Confidence || Jikook

xvii

Jungkook can have me any day he wants, in any place, any way he likes it.

Two weeks.

Was that enough time? Jungkook only sat with them when it was absolutely necessary and he barely spoke. Even Taehyung talked more than him and Jimin wanted to know why. Yes they had a fight but Jungkook was acting like he didn't know how to speak. Every time he did, it was only one word answers.

He found that Jungkook always had a blank face, a cold stare. It only changed to hatred when Taehyung leaned in too close or they were making plans in front of him. Jimin assumed it was only because that's what their fight was about. He felt uncomfortable with them now. Not even Hoseok was his normal, cheery self. He started to eat less, talk less and if he did talk, it was only with Jimin or Jungkook. Why didn't he talk with Taehyung? Weren't they best friends?

Jimin hated the path that his group was on, he wanted it to stop. "Hi, I'm Kim Seokjin and this is my partner Kim Namjoon, no relation, we're a part of the student committee and we were wondering if you had some time to talk? It'll only take a couple of minutes, five tops." The loud senior surprised the rest of them, his shy friend in the glasses behind him made no attempt at eye contact. When no one answered he continued, eyes wide. "Wow, tough crowd." They sat down at the table anyways and took out some color coded, alphabetically organized binders. "You know, you guys are so quiet... I know exactly what will cheer you up!"

"What?" Hoseok asked, hope laced in his voice.

"A joke! Get this: What do you call a person who was born in Columbus, grows up in Cleveland, and then dies in Cincinnati?"

"What?" Taehyung was generally curious as to what the elder had to say.

"Dead." Soekjin burst out laughing at the dumb joke, hitting his partner's shoulder. Hoseok only got the pun after a minute and then he started giggling. It's been too long since he even smiled. "Funny right? Another one!"

Humming, he tried to think of another one. The group looked around, neither of them in the mood to laugh but too polite to ask the student to leave.

"Okay this one is long. A man is driving down the road with twenty penguins in the back seat. The police stop him and say that he cannot drive around with the penguins in the car and that he should take them to the zoo. The man agrees and drives off. The next day, the same man is driving down the road with twenty penguins in the back again. He is stopped by the same police officer who says, 'Hey! I thought I told you to take those to the zoo.' The man replies, 'I did. Today, I am taking them to the movies.'"

Silence. Seokjin thought that joke would at least get some- "HAHAHAHA!" The shy boy behind him, Namjoon, started laughing at the stupidity of the joke and Hoseok tried to not laugh with him. However he failed when the silver headed boy started wheezing, slapping Seokjin's back.

"T-The movies..." Namjoon was always hyping up Seokjin and this was one of those times. Hoseok decided he liked these two and found them cute.

"Shut up Joon, the joke was for them." Yeah, they were definitely cute together. "Anyways, we came over to talk to you guys about..." Jungkook could care less what the student body had in store for their year. He had more important things on his mind, like the way Jimin was absent mindedly biting his lips, exchanging his focus from Seokjin and Taehyung. It seemed the red head was occupied with asking different questions. Jimin took this opportunity to reach for Jungkook's hand and pull him away. Luckily, his boyfriend had his back towards them and would only find out that they had gone when it was too late.

¤¤¤

"Jimin, what are we doing here?" The blond dragged him away from the cafeteria, to one of the art rooms. The paintings around the room had hues of blue, red, green. The one that caught Jungkook's eye was a black and white one of a little girl reaching out to a flower on the surface of the water, her reflection shattered.