honey | taekook

twenty-four

namjoon and tae had spent the morning at the purple-haired man's office.

the younger was surprised to see an entire network of people doing exactly what namjoon did except for different groups and other people. it was a huge undertaking, a mound of chaos on a single floor of a sky scraper, but he kind of loved it.

the energy.
the free coffee.
the casual idol that walked in for a chat.

it was exciting despite the work being anything but-

"did you see this?" tae sat on the opposite side of the desk, glasses covering half of his features making him look like a true scholar.

namjoon leaned forward, his brows crinkling in distaste before he finally erupted, "fuck!"

tae winced at that, shocked by the profanity that spilled from his mouth.  it was out of character for namjoon who was typically the most level-headed individual on the planet.

"why is this still getting attention?" the older male ran his hands across the desk, clawing at the wood in frustration over the article that was presented in front of him.

it was more about jungkook- about how he's been difficult in rehab, how he showed up uninvited to see his daughter despite no custody arrangement being made, more from the mouth of park jimin himself, and of course the fact that he had now been caught driving under the influence twice.

they called him reckless, an endangerment to society, and hidden within everything was a cry for his label to drop him immediately, terminate the contract and the promise for new music, get rid of every brand endorsement and deal he'd ever been apart of- these people who once called themselves fans, now wanted him off the face of the earth.

that would hurt jungkook more than anything- those were his people, his reason, his self-proclaimed family and they had been patient, for years, yet, he had let them down again, repeated a mistake and although it was psychologically deeper than that- they didn't care.

"i've got to see him and tell him. before his label calls, before he gets word of the news- he's gotta hear this backlash from me!" namjoon stood, defeated and distressed as he gathered some things into his bag, "can you e-mail that to me?"

tae nodded, wishing he could go with- he'd been craving just the sight of jungkook, wanting to know if everything he had heard and read and seen was true. wanted to see if it meant anything ever or if he had simply been delusional. it was a hard pill to swallow.

joon had attempted to prepare a speech the entire way there. with thirty minutes from his office to the center, he would have thought he could have come up with something worthy but his entire brain was just mush mixed together which didn't leave a lot of confidence about jungkook's future in his heart.

"here for jeon jungkook..." namjoon pulled out his identification card while the women ensured he was on the visitor list, directing him where to go as soon as it was confirmed.

the hallway she led him down seemed like the longest walk, like heading to death row, or waking the plank of a ship- in a way, he hoped that jungkook's room would never appear. then maybe he could leave, tuck the bad news away from one more night but there he was-

door wide open as he plucked at the strings of the guitar he had brought with. he looked a tad thinner, a bit paler, with eye bags ten times darker. it was evident he had gone through the detox portion of everything because he didn't have that glow that he tended to when he was feeling chipper. it hurt namjoon's heart to see his little one in such a way so, he forced a smile in hopes that would provide some sense of reassurance.

"hi kook!"

"joon!" he seemed shocked, standing from the edge of his bed and placing the guitar next to it, "what are you doing here man?" jungkook was oblivious to the incoming bad news.

"stopped by to see how you were doing? our back and forth texts aren't a great replacement for actually getting to see you!"

the two hugged. they had been here a thousand times before.

"now what's the real reason?" jungkook wasn't stupid, he knew there was more to it. he could sense it by the way namjoon's shoulders tensed, the way his brows knitted together into a desperate scowl like he was searching for something minuscule, it was all too obvious.

the older chuckled, falling into the vacant desk chair that sat on the opposite side of the (tiny) bedroom, "so, an article came out today. there is a petition of sorts to... cancel you, drop you, remove you from the entire industry- i don't know if it will do anything but you know the label is already-,"

"yeah, they're mad. i haven't put out a single in months." jungkook scratched the back of his neck, disappointed but not surprised that this was the outcome they had reached.

"maybe if you had a song, one that we could try to turn into a super relatable hit- i don't want to take away from your healing but i don't want you to lose what you love because you're in here, ya know?" namjoon seemed to come to kook's defense immediately, picking up the pieces as he pondered what they could do to make this right.

jungkook rocked back and forth, "i have that song with tae that we recorded, remember?" he thought back to the last time they were in the studio, "is that finished?"

"i'd have to check with production and see if that's one they worked on- do you think it's worthy of being a single?"

"we could have a whole album of just that song on repeat, that's how sure i am that it's a hit!" jungkook rocked back and forth, his eyes fixated on the wall- he wanted to ask, needed to know but was timid.

namjoon could sense it, "he's doing okay. i know he misses you and wishes you well. he offered to help in any way you need and he's currently doing communications for me so he's not out of a job or anything if you were worried!"

"i never said i was worried." jungkook shifted his eyes to the floor, visibly lying.

of course he was worried, each night in his healing journal he wrote a small note about how he hoped tae was healthy and happy and thriving without jungkook around. wished for him to do what he loves, wished that what he loved was sticking around for kook to get out of rehab.

it felt selfish but it was his journal, after all.

the younger continued, "i think it would be fun if in the bridge, we could have tae play his viola to lead up to it and that should fit with the drop to the chorus if i remember correctly. please have him try it and make sure production works on that song if they haven't; i don't want to have to leave here in this matching sweat suit to do it myself!" it was a demand, something jungkook had failed to make lately, far too caught up in his own problem to have any industry demands.

"i got you." namjoon took the younger's hand in his own, "i'm only going to ask you once more, this is the song you want to put out there? for sure? out of everything you have compiled thus far, this is the one?"

"do you hate it or something?" jungkook felt suddenly self conscious.

"not at all; i think it's perfect!"

jungkook did too.