Jungkook woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He groaned as he blindly reached for his phone to put it on snooze and lay down again. But then his eyes popped open. He was in Taehyung’s room. He slept in Taehyung’s bed.

“Oh shit,” he murmured as he rushed to get out of bed. He tiptoed to the door and peeked to see if Taehyung was still sleeping. He sighed in relief when he saw he was, and pattered towards the bathroom to freshen up. Once he was done, he went back to Taehyung’s room and collected his things hurriedly.

He slithered through the door with slow steps, careful not to wake the other, and headed to the exit with his backpack in his hands. A soft hum from behind him stilled him, then he resumed his way.

“Jungkook? What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Jungkook attempted to hide his backpack behind him as he presented a brittle smile to him.

Taehyung sat up on the couch and narrowed his eyes on him. “Were you really going to leave without saying anything?”

“Look, I’ll be late. I have to take some things from my apartment.”

“Why are you being so weird so early in the morning?”

“Sorry, I have to go.” Jungkook yanked the door open and vanished before the other could say anything.

What was that? Taehyung thought as he checked what time it was. Is he crazy? It’s only seven thirty. He shook his thoughts away and got ready for the company.

Before leaving his apartment, he spotted Jungkook’s earphones on the living room table, and he took them with him. He trod towards Jungkook’s apartment and waited for him to come out.

I hope he didn’t leave already, he thought, and at that moment, Jungkook walked out of his apartment. As their eyes met, Jungkook froze up and a flutter of awkwardness gnarled his stomach.

Taehyung inspected his still bizarre behavior. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” Jungkook gave him a little smile and glanced away.

Taehyung hummed in response as they started walking towards the company. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, sure, it was nice. It was a good sleep.” Jungkook tittered, but his smile disappeared rather fast.

The older sighed as he grabbed his hand gently, making him stop. He placed both of his hands on Jungkook’s shoulders and stared at him. “Jungkook. Why are you freaking out?”

“I’m not.”

“Jungkook.”

Wordlessly, Jungkook took hold of his hands and pushed them down. He slouched off with his head lowered and his heart feeling heavy.

“Jungkook,” he called his name with a sharp element that highlighted his frustration.

“You said things!” Jungkook snapped as he spun around. “And I said things.”

“Okay. Did I make a move on you or something? I drank a lot of soju. Maybe I don’t remember correctly.”

A muted chuckle seeped through Jungkook’s mouth. “No, you didn’t do anything.”

“So?”

“I don’t know. It feels awkward.”

“Wait, with me? Why?” Taehyung edged closer as the other remained silent. “What should I do to make you feel less awkward? Should I yell at you? Should I call you names? Should I go kiss someone else?”

Jungkook darted a glance at him. “Definitely don’t do that.”

“Definitely?”

“You know, for Youngjae, I mean, you’re still together, supposedly.”

“Yeah, right.” The tips of hips lips slanted upwards in a smirk.

Jungkook detected his small smile and frowned. “What?”

“Nothing.” The said smile stretched into a grin as he chortled.

“Whatever,” Jungkook hissed and plodded away with Taehyung following him.

 
Soon, they arrived at the company, changed their clothes, and entered the classroom. Seokjin and Namjoon, who were already there, gaped at the two as they approached them.

“Hey,” Taehyung said.

Seokjin and Namjoon exchanged a look. “Did you come together?” Seokjin asked.

“Yeah, last night, actually, Kook stayed—”

“Yeah, we talked yesterday eventually, and he explained everything. Everything is great,” Jungkook cut in.

“Wow, maybe they do have a special bond or something,” Namjoon chuckled. “I didn’t expect Taehyung to open up this fast.”

“What?” Taehyung asked.

“Don’t listen to him,” Jungkook said.

“But what did he mean—”

“Oh look, it’s Yoongi and Jimin.” Jungkook waved at them as they entered the classroom.

“What’s wrong with him?” Seokjin whispered to Taehyung.

“I have literally no idea.”

“Oh, Taehyung, you’re here,” Jimin said.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you were such a coward yesterday that you left in the middle of our classes. Excuse me if I find it surprising that you’re here today.”

Unamused at his sarcasm, Taehyung settled for a hard look.

“Kook, how are you? How is your leg?” Jimin asked, but the realization that he shouldn’t have done that made him nibble his bottom lip and hang his head.

“Your leg? What does he mean?” Taehyung looked back and forth between the two boys.

“Nothing,” Jimin tittered.

“Jungkook?” Taehyung anchored his eyes on him.

“Not now,” the younger sighed in defeat.

Eunhyuk walked in and said his bland good morning before calling their names. “Taehyung. You weren’t in your two vocal classes yesterday.”

“Yes.”

“How about you tell me why?”

“No, not to you.”

“Well, come to the teacher’s lounge after class. You know, since you like to talk so much,” Eunhyuk sneered. “Let’s continue the improvisation with the pairs from yesterday.”

Taehyung and Jungkook started working together, but the younger was still awkward around him. And the other noticed. He tried to lighten up the mood with some silly jokes when he got the chance, but still, he could tell Jungkook was uncomfortable.

When they took a short break to drink some water, Taehyung found the opportunity to talk to him. “Jungkook, I thought we were cool. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Can you stop doing that? I can see something is wrong. I’m not stupid.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Well, you sure act like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I can’t see you’re awkward around me.”

“You know, it was better when we didn’t talk so much.”

A blankness spread across Taehyung’s face as he stared at him in disbelief. “Okay.”

They continued working together in silence, only exchanging some words when necessary. And surprisingly, Eunhyuk didn’t say a word to Jungkook.

“You can leave,” Eunhyuk said once the class was finished. “Taehyung?” He signed to follow him, and Taehyung did with a sigh.

Jihoon’s brows squeezed together as he watched them enter the teacher’s lounge. “What happened?”

“Beats me.” Taehyung shrugged as he sat on the couch.

“Taehyung.” Eunhyuk took his sit on his chair. “Where were you yesterday?”

“I don’t understand why I have to explain myself to you. We had a class with Kyuhyun.”

“Because this is how things work. Understood?”

“I wasn’t feeling well, so I left, okay?”

“If you don’t feel good and you want to leave, you are obligated to inform your teachers. You should know that.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“And the next time you’ll talk to me like that, you’ll take three days off, unlike your friend who only took one.”

With clenched fists, Taehyung stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

Jihoon released a deep sigh. “You’re too harsh on them.”

“I can’t stand these kids talking to me as they please.”

“Oh, come on. Did you forget how you were talking to your teachers?”

“Not the same.”

. . .

In their second class, they continued to show their choreographies from yesterday. Jungkook and Taehyung didn’t talk to each other at all, although the younger was glancing at him nonstop.

When they finished, the seven boys sat together at the cafeteria, and to say it wasn’t awkward would be a tremendous lie. They just ate in silence, only sharing some looks with each other.

“This is fun,” Jimin said, his voice dripping with derision.

“I don’t understand what’s going on.” Hoseok frowned.

“Why are we sitting in silence?” Seokjin asked.

“It’s nice to have some peace and quiet from time to time,” Yoongi said, making some of them roll their eyes.

Taehyung finished his food soon enough and rose to his feet.

“Where are you going?” Jimin asked.

“Away from all of you,” he said and strolled off. He suddenly whirled around and approached them again as he took Jungkook’s earphones out of his pocket. He threw them on the table, and everyone flinched as they stared at the item.

“Why do you have Jungkook’s earphones?” Seokjin asked.

“He left them—”

“I left them in the changing room and he found them, right?” Jungkook cut him off.

“What? You never forget your earphones,” Jimin chuckled.

“Yeah, probably he forgot them because he wanted to get the hell out of my apartment for some reason I don’t know either.”

“What? Jungkook! You slept with him?” Seokjin asked with a shocked expression.

“No!” Jungkook exclaimed. “Are you crazy?”

With a smirk tugging at his lips, Taehyung leaned closer to the younger. “Did you see that? That’s the first thing even your friends think about you.”

“Screw you, Taehyung,” Jungkook growled as he shoved him away. His fury only amplified at the taunting lift of Taehyung’s brows, and he pursed his lips as he watched him leave.

“What is going on?” Seokjin asked, frustrated, and Jungkook couldn’t help but sigh.

 
Taehyung went to find Youngjae since he knew he had to talk to him. He headed outside to the yard and spotted him sitting on a bench with the other Got7 members. “Youngjae.”

“After everything you did, you have the audacity to want to talk to him?” Jaebum charged at him, but Youngjae clawed at his arm, immobilizing him.

Youngjae gave a knowing look to Jaebum and turned to Taehyung. “Let’s go.”

The two sauntered away and soon sat on a bench. Taehyung didn’t seem to know how to start talking. What to say first. How to explain himself. And Youngjae noticed.

“Why?” Youngjae asked in a whisper.

Taehyung ventured to look at him. “Because I’m an asshole.”

“I’m not asking why you kissed someone else. You somewhat made it clear that you wanted to break up. You had made that clear a long time ago, but I didn’t want to accept it,” Youngjae trailed off as he lowered his gaze. “And I still don’t want that, Taehyung. So why do you want to break up? Am I not making you happy? Is it my trust issues? Is it something that I did? I can’t understand.” His voice cracked by the aching feelings that blustered in his gut.

“Youngjae-yah... I’m broken. I have the problem here, not you. The only thing you did wrong was say yes to that drink I bought you that night.” Taehyung reached out to wipe his tears with gentle thumbs. “Don’t waste your tears on me. You’re such a good guy. You shouldn’t be with someone like me. I can’t give you what you need.”

Youngjae rubbed his face to prevent more tears from falling. “Did you love me?”

Taehyung didn’t answer right away. “I thought I did.”

“If it wasn’t love, then what was it?” More tears cartwheeled down Youngjae’s face as he clasped his hands together.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what love is, so I can’t know if it was love. And I wasn’t able to realize that until now. I don’t know what love is like. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. We weren’t meant to be. It happens, I guess. I really wanted us to be something, though. And I really tried.”

“You did. You tried even more than you should have. And I’m sorry.”

“I’ll miss you. I’ll miss us.”

Taehyung rose to his feet, and Youngjae mirrored his moves a second later. He erased the gap between them and engulfed him in his arms, surprising even himself. “I’m sorry,” Taehyung whispered. He took off without looking back, as the other smiled faintly at the lingering feeling of Taehyung’s hug.

They went to their next class with Eunhyuk, who said nothing to Jungkook again. He didn’t even glance at him. It was as if he didn’t exist at all. Jungkook perceived it right away, and the truth was, he was greatly surprised.

But then, another thought crossed his mind. Did I do something? Did I offend him or something? He seems fine with the others. A sonorous, unconscious sigh popped out of him, and it was the first time Eunhyuk glanced at him. Jungkook’s brows slid upwards in anticipation, waiting to hear Eunhyuk say something to him, but nothing. He just turned his gaze away.

Jungkook dove into deep contemplation as the class ended. He fidgeted in his spot, glancing at Eunhyuk nonstop, and drew closer to him.

Eunhyuk recognized his presence and rolled his eyes up. “Jungkook? What is it?”

“Nothing.” He dismissed his question with a hand gesture.

Eunhyuk kept his gaze on him for a few more seconds and resumed collecting his things. Once he was ready, he strode towards the exit, and Jungkook was left staring at his back.

“What was that?” Jaebum asked.

“Nothing.”

Jaebum curled his arm around his waist and fused him to his side. “You wanna do something today?”

“Jaebum, not here.” He pushed him away gently, but the other didn’t budge.

“Come on, we’re alone,” Jaebum smirked. He leaned forward to kiss him, but Jungkook twisted his head away. “What’s wrong?”

“I just said... not here.”

“Okay.” Jaebum released him and took a step back. “Sorry.”

Jungkook held onto his hand once Jaebum attempted to leave. “No, I’m sorry.”

Jaebum smiled. “I’ll go change.”

The younger let his head fall as a groan escaped his mouth. Did you see that? That’s the first thing even your friends think about you. Taehyung’s words still lingered in his mind, and it drove him crazy.

 
Taehyung didn’t talk to anyone again. He sat at an empty table in the cafeteria, and Jungkook sat with the others a few tables away.

“Jungkook,” Jimin said. “Care to explain why Taehyung had your earphones?”

“I just went to his place to talk about what happened. We drank a lot of beers and it was late and it was freezing outside, so I slept in his bed and he slept on the couch.”

“Well, Taehyung doesn’t look okay, though. You know, even after your little talk,” Yoongi quipped.

“But he obviously talked with Youngjae,” Hoseok said. “Did you see Youngjae’s eyes in class? Red and swollen.”

“And what? You think he’s sad because he broke up with someone? He probably found someone else already. That’s why he sent Youngjae off,” Yoongi said.

“What do you mean?” Seokjin asked.

“I mean, this is his thing. He breaks up, fucks someone else, and he gets back together with him.”

“Maybe it’s different this time,” Namjoon said, and Jungkook really wanted to believe he was right.

But Yoongi snorted. “Yeah, okay.”

Unable to take it anymore, Jungkook slammed his hand on the table as he stood up, attracting the attention of those around them. “When was the last time you talked to him? You, who’s supposed to be his best friend, huh?”

“Kook, calm down,” Jimin said in a hushed tone.

“No, I won’t. You have this idea in your heads that Taehyung needs to be left alone. And you stick with it and he doesn’t talk about it and eventually you move on like nothing happened. You should give him space. You should leave him alone. But you also have to understand when you shouldn’t.” He threw a glare at Yoongi as he finished his speech and swiveled around. His infuriated steps halted at the sight of Taehyung standing close to them and looking at him intently. He spurted forward and bolted out of the cafeteria a moment later.

“What was that?” Namjoon asked, appalled by his outburst.

“Well, he’s right,” Jimin sighed. “And he’s right about you, Yoongi. When was the last time you really talked with Taehyung?”

“Jimin, please. We have class.”

. . .

After their two vocal classes, the boys went to the changing room. They changed their clothes in taut silence and got ready to leave.

“Taehyung,” Namjoon called. “Do you wanna go for a beer?”

“Um, I’m tired.” He trudged towards the door and slowed to a stop. “Let’s take beers and go to my place.”

Namjoon walked closer to him and draped his arm around his shoulders as he smiled.

“Can we come too?” Jimin asked.

“Sure.”

With Taehyung’s approval, they walked to the exit all together, but the younger didn’t follow them.

“Kook, aren’t you coming?” Hoseok asked.

“No. I’m meeting Jaebum.”

Taehyung marched out of the changing room without a word.

“See you tomorrow,” Seokjin said with a smile.

Jungkook waved at them and tossed his head down once they left. He reached for his bag and went outside to meet Jaebum, who was already there waiting for him. “Hey. Let’s go.”

“Where, though?” Jaebum planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Let’s go to my place.”

“Good choice,” Jaebum smirked, but his smile faltered at Jungkook’s efforts to avoid his gaze. “What is it?”

“I actually want to talk somewhere quiet. That’s why I suggested that.”

“Oh. I see.”

They traipsed towards Jungkook’s apartment as they made some small talk. Once they entered, they sat on the couch, and Jaebum could still detect how nervous the other was.

“I hate seeing you so tense.” Jaebum placed his hand on his shoulder and gave it a soothing squeeze.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Don’t worry. What do you want to talk about?”

Jungkook didn’t answer right away, but he turned his body so he could face him. “I think we should stop... you know, what we’re doing.”

“Okay. Why?”

“It’s just that it’s only about sex and I—”

“Well, that was the idea, Kook. We knew it from the beginning, since you didn’t want a relationship.”

“I know, but it doesn’t feel right. This is not who I am.”

“Okay, so we stop. And I’m guessing you still don’t want a relationship.”

“I’m sorry. You make me feel good and the sex is great, but I... I can’t see myself with you. I know what I just said was awful and I—”

“No, Kook, it’s the truth.” A gloomy smile surfaced on Jaebum’s face. “I wish you liked me as I like you, but it’s not your fault that you don’t. And thank you for being honest.”

“Don’t be so nice to me. I feel awful.”

“Kook, it’s okay. It really is okay. It’s sad that you want to take the sex out, but we will still see each other and talk. I don’t mind.”

“Thank you for understanding.” Jungkook smiled and let out a sigh of relief, happy that he finally found the strength to come clean to Jaebum.

⚜✳⚜