paralyzed | taekook

four

jeon jungkook felt as if he had been struck with the lightning.

standing up from his seat, jungkook eventually realised that he shouldn't have asked — or more like forced — for taehyung's help in the first place, at least not when the man who was doing him this favour was none other than a walking history book.

"uh, hanbok man," he blinked his eyes shut, letting all of the regrets he had in life sink like a fish out of the water. "i t-think we should call it a day."

taehyung almost spat the water he was drinking. 

"wait, what?" the clueless man pouted like a toddler. "jungkook, you're seriously not going to help me find my way home?"

it was the first time taehyung addressed him with his name. and it should've meant something. the man whose presence could easily light up the whole neighbourhood had been submissive this whole encounter, with jungkook being the one who initiated every conversation possible. so, what's with the sudden change?

"yah, how old are you?! ten?" jungkook raised his voice, turning taehyung silent almost immediately. 

fuck, i shouldn't have used such an informal tone, he regretted once again. my mother didn't teach me like this. where the hell was my manner?

but this was the real jeon jungkook. raw of emotions, slightly imbalanced hormones and a ridiculous sense of longing, all combusted in one body.  he was the type of a person that got crazy over the simplest things, used so many of the wrong phrases before cursing himself soon after. it also didn't help when he knew his mistakes, and yet, he never really tried to make amends.

"use google map or something," jungkook rested his hands on his hips, seemingly had calmed down after the breakdown. "figure out which bus route you should take or-"

"-or what?"

primordially, taehyung eventually let out the breath he didn't know was holding. to say that he was angered by the younger's childishness was beyond distortion. but what could he do, when he was the one time-traveling and mixing up the two centuries?

"i'm sorry, i shouldn't have yelled at you," jungkook announced at the same time as taehyung continued, "i a-apologise for not being able to reach this mutualism."

"another peculiar taste of words, i see?"

"indeed."

the two young adults who seemed to be a match made in heaven were looking into each other's eyes, intense yet nonetheless tender, before bursting into a fit of laughter. 

as if the world stopped spinning, they were stuck in between. their heavy hearts fluttered — as irregular as they could possibly quiver — and their minds were catching fire. all of the feelings they had been hiding inside just simply bursted in a blink of an eye, and no matter how cliche as this sounded, both jungkook and taehyung were sure that they were meant to cross path for a reason,

and that was another story to tell.

walking out of the convenience store, jungkook checked on his watch that said 10:30 p.m. and led taehyung toward the bus stop. he was content with what had happened today. meeting each other was never a mistake. from dodging a bad blind date, playing arcades like there was no tomorrow, eating cheap meals until randomly fighting about where taehyung really came from . . . he knew for sure that he was a happy man. 

and maybe, if taehyung wasn't ready to talk about his background,

it was jungkook's job to wait.  

"taehyung," stopping on his track, jungkook scratched the back of his neck in the hopes that he wouldn't look too desperate. "do you . . . do you want to see me again tomorrow? same hour, here?" 

slowly but surely, the last bus that would bring jungkook to his apartment came to view, giving everyone access to move past the crowd and enter the vehicle. and as expected, he was growing impatient. taehyung, please answer. please say yes. please-

"y-yes," taehyung answered without thinking.

jeon jungkook suddenly blushed.

"i shouldn't have said yes, i shouldn't have said yes . . ."

the moment jungkook's bus departed, it only took taehyung a second before he crouched down in regret, knowing that there was a 99% chance he wouldn't be able to fulfil their agreement. he was giving him false hope, and that was a dick move. 

now, where should he go? this wasn't even close to the palace, and yet, he still dared to make promises he couldn't keep.

after approximately two hours of walking aimlessly, taehyung stopped in front of a local park to take a breather, before seating on a wooden bench near the lake. he was looking at nothing in particular — just the stillness of the water as he listened to the birds chirping around. he was happy, sad, confused and terrified, all at the same. 

by all means, how couldn't he, when a man who knew nothing but his nation's safety and politics was suddenly transported into a whole another dimension where the only thing existed was the future? wasn't people supposed to be scared of the future?

"what should i do, aish . . ." taehyung kicked a random pebble, watching it sink into the lips of the lake.

ahhhh, he yawned.

"why am i tired already?" taehyung looked around to see no one in sight. believing that he could sleep here for an hour or two (at least before a patrolling security decided to drag him out of the park, but he didn't know that), taehyung closed his eyes and held the beautiful pendant around his neck. "thank you for today, jungkook. i hope i can really see you tomorrow."

and then he fell into a deep slumber,

not realising that the lighting explosions from his locket had engulfed him.

sorry for my lack of updates! my mobile application was being a bitch, so i had to delete it and continue on my laptop. regardless, here is chapter four ♥