CLOSER

˚t e n˚

sorry for the delay, but i didn't want to post out of respect for jonghyun.

╔═══"chapter ten" ═╗

                                 ╚═ "stars" ═══╝

the bright red numbers on the clock read 2:34 a.m when jeongguk stumbled into the empty bedroom and shut the door behind him. he collapsed to the ground underneath the large window, feeling the gasping sobs that desperately wanted to escape, but swallowed them down with the contents of the large bottle he held in his right hand.

he didn't know where the night had gone wrong. for the first few hours, he was enjoying himself and was dancing with a small group of people he'd recognized from his classes. they'd talked and joked and played drinking games, and jeongguk was having fun.

but somewhere along the line he'd made his way outside to the back porch overlooking the expansive backyard. people were jumping into the pool, standing around smoking or just talking. the atmosphere outside was much calmer than inside the crowded frat house, and this was where jeongguk started to feel it.

it was almost unexplainable; a burning, aching hole in his chest like someone had stabbed him in the heart with a spear they'd lit on fire. he'd scrabbled at his chest, certain there was a real hole there, but he found nothing to explain the feeling in his chest. tears started to collect at his eyes and he turned away from the porch to run back inside, stumbling around until he found the stairs that led to the second floor.

jeongguk raised his free hand to his mouth to muffle the first few sobs he felt rise in his throat, then raised the bottle to his lips to wash away the soreness from crying. within half an hour, the bottle was empty and jeongguk had a throat more sore than the time he'd had tonsillitis.

tilting his head back against the wall, jeongguk looked out into the night sky. the stars were out tonight, twinkling and shining brightly. i wonder if seokjin is seeing the stars right now, too, wherever he is.

he was in the middle of admiring the sky when suddenly the door burst open and two very familiar people stood in the doorway.

"hyungs!" jeongguk hiccuped, eyes widening. "what are you doin' here?"

"that's not important, love. what we're concerned about, is you. what happened, jeongguk-ah?" jimin walked over and squatted down to the younger's level, reaching out a hand and stroking jeongguk's cheek.

jeongguk whimpered, eyes clenching shut. his grip on the empty bottle tightened and a strangled-sounding sob escaped his throat. "it fucking hurts and i hate everything. i hate seokjin and i hate m-myself. i just want this to be over."

taehyung's heart clenched at the sight of his best friend in so much pain. he knelt down next to jimin and reached out to pull jeongguk into his chest, rubbing his back in soothing circle patterns. "shh, shh, it's okay, hyungs aren't gonna let you hurt anymore. we're gonna fix it, okay?"

jeongguk sniffled, nodding. with the hand that wasn't clutching the glass bottle, he grabbed onto the material of taehyung's shirt. "l-love you hyungs." he mumbled as taehyung slowly picked him up, shifting him so he was wrapped around the taller male like a koala.

"come on," taehyung soothed, "let's get you home."

➴

the morning sunlight streamed through the thin curtains covering the window in jimin and taehyung's kitchen, casting rays of warmth onto the hands resting on the wooden table. the two were sitting and having a cup of coffee, enjoying the peace of the early morning.

neither of them wanted to address the elephant in the room, but it had to be done. they went for about ten minutes of just sitting in tense silence. in the end, it was jimin who spoke up first.

"what the hell are we going to do, tae?" the elder's voice was rough and he spoke slowly, both fatigue and emotion draining the energy out of him.

after returning home last night, jimin and taehyung had stayed up with jeongguk, who'd decided to have a breakdown in the middle of the night. his loud sobs had woken the couple up and they'd come running to the sofa and held the youngest tightly until he calmed down. it had been a long night, and this would surely be the first of many cups of coffee.

taehyung exhaled, rubbing his palms over his face. "christ, i don't even know. i mean, how are we meant to fix this mess? all i can think of for us to do is just be here for guk, but this doesn't seem to be enough. he needs seokjin."

"he doesn't need seokjin," jimin grumbled. "that son of a bitch broke his heart. the last thing i want is for jeongguk to go running back into his arms. what that boy needs is closure. an explanation and apology, and then it's over. he's never experienced heartbreak, so obviously he's devastated. namjoon kept him so sheltered he never fell in love before seokjin." there was a pause while jimin took a long drink of coffee, and then his normally cheery face hardened. "it's time we act as more than jeongguk's babysitters."

taehyung quirked a brow. "and how do you propose we do that?"

jimin hummed, a determined look on his face. "we're going to go have a nice little chat with kim seokjin."