'Til We Meet Again | Taekook AU

Chapter 14

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He still hasn't stopped crying.

Jungkook sighed and leaned back against the closet doors, listening to the quiet sobs, as they spilled from Taehyung's lips. Each sniffle, each aching cry was amplified in the silence of the apartment, and Jungkook bit down on his lip trying not to groan.

He was this close to kicking the door open and begging Taehyung not to cry. He couldn't bare it any longer – his whispers for Jungkook, his continuous pleading for this Jungkook to not leave him, it stabbed at his heart, again and again.

No matter how much he tried to convince his heart that this Jungkook...this person, wasn't him, but somehow his voice wasn't appealing enough, wasn't strong enough to fight the doubt planted in his head.

"Jungkook..." Taehyung breathed and Jungkook bowed his head at his next words.

"I miss you."

He should have escaped when he had the chance to, and maybe he could have skipped this emotional rollercoaster ride. He should have turned a blind eye at the peculiar case of the rippling room, but he hadn't.

His curiosity hadn't killed him, but it sure did bring immense suffering with it.

Still, the sensitive side of him, the one that always seeks out to put a smile on the faces of people around him, that side had wanted him to stay. Because leaving Taehyung to cry alone in his cold apartment, that didn't feel right. He didn't have a shoulder to cry on, and even if Jungkook was technically invisible to him, at least Taehyung had his indirect company.

Jungkook waited until Taehyung's whispers dissolved into soft breathing.

Once he was sure the guy wouldn't be crying again for next couple of minutes, he pushed himself off the wooden floor of the closet and peeked from between the gap in the door. He couldn't figure out the exact time, but judging by the slight beam of light trickling from the window, it was closer to dawn.

He really should get going, Jungkook thought. The bodyguard must be wondering where he disappeared to, and Jimin, his best friend would be worried sick trying to figure his whereabouts.

Jungkook knew the way Jimin panicked if he thought Jungkook was in trouble.

The one time he had gone clubbing and ended up returning home at four in the morning, Jimin had already called in the authorities and was minutes from announcing a manhunt for him. He still teased Jimin about it, and his friend didn't hide his embarrassment, but he made sure to let Jungkook know that he would do it again in a heartbeat.

"We're family, before we're friends." Jimin had said, the smile turning into something serious. "I can't let anything happen to you."

Jungkook shared the same sentiment, except in his case, Jungkook was the worst when it came to expressing his feelings. So he did the only thing he knew to do, and hugged Jimin tightly, hoping the other got idea of what he meant by that embrace.

Jungkook closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes next, he weighed in his chances.

Escaping was no easy feat, since Taehyung's bed was pushed up against the wall in front of the door. There was little to no space to walk, unless your legs touched the edge of the bed, and that meant waking Taehyung up in the process. Was he willing to do it? Yes, he was. Was he willing to wake up Taehyung in the process?

No – came the swift reply in his head.

After hours of listening Taehyung cry his heart out, Jungkook was filled with relief at the brief break from his heart-wrecking cries for comfort. He wasn't much for physical contact when it came to strangers, but Taehyung was a different case. Even if he had met Taehyung in another scenario, and Taehyung had held the same pain inside him, as he did now, and had he cried the same way as he was doing now, Jungkook believed he would have tried to comfort him...maybe out of pity or maybe out of kindness, he didn't know.