Stay With Me

Serendipity

Taehyung's POV

"Hyung, just give me your hand!"

"Didn't you listen to anything I said last night? We can't, Jungkookie." 

"We're fine. It's just holding hands. It's innocent. Besides, we're not even in the public right now, relax."

I know better than to let myself be deceived by Jungkook. Of course he would find loopholes. The maknae has gained a reputation for himself for a reason. If he wants to be cunning, he will be.

Heaving a heavy sigh, I roll my eyes and let Jungkook pull me to the car, one step at a time. My feet feel like bricks, and I purposefully let the weight drag us, partly to bother him, and partly for my own sanity. No matter how much I love that Jungkook's trying to prove himself to me and all, I really... I'm still scared about this. It hasn't been more than 24 hours since I spilled the secret to Jungkook and Jimin, and already, they're acting like nothing's happened. Don't they realize how important this is? One wrong move, and we'll all get in trouble. The reputation of BTS, how far we've gotten, all of it will go to waste. I can't be the cause of that. I won't let Jungkook be the cause of it either.

I know that I have to be responsible, but as Jungkook pulls me into the car and sits down beside me, all thoughts about responsibility fly out the window. I blame him. Jungkook makes it so difficult to be mad at him. The way that he tosses my hand around in his own, the way that he flashes me that little bunny smile of his- God, I can't take it.

"Sulking, hyung?" Jungkook teases, his nose scrunching up. He moves closer to me in the limited space we have, keeping a firm hold on my hand. He's such a brat, this boy. He's having so much fun teasing me, isn't he?

"Jungkookie..." I start, forgetting why I'm even upset in the first place.

"Shh, hyung. It's fine. As long as ARMY don't know, we're fine, right? Hyung never said anything about staff knowing, right? It's not like they'll leak it to the public or something."

Oh, Jungkook... you have no idea. People will do anything for money.

Holding in my own intuition to say something I might regret, I sigh, and face him. Namjoon hops into the front seat, and I move closer to him, afraid that he might hear. Namjoon can't know about this yet. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he already did know. He has a way with picking up things like these.

"Even though I'd love that, Jungkook, we need to be sensible." I tell him, hating how I'm sounding like a hyung for once. "You know that we can't really trust anyone... what if they do tell someone?"

I'm probably being paranoid, but I should be this way. I'm supposed to be cautious in this business. Anyone can latch onto your weakness, no matter what it is, and expose you for it. Fans, no matter how devoted they are, aren't exactly the most forgiving when it comes to their idols having actual personal lives. Hearing about our relationship would do more than damage BTS. I don't even want to think about how people might react.

Features softening, Jungkook lets out a soft sigh and lets go of my hand. He gives me a pointed look, his clear eyes offering me nothing but a reflection. "Hyung... why do you have to make this so sad?"

I'm making this sad? I'm just being mature, though.

"I-I'm not trying to."

Feeling like a bumbling idiot, I bow my head and study my shoes, wiggling my toes in the process. I trace the seams of the red and white shoes with my eyes, tapping them on the floor of the van and imagining that I'm the one driving, my foot on the pedal. I should have worn different shoes. It's easy for white to get tainted.