Savior | Taekook

15. He is not my brother!

Third person pov :

"Uhm... excuse me." The silver-haired stranger called out awkwardly, struggling with a heavy, unconscious Hoseok on one side and a whining Seokjin on the other.

Feeling the urge to help, Jungkook rushed over. He grabbed Seokjin, who seemed to be a handful, especially with the way he was flailing about. The stranger’s disheveled hair was more than proof for that.

Seokjin had this annoying drunk habit of pinching cheeks and tugging hair whenever he found someone cute. Jungkook mentally noted the urgent need to keep a very drunk Seokjin away from Taehyung, who was the target of countless compliments today saying Taehyung was so cute.

He awkwardly led Seokjin inside, with the silver-haired man following, still hefting Hoseok. Shoving Seokjin onto one of the couches, Jungkook watched as the stranger helped Hoseok settle on the other side.

Glancing at the stranger with furrowed brows, Jungkook tried to grasp the situation, ignoring Seokjin’s incoherent drunken nonsense. The stranger seemed to read his confusion.

"He... uh...he made quite a scene and insisted on coming here to see his loving brother," the man explained with an awkward smile.

"Oh... sorry for the trouble," Jungkook said, feeling embarrassed. "He never drinks this much." It was true; Seokjin usually had his wild moments, but needing adult supervision was a first.

"It’s cool…nevermind. It just happens sometimes, you know, with heartbreak and all. I totally get it. Just... take care of him, okay?" The stranger responded, his dimples showing an unexpectedly cute side, which threw Jungkook off momentarily. Now Jungkook knew why his hyung found this man cute.

He forced a smile back but then froze. “Wait... heartbreak?”

Where in the Shakespeare's love story did it come from?

“Uh, yeah… I mean, not to eavesdrop or anything, but his voice was kinda loud and I was at the table right next to them. I couldn’t help but hear him rambling about his love life to his friend,” the man replied, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Love life?" Jungkook’s eyes widened; this was news. His hyung never mentioned having any kind of love life—not even a fleeting crush.

"You didn’t know?” The man looked a bit surprised, tilting his head slightly.

“Uh…” Jungkook’s confusion deepened as he fractionally shook his head, glancing back at Seokjin. “What did he say?”

The man hesitated, his brows furrowing slightly. “I... I don’t think it’s really my place to tell you if you didn’t know, you know? Maybe you should just ask him. But, uh, he might not tell you. Just, you know… take care of him, he sounded pretty broken.”

What the heck now? Seokjin is his brother. He should know it. But he understood the other's point of view too.

But honestly, Jungkook felt a twinge of betrayal simmering inside. Why were his closest friends keeping secrets? First Jimin, now Seokjin. Jimin had been acting off for days, as if pretending to be normal and now this. Was Hoseok hiding his struggles too?

“Uh, Mr. Jungkook?” The man waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his daze.

“Oh! Sorry. I’ll… talk to him. Thanks for everything... uh, what was your name again?” Jungkook stammered, feeling a bit flustered.