After eating the delicious food Taehyung made — as Jeongguk said like a hundred times — they moved to the bedroom to change his bandages and then sleep.

"Turn around for me," Taehyung spoke in a rather sweet tone as they were seated on the edge of the bed. They shifted to a cross-legged position with Jeongguk's back facing him, and his fingers drew closer to the hem of his shirt, fiddling it. "Can I lift your shirt?"

"Of course, Tae. That's the whole point," Jeongguk said with a small giggle that made the other melt by his cuteness.

"Just to be sure," Taehyung uttered, and with delicate movements, he dragged his shirt to his nape and left it there.

It hurt. It wrung his heart to see so many scars on his skin. And all of that because he couldn't protect him. Jeongguk was in his club, and he couldn't protect him from this. It was impossible to move or make a simple sound with his muscles frozen with heartache when that realization thundered down on him.

"Everything okay? Is it bad?"

"Um, no, I'm just... sorry," Taehyung whispered and began removing the bandages with slightly shaky hands.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked with a frown and twisted his upper body, wanting to look at him, but a faint whine fell from his lips as his back stretched.

"Stay still. And stop hurting yourself more," he scolded him softly, and Jeongguk could only sigh.

"You didn't answer me."

"I'm sorry because I couldn't protect you tonight. I didn't know."

"Tae, exactly, you didn't know. You couldn't prevent it, but at least you stopped it soon enough. Thank you so much for that."

"Don't thank me—"

"Stop saying that," Jeongguk cut him off with a small voice. "I have to thank you. I need to thank you. It's the least I can do."

Taehyung stayed mute as he removed the last bandage. Then, he opened the packet Yaesung gave him and took one in his hand. "You don't have to say thank you every time I do something for you," he murmured, his moves even more careful and gentle now. "You can show it to me."

"How?" Jeongguk glanced above his shoulder and pouted since he still couldn't see his face.

"You can give me hugs and kisses." Maybe his voice was playful, but oh how much he wanted that.

And then Jeongguk was thankful he couldn't see him because the other would also be able to see his rosy cheeks and would definitely tease him again. "You—You want me to?"

"I wouldn't mind at all to be cuddled by you. And be kissed by you."

Why did Jeongguk's heart prance at his words, he could swear he didn't know. He tittered, tossing his head in all directions by his embarrassment, and cleared his throat. "Nice one."

Taehyung's movements halted upon hearing his remark. He thinks I'm joking. He snorted at his thoughts and stuck the next bandage carefully. "You liked my joke, little bun?"

"Um, yeah, it was good."

"Yeah? Too bad it wasn't one." His tone was noticeably lower than before, with no traces of teasing, but still soft.

What could Jeongguk do other than gulp and keep his mouth shut? Words were caught in his throat, anyway; he couldn't even make a sound. And they settled in silence until the very moment Taehyung covered every cut he had on his back.

Taehyung stared at his back, feeling another wave of sorrow wash over him. He sat with his knees in the bed close to him, but still careful not to touch his back.

Jeongguk was baffled once again about what was happening since he couldn't see him, but he shivered when a gentle kiss was placed on his nape right beneath his shirt. His eyes bulged, and he turned into an icicle as he felt sugary kisses trail his skin around his cuts.

He kissed almost every spot that wasn't wounded so delicately and with great care. He didn't know why he had the need to do it, but he knew he would regret it if he didn't. Kiss after kiss and with Jeongguk shuddering nonstop, Taehyung sat straighter after he showered his lower back with kisses too, letting his lips hover above his nape. "Sorry," he breathed out. "It hurts me to see your back like this. Was it too much?"

Although still in a somewhat shocked state, Jeongguk forced himself to return to reality and pulled his shirt down. "No, it was, um, nice. It felt n-nice."

Damn, did he just lie to him.

It wasn't nice — it was weird and unexpected, and it turned him into an anxious, flustered mess again. His stomach was still doing tiny flips from the feeling of his smooth, hot lips all over his skin, and fuck, it wasn't nice. It was fucking euphoric.

"Does it feel good?" Taehyung asked after a moment as he sat back into the bed.

"Tae, it felt amazing," he said under his breath as he swiveled around and cast him a hesitant look. His eyes locked on Taehyung’s face and his brows drew together when he detected his surprised expression.

"I—I meant... I meant your back, Kookie. Does it feel okay?"

If there was something that could make Jeongguk magically disappear from there that very moment, he would do anything to have it. But there wasn't, and he had to face a stunned Taehyung, who didn't seem like he would stop staring at him anytime soon.

"Forget... what I said." It was all Jeongguk could utter before he scrambled to get out of bed, paying no mind to the stinging pain in his back, and bolted out of the room.

This is the most embarrassing moment of my fucking life, fuck! How do I manage to embarrass myself every fucking time and especially in front of Tae!? He scuttled towards the bathroom and shut the door hastily. He remained unmoving for a while, his eyes big with mortification and his face so flushed it felt like it were on fire. He dropped his head onto the door with a frustrated groan, embarrassed to the hilt.

I can't possibly face him again. It'll be so damn awkward now. Way to go, Jeongguk. He'll think you're fucking delusional and he will be right.

Taehyung was dumbfounded when he just stormed out of the room. He knew how embarrassed he was, and he cursed himself internally. He didn't have to explain what he meant — he could just go with it, but since he was so surprised, he couldn't even think before talking.

He didn't go after him, although he wanted to. He didn't know how to make him not feel embarrassed about it. It was a simple miscommunication. A simple mistake that wasn't even Jeongguk's fault. His question was too general, and he had just kissed almost every inch of his back. He should have been clearer with his words.

But despite the whole mess he created, he couldn't help the spark of joy he felt bloom in his gut. Jeongguk said it felt amazing, and he was referring to his kisses. Shouldn't he give him a few more if it made him feel so good?

Taehyung waited for him to return, but he couldn't contain himself anymore. He didn't have that much patience when it came to Jeongguk, so with a sigh, he decided to look for him. He searched the living room and then the kitchen, but found nothing. At last, he stood in front of the bathroom door. "Kook."

"Go away."

"Oh, come on! You can't stay in there forever."

"Taehyung—"

"No, listen. We don't have to say anything about it. I swear I won't mention anything. Nothing happened."

Jeongguk heaved a sigh as he mulled over it. It was getting a little cold to sit on the floor and think about how stupid he was. If he got out of the bathroom, he could sit in a warm bed instead and think about how stupid he was. With a heavy heart and still embarrassed as fuck, he rose to his feet and opened the door.

He broke into a smile at light speed once he saw him, although Jeongguk didn't even glance at him. "Come on, little bun," he chirped as he twisted around, grabbed his hands, and wrapped them around his stomach like before. "Let's get you to bed."

A shy smile dangled on the corner of Jeongguk's lips as he clung to him, his cheek pressing against his back. He heard a dulcet giggle from him as they waddled towards his bedroom, both smiling along the way.

Taehyung faced him when they arrived and anchored his hands on his waist. "I'll go take a shower. You can sleep if you want to."

"I can wait for you."

"You don't have to."

"Hey, you still have to hold my hand until I fall asleep. You said you'll do it!"

Taehyung chuckled as he lowered his head. "Okay, I'll be quick." He squeezed his waist and retreated. He took clean clothes with him and glimpsed at the younger, who just perched into the bed, and then strolled away with a smile.

Jeongguk was exhausted, to be honest. That day was so long and awful, just like it was six months ago. But why didn't he want to cry about it? Why didn't he feel useless and pathetic like he did six months ago?

He had a moment to think about how he felt as Taehyung took a shower. He wasn't scared to death like before. He wasn't shaking every time the image of his father beating him came to his mind.

Is this because of Taehyung? He thought as he lay down on his side. Is it because of the promises he made? Because he helped me and took care of me? Yoongi did all these things too. Why does it feel different then?

When Taehyung said he would be quick, he wasn't lying. His entrance a few minutes later startled him and caused him to perk his head up in an instant.

"What's wrong?" Taehyung stopped in his tracks, confused.

"Did you just take a three-minute shower or something?"

Taehyung snorted and resumed his way to the bed. "It was a seven-minute shower actually." He settled down beside him, and since he had a king-size bed, he made sure to leave a decent amount of distance between them.

"How can someone do that?"

"Well, when you have a sleepy little bun to return to, who also wants you to hold his hand, you can't take your time, Kookie."

Jeongguk giggled and buried his face into his pillow, lying on his belly. "You enjoy teasing me, huh?"

"Only a little." Taehyung chuckled too as he inched closer to caress his head. "But it's also true."

He rested the side of his head on the pillow and fixed his gaze on him. "Tae." He extended a hand towards him, and the older didn't waste a second to hold it. "There's only one thing I'm scared of right now and it's really... surprising that it's not about my father."

"What is it?"

"It's about... Wang. Yunho hyung was on a business trip with him and he asked how he knows me and—and he said he has been working with my father for years. I know Wang is a drug dealer. And apparently, my father buys drugs from him. But... Yunho hyung said—he said that... Tae, he has pictures of me."

"What?" he growled, his insides burning with rage and worry.

"He—He takes pictures of his clients' family members or important people in their life so he c-can blackmail them if something goes wrong. And that's how he knows me."

Taehyung was lost for words by now as he couldn't believe what he just heard. "That fucking bastard," he hissed and slammed his eyes closed, drawing in a deep breath to restrain his wrath for Jeongguk's sake.

"Yunho hyung also said that something was off when—when Wang was talking about me." He espied Taehyung's wild eyes darting in his direction right away. "He said that he sounded kind of obsessed... with me."

"Fuck!" he screamed, unable to confine his emotions anymore. "I need—fuck—I need something to break, something to—to punch, fuck," he stammered as he lurched back and shifted to the edge of the bed.

"Tae. You don't need anything to break or punch. You don't need it. You need to breathe and realize that this has already happened. You can't change it." He crawled towards him and sat on his knees behind him. "I need you more than you need to break or punch something," he whispered as he curled his arms around his neck in a loose grip. "I'm scared. Don't let him do anything to me, please, hyung. I will do anything, just... just don't let him hurt me."

Tears shimmered in Taehyung's eyes as the desperation he discerned in his voice sent a storm of pain roiling in his chest. "You don't have to do anything," he said as he twined his fingers around his forearms. "I promise I'll protect you from him at all costs. And I mean it with all my heart, Kookie. He won't hurt you."

"Thank you, Tae. Thank you so much." He sighed in relief and pulled his head back a notch. His eyes lingered on him, and he truly didn't know what took over him when he edged closer and drew a faint kiss on his nape.

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Another update is coming later💜
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This is too cute for my heart😭😭
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