Things got somewhat better after Jungkook's iconic live. Many idols, actors and other prominent figures in the entertainment industry showed him their support. They each posted something on social media platforms, something that is personal, let it be a blurred photo of a loved one or a simply their favorite coffee mug, and with the hashtags 'we are human too'. And their fans reposted those messages, making it trend for days and growing it into this huge movement.
People, fans and non fans alike, started to boycott gossip channels and fansights that clearly invade the privacy and personal space of celebrities. Any information shared which is not from an official source or a scheduled appearance was frowned upon. Of course there were still people who didn't adhere to this but they were getting less and less confident about making their presence known.
People who personally knew Jungkook, were so proud of him. Taehyung wrapped him in a tight embrace right after the live ended, having opted to convey his feelings with just that hug as he was tongue-tied with awe.
Next were Jimin and Hoseok, followed closely by Yoongi. Even Jungkook's dad called. The elder Jeon didn't exactly say the words 'I'm proud of you' out loud but Jungkook knew. The 15 or so minutes spent in discussing mundane things was his father's way of offering support and acknowledging his stance.
Once again, Jungkook was in the middle of the media's focus. But this time, he was glad that it's for something that he chose. On a different topic, fans started to share theories and speculation about his partner but they soon had to give it up due to lack of credible information. Jungkook had been so successful in hiding his partner that there weren't any traces or clues.
True to his promise, Taehyung took care of the issue with Kai too. Jimin's contact had found many illegal activities Kai had participated in and it wasn't hard to build a case against him without getting Jungkook or Taehyung involved. Taehyung followed up till Kai got sentenced for 7 years in prison, before giving the news to Jungkook. It was the last they talked about the man.
The drama shooting went smoothly without any issues. Most of the shots that were left are of Jungkook and Taehyung as both of them had taken time off during the shooting schedule. All the support cast parts were already finished so most of the time it was only Taehyung, Jungkook and Sana on the set.
Sana was subtly upset during the first few days of shooting after the whole fiasco of Jungkook being accused of being gay and him confirming of being in a long term relationship. But she didn't let it affect the drama or her interactions with Jungkook and the latter was grateful for the same. It would have been too awkward otherwise.
It was late evening one day, where Taehyung was waiting for Jungkook at the latter's apartment. It being one of the rare days where both Jungkook and Taehyung didn't have a full schedule, they made plans to have a dinner date. Taehyung had all the food and wine ready, and he was waiting for Jungkook to come out from his room.
The idol was taking his time to pick up his attire for the night. One might find it silly since they are not leaving the house for their dinner but Taehyung and Jungkook liked to treat their dinner dates as normal restaurant dates. Both dress up nicely, flower bouquets, candle light and wine.. the whole deal. The only difference is that they order food from a high end restaurant instead of physically going to that restaurant.
They knew they had to keep their relationship a secret, but they didn't want to miss out any of the daring experiences.
"Kookie.." Taehyung knocked on Jungkook's room door, after glancing at the wall clock for the 3rd time. "What's taking you so long?"
"Don't come in!" Jungkook's semi-panicked voice startled Taehyung, who had his hand over the door knob and had halfway twisted it too. "I'll be out in 5 minutes."
"What's wrong?" Taehyung's voice sounded worried. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm just.."
Taehyung waited for a few seconds for Jungkook to finish that sentence before speaking up again.
"Koo..?"
A loud sigh could be heard from inside, before the door opened. Taehyung walked in, his eyes immediately falling to the small pile of clothes scattered on the bed. Jungkook stood near the full-length mirror in his walk-in closet, with three shirts in his hands. He was taking turns to keep those over his upper body and looking at his reflection in the mirror.
"I can't decide what to wear."
Taehyung blinked a few times at Jungkook's reflection who had a heavy pout adorning his face. "Huh?"
"I can't decide what to wear. I wanna look good today."
"Ehh.. baby, you always look good. Literally anything off that closet would make you look like a runway model. And besides, it's just me."
"I know it's just you." Jungkook rolled his eyes. "But.."
Taehyung walked closer and pulled the three shirts out Jungkook's hand and hung them back on the rack. Then he wrapped his arms around the other in a back hug and placed his chin on Jungkook's shoulder.
"Baby, what's this about?" Taehyung nudged Jungkook's cheek with his nose when the latter pouted at the floor. "Come on, tell me."
"It's the first date after all the stuff that happened." Jungkook leaned back on Taehyung's chest, while holding his gaze through the mirror. "I wanted it to be special."
"Oh baby.." Taehyung turned his head and placed a soft kiss on the side of Jungkook's forehead. "Having you in my arms like this itself is special for me. I'm sorry for the past few weeks, Koo. I know both of us didn't handle things as well as we should have but that's how life is, right? We learn from our mistakes and we move on."
"Yeah, I guess so. I just wish we didn't have to go through all that, you know?"
"And we wouldn't have to, if we communicated with each other properly. We could have avoided all this shit. And that's exactly the lesson, baby."
"You're right. No more lies or half-truths. No more hiding things. No more taking decisions alone, which would affect both of us."
"Yep. But you forgot the most important one."
"I did?" Jungkook turned his head sideways to look at Taehyung. "What's that?"
"No more doubting us. We are not letting anyone come between us, okay? You're all mine, and I'm all yours. Okay?"
Jungkook gave a soft smile at that. "Okay."
"Okay." Taehyung said with a smile and turned Jungkook back towards the mirror. "Now let's see if we can sort this situation quickly. The food will be cold otherwise."
"Oh.. we should hurry. So blue-" Jungkook quickly grabbed two shirts from the rack before fitting himself back in Taehyung's embrace. "-or green? I feel like today is not a red kinda day."
Taehyung chuckled as Jungkook held the two shirts one after the other in front of him. "How about the one you're currently wearing? That's good for me."
"Tae." Jungkook's voice was reproaching. "That's a black t-shirt."
Taehyung shrugged, as if to say it didn't matter to him. But clearly, that was not the appropriate response as Jungkook huffed in annoyance.
"Okay, okay." Taehyung quickly said, before Jungkook could scold him. "Let's see now. Blue or green? But are you sure it's not a red kinda day? Cause I think red definitely suits you."
"Yeah?" Jungkook grabbed the red, semi-sheer shirt. "This one?"
"Hmm…" Taehyung's eyes darted towards Jungkook's body over the mirror. The black t-shirt can be seen even with two layers of the sheer shirt. Taehyung's mind wandered how hot Jungkook would look, wearing just that.
"Yep. Definitely that one."
Jungkook gently got out of Taehyung's arms, before proceeding to change the shirt. Taehyung had the good manners to look away, but that could be because he wanted the feast to be fully prepared, before getting tempted to eat it.
"Is this good?"
Taehyung hummed appreciatively, while his eyes roamed all over the idol's chest. The shirt did very little to hide Jungkook's defined abs or his perky buds. Taehyung turned Jungkook toward the mirror again, before standing behind him.
"Do the mirror thingy."
Jungkook's eyes fluttered with shyness but he did as he was told. It was something that they picked up in high-school, where Taehyung participated in a scholarship drama.
"Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who's the prettiest of them all?"
Taehyung answered, and he truly believed what he said. "You are, my darling. You are the prettiest man anyone has ever seen."
Taehyung's answer changed with each time but it was always something along the lines of praising Jungkook's beauty. And then they improvised.
"Oh.. I think you might be wrong, good sir. For I can see someone far prettier than me."
"Impossible." Taehyung bent down a bit to softly kiss Jungkook's neck and shoulder. "Your beauty is unmatched by anyone else."
Jungkook turned around in Taehyung's hold, while arching his head back to give Taehyung more room to work on. "It's my b-boyfriend, sir. H-he's so much prettier than me."
"I doubt it, darling."
"B-but, it's the truth."
Taehyung hummed again, without raising his head. He gently pushed Jungkook, till the latter's back hit the mirror. A small whine came out of Jungkook's mouth, when Taehyung's swift fingers started to work on the buttons of his shirt.
"T-tae." Jungkook sounded breathless. "What about dinner?"
Taehyung chucked against Jungkook's collarbone. "Oh baby, I'm just having the appetizer now. The main course would be saved for later."
When they left the bedroom after about fifteen minutes, the food had indeed gone cold. Taehyung laughed bashfully while Jungkook scolded him, as he reheated all the food and lit the candles.
But just as Taehyung said, the main course was saved for later. The night dragged on into the early morning hours as Jungkook was taken to the stars, over and over again. Not that Jungkook was complaining, but it had been a while since he had a main course as long as this one.