Detonate Me, Granulate Me | BTS

Chapter O4

Jungkook refuses to talk to Taehyung for a week after the Canidae Incident. This proves slightly difficult, considering Taehyung is in his personal space pretty much all the fucking time, and his room is in the same cluster as Jungkook's, but Jungkook carries on stoically, determined to maintain his punishment.

It's not that Jungkook's exactly mad at Taehyung. Just... the unplanned excursion had taken him off-guard. The fact that Taehyung, Kim Taehyung, who'd stuck to Jungkook like a barnacle ever since Jungkook passed Socialisation and entered the Felidae compound at the age of ten; Kim Taehyung, who'd held Jungkook's hand and helped Jungkook through his first induced heat at the age of fifteen; Kim Taehyung, who can't keep quiet long enough to hide secrets from Jungkook, has been wandering off on his own doing dangerous things like this. Taehyung's constantly up to no good, that much Jungkook knows, but his antics have never been something as serious as breaching one of the Commandments of the Paradisus Institute.

And then there's Jimin. Park Jimin, a Canidae, a friendly Canidae at that, with his clear blue eyes and infectious smile. Jungkook doesn't even get along well with the rest of the Felidae, except for Taehyung. To think that he could be at ease around a Canidae, that he felt familiarity in Jimin's presence...

It scares Jungkook.

"Everything alright?"

Jungkook jumps, eyes snapping to the front to meet the Kim Seokjin's inquisitive gaze. Seokjin, the dorm supervisor, is also their history teacher and one of the only Homini Jungkook's ever met.

"Uhm." Jungkook stands up, swiping to power off his readerpad. The class has already ended, the rest of the Felidae already filing out the door and heading to the Foodhall for lunch. Jungkook grimaces. He's been zoning out the entire history lesson. "Yeah, I'm — I'm fine."

Seokjin frowns, walking up and sitting on Jungkook's desk. He studies Jungkook carefully, contemplatively. "You don't look fine. Does this have anything to do with your quarrel with Kim Taehyung?"

"What," Jungkook blurts out rudely, taken aback, then claps his hands over his mouth. Seokjin's lip quirks up in amusement. "I mean, uh... Is it that obvious, teach?"

"Well, apart from the fact that you're always together and for the past week I've been passing you both in the hallways alone? And that Kim Taehyung has been moping in all my classes and zoning out just like you? Yeah."

The back of Jungkook's neck heats up as he flushes, embarrassed. He hadn't thought Seokjin was attentive enough to remember little details like this, but he's been keeping closer tabs on them than expected. "It's nothing. We'll sort it out."

Seokjin nods, placing a hand on Jungkook's shoulder. "I hope you do. It's lunchtime, so I won't keep you much longer, but..." He stands up and makes his way back to the front of the classroom, reopening the door for Jungkook. "Just, the two of you... Don't get yourselves into too much trouble, okay? Be careful."

"Yes, teach," Jungkook mumbles, darting out the door.

With Seokjin's words in mind, Jungkook finally breaks his silent treatment that night when Taehyung turns up at his door with a signed copy of G-Kitten's newest holodisk.

"Don't do that again," Jungkook mutters, letting Taehyung in and placing the holodisk next to all his other G-Kitten merch. Taehyung grins happily, flinging himself onto Jungkook's bed. "We're fucking lucky we didn't get caught. I can't believe you found a way to the Canidae complex. The Institute's meant to be the most secure area in Kardiae."

"Well, it wasn't on purpose," Taehyung says, rolling over onto his stomach and cupping his head in his hands, "I was just in the Foodhall after hours trying to find the snacks they confiscated from me. I tripped and found the tunnel and it kind of just... happened?"

Right. Jungkook closes his eyes, rubbing at his temples. For a second there he thought Taehyung had some sort of super secret information, but evidently, he's just a bumbling idiot with two left feet.

"Isn't Jiminnie nice, though?" Taehyung continues, tail flicking back and forth. "I was scared shitless the first time I was in the Canidae Foodhall, but it was just Jimin there digging through the trash for the chewbone he accidentally threw away."

"If he was looking for trash, he sure found some," Jungkook says pointedly, flopping down next to Taehyung.

Taehyung gives Jungkook a wounded look. "Are you calling me trash?"

"Yes," Jungkook says, grinning. "You are a piece of dog-loving trash."

"Oh, come on," Taehyung says, rolling his eyes. "What do you have against Canidae? We're not that different. No matter what Domus we're in, we're all still ninety-seven percent human. Aren't you at least a little curious about how the Canidae live? How Jimin lives? Or what its like outside Paradisus?"

Well... Jungkook would be lying if he said he wasn't — but he also knows too much curiosity brings about risks and penalties he's not prepared to take. Taehyung is impulsive and reckless, but Jungkook is not. And, really, they're taught enough about the other Domus and the outside world in class that there's no need to step out until they graduate. Life is comfortable here. Jungkook doesn't want to break the status quo.

"All I'm saying is that you should be careful what you're curious about," Jungkook mutters. "Remember what taught us? Canidae are unstable and unpredictable around Felidae. They're dangerous."

Taehyung shrugs. "I don't care what they say. Plus, didn't you notice it too? Jimin is different from the others. He doesn't have the same acrid Canidae stench around him."

Yeah. Yeah, Jungkook noticed. Jimin's scent has been haunting him since that day, an annoying stray thought at the back of his mind that he can't shake off, but can't quite place either. In any case, it's not his place to lecture Taehyung, and it's not like he can persuade Taehyung to do otherwise, not with how stubborn Taehyung is once he's set his mind on something.

"Just promise me you won't do anything else dumb again."

Taehyung grunts and flops down face-first on Jungkook's pillow.