TWENTY SOMETHING | VKOOK

Chapter 11

There was something very strange about walking down an empty street at 6:57 AM alongside Taehyung drenched, with no money, no phone, no map, nor any willpower. But Jungkook realized that he hadn't experienced everything in his life yet, and Taehyung seems adamant to make sure that's undone.

"Here's the thing," Taehyung said. His hands were fit in his pocket, he wandered carelessly, as if the looming thought of oh my god I have no way to get back home didn't matter. Maybe it didn't. Not to him. Taehyung looked happy. "I'm sure if we keep walking we'll find our university."

"Taehyung, the bus ride was half an hour and the driver drove like he was on acid. Walking back will take us at least 8 hours." Jungkook said, picking on his fingers. He looked carefree, but in a different way, in a way that was oddly concerning because it was most definitely not thoughtless. Well-intentioned, for sure.

"Don't worry about the maths. Let's just walk for now." Taehyung said, hands slipping out of his pockets. "Look," Taehyung pointed up. "Birds."

Jungkook glanced and saw some pelicans sitting atop the wooden sign for a closed pub that would open in 5 hours. It smelt of dead fish and salty water around them. What earlier was a gentle sea breeze now was distasteful and detestable.

"Birds." Jungkook snickered to himself. Taehyung looked at Jungkook, who had an eyebrow lifted. "How can you be so careless?"

"What?" Taehyujng asked, the bright smile he had earlier on his face upon spotting pelicans dying down a little. Jungkook stopped in his steps.

"We're soaking. We have no money. No idea where to go. And you- you don't even care? Look at the birds- the fuckin' birds??? Dude," Jungkook stepped closer to him. "We're gonna die."

Taehyung looked at Jungkook closely. "So?" Taehyung asked in a soft voice.

"So-" Jungkook began, but then looked away from Taehyung, who felt too close. He stepped away. "What do we do?"

"Weren't you the one who was raving, like, a week ago about digging up bones from a graveyard and then proceeding to force me into putting fish eyeballs into the drinks of our friends?"

"That's different," Jungkook mumbled.

"We live very contrasting lives, Jungkook. We have different morals, different ideas of what 'fun' is. But we both like living life close to the edge. Don't turn back now, not when I'm about to fall off," Taehyung said, arms on his hips.

"You're not," Jungkook said. "Sorry. I just... I've never done anything like this before."

"What makes you think I have?" Taehyung asked with a chuckle. Jungkook looked at him with curiosity.

"I don't know, you seem like that kind of guy to just... let loose."

"I like letting loose, Jungkook. I like letting very loose." Taehyung said in a whisper, and Jungkook's cheeks almost burned, but thankfully his skin allowed him to have some composure.

"No, I've never run away from everything in the middle of the night with a random goth I befriended a month ago to see the sunrise thirty minutes away from the city." Taehyung sighed and began walking again. "But I'd love to do it again." Taehyung added.

They walked for another few minutes as the sun began rising high in the sky. People began leaving for work and dogs began going for walks (with their owners, of course. Dogs didn't just start walking on their own out on the streets. Though that would be quite cool). The day had begun and Taehyung and Jungkook felt most out of place.

"When I was 12," Jungkook said suddenly, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatshirt. He looked cold. "I went to an amusement park alone."

Taehyung looked at him peculiarly. Jungkook continued. "I wanted to run away from home and stole some money, but instead, I went to ride roller coasters and eat hotdogs all alone."