Jungkook's P.O.V
"I love you."
Taehyung was red as a tomato, and I was struggling to restore my breath. We messed up. There was no time for me to utter these words again and receive a response as both of us were too worried about getting into trouble. Saying anything else about it before calming Taehyung down wasn't an option.
"How long have we been here?" he panicked.
"A few minutes, I believe. I tried to make it quick," I said.
"Do you think he'd find out? Is this suspicious?" How different Taehyung behaved from minutes beforehand was close to comical, but I, as well, was too terrified to laugh. "Will he fire us?"
"Relax, he w-won't know about this."
The whole act took just long enough for our boss to question why we were still there. Luckily, it was easy making up an excuse to escape the situation, and once done with the explanations, there was an opportunity to chat.
"Mind if I walk you home?" I asked. When Taehyung agreed, I put my hands in my pockets and began walking beside him, nervous. "So c-can we go on another date, as a c-couple?"
"A couple?" Taehyung gasped.
My cheeks were burning. "I told you, Tae, I love you, and I want to go out with you sometime... What do you say...?"
As anxious as I was, Taehyung appeared to have it worse. "Y-y-y-you actually m-meant that?!"
We stopped midway, he stared at me with wide eyes, and I blinked in return. Taehyung took a deep breath, and so did I.
"I didn't think you were serious... I thought it was in the heat of the moment type of thing..." he told me. "I had no idea... you love me?! Me?"
"Yes, Taehyung, I do. You were doing so much for me, you care, you like the same things I do, you're smart, and you've made me laugh..."
The smile which followed that statement was the most brilliant thing I'd ever witnessed. It was adorable, Taehyung couldn't decide whether he should kiss or hug me first.
"Well... do you still want to be with me?" I asked. In response, he did both.
"Of course, I do!"
I allowed Taehyung to wrap arms around me, bringing him closer. "How about tomorrow?" I buried my face in the crook of his neck. "Even if it's something short before work, I'll think of an idea and tell you at school, alright?"
He nodded and tightened the embrace.
"From now on," I said, "you don't owe me anything, the past will stay in the past, and our relationship will be healthy."
"I don't even care at this point." He snuggled into my shirt. "I only wish you'd stay with me."
"Tae, you should care, are you kidding?" I pulled away, visibly upset, and Taehyung lowered his head in apology. I sighed. "I'll treat you well, I promise."
It didn't matter, I was at fault, and I was going to fix it. What mattered was...
Oh my fucking god! I'm dating Kim Taehyung!
Imagining us watching movies together, playing video games, then making out for hours on a couch, waking up next to each other without rushing away, and even having silly domestic arguments, all sounded like a paradise.
"Robs, do you have a moment? Let's meet up!" I shouted into my phone.
"Meet up?"
"Yes!" I replied.
"Right now?" Robert asked.
"YASS!"
"It's dark outside, are you dumb?" he said.
And so we did.
The second I saw Robert, I jumped on the poor boy with a suffocating hug before letting go and bouncing around restlessly, screaming.
"Oh my go, oh my god, oh my god!"
"Wow, you're not acting weird at all," Robert said sarcastically. "What's the deal? Why are you this chaotic?"
I took a pause and inhaled. "I need your help." I suppressed another cry. "With organizing our first date as an OFFICIAL COUPLE!"
Robert raised his eyebrow. "And by 'our' you hopefully don't mean ours, right?"
I giggled. "I'm going to have a boyfriend!"
"I... I'll let you calm down first, and then I'll talk," I heard him.
There was something about his tone that forced me to stop. "Wh-what is it?"
"It's just that you've been in a relationship this whole time, sometimes it went well for you guys, and sometimes it was awful, like really fucking awful," Robert told me. "And you've loved him before too... I don't want to be a killjoy, I will support you, and I want you to be together if you both feel that way, but man, you've done some fucked up shit to Kim when you were horny, and I'm only going off of what I know."
"He'd won, Robert," I admitted, tossing my hands up. "This was supposed to be his payback, and now I fell for him, hard. Taehyung will have me spending the rest of my life making up for everything he'd gone through."
"The rest of your life? You've always seemed like a ride or die person, but that's taking it too far..."
Robert had nothing more to add. We shared our ideas for a short, simple date, and parted ways with a soiled plan ready. One step towards my house, then another one, then a few more, and the smile still refused to leave. My rosy cheeks were now in pain.
I didn't think about my parents' reaction to me dating my ex-bully of all people, nor about Taehyung having to come out to his. Only our future mattered, where I'd kiss his forehead each night, he'd peck my nose, and I wouldn't be able to sleep for a while after.
A sound of laughter had caught my attention and interrupted the lovely images.
Children: A group of adorable looking boys seemed to be having a blast. However, for some reason, the sound was unsettling to me. I came closer.
The boys gathered around another child, and he wasn't having as much fun. They were pushing him from one side of the circle to the other, not letting him be as he kept throwing glances at a plastic bag on the ground. Wide eyes had replaced my smile.
"Dohyun!" I called, clenching my teeth.
One of them was about to stamp the bag, and Dohyun was terrified.
I picked it up before he could. "Playtime is over." I grabbed Taehyung's brother's arm, pulled him out of the cursed circle, and pushed them away with no mercy. "You'd better find a new hobby if you don't want to be searching for a new face," I threatened.
"Jungkook?"
With the boy's wrist still in my grip, I began taking him straight home.
"What are you doing out at this hour all on your own? Are you insane?!" I calmed my tone and sighed. "Seriously, Dohyun, your brother told me about the other kids, you're the last person who should do this."
"What would you know about that?!" The bitterness of his voice made me turn to him. He wiggled his legs. "I didn't mean to sound bratty or anything..."
"A lot, Dohyun, too much. It's the number one role of us outcasts, if you don't wish to deal with them outside of school, don't walk around the neighborhood at night. That's when the douchebags like to go out with their douchey friends." In my head, I could see thirteen-year-old Robert nodding in approval.
Dohyun stayed quiet.
"You're not alone, Kiddo." I ruffled his hair. "You haven't told me, why are you not in bed?"
"Mother needed me to buy food," he said.
"I see... Good thing you were able to get out of the situation then."
He looked down. "Yeah, thank you..."
I walked him in the same route I'd led his brother hours prior. Upon arriving at our destination, I leaned down, beamed, patted his head again, and handed him the plastic bag.
I was about to leave, yet couldn't ignore the yelling.
"Is everything okay there?" I asked.
"Mother and Brother must be fighting," he said, bizarrely calm. "She misses doing that with her husband, and I guess Taehyung's now a replacement."
"Are you sure it's nothing serious?"
"I am," Dohyun stated before softening his expression. "Our mom's been through a lot, Brother and I are trying to be patient, but we end up parenting her instead... Parents sometimes scold their kids for being irresponsible— in our house, you can never be sure who's scolding whom."
None of his words or how he spoke them made sense when compared to his age. Was there anything I could do to preserve the boy's childhood?
Dohyun reached his jacket's inner pocket to take out a key. "But we love her, and she loves us too," he said. "You can't be here when I open the door, Mom will ask questions and get mad at me for walking with a stranger, and I wouldn't be able to answer, remember? She can't find out about you and Taehyung."
Taehyung's P.O.V
"I don't care how old he is! You can't send him out so fucking late!" I shouted.
My mother rolled her eyes, making me angrier. "Do not swear at me, Taehyung, and you know I don't want anything happening to my son. He's going to be fine."
"God! I can't believe you're so—"
"I'm back!" Dohyun entered the living room and put the groceries down.
Mom sighed in relief. "I told you he'd be alright," she said, took the bag, and went to the kitchen, ready to put everything in place.
"Mother meant well," Doh told me, "she knew you were in your room to study. Be thankful she gave you a break."
"I'd rather starve then knowing you had to buy the food alone at night," I said.
"Stop it! I'm old enough to help."
I shook my head. "No, you're not. I've seen too many kids from your grade hanging out at insane hours. Middle schoolers, as much as it sickens me to say, can be even up to illegal stuff these days, and I don't want any of your peers spotting you defenseless."
"I'm okay." He sat down on the couch. "Your secret lover helped me."
"What?"
"I did meet them, and he was there to help," Doh said.
My heart skipped a beat. "Oh my god... are you hurt?!"
"No! And besides, even if Jungkook wasn't there, I could manage. Mom was right to trust me!"
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