Hold My Hand - A Taekook Love Story.

20 - You Didn't Have To Do That..

Jungkook couldn't help but discreetly glance at Taehyung every other second, but the latter was not looking up from his plate of food at all. When Taehyung returned from the market that evening, everyone in the house was startled to see his split lip and swollen cheek.

“Oh my god! Taehyung!” Kim Hara exclaimed as soon as she saw her son, running straight to him and examining his face. “What happened?!”

“I fell.” Taehyung answered without really meeting her eyes.

He quickly removed her hand from his face and went to wash. He was covered in dirt and wanted to have a bath. When he came back, the swelling of the cheek had reduced a bit but the split lip was even more visible, now that his face was cleaned from all the dirt.

The dinner was a silent affair. Taehyung gave the same answer when his father asked about his face and Taemin didn't press further. Hara tried to blame it on Jungkook as usual, saying that it must be Jungkook's bad luck that's rubbing off on Taehyung as well. But after a stern look by Taemin, she didn't dare say anything else.

After dinner, when both Taehyung and Jungkook returned to their room, Jungkook asked the question that had been bugging him all evening.

“W-what happened to your face?”

“I told already.” Taehyung answered as he was laying down his bedding. “I fell.”

“Falling can't make your lip split and swell your cheek like that.” Jungkook said softly, as he didn't want it to sound like an accusation. “Unless you fell multiple times.”

Taehyung paused for a second, before resuming his work. “Maybe I did.”

“That's clearly a punching wound. You're lying.”

“Really?! You wanna talk about lying? You?” Taehyung dropped the bedsheets down and laughed. “A little presumptuous, don't you think?”

“Hyu-”

Jungkook paused what he was about to say and looked down. Of course, what right did he have to accuse Taehyung of lying? According to Taehyung, he must be the biggest liar in the whole damn country.

Again, Taehyung noticed the word Jungkook didn't complete. After coming to Taehyung's house, Jungkook had never once addressed the latter as ‘Hyung’, although there were a few near slips. In a way, Taehyung was glad for it. He didn't know whether he would be able to maintain his facade if the younger called him with that endearing term. That was one of the favorite things Taehyung liked to hear from Jungkook's voice.

Who's he kidding? It still is.

“Shall I put some medicine on your wound?”

Taehyung looked up at the younger's troubled eyes, before laying down on his mattress. “No need. Good night.”

Taehyung closed his eyes and was determined to keep it that way, no matter the sounds coming from his room. He opened them slightly when he heard Jungkook leaving the room and sighed. Ignoring Jungkook was getting harder by the day. Taehyung wondered for a second whether he should leave the house. But then, he decided against it. If what Jimin said was right, he needed to stay in the house at least at night to ensure Jungkook's wellbeing. Taehyung wouldn't put it past his mother to actually starve Jungkook for the entire day. This way, he could at least make sure Jungkook gets a full meal at night.

Taehyung remembered how angry Jimin was earlier today. After he fell on the ground from that first hit, Jimin pulled him up by his collar and raised his arm to punch him again. But at the last second, he stopped himself and pushed Taehyung back on the ground.

‘Be fucking grateful that you're going back to Jungkook tonight. I don't want to make him sadder, which unfortunately is what would happen if I did what I wanted to do to you.’

Taehyung still felt a slight shiver at how menacing Jimin sounded. The latter had always been a silent presence, but a welcoming one nevertheless. Taehyung could even say that Jimin had considered him in a favorable light in their past interactions. Him and Jimin usually teamed up where things like Jungkook's safety and happiness is considered. They might not have been friends, but at least were comrades.

He wasn't given an opportunity or had a reason before this to consider what kind of a person Jimin is, as the sole guard of the prince of this country. It was scary.

Taehyung closed his eyes when he heard the sound of Jungkook returning to the room. He thought that Jungkook would go to sleep now but was surprised to hear the footsteps nearing where he was sleeping instead.

Something hot touching his cheek was what made his eyes snap open. Jungkook was kneeling in front of him, with a hot water basin and a wet towel in his hand.

“Sleep. It will take only a few minutes.” Jungkook's voice was soft as a cloud. “You need to apply some heat to restore the blood flow or it will hurt badly in the morning.”

Taehyung stared at Jungkook for a few seconds but when the latter completely avoided his eyes, Taehyung closed his own too. He could feel the hot towel on his cheek, as well as Jungkook's soft fingers once in a while. It was as if the younger one was checking the temperature of his cheek, to make sure it was comfortable.

Just like Jungkook said, it was over in a few minutes. ‘Too soon’. Taehyung couldn't help but think. He hadn't realized just how much he was craving Jungkook's presence, his closeness. Him.

“I'm gonna apply a paste on your lips. It will help with healing the wound. Is that..” there was a slight hesitation in Jungkook's voice. “Is that okay?”

Taehyung didn't trust his voice enough to speak so he simply nodded his head, while keeping his eyes closed. Something cold touched his lips in the next second, which did stung a little but Taehyung managed to not make a sound.

Jungkook's fingers were soft and careful, but there was a slight tremor to them as well, as if he was afraid to hurt Taehyung even more.

“There. All done.”

Taehyung opened his eyes and for the first time in days, their eyes met with each other's properly. Jungkook's doe eyes had a hint of its former spark. A hint of an innocent joy. And the tiniest hint of hope.

Taehyung absolutely loathed himself in that moment, for he knew he had to take away all that.

“Thank you, but you didn't have to do that.”

The way Jungkook's eyes lost it's minuscule shine was so devastating, that Taehyung immediately had to turn around. So he didn't see the way Jungkook's lower lip wobbled, or how his hands trembled. Nor the tears that gathered. Taehyung didn't notice any of that.

And Jungkook was careful not to make a sound.

After a few seconds, Taehyung heard Jungkook getting up and leaving the room. The latter was back within a few minutes and this time, he clearly was making a beeline towards the corner with his own sleeping arrangements.

Taehyung kept his eyes closed, and pretended that he was asleep already, even though he couldn't be furthest from a slumber right now. He didn't know how long he stayed immobile and silent like that, but it must have been enough for Jungkook to assume he was sleeping.

Because Taehyung was sure that the younger one would not have let him hear the sounds of his sobs otherwise.

It took quite a while for Jungkook's crying to stop, and his soft snoring to reach Taehyung's restless heart and ears. It took even longer for Taehyung to fall asleep.