ᴄᴀʟʟ ɪᴛ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ

four

Taehyung paced back and forth the kitchen and living room, keeping an eye on Jay who was sitting obediently on the couch still.

On the third ring, his hyung picked up.

"What is it, Taehyung?" the slightly exasperated voice on the other line went.

"Jin hyung," Taehyung breathed out, relieved. "I may have a slight problem."

"Did you burn the house down again? If you need a place to stay you can ask-"

"No I did not," Taehyung rolled his eyes. "I was just calling to ask what four to five year olds eat."

"Taehyung," said Jin. "I'm a cook, not a nutritionist."

"Okay," Taehyung dragged the word. "But if you were to prepare a dish for a child, what would you put in it?"

On the other end, Taehyung heard Jin sigh, followed by silence momentarily.

Before Jin finally spoke up, "If your supposed child's four, it can eat almost anything, as long as it has teeth and it's not a picky eater."

Taehyung then glanced back at Jay. Anything?

"Wait a second," Jin said suddenly. "Why do you have a child?"

"It's a long story."

"You know at this point I'm not even surprised anymore," Jin sighed. "But whatever, just feed it whatever you have and pray for it to be omnivorous."

"Thanks hyung," he said and was halfway to pressing the end button but then Jin said something.

"Hey Taehyung?" he said. "Have you seen Jungkook-ah lately?"

Taehyung paused momentarily, taken quite aback with the question. "No, why?" he managed after a while, hand wrapping around the telephone as if he would gain something out of it.

"At all?" His hyung asked.

"No," Taehyung repeated, hesitantly. "Haven't heard from him for a while either."

On the other end, Taehyung heard Jin sigh again, but more genuinely sad this time.

For a moment, Taehyung recalled bumping with the younger just a few weeks ago, even inviting him for a drink in the small café nearby. At the time, he didn't really think about the bags circling his big eyes, or how his voice slurred tiredly when Taehyung tried talking about quantum physics, because the younger was still in school and he figured that it was a commodity he looked so miserable.

"He ran away a few days ago."

But upon hearing this, Taehyung regretted not asking.

"Why?" Taehyung found himself speaking before he could even process what he had just said. Surely Jungkook should have a reason as to why he had run away right? He cleared his throat. "W-Why'd he run away?"

"I'm pretty sure he's upset with me," Jin said. "But I. . . ugh- I don't want to talk about it."

Taehyung had to shut his mouth forcefully before Jin could speak up again.

"If you do happen to see him though, just tell him to come home," He said.

Taehyung deliberately nodded his head, completely forgetting the fact that Jin couldn't see him, but the elder had hung up even before Taehyung could say goodbye.

The thought about the younger missing lingered at the back of his mind because he knew, for a silent fact that Jungkook would never run away.

Would he?

Taehyung shook his head and tried not to think about how distracted and spaced out Jungkook had looked that day, or how he had to snap his fingers thrice just to get Jungkook to look at him.

He knew something was up with him. He just didn't know why he hadn't asked.

Jungkook will come back. He doesn't just leave like that without any warning. Yeah, he knew the youngest more than all of his friends did.

But just maybe he shouldn't have dwelled on their close friendship for consolation, but it was all he could do after all.

After following Seokjin's advice, Taehyung had whipped up a scrumptious meal- or at least he thought it was, and served it to Jay and himself.

For Jay's platter, it practically was mashed up Pepperoni pizza Taehyung had stored in his freezer for instant food. He has never really been a big fan of cooking.

Taehyung thought the only thing that mattered in food was the taste of it, but Jay, being a toddler, certainly thought otherwise.

"Please," Taehyung groaned in annoyance, his posture slouched over the dinner table, where his hand was stretched out to Jay to bring the spoonful of pizza into his mouth. But the pizza really looked nothing more but disgusting slime to Jay.

It had been approximately sixteen minutes until Taehyung gave up trying to feed the child, and resorted to eating his own food first.

But Jay had stopped him from doing so.

"Want that," Jay spluttered out, aimlessly pointing at the slice of whole Pizza Taehyung was about to engulf.

Without thinking, Taehyung brought up the slice to the younger's mouth and surprisingly, Jay had accepted the bite.

Jay's face lit up with satisfaction as he continued eating the pizza.

Though Taehyung was incredibly famished, seeing Jay eat so happily made him full just by the sight of it.

Jay had finished Taehyung's slice in no time, and it was as if the weight on Taehyung's shoulders had gone, for the child's needs were settled. Now he just needed to attend to his own.

Eyeing the completely untouched Pizza he unintentionally mashed up a little too much, he took the bowl and resorted to eat- or rather drink it up because what other choice did he have? He had to eat something.

As he was in the process of doing so, out in the corner of his eye, he saw Jay smiling ever so widely at the sight of Taehyung gulping down the liquid. It made his heart swell.

There was something about this child's smile which made him feel some type of way.

Still finishing up the already half empty bowl, Jay had randomly, and very suddenly spluttered out a word which had Taehyung's eyes grow wide.

He wished he had never have heard it because Oh Boy.

"Daddy."

It had Taehyung choking on the goo of Pizza.

👉🏻👈🏻👉🏻👈🏻