TAEKOOK | HOPE

• 31 fuckin done

☣

Jungkook raises his eyebrows, huffing out a surprised laugh, and Taehyung grins back at him cheekily. The tension of the previous moment subsides, leaving Jeongguk partially relieved, partially disappointed.

"Now?"

"Duh."

He sits up, stripping off his shirt. "You're on."

They leave a trail of clothing behind them as they race down to the shore, gasping and giggling as the cool water hits their bare skin. Taehyung latches on to him almost immediately, and they tumble underwater, splashing each other and play fighting. Eventually, it devolves into more than that, Taehyung wrapping his legs around Jeongguk's waist as they kiss under the stars, the water up to their shoulders.

"I love this place," Taehyung murmurs, his lips salty against Jeongguk's. "I wish we could just stay here forever."

"Me too," Jeongguk says quietly, palm stroking over the wet hair at the back of Taehyung's head. It's getting harder and harder to forget that their time here is coming to a close, but their conversation tonight had given him a flicker of hope. "We'll come back."

Taehyung nods in fervent agreement, kissing him again.

They make love on the beach that night, and it feels different this time, more intense somehow. Every night they've spent together has been meaningful to Jeongguk, but there seems to be another level to it now, an acknowledgement that maybe this doesn't have to end when the vacation does. It makes him cling to Taehyung more tightly, makes his heart beat dangerously fast when Taehyung repeats his name over and over again. For the first time since this began, Jeongguk allows himself to feel hopeful.

___

Their last day is spent lazily, lounging around the house and by the pool as they all put off packing. Jeongguk finds that he can't stop touching Taehyung, even with all the others around, as if he needs a constant reminder that Taehyung is actually real. The possibility of Taehyung coming back to Korea hasn't come up again, but every time Jeongguk thinks about it (which is pretty much constantly), his stomach explodes with butterflies.

Just after lunchtime, Taehyung's phone starts vibrating with a call, and he extracts himself from Jeongguk's side, muttering something about work. He wanders into the next room, not far enough to be out of earshot, and the six of them glance around at each other before giving up any pretense of pretending not to eavesdrop.

"Seriously?" they hear Taehyung saying. He sounds surprised. "When?" There's a pause, presumably while the person on the other end of the line is speaking, and then he continues. "Yeah, no, I am, of course I am. I just - I wasn't expecting this." Another pause. "Okay, yeah, I will. I'll be back in LA tomorrow, we can talk then." Jeongguk's stomach clenches. "Thanks, Kev."

He reappears in the doorway a moment later, frowning when he finds the six of them staring back at him. "I'm guessing you heard all of that?" he asks.

Namjoon, at least, has the decency to look guilty. The rest of them just shrug and nod.

"What happened?" Jimin asks.

Taehyung glances over at the Jeongguk before looking back to Jimin. "I got offered the part in that movie I told you guys about."