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"You look like you need a good dicking," Hoseok says as he looks down at Taehyung, laying in a bathtub, covered in god knows what, looking like he just fist-fought an alligator and lost. Taehyung's pretty sure he's missing a shoe, too, but he doesn't have the energy to check. "No amount of dicking can save me from this night, Hobi," Taehyung groans, rolling over to try to get more comfortable. It doesn't work. Something cracks in the room, and judging by the look on Hoseok's face, it was probably one of his bones. He's not surprised. He doesn't have any idea how long he's been laying here, or exactly how he got here, but what he does know is that he's at a party. His own promotional party, geared for him to build more connections and gain more publicity. Like he needs any more of that. But whatever. The last thing he remembers is a swarm of faceless people bombarding him with questions, like, what's your next step as a model, are you looking to get into other fields, how does it feel to go big, is there anything you want to say to rookie models, and… maybe that's why he's in a bathtub. Taehyung rolls again, massaging his head, "what time is it?" "1 a.m." "Fuck me," Taehyung attempts to sit up like a decent human being, but fails, "is the party over? Please tell me it's over." He knows the answer. He knows by the vibrating walls and muffled music that it's not over. It's far from over. The bathroom he's in is kind of small considering they're in a penthouse. It's like the architects forgot that a bathroom was needed on this floor and last minute shoved this bathroom in. If anymore people go in there, well…they're not going to fit comfortably. As it is right now, two people are enough. Taehyung spoke too soon. Before Hoseok can answer, the door bursts open and in comes a panicked Jimin. Hoseok's screech of terror is drowned out by the sound of the door smashing a hole in the wall. That poor wall. "TAE, ARE YOU OKAY?!" Taehyung blinks and there appears Jimin, hovering over him with a water bottle in his hand. With his other hand, he grabs Taehyung's cheeks and turns his head side to side, checking for any injuries. Satisfied, Jimin uncaps the water bottle and holds it to his lips, "Here drink some water." It wasn't until this moment that Taehyung realized just how fucking thirsty he is. He ungracefully inhales the damn thing, spilling some of the water on his shirt. If he didn't know any better he would've drank the bottle too. Jimin lets out a sigh of relief before beaming the empty bottle at Hoseok, "HOBI WHY DID YOU TEXT ME THAT TAE WAS UNCONSCIOUS AND NOT BREATHING AND I NEEDED TO GET HERE RIGHT NOW?!" "Well, to be fair he looked dead when I found him," Hoseok shrugs, avoiding Jimin's glare. "I was just sleeping, Hobi," Taehyung sighs, though even he's not 100% sure about that. Jimin runs his hand through Taehyung's hair, smoothing it out. Taehyung leans into the gentle touch, feeling himself get sleepier and sleepier with every stroke. He misses the worried exchange Hoseok and Jimin have at the sight. Seokjin walks in holding some folded clothes and closes the door, glancing at the marred wall. He whispers underneath his breath, "oh the power of love and Jimin's quads," and sets down the clothes on the toilet. He shoves Jimin's hand away, "alright Taehyungie time to get up." Before Taehyung can process the words, Seokjin hoists him up to a standing position. "Jin-hyung! Be gentle with him!!" "He's 23, not 3, Jiminie," Seokjin rolls his eyes, "now let's get you out of those clothes, Taehyungie." "Ooo you nasty, Jin," Hoseok snickers and Seokjin 360 no-scopes a bar of soap at him. "STOP BEING NASTY HOSEOKIE; YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!" While Seokjin continues pelting Hoseok with soap-- to beat away his sins, Taehyung's mind adds--Jimin steps in and helps Taehyung change his clothes. Seokjin knows him so well. He brought just the thing to make him feel better: an oversized sweater, wide-legged pants, and sandals. Thank god Seokjin brought his favorite sandals because if he had to go one more second in proper shoes he might just lose it. Whoever invented shoes should be should be deleted; same for the person that forced him to wear such tight clothes for this party. Jimin gently pats a warm towel on Taehyung's face. Jimin meets Taehyung's eyes and smiles warmly, a hint of worry laced on his features. Taehyung knows Jimin knows just what happened. He knows, but he doesn't say anything. Taehyung mouths, 'thank you,' to Jimin, to which he replies, 'don't worry about it, Tae.' As if the room can't get more crowded, the door slams open once again, furthering the dent in the wall. Taehyung resists the urge to roll his eyes until he sees who walks in. Then he does roll his eyes. Seokjin ends his tirade on Hoseok to gaze forlornly at the ever-growing hole in the wall. That poor, poor wall. It's definitely crowded in here now. They're all bumping into each other and to say it’s a little stuffy in here is an understatement. Especially with the addition of one Wheein. "Sup, Taehyung, heard you died in here. Does this mean I can collect your life insurance?" Wheein saunters in, as if she didn't just bust open the door like it was a police raid a moment ago. "Well if it isn't my significant annoyance," Taehyung deadpans, "sorry to tell you, but I ain't dead yet; and if I was we aren't married so you don't get shit." "Tragic," Wheein flips her short blonde hair, "so you're telling me I left this really hot girl for no reason?" "Sucks to suck, Wheein," Taehyung flips his hair in a similar manner, "what a shame my own ' girlfriend ' missed out on tapping some ass because I, your ' boyfriend, ' almost died. How dare I almost die?" Wheein huffs, "you models are so dramatic," she sits on the sink, "Taehyung you literally ditched me on our 'date' just yesterday for some dude. I had to walk 3 miles in heels to get home. You didn't even get anywhere with him." "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Hoseok starts snickering, drawing everyone's attention. "If only the world knew that Korea's cutest couple actually hated each other," Hoseok sneers, "and that they're both hella gay." Taehyung and Wheein cringe, "don't call us a couple; it's gross." They exchange a look, mildly horrified that they said that in unison. Hoseok fails to hide a laugh, then shrugs, "I'm only saying what's 'officially' true." "SO," Seokjin interrupts with a clap, "what's the plan?" Jimin raises a brow, "there's a plan?" He seems to be the only one out of the loop because everyone in the room--minus Taehyung--gives him a look that says, ' where have you been? ' Seokjin speaks slowly, "yes, Jiminie, there's a plan. Did you not see the texts?" At that Jimin casts a glare at Hoseok, "no I'm sorry I was busy shitting my pants thinking Tae was dead. " Jimin pulls out his phone to read the apparent messages containing the, so-called, 'plan '. Taehyung leans over Jimin's shoulder to read the messages too. Wait, why are the messages so blurry? Come to think of it, everything's blurry. Then it hits him. Taehyung squints aggressively around the room, "guys I think my contacts fell out." "Sucks to suck, Taehyung," Wheein sneers, throwing back Taehyung's own words at him. Taehyung looks at Hoseok and he nods. Hoseok gets the cue and shoves her just enough to make her fall into the sink. Hoseok whispers to Wheein as she shoots daggers at him, "sorry he made me do it. I don't make the rules." She huffs, brushing her hair out of her face. Jimin suddenly screams, "Why couldn't you guys just say the plan was getting Tae out of here?! Why did you make me read 100+ messages??!" "Hey, we didn't type all that out for you to not read them," Seokjin chides, "appreciate our hard work more." "Most of it is Hobi sending dead-Tae memes!!" "And you would've missed that. You're welcome." Wheein cradles her head in her hand, mumbling to herself, "why are y'all so chaotic? Why did I come here? I could be getting ass right now…" Before Wheein ends up having a full mental breakdown, Taehyung pipes up, "so guys about that plan to get me out of here?" He hears them collectively murmur, "oh right," and they all calm down. Well as calm as they could be (which isn't much). They all pause. By the looks on their faces, Taehyung knows they're all thinking the same thing. The one thing keeping Taehyung from straight up waltzing out of here like it's nobody's business is one person: Ahn Hyejin, Taehyung's manager. Even if he were to go back out there and be a 'good model', he would still be destroyed. He went MIA for god know how many hours already; that in itself secured his death sentence. So if he were to get caught sneaking out…gone. Vaporized on sight. The world will never hear of Kim Taehyung ever again. Hoseok is the first to break the silence. "Well, first I propose Wheein seduces Hyejin." "I thought that was a given," Taehyung adds, smirking at how flustered Wheein gets. Hoseok cackles and continues, "okay so when Wheein starts making out with Hyejin on the dance floor, Minnie and I stand on a table and merengue while Jin starts yodeling to Moonlight Sonata, then," Hoseok points to Taehyung, "that's when Tae crawls out the window down the fire escape." "I mean," Taehyung pauses, "I'm down with everything except the part I crawl out the fire escape." They're on the 5th floor for Christ's sake, and he is not a fan of heights. He prefers to not die, thank you very much. "OR," Jimin interjects, "Wheein makes out with Hyejin on the balcony and Taehyung can just walk out while we cover for him." "You're no fun, Minnie," Hoseok pouts. Wheein waves her hands around, furiously blushing, "why do all your plans involve me making out with Hyejin??!" "Because it needs to happen already," Hoseok sighs, "I'm tired of your thirsty ass." "OKAY," Seokjin interrupts before Wheein passes out from all the blood rushing to her face, "how about Wheein just distracts Hyejin-nim and we sneak Taehyung out? No making out necessary." Wheein looks down, twirling her hair in her hand. She responds, voice barely above a whisper, "okay I can do that." Seokjin pats her head, nodding. Out of nowhere, Hoseok bellows, "OKAY THEN IT'S SETTLED," he claps, "it's go time." It is not go time. It is far from go time. "I'm starting to think Hobi's plan was a good idea," Jimin says. They managed to walk two feet out of the bathroom before seeing their previous plan shatter before their eyes. When was there so many security guards? And why are they all blocking the exits? Taehyung swears there was not this may when the party started; they must have arrived after Taehyung went MIA. Most likely to search for him. He curses himself for inadvertently making things harder for himself. "See, I told you," Hoseok huffs as they file back into the bathroom, "and you all thought it was ridiculous." He shuts the door behind Wheein and taking a seat on the toilet. "Am I actually gonna have to climb out the fire escape?" Taehyung whines as he dejectedly climbs back into the bathtub. Jimin climbs in after him. It's a tight fit, but Taehyung doesn't care; he needs all the cuddles he can get right now. Seokjin leans on the door and chuckles, "it's okay, Taehyungie, I can't even yodel." "WHAT?!" Hoseok screams, "What kind of singer can't yodel??! Isn't that the basics of singing??" "Where in the fuck did you get that idea from?" "WHEEIN," Hoseok turns to Wheein, who's laying flat on the floor meditating, "you're a singer; can't you yodel?" He mouths to her, 'say yes', but she just scoffs at him. "No I can't fucking yodel, Hoesuck ." "See?" Seokjin says, silently thanking Wheein, "not all singers can fucking yodel." "Well then just scream," Hoseok grins, "I know you get a lot of practice at night so it shouldn't be so hard." Seokjin immediately hurls a computer mouse--Taehyung doesn't question why he's carrying such an object--directly at Hoseok's forehead. Hoseok screeches as he falls off the toilet, slamming into the bathtub so hard it vibrates. Seokjin is absolutely mortified and vigorously rubs his temples to keep from cutting a bitch (read: Hoseok). "You're absolutely disgusting. Every one of you. Such disrespectful children. I did not raise you to be this way. I need my holy water," Seokjin slams the door as he walks out of the bathroom. One minute passes and he returns with a bottle of alcohol. He pops open the lid, downs half the bottle within seconds, and slams the bottle on the counter. He lets out a gravelly breath and says, "okay, I'm ready." "Wow," Wheein says in awe, "can I have some? I need strength too." Seokjin nods in understanding and hands the rest of the bottle to her. Granted, she's not as skilled as Seokjin, so she takes it in small swigs. "So Minnie," Hoseok starts, casually laying half on the toilet and bathtub, "can you merengue?" "cAn I mErEnGuE?" Jimin mocks while pushing off Taehyung's chest, "what kind of question is that? It's like asking if I can breathe." "See, Jin, at least I can rely on Minnie." Seokjin rolls his eyes, grabbing the alcohol from Wheein to down some more. It's empty now. He tosses it in the garbage and rummages through his pockets. "Whatever, Hoseokie. Let's just review the plan," Seokjin says, casually pulling out a whole other bottle of alcohol metaphorically--and maybe literally--out of his ass. He takes a gulp then continues, "SO, when Wheein goes in and flirts with Hyejin," Wheein snatches the bottle and chugs it like a hungry man in the desert, "I'll tell the DJ to play 'Kulikitaka' and that’s when you two," he gestures to Hoseok and Jimin, "jump on a table and merengue while I scream. When you hear me scream Tae, that’s the signal for you to sprint like you would when there's a sale for art supplies at the craft store. Everyone got that?" He doesn't wait for anyone to respond, instead marching straight out the door. "RIGHT, great let's go!!!" Five steps out the door and the plan is already compromised. Seems to be a reoccurring theme tonight. Every time they think they're ahead, Hyejin is ten steps ahead of them. No matter how hard they try, they just can't win against Hyejin. Seriously, who hangs out right by the fire escape? "Of all the places she could be…" Taehyung mumbles from behind a plant. Wheein tucks herself behind Taehyung, practically radiating gay. "Oh my god, she's so pretty how am I supposed to do this I'm gonna pass out no I'm gonna die," she babbles to no one in particular. Taehyung can't help but giggle at her antics. He can't imagine being that whipped for someone, nor does he plan to be. "Wheein, weren't you flirting with some hot girl earlier?" "Shut up, Taehyung, this is a whole different level." Jimin and Hoseok just reached their position, nonchalantly hanging near a table. Or as nonchalantly as they could; Hoseok is nearly vibrating with anticipation and is giggling like he's on fifteen different drugs. Jimin is less obvious than Hoseok, though he still looks like he's scheming. Seokjin's already chatting it up with the DJ, probably already putting in a request for 'Kuliki--did he just wink at the DJ? Is the DJ blushing? Why is Seokjin leaning closer to--anyways. Taehyung takes that as a signal to violently yank Wheein out from hiding. He whispers, "go get that ass," before shoving Wheein out to the floor. She's sent sputtering toward Hyejin, who catches sight of her. Hyejin waves at Wheein with a warm smile and Taehyung swear he hears Wheein's heart race. Wheein is a mess of giggles and gayness as she walks toward Hyejin. She's so weak , Taehyung smiles despite himself. He can't wait to make fun of her later. As she makes her way to Hyejin, Taehyung registers that 'Kulikitaka' is playing. It seems to be around 30 or so seconds in. Jimin and Hoseok are breaking it down on the table and Seokjin is getting it down with the DJ. Everything's going according to the plan. Then a lot of things happen at once. How things went so wrong in just a few seconds, Taehyung has no idea. He literally blinked and everything went to shit. It's the power of 'Kulikitaka', Taehyung thinks, nothing radiates more chaotic energy then 'Kulikitaka'. Because the moment the chorus hits, three things happen. 1) Seokjin manages to make out with the DJ, which in turn causes the DJ to accidentally put the volume at full blast; right when it screams, "KULIKITAKA TI," which not only gives Taehyung a heart attack--and everyone a heart attack for that matter--but causes the bottles of alcohol to tip over and shatter on the floor. The DJ desperately tries to turn down the volume while still kissing Seokjin: a mistake. He turns it up louder. 2) The sudden Kulikitaka causes Wheein to trip on her own foot right as she meets Hyejin. A fatal mistake. Wheein desperately reaches for anything to break her fall, anything to keep her from looking like and idiot in front of Hyejin. Except, the thing she grabs is Hyejin herself, more specifically Hyejin's dress. The ripping of fabric is silenced by the music, though Taehyung can hear it clearly as Wheein falls. Wheein cranes her head up in horror, body going rigid as she watches Hyejin try to cover her chest with the remnants of her dress. And 3) The blast did more than just startle Hoseok: it sends him catapulting into Jimin. Jimin was not prepared for the sudden tackle, and is sent stumbling back off the table into the unsuspecting crowd. Maybe Hoseok should've gone into football instead of fashion designing. With the speed and strength he attacked poor Jimin with he could take down a 350 pound linebacker. The crowd they crashed into doesn't seem to be in any better shape than Jimin. Taehyung's pretty sure someone's knocked the fuck out. As this all goes down, Taehyung just watches. He watches how the DJ gives up on turning down the volume to focus only on Seokjin and how they're practically fucking on the DJ booth, how Wheein actually passes out and Hyejin tries to resuscitate her while holding her tattered dress, how Jimin accidentally knocks Hoseok's lights out with another person's fist and subsequently panicking thinking he killed Hoseok; he watches it all. It hits Taehyung that he should probably start sprinting out of here. He can't let his friend's efforts (and Wheein) be in vain. He runs amidst the chaos straight to the fire escape. Thank god this is a penthouse; anywhere else and there would be an alarm accompanying it. He shakily opens the window and slides through, shutting it behind him. This is very high up. Very, very high up. Taehyung sways a little and grips the railing to steady himself. If there's anything worse than standing high up, its falling from high up. With wobbly legs and a firm grip, he steadily makes his way down to the alley below. He lets out a breath of relief once he reaches firm ground. The worst is over. Now he just has to run. So he runs. And runs. And keeps running. Well, in reality he runs for about 500 feet before he gives up and just walks. Would it be a good idea to keep running? To get as far as possible so no one can find him? Especially one specific manager? Probably. But Taehyung isn't known for making good decisions. And tonight is a night of bad decisions. Just like how he decides that now is a great time to get food. Just like how he decides to go to Denny's. Just like how he decides to the Denny's 3 blocks away from the party.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Walking into the Denny's is like a breath of fresh air after that shitstorm of a party. It is quiet, with no trace of 'Kulikitaka' anywhere. He'll never hear that song the same way again. "Hi welcome to Denny's," the hostess greets while drying her hands on her apron. Just as she reaches for the menus, recognition flashes in her eyes and she freezes, "wait are you--" "No I'm not," Taehyung cuts her off trying not to sound as panicked as he feels. He feels bad for interrupting her like that, but the one thing he does not need right now is for her to squeal his location to his fans. He loves his fans, but sometimes they are just…something. Granted, she could be one of his chill fans, but it's better to be safe than sprinting down a highway. She doesn't say anything after that, though the look on her face is enough to tell Taehyung she knows. She grabs one menu and leads him to an isolated table, giddiness radiating off her. He can't help but giggle at her. The Denny's is barren. Well, almost barren; there's maybe 5 other people max excluding Taehyung. Which is understandable--it is 2 a.m. No sane person would actually go out at this time to a Denny's; especially on a Tuesday. Well, Taehyung thinks, it's Wednesday by now. Then again, usually you don't go to a Denny's at 2 a.m. You end up at a Denny's at 2 a.m. What are their stories? The booth is right next to the kitchen and Taehyung doesn't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Good because he can see when his food's coming; bad because he can see everyone else's food coming. Not that there's many people ordering anyway, but it's the principle. She sets down the menu as Taehyung slides into the seat. He catches a glimpse of her nametag. Yongsun. Since she's obviously a fan, he decides to surprise her, "thank you, Yongsun." He can almost see her physically melt right there on the spot. She babbles something incoherent and nearly trips as she stumbles her way into the kitchen. How cute. Satisfied with himself, Taehyung looks over the menu, only to realize he's not hungry. What was the purpose of coming here again? He scans the menu for something, anything. Nothing. Nothing seems particularly appetizing right now. "Hi, welcome to Den--" Whoever is talking is cut short by Taehyung's sudden jerk backwards. He slams his head into the wall with a resounding thump and Taehyung's 82% sure he just severed his tongue. Was he that focused on the menu to not hear someone approaching? "Sorry did I scare you?" the voice continues, sounding a bit concerned. "Nope, no, absolutely not," he replies, trying to regain some of his dignity, "I wasn't scared what are you talking about?" His dignity is lost, though, when he meets the eyes of the voice. He, Taehyung thinks, he looks particularly appetizing right now. "Why, hello there," Taehyung says, shamelessly scrolling down his body. He leans forward on the table to hopefully convey his attraction (and maybe elicit a response back?), then continues to take in this eye candy. What a sight. He can almost feel his eyes healing with every second he looks at him. Maybe if he keeps staring he can get 20/20 vision. "Hi," the waiter smiles, though there's exhaustion seeping through his voice, "welcome to Denny's. May I get you something to drink?" He sounds absolutely dead. "Well I see you love your job," Taehyung chuckles. He can't help but find the soulless, 'welcome to Denny's' hilarious, though they guy is obviously weary. Maybe he can make his night better? New goal for the night: make attractive Denny's waiter's night eventful. The waiter airily laughs at that, "oh yeah I'm just oozing with enthusiasm." Even the way he talks is attractive; he has the slightest accent and it makes Taehyung's heart melt. He tries to read his nametag casually, but he can't see it. Goddammit, why don't I have my contacts? Wanting to keep the conversation, Taehyung asks, "how long you've been here?" If only the waiter could get closer so he can see the nametag. Asking him outright is out of the question; Taehyung's pretty shameless most of the time, but even he finds that awkward. Instead he scoots closer to the waiter and squints aggressively at his nametag. Because that makes more sense. Jungkook. "Since 4," Jungkook almost whispers, like saying it out loud is painful, "I was supposed to leave at 12." At that Taehyung chokes, "what the fuck it's 2 am?!" Jungkook sighs wistfully, "yeah…" He gazes forlornly out into the distance, similar to a child after his parent drove past a McDonald's after saying there's food at home. "Why are you still here?" Jungkook drags his gaze back to Taehyung, seeming to snap out of whatever trance he was in, "oh, uh, I was covering for my friend. They said they'd be an hour late," he mumbles the next part to himself, "though at this point it might be their entire shift." Taehyung hums in understanding. God, he hates when people flake out like that. Poor Jungkook; he's been here for what, ten hours? And who knows when he'll leave? Speaking of Jungkook, why is he shifting awkwardly? Is his exhaustion finally catching up to him? "Um, so what can I get you to drink?" Oh fuck right. "Oh, uh," he coughs, "just some water." Taehyung mentally beats himself with a 4x4 panel of wood. Jungkook nods stiffly and leaves. When he walks away, Taehyung slams his forehead into the table, career be damned. How could he have not noticed he was just dead staring at Jungkook for a solid 2 minutes? Can he be more awkward? There's a fine line between admiring someone's features and being downright creepy, and Taehyung's past it.
Get a fucking hold of yourself you're literally a famous model and surrounded by attractive people all the time why are you acting like a middle school boy in front of his first crush I--
"Are you okay?" Taehyung lifts head up and immediately regrets it. No, no he is not okay. There stands Jungkook, directly in front of the light, which casts a halo around his figure. He's holding a glass of water and Taehyung wouldn't be surprised if it magically turned to wine. He looks so ethereal, like an angel sent from Lord Denny himself, and Taehyung knows he's completely, and thoroughly, fucked. "I am now," Taehyung finds himself saying. Does he cringe? Yes. Does he regret saying it? No. Because now Jungkook is smiling and that's all that matters. Granted it's one of those smiles you give when someone gives a pathetically lame joke, but a smile nonetheless. Jungkook pulls out a notepad and a pen. He flips to an empty page and asks, "are you ready to order?" Taehyung is anything except ready to order. There's nothing he wants--excluding the man in front of him--so he does the best thing he can. He closes his eyes and slams his finger on some random part of the menu. He opens them and reads what fate decided. "I'll have the 55+ Fit Fare Loaded Veggie Omelette." Jungkook stares incredulously at him. He tries to keep a serious face, but Taehyung can see he's holding back from cracking up. "Sir," he says, "that’s the senior menu." Taehyung looks back to where he's pointing and, sure enough, it’s the senior menu. "Did I fucking stutter," Taehyung says trying to hold on to his remaining dignity. He feels his face heat up, but there's no going back now. He sits back and crosses his arms, "can't believe how disrespectful kids are nowadays. Why can't an old man like me just live my life and order the," Taehyung squints back to the menu, "55+ Fit Fare Loaded Veggie Omelette. My poor old man back can't handle this." At this, Jungkook giggles and Taehyung decides to say fuck his dignity because Jungkook's laugh is the most beautiful sound Taehyung has ever heard. How can one man sound so angelic? It wouldn't surprise him if Jungkook told him he actually was an angel. He has never been more smitten in his life. "Okay, old man," Jungkook shakes his head with a smile, "one 55+ Fit Fare Loaded Veggie Omelette coming right up." This is definitely the highlight of Taehyung's night. Jungkook returns to the kitchen. Taehyung is sad to see him go, until he catches sight of his back and his throat goes dry. Boy, is he glad he has water. He chugs the entire glass of water, straw be damned. And, of course, Taehyung accidentally deep throats the straw. And, of course, Taehyung fucking chokes on it. And, of course, Taehyung sprays the water everywhere. And, of course, mid-choke Jungkook comes back. Jungkook frantically rummages through his apron letting out the cutest noise Taehyung's ever heard. He pulls out several napkins, trying his best to stifle his laughter but failing miserably. Taehyung feels his soul ascend when Jungkook starts gently drying his face. He knows this should be weird--they are strangers after all--but he can't find it in him to question it. Up close, Jungkook is even more gorgeous. His mouth slightly hangs open as he concentrates on drying Taehyung's face, and he tries not to focus on it. He really tries. Totally ignoring his dark hair that frames his face in such a way it accentuates his sharp cheekbones. Forget that jawline that can kill a man, or in this case, Taehyung. And that forehead; Taehyung's never thought he'd be sexually attracted to a forehead, but here he is. Sexually attracted to a forehead. What else is new? Taehyung chews on his bottom lip trying to remain completely calm, or at least a little calm. It's not working. Thankfully, Jungkook finally realizes how strange it is to be gently drying a strangers face and jerks back. "Uh," Jungkook looks down at his hands, avoiding eye contact, "sorry about that. It's been a long day." "Don't worry about it," Taehyung chokes out, trying to mask how he's nearly hyperventilating. It should be illegal for Jungkook to be that close. I'm gonna sue, I swear. There's not enough time for Taehyung to calm his racing heart before Jungkook is looking back at him. Jungkook hands him some napkins, a light blush on his cheeks. He scratches his neck then tilts his head, "by the way," he squints, "you look familiar." Here we go again. "Oh?" he replies, straining to hide the fear in his face, "do I?" "Yeah you look like that guy," Jungkook squints at him. His nose scrunches in the most bunny-like way and Taehyung wants to scream. This is too much. If he thought the party was bad, this is a whole other level. "There are many guys," he replies stiffly, eyes flickering from side to side. Jungkook tilts his head again and Taehyung is that much closer to punching a wall. His heart can't handle how adorable Jungkook is being and the anxiety of being exposed at the same time. "That…that guy…" he continues, "you know… the famous guy…starts with a V…" Taehyung almost snorts. How can Jungkook be so adorable? Obviously he's not that big of a fan if he doesn't know his stage name is just 'V'. It kind of makes him sad that he isn't a big fan, but at the same time thank god. "Fuck, what's his name," Jungkook sighs then suddenly stiffens, "oh shit sorry I didn’t mean to curse fuck wait shit." Jungkook buries his face in his hands and takes a long, deep breath. He slides into the booth with Taehyung, leaning his elbows on the table, head still being cradled in his hands. He aggressively rubs his face, sighing. "It's been such a long day." Cute. "I can tell," Tae leans forward on the table and tests his luck. He pats Jungkook's head gently, totally not to feel his soft brown hair. He tells himself it's payback for earlier. He hums gently, debating on whether he should take a risk. Jungkook relaxes at his ministrations and sighs softly. He sways a bit, as if he's about to pass out any second. Fuck it. "Is his name V?" "YES, FUCK, HIM!!" Jungkook suddenly shoots up like he just got hit with 1000 mg of pure caffeine. He almost knocks over Taehyung's cup with his head; not that it matters--it's empty. "YES, you look like him, but…" he blinks up adorably at Taehyung, "…but not." Now that's a first. Taehyung actually has no idea what to say to that. He's mildly offended because how can he not look like himself excuse me? Instead of asking why doesn't he look like himself and risking exposing himself, he nonchalantly rests his head in his hands and says, "I get that a lot." Only it's not nonchalant and he ends up knocking the cup off the table. Now it's his time to bury his face in his hands. He can hear Wheein cackling at him. Note to self: apologize to Wheein for roasting her every time she has a gay crisis. Karma really is a bitch. Jungkook either doesn't seem to notice the cup or he just chooses to ignore it. He can't be that exhausted to not hear the cup as it slams into the floor, so he assumes it's the latter. Instead, Jungkook keeps staring at Taehyung to the point it's a little uncomfortable. It's time to change the subject before he actually recognizes him. "So," Taehyung begins, twirling one of the sugar packets in his hand, "I see you're joining me for dinner." He gestures at Jungkook sitting comfortably in the booth across from him and he freezes. "Oh sorry," he starts scooting out of the seat when Taehyung grabs his wrist. At first no one moves. Jungkook flicks his eyes between Taehyung and his hand several times, waiting for an explanation. Taehyung doesn't have one. All he knows is he has Jungkook's wrist in his and he has to come up with something. "Stay with me," he ends up saying and has to refrain from physically cringing at his words. Of all the things, he had to say, it had to be a cheesy line from one of those romance movies. He high-key wants to get plowed by a tow truck heading 500 mph at this very moment, but if it makes Jungkook stay, what does it matter? Still, he tries to save himself further embarrassment, "I just feel awkward eating alone." "I have to serve the other guests, though," Jungkook responds after a minute. "There's deadass no one else here." At this, Jungkook looks around. The few people that were here had left while they weren't looking. Now it's just Taehyung and some people at the bar. "…Huh," Jungkook says,"…well okay." He glances at the kitchen, "let me just check on your food." Jungkook stumbles out of the booth in his hurry, nearly tripping on Taehyung's abandoned cup on the floor. Tae can't help but find it endearing. He's just so cute. Jungkook walks out holding a tray of food--and another cup of water--and fuck. This can't be good for Taehyung's health. The arm holding the tray strains under the weight and his fucking arms--Taehyung needs water. He wishes he didn't spill all over himself earlier. If he knew he was going to be attacked like this, he would've saved it for now. No, he's not cute. He is evil. How could such a baby boy have the body of a Man™? Taehyung is winded by the time Jungkook reaches the table. He may be hyperventilating, but Jungkook doesn't seem to notice. He sets down the plates and Taehyung doesn't watch. He can't watch. If he wants to keep at least some of his sanity, he can't see the way his arm flexes as he--No. Stop it. Two plates of food are set on the table; one is Taehyung's and the other is apparently Jungkook's. When did he put that order in? Did he anticipate this? Taehyung eyes him curiously as he takes a seat, to which Jungkook does notice. "Oh, uh, my friend put in an order for me earlier. "Yongsun?" Taehyung recalls the name from earlier. It's the only other person he's seen working here tonight, so why not throw it out there. Jungkook's eyes widen at the name, and he pauses mid-bite. "Yeah, it was her." It gets silent after that, both of them quietly eating (well, Taehyung tries to eat; it's hard when you're not really hungry). It's awkward. Very awkward. It seems while thirsting, Taehyung completely forgot they are strangers. And they met like, 30 minutes ago. He glances up from his food and sees Jungkook is tense. He feels it too. "Um," Jungkook pauses eating, "this is awkward." "You said it," Taehyung says, then mentally punches his own throat. Of course he had to give a dry response. Because why not make having a conversation harder? Why is he like this? When he's at work, he instantly befriends people. It's a skill he mastered through the years. He's even befriended the most asshole of all asshole people. He's known in the modeling world for that. Yet here he is, struggling to talk his waiter. "So," Jungkook clears his throat, drawing Taehyung out of his thoughts, "how was your day?" Taehyung snorts at Jungkook's attempt at making conversation. "We gonna do this, huh? Have that dry-ass conversation," he says as if he didn't give a dry response earlier. Jungkook rolls his eyes, "well, do you have any other suggestions?" Taehyung pauses to really think about this. Then it hits him, "if you had to pick a Spice Girl, who'd be the best to get drunk with and why. Go." Needless to say, the conversation comes easy after that. Of course it does, especially since the two have differing opinions on the Spice Girls.
["I'm just saying, Sporty Spice would outlast Ginger Spice any day. Ginger would probably pass out in an hour."
"Yeah, but Ginger Spice would do more crazy shit in that time than Sporty would all night."]
Mid-debate, Taehyung's phone starts blowing up. Who the fuck is texting him while he's defending his girl Sporty? He's about to ignore it, when he suddenly remembers that he's on the lam. And he's only three blocks away from the party. Maybe he should check them. But should he? "You should probably answer that," Jungkook says, and that's all he needs to open the messages. It's from Jimin. There are some messages from when he just escaped the party and Taehyung wonders how he didn't hear his phone buzzing then. You know why, his mind supplies, you know.
From: soulmate
[47 minutes ago]
Tae!! I think I killed Hobi!!
He's not breathing I'm so scaarredd
[44 minutes ago]
Nvm he was just faking it that asshole
He just wanted me to kiss him smh
I didn't some old dude was and he immediately woke up lol
[40 minutes ago]
How sweet hyejin is comforting wheein
Im surprised hyejin hasn't figured out you left lol
[39 minutes ago]
HYEJIN FOUND OUT WHEEINS A TRAITOR I REPEAT WHEEINS A TRAITOR
CURSE HER WEAK GAY HEART
[35 minutes ago]
HYEJIN HAS HOBI IN A CHOKEHOLD I THINK HE'S ACTUALLY GONNA DIE
I THINK HES DEAD
[sends image]
The image is blurry and half of it is covered by a wall, but there it's clear that Hoseok is, in fact, dead. Hyejin's holding his limp, lifeless body with slight panic in her blurry face. Wheein in the background in the same position as when he left earlier. He wouldn't be surprised if she's in shock. Of course Hyejin would go for Hoseok; he's the easiest to get information out of. Poor Hoseok always get targeted whenever Taehyung is up to no good. He should treat him to dinner one day. He mentally salutes his deceased friend, you will be missed dearly, Hobi. He continues reading. [32 minutes ago]
I cant believe jin is still making out with the dj while hobi is dying
Dead*
[29 minutes ago]
JIN FINALLY STOPPED FUCKING THE DJ TO SAVE HOBI
Is this character development?
[27 minutes ago]
Where in the fuck did jin get so many sandals
How is he so good at throwing them I--
[22 minutes ago]
Hyejin should've been an olympic dodgeball player instead of a manager tf is this
[21 minutes ago]
A RENEGADE SANDAL HIT MY EYE TAE
IM BLIND TAE
[19 minutes ago]
WHEEIN IS THROWING SANDALS AT JIN NOW I--
wheeins officially cancelled from our friend group
--from our friend group*
[17 minutes ago]
Why is there a sandal war going on and NO ONE bothered to move hobi out of the way smh
Gotta do everything in this fucking house
[12 minutes ago]
Tae are you alive
You havent responded yet
Oh my god what if youre hurt
Or kidnapped
Oh my god tae are you alive pls
Im so worried
Are you okay
Jin ran out of sandals
Were dead tae but you better not be
Another message comes in just as he finishes reading the last one. [Now]
Are you at fucking dennys?
The one 3 blocks from here??
He doesn't want to know how Jimin found this out. Nor does he question it. Maybe he found out through their soulmate connection? That's what he tells himself anyway. "Hey, Jungkook, would you mind taking a selfie with me?" He's really bold today isn't he? "My friend wants to make sure I'm alive." "Why would they think you're dead," Jungkook gives him a strange look, but gets in the picture anyway. Taehyung strategically angles it so Jungkook is in most of the picture. Because he can. He snaps several pictures, and when he starts rapid-fire taking pictures, Jungkook laughs. He presses the button faster. "What if I told you I'm on the lam," he nonchalantly replies while scrolling through his photos (he's pretty sure there's probably a hundred of them). He picks the one that seems the clearest and sends it to Jimin. "I believe it. Anyone that thinks Sporty Spice is a better drinking partner than Ginger Spice has to be a criminal." "Excuse me?" Taehyung raises a brow. He's a little taken aback; Jungkook's been nothing but sweet and suddenly he's roasting him. What is this change of character? And why is it suddenly so hot in here? "You're excused." Okay, he's has to admit, he did not expect this. He never would've thought Jungkook had a sassy side; he thought he was all adorable giggles and muscle, but it seems not. To say he's a little aroused is an understatement. But now's not the time for that. Right now he need to focus on not getting his ass pulverized by his manager. His phone buzzes again. And again. And again. Oh boy.
From: soulmate
[Now]
Whos that in the pic with you
Is that your fucking waiter tae I swear to god
Youre flirting with him arent you
Youre out here flirting with your waiter while we out here dying
Smh
I cant believe hobi died for you and I lost my eye
Taehyung smiles; Jimin knows him so well. And also has impressive typing speed.
To: soulmate
[now]Love you Minnie ;* Taehyung looks up to find Jungkook staring at him. He seems to be lost in thought before he shakes his head and finishes his food, "so what happened?" What's the best way to phrase this? "I crawled out the fire escape of a five-story building to escape a party--thrown for me--and now the party-arranger is out for my blood. My friends are fending her off with a sandal war and I think one died, bless his soul," he blows a kiss to the sky for Hoseok, "and I only ran 3 blocks from the party--which is probably not the best decision--before I got tired and now I'm here." That was probably not the best way to phrase this. Jungkook still as he taking in all this information. If this wasn't real life, Taehyung might've thought he was looking at a JPEG image. After a few minutes, Jungkook.JPEG responds, "seems like you had a wild night." Flashbacks of the deafening blast of 'Kulikitaka', the table merengue, the stripped Hyejin, the borderline-exhibitionism at the DJ booth, the dead Hoseok, the ongoing sandal war hit Taehyung like the renegade sandal that hit Jimin's eye. Softly, but with passion, he whispers, "you have no idea." The phone buzzes again. They exchange a glance. "Looks like it's only gonna get wilder…" Taehyung comments before checking the messages. It's from Seokjin now. From: Jinnie [12 minutes ago]
I've run out of sandals.
I'm sorry.
[8 minutes ago]
Taehyungie! Turn off your location and run!!
The devil found you!!
So it wasn't through the soulmate connection after all. Rather, it was the GPS connection. Either way this is not good. It was sent eight minutes ago, so Taehyung doesn't have much time. They could be here any minute now, especially since Hyejin is pissed. He sighs. Of all the nights he had to meet Jungkook, it had to be on the night where he's on the run. On the night he can not just stay here and spend all night talking with him. "They found me," he mutters and looks up at Jungkook. Jungkook raises a brow and opens his mouth to reply when there's loud voices coming from the outside of the Denny's. His phone buzzes and he checks the messages immediately.
From: Jinnie
[Now]
Why is jiminie trying to fight hyejin-nim in the denny's parking lot?
He challenged her to a rap battle.
He's losing miserably.
I think he's crying.
Brb im gonna step in hold my rings tae.
Just when he finished reading the messages (turning off his location), Yongsun runs over, panting. Jungkook looks at her in alarm and gets up from the booth, "Sunnie, are you okay?" She abruptly stands up, grinning ear to ear. Well at least she's fine. "Jungkookie," she smiles, "there's some people doing a rap battle in the parking lot and I think one of them is Jin!!" "Jin?! Like, Kim Seokjin?! What is he doing here??" Jungkook asks, ecstatic. His face lights up at the mention of Seokjin and Taehyung pretends to not be offended that he knows his friend, but not him. Then again, people tend to remember singers more than models (even though models are in every magazine and billboard and basically everything, but go off I guess). "Welp," Taehyung gets out from the booth, "that's my cue to leave." Jungkook flicks his gaze from the window back to Taehyung. "Wait, are those your friends outside?" Jungkook asks, baffled. His jaw nearly drops to the floor and, without thinking, Taehyung reaches over and closes it. If Jungkook wasn't shocked already, now he definitely is. Taehyung mentally sighs at himself. Some days he just wants to viciously beat himself in the face with a can of Lysol, and this is one of those days. In an attempt to save himself, he lightly pats Jungkook's cheek, looking him directly in the eyes. He does his best to smile, though it comes out like a grimace, "save me, waiter boy, before I'm murdered." Well, he did say it was an attempt. Not all attempts succeed. Yongsun breaks the awkward silence between them by saying, "I don't know what's going on, but Jungkookie go sneak him out the back while I distract whoever's trying to kill him." She spins around and leaves before they can object--not that Taehyung was planning to. He'll take what he can get at this point. Jungkook gawks at Taehyung for a few more seconds before he finally collects himself. "Oh, uh, let me get you a box," he says glancing at Taehyung's barely touched food. He practically sprints into the kitchen, leaving Taehyung with his dumb ass self. Just when he was seeing a new side of Jungkook--one he cannot think about for too long--he had to go and make things weird. Sigh. There's a loud cry of agony that sounds an awful lot like Seokjin losing a rap battle outside. It really is time to go. Jungkook returns with a box, and with one graceful swoop, all of Taehyung's food is in it. The act brings Taehyung to tears. He's never seen something so beautiful, so poetic, so enchanting in his entire existence. It was in that moment he knew he had to have Jungkook. And to further reinforce his decision, Jungkook also manages to pull Taehyung out of sight just as Hyejin walks in. Talk about a master of timing. With the way Hyejin walks in, no one could ever fathom that she just single-handedly annihilated all of Taehyung's friends, one by one. That she managed to sprint 3 blocks, in heels, in eight minutes without breaking a sweat. And to top it all off, she asks in the calmest, steadiest voice, "have you seen this man?" and is presumably holding up a picture of Taehyung. Taehyung never feared for his life more than he does right now. Another aspect of Jungkook Taehyung discovers is that this man is fast. He isn't even running (barely even speed-walking), yet he is faster than Taehyung at his top speed. Maybe even faster than Jimin. He doesn't even have time to blink before he and Jungkook arrive at the back entrance. His wrist may be slightly dislocated but he can't find it in himself to care right now. A dislocated wrist is better than a verbal assault from Hyejin any day. Jungkook opens the door for Taehyung to escape from, but Taehyung hesitates. There's a feeling that he's forgetting something. Something important. Oh wait! "OH," Taehyung says slightly louder than he intended it to be. He rummages through his pockets trying to feel for something wallet-like. He yanks out an amount probably significantly over the cost of his meal, "I forgot to pay." He tries to hand it over to Jungkook, but Jungkook shakes his head and waves it away, "don't worry; it's on the house." Listen, Taehyung is all for free food, and would accept this in a heartbeat if it was anyone else, but for some reason he can't from Jungkook. So what does Taehyung do? Continuously shove the money at Jungkook while saying, "just take my fucking money," to which Jungkook replies, "no, it's okay, dude," with little giggles being let out every time Taehyung tries (which only drives him to keep going). Why? Because it's the only logical thing to do in this very moment. Running away? Nah. There's a loud crash just outside the entrance to the kitchen. Someone--possibly the chef--yells, "is that Kim Seokjin using Park Jimin as a cross?!" and a voice like Seokjin screams, "begone demon!!" then there's another loud crash. He must leave immediately. Without a second thought, Taehyung grabs all the money from his wallet and slams it into Jungkook's chest, trying not to keel over by how firm it is. Now's not the time for that, Taehyung. Before the money falls Jungkook grabs it on instinct and looks at Taehyung, confused. "Take it as my tip, then," Taehyung winks and before Jungkook can say anything, he's sprinting out the door. Taehyung looks back at Jungkook and the feeling comes back. Something's missing and he just can't figure out what. He paid the bill (more than just that), so what could be missing? All those thoughts get thrown out the window as he watches Jungkook.JPEG standing there, with the biggest tip of his entire Denny's career, slowly let the door shut on his face. Well, at least he knows he accomplished his mission for the night.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The door clicks behind Jungkook as he enters his apartment, the sound deafening to his ears. Its late, around five in the morning, and he wants nothing more than to pass out on the couch. And he would, if it wasn't for the fact he has to get his sisters ready for school in an hour. Jungkook flops on the couch despite his mind warning against it. If he passes out, oh well. His alarm will wake him up anyways. A few minutes of sleep won't hurt. If his mind lets him sleep, that is. Why did he agree to cover for Yugyeom? It's never 'just an hour' with him. Then again, he is short on cash this month, so maybe this is a good thing. Maybe suffering for a few extra hours is worth it in the end. Minji just started high school, and even though she insisted that she attend a cheaper school, Jungkook refused. He wants her to get a decent education, even if the tuition is hell. So far he's been making ends meet; however, this month Hana wanted to take dance classes, and who is he to say no to that adorable face? So what if he needs another job? Hana was thrilled for dance class; eyes sparkling as she gushes about a new dance routine. And Minji? She's on the honor roll every semester and has the highest test scores in her class. Sure he may be skipping some meals and barely sleeping, but seeing his sisters smile makes it all worth it. They're worth it. Jungkook barely registers the soft pitter-patter approaching him, or the gentle dip next to him. It isn't until he hears a hushed, "Kookie," that he processes someone sitting next to him and a blanket being tossed on him. Minji wraps the blanket further around Jungkook, "did you just get home?" He doesn't respond and she sighs. "I told you to stop overworking yourself," Minji huffs, though that doesn't mask the concern seeping in her voice. "Remember what I said last time?" Minji drapes another blanket around Jungkook and tightly winds it around him. Before he realizes what's going on, Minji already accomplished her goal. She sits back admiring her work and lets out a huff of triumph. "Look, now you're a Koo-rrito," she shakes her head in shame, "you did this to yourself. Such a shame, you were a semi-decent brother. You might be missed." Minji gets up and returns to her room, but not before Jungkook grumbles, "you're evil," he shifts around getting more comfortable despite his mind telling him to get up, "evil, evil sister." Minji snorts, "go to sleep, idiot." "You're an idiot," Jungkook trails off, squirming around trying to free himself, but he lacks both the energy and will to do so. In the end, he succumbs to the Koo-rrito. Life as a Koo-rrito isn't so bad, right? It's warm, and comforting, and… And just like that he's out. When Jungkook wakes up it's around five in the afternoon. And, god, is he sweaty. Needless to say, he has a newfound respect for butterflies now. Getting out of this cocoon is impossible. How do butterflies do this? No, where did Minji learn this? What do they teach her in school? Jungkook flails around, feeling the blankets gradually loosening. So this is how the butterflies do it? He keeps squirming, eventually the blankets giving in. It only took fifteen minutes and a lot of tears, but he managed to free himself. It seems Minji, after he fell asleep, also set down some Tylenol, with a note saying, 'for you, loser'. What a cutie. Jungkook folds up the note, sluggishly lifting himself off the couch to add it to his 'cute notes from Minmin uwu' jar. The jar right next to a fat stack of money. Wait. The memories flood back to him, memories he can't believe he forgot about considering it happened not even 24 hours ago. Then again, he had worked for 10 hours straight, so it all being hallucination isn't too far-fetched. Except it's not a hallucination and Jungkook is more conflicted than ever. If this is real, then that means Kim Seokjin really did have a rap battle in the parking lot. Park Jimin really was crucified. But most of all, that means he really meet him. The man that single-handedly changed his night with a flash of that boxy smile and riveting debate over the Spice Girls. He isn't just a dream. No, he is very much real. And he doesn't know his fucking name. That's the one thing he regrets. As he watched the man vanish, Jungkook realized, to his horror, that he never got his name. Or a number. All he has to go by is that the man looks suspiciously like V--that famous supermodel Minji is obsessed with--and is in some way affiliated with Kim Seokjin. And the man is somehow loaded. Jungkook sighs, turning over the cash in his hand. As much as he wants to keep it--it will really help with rent this month--he should return it. It doesn't feel right to take it. What did he do to earn it? Nothing. Something nicks his finger that is distinctly not money-like. Its sturdier, not like the flimsy paper of the bill. He picks out the object--looks like a small piece of cardstock--and turns it around and oh. Is his mind playing with him? Is he still asleep? It can't be. He flips it around again. And again. Yup. It's not changing. The door clicks open and Hana screams 'we're home!' Jungkook quickly shoves the paper in his wallet, turning to greet his sisters. He'll deal with that another day. To say Taehyung is terrified is an understatement. No, he is beyond terrified. Anxious? No. Panicked? No. Petrified? No. None of these can describe how he's feeling right now. It's been a whole 32 hours since he last saw Hyejin; that or he's subconsciously good at avoiding her. Not a text or a call. Nothing. Everything's been…calm. He doesn't know what to make of it, what to think of it, so he doesn't. Or that's what he tells himself anyway. How can he not think about it? He knows he fucked up bad, and yet there's been no punishment as of yet. He'd been fearing the repercussions of his actions the moment he climbed out the fire escape, but this radio silence is so much worse. Should he reach out to her? But what if she vaporizes him on sight? He's too young to die; who's going to take care of Yeontan? Jimin? He'll probably be so preoccupied with loving Yeontan, he'll forget to eat. It's decided: he must stay alive for Jimin's health. Avoiding Hyejin it is. But it seems the world doesn't give two fucks about this decision. "Taehyung." Taehyung goes rigid as he hears that calm voice from behind him. He slowly turns around to meet the face he hasn't seen in so long. "Hi," he says with a grimace, trying to sound like he isn't about to shit his pants. "I'm not upset with you," she begins, dismissively waving her hand, "we just need to discuss some things." Hyejin gestures for him to follow her, leading him to her office. Taehyung takes a seat across from Hyejin's desk, not at all relaxed. Maybe this is where she pops off; in the isolation of her office where there are no witnesses. Hyejin sits down with a sigh, "Taehyung, I would first like to apologize." What? "What." Okay the world is fucking with him, right? This makes no sense. Is he really alive right now? Maybe he actually died in the Denny's. What else can explain this? Hyejin shifts to a more comfortable position and continues, "I didn't mean to stress you so much you would vanish for hours and climb out a fire escape to get away." "ᵂʰᵃᵗ." "Wheein told me after you left Denny's why you left in the first place and the state you were in when they found you." "W h a t." "So after much deliberation, I decided that to make up for these turn of events, to let you decide how you want to promote yourself, with the exception that you must keep your contract with Wheein. What do you say to that?" "W h a t." "Taehyung, stop saying 'what' and respond like a normal human." "…¿Que?" Hyejin sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I swear to god Taehyung you'll be the death of me," she mumbles to herself then stands up. She walks around her desk and drags Taehyung's chair to the exit. Such a surprising amount of strength for such a small person. "I'll just send you an email later with all the details, just leave my office and go play with Jimin or whatever." Taehyung.exe reboots at the mention of Jimin, a thought popping up in his head. That's right, he still hasn't told Jimin (or any of his friends for that matter) about that night. The night he met him. The man who saved his life, both physically and emotionally. The man who cleansed his soul of all his sins, then made new sins. The man who he couldn't stop thinking about--up until he realized that Hyejin went MIA then that was all he could think about. But now that that problem's solved, he can go back to thinking about him. Jungkook. And what better way to think about Jungkook than to gush to all his friends about him. He takes one step out the door before a hand grabs him, and he's back in Hyejin's office once more. Hyejin spins him around, giving him an apologetic look before saying, "sorry I forgot to mention this, but you have a date with Wheein today. You can play around with Jimin later." Great. Taehyung tries to not let his disgust show on his face. He really tries. But judging by the sympathetic look on Hyejin's face, he's failing miserably. In the flattest voice, he asks, "when." "Right now." Well fuck. So much for his plans. Guess the gushing will have to come later. Or, Taehyung's mind adds, you can annoy Wheein with it. Taehyung suddenly perks up with a devilish smile on his face. Hyejin already know he's up to no good, and shoves him out of the room whispering, "don’t bother her too much." "Who would I be if I didn't bother Wheein?" Hyejin smiles, shaking her head, "I'm so sorry, Wheein." "Taehyung, I swear to god if you dare talk about that guy you met two days ago, I will smash this cup over your head." "Well fucking hello to you too, Wheein," Taehyung slides into the booth across from Wheein, "I hope I kept you waiting." She scoffs, looking down to her menu. He holds the menu to his face as a guise for surveying the restaurant. The body guards are in place, ready to kick the paparazzi out to make this date seem more 'real'. The paparazzi aren't here, though. Taehyung clicks his tongue. He just wants to take these damn pictures and move on with his day, but looks like he'll have to endure a little longer. "Honestly, I wish you kept me waiting until I had to go to my next schedule," Wheein snaps back, drawing Taehyung back to reality, "then I wouldn't have to see your face for the next week." "Wow, you're feisty today," Taehyung fans himself, tugging at his collar for extra effect, "keep going and you might just make me straight." Wheein lets out a deep exhale, already looking like she wants to go home, "this is not the time or place for your brat-kink, Taehyung." "It's always the time and place for my brat-kink, Wheein," he says with a wink, and he can see her soul leave her body. A waiter comes by and takes their order, getting all starstruck when he recognizes them. He seems to be a bigger fan of Taehyung--eat shit Wheein--so when the waiter asks for a picture, Taehyung grabs his phone and rapid-fire spams selfies. Maybe the paparazzi will come faster now. Taehyung smiles as he hands the phone back to the waiter, waiting until he's out of earshot before asking, "by the way, how'd you know I was gonna talk about the Denny's guy?" Wheein twirls the straw in her water, eyes devoid of life, "I felt it in my left tit." "Those are some amazing tiddy senses. I wish I had tiddies so they can talk to me." Wheein lets out a withering sigh, the remnants of her soul vanishing, "sometimes I wish I was born deaf so I wouldn't have to hear all the shit that comes out of your mouth." "ANYWAYS," Taehyung continues ignoring her comment, "I heard from a Hyejin that you told her what happened to me the other night." Wheein sips her water again, trying to act nonchalant though a blush forms on her cheeks, "what about it?" Taehyung gasps powerfully, "WOW," he places a hand on his chest, "you're not denying it; I'm surprised." "Go choke on a dick, Taehyung," Wheein beams a packet of sugar at his forehead, blushing furiously. He dodges it, much to her annoyance. "Would love to, but I'm stuck here until the paparazzi arrive," Taehyung grins. Just as he says that, white light flash in his peripheral vision. A quick glance in the direction confirms his suspicions; they're here. His grin falters, but is quickly replaced by his practiced smile. He extends his hand to Wheein, "looks like it's go time." Wheein glances to the side, and sighs, "let's get this over with." She puts on her practiced smile, one Taehyung is all too familiar with, and grabs his hand. She slightly grimaces and Taehyung can't help but laugh. With the amount of times they've already done this, he'd think she'd be used it by now, but the pain is evident in her eyes, "I want to set my hand on fire." Taehyung leans on his other hand, gazing 'lovingly' into Wheein's eyes, "and I want to saw off my arm with this spoon, you ain't special." Wheein smiles warmly, eyes forming crescents, "I can't wait for this to be over so I can punch that pretty model face of yours." He brushes her hair behind her ear, snickering to himself when Wheein subtly scrunches her face in disgust, "I don't think Hyejin would appreciate you putting her best model out of business." "If it weren't for Hyejin I would have slaughtered you by now." A storm of flashes flood his periphery at his gesture. He can't help the smug expression on his face when Wheein realizes she's lost. She tries to top that, pulling other cliché moves, but nothing gets the response Taehyung got. When their food arrives, the bodyguards spring into action. They shove the paparazzi away, some even standing outside to ensure none of them walk back in. It's finally over. "Looks, like you're paying," Taehyung chuckles as the paparazzi dissipate. They put on quite a show today, so hopefully they won't have to do this again for a while. Wheein asks the waiter for two boxes, and tries to pull her hand away, but Taehyung tightens his grip. Wheein eyes widen in alarm, gaping at Taehyung, "what are you doing?" "Now that we're alone," he grins devilishly, "let me tell you about the Denny's boy. Or rather, the Denny's Man™." "For fucks sake, Taehyung!" Wheein frantically tries to pull away her hand, but Taehyung's got a grip of steel. "Get fucking got, Wheein." Wheein repeatedly slams her head as they approach 20th minute of Taehyung gushing about Jungkook. Their food is probably cold by now, but he doesn't mind. Taehyung may want to amputate his hand from holding Wheein's for so long, but it's worth seeing Wheein suffer. "And I swear this guy has galaxies in his eyes and those thighs, my god Wheein I was a sinner before but now I'm a Sinner--" Wheein raises her hand, cutting him off. She raises her head, face worn with agony, "why are you talking to me and not hitting up this galaxy-thigh boy of yours?" Taehyung stops, face paling as it dawns upon him. He never got his number. The one trope that Taehyung hates in movies because how can you forget their number, you spinach? Yet here he is, stuck in the same trope that he hates. He's the spinach now. Wheein flaps her hand in front of Taehyung's face, "hello? Taehyung? Did you die? When are you--" "Shut the fuck up Wheein, I'm having a crisis right now." "When aren't you having a crisis though?" she sips her water, a hint of a smirk forming, "you didn't get his number did you?" When Taehyung doesn't respond, Wheein starts cackling, head slamming into the table. He hopes it hurt. "I can't fucking believe--" She wheezes and lifts her head, a red mark prominent on her forehead, "you fell for that dumbass--" It's Taehyung turn to slam his head into the table, "I know!! I can't believe I fell for it…" Taehyung lolls his head to the side, "and after all the fanfics I read." Wheein stops laughing, amusement replaced with curiosity, "wait you read fanfiction? Of who?" "Me and Jimin, duh," Taehyung shakes his head, "get with the times, Wheein." "I'm telling Jimin." "Go ahead, he reads them too." She stares, unblinking, at Taehyung looking like she wants to say something, but doesn't. "So," Wheein continues nonchalantly, ignoring their previous conversation, "how are you gonna get this dream man of yours?" "I have a plan," he says while not having a plan. Wheein raises a brow, but doesn't ask for details, only one thing, "does it involve me?" "No." "Thank fucking god." "It's so sweet to bring me on your quest to find the love of your life, Tae," Hoseok chirps, skipping next to Taehyung. Taehyung can't help but smile, his day already brightening (how could it not when the literal sun is walking next to him?). His face mask itches a bit, but as a Celebrity™, wearing a face mask is a necessity. For some reason, it's windy as fuck today, but it only seems to be affecting Taehyung. Hoseok's still looking like he's ready for a photoshoot while Taehyung looks like he just plowed through the eyewall of a hurricane. "He's not the love of my life, Hobi," Taehyung sighs, flicking his hair out of his eyes, again, "he's just an infatuation." "Infatuation my ass," Hoseok mumbles, though Taehyung chooses to ignore it. The wind blows again as another 'fuck you' to Taehyung, and at this point he accepts it. There's no point in fighting it. If nature wants to fuck with him, then so be it. Hoseok snickers when Taehyung glares at him. Taehyung huffs, "shut, up Hobi, I only brought you because Jimin and Seokjin were busy." "Wow, rude." "Love you," Taehyung pulls down his face mask and blows a kiss, skipping ahead of Hoseok. It really is an infatuation. It'd be insane if he managed to fall in love within an hour of meeting someone. Things don't work like that. That type of thing reserved only for hetero-romance movies, and this is a hetero-romance movie free zone. Taehyung abruptly halts, sending Hoseok toppling over behind him. Taehyung's not paying attention to that, only focusing on one thing, and one thing only. "Wait," he faces Hoseok, still laying on the ground but now in a 'paint me like one of your French girls' position. Why is he doing this, he does not know, but if there's one thing he learned about Hoseok over the years is to not question anything he does. "I have no idea where to start, Hobi." Hoseok hums in thought for a while, scratching his chin. "Have you considered, wait for it," he pauses for an unreasonable amount of time, "checking the place where he works." If it isn't for the fact Hoseok is absolutely right, he would probably smack him for being so damn sarcastic. If he wasn't here, Taehyung would have ended up wandering around the city aimlessly, hoping to eventually run into Jungkook. So maybe he is a little thankful to have brought Hoseok with him, but that still doesn't stop him from saying, "Hobi, I'm gonna suplex you into the next century if you keep this up." "Sounds kinky, I'm in." He's really trying. It's too early in the day for this. Taehyung only takes bullshit within the hours of 3:00 and 3:01 p.m., and it is nowhere near those hours. Bullshit-taking hours are closed, but Hoseok doesn't seem to give two fucks about that. Taehyung rubs his temples, sighing to another dimension, "@Jimin please come collect your man." "This is a verbal conversation; you can't tag Jimin here." "@Jimin if you don’t answer I'm selling Hobi to the Mexican drug cartel," Taehyung says as he steps over Hoseok, routing his GPS to the Denny's. It's quite a distance from here, but nothing Taehyung hasn't faced before. Hoseok's phone rings as he finally gets up from the floor. Hoseok's eyes go wide and he gawks at Taehyung, then at his phone. He answers it, putting the phone on speaker as he catches up to Taehyung. "Jimin??" Hoseok almost screams, mortified. Taehyung raises a brow at that, stopping in his tracks to look at the phone. Sure enough, it's Jimin. "Whatever you're doing to Taehyung, you need to stop," Jimin chides and Taehyung is stunned. The soulmate bond does exist. "How did--" "The trees whispered something about you being sold to a Mexican drug cartel." Nevermind. It wasn't the soulmate bond, just the trees. Bless Jimin's faerie ass. "How the f--" There's someone yelling on Jimin's side of the call and Jimin screams something back in a foreign language. "Gotta go, Hobi. Don't do drugs," Jimin hangs up with a click and Hoseok doesn't move, doesn't blink. All that moves are his legs, his upper half still as a photograph. "You underestimated the power of the tag," Taehyung taunts, "@god smite him." Hoseok's phone rings again to his horror, going rigid as he reads the caller ID. The call is picked up, despite neither Taehyung or Hoseok accepting the call. "Heard someone needed an ass whooping?" Seokjin asks. Hoseok immediately hangs up, powers off his phone, and chucks it across the street. A car runs it over, shattering it to pieces. There might be a little regret on Hoseok's face, but that doesn't stop him from shrugging and keep walking as if he didn't just destroy his thousand dollar phone two seconds ago. "Anyways," Hoseok coughs, "am I ever gonna hear about this waiter-boy of yours?" Taehyung chokes, taken aback by Hoseok's apparent knowledge of Jungkook. "How'd you know??" "Listen," Hoseok says, "the only reason you'd ever risk your life by chillin at a Denny's is because you saw a cute waiter-boy." "You're not wrong," Taehyung shrugs, "also I didn't see him at first, I just happened to run into him." "Mhm, yeah I'm convinced," Hoseok says, unconvinced. He wraps an arm around Taehyung's shoulder, "so who's got you fucked up?" Taehyung sighs, and wraps his arm around Hoseok, a smile growing on his face, "so let me tell you about Jungkook." "I can't believe you got such a cute piece of ass while I was out there being dead," Hoseok says while scrolling through the photos on Taehyung's phone. Hoseok coos at one picture--the one and holds it up to Taehyung, "just look at his ˡᶦᵗᵗˡᵉ ᵇᵘⁿⁿʸ ˢᵐᶦˡᵉ ᵒʰ ᵐʸ ᵍᵒᵈ." "You should hear his giggles; that shit warmed my heart, cleansed my soul, watered my crops…" Hoseok gasps softly, hand gently placed on his heart, "I ˡᵒᵛᵉ him." "Now you understand my dilemma," Taehyung grabs back his phone, opening maps again. The Denny's coming up soon, maybe a block or so left. He subtly picks up the pace, wanting to reach Jungkook just a little faster. He's not whipped, he swears. "OKAY, now we actually need to find him," Hoseok matches Taehyung's pace, maybe walking a little faster. Scratch that, he is walking faster than Taehyung. Almost running. He's not whipped but Hoseok sure is. And he never even met Jungkook. "I'm glad you finally decide find him as we are out to find him," the wind blows his hair into his eyes, blinding him, but that doesn’t deter him from speeding up. If he crashes into something then so be it. "I was here for shits and giggles, but now I have my eyes o p e n," he widens his eyes comically large, scanning everyone in the area and traumatizing some children. One's crying. "Okay go off, Hobi," Taehyung says as they reach the entrance. He abruptly stops in front of the building, and Hoseok crashes into him again, though he doesn’t fall this time. "What is it now, Tae? I wanna see Jungkook." "Calm your whipped ass and listen to me," Taehyung grabs Hoseok's shoulders and looks him in the eye, "you will not go in there and ask for Jungkook, okay?" The pout on Hoseok's face is absolutely endearing, and Taehyung knows for sure Hoseok is Whipped™, "but why not?" "I don't want to seem desperate." The pout is immediately replaced with a blank look, "really." "And what if he doesn't want to see me?" "Really," Hoseok deadpans, "you're Kim Taehyung, world famous supermodel, with an attractive body and personality, and you think he doesn't want to see you again?" Taehyung nods and Hoseok shakes his head, "what happened to my confident gay Taehyung?" "He's died." Hoseok rolls his eyes and pulls Taehyung inside. The Denny's is a little too packed for his liking, but he'll have to deal with it. The hostess is the same one as before--Yongsun--and when she looks at Taehyung, her eyes light up. "Oh, you're back!!" Taehyung pulls down his mask to smile at Yongsun, "so you are a fan." How else will she recognize him even with a mask on? "YUP," she says a little too loud, and she covers her mouth, faking a cough. "I mean, yeah, haha," she twirls a piece of her hair, "I was kind of sad when you left the other day because I couldn't get a picture." The light in her eyes dim and Taehyung simply can't have this. "LET'S TAKE A PICTURE RIGHT NOW," Taehyung says, moving to stands right next to her. "what oh my god really," Yongsun fumbles to take her phone out and nearly drops it. With shaky hands, she opens the camera. "I can't believe this is happening, oh my god." The pictures keep coming out blurry, Yongsun's excitement too much for her to handle, but eventually they get a decent one. Immediately after, she starts tapping on her phone and Taehyung feels his heart swell when he reads 'set as wallpaper'. "I'm setting this as my background for life," Yongsun says, gazing dreamily at her phone. She pockets it, and takes a deep, steadying breath. "Okay," she says, getting back into her work mindset, "so how many?" "Just two," Hoseok speaks up behind him and Taehyung has to resist screaming in terror. Taehyung clutches his chest, as he turned to Hoseok, "When did you get there?!" "I've been here this whole time what you mean?" Hoseok raises a brow, "I literally walked with you here." "I forgot you were here." "Wow such a fake friend," Hoseok shakes his head, "can you make it a table for one and throw his sorry-ass in the trash along with all the other fake friends?" "Sure," Yongsun leads Hoseok away, leaving Taehyung with his jaw dropped. "Yongsun, I thought you were on my side!!" "I don't stan fake friends," Yongsun glances back with a smirk on her face. "OOF," Hoseok points at Yongsun looking back at Taehyung, "I like her." "Betrayed by my own fan," Taehyung sighs, pulling up his mask and following behind them. She leads them back to the same place Taehyung was at the other night. Is Jungkook waiting the same area? Taehyung's heart races as Yongsun sets down the menu, "your waiter will be out shortly." Hoseok mumbles a thanks, and scans over the menu, not seeing how Taehyung is having a damn-near heart attack right now. Taehyung tries to focus on reading the menu, hoping that maybe his hunger will be enough to slow down his heart. It's not. You need to calm the fuck down, Tae. It's not that deep just ask for his fucking number and go. Taehyung pauses, staring at the air, then glances back down to his menu. Well, maybe not go because you're actually kind of hungry and you might be put on a diet again because of promotions so now's the time to treat yo' sel-- "Hello, what do you want to drink?" Taehyung jerks out of his thoughts, eyes darting to the unfamiliar voice. It isn't Jungkook, instead someone slightly smaller, and more dead inside. Taehyung's heart sinks and he tries to not let his disappointment show on his face. Keyword: 'tries'. The waiter gives him a look and right before he speaks, Hoseok pipes in, "I'll have a sprite and what do you want, Tae?" "Wa--" He stops. Treat yo' self. "Coke." The waiter nods and when he leaves, Hoseok unleashes his giggles, "oh my god, Tae, could you look anymore like a sad puppy??" "Did I really look like that??" "YES," Hoseok screams, "I was two seconds from jumping across this table and hugging you, you looked so sad, Tae." Taehyung feels his face heat up and to makes things worse, the waiter comes back and whispers, "hey, kid, you want a milkshake or something? You seem a little down." While gracious for the offer, Taehyung can't help but feel ashamed. Had he really looked like a sad puppy when he saw it wasn't Jungkook? He needs to learn to keep his face straight. Can't have a straight face if you aren't straight, a voice like Jimin's says in his head. "Hey, don't worry about it," Hoseok speaks up, since Taehyung is too embarrassed to speak right now, "he's just sad because you aren't Jungkook. Speaking of which do you know where he is?" Hoseok not ask about Jungkook challenge: failed.