sᴀᴠᴀsᴀɴᴀ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.28. ᴇsᴄᴀᴘᴀsᴀɴᴀ

A sleepy Jungkook dozing off on the counter would have been cute in any other circumstances, but as it where, Taehyung couldn't blame his boyfriend for excessive drinking since he'd been unable to reach him earlier to tell him he was on his way. Besides, Namjoon had run into unexpected traffic and by the time the idol walked into the Twirling Dragon bar, Jimin was biding Johnny a good night. "Come on Guk, we have to go home now," he said, getting ready to carry his friend if need be.

"Jungkook? Are you alright?" Taehyung was quick to hook his arms around him, a little concerned by the boy's failure to stand straight.

Jungkook's eyes were still shut, but he'd recognized the man's cologne anywhere. "Tae?" Letting his body tumbled forward, he inhaled the beloved fragrance, nuzzling up to his boyfriend's bare neck. "Missed you."

"Me too," Taehyung confessed, not willing to make excuses for his tardiness, nor bring up anything work-related. "Forgive me for showing up so late."

"Hyung!" Somehow, Jungkook managed to locate Jimin with his eyes half-closed. "You met him as a trainee. You know him as an idol. But tonight, Kim Taehyung is simply my most wonderful and very, very handsome boyfriend!"

Jimin and said boyfriend glanced at each other briefly before turning their attention to Jungkook who obviously had lost all his filters as he rambled on. "Tae! You remember Park Jimin, right? The bestsest hyung-friend ever!"

How could Taehyung forget the man who had been there for Jungkook in his stead? "Thank you." The first words that came out of his mouth where also the only ones he could think of, despite being aware that they fell awfully short against the gratitude he wished to express for having taken such good care of the boy.

Namjoon cleared their throat, and Taehyung snapped out of his considerations to promptly introduce his manager. "Nice to meet you," the man said with a slight bow.

Remembering their last phone conversation, Taehyung could guess why Jimin looked like he wasn't at all pleased to see him. Perhaps now was the time to address the lingering doubts the other might yet have about his commitment.

Jimin, however, did not give him a chance to explain himself. "I don't know how long this has been going on, but if I recall correctly, you were supposed to provide some kind of proof you weren't fooling around because your record isn't exactly tipping the scales in your favour."

"Hyung-ah," Jungkook whined, "be nice, please."

"Bun, how much did you drink?" Taehyung asked, tucking a loose strand behind Jungkook's ear.

"A little. But not so much that I can't tell when someone's being rude."

Taehyung straightened his shoulders and faced Jungkook's guardian of sorts as if he were about to request permission to date him. "I understand your concern, Jimin. I know I have failed him once, but I won't fail him again. You have my word."

Jimin shook his head disapprovingly. "Your word is no-good."

Except Taehyung had nothing more to offer. It was Namjoon who stepped forward. "For what it's worth, Taehyung just put his career on the line in order to come here. I'm not sure what other proof you need to understand that Jungkook means more to him than anything else."

Jungkook's eyes finally opened wide. "What? Tae, what did you do?"

"Nothing you have to worry about, bae. It's my life after all. I should be able to make some decisions for myself, don't you think?"

Neither of them had noticed how the bar has started to crowd all of a sudden. The flash of a photo been taken nearby brought them all back to a rather distressing reality. A throng of mostly young women had gathered outside while some had even managed to get in, waving ID cards to prove their legalness.