A flutter of excitement rushed high and low within Jungkook at the thought of seeing Taehyung as he got ready to go to the company. Although they spent the whole weekend together mostly, he already missed him.

Jungkook stood outside of his apartment, rubbing his hands together to warm them up, as he kept glancing down the road in search of Taehyung. But even ten minutes later, he didn’t show up.

We only have thirty minutes before our first class. Where is he? With this thought, he called him, and his confusion only upsurged when he received no answer. Unable to tame his unease, he dropped by his apartment and knocked on the door.

His shoulders drooped in overpowering disappointment as the door remained closed, no matter how many times he knocked. He took a taxi to go to the company since he knew he would be late if he walked there.

Jungkook changed his clothes as usual and headed to the classroom. He inspected the room, and his gloomy eyes enlarged at the sight of Taehyung sitting with Youngjae, chatting and smiling.

A frost of sorrow covered every part of him, clenching his heart and punching his stomach. His vision blurred and his legs were a second away from giving out at the hurtful image.

“Hey, Kook!” Seokjin called from afar as he waved at him. “Come here.”

Jungkook dipped his head and approached his friends with dragging steps. He sank down next to them and swallowed around the constriction at the back of his throat. “Why is Taehyung with Youngjae?”

“We don’t know either. They came together in class,” Namjoon said.

The new information only added to the mixture of torturous feelings Jungkook experienced. He exerted himself to contain his tears. “Are they back together?”

“No,” Jimin tittered. “No way, right?”

“Good morning,” Eunhyuk said as he stepped into the classroom. He called their names and soon their class began.

The choreography was more challenging than usual, and Eunhyuk didn’t miss a chance to criticize most of them in every move they made.

Eunhyuk turned the music off while Jungkook’s group was dancing, causing everyone to stop. His gaze wandered over them with a notion of rage and disapproval. “Jungkook, what are you doing? Is this really the best you can do? You’re not focused, and you’re not even trying to be. I showed the choreo five times. Quite generous, don’t you think? And still, you make mistakes. And still, you’re offbeat. If this is really the best you can do, I can’t teach you anything.”

A stifling hush bored down on them as all the trainees dropped their heads and Jungkook’s eyes filled with a burning dampness.

“Do it again. All of you,” Eunhyuk ordered and waited barely a second before pressing the play button.

Jungkook made some mistakes again, but he was on beat this time. Eunhyuk didn’t say a word to them once they finished — the next group got into position silently and music started playing again.

Jungkook, hiding behind the cluster of people, he turned to face the wall and broke down. He buried his face in his hands and sobbed as quietly as possible, thankful for the loud music. His shoulders shook, and he had the perception someone caressed them, but he was too deep in his agony to pay attention.

Knowing the group would finish soon, Jungkook took a series of breath, wiping his face on repeat. He plastered a harsh facade over his traits and gulped down a few sips of water.

“One more time from the start. All the groups,” Eunhyuk said, and the first group took their places.

“Kook, are you okay?” Jimin whispered, and he rubbed his back in soothing circles as he noticed him shake his head.

Jungkook glanced sideways and caught Taehyung staring at him. He ignored him and wrapped his arm around Jimin’s waist, thankful for his comforting caresses.

“Next group.”

At his next attempt, Jungkook did better than any other time, despite his wish to disappear from there. They received no feedback again when they finished, and the next group started dancing.

After a short break, they continued learning the choreo, and everyone seemed to struggle to keep up. Especially Jungkook. He stumbled on some steps that required complete control and balance, as his leg couldn’t support him.

As he swirled on his left leg, he felt a shooting pain rocket through it, and he crumbled to the floor. The boys around him froze, with a little gasp spilling from their mouths.

Eunhyuk perceived the commotion and drew closer, staring at Jungkook, who had a frown of pure pain carved on his face. “Jungkook, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He massaged his leg, then attempted to stand up.

“Guys, continue practicing the choreo. Go sit on that chair.”

“No, I’m really—”

“Just go,” Eunhyuk cut him off sternly. He trod to his bag and rummaged through it before pulling out an ointment. He headed to the chair Jungkook was now sitting and passed it over. “Use this and massage it for a few minutes. Then do some stretching and continue with us.”

Jungkook’s wet, doe eyes looked up at him with a glimmer of surprise. Eunhyuk caring for him after being so cruel was the last thing he expected. “Thank you...” He reached out tentatively and took the ointment.

The class continued as Jungkook massaged his sore leg, and a fraction of his pain eased after a while.

He soon joined them, and although Eunhyuk was still harsh to everyone, he said nothing to him, even when he made a few minutes and Jungkook knew he had noticed them.

  
It was thirty minutes later when the class finally finished. As people started leaving the room, Jungkook pattered towards Eunhyuk and extended his arm towards, waiting to take the ointment. “Thank you for this.”

Eunhyuk threw him a glance, then placed the ointment into his bag. He collected the rest of his things, but halted as he perceived Jungkook was about to leave. “Jungkook.”

The said boy positioned his view on him again. “Yes?”

“Have you tried PRP?”

“What’s that?”

“The full name is Platelet-rich plasma. They take your blood and put it through two stages of centrifugation designed to separate PRP from platelet-poor plasma and red blood cells. Then, they inject it to your injury. It’s a little expensive, but it'll help you. You should look into it.”

Jungkook held onto his silence, staring at him. “Did it help you?”

“A little yes. I had two injections. There’s still pain, but it’s bearable now. You have to accept that you’ll always be in pain. But this is a way to decrease that pain.”

A hopeful smile sprawled over Jungkook’s face as he watched Eunhyuk trudge away. It was like a breath of fresh air, the fact that there was something he could do to decrease his pain. He fished his phone from his backpack, wanting to look into the treatment Eunhyuk suggested, but he gasped as he realized he only had five minutes left before his next class.

He scurried to the changing room, freshened up, and returned to the classroom. He spotted Taehyung and Youngjae sitting together again. He frowned as he observed the way Youngjae pulled him against him and whispered something in his ear.

He detected Taehyung swung his gaze up, and it landed right on him. I can’t believe this, Jungkook thought. They’re really back together. After everything he told me...

“Hello, guys,”

Jihoon’s voice shook Jungkook out of his wrenching reverie, and he resumed his way towards the back of the room.

“In this class with me and Eunhyuk, we’ll do some improvisation in pairs. As I know, you already have a pair from Eunhyuk’s class, right?”

As a few trainees answered yes, Jungkook’s eyes flooded with anxiety. He couldn’t work with Taehyung. Not after how he played him. Not after how he treated him like a complete stranger the whole day.

“Great then, let’s get started!”

Jungkook dropped his head as he noticed Taehyung approach him. They stood in awkward silence, and with a sudden urge to verify how much of an asshole Taehyung was, he fixed him with an indifferent stare, obscuring his bitterness. “So, you’re back together with Youngjae.”

“Yes.”

“Are you for real?”

“It’s complicated,” Taehyung uttered, but winced at the bitter snicker that spewed from Jungkook’s mouth. “Look, what I said to you yesterday—”

“Were all lies, right?”

“No,” Taehyung rushed to say. “I really feel like shit, and I really want to talk to you about everything, but—”

“Don’t bother,” Jungkook said dismissively. “Like always, you do whatever you want just because you feel like it. You don’t even think about the others around you. Fucking selfish.” Jungkook stepped forward and raised his hand. “I’m sorry, can I change?”

“Is there a problem?” Eunhyuk asked.

“I don’t think I can work with Taehyung well. And I want to be focused.”

Eunhyuk gave his request a thought. “Okay. Jimin, go with Jungkook, and Sejun go with Taehyung.”

Jihoon set his eyes, which glinted with surprise, on Eunhyuk. “What happened to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve never done this before as long as I know you, and it has been a long time now since we started working together.”

“He wants to be concentrated and apparently Taehyung distracts him. The right thing to do is change them, right?”

“The last time something like this happened, you almost threw that poor boy who asked to change his partner out of the class. Excuse me if I’m quite surprised.”

Eunhyuk tsked at his bitting sarcasm and ignored him. “Let’s begin.”

During class, Taehyung stole glimpses of Jungkook in every chance he got, while the latter acted as if he didn’t exist. Taehyung chose Youngjae again. And he couldn’t understand why. Why he told him all these things only to get back together with him. He couldn’t understand anything.

He couldn’t drive that feeling of betrayal from his gut. Only yesterday was when Taehyung said he had feelings for him. Only yesterday was when Taehyung said he wouldn’t leave him alone again. And now he was with Youngjae again. How did this even happen?

He wanted Taehyung to explain his actions. But he was afraid of what he would hear. He was so terrified that Taehyung would make up some lame excuse and end their friendship or whatever this was. As Jungkook could see, though, this friendship or whatever had already ended.

. . .

Seated at the cafeteria after their second class, the six friends ate their food with silence reigning over them, mostly.

“So, Taehyung really got back together with Youngjae, huh?” Yoongi asked as he spectated the two boys who were eating together.

“Apparently,” Jimin sighed. “He doesn’t love him. Why is he doing this?”

They exchanged some looks with each other, but no one seemed to have an answer.

“Ah, Jungkook, why did you ask to change partners?” Seokjin asked.

“He just pissed me off.”

“Because he got back together with Youngjae?” Hoseok asked.

“No. Just because he’s an asshole.” A wavelet of relief flowed through Jungkook as no one questioned him further about him.

 
They soon finished eating and stayed in the cafeteria, chatting about different things. Jungkook felt a tap on his back and turned around with a jolt. Upon finding Taehyung standing behind him, he positioned his view ahead again as his face blanked.

“Can we talk?” Taehyung asked in a murmur.

“No.”

“Jungkook. Please.”

“Can you leave? Or just stop talking to me?”

“Jungkook, you’re being mean,” Seokjin said.

“If you knew what he did, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

“What did he do?” Jimin asked.

“Really, Jungkook, what did I do that was so awful and you don’t even want to talk to me?”

Jungkook twisted his head so fast he almost pulled a muscle, and he nailed him with the fierceness of his eyes. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

“Can someone explain what the hell is going on?” Namjoon asked, frustrated, as he looked back and forth between the two boys.

Jungkook exploded out of his seat without another word and stormed off in a blaze of fury.

Taehyung leaped right behind him, but Seokjin’s voice immobilized him.

“Taehyung. I don’t know what you did, but Jungkook doesn’t want you with him right now. And honestly, neither do I.”

Defeat descended over Taehyung’s shoulders like a weight, making them droop. He slouched towards an empty table and sat down alone instead.

 
Jungkook’s raging steps didn’t slow down until he arrived outside. How can he even ask what he did? He doesn’t know what the fuck he did? I hate him so much. Jungkook dropped his body flat on the bench, draping an arm over his face. He played me. He lied to me. And I have no idea why.

“Hey, Kook,” Jaebum called as he stood next to him.

Jungkook pushed himself to a sitting position. “Hi.”

“Everything okay?”

“Not really. But I don’t want to talk about it.”

Jaebum respected his wish and only gave him a fortifying squeeze on his shoulder before sitting next to him. “You know, with everything that happened yesterday, I keep thinking about what you said the day we were at EXO’s house in the garden.”

“What happened yesterday?”

“Oh, Taehyung didn’t tell you guys?”

“No.”

“Well, Youngjae was having a hard time since they broke up. He was a wreck. He wasn’t eating properly. He was just drinking every day alone. He didn’t want to go out. He didn’t want to do anything. And yesterday he drank a lot more than he should have. He was crying out Taehyung’s name, and it was heartbreaking to see that. So we called him and told him to come over. He didn’t want to at first, but we explained the situation, and he was really worried about Youngjae. He came, and he was able to calm him down. He even stayed the night.”

Jungkook’s eyes rushed to him at his last remark. “And... And what happened?”

“As Youngjae told me in the morning, he begged him for another chance. A last chance. And Taehyung said yes. So they got back together. And that’s when I remembered what you said that night.”

“What did I say?”

“You said ‘that’s not love’. Do you remember?”

“He doesn’t want to break up. He loves him, so he’s trying hard. More than he has to. But we can’t do anything about it, right? Love is love. Who can beat that?”

“That’s not love.”

This flashback emerged through the hurtful chaos in his head. “Yes, I remember.”

“I didn’t know why you said that then, but I think I kind of get it now. Youngjae doesn’t love him. He’s obsessed with him. And it breaks my heart that I didn’t see this earlier. No matter how much Taehyung hurts him, he’ll always ask for him. And I don’t know what to do to help him.”

“I don’t know if Taehyung loved him at some point, but he doesn’t anymore. I think that’s why he’s so obsessed with him. But you can’t help him, Jaebum-ah. He has to realize this on his own. Whatever you say right now will be useless to him. He doesn’t want to listen and you can’t change that.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

Jungkook sighed at the desperation he espied in his sad eyes. “Only the person he thinks he loves so much can make him see clearly. And getting back together with him wasn’t something that will help him realize the situation.”

“Then what choice did Taehyung have? He was a complete wreck, Jungkook. You have no idea.”

“I do. Because I was a complete wreck when I caught my ex fucking someone else. It was so bad. I couldn’t even get up in the morning. I couldn’t talk to anyone. I couldn’t leave my apartment. But my friends didn’t call him because they knew that would be a ridiculous mistake. It was so bad I was like a ghost for almost a month. And then I had to go out because I had dance and vocal classes. It didn’t stop hurting. But I learned to live with it until I wasn’t thinking about it so much. And now I feel like an idiot for wasting so much time crying over him. So yes, I know how it is.” Jungkook rose to his feet, his body feeling incredibly heavy, as if chains were wrapped around it and dragged it down.

“Calling Taehyung was a mistake, I know,” Jaebum admitted, causing the other stop in his tracks. “But we really didn’t know what to do.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. Why did you tell me all this?”

“Because I was surprised that you figured out so quickly that Youngjae doesn’t actually love him.”

“Taehyung hurts him and Youngjae goes back to him in every chance he gets. That’s not love. It’s an obsession. It’s not so hard to figure it out. Love has its limits.” Jungkook slouched away, with his conflicting emotions blustering inside him so fiercely they deranged him.

⚜✳⚜