dissolve. ✓

FOURTEEN

it was mid-afternoon by the time jeongguk made it home. the house was quiet, his dad still fast asleep, and taehyung seemed to have taken off again. or maybe he hadn't been back since that morning when he ran out after breakfast—after saying very empathetically that he wanted nothing to do with jeongguk's friends, the most important people in his life. maybe it was a good thing he wasn't there because, no matter how much jeongguk's worldview had shifted where taehyung was concerned thanks to jimin's revelations, he was still kind of rubbed the wrong way from that.

jeongguk threw his backpack down by the couch on his way through the living room; he'd had jimin check over his math homework just to make sure it was done right, since he didn't trust himself to be able to tell. jimin had a found a few places where he'd devolved into just scratch marks, tallies that almost looked like letters or even faces at certain angles, and jeongguk had had to excuse himself for the bathroom to hide the way his hands started shaking. a single snap of the rubber band on his wrist had helped and by the time he went back, jimin had erased all the weird shit so he could do it right.

jeongguk bounded up the stairs toward his room, intending to shower and change clothes and maybe take a risk and try for a nap, but the door to his room was pushed halfway open. he hesitated; he was pretty sure he had closed it that morning. he always closed his door. he closed all doors now, actually. open doors made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, made him itch all over, watching and waiting for someone or something else to come crawling through.

he nudged the door with his toe, wincing at the way the old hinges creaked, but there was nothing inside. just his room, bed unmade and clothes strewn all over the floor, bookshelf disheveled but loosely organized, desk a mess of papers and reference books and chewed up writing utensils. as far as he could tell, everything was exactly as he had left it.

except not quite. a glint of metal caught his eye, something small and shiny on his bedside table. he crept closer, still the tiniest bit wary, but all he found was a ring sitting on top of what looked like an instruction packet and a sheet of computer parer with a note in spidery handwriting that he didn't recognize.

the note said:

it's a puzzle ring. it comes apart and you can put it back together again. it seemed like something you might like. i thought it might help you focus when things get to be too much. it makes for a good distraction. there's directions on how to put it together, but knowing you, you'll probably want to try and figure it out yourself first. good luck with that.

jeongguk had to read it four times through to make sure he wasn't getting it wrong, but then he dropped the note and snatched up the ring in question. from the looks of it, it was actually four separate rings all threaded and woven together, and it nearly fell apart in jeongguk's hand. he caught it before it could collapse entirely and carefully jostled the pieces back into position, and he realized there was already a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. when he slid the ring onto his finger and found that it actually fit just right, he found himself grinning outright.

taehyung had bought him a present. taehyung had bought him a present and left it on his bedside table and disappeared so he wouldn't have to admit to doing something nice, just like he used to do with jimin. only this wasn't just something pretty and useless like flowers, but something that was actually meant to help him. for when things got to be too much, the note said, when he was overwhelmed by the world or his own mind and needed something to distract him.

and, jeongguk had to admit, it also kind of felt like an apology in absentia for being such a dick that morning. if this was a way of making it up to him, it was totally working.

he took the ring off and held it in the palm of his hand for a moment, examining it closely inside and out. he sat down on the edge of his bed and clicked on his bedside lamp so he could get a better look, trying to trace the way the rings fit together. taehyung had been right to think jeongguk would want to figure it out on his own—instructions? who needed instructions? he didn't need any stinkin' instructions—and the little booklet with the diagrams stayed right where it was.

jeongguk cupped the ring in both hands and shook it like he would dice, hearing the jingle of it as it disengaged and tapping his feet against the floor in excitement. his first attempt to put the ring back together was a complete and utter failure, but that was fine. he just picked a different ring to work around and tried again, and again, and again. with a humph, he laid the rings out as flat as they would go and tried to mentally map out the possibilities like he would a chess strategy, thinking three steps ahead.

every combination he tried failed and he frowned in frustration, but he wasn't upset. it was the good, clean kind of frustration that came with a tricky puzzle, with actually having to think and finding himself thwarted and challenged. simple as it was, it was the most fun he had had in a long time. he didn't even realize how absorbed he had become until the creak of his bedroom door startled him.

"hey, kiddo," his dad said, leaning through. "whatcha got there?"

"oh," jeongguk said, taking a minute to shake himself out of the zone. "it's, uh, something taehyung got me. a puzzle ring." he held it up by one ring, the other three dangling and clinking together. his dad raised his eyebrows, looking impressed.

"right up your alley," he said. "figure it out yet?"

"not quite. but i'm getting there."

"uh-huh, sure," his dad said with a smirk. "how long have you been sitting there?"

jeongguk had to look at his bedside clock. he pulled a face. "about two hours," he admitted. "but i'm making progress!"

"i'm sure you are, son," his dad chuckled. "when you decide to take a break, i think taehyung made dinner."

"he's here?"

"doesn't seem to be, but there's a big meal in the kitchen and since you've been up here all afternoon, i imagine you didn't put it there."

jeongguk tried not to show his disappointment. it was what he expecting anyway, but still, he'd have liked to actually thank taehyung. that might make taehyung uncomfortable, though, so maybe he would just not make a fuss over it. he'd wear the ring—once he could figure out how to put the damn thing back together again—and hopefully that would be enough to show his appreciation without drawing attention to the gesture for what it was.

"jewelry, lots of good food, and a smile on your face," his dad said. "i'd say things are looking up already, wouldn't you?"

jeongguk ducked his head, unaccountably embarrassed. "yeah," he said. "yeah, maybe they are."

—

i didn't realize until just now that next chapter is just one really long scene soooo prepare uwus

also !! four chapters left of this before some more (hopefully) good stuff comes

(i haven't had any sleep and it's 2 am. i have to wake up in three hours and i'm not going to be able to sleep anytime soon this isgr8)