Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Finishing spring exam season had gone from being a steep mountain, the kind that seemed to have no end, to becoming the easiest thing he had dealt with all month.

And that was a little concerning.

Taehyung had never been someone who stood out academically. He had never gotten bad grades, but he had never exactly been exceptional either. Not like Seokjin, at least.

Everyone knew his brother was a whole different story. Taehyung remembered watching him come home with his end-of-semester report cards and hand them to their parents as if it were the most basic thing in the world, the most ordinary and easiest thing ever. As if getting good grades didn't require hours of studying or entire nights spent buried in books, as if it were simply something that happened. The admiration he felt for his brother was probably the strongest feeling he had known throughout his childhood.

Because at some point, while Taehyung was in high school, Seokjin wasn't just keeping up with his own grades.

Seokjin was also helping him with math.

and biology.

and chemistry...

And whatever other subject Taehyung decided he hated enough to need help with.

Taehyung also hated that everyone seemed determined to compare him to his brother.

"Your brother had the best grades in my class."

"Seokjinnie could solve these problems in a second. What's wrong with you, Taehyung?"

He hated going to the same school his brother had attended. He hated when his teachers tried to motivate him by using Seokjin as an example.

He hated when his father tried to hide the disappointment in his eyes every time he saw the grades Taehyung brought home.

And most of all... he hated that feeling of letting someone down every time he failed to live up to the expectations that seemed to come automatically with the Kim surname.

Simply put, Taehyung hated studying. He had never had a good relationship with school or academics.

Well...

Except history.

But his father, the prestigious Professor Kim, PhD in biochemistry, didn't seem particularly happy about that exception.

Taehyung knew his parents' looks. He knew the way the muscles around their eyes would tense as they tried not to show that they weren't satisfied. He knew the little silences that followed whenever he showed them a grade that was objectively not bad, but still wasn't what they expected.

And he knew his parents loved him. Of course he knew that. That had never been up for debate. He couldn't complain about them. He had grown up in a stable home, in a loving, close-knit family, with parents who supported him even when they didn't completely agree with the choices he made.

Especially when it came to school, because everyone knew that if there was one thing Taehyung definitely wasn't good at, it was studying.

So when exam week ended and he realized he wasn't worried about his grades, he had to take some time to process the fact that, this time, his lack of concern wasn't because he thought he'd done badly.

It was the exact opposite... He was confident about his answers. He had walked out of every exam knowing he had done a good job.

And that was precisely what had him on edge.

"I don't get it... you're worried because you're not worried?" Seulgi asked as she lit a cigarette.

Taehyung looked at her as if she'd just proven that she understood absolutely nothing about life.

They were at the gallery that afternoon. Well, not exactly at the gallery. More like in the alley beside it, keeping Seulgi company while they waited for everyone else to arrive for their session.

Seulgi held the cigarette between her fingers with a calmness Taehyung found downright offensive considering the gravity of his problem.

"Yes."

"That makes no sense."

"Of course it makes sense!"

Taehyung threw his arms out in exasperation.

"I'm worried because I've been so focused on avoiding... other things," he tried to explain, carefully choosing his words so he wouldn't give away more than necessary, "that I did something I've never done in my entire academic career."

He paused dramatically then looked at Seulgi and waited, but the redhead simply took another drag from her cigarette.

"Studied?"

Taehyung's shoulders dropped.

"Yes!"

The whine came with an exaggerated shake of his head, as if Seulgi had just humiliated him in front of an entire crowd.

"Exactly!" He covered his face with both hands.

Seulgi burst out laughing.

"I don't know what you expected me to say."

"That you understood my suffering!"

"I understand that you studied."

"A lot!"

"That's a good thing."

"That's the problem!"

Seulgi stared at him for a few seconds before laughing again.

"You still make no sense."

Taehyung let out a frustrated noise behind his hands.

"Are you torturing Tae without me?"

Jieun's voice came from the entrance to the alley, making Taehyung squeeze his eyes shut even harder.

Perfect.

Just what he needed.

Now Jieun was going to team up with Seulgi and tell him he was making a mountain out of a molehill. The black-haired woman approached with a small smile, and Taehyung could hear her footsteps stop a short distance away.

"I'm trying to understand him," Seulgi replied calmly.

"Understand him?" Jieun repeated, amusement clear in her voice.

Taehyung slowly lowered his hands.

"Yes. Your friend is worried because he thinks he did well on his exams."

Taehyung turned toward Seulgi with a frown.

"I told you that's not it, noona!" The pout appeared almost immediately. It was automatic. His lips pushed forward and his eyebrows pulled together, creating an expression that might have been intimidating if Seulgi and Jieun didn't know him so well.

Both women laughed, because to them, that pout was practically an alarm bell. That was the highest level of frustration Kim Taehyung was capable of displaying.

"So what is it?" a male voice asked.

Taehyung froze.

He didn't recognize the voice. He turned his head and only then noticed the newcomer.

Jungkook stood beside Jieun, wearing a calm, curious expression. His gaze moved from Seulgi to Taehyung, as if he were trying to reconstruct the conversation from the few words he'd managed to overhear.

"I—"

That was all Taehyung managed to say.

Jieun looked at her brother with obvious pride. It was a small, almost imperceptible look, but Taehyung knew her well enough to recognize it.

She was happy that Jungkook had taken the initiative to speak to her friends.

"You wouldn't understand even if I explained it a thousand times," Taehyung finally said.

Jungkook tilted his head slightly.

Had Taehyung just called him stupid?

"But I can try."

Taehyung narrowed his eyes, he wasn't sure about that.

Jieun laughed when she noticed Taehyung crossing his arms and giving Seulgi what was supposed to be a death glare. The gallery owner didn't even seem fazed. The pout on the brunette's lips completely ruined whatever seriousness the expression might have had.

"Jungkook, don't even bother," Seulgi told the younger Jeon. "Taehyung acts like a baby when he doesn't hear what he wants to hear."

Taehyung opened his mouth.

He was going to protest, he really was.

But then he noticed both his noonas looking at him. They had that expression he knew all too well, the one people wore when they were patiently waiting for the next tantrum.

And when he looked at Jungkook, he realized the black-haired man was watching him too.

Although his expression was different, He didn't seem to be making fun of him.

He looked more like...

Confused.

As if he genuinely didn't understand why they were laughing at him. Taehyung sighed and let his arms fall to his sides.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter," he finally said.

That only made Seulgi and Jieun laugh again. Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"Hi, Jungkook. How have you been?" he asked, making it obvious that he intended to ignore the older women.

But the question came out much more naturally than he expected. And, unexpectedly, he simply waited for an answer. Maybe it was because Jungkook wasn't looking at him like he wanted to kick him out of somewhere, like he had that morning at his apartment.

There was no tension in his shoulders. No sharp response waiting to leave his lips.

He was just there.

Looking at him.

And although Taehyung still wasn't quite sure what to do with him, he decided to try the same thing he always did when he didn't understand someone.

Be nice first and figure out the rest later.

That encounter was the first of many over the next couple of weeks. Exchanging a few words with the younger Jeon genuinely felt like unlocking a new character.

Jieun started bringing him along to the club meetings at the gallery. At first, Jungkook mostly stayed near his sister while she talked with Seulgi, Jihoon, Hyungsook, Jihye, and Soobin. He listened more than he spoke and, whenever someone addressed him, he answered in short sentences that didn't seem particularly interested in keeping the conversation going.

Taehyung had started to think maybe he was only there because Jieun forced him to come.

But then came the lunches.

Jieun would invite them to eat after their painting sessions and, somehow, Jungkook always ended up showing up. The black-haired woman always said he was coming straight from university because he needed a distraction. He wasn't particularly talkative, and he didn't seem all that interested in integrating himself either, but he stayed.

And to Taehyung, that was already strange.

There were also outings with the club guys.

Some tiny restaurant after an entire afternoon of painting. Coffee before heading home. A quick stop to buy supplies that somehow turned into an hour of conversation because Seulgi always found some excuse to keep them there.

Jungkook was there... more and more often. And although Taehyung wouldn't have known how to explain exactly what had changed, there was something different about him.

Tiny things. So tiny that if Taehyung hadn't been paying attention almost involuntarily, he probably wouldn't have noticed them at all. Jungkook started answering Seulgi when she teased him. Sometimes, if you watched closely enough, you could even see him smile.

Once, during lunch, Jihoon made such an absurd comment that Jungkook burst out laughing before he could stop himself.

Another time, Jieun had to go buy something and left Taehyung and Jungkook waiting alone outside the gallery. They didn't talk much, but Jungkook didn't leave either. He simply stayed sitting beside him, staring at his phone until Jieun came back.

It was hard to know what any of it meant because when Taehyung asked Jieun, she only shrugged.

"He has a hard time opening up to new people, Taehyung. But he likes you."

Taehyung stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Completely sure?"

Jieun let out a small laugh.

"Yes, Taetae."

"Because he really doesn't look like he likes me."

"That's because you don't know how to read him."

"Noona, he looks at me like he wants me to disappear."

"That's just his default face. It's basically the Jeon family trademark."

Taehyung opened his mouth.

Closed it.

Looked at Jieun again.

"That's reassuring." He ended up saying with irony.

The black-haired woman burst out laughing.

"He doesn't make that constipated face every time I drag him out with me anymore because he knows you'll be there with Seulgi."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"It proves a lot," Jieun replied calmly.

"He could just be accepting his fate."

"Jungkook doesn't accept fate. If he didn't want to come, there isn't a force on earth that could drag him out of his apartment."

Taehyung frowned.

"Not even you?"

"Not even me."

Jieun raised an eyebrow.

"Trust me, Taehyung. If Jungkook really didn't want to be around us, we'd know by now."

Under different circumstances, Taehyung would've simply let it go. Someone not liking him wasn't something that kept him up at night.

But this was different. Jungkook wasn't just the younger brother of one of his best friends, which was already enough reason for Taehyung to want a good relationship with him because he knew how important he was to Jieun.

It was because Jeon Jungkook knew his worst secret. His feelings for his best friend's boyfriend.

Taehyung had never had much trouble when someone said they didn't like him. He could take it. He could even make a joke about it.

But Jungkook...

Jungkook knew what, to Taehyung, was the worst thing he'd ever done in his life. He knew he'd looked at the person he loved most and, at some point, wished for someone he had no right to want.

Yoongi.

And the idea that Jungkook might actually be judging him for it gnawed at him. It had turned the last two weeks into some kind of silent waiting game. Because every time he got back to his apartment and found Yoongi sitting on his couch beside Jimin, a part of him prepared for the worst possible scenario.

The couch.

His couch.

Jimin sitting beside Yoongi.

Their laughter.

And then the question would appear.

Did he tell him?

Sometimes, even before opening the door, Taehyung could feel his stomach twist.

He'd walk in.

He'd see them, and for a second he'd have to make sure everything was still exactly the same. Jimin was still smiling at him. Yoongi was still talking to him... no one was looking at him differently.

Jungkook wasn't there.

Because at any moment, Taehyung felt like his secret could explode.

Jungkook could get tired of keeping quiet. He could decide he had no reason to protect some stranger.

He could tell Yoongi what a terrible friend Taehyung was, and Yoongi would tell Jimin.

And Jimin...

Jimin would look at him with disappointment.

Just imagining it made his chest tighten.

He had been trying to repair his relationship with Jimin, trying to let go of his feelings for Yoongi. Trying to control the nausea and discomfort that settled between his ribs every time he saw his friends in front of him.

So happy.

He really was trying.

But Jungkook still knew the truth, and that made every encounter with him feel like some kind of countdown that existed only inside Taehyung's head. So even though Jungkook had slowly started opening up around the group, Taehyung still didn't know if he actually liked him.

Tonight was one of those nights when he couldn't tell whether Jungkook's friendliness was part of some meticulously calculated act meant to make Taehyung let his guard down, or simply an unconscious part of his personality. Jieun had invited him out for a beer and, when he arrived, he wasn't particularly surprised to find the two Jeons already sitting at a table, sharing a bottle between them.

"Look who decided to show up." Jieun raised a hand the moment she saw him approach.

Taehyung smiled and took the seat across from them.

"You told me it would be one beer."

Jieun raised an eyebrow.

"And?"

"How many have you had?" Taehyung asked, looking at the bottle in front of her.

"One."

Jungkook looked up from his phone and frowned.

"Two."

Jieun slowly turned toward her brother.

"Why are you ratting me out?"

"Because he asked."

"You could've lied," the black-haired woman explained as if it were obvious.

"Noona, there are two empty bottles in front of you."

Taehyung burst out laughing.

"Jungkook, never stop tormenting her."

The black-haired man smiled faintly. It was so small that Taehyung almost thought he'd imagined it, but there it was, and for some reason, it made his own smile grow wider.

Jieun started telling them how the preparations for the surprise party she was planning for Wooseok were going. She had been talking about her ideas for days and seemed particularly excited that night.

Jungkook had been helping her, much more than Taehyung expected. He didn't just nod whenever his sister suggested something.

He offered ideas too.

"If you actually want it to be a surprise, you shouldn't do it at the restaurant you always go to," he commented, playing with the label on his bottle.

"Then where do you want me to do it?"

"I don't know. The apartment."

"My apartment?"

"Yeah," he replied with a shrug.

"Jungkook, Wooseok's going to get suspicious."

"Not if you tell him it's a club meeting."

Jieun fell silent, thinking.

"That could work."

"Obviously it could work. I thought of it."

Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

"Look at you."

Jungkook looked at him.

"What?"

"You're contributing ideas," he said lightly.

"I'm helping."

"That's new."

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No." Taehyung raised his hands. "Keep going, keep going. It's pretty obvious which one of us is doing most of the work for this party," he teased.

Jungkook shook his head, although a smile appeared on his lips again and Taehyung lowered his gaze to his bottle.

Maybe Jieun had been right. Maybe Jungkook really was starting to feel comfortable around them.

The conversation continued for quite a while. Jieun talked about Wooseok, and Taehyung threw in ideas that would probably never be used.

Jungkook corrected some of them, and somehow they ended up talking about everything except the birthday. By the time Jieun was on her fifth beer, Taehyung had stopped thinking so much about Jungkook's presence.

He was talkative.

Not exactly chatty, but much more willing to participate than Taehyung had seen during their first few meetings. He'd even laughed a couple of times, one of them at something Taehyung had said.

That had been especially strange.

And nice.

Until, in the middle of a conversation about God knew what, Taehyung started noticing that Jieun was moving around way too much. First she changed positions.

Then again.

Then she started crossing and uncrossing her legs, bouncing her foot beneath the table, and constantly glancing toward the street.

Taehyung and Jungkook had noticed, but the conversation was too interesting to interrupt. For about three minutes, they successfully ignored her.

Jungkook was in the middle of an explanation.

"All I'm saying is that, technically, the dress was never actually blue and black or white and gold. What happened was that the photo had such weird lighting that the brain had to decide what kind of light it was looking at."

Taehyung watched him closely.

"Then why did some people see different colors?" Taehyung's eyebrows drew together as his frown deepened.

He was genuinely focused on the explanation.

"Because the brain tries to compensate for the lighting. If it interprets the photo as being under bluish light, it mentally removes those tones and ends up seeing white and gold. But if it interprets it as being under yellow light, it does the opposite and you see blue and black."

"Wait."

Taehyung frowned and straightened in his seat.

"So..."

He pointed at Jungkook with his bottle.

"People aren't actually seeing different colors?" he asked, more to the air than to the man across from him.

"They are."

"But that doesn't make sense."

"I never said it made sense."

"Then who's wrong?"

Jungkook shrugged.

"That's not what it's about."

"What a convenient answer."

"It's the truth," Jungkook replied, frowning now.

"I don't like it."

"That doesn't change the science."

Taehyung laughed.

"You're insufferable."

"And you're still listening to me."

"Because I want to understand," he said, as if it were obvious.

"Then it's working."

Taehyung shook his head, smiling, and that was precisely when he noticed Jieun moving again.

The black-haired woman had shifted in her seat once more. Taehyung stared at her.

She tried to pretend she hadn't noticed and bounced her leg again.

Taehyung set his bottle down on the table.

"Noona, stop!"

Jieun froze.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You're not letting me concentrate. What's wrong with you?"

Jieun looked at her brother.

Then at Taehyung.

She sighed.

"I need to pee."

Taehyung blinked.

"Then go to the bathroom."

Jungkook looked at her as if he'd just heard the most obvious solution in the world and nodded toward his sister.

"Yeah. Go to the bathroom."

"No," she replied as if that settled the matter.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I can hold it."

"But that's not good for you."

"Just go to the bathroom, Ji," Taehyung said, confused.

Jieun shook her head.

"No! I can hold it until I get home."

"Ji, that's bad for you! Just listen to Jungkook and go to the bathroom."

"I can't," she muttered.

The two younger men exchanged a look before looking back at her.

"What?" Jieun asked defensively.

Taehyung pointed toward the back of the place.

"There's a bathroom."

"I'm not going," she said dismissively.

"Why?"

Jieun pressed her lips together, seemingly weighing how much of this she was actually willing to admit.

"I can't pee in public bathrooms."

Taehyung stared at her.

"What?"

"I can't."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

Jungkook put his bottle down on the table.

"Noona."

"What?"

"It's a bathroom." The black-haired man looked at her as if he were starting to lose patience.

"Thanks for the information."

"Then go in."

"No."

"Why?" he insisted.

"Because it's a public bathroom."

Taehyung sighed. "Ji, you've used public bathrooms before."

"No."

"Jieun, I've seen you do it," Taehyung replied, incredulous at how confidently she was saying this.

"Impossible."

"At university."

"That bathroom doesn't count."

"Why?"

"Because it's different," she replied, looking out the window as if she were no longer interested in the subject.

"Different how?"

"I don't know."

Jungkook ran a hand through his hair.

"Noona, you literally just need to go in, pee, and come out."

"Don't tell me how it works!"

Taehyung bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"We're not judging you."

"You are judging me."

"A little," Taehyung admitted.

Jieun's mouth fell open in outrage.

"Taehyung!"

"But you've been saying for ten minutes that you can hold it!"

"I can hold it."

Jungkook looked at the empty bottles in front of her.

"How many have you had?"

Jieun looked at him.

"I don't know."

"Five," Taehyung answered for her.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter."

"I'm not going to die." Jieun waved her hand as if the situation were completely insignificant.

"That doesn't mean it's a good idea."

Jieun crossed her arms "I can wait until I get home."

Taehyung exchanged another look with Jungkook. The black-haired man sighed.

"How far is it from here to your place?"

"Almost forty minutes," Taehyung answered automatically.

Jungkook stared at her blankly.

"You're not making it."

"Yes, I am."

"You're not making it," the younger man insisted, unable to believe he was having this conversation with his sister.

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Noona..." Taehyung interrupted the Jeons' argument.

"What?!"

"Just go to the bathroom," Jungkook finished for him and Jieun pouted.

"No."

Taehyung burst out laughing.

"Oh my God, you two sound like children."

"Shut up." Jieun pointed at him. "You're the one embarrassing me."

"I just don't want your bladder to explode on the way home."

Jungkook let out a short laugh and Jieun immediately looked at him.

"Don't you laugh either!"

"Sorry." This time, he actually sounded amused.

And Taehyung couldn't help smiling.

It was strange.

Jungkook didn't seem to be making any effort to get them to like him. He wasn't trying to be charming. He was simply there.

Participating, answering, laughing.

And that made Taehyung start wondering if maybe he'd been wrong about him all along.

"Fine." Jieun finally stood up. "Let's go."

"To the bathroom?" they asked at the same time.

"To your apartment."

Taehyung blinked.

"My... what?"

"Yours is closer than mine, right?"

"Yeah?" His answer was technically a statement, but it definitely sounded like a question.

"Then let's go."

Jungkook stood as well and grabbed his jacket.

"Let's go before she changes her mind."

"I'm not changing my mind."

"That's what you said ten minutes ago."

"Jungkook?"

"Yes, noona?"

"Don't talk to me."

"Okay." The younger man simply rolled his eyes.

Taehyung laughed.

And that was how the three of them ended up walking toward his apartment. Jieun was almost as restless as a sugar-high child, every few steps, she shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

"I can't hold it anymore!" she insisted for what had to be the hundredth time.

Jungkook huffed.

"Enough. Behave. We're about to walk into someone else's home."

"It's only someone else's home to you. I've been here tons of times," she argued.

And that seemed to set off an alarm inside Taehyung.

An alarm that had been asleep for the entire walk.

His apartment.

The door.

The couch.

Jimin.

Yoongi.

Dinner.

Everything came rushing back at once. The couple had a date planned that night. A quiet dinner where they intended to be just the two of them. According to Yoongi, they'd barely seen each other over the last few days and wanted to make the most of their time together.

Jimin had told him they'd only use the kitchen so they wouldn't bother him. They'd even told him he could stay, that he didn't have to leave, that he could have dinner with them.

Taehyung had shaken his head. He'd swallowed the knot in his throat and given them a smile.

"No, it's okay. I'll go out with some friends."

He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to sit across from them while Yoongi looked at Jimin that way.

He didn't want to listen to their conversations, and he didn't want to feel the nausea that appeared just from looking at them.

He didn't want to spend the entire night pretending it didn't hurt.

Jieun's messages had arrived like a miracle to save him. At least he'd have someone to be with for those few hours. His other plan had been to simply wander around Seoul, and Taehyung knew his thoughts never led anywhere good when he had nothing to do except be painfully aware that Jimin and Yoongi were in his own home.

Being happy.

And now he was going back.

With Jungkook.

The same Jungkook who knew his secret.

Everything he'd felt throughout the night started disappearing.

The lightness of the conversation.

The laughter.

Even that tiny sense of comfort that had started to appear around the younger Jeon.

It all vanished.

He could hear Jieun continuing to tease Jungkook about something he no longer understood.

He knew the younger man's patience lasted...

Nothing.

He actually had no patience when it came to Jieun and Taehyung could barely pay attention anymore. His thoughts had started tangling themselves up again.

He'd lost the beginning of the thread all over again.

Would he tell Yoongi if he saw him?

Maybe.

Maybe after putting up with it for two weeks, Jungkook had finally decided he didn't want to keep quiet anymore.

Maybe all it would take was seeing Taehyung walk in. Maybe he'd watch him greet Jimin like nothing was wrong and think he was a hypocrite.

Jungkook could say it.

Right here. In front of everyone.

Yoongi hyung, Taehyung is in love with you.

No.

His stomach twisted.

Taehyung is a terrible friend.

His breathing grew shallower.

He's in love with Jimin's boyfriend.

No.

Taehyung squeezed the keys in his hand, feeling the metal dig into his palm. It hurt, but not enough to distract him.

He'd been trying to repair his relationship with Jimin. He'd been trying to let go of his feelings for Yoongi. He'd been trying to control the nausea and discomfort that settled between his ribs every time he saw his friends in front of him.

So happy.

He really was trying.

But right then, Taehyung found himself praying to every deity in existence that neither of them would be there. That they were already asleep in the blonde's bed, or that Yoongi had already gone home and was waiting to sleep in his own bed.

That they'd decided to go out, or that anything at all had happened.

Anything except finding them there.

Anything.

Whatever.

Just not that.

Jieun kept talking and Jungkook answered every now and then, but Taehyung wasn't listening.

He could only look at the door. His door. The same one he'd opened hundreds of times without thinking.

But right now, it stood in front of him like a sentence.

He brought the key closer.

His hand trembled slightly.

He breathed.

Once.

Again.

Please.

Let them not be here.

Let them not be here.

He turned the key.

The click of the lock sounded far too loud, and Taehyung slowly pushed the door open. Too slowly.

"Taehyung..."

Jieun whined behind him. The brunette blinked, shook his head, and stepped aside.

That was all the signal Jieun needed. She kicked off her shoes in half a second and ran through the apartment like it was her own.

"Bathroom! Bathroom! Bathroom! Bathroom!"

The two younger men heard the door slam behind her. Jungkook stayed in the entrance, looking down the hallway, then at Taehyung, before letting out a small laugh.

"She's unbelievable."

Taehyung looked at him.

"What?"

"My sister."

Jungkook shook his head, still smiling.

"Five beers and she loses all dignity."

Taehyung let out a little laugh.

"That's because you haven't seen her after six and a bottle of soju."

"And I don't want to."

"Trust me, you're better off."

Jungkook laughed again and for a few seconds, Taehyung almost managed to forget why he'd been so afraid to open that door.

Almost.

Until he heard a voice from inside the apartment.

"Tae?"

His entire body went still. He knew that voice far too well.

His heart slammed against his chest.

Jimin.

Taehyung stopped breathing for a second, behind him, Jungkook looked up too. The blonde appeared in the entrance, confused.

"Oh, Jimin. Hi."

Taehyung spoke.

Or rather, stammered.

"Was that Jieun noona?" he asked, pointing in the direction where the older woman had disappeared.

"Yeah."

Silence. Jungkook cleared his throat behind him.

Taehyung straightened immediately.

"Jimin, Jungkook's here too."

The black-haired man gave a small nod in greeting.

"I can see that," Jimin replied, offering the younger man a faint smile.

Nothing else.

Taehyung felt like something wasn't adding up. Just seconds ago, Jungkook had been laughing beside him. He'd been joking with him, teasing Jieun, following the conversation as if he'd been part of it for years.

Now Taehyung felt the same thing that had happened when Jungkook first started coming along with Jieun.

It wasn't obvious. He wasn't being unpleasant.

He was simply...

Serious.

Harder to reach.

Taehyung frowned slightly. Maybe it was because he was in an unfamiliar place. Maybe he was simply uncomfortable running into them unexpectedly.

He didn't have time to think about it for long.

"Is it just me, or did I hear Ji—"

Yoongi appeared behind Jimin and stopped when he noticed the two younger men in the doorway.

"Jungkookie?"

Jungkook looked up.

"Hi, hyung."

Two words. Nothing more.

But Jungkook's expression changed slightly when he saw him, and Taehyung noticed. He didn't know what to make of it.

Yoongi, on the other hand, smiled in obvious surprise.

"Since when are you two so close?"

Jimin looked at Taehyung, wearing exactly the same question.

Taehyung opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

Because what was he supposed to say?

That they'd been talking over the last few weeks?

That Jungkook had started staying after their club meetings?

That they'd shared coffees, lunches, ridiculous conversations, and enough laughter for Taehyung to start wondering if maybe he really did like him?

That they'd even been laughing together less than an hour ago?

But if he said all that... then he'd probably have to explain why Jungkook was there, and then there would be more questions.

And more answers and eventually the sesecret.T

he knot in his throat tightened. Maybe he could use the same excuse Jieun always used.

I'm babysitting today.

"Well..."

"We're not that close," Jungkook answered.

Taehyung turned his head toward him.

Jungkook shrugged, his voice calm. As if that answer were the most obvious thing in the world.

"We hang out because my sister is friends with Taehyung. We just went out for a few beers with Ji tonight."

Taehyung stared at him. Part of him wanted to correct him, while another, much larger part wanted to hug him, because that was exactly what he needed to say.

And Jungkook had just said it for him.

Yoongi let out a small laugh.

"Ah." He looked at Jungkook, then Taehyung. "And here I was thinking you guys were leaving me out." he said dramatically.

Jungkook looked at him.

"That wasn't it."

Again.

Only a few words.

Taehyung swallowed. There was something strange about seeing him like this. He wasn't the Jungkook who had been laughing with them all night. Not the one who had teased Jieun. Not the one who had ended up explaining to Taehyung, between laughs, why some people still saw that damn dress as white and gold.

Now he measured every answer, as if he were suddenly trying not to take up too much space.

Jimin was still there.

And something about him made Taehyung notice that he seemed a little nervous too.

Not much.

Just enough for his fingers to fidget against the hem of his shirt while he looked at Jungkook.

Taehyung knew him too well. Jimin almost never got nervous around anyone, much less someone he barely knew.

Why was he acting like that?

Was this how they always acted?

Taehyung had never seen the two of them interact, not beyond that one time Jimin had woken him up because of their yelling.

Maybe it was that.

Or maybe it was because he'd heard Jungkook say they weren't close.

Or maybe the whole situation was just weird.

Taehyung decided not to think about it anymore. He had much bigger problems to deal with right now.

Like, for example, stopping that conversation from continuing.

"Jungkook-ah, do you want something to drink?"

The question came out far too quickly. Jungkook looked at him, and Taehyung held his gaze for a second.

Please.

Just go along with me.

"I'm dying of thirst," he replied with an impressive lack of emotion.

Taehyung nodded immediately.

"Come on. I think there's still... something."

"Something?" Yoongi asked from the entrance to the living room.

Taehyung shook his head.

"Yeah, hyung. Something."

He looked toward the kitchen.

"I need to check something."

Jimin raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need to check?"

"The..."

"Beer," Jungkook supplied when he noticed Taehyung's mind had gone blank.

Jimin looked at him for a few seconds.

"The beer?"

"Yeah," Taehyung answered immediately.

"Tae, you know the beer is in the fridge, right?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you need to check?" Jimin asked curiously, crossing his arms.

Taehyung opened his mouth.

Closed it.

"That they're cold."

Jimin burst out laughing "Since when do you need to check if a beer is cold?"

"Since now."

Yoongi chuckled under his breath.

"Leave him alone, Jimin."

The older man rolled his eyes, although the smile remained on his lips. Taehyung let out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

"Let's go."

Jungkook followed him. Before entering the kitchen, Taehyung heard Jimin speak to him.

"We'll be in the living room." Jimin looked toward them again, and for a second, his eyes met Taehyung's.

There was something strange in his expression, a mix of curiosity and an uneasiness Taehyung couldn't quite identify.

But Jimin smiled, and the younger man smiled back almost automatically.

He walked into the kitchen with Jungkook following close behind. The door remained open, but at least for a few minutes, they were alone.

"I need you not to say anything," Taehyung whispered to Jungkook.

His eyes were fixed on the kitchen entrance, as if he expected someone to appear at any moment. The black-haired man looked at him, confused.

"I literally haven't said anything," he tried to joke, but his voice gave away his confusion.

"About the other thing, Jungkook."

This time Taehyung looked at him. There was such desperation in his eyes that Jungkook felt uncomfortable.

Taehyung noticed the younger man's shoulders tense and the confused expression appear on his face, as if that were simply his default expression.

His heart started pounding harder in his chest.

"Jungkook... I'm serious. Please."

He could hear the plea in his own voice.

Pathetic.

Jungkook took a small step back, staring at him.

Pathetic.

"Taehyung, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know," Taehyung insisted.

"Taehyung, seriously. What are you talking about?"

"The secret!"

His voice sounded more desperate than he'd intended.

Almost a shout. He had no doubt the three people still in the living room had heard him, but at this point all he could do was beg.

The rope.

That damn rope that had become his constant companion lately tightened around his ribs.

His breathing became uneven.

"Jungkook, please." His voice came out much quieter this time.

Not because he wanted it to, or because he was trying to keep anyone from hearing. He simply couldn't speak any louder.

He felt paralyzed.

Small.

Pathetic.

Taehyung swallowed, but his throat was so dry that the movement hurt. He tried to take a deep breath, but the air barely made it into his lungs before stopping, as if something were squeezing his chest from the inside.

The rope. Again.

He could feel it around his ribs, tightening with every passing second.

Jungkook didn't answer immediately. He simply watched him in silence. That was enough to make Taehyung feel his stomach drop.

Did he tell them?

No.

He couldn't have.

Jungkook hadn't had time.

But then why was he looking at him like that?

"I'm not going to say anything," he finally replied.

Taehyung blinked, but he didn't feel relieved.

Not completely.

"To whom?" The question came out too quickly.

Jungkook frowned slightly.

"What?"

"Who aren't you going to tell?"

"No one."

"Yoongi?" Taehyung needed to hear it.

He needed confirmation that no one would find out. Jungkook took barely a second to answer, but to Taehyung it felt like an eternity.

"No."

"Jimin?"

"Neither."

Taehyung nodded once, then again. As if he needed to convince himself that the words had actually been said.

His fingers curled around the edge of the counter. He hadn't even realized he'd reached for something to hold onto until he felt his nails pressing into the surface.

"Good," he whispered to himself, nodding.

Jungkook kept looking at him and Taehyung looked away.

"Good," he repeated, although his voice trembled slightly.

The silence that followed was uncomfortable. It wasn't the same silence they'd shared over the last few weeks. It wasn't that strange, but bearable, silence of sitting together in the gallery without having anything particularly interesting to say.

This was different.

Heavier.

More conscious.

Taehyung could feel Jungkook's eyes on him, and suddenly he became painfully aware of every movement he made.

His hands.

His breathing.

The way he was putting too much weight on one leg.

How fast his heart was beating.

He tried to straighten up.

It was a mistake. The movement made his chest pull, and he had to breathe in again, too quickly.

Jungkook looked down at his hands.

"You're shaking."

Taehyung looked at his fingers.

He was. Barely, but he was, so he immediately hid them behind his back.

"I'm cold."

Jungkook raised an eyebrow.

"We're indoors."

"I'm always cold."

"Right." The answer was so simple that Taehyung almost laughed.

Almost but the laugh never came. It got stuck somewhere between his throat and his chest.

"It's not funny," he murmured.

"I didn't say it was."

Taehyung pressed his lips together, that was the worst part.

Jungkook wasn't doing anything. He wasn't accusing him. He wasn't looking at him with contempt. He didn't even seem particularly interested in judging him and yet Taehyung felt like he was being watched.

Evaluated.

As if every word he said could become evidence.

He's in love with his best friend's boyfriend.

The sentence appeared in his mind without permission, and his chest tightened even more.

He's a terrible friend.

He lowered his gaze.

No.

Taehyung is in love with Yoongi.

His fingers clenched again.

"I don't want you to think badly of me." The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Jungkook went still while Taehyung closed his eyes for a moment.

Idiot.

That wasn't what he wanted to say.

Or maybe it was.

Maybe it was exactly what he wanted to say.

When he opened his eyes again, Jungkook was still there.

"I wasn't thinking anything," he said.

Taehyung let out a humorless little laugh.

"Sure."

"I mean it."

"Right."

"Taehyung." The sound of his name made him look up.

Jungkook looked uncomfortable. Not worried. Not particularly kind.

Just... uncomfortable.

As if he didn't know what to do with the situation they'd suddenly found themselves in and that made Taehyung feel even worse.

Because he was right.

They weren't close, and Jungkook had no reason to know what to say to him. No reason to understand him. No reason to stay there.

Taehyung breathed through his nose, trying to regain some control.

"I'm sorry."

Jungkook frowned.

"For what?"

Taehyung opened his mouth, but no answer came because he was being ridiculous.

Because he'd turned his escape plan into an emergency.

Because Jungkook barely knew him, and Taehyung was practically begging him to keep a secret he shouldn't have known in the first place.

Because he'd spent weeks convinced that every time Jungkook looked at him, he was trying to figure something out.

Because now they were alone in a kitchen and his brain had decided this was the perfect moment to remind him of every possible way he could lose everything.

"For this," he finally said.

Jungkook looked around.

"I don't know what 'this' is."

Taehyung slowly let out a breath. The rope was still there, but maybe it had stopped tightening quite so much.

"Forget it."

"No."

Taehyung looked at him.

Jungkook shrugged.

"I don't know what you're doing, but you're clearly scared about something."

Taehyung felt his heart slam against his ribs again "I'm not scared."

Jungkook stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're pale... and you have dark circles."

"I'm always like this."

"More than usual," he insisted, the obviousness in his voice almost insulting.

Taehyung grimaced.

"How observant."

"It's not hard."

The answer was so dry that, this time, a small smile managed to appear on Taehyung's lips, it didn't last long, but it was there.

Jungkook noticed it, and for a second, the tension in his shoulders eased.

"I'm not going to say anything," he repeated.

This time Taehyung believed him a little more. Not because he suddenly trusted him completely.

Not because Jungkook had somehow managed to calm him down.

Simply because, after hearing it twice, his mind couldn't come up with another way to argue against it.

Taehyung nodded "Thank you."

Jungkook looked toward the open doorway again, from the living room came Jimin's voice, followed by Yoongi's quiet laugh.

The sound went straight through Taehyung.

The rope tightened again.

Jungkook noticed.

Taehyung knew because his eyes returned to him, and that was enough to make Taehyung look away.

"The beer," he murmured.

"What?"

Taehyung pointed toward the fridge.

"We said we were getting a beer."

Jungkook watched him for a few more seconds before nodding.

"Right."

Taehyung opened the fridge, and the cold air hit his face, for the first time since entering the kitchen, he managed to breathe a little deeper.

Not much.

Just enough.

He took out one bottle.

Then another.

"Two?"

"One's for me," he said automatically.

"Oh."

Jungkook took the second one.

For a few seconds, neither said anything. And although the awkwardness was still there, at least it no longer felt like it was about to swallow him whole.

Taehyung closed the fridge.

"Noona's going to kill me if she finds out we drank without her."

"Noona's going to kill us for plenty of other things before we even get to that."

Taehyung let out a short laugh.

This time it was real. And for a few seconds, as they walked back toward the living room, he managed to forget that Jungkook knew.

Or at least pretend he'd forgotten.

Jieun was sitting on the arm of the couch where Yoongi and Jimin were sitting. The three of them were talking about the movie playing on the television.

Taehyung barely had time to look at the screen.

He's just not that into you.

It felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach.

He stopped for a fraction of a second, it was so brief that probably no one noticed.

Or so he hoped.

It was as if the universe were mocking him, as if letting him breathe normally for a few seconds had been too much to ask.

Of all the movies.

Of all the titles.

Seriously?

Taehyung pressed his lips together and kept walking.

"Noona, are you okay?" Jungkook asked his sister quietly. He'd tried to make sure only Jieun heard, but everyone heard him.

Jieun smiled faintly when she noticed how tense the two younger men looked.

Uncomfortable. Different from how they'd been acting with her at the place where they'd been drinking beer.

"Yeah, Googie. Completely relieved," she joked, not taking her concerned gaze off the two of them.

Taehyung let out an involuntary little laugh at her words, and Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"Googie?" Jimin asked with genuine curiosity.

His gaze moved from Jieun to Jungkook. It was obvious he was holding back the urge to ask everything about the nickname.

"Jieun's called Jungkookie that since they were kids," Yoongi answered, smiling fondly at the youngest person in the room.

"That's really cute."

Jimin turned to look at Jungkook. Taehyung, who was trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room, nodded in agreement.

Googie was a really cute nickname.

Too cute, especially for Jungkook, who didn't seem to embody it at all.

"Taehyungie?"

Yoongi called him by his nickname. He looked up and realized everyone was staring at him.

He swallowed hard.

"Yes, hyung?"

"Do you need me to open your beer?" he asked with a smile.

The older man was holding out the newly opened bottle toward Jungkook, who was now sitting beside him.

When had he gotten there?

A second ago he'd been standing beside Taehyung.

Had he been lost in his thoughts for that long again?

He'd been doing that a lot lately.

It wasn't even that he was thinking about many different things. It was always the same thing.

The trial he'd started against himself.

Which was ironic, because you'd think that, being prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, and jury all at once, he'd be pretty good at defending himself.

But no, Taehyung only managed to calm down after finding himself guilty.

Because he was.

"Taetae!" Jimin's voice made him jump slightly and snap back to reality.

Once again, everyone was looking at him.

Jimin and Yoongi wore faint smiles, as if they found his behavior endearing. Jieun looked a little concerned.

And Jungkook...

Well, he was still looking at him with a certain discomfort.

Of course he's uncomfortable.

You acted like such a pathetic mess in front of him.

"Thinking or ignoring us?" Jieun teased when she noticed how lost the brunette seemed.

Taehyung gave her a smileor what was supposed to be one, and shook his head.

"Just thinking, noona."

Yoongi looked at him again, attentive.

"Taehyungie, yes or no?"

Taehyung remembered the older man's question and quickly, awkwardly, held the bottle out toward Yoongi so he could open it.

"Yes."

Yoongi let out a small laugh.

"You could've said that a minute ago."

"I was processing important information."

"What information?"

Taehyung looked at the television.

"That the movie sucks."

Jimin burst out laughing.

"You haven't even watched it, Taetae!"

"Exactly. If it were any good, I'd have watched it already," he said as he walked toward the coffee table.

"You can't judge a movie without watching it." Jimin smiled at him.

Taehyung sat down on the rug beside the table. His eyes were fixed on the floor. He didn't have it in him to look at Jimin right now.

"I can judge anything. It's one of my talents."

"That's not a talent," Jungkook said from the couch.

Taehyung looked at him for the first time since they'd returned to the living room.

"I didn't ask you, Googie."

Jungkook raised an eyebrow "And yet I answered."

Jieun let out a chuckle.

"Here we go."

Taehyung wanted to smile. He did, but the smile felt different. Because for a few seconds, he'd been himself again.

The one who argued over stupid things.

The one who called a movie terrible without having watched it.

The one who wasn't thinking about secrets.

Or Yoongi.

Or Jimin.

Or what anyone might think of him.

Until he looked back at the screen.

He's just not that into you.

The sentence was still there, and this time Taehyung couldn't help thinking that maybe the universe had a particularly cruel sense of humor.

"Have you two started already?" Yoongi looked at Jieun with a raised eyebrow, as if asking her to explain.

"They always find something to argue about. It's incredible," the black-haired woman replied.

Jieun walked over to Taehyung and sat beside him on the floor.

"Sometimes they're not even talking to each other, and they still somehow end up arguing."

Jimin chuckled.

"Taehyung doesn't surprise me at all." He looked at his best friend. "But I didn't know Jungkook-ah was like that too."

"Like that and worse," Yoongi answered automatically.

"Hyung..." Jungkook muttered, embarrassed.

"I'm serious. Besides being spoiled, he always likes being right," Yoongi explained to his boyfriend.

"He's spoiled because of you, Yoon." Jieun defended her brother with a smile. "He was perfectly fine before you came along."

Taehyung and Jimin watched the older pair closely, both of them smiling at each other with a familiarity only they seemed to understand.

"I'm right here..." Jungkook muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I did not spoil him."

"Of course you did," Jieun insisted.

"I did not."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

Jieun opened her mouth to answer, but Jimin beat her to it.

"Whether you spoiled him or not, it's pretty obvious that if he likes arguing with Taehyung, he learned that from the two of you."

Jimin smiled sweetly at the two of them. Both older people looked at Jimin, then at each other, before reluctantly nodding.

Taehyung smiled too.

For a moment, it was easy. The argument was ridiculous, exactly the kind of conversation he would've jumped into without thinking.

He could've defended Jungkook just to disagree with Yoongi, or defended Jieun just to make the argument last a little longer.

But he didn't, he simply stayed quiet.

The beer remained between his hands, and his eyes moved from person to person, following the conversation more like an audience member than a participant.

That's when Jimin shifted a little closer to Yoongi.

He didn't seem to notice. His shoulder rested against the older man's arm, and while he continued talking to Jieun, he absentmindedly reached for Yoongi's hand and laced their fingers together.

Taehyung noticed.

Of course he noticed.

He always noticed things like that.

He tried looking away... It didn't work.

His eyes returned to their hands.

Yoongi was listening to Jieun while his thumb absentmindedly stroked the back of Jimin's hand.

A tiny, automatic movement. So natural that neither of them was probably even thinking about it.

Taehyung felt something unpleasant twist in his stomach, he didn't know exactly what it was.

Jealousy.

Sadness.

Anger.

Shame.

Maybe a little bit of everything.

And guilt too.

Because Jimin was smiling.

Jimin, his best friend, the person who had been by his side even before Yoongi came along. The person who had never done anything to deserve the blame Taehyung silently placed on him whenever it hurt too much.

He looked away.

"How long have you known Jungkook?" Jimin asked, looking at his boyfriend and suddenly, Taehyung wasn't the only one who seemed tense.

Yoongi was too.

Huh?

Taehyung looked up.

"For many years," Yoongi finally answered, resting his hand on Jimin's knee.

The gesture was so natural that Taehyung felt something inside him tighten. His eyes locked onto Yoongi's hand. He couldn't look away. It was as if something forced him to keep staring at that spot, and his stomach twisted again.

Jimin didn't even seem to notice. He simply kept talking while absentmindedly playing with Yoongi's fingers.

"How many years is 'many years'?"

The blonde shifted on the couch. From where he was sitting, he could see everyone from his corner. There was obvious curiosity in his eyes at a relationship he'd only known about in passing until then.

Jieun scrunched up her nose as she thought.

"Ten years?" she answered, looking up at the ceiling as if the answer might be written there.

"Eleven," Jungkook corrected his sister.

His voice was barely a murmur.

"Then yeah. Many years," Jimin commented with a laugh.

Yoongi nodded thoughtfully.

"Almost twelve, right?"

"Yeah," the younger Jeon answered indifferently.

"And how did you meet?" the blonde asked again.

For Jimin, this was the first time he could openly ask Jungkook things directly. Usually, Yoongi tended to be more reserved when talking about his brother.

Taehyung shifted in his spot, resting his head against Jieun. His gaze remained fixed on the place where Jimin and Yoongi's bodies touched and his head was beginning to ache.

"I didn't know I was being interviewed," Jungkook said, his voice sharp.

Dry.

Taehyung and Jieun looked at him immediately.

The younger man simply took another sip of the beer Taehyung had handed him, as if he hadn't just answered Jimin like that.

"Jungkookie."

Yoongi's voice sounded reproachful, but the affection in that one word made Taehyung feel even more nauseous.

Jungkookie.

Taehyungie.

Love.

Here we go again.

"It's okay, love. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay." Jimin looked at Yoongi, then Jungkook. "You don't have to answer, Jungkook-ah."

"Forgive him. He's rude," Jieun cut in when she realized her brother had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Jimin gave an awkward little laugh, brushing it off, but Taehyung knew it had bothered him. He could see it in the way his shoulders dropped slightly and how he wrapped his arms around his own stomach.

Jimin was tense.

Uncomfortable.

Taehyung felt an unpleasant pressure in his chest. He wanted to say something.

He didn't know what.

He couldn't defend Jimin without making Jungkook think he was trying to compensate for something, and he didn't want Jimin to notice how closely he was watching Jungkook's reactions.

So he stayed quiet and Jieun didn't push either. She simply picked the conversation back up.

"They met at a club," she said, looking at Jimin. "Something to do with audiovisuals."

The older woman's voice lost some confidence when she couldn't remember the club's name.

"Photography, Ji," Yoongi corrected.

"There were cameras and nerds talking about contrast and saturation. Exactly the kind of thing audiovisual kids would talk about."

Jieun waved a hand dismissively.

"That makes no sense."

"It makes sense to me."

"You're also a nerd." Yoongi said.

"You were the one who went to the club with Jungkook."

"I went because you were unbearable if I left him alone at first. Then he didn't want me around."

Yoongi burst out laughing and Jieun lightly smacked his arm.

"Don't"

"I'm not saying anything."

"You're laughing."

"That's not illegal."

Jimin chuckled, and Taehyung followed. It was hard not to. Jieun and Yoongi had the kind of familiarity that made their conversations feel like they'd started long before everyone else arrived and could continue long after everyone left.

They didn't need to explain themselves much.

Sometimes all it took was a look.

A word.

A small gesture.

Taehyung had seen it plenty of times, but that night he was too sensitive to everything.

Every display of closeness seemed amplified right in front of his eyes.

Jimin spoke again.

"Oh, Taehyung was in a photography club when we were in high school."

He straightened up in his seat and spoke enthusiastically. Taehyung couldn't help smiling when he saw how his best friend seemed to regain his energy talking about something he wasn't even involved in.

"He was the best one there."

"I was terrible, Mimi." Taehyung gave him a serious look.

"Don't lie! You should see the pictures he used to take. I've never met anyone so talented."

The blonde looked at him proudly, Taehyung felt his cheeks turn red.

"If they're anything like his paintings, then I need to see them," Jieun joined in.

"You're both biased," Taehyung said quietly, looking away.

"Of course we are! Saying you're not a prodigy at art is like saying..." Jimin paused dramatically. "I don't know, Taetae. Like you enjoy studying!"

Jimin giggled.

Taehyung shook his head.

For a moment, the tension eased.

This was the kind of conversation he could let himself get swept up in. Jimin talked about him with that exaggerated pride he'd always had.

Jieun joined in.

Taehyung could make a face, complain, pretend to be offended.

He could be himself. He was about to answer Jimin, to tell him to change the subject before he started exaggerating even more.

But Jungkook spoke first.

"What about you, Jimin-ah?" The black-haired man looked at him.

"Are you good at anything, or do you just remember the things other people do?"

Silence fell over the room. Taehyung felt his face grow hot, but this time it wasn't embarrassment.

Something burned in his chest. The sensation slowly climbed until it reached his throat and burned his tongue.

He looked at Jungkook, the younger man was still holding the bottle between his hans, his expression almost impossible to read as if he hadn't just said anything particularly unpleasant.

As if the question could be taken as a joke but Taehyung had heard the tone.

He had felt it.

And he knew Jieun had too.

"Jungkook!" The black-haired woman looked at her brother in confusion at the hostility.

Yoongi went still for a second. Jimin, on the other hand, seemed unsure what to do with it.

"I..." He smiled, trying to turn it into a joke. "I guess I'm not good at many things."

"You don't have to answer him," Taehyung said.

The words came out before he could think them through.

Jimin looked at him.

"Tae..."

"You don't have to let him talk to you like that." His voice had lost all the lightness it had carried a few minutes ago.

Jungkook slowly turned his head toward him Taehyung felt the rope around his ribs tighten again, cutting his breathing short.

But this time, he didn't back down.

"If you have a problem socializing like a normal person," he continued, looking at Jungkook, "you can leave."

Yoongi shifted slightly.

"Taehyungie..."

His tone wasn't harsh, but it was uncomfortable as if he hadn't expected Taehyung to be the one to react like that.

Taehyung heard him. He still didn't look away from Jungkook.

Jieun seemed to have completely forgotten the smile she'd been wearing minutes earlier.

Jimin opened his mouth.

"Tae, it's okay."

"No, it's not."

"It is," Jimin repeated with a small smile, trying to downplay the situation.

Taehyung finally looked at him.

"You don't have to let him talk to you like that just because you don't want to make a scene."

Jimin fell silent. So did Jungkook.

For the first time since entering the room, his expression didn't look confused.

It wasn't angry either.

Just serious and that made Taehyung's stomach drop.

He'd gone too far.

Maybe.

He didn't know. He only knew that he'd seen Jimin tense up, seen the passive-aggressiveness in the question make him uncomfortable, and that had been enough.

"I was just asking," Jungkook finally said.

Taehyung let out a small, humorless laugh.

"What a pointless and mean question."

"I didn't say it like that."

"Yes, you did."

"Taehyung." Yoongi intervened again and his time his voice was a little firmer.

Taehyung swallowed.The rope was still there, and that made him remember where he was.

At Jimin's end his home.

In front of Yoongi.

In front of Jimin.

In front of Jieun.

And in front of Jungkook.

The same Jungkook he'd begged, only minutes ago, not to say anything.

Taehyung lowered his gaze to his beer.

"I'm sorry." The words came out much smaller than he'd expected.

Jimin smiled at him.

"It's okay."

Taehyung nodded, but he didn't speak again. Not because he was angry.

Not because he wanted to punish anyone.

He simply didn't know what to say anymore without feeling like every word could turn into something else.

So he listened.

Watched.

And tried to breathe without anyone noticing that it was still hard.