The studio was chaotic, the dancers working hard as if they found a new fire and passion. Hoseok is in the front, monitoring every move of the members and giving them tight scolding, correcting their mistakes, and making everyone work hard for the upcoming art fest.
"Okay, let's take a break for now. We will continue after lunch"
He said as the clock showed one and waved his hands to dismiss the team. Everyone let out their breath, grabbed their things, and stayed a little bit to relax from the heavy dance session. Jimin scrutinized Hoseok's next move, eyeing him to ask what he was going to do but the lead dancer was busy giving directions to Yeonjun.
Once he settled on the bench in the corner of the studio, Jimin took calm deep breaths before taking his phone out of his pocket. He glanced around to see the other team members leaving, bidding bye to him and he waved back to them with his usual bright grin. He was about to look away when his eyes landed on the familiar man, who was looking at his side too.
There was a bearable silence in the studio for a moment. Jimin thought the other would make a move or else he would find a way out of this mess. Because whenever his eyes land on the man, it reminds him of his best friend, crying in sleep, taking the name of the certain someone oblivious to everything.
Oh, speaking of the best friend, Jimin felt everything go back to normal until his phone rang loudly in the studio, breaking the silence and making everyone go back to their respective things.
"Hey, Tae---"
"Jimin, I need you. Now"
He heard his best friend saying and that worry-filled words were the last thing he wanted to hear from Taehyung. He stood up, picked up his things, and stared at the location Taehyung sent him. Just when he was about to walk out of the studio after gesturing to Hobi, he heard someone calling his name, or maybe he knew it was coming.
"Jimin..."
The said male stopped on his track, taking a deep breath as he held the door open to walk out anytime.
"Hi, Jungkook. Do you want something?"
Jungkook stood in front of the elder, trying his best to draw a small smile on his lips. It was the first time they were talking like that. But Jimin knew more about Jungkook than the other knew about him, thanks to his best friend. But he couldn't reciprocate the smile and noticed how Jungkook stood still after hearing his nonchalant reply.
"Umm, no... I just..."
"Listen, Jungkook. If it's not urgent, can we save it for later? Because I'm in a hu--"
"--How is Taehyung?"
~ 🍂 ~
The sunlight came from the shades and created a solid shadow of the window rails on Taehyung's face, his hair tied in a bun, messy strands falling into his eyes as he brushed them softly. The dangling earrings shine under the light as he bit the new lip piercing. His shirt tucked in his blue jeans, hugging his legs so tightly giving justice to his perfect curves. He was humming to a soft melody while standing on the chair and decorating the wall with the art pieces by the students. The exhibition hall looked aesthetic but in the middle of the artworks, Taehyung looked like the most exotic one.
"Oh, babe. even in a room full of arts, you're my only muse"
Jimin voiced out as his eyes landed on Taehyung, working alone in the hall. He walked toward the student council secretary, scanning the works on the wall, and figured out Taehyung was indeed working hard on those.
"Thanks, bub. But now, I need to get myself out of this mess because these paintings make me so overwhelmed and I'm so hungry.
"Oh, my baby is working really hard, huh... come here, lemme give you a hug."
Taehyung was still busy with the heavy art piece he had in his hand and trying to hang it on the wall. He planned to finish the work fast to ramble to Jimin and eat something delicious from the cafe, but unfortunately, the sorting order Namjoon gave him was messed up and Taehyung had to do it all by himself from the start.
He turned towards his best friend who was holding the chair for him, grinning wide at him but that's not what caught Taehyung's breath.
"Jungkook?"
It was hard for Jungkook to take his eyes away from the painting in Taehyung's hand and meet his eyes with Taehyung. It's been weeks since they met each other but the faded image of Taehyung in his head still looks flawless just like the man standing in front of him, on a busy afternoon, burdened with work.
He didn't think Jimin would drag him to the art gallery when he asked about Taehyung to witness that sight. It was so awkward to stand there, watching the best friends talking and he felt like an intruder to their privacy. Jungkook was about to take a step back and leave when Taehyung called out his name, bringing him back to reality. Jimin turned to look at him with a soft smile which did nothing to ease his awkwardness while standing there.
"H-hi, Tae-Taehyung..."
Flustered with the way Jungkook said his name, Taehyung smiled at the younger, avoiding Jimin's scrutinizing eyes on him.
"How come you're here...?"
"I-- was..."
"I dragged him with me"
Jimin muttered while staring at the painting Taehyung was about to hang on the wall. He winced at the abstract art, loving the way the colors blended with the canvas creating a beautiful yet messy masterpiece. Taehyung had made him fond of art and appreciate every little effort of an artist and Jimin was beyond thankful to his best friend for that.
"He was asking about you. So..."
Taehyung couldn't take his eyes off of Jungkook. Jimin had looked away from them but he was still cautious about his best friend and didn't want to drag Jungkook into any mess because of him. Taehyung scanned the facial expression of Jungkook which held so many emotions that he felt lost while trying to decipher them. Once he noticed that Jimin was at the opposite corner, Taehyung whispered in his low voice, holding the painting tight in his hands.
"You... You were asking about... me?"
"Ugh... Yeah. Since you vanished after that night..."
"Oh..."
Taehyung turned to hang the painting on the wall, carefully while leaning and feeling a little embarrassed because of Jungkook who was still standing behind him. If it was anyone else, Taehyung would effortlessly flaunt himself in front of them but it was Jungkook. And that's why he had to keep it to himself and show off his best version to the man even though Jungkook didn't ask for it.
"I was busy with council work. I mean, I'm... anyway--"
"--How are you?"
The question took him off guard, Taehyung stopped suddenly but his balance was lost as he tried his best to finally hang the painting on the wall, trying to not break it. He stumbled on the stool he was standing on, felt himself falling back, and couldn't control himself. No sound came out of his mouth and only a gasp left when he felt a strong grip on his waist.
Taehyung released his hold on the painting as he hung it on the wall, but the grip tightened around his waist, hands digging into his skin as he lost his right mind each second. Jungkook turned him to the front effortlessly, confronting Taehyung's big wide eyes on him.
Their eyes met in an abyss, faces inches apart, and heartbeats in sync. The elder held his shoulder tightly, lips trembling to whisper something but they both couldn't think of anything at the moment.
"I'm... fine..."
"Huh?"
"I'm good"
"Taehyung?"
"Jungkook"
"Your lips..."
Jungkook whispered softly, to which Taehyung didn't know how to react. He nodded slowly, puppy eyes going wide.
"yeah, what?"
"Your lips are so close and I can't see your face."
Oh.
Taehyung was blooming like a wildflower, cheeks rising at the comment and his eyes lowering at Jungkook's lips. Oh, yes. They were so close that he could feel Jungkook's breath.
"Uh, you want to see my face?"
He asked, hesitance in his voice and the question caught Jungkook off-guard. He stuttered before answering Taehyung.
"Yeah, I mean... We can't talk like... this, right?"
"Oh, well. You can't. 'Cause, that's a position where the heroine falls in love with the anti-hero in K-dramas and then he conquers the world to have her so that he can be her hero and then they go on honeymoon---"
"--Okay, Park Jimin. We get it."
Taehyung screamed at his best friend for ruining his moment and aggressively glared at the man to which Jimin replied with a scoff. He found Jungkook stepping away as he jumped down from the stool and fixed his shirt, not meeting Jungkook's eyes. He heard Jungkook mumbling sorry but Taehyung shook his head.
"Are you guys even planning to eat something or just stand there almost kis--"
"---Complete that sentence, Park. I dare you." Taehyung threatened his best friend, but Jimin passed a notorious smirk at him.
"What will you do, Kim?"
"Best friend, let's fill something to your tummy and call it a day, shall we?"
Taehyung was about to drag Jimin out of the gallery when he felt a light tug on his sleeve. He turned to the man as Jungkook held his elbow gently. Once their eyes met, it felt like time paused for them. Call Taehyung delusional, but he oh so badly wanted to stop the time at that moment as he and Jungkook looked into each other's eyes and read the untold stories in them. But, reality hurts.
"Taehyung..."
"Hmmhmm?"
"Will we meet again?"
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Short fluff after a long time feels good...
Stay tuned, and see you soon...
~AnecdotesOfABroken