Speeding Into Trouble || Taekook

38

"I want to go home..."

The words pierced Jeongguk like a blade. He instantly stilled, the red haze in his eyes dimming just enough for the worry to seep through.

"Yeah, baby... let's go," he said, and his voice—though gentle—still carried the growl of barely contained rage. He shrugged out of his shirt in one sharp motion, stepping closer and draping it over Taehyung's torn clothes, his fingers careful, reverent, as if afraid even his touch might shatter him further.

Taehyung's skin was ice under his palms. Jeongguk's stomach twisted so violently he almost doubled over—just thinking of what had almost happened to him made bile rise in his throat.

He pulled Taehyung up with him, but the moment they stepped toward the door, Kang's unconscious body came into view. The bastard lay crumpled on the floor, a pitiful shadow of his earlier arrogance.

Jeongguk's jaw clenched until it ached. He stopped mid-step, turned, and with a sudden vicious kick, drove his boot into Kang's stomach. The dull, sickening thud echoed through the cabin.

"Come near him again," Jeongguk spat, voice low and lethal, "and you're fucking dead."

Namjoon, standing by the wall with his arms crossed, exhaled slowly, watching the violence with a grim frown.

"Your temper's gonna kill someone one day," he muttered, though there was no real reproach in his voice—just quiet concern.

Yoongi crouched down by Kang's side, his face unreadable. "Still breathing," he said flatly, then glanced at Jeongguk. "Hospital's too good for this piece of shit, but fine... we'll dump him there before the cops find him."

Hobi, who had been frozen in the corner, finally stepped forward, his eyes darting from Taehyung's pale face to the wreck of Kang's. His voice shook with anger.

"If we were a second later..." He didn't finish. His fists were trembling too hard.

Jin, standing beside him, pressed a hand to his forehead like he was fighting the urge to scream. "Jeongguk, get him out of here," he said, his tone uncharacteristically sharp. "Now. Before he sees this place any longer."

Jeongguk didn't need telling twice. Without another glance at the scene behind him, he slipped an arm around Taehyung and guided him out into the night.

The cold air slapped against their skin, but Jeongguk didn't feel it. His focus was solely on the fragile weight in his arms. He got Taehyung to the bike, helping him onto the seat, steadying him when his knees wobbled.

As Jeongguk revved the engine, Taehyung's arms instinctively circled his waist, clinging like he was afraid to let go. The contact made Jeongguk's chest ache.

They rode in silence, the wind tearing past them, neon lights flashing by like brief ghosts. But Taehyung's fear lingered in every breath he took, in the way his head pressed against Jeongguk's back as if to hide from the world.

Minutes passed before Taehyung realized—Jeongguk was heading toward his parents' neighborhood. His chest tightened. He didn't want to see the suffocating walls of that house tonight, didn't want to face the questions or the stares.

His voice cracked as he leaned forward, the words barely audible over the wind. "Jeongguk... I don't want to go to my house... I-I want to go home..."

Jeongguk's grip on the handlebars froze. That one word—home—sank into him with a weight heavier than anything else tonight. Taehyung didn't mean the place he grew up. He meant their home. His place. Safety.

Without a moment's hesitation, Jeongguk jerked the bike into a sharp turn, the tires screeching against asphalt. His chest ached with the thought of what Taehyung had endured just an hour ago, but he didn't speak.