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"ah, ssaem, that was so mean of you!" one of the students raised her voice, exasperated. taehyung only smiled at her sheepishly, and the girl pouted, mumbling something about the teacher being unfair under her breath and that she could've nailed the test if it wasn't for its answers organization. taehyung wasn't mean, not at all, that was his best friend's domain, though, and the man found himself promising that he would never let jungkook arrange his exams again.
"seriously, jeon seonsaeng, how could you do that?" taehyung asked the man as they walked down the school corridor. "my students hate me right now. and it's all because of you."
the thing was, taehyung had let his younger friend slash fellow teacher organize his test answers, as he was too tired after having prepared all the questions for the nuclear chemistry examination. jungkook had no idea what all the words on the paper meant, but he was more than happy to help a friend in need, especially if there was a chance of tricking the students who would never expect such a thing from their favorite teacher. so he made sure all the right answers were under the option A, and waited to see the world burn.
jungkook snickered, "that was funny, though, wasn't it?"
the elder released a fake annoyed sigh, trying to keep his cover, because yeah, it was kind of funny. "remind me not to let you anywhere near my work again, okay? we should stop hanging out, you're making me look bad in front of my babies." he pushed jungkook playfully, and the two girls who were passing them giggled at the scene, immediately bowing towards their teachers.
no one has ever expected both of the men to become friends, as their approaches to teaching were borderline opposites. when jungkook was hired as a pe teacher, taehyung has already worked at yeongnam high for a while, and was known as the kindest teacher, who would always help a student in need, stay with them after hours just so he could explain the collision theory over and over again, in the simplest way possible, as he would never let anyone leave his classroom without quite getting the subject. on the contrary, ever since jungkook's first class, where he made those poor kids run around the field until they couldn't feel their legs, he has gotten himself the nickname the general, due to his strict teaching methods. none of the students have ever seen jungkook smile, as if he was completely indifferent to their suffering, but then both of the teachers met. and even though he still hated children, there was something about taehyung's boyish character that never failed to lighten up his mood.
"taehyung? is everything all right?" jungkook asked as he entered the staff room, holding an empty bottle of water, in high spirits, having just finished his last class of torturing poor freshmen. the elder did not spare him a glance, as he was immersed in something he found on the internet, scrolling down the page with his eyes widening even more with each second. jungkook was aware of the fact that the man's eyes were huge, but whatever he was looking at must have been either disturbing or remarkably incomprehensible, because taehyung was on a whole new level of astonishment. "kim taehyung. hyung." jungkook tried to get the man's attention, but was thoroughly ignored, so he decided to see for himself what was it that he found that was more important than his best friend. jungkook was about to sneak a glance at the laptop, but taehyung was quicker, and almost smashed the device, having closed the lid so hard that the younger only saw a glimpse of the word facebook at the top of the page.
"jeon seonsaeng. we need to destroy the internet." taehyung stated quietly, grabbing the younger by his shoulders to make the situation seem even more serious.
"what?" jungkook blinked a few times, trying to refocus his eyes, the sudden movement of taehyung's face towards his own kind of unhinged him. "tae, you can't just-"
"we can't be friends anymore." the man deadpanned, retreating. "i'm breaking up with you."
jungkook grabbed the elder's wrist to stop him from fleeting the room.
"you can't break up with-" he was about to yell at taehyung, 'cause he was exhausted and frustrated, since he had completely no idea what taehyung was talking about, when a knock interrupted them and a short girl stood in the doorstep, staring at the two men, blinking slowly.
"i can just come back later?" she asked in a thin voice, looking between the two, as if she barged in in the middle of a very important conversation.
"why aren't you in class?" jungkook snapped at her, causing the poor student to flinch.
"miyeonah, is there anything you need?" the elder freed himself from jungkook's grasp and approached the girl, who was now blushing furiously.
"um, park seonsaengnim wanted me to hand these to you." she stretched her hands, pushing a load of paper in taehyung's direction. "also, i am so so so sorry for interrupting," miyeon bowed ninety degrees, "this will never happen again. i'm sorry." she ran out of the door the second she felt taehyung take the papers.
"what the fuck." jungkook whispered to himself, staring at the screen of his friend's laptop. he rushed to check the thing that got taehyung so out of it, but what he saw was definietly not what he'd expected.
"no!" the elder ran up to him and shut the device down again. "this isn't- i mean it is, but i didn't-"
"taehyung, what. the. fuck." jungkook repeated, eyes still focused on the laptop, even though there was nothing in front of him.
"so, um." taehyung looked away, playing with his hands. "i was browsing- park seonsaeng sent me this funny video through facebook, and you know i don't really use any of those social media, so i was really behind with everything i found there, and i had lots of invitations from our students." he breathed in and out, trying to calm himself down. their situation is beyond disconcerting, so his alarmed behavior is completely acceptable. "i accepted one of them, but then realized that it would be sort of unprofessional, 'cause you know, i'm a teacher. so i went on to that student's profile to remove her from my friends, but i got distracted. and i found this." the man finished his rambling, and opened the laptop to show jungkook the page.
it was a facebook group, a public group, that consisted of almost all students from their school, where they shared multiple pictures or overheard conversation from the corridors of their institution.
pictures of them. their conversations.
"taekook?" jungkook's eyes widened as he skimmed through the albums. he definitely did not pause for a tiny second to see the photo someone took of them, where both of the men were laughing (probably at something stupid taehyung said or did) during a lunch break. there were comments under the picture, most of them saying that they are sooooo cute together, but the one that caught his eye was that our general only smiles like that when kim ssaem is around. and even though jungkook was indignant to the sole idea of the group, that last one was kind of true. "i am so going to the principal-"
"no, no, jungkookie, please!" taehyung rushed to stop the man. "i don't want my students to be in trouble because of something so insignificant." he pouted. the situation must have been really serious, because this is the first time taehyung has ever used jungkook's first name when they were at school. and he used a pet name.
"what do you mean insignificant?" jungkook all but growled, not even realizing that the elder's choice of words somehow hurt him. "i don't want some stupid teenagers to post pictures of me on the internet without my knowledge!"
"technically, you already know, so-"
jungkook cut him off with a stern, pointed look, and the elder knew there was only one way he could get out of this unharmed. so he pouted.
"taehyung, don't." the said man kept staring cutely at the younger, pushing his bottom lip even farther. jungkook shook his head, huffing an irritated laugh, and taehyung was so desperate about saving his students, he was about to kneel and beg, when the school bell resounded from the corridors, signalling the end of yet another period. none of the teachers who entered the room said anything about the position they were found in, taehyung with his one knee on the floor and jungkook visibly affected by something; kim seonsaeng just shook his head, while park seonsaeng shot taehyung a wink, giggling.
(later that day, jungkook would register on facebook with a fake name, just so he can join the group. for educational purposes, of course)
(then, he will learn that both kim seokjin and park jimin are members of the group)
(park jimin was the founder of yeongnam taekook)
jungkook spent the whole night scrolling through the group disbelievingly, because wow, they did look like a couple based on all of those pictures and comments. the photos were actually well taken. there was one where they were sitting together in the back of the canteen, munching on their lunches (the ones taehyung had prepared for them, like he always does), and there shouldn't be anything special about it, if it wasn't for the small detail that didn't go unnoticed by their fans, namely: taehyung's hand has been casually placed on his thigh. i don't recall anything like that? another picture was of them simply walking through the hall, with jungkook laughing at something wholeheartedly and taehyung grinning so widely, as he observed the younger with so much fondness in his eyes it seemed impossible to recognize on a photo, yet their students saw that. and jungkook did, too. then, there was a post about them allegedly flirting, as in: lingering stares and small touches here and there. when did all of this happen?
(jungkook saved a few of those pictures on his phone, making sure to change his lock pin, so that taehyung would never find them)
then, a notification popped on the side of his screen. someone posted about their supposed breakup. what. the girl, shin miyeon, claimed that she has heard them talking in the staff room, and that the general looked and sounded devastated. why would she even-
oh. right. that must have been the kid that barged into the room during their free period.
"jeon seonsaeng~!" taehyung's cheerful voice was everything jungkook heard before a warm body crashed into his, as the elder backhugged him tightly. jungkook felt his face heat up, and quickly pushed the man away, looking around to see whether anyone had a chance to take a photo. because of the lack of sleep, jungkook wasn't himself today, and he thought that it really must have looked like he was quote unquote devastated after being left by his boyfriend, because he hasn't raised his voice even once throughout all his classes. (one of the students even asked him if he's okay, but the glare he sent her way shut her up)
"something happened?" the elder asked, concerned, slightly pouting at the rough treatment he received from his best friend.
jungkook groaned, "i'm just, uh, tired. that's all."
"but it's friday." taehyung whined, jumping around the man.
"and?"
"that means weekend!"
"so?"
"so! movie night!" a box shaped grin found its way to the elder's face.
they sat comfortably on the small couch in taehyung's apartment, with fight club playing in the distance, but all jungkook could focus on was that taehyung's face looked really nice in the dim light of the room. the man was sitting with his legs outstretched and resting on the small coffee table, his mouth slightly agape, like it was always when he was concentrating, and jungkook felt himself go stiff everytime the elder licked his lips, a habit that has never really caught jungkook's attention, never, until now. taehyung had no idea about the younger's internal struggle, squinting his eyes from time to time, whenever the movie confused him.
"tae?" jungkook asked softly, eyes never leaving the other's lips. he was tired. he was so tired, he could barely speak, and staying up through another night didn't seem like a good idea. taehyung hummed in response, turning to look at the younger, the sides of his lips now turned up in a gentle smile. "i, uh, i think i'm gonna head home."
"sleepy much?" jungkook could only nod in answer, not trusting his voice anymore, as his mind could only focus on how tender taehyung sounded. the elder patted his thigh with a smile, and reached out to pull jungkook down by his neck, so his head would rest in taehyung's lap. the younger wanted to protest, but he spaced out completely when he felt taehyung's large, warm hand in his hair, massaging his scalp, tugging on his strands lightly from time to time. he was out like a light before he could even realize how intimate their position was, how familiar it felt, yet there was something new about it, something he didn't recognize, something that caused his heart to beat faster, his face heat up, his stomach ache. but, aside from all of that, it was nice. so fucking nice.
"i can't believe you fell asleep on me yesterday." taehyung mumbled accusingly, sneaking his arms around jungkook's torso, as the younger worked on preparing their breakfast. jungkook stilled, suddenly uncomfortable with all their closeness, and didn't even realize he started gripping the frying pan, until he felt his hand burning.
"fuck!" he jumped back, pushing taehyung, the jolt causing the elder to fall onto the floor. "fucking shit." jungkook started blowing on the hot spot on his palm.
"oh my god, kookie, is everything okay?" taehyung was all over him in a matter of seconds, pulling the boy in the direction of the sink, and put their intertwined hands under a stream of ice cold water.
"i'm fine, fuck," jungkook hissed, trying to force his hand out of the elder's hold, but that only made taehyung pull him closer. "taehyung." he nugded the man with his shoulder when he heard him sniff. "tae, are you- i told you i was fine." jungkook tucked his healthy hand under the elder's chin to bring his warm face up. taehyung was pouting, of course, a sad glint in his eyes, tears glistening in their corners. "it's not your fault." jungkook whispered, feeling so awful about causing the whole situation. he has never reacted to taehyung's touch this way, and it angered him just how a stupid group on facebook affected him.
"i'm out of band-aids." taehyung sniffled, looking up at his friend, from under his bangs.
"we could go to the pharmacy down the street?" the younger suggested, his thumb rubbing circles on the red of taehyung's cheek. "and grab some take out on our way back, because i kinda fucked up our breakfast." taehyung chuckled, taking the younger's hand into his own, linking their fingers together.
when they walked along the sidewalk, intertwined hands swinging freely between them, none of the men realized that someone from the opposite direction gasped loudly at the sight of them, almost falling down, as jungkook was too caught up in the heat of taehyung's palm against his own.
jungkook was more than embarrassed to ask his older friend for help, since he was obviously the stronger one, but with his injured hand he couldn't really carry those heavy shopping bags, especially with the tight plastic straps digging into his palm.
so the two of them walked around the supermarket, taehyung running around and grabbing whatever he put on the list ("i'll be in charge of your groceries, because we both know that it'll be me using them later to prepare food for you."), and jungkook pushing the cart through the aisles, following his friend as he skipped around like a child, and watching him fondly.
"tae, i don't think we're gonna need that much barbecue sauce, i still have some left-"
"there's never too much barbecue sauce, kookie." taehyung jumped in front of him with a serious face, throwing six bottles of the said spice into the cart. the younger groaned, but the soft smile never left his face, even later, when taehyung kept prancing through the shop and bumped into a watermelon stand, and an annoyed assistant had to listen to his numerous apologies, while jungkook tried to pile up the fruits, almost forgetting about the burn on his hand.
"ssaem!" a short girl ran up to taehyung while he was in deep thought, considering whether he should take the green onions or the red ones. "i didn't know you shopped here!"
"areumah, hi." taehyung smiled at his student. "i've actually never been here before, 'cause i live a bit far from here, but-"
"for god's sake, tae, i've been looking for you ever since that watermelon accident, where have you-" jungkook barely managed to stop his cart before the elder jumped over to throw two bags of different kinds of onions into it.
"hello, jeon seonsaengnim!" areum bowed to the man with a sly smirk, and jungkook just grunted a greeting in return, trying to fight off a blush creeping up his face, because the situation they were just caught in seemed oddly domestic.
when jungkook wasn't at the staff room during their wednesday free period, taehyung was worried. he did wait for the first ten minutes, hoping that the younger just stayed a bit longer after class, but that's not a thing jungkook would do, especially if it meant spending even more time with the students. so taehyung grabbed the two boxes from his bag and hurried to the school's gym section, only to find the younger sitting calmly by the desk in his office, playing some speed game on his phone.
"jeon jungkook seonsaeng!" taehyung raised his voice, standing in the doorway. jungkook looked up from his device, startled, his mouth hanging slightly open. "have you eaten?"
"um, no?"
"and why is that?" the elder huffed. jungkook was about to say something, but taehyung shook his head and spoke first. "wait, let me tell you. 'cause you didn't come to the staff room."
taehyung put a red lunchbox down on the desk, while the younger stared at him dubiously.
"oh, for the love of god, jeon seonsaeng, i've been preparing your lunch since forever, what is so special about today that you forgot about it?"
"i made my own?" it was taehyung's turn to be surprised. he rushed to his friend and placed his palm against jungkook's forehead, and shook his head when he felt the skin being at completely normal temperature.
"was it aliens, then?" the elder wondered, staring into jungkook's eyes suspiciously.
"what? tae, no-" jungkook jumped away when he felt his friend grab at the hem of his shirt, the tips of his ears growing red. "what the hell are you doing?"
"didn't they leave some kind of marks on your body?" taehyung grabbed the younger's right hand. "wow, your burn is gone!"
jungkook sighed in annoyance, waiting for the elder to stop talking so he could explain everything calmly. "the burn is on my other hand." he deadpanned, and taehyung stilled, licking his lips, as if he was about to talk again, but jungkook wasn't having any of it. "and we were out buying groceries a few days ago, so my fridge is fully stocked, hence why i prepared my own lunch."
"but you can't cook." taehyung reasoned. "that scar on your hand is a perfect example of that."
"i can try?" the younger didn't give up. to be honest, this was just an excuse so that he could somehow maybe avoid taehyung at work, because that would probably result in reducing the amount of rumors about them. and yes, jungkook did feel kind of lonely without his best friend chattering his head off, but if it was for the greater good, he was willing to make the sacrifice. turns out taehyung wasn't.
"you do realize you could've just called me over if you were hungry, right?" taehyung pursed his lips. the younger's lips quirked up at the thought of taehyung taking care of him like that, but his expression changed into a scowl the second he heard a giggle coming from the corridor. of course, taehyung left the door wide open. jungkook made a mental note to himself to check their fansite when he got home later in the afternoon.
"have you ever considered getting a car?" jungkook asked the elder as they walked up the stairs to taehyung's apartment. lately, they've been hanging out at jungkook's place, so the younger almost forgot how fresh and sweet has taehyung's place always smelled. just like taehyung.
"why would i, when i have you?" the man grinned, ushering jungkook farther into the warm of his flat so he could close the door.
"yeah, well, i live on the other side of the city." the younger spoke as he followed taehyung into the kitchen, but the latter stopped him, pressing his index finger to jungkook's chest.
"i do the cooking, you do the driving." he winked, still smiling, and the younger felt his face grow hotter. "and if you don't like wasting gas on chauffeuring me around," taehyung stepped closer to him, their noses almost touching, as both of the men were almost the same height, "you could just move in with me." the elder's breath was on jungkook's lips, and for a moment he had no idea how to react, frozen in spot, before he leaned away, blushing furiously.
"wha-what are you talking about!" jungkook practically spat, miserably failing to hide how affected he was by the elder's closeness, while taehyung just chuckled, a hint of bitterness in his laugh.
the two ate their meal in silence, with taehyung occasionally humming at the delicious taste of the beef. jungkook was spacing out, still not really over the fact that the older man's actions had had such an effect on him, and he couldn't just brush it off, because taehyung has always been like that, touchy-feely, but it's only recently that jungkook has started responding to the elder's contact so awkwardly.
"jungkook!" taehyung threw a chopstick at the man, who was obviously not listening to a word he said.
"uh, yeah?" the younger looked up to see taehyung pursing his lips, a playful glare in his eyes.
"is everything okay?"
"why wouldn't it be?"
"you're a bit out of it." he commented, watching jungkook closely, as the younger avoided eye contact. "and that's my thing, so there must be something wrong."
"i guess i'm just tired." jungkook used the worst excuse he could think of, but it was also the only thing he could say that was the closest to truth. taehyung knew the younger was hiding something from him, but there was nothing he could do to force jungkook to speak.
"do you wanna sleep over, then?" taehyung suggested, that blinding smile back on his face.
"no!" the younger almost shouted, both panic and bliss rising in his mind at the thought of sharing a bed with taehyung. there wasn't anything new about it, they always did that when they slept at taehyung's place, because the heating system is really bad here, so it's the only way they could be warm at night, and none of them really minded cuddling (although jungkook would never admit that). "i mean, i've got something to take care of tomorrow morning,-" wish i wasn't so scared to take care of you.
"but it's thursday. you don't start until, like, twelve?"
"yeah, um, it's not really a school thing." jungkook tried to sound unsuspicious, but there was no way the elder didn't pick up on the note of nervousness in his voice.
"oh. okay." the younger would lie if he said that his heart didn't break into a milion pieces upon seeing taehyung's hurt expression.
jungkook left shortly after they were finished eating, unable to cope with the thick tension in the air. on his way home, taehyung's sorrowful face was the only thing he had on his mind, and he hated himself so much for being so scared.
"taehyung, this is too much." jungkook snarled at the elder, barging into the staff room, where the said man was calmly munching on his lunch. at the sound of his best friend's irritated voice, taehyung looked up, confused, waiting for jungkook to elaborate. the younger walked up to him, placing hard steps along his way, and shoved his cellphone into taehyung's face. "i don't want photos of my private life uploaded on the internet by a bunch of fucking schoolgirls!"
taehyung's eyes softened upon seeing the stream of pictures from their walk to the pharmacy or to the supermarket, holding hands, jungkook brushing off stray strands of hair from the elder's forehead, staring at each other affectionately, and a great deal of posts about them buying groceries like a married couple or taehyung's concern over the younger's eating habits.
"that's it. i'm reporting it to the principal at the end of my classes." jungkook informed him sternly. it wasn't that the younger didn't want to be anything closer than a friend to taehyung, not at all, he loved the mere idea of being taehyung's boyfriend, but the thought of anyone finding out, especially through some teenagers gossiping about them or sharing their personal information on social media was seriously too much. but taehyung didn't seem to have understood the younger's intentions well, as his expression changed from disoriented to a hurt one. yet he still didn't respond, more focused on how much it pained him to see jungkook try and fight off whatever feelings they had for each other.
"taehyung, you can't tell me you don't mind having your everyday life pictures shared on facebook!"
"i don't." the man answered curtly, the tone throwing jungkook off.
"what?"
"i don't mind it. especially now, when it helped me realize how stupid i was for even thinking that you would ever grow up." taehyung stood up and brushed by the astonished jungkook, who was still trying to comprehend his words.
"what do you-"
"you're such a coward." the man only muttered, and left the room, making sure jungkook wouldn't have time to talk back to him, leaving the younger behind, in hopes that he will finally give his emotions some thought.
the last thing jungkook needed was to have yet another whole hour of supervising some seniors while they were playing volleyball, when all he had in mind was the hurt written all over taehyung's face and the bitterness in the man's voice.
("there's something really wrong with our general." miyeon commented, watching the teacher as he stared at the tips of his shoes, spacing out completely.
"i know." yerim added. "he made us play volleyball, for god's sake. this is literally the least tiring exercise he could've given us.")
"jeon seonsaengnim?" park jimin, the ethics teacher, hurried towards the said man with a worried expression. jungkook looked up through his hazed eyes to see his fellow coworker panting, as if he ran all the way from wherever he came from. "the principal wants to see you." jimin breathed out.
"is there anything wrong, park ssaem?" a short girl approached both of the teachers, visibly concerned for their sakes.
"you don't have to worry about it, miyeonah, this is grown-ups' business." jimin smiled at the girl, who's face was now covered in pink, and she nodded hurriedly, to cover up her embarrassment, and went back to the field, where the volleyball game has been halted the second they heard the word principal.
"jeon jungkook." a deep voice resounded in jungkook's ears when he entered the headmaster's office. "your name is one of the most popular topics of almost all of our students, along with the chemistry teacher's. i heard you even made your debut on the internet?"
jungkook groaned, hoping that the stupid group on facebook would just fucking dissapear and stop causing him any more problems.
"yeah, that would be me." he closed the door behind himself quietly, and approached the elder's desk, trying to keep himself as composed as possible in a distressing situation like that. being called into principal's office has always meant trouble, whether you were a student or a teacher.
after this awfully long and backbreaking day, jungkook finally got home, tired out of his mind, and didn't even consider eating or showering, when he threw himself onto his bed. back in the principal's office, he remained stoic, patiently listening to the older man's rant about rules, one rule specifically, and that was the prohibition of any relationships between teachers at his school. although jungkook did point out that he and taehyung weren't dating, the headmaster continued talking, bringing up the topic of the facebook group, of course, and the fact that all of their students (and teachers, too) seem to be certain that the two men are together. in order to take care of the existing situation, the principal came up with the best solution he could think of that wouldn't mean firing either of the two teachers concerned.
"sick leave?" jungkook quiestioned, waiting for the headmaster, kim namjoon, to explain his thoroughly calculated plan.
"yeah, something like that. the students will receive informations that you are sick, be it a flu or some kind of external injury. you would take a few days off, weeks maybe, depending on how long it would take for the rumors to die down." the man clarified. "i hoped to be able to talk to the both of you, but kim taehyung seonsaeng has already left work, therefore he will be informed about the situation-"
"could you please not tell kim seonsaeng about this?" the younger cut in, voice hopeful. if there is a possibility of taehyung getting out of this mess unharmed, jungkook would do anything to make it happen.
"oh? but the process concerns both of you, so-"
"but if you fire only one of us, then there wouldn't be any forbidden relationships between co-workers, right, kim gyojangnim?"
"i am not firing any of you, it is just for a time being, until the rumors quiet down." namjoon repeated calmly.
"what if they aren't just rumors?" jungkook whispered, more to himself.
"jeon seonsaeng, are you saying that you and kim seonsaeng are in a relationship?" i wish.
"i didn't- that is not what i said. i'll just, um, stick to the plan. sick leave, was it?"
"exactly."
"and none of this would affect tae- kim seonsaeng?"
"if that's what you want."
"thank you, kim gyojangnim."
on his way back from school, jungkook stopped by his best friend's apartment to find the man ignoring his numerous knocks and pleas to come to the door. yes, taehyung had been mad at him when they last spoke, however the younger did not expect to be ignored, and only now he realized how poorly he's been treating the man in the past few days.
but jungkook had it planned in his mind, and the fact that taehyung isn't cooperating destroys everything, because how could he leave for weeks and not speak to his taehyung? that didn't affect his plan by much, as it only caused jungkook to be even more bitter than usual, and the plan was to go back to busan for as long as the principal wants him to be away from school, away from taehyung.
oh god, his mother would kill him if she ever finds out how badly he screwed up his relations with the man she grew to love so much ever since she met him a few months ago, when the woman decided to pay her son an unexpected visit and met the ever so charming kim taehyung, who was at that moment preparing something akin to breakfast (though it was in the early afternoon) clad only in his elephant pajamas.
jungkook packed some of his most essential belongings and jumped into his car, preparing himself for a long drive across the country, but not without trying to reach taehyung again, as he stopped by the place he knew like the back of his hand and abused the man's door for a little longer. he was furious with himself, his insides boiling, and just before walking away from the door, he stopped by the wall and hit it with his fist, full force, hoping that would help him release some anger, but the action only added up to the pathetic feeling in his gut.
right before starting the engine, when he was comfrotably seated in his car, jungkook fished his phone out of his back pocket and sent a short text to the only number he knew by heart.
i'm gonna miss you
it's been five weeks.
five weeks of trying to reach out to taehyung. five weeks of taehyung ignoring him. five weeks of fighting the pressing need to come back to seoul and just throw himself at the man he is missing so badly. but jungkook's not going to fight it anymore, he's had his time to think, he's listened to enough nagging from his mother, and he's ready.
(jungkook did get a few tickets for speeding on his way back home, but it was nothing serious, so he didn't let it occupy his mind, focused solely on driving to see taehyung as fast as possible.)
"kim seonsaeng?" jungkook asked, peeking into the said man's classroom. "can i have a word?"
the whole class was quiet ever since they saw the younger man approach their room through the narrow window by the door. some of the female students started whispering, others had their phones set and ready for any interaction between their favorite alleged couple. to be honest, jungkook was sick of this and sick of the fact that some stupid teenagers managed to destroy his amazing relations with taehyung.
the elder blinked slowly, staring between some papers on his desk and jungkook, who was waiting by the door. "i, uh-"
"tae." jungkook asked again, his voice quiet and low, as if only for the elder to hear, forgetting about the students observing them and listening closely. something snapped in taehyung, and he closed his notebook loudly and waved towards the class dismissively.
"you're free after you finish the last assignment." he ordered and stepped towards the younger man quickly, as if he was scared.
jungkook bit his lip, affected by the elder's hesitant behavior. he hated seeing taehyung like this, that amazing rectangular smile long gone, eyes hooded with exhaustion and worry.
the younger didn't stop to think before he acted, and when taehyung was there in front of him, he reached out and grabbed the man's wrist to pull him out of the classroom and closer to himself, their chests flush against each other. jungkook kicked the door close with his shoe, and ignored taehyung's gasp of surprise, as he brought his face to his own to lock their mouths together. he barely moved his lips, waiting for the elder to warm up to him. and when he felt taehyung's hands grip at the front of his jacket, jungkook moved his arms to wind them around the elder's thin waist, going in to deepen the kiss, when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. if it wasn't for how lost in the moment they were, they would have jumped away from each other, but now, taehyung was slowly retreating, eyes focused on the younger's lips, while jungkook still hasn't opened his lids, relishing in their delightful closeness.
"i'm glad you guys are back together, but really, at school? during classes?" park jimin chuckled, arms crossed on his chest.
"oh my god." taehyung whispered, taking a few steps back. the situation would be easier to handle, if it wasn't for the girls fighting over the place by the window next to the door, phone cameras set and ready to catch every little taekook moment. "tell the principal i'm on sick leave, park seonsaeng." taehyung stated, worriedly, and walked away, pulling jungkook with himself by the younger's wrist.
"and jungkook?" jimin shouted after them.
"i am on sick leave." the youngest of them grumbled, trying to keep up with taehyung.
"are you insane?" taehyung grabbed the younger's face in his palms, when they reached some place more private, behind their school court bleachers, and jungkook just stared at him, perplexed. "we could lose our jobs!"
they were both quiet for a moment, facing each other. taehyung looked like he was on the verge of crying, and the younger must've been in some kind of a shock, because he simply laughed. it started off softly, like a chuckle, but a few seconds later it dissolved into a whole-hearted laughing fit, tears glinting in the corners of his eyes.
"for god's sake, jungkook, what's wrong with you?" taehyung asked disbelievingly, releasing his hold on the younger's face. "this is a serious situation, and what the hell were you even thinking? you can't just come back after stupid five weeks and- and act like this!"
"tae."
"don't tae me, are you out of your mind?" he yelled. "you do realize that your behavior is completely out of place, i was so afraid you would never-"
"tae." jungkook tried again, with a fond smile on his face.
"what!"
"i love you." taehyung's expression softened as he watched the younger's grin grow even wider, and he blinked a few times, still trying to comprehend jungkook's words. taehyung definitely did not expect the events to turn out like this, and now he was at a loss of words, searching the younger man's eyes for any sign of mischief, yet all he was met with was sincerity and so much affection.
he threw his arms around jungkook's neck and simply jumped into his arms, sobbing, as the younger's hands kept drawing soothing circles on the small of his back.
"you're unbelievable." he muttered into jungkook's neck.
"i'm sorry, tae, i am so so sorry." the younger repeated like a mantra, hoping that one day taehyung will forget how much of an ass he's been so they could go back to being unseparable.
"i hate you so much."
"you love me." jungkook kissed his hair, taking in the fresh, sweet scent.
"yeah," the man kept on sobbing, voice soft and weary. "yeah, i do."
"why did you ignore me the whole time?" jungkook asked, with a hint of hurt in his voice, even though he was well aware that he was the one who screwed up in the first place. "weren't you at least a bit worried when i didn't appear at school?"
"i was worried." the elder answered candidly.
"then why?"
"your mom called me and said you were in busan, so i decided to wait for you to finally man up and come to me first."
"jerk." jungkook muttered under his breath, huffing a relieved laugh, glad that they took care of most of their problems.
"look who's talking." taehyung elbowed the younger, as they stopped in front of kim namjoon's office. "so, you're not going to work here anymore?" he added, pouting.
"yeah." jungkook didn't seem to be bothered by the fact. "i've already emailed my resignation, so there's only a few things left i have to take care of, and it's done."
"who's going to take care of you now?" the elder worried. "or make sure you're eating well?"
"that's still gonna be you, i'm not moving to another country, it's just a different school."
"how am i supposed to do that, if we'll be away from each other most of the day?"
"well, if we lived closer, that wouldn't be so much trouble, there's a lot of time after work-"
"oh my god, are you finally going to move in with me?'' taehyung jumped at the thought, grabbing the younger by his arm and shaking a bit, forgetting entirely about their worries, a huge grin present on his face, the one jungkook has missed so badly.
"hell no." the younger contradicted, a smirk playing on his lips. "your place is too small and your landlord is a dick. you're moving in with me."
jungkook couldn't recall a time when he's seen taehyung smile so widely, eyes crinkling at the corners.
"i mean, if you want to, of course, 'cause if you don't, it's fine-" jungkook rambled almost shyly, after he realized that it's been literally minutes since they made up, got together, and he's already asking taehyung to live with him. but all of his concerns dissipated the second he felt the elder's lips on his cheek, pecking the skin lightly.
"sounds amazing." taehyung whispered heartily. "you're still driving me to work, though."