banana milk; kv ✓

Chapter 35.

Taehyung stared at himself in the mirror as he finished dressing up. He wore a simple outfit with little effort, but it still felt like too much. Everything was too much since he had woken up and it trapped him in a suffocating feeling. His thoughts were too much, his stress was too much and his emotions were too much.

Taehyung forced his chestnut eyes to tear away from the body mirror so that he could finally leave the room. However, as he made his way past his bed and towards the door his eyes lingered on the medicine packet Jeongguk had left out from the previous night. A dark feeling formed again and his thoughts mixed in, it began to overwhelm him and his breathing began to grow rough at each urge.

Cut it out.

Taehyung dragged his feet across the somber floorboards and through his door where he picked his backpack up from. A smile lifted on his face when he could hear two kids downstairs laughing and Jeongguk messing around with them.

"Okay! Ready?" Jeongguk stood up and laughed at Minjoon who whined waving his arms around blindly in the air due to Jeongguk covering his face with a beanie.

"Tae!" Mina noticed the boy first and ran towards him, "You're making us late! Come on!" She grabbed the boy by his hand and pulled him towards the door which made Taehyung laugh.

"Let me put my shoes and coat on then, have you all had breakfast?" Taehyung locked eyes with Jeongguk finally and felt his heart swell at the concern that still lingered in Jeongguk's eyes.

"Yeah we have," Jeongguk replied with a soft smile and snapped out of his trance. Taehyung just nodded and put on his jacket that hung by the door and slipped on his shoes.

"Let's go," Taehyung took Minjoon's hand whilst Jeongguk tried to take Mina's, but as expected the girl grabbed Taehyung's instead.

"Woah," Jeongguk scoffed offended as he stepped out of the door, "Thought we were friends now,"

"Sorry, Taehyung's hands are just better to hold," Mina innocently smiled at the boy who just playfully rolled his eyes and walked ahead of them.

Minjoon tugged down on Taehyung's arm and pulled his hands away to sign. 'Why is he coming?'

"I don't know," Taehyung replied which made Jeongguk turn around to see what he was talking about.

Mina noticed the boy staring and slowing down, so she took the opportunity to pull Taehyung's arm forward and reach out for Jeongguk's hand too. Jeongguk gave it to her confused, and then felt his heart skip a beat when she forced his and Taehyung's hands together.

"See? His hands are so much better to hold," Mina walked beside Jeongguk who had his eyes set down on their intertwined hands, a blush decorating his ears.

Taehyung stared too, heart pounding against his chest and wide eyes waiting for Jeongguk to let go — even though he didn't want to. Luckily, Jeongguk didn't want to either. The boy tightened his grip around his hands and gave him a sense of security and safety which eased his clouded mind.

The two walked silently beside each other trying their best not to focus on their hands, but it was hard. Taehyung would occasionally reply to Minjoon who would keep asking about why Jeongguk was there and if he would be everyday.

Mina tapped Jeongguk's arm making the boy look down at her. She pointed subtly ahead at a girl and her father who were already looking at them.

"That's the guy?" Jeongguk whispered and scoffed when the girl nodded. He looked ahead confidently and pulled Taehyung closer to him which the latter questioned.

"Mia!" Mina squealed running up to the girl who did the same. Taehyung smiled at the sight and turned to Minjoon who surprisingly ran off too. A feeling of proudness swarmed him when he saw the boy join in with a friend who he had not seen before.