Noxious || VMINKOOK

24 - Sorting Things Out

Jeongukk was ashamed of himself. He's been feeling that a lot ever since these two people had come back into his life. Jeongukk tugged on his T-shirt he was wearing as it uncomfortably stung on his bruised body.

He felt disgusted by himself. How could he be so easily influenced? The trio was doing so good. How could they allow this to happen? Jeongukk groaned at the drumming of his head as he rubbed his forehead. He trudged over to the coffee machine sipping from the mug willing all his problems away.

Just then, Taehyung exits his bedroom in his hoodie and sweats Jeongukk provided.

"You look like shit." He says very plainly to Jeongukk, tone lacking malice.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Jeongukk says smiling sarcastically as he places his mug back on the counter and walks over to the couch.

"We are gonna have to talk about this, aren't we?" Jeongukk says with a sigh, clasping his tatted fingers together.

"mhm...we will." Taehyung says clearly not excited either as he said on the couch right beside Jeongukk.

"How'd we fuck up so badly kook?" Taehyung says voice a little deeper avoiding eye contact.

"i-i dunno...when i'm around you guys..there is this pull? I feel this urge to not only be around you guys, but almost like i need to protect you." Jeongukk says honestly not holding back.

Before Taehyung could reply to this the door of Jeongukk's bedroom opened to reveal Jimin.

A wave of nostalgia hit Jeongukk and hard. Jimin was in his over sized t-shirt that probably smelled like him along with his joggers, very clearly a few sizes too large as he looked like he was almost drowning in his clothing.

To a few it may be "cute", but not to Jeongukk. It reminded him too much of their past. The way it would be a normal sight for Jeongukk to wake up to his tiny boyfriend looking all tiny in his clothing. It fueled his possession back then.

Jeongukk averted his gaze tearing it away from the smaller 's appearance. He swallowed harshly, but the bitter feeling was washed away when a warm palm was firmly placed on his thigh. He looked up to be met by Taehyung's warm chocolate orbs almost as if it was grounding him back to reality, like he knew what he felt. Taehyung knew him too well. From when he was a tiny immature teenager, to know a grown adult.

With a deep breath Jeongukk cleared his throat as the smaller made his way sitting down on the loveseat beside them.

It was terrible. The way Jimin protectively was hugging his knees up to his chin. Body completely battered and bruised up. In the past Jeongukk and Taehyung probably wouldn't have glanced twice, but now they had a sense of responsibility for all of their states.

Dim lighting cast gentle shadows across the space, seemingly deepening the silence that had enveloped the trio. The sofa, now seemed to underscore a distance between Jungkook and Taehyung, who sat next to each other yet seemed miles apart, their postures reflecting the awkwardness of their current emotional state.

Jimin, positioned on the loveseat beside them, seemed to fold into himself, visibly embodying the separation he felt from his ex's. His usual demeanor that usually defined him was dimmed by a tangible air of remorse and a desire to heal the breach that had unexpectedly emerged.

The world outside the window was a blur of the morning, its sounds a faint echo that underscored the isolation within. The room itself felt laden with the unsaid and the unresolved, a testament to the tension that hung between them.

The one to break the silence was surprisingly Jimin. "Let's sort things out, sitting here and sulking won't do shit."

This snapped Taehyung out of trance as he looked up. "What do we even do, what was done was done and we can't erase it. The real question is where do you guys wanna go from here?"