¤ March: Hills to Climb
Tim Myers ↲

Underneath our wounds
Where our demons have their home
The truth can be exposed
There's a strength in letting go

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The next day, a series of knocks sounded at the door, indicating Taehyung had arrived. Juyeon raced through the house to be the first one to greet him.

"TaeTae!" She exclaimed, arms wide and a grin plastered on her face.

Jungkook walked up behind her as Taehyung sunk to his knees.

"I have a delivery for the lady of the house," Taehyung said seriously, hands clasped behind his back. "Are you Miss Juyeon?"

The girl eagerly nodded her head and outstretched her hands.

With some flourish, Taehyung whipped out the promised drawing and set it in Juyeon's hands. "Hang on tight to this, now. When I become a famous artist, you can tell all your friends you knew me first."

She beamed at him and flung herself into his unsuspecting arms. "Thank you!"

Taehyung returned her hug and looked up at Jungkook happily. "Hi."

Jungkook's face pulled into a smile as he took in the two. The sight was so wholesome and made his heart flutter. "Hi, Tae."

Juyeon extricated herself from Taehyung's arms and faced both boys head on. "TaeTae, have fun with Kookie. Kookie, don't do anything stupid that makes TaeTae think we're weird and never want to come over again."

"Alright, Juyeon," a new voice said. "Leave the poor boys alone."

Jungkook's mother joined the group by the front door, a smile on her face. She greeted Taehyung warmly. "Hi there, nice to meet you. I'm Jiho."

"Taehyung," the boy said with a mirrored smile.

"Alright, little girl. Let's go bake something." She warmly patted Juyeon on the head before leaving them be.

"Remember what I said, boys," Juyeon saluted, running to join her mother.

Jungkook and Taehyung awkwardly stood there for a few moments before speaking at the same time.

"So, the picnic?"

"Should we head out?"

Both laughed nervously, a weird tension somehow between them. It wasn't like this was a date. They were simply hanging out as friends - were they even friends? - and nothing more.

Jungkook blamed Juyeon for all of this.

"I brought some stuff," Taehyung announced, jerking his thumb backwards. "It's in my car."

"Right. I packed some things, too," the younger said, quickly running to his room to collect a bag.

Once he met Taehyung in the living room again, the elder cleared his throat. "Do you have a specific location in mind? I could drive us."

Jungkook shook his head as they headed outside. "The place I usually bring Juyeon is just a short walk away."

It took about ten or so minutes to get to Jungkook's desired location. In his opinion, this place was a hidden gem since no one else seemed to know about it. He was excited to show Taehyung, thinking the elder would be inspired by its beauty like he always was.

They came upon the site and Taehyung stopped in his tracks.

"It's the lake from your photo," he commented in awe, scanning the view. "I never knew something so stunning was so close by."

Jungkook led them closer to the water and pulled out a blanket from his bag. With the elder's aid, they set it over the thick grass and quickly sat so the wind wouldn't blow it away.

Taehyung unpacked the goods he brought, piling everything in between them. There was a wide assortment, from fruits to candies to local specialties. The elder explained how he wasn't sure what Jungkook liked, so he decided on bringing a mix of things.

From Jungkook's bag came a deck of cards, sodas, and fresh cut watermelon. He also added a pad of paper and a pencil for Taehyung, but he didn't pull those out yet. Those items were packed as a last resort in case they ran out of things to talk about.

As they picked at the food, Taehyung started asking questions. Lots of questions. When did Jungkook first find this place? Did he and Juyeon come here frequently? How old was she and what were her hobbies?

Jungkook spoke easily, happy that Taehyung was so interested in him and his sister. It was a change of pace to talk of things besides his never-ending responsibilities, and he was having a lot of fun.

As they talked about their friends, they learned a shocking fact: two of their friends were seemingly dating.

Jungkook told Taehyung all about his boss's hot date, which involved a private dining experience on top of a skyscraper. Taehyung commented that one of his good friends just did the same thing. They exchanged a few more details and it was confirmed. Namjoon and Jin had gone out with each other.

They laughed about the coincidence of it as they began to play a lazy card game.

"I have another question," Taehyung said as he put down a card. "But unlike my other questions, I won't make you answer it."

"Oh, is Mr. Demanding going to be a bit more easygoing?" Jungkook quipped, setting down a card of his own.

Taehyung pursed his lips together and looked up at him. "I'm not demanding."

Jungkook's eyebrows rose far on his forehead. "You are. But I like it."

He instantly blushed as the words slipped out, bringing his gaze back down to his cards. "What was your question?"

"You said you dropped out of school because certain things happened . . . is everything okay?"

Jungkook's insides knotted, making him regret overindulging in the candy Taehyung brought. "That's a tough question to answer."

Hesitantly, he looked back up and was met with Taehyung's dark and intense eyes. The elder set his cards down on the blanket, giving Jungkook his undivided attention.

"That's okay," Taehyung told him. "Don't answer it. I know it was probably too personal."

There was an absolute honesty behind Taehyung's words, meaning the subject wouldn't be pushed. And for some reason, that made Jungkook want to open up more. He didn't think Taehyung would understand, but maybe he could listen objectively.

It might be nice for one person outside of his immediate family to know what he dealt with behind closed doors.

Jungkook laid down on the blanket, turning his attention up towards the sky. "Don't pity me, okay?" He said to Taehyung.

The elder shifted closer to him, arms hugging his knees as he peered down at Jungkook. "Do you really think I'm the pitying type?"

With a shakey breath, the younger shook his head. It was now or never.

"My family is broke, Tae," Jungkook started softly. "As in barely hanging on broke. We were hit with a lot of bills almost two years ago, and no matter how hard my parents worked to pay them off, they kept coming in. I couldn't just watch them slave away while I let them fund my college courses and dorm. So I dropped out."

Taehyung didn't say sorry - something Jungkook greatly appreciated - so he kept on going.

"But it seems like any money I earn is instantly sucked away, replaced by bills and more bills. And I don't know when the tipping point will be. Sometimes I don't know if we'll ever get out of this mess."

The air stirred next to him as Taehyung laid down by his side, their shoulders pressing together lightly. "What happened to get you into this situation?"

Jungkook sucked in a deep breath. "I . . . I don't know if I can talk about that right now."

And instead of pressuring him to open up, Taehyung simply bumped his shoulder. "Okay, then it's your turn to ask me a relatively uncomfortable question that I can choose to answer or not."

At that, Jungkook laughed. "Well, I don't think this should be too bad, but I am curious . . . How did portraits become your specialty?"

It was silent in lieu of an answer, so Jungkook turned towards Taehyung. The elder's jaw was locked as he stared up at the moving clouds overhead.

"Oh, fuck. Did I actually ask an uncomfortable question?"

"Yeah, but you didn't know what you were getting yourself into," Taehyung reflected, his tone neutral. "It was an innocent question aimed at someone who didn't quite have an innocent upbringing."

Something gnawed at Jungkook at those words, so he rolled onto his side to study the elder. He noted that Taehyung's profile was actually perfect as the boy remained trained on the sky. If Jungkook had his digital camera, he'd get a shot of Taehyung just like this.

"My parents were never around when I was growing up," the elder revealed quietly. "I was raised by a constant influx of nannies and tutors, people who didn't tend to stay around that long. Most got fired after their affairs with my father got out, but that's besides the point. Since I didn't see my parents often, I started to draw pictures of them. Pictures of us as a happy family. If I couldn't see them in real life, I thought seeing them in my drawings would fill some void."

Jungkook's heart clenched at Taehyung's revelation. While his own family didn't have the luxuries afforded to the wealthy, they had luxuries that couldn't be bought. They had one another. They had love.

"But, surprise . . . drawing them never did fill that void. But I got really good at portraits. If I meet someone for just a few minutes, I can pretty much draw them perfectly every time." Taehyung angled his head towards Jungkook's. "But don't pity me."

The younger smiled in affection at his choice of words. "Do you really think I'm the pitying type? Is that what you think of me?"

"No. I think you're a tatted-up muscle pig who somehow captures the best pictures of me ever to be seen. Maybe I should hire you as my personal paparazzi." Taehyung laughed as he sat up, crossing his legs like a pretzel.

Jungkook assumed the same position, their knees touching. "Tatted-up muscle pig? Wow. I don't think I've ever received such a heartfelt compliment. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

"You're so full of it," Taehyung said, sticking out his tongue in a surprising gesture.

"Says the person who wants a tatted-up muscle pig as his personal photographer."

"Speaking of tattoos, give me your arm," Taehyung ordered, holding out his hand expectantly.

"Ah, yes. The cause of your never ending distraction." Jungkook held out his tattoo-free arm with a wide smile.

"Kook."

"Never specified which arm, Mr. Demanding," the younger toyed, letting his arm fall to his side.

Instead of replying, Taehyung leaned closer and grabbed Jungkook's tattooed arm. His long and elegant fingers instantly began to trace the black lines, dancing in feather light motions over his skin. A shiver rippled down Jungkook's spine at the soft touches, goosebumps erupting across his arms.

As Taehyung continued his exploration, he murmured quietly, "Are you cold?"

Jungkook shook his head, eyes glued to the elder's fingers. No one had ever touched his tattoos like this, touched him like this.

Delicately.

Reverently.

Fingers that traced his skin turned into hands that ran up and down his biceps. Taehyung was slightly gripping Jungkook's muscles, utterly transfixed by his exploration.

"Tae?" Jungkook prompted, these touches stirring a need to be touched more within him. He knew he was probably just starved for affection, seeing as he hadn't had this type of contact with someone in years. His body craved it like an addict craving his drug of choice.

Taehyung's hands froze on his arms for a moment before falling away. "Fuck. I swore I'd never touch you."

Jungkook forgot about that. Honestly, that was the furthest thing from his mind right now. And luckily he still had his pride, otherwise he would've begged for Taehyung's touch once more.

"I should charge you extra for that," he joked roughly, his words oddly low and deep. What was going on with him?

Taehyung smiled, his whole face glowing. "I'd pay."

"Well, now you're just making me sound like a prostitute," Jungkook laughed, feeling lighter than he had in a while. "Maybe that's a fourth job prospect."

And despite the joking nature of his words, Taehyung looked him dead in the eye and said, "If it ever gets to that point, promise you'll come to me. Promise me that, Kook."

"I don't take handouts."

The intensity that was Kim Taehyung took Jungkook aback, as the elder's eyes became almost entirely black.

"And I don't give handouts. But you're my friend," Taehyung stated.

Despite the elder's intimidating presence, Jungkook smiled. "Your friend?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

The younger shook his head. No, he quite liked the sound of calling Taehyung his friend.

"Good," the elder stated as he held out his hand. "Now shake on it."

Jungkook clasped Taehyung's hand within his own and they shook.

But unlike a normal handshake, they didn't let go afterwards.

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》 V A L E N W R I T I N G 《

Today's first of TWO updates! Continue on for the next chapter.

I love writing the "get to know each other" parts of stories. We learn a lot about characters as they learn about each other, and it feels very natural and organic to me.

This is the first full length story I've really done this, so it's been an exciting challenge! It's also been very tough, haha, but still fun.