Candle Queen | OT7

04| Tears Upon the Canvas

The kitchen felt cavernous, the silence punctuated only by the ticking of the clock on the wall. Jungkook sat perched on the cold countertop like an anxious bird for what felt like an eternity. He finally succumbed to the realization that his intense stare wouldn't magically summon Taehyung home any faster.

Sighing heavily, he decided it was time to take a shower, hoping that the water would wash away not only the physical grime but also the weight of his insecurities. However, as the warm droplets cascaded over him, he couldn't shake off the heaviness in his heart. In his favorite pair of pajamas, he still felt the sting of patheticness, like a wounded bird unable to find solace.

Craving the warmth of a comforting embrace, he reached for the next best thing - a hoodie. But as he rummaged through his own collection, each hoodie seemed lackluster, unable to provide the sense of security he desperately sought. So, he turned to his hyungs, specifically Jimin, whose clothes always seemed to exude comfort and familiarity.

Jimin's wardrobe was an expansive assortment of cozy garments, but it was the fluffy white hoodie adorned with baby bunnies stitched in a golden thread that caught his eye. It held memories of Jimin's playful gestures, insisting that the hoodie looked better on Jungkook than himself. There was a lingering question about where Jimin acquired these oversized pieces that swallowed him whole, but Jungkook had learned not to probe further after a misguided attempt led to Jimin taking offense and puffing out his cheeks like a pufferfish. Ever since then, he felt that it was best to let the topic rest in peace.

Just as he was about to slip into the hoodie, enveloping himself in its comforting embrace, the door burst open, and Jimin stormed in, a disgruntled expression etched across his usually angelic face. The stark contrast between his usual radiance and the stormy aura he exuded now caught Jungkook off guard, causing him to flinch instinctively. Jimin's eyes held a chilling emptiness that pierced through the air, much like Taehyung's indifferent expression from earlier.

"Oh," Jimin's voice dripped with deadened emotion, sending shivers down Jungkook's spine. "You're here."

Jungkook, feeling like a deer caught in headlights, nodded awkwardly, desperately attempting to ease the tension that hung heavy in the room. "Um, yeah. I can leave if you want?"

Jimin rubbed his temples as if trying to alleviate a mounting headache. "No, it's fine," he muttered, though his tone betrayed his inner struggle. "It's fine. I was just...is that my hoodie?"

Jungkook stumbled over his words, his attempts at explanation faltering. "Erm, yes?"

A suffocating silence filled the room, pregnant with unspoken frustration and tension. Jimin's voice emerged, slow and measured, carrying the weight of irrational anger. "Jungkook-ah," and Jungkook flinched again, Jimin never called him by his name, it was always a nickname, "Why do you have my hoodie?"

Jungkook stumbled over his words, desperately seeking an explanation. "I just, um, really like wearing it so, I thought, well, um, that you wouldn't mind?"

Once again, the room fell into a suffocating silence, the weight of Jimin's unspoken frustration threatening to crush Jungkook's already fragile state. And then, with a burst of unrestrained anger, Jimin snatched the hoodie from his grasp, his words cutting through the air like a serrated blade. "It's my fucking hoodie! Just because you're unsatisfied with your own fucking clothes, does not mean you get to steal mine! If you think we're just going to roll over and take it because you're the 'golden maknae' or whatever, then clearly, we've been praising you unnecessarily! Just because we treat you like a baby, does not mean that you are one."

The air grew thick with tension, the room becoming an echo chamber of silence punctuated only by Jimin's labored breaths. Jungkook felt small and defeated, his voice quivered, a whisper barely audible amidst the weight of the moment. "Sorry."