The Psychs

24. Something's wrong

Taehyung didn't know what to do. It had only been two weeks since Jeongguk learnt everything about werewolves, but he could already smell how his scent was gradually maturing. 

He found himself growing more and more desperate as Jeongguk grew nearer to his pre-transformation. 

What if he didn't manage to make Jeongguk fall for him? How would he be able to live his life if Jeongguk still crushed on Dahyun and ended up imprinting on her instead? How would he be able to bear that? 

Such questions kept bombarding him non-stop and the fact that Jeongguk tried to refuse every single outing he came up with wasn't helping him either. 

A long weekend drive? "No, hyung. I have a date with Dahyun."

Have ice cream at the stall outside the campus? "Sorry, hyung. Dahyun's coming over." 

Some wine at the club? "No, hyung, sorry. I am meeting Dahyun in ten minutes."

While Taehyung's world revolved around getting Jeongguk to at least look at him, Jeongguk's world seemed to revolve more around Dahyun. It was as if Jeongguk was doing this on purpose so he could avoid spending time with Taehyung or be around him. 

There were times when he had walked in on them kissing and had left immediately to drown his sorrows in drinks at least, but no matter how much he drank, his poor werewolf self couldn't get drunk. 

"Jeongguk-ah, I'm planning to go home and get some more clothes. You wanna come?" he asked when Jeongguk entered their room later that night. 

"No, hyung. I'm busy. You go" Jeongguk said without even looking at him.

"When?" Taehyung asked as he watched Jeongguk open the mini-refrigerator for some water. 

"Huh?" 

"When are you busy?" Taehyung emphasized. 

Jeongguk froze, realizing that he didn't even bother to ask when Taehyung was going home before rejecting his offer by saying he was busy that day. 

'Shit, how am I gonna manage the situation now? Fucking think before opening your mouth, Jeongguk' he cursed himself. 

"Umm....the whole week....?" he said hesitantly, but he knew he already fucked up. He could feel the tension in the room. The tension of Taehyung realizing that Jeongguk had been avoiding him on purpose the whole time. 

"Is it a crime to like you, Jeongguk?" Taehyung slowly asked. Jeongguk, with his back facing Taehyung, slowly hung his head and stared at the cap of the water bottle in his hands. 

"Was it my mistake to fall for you?" Taehyung emphasized harder. 

"No, hyung" Jeongguk whispered. 

"Then why are you avoiding me like the plague, Gguk?"

"I am no-"

"Don't even think of denying it, Jeongguk. It's clear as a crystal that you are avoiding me" Taehyung said. "Just answer my question. Did I become a criminal by loving you?" 

Jeongguk stayed silent for a while, not knowing how to word his thoughts without hurting his best friend. After a long battle of thoughts, he ended up saying, "Just.....give me some time, hyung. Some time to sort my thoughts out" he mumbled. 

"Uhuh?" Taehyung said from right behind Jeongguk, making him jump a foot into the air and turn around with a startled expression. "What do you have to sort your thoughts out for, Gguk?" he asked. 

"Just....this and that..." Jeongguk mumbled and it was then that Taehyung noticed how distant the look in Jeongguk's eyes was. 

Because of the number of years the two of them had spent together, he knew right away that something was troubling Jeongguk. Something that wasn't himself. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

"Huh?" 

"Something's troubling you, isn't it? What's wrong?" Taehyung repeated. 

"N-Nothing, hyung. Lemme just handle it myself" Jeongguk said and took a step away from Taehyung, but Taehyung pulled him back towards himself by grabbing his wrist and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"Don't make me ask Namjoon hyung, Jeonggukie" he said. 

"Namjoon hyung doesn't know anything. He isn't from Namjoon hyung's year" Jeongguk mumbled. 

"Hmm. So the problem is in your department and the person is a guy. I see" Taehyung said. 

Jeongguk sighed and hung his head low, making his forehead touch Taehyung's chest. "Don't make anything hard for me, hyung. I will deal with it on my own" he said. 

Taehyung led him to his bed and pulled him onto it with his arms still around him. Luckily, this time, Jeongguk didn't protest. He just let him do whatever he wanted to do with him. 

"Just tell me what happened, Gguk" Taehyung said once the two of them settled under the comforter and wrapped their limbs around each other. 

"There's this fourth year senior who keeps asking me out all the time" Jeongguk said after a while. "I told him many times that I am straight and that I already have a girlfriend, but he isn't listening. He even got my phone number somehow and tried to kiss me today."

"When did this start?" Taehyung asked. "About a month or so ago" Jeongguk said and sighed while snuggling deeper into Taehyung's chest. Taehyung tightened his arms around Jeongguk protectively and frowned. 

"Why didn't you tell me abou-" he shut his mouth, realizing exactly why Jeongguk didn't tell him about it. He was just like the senior to Jeongguk. The only difference was that while the senior was a complete stranger to him, Taehyung was at least someone Jeongguk loved a lot as a friend and a brother. 

"You should have told Namjoon hyung about it" he modified his sentence after clearing his throat. 

"He already has a lot in his plate. So do you. Don't worry about it, hyung. I'll handle it on my own" Jeongguk said. 

"Hmm. Let's see. Will you come with me to our house? Please don't make up excuses, Jeongguk. Just say yes or no" Taehyung said. 

"I will come, hyung," Jeongguk sighed, "and I'm sorry for avoiding you all this while. I know loving someone isn't a crime. I just didn't know how to deal with it." 

"Hmm, it's okay. Just go to sleep. We'll leave day after tomorrow in the evening. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, okay" Jeongguk said. Taehyung could hear the slightly sleepy slur in his words. Thus, realizing that he might be tired, he stayed silent, waiting for him to fall asleep. 

Once he was sure Jeongguk was out cold, he reached to the other side of the bed and grabbed Jeongguk's phone and unlocked it with his own fingerprint. 

He opened the texts and tapped on the latest one from a number that Jeongguk didn't even bother to save. With a sigh, he scrolled to the top of the chat. 

Hey, Jeongguk. This is Seo Dae Shin. Your senior. 

That was the first ever message in the chat. 

'Seo Dae Shin, Physics department, fourth year senior. Hmm, I see' Taehyung noted it down mentally and closed the phone and put it back on the stand before slipping into sleep himself.