dissolve. ✓

SIX

jeongguk couldn't hide it from the group after that. not only because he had promised to tell jimin everything—and finally did so after he came to his house and backed him into a corner with his finely manicured and very pointy fingernail digging threateningly into his chest—but because taehyung was actually coming back. he was leaving the united states and coming back to south korea just for jeongguk, so that they could maybe be something. and as tempting as it was to keep it to himself and let taehyung just show up one day, jeongguk figured it would probably be best to give the others a heads-up about it.

he wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting, but the several seconds of open-mouthed staring from the group members who had known taehyung before he left was both intensely awkward and a little bit insulting. those who hadn't known him very well were obviously confused by namjoon's shock and utter horror, but they just smiled and nodded and offered him bemused congratulations on his new soulmate, whoever he was.

seokjin was the first to ask whether taehyung wanted to make an effort to be friends with the rest of them again, whether he even wanted anything to do with them, which made sense. seokjin had been only the one, besides jimin, to take a liking to taehyung, which hadn't exactly gone to plan, and then he had very deliberately tried to...off...taehyung due to his doings multiple times. if taehyung wanted nothing to do with seokjin, he would be pretty justified in that, and he had had issues with namjoon long before the whole incident started. becoming buddy buddy again would mean submitting to namjoon, acknowledging namjoon as his leader, which he may well not be willing to do.

jeongguk didn't have an answer to give them on that front, so he just shrugged.

he had no idea what taehyung would do when he got back. he would join them back at their high school for senior year, but it was summer break now so they didn't have to worry about that yet. taehyung's parents, for whatever reason—jeongguk hadn't asked—had elected to stay in america and let their son come back alone, so taehyung's would be staying in the jeon's guest bedroom for the time being, under custody of jeongguk's dad until he turned eighteen and could get an apartment of his own. it was all very quick and very strange and jeongguk didn't know what to do but go along with it and hope for the best.

so now here he was, standing in the airport terminal, checking the text for taehyung one more time to make sure he was in the right place, and waiting for the plan to disembark. everything was big and loud and busy, so jeongguk kept his head down and his eyes on his shoes, nudging along the pattern of the terrible airport carpet and following the garish swirls across the floor until he lost track of which was which and had to start over.

the thump of a suitcase on the floor to his left made him jump, the conditioning of the last two years insisting he was under attack, but there was no threat. it was only taehyung in black skinny jeans and a red hoodie, hair a messy perfection and hands stuffed in his pockets, standing there and looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"uh, hi," jeongguk said, once he realized that this was the point in the interaction where he was probably supposed to say something. what he said was lame, but it was, in fact, something. he tried to think of more—some kind of welcome, or a thank you for coming maybe?—but came up empty.

he cursed himself; it had been easy on the phone. well, not easy, per so, considering the topic of discussion and how much crying had been involved, but it had been a hell of a lot easier with some distance between them. actually seeing taehyung in the flesh, standing face to face with him, was a whole 'nother experience. the face carried a lot more memories with it than the voice did, especially when the voice sounded soft and new and different.

"hi," taehyung echoed, very much the same old kim taehyung from before, snobbish and faintly mocking. his eyes roved over jeongguk from head to toe, that one eyebrow still hiked up. "you look like shit, jeongguk."