Red Flag || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

• C H A P T E R 37 •

He was a mess utterly, beautifully tangled in the chaos of the moment. His heart pounded in his chest like a drum, each beat louder than the last, each thump echoing in the silence of the locker room. His hands, which had been gripping Taehyung's shirt only moments before, were now clenched tightly at his sides, as if trying to hold himself together in the face of this overwhelming truth. His body felt like it was on fire, the heat of embarrassment and desire swirling within him. He could hardly breathe, let alone speak, as the aftermath of what had just transpired weighed heavily on him.

Jungkook couldn't even bring himself to look up. His gaze stayed fixed on the ground, on the polished floor beneath his feet, as if the world below him was the only place that made sense in that chaotic moment. His fingers nervously traced the hem of his shirt, the fabric slipping between his fingers like sand, while his breath came in shallow, uneven gasps.

But then there was Taehyung.

Taehyung was frozen completely still. It was as if the world around him had come to a screeching halt, the rush of adrenaline from the game fading into nothingness as his mind struggled to process what had just happened. The kiss, the second kiss had completely thrown him off balance. His brain couldn't even keep up with what his body was feeling.

The air between them was thick with tension, almost suffocating. Taehyung stood there, eyes wide, staring at Jungkook with a mix of shock, confusion, and something deeper that Taehyung couldn't name, not yet, not with the storm of emotions warring within him. His heart, which had been beating with fury only moments before, now thudded in a strange, erratic rhythm faster, heavier, as if trying to break free from his chest.

His gaze slowly flickered from Jungkook's trembling figure down to his own hands, which were still clenched into fists at his sides. He could feel his blood rushing in his ears, the heat of his skin radiating as if he were burning alive from the inside out. But despite the shock, despite the bewilderment, there was something else a pull, a magnetic force that seemed to draw him in, compelling him to bridge the gap between them.

He took a tentative step forward, his body moving almost on its own accord, the distance between them closing slowly. His throat was dry, and he swallowed hard, trying to form words, but nothing came out. The intensity of the situation had stripped him of his ability to think clearly. All he could focus on was the way Jungkook was standing there, so vulnerable, so real his lips swollen from their kiss, his chest rising and falling with the rapid breaths he couldn't seem to control.

Jungkook's lips parted, but no sound came out at first. He opened his mouth again, but still, nothing. Words were trapped inside him, buried beneath layers of fear and desire and the rush of his pounding heart. The silence stretched on, thick and heavy, until finally, he managed to whisper, his voice trembling, "Taehyung..."

The sound of his name on Jungkook's lips sent a jolt through Taehyung's body, something like electricity surging through him, sparking something deep inside his chest. He flinched, as if startled by the power of it.

"I'm sorry," Jungkook murmured, his voice barely audible, his face still downturned, hidden behind strands of dark hair that had fallen messily over his forehead. "I didn't mean to... I didn't know... I—"

Before he could finish, Taehyung reached out, gently cupping Jungkook's chin in his hand and lifting his face so their eyes finally met. The look in Taehyung's eyes was intense, filled with so many emotions that Jungkook didn't know how to process. There was a deep ache in Taehyung's gaze, something raw and unguarded that Jungkook had never seen before. His heart skipped a beat at the vulnerability Taehyung was showing, and it only made him feel more exposed, more aware of the situation they were in.