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The problem with dating Kim Taehyung wasn’t his age or his past, it was how impossibly effortless he made everything look. Nineteen and seventeen. He lived like someone born knowing all the answers, all the shortcuts. Jungkook… not so much.
To Jungkook, dating him felt like trying to complete a game on nightmare difficulty without a tutorial. Taehyung was confidence and charm wrapped in soft hair and charming smiles. Jungkook was a shy gamer who barely left home unless Taehyung asked, and he always asked in that voice that made saying no impossible.
The real problem, though? Experience.
Jungkook hadn’t been kissed before. Not properly. Not at all. His closest thing to intimacy was sitting cross‑legged in front of his console, controller warm in his hands. Taehyung, on the other hand… the stories (filtered, exaggerated, and terrifying) painted him as someone who used to collect intense relationships like achievements.
Four months together, and everything between them was warm, emotional, and stupidly soft — except the kissing part. That part was stuck. Frozen at pecks. Pecks. As if Jungkook’s lips were made of fragile glass.
It was Wednesday night, and instead of documentaries, the giant TV was showing the messiest reality show ever created: Island of Desire. Couples cheating under palm trees. People crying over people they met three days ago. Absolute chaos.
Taehyung lay on his side with his head resting in Jungkook’s lap, fingers tucked near the hem of his shirt. His touch was warm, too warm, tracing small circles on Jungkook’s skin. Every soft stroke was a cinematic zoom in on Jungkook’s sanity.
“Look at this idiot,” Taehyung muttered, pointing at the screen. “He thinks that excuse is enough? Please.”
Jungkook tried to follow the drama, but the real drama was Taehyung’s fingers on his thigh. They were louder than the entire show. Louder than the ocean sound effects. Louder than his heartbeat.
“Effort for what?” he asked, voice betraying him with a tiny shake.
“Effort to show he cares.” Taehyung turned his head slightly, eyes catching Jungkook’s. Calm. Serious. Soft. “Saying ‘I love you’ is easy. Changing who you are… that’s the hard part.”
Jungkook felt the hit straight in the chest. He knew what Taehyung meant. He knew Taehyung was trying — genuinely trying — to be the stable boyfriend Jungkook deserved. But the question was still there, tightening his throat.
If he wants me so much… why doesn’t he kiss me? Properly?
The crying contestant on the TV started describing her first kiss with her new partner, using words like “electricity” and “fire”. Jungkook wanted to throw the remote at her. Not because she was wrong, but because she was right. And because he hadn’t felt any of that yet.
His face warmed. The room was dim, cozy, comfortable. Taehyung’s touch was constant. Everything felt like the universe was whispering “do it”.
Taehyung sighed and turned his head in Jungkook’s lap. Those soft strands of hair fell over his eyes, making him look unreal in the soft light. He reached up and brushed Jungkook’s hair aside, thumb lingering on his forehead. The kind of touch that said everything he wouldn’t say out loud.
“You have this way of calming me,” Taehyung whispered. His voice was low, almost brushing against Jungkook’s lips even from that distance. “I didn’t think I’d be this in love.”
Jungkook’s heart flipped. Their faces were close, the world quiet, the air warm. This was it. His first real kiss. This was the moment.
But Taehyung simply smiled that soft square smile, leaned up, and pressed another peck. Sweet. Gentle. Too quick.
“I’ll get more soda,” he said casually, standing and leaving as if he hadn’t just shattered Jungkook’s entire universe.
Jungkook stayed frozen. His lips tingled in the most frustrating way. The moment had slipped through his fingers like water.
If all Taehyung ever gave him were pecks, what did that mean? Was he scared? Was he not attracted enough? Or did he think Jungkook couldn’t handle anything else?
“What if he thinks I’m boring,” Jungkook whispered to the blank TV screen as he paused it, staring at his faint reflection. “What if he thinks I’m too plain for a real kiss?”
He ran a hand through his hair. He needed a plan. A strategy. A guide. Something.
A boss fight.
And there was only one person who would understand that.
Kim Namjoon.
Jungkook grabbed his phone and opened the messages.
To: Namjoon Hyung
Hyung, can you talk? I need URGENT advice about kissing.
The reply came almost instantly.
From: Namjoon Hyung
Five minutes, Gukkie. Don’t panic.
He took a deep breath and accepted the call.
“Gukkie? What happened? Did Taehyung scare you?” Namjoon asked with that worried older brother tone.
“No. He’s sweet. Too sweet actually,” Jungkook said, sinking deeper into the sofa. “We’ve been dating for four months and he’s only given me pecks. That’s it.”
Namjoon was silent for a moment before answering. “Four months? With his history? That’s unusual.”
Jungkook flinched. “Right? He touches me all the time. He says he loves me. But when things get close to kissing for real, he stops. Like he’s avoiding something.”
Namjoon sighed. “I don’t fully trust this supposed new version of him. He used to move fast. Now he’s pacing himself too much. That suggests he’s choosing safety over desire. And that isn’t what you need.”
Jungkook felt his stomach twist. “So he doesn’t want me?”
“No. He wants you,” Namjoon said immediately. “But he sees you as something delicate. Something precious. He’s afraid of hurting you. He’s so focused on being careful that he’s forgetting to be your boyfriend. And that can mess with your head.”
Jungkook pressed a hand to his chest. “Hyung… I don’t want to beg.”
“Then don’t,” Namjoon said. “Just show him you can take a little awkwardness. You’re a gamer, right? You know sometimes the only way to unlock a new level is to fail on purpose.”
“Fail?” Jungkook frowned.
“Use the height difference,” Namjoon continued. “When he leans down for the usual forehead kiss, lean up too much on purpose. Miss the target. Kiss his chin or something. It shows you’re not made of glass.”
Jungkook blinked. “That’s ridiculous.”
“It is,” Namjoon agreed. “But it’ll work. Or at least he’ll laugh. If he gives you another peck, throw a pillow at him.”
The advice was absurd. Utterly absurd. But Jungkook couldn’t deny it made sense.
He hung up feeling like a badly trained secret agent. The mission was stupid. The stakes were high. And the enemy was insanely handsome.
He heard the water turn off upstairs.
Taehyung was coming back.
This was it.
Jungkook sat at the edge of the sofa, mentally preparing himself for the dumbest yet most important attack of his life.
Okay. This is my chance. If I mess up, at least it’ll look like an accident.
Taehyung came down the stairs wearing a loose white T-shirt and sweatpants, hair damp and smelling expensive. Of course he looked perfect. Jungkook felt his heart jump into his throat.
“I’m back, Gukkie. Did you miss me?” Taehyung teased, walking over with that easy smile.
He leaned in for the predictable forehead kiss.
This was the moment.
Jungkook stood a little too fast and leaned up way too far. Taehyung’s eyes widened as Jungkook’s lips bumped awkwardly into his chin.
A complete disaster.
Jungkook froze. Heat exploded in his face. He wanted to uninstall himself from reality.
Taehyung stared for a second, then burst out laughing. A real, loud, beautiful laugh that shook his shoulders.
“What was that, love?” he asked, pulling Jungkook into a hug while still laughing. “Were you trying to kiss my chin on purpose?”
Jungkook hid his face in Taehyung’s chest. “I tripped,” he muttered.
“Tripped,” Taehyung repeated, smiling as he pulled back to look at him. He wiped a tear from laughing too much. “You’re so cute.”
The word hit Jungkook like a spark.
“I don’t want to be just cute,” Jungkook said softly but firmly. “I’m your boyfriend. I want you to kiss me for real. Don’t treat me like I’m breakable.”
Taehyung’s smile faded. His expression turned serious, even hurt.
“Is that what you think? That I don’t want you?” he asked quietly.
“It feels like it,” Jungkook whispered. “You’ve had so much experience and now you avoid me. Why?”
Taehyung ran a hand through his hair, frustrated at himself.
“I was scared of breaking you,” he admitted. “You’re new to all this. You matter to me so much. And when I want something too much… I move fast. Too fast. I didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
He stepped closer, lifting a hand to Jungkook’s face.
“I was trying so hard to be the responsible version of myself that I forgot to be yours. I want you, Jungkook. A lot. And you’re not fragile.”
Before Jungkook could answer, Taehyung leaned in.
This time, the kiss was slow and certain. His lips were soft, warm, confident. Jungkook felt everything at once. The scent of soap. The closeness. The relief. The trembling in his chest.
Taehyung pulled back only slightly, their foreheads touching.
“I want to kiss you properly,” he whispered. “Will you let me?”
Jungkook couldn’t speak. He nodded, tiny but sure.
Taehyung kissed him again. Deeper. Warmer. His hand rested on the back of Jungkook’s neck, guiding him with gentle pressure.
Jungkook panicked for a second. He didn’t know what to do. Should he open his mouth? Copy Taehyung? Stay still? His brain had no tutorial for this.
Taehyung seemed to sense it. He made a soft sound and deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing Jungkook’s lightly, teaching him without rushing.
Jungkook melted. There was the taste of vanilla. The heat in his chest. The dizzying feeling of being wanted. He clung to Taehyung’s damp shirt, kissing back shyly and clumsily.
Taehyung smiled against his mouth, proud and fond.
When they finally separated, both were breathless. Taehyung rested his forehead against Jungkook’s, voice low.
“This isn’t just sweet, Gukkie,” he murmured. “This means something. And I don’t want to hold back anymore.
Jungkook felt shy and dizzy. He wiped his mouth out of instinct.
Taehyung gave a soft laugh. “Did you just wipe your mouth? Did you not like it?”
“No. I did. It was… perfect,” Jungkook said quickly. “I just don’t know how to end it yet.”
Taehyung’s laugh turned deeper.
“I’ll teach you how to finish,” he said, pulling Jungkook close until they were chest to chest. “Actually. Let’s practice.”
He kissed him again, this time with more need. Jungkook followed his lead, more confident now. The kiss grew messy, warm, addictive.
Taehyung’s hand slipped from Jungkook’s neck to his waist, then lower, gripping him and pulling him close. Jungkook made a surprised sound.
The kiss deepened instantly. Jungkook’s whole body tensed. His hands tightened on Taehyung’s shoulders. Everything felt overwhelming in the best way.
Then Taehyung pulled back with effort, breathing hard. He eased the kiss into something soft, almost a whisper of lips. He linked their fingers and kept a steady hand on Jungkook’s waist.
“I got carried away,” he said, voice rough. “You make me lose control.”
Jungkook, still dizzy, squeezed Taehyung’s hand. “It’s okay.”
Taehyung smiled softly, eyes warm and dark. He gave one last peck, gentle and certain.
“Come here,” he said, pulling Jungkook into a tight hug on the sofa. He buried his face in Jungkook’s hair. “Let’s calm down. Then we can play Eldenwood together. You can try the archer tomorrow.”
Jungkook sank into the warmth, finally relaxed and full of new, glowing happiness.
The TV was still paused. He didn’t care.
This was the start of something new. And with Taehyung’s hand steady on his waist, he knew the next steps were going to be very exciting.