Jeongguk felt frustrated with himself. He was extremely shy when he was with people he didn't know and especially with astonishingly beautiful people like Taehyung. He just asked him something simple. Why couldn't he answer him? Why did he have to be so embarrassed?

As their classes carried on, Jeongguk seemed distracted, and his friends couldn't help but notice. He said everything was okay when they asked him why he was like that, but they didn't believe him.

So as they waited outside of the school gates for Hoseok, Seokjin glanced at him for the nth time. "Kook, don't dwell on it. I know you keep thinking about what happened and you feel embarrassed about it, but don't. It's not worth it," he uttered in a mellow tone and offered him a soothing smile as he caressed his back.

"Yeah, I mean, you even called him daddy material in front of his face. What could be worse than that?" Jimin said, something playful laced in his voice, hoping to raise a smile from him, and he succeeded.

Jeongguk snorted at his comment as a tiny smile dangled on the corner of his lips. "You're right."

"Hey, guys, are you ready?" Hoseok asked as he popped up from behind.

"Are you? What took you so long?" Yoongi asked, annoyed.

"I was just talking with Taehyung. By the way, Kook, I hope you're not mad at him for pressuring you to talk."

"No, it's fine. I was just taken aback."

"Good because he seemed worried and he literally wouldn't shut up about it."

Jeongguk's brows creased in confusion. "Why would he be so worried?"

"Beats me." Hoseok shrugged. "Let's go."

And thet did. They took Hoseok's car and went to Jeongguk's apartment. His mother wasn't at home since she was working, so they had the whole place to themselves.

"Okay, let me see your skills, hyung," Jeongguk said with a smirk on his face as he got ready to play.

"Cocky, huh? Bring it on then." Hoseok grinned, and they started their first game.

🥀

Taehyung heaved a long sigh as he wilted on the couch and ran a hand through his hair. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel bad about the way he talked to Jeongguk. He didn't have to be so stern to him, and honestly, he didn't even know why he was in the first place.

He was supposed to meet Yone, a twenty-two-year-old woman with long blonde hair who apparently had a thing for cats. He didn't really want to go, so he mulled over it for a long time, and almost one hour before their date, he decided to text her and call it off.

He stared at his phone as his mind floated away in thoughts, and with a sigh, he decided to call Hoseok.

"Hey, Tae."

"Hey, are you at Jeongguk's place?" he asked, but he knew the answer since he could hear loud voices through the phone.

"Oh, come on!" Hoseok exclaimed as he just lost another game. He threw the game controller onto the couch with a groan. "I lost yet another game to that little shit, I can't believe it!"

"You sound quite frustrated."

"I am! But why did you call? Aren't you supposed to be on a date?"

"Yeah, I blew it off."

"Oh, okay." Hoseok waited for the other to say something, but he didn't. "Wait, do you wanna come here?"

"Can I?"

"Sure!"

"Okay, send me his address." Taehyung ended the call to get ready, and he was on his way a few minutes later.

For some reason, he felt excited. He didn't have other friends except for Hoseok there in Seoul, and the idea of spending his day playing games with a group of people he just met today was kind of exhilarating. Even if they were just a bunch of seventeen-year-olds.

"Was that Mr. Kim?" Jeongguk asked once Hoseok hung up the phone.

"Yeah, apparently, he's free, so I told him to come over. It's okay, right?"

"Um, yeah, of course," Jeongguk  mumbled as he glanced at the floor. He could already feel his cheeks heat up only at the thought of seeing him.

After Yoongi and Jimin played their third match, Namjoon and Seokjin were next. They were both pretty bad at this game, so the others didn't really pay attention to their match.

Jeongguk almost jumped in his seat when he heard the doorbell, something that caught the others' attention.

"Will you get that or should I?" Hoseok chuckled as he looked at him, confused by his reaction.

"No, I'll go." He rose to his feet and trod towards the door, his steps small, quaky. His palms were sweaty and his heart palpitated faster and faster as he neared the door. He hated the effect even the thought of seeing Taehyung had on him.

He was greeted by a smiling Taehyung once he slid the door open. "Hello," Taehyung  said with that deep, velvety voice of his, making Jeongguk tense up even more.

Jeongguk caught himself thinking he could easily listen to his enchanting, honeyed voice every day, all day.

"Um, hi," he muttered timidly. He fiddled with his shirt as he laid his eyes on the ravishing man in front of him.

Taehyung stared back at him — something about his eyes made it impossible for him to glance away. But the younger had trouble preserving eye contact and lowered his head in haste as he stepped aside to let him come in.

Taehyung trudged inside, eyes still drilling holes on him. "About how I talked to you be—"

"It's okay, don't mention it."

"Let me finish at least," he said in a soft tone as a sweet smile crept over his lips.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about." He observed his sheepish behavior with a rather fond gaze, and as the other stayed mute, twiddling with the hem of his shirt, he ventured to place his knuckle beneath his chin and raise his head in the softest manner possible.

Jeongguk shuddered and shied away from his touch, taking a hurried step back in panic. Before they could say anything, Hoseok emerged from the back. "What's taking you so long?" he asked, glancing between a frantic Jeongguk and a startled Taehyung.

Wordlessly, Jeongguk shot a panicked glance at Hoseok and took off with a brisk gait.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Taehyung whisper-yelled as he raised his hands defensively.

"Whatever, come on." Hoseok headed to the living room, and the other followed with a light sigh.

"Hello, Mr. Kim," greeted the other boys except for Seokjin and Namjoon, who were too caught up in the game to notice his presence, and Jeongguk, who didn't dare to look at him again.

"You're drinking beers?"

"Yeah, why?" Hoseok asked.

"They're underage, hyung."

"Oh, come on, Mr. Kim, having a beer won't hurt us," Jimin said as he cast him an impish smile.

"And we'll be eighteen soon so," Yoongi added with a shrug.

"Okay, watching Seokjin and Namjoon playing is boring. Kook, come on." Hoseok made him a sign to play with him.

The younger seemed to relax a bit at the idea of playing a game. He looked at Hoseok and couldn't help the sly smile that tugged at his lips as he sat next to him. "I believe you want to lose again."

"Just play." Hoseok tsked and started the game.

Taehyung discerned how quickly Jeongguk's behavior changed. He was suddenly laughing and almost yelling at Hoseok, who tried to cheat by distracting him from the game.

"Hyung, not cool!" Jeongguk roared with laughter as the other got in front of him to cut his view from the screen.

Hoseok could pull any trick he wanted, but he would still lose the game to the younger. He groaned in frustration and focused completely on the game, but he ended up losing once again.

"I hate you!" Hoseok cried with a pouty face.

"It's not my fault you don't know how to play."

"I do know! Taehyung, tell him."

"But you don't. You're always losing when you're playing with me too," Taehyung teased.

"We should have a match of our strongest players then," Jimin chirped. "Let's see who will win!"

Jeongguk's smile vanished in an instant, and just when he relaxed a tad, he became anxious again.

Seeing his reaction, Taehyung wavered. "Jeongguk, do you want to play?"

"Um, sure."

Taehyung moved next to him and grabbed the game controller. He didn't know why the younger was so uncomfortable around him, but he didn't like that. "Are you ready to lose?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood between them.

A small smile etched on his face upon hearing his question. "Never," he answered, causing the other to snort.

Taehyung was quite competitive and wasn't happy at all when the younger had the lead in the game. He was so focused he couldn't even hear what the others were saying.

After a while, the first game ended, leaving Taehyung dumbfounded, and the younger feeling a little cocky.

"As expected. No one can beat Jeongguk." Everyone nodded at Jimin's remark except one.

"Who wants to play?" Jeongguk shifted to the edge of his seat to stand up, but a grasp on his wrist held him in place.

"We're playing again," Taehyung said, his voice low and demanding, not even bothering to look at him.

"Tae, don't scare the kid off," Hoseok scolded him as he knew Jeongguk would feel intimidated.

Taehyung's eyes landed on his grip on Jeongguk's hand and then flitted to his face, taking in his daunted expression. He wrenched his hand away, clearing his throat. "Sorry. I meant if you want to."

"He's just a bit competitive, Kook, don't worry," Hoseok reassured with a pat on his shoulder.

Jeongguk, uncomfortable and shaken by what just happened, started the next game without saying anything.

And again he won rather effortlessly, rendering Taehyung in absolute disbelief. "This is not possible."

"Give up, Tae. You're not gonna win against this beast," Hoseok said, evoking a few chuckles from the other boys.

"I can't believe I lost to a seventeen-year-old," Taehyung said, still shocked. "Twice!"

"An adult in a few months," Jeongguk mumbled through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"I'll be eighteen in a few months. I'm not a child." He didn't know where that confidence came from, but he managed to answer him properly for once.

"Alright, big boy," Taehyung taunted as he shook his head.

"I don't appreciate you laughing at me." He ventured to shoot him a glare, not even realizing he was pouting as he spoke.

"We went from zero to one hundred real quick, huh?"

Jeongguk huffed at his comment and returned to his previous seat without a word.

"Okay, okay, who plays next?" Hoseok asked in an attempt to alleviate the awkward mood.

As Jimin and Namjoon began another round, Jeongguk sneaked away from the living room and went upstairs.

He flung himself into his bed and buried his face in his pillow. Who does he think he is? Just because he's handsome and has an astonishingly hot body doesn't mean he can look down on me like that. You just have to get your shit together and not let him look down on you again. You're a grown man. You're gonna be eighteen soon. Stop being so awkward. He scolded himself as he rolled over, now lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.

     
"Hyung, where is the bathroom?" Taehyung asked.

"It's upstairs."

Taehyung bundled off, but when he reached his destination, he sighed since he didn't ask which door it was. He opened the first door on his right and peeked inside, only to be met with a startled Jeongguk, who scrambled to sit up in the bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for the bathroom. Sorry," Taehyung said, eyes narrowing on him. Instead of turning around and leaving the younger alone as he should, he swung the door open and took a step inside. "Why are you here alone?"

"It's my house. I can be w-wherever I want," he murmured as he looked away from him.

"A little aggressive, don't you think?" Taehyung raised a scornful brow at his choice of words.

"I'm sorry," Jeongguk said below his breath in defeat, still refraining from making eye contact.

"Is something bothering you?" he questioned as he inched closer and closer, his gaze fixated on the boy.

"No, why?"

"I don't know." He was now next to him, peering at Jeongguk, who was sitting on the edge of the bed with his eyes glued to the floor. "You seem... bothered by something."

"You know, it wasn't so nice—" He fell silent once he shot his head up and saw the other so close to him. He averted his gaze nervously, cheeks and ears beaming with a faint tint of red almost in a heartbeat. "You looked down on me just b-because I'm younger. I didn't like that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was crossing the line," Taehyung said with a slight smile. "But you don't see me complaining about you calling me daddy material, now do you?" His tone was rather derisive, and his small smile switched to a fleer while he spoke.

Shock flashed up onto Jeongguk's face as his heart rocketed in stark abashment. "I didn't c-call you that, Jimin s-said that, I just quoted his w-words."

An amused chuckle bubbled in his throat and burst out of his mouth a moment later as he tapped his back. "Okay, big boy." He pivoted on his heel then with another chortle.

"You're doing it again!"

"What am I doing?"

"You're mocking me! Just because you have a pretty face doesn't give you the right to—ugh! Never mind." Jeongguk groaned in utter frustration and hid his flushed face in his hands.

"See you tomorrow, Jeongguk." Taehyung chuckled once more and exited the room.

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