THIRD PERSON POV

The next four days were probably the most stressful and hectic for the boys. In between visiting the hospital, keeping up with practice and finding a solution regarding the comeback, they barely had time for themselves.

The news about Namjoon's accident had spread like wildfire among netizens and an official statement - giving necessary details about the artist's condition and asking fans not to worry - had been released by the company.

Naturally it caused somewhat of an uproar in the fans community. Some were getting worried about Namjoon while others were tweeting about how the driver of the car should be more severely punished for breaking the law and causing such a grave accident.

The boys were thankful for the concern and prayers of their fans all around the world and assured that everything would be alright.

The mood at home, however, remained a depressingly quiet one. The only words spoken being "let's eat" or "it's time for leave for practice". As for their meals, often times they were being skipped by most of them. Seokjin would try to force the younger ones to eat by leaving the food in their rooms sometimes, though he, himself, understood how they were feeling.

During those 4 days, a lot yet so little had happened. First off, Namjoon's condition was neither improving nor deteriorating, so in a way, that was a good thing. He was pretty much stable and the doctors said they believed that with the right amount of time and care, he would start recovering soon.

All the others could do was pray for him to get better and also prepare everything so that Namjoon wouldn't have to worry about the comeback once he would be on his feet again.

Hoseok and Yoongi took in charge writing lyrics and composing the beats for the remaining songs that were not completely finished. They had already been working on it along with Namjoon prior to the accident, but they started spending more time on it, doing Namjoon's part of the job as well.

Taehyung helped majorly in that. Those were songs he had heard before, that had already been written in his era, so he still remembered it all clearly. Still, he brought his contribution very subtly.

For instance, when the two rappers had gone to take a break, he had snuck into the studio and planted the original beat, that he had done his best to recreate, into the computer. He knew the boys would only perceive it as one of Namjoon's samples and not think too deeply into it. Or at least, he hoped so.

Turns out, spending hours wracking his brain for memory of the music and arranging the beats accordingly proved to be very much productive and distracting. It took his mind off of Jungkook a great deal, though glimpses of the boy singing particular verses during concerts would come back to his mind as he played his end results to hear what they sounded like. But he did a good job driving those thoughts away and focusing back on his job.

Speaking of which, he had minimal contact with Jungkook. And by minimal, he meant none except for their gazes meeting each other's and then quickly looking away in an awkward fashion.

As much as possible, Taehyung tried avoiding Jungkook's path, especially if he was alone. It was embarrassing and somewhat awkward to face him after having so bluntly confessed. That made him remember that he never got a hint of what the younger thought about this.

Taehyung seriously wondered whether or not he wanted to know Jungkook's reaction to his feelings. He knew that the younger would need time to adjust to this, to get used to the fact that his hyung liked him, but their lack of interaction these past few days triggered Taehyung to assume that Jungkook didn't want to speak to him. Although it was Taehyung who actively avoided him.

But of course, Jungkook did, too. For instance, when they were about to cross paths in the hallway, he would pretend to have forgotten something and turn on his heels just so he wouldn't have to walk by the elder. Again, the latter could never decipher what those wide doe eyes of his expressed whenever their eyes met. So you couldn't completely blame Taehyung for thinking that way.

There was always this thick tension that lingered in the air when the two were in the same room. By now, Taehyung was convinced that their hyungs had probably noticed it, though he hoped they had not.

Even if they had suspected something, however, Taehyung was grateful that no one spoke up about it. Everyone's main focus was on Namjoon's recovery and the comeback.

As for Jungkook, he had to go to Busan again for some discussion or arrangements for his engagement. He had been gone for 2 days already.

Two days during which Taehyung could breathe without feeling like something was sucking the air out of his lungs.

Because that's pretty much what he felt when Jungkook was around. Suffocated and tense.

Nevertheless, the relief he had been feeling was ephemeral. Jungkook would be back to Seoul today and Taehyung would inevitably have to face him whether he wanted or not.

Currently, the 23 year-old boy was sitting on a chair next to the hospital bed, waiting for a nurse to come in so he could ask how Namjoon was doing. In the meantime, he inspected the older boy's features.

He had a cut that extended from his temple to his cheek on the left side of his face. On the right side was a dark purple bruise that was slowly healing. His head and forehead had also been bandaged, and Taehyung could only imagine what could be hidden under the layers of bandage and cotton. Despite all of that, he looked peaceful with his eyes closed, breathing evenly with the oxygen mask on to help with his respiration.

Taehyung's thoughts were interrupted by the faint sound of the door opening behind him. He whipped his head around, expecting to see a nurse and eager to inquire about his hyung's condition. However, the person he was met with left him frozen.

Jungkook.

Taehyung saw how his eyes widened, the boy looking as surprised as himself, seemingly not having expected the older to be there as well. As they kept staring at each other's wide eyes, the tension surrounding them appeared to be thickening. The oxygen seeped out of the room, leaving both boys breathless as they struggled to find something to say to ease the tension around them.

Their throats felt dry, none of them being able to utter a single word. Taehyung finally tore his eyes away from Jungkook, his wavering gaze shifting to the side. "I- I was just leaving," he spoke, low and fast, before making his way to the door without glancing at Jungkook again.

But as he had almost exited the room, he felt a hand enclosing around his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. It was silent for a moment, Taehyung making no efforts to get out of the grip and Jungkook just holding his wrist, no pressure being applied whatsoever.

"Hyung, can we talk?" He said, his voice barely above a whisper. He would have probably not been heard if it was not for the total silence that enveloped them.

Their backs faced each other, both being too nervous to look at the other. After a moment of silence, Taehyung finally replied, "not here." His voice was as low as Jungkook's had been. It was as if both were afraid that someone was eavesdropping, ready to jump out and bombard them with questions if they spoke any louder.

"I'll see you at home," Taehyung said lastly before getting Jungkook's grip off his wrist and walking out of the room.

Jungkook remained at the hospital for a little longer. For four days, he hadn't stopped thinking about the conversation he had heard between Jimin and Taehyung the night of the accident. The things they had said revolved around his mind and puzzled him.

He had heard things like time travel, the accident being Taehyung's fault, Taehyung speeding up the occurence of certain events... it was all too much for him and he needed answers, because he couldn't piece it together on his own.

He had contemplated questioning Taehyung about it in the first 2 days before going to Busan, but his resolve always faltered due to hesitancy. So, for the next 2 days, he thought about how he should approach Taehyung with that matter.

First of all, he knew it had been wrong of him to eavesdrop but when he had heard Jimin going into Taehyung's room, he had gotten curious and to his luck, the door had been left slightly ajar. The temptation to listen in was too high for him to resist.

Back in the dorm, Taehyung was pacing around his room, biting onto his nails. He had absolutely no idea what Jungkook wanted to talk about exactly, or maybe he did but knowing it was about his feelings stressed him out even more.

For a while, Taehyung wondered why he had agreed. But then, he recalled that he, too, had things to tell the younger.

As he kept panicking about the discussion he was about to have with Jungkook, wondering what the outcome would be, he failed to hear the door opening. It was only when Jungkook cleared his throat that he noticed the younger's presence in his room.

Taehyung got startled, his eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. He tried regaining his composure though it was hard for him to do so since he felt like the oxygen in his lungs had been knocked out.

Jungkook closed the door behind him and walked closer to Taehyung. As Jungkook kept approaching him, the elder felt like he had even more difficulty breathing but he attempted to hide it from the boy before him.

Jungkook had an insane effect on him.

Just a glimpse of the boy could change his whole mood, a single smile from him could make his heart flutter and a simple touch could make him feel butterflies in his stomach. Despite having known the younger for years, those feelings only intensified.

Jungkook owned the strings of his heart and could tug them however he liked. He unknowingly controlled the elder's every senses. Yet, the younger remained clueless about the power he held over him.

Taehyung, however, was aware of that fact but there was nothing he could do about it. He succumbed to the younger's charms like a servant to his King. Because that's what Jungkook was to him. The King of his heart.

And not to be dramatic or anything, but he would gladly lay down his life for the boy.

"Oh Jungkook," he said, voice coming out lower and shakier than he had intended it to. He wasn't supposed to appear nervous, damn it!

He hoped Jungkook wouldn't catch on his jitters but he knew the latter knew his habits well and his pacing when the boy had entered the room had probably already given away how nervous he was feeling.

The younger stopped at a reasonable distance from him before speaking up. Fortunately for Taehyung, otherwise he might have started hyperventilating or something.

"Hyung, there was something I wanted to talk to you abo-"

Taehyung cut him off hastily. "A-all this doesn't have to change anything between us," he said, his tone almost squeaky, very contrasting to the calm voice that Jungkook had spoken in seconds ago.

He was about to continue when Jungkook stopped him. "Please, listen to me first," he requested.

"Yeah, yeah...sure, go on," Taehyung said. As much as he tried to calm his jitters, they appeared through his speech and Taehyung wanted to choke himself for that.

Jungkook appeared so collected compared to him. He wished he could be this composed too. Because being tensed was definitely not the image he wanted to project in front of the younger at this moment.

"So, umm..." Jungkook began hesitantly and Taehyung was somewhat relieved to see the other a little nervous too. "The other day, the day of hyung's accident, I mean..." and Taehyung braced himself for what was coming.

They hadn't yet had a discussion about the whole confession so it was bound to happen. Yet, Taehyung didn't feel ready for it, though he had pretty much brought it upon himself by agreeing to talk with Jungkook.

But he told himself that it would be better to get it all over with at once. So, taking a deep breath to calm himself, he waited for Jungkook's next words.

"...I heard Jimin hyung and you talking-"

At these words, Taehyung froze. He could barely register the words spoken by Jungkook afterwards. So, basically, Jungkook knew about everything?

"I-is that what- what you wanted to t-talk about?" He inquired shakily. It was more of a rhetorical question actually, since he already knew the answer to that.

His eyes were wide and his throat dry as he saw Jungkook slowly nodding.

"I know it was wrong to eavesdrop but I just wanted to know why you never spoke up about any of it and if you're alright," he said.

"It-it's nothing im-important, just...just forget about it," Taehyung added quickly.

"But hyung, I just want to help. You didn't seem okay," clarified Jungkook.

"I-I'm fine. It's all just so complicated, I'm alright," reassured Taehyung. But mostly, he was trying to convince himself instead of Jungkook. He wanted to divert the topic but had no idea how to, so the only thing he could do was to end it.

"Hyung, I know, but please listen to me," Jungkook said as he stepped forward. 

"Jungkook, just forget everything you heard. It's nothing really," Taehyung replied before the younger could say anything else. He was beginning to panic.

Out of everyone, Jungkook was never supposed to know all that. To know this much.

"Hyung-"

But each time he tried speaking, Taehyung interrupted him. Jungkook could tell he didn't want to discuss about this but all he asked for was for Taehyung to listen to him.

"Jungkook, I told you, it's nothing. Just forget about all this, about everything," he started. He was so absorbed in his speech that he did not notice how close Jungkook had gotten to him.

"And even what I told you back at the mountain, forget it all. Please. I just want everything to be like before. I know it must seem strange and all but let's pretend none of it ever happened and forget it-"

However, Taehyung's words were cut short and he had no idea what had happened. It was all so sudden, so unexpected, so abrupt. The only thing he knew, the only thing his brain could register was that Jungkook had crashed his lips onto his own.

>>>>>♡<<<<<

Firstly, idk when I'll be updating next coz my exams have just started and oof- it's just been 1 week and I feel dead already. Some papers were so freaking hard and I even heard a girl crying towards the end of the further maths paper and I was there like "I feel you gurl!"

So yea the next chap will probably be up by the end of Nov. Anyway, the comeback is next week I'm so excited eeeeee

Lastly, thanks for reading and being patient with my slow updates lately.
Please vote. I love you all ♡