dissolve. ✓

TWELVE

breakfast that morning was both more and less awkward than the one the day before. for starters, this one included jeongguk's dad, just back from a particularly tiresome nightshift. he hesitated in the doorway when he came in to find jeongguk and taehyung hovering in silence at opposite ends of the kitchen, but apparently his need for food overcame his desire to avoid the awkward situation. so he ended up sat at the little table with jeongguk while taehyung served up french toast because apparently he could cook now and was determined to make sure jeongguk ate food on a regular basis even if he had to insult him into eating it.

silverware clacking was the only sound for a while, the three of them trading uneasy glances among them and pretending they didn't notice the others looking. it was actually really good french toast, the kind of american meal jeongguk hadn't had since before his mom died, and he was glad that he was in a good enough mood to savor it. he was firmly planted in reality at the moment, all traces of his midnight scare washed away, and the surreality of taehyung's presence was wearing off. jeongguk was more awake and present than he was used to being.

for the second night in a row, he had slept unusually well after the first nightmare had passed, and there was no denying that it was because of taehyung's presence. as much as he hated that taehyung was seeing him at his worst, his lowest point, he knew he wouldn't put up even a token protest if taehyung showed up in his room that night. for all their clashes during the waking hours, taehyung was undeniably comforting at night and jeongguk wanted him there.

with just one slice of toast left, jeongguk cleared his throat. taehyung and his dad both looked at him, somewhat wary.

"uh," he said—eloquent, as always—eyes darting back and forth between the two indecisively before settling on taehyung. "our friends are getting together again today. just to hang out, you know, as a group."

taehyung rolled his eyes, attention falling back to his breakfast because apparently a get-to-together was too plebeian for him to waste his precious time on.

"they'd really like for you to come," jeongguk said anyway. "i know seokjin especially was hoping to talk to you at some point, apologize for everything that went on before."

"you mean when he tried to kill me?" taehyung asked pointedly.

jeongguk winced. "uh, yeah, then. and some of the menacing-ness that went on before that. i mean, technically, you were his first friend after the fire!" he said. "even if you're not friends anymore, he'd like a chance to make things right with you."

"right," taehyung said, and it was definitely sarcasm rather than confirmation.

"and namjoon," jeongguk soldiered on, determined to at least finish making his pitch before taehyung shut him down this time. "namjoon wants to welcome you, formally offer you a place in the group. no one cares about the incident thing anymore, if that's what you're worried about. bygones are bygones, water under the bridge, forgive and forget! and if it's just because you don't like namjoon, well he's grown up a lot in the last two years, you know. we were all kinda dicks sophomore year and namjoon is fully willing to own up to his sickishness, shake hands, and move on if you are-"

"i really don't care," taehyung interrupted him. "i already told you, i'm not interest in being all buddy-buddy with you guys. i don't care about your friends."

jeongguk gritted his teeth, frustration making him grip his fork hard enough to hurt. his dad was quiet, a bit of toast paused halfway to his mouth as he watched them both with one eyebrow raised. he looked ready to dive for cover, or else hide under the table just to get away from the awkwardness of an argument he didn't have any part in. jeongguk pushed his dad's glass of orange juice closer to him, chewing on his lip and preparing to play his trump card.