"There you go." Jungkook said as he slowly let the noodles he was preparing slide into the hot water. A content look was visible on his face and he smiled as he looked at how well everything was going. Turns out that Jin was going to make a recipe today that indeed required a lot of work but to the brunette that didn't matter. He liked cooking and the fact that he got to do it together with Taehyung made him quite happy. He liked spending time with the elder.

As soon as the noodles started to boil again Jungkook looked to his right where Taehyung was working and immediately a soft laugh escaped his mouth. He had given the elder the task of cutting vegetables and somehow the blonde was failing miserably at it. With an amused look on his face Jungkook walked over to where Taehyung was standing before placing a hand on his shoulder and softly squeezed it, the smile on his lips widening upon seeing hearing a soft sigh leave Taehyung's lips.

"You're holding the knife upside down Tae. You can't cut anything this way." The brunette spoke while he laughed softly. Taehyung turned to look at him with a stressed look on his face and he softly sighed. "I'm not cut out for stuff like this." Jungkook laughed softly upon hearing the elder's words and he immediately began to position himself behind the blonde while flipping the knife in his hands over and putting his own hand over Taehyung's. "Here, I'll show you how to do it."

Jungkook carefully grabbed the carrot with one of Taehyung's hands and then began to cut it with the knife in the other, careful enough to not come close to the other's other hand. Smoothly the knife cut through the carrot and Taehyung looked at it with an amazed look on his face. The way Jungkook showed him how to do it was working perfectly fine and he was certain if he mimicked the other exactly he could do it as well.

"Now it's your turn." Jungkook said as he slowly removed his hands from Taehyung's and took a step back, detaching himself completely from the elder. It was only now that the brunette realized how close he had been standing to Taehyung and slowly his cheeks began to gain a red tint to them. They hadn't only been practically holding hands, Jungkook had also rested his hips against Taehyung's and the brunette briefly closed his eyes in order to calm himself  down. He  shouldn't be overthinking this situation so much, Taehyung probably hadn't even noticed how close the two of them had been.

Taehyung indeed had  been way too focused on cutting the vegetables to notice the other's red cheeks and slowly he began to cut the carrot on his own, without Jungkook moving his hands. Jungkook smiled at how slow the other was but somehow he found it cute how hard he tried to be of any help to him. Taehyung really was trying his best and for that Jungkook was grateful. At least this way he didn't  have to do everything alone and he liked the company the blonde provided him.

The brunette took two pieces of carrot from Taehyung's cutting board and smiled at the elder. "Not bad Tae. You are still a bit slow but you're making great progress." The younger said as he put both pieces of carrot in his mouth and started to chew on them. Taehyung immediately looked at Jungkook with raised eyebrows upon hearing the crunching sound the carrot made in Jungkook's mouth before he shook his head.

"You know it would go a lot faster if you didn't eat everything I just cut." The blonde answered to which Jungkook softly laughed and shook his head. "But that's the fun part of cooking Tae. You get to eat everything you prepare while cooking." Jungkook spoke to which Taehyung softly sighed and shook his head in an amused way.

Jungkook quickly walked back to where he'd left the noodles to see how they were doing before the male decided to start on the sauce he had to prepare. A content smile began to make it's way onto the hacker's face as he put all kinds of herbs and oils together to create the perfect sauce for this dish and he briefly closed his eyes as he began to heat it up, the delicious smell immediately infiltrating his nostrils. Ohh how he had missed doing this.

Soon Taehyung joined him, notifying Jungkook that he had in fact cut all the vegetables and the  brunette instructed him to put them all in the sauce while making sure that it wouldn't burn. Meanwhile the brunette himself started to grill the meat and before they knew it both males were standing right next to each other. Jungkook was turning the meat every now and then while keeping an close eye on the noodles and Taehyung was stirring in the sauce in order for it to not burn.

"I never knew you knew how to cook." Taehyung spoke, trying to stir up a conversation between the two of them. Jungkook looked up and smiled once he noticed how concentrated Taehyung was stirring through the sauce. It was cute to the younger how much the elder was trying to do his best at something he clearly wasn't very good at. To Jungkook all that mattered as  the effort someone put in and it was as clear as crystal that Taehyung really was trying his absolute best.

"I had no choice but to learn it you know? I got kicked out by my mother so if I wanted to eat something decent I had to make it myself." The brunette answered Taehyung honestly, revealing the reason why he had learned how to cook at a young age. Back then he hadn't had a home to come home to where his family had prepared some delicious meal for him to enjoy. If the hacker wanted to eat he had to make it himself or he wouldn't have anything to fill his stomach with at all.

"I remember reading that in your file." Taehyung answered while keeping his eyes trained on the sauce. "I'm sorry you had to go through that Kook. I really am." The blonde added before looking up and locking eyes with Jungkook. The brunette smiled slightly in return and shook his head. "It's okay, it's not your fault." He spoke before focusing on the meat in front of him again, a hint of sadness visible on his face.

He had always regretted the life he used to live. He certainly hadn't won the jackpot when it came to his parents and while he knew he hadn't been a saint either he was pretty sure if he had been in his mother's shoes he wouldn't have ever kicked himself out. Back then Jungkook had needed help and a loving parent to come home to and his mother had given him nothing. She blamed him for her miserable life and thus she wasn't willing to fight for her son. She'd rather let him go that help him.

"You know, I never asked you guys how you found out my real identity?" Jungkook then spoke while looking up again, a hint of curiosity now visible in his eyes. The brunette was absolutely certain that he had done everything he could to erase any trace that would lead to him and thus he was still quite surprised this team had actually managed to find out his real identity. After  all, it should have never been possible.

Taehyung smiled slightly before he locked eyes with Jungkook. "I used to work in the underworld, just like you. Back then I had a lot of connections there and one of them happened to be a certain mafia boss you used to work for. Does the name Sehun sound familiar?" Taehyung spoke and immediately Jungkook's whole face paled. Of course he knew who Sehun was. That man was one of the only people who he had done more than one job for and the one who'd also been as close to Jungkook as possible. Somehow the idea of Taehyung and Sehun talking didn't sit right with the brunette, he didn't want the mafia boss to share anything they'd done together with Taehyung and the fact that he might've  done just that didn't sit right with Jungkook.

Softly Jungkook shook his head before a slightly confused look began to form itself onto his face. Why did it matter so much to him if Taehyung had met someone he had shared some intimate moments with? It was normal to sometimes want to release the tension in your body and he'd never cared about people knowing who he had has sex with before so why did he care now? What had changed?

Softly Jungkook nodded, his face still completely pale and Taehyung softly continued, making sure the others in the living room couldn't hear what they were saying upon noticing the other feeling quite uncomfortable about Taehyung mentioning Sehun. " Sehun and the man I worked for were not on good terms the moment I left and thus he was more than willing to help me find a good hacker as I had mentioned I needed one. I'm pretty sure Sehun wouldv'e done anything for me, as long as it hurt my former boss. You were the one he suggested and thus I asked him where I could find you to which he told me about that bar where you first met Namjoon." The blonde spoke before he sighed softly.

"Sehun had told me what you looked like and thus I went there alone that same night, you were sitting in your usual spot at the bar and I took a picture of you which I took back to Sehun. He then confirmed that you were indeed the Hershey he  had told me about, that's how I found you." The blonde said while still stirring in the sauce to make sure it didn't burn.

A soft sigh left  Taehyung's lips before he continued once more. "Once I knew for sure I had found the right person I went over to Namjoon, who had been my friend for a long time and he ran your picture through the police database. That's how we found your real identity Jungkook. That's how we knew everything there was to know about you." The blonde admitted while now casting his gaze down in order to avoid the other's piercing one. Taehyung had been the main reason why Jungkook was now tangled up in this mess and he wouldn't be surprised if the younger would be mad about that fact. He'd understand completely if it had been him in Jungkook's shoes. Jungkook never asked for any of this to happen and yet it had.

"I know what I did wasn't fair to you Kook but I had to. I needed you. We still need you. Without you we would've been doomed from the start. There's no way any of us would have been able to do the stuff you can." Taehyung spoke while looking up once again, a pittyful look visible on his face. He did feel bad for the younger but he couldn't say he regretted pulling him into this mess. They needed him to save Korea and even though the two of them had grown quite close Taehyung would still do it all over again. It wasn't just their lives on the line here, it was those of all the people in Korea.

Jungkook sighed softly before he smiled at Taehyung. "I know why you did it Tae and I'm not mad about it. I would've done the same had I been in your shoes." The brunette spoke to which Taehyung left out a breath of relief. He was glad the other didn't resent him for everything that he had cast down on him. At least Jungkook didn't hate him and for that the older male was thankful.

"I guess in a way I should even be glad you pulled me into this whole mess." Jungkook then spoke while the smile on his face slightly widened. "You got me out of a world I wouldn't have ever gotten out of on my own and I actually like having you guys around me. Once this is over I get a  second chance at living a good life. One where I don't make all the wrong choices  I can possibly make" The brunette spoke while he locked eyes with a shocked blonde. ''You guys have shown me that money is not worth more than friends who have your back. I might have not gotten those millions of dollars but I did get a priceless reward for my services. People who I consider as close as friends and family."

Taehyung smiled upon hearing those words come out of the other and the shocked look on his face relaxed into a happy one. "I'm glad you see it that way Kook, I really am."  The blonde spoke before Jungkook softly nodded and they both focused on the food in front of them again. They finished up cooking in silence but both were happy with the conversation they'd had. Now there wouldn't be anything that could possibly drift them apart anymore, Taehyung had truthfully answered Jungkook's question and Jungkook had reacted amazingly well to the truth the other had just told him.

Maybe they truly had become each other's friend

________

A/N

bit of a filler but I liked writing it😋

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