✔ || Save Me [[SEQUEL to DISTRACT ME]]

Chapter 21

Taehyung didn't shower with Jeongguk. The maknae waited for a solid fifteen minutes after he was done scouring his body, letting the soothing water pelt his freshly-cleaned skin. He couldn't understand what was wrong - they did it, didn't they? They were no longer in Purgatory, Taehyung wasn't going to hell, and their hyungs more or less believed what happened to them. So why was Taehyung so angry?

Jeongguk had never seen him in such a state, and it was confusing and scary. He'd always expressed his feelings and had never been one to just stop talking, especially not when something was bothering him.

Or maybe Jeongguk was just overthinking it. Taehyung had to deal with a lot over the past week and a half, some of which Jeongguk didn't even know about. Maybe something happened that made him shut down?

If that was the case, Jeongguk wasn't entirely sure he knew how to bring the boy back. These were uncharted waters, and the maknae didn't know how to proceed. All he could hope for was that Taehyung would let him help in any way he could.

But he didn't. Not that day, or the next, or even within the next week. He slept in his own bed - the first night, Jeongguk couldn't sleep, and the next ones he rested fitfully, dreamlessly - and made sure to wake up early enough to avoid the maknae. Even when Jeongguk started waking up with him, he sighed and said, "Please, Kookie, I can't be around you right now."

When Jeongguk asked why, he only responded with, "Because it's too soon."

And Jeongguk couldn't coax any elaboration out of the boy, so after a week he stopped trying. It got to the point that he'd rather let him have his hissy fit than keep exhausting himself by begging for answers.

Okay, he didn't mean that. But he still didn't want to push the boy into giving him answers that he wasn't prepared to give. So, Jeongguk waited, though as time passed he started to wonder if there was actually something to wait for.

Their dreams were no better. Jeongguk did his best to figure out how to get back to his own subconscious, though it was incredibly difficult without Eden's guidance. But eventually he did it, though it didn't feel like a victory considering everything. Taehyung did speak to him the next morning though, which was a reward in itself.

When Jeongguk stirred, Taehyung was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching him. The maknae blinked, coming to, and smiled briefly, forgetting for a moment that they hadn't had a proper conversation in over a week.

Taehyung said quietly, "Thank you."

"For what?" Jeongguk frowned.

"For getting out of my head."

With that, Taehyung pushed himself up and left the room, clicking the door shut behind him.

Jeongguk groaned and lay back down, resigning himself to staring at the ceiling.

Namjoon knocked on the door twenty minutes later, calling for Jeongguk to get up. The maknae rolled out of bed, landing on all fours, and shouted, "I'm coming!"

He didn't have time to shower, so he just yanked on a shirt and ruffled his hair in the bathroom mirror, making sure he didn't look like the pile of garbage he felt like. Seokjin, his hair freshly dyed black and long enough to brush his eyelids, offered him an apple when he shuffled into the kitchen, but he just shook his head and grabbed a water bottle instead. The eldest member pursed his lips, but instead of voicing whatever was on his mind, he said, "We're leaving in two minutes. Be ready."

Jeongguk waved his hand flippantly, taking a long drink from his water bottle, and Seokjin sighed and left the room.

Taehyung and Jimin were leaning against each other on the couch when Jeongguk walked into the living room, noses buried in their phones. Taehyung had been spending a lot of time with Jimin lately. Jeongguk tried not to be bothered by it, but considering Taehyung wouldn't even talk to him, it rubbed the maknae wrong.

That was his boyfriend, not Jimin's.

Well, at least he thought it was his boyfriend. He hadn't been properly broken up with yet, though he was convinced it was only a matter of time. But that required actually speaking, which, again, seemed to be something that Taehyung was not in the mood to do with the maknae anytime soon.

If Jeongguk had any self respect (that's what he thought was holding him back: a lack of self respect), he'd just break up with the guy himself. But every time he even considered it, it filled his mouth with bile. He still loved Taehyung, even though he was being a bit of a dick for some reason, so he wanted to try to make it work. But he'd never dealt with this type of conflict before, considering he became a relationship-avoiding idol at the fresh age of fifteen, so his twenty-year-old self wasn't entirely sure what he should be doing.

What can you do when your boyfriend won't even talk to you?

Jimin looked up with an innocent grin when he heard Jeongguk enter the living room. "Morning!"

With a dark look that probably wasn't very fair, Jeongguk muttered, "It most certainly is."

Jimin faltered at his tone, his smile fading, before lighting back up. "Did you see that we're scheduled to do an interview for our album?"

"Neat," Jeongguk mumbled, unable to tear his eyes away from the space - or lack thereof - between his boyfriend and Jimin's arm.

Jimin seemed to notice where the maknae was staring and blushed, shifting away. Taehyung finally looked up, confused, before meeting Jeongguk's stare. They blinked at each other for a moment. Taehyung's hair had been dyed black for their comeback, and Jeongguk hadn't had a chance to run his fingers through it. The boy was beautiful as a blonde, but he was even more stunning with his natural hair color. Even though they all had black hair now, the color created a completely different look when paired with the elder's honey complexion and out-of-this-world visuals.

Something like pain flickered in Taehyung's eyes, and he looked away.