VENDETTA | VKOOK

┌THIRTY FOUR┐

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A FEW WEEKS LATER

Jungkook giggled, clutching onto Taehyung's shirt, cheeks pink. "A-and then?" Jungkook asked.

"And then I told the guy to 'eat my leg' and threw my gun at his face." Taehyung said, and Jungkook burst into the giggles, throwing his head back.

"T-that's so funny- you shouldn't do missions drunk." Jungkook said, and Taehyung snickered, seeing how mirthful Jungkook looked, bringing his hands to his face from giggling too hard.

"I know. Mark beat my ass after that. I deserved it, though." Taehyung said, and saw Jungkook smile, leaning his head on Taehyung's shoulder.

"Hmm.. tonight was fun." Jungkook said, clutching onto Taehyung's arm. "Pizza. Disney. Two of the best things." Jungkook giggled.

"Yeah? Just wanted to have a chill night." Taehyung said, and Jungkook looked up at him.

"Thank you." Jungkook whispered, and Taehyung trailed his hand on Jungkook's face. "Not just for tonight. But- but for everything. I've been.. all over the place the past few weeks. But you haven't lashed out at me, or-or gotten mad-"

"Why would I get mad? It wasn't your fault, Kook. You were going through stuff- of course I was going to help." Taehyung said, and Jungkook smiled.

The past few weeks has been... hectic, to say the least.

Jungkook had been at Taehyung's place the whole time, not agreeing to leave the house. The most he'd do was step out to the balcony- only for, like, 3 minutes. His appetite decreased drastically, which scared Taehyung. He'd eat a slice of apple for breakfast, no lunch, and then maybe a little rice for dinner.

He kept insisting he was fine- and got mad at Taehyung every time he tried feeding him food. He took long baths- and Taehyung had to pretend he couldn't hear him crying in the washroom. He'd sit on his bed, staring at the wall for hours on end at times. He threw up a lot and always had a high temperature- and got nightmares and flashbacks which made him cry.

It hurt, seeing Jungkook like this. It really hurt. Taehyung would tell Jungkook he'd be fine- but himself wasn't. Seeing Jungkook so weak was taking a toll on Taehyung as well.

On top of that- Jungkook was more than adamant on leaving Busan. Taehyung convinced him to leave after he'd recovered and was ready to be alone, and Jungkook agreed.

"Also! I forgot to tell you!" Jungkook said excitedly, turning towards Taehyung with a big smile on his face. "I found a hostel near the beach in the outskirts of Seoul. I can stay there- the fee is really less. It's full of people my age who need a place to stay. Isn't that fun?" Jungkook said with a smile, and Taehyung's smile softened a little.

"Yeah. Um- yeah, Kook. That's great!" Taehyung said quickly, and then unhooked his arm from around Jungkook and looked ahead.

Jungkook bit his lip. "I-is it not a good idea? You seem upset.."

"I'm not." Taehyung said- again, rather quickly. "I just- I'm still scared for you to be out there all alone, y'know?"

"But it'll be good for me." Jungkook said, and Taehyung sighed.

"I know that, Kook. But I still feel like you're being a little irrational."

"You're being irrational!"

"Why're you getting upset with me? I'm just trying to help-"

"No you're not! You wanna tie me down and keep me here like the rest of the boys. Do you realise I've never been 2 feet outside my house without someone? I need to learn, don't I?" Jungkook said, and Taehyung sighed, looking down.