Edges of Temptation | TAEJIN

Chapter 3

♪ - Endless skies by Oxalis

Seokjin

"Don't you lie to me." The little one frowned at me as he placed the tray on the small table beside my bedroom.

The headquarters provided quite luxury apartments. It was a three-bedroom apartment with an enormous living room, a lovely kitchen, and the largest porch I had ever seen. I swooned over the soft, comfortable bed on one side of the porch since I enjoyed stargazing at night. I'll probably spend my evenings sleeping there rather than in my bedroom. In and of itself, my bedroom was quite lovely. All three bedrooms featured marble tiled flooring and queen-sized mattresses. Polished ceilings with a small, elegant chandelier in the middle.

There were adjoining washrooms and the bedrooms had a perfect color matching; my walls were wine and champagne, my younger brother's walls were dark gray and cream, and the other room, which we dubbed 'guest', was black and off-white.

I sat on my mattress next to my brother, picking up the bowl of hangover soup and sipping it while noticing the little one's narrowed eyes, "Aish, Jungkook-ah, I swear I didn't do anything. I just had a minor overdose." I bit my lip as he tilted his head and said, "Nah, you are lying. You look nervous as fuck. Hyung, be honest, did you-hook up?"

He arched his brow, his dark brown eyes starring down at my clothed collarbone, signaling for a reply as I hesitantly placed my palm over the hickey, opening my mouth but shutting it again with no words to say.

"N-not exactly, Kookie-" I hesitated as my ears turned red, I swallowed hard, and lifted my head to look up at Jungkook, but his eyes bore into me, reminding me that I had never lied to him.

"You know, you can tell me anything, hyung. I would never be the one to judge you. You cried a lot last night, and Yoongi and Hobi Hyung were concerned as well. Did something happen?" His look changed to one of concern as I bit my lips once more; I had kept my nightmares from Jungkook. They started before leaving Ohio and continued here too. I guess it was the anxiety and stress that caused them.

"I think I drank on an almost empty stomach Kookie, then I went to the washroom and-" I hesitated at first, but eventually told him everything, including my nightmares occurring again, while he sighed with concern. "Hyung, I understand that nostalgia is bound to resurface and that's normal, but ultimately, you are the one who determines what endures in your memory and what fades. After all these years, I know you still have your doubts about the past, but I don't want to see you like this. I want you to be well and happy. I want you to keep living life to the fullest and make an effort to move on from the past." He patted my lap as a sign of comforting and I nodded, still unconvinced.

"I will try but it will take time, coming back here already makes me feel heavy somehow but I believe if I try engaging myself in daily activities- I will be distracted and as for my nightmares, don't worry, Yoongi had told me about a friend of his; he's a counselor so I could go visit him once this week." I grinned as I ruffled Jungkook's hair, and he giggled back, pulling me into a comforting embrace; we parted ways after a while, and I drank the rest of the hangover soup, nearly choking on Jungkook's next sentence.

"At least, you finally got some action done after all these years of being a single uncle." He smiled, turning away as my mouth fell wide in disbelief at how shameless my own sibling was in the first place.

"Yah, how dare you call me an uncle. You must know how popular your hyung is in college." I smirked, resting my palm under my chin and winking sassily, while Jungkook rolled his eyes, prompting a look from me that made him laugh even harder.

"What's the time? "I hope we're not late-"

"Nah, there's still an hour, get ready; I bought breakfast. We'll eat and then leave for college." I nodded, handing him the tray and glass as he walked away. I quickly got into a warm shower, I've heard it helps manage stress; so exactly what I needed at the moment. Putting on a pair of black trousers and tucking in a loose knit polo shirt in a beige grey color, I headed for breakfast.