Origin

Chapter 4

They chat for a little while longer, Jungkook asking Madge about her husband and son, Madge asking Jungkook what LA is like, and by the time they're wrapping up their conversation, Jungkook has willingly taken three more drinks.

The banners up against the back wall are the same, the barstools still squeak when he spins to the left, and the alcohol certainly isn't helping with the bittersweet nostalgia. He forces himself to pull away from his spot at the counter, promising Madge he'd be back, and saunters off through the thinning crowd to find Tae.

He stops for a picture four times before he makes it to Tae and the rest of the group, wrapping his arms around a girl around his age who bursts into tears the moment she spots him. He can hear Tae laughing throughout the entire ordeal, clearly used to the attention Jungkook receives after going on tour with him for three months, and Jungkook has to politely tell her to let go, otherwise he'll never make it to the other end of the room.

Tae is still chuckling once Jungkook is finally freed, and Jungkook scoffs. "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not," he laughs, taking a sip of his drink. "It's just so funny that people fawn over you."

"Gee, thanks."

"Do they know you can't say the words 'cinnamon' or 'synonym' without sounding like you're choking on your own tongue?"

"Those are hard words to say!" he says defensively.

Tae snorts. "You're just the same ol' boy. Still tell awful jokes and talk super slowly and wear the same suede boots. Except now, you have a record deal, you can't stay in one place for more than a week, you have way less hair, and I can't turn on the radio without hearing your fucking song."

Heat creeps up the back of Jungkook's neck. "Okay, yeah, but I'm still exactly the same. You just said it."

" You might be the same. But a lot has changed."

He furrows his brows together, reaching for a dart. "No, it hasn't."

"For someone living the life, you're kind of in denial, dude."

"No. I'm not."

Tae stares blankly for a second. "Okay, good chat. Can we play darts now?"

Jungkook sighs. "Yeah, whatever, I just don't want you to think anything about me is different. You know me. You've been traveling with me since the summer. You know better than anyone, probably."

"I know. I wasn't, like, trying to insult you... Touchy subject, I guess. Sorry."

"No, it's not that. It's..." He trails off, feeling someone's gaze on him to his right. He's become strangely attuned to people staring at him or trying to sneak photos over the past year, and right now, he feels a set of eyes on him, unwavering and nearly burning. He looks over and freezes.

"It's good to see your attention span hasn't changed, either," Tae  mumbles. "Okay, let's do this. I'm getting bored."

"Tae." Jungkook licks his lips. "I'll be right back."

"What?! No, you're not going anywhere."

Jungkook ignores him, shaking his head, and swallows heavily. The crowd has thinned out significantly, all of the more intense fans already escorted out of the bar, no one in his path to stop him now. He makes his way over to the other side of the room, trying to figure out if his eyes are playing tricks on him. But then he's standing directly in front of Jimin, whose own eyes are wide and unblinking, and he feels hot all over. Suddenly, Jungkook isn't the man with the record deal, the fans, the highrise apartment in LA. He's the 19-year-old college student, palms sweaty.