Taehyung wasn't exactly the type of person to map out in his head how his day may go.

He wasn't one to get excited over whether or not it would be bright and sunny outside, or try to calculate when it was his bus would arrive. Planning for the future had never worked out for him at all.

But even so, out of all the things that could have happened to him on this particular day, he didn't think that Jeon Jeongguk confronting him out of his own free will would be one of them.

And yet.

"We need to talk."

Surely, hearing those words leave the younger's lips all of a sudden wasn't something Taehyung was quite expecting to be on his schedule for the day. But despite his suspicions, the man calmly gathered his art supplies back into his bag and stood, eyes settling on Jeongguk's stable gaze.

It was odd. Usually Taehyung could sense a sort of timid submission when it came to Jeongguk. He was malleable, could be easily coerced out of his comfort zone for another's desire. Obedient. Like whatever Taehyung would say, Jeongguk would most likely comply. Truthfully, the older was used to having such an effect on others regardless. But there was something endearing about even the thought of interacting with the cute boy.

But now, it felt different somehow.

Walking beside Jeongguk as he guided him outside school grounds, Taehyung could feel a sense of resolve within the younger. A power in his every step. Right now, Jeongguk was a man on a mission. Naturally, Taehyung would find that adorable. Yet, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't cautious of the boy right now. Especially after the way he had treated him the last time they had seen each other, despite Jeongguk not deserving such words from him.

"I thought you'd be upset with me."

Taehyung was the first to speak, after a while of strolling down the streets of Seoul. The boy was the one who had asked to speak with him and yet Taehyung could tell that Jeongguk was having a hard time starting the conversation.

"I am upset with you."

The sounds of their feet over the pavement, a rush of vehicles zooming down the roads, the crunching of people stepping over fallen leaves. The world around them was busy, but the two men were focused on only each other's words.

"You're cute when you're upset."

Taehyung's attempt at lightening the tension between them, even if only a little, had resulted in the other boy scoffing under his breath.

"Don't talk to me."

"You're the one who approached me first, darling."

Jeongguk said no reply.

"How can you expect me not to talk if that's precisely what you just asked of me to do?"

Still no response.

"Where are you taking me anyway?"

Jeongguk suddenly spoke up. "Do you always pry and nag so often with such meaningless questions, Kim?"

Taehyung's eyes broadened at the boy's words, an evident grin gently curling to the corner of his lips before he gave a boisterous laugh. As Jeongguk scurried down the street in front of him, he found himself inevitably smiling at the sound because, well, he couldn't help it. Taehyung's laughs felt like gold chiming bells ringing straight from heaven.

"Really?" Taehyung's laughs continued. "You're quoting me now? Didn't I say that shit to you the night we met?"

The boy's stomach fluttered.

"Oh, so you remember?" Jeongguk held back a chuckle. Just hearing Taehyung sound so lively made him forget why he was even mad at him in the first place. Perhaps he had grown a little too fond of the man.

"Of course I do," came Taehyung's response.

"And yet the very next day was when I found out you go to my school, where you told me you didn't know who I was." Another scoff. "You completely forgot me."

Taehyung hesitated. "I didn't."

"But you did. And then apologized for it, but... Just how many drinks did you go out to have after our time together? You must've been drunk off your ass."

The older didn't add on to that remark because, well, the less Jeongguk knew the better. At least that's how he viewed it. So as such, the remainder of their little walk together went on without either of them uttering a single word. Taehyung followed behind the younger, glancing around them every so often, until they arrived at a narrow pathway leading to a glamorous white building, a fancy glass dome visible from behind it.

People would trickle inside the building every now and then, ones that very much looked like tourists, and Taehyung followed as Jeongguk walked in behind them.

"What is this place?" The older mumbled out as he stepped into the polished marble flooring while Jeongguk dug into his bag.

The boy pulled out what seemed like two tickets, then looked up at Taehyung with a faint smile. "It's a newly opened indoor botanical garden," he said. "Apparently its highlight is the glass dome that houses all kinds of butterflies they let roam around for people to watch."

Taehyung blinked back at him, staring into the younger's bright eyes.

"And why exactly are we here?"

Another scoff. "Have you forgotten our project already? That's upsetting. I have to get an A on this assignment, you know.."

Taehyung nearly laughed at his face. "Our English project? That's what you wanted to 'talk' to me about?"

"No." Jeongguk's lips pouted out. "But it's best to kill two birds with one stone, you know?"

With that the younger was marching in to show his tickets for entry. Taehyung inhaled slowly and let it out in a deep sigh, fingers scratching the side of his neck before he went along with wherever it was the boy was going to first.

The first area they had stepped towards had all kinds of bred flowers planted strategically in groups. Taehyung looked out at all the different kinds of shapes, the variety of colors, and the levels of heights the plants consisted of.

"Wow... pretty..." he heard Jeongguk whisper out at some point, his large eyes glistening at the scenery.

And Taehyung stared.

Not at any particular flower or vine rising from fancy pillars. But at the boy admiring them with an awed expression, parted lips, rosy cheeks, fluttering lashes. When he'd move to get a closer look at a flower, there was a spring to his step. When he'd then pull out his phone for a picture, his brows would curve in focus. He'd move the device in various angles to get the perfect shot, place his body in adorable poses just to make sure the position was right. And when he'd finally get a shot that he liked, he'd comment on its beauty.

Taehyung thought Jeongguk was the beauty.

Even with his interests in art, and nature, and architecture—things that surrounded him now in great abundance, he still wasn't able to focus on any of it.

Because, oh, how he'd been longing to talk to this boy again. To tell him that he was sorry. To assure him he never meant the things he had said.

But he knew that he couldn't. So instead he admired from afar as Jeongguk bounced from flower bed to flower bed, making sure he had a good look at everything around him.

"Hyung, look!" The boy called out at one point, and Taehyung felt his arm being grabbed onto before he was pulled to a room on the side. "They have hyacinths!"

He lowered his head, vision settling over the groups of hyacinth flowers upon the ground.

"Look how pretty..." Jeongguk whispered. "They're like clumps of flowers hugging together to make one giant flower."

Taehyung opened his mouth to say something, his gaze roaming over the various colors of the hyacinth flowers. Not a word came out,  and suddenly Jeongguk's voice began to appear faintly in his head. Like a vague memory, of something he had experienced and yet wasn't quite present for.

"Hyacinth..." he mumbled. "Why does that sound so familiar..."

Jeongguk turned slowly to look up at him. "You mean you forgot my story already?"

"Your story?"

Jeongguk blinked. "About Hyacinth? From Greek mythology?" He whined out. "That's going to be a big part of our project, Tae, c'mon! Pay attention when we discuss those things."

He lowered his head and found himself staring at the flowers once again, brows twitching up in confusion. "Sorry."

After that, the two men checked out the remaining area before heading towards the highlight: the glass dome opening.

The space was brightly lit thanks to the sunny day, and right upon entrance Jeongguk had wandered off to take pictures of the roaming butterflies occupying the area. Taehyung walked in slowly with crossed arms, watching the beautiful insects fly freely around the area. It all seemed very rhythmic, the butterflies moving in graceful patterns, putting him in some sort of a trance.

He found himself wandering, too. Watched the different butterflies and paid close attention to the colors adorning their wings. At some point, he found one walking on a thin branch, eyes narrowing as he peered carefully to the wing pattern.

"Creepy, right?" Jeongguk's voice suddenly sprung up behind him, and Taehyung flinched before groaning loudly.

"What the fuck, don't sneak up on me like that," he scowled, causing the younger to giggle softly.

"That's a Buckeye butterfly. The wings look like eyes that are watching, to scare off any predators," Jeongguk explained, his finger carefully pointing up at the wings. "If they flutter it quickly I'm sure anything coming near it is gonna run off like they saw a ghost or something."

"That's the shit of nightmares right there," Taehyung flared his nose in disgust, watching as the butterfly continued up and jumped off to a leaf.

"It's actually quite interesting, I think," Jeongguk raised his phone to snap a picture, and Taehyung turned to look at him, face falling blank.

"Jeongguk," he said after a moment of the boy monitoring his photos. "Seriously, you... could've came here alone. After everything I said to you, why aren't you keeping your distance from me?"

The boy looked up from his phone innocently, lips pressing to a thin line. "We're going to talk about this now?"

Taehyung nodded, gaze firm. "Yes. Right now."

Jeongguk sighed softly and continued down a rocky path, raising his phone back up to take photos of a small pond in the distance. "Why am I not keeping distance from you...? Are you admitting that's what you had in mind all along?"

Taehyung took one step forward and stopped. "What?"

The boy kept his eyes on the screen, aligning his shot perfectly before continuing down the path. "You're a great actor, Taehyung. But it's not enough to fool me entirely. I admit, though, you were close to it. I really did almost fall for it."

"To... fool you?"

"That's what you were doing, right? Fooling me?" Jeongguk was looking directly at him now, challenging the older's piercing gaze. "I was a step ahead of you this time, hyung. Usually I'm not one to do these things but you... You're so difficult to figure out, so I barely had any choice."

Taehyung's head tilted slowly to the right as the boy continued talking.

"What were you thinking? As if I'd believe you over my own best friend. Jimin and I didn't have an argument over you—that was just something he told Yoongi because he knew that Yoongi would tell you. Honestly, we just wanted to see how you'd react to it."

The older kept quiet.

"And how did you react? By saying some hurtful shit to me thinking I'd stay away from you for it. I mean, really, you expected me to believe you when you said I wasn't a good fuck to you? That I couldn't pleasure you enough? Hyung, I know I had you curling your toes every single time you came down my mouth. I know my ass was so good it left you craving more and more. Hell, we even went about five rounds that one night. You were obsessed. You were cumming rivers every time we fucked, and then you show up telling me you were tired of pretending? Honey, there's no way to fake how good I made you feel."

Taehyung's eyes were wide, teeth digging deep into his bottom lip while Jeongguk stepped closer to him, their heads only centimeters apart.

"You told me I'm your only whore."

A hand upon his chin. Jeongguk's firm, galaxy eyes met Taehyung's carnivorous black holes.

"Drop the act already. I'm not going anywhere just because you're pushing me away."

Their gentle breaths caressed each other's cheeks. Their starved lips were eager. Jeongguk's touch felt like fire on the man's skin. It had been a while since Taehyung had felt speechless like this.

He wasn't exactly the type of person to map out in his head how his day may go. Not one to get excited over whether or not it would be sunny outside, nor would he try to calculate when his bus would arrive.

Planning for the future had never worked out for him at all.

Even so, out of all the things that could have happened to him on this particular day, he didn't think that Jeon Jeongguk would be standing there, embracing him with a confident, burning gaze.

And yet.

✱