down where it's wetter | KOOKV

oh this blowfish blow

Everyone gathered around the sofa in the living room as they gave Taehyung gifts. Taehyung had told them that he had given Mrs. Jeon their gifts and that they should only open them when he had left. Jeongguk wasn't happy with the decision, neither was Jaegguk, but since Taehyung had insisted, they didn't have a choice. Mr. Jeon had given him an expensive waterproof watch that would hopefully work under the sea. Mrs. Jeon had heard about the pearl bag that Taehyung had lost, so she wove him a purple one with his initials on it. Taehyung had been delighted to receive such beautiful gifts, but he couldn't help but sneak glances at Jeongguk to see if he had prepared anything for him.

Much to his disappointment, Jeongguk hadn't gotten him anything. Was Taehyung disappointed? A bit, if he was being completely honest. But he also knew that Jeongguk didn't owe him anything, and he should've been the one giving Jeongguk gifts. Taehyung's thoughts were cut short as Jaegguk sobbed quietly next to him, clutching on a cushion tightly as he tried his best to stop crying. He had taken half a day off school to bid Taehyung farewell.

"Hey, don't cry, hyung may be leaving physically, but you know I'll always be in your heart, right Jaeggukkie?" Jaegguk only sobbed louder as he buried his head in Taehyung's neck.

"Hyung, please be careful, please don't get caught again unless it's Seokjin hyung's dad," Jaegguk sniffled loudly. "And remember to eat more veggies. You're a picky eater and you won't be healthy if you don't eat veggies."

Taehyung laughed softly, "Yes, Jaeggukkie, I'll think of you every time I eat my veggies."

It was a very sad goodbye. Taehyung had always hated goodbyes. He hated saying goodbye to his grandparents on summer holidays, he hated saying goodbyes to his visiting relatives, he hated saying goodbye to Yoongi when the older mer went ashore. But this was by far the goodbye he hated the most. When he finally sat in Jeongguk's car, he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. The lingering warmth of their hugs suffocated him, making him feel cold and alone all of a sudden, and the dread of having to deal with leaving Jeongguk was unbearable. He wiped his eyes furiously before Jeongguk entered the car and pretended everything was fine, one of his best talents.

♆

Jeongguk was driving them to the beach house that they had rented when Taehyung spotted a beach with quite a few tourists. Since it was a weekday, there weren't a lot of locals, most of them looked like foreigners. Taehyung asked Jeongguk to stop by the beach before they headed to their destination. He grabbed Jeongguk's hand and dragged him towards the beach. The moment his feet hit the sand, he already felt at ease. The wind was a bit chilly, but he didn't feel cold. The two of them joined a group of young kids and played volleyball with them. Taehyung's skill was nearly the same as the six-year-olds, if not worse, as he tripped over his feet and face-planted on the sand.

"Jeonggukkie! Why is sand this hard on land? It hurts! Shit!" Taehyung whined because the kids thought he sucked too much to be included in the game and kicked him out. Jeongguk on the other hand was still playing with the kids, but gone was the playful Ggukkie. Jeongguk narrowed his eyes at the kids and started playing seriously. He wasn't in the college volleyball team for nothing.

Jeongguk was older than all of those kids combined, plus he was twice their height. With his phenomenal hulking strength and determination to humiliate those kids for looking down on Taehyung, the kids were pathetically crushed like ants under a boot. Some of them ran back to their parents crying because they lost.

"Jeongguk-ah, you're so mean to them, what if their parents are mad at you?" said Taehyung, though his heart was a bit happy that the kids got their lesson.

"Well, they were being mean to you. And I was just showing them what the real world is like. Can their parents blame me for teaching their kids how to survive in society?"