[mystery gang]

Taetae:
heyy tae n I are havin a Mario kart tournamebt u interested?¿

Taetae:
omf yas sounZ like a gr8 idea

Taetae:
shud we invite Tae too??

Taetae:
wun step ahead a yu, tae's comin an he's bringing nachos n extra wii remotes

Taetae:
sicc bro
so excite

YourHobi:
lmao Tae u do realize this is the group chat right

Taetae:
Wuh
grp chg
cHat

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
Tae r u drunk????

Taetae:
wassat
jiminie
i dont drnk
cept wtr an sumtiemz appel juize
an cream sod
soada
wow iz rly hard 2 twxt unsober
Hu woulda thunk

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
U R DRUNK I KNEW IT
TAE WHY R U DRUNK

YourHobi:
yeah I'm curious too I didn't think u drank alcohol

Chocochip_kookie:
u ok man?

Taetae:
iz
gasps
kook
hiiii

Chocochip_kookie:
hi Tae
don't avoid the question tho why're u drunk ?

Taetae:
drnk in luv lmaooooooo

Handsome_face:
I sense spilt tea

Taetae:
tea?¿
I lyke t
esp chi
chaiu
chai

*a/n:
new readers pls don't go to the comments and tell me "chai" means tea. i know that

when i say "chai" i'm referring to "spiced chai" which is the label printed on a certain flavor of tea in america. i'm not indian so i don't call all tea "chai". i don't mean this in a rude way please don't take offense lol i'm just tired of explaining myself k bye sorry ❤️

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
TAE ANSWR
Y RU DRUNK
AM I GONNA HAV TO GO ALL THE WAY OVR TO UR DORM
OR R U NOT THERE??
PLZ TELL ME UR AT LEAST AT THE DORMS
AND NOT AT SOME WEIRD CREEPY BAR
ARE THERE PPL W/ U
TAE UR MAKING ME WORRY

Taetae:
m at a drm
sumwuns
they wer havin a prty an
itz a frend btw not a stranger
an they wer lyke "taetae join" and I sed ok and next thing I kno I'm at thwir dorm an I c bottle
sware I thougt it was coke
wuznt coke
wuz alcohl
i feel sic

Chocochip_kookie:
what friend?

Taetae:
owch
I hav frends ya no

Chocochip_kookie:
not what I meant

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
Tae just tell us, whose dorm is it? help us out here !!

Taetae:
uh hol on ill ask
ok
iz bimbam
Tie guy
thai
ppl call im bambi
no wait not bambi
he got long name
kumpilbook boobilkal or smth

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
who?????

Chocochip_kookie:
don't worry Jimin I know who he's talking about

YourHobi:
u do??

Chocochip_kookie:
yeah
and if I recall correctly the guy's dorm isn't too far from mine
I can go pick him up Jimin

Taetae:
yayy kook mi hero<3

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
u sure jungkook??

Chocochip_kookie:
yeah it's no prob
tae do u know what ur dorm number is

Taetae:
sawtjlj

Chocochip_kookie:
Gr8

YourHobi:
I know his dorm #
it's 666

Blue_ribbon_mochi:
it's actually 531 but thanx for trying to help hobi

YourHobi:
anytime jimin

***

Jungkook knew Bambam. Not well, but the two were acquainted because, coincidentally, the Thai boy was a good friend of Yugyeom's, and he also happened to be a dance major. And a friend of Moonbin's. So he had his connections.

Bambam's dorm was in a section of the complex where the rooms were considerably larger - more expensive, and they fit three, sometimes four people in them instead of the usual two. More suitable for a party, moreover, which is exactly what was happening in Bambam's dorm on that specific night.

The door was unlocked. Jungkook invited himself in.

"Heyy!! It's Kook! Welcome, Kook!"

Not a second of hesitation. He was immediately spotted by the party's host, who waltzed right up to him with some sort of drink in his hand. He didn't seem drunk, though, or at least not yet, so Jungkook decided he would have a little patience with him. Even though he wanted to hurry up and get Taehyung out of here.

"Sorry to come uninvited, I-"

"Don't sweat it, Kook." The Thai boy slapped a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "Any friend of Yugyeom's is a friend of mine. You're welcome here."

Jungkook forced a smile. "Uhm, that's very kind of you, but I just came to, well, pick someone up. Do you know where Taehyung is?"

"Taehyung?" Bambam looked over his shoulder with a somewhat concerned look on his face. "Now that you mention it I'm glad you're here. Boy's been drinking too much, I think. Last time I saw him he was teetering back and forth over in the kitchen."

"Kitchen? Okay, thank you so much."

"No problem."

With that, Jungkook skillfully maneuvered his way through the small groups of people scattered throughout the dorm, repeating "excuse me" over and over again until he reached the kitchen. And there he was. Taehyung, collapsed on the floor, phone in one hand, empty plastic cup in the other - Jungkook couldn't tell if he was unconscious, but he certainly looked like it.

"Tae? Tae, are you alright?"

Jungkook fell to his knees in front of the boy whose back was to the counter, chin resting against his chest. He shook Tae gently and in response Tae moaned, as words were too difficult right now.

"I'm gonna take you back to your dorm, okay? Moan again if you can hear me. N-....never mind that sounds weird...c'mon, we're leaving."

He took the phone out of Taehyung's hand and slipped it into his own pocket and discarded of the cup, then draped one of Tae's arms over his shoulder and lifted him up off the ground. And with some difficulty he managed to safely guide a drunk, stumbling Taehyung out of the dorm.

"Wh-...erm, sfaa...n't...who?"

Nonsensical muttering. Jungkook made out the 'who' at the end, though, so he replied, "It's me, Tae. Jungkook."

"Jung...kook......Kookie?"

"Yeah, Kookie."

"Where we goin'?"

"Your dorm. Is anyone there right now?"

"Mm?"

"Is your roommate there?"

"I do-...ish, I think he's...he was...party. He's with Bimbam. Bambi's party."

"Ah, okay. Do you have your key?"

"Back...pocket? Maybe. I'onno."

Getting Taehyung back to his dorm was a journey on its own. The boy started singing at some point, swinging himself around violently as he stumbled about, making things immensely difficult for poor Jungkook who just wanted to make sure Tae got home in one piece. He succeeded, but again, it was quite a journey...

As it turned out no key was required. Taehyung had left the door unlocked. Jungkook helped him inside the dorm, switched on the lights, and carried him over to his bed, where he then gently set him down.

"Nnngh..."

He sounded in pain. Jungkook gazed upon Taehyung's face, watching as the boy blinked repeatedly as if trying to focus on the change in scenery.

"Tae."

He squeezed his eyes shut again, but briefly, then turned his head to look at Jungkook.

"Tae, are you alright?"

"...feel disgusting," he spat.

"I'd imagine," Jungkook said sympathetically. "You reek of alcohol. Just how much did you drink? Or, more importantly, why'd you drink so much in the first place? I mean, it was a party, and a college party no less, but still..." He released a soft sigh. "You never struck me as the heavy drinking type."

There was no response at first. Tae had begun to rock his head back and forth on his pillow, then tried to prop himself up against the back of his bed.

"It's...not, I don't like it," he mumbled. "It's gross, don't understand...how people can drink this stuff..."

Jungkook placed his hand over Taehyung's wrist. "Then why did you?"

"You ashk a lotta questions, Kookie." A drunk giggle slipped out of Taehyung's mouth, and he lifted a shaky hand to touch Jungkook's nose. Jungkook frowned at him and pushed his hand aside.

"Tae, I'm being serious here..."

Even with the increased solemnity of Jungkook's tone, Taehyung still laughed and tried to poke his face, completely disregarding the question asked of him. He was genuinely drunk. However many cups it took to get the boy to this point, Jungkook didn't know, and that concerned him. Taehyung concerned him. He wasn't stable. He claimed that drinking the alcohol was an accident when he's texted them in the group chat. But Jungkook had a gut feeling, a strong one, that that wasn't the case.

"I'm gonna get you some water. I'll be right back."

"Water...?"

"Yes, Tae, water. Much tastier than alcohol." He rose to his feet, hesitating to let go of the wrist he had been holding before making his way over to the kitchen. There, he checked to see if the small refrigerator had any water bottles inside - luckily, there were several, so he grabbed one and took it over to Taehyung who had resumed his head swaying. But he stopped once he realized Jungkook had returned.

"Here. Drink something that won't kill your liver."

He didn't accept the bottled water. But he did smile at the one holding it out to him, albeit a terribly crooked smile.

"So...thoughtful...Kookie is so thoughtful..."

It was starting to become frustrating. But he didn't want to lose patience with Taehyung. Jungkook wanted answers, and he wanted to make sure the boy was going to be okay before he left.

"Tae-"

"I just don't..." Taehyung's face scrunched up. "I don't...get it. I don't get it. You're pretty, and sweet, and...and funny, and...I mean, there's nothing unloveable about you, ya know? I don't get how...how anyone could choose someone else...ov'r you. Doesn't make an' sense."

Jungkook stared at Taehyung for a long moment, hopelessly confused as to where this was all coming from. But he didn't say anything. Not right away, that is. But then he noticed the tears beginning to form in Taehyung's eyes.

"T-Tae?"

He cupped his hand over the boy's cheek and wiped away the first tear as it fell. Then the next.

"Tae, it's...it's okay, don't cry...why..." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Why are you even crying, anyway?"

"I'm scared."

It came out as a low, shaky whisper. But it didn't remain a whisper. As Taehyung continued to talk, his voice grew a little louder and a little clearer, though still a bit slurred from the alcohol. But it was clear enough.

"I was sad, that's why. Sad an'...and scared. So, so scared. I just wanted you to be happy, not that-, I mean, I didn't know about Moonbin. I didn't know about the thing with him and his boyfriend. I just wanted to help ya, ya know? But he's single, the boy you loved is single now, that's...that's great for you, isn't it? Yeah, so great for you, Kookie."

Then the tears streamed down, harder now, and Taehyung couldn't stop the loud sobs from escaping his mouth, but Jungkook didn't know what to do, because he still didn't understand, so he just continued to wipe away the tears.

"I don't like it," Tae cried, sniffling. "I don't...I'm scared, I hate it, I've been thinking about you, about that Moonbin guy, I don't want you to get together with him, I don't want it, I don't want it...I'm...I wanted to be the one who-...and I'm not just sayin' all this 'cause 'm drunk, it's just, my feelings, Kookie, ya know? Ya know...I love you. And you wouldn't be my second choice like him, I'd pick you first, 'cause I love you, Kookie. I really, really love you..."

His brittle, emotional voice touched a part of Jungkook's heart that had never been touched before, and he, himself, felt like crying. But instead of crying, he just smiled fondly at Taehyung and used the sleeves of his shirt to dry the boy's eyes.

"I don't know where you're getting this nonsense from," he whispered, breathing a soft laugh. "Getting together with Moonbin...you're so silly, Tae. Such a silly boy... C'mon, now, stop crying, you're soaking my sleeves."

The brown-haired boy pouted and sniffled again. "Don't wanna. I won't."

"Right...well, I'll be leaving, then-"

Jungkook had hardly managed to turn his back when he suddenly felt the sensation of Taehyung's arms wrapped around his torso, holding on to him desperately.

"Please...please don't...don't go, Kookie. Ya gotta stay...please..."

No human being with even the tiniest of hearts could turn down Taehyung in his current state. And Jungkook was especially weak to him.

"Tae...I didn't actually plan on leaving you." He turned his head around to look at the boy who was still clinging to him, then smiled as he patted Taehyung's head. "How could I leave you...?"

Why would I want to leave you, anyway?