Archive of Our Own

Jungkook sighed as he looked at the pictures on display in his house. There were lots of them, some from his childhood, others from his job, a few from high school hanging around. In the middle of them all was one that was face down so that he couldn't see it.

But he all too well knew what it was.

Reaching out a shaky hand, Jungkook picked up the picture and stared at it for just a few seconds. He swallowed the lump in his throat, slowly dragging one hand across the glass that was between him and the old photo.

He held back the tears as he looked at his and Taehyung's happy faces on the day of their wedding. The sweet kiss they shared under the falling petals as someone took an unsuspecting picture of them together, happier than they'd ever been.

Happier than they ever will be.

Jungkook stared at his bare ring finger, clenching and unclenching his hand, almost as if it were a foreign movement.

His wedding ring was somewhere in his bedside table, buried beneath books and papers and anything else that he fucking felt like shoving in there. It had been in there for months now. He stopped keeping track after a while. The days just blurred together and became one long, never-ending moment that he could never escape from. He was stuck in a rut, waking up, trying not to think about Taehyung, going to work, going to the bar and getting absolutely wasted, passing out at three in the morning, repeat.

Sometimes, he'd bring someone home. 

They were never there when he woke up, though.

None of them ever stayed.

It's not like he even wanted them to. The only person he wanted to wake up next to was Taehyung. Kim Taehyung. His best friend, his confidant, his lover, the meaning of his life.

At least, that's what Taehyung used to be. Now he was just someone that used to live with him, someone that used to laugh with him, at him, someone he used to share his strawberries with because he just knew how much Taehyung loved his little strawberries and whipped cream.

He'd lost it all.

He lost the sweet smiles, the little mole on his nose, the soft touches in the mornings, the playful laughter in the middle of the day, the light kisses at night. He lost the burnt breakfast at two in the afternoon, the bottles of wine drunk through sippy cups, the awful jokes that you couldn't help but at least giggle at. He never fell asleep to a hand running through his hair anymore, never woke up to off-key singing, never cooked dinner with arms wrapped around his waist.

It was gone as if it had never happened, but Jungkook knew. He still remembered.

He hoped that Taehyung would still remember.

Six years.

They had been married for six years.

Six years of fucking frolicking through the flowers and thinking that life was one huge piece of cake when in reality it was a shit storm. A huge goddamn tsunami that came through and tore Jungkook's body limb from limb, making extra sure to rip his heart out and smash it to pieces.

A shitty tornado that came in the form of a thirty-two-year-old man by the name of Jung Hoseok.

All of them had gone to the same university. Taehyung majored in theater with Seokjin, Jungkook in dance with Jimin, Yoongi in music production with Namjoon. They were all busy, but they still made time for each other. Hoseok was always there. Never a real part of them, but never too far, either. He was captain of the dance team, sometimes there for their school plays, sometimes there for the mini rap battles that happened outside of school hours.

But he was always there.

Always lurking behind them.

Jungkook and Taehyung were too busy being sickly cute, laughing and showing affection to the point of it being disgusting to notice anything. It's not as though any of their other friends were any better, though. Jimin was constantly draped around Yoongi, nuzzling into his shoulder, playing with his fingers. Seokjin and Namjoon were more reserved, more secretive. Jungkook still saw their light touches, though. The little kisses they shared when they thought no one was looking.

He had to admit; they were quite adorable together. All of them were. He was so glad to have them as his closest friends despite all their different interests.

They were all happy, and when they finally got through their four years of university, they graduated together at the age of twenty-two. Their caps went into the air, and there were smiles and laughter everywhere. That was when Jungkook got down on one knee and popped the question.

The answer was a loud, resounding fuck yes!

Everyone cheered, and Jungkook lifted Taehyung into the air, kissing him sweetly with a wide smile on his face. The brunet placed his hands on either cheek, and Taehyung let out a breathy laugh into the kiss. They could both hear the shutters of photos being taken and the wolf whistles as Jungkook firmly grabbed onto Taehyung's ass, the man letting out a squeal as his eyes opened. 

They broke apart, Jungkook having a smirk on his face, and Taehyung hit him against his chest with a light laugh, tears welling up in his eyes as his face crinkled into pure happiness.

That might have been one of the best days of Jungkook's life.

Of course, he had a lot of good days after that one. It's not like the next upcoming years of his life were absolute hell, they were just as good. He and Taehyung were enjoying being engaged, both of them taking the year to find a job, figuring out how to save up enough money to buy an apartment just for themselves.

That was when Jungkook found the best opportunity that he could have ever asked for.

Nearing the end of the year, Taehyung was in between jobs. He had worked as a baker at one point, took up being a florist, played around with serving hungry people at small cafés, heck, throw in working at a few fast food restaurants into the mix.

He had earned almost four years of experience, but he couldn't find the one job that he wanted to stick with.

It was one of those days where the older boy had invited Jungkook over to his place to chill and laze the hours away.

Jungkook was lying on the floor, feet thrown up onto Taehyung's couch right beside the half-asleep blond. The younger boy was looking through his phone, mindlessly scrolling past random pictures and tweets on Twitter. That was when he got a text from Jimin.

yo yo yo jungkookie ma boiiiii wassup

jfc jimin don't ever say that again
what do you want

okok just trying to be nice to my best friend
but i can see that i am not being appreciated
and call me hyung you little brat
 

since when have i been your best friend
i thought that was tae
and why would i call you hyung
you are literally so much shorter than me
anyway what did you want from me

STOP BRINGING UP MY HEIGHT YOU BRAT

but it's funny

IT'S NOT FUNNY YOU SHIT
NOW CAN I TELL YOU WHAT I WANTED TO SAY
OR ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP MAKING FUN OF ME
DON'T THINK I WON'T HIT YOU

yea go for it
pls don't hurt me

you ungrateful little prick
you're lucky i'm telling you this at all
so i just found this sick dance group that's been doing
some really cool stuff recently
they asked me to join them and i asked if i could bring a friend
along and they totally said yes

no way

yes way
so guess what that means, jungkookie

are we in a dance crew

you fucking bet we are
and do you know what the best part is

what

WE'RE GETTING PAID BOI

okay i'm going to ignore the fact that you just called me boi again
and just appreciate the fact that WE'RE GETTING PAID

HELL YEAH WE ARE

WE'RE CELEBRATING TONIGHT DRINKS FOR ALL THE BOYS

THE BILL'S ON YOU WHOOP WHOOP

FUCK NO SPLIT IT WITH ME

LMAO YOU SUGGESTED GOING OUT FOR DRINKS
SO NO

WHATEVER YOU CAN BUY YOUR OWN DRINKS
IMMA TELL TAE SEE YOU TONIGHT

NO JUNGKOOK PAY FOR YOUR HYUNG-

And that's all that Jungkook saw before he pulled himself up and onto the couch, all but jumping onto his fiancé.

"Whoa hello there, Jungkook! What happened that you had to rouse me from my deep slumber?"

Jungkook rolled his eyes, slapping Taehyung's flat stomach.

"You were not sleeping. I saw you watching me out of the corner of your eye. Anyway, I have some news!"

The older boy tilted his head, looking at Jungkook expectantly. This had the young boy chewing on his bottom lip, doing everything in his power not to break out into a wide smile and spill everything.

"I'm in a dance crew now."

Taehyung's jaw dropped, and then his eyes widened before all of his features turned upwards with a smile.

"That's amazing, Jungkook!"

The boy nodded a few times, but then his eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at Taehyung sadly. The older boy tilted his head to the side again, concern written all over his face as he squeezed Jungkook's cheeks together. 

"What's wrong, Jungkookie?"

Jungkook looked down at the corner of the couch, pursing his lips.

"Well, what if they don't like me? What if I'm not good enough for them? I mean, they let me in for now, sure, but what if they see me dance and then think that I'm not good enough? I don't even know who they are, why would they let me in so easily? And you, you too! If I really do get in and then we end up going on tour and doing competitions everywhere, what will I do without you? You'll be here, and I'll be somewhere in like, Japan, or something."

Taehyung shut him up with a quick kiss, looking into his eyes gently.

"Jungkook, don't worry about that. You're an amazing dancer, hell, you majored in it in university. They'll love you; I know they will. I mean, I love you."

"You're my fiancé. You're supposed to love me."

Taehyung grinned, falling back against the couch with his arms spread-eagle. 

Neither of them said anything for a bit, Taehyung watching the fan on the ceiling spin round and round, Jungkook playing with Taehyung's pant leg absentmindedly.

"Hey, Kook?"

Jungkook looked up, watching Taehyung lift his head off of the sofa.

"What do you say that we get married?"

Jungkook opened the doors to the gym loudly, headphones blaring music way too loudly to be safe for him, but he couldn't have cared less. He woke up awkwardly from a nap, and there was a kink in his neck, no one having been around to help him loosen it since Taehyung had gone to work on his new role in a play that Jungkook had never heard of in the broken down auditorium that was apparently in their city.

He didn't know.

The brunet closed his eyes as he walked in and rolled his shoulders back, leaning his head to either side until he heard a satisfying crack, lifting his head up and opening his eyes. Right in front of him was Jimin with a bright smile on his face, mouth moving at a mile a minute. 

Surprised, Jungkook jumped back a bit before he ripped his headphones out, eyes wide and afraid.

"Did you hear any of what I just said?" 

Jimin looked at him with disappointment on his face and Jungkook just shook his head, stopping his music and stuffing his headphones into his pocket as he walked to the other side of the gym and threw his bag to the ground.

The short orange-haired boy bounced after him, doing his best to keep up with Jungkook's much larger steps.

"You, Jeon Jungkook, I heard, are finally getting married!"

That made Jungkook freeze, eyes widening once again for a second before they returned to their regular size and the younger boy grinned, biting his lip while he tousled his hair.

"Yeah, I am. Tae and I finally decided to do it. We're getting married next week."

The shorter boy's eyes widened this time, and Jungkook thought that he looked oddly similar to a small owl.

"A week? Only a week? Is that enough time for you guys? I mean, Yoongi and I aren't even engaged yet, but we're already planning shit for a wedding because, one, there is no way in hell I am ever going to get married to anyone else, and two, that kind of stuff takes time, Kook! You can't just wake up one day and decide to get married the next! Not when you're serious about the other person! Things like that only happen in Vegas-"

"You've never been to Vegas."

"I've heard the stories."

Jungkook raised his eyebrows, looking around to see if anyone else in the gym was hearing Jimin's bullshit right now, but they all seemed to be engrossed in the music that was playing in the background.

"It's fine, Jimin. Tae and I have talked about it, and we know exactly what we're doing. We may have had a flashy engagement, but we're thinking about just having a small wedding with a few friends invited. Nothing too big, you know?"

Jimin's mouth formed a small 'o' as he nodded slowly, quickly glaring at Jungkook after a moment.

"Yoongi and I are invited, right?"

Jungkook rolled his eyes and pushed Jimin's face away, smirking as Jimin looked at him with a pout.

"Yes, you idiot, of course you guys are invited."

Jimin smiled brightly at that, a spring in his step as he walked away from Jungkook carefully.

"Hope you guys can figure everything out by next week. Wouldn't want everything to be a mess."

Jungkook snorted, laughing under his breath.

"Don't worry about it, Jimin. Tae and I know what we're doing."

Before Jungkook could add to it or Jimin could counter, a loud voice boomed throughout the gym, shaking them out of their thoughts. The two of them immediately ran to the middle of the gym, rolling their eyes as some person droned on and on about something related to their next dance.

"When's the captain coming back, Chim?"

Jimin just shrugged his shoulders, standing up on his tiptoes to try and see into the middle of all the dancers.

"Not sure, Kook. Think he'll be nice? I've never met him before. I heard that he's a real sweet guy, though. He did let us in without ever meeting us, after all."

The taller brunet nodded absentmindedly as he stared off into nothing, thoughts of the wedding drifting into his head.

Shit, this wedding was happening fast.

Jungkook was running around with his blazer pulled open, his hair flying in every direction. He was an absolute mess, and he wasn't sure what was going on, but there were a lot of people looking at him with smiles on their faces and even more people congratulating him.

"Jungkook, whoa, Jungkook, slow down. Are you okay?"

Jungkook stopped when Jimin stood right in front of him, orange hair styled down and a thin line of eyeliner rimming his eyes. He was wearing a nice black suit, and his hands were on either of Jungkook's arms.

The younger boy ran a hand through his hair, looking at it in disgust when he pulled out a good amount of hair gel.

"I don't know, Jimin. I'm just- I'm so stressed out, you know? I don't know what to do, I'm so nervous. I'm getting married to Taehyung in less than an hour, Jimin. I'm actually- this is actually happening right now. Holy shit, Jimin, this is-"

"Kook, holy, chill. Breathe, kid. Breathe. You're going to get married to Taehyung and it's going to be super cute and super disgusting and you guys are going to be super mushy and I'm going to pretend to gag a lot but I'm going to be really happy for you and I'm going to eat all of your wedding cake and you guys won't even realize that there's a difference between being married and not being married because you're a sappy couple who may as well have already been married for like, seventy years. Don't worry about it, Jungkook. Everything's going to be okay."

He said this all as he slowly buttoned Jungkook's blazer back up, ending with ruffling his hair a bit and smoothing down the front of his shirt.

Jungkook nodded, hesitantly, a small smile spreading on his face as he pulled Jimin into his arms.

"Thank you so much, Jimin. Everything will be fine."

Everything was not fine.

Jungkook was standing at the altar, tapping his foot wildly on the ground.

Cue Taehyung, wearing a bright white suit that accentuated just the right parts of him, his eyeliner drawn and smudged in just the way that Jungkook liked.

Crying ensued.

There were tears throughout the entire ceremony, Jungkook unable to hold them back. Taehyung, at one point, started crying as well, and even before the vows were given, they had already kissed, hugging each other close.

There was a chorus of awws, and even the minister let them continue.

Now that Jungkook thought about it, his cheek pressed against Taehyung's, maybe everything really was okay.

"Do you, Kim Taehyung-"

"Oh, you know I do. Just get on with it so that we can kiss again." 

"Hey, babe, I'm going to be back late today. Apparently, the dance team captain's finally coming back, and the team's going out for dinner. Glad he's here now, though. Finally get to meet him after being on the team for almost two months. Where does anyone even go for two months?"

He said the last part to himself as Taehyung popped his head out from the kitchen, his hands wrapped around a small red towel, drying his hands.

"Ahh, okay! Have fun, Kook! Don't stay out too late, though. I have something fun planned for tonight," he called out as he winked, sending Jungkook into a madly blushing frenzy.

The boy walked back into their kitchen, hooking his arms around Taehyung's waist and pressing a kiss against the older's lips. He smiled against Taehyung's lips, Taehyung's hands coming up to grab Jungkook by the collar of his shirt.

Jungkook threw his bag down on the ground.

"Maybe I don't need to leave just yet..."

Jungkook arrived at the restaurant with his hair pointing in every direction, a hoodie hanging over his body. It covered up any marks on his chest that Taehyung had made, and helped him forget about the scratches on his back from Taehyung's nails.

He made a mental note to tell Taehyung to cut them later.

Jungkook looked around for Jimin's familiar head of orange hair, finally spotting it and running over towards him when he tripped, falling into someone's arms. He stood himself up almost immediately, blushing madly as he continually apologized.

"Oh my god, sorry about that. I didn't mean to- this doesn't usually- I don't typically fall like that-"

"Jungkook? Jeon Jungkook? Is that you? Don't worry about it, man. Just think of it as a favour from your dance captain."

His head shot up, and Jungkook was met eye to eye with a man who was basically the living embodiment of sunshine. His golden brown hair shimmered in the artificial light, his casual clothes fitting right to his form and accentuating his features.

Jungkook couldn't remember his name, but there was a sinking feeling that he wouldn't ever be able to forget it again.

"It's me, Hoseok? From university? We were on the same dance team, and by the looks of it, seems like I'm your captain now. Sorry for not showing up for such a long time. Stuff happened, friends got sick; things were a bit rough all around."

But Jungkook could only nod, again and again, as he tried to remember what about Hoseok was so familiar to him.

He shook his head.

Maybe he was just remembering it wrong.

Jungkook took Hoseok's hand into his own, shaking it up and down many times.

"Oh, yes, Jung Hoseok! Yes, of course, you were the captain of the team back in university, too. Not a surprise to see that you're doing so well! Thank you for letting Jimin and me onto the team without ever seeing us dance- actually, if we were in university together, that means you HAVE seen me dance, doesn't it? That explains a lot, actually. Anyway, thank you! I'm so grateful for this opportunity!"

Hoseok laughed brightly, clapping both of Jungkook's hands within his own. He looked at Jungkook like he had all the love in the world to give, and suddenly, Jungkook remembered.

Hoseok pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"It was my pleasure, Jungkook. That's a nice ring you have on, you must love your husband a lot. Bring him to one of our dinners next time, alright? Hope to see you around soon."

Jungkook nodded, numbly pulling his hands away from Hoseok's suddenly too-friendly grasp. He walked over to Jimin, his face pale as a sheet.

"Jimin, we should go."

Jimin jumped into his arms.

"Jungkookie!"

He was drunk.

Jungkook left by himself.

"Jungkook, Jungkook, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Taehyung. I'm fine. Dinner was just a bit rough, is all."

Taehyung was pushed onto the ground when a bright-haired Jimin fell on top of him. Giggles were escaping him and he nuzzled his face in Taehyung's chest, much to Yoongi's distaste.

"Chim, how about you get off of me and snuggle with your new husband? You guys got married like, an hour ago. How are you already this drunk? There's only champagne here, Yoongi, why didn't you watch how much he was drinking?"

Yoongi snorted, looking at Jimin with an odd fondness in his eyes.

"I was watching. He just saw you and decided to run up to you. He's had maybe five glasses, tops. Besides, he just got married! Let him live!"

Taehyung pursed his lips, patting Jimin's head.

"Come on, Jimin. Go snuggle with Yoongi."

Jimin just whined and wiggled closer to Taehyung's body. His voice was high, gurgles coming out with his incoherent words.

"No! Yoongi don't like snuggles... Taetae's soft... Taetae's warm... Taetae likes snuggles. Yoongi's mean. Meanie poop. I hate Yoongi, he dudn't like hugs. Wanna hug, Taetae..."

Yoongi burst red, almost pulling Jimin off of Taehyung. The small boy stood with a goofy grin, his arms looping around Yoongi's neck.

"Yoongi! Soft hyung... Snuggle, hyung?"

Yoongi just nodded, almost dragging Jimin across the ground because he was incapable of actually lifting him up.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll snuggle, okay? God, how much do these muscles of yours weigh? I swear they're like a ton each."

Taehyung laughed as he watched them walk away, jumping when Namjoon suddenly spoke against his ear.

"How do you feel about the fact that they got married today? You and Kook got married two years ago, but wasn't it like, a week before today date wise? They went and stole your thunder. Now people will think about Yoongi and Jimin's wedding since it happened more recently."

Taehyung shrugged, his eyes quickly finding Jungkook dancing with a very drunk and very loud Seokjin.

"You know, it doesn't really matter. We don't need big celebrations, anyway."

Namjoon nodded and quickly smiled when Seokjin waved to him excitedly, giving the man a small wave of his own. Jungkook's eyes followed, and he went the slightest shade of pink when he made eye contact with Taehyung, gently gesturing to him before flying off into the sea of people on the dance floor.

Taehyung smiled.

Jungkook sank down into the sofa. His head was pounding and his ears were ringing, but a grin was bright on his face. A body fell down on top of him and Jungkook let out a cry, smiling brightly when he saw the man in his lap.

"Hey, Tae baby. Why'd you stop dancing?"

Taehyung giggled, the alcohol intoxicating him and making his world spin. He looked at Jungkook with dreamy eyes, licked his lips with lust disguised.

"You stopped dancing, Kookie. I don't wanna dance if it's not with you... What kind of 30th birthday present is that?"

Jungkook just laughed, his hands sliding down Taehyung's back.

"You know, babe, I don't need a present. Having you with me is enough for me."

Taehyung giggled again, and he pressed a kiss against Jungkook's mouth. It was wet and it was messy, but it was sweet with the cocktails that Taehyung had been drinking all night, and it was bitter with the taste of vodka coating his tongue.

Taehyung grinded his hips against Jungkook's, and a noise was caught in Jungkook's throat.

He tugged on Taehyung's hair, pulling their faces apart.

"What do you say we get out of here?"

Jungkook stumbled into the studio with messy hair. His jacket was unzipped and his sweatpants were threatening to fall down. The shoelaces on his left shoe were undone, but he somehow managed to have five water bottles with him in case someone was dying from dehydration.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I didn't realize I was supposed to come in this morning. I thought we had practice tomorrow. I wasn't ready for this."

Suddenly, all eyes were on Jimin and Hoseok had his arms crossed against his chest, his lips pressed into a thin line. Jungkook felt like he said something that he shouldn't have, and Jimin looked like he was about to be murdered.

"Did you not tell him?"

"Well, I mean, I did let him know that we were meeting up?"

"But you neglected to mention that, oh I don't know, it's not a fucking practice?"

Jungkook blinked rapidly as Jimin grimaced.

"Wait, what? We're not practicing? So I got ready for nothing?"

Hoseok sighed as he let his arms fall. He clapped his hands for dramatic effect, and Jungkook quietly rolled his eyes.

"Alright, so what I wanted you all here for! Thank you, Jungkook, for finally arriving, though I understand it is largely Jimin's fault, so thank you, Jimin, for letting Jungkook know he needed to be here."

And suddenly the mood wasn't so good anymore and Jungkook was feeling sick.

"I wanted to let you know that we just got sponsored! The label's willing to provide us with clothes and shoes, and they're even willing to provide us a bus with their logo on it in case we wanted to do a national tour. There's some other stuff, but that's already amazing news! So I wanted to treat you all to dinner! Bring your family, bring your friends, whoever it is! Bring them! It'll be a time for celebration and fun, so the more the merrier! Tomorrow night, people!"

There were cheers in the room and Jungkook clapped along weakly.

He wanted to bring Taehyung. 

He made eye contact with Jimin. The other man was smiling brightly, so Jungkook felt himself get a bit lighter.

Maybe he would bring Taehyung.

"Hey, Tae?"

The man hummed, turning the tap off as he placed the last plate into the drying rack.

"Do you want to come to the dinner we're having for the dance team tomorrow night? I know it's last minute, and I'm sorry for not checking with you earlier. I didn't realize it was so soon. Do you have work off? Of course, that is, if you want to come with us. You don't have to, some of the members are kinda crazy, but they're all nice people, I swear!"

Taehyung smiled and cooed at Jungkook, squeezing his cheeks with his hands.

"Oh, my cute little Jungkookie! Are you worried I won't like your dance crew? Of course I'll come tomorrow. I'll just call in to tell the director I can't go to practice tomorrow. They'll live without me. That's what understudies are for."

Jungkook tried not to let the smile on his face grow too wide, but he smiled brightly anyway and kissed Taehyung on the cheek.

"Great! You can finally meet everyone!"

Taehyung nodded while Jungkook got up and stretched, walking out of the room.

"What did you say your captain's name was, again?"

Jungkook shouted back into the kitchen, looking for his phone on the ground.

"Oh, I don't think you ever asked. His name is Hoseok! I think you guys would get along pretty well. He's a bit much for me, but you two might go well together. There's something about him that seemed familiar to me, but I think I got it wrong. Anyway, I'm really excited for you to meet them all."

Jungkook didn't see the way Taehyung's face dropped.

He only heard the slight shake in his voice.

"Y-yeah, I'm excited to see them too."

When Jungkook and Taehyung arrived, Taehyung had hidden behind Jungkook the entire time. He didn't want to be seen, and he held onto Jungkook's sleeve tightly.

"Hey," Jungkook started, pulling them closer to where Jimin and Yoongi were sitting with some of the other members of their team. "Are you alright? You're not usually like this, is something wrong?"

Taehyung shook his head, letting himself be seen when they finally reached the table and they hadn't been approached.

"Nothing's wrong, sorry if I worried you. I'm just nervous is all. Yeah. Nervous."

Jungkook nodded slowly, pulling out his chair for him.

"You know, Tae, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. Hoseok just wanted to treat all of us, but we don't have to stay. We can go home right now, alright, hon? You know I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Taehyung shook his head wildly.

"No, it's fine. I'm okay, really, Kook. Thank you for worrying, though."

He gave Jungkook a weak smile and the younger man just patted his hand, pointing in the direction of the washroom.

"I'm going to the bathroom for a second, okay? I'm going to leave you with these guys, but you already know Jimin and Yoongi. Or, at least, I hope you do. I'll be back soon, so don't worry, okay? Talk to some of them while I'm gone?"

Taehyung nodded and Jungkook kissed the crown of his head.

"Okay, babe. I'll be back soon."

Taehyung sat there nervously, his hands twisting the bottom of the tablecloth with urgency. He smiled at Jimin and Yoongi but didn't start any conversation. They were busy talking to some other people, so Taehyung just sat in his chair and stared at the table.

He felt someone slide into the seat next to him, but he knew it wasn't Jungkook. He tried to tell them that, but his voice came out small and shaky.

"S-sorry, someone's sitting there-"

"You don't look like you're having much fun. That's not what I had intended. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Taehyung's head shot up and he was met eye to eye with someone who he hadn't seen in years. He was staring right into his eyes, and he could feel himself falling into a pit that he couldn't get himself back out of.

He was staring, and the longer he stared, the wider the other man's eyes got.

Hoseok's mouth dropped open.

"Taehyung?"

Jungkook came back to the table only to find Taehyung gone. He furrowed his eyebrows together, tapping Jimin on the shoulder.

"Jimin, do you know where Taehyung went? I went to the bathroom and he's gone now. Did he leave?"

Jimin blinked at the empty chair and he bit down on his bottom lip.

"Ah, um, sorry Jungkook. I don't know... I kind of wasn't paying attention. Yoongi and I were talking to other people and I guess I just didn't track down where Taehyung went. Maybe he went home? He did seem nervous when you guys got in here. He isn't usually one for stage fright, but hey, I guess since everyone knows you, he wanted to impress them."

Jungkook nodded as he patted various areas on his body for his phone. He pulled it out from his pocket right as it buzzed, a text from Taehyung lighting up the screen.

sorry, kookie
i went home, too much stress
have fun with chim, don't worry about me!

Jungkook's throat burned with suspicion and his eyes gleamed with curiosity.

It wasn't like Taehyung to just leave him like that, but he let it go and set his phone down on the table, falling into the chair beside Jimin.

An arm looped around his neck and Jungkook looked at Jimin with a question in his eyes.

"Is everything alright, Kook?"

Jungkook nodded.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

It was just the start of things.

One kiss.

Two. 

Three.

Taehyung didn't want to do this. He shouldn't have been doing this, but some part of him was longing for it, begging for it.

He pushed his thoughts of Jungkook to the back of his mind, letting his imagination wander like the hands across his body. Fingertips left trails of fire on his skin and hot breath fanned against his face.

Taehyung pulled Hoseok closer to him by the collar, leaving no room between them.

"More," he panted out.

More, Hoseok gave him.

"Tae?"

"Yeah, Kook?"

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

...

"No, nothing, Kook."

Jungkook opened the door to the house. The lights were all off and no one was home. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw a mug of warm milk still sitting on the table.

Taehyung had just left.

Jungkook sighed as he threw his bag onto the ground. He had just gotten home from dance and he was hoping that Taehyung would be home so that they could maybe watch a movie together, but instead, he was alone and left with his doubts.

He didn't want to know where Taehyung was, and whether he was really at late night rehearsals like his texts said or if he was off fucking some other guy.

Jungkook just wanted him to be honest so that they could end it.

Jungkook punched the wall when he thought that. He didn't want to end things, they were the best moments he had ever experienced. He didn't want to let go of Taehyung, but he had to. If Taehyung was happier with someone else, then Jungkook didn't want to hold him down.

He didn't want to be left with the constant sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Jungkook ran his hand through his hair before he stuck his hand into his bag, trying to find his charger. He threw a sweaty shirt out onto the floor, pulled out his water bottle, lifted out a towel and slumped back against the wall.

He left his charger in the studio.

Jungkook groaned as he got up and ran back outside, hopping into his car to get away from the cold weather. He ignored all the stop signs and went twenty kilometers over the limit, but he couldn't have cared any less.

When he got to the studio, he was steps away from pushing open the door when he heard laughter that was all too familiar.

He looked in the small window to see Hoseok and Taehyung sitting next to each other, a bright smile on Taehyung's face like he hadn't seen in months. The light danced in his eyes and his lips parted just the slightest, and he was looking and staring at Hoseok with all the love he had in him.

Jungkook let himself break a little on the inside when Hoseok kissed Taehyung on the cheek, and he didn't bother to look anymore when he saw Hoseok take Taehyung's hand in his own.

Jungkook sprinted out of the studio and back to his car where he felt a tear slip down his face despite how empty he felt.

He didn't really need to charge his phone anyway.

Jungkook sat at the table with the lights off, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

He felt stupid, sitting there in the dark with alcohol waiting for Taehyung to come back home, but he didn't know how else to confront Taehyung about this problem. The only confrontations he had experience with were the ones in the movies, and this seemed to be some sort of combination of all of them.

After sitting there with his undrunken whiskey for a while, however, Jungkook finally got up and placed it on the counter and turned the lights on, sitting on the couch like a normal person.

Why did they even have whiskey?

Neither of them drank it.

Jungkook tapped his foot against the ground, and he felt a shiver run down his spine when a key was inserted into the lock, and the door was pushed open quietly as if Taehyung didn't want to let anyone know he had come home late.

He was obviously unsuccessful, though, and Taehyung jumped back when he saw Jungkook sitting with a frown on his face.

"J-Jungkook! You're awake! It's so late, though, you shouldn't have waited. I only just finished with my rehearsals, um, it's really late. You should sleep, in fact, I'll go with you right now-"

"Tae, stop it."

Taehyung blinked and shrunk into himself when Jungkook looked at him, not with anger or with sadness, but with disappointment filling his eyes. It was then that Taehyung realized, Jungkook knew.

"Jungkook, I'm really tired, and I just want to go to sleep. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Jungkook looked at him in disbelief, and Taehyung cringed with how little he recognized the man standing in front of him. It made him realize how little time he had spent with Jungkook in recent years, and Taehyung felt himself crumble.

"Taehyung, you're tired? Of what? Of me wanting to know what you're doing at night because you're clearly not going to your little 'rehearsals'? Do you think I'm not tired? I'm exhausted, Taehyung. I am absolutely drained from pretending that everything is alright because you and I both know that nothing is alright. You're cheating on me with Hoseok, I know you are. There's no point in hiding it because I already know, and the only reason I'm so pissed off is that you never told me. I know, how the hell were you supposed to tell me that you were cheating on me, right? But you have to understand that this was ten times worse, no, even worse. It's the worst thing you could have done to me and I don't understand how you could have thought it was okay."

Jungkook stopped himself from yelling, holding his breath as Taehyung carefully took his shoes off, walking into the room with him.

"Jungkook, I'm so, so-"

"No, save your apologies, Taehyung. I don't want to hear them. I just want to, what do I want to know? Why am I so upset? My husband is in love with another guy and off shagging him every night, he feels like it's necessary to lie to me, he thinks that everything will be alright as long as he doesn't tell me, why else am I upset?"

Jungkook thought to himself for a minute, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"I wanted to talk to you, Jungkook. I wanted to tell you, I really did-"

"Then why didn't you? Why didn't you say anything? Why couldn't you have just told me you still loved him before we got into everything?"

Taehyung clenched his teeth as he stared at Jungkook hard, breath coming out of his nose in short, fast pants.

"I don't love Hoseok, Jungkook. I love you."

Jungkook laughed wildly at that. It was a guttural laugh that erupted from deep within him. It shook his whole body and left him with bloodshot eyes, eyes that he glared at Taehyung with, piercing into him.

"You don't love Hoseok? Are you really fucking sure about that? Because I may not know a lot of things, Tae, but I sure as hell know what you look like when you're in love because that's how you used to look at me. That's how you used to smile when I would touch you, when I kissed you. That's how you used to laugh at all of my stupid shitty jokes because you didn't care that they were bad. I know what you fucking look like when you're in love because that's what I still look like when I see you. But I can clearly see that you don't feel the same way, so I guess the joke's on me, huh? You know what, I'm done. I'm done with pretending that we're okay, I'm done with pretending that I don't see how you two flirt around me, I'm done with pretending that you still love me. So I'm leaving. I'll leave tonight, actually. Yeah. Pack my bags and head out the door. I mean, it's not like we've been living together for the past two years anyway. You sleep at Hoseok's house, I sleep at Jimin's. No one stays here anymore. Now you'll just have the house to yourself."

"Jungkook! No, please, it's not like that-"

"Yes it fucking is, Tae! I don't give a rat's ass about your excuses anymore. You can have everything. You can have the fucking house, the shitty car I bought, the goddamn piano. It's not like I could play that thing anyway. Don't come and find me. Although, I don't know why you would need to do that in the first place. You have Jung Hoseok, the great dancer, the jokester, the sweet, smiley, funny, caring Hoseok. Isn't that right?"

Taehyung stared at him, tears in his eyes as his hand twitched, itching to reach out for Jungkook, but knowing that that was the last thing he should be doing.

Jungkook scoffed. He rolled his eyes and stuck up his middle finger, walking towards the stairs with his back to the trembling blond.

"Fuck off, Taehyung."

Jungkook shoved whatever clothes he had left in his closet into a small bag that was lying on the ground. He and Taehyung hadn't slept in the same room for months, but it wasn't like the older noticed.

There wasn't much left since he had slowly been moving everything into Jimin and Yoongi's house, and the two had been kind enough to let him stay when he told them something was wrong.

Jungkook scoffed when he heard Taehyung running around downstairs, trying to think of something to make him stay.

It pissed him off even more, but he tried his best not to blow up again.

The last thing he wanted to do was scream at Taehyung, to lose himself, but it was exactly what he did and he let out everything he was feeling. He pinned everything on Taehyung and didn't even bother to hear if the older boy had an explanation for himself.

But then again, how do you justify cheating?

Jungkook slid the bag onto his shoulders. He looked in the mirror and noticed how sunken in his face was and grimaced at how pale his complexion appeared. He hadn't gone to a dance practice in weeks, and Jimin had texted him time and time again on behalf of Hoseok, but Jungkook never responded.

He tore his eyes away from the mirror and stepped out of the room, trudging down the steps. His eyes locked on the ground, Jungkook saw Taehyung's bare feet across from his own, heard Taehyung's shaky breath right in front of him.

He clenched his fist.

"What do you want, Taehyung?"

The boy chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at the ground, fingers tangling against each other. He looked up with his eyes closed, keeping his hands close to his sides. Then, he slowly opened his eyes. They were empty, soulless, dark. Tears pooled in them, and he said the three words that were the last thing Jungkook wanted to hear.

"I'm sorry, Jungkook."

Jungkook pushed past him and opened the front door.

"You can't keep us both, Taehyung. You don't have to make a choice, though. I just made it for you."

He stopped for a second, his hand resting on the doorknob.

"I filed for divorce last night. Jimin should bring the papers around soon."

Jungkook threw the door open and walked out without another word, and not even a goodbye. He refused to look at the house and simply walked down the street to where the city bus that Taehyung was so familiar with waited for him.

He didn't look at the house once, even when the bus drove by.

He didn't look because he knew that Taehyung would have been standing there, watching him go.

Six years.

Six years of marriage.

Apparently, that meant nothing to Taehyung.

Jungkook let the sound of Jimin's white noise machine bring him back from his sleep.

He had been sleeping at Jimin's house while he was on his break, Jimin and Yoongi's house much closer to his new job than his own dingy apartment that he had bought right after leaving Taehyung.

He found a note on the kitchen table when he walked in that was from Jimin, written in bubbly font.

Jeon Jungkookie!
Congrats, you got a new job! I'm proud of you, Kook. You're really getting back out there.
As congratulations, let's head out tonight! I'll bring you to one of your favourite clubs, my treat.
I know you're trying to stay away from alcohol. The last few months have been rough for you, but hey,
it's always good to let yourself go every now and then, right?
And I swear to god, kid, if you don't accept I am going to drag you there even if I have to beat you up first.
Don't forget to text me, alright?

Jungkook smiled gently as he tucked the note into his pocket. He picked a bag off the ground and headed towards the door. He locked it and slipped the key into the mailbox before he headed out to catch the bus.

Jungkook walked into the club like it was nobody's business. He had a smile on his face for once, and he was doing as well as he could. It had been three months since Jungkook last saw Taehyung, and he hadn't thought about him in a while.

The one time he absolutely had to think about him, though, was when he received a call to let him know that Taehyung hadn't signed the divorce papers, and Jungkook had been forced to extend the time given to make sure everything would still be valid.

He shook those thoughts from his mind, though, and let himself forget about it when he spotted Jimin wearing next to nothing, his hair slicked up in an attempt to look flashy.

"Hey, Jimin, I thought I was supposed to be celebrating tonight. Why do you look like you're going to be getting drunker than I've ever seen you get before?"

Jimin just laughed louder than Jungkook expected, his arm coming down around Jungkook's shoulders with too much force.

"Oh, Jungkook, you're so funny!"

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Jimin with concern flashing through his eyes.

"Is everything alright, Chim? You're acting strange."

Jimin let the act drop and a frown fell on his lips. He glanced around and over to the empty hall in front of the bathrooms, pulling Jungkook up toward that direction without another word.

"Let's go. I need to talk to you."

Jungkook let himself be pulled away, pushing through the sea of people and emerging in the bathroom where Jimin kicked two people out with just one look.

He locked them in so that no one else could come in and whirled around to stare at Jungkook, guilt falling with every step he took and hesitation thick in the air. He played with his hair in the way that Jungkook knew he wouldn't want to hear what Jimin had to say, the bass from the music playing in the background, muted.

"What did you need to talk about, Jimin?"

Jimin let out a breath, closing his eyes and seeming to be psyching himself out.

"It's about Taehyung."

Jungkook felt his heart sink into his stomach, the name in itself setting dread in him.

"What about him, Jimin?"

Jimin shifted his weight from foot to foot, stalling without ever getting to the point.

"You see, it's just that, Yoongi and I were thinking about him the other day. We still talk to him, you know? Still keep in touch with him. We get updates on how he's doing every now and then. We talked to him the other day, yeah, we talked to him."

"Jimin, come on, get to the point."

Jungkook let out a sigh as Jimin continued to pause, pacing back and forth against the tiled ground of the bathrooms.

"I was just wondering, Jungkook."

Jungkook was losing his patience.

"Yes, Jimin, what did you want to know? Can you please just get on with it?"

Jimin screwed his eyes shut, thinking hard.

"This is hard for me too, Jungkook! You're both my friends, and I really don't want to pick sides, so this is really hard for me right now knowing that the two of you aren't talking, so I'm sorry if things aren't coming out right away!"

Jungkook felt himself snap when Jimin said that, clenching his teeth together to keep his mouth shut and digging his nails into his palms to stop himself from reaching out for Jimin.

"I want to know if you still love him, Jungkook."

Jungkook lost it. He lost it because he didn't want to think about Taehyung tonight, he lost it because he didn't want to know about Taehyung, he lost it because he didn't want to say it out loud, he lost it because Jimin took such a long time to get through such a stupid, useless point when he clearly already knew that answer, and he screamed.

He yelled, fought, and shouted over the bass that seemed to get quieter with every waking moment.

"Of course I still fucking love him, Jimin! He was my goddamn husband; I never stopped loving him! I never wanted to go through the divorce, but I could see how much happier he was with Hoseok! I could see how much more he cared for him! I could see how his life was so much better with Jung fucking Hoseok, how much brighter he laughed with him, and so I let Taehyung go. I let him out of my life, and that may have been the shittiest choice I have ever made in my entire life because I have been an absolute mess without him. I don't remember how many nights I've spent lying awake at night trying to push all the thoughts of him out of my head. I can still feel where he would be lying in my arms when we slept even though I moved out of our old house. I still remember his beautiful, sweet laughter that would ring throughout the entire neighbourhood, his rough, hoarse voice when he woke up in the morning. I remember the soft songs that he would sing to me while he drew circles on my back, trying to get me to fall asleep because he knew that I had a bad day at work. I remember all of it, Jimin. I can never forget. I love him too much, but I can't ever have him back."

Jungkook was far from gone, no more tears falling because there were no more left to cry. He just sighed, fist relaxing into an open hand as he let it drop, all energy leaving his body.

"Did you know, Jimin, that he and Hoseok actually used to date? Before we went to university, before I even ever met him, he and Hoseok used to date? I only knew because I saw his wallpaper one time, and it was the two of them kissing. Next time I checked, it was just some random dog trying to lick the camera."

He heard Jimin gasp a little and he simply titled his head back.

"God, I should have known."

Jungkook let out a shaky breath, gently closing his mouth, only opening it to let a few words slip through.

"I love him, Jimin. I really do. I've always loved Taehyung. I always will love Taehyung."

He covered his face with both of his hands, slumping against the wall. He let himself collapse to the floor, mind empty and emotions all over the place.

He only looked up when he heard a shaky voice, one so familiar but so distant all at once. One that belonged to someone he loved more than anything, someone that would never be his again.

Jungkook couldn't believe Jimin unlocked the goddamn door.

"Y-you still love me?"

Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut. He clenched his fists again and stood up, stoic. His eyes were red, tears threatening to fall once more. He glared at Jimin who was simply biting his bottom lip before he looked at Taehyung. His hard eyes turned soft, and he swallowed to stop himself from crying out loud. Jungkook turned away from Taehyung and took a few deep breaths, a bitter smile making its way onto his face.

"Yeah, I still love you, Taehyung. But it doesn't really matter. I don't want to talk about it. It was good seeing you, though. Glad you're okay."

The name tasted bitter on his tongue and he nodded at Taehyung and slightly bowed at Jimin before he left the room, people practically parting to let him through. He saw Hoseok on the way out, concern evident on his face, but he just looked away, refusing to stare him in the eye.

He hailed a taxi and got in, letting out all the tears and sobs that he was keeping inside of him.

Fuck, he was a mess.

Taehyung stood in the bathroom, the door wide open and people peering in.

He was shaking, his hands no longer controlled by himself.

He looked down at them, turning them over, begging and pleading for them to stop shaking. He didn't want to do this right now, and he didn't want to feel the hot tears that slowly fell from his face.

"Taehyung..." Jimin looked at him with sadness deep in his eyes.

Taehyung had messed up. He had fucked everything up and he knew he had, and he knew that there was no way he could fix everything. He knew that the moment he had stepped outside with Hoseok, he had let everything he had built up fall back down, and now he was left with nothing but the broken pieces of his heart.

"Jimin," Taehyung sobbed. "Jimin, I did something really bad, and I hurt Jungkook so much."

Jimin walked over to Taehyung with tears falling down his face. He pulled Taehyung into a hug, letting Taehyung cry into his shoulder.

"I know, Taehyung. I know."

Taehyung let himself cry, more out of shame than out of sadness, more out of regret than relief, more out of guilt than unease.

He had realized, very quickly after Jungkook left him, that he really didn't love Hoseok.

He realized that his high school infatuation had been just that, and he had lost the true love of his life because he was a horny little shit who couldn't keep it in his pants.

It came down on him with shattering clarity that he did not love Hoseok, and it hit him like a bus when it occurred to him that Jungkook wasn't coming back.

And Taehyung was a crying mess.

He felt himself be moved from one person's arms to another's, and he didn't even try to hide it. Hoseok's hand moved up and down his back, gently rubbing circles into the thin fabric of his shirt. Hoseok made quiet noises to calm him down, and eventually, Taehyung managed to stop crying. That was when Hoseok pulled him away, trying to look him in the eye.

"Taehyung, Taehyung, I want you to look at me." Hoseok put his hands on either side of Taehyung's face, lifting it up to stare in Taehyung's eyes.

"Taehyung, I want you to look at- Taehyung. Tae! Look at me. Listen to me, Taehyung."

Taehyung finally lifted his eyes, looking sadly into Hoseok's own.

"Listen, Taehyung. I love you, okay? I will always love you, and I will always be here for you. You know that. I waited for so many years, and I finally got you back, but right now, the thing that you need the most is Jungkook. I will always be here as a friend, Taehyung. My arms are always open for you to come back to if something goes wrong, but you need to go, Taehyung. I love you so, so much, so go and find Jungkook. You both need this more than anything. Okay, Tae?"

Hoseok placed both his thumbs on Taehyung's eyes and gently wiped away the tears. Taehyung looked at him with doubt etched into his features, but Hoseok just smiled a watery smile, turning to the side with a laugh to wipe his own tears.

"T-Tae, go for it. I love you so much, Taehyung. I will always, always, be here for you, you know that. I'm sorry for everything, Tae, but I don't regret any of it. I never regretted any moment with you. You mean so much to me. Now go. Find Jungkook."

Taehyung ran outside, but he didn't know what he expected. 

Maybe he thought Jungkook would still be waiting for him, still be waiting for him to come back and atone for everything he had done. Maybe he thought that Jungkook still loved him enough to wait for him like a fool.

But Jungkook wasn't waiting for him and Taehyung could only stand in front of the street with the severity of his actions weighing down on him.

Jimin pressed a hand down on his shoulder.

"Taehyung, this is his address. Please, bring him back to us."

Taehyung stood outside of Jungkook's new apartment, staring at the tall building warily.

It wasn't located in the best neighbourhood, and the building itself looked as though it could collapse at any given moment. Taehyung stepped inside the broken doors, no key needed to get in from it's beaten and worn shape.

He walked up the stairs, looking down every hall to see if Jungkook was there. He was ready to give up after reaching the fourth floor and seeing no sign of Jungkook, but the boy was trudging down the hall on the fifth floor and Taehyung ran for it.

"Jungkook!"

Jungkook's eyes widened and he spun around, almost dropping his keys at the sight of Taehyung running towards him.

"Taehyung. Why are you here? How did you even get here? How did you know I lived here- Jimin. Right. Anyway, what are you doing here?"

Taehyung opened his mouth once and Jungkook waited for him to continue, but he simply closed it and looked at Jungkook for a minute, as if trying to figure something out.

Jungkook sighed.

"Taehyung, I don't have all day."

Taehyung blurted his words out and he seemed taken aback by them as much as Jungkook was, and so Jungkook knew it wasn't what he had wanted to say, but the words had come out anyway, and they seemed more sincere than anything Taehyung had said to him in the past two years.

"I want you back."

Jungkook took a step back, letting a shallow breath out. He flexed his fingers, making a fist before opening his hand. Again and again. Repeat.

He kept his gaze on the ugly grey carpet of the apartment, letting the words pour out of him.

"I don't know if I can ever take you back again, Taehyung. I love you, yeah, of course I do, and I hate myself for that. Do you understand me? You came into my life and made me an absolute mess. You took everything, took my love, took my heart, took my body and my mind. You made me feel whole, you made me feel wanted, and then you decided it wasn't what you wanted and threw it all on the ground. You broke me into little tiny pieces that I can't even find anymore. For fuck's sake, maybe they've been ground into dust for all I care. I do love you, and shit, what I would do to have it all back. But getting back together with you now wouldn't fix anything. It wouldn't do anything for me except make me worse. Getting back together with you would just break me down even more, and that's not what I need from you now. You're fine with Hoseok. You're happy. He loves you, and you obviously still care for him, so just stay with him and forget about me, okay?"

Taehyung's mouth wavered and he wanted to yell, scream, do anything, but all he could do was stand and watch Jungkook's eyes close slowly.

"Forget about what we had, alright? And sign your fucking divorce papers."

Jungkook turned around. He walked towards his apartment door, shaking his head in disgust at himself. It wasn't until the key was already in the door that he heard Taehyung's voice.

"I still care about you, too."

Jungkook threw his head back before his eyes looked into Taehyung's.

His eyes were tired.

They were overworked.

They just wanted to give up.

"Please, Taehyung. Just go home."

And then he walked into his apartment and shut the door behind him.

The sound resonated throughout the hall, and Taehyung felt himself get smaller.

The next few days, Jungkook saw the same thing.

Taehyung showing up at his door.

Pleads to get back together.

The door slamming in his face.

It became so normal to him that he didn't realize how much he had gotten used to it until Taehyung wasn't there one day, and Jungkook felt the concern and worry course through his body like an electric shock.

He stalked into his dingy apartment and threw down his bag, picking out some shoes that he could wear to the gym.

When Jungkook walked back out, however, a bouquet of flowers was stuffed into his face, and the smell of a florist filled his nose almost immediately. The bright colours made him physically stutter back, and he almost fell over from the sudden shock.

Taehyung's face poked out from behind the bouquet, and he looked at Jungkook with surprise on his face.

"Oh, I was about to knock."

Jungkook glared at Taehyung, almost implying that he wasn't going to knock, but let him continue.

"What's with the flowers, Taehyung?"

Taehyung pursed his lips and brought the flowers down carefully, looking at Jungkook and ready to give off his answer since he knew how much Jungkook disliked being left in the open with his thoughts.

"Well, I was actually here to ask you out on a date. I know that, before everything, you took charge of it all, and I was an absolute idiot to let it go. I took everything for granted, and I thought that I could keep everything I wanted. I'm stupid, and I know that, not only can I NOT do that, but I also don't want to. I realized that I'm a lot happier when I'm with you, Jungkook, and so I want to start things over. That's why I... still haven't signed the divorce papers. I don't want us to lose everything because I do still truly care for you, and I want to try again. I know we can't ever get back to where we were, but I want to know that I gave it another shot because I love you, Jungkook."

Jungkook took the flowers hesitantly, staring at them lovingly.

He let himself smile just the slightest, looking at Taehyung with wet eyes.

"Yeah, we can't ever get back to where we were, but no one said we couldn't go further."

Jungkook laughed a bit at Taehyung's suddenly hopeful face.

"Let's see what you got, Kim Taehyung. I'm willing to give you another shot, so do your worst."