12th March

When everyone headed for desserts, Taehyung noticed that Jungkook wasn't beside him. He then saw him with Ethan, after which, he saw Jungkook secretly stomp away. Jungkook clearly did not look happy after his talk with Ethan. So, Taehyung did what crossed his mind first. He followed him.

Jungkook walked away from the festival with the motive of going back to his place in the village, but by the time he reached Taehyung's, he realised that he did not have his car and he definitely couldn't walk all the way down the hill to the village.

He cursed out silently and looked at Taehyung's house. The lights were still on, but he couldn't go in, he would wake up Bambi and Blu, Taehyung's nieces.

He paced in front of the house a bit, kicking small stones on the road in anger. He kept thinking about Ethan and his conversation. He didn't want to, but he did because he couldn't shake it off of his head.

Jungkook was frustrated, sad and angry, and he was taking it out all on himself. At the red team's flag post, Jungkook actually thought Ethan had come to his senses and bothered to think it through and accept Jungkook for who he was. But after he mentioned his intentions, it just made Jungkook feel pitiful and sad that he thought there was hope for anything at all.

He was frustrated at himself, maybe even at Ethan and he was angry about being shoved away simply because of his sexuality.

He wanted to cry because he felt helpless. He felt like he was wrong even though he wasn't.

Finally, he quit pacing around and sat down on the steps of the house's entrance. He held himself back from crying because he found the reason too pathetic to be cried upon.

The steps were stone cold and were freezing his butt through his denim jeans, but nothing about his surroundings seemed to be bothering him in the slightest. The cold chilly winds, the cold metal pillar his head leaned against, nothing.

Taehyung reached his place just a couple of minutes after. He peaked in from the small gate and saw Jungkook sitting on the stairs, alone.

"Jungkook?" he called out his name.

Jungkook jerked straight and looked up. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the festival?"

"I could ask you the same."

"I uh-"

"I'm going to be straight with you." Taehyung said seriously. "I saw you and Ethan talking. Something didn't look right. Did something happen?"

"What?" Jungkook tried to smile so that he didn't look like he was holding back tears. "Nope. Nothing at all." but the tone that came out was blunt.

Taehyung sighed. He knew something had happened between the two. Jungkook's eyes told him everything. "Jungkook, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Yeah! That's why I just said....there's nothing that happened. We just talked."

"And then you stormed away because-?"

"No reason."

Taehyung folded his arms. "Okay...then why are you sitting at the entrance of my house?"

"No reason." he said again.

"Hmm." Taehyung nodded his head in disbelief. He definitely knew that Jungkook was hiding something from him, but he had no intentions of fishing for answers. He'd rather Jungkook tell him only if he wanted to, he didn't want to force him about anything. "Isn't it cold out here though? You could've gone inside."

"Nope, it's not cold at all." Jungkook shook his head. "And I didn't go in because I didn't want to disturb Bambi and Blu."

"Jungkook, you're stretching your sleeves to cover your hands and your legs are shivering."

Jungkook looked at his legs and held them down. "I'm not cold." he folded his sleeves up. "See? I'm not cold."

Taehyung didn't say anything, but soon Jungkook started shivering because of the cold air hitting his bare arms, and he finally admitted that he was cold.

"I told you so." he said to Jungkook who was covering up his forearms and hugging himself for warmth.

Taehyung opened the door and the two headed inside. The house still smelled of vanilla and pie, it helped calm down Jungkook's nerves a bit, but the warm and comforting ambience of the house only made him more vulnerable to his emotions. It had such a nostalgic essence to it that it was dragging Jungkook's tears out, tears of sorrow, of anger, of happiness? He didn't know anymore.

Taehyung led him to the living room and made him stay right in front of the fireplace.

"Now, you stay here." he pushed a rocking chair near the fire and handed Jungkook a large blanket. "Here."

"A large baby blanket?" Jungkook sounded so dull that his voice barely reached Taehyung's ears. He soothed the grey cloth with the small carrots on it and cuddled with it.

"It's Blu's." Taehyung said. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll get you something warm. What would you like, coffee or hot chocolate?"

"Hmm?" Jungkook had started to wrap himself in the big blanket. "A-anything is fine."

"Okay, Just give me a few minutes."

Taehyung made his way to the kitchen to make the beverage.

Jungkook's short replies, his low tone, his glassy eyes, Taehyung noticed it all. Something was wrong with him. He wanted to know, maybe help if he could, but then again, he did not want to force him.

What bothered Taehyung was when he saw Ethan and Jungkook having a conversation, right before Jungkook ran off. But what frustrated him even more, was what he saw when Jungkook encountered Ethan during the game.

Taehyung didn't hear much, but he knew that they were having a fight of some sort. He somehow figured that Jungkook and Ethan had a past. But he didn't know what kind of past they had.

'Did they go to school together?' Taehyung asked himself. 'Were they neighbours? Ah, no. Ethan lived in the hills.'

Taehyung had no idea what happened, but whatever it was, it seemed wrong from what he had gathered. Ethan and he became friends during the hill festival a few years ago, they were close, but only when the festival came by. Besides Jimin, Ethan was that other friend who he would always group up with for the festival activities. But introducing Ethan to Jungkook......Taehyung wished he hadn't done that.

He had invited Jungkook to spend more time with him, because ever since he met him, being next to him became Taehyung's new favourite thing. He enjoyed their talks, the way they made random jokes out of nowhere and most of all, he wanted to share more about himself with Jungkook. And every now and then, Taehyung would try to find new ways to do so. It was involuntary, his body just made decisions on its own when it came to Jungkook. Then again, these were facts he always found himself thinking about whenever he thought of Jungkook. 

He plopped two mini marshmallows into each cup of hot chocolate, put them in a tray alongside some cookies and headed to the living room.

'I hope this lifts his mood.' he thought. But when he entered the living space, he saw Jungkook cloaked in Blu's blanket, sitting on the floor, right in front of the fire. 'Oh no. He's on the ground. He's really not in a good mood.'

Taehyung cautiously walked to Jungkook, carefully sat down next to him on the floor and pushed the tray in front of him. "I brought hot chocolate and cookies." he told him softly.

Jungkook's eyes were pinned on the flames while he reached out to the cup and picked it up. With the cup in hand, he froze. He didn't take a sip, or smell it, or even look at it. His focus only seemed to be on the large orange-yellow wisps burning away the firewood.

A minute or so passed by, but Jungkook made no movements. Taehyung wanted to personally help him put the cup to his mouth so that he could drink, but all he could do was stare at his face as the soft light from the fire lit his features up.

His calf brown eyes which usually glistened with happiness, now glinted by the fire's light. The corners of his lips were drooping and his face was almost too pale. Taehyung then spotted a small mark on his cheek. It was a small scar, right at the centre. Taehyung was surprised he hadn't noticed it before.

"Jungkook." Taehyung called out his name, but that didn't grab his attention. Taehyung decided to go ahead with his question anyway. "How did you get that?"

Jungkook did not move his head, but he spoke as he stared into the flames. "Get what?"

"That scar on your cheek." he pointed at his own cheek.

Jungkook huffed a small unenthusiastic laugh. "Oh, this thing." he touched his scar. "I got it in a fight."

"A fight?"

"Yeah..." Jungkook nodded his head slowly. "It wasn't a big deal though."

"When did you-"

"A couple of years ago." he interrupted. By the tone of Jungkook's voice, Taehyung figured he didn't want to talk any more about it.

There was silence for a while. Neither one of them spoke. The only sound in the living space was that of the crackling wood from the fireplace and the ticking of the clock.

Jungkook finally took a sip of the beverage, but that only made his expression duller. It wasn't like Jungkook to ever behave like that, and it had started to worry Taehyung. What could he do to lift the mood? Taehyung almost felt it to be his responsibility to cheer him up.

'What can I do?' Taehyung asked himself. 'Do I hug him? No, he probably won't like the sudden touch. Kiss him? No, that's even worse.' he frowned. 'Wait, why in the world would I do that??'

"Yes." Jungkook said all of a sudden. "Ethan and I did talk."

Taehyung's eyes lit up, but he tried not to be too eager to hear more. "Oh. Okay...I see."

"I've known Ethan from high school." Jungkook started. "I- uh.."

He stopped.

Taehyung noticed that he was gripping his cup awkwardly. "Jungkook-" Taehyung said. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay."

"No, I want to." Jungkook glanced at him. He was telling him because he couldn't lie to him anymore. He just couldn't put up the blank face in front of him and pretend as though nothing had happened and that he was holding back from bursting out his feelings. He had never lied to Taehyung and he was sure that he couldn't ever.

Jungkook looked back into the fire. "I used to like him. He was my crush back then. It was when I found out about my sexuality."

Jungkook then went on to tell him everything. He told him about how close the two of them were, how Jungkook was in denial when he first started liking Ethan, how Daejung helped him and how, even now, after six years, Ethan still hadn't changed. Ethan was still the awful homophobic person he once was. There wasn't any sense of acceptance, or support, or the will to understand Jungkook's constitution.

"Today, when we talked during the game and when he told me that he was sorry-" a small painful smile curved on Jungkook's face. "-I actually thought he meant it, that he now understood everything-" he choked on his words. Thinking about it was easier than actually saying it word by word. "But all he said to me was how he would help me be normal. He didn't even consider how I felt about it!"

Taehyung could sense that weary emotion of sorrow grit into anger in Jungkook's tone, but it wasn't aggression, it was an aching ire of disgust and betrayal. Jungkook had lost hope years ago when Ethan shouted at him for liking him, then that long lost hope resurfaced when Ethan apologised at the festival, but it sunk back almost immediately when he told Jungkook his intentions. It was like a sword plunging into Jungkook's chest and with every attempt, Ethan made to try to convince Jungkook, it only pushed the sword further in, twisting and making its way deeper into his flesh.

"Hey-" Taehyung spoke in a soft tone as he scooted a bit closer towards Jungkook. "-are you okay?"

He looked at Taehyung from the corners of his glassy eyes. He looked like he was about to cry. "No." he said quietly. "You know, I have experienced neglect because of my preferences, but some came around to it, they understood. But some didn't, they never bothered to understand. But the thing was.....they never did what Ethan did. Ethan takes this issue like I have some kind of disease. I-I-it's awful." his voice had started to rise in pitch and quiver. "H-he treats it as some illness that I-I have! A-and that it can be cured if he tries! It doesn't work like that!"

Jungkook looked at Taehyung. His face was full of pain and anguish. Taehyung could see his face tinting to a slight hue to red. His lips were trembling and his nose was sniffling. "W-why do people assume that?" Jungkook spoke again. "Th-This is the way I am! Am I the wrong one here?"

"You are not wrong, Jungkook." Taehyung said assertively. He put his own cup down and turned to face Jungkook. "You don't need to pay attention to his words."

"I know I don't!" Jungkook looked at Taehyung. "What bothers me is how he treated me for who I am! After all these years, when I managed to be confident about myself, he came back with this! I know I shouldn't pay attention to anything he has to say, but I can't help it! He called me 'disgusting', Taehyung. H-he's had the entire school stand against me and now he comes over and tells me this? Purposely poking me at my weakest spot, m-making me feel like a vulnerable fool, someone who isn't normal!" Jungkook's eyes scrunched up. "What does being normal even mean? Is it really just so awful to be who I am? Is it really not okay to be me?" there were small shudders in his voice, and then a single tear fell from his eye, then another and another.

Taehyung was caught off guard when Jungkook started to cry all of a sudden. He wanted to grab his face and wipe those tears off, but his hands just clenched his pants for some reason. "Jungkook, please don't cry." Taehyung was just really worried for him. His eyes were getting heavy just looking at him. "You don't need to worry about any of his opinions. In fact, you shouldn't have to think about what anyone's opinions are. You are you for yourself and I don't think it should affect anyone. You needn't have to change for anyone to fit their standards! The one thing my grandmother always told me was to be true to yourself, never lie or hide under the covers."

Jungkook sniffed and wiped his tears.

"It doesn't matter what others think of you. You just need to believe in yourself. You've done nothing wrong." Taehyung sat up straight and gave a little cheerful tone to his voice to cheer Jungkook. "For heck's sake, this is love we're talking about! It's not like you murdered someone!"

Jungkook choked a small laugh. He looked up and laughed a bit while crying and wiping his tears.

Taehyung was glad to see Jungkook's change, even if it was by the slightest. "I'm sorry..I-uh...don't know what else to say to cheer you up-"

"It's okay." Jungkook smiled. His cheeks were glistening with tear trails. "You were here for me and that is more than enough. Thank you, for all that you said."

At that moment, Taehyung's ears went hot and heavy as he stared into Jungkook's hearty brown eyes. His doe eyes were gleaming in the fire's light. They had pain, but Taehyung could see the calm settling in.

His words weren't much, but Jungkook was more than overwhelmed by them. For the first time, looking into Taehyung's soft chocolate eyes, his heart wasn't beating in anxious nervosity, it pounded in serenity, like he was the happiest person alive.

The living room was warm and cosy, still wafting with the smells of vanilla and pie, and the new addition of warm cocoa. The fire was soft and the lights were dim. Without realising both their smiles faded slightly as they got lost into each other's eyes, slowly closing in the space between them.

Jungkook's eyes trailed to Taehyung's lips, and Taehyung's closed slightly.

"Today was amazing!" a loud voice came from the entrance of the house, causing both Taehyung and Jungkook to pull back in alarm.

"You should come along with us each year, Mr. Jeon!" the voice said again.

There was a chuckle. "Of course! We had fun as well!" it was Jungkook's father.

"Hush!" Taehyung's aunt shushed the two voices down. "The babies are asleep!"

Taehyung's mother entered the living room, taking off her coat when she spotted the two men on the floor awkwardly gripping their cups and staring at the fire.

"There you two are!" she exclaimed, walking up to them. "We searched all over for you both at the festival!"

Taehyung turned around. "I'm sorry. Jungkook's stomach wasn't well, so we came back home."

"Oh." she pursed her lips and gave Jungkook a motherly look. "Are you alright now, dear?"

"Uh-" Jungkook sniffed a bit and nodded his head. "Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Kim."

Taehyung and Jungkook met eyes for an awkward moment but then whipped away almost immediately.

The two young adults didn't talk about the 'little moment' they had, they figured it'd be too awkward to touch. Jungkook thought that he was the one caught up in the moment and was ready to risk it all and that Taehyung sat there completely still.

 Taehyung, on the other hand, was confused out of his mind. He had no idea why he did what he did, but somehow he even felt that he wanted to do it.

Both their perspectives just caused the two to be awkward around each other for the rest of the time until the Jeon family left.

Back at home, Jungkook was roaming in the kitchen searching for something to keep the flowers in that Taehyung had given his family. His grandparents and father had retired to their rooms for the day, so there was complete silence in the house. It was just Luna, Sol and Jungkook in the kitchen.

He finally found a random glass bottle in one of the cabinets, filled it up with water and started working on the bouquet.

Out of the two variety of flowers, Jungkook could recognise the yellow tulips, but the other orange puffy ones were a mystery. He put his nose up to the petals and closed his eyes as he inhaled the sweet scent of the blossoms. He smiled as he recalled Taehyung picking those flowers at Daejung's shop earlier that day.

"Hey." Jungkook's father walked into the kitchen with an empty water bottle in hand. "What are you doing here?"

Jungkook set the flowers down. "Ah- nothing. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd put them in a vase or something."

"Your eyes are puffy, Jungkook." he walked up to his son. "Oh, look!" he picked up one of the flowers. "It's a rose."

Jungkook took the rose from his father's hands, snipped its stem and plopped it into the water-filled bottle.

"Do you know what it means to get a red rose in the Sweet Night's bouquet?" his father asked as he started to fill his water bottle.

"No." Jungkook responded. "I don't. Does it have a special meaning though?"

"Well, if one receives a red rose in a Sweet Night bouquet, which is usually meant to be an orange-yellow blend, it usually is a confession." there was a smirking tone in his voice.

"Yeah, I don't think it's a confession, dad." Jungkook puffed in a chuckle, clipping the stems and arranging the flowers in the bottle.

"Well, it also has another meaning."

Jungkook turned to his father with the flowers in his hands. "Yeah? What's that?" he walked to the dining table to set the flowers there, while his father followed.

"It stands for admiration, a sign of endearment."

Jungkook hummed, smiling internally. "That's nice."

"So-" his father rested his hands on the table. "Why the puffy the eyes?"

"Huh?"

"Ethan talked to you didn't he?"

"What? How-"

"I met him after the flag game because I saw you two talking. I told him to back off from my son." Jungkook's father casually took a sip of water from his bottle.

"You did? Wow."

"Are you okay though? I don't know what he said to you, but if you want to talk about it-"

"I'm fine." Jungkook nodded his head, smiling gently to his father.

"You sure? I don't want you to hide in your burrow for eight days like the last time."

Jungkook chuckled. "I'm not going to do that, dad. I'm fine! I've sorted it out."

His father pursed his lips in thought. "Okay. But I'm letting you off only because you say you're fine."

"Yes, dad!" he groaned. "I am fine!"

The man smiled and rubbed Jungkook's arm affectionately. "Don't stay awake for too long, okay? Good night. I love you."

"I love you too, good night."

13th March

It was delivery day and Taehyung was going to be out with Yeontan in his minivan full of strawberry boxes for everyone in the village.

"Hup, hup!" Taehyung patted the seat of the van for Yeontan to hop up.

"Have you loaded all the boxes?" Taehyung's cousin sister asked.

Taehyung cracked his knuckles and stretched. "Yep."

His sister held Blu in her arms. Baby Blu reached out for Taehyung, wriggling her tiny pudgy fingers and making cute baby voices.

"She wants you to hold her." his sister said.

Taehyung played with the kid and slowly held her in his arms.

"Who's the cutest?" Taehyung giggled with her. "Who's the cutest- You are!" he snuggled his face in her tummy, making her laugh out.

His sister reached back for the baby.

"Okay, go to mama now-" Taehyung said as he handed Blu back. "Tae Tae has to go, okay?"

"Drive safe." his sister said.

"Thanks. Bye-bye!"

Although he said his byes, Taehyung goofed around a bit with Blu a little longer. Yeontan started to get agitated and barked for Taehyung to hurry up. He rolled his eyes at his dog. "Okay, okay. I'm coming!"  he turned back to Blu, bopped the little baby's nose playfully, making her laugh one last time and headed to the village to deliver his strawberries.

The trip was always fun with Yeontan. He circulated the strawberries in almost every house in the village. Everyone was always excited to have the duo doing door-to-door deliveries. Although, Yeontan had stolen more hearts amongst their customers.

Their last stop for the day was at Jungkook's place, where he also had to take a look over at their microgreens garden.

Once he reached his place, the two Border Collies, Luna and Sol, ran up to him like they always did. Taehyung greeted the two and walked up to the door.

"Ah- Taehyung! Come in!" Jungkook's father had opened the door. Taehyung was hoping to see Jungkook answer the door.

Mr. Jeon helped Taehyung set the box in the kitchen and then took him to the microgreens garden for him to check on.

It took him thirty minutes or so, but all he could think of was where Jungkook could be. He hadn't seen him in the house, which got him slightly worried that he may have gone back to the city. It also worried him that Jungkook might have found that previous night's moment absurd or uncomfortable.

"Thank you so much, Taehyung!" Mr. Jeon said to him. "I am so glad that you help our little garden out every now and then."

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Jeon." Taehyung had the urge to ask about Jungkook, but then something stopped him. "I should get going now."

Taehyung called out for Yeontan, but he didn't come to him.

"Where could he have gone?"

"Taehyung!" Mr. Jeon called him from the house's porch.

Taehyung rushed there and saw Yeontan, Luna and Sol, laying on the pasture with the sheep surrounding them, and a person sitting in between them all. It was Jungkook.

"JUNGKOOK!" Mr. Jeon shouted out to grab Jungkook's attention, but he was too far away.

"It's alright, Mr. Jeon." Taehyung walked down the porch. "I'll go."

"Hey." Taehyung greeted Jungkook when he reached the large group of animals and Jungkook.

"Hello, Strawberry Man."

Taehyung snickered. "Strawberry Man?"

"That's what Yeontan told me to call you." Jungkook picked Yeontan up into his lap and cradled him like a child.

"Oh, did he now?" Taehyung stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I highly doubt that. He knows my name is 'Berry Man Berry'."

"What?" Jungkook laughed. "That is even worse, Taehyung!"

"Yep." he scratched the back of his neck with an awkward smile. "I figured."

One of the sheep came over and started bleating near Jungkook's ear. He laughed and pushed it away but it just wouldn't stop. For some reason, Jungkook's smile made Taehyung remember something.

"Hey, Jungkook?"

Jungkook pushed the noisy sheep from his ear. "Yea?"

"There's someplace I want you to see. Wanna come along?"

Finally giving up the pushes, Jungkook got up to Taehyung's height with Yeontan in his arms and dusted his clothes. "Yeah! Sure!"

"You should get your camera." Taehyung advised as they made their way back to the house.

"My camera?" Jungkook asked innocently. "Why?"

"Well, you always carry it with you wherever you go, don't you? Besides, I think you'll regret it if you don't."

"Oh! Now I'm really curious to know where Mr. Kim is taking me this fine afternoon."

"I'm certain you'll love it. Although I am not sure if you've already been there."

"Are you taking me to the hills?" Jungkook raised an eyebrow. "If yes, then I probably haven't been there."

"Actually, I am taking you to the hills."

Jungkook bit his lower lip in excitement. "I'll be right back with my camera then." he handed Yeontan to Taehyung and ran into the house for his camera.

Taehyung felt a flutter in his chest as he saw Jungkook run in excitement. The sheer feeling of seeing his happy face brought a smile to Taehyung's. He turned his face away shyly and headed for the minivan.

Jungkook joined him five minutes later, with a camera bag hung over his shoulder.

"Shall we go?" Taehyung started the van.

"Of course! Is there a need to ask?"

Yeontan barked, wagging his fluffy tail as he jumped into Jungkook's lap in joy.

"He really loves you." Taehyung commented while keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.

Jungkook held onto the little dog and played with his ears. "It's probably because I have Luna and Sol's scent on me." Yeontan turned to his face and started licking him.

"Oh, he really fancies you." Taehyung told him. He saw Yeontan licking Jungkook and giggled. "He doesn't even play with me like that!"

Taehyung parked the van outside his house to take Yeontan back inside.

"Why can't he come along with us?" Jungkook asked as they got out.

"He's a frisky dog." Taehyung answered. "I don't want him running around. He may get lost."

Jungkook nodded his head. "Are we going to walk from here?"

"Yep!"

Jungkook leaned against the van as he waited for Taehyung to come back. He looked up to the bright clear sky. It was quite windy that day, but the air was fresh and cool. Then, thunder rumbled in the sky which made Jungkook frown.

'But the sky is clearer than it ever could be.'

The pale blue sky had nothing but soft white cotton patches, there wasn't a single dark cloud in sight.

Once Taehyung was back, they headed into the woods, with Taehyung leading the way. As they walked, they talked about the festival and how much Jungkook enjoyed himself. Taehyung was careful not to mention Ethan or the things that happened back at his place after the festival. Instead, they talked about Jungkook's experience and feedbacks of all the various events. Taehyung took this opportunity and also teased Jungkook about the hearts he drew on his face.

"You won't shut up about it, will you?" Jungkook pouted shyly.

"Of course I won't!" Taehyung smiled wide. "I was the one who made those hearts on your face! I am an amazing artist!" his cheeky side was coming out.

"Of course you are." Jungkook chuckled.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No!" he denied Taehyung's claim immediately.

"Hmm. Well, I won't lie, but I quite liked that unicorn." Taehyung raised a brow notoriously. "I could get that tattooed."

"Okay-" Jungkook laughed. "-now you're just teasing me!"

Taehyung laughed along, but then stopped. "Oh, look. We're here."

Right in front of them was a cliff with the city's view.

Jungkook stopped in his tracks, staring at the mesmerizing scene. "Oh my-" he said under his breath. "That's the city!"

"Yep." Taehyung nodded.

Jungkook looked at his face with an open mouth and then slowly walked forward. He could see the little town that he usually passed by on his way to the village. The city's buildings, gradually increasing in height the further he saw.

"Why haven't I seen this place before?" Jungkook asked softly. He was captivated by the overwhelming power those buildings and houses held.

"There's actually another cliff......it's just smaller than this one."

Jungkook's heart was racing. He couldn't look away from the view. The more he looked, the more tiny details he noticed. The greens from the hill depleting into the small rustic roofs in the country, which in turn merged with a few strips of deciduous trees in full bloom and then to the vast monochromatic buildings of the city.

He took out his camera and started clicking right away.

Taehyung just stood and admired Jungkook's concentrated face. His lips were slightly parted, his eyes wide open and his mouth curling into a smile every time he checked out a picture he took, Taehyung smiled at everything Jungkook did.

"You were right to tell me to bring my camera along." Jungkook said. "How have I never been here?"

Taehyung just smiled softly. He was happy.

Just then, a single drop of water fell on his nose. He looked up and saw another drop fall from the sky.

"Jungkook-" he tried to reach for him. "-it's started to rain."

As soon as he said that, the drops fell in frenzy. It had started to rain heavily.

"Ah-shit!" Jungkook tried to shield his camera with his hands, but then a jacket came on top.

"There's a tree hollow nearby!" it was Taehyung's jacket. "Come on!"

They ran to a big old tree nearby. It had a hollow front which made a small cavity for shelter.

"That rain came out of nowhere." Taehyung huffed as they stuffed inside.

"The sky was clear just now." Jungkook peaked out. "Ah- never mind."

The clear pale sky had turned dull and gloomy in just a matter of seconds. The dark clouds were moving in quickly and the wind was picking the rain's pace up. Jungkook then noticed Taehyung's jacket still wrapped around his hands, covering his camera.

Jungkook unwrapped the cloth. "Thanks for this." he handed it back to Taehyung.

"You don't need to say that." he took back his wet jacket. "I know how important that is to you."

"Still, thanks."

The space in the tree's trunk was a bit cramped for them. They tried shifting for a comfortable position, but no matter how they sat, their knees would always end up touching awkwardly. They had no choice but to wait it out.

The rain got fast and heavier in the next five minutes and the winds just got wilder. The soothing scent of petrichor accompanied the drops as they mixed in with the soil. Jungkook was really eager to take a quick snap, the glossy grass was terribly tempting him. But his hands were restricted, he couldn't do it.

After another five or so minutes of heavy rain, the droplets slowed down and the skies got less gloomy. The weather had started to improve.

"Have you ever gotten drenched in the rain, Jungkook?" Taehyung asked all of a sudden. "On purpose?"

Jungkook faced him. "Maybe when I was young, sure. But not recently I guess. Why do you ask?"

"Have you danced in the rain?"

"Danced?" Jungkook asked. "No, I hav-"

"You're kidding! Don't tell me you have never danced in the rain before!"

"I haven't!"

Taehyung looked out and then took out his phone. He scrolled through something and then, his phone started to play some instrumental music.

Taehyung grabbed Jungkook's hand. "Come on!"

"What? No!" Jungkook's face flushed. 

"Why? You danced yesterday!"

"You know I don't dance!" he gently pulled his hand away. "Yesterday was just something I did in the heat of the moment! And besides, it's raining!"

"Oh, come on! It's just drizzling!" Taehyung pouted his lips. "Pleaseee? I swear you'll have fun!"

How in the world could Jungkook resist those big bright puppy eyes of his?

"F-fine. But the camera?"

Taehyung wrapped his jacket around it. "It's safe inside here."

Hesitantly, Jungkook then got out into the rain with Taehyung.

The cold raindrops hit Jungkook's face. They wet his hair, his shirt and the drops trickled down his nape and back making him shudder. It was uncomfortable for a bit, but then Jungkook started enjoying it. He did a tiny swirl and let his emotions take over.

Taehyung came next to him and offered him his hand. "Shall we?"

Without thinking about it, Jungkook placed his hand in Taehyung's and let him guide their moves. As the faint music from Taehyung's phone picked up the beat over the pitter-patter of the rain hitting the soil, Taehyung jazzed their dance up. Soon, they were jumping about in the rain, holding each other's hands.

The moment reminded Jungkook of their dance from last night. They didn't switch partners, they just wanted to have fun with each other. It gave such a joyous feeling to his heart, it was overflowing from inside him.

With every move, their actions got dumber and dumber. It like was like they were competing to see who could make the other laugh more. At one point, they weren't even dancing anymore, their movements were just a bunch of gibberish actions of their limbs. But they didn't care, they were laughing and enjoying the moment.

The music then turned into slow jazz and their movements changed to the tune. Their hands clasped together on their own and their steps got short and slow. Their eyes were locked and they had small smiles towards each other.

Jungkook's chest felt heavy, it was probably because his heart was pounding. But the feeling was that of calmness and satisfaction. Taehyung's eyes gave him contentment when he looked into them, it was a sense of carefree happiness.

The change in the music not only affected Jungkook's mood but Taehyung's as well. He placed a gentle hand around Jungkook's waist and guided him into a slow unprofessional swaying waltz. He wasn't sure where he'd gotten all that confidence from, but Jungkook didn't seem to mind it, so Taehyung didn't either.

The two concentrated on nothing but each other's eyes. It was like they were drifting away to another world as they danced slowly in the drizzling rain.

Then, there it was again, the same heat in Taehyung's ears that he had experienced when he sat with Jungkook next to the fire last night. This time, it was his eyes that shifted to Jungkook's lips. Jungkook caught that, but that only made his eyes trail off to his partner's lips.

Their supple smiles faded slightly and their heads leaned in. Everything around them seemed to slow down and it felt like as though a bubble of heat formed around their faces. Then, without realisation or any awareness, their lips touched. It was just a small peck, but it created a connection of static heat and bustling excitement in their bodies.

Jungkook pulled away from Taehyung's lips, both of them were breathing heavily. Taehyung's cheeks were as bright as fresh red strawberries.

"Why did you just kiss me?" Jungkook's voice was shaky and he sounded like he was out of breath. He thought that his heart was at its limit and would burst out at any moment.

"I-I don't know." Taehyung replied. He knew he was the one who initiated it, but he didn't know why. All he knew was that he wanted to and he somehow just did it.

"Did you...uh- want to do it?"

"Was it weird?"

"No." Jungkook was really confused, he didn't even know what he should say. "W-was it a mistake?"

"No." Taehyung said immediately.

That reply softened Jungkook's heart. 'It wasn't a mistake.' he told himself.

Taehyung raised his hand to Jungkook's cheek. He flinched a bit, but let Taehyung's hand's warmth flow through him. Jungkook then pulled Taehyung softly by the waist. He wasn't sure what was happening, their bodies were moving on their own.

Taehyung caressed his cheek and brushed his wet hair from his eyes, they were full of warm affection. Jungkook couldn't hold back, he pulled him to another kiss without any prior warning. Their lips moved together, it wasn't a peck this time, it was a proper kiss.

Their eyes were closed, they couldn't see each other, but every time their lips met and separated, they created a new emotion, of trust, of affection, of desire and passion. 

Taehyung would let his hand move through Jungkook's hair and Jungkook would hold him tight, letting his fingers press against Taehyung's spine and back muscles. They were in their own world.

They parted slowly and looked at each other with embarrassed smiles on their faces. Taehyung was the first one to crack into a childish laugh, to which Jungkook followed and that lead to them being an embarrassed and shy pair of laughing adults.

The rain still drizzled down, but the warm evening sky had set in and then turned into a dull orange.

Jungkook held Taehyung's hands in his and kneaded his fingers. He was still nervous and shy about what had just happened. His stomach had butterflies and his mind was blank. All he could do was squeeze Taehyung's fingers anxiously.

Taehyung was the more flustered one between the two, his eyes refused to meet with Jungkook's because he was afraid he'd smile too wide for a long time and go red. Though he found Jungkook squeezing his fingers adorably cute, so he decided to look at them and squeeze back to give Jungkook a sign of assurance.

The kiss was a reaction to something Taehyung had no explanation to. It was like his body moved on his own and Jungkook somehow accepted it, which he did find pretty surprising. But at that moment, he was bubbling in happiness and glee and that was all that captivated him. He felt joy, endearment and maybe even love towards Jungkook, but that it was just the beginning of his little ride of realisation.

>So, remember how the previous chapter was supposed to be 10 thousand words? Well, surprise, surprise, here is the rest. ▼ω▼

>Namjoon and Jin have been gone for a long time. ꈍ .̮ ꈍ  

>Oh, damn. Hoseok as well. ◑.◑