I'm Here

29

"Jimin?" Jungkook whispered into the phone. His throat burned from holding in his tears.

"Kook? Hey, what's the matter? Are you with Taehyung?" Jimin said on the phone.

"No. Jimin . . . I told him I loved him. And he just stood there." Jungkook continued on, telling the elder everything Taehyung had said. "He can't really feel nothing, can he?"

Jimin paused a moment. "Maybe he was just shocked, Kook. Maybe he never thought deeper about what everything meant."

Jungkook took a shaky breath. "I don't know what to do, Jimin."

He heard a rustling on the other side of the phone, followed by Yoongi's voice ordering Jimin to give him the phone.

"Jungkook," Yoongi started, "where are you now?"

"I'm still on campus," he told Yoongi.

"I'm not sure what's going on, exactly. But I just heard enough to get the general idea. You need to go to him, Kook. You need to give him a second chance. I agree that he was probably caught off guard and didn't react as best as he could have. He's probably cooled off by now, so at least you guys can talk about it. Then give him some space to think about it. Stay with us tonight."

"Okay," Jungkook breathed. "Okay. I'm going to go."

"You got this, Kook," he heard Jimin say.

Yoongi agreed. "You got this."

Jungkook hung up and started for home.

Meanwhile, Taehyung was back at the apartment, pacing and waiting for Jungkook to come back. He didn't know where he went and he needed to talk to him. He needed to explain.

Yes, he had feelings for Jungkook. But he was stupid. Instead of being honest, all he could think of was labels and what it would make him. Gay? Bisexual? He didn't know. He had gone his whole life classifying as straight and knowing very well he was into women.

But then Jungkook came along. From the first time they met, they were best friends. That had always been the constant. But the past few weeks had introduced a new side of the younger to Taehyung. He saw more of his nurturing side and how caring he could be. The physical aspect of their relationship became so natural and the two were truly comfortable with each other.

Taehyung found himself questioning how deep his love ran for past girlfriends. He had never had as intense feelings for them as he had for Jungkook. The boy was his safe place.

Jungkook was Taehyung's home.

Labels be damned. It didn't matter if he dated a boy. All that mattered was that he was happy. And Jungkook made him happy. He made him feel loved.

He needed to tell this to Jungkook. If he wasn't back soon, he'd call, asking him to come home.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

Taehyung ran and threw it open. "Kook!"

But it wasn't Jungkook.

"Shireen?" He asked, dumbfounded.

She stared at him. "Can I come in?"

"Well, I'm waiting - " Taehyung started, but she strode past him into the apartment.

He followed slowly, in a state of confusion. "Shireen. Why are you here?"

She faced him, eyes wide. "I made a mistake, Tae. I never should have broken things off."

Taehyung just continued staring at her.

"I want to pick up where we left off. I . . . I still love you."

Taehyung shook his head firmly. "Shireen . . . "

She approached him, close enough to lay a hand on his forearm.

"Come on, Tae," she pleaded. "You can't have fallen out of love with me already."

"I'm guessing things didn't work out with the guy you left me for. That must be the only reason you're here. You don't want to be lonely."

"No!" Shireen exclaimed, gripping tighter onto his arm. "I realized that I let the best thing in the world get away from me."

Taehyung removed her hand. "You didn't let me get away, Shireen. You broke up with me."

"It was a mistake. I love you," she said.

"These past few weeks showed me I didn't really know what love was before. The love you and I had for each other was superficial. We never breached beyond what was comfortable. We played it safe. I didn't know what it meant to love or be loved. But I do now. I know what it feels like to be loved fiercely, even when words of affection aren't even said. I know what it feels like to share your soul with someone and not be afraid of judgement. And I know now what it feels like to potentially lose someone you love. And it scares me more than anything else in the world."

Taehyung took a deep breath, looking into Shireen's dejected face.

He felt sure. He felt right. He knew what he was feeling. "I realized I loved someone I've known for years, and I finally want to say to him - "

The front door opened.

"- 'I love you, too.'"

Jungkook walked in the apartment, seeing Taehyung and Shireen standing close together. He heard Taehyung's declaration of love to her.

"What the fuck?" Jungkook blurted.

Taehyung turned to him. "Kook," he said, words warm and hopeful at seeing the boy.

But Jungkook didn't hear his tone. He heard a buzzing as his skin prickled with heat. "I wanted to talk things out. I wanted you to know everything I felt. And I hoped you'd maybe change your mind and feel the same. But Shireen? Really? You invite her over right away?"

"I should go," Shireen whispered, walking out of the apartment quickly.

"I didn't invite her here, Kook. She showed up uninvited. But I was just explaining to her - "

"That you loved her. I heard that," Jungkook cut him off."

"No, that's not - " Taehyung tried again but Jungkook interupted.

"Whatever we had, it's done. We're done. It was all just fun and games anyway, right? All just a distraction."

Taehyung walked to him. "Kook, please, just let me talk!"

But Jungkook shook his head and stormed for the door. "I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your mouth."

He slammed the door and ran down one floor to Hoseok's, Yoongi's, and Jimin's apartment. He knocked on the door, which opened to reveal Jimin.

He broke down in sobs, unaware the boy he loved upstairs was doing the same thing.