Body And Soul

32. A Stone's Throw Away

While Taehyung and Laylin were downstairs with Jungkook's mother asking if it was okay to stay one more night, Jungkook moved to sneak back out the window he had climbed up through the last night. Once he was safely down on the ground, he climbed into the backseat of the vehicle in the driveway, laying down flat on the backseat. He laid there for a few minutes before Taehyung and Laylin came out. Laylin tucked a picnic basket on the floor of the car by Jungkook's feet before getting into the driver's seat; Taehyung sitting in the passenger seat. Jungkook continued to remain lying down until they had been driving for a few minutes. It was then that he sat up.

"You're still wearing a suit," said Laylin as she cast her gaze back in the rear view mirror at him as he sat up.

"I didn't bring a change of clothes with me," said Jungkook.

Taehyung moved to start untangling the brown sweater from about his head. Laylin felt her cheeks flush as she watched the sweater come off the top of his head. She didn't know why the action made her so hot and bothered, but she refused to look over at Taehyung as he held the sweater out towards Jungkook in the backseat.

"It's suppose to be chilly today so I put a shirt on under the sweater," said Taehyung. "This is the sweater that makes you feel most at home anyway, so you should be wearing it while we're at the lake at least."

Hearing Taehyung say he had another shirt on allowed her the comfort she needed to look back at Taehyung before looking in the backseat through the rear view mirror as Jungkook took the sweatshirt. Jungkook began to strip out of his suit jacket, lying it on the seat beside him before undoing the tie and then the dress shirt. By then Laylin was focusing back on the road since she was the one responsible for driving them to the lake and didn't want to get all hot and bothered for a second time. 

By the time they arrived, the sun had started to break through the clouds a bit. Though it was chilly, it still looked like it'd be a perfect day. The three of them left the car in the parking lot and headed along a secluded path to their own private section of the rocky lake. The place they chose was hemmed in on all sides by trees. It was their own strip of rocky paradise. Taehyung placed the picnic basket down as Laylin spread out the blanket, the three of them sitting down on it after. Laylin sat in the middle with Jungkook on her right and Taehyung on her left. The three of them sat and enjoyed the beauty, but it wouldn't last for more than a few minutes. Taehyung couldn't keep what he learned a secret anymore.

"Jungkook," said Taehyung as he looked over at him, "I know you apologized last night to me, but I feel that now I have to apologize to you."

"About what?" asked Jungkook as he turned to look at Taehyung. He saw Laylin get kind of sheepish at Taehyung's words. Had something happened between them?

Taehyung could see that Jungkook flicked his gaze quickly at Laylin, deciding that he just needed to spit the truth out to ensure that wrong assumptions wouldn't be made.

"I talked with your mom last night."

"And?"

"Well...I asked her why she treated me - well you - so fragilely because she was acting like I was dying when I cut my finger last night, and she told me something you don't know."

"Which is what?" asked Jungkook.

Taehyung took a deep breath before saying, "She told me that she adopted you a little while after her husband's death."

Silence hung in the air, interrupted by the wildlife surrounding them. Jungkook opened his mouth before closing it. Laylin looked over at Jungkook as he seemed to flounder for a response.

"How was I adopted?" asked Jungkook finally. "Did she find me at an orphanage or something?"

Taehyung reached up a hand to scratch at the back of his neck before shaking his head.