peace | taekook

chapter seventeen

jungkook felt his heart pounding, tracing each step that yoongi had outlined as he tried to muddle his way back to taehyung's apartment. he'd been there only once before, the posh decor a stark contrast to his chaotic art studio turned studio apartment.

he wondered what the brunette would look like the morning after. was his eye okay? his lip?

he waited patiently at the door for an answer and was surprised to see a petite blonde male answer in place of taehyung, "jungkook! what are you doing here?" jimin cracked the door open further to reveal blankets and snack wrappers lining the coffee table and couch.

clearly his hangover was still in the recovery stage, "looking for tae; is he home?"

jimin attempted to pick up part of the mess, embarrassed he'd been caught with a half eaten box of twinkies and at least three sugared soda, "he is not home."

"where is he?"

"he stayed at one of the family homes last night. namjoon brought him there!"

"is he okay? have you talked to him?"

"not yet!" the panic in jungkook's voice increased the panic that jimin felt for his best friend. what was a pretty standard night with bogum was all of a sudden amplified to something beyond the usual, "i can give you the address."

"please!" the younger could feel the urgency as he watched jimin (slowly) text it over.

pulling it up on his maps app, jungkook assessed the distance, the location. it wasn't very far, really in the first suburb. he imagined tae roaming around perfectly paved sidewalks on his way to a glamorous private school that was reserved for kids who could afford to live in gated communities that came with a landscaper for each house.

the younger waved to jimin, his mind still racing as he exited the complex and crawled into the drivers seat. trying to keep his mind from tae, he noted how the city was busy- it often was on saturday mornings but the nice weather allowed for more to crawl from the usual hole of a tiny apartment or hotel.

the streets were mostly brimming with tourists but, he could spot a few locals in the crowd- they were the ones who avoided chain coffee shops and crossed at lights before the signal changed. he considered himself one of them. a local-

and he wondered if taehyung did too. he'd have to ask, monitor the way he moved through basic attractions; that was the real test.

the four lane, fast-paced highway shifted into a rural street built for two until he found himself in the midst of a tiny downtown. nothing but a gym, a grocery store, and a few benches would indicate that this place had a large enough population to mean anything to anyone and yet each house that he spotted looked worth a million.

unlike the homes in a standard suburb, these were distanced, yards and flowers and everyone's pavement was crisp. he found the house number that jimin had urged him to go to and pulled into the driveway.

a single car sat outside, overpriced sedan, modest but still luxurious. it was a sensible choice; that much jungkook knew and he assumed it belonged to namjoon.

the sidewalk that led to the front door was cobblestoned and antique, the front door elegant in it's own right with mahogany that deserved only the proudest knock. jungkook felt so small up against it, the noise he made barely echoing.

luckily, whatever god was watching him, had indicated to the maid that somebody had arrived. she was prompt to answer the door, "hello. are you here for somebody?"

"taehyung. kim taehyung." his eyes darted inside, fascinated by the small bit he saw.

"is he expecting you?"