Jeongguk stumbled into the kitchen at around seven pm. He hadn't meant to be this late and he wanted to get home from Hoseok's before it got dark but that had seemed quite impossible. "Sorry, I'm late." He told Taehyung the moment he caught sight of the man standing at the stove.
Taehyung merely smiled at him and Jeongguk noticed how he had his phone pressed against his ear. The boy tiptoed over to him and pressed a chaste kiss to the man's lips before dropping his stuff by the desk in the bedroom.
He had made all of his homework and even managed to study some English with Hoseok for his test next week. Seems like maybe he was getting his life in order.
"I don't really care." He could hear Taehyung chuckle. "Really, you can choose."
Jeongguk frowned, wondering who was on the other side of the line. Taehyung didn't often get phone calls and if he did it would be either his mother - and it would be a wonder if Taehyung got any words between her rambling – or his childhood friend Jimin who was working overseas.
"Alright, sounds good to me," Taehyung replied to the person on the phone. "I'll be sure to leave that spot open."
Jeongguk wandered back into the kitchen, curiously eyeing his boyfriend who was a bit too smiley for it to be his mother. When Taehyung finally ended the call and slid the phone into his pocket he turned to the boy. "Welcome home darling."
"Hi." Jeongguk piped up, joining the man's side, watching the pot of pasta boil. "Who was that on the phone?"
He felt Taehyung's arm snake around his waist as his other hand stirred the sauce in another pot. "Ah, I haven't actually told you about him yet. That was Kim Seokjin, a new friend I made two weeks ago."
"A new friend?" Jeongguk questioned. He looked up at the man, watching the smile on his boyfriend's lips widen.
"It's kind of embarrassing really. I met him during a particularly tough night." Taehyung chuckled, though it sounded dry. "I went to a bar and drank some beers and after a while, he joined me at the bar. We chatted for a few hours and we exchanged numbers."
He could feel Jeongguk tense under his touch. Taehyung's eyebrows furrowed when he looked down, wondering why the other was reacting like that. When he noticed the other's troubled look, something clicked.
"Oh no, it's nothing like that." He quickly assured the younger. Jeongguk was often hard to read but throughout the years Taehyung could see through the cracks. The boy was obviously a bit upset at his story. "We're friends."
"You went drinking?" Jeongguk's voice was small. "You didn't take it too far right? You didn't have a hangover right?" The smaller boy reached out his hands and placed them onto Taehyung's face, squishing his cheeks. "Were you alright?"
"I'm alright now darling." Taehyung smiled, grabbing onto one of the boy's hands. "And I kept it slow. I didn't drink too much."
But, Taehyung thought to himself, if it hadn't been for Seokjin's intervention he might have moved onto shots and gotten wasted.
It had been exactly one week after Jeongguk had left and the loneliness had crept up on Taehyung as he sat on the couch in his silent apartment. The clock ticked loudly and the cars passing by the window remembered him of a time where he and Jeongguk would drive to McDonald's and cuddle with full tummies.
The silence had become unbearable and with an impulsive thought, he had fled the apartment and found shelter in a bar a few streets away.
He didn't go to bars often to drink his worries away but he thought that if there was a moment he could let himself go for a night, it would be this moment. After taking a seat by the counter and getting the attention of the bartender he started schugging a few beers until that didn't satisfy anymore.
He had caught sight of an expensive-looking bottle of tequila when downing his last beer. Before he could call over the bartender to get him that specific drink, another person joined him at the bar. Taehyung glanced to the side and saw a man around his age, dark hair slicked back and lean body clad in an expensive suit.
The man looked handsome and when he realized the stare he was getting from the side he turned to Taehyung. "Good evening." The man spoke while a friendly smile played on his lips.
Even though the man had looked classy from the side, it was evident that the man was tired. His hair was a little messy even though it had been slicked back before and his eyes were rimmed red. "You look like you could use some sleep." Taehyung blurted out before thinking.
His face immediately flushed red when he realized what he had said. He feared he had insulted the man but the man didn't seem bothered with the comment and merely laughed. "You look like you could use a bottle of vodka." The man spoke, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
Taehyung chuckled dryly. "You're not wrong."
"And neither were you." The man smiled. "I'm Seokjin by the way, Kim Seokjin."
He stuck out his hand and Taehyung observed the shiny rings adorning the man's fingers before taking the hand in his and shaking it. "I'm Kim Taehyung. It's nice to meet you.'
The men had started talking after that and the hours quickly ticked by. After some more beers, Taehyung had started blurting out his troubles and Seokjin had told him his problems- which were more work-related than anything.
Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to and vent to. Taehyung didn't have too many friends and his best friend Jimin had left for China two years ago when getting a translation job there. Jeongguk was more or less Taehyung's life and the two had only each other.
Taehyung saw Seokjin again a few days later when they went out for coffee during Seokjin's lunch break. They ate Korean barbecue in some fancy restaurant Seokjin was familiar with and they ate cheap fatty ramen when Taehyung wanted to pay for once.
The two men had, to their own surprise, quite a lot in common. Seokjin was an app developer and worked in his uncle's company. He had a lot of sleepless nights because of work and didn't have much time to meet or keep friends so he often felt lonely in the confinements of his penthouse.
Seokjin knew about Jeongguk but at first, he hadn't been too fond of him. Of course, the night he had met Taehyung the man was willing to drink worries away because of Jeongguk leaving a week prior. Hearing about Jeongguk like that hadn't made a very good impression.
"Why didn't you tell me about him before?"
Taehyung looked up from his plate, his thoughts dissipating. He met Jeongguk's questioning gaze and realized he had spaced out. "I uh-" He shook his head to get the fuzziness out. "I guess I forgot."
"How old is he? Does he have a job?" Jeongguk was quite curious to hear about his boyfriend's new friend. He wasn't sure what to think of the fact Taehyung had met a man at a bar and they had hit it off quite well.
But of course, the reason for Taehyung being at that bar was Jeongguk leaving. He couldn't exactly be jealous now.
"He's one year older than me," Taehyung spoke as he twirled the pasta on his fork. "He develops apps and lives in the fancy street."
"The fancy street?" Jeongguk almost dropped his fork when hearing that.
The fancy street. Taehyung and he often wandered the street where the lanterns seemed to shine that tiny bit brighter and pretty flowers lined the streets and expensive cars drove there.
"He lives in a penthouse there. It's quite beautiful. You can see the whole city and even the gym on a clear day." Taehyung hummed. "He also has a separate elevator and it goes to the roof. He keeps a little garden there."
Jeongguk's stomach dropped. "You've been to his place?"
"Yeah, after eating dinner he invited me over for a drink. We ended up drinking coffee and he ordered cake." Taehyung smiled when remembering the fluffy cake he had eaten. "It must have been damn expensive cause I don't know any bakery that stays open until midnight."
Jeongguk's emotions were playing with him now. He knew he had no reason to get angry because Taehyung was trustworthy and a loyal man. He also knew he had been the reason for Taehyung to get lonely in the first place and hanging out with friends was a normal thing to do.
He too had stayed at Hoseok's place and had eating countless meals with him. They had even slept in the same bed from time to time when Hoseok's mind got too much and he needed someone there to be with him.
He had no reason to be jealous, no reason at all.
So why was it when Taehyung smiled as he retold his memories with Seokjin, that Jeongguk's blood got boiling?
Hi guys! I made a playlist for Red Revenge and spent a long time rearranging songs so when you listen to the songs in the right order you'll get the same experience as reading the story!
It starts with Jeongguk's life being a mess - goes to him meeting Taehyung and falling in love - then the bullying and the worries - Jeongguk leaves and the songs alternate between his thoughts and Taehyung's thoughts during their break - then the friendship with Hoseok starts and Jeongguk begins to accept himself and finally reunites with Taehyung. The last three songs are already a hint to this chapter and the following!
I'll post the link here or I'll dm them to anyone who can't click it. You can also search for Red Revenge or the username ranisnotonfire on Spotify :)