*largely unedited

"I remember you, try remembering. Come back..."

~Remember-B1A4

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Jimin leaned over and read the message. Taehyung was already reading it for the third time. Jimin was just quiet, probably reading it again with him. After a moment of silence, he was sure he was reading it right, that Jungkook wanted to be left alone. But he'd answered, that meant he was alright, that he hadn't done anything to hurt himself, that he was okay.

He's not okay. Not really.

The phone chimed again.

Kookie: I don't want to see you. Not now. [12:43]

Kookie: You don't even remember me. [12:43]

Taehyung blinked. I can't, as much as I want to, I can't see it clearly. But that meant all this time, Jungkook had recognized Taehyung, but had said nothing, that all this time, Jungkook knew who he was, from where, Taehyung couldn't say, it could have been years ago, it could have been months ago.

"Taehyung, you knew Jungkook before?" Jimin asked, quiet, obviously surprised.

Before... "I think..." Taehyung said, trying to think hard on when he'd heard the name, when he'd met Jungkook, what had happened. Taehyung bit his lip. "I can't remember..." He looked back at the phone for a second. Figuring he might as well ask, he was never going to remember without a hint, he'd completely blocked out whenever it was.

Help me remember. Please, Jungkook, I want to remember. [12:46]

There was a minute or two of absolute silence, where both Jimin and Taehyung just watched the text message screen, waiting. If he's mad at me, he won't answer, I completely forgot he existed. Then the phone chimed again.

Kookie: Orphanage, Taehyung. The dining hall. Her stupid fine china plates. [12:49]

Kookie: Remember what you don't want to, V-hyung. [12:50]

"What does any of that mean?" Jimin asked, voice still quiet. "Taehyung? Don't space out on me, man. What's V-Hyung?"

That's exactly what he ended up doing, just staring at the phone, looking at the words but not actually seeing them, seeing something else. He could remember those things. He could see those etched china plates all sitting in a case in the dining hall in a locked drawer, the plates she only took out on special occasions. She'd always pretend like she was such a mother when there were people looking to adopt in the orphanage, but otherwise, she'd always lock herself in the office and work her five to five job, hardly giving them any attention unless it was to say to clean something or when it was time to go to sleep.

He remembered being probably the only one to stay long enough to know how much she brought boyfriends to work, or how many times she'd lock the door and tell them not to bother them unless the place was burning down. He remembered the crammed room full of bunk beds, sleeping on the bottom bunk, staring at the underside of the one above him.

And then he remembered a little boy leaning over from the top, hair hanging upside down, and his lips curled up into a smile.

"Wanna do something fun?"

~10 years earlier~

"What's your name?" Taehyung had asked, letting the younger boy lead him around. No one ever talked to him, he was a ghost most of the time, someone that people heard and saw sometimes, but otherwise didn't exist.

The younger boy turned to look at him. "You can call me Seagull."

"Seagull?" Taehyung asked, the younger boy was only six, but even then, that was a strange name. "What kind of name is that?"

He shrugged. "I didn't say it was my name." Then he laughed, covering his mouth afterwards because of how late it was. if they woke up anyone, they were sure to get in trouble. "Don't tell me you actually go by 'Taehyung' all the time?"

Taehyung hadn't answered, just staring back at the boy blankly, wondering where he'd even got the name 'Seagull' from.

That was the start of it. Though that night they'd only snuck a bunch of chocolates, they'd do something different every night, and Taehyung had come to look forward to it. That every night, Jungkook would lean over from the top bunk, and ask if Taehyung was awake, and then they'd go do something. He hadn't known his name was Jungkook at the time, hadn't even really known who the younger boy was at all, or even if anyone would call that a friendship.

But he knew that every night, they'd always do something they weren't supposed to, and then when it was at least halfway through the night, Jungkook would say he was too tired to climb up to the top bunk, and usually slept in Taehyung's bed, and he took up almost the entire thing somehow with his little self. And even when Taehyung tried to squeeze himself in, there was hardly any space at all, and Jungkook would usually lay on Taehyung. Be it a leg over his waist, or most of Jungkook's body, Taehyung became a gigantic pillow.

China plates.

That was the last time they snuck out of bed. He'd blocked it out, forgot the whole thing, it hurt too much, it was that day that someone adopted Jungkook. The day that Jungkook had screamed and cried because they couldn't adopt Taehyung too.

But now he could remember Jungkook leaning over the side of the bed that last time. They'd let Jungkook stay another day to get ready to go. But that last time he leaned upside down, he'd said, "Let's do one last thing, V-hyung, before I leave, before you never see me again."

Taehyung wasn't sure why, but somewhere along the way, Seagull had started calling him V. He wasn't sure what the letter stood for, only that it was a letter of the roman alphabet*. First thing he thought was victory, but he'd never had one single victory over anything in his life.

Despite their strange relationship, and the fact that they hardly talked, Taehyung nodded. He'd seen kids come and go all the time, and he'd only been sad once or twice, but when Jungkook was going to leave, he felt more alone, and unloved, and hopeless then ever. And even then, Jungkook smiled. Smiled like everything was alright. It is for him, someone loves him, someone wants him around, why would he be sad? Over a stupid older boy who'd been sitting in here for years?

"I want to see those plates, the ones she only uses for special occasions." Jungkook said. "The ones she's supposed to use when one of us gets adopted." He may have been smiling, but his tone was sad as he lead Taehyung to the dining hall.

The spark in his eyes wasn't as bright. Everything didn't look nearly as bright with Jungkook's eyes so dull. But then he still made jokes. For the 6 yr-old he was, he was dealing with it very well.

"I took the key." Jungkook said quietly, a mischievous smirk on his lips, producing said key from his pocket before sticking it in the lock on the drawer with the plates in it.

Taehyung just watched, blankly, wondering why this of all things was what he wanted to do this last day, but ended up saying, "Why do you call me V?"

Jungkook slowly opened the drawer, it probably being heavy with all the china in it. "Because I like the letter." Jungkook said, "And I like you a lot."

Taehyung had blinked, then grinned big. "I like you, Seagullie, I wish you didn't have to go." He'd said that, but he was happy for him in a way. That was what every kid wanted, to be adopted. He just wished that didn't mean good-bye.

Jungkook pulled the drawer out, a little too far, the whole thing coming out, the plates crashing on the floor. And Jungkook screamed, covering his ears and abandoning said plates, running away. Taehyung had followed, just as surprised.

They'd only stopped to hide in the closet down the hall with the brooms and mops, listening to the caretaker yell and complain, Jungkook sniffling, but giggling, trying to keep quiet as he leaned on Taehyung's shoulder.

"I'll miss you, V-hyung." Jungkook said.

~Present~

"Tae, are you alright?" Jimin asked, snapping Taehyung back to reality. "Tae, what's wrong?"

Taehyung nodded, wiping his eyes to stop himself from crying at the memory. "I'm fine..."

But if he remembered right, he met Jungkook one time after that, not actually meeting, but hearing his voice, and that wasn't too long ago, and if he remembered what that was about right, then he was almost sure he knew why Jungkook was running, why Jungkook wanted to be left alone, why he didn't want to talk to Taehyung, or Jimin, or anyone else.

Taehyung handed Jimin back his phone, climbing over Jimin and opening the car door, much to Jimin's confusion, though he did nothing to stop him.

"Where are you...? Tae, what are you doing?" Jimin asked.

Taehyung swallowed, looking back at Jimin for a moment, biting his lip, "I think I know why Jungkook is upset, and it has almost nothing to do with Jae-hwa. It's my fault."

I did this to Jungkook, I have to fix it. I should have remembered, I should have known, I should have at least seen it happening. There was nothing he could do about it now, but if he could fix it somehow... I'm so selfish, I didn't even...

And he almost had an idea of where Jungkook was, where he was hiding.

Don't do anything dumb in the meantime, Jungkook, just wait.

Jimin and Mrs. Park were yelling after him as Taehyung ran down the street, and he didn't even know how to answer them, how to tell them about where he was going or why. He barely understood it himself.

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*Roman as in ABCs because they are speaking Korean

A/N: I don't like doing Flashbacks. because there's just no smooth way to do them for me, i don't know~~ So I hope I didn't so too bad, hmm? ^_________________^

So for anyone who thought Jungkook had met him in the orphanage...YOU'RE RIGHT~! Hahaha~ But as for that second time they 'met' before everything... ;)

Wonder what Jungkook's problem is, Hmm? /mystery music/

~Neri~