c σ m p α s s ¤ чσσnkσσk + small hiatus

Eighth

The cafe, Jungkook discovered, was a small, cozy thing, with the words Epiphany Cafe scrawled on the front wooden sign.

The inside was tiny, very much like a kitchen with round tables clad in draped checkered cloth. The menu was a chalkboard sign, complete with cute little doodles of an aplaca with a red scarf done in scribbled chalk, and fairly unartistically. Whoever drew the little character was clearly not gifted in art.

Vanilla, caramel, and cinnamon flooded Jungkook's nose as soon as the five of them entered, swirling pleasantly.

It felt like home.

Taehyung was standing at the front of their group, ready to order with a far away look in his eyes. Jungkook tilted his head, confused. What was Taehyung thinking about?

They were the first in line, as no one else was there, and Hoseok jumped to the front to yell at the barista girl quite enthusiatically, who jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Eunhye! It's been so long! How are you?"

The girl- Eunhye- looked alarmingly afraid at the volume of Hoseok's shout. "G-good," she stuttered, paling.

"We'll take five caramel macchiatos. As usual," Yoongi stepped in, taking pity on the poor girl.

The barista only nodded, typing something into a bulky looking dinosaur of a machine. Jungkook watched as Jimin skipped away and into a booth in the far corner, smiling brightly as he motioned for Jungkook to join him.

Hesitantly, Jungkook walked over, leaving the others to wait for their coffees.

"This is our booth," his brother announced proudly.

"Our booth?" Jungkook questioned.

Eagerly, Jimin nodded. "Every time we come here, we sit here."

Gingerly, Jungkook went to sit across from him, watching his own hands brush over the red checkered table cloth curiously. Next to Jimin's head, there was a hole in the wooden rustic wall, a damage that Jungkook studied curiously in favor of making eye contact with Jimin instead.

"Jungkook,"

Jungkook hummed, not looking at Jimin's eyes still.

"Jungkook," Jimin repeated, then sighed. "I'm sorry."

The younger's head shot up. "Excuse me?" he must have misheard.

Jimin exhaled long through his nose, then locked gazes with Jungkook so intensely the taller felt as if he was choking.

"From those years ago," Jimin began. "I was so...so mean to you. You were my brother and I loved you. But I should have shown it better, right?"

Jimin chuckled drily. Jungkook didn't know what to say.

"And then," the older continued. "And then we show up out of the blue once you start university...and we're nice all of the sudden and you must feel so..." Jimin bit his lip. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, hyung," Jungkook whispered. What else could he say?

"No it's not, Jungkook!" Jimin said exasperatedly. "I neglected you! I was supposed to be your brother!"

"And you were!" Jungkook insisted. "We're fine Jimin, you're overreacting."

Jimin's eyes visibly watered. "But-" he sniffled. "But I can't help but to look back on how- Jungkook, you had no friends. It was Yoongi who took care of you. You were bullied and I didn't even notice, I just made it worse!"

"Hyung," Jungkook said sharply. "You can't blame something like this on yourself, alright? And I'm here now aren't I?"

The younger brother left out how it actually was partially Jimin's fault for his lonliness. Simple sibling bullying only casted him out more, but Jungkook could never tell him that. There was a certain way Jimin got with these kinds of things- he felt as though it were all his own wrongdoing, and blamed himself to the point of crying in the late hours of the night. Jungkook did the same thing.