Beautiful Angel | Taekook AU ✔️

Chapter 2

[Unedited]

**

Taehyung shouldn't have done that. 

He was in the wrong for slapping Jimin's thigh like that, and judging by the younger's expression, Jungkook also thought the same.

There was a pause in the conversation, where Taehyung felt the need to quickly withdraw his hand, to hid the evidence of what had gone down between the three of them. And then, Jungkook stepped back, mumbling something about getting a chair for himself. 

Taehyung didn't know he was holding his breath, until Jungkook broke the moment and stepped out of view, and away from the phone screen, where millions of fans were watching them live. 

He released the breath he was holding, turning it into a hasty cough, and getting a questioning look from Jimin.

When the younger came back, dragging the chair behind him, some of the tension inside Taehyung dissipated. 

Jungkook seemed unaffected by what had happened, and for that Taehyung was secretly thankful.

If his slapping Jimin's thigh, had made the younger uncomfortable, Taehyung would have hated himself for it.

His original plan had been to call over Jungkook, and have a chat with the younger and play games with him and their fans. 

Jimin had joined him in between the live, while he waited for Jungkook. 

"You didn't expect me to come, right?" Jimin had asked in way of greeting, and Taehyung had laughed it off.

Yes, he was surprised to see Jimin. 

Taehyung had thought Jimin would be too tired to join him and had called for Jungkook.

When he went live, Jimin had waltzed into the room wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans, and his eye make-up a little smudged, proving Taehyung's assumption was wrong.

"You're like this too huh-" Jimin had said, after sitting down. 

"You know how it is-" Taehyung had said, knowing how both of them got awkward while doing solo lives. 

The younger had entered the room, a good ten minutes into their live. 

Jungkook had stepped in to find the two chairs already occupied and no seat available for him. And the whole thigh-slapping scene had sprung out of a desire to be comical, and mimic Jimin and laugh it off.

But it had ended up going off the chart, and had worried Taehyung.

He glanced to his side, where Jungkook sat beside Jimin, eyes on his wrist, fingers playing with his silver bracelet. 

Was he really alright? Taehyung wondered again.

 Knowing Jungkook, even if he was affected by a situation, he would still keep mum about it. Taehyung hated this habit of the younger, but he also couldn't blame the younger for being this way.

Before, when nobody knew who or what BTS was, there were times when their group struggled to survive, struggled to believe in themselves, and the youngest became the center of hatred.

Taehyung had watched Jungkook grow amidst that hatred, the accusations of plagiarism, the tears of his band members, the blatant abuse of power from award shows, and other horrors, and come out of it, hardened by experience and knowledge that he needed to hide his true heart from everybody.

Of course, it was the same for all seven of them, and each had dealt it in their own way.

But for Jungkook, it was much more.