【 Jungkook 】

Despite a few painfully slow weeks already having passed since Taehyung's inexplainable disappearance that one night, you stubbornly remained in a state of pure denial and blatantly refused to entertain the thought of him actually being gone for good— steadfast on the belief that he merely must've gone out exploring that day and possibly gotten caught up with new clues and potential flashbacks of his past life that he now was occupied with; that surely once he's done with whatever it was that came up, he would come back home to tell you all about it before then receiving an earful about never making such unannounced disappearances again.

The thought of it playing out in your head always managed to make a faint smile tug at your lips; easily imagining the way he'd be bouncing around the apartment one second whilst excitedly telling you all about his adventures, and the next looking like a sad puppy while receiving the previously mentioned earful from you— but it would all quickly fade into a bad memory of the past and something that the two of you later could laugh about together.

Up until fairly recently, you even refused to move let alone touch the unfinished book that he had left on the couch— or anything with too deep of a correlation to him for that matter. However, a couple of days ago you finally deemed it was about time that the poor book finally was moved someplace where it wasn't miserably collecting dust as it was now. It took some careful consideration at first, since merely placing it back onto the bookshelf didn't feel quite right, nor did hiding it away in some sort of storage container or closet— and disposing of it was entirely out of the question of course. Though you eventually settled on carrying the precious book with you from now on, almost having it act as a sorry excuse for company while ghostie was away; if it meant Taehyung felt even the slightest bit closer, then it was worth it.

A sudden tap on the counter swiftly snapped you out of your zoned-out state as you raised your gaze to meet the one of a customer you recognized to have served barely a minute ago, now setting her drink down whilst exclaiming how her order was supposed to be an iced latte with a double espresso shot and hazelnut syrup, yet she received a regular and unsweetened one instead— instantly prompting you to frantically apologize before scurrying to remake her order right this time. Internally cursing at yourself for not staying focused and making sure to apologize once more when handing her the correctly made drink, bowing once more as she thanked you and left before keeping your head hung low out of embarrassment.

It was only when Hoseok came up and placed a gentle hand on your shoulder, that you finally raised your gaze again to meet the olders concerned but still gentle one.

Hoseok: You've been spacing out and getting orders mixed up quite a lot lately, this isn't like you Gguk... What's going on?

All you managed to muster out, was yet another apology whilst defeatedly lowering your gaze— somewhat trying to hide away from his analytical gaze which by now undeniably already had been able to spot the prominent dark circles under your eyes and the generally fatigued look you bore. You sort of expected him to scold you about not staying alert or at the very least utter something along those lines, yet nothing of the sort happened as he instead took the rag you subconsciously had been clenching out of your hand before flashing you a gentle look of worry.

Hoseok: I'm not looking for an apology Gguk, I'm just worried about you. If there's any way I possibly could help then you need to tell me so I—

Jungkook: No, I'm fine... I just— it's nothing.

The older crossed his arm and instantly flashed you a look that practically screamed ''You know I don't believe that for a second.'', causing you to awkwardly shift with hesitancy as he patiently waited for you to cough up a real answer— eventually earning a faintly mumbled out ''Fine...'' which then was followed up by a carefully worded and quite vague explanation of how you suddenly couldn't get ahold of this dear friend of yours for these past couple of weeks, yet obviously having to twist the story a little bit to soften the increasingly concerned look growing on Hoseoks face as he undoubtedly must've questioned why you didn't report them missing if that were the case.

Jungkook: T-To clarify— it's not that he's missing in that way, he just—

Hoseok: —...ghosted you?

His wording almost caused you to snicker at the irony, knowing Taehyung would've found the accidental pun absolutely hilarious if he had been here to hear it— though it also made your shoulders slump with sadness as it simultaneously reminded you of his absence once again, and so you could only nod slowly in confirmation despite not actually knowing what really happened to him. Evidently sensing your shift in mood which now grew impossibly gloomier, there was a brief moment of silence as he flashed you a compassionate look before lightly nudging your side.

Hoseok: I'm sorry Gguk... You really must've liked him, huh?

Those words were innocent enough, yet still somehow managed to set your cheeks ablaze as you flusteredly stuttered out a ''W-What?'', only to pause for a moment before softly mumbling out a response.

Jungkook: Well sure I uhm... I suppose I may have... We were only friends of course, but—

Hoseok: –there was something deeper yet unspoken there too, wasn't there?

A soft scoff left your lips as they instinctively parted to deny the absurdity of such a claim, yet you somehow couldn't bring yourself to, and instead eventually nodded slowly in utter defeat— grumbling out a faint ''It's creepy how well you're able to read me sometimes Hobi-hyung'' whilst crossing your arms, to which he merely flashed you a warm smile before reaching over to playfully ruffle your hair.

Hoseok: You're usually a hard shell to crack, but on rare occasions, you wear your heart on your sleeve Gguk.

⎯⎯ ❀ ⎯⎯

Wearing wireless earphones while out and about in public spaces was still very much a prominent habit of yours, though nowadays, you actually begun to use them for their intended purpose in the hopes of the music drowning out the otherwise deafening silence that a certain entity's absence had created. It was almost laughable really, the realization of just how big of an impact Taehyung had had on you and your life in such an arguably short time and under such unbelievable circumstances, though you internally swore to never admit that you were having such sappy thoughts— assuming he one day comes back to even try and get you to admit it, that is.

A weary sigh escaped past your lips as you headed up to the twelfth floor of your apartment building and wearily unlocked your door before heading inside, greeted by the cold and echoing loneliness of what for once was while you kicked off your shoes and exchanged them for the home slippers. Coming back home was something that you now frankly had grown to utterly despise once again— it was almost as if all of the comfort and warmth that Taehyung had brought to your home, also ended up disappearing with him that day, and now this apartment just felt like a dark, glum and lonely shell.

Coincidentally, just as you walked into the living room and were about to turn off the earphones in order to save their battery, a set of painfully familiar tunes suddenly began to play through them swiftly causing you to freeze up.

♫ Yelling at the sky
Screaming at the world
Baby, why'd you go away?
I'm still your girl
Holding on too tight
Head up in the clouds
Heaven only knows
Where you are now ♫

Instantly recognizing it to be "Dancing with your ghost"; a song which held such giddy memories and self-proclaimed traditions for the two of you, instead now causing tears to unwillingly well up as you slowly shrunk down onto the floor and rested your back against the couch— pulling your knees up to your chest whilst listening to the tunes that now seemed to hold an entirely different meaning.

♫ Never got the chance
To say a last goodbye
I gotta move on
But it hurts to try ♫

♫ How do I love
How do I love again? ♫

Silent sniffles filled the living room as you desperately tried to wipe away the tears that were flowing down your cheeks, yet to no avail as more just kept on coming— even prompting a breathy laugh of disbelief and slight frustration to emit past your lips as you eventually began to utter out broken mumbles and pleas to no one in particular.

Jungkook: P-Please come back home already g-ghostie... I know we joked about exorcists and all that stop haunting me bullshit a lot, but I didn't— I never wanted you to actually disappear. I just m-miss you s-so fucking much...

Though as expected, your pleas were met with nothing but hopeless silence.

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