The loud sound coming from the television in the living room made Taehyung groan as he tossed on his bed.

He sleepily reached out for his phone on the bedside table to check the time and almost threw it in frustration.

"Fuck!" He cursed upon getting a clear view of the digits plastered on the screen.

It's just six in the morning and he couldn't believe his precious sleep would be bothered on a Sunday morning by only one person in mind.

Taehyung pressed his pillow over his head to block the noise but it only worsened when amplified by his sister's scandalous laugh.

He groaned and without a choice jumped out of bed, steps were heavy as he marched his way out of his room and into the living room where his sister was looking like gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Her eyes were wide with huge bags under, probably because of the all nighter she pulled from watching Korean dramas and such.

Her hair was all over the place as she laughed like a man, totally different from the image she has in school.

"You look like shit." Taehyung said as he approached the area, only to stop and grimace at the total mess his sister created.

The living room was as shitty as Taehyung's mood with all those junks scattered on the table and even on the floor.

"Seriously?" Taehyung sighed in annoyance.

"Mind your own business." Jennie answered with a scowl as she went back to watching, uncaring of Taehyung's irritated face.

Taehyung could only shake his head as he went back to his room.

This is one of the reasons why he has trust issues when it comes to girls in general.

He went back to bed, thinking to himself that it's high time to make his room fucking sound proof.

He then grabbed his airpods and immediately plugged it in both ears in the hopes of getting back to sleep with the help of some good music.

As he scrolled through his phone, it suddenly vibrated and a message popped up.

Free today? :)

Taehyung stared at the message and the unknown number that came with it for a long time.

He didn't even need to think twice to know the person behind the message nor ask where he had gotten his number.

He's more torn between replying or not.

As he thought of an excuse, another message came in.

11 at Bangtan Café. See you ^_^

Taehyung snickered, hurriedly typing a reply.

Don't pretend to ask when you're already decided in the first place. Tab's on you.

He pressed send before dropping his phone on the mattress. Just a few seconds and it vibrated once more.

Sure ♡

Taehyung sighed as he thought of Jungkook and his love for emojis, still the same as before.

This is the first time he had received a text from Jungkook after middle school, and Taehyung doesn't know what to feel about it.

He sighed, suddenly regretting saying Jungkook could still call him.

After all the years he stayed away from him, he couldn't believe just one moment would make it all useless.

He should have just ended the conversation the other night with a simple goodbye.

Why does he have to feel guilty and say he could still contact him?

This was all Jungkook's fault and his ability to make him feel guilty and just agree to anything he demands.

Taehyung sighed in frustration as he closed his eyes, convincing himself to go back to sleep and hopefully everything would turn out to be nothing but a dream.

As he counted the sheep in his head, he suddenly remembered to set his alarm for later.

And yet again it's all Jungkook's fault.

---------

"Tae!"

Taehyung turned his head to the direction of the voice and saw Jungkook leaning on a post, just outside the café where they supposed to meet.

He's wearing casual clothes, white t-shirt, pants and sneakers, but he looked like a model even with his sleeve tattoos on sight.

No wonder there were a few girls and boys around who couldn't keep their eyes to themselves.

"You waited here?" Taehyung asked with a knotted forehead as Jungkook approached him.

The blond just nodded before placing an arm over Taehyung's shoulders even before the other could protest.

"Why didn't you just wait inside?" Taehyung asked, letting himself be dragged inside the café where a few customers were enjoying their time.

"I thought you might suddenly change your mind and decide not to show up so.." Jungkook responded as he guided Taehyung to the table by the window.

The ravenette didn't respond as he took the seat opposite to Jungkook's.

"So, what's up? Why did you suddenly want to meet?" Taehyung asked which made Jungkook scratch the back of his head.

"Is there a need for a reason to invite a friend I've missed for so long?" Jungkook asked as he shakes his head.

Taehyung scoffed at the blond's response.

"Just because I said you could still call me doesn't mean you're obligated to do so." The ravenette responded as he picked the menu.

"We've been passing by each other for years like total strangers and now we're casually hanging out like nothing. It's weird, you know." He added, eyes stopping on the strawberry cake listed on the menu.

"Your fault." Jungkook whispered just enough for Taehyung to hear.

The ravenette lifted his gaze and saw Jungkook seriously staring at him.

He could see the warning sign flashing in front of him as Jungkook's mouth started to move, attempting to say something but Taehyung was quick to interrupt.

"Let's order. I'm starving." He quickly raised his hand to call the attention of the attendant who immediately went to their table to get their orders.

All the while, Taehyung could feel Jungkook staring at him, but he just brushed it off and pretended that he didn't notice.

As the two of them sat silently in front of each other and waited for their orders to be served, they would talk about random things from time to time like how long time friends would.

"Is it okay to go around with your tattoos showing like that? Other students might see them and tell our teachers." Taehyung asked, eyeing Jungkook's inked sleeve.

The blond just shrugged as he stared at the tattoos on his right arm.

"It's weekend and I'm out of school so it's fine." Jungkook answered.

Taehyung nodded his head as he continued to stare at the details of Jungkook's tattoo.

During middle school, he remembered the blond showed him his first tattoo, the crown on his index finger.

Jungkook would hide it with concealer during haircut and nails inspection just to get away with it.

Now, Taehyung couldn't count the number of tattoos Jungkook has.

"Does your family still own a tattoo shop?" Taehyung asked just in time for their food to arrive.

"Yeah. I'm helping out during my free time. You could visit sometime if you'd like." Jungkook responded.

His face suddenly showed excitement as he grabbed his phone, scrolled a few times before facing the screen to Taehyung's way.

"This is my first client's tattoo." Jungkook smiled, showing Taehyung his first ever body art.

A flower with a rather intricate detail.

"You have the talent. I'm impressed." Taehyung said, making Jungkook chuckle.

"That sounded so scripted, Tae." Jungkook grinned, hiding back his phone in his pocket.

The ravenette scoffed as he took a bite of his strawberry cake.

"How about you, Tae? How's everything with you and Jennie?" Jungkook asked, sipping on his drink.

At the mention of his sister's name, Taehyung halted for a moment, fork hanging on air.

He cleared his throat and slowly placed the fork down.

"Still the same." Taehyung briefly answered. He took his drink and sipped on it.

"Will this be okay?" He asked afterwards.

"Hm?" Jungkook looked at him with questioning eyes.

"If we're seen by other students, they might get the wrong idea." He said, looking around the café.

Jungkook stared at him for a long while, finally understanding what he's trying to say.

"Yeah... right." The blond uttered in barely a whisper.

"You're pretty popular, Jungkook. You wouldn't want to be rumored dating me." Taehyung said, finishing off his drink.

"I don't mind though." Jungkook retorted which made Taehyung arch his brow.

"Dating the prince of the school wouldn't be so bad of a rumor." He added with a playful smile that made Taehyung shake his head.

"Prince my ass." He scoffed, making Jungkook laugh heartily.

Taehyung found himself staring at Jungkook's smile while getting lost at his contagious laugh.

It took him back to the time when the two of them would laugh together.

They would get scolded together, but that didn't stop them from doing a lot of things.

Jungkook's smile is still the same.

A lot of things may have changed, but there are things that remained the same about him.

He's still easy going and fun to be with.

Good looking but not arrogant.

He could be this playful sometimes, but he could also be dangerously serious some other times.

This is the Jungkook from way back.

I wonder if I'm the only one who did change.

Taehyung thought to himself as he looked away. He stared at his plate, contemplating the thoughts in his head.

"Tae.."

"Hm?" He lifted his head at the call, stopping his mind from thinking unnecessary things.

"I've been meaning to ask you this.." Jungkook said, looking directly in Taehyung's eyes.

"Why did you suddenly avoid me?"

Taehyung knew this question was coming. He was able to dodge it earlier, but now it's been asked.

He had been thinking of an answer for this question before he arrived in the café, knowing Jungkook would ask this in one way or another, and yet he still wasn't able to think of the right words to say.

"I don't know if I did something wrong.. or said something I shouldn't have.." Jungkook trailed off, searching for answers on his face.

This made Taehyung anxious but played it cool as he wiped his mouth with the table napkin before looking at Jungkook.

"You didn't do nor say anything bad, Jungkook. I just got busy with a lot of things.." Taehyung looked away, knowing to himself that his answer was just way out of the line.

"Besides, we didn't get to be in the same section after middle school.. so I kind of thought we should try having other friends." He added, finishing his food.

"Hm.. That's why." Jungkook answered in a whisper.

Taehyung knew his excuse sounded like crap, but the hell with it.

"Let's not think of that too much." He uttered after a while.

"Uh.. are you done? Should we get going?" Taehyung asked to avoid any more questions.

"Yeah, sure." The blond smiled.

The two of them went out of the café, both with no destination in mind.

"Where are you going now?" Taehyung asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I'm thinking of going that way, to the arcade." Jungkook pointed to the right.

"Then I'm going that way." Taehyung immediately pointed to the left.

"I need to buy something in the bookstore." He quickly added, hoping to sound convincing.

Jungkook nodded his head and smiled.

"See you at school, then." Jungkook said to which Taehyung just smiled a little.

Even before Jungkook could go on his way, Taehyung called out once again.

"Jungkook.." Taehyung hesitated as soon as Jungkook turned to face him.

"What is it?" Jungkook asked.

The ravenette scratched his nape, trying to weigh the gravity of his words.

"Let's not do this again." He finally said which earned a surprised look from Jungkook.

"It's not that I didn't enjoy talking to you after a while...." Taehyung trailed off.

Why is it so hard to explain?

Taehyung sighed as he continued.

"It's just that.. I don't want to create misunderstandings between you and me. You know.. students at school were convinced that I'm into men.. though I'm really not." He stated as he looked at the blond and the obvious expression on his face.

"I understand." Jungkook responded with a sad smile.

"It's nice to finally have this chance to hang out with you again, Tae. Though it was short-lived." He added, making Taehyung feel guilty but brushed it aside.

He wanted to say something but decided not to and just let everything end with a goodbye.

"Be careful on your way." was all Taehyung could say as he turned around and walked away.

He took a couple of steps before looking back to the direction where the blond went.

Taehyung couldn't help but stare at Jungkook's back as the space between them widened with every step.

He had been repeatedly saying and believing that he had never been attracted to men.

Well, there might be a little lie in that.

Taehyung sighed, finally walking in the opposite direction of the blond.

He was once attracted...

He was.. but he won't tell Jungkook that.

-------

Love you 💜