ᴄʀᴜᴛᴄʜᴇs || ᴊ.ᴊᴋ + ᴋ.ᴛʜ ✔️

twenty-five: the artist's passion

Summer ended and the autumn season settled just like the leaves of the trees settled to the ground. It seemed a blur. A strange blur. With school back in session and the soccer tournament fully in swing, Taehyung had a lot on his mind.

Although it didn't help that Jungkook wasn't showing up to practice to watch Tae and the others. But at least he was coming to school. And Taehyung said to himself, it was better than nothing.

The discouragement lingered. However in some odd way it sparked an equal balance of determination in the boy.

And it was just as his mother told him: a little determination can go a long way.

Their soccer team not only made it to the finals—they made it to the final match. The second year in a row.

"I guess you were more suited to this than the art club after all," Seokjin had said to him one day, hoping to be of encouragement. "Look at you. Doing big things, making me proud."

"You're being dramatic again, Seokjin-ssi."

"That's 'Jin', and I'm never dramatic! I'm honest to the second power!"

They didn't talk as much as they used to. But the two were still good friends, and Jin was still genuinely happy, but also concerned, for the boy. He promised he would go to see Tae's final match, if he had to pry the car keys out of his father's old, calloused fingers.

Yoongi was the same—well, he didn't choose his words quite the same way as Seokjin, but he felt similarly.

"If you've gotten this far on a near-empty tank, I doubt there's anything you can't do now."

It meant so much to him. Those words. Yoongi was a wise person, and Taehyung often felt wiser just talking to him.

"Thank you, Yoongi." He smiled. "Will you come to the game?"

"I sure hope to."

"I hope so, too."

His classmates all wished him luck as well. And Jimin, of course, though to a much greater extent.

It was the day before the match when he approached Tae at school, an almost undetectable smile on his lips. Taehyung smiled when he saw him.

"Are you nervous about the game?"

"Not really," Tae answered sincerely. "I've got too much on my mind to be nervous."

Jimin breathed a soft laugh. "That's good, I guess."

"Mm."

"...I know you'll do great, Tae."

"Thanks, Jiminie. Nice to know so many people have faith in me."

"Jungkook does, too."

His name always pulled Tae's heart out of its little hiding spot. His peaceful expression almost collapsed, but he held it together enough to smile again and nod at Jimin's words; however his brows arched, tone piquing in his question: "Does he?"

"I know he does."

"How is he?"

"He's been experiencing trauma from the accident recently," Jimin answered solemnly, which made both Tae's and his own heart clench. "It's been almost one year since it happened. And I've been doing what I can to help him, but I can see it's been affecting him a lot."

Taehyung scanned Jimin's face - he could see in the boy's eyes emotion he couldn't put into words.

"Will he be at the game?"