"Taehyung?"

Jungkook opened the navy room door while he peeked inside the space. By right, the silver head is supposed to be with the gang at the golf club. When the younger walked into the mansion, he headed straight up to the third floor, towards his room. What allured him to the older's room is when he heard soft sniffles coming from the slightly ajar room.

The silver head who was faced to the other side of the room wasn't aware of the younger's presence until he heard his name from the sweet honey voice. Low and concerned.

"Taehyung?"

"Huh?" He turned around quickly, still in his working clothes as he tried to wipe away the traces of tears falling from the side of his eyes. "Jungkook. Hi." His nose was red and his eyes were puffy. He can't hide the state he is in now and it's looking pretty clear he must have cried for a very long time.

"Is something wrong?" Jungkook moved closer but enough to keep a safe distance.

"Nothing, I'm just having a bad day. That's all." Jungkook scrunched his brows at the older's word.

"Are you?"

"Yea."

"And why is that?"

"Because I'm sad."

"And why is Taehyungie sad?"

The silver head's soft sniffles come to an end. He raised his eyes to match the gaze of Jungkook. He noticed how the younger is standing a fair distance away with a look of concern on his face.

"I'm sorry. It's...I mean that's how usually I used to yea..." The younger bit his tongue for the slip he made. It was the way he usually addresses Taehyung in the past when they used to date. Somehow, Taehyung tends to turn clingy and childlike when he is upset. Other than that, the older is a literal beast.

"Isokay." Taehyung sat on the edge of the bed. He can't say anything further. He was overwhelmed.

"Taehyung, I wanted to talk to you. I'm not sure if you're in the state to have a chat with me. I'm sorry if I caught you at a bad time." Jungkook looked at the older who hung his head low. He truly hated to see his ex-lover looking so defeated. Unlike the image he usually portrays.

"What is it about?" Tae wasn't about to let his emotional turmoil to stand in between Jungkook and him.

"About last night. The kiss."

Taehyung looks up, he searched for the younger's chiselled face. A sight which melted his agony and returned the touch of warmth to his cold heart. For 8 years, Taehyung was running like a machine living a life he consciously chose. He didn't know what he had to let go. Call him a coward or a risk-averse person, he can't justify the younger him who decided what he wanted at that particular time. Currently, having the luxury of clinging onto the love he once had warmed the silver head's heart allowing him to feel the guilt of letting go.

"What do you wanna talk about?"

"Can we do this somewhere else?" Jungkook didn't want to discuss matters with Taehyung at the Namjoon's house knowing that the gang could return anytime soon.

Taehyung quickly caught on Jungkook's hesitation. He nodded and requested Jungkook to give him a couple of minutes to freshen up.

"Let's go to mine?"

Jungkook nodded at that. "I'll drive. If you don't mind."

"I don't." Taehyung willingly gave away the keys to his Jaguar as the duo climbed on the vehicle, no other words exchanged. With the little bit of time he got, Jungkook did manage to pull on something comfier than his work clothes as he relaxed into the seat, one hand on the wheels while the other navigating the gears.

Why does he have to look so alluring even by driving a freaking car?

Taehyung was helpless with his thought. The very strands of words he wants to keep away from his mind about the younger keep returning to haunt his mind.

"You ok?" Jungkook caught a glimpse at Taehyung who was staring at him. The older broke his trance with the younger's voice and nodded, never looking again towards the young ravennette who keeps making his adrenaline rush.

"How did you remember the route to my house?" Taehyung was now walking into his penthouse after an agonising drive worth 20 minutes of his life.

"You keep forgetting that I used to live here and I don't forget things easily." Jungkook remained calm as he walked in behind the older, finding a spot on the couch.

"I'll get changed."

Jungkook nodded at Taehyung who waddled his way into his room.

"Gosh. Calm your horses down! Now is not the time. He wants to talk. But he wants to talk about the kisses. OMG, what is he gonna talk about? Ugh!" Taehyung pressed his fingers to his temples and complained to himself while he stood in front of his vanity. His head was spinning and he was getting anxious as time passes.

The inviting and innocent-looking raven head was doing millions of things towards Taehyung which the older can't help but quiver in anticipation. Slowly, he walked back to the living room, taking the seat beside Jungkook as the two stared blankly outside the window, overlooking the sinking view of Central Park.

One minute. Two minutes. It was after a whole 10 minutes when Jungkook stirs in his seat and turned towards the older who was fidgeting lightly.

"Stop looking like the bottom here. You're looking so anxious." Jungkook holds onto Taehyung's clapped hand which the older was resting on his lap. "Ops sorry." The gentle brush of his fingers was on a very dangerous place as he could feel the older's crouch with the brush of his fingers.

Taehyung cleared his throat and mentally demanded his dick to stay low while he crossed his knees. "That's fine. So?"

"So?"

"So what do you want to talk about Jungkook?"

The younger searched for the hazel eyes. Once he firmly holds his gaze with the older, his lips broke into a weak smile which crumbled Taehyung's heart.

"I spoke with Lucas."

The older's shoulder tensed. This is it. He is going to end things once and for all with me. A saddened song started to sway the older's mind as he held back his negative thoughts about the possibilities.

"I started to court him not too long ago. I decided I wanted to give him a chance to love me and potentially for me to love him back. He is a great guy."

Bla bla bla.

Those were the exact thoughts running inside the silver head's mind as he watched the younger like a hawk. Lucas can be a nice person, but it doesn't mean Taehyung should like him.

"I know that I kissed you first last night." Jungkook's turn to become anxious. The turns tumbling in his stomach was enough to make him sweat in tension. "I'm not sorry about that. I wanted to let you know to not be tense around me and I don't hate your touch Tae. I don't. I saw how hesitant you were even after saving me, I can't help it but to think how hurt you would have been. For that, I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong to be sorry about. That was just a one-time thing. I know. Thanks for making me aware that you're not mad at me anymore."

Jungkook scrunched his brow. "What do you mean by a one-time thing?"

"The k-kiss." Taehyung swallows the bitter truth. He knows that Jungkook was being kind to clear the air and it was nothing more than a heat of the moment.

"Do you think it's a one-time thing?"

Dup. Dup. Dup.

The sound of his beating heart vibrated in Taehyung's ear. It feels like his heart was going through a thunderstorm, wild and aggressive.

"Do you think it's a one-time thing? Do you want it to be a one-time thing?" Jungkook's questions sounded like a confusing statement.

"Jungkook. How am I supposed to answer you when I know that there isn't a way for me to win the conversation?"

"What is there for you to win from this Tae?"

"You."

For a moment, Jungkook was clueless about what was Taehyung hinting at. The younger was even taken back by the fact that Taehyung considers him as a matter of winning.

"I want to win your heart. But I know I can't. There is no way I'm able to outdo Lucas who you so highly admire. So let's just not pretend as I stand a-..."

"So you want me as well? You said I meant nothing to you Tae. Are you saying you still have feelings for me?" Jungkook's doe eye widened in a sickly expectation.

"I-I..."

"Do you still love me Taehyung?" Jungkook inched closer. He wasn't touching the older (yet) but his presence ghosted, almost like a tease for the older who leaned back from the overwhelming invasion.

"Now you don't even want me close..."Jungkook noticed the flinch and how the silver head leaned back.

"No." Taehyung was conscious of his action. He immediately leaned forward, too fast, too strong as he accidentally head bumped Jungkook on his forehead. "Sorry."

"Stay." Jungkook was quick to grab Taehyung's nape and demanded him not move. He gently pressed back his forehead with the older's, eyes closed with a bliss. "I don't want it to be a one-time thing. I don't want to feel empty anymore. And I don't want to ever think about not having you here with me."

Taehyung's heart leapt. A thousand feet in height if it's even possible and sunk deep into the ocean of his emotion. He was exhilarated. He is feeling the wild chase of his mind. He honestly felt his ears mocking him with the younger's sweet words thinking the tricks his mind is playing on him. It can't be. Jungkook can't be saying such things so directly at his face.

He can't right?

"I know I've been an ass Tae. I know I said I'm courting Lucas and I want to give him a chance. I truly did have grown to like him."

Just like that. Taehyung's emotion back to a depressing state. He felt like he was on a roller coaster, final destination embarking to hell.

"When I'm with Lucas, I feel good. I feel protected. He loves me."

That's it. Taehyung tried to break the younger's grip on his nape but he wasn't about to outdo the determined younger who pulled him back. Now, Jungkook demanded the older to listen. Lost in the playground of Bambi's eyes, Taehyung had no choice but to sit still and hear the younger out.

"Lucas was an escape. I loved that space. I liked how I'm being treated by him. He was persistent but he never pushed me to do something I didn't want to. He is a good guy. Someone deserves to be loved."

"Stop it Jungkook. I don't think so I can sit here and listen to you worshipping Lucas. I know he is a wonderful person, he sure sounds like it and I know you like him too."

"Yes I do, I like Lucas." His gaze was strong and determined. He never stopped looking into Taehyung's hazel eyes as the older struggled to keep his tears down. He couldn't. The pain of not being able to touch and worship Jungkook as he wishes to is driving Taehyung apart.

"But I don't love him. I don't get excited nor do I get crazy when I'm with him. He protects me and loves me but I don't feel the same. I don't get agitated and feel like cupping his cheeks in my hands and tell him how much he means to me although he can be such an ass. I can't keep him in my heart and let my heart beat for him very second hoping he will do the same for me. Although he might, I know I can't be the one to love Lucas as he loves me. I can't."

Jungkook was hyperventilating. There are so many things he wants to pour out by words but he can't find the right one to describe how is he truly feeling. The words in dictionaries probably would surrender in finding the right cue to manifest the younger's burst of emotion.

"He is not the one I love. He is not you Tae. He can never be. It's been 8 years...I have moved on. I know I did at some point but I never wanted to let you go. When I see you for the first time after all these years, I hated you. I wanted to rip you apart for cheating on me and changing to someone I couldn't recognize. I wanted you to suffer as I did. I wanted you to lose."

The raven head moved closer. Taehyung on the opposite was motionless as his ears turned red, eyes flowing like a river as he sniffled with a straight emotion on his face.

"The more I am around you, the more I become aware of what I want and who I am Tae. I indeed wanted to give Lucas a chance, in a way I want to deny my feelings for you. I'm sorry about Judy. I'm sorry that you have to take responsibility for something you're not the cause of. To be honest, I'm glad you picked Luna over me. That girl deserves all your love as a father she never gets to have. That is the Tae I fell in love with and I'm truly glad I did not lose that Tae. And this Tae."

The younger gently poked into the chest of the older with his index finger as he stared into the corner of Taehyung's chest, where his heart is located. Slowly, Jungkook moved his palm and placed it there, over the raging heart.

"I love you Tae."

.
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🥀
I love Tae too. :(
We will have our epilogues coming up sooner than later. 2 more official chapters? Then it's the end.

What else would you like reading while
we wrap up?