BunBun Mine // taekook

Chapter 26

A loud slap fell on Jungkook's soft, rosy cheek. Soon, the boy stirred with heat and discomfort. Droplets of fat tears began to flow down his cheeks without hesitation, tracing a path downwards. His reddish, teary eyes shot towards the handsome man who was staring at him intently.

Jungkook couldn’t quite understand why he had been slapped. It felt like his heart shrank at the thought of asking.

Unable to find a way, Jungkook sat silently, letting his tears flow without making a sound, continuously. Seconds seemed to pass, and suddenly a powerful masculine voice thundered in his ears, like a lightning strike,

“Why are you crying without asking the reason of you getting slapped?”

In a reluctant, low voice, the smaller boy asked, “Why did you slap me?”

“What did you used to call me before?”

“What did I used to call you?”

Jungkook was taken aback, his voice trembling. Taehyung stood up from the bed, extending his hand and commanding, “Give me your hand.”

Jungkook glanced at his own hand, feeling anxious inside. He was conflicted about whether to touch that hand or not, his excitement building. Taehyung, irritated, snapped,

“Are you going to make my hand a statue hanging it here?”

Quickly, Jungkook placed his hand into Taehyung’s grasp. Instantly, a whirlwind of sensations coursed through his entire being. A shiver of electricity raced through his body, every limb tingling with excitement. He found himself close to Taehyung’s strong body, his sharp attractive features very near.

Taehyung firmly held Jungkook’s hand. Leaning slightly closer, he asked, “Did you ever call me Just hyung before?”

This question left Jungkook speechless. The tears that had been falling ceased immediately. After a moment, he quickly replied, “No.”

“What do you call me then?”

Feeling a mix of shyness and hesitation, Jungkook stuttered, “I call you hyungie.”

Taehyung pronounced sharply,

“Then why has your way of addressing me changed? Are you embarrassed to call me hyungie now? That’s how it seems to me. Or have you forgotten what you used to call me because I haven’t been here in Busan for a long time?”

Faced with three questions, Jungkook panicked. He could answer the last one. The answer was that not having contact with Taehyung made it incredibly embarrassing to call him cutely hyungie as he used to. Now, he was certain that if he said it aloud, Taehyung would make his cheeks flush once again.

The only option now was silence.

Jungkook resolved to pass the time quietly. Taehyung said in a stern voice,

“I’ve noticed this since I returned from Seoul. If I slap you in public, you will lose your dignity, so I will only do it within these four walls. Your honor means my honor, and your disgrace means my heart would be hurt. Whatever I do, I will do it myself, no one else can even touch you. I will take care of my own, I will discipline you, I will punish you, and I will show you affection too. No one else has a place between you and me. I will completely erase anyone who tries to come between us.”

Jungkook was speechless, stunned. His heart raced. He averted his gaze from Taehyung’s piercing stare. Slowly, his newly awakened consciousness began to decipher each of Taehyung’s words, his heart burning with the warmth of love. He understood some things. But he failed to define them precisely.