unsated 𝐈𝐈︱𝐉𝐉𝐊 ✓

✧ 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐚

 ᴶᵁᴺᴱ 

Kim Taehyung released a tired, yet relieved breath once he found Jungkook after walking into the bar; no one was seen except for him and a bored-looking barkeep standing behind the counter, repetitively whipping down a clean glass.

Approaching cautiously so as to not alert his presence, he stopped across the room and angled away towards the far end of the bar. The bartender's attention was drawn to him, continuing to polish the cup, not moving to serve the newcomer just yet. 

Taehyung then slowly sat down on the last stool, looking intently over his friend. Despite the distance, he could see the fixed frown pretty clearly; the droppy dark eyes, steadily gazing down at the counter his elbows and forearms were heavily upon, bearing his weary weight. 

Three empty and one half-filled shot glasses rested before him, holding a clear alcohol, which, knowing Jungkook's usual poison, had to be pure vodka. If his friend knew he was there, he gave no indication, not even glancing over to acknowledge the new companion or even so much as twitching an eyebrow. 

Taehyung may as well have been a ghost. 

But again, Jungkook seemed to like keeping company with his ghosts just fine lately.

A guttural sound made Taehyung flinch hard and look up to see the bartender staring down at him, a wrinkled frown on his face. He continued to stare as he put a shot glass down in front of him, punctuated by the sharp clink of glass. He then cautioned a glance over Jungkook before looking back warningly. 

"We're not that kind of bar, son," the man said, very serious.

Taehyung's confusion shifted to amusement as he let out a chuckle. "He's my friend... I've been looking for him all day and tracked him into here." 

Understanding filled the barkeep's old eyes and he curtly nodded. "I figured you two looked a little too young and too well-dressed to be some regular folk just stumbling onto an old bar like this."

Taehyung twisted his lips. Jungkook's choice of the bar made sense. It was far from downtown and far from the people he knew. It would be a lot more convenient to drown his sorrows in his father's establishment and not waste a single penny on the drinks, but the whole point was to be alone, he realized. 

"How long has he been like that?"

"Since he showed up," the bartender said, nodding in Jungkook's direction. "He ordered one bottle of a half-decent brand, paid me, poured the shots until it was empty, and hasn't moved since then."

"Mm," Taehyung scratched his cheek absently. "Well... He's going through some stuff."

The barkeep, well studied in human idiosyncrasy, saw right through him the reason. "Women?"

"Always," he said under his breath and tapped twice on the surface. "We'll be out of here in a few minutes."

The man nodded and showed his back as Taehyung slid down along the row of stools closer to Jungkook. The dark-haired boy didn't look up once, not until his friend had seated himself on the adjacent chair. He glanced over briefly then looked straight ahead at the simple shelving filled with bottles.