Fantasy... (Taekook)

Chapter 28

Narrator's POV

A couple of days went by and everyone was having fun on their trip. They only had a few more days left before they all had to resume back into study mode. That was why they were all making the most of this trip - relaxing and being with each other. For the past few days, the tension in Jungkook's shoulders slightly eased and he did have some fun. Of course the issue of that night was still bugging him at the back of his head, but he tried hard to ignore it. Being miserable would just make everyone else feel like that, so he decided to suppress it for everyone's happiness. He knew how excited everyone was to be on this trip so he ignored his thoughts and feelings as much as he could and solely focused on his friends. However, the downside of that was during the night, those same thoughts would resurface his mind and he would just think about them. His sleeping pattern had gotten worse and he almost felt like a zombie. From time to time, he would actually catch his smile slipping. It was hard to play pretend when you were suffering inside.

Currently, Jungkook was in the bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His lips formed into a smile - the one he always gave to his friends - and he stared at himself. Suddenly, his face changed to a look of disgust.

"That looks so fake," he muttered to himself.

His grip on the sink below the mirror tightened as he continued looking at himself. The more he looked, the more disgusted he was.

"What am I becoming?" he whispered.

His eyes were watering and he immediately closed them to prevent them from escaping.

"Just hold them in Jungkook. Hold it in. You can't show your vulnerability or weakness to anyone," he said before opening his eyes and directly looking into them through the mirror.

"No one but you can help yourself."

Jolting him out of his trance, he heard a banging on the bathroom door.

"Jungkook are you in there?" he heard Taehyung calling on the other side of the door.

"Yeah!"

"Hurry up, the teachers told everyone to gather at the hall."

Jungkook looked at himself once more before taking a deep breath.

"You can do this," he encouraged himself before he unlocked the door.

"Let's go," he told Taehyung, who was casually leaning near the door.

Taehyung glanced at his face before nodding and turning around.

~

Everyone was currently at the beach, which was right in front of their resort, making dinner with their roommates. They got fresh vegetables from the nearby garden and cooked for themselves. Everyone was doing okay as there was at least one cook in each team. Jungkook was glad he and Yoongi were in his team because he knew they wouldn't starve. Jimin and Taehyung could only make a limited amount of dishes and Junseo was just a failure in that department. Just from that, you could tell what everyone's roles were.

After an hour, the food was prepared and everyone started diving in. Jungkook's team were satisfied with what they made and in the end everyone started sharing. His friends sat around the campfire and happily ate whilst Jungkook just sat there. He didn't really have any thoughts going through his mind. He just felt empty. Hearing the laughter from his friends made his smile tighten. Trying to distract himself, he turned away with a blank face and tried to block out the sound of happiness. Without realising, Jungkook's eyes travelled to the fire in front of him. He started to observe every single detail of the fire and fell into a daze. He heard the crackle of the fire and felt the immense heat emitting from it. The orange and yellow flames danced around as if they were hypnotising him. As if they were calling his name. Out of nowhere, an unusual thought entered his mind. What if I touched it... Unknowingly, his hand stretched towards the fire as he stared at it. He could feel his hand get hotter and hotter, but he didn't retract his hand. The crackle of the fire was enchanting him and he couldn't stop. Suddenly, his wrist was pulled away from the fire and he was turned to the body besides him. His eyes grew large when he was met with eyes filled with anger.