Bird of Paradise • taekook

Two

So fucking awkward.

The first time they meet is on an early Tuesday morning. Jungkook is flipping through all the gears in the shed, sorting out boards and kits of different types, preparing for the four customers of the morning lesson.

He startles when a tap lands on his shoulder, and whips around to see an equally wide eyed stranger standing behind him. The oversized black tee hangs loosely over his slender frame. Long grey pajama pants billows underneath.

Jungkook suddenly remembers Namjoon's careful instruction, "He said he doesn't want to be disturbed. So please try to stay out of his way. We can make our first guest happy, right?"

Right.

Jungkook clears his throat and speaks, "Sorry about the noise, hope I didn't wake you up. I promise I'm done soon."

The stranger blinks fast, and responds, "It's fine, I um, just wanted to say hi. We didn't get to meet yesterday..."

Jungkook eyes him hesitantly, "Hi. I'm Jungkook, Namjoon probably explained already. I just need to load everything into the truck, five minutes tops."

The stranger smiles and bites his lips, "My name is Taehyung. No rush, really."

They stand together, blinking at each other awkwardly. Jungkook wants to say something, anything to break the silence, but remembering Namjoon's instruction, he makes up his mind, "So, off I go." He grabs four boards and nods before striding away.

After that, they meet a few more times around the house, always short and to the point. Taehyung turns out to be a discreet guest, barely any noise through the thin wall between the two suites. It's only a week, Jungkook reminds himself. He'll be gone before long. Namjoon says he seems to be satisfied with the stay. As with all things Jungkook is unsure of, he relies on Namjoon's judgment and tucks it to the back of his mind.

————

It's always silent under water.

How he loves it, being swept under as the wall of water crashes onto him punishingly. A blissful fizzle floods his ears, low static sound that drowns out the noise of the world. And the way his vision blurs and becomes one with the deep azure, drawn towards the depth of the abyss. But inevitably, his head lifts up towards the light, as his torso pulls up up up.

Jungkook's head breaks through the surface, and suddenly all the sounds return - the gust of the wind, seagulls squawking in the distance, and the waves slosh and splatter around him, white tips dissipating into foam.

His arms paddle forward forcefully, and he rips around to scan the ocean. Finally, as his feet graze by coarse gravel underwater, he finds what he's looking for - the bright red wetsuit and tiny head bobbing in and out of water. There might've been a scowl on the petite face, pushing an inward chuckle out of Jungkook. He pulls his board from underneath, and starts to stride towards shore.

The afternoon sun is launguid, patches of cloud casting blurred shadows on shore. Jungkook shakes the water off his hair, powder blue surfboard cold under his arm, the floating turtle on the back a little scratched up on the belly.

Namjoon is seated behind the white plastic table outside of the house, with letters and a laptop in front of him haphazardly. But as usual, his eyes are glued to the small notebook in hand, the curled up pages fluttering in the wind.

Jungkook sets his board down next to one of the flimsy plastic chairs, and grabs the thin beach towel on the table, "If you weren't gonna work on the bills anyways, should've just left them inside the house so they don't get wet."