A scintilla of remorse had gradually settled over Taehyung’s chest as everything he said to a certain someone kept popping up into his mind throughout the next day.

His encounter with that man agitated him, riled him up, and made him touchy, leading him to lash out at Jungkook. 

He knew the reason Jungkook was so apathetic to everything. Although he didn’t know the details, losing his hyung was what made him this cold, and he was sure about that. He could also understand him. Relate to him. His parents were killed right in front of his eyes. 

The events were blurry in his mind because he was only eight years old, but the psychological wound this incident left him was so deep and cruel and agonizing it marked him for life. 

He was like Jungkook in some way. As a kid, he was quiet but snappy and often disrespectful when he was around others. But almost every night he was silently crying himself to sleep. As a teenager, he went against everything his hyung said and didn’t let anyone from the shelter get close to him. 

Little by little, though, as he received so much care and love from the people of the shelter, he started warming up to them. He started lowering his walls and opening his heart. He became so caring of others, so willing to help because of them. It just took time. 

And that was how he knew Jungkook just needed more time as well. 

He informed Jin Mo about yesterday’s events, and he seemed rather pleased since he got rid of both Ki Han and Ung Seo at once. He also gave him a new mission. A new boss moved to Songpa-gu from China and began dealing cocaine at Jin Mo’s spots. His mission, of course, was to gather as much information as possible about him, Ha Soo Gun, and get close to him in case he was preparing something big. 

After he received his mission, he told Jin Mo he would start on it tomorrow since he wasn’t feeling that energetic and he wouldn’t be able to do his absolute best as he always did. Jin Mo let him rest for the day, and he decided to visit his hyung as it had been a while.

Late in the afternoon, he rang the doorbell and waited until Jae Wook buzzed him in. He seized upon the opportunity to use the stairs to go to the second floor as a mini workout, and soon he was standing in front of his hyung’s apartment, knocking on the door. 

“Hey,” Jae Wook greeted and stepped aside to let him enter. 

“Hey, hyung,” he said smilingly and then walked towards the living room with Jae Wook following him. 

“How’s work?” Jae Wook asked as they settled on the big couch. 

“Same. Good, but too much sometimes.”

“You’re not giving all your money to that damn shelter, right?”

Taehyung’s features hardened in disapproval. “We haven’t met in like a month and that’s what you have to say to me?”

“I’m just asking,” Jae Wook sighed, crossing one leg over the other. 

“That damn shelter, as you said, was our home, hyung. After living in the streets for a whole year, they were the only ones who accepted us and let us stay with them.”

“That’s what shelters are for, you know.”

“Oh yeah? Did you forget, hyung? We went to two shelters before that and they didn’t let us stay. They only fed us. But Hwimang shelter accepted us right away. Even if they didn’t have the same big facility as the other ones. They took care of me. They raised me.”

“I raised you.” There was an apparent harsher hue in his voice as he spoke, accompanied by a glare. “I was the one who raised you.”

“No. You were always out of town for business. You always worked. You even disappeared for two years. If you think giving me money means you raised me, you’re wrong.”

“And what does it mean, huh? I worked all day for you! So that you have everything you want and need! I left to make money for you!”

A contemptuous huff spewed from Taehyung’s lungs. “What I need? You know what I needed then? My hyung! You! Our parents died. No, they were murdered. Right in front of our eyes. Why was it so easy for you to get over it? To forget it?”

Jae Wook suppressed a turbulent burst of rage and contained himself from lashing out at him. “You were young then. It’s reasonable to be so emotional. But you should forget it too, Tae. They’re gone, and you can’t change that.”

“Forget?” he scoffed in aching bitterness. “How can I...” His voice sank to a whisper as tears formed along the lower layer of his eyelids. His fist clenched in determination, quivering slightly. “I won’t forget. I’ll find out the truth.”

“Not this again!” Jae Wook snarled. “What’s the point of finding out, huh? Nothing will change, so just forget what happened and move fucking on. Just live your life!”

“How can I do that when they’re following me and monitoring my every move? How can I do that when they’re still trying to kill me?” 

“And how finding out the truth will help you with that?”

Taehyung dabbed his eyes with his sleeves to prevent his tears from falling. “If I find out the truth... I won’t care about dying anymore.”

Jae Wook’s vision narrowed on him. “What? How can you say that? That’s why you live? Because you just want to find out why they killed them?”

“Yes. You should have known that already. You would know that if you were around. But you never were.”

Jae Wook rolled his head in exasperation. “If you want to die so much, go to the guy who’s following you and ask him why he killed our parents. Then he’ll gladly kill you too.” 

Taehyung blinked on repeat as he strove to assimilate his words, and he was left dumbfounded when they finally sank in. That was why that guy seemed vaguely familiar. He was one of the guys who killed his parents. But how did Jae Wook know that? 

He swallowed, trying to tone down his shock. “How do you know who’s following me? How do you know it’s that guy?”

Jae Wook sighed upon detecting his appalled expression. “Have you ever thought about why they’re following you instead of just killing you?” 

“No. Why don’t they just kill me?” 

“They know who you work for, Tae. They know how much Jin Mo cherishes you. Do you think he’ll let them kill you that easily? He’ll rip them to pieces if they do something to you. They know they can’t just kill you, so they’re keeping you in check instead.”

“How... How do you know all this? Did you talk to them?”

“They had come to talk to me a few months back. It was around the time they talked to you too. The time they threatened you to stop digging into the past and even beat you, actually.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were already shaken because they came to you. I didn’t want to upset you more.”

“What did they say to you?” 

“That my little dongsaeng keeps annoying them by trying to find out something he’s not supposed to know. That’s why I keep telling you to forget about what happened. You don’t want to know, Tae. You’ll only get hurt.”

Taehyung’s chest clenched with something detestable as his face screwed into a saddened frown. “Why are you talking like you know why they killed our parents?”

“Tae, we’ve been over this. I don’t know—” 

“I never believed you. You have the answers I want and for some fucking reason, you won’t tell me anything.”

“Don’t push it,” Jae Wook warned strictly. “It’s better if we don’t know. And maybe we should move to another place since they know where we live.”

“Why would you move? They’re not trying to kill you. And I don’t even understand why they’re only after me.”

“Maybe because I mind my damn business and don’t search for any answers.”

“Because you already know everything!” Taehyung exclaimed in frustration. “That’s why you’re not searching for any answers.”

“I’m done with this conversation. You should leave.”

Taehyung huffed in disbelief at his insensitive behavior. He gave him one last glare filled with gloom and bolted out of the house. 

🥀

The station resounded with light chatter, but a long silence had enveloped Jungkook’s team as they were sitting at their desks, each one occupied with a different task.

Namjoon, specifically, had his elbow pinned to his desk and his chin nestled in his palm. His eyes were at a standstill for a while on Jungkook as his demeanor that day was the least... baffling. 

Jungkook massaged his forehead and breathed out a mild sigh, feeling an exhausting heaviness drag his eyelids down. His gaze flew over to his right as he adjusted his posture, but the glimpse of Namjoon’s intense stare he caught mystified him enough to twist his head and fix him with a narrowed look. “What?”

Namjoon maintained his silence for a spell. “You’re really quiet today.”

Jungkook’s frown deepened. “I don’t talk that much, anyway.”

“Yeah, but”—Namjoon reclined and rotated his chair to face him—“you’re too quiet today. You didn’t complain about anything. You didn’t curse at anyone. You didn’t snap at anyone. Did something happen?”

Something lightly austere slithered over his traits as he redirected his gaze to his computer. “I will snap at you if you continue with your nonsense.”

“You met Taehyung yesterday, right?” Hoseok chimed in. 

“How do you—I mean, why would I?” Jungkook cleared his throat and crouched a tad more, biting the inner line of his lower lip at his blunder. 

As Seung Ho palmed his mouth to strangle his chortle, Hoseok released his chuckle loud and clear. “You disappeared yesterday after making a call. And we hadn’t even finished work yet.”

Jungkook sighed in defeat as he sank back into his seat. “Fine. Yes, I went to find him. Someone was holding him by his neck. They seemed to fight, but that guy let him go when I stopped next to them. He seemed to know who I was. When I showed my badge, he wasn’t surprised at all.”

“Who the hell was that guy?” Hoseok asked. 

“I don’t know. Taehyung... told me to mind my own business, and I didn’t realize when that guy left.”

“Wait,” Namjoon said, creases of confusion budding on his forehead. “I thought you guys were okay.”

“I know! Me too!” Jungkook suddenly exclaimed, but the startled reaction of his team made him shrink in his seat again. “Anyway. I don’t know what the hell happened to him.”

A long exhalation burst out of Namjoon. “Maybe he was agitated by what happened before with that guy. Don’t blame him too much.”

“Yeah, what if that guy was following him?” Hoseok put in. “Remember when you went to Taehyung’s house and you didn’t see Lee Man Shik’s car? Maybe there is more than one guy who follows him.”

“Or Lee Man Shik had just used a different car,” Seung Ho reflected, causing Hoseok to frown. 

“Maybe. You should talk to him again, Kook.”

Jungkook firmly shook his head. “I won’t get involved again. We will all stop looking into his past. Whatever is going on, he’ll deal with it on his own.”

Seung Ho’s eyes filled with concern as they studied Jungkook’s disinterested facade. “But... what if they kill him?” He didn’t discern any change in his expression. “If that guy is working for Chae Yeon too, and he threatened him yesterday or something, it means they have almost everything ready to proceed with whatever they’re planning. He wouldn’t be this bold and confident enough to confront him if they weren’t ready.”

No words passed through Jungkook’s tightened mouth; he held his gaze locked on the screen, scrolling up and down the report he had completed before for no reason. 

Namjoon slid his chair closer and slanted towards him. “Are you really okay with Taehyung dying?”

Jungkook glaciated at the whispering question momentarily. Then, he forced his muscles to relax and carried on with the scrolling. “Taehyung isn’t just an ordinary guy. He knows how to fight. He knows how to handle a gun. He’ll escape somehow if something happens.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Hoseok’s question seemed to triggered something within Jungkook as he pounded the mouse against his desk and sprang up with a rowdy look cloaking his vision. “If he doesn’t, I won’t care,” he said, a low growl hardening his voice. 

“We’re talking about someone dying,” Namjoon spoke in a cold but placid tone. “As a detective and a human being, you should care.”

“Well, I don’t,” Jungkook spat out and grabbed his jacket, then took off.

Namjoon leaped behind him and grasped his shoulder, yanking him around. “Then let’s go to the chief right now. Go tell him you don’t care about people’s lives anymore and we’ll see if he’ll let you keep your badge or not.”

A strained, fierce energy smoldered in the surrounding air as silence prevailed over them. And while Namjoon waited to encounter Jungkook’s manic rage at any moment, he instead individuated a sorrowful fog glooming his eyes. 

“Maybe I should,” Jungkook uttered. “Maybe I should just give up my badge.”

A few seconds of complete stillness crawled by as the weight of his faintly spoken remark was so vast it turned his team into icicles. And before they could even process his words — the absurdity of his words — Jungkook was already dragging his feet towards the exit. 

A sudden oppression bore down on his shoulders, making them curve forward by the unbearable load, as he made his way towards his motorcycle. He climbed over it and slipped his badge out of the inner pocket of his jacket. 

His thumb traced the precious item slowly as his gaze saddened even more. Maybe I don’t deserve this, anyway. A persisting tingle stung his eyes the more he peered at his badge, his chest feeling heavier and heavier, and he sniffed as he shoved it back to its place. 

He felt his phone buzz and took it out, only to see an incoming call from Hoseok. He declined the call and was about to put away his phone when he noticed he had a new message. 

His eyes grew a notch upon glancing at the name, but they also brimmed with bafflement as he read the text. 

Taehyung: Meet me at Hangang park.

The message had been sent thirty-one minutes ago, and Jungkook probably was too absorbed in his thoughts to hear or feel the buzz of the notification. 

With little consideration, he texted him back, asking where exactly he should meet him, then wore his helmet and gloves and drove off.

He parked outside of the given destination twenty minutes later and checked his phone. 

Taehyung: Walk towards the right and you’ll see me.

Jungkook did as he was told. He shuffled further inside, avoiding eye contact with the few people who walked past him, until he located a man sitting alone on an isolated bench. 

He halted, though, with a sudden realization as he gazed at him. He had analyzed Taehyung’s back form so meticulously and so many times he could recognize him at once now. 

Pushing his thoughts aside, he advanced at a slow-paced gait and wordlessly perched next to him, leaving a good amount of space between them. 

Both remained still and mute for more than expected, just staring at the river in front of them and finding comfort at the placatory sounds and gripping image of the scenery. 

“I didn’t think you’d come.”

That liquid, baritone voice of his wafted softly in the cold air, threaded with the mild breeze grazing over the greenery. It stirred something deep inside Jungkook’s chest, but he couldn’t identify what. He could only feel his prior oppression slightly abate, as if a fragment lifted from him. “I didn’t think I’d come either.”

Taehyung sensed an inexplicable tug at his heart at the sound of his tone. Although Jungkook tried to sound apathetic as usual, he could conceive the tinge of sadness that was hidden in his voice. His gaze traveled to him unconsciously and rested on his profile, meeting that impassive veneer he was so used to seeing on his face. “What happened?”

Jungkook cast him a sidelong glance to confirm that Taehyung was indeed staring at him. “With what?”

“With you.”

“Nothing.”

“Can we—” Taehyung blurted out and expelled a sharp sigh. “Can we be honest? Can you just be honest with me for once?”

Jungkook picked up on the frustrated tint of his timbre, though he preserved his dispassion. “I have never lied to you.”

“I’m not talking about lies.” Taehyung bent forward a tad to meet his gaze in vain since Jungkook refused to look at him. “Yes, you never lied, but you always pretend when you’re around others, don’t you?”

“What do you want, Taehyung?” he questioned with a snarl, almost yielding under his urge to glare at him and finally glimpse at his face. “Why did you ask me to meet?”

“Don’t you?” Taehyung asked again, fiercer this time, as if he didn’t hear him. “You pretend that everything is fine. That nothing matters, that you don’t care. As long as you show to others that you don’t care, you’ll be just fine, right? As long as you run away from what’s hurting you, you’ll never have to deal with the pain. It’ll be like it never happened. It feels so nice and peaceful to distance yourself from everything and everyone, doesn’t it? Because you feel like you’ll go insane if you don’t. You feel like you’ll want to vanish from this world if you don’t. No?”

Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut during his abrupt speech, his heart pulsing harder against his ribcage. “Shut up,” he said in a trembling whisper as he clasped his hands together. “What do you know? You don’t know shit.”

The previous tug that Taehyung felt at his heart intensified so much it ached upon seeing him in that condition. He hated he could relate so much to him. He hated he could feel his distress affect him, too. It shouldn’t affect him. Nothing about Jungkook should affect him. 

But it seemed to be too late for that. 

“It’s not fine, Jungkook,” he uttered in the gentlest of ways, his downcast gaze riveted on him. “Nothing in life is always fine. You can’t be always fine. People matter, and you care about them even if you don’t want to admit it. Even if you force yourself not to care. You do. No matter how hard you run away from what’s hurting you, it won’t disappear. It’ll still be there waiting for you to deal with it, embrace it, and get over it. And distancing yourself from everything and everyone feels nice at first, right? But you just end up more miserable at the end. I’m sure you’ve felt it already.”

Jungkook’s brain screamed at him countless times to stop him, to tell him to just shut up again, but his throat was constricted throughout, rendering him unable to make even a sound. His hands had moved to the edge of the bench, grasping it harshly, his body so tense and clenched that the veins in his neck stood out in stiff ridges. 

Through his cloudy mind and blinded senses, a delicate touch on his hand permeated his frenzied daze, but he jerked it away with a violent fling of his arm. He rose suddenly and marched off, but he was only able to take a step before a pull on his jacket immobilized him. 

Jungkook swiveled and thrust him back, his sharp features growling with fury. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Taehyung flinched at his rowdy voice and raging look. “Okay. I won’t say anything else. Calm down.” He watched as Jungkook spun around, and he spurted forward, thinking he would try to leave again. 

Jungkook only turned his back to him and dropped his head as he drew in a row of calming breaths. Different muscles in his body still twitched by his frenzy, his heartbeat roaring in his ears. But fuck, the more he mulled over his words, the more his rage grew, impeding him from mellowing his nerves. 

Taehyung stood a breath away from him. His hesitant eyes cruised around the back of his head. His fingers faintly wiggled with the unforeseen impulse to embrace him. He inhaled slowly — it was a fortifying influx of air in his attempt to retrieve his confidence. To strengthen his shield so that Jungkook’s expected cruel reaction wouldn’t affect him. 

He saw himself in him. The fourteen-year-old boy who acted like everything was fine. Who isolated himself from everything and everyone. Who didn’t let anyone close to him. If he had just embraced himself then, if he had just accepted who he was and this life that was given to him, maybe he wouldn’t have lived in such a misery for so long. Maybe he would have been able to be happy sooner. 

But was he even happy with the life he had at that very moment?

Taehyung erased the gap between them. The side of his head nested against his nape. His fingers caressed his contracted fists until they gradually smoothed them out, and he interlocked their hands in a firm but soothing grip. He couldn’t hear the sound of Jungkook’s breathing for a few moments, as if it froze in his lungs along with his body. He exhaled again — a hot rush of air that flowed over the back of his neck in a phantom, tingling touch. 

“You’re right, Jungkook. I don’t know what I’m talking about. I don’t know anything. I don’t have the right to lecture you. I’m a hypocrite. Before coming here, I said if I found the answers I’m looking for, I wouldn’t care if I died. It’s sad to think that we don’t have a reason to live, isn’t it? But you do have reasons to live. I do too. Everyone does. And this is what holds us back from disappearing. This is what makes us bear any pain and move forward. Our family. A friend. Our job. Ourselves. We often forget that even if we don’t have anyone, we have ourselves. We matter. Whatever the reason is, we have one to live.”

Taehyung paused as he contemplated if he should draw away now. Jungkook’s utter stillness definitely wasn’t a good sign, but he didn’t know how exactly to interpret it. “Don’t blame yourself anymore,” he whispered instead as he stayed motionless. “It’s all you have at the end of the day. Treat him nicely. Because no matter the love you’ll receive from others, if you don’t give love to you, nothing will change. The love you get is a small push. But everything starts from here.” He guided their intertwined hands to his chest and released his hold to lay it over his heart, maintaining his grasp on his left hand. “Everything starts from you.”

Jungkook felt the irrational pounding of his heart beneath his touch that surged even more with the stream of anxiety that coursed through his veins. What if Taehyung felt it, too? What if he asked about it? What would he say? He didn’t know the reason that was happening to him again. How would he explain it? 

He pushed his hand down and stepped forward, causing Taehyung to lose his grip on his left hand. An abrupt coldness swept across his back the moment he detached himself from him that waved across every fiber of his skin and even perfused his form, forcing out any grain of inner warmth he experienced. 

“Do you mean it?” Jungkook cleared his throat as his voice came out raspy by his extended silence. “You won’t care about dying if you find the answers you’re looking for?”

Taehyung trudged back to his seat, his shoulders drooping. He took so long to reply Jungkook had to check if he left. When he discerned him sitting in that posture, head hung low, shoulders sunk, and tinkering with his hands, he approached him and sat next to him. 

“I wouldn’t mind... if something happened to me. But my friends would. My hyung maybe too. The people from the shelter, obviously. I can’t do this to them.”

“Your hyung maybe? Your hyung definitely, not maybe.”

“Well, we’re not that close anymore. I don’t know if he gives a shit about me anymore. He just cares about his job.”

Jungkook gazed at the scenery as he let the silence engulf them for a stretch. “My father was like this.” Another round of silence ticked on, longer this time. “Until my hyung died.”

While Taehyung’s eyes enlarged with startle, Jungkook chuckled. 

“Isn’t it funny? He became the perfect father figure after my hyung died. Since I can remember him, he was always working. Only on new year’s eve he was home. It was the only holiday we spent all together. I was telling myself that it was fine since he was working for us. But it wasn’t fine. I didn’t need his money. I needed him.”

The mask of shock on Taehyung’s face only deepened at his last remark. Why were their lives so similar? How was that possible? And why was it so scary to think about it?

“That’s... literally what I said to my hyung before coming here.” The words leaked out of Taehyung’s mouth thoughtlessly as his shock obstructed him from processing them first. 

Jungkook’s eyes shifted to him. “Really?” He snorted. “We have a lot more in common than we thought, apparently.”

Taehyung lowered his head, surrendering to the maelstrom of thoughts that swarmed in his mind. Is that why it felt different when I slept with him? Because we are alike in some way? Did it feel different for him too? “Did it...” he murmured absently, his hazy gaze anchored on the ground. 

“Hm? Did it what?” Jungkook hunched over to study his expression, and lines of mystification bloomed on his forehead at his unresponsiveness. But the more he peered at him, a little smile spread over his lips with a hint of wistfulness. He realized then. Maybe Taehyung had lied to him many times, but everything he showed him the night they slept together was genuine. Every aspect of himself, every response, every mannerism, everything. That night, he saw Taehyung in his truest of forms. 

And a small, truly tiny part of him wanted to see him again. 

“You still space out.” Jungkook accompanied his statement with a gentle nudge on his shoulder in his attempt to wake him up from his trance. 

Taehyung stirred back to reality, disoriented eyes wandering all around his figure. “Sorry.”

“And you apologize a lot as well.”

“So—I mean, no, I don’t,” Taehyung muttered as he fiddled with his hands. 

Jungkook huffed a subdued laugh. “What did you want to say before?”

“Um, I don’t remember.”

The constant tinkering of his hands and his refusal to look at him fueled a spark of suspicion in Jungkook’s gut. “You’re lying.”

Any movement ceased at once. His head twisted at a creep to lock eyes with him. “You won’t like it. And I said I won’t mention it again. And I know the answer, anyway. You’ve already answered me many, many times. And I don’t know why I even–” His ramble trailed off at the deep sigh that tumbled into his ears, and a single glance at Jungkook’s face was enough to recognize his frustration. “I don’t wanna say it.”

“But I want to hear it.”

Taehyung averted his gaze again, for some reason feeling prickles of nervousness dance around his form. “I was just... trying to think about why... it felt a bit different when I slept with you. You said we have a lot more in common than we thought, and it made me think that was the reason. And I just wondered for a moment... if it felt different for you too. But you already answered me, so it’s fine. Just forget it.” His speech got hasty towards the end, as though he wanted to change the subject as soon as possible. 

“Different in what way?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Just different.”

“Yeah, but how?”

“Like, more intense than the other ones. More passionate. More mind-blowing. More intimate. Just... more.”

“Maybe I was just that good?”

A huff exploded out of Taehyung. “Maybe.” No, it wasn’t only that.

Another smile framed Jungkook’s mouth since his try to make him laugh succeeded, but it diminished as he delved into his words. Yes, it felt different for him too, no matter how much he wanted to deny it. No matter how many lies he fed himself. It felt different somehow. 

He couldn’t admit it, though. Not even to himself. 

“I should leave.”

Taehyung’s chest dropped with gloom. “I told you I didn’t wanna say it.”

“No, I’m not leaving because of that. I just... fought with my partner earlier. After listening to what you said, I realized how stupid I acted. I was thinking if I deserve my badge before coming here, you know.” He detected his eyes become rounder and held back a little smile.

“You want to quit?”

“I don’t know. I’ve thought about it countless times in the last three years. Do I even deserve to be a detective? Am I good enough? If I were, I would have caught Jin Mo already.”

Taehyung frowned at the mention of Jin Mo’s name. “Why Jin Mo specifically?”

Jungkook shook his head. “I just said Jin Mo because I’ve been trying to catch him the longest.”

Although still not throughout convinced, Taehyung let it slide. “You are good at your job. You caught me. If you knew from what situations I have escaped, you’d be very proud of yourself.”

A honeyed chuckle flowed through his lips. “Yeah?”

Taehyung mirrored his smile as he nodded vigorously. “So don’t think about quitting again. I can tell that you can’t live without your job. Don’t think about the ones you couldn’t catch. Think about everyone you have caught. Think about your whole journey, not only your setbacks.”

Jungkook’s eyes sparked with a sense of amazement. “Your pep talks are the best, I give you that.”

And Taehyung could only chuckle at his playful tone. “You should come to me when you’re feeling down, then.” He leaned much closer and whispered in his ear, “Or when you need sex.”

“Yah,” Jungkook said, but he couldn’t keep a straight face with the suave giggles that floated around him; his chest vibrated with low chuckles as he slowly shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Just wanted to tease, don’t worry,” he said through his laugh as he raised his hands defensively. “But I mean it. The first one, at least.”

“So the offer doesn’t stand anymore?”

“It does,” Taehyung hastened to reply, but he scoffed the moment he saw his little smirk. Jungkook just played him. Again. “You know, it’s mean to play with people’s feelings like that.”

“I thought you didn’t have any feelings for me.”

“I don’t, of course, I don’t.” Taehyung shifted in his seat. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

A soft smile curled the corner of Jungkook’s lips as his gaze lingered on him. “I know. I just wanted to tease you back.”

Taehyung’s response was a titter that piped up rather fast. His mind unwittingly traveled to yesterday’s events in the silence that followed, and the scintilla of remorse he felt almost all day ignited anew. He coughed into his fist and glimpsed at him. “What I said yesterday... was harsh. Just too much. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m—”

“I told you,” Jungkook cut him off in a rather delicate tone, “not to apologize to me again. I meant it.”

“I can’t do that, Jungkook. I felt bad all day. I shouldn’t have mentioned your parents. I was really out of line. I’m sorry.”

Jungkook released a faint sigh. “You were right, in a way. So don’t feel too bad about it. It’s okay.”

“I was harsh. I wasn’t right. Don’t say that. I know you’re not heartless.”

“How?”

Taehyung’s eyes crawled to his threaded hands that rested on his lap as a semblance of a smile surfaced on his traits. “I saw the real you that night. Someone who takes care of the other in sex is a caring person in life too. That’s what I think. You just... don’t let yourself show that you care.”

He pondered over his words in silence and settled on not commenting anything. He instead pushed himself to his feet and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Thank you for listening. Although I don’t even know why I opened up to you,” he said under his breath. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Taehyung said with a forced smile that died out of his face the moment Jungkook shuffled off. He left when I mentioned that night again. Was it really awful for him? He never answered me. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t want to have sex with me again. But the real question is, why do I want to have sex with him again? 

His head lolled back with a low groan that erupted from him and his eyes shut, sensing a headache come his way from his blustering thoughts. 

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Yay, they're getting along! Let's see how they'll fuck it up again😅

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