Snow and Ice || 태국

Roses

Some people speculated the people he had backing him. Others imagined how he threw his weight around in the team and bullied the rest with his power. Rumors flew and opinions were diverse as people weighed in on this. Casual netizens' impression of Jungkook deteriorated greatly. Even Jungkook's fans had many doubts and numerous people stopped fanning over him. The remaining fans had faith in Jungkook and all scrambled to help him quell the rumors.

But it was useless.

Slowly, as Jungkook's poor condition sustained in subsequent competitions, there were more and more voices condemning him. The media that once praised him to the skies and said that he was a "rare genius", a "master at controlling the competition tempo" and the "savior of Korea's ice hockey" now changed their tune. They said that he was a "flash in the pan", the "scourge of the team" and the "one bad apple that spoils the entire barrel".

Jungkook changed his ID back from "Taehyung's Global Fan Group" quietly.

Taehyung was furious. Once, he tried reasoning with those scolding Jungkook over the internet.

......

Taehyung's face was drawn as he blocked a bunch of people. Then, he ranted to Nayeon.

Nayeon was puzzled. "My king, I thought you usually don't care about that ridiculous internet criticism?"

Taehyung did not care about those but he cared about Jungkook. His heartfelt terrible at how badly Jungkook was being scolded.

"My king, don't be angry. Let me tell you, there are way too many haters on the internet these days and their mouths are filthy. You can't get mad at all of them. Over the internet, you can't even be sure that they're humans and not dogs."

"Don't say that, dogs are so cute."

That night, Taehyung bought roses at the school florist. As the shop was closing, the roses were on discount. He decisively bought a huge bouquet and held the roses as he stood under Jungkook's dormitory building and waited for him. When the boys entering and exiting the building saw Taehyung, their eyes brightened. However, when they recalled whose boyfriend this was, they wiped their drool off surreptitiously.

Jungkook returned only when it was almost 11 pm. He was overseas for a competition and was travel-worn as he hauled enormous luggage.

When he came back, the first thing he found was his boyfriend waiting for him with flowers. He could not imagine a more heart-warming scene.

The exhaustion in his body vanished into thin air. He walked towards Taehyung with a smile in his eyes, his steps light and brisk.

The light reflecting off the roses made Taehyung's cheeks seem rosy and flushed. He looked both adorable and delicious.

Jungkook felt like hugging him. But there was a huge bouquet of roses between them.

Taehyung held out the roses to him. "Here, for you."

Jungkook used one hand to take the bouquet and the other hand to pull Taehyung into his embrace.

Taehyung felt that this was too conspicuous and wanted to resist. He tightened his arm. "Don't move."

Thus, he stopped squirming and returned Jungkook's hug.

Jungkook lowered his head and buried it into the side of Taehyung's neck. He inhaled deeply.

Taehyung leaned his face on Jungkook's chest. He asked him, "Tired?"

"Not after seeing you."

Taehyung's lips quirked. "Jungkook."

"Mm?"

"If anyone scolds you, don't take it to heart. They're all monsters."

Jungkook gave a light chuckle. "All right."

"Also, I will be heading over to support you for your competition in Seoul next Tuesday."

"Skipping lessons?"

"Skipping lessons."

Jungkook's heart warmed. He nipped Taehyung's ear. "I wish I could put you in my pocket and take you out for a look whenever I miss you."

......

Carrying the roses back to his dorm, Jungkook sensed his roommates' avid attention. He explained, "From my boyfriend."

"We know!" His roommates all expressed their disdain to know more.

Jungkook displayed the roses carefully. Donghee spun several rounds around the glorious and still dewy blooms. He closed his eyes and took a deep whiff, luxuriating in the strong fragrance. He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Mm... I feel like a fairy right now."

"Are you sure you're not the fairy's pig?" Their dorm leader looked at Donghee's body and scoffed.

"Nonsense, why would a fairy raise a pig?"

"Can't the fairy be fond of pig trotters?"

"Fuck..."

As his roommates continued bickering noisily, Jungkook tidied his luggage quietly at the side. After a while, Donghee scooted over and said, "Hey, Jungkook, do you know that your wife got into a fight?"

The two words "your wife" made Jungkook's lips quirk. But when he heard about a fight, he frowned. He lifted his eyes and looked at Donghee, "What happened?"

"He flew into a rage and fought with some people on Weibo for you. You're way too lucky to have a wife like this." As Donghee spoke, he patted Jungkook's shoulder. "Introduce Taehyung's friends to me next time."

Jungkook looked at Donghee's pudgy body. Mm, he was not going to push Taehyung's friends into a fire pit.

He picked up his phone and went online. After clicking into Taehyung's Weibo profile, he browsed his conversation history with netizens.

The more he read, the darker his face became.

After he finished reading, Jungkook exited Weibo with a grave expression. He thought for a moment with narrowed eyes. Then, he called his dearest mother.

"Mom, your son-in-law has been bullied."