Growing Pains

32

Jungkook immediately stepped away from his family, and went to Jin.

He took his precious camera out of Jin's hands and gave it to Taehyung.

Taehyung might be clumsy in many aspects of his life but when it came to photography, the boy was a genius and treated all photography equipment with such reverence that you would think they were national treasures.

Jungkook doesn't trust many people with his property but he trusted Taehyung with his camera.

"Here, Jin-hyung, you can hold the flowers."

Jungkook's parents had given him a bouquet of flowers as soon as they met up in the middle of the auditorium after the graduation ceremony.

The flowers reminded him of Jin because of their beautiful soft colours and intoxicating smell.

"Awww... you two look like newlyweds," Taehyung cooed as he raised the camera to his eye.

Jin blushed, and it made Jungkook stand proudly next to him as he placed his hand on the small of Jin's back.

Jungkook liked what Taehyung said, and he wished he could get his friend to say it once more so he could record it and listen to it privately over and over again.

"You two look like newlyweds."

It made Jungkook's heart swell with an emotion that he couldn't describe.

Later, Jungkook sat next to Jin for his celebratory lunch.

His parents and brother sat opposite them.

Jungkook had originally planned to take them to a Japanese restaurant but when Taehyung told him that he was going there too with his family, Jungkook had changed his mind in the car and directed his father to drive to a Chinese place on the other side of town.

There was simply no way he was going to let Frankenstein ruin his day by taking Jin's attention away from him.

At the restaurant, Jungkook kept feeding Jin by either putting food on his plate or on his spoon as the other was about to take a bite.

It made Jin blush, and Jungkook proud that he could affect him that way.

After lunch, Jungkook's parents and brother bid Jungkook and Jin goodbye outside the restaurant and left.

Jungkook had told them that he was going to walk around town with Jin.

And he did, while holding his Jin-hyung's hand inside his coat pocket for warmth, their fingers laced together like when he was a child and Jin would hold his hand in his coat pocket during the winter.

The euphoria that Jungkook felt as he walked beside Jin was like nothing he had ever felt before.

None of the past handholding with the girls he'd dated, and the make-out sessions he'd had with them had ever produced this feeling that spread all over his body.

The feeling also made his heart beat so loud that he wondered if people nearby could hear it.

Jin made him so happy, and he thanked his lucky stars that he met him.

Later that night, Jungkook ran out of Jin's home, tears streaming down his cheeks.

He tore into his house, and up the stairs to his bedroom.

He slammed his door shut, and threw himself on his bed as his heart shattered.

Jin had just told him that he was going to Seoul, that he was going to the same university as Frankenstein.

Jungkook had been devastated, and tried to tell him that he didn't want him to go.

"You can't go. You're my hyung."

Jungkook wanted to say more.

He wanted to tell Jin that he wasn't just his hyung.

That Jin was more to him than that, meant more to him than his own family, but the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat and he couldn't get them out.

So he tried to convey what he couldn't say through his eyes instead, begging for his Jin-hyung to understand but Jin wasn't looking at him.

He had been so hurt by Jin's disregard for his feelings so when Jin hugged him, he had let him for a brief moment before he remembered that Jin was leaving him.

For Frankenstein.

It was his worst nightmare come true.

So he had pushed Jin away harshly and ran off.

He hated Frankenstein for successfully stealing Jin from him.

But he hated Jin more for not wanting to stay with him.

He hated his Jin-hyung so much, and he wished he'd never met him.