Promise Not To Fail You

17. I want to move on

"Kook! You are such a genius!" Yugyeom exclaimed as he stared at Jinho's phone number. He didn't waste a second in climbing out of the couch and getting his phone. He called one of his employees and handed him the phone number, asking him to track it secretly. 

"But man, are you gonna keep meeting him? Isn't it dangerous?" Yugyeom asked. "First of all, he doesn't know anything about me knowing that he is Seo Dae Shin. And second, I think that's the best way for us. We can keep perfect tabs on him that way" Jungkook said. 

"Yeah, right" Yugyeom nodded. He was about to say something else, but Jungkook interrupted him. 

"I know you said that it is important for us to catch him red-handed and all, but now he knows that you people are behind him, right? Why are you still keeping it a secret? I mean, you can declare it publicly, right? They already know that you people are behind him. There is no reason for you to keep it undercover anymore, is there?" he asked. 

"There isn't. I'll discuss this with the other officials tomorrow and declare a national manhunt. It'll be a busy day tomorrow" Yugyeom said. 

"Right. Go and sleep, then. Let's see what happens tomorrow. I don't have to go from bar to bar from now on" Jungkook said. "Yeah. But I don't wanna sleep yet. I wanna ask you something" Yugyeom said. 

"What is it?" Jungkook asked. "Have you thought of moving on from Taehyung?" Yugyeom asked bluntly. 

He had given enough thought and had decided to address the matter heads-on instead of beating around the bush. He had kept his crush hidden for years and even though he kept it to himself all these years, he suddenly didn't want to hide it anymore. He was ready to sacrifice his friendship for it. He suddenly became desperate for it. 

"I did and I want to. I asked him to move on and he already did and I also want to move on because there is no way I can go back to him knowing that my brother killed his brother and father and almost killed him. 

I can no longer see him go through his trauma without feeling guilty about it. I can no longer help him without being reminded of the fact that it was all my brother's doing. So, no matter how much I love him, I have to move on. I need to move on. I can't go back" Jungkook said, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

"What are you going to do about it, then?" Yugyeom asked. "I dunno. Blind dates, maybe? Or pick up random people in clubs. I honestly don't know. Uuugggghhhhh!! Why is my life soo fucked up?" Jungkook asked, pulling his hair out of frustration. 

"Jungkook" Yugyeom called out gently, pulling Jungkook's hands away from his hair. "Will you give me a chance?" he asked, looking straight into his eyes. Even though he was internally dying out of tension, he managed to hold his shit in and act bold.

"W-What?" Jungkook asked. He was confused. 'What does he mean by giving him a chance? Are we still talking about me moving on from Tae? Why.....oh my god....no....no....please tell me that that's not what he means......please tell me he doesn't like me that way......' he thought. 

"I do" Yugyeom said coolly. "What?" Jungkook asked. "You were thinking out loud, Kook. And I do. I like you. I always have. Ever since high school. I just didn't have the balls to actually ask you out. But I am not that cowardly anymore. So I am asking you now, Jungkook. Will you give me a chance?" Yugyeom asked. 

Jungkook sat there, stunned out of his mind, thinking back to the time when he dated a couple of girls and boys just to get Yugyeom out of his mind. 

'He is my best friend. I can't do this to him. He thinks of me as his brother. I can't ruin our relationship that way by asking him out' was what he used to think back then. Over time, he completely got over his small crush on his best friend and moved on. But he never thought Yugyeom liked him back. 

"Is it that bad, Kook? Why are you thinking soo much about it? You said you'd do blind dates, right? Am I worse than a blind date?" Yugyeom asked, looking at Jungkook, who had spaced out and had looked completely lost. 

"G-Give me some t-time to think about it" Jungkook said before getting up and running to the guest bedroom. He locked the room and sat on his bed. He took out his wallet in which he kept a photo of Taehyung and himself making a heart above their heads. 

A battle of thoughts sued in his mind. Each second, a new thought came up as he thought of what would happen if he got back with Taehyung. 

How ashamed and guilt-ridden he would be if he ever saw Taehyung again as a boyfriend? How would Taehyung react if he came to know that his beloved brother was killed by his beloved's brother? What would happen if he hooked up with a random stranger? But Taehyung already hooked up with some stranger, right? 

He got back to pulling his hair out of frustration. He stared at the photo for a good two hours before he threw the wallet across the room. "FUCK IT!!" he yelled and stormed out of the room. He went to the kitchen and downed a bottle of beer before storming into Yugyeom's bedroom. 

Yugyeom shot up from his bed, startled by the bang with which his door opened. 

"Jungkook, wha-" his words were muffled by a pair of lips crashing on him. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. But soon, he closed his eyes and kissed back, wrapping his arms around Jungkook's neck and smiling into the kiss.