Chapter Six: Mad Girl
He wandered off and decided he might as well go look for Taehyung. He hadn't seen him all night, which was a little surprising. Taehyung wasn't the type to keep in the background at a party––and a thought crossed his mind, what if Taehyung had left? It didn't seem like something he would do, but then again, he could be a bit of a mystery. Who knew, maybe something had happened? He decided he would look for him anyway, as the thought of going back into the living room and having to chat with the guys on the swim-team about empty things seemed like literal torture. He hated small talk. And he wasn't going to disturb Jimin and Yoongi––he didn't want to third-wheel.
He always felt like he was the only one sober at parties. It was difficult, he often wasn't able to understand the logic of the drunks, they seemed to have a different flow of thought than he had. He often felt like he was a babysitter, trying to keep children intact, children who were way up past their bedtime, who had major mood-swings, going from hyper to cranky, from touchy to sad and could very much to with a lie-down.
Jeongguk didn't drink. He didn't plan to. There was something about the thought of losing control of his brain which terrified him. About going too far. He knew better than anyone what could happen when one went too far. Besides, he knew how to have fun without alcohol. It was entertaining enough to simply sit and observe horny teens, who were not in their right mind, try to function as normal human beings.
But still, he felt the pressure around him. Sometimes he would try to act a little tipsy, it wasn't necessarily difficult when everyone around him acted that way. But he felt like a phoney––but he just couldn't bring himself to drink, he felt sick at the thought of it.
He wandered into the front room, which acted as a crossroad in the house, as it led to the living room, the kitchen, a hallway and the upper floor. He shifted in his step, not knowing where to go, but he suspected that if Taehyung was anywhere to be found, it would be upstairs.
He was cut off on the stairs. He was about to walk up, he had his hand on the rail, when as if out of nowhere, a girl turned up on his side, leaned on the other side of the bannister and placed her hand on top of his. It was Nari, from homeroom.
She tucked her hair behind her ears. Her eyes were heavy as she looked at him.
"I didn't know you were here," she said, her voice lathered with tease.
Jeongguk, still standing on top of the first step of the stairs, looked at her blankly. He had gotten an invite. Had Mina maybe said something? Nari was one of Mina's friends––she had many of them and they often walked in packs so it was difficult to decipher who was who. He hadn't ever really noticed Nari, he had never even known her name before the project, but from spending an hour with her, he could already tell she had a big personality. He couldn't be sure whether she was making fun of him or not.
"Uhh ... yeah," he said, not knowing what else to say.
Maybe Mina hadn't wanted to invite him, as he had suspected. He was about to head up the stairs again but was stopped once more––Nari was still holding his hand, which, now that he noticed it, made him feel very weird.
"I love your outfit," she said, and felt the fabric of his top, around the chest area, finally letting go of his hand, albeit putting it in another place which made him feel even more uncomfortable. Jeongguk pursed his lips. She seemed more than a little drunk. From the hour he had spent with her in class, she hadn't seemed like this type of person, so forward; maybe this was the alcohol talking.
"Thanks," he said. "You look nice."
He looked at her more closely. She was wearing a similar dress as Mina, only gold and she had a headband instead of a hat. Her hair was short and straight and kind of reminded him of Cleopatra. He towered over her, as she was not only shorter than him but he was also on a higher platform. The height difference suddenly made him feel a little weird, so he stepped down from the stairs, suspecting he wasn't going to get out of the situation for a while anyway. His eyes gazed her face. He observed her dark lashes and plump lips. He hadn't noticed this before, but she was pretty. She was smiling too, or more accurately smirking, her eyebrows raised and her eyes dilated.
"I bet you say that to all of the girls," she said and tilted her head. She seemed to be examining him as if he was a piece of clothing she was wondering whether or not to try on.
"You're taking pictures?" she asked and grabbed the camera and looked at it. "I have the same one."
It was his film camera. Jeongguk cleared his throat and muttered something about how it was a good camera––because it was, it was one of his favourites. He really wanted her to stop touching it.
She didn't. She instead tugged on it and looked at him big-eyed.
"Can I take a picture of you?"
Jeongguk blinked. It was a film; he only had a certain number of photographs. But he couldn't bring himself to say no, besides, she knew how to take pictures–she even had the same camera. So, he said sure, just the one, and handed her his baby.
He wasn't used to be on this side of a camera and he wasn't exactly the most comfortable. Not that he wasn't used to pictures being taken of him, Jimin took so many, but he took them on his phone and that was different from taking one on a camera. Especially if the person behind it was a person he didn't really know and wasn't sure if he liked.
"You're so cute," she said as she took the photo.
And Jeongguk got embarrassed.
Which made Nari laugh. She put down the camera. She hung the camera around his neck and while she did, she pulled on the string, pulling his head with it over the railing and planted a kiss on his lips. She slowly let go and smiled, patting him on the chest again.
"We should go out sometime," she said and then turned and walked away.
Jeongguk was frozen. The fuck just happened?
He watched as Nari disappeared through the golden drapes into the living room and blinked. Did that just happen? Did she just ask him out? And kiss him? His lips were still tingling from the impact. He felt weird.
He felt a sudden urge to run to Jimin and tell him what had happened and ask him what the hell he should do. But Jimin was dealing with his own heart and there was no way he would interrupt him for his little dilemma. Involuntarily, he backed a little up, hitting the other railing and exhaled. His mind was running a marathon. His eyes trailed around the room, thankfully there was no one around at the moment, a popular song was playing in the living room and everyone was dancing.
But then, he heard a chuckle. He looked up–from where the laughter was coming–and saw none other than Taehyung, leaning onto the bannister above, his eyes electrified, his mouth ajar, seemingly impressed, seemingly surprised.
Jeongguk's eyes widened, fuck, he thought. Of all people, it had to be Taehyung. Of all places, it had to be here, and now. "How long have you been there?" he called up the stairs.
Taehyung was still laughing when he got to the upper floor. He felt his face redden as he was met with Taehyung's teasing eyes. He was clutching a glass of something in his hands, desperately trying not to drop it as his body jerked from laugher. He definitely looked drunker than before.
"What was going on there?" Taehyung teased, trying to gather himself.
"Nothing," Jeongguk said, a little too quickly.
"You kissed."
"I didn't mean to!"
"You didn't mean to kiss her? Who were you meaning to kiss?"
"I––no one!" Jeongguk stammered, red up to his ears.
Taehyung took a swig of his drinks, eyeing him. He didn't seem to believe him.
"So, are you two going to hook up?"
"What? No. Tae, the fuck?"
"Why not?" Taehyung said. There wasn't a hint of malice in his voice, just plain curiosity.
"I just––I don't ..."
He looked back down. He didn't know why exactly, maybe to avoid Taehyung's gaze. He wasn't sure what it was he was feeling, his insides were all tied up and his mind felt foggy.
"Are you not into her?" Taehyung asked.
Jeongguk didn't answer. He bit the inside of his cheek.
Taehyung poked him in the side with his elbow.
"Hey," he said. "You okay?" His voice was soft. He liked his voice, how deep and soothing it was.
Jeongguk shrugged. "Yeah––I just feel weird."
Taehyung smiled. "That's okay," he said and flicked Jeongguk's chin with his finger, making Jeongguk smile a little too.
Taehyung looked at him for a moment.
"Let's go," he then said and grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the stairs and into the hall.
***
He brought him into a bedroom.
As ironic as it seemed, the bed had gold and black bedcovers, but it hadn't been decorated that way for the party. It was off-limits, Taehyung had said to him, as it belonged to Mina's parents. No one would bother them.
Taehyung put his cup on the bedside and sat down on the ground by the bed. He closed his eyes and breathed in a deep breath. The music was damp, but the base was still loud as if it was pounding on the door.
"This party sucks," Taehyung said and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Jeongguk hadn't been expecting him to say that. Taehyung was usually the life of the party, he loved dancing and playing around, not caring what the morning had in store for him. But then again, he reminded himself, he had barely seen Taehyung all night.
He sat down on the floor beside him, leaning his head on the bed. In front of them was a potted plant, and then the white wall. They didn't speak, not for a moment. A lot had happened that night, to them both. They were processing it.
Then Taehyung spoke. "Mina is mad at me."
Jeongguk felt a surge of happiness go through him and he wasn't sure if it was because of a new song that came on, a song he loved, or the fact that Taehyung was talking about Mina in an exasperated tone of voice. Probably a little bit of both.
"Why is she mad?" he asked.
He was examining the leaves of the plant when Taehyung sighed.
"She's just ... it's complicated." He reached up to the bedside table for his drink and took a big swig. "I don't really wanna talk about it."
Then there was silence and Jeongguk looked at Taehyung. He decided he wanted to cheer him up. He jumped up and held out his hand.
"My lady," he said. "May I have this dance?"
Taehyung observed him for a moment. He shook his head to himself, smiling, and then grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull him up.
And very soon, Mina was forgotten.
***
After dancing around the bedroom for a good while, Taehyung's smile returned to him and they ended up on the floor lying side by side, Taehyung's feet next to Jeongguk's head. Both had stolen a pillow from the bed above and tucked it under their heads.
Both were smiling.
Neither was looking at the other, they had their eyes on the white ceiling.
"Hey, Guk'ah?" Taehyung said.
"Yes, Tae?" Jeongguk said.
"You know how we were joking today, about ... like, the wedding."
It took Jeongguk a moment to render what Taehyung had said, getting lost in the ceiling. "Yeah?"
"Well, I kind of want to do it."
Jeongguk paused. He sat up to see if Taehyung was joking or not. He wasn't, his face was dead serious.
"Wait a minute ... you want to destroy our siblings' wedding?"
Taehyung, sitting up as well, shook his head, the epitome of a soothing calm. "No. Of course not. I just ... " He trailed off and looked at him a moment. "You know how we used to play pranks all the time?"
Salt swapped for sugar, misplaced objects, bookcovers switched around so Namjoon didn't know what book he was really reading, placing pictures of various different celebrities Jeongyeon had a distaste for all over her room.
Jeongguk hesitated. "Yeah but this is a wedding. This is sacred."
"And so is our friendship."
Jeongguk rolled his eyes. "Are you trying to butter me up?"
"It's working."
"No, it isn't."
Taehyung gave a coy smile and moved closer so he was sitting right in front of him. "Cmon Gukkie," he said. "It's just a bit of fun. Nothing will happen."
"You're crazy."
Taehyung pressed his forehead against him and stared into his eyes. "Are you going to say no?"
And it was weird. They hadn't been like this for a while. Close and entangled, like the old sleepovers when Taehyung would clutch him like a pillow because he was afraid of the dark. And now, their lives were getting caught up with each other again, entangling once more like branches of trees. Jeongguk couldn't remember the last time they had been alone together like this.
He felt himself give him. What was the harm in playing a few pranks on the bride and groom to be? He and Taehyung had played pranks on their family members since the very moment they became friends. It would be just like in the old days.
"Okay," he said.
Taehyung was surprised. "Okay?"
"Yeah. Let's do it."
Taehyung smiled, a boxy, toothy smile.
"This is kind of silly though, you know that?"
Taehyung didn't get the chance to answer because at that very moment Mina walked into the bedroom. Her eyes fell on the two of them as they sat on the floor, foreheads pressed together.
And of course, she had to ruin everything.
"Tae? What the hell?" she said as she approached them.
Taehyung jerked away from Jeongguk, taken by surprise, and bit his lip, a little sheepish. Jeongguk sighed and turned to lie on his back. Somehow the ceiling seemed darker than before, as if Mina had brought a dark cloud with her into the room.
"Hey, penguin ..." Taehyung said, using his nickname for Mina. He was vary, like he was scared she would break––or maybe explode. It didn't do any good.
"Are you serious, Taehyung?" she said, her forehead creased.
Taehyung stood up, not so gracefully, as he had consumed just a bit too much alcohol and approached Mina. Her eyes were dark and her lips formed a very thin line as she looked at him in disbelief.
"Hey, don't be mad ... "
"I specifically told you no one was allowed here."
"But I'm your boyfriend ..."
Mina rolled her eyes. "For heaven's sake Tae, that's not an excuse. Besides, your friend's here."
She said it like it was an insult. He felt like it was an insult.
Taehyung tried his best to make peace. "Mina, I'm sorry, look––"
"What were you doing anyway?"
She looked down at Jeongguk, and the stare made him suddenly want to slide under the bed next to him and let the lover's quarrel play out without him. He wasn't used to Mina's anger, now that he thought of it, he had barely ever seen Mina angry, just passive aggressive.
"We were just playing around," Taehyung said and approached her again.
Mina stepped back.
Something which annoyed Jeongguk a lot. Taehyung had already apologized, why was she still acting angry? What did it matter if they were in her parents' bedroom, they hadn't even broken anything? The room looked untouched. She was being completely unfair, overreacting.
"Mina, he's just drunk. Go easy on him."
She glared at him. It looked like she was about to snap at him too, but she just rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine," she said, her voice barely even coherent. "I'll just leave then. Let you two alone."
And with that, she ran out of the room.
Taehyung was stunned. He watched the open door for a while and then looked over at Jeongguk. He looked ... guilty, like he felt bad.
"Shit," he muttered. He shifted and then pointed his thumb towards the door. "I have to go after her, I'm sorry. I'll ... yeah, see you later."
He then turned on his heel and ran out of the door, leaving Jeongguk alone in the bedroom. He was still sitting on the floor.
He shook his head, not understanding anything. What was with Mina? She had no right to be so angry, she could be so stuck up, getting so hung up over someone going into her parents' bedroom. It was bound to happen, with countless of drunk teenagers roaming the house. Why did she even have alcohol at the party if she wanted everyone to behave?
And what was Taehyung doing, running after her like that? Was he going to apologize? For what exactly? For disobeying her orders? What was she, a queen? Jeongguk rolled his eyes.
He had always suspected Mina didn't like him, but the memory of her grim gaze now gave it away, she hated him. She hated the fact that he was Taehyung's friend.
But why the hell had she then requested to be his partner in The End-of-the-Year project?
He just couldn't understand her.
As much as he wanted to wait around for Taehyung to come back, he suspected he would need to wait for a while. He was getting tired anyway. So, he got up and ventured out into the party to find Jimin.
He was going home.
***
Oh the drAMA. I loved writing this chapter, wow it was so much fun.
You know, for a writer, I have way too much of a hard time to figure out what to put in an author's note, I need to work on my wit hahaah <33
This chapter is dedicated to a newer reader of mine and a writer I have just gotten to know leostargazer666. He has an amazing taekook fic which I'm truly so happy to have found, Fly, My Pretties, I really recommend it! Thank you so much for giving my work love and thank you of course for reading.
That goes for everyone else too~! Always, thank you for reading.
Remember to vote :)
Love, Sten