ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʟᴀss ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ ☑

Homecoming

Jungkook went to sleep, unable to stop thinking about how a kind stranger was better at making him feel much more at ease than someone who was his friend and boyfriend for years and months.

He had forgotten how it felt to get taken care of by someone. It seemed to him like an eternity passed since anyone pampered him except in bed, but with Jimin, everything seemed different, easy.

He remembered Jimin telling him about a woman and he pitied her who broke his heart because if it was up to him and if Jimin was his, he would have worshipped the ground the man walked on. Not that he believed that he now had a luxury of a real relationship, and that too with Jimin, who was far from what he deserved. His life wasn't perfect. He was left with nothing but trust issues. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to open his heart the way he did for Jin.

Exhausted and wary of what tomorrow was going to bring for him, he closed his eyes and let the darkness succumb to him. 

When he woke up to his alarm, his body was piled under the sheets of quilts and blankets. It took him great effort, but he left the bed and rushed to the bathroom. He had packed his bags earlier, which gave him some time to take a hot shower and dry his hair before changing into the clothes he had set for the travel.

Wearing the warmers and topping them with a knee-length purple puffer jacket, he dragged the trolley bags out of his room one by one. When only one smaller one was left inside, he came for it and grabbed it before getting out of his room only to get startled, seeing Jimin standing near his room's door.

Jimin didn't speak for a few seconds and only looked at the luggage. "Do you want me to drop you at the train station?" He asked, his voice rough and distant.

It made Jungkook want to burst out crying. "No, it's fine, Hyung." He averted his gaze down, gripping the trolley handle so tight his circulation cut down.

"You are carrying way too much for just four days." Jimin couldn't help but pry, an ache pricked his heart.

"Yeah," Jungkook nodded, not looking up at Jimin either. "I'll have to permanently return to Busan when my internship is over in three weeks. It's a good opportunity to bring half of my luggage now. I'll carry the remaining next time."

Jimin's throat bobbed as he gulped. "Well, good luck with your exam, Jungkook. Eat before you leave." The tone wasn't rude by any means, but it was dry, and it agitated the boy so much that he wanted to shake the man and demand him to smile at him. Or at least his heart wanted it. His mind was happy that they were drifting, so he only nodded and rushed to the living room to see a plate filled with berries, two pieces of grilled sandwich, some fried bacon, and a glass of warm milk.

He needed the big breakfast, so he sat his ass down, and started chomping on it like no one was watching.

Jimin disappeared into his room and when Jungkook finished, he turned, wanting to knock on his door and say thanks and goodbye, but he chose against it.

Washing the dishes quickly, he took out his headphones and plugged them into his mobile phone before booking a cab. His heart beat loudly in his chest as he closed the door behind him and walked out.

The structure of this building wing was identical to where he used to live, so every time he was in the elevator lobby, certain anxiety always clung to him. He felt worse as he stalked towards the elevator, something heavy weighing him down. 

**

Jimin stared in the distance and liquid oil mixed with grease dripped on his palm. Taehyung watched intently, and when Jimin didn't stir, he stood up, walked near his friend, and screwed the nozzle shut from where the liquid was dripping. "Fuck." Jimin now looked down, his beige trousers sprinkled with black dots. As he began to wipe them with the tip of his fingers, Taehyung offered his cleaning wipe. "Thanks." He grabbed it and dabbed it on top of his clothed thigh. 

"Still not talking to me, huh?"

"Still judging me?" 

Taehyung let out a sigh and crouched down on the floor. "I am sorry, Jimin-ie. I shouldn't have judged. I can't say I understand your feelings, because I honestly don't know how can you fall in love this quickly," Jimin raised his brow in dry amusement. "But I promise I'll be supportive and more understanding from now on."

Jimin stared at Taehyung suspiciously, narrowing his eyes into slits before his lips stretched and he felt some tension leaving his muscles. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He accepted Taehyung's arm, who was now getting up, and pulled himself up to stand face-to-face with his friend. 

"We still cool for the trip?" Taehyung grinned. 

"Yes," Jimin turned around, grabbing his toolbox and looking for a specific size of the screw.

"Will Jungkook join?" Taehyung asked, walking to the X-ray detector and separating its cover. 

"I should hope so, but something tells me that he won't."

"Why?" Taehyung now started cleaning the cover and blew a breath on the corner. 

"Something has changed in him. I don't know what, but I have a feeling that it all will come to bite my ass."

Taehyung's hand stopped, seeing Jimin now whirring the screw deep in the iron ledge of an MRI equipment. "Can I say something?" He asked, his tone hesitant. When Jimin assured him with a nod that he wouldn't mind listening to whatever he had to say, he continued. "I think Jungkook is attracted to you too and he is just afraid because he only knows how much he has suffered. If I were in his place and if my boyfriend was a jerk like his ex, I'd take everything with a grain of salt. You should put yourself in his shoes and then think."

It was nothing new, Jimin knew that  much too, but his worry was deep-rooted due to fear that Jungkook was going to leave soon, and he wanted to be able to communicate his feelings to him before that, to give the younger an option to stay. Life without the boy around seemed bleak. Jungkook seemed to him a divine intervention shattering his monotonous streak. "I just wish there was a way to make him stay." He mumbled, feeling a knot tighten that was stuck in his throat since morning. 

"Tell you what," Taehyung changed his tone to add a chirpy lilt to it. "I'll try my best to help you two. In return, you'll have to set me up with Hyuna."

Jimin let out a breath of jest and nodded. "Sure."