love me (me) [vkook/taegguk]

[part twelve] chapter forty five - jealous

"I can't believe you're secretly American and never told me," Jeongguk huffs indignantly as they resume their stroll down the dairy aisle at the supermarket.

"What?" Taehyung whips his head in his direction, slightly startled out of mentally checking off the grocery list that Seokjin gave them after reminding the pair to look both ways before crossing the street and making them promise not to talk to strangers–

– a promise that Jeongguk's hyung just broke by asking an employee for help finding something in accented but perfect English (or, at least it sounded perfect to him).

Taehyung quickly realizes what Vantae's best friend is implying and internally curses himself for not thinking before speaking. "Oh, you mean..." He begins shaking his head profusely, and his first instinct is to deny, deny, deny. "Oh, no, I wasn't–" But he can't, because Jeongguk clearly just heard him, and Taehyung doesn't want to gaslight the guy.

He quickly attempts to save himself. "I mean, I– I've been getting a lot of practice in... with, like, basic phrases and stuff since I've been here, I guess, but it's not a big deal." He waves it off, making Jeongguk scoff.

"I beg to disagree. I've never heard you speak with such ease like that," he gushes, awestruck. "You seriously feel that you've gotten better just since you've been here?" His doe eyes are genuinely curious.

And, "Yes," Taehyung answers after a beat too long, and it's not a lie, not really. He has gotten much better at English since he's been here in America. Only, Jeongguk doesn't know how long that's actually been.

"I'm so jealous right now."

"I could teach you some things, if you want," he's fast to offer, although he really shouldn't have since V really should only know about as much English as Jeongguk does. "But for now, we should go before we get in trouble with Jin-hyung, yeah?" He reaches over to flick Jeongguk's chin like his brother would in order to distract him.

And it works, because soon, Jeongguk has forgotten all about the topic and is waxing poetry about beautiful banana milk instead, which Vantae mentioned that he does occasionally, and Taehyung thinks that so far, he's not doing so bad.