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Taehyung and Jeongguk had the most unique bond.
When Jeongguk first came to the dorms, he was young and shy, had barely entered his teenage. When he saw Taehyung, his world turned upside down.
Being the youngest in the group had its advantages and disadvantages. But Taehyung never let him feel any of it. He was like a friend to him. Jeongguk changed after he met him.
Taehyung was a marvel. He loved talking. Jeongguk loved listening to him. He loved playing. Jeongguk loved playing with him. He loved goofing around. Jeongguk loved tagging along with him. Soon they became 'partners in crime'.
Jeongguk was meticulous and everyone admired him for that. He loved sports. Taehyung loved watching him play. He loved painting. Taehyung loved his art. He loved working on his muscles. Taehyung loved helping him work on them (by testing and tasting).
They had the most unique bond. They were not best friends. Neither were they soulmates. They were not like brothers as well. Jeongguk called him hyung. But their bond was nothing like any of those.
When they grew up, they grew closer. They became better version of themselves. More confident, more hard working, more chaotic too. The golden maknae and the unique brain, the duo grew closer.
Closer in what sense? They didn't know themselves. But they were definitely closer. They were happy around each other. Missed each other. Waited for each other. Cared for each other.
Made sure the other was in his best of comforts. Which included warm hugs and forehead kisses on bad days. They preferred being close to each other. Physically. A tiny touch of reassurance was always appreciated.
Tiny touch. No, make it touch. Any kind of touch. When they grew up a little more, a touch always brought solace to them. After a long tiring day, they needed to touch. They needed to snuggle up to each other in the van or the couch or the floor or sometimes on the bed.
Sometimes, snuggling and cuddling were not possible. So a head on the shoulder would do. A kiss on the head would make it better. On the cheek was the most preferable.
They were not kids anymore. Jeongguk was almost an adult, and Taehyung was already one year into adulthood. Their bond was still the most unique. Not best friends, not soulmates, not brothers. What were they? They didn't know themselves.
But they preferred each other. Liked looking at each other in the eyes. Liked looking when the other was not. Liked teasing each other on and off stage. Liked giving each other piggy back rides. Liked smiling at each other.
But something changed. Something they didn't know themselves. Now, they loved staying up late at night while working together. Loved squeezing their bodies together in hugs when one of them felt sleepy. Loved kissing their cheeks and coaxing them to sleep. Loved sleeping next to each other.
They were not friends, not soulmates, not brothers. They just had the most unique bond.
The band reached newer heights every comeback. They gained more recognition and fans. They were noticed by more people now. So they obviously matured the same way.
As they grew up, they reduced their "teenage boy" activities. They got more reserved. But that didn't change their bond. They were still the same two boys. They still preferred to do everything the same way. Just more reserved.
One time, after a grueling concert that got the fans screaming with joy and them tired as hell but extremely happy, Taehyung and Jeongguk were the first ones to pack up and get in the van. Taehyung was sleepy so he rested his head on Jeongguk's shoulder.
"Hyung?" Jeongguk called as he tilted his head to look at Taehyung's face on his shoulder. Taehyung lifted his head and their faces were close. Extremely close. So close that he had to squint his sleepy eyes to look at him.
"Are you sleeping?" Jeongguk whispered but the last part of his sentence was just air leaving his mouth. The air that hit Taehyung's lips, who's eyes were fixated on Jeongguk's own.
Taehyung lightly shook his head and unconsciously leaned in. Jeongguk felt like he was being pulled by a string and he mirrored the action.
Their lips touched. It was just a touch. Feathery, light, almost like a tickle. Jeongguk closed his eyes and Taehyung lifted his own. He closed the little space left and his nose brushed the younger's cheek.
They pressed their lips further. A little firmer. A light pressure both of them had never experienced before. It was different. It was unimaginable. It was nothing like what they had imagined after watching all those romance dramas.
It was warm, it was soft, it was cozy, cozier than a furry blanket in December. It was sweet, though their tongues were not the receptors here.
Tongues. Jeongguk parted his lips and Taehyung followed. The tip of their tongues had barely touched when a voice called out. "Finally... you two. Confession and all, huh?"
They pulled apart and looked at Jimin standing against the half open sliding door of the van. Jeongguk immediately shook his head and Taehyung blinked for a few seconds. "No Jiminie. We're just tired. And Guk's just very comfortable."
"Agreed. But I don't kiss him because I find him comfortable." Jimin teased.
Taehyung threw one of his arms and legs over Jeongguk, wrapping himself around him like a baby koala. "You won't understand Jiminie. We're different. Right Gukkie?" Taehyung pouted and looked up to see his reaction.
Jeongguk looked at Taehyung's sleepy eyes and replied, "Yes hyung. Taehyungie hyung and I are special." His cheeks were red and Jimin noticed. He noticed how oblivious both of them were. He simply shook his head and got inside the van.
Kissing on lips became the new normal for the two. They stole tiny pecks backstage after exhausting performances. They shared soft kisses in the dorm when no one was around. They sneeked little smooches when they were drunk and happy.
They kissed in the company party after they brought back their first international win. And they were 'caught'. The next day, they were asked if they were involved romantically or sexually.
They said no. Obviously. They were not, right? They were just special. They were given a lecture with a 'warning'. The members weren't told about this. Jimin knew because he sensed something wrong and pried it out of them.
Time passed by. But they didn't change. They just got more engaged in work since they got the award. Bigger the fandom, greater the expectations, harder the work. The kissing stopped and certain restrictions were imposed.
They were monitored when they were on-camera sometimes. They had to oblige by the instructions ― have less physical proximity, indulge more with other members, don't make it too obvious.
They still didn't change. They were just maturing and following the instructions. It wasn't a big deal now because they were used to it in a few months.
Jimin, however, felt it was weird not seeing them clinging to each other. He knew they still shared the same bond. The 'special' bond, that they liked to call it, but something felt different. But maybe he was just overanalysing.
They did interact and play together off-camera. But the 'together forever' duo was not there now. They did talk, but the constant chattering was gone. Jimin was confused first, but soon realized they were two adults in their early twenties, not the same old chatty teenagers.
They were obviously not the same. But they didn't 'drift apart', as many would say. They only grew closer. They just needed lesser words and expressions to convey their thoughts. Even a subtle look did the job now. They understood each other. Understood what the other needed.
Jeongguk admired his 'V hyung' the same way, only his words got shorter. Taehyung found the same comfort in the younger that he used to find before, but now only a look in the eye and a tiny smile was enough.
They sometimes forgot the on-camera rules, and sometimes just disregarded them. With all the work, it was the last thing they wanted to pay attention to. They were comfortable with each other, and that was the only important fact.
Taehyung and Jeongguk had the most unique bond. 'Special' indeed. They were always in awe of each other, but didn't quite mention it. It was like a mutual understanding. "The closer you are, the shorter the letters," Jeongguk had said.
On the days they filmed their holidays, it was common for them not to interact much for the whole day, because they were mostly on-camera. They laughed and smiled at each other's activities, but talked less. It was normal.
But it started hitting Taehyung. How close they were, yet how unspoken their days went by. They had had heart-to-heart talks and check-ins with all the members but each other. He started realizing how silent their bond had become.
Which was not a problem. They were still 'special'. They just acknowledged it without expressing. But Taehyung wanted to express. He wanted to add some more spoken words to their bond. He told Jimin about this.
Jimin suggested him to sit and talk to Jeongguk. Talk to him without any kind of inhibition, talk about anything, the dumbest or the most meaningful of things. Ask him about anything, even if he could predict his replies, he should just ask. Talk. Turn those thoughts into words.
Taehyung felt shy. He didn't know why, but he felt shy asking Jeongguk to sit with him and talk. The boy whose abs he had been using for boxing lessons just the previous day. He was shy of asking the same boy to talk now.
Jimin helped him. He somehow brought Jeongguk to the place Taehyung had prepared around a small barbeque for them. He greeted him shyly and formally. Jin, who was wandering around, teased them of being on a date. Jeongguk was amused. Jimin smiled at them before leaving.
That night, they talked. They talked about anything and everything. They talked their hearts out. They talked about how they felt after not being able to meet their fans. They recalled their old times, how Jeongguk changed after Taehyung came. How they were partners in crime.
Jeongguk confessed how glad he was that he could talk to Taehyung like that. They poured their hearts out and just talked. Filling the year long lack of words between them. Expressing their thoughts in every way. Eating, drinking and just talking.
They got up as the night fell and walked inside the house to the balcony. The balcony faced the forest where fireflies lit up the sky. Their hearts feeling content after a long and wholesome conversation. They leaned against the railing and faced the forest.
"Hyung?"
"Yeah?"
"What are we?"
Taehyung paused. "What do you mean?"
"We have always said we are special. I don't know what it means."
Taehyung paused again. Then he took a step to his side to get closer to the younger. "You remember those times when we-?" He trailed off, knowing that Jeongguk had understood what he meant.
"Y-yes hyung," the younger replied.
"How did you feel then? What were your thoughts?"
He spoke slowly."I didn't know what I felt hyung. But I just knew I wanted to stay with you, stay near you, hug you... kiss you. I wanted to kiss you more hyung. I wanted to kiss you better, kiss you harder. I-I just...I didn't know why, but I really wanted to."
Jeongguk looked down. Taehyung stared at him. Tears were brimming up his eyes but a small smile adorned his lips. "Jeongguk-ah," he called out. His voice was heavy and gurgly. "We were so gay." He laughed and tears escaped his eyes.
Jeongguk looked up at him in shock and his cheeks were on fire, eyes wide as if he'd witnessed the biggest shock of his life. It was sort of the biggest shock though. He had never exactly given it a thought. A thought about his preferences.
He just knew he preferred his hyungs. His fans. And Taehyung. No other thoughts spared. But now that the words entered his ears, he was frozen. Could he really be?
He had never had a romantic relation with a girl. Only a 'girlfriend' in highschool whom he didn't really meet much, a tiny crush on IU which soon changed to pure respect for her talent. But really, he had never thought about a girl in that way.
But Taehyung? Jeongguk had thought about him everytime he was playing or eating or sleeping or crying or getting scolded. He cared about him more than he did for himself. He preferred Taehyung.
So maybe Taehyung wasn't wrong. Maybe Jeongguk cried once or twice in those bathroom after the strictly monitored lives. Maybe he desparately wanted to hug him on stage like before but couldn't. Maybe they were not 'special' but simply gay.
"Jeongguk-ah. We were two teenage boys kissing each other. That was not platonic. That was gay." Taehyung laughed again and his tears wouldn't stop. Jeongguk reached forward hesitantly and swiped a thumb across his cheek. Taehyung smiled and sniffed.
"Hyung." It was getting harder for him to control his own tears. His heart was accelerating. He stepped forward and placed his other hand on the side of Taehyung's face. "I still want to kiss you."
Taehyung looked up at him. His eyes were wide, lips parted, nose red by now. "I really do hyung. I still want to kiss you, hug you. I still want to stay with you, stay near you." Jeongguk spoke slowly, enunciating every word in all honesty. He paused and blinked.
"C-can you kiss me now Gukkie?" Taehyung almost squeaked. But his voice was small, tender. "I kind of want to check if we are still gay." He giggled awkwardly. "Will you?"
Jeongguk simply nodded and leaned in. With his face still in his hands, he pulled him closer and their lips brush together. Taehyung's eyelids fluttered shut. His lashes tickled the younger's cheek as he pressed closer.
They kissed like that. Standing under the moonlight, with the forest and the fireflies as witnesses, they kissed in earnest. Taehyung put his arms around Jeongguk's waist and they kissed.
The kiss was not hungry, it was longing. It was not harsh, but gentle. Soft press of one pair of lips against another. Sucking and tugging lightly. They stood there and kissed for long, long minutes.
Taehyung finally pulled himself back and stared into the younger's eyes. "What are we now, Jeongguk?" He whispered, afraid that if he spoke any louder it'll ruin the delicate air between them.
"Special. We are special hyung." He snickered and the other pouted at him. "So? What did you find? Are we still gay?" He asked with a genuinely curious expression.
"Oh definitely. Too gay. But I want to know what is special about us Gukkie." He almost whined and his eyes were expectant. He really wanted a genuine answer.
"Our relationship is not meant for the camera hyung. We don't need words to define our relationship. Whatever this is, I like it this way. Let's just stay close. Let's grow up, but stay the same." Jeongguk smiled and pressed another short lingering kiss against Taehyung's lips.
Taehyung smiled back and hugged him closer. They stood there for some time, embracing each other, hearts beating as one. They stood there, conveying unsaid words to each other. They didn't need those words to be out in the open. It was their private conversation.
This was them. Taehyung and Jeongguk. Same as ever. They have the most unique bond, and the world doesn't need to know about it.