black balloon // taekook

TWO

CHAPTER TWO: "STRAWBERRY KISSES" PART TWO

"can i help you two get something to drink?"

taehyung responded without much thought, "a strawberry margarita, please." he sent the bartender a soft smile that could make anyone melt. a warm blush flushed her cheeks as she looked to the other for his order.

"i'll have what i had earlier, thanks." he slid the empty glass towards her. taehyung held up a hand, stopping her from refilling the cup. "what he meant to say was, make it two strawberry margaritas. thanks."

jeongguk looked to his lap. he never had much interest in drinking, so he had yet to explore all the options out there. in high school, he and jimin would often mix vodka with whatever soda was around. that has remained his go to drink ever since.

when she returned with their glasses, jeongguk played with the straw as he gazed at the boy beside him. "so jeongguk, why exactly are you here?" he asked suddenly.

"huh?" the younger replied, confused.

"i mean, you're not supposed to be here, right? what made you to sneak into the Dark Angel?" taehyung explained, lowering his voice a bit. jeongguk glanced over his shoulder, quickly scanning for the boy that dragged him here. he was nowhere in sight.

"my friend brought me here," he answered, "he's been trying to get to agust-d for the past three years."

taehyung let out a light laugh. "the rapper? do you know him or something?"

"we went to the same school, no other connection," jeongguk held the margarita in his hand, which was suprisingly really good, "i'm just here for the drinks. how about you? what made you sneak through a vent."

"ah," taehyung chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "it's a weird hobby of mine to find ways into places like these. i've been kicked out of basically every vip club in a two hundred mile radius."

jeongguk was captivated, "how do you manage to get in? that's so cool."

"it's easier than you'd think," taehyung scooted closer to the boy and pointed towards the employee area that jeongguk had entered from, "there's a maintenance tunnel right by the back door. you go through there, turn right, then you're over the dance floor. if you turn left, you're in the bathroom. i thought it was the storage room, but that was a little bit further."

jeongguk took a moment to process what he said. his eyes followed the tunnel of vents while taehyung curiously scanned the room. suddenly, something caught his eye, "jeongguk?"

he hummed in response, turning to face the older. taehyung's eyes were focused towards the door. "your friend doesn't happen to be the one getting dragged out of the building right now, right?"

the younger paused, looking over to the door. just as he feared, there jimin stood, his arms held behind his back by a staff member. he yelled about every cuss word on the list. just beside him was agust-d himself.

"jesus fucking christ," jeongguk sighed and turned to face taehyung, "i'm really sorry, give me a second to handle this."
he took off in that direction. his mind going in circles. the whole idea to come here was stupid. it didn't matter that they got into the building with ease, jimin was incapable of laying low like jeongguk. that's the reason taehyung can get away with breaking into places like this regularly; he knew how to mind his own business.

making it to a hearing distance, he was surprised to hear agust-d arguing in his favor, "i know he doesn't have an invite, alright? just let him stay for my sake. he wasn't disturbing anyone."

"yeah," jimin huffed, "i didn't do anything. don't you have better shit to do than bother me?" the staff member didn't respond. jimin caught jeongguk's eye, but didn't acknowledge him.

a tall figure dressed in all black made his way to the situation, his arms crossed in annoyance. beside him stood none other than the girl who they had tricked into swiping them in. jeongguk and jimin both felt their stomachs drop. agust-d, real name yoongi, rushed to the man. "namjoon, thank god."

"what's going on here?" the man, apparently named namjoon, questioned. the staff member nodded towards jimin, "he came in without a membership, sir. i went to get him out of here, but yoongi is insisting he stays."

the girl piped in, "he lied to me, told me he worked here and left his swipe card at home." her voice was shaken, likely fearing for her job. jimin's face expressed genuine guilt. namjoon let out a sigh and looked to yoongi, waiting for his argument.

"he wasn't bothering anyone, joon. he just wanted to see me." yoongi pleaded softly. it was clear that the two were friends.

namjoon inhaled sharply before asking jimin if he came in with anyone else. jeongguk flinched as the older pointed at him from across the room. all eyes were on him. he chuckled nervously at the sudden attention.

"the shit i do for you, man." namjoon scoffed. yoongi forced down a smile, knowing his begging was working. namjoon waved the staff away and stated firmly, "i'll let it slide for the night. try that shit again and you'll be the one i ban from here." he gave yoongi a half-hearted glare.

staff let go of jimin's wrists, which were now sore from the tight grip. "thank you so much, both of you" he said sincerely, "i'm sorry for causing a scene." namjoon only nodded in reply.

taehyung lightly tugged on jeongguk's sleeve. "everything alright?" he asked. the younger only nodded and led him over to jimin.

"you fucking idiot." he hissed upon reaching him. jimin held his hands up in defense.

"hey, it worked though, didn't it?"
jimin was a nervous, giggling wreck. being next to yoongi was sending him into panic.

"who's this, koo?" he asked curiously, eyeing taehyung. the youngest opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

"i'm taehyung." he held his hand up in a stiff wave.

namjoon, who was still standing by, scoffed upon hearing his introduction. "i knew i recognized you. it's about time you try and break into my club, huh?"

jeongguk was taken aback. he really must sneak around frequently if namjoon knew his reputation. taehyung's grinned, responding smoothly, "it was like walking into my own home."

namjoon couldn't help but chuckle. places like this were usually owned by power hungry snobs, but he was different. he was down to earth; he was human.

after some minor chit chat, the two decided to leave yoongi and jimin be and went upstairs to the balcony. it was around wintertime, meaning the outdoor areas were empty. they sat on the ground, leaning against the railing.

"i can't believe jimin was right. i'm really happy for him." jeongguk admitted. taehyung happily nodded as he finished the last of his glass. it had to have been the tenth drink of the night, and it was starting to show.

he set the cup down beside him and shifted towards the younger. "you know something, jeongguk?" he asked.

god, the way he says my name.
jeongguk thought as he turned to face him. he hummed in response. "hmm?"

"you're gorgeous. really fucking gorgeous."
jeongguk's face went red and he let out a giggle. "so are you, tae." he answered.

taehyung gently caressed his cheek. "your lips are soft too. at least, they look like it."  he dragged his thumb over the younger's lips and leaned in impossibly closer. jeongguk felt his heart beating rapidly. all he wanted to do was kiss this boy. their faces only centimeters apart as they closed their eyes. lips just a moment from touching when-

"gguk, can we head out?"