TAEKOOK / TIGER LILY

17.

For the next week, Taehyung divides his time between various methods of distraction, the main one, of course, being helping to build the gazebo. They use wood that they've chopped themselves and they hack apart pieces of trees, gently carving out it's organs in order to place them back into their own array of palatial configurations. Namjoon is rather haphazard with the hammer, but he's excellent at the mathematical aspects of architecture and it really is quite nice to watch as he skilfully sketches out their path to succeeding.

Seokjin's eye is rather watchful, Taehyung can't help but think, and, from certain angles, he imagines that the man notices his slightly straining sense of propriety.

In truth, Taehyung thinks he's handling things quite well. Though, he supposes it's not the image of the carcass that's been haunting his dreams of late — no, he's seen corpses and destruction of far greater magnitudes — but, it is, in fact, the face of Jeon Jungkook melded with danger that looms over him in the shadows of his mind.

He's scared of nothing and everything, and he finds, in waves, all he can think about is a beautiful summer or a murderous eye. It's quite severe a juxtaposition, and he supposes that's what pains him most.

"You're going out with Bomsori?" Seokjin asks him on the Friday morning of Taehyung's eighth week with them. It's only been eight weeks and he feels it stretch out before him, sticky like spider webs and he thinks he can see the events of his life stuck amongst them, like flies. It's like these eight weeks have been everything.

Pausing his movements, the boy nods, dipping down to grab a bottle of lime-flavoured water. "Yeah." He says, "I think we're just going into town."

"Well, I don't suppose there's much else to do." Jin smiles at him, but his lips look a little too pink in the sun, his skin so warm and cloud-drenched, as something familiar slips across him. "Oh, but don't forget about the barbecue next week. I'm sure the whole town shall be there."

Taehyung nods, small, already knowledgable of the fact everyone comes to any event put on because everyone is bored out of their minds here.

Seokjin smiles at him, then presses his front teeth over his lip. "Have you been sleeping well recently?"

Taehyung knows what he's getting at. "Yes. Very well." He tells him, taking another chug of his drink, and it ends up sticky and sour in his throat. "I'll never get over how peaceful it is out here."

"Really? You really like it?" He asks him, and this time, his tone has switched into something more or less unrecognisable.

"I do." The brunette chuckles at his odd tone.

But, Seokjin looks deadly serious, almost gravely so; but, buzzing beneath that, fizzing like the zing of an alcoholic beverage, all toxic and glorious, lining the undersides of his skin, there's something so very excited. "You've finished school now, yes?"

Taehyung's eyes squint a little in confusion. But, he nods to him, tells him yes.

"I see." Seokjin bites his bottom lip. "What do you plan on doing next year?"

"Oh, I, uh—" Taehyung's eyes widen a little at the change in subject, at the suddenness of the question; a question that scares him much more than it should. "I'm not sure." He tells him.

Later, when he's with Bomsori, she asks him the same thing. She's nineteen, Taehyung finds out, and she's only ever had one boyfriend, but she broke up with him because he talked to her too much in the cinema; she's starting her own clothing business from the basement of her grandma's house, and she and her brother live with the elderly woman; their parents left them in her care and they're heavy drinkers; she wants to go to space, most of all, but currently she likes comics; she doesn't have many friends, but she likes to drink alcohol, and she cries when the sun sets sometimes, but she's never sure why.