inked metaphor |tk ✔️

chapter twenty eight.

-chapter twenty eight-

Two days turned into Two weeks pretty quickly.

Taehyung had grown restless with each day that passed. Nobody had heard from Jeongguk since that night, and it had already been two weeks. Taehyung showed up to work every day, hoping to see the younger man so they could talk. He wanted to talk to Jeongguk, and he wanted to see him.

But Jeongguk never showed up.

It wasn't just him that hadn't heard from the younger. Nobody had. Not Namjoon nor Hoseok, Yoongi or his other friends.

Not even his closest friend, Yugyeom.

Jeongguk had disappeared.

Yugyeom had even checked Jeongguk's apartment, only to find it in such a bad state with The younger's phone still on his unmade bed. Taehyung's heart broke when he was informed of this.

"Hey, Hyung." Taehyung smiled softly, leaning in the doorway of Hoseok's studio. "How are you doing?"

"I should be asking you that." Hoseok sighed, offering the ravenette a soft smile. He put his phone down and stood up, walking over to bring Taehyung into his arms. "I can't imagine how you're feeling. It's been two weeks."

"I miss him." Taehyung whispered, his eyes closing as he melted into the warm hug. "I'm worried about him. I-It's been two weeks and I want him back, hobi hyung... I don't care about w-what he did anymore, I just want him to be here and s-safe with me." He sniffled. "What if he's h-hurt? He's alone... he hates being alone."

"I'm sure he's just taking the time to come to terms with it all." Hoseok gently shushed him, caressing his hair. "He can take care of himself, okay? You know he runs away when he's going through something."

"I know." Taehyung nodded, sniffling as he looked over at the closed door of Jeongguk's studio. "I miss him." He looked away with a soft sob, hiding his face in Hoseok's shoulder. "Alot."

During his shift, he busied himself with clients, tattooing as much as he could to distract himself from his thoughts of Jeongguk. But when he was finished, he started to miss the younger all over again. Even though Jeongguk had hurt him, he loved the younger man too much to not worry.

He could forgive, he could forgive Jeongguk if he just came back from wherever he was. If he just came back so they could talk, maybe they could start over. Maybe they could start again.

"I know, I know." Hoseok rubbed his back, nuzzling The younger's temple. "We all do. But, the most we can do is wait. He'll come back soon, I know he will."

Taehyung didn't miss the unconvinced tone that Hoseok spoke with, but he nodded softly, sniffling. "I hope so." He pulled away and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He smiled at Hoseok and choked out a watery laugh. "I think Tannie m-misses him too."

"I'm sure Gguk misses Tannie too." Hoseok cooed, tugging the ravenette's hand. "Come on, let's get a nice warm cup of tea, hm?"

When they entered the little kitchen, Yoongi looked up from his phone, sitting up on the counter with a cup of coffee beside him. "How are you doing, Tae?"

"Good." Taehyung smiled, though it wasn't convincing as his voice wobbled. "I'm fine." He stumbled towards the fridge and grabbed the bottle of milk. "I'm okay."

"I'm sure he'll show up soon." Yoongi offered, looking at his boyfriend as he picked up his drink to take a sip. "He never strays too far. He fucked up, and he needs to understand that. Jeongguk has a habit of running from his problems."

Taehyung just nodded, putting the milk on the counter, before grabbing a mug from the drying rack. "Yeah..."

-

After his shift that day, Taehyung had decided to see for himself what Yugyeom had described to him.

He slowly pushed open the door of Jeongguk's apartment, mentally thanking Yugyeom for giving him the key, and braced himself for what he'd see. He gulped, stepping inside the silent home before kicking his shoes off and closing the door behind him with a soft click.

He looked around the disheveled apartment and felt his eyes widen at what he saw. There was glass all over the floor, just like Yugyeom had said. There were broken bottles and smashed photo frames all over the place, glass littering every surface.

A couple of cabinets had been pushed over out of fury, and the red roses that sat untouched on the coffee table were starting to wilt due to the two weeks they were unattended to.

The roses looked just as sad as Taehyung felt.

The ravenette bit his bottom lip, turning the lights on, and carefully began to walk through the empty apartment, watching out for any glass, heading for the kitchen in order to find what he was looking for.

He couldn't just let Jeongguk's apartment stay in such a mess. He had begged Yugyeom for The spare key, and had explained his reasons for wanting access to Jeongguk's apartment. He decided that, so it's ready for his return, he would spend the evening cleaning up and tidying the younger man's home.

He knew he should be furious, unforgiving. Jeongguk had cheated on him afterall. He had lied, and hurt him.

And he was, at first. He was so hurt, so agitated with the fact that he was being cheated on by the man he loved.

But, Taehyung had always been a forgiving man. It had been weeks now since anyone had heard from Jeongguk, and he was over it. Yes, Taehyung wished to be left alone for a couple of days so he could come to terms with it all, but He didn't wish for Jeongguk to disappear for weeks without a trace.

All he wanted now was for Jeongguk to just come home. He wanted him to come back safe and sound.

Taehyung turned on the light in the kitchen and looked around, lips twitching downward as he reached for the half-empty pack of cigarettes from the counter. "Silly, you forgot your cigarettes." His voice cracked. He put them back and let out a shaky exhale, shaking his head as he walked towards the storage pantry.

From there, he grabbed the broom, and a few garbage bags, along with the vacuum to clean up the glass. Carrying it all back to the living room, he put them all down on the floor and made his way to Jeongguk's bedroom.

He opened the door and frowned. Jeongguk's bedroom was trashed. The bedsheets were on the floor, his desk and cabinets cleared of the things that lay atop of them.

The curtains were still shut, and Taehyung felt his eyes tear up when he saw the still full glass of water sitting on the bedside, alongside the unopened packet of painkillers that he had left for him.

"Oh Ggukie." He mumbled, softly, as he reached a shaky hand to push his hair back, eyes falling on the discarded phone that lay silent on the bed. "Please just come back."

-----

Any guesses to where gguk is?

Do you guys think Tae should be so forgiving? I'm curious about your opinions :)

-TaesThickThighs