Work Text:
[The Plan]
Jeongguk thinks that a certain Kim Taehyung is as vibrant as the sun, and as mysterious as the moon.
Though when he had voiced this to his good-for-nothing best friend, Jimin had all but snorted in his face, patting his bicep condescendingly, with an “okay Shakespeare”, before turning back to his study notes. So Jeongguk keeps his observations to himself. Which is fine, most days.
Except for days where Taehyung wears skinny jeans.
Today is one of those days.
“Jimin,” He whines quietly into Jimin’s ear. They’re studying in the library, tucked away into a quiet corner they claimed as their own.
Unluckily, (or luckily, Jeongguk’s not really sure) Taehyung’s in Jeongguk’s line of view, and every time Jeongguk tries to steal a glance at him (which is more often than Jeongguk would like to admit, but at least he’s man enough to admit that he has no dignity when he comes to a certain art major), he can feel the arousal bubbling in his stomach and rearing its head like an ugly monster because seriously, that kid needs to be stopped before he makes Jeongguk combust from the sheer sex-god aura oozing from every pore (or even worse, make Jeongguk say something he’ll regret for the rest of his life, “hey Taehyung, I kind of have a really huge fucking crush on you?”).
“What do you want Jeon Jeongguk? These notes aren’t going to read themselves,” Jimin whispers back, pinching his skin. Jeongguk lets out a quiet yelp, cursing the heavens above at whoever decided it would be a hilarious, cosmic joke to make them best friends.
“Look at Taehyung. He’s wearing skinny jeans. Does he want me to fail at life? Why does he do that, hyung? Why does he set out to make my life so fucking miserable?”
“Oh my god, just go up to him and say something, then. Stop whining in my ear like some thirsty, love-sick puppy.” Jimin rolls his eyes and turns back to his notes. Jeongguk knows that he’s annoying Jimin, so he tries to shut up and leave him alone. It lasts for a solid thirty seconds (Jeongguk applauds himself) before he can feel his eyes wandering over to Taehyung again.
Taehyung seems to feel his eyes on him, because he looks up, his eyes boring into the depths of Jeongguk’s eyes (and soul). Taehyung’s eyes sparkle mischievously and he pulls his face into a goofy expression, scrunching up his nose and crossing his eyes. Jeongguk’s eyes widen and he splutters slightly, looking away so quickly he can feel the muscles in his neck cramping. He fans himself with his notes; because seriously did someone turn on the heating why is it so goddamn hot in here all of a sudden? Jeongguk doesn’t really understand when he turned from the suave, sophisticated and intimidating man into a pining, flustered puppy, always trailing after Taehyung from afar, shooting love beams out of his eyes towards the older boy.
Jeongguk groans again to himself, burying his head between his hands when the librarian shoots daggers his way. Jeongguk contemplates catapulting himself into space, because at least he can scream about Taehyung’s beauty without having to worry about anyone giving him strange looks. Jimin sighs, putting down his notes, apparently coming to terms with the fact that he’ll never get any work done with the way Jeongguk’s carrying on.
“What’s wrong? Tell your smart, kind hyung,” Jimin coos patronisingly. Jeongguk looks at Jimin, biting his lip as if trying to gauge if Jimin’s pulling a prank on him. When he decides he isn’t, he opens his mouth and Jimin almost wishes that he ignored Jeongguk.
“I…I just don’t get how that poser Junho could date someone like Taehyung and then just drop him like a fucking hot potato, seriously, hyung,” Jeongguk explodes. “Like seriously, Taehyung literally gave his heart to hold between his meaty hands and all he did was crumple it like it was some tissue he used to jack off into and then handed it back to Taehyung. And now, because of that fucking loser, Taehyung thinks he’s as worthy as the dog shit that I scrape off the bottom of my shoe, when he’s actually like the equivalent of Drake’s mixtapes – priceless.”
Jimin looks slightly alarmed at Jeongguk’s explosive rant. He’s silent for a bit, watching Jeongguk’s chest heave up and down. “Okay, first of all, I think you need to stop reading so much Shakespeare. Like, I get that you’re a literature student, but your metaphors are kind of shit. Secondly, Drake’s mixtapes are not priceless, unless you’re into that bourgeoisie trash. Thirdly, if you like Taehyung that much, why don’t you just ask him out?”
Jeonguk tsks and shakes his head. “Jimin, Jimin, Jimin. Adorable, naïve Jimin. I told you just then – and if you were listening and not criticising my taste in music, you would’ve heard – Taehyung has it in his head that he’s fucking unworthy, because of that meathead.”
Jimin makes an irritated noise, and rolls his eyes upwards, praying for strength from above.
“Then,” He articulates, annoyance and sarcasm punctuating each of his words. “Why don’t you make, I don’t know, a plan to show Tae how fantastic he is?”
Jeongguk opens his mouth, probably to make some sarcastic retort, before snapping his jaw shut, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Jimin’s eyes widen slightly in panic when he recognises the dreamy look clouding Jeongguk’s features – last time Jeongguk had that look in his eyes, Jimin ended up in the ER in the middle of a night wearing a Tinkerbell costume with a broken ankle whilst Jeongguk had bawled his eyes out, clad in a matching Peter Pan costume (green tights and the whole shebang) two sizes too small.
Jimin tries to backpedal. “Actually, maybe you should just tell him that –”
“That’s…that’s so smart. Mission Fantastic. No, wait, I’ve got it. Mission fantaestic. Get it, hyung? Fantastic? Fantaestic?”
Jeongguk turns, an expectant expression on his face, but is met with a slap on the head, and a hissed, “I don’t associate with people who make shitty puns.”
Well. Each to their own, he supposes.
҉
Despite Jimin’s words, they find themselves sitting cross legged in front of each other in their tree house three hours later. It’s become a tradition of sorts, to reconvene in the treehouse in Jimin’s parents’ backyard after school (well, after college) to unwind – and in Jeongguk’s case, whine about his unrequited love. It’s a tradition they’ve upheld since they were children (as young as fifteen and seventeen can be, but Jeongguk will argue with a fierce light in his eyes that fuck you, fifteen is youthful as fuck), and it’s a tradition that Jeongguk and Jimin are determined to hold onto until they’re at least seventy-eight (even though they’d rather chop off their limbs than admit that to each other).
“Okay, so Mission Fantaestic,” Jimin snorts, and Jeongguk doesn’t miss the sarcasm directed towards the name of the plan that Jeongguk’s come up with.
“So I’ve come up with the plan,” Jeongguk says, leaning forward. (Jeongguk utilised his two hour lecture to its full potential, drawing out a complex mind map as he struggled to come up with a plan for his senpai to notice him.)
“Taehyung thinks he’s worthless because of He Who Must Not Be Named, right?” Jeongguk says as calmly as he can, (they had agreed before they parted ways to dub Junho as He Who Must Not Be Named, because Jeongguk had gotten too worked up every time Jimin mentioned him) despite the fact that he wants to dive out of the treehouse and deliver He Who Must Not Be Named an ass whooping he’d never fucking forget.
“Right,” Jimin agrees solemnly, biting on his lip hard to stop the smile threatening to take over his face (he knows Jeongguk would give him a lecture on the seriousness of this).
“I’ve come up with a fool-proof, three-step plan that will ensure that Taehyung will realise his full sex-god potential…And maybe get him to notice that I’m literally boyfriend material,” Jeongguk adds on as an afterthought.
“Oh tell me, almighty sensei, what does this plan entail?” Jimin asks, his eyes dancing with an unbridled mirth that Jeongguk opts to ignore.
Jeongguk reaches into his backpack, pulling out a slightly crumped piece of paper, smoothing out the wrinkles as he opens it. Jimin takes one look at the elaborate mindmap and his eyes widen comically.
“Holy shit.”
He watches as Jimin leans in, attempting to decipher his chicken scratch handwriting, and after a minute Jimin leans back slowly, a new light in his eyes.
“Jeon Jeongguk, fuck me sideways. This might – God forbid – actually fucking work,” Jimin says slowly, nodding his head. “So, sensei. Tell me, how are we going to do this? You officially have my stamp of approval.”
Jeongguk’s face breaks out into a smug smile, pausing to preen for a moment, because yeah, that’s fucking right Park Jimin. “I’m glad you asked. Okay, so for Phase One, I thought that we could maybe…”
And as Jeongguk and Jimin come up with the details of Mission Fantaestic, Jeongguk feels a spark in his chest, because finally, finally, Taehyung will see himself the way Jeongguk does.
And honestly, what could go wrong?
[Phase One – “Drunk in Love”]
Jeongguk eyes the three bottles of soju before him warily, regretting the day he ever decided to befriend Park Jimin. He can hear the party inside Namjoon hyung’s apartment raging, and if it were any other night, Jeongguk would be inside, within the throng of people, dancing and grinding on strangers to obnoxious house music, and drinking badly mixed drinks.
Alas, here he is, standing outside of Namjoon hyung’s apartment block, shivering, whilst Jimin expectantly holds out the bottles of soju towards him.
“Hyung, I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Jeongguk chatters out. Jimin lets out an exaggerated sigh.
“Jeongguk, my bratty dongsaeng. You came up with this yourself, remember? Or do I need to run you through Mission Fantaestic, a.k.a. Mission Put-Yourself-In-Stupid-Situations-Where-Taehyung-Needs-To-Swoop-In-And-Save-The-Day? Besides, I spent good money on this, and I know for a fact that Taehyung’s probably in there, grinding on some stranger that isn’t you. Do you want that, Jeongguk? Hmm?”
As much as Jeongguk hates to admit it, Jimin’s right. Jeongguk had come up with the plan. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but as Jeongguk eyes the soju bottles in Jimin’s arms, he’s suddenly not too sure. But the thought of Taehyung, thinking of himself as unworthy is enough for the determined glint to return to Jeongguk’s eyes, and he reaches over for one of the bottles.
He uncaps it, and takes a sniff, wincing slightly at the strong odour of the alcohol. He raises the bottle jokingly in Jimin’s direction. “To blood poisoning and cute boys!”
Then he proceeds to chug down the entire fucking bottle.
҉
In hindsight, getting Jeongguk absolutely and utterly fucked was probably one of the worst ideas the duo had come up with in their ten years of friendship.
The first time Jimin and Jeongguk had gotten drunk together, was when Jeongguk was seventeen and Jimin was nineteen. They had sat in their tree house, a stolen bottle of Jeongguk’s parents’ soju before them, and they had predicted how they would act as drunks.
Jimin, they had predicted, would be giggly and touchy-feely. And they were right – Future Jimin would stumble around red-faced, laughing hysterically at nothing while attempting to kiss every stranger that crossed his path. Conversely, they had predicted that Jeongguk would be a sullen drunk, sulking in the corner by himself and doing nothing.
No amount of predicting could’ve prepared the pair for Drunk Jeongguk. Instead of the Emo Drunk they assumed he would be, Jimin was blessed with an emotionally unstable Jeongguk, who took to bawling his eyes out and confessing his innermost feelings to anyone and anything – ranging from potted plants, to dogs, to alarmed people.
When Jeongguk catches sight of Taehyung sitting outside the apartment alone, he stumbles over to him as fast as his legs can carry him. Suddenly, Taehyung’s face is less than ten centimetres away from Jeongguk’s as he throws himself into Taehyung’s lap.
Taehyung looks surprised, surprise colouring his face, and Jeongguk thinks it’s the most beautiful thing ever. So, naturally, he tells him.
“Taetae, you’re so fucking beautiful, you know that? Like, so, so beautiful.”
Taehyung laughs, slightly breathless. “Jeonggukkie, you’re too nice to me. You’re beautiful too, you know? Even when you’re super drunk.”
Suddenly, Jeongguk feels overwhelmed with emotion, because Taehyung thinks I’m beautiful?It’s suddenly too much for Jeongguk to comprehend. So he does the thing that feels right.
He promptly bursts into tears.
Even through his drunken stupor, he can see Taehyung’s face contorting into one of panic and alarm.
“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Don’t cry, what’s the matter?” Taehyung says, wiping his tears away. Jeongguk feels like his face is on fire (well, as much as it can be when his face is currently numb from the overwhelming amounts of alcohol) from where Taehyung’s fingers have brushed at the tears, and suddenly he feels like every single one of his nerves have been lit on fire.
“It’s-it’s just that you’re so fucking beautiful, and you’re like the brightest star in like, the fucking universe,” Jeongguk slurs out, his words jumbling together in his haste to get them out. “Like, I think you’re more beautiful than anything in this entire world, and you make even the most beautifulest flower wither in your presence and I just wish you’d know that, Taehyungie. Taetae. My Taehyung. My Taebae.”
Taehyung looks mightily confused in that moment, but his face breaks out into a smile so breathtaking Jeongguk thinks that if he dies tonight it wouldn’t be from the alcohol poisoning, but the sheer brilliance of Taehyung’s smile.
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me in my entire twenty-one years of existence, Jeon Jeongguk. You should know that,” Taehyung says seriously. The corners of Taehyung’s eyes crinkle and he smiles down at Jeongguk so fondly, Jeongguk thinks his heart might burst.
Suddenly, the moment is effectively shattered by Jimin’s loud voice that breaks through even Jeongguk’s drunken haze. “Okay, Guk, that’s enough! Time to go home!”
Jeongguk thinks that out of all the fucking times Jimin’s annoying head has butted into his life, this may be the most annoying, and Jeongguk thinks he’s ready to headbutt Jimin’s head right back out of his life and into the next galaxy. Because seriously, leave Taehyung? Alone? When Jeongguk is fucking sitting on his lap? Yeah, Jeongguk doesn’t think so.
“No!” Jeongguk yells out petulantly, winding his arms around Taehyung’s neck in a vice-like grip. “Taehyung, Taehyungie, save me! Save me from Park Jimin the superbrat, help!”
Jeongguk can hear Jimin make an impatient noise somewhere above him, but he’s not too sure from where because his eyes have fluttered shut on his own accord, because suddenly he’s so sleepy, and Taehyung’s body is just so warm, and even though Jeongguk’s body might well be twice the size of Taehyung’s (he doesn’t spend two hours at the gym every day for no reason), he feels so safe and comfortable and warm, within the cocoon of Taehyung’s embrace.
“It’s okay, Chimchim,” He hears Taehyung reply, and he feels a pang of irritation, because why the fuck does Jimin get a nickname? Jimin’s already got a boyfriend, a small, grumpy hyung called Yoongi who looks at Jimin like he carries the universe within his hands, so he thinks that Taehyung should save the nicknames for Jeongguk, not superbrats like Jimin.
And the last thing that Jeongguk thinks to himself before he falls asleep, is that he wishes Taehyung would look at him the way Yoongi hyung looks at Jimin.
҉
When Jeongguk wakes up, he feels like someone is splitting his head open with a hammer, and laments the liver he had poisoned sometime last night. It takes a few moments for him to come around, but when he does, he realises that his arms and legs are wound tightly around someone, like some sort of human jetpack. He cracks one eye open squinting against the harsh light of the sun, expecting (a) Angry Jimin, (b) ‘Done’ Jimin, or (c) Sleeping Jimin. What he doesn’t expect is for it to be (d) None of the Above.
Instead, he realises with horror (and extreme, secretive pleasure, if he’s completely honest) that does nothing for the sharp, throbbing pain in his head (and the dryness in his throat that amplifies tenfold, if he’s being honest) that he’s clinging onto Taehyung like some sort of fucking leech. It takes him three minutes to calm down, after realising holy fucking shit I am holding onto Taehyung, I am cuddling Taehyung, we are cuddling, we are fucking cuddling. End me now. End me now, I’ve had a good run, and during those three stressful minutes, despite the fact his mouth feels like the bottom of an uncleaned birdcage, and his head feels like it’s about to explode, his alarmed expression has slowly morphed into a small, satisfied smile.
Jeongguk calmly considers his options, from his comfortable position on top of Taehyung’s chest. He could calmly roll off Taehyung and go back to sleep, nursing his mega hangover, or he could wake Taehyung up and send him home. Or, Jeongguk considers (and Little Jeongguk cackles with delight at this option), he could snuggle up to Taehyung, fully optimising this moment, because who knows when this might happen again? Maybe not in Jeongguk’s current lifetime. And Jeongguk’s the type to make the most out of everything (because “Carpe fucking Diem, Park Jimin”). And besides, Jeongguk’s the type that likes cuddling away his hangover and Taehyung looks like he’s kinda cold, so technically, Jeongguk’s just doing both himself and Taehyung a favour.
So Jeongguk snuggles into Taehyung’s chest, wriggling around to make himself more comfortable, even reaching over to grab Taehyung’s arm and place it around his chest. Jeongguk feels like his face is going to combust from the hotness, but he also can’t stop fucking smiling, no matter how hard he tries to tame it (he’s also slightly worried that he might wake up Taehyung with the way his heart is racing, but he’ll worry about that when it happens).
He peeks at Taehyung once more to engrain the image of cute and fluffy sleeping Taehyung, when he’s met with an amused grin and Taehyung looking down at him, very much awake. Jeongguk lets out a yelp, ignoring the screaming protest coming from his subconscious as he throws himself off Taehyung hurriedly, and scrambles back until his back hits the wall, his legs awkwardly twisting in the sheets. He groans, clutching his head at the sudden movement, and he has to force the bile that’s rising up his throat back down again (because there’s no way he’s vomiting in front of the man of his literal wet dreams, no matter how hungover he is).
“Morning, Jeongguk,” Taehyung laughs (and oh God, his morning voice. Jeongguk wants to fling himself off a cliff). “I didn’t know you were the cuddling type.”
“Shit, I’m so sorry, oh god, this is so embarrassing,” Jeongguk splutters.
“Nah, it’s okay. I slept really well last night, considering you clung onto me the entire night,” Taehyung teases, and Jeongguk wishes a hole would appear and swallow him whole.
“I – how come you slept over?” Jeongguk winces at his choice of words. Slept over? What is this, fucking primary school?
“Well, you fell asleep at Joonie hyung’s party, so me and Jiminnie carried you back, but you refused to let go of me when we tried to tuck you into bed, so we thought it would be the best if I just stayed,” Taehyung says, his lips curving up into a smile.
Jeongguk tries to look apologetic (when all he wants to do is word vomit to Taehyung and confess his inner, burning feelings and ask him to sleep over every fucking day), “Oh shit, I’m really sorry about that.”
“Nah, it’s no big deal. Hey, are you okay? You look kinda sick,” Taehyung peers up at him worriedly.
Jeongguk’s silent for a minute, trying to suss out his level of okay-ness, before his eyes widen in panic and alarm.
Oh shit.
Not word vomit.
Literal vomit.
Jeongguk barely has time to mutter out a ‘fuck’, before he promptly vomits all over Taehyung’s chest, a torrential waterfall of alcohol and bile and god knows what else.
Well, fuck.
҉
[Phase Two – “High on Love”]
“Climb, my little monkey, climb!” Jimin screeches at Jeongguk, from his comfortable position on the ground, with Yoongi hyung’s arm wrapped firmly around his shoulder, while Jeongguk sweats above them in the massive fucking tree he’s currently climbing.
“Jeongguk, be careful,” Yoongi hyung calls out to him, ignoring Jimin’s sounds of protests. Jeongguk almost has to fucking squint to see them (so maybe he’s exaggerating, but honestly, he’s really fucking high up in the tree), and he clings to the branch tightly, swearing profusely as it wobbles dangerously (if it breaks, there is literally nothing from stopping Jeongguk turning into a pancake).
When Jimin had returned from his ‘adult sleepover’, Jeongguk was surprised to see a sleepy and grumpy Yoongi hyung trailing behind Jimin. Jimin had sat Yoongi hyung down on their shared couch, a sombre expression painting his usually cheerful expression, before dragging Jeongguk to inform him that someone as wise and glorious as the Min Yoongi sitting before them was bound to help them, after Jeongguk’s mishap.
“Hyung, what we’re about to tell you is of the utmost importance and you have to swear to secrecy, okay?” Jimin had stated solemnly. Yoongi hyung had raised an eyebrow at that but agreed – albeit warily. After Jimin had filled him in (leaving absolutely nothing out – including Jeongguk’s fiasco), Yoongi hyung had sat there in silence for three minutes, trying to absorb what seemed to be, the most ridiculous plan on the face of the earth.
“This is a just a suggestion,” Yoongi hyung had finally said after a long and tense silence. “Why don’t you, I don’t know, just fucking tell him?”
Jeongguk had sighed, while Jimin had laughed at his boyfriend’s absurdity, throwing himself onto his lap and kissing his nose.
“Hyung, you’re so adorably naïve. And clueless. Just admit that you don’t know anything about this kind of stuff,” Jimin had cooed at him in a sickening manner, ignoring Yoongi’s irritated expression.
“This whole plan is stupid. Jeongguk, Jimin, listen to me for once in your life and just tell him. Trust me,” Yoongi had said, curling his arms around Jimin. “And count me out. There’s no way I’m fucking helping you.”
But Yoongi hyung had eventually given in to Jimin (like he always did), and there he was, watching Jeongguk climb to his death. And as Jeongguk squeezed his eyes shut as the branch swayed dangerously in the wind, a tiny part of him wondered if he should’ve listened to Yoongi hyung.
Jeongguk’s pretty sure he’s royally fucked things up with Taehyung, after he had gone and fucking puked out all the alcohol he had consumed (along with his liver and stomach). But to Jeongguk’s surprise, Taehyung had taken it in stride, looking down in shock before bursting out into laughter and shedding his shirt with a casualty that made Jeongguk’s heart stutter. (And when Taehyung had come out of Jeongguk’s shower, smelling like Jeongguk’s fucking body wash, he had been pretty sure he was going to vomit again).
But somehow, Jimin had managed to convince him to carry out Phase Two of Mission Fantaestic, and alas, Jeongguk’s clinging to a tiny fucking branch, on the verge of plummeting to his death, whilst Jimin shouts out annoyingly optimistic praises and Yoongi hyung’s trying to make sure he doesn’t fucking die.
“Well, on the bright side, at least you’re not afraid of heights!” Jimin calls out brightly.
“Yeah, well, about that,” Jeongguk calls back down, and he can hear Yoongi hyung muttering oh my god.
“What?! You’re afraid of heights?! Then why the fuck did you think this was a good idea?!”
Jeongguk’s too afraid to answer Jimin; instead, he clings onto the branch like it’s some sort of lifeline, praying to whatever deity hears him. He wonders if he climbs the tree high enough he’ll just float into space and die, and won’t ever have to worry about facing Taehyung after the Vomit Incident.
When the wind blows again, making the tree sway and jolting Jeongguk again, he reckons he’s sure he can come up with something else, because fuck heights and fuck plummeting to his death at the tender age of nineteen, because incredible nope, Jeon Jeongguk’s not fucking dying today.
“Jimin hyung? I-I think I want to climb down, can we think of something else?” Jeongguk hates the way his voice trembles, but at least he can officially say that Jeon Jeongguk stares fear in the face (for ten minutes before he decides to chicken out).
He waits impatiently for an answer, but when he doesn’t get a response, he cracks his eyes open, searching the ground in confusion. His confusion morphs into a special kind of fury he reserves for Park Jimin the Superbrat, when he realises that he’s gone and fucking ditched Jeongguk (he also feels betrayed by Yoongi hyung for leaving him to suffer, but Jeongguk understands that Jimin has Yoongi hyung’s man card clenched firmly between his childlike fingers).
With a shaking hand, he retrieves his phone from his pocket. He slides the unlock screen and presses a few buttons with his sweaty hand before bringing the phone up to his ear. It rings, and rings, and rings, and just when Jeongguk thinks Jimin isn’t going to answer his phone and leave Jeongguk to stew in his misery and anger by himself, Jimin picks up.
“Hey Guk, what’s up?” To anyone, it would sound like Jimin is being civil, friendly even with a dongsaeng he cares for, but Jeongguk’s known him long enough to pick up on the well concealed mirth and smugness in his tone and he bristles for a moment, before remembering where he is.
“Hyung, I’m fucking scared as shit, get your tiny ass here and get me the fuck down,” Jeongguk bellows into the phone, clutching onto the branch so tightly he’s worried it might snap.
“Oh, nothing much, I’m with Taetae right now!”
Jeongguk thinks Jimin has a certain death wish, but realises Jimin is holding Jeongguk by the balls right now, so he tries a different approach.
“Jiminnie hyung…my awesome, sweet, hyung, please fucking help me. I am about to shit my pants,” Jeongguk says, his voice sickly-sweet.
Jimin fakes a gasp at this, a dramatic, loud noise, and Jeongguk rolls his eyes. “What’s that, Guk? You’re stuck in a tree and need my help? Oh no, but I have class! Tae, will you help Guk?” Despite the situation he’s stuck in, Jeongguk stifles a snort, because despite being a drama major, Jimin is literally the worst actor ever to grace Jeongguk’s presence (also possibly the only actor he knows, but that’s beside the point).
Jeongguk’s eyes widen, and he can’t help himself from yelling out a “NO!”, his voice cracking slightly from the panic.
But it’s too late and the damage is done, because he can hear Taehyung agreeing easily. Goodbye sweet, and cruel world, he thinks to himself mournfully.
҉
Jeongguk likes to think of himself as a man; he works out, he shaves, he wears manly smelling cologne, and therefore, he is basically the definition of a man (and not fuckboy, as Jimin so rudely calls him).
But Jeongguk knows that that label has gone down the drain the moment Taehyung finally meets him, because by then, Jeongguk is a shivering, scared mess, his hands numb from holding onto the branch so tightly for so long. Jeongguk’s not sure when he’s ever been this genuinely scared – he thinks the last time he was this scared was when he was sixteen and had accidently shaved off his older brother’s eyebrow while he was sleeping. The unadulterated fear that Jeongguk had felt in that very moment is similar to the fear that feels now, but even then, Jeongguk reckons that being stuck in a fucking tree trumps the Eyebrow D-Day.
“Hey.”
A voice breaks him out of his reverie, and he can see Taehyung standing directly underneath him, his eyes dancing his mirth. The rest of his expression, thankfully, is serious and Jeongguk lets out a tiny breath of relief.
“Hey. How’s the weather down there?” If Jeongguk could, he would honestly applaud himself for being so smooth, even during times where he feels like he could shit his pants.
Taehyung laughs, a deep, resounding bass. “You stole my line!”
Well, you stole my heart, Jeongguk thinks, and then applauds himself inwardly for the second time, because holy shit Jeon Jeongguk, where is all this smoothness coming from?
“I’ll give it back to you if you help me down?” Jeongguk says instead, and Taehyung grins, wide and silly, and Jeongguk honestly melts a little there and then.
“Of course.”
҉
When Jeongguk’s feet finally touch the ground, he flings himself down to the ground dramatically.
“I am never fucking climbing another tree again.”
To his surprise, Taehyung flops down next to him, shifting his body so they’re facing each other, and Jeongguk has to restrain himself from brushing the hair out of Taehyung’s eyes.
“Why were you up in that tree, silly?”
Jeongguk freezes. Because of you. He clears his throat. “Uh, better reception?”
Taehyung’s eyes twinkle as he rolls away from Jeongguk, laughing. “I should try that one day.”
They lie there, side by side in a comfortable silence before Jeongguk decides, fuck it, and sits up, looking at Taehyung.
“So…Do you want to grab a hot chocolate with me? I heard chocolate’s good for you when you’ve been in shock,” Jeongguk stutters out, holding his breath and watching Taehyung’s reaction.
Taehyung sits up, brushing out the grass in his hair, offering Jeongguk a tiny, shy smile. “Sure.”
And Jeongguk wishes he could pause the moment and just bask in it, pretending that they were something more than just friends because Taehyung is looking at Jeongguk with such a fond look in his eyes, and Jeongguk can’t help but pretend that Taehyung feels something more towards him than just a platonic love.
[Phase Three: The Love Bug]
“No.”
Jeongguk turns to Jimin, resolutely crossing his arms over his bare chest, who pouts in annoyance.
“You said you wanted to get sick so that Taehyung would take care of you. So go outside. Get sick. Boom. Get Taehyung to take care of you.”
“Jimin, it’s fucking snowing outside, and I’m in my underwear. I said that I needed to get sick, not hypothermia,” Jeongguk says scathingly towards Jimin.
The cold air blows in from the open balcony doors, making Jeongguk shiver and Jimin visibly droops, giving in to Jeongguk. Jeongguk relaxes for a minute, and realises his mistake a second too late when he sees he sees literal devil horns grow out of Jimin’s head before roughly shoving him onto their balcony and promptly sliding the balcony door shut and locking it with a click. Jeongguk’s assaulted by the sudden coldness and he can almost feel the hairs on his body turning into icicles.
Jeongguk, furious and absolutely butt-naked, pounds on the balcony door. “Let me in, you fucking piece of shit! Do you want me to fucking die?!”
Jimin just laughs. “Ah! So toasty and warm in here, Jeongguk-ah! You know what? I think I might go make myself a nice hot chocolate!”
Jimin cackles and throws up a peace sign, before turning and and walking off, leaving Jeongguk standing outside on their balcony, naked, in the middle of winter. Jeongguk growls to himself, before pounding on the balcony door.
“Let me back in, you fucking shit! Park Jimin if you know what’s fucking good for you…”
He lets his threat trail off into silence when Jimin doesn’t reappear, begging Jeongguk for mercy and grovelling on his knees. After what feels like an hour (it’s been forty three seconds) Jeongguk eventually accepts his fate and wraps his arms around himself in a feeble attempt to keep himself warm. This is it, he thinks bitterly to himself. This is how I fucking go.
Jeongguk thinks his hands are turning purple and are on the verge of falling off when Jimin returns, a small apologetic smile on his face, and bless him, holding two steaming cups of hot chocolate and a huge blanket. Jeongguk stands up immediately, shivering violently, when Jimin unlocks the balcony door and lets him in, wrapping him in blankets and handing him his hot chocolate.
“I… realised that I shouldn’t have done that,” Jimin says guiltily, trying to warm Jeongguk by rubbing his hand up and down his back. “I’m sorry, Guk.”
Jeongguk rolls his eyes, but pats Jimin on the arm. “S’ok, hyung,” he says in between the violent chattering of his teeth. “I’ll get you back somehow.”
Jimin laughs, warm and gentle, his eyes twinkling. “I believe that.”
҉
Jeongguk doesn’t feel so forgiving two days later, when he catches the flu and is bed-ridden. His entire body aches, and the back of his head pounds so furiously his vision turns blurry. Jimin, ever kind and filled with regret and guilt, tends to Jeongguk dutifully, listening to his every command, bringing him alternating cold and hot towels, and staying up with him when he can’t sleep.
But Jimin’s human too, and has his own priorities and needs, and Jeongguk understands that, when Jimin wakes up Jeongguk to tell him he has to attend an audition. But Jeongguk doesn’t really understand what Jimin says after, delirious with the flu, and barely able to see straight.
The next couple of hours pass by quickly, and Jeongguk only remembers snippets of the rest of the night through a drug-induced haze.
He thinks he remembers someone entering the room – too tall and slim to be Jimin – and pressing a cool, dry hand to his forehead. He thinks he remembers his eyes fluttering closed at the sensation, because there’s something so familiar about the way long, slim fingers card their way lazily through Jeongguk’s sweaty and matted bangs, smoothing them out and arranging them carefully.
Jeongguk thinks he remembers them talking to him, holding his feverish hand between their own, telling him about their day. He thinks he remembers them talking about the puppy that they saw at the park, and then something to do with painting and abstract, and then something about liking and scared.
He thinks that the person might’ve rubbed his back soothingly, in slow circles, humming an unfamiliar tune until he was nearly asleep, placing a light kiss on his sweaty forehead.
Jeongguk thinks he might’ve remembered a lot of things, but he doesn’t know how to distinguish fact from fiction.
҉
Jeongguk, luckily, has an immune system almost as stubborn as the man himself, and within a week, Jeongguk is up and about. But even though Jeongguk is healthy and fine again, he almost wishes that he was sick again, because Taehyung is avoiding him – and doing a pretty awful job of it, too.
At first, Jeongguk thought Taehyung was just busy, speeding off and calling something about having to work on his piece over his shoulder whenever he joined Jimin and Taehyung.
But then, Jeongguk would see Taehyung about the campus and raise his hand in greeting, only for Taehyung to blanch at Jeongguk’s enthusiastic waving and hurry away from him, as if Jeongguk carried some disease that was contagious.
Jeongguk felt like someone had twisted a serrated knife in his stomach each time he saw Taehyung’s retreating form. He could feel his heart dropping somewhere near his stomach, so sure he had done something to fuck up and ruin everything. Was it something he had said, some passing, off-handed comment that had hurt Taehyung in some way? Jeongguk had racked his brain the last couple of days, almost driving himself to the ground with the worry that he had done something to hurt Taehyung.
He had gone to Jimin first, unsure of what he had done wrong.
“Hyung, I don’t understand. Why is he avoiding me? Did I do something wrong? Did he say anything?” He had bombarded Jimin with questions, but Jimin had looked at him sadly, just as unsure.
“I don’t know, Guk. I don’t understand either. Every time I try to bring it up with Tae, he just gets all closed off and distant,” Jimin had replied. Jeongguk, unable to bear the pity in Jimin’s eyes, had turned away.
He had then gone to Hoseok hyung, his roommate, and even Seokjin hyung, Taehyung’s ‘older brother’, of sorts. Both had been just as confused, unsure of what had been the instigator of Taehyung’s sudden change in behaviour.
Seokjin hyung had confided into Jeongguk, “Taehyung’s gone back into his shell – he does that sometimes, and no one knows how to get him to talk or bring him back out. Don’t worry too much, Jeongguk-ah. He’ll come around.”
Hoseok hyung had piped up then, helpfully adding, “You should have a look at his artworks. They change according to his mood, and what he’s been experiencing. Maybe that’ll tell you why he’s upset.”
And that’s how Jeongguk finds himself stepping into the Arts Department – an old, crumbling building he’s never step foot in before. With the help of a crudely drawn map on the back of his hand (courtesy of Hoseok hyung) Jeongguk finds himself in front of room A28, and he suddenly feels nervous, unable to help the swooping butterflies in his stomach. He breathes in deeply before peeking in, feeling somewhat relieved and disappointed to find it empty.
He’s about to leave, when his eye land on three canvases, and he hesitantly walks up to them. What he sees makes his stomach drop past the floor, to somewhere around the inner crust of the earth.
It’s him, it’s Jeongguk, in each of the paintings.
In the first painting, it’s him, stargazing. Taehyung’s used a variety of navy blues, whites, and blacks that swirl together and Jeongguk’s kind of in awe as he traces his finger over the rough strokes that make up the sky. The next painting is Jeongguk lounging in a tree, a muted swirl of purples, blues, and greens coming together.
But it’s the last painting that really takes Jeongguk’s breath away. It’s Jeongguk again, sleeping in a bed he recognises as his own. The colours are an angry frenzy of oranges and yellows and reds in contrast to the blues and purples that make up Jeongguk, and it looks like Jeongguk’s in a sleeping bed of flames that lick at his purple skin. Jeongguk can’t help but run his fingers over the rough brushstrokes, the sheer detail of the painting taking away his breath.
“Jeongguk?”
A soft voice startles Jeongguk and he jumps, before swivelling around. Taehyung stands before him, his expression confused. His hair is ruffled and messy, and he has a streak of purple paint on his left cheek, and he looks exhausted and weary, and even though Jeongguk’s heart clenches at the way Taehyung seems to hunch in on himself, he can’t help but think Taehyung the most beautiful human he’s ever seen.. Jeongguk’s had so many things he’s been wanting to say to Taehyung, but the moment he sees Taehyung, all the words escape him and he’s unable to do anything but stare at him.
“What are you doing here?”
“Why have you been avoiding me? Did I – did I do something to hurt you?” Jeongguk blurts out, before inwardly wincing at how childish he sounds.
Jeongguk watches as Taehyung stares down at his brushes, a strange light in his eyes, before he sets his brushes down and walks up to Jeongguk, standing next to him, studying his paintings with a critical eye. “What do you think of these?” He asks softly instead.
“I – they’re beautiful.” Jeongguk feels strange, as if he’s trapped in a dream.
Taehyung hums lowly in response, before turning to look at Jeongguk. “You probably don’t know this, but the way I paint changes according to how I feel. The colours I use, the way I paint, it all changes. Being around you recently, I’ve been feeling confused, and unsure, but also happy, and I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too, so that’s been showing in my paintings. But then, last week you were sick and I came to visit you when Jimin went to his lecture. You – you were really delirious…you tried to kiss me.”
Oh. Oh.
Jeongguk’s stomach might drop through his body and land somewhere around the inner crust, but he’s definitely sure his face is hotter than the magma at the centre of the earth.
Jeongguk looks at Taehyung, who’s looking at him with uncertainty and maybe even a little hope, and Jeongguk suddenly feels a sudden wave of courage, because it’s Kim Taehyung, the boy who laughs so freely and openly at everything, but whose eyes carry the weight and secrets of the universe.
“Taehyung, I did those things on purpose,” Jeongguk blurts out. Taehyung frowns slightly, but Jeongguk can feel the word vomit coming back up. “Getting drunk, getting stuck in that tree, getting sick. I…I like you, fuck, I really, really like you, and I was just so upset that you didn’t think you were worthy enough for anyone, because of that jerk, and so I came up with this stupid plan to try and make you realise how special and amazing you were.”
Taehyung is so still, and Jeongguk, worried, lessens the distance between Taehyung and himself, and hesitantly reaches out of his hand. When Taehyung’s cool hand closes around Jeongguk’s hand, he feels like his heart is about to burst, and bravely continues on.
“And – and I know I kept fucking up, and every time I tried to do something, it kept backfiring, and making me look so stupid, but Taehyung, I promise that I’ll try my goddamn hardest to make you happy all the time, if you would let me try, because you’re so fucking special to me, and I wish, I wish, that you would know that.”
Jeongguk feels strangely liberated at that moment, but he’s also too fucking embarrassed to meet Taehyung’s eyes, so he stares determinedly at the spot right above Taehyung’s head.
“Jeongguk.”
Taehyung’s voice is soft and impossibly fond, and Jeongguk looks at Taehyung, preparing himself for the rejection that’s sure to follow.
“I really like you, too.”
Jeongguk stares at Taehyung, whose cheeks are tinged with pink, and eyes are shining with obvious happiness, and he can feel his own lips twisting up into a smile that makes his cheeks hurt, but it feels so right to be holding Taehyung’s hand. And as he leans in, closing the distance between them, Jeongguk finds that Taehyung’s lips are home to him.
[Aftermath]
As boyfriends, Taehyung and Jeongguk have their ups and downs.
On days when the sun is shining and Jeongguk is full of shitty puns, and Taehyung’s paintings are full of vibrant pinks and oranges and yellows, they hold hands and laugh together at the private jokes they share, wrapped up in their own little world. Taehyung is clingy, and wants to hold Jeongguk’s hand and do dumb things as boyfriends, like eat banana split sundaes together and watch anime in their boxers, and Jeongguk feels as though he’s floating on cloud nine.
But on days where the sun is nowhere to be seen and Taehyung’s paintings are plagued with blacks and blues and purples, Taehyung recedes into his shell, quiet and withdrawn, and it takes all of Jeongguk’s efforts to coax him back out of the confines of his mind and back into Jeongguk’s arms. Taehyung’s always worried that he’s not good enough, that he’s not worthy enough for Jeongguk, and though Jeongguk’s heart crumbles to see his ridiculous, precious boyfriend this way, he never fails to remind him just how special Taehyung is to him.
Because to Jeongguk, Taehyung is as beautiful and honest as the sunrise, and as enigmatic and wondrous as the night sky.