That same day Taehyung was fixing a payment when the same hat-wearing man walked in. Jungkook was back.

"hello!"

Jungkook just gave him a nod and walked up to the counter placing his broken rose on the counter hoping the other would get the hint.

which he did. Taehyung chuckled. "Broke it? no worries we have more" he walked to the buckets and grabbed a new rose for the other before returning to the counter. Seeing they were alone in the store, Taehyung took this chance to ask the other the question.

"why don't you...talk? i hope i don't mean to be rude" he carefully asked. There fell a long silence before a new voice was heard.

"i.......cant '' Jungkook said softly. anxiety raising inside of him. fearing someone of his boss had heard him, even if he knew that no one was watching him, he always felt on guard. but he doesn't want to ignore the others or make Taehyung feel bad.

He doesn't want to ruin what they had right now, so his only option now was to reply.

"why? do you have a speaking problem? if so that's totally fine, you don't have to worry about anything i am not going to judge you for it" taehyung smiled trying to make the raven feel more comfortable talking.

Jungkook shook his head softly and grabbed the wired pen from the desk which was usually used to write small cards for the flowers. He quickly wrote down something on one of the free cards and grabbed his new rose leaving the store.

"oh..." taehyung didn't know why jungkook left so suddenly. He hoped it wasn't because he said something wrong, he doesn't want to offend the other. With a sigh he looked down at whatever Jungkook wrote and frowned. Jungkook left a note for him. all it said was, 'behind Cheryl's 11:15 pm'

-

That note was all Taehyung could think about all day. It kept floating in his head making him lose his focus. He was currently getting dressed after a warm shower. It was almost 11. Taehyung assumed Jungkook wanted to meet at that place so he had to dress up warm. Slipping into his sneakers he also grabbed a jacket and his phone before leaving his apartment. It was colder at night here but it wasn't freezing cold.

"Cheryl's where is that again..." taehyung mumbled as he headed to the city while typing the location on his phone. "ohh i remember" he chuckled and turned off the maps app putting his hands in his pockets. Luckily, it wasn't far from here. In just ten minutes he arrived at the cafe Jungkook wrote down. but the odd thing was, Jungkook said 'behind Cheryl's' not just here at the entrance...why the back? it was a little shady, taehyung wasn't sure if he dared to go into that dark alley. But he was cautious at the same time.

"phone...check" he checked his belongings and sipped up his jacket pockets before cautiously walking into the alley. It was a dead end with a dumpster. a few bags couldn't fit anymore. There was also a big paper pile. It was obviously trash from the cafe.

Taehyung was glad there was nothing back here but knowing he was alone here didn't make him feel much more comfortable. maybe he shouldn't have gone here, he could still leave?

Suddenly the sound o f footsteps caught his attention and he quickly turned around ready to make a run for it when he recognized the figure.

"Jeon?"

"Jungkook '' the other corrected. "my name.......is...jungkook" The raven took off his hood and looked around at least three times before stepping into the shadow of the faint lantern pole where taehyung was standing. "I-i dont have long"

"Your name is Jungkook, i like your name" taehyung smiled. "Why the odd location and why don't you talk? ah...i'm sorry, i didn't want to be rude but i have many questions, this feels so odd" taehyung said besides that he thought this was such a weird place to meet up he was also nervous because he was finally hearing the other's voice and it was like honey. It made his heart thump faster.

"its okay i....I just cant talk to you in daylight....i don't feel comfortable doing so. its not safe for us to talk"

"why not?"

"I-it's complicated. I can't explain it to you. "

"uh...okay i guess.. but why here? why did you ask to meet here at this time, i thought you were gonna gob me or something." he chuckled.

"It's one of the few places I know it will be safe to talk to you. Someone is always watching me, i can't have you involved"

"what are you talking about?"

"no no. Pretend I didn't say anything. i don't want trouble" jungkook took a step back panicking internally, he was saying too much. he shouldn't be talking. this was wrong.

"Calm down. relax, i will change the subject. Why do you always buy a rose from me? it it something special"

"my mother. i visit her grave" jungkook replied glad the subject changed.

"Oh I'm sorry, were you two close?"

"I don't remember, '' Jungkook replied softly, looking at the wall. "I only know her from my diary. but i lost it, i don't remember anything else"

"did something happen?" taehyung was genuinely a little worried. He could see that Jungkook's eyes looked lost but he did not know the reason. He felt sorry for the raven.

"I can't talk about it. all i can say is that she is dead."

"I'm really sorry for your loss, are you okay now?"

"How are you Taehyung? you've been telling me so many stories. you must have a great life" jungkook said, his eyes smiling. Taehyung could tell Jungkook was changing the subject but he didn't mention it and just replied.

"I am doing good, I'm just doing my job and having fun with my friends. nothing special to be honest. I just like to ramble about things to people, i love to make new friends"

"admirable" jungkook said softly to himself.

"You are not the most social person I think?"

"no"

"That's okay too,. not everyone has to be a social butterfly. Besides, I like your more introverted behaviour."

"you didn't think i am weird?'' Jungkook asked, a little surprised.

"not at all, i just assumed you had your reasons to not speak. I don't judge when I don't know the whole story. I am really happy you're talking to me now. "

"I am too. i've been wanting to speak to you for a long time, but i haven't found the chance to..." jungkook said and seemed to be spacing off. "if he sees this...no no no....i cant...he will hurt me"

"Jungkook?'' Taehyung asked, confused , seeing the other talk to himself like he wasn't mentally here anymore. "Hey, jungkook!"

"he will h-hurt me...no no" jungkook looked up when he felt a warm gentle hand on his shoulder. his eyes meeting those of taehyung. Just this simple eye contact made him relax again and regain his control. "I'm sorry you had to see that.... "

"It's okay, I don't mind, but are you okay? Is something wrong? I may be very talkative but I am a good listener too."

"I'm okay, I just need...some sleep" Jungkook lied. He wasn't okay, he was never okay. Yes he was alive and had food, water and a roof above his head. but mentally he wasn't good, all his strings were scattered around. but he manages to look normal. He doesn't want to scare off taehyung.

"Okay, do you want me to walk with yo-"

"NO!" jungkook said quickly. "don't.. he cant see us together. I have to go alone. please"

"o-okay" this was all very confusing to taehyung. He wasn't sure what was going on with jungkook but to him it sounded like he had a stalker problem. "if you ever need my help just stop by at the store, i would really like to get to know you more too"

"really? you aren't scared of me? or think I'm weird?"

"I already said I wasn't, yes you are a little odd but I think it's interesting. You've been visiting the store so many times I began to like you. so please don't feel afraid to talk to me again, i would love to" taehyung smiled.

"thank you, it....really means a lot to me. '' Jungkook smiled a real smile, he was afraid of the worst but it seems he didn't scare off the other and was actually making progress. talking to him did him good, he was glad he made the decision to ask the boy to meet him here.

jungkook felt happy.

---

thank you for reading, see you in the next update!

🌼🌼🌼