•The persistence of memory• [ Taekook ]

Chapter 5: Nighthawks

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The day was already in full swing when Jungkook looked at his watch. It was a little past 4 in the afternoon and he was already fed up with any conversation with Hoseok.

He was sitting a little stiffly on the small couch, next to the huge cardboard boxes of pizza and cans of Sprite. Exhausted from hunger and already a bit nervous, he turned his gaze on the screen in front of him, which Hoseok would occasionally look at until his attention was caught by the younger's loud sigh.

"You know, Jungkookie, I've known Taehyung for several years...", Jungkook's attention turned to the man in front of him again. As soon as that name was spoken, something in the younger man changed. His gaze was like a falcon locating its prey from a great height. And at the same time, he had the eyes of a small child, a boy who once upon a time was scared, hiding in the arms of the policeman on that rainy day.

Taehyung was someone special to Jungkook.

"And I never saw him occupied with any case but this one. Why does something tell me you have something to do with it?", a few seconds passed and the younger man couldn't look the other in the eyes. What could he even say to him?

"Delivery!", the voice of a unknown man was heard in front of the door, and Jungkook was relieved.

Hoseok smiled at the delivery man and gave him a small tip while holding the order in other hand which he made a while ago.

"Hey, were you thinking that I'm gonna leave you here starving with your stomach growing?", the elder man was closing the door when he turned and looked at Jungkook again.

He cleared the small table in front of them in one swing, so that the other could successfully place the bags on it.

"Thanks, Hoseok hyung."

"Don't thank me, kid. Like I said, I know Taehyung, I owe him a lot. I couldn't leave his...", he looked at the younger one again. "A friend... who is waiting for him hungry."

They continued to rustle boxes and rattle cans of liquor in silence until their bellies were satisfied. And that suited Jungkook. He couldn't bear, in addition to his burden, a story about a man he once loved and then despised. The man became of whom he is now experiencing miraculous metamorphoses.

It was easier to remain silent.

It was obvious that Jungkook was scared of the whole situation and that for him Hoseok's words were just an exaggeration. Realizing this in a moment, he remained speechless and reluctantly admitted to himself that he was flattered by this whole pun. He allowed himself in that millisecond to roll and fall on that beautiful poetic lie which the other had so easily placed on him.

Taehyung has changed. And perhaps he was the cause of it.

"Guys, this is Jin.", the door opened and Taehyung entered the room accompanied by a slightly older man.

Jin quickly settled on the chair next to Hoseok, who was holding the tape that Taehyung handed him.

"Did you record everything?", Jungkook asked as he watched from the side as Hoseok clicked on the play button and started the recording.

"Of course, I was visiting my daughter in the hospital. She had contractions overnight and I went to the hospital with my wife you know."

"Congratulations.", said the youngest not giving importance to the man's nonsense story. There was something much more important now.

Tae watched the video carefully, then clicked rewind until the time was clearly visible on the video.

1:49 a.m.