✓BunBun Mine // taekook

Chapter 27

Hugging his school bag to his chest, Jungkook started walking towards home. His steps were unsteady and slow, filled with fear and a sense of helplessness. After counting exactly three steps, he suddenly stopped. He looked back, and soon his eyes fixed on the sight of the shirt soaked with a slight hint of red blood. Jungkook felt his eyes grow heavy and begin to burn intensely. Unable to bear looking for long, he quickly grew powerless, his tear-filled gaze dropping.

He stood there, frozen.

Taehyung leaned against his bike, observing everything. He quickly glanced down at his right arm, noticing a faint trace of red emerging on the white bandage. Immediately, he became alert. His mind raced with concern, like a whirlwind. With hurried, injured steps, he rushed to support Jungkook’s weakened body, enclosing him protectively against his chest. As he held the younger in a firm embrace, he took a deep, relieved breath.

Taehyung's usually sharp tone softened, and in a calm voice, he said, "Don't lift your head. Just breathe normally. Why do you always react like this at the sight of blood, Bunbun?"

Taehyung fell silent after saying that, and then, with a hint of hidden pain, he continued, "Whenever you're near me, you're in danger. You got a small taste of that today, didn't you? Nobody ever lets something precious feel unsafe. I won’t either. To me, you’re like a cherished doll, and if you’re hurt, I can’t bear it."

Jungkook clung to Taehyung's back with both of his small hands, burying his face against the elder's firm chest. It was the sight of Taehyung's blood that broke him down. If he hadn’t turned his head, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up like this. Besides, what happened on the way was already too much. Fear had found a perfect home in his mind, his heart still racing within. Images of the bullet speeding towards them, barely missing both him and Taehyung, kept flashing through his mind.

They were lucky to escape, but Taehyung fell off the bike trying to shield him, causing shards of gravel to lodge in his arm. Jungkook hadn’t been hurt much, as Taehyung bore the brunt of it. They’d even stopped at a pharmacy on the way to bandage his arm.

"Take Jungkook from the pond behind the Jung house, Chim. Be here in five minutes."

Hearing Taehyung’s firm, commanding tone, Jungkook shifted uncomfortably, regaining his senses. He started to pull away from Taehyung’s chest, but Taehyung tightened his hold around his waist, chiding him, "You’ll fall over."

In a faint voice and downcast gaze, Jungkook replied, "I can walk on my own. Please, get your arm re-bandaged, hyung."

Taehyung ordered, "Look up at me. Keep your eyes on my face."

Slowly, like a turtle, Jungkook let his eyes meet Taehyung’s intense gaze. His heart began to race wildly, his heartbeat going out of control in an instant. The power in that dazzling gaze was overwhelming. His eyelids fluttered, unable to hold steady, and Taehyung objected strongly, "Why are you hiding your starfilled eyes from me? I told you to look up."

In a subdued voice, Jungkook replied,

"I can’t."

Taehyung looked at him with a deep suspicion, asking in a cautious tone, "Why can’t you? Are you afraid you’ll be destroyed by looking into my eyes?"

Jungkook, in a very faint voice, replied, "I’ll be completely undone."

"And at this age of seventeen, you think that’s an option? I have so many plans for you, ones that don’t involve letting you get away by just looking in my eyes. Now, look at me."

Jungkook’s heart was out of control, his body shrinking in on itself. He hadn’t meant for Taehyung to hear his barely-there words, but he had, Taehyung's hearing is sharper than he’d thought.