No Going Back

11

It is the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached warrior who wins, not the hothead seeking vengeance and not the ambitious seeker of fortune.
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The Art of War
Sun Tzu

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"Taehyung? Can I ask you a question?" Jungkook's voice pierced the confined space of the car, breaking his eight-minute streak of silence. 

Taehyung really hoped they were going to make it to ten minutes this time. With a sigh, he looked over at the younger, trying to appear disgruntled but not putting much effort into the guise.

Jungkook was eating from a bag of chips, his legs folded underneath him like a pretzel. Every few seconds, he licked crumbs from his fingers, not even aware of Taehyung's attention. But with that pink tongue peeking out from his lips, he completely captivated Taehyung.

That was not good for many reasons. The main reason being that Taehyung was currently driving.

"I have a feeling you're going to ask regardless, so go ahead," he responded, bringing his focus back to the road. 

There were minimal cars on their current route, putting Taehyung at ease for the moment. Like yesterday, he avoided the busier and more direct roads in exchange for an inconspicuous detour. He even backtracked one time, acting over-cautious when he thought another vehicle followed for a little too long. But now, thirty minutes outside of Busan, he was confident no one was on their trail.

"What made you want to become a bodyguard?" Jungkook finally questioned, his tone full of curiosity while he crunched on another chip. "Did you always want to be one?"

"Not really," Taehyung admitted vaguely, swatting away the younger's hand as he put a chip in front of his face.

It felt like the fifty-third time Jungkook tried to feed him. Every couple of minutes, a chip was presented to Taehyung - most likely to annoy the living hell out of him - and each time, he pushed the younger's hand aside. And yet, Jungkook didn't give up.

That seemed to be a growing trend with the younger.

Jungkook hummed, turning in his seat to face Taehyung directly. "Then what changed? Why not do something else?"

Taehyung tried to keep his facial expressions neutral, knowing the younger was intently observing him. But, try as he might, his stoic facade began to crack. His mind filled with memories of screaming and gunshots and tears and suddenly his chest was tightening and hurting and burning and there was the blood -

"Taehyung?"

Taehyung sucked in a breath of air, willing his heart rate to calm the fuck down. When he spiraled, he spiraled quickly and deeply. Thankfully the younger had interrupted his train of thoughts, pulling him out of that dangerous decline before he lost all sense of control.

It made him wonder just how closely Jungkook had been watching.

"I was tired of people dying," he whispered, not yet composed enough to veil his true thoughts.

Jungkook's eyes were still boring into him, still focused on every little reaction. But surprisingly, he let the topic drop. "When you were a kid, what did you want to be?"

"A lot of things," Taehyung said, forcing his mind to think of his childish fantasies rather than his present situation. "A farmer. A saxophonist."

"So you wanted to use your hands and mouth a lot, got it," the younger commented lightly, the sound of a smile in his voice.

And sure enough, when Taehyung quickly glanced his way, Jungkook was smiling. And it was a different smile from the arrogant, cocky smiles Taehyung had grown accustomed to seeing. This one was more genuine, with his eyes crinkled, nose scrunched, and teeth fully on display.