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epilogue #5 | taekook

note: read the bonus chapter for taekook first for this ending to make a whole lot more sense ♡♡♡
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"um... sorry, but do you have vinyls?" jungkook asked in a small voice.

it felt stupid, asking if they sold vinyls in a record store.

"uh... yeah, we do," the store assistant smiled at him quizzically. "what exactly are you looking for?"

"d- um, do you have s-shinhwa?"

he felt stupid, a big strong football player stammering and hiding his hands in his sleeves. he was supposed to be confident and outgoing, but since the football season had ended and he'd finally broken things off with yugyeom, he'd become withdrawn and anxious.

"yeah we do, they're over that side of the store," said the store assistant, pointing him in the right direction.

he'd been to see dr. hong, his therapist, that morning as one of his regular appointments. dr. hong had suggested going out somewhere to buy something nice for himself, maybe somewhere calming to him.

jungkook had followed his therapist's advice, except for the fact that what he intended on buying was something that brought back a bank of painful memories, yet it was still something he held dear. it reminded him of what he'd lost, and what he still longed for.

the same shinhwa record sat in pieces at the bottom of his drawer at home. kim taehyung had stepped on it that day he'd ended it all.

"o-okay..." jungkook shuffled in the direction of the shinhwa records, tugging his sweater hood up over his head.

it was like everyone was watching him and he hated it. what if they knew what he was? what he'd done? he was a lying, cheating coward.

the shinhwa record was on the shelf and jungkook reached for it, his hand colliding with another. the record slipped through his fingers but he deftly caught it, coming face to face with the other person.

"...taehyung?"

the word slipped between his lips for the first time in what felt like forever.

"kookie?" taehyung blinked at him before coming to his senses. "uh, i mean jungkook. sorry, did you want that?"

jungkook nodded slowly and clutched at the record in his hands. "yeah... yeah i did. but, um... you can have it! if you want?"

jungkook could've sworn that was the highest number of words he'd strung together in a long time.

"i..." taehyung trailed off, fiddling with the straps of his rucksack. "it was for you anyway," he confessed. "i felt bad for breaking the old one..."

jungkook could have stared at taehyung forever, absorbing the golden radiance he emitted. taehyung was like a ray of sunshine, a breath of fresh air, but now his smile had faded.

"oh," was all jungkook could manage in response.

"let me buy it for you," taehyung insisted. he grabbed the record from jungkook, trying to hide his flushed cheeks.

"no, it's my fault it's broken-"

"oh, stop," taehyung implored, meeting his eyes with a sad gaze. "i never stopped loving you, okay?"

jungkook almost forgot how to breathe then.

taehyung sighed in exasperation and tugged his beret more firmly over his reddening ears. "i told you i didn't love you anymore, but i did," he said, and his voice broke in the middle. "i was just scared of what people would say if they found out, how they would hate me. and i just... i just couldn't do it anymore."

jungkook wordlessly took taehyung's free hand in his. "it's okay," he whispered.

"no, it's not." taehyung bit his lip. "do you know what they say at school? there's already a rumour going around and i don't know who the fuck started it..."

jungkook took the record from taehyung's hands and put it back on the shelf. as the boy burst into tears in the middle of the store, jungkook felt an overwhelming urge to protect him, to take him into his arms and hold him. and so he did.

kim taehyung didn't deserve to cry. none of this was his fault. if anything, jungkook blamed himself. he was the one who came onto taehyung that night, drunk and desperate for some sort of release. it was his fault this all began.

and so as the store assistant looked their way and stared in curiosity, like the others already were in school, jungkook wrapped taehyung in his strong arms. he held him close, rubbing his back in comfort, as if he would never let go. tears formed in his eyes as he choked back the sobs in his throat.

it was a mess. but he still couldn't help wanting kim taehyung. he wished so badly he could be his.

click!

jungkook glanced over as a student from their school snapped a picture of them. for the first time, he didn't even care.

"did someone just t-take a picture?" taehyung hiccupped worriedly.

"yeah, but it's okay," jungkook soothed in a gruff tone. "who cares what they say about us?"

"i care," taehyung mumbled. "everyone's gonna hate me. i broke up you and-"

"yugyeom? it's okay, tae, we were over months before i even met you properly," jungkook sighed.

"still," taehyung persisted, "people are going to look and stare... they'll call me a slut."

"if anything, i'm the slut," jungkook answered, his eyes downcast. "and so what if they stare? let them. i don't regret anything we did..."

"neither do i," said taehyung. he met jungkook's gaze and smiled briefly. "i'm sorry i let you go."

"well, you have nothing to be sorry for," jungkook told him, brushing taehyung's fringe out of his eyes, "really... i should be the one apologising. i'm sorry i brought you into this, and i'm sorry about what everyone says. it's my fault-"

taehyung pressed a finger to jungkook's lips, and he fell silent. "i forgive you," he said softly.

"i never stopped loving you, tae. even though what we did was wrong, i'd do it all over again in a second."

taehyung smiled a little wider then and a flash of hope brightened his eyes. "why don't we?"

jungkook blinked at him, suddenly aware of how close he'd gotten to the ray of sunshine in his arms. "what?"

taehyung leaned closer until his lips brushed jungkook's ear. "let's do it all over again."

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a/n:
i'm back!
i had a drama exam
and a music exam
to prepare for last
week so i couldn't
write but here i am!

i hope you liked the
end to taekook's story :)