highly recommend listening to the song above because i think it really fits with this chapter :))))))))
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IT'S DEFINITELY YOU | V & JIN
"this damn love, because of you. i can't move even if im hurt."

taehyung focus
as taehyung pedals casually into a nature park of some sort, he hums along to the recognisable lyrics blurting out from the radio whilst enjoying the sun's warm rays beating down on his bare arms.
he cycles down a dirt path, past large family picnics, several zitty teenagers flinging frisbees at each other like maniacs, little groups of kids squealing and running away from each other's spraying water pistols and young couples who lie on the grassy ground, beneath the shade of trees, holding hands secretively.

there's a soft breeze flying through his hair, ruffling the dark locks as he gets up off the seat and pedals standing up. his eyes are lidded, his posture relaxed –– the weather is way too nice to have a frown etched into your features, so taehyung smiles to himself as he cycles down the nature park, enjoying the hectic-ness of the park as he zips straight through it.

jiminie hyung and jungkook aren't dating.
the aforementioned thought slides into his mind again for the millionth time and taehyung, looking like an idiot, smiles harder each time, his cheeks tinting pink this time.

jheez, why're you getting all happy for? i bet you look real creepy — stop, taehyung scolds himself, overwhelmed with how freaking happy he is to know that his hyung and jungkook aren't together. but despite his commandeering thoughts, the smile doesn't drop from taehyung's face as he cycles harder — the pure joy inside of him propelling him to go further down the dirt path, riding over the small bumps in the ground with jungkook behind him on the carrier, groaning quietly at taehyung's sudden speed ("fucking hell, kim — are you trying to kill me?), taehyung laughing in response.

whilst he's laughing, not once does it dawn on him that one, he's crushing over a fucking murdering kidnapping criminal –– no matter how many times jungkook acts tsundere-ingly nice (e.g. offering taehyung to sleep on the bed and letting him have second helpings of food and calming him down after a panic attack), he'll still remain a wanted criminal.
two, whilst swimming in soft clouds of happiness — too bubbly to think, taehyung never realises the fact that jungkook and him are impossible; that even if they do fall in love with each other, they won't be able to be together. jungkook's a wanted criminal, constantly on the run from the police and hurting and threatening people in his wake. and taehyung's a soon-to-be-ceo, the precious son of influential ceo, kim daesuk — no way would the media let him, a celebrity, live with a fucking criminal without firing stupid headlines and preposterous explanations at him, his family and kim enterprises.
and three, he somehow incredibly — again, his mind is practically wrapped in cotton candy — forgets about the dead thug. no thoughts about him stir inside taehyung's hazy mind or feelings; it's as if the incident had never happened, or taehyung wasn't present when the guy died with jungkook's bullet fired into his chest.

neither of the three points mentioned above hit taehyung as he pedals out of the calming nature park and on to a road where cars and other cyclists flow casually down. he's completely idiotically oblivious.

                                        +

after cycling for a few more minutes, jungkook can feel taehyung slowing down minute by minute. jungkook's not surprised; when you're as weak and lithe as taehyung, cycling yourself and a grown man up a steep hill for more than two minutes is tiring.

he rolls his eyes before raising his voice, "kim, stop the bike."

"what?" taehyung wheezes but still swerves the bike to the side of the road, pulling the brakes to stop. jungkook hops off the carrier and walks round to taehyung, motioning for him to get off. taehyung, all sweaty, weakly climbs off, reluctantly letting jungkook sit on the seat before rounding the back to sit tiredly on the carrier.

jungkook starts to pedal.
"where are we, uh, going?" taehyung breathes out, still trying to regain his breath.

"did you eat anything?" jungkook questions, ignoring taehyung's own question as he pedals calmly down the road.

"nuh–no." taehyung groans when his stomach whines in protest at that very second.

"then we're going somewhere to grab food."

+

jungkook focus
a while later, taehyung sits cross legged on a bench, his hard boots tucked under himself as he digs a frail plastic spoon into the small tub of melting strawberry ice cream jungkook had bought from the nearest supermarket (at taehyung's request). he lifts a big scoop of pale pink to his mouth, engulfing the strawberry flavoured delicacy before frowning when the immense amount of ice cream mars his teeth sensitive. turning his mouth into a small 'O', taehyung whimpers breathlessly at the sensation of overly cool ice cream on his molars.

jungkook, on the other hand, ignores the older's suffering and busies himself with his phone whilst distractedly digging a plastic fork (they had no spoons left) into the ice cream sitting between them, on the bench. his dark brows furrow with concentration as he fiddles with his phone, thumbs flying as he hurriedly types out a message one handedly. once jungkook presses the 'send?' button, he switches his phone off and turns to scoop more ice cream up.

he swallows the spoonful he's managed to bag and looks out at the scenery before him.
with the stolen bike lying on the ground by their feets, they sit on a bench by the promenade, staring out at a river whilst eating into a tub of strawberry ice cream with shitty plastic cutlery. the river in front of them is mesmerising; it's a faded, almost worn green blue colour, hued with a little golden here and there courtesy of the sun hitting the water. the waters seem rocky today — white froth at the edges every time the waves violently hit the promenade before reluctantly pulling away. despite the threatening peaks and ridges in the pretty waters, the river calms jungkook's painful tension residing in his stiff shoulders and head.

spooning delicious ice cream into his mouth, feeling the sun against his cheeks, loving the sound of the sea rushing to meet his ears; everything, to jungkook, feels good for once.
feels good, jungkook thinks, tilting his head back slightly.

only then does he notice taehyung's antics — taehyung's hunched over in his seat, his hand pressed against his mouth as he struggles to contain all the ice cream sitting in his mouth. his eyebrows are drawn together, clearly distressed at the trouble he's facing.

jungkook stops his ice cream laden fork midway in the air as he stares, unimpressed at taehyung's behaviour.
"what the fuck, kim."

"ish too cold." taehyung manages to whine before forcing himself to swallow the ice cream. once swallowed, he wavers, lowering his head to his knees and digging his fingers into his skull, clutching his head.

"what now?" jungkook asks, exasperated but slightly amused.

"gotta brain freeze." taehyung groans, massaging his brain-frozen head.

"eat slowly — it's not a race, jheez." jungkook scolds, amused smile on his face when taehyung whinges that he didn't know in response. whilst he grovels, jungkook watches him with something blooming inside his chest. something that feels strangely like fondness.

fondness for kim taehyung?
what the hell.

well. . . you can't help but be fond towards him — i mean, just look at him, jungkook turns to see a pained taehyung whining about "stupid brain freeze" and never wanting to eat ice cream again (although he says this while digging into the ice cream tub again💀). jungkook raises an eyebrow.

he look away, back at the sea and contemplates his newly discovered fondness for taehyung. he recalls moments of feeling so godamn, dare he say it but, soft for the older. moments like taehyung willingly holding and entertaining a kid so his/hers stressed mom could eat, getting utterly delighted upon seeing cheap ramen, laughing loudly whilst dancing in the cold rain, writing a sincere sorry note for stealing someone's motorcycle, and for some reason, crying for jungkook, his motherfucking kidnapper who doesn't deserve it, when he's injured.

alright, alright, you got me; he does make me feel a certain type of fondness. and he does made me, jungkook shudders, kinda soft. but that's all –– he's like a clumsy confused hyung i have to take care of, jungkook concludes, watching his hyung shovel more ice cream into his parted mouth. his eyes zone into taehyung's hand which holds his spoon. they're still coloured deep red at the fingertips, blood now dried and peeling.

jungkook's realisation of fondness dissipates as he looks away, muttering out "you should wash your hands, kim."

at jungkook's words, taehyung looks down at his hands and, in the corner of his eyes, jungkook notices his body turning rigid at the sight.

"uh, y–yeah. yeah, i should." taehyung swallows, placing his spoon in the tub. he looks out at the sea, his suddenly shaky hands fisted and resting on his lap. he ducks his head.

heavy silence settles between them.

but seconds later, jungkook clears his throat, breaking the silence as he speaks, "kim," taehyung looks up, "why'd you stay with me when i was unconscious? you could've left or asked that meggi girl to help you contact the police. why didn't you?" jungkook asks quietly, staring at the waves lapping against the promenade.

it takes a few seconds for taehyung to answer. "'cause you were hurt. i can't just leave you unconscious and run away, that's not what my dad taught me." he mumbles, nudging the ground's gravel with the tip of his boot. "he said to never run away from problems and to face them head on, and. . . i don't know, i felt like i needed to help you out." taehyung shrugs as nonchalantly as possible.

jungkook stays silent as he avoids eye contact with taehyung. taehyung, on the other hand, looks right at him and smiles softly, "i think ill go wash my hands now. wanna come with me?" he hums.

although he's the one who asked, taehyung doesn't wait for an answer. jungkook regards him with mild confusion as taehyung gets up from his seat and wanders down to the edge of the promenade, nearing the railing that separates the concrete ground and the waves. jungkook watches him deftly climb over the thin railing, stepping onto the white poles and swinging his legs over with a corner of his mouth turned up. he jumps off the railing and heads right down to the edge of the promenade, bending down on to his haunches and running his fingertips over the water.

his facial expression? unreadable, since his back is facing jungkook. jungkook, knowing already that the boy'd be smiling but still wanting to see (because holy cow, god definitely took special care crafting taehyung's smile), heaves himself up from off his seat and walks to the railing. he doesn't go any further than the obstructive railing — he leans against the fixed poles, arms resting atop them as he watches taehyung run his hands through the sea green waters.

"woah, the water's so warm!" a surprised taehyung exclaims, noticing the younger's presence behind him. when taehyung turns to smile blindingly, box like grin on display and all, jungkook can't help but flash a small find smile back at him before dropping it quickly, stunned at his own reaction.

taehyung focus
taehyung doesn't fail to spot this.
did jungkook really really smile at me just then? taehyung blinks, surprised.

taehyung turns back round to face the sea green waters, blushing a little. he drags his fingers through warm water as a tiny voice in the back of his head (which taehyung suspects is now permanently residing there) speaks up; make him smile again — it looks good on his face, suits him better than that frown. taehyung agrees.

looking down at the water swirling by his hand, taehyung smiles before curling his palm, gathering little liquid in his palm and lifting it up. he turns around slowly, and with a grin, flings the small amount of water at an unsuspecting jungkook who fiddles with his water bottle, splashing him right on the cheek.

when jungkook splutters with incredulity and because of the water in his mouth, taehyung laughs, cupping his cheek with his palm as he watches the scene unfurl before him.

"what the fuck was that for?" a pissed jungkook questions, water dripping from his nose and chin as he glares at taehyung.

taehyung laughs again, "you should smile sometimes, jungkookie — you're allowed to, yanno?" he tells him in between bouts of laughter, completely forgetting who he was talking to.

taehyung doesn't realise that jungkook's climbed over the railing and towering over his crouched self until he hears the near crunch of gravel underfoot. he stops laughing immediately when he notices jungkook standing above him, a scary smile straining his face.

"u–uh, when i said smile, i didn't mean smile in a im-gonna-kill-you way." taehyung says uneasily as he shuffles away on his haunches.
jungkook bends down at the same time, and still smiling scarily and keeping eye contact with a nervous taehyung, reaches to submerge his empty water bottle under water. he lifts it back up threateningly.

"oh no." taehyung catching on, widens his eyes and hurriedly climbs to his feet, turning round and running down the promenade, close by to the edge of the river. "you can't do that, that's unfair!"

"life is unfair, kim!" jungkook calls out from behind him, laughter in his voice. milliseconds later, taehyung's laughing when he hears jungkook's sneakers hitting the ground close behind him. he looks over his shoulder to see jungkook running to catch up with him, full water bottle in hand, dripping, and a cute bunny toothed grin on his face as he chases taehyung down the promenade.

taehyung nearly swoons at the sight of such an adorable smile. but he can't do that — not when he's racing from a life or death situation so he looks forward and pushes himself to run faster down the promenade.

but as i mentioned before, taehyung's shit at any kinds of exercise so it's not really a surprise when he staggeringly stops a minute later, bending over and wheezing whilst pleading for jungkook's mercy, a smile on his face. jungkook, looking like a starved tiger closing in on a particularly tasty looking prey, crowds taehyung with a (taehyung's happy to see it) wide victorious smile. 

"kim, you asked for this." he says simply, grabbing taehyung's wrist in case he tries to run away again, before lifting the full bottle to his head and swiftly flipping its contents over taehyung's hair. taehyung squeals, trying to get out of jungkook's hold but it's futile — jungkook doesn't let go until the water bottle is completely empty and taehyung's upper half is thoroughly drenched. he's laughing hard at taehyung's state when he pulls away.

taehyung could be any emotion right now; pissed off, annoyed, upset about his plight but he doesn't feel any of those types of emotions — he feels awe instead. awe at how indescribably cute jungkook's laugh is when laughing hard. like a child's.

oh my god.

[swoosh]
there goes my heart. fuck.

jungkook focus
the sudden blare of the iphone ringtone sounds, breaking jungkook's and taehyung's conjoined laughter. with a grin on his face, jungkook swipes at the screen with his thumb, unlocking and answering the device.

it was namjoon.

laughing slightly, he brings his phone to his ear, "hello, hyung?"

"jung fucking kook. ive just gotten off a conference call with park chanyeol — know him? our very important business partner? owner of blue moon, a popular nightclub where one of his men happened to have caught sight of you firing a gun at someone??? do you know how upset he was to find out his clubbers were running out because a guy fainted and was bleeding on the fucking dance floor? thanks to you, kook, chanyeol's getting rough treatment from the media about his club — no ones gonna want to go there after what you did. and, what the fuck? i just received reports and cctv shots of you killing some low status gang leader?? what the fuck at you up to?"

all laughter slowly drains from jungkook once he hears namjoon's firm tone, until only a hiccup is left. "hyung, i can explain—"

"tell me later, im busy. just know that ive covered you ass and you owe me a huge one." namjoon grunts, "kim better be here soon." he mutters as an afterthought before abruptly cutting the call, leaving jungkook stony faced and irritated with his actions.

he slides his phone back into his jacket pocket and looks up to see a still smiling taehyung wringing his now see through shirt out.

"kim, we gotta go. move." jungkook orders bluntly, any remnants of the cute laughter and smile disappearing into thin air as jungkook marches onwards, a confused taehyung reluctantly following along.

"did something happen?" he asks, padding after jungkook.

"no. we're just taking too long — we have to get a move on." he replies, tone devoid of any telltale feelings.

taehyung focus
we were having so much fun? what happened? taehyung silently questions jungkook's back as he walks back up the promenade to their stolen bicycle.

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also forgot to add this in the last chapter but some of you guys commented that you don't know whether to believe it or not — 😎believe it, it's really real. what you should be focusing on is who jimin mistook jungkook for — was it yoongi, hoseok or someone else??

"mistook me."