Jungkook looked around frantically, realizing he was stranded in the middle of a dense forest. His car had slammed into a tree, leaving him without any means of escape. He pulled out his phone, but there were no signals. Tears welled up in his eyes; despite his tough exterior, he was fragile inside. He slumped against his car, sobbing quietly. "I just want to go home."
A voice cut through his despair. "What the hell are you doing here, Jeon?" Without thinking, Jungkook threw his arms around the man.
"Let go of me! How dare you touch me?" the man snapped.
Jungkook froze, recognizing the voice. "Kim... Taehyung?" He quickly stepped back, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "How dare you touch me?"
Taehyung raised an eyebrow. "Me? You're the one who hugged me. Why were you crying?"
"I wasn't," Jungkook replied, flipping his hair to cover his eyes. "By the way, what are you doing here?"
Taehyung fidgeted nervously. He had actually been searching for Jungkook. "I was... collecting firewood. Then I saw a car here, so I thought I'd check it out. If it was you, I will take another way."
"Oh... it's just an accident. Let's go home," Jungkook said, brushing off the situation.
"No, actually, I still need to collect wood."
"You can do that later. Come with me now," Jungkook insisted, his voice rising.
Taehyung frowned. "Who are you to order me around? I'm going." He turned and started walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey, wait! Don't go!" Jungkook ran after him. "Fine, collect your wood. I'll just sit here."
Suppressing a laugh, Taehyung replied, "Actually, I've lost interest. Let's go home."
"Yeah," Jungkook agreed, nodding. As they began walking together, He asked, "What about your car, Jeon?"
"It's fine. I'll just buy a new one," Jungkook shrugged.
Taehyung stared at him in disbelief. "I think twice before buying my favorite food, and here you are talking about a new car."
"I'm not like you. My father's rich enough," Jungkook said, nonchalant.
"I know... This way." Taehyung led them down a narrow path.
"Kim, my leg hurts."
Taehyung smirked. "And what do you want me to do about it?"
"This is the first time I've walked this far," Jungkook whined.
"Not my problem, Jeon. Just keep walking," Taehyung said, biting back his laughter. He had intentionally chosen the longer path. Jungkook sighed, exasperated. "I can't..."
Taehyung laughed. "You look like a muscle factory but can't walk a little?"
"Shut up, Kim! I can walk," Jungkook retorted, speeding up.
"That's not the right way," Taehyung called after him. "But the Earth is round; we'll meet somewhere." He walks another way.
"Wait, Kim Taehyung!" Jungkook ran back, panting.
"You're so lucky, Jeon," Taehyung said suddenly.
"Why?" Jungkook looked at him, puzzled.
"I think it's going to rain," Taehyung said, glancing up at the darkening sky.
"No, you idiot!" Jungkook suddenly shouted. "We should follow the tire marks from the car. I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner!" He smacked himself on the forehead. "Shit..."
"You're right, but now..." Taehyung started, but before he could finish, the rain poured down on them. "Come on," he grabbed Jungkook's hand and pulled him under a tree. "Let's stay here for a while."
"I should follow those tire marks," Jungkook muttered. But as thunder rumbled, he instinctively clung to Taehyung. "Tae... We're going to die."
"If you want to, go ahead. Why are you dragging me into it?"
Another clap of thunder, and Jungkook hugged Taehyung even tighter. "I'm scared of thunder. Don't leave me."
"Fine, just because you're scared," Taehyung said, wrapping his arms around the trembling boy. A particularly loud thunderclap made Jungkook jump and wrap his legs around Taehyung's waist, hiding his face in Taehyung's neck.
Taehyung stumbled but managed to steady himself against the tree. "You're so heavy, Jeon," Taehyung groaned. "If you keep this up, my back will break." But Jungkook was too terrified to listen, clutching Taehyung as if his life depended on it.
"It's all because of me... What does he eat to get this heavy?" Taehyung thought, struggling to hold Jungkook. "Excuse me, sir, could you please get off and stand on the ground?" Taehyung said loudly.
Jungkook blinked and looked at him. "Why are you carrying me?" he asked, horrified, as he quickly scrambled down.
"Me? You jumped on me," Taehyung replied, letting go of him.
"Let's keep walking," Jungkook suggested, looking around nervously.
"But it's still raining," Taehyung pointed out.
Jungkook looked around and sighed. "Fine, let's go. But I'm holding your hand."
"Sure, sure," Taehyung agreed, trying to suppress his amusement as they continued walking. This time, Jungkook held onto Taehyung's hand tightly.
As they walked, Taehyung asked, "By the way, why did you hit me?"
"When?" Jungkook asked, gulping.
"The day I was on my bicycle."
"Oh, that... It was just an accident," Jungkook said, looking everywhere but at Taehyung. "Let's hurry up. I'm hungry."
"Hmm," Taehyung responded, unconvinced.
Finally, they reached the road. "Thank God," Jungkook breathed out.
"Thank me," Taehyung corrected him.
"No way," Jungkook rolled his eyes and started walking toward their houses. "You know, this is the first time I've gotten wet in the rain. I don't like it."
"Only humans like rain," Taehyung muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something?"
"No... Look, we're here."
"Oh... I'm so tired. I want to sleep. And Kim, thanks for the help. I'll file a complaint against you for wrecking my car. I know it was you."
"And I'll file a complaint against you for trying to kill me. And your hero was a witness to that."
"My hero?"
"Yeah, college hero Mr. Park Jimin. He's the one who took me to the hospital. He was angrier at the person who caused the accident than I was."
"Uh, Tae... Don't... Please... It's balanced now, right? My good boy, please..." Jungkook grabbed Taehyung's collar and leaned in closer.
"I won't... But let go of me. I don't like your touch."
"Okay." Jungkook released him and walked into his house.
Jimin watched them from his balcony, his eyes narrowing with curiosity. "You didn't tell me about this, Jungkook," he murmured to himself, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Hmm... I'll find out soon enough."
Inside his room, Jungkook rubbed his hair dry with a towel. As he moved, something caught his eye-a red mark on his waist. He paused, realizing it was the imprint of Taehyung's hand. He reached out and gently touched the mark, a strange sensation coursing through his body. "No..." he whispered, shaking his head, trying to dismiss the feeling.
Meanwhile, Taehyung stood in front of his mirror, inspecting the faint nail marks on his neck. "That idiot didn't even bother to cut his nails," he muttered, annoyed. He tilted his head to get a better look. "What if someone sees this?"
