✔️ 𝐈𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 | 𝐓𝐚𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐮𝐤

Chapter Ten.

Taehyung

"Hyung! I brought your favorite food!"

Taehyung opened his eyes, shifting his gaze so he was now looking at the figure that occupied the doorway. Jeongguk was standing there, beaming at him with a plastic bag grasped in his tattooed hand.

"I don't remember telling you what my favorite food is," Taehyung mused. "Get over here, I'm starving. Hospital food is garbage."

Jeongguk bounced over to Taehyung in a puppy-like manner, and Taehyung eyed him curiously. "What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing in particular," Jeongguk told his friend as he sat down on the empty hospital bed parallel to Taehyung's. The scent of the food finally hit the older's olfactory, and his mouth watered immediately. He couldn't wait to sink his teeth into some real food.

"I can be happy without a particular reason," Jeongguk continued. "Here, it's japchae."

"Oh my God, I could kiss you right now," Taehyung exclaimed. He didn't realize what he had said until he locked eyes with Jeongguk, who had turned a brilliant shade of scarlet. The blood quickly blossomed underneath Taehyung's skin, and he cleared his throat. "I... I really love japchae, and I'm just happy to see some real food again, you know?"

"Yeah..." Jeongguk responded, frozen. He wished Taehyung would kiss him.

"Anyway, here." Jeongguk jutted his arm forward, extending the takeout box to Taehyung. The older was happy to change the subject, so he took the box swiftly and popped the lid open with a squeeze.

"Wow!" Taehyung marveled. Steam erupted from the box, along with a powerful aroma of sweet and umami flavors. It took him no time to grab the chopsticks that Jeongguk extended to him, digging them into the clear noodles. He shoveled them into his mouth, a satisfied slurp telling Jeongguk that this was just what his friend needed.

Jeongguk didn't talk until Taehyung had sucked down all his noodles, which took no time at all. He wasn't even sure Taehyung had chewed at all. It appeared to be a constant stream of steaming noodles and vegetables soaring into his mouth and instantly being swallowed. This version of Taehyung definitely rivaled that of the gentle, graceful boy whom he had first met months ago. It was amusing.

"How do you feel?" Jeongguk asked finally. "It's been what? A week?"

"Yeah," Taehyung replied, his words muffled by the noodles. "And this is the first decent meal I've had. Jimin tried to cook, but he burned the kimchi fried rice he made, so he brought me a couple bags of Pocachip."

Jeongguk chuckled, looking down at the half-eaten container of japchae in his hand. "I didn't know Jimin cooked."

Jeongguk really didn't know Jimin at all, as they had only met a few times. Taehyung spoke very highly of his friend, though.

"Well, I'll bring you food every day if you really want it," Jeongguk stated. Taehyung's eyes lit up.

"Really? Oh, no, you don't have to, that gets expensive."

"My roommate, Yoongi, cooks like he should be a professional chef," Jeongguk told Taehyung. "I think it's because he recently got a boyfriend, because I've never seen him cook anything but ramyeon before."

Taehyung smiled. "Well, people do crazy things when they're in love."

Jeongguk returned the smile. "Yeah, they do."

The pair sat in silence for a brief moment before Jeongguk began to collect all the trash from their meal. "I have a client at 1, so I should go."

Taehyung nodded. "Ah, yeah. I hope it goes well! Thanks for the food, Gguk-ah!" He beamed at his friend, and Jeongguk wanted nothing more than for that smile to remain on Taehyung's face forever.

"I'll be back tonight with more, okay? And I have an idea as to something fun we can do."

Taehyung raised an eyebrow and grinned. "And what would that be?"

"You'll find out tonight! Now rest."

Taehyung sighed, pretending to be annoyed. "Alright, I'll try to sleep, but I doubt I'll be able to because of you."

"That's unfortunate, hyung," Jeongguk teased. "Bye~"

And he was gone.