The cool breeze swept over Jeongguk's hair and caressed his skin in a delicate, frosty embrace. He lowered his head and took a look at the old iPod in his hands, one that he had pulled from the depths of his drawer earlier in his apartment. The device was adorned with scratches and marks all over, proof of its rather old age and equally constant usage.

It was a gift his mother had given to him, from the birthday that very same year his parents found out he's gay.

Although it wasn't as though Jeongguk ever sat them down and had some kind of 'talk' about it, per se. Rather, he had brought Seojun home after school one day and that was all his folks ever needed to realize what was really going on.

He remembered the birthday note that his mother wrote for him alongside the expensive gift.

'My son', it said. 'Today I'm yet again reminded of the reason my life is so full of color. Thank you for being born. Thank you for allowing me the chance to love you with everything I have. My dear boy, Mama loves you very much. Happy birthday; to my most cherished treasure, Jeonggukie.'

Jeongguk remembered crying on the spot, right then and there, beside his birthday cake; leaving his mother and father at a loss for words. Eventually they both wrapped him into their embrace, and the family of three sat on the floor crying for what felt like hours to him back then.

They all understood the gravity of their emotions.

That day, Jeongguk learned that his parents would accept him no matter who he chose to love, what he chose to do with his life. Whether he took over the bakery or not. He'd always dream of making them proud. To grow into a strong, capable man that could take care of them the same way they took care of him.

Naturally, that was his first experience with unconditional love. Something a family can give to each other no matter the distance, and no matter how much time may pass them by.

"Hm.. Hmn, hm..." He hummed to himself quietly, sat upon the grass below him as he gazed out across the Han River, its waters glinting in an orange glow while the sun readied to go to sleep. He scrolled through the playlist his mother had made him so that he'd have something to listen to the very minute he opened up his gift back then, and a gentle smile curled over his lips as the warm memories came back to him.

He used to love a lot of the same songs his parents would play out loud in early hours on lazy weekends. Listening to them now only made him wish they were here with him now.

And maybe they would know what to do, about his aching heart.

They always knew what to do. It seemed they had all the answers, and yet... Jeongguk also knew this was something that held no right answer. Something his parents couldn't quite solve for him right away with the snap of a finger, the way they used to when he was small.

His head fought with logic; with his heart and with his desires.

Jeongguk brought his legs up to his chest and propped his chin over his knees. With only one earbud in, he could hear the gentle brushing of water waves crashing over each other in the distance.

"Write a message to someone—with your voice."

Taehyung's words ricochet off his thoughts, from that night they met. It resonated loud in his head, deep voice rang in his ears with how vivid the night had been to him.

"If you don't put your all into it, the person won't receive your letter. So you have to really make sure they hear you."

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, gazing over the riverbed. But he had some idea, judging by the way the sky had fallen completely dark before he even came to realize it.

He wiped a finger below his eye, and came to realize that he'd been crying, a stream of tears drying out over his pale cheeks. The boy sniffled quietly and cleared the wetness of his face with the back of his hand.

He wasn't sure why, but the tears continued down his cheeks. And, slowly, Jeongguk found it in him to finally stand from the ground, brushed grass off his trousers and stepped closer past the path in front of him to get a better view of the glimmering body of water that spread vastly, connecting two lands.

He puffed out his chest, inhaled a long breath.

And then shouted with all his might.

"Kim Taehyung!!!" He shut his eyes, face quickly turning red from the strain on his vocal chords. "I think I'm in love with you!!!!!!"

He shouted the words out, loud, into the sky, sending his stream of emotions throughout the wind around him so that it'd reach the clouds.

With a deep inhale of cold air Jeongguk panted, throat feeling frozen as he looked out into the water. He reached a hand to place over his chest, gulped down a breath and straightened his shoulders, teeth digging to his lip while the calm waves danced over each other across the river.

His brows lifted, heart beat accelerated, skin flushed; praying, just hoping that he got his feelings across.

Hoping that it reached him.

※ ※

"Min Yoongi kissed me."

Jeongguk looked up from where he sat upon a tall stool.

"What?"

The blond boy heaved out a quiet sigh and took a seat beside his best friend, removing the bag over his shoulder to place it upon the table in front of him. Currently, Jeongguk had a palette of paint out, despite their art club session not having begun just yet; his hands gripped a thin brush dipped in white paint over a particularly small metal surface he called his canvas.

He blinked repeatedly, completely dumfounded at Jimin's words.

"You heard me.." Jimin lowered his voice while making slow movements to slip a drawing notebook out from his bag.

"Wh—... I mean.." Jeongguk struggled to find where to even begin with all the questions he had. "When?!"

Jimin cracked a dry smile and grabbed a paint brush. "Yesterday. Um..." A pause. "I think... he confessed? I think. He said I should give someone else a chance. Someone meaning himself."

"Holy cow..." The younger stared at his friend with wide eyes. "He knows about you and Hoseok?"

"He figured it out, I suppose..." Jimin shrugged. "The man is way more observant than most people give him credit for."

"Wow.." Jeongguk lowered his brush, rested it over the messy palette. "Well... What are you gonna do? He's clearly interested in you."

The blond scrunched up his nose and stared at an array of paint tubes, pondering over which color he should begin with. Though his head was quite busy drifting somewhere else.

"You know I have feelings for someone else, and..." he mumbled quietly, gently released his paintbrush to grab a palette knife instead. "I know it's dumb of me to try and hold on to impossible hope but... God, I just can't help the way my heart feels."

Jeongguk let the words wash in, his heart pulsing in a way he hadn't expected. The boy went silent for a while, and then Jimin glanced over at his work and snorted curtly.

"Dude.." the blond stifled a laugh, "Don't tell me that's what I think it is."

The younger blinked down at his painting and then up at Jimin. "What—What's wrong with it?"

"It's too..." Jimin eyed the lines of paint strokes and reached a conclusion. "Cute."

"What's wrong with cute?"

"He'd never use some shit like that, that's what."

A silent breath left Jeongguk's lungs as he examined his work yet again. He captured his bottom lip between his teeth, gnawed at it a little, the grip on his paintbrush tightening before he spoke quietly.

"I... I think I know what you meant before... By, um-... by holding on to impossible hope." When Jimin waited patiently for him to continue, Jeongguk did just that. "It's like... You know that it may never work out. Or that, maybe the person's bad for you, even. But... But even so, you don't exactly choose who you fall in love with..."

There was a far away look in his eyes. Jimin watched his best friend for a while, the expression on his forlorn face. The longing he radiated with his entire demeanor.

And then it dawned on him.

"Holy shit, Jeongguk."

The younger's head lifted. "What?"

"You're in love with him."

"W-What?"

Jimin's shoulders straightened, body leaned closer to the other boy while he studied him carefully with his eyes. "Taehyung. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Jeongguk's cheeks flushed, fingers suddenly becoming squirmy at the correct accusation. "H-How were you able to tell so fast?"

"I happen to be an expert in being in love with a man I shouldn't be, you know." Jimin chuckled beneath his breath, chin propping upon his palm. Jeongguk couldn't help the gentle laugh that came from his lips at the words.

"I guess you, too, are more observant than most people give you credit for," he huffed, forcing himself to refocus on the miniature work in front of him. "But hey, um.."

Jimin tilted his head. "Hm?"

"Maybe you should entertain the idea of someone else for a bit..." Jeongguk let out cautiously. "Now that I understand you better and all... I can't possibly begin to imagine how you held in such feelings for so long. I know deep inside you're really struggling, Jiminie.."

The blond boy looked away. He, too, refocused his attention to what kind of art he should make, as a mere distraction; to not think too hard of what his best friend was suggesting. But before he could have a chance at a reply, footsteps appeared into the room and the students scattered across the art tables here and there greeted the person with chirpy voices.

"Good morning, eonnie!"

"Hi Misun!"

And sure enough, none other than the art club president herself stepped in, followed by a rather out-of-place looking Min Yoongi.

"Morning, lovelies! Hope everyone's art projects are coming along well." The woman greeted everyone and settled her things at the back of the room before striding towards where Jimin and Jeongguk were seated.

The two looked up while Misun casually took a seat beside them.

"So!" she clasped her hands together with a grin. "How are my favorite bottoms doing?"

Jimin scoffed in a teasing tone, a sassy roll of his eyes while he crossed his legs with attitude.

"Says the bottom," he huffed out, earning a quiet snicker from Jeongguk.

"Hey!" Misun whined, "That's not fair."

"It, too, is fair," Jimin's tongue stuck out before he swiveled around to finally decide on a starting paint color—green, he chose. While he worked on squeezing paint from the tube, his gaze peered up at the man standing beside the doorframe. "So... Why is he even here?" he mumbled out, watching as Yoongi then proceeded to sit by himself at the front, eyeing their table in curt glances.

"Oh, he's just.." Misun lowered her voice, "Doing his job, making sure I'm protected even at school grounds. Gang wars aren't to be taken lightly, you know."

"Wow, you weren't kidding. Bangtan really does 'protection' services.." Jimin hummed. "Isn't that a bit old fashioned?"

"A little, yes," Misun giggled softly. "But that's what drew Namida to Bangtan. Our gangs have similar beliefs."

"Beliefs?" Jeongguk perked up, eyes still focused on his work as he listened.

"You know.. Despite all the shit we deal with. Violence, drugs, conflicts with other groups... it all stays in our world. Back in the day gangs were rebellious groups against the government based on what they believed was right for the people. And since the general public was the concern, groups would often help out the weak. Like, kids who were getting bullied. Folks who had situations with other delinquents who didn't know their place and needed someone to stand their ground for them. There are righteous gangs like that.."

Jimin nodded, brush dipping into paint. "Which is how the leader of Bangtan, RM, earned his reputation as a cruel yet righteous beast, no?"

Misun smiled. "That's right."

Jeongguk lifted his brush from the painting and looked up, eyeing the woman anxiously.

"Did you, um.." He spoke up, a hesitant tone to his voice. "Did you ever find out who the father to your baby is..?"

Misun sighed gently, weak smile fading as she leaned forward and settled her hands over the table. "Well, I'm.." she paused. "I'm supposed to meet Seokjin of Bangtan this weekend, and... he'll be able to tell me then. I want to find out properly and all."

Jeongguk nodded quietly, while Jimin raised his suspicions.

"So that means that they already know."

Misun shrugged. "Seokjin does. I'll be the first one he tells, but... I guess deep down I think I already know who it is."

"A guy from your gang?" The blond piped up. Jeongguk stopped his painting momentarily to look at the woman.

"Hm.. Not from Namida, no.." Misun finally answered, and the two boys eyed each other; cautiously. "I just... have that feeling."

※ ※

"Gguk. Do you know what DID is?"

Jeongguk looked up from where he sat on the floor, at the rooftop, the very one where he had come to realize his feelings for the man.

"D... I... D? DID?" The boy munched on his sandwich, a bento box propped over his crossed legs. The wind blew gently over the two, and Jeongguk's bangs scattered to one side.

"Yes." Taehyung's gaze was locked upon the sketch notebook on his lap. "It stands for, Dissociative Identity Disorder."

"Ah.." Jeongguk swallowed the food in his mouth. "I've heard about it, I think... It's that mental disorder scary murderers have in those horror films, isn't it?" He chuckled nervously. "They're always a little crazy and disturbing. That what you mean?"

Taehyung froze, the hand holding a pencil over the blank page coming to a full stop.

Scary. Disturbing. Crazy.

"Well, I.." Taehyung racked his brain for words to say, but in that moment it felt as though his body had completely shut down, heart plummeting straight down to his stomach.

"You know... they have that multiple personality thing, or something like that. It's always said they suffer from a lot of issues and stuff.." Jeongguk continued, slowly reaching to bite again into his sandwich. "I feel really bad for people like that..."

Taehyung's grip on the writing tool tightened, and when he blinked he came to realize what it was he had drawn. Mindless scribbles, messily taking up the whole page.

"I... have it.." he whispered under his breath.

Jeongguk looked at him curiously. "What?"

"That's what I have, I have DID..." Taehyung spoke up, staring at the now blank page, refusing to look up at the other boy after the sudden confession. "I wanted to-... to hide it from you because I thought maybe you'd want nothing to do with me, but I... I just keep hurting you. I-I mean V...! V keeps hurting you, he's—..."

"Tae, what... are you talking about...?"

"—He's my alter and I... I'm afraid if this goes on you'll only end up hating me more and more even though there's... there's a chance you'd hate me even more than that, and I just..."

Taehyung looked up, finally met the younger's eyes. And saw that Jeongguk was gazing back at him.

With eyes full of fear.

The man began to panic. "It's-... It's not like that, though, I'm... I'm not scary or disturbing or crazy, I promise, I just —..."

Jeongguk got up abruptly, dropped his sandwich to the floor, the bento box situated beside his knees falling over, its contents spilling over concrete. He raised a hand, pointed a finger at Taehyung.

"I can't be around you anymore," he said starkly.

"What? No, wait let me—"

Jeongguk shook his head. "I can't be around you anymore," he repeated.

The ground beneath them seemed to shift apart to Taehyung, spread the distance between them.

"I can't be around you anymore. I can't be around you anymore. I can't be around you anymore. I can't be—"

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

Taehyung's eyes shot open.

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

A tear slipped down his cheek.

He struggled to sit up, and once he did he reached toward his phone to shut off the obnoxiously booming alarm.

Then he sat there, stared out the window where the morning sunlight sank him back into reality, ragged breaths steadily coming to find stability.

Only a dream, he thought, feeling his body tremble a little. He reached to hug himself, bare feet sliding over the mattress before he stood up and went through the motions of washing up.

When he emerged from the bathroom he heard the faint noise of the television from the living room, and wandered down the hall until he reached its source.

"Morning," Namjoon looked up from the sofa, a book placed upon his lap while his feet laid casually over the coffee table.

Taehyung gave a light smile and raised his hands to show him a gesture.

"Ah no, no, don't go trying to waste time cooking when there's leftovers in the fridge," Namjoon chuckled sweetly. "Nice to see you, Dot."

The younger gently approached the gang leader and seated himself beside him over the couch, his hands then moving in more cueing motions.

"This? Oh, I'm just reading an old book I never got to finish."

More hand signals.

Namjoon gazed at him for a moment before clearing his throat. "It's about..." He glanced between the book and Taehyung before shifting the book closer so that the younger could see. "Well, you try to guess."

Taehyung's eyes settled over the words on the page, nose scrunching in focus as he skimmed one of the paragraphs. He then began to move his fingers, communicating his thoughts to the older. Namjoon watched in delight, focusing on every gesture. Then his hand dug into the male's hair to untidy the already messy locks.

"That's right," he nodded, a proud smile at the corner of his lips. "You're so smart, Dotie."

Taehyung smiled innocently, leaning back a little to gaze at the older.

"Yes, it's about a detective and his lover. There's quite a few levels of complications the two run into — in both the detective's series of cases and their own relationship. The book builds up great suspense in four mystery cases that all end up linking together, until it reaches the climax, when it's revealed to our detective that his own lover had been the mastermind behind all four consecutive crimes! And he did it all without ever leaving his lover's side. Can you believe that?"

The younger male listened attentively, knees touching Namjoon's thigh. He spoke again, with his hands.

"Exactly. It's about love, betrayal... what it means to care for someone you shouldn't. What could've been, what almost was."

Taehyung gazed at Namjoon with sudden deadpanned eyes, head lowering slowly to look down at his lap. The older watched as Taehyung's head hung low for a few seconds, and then his shoulders slumped a little, hand reaching to hold his forehead.

"Taehyung?" Namjoon called out softly.

The younger was silent for a second before nodding. "Yes."

"Were you listening in?"

"No... Sorry."

"That's alright," Namjoon assured him, watching as the younger raised his head, avoiding his gaze. He continued, "If you weren't, then.. that means Dotie completely shut you out. And there's only one possible scenario where he would choose to do that."

"Yeah?" Taehyung's voice was stoic.

Namjoon fell silent for a moment before speaking out his speculations. "You were also just asleep. So, he was fronting when you woke up."

"So?"

"You had a bad dream."

"What about it?" Taehyung mumbled, blankly watching the television.

"It stressed you out so badly that Dotie chose to protect you."

Taehyung kept quiet, gaze lowering towards the carpet, teeth pressing harshly down his lip."Don't worry about it."

Namjoon released a long sigh and closed the book in front of him to give the male his undivided attention.

"Talk to me. What's wrong?"

Taehyung's eyes wavered, glanced over at random corners of the room before he peered over at the older man. The two stared at each other in a long silence before Taehyung exhaled quietly.

"I wanted to keep Jeon Jeongguk away from our world..." he began in an unstable voice. "And away from me altogether, I... really thought I could let myself open up to someone new, but.."

"You're scared, after all," Namjoon finished for him.

Taehyung nodded. "And I know you didn't raise me to be a coward..."

The older chuckled, raised the closed book and smacked it lightly upon Taehyung's thigh. "When it comes to the gang I sure hope you're no coward, Tae," he gave a small grin. "But if it comes to people you want to protect... It's natural to feel scared. It's only part of being human."

"You say that as though you ever get scared about anything." The male mumbled.

"I do," Namjoon's smile faded. "I'm scared. All the time. Scared I'll lose any of our Bangtan guys. Scared of Seokjin getting hurt. Scared for Yerin's safety... Scared to lose you."

Taehyung remained quiet, listening to the serious tone in the older's voice.

"V dragged an innocent boy into our shit, but it's not exactly too late to lower the damage. If we're lucky enough people will deem Jeongguk as some untrained newbie they should take no interest in. Then they'll forget all about him."

The younger man leaned back against the couch, pondering on Namjoon's words for a while.

"Yeah. If only it were really that easy."

※ ※

Jeongguk sat over the park bench, swinging his legs a bit as he finished scribbling words onto his notebook. Then, he heard footsteps reapproach him, and his favorite lumber scent appeared beside him.

"Here you go."

The deep voice seeped out while large hands held out a cup of hot chocolate for the younger to take. Jeongguk stared at the veins on Taehyung's arm before giving a timid smile. He took the warm drink into his hold and gulped down a sip.

"T-Thanks.."

When the older took a seat beside him, a short silence fell. Jeongguk slowly raised his cup and took another taste of the beverage, letting its warmth relax his chilled body. He glanced over at his peripherals, where he could see Taehyung's fingers sliding up and down his cup in fidgety movements.

"Um.. so, as I was saying before, I think-.." Jeongguk cleared his throat, placed his drink to the side and picked up his pen. "Maybe since.. since you're in photography club you can curate the best images we have and then we can decide on a layout together.." His voice was quiet, eyes settled over his notebook where he gently flipped through a couple of the brittle pages containing a variety of notes, for their extensive research on their English project.

Taehyung watched in silence.

"I already, um... I wrote the main speech I'll be presenting. All we need is the... the corresponding poems," Jeongguk continued, raising his head to look at the older, his finger settling over words on the page.

"You're in luck, then." Taehyung gave a curt nod, a brief smile appearing on his lips. "I happen to be an extraordinary poet."

Jeongguk stifled a giggle, his shoulder subconsciously moving to bump into Taehyung's, as though to tease the man a little.

"That so...? Then that means I'll have my hopes all the way up." The younger bit his lip, failed terribly to hold back his wide smile. "And I'll be counting on you to leave the whole class absolutely speechless."

Taehyung's gaze traveled down the boy's eyes and to the little bunny teeth biting over his lip. His gentle grin slowly faded.

"Jeong-..." The older began, then abruptly stopped himself, head swiftly turning to look ahead of them, at the distance. He could see birds traveling above the horizon, past a hurdle of snow white clouds. "Jeongguk," he finally let out.

The boy hummed, eyes curiously attentive towards the male beside him.

"I'm... sorry," he uttered under his breath.

Jeongguk's long lashes fluttered. "Hm? What for?"

Taehyung lowered his head again, gaze on his lap. "I didn't..." His fingers traced the lid of his cup, "...didn't mean to do the-... Um, what I did, or rather the... favor I asked of you. Back at the mall."

The boy watched the man's nervous demeanor, not quite used to seeing Taehyung look so unsure of himself. There were times Jeongguk would get confused over the older's actions. Like, why he would choose to do certain things if he was only going to persistently apologize for them after. Perhaps he had a bad habit of making rash decisions. Of thinking in the now instead of the later.

It left his heart absolutely baffled.

And yet still, he couldn't deny. That the moments when Taehyung showed remorse, actively sought out forgiveness; it was cute.

A shy Kim Taehyung made his chest palpitate.

"It's okay."

The man looked up, snapped his head to gaze at Jeongguk, who wore a tender smile on his face. He blinked incredulously, not having expected the boy to not offer up any argument before even considering forgiveness.

"That's-... That's it? It's... okay?"

Jeongguk nodded, legs kicking out again over the bench. "Yeah."

The older's wide eyes narrowed. "You're not mad, or... Or have any yelling you want to get out of your system?"

Jeongguk gave a short laugh before shaking his head. "No. I forgive you."

Taehyung gave a baffled sigh, hand coming to rub at his temple while he let his body face the other for better view.

"But you... do understand that you gave those girls your full name, right? Your real name."

"And what of it? I practically begged you to include me in those gang related things you do," the boy shrugged. "You know... So I can learn more and protect you better. This kind of works out."

"No, it doesn't," Taehyung spoke firmly. "It'll only put you in danger." He sighed underneath his breath and leaned back against the bench. "So if you run into any problems... Some weird guys trying to bug you, or... People asking you about me. Ignore them. Or call me and I'll take care of them for you. Alright?"

Jeongguk's cheeks tinted red. "Okay.." he whispered.

Taehyung reached to pat his head briefly. "Good boy."

The younger's small smile widened, head lowered shyly at the action. His swinging feet soon came to a halt while he suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right! I have a gift for you..." he began in a mumble, the flush on his cheeks only getting more evident.

Taehyung rose a brow. "A gift..?"

Jeongguk giggled to himself while reaching inside his bag and carefully pulling out a small slender box with a bow on it. Taehyung eyed the navy blue casing as it was handed to him.

"Go on. Open it!" The boy gave a toothy grin, one that Taehyung admired for a moment, and then did as he was told; his long fingers prying underneath the box lid to remove it. And once it came off, the older's gaze settled on dried brush strokes over a lighter.

More specifically, a white bunny with dark shades over the eyes was painted cutely onto a shiny metal casing. Taehyung cracked a grin while pulling the lighter from its box and holding it up to see the details.

"You were going on and on about having lost your lighter and all, so..." Jeongguk spoke up in a small voice. "I thought I'd give you one... of course, with a little bit of custom work by the most talented member of the art club." He gave a small giggle. "Jimin actually insisted it looked too 'cute' and that you'd never use something like this, but... I want you to have it regardless. At least you wouldn't have to go around asking strangers to light your cigarette for you."

The older gave a handsome laugh, one that set butterflies off to soar across the young one's stomach.

"He's right," Taehyung brushed his thumb over the surface; then clicked open the lid, closed it, and repeated the process, listening to the flinging sound it made. "It is too cute. You'd never catch me buying shit like this for myself."

Jeongguk bit his lip, a curt laugh leaving his throat.

"But..." The older continued, "It's too adorable not to use." He turned the lighter over in his hand, on all sides, to admire the features. "And you spent time painting it for me and making it look pretty..." Taehyung stared at the drawn bunny with a fond grin. "I actually really love it."

The boy stared at the man's face with parted lips, the tips of his ears on fire while he tried his hardest not to squeal out the emotions he felt in that moment.

"Thank you, bun. I'll use it every day." Taehyung reached into his pockets with a chuckle, pulled a cigarette from a box and held it between his teeth. But before he could try out his new gift, he felt a hand cover his.

Jeongguk's glistening eyes timidly shone back at him with adorable determination. "I'll d-do it for you."

Taehyung blinked back at him and gave a short nod, opening his palm to let the boy grab the lighter and begin to examine it for a second. Then Jeongguk scooted closer, raised the metal casing towards the older, flipped the lid open and flicked the fire on, hovering the flame over the tip of Taehyung's cigarette.

They looked at each other. The tip of the male's blunt became dark as it burned, making a gentle sizzling sound, igniting its fumes.

And behind the smoke were Taehyung's eyes. Piercing as they were, gazed back at him with vividness. Those dark pupils that held a complex stream of life and demolition in them, all in one gaze. In that moment, Jeongguk was put under their spell.

"Mmn.." Taehyung gave a roaring hum, hand coming to pull the cigarette from his lips. He let a cluster of smoke escape from his mouth, watched it dissipate into the wind. Jeongguk swallowed while lowering the lighter; shut the lid closed and held the metal casing out for Taehyung to retrieve.

Once the male did just that, his hand naturally found its way to Jeongguk's chin.

The boy gazed back at him, a meek smile at the corner of his lips, eyes nearly twinkling his submission for the man. The instant Taehyung's touch comes into contact with his skin, Jeongguk always felt like melted putty.

"So w-what do you think about your gift, hyung...?" He gasped out an exhale while the other's thumb ran a line over his bottom lip.

Taehyung studied him with his dissecting gaze, taking in every flutter of his lashes, every pretty mole, the pink lips that called out to him.

"Pretty," was the man's response. Though Jeongguk couldn't tell if he was still talking about the gift he'd given him, or if his words reflected thoughts on what Taehyung's own fierce eyes were locked onto.

But before he could ponder it any further Jeongguk caught a whiff of nicotine, and then something soft pressed over his pair of lips. That being, of course, Taehyung's own luscious pair.

The boy gave out a content sigh, felt Taehyung's touch move from his chin and to his cheeks. The man's other hand held the smoldering cigarette between his middle and index finger, eyes shut in serenity while he tasted the sweet lips of the pretty one beside him.

Neither of them could quite remember when it was that their tongues got involved. But they both could feel it—the addictive rush pumping in their veins when their salivas would scatter, their lips smacked, their breaths wavered. There was a moment in which they lingered in close proximity, their noses pressed beside each other while they took a second to process the synchronized pumping in their own chests. And then their lips reconnected, and they engaged each other in a slow kiss that quickly turned vigorous.

When Jeongguk finally pulled back to allow oxygen back into his lungs, shaky breaths trembling from his throat, he retreated his face slowly from the other male.

"Hyung..." he exhaled, eyes slowly fluttering open.

Taehyung gazed back at the boy with a half-lidded gaze, tongue darting out to wipe the saliva at the corner of his mouth. "Mm?"

Jeongguk let himself catch his breath for a moment, let himself feel the heated blood rushing his entire body. In that very second, his heart felt too big for his chest. Felt as though his emotions could overflow, spill across the greenery around them.

That's right. His feelings were too loud to be silenced. Too strong to be diminished. He didn't have it in him to suppress them once he could feel them longing to be shouted out into the world.

Though, he knew he couldn't say it. Not just yet.

So he tried. He really did try to keep it all in. But his heart and his head weren't collaborating just then, and the words were slipping past his lips before he could even stop them.

"I... think I'm in love with you."

✱