Hide & Seek ➤ Taekook/Vkook

Chapter 2

𝑩𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏' 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉
𝑩𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕
𝑮𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆
𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏' 𝒖𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔
𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔

*****

Five minutes later, Taehyung was standing outside Jungkook's door with the plate of cake in his hands and far less confidence than he had had downstairs when he had volunteered to 'bell the cat'.

Up here, the idea felt a lot less heroic.

Hah, as if he had ever been heroic!

Well, whatever the idea felt like now, he couldn't back away. He had willingly come here to apologise to Jungkook, and he would do that despite what he felt. This wasn't about him.

So, he rolled his shoulders once, let out a short breath, and then lifted his hand to knock— three careful taps against the wood, knuckles landing softer than intended.

Silence.

He waited, gaze downcast onto the floor as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, wondering if Jungkook had even heard the knock. Just to be sure, he knocked again, a little louder this time, firmer. He tried to listen for movements on the other side, but he heard none of that, just a low—

"One sec."

Taehyung nodded, too deep in thought to even realise that Jungkook could not see him. Nails restlessly pattering on the edge of the plate, he rather let his gaze drift around the familiar hallway in the meantime.

It had changed over the years, but not completely.

The wall was still the warm cookie dough shade, with white and brown vines blooming across in fine-drawn patterns. The old wooden console table was still there against it next to Jungkook's door, with the same ceramic tray for keys and the potpourri bowl, the sweet summer breeze coming from the balcony at the end of the hallway making that faint citrusy aroma pervade the entire passage, as nostalgic as his childhood in this house. But there was now a new bonsai shaped LED lamp next to it, beautifully casting a mellow halo against the wall.

Some of the photos on the opposite wall were new as well, replaced with more recent snapshots of Jungkook's life— from his high school graduation, in a cap and gown, engulfed in his parents' proud embrace, smile brighter than the sunlight kissing his profile; from some hike trip, sitting on a cliff edge with his back to the camera, wind in his hair; one photo of Bangtan Boys performing somewhere, Jungkook front and center, mic in hand, looking confident under stage lights in a way he had never been as a kid.

Fingers pausing, Taehyung stepped closer without thinking, eyes locked above that frame, on a much older photo. Of them — him and Jungkook, on the boy's fifth birthday. The neon pink party hat tilted sideways, elastic digging into his puffy tearstreaked cheeks, eyes scrunched shut and mouth stretched wide open in a full-bodied wail that Taehyung could almost hear in his head. The reason was right there: him leaned forward over the cake, eyes gleaming with mischief as he shamelessly blew out the candles before the birthday boy.

Taehyung let out a quiet chuckle, unable to remember the chaos that must've ensued. He just knew from his face in the photo that he hadn't been embarrassed back then, like he was now, embarrassed on behalf of his menace of a younger self even as his heart filled with warmth. He couldn't stop his hands from reaching up, fingers brushing softly over the glass, over Jungkook's face.