Jeongguk paced around his room, trying to muster up the courage to talk to Shezam. Every time he started to bring up the subject, his mind would freeze. He’d open his mouth, only to stumble and back out. It was like there was a wall he couldn’t climb over.

He pulled out a cigarette, took a long drag, and exhaled angrily. "Fuck, why is this so damn hard?" he muttered, watching the smoke curl up into the air. "I’ve wasted an entire day avoiding this shit."

He thought about how he couldn’t bring himself to confess to Shezam. The guilt gnawed at him. "Why can’t I just be honest?" he cursed. "It’s like I’m stuck in this messed-up loop."

Jeongguk felt a wave of misery crash over him. The idea of loving Shezam was a constant presence, but now he felt trapped, unable to move forward. "I can’t believe I’m doing this to him," he said, shaking his head. "He’s my best friend, and I can’t even tell him the truth."

He sighed heavily, flicking the ash from his cigarette. "Damn it, I’m such a mess. I hate that I’m hurting him like this and can’t even get my shit together."

Jeongguk grabbed his jacket with a determined huff, mumbling to himself, "Alright, time to stop being a damn coward." He glanced at his reflection in the mirror, adjusting his jacket like he was going into battle. "Looking sharp, Jk. Now, don’t screw this up."

As he stepped out, he fumbled with his keys. "Seriously? This is the perfect time for my keys to play hide and seek?" he grumbled. Finally getting into his car, he turned on the engine and let out a deep breath. "Okay, Jeongguk, you got this. Just be honest. It’s not like you’re asking him to marry you. Yet."

On the drive, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, humming along to a random song on the radio. "Yo, who knew I’d need a pep talk from Justin Bieber to sort my life out?" he chuckled. "This is gonna be like one of those cringe movie scenes where the hero screws everything up."

He parked in front of Shezam's place and stared at the house, grinning like an idiot. "Alright, time to face the music. Let’s see if I can’t screw this up. Just breathe."

Jeongguk walked up to the door, taking one last deep breath. "If I screw this up, I'm blaming it on my car’s terrible air freshener," he joked to himself, dodging with the door knob.

As he entered, the smell of junk food striked his nostrils knowing how brat his roommates were. Ignoring each of them, he went to Shezam’s room.

Jeongguk fiddled with the door, fingers shaking, not from nerves but from the thought of finally telling Shezam about V. He was ready. Or, at least, he thought he was. Heart pounding, he knocked once, then again, before pushing the door open slightly when no one answered.

"Shezam?" he called out, stepping inside. The air smelled like liquor and... something else? His brows furrowed as he heard faint sounds. Kissing sounds? Moaning?

The door creaked wider, and his eyes landed on the sight that almost made him laugh—if he wasn’t supposed to be mad, that is. There they were. Shezam and Jordan, half-naked, struggling to unbuckle belts while practically eating each other’s faces.

Jeongguk blinked, then immediately threw on his best angry expression. "What the actual fuck!?" he barked, storming inside. "Seriously? In my face like this?"

Shezam froze, his hands still awkwardly hovering over Jordan’s pants, face flushed. "J-Jeongguk, wait, it’s not what it looks like!" Shezam stammered, scrambling for his shirt.

"it’s exactly what it looks like," Jeongguk said, crossing his arms, trying not to grin. He wanted to dance right there—Shezam, cheating? Oh man, the universe was really working in his favor. Inside, he was screaming YESSS, but on the outside, he had to keep this up. "You think I’m an idiot? Huh?!"

Jordan, shirtless, tried slipping out. "Look, bro, it was just—"

"Shut up, Jordan!" Jeongguk barked, waving him off dramatically. But inside, he was doing cartwheels. This was his way out! No need for an awkward breakup now. He wasn’t trapped anymore, and better yet—he had V. The one person he really wanted.

Shezam fumbled with his clothes, eyes wide with guilt. "Jk, I—I can explain. It just... it just happened. I’ve had feelings for Jordan for a while, and I didn’t know how to tell you. I swear it wasn’t just sex..."

Jeongguk’s fake anger flared up again. "Oh, it wasn’t just sex? Wow, that's supposed to make me feel better? You two in here, doing God-knows-what, and I'm supposed to be okay with it?" His voice cracked a little at the end. Not from anger, though—from holding in his laughter.

Tye bronzed skin guy looked down, embarrassed. "I... I never really felt that connection with you, yeah at the start...I kind of said - "I love you as a man" but— It’s always been like, a crush, but never love. I guess I just... felt more with Jordan, and I didn’t know how to break it off."

"Yeah? Well, congratulations," Jeongguk muttered, turning his head dramatically to the side. He couldn’t hide the slight twitch of a smile that tried to sneak onto his face. Inside, he was like, Thanks for doing the job for me, dude.

"Get your shit together, Shezam. We’re done."

As he stormed out, putting on an Oscar-worthy angry exit, he couldn’t help but do a little victory dance in the hallway. He was free. Free, and now, all his attention could go to V.

Just as he did a quick spin, Shezam ran out after him. "Jeongguk, wait, please. I didn’t mean to hurt you like this. We’ve been distant for a while. It’s just—"

Jeongguk’s face snapped back into a scowl. "Don’t. Even. Think. About it!" he said, putting on the angry act again. But inside, man, he was already picturing his next text to V.

No more distractions. No more guilt. Just me and V.

Jeongguk stormed outta Shezam’s place, fuming on the outside but grinning like a fool inside. The second he shut the door behind him, he let out a little laugh, couldn’t believe how things turned.

Sure, there was a tiny sting, knowing Shezam cheated, but he shook it off quick. If V wasn’t in the picture? Maybe it’d hurt more, but V was in the picture. And now, he didn’t have to feel guilty about loving V.

He muttered to himself, "Damn, what a twist… didn’t even have to do the dirty work." With a little skip in his step, he headed home, feeling lighter than ever.

The tattoed guy flopped onto the couch like he just finished a marathon, grinning like an idiot. He picked up the leftover Brussels sprouts from last night’s dinner, which usually made him gag, but tonight? They tasted like freaking candy.

Jeongguk flopped down on the couch, Brussels sprout in hand, mumbling, "Man, why’s this bitter crap actually hitting tonight?" He popped it into his mouth, chewing like it was a five-star meal.

"I swear these tasted like garbage yesterday, what’s going on?" Bam, his dog, just stared at him, clearly unimpressed.

"Don’t look at me like that, Bam! You wouldn’t get it," Jeongguk said, pointing a half-eaten sprout at his dog. "It’s a vibe, y’know? Shezam's outta the picture and suddenly everything’s awesome. Even Brussels sprouts. Magic."

He stood up, stretching, and looked at his dog. "Alright, come on, we need some tunes for this party." He grabbed his phone, hit shuffle, and Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC started blaring through the speakers. Jeongguk lit up, eyes wide. "Oh hell yeah, Bam! This is our jam!"

He grabbed Bam’s paws, pulling him into a little dance. "Ain't no lie, baby, BYE BYE BYE!" Jeongguk sang terribly off-key, twirling Bam around the living room. Bam barked like, "Dude, what the hell is happening?"

"What? You don’t appreciate boy bands?" Jeongguk laughed, spinning Bam again before collapsing back onto the couch. "You got no taste, Bam. Zero."

Bam just blinked at him, totally over it. Jeongguk shoved another Brussels sprout in his mouth and sighed, still grinning. "You know what, though? This night’s perfect. Like, I should be mad or something, right? Shezam and Jordan, all half-naked and making out like it’s freaking prom night… But nah." He laughed, shaking his head. "Nah, I’m good. I got V."

Jeongguk stood back up, grabbing an imaginary mic as another song blasted through. This time it was Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone. "Siiince you been gooone!" he screeched, totally off-key, jumping around the room like a maniac.

Bam barked again, probably begging him to stop. Jeongguk pointed at him, mid-dance, "Don’t lie, you love this!"

He collapsed onto the couch, out of breath, shoving the last sprout in his mouth. "Man, this is the best freaking night," he said to Bam, still laughing. "Who knew getting cheated on could be this fun?"

Bam jumped onto the couch beside him, laying his head on Jeongguk's lap. Jeongguk scratched behind his ears, sighing contently. "Yeah, Shezam can have Jordan. I got my music, my dog, and V. Life’s good, bro."

He chuckled to himself, then yelled out, "And these damn Brussels sprouts are good too! What the hell!"

"Best night ever, bro," he whispered to Bam, rubbing his belly, feeling like he just dodged the biggest bullet.

Taehyung sat in the cockpit, fingers drumming on the controls, heart racing like he was on a treadmill. "What the hell am I doing?" he muttered under his breath, eyes darting around.

Everything felt chaotic—inside, outside, everywhere. His co-pilot shot him a look, but Taehyung just forced a smile. "All good, man, just... uh, long day," he lied.

He tapped his foot, biting the inside of his cheek. JK’s boyfriend. We’ve been talking behind JK’s freakin’ boyfriend. His stomach flipped, and it wasn’t because of the upcoming takeoff. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t this guy, right? But every time he thought of JK, his heart did this weird little flip, and damn, he couldn’t stop it.

"Mr Kim Taehyung, you good to go?" the ground control voice crackled in his ear, snapping him back to reality.

"Yeah, yeah. Ready," he muttered, adjusting his headset. But inside? He wasn’t ready for any of this. This is so wrong, bro.

As he flipped switches, readying for takeoff, his mind was miles away. JK’s boyfriend doesn’t care. that’s what JK kept saying. But it didn’t sit right with Taehyung.

This is literally what Jisung did to me! he realized, a cold wave of guilt washing over him again. The flashback to that betrayal hit him hard, like a punch to the gut. Am I doing the same shit?

He wiped his sweaty palms on his uniform, eyes locked on the runway, but his mind was still stuck on JK. "Focus, Tae, focus," he whispered to himself, but damn, how could he when his chest felt like it was about to explode?

The engines roared as they started rolling down the runway. His hands tightened on the yoke, knuckles white. If JK knew, if his boyfriend knew... His stomach churned. But JK says it’s fine, right?

Still, the guilt wouldn’t quit.

Later, Taehyung was scrolling through his phone, barely able to focus. The cockpit was finally calm, and he had a few minutes before takeoff. He decided to drop a quick message to Jk,

[@Vantae30_u]
Yo, where you
been last night?

JK replied almost instantly: 

[@Jk_moon_1997]
Oh, just hanging with my bf.
You?

Taehyung’s heart dropped. Bf. Right. Damn. He stared at the screen, unsure what to say. After a long pause, he typed back:

[@Vantae30_u]
Uh, cool, cool. Just…
work stuff.
You good tho?

[@Jk_moon_1997]
Yeah, all good.
You?

Taehyung couldn’t bring himself to dig deeper. He wanted to ask about the bf, but his fingers froze over the keys. Instead, he just sent: 

[@Vantae30_u]
Yeah, same.

He tossed his phone aside, frustrated. "Why’s this so hard?"

Taehyung felt his phone buzz again as he was getting ready to fly. Of course, it was JK being cheeky as usual:

[@Jk_moon_1997]
So... what you wearing? 😉

Taehyung sighed, rolling his eyes. He knew where this convo was headed and wasn't feeling it today. He quickly typed back:

[@Vantae30_u]
Bro, I’m about to fly
a plane 😂 chill.

[@Jk_moon_1997]
Yeah, but like… after? 😏

Staring at his screen, Taehyung felt that familiar knot in his stomach again. He wasn’t in the mood for this. Not with JK’s boyfriend always lurking in the back of his mind. It felt off, like they were walking on a line they shouldn’t be.

[@Vantae30_u]
Dude, not now.
Busy af

The silence on JK's end was loud. Taehyung knew JK would pick up on his vibe change. The spicy chats just weren’t clicking like they used to, not with the whole boyfriend situation hanging over them. It all felt... wrong.

(a/n:- now that was a huge surprise from shezam...wasn’t it?)