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"TAEHYUNG-AH, you really like Namjoon hyung?"
"Is that the only damn thing you listened to?" The silver-haired male turns to face the window, huffing with slightly tinted cheeks. He snivels, wiping a sleeve under his nose. "I knew I shouldn't have told you guys."
"No, no. We listened to every single word. We're not teasing you, hyung." Jungkook clarifies, shoving Jimin slightly before reverting his attention back to Taehyung. "It's just... It makes so much more sense now that you've told us."
Taehyung laughs shakily, rubbing at his eyes in frustration. "I'm just so tired of this. Whether I like him or not, it doesn't change the fact that... that I'm defending him all the time and it all seems like it's for nothing."
When Taehyung's eyes gloss over again, Jimin is quick to reach over and pull the male toward him, rubbing his side. "Taetae," He coos gently. "I don't think you realize just how much Namjoon hyung has been improving because of you."
"No, he isn't." Taehyung shakes his head. "He still works late. He still hides things from us. He still carries all the responsibility and takes all the blame. He's still stubborn. He still—"
"—talks to you, and you only, about his true concerns." Jungkook cuts off. "And that's better than what any of us have been able to accomplish the entire month."
The silver-haired male stays quiet for another moment before his lips wobble again, his heart clenching just thinking about the leader.
"But it still hurts."
Jimin and Jungkook both grimace when Taehyung turns his head away and shakily laughs, clearing his throat to act like he wasn't starting to cry again. But his watery eyes and the way he bites hard onto his trembling lips in frustration gives it away nonetheless.
The two males both share a look before moving to hug the crying member as tightly as they could in the small space of the back of the van.
They both hated this. They hated seeing Taehyung upset because it made their heartstrings pull uncomfortably. If one member was hurt, they all felt it, so this case was no different.
Except, this was also something they knew would have to take a bit more effort in fixing. They were so occupied with their own frustrations that they also didn't realize how much Taehyung was trying to do behind the scenes.
From comforting the leader and staying awake all the time, to have to endure all the coldness and indifference at times - it must have been troublesome and exceptionally upsetting, considering the fact that Taehyung had feelings for Namjoon too.
And although they understood Namjoon must have wanted to protect Taehyung or save him from humiliation, he should have still told Taehyung about meeting with the managers instead of keeping the male in the dark.
