TW // this chapter features graphic depictions of torture methods
as of this point, you've been warned.
"You've gone crazy," Jungkook said as he slammed the front door shut. Taehyung retreated to the living room, though it wasn't any safer there. Jungkook stormed in after him. He pointed to the couch. "Sit down."
"Why," he asked, defiant.
"Because I need to scold you for your stupidity." Taehyung didn't budge, standing his ground with his hands balled into fists at his sides. Jungkook tilted his head towards the couch, brow cocked, warning. "Sit."
His tone said enough. Albeit reluctant, Taehyung sat on the couch obediently. Jungkook came to stand in front of him, towering above him with his hands planted firmly on his hips in a power pose.
"Did you really think that I wouldn't have been able to find you?" he said. "I've been coming up here ever since I was five — I know everything there is to know about this place — and you didn't even know where you were going. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Taehyung lowered his head in shame, drawing his knees up to his chest.
"I mean—" Jungkook scoffed, incredulous and fuming at the ears. "—why the fuck would you do that again? I thought you already learned—"
"Sometimes I just wanna leave!" he cried, recoiling in on himself once the words left him.
"What are you—"
"Sometimes — sometimes you say things o-or you do things that I-I really don't like, and I can't handle it. And then I want to leave."
Jungkook sighed. "Am I only supposed to say the things that you want to hear? I can't do that. Sometimes you have to hear things you don't like—"
"No, no. I get that, but sometimes you're just mean for — for no reason. I-I don't like it when you're mean."
"This is about the 'baby' thing, right?"
Taehyung flinched at the mention of it, his face flushing with embarrassment from his ears down to his neck. They haven't talked about the incident in depth yet, and Taehyung never wants to. He wished it could be erased from his memory, and Jungkook's, forever.
"Look. Me being mean sometimes doesn't warrant you running away." Jungkook's voice was surprisingly soft. He crouched down to Taehyung's level and carded his fingers through Taehyung's hair, frowning when he flinched at the contact. "I just want to keep you safe. Leaving will never be an option."
Taehyung steeled himself to lean into Jungkook's touch, letting it comfort him. Jungkook was being too nice, especially after what Taehyung did. He knew Jungkook wasn't going to be this benevolent for much longer. He had to soak it in while he still could.
"Now are you going to be a good boy for once and stand up?"
"I-I don't want the bath," Taehyung whispered, screwing his eyes shut in dreaded anticipation. He knew what would come next.
He sighed as he pulled his hand away. "You're still getting the bath."
"Noooo!" he cried. "No, no, no, no, please—"
Jungkook snickered, probably not meaning to come off as rude, but it did. "You're not getting out of this."
"Please, please, no."
Jungkook let him throw his pity-party-slash-temper-tantrum for a minute longer. Taehyung kept muttering "no" and "please" over and over, but it was a lost cause. He knew it too, but that didn't matter. Jungkook took a hold of Taehyung's shirt collar and stood, gently tugging on Taehyung's shirt to get him to stand too.
"Come on, Taehyung."
"No!" He shoved Jungkook back and scampered to sit on the backing of the couch, leaning against the cold window behind him.
"I am absolutely fucking livid. You're an idiot if you think you can fight your way out of this." He spoke with such composure it made Taehyung shiver. He didn't look mad, he didn't sound mad either, but his words told him something completely different, and Taehyung couldn't help but gasp. "So you are not going to waste my time, and you're going to come upstairs with me and take your punishment well, because you deserve it."
"I-I don't want to," he mumbled.
"We don't always get what we want. That's how it is, Taehyung. So get up."
Taehung was barely cooperative, but he wasn't necessarily resistant either. Jungkook had to drag him up the stairs to their ensuite bathroom.
He shoved Taehyung back until he tumbled into the bathtub. Taehyung cried out when his spine hit the edge of the porcelain tub and radiated pain.
Jungkook leaned over the edge of the tub, cranked the water on, and shoved the drain stopper in its place. Taehyung panicked at the sight. He scrambled out of the tub, already sobbing. Jungkook yanked him back by his shirt collar. He splashed around in the pooling water.
"Please! Please—"
"Shut. Up," Jungkook commanded.
Taehyung could only hold quiet for a few seconds, bottom lip trembling with frantic pleas.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry—"
"Do I really need to teach you how to obey all over again? It's not that fucking hard to listen. I thought you already learned!"
Taehyung sobbed pathetically. "Ple—"
"Stop talking."
Again, he didn't listen, crying, "I'm sooorry."
"No, no," Jungkook persisted. His voice edged on furious; the calm facade he held earlier was now long gone. "Correct yourself. You're not sorry about what you did; you're not apologizing to me. You're sorry for yourself because you failed."
He flinched at Jungkook's harsh tone, and finally resolved to shut up. Save for his pitiful sniffles and hiccups, the only noise in the room was his impending calamity.
The water was up to his ribs now, soon to overflow the tub. Jungkook kept his fist clamped in Taehyung's hair as he shut off the faucet. Taehyung yearned to apologize again, but knew that wouldn't help him now. Excuses would only hurt him at this point. He just has to listen...
Jungkook jerked Taehyung's skull, yanking him out of his self-pity and reminding him of the hold he had in his hair — on his life.
"Hold your breath."
Taehyung wanted to plead but gasped deeply instead, just before Jungkook shoved his head beneath the waterline.
Jungkook pushed him down until his nose pressed against the bottom of the tub. All but his back was submerged, as he sat on his knees. The position didn't help him in the slightest.
He knows how this goes, but he still resisted. He didn't want to make it difficult, but he didn't want to drown either. So he couldn't help but thrash wildly, even if he accidentally hit Jungkook.
Jungkook pulled him up early. Taehyung panted desperately, keeping his eyes screwed shut. He didn't want to see Jungkook's expression anymore, it frightened him too much.
"Be. Good."
Just as Taehyung started to inhale again, Jungkook shoved him under again. He didn't take in any water, but he barely got any air in his lungs before Jungkook took it away again. His body already yearned for oxygen, desperate.
Taehyung clamped his nostrils shut with his fingers and used the heel of his palm to cover his mouth so if his body told him to breathe, he wouldn't.
His chest lurched as his lungs begged for air. Taehyung pounded his free fist against the edge of the tub, trying to alert Jungkook that he couldn't take it. His eyes fluttered to roll to the back of his head, his heartbeat drowned out every other possibility for sound. He'll pass out before breathing in water. And soon.
He reached back to squeeze Jungkook's wrist, trying so hard to get him to let him up. Taehyung thought he was going to lose it just as Jungkook yanked him up.
He heaved desperately, and his exhales came out as raucous coughs. He didn't take in any water, but having the normal amount of air in his lungs suddenly felt like too much. It hurt.
He still took as big of breaths as possible, focusing more on breathing in than out as he prepared to be pushed under again. Then he realized Jungkook wasn't holding him by his hair anymore. Jungkook was still kneeling on the outside of the tub, his hands now planted firmly on the porcelain ridge, his knuckles gone white.
Is the punishment... over?
Jungkook didn't give him any verbal clarification. Granted, Taehyung didn't actually ask anything in fear of Jungkook pushing him under again for the satisfaction of crushing his desperate hope, but Taehyung thought his look of question might say enough to ask his question for him.
Jungkook didn't make any move to show that they would continue.
Taehyung couldn't help but grin dopily in relief. He lunged forward to wrap his arms around Jungkook's waist, wetting his shirt and sloshing water over the edge, though it didn't matter because the floor was already pooling.
"I'm sorry!" he wailed, finally finding his voice again. It was over; Jungkook would make everything okay now, like he always does, and Taehyung would be okay. "God, I'm so sorry, I love you! I'm sorry—"
Jungkook shoved him away by pushing his head back, rough to say the least.
"Get the fuck off me," he muttered.
Taehyung didn't try again. His smile fell. He sat, trembling in the freezing water, his teeth unwilling to stop chattering no matter how hard he clenched his jaw — he barely had enough strength to do so anymore.
Jungkook reached into the water to pull up the drain stopper. He then grabbed a towel from the linen closet and tossed it carelessly in Taehyung's direction, not even blinking when most of it splashed into the water and soaked immediately, rendering itself useless save for the corner that caught on the edge of the tub, still dry. Taehyung stared at it.
"Get out of the tub, Taehyung."
Jungkook stepped out of the bathroom without another word of instruction, leaving the door ajar. Taehyung watched him stalk away, guilt hollowing out his heart.
Jungkook never acted so harshly after a punishment. He used to coddle Taehyung and kiss him and comfort him and assure him that the worst was over and it was okay now. Never has he been so... mean after the fact.
Taehyung used the driest end of the towel to mop up his dripping hair, but that was about all the use he could get out of it. He stepped out of the tub and stripped himself of his drenched clothes, cringing at the way the fabric clung to his wet skin. Then he realized there weren't any dry clothes for him to change into.
Another different thing about this punishment: Jungkook always put out clothes for Taehyung to change into after the bath. Jungkook always insisted on dressing him after the bath to make sure Taehyung was warm and dry enough and, again, comforted. But perhaps Taehyung should give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Jungkook forgot this time; it has been a while since he's had to have a bath.
He tiptoed over to the door, leaving puddles in his wake. He stood partly behind the door to spare himself a little dignity and hide most of his nude form, and peeked his head out into the bedroom.
Jungkook was scrolling through something on his phone, not sparing him a glance when Taehyung cleared his throat.
"Um, can I — can I have some pajamas please?"
Jungkook scoffed as he looked up from his phone screen, eyes rolling. "Why should I give you pajamas? They're mine, y'know. You'll just take that for granted. Why do you deserve anything of mine?"
It's not a question he's supposed to answer, nor is it one he wants to answer.
"Then w-what... what am I supposed to wear?"
Jungkook hummed in thought, clearly staged. "Well, I believe there's a robe in there that you are welcome to."
"O-Okay..."
He disappeared back into the bathroom and found a thin, white bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. He wrapped himself in it and tied the string tightly around his waist.
When he slipped back into the bedroom, he somehow felt more naked than before. All of him was covered now, but only by a flimsy bathrobe. Everything underneath it could be easily exposed by a simple draft, and Taehyung was more embarrassed by that than by being wholly nude in the first place.
Taehyung padded over to the bedside, standing next to Jungkook. Jungkook didn't acknowledge him, scrolling through his phone again. Since he wasn't going to look up at him, Taehyung resolved to kneel on the floor, putting himself in Jungkook's peripheral at least. Jungkook sighed.
"What are you doing." There's no question in his tone.
Taehyung stuttered, bowing his head in premature embarrassment. "I-I dunno."
"You expect me to hug and cuddle you and help you feel better after you pulled shit like that? Is that what you're doing, sitting there like a kicked puppy?"
"I'm—"
"That's fucking pathetic, do you know that?"
Taehyung sniffled and leaned back on his heels, his posture slouching. "I-I know, but I'm sorry—"
"Look, just — just go to sleep." Jungkook waved him away with the flick of his hand. "This is more than exhausting to deal with right now. We'll talk about it in the morning."
He nodded shyly and stood to slide under the covers beside Jungkook. He was tired too, absolutely drained to the bone. Maybe in the morning Jungkook would be willing to listen. Maybe in the morning Taehyung would be able to explain himself, or excuse himself. Everything will be better then—
"What — you think you're sleeping here?"
Taehyung froze and blinked at him, clueless. "Well, y-yeah. Where else would I sleep?"
He regretted the question the instant it slipped his lips.
Jungkook's lips curled up slightly; so slight that Taehyung wouldn't have noticed it if he had blinked. He slid out of bed and moved to the door, waving to tell Taehyung to follow him. His heart and hope sank like a rock in water.
He followed Jungkook down the hallway, past Yoongi's cell, to the last door at the end of the hall; the furthest from his actual bedroom. Jungkook opened the door for him, but didn't turn on the lights. Taehyung could only see what was inside by the dim hallway lighting.
It was another bedroom, an old musty one. The only window was skinny and sat high in the wall, too high for Taehyung to see out of without standing on top of something. A single cot sat in the furthest corner from the door. That was the only piece of furniture in the room, which was too spacious for such a tiny bed. There were no pillows or linens in sight; the only thing the cot had was a disgustingly-visible layer of dust.
"Stay in here until I come to get you in the morning."
Taehyung scanned the room again. Nevermind his damp hair chilling him, the room looked cold and was enough alone to make him shiver. How could Jungkook expect him to sleep here?
He reluctantly turned to Jungkook, pulling a chunk of the inside of his cheek between his molars to gnaw on.
Taehyung couldn't look at him as he asked, "C-Can I have a blanket please?"
Jungkook cocked a brow. "Do you think you deserve a blanket?"
"No?"
"Look at that; you're learning something already," he said, tone imitating awe. His expression switched to stern in the next second. "Goodnight."
The door slammed shut. Taehyung jolted, plunged in darkness.
He lingered there for a moment longer. Jungkook wouldn't leave him here, not all night; that's not like him. He heard Jungkook's footsteps recede, now he was just waiting for his footsteps to come back. He's not sure how long he stood there for, but it was until his knees started aching and he couldn't handle standing any longer.
He couldn't believe it. Jungkook just... left him to sleep here. Alone. Since day one, Jungkook always insisted on sleeping together. This was... very different.
Taehyung fumbled for the light switch. When he found it and flicked it on, nothing happened. Great. He's alone, he's freezing, and the lights don't even work.
The idea that Jungkook would leave him alone in here with so little made Taehyung's chest ache. Why did he have to be such an idiot and run away? Again. He laughs at himself for it now, but it's not out of amusement. What the hell was he thinking.
Taehyung carefully shuffled across the room to the cot. It was a creaky old thing, the "mattress" was about as thick as a sheet of paper. His robe wasn't enough to keep him warm, as his hands and legs were exposed and his hair was still damp. He couldn't stop his shivering, and eventually he found himself shivering not only from the cold, but also from his stifled cries.
He wanted so badly to crawl into his actual bed. With Jungkook. He wanted his comfort, he wanted cuddles, he wanted a goddamn blanket. The door probably wasn't locked; in theory, he could do it. But Jungkook told him to stay in here.
He had to behave if he wanted to ever gain Jungkook's trust again.
✓
I feel like my story/chapters are so loooong
lol I hope that's not a bother 🥸