He is MINE (TaeKook Love Story) (18+)

CHAPTER 6: TAEHYUNG

Slowly, it felt like I had become part of the group and we were all, finally, all moving as one. It was obvious in our singing and rapping; it was obvious in our dancing. It was a relief that this was possible after the rough start we'd had.

Things had settled down at home too. We had become used to being and moving around each other, in slow synchrony -especially JungKook and I.

I could feel him slowly opening up to me.

It started with small things, just more interaction than before. He would ask me how I was, without me having to ask him first. He would look directly at me when he smiled rather than turn his face away shyly.

He was less shy about his body, sometimes even changing clothes with me in the room. He was no longer shy about going for a shower during the day. He seemed much less tense and more comfortable around everyone. Occasionally, he even spent evenings with the rest of us, rather than hiding in our room.

"Have you noticed how JungKook's changed? Isn't it wonderful?" I heard Hobi say to Namjoon one morning over breakfast while he was busy sorting out lunches for everyone.

"Yeah, he seems a lot less shy -which is great. I was worried about him being able to perform with being so shy and anxious..." the leader of the group thought out loud, pushing his heavy-rimmed glasses up his nose.

"I think Taehyung has helped him with that." Hobi said, quietly, mulling over it. "I think it's wonderful the way those two support each other..." smiling wistfully, he wrapped a sandwich into some clingfilm and chucked it into his bag, asking Namjoon with is eyes if he wanted one.

Namjoon shook his head and continued: "Could be... Or he could have just gotten used to all of us? The group feels a lot more whole now, I think Taehyung was the final piece we needed to really gel." He nodded, satisfied that things were going well with the group.

I walked in after eavesdropping in the corridor.

"Speak of the devil." Namjoon smiled, his dimples showing, and finished his cup of coffee. He washed the cup and placed it on the drying rack.

"I'm off, are you coming?" He looked at both of us.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Yes, Boss." Hobi grinned, joking.

"I need to wake JungKook up, he's not up yet..." I said, rolling my eyes.

Namjoon and Hobi both smiled and sighed, knowingly. Getting up was really not one of JungKook's strong suits.

I walked back to the bedroom and opened the curtains. Sun streaked between the folds of fabric and the light made a bright pool on the bed.

I turned and saw JungKook sprawled, face down on the bed, half under the covers. A long leg and a skinny arm were poking out from under the duvet; his hand and face made a pillow sandwich.

The dark thicket of his hair was pointing in all directions, his face innocent.

In the quiet of the flat, I allowed my gaze to fall on his resting features. The dark lashes shaded his cheeks, gently fluttering. His lips were deliciously pouting, half open and pink.

Under the pretence of waking him up, I gently caressed his smooth, warm cheek.

"JungKook.... JungKookie..." a stroke, my voice a gentle whisper.

"Hey, it's time to wake up..." a caress down his neck, along his shoulder, across his warm, soft upper back. Gently, slowly, I rubbed my hand in between his shoulder blades, smoothing the soft fabric covering his skin.

I leaned down, my face close to his. Gazing intently at his lips I stroked the small gap between them with a single finger, hardly touching. The tickle made him stir and lick his lips. His hand came up and rubbed his face.

"Hey, time to get up, lazy bones." I shook his shoulder firmly, trying to convince myself I hadn't just been touching his lips like a lover would.

*

JungKook was a fidget. There was not a waking moment, ever, anywhere, when he was not moving. It was as if he had his own internal metronome and it was set to a much faster tempo than anyone else's.

I had noticed that the occurrence and the seemingly random pace of his fidgeting closely responded to what was going on. It was like his thermometer. The faster he moved, the hotter things were -whether it was being nervous, excited or afraid. Most notably, it would always get frenzied when we were about to perform in front of people.

It was our first big performance after the release of our first album. We were all so excited to be there, to be finally able to show everyone the results of all our hard work to date. Even though we had performed many times before, this was IT. This was the one that felt real for the first time.

Standing backstage we could hear the fans cheering and singing to the intro music, eagerly waiting for our entrance onto the stage. JungKook and I waited on a different side from the others. Our part was to enter from that side and meet the others in the middle as part of the elaborate choreography of the first song.

I could see the terror in his eyes, the black eyes large, whites showing. He was doing his best deer-in-the-headlights impression and his limbs were doing double time. We were about to go out on stage, and he was jumping around like Jiminy Cricket.

He was the face of the group so JungKook was going to spend most of the performance centre stage, with everyone's attention directly on him.

"Do you ever get nervous?" I asked him, wanting to help.

He stopped suddenly, realising he had been found out.

"Yeah" he said, staring at his shoes. "Sometimes I'm so nervous I feel like I'm going to be sick... What about you?" He looked at me shyly, from under his lashes.

"I'd be nuts if I didn't get nervous, I think everyone gets nervous, at least a little bit." I smiled at him, warmly. His vulnerability touched me; I wanted him to feel unafraid.

"Well...why do you seem so calm now? What do you do to make it OK?" his face keen, almost desperate.

"I find two things help. Laughter or distraction. One or both of them." I stated, simply.

He looked at me in disbelief, scratching his head.

Not understanding at all, he asked: "Well, how?" his face a question.

I reached up and gently pinched his ear lobe between my fingers and rubbed firmly in a steady, circular motion. His eyes drooped as if he were a puppy and I were scratching his favourite spot. I smiled.

I stopped and he snapped out of it, staring at me in wonder, his mouth wide open. I grinned at his astonishment.

A call came and it was time to go on. There was no time to explain further. I saw his desperate gaze and just hollered:

"I'll show you. Trust me!" and winked at him, laughing out loud, wildly.

This was going to be so much fun!