eleven.

It's almost 3 PM and Taehyung's room (well, that includes himself, too) is a big mess. Clothes are now scattered on the floor, along with towels and perfumes. He huffs a sigh as he sits down the floor, unsure of what he's feeling right now.

"Taehyung, you're just going to talk to Jeongguk and have the closure you've always been waiting for. Why are you nervous? Why are you dressing up like it's some kind of a date? Pull yourself together, Kim Taehyung!" He whispers rather harsh, scolding himself because if you all see his condition right now, he'll give you no choice but teach him life lectures too.

"Knock knock!" Jimin shouts from outside the door. Taehyung rolls his eyes because he was expecting him to knock literally but instead he shouted in a sing-song voice.

"Can I come in?" Jimin shouts again. He looks at the mess that surrounded him and thinks that he could honestly use some help.

"You can, Chim. Be careful though you might slip on the socks!" He answer him. Jimin peeps inside and his eyes widen upon seeing the state of the bedroom. He then makes his way inside, making sure that the door is locked so that no one else can come in.

"You fucker! Look at the mess you've made! Jin hyung will be so mad once he sees this!" He spats at Taehyung. The latter faces him with horror as he hurriedly picks up every piece of clothing that is lying on the floor, stuffing them inside the closet.

"Thanks for reminding me, Chim," he says sincerely before hearing Jimin chuckle. Jimin plops down the bed, staring at Taehyung like he's criticizing him.

"Why are you still on your boxers? I thought you'll be having a heart to heart talk with Jeonggukie today," he says, a hint of teasing present in his voice. He wiggles his eyebrows before Taehyung throws him a pillow.

"Stop with that creepy face. You're giving me goosebumps!"

"Get dressed, you stupid. You only have 10 minutes left before 3PM so you better hurry. Don't make Jeongguk wait just because you couldn't decide on what to wear. You do know you can wear a simple shirt and pants right? Make it simple, Tae. It's not like you're getting laid or going on a date," Taehyung glares at him before putting on a navy blue v-neck shirt and some worn-out pants.

"Wear a beanie!" Jimin squeals in delight when he sees what Taehyung was wearing.

"I'm heading out. Where's Seolmi?"

"She's inside Jin hyung's room. I don't know what they're doing but Seolmi keeps on giggling."

"I'm gonna check on them first before I go out. Bye, Chim!"

"Take care, fucker. Don't get your ass fu-"

"Shut the fuck up or I'll slit your throat," he warns Jimin, narrowing his eyes hoping that it'll be extra scary, and he guessed it worked because Jimin zipped his mouth and surrenders his hands up the air.

The younger smiles at him sweetly before shutting the door close. He then makes his way towards Jin's room. He smiles when he hears Seolmi's soft giggles and as he opens the door, he sees Jin hyung putting cucumbers on Seolmi's face.

"Baba Jin cold!" Seolmi releases another laugh before taking the cucumber and eats it instead.

"Seolmi! That's your 7th cucumber already. Stop eating it or else your face will become ugly!" Jin scolds her playfully, earning a loud laugh from the other. Taehyung leans his shoulders on the doorframe, watching the scene unfold before him.

"Baba Jin, Seolmi tells you secret! Promise no tell dada, okay?" Seolmi says enthusiastically. Jin nods and Seolmi scoots closer to him, whispering something in his ear.

Taehyung smiles but his lips suddenly turns into a frown when he sees Jin hyung freeze for a moment. His eyes show an evident hint of nervousness and disbelief.

"Are you sure about that, Seolmi?"

"Yes!" She shouts. He creases his forehead and asks himself what on earth Seolmi said to Jin for him to react that way. Taehyung decided to ask Jin once he comes home and go downstairs because it's already running late and Jeongguk must be waiting for him at the café. He fishes out the car keys (thank God Jimin let him borrow his car for the day) and he buckles up inside the car.

❄️

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. Something came up and I lost track of the time," he apologizes sincerely to Jeongguk who just smiled warmly at him as a response.

"It's okay, Tae. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

He looks past him, where various pastries are displayed. He licks his lips as his vision came across the blueberry cheesecake and snap out of his thoughts when he hears Jeongguk laugh.

"I see you still have your love for blueberry cheesecake, hm?" Taehyung blushes at his question because he obviously didn't expect for him to remember what his favorite is.

"Y-yeah... I'll get that one and maybe some iced americano," he says quietly. Jeongguk nods his head as he stands up and go towards the counter.

Once the food is served, they eat in silence, waiting for someone to break the ice and speak up his thoughts first. Luckily, Jeongguk did.

"Can we continue what we've talked about last time?"

Taehyung nods.

"Tae, you don't have to forgive me immediately but I am begging for you to give me another chance to be your friend again. I know that we won't be treating each other as best friends anymore, but please let's mend the friendship that we've lost."

Taehyung can sense the sincerity in Jeongguk's tone, not to mention how his eyes flicker with anticipation for the former's response. He looks at him for a few minutes before even saying his answer.

"Okay. Let's try and be friends again, Jeongguk."

Taehyung knows he can be stupid sometimes, for example, right now. However, he's only doing this for Seolmi. Yes, he's still not ready to reveal the truth, but staying friends with Jeongguk can be a factor for him to be close with his own daughter.

He doesn't want to deprive his child from the truth, but now's still not the time. He still has to prepare her, Jeongguk, and prepare himself to anything that can possibly happen once the truth is out.