Love Me Again...

Chapter 26: Inner Child

"Oh! Wow!" Mingyu exclaimed, "My cousin is throwing a party tomorrow night. He's invited The 97's to entertain his guests for the evening. You should come, for old time's sake! You all should come!" Tae and Jimin noticed that Jungkook seemed flustered by the invitation. "Thanks for the invitation Mingyu," Jungkook replied, "But I'm not sure if we're free tomorrow night." "You know what," Jimin interrupted, "I actually forgot to let you know, Kook. We have a video conference with Jin hyung tomorrow evening. He wanted to go over the project and monitor our progress." Mingyu seemed disheartened but that didn't stop him from reaching into Jungkook's pant pocket and pulling out his cell phone. "Hey!" Jungkook yelled, reaching for his phone, "Give it back!" "Not until I get your number," Mingyu smirked, as he effortlessly dodged him and unlocked his phone, "How predictable. I see you didn't change your phone password after all this time." Mingyu called his phone and saved Jungkook's new number before tossing the phone back to him. He shook hands with Tae and Jimin again before he left.

"That guy is your friend?" Jimin asked with shock, "He seems intense. So in-your-face!" Tae frowned thinking about what just happened before his eyes. "He's very touchy...," Tae mumbled, "He had no qualms getting into your personal space." Jungkook nodded, "Yes, he's an old friend. He's a good guy - friendly, helpful, caring but definitely no sense of boundaries or personal space. Eunah, Bamie, Myungho, Jaehyunie, him and I were close when we were growing up. We all loved music and started a band called 'The 97's'. We even performed a few gigs at local cafes! I guess even after I left, they kept the band going. They must be doing pretty well to get invites for parties." Tae and Jimin listened to Jungkook talk about growing up in Busan as they walked towards their car. "Wait a second," Jungkook finally said, "Chim hyung, do we really have a video conference with Jin hyung tomorrow?" Jimin chuckled as he said, "No, Kook! I made that up! It was pretty obvious you didn't want to go to Mingyu's cousin's party."

Jungkook took Tae and Jimin to Haedong Yonggungsa, a beautiful temple by the ocean. Tae and Jimin marveled at the beauty of the temple and sculptures in the complex. They walked around taking pictures while Jungkook told them about the history of the temple. "This place is so serene, Kookie," Tae commented, standing at one of the bridges overlooking the temple complex, "Even with the crowd, I feel at peace." "Omma used to say the thing," Jungkook replied, holding on to Tae's hand, "She would tell me that whenever she felt overwhelmed or stressed, she would come here and sit in the temple. This place brought her a lot of peace." Jimin made his way back to them after reading some of the information boards. "All this walking is making me hungry," he whined, "Kook, can we please have lunch before we head to the next site?" "We should definitely eat, Kookie," Tae solemnly said, "You don't want him getting hangry again!" Jungkook laughed and took them to a lovely traditional Korean restaurant close by.

After having their fill of the refreshing seaweed soup and innumerable side dishes, the trio head out to their next destination - Yongdusan Park. "Kookie! This park is so nice!" Tae squealed as he took in the surroundings from the parking lot, "Are we going up the Busan Tower as well?" "We should go up the Busan Tower at night but we can walk around the park now. You can see all the statues and appreciate the view. During the night, the view of the city from the tower is incredible," Jungkook replied as he led them towards the park. Once again, they explored the park taking pictures along the way with Jungkook telling them stories about visiting the park in his childhood. He told them about the time his parents brought him and some his friends to the park for his birthday. As they sat on a bench, Jimin's phone rang. He quickly walked away and answered the call.

When Jimin was a bit away, Jungkook asked Tae, "I've been meaning to ask you, did my interaction with Mingyu upset you in any way?" Tae was a bit surprised that Jungkook had noticed the slight tension in him during that encounter. "I'm more disturbed by the fact that I felt a pang of jealousy," Tae confessed, peering into Jungkook's eyes, "He's known you for so much longer than I have and the fact that he didn't think twice about touching you definitely made me feel envious of his familiarity with you." Jungkook sighed and wrapped his arm around Tae's shoulder to pull him close. "I understand how you feel," Jungkook confessed, turning to face Tae, "I felt the same way when I saw you with Bogum hyung at the banquet. Mingyu is just a friend and nothing more. We haven't even spoken since I moved to Seoul. He's always been overly enthusiastic but please don't mistake that for anything more. I love you and my heart belongs only to you." He kissed Tae's cheek and smiled at him hoping to reassure him. Tae kissed him on his cheek before pulling him into a hug.