Just a Boy in love (Taekook)

chapter 2

Three weeks later Jungkook is standing in his new condo, surrounded by boxes and wondering if he's lost his mind. It's been almost twelve years since he left the sleepy city where he grew up. Both of his parents moved away years ago. He's lost touch with everyone he went to high school with—he doesn't even know who's still in town. He's unemployed for the first time in his life.

But he can do anything he wants. He doesn't have any deadlines, any expectations, anything hanging over his head.

And Taehyung is here.

Jungkook shoves that thought down and concentrates on what he does have. He never did anything in New York but work and go to the gym, so he's got plenty of savings. Everything is shockingly cheap here. He's bought a condo and a car. All of his stuff seems to have made the cross-country move intact.

All good things.

He flops down on his couch and starts looking up old friends. A decent number of them are still in town. Mark and Sameul are still here, married now—Jungkook had been invited to the wedding but hadn't come for what had seemed like good reasons at the time. Namjoon is here, also married to someone named Seokjin who definitely hadn't gone to high school with them, because Jungkook wouldn't have forgotten a face like that.

Taehyung had left, but he's back now.

Jungkook fights the urge to message Taehyung, messaging Mark and Namjoon instead. He regrets losing touch with them more than losing touch with Taehyung. Taehyung had been intentional, an attempt to stop pining over what he couldn't have. Mark and Namjoon had been his best friends, but then Jungkook had moved away for college, and he's never been good at long-distance relationships.

Or any relationships, for that matter, he thinks.

Shut up, brain.

Mark replies almost immediately and demands to know what Jungkook is doing. When Jungkook says he's unpacking, Mark asks for his address and says he'll be over in a half an hour.

Jungkook protests, but Mark leaves him on read.

"kook!!" Mark exclaims when Jungkook opens the door, wrapping him in a rib-shatteringly firm hug. Namjoon is just behind him, grinning madly.

"Oof," Jungkook gasps, pounding Mark's shoulder half in greeting and half in protest.

Namjoon elbows his way past them and into the apartment. "Nice place," he says approvingly. He and Mark are both wearing loose tees and torn jeans and look like they've spent most of the last decade in the gym. They also look happy and relaxed in a way Jungkook isn't used to seeing people.

Jungkook squeezes Mark's shoulders and lets go. "Thanks," he replies. "I didn't actually look at it before I bought it."

"I didn't think we'd ever see you back here, mate." Clearly another decade and change of living in California hasn't gotten all of the Aussie out of him.

"That's, uh, kind of a long story," Jungkook lies. It isn't a long story at all. It's just a weird story.

"Well, we're here to help unpack and catch up," Namjoon says. "Just point us in the right direction."

"You really don't have to," Jungkook objects.

"No, but we want to," Mark replies with a grin. "We're glad you're back! How was New York? I need to hear everything."

Jungkook gives them the sanitized version while they unpack his living room and kitchen. He'd graduated at the top of his class in law school with multiple offers from prestigious law firms, letting him play them against each other for better pay and benefits. He feels like a bit of a dick talking about it, but he's also proud of what he's accomplished.