Trying to behave

Chapter 18

August 2015

Thursday, the 27th, 4:11pm

Busan, South Korea

The second time Jungkook meets Hwang Kangsoo, it's not much of a "meeting" at all and he wishes he'd never seen him to begin with and in some distant capacity, wishes he was never born.

Because good things don't last, for him anyway at least. Jungkook probably should've learned this by now. Maybe everything would be easier if he'd just gotten his stupid optimism out of his head for once in his goddamn life and sat down and thought about everything.

Because how can everything go to shit so fast, so blindingly when all he'd wanted was to be happy? Was that too much to ask for?

Apparently.

'Do you know where I put my white shirt, Tae?' Jungkook murmurs into the phone where it's jammed between his ear and shoulder, idly running his hands over the messy pile of clothes he's somehow managed to jam into his shitty excuse of a closet over the years. His fingers catch in a hole in one of his shirts and he inwardly winces. 'The tank with the super small logo on it? I literally can't find it,'

'Oh?' Taehyung sounds distracted just for the briefest of seconds before he's speaking up a little louder, the sounds of obnoxious chewing breaking across the line. 'What, the one you got from that game shop?'

And he knows, just like that.

Maybe it should be weird, calling each other up for the most trivial bullshit to pass the earth but it's been years of this and they can't really complain. They just fit.

And it's not like Taehyung wouldn't know the answer to that question, so it's only fair.

'Yes,' Jungkook furrows his eyebrows at the mess in front of him before picking out a random dark shirt and throwing it into the mostly empty suitcase at his feet. He hasn't really decided what he's taking to Seoul and what he's not so whatever works and looks remotely wearable works. He wouldn't know.

He's never moved before.

'Oh um,' more loud, annoying chewing and it's endearing a little. 'I think I'm wearing that one right now,'

Oh.

Of course, he is.

'What?' and his heart immediately does not do several flips backwards and forwards and every direction in between. Not at all. He's not that weak yet.

'Yeah,' Taehyung cackles through a full mouth of whatever he's eating and Jungkook is so fucking fond it's unbelievable. Wonders when he fell this hard, but that's debatable. And yeah, maybe he's weak as fuck but no one needs to know that. 'I think I'm wearing the one you're talking about,' a pause. 'The one with the small star on the tit, right?'

Unbelievable-

'Yes,' Jungkook chuckles despites himself, because why the fuck did he fall in love with an actual terror. Can't even bring himself to roll his eyes. 'That one. Was wondering where the fuck it went. Can you pack it with your shit when you take it off, please? I need to take it to Seoul,'

'And what if I don't?' the older boy laughs teasingly, chewing even louder than before and Jungkook does roll his eyes this time. 'What are you gonna do, Kookie? What if I burn this shirt-,'

'Yah,'

'Not that I would do that to you,' Taehyung quickly adds, and Jungkook off-handedly thinks that he works a little like a truck. A truck with no brakes and no filter, probably. 'I mean. I'll burn anything you ask me to! But-,'

'And I appreciate that. Arson, though,' he inspects a washed out band t-shirt that brushes his fingers and shrugs before throwing it into his suitcase. 'Are you already all packed, by the way?' a stray pair of boxers makes it into his luggage and he wonders a little distractedly if they're washed or not.