thirty-nine.

Taehyung is nailed on the floor, unable to move and process all Jeongguk confessed. Starting from the reason why he chose to abandon Taehyung, and to how he knew that Seolmi is his child, let alone how his two most trusted friends betrayed him.

"I can't believe this..." He manages to whisper amidst his shocked state. After a while, he finally let his body collide against the cold, hard floor, too strained to even move a muscle.

"Tae-"

"Don't talk to me. Please." Taehyung mutters under his breath, which leaves Jeongguk no choice but to shut up and lay down beside him. He wants to hug Taehyung and comfort him, but he can't bring himself to do it because all of these are his fault.

If he wasn't such a jerk, none of these would have happened. Taehyung and him would still be together, probably married, and completely happy with Seolmi by their side.

"What are you thinking about?" Taehyung blurts out just to break the silence. Yes, he should've given Jeongguk the cold shoulder, but he knows ignoring the younger will not improve the situation they are in at the moment. Besides, he's done neglecting and hiding from the younger.

He just can't believe how he was betrayed by Jimin and Jin, where in fact he trusted them so much with his secret.

"I regret ever letting you go. What if I didn't leave you, Tae? We're probably married now," Jeongguk says. Taehyung laughs bitterly at the younger's statement.

"Yeah. But you still chose to leave..." Taehyung says, not wanting to admit to himself that he likes the idea of him and Jeongguk getting married.

"You know, Tae... don't get mad at Jimin and Jin hyung. None of them is at fault. I forced them to tell me."

"I know, Guk. I just can't believe they were the ones who told you this. I was supposed to be the one telling you everything. I guess Jin hyung was right. I was the one that got fooled..." Taehyung responds. Jeongguk emits a sigh and turns his body towards Taehyung, so they are now facing each other.

Jeongguk's eyes sparkle the moment he meets Taehyung's face. He knows this is not the moment to go all sappy, but he just can't ignore the fact and praise how Taehyung's beauty never fails to captivate him over and over again.

"You're so beautiful, Tae," he whispers. Taehyung bites his lip as a blush creeps on to his face.

"Stop it," he says before covering his face with his hands. Jeongguk adores how Taehyung always acts when he is shy or flustered. It makes him so proud because he is the only one who can ever have such an effect on the older.

"Can I touch you?" Jeongguk asks for permission.

"Don't be such a pervert, Jeon! Just because we're the only ones here doesn't mean you have the rights to harass me!" Taehyung almost stutters at his response. His eyebrows furrow when the younger laughs heartily.

"What the hell, hyung. I didn't mean it like that! I was just asking if I could touch your face... well, if you want me to touch you, like in a sexual way, I won't back down," Jeongguk's grin transforms into a smirk as he wiggles his eyebrows.

"Aren't you so cunning? You never really changed. Still sly as before," Taehyung remarks as he shakes his head lightly. Jeongguk can only smile as his hand make its way to hold Taehyung's, intertwining it tightly. He pulls the older close to his chest, stroking the strands of his soft hair and inhaling its minty scent that Jeongguk always loved.

"When it comes to you,
there's no crime.
Let's take both of our souls,
and intertwine."

"You wrote that?" Taehyung looks up to Jeongguk, who is already staring at him. He hums and still continues to stroke Taehyung's hair, in which the older sighs contently.

"I wrote it for you," he whispers.

"What's the song all about?"

"It's about my love for you, which will never falter until the very end of time. I will cross mountains for you, cry a river for you. Tae, I'm your prisoner. Please, keep me once more, and I promise never to escape from you anymore."

Taehyung looks at Jeongguk's eyes longingly. He feels everything rush inside his system. The memories they had, the pain they endured separately, the happiness they once went through together, then Seolmi...

"Jeongguk, it's not that easy. None of this will be easy. Can you give me time to think about everything?" Taehyung answers. He will neither accept nor decline, because he knows everything will have its answer soon.

"I'm willing to wait, Tae. Even if it takes forever. I won't give up on you now." Jeongguk assures him once more, along with a kiss on his temple. Taehyung smiles, but fear still swallows him up.

"I'm still afraid, Guk. What if everything will happen again? What if you will leave me again? And you won't ever bother to come back anymore..." Taehyung shivers at his own thoughts.

"Tae, if you love someone, you'll come back for them..."

"No, Guk. If you love someone, you will never leave them."

And in that moment, Jeongguk knows he has nothing against that statement. It is true, and he was just an asshole to leave Taehyung behind.

"I was a jerk," Jeongguk just blurts out. Taehyung giggles as he pats Jeongguk on the cheeks.

"Yeah. You were."

"And you actually agreed," the latter laughs in response.

"I want to see the stars, and outstretch my arms to reach and hold them," Jeongguk knows the older is pouting because of the statement.

"Well, I have good news for you, though."

"What is it?"

"I can hold the stars, like right here, right now." Jeongguk smiles when he sees how Taehyung's lips turn into a frown.

"Jeongguk, you can't hold the stars," Taehyung replies with a scowl.

Jeongguk reaches up to Taehyung's face, and cups his cheeks with his warm hands.

"I can, see? I'm holding the most precious star in the world right now."

Taehyung replies with a shy whimper, too embarrassed to even look at Jeongguk in the eye. He squirms underneath Jeongguk's touch, which makes the younger smirk satisfactorily.

"Hey, Guk?" Taehyung whispers while fidgeting the hem of Jeongguk's shirt.

"Hmm?"

"You know what's more beautiful than the stars?"

"You. It will always be you, Tae." Jeongguk ends the sentence with a kiss on the other's forehead.

Taehyung knows he will never really win in flustering Jeongguk, because at the end, it will always be him who will go home with a blush spread across his face.

~

[Song used is 2U by Justin Bieber)