Taehyung sat on the barstool, slumped over the counter, eyeing the amber liquid swirling in his glass. He had come here to mope in peace, but the clinking of ice cubes and the jangle of voices around him stood in the way of that.

He brought his drink to his lips, savoring the flavor and anticipating the desired fuzz of intoxication that just wouldn't come.

His eyelids fluttered close for a second as he took a deep breath in, inhaling the stagnant air of the crowded bar. Ironically, it had been the same bar he, Maddie and Cleo would spend every Friday night chugging on their beers and playing Darts.

Unsurprisingly, it was also the only bar in town, turning it into an everlasting reminder of Maddie whom he desperately wanted to stop thinking about.

"Brooding is not a good look on you."

Too engaged in his pity party, Taehyung had failed to notice the busty bartender Celeste approaching him stealthily.

He laid back in his seat with a small hmpf, becoming even more upset by the embarrassment that flooded in the moment someone addressed his very evident sulking.

"You know, when you work as a bartender for that long, you learn to read people very well." Celeste announced, wiping the bar counter nonchalantly and focusing on a single scratch on the polished surface.

"Well then," he sneered, pointing down at his glass with his chin. "Why haven't you noticed until now that I need six more of these?"

Tossing the dishcloth to the side, she glanced up and shot him a pointed look.

"I'm sorry," he groaned. "I'm fine."

"Your constant sulking ever since you've arrived says otherwise."

"Whatever."

"You can talk to me about it." Celeste shrugged, pouring him another drink.

Taehyung rubbed the tip of his finger over his glass, letting his lips curl into a pout.

"Okay..." he sighed. "I think... our friend Maddie... might be, um... falling in love with Jeon Jungkook."

"Yeah," Celeste's eyes widened at his pretty evident statement. "Didn't have to be psychic to see that one coming." She stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Right, right, right," he spluttered. "Well, the problem with that is..." lolling his head to the side, he redirected his attention to the tinkling of the ice cubes in his whiskey. Why was it so goddamn hard to say it out loud? "I'm in love with Maddie."

"Well, duh!" Celeste exclaimed. "I already knew that."

"You did?!" he gasped softly.

"Um, everybody in the world knew that," Celeste clicked her tongue, wiping the inside of a glass. "You know, except for Maddie herself."

With a grunt, Taehyung let his head fall heavily on the bar counter, putting his hands on top of it. Great, now he wasn't just an idiotic love fool, he was an idiotic love fool in public.

"So how much do you love her?"

Celeste's low, smooth voice came again, her scrutinizing gaze waiting for his honest answer.

Which he had difficulties coming up with. How can one even measure love?

"Is it love, is it big love, or is it great love?" Celeste clarified.

"What's the difference?" Taehyung shifted on the stool uncomfortably.

"Well, love you get over in two months," Celeste explained. "Big love – two years. And great love..." she released a deep sigh, her bosoms raising up and down with her breathing.

"Yeah?" Taehyung breathed.

"Great love changes your life." She stated. "So, which one is it?"

Taehyung shifted his gaze to the floor, giving a brief humorless laugh.

"Oh my God!" Celeste gasped, pressing her palms on her mouth in shock. She didn't need his words to know his answer. "It's great love." She announced, her face screwing with genuine sympathy as she reached for the bottle and poured him another drink. "Here, you're gonna need that."

"Isn't that great?" Taehyung gave a bitter smile, his eyes glistening with a glossy layer as he raised his glass before chugging it down.

"Well, you gotta win her back!" Celeste commanded and flopped her hands on her waist, seeming as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, believe me," Taehyung rolled his eyes, giving a small hiccup. "I've tried everything."

"Yeah?" she leaned in. "Well, what did she say when you told her you loved her?"

"Uhh..." Taehyung faltered, drawing circles on the counter with his forefinger. "Well, um, actually maybe not everything, but..."

"What did she say when you kissed her?"

"Well, um-" he scrunched his nose, glancing up at the ceiling. "Okay, maybe it's more like two things that I haven't tried."

"Well," Celeste seemed confused. "What have you tried?"

"I have... very unsubtly... implied... how I feel about her." Taehyung cleared his throat nervously.

"Okay!" Celeste slapped her hands over the counter, having had enough of this. "Get up. Right now. Get your ass off the bar stool."

"Celeste..."

"If you feel it, and you don't do anything in your power to reach for it, you are practically allowing life to slap you in your face by taking it away from you."

"Hey!" Taehyung said softly. "I hate to break it you, but I don't stand a chance here, okay?" he became glum.

Her face a picture of real determination, Celeste lower her face so that she could be level with him.

"As my father told me when I said I'd never get that job in a bar: honey, your odds go up when you file your application."

Taehyung's chin trembled. "Sure, but that's different. I mean, I'm up against... Jeon Jungkook!" he threw his hands in the air.

Celeste snorted a laugh. "Taehyung, you are Jeon Jungkook."

He stared at her as if she was insane, not sure where she was going with this.

"What?"

"Don't you see? Everybody's Jeon Jungkook to somebody, Taehyung. Maddie's Jeon Jungkook to you. And... you're Jeon Jungkook to me." a subtle blush coated Celeste's cheeks, a bashful look Taehyung had never seen on her.

"Wow..." he was overwhelmed, not knowing what to address first. "Thank you, Celeste."

"Now start acting like it!" she yelled at him, giving him a legit jump scare as she slapped the dishcloth on the bar counter.

"Okay!" he all but saluted. "Yeah, yeah... okay!" becoming more pumped by her speech by the second, he hopped off the bar stool and scrambled to reach his jacket and put it on. "Thank you, Celeste! You... are a really good bartender! And a friend! Thank you!" he yelled as he scurried for the exit.

"Go get 'er!" Celeste cheered, watching his retreating form as he left the bar, a tinge of sadness swimming in her orbs.

***

Taehyung's feet were two heavy bags of concrete as he climbed the stairs to Maddie's room. Mr. Jones had been kind enough to let him in, even though he had warned him that she was probably busy. Taehyung had thrown in a breathy 'thanks', all but swooshing past the older man and running up the stairs.

Now, he was standing in front of the door of Maddie's room, mind completely blank. Before he could bring himself up to knock, the door swung open, revealing a very elated and breathless Maddie in her pink shorts and white tank top.

"T-Tae!" she stuttered for a second before regaining her focus. "I didn't expect you coming here. What's up?" despite the unexpected visit, it wasn't uncommon for Taehyung to swing by Maddie's place just to hang and vice versa, so she was by no chance put off by this.

Thankfully.

"Come in, come in!" Maddie chirped, waving her hand in a very brisk manner that told of how euphoric she felt.

Slowly, he ventured in, letting his eyes roam her room. There were clothes literally everywhere and the wardrobe doors were gaping wide open. The sight evoked an unpleasant sensation in him and he dropped his gaze to the floor, pushing the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

"There's something I need to talk to you about." He stated, his voice coming out way more dark and threatening than he intended to.

"Really?" Maddie gasped, grabbing him by the hands and throwing him completely off guard. "That's great! Me too!"

"Yeah?" he aspirated hesitantly. "You go first."

"No, you."

"No, you go."

"No, Tae, you go first!"

"Maddie, please, you go first."

"Okay," she released a deep breath, her almond-shaped eyes twinkling like stars in a cloudless night sky. "Jungkook got a part in this huge movie and he asked me to go to California with him for the shoot! We leave tomorrow afternoon. Isn't that great?"

Mouth slightly agape, Taehyung stared at her blankly and raised his eyebrows. The strings around his heart constricted.

"I... probably should have gone first."

Maddie's smile faltered as she regarded him curiously.

"Why? What were you about to say?"

Pursing his lips into a thin line, Taehyung turned his face away and pressed his fist against his mouth. Seconds felt like centuries now as Maddie's patience was slowly running out as he deliberately increased the silence.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, turning to the door. "It was nothing."

She was genuinely confused as he strode to the door as if he couldn't get out of her room fast enough.

"Taehyung, wait!" Maddie ran after him, her fingers coiling around his wrist. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Just, you know," he sniffed loudly, tilting his head upwards so that he was facing the ceiling and making her wonder if the glistening of his eyes was out of happiness for her. "Travel safely. Okay? And just, really enjoy the shoot."

Perplexed, all Maddie could do was just nod slowly at the odd tone of his voice. Nonetheless, she never released her grip on his arm.

"Um... thank you, I guess."

"Actually, you know what?" Taehyung turned around abruptly and she was almost taken aback at the determination he carried himself with now. "I remember what I was going to say."

With those words, he took a step forward and smashed his lips against hers. His arm found its way around her waist, pulling her in and keeping her close. Maddie released a whimper of surprise as his lips meshed with hers, applying just the right pressure and gentleness so that this moment could be perfect. Her heartrate spiked and she felt as if someone had just injected her with liquid adrenaline. The moment was so magical it was almost surreal. Taehyung's lips were soft yet demanding, caressing hers lovingly.

She couldn't say how much time had passed like this, but it was him who was the first to pull away. Was she enjoying this? His eyes were glazed with a layer of passion and desire as his warm breath sent goosebumps across her skin.

"Wait." Maddie exhaled, her mind a fuzzy blur.

"I love you, Maddie," he declared. "I always have. If I've been a jerk these past weeks, it's because I've been fighting. I've been fighting for you. I don't want to lose you to that pretentious douche Jeon Jungkook or to anyone else. He does not deserve you. Do you hear me, Maddie? You're one of a kind. Just... please, don't go with him to Seoul. I'm begging you, Maddie. I won't be able to live without you."

Lips parted in astonishment, Maddie cast her gaze to the floor. She could feel the panic levels rise as her mind struggled to make sense of it all. Taehyung peered at her, his heart in his throat. For the first time ever, he was being completely honest with her and with himself. This declaration had been long overdue, so long another man had almost managed to take her away from him.

"So... any reaction to any of this?" Taehyung asked eventually upon seeing Maddie's shell-shocked expression. "Because now would be an excellent time."

She let out a shaky breath, her eyes snapping up at him.

"Now? You kiss me now?" her voice trembled with the words left unspoken and all the time that had passed without her knowing about this. "You say this to me now, after twenty years of being my friend?"

"Yes, to all questions." Taehyung grumbled.

"I'm..." Maddie swallowed thickly, her gaze frantically wandering the wall behind him. "I have to pack."

Taehyung was disbelieving, staring at her incredulously.

"...wait, what?"

Gliding past him smoothly, Maddie scurried over to one of the wardrobes and started taking clothes out.

Taehyung trailed her frantic form with shocked eyes.

"You're telling me you can't answer the most important question I have ever asked in my entire life because you have to pack?" he asked, genuinely dumbfounded.

"Well!" she squeaked, spinning on her heel to face him. "Not only do I have to pack, I also have a load of white in the dryer and my dad just called my relatives from Gangnam so they're expecting me to videochat with them any minute now." She rambled. "So, um, you know, it's all in the works."

"But this is..." frustration pooled in Taehyung's gut as well as hopelessness at the way she so nonchalantly acted. "Maddie. What's in your heart?"

For a second, it seemed like Maddie's eyes welled up with tears. But the second was gone and her eyelids fluttered, she rubbed her eyes and looked away.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Taehyung's face crumbled and the most excruciating pain pierced through his heart. His eyebrows dipped slightly and his chin buckled up, his teeth dug in his lower lip.

"I'm sorry too." He uttered, hurrying away before she could assimilate the cracking of his voice.

Going down the stairs went by in a blur for Taehyung. He had to get away from this house as soon as possible or else he feared he was going to lose it. Just as he was about to set his despair free and sob like a baby in his car, he heard Maddie's dad clear his throat on the porch.

"Tae, son." The older men looked genuinely concerned.

"Hey, Mr. Jones, I'll be on my way-"

"Listen," Mr. Jones cut him off softly. "I think we've all been a little seduced by Jeon Jungkook's presence around here."

Taehyung sniffled loudly, fearful that if he spent another second there on that porch he would break down.

"But that doesn't mean I don't know at the end of the day who cares about my daughter the most and who she would be if the world were fair."

"Yeah," Taehyung scoffed, as always finding solace in his sarcasm. "Fair. Well, it's not."

"It's not," Mr. Jones nodded slowly. "When I was your age, I was completely in love with this girl from my class. Anyway, there was this French guy. He was really rich. Owned, like... France." He shrugged. "I didn't stand a chance. It happens that way sometimes. It shouldn't, but it does. Sometimes the first lead kicks the living shit out of the miserable second lead and snatches the girl away. It's just that nobody bothers to tell the story of the poor sucker."

Taehyung regarded him with a deadpan expression.

"Well, thanks, Mr. Jones. That was... insightful. I feel much better now." He said sardonically.

"Always happy to help." Mr. Jones grinned.

Without another word, Taehyung slid past him and walked hastily to his car, not knowing that Maddie was watching him from her bedroom's window, silent tears streaming down her cheeks unchecked.

What kind of story was theirs going to be?