Jungkook headed to the company early in the morning, as usual, with his earphones on. A bubble of anxiety gnarled his belly in the thought of seeing Taehyung again after what he had said, and no matter what he would do, he knew things would be awkward as hell with him.

An unexpected tap on his shoulder had him flinching, and he twisted around to inspect.

“Hey.” Taehyung stood there, grinning at him.

“Oh, um, good morning,” he muttered and continued his way with Taehyung joining him. “It’s the first time I see you go to the company so early. Why’s that?”

“Yeah, I don’t know why either,” Taehyung chuckled. “Why are you going so early, by the way?”

“I guess I like taking my time. I want to be prepared.”

“Oh, so you like taking your time.”

“Yeah?”

“Good to know.”

“Why?”

“No reason.”

“You’re acting weird again.”

“I’m a weird guy. You should know that by now.”

“I think I do.” Jungkook snorted as he peeped at him.

“You know what I don’t know, Kook?” He suddenly flashed up in front of him, causing to halt.

“Um, what?”

“When you’re wasted, are you saying truths or lies?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“No reason.” His shoulders lifted in a shrug. Silence took over them as Taehyung waited for an answer, his gaze boring into him, and the younger restlessly fiddled with his hands. “So, which one is it?”

“I say a lot of stupid things,” Jungkook tittered and stepped aside, but Taehyung blocked his way again.

“These stupid things are truths or lies?”

Jungkook dragged his eyes to him, a grim expression sprawling over his features. “Lies.”

Taehyung maintained eye contact. “Okay then.” His lips stretched into a slight smile, and he pivoted on his heel.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I was just curious. Let’s go.”

Jungkook resumed walking as well, still confused about what had just happened. They didn’t exchange a single word on their way, and even when they arrived, they entered the classroom like two strangers and parted ways.

“You guys came together?” Seokjin asked as he glanced between Jungkook and Taehyung, who sat next to Youngjae.

“He ran into me. No big deal.” Jungkook shrugged.

Eunhyuk trod into the room a while later with his typical apathetic expression. “Good morning, everyone.” He called their names and started the class right away.

 
Just ten minutes into the class, Eunhyuk stopped explaining the choreography and fixed a frosty glare on Jungkook. “Is that what I showed, Jungkook? First you go down, then up, and turn. Is it that hard for you?”

“No, sir.”

“Do it right then.”

Jungkook tried the move again, but he stumbled at the end of his turn.

“It’s just a turn! You can’t even make a turn and keep your balance?”

Jungkook let his head drop, unable to say anything.

And that was how the class continued.

“You’re not doing it right, Jungkook.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Jungkook, put some energy into it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re not even trying, Jungkook!”

The younger clenched his hand into fists and raised his head. “I am.”

Eunhyuk’s eyes jumped to him at the low growl of his voice. “What did you say?”

“I said I am!” Jungkook thundered as his face wrung into a scowl.

“We’re not here to have a conversation. I give you feedback and you say yes sir. That’s your place.”

“I won’t say that to something I don’t agree with. I don’t agree with you when you tell me I’m not trying because I am trying so hard to please you, and I don’t even know what you want from me!”

The muscles along Eunhyuk’s jaw tightened, his eyes burning with fury. “I want you to get out of this class. Now!” His roaring voice caused some of the trainees to jolt in their place.

Jungkook’s vision blurred with tears of pure rage. He stamped his way to his bag, snatched it, and continued walking in a blaze of uncontrolled frustration towards the exit. He slammed the door closed, not caring about anything at that moment, and disappeared.

“You saw that? He’s weak. He won’t last even two months in here.” Eunhyuk shook his head. “Let’s continue.”

Jungkook’s steps were quick and jerky by the flame of raging injustice that crackled in his gut. “He’s such an asshole. I fucking hate him,” he gritted out. Who does he even think he is? I hate him so much.

“Jungkook?”

He stuttered to a stop at the call of his name and bowed to Jihoon.

“Why aren’t you in class?”

“Mr. Lee threw me out.”

“Wow, calm down. Did you talk back to him?”

“I just answered him.”

“For him, that’s the same thing,” Jihoon chuckled. “Listen, whatever he says, true or false, just say yes. I know he’s harsh, but that’s how it is in here. Whatever we say, you have to listen and not talk back. There are so many people waiting to take someone’s place in here. Don’t forget that. And it’s your choice to be here. Don’t forget that either.” Jihoon’s vision narrowed on him as he detected the uncertainty that meandered over his traits. “What is it?”

Jungkook glanced at him, then dropped his head. “It’s nothing.”

“Jungkook. You can tell me.”

Jungkook hesitated. A sigh pushed out of his mouth as he kept his chin close to his chest. “He said I’m not trying. And I think it’s unfair. I have a chronic injury in my leg. It’s peroneal tendonitis. It hurts every time I dance. Sometimes when I walk even. I’ve tried a lot of things and nothing worked.”

Jihoon’s eyes widened for a split second, and he turned his head away from him. He cleared his throat in his attempt to dispel his surprise. “Jungkook, um, as your teachers, we have to know about something like that. We have to know your injuries to help you and not push you when we shouldn’t.”

Jungkook picked up on his weird behavior, but didn’t comment on it. “I’m not saying this now because I want special treatment from you or Mr. Lee. I’m saying this because it’s unfair for Mr. Lee to talk to me like that. I am trying. More than he thinks.”

“You should talk to him. He has to know.” He gave him a tap on his shoulder and shuffled off.

I’m sure he’ll believe I’m using it as an excuse, Jungkook thought as he sauntered towards the changing room. He’ll only make me feel worse.

He had that injury for over two years now, and some days felt like pure torture by the amount of pain. Only Jimin and Seokjin knew about his injury, and he was kind of forced to tell them because they caught him crying one day. He didn’t like to talk about it at all.

He splashed a few handfuls of ice-cold water on his face and leaned against the sink. With a sigh, he wiped his face and changed his clothes. He went back to the classroom and stood outside, watching the class through the window.

Eunhyuk became aware of his presence a while later, and the corner of his lips twitched with a glimmer of delicacy.

At the end of the class, Eunhyuk signed him to come in, and he did.

“Another hoop for me to jump through?” Jungkook said, smiling sweetly.

“If you don’t want to be here you can leave, you know,” Eunhyuk shot back, unaffected by his taunting.

Jungkook’s mask of confidence fell off his face right away. “I’m not giving up. And I’m sorry for talking like that.”

“Good. Because I have a lot of hoops for you to jump through.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I think you’re weak. And this company doesn’t have a place for the weak.” Eunhyuk finished arranging his stuff and swept the younger with a cool glance. He recognized the hesitation hanging over his features like a curtain and let his eyes rest on him. “What’s wrong?”

Jungkook kept eye contact for a few more seconds, then dragged his head down. “Never mind,” he whispered.

“If you get hurt by me calling you weak, you don’t have a place here.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what it is?”

Jungkook’s eyes passed from his face. He pressed his lips into a thin line and slouched off. He won’t get it, anyway.

Eunhyuk’s chest fluttered with the deep sigh that escaped him. He shrugged it off and headed to the teacher’s lounge.

Jihoon smiled at the sight of him, but he frowned just as fast when he individuated the exhaustion on his expression. “What happened?”

“The kids are giving me a hard time.”

“You give them a harder time and you know it,” Jihoon snickered as they sat on the couch. “Why did you throw Jungkook out of the class?”

“How do you know that?”

“I ran into him earlier. He seemed pissed off.”

“He doesn’t have the right.”

“He’s a person. He has the right to feel whatever he wants.”

“He’s weak. I don’t like weak.”

Jihoon tsked. “Did he... talk to you, by the way?”

“About?”

“Oh, so that’s a no...”

“Jihoon-ah. What is it?” He straightened his back, staring at him fixedly.

“It’s just that... He has peroneal tendonitis.”

Eunhyuk’s gaze swung down, and he slowly reclined in his seat. His chest felt so heavy, as if an unbearable weight settled over it, almost obstructing his breathing.

“Eunhyuk-ah...” He set a delicate hand on his shoulder. “You know you can help him.”

Eunhyuk shook his head. “Don’t.”

“But you have the same—”

“Jihoon-ah!” he said loud enough to attract the other teachers’ attention. He removed his hand from his shoulder, piercing eyes trained on him. “Just don’t.”

“Okay, okay,” Jihoon sighed. “Let’s go to our class.”

. . .

After their second class with Eunhyuk and Jihoon, the boys went to the cafeteria, eager to enjoy their break.

“Jungkook, are you okay?” Hoseok asked. “Eunhyuk was such a jerk again.”

“I’m fine. I got used to it by now.”

“I’m sorry that no one stood up for you. He’s a little scary,” Seokjin said.

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t want that, anyway. Let’s forget about it and eat.”

Jimin leaned closer to Jungkook. “Is your leg okay? I saw you were a little unsteady today,” he whispered so the others wouldn’t hear him.

“It’s fine.”

“I know you’re lying.”

“Good.” The younger gave him a faint smile and resumed eating.

“Where’s Taehyung again?” Hoseok asked.

“Somewhere with Youngjae probably,” said Yoongi.

“No, he’s not. Youngjae is over there.” Namjoon pointed with his head in his direction.

“Then where is Taehyung?” Jimin questioned. The boys exchanged some looks, but no one seemed to have an answer.

“He probably needs some time alone.” Jungkook shrugged, and they continued eating and chatting about other things.

As time went by, Taehyung still didn’t show up, and Jungkook couldn’t help it anymore. He came up with an excuse and went to the rooftop, but he wasn’t there either. Where are you? He sighed as he sank down on the bench.

After their second class, Taehyung went to change his clothes and stood outside the changing room for a while, contemplating about what to do. He had an urge he couldn’t tame in the slightest, and so he charged towards the teacher’s lounge.

After getting permission to enter, he slid the door open and found only Eunhyuk sitting on the couch.

“What is it?” Eunhyuk asked without taking his eyes off his laptop.

Taehyung stood in front of him. “Kicking Jungkook out today was unfair,” he stated with ample confidence, but Eunhyuk’s snort made him frown.

“Did he really send his friend to stand up for him?”

“No one sent me. You don’t have the right to treat us like we’re nothing.”

“I can do whatever I want because I’m your teacher. And you have to respect me.”

“You don’t have my respect.”

Eunhyuk’s steely eyes ascended to him. “You can leave now.”

“And you can’t do whatever you want. We expect to learn from you, not be tortured by you!”

“Do you want to be kicked out of the company? If not, stop talking now, turn around, and leave.”

“This is not okay.”

“Taehyung! You’re crossing the line here. Stop before you regret it.”

“Of course, I’m the one crossing the line,” Taehyung murmured in exasperation as he stormed off. He really is the devil. He went to the classroom and spent the rest of the break there alone.

It was a little while later when trainees started filling the room, and Yoongi rushed to him the moment he saw him. “Where were you during the break?”

“I wanted to be alone.”

“Hello again,” Eunhyuk said upon entering. He placed his laptop on the desk and checked if everyone was there.

“Taehyung,” the teacher called. “Since you like to talk so much, tell me what’s one of the most important things in dance.”

Taehyung was caught off guard by the inquiry, but he didn’t let it project on his face. “The center of gravity.”

Eunhyuk shot him a glare as he didn’t expect he would answer correctly. “Good.”

The one-hour class came to an end, and Yoongi held onto Taehyung’s forearm to prevent him from leaving. “What did Eunhyuk mean when he said you like to talk so much? You never talk in classes.”

“Okay, don’t tell anyone.” He drew closer and whispered, “I went to talk to Eunhyuk earlier.”

“You talked to Eunhyuk? Why?” Youngjae asked, since he was able to hear him as well.

“Youngjae, I’m talking to my hyung.”

“But I want to know too,” Youngjae pouted.

“You don’t have to.”

Youngjae dropped his head in defeat and trudged away.

“Why are you such a jerk to him?” Yoongi chuckled, as he couldn’t believe his behavior. “Yah, Taehyung!” he called the moment he saw him take off, but Taehyung didn’t even glance back at him.

. . .

Jungkook went to the yard after changing his clothes. He observed the other trainees who chatted, practiced Eunhyuk’s choreography even in their break, and others who were lying on the grass.

“Hey, Kook,” Jaebum said sweetly, pulling him out of his thoughts. “How are you?”

“Tired, but fine. You?”

“Fine. I’m a little bored today. I just want to go home.”

“Well, we still have two classes, so hang in there.” Jungkook offered him a smile.

“You know what will help me hang in there?”

“What?”

“If you agree to go out with me sometime.”

Jungkook chuckled. “Of course, Jaebum-ah. We can go out.”

“Really?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Because you didn’t want to go out the last time I asked you so...”

“I’m sorry about that. It wasn’t you. I was just in a bad mood. Maybe I still am, but I want to get to know you more. How about Friday?”

“Works for me.” Jaebum grinned.

“Great.” Jungkook smiled back at him. “I have to go practice my choreo. We’ll talk later.” He patted his shoulder in a goodbye and hurried to the classroom, wanting to be throughout ready for his next class.

⚜✳⚜