Work Text:
[Unedited]
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'Hyung, I'm going to sleep early today. I'll call you tomorrow.'
Taehyung stared at the message for a long minute, his thumb hovering over the letters, wondering what to reply back.
He had watched the news, seen the way Jungkook's privacy was invaded, and knew he needed to have a chat with the maknae.
And now, seeing Jungkook's reply, Taehyung's decision had been the right one.
Since his trip to Qatar, they were in contact almost everyday, either sending messages or having a quick call to whisper 'I love you's to each other.
It was their norm... until today.
Taehyung's eyes found the message again.
No hearts, no funny emojis, no lovey-dovey banter - nothing was shared before or after that single plain text message, and warning bells were going off in Taehyung's head. He had guessed the situation was bad, but maybe it had taken a turn for the worse.
"Jungkook-ah...please talk to me." Taehyung whispered as he typed out the message.
'There is something urgent that I need to ask you about. It will be quick, I promise.'
'Hyung...I'm not in the mood right now. I'll message you tomorrow.' Jungkook's reply came in an instant.
It made Taehyung happy. The situation was salvageable, if Jungkook was replying to his messages.
'Please Kookie...please please! It's really important!' Taehyung sent his message with an added bunch of crying emojis, and waited for the maknae to reply back.
He closed his eyes, and crossed his fingers.
The action was unnecessary, and Jungkook couldn't see him either, but Taehyung still did it anyway. It was more for his peace of mind, and to pray for some luck, rather than anything else.
Sometimes, when Jungkook was exceptionally moody and sat in the corner sulking about some incident, Taehyung couldn't work his magic on him, no matter what he tried. The youngster would turn up his face and listen to no one.
This time though, Jungkook was willing to listen.
The soft chime of a new notification brought Taehyung back to the present and his chat with Jungkook.
'Ok' Jungkook had replied back.
Again, the lack of hearts and emojis in the message, made Taehyung frown. He didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet, but he couldn't ignore the uneasiness in his heart either.
Jungkook was...in a bad place. And Taehyung was going to make sure, he pulled the younger back to safety.
Taehyung quickly dialed in Jungkook's number and pressed the phone to his ear.
Three rings later, Jungkook picked up. "Hello hyung-"
Taehyung's heart sank upon hearing the hoarse voice, and soft sniffle that followed behind the greeting.
"Jungkook-ah...why are you crying?" Tears pooled in his eyes, as Taehyung whispered the question.
He gripped the bedsheets, pulling it closer to his lap and his fingers tightened around the phone, pushing the device further onto his ear, to hear for other sounds he might have missed.
How long was the younger crying? Did Jungkook skip dinner? Where was the staff? Why did no one rush to comfort him?
The questions raced around in his head, and Taehyung had to take a few deep breaths to calm down his rage.
This wasn't about him. Jungkook needed the calm, comforting Taetae, and not the angry Kim Taehyung.
"I'm not-" Jungkook's voice broke over a hiccup, before he continued. "I'm not crying."
"Lair."
"Hyung...please can we talk tomorrow?"
"No." Taehyung hated himself for not being physically present beside Jungkookie. He needed his hyung, and his hugs and kisses, and Taehyung could give him none in this situation.
"Don't hang up on me Jungkook-ah...please-" Taehyung couldn't stop his voice from breaking at the end.
"Hyung?!" Jungkook's voice went up a notch, taking on a shrill tone. "Hyung?! Are you crying! Why...what...why?!"
"Dummy-" Taehyung wanted to see Jungkook, he wanted to video call the younger, but stopped himself from doing so.
Jungkook was in no state to talk on the phone. He would outright refuse to video call, if Tae asked him at that moment.
Patience...he had to be patient with the younger, until he was calm enough to face-time Taehyung.
"I'm crying...because you're crying! Silly! You know how I get when I hear you cry!"
"But-"
"No buts! Just...j-just t-talk to me Kook-ah. Please."
"Hyung....I-"
"What happened out there, Jungkook-ah? Tell me...please." Taehyung kept his voice soft, pleading and tried his best to control the sniffles.
"Hyung it was-" Jungkook whispered. "It was bad...hyung. I-I didn't expect it."
"Of course you didn't. No one knew such a thing would happen to you in Qatar."
"No hyung. I didn't mean it like that."
"Then?"
There was silence on the other side of the phone. "Hello? Jungkook? Are you still there?"
"Yes hyung."
"What did you mean?"
"I don't know how to say this. I was trying to search for better words. But-"
"But?"
"The feeling inside me, when it happened, hyung. I-I...it was fear."
"I was scared, hyung."
Taehyung's stomach twisted at the sound of another sniffle, and the raw vulnerability in that sentence.
There were very few things that could scare Jeon Jungkook. And an unexpected meeting with fans, shouldn't have been one of them.
But it was...and Jungkook was forced to experience it in an unknown country, alone, with no Taehyung, no members by his side.
"I'm sorry." Taehyung didn't know what else to say.
Before, he had made lists of comforting words in his head, and thought up promises that he would make to Jungkook, to get back his smile and have the bunny laughing by the end of their call.
Now though, he wasn't so sure.
"I never felt this way before." Jungkook said. "I never feared our fans, our armys, before."
"A-And I know that I shouldn't feel this way! I know-"
"No-" Taehyung cut him off and shook his head. Jungkook had it all wrong.
"You have every right to feel this way, Jungkook-ah." He said. "There is nothing wrong with being scared of your current situation."
"But they are our fans-" Jungkook tried to speak over him, but Taehyung cut him off again.
"Yes, they are our fans, and they love us. They see you as their favorite idol, and want to take upon every chance they get to meet up with you in real life."
"Exactly!"
Taehyung sighed. "I'm not done yet, Jungkook-ah."
"Oh...sorry." Jungkook mumbled, and it brought a smile on Taehyung's face. He couldn't hear the sniffles anymore.
Jungkook had stopped crying, for now.
"Our fans always want to grab onto the chance to meet with us, to talk with us, and take photos with us. And for the most part, we agree to it, because we love them as much as our armys loves us. However sometimes-"
Taehyung took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
This was a tough topic to speak on.
He wanted to do his best to get the message across to Jungkook, but he also didn't want to throw all of the armys under the bus.
The loyal ones, the armys who understood their boundaries, they would never do such a thing. And Taehyung will always have the utmost respect for those kind souls.
If it weren't for those sweet, thoughtful fans who kept their distance and allowed Taehyung the freedom to enjoy his Hawaii trip, maybe right now, his situation would have been the same as Jungkook.
He had made sure to mention them on his vlive and thank those awesome fans for giving him the privacy he deserved.
There are those who care for BTS, and their feelings, and maintain distance.
And then there are those who disregard personal space and thrust their phones into the boys' face for a blurry half-baked selfie.
"Sometimes, the fans, they forget that we're human too. They forget that there is a limit to how much we can cope with, and when we are desperate to escape their attention."
"When they cross that line and invade our personal space, Jungkook-ah, we have every right to be afraid."
"Hyung-"
Taehyung ignored the interruption and continued with his train of thoughts. He needed to get it out and in front of Jungkook, and clear the misconception he had in mind.
"We have every right to seek protection, to push back such fans, and get out of harm's way."
"Your safety takes priority and theirs as well."
"The fans might think there is no danger in getting one selfie with you, but if there are thousands of such like-minded fans trying to reach you, it's going to result in a horrible stampede or worse."
"The bodyguards made sure it didn't happen...the stampede." Jungkook said in a small voice.
"Thank those bodyguards for me. They did a good job at dragging you away from the crowd." Taehyung said.
Right now, he was grateful for those who protected Jungkook from the mob.
However, back then, when he first got the news...it was a different story.
Taehyung was shouting and cursing at the bodyguards, calling them a bunch of fools and useless creatures for not taking care of his sweet Jungkook during that messy situation.
Oh well, at least his Jungkookie was safe now.
Cursing them or not, it wasn't like his manager would tell on him...right? Taehyung pondered on the thought, on his manager's shocked expression, when he heard the string of curses spilling from Taehyung's mouth, upon hearing what happened to Jungkook.
No, he wouldn't do that. Taehyung had forced him to make the promise. His manager wouldn't spill the beans on him.
"Yeah sure. I'm thinking of taking my security team out for dinner. I'll treat them in a fancy restaurant. They'll like it."
"Yes." Taehyung nodded and then stopped.
Jungkook had managed to change the topic, and now Taehyung struggled to gather his thoughts.
"Jungkook-ah-"
"Yeah?"
"You being afraid of the situation, doesn't mean you'll forever be scared of your fans."
There was no reply from the other side, but Taehyung could hear the uneven breathing on the line.
The makane was hanging on to Taehyung's every word. "I don't think it's possible for you to live in fear of armys."
"Do you remember?" Taehyung asked.
"That one time you disregarded your safety and jumped into the crowd, to greet the girl in her wheelchair...it still gives me goosebumps, to this day."
He was putting it lightly.
Taehyung, during that time, almost had a panic attack, when he saw the way Jungkook entered the crowded seating area, and their bodyguards running after, to catch him.
Jungkook had gotten a good scolding afterwards from Namjoon.
But in that moment, Taehyung still remembered, his first instinct had been to scream at the audience, to shout at their fans. 'Get away from him! You're going to hurt him!'
It was the first time Taehyung had been afraid of their fans, fearful of their ever-growing audience, who almost swallowed Jungkook up whole.
"Ah...yes, I remember. It was fun!" Jungkook said, his voice ending in a chuckle.
Taehyung rolled his eyes at those words.
Sometimes he really wondered what went on in Jungkook's head during that time. Did he really think he could walk up to the girl, without their fans jumping on him?
Such foolishness, only the guy, who truly loved their fans, their armys, would dare to do it.
"I want to do that again, hyung." Jungkook's voice was back to being a whisper, and Taehyung hated it.
He needed to bring back Jungkook's confidence.
"You will, Jungkook-ah." Taehyung said. "You will be at the center of the crowd, singing to your heart's content, and none of the fear you felt today can stop you from doing it."
"I hope so."
"Believe me, Jungkook-ah, this is not forever. You hear me?"
"Yes, hyung."
"This brief spell of fear you're feeling right now, being afraid of your own fans, it will pass. This phase will be over in the blink of an eye, and you'll forget it."
"I guess so." Jungkook said. "I-I mean I have so much work to do, so many practices to attend, and opening for the World Cup... I think I'll be able to forget it."
Taehyung heard the slight tremble in his voice, and knew Jungkook wasn't there yet.
But it was a start.
He let the younger continue babbling words, his way of prep talk to get rid of the new fear in his heart, and Taehyung prayed that it worked.
"You'll forget about it." He said to the maknae. "And I'll help you forget it, Jungkook-ah."
"Me, and all the other members will be there, standing with you, and you'll no longer have this irrational fear towards our armys. Got it?"
"Yes. And hyung..."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything...and-"
"And?"
"Hyung, can you keep talking? Until I fall asleep?"
"Of course!" Taehyung sat up straight, throwing the comforter to one-side, and adding a pillow to his back for better support.
"I'm always ready for a good chat."
"I'll stay with you, on call, for as long as you need Jungkook-ah. Okay?"
"Yes, hyung." Jungkook's words were followed by a series of sounds - the rustling of sheets, a loud thud, as if something had fallen to the floor, and ending in a sigh.
"Jungkook-ah?"
"I love you, hyung."
"Huh?" The sudden confession caught him off guard, and Taehyung leaned away from his phone, staring at it for a good minute, before pushing it back on to his ear.
"I said I love you, hyung!" It was a mixture of a shout and a giggle.
"Jungkookie? Are you drunk?"
"What? No! I'm just...I'm just s-so relieved." He said. "I was worried this stupid fear would last for awhile."
"It won't." Taehyung assured him.
"I know. I already feel better, all thanks to you, hyung."
"Don't think too much about it. And get some rest, Kook-ah. You still have practice tomorrow. "
"Jeez! Why are you bringing up tomorrow's practice in between us, hyung? Stop trying to change the conversation."
"And I'm waiting!"
"Waiting?" Taehyung frowned. "For what?"
"Your answer." Jungkook said, stressing on the word.
"My answer...?" Taehyung traced back to the last bits of their chat, and then it occurred to him.
"Oh-"
"So...what's your answer?"
"As if you don't know already?"
"Say it, hyung, please. I-I need to hear it, today." The seriousness in his voice made Taehyung pause.
This incident was going to leave its scar on Jungkook, today.
And Taehyung was going to use all of his kisses to erase it the best way he could.
"I love you, my sweet Jungkookie."
"I always have, and I always will-"
"Love you."
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END