Obsession (vkook)

26

    "Perfect hair, perfect clothes, no tattoos~"

    "No tattoos?"

    "None."

    "But my hair stayed the same?"

    "No, it was short and brown."

Jeongguk laughs, envisioning himself the way Taehyung had. "I was a dweeb, basically."

Taehyung shrugs, biting back a smile. "I thought you were perfect."

    "Sorry to ruin your perfect image."

    "Don't apologize. I like you the way you are."

    "Do you like me?"

It was a loaded question despite its simplicity. Of course there was a general attraction, but the intensity of their love—the love that Jeongguk remembers—was gone. Taehyung couldn't remember loving him—he was practically a stranger.

    "I don't think you're a bad person."

Jeongguk looks amused. "That totally answers my question."

"I'm sorry."

    "Don't be, I'm just kidding."

Taehyung couldn't tell if he was downplaying his response but he didn't push the subject further.

"Are you hungry? I haven't seen you eat anything all day."

    "I'm fine."

    "Well, I'm starving, so you have to eat."

Taehyung smiles softly as Jeongguk stands from the couch to grab his phone from the counter.

    "What do you want?" He asks, looking down at the device.

    "I don't know...whatever you want, I guess."

    "Pizza?"

    "Sure."

Jeongguk walks back over to the couch and plops down with a sigh. He looks up to find Taehyung watching him. "What?"

He shrugs. "Nothing. This is weird."

"Yeah," He chuckles. "I can't believe you're in my apartment."

"I can't believe you're real." They laugh for a moment.

"All jokes aside," Jeongguk starts. "I want you to feel safe here. With me."

"I do," Taehyung says. "Thank you for reaching out again despite what my parents did to you. You didn't deserve any of it."

"It was tough, losing you and everything," He says. "But I came out of it a better person. It made me appreciate freedom that much more."

"It's okay if you blame me."

"I don't. You had no idea what they were planning."

Taehyung nods. "You're a good person."

Jeongguk smiles. "I try to be."

"They're going to come looking for me eventually," Taehyung says. "I don't know how I'm going to face them."

"You don't have to, not until you're ready," He says. "They don't know where I live now."

"They do."

"Do they?"

"I saw a picture of you outside of this complex. It was in the file with everything else."

Jeongguk glances off in thought before speaking again. "It doesn't matter. They can't do anything."

Taehyung knows that's true, but he still worries in the back of his mind. It was like he didn't even know them anymore. He didn't trust them, and it scared him to think they'd go so far to sell a lie.