was going to have a look at the text. After a few more minutes, Taehyung went to the kitchen to get himself a beverage.

Another ding came from Jungkook's phone. This time, it was his manager telling him that they had finalised the location where they would be filming euphoria. A few pictures were attached and the manager told him he could go visit it anytime he wanted, to assess it.

As for the first person who had texted him, it had been his father. Since Taehyung wasn't back yet, he curiously opened the message to see what he wanted this time.

'Come to see us asap. We have something important and personal to discuss with you,' it read.

Jungkook wondered what that could be. He thought about not going for a moment, since he was fed up of everything that was going on in Busan, but he did want to take out his frustration and give a piece of his mind to his parents. So he ended up deciding to go.

He also had the perfect excuse too; he could say that he would be going to see the filming site which was rather far away but instead he would go to his hometown!

He was about to get up from the bed and head out but then remembered one thing. He had been advised to take someone with him so that they could get a second opinion on the location, so he couldn't just go alone. It would be suspicious, especially if he would take long to return.

Jungkook sat back on his bed, leaning his back against the wall, in reflection. He brought one hand to his mouth, his teeth chewing his nails as he was lost in thoughts.

When Taehyung entered the room a few seconds later, he called Jungkook's name to get his attention. Seeing that the boy remained still, he called him again but Jungkook didn't budge. Taehyung went closer to him, lightly shaking his shoulder. "Jungkook?"

The boy got startled as he was brought back to reality. "U-uh what ye-yes?" He stuttered out.

"Are you okay?" Taehyung enquired, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Y-yeah I'm f-fine," replied Jungkook, still a little shaken.

"Let's stop playing for now," said Taehyung. "How about we go out to take some fresh air?"

Jungkook's eyes lit up at the suggestion. "Yeah! Let's do that! In fact, get ready. Let's go check out the filming site for euphoria! I just got the location and Sejin hyung said I can visit it anytime I want," he declared.

"Uh yeah, if you want," shrugged Taehyung, completely unaware of the younger's real intentions.

The latter knew that Taehyung wouldn't mind going to Busan with him and he could easily convince him to not tell anything to their managers about him going to his parents' house instead of the supposed destination. He knew the elder would cover up anything for him. After all, Taehyung was his partner in crime.

"Jungkook where is it found? Let me see the pictures at least!" complained Taehyung for the umpteenth time as Jungkook drove.

"Be patient, we'll be there soon," replied Jungkook.

"That's what you've been saying for 2 whole hours!" Taehyung exclaimed, clearly frustrated with the fact that the younger wasn't telling him where they were going. "Besides, I'm hungry," he mumbled, pouting, crossing his arms and sinking back in his seat.

Jungkook looked to the side and let out a chuckle. Taehyung looked adorable while pouting angrily like this. "Don't worry, hyungie, you're going to get good food once we get there," he said.

Taehyung huffed and looked out of the window, watching the scenery fleet by. "Why did they choose the location to be in Busan? It's so far away," he remarked. Jungkook just hummed.

Fifteen minutes later, Taehyung's eyes widened as they quickly shifted between Jungkook to the house in front and back to Jungkook. "What are we doing here?! We are supposed to be seeing the filming site!" He cried out.

"Hyung, calm down, let me explain," said Jungkook. Taehyung went quiet, waiting for his explanation. "I just really needed to come here. My dad told me that it's important that I come as soon as possible and since I had been visiting my parents' house quite often lately, I knew Sejin hyung would not allow me to go again. So I had to lie."

Taehyung's eyes remained wide for a while before he squinted them. "And why exactly did you bring me along?"

Jungkook sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "well, Sejin hyung said that I should bring someone to have another opinion. Besides, you can cover up for me too."

"What makes you think I would do that? You literally just deceived me!" Taehyung dramatically exclaimed.

"Come on, hyung, pleaseee!"

Taehyung acted like he was thinking about it for a moment and eventually agreed, causing Jungkook to try jumping on him and hugging him but he was restricted in his seat by his seatbelt.

"Sejin hyung is gonna know we went farther than the filming site though. It already took so long to get here and it's gonna take even longer to get back to Seoul," said the elder as he unbuckled his own seatbelt.

"The location is quite far from Seoul and I told him that we would be going there at 1.30 p.m," Jungkook winked. They had actually left their apartment at 11:00 but the younger had thought about everything and left a text to their manager with a fake time.

"You're impossible," Taehyung sighed. Jungkook let out airy laugh as he got out of the car.

Both walked to the entrance of the house, knocking on the door which opened to reveal Mrs Jeon who let out a gasp upon seeing the two boys, or more specifically, Taehyung. She smiled brightly at the young boy who was already giving her his boxy smile and went forward to engulf him in a hug.

"Oh! It's been so long since I last saw you in person! How have you been, dear?" She asked enthusiastically.

"I've been doing just fine. How about you, Mrs Jeon?" He asked politely. Well, it wasn't the first time he was meeting the older woman. He had once accompanied Jungkook to Busan a year or two back and he had also met his parents when they would come to visit Jungkook in Seoul sometimes.

And it was no secret that Mrs Jeon was absolutely fond of Taehyung. She treated him like her own son (she actually considered all the 5 other members like her own sons as well) and had mistaken him to be even younger than Jungkook when she had first met him when the boy was 17 only.

"I told you not to be so formal with me!" The woman playfully scolded him. "You can call me eommoni," she added to which Taehyung nodded, the boxy smile still adorning his face.

"How impolite of me!" She suddenly exclaimed when she realised that she hadn't yet asked the boy to come in. "Come in, dear, and make yourself at home. And you must be hungry after such a long journey, right? I'm cooking braised short ribs with kimchi, it'll be done in just a few more minutes," she smiled, leading Taehyung inside and completely ignoring her own son.

Jungkook let out a cough. "I'm here too, you know?" He huffed as he entered after the two and closed the door behind him.

"Oh! Jungkook! You've come too, I hadn't noticed you," said his mother.

Jungkook pouted and it made Taehyung internally coo at how adorable he looked. His mum laughed and walked towards him, ruffling the younger's hair. "I'm just kidding, Kookie," she smiled and then added, "your brother and dad will be getting back home soon for lunch. Go freshen up and rest a bit you two while I finish cooking."

Taehyung wanted to help but Mrs Jeon insisted that she was nearly done. So the two boys went up into Jungkook's room. The latter let out a sigh and threw himself on the bed. "Woah I'm so tired already," he said.

"I can drive on the way back if you want," chuckled Taehyung.

"No, it's ok, I will," assured the younger. He then sat up abruptly as an idea struck him. "Hey, wanna stay the night and go back tomorrow morning?"

"You do realise we're supposedly at the filming location for an mv. I don't think Sejin-hyung will buy the fact that we decided to sleep in the car in the middle of nowhere with no food and drink," replied Taehyung.

"I'm just gonna tell him that my car broke down and we had to stay at a hotel or something like that," winked Jungkook. "So what say?"

Taehyung sighed. He did want to stay in Busan for a little longer. It was a really nice place by the sea and the peaceful atmosphere made him forget the stressful one back in Seoul. However, he feared getting in trouble.  Nevertheless, he agreed since they would be facing it together if they happened to get into trouble.

"Yayyy," cheered Jungkook cutely. "Anyway, my bed's a little small since I only used it till 14. I hope you have no problem sleeping in this confined space," he said.

"That's completely fine with me," grinned Taehyung, knowing very well that they would be cuddling.

Some minutes later, Junghyun and his dad were back and everyone was seated around the dining table, talking animatedly while eating. Jungkook's brother and father who also got along with Taehyung well were happy to have him there as well.

Lunch was going on smoothly until Mr Jeon brought up a topic that Jungkook heavily dreaded. "So, Jungkook," started the middle-aged man as he placed his chopsticks by his plate. The boy glanced up at his dad who was staring right back at him. "I'm glad you could come so soon. I didn't expect you to, to be honest."

Jungkook's eyes widened on realising what his father was going to start talking about. He was not yet ready to let his hyungs know about that but Taehyung was right there beside him.

"Umm yeah I'm staying till tomorrow actually," he said, trying to divert the topic.

"Oh that's great! We'll have more time to discuss the arrangements," beamed his father. "I actually had to inform you about something really important."

Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he listened to the on going conversation. Arrangements? Something important? What was all this about? And why did Jungkook come here so urgently?

Alarmed, Jungkook hastily tried to stop his father from speaking further. "Yeah, since I'll be here till tomorrow, we have plenty of time to talk. Let's keep it for later, shall we?"

Despite the boy's attempts, his father didn't take the hint that he did not want it to be discussed right now. "Why keep it for later when I can say it right now? Besides, it's fairly important, so the earlier you know about it, the better," reasoned the man.

Jungkook was about to protest but before he could, Taehyung had cleared his throat and spoken up. "I'm going to leave for a moment then, since I don't want to invade your privacy," he said, pushing his chair back, ready to stand up.

Jungkook's mother smiled fondly at his thoughtfulness and placed her hand on his. "It's okay, dear, you don't have to go anywhere. You're like family too, you know?" She smiled warmly at him.

Taehyung nodded and pulled his chair closer to the table, resuming his lunch while looking around the table at everyone's reactions. He wondered what was it that was making Jungkook so nervous.

The latter was about to speak, maybe try delaying this conversation further but his father beat him to it. "Your engagement will be in 2 months, on the 27th of March," declared the man.

A series of reactions followed. Jungkook's eyes widened while Taehyung knitted his eyebrows. This couldn't be what he thought it to be. The younger's mouth opened and closed, unable to find the proper words to express this feeling of pure frustration he felt. Why were they always taking decisions in his stead? It was so unfair!

"W-what?" Taehyung involuntarily let out meekly, his voice just above a whisper and his tone being a mixture of disbelief and devastation.

No one seemed to have noticed the hint of sadness in his tone and his disbelief was mistaken for surprise as Mrs Jeon cheerfully asked, "hasn't Jungkook told you yet? He'll be getting married to Haesoo, the stylist working at your company!"

Taehyung's eyes widened even more. This- this couldn't be happening... Not again! Nevertheless, the brunette forced a smile.

Jungkook had snapped his head in Taehyung's direction to gauge his reaction. "C-congratulations," said the boy simply. "I'm ha-happy for you." His voice wavered slightly and he felt his eyes watering. He couldn't cry, not in front of Jungkook's whole family!

He looked down at his plate, his bangs covering his eyes as he continued eating, holding his sobs in. He shut his eyes tightly, praying for the tears not to fall. He couldn't even hold his chopsticks properly as his hands were shaking but he did his ultimate best to control his emotions.

"Jungkook? You didn't inform your hyungs yet?" asked his mother.

"Umm no, I was going to but I didn't get the opportunity to announce it," he mumbled, looking down at his own plate of food.

"It's ok, but just make sure to tell them," said his dad and Jungkook nodded. He felt bad that Taehyung had to find out this way. He had wanted to announce it himself but everything was messed up now. And on top of it, there was only 2 months left for his engagement!

He hadn't expected it to be so soon but then he realised that they had probably decided to hold it so soon to avoid having any of the two backing off from the wedding. Jungkook realised he was trapped in this, but he didn't mind it, did he? After all, there was nothing for him to lose in all this.

The ravenette was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his father speaking again. The man sighed before asking softly, "Jungkook, are you sure you want to go ahead with this? We don't want you to take a decision you're going to regret later."

"No one's gonna be upset at you if you ever decide to back off from it. The only thing we want is your happiness," added his mother.

Jungkook could hear the sincerity in their voices. They genuinely cared for him. He knew that they wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. He also knew that, to some extent, his parents were being pressured by the Parks. But now, they wanted to make sure that their son would not regret this decision because they knew that their son was much more important than the friendship they had with the Parks. They would never want to jeopardise their son's happiness just for the sake of that friendship.

But Jungkook was sure of himself. He had come to a decision and he was not going to back off. Not now, not ever. "Mom, dad, I'm sure of it. I don't and won't regret it," he stated firmly though his tone didn't really hold any emotions.

One person whose emotions were threatening to overflow was Taehyung. The latter couldn't handle it anymore. Having finished his food, he excused himself in a low voice, scared that his voice might crack, and bolted out of the suffocating space.

He reached the washroom and finally let his tears flow silently. It was all happening all over again and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He wanted to scream at how frustrated he felt for not being able to do anything about this situation but realised that he was in someone else's home.

He washed his hands and his face, drying them and spending a little longer than necessary in the washroom as he fixed his appearance. He didn't want anyone knowing that he had been crying just now.

Something else that deeply hurt him was the fact that Jungkook hadn't told him anything about the whole engagement thing. He always thought that the younger trusted him and shared all his secrets with him but apparently, he was wrong.

When Taehyung emerged back into the dining room, everyone had finished eating. The table had been cleared and Mrs Jeon was putting the dishes in the dishwasher while the three men of the Jeon family were nowhere to be seen.

"Hyung..." Taehyung heard a soft voice behind him and turned around. Jungkook stood there, his head down.

"I want to go back home," stated Taehyung plainly.

Jungkook looked up from the ground to meet his gaze and another wave of guilt washed over the younger. Taehyung's gaze held no emotions, he was just blankly staring at him and that was enough to indicate that the older was clearly upset at him.

"We'll go tomorrow," Jungkook replied softly.

"Now," affirmed Taehyung, "I want to go back now."

Jungkook sighed. "I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be but please listen to me. Just go take a nap or something. You must be tired. Let's talk when you wake up, yeah?"

"I'm not mad at you," Taehyung said, completely emotionless. "And neither am I tired nor do I want to take a nap. I just want to go back home," he said again firmly.

"Hyung..."

"If you're not going to drive me, then I have no problem in taking a train back to Seoul on my own," Taehyung stated resolutely and his fierce gaze was more than enough to tell Jungkook that he wasn't joking.

The younger let out another sigh. "Fine, let's go..." he trailed off, walking to the kitchen to tell his mom that something came up and they had to go. She was disappointed that they had to leave so soon and asked them not to overwork themselves. Both boys headed out after saying their goodbyes.

The 2 hour car ride from Busan to Seoul was silent. Well, Jungkook tried speaking to Taehyung but all his attempts were ignored. The raven haired boy was fully aware of the fact that he had messed up. This was not how he wanted Taehyung to find out about all this.

Only a month into 2018 and it was the second time they were not talking to each other, the first one being when Taehyung had kissed Jungkook. However, back then, they hadn't fought. They were simply respecting each other's personal space while thinking that the other was bothered by this impulsive action.

But now, Jungkook knew Taehyung was upset at him for hiding the fact that he was planning to get engaged. And he had no idea how he was going to make up with him.

Halfway to Seoul, Jungkook was biting his lip nervously, thinking about whether or not he should try initiating another conversation with Taehyung despite failing multiple times in the past hour.

Remembering that actions spoke louder than words, Jungkook tried placing his free hand on top of Taehyung's which rested between them. However, the elder was quick to move his hand away. 

After that, Jungkook understood that he should give Taehyung some time for now at least. He would speak to him when they reached home.

It was 16:30 when they arrived at their company. Jungkook had directly headed there since they had been asked to come there for practice quickly. It was not until 5 hours later that all the boys were done with practice and were going back home.

The whole time, Taehyung had not even glanced at Jungkook even once, let alone talking to him. Having already taken a shower at the dance studio, the boys all immediately headed to bed since they were exhausted. Well, all except the two youngest.

The moment they had arrived, Jungkook had firmly grabbed Taehyung's wrist and dragged him to a tiny room used to store old things they didn't use anymore. The elder did not even protest and followed the younger.

However, when Jungkook let go of his hand, he instantly turned around to walk away. The younger caught his wrist again. The fact that Taehyung refused to speak to him no matter what made Jungkook's heart ache.

"Hyung... please hear me out. I'm really really sorry. I know you shouldn't have had to find out about me getting engaged in this way and I swear, I was going to tell you. You can be mad at me but please, don't ignore me like this. Scold me, yell at me, punch me but don't act like I'm invisible to you. Please, hyung. I'm so sorry, I really am." The desperation and regret in Jungkook's voice were both as clear as crystal. Taehyung could hear it but he still remained unfazed.

A moment of silence followed.

"I'm not mad at you, Jungkook," said Taehyung at last. "I'm just hurt that you hid this from me. It hurts that you kept ditching our plans to go to her and yet I couldn't understand that you like her. You should've told me, Jungkook. You should've told me that you liked her, that you preferred spending time with her, that she was going to be your fiancée. I swear I would've understood. I wouldn't have bothered you so much. I wouldn't have worried so much every time you came back home late after going to her apartment."

Taehyung paused and smiled sadly, "I always believed that we were so close to each other that you trusted me with your life, just like how I trust you. But clearly, I was wrong."

The whole time, Jungkook was shaking his head, tears flowing down his cheeks. He opened his mouth, trying to tell Taehyung that he valued him, that he trusted him, that he was important to him, but no words came out. He couldn't even string the words properly to tell him how sorry he was.

Jungkook helplessly watched as Taehyung walked out of the small room whose only source of light was the moonlight shining through the single tiny window. He tried to stop him by reaching out to him but Taehyung was already far gone and his blurry vision wasn't helping him at all.

The boy stood there for a while more, tears still rolling down his cheeks. He felt stupid, he should've ran after Taehyung. How could he let Taehyung believe all those things? None of it was true. He trusted Taehyung more than anyone else, more than himself even.

Wiping his tears with his sleeves, he rushed out of the storage room to Taehyung's bedroom. He turned the doorknob but found it locked. He knocked at the door, calling Taehyung's name several times but received no answer from the brunette.

"Hyung? Taehyungie hyung? Please open the door, I'm so sorry. Please hear me out. It's not like that at all, I swear. Just...hear me out, please," Taehyung heard Jungkook's pleading voice outside his room.

Nevertheless, he ignored the younger. Even if it made something tug at his heart. Even if he felt a strange pain inside of him. Even if it made him tear up. He remained quiet, hugging a pillow close to himself, his silent tears rolling onto the soft cotton.

After what felt like hours, Jungkook gave up and went back to his room. Taehyung heard his fading footsteps and let out a sigh. He did feel bad for ignoring the younger but he also felt betrayed that Jungkook hadn't told him anything despite the multiple times he had asked him whether everything was fine at his parents' since he had been visiting so often.

A strong feeling of devastation overcame him as he realised that it meant that Jungkook was once again slipping past him. That night, as he let his tears freely stain his pillow, he came to the conclusion that holding on to the hope that Jungkook would be his one day was useless. He already belonged to someone else. It was in his destiny and Taehyung would not be able to change that. Not even travelling in time could change that.

The next morning at breakfast, Taehyung had a dull aura surrounding him. He didn't look at Jungkook or even talk to him although the latter made several efforts to speak to him. Jungkook eventually sighed, deciding that it would be better to announce the news to everyone.

When Jungkook did so, he received a multitude of reactions, ranging from surprised to happy to Seokjin pretending to wipe a tear from his eye, saying how their little baby maknae had grown up. But one thing that didn't change was Taehyung's expression. His face remained stoic, finishing his food quickly and retiring to his room as soon as possible.

Jungkook looked down, feeling disheartened. He was met with a series of questions which he did his best to answer. He told the boys everything, leaving out the part where Haesoo's parents were basically forcing her into marriage and that he had begrudgingly agreed for her sake only.

He told them a fantasized story of how they had started liking each other as they spent so much time together. The boys mainly gushed that the two made a cute couple and that they knew something was going on between the pair.

From his room, Taehyung heard everything that was being told. It hurt him even more as he recalled how Jungkook had firmly affirmed that he was sure about going ahead with this wedding back at his parents' house. It made Taehyung feel like he was coming in between a couple that truly loved each other and he hated that he couldn't help his own feelings.

How could he have dared think that he had a chance with Jungkook when the boy was so clearly meant to end up with someone else? 

That was when he took a firm resolution; he was going to keep away from the younger. Maybe his feelings for him would fade then, who knows? After all, he had the perfect excuse to ignore him now anyway. He just had to keep that up.

But who was he kidding? He knew none of that would work. He had tried it multiple times. He had tried everything to stop liking Jungkook but nothing ever worked. He was so unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Jeon Jungkook and nothing could ever change that.

>>>>>♡<<<<<

Hey, I'm back! Sorry for not publishing for 2 weeks but I wrote a 4.6K long chapter as an apology hehe (1st time I'm writing this much)

Also, it's September! Happy birthday to Kookie and Joonie uwu I can never find enough words to express how much I love them! They're just such precious human beings💜

Idk if you're liking the way this story is turning out coz I feel like it's pretty stagnant but that phase will pass, I promise. Thank you for still sticking through despite the low quality stuff I've been writing lately :')

Thanks for reading. Please do vote and give feedbacks before leaving. Love ya!💓