• Honey Boba •

Chapter-12: Promise of Better Days

"So," Taehyung starts, briefly looking at Jungkook as they walk side by side, "you're close with Jimin and Namjoon?"

Jungkook hums, "Namjoon not as much as Jimin, they've only been dating for like, 2-3 years. Almost 3, I think. I've known Jimin for almost..." he trails off, tilting his head upwards a little to look elsewhere and count on his fingers before looking back at Taehyung, "almost 7 years now."

"Wow," the raven head whisper yells before mumbling to himself, "No wonder you two are so close..."

Jungkook doesn't hear the second sentence, so he replies to the first, "Yeah, insane, isn't it? He means so much to me. It is- it still feels surreal when I think about how we're buddies in real life now."

At that, Taehyung gives a confused and questioning 'huh,' and at that Jungkook chuckles and replies, "We used to be online mates back when I was in my home country. Since I was like, 14 or 15. And then I came here to study bachelors in music about 5 years ago. Didn't bother in taking masters and decided to go for vocal and piano lessons instead, and now I'm here making covers and working as a barista, both things that I enjoy doing a lot. They also help me survive, so," he explains.

"A win-win situation, huh?"

"Yep. Will forever be thankful for that," he says, voice soft with gratitude. Feeling the professor's gaze lingering on him and feeling shy under it, he (not so loudly) clears his throat and then asks, "Wanna go sit under that tree for a while?"

Looking towards the place Jungkook is pointing at, an expansive open park with trees and soft grass beds on either side of the park's walkway, he hums in agreement, "Sure, we've been walking for a while anyway. Need anything to drink?"

"Some water would be nice. I can go get some for us?"

"No, it's alright. There's a vending machine right over there. You go sit, I'll join you in a minute."

After receiving a nod and a soft 'thank you' from the younger, Taehyung walks towards the machine with a big stupid grin on his face, something he's been trying not to do for a long time (but failing miserably at it), and Jungkook may or may not have gotten a glimpse of it. Chuckling to himself, Jungkook goes to the spot he's been eyeing and sits down on the damp grass with a big sigh of relief, straightening his legs to give them a little stretch and leaning back on the tree to give his aching back some relief. His body was never the type to enjoy long walks or anything very sporty even though his brain loves it for the most part. It's annoying, sometimes.

"Tired?" he hears Taehyung, lending him a bottle of water before sitting next to him.

"Kind of, yeah. My back and legs don't cooperate with me sometimes," he laughs.

"That's alright, we can sit and talk for some time. You're not in a rush to get home, yes?"

"Not at all, though I do need to get to this perfume shop before it closes for the day," he says, remembering how his rose vanille had almost run out when he got a whiff of Taehyung's subtle woody scent when he sat down. Somewhere in it, he could sniff out a barely noticeable scent of petrichor, which reminds him of his Floofy Wolf. He wonders if he'll come visit today or not.

"Ah, would you mind me tagging along then?" he asks, curiously looking at Jungkook with those big blue eyes that look so goddamn innocent that makes him have a hard time holding in his squeals.

But he manages to reply, "Of course I wouldn't mind. Means I won't be as bored," his eyes become smaller as he smiles.

A couple of minutes pass by in silence, as they both settle down and relax after the long walk from Black Pearl Rose to this park. They didn't notice the length of the walk as they were busy talking about different types of plants, their favourite books, music, favourite types of songs and most liked artists, and then Taehyung changed the topic to Jungkook's relationship with Jimin and Namjoon.