The penthouse looked the same as it always had. Overdone, a tad more dated being that five years' time had passed, aggressively sterile. Jungkook slid his hand across the bottom of the counter, ensuring that no dust dare linger. Five years ago, his Mother wouldn't have it and he was sure she was the same now.
Sat on one counter was bottles of expensive champagne, various juices, frozen fruits to drop in for mimosas. It reminded him of Sunday's back in California, with his chosen family, the ones he actually adored. They would consume bottles upon bottles, shoving themselves full of scrambled eggs and real bacon, none of that turkey based stuff. He loved it, lived for it but here, it didn't feel right to drink something so personal so he opted for coffee.
One of the servers poured him a glass, her eyes darting anywhere but at him, aware of the awkwardness, "Where is everyone?"
She seemed to fiddle at the question, grabbing him a napkin and pushing both the cream and sugar forward "Finishing up business, they'll be back shortly!"
Jungkook frowned. Usually everyone was so punctual yet here he was, alone in the family home. The one he had grown up in. His figure paraded about, peering at pictures on the wall that no longer contained him. They had Jisoo at her college graduation, a picture of the night her and Tae had gotten engaged, the original wedding photo of his parents. He slid up to his room that had very clearly been converted into a storage space. His Mother must have taken up painting because a stack of canvas lay on one edge.
He crinkled his nose at the thought of her trying and failing to keep up with yet another hobby.
He paced around the top floor, heading to the balcony that him and Jisoo used to sneak out on to smoke shitty weed and share the latest gossip in their lives. There, he spotted Taehyung.
The boy was ethereal even in the day light. His curly hair seemed to be flatter than it had been the night before, slicked back with a ball cap like he was just any commoner that walked along the city streets. His designer suit had been replaced with oversized linen pants, a plain white shirt on top that Jungkook was surprised he even owned.
The most notable thing was probably that he was barefoot- no member of the Jeon family ever walked around barefoot in the home. His Mother was in high heels throughout the entire day, at night she'd swap for a flat loafer. His Father only wore dress shoes and suits, he had never seen him in anything that even resembled pajamas. Jisoo of course had a variety of slippers, all crazier than the last. But Tae, he clearly didn't follow that rule and Jungkook kind of loved that about him.
The younger boy cracked open the sliding door, the noise of the city reminding him that he really was in downtown New York. The weather was beautifully sunny, warm enough with a gentle breeze and Jungkook regretted dressing so formally.
"Good to see you again!" Tae must have heard him come out, setting his own book down and picking up his cup of coffee, "How'd you sleep?"
Jungkook lied, "Fine, and you?"
"I never sleep well when I drink! Something about it makes me restless. Got a hell of a lot of work done though..."
The two stayed for a moment, awkwardness encasing the both of them as Jungkook shifted on his heels wondering why in the world he had come out here in the first place, "What were you reading?"
Tae smirked, glancing down at the book, "You'd only make fun of me."
"Is it something boring?"
"Not particularly..." Tae was flashing that wide-mouth smile that seemed to continuously capture Jungkook, "But it is a bit embarrassing!"
YOU ARE READING
A MYSTERY TO ME | TAEKOOK
Fanfiction- When Taehyung agreed to marry into the Jeon family, he had no idea that Jungkook was part of that. - It's been five years since Jungkook and his family severed ties, five years since he moved across the country, five years that he's spent forgett...
