17.

Seokjin P.O.V

Just kiss already.

That was the only thought in my mind while I was witnessing the intense sexual tension between Jungkook and my stepbrother, Taehyung.

They were staring at each other, almost like they were communicating through their eyes. Jungkook's face was slightly flushed, but he didn't back down.

Stubborn brats.

Although, you couldn't really tell when you see him, I knew that Taehyung was also somewhat flustered. He hides his feelings really well, but I know him. Very well.

I've known him for almost seventeen years, now.

After his parents' unfortunate death, his grandmother came to my family's house because my grandfather was his grandmother's brother.

I still remember the day they came knocking on our door.

I was doing my math homework when the doorbell rang. I was unfazed because many people come to visit our house, but when I heard my grandfather's rather happy voice that was tinged with a hint of sadness, curiosity was ignited in me.

I slowly looked from behind the wall, because my parents had told me many times that I was a very precious angel, and the world was a terrible and unsafe place for stars like me.

So, they forbade me from talking to strangers, and me being the good child I was, actually listened.

I saw an old woman, who looked very similar to my grandfather, embrace him in a hug. A small kid with a chubby face was crouching behind her, his head bent down, holding onto a bag very tightly.

He looked a couple years younger than me.

I felt like I had seen them before, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Was it for Uncle's wedding?

I shook my head, giving up on trying to figure out where I'd seen them before.

"Seokjin! Look who's here!" I heard my grandfather's voice call out to me. I slowly walked out, getting a clear view of the guests.

The woman who looked a little younger than grandpa, smiled fondly in my direction, and lightly patted my head.

"Seokjin, right? I'm this old guy's sister. Call me Nana," she said, lightly poking at my grandpa's arm, which caused him to scowl at her, but smile nevertheless.

"Nice to meet you, Nana," I said, smiling.

Before Nana could reply, my grandpa said, "You're only a year younger than me. You are old too."

This caused his sister to slap his shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I look a decade younger, because unlike you, I don't have any wrinkles. Loosen up, old man."

A loud giggle was heard, which directed our attention to the little kid hiding behind my grand-aunt's leg.

She turned to the boy behind her, crouched to meet his level and said, "Taehyung-ah, see him?" She paused, looking over at me. "That's your cousin. The one we'll be living with, from now on."

I slightly widened my eyes, upon hearing this. They'll be living with us? Why wasn't I informed before? I could've at least cleaned my room beforehand. . .

"Seokjin sweetie, could you take Taehyung up to your room, please? He has his favorite toys with him too, so he wouldn't trouble you," Nana said, ruffling the little boy's hair.

The little boy nodded, and unzipped his bag, slowly bringing his giraffe stuffed toy out.

I smiled softly, and said, "Of course! I'm free right now, anyways."

I bowed to her, and gestured the little boy to follow me, which he did, looking around my house meekly.

I closed the room's door after we entered it, and looked back at him.

"Taehyung, right? That's a pretty name," I said, trying to make conversation with the little one.

"Thank you," he responded slowly, fiddling with his brown sweater paws.

"No problem!" I said, cheerfully.

Taehyung was still standing there, and I gestured for him to sit beside me on the bed.

He waddled over and sat down on the mattress gently.

"Is it alright if I call you Tae?" I asked. He nodded, not looking up from his stuffed toy.

"Can you look at me, Tae? Please?" I asked, to which he stiffened slightly, before slowly meeting my gaze.

Now that I could see him clearly, I was startled upon seeing a very red nose, and puffy eyes.

I was sure that he had been crying, but didn't enquire about it, as it could've made him uncomfortable.

"How old are you?" I asked instead. He looked at his hands, and slowly held out five fingers, indicating his age.

"You're five years old?" I confirmed. He nodded.

"Well, call me Seokjin hyung, then," I had said, a feeling of pride taking over being older than him.

"How old are you?" He asked, scrunching his eyebrows.

"I am two years older than you," I said.

"How much is that?" He asked, after thinking for a while.

"I'm seven years old." I grinned widely, strangely having a feeling of superiority over him, because I knew more than him.

Little Taehyung had nodded in understanding.

"Why are you here?" I asked, not realizing how rude it sounded. His face suddenly lost all the shine it had before, becoming like a dull, emotionless doll.

"My parents are dead," he said, creepily calm.

My mouth hung open in shock. I hadn't expected something like this. So, this was the reason he had been crying. I felt guilty for asking him.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, looking at my feet.

"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything," he said. I stared him in disbelief.

I wasn't expecting a five year old to be so mature about this, in fact I would've understood if he was a sobbing mess right now. But he wasn't.

At that time, I hadn't realised exactly how strong he was.

Yes, at nights I would always hear sniffles and muffled sobs from the bathroom, but that didn't mean that he was weak.

He was anything but weak.

Taehyung never let anyone know about how he felt, not even me. He would always conceal it. But I always knew.

I always knew how he was feeling, no matter how much he tried to hide it.

I knew little hints about how he felt at a particular moment. I never confronted him about it, though. He needed his space, which I gladly gave him.

It took him some time, but he slowly opened up to me, and we became brothers. Brothers who would cover for each other every time the other got into trouble, brothers who would protect each other from harm, brothers who did everything together.

I cherished him, a lot. He was my only true friend throughout my childhood, not someone who only used me for their own benefit.

My smile faltered at those particular memories.

I never want to relive anything like that ever again. No one should.

"Jin hyung? Are you okay?" I heard Taehyung's concerned voice call out. I looked at him, staring at me worriedly. "Don't tell me you're thinki—"

"I'm okay, Tae," I said, clearing my throat to stop him from speaking further.

"Give us a minute," he told Jimin and dragged me with him. I had no choice but to follow him. He opened the men's restroom door, pulled me inside and shut the door harshly.

He literally kicked open all the cubicles to make sure no one else was inside. However, the very last cubicle was occupied.

A kid who looked like a freshman came out of the cubicle.

"Get out," Tae growled at him.

The kid looked at him confused.

"Tae, it's oka—"

"No, it's not fucking okay, hyung!" He yelled at me suddenly, which made me flinch.

"I thought I told you to get out," he growled more fiercely at the freshman, who quickly scurried out.

Taehyung took a deep breath before calmly asking me, "Were you thinking about that again?"

I stayed quiet.

"I asked," he roared loudly, "if you were thinking about that again?"

"No, I wasn't, Taehyung!" I cried back.

"You're fucking crying, hyung! You have tears in your damn eyes!" He yelled out again, pointing at my eyes.

I brought my hands up to my eyes and realized that I indeed had tears in my eyes.

"How many times should I tell you to stop thinking about it?!" He exclaimed exasperatedly.

The tears slowly rolled down my cheeks.

"Thinking about it will only get you more pain! Just forget it!"

"I can't, Taehyung! I can't fucking forget about it! If it were that easy, we wouldn't be here!" I yelled back, breaking into sobs.

"It's my fault, it's all my fucking fault," I said, sobbing uncontrollably.

"It's not hyung, stop saying that." Taehyung also slowly began crying.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault," I chanted, slapping my tear stained face continuously.

"It's not your fault hyung. Please. Stop blaming yourself, it wasn't your fault."

Taehyung pulled me into a hug, and slowly rocked back and forth, my head on his chest, his hand rubbing against my back soothingly.

We were like that for a good five minutes, when suddenly the door was pushed open, revealing a worried Namjoon, who halted stiffly at the sight of us crying in each other's embrace.

"Before you ask if everything is okay," Taehyung said, his voice sounding deeper, probably because I was against his chest. "No, everything is not okay."

"Can I do anything to help?" Namjoon asked.

"Just. . . pretend as if you never saw any of this," I said, sniffling.

"Wait outside, hyung, we'll wash our faces and come out," Taehyung said, to which Namjoon obliged.

Taehyung pulled away, and held my shoulders to look at my face.

"We're not done with this talk, hyung. And, for the last time, whatever happened was not your fault, so stop blaming yourself for it."

Taehyung wiped away my tears, fondly staring at me.

Sometimes, I forget that I'm the older of the pair.

Taehyung used to take so much care of me when we were young, he still does, but I never really got the chance to return the favour.

Instead, I always ended up in situations where I needed his help, and not the way around.

I'm glad that he found someone like Jimin who takes care of him.

We washed our faces, although our puffy eyes were proof that we were crying.

I sighed. "They'll know that we were crying."

"We can't do anything about it. They won't ask us about it though, so it's fine. Let's go now," Taehyung said, and grabbed my hand gently.

I stared at it, and gripped it tightly before walking outside with him.

***

Jimin P.O.V

"Give us a minute."

Tae told me, before grabbing Seokjin hyung's hand and pulling him harshly away, towards the washrooms, I assumed.

Tae's grip on his hand didn't worry me; the look on their faces was what worried me.

"Is everything okay?" Jungkook asked, looking in the direction they went.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine. They probably just went to have a talk. They haven't met outside of uni for a long time now, let's give them time to catch up," I said, trying to reassure him, as well as myself.

The tears I saw in his eyes were probably just a trick of the lights.

"You're looking amazing, Jimin!" He changed the topic, although I knew that he was just as worried I was about the brothers who just left, but I suspected that it was for different reasons.

"Aw, thanks, Jungkook! You're looking amazing too!" I replied, smiling widely.

I ordered a drink from the bartender, craving the zingy and refreshing taste of it.

"Although, I don't see anything pink in your ensemble," I said, checking him out once again.

He groaned.

"Yes, I know that I broke Jisoo's dress code, and I also know that I'll probably be dead meat because of that, I don't need everyone to keep reminding me of it!" He whined.

The bartender passed me my drink, while stifling his giggles at Jungkook's outburst.

I laughed, grabbing my drink. "You're cute," I said, nonchalantly taking a sip of the drink.

Ah, I missed this taste.

I smacked my lips together, satisfied, and saw that half the glass was already emptied.

I felt a gaze and turned to see Jungkook staring at me weirdly.

"What?" I asked, finishing the rest of my drink, and gestured for a refill.

"You just said that I was cute," he said slowly.

"Yeah, you are," I said shrugging.

"And, is that supposed to mean something?" He asked again, his tone cautious.

I laughed. He's having a gay panic. Another one to add to the list. I smirked internally.

"I tend to flirt with everyone, so don't mind me if I do fluster you," I said, sweeping my hair back, and taking a sip of my refilled drink. "I already have a girlfriend, though. Besides, I think there's someone else for you."

I laughed at the look Jungkook gave me.

His eyes widened like a doe's, his ears slightly pink, lips opening and closing like a fish.

"Who?" He asked softly.

"Who do you think would be fit for you?" I asked, teasing him.

"Well, I don't know. Everyone here already seem to have someone in mind for themselves. Guess I'm too late," Jungkook said, sounding bitter, taking a sip of his champagne.

"Well, there is someone out there, probably closer than you think, who is perfect for you, someone waiting for you, like you are for them. You'll find them when the time is right, and then, you'll be glad that you waited patiently." I patted his shoulders.

"Damn, I didn't know you were such a sentimental and thoughtful person. That was deep, man."

"That happens sometimes, I become smart all of a sudden and spout wise words like that. It's very rare though, so consider yourself lucky," I said, laughing slightly, Jungkook laughing along with me.

"How do you handle Jennie, and her tantrums?" He asked me, after a couple minutes of silence.

"Being honest, I myself don't know. She indeed used to be very whiny before, but she's much better now."

"How long have you both been together?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Over a year. A very eventful, but memorable year," I said, mind wandering to all our past interactions.

"Do you. . . love her?" He asked me, again, his tone cautious as to not offend me.

"I honestly don't know anything about love. I haven't received proper love from anyone, so I'm not really sure how love exactly feels," I said softly.

"I feel you," Jungkook muttered, before finishing his drink.

I turned to look at him. "Problematic parents?"

"Very."

He scowled.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked, facing him, concerned.

"Not really. I'm here to have fun and to distract myself. I would rather not ponder over those shits I'm supposed to call parents."

His response was said after a couple seconds.

"That problematic, huh. . ." I trailed.

"Unfortunately, yeah. What about you?"

"They don't even care if I'm alive or dead, doing good, or bad. They're least interested," I mumbled, trying not to expose much about myself.

"Ouch, I don't know if that's worse, or them being behind your ass twenty-four seven is," he said, cringing slightly.

"It's not a competition, both are bad in their own ways," I said, clearing my throat.

"I'm sorry for bringing this up, let's talk about something else," Jungkook said, his face apologetic.

"No, it's fine, don't apologise. What have you been up to since you arrived?" I diverted the topic. He seemed more at ease now.

Good. He's here to have fun, so am I, so I need to forget about the depressing shit.

***

Hobi P.O.V

"Hobi, do you know him?"

Jungkook asked, gesturing to a man seated behind him. I looked over and saw an unfamiliar man fuming in my direction.

Is my outfit offending him?

"No, I don't," I said. I'll introduce myself anyways.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ho—"

The vibration of the ringing phone in my hand interrupted me. I looked at the screen.

Oh, no.

I gulped. "I have to take this call, I'm sorry. Excuse me."

I accepted the call and quickly walked away from there.

"Hello?" I said, my voice wavering slightly.

"Hoseok-ah?" I heard a voice which I wasn't expecting to hear.

"Noona?" I said, confused.

"Hoseok-ah! It's me! How have you been?" My sister, Jung Jiwoo, asked. I was still in shock.

"I-I'm okay, how have you been?" I stuttered.

"Terrible, Hoseok-ah. Dad had forbidden me from contacting you all this while, he's put cameras all around the house, so I couldn't message you, or contact you in any way," she said sadly.

"He did what? Is he crazy?!" I exclaimed a bit too loudly, but I didn't care. I was fuming mad.

"Is there a camera in your room too?" I asked, fully intending to go ballistic if he had.

"No, my room is the only place I can stay safely, without prying eyes. I'm here, right now, so he won't know I'm talking to you," she explained hurriedly.

How dare he do that to my sister?!

He always had a problem with me; a problem with how I spoke, how I laughed, how I looked, how I lived, how I did everything.

He had a problem with me being alive.

All he did was bearable, as long as I was the only one suffering, but dragging my sister into this, when she did absolutely nothing wrong, was a step too far.

"Anyways, leave that—"

"Leave that?! What do you mean?! He's invading your privacy! I'm gonna file a polic—"

"No, don't do anything of that sort, Hoseok-ah! Look, I don't have much time. I stole his phone while he's still in the bathroom, just to talk to you about how you've been, not about my life, okay? Now, tell me. How are your classes going?"

"They're going good," I muttered in a rejected tone, because, as much as I missed her, I couldn't not be mad at the state she's in.

"Hoseok-ah. Please, don't be like this. I'm talking to you after months, I miss my cheerful brother," Noona said softly.

"And I miss you, noona. So much," I said, matching her tone.

"We'll meet soon. I just know it. And that time, no one can stop me from talking to you, hugging you to death or running with you," she declared, a feeble attempt to make my mood lighter.

I hummed sadly. That day didn't seem to be anytime soon.

"Everything will be alright."

I stiffened at those words. Those very familiar, but painful words.

"Noona, don't—"

"I will. You need to understand that everything will be alright." She firmly pressed on.

"It won't, Noona," I said, with gritted teeth.

"Hoseok-ah, you need to have hope."

"Hope for what? How am I supposed to have hope for anything, when everything I do is a fucking mistake?!"

"No, trust me, everything will be alrigh—"

"Mom used to say the same thing. She would say the exact same thing, all the time. And, where is she now? Is everything really alright now? No, it's not Noona. Nothing is alright, it will never be." I interrupted her angrily.

"Hoseok-ah, she chose her fate." My sister tried to console me.

"For me. She did it for me, for a useless, pathetic excuse of a son. That's what I am. A mistake," I bitterly said, repeating very familiar words.

"Please, don't blame yourself." Noona sounded close to tears.

"But, you can't deny, it is my fault," I said, voice cracking.

Before she could say anything else, I heard a loud and angry shout in the background. I was once again filled with anger.

"Noona, I swear to God, if he does anything else to you, I will seriously lose it—"

I was left speaking to air, because my sister had abruptly ended the call.

I groaned loudly.

My sister didn't deserve this. She shouldn't be punished for something that's my fault.

"Hobi!" I heard a voice call out.

I took a breath, put on my famous smile and turned around, to meet a fellow Junior student.

"Chan! How are you doing, man?" I said, feigning enthusiasm, but he won't realise. No one ever will.

"Good! You seemed pretty tense a minute back. Everything okay?" Bang Chan asked, looking worried.

"Oh, that was nothing, just a phone call from home," I said, brushing it off.

"Okay, then. Can you pass this on to Joonie? This is my share of our Business project. I would give it to him myself, but I can't seem to find him anywhere. Being a party host must be tiring," he joked, handing a small pen drive to me.

I pocketed the small item and nodded.

"Sure, I'll pass it on. Enjoying the party?" I asked, smiling.

"Of course! Joon's and Jisoo's parties are the absolute best. Every detail is planned out perfectly. It's impressive, really."

"Indeed," I said, proud of my close friend and roommate, along with his stepsister.

"I gotta go now, my friends are calling," Chan said, pointing at a group of students calling him, gesturing him to come over.

"Sure, see you around," I said, smiling once again. Once he left, my smile vanished and my bright eyes became dull once again.

I sighed, scratching my head slightly.

I was thinking about my conversation with my Noona, when suddenly I was thrown off balance by someone bumping rather harshly into me.

I managed to stay on both my feet, thanks to my quick reflexes but, unfortunately, the other person couldn't, and ended up falling down.

I turned back to see the same grumpy man who was with Jungkook previously, looking even more grumpy, rubbing his back.

I held out my hand to help him up.

He looked at my hand for a moment, before standing up on his own. I slowly got my hand back to myself.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" I asked.

"I don't see how it concerns you," he shot back.

Sheesh. Rude.

"I was just trying to be a decent human being, but sure, be that way if you wanna," I said, staring at him weirdly.

"I didn't get to introduce myself before, I'm Jung Hoseok," I added, smiling forcefully, something I seemed to be doing more often than normal, lately.

"It doesn't matter to me in any way," he said venomously.

"What is your prob—"

"Get out of the way, I have somewhere to be," he muttered, pushing past me. I just stared at him, wondering who pissed in his breakfast today.

"Hyung!" I heard Lisa's voice.

I turned back, and smiled once again, genuinely this time, at Lisa who was coming towards me.

"Lili. Looking beautiful as always," I said laughing slightly.

"Oh, stop it, you're too kind."

"What happened? Were you looking for me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Sooya is calling for the gang, there's a new kid."

"Ah, it's Jungkook, I'm assuming." I nodded in understanding.

"Oh, you met him?" She looked surprised.

"I did. Yesterday, he took the wrong turn, which you apparently warned him about, and ended up bumping into Jimin and myself."

"I don't know what goes through his mind, for him to be so absentminded! Even while Rosie and I were showing him around, he kept spacing out. It was weird." She frowned.

"It's fine, he's new here. He might be intimidated by the new surroundings. Give him some time, he'll open up." I assured her.

"Probably. Anyways, let's go. Keeping Sooya waiting isn't the wisest decision."

She snorted, gesturing me to follow her, which I did, because keeping Kim Jisoo waiting definitely wasn't the wisest decision.

____________________________________________

A / N

[051221,, this chapter has been revamped.]

No, we're not revealing their back stories yet, so try to guess :)

Sorry for the late update, one of our exams just got over, and the others' are starting this week oof, so next update, will again take time before it's published.

Everyone is gonna meet in the next chap! What do you think is gonna happen?👀
*it's gonna be fUn🌚*

While you wait for more updates, do keep a look out for a new "BTS Crack" book we're gonna publish really soon!

Once again, don't be shy to spam comments~

Love y'all <3

~ VeXo💜
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