Brighter Days || Taekook

Part 43

Practice is out oft he question after Taehyung's outburst. He's still kneeling on the floor, all his anger and fear dissolving into tears that get soaked up in the fabric of Jungkook's t-shirt, when Namjoon, Jin and Jimin return to the dance studio. It's chaos when they arrive, Yoongi and Hoseok bombarding them with questions as Taehyung still clings to Jungkook for dear life, while the youngest member repeatedly promises him that he's fine, Jimin's fine, nothing happened to any of them.

"It's all a bit more complex than we expected," Namjoon says as he tries to calm down Hoseok and Yoongi and explain the situation. Jimin stands behind him, looking drained, and leans against Jin's shoulder in exhaustion, the oldest member wrapping an arm around him to provide support, both physically and mentally.

"So you're essentially a spy?" Yoongi asks when Namjoon has given them a quick run-down of what's going on.

"A ninja," Hoseok chimes in, and Yoongi elbows him in the ribs while fixing him with a glare that is meant to tell him to stay serious.

"I guess," Jimin answers timidly. "I didn't mean to hide it. I just- PD-nim didn't allow me to tell anyone."

"You told Jungkook though," Yoongi points out, and now Hoseok gently nudges him, a silent reminder to focus on the bigger picture and not get hung up on details.

"The important thing is," Namjoon raises his voice to steer this conversation away from turning into a discussion of who told whom what, "that all of us are really on the same page now."

Everyone agrees quietly. Taehyung can feel Jungkook relax against him, and he wonders just how difficult it was for Jungkook to be caught in the middle of all of this, harbouring so many secrets that he had to hide from everyone. But now all the secrets are out, or at least that's what Taehyung hopes, and they can finally move forward as a unit.

Their dance teacher chooses this moment to enter the room again, and freezes as he takes them all in. Jimin's eyes are puffy from crying, and Taehyung is still on the floor and his face pressed against Jungkook's shoulder, body trembling from the leftovers of adrenaline.

"Come back tomorrow," he tells them with a sigh as Namjoon tries to explain what happened without actually giving away what happened and flounders.

It's only the early afternoon, and half their lunch is still originally sealed in its plastic boxes, and because the sun is shining outside they decide that the best thing to do now is pack everything up and drive to the Han river. Because it's so early in the year, the sun isn't strong enough yet to lounge around in a t-shirt, but with a jacket and a beanie Taehyung feels comfortably warm as he lies on the grass. The birds are chirping on the branches of the trees, and he occasionally picks up pieces of the conversations that the other members are having.

Maybe he should engage in these conversations as well, but he's too tired to care. He knows they're talking in more detail about Jimin and Eun-Ji. They're telling Jungkook that instead of keeping things to himself, it's better to share them with the people concerned immediately to clear up possible confusions. They talk in hushed and serious voices, but over time the knot of tension seems to unravel and Taehyung can hear them giggle, Jin's laugh being the easiest of them all to identify.

Taehyung takes a deep breath. His jeans are damp because the earth beneath him is still moist from past gloomy days, and he's very aware of the rise and fall of his chest. He has his arms above his head, fingers linked to rest the back of his head on them, and a blade of grass tickles the skin on the side of his left hand.

So much has happened in the span of just twenty-four hours and there's so much new information to process that Taehyung feels a headache coming on from just thinking about it. And then he remembers that it's March, and that his deal with Mr. Kim has come to an end, and it feels like there's a stone lodged in his throat all of a sudden, making it hard to breathe.