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Once upon a time, there lived a young boy named Kim Taehyung. This boy was at the young age of seven when he met the person who would end up changing his life forever. It was his first day of kindergarten and each student had to go around the room and introduce themselves. Most of the students seemed ordinary to him, except for one.
A boy named Jeon Jungkook was in his class, and he seemed super shy. The boy messed up his introduction and ran off to hide in a corner due to his embarrassment. Taehyung felt bad for the little boy who he learned was only a year younger than him, so he excused himself from the group to go check on Jungkook.
Jungkook was huddled up in a corner, sniffling, as he held his knees up to his chest. Taehyung’s heart ached as he heard tiny sniffles come from the boy.
“Hey. Are you alright?” Taehyung asked as he watched the boy slowly raise his head.
“I’m scared. I don’t like it here. I just want my mom.” Jungkook mumbled as his lower lip trembled.
“Why don’t we be friends? You can sit next to me and I’ll help you to not be scared. Does that sound ok?” Taehyung questioned as he smiled and held out his hand for Jungkook to take.
“You won’t leave me?” Jungkook wondered as he slowly reached out for Taehyung’s hand.
“I will never leave you,” Taehyung admitted as he squeezed Jungkook’s hand and helped him stand up.
Jungkook wiped away his tears with his free hand before he flashed a small smile at his new friend. Taehyung led the both of them back to the group and the teacher couldn’t help but smile at how adorable the sight was. Jungkook and Taehyung held hands for the entire school day up until it was time for them to go home.
For the rest of the school year, the two boys became as close as friends could possibly get and they knew they would be best friends for life.
Seven years had passed by and that meant the two boys were now teenagers going through the awkward phases of puberty, but their friendship remained as strong as ever.
“Tae! I got the new comic book today! Do you want to read it with me?” Jungkook shouted out as he ran down the school hall, not caring about the people who looked at him funny.
“You know I do! I wouldn’t miss reading it for the world.” Taehyung responded as he shut his locker door and slipped his hand into Jungkook’s own.
It had been this way for the past seven years. The two boys would hold hands each day so that Jungkook wouldn’t feel shy or nervous around people. It was like Taehyung’s hand held the cure to every fear he ever had. With Taehyung by the younger’s side, he felt like he could conquer the world.
“Great. Do you want to come over to my house this time? We can read the comic book and then play some video games. Mom said she was going to pick up the new game after work today.” Jungkook exclaimed as he smiled and showed off his bunny teeth.
“Sure. Mom will be fine with it since it’s you. We can go right after school then. You still have some of my clothes there, right?”
“Yeah. Do you want to spend the night?”
“Obviously.” Taehyung playfully rolled his eyes as if the answer were obvious.
“Great! Let’s head to class now.” Jungkook stated as he led them to their classroom with a smile on his face.
The two boys made it to the younger male’s home, only to be greeted by his mom.
“My boys made it home after I did. That’s a shock.” Mrs. Jeon chuckled.
“That’s only because we were talking about comic books. I think Iron Man is the best superhero out of all of them.” Jungkook explained.
“Sure, whatever you say. I still pick Spider-man as the superior superhero.” Taehyung replied.
“Alright superheroes, take it to Kook’s room. Before you do, Taehyung, I’d like a word with you in private. Kook, get everything set up in your room.” Mrs. Jeon said in a sweet tone.
Mrs. Jeon waited until Jungkook was in his room and shut the door before she turned around and spoke to Taehyung.
“Taehyung, I just want to thank you so much for being such a great friend to my son. I consider you as part of our family. You’ve always been here for him, but I am a bit concerned for you.” Mrs. Jeon explained.
“What do you mean?” Taehyung asked as he had a puzzled look on his face.
“I’m concerned that you’re putting my son's needs above your own. Don’t misunderstand. I love that you are taking such good care of my son and have such a strong bond with him as a friend should. I just feel like you don’t stop and take time for yourself. Your whole life has revolved around what Jungkook wants and I want you to think about what it is that you want as well. You’re older than Kook and there will come a time in your lives when you won’t be able to be with him all the time. What will you do when that happens? You don’t have to answer now, but think it over at least. You’re already in high school and if you choose to go off to university, then Kook will still be here in high school. You’re the only friend he has, and I’m concerned that as time goes on, it will only end up hurting you both. We need to prepare him for the thought of you leaving him one day. I know you won’t leave him forever, but it will be hard for him to accept that the both of you will be on different paths in life. Right now, you are my son’s world. I care so much for you both, and I don’t want to see either one of you get hurt.”
“Thank you, mom. I understand where you’re coming from. I honestly haven’t thought about my future. I don’t have an answer for you right now, but I do know that I want Jungkook to stay in my life for the rest of our lives. He’s my best friend and I can’t imagine a life where he isn’t in it. I will give some serious thought about what I want to do.”
Mrs. Jeon smiled at Taehyung before she pulled him in for a motherly hug. She truly loved both of the boys and wanted nothing but the best for both of them. There was a constant nagging feeling in the back of her mind that kept telling her that the two boys would eventually experience pain caused by their different paths in life. She just hoped that the pain would only strengthen their bond and not tear them apart.
Taehyung walked up the stairs with heavy steps as he kept playing Mrs. Jeon’s words over and over again in his head. He never really thought about what he wanted because he was always looking after Jungkook and making sure that he was doing well. However, he knew there would come a time in his life when he would have to part from Jungkook temporarily and that thought made his heart ache.
“Finally! What took you so long? What did you and mom talk about?” Jungkook asked as he watched Taehyung walk into the room with a fake smile on his face.
“We talked about school and how boring it is.” Taehyung lied as he went and sat down next to Jungkook on the bed.
“You’re a bad liar, but I won’t press you for answers.” Jungkook shrugged as he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed the comic book.
The two friends spent the next hour reading over the new comic book before they had dinner and played video games well into the night. Taehyung slept in the bed with Jungkook and that night he held the younger extra close to him as he tried to fall asleep.
The dreaded moment finally came. It was the night of Taehyung’s graduation party and people he knew from school came over to his house for the party. Jungkook was there, but he stayed close to the elder at all times, even when people he knew tried to approach him.
“Do you want to go to my room? It’s loud in here.” Taehyung whispered in his deep voice, which sent shivers down the younger’s spine.
While Jungkook still looked like a young male going through puberty, Taehyung was blessed in that department. His voice became deeper, and he was the most attractive guy in their school. The elder male became more of a social butterfly as they went through high school, but he still made sure to always put Jungkook first. Even when Taehyung had his first relationship, he still put Jungkook first, which eventually caused the relationship to end. Jungkook apologized over and over again for causing the relationship to end, but Taehyung assured him that it was fine.
So here Taehyung was once again holding Jungkook’s hand and leading him up the stairs to his room while music was blasting throughout the house and nobody seemed to care one bit. Once the two males were inside the bedroom, Taehyung immediately closed the door and locked it.
“How are you doing? I know you don’t like parties.” Taehyung stated as he led the both of them to his bed and they sat down on it.
“I’m fine. I don’t want to ruin your night. This is about you, not me.” Jungkook weakly smiled.
“True, but you know I never want to make you uncomfortable. I can have them leave if you want.”
“No! Please don’t make everyone leave because of me. I’m really fine.”
“Are you sure? You were stuck to my side more than usual tonight.” Taehyung said.
“It’s not about the party.” Jungkook said quietly.
“Then what is it?”
“Tae, I’m scared. You’re leaving for university and this is the first time we’ve ever been apart.” Jungkook muttered.
“I know, Kook. I’m nervous about it too, but we have phones. We can call and text anytime. Plus, I’m only going to be two hours away, so I’ll come every weekend to see you. You only have one more year, then you can join me at university if you want to and we can be roommates. We got this.” Taehyung responded as he flashed his boxy smile at the younger.
“You’re right. We’ll be just fine. I just hate the thought of being away from you for even a minute.” Jungkook pouted.
“It’s times like this where I wish I didn’t have to leave. You’re just too cute.” Taehyung chuckled as he squished Jungkook’s cheeks.
“Tae, not fair,” Jungkook whined as the elder male kept moving his slender fingers closer and closer to the younger’s lips.
Jungkook’s eyes widened as he caught Taehyung staring at his lips. There was a feeling of heat stirring inside of him, and he knew exactly what that meant. He had felt it many times before when the two of them were watching porn together because hormonal teenagers are also curious teenagers. The younger wasn’t sure when his feelings for Taehyung crossed that line of friendship, but he suddenly found himself daydreaming about spending the rest of his life with Taehyung and being spoiled with affection from the said male.
“Kook, can I kiss you?” Taehyung whispered so quietly that the younger almost didn’t hear it.
Jungkook could only hum in response as he found himself staring at the elder’s lips and wondering what they would feel like on his own. He closed his eyes and waited. His heart stopped when he felt Taehyung’s warm breath ghost across his lips before he felt something warm and soft press against them. His heart began to beat wildly in his chest as he felt what he assumed was Taehyung’s lips press a bit more firmly against his own. The feeling of lips was soon gone as he slowly opened his eyes and found Taehyung biting his lower lip while looking away from him.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t cross the line like that. That was careless of me. Sorry, Kook.” Taehyung softly spoke as he reached for Jungkook’s hand.
“It’s alright. I’m sure you’re just nervous about leaving.” Jungkook said weakly as he patted Taehyung’s hand before standing up and pretending to stretch.
“Right. I promise I’ll call and text you every day and I’ll come by every weekend.” Taehyung mentioned again as he pulled Jungkook in for a friendly embrace.
Jungkook felt his heart shatter at how his first kiss was just chalked up to nerves from Taehyung leaving. He was literally in love with the elder male, but it felt like it was a one-sided love, and that hurt the most.
The two males slowly pulled away from their embrace and looked at each other for a moment. Taehyung couldn’t admit it, but kissing Jungkook did more to him than he could ever say. Still, he had to go and figure things out on his own. He needed some time away to really sort through his feelings and to help both of them grow as people. Mrs. Jeon was right to be worried because the two of them depended too much on each other and they had no individuality. Where one went, then the other would follow. They couldn’t be their own person because everyone kept referring to them as Jungkook’s friend or Taehyung’s friend. He hoped this time away from each other would help them form their own identities and help them both figure out what they truly wanted in life. Taehyung wanted to be selfish for once in his life and do something on his own, even if it meant he had to be away from the one person who made his existence.
A full month had passed since school started up for both males, and Taehyung kept his promise. The elder male called and texted daily and came to see Jungkook on the weekends. It was already the weekend and the elder male showed up at the familiar Jeon’s house.
“Tae!” Jungkook shouted out as he ran outside and hugged Taehyung tightly as if they hadn’t seen each other for years.
Taehyung embraced him tightly. To outsiders, it looked like lovers who had been painfully away from each other for many years.
“Hey, Kook. You’re in a good mood today.” Taehyung chuckled as he continued to hold the younger male in his arms.
“Of course I am! You’re here. I missed you.” Jungkook muttered as he nuzzled Taehyung’s neck.
Taehyung had to bite back a groan because the way Jungkook was rubbing against his neck did some not-so-innocent things to his body.
“Alright. I missed you, too. Let’s go inside so we can talk about our week.” Taehyung awkwardly said as he felt Jungkook pull away from him and reach for his hand to lead them inside.
Jungkook immediately led them to his room and quickly started to undress, which earned a shocked look from Taehyung. Sure, the males had been naked in front of each other many times over the years, but the younger male had never looked this fit when he was naked.
“Kook, what are you doing?” Taehyung mumbled as he took in the glorious view before him.
“I need to hop in the shower. I didn’t get a chance to after practice today, so I’m going to take a quick one now.” Jungkook shrugged.
“Practice? What practice?” Taehyung wondered out loud.
“Oh. I recently joined the track team. One of the guys from school asked me to join since they were short one person. Apparently, I’m really fast.” Jungkook explained before he walked off into the bathroom, leaving a dumbfounded Taehyung behind.
“So what’s new with you?” Jungkook asked Taehyung as he came out of the bathroom with a pair of black boxers on and a white towel drying his hair.
“Well, I made some new friends. You’ll really like them. One of them is my roommate, and he introduced me to his friends and they’re great. My classes are going well. The only thing I’m missing at school is you.”
Jungkook internally screamed at Taehyung’s comment but he knew that the elder only meant it in a friendly way and nothing more. He threw his towel in the hamper before he walked over to his bed and slid under the covers. Taehyung was already cozy under the covers as his hand met Jungkook’s and they both smiled at each other.
“I’m glad things are going so well for you at school,” Taehyung said softly.
“I mean, I do freak out in my mind sometimes when I realize you’re not around. I just try to keep myself busy and I’m working really hard on being more social, but it’s still a struggle for me. I just wish I could be with you like this every day.” Jungkook muttered the last part into his pillow.
Taehyung scooted closer to Jungkook and wrapped his arm around the younger’s waist and gently rubbed it in a comforting way. Being away from each other definitely wasn’t easy, and he hoped things would get better.
It was month six of the two males being in school when their world fell apart. For the past two months, Taehyung had stopped coming to visit Jungkook and even his texts and calls started coming in much slower, until it reached a point of Taehyung texting once a week and the texts were so short that Jungkook couldn’t understand what the elder was talking about. Jungkook was the one reaching out to Taehyung all the time now, and he was worried. He talked to his mom about it and she just brushed it off as Taehyung being super busy in school due to a heavy school load that they have at university.
Jungkook bit his lower lip as his thumb hovered over the call button just below Taehyung’s name. He didn’t know why he had a bad feeling in his gut, but he definitely needed to hear Taehyung’s voice to calm his nerves that were building up. He pressed the button and heard it ring three times before the call connected.
“Hello?” Taehyung answered in a slightly confused tone.
“Tae, it’s me.”
“Jungkook? Why are you calling me this late? Did something happen?” Taehyung asked.
“No. I was just missing you. We haven’t talked much and I just want to make sure you’re alright.” Jungkook replied.
Jungkook could hear Taehyung shuffling around before he spoke again, “I’m fine. I told you before that I have so much schoolwork to do that I’m not able to talk to you as much. You also have school to focus on since you’ll be graduating this year.”
“I know that, but we made a promise that we would talk and see each other often,” Jungkook said quietly.
“Jungkook, please get serious here. We knew this would happen. We’re both going down different paths right now and we have to focus on other things. You have to grow up and stop holding onto promises that we made when we were kids.”
“Tae! Are you coming to the party or not?” A male voice asked in the background of the phone call.
“You’re going out to a party on a school night?” Jungkook asked in disbelief.
“I am. I’m learning so much since I’ve been here. Please understand where I’m coming from with this.” Taehyung sighed.
“This is exactly why I called you. I’m worried about you and I have good reason to be. You’re going out partying instead of studying, which is what you’ve always taken seriously.”
“I took studying seriously so I could get away from you. I’m here to figure out what I want to do with my life. I couldn’t do anything because I was so focused on helping you. I couldn’t be my own person because it was always about you. So don’t give me a lecture right now. Jungkook, I am exhausted. I’m so tired. I’m sorry. I need to go before I screw things up more.” He apologized before he ended the call.
Jungkook was reeling in his thoughts from the phone call. He didn’t realize that he had been a burden to Taehyung over the years. He thought that Taehyung wanted to be friends with him and it hurt to know that everything he thought about them up to this point had been a lie.
The tears wouldn’t stop coming even as he looked down at his phone to find Taehyung calling him over and over again.
That was the last time the two friends spoke to each other for the rest of that current school year.
Jungkook graduated from high school and made it into his dream university, which happened to be the same one that Taehyung was currently at. He had just arrived in his dorm room and looked over his class schedule before he heard someone knock on the door.
The young male opened the door to reveal an unfamiliar male smiling at him.
“Hi! I’m Hoseok and I’m your roommate.” The male named Hoseok said as he stepped into the dorm carrying a duffel bag and wheeling his luggage in.
“I’m Jungkook. Nice to meet you.” Jungkook said softly as he gave a small smile.
“Same to you. Do you have any plans right now?”
“No. Why?”
“Since you’re new here, I’d love to give you a tour of campus. I’m in my second term, but my roommate got a boyfriend and wanted him to move in so here I am.” Hoseok explained.
“I’d actually love a tour of campus. I’m not used to large places.” Jungkook admitted.
“I feel that. Let’s head out now then and we can get lunch, too. My treat.”
The two roommates walked out of their dorm casually chatting with each other as if they had been friends for quite some time.
Jungkook and Hoseok were walking around campus when someone familiar stopped dead in his tracks.
Taehyung stood on the sidewalk watching the two roommates happily talk to each other. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotions crash over him. The male was beyond happy to see Jungkook and that he was doing so well, but he felt sad knowing that he was the reason that caused the distance in their friendship. Taehyung also noticed how even more insanely attractive Jungkook had become in such a short time. A pang of jealousy crept up on him as he saw how happy Jungkook looked with Hoseok. Were the two of them dating? He didn’t know what happened, but he found himself walking over to the two roommates as he called out to Jungkook.
“Jungkook. You’re here.” Taehyung said as he stopped and stood in front of the two shocked roommates.
“Taehyung? What are you doing here?” Hoseok asked as he looked at his friend.
“I was on my way to meet up with the rest of our friends when I saw you two.”
“Oh. Do you know Jungkook?”
“Yes. I told you about him, remember?” Taehyung reminded him.
“Oh! Right. I’ll meet up with you both later on.” Hoseok mumbled before he quickly took off, leaving the two males alone.
“What do you want?” Jungkook asked in a slightly harsh tone that hurt Taehyung, but he understood.
“I wanted to apologize to you.”
“Do you think an apology will work? I just want to know how you really feel about me. I deserve that much at least.” Jungkook said quietly as he looked away from Taehyung.
Taehyung tried to reach out for Jungkook’s hand, but the younger male brushed it away.
“The truth is, I love you. I needed some time away to figure things out. I left because I wanted to know how I really feel about you. Do I feel this way because we’re used to being around each other, or do I feel this way because I’m in love with you and can’t spend a moment away from you? Ever since we’ve known each other, I was focused on taking care of you because I never wanted to see you cry ever again. I thought it was because I merely felt protective of you as a friend, but it’s deeper than that. I’ve been in love with you for years and didn’t realize it until we spent some time apart. It killed me inside, being away from you. I didn’t mean what I said that night on the phone. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’m sorry for being such a selfish jerk and hurting you. I’m so so sorry, Kook.” Taehyung explained as he felt tears fill up his eyes and fall down his face.
Jungkook had never seen Taehyung cry in the entire time they had known each other. Yet here he was confessing his feelings and crying his heart out. It made the younger’s heart ache as well, and he found himself reaching out and wiping away Taehyung’s tears.
“I forgive you. I’m sorry for not giving you the chance to be your own person. I was also selfish over the years in wanting to keep you solely for myself. For years, I have been in love with you. Thank you for coming to me that day in kindergarten and for being my friend.” Jungkook flashed his bunny smile at the elder.
“You know this means we can’t be friends anymore, right?” Taehyung chuckled as he wiped away the few tears that rolled down Jungkook’s face.
“I know. Partners sound way better than friends, anyway.” Jungkook giggled.
Neither knew who made the first move, but they both closed their eyes and closed the gap between them.
That was the story of how two friends turned into lovers and ended up changing each other’s lives forever.