Just Breathe | Jikook | Taeyoonseok

XIV - Puppy

💥 WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN TRIGGERING SCENES OR SCENES INAPPROPRIATE FOR INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE AGE OF 18.

In the morning, Taehyung woke up to wet kisses on his face, and they weren't from Jimin. When he opened his eyes, the young man found himself face to face with a small ball of fur, propped up on his chest with its hind legs and licking his face. Despite being all slobbery, he laughed.

Yeontan was the newest addition to the Kim-Park family, a Pomeranian puppy rescued along with his mother in a raid against illegal breeding operations. The little one had patches in his fur, did his business in his own bed, and ate until he vomited, but he was the cutest thing Taehyung had ever seen in his life. Happily, Kim got out of bed and picked up the little one, heading towards the kitchen, but stopped before getting there.

"I need to talk to Taehyung first, mom. He's my roommate; I have to tell him about my plans. I also have to talk to my bosses; I don't know if I can just take a break out of nowhere," a voice came from the kitchen. "Mom, I can't quit my job; it's not that simple. I need this job to pay for college and the other bills," the voice said, taking a deep breath. "I'm not dropping out of college; I don't plan on staying there for long, I just want to know how he's doing," the voice paused, listening to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. "Mom, this is important to me..." It paused, seeming to be interrupted. "Of course, it's not more important than my brother. I'll figure it out. I'll be there tomorrow. Take care."

When the call ended, Kim entered the kitchen, looking for his friend. Jimin was sitting on the couch, with his head down.

"Chimy, what's wrong? Are you going home?" the younger one questioned.

"Tae..." Park spoke, caught off guard by his friend. "It seems like my brother is in the hospital; he had a strong seizure yesterday morning. My mom told me to come back to help take care of him."

"But what about your job? And college?" he asked, while stroking his pet's fur to calm himself.

"I'll see if I can get time off from work, and I'll talk to my professors, explain the situation." the other replied, massaging his temples.

"If you go, they'll just ask for money and throw things at you."

"But I need to go see my brother, see how he's doing."

"Then I'll go with you. I'll be your emotional support." Tae said, with a fake smile on his lips.

"You know very well that's not going to happen. I'll have to stay at my parents' house, and I don't want you there. Going to your house isn't an option either, and we don't have extra money to pay for a hotel." Jimin said, being as rational as possible.

"I don't want you there alone either."

"It's my family, Tae, I have to deal with it."

"Really? Then I think I'll go back home too and try to endure my stepfather's beatings and humiliations."

"That's not what I meant. My parents never hit me, Tae."

"But they did almost as much damage."

"I don't want to argue about this, Tae. It'll only be for a few days; before you know it, I'll be back."

Even though he wasn't completely convinced, Kim decided to put the matter aside. Jimin was already an adult, he knew how to take care of himself, and if Tae realized he wasn't okay, he would catch the first flight to go after his friend.

They both got ready and headed to college. Jimin had a smile on his face, skipping along the sidewalk, but Tae knew the shorter one was only doing it to hide what was really going on in his mind. However, as soon as they passed through the massive gates, Park's expression completely changed.

"Tae!" the younger one shouted, turning to his friend with a look of pure terror. "Tae!" He shouted a second time, getting 100% of his friend's attention. "I kissed Jungkook." he said, pulling his friend close and whispering in his ear.

"I know!" Taehyung whispered back. "As I said before, I was there."

"I'm screwed." Park said, running his hand through his hair. "How am I going to face him?" he said, desperate. "Tae?" he finished, looking at his friend with a tearful face.

"Don't even start, Chim, you're the one who kissed him. I can't do anything." he said, laughing at his friend's face, but his smile disappeared as soon as he spotted Yoongi, just a few meters away. "Hyung, I have a feeling I did something I shouldn't have done."

"Relax, Tae, even if you drank too much, I know you didn't kiss anyone." Jimin said, patting his friend's back.

"It's true, but I still feel like I did... Forget it." "Yoongi-hyung!" Tae shouted, bouncing over to his friend.

Yoongi looked at the two, with a stern expression, but the smile on the younger one's face softened his expression.

The friends greeted each other and then headed to their classes, meeting again at the lunch table. At the table, everyone was already seated except Jimin and Tae, who had just arrived. Jungkook, as soon as he saw the friends approaching the table, lowered his head and hid his face, redder than a pepper. In response, Jimin averted his gaze and looked for a hole to hide in, but in the end, he just grabbed his food and went to the table. The friends talked normally, laughing as they remembered various events from the party, but Jeon and Park avoided, at all costs, making eye contact.

"Jin!" Jimin exclaimed, getting his friend's attention. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course!" Seokjin replied, turning to his friend and offering his full attention.

"Can you record Mr. Choi's classes for me? I won't be able to attend his next class," Jimin said, while eating a piece of his dessert, not noticing the wide-eyed stares watching him devour the mochi.

"Are you traveling?" Namjoon asked, concerned about his friend's absences.

"Yes, I am, but only for about three days. My mom asked me to visit her." he replied, still eating his sweets.

"That's good, you must be really missing your family," Jin commented.

Taehyung laughed sarcastically and stabbed the last piece of meat on his plate.

"Yes, so much that it hurts," he said ironically.

Jimin said nothing, and feeling something was wrong, Namjoon decided to change the subject, bringing up a discussion about the last movie he had watched.

The rest of the day passed by quickly, and soon Jimin and Taehyung were at the bus station saying goodbye. As soon as Jimin's bus departed, Tae regretted letting his friend go. Something inside him said that nothing good would come out of that trip, but trying to ignore the ominous feeling, he went back home and tried to sleep.