road trip.

[48] the penthouse suite

taehyung focus
"is this all your baggage? seriously? a plastic bag and a backpack? wow." jimin comments, quirking an eyebrow as he lifts taehyung's and jungkook's 'luggage' into his arms.
usually, upon seeing an older try to unload some of his workload, taehyung'd protest and wrangle his work back, telling any hyungs/noonas/ahjussis/ahjummas to take it easy. but right now, he doesn't offer help — he's too shocked to utter a single syllable let alone move a muscle.

who the hell was that? and why was jungkook so angry to see him? a rattled taehyung asks himself, carefully side eyeing a laughing jungkook who jokes with jimin about something taehyung doesn't quite catch. laughing or not, jungkook is furious, and taehyung can tell by the way the younger holds his now reddening wrist in a bone crushing grip, the veins coursing through his hand prominent as he tightens his hold round taehyung.

when jungkook suddenly tugs him, taehyung's about to let a pained yelp escape from his lips but hurriedly quashes the sound down so as not to alarm jimin — taehyung can also tell that the younger doesn't want jimin to know about the encounter with jungkook 2.0 by noting his fake laugh and warning grip bruising his arm.
so taehyung stays mum, head ducking as jimin and jungkook chat casually about the journey here. and as they walk toward the elevator, taehyung can't help but feel. . .

ashamed. yeah, ashamed. ashamed at the fact that he mistook his 'boyfriend' for a stranger — yeah, he may have the same features as jungkook but so many differences could've struck taehyung that he was the wrong jungkook. differences like the fact that he was wearing casual suit, like the fact that strange businessmen were hovering behind him, differences like his un-tattooed left hand, his unwounded forehead, the multiple set of ring earrings that line the edge of his right ear, the dimple residing in his right cheek— 
taehyung can't help but feel that jungkook's anger is directed towards him. directed towards him for being so carefree, playfully dunking him underwater and splashing him easily without realising the man's not who he thinks he is.

filing into the elevator with jungkook and jimin, taehyung can't help but feel like shit.

— FIVE MINUTES AGO
"ow," taehyung whines, pushing himself off the person's chest and scrunching his nose at the pain. "i—" he starts, looking up then but stopping immediately, his stinging eyes blinking at the figure standing before him.

"that was quick, what the—??" he murmurs, looking at an unamused jungkook, a stony faced jungkook, a dry. . . jungkook?

the younger grabs him firmly by the upper arm, not allowing taehyung to move. the older frowns at this.
"did he do anything to you?" jungkook grits out, looking over taehyung's shoulder at something. taehyung, still baffled at how jungkook is completely dry, stutters out a "w–what?"

noticing that jungkook doesn't reply but continues to stare hard at something behind him, taehyung cranes his neck round to see, confused at the boy's sudden change in behaviour.
then he sees it.
or rather him.

he sees another jeon jungkook.

another jeon jungkook who now makes his way down the tiled floor towards them, dressed in what looks like a drenched black button down shirt and matching black slacks. another jungkook who dons a dimpled smirk on his face as he pushes back his wet fringe, revealing an uninjured forehead — the gauze taehyung had taped to his wound this morning gone. another jungkook who has no tattoo on his left hand, another jungkook who doesn't have the same exact bunny like smile. another jungkook who isn't his jungkook at all.