Fire On Fire [TK]

(21) Never cared

"Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know"

❀

- Jk -

Time passed extraordinarily quickly for him to grasp any viable seconds to feel through his emotions. In July, they had all flown to the States for the shooting of American Hustle Life after they had been tricked into believing they were simply going for the next album shoot. They worked with their mentors during their training program and worked on their album during their free time. It was all quite mushed up with their shoots, their choreographies, their songs, their rap, and their training. Sleep was hard to come by, with the general rule of the house being that if there was a break, it was naptime.

They worked hard enough to be smoking-quite literally-their sweat vaporized from their skin after an intense practice session. But it was America, the land of dreams, and the land of...sugary, creamy donuts, and this part of town Jeongguk was quite familiar with.

The moment he had found out they would be going to LA, he had texted his training mates about his plans. Ben and Max, who were in their junior years now, had since joined a professional dance group. Lucas was at UCLA, and Adam worked in Austin's workshop as a part-time mentor until he went off to college in the fall.

There was a planned break in their schedule for Friday, which Jeongguk had set aside for meeting the four of them at their old bistro. Jimin, Yoongi, and Hoseok were off to explore the city. Namjoon was meeting another producer with Bang PD, and Seokjin was spending the night visiting a nearby cafe. Jeongguk had all but blackmailed Taehyung into accompanying him because why would Taehyung be hanging out with others except for him? He wanted Taehyung to meet his old friends, and he wanted his old friends to meet Taehyung, along with the approval from both sides. Approval for what, he wasn't quite aware of yet.

Jeongguk was on his knees in the apartment foyer, trying to fix his shoelaces, when a pair of black sneakers stepped into his line of sight. Jeongguk's eyes trailed up from the sneakers to the well-fitted black denim, the plain navy blue tee, and the shiny golden-brown hair glinting-no, taunting-from where it sat on Kim Taehyung's head.

"All of my shirts are in the washer." Taehyung mumbled, tucking his hands into his back pockets.

Jeongguk rose to his feet in one swift movement, dusting off his knees. He swallowed, his throat parching up. Without the caked-on makeup which made him two shades lighter and over-the-top dresses they wore to the shoots, Taehyung suddenly looked so... normal.

And beautiful.

The navy complimented his light brown hair, which fell messily over his forehead, still damp from the shower. Jeongguk's heart skipped a series of beats when Taehyung drew in closer, the scent of his perfume invading the maknae's senses.

"You look-" Jeongguk felt his words were inadequate to describe how Taehyung looked at the moment. "You look good." He cleared his throat.

Taehyung grinned. "Kumawo," he tucked his hair behind his ear. "So-where are we going exactly?"

Jeongguk lightly shook his head, coming out of his daze. "It's nearby-it's a restaurant we visited frequently when I came here the last time. It's where Ben and I actually became friends." He turned and ambled towards the exit, Taehyung following him, his sweet perfume trailing behind him.

"Ben? The guy who hated your guts? Taehyung enquired as soon as they entered the lift.

Jeongguk chuckled, pressing the ground floor tab. "Yeah that's the one-though we did become great friends after that-I told you-remember? When we had that dance battle."