Frenemies//Jikook (DISCONTINUED)

8.

        [ [ Listen to Your Leader] ]

Jungkook doesn't know when the older male had entered, honestly.
Maybe it's because he was too busy nodding his head to the music blasting in his ears to actually notice the door to his office opening, so that's why he almost jumped out of his own skin when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"What the-?!" His words die in his throat when he sees the person in front of him, an awkward silence hanging in the air as they have a brief staring contest.

"Leader-nim," He says stiffly, removing the headphones that were comfortably placed over his ears. "Can I help you?"

Namjoon mentally winces at the tone the younger used, noticing how his face had immediately blanked, void of any emotion, the second they made eye contact.

"We need to talk," He says, still voicing the authority in his words so the youngest wouldn't try to give any excuses.

Jungkook, knowing that there's no possible way to escape this conversation, stiffly nods as he gestures towards the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Have a seat, leader-nim."

------**********------

"I'm sorry, Jungkook."

Jungkook blinks, confused. Out of all the things that he'd expected the other to say, an apology wasn't one of them.

'Way to start a conversation, Namjoon.' Namjoon mentally slaps himself for being so straightforward after seeing the dumbfounded look on the maknae's face.

"Why are you apologizing, leader-nim?" Jungkook asks, blankly."It wasn't like you were telling me lies."

And that's how the purple haired male knew that he had fucked up. Big time.

"Jungkook, I shouldn't have acted unprofessional and lashed out at you , and I'm sorry for that. I just want to clear eveything up with you so we can go back to the way we were." Namjoon says this softly, traces of guilt in his tone, and Jungkook would be lying if he says that he doesn't feel bad for making his hyung sad.

"When I recruited Jimin, I did it with you in mind. You know we really care about you, maknae, and we're always scared of letting you go on missions because we don't want you to get hurt. Our last mission is a great example. But we can't always look out for you, so getting you a partner was the best thing to do."

Seeing the indignant pout that's starting to appear on the brown haired male's face, he quickly continues,"It's not like we don't trust you, Jeonggukie. Everyone knows how capable you are, even the higher ups. But you're our youngest, and--" Namjoon feels his cheek grow warm, embarrassed at his own confession."--and no matter how old you are, we'll always see you as our baby dongsaeng. I'm sorry for not treating you fairly during that meeting, Kook-ah. Please forgive me."

"I forgive you, hyung." Jungkook says, after a moment of silence. His doe eyes make contact with his hyung's and he offers a weak smile.  "I'm sorry because I was too quick in making assumptions and couldn't handle my emotions properly. I know you all just want to look out for me."

Namjoon holds out his hand and the youngest immediately takes it, thus getting back on good terms through a firm handshake.

"Oh, and Jeongguk," Jungkook's ears perk up at the emphasis on his name, curious as to what his hyung had to say next.

"Jimin asked me about you. I told him nothing but how we met, but I don't doubt that he'll ask you about it sooner or later. So if he does end up asking, you can always feel free to say no if you're uncomfortable with it."

Jungkook nods slowly, processing the words in his head. Jimin wants to know more about his past. Interesting.
He looks at Namjoon again to see the latter biting his bottom lip hesitantly.

"Hyung, what is it that you wanted to ask?" He asks, knowing that facial expression all too well. The purple haired male looks a bit startled, embarrassed, even, but he opens his mouth to voice out the question that he'd been wanting to ask all along.

"Jungkook-ah, your last episode, Jimin told me that he triggered it after he complimented you. That's never happened before, do you know why he triggered you?"

Jungkook shrinks back against his chair under the older's expectant stare, subconsciously wrapping his arms around himself as a sense of comfort. He can't help it, talking about this always made him all jittery and nervous.

"I-It reminded me of-of.." He stutters, stopping halfway as he remembers something painful from his disastrous childhood. His eyes glaze over, falling into the horror he calls his memories again.

"Jungkook," Namjoon says, noticing the way the youngest had stiffened, the tense posture of his body. "It's okay if you can't tell me. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Jungkook snaps out of his trance, the glazed look in his eyes disappearing as a sad glint took its place instead. Namjoon really doesn't know if the broken look in the maknae's eyes was better to see than the dazed, unfocused look earlier.

"It's okay, hyung, I'll tell you." The brown haired male takes a deep, shaky breath to calm himself down before he finishes his sentence.

" It was his words, his tone... It reminded me of him."

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A/N:  sorry if this chapter was crappy as hell 😬

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