CRUSH CULTURE!

THE HIERARCHY

true to his word, jeongguk kept his mouth sealed.

not that he had the option to anyways. he has a reputation to uphold: the big, bad wolf of the basketball team, try him and you might get dunked headfirst into the net. and apparently, being anything other than straight and successful ruins that image. not mention if his father got ahold of this, he'd would cut off his credit cards, kick him out of the penthouse, exclude him from his will, leaving jeongguk nothing to inherit — essentially disowned. as such he couldn't speak of it, hell he couldn't even imply it. after what happened a couple years ago, jeongguk had learned his lesson.

taehyung, on the other hand, not so much. he had the liberty of expressing himself freely without suffering the repercussions of his actions. so what he was gay, what were they going to do, hit him? they'd spend the rest of their days paying off the lost lawsuit. luckily for him, his parents were much more lenient towards what he could and could not do. obviously, he had to be somewhat reputable in the eyes of the business world, but his personal life doesn't speak for his work ethic.

    even so, taehyung had no wish for their affair being leaked to the society, key word for high school. there is always a certain hierarchy, no matter where you are in the world. the affluent, the influential, the creators, the experienced, the average, and the lower class, that's the ranking. an area where you are free from the expectations and judgement that you face in a society, simply does not exist. so they continue their charade because even if they do break through an obstacle, there's always another one.

   they had risked it all for it — the hierarchy. either, you're in or you're out. we're all lost souls wandering a dirt path, searching for a new direction. but what if what you've been searching for has been there the whole time?

was the hierarchy really worth the heartbreak?

yes, it was. jeongguk knew it was because he still had the cigarette burns on his back, bestowed from his father. and as long as they were there, the hierarchy always came first.

    it didn't matter how much it hurt to treat taehyung with he abuse and discrimination, instead of the love and affection he truly deserved. it didn't matter how it ripped his heart in half to spit out, "i don't date faggots!" it didn't matter how much he wanted to grab taehyung in his arms and never let go ever again. it didn't matter how he had shed a million tears on the numerous occasions he had encountered taehyung's hateful or hurt expressions.

as long as it existed, the hierarchy was always the first priority. always. and in turn, taehyung would have to take last place, when in actuality, they should be switched.