Midas Touch ➸ Taekook

- Fortieth -

Jungkook had locked himself in his bedroom. Now that the other two had literally invaded his flat, he adamantly refused to leave the small room that had become his last refuge. At first, Bella kept banging on the door, screaming hysterically, but when that didn't work, she finally gave up.

Still, Jungkook knew he shouldn't be sitting here doing nothing. Bella's time was limited, so he should be out there looking for a solution. But he couldn't find the motivation.

All he could think about was Taehyung. He missed the boy so much he could hardly breathe. The whole thing was so ridiculous that he just wanted to scream out his pain. He didn't care that he couldn't touch Taehyung, that he couldn't kiss him. Shit, it didn't fucking matter that they could never make love. He'd give anything just to be by his side. He'd give his life just to see him smile again.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the flat door. He didn't even bother to go, it must have been a neighbour or a delivery man, and in either case, he wasn't interested. But this person kept banging on the door, their annoyance becoming more and more obvious. He still didn't give a damn.

Someone in the living room didn't seem to be able to stand it anymore, as he heard footsteps coming towards the door.

"What?!" exclaimed Bella as she furiously opened the door.

Then the flat fell silent. There was no answer, the atmosphere growing suddenly heavy.

"Is Jungkook there?"

The Cajun jumped out of his bed and rushed towards his bedroom door, half falling on it in the process. He'd recognise that voice a thousand times over, husky but extraordinarily soft, like velvet sliding under his fingertips.

"Taehyung?"

The boy looked up at him, his two white locks falling lightly over his face. Jungkook dreamed of running his fingers through them, caressing them for a long time to retain their texture and scent.

"We need to talk." said the X-Man, a little too seriously for Jungkook's liking. "About her."

He pointed at Bella and Jungkook didn't immediately understand. But when he saw the looks on the faces of those accompanying Taehyung, he suspected that it was serious, and that it had nothing to do with their relationship.

"Oh... Let's go into the living room."

There they found Jean-Luc, who watched them all with undisguised surprise.

Taehyung didn't intend to beat about the bush. He didn't really want to be here, whether it was for Jungkook (and the pain that seeing him inflicted on him), or the two clowns accompanying him. But his conscience had caught up with him, and after what he'd learned from this strange mutant, he couldn't remain indifferent. He wasn't a bad or selfish person. If he had the chance to help someone, he had to do it. Even if he didn't want to.

He ignored Jungkook and turned to Bella Dona, who didn't even bother to hide the hatred and jealousy she felt for him. Perhaps that was the only thing they had in common.

"I know all about it." he said. "How you came back to life, and the state you're in now."

The young woman's eyes widened as Jungkook frowned.

"What?"

"I'll explain later. I just have one question: do you want to live?"

Bella didn't answer immediately, shocked at first. Then she couldn't hold back a sarcastic laugh.

"Of course I do."

"So you're going to listen carefully to what we've discovered. It may be the key to keeping you alive."