Archive of Our Own

The employees of the law offices of Choi & Associates are given two weeks of paid vacation every year. Last year was spent on the couch with a never-ending supply of takeout and hours of YouTube. This year was supposed to be spent in a newly purchased king size bed with the air conditioning blasting, eating too much take away and binging on trashy television. It was supposed to be spent alone.

But the universe had a funny way of changing things.

Kim Taehyung didn’t know why he agreed to go on this trip. He wanted to spend his two weeks off at home doing nothing. Somehow, his best friend, Jimin, convinced him to get on a plane and fly clear across the Pacific to spend two weeks in Hawaii with the rest of their friends.

After some coaxing and a little bribery, he said yes.

He was currently sitting in an aisle seat with a lukewarm red wine sloshing in a plastic cup on the tray in front of him. Jimin had been rambling on about the trip’s itinerary for the past two hours. He had stopped paying attention after snorkeling was brought up.

There were two things Taehyung wasn’t too fond of: interacting with live animals and him.

This trip was going to force him to be around both and he wasn’t too excited about it.

“Earth to Taehyung! Are you even listening to me?” Jimin’s voice rang clear in his ears.

“Hm?” He mumbled, coming out of his daydream. “’Course I’m listening.”

“Clearly you’re not,” Jimin sighed, searching his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Taehyung said.

“You’ve never been good at fibbing.” Jimin nudged his shoulder. “Spill.”

Taehyung shrugged. “Just not looking forward to being the fifth wheel here.”

“You won’t be. Hoseok and -” Jimin started to say.

“Jeongguk, I know,” Taehyung grumbled, cutting him off.

“And Namjoon and Seokjin hyung are gonna be there too,” His best friend added.

“Everyone knows they’ve been sleeping together for months,” Taehyung sighed “So, it’s basically just going to be me, Hoseok, and Jeongguk.”

Jeon Jeongguk wasn’t really his favorite person. He was too cute and too lovable and yet very smart-mouthed for his liking. From the moment they met, he had been too much.

Taehyung had met Jeongguk when he first moved back to South Korea. He had just broken up with his boyfriend and wanted to start over. His boss had gotten him a transfer and a good position at the law firm he worked at in Tokyo that he couldn’t pass up. He knew Taehyung wished to go back to his home country and figured that it was the right time. His first two weeks were spent in the spare room in the apartment Jimin shared with his boyfriend, Min Yoongi. And Jeongguk, who happened to be really close friends with Yoongi, was always at their place. He couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t escape those big doe eyes no matter how hard he tried.

Being a newbie to Seoul, since he was born in Daegu and lived there until he moved to Tokyo, Jimin and Jeongguk took it upon themselves to make him feel at home. Jeongguk made a point to always include him in everything the group did. He knew how difficult it was to be alone in a new place and wanted to help his friends through the transition. He didn’t want anyone to have to go through the struggles that he had experienced when he first arrived in Seoul.

It was incredibly sweet but Taehyung didn’t like it.

He didn’t like it at all.

“Why don’t you like Jeongguk, Tae?” Jimin asked. “He’s actually really lovely.”

“That’s the issue,” Taehyung said, leaning his head back on the head rest. “He is so lovely.”

Jimin furrowed his brow waiting for his friend to finish. “But that doesn’t make sense.”

“He’s Dongsik.” Taehyung sighed, closing his eyes.

“He’s not Dongsik.” Jimin’s voice grew quiet, his tone turning sharp. “That asshole would be lucky if he was half the man Jeongguk is. He’s a home-wrecking wanker.”

“Okay he’s not actually Dongsik.” Taehyung let out a tired breath. “But he is like Dongsik. I don’t know how to explain it. When I look at him, I see Dongsik. They are the same fucking guy and I can’t handle that.”

Jimin sucked in his lower lip before sighing, “Fuck. Their personalities are quite similar.”

“I know it’s been a year since we broke up but it still bothers me,” Taehyung admitted.

“You came to Seoul to escape him but you met another version of him.” Jimin said. “I never realized it.”

“Unfortunate circumstances I know,” Taehyung said.

“That doesn’t mean you have to hate him though.” Jimin shifted in his seat to face him. ”You could just be nice to him.”

“I’ve tried and I can’t do it.” Taehyung sighed.

“Well could you maybe try a little harder for me?” Jimin asked, searching for his eyes. “Jeongguk worked really hard to make sure this trip happened.”

“What do you mean?” Taehyung frowned as the captain announced they’d be landing soon.

“All the couples wanted to go on this trip about two months ago but Jeongguk convinced them to wait,” Jimin explained.

“Why’d he do that?” Taehyung asked, placing his tray back in its proper position.

A tiny smirk danced across Jimin’s face as he looked Taehyung in the eye. ”He remembered you couldn’t take your vacation until the end of July.”

Taehyung couldn’t tell if it was turbulence or something else but out of nowhere his stomach started to feel a little funny. He couldn’t believe what his best friend was insinuating. Jeon Jeongguk wouldn’t plan a vacation around his schedule. He wouldn’t go out of his way to make sure he could go. Would he?

“What are you getting at, Jimin-ah?” Taehyung asked, wary of his friend’s accusations.

“He planned an entire trip around you, Tae, the least you could do is suck his dick.”

“Good Lord,” Taehyung made a face, his nose scrunching in disgust. “I didn’t think that was the rate of exchange nowadays.”

“Yoongi and I always pay each other back in blow jobs,” Jimin shrugged, laughing.

“Please say that louder so everyone can hear you,” Taehyung muttered.

“No, but seriously, Tae. I have never seen Jeongguk being so attentive with someone as he is with you,” Jimin explained, his laughter fading.

“Oh fuck off. There’s no way. You’re just trying to get another couple to go on dates with.” Taehyung scoffed at the audacity of his friend.

“I’m being serious,” Jimin motioned toward Taehyung’s body. “He’s into it. Just trust me on this one.” He smiled.

“You told me to trust you with Dongsik and he ended up shagging half the men in sixth form,” Taehyung pointed out, his voice flat and laced with a cold reminder.

“Okay, you do have a point,” Jimin winced. “But this time it’s different.”

“How is it different?” Taehyung asked.

“It-” Jimin started to say but decided against it. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Taehyung let out a long sigh as the plane skidded down. His nerves started to act up as a million questions bounced around his head. Was this trip going to be better than two weeks at home? Was Jeongguk really as great as his best friend made him out to be? Did he get invited to things just so Jeongguk could be around him? He didn’t know. He’s just going to have to wait and see.

***

Taehyung had five missed calls. Five missed calls from him.

From the time he turned off his phone on a plane in Seoul to the time he turned it back on in a rental car in Honolulu, Jeon Jeongguk had called him five times. And left three voice messages in their group chat.

Taehyung couldn’t believe it.

Before they left, they made a plan. One person would leave their phone off to use as a back-up just in case. Jimin’s phone had died just before their flight so it was up to Taehyung to keep them safe. He scanned through the text messages that had accumulated while he was in the air in search of the address of the house they were going to be staying at. Jeongguk had ordered them a car so they didn’t have to worry about relying on strangers in a foreign country. He typed the address into Google Maps as Jimin started the car.
Jimin’s comments from the plane swirled around his head. He’d been trying to dismiss them since they landed. Jeongguk was just some annoying guy who knew how to push his buttons. That’s all.

Or maybe Jimin was right. Maybe he did like him. He was just too stubborn to see it.

Taehyung placed his phone to his ear and was instantly met by his voice. The first message was wishing them a safe flight. The second was checking in and updating them on what everyone was up to.

“Who was that?” Jimin asked.

“Messages from Jeon.” Taehyung said looking out the window before going back to his phone.

“What’d he say?”

“Yoongi hyung’s phone died so we need to call Jeon if we need anything. Everyone is just drinking by the pool,” Taehyung said in a low tone, “and he wants us to go through the side gate when we get there.”

Jimin nodded. “What was the other one?”

“Wishing us a safe flight and reminding us about the car and the address and all that.” Taehyung said, checking their surroundings through the window.

“That’s considerate. Isn’t it?” Jimin smirked, glancing at him quickly before looking back at the road.

“Extremely.” Taehyung replied dryly.

“I’m calling it.” Jimin smiled, slowing down as they entered a residential street. “You’re going to like him by the end of this trip.”

“You’re delusional,” Taehyung mumbled.

“Could say the same about you,” Jimin teased.

“I’m gonna write that on your tombstone.” Taehyung shook his head with a faint smile.

“Yours is gonna say-” Jimin started to say until he noticed the house they stopped in front of.

The car pulled up on a quiet street somewhere above the city. Behind a low gate sat a two-storey house, dark wood trim, wide windows on both floors. The kind of place that looked effortlessly expensive without trying. The gate opened onto a path that led through a garden of tropical plants towards the entrance. From somewhere behind the house came the sound of music and voices.

“Guess one blow job won’t be enough,” Jimin laughed at his own joke.

“What do you mean?” Taehyung asked, frowning as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“He said he’d take care of it all but this is just too much,” Jimin killed the engine and climbed out of the car.

“But we’re paying him, right?” Taehyung followed him, surprised.

Jimin shook his head and laughed, grabbing his suitcase from the trunk. “I know that I’m not.”

“That’s not fair,” Taehyung said. ”I mean, I know he has the money for it but he shouldn’t have to pay for it by himself.”

“Are you sympathizing with Jeon Jeongguk now?” Jimin teased.

“Oh stop,” Taehyung muttered, “If you keep this up, I’m ignoring you for the rest of the trip.” He walked around to the trunk and grabbed the rest of their things.

“Just give him a chance.” Jimin persisted, slamming the door shut as Taehyung shot him a dirty look.

The two men headed for the entrance. Some overly played dance song was blasting from the backyard letting them know they were in the right place. Taehyung punched in the code to unlock the door.

As the two men stepped foot on the property, something shifted in Taehyung’s chest that he immediately chose to ignore. He knew why it was happening but he didn’t want to believe it. Jeon Jeongguk wasn’t into him. He was sure of it. This was just Jimin’s way to get him to cooperate. This was just a ploy to create a drama-free environment for the two weeks they were away.

They rounded the corner of the house to find a full fledged diving competition taking place in the pool. Drinks were being shared by the bar. The one person he didn’t want to see caught his eyes in a pair of black swim trunks.

He was screwed.

Jimin made his way to his boyfriend who was acting as a bartender. Taehyung left his luggage by the house and took a minute to collect himself before heading towards his friends. Greetings were briefly shared with everyone around the bar.

He watched as Jeongguk got out of line for the diving board and headed towards his friend. Taehyung watched as Jimin mouthed over Jeongguk’s shoulder while they hugged ”Remember what I said!”

He watched Jeongguk hug Jimin and say something that made him laugh. He didn’t mean to keep watching. He did anyway. He was exactly as irritating as Taehyung remembered.

Before he could critique his every move, a pair of round eyes was staring back at him. He put a fake smile on his face and got ready to play a part.

“Taehyung.” Jeongguk smiled, pulling him into a hug.

“Hey Jeongguk.” Taehyung replied as nicely as he could.

The young man stepped back and studied his face closely.

“What?” Taehyung frowned, confused.

“Are you feeling okay?” Jeongguk scanned his face with exaggerated concern. “You used my actual name. That’s never a good sign.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “You’re so annoying.”

Jeongguk’s signature laugh filled the space between them.

“So what’s that about?” Taehyung asked, his chin tilting toward the chaotic line forming at the edge of the pool.

“Seokjin hyung said he was better than Tom Daley.” Jeongguk chuckled.

Taehyung couldn’t help but let out a dry, short laugh and roll his eyes. “He’s such a twat.”

“Right?” Jeongguk agreed, watching Seokjin strike a ridiculous pose on the diving board. ”But we thought it’d be a fun competition.”

“Who’s winning?” Taehyung asked, somewhat interested.

“Surprisingly Hoseok hyung is.” Jeongguk said, nodding at the man in red swim trunks.

“He used to be a dancer. Those muscles have memory,” Taehyung said. “That makes sense.”

“You’re right.” Jeongguk agreed, smoothing over his wet hair.

“I always am.” Taehyung teased, flashing a playful grin.

Jeongguk’s lips turned up into a smile. “Let’s go get you settled, brat.”

***

“So we had a bit of an issue yesterday when we got here.” Jeongguk started once they got inside.

“What happened?” Taehyung asked, his eyes already scanning the expensive decor.

“I had sort of planned out where everyone was gonna stay but the couples ganged up on us and took the entire second floor,” Jeongguk explained, running a hand through his damp hair. “It’s kind of a mess and now we are stuck down here. Just because we aren’t part of a pair doesn’t mean our opinion is invalid.”

“So you mean to tell me that you are paying for this monstrosity of a house by yourself and those drunks out there told you where you are going to be sleeping.” Taehyung marveled at the thought, a sharp laugh huffing out of his nose.

Jeongguk sighed. “He told you?”

“Yes, but we’ll get to that in a second,” Taehyung said. “You’re too nice to them, Jeon. You should have gotten first pick and then they could have fought for whatever was left.”

“I know I know. It’s just they are all so used to getting what they want and I already made them wait to come on this trip so I just let them.” Jeongguk tried not to pout, realizing he might have sounded a little pathetic.

“They are kind of bullies.” Taehyung teased, trying to lighten the mood. “Like that night when we went to Busan and they said they got to take the first Uber home because they didn’t want to be split up but, like, you were gonna puke and Hoseok hyung was nearly dead so you deserved the first one.”

“That was bullshit,” Jeongguk snapped, the memory bringing a fresh spark of annoyance to his face. It was a short ride to Yoongi hyung’s place and they couldn’t be apart for what was it.. ten minutes?” He shook his head. “Absolute bullshit.”

“So what did they leave us poor singles with?” Taehyung asked with a smile.

“Well, there are two rooms and a bathroom down this corridor. And another one on the other side of the house.”

Taehyung was quiet for a moment, his gaze shifting from the narrow hallway to Jeongguk’s guarded expression.

“But Hoseok hyung already claimed that room, he keeps talking about the men he’s going to bring back,” Jeongguk explained. “So it’s better if we keep it that way. I mean, if you want, I can start complaining again about how I should keep that room but-”

“Stop being a people pleaser, Jeon,” Taehyung interrupted him. “Let Hoseok hyung keep his room.” Taehyung’s lips pulled into a smirk, the playful bratty energy returning in a flash. “But I get to take showers first,” he said, grabbing his luggage and walking past Jeongguk.

Jeongguk stood still for a moment. He wasn’t used to this side of him. He was usually a little standoffish and cold. But here, he was joking around with him.

“So which one is mine?” Taehyung asked, pulling him back to reality.

“The one on the left.” Jeongguk said, clearing his throat as he stepped forward, nodding towards the door in front of him.

“And how much do I owe you?” Taehyung asked, stepping inside.

The room was simple but bigger than he expected. A queen bed sat against the wall, white linen already turned down. A large glass door was straight ahead, open just enough to let in the salt air and the distant sound of the pool. Taehyung crossed the room with lazy strides and pressed his forehead against the glass for a moment, looking out at the garden.

It would do just fine.

“Tae-” Jeongguk started.

Taehyung turned back, interrupting him. ”Unlike the rest of our friends, I wasn’t raised to be disrespectful,” he said playfully. ”I can’t let you pay for this entire house by yourself.”

Jeongguk watched him closely as he spoke, his eyes full of admiration.

“How much can I chip in?” Taehyung insisted.

“I appreciate the offer,” Jeongguk said sincerely. “But-”

“No buts. I’m gonna pay for something. Whether it’s part of the rental fee or groceries or for drinks when we go out,” Taehyung said, stubbornly. “We all have well paying jobs, there is no excuse for them to think just because you are who you are that they deserve to get off without paying a dime.”

Jeongguk’s cheeks turned rosy as the man in front of him continued to rant about their friends. Not only was it slightly attractive, it was also really nice to see someone care about him. Money wasn’t an issue. If he wanted to rent a mansion in a foreign country for a week, he could. But the fact that Taehyung was concerned about him spending too much meant something.

“You know what, Taehyung?” Jeongguk said, “I’m glad that you’re in my life.” He stated.

“Why’s that?” Taehyung asked, turning away to place his suitcase on the bed, trying to hide the flicker of surprise on his face.

Jeongguk shrugged, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. “You actually give a shit.”

Taehyung didn’t know how to respond, so Jeongguk continued.

“I know I can come off a little strong sometimes and I can be a bit persistent with things, but like out of everyone you give it to me straight.” Jeongguk kept his expression neutral, his eyes fixed on Taehyung. “There is no bullshit with you. If I’m being a twat, you let me know. If I’m being too clingy, you let me know. If I’m being too much, you let me have it.”

Heat danced across Taehyung’s skin as Jeongguk’s words floated around him. This was not happening. Jeon Jeongguk wasn’t admitting how much he appreciated having him in his life on the very first night of their trip. This wasn’t real life. He was still asleep on the plane and this was all a dream.

“I just wanted to let you know I appreciate it.” A smile crossed Jeongguk’s face.

Taehyung still didn’t know how to respond so he resorted to what he did best.

“You kind of forced yourself into my life so I’ve had to learn to adapt.” Taehyung teased.

“That’s how I make all my friends,” Jeongguk joked.

Taehyung only laughed.

“Want me to give you a minute to relax?” Jeongguk asked, trying not to overstay his welcome.

Taehyung shook his head. “No, I’m good. We can go back with the others.”

“Want a tour?” Jeongguk said as they walked back down the corridor.

“I’m not allowed upstairs, so I don’t really need to see the rest,” Taehyung said, following behind him.

“One day we’ll get the credentials to make it up there.”

“Or we could just find more single friends.” Taehyung suggested.

They made their way through the living room, heading for the back door when Taehyung asked. “Why aren’t you as drunk as the others?”

“Didn’t want to risk something happening to you and Jimin and having no one to come help.” Jeongguk said as they stepped outside. “He didn’t call me when he said he would so I got a little worried.”

“He almost made us miss our flight.” Taehyung complained.

“How?” Jeongguk asked, his eyes crinkling as he tried not to laugh.

“His phone charger was in his checked bag and his phone died so he wanted to buy a portable one at one of those shops.” Taehyung explained. “The queue was outside the shop and he still wanted to buy it.”

“Is that why he didn’t call?” Jeongguk asked, his gaze drifting over to where Jimin was.

Taehyung nodded as he watched Jimin dance shamelessly to the muffled beat of the music playing by the pool.

“Sorry I called so much.” Jeongguk said. “He told me he’d call when you landed and he wasn’t answering so I was hoping you’d pick up instead.”

“It’s fine. I’m sorry I didn’t pick up. We decided to keep one phone off so we wouldn’t end up having two dead phones.”

“Well now that we are safely here do you wanna get something to drink? There are plenty of beers in the fridge and they made some tropical juice thing with rum if you want that instead.”

Taehyung scrunched up his nose trying to make up his mind.

“Or there’s soda.” Jeongguk added with a cheeky grin.

“Soda’s for kids, Jeon.” Taehyung joked. “Bring me something that’ll get me drunk.”

With that, Jeongguk laughed his way to the bar to make him something to drink.

***

After a long debate over breakfast, they all decided that their first full day in Honolulu was going to be spent at the beach. They were all drained from all the traveling and some of them were already fighting a hangover. A handful of towels and a few bottles of suncream were thrown into a bag before they made the trek from the house to the shore.

Taehyung walked by himself in the back, carrying his chair. He was using the time to process the morning he’d had. Jeongguk and Hoseok had headed out to grab some breakfast and fresh fruit, and Jeongguk hadn’t forgotten to get his tea. By the time Taehyung made his way to the kitchen, the water was already at a rolling boil. Jeongguk had asked him to pick between his two usual favorites or if he was feeling adventurous enough to try a new blend he’d stumbled upon at the market.

Before he could get too caught up in his thoughts, he felt someone nudge his side. He looked up and found his best friend standing beside him with a gentle smile on his face.

“Are you okay?” Jimin asked, concerned.

“Yeah.” Taehyung shrugged. “I’m good.”

“He’s still alive so that’s a positive.” Jimin teased, nodding toward Jeongguk.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Taehyung laughed as they approached the beach. He stopped to watch Seokjin and Jeongguk argue animatedly about picking a good spot. He turned back to look at Jimin again.

“I’m just… picking up on the little things, I guess.”

“Oh yeah?” Jimin’s voice trailing off, suggestively.

“Well, he remembered to get me my tea,” Taehyung said, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Of course he did.” Jimin smirked, his eyes glinting with a told you so energy.

Taehyung just sighed. “Here it comes.”

“What?” Jimin asked, playing dumb, with a masterfully innocent expression.

“The daily ‘Give Jeongguk a Chance’ speech.” Taehyung said, giving his friend a disapproving look before he unfolded his chair and sat down.

“Tae, I just think that you two would fit so well together. His actions are always proving it.” Jimin gushed, setting up his chair beside Taehyung’s.

“Well, everyone knows I don’t drink coffee.” Taehyung mumbled, his gaze fixed on the horizon as if the waves could distract him from the conversation.

“You didn’t see me getting up early to buy you fancy tea,” Jimin said dryly. “Tae, he’s never going to be a bad thing because he’s not going to hurt you. Not like the other one. He’d actually be really good for you.”

“I just don’t think we would work out.” Taehyung said, his voice losing its sharp edge as some of his insecurities started to slip out.

“Why not?”

“He’s always gone. I’m always working.” Taehyung sighed. “And you know me. I’m not the easiest person to be around. And, I don’t even know how to be in a loving relationship anymore. How would that even work?”

Jimin was quiet. His best friend brought up some valid points. He always insinuated about how Taehyung and Jeongguk should fuck and that Taehyung owed Jeongguk multiple blowjobs, but he knew his friend was more relationship type. And being in a relationship wasn’t always easy. It took hard work. But Taehyung and Jeongguk were two of the hardest working people Jimin had ever met. If they could be dedicated to their careers, he was sure they could be dedicated to each other. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to find the right words to say. Talking about relationships with his best friend had become a tricky subject. But Taehyung was tough. He was a grown man and Jeongguk wasn’t his ex. It would be different this time around.

“Tae, remember when I went on my first proper date with Yoongi?” Jimin asked.

Taehyung nodded. “Nearly threw up twice.”

“Remember when we were applying for uni and he was planning to move to LA?”

“You cried for two days because you thought it meant he was dumping you.”

Jimin couldn’t believe how dramatic he had been. “Remember when he got into that graduate program and it meant he was leaving the country?”

“You started planning your life in Japan.”

“With every big change Yoongi and I have gone through I have been scared shitless.” Jimin admitted. “But that’s one of the great things about being in love. It’s new and exciting and life changing and with that comes a whole world of new emotions.”

Taehyung opened his mouth to ask what was the point of their trip down memory lane but Jimin beat him to it.

“I know you think letting Jeongguk in is terrifying. Especially after everything Dongsik did,” Jimin said. “But if you were going to put yourself back out there, Jeongguk would be the best person to do it with.”

“Why do you think that?” Taehyung asked. It was the first time they talked about it. Really talked. Every time Jimin came up with the topic, Taehyung quickly cut him off. This time he decided to put his walls down. Maybe the salt air was already doing him good.

“He’s been patient with you and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen.” Jimin explained. “I’m not going to say it will be easy, especially with his agenda and your career, but I think you could handle it.”

“He’s gone for months on end. What’s the point in being an item if I never get to see him?” Taehyung admitted.

“Because it’s nice to have someone to go through life with.” Jimin said, his tone softening into something quiet and sincere.

“Slow down, Jimin. Besides, I already have you.”

Jimin glared at Taehyung, for a beat, then he let out a sharp snort. “I’m not sucking your dick, Taehyung. Been telling you this for years.”

“You’re gross.” Taehyung scrunched up his face in disgust. They’ve been friends for almost twenty years and never went there.

“I just don’t want you to miss out on a really great opportunity because you’re being stubborn. This trip could be the perfect time to test the waters.”

Jeongguk approached them with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you two just gonna sit here and gossip all day?”

Taehyung didn’t even give him a second to finish. He stood up in one fluid motion, reaching into the bag and pulling out a neon-blue frisbee. He waved it playfully at Jeongguk, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Come toss frisbee with me, Jeon.”

But Jeongguk was faster. The second Taehyung stepped away from his spot, Jeongguk slid right into the empty chair, leaning back and sinking into the chair, stretching his legs out in the sand with a satisfied smile on his face.

Jeongguk just shook his head with a lazy “Uh-uh.” He was clearly too comfortable to move a muscle.

Taehyung grabbed his arm with his other hand, “Come on, just a few throws,” he said, pretending to pout.

But Jeongguk anchored himself, his muscles tensing just enough to stay rooted to the chair. Taehyung tried to pull him off the chair but he didn’t budge an inch. He just looked up at Taehyung through his lashes, a teasing smile playing on his lips as he watched him struggle.

“Is that your best, Taehyung? What a lightweight.” Jeongguk grinned.

“Well, sorry I’m not super fucking built,” Taehyung said sarcastically.

“I’m not super fucking built,” Jeongguk said. “I’m just like regular muscular, like a normal amount.”

“Sure of course.” Taehyung nodded in annoyance, as he released Jeongguk’s arm, giving up. “Come, Jimin-ah!”

”In your dreams!” Jimin scoffed, putting his sunglasses on.

“You both are dead to me,” Taehyung said dryly, taking off his shirt and going after Hoseok. “I need to find new friends.”

Jeongguk and Jimin laughed as Taehyung dramatically walked away from them.

As he watched Taehyung further down the shoreline, Jeongguk couldn’t look away. He was laughing at something Hoseok had said, cap backwards, red shorts, completely unguarded in a way he almost never was. It was a different version of him than the one Jeongguk usually got.

Jimin caught his vision, “So how’s it going?”

“It?” Jeongguk asked, cocking an eyebrow as if to say ‘it what?’”.

“At least he’s in a good mood. But don’t let his attitude fool you, he’s absolutely smitten.” Jimin said bluntly.

“How can you tell?” Jeongguk ran a hand through his hair.

“He’s thinking about the future.” Jimin explained, watching the realization hit Jeongguk’s face.

Jeongguk kept his eyes on his friend, his expression turning serious. “Really?”

“Yeah… already thinking about how things wouldn’t work out,” Jimin added with a shrug.

“Why does he think it wouldn’t?” Jeongguk asked, his posture stiffening. He never really tried to hide that he was interested. It wasn’t a secret, he was straightforward about it, and all of their friends knew exactly what he was after when it came to Taehyung.

“Your schedules. And all that,” The blonde said. “He’s just psyching himself out before it even happens. Typical Taehyung.”

Jeongguk didn’t say anything. He always knew it could be an issue, but that was a problem for future Jeongguk to solve. He needed to focus on getting the man first.

Jimin placed his hand on Jeongguk’s arm, “Don’t let his insecurities win.”

“Thought you weren’t meddling.” Jeongguk raised an eyebrow.

Jimin smiled as he threw his hands up in defense, “Not meddling, just helpful guiding.”

“Helpful guiding.” Jeongguk laughed. “So that’s what it is.” He looked back at Taehyung, his gaze lingering a second longer than before.

***

The kitchen smelled like garlic and sesame oil. Jeongguk had claimed the stove an hour ago and Seokjin had appointed himself sous chef, which mostly meant standing nearby offering opinions nobody had asked for.

“More ginger.”

“I already put ginger in, hyung.”

“More.”

Jeongguk was not having it. When it came to cooking, he always had his way, despite being the youngest.

“Hyung, no.”

The others had scattered across the house. Jimin and Yoongi somewhere upstairs, Namjoon on the back porch with a book, Hoseok on a phone call that had been going for forty minutes. The house had settled into that particular early every quiet that only happened when everyone was doing their own thing.

Taehyung appeared in the kitchen doorway with the expression of someone who had decided to be helpful and was already regretting it.

“I can help,” he announced.

Jeongguk and Seokjin looked at each other.

“You can’t cook.” Seokjin scoffed.

“I can chop things.” Taehyung said, already moving around the counter and invading their space.

“Okay, would you like to chop the vegetables?” Jeongguk asked.

“Of course,” Taehyung nodded.

“Here,” Jeongguk said, handing him the cutting board. “Can you start on the peppers?”

“Sure,” Taehyung said, taking a knife from the knife block. He began chopping the peppers with quick efficiency, making short work of it. “All done,” he said while Jeongguk was warming up the pan and placing garlic in the middle.

“You’re fast,” Jeongguk turned, impressed, leaning over to inspect the perfectly uniform pieces.

“Not for all things,” Taehyung grinned.

Seokjin let out a disgusted noise, while Jeongguk just rolled his eyes, a faint heat climbing up his neck, but he smiled anyway.

“Now start with the onions,” Jeongguk said. “Thin slices.”

“I know what thin slices are.”

“I’m just saying.” Jeongguk murmured, turning back to the sizzling pan to hide his grin.

“I’ve eaten food before, Jeon. I know how it works.” Taehyung said as he positioned the onion on the board and started to slice it.

The three of them fell into a comfortable rhythm. Jeongguk stirring, Seokjin hovering, Taehyung chopping with the focused expression of someone taking a task extremely seriously.

It was going well, actually. Until it wasn’t.

The knife slipped on a wet piece of onion and caught the side of Taehyung’s index finger before he could pull back. He hissed sharply through his teeth.

“You alright?” Seokjin asked, not looking up.

“Fine.” Taehyung said, the world coming out of his mouth automatically, the way it always did.

Jeongguk had his back to him, as he turned down the heat on the second burner, he explained to Seokjin how to finish the sauce. ”Jin hyung, come here, you’re going to add the stock slowly, not all at once, and keep the heat low or it’ll catch on the bott-”

When he turned around, he stopped.

Taehyung had pulled his shirt over his head and was pressing it against his finger, watching the fabric darken with a kind of detached interest. His expression was perfectly calm. As if this was a completely normal thing to do.

“What happ-” Jeongguk started, his brown furrowing in concern.

“I’m bleeding.” Taehyung said, as if that explained everything.

“I can see that.” Jeongguk said as he crossed the kitchen in two steps, getting in Taehyung’s space, “Why is your shirt off?”

“It was the closest thing.”

“There are paper towels right there.” Jeongguk nodded at the counter.

Taehyung glanced at the paper towels, then he glanced back at Jeongguk.

“I didn’t think of that.”

Seokjin turned around, took one look at the situation and turned back to the stove. “I’m not involved in this. I’m a chef, not a medic.” He blurted. The truth was that he couldn’t handle blood.

Jeongguk took Taehyung’s hand and peeled the shirt back carefully to look at the cut. It was bleeding generously, the kind of clean, insistent bleed that looked worse than it actually was.

“It caught a vein,” Jeongguk said, pressing the shirt back against it. “Hold that. Tight.
I have a first aid kit.” He tore his eyes away from Taehyung’s hand, cutting across the open kitchen toward the hallway leading to his room.

“Of course he brought a first aid kit on vacation,” Taehyung remarked to Seokjin.

“Did you just want to be shirtless or what?” Seokjin asked eyeing him.

“I didn’t even think.”

“You could’ve just used the paper towels.”

“I know that now.” Taehyung sighed, his thumb pressing firmly into the blood soaked fabric of his shirt.

“Come here,” Jeongguk called from the hallway, opening the door of the bathroom beside the stairs with one hand and had the kit in the other. “We need to stop the bleeding first.” He held Taehyung’s hand under the faucet for a minute before stepping back out.

“Sit.” Jeongguk said, taking a seat on the second step and patted the space beside him. “I don’t want to do this in the kitchen.”

Taehyung sat down close to him while Jeongguk reached for some clean gauze.

“Thank you,” Taehyung said in a low tone. Jeongguk carefully cleaned the cut with an antiseptic wipe, dabbing it dry. Taehyung couldn’t help but smile as he watched Jeongguk concentrate so seriously on the cut, before tightly putting a pink bandaid on his finger.

“Okay, all done.” Jeongguk stood up, wiping his finger on a paper towel.

“My shirt is ruined.” Taehyung said, picking up his white Celine shirt and showing him the blood-covered piece.

“Here, give it to me.” Jeongguk took it from his hands, without waiting. Slightly confused, Taehyung watched him walk towards the laundry room.

Taehyung didn’t follow Jeongguk, but he could hear the distant sounds of running water and muffled scrubbing, but he didn’t know whether or not to get up and follow him or to just wait. After a few minutes, his thoughts were answered for him when Jeongguk walked out.

“I’m soaked,” Jeongguk grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling it over his head. “I’m gonna change.”

Before they could move, Jimin appeared, coming down the stairs. His jaw dropped seeing both men with their shirts off. Jimin’s eyes darted between them, a mischievous glint replacing his initial shock. Without giving any explanation, Jeongguk went straight to his room while Taehyung stayed behind to explain what happened.

“I cut myself and Jeongguk was helping me take care of it.” He said, holding up his finger to show the pink bandaid.

Jimin raised his brows in surprise. He eyed Taehyung’s naked torso and smirked before heading to the kitchen without saying anything.

***

Taehyung’s first four days in Honolulu were spent lounging around the beach and drinking alcohol from carved out fruits. To say it had already been a successful vacation would be an understatement. After his breakup, he became a stereotypical workaholic. He spent too much time at the office. He put in too much effort into his work. And when he moved to Seoul, it just got worse. So maybe that was why, on the fourth morning, he caught himself thinking he wouldn’t mind if the week lasted a little longer.

“Jeon, you know your bowl isn’t going anywhere.” Taehyung said dryly.

Jeongguk’s big eyes flicked up at him as he chewed. His eyebrows furrowed in that distinctive, angry look he got whenever he was enjoying his food a little too much. He reached over and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Taehyung rolled his eyes in performative disgust, making Jeongguk laugh.

“Thought they would’ve taught you manners in Idol 101.” Taehyung teased.

Jeongguk shook his head. “That’s not until the 300 level course.”

“All those years of hard work and you haven’t reached it yet?” Taehyung laughed, finally taking pity on him before handing over a paper napkin.

It was barely nine o’clock in the morning. Various types of breakfast were being consumed in the open kitchen illuminated by the morning light as the group decided what their plans were for the day. The consensus was snorkeling and Taehyung was not having it.

“Taehyungie, why don’t you want to come?” Seokjin grabbed a spoon from the drawer.

“Because I don’t want to get bitten by a shark.” Taehyung replied as if the answer was obvious.

“You’re more likely to be struck by lightning twice than be attacked by a shark, Tae.” Seokjin mentioned between bites of banana bread.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” Jimin sat down beside Taehyung.

“Positive. Sorry.”

“He doesn’t do live animals.” Jeongguk spat, mimicking Taehyung’s deep voice.

“Oh fuck off.” Taehyung laughed, threatening to throw another napkin at him.

“What are you gonna do then?” Jimin asked.

“Stay around here. Maybe lounge by the pool. Read.” Taehyung shrugged. ”Nap.”

“Got me suncream and a good book. All I need is a pineapple of rum and I’m set.” Jeongguk said, pretending to be Taehyung once more.

“Will you quit it!” Taehyung glared at him playfully.

“Or what?” Jeongguk challenged, his voice dropping into something undeniably flirtatious. He held Taehyung’s gaze waiting.

Before Taehyung could think of a response, Jimin reached over and smacked him upside the head. This only sent the man in front of him into a fit of laughter.

Taehyung hated how much the sound of Jeongguk’s elfish laugh made his stomach flip. He could push down his feelings and act like they didn’t exist. He could focus on other things, like the precedents of cases he’d never be assigned to, or scrutinizing ironclad contracts for hidden loopholes or calculating the probability of a driver winning the Formula One Championship. However, after finding out how much effort Jeongguk had put into getting him to Hawaii, something inside him had changed. Being mean seemed cruel.

Within the past few days, a switch had been flipped. He was finding it more difficult to detach himself from the thought of Jeongguk. He was still a pain in the ass but there was something about him that was almost infuriatingly endearing. Before he could get lost deeper in his own mind, Namjoon’s voice rang in his ears. He looked up to find everyone looking at him expectantly.

Taehyung blinked. “What?”

“Just want to confirm, you’re a no to the diving adventure?” Namjoon asked.

“Correct.” Taehyung cleared his throat with a nod.

“Okay, we’ll be even then.” Namjoon grabbed his phone to see if he could book a reservation.

“What are we gonna do after?” Taehyung looked around the group. “Like tonight?”

“We could grab dinner at one of those places on Kalakaua and then hit the bars on the strip.” Hoseok suggested.

“We can stay here and drink again.” Yoongi said, a smile spreading across his face.

“I’m sick of doing that.” Jimin sighed. “We need to experience the nightlife here.”

“I’m in.” Namjoon glanced up from his phone.

“Jeongguk?” Jimin turned to the youngest.

”I’m in.” Jeongguk crossed his arms over his chest.

“Taehyung?”

“Me too, I guess.”

“It’s settled then.” Jimin said, getting up from the table. “I say we try to leave here in an hour, yeah?”

Most of the others started to clean up their messes before heading up to their rooms. Taehyung sat quietly and finished up the food he had left. He looked up to find Jeongguk still sitting across from him.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Taehyung asked, taking a bite of his toast.

“You’re not done yet.” Jeongguk shrugged.

“So?”

“It’s rude to leave if someone’s still eating, Taehyung.” Jeongguk sighed playfully.

Taehyung gave him a flat look but stayed quiet.

“I didn’t think you’d want to come with us today. When Namjoon hyung brought it up last night, I knew you’d say no.” Jeongguk said.

“Wanna hike up a volcano? I’m in. Wanna see the dolphin show at the Waikiki Aquarium? I’ll be there. Want to dive in the middle of the ocean and have man-eating monsters come swim by you? That’s where I draw the line,” Taehyung exclaimed.

Jeongguk laughed. A warm, genuine sound that made Taehyung smile.

“I’m surprised you’re going,” Taehyung added.

Jeongguk furrowed his brow, perplexed. “Why?”

“You’re not even a fan of being out in the sun for long,” Taehyung said, flatly.

“Well, yeah that’s true.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

“For Jimin hyung. He said he’d buy me a pint if I went,” Jeongguk said. Seeing the confused look on Taehyung’s face, he continued, “Yoongi hyung doesn’t like swimming so we thought if he saw me he’d feel guilt-tripped into going too.”

“Good luck with that. A fucking shark is going to be swimming at you.” Taehyung said.

“I’ve dealt with worse.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Teenage girls don’t count.”

“When they come out in masses they do!” Jeongguk shot back.

“I’ll be saying a prayer for you all,” Taehyung said.

“Means a lot, Taehyung.” Jeongguk joked, balling up his used napkin and tossing it at Taehyung.

Taehyung finished up his food and stood up, he grabbed Jeongguk’s plate and stacked it beneath his own before heading to the sink. Jeongguk scanned the table to clean up the little messes everyone else had left behind.

Once they were done, the pair headed towards their rooms. When they reached Taehyung’s door, Jeongguk stopped and cautiously placed an arm on his shoulder to get the other’s attention. Taehyung looked up at him.

“If I die today, you can have the chair that you always fall asleep in when you drink too much at my place.” Jeongguk teased.

Taehyung’s eyes lit up at the lightheartedness in Jeongguk’s voice.

“You can also have the shitty wine bottle opener you always leave behind because you don’t want it at your house.”

“It’s not shitty,” Taehyung narrowed his eyes at him. “You just don’t know how to use it.”

”I don’t really drink wine so I don’t need one.”

”Yeah but I do. And so does Jimin. You should have one just for us.”

Jeongguk shook his head with a smirk. ”Ah, ’course I do. Anything for the guests.”

“I’ll buy you a better one when we get back. I’ve had my eyes on a really sick electric one.” Taehyung said, making him laugh.

“I can get one if you want,” Jeongguk offered.

Taehyung reached out and poked Jeongguk in the chest. His fingers lingering for a moment. “No. You aren’t the only one who makes money around here, Jeon.”

“You’re right,” Jeongguk murmured, his gaze dropping to where Taehyung’s hand rested on his chest.

“How long are you going to be shark bait for?” Taehyung cleared his throat, changing the subject.

“Long enough to scare the shit out of myself, probably.” Jeongguk raised one eyebrow. “Why, you counting down?”

“Unless something goes wrong.” Taehyung nudged Jeongguk playfully, grinning. “Then I’ll be one chair richer.”

Jeongguk’s infectious giggles filled the hallway as they both headed back to their rooms to get ready for the day.

***

When Taehyung decided to come on this trip, he was wary about how much fun he would have. In the past twelve months or so, he conditioned himself to work so much that he didn’t really know what true fun was anymore. When he was invited to do things with his friends, it was hard to remove himself from work, but he’d still make the effort to be there.

That moment, his fun consisted of sitting in some tourist trap bar watching a man in a cropped black button-up that cost more than Taehyung’s car payment, his waist peeking through it every time he moved as he drunkenly danced to a mediocre rendition of ‘Daisies’.

They were currently at the third bar of the night and the amount of alcohol in their systems was starting to show. The bar was the kind of place that existed specifically for tourists. Neon signs, tiki torches, a bartender in a Hawaiian shirt mixing drinks that came in carved pineapples. The kind of place that shouldn’t work but somehow did, especially after a few rounds. Just as the chorus started, Jeongguk pulled Jimin towards him and the two danced together. Jeongguk attempted an overly dramatic dip and nearly dropped Jimin entirely, catching him at the last second. The entire group erupted in laughter.

Jeongguk wiggled his way towards where Taehyung was sitting, his face flushed from dancing and the humidity.

“Real smooth, Jeon.” Taehyung teased.

“I thought he was a former dancer.”

“No, you know that’s Hoseok hyung.” Taehyung sipped his drink.

“Fuck, you’re right.” Jeongguk laughed, leaning up against Taehyung.

Their booth was tucked into the corner of the bar, half hidden by a low partition strung with fairy lights. The dance floor was visible from where they sat but far enough away to feel separate from it.

“How’d he do in the water today?” Taehyung nodded towards his best friend, still on the dance floor.

“A lot better than I did,” Jeongguk admitted.

“Not surprised.” Taehyung turned his gaze away from the crowd to look directly at him.

Jeongguk’s eyes lit up. “Why?”

“You just didn’t want to lose your chair to me so you psyched yourself out.” Taehyung winked.

Jeongguk shook his head, biting back a smile. He smirked, letting the man know that he appreciated his sense of humor.

Jeongguk leaned over and tried to steal Taehyung’s straw with his tongue. Taehyung rolled his eyes before holding out his drink for the younger man to sip.

“Hm, shit, that’s good.” Jeongguk said, impressed. ”Want another one?”

Taehyung nodded.

“But I told you I was gonna buy the next round.”

“Enough outta you. I’m buying you a drink.”

“Jeon-” Taehyung started to say, but his protest died in his throat as Jeongguk stole the final sip from his drink, his eyes locked onto Taehyung’s over the rim of the glass.

“No, you get the first round at the next bar.”

“Fine.” Taehyung sighed, dramatically.

“Good. Be right back.” Jeongguk smiled. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he leaned in and pecked Taehyung’s lips gently. The contact was brief. A soft, lingering ghost of a kiss.

As soon as Jeongguk’s mouth left Taehyung’s, he froze. His eyes shut as he silently cursed himself. He hadn’t meant to kiss Taehyung. Yes, he had wanted to since the day they met but he never imagined it being so impulsive. The problem wasn’t the kiss per se, it was that Taehyung might see it as him crossing a line. And if there was one thing that could undo all the progress he’d made, it was that. His relationship with Taehyung was complicated. He cared for him a lot but for some reason Taehyung always seemed to keep him at arm’s length.

Jeongguk opened his eyes cautiously. He was expecting to find the death glare of a raging Taehyung, instead he looked utterly struck. Taehyung wasn’t flustered, there was no frantic blushing or looking away. But his usual composure had momentarily derailed as he stared back at Jeongguk.

“Don’t go anywhere.” Jeongguk whispered, and headed for the bar before Taehyung could say anything.

While Jeongguk waited for the bartender, someone nudged him. He turned to find a very smug looking Jimin waiting for a drink.

“I’m surprised he didn’t punch you in the face.” Jimin grinned, leaning casually against the counter.

Jeongguk sighed, closing his eyes. “You saw?”

“I’m the only one. Don’t worry.”

”It just happened.”

“What did his face look like?”

“Deer in the headlights.”

“Interesting.” An amused, knowing expression settled on Jimin’s face as he took a sip of his own drink.

“What?” Jeongguk asked, confused.

“I would have expected him to be mad.” Jimin replied. “You’re growing on him.”

“You don’t know that.” Jeongguk glanced down the bar.

“Just apologize and see what happens.” Jimin said as the barman handed over his drink.

“Do me a favor.” Jeongguk nodded towards where Taehyung was sitting. “Take him his drink.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Just do it, Jimin.”

“You swam beside a fucking shark today,” Jimin pointed out, an incredulous laugh bubbling up.

“So?” Jeongguk gave in, “The shark didn’t have the power to make me feel like an idiot with a single look.”

“Kim Taehyung is nowhere near as terrifying as a shark,” Jimin reassured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me.”

Jeongguk grunted before leaning his elbows against the bar. Jimin had a point. He had swam with sharks. He had played Tokyo Dome to a sold-out crowd three nights in a row. He had gone skydiving and done a lot of scary things in his life. Surely, a man in a linen fancy shirt wasn’t going to be his undoing.

“I’ll keep an eye out and swoop in if you need my help.” Jimin offered, already retreating toward the dance floor with a mischievous wink.

Jeongguk just nodded as the barman handed over a freshly made drink and another beer. He took a deep breath before heading back to Taehyung.

Taehyung flashed him a gracious smile as Jeongguk handed over the drink and sat down again, not as close as he was before. Jeongguk opened his mouth to apologize but was met by a sour face. He watched as Taehyung squeezed the bridge of his nose, his eyes fluttering shut as he tried to ease the sudden pain in his forehead.

“Brain freeze.” Taehyung mumbled, figuring he probably looked crazy.

Jeongguk slipped his bottle of beer into the front pocket of his shirt, reached over and flattened his large tattooed hand against Taehyung’s forehead.

Jolts of electricity shot through Taehyung’s body from the radiating warmth of the palm. He tried to think nothing of it but the alcohol in his system and the small kiss moments before sent his mind into overdrive.

“This is supposed to work.” Jeongguk realized he hadn’t explained what he was doing to him. “My manager taught us. You have someone put their palm flat against your forehead and the other on the back. Then they put a little pressure and it’ll go away.” He pressed against Taehyung’s head.

“You’re all idiots.” Taehyung mumbled, a small laugh escaping him.

“Is it working?”

Taehyung flicked his eyes open. “No.”

“Well, fuck. It’s supposed to.” Jeongguk focused a little harder, as if sheer willpower could cure a brain freeze, making Taehyung laugh.

Jeongguk was entirely too close. His features looked different. His eyes looked bigger. His natural musk started to mix with the smell of beer and sweat from dancing with Jimin. It was doing something to Taehyung.

Taehyung couldn’t take it.

He cleared his throat trying to break the spell. Jeongguk looked at him confused.

“That was probably just your manager’s way of feeling up guys at bars,” Taehyung said.

“I mean I wouldn’t put it past him.” Jeongguk laughed before finally taking his hands away.

Taehyung smiled and took a small sip of his drink before trying to focus on something across the bar.

Jeongguk ran a hand through his hair before retrieving the bottle from his shirt.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongguk said as he placed the bottle to his lips, staring straight ahead.

Taehyung glanced over at him. “For what?”

Before Jeongguk could respond, Jimin appeared out of nowhere, flopping down next to Taehyung. He stuck out his drink for Taehyung to try.

The moment was ruined.

Jeongguk leaned back, giving them space, and said nothing. He watched the exchange between the two best friends with a mixture of relief and a nagging sense of frustration. The moment had passed.

“Everyone finish up ’cause we out,” Seokjin slurred, sliding his arm around Namjoon’s shoulders.

“Let’s go to the fancy bar next,” Hoseok giggled.

“No, let’s go back to that music bar,” Yoongi suggested, pulling Jimin up.

“We can decide outside,” Namjoon said, already turning towards the exit. “Just finish your drinks already.”

Taehyung took a large sip of his drink. He didn’t want to be the reason why his friends were waiting. He watched as Jeongguk finished off his beer effortlessly before putting the bottle on the table in front of them with a solid thud.

Not wanting the expensive gin to go to waste, Taehyung tried to finish as much as he could but knew he couldn’t finish on his own. He held the glass up to Jeongguk’s mouth and without hesitation, Jeongguk took a hold of the glass, his fingers brushing against Taehyung’s, and finished off the rest in a few long swallows.

“Fuck.” Jeongguk mumbled as his eyes shut tight. He scrunched up his face trying to combat the sensation taking over him.

Taehyung wanted to look away but he didn’t.

Instead, he reached over and placed both of his large hands on Jeongguk’s head, mimicking the exact pressure the younger man had used on him minutes before.

Jeongguk opened his eyes and found the man watching him closely.

“It helps, doesn’t it?” Taehyung smirked.

“Why do you always try to make me feel like a creep?” Jeongguk laughed.

“Just a bit of banter.”

“Takes one to know one, Taehyung,” Jeongguk said, meeting his eyes.

Before Taehyung could reply, Hoseok called out, “What the fuck are you two doing?”
It caused everyone to turn their heads towards them. Jeongguk didn’t even turn his head.

“Oh, fuck off.” Taehyung called back without looking away, his voice surprisingly firm as he kept his eyes on the man in front of him.

“Why is he getting special treatment and all that?” Jimin smirked.

Taehyung took his hands off of Jeongguk before turning around to face his best friend.

“You gonna buy me drinks and give me a chair from your million dollar house?” Taehyung asked with an attitude.

Jimin attempted to find a comeback but nothing came to mind.

“That’s what I thought.” Taehyung sassed, finally standing up.

“Let’s go.” Yoongi said, suppressing a grin as he tried to help out his man.

***

Two hours later, they had ended up at a tiny dance hall that made them feel strangely at home. A round of Blue Hawaii shots had just been thrown back. Seokjin was leading a dance circle to some tune with a few other Koreans they had met two bars back. Hoseok was nowhere to be found and Yoongi and Jimin were completely engrossed with each other, lost in their own private orbit.

In a booth tucked into the corner of the room, half hidden by a low partition strung with fairy lights, Taehyung sat in between two men in a booth sipping from a bottle of water. The man on his left was plotting how to approach a group of American girls. The man on his right had stuck by his side all night and was currently on a drunken rant about weird desserts.

And if he was being honest, he thought it was pretty cute.

“Taehyung,” Jeongguk said, finishing off his beer. “You ever had a Dubai chewy cookie?”

Taehyung turned to look at him. “A what?”

“Dubai chewy cookie,” Jeongguk repeated, as if that clarified anything.

“Jeon, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Taehyung said, a fond smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“It’s this thing that went viral.” Jeongguk straightened up slightly. “It’s like a marshmallow dough, yeah? Cocoa powder on the outside. But the inside-” he paused for effect, “pistachio cream and this crispy shredded pastry. It’s insane.”

“You’re describing a biscuit to me in a bar in Hawaii.”

“It’s not a biscuit, Taehyung, it’s a-” Jeongguk stopped himself. “You’d know if you tried.”

“Right,” Taehyung said dryly, taking a sip of his water.

“I made two hundred of them.”

Taehyung slowly put his drink down. “Sorry, you made how many?”

“Two hundred,” Jeongguk repeated, looking slightly embarrassed. “For the staff on set. Some of them didn’t get one so I said I’d make more that night.”

Taehyung stared at him for a long moment. “You made two hundred cookies. By yourself.”

“...Yes.”

“Two. Hundred.”

“Why do you keep saying it like that?”

“Because it’s insane!” Taehyung laughed. “Normal people order coffee trucks. You made two hundred handmade cookies.”

“They’re not that hard,” Jeongguk mumbled defensively, though a proud smile was starting to betray him.

“I want one.” Taehyung smiled at him.

Jeongguk looked up, his eyes searching Taehyung’s. “Yeah?”

“If you make them again when we get back, I want one,” Taehyung said simply, sipping his water again. “Don’t let Jimin have mine.”

The corner of Jeongguk’s mouth pulled up slowly. “Don’t let Jimin have yours.”

“Why aren’t you out there with them?” Taehyung gestured towards the dance floor.

“Too drunk to dance.” Jeongguk sighed. “Can’t believe I just admitted that.”

He leaned forward to set down his beer, causing Taehyung to sit up. “It’s your fault though. You’re the one who dumped your almost full drink down on me.” Jeongguk pointed out.

“Nu-uh, I was almost done with it,” Taehyung lied.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes, making the man laugh.

“You know you love me, Jeon.” Taehyung finished off his bottle of water.

“More than you deserve.” Jeongguk said, not looking at him.

Taehyung started to sing-along to the song to push back the comment Jeongguk had just made. He was joking but he knew Jeongguk wasn’t. Jimin’s words from the beginning of the trip had made him hyper-aware of everything that man said. He tried to keep it from bothering him but it was tough. Jeongguk was cute and for a majority of this trip Taehyung was drunk so his walls were down.

And Jeongguk kissed him. It may have been brief and alcohol-infused but it happened. Taehyung had drunkenly kissed people before, of course. But this kiss was different. It was natural and almost instinctive, like they had done it before. And maybe deep down he had wished it had lasted longer but he wouldn’t admit that to anyone. Taehyung had built their relationship on the foundation that he couldn’t stand Jeongguk. If he admitted that he wanted to kiss him, drunk or not, he’d be a hypocrite. And that wasn’t something he was ready to face just yet.

He glanced over to find Jeongguk beautifully singing along to a song that Taehyung had never heard before. His eyes were glowing and a drunken smile was plastered across his face. He found it annoying that Jeongguk still sounded good even though he was completely pissed.

“Take a picture, Taehyung.” Jeongguk teased, catching him staring, without even looking his way. “It’ll last longer.”

“My lens would break then.” Taehyung shot back.

Jeongguk laughed before turning his full attention to him. The teasing light in his eyes had softened into something much more dangerous. Sincerity.

“Taehyung?”

“Hm?” He mumbled, looking up.

“I’m sorry for kissing you earlier. It was wrong of me.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not.” Jeongguk sighed. “I should have known better.”

“Jeo-” Taehyung started to say but was cut off.

“It just sort of happened before I could stop it.”

Taehyung said nothing.

“I’m actually surprised you didn’t punch my lights out,” Jeongguk admitted.

“I-I…” Taehyung couldn’t figure out a reason why he hadn’t reacted. Not one that didn’t involve admitting he’d liked the way Jeongguk’s lips felt against his.

Jeongguk gave him some time to gather his thoughts. He didn’t have an answer for him though.

“I just wanted to say it won’t happen again,” Jeongguk said, his tone firm, drawing Taehyung’s attention back.

“What?” Taehyung couldn’t mask the disappointment in his voice.

“It won’t happen again. I don’t need you hating me even more.”

“I don’t hate you, Jeon. You’re pretty nice to be around, actually,” Taehyung confessed.

Jeongguk cleared his throat, the tip of his ears turning pink.

“You don’t like me complimenting you, do you?” Taehyung glanced at him.

“Just not used to it, I guess.”

Taehyung turned towards the younger man, “We can go back to talking about cookies if you want?”

Jeongguk laughed as Taehyung started going on about the last time he had tried to make something from scratch and how spectacularly it had gone wrong. Jeongguk appreciated his attempt to get things back to neutral territory, even if the ’neutral’ was now charged with everything they weren’t saying. He didn’t want to admit that by doing so it was only making him fall deeper for him. If this trip did anything, it was let him know that he needed to be with him every second of every day.

He had a lot of work to do but Taehyung was worth it.

***

What’s the best way to cure a hangover?

For some, it’s a marathon sleep session and a few gallons of Gatorade. For others, it’s an early morning run around the block and a fresh smoothie. For Taehyung, it was being dragged onto a boat at nine o’clock in the morning after barely four hours of sleep and a sad piece of avocado toast.

His head was throbbing. His stomach was in knots. And the sound of a certain man’s giggles was about to send him over the edge. He wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and wake up when the sun was starting to set.

But he had agreed to go wakeboarding.

At the time it was suggested, somewhere between the third Blue Hawaii and the talk about cookies, it seemed like a good idea. As soon as Jimin had jumped on his bed earlier that morning to wake him up, Taehyung realized it was not.

“How are you holding up?” Jimin nudged Taehyung gently.

“If he doesn’t stop with that fuckin’ giggles, I’m feeding him to a shark,” Taehyung grumbled.

“Ah, give him a break. He’s having fun,” Jimin looked over at their friend.

“Well he should do it somewhere else,” Taehyung said, burying his head in his hands.

“Did you really drink that much last night?” Jimin scanned Taehyung’s face.

Taehyung lowered his sunglasses and shot his best friend a dirty look. The dark rings under his puffy eyes spoke for themselves.

“It’s your fault. You fooled me. I thought everyone was drinking at every stop.”

“What do you remember?” Jimin asked with an amused expression.

Taehyung knew that look. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, putting his sunglasses back into place.

“C’mon, Tae.” Jimin said, rubbing Taehyung’s thigh lovingly.

“You got me up at the arse crack of dawn and put me on a boat that will most likely be covered in my stomach lining by the end of the day,” Taehyung groaned. “And now you want me to bare my soul to you at half nine in the morning. Absolutely not, Jimin-ah.”

“You really don’t remember anything?” Jimin asked again, disappointed.

“Ehhh…”

Did he remember anything? Yes. He did.

Was he willing to admit it? No. Not at all.

Because if he did, then he would have to admit that he let Jeon Jeongguk kiss him and get away with it. And that was not something he was willing to do. At least not before he had time to over analyze every decision he had made the night before.

“Seokjin hyung threw up by the pool.” Taehyung said after playing with the idea of being honest.

“And the driveway.” Jimin winced at the memory.

“Uh… there is a cookie called the Dubai chewy cookie and apparently Jeon made two hundred of them by himself.” Taehyung rattled off trying to play it cool.

As soon as those words left his lips, he felt a pair of eyes land on him. He refused to acknowledge the guy who they belonged to. He hadn’t realized Jeongguk had been listening.

“Excuse me, what?” Jimin asked, confused.

“You asked what I remembered and that is something I remembered.” Taehyung said, his voice tight.

“How is that even something you remember?” Jimin shook his head.

“I don’t know,” Taehyung said, “Jeongguk just wouldn’t shut up about it.”

It wasn’t how it went and Taehyung knew it. Regretfully, he looked up. An appreciative smile graced the lips of the man he was trying his best to ignore. He focused his eyes back on the floor.

“Do you remember anything else?” Jimin insisted.

Taehyung let out a sigh. “Nope.”

Jimin scooted closer before lowering his voice. ”So you don’t remember someone kissing you?”

“How do you know about that?” Taehyung narrowed his eyes on his friend.

“I saw it go down. Wait, you remember that happening?” Jimin asked with an excited grin.

“Yeah, but I wasn’t going to admit it to you.” Taehyung was trapped.

“You like him.”

“No, I don’t.” Taehyung snapped.

“God, just sit on his face already, Taehyungie. We all know you want to.” Yoongi’s voice croaked cheekily as he sat down beside his boyfriend.

“For fucks sake,” Taehyung grumbled. He really just wanted to throw himself off the boat. He didn’t care how far out they were. He didn’t care if fish or sharks were waiting for him beneath the surface. He just wanted something to completely swallow him up.

“Yoongi!” Jimin scolded his boyfriend as he suppressed a giggle.

Jeongguk was trying his best to act like he hadn’t heard what was said.

“What? Like he doesn’t know already,” Yoongi said, placing a hand on Taehyung’s knee. “This one’s just playing hard to get.”

“Will you knock it off?” Jimin sighed. “We said we wouldn’t meddle.”

“Yeah, but he’s into him. Why can’t I just help him realize it?” Yoongi asked in a soft tone.

“Telling me to sit on someone’s face and coaxing me into realizing I have nonexistent feelings are two different things, hyung.” Taehyung pointed out.

“And it’s none of our business,” Jimin said, giving his boyfriend a dirty look. “We talked about this.”

“Taehyungie, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to help,” Yoongi said as he stood up. Both men shot him dirty looks.

“Tae-”

“I don’t have feelings for him,” Taehyung said, “The kiss just caught me off guard. And… I just don’t know. I mean, I still want to strangle him, but I’m also kind of starting to enjoy looking at him.”

“He’s scared of you,” Jimin blurted out, smirking.

Taehyung looked across the boat to find Jeongguk in a conversation with Yoongi and Namjoon. He slid his sunglasses on top of his head before turning his attention back to Jimin.

“When he went to the bar after he kissed you, I ran into him. He was too scared to give you the drink.” Jimin explained. “He asked me to do it.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Sometimes you’ve got to let the people you love do things on their own.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes before putting his sunglasses back on, ending the deep conversation before his brain could short-circuit.

“Fuck, I’m too hungover for that shit, Jimin-ah.”

Jimin laughed at Taehyung’s dramatics.

“When did you become a fucking shrink?” Taehyung asked.

“Oh stop. You know I’m just looking out for the two of you.” Jimin sighed, “I can’t believe Yoongi bloody said that to you. Why would he assume that Jeongguk would want you to do that?” Jimin said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Unless they’ve discussed it.”

“Shut up, Jimin,” Taehyung said as a short, huffed laugh escaped him.

“How was the… you know?” Jimin lowered his voice.

“The kiss? You can say it, you know,” Taehyung said, “It was more like a peck, nothing too substantial.”

“Would you want something more substantial?” Jimin asked smugly.

“Honestly?”

“Fuck!” Jimin’s eyes lit up as he studied his best friend’s face. “You do!” He clapped his hands.

Taehyung smirked, not trying to hide it. “If we keep getting as pissed as we did last night, I’m afraid it’s going to happen. It’s simple math, Jimin.”

“You haven’t had a good snog in ages.” Jimin pointed out, grinning at the sudden lack of denial.

Jeongguk cackled loudly across the boat, catching their attention. Taehyung hated what it did to him. He set his skin on fire.

Jimin caught Taehyung staring. “He won’t be available forever, you know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Taehyung asked, facing his friend.

“Stop playing dumb, Tae. It doesn’t suit you.”

“You stop putting those thoughts in my head.”

“You are two single adults. It’s okay to have those thoughts,” Jimin patted him on the leg.

Taehyung’s eyes wandered around the boat before landing on the group of men in the corner. Seokjin was going on about a part of the night he hadn’t remembered and Jeongguk was eating up every second of it. He didn’t understand how he was doing it. He had consumed twice the amount of alcohol that he did yet he was walking around like an almost fully functional human being. How was he acting like nothing happened?

Jeongguk caught him staring.

A wink was sent in Taehyung’s direction.

“You’re so screwed,” Jimin cracked up.

***

If he had planned the night, Kim Taehyung would be having a few strong drinks by the pool and going to sleep at a decent hour. Seokjin’s new friends had somehow convinced the entire group to show up to a party. Thinking it would be more like a get-together for both groups, they all got dressed up and crammed into two Ubers. But to his surprise the car stopped at a house overflowing with people. A house party. Taehyung hated those. He had hated them since he was sixteen and was dragged to them by his host family’s son during his exchange program in San Diego. Warm beer, music nobody asked for, and the particular kind of socialising that required you to be either drunk enough not to care or sober enough to leave.

But here he was, standing in line, six men deep, for a bathroom that he was pretty sure was being used as the location for an amateur porno. He had had one too many Mai Tais and needed to relieve himself. Unfortunately, from the sounds of things, he didn’t think that was going to be happening anytime soon.

He thought about calling an Uber and heading back home. It would probably get him to a bathroom a lot quicker than the line he was currently waiting in. But he knew Jimin would murder him if he did that. Taehyung leaned against the wall and pulled out his phone. If he was going to be stuck here, he was at least going to be productive. But instead of focusing on reading the email he’d opened, he started to think about the night so far.

As soon as they arrived, he wanted to leave. He didn’t have the energy to deal with anyone. Especially when a certain man was wearing one of those tight black tops that made you want to grab him by the waist and those stupid fucking glasses that gave him the look of some young CEO of a hipster startup company.

The first thing he did was head for the bar. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to get through the night sober.

When he got back to the group, he noticed Jeongguk now had an audience. Girls and guys were hovering around him asking for pictures and talking about music. A happy smile was plastered across the man’s face as he drank in the group’s energy. It was moments like this that he realized he never really saw him as a celebrity. He was just Jeongguk, the annoying twat who ate his secret stash of Yakgwa last year and never paid him back for it.

The more he watched him, the more his frustrations grew. Jeongguk wasn’t really giving him too much attention since that kiss from the other night. If Taehyung could call that a kiss. As he said to Jimin, it wasn’t substantial. He didn’t even taste Jeongguk’s lips. Taehyung actually tried to get him to talk. He asked dumb questions about the food at the restaurant. He made snarky comments. Nothing worked.

But the moment a group of pretty American girls came over to chat, his mouth didn’t stop moving. Taehyung was annoyed.

He just didn’t get it. He knew it wasn’t jealousy. He didn’t do jealousy. Jeongguk could talk to pretty women or pretty men and he didn’t care. He didn’t even like him that much. He was just confused about how he should be feeling.

The strong smell of weed snapped him back to reality. He looked up to find a group of guys passing around a joint. He was tempted to ask for a hit but he’d seen too many documentaries about drug related deaths in foreign countries and he promised his mother he’d make it back alive.

Just like it always did, Taehyung stared a little bit too long and a stoned man took it as an invitation to invade his personal space. He was less than thrilled but he saw it as a way to kill time until the bathroom was free.

***

While Taehyung learned about the benefits of smoking before going surfing, a certain someone was growing a bit concerned by how long it was taking for him to return.

Jeongguk had noticed his absence immediately. When he saw Taehyung at the bar, he had planned to join him. But before he could make his way over, a group of fans intercepted him. He took his time to take pictures and answer questions. He owed a lot to his fans and always tried to find time to show his appreciation.

When the group of girls left, he made his way over to Yoongi and Jimin. Taehyung was nowhere to be found. He tried playing it cool. He went and got himself a drink. He watched Seokjin play some weird drinking game. He even talked with Hoseok about some new reality show he was obsessed with. As he made his way back over to Jimin, he noticed Taehyung still wasn’t there.

“Scoot over,” Jeongguk said as he approached the couple.

Jimin and Yoongi were sitting on a sofa under an arbor. Yoongi was talking to another musician they’d met, who had grabbed a pouf and sat in front of him. While he still had his arm wrapped around his boyfriend, he was completely engrossed in the discussion.

“You alright, JK?” Jimin asked, sipping on his drink.

“Mhm.” Jeongguk mumbled into his beer bottle.

“You’re not a good liar.” The blonde nudged him playfully.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. “It’s nothing,” he insisted, taking a swing of his beer.

“If it’s about Taehyung, you can tell me. I know him pretty well.”

“Fuck,” Jeongguk cursed as he pushed his hair backwards and sank further into the cushions. “I’ve been a dick to hi,.”

“How so?” Jimin moved a little closer.

“He wanted to talk to me. Well, he actually tried to talk to me all day and I just sort of avoided him,” Jeongguk admitted.

Jimin didn’t say anything. Jeongguk took that as a sign to continue.

“I can’t lose my shot, Jimin,” Jeongguk said, never trying to hide his intentions. He was always like that. All or nothing.

“Why do you think you lost it?”

“Do you see him around?” Jeongguk asked, a trace of bitterness leaking into his irony. “Things between us have been different since we arrived and I don’t want to say the wrong thing and blow it.”

“Why’s that?” Jimin asked, not understanding what he meant.

Jeongguk shook his head. “The other night… he got me. Things were just so easy.”

“To be honest, with the amount of alcohol you two drank, I’m surprised there weren’t more.” Jimin pointed out.

“That’s why I’m avoiding him.” Jeongguk took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

A beer pong chant began by the bar. He rolled his eyes before looking back at Jimin.

“It wasn’t the alcohol, hyung,” Jeongguk said flatly. “That’s all I know,” he sighed. “I feel like if we take things to the next level they won’t work out and I’ll lose him forever. And I know that’s stupid because I don’t even know if he wants any of that to happen but it’s just been on my mind all day,” he continued, his thumb nervously picking at the edge of the beer label.

“Jeongguk,” Jimin started, turning to face him. “The man spent all day trying to talk to you. Stop hiding behind what might go wrong.”

Jeongguk finished off the rest of his bottle. He hated that Jimin was right. He scanned the backyard landing on the house one more time hoping to find the man he needed to talk to. He was still out of luck.

“Where’d he even go?” Jeongguk asked, looking over at the rest of their friends.

“Bathroom but that was ages ago,” Jimin sipped from his cup. “The line must be long.”

“When did he leave?” Jeongguk asked, trying not to sound as overprotective as he was feeling.

“A little after you started talking to those American girls.”

Jeongguk raised his eyebrows but said nothing. He just looked towards the house.

As if on cue, a very disgusted looking Taehyung stormed through the sliding glass door of the house. Jeongguk noticed his expression immediately: jaw tight, eyes forward, the particular kind of blank face he wore when he was working very hard not to react to something.

“I know he just bit someone’s head off inside.” Jimin laughed.

Before either of them could move, another man stepped into Taehyung’s path. Some words were exchanged. Taehyung shook his head and moved to walk away. The man grabbed his arm.

Both Jimin and Jeongguk stood up, almost in sync, but Jeongguk was already a step ahead, his protective instinct overriding every fear he’d just confessed to Jimin.

Taehyung pulled his arm free without drama, his movements clinical and cold. He took a step to leave. Then the man’s hand landed on his ass.

“Oh no.” Jimin said quietly.

Taehyung turned around slowly. He was not the type of man who took shit from anyone, especially severely intoxicated men, so he shoved the man, not frantically, not out of panic, just one firm push that sent him stumbling backwards. Then he stepped forward, his presence expanding until he seemed to tower over the guy, even though they were the same height.

“Shit.” Jeongguk said, already moving.

He crossed the backyard quickly, wedging himself between the two before Taehyung could get any closer. Taehyung continued to run his mouth, low and controlled, which was somehow worse than shouting. Jeongguk put a hand on his arm. Nothing.
It wasn’t until his name fell from his lips that he began to listen. He stopped what he was doing and looked him square in the eyes. He took a deep breath before turning around to leave.

“Taehyung,” Jeongguk pressed, right in his ear.

That got through. Taehyung stopped. He looked at Jeongguk for a second, then took a breath and turned to leave.

“That’s right, keep moving,” The man slurred arrogantly. “Next time someone grabs that perfect ass of yours take it as a compliment.”

“Fuck you!” Taehyung yelled, glancing over his shoulder.

“Most guys would love it.” The man laughed to his friends.

“Try again and see what happens.” Taehyung glanced back once.

“Let’s go,” Jeongguk said gently, hand on his back.

Taehyung finally did as he was told. Jeongguk followed close behind him. Taehyung thought about stopping to talk to his best friends but he didn’t have it in him. He was livid. He just mumbled an apology to Jimin without stopping and headed for a flight of stairs that led to the beach. Without a second thought, he descended down them and found a spot to sit at the bottom.

Taehyung shut his eyes reliving the past thirty minutes of his life. The adrenaline was still coursing through him. He hated giving someone like that the satisfaction of a reaction. Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, he felt someone step up beside him. He opened his eyes to find Jeongguk leaning up against the side of the stairs with his eyes fixed on the horizon.

“Thanks for stepping in.”

Jeongguk nodded, keeping his eyes on the sea. “You okay?” He asked, genuinely concerned.

Taehyung nodded.

“What happened in the house?” Jeongguk insisted.

Taehyung just shook his head.

“What?” Jeongguk asked, confused by the look.

“Are we really doing this? You want to talk all of a sudden after you’ve ignored me for almost two days?” Taehyung blurted out.

“Taehyung,” Jeongguk sighed.

“It’s a valid question,” Taehyung countered, finally lifting his gaze to meet Jeongguk’s.

“Okay,” Jeongguk nodded. “We’re doing this,” He said, sitting down beside Taehyung.

He crossed his arms over his chest and focused on the water. This was his moment. He could either tell him how he truly felt or go on pretending that his heart didn’t race whenever the man was near. Both decisions had benefits but he knew there was only one right choice. He took a deep breath and focused on the sand by his feet. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol in his system or the adrenaline from saving him from getting hurt but he knew it was time.

“I’ve been in my head about that night.” Jeongguk confessed.

“Well, don’t.” Taehyung knew what he was talking about. He didn’t sound dismissive. He sounded like someone who had already reached a conclusion and was waiting for the other to catch up.

“I think you already know,” Jeongguk said, his eyes fixed on the water. “But just so we’re clear,” he stopped himself. “Never mind.”

“Jeongguk, you don’t have to explain yourself,” Taehyung said. “It happened. It’s okay. I’m not mad. I actually liked it.”

“What?” The word escaped Jeongguk’s mouth before he could catch it.

“You’re the first person that has kissed me in months.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s a choice, Jeon,” Taehyung said. “I work almost sixty hours a week and I’m not exactly easy to be around. Doesn’t leave much room,” he paused. “Besides, I didn’t want to.”

“Their loss,” Jeongguk teased.

Taehyung looked away. He hadn’t expected that. The Jeongguk he’d spent months trying to keep at a distance had just said exactly the right thing without even trying. That was the problem with him; he made it too easy to let his guard down.

Taehyung closed his eyes not wanting to think about it anymore. He had spent too much time that day going over potential scenarios in his head. He wasn’t ready for any of this.

Jeongguk watched him and said nothing. He knew better than to push. Sensing a change in his mood, he tried to think of something lighthearted to talk about.

Taehyung beat him to it.

“Did you know the Dubai chewy cookie has a proper name in Korean?” Taehyung asked suddenly. “Dujjonku. I looked it up.”

A large smile formed on the younger man’s face. He knew what he was trying to do. “Really?”

A comforting silence fell between them as the waves crashed on the shore as the purple sky turned into darkness. The final streak of gold vanishing beneath the horizon. A bird scurried by scavenging through the mounds of sand in front of them. Taehyung stared at it for a long moment, the tension in his shoulders finally beginning to dissolve.

“I don’t remember the last time I saw a sunset,” Taehyung said quietly.

Jeongguk glanced over at him. “Really?” He kept his voice low, as if speaking too loudly would scare the honesty out of the air.

“I’m always in the office when this happens,” he said, nodding towards the sky. “Or on my way home with my head down.”

“That’s depressing, Taehyung.”

“Yeah… well,” Taehyung shrugged. “That’s the job.”

Jeongguk said nothing, simply turning his gaze back at the horizon.

“Don’t give me that look,” Taehyung said, catching him in his peripheral vision.

“I’m not giving you a look.”

“You are.” Taehyung said flatly.

Jeongguk pressed his lips together. “It’s just… I know what it’s like to miss out on things because you’re always somewhere else.”

Taehyung looked over at him for a moment. He hadn’t thought about it that way. That Jeongguk might know exactly what it felt like. Not because someone told him, but because he’d lived it too. The global tours, the endless practices, the hotel rooms that all looked the same. Jeongguk wasn’t just observing Taehyung’s exhaustion. He was recognizing a reflection.

“Yeah,” Taehyung said quietly.

“That’s why I wanted you to come on this trip so badly,” Jeongguk said. “I know what it’s like to be working insane hours and not have time off,” Jeongguk explained. “I just didn’t want something to happen to you.”

“Why do you care so much? You always look out for everyone. Like when Namjoon hyung lost his job, you put him up until he got a new one. You always give Hoseok hyung advice about investments. You let Yoongi hyung use your car while you were on tour that one time. And like when I first came over, you tried to make sure I was included in everything you guys did,” Taehyung said, impressed by his selfless acts.

“Well with you, that was a different reason.”

“Why?” Taehyung asked, not understanding what he meant.

“Don’t make me say it, Taehyung,” Jeongguk said, staring out at the waves.

Taehyung wanted to tell him that it was okay to admit how he felt but he knew that he would have to do the same. That wasn’t something he was ready for yet.

“Want to get out of here?” Taehyung asked, already standing up and brushing the sand off his hands. His eyes lingered on Jeongguk a second too long.

“Yes,” Jeongguk said, a little too quickly. He cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah. Sounds good.”

“Real smooth.” Taehyung smirked, the familiar mask of playful superiority sliding back into place.

“Shut up,” Jeongguk laughed and looked up at him. “Back to the party?”

Taehyung glanced up at the house, the music still bleeding out from somewhere above them. Then his gaze dropped back down, tracing the line of Jeongguk’s throat before meeting his eyes again. “Do you want to go back up there?”

“Not really.”

“Me neither.”

“So?”

“So.” Taehyung leaned in just enough for Jeongguk to catch the scent of his skin. He finally turned, already heading for the stairs. “I’ll order an Uber.”

***

Twenty minutes later, they made their way back to the house.

“You know this isn’t like your song, right?” Taehyung said as he pushed the front door open. He paused in the doorway, forcing Jeongguk to brush past him, his gaze scanning Jeongguk’s face with a challenge.

“I know, Taehyung.”

“We just happen to be staying at the same house.”

“I’m not gonna try anything.” Jeongguk laughed, thinking about the lyrics he wrote a long time ago.

Taehyung held his gaze for a beat too long before turning away, heading straight for the living room and plopping down on the couch before reaching for the remote.

“I’m making you a drink.” Jeongguk called out from the kitchen.

“With lots of gin, please.” Taehyung called back.

“I know how you like it.” Jeongguk replied, his tone suggesting he knew a lot more than just Taehyung’s drink preference.

As he turned on the TV, he realized Jeongguk knew a lot about him. He didn’t want to admit how it made him feel but he actually liked it. He settled on the British Grand Prix, the sprint race, just starting. He turned the volume down low and leaned back into the cushions. The house was quiet in the way that only happened when everyone was somewhere else.

He heard the clink of glasses from the kitchen. Ice. The pour. Jeongguk moving around like he knew where everything was. He probably did.

“What are we watching?” Jeongguk asked as he emerged from the kitchen, handing over his drink, his fingers grazing Taehyung’s as the cold glass changed hands.

“British Grand Prix” Taehyung sat up to make room for Jeongguk. “Sprint race.”

Jeongguk nodded and sat down beside him. Formula One was more of a Taehyung and Yoongi thing, but he didn’t mind.

Taehyung took a sip. As soon as the liquor hit the back of his throat, he pulled a face that made Jeongguk laugh.

“That bad?”

“It’s strong.”

“You said lots of gin.”

“I didn’t think you’d listen.”

“You are such a brat sometimes.”

Taehyung gulped down half of his drink before setting it down on the table in front of them. Jeongguk did the same. A nice buzz made its way through their bodies as they watched the race in silence. It wasn’t long before Jeongguk slid his arm around the back of the couch, not quite touching Taehyung, but claiming the air behind him. Taehyung pulled his eyes off the screen and focused them on Jeongguk. His gaze dropped pointedly to Jeongguk’s mouth before dragging back up. The low light of the television illuminated his face.

“What are you staring at?” Jeongguk asked, smirked.

“You’ve got a nice face, Jeon.”

“My mom made me pretty, you should thank her for that.” Jeongguk turned to take a look at the man.

“Next time I see her I will.” Taehyung said, placing a hand on Jeongguk’s leg before focusing on the screen again.

The placement of the hand on his thigh was almost too much for Jeongguk. He couldn’t focus on the race. He couldn’t focus on his drink. All he could focus on was Taehyung. The way he smelled. The way his chest rose and fell as he breathed. The way his huge palm felt against his leg, massaging it and slowly moving his long fingers to the inside of his thighs. This was the closest they’d ever been. He knew the alcohol was giving Taehyung the confidence. He welcomed it, needing Taehyung to be the one to bridge the final gap.

“Jeongguk?” Taehyung whispered.

“Hm?” Jeongguk turned his head again.

The look in his eyes was different. It may have been lust but he hoped it was something more.

“What?” Jeongguk challenged, his voice a low rasp, his pride putting up one last, weak fight before giving in completely.

Taehyung didn’t say anything. He just leaned in closing the distance with a deliberate slowness that felt like a provocation before finally pressing their lips together. Jeongguk froze for a heartbeat, the sudden heat of it short-circuiting his brain.

Just as Taehyung started to pull away, as if checking if he’d pushed too far, Jeongguk realized he hadn’t kissed him back. He grabbed Taehyung’s neck, fingers tangling is his hair as he surged forward, pressing their lips back together with pressure.

He pulled back just enough to look at Taehyung. His lips were parted and there was a hunger in his eyes. Without asking for permission, Jeongguk slowly crawled across his legs before straddling Taehyung’s lap, pinning him against the cushions. He kept his hands pressed firmly against Taehyung’s chest, a last line of defense but when Taehyung nipped his bottom lip before peppering it with kisses he found it hard to resist.

He gave in, his fingers digging into Taehyung’s shoulders to hold him steady before his hands slid up, cupping Taehyung’s jaw with a firm, demanding grip. He tilted Taehyung’s head back, deepening the kiss.

Taehyung sucked on Jeongguk’s lower lip before sliding his tongue into his mouth. As their tongues intertwined he caught the lingering taste of whisky on Jeongguk’s breath, warm and sharp. An electric shock was sent through his body. His hands wandered from the neck of the man on top of him to his lower back, resting just above his jeans.

The longer they kissed, the hungrier they got, the quiet of the house amplifying the sound of their desperate breaths and the slide of their tongues. Jeongguk nipped at Taehyung’s lower lip a sharp, possessive claim that caused him to pull away with a sharp intake of air.

Taehyung sat back and studied Jeongguk’s face. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Jeongguk leaned forward and gave him another kiss.

Without breaking contact, Taehyung grabbed the back of Jeongguk’s shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it on the floor. Jeongguk’s hands found Taehyung’s neck, pulling him back in. Taehyung started moving his fingers slowly down Jeongguk’s chest, lightly brushing past his nipple. He could feel Jeongguk’s breathing shudder and quicken.

“Are you sensitive?” Taehyung whispered, a knowing glint appearing in his eyes. He slowly slid his fingers up and down Jeongguk’s abs, tracing the defined lines with a tortuous feather-light touch.

“Um- ah ah- fuck, Taehyung, stop-” Jeongguk laughed on top of him.

“Come on Jeon, you’re ruining the mood,” Taehyung said, his voice mixing feigned annoyance and amusement. He pinched his nipples as a punishment. “I’m not trying to tickle you. This is supposed to be sexy.”

“It is,” Jeongguk said, smiling. “You just happened to also tickle me,” he grabbed Taehyung’s hands and guided them back to his hips. “There. Continue.”

“Continue?” Taehyung raised an eyebrow, the challenge returning to his gaze in an instant. “You’re giving me orders now?”

“Would you prefer I go back to my room?”

Taehyung moved his hands down to the curve of Jeongguk’s ass, pulling him closer. “I dare you,” he smiled, as he tried to reach Jeongguk’s lips with his own.

“You’re an ass.”

Taehyung squeezed Jeongguk’s ass through his pants, his grip firm and possessive. “So are we gonna continue or what?”

“Not my fault you ruined the mood.”

“Then I guess I should be the one to fix it.” Taehyung grinned, his voice dropping back into that smooth, velvety tone that signaled the end of the jokes and the beginning of something much more serious.

“Yeah, you should.” Jeongguk nodded.

Jeongguk leaned in and kissed Taehyung again, slower this time, tasting the lingering gin. His hands moved down Taehyung’s chest as he gently pushed him back against the couch cushions. Jeongguk pressed his lips to his jaw, his neck, and his collarbone. Working his way down with an unhurried patience that was driving him insane.

“Jeon-”

“Shh.” Jeongguk murmured against his skin.

He pulled down Taehyung’s pants slowly, keeping his eyes on him the entire time. Taehyung sprang free from his boxers, his length landing against his clothed abs in a way that made his breath catch.

Jeongguk had a slow, deep way of pulling Taehyung apart, just like most things he did to him. It was always like that. He looked up at him. Just looked. A silent question.

Taehyung caught it and nodded, his fingers already finding their way back to Jeongguk’s hair, urging him closer.

It’s about all the invitation Jeongguk needed. He flicked his eyes up to meet Taehyung’s once more before dropping forward.

Taehyung tilted his head back enjoying the feeling of Jeongguk licking slowly from his balls up his shaft. Gripping tightly on Jeongguk’s hair, Taehyung inhaled deeply as Jeongguk swirled his tongue around the head.

Jeongguk took him deeper into his throat and Taehyung let out a low moan. His breath comes out in short pants as his hips jerked up in shallow thrusts out of his control. He felt Jeongguk’s tongue lapping at the underside of his cock while he sucked, drool seeping out the sides of his lips and down to Taehyung’s balls.

“Fuck!” Taehyung groaned, pulling at Jeongguk’s dark locks. “Fuck, your mouth… ah…”

“Jeon, you feel so goo-” Taehyung was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and drunken men filled the foyer. He let out a low curse under his breath while Jeongguk dropped his head against his chest, laughing softly at the sheer absurdity of the moment, the vibration of his laughter rumbling against Taehyung’s skin.

“Shit,” Taehyung muttered with irritation, “Terrible timing.”

Jeongguk got off Taehyung’s lap before ruffling his hair and grabbing his shirt from the floor. He tried his best to make it seem like he hadn’t just been making out with the man of his dreams and had his cock down his throat.

The voices of their friends got louder. It wasn’t long before they made their way into the living room.

The Sprint race ended and it was replaced by the commentators. Without saying a word, Taehyung and Jeongguk got off the couch and together they made their way to the hallway where their rooms were.

“I’m gonna um hop in the shower real quick,” Jeongguk said, his voice still a bit rough.

“Want me to join?” Taehyung teased, smiling dangerously.

Jeongguk’s entire body grew warm as he tried to think of an answer to the question. He was already hot and bothered from their rendezvous on the couch. He didn’t need to think about Taehyung joining him in the shower as well.

“I’m kidding, Jeon. You can use the shower first this time,” Taehyung said, opening his door.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. Before he could respond, Taehyung leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

“Don’t think about me too much,” Taehyung whispered playfully before walking back into his room.

A tiny smile crept across his face as he headed into his room. Once the door was shut, Taehyung slid out of his clothes and into his bed. He heard the bathroom door shut and the shower turn on. He let out a deep sigh. His body was filled to the brim of alcohol and lust. And just for that night, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

***

Taehyung was hungover. Again.

But this time it wasn’t from the alcohol, or maybe it was.

The blue balls also gave him a hangover. And a massive headache.

His lips tasted like Jeongguk’s kisses and his skin still hummed where Jeongguk’s hands had been.

He was fucked. So royally fucked.

It was one in the afternoon when he realized it. Jeongguk was consuming him. Every thought he had revolved around the man. The way he talked. The way he smelled. The way he wore those stupidly tight shirts that show off his perfectly built chest.

He didn’t know what to do.

The events of the night before played through his mind like a movie. He wanted to forget them. The house party. The argument with that man. The conversation by the beach. The steamy make out session on the couch. Jeongguk coming into his room after his shower for one more kiss before they fell asleep.

He wanted to forget it all. He wanted to forget because he knew he didn’t have the time he needed to process everything before he saw Jeongguk again.

He stayed in his room as long as he could. He didn’t know if the others had woken up, they stayed up long before Taehyung did. But his hunger pains were starting to get the best of him. He knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer without something to eat and something to cure the throbbing in his head.

Jimin’s prediction had come true and they still had a few more days left on their trip. He never intended to let Jeongguk get this close, but it was inevitable. He was so damn charming that he couldn’t deny the way he made him feel. He made him feel like a completely different person. A week and a half in Hawaii did more for him than his twelve months in Seoul had. And to Taehyung that was terrifying.

His phone buzzed on the night stand. He was hoping it was anyone but Jeongguk. He wasn’t ready to face him yet.

He peeked at the screen. Jimin’s name appeared. He sent a quick text forcing Taehyung to get out of his room.

He contemplated taking another shower. After a few minutes, he settled on some face wash. He threw on a pair of sweatpants, a red shirt and headed to the living room to face his friends.

As he predicted, Taehyung wasn’t the only one feeling the aftermath of the night before. Yoongi, Jimin and Jeongguk were sprawled along the couch clinging to their lives. Okay, so maybe they weren’t that ill but they did feel like complete shit. He asked about the others and learned that Seokjin and Namjoon went for a hike, probably to spend some time alone. When he asked about Hoseok, Jimin told him that he spent the night glued to this man named Gong Yoo and still hadn’t come back. Interesting. Jimin, being the nosy friend that he was, also told him that the man just got out of a divorce and was spending some days in Hawaii at his friends’ request. Good for him.

As the three of them watched a movie, Taehyung noticed Jeongguk barely spared him a glance. Unbothered, he headed to the kitchen to grab some fruit and a bottle of water from the fridge. He decided to head outside to a lounge chair in the shade by the pool to finish his book. Instead, he ended up taking another huge nap, only waking when the sun had started to set.

“I need medicine. My head is still pounding,” Taehyung pouted as he came back from outside and sat on the edge of the couch. It looked like the others had barely moved the entire time since he’d left. Frankly, none of them felt guilty for staying inside the house all day. They all needed a break from their break. The last few days had been too much.

“Jimin has some,” Yoongi mumbled, not looking up.

“But it’ll cost you,” Jimin said curled up beside him.

“What’s the price, Jimin-ah?” Taehyung asked, not wanting to put up with any bullshit.

“Food.”

“If I make it, I’m gonna be sick,” Taehyung sighed. “Why don’t you order some?”

“It’s gonna take longer!” Jimin argued, “We’re not in Seoul, babe.”

“Fine!” Taehyung relented. “I’ll go get something.”

Yoongi smiled, looking at his boyfriend. “Your plan worked.”

“I’ll take the car to get it.” Taehyung said.

“You’re not going by yourself.” Jimin said from his spot.

“I’ll be fine. I’m a good driver and I’m so hungover that if anyone gets near me I’ll box their ears.” Taehyung sighed.

“I don’t doubt that, but I don’t want you to go alone.”

“It’s a ten minute trip down the street, not a sleepaway camp, Eomma.” Taehyung grumbled, making them laugh.

He looked over to find Jeongguk spiralled out with a pair of glasses on.

”Take Jeongguk with you.” Yoongi suggested.

“If I’m honest, I don’t reckon I should go,” Jeongguk cleared his throat. “I might puke.” He let out a weak, pathetic cough, hoping it would grant him a free pass to not leave the house.

“See? I’m the only almost functional one here. I should go alone,” Taehyung narrowed his eyes on his friend. He knew what Jimin was doing. He was pushing Taehyung to be alone with Jeongguk. And he didn’t like it.

“Taehung’s a good driver. He’ll be fine. And I got insurance for it so we are covered either way.” Jeongguk intervened.

Jimin glared at Taehyung before mouthing the words “this will be good for you.”

Jimin didn’t know about the events of the night before, of course. He didn’t know how difficult it was to walk away from Jeongguk. He didn’t know how badly Taehyung wanted to ask him to stay the night in his room. Jimin also didn’t know how much effort it took to pretend those feelings weren’t there.

Jimin had no idea.

Later, after Jimin gave him the pills, Taehyung found himself in the driver’s seat with Jeongguk riding shotgun. He placed the blame for the thick tension in the car squarely on his best friend. From the looks of things, Jeongguk didn’t want to be there either, and honestly, Taehyung didn’t expect it, but he was just fine with that. They needed to process what happened and then evaluate how they felt about it.

Despite how they felt, they knew it needed to be discussed. Apparently, it wasn’t going to happen any time soon though. Neither of them was ready. When they reached the restaurant, Jeongguk slid out of the car and headed inside by himself.

Jeongguk was glad Taehyung didn’t follow him, because he needed some more time to think. The events of the night before had been playing on repeat from the moment he woke up.

He knew that liquor had fueled the fire. He knew he should have gone to bed after his shower but he’d craved one more kiss. He needed to make sure that Taehyung wanted it as much as he did and allowed knowingly things to go that far, even if they had to stop.

The other part of his brain tried to convince him that it was just a result of the alcohol. Taehyung didn’t have feelings for him. He just wanted to feel alive. He wanted to feel wanted.

But the way Taehyung held him and looked into his eyes proved otherwise. That man from last night wasn’t the same one who’d arrived in Hawaii a week prior. He was caring and compassionate. That’s not to say he wasn’t always those things. But he’d been different, more deliberate.

Jeongguk knew Taehyung would overanalyze the entire situation for the rest of the trip. He’d try to avoid him until he figured it out. He was probably going to do the same thing. That’s why he fought to spend the day apart, he needed to give Taehyung that space. Jeongguk knew that if he got too close too soon, Taehyung would shut down. And that’s the last thing he wanted.

But as he waited for the food, he decided that he didn’t need to avoid Taehyung. It would either be therapeutic for the two of them or it would all blow up in his face. Either way, an answer would let them move forward. Whether as friends or something more, their relationship could grow and that in itself was worth it.

He would rather have Taehyung in his life as a friend than not have him at all.

By the time Jeongguk got back to the car, he set the food on the backseat and looked at the man in the driver’s seat. Taehyung was singing along beautifully to some old jazz song. His sunglasses perched on the back of his head, in a way only Taehyung could make look cool.

Jeongguk was still standing outside the car when his phone went off. It was Yoongi, wanting to make sure they were still alive. Jeongguk mumbled a quick answer before hanging up. They had been out of the house for less than thirty minutes, for fuck’s sake. And now Jeongguk didn’t want any distractions. He was a man on a mission.

He opened the passenger door and slid into his seat.

“Everything there?” Taehyung asked, scanning the box in the backseat.

“Yeah. They threw in some extra containers of that rice you and Yoongi hyung liked,” Jeongguk said. “Free of charge.”

“Oh, that was nice of them,” Taehyung turned the engine on. “Do you need to go anywhere else?”

Jeongguk shook his head. “We can go back to the house.”

“Okay,” Taehyung said as he pulled back on the main road. “I want to stop at that gas station and grab some Gatorade.”

Jeongguk only hummed in response.

“Any flavors you want in particular?” Taehyung asked quickly, pulling into the parking lot.

“Whatever you get is fine.”

Taehyung just nodded as he got out of the car and headed inside.

Jeongguk let out a deep sigh. He hadn’t anticipated another stop. He ran through what he was going to say a few times just so he wouldn’t forget it. He held onto the fact that Taehyung wasn’t fully committed to liking him yet. He liked knowing that he still had his reservations about him. He’d push his buttons, Taehyung would bite back, they’d move on, and that was it.

After taking far too long inside, Taehyung finally got back into the car. He dropped the bag behind Jeongguk’s seat and started the engine. He didn’t say anything and just pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

They had barely gone a block when a sea of tail lights appeared in front of them.

“What the fuck?” Taehyung mumbled to himself.

Sirens could be heard as two police cars and an ambulance flew past them. Two heavy sighs escaped in unison. They were going to be there for a while.

Ten minutes had passed and they still hadn’t moved. Taehyung turned off the engine while Jeongguk called Yoongi, telling him they were stuck. Jimin groaned in the background realizing it would have been faster if they had gone on by foot. It was all his fault.

The sun began to paint the sky pink as their food grew cold.

Jeongguk still hadn’t built up the courage to start the conversation he wanted to have. Every scenario he imagined ended up with Taehyung giving him the silent treatment for the rest of the trip, and he didn’t want that. Taking a deep breath, he got his game plan ready. He cleared his throat, trying to catch the other’s attention. Taehyung turned his head toward him as Jeongguk shifted in his seat to face him fully. Taehyung recognized that look immediately. He wanted to talk, and this time he meant really talk.

“Taehyung,” Jeongguk said calmly. “Can I ask you a question?”

Taehyung’s body went still. He made the mistake of looking at Jeongguk, only to find those goddamn big, round eyes were already watching him. He took a deep breath and forced a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

“What did I ever do to you? Hm?” Jeongguk finally said. “Because whatever it was, I’ve been carrying it around for months.”

As soon as the words left Jeongguk’s lips, Taehyung’s eyes widened and his stomach sank. He was fucked. Out of all the questions in the world, Jeongguk had to pick that one. He knew he had two options: be honest or be funny. He chose the latter.

“Besides the Leclerc thing?” Taehyung shrugged, trying to cling to their usual banter. “Nothing comes to mind.”

Jeongguk wasn’t in the mood. “Seriously?” He didn’t raise his voice, but the flat tone was enough to make Taehyung’s defense crumble.

Taehyung let out a deep sigh as his eyes fell. “We’re really doing this?”

“Yeah, Taehyung, we’re really doing this.”

“Fine.” Taehyung adjusted himself so he was facing Jeongguk fully. He took a deep breath before continuing. “Well, you remind me of my ex boyfriend, Dongsik.”

“The one that cheated.”

“How’d you know about that?” Taehyung furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Jimin hyung.”

“That fucker.” Taehyung muttered, genuinely annoyed.

“It was like a month after we met.” Jeongguk said, trying to help his case.

“But you were in another country then.” Taehyung arched his brows.

“Yeah, true, but I asked him about you.”

“But- ” Taehyung started to say until Jeongguk interrupted him.

“Do you remember the day we met? You’d just come in from Tokyo. Delayed flight, Incheon traffic, the whole disaster. You said all you wanted was some ramyeon and sleep,” Jeongguk said. The conversation was already going differently than he’d planned in his head. The irritation he’d felt earlier dissolving into something much more dangerous: honesty. “But then Yoongi hyung asked you to watch the race with him. He said he missed your company. Then you argued with Jimin hyung about the Formula One Championship until two in the morning and I didn’t even like racing but I sat there anyway just to keep listening to you.”

He paused, a smile tugging at his lips as he thought about that day. “At some point, you got so into it that you grabbed a pen and started drawing a circuit on a napkin just to prove your point to Jimin hyung,” he stared at Taehyung and continued, “I remember thinking I’d never met anyone like you before. You were a lot to take in,” A small, dry smile finally crossed his face. “How was I supposed to stop thinking about you after that?”

Taehyung said nothing for a long moment. He stared blankly at the windshield. This was not happening. Jeongguk was not admitting his true feelings to him in a rental car stuck in the middle of traffic. The things coming out of Jeongguk’s mouth were nothing like he’d imagined. God, what was Jeongguk thinking? He couldn’t get over the fact that he’d asked Jimin about him right after they met. He had thought about him while he was away. He had thought about him while he was touring the world. He actually gave a shit.

“Everything seemed good between us for a while,” Jeongguk continued with a brief smile. “But then something happened and you started to hate me all of a sudden. I couldn’t figure out what it was, but I didn’t want to lose you so I just went with it. I adapted, you know?” Jeongguk looked him straight in the eyes. “What did I do to make you change your mind about me?”

“Nothing,” Taehyung said, eyes fixed on the dashboard. “You did nothing at all. That’s the problem.”

Jeongguk stayed quiet.

“You were just,” Taehyung broke off, laughing once, humourlessly. “Charming. Attentive. And I wasn’t ready,” Taehyung exhaled slowly. “You and Dongsik are like the same person. Charismatic, funny, compassionate. And I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for that again,” his jaw tightened. “He cheated on me with my co-workers, my own assistant,” he shook his head. Jeongguk said nothing, refusing to interrupt. “I came back to Seoul to start over.”

Taehyung continued, still not looking at him. “On the way to their apartment, Jiminie told me about you. That you and Yoongi met through the label and now you were always around. I was expecting some stuffy twat with an oversized ego,” he said with a sigh, finally glancing over at him. “But you were far from it. You were down to earth and sweet, and I just couldn’t handle it.”

He looked away again and took another deep breath. “I remember when everything changed. It was when we went to that new restaurant Hoseok hyung wanted to try. Remember?” Taehyung asked, his gaze fixed on the traffic ahead. “We were all there and you saw the menu before me. You worried the food was too spicy for me. When we headed out, you came closer to me and asked if I wanted to eat ramyeon at that place near your house, because you noticed I didn’t really touch the food and then all of a sudden I was having some sort of out of body déjà vu moment. You were almost exactly like the one person I was trying to get away from.”

“It was the way you asked,” he added, his voice barely a whisper. “No pressure, just... attentive. Dongsik used to do that exact same thing right before he-” Taehyung stopped, the name tasting like ash in his mouth.

“You know I would never…”

“I know. You aren’t him.” Taehyung said, confidently. “You’re just… different. Better,” he added, a genuine smile finally reaching his eyes. “I decided right then that if I shut you out, I’d never have to find out if you were going to ruin me too,” he admitted. “And it worked for a while. But you… you clawed and dug and fought your way back every time.”

Taehyung let out a breathy laugh and glanced at Jeongguk smiling. “Yeah, you persistent little shit,” he said, the insult sounding more like a compliment.

“On the flight out here, Jiminie asked if I would try to be nice to you. At first, I was skeptical and didn’t really want to, but then he told me that you maneuvered everyone to agree to reschedule the trip so I could make it.” A warmth crept into his voice without him noticing. “You got Hoseok hyung to rearrange his entire agenda just for me. He glanced at Jeongguk again, the edge in his voice changing to something softer. “Do you have any idea how irritating that is? To realize you were doing all that while I was busy being a prick to you?”

Jeongguk bit the inside of his cheek, an amused expression crossing his face. Getting everyone to change their plans was a feat in itself but it was worth it.

“You just care so fucking much and it made me feel absolutely horrible for ever being rude to you.”

“I get it. It sucks and I wish it wasn’t that way but I understand why you did it,” Jeongguk said. “Shit, if it was me, I’d probably do the same.”

Taehyung let out a sigh, nodding. He couldn’t believe how understanding Jeongguk was being. He didn’t try to interrupt. He didn’t try to put him down. He didn’t get upset. He just sat and listened.

“So about last night,” Jeongguk started.

“I don’t know how I feel, Jeongguk. I just…” Taehyung took a deep breath.

“I don’t expect you to have all the answers yet. I’m surprised you even opened up as much as you did,” Jeongguk said, “I don’t want to rush you. I’m fine with you taking some time to figure things out. If you want to be just friends, that’s fine with me. If you want something more, that’s even better. Just be honest with me.”

Taehyung looked at him in disbelief.

“It’s been months, I can wait a little longer,” Jeongguk said as the traffic started to move.

But Taehyung had other plans. He glanced at the GPS, then made a sharp, decisive left turn away from the main street. He was tired of the calculations, tired of weighing the consequences. The logical arguments he’d been building in his head just… stopped. There was no point in defending a territory that had already been breached.

Jeongguk looked around as the streetlights got further apart. “Where are we going?” he asked, not sounding worried, just curious about the fire in Taehyung’s eyes.

Taehyung didn’t answer. He just kept driving, his hands steady on the wheel. Jeongguk didn’t ask again.

The road narrowed as the houses thinned out. Trees replaced streetlights. The hum of the engine filled the silence between them. Jeongguk watched the side of Taehyung’s face. His jaw was set. His eyes were on the road. He looked like a man who had made a decision and wasn’t going to second guess it.

After a few minutes, Taehyung slowed the car and pulled off onto a small unpaved lot tucked between the trees. No other cars. No lights except for the last faint traces of pink dissolving into the dark water below them.

Taehyung turned off the engine.

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them said anything. They didn’t need to.

Jeongguk reached over first. Just his hand on the side of Taehyung’s jaw, his touch careful, like he was giving him every chance to change his mind.

But Taehyung didn’t change his mind. Instead, he turned to him, wasting no time before slotting their lips together. In one fluid motion, he unhooked his seat belt and then Jeongguk’s. Without ever breaking this kiss, Taehyung’s hands found Jeongguk’s slender waist, guiding him over the console until Jeongguk was straddling his lap.

“I want you,” Taehyung whispered, pushing his own seat back to give them more room.

Jeongguk settled both legs on either side of Taehyung. “This is the second time I found myself in this position but this time nobody’s interrupting me,” he said, amused.

“Yeah?” Taehyung breathed.

Jeongguk nodded as he bit his lower lip. Keeping one hand cradling Taehyung’s cheek, he bent slightly so his other hand could find the seat lever. Pulling it up without warning, the seat collapsed back underneath them, throwing an unsuspecting Taehyung into a laying down position with Jeongguk hovering over him.

“Fuck!” Taehyung groaned.

“You ok?” Jeongguk breathed, bringing both hands up to rest on his neck.

“Yeah, you just startled me.” Taehyung laughed softly as Jeongguk began to kiss down his jaw and his neck.

As soon as their lips met again something loosened in Taehyung’s chest. He pulled Jeongguk closer without thinking, deepening the kiss. Taehyung’s tongue slid against Jeongguk’s, his teeth catching Jeongguk’s lower lip hard enough to draw a sharp breath from him. He did it again, slower this time, just to feel him react.

With a panting breath, Jeongguk pushed himself up and pulled his glasses off, tossing them onto the center console. Taehyung reached up and grabbed the hem of Jeongguk’s shirt, pulling it over his head in one slow, possessive motion.

Taehyung’s hands ran flat over Jeongguk’s chest before pulling him back down by the nape of his neck. The kiss that followed was nothing like the ones before. Open mouthed and hungry, Taehyung’s tongue slid against Jeongguk’s as he rolled his hips up instinctively. Taehyung bit down on his lower lip, the cold metal of the piercing a sharp contrast to the heat between them. It drew a sharp sound from the back of Jeongguk’s throat.

Jeongguk dragged his mouth to Taehyung’s jaw, his earlobe, down his neck, teeth grazing the skin there before sucking hard, but not enough to leave a mark.

Taehyung’s hands slid down Jeongguk’s hips, pulling him down harder. Jeongguk rolled forward instinctively and felt exactly how hard Taehyung was beneath him.

“Tae-” Jeongguk gasped, separating their lips for a moment.

“Hm?” Taehyung hummed in response, trying to reach for Jeongguk’s lips.

Without breaking contact, Taehyung’s hand slid from his hip to the front of Jeongguk’s jeans, pressing his palm flat, feeling exactly what he was doing to him. He worked Jeongguk slowly through the denim with a patience that felt almost cruel. Jeongguk’s hips bucked forward, a broken noise catching in his throat.

“Taehung,” Jeongguk managed, barely. He lifted his head and looked at him. Taehyung’s lips were swollen. His eyes were dark. He looked like a man who had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

Which was exactly the problem.

“Taehyung, we need to stop,” Jeongguk said, voice completely wrecked. “Right now. Because if we keep going I don’t trust myself to stop,” he swallowed hard, catching his breath. “And-and we don’t have a condom.”

Taehyung stared up at him for a long moment, his hand still pressed warm and firm against him. Then the corner of his mouth pulled up in amusement. Sitting up slightly, he reached for the bag he had brought from the gas station. He bit his lower lip as he rummaged through it, finally pulling out a condom and a few packets of individual use lube.

He turned to look at the incredulous face Jeongguk was making.

“I’m a lawyer, Jeon. I plan ahead,” Taehyung said. “The Gatorade is also in there.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Jeongguk smirked.

“You didn’t have to. You were making a face.” Taehyung handed the packages to him.

Jeongguk shook his head, smiling. “I’m a lawyer, you’re so pretentious,” he mimicked Taehyung’s tone as he eased himself up onto his knees on either side of Taehyung again.

“You’re going to be walking home with a hard on in a minute,” Taehyung threatened.

Jeongguk laughed as he let Taehyung open his jeans and pull his boxers down in one motion, exposing him completely.

“Eager,” Jeongguk noted, tilting his head down, looking at his own length without an ounce of shame, before his eyes snapped back up to Taehyung’s.

“Shut up,”

Taehyung grabbed him by the jaw and kissed him hard, licking into his mouth without hesitation. Jeongguk’s piercing caught against his tongue and Taehyung bit down on it deliberately, swallowing the moan it pulled from Jeongguk’s throat. When he finally pulled back, Jeongguk was panting hard.

“Fuck!” Jeongguk exhaled.

Keeping eye contact with Jeongguk, Taehyung brought two of his long fingers to his lips and sucked them in slowly, his tongue curling around them, eyes never leaving Jeongguk’s. Taehyung brought his hand behind Jeongguk and circled his entrance slowly, just enough pressure to make Jeongguk’s thighs tremble.

“Hyung-”

“Easy.” Taehyung murmured against his skin.

Relishing the slow wet sensation, Jeongguk bit his lower lip between his teeth as he continued to let Taehyung massage him. After a few moments Taehyung reached for the lube, ripped it open with his teeth and poured it over his fingers without breaking eye contact.

When he pressed the first finger inside, Jeongguk’s head dropped back with a soft broken sound. Taehyung worked slowly, watching every shift in Jeongguk’s expression like he had all the time in the world. He added a second finger. Jeongguk’s hand flew to his shoulder, fingers digging in.

“Look at me,” Taehyung said.

Leaning a bit more forward, Jeongguk felt his breath hitch as Taehyung slowly worked his fingers in and out of him. After a minute Taehyung pulled his fingers out to apply more lube and then reinserted adding an extra finger. Jeongguk rested his forehead against Taehyung’s chest, breathing heavily as the man quickened the pace. Panting softly into Taehyung’s chest, Jeongguk’s hips started to move on their own, chasing the feeling.

Once Taehyung had three fingers inside Jeongguk, the man was moaning quietly against Taehyung’s neck. He could feel Taehyung hard under him as he rocked back and forth onto his fingers. The need to have Taehyung inside overcame him.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk breathed against his neck. ”Please.”

“Yeah,” Taehyung breathed, fumbling with the condom. With one hand he undid his pants and forced them down with his boxers just enough to let his cock out. Jeongguk leaned back, biting his lower lip and admired a flustered Taehyung trying to get the condom on.

Jeongguk ripped open the last packet of lube with his teeth and poured the contents onto Taehyung’s cock, his eyes never leaving Taehyung’s as he reached down to guide him.

Smiling down at him, Jeongguk took a deep breath before placing the tip of Taehyung’s cock at his entrance. He eased himself down, taking each inch slowly and carefully. Just as he reached the base, Jeongguk let out a low moan.

“Fuck,” Jeongguk gasped, moving his hips tentatively, trying to adjust.

“Take your time.” Taehyung breathed, rubbing his fingers at the bottom of Jeongguk’s spine. Something shifted in his expression. He closed the gap between them and kissed him tenderly.

“Are you ok?” Taehyung asked gently.

”Yeah.” Jeongguk nodded. ”I’m going to move now.”

Taehyung placed his hands on either side of Jeongguk’s slender waist.

Starting off slowly, Jeongguk began to move himself up and down on Taehyung’s cock, getting used to the full stretching sensation with each move. The extra burn from not having had sex in a little while was too obvious by the way Jeongguk bit down hard on his lower lips, his brows furrowing in concentration. Sensing Jeongguk’s discomfort, Taehyung gave him a firm, grounding squeeze.

“Go slow,” Taehyung said quietly. “There’s no rush, okay?”

Jeongguk nodded, letting out a broken moan. Finally after a few movements, the discomfort faded away leaving only the pleasant stretch and burn in its place.

Jeongguk was riding Taehyung. Feeling a bit bold, he sat up as best he could without smacking his head on the roof of the car, and started moving his hips faster. He placed his hands on the door and dashboard beside him while he leaned back as he began to lose himself in the feeling.

Jeongguk ground himself down, getting Taehyung’s cock deeper inside him, swiveling his hips and feeling Taehyung’s thick cock filling him completely.

“You’re so fucking amazing,” Taehyung growled to match a nasty grind of Jeongguk’s hips, his cock sliding into Jeongguk and pulling out almost completely before slamming back in again with more force.

Taehyung’s fingers gripped tight on his hips as Jeongguk fucked himself on his cock. He thrust his hips upward to push into Jeongguk deeper, pounding into him so much that Jeongguk’s breath got knocked out of him with every stroke, every deep pull of Taehyung’s cock making him pant.

Taehyung felt Jeongguk lifting some of his weight off him so he could have more control and fuck Jeongguk at a quicker pace. He followed the lead easily, hands firm on Jeongguk’s sides and fucked into him harder and faster. He brushed Jeongguk’s prostate inside him and Jeongguk let out a lengthy moan.

“Hyung,” Jeongguk breathed. “Right there.”

Taehyung’s hands danced along Jeongguk’s torso, changing their grip from his sides to spreading along his chest. The grazing touches mixed with the brutal fucking played with Jeongguk’s mind.

“Hyung… I-” Jeongguk gasped. He felt the pooling in his gut that told him that he was nearing the edge. Letting go of the car, Jeongguk leaned forward and placed his hands on either side of Taehyung’s neck. He pressed their lips together roughly, the feeling of his impending orgasm blanking out his mind completely.

“Fuck,” Jeongguk moaned again. He leaned up on one arm, wrapping his other hand around himself. He stroked himself fast, trying to keep the white mess from getting on Taehyung below him. Whimpering as he worked himself through his orgasm, he felt Taehyung groan underneath him. Jeongguk’s hip movements grew frantic and erratic. Taehyung’s grip on his waist tightened, pulling him down harder. Without a warning, Taehyung sat up slightly and sank his teeth into the curve of Jeongguk’s shoulder as he came with a low guttural groan, emptying himself into the condom while still inside Jeongguk.

They both let their breaths return from the heavy shallow pants to the normal slow breaths before moving. Feeling blindly behind him with his clean hand, Jeongguk grabbed a handful of napkins that he put in the glove compartment the other day. He wiped his come covered hand before easing Taehyung out of him with a slick wet sound. As quickly as he could, Jeongguk cleaned what was left of the lube before more of it could drip onto Taehyung’s pants.

Taehyung tied the condom and set it aside. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Jeongguk pulled up his boxers before going back to the passenger seat. “You?”

“Very okay.” Taehyung smiled, voice even deeper. He reached down and tucked himself inside his pants before pushing the seat lever and bringing himself back up.

Jeongguk pulled his shirt back on before running a hand through his hair. He pulled Taehyung in by the jaw and kissed him slowly. The kiss was different from the other kisses they had shared.

It was slow, very slow, almost delicate, as if they knew there was nothing they needed to find out or gain from it other than to simply kiss each other. Jeongguk slid his tongue against Taehyung’s with no rush, just the wet, slick glide as they met, lingering over every curve, as if they were memorizing one another.

Catching his breath, Jeongguk smiled against Taehyung’s lips and let him press one last, lingering kiss.

The car was quiet. Not the tense kind of quiet from before. Something softer.

Taehyung picked up Jeongguk’s glasses from where they’d landed in the center console and handed them over without saying anything. Jeongguk put them on and looked straight ahead.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

Then Taehyung reached into the bag, pulled out two Gatorades and handed one to Jeongguk.

“Told you,” He said flatly.

Jeongguk let out a short laugh, cracking the seal of the bottle. “You’re unbelievable.”

Taehyung turned the engine on and pulled back onto the road. The sky was fully dark now. The pink was long gone.

They drove in silence for a few minutes. Not uncomfortable. Just settled.

“The food’s gone cold,” Jeongguk glanced at the box in the backseat behind him.

“Yoongi hyung won’t care.” Taehyung said, keeping his eyes on the road.

“Jimin hyung will.”

“Jiminie can order his own food.”

Jeongguk smiled at the window.

The lights of the house appeared at the end of the road. Taehyung pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. Neither of them moved immediately.

“Taehyung?”

“Hm.”

“Thanks for the detour,” Jeongguk said quietly.

Taehyung glanced over at him. “Don’t mention it.”

He got out of the car first. Jeongguk grabbed the food from the backseat and followed, straightening his shirt as he walked.

Inside, the sound of the television and Seokjin’s laugh filled the hallway. Nobody looked up when they came in. Everything was exactly as they left it.

***

The following days were a messy, sun-soaked blur. It was a constant cycle of stolen kisses in the dim hallway while the others were loud in the living room, and hidden glances over shared meals. Under the table, Taehyung’s hand would find a knee or a thigh whenever no one was looking, the contact burning hotter than the sun outside. They were still playing their part in public while counting down the seconds until they could be alone again.

Tonight Taehyung was gone. Alcohol had been flowing through his system from the moment they left the house. They had spent most of the night bouncing around from bar to bar before ending up at a club near the beach. As soon as they arrived at the small and dark club, a certain type of electricity shot through the group. The alcohol was cheap, the music was magical, and the dancing was dirty. It smelled like sweat and rum and something tropical piped in through the ventilation. The kind of place that looked questionable from the outside and felt like home once you were in. It was going to be a good night.

Kim Taehyung only had two days left in Hawaii before it was back to reality. He didn’t want to go home. His bosses had mentioned that a very heavy workload was going to begin after the vacation period. He’d be heading back to sixty-hour weeks, too many cases to handle, and a nonexistent social life. He wouldn’t get to drink, he wouldn’t get to have fun, and he wouldn’t get to see him.

When they got back, Taehyung didn’t know what Jeongguk would be up to. Their future, whatever it was, existed somewhere between what had happened in that rental car and a question neither of them had been brave enough to ask yet.

That was what fueled Taehyung’s drunken dance session. He needed to let loose. He needed to go out and have fun without thinking about what was going to happen next. He didn’t want to think about Jeongguk and those big eyes and how bloody good he looked in that fucking tight-fitting shirt. He didn’t want to think about how sweet he had been to him all day. He didn’t want to think about how his hips had moved on top of him inside the car, or the sounds he had made, or how his hands felt gripping him like he was something worth holding onto. He didn’t want to think about the feeling of his lips. He didn’t want to think about any of it. He was going to have plenty of time to think on the flight home. At that moment, he just wanted to get a little drunk and dance.

Taehyung didn’t know how long he’d been out there, but he didn’t care. He was hot and sweaty and so satisfied. He had been dancing with random people all night. Seokjin and Hoseok had come and gone. Jimin had taken a go when Yoongi left for a refill. The one person he had hoped would join him was nowhere to be found.

Jeongguk had some sort of magnetic pull on him. It had always been there, honestly. Taehyung had fought hard against it. After these days together, he had decided to give up. He didn’t need to fight. Jeongguk was actually good.

Really, really good.

The more Taehyung drank, the more vulnerable he got, the more he wanted to be around Jeongguk. He was sweet and hot and everything Taehyung had been running from. Taehyung was starting to think that maybe running hadn’t been the smartest plan.

A viral hip-hop song came on, sending the dance floor into a frenzy. Taehyung felt someone press up behind him. Their touch was timid at first, almost as if they were unsure of how to move. But Taehyung recognized that touch, that scent, that breathing. Jeongguk. Taehyung closed the gap between them before they began to move in rhythm with the beat. With each beat, their confidence grew. By the end of the song, Jeongguk’s hands called Taehyung’s waist home.

“Fuck, Taehyung,” Jeongguk breathed in his ear.

Taehyung turned around and was met by a pair of big eyes. He scanned Jeongguk’s face for any sign that this unspoken pull was mutual. Something was going on but he didn’t want to admit it. Not then, not there. Taehyung took in Jeongguk’s features and reached up without thinking, brushing his damp fringe away from his forehead.

Jeongguk opened his mouth to speak but Taehyung didn’t let him. He slipped his hand into Jeongguk’s and led him away from the crowded dance floor. Tucked away in a corner of the club, he found a spot for them to talk in private.

Jeongguk raised his eyebrows at Taehyung and broke the silence. “I didn’t know you could dance like that.”

But Taehyung didn’t say a word. He just stood there. His gaze unbearable.

Jeongguk knew Taehyung was fighting something. He’d been watching him fight it for months. The way he’d pull back every time they got too close. But right now he didn’t care, he wanted to kiss Taehyung again. He wanted to show him that they could work out. That they were good for each other. Jeongguk was tired of watching him fight alone. So without a second thought, he stepped forward and captured Taehyung’s lips with a hungry kiss.

And Taehyung kissed him back. Hard. Kissing Jeongguk was like being pulled apart, slowly and bit by bit. He gripped the back of Jeongguk’s head, his fingers tangling in his hair to pull him closer, desperate to swallow the sound of his breath.

Despite the intensity, Jeongguk’s lips were surprisingly soft as he pulled Taehyung’s bottom lip between his own, sucking on it before his tongue swept inside again. Jeongguk slid his hands up Taehyung’s back under the shirt, pulling him so tight there wasn’t a breath of air between them. Taehyung’s tongue tangled with his in a deep slide, making him whimper.

At that moment, Taehyung would have traded his best case, the one he’d spent eight months killing himself over, the win that had his name plastered all over the legal blogs, just to stay in that moment.

Fighting his own desire, Taehyung pulled back. He looked at Jeongguk for a second. “Jeongguk-ah, we’re in public.”

“So?” Jeongguk said, a little dizzy.

“What if someone takes a picture?”

Jeongguk rolled his eyes playfully before pecking Taehyung’s lips once more. “Fine,” he muttered against his skin, “Let’s go home.”

“What?”

“Let’s go home,” Jeongguk repeated. His voice was laden with equal parts lust and nonchalance. He leaned in towards him. “I just want to spend the rest of the night alone with you,” he didn’t wait for an answer, already pulling out his phone to order them an Uber back to the house.

Jeongguk was still typing in the address when Taehyung leaned in and pressed his lips down his neck. Taehyung pulled away as a smug smile spread across his face. Jeongguk eyed him, faking annoyance.

“You’re such a little shit.”

“What was that?” Taehyung teased.

Jeongguk shook his head as their ride pulled up to the curb. Before getting into the backseat, he leaned over and whispered in Taehyung’s ear. “You’re going to get it, Taehyung.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Taehyung countered with a defiant smirk.

By the time the house came into view, they were absolutely buzzing. The front door wasn’t even shut and Jeongguk’s lips were already on Taehyung’s. They didn’t break the kiss as they reached Jeongguk’s room.

Shoes came off, the door was closed, and a fit of laughter escaped Taehyung’s lips when Jeongguk tripped over his open luggage on the floor.

“You’ve been here for two weeks and your suitcase is still exploding on the floor,” Taehyung laughed, stepping over it.

“I’ve been busy,” Jeongguk knelt on the floor, hurriedly shoving things back into the suitcase.

Taehyung took the opportunity to scan the room. Two half-empty bottles of water sat on the nightstand beside a stack of books he’d probably bought at the airport and hadn’t opened. The bed was unmade and a few stray clothes were scattered across the chair.

“Do you just live like this?” Taehyung teased.

“Shut up.” Jeongguk laughed as he quickly tried to zip his suitcase.

“Scared of what I might find in there, Jeon?” Taehyung challenged him, nodding toward it.

Jeongguk stood up and moved closer to Taehyung, but before he could say anything, Taehyung started again.

“Ah, don’t tell me you didn’t bring any toys.” Taehyung pretended to pout as he let his eyes wander over the room.

“You know I did,” Jeongguk shot, like it was nothing. It really wasn’t. No bigger than five inches and no wider than two of his fingers, but it got the job done. He stepped into Taehyung’s space, grabbing him by the waist.

Taehyung stared up at Jeongguk, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, “I wanna see it.” he smiled, his fingers tracing the hem of Jeongguk’s shirt with distracting slowness.

“Mhm, not tonight,” Jeongguk shook his head. He wasn’t embarrassed at all, “I don’t need toys,” he grabbed Taehyung through his jeans.

“No?”

“You know,” Jeongguk said, tilting his head to catch Taehyung’s gaze, “I don’t get your concern about what I may or may not have packed. Why, Taehyung, do you want something borrowed?”

“Fuck you,” Taehyung laughed loudly, the sound muffled as Jeongguk pulled him closer.

“Yeah, I was kinda hoping that’s where this was heading,” Jeongguk said, his voice dropping. Leaning in until their breath mingled, trying to catch Taehyung’s lips with his own.

“Oh, really?” Taehyung scoffed, though he didn’t pull away. “Tell me what you want, Jeon,” a challenge flickering in his dark eyes.

Jeongguk’s gaze dropped to Taehyung’s mouth. “I want you to go to your room and grab those condoms you bought because they aren’t going to walk themselves over here. And then you’re going yo fuck me.”

Taehyung stared at him with wide eyes.

“What?” Jeongguk countered, his tone flat and demanding. “Don’t tell me you don’t know where you left them, Taehyung.”

Taehyung just smiled. “Bossy, aren’t you?”

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. “Shut up and go.” He tugged on Taehyung’s lower lip with his teeth. A claim of possession, before he pushed Taehyung through the door.

When Taehyung got back he tossed the lube and the condoms on the bed before cupping Jeongguk’s neck with both of his hands and pressed their lips together again. It didn’t take long for things to get heated. Their kisses were deep and passionate. Jeongguk smiled as Taehyung pushed him back onto the bed and crawled on top of him, placing feverish kisses across his neck. When Taehyung made it back to his mouth, Jeongguk slid his tongue across Taehyung’s lower lip demanding entrance. Once granted, he fought for dominance. His hands lock onto Taehyung’s waist to pull him flush against his heat.

In a last ditch effort to claim victory, Jeongguk sank his teeth into Taehyung’s bottom lip and tugged hard. A frustrated groan escaped Taehyung as he pressed his body into Jeongguk’s, letting him feel just how hard he had become. The movement caused Jeongguk’s shirt to rise up, exposing his burning abs to the cool night air.

“Take this off,” Taehyung demanded impatiently, already pulling at the hem. Jeongguk sat up and yanked it over his head in one motion, a small noise of protest escaping when their lips separated for half a second. Taehyung was on him again before the shirt hit the floor.

Taehyung’s hands gripped at Jeongguk’s thighs, spreading his legs apart. A consuming heat curled inside Jeongguk’s gut as he watched Taehyung lean over him. He could feel Taehyung’s hot breath against his still clothed cock. Taehyung pressed his palm flat against him through the fabric. One slow, punishing push, before pulling his hand away completely and looking up at him like he hadn’t just done anything at all.

“Taehyung,” Jeongguk whimpered.

“Yes?” Taehyung raised his eyebrow smugly as he stood up.

“Stop fucking with me,” Jeongguk rasped, his hands fisting the sheets.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Taehyung grinned, looming over Jeongguk, watching the effect he had on him.

“You’re so annoying,” Jeongguk shot back, arching his back off the bed, needing some friction. His jaw was tight, his whole body taut with the need for Taehyung to stop playing.

Taehyung looked him in the eye and held him down. Jeongguk tried to keep his composure as Taehyung took his pants and boxers down, one by one, at an excruciatingly slow pace. Jeongguk let out a low moan as Taehyung pressed biting kisses to the inside of his thighs, soothingly licking each one with his tongue.

Taehyung licked two fingers before he cautiously shoving one inside Jeongguk. Pistoning his finger in and out, Taehyung quickly reduced Jeongguk to a series of raw breathy moans and gasps.

Taehyung reached for the bottle of lube and worked it onto his fingers, coating his fingers before forcing them back inside. The moment he pressed inside Jeongguk felt it. Not just the stretch but a growing warmth that built with every movement, slow, deep and inescapable.

“Ugh-” Jeongguk breathed, “What is that?”

“Warming lube.” Taehyung pressed deeper.

“That’s why you were taking so long,” Jeongguk breathed. “Picky, aren’t you?”

“Resourceful,” Taehyung said, not looking up. His focus remained on the way Jeongguk’s body reacted to his touch.

The heat built faster than Jeongguk expected. Slow at first, then spreading, impossibly warm. His back arched off the bed before he could stop it.

“Oh… that’s…” Jeongguk breathed, voice gone.

Taehyung couldn’t look away.

“Fuck!” Jeongguk panted, moving his hips along with Taehyung’s fingers. Heat pooled in his gut as Taehyung stretched him, the warming lube making each motion feel more like a consuming burn each time Taehyung grazed his prostate. Every time Taehyung curled his fingers just right, a sharp pulse of heat shot up Jeongguk’s spine. He couldn’t keep still. His hips chased the angle without permission, riding Taehyung’s hand shamelessly, chasing the spot that kept lighting him up from the inside.

By the time he had three fingers inside him, Jeongguk was a whimpering mess.

“Pl-please, hyung. Just fuck me already. I can’t take much more of this.”

“So impatient.” Taehyung clicked his tongue, withdrawing his fingers from inside Jeongguk, abruptly.

Taehyung took off his own pants, his eyes never leaving Jeongguk’s. He slid on a condom before he took the bottle of lube again and poured some into his hand, working it all over himself and spreading the excess around Jeongguk’s entrance. The extra warming lube sent a fevered chill up Jeongguk’s spine as he grew more and more impatient.

He grabbed onto Jeongguk’s hips and lifted them slightly off the bed to wedge a pillow underneath. The new angle left Jeongguk completely open, his legs trembling as he waited for the friction he was craving.

“Gonna fuck you now,” Taehyung said as he pushed into Jeongguk slowly but with precision.

Jeongguk let out a silent cry, his mouth dropping open at the feel of it. Taehyung was not only long but thick and it burned. The obscene amount of lube they used made the slide easier after the initial push.

Taehyung continued until he was all the way there, then he paused as they both took a second to breathe.

“You’re so tight, baby,” Taehyung groaned, feeling Jeongguk trying to adjust.

“Just move, hyung,” Jeongguk said through gritted teeth.

Taehyung pulled back a bit before pushing forward again, establishing a slow rhythm of short thrusts. He raised himself on his hands to look down at Jeongguk. The more he moved, the more Jeongguk’s body got used to it, welcoming him. He moved his hips to grind his cock deep inside Jeongguk until he found his prostate and slammed harder.

“Right there,” Jeongguk gasped.

Taehyung’s thrusts turned punishing, pulling out almost completely before burying himself back in again.

The twisting in Jeongguk’s gut had moved lower, his cock practically jumping as he leaked precum. Taehyung wrapped a hand around him, his thumb crushing the head of Jeongguk’s cock in time with every shove of his hips. The dual sensation of being filled and stretched at the same time dragged a broken sound out of Jeongguk’s throat.

“Fuck,” Jeongguk choked out. “I’m gonna come, hyung,” he panted involuntarily as the feeling grew in his groin.

“Take what you need,” Taehyung said roughly, quickening his pace even more. His eyes were fixed on the way Jeongguk’s face tightened.

Jeongguk came hard, streaking his own chest and Taehyung’s fist in thick pulses. He dropped his head back and breathed heavily through his nose as he tried to calm his body down.

“Fucking perfect,” Taehyung said above him.

Taehyung stuttered inside Jeongguk for a moment before the rhythm turned frenetic again. He snapped his hips deeper, his grip tightening on Jeongguk’s waist hard enough to bruise. Jeongguk clenched around him, forcing the friction to the limit. Taehyung groaned low and long, burying himself deep as he came, his teeth sinking into the curve of Jeongguk’s shoulder like he needed something to hold onto.

Jeongguk grabbed Taehyung by his hair, moved his head and gave him an aggressive kiss. “Fuck me”, he demanded against Taehyung’s mouth.

Taehyung was caugh by surprise but he slammed back into Jeongguk and started fucking him with quick jerks of his hips. Jeongguk kept his grip on Taehyung’s hair, forcing him to stay pressed against him.

Taehyung breathed hard against Jeongguk’s cheek, rolling his hips to find a good rhythm again, but he ended up faltering and hammering into Jeongguk, desperate and fast. He groaned over him as he picked up his pace, getting more aggressive with each thrust.

“Oh fuck yes, just like that, hyung,” Jeongguk gaspsed.

“Yeah?” Taehyung moaned.

Taehyung slammed into Jeongguk fast a few more times before he had to stop, he switched to fucking him with a slow agonizing torturous grind of his hips - rocking into Jeongguk so his cock filled him impossibly deep. The slow deep pace shockingly different compared to the quick fucking from earlier.

“Baby, I- I…” Taehyung gasped out, the pet name escaping once again.

“Come. Come for me, fuck me, hyung,” Jeongguk coaxed it out of Taehyung.

Taehyung dropped his head back down, resting his forehead on Jeongguk’s chest, going back to pounding into him with frenzied thrusts as he came. He felt Jeongguk rocking up to meet his hips and holding him tight as he followed, coming directly after. Fresh white cum leaked from Jeongguk’s trapped cock mixing with the dried cum making a mess on their skins.

Taehyung stayed on top of Jeongguk as he recovered, feeling Jeongguk gently slide his fingers through his hair. He slipped out of Jeongguk, who groaned from the sudden emptiness. Taehyung took off the condom and tossed it aside. He took a few more moments to breathe, before getting up to look for a towel. Jeongguk was too tired to follow him with his eyes, simply staring at the ceiling until he felt the mattress dip under Taehyung’s weight as he climbed back into bed. Taehyung wiped Jeongguk’s torso clean, before tossing the towel onto the floor behind them.

“You ok?” Taehyung asked, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“Yeah. Great.” Jeongguk reached for the nape of Taehyung’s neck, guiding his head until their lips finally met.

Taehyung pushed his tongue inside and kissed him slowly, without urgency. No heat left, no desperation, no frantic need to prove anything.

At some point the kisses grew shorter. Taehyung pressed one last kiss to his lips. Then another. Slow and unhurried, like he had nowhere else to be. His fingers traced slowly down Jeongguk’s tattooed arm, up his chest, not going anywhere in particular, just touching. He moved his mouth, ghosting against Jeongguk’s ear.

“Shower,” Taehyung said. Not a suggestion. Not quite a demand either. Just an offer. With intent.

Jeongguk nodded, his eyes already closing. Taehyung watched him for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching, then he asked.

“Wanna join?”

Jeongguk let out a breath that was almost a laugh. “Give me a second.”

“Take two,” Taehyung said, his voice low and steady as he started to move.

***

Nevertheless, Jeongguk followed Taehyung into the shower. The water had finally gotten to a comfortable temperature. The bathroom wasn’t the largest, but it wasn’t cramped either. Still, with two grown men inside, the space was limited.

The limited space gave Jeongguk the perfect excuse to press his wet body against Taehyung’s, as the water sprayed against his back. Reaching behind Taehyung to the shelf that Jeongguk had packed full of various bottles and soaps, he grabbed the bottle of shampoo. In the process he pressed his chest against Taehyung’s and felt his big hands rest low on his hips. Between the heat of the water and the wet slick friction of their lengths, Jeongguk could already feel himself getting hot and hard.

“Turn around so I can wash your hair,” Jeongguk poured a small amount of shampoo into the palm of his hand.

“If you pull my hair I’m charging you,” Taehyung warned.

Jeongguk lathered the shampoo between his palms and worked it through Taehyung’s hair slowly, his fingers pressing into Taehyung’s scalp.

“Okay, I’m done. Do me.”

“Isn’t that what we came in here to do in the first place?” Taehyung joked, turning around, taking the shampoo from Jeongguk and pouring some into his own palm.

“Ha ha, very funny.” Jeongguk said, carefully trading spots with Taehyung so he wasn’t in the path of the water. ”I didn’t think an old man like you had the stamina for a another round,” he added with a taunting smirk, “But I guess we can just finish washing up if you’re planning on being a gentleman for the rest of the night.”

“Funny, considering it wasn’t my legs that were shaking ten minutes ago,” Taehyung said, “Besides, I’m 32, I’m not even old.”

“I’m not even old,” Jeongguk mimicked.

“You’re talking a lot of shit for someone who begs.”

“I don’t-” Taehyung didn’t give him a chance to finish, he leaned in closer, pressing their lips together. His tongue slid against Jeongguk’s lower lip before pushing inside, unhurried. Jeongguk’s hands found Taehyung’s waist, water running down between them. Taehyung bit down gently, swallowing the sound it pulled out of him. He kissed him like it was the only thing worth doing.

Jeongguk could feel the heat curling his toes as Taehyung languidly sucked his lower lip between his own. Feeling a small nibble on his lip, Jeongguk let out a low gasp that he felt Taehyung swallow immediately.

Sliding his hands down Jeongguk’s back and onto his ass, Taehyung got a firm grip on him, rubbing their groins together. Jeongguk’s still soapy hands found their way to Taehyung’s waist where he dug his nails into the skin to keep from slipping. The air in the shower grew increasingly warm and steamy and Jeongguk found it harder to breathe.

The lack of air eventually got to Jeongguk and he pulled his mouth away with a gasping breath, turning his head to the side. Taehyung automatically latched his mouth onto Jeongguk’s neck, only to lift it off seconds later coughing.

“Bleh, soapy!” Taehyung grimaced, sticking out his tongue.

Jeongguk’s laugh filled the space.

“Let’s rinse out first,” he said, taking a step into the spray of the shower to rinse the shampoo from his hair. He poured some body oil into his hands and lathered it before he started to rub his hands over Taehyung’s chest.

“You’re enjoying this,” He smirked as he watched Taehyung smile while massaging him.

“A bit, yeah,” Taehyung grinned.

“Only a bit, huh?” Jeongguk asked, moving his hands down Taehyung’s defined body. He thumbed Taehyung’s nipples as he moved his hands further, slowly grazing his fingertips against his abs, making Taehyung shudder with anticipation. He wrapped one of his hands around Taehyung’s already hard cock, giving it a slight tug.

“Ahh… Maybe more than a bit,” Taehyung admitted.

Taehyung let out a low moan as Jeongguk continued to stroke him slowly. But suddenly, Jeongguk quickened his pace, grabbing a firmer hold on him. His free hand found Taehyung’s jaw, tilting his head back before licking into his mouth. Their teeth and tongues clashed as they kissed, making the heated twisting sensation go straight down to Jeongguk’s own dick.

“Wait. Fuck. I- I don’t want to come yet,” Taehyung breathed, his deep voice almost drowned out by the sound of the rushing water.

“This was supposed to be a quickie,” Jeongguk said, not stopping his hand.

“I know. Fuck. I just-” Taehyung stopped him by covering Jeongguk’s hand with his own. He shifted them closer until there was no space left between them, wrapping his hand around both of them “Like this,” he said.

Taehyung set a desperate pace, forcing their bodies to collide with every heavy thrust of his hand. Jeongguk’s back scraped against the wet tiles as he arched into the contact, needing the pressure to be even harder, even deeper. His fingers tangled in Taehyung’s hair, pulling him closer until their foreheads pressed together.

Jeongguk could feel his release just on the edge, but it hurt.

“I-I can’t-” his voice faltered.

“You can,” Taehyung urged, tightening his grip. He quickened the pace of his wrist, “Come on baby give me one more. Let me see you come.”

Taehyung felt Jeongguk jerking his hips upwards, fucking himself against his fist. It was a brutal, uncoordinated mess of limbs and heat. Taehyung didn’t slow down, desperate for every inch of friction. Jeongguk’s eyes rolled back, his teeth sinking into his own lip to stifle a scream as a white surge of pleasure shot up his length, his head thumping back against the wall. Taehyung let go of Jeongguk’s cock but kept pumping himself to his breaking point.

“I-I’m gonna come,” Taehyung gasped.

“Come on me, hyung,” Jeongguk groaned, reaching to pull Taehyung closer.

Taehyung’s body jerked violently as he emptied himself, a thick, hot mess hitting Jeongguk’s stomach and chest, mixing instantly with the steaming water.

“Still have questions about my stamina?” Taehyung teased, his voice low and raspy.

Jeongguk didn’t reply, his chest heaving up and down. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might actually explode out of his chest.

“Thought so,” Taehyung said, a smug, breathless grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

They shifted slightly in the shower so they could both reach the water spray one more time. Taehyung rinsed the cum off his hands and their bodies, themselves, his touch much gentler now as he ran his hands over Jeongguk’s skin.

After he was done he finally turned off the water and slid open the shower door into the now well lit bathroom.

“Come here,” Taehyung said, taking one of the towels and wrapping it around Jeongguk’s shoulders.

Jeongguk looked down at the towel and then back up at him, a tired smile finally breaking through.

“You’re very domestic for someone who was just-”

“Finish that sentence,” Taehyung said flatly. The playful glint in his eyes betrayed his serious tone.

“Drying me off,” Jeongguk offered, innocently.

“Let’s go,” Taehyung said as he left the bathroom straight back to Jeongguk’s bedroom, without looking back.

***

If someone asked Taehyung what he expected to do on his last full day in Hawaii, he would probably have had a normal answer. He’d be soaking up the sun and the smell of the sea. He’d grab one last malasada from down the lane. He’d take a dip in the pool and end the day with a long nap before the dinner Jeongguk had planned to cap off their trip.

As fate would have it, that was not what happened.

He woke up to Jeongguk beside him, one arm thrown above his head, the other tattooed arm holding a pillow to his chest, almost innocently, the sheets pooled low around his waist. The marks Taehyung had left on his neck and shoulder were already beginning to bloom. He looked completely undone and completely peaceful at the same time. Taehyung looked away.

Not wanting to wake Jeongguk up, he stayed there motionless. He went over everything that happened until he made himself sick. Things went too far way too quickly. He didn’t know what it was but there was just something about him. It was like Jeongguk was some sort of drug and he was addicted.
​
Honestly, a part of Taehyung wanted to lean in and wake Jeongguk up. Not with words, but by trailing his mouth down the hard lines of his abs until he reached the waistband of his boxers. He wanted to feel the heat of his skin… ​No. He killed the thought before it could take root. He couldn’t afford to be that weak.

Taehyung hated it. He hated how his mind always wandered back to the boy sleeping beside him. He hated how his body reacted to Jeongguk’s touch, to his kisses. He hated his big doe eyes and his stupid mouth and the satisfied look on his face before he passed out last night.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to get this close to anybody ever. He made a pact with himself.

No boys, no problems.

The moment he let his guard down and Jeon Jeongguk quietly made his way into his heart, he realized he was done for.

Suddenly, his phone began to ring. Taehyung cut it off immediately, glancing at Jeongguk. He hadn’t moved. A second later, the screen lit up and it started again.

“Turn it off, Taehyung,” Jeongguk groaned, his face still buried in the pillow. His hand patted around blindly until it found Taehyung’s arm. He gave it one firm push in the direction of the phone.

“Off.” Jeongguk insisted, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“I’m trying,” Taehyung whispered, his thumb hovering over the screen as he glared at the glowing display.

“Try quieter,” Jeongguk huffed, blindly reaching out to pull Taehyung back toward him, his nose searching for the crook of Taehyung’s neck to nuzzle against it.
It started a third time. Taehyung slid out of bed quietly, grabbed his phone and slipped out of Jeongguk’s room before picking up.

“Kim Taehyung speaking,” he said, his voice instantly turning cold and professional.
There was an emergency at work and his bosses needed him to come back from vacation early.

Taehyung was not having it.

He was hungover, horny, and three points past exhausted. Taehyung wanted to sleep until he needed to get ready for dinner. He didn’t want to deal with work shit. He wanted to ease back into things and complete his full two weeks of vacation just like his coworkers.

His bosses offered to pay for his ticket back to Seoul and give him three days’ worth of holiday pay. As appealing as it sounded, Taehyung didn’t want to go back. He wanted to spend his last night eating dinner with his friends. They all changed their schedules for him. He couldn’t do that to them. As a compromise, Taehyung told his boss he’d review the case files they sent over and have notes ready before he landed.

That’s what he did. The switch had been flipped and he was back in work mode. He was all about lawsuits and organizing evidence to win those cases.

Frankly, that’s the way Taehyung liked things. That’s what he knew. He knew how to build a case that made opposing counsel sweat. He knew how to walk into a courtroom and own it. He didn’t know how to talk to the boy he was undeniably drawn to about the time they had spent together and how much he didn’t want it to stop.

Deep down, a part of Taehyung appreciated the fact that work was occupying his time. That meant he didn’t have to think about what was really gnawing at his mind, or, rather, who.

Did he actually like him or was this just a holiday fling? What was going to happen when they got back home?

The biggest question burning holes in his brain couldn’t be answered yet.
Was he ready for this? He stared at the screen without reading it. That was the question he wasn’t ready to answer.

Taehyung tried to review the case outside, by the pool. Just as he opened the files on his laptop, Jimin approached the table handing him a cup of orange juice.

“Thanks, Jimin-ah,” Taehyung said as Jimin sat down in front of him, his eyes still glued to the documents on his screen.

“Turns out you lied to me when you told me you didn’t bring your laptop. You said you wouldn’t.”

“You asked me if it was my backpack. I said no. Because it was in my carry-on. Technically it wasn’t a lie,” Taehyung replied flatly, typing a quick note to avoid making eye contact.

Jimin sensed his tone and tried to change the subject.

“So… you weren’t in your room last night,” he said, suggestively. A playful smirk dancing on his lips.

“How do you know?” Taehyung said, his fingers freezing over the keyboard.

“I went to ask if you had an after-sun.”

“I… uh...” Before he could come up with a lie, Jimin interrupted him.

“Then I went to ask Jeongguk but his door was locked,” Jimin continued, leaning back in his chair and faking innocence as he took a slow sip of his own drink.

This wasn’t happening. Of course Jimin heard them through Jeongguk’s door. The icing on the cake of his perfect morning. Taehyung didn’t say anything, he knew it was pointless to come up with a lie.

Sensing Taehyung wasn’t going to open up, Jimin simply warned, “I hope you know what you’re doing,” his gaze turned serious. “I mean it, Tae. Don’t break him.”

Taehyung glared at Jimin.

“Why would I be the one breaking anything?” He had the balls to fake innocence, leaning back and crossing his arms defensively.

“I’m not going to stay in the middle.” Jimin glared back, his voice steady.

Taehyung knew that tone. Everyone knew better than to mess with Jimin and his friends.

But Taehyung wasn’t easy.

“There’s absolutely nothing for you to stay in the middle of,” Taehyung said, his eyes on his screen, trying to look busy.

Jimin looked at him for a long moment before picking up his empty glass and walking away without another word.

Taehyung stared at the pool for a moment before closing his laptop and going back inside. He went back to his room and worked until the sky turned dark.

At some point Jeongguk appeared in the doorway with a sandwich and set it beside his laptop without saying a word. Taehyung thanked him without looking up. By the time he should start getting ready to leave for dinner, he realized he didn’t touch the food.

He took a shower, put on a brown shirt that matched his skin tone perfectly and a pair of jeans. He didn’t have it in him to put much effort tonight. He made his way to the living room to find the others already waiting for him.

Just as they were about to head inside the restaurant, Taehyung got another phone call from work. This time it was a coworker asking for help. Frustrated, he answered his questions as best he could. He stood outside the restaurant while his friends headed inside. As soon as the conversation ended, he shut off his phone and made his way to the table where his friends were.

He scanned the table looking for an empty seat. Conveniently, the only spot left was the one beside the one person who didn’t leave his mind all day. Taehyung closed his eyes and drew in a quick breath. He could do this.

Taehyung pulled out his chair and sat down. “Out of all the spots around this table, you saved me a seat next to the one twat here who doesn’t know how to button a fucking shirt.”

Jeongguk rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what Taehyung was doing. He felt the distance between them rise again, like Taehyung took ten steps back. But he understood, Taehyung was playing his part. Taehyung was still the scorned man who had trust issues. Besides, he was frustrated from working all day.

And Jeongguk was fine with it. It needed to be done. Things were fresh. Things didn’t need to be tainted by other opinions anyway. He didn’t even know how to label their relationship. Were they just friends? Were they something more? Did Taehyung even want any of that to happen?

Jeongguk didn’t know and he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to find out until they got back home and reality set in.

“Some people happen to find it attractive, Taehyung,” Jeongguk shot a smug smile in Taehyung’s direction.

“Clearly. I see you got a few additions to your neck there, Jeonggukie.” Yoongi said, smirking. “Who gave you those?”

“No one,” Jeongguk replied calmly. He straightened out the chains on his neck. “I burned myself with a curling iron.”

Hoseok erupted with laughter making Jeongguk smile. He glanced over to his left to find Taehyung rolling his eyes, “You’re an idiot.”

“Who was it?” Hoseok asked again, resting his chin on his palm, being the nosy friend that he was.

“Just someone I met. Nothing worth talking about,” Jeongguk replied, keeping his voice casual.

“I see…” Jimin said, shifting his gaze directly to Taehyung in front of him, raising a single, judgmental eyebrow.

Last Jimin heard, Taehyung was starting to explore the idea of having feelings for Jeongguk, but when it came to men, he wouldn’t put all his eggs in one basket. He had trust issues. But this wasn’t the time or the place, and Jimin knew better than to push Taehyung in public. He reached for his drink instead as he tried to think of another subject.

Hoseok had other plans, though. “You get his number?” He asked.

Jeongguk cleared his throat sensing the tension around the table. “Nah, it was just a one off thing.”

“You waited until almost our last night in Hawaii to hook up with someone. You have impeccable timing, Jeon,” Taehyung replied curtly.

“Better late than never,” Jeongguk shrugged. The nonchalance didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“So… Tae, what are your plans for when we get back?” Jimin interjected, trying to get to a more neutral subject. They didn’t talk since their little argument by the pool but Taehyung was thankful for his friend’s effort. He caught Jimin’s eye and gave him the smallest nod, thanking him.

“Just dealing with work. Nothing exciting,” Taehyung said. “They’ve been trying to get me to go back tonight.”

“Well, that’s bullshit,” Jeongguk said, annoyed for him.

“They said they’d pay for my ticket and give me three days of holiday pay.”

“You’ve got to learn to say no, Tae,” Namjoon said, focusing on his menu.

“I’m still here, aren’t I?” Taehyung replied. He knew they were trying to help but his friends had no idea how relentless his bosses were all day. He didn’t want to spend dinner talking about it. He needed a break.

“What about you? What are you doing when we get back, Seokjin hyung?” Jeongguk asked quickly, sensing something deeper was going on with Taehyung.

“Just work, but I’m starting some renovations at my place and I’m honestly dreading the mess. It’s going to be a total disaster zone.”

“You’re welcome at mine, hyung,” Jeongguk grinned, eyeing Namjoon. They all knew where Seokjin would be staying. “Plenty of room.”

“You’re very sweet, Jeonggukie,” Seokjin said. “But I’m not leaving my own house.” He lied.

“Won’t be around much after September anyway,” Jeongguk added, almost as an afterthought, raising his drink to his lips.

Taehyung turned to him and asked, “What are you doing when we get back?”

“Well, my album is coming out so I’m going on tour,” Jeongguk smiled.

Of course. He was going on tour. Taehyung tried to remain neutral. He knew Jeongguk would be leaving. He knew he had to work. But he didn’t expect to hear it so soon. He didn’t realize how quickly he had to figure things out.

“He’s going to be gone for the rest of the year,” Seokjin said, confused by Taehyung’s question. Everyone in the group knew about it. ”He talked about this at Jiminie’s before we left.”

“I uh… I wasn’t there,” Taehyung stuttered.

“He was at work, remember?” Jimin explained.

“But I don’t leave until September, so I’ll be around for a bit,” Jeongguk said, trying to look Taehyung in the eyes. He felt guilty.

Taehyung turned his attention to the menu. He needed a minute and the server had just given him one.

***

Once everyone’s meal was ordered, Seokjin started to playfully interrogate Hoseok about his time in Hawaii. Everyone was paying attention because they all wanted to know more about this man called Gong Yoo that Hoseok spent a lot of time with. Jeongguk took this opportunity to make sure Taehyung was okay. He opened his mouth to speak, but Taehyung shut him down.

“This isn’t the time or place, Jeongguk,” Taehyung said, trying to listen to what Hoseok was saying.

“I was just going to say I thought Jimin hyung would have told you about me leaving. You guys talk about everything so I thought you would have gotten a recap of dinner at his house that night,” Jeongguk said, his voice low, ”I would’ve told you sooner but up until two weeks ago you treated me like a stray dog.”

Taehyung’s eyes flicked to him immediately. “What?” he hissed.

“Is that not true?” Jeongguk asked, sounding bitter.

“I didn’t-” Taehyung let out a frustrated sigh.

“Anyways,” Jeongguk shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”

Taehyung felt someone kick him under the table. He looked up to find Jimin giving him a concerned look. Trying to not draw any more attention to himself, Taehyung faked a smile. Jeongguk did the same.

“He knows,” Taehyung said under his breath, nodding towards Jimin without looking at Jeongguk. The frustration in his voice was evident.

“Well, it’s not my fault you can’t hide the fact that you’re getting laid from your face." Jeongguk whispered, a mischievous glint momentarily replacing his bitterness.

“Can we not do this right now?” Taehyung groaned. He couldn’t handle it.

“Jeongguk-ah!” Namjoon called, nodding towards Taehyung, with a suspicious glint in his eyes. “What’s going on with you two now? Is he still after that chair of yours? Or is there something else he’s trying to get his hands on?”

Jeongguk’s mind went blank. He didn’t know what to say. For the past seven years, he went through countless PR response trainings and fan meetings to recognize a loaded question when he heard one. The difference was that usually he had an answer prepared. When it came to Taehyung, he had nothing. Absolutely nothing. He didn’t know if he was okay with what happened. He didn’t know if he wanted things to continue. He didn’t know anything besides the fact that Taehyung was now pissed that he was leaving and that felt like the worst possible timing in the world. Sensing his silence, Taehyung stepped up.

“Drop it, hyung,” Taehyung said flatly.

“Still giving him a hard time then.” Namjoon leaned back.

“I’m not giving anyone a hard time,” Taehyung replied, his voice tightening with every word.

“You called him an idiot twenty minutes ago.”

“He knows I didn’t mean it.”

“Does he?” Namjoon said, daring him to disagree.

“I’m right here, hyung.” Jeongguk grabbed his drink.

“You know what the funny thing is?” Namjoon continued talking as if Jeongguk wasn’t listening. “He would give you that chair and so much more. But you just keep pla-”

“Namjoon hyung,” Jimin interrupted him.

“I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking,” Namjoon shrugged. “At some point that stops being banter and starts being something else.”

“Thank you for the recap of how big of an ass I’ve been, hyung,” Taehyung mumbled.

The table grew quiet.

“So now that Taehyungie and Namjoon hyung ripped a new one, we can officially say this has been an actual group event,” Jimin said with a playful grin, trying to clean up the mood.

“Alright, let’s get back to the real issue at hand,” Seokjin turned towards Hoseok, clapping his shoulder to redirect the table’s focus. “The singles club lost a soldier!”

The entire group started laughing, except two. Taehyung moved his tongue against his cheek inside his mouth, staring at the glass. Beside him, Jeongguk stared at the table.

Under it, their knees were touching. Neither of them moved away.

***

The rest of dinner was a lot more pleasant. Toasts were given and meals were shared. Taehyung stayed relatively quiet and Jeongguk clocked him immediately. He wasn’t going to push. Not with an audience. But he wasn’t letting it go either. He’d wait until they got back to the house.

Jeongguk gave Taehyung thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of alone time to get some more of his work done. He knew if he waited any longer than that, nothing would happen.

Without any hesitation, Jeongguk grabbed the pastry he had made during the day and headed for Taehyung’s room. When he got there, the door was slightly ajar. From inside came the low murmur of Taehyung’s voice still on the phone. Jeongguk knocked twice. A low “yes” came from the other side and he pushed the door open just enough to show his face.

Jeongguk revealed the plate that he’d hidden behind himself, silently asking if Taehyung wanted any. Taehyung’s eyes lit up, his mouth dropping as he motioned for Jeongguk to come further.

Taehyung’s room was dim, lit only by the glow of his laptop screen and the warm light coming from the lamp on his nightstand. The balcony door was slightly open, letting in the last of the warm night air. Taehyung leaned against the headboard, glasses on and had changed to a sleeveless shirt and a pair of sweatpants. The man who was already a knockout looked even better.

Jeongguk could usually keep his cool around men he fancied. With Taehyung it was different. He was hard to read and could be a pain in the ass, but Jeongguk had never met anyone who made him want to work this hard for something.

Within the last few days, Taehyung had been better at accepting his help. But after the night they shared, Jeongguk was worried that he was retreating back to his old ways. He had tried talking to Taehyung all day. In the morning he asked if Taehyung wanted to go into town with him and Hoseok. He couldn’t. Later, he came to his room again to see if he had eaten lunch yet. He hadn’t. He tried talking to him briefly on the way to the restaurant but the other guys kept interrupting. This was going to be his first real chance to talk things out with Taehyung.

Taehyung was already an intimidating man. He didn’t like being vulnerable. But the intimate night they shared needed to be discussed. Jeongguk needed to know that Taehyung felt the same way he did. The chemistry and ease of their relationship was intoxicating. After last night, he couldn’t get enough of him. He needed Taehyung to know that he didn’t need to hide or worry or run. He wasn’t going anywhere. He wasn’t going to betray him like the others.

Taehyung hung up the phone as soon as Jeongguk sat down on the end of the bed, still holding the plate.

“Motherfuckers can’t do anything without me,” Taehyung mumbled.

He quickly typed an email before transferring over a group of files.

“You okay there?” Jeongguk asked with a look of concern.

“I’ve got a massive stress headache, I missed out on basically everything fun you guys did today, and I just sat through a dinner where I found out my closest friends think I’m a major asshole.” Taehyung admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses.

“You’re not an asshole.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Out of everyone here, you know that I am. You’ve dealt with it first hand for months.”

“You just needed some time to warm up to me.” Jeongguk teased, picking up the phone and moving it away from him.

“They can still call, you know.”

“And you can ignore them.” Jeongguk smiled. “You need a break, Taehyung.”

“Jeongguk, you don’t…” Taehyung started, shifting uncomfortably against the headboard.

“No, I do get it, Taehyung. I get exactly what you are doing.” Jeongguk said flatly, his playful tone vanishing.

Taehyung ignored his comment. He knew what he meant. Jeongguk wanted to talk and he wasn’t interested. He didn’t have time to talk about his feelings with him. There was too much to be done.

“What’s everyone doing?”

“Namjoon hyung and Seokjin hyung are making out in the pool. Uh Hoseok hyung just got a call from his man,” Jeongguk said, pushing his hair backwards. “And I’m pretty sure Yoongi hyung and Jimin hyung went upstairs to fuck.”

“What’d they say?”

“They forgot to pack.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. “Who said it?” he asked, a tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Jimin hyung.”

“Yeah they’re fucking.”

Jeongguk laughed.

“What about you? Hm?” Taehyung asked, looking back at him. “Out of all the people in this house, you want to sit here and bug me?”

“Excuse me for not being too interested in third wheeling or voyeurism.” Jeongguk crossed his arms. “Besides, you’re the only one I haven’t seen all day.”

“Maybe there was a reason for that.”

Jeongguk looked at him for a moment. Something shifted in his expression.

“What the fuck did I do wrong, Taehyung?”

Taehyung pinched the bridge of his nose as the pounding in his head grew worse. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before turning to face him.

“Jeongguk, I know you really want to have a conversation about last night and us and you leaving and all that but I honestly can’t do that right now,” Taehyung explained. “Can we please just do this later?” His voice dropped. Not soft, just emptied out, exhausted. The defiance had drained out of it.

“Fine,” Jeongguk replied. “But you get two more emails then you’re done for the night.”

Taehyung looked at him in disbelief. “What?”

”You aren’t spending your last night in Hawaii on this computer. You already worked all day. You get to send two more emails and then you are going to turn off the work switch and enjoy dessert with me,” Jeongguk stated, voice firm, leaving no room for negotiation. ”You can do the rest when you get back.”

Taehyung thought about arguing with him. But the serious look on his face made him think otherwise.

“Fine,” Taehyung sighed. “But if you are gonna be in here, you’re gonna have to share that.” he said, eyeing the plate Jeongguk was still holding.

Jeongguk narrowed his eyes at Taehyung. “Bossy, aren’t you?” A playful smirk finally broke through his serious facade as he moved closer.

“Says the one who grabbed my phone and limited my emails for the night.” Taehyung glared back, trying to keep from smiling.

Jeongguk set the plate down between them on the duvet. “Dubai chewy cookies,” he said.

“Don’t tell me you made two hundred again,” Taehyung joked, picking one up and inspecting it.

“Ha ha. You’re so funny, Taehyung,” Jeongguk said, pulling the plate closer to himself, and catching Taehyung’s wrist in one move, reclaiming the cookie before Taehyung could react. “Give it back. You don’t deserve it.”

Taehyung laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the quiet room. “No, I’m kidding! I wanna try it.”

Jeongguk held the cookie up close to Taehyung’s mouth and without saying anything, Taehyung took a slow bite from his hands. Jeongguk slowly cleaned the tip of his fingers, sucking them while holding Taehyung’s stare. He waited, watching the way Taehyung’s throat moved as he swallowed.

“It’s delicious, Jeongguk-ah.” Taehyung said, already grabbing another, trying to break the tension. “How did you learn to make this?”

“I don’t spend all of my free time on YouTube, you know,” Jeongguk mocked him.

Taehyung’s mouth dropped as he feigned offence. “I was watching saxophone lessons, I told you.”

“You should watch culinary lessons instead.” Jeongguk teased, reaching out to brush a stray bit of chocolate from the corner of Taehyung’s lip.

“If that was supposed to tease me because I can’t cook, I’m way past that, so give up.” Taehyung replied as he finished eating, snapping his teeth playfully at Jeongguk’s fingers in an attempt to catch them with a bite.

They finished the cookies without much ceremony. At some point Jeongguk stretched out on the bed beside him and Taehyung didn’t tell him to move. His face was resting on the pillow, looking up at Taaehyung, who remained leaned against the headboard. The room was quiet except for the sound of the sea coming through the windows and Taehyung’s voice, low and unhurried, telling a story about a very gullible teenage Jimin with a smile on his face.

Jeongguk listened. He didn’t say much. He waited for a pause in the story to say something, but suddenly the lightness of Taehyung’s voice vanished.

“How long are you going to be gone?” Taehyung asked, his eyes searching for Jeongguk’s.

Jeongguk cleared his throat, “I’ll be back by December.”

“You mean to tell me there’ll be no tteokbokki drops at eleven at night, no arguments about shows I haven’t watched, and no one to make bets about our friends with for four months?”

“I’m sure I can still argue with you anywhere,” Jeongguk smiled softly.

“Fuck,” Taehyung sighed, dropping his head back against the headboard and closing his eyes

“Seriously, Taehyung. You know my phone is going to be always on and we can FaceTime whenever and I’ve got that Tokyo date,” Jeongguk blurted out. “So, really, it won’t be that bad.”

“Tokyo isn’t confirmed yet for me,” Taehyung said, his voice turning flat and distant.

“Well, that’s fine. We can make it work.” Jeongguk grabbed Taehyung’s hand. “Just trust-”

There was that word again: trust. Taehyung couldn’t do it. Just the sound of it forced him to start to look away. He cleared his throat before trying to change the subject.

A frustrated groan escaped Jeongguk’s lips as he answered Taehyung’s bullshit question about their flight tomorrow. His lack of faith in him was disheartening. Jeongguk knew that in order for them to work he had to get Taehyung to trust him.

One way to do that was to show him that he trusted him back.

An idea popped into Jeongguk’s head. He hopped off the bed and headed into his room. He grabbed his phone and his Airpods. He crawled back into bed with Taehyung and scrolled through the files on his phone.

“Can I show you something?” Jeongguk asked as he got back, sitting on the mattress in front of Taehyung.

“If you are talking about your penis, I’ve already-” Taehyung teased, his voice trailing off into a low chuckle, but Jeongguk cut him off.

“Seriously, why are you like this? You’re a pain in the ass.” Jeongguk rolled his eyes. A small, involuntary tug at the corner of his mouth betrayed his amusement. “Put the earbuds in, please.”

“I wouldn’t take you as the nude type of guy anyway,” Taehyung smirked as he took the earbud from Jeongguk’s hand.

Jeongguk took a deep breath. “So, like you’ve heard Still With You, right?”

“Thanks to Jimin a bit more than necessary.” Taehyung joked.

“God, you’re insufferable.” Jeongguk sighed, smiling as he scrolled through his phone. “I have a few others I’ve wanted to show you for a while.”

“Why would you want to show me?”

“Because I value your opinion.” Jeongguk said, watching a smile spread across Taehyung’s face. “You’re the only person who will tell me if it’s complete shit. So, if you don’t mind…” he handed Taehyung the other bud to put in.

“Okay go ahead,” Taehyung murmured, indicating Jeongguk’s phone with his head, allowing him to press play.

The next fifteen minutes felt like fifteen hours. Jeongguk’s heart was in his throat the entire time. He watched Taehyung listen to the three most important songs on his album. They were the three songs that were the most personal, the ones he put his blood, sweat, and tears into.

When the last song finished, Taehyung took the earbuds out of his ears and took a moment to gather his thoughts. Jeongguk had performed in front of sold-out crowds. He had never once felt as exposed as he did right now, watching Taehyung listen.

“You show the others?” Taehyung asked softly. “Like Jimin, I mean.”

“Nope. The only people who have heard it are the ones at the label, my parents, Yoongi, of course, and uh…you.”

“You really wrote them?” The teasing light in Taehyung’s eyes was replaced by a newfound depth of respect.

“Music and lyrics.” Jeongguk nodded.

“The last one is about that time we all met up in Jeju during the holidays. Isn’t it?” Taehyung asked with a smile. A soft, knowing look softening his features as the memory played back in his mind.

“Yeah. How did you know?

“Second verse.” Taehyung smiled, and looked at Jeongguk straight in the eye. ”I’m impressed, Jeon.”

“Really?”

Taehyung nodded. “And I’m honored that you trusted me enough to show me.”

“Tae-” Jeongguk started but Taehyung interrupted him.

“I know what you want me to do,” he said, holding Jeongguk’s gaze. “And I’m not saying no. I just… not tonight. When we get back, we can talk. Properly.”

“Properly,” Jeongguk repeated firmly.

“It’s not like I can get around it. You know where I live and don’t care about boundaries,” Taehyung teased. A playful glint returning to his eyes.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes, glancing at the time on his phone. “I’m going to my room. You’re being a comedian tonight, aren’t you?”

Taehyung pretended to pout, but his gaze was far from innocent.

Jeongguk laughed. “No seriously, we’ve got an early start tomorrow,” he looked around the room. “Did you finish packing?” he asked, as if the answer wasn’t obvious.

Taehyung’s things were still scattered everywhere. Shirts still on hangers and thrown over the back of the chair, his toiletry bag open and overflowing, and his shoes were nowhere near his open suitcase.

“I still have 11 hours before our check-in,” Taehyung smiled.

“You’re unbelievable,” Jeongguk laughed again, shaking his head. He slid off the bed and slipped the AirPods into his front pocket and walked around the bed to stand in front of Taehyung for a second, looking at him. Glasses slightly crooked. Hair a mess. Eyes already heavy.

Taehyung raised an eyebrow, lifting his chin just enough to look at Jeongguk with a challenge.

“Says the one who only has to zip his bag because it’s been sitting open on the floor for two weeks.”

“I’m practical, Taehyung.”

Jeongguk picked up the empty plate from the nightstand. “Get some sleep. You had a long day.”

Instead of answering, Taehyung grabbed Jeongguk by his wrist. ”Thanks for the cookies,” Taehyung said quietly. His fingers tightened slightly, ”and the other thing.”

Jeongguk nodded once, he knew what Taehyung meant. He brushed a thumb over his cheek, then he finally turned around.

”Goodnight, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk pulled the door almost shut behind him. Not completely. Just like he’d found it.

***

Taehyung’s first day back at work had been a disaster. His alarm hadn’t gone off. His bosses blamed their shortcomings on the entire department. His stress levels had reached new heights as even more cases were left on his desk to be completed. To top things off, his internal clock was stuck on Hawaii time, and the face of a certain man refused to leave his mind.

He shouldn’t have answered that phone call the day before they left. He should have enjoyed his last full day in Honolulu. He should have kept that work switch off but he couldn’t help it. He thought he needed it. He thought he could use it to escape reality.
He thought he could escape him.

His big doe eyes and signature giggles were engraved in his brain. The tips of his fingers left track marks along his skin. The beat of the songs Jeongguk entrusted him with was stuck in his head, and the taste of his kisses wouldn’t fade. He was everywhere and no amount of work could cover him up.

It was Thursday when he stepped foot in his flat. The silence hit him first, the way it always did now. No ocean, no group chat noises, no Jeongguk moving around in the next room. Taehyung was overwhelmed and frustrated. He planned on spending the rest of his night in bed. He changed into an oversized white shirt and barely pulled on a pair of red sweatpants when his doorbell rang.

Taehyung wasn’t expecting anyone. All his friends were trying to readjust to their everyday routines. They hadn’t planned on seeing each other for a few days. He splashed cold water on his face, trying to pull himself from the funk that was starting to roll in. The doorbell rang once more.

He groaned as he put his glasses on and padded to the door. After spending hours at the office, he was not in the mood for people. Thinking it might be that neighbor from the first floor asking for legal advice again, he planned on looking through the intercom camera and ignoring her. He really wasn’t interested in entertaining anyone and talking. But then he saw who it was.

When Taehyung opened the door, Jeongguk studied his face, his eyes tracing the faint dark circles under Taehyung’s eyes. Taehyung looked exhausted. The particular kind that had nothing to do with sleep and everything to do with a brain that wouldn’t shut off.

“You alright?” Jeongguk asked.

“Yeah, good,” Taehyung faked a smile. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he kept his hand on the doorknob.

“Figured you wouldn’t be in the mood to cook so I picked up food.” Jeongguk said, holding up the takeout bag he was carrying.

“Um Jeongguk, I-” Taehyung tried to say but Jeongguk had already slid past him, kicking off his shoes and making his way to the kitchen.

“I’m sure you’ve got a billion things you need to get done, so I won’t stay long. I just wanted to make sure you ate something today,” Jeongguk admitted, pulling up a seat.

Taehyung felt his cheeks grow warm. Sweet Jeongguk. There wasn’t anyone who cared more than him.

Jeongguk set the bags of food on the kitchen counter.

“I got rosé tteokbokki from that place you like. And beer. You never have any beer.” Jeongguk set the bag down and started unpacking without being asked.

Containers lined up on the counter, chopsticks pulled out, beer set to the side. Like he belonged there.

“Well, sorry some of us have been buried under a caseload since we landed,” Taehyung said flatly, not looking up, opening his food.

Something was wrong. Jeongguk knew it. He could see it in the set of Taehyung’s jaws, in the way he wasn’t quite looking at him. If Jeongguk could find out what was bothering him first, then maybe he’d open up enough for him to get the answers he wanted.

“What’s wrong?” Jeongguk paused, his hands over the containers.

“Work was shit this week,” Taehyung said defeatedly.

“What happened? Haejoon being a cunt again?” Jeongguk asked, genuinely concerned about Taehyung.

“When isn’t he one?” Taehyung let out a short, dry laugh before clearing his throat. He didn’t want to let Jeongguk in. He fed on the isolation. “But it’s nothing major. Just tired.”

Jeongguk didn’t buy it, so he shook his head. He knew exactly what Taehyung was doing. He was working fiercely to get that wall back into place. It started the day he chose work over spending their last day in Hawaii together. It continued later when he ignored him for lunch. And it was slipping into overdrive as he sat beside him with a half-eaten container of rosé tteokbokki in front of him.

He cleared his throat and decided to continue with what he had come to do. But Taehyung cut him off.

“Why are you even still here?” Taehyung asked, his mouth full. It came out ruder than he intended. He knew it. He continued anyway, “Shouldn’t you be packing or some shit like that?” he wiped his mouth with a napkin and finally glared at Jeongguk.

“You promised we’d get to talk when we got home,” Jeongguk recalled.

Taehyung looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language.

“Pretty sure we’re home now so l think it’s time to talk,” Jeongguk said firmly.

“Well, about that, I changed my mind.”

“Fuck, Taehyung,” Jeongguk said, very still. “That’s not fucking fair and you know it.”

“How is it not fair? I don’t want to talk about it, Jeongguk,” Taehyung shrugged as he looked at Jeongguk, his voice flat.

“You’re not getting out of it that easily, Taehyung. We’re having this conversation. We need to have this conversation,” Jeongguk urged, “We can’t keep putting it off.”

“Well I don’t want to,” Taehyung looked away, his jaw tight.

“There are a lot of things that I don’t want to do, but that’s part of being an adult.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Taehyung snapped, insulted. He whipped his head back toward Jeongguk, eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

“It means you need to act like a fucking adult and have this conversation with me,” Jeongguk said, leaning towards him. “I care about you and I want to know if you care about me. I want to know if what happened in Hawaii meant something and is going to continue because I want it to.”

Taehyung tried to look away, but Jeongguk held his gaze.

“I also want to know why the hell you are trying to shut me out again. Every time things get real, you hide behind that caseload. You did it in Honolulu and you’re doing it now.”

“Because you’re a pain in the arse,” Taehyung mumbled. He slammed his chopsticks onto the table with a sharp clack before pushing his chair back and standing up.

Jeongguk spat back, ”Like you should be talking.”

“Why are you being like this?” Taehyung asked, more to buy time than anything else.

“Because you are not the only one with feelings here, Taehyung,” Jeongguk replied, standing up to face him, “You are not the only one who is going to be affected by this.”

Jeongguk had a point. Taehyung hadn’t realized that Jeongguk deserved a say in the matter. Taehyung had two options. He could tell the truth and let him know how he really felt or he could lie. If he lied, he knew it would hurt Jeongguk but he’d be able to protect himself. From what, he didn’t know anymore. But Taehyung was in fight mode so he chose the latter.

“I thought this was just a Hawaii thing.” Taehyung said, turning to the balcony door. He wasn’t brave enough to look at Jeongguk right now.

“Really.” Jeongguk said. Not a question. Flat. Like he was giving Taehyung one last chance to take it back.

The tone of his voice cut him deep. Taehyung knew it was going to be downhill from here. He turned around again, finding a stoic man staring back at him.

“Yeah, I mean, half of the time we hooked up we were shitfaced.” Taehyung said knowing exactly which buttons to push, having done it so many times.

Jeongguk moved closer. “No, we weren’t-”

“If I’m being honest, I should have picked up a hotel room then we both wouldn’t have had to deal with any of this mess.” Taehyung interjected and let out a short breath before turning around to face Jeongguk.

Taehyung’s words were a slap in the face. Jeongguk couldn’t believe what Taehyung was saying.

“You mean that?” Jeongguk asked, offended by his so-called honesty.

Taehyung nodded. “Yeah, it was physical,” he said, meeting Jeongguk’s stare without a hint of warmth, his eyes as cold as the lie he was telling. Taehyung had reached the point of no return. “You were convenient.”

“Convenient.” Jeongguk repeated before poking the inside of cheeks with his tongue.

“Yeah I was on vacation, up for a good time, you were there, I wanted it, and you did too. Now we’re back, so end of history.”

Jeongguk pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply.

“It’s always a fucking game with you, isn’t it? I’m sick of it, Taehyung. Why can’t you just be honest with me?”

“Why does it matter if I’m honest or not? You’re leaving soon. There is no point in talking about any of this!” Taehyung snapped, now raising his voice.

“Yes there is.” Jeongguk took a step toward Taehyung, his breath heavy. “There’s a big fucking point.”

“Why? We both know you are going to find someone else while you’re gone. I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone who…” Taehyung trailed off, knowing the end of that thought would hurt Jeongguk more than he intended.

Jeongguk crossed his arms over his chest and looked Taehyung in the eye. “Go ahead and finish that.” He challenged him with a hard stare.

Taehyung sighed, weighing his words. He looked at Jeongguk. Really looked. He wished his eyes could say ’you don’t want to hear it.’

“No, Taehyung, just fucking say it.” Jeongguk dared. “Tell me how you really feel.”

“I’m not going to sit around like some fucking idiot and watch you hook up with random men in whatever city you’re in!” Taehyung blurted it out. He stepped closer, invading Jeongguk’s space. “I’ve already played that part once and I’m done with it.”

Jeongguk went quiet, his jaw was clenched. He nodded slowly, taking a deep breath, as if Taehyung’s words had killed the fight from within him.

Then he took a step back, “Right. I forgot,” he said, sounding suddenly detached, “I’m Dongsik.”

Taehyung watched him, frozen. He hadn’t expected that kind of response. He had expected Jeongguk to fight back like he had been doing all night. He expected Jeongguk to call him out, to tell him what a fucking idiot he was being. He wanted him to yell, to prove him wrong, to shove the truth down his throat. But Jeongguk did none of that.

Instead, Jeongguk turned around, snatched his phone and keys off the table, and walked to the door. He shoved his shoes on without a word. The look in his eyes was enough to make Taehyung’s stomach flip. It was the look of someone who was officially done. The weight of what he had just done began to settle in, heavy and bitter.

“Taehyung, I’m really not who you think I am,” Jeongguk said, holding the door open, “But I believe you already know that.”

He was gone before Taehyung could even find his breath.

The door was shut. Jeongguk didn’t slam it. Taehyung looked around his flat, the food still on the counter. Two containers. He’d only eaten half of one and he felt like he’d be sick if he tried to touch the rest.

The past twenty minutes replayed in his head like a bad car wreck. Did that really happen? Did Jeongguk really just walk out?

He fucked up. He knew it the moment the words left his mouth. Hell, he’d known it before that. Jeongguk hadn’t done anything wrong, he’d shown up with honesty and Taehyung had taken it and used it as a weapon.

That was the thing about being good at arguing. Sometimes you won and it made everything worse.

But Taehyung couldn’t just have a normal fallout. All he knew how to do was dismantle someone until there was nothing left. He set out to break him, and that was exactly what he did.

***

It had been nine days.

Nine days of unread text messages and ignored phone calls. Nine days of splitting headaches and relentless stress because of what he did.

Or what he didn’t do.

He let his fear of commitment overshadow his feelings for Jeongguk, and he was starting to regret it. If he could’ve just told him how he felt, he’d have his friend back. But Taehyung realized he didn’t want Jeongguk only as a friend.

Jeongguk was ignoring him and it hurt.

A naive part of him thought he’d be over it in a day or two. Most of their fights ended that way. He’d say something mean, Jeongguk would give him shit, and things would blow over.

But this time, things were different.

The pained look in Jeongguk’s eyes before he walked out burned in his memory. He deserved all the hurt and pain. He fucked up, and he knew there was only one way to fix it.

Taehyung had only trusted three people with the intimate details of his life. That small list included his best friend, his best friend’s boyfriend, and Dongsik. He told him everything. From his lifelong dreams of being a lawyer to the weird sex dream he had about Yoongi’s older brother when he was fourteen, Dongsik knew everything. He knew his favorite color, the music he liked, and his belief in ghosts. He knew how long it took for him to get ready in the morning. He knew how to push his buttons. He knew what it took to get him to forgive someone. He even knew how to get away with cheating on him for years. He knew the worst thing Taehyung ever did was give him his trust.

The day that Taehyung left Dongsik was the day his list dwindled down to one again.

The only person he could trust was his best friend, and even that was a struggle.
During their last meal in Hawaii, Namjoon pointed out the flaws caused by the mistakes Taehyung made with Dongsik. He wasn’t the cold-hearted asshole most people thought he was. He was actually caring and compassionate and one hell of a friend. But only a few people saw that side of him again because he was afraid of reliving his past.

Too many years with the wrong person forced Taehyung to become overprotective.

That’s why this situation with Jeongguk was eating him alive. Taehyung knew what he needed to do but something inside him kept getting in the way. That something was himself.

Jeongguk spent their entire friendship doing his best to build him up. He spent so much time disarming the traps Taehyung set to keep men like Dongsik away. Jeongguk cut through the locks he had put in place to protect his heart.

After some much-needed thinking, Taehyung knew what he had to do. It was a Saturday which meant he could leave as soon as he finished everything. He didn’t even need to stop at the office today, but that was his way of keeping his mind busy. He had one more case to prepare and he would be done soon.

On his way home, he called Jeongguk. No answer. It was officially Day Nine of the ‘Great Jeongguk Freeze Out’. It was enough. He quickly changed out of his work clothes into something more comfortable before getting back in the car. He headed to the one place he should have visited days sooner.

Taehyung rarely lost his composure, but right now, his stomach twisted in a way that made him feel physically ill. Still, he punched in the gate code. As the gate slid open, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Jeongguk’s drive way was empty. That meant one thing: he was gone.

He quickly scrolled through the group chat to see if Jeongguk had sent something he might have missed while at work. There was nothing.
Jeongguk wasn’t home. He wasn’t answering his phone and he didn’t leave any message.

Taehyung realized maybe he didn’t think this throughout. What if Jeongguk left for tour early? He had nothing holding him back, thanks to Taehyung’s tantrum the other day. Taehyung knew Jeongguk said he was going to be home for a few days before the tour started. If he had already left, Taehyung’s plan was ruined.

In a last ditch effort, he quickly dialed the number of someone he thought could help.

“Hit it, Taehyungie!” Yoongi’s voice echoed.

“Yoongi hyung,” Taehyung said, his tone flat. “I need your help.”

”Um… you sure you called the right person?”

Everyone knew that Taehyung always called Jimin for help.

Taehyung rubbed his temples, letting out a deep breath. “Just don’t ask any questions, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do you know where Jeongguk is?” Taehyung asked, slightly annoyed with his rational thinking.

“Why?” Yoongi asked harmlessly. “Fuck, no questions. I forgot. Um he is in Goyang.”

“What, why?”

“Getting ready for tour. The label is letting him use this nice ass house to like rehearse and build morale with the band,” Yoongi explained. “Did he not tell you that?”

“He’s… he’s ignoring me at the moment.” Taehyung shifted in his seat, embarrassed.

“Trouble in paradise?” Yoongi asked softly.

“I guess you could say that.” Taehyung sighed.

“You two will sort it out.”

“It’s kinda hard to when he hasn’t spoken to me all week,” Taehyung forced a dry breathless laugh. “But uh anyway, thanks, hyung. Can you… can you not tell Jimin I called? He’ll be pissed I went to you first.”

“Scared of lecture?”

“You won’t make me analyze everything like your better half does.”

It wasn’t that Taehyung and Jimin weren’t speaking. But after their little argument by the pool, Jimin went quiet on the subject entirely. And that silence echoed louder than anything his friend could say out loud.

The two fell quiet for a few minutes. Taehyung stared through the windshield, trying to think of a new plan but everything seemed impossible.

“I can call Jeongguk if you want. See if I can get him to at least text you.” Yoongi broke the silence, his voice gentle.

“It’s okay, hyung. Not sure what good it will do.”

“You know, Taehyungie, if you want to talk about whatever’s troublin’ you,” Yoongi trailed off, “I mean, obviously you don’t. If you did, you would’ve called Jimin,” a dry chuckle followed, before he cleared his throat to continue. “But if you need someone to listen, I’m here.”

“Thanks, hyung. I appreciate it.” Taehyung smiled at his concern.

“Actually, what are you doing? Jimin is out with Namjoonie, so I was thinking about ordering some chimaek. You in?”

“I think I’m just going to go home and sleep. Haven’t done much of it lately.”

“Gotta take care of yourself,” Yoongi tutted. “I’ll let you go then. Love you, Tae.”

The line went dead before Taehyung could say it back.

“Fuck!” Taehyung groaned, dropping his phone onto the passenger seat. He punched the wheel. “Just my fucking luck!”

Out of all the days to talk to Jeongguk, he picked today. He could’ve chased after him that night but fear kept him in his place. Regret settled heavily for not taking things more seriously earlier in the week. Nine days. He wasted nine days being stubborn.

When he got back home, he pulled the emergency ramyeon from the cupboard and ate it standing over the sink when it was done. He was too agitated to sit, his apartment feeling too quiet, too large. He tried calling Jeongguk again. Nothing.

He moved to the living room, tossing his phone onto the coffee table, before collapsing himself onto the coach, defeated. He stared at the ceiling, his mind blank. He couldn’t even tell if he slept, but two hours slipped by before his phone vibrated against the wood.

A pin address popped up on the thread, followed by three more messages from Yoongi.

He invited us to come down tomorrow

I figured you’d want a heads up

You can get there by 6

Taehyung tapped the link revealing a house tucked near the mountains. He chewed on his lower lip, weighing his options. He could drive there and show up unannounced at the house of a man who wasn’t too keen on speaking with him at the moment, or he could go home and wait another nine days to see if Jeongguk eventually got tired of ignoring him, which, based on current evidence, didn’t seem likely.

Without a second thought, he grabbed a jumper from his wardrobe, swiped his wallet and keys from the kitchen counter, and headed out the door.

***

Taehyung spent the entire drive trying to find the right words to say. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do. Three weeks ago, he would never drive this far just to talk to someone, especially if that someone was named Jeongguk.

His eyes flickered to the GPS, his mind already calculating the fastest route back to Seoul. Part of him wasn’t ready for what was about to take place. He never did this. Not once in his life. He didn’t chase people. He didn’t show up unannounced. He especially didn’t rehearse apologies like a character in a bad film.

His body moved on autopilot. He turned off the engine when he stopped in front of a wide modern house, surrounded by enough trees to make it feel private. The kind of place that looked like it had been designed to disappear into its surroundings.

Before he could change his mind, he stepped out of his car and walked down the illuminated path. Music drifted from somewhere inside, low and unhurried. Taehyung pressed the bell and waited, his heart thundering against his ribs.

A man in a paddy cap opened the door. Taehyung knew he was a member of the band but couldn’t quite remember his name. He opened his mouth to ask for Jeongguk, but the words died in his throat as a man with dark locks and an indescribable pull, that Taehyung had spent the better part of a year trying to resist, stepped into the doorway.

When their eyes met, Taehyung was done for. Every rehearsed line vanished, leaving his mind terrifying blank. He took a moment to take in Jeongguk’s appearance. He looked rested, wearing a pair of Nike shorts that matched his jacket, his fingers curled tightly around a bottle of beer. The casual, effortless way Jeongguk existed in this space made Taehyung feel like a frantic intruder in his own life.

“Taehyung?” Jeongguk asked, entirely surprised by his presence. “What are you doing here?” He kicked the door shut behind him with his foot and stepped out, isolating them on the porch as he stepped into the cool night air.

“You are not Dongsik.” The words tumbled out of Taehyung’s mouth before he could stop them.

Jeongguk tilted his head to the side not understanding what he meant. He stood quiet as he took in the sincerity of Taehyung’s eyes.

“I-I… fuck!” Taehyung mumbled to himself before letting out a nervous laugh escape him. “Fourty minutes in the car. Perfect speech. And now I don’t think any of it is good enough.”

“You are not at the courthouse, Taehyung.” A small, understanding smile tugged at the corners of Jeongguk’s lips. He extended the bottle of beer, a silent offering of liquid courage. Although Taehyung appreciated the gesture, he declined, shaking his head.

“I know that I am a difficult man to be around. I know I can be stubborn and frustrating and a proper pain in the ass,” Taehyung started again, “But I’m trying, Jeongguk-ah. I’ve never really been good at opening up. When I was with Dongsik, I gave him everything. I gave him absolutely everything and he used it against me,” he sighed as he pulled the end of his jumper sleeves up his elbows. “From that point on, I locked everyone out because it was easier. It was easier to keep things to myself than to let others in. If you let others in, you give them the chance to take everything away.”

“Gets a bit lonely, doesn’t it?” Jeongguk’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Up until recently, I was fine with it,” Taehyung admitted. “But then this fucking guy came in with his big doe eyes and stupid giggles and messed everything up. And I ran out of ways to pretend I didn’t care.”

Jeongguk said nothing, his focus entirely on the beer bottle as he turned it slowly in his hands.

“I tried to fight it, I really did. I thought I put up a good fight but I didn’t take into consideration how valiant his efforts would be. I didn’t take into consideration that he’d be a fighter too,” Taehyung continued as he could feel his eyes welling up. “He was a damn good fighter. He didn’t give up. He didn’t give up until a few days ago when I finally gave him a reason to.”

Taehyung paused, his chest tightening as he forced the next words out. “I don’t blame you for walking away, Jeongguk-ah. I’m surprised you stayed as long as you did. You’re a lot stronger than I am.”

Jeongguk wasn’t going to let Taehyung belittle himself. He attempted to interrupt but Taehyung held up a hand to stop him.

“This past week has been absolute hell but it made me realize one thing.” Taehyung let out a shaky breath. “I spent so much energy building walls that I forgot they were also keeping me trapped. I don’t want to be behind them anymore. Not if you’re on the other side.”

Jeongguk took a step closer as Taehyung looked up, trying to keep a tear from falling.

“And I fucked it up.”

“Taehyung, the things you said...”

A sharp gasp cut through Jeongguk’s words. Taehyung squeezed his eyes shut, making an effort to hold back his tears. When he opened them again, he forced himself to hold Jeongguk’s gaze.

“I need you to know that what I had said that night had no merit. None of it. I’m sorry. I regret everything. Not being able to open up, not chasing after you, not giving us a chance. I was just trying to protect myself and in order to do that I ended up hurting you. But I know that I can’t do that. I can’t keep discrediting your feelings. It’s not fair.” He took a deep breath, “and I lied, Jeongguk. I fucking lied about everything. It wasn’t convenient, it wasn’t a game.”

Taehyung took a step closer to Jeongguk as he searched for his eyes.

“Jeongguk-ah, I like you. A lot. Like a lot a lot,” he admitted, “and I’m scared. I’m scared of what that means. I’m scared of you forgetting me when you’re gone. I’m scared that you’ll realize I’m not worth the trouble.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Jeongguk whispered, shaking his head, “You’re so fucking wrong, Taehyung.”

“How am I wrong?” Taehyung challenged.

Jeongguk placed his bottle of beer in his front pocket and moved in closer. He cupped Taehyung’s cheeks with hands. Staring deep into his eyes, he stroked a thumb across Taehyung’s skin, a rhythmic, grounding motion.

“I don’t care about this picture you have in your head. I care about you.” Jeongguk’s thumbs traced the line of his jaw. “I care about the one standing in front of me right now. That’s the one I want.”

“But-”

“There are no buts about it.” Jeongguk cut him off, “That’s the truth, Taehyung.”

“But you’re leaving, Jeongguk-ah.”

“And then I’m coming back.” Jeongguk dropped his hands down Taehyung’s neck. “That’s something you keep forgetting. I’m coming back.”

“But it’ll be ages before that happens.” Taehyung rolled his eyes, pretending to pout.

“Always with the sass.” Jeongguk let out a soft huff of a laugh. “You drove forty minutes on a Saturday to tell me you like me. I think I can handle a little attitude, you know.”

“Shut up.” Taehyung let out a quiet laugh. “So um, what do we do now?” He had spent the whole drive focused on the confession, but he didn’t account for the aftermath. The quiet moment where the adrenaline dies down and reality sets in.

“Do you want to come in for a drink?” Jeongguk asked softly.

Taehyung took a step back, confused, “What?”

“I’m presuming you had a shitty week at work and then you came all the way here and unloaded a bunch of feelings and shit. So, do you want a drink or not?”

Jeongguk didn’t let go, his hands shifting to cradle Taehyung’s neck, thumb grazing the sensitive skin just below his jaw.

“I mean yeah, that’d be nice.”

Jeogguk leaned in, pressing a quick, lingering kiss to the mole on the tip of Taehyung’s nose, then another on the one beside his eye. ”Okay then, come in.”
Jeongguk turned around and headed for the door leaving a bewildered man to trail behind him.

“That’s it?” Taehyung asked as Jeongguk held the door open ushering him into the warmth of the house.

“Did you expect something else?” Jeongguk glanced back.

“I just thought we’d talk more.” Taehyung stopped inside. He kicked off his sneakers and slid his feet into a pair of oversized guest slippers.

“The night’s still young, love.”

Taehyung rolled his eyes, his focus intensifying on the task as if the pet name didn’t affect him.

“Yeah?” he countered, finally straightening up to face Jeongguk.

Jeongguk held his gaze, a slow smirk spreading across his face as he took a step closer, his voice dropping a little.

“You know, when Yoongi hyung texted me earlier, I thought it was because he genuinely wanted to come here to hang out, but now I think he had a different motive.” He arched an eyebrow, his gaze pinning Taehyung. “You know anything about that?”

Jeongguk dropped his weight against Taehyung, his elbows anchoring him by the shoulders while his fingertips grazed the short hairs at the nape of Taehyung’s neck. Taehyung slid his hands around Jeongguk’s waist, pulling him just closer.

“I just asked him where you were. Then I went to your place and-”

“-you saw that my bike wasn’t there, you were standing there thinking ‘what the fuck’, right?” Jeongguk grinned, “Then you called me about seventy times. And now you’re here.”

“Fuck off,” Taehyung let out a laugh, dropping his head to Jeongguk’s chest and immediately looking up. “You should’ve just answered, it would’ve saved me the drive.”

Jeongguk shook his head, leaning in to press a lingering kiss on Taehyung’s cheek, right above the small mole.

“Don’t even get me started on the messages.”

“Don’t be mean,” Taehyung retorted, his voice getting a little softier. “I was just trying to get you to talk to me.”

”Sucks when the person you want to talk to the most doesn’t answer, doesn’t it?” Jeongguk whispered, his breath warm against Taehyung’s skin.

“I’m sorry, Jeongguk-ah.” Taehyung whispered back. “I really am.” He nuzzled into the crook of Jeongguk’s neck, his hands tightening their hold.

“We’ll get past this.” Jeongguk said, tangling the hair at the back of Taehyung’s head.

“You’re too forgiving.” Taehyung shook his head looking up at him.

“You just admitted that you like me. I’ve been waiting for this day since we met.” Jeongguk grinned. “So excuse me for wanting to take the high road on this one.”

“Honestly, I don’t see why you stuck around so long.” Taehyung mumbled, not pulling away.

“Well, I also like you a lot. I never fought it, Taehyung.”

Taehyung let out a long breath and buried his face deeper into Jeongguk’s neck. “I thought you weren’t going to say it back,” he said, his voice muffled by Jeongguk’s skin, the playful tone barely masking the relief underneath.

He missed Jeongguk. His touches. His scent. Rather putting it into words, Taehyung tried to show him. He buried his face into the crook of Jeongguk’s neck even deeper, inhaling the scent he spent nine days trying to forget. He was probably acting a little pathetic, but he didn’t care.

“Does Jimin hyung know you’re here?” Jeongguk asked, rubbing hands up and down Taehyung’s back.

Taehyung shook his head, still not letting go. “Probably. I can assume Yoongi hyung knows, so...”

“For now let’s just enjoy it, yeah?” Jeongguk softened. “Because the moment Jimin hyung finds out, we’re never going to hear the end of it. And Yoongi hyung is going to act like he planned the whole thing.”

Taehyung nodded, “To be fair, he kind of did. And I already told you Jimin knows we fucked.”

“You’re right,” Jeongguk laughed as he tried to pull away. “I’ll go get you a drink. Make yourself home. They don’t bite.” He nodded toward the living room, where the muffled sounds of the band’s laughter drifted through the hall.

“Wait,”

Taehyung’s hands tightened, his grip firm on Jeongguk’s tiny waist. He slid his palms underneath his clothes, his cold fingertips against Jeongguk’s warm skin.

Taehyung took a moment to look at Jeongguk. His eyes, then at his lips before finally closing the distance between them.

Taehyung kissed Jeongguk gently at first, moving his lips slowly across Jeongguk’s, letting him adjust. Jeongguk pushed into it so Taehyung opened his mouth and let Jeongguk’s tongue meet his. It slid deeper and Taehyung sucked on it desperately, his lips molding around Jeongguk’s until they finally broke apart, both of them breathing a little unevenly.

“I missed you,” Jeongguk whispered, mouth still so so close their lips grazed with every word. He leaned in again, pressing a lingering, soft kiss against Taehyung’s mouth once again

“Yeah?” Taehyung asked, a small smile tugging at his lips. He knew that he should be the one admitting it, instead, he teased. “Then don’t make a habit of storming out of my place.”

Jeongguk pushed him lightly. “Ugh, why are you like this?”

Taehyung didn’t let go. “No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding, baby,” he laughed before he leaned in, brushing his lips against Jeongguk’s jawline before finding his mouth again for a series of light kisses. “What I meant to say is that I want you around. All the time. I’m not letting you go, Jeongguk,” he murmured, resting his forehead against Jeongguk’s.

Taehyung nodded, as if it was a confirmation to himself. He pressed one last kiss to the corner of Jeongguk’s mouth before finally loosening his grip.

In the quiet of the hallway, Taehyung realized he no longer needed the walls he’d built or the jokes he used to guard himself. There was nothing left to prove or explain. They were, at last, the only truth that mattered. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and checked the screen.

“It’s Jiminie, he’s gonna kill me,” Taehyung muttered, though the panic didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Whatever he’s gonna say you probably deserve it,” Jeongguk replied amused.

Taehyung glared at him. “Go on then, go make my drink. I’m gonna need it.”

***

The employees of the law offices of Choi & Associates are given two weeks of paid vacation every year. Last year was spent on the couch with a never-ending supply of takeout and hours of YouTube.

This year was spent falling for Jeongguk.