EAT||Vkook

Chapter 3: BURGERS, FRIES AND STRAWBERRY CAKE

Life was treating young Jeongguk pretty well. He was so full of joy he didn't even feel his aching muscles and the fatigue that came with sleep deprivation. He worked really hard, but laughed even harder. 'The struggle is worth it', he thought.

The group rehearsed every day and barely had time to rest because of their tight schedule. Jeongguk didn't mind this because he felt he had a purpose and -this he didn't admit to anyone- he wanted to spend as much time as possible with Taehyung.

They grew to be best friends in little time. As soon as they discovered how many things they had in common, they became inseparable. Jeongguk already had a best friend, Jimin, but he often found himself thinking that his relationship with Taehyung was very different. He enjoyed spending time with Jimin, sure, but something was missing. At one time, the thought crossed his mind: what if Taehyung was more than a friend to him?

Jeongguk would stare at Tae's soft lips while he mumbled about some super awesome video game they had to play. Sometimes he would stare so hard that he would fly off to another dimension and imagine all kinds of things. When he'd realised what dirty thoughts he had been having, he'd go so red that Tae would stop talking and wonder what was going on in that mind of his. Luckily, Jeongguk eventually learned how to restrain his imagination.

Jimin often teased Jeongguk about his infatuation. "Why don't you guys make out already?" he once said in front of everyone during practice. Jeongguk tried his best not to show his embarrassment, but his face went bright red straight away. Taehyung simply laughed as if it were the funniest joke in the world and then looked at him with his half-moon eyes. "Ah, Jiminie, are you jealous of our golden maknae here?"

Jeongguk wasn't sure about Tae's feelings. Maybe it was just him overacting or maybe it was indeed what he thought and neither of them had the gut to do anything about it. It had been a few months of fooling around, but he couldn't be certain. Tae was too friendly with everyone, although he wasn't as friendly as with him.

One thing he knew for sure: he was in love with Kim Taehyung.

Birthdays back at home were okay. His mum would bake a cake and they would eat it and then watch Jeongguk's favourite trashy tv shows. He enjoyed his time with his family and now that he was away, he missed those moments greatly, but the thought of celebrating his birthday with friends in the heart of the big city excited him so much that his knees quivered.

He was turning 16. He knew he was still a baby to have a grown-up birthday party with alcohol and what-not, but whatever they decided to was fine because all he really wanted was to spend time with them and, of course, Taehyung.

The previous weeks to his birthday, Jeongguk couldn't stop thinking if Taehyung would say something special, if he'd confess or something that could have come out of a manga he'd read. He kept fantasising about how it would be absolutely perfect if Tae said how much he liked him. But not every thought was full of love, he often doubted himself: he felt as if Taehyung could never be interested in someone like him. He was such a brat!

So when the actual date came, he was so up the walls that he couldn't sleep at all. Minutes before 12 o'clock at night, he was flicking through his phone in hopes he would receive a message from Tae, but he didn't. Jimin came jumping into the room when the clock hit 12 and hugged him breathless. He was happy his best friend was there to wish him happy birthday, but what about Tae? Could that mean that everything was part of his imagination?

Morning came and Jeongguk woke up to singing Jimin and breakfast in bed.

"Happy birthday, Jeonggukkie!" he exclaimed while putting the tray of food by his side. "We don't have much time so you'll have to eat your breakfast quickly."