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Jungkook closed the trunk of his sedan. Stuffed in there was his life’s worth of personal stuff, including some of his awards. Yes, that was who he was - Jeon Jungkook, college basketball star, rookie of the year the first time he joined professional basketball, two times sportsmanship award winner, and after that fateful on the court incident, a literal nobody. 

If Jeremy Lin was known for his “Linsanity” sensation, the crowds were definitely “jungshook-ed” everytime Jungkook was on the court. He might not be as tall as his teammates or opponents, but his strategic thinking and nimbleness on the court always amazed the spectators, drawing cheers from the team’s fans. 

Once he saw Kobe Bryant off the court. He was too shy to greet him. He’s regretted it ever since. He should have told Kobe he was a big fan, that he was inspired by him to pursue basketball professionally. Oh well, you cannot turn back time.

Jungkook drove all the way across the states, staying overnight at hotels by the road, until he reached his destination. It was a small city, not too small but definitely not big like the metropolitan city that he just left behind. Just outside the city, he saw cornfields after cornfields lining the state freeway. 

Jungkook stopped at a gas station not too far from his childhood home. It had been a while since he stepped his foot in this part of town. He used to know the area like the back of his hands. He was born and grew up there anyway. This was the place where he first picked up the orange ball and became passionate about basketball. This was the place he turned from a boy into a man, where he first fell in love and had his heart broken. 

Of course he had tried to find love afterwards, not lacking in men and women lining up to date him once he became famous, but no one made him feel the same as his first love did. Those were the times where they dated because they liked each other, not because he was famous or rich or part of the in-crowd. Too bad his first boyfriend didn’t feel the same. 

Jungkook sighed. Remembering his first boyfriend always brought pain into his heart. It was like reopening an old wound. Just as the saying went, the first cut was the deepest. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus on his present life instead. Going back to his hometown brought back old memories, but it was not like they were going to meet each other. Most of their old classmates were spread out, although mostly still within driving distance. But some went across the states, just like himself, to pursue their career or for the sake of their spouse.

The next day Jungkook would start teaching at his old high school. Min Yoongi, his basketball coach when he was in high school, gave him a call a few days ago. He said the school’s current PE teacher and basketball coach was going to take an extended leave and would need a replacement. What a coincidence that Jungkook was in a need to get away from his current life at the moment, right? 

So there he was, enjoying somewhat fresher air and darker night sky. He had forgotten all about stargazing while he lived in the city. The city lights were bright, obscuring his view of the stars, and soon he just stopped trying to look for his favorite pastime. He couldn’t tell the difference between the constellation anyway. That job was handled by Taehyung. 

For the few months or so that they dated, they would lie down on the grass, eyes facing up toward the sky. Then Taehyung would point up to a bunch of stars, name the constellation, and start telling the mythological stories connected to the constellation. Jungkook would just listen and enjoy his view. For him, the beautiful face next to him was far more interesting than the stars ever were. So night after night, Taehyung would enjoy the stars, not realizing that the boy next to him kept his gaze on him.    

“Welcome to Springfield High, Jungkook!” A man with light blue hair approached him and offered his hand for a handshake. “I’m Namjoon, the current principal of this school. The children usually call me Principal Kim. I’ve heard a lot about you and saw you on TV, of course,” he said enthusiastically. “You are such an inspiration to the younger generation! I’m so happy you decided to be our substitute PE teacher.”

“You are too kind, Namjoon.” Jungkook gave his best smile. “I’m happy to be back and teach here. This school is my alma mater, afterall.”

“Ah of course. You might know some of the teachers here already, then.” Namjoon looked like he was in high spirit. “One was a graduate from this school, just like you. He is smart, sweet, and very likeable. I’m sure you two will get along well. Some others have been here for a long time, you might have had them as your teachers while you were here.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrows. He forgot that he had to face his old teachers from back in his high school days. He was not really a trouble maker, but he had spent some time in the principal’s office back in the days, and the reason was almost always related to a certain Kim Taehyung. 

“I’m excited to meet them again,” Jungkook said politely, silently hoping that Mr. Mack had at least retired from teaching biology and Mr. Kim had moved on to a better, bigger opportunity. 

The former always gave him a hard time. Science wasn’t his strongest area and while the physics and chemistry teachers gave him some slack, Mr. Mack always put a lot of pressure on him. He said it was a form of tough love. Well, yeah, Jungkook had enough of the tough love. Mr. Mack was old, though. So he hoped he didn’t have to have to meet him face to face as a colleague, even temporarily. He wasn’t sure what kind of comment the man would make if he saw Jungkook teaching as a substitute in the same school. 

Kim Seokjin, or Mr. Kim according to the students, was a different matter. Jungkook actually thought he was a decent person at first. It was just his position as the school counselor meant he had to spend a substantial amount of time talking to Jungkook whenever he was called to the principal office. Mr. Kim had many one on one sessions with him as well as small group sessions with him and Taehyung back then. He acted not only as a referee to their many disputes and bickerings, but was trying to act as an agent of reconciliation between the two as well.  

He was somewhat successful, considering Kim Taehyung and he turned from nemeses to boyfriends by the time they were in their last year of high school, although the relationship didn’t last that long. It was not Mr. Kim’s fault, though. Still, it might be awkward to face him again, considering the man knew so much about him. 

Namjoon brought him to the staff room and showed him an empty desk assigned to him. It’s located almost in the corner of the room, just as Jungkook liked it. It looked like it was placed there specifically for him to use.

“I’m sorry if your desk is a bit far from the door,” Namjoon said apologetically. “We put this specially for you. Most teachers have their own classrooms to put their stuff in, and you have access to the gym storage in addition to this desk area,” Namjoon further explained. “Maria had to leave immediately when there was a complication with her pregnancy. She is now on bed rest until the baby’s due date.”

“Don’t worry about it, this is more than fine,” Jungkook assured him. “Is she okay?”

“She is doing fine, yes, but obviously she can’t come back to work for the next few months. I’m so grateful you were so quick to accept to be her substitute.”

“Jungkook! What a nice surprise!” The door opened, revealing a slightly older woman in her thirties who greeted them as she entered the staff room. Behind her was a man in his late twenties to early thirties, grinning at the sight of him. 

“Ah, Mrs. Yu, nice to see you again,” Jungkook greeted her. Mrs. Yu was his English teacher back then. It seems she was still teaching after all these years.

The man behind her flashed his big smile and gripped his hand firmly for a handshake. “Hi! My name is Hoseok, but the students call me Mr. Jung. I teach physics. Welcome to Springfield high!”

“Hi Hoseok, I’m Jungkook. I’ll be the PE substitute teacher starting today. I guess the students will call me Mr. Jeon.”

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you in the building. I thought I was daydreaming,” Hoseok exclaimed. “A national basketball player not only visiting our school, but becoming a teacher here, too? You made my day, Jungkook.” He shook Jungkook’s hand a little too enthusiastically. 

“The timing is right,” Jungkook smiled while subtly trying to release his hand from Hoseok’s grip, but to no avail. “I’m taking a break from professional basketball and Yoongi told me about this opportunity.”

“Bless him for doing it. I’m sure the students will be thrilled when they see their new PE teacher.” Hoseok finally released Jungkook’s hand and hugged him instead. 

Jungkook was surprised at Hoseok’s overfriendliness, but he didn’t feel a creepy vibe from him, so he just let it go. 

The rest of the day went by quickly. The day was supposed to be an orientation day for him, so he didn’t have to teach yet. During his break, he stayed in the staff room and met a few more teachers. They were all thrilled to see him there. Mrs. Nguyen, the geometry teacher, sheepishly asked if she could take a picture together with him. She said her daughter was in a little hoops program and looked up to him a lot. 

Toward the end of the day, Namjoon brought over a student dressed in a basketball uniform.

“Jungkook, this is Lucas,” Namjoon introduced him. “He is the captain of our school’s basketball team. They are having practice today and I thought maybe you’d like to watch them. You’ll take over coaching starting tomorrow.”

The boy who was apparently named Lucas was looking at Jungkook in awe. His jaw dropped and he seemed to be in a different world. It took Namjoon many tries calling his name to bring him back to earth. Lucas blinked repeatedly until he was ready to respond.

“Mr. Kim had mentioned there would be a substitute PE teacher and coach starting tomorrow,” Lucas nodded his head a little too fast. “I didn’t expect it would be a star, though.”

Jungkook noticed the boy’s neck as he gulped. Clearly he was nervous. 

“Would you show me to practice then, Lucas?” He asked in his nicest tone. He patted the boy’s back, guiding him to walk toward the door. “Who is coaching the team today?”

“Mr. Kim has been coaching us while Mrs. Garcia is away.” He was referring to Maria, the PE teacher and the basketball coach Jungkook was substituting for. He passed through the door that Jungkook held open for him. “He is a good coach, we all love him. I would vouch for him anytime. It’s good that you came, though. Mr. Kim is already swamped with his own work being the biology teacher. He also oversees an after school club. And now he volunteers as a temporary basketball coach for our team while we have no one.”

Jungkook was impressed. “Sounds like a dedicated teacher.”

They passed by several wide eyed students as they walked through the school hallway.

“He is,” Lucas agreed. “He is very nice, too. Everyone in this school loves him. Even the ones who usually hate biology look forward to his class every single time.” 

“He sounds like a great guy,” Jungkook commented. “I can’t wait to meet him.” 

Jungkook really was looking forward to meeting him. If this Mr. Kim was really as nice as Lucas described, he could ask for pointers and guidance from him, considering Maria left already and Jungkook himself wasn’t really experienced in teaching high school students. He passed his security clearance to be with the kids, though. 

“Today we’ll practice at the indoor court.” Lucas led them to the gym at the corner of the building. “The forecast said the temperature will drop to the low 20s soon, and tonight there might be another snowfall.” 

It had been a while since Jungkook experienced snow. These past few years, he just brought his parents to sunny Southern California during Christmas time. He had a lot of practices scheduled in between and they enjoyed the break from the cold Midwest weather. 

“That’s fine.” Jungkook nodded. 

He moved forward, leading the way with confidence. He still remembered the layout of the school very well, especially this part of the school building. He just needed to pass the stairs that lead to the basement to reach the gym. This part of the building was somehow always darker than the rest of the school. It was a good thing he didn’t have to go to the basement. He always hated the place. It was always dark and the air was stale, although some teachers and the janitors used the area as storage. 

They turned at the corner past the stairs and were faced with a double door that opened up to the indoor multipurpose gym. He held the gym door open for Lucas and followed him inside. 

Jungkook stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the back of a broad shouldered man with curly black hair. The man was sitting in the middle of the basketball court, facing the students who were all sitting on the floor making a semicircle, facing him and listening intently to whatever he was saying. He couldn’t see the man’s face yet and he wasn’t close enough to hear what they were talking about. 

But then the speech was over and Jungkook could hear the man’s rumbling laughter in the middle of the students expressing their excitement and sharing their laughter together. The deep laughter reminded him of his past, back when he was a high schooler. The laughter that always drove him mad - first it was because he thought he despised it so much. Much later, he realized that the maddening feeling it stirred in his heart was because he loved listening to the sound it made.

The man turned his head as Lucas walked closer to him and out of the corner of his eyes, he caught Jungkook in his line of sight. Instantly the big smile on his face was gone. Instead, it was replaced with a big pout, crinkled eyebrows, and a sharp pair of eyes staring at him, half surprised, half annoyed. 

Jungkook, too, sported a similar expression on his face. He was eyeing the other man’s features. Same stares, same pout, same eyebrows. He smirked, but he wasn’t sure whether he needed to be happy or irritated at the man’s presence. He’d like to show his indifference in meeting him again after all these years, but anything relating to Kim Taehyung couldn’t draw a neutral reaction for him. It was always intense hatred or intense love, and currently Jungkook was caught in the internal battle within himself. 

“It’s been a while, Jeon,” Taehyung addressed him coolly. Jungkook could tell there were a lot of repressed feelings under the calm voice. 

“So it has, Kim.” Jungkook refused to lose from their staring match. 

For both of them, it felt like everything else came to a blur. They ignored all eyes that were staring at their interaction. Some were nervous about what might happen next, but most were excited to see what would happen. Some students whispered among themselves, making up theories about what had happened between the two.

Taehyung stood up from where he was sitting on the floor and brushed over his clothes. Last time they saw each other, they were about the same height. Jungkook had grown taller since, naturally and with good diets and supplements, because of his job requirements. It seemed that Taehyung had also grown taller. As Jungkook walked closer, he could tell their eye level matched each other.

The only differences he could notice about Taehyung from his high school days was that he looked more manly. His shoulders were broader and his jaw got more defined. He had this innocent look all throughout high school, which in Jungkook's opinion, was very deceptive. Surprisingly, he still retained some of it, even when they both were in their late twenties at the time. 

“Looks like you are forever stuck in a high school mentality,” Jungkook started the provocation. Taehyung looked offended. He wrinkled his eyebrows and glared at Jungkook, fierce enough to make Jungkook reconsider his choice of words. However, if Jungkook regretted it, it was too late, because Taehyung spit out a comeback addressed to him.

“Better than you. You flew high just to come back to this in the middle of nowhere place.” 

“At least I’ve got to see more of the world than you.” Jungkook could be cocky when he wanted to be. He ignored some students who were surprised to see the animosity between the two teachers.

“Pfft. Like it’s a good thing.” There you go, the nose crunch that used to drive Jungkook crazy appeared on Taehyung’s face. Jungkook found it was still driving him crazy. 

“It’s good when you can meet beautiful people who are eager to be with you and not break your heart.” It was a lie. Jungkook felt really weird saying what he just said out loud. He wasn’t sure what prompted him to say it, though he probably just wanted to see a hint of jealousy in Taehyung’s face. Instead, he was faced with a disgusted expression from the other man.

“That sounds just like you, Jeon.” Taehyung was also walking toward him and then he stopped. They were about a step apart from each other, still not done with their intense staring contest. “Such arrogance.”

A trait of Taehyung’s that Jungkook despised and adored simultaneously was his stubbornness. Jungkook, too, was actually known to always need to win. It was part of the reasons they were always butting heads with each other.

“At least I can back it up with my skills, Kim.”

“Oh yeah? Is that why you come back here and insult me?”

Anything related to his professional career was still a sore topic for Jungkook. After his injury last summer, he spent many months in physical therapy and rehabilitation. He survived the preseason games but finally failed in the first half of the regular season. He just got an order to rest because his injuries flared up again which made him decide to take a break from his professional career. 

“I bet I can at least defeat you in a one-on-one game.” His personal challenge was met with an equally stubborn I’ll show you I won’t back down counter challenge.

“Let’s prove it, then.”

They cleared the basketball court from lingering students for this match. They were all lining up against the wall, partly confused and partly excited to see Jungkook playing basketball in front of their eyes. They attracted other students who had been sharing a gym space with them doing other sports in the big gym room.

The spectators were cheering, but Taehyung and Jungkook only focused on each other. Jungkook knew he had to take it easy not to make his injuries worse. But he couldn’t back down. He would not lose against Kim Taehyung. 

The game would end when one of them reached 20 points. So far Jungkook had scored 16 points and surprisingly, Taehyung didn’t fare much worse with 12 points. A distracted second for Jungkook cost him 2 points. That just added fuel to his determination to win. A few minutes later, he did a slam dunk, making their standing to be 18 to 14. He just needed one more shot to win. 

They went back and forth, each side not willing to back down. At last, Jungkook got a hold on the ball and was ready to shoot. As he aimed at the hoop, his eyes caught Taehyung’s fierce eyes and suddenly doubt crept in. His movement slowed down considerably and he almost came to a halt. Taehyung, not realizing what had happened, stole the ball and scored. 

Taehyung looked back as the ball slipped through the hoop and bounced off the court. He felt weird that the last shot was too easy. He saw Jungkook who was still not out of his trance yet and grew worried.

“Why did you stop playing? Are you suddenly afraid to lose?” Taehyung threw a challenge but his worried eyes betrayed him.

Jungkook noticed his eyes and knew that Taehyung was worried about his injury. They might not like each other but he knew Taehyung wasn’t someone who wished bad things to come to his enemies. Jungkook blinked his eyes quickly to get back to his regular state.

“I’m totally fine,” he said. His face turned smug as he continued. “I just wanted to give you a tiny bit of empty hope before really defeating you.”

Taehyung’s pout turned into a frown. “Watch out, then. Give me some more slack and maybe I’ll beat you at your own game, Jeon.” Taehyung’s eyes were threatening, but they were still mixed with worry. It seemed he still wasn’t sure that Jungkook was really okay.

They were locked in another staring contest when the gym door abruptly opened and a man in his mid-thirties walked in briskly toward them. 

“Jeon Jungkook! Kim Taehyung! I can’t believe this! It’s been ten years and I still have to separate you from your fights!”

Jungkook turned to see Kim Seokjin. He was the school counselor back when he was still in high school and it looked like he was still working at the school. Jungkook definitely wasn’t looking forward to spending time getting an earful at the counselor office anymore.

“I’m sorry, counselor Kim,” Taehyung responded. His voice turned polite and he nodded a little to acknowledge the newcomer. “We were just doing a friendly match to hype up the kids.”

If Jungkook didn’t know Taehyung well, he would have believed whatever he said. The man could look so angelic with his big eyes, arms straight, and hands interlaced behind his back. It was as if he had done nothing wrong at all. Despite that, Jungkook still decided to join the act and tried to appear as innocent as possible. He didn’t want to get in trouble on the first day of work.

It seemed that Jin didn’t buy their pretense, although he didn’t say anything at first. His eyes went from Jungkook to Taehyung and back again multiple times while considering what to do with them. 

“Would you come with me, Mr. Kim,” he finally said. “I need your help with something.”

Jungkook’s eyes grew wide when he noticed Seokjin grabbed Taehyung’s hand and didn’t let it go as they walked out of the gym together. They were talking in low voices so Jungkook couldn’t hear what they were talking about. For some reason, he felt a pang of jealousy as he witnessed the scene.

“That should put him in his place.” A man in his early thirties approached Jungkook, extending his hand for a handshake. “John Davis. I coach track and field.” 

“Jeon Jungkook,” he said shortly.

“I’ve seen your high school pictures around school. By extension, some of them have Taehyung in it. He certainly got chubbier compared to his high school days.” John laughed out loud and patted Jungkook’s shoulder. If he was trying to be on Jungkook's good side with his snide remarks, he definitely failed.

Jungkook just stared at him. “I don’t see anything wrong with his weight. He looks perfectly fine to me.” He really didn’t get where this conversation was going. It was true Taehyung gained a little weight, but he was scrawny to begin with. In Jungkook’s opinion, adding a few pounds only enhanced his attractiveness.

“Well, I just wanted to say you did the right thing leaving him behind. Compared to the people you meet in the city, Taehyung must look… what’s the right word to say it… bland?”

“You must not know him well to label him as bland.” It was true. Jungkook really meant it. Aside from his animosity with Taehyung, Taehyung was actually everything he wanted in a man. Jungkook was cool on the outside, but he grew increasingly annoyed at John. If there was anyone who could insult Taehyung, it was him and him only, not anyone else. 

John cocked his eyebrow. “Okay, then. I guess you do it right by keeping your old bitch around.”

Jungkook locked eyes with John. “I think we are done talking here.” He then turned and dismissed the kids. With Taehyung gone and himself not officially starting to coach yet, there was no reason for them to stay.

Chapter Text

Many Happenings at School 

Jungkook took long strides across the corridor. He was sure room 104 is nearby, if his memory served him right. His first few weeks were uneventful, if he didn’t count the droves of parents that suddenly wanted to pick up and drop off their kids personally as opposed to letting them take the school bus. They just wanted to know if the rumor that he was substituting at the school was in fact true. He started to get to know his students and fellow teachers. Life was alright as long as he avoided a certain Kim Taehyung.

This morning, Jungkook happened to be with Jin, or who students now call Counselor Kim, when Namjoon entered with a student. She apparently looked upset and needed someone to talk to. Jungkook agreed to Jin’s request to substitute him as the teacher’s helper, which brought him there. 

“Come in,” Taehyung called through as Jungkook knocked at the classroom door.

Jungkook opened the door and stepped in. He didn’t expect to ever end up in Taehyung’s class but there he was. 

“I was asked to substitute for Counselor Kim to help out with the demonstration for room 104.”

Taehyung’s eyes widened in surprise. “Did anyone tell you what the class is about?”

Jungkook shook his head. “Counselor Kim said I should be able to do it.” He looked around the classroom and spotted some contraceptive devices and a model womb on a table in front of the class. He gasped when the answer dawned on him. “Are you teaching a sex-ed class?”

“I am teaching sex-ed today,” Taehyung nodded. It took a lot of self restraint for him to keep his mouth from curling. “Are you comfortable doing that?”

Jungkook blushed. He scratched his head to distract himself. “Well, I guess I’m qualified in helping you with that.”

A whistle could be heard from the back of the room. 

“Okay,” Taehyung nodded, ignoring the whistle. It was not his first year teaching, so he was used to having a classroom full of teens with hormones raging through their bloodstream. What he forgot was that Jungkook wasn’t used to it yet. He still hadn’t recovered from his blushing. Luckily, Jungkook just had to hold up the props for the students to see.

A hand was raised in the middle of the subject. 

“Yes, Wendy?”

“Ummm… so how do we get a hold of condoms, again?” She asked, flustered, but her eyes were full of determination. 

“First, I have to remind you and all the students to review all the precautions I’ve been teaching you,” Taehyung replied. “You guys are still young. I know some of you reached legal age already. Still, like I mentioned in the last class, there are many things to consider.” He looked at the class sternly to let them know he was serious.

“Having that said, actually the nurse office provides them in the basket just by the entrance,” Taehyung informed. “They are available free of charge for all school members, be it students or staff.”

“Oh really?” Jungkook asked, pleasantly surprised. “That’s convenient. It would have made our lives much easier if they provided it back then.”

Taehyung glared at him. A few students could be heard giggling among themselves. 

“How many people did you sleep with in high school, Mr. Jeon?” A boy bravely asked.

Jungkook was flustered. “Only one,” he answered. “We didn’t really take things to the next level until both of us were ready. By then we had already turned 18 and almost graduated.” With how much of his waking hours were spent studying, practicing basketball, and hating (and later loving) Taehyung, he really didn’t have time to think about anyone else. He blushed again.

Taehyung turned to him. “You don’t have to answer anything you are not comfortable with,” he advised. “Only appropriate questions, please,” he addressed the class.

“Have you been in touch with her again after you became famous?” Another student chirped in. Of course they didn’t want to let this opportunity go.

“That’s enough, Jackson,” Taehyung said firmly. He was about to scold the student but Jungkook raised his hand to stop him.

“I recently saw him again, now that I’m back in our hometown,” he said calmly. 

The room was abuzz with students’ noises. They were so excited to discuss the revealed gender of Jungkook’s lover and if they could guess who he was. 

Taehyung gave Jungkook a warning glare. “Why did you say that?” he muttered under his breath.

“I just want to be open about my sexuality,” Jungkook whispered back.

“And how did you do that?” Taehyung squinted his eyes, half in disbelief.

“I referred to you as a ‘him’, didn’t I?”

Taehyung covered his mouth to make sure no one else could hear their conversation. “What if they figure out it was me you dated?”

Jungkook grinned. “And what’s wrong with that?”

Taehyung pouted. “I just don’t need to be associated with you in that way.”

“Anyone who checked the wall of shame section in the school newspaper will figure it out. We appeared together so frequently in that section.”

“There is no more wall of shame in today’s school newspaper. I doubt these kids know what to look for.”

“There is no more wall of shame?” Jungkook asked. “Such a shame. We were so popular because of it back then.”

“Excuse me, are you talking about a wall of shame?” A girl in thick glasses and sat in the front row asked. She must have overheard the last sentence as Jungkook didn’t bother to whisper anymore. Taehyung threw a sharp side glance at Jungkook.

“Yes, I just heard there is no more wall of shame in the school newspaper,” Jungkook answered. “What a pity.”

“What’s in the wall of shame?” Another student blurted out the question. By then the room was quiet. Everyone wanted to hear what the teachers had to say about it.  

“The full name of it was the wall of shame and fame,” Taehyung explained. “It’s a section in the school newspaper written by students for students. Contrary to its title, it wasn’t actually meant to shame anyone. Just social things that didn’t have anything to do with school, like who started dating who, who broke up with who, who had beef with who, which student adopted a new pet, and so on. The students who appeared often in the section tended to be famous in their own right.”

“Did Mr. Jeon appear in the newspaper often?”

“He did. But that’s enough interrogation for the day. Let’s focus our attention back to our study.” Taehyung ignored all the protests and groans from the students and tried to restart their subject. He pretended nothing out of the ordinary had happened and kept going, asking Jungkook to hold objects for him while he talked.

“I’ll have to talk to you later, Jeon.” He warned Jungkook as everyone packed their belongings to go to the next class.

“Anytime, Kim,” Jungkook smirked. 

He knew behind that calm face lied a flustered Taehyung. He just found a new way he could win against Taehyung and that made him feel a little smug. Jungkook had always been the bold one in the relationship, so anything that made Taehyung lose his ground was a win in his mind. He couldn’t help but be a little happy, though. Talking about the past reminded him of his youth. Even if it involved Taehyung, the memory warmed him up a little.

A Day of Remembrance

“Hi, I’m Jimin, Mark’s guardian,” a man in his early thirties approached Jungkook at the end of the practice session. He was a little shorter than him, probably around Yoongi’s height, if Jungkook were to guess.

“Nice to meet you, Jimin. I’m Jungkook.” Jungkook greeted him. He wondered what Jimin could possibly want from him. 

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’ve seen you play on TV, too,” Jimin opened the conversation. “Are you as good at coaching as you are in playing?”

Jungkook was flabbergasted. Jimin was straightforward and didn’t even try to soften his jabs. It was a valid question, however, so he didn’t see a reason not to answer.

“I’m trying my best to help out the students. It’s just a few weeks of me being with them, so I am still learning about each student’s strengths and weaknesses, but I’ll make sure they get the most out of everything.”

Jimin eyed him skeptically. “Yoongi and Taehyung spoke very highly of you. In person, you look … somewhat ordinary,” he said after pausing a little, trying to find the right word to describe Jungkook. “Anyway, I trust their judgement. They’ve known you for a long time.”

It was quite surprising for Jungkook to learn that Taehyung spoke highly of him. He wasn’t sure if he had to respond to Jimin’s remark either. It wasn’t exactly good or bad, the man was just giving him his honest impression of him. 

Without warning, Jimin changed his expression to a friendly smile. “Please let me know if you need my help in anything. I’m Yoongi’s husband, so I’ll definitely see you around. He said he was going to invite you for dinner one of these days.”

Jungkook was still surprised with the sudden change in his tone, but if he was Yoongi’s husband, then he needed to be polite. “Definitely. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’ll invite Taehyung, too. That way, you won’t feel like you are third wheeling,” Jimin grinned. “Yoongi and I - people said we are their relationship goal. Taehyung often complains about us whenever we hang out. I can’t believe it. We definitely never do anything gross in front of him.”

Jungkook doubted that was the truth. The fact that Jimin had to mention it most likely meant that he and Yoongi tend to do gross things in front of Taehyung. He didn’t want to have dinner where Taehyung was present, either. However, since it was only their first meeting, he didn’t want to argue about that. Not that day, at least. 

Luckily, Jimin changed the conversation topic. 

“So, are you going to your class reunion?”

“Class reunion?” Jungkook asked. 

“Yeah. Your class is having a ten year reunion next month. I’m sure you got the invitation a few months ago?”

Truthfully, it completely slipped his mind. With his accident, failed rehabs, and everything that was going on, he barely registered anything unrelated to basketball. Now that he thought about it, he recalled he might have seen an invitation coming through the mail a while back. It had been laying unopened on his kitchen counter all those times. When he moved, it must have been mixed up and packed with his other unimportant mail items. 

“I think I did. I’ll look through my mail and find it. Can you tell me the details again?” Jungkook requested.

I’ll have Taehyung or Yoongi to take a picture of the invitation and send it to you. They are the ones associated with the school ten years ago.” 

Jimin motioned for Mark to come closer. “Alright, I have to go. I’ll see you next time, Jungkook.” He smiled and waved, walking away with Mark to their car.

That night, Jungkook spent some time rummaging through his belongings. It wasn’t an easy feat. He wasn’t even sure if he had the invitation with him. When he moved, he only brought essential items that could fit in the car. The rest was still in a storage location back in LA. He was planning to go back there anyway after his little break.

Instead of the invitation, he came across his latest diagnosis from his orthopedic surgeon. He sighed as he reread the letter over and over. He realized going back to professional basketball would be an ordeal for him, but it was something that he was willing to do. Anything would be better than the sense of inferiority he had been feeling lately, a feeling like he was a has-been. It wasn’t easy to be on top of the word one day and be a nobody the next day.

A message notification on his phone distracted him. It was from Taehyung. He just sent him the details of the reunion. Jungkook frowned. Jimin must have told him that he didn’t have the information. As much as he was curious about who Taehyung would bring with him to the event, there was no way Jungkook would ask him. He wouldn’t be caught dead showing up by himself either.  There was zero chance he would let Taehyung pity him for coming dateless to the party. He immediately texted his friends with benefits in LA, hoping one of them would be available on that date.

A knock on his door made him turn his attention toward the door. “Come in.” 

As the door was opened, a face peeked out from behind it, smiling. Jungkook smiled back. “What’s the matter, eomma?”

“Jungkook, can you make sure you don’t leave the house without telling me first tomorrow morning? I need you to bring something for Taehyung.” 

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows. His parents moved from South Korea to the U.S for his father’s job before he was born. Then many years later, when Jungkook was in middle school, a newcomer to their little town attracted Jungkook’s mother's attention.  

Taehyung’s mother just moved to their town from South Korea after marrying a local resident. She was a widow, her first husband died a few years ago. So along with her came Taehyung, who happened to be the same age as Jungkook, meaning they would be in the same grade. Being a yellow skinned middle schooler in a town where 90% of the population was white was not easy. Add to the fact that Taehyung only spoke broken English and it was a recipe for disaster. 

As someone who somehow should be able to relate to Taehyung, Jungkook’s mom kept pushing him to help Taehyung out. However, Jungkook was born here and he felt 100% American. Just because Taehyung somewhat looked like him didn’t mean they had to spend that much time together. Jungkook’s mom also spent a lot of time with Taehyung and his mom and that made him feel a little neglected. 

All those factors combined with his teenage immaturity made him resent Taehyung all through middle school and halfway through high school. Taehyung was excited to befriend Jungkook at first, but after a year of trying hard and getting rejected all the time, Taehyung also grew to resent Jungkook back. There had always been animosity between the two of them ever since.

Jungkook felt a little guilty about that now that he was a grown man. Thankfully, despite everything, Taehyung still turned out more than okay. Even when he could barely speak well, the boy always managed to grab people’s hearts. Jungkook blamed it on his big, boxy smile with eyes that twinkle to complete the look. 

“What do you want me to bring to Taehyung, eomma? You know I try to avoid talking to him,” Jungkook pouted.

“He is a fine man, Jungkook. He has always been very sweet to me, even after you stopped talking to him.”

“Of course. You have also always been nice to him.”

“You know, he never knew what made you stop talking to him and disappear just like that from his life. I can’t help him either. You never told me the reason.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, eomma.” It was true. Jungkook talked about many trivial things, but he tended to keep important things to himself, especially the ones that affected him greatly. He didn’t share much about his emotional struggle with recuperating and not being as good as before in basketball. He didn’t share anything about what made him leave Taehyung to anyone.  

Jungkook’s mom sighed. “Alright. Just make sure to catch me before you leave tomorrow. I will prepare some food for him to bring home. The hundredth day commemoration of his mother’s death is coming up. I’m sure he is very busy. I just want to make sure he has enough to eat.”

Jungkook couldn’t contain his surprise. “Did his mom recently die?” 

“I tried to tell you on the phone. When I mentioned Taehyung’s name, you immediately told me to stop.”

Jungkook felt terrible. He lived a good life in LA, being a basketball star, being among other stars, and never lacking in money and companions. Still, once in a while, when everything around him was dark and quiet, he would remember about the boy who broke his heart. He remembered about how Taehyung’s smile made him feel, he remembered about how he used to think that they would always be a we. 

Since he moved away, he banned his parents from talking about Taehyung. It would bring a pang in his heart and even time couldn’t fully healed him yet. He wasn’t a monster, though. Aunt Jihye was also always nice to him, whether he was Taehyung's enemy or lover. He should have come home to pay respect when she passed away. 

“I’m sorry, eomma,” he gulped, feeling guilt creeping up his heart. “I’ll definitely bring the food tomorrow for Taehyung.”

“Thanks, Jungkook.” She was about to turn around but remembered something else.

“Jungkook?” She waited until they had eye contact and said, “whether you continue your journey with the NBA or not, appa and eomma are already proud of you.”

Jungkook smiled appreciatively. “I know that.”

She smiled back. “Alright, I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.” 

“Good night, eomma. I might go to bed early tonight.”

“Good night. Oh, please consider talking to Taehyung about whatever issue you have with him one of these days? He used to make you very happy. You need someone like him in these trying times.”

Jungkook sighed. What he would give to have them back to their happiest times. Nobody could change the past, though. So the best he could give was a noncommittal response. “I’ll think about it.”

All he got in return was a peck on his forehead and he was alone again. 

Jungkook opened his closet and took out an album from the top shelf. It was a present from Taehyung back when they were still together. There were pictures of him and Taehyung together with family and friends. There was a picture of them at Jungkook’s birthday party. They were not friends yet but Jungkook’s mom still insisted on inviting Taehyung anyway. There was also a picture of them during their first basketball practice together back from their middle school days.

By the time Taehyung was in high school, his English speaking skill had improved a lot and he was one of the most popular students in the school, like Jungkook. It helped, too, that with the combined students from the other middle school in the school district, there was slightly better diversity. There were Tristan, Ahmed, and Priti in their circle of friends, for example. The rivalry then turned into who could do things better. From who could get better grades to who brought better lunch. 

They both were in the school’s basketball team and they always tried to outdo each other. Jungkook was the team captain but Taehyung also managed to be the second in command. Most of the time, Jungkook could handle his teammates well. When it came to sensitive issues, however, usually Taehyung stepped up and handled them for him. In short, the two of them made a good team although Jungkook never realized it until much later. Better late than never, they got together in the end anyway.

Jungkook flipped the pages until he reached the last picture. It was the two of them in their prom suits, ready to go to the party. Jungkook couldn’t help but smile. There he was, young eighteen year old Jungkook, with his arms around the young Taehyung’s waist, looking so proud and happy. Even after their falling out, there was never a moment where Jungkook considered throwing out the album. The pictures represent the best memories of his teenage life. A time where everything was simpler and love was purer.  

Jungkook traced Taehyung’s smile with his finger. How he wished that he could see that smile directed at him again. But this was real life. Nobody could turn back the time and he just needed to move on. He closed his album and turned off the light. 

---

When Jungkook arrived at the church for the commemoration service with his parents, the parking lot was already almost full. He could see people he knew from the neighborhood chatting by the front door. Some flower arrangements were placed on the tables in the foyer. It was not customary for the church to hold a hundred day commemoration service. They supported the customary procedure for Jihye to respect her and her tradition per request from the family.  

Jungkook spotted Taehyung talking to a group of older ladies at the back corner of the sanctuary. Dave, Taehyung’s step dad, and Grace, his half sister, were with them, as well. 

“Jungkook! It’s been a long time since I last saw you!” Grace welcomed him shyly but politely as Jungkook and his parents approached. The last time they met, she just finished her kindergarten and was going into first grade. She had turned into a teenager while Jungkook was away. She then turned toward Jungkook’s parents and greeted them, too. “Thank you for coming, uncle and aunt Jeon!”

One thing about being a person of Asian descent was your parents would never let you address an Asian adult by their name. The Jeons and Taehyung’s family were definitely not related by blood, but the children still had to address the parent generation with some kind of honorifics. Although Jungkook got a pass from Dave to call him by name since he didn’t care about being called with an honorific anyway. 

Dave greeted Jungkook and his parents, taking a break from talking to the ladies. “Thank you for coming, guys! Welcome home, Jungkook. Look at you, you are even more handsome than when you were in high school.”

“Thanks, Dave,” Jungkook blushed. It had been that long since he visited home. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to meet anyone, he just wanted to avoid a certain someone. “You don’t look a day older than the last time I saw you.”  

They were still talking when Taehyung finally turned his attention to them. “Eomonim, abeonim, thank you so much for coming.” He gave Jungkook’s mother a hug, followed by another hug for his father. 

Jungkook smiled. He used to hate Taehyung calling his parents by those names. As his feelings for Taehyung changed, he actually became endeared by the terms. Even when they were not together anymore, Taehyung would be the only one who called his parents by those names, and he treasured it. He loved how his parents’ faces would  light up upon hearing the honorifics.

Taehyung then turned to Jungkook. Before he could say anything, to his surprise, Jungkook embraced him tightly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m really sorry about your mom. Sorry I wasn’t here earlier.” 

And he meant it. Every single word. Jihye had always been more than kind to him. His mom told him that she had been battling cancer for a few years before finally succumbing to it. He felt so awful for never bothering to know or even ask his parents how she had been doing all these years. 

He was also concerned about Taehyung. The boy who left everything behind to find a new life just with his mom and then she was gone. There was still Grace but she was still too young to fully understand. As nice as Dave was, it was just different when there were no other extended family members around. 

The morning before, he delivered the food to Taehyung’s class before the start of the school day. He couldn’t really say much due to the lack of time. He didn’t want to start a conversation that made Taehyung emotional just before the students poured into the classroom. And the students stared curiously as they spotted him in the classroom. It seemed like word got around about their little basketball match on his first day. Even when they tried to be civil when they were around each other, the students still liked to speculate about the two teachers.

Taehyung hugged him back. “Thank you for being here right at this moment,” he said sincerely. “We might not always like each other, but my eomma had always loved you like another son of hers.”

“I know that.” Jungkook still didn’t let go of his hold. He had forgotten how much he loved Taehyung’s scent. Taehyung always smelled nice. Jungkook loved his choice of bath products, but even without any of it, his natural body scent always attracted him. It was like he would willingly drown in it and feel happier at the end of the experience. 

He put his face on Taehyung’s shoulder, overwhelmed with his emotions that had been bottling up since the day he learnt of her passing. Suddenly they all just bursted out at this particular time, when he had Taehyung in his arms again. 

Taehyung could feel Jungkook’s body shiver from all his emotions. It was a bit awkward and for a second, he wasn’t sure how to respond. They tried to be civil with each other but still, they had not been on the best term for a long time. Still, he held him tighter with one hand while the other stroked Jungkook’s hair to comfort him. Taehyung was a decent person, after all. Jungkook was clearly upset. Furthermore, he was directly seeking comfort from Taehyung. The right thing to do was naturally to provide him some support. 

After quite a while and Jungkook was still not calming down, he released part of himself from Jungkook’s embrace. He placed one arm across Jungkook’s back and rested his hand on Jungkook’s shoulder, with his other hand gently holding Jungkook’s hand closest to his body.

“I’ll make you a warm cup of tea,” Taehyung pulled Jungkook’s hand gently and guided him with his other arm. He excused himself and Jungkook from their families and brought him over to the cafe area. The cafe was closed that day, but Taehyung’s family provided a coffee maker and stacks of cups for people if they wanted to make themselves some coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. 

“Please take a seat. What kind of tea do you want? Or do you prefer hot chocolate?” Taehyung gently guided Jungkook toward a cafe chair and pulled the seat out for him.

Jungkook wasn’t satisfied yet, however. Instead of sitting down, he pulled Taehyung back into his arms and locked him in a big embrace. The truth was that he needed Taehyung’s touch - not only for missing Jihye but also for his own personal struggles. How his future had never looked that uncertain, how he might have to fall before he could even fully spread his wings. He couldn’t talk about him stressing out about his life to anyone, not even to his parents. This hug was the best thing he could get and he wasn’t about to let go until he felt he had at least one foot on the ground. 

Taehyung could sense his distress although he wasn’t sure what was on Jungkook’s mind. As much as he didn’t want to reopen his old wounds, he knew he had to set aside his feelings for now and be a decent human being. He could only guess it wasn’t only his mom’s death that made Jungkook react like this. They were not technically close and knowing Jungkook, he wouldn’t share what was on his heart to him. So Taehyung let Jungkook stay in his embrace for a little longer. He hugged him as tight as he could without suffocating him, giving Jungkook something to lean on and hoping he would take comfort in it.

When Jungkook finally calmed down, Taehyung helped him take a seat and then left for a few seconds. He immediately came back with a tray of cookies in his hands.  

“We are saving this for after the service, but you can get the first dibs.” Taehyung winked as Jungkook looked up to him with questioning eyes and sat next to him.

For the first time in the past few days, Jungkook smiled. How he wished time would stand still for a bit longer just to let him forget everything that troubled him. How he wished he could save Taehyung’s smile in his memory forever, that there was never a falling out between them and he could see this side of Taehyung everytime they were together. 

Jungkook grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and started chewing on it. While he was in training mode, he usually cut most of the unnecessary sugar in his diet. This time he could afford to cut some slack, and the cookie tasted especially delicious. Taehyung smiled at his eagerness to eat.

“We’ll have some sandwiches after the service.” He stood up and fixed his clothes. “I have to go to the sanctuary now. You can stay here as long as you want. Just bring the tray back to the kitchen when you are done with them, please?” 

Jungkook stayed for a while, thinking about everything that was in his mind. He grabbed the little bottle of milk that Taehyung brought him along with the cookies and opened it. He smiled as he tasted the liquid in the bottle. It had been years since the last time he drank banana milk. It used to be a favorite of his and it was comforting that Taehyung still remembered it and even had it on hand. 

The gesture was so Taehyung. He had always been this nice, which eventually made Jungkook fall for him in the first place. As he sipped the milk, he reluctantly admitted that he missed Taehyung more than he thought he did.  

When Jungkook went inside the sanctuary, the service had been going on for a while. He could see Taehyung and his family on the front row. He looked around until he found where his parents were sitting, but finally decided to sit on the last row to avoid disturbing other people. 

There were not too many people there, more than fifty but less than a hundred. The majority of people must have paid their respect during the actual funeral. Jungkook didn’t mind. He was thankful he didn’t have to be in a big crowd. He wasn’t really in the mood of people asking him about his basketball career or what brought him back to his hometown.  

Most people, including Jungkook’s parents, gathered around the cafe after the service was over. True to Taehyung’s words, an assortment of sandwiches and cookies were available for the visitors. Jungkook couldn’t care less about the food. He had been impatiently waiting for Taehyung to show up, but it seemed he was still held up by people talking to him about things related to his late mother. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Jungkook decided to look for him. He wasn’t sure what he needed to talk about with Taehyung. He just wanted to see his face again. Even if Taehyung was still busy, Jungkook would be happy just to get a glimpse of his smile again. 

He almost got to the sanctuary again when he noticed Taehyung’s back by the front entrance. His body was shaking as if he was crying, and the next thing Jungkook saw was that he was pulled into an embrace by the man he was talking to. 

Jungkook’s breath hitched as he recognized the face of the other man. Ten years ago, right after the graduation ceremony, when he thought everything was going so well between him and Taehyung, Brian, a teammate on his basketball team, mentioned he saw Taehyung being very touchy with a certain handsome man that day. That they hugged and kissed and was being  very lovey dovey. Jungkook didn’t believe him until he witnessed the man kiss Taehyung’s forehead gently before he left. It must have been the closing kiss after their make out session. 

Jungkook’s world felt like crumbling right in front of his eyes. The boy he gave his whole heart to just cheated on him. Maybe he shouldn’t snoop, but at least his curiosity saved him from further heartbreak. After that day, Jungkook decided to move up his moving day so he wouldn’t need to see Taehyung any longer. 

He didn’t answer Taehyung’s call, didn’t let Taehyung see him at his house, and banned his parents from telling Taehyung that he was going to leave way sooner than scheduled. It might be a little immature for him to do it that way, but he was so heartbroken that he thought Taehyung deserved it. They never talk or keep in touch anymore after that day. 

This time, Jungkook’s curiosity got the best of him. Quietly, he checked the guest book and scanned the names of people who came to the event that day. He recognized most names in the book and the few that he didn’t, they really didn’t fit the profile anyway. The man was in his mid thirties, tall, handsome, and of East Asian descent. The names Ashley James or Dylan Mackenzie in the guest book didn’t seem fitting. Then he came across the most probable candidate to put a name to the face: Park Seojoon. The man who kissed Taehyung back then and now had him in his arms.

Chapter Text

Rumor Has it

“Did you hear? Mr. Jeon and Mr. Kim used to date each other,” Xavier, a boy on the basketball team, started the conversation. Practice wouldn’t start for another twenty minutes and they were hanging out in the gym along with other students who were waiting for their own activities to start. 

“Hush. I heard they used to be nemeses,” his friend and teammate, Hasan, disagreed with him.

“Who told you that?”

“My uncle was a student while they were students here and he told me about it. They used to bicker and fight a lot and they had to spend a lot of time in the principal’s office.”

“Are you talking about our Mr. Kim? He is such a sweet person. I can’t believe he would have problems with anyone,” Stella, a girl on the track team, defended her favorite teacher.

“Did you not hear about their little basketball match the first time Mr. Jeon arrived at our school? They definitely know each other and dislike each other fiercely.” Hasan was there the day of their confrontation. He experienced what happened firsthand.

“Mr. Jeon defended Mr. Kim when Mr. Davis badmouthed him after he left, though.” Lucas loved Mr. Kim, but he also came to respect Mr. Jeon. Unconsciously, he felt the need to defend both teachers at the same time. 

“Really? That’s surprising. I’m glad he did. I heard Mr. Kim rejected Mr. Davis once when he asked him for a date. I guess he is still bitter about it.”

“I was there when Mr. Jeon volunteered to help in the sex-ed class. There was definitely strong tension between them,” Wendy butted in the conversation, not wanting to feel left out.

“I came into Mr. Kim’s classroom one morning and Mr. Jeon was there, holding a bag. He immediately handed it over to Mr. Kim and then ran away when he saw us. It was kinda awkward.” 

“I saw my aunt’s copy of her yearbook and from the look of it, Mr. Jeon and Mr. Kim were an item,” Irene, Stella’s friend from the track team, joined the conversation. 

“That’s what I said earlier! My aunt was also a student here. She said a lot of students were heartbroken when they learned they were both taken by each other. That’s two eligible bachelors off the market.”

“How did it happen? How come they went from archenemies to boyfriends?”

“My uncle said they always bickered with each other.” Mark was a little late arriving at the gym, but he still caught up with the conversation anyway. “Then on the first day they came back to school in their senior year, the other students found out that the two were dating each other. I guess something must have happened during the summer.”

“Your uncle is Min Yoongi, right? Their basketball coach when they were in high school?”

“That’s the one,” Mark nodded.

“Did you hear Mr. Jeon mention the wall of shame? Do you think the school library has copies of old school newspapers?” Jackson sounded so excited when he recalled the little bit of information he had. 

“I don’t know, but we can check. I can go to the library during my lunch break tomorrow.”

“I’ll join you.”

“Me, too. Three pairs of eyes are better than one, anyway.”

By then everyone seemed eager to find out more details about the two teachers. The two were popular among students and the students were dying to uncover the truth about them.

“How about…” 

Everyone stopped talking when they heard someone clearing their throat. 

“Miguel, aren’t you supposed to head out to the science club right about now?” Hoseok inquired.

The students grew silent while Miguel scurried away. Wendy looked like she was going to blurt out a question to Mr. Jung but luckily, Irene was able to put her hand over Wendy’s mouth just in time.

Hoseok was intrigued. Neither Taehyung nor Jungkook had brought up this particular past about them. He could sense there was some kind of animosity between the two, although he didn’t press for answers. Now that he was curious about it, he must find out about this immediately, either from them directly or probably from Jin. Jin never looked baffled with the behaviors between the two. He was their counselor when they were students, so it made sense. He must know something Hoseok didn’t.

For now, however, Hoseok knew he needed to maintain order and dismiss the students. It was time for the activities to begin.

A Conversation in the Dark

Taehyung walked toward the storage room with a big box of supplies in his arms. They just finished with the science after school club that he ran together with Hoseok. Today he was in charge of leading the experiment. Everyone helped clean up after the experiment and went home. Taehyung and Hoseok chatted a little after the students left. He let Hoseok go home and promised that he would also go home after storing the box. 

It was already dark outside. There was no more light coming through the window. Even the glow of the sunset had disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by heavy clouds and a moonless night sky. It looked like it might rain soon. He must have lost track of the time talking to Hoseok. 

Taehyung walked faster so he could be done with his errand and go home. With the box in front of him, his view was partly obscured and he almost bumped into someone. 

“Mr. Kim! Do you need my help? I can carry the box for you.” Lucas immediately offered his help when he realized who he almost bumped into.

“Lucas, you’re still here? Are you just finished with the basketball practice? It’s pretty late.” Their chance encounter gave Taehyung an excuse to set the box down on the floor. It was pretty heavy and he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity to give his arms some rest. He also placed his bag and jacket on the floor next to it.

“I just went through some strategies with Mr. Jeon for our game this weekend.” 

Lucas’ phone buzzed. He checked it quickly and apologized. “That’s my mom. She is waiting by the front door. I can carry the box for you before I go, though.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lucas. You should go. I have been holding you up for too long. Please tell your mom I’m sorry about this.” 

They turned their heads to see Jungkook walking toward them. Taehyung wasn’t sure whether he wanted to be indifferent or scowl at his appearance. The day after the remembrance service, Jungkook went back to his cold demeanor and Taehyung found it to be rude. Jungkook acted like nothing had happened and didn’t explain anything to him. So he also tried to ignore Jungkook whenever possible these days.

“I really don’t mind helping Mr. Kim. It won’t take long,” Lucas offered again.

Taehyung smiled. “I appreciate your offer, Lucas. Mr. Jeon is right, you shouldn’t keep your mom waiting any longer.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the box.” Jungkook immediately volunteered as he saw Lucas’ hesitation to leave Taehyung. He recalled the boy seemed to like Taehyung a lot. He might be Lucas’ favorite teacher.

Lucas’ eyes went toward Jungkook and then Taehyung. Taehyung gave him a slight nod, encouraging him to go. So he excused himself and left, waving goodbye to both teachers. 

As Lucas disappeared from their sight, Taehyung crouched down to pick up the box. A hand grabbed his forearm to stop him, however. Taehyung looked up at Jungkook with questioning eyes.

“I told Lucas I’d take care of the box, didn’t I?” 

For a moment, Taehyung considered making a snide remark. Then again, it had been a long day and he really didn’t feel like fighting. He just wanted to go home quickly. So he stopped himself and stood up.

“I’m strong enough to carry the box, Jungkook.”

Jungkook picked up the box and straightened himself up. “I know, I just want to do what I said I would.”

He gestured to Taehyung with his head to move forward. “Now if you can lead the way, I can follow you to the storage room.”

Taehyung walked down the stairs a few steps before turning his body to face Jungkook. “Are you sure about this? You hate being in the dark and the school basement.”

“Keep going, please.” Jungkook motioned for him to keep walking. “The box is pretty big. I might not be able to stop myself in time and bump into you if you keep stopping without warning.”

Taehyung stared at him but didn’t say anything. He flipped the light switch at the bottom of the staircase and continued walking down the hallway. 

Even with the lights on, it was still dim in the basement. The odor was also too strong for Jungkook’s sensitive nose. Being there always raised his anxiety. It was better now than many years ago, but it still gave him an uneasy feeling. He didn’t mention all of this, however, and just kept walking behind Taehyung until they reached the right door.

Taehyung took out a key to the storage room and unlocked the door. They walked into a small room with tall shelving along the wall, full of other boxes and other supplies.

“You can put the box over here.” Taehyung stopped at an open space on the shelf and tapped his hand over it. “Thank you for helping. It’s much easier for two people to do this.”

They were about to leave the room when all the lights suddenly went out. It looked like they had a blackout. Things were quiet for a moment as both teachers were adjusting themselves to the darkness.

Jungkook tried to breathe. He had undergone therapy while he lived in LA for his nyctophobia - the fear of darkness. In a controlled environment, he had been doing very well. This unexpected situation caught him off guard, however, and he tried really hard to calm himself down so he could think rationally. Cold sweat started to form on his skin and his body shook a little. It had been years since he had to be in pitch black and it unsettled him. He let out a cry when he felt a hand grab him.

“It’s alright, it’s just me.” Taehyung tried to make his voice as gentle as possible. He worked his hand to reach Jungkook’s hand and squeezed it to calm him down. He wrapped Jungkook in an embrace when he felt how Jungkook was shaking. 

Jungkook was speechless. He hadn’t been able to collect his thoughts yet. Other than his surprised cry, he still couldn’t utter a word. Everything was jumbled in his mind and he felt slightly nauseous. At least his brain could still tell him to hold on to Taehyung.

“You’ll be fine, Jungkook,” Taehyung whispered. “Breathe with me.” 

Jungkook felt Taehyung’s chest going up and down rhythmically and he tried to sync his own breathing with it. Taehyung took some slow, deep breaths and that seemed to calm Jungkook down a bit. Slowly, the world stopped turning and he regained his senses. He could hear faint wind howling far away. His eyes were still closed, but he became aware of how Taehyung’s arm circled around him. From their close distance, he could smell Taehyung’s pleasant presence and became self conscious about how his own body must smell after practice. It was deja vu. A similar thing happened many years ago with the same person, Jungkook thought it must be fate that brought him to this predicament.

“Are you feeling better now?” Taehyung asked after he felt Jungkook’s breathing even out. “Just hold on to me, okay? I’m going to reach for my phone.”

After what seemed like an eternity, finally there was a light from Taehyung’s phone.

“Sorry, it took me a while to find the flashlight button,” Taehyung smiled sheepishly. Even though they now had a light, he grabbed Jungkook’s hand and led him. “Are you ready? Let’s head upstairs, it should be better up there.”

Through the window, they could see a thunderstorm outside. The windows shook a little every time a heavy gust of wind blew on the school building. It had been years since the last time Jungkook experienced it. They didn’t have many storms or even rains in LA. 

They quickly put on their coats and picked up their bags that they left by the staircase. 

“Just leave your car here, I’ll drive you home,” Taehyung offered. “I don’t think you’ve driven in a thunderstorm for a while. Am I right?”

Jungkook didn’t want to admit it, but Taehyung’s offer was actually very thoughtful. It didn’t rain that much in LA and when it did, most people in his neighborhood preferred to stay home. Combined with the blackout, he’d rather not drive by himself, so he quietly followed Taehyung to his car and sat on the passenger seat.

What bothered Jungkook the most was that around the area, the roads were not lined with street lights. In the city, even when he had to drive at two in the morning, the streets were never without any lights. Combined with the storm, their visibility was very low and Taehyung had to drive slowly and extra carefully. 

A flash of lightning struck the ground in the distance, creating a flicker of bright sky in a split second before everything turned dark again. Jungkook could hear rumbling thunder in the midst of the rain every so often. The sound of water dropping heavily on all sides of the car was incessant. 

“Can I stay over at your place tonight?” Jungkook broke the silence they had been in since the start of their car ride.

Taehyung gave him a quick look and nodded. “Sure. Just call your parents to let them know you are not coming home tonight.”

“They are out of town until this weekend.”

Taehyung then understood. Being home alone in a night like this combined with the blackout must have raised Jungkook’s anxiety level. So without asking any further questions, he changed the direction toward his own home. 

“Where are we going?” Jungkook asked as the car turned after an intersection. “Did you guys move while I was gone?”

“We’re going to my place, Jungkook. I moved out to an apartment shortly after eomma’s death. I don’t want to bother Dave too much. Most people our age don’t live with their parents anymore.”

“I’m living with my parents.”

“You didn’t live with them back in the city. If eomma were still alive, she would have insisted that I live with her until I get married.”

Jungkook chuckled and turned to face him. “Do you miss Grace?”

Taehyung nodded. “We text and video chat a lot. It still feels weird, but we’ll get used to it.”

“I’m glad you have each other.” Jungkook means it. Even when they were still dating, the two half siblings had always been close to each other. 

“Thanks. We did the same thing while I was in college. She still had eomma back then, though. It was good - eomma didn’t feel lonely and I can stop myself from worrying too much about them while I was physically away.” 

Taehyung turned toward a residential street with several apartment buildings. “We’re almost there.”

“Thanks again for this.” jungkook turned his attention from looking at the street toward Taehyung. “I know we are on somewhat awkward terms right now. So yeah, I appreciate this.”  

Taehyung smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You need me tonight and I’m not that heartless to leave you alone.”

They arrived at a three story apartment building. Taehyung drove into the underground parking lot and parked his car in its designated spot. “We’re here now. Let’s go.”

Jungkook followed Taehyung to the staircase and along the hallways until they reached Taehyung’s apartment. All the way, Taehyung never let go of Jungkook’s hand. Even that neighborhood was affected by the blackout. They relied on Taehyung’s flashlight from his phone to see where they were going. Jungkook silently prayed that the phone wouldn’t run out of battery any time soon.

Once they arrived at the apartment, Taehyung looked for his battery-operated LED lantern and turned it on. 

“Are you in the mood for some sandwiches and banchan? Those are the only things I have that don’t require cooking. I think I still have leftover bulgogi, but it will be cold and I don’t have cooked rice.”

Jungkook nodded. “Let’s just eat whatever is in your fridge. It’s better we eat them than to throw them away. I don’t know how long this blackout will last.”

Taehyung sat the lantern in the middle of the dining table and placed their dinner around it. He gave Jungkook a bowl and a pair of chopsticks and then sat at the table. “Let’s eat, then.” 

It was a little weird. Taehyung took out all the food he could find in the fridge and some more from the pantry. A smile finally broke out on Jungkook’s face as he ate all the mismatched food. Taehyung laughed, too. Above all, he was relieved that Jungkook’s anxiety seemed to have receded.

Taehyung brought out a set of clean clothes for Jungkook after they were done eating. “I’m not letting you sleep in my bed without you showering first after gym,” he insisted, complete with a pout. 

Jungkook hesitated. He was sure Taehyung would let him bring the lantern to the bathroom. That would leave Taehyung in the dark, however. He had mixed feelings about what was going on. He both loved and hated the fact that he was so dependent on Taehyung at that moment. Being in that situation reminded him of the time their relationship turned for the better. He knew Taehyung wouldn’t use this against him. This wasn’t the first time they were in the situation and the last time it happened, they were still truly enemies.

“I’ll accompany you in the bathroom.” Taehyung sensed the hesitation in Jungkook’s eyes and offered a solution. “I promise I won’t take a peek.”

It was an unusual resolution, but Jungkook took him up on the offer. There was no time to feel awkward. Other than the fact that he broke Jungkook’s heart, Taehyung was actually a very decent guy. He felt lucky he was stuck with him as opposed to anyone else during this sticky situation. 

“Oh, I don’t think there is hot water. You’ll most likely have to have a cold shower tonight. Sorry about that,” Taehyung apologized.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be a quick one anyway. I’m not planning to have a nice, relaxing shower tonight.”

The implementation of their plan was a little awkward. Jungkook went in the bathtub first for a quick cold shower. Right when he was done, Taehyung decided he was going to take one, too. So they clumsily exchanged places while trying to avoid looking at each other. A little awkward, but it worked. Despite all that, they eventually got everything done and were able to lie down on the bed. 

Taehyung had a queen-sized bed in the bedroom, so they both could fit on it comfortably. They stared at the ceiling and then at the window that still shook occasionally because of the storm. 

“You can turn off the lantern now. I’m not going anywhere and I know you won’t either.” Jungkook had settled on the bed. He had a pillow under his head and a blanket that he shared with Taehyung covering his body.

“It’s alright. I’ll just let it be until it runs out of battery.”

“I don’t mind, really,” Jungkook insisted. “This is just like going camping. Just more comfortable and protected from the elements.”

Taehyung turned toward him, considering things. 

Jungkook saw his hesitation and explained. “I’ve gone to therapy for my nyctophobia. My therapist was happy with my progress. It’s just that the blackout was so unexpected and there were so many unknown factors. My therapy sessions were all done in a controlled environment, so I knew everything would be fine.”

Taehyung took an extra second before he finally agreed. “Alright, let’s just put the lantern on the bedside table by your side. That way you can turn it on whenever you want.” 

He handed the lantern over to Jungkook who put it on the table and turned it off. For a minute or two, the room was quiet. All they could hear was the rain and occasional thunders. 

“Do you need to hold my hand?”

Actually, Jungkook had been doing fine. Now that he was in a safe environment, he could rationally apply the calming techniques he learned from his therapy. He couldn’t resist Taehyung’s offer, however.

“Yes, please.”

So they laid on their back with a hand holding the other’s hand and stayed quiet. Neither was able to sleep yet, each deep in his own thoughts.

“I’m glad you decided to undergo therapy.” Taehyung finally broke the silence, saying what had been on his mind out loud.

Jungkook hummed. “Yeah. Me, too.”

“I remember the first time I found you crippled because of the dark. It must be an awful experience for you.”

“It was. I was terrified not only because of the dark, but also what you would think of me when  you found out about my fear.”

Taehyung turned his head. He couldn’t see anything but he hoped Jungkook could sense his sincerity. “There is nothing to be ashamed of to have fears. Those that mock your fear are not worth spending your thoughts on.”

Jungkook smiled. “That’s what you also said back then.”

Taehyung huffed. “Well, it’s still true.”

“I took it as you were worth spending my thoughts on.”

“I didn’t mean it that way, but I think I am worth spending your thoughts on. I also think you were being way nicer to me after that incident.”

Jungkook chuckled. “That’s because I changed my goal. From that point on, I told myself that you were the person I was going to marry.”

Taehyung’s curiosity was piqued. “You told me you already had a crush on me before that.”

“Before that night, I was still in denial. I was hoping it was just a phase that would pass. There was no way I would let you know I liked you. We were still butting heads all the time.”

Taehyung smiled. “We were still so young and naive. Sometimes I miss those days.”

Jungkook sighed.“Me, too. I wish things didn’t have to end the way they did.”

“What do you mean?” Taehyung’s smile was now replaced with a frown. Not that Jungkook could see it, although he could hear the tonal change in Taehyung’s voice. 

“You were the one that ghosted me without warning. I knew I might hold you down. You were bound for greatness and I... well, I was just me. We could have talked about it, though, giving us both a clean break. I would have understood. We might’ve even stayed as friends.” Taehyung had been a little too passionate stating his opinion and needed to take a breather.

“Is that what you think caused our break up?” Jungkook turned to see a faint silhouette of Taehyung’s face. It was out of place, but he couldn’t help admiring the shape of Taehyung’s nose.

“We never really broke up, Jungkook. One day you were just unreachable. It took me some time to accept that you were never coming back to me. And that hurt. A lot.” 

“I had a very valid reason.” 

“And what could it be?” Unconsciously Taehyung’s grip on Jungkook’s hand tightened. Jungkook felt it and at the last second decided to hold back.

“Let’s talk about this next time, preferably when we are not stuck together because of a blackout.” Jungkook dodged the question, knowing that it wasn’t the right time to bring up Park Seojoon. “I still want to hold your hand right now.”

Taehyung let out a deep sigh. He was still feeling a little frustrated about it. As much as he wanted to pressure Jungkook for an answer, right then wasn’t the time to do it. It would be unfair for Jungkook. Taehyung would feel that he was taking advantage of Jungkook in his vulnerable moment.

“I’m sorry.” Jungkook felt Taehyung’s grip on his hand loosened.

“No, you are right. It’s not the right time to talk about it,” Taehyung admitted.

They went into silence again for a few minutes. Neither was able to sleep yet. It looked like the storm finally passed and they were left with stillness. No more sound of wind blowing against the window, no more sound of water dropping heavily to the ground. This time, it was Jungkook who spoke up.

“I have to thank you for making me start playing basketball.”

“We started at the same time.”

Jungkook smiled. “I had no interest in playing basketball before. Then eomma insisted I play together with you at the local club. I was so mad at you because of that.”

Taehyung chuckled. “I remember that. There were many little things like that back then that made you keep being mad at me.”

“Do you remember our early experience on the basketball team?”

“Of course. They couldn’t differentiate the two of us.”

“They call both of us with the same name that’s not even ours.”

“José.”

“Yes. José.”

Jungkook felt Taehyung shift a little to face him.

“It motivated you to get better at basketball, though. Basketball was the only thing that made you talk to me a lot. You forced me to train with you everyday after school so we could be the best players in the team.” Taehyung’s voice had a hint of fondness to it, which warmed Jungkook’s heart.

“Well, it worked, didn’t it? We used to be looked over when it was time to pass the ball during the games. By the end of the season, they kept calling our names so we passed the ball to them.” 

“Hmmm…” Taehyung smiled. Despite their falling out, he was still proud of Jungkook’s achievement. “Look at where it got you today. An NBA star.”

Jungkook grew quiet. He didn’t have the nerve to talk about the likelihood of him not going back to playing professional basketball yet. Deep down, he was still trying to deny the possibility. 

Taehyung sensed the change of atmosphere so he decided to drop the subject. “Let’s just sleep now. I hope tomorrow you don’t flip your personality again.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Ever since you come back, you have this Jekyll and Hyde personality. One day you can be nice to me, the next day you turn into an annoying and indifferent person. It always surprises me when you do the attitude flip. So we’ll see what will happen to you tomorrow when we wake up.”

Jungkook felt guilty. It was not that he intentionally tried to be contradictory in his actions. He just had conflicting feelings about Taehyung. Sometimes his brain reminded him to keep his distance from Taehyung. Other times, his feelings got the best of him and he always happened to be needing Taehyung’s presence more than anything. It was maddening for him. He could only imagine how confusing it must have been for Taehyung, too.

“I’m sorry.” 

Jungkook received no answer. He turned his head toward Taehyung again. The clouds had cleared up a little and the moonlight had peeked through the window, giving him a little light, just enough to see Taehyung’s sleeping face. Jungkook’s heart warmed up. Some things don’t change with time. Taehyung was still very adorable. He might be the only adult Jungkook knew who could fall asleep in the middle of conversation without warning. It might have taken him thirty seconds to respond to Taehyung’s last statement and that was enough time for him to fall asleep.

For a good few minutes, Jungkook kept staring at Taehyung’s face. He didn’t realize how much he missed him before now. He missed booping the high bridged nose. He missed kissing every single mole on Taehyung’s face. The reason why he never had another serious relationship wasn’t just because he was too busy with his career. It was more because no one had ever been able to make him feel the way Taehyung did.

He promised himself to investigate more about Taehyung. Now that he had a chance to think about everything, Taehyung might not still be in a relationship with Seojoon. The hug he witnessed at the commemoration service was friendlier instead of romantic, similar to what Taehyung offered him just a little earlier. If they weren’t in a relationship anymore, Jungkook would seriously consider forgiving Taehyung for the past. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing that Taehyung already regretted. 

There was one thing Jungkook knew for sure. He was determined to get Taehyung back.

Chapter Text

The Reunion

Jungkook knocked on the hotel room door. He was dressed in a classic black tuxedo, white dress shirt, and a black bow tie. His shiny black dress shoes and a matching black belt completed the look. In his hand was a bouquet of red roses that he picked up from the grocery store on the way there. 

During the drive there, he had been questioning himself, whether he was making the right decision, especially now that he decided he wanted another chance with Taehyung. They hadn’t really talked after the incident. Jungkook knew Taehyung was waiting to see his reaction, whether he wanted to bring it up or avoid talking about it. Either way, all plans were made before the blackout and all expenses were paid already to prepare for the reunion. It might as well be better to follow through with his original plan.

An attractive blonde woman in her twenties, dressed in a sequin crossback satin mini dress, opened the door. 

“Oh Jungkook, thanks for the flowers! They are my favorite!” She smiled brightly and invited him in.

“How was your trip, Anne?” He kissed her temple and followed her in. 

“The flight and then the taxi ride was tiring.” She pouted her pretty lips. “But I’m glad I can see you again!” 

She walked closer to embrace him and aimed her lips at Jungkook’s, but he was faster to duck, so they landed on his cheek instead. 

“Thanks for coming. I appreciate you coming here to be my guest for the class reunion,” Jungkook smiled. 

Anne was one of the people he had been casually involved with. When he found out about the class reunion, he had asked around to see if anyone was willing to accompany him, all expenses paid. She happened to be the first one who answered yes to the invite. 

“Anything for you, darling.” She tried to kiss him again but Jungkook put a finger on her lips.

“Time to go. We can’t be late to the party.”

“I don’t mind skipping the party.” Her fingers trailed down Jungkook’s nape and she guided Jungkook’s hand toward her bare back.

“Well, I can’t miss it. That’s the whole reason why you are here. Let’s go.” Jungkook let her go from the embrace and walked toward the door. “We can play around later,” he winked as he grabbed the door handle. “Don’t forget your coat.”

Anne was unhappy but there was no way she could convince Jungkook otherwise. He would not budge whenever he had set his mind on something. They got into Jungkook’s car and drove away.

The drive to the venue was relatively quiet. Anne tried to initiate conversation but Jungkook’s mind was going haywire. All he could think about was who Taehyung could possibly bring to the reunion. Springfield wasn’t that big. Unless the person happened to be a newcomer, there was a good chance that Jungkook would know him. He kept guessing all the way there until they parked the car. 

They arrived about twenty minutes after the party started and the room was about half full, maybe more than half if you count their plus ones. Jungkook’s eyes scanned the dimly lit ballroom. Noone was dancing yet. The night was too early for that. Across the room, right next to the buffet table, Jungkook finally found who he was looking for. 

Taehyung looked devastatingly handsome. He was wearing a dark grey suit with the jacket unbuttoned and a colorful tie. Jungkook couldn’t make out the pattern from the distance, but the outfit made him glow. As always, he sported his signature bright boxy grin to complete his look. He had his hair in curls and Jungkook must admit they suit him very well. 

Next to him were Jin, Jimin, and Yoongi. Each of them was holding a plate full of food. They were standing in a circle, chatting and eating, only once in a while interrupted by sudden laughter. 

“Well, look who we have here!” Somebody patted Jungkook’s back and greeted him. Jungkook turned and smiled at the newcomer. 

“Hey, Tristan, long time no see.” He gripped the other’s hand and gave a firm handshake. “How have you been?”

“I’m doing well. Married and a baby on the way.” Tristan pointed to the baby belly of his companion proudly. “Is this your girlfriend? I didn’t realize you were dating anybody.”

The thing with being someone semi-famous was that everyone seemed to know his personal life to some degree. 

“She is a friend of mine.” He could see Anne pouted from the corner of his eyes. “But she is my date for the night.” The pout disappeared. 

Anne wrapped her arms around Jungkook’s waist and smiled at Tristan. She knew she looked hot. Her mini dress was hanging on a spaghetti strap with a deep, plunging neckline.  It hugged her slim body nicely and ended right below her crotch.  She turned at an angle, subtly showing off part of her open back. 

“Anne.” She winked at him and offered her hand. “Anne Brown.”

“Tristan Wijaya.” He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Anne made sure her hand glided through his as he pulled it away. “Where are you from?”

Tristan was good looking, but Jungkook still thought it was inappropriate for her to flirt with him in front of his pregnant wife. Fortunately Tristan was more focused on her last question.

“I’m from here, Springfield.” He turned his head to the left side a little bit, thinking. “Are you from LA? Is that where the two of you met?”

“Well yes, I am from LA. What I meant with the last question was, where are you really from?” She emphasized the word to make her meaning clearer. 

“Well, I was born and raised here.” Tristan’s smile faded and he immediately excused themselves. 

“Nice to see you again, Jungkook. We should catch up soon while you are still here.” He took his wife’s hand and instantly left the scene. 

“That was uncalled for,” Jungkook said sternly. “Why did you flirt with him and asked him where he was really from?”

“It’s nothing deep,” she said nonchalantly. “I was just trying to carry the conversation.” She pouted her lips as she changed the subject. ”Besides, maybe other people will notice the dress I picked and focus their attention on me instead of staring at somebody else.”

“What do you mean?”

“You couldn’t take your eyes off that curly haired guy.” She raised her hand and pointed at Taehyung. “I mean, are you even sure he is into guys?”

“He is my ex-boyfriend.”

Anne couldn’t hide her surprise at the revelation. “I never knew you were into commitment.”

“Well, he was my first and only commitment. After that, I mostly focused on my basketball career.”

“Alright. I still get a chance, then.” She smiled and gave Jungkook a little tug on his tie.

The next hour or so, the two of them were mainly glued together. When her flirtings didn’t seem to work for Jungkook, she flirted with some other men to rile him up. It wasn’t that successful, however. Ever since they separated ways with Tristan, Jungkook seemed to be more distant. Her flirtings with other men never bothered him before, since they were never exclusive to begin with. Sometimes it even spiced up their after party private sessions. That night, though, Jungkook’s attention was mainly on that curly haired, totally not attractive ex-boyfriend of his. 

Speaking of the devil, he was currently dancing to James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful with a man in a green dress shirt. If Jungkook’s memory served him well, his name was Liam. They looked like they were having a good time. Then another man approached them, tapped the green shirt man, and replaced him as the dance partner. 

Jungkook still couldn’t figure out who Taehyung’s date for the night was and it was driving him crazy. He didn’t see Seojoon around so Taehyung might have come with someone else. Taehyung had always been popular even in high school. That night he embodied the term social butterfly. He chatted with and danced with many of their ex-schoolmates. It was maddening, really, although Jungkook didn’t know why. 

When he was not dancing, Taehyung tended to stay around the food table. He was hanging out at the dessert table at the moment, choosing a sweet before moving next to Seokjin. Before long, Seokjin offered his plate and Taehyung took a piece of whatever it was with his fork, tasted it, and smiled widely. 

A pout formed on Jungkook’s face involuntarily. Was Seokjin Taehyung’s date? He gasped. What if they were really dating each other? Jungkook knew the two often had lunch together during recess. Hoseok sometimes joined them. He asked Jungkook to join them, too, but Jungkook always refused. Perhaps he could ask Hoseok later about the two of them. 

A rough slap in the back surprised him. He turned to see Adrian. He was big and tall as a boy, and now he was an even taller man. They used to be on the basketball team together. He didn’t get a sport-based scholarship to a university, though. Last Jungkook heard, he was doing some kind of construction job. 

“Hey, Jungkook! Nice to finally see you again, man! Finally I can prove to my wife that we were really high school friends.” 

Adrian was standing proudly, all 250 lbs of him. He might look scary at first, but once you get to know him, he was actually the goofiest guy around. He was accompanied by a petite woman who must be his wife. They chatted a bit, reminiscing the old days, while Anne excused herself for the restroom. Jungkook guessed Adrian might be too small-town-ish for her. 

Adrian turned his head when he felt a touch on his shoulder. “Glad to see you can make it tonight, Adrian.” Taehyung flashed a friendly smile. 

“Taehyung!” Adrian engulfed Taehyung in his embrace. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your mom’s hundred days memorial. I had to be out of town for my project I’m working on.”

“No worries, Adrian. Hi Carrie!” Taehyung pressed his cheeks against hers as a greeting. Jungkook pouted. It seemed like Taehyung was friends with everyone and their partners. 

Anne had been missing the whole time. At the sight of Taehyung around them, she suddenly reappeared with a glass in her hand. She slipped her free hand under Jungkook’s suit and wrapped her arm around his waist, giving him a peck on his cheek and then leaned against him and faced them. She threw a sly smile at Taehyung, but either he didn’t notice or he just didn’t care. 

“We should request for the YMCA song!” Carrie said excitedly. “I grew up dancing to that song.”

“That’s just lame,” Anne rolled her eyes. “Speaking of which, so far all the songs played are old and boring. They should have picked a better DJ.”

“Well, they are trying to play ten year old songs and older,” Taehyung explained. ”They wanted to recreate the atmosphere where you feel like you go back in time. You could request a song or two. If the DJ has it, she will play it for you,” he suggested. “I know Candice. She won’t mind.“

“Thanks, but I’m not planning to dance with overweight people around.” Anne side glanced at Adrian and eyed Taehyung from head to toe. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t be dancing while you are. You can rest assured that I won’t step on you.” Taehyung could feel Adrian staring at him. He just kept his smile and stared right back at Anne. 

“They just started a new song. Let’s dance.” Jungkook released himself from Anne’s arm and grabbed her hand. He needed to have a private talk with her after several uncomfortable moments. He nodded to the other three to excuse himself and walked toward the dance floor.

They only took a few steps when Anne spilled her drink on Taehyung’s suit. “Oh, how careless of me. Fortunately it’s not an expensive suit. Can’t be that hard to clean.” She flashed her most charming smile, demanding the other for dismissing the mishap with her tone. She couldn’t sound faker than she was at the moment with the apology.

“Don’t worry, I’ll just send the cleaning bill to you to ease your conscience,” Taehyung said lightly. 

Jeongguk could tell Taehyung was trying his best to not look bothered by it, but he'd known Taehyung long enough that he could tell otherwise.. Someone ran forward to give Taehyun a clean napkin and he was busy dabbing the suit with it. It would stain for sure, and he would have to pay for the cleaning and possible replacement for his rental suit. He reeked of alcohol because of the spilled drink. Hopefully he wouldn’t be pulled over by a cop that night.

“Let’s exchange our suit.” Jungkook started to unbutton his tuxedo.

“Don’t worry about it. We wear different suit sizes.” Taehyung tapped Jungkook’s hand to stop him. “Besides, the spill reached my shirt and tie, too. So your tuxedo will be ruined.” 

“I’m really sorry, Taehyung.” Jungkook felt terrible about this. He brought Anne to the party because he didn’t want to show up alone to the reunion. It turned out the decision made things worse. He was sure he offended quite a few people already that night. He definitely didn’t want to lose Taehyung. Not that he was his already, but things were starting to pick up and he didn’t want to lose his second chance at winning him over.

“Come Jungkook, time to dance,” Anne tugged Jungkook’s elbow to get him to the dance floor.

“Not now, Anne.” Jungkook’s attention was still on Taehyung’s outfit. He was still thinking of what he could do. Sending him somewhere to change his clothes meant he would miss the rest of the evening. Knowing Taehyung, it was the last thing he would want to do. 

That did it for her. She lost it right then and there. “What is it with you tonight?” She put his hands on her hips and glared. “Ever since we entered the room, your attention was on him and him only. You can do way better than that fat-ass, Jungkook.”

It took a lot of power for Jungkook not to lash out. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He looked up when his fist was gently encapsulated by a large hand. Taehyung sensed his turmoil and was looking at him worriedly.

“Would you like to dance?” At least he could bring Jungkook away from the hot spot if he said yes. 

Jungkook followed him along wordlessly, thankful for the sudden distraction. Taehyung put his hands on Jungkook’s shoulder and he put his on Taehyung’s waist. Taehyung closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Ready?” he asked as he opened his eyes and smiled.

At the next beat, they started swaying along toward what’s probably the last minute of Taylor Swift’s “Teardrops on My Guitar”. Neither uttered a single word, both needing the quiet moment more than anything.

“I don’t like your girlfriend.” Taehyung opened the conversation as the song came to an end. For a few next seconds, the room was quieter. With no music on, the only noise was from people chattering around them. 

“She is not my girlfriend, thankfully.”

“Fuck buddy?”

“One of them, yeah.” Jungkook was anxious toward what kind of reaction he would get from Taehyung after his confession.

“Well, I still don’t like her.” Taehyung pouted.

A smile finally broke through Jungkook’s lips. “I’m really sorry. She is not usually like that.”

“Oh, so suddenly she decided to be rude just for tonight?”

At that moment the next song started to play. It seemed that the DJ switched the mood to a faster beat. She played “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavigne and turned up the volume. It was a good song and he enjoyed it back in high school, but that moment was not right for it. 

“Let’s head somewhere quieter!” Jungkook spoke louder to be heard above the music.

“What did you just say?” Taehyung turned his ear to face Jungkook so he could hear him better.

Jungkook grabbed his hand and led him to the hallway. They had rented a second floor ballroom in a local hotel. Just outside of the big room, there was a big foyer between the ballrooms where they put up some seating areas for more relaxed conversations. Jungkook led Taehyung to a vacant area with a pair of armchairs facing opposite of one another with a small round coffee table in the middle. They could still hear the music, but it was muted enough that it didn’t bother them. 

“What I meant earlier was, maybe she felt insecure because of you. I told her you are my ex-boyfriend.” Jungkook wasn’t even sure why he felt the need to explain Anne’s behavior. Probably deep down he felt responsible for bringing her here. 

“Liam is my ex-boyfriend, too. Did you see his current boyfriend being rude to me? We even danced together!” Taehyung challenged.

Jungkook’s heart sank a little. “Wait, you dated Liam? When?”

“Well, we went to the same college. Once he found out we were not dating each other anymore, he started courting me. We dated for 3 years, until we both graduated.”

That bastard , Jungkook thought. “What made you break up?”

“He got a job in New York and I had to stay around here for my mom. She was just diagnosed with cancer back then. He wanted us to try doing a long distance relationship. I decided to let him go, giving him a chance to see life without me dragging him down. He met Nick and had been with him ever since. I still keep in touch with both of them now. Liam even came to my mom’s funeral to show some support to me. ”

Jungkook felt a pang of guilt in his chest. All these years, he specifically forbade his parents to talk about anything related to Taehyung. “You are not dragging anyone down,” Jungkook said sternly. “Not Liam, not me, no one. Please don’t let that thought restrict you from living your best life.”

Taehyung cocked his eyebrows. “Since when do you care about my life?”

“We might not be on the best term, but I’m not a jerk, Taehyung.”

“Seeing that you never realized how rude she is and even try to give excuses to her behavior, probably you are not that much different than her.”

The words cut deeper than a sword to Jungkook’s heart. He had been questioning himself about the same thing that night. Hearing it from Taehyung’s mouth felt like a confirmation of things he hated about himself.

Taehyung noticed how discouraged Jungkook’s face became. He felt guilty for being so blunt. 

“I’m sorry. I was too harsh.”

“It has a grain of truth in it,” Jungkook confessed. “The types of people I hang out with are similar to Anne. The fact I wasn’t bothered by it before speaks volume about myself.”

“You can be decent sometimes, when you are not trying your best to hate me.”

Jungkook’s eyes crinkled. “That’s true, too.”

Taehyung stood up and offered his hand to Jungkook, looking at him earnestly. “Let’s call a truce for the rest of the night.”

Jungkook looked up to him. In return, Taehyung raised up one of his eyebrows. “What? We should enjoy the night. Especially you. You haven’t seen most of our old classmates for ten years. Let’s just pretend we were just some old friends and we never had any past issues. At least until the night ends.” He smiled and gave Jungkook a wink. “I still expect someone to foot the cleaning bill for the suit, though.”

Finally a smile appeared on Jungkook’s face. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. Promise.” 

He stood up and grabbed Taehyung’s hand and instead of shaking it, he used it to pull Taehyung against him and give him a tight embrace.

“You are ruining your tuxedo,” Taehyung whispered against Jungkook’s hair. His arms still pointed to the floor. He was still surprised by Jungkook’s sudden gesture.

“Do I look like I care?” Jungkook whispered back, still not letting go.

Taehyung released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He finally embraced Jungkook back, almost as tight as Jungkook’s hold on him. 

“There you are!” They could hear Jimin's choppy voice as he stood by the door, trying to catch his breath. They released themselves from each other and waited for what he was about to say. “The reunion committee members were looking for you. They wanted to know if you will agree to relive your prom kings title and dance to your song?”

“Yes!” Jungkook immediately agreed. 

Taehyung looked at him with questioning eyes. “I don’t remember the moves. Do you?”

“No, but I bet nobody does. We didn’t follow what we practiced back then anyway. Let’s just do it casually and have fun,” Jungkook tried to convince him. “Just for one night, we can be the prom kings again.”

“Alright,” Taehyung nodded and smiled. “Let’s do it.” 

He let Jungkook grab his hand and led him back to the ballroom. They walked until they reached the middle of the dance floor and stopped. After the MC announced what was going to happen, all eyes were on them. Taehyung knew that once the music started, some of them would join Jungkook and him on the dance floor and the thought made him less nervous. 

He waved at everyone, flashed his big smile, and turned to Jungkook, who was already facing him, waiting for him to be ready. They put their hands on position and waited for their song to start.

‘What if I told you it was all meant to be? Would you believe me? Would you agree?” 

Taehyung’s breath hitched. Jungkook held him against his own chest and whispered the song opening in his ear, in sync with Kelly Clarkson’s voice through the speaker. It was really nostalgic, as the same thing happened ten years ago on their prom night. Jungkook wouldn’t be a famous singer, but at least he wasn’t tone deaf and what he lacked, he made it up in confidence. 

In eighteen-year-old Taehyung’s opinion, Jungkook’s voice sounded like the sweetest thing on earth. Twenty-eight-year-old Taehyung still agreed with it. He found out that he loved being sang to. Taehyung smiled as he closed his eyes, following Jungkook’s lead and maintaining the rhythm.

“So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy when I tell you love has come here and now”

They danced to the same song a decade ago among the same people who were dancing around them right then. At the moment, it felt like everything went back to that night, when they were still a pair of lovestruck high school lovers, the prom royals of the night. The time when Taehyung’s naive self believed that all the stars in the galaxy were finally aligned and he thought they would always be together. That night, too, Jungkook serenaded him, whispering the full song in his ear, with the words modified to fit their story.  

“Oh I can't believe it's happening to me. Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this.”

As the song came to an end, Taehyung felt Jungkook’s eyes on him and he turned his face toward him. Jungkook was staring deeply at him with eyes that expressed many meanings. The same pair of eyes, but this time the soul had experienced some hurt and pain in addition to love and happiness. He turned his head down to hide his blush but Jungkook gently guided his chin back up with a finger so they locked eyes one more time. Moments passed and before he knew it, Jungkook’s lips were on his. 

It felt just right, just as it had always been. Kissing Jungkook always made Taehyung weak on his knees. It also felt like someone just blasted the heater up to an uncomfortable degree, although he knew it was just his body reacting to the feeling of Jungkook’s lips on his. For a moment, everyone blurred out and he felt like they were the only two people in the room.

Taehyung didn’t know how long they were locking their lips. By the time they finally separated themselves, the silence broke and the crowd were cheering for them. He was still a little disoriented from losing the warmth from the kiss when he suddenly realized their current circumstances. He was about to walk away but Jungkook grabbed his wrist and didn’t let go. He pleaded with his eyes and Taehyung lost his will to move. Instead, he held Jungkook’s hand and led him away from the spotlight. 

As soon as they exited the ballroom, Jungkook took the lead and brought them away from the ballroom area and towards the hallway where the hotel rooms were. Just as they were out of sight from the common area, Jungkook pushed Taehyung against a wall on one side of the hallway and started peppering Taehyung with little kisses, from the more innocent cheek kisses to the more sensual neck kisses. Taehyung giggled as he enjoyed the sensation he felt from those little kisses. His eyes were closed and he tilted his head a bit more  to give Jungkook more access to his neck.

“Should we book a hotel room tonight?” Jungkook nibbled on Taehyung’s earlobe and whispered in between the kisses.

Taehyung really wanted to say yes, he was definitely hard and he could feel Jungkook was the same way. But he finally got a hold of himself and pressed his fingers against Jungkook’s chest to create a space between them. 

“We can’t.” He looked straight into Jungkook’s eyes while trying to catch his breath. “You came here with someone, remember?”

“I can have the front desk provide a taxi for her.”

Taehyung giggled. “That’s not the behavior of a proper gentleman.” He absentmindedly booped Jungkook’s nose. “You should do the right thing and take her back to wherever she is staying tonight. If by then you still don’t change your mind about who you want to be with, then talk to me tomorrow. Who knows, maybe as the alcohol is flushed from your system, you’ll be back to hating me again.”

Jungkook sighed, knowing he wouldn’t change his mind. He also understood where Taehyung was coming from. They hadn’t had proper communication to resolve their past or present issues yet. He knew he had been giving Taehyung mixed messages so far and he understood Taehyung’s point of view.

“Alright. Just know that tomorrow my mind will still be the same. I’ll prove it.” 

Jungkook gave him one last kiss of the night and stepped away. It felt weird for Taehyung. Suddenly he felt a bit cold from the loss of body heat, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He didn’t want them to wake up the morning after and have one of them end up regretting it. 

Taehyung spent a little more time at the party, mostly hanging out with Jin, Yoongi, and Jimin while Jungkook took off. The night was eventful enough for Jungkook and he needed to contemplate on things by himself. He dropped Anne off in front of her hotel building but stayed in the car.

“Would you like to come in?” The night had been terrible for her, but Anne knew she could still salvage it if Jungkook would just step into her hotel room. 

Jungkook looked at her. “Look, Anne, you are a beautiful woman. I’m sure you don’t have problems finding other people to hook up with. As for me, I don’t think we’ll see each other again. We’ve had a good run but it’s time for me to move on.” 

He locked the car doors, keeping the window facing her open. “I’ve reserved a limo to get you to the airport tomorrow.”

“It’s all because of him, isn’t it?” Anne’s eyebrows furrowed. “I really don’t understand what you see in him. He is good looking, I’ll give him that. But there are plenty of good looking people in LA, better than him.” 

She stopped abruptly, intimidated by a flash of anger in Jungkook’s eyes.

“Have a safe trip, Anne.” 

She shuddered at the coldness of his voice. She knew going further was futile. “I’ll see you when you are back in LA, then.”

Jungkook stared at her. “I’m not going back to LA. At least not anytime soon. And if I go back, it will be for different reasons.”

Anne was surprised. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret, Jungkook. You have a good life in LA.”

“This is my life to live and I get to choose what to do with it. And I have chosen to stay here for a while. Have a good night, Anne.” 

Jungkook rolled up the car window and sped off, leaving his date bewildered, with her arms crossed in front of her. He was relieved he just closed a chapter in his life, although he still wasn’t sure where he was headed to after this.

Chapter Text

Someone is Coming

The auditorium was closed for the day. That Monday, the school was hosting a blood drive and students who were of age and were willing to donate were lining up. It was almost the end of the day, so the line wasn’t that long anymore. 

“Did you see?” Stella couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore. It’s something that she had talked with her friends, but now that some of the basketball team members were in line with her, she just had to bring it up.

“Did I see what?” 

“Last week Mr. Kim and Mr. Jeon came to school together. I saw them go out of Mr. Kim’s car. Mr. Jeon was wearing the same clothes as the day before.”

“That’s the day after the blackout, wasn’t it?” Xavier jumped a little. He always did it when he was excited. “I saw them, too.” 

“Guess what, that day Mr. Jeon was wearing a Lakers jersey with his name on it.” Hasan looked proud that he noticed the little detail that everyone else might not notice.

“What’s weird about that?”

“I’m sure that’s Mr. Kim’s jersey. You know, the one that he won at the Spring raffle last year.” 

“What makes you think that way?”

“Because he wore it last time we had a field day and Mr. Davis accidentally ripped it a little. I mean, what are the odds of two jerseys having a small rip at the same spot?”

Stella gasped. “Do you think they are dating? Please tell me that they are.” 

“Is there any other possible explanation?”

“Perhaps Mr. Jeon’s car broke down? Or maybe he ran out of gas?” Wendy immediately shut her mouth when all eyes were on her. They didn’t say anything, but their eyes screamed in total disagreement with her.

“Anyway, did you guys manage to get a hold of the old newspapers?”

“No, Ms. Nesmith didn’t allow us to go to the restricted section.” Xavier looked so disappointed about it. “But we overheard Counselor Kim explaining to Ms. Nesmith that Mr. Kim is Mr. Jeon’s ex-boyfriend.” 

“I’m totally sure they are dating each other.” Hasan exclaimed confidently.

“Who is dating who?” Taehyung suddenly appeared from inside the auditorium. He chaperoned a student out who was just done donating her blood and was about to call the next student in.

“Are you dating Mr. Jeon, Mr. Kim?” Lucas didn’t like to gossip. The rumor involved two of his favorite teachers, however, and he was dying to find the truth.

Taehyung blushed. He actually wasn’t sure himself of what they were. He once thought they were bitter ex boyfriends but his recent experiences made him question everything. Then again, Jungkook always acted like nothing had happened the next day after things happened. It left him with more questions than before. Not that he had time to talk after last night’s reunion yet. He had been busy all day and he assumed Jungkook was, too.

“I… I don’t think so,” he said, clearly flustered.

“You don’t think so? Do you want to?” Wendy could be cheeky when she wanted to. This time her schoolmates were as curious as her.

“What?” The question left Taehyung speechless. “Probably not. I haven’t really thought much about that.” He noticed the faces in front of him turned gloomy. “What makes you ask the question?”

“Do you know that a guy from one of the NFL teams is coming today? I heard principal Kim mentioned it.” Mark skillfully diverted the conversation to another direction.

“Oh really?” Taehyung was definitely interested. “Is he coming to see Mr. Jeon or the high school players?”

“No one from college football teams have visited us this year. Most likely he is interested in Mr. Jeon.”

“Good for him.” Despite their differences, Taehyung truly wanted Jungkook to succeed. He was proud of him and had been watching his games on TV regularly. He saw what happened to Jungkook when the incident happened and it broke his heart, too. “I hope everything works out well. Mr. Jeon is a great player.”

He turned to face the basketball team players. “You, too. Do your best in the competitions. If you can go to the championship final, someone might have noticed you, too. Do you know that Mr. Jeon was offered a college scholarship because of how good he was as a high school player?”

They all nodded. 

“It will be great to have a chance to be seen like that,” Lucas sighed. “You guys still have next year. It’s my senior year already and this is my last shot at it.”

“Well, in my personal opinion, you guys still have your shot. I’ve seen you play and your skills have improved tremendously compared to the beginning of the year.” Taehyung turned toward Lucas to address him specifically. “I’m rooting especially for you.” He winked and tapped Lucas’ shoulder, which finally earned him a smile from the student.

A Meeting on Top of the Hill

Taehyung knew Jungkook would be there. Not far from his home, there was this little hill overseeing that corner of the town. They used to spend a lot of time there, racing up with their bike and then spending the whole night together. They would either chat about nothing and everything on the bench or lay on the grass and try to make out the stars in the sky into possible constellations. 

The moon shone brightly that night, which was helpful, considering the minimal street lighting at the top of the hill. Right there, on the same bench where they usually sat many years ago, Taehyung found Jungkook.

“Why did you reject their offer?” Taehyung was still a little breathless after climbing up the hill on his bike. He couldn’t wait to ask him, though. It was Jungkook’s second chance at NBA, and he just threw it away.

Jungkook turned his body to face him. He gestured to Taehyung to sit next to him. Taehyung took off his helmet and walked slowly, still trying to regulate his breath, and sat on the bench. They both stayed quiet for a while, looking at the city lights. There were definitely more lights than ten years ago. There were more houses, more cars, more human activities. 

“How did you hear about it?” Jungkook  finally broke the silence.

“The kids were talking about it. Some of them came to me. They were upset, too, you know. They all root for you.”

“Hmmm…” Jungkook didn’t answer. Not that he didn’t want to, but many things were jumbled in his mind and nothing came out of his mouth.

“Are you not healing as well as you hoped you would be? Are you still attending your physical therapy sessions?” Taehyung was impatient with the non answer.

“My leg is healing as well as it is possible. Not 100%, but the prospect was never that high anyway from the start.” He turned toward the horizon again and sat there silently.

“What’s on your mind?” Taehyung asked curiously.

Jungkook took a deep breath and stared at Taehyung. He knew sooner or later, he had to talk about it with someone. That someone might as well be Taehyung. 

“Did you hear what happened to Jeremy Lin?” 

“What happened to him that concerns you?”

“He made his name with the Knicks. Still, because someone on the team didn’t like him, he was traded out. Then he had to switch teams almost every year. Even then, he barely got floor time during games. Even after winning his NBA ring, it was still not easy for him to live out his dream. I mean, where is he now after the win? He went to Beijing and now he came back as an NBA G league player.”

“That sounds like your dad talking.”

“Hmmm... I used to scoff at appa when I was younger. He always thought being an Asian American, life as a basketball star would be difficult. And we would argue a lot about it. But the truth is, I would have not made it this far if not for Gary.”

Jungkook noticed Taehyung raising his eyebrows at him. “That’s my old coach. He retired last year.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Taehyung responded. “He was replaced by that Tim guy. Did he not treat you well?”

“I’m surprised that you know the details about NBA coaches.”

“Just because we are not in a relationship anymore, doesn’t mean I won’t be your supporter. If nothing else, I turned from an ex-boyfriend to a fan,” Taehyung said sincerely. He avoided eye contact, but that was enough to make Jungkook finally smile.

“I missed you.”

Taehyung’s heart stopped beating for a second. He didn’t expect the sudden confession. “Don’t change the conversation topic.” He scoffed to hide his embarrassment, not knowing how to respond.

Jungkook kept his gaze at him. Then he took a deep breath and looked toward the horizon again. “Last season I barely made it off the bench during the regular season. And then the accident happened. Even if I come back, I wouldn’t be as good as I was before. After several years in the NBA, I have come to know that Gary was an exception, not the norm.”

“I know that. It won’t be easy for you. But maybe, just maybe, you’ll make the life of the next Asian American basketball star a little bit easier.”

“Hmmm… or maybe I’m tired of fighting all these by myself. Doesn’t feel like it’s worth fighting for anymore. There are other ways to do things, too, without having to go back.”

Taehyung took a deep breath. There was no solution to Jungkook’s problem that he could offer so he just stayed quiet and offered him companionship. Some more slow breaths, then Taehyung took a good look at him. “How can I support you?”

“Give me a second chance. Please.” There was no hesitation in Jungkook’s voice in his request.

Taehyung was surprised at the sudden turn of conversation. 

“Excuse me?”

“Let me have you back. Let me be yours one more time. There are many uncertainties in my future right now, but I will feel better if you are by my side.”

“You are saying so many words that you don’t mean.”

“I’ve never really fallen out of love with you. Not even a second. Trust me, I never tried harder to forget you. No matter what I do, there is always this corner in my heart that I always revisited every time I hit rock bottom, when I need comfort the most. And that corner has the memory of us. That’s how foolish I am.”

He saw Jungkook’s pleading eyes and was unable to say no. However, to accept Jungkook like nothing had ever happened was impossible, either. 

“What happened to those beautiful people who are eager to be with you? Remember? The ones you mentioned the first time we met again at the gym?” Taehyung suddenly remembered their banter at their first meeting and blurted it out. 

“Or how about your friends with benefits?” Taehyung knew he had no right to be jealous or angry. It still stung, anyway.

“The truth is, nobody can love or hate me with the same intensity as you.” Jungkook decided to come clean. There was no more good reason for him to put up a facade. “Those people… they liked me for their illusion of me. It was the fantasy they created in their mind, that their life would be better if I was part of their circle. They don’t really know the other me, who is not as strong, who is also full of flaws and insecurities.”

Taehyung refused to budge. “Or did you forget that you just left me behind without explanation? You didn’t even have the courage to tell me that I wasn’t good enough for you.” 

“You were always good enough for me. It’s just that...” The last part got stuck in Jungkook’s throat. It was a thorn that had been stabbing him all these years. Even after he decided to overlook it and try to get Taehyung back, it was still hard for him to say it out loud.

Taehyung was still hurt about everything but the moment didn’t seem right to bring it up. Jungkook was in his low point and as much as he broke Taehyung’s heart, he needed to encourage him first. On the other hand, he was somewhat fuming internally now that he was reminded of everything that bothered him about Jungkook. His internal turmoil must have been expressed unintentionally by his face because Jungkook grew concerned for him.

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“Oh, you said many things wrong, Jeon Jungkook. But sadly, right now is not the time to discuss it. We need to talk about your future,” Taehyung insisted.

“I want to see my future with you in it.” Jungkook could be as stubborn as Taehyung when he wanted to. Probably more stubborn, even. “Even after everything you’ve done.”

“After everything I’ve done?” Taehyung just lost it. His face reddened as his emotions swelled up. “And what was it exactly that I did? You were the one who suddenly grew cold, ghosting me just days before you left for college without even a single mention of it to me. It was as if we never existed.”

Jungkook was about to respond but Taehyung raised his finger to stop him. He took some deep breaths and continued. “As I said before, I would have let you go willingly if you’d just talk to me. I would have understood and wouldn’t tie you down to me. I wanted you to reach your dream, too.”

Taehyung was fuming by then. His face reddened from the emotions swelling from his chest and a full pout formed in his mouth. Jungkook realized that part was his fault. His high school self couldn’t face Taehyung anymore after learning about Taehyung’s infidelity. 

“You know,” Taehyung continued after taking several more deep breaths to calm himself down, “my nephew Seohyun is playing middle school basketball and has you as his role model. He is Seojoon’s hyung’s son, I’m not sure if you’ve met him before or not. Probably I should ask him to find a new role model, instead.” Taehyung scrunched his nose and pursed his lips to make a point. 

All Jungkook heard was Seojoon’s name and he forgot the rest. “You mean, Park Seojoon is related to you?” He seemed so eager to inquire about this, it surprised Taehyung.

“He is my cousin,” Taehyung answered. He raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “His mom and my mom were sisters. He lives in Florida now. Even back then, he used to live far away for his medical school and then residency. I didn’t realize you know him, too.”

As the realization sank in, suddenly Jungkook felt like a total fool. All this time he thought Taehyung either left him for Seojoon or was two timing them. He didn’t know why he wasn’t able to confront Taehyung about it back then. Then he would have learned the truth and they didn’t have to break up. Probably he trusted Brian too much. The same Brian that told him about Seojoon and then asked him out once he learned Jungkook decided to leave Taehyung. He felt so stupid and like a jerk, as well. If he were in Taehyung’s position, he would get angry at himself, too. 

Jungkook was so lost in his own thoughts. He groaned, cupped his own face with his palm and closed his eyes, thinking about all the possible what ifs.

“Hey...” 

Taehyung was still confused but Jungkook looked worse. Taehyung’s call brought him back to earth. He uncovered his face and glanced at Taehyung, signaling him to continue. 

“It’s all in the past. At least give me a proper break up for a closure?” It seemed like at least the quiet moments had calmed Taehyung down. 

“What do you mean?”

Before he could say anything else, Taehyung held his face gently with two fingers, bringing their face together and kissed him. 

Jungkook kissed him back, of course. Passionately. One hand cupped the back of Taehyung’s head to guide the kiss gently and the other rested on his waist. He had been waiting for a chance like this since their last kiss in the reunion but there was never an appropriate time before. He felt a spark that was quickly followed by other sparks, creating fireworks that heated his body up. For a moment, he could forget whatever was bothering him.

It all ended too soon, in Jungkook’s opinion. Taehyung ended the kiss and smiled. “Tomorrow when we meet each other again, let’s meet not as enemies anymore. We are two adults who have gotten closures from our past relationship. Alright?”  

Taehyung stood up quickly and grabbed his bike.

“Where are you going?” 

“Home. We’ll talk again about your future tomorrow. Tonight I still need to process our break up,” he said cheerfully as he put on his bike helmet. 

“There is something I need to talk to you about.” Jungkook quickly stood up, contemplating to ride along with Taehyung wherever he was going. He grabbed his own bicycle and quickly strapped on his helmet.

“Whatever it is, let’s talk about it tomorrow.” Taehyung smiled at him one more time and hopped on his bike. “Good night, Jungkook. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waved goodbye and pedalled his bike away from the place. Jungkook’s eyes were glued to the figure until it disappeared from his sight. 

Around the Fire 

It was almost twilight when they reached the junction. There were not a lot of cars on the road in that part of the countryside. There were still some cows on the field, but soon they will retreat to the barn or sleep in the pasture.

“You are very nice in doing this, you know that right?” Taehyung was sitting on the front passenger seat of the blue SUV.

“Did you just notice that I am a very nice person?” Jimin stopped at the intersection with the four way stop sign and grinned. “I just thought it will be nice if the kids have some food, not just marshmallows or whatever unidentifiable objects they give you at the camp.”

They had hot dogs, veggie dogs, hot dog buns, and some bananas in the trunk, not counting the condiments, some snacks, and some utensils. It was the last night of their 3 days 2 nights basketball team bootcamp at a nearby town. As part of their team building activities, there would be bonfire and Jimin had this spur of the moment great idea to deliver them hot dogs. 

“If you are using the car, how is Yoongi going to the wedding?” It took Taehyung a while until he was used to calling Yoongi and Jin on a first name basis. He was so used to calling them Mr. Min and Mr. Kim but they insisted Taehyung call them informally after he was officially a teacher, too.. 

“Jin is going to pick him up.”

Taehyung smiled. “I’m happy they still maintain their friendship after all this time.”

“I’m happy about that, too. If Jin had never introduced us, I’d never have met Yoongi and there would be no us” Jimin grinned. It seemed he was in a good mood that evening. 

“We are at the last step on us legally adopting Mark as our son. We just need to sign the final paperwork.”

Taehyung turned in surprise. “Congratulations! You guys have raised him since his parents’ death. I’m sure all of you are thrilled about it.”

“We are. Part of my reason to visit Mark in person today is to tell him the good news in person.” He still smiled widely.

“Thanks for coming with me, Taehyung.”

“I don’t have anything better to do anyway, And I want to see how the kids are doing.”

Jimin took a glance at Taehyung and smirked. “So, do you want to see the kids or the coach?”

Taehyung pouted, hiding his embarrassment. “I don’t see that as an either-or situation.” 

It had a grain of truth. His relationship with Jungkook was a little complicated this time around. After Jungkook’s confession, he had been thinking a lot about them again. There were things that he still wanted an answer for. Like the reason Jungkook just went away. Then again, they were barely 18 year olds. Jungkook might simply have been childish. Could he still blame the 28 year old Jungkook over what he did a decade ago?

Jimin laughed at Taehyung’s semi-confession. “Well, at least you are more open to this now. You have been skirting the issue since he came back.”

“He is my first love, Jimin. We have our history together. And he just confessed to me. Again. How am I supposed to feel?”

“What do you feel? Are you two going back together?”

“I still need to talk to him. We need to clear things up and also talk about our possible future.” Taehyung sighed. “That is, if he hasn’t changed his mind by now.” 

“He has feelings for you, Taehyung. I’m sure of it. Last time we had dinner together, he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

“He has a habit of glaring at me,” Taehyung confessed. “From the first time I met him. I never knew when the glares turned into stares.”

Jimin laughed. “Jin mentioned Jungkook has been acting differently toward you lately.”

“I think Jin told the rest of the teachers about our kiss at the reunion party,” Taehyung complained. “Well, it might be Mrs. Yu who talked about it the most. He definitely told Hoseok and Namjoon about it, though. Now they just won’t leave me alone.” 

Jimin’s smile turned into a roar of laughter. “Can you blame us? Around here, we have nothing better to talk about. Even our neighborhood chats are mostly about lost animals, who didn’t clean up their dog’s poop, complaints about other complainers, or about new store openings and closings.” He glanced at Taehyung, winking at him when their eyes met.

 “Nothing as spicy as two young and hot teachers who were exes and now go back together again.” 

“We are not together,” Taehyung pouted. “At least not yet.”

Jimin chuckled. “Well, maybe tonight you can sort everything out with Jungkook.”

“There will be a lot of people tonight. I doubt I’ll have a chance to talk to him.”

“We’ll see, then, Taehyung, we’ll see.”

By the time they arrived, the sky already darkened. They could see the fire had started and a group of people were circling the fire. Right after they parked, a few students swiftly approached them and offered to help them with the bags.

“We don’t bring a lot, but thanks for the offer. You guys are great!” Jimin beamed as he pulled Mark to a hug. 

“Let’s go, boys. Help me out in setting everything up and cook all the food on the fire.” He winked as he walked past Jungkook and quickly left him behind.

Jungkook stared at Taehyung, who was just about to close the car’s trunk and left, too.

“Taehyung,” he called out. When the other man lifted his head, Jungkook’s heart faltered. It might be the moonlight, but Taehyung looked especially beautiful that night, even when he was just in his slack and oversized hoodie. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure, what’s up?” Taehyung sat on the still opened trunk and let Jungkook approach him.

Jungkook took a deep breath and bravened himself. “Back then, I thought you cheated on me with Seojoon.”

Taehyung was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I ghosted you because I was so heartbroken. I saw him kiss you after the graduation ceremony. So I just left and ran away from us.”

It still didn’t make sense for Taehyung. “Seojoon hyung and I never kissed. That would be really weird. He is my cousin, Jungkook.”

“It was a forehead kiss. Also, I didn’t know he is your cousin.” Jungkook’s voice got significantly softer as he lowered his head down. It was barely audible, almost a whisper. After so many years, when he finally blurted it out, it sounded so foolish.  

Taehyung finally got it. He cocked an eyebrow. “So you ran away because someone kissed my forehead?”

Jungkook just nodded without saying a single word. He was past the embarrassment stage and was just hoping for Taehyung to blow up and later on, hopefully forgive him. He lifted his eyes as he heard a chuckle, however. 

“That’s the most Jungkook thing I’ve heard for the longest time.” Taehyung tried to fake anger, but he couldn’t contain his smile. “You are great in many ways, but you can be trapped in your own pride and lack of communication, Jungkook.”

Jungkook hesitated. “So you are not angry with me anymore?”

“If you told me this back when we just met again, I would be angrier. Furious, maybe. Right now we’ve been through some stuff together and I already have a crush on you again. It’s hard to stay mad.” 

Taehyung hopped off the car and closed the trunk. He approached Jungkook until they were just inches away from each other.

“I’ve been thinking a lot.” Taehyung had his eyes locked on Jungkook and held his hand. “Do you still mean it?”

“Do I still mean what?”

“That you still love me?”

Jungkook gulped. “I do, I really do. I love you, Kim Taehyung.”

Taehyung searched Jungkook’s eyes for a sign of sincerity. He smiled as he felt Jungkook’s hand slightly tremble. Without warning, he closed his eyes and closed the distance between them, putting his lips on Jungkook’s and kissed him. A jolt of electricity shot through him as he felt Jungkook sucking on his lips. Jungkook grabbed his waist with one arm and cupped his head with another, making him feel like he’d lost his mind. He could hear Jungkook’s moan when he wound his arm on Jungkook’s neck and he smiled. 

Jungkook’s hand trailed over Taehyung’s back, looking for an opening to feel more of Taehyung’s skin. Just before he put his hand inside Taehyung’s pants, however, someone interrupted them.

“Look, I’m happy that you are together now. Just remember to keep it PG-13. We have some underage students watching your makeout session, although I’m sure you forgot all about us already.”

Jimin was standing there with his hands on his hips. The two of them abruptly separated themselves as they became aware of all the eyes that were watching them. Taehyung grinned at them but his cheek reddened. Jungkook, on the other hand, was too happy to be embarrassed about their little show. He grabbed Taehyung’s hand to lead them toward the fire, his cheeks decorated with a wide grin that never faded all the way through.

They all sat around the fire, cooking the hot dogs and eating their dinner. As the night went on, some people roasted marshmallows, chatted, and joked around. Jungkook took out his guitar and started playing some songs that he knew by heart. Those who knew the lyrics sang alongside the music.

At one point, Jungkook paused and requested everyone to not sing the next song. “I will sing this one myself,” he said. He signaled Taehyung to stop chatting and focus on him, winking. He then strummed the guitar strings and sang while everyone was watching. 

‘Lost myself, seventeen. Then you came, found me. No other magic could ever compare.”

The corner of Taehyung’s mouth turned up again. Jungkook could be cheesy. Cringy, even. But he always managed to warm Taehyung’s heart with his bold moves. He was so taken with Jungkook’s singing, he didn’t realize all eyes were on them again. This time they were all grinning.

“From the moment I loved, I knew you were the one. And no matter what I do, I will never not think about you.”

As the song ended, Taehyung approached where Jungkook was sitting. He bent down and gave him a quick peck. He was not as quick as Jungkook, however, who immediately stood up as Taehyung pulled away and chased the kiss. Jungkook cupped Taehyung’s jaw and deepened the kiss as he caught Taehyung’s lips again. The kiss was slower and steadier, although not less intense. This time they both ignored the cheers and whistles from everyone around them.

“As the coach, I have a private bedroom.” Jungkook whispered in Taehyung’s ear as they pulled back to catch some breaths.

“With these kids around? I don’t want to get fired yet.” Taehyung grinned widely as he heard the offer. “You remember I have my own apartment now? Come to my place as soon as you are back from the camp. I’ll make it worth the trip.”

“Is that a promise?” Jungkook played with a strand of Taehyung’s hair, still not getting his eyes off Taehyung.

“It’s a promise.”

From his seat, Jimin watched them and smiled. Next gathering, Yoongi and he wouldn’t be the only gross couple in attendance.

Chapter Text

The Final Game

“Alright guys, we’ve come a long way. You’ve been doing great this season. If we win this game, we win the regional championship for the first time in years. Just believe in yourself. You’ve practiced hard and you’ve played hard. Can all of you give everything you have to win this game?”

They were in their part of the locker room in the opponent team’s school. Thanks to the coaches and the hardworking students, they were able to advance to the final round of the basketball championship. The energy was high and everyone was pumped up. Many teachers, students, and their families from their school came to support them that day. 

Jungkook gave the students a little break to relax and mentally prepare themselves. Some students took a peek at the spectator seats to find their families. Others tried to warm up themselves doing extra drills. 

“I saw principal Kim sitting between Counselor Kim and Mr. Jung,” Hasan said excitedly. “And my parents are just a few rows behind them.”

“I saw uncle Jimin next to Counselor Kim. I don’t see uncle Yoongi, though.” Mark frowned, thinking about what might hold him up. 

The locker room door was suddenly opened, revealing another teacher whose face was filled with all smiles. He really couldn’t contain his excitement. 

“Hey guys! As your once substitute coach, I can’t be prouder than this!” Taehyung exclaimed loudly as he saw the students’ faces. 

The students gathered around him, giving him high fives and hugs, as they missed him, too. 

“I have a special guest with me today.” Taehyung was still grinning from ear to ear. “Let me bring him in.” 

When Taehyung came back, he was pulling the hand of none other than Min Yoongi. 

“This man here was Mr. Jeon’s basketball coach, Min Yoongi,” Taehyung introduced. “Also one of Mark’s dads. He is our school district athletics director. I invited him to give you special advice and as a moral support for coach Jeon.”

Jungkook had been staying in the background, observing everything that happened since Taehyung barged in the locker room. He smiled as his name was mentioned. Having Yoongi as a support is invaluable for his team, of course. However, he couldn’t help but to feel happy as he saw the sparkling eyes and the bread cheeks that once again he could claim as his.

Taehyung let Yoongi take the center spotlight, giving them tips and encouragement. Jungkook pulled Taehyung to stand next to him behind everyone and held his hand, smiling widely. 

“Be my good luck charm today,” he whispered. 

“You don’t need luck. These kids… they are really good at what they are doing,” Taehyung whispered back with a note of pride in his voice. “They have a good shot of winning. Just tell them not to be nervous and focus on the game.”

As the game was starting, Yoongi and Taehyung went to their seat on either end of Jimin. They cheered every time their school team scored. Once they finished a quarter, Jungkook’s eyes scanned the spectators and landed on Taehyung, drawing encouragement to keep going strong. It was his last game to coach. He would like to make it memorable for everyone involved. It would be great to see all the hard work paid off in the end. 

“I think I see Greg Mckenzie.” Yoongi squinted his eyes, trying to make sure he was seeing things right.

“Isn’t he the basketball coach from UW Madison?” Jimin got his interest up.

“Yes, and I think I see Aaron Hummel from Temple University.” By then, Jin had joined the conversation.

Taehyung turned toward him, looking surprised. “I didn’t know you have interest in college basketball.”

“I didn’t. Lucas kept mentioning names during our counseling sessions though, I just had to look them up.”

“Do you think they are here scouting for talents?” Namjoon asked. He was excited that finally their basketball team got some interests from college basketball coaches after a few dry years.

“Definitely. The thing is, we don’t know who they might be scouting. Either someone from our team or from the opponent’s team. It can also be both.” Taehyung was hopeful about the situation.

“Either way, that’s good, right?” Hoseok leaned forward from his seat just behind Taehyung and grinned. “I hope our senior players get a chance to be seen today.”

The game ended with a narrow win for them. Everyone from their school cheered loudly as the game concluded. The players were still on the court, ready to receive the medals. They looked beyond thrilled and proud. They kept jumping, doing fist bumps, and giving never ending hugs.

Jimin shed a happy tear. “I’m so proud of them.” He stood up and waved excitedly when he saw Mark turning to look at their direction. “Look at how far they’ve come.”

The families welcome the students back with open arms. They all had a mini detour to a local restaurant to celebrate the win. Jungkook stayed over later in the background, talking to the scouts from the universities. It looked like they had a chance to be noticed at last. 

“How was the conversation with those scouts?” They were all gathered in a buffet restaurant, the only one that could house all of them and could serve fast, unlimited food. Jungkook and Taehyung were standing in line for the food and Taehyung used the opportunity to be updated.

“Greg invited Lucas to a tryout next week. I take it as a good sign.”

“It is! Wow, I’m so happy for him.”

“You should have seen the proud look on his parents’ eyes.”

“As they should.” Taehyung nodded excitedly.

“He also confirmed my admission as the assistant head coach at the university.”

Taehyung jumped to give him a big hug. “That’s great news, Jungkook. The university is still within driving distance. That will work out well.”

Jungkook stared at him fondly. It had been weeks since they were officially together, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling of how lucky he was to get Taehyung back. 

“Tell Jimin that you are going to ride home in my car,” Jungkook pleaded. “You don’t want to be a third wheel anyway.”

“Are you staying over at my place tonight?”

“Should I not?”

“I will be offended if you don’t.” Taehyung gave him his biggest grin.

The ride home felt shorter than in the morning. Lately Jungkook had spent more nights at Taehyung’s place than in his own home. His parents didn’t mind once they found out they were together again. Sometimes Jungkook’s mom packed some food for him to bring to Taehyung’s place. It was like they already embraced him as part of their family. 

When Taehyung came out of the shower, Jungkook was just done with his phone call. Taehyung rubbed his hair on the towels and smiled. “Heard anything good? You are grinning from ear to ear.” 

“I just heard they offered me to be one of the regular commentators for the next NBA season.” 

Taehyung dropped his towel on a chair and approached him, smiling widely. “Is that so? That’s some good news.” He wrapped Jungkook in a big congratulatory hug. “Do you have to travel for the job?”

Jungkook inhaled the fresh scent deeply. He loved drowning in it and took his time sniffing Taehyung’s hair and ear. It earned him Taehyung’s giggles, but Taehyung also playfully pushed Jungkook’s chest to create a little distance between them. They stared at each other, both smiling, but Jungkook knew Taehyung was still waiting for an answer.

“Sometimes. I told them about my daytime job, so depending on the schedule, sometimes I can do it remotely, too.” 

He laughed when he saw Taehyung’s pout. “It’s not too bad. I’ll still mostly be based here. Maybe we can move a little closer to the city to cut my driving time to the university but that’s it. Your commute shouldn’t be affected too much. You’ll be driving against the traffic.”

All Taehyung got was the fact that Jungkook mentioned a we. He squinted his eyes with an interrogative look. “Did you just say we can move?” He didn’t forget to emphasize the “we” part.

“Is it too fast for you?” Jungkook looked worried. “I can wait, but I’m sure we’ll spend time at each other’s place anyway.” 

Taehyung laughed. “I’m flattered you include me in your future.”

“Always.” Jungkook grazed Taehyung’s temple and kissed it. “There is this little house that is going to be on the market in a few days. It’s in a good location, is lovely, and it has a fenced yard if you want to have puppies later down the road.”

“Are you already talking about us becoming dog parents?” Taehyung punched Jungkook playfully. “Talk about moving fast.” 

He saw Jungkook grew quiet. He must have worried that he had pushed Taehyung away with all this commitment talk. So the natural thing for Taehyung to do was of course to inch forward and give Jungkook a quick peck on the lips. “I would like that,” he smiled. “Let’s take a look at the house together.”

Before Taehyung’s smile turned into giggles again, Jungkook caught his lips and kissed him. 

People thought Jungkook was talking about Springfield when he said he moved back home. He was actually talking about this, having Taehyung in his arms again, sharing their worries and future together. There was no more looking back. To be with Taehyung was where he belonged. He was finally home again. 

The End