Doppelgänger✔️

Honesty

The tension in Mae's apartment remained thick even after Jungkook left. Taehyung sat quietly against the kitchen counter with the throw blanket draped over his shoulders as Mae carefully unwrapped the soiled bandages binding his palm. He tilts his head as she slowly peeled back the bandage, wincing and grimacing at the sight of his wound.

"Ouch," he murmurs as Mae spritzes his palm with disinfectant. She glances up at him apologetically.

"Sorry," she mumbles. Taehyung hisses through the sting of the disinfectant, chuckling breathily as it subsided.

"Are you? I think you're getting some type of satisfaction out of all of...ouch...this. "

"What?" Mae crinkles he brow and frowns but keeps her focus on her task. Taehyung winces again as she pressed against his palm once more, almost as if to confirm his statement.

He smiles ironically to mask his grimace and bites his lip.

"I mean...ouch...I wouldn't blame you. Considering...everything."  he stammers out between breaths. Mae lets out a tiny grunt of amusement before securing the fresh bandage.

"No Taehyung. Nothing about tonight gives me any satisfaction whatsoever."

A tiny smirk perks up the corner of Taehyungs mouth as Mae checked over her work on his wound, studying her wary expression.

Another spell of silence stretched between them as she worked on his other raw hand and Mae is wrapping it as Taehyung finally allows the burning question on his mind to escape him.

"So....you and Jungkook..."

Mae only shoots him a tiny glare in response before turning to the first aid kit beside him on the counter to close it, keeping her expression passive despite the question. Taehyung grunts softly as he leaned away from the edge of the counter, testing the comfort of his now freshly bandaged feet as he stood on his own.

Mae lifts the box from the counter and turns to walk away but is stalled by a gentle touch on her elbow.

"Mae..."

"What?" she snaps.

"You're just gonna ignore my question?" Taehyung drops his hand tilts his head, giving her his most persuasive expression. Mae remains unmoved by his enamoring eyes and perfect features and she regards him blankly.

"You didn't ask one to begin with Tae."

Taehyung straightens his neck and presses his lips together in a thin line, squinting his eyes.

"Touché. But seriously...How long has that been going on?" he continues. His eyes followed Mae as she turned away from him to fasten the first aid kit closed and her shoulders sag with her aggravated sigh.

"Why do you care?" she exhales, shaking her head.

"Why wouldn't I?" Taehyung's brow creases with confusion but Mae doesn't spare him a glance as she put the kit in its proper place in the top cabinet.

"Well don't, ok?... I can think of several reasons why it's none of your business," she says as the cabinet slams shut. She then turns to him.

"Plus I think there's something else we should discuss." Mae leans her hip against the edge of the counter and folds her arms over her chest. Taehyung studies her stance with mild amusement in his eyes before copying her body language.

"And what's that?" he asks, folding his arms over his chest. He managed the pose for only a few seconds before his aching mark on his rib cage began to sting on contact. The sharp intake of breath and pained expression forces Mae's glare to soften.