froyo - tk.

thirty.

a noticeable vein grew prominent on the left side of the ravenette's neck.

"what the fuck do you mean it's not your fault?!"

"look. if anything, we're both to blame for this," dokyeom calmly intervened.

"i seriously don't have time for this right now. our basketball championship is in a few hours and i better see you there," he continued.

a humorless laugh flew through jungkook's lips. "i don't have time for that—"

"hyung, our team needs you to win. dozens of universities will be there, watching you. we'll talk about this dumb bullshit later. you need to focus on your future as of now."

a cascading feeling of stress rushed through the ravenette. he wanted to be calm and relaxed to remain co-regulated, but all he was faced with was a threatening ultimatum. he didn't have the smallest clue of what to do.

"i'll call you later," dokyeom sighed. the faint noise of the call ending shot right through jungkook's ears.

the brisk shift in the ravenette's mood was ebbing already. he was initially stressed, but that single phone call added much more fuel to the fire.

he was coerced into settling with a decision that would either change his life for the better, or for the worst.

but his strong intuition skills already made the decision for him.

↴

taehyung flashed a cheesy smile at the doctor who provided him with a cherry jello. the blue-haired male gobbled up the sweet course in less than a minute.

"thank you!" he exclaimed.

"no problem," the doctor responded. "are you excited? you get discharged from the hospital tomorrow."

"i am—"

taehyung averted his eyes to the entrance of his room. jungkook stood there awkwardly, almost towering over the elder.

"did i not tell you to leave?" the blue-haired male spoke up.

"i've actually been sleeping in the lobby for two days straight," jungkook confirmed. his hands were trembling, so he ruffled the back of his hair to keep them out of sight.

"i'll, um, give you guys your space," the doctor interrupted before departing from the room.

taehyung pulled his knees to his chest as he found suddenly interest in staring at his bedsheet. good terms or not, he always managed to feel dominated by jungkook.

it was apparent to jungkook that the elder had gained more strength. his physical state improved, which left the ravenette with a lingering feeling of happiness.

"your championship should be starting soon. you shouldn't be here," the elder complained.

jungkook's face reddened. he remembered.

"you're far more important than that," the younger replied.

"i told you that you meant nothing to me," taehyung announced. his memory backtracked to the harsh things he said to jungkook. "you should've taken that personally and just left me alone."

jungkook roamed closer to him, lifting the elder's chin up with his finger.

"i know you didn't mean that."

taehyung shook the physical contact away. "can you just fucking stop?"

"what?"

taehyung's voice started wavering. "please."

he took the initiative by jumping out of his bed and clutching onto the ravenette's shirt in an aggressive manner.

"tae, what are you doing?!"

taehyung harshly slammed his hands against jungkook's chest, letting loose of all his restrained rage. his body jolted with with a new vigor, an untapped anger that was boiling up in his stomach. the elder panted as he repeatedly shoved jungkook until he fell back on the wall.

"i hate you so much!" he sobbed. "so fucking much!"

jungkook shockingly eyed the blue-haired male in major disbelief, remaining frozen as the elder hit him with no intent of stopping.

taehyung had finally hit the brink, and this was just the beginning.

"this is all because of you!" he screamed. blood hummed in his veins as determination towards hurting jungkook overpowered his common sense. "why couldn't you just fucking believe me?!"

tears pooled in his eyes before jungkook easily evaded his weak punch. taehyung attempted to throw a sloppy kick, but the ravenette bypassed it with ease. it was all too easy for him.

"at least let me fucking hit you!" taehyung screeched at the top of his lungs.

the elder stumbled forward before jungkook forced him into his embrace. the two slowly slid down to the ground as taehyung sobbed on jungkook's shoulder.

"i'm sorry," jungkook mumbled. "i'm so sorry."

"w-why would you let him get away with doing that to me?" taehyung questioned. more tears erupted from the point of impact. he still tried to plough his fist into jungkook's stomach, but the ravenette softly held it back.

"i love you so damn much, baby," jungkook uttered.

he intertwined their fingers together, feeling a sense of surprise at the blue-haired male complying to his actions.

"it hurts," taehyung sniffled. "it hurts so bad."

jungkook squeezed him a fraction tighter as the elder's every muscle melted into his snuggle. taehyung whimpered at the feeling of the ravenette caressing his hair.

the two then laid there for hours, in each other's hold, as jungkook's arms represented his secure shields of forgiveness.