an autumn's lover | tk

chapter nineteen.

"𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒚,"

[𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧]

"here's your change," jungkook smiled, handing the woman her coffee and money. "enjoy the rest of your day, miss."

"thank you, you too." the woman smiled, bidding him farewell before leaving the cafe. when she did, jungkook slumped against the counter, yawning softly as he looked around the near-empty coffee shop.

"tired?" hoseok asked, polishing some cutlery as he watched the younger with a soft grin. "you need to start heading to bed earlier, kook."

"i know." jungkook rubbed his swollen eyes, rather aggressively, before straightening up. "i was up all night, hyung. the storm kept me awake."

"i thought it might." hoseok smiled softly, patting his shoulder. "you should see a doctor and see if there's a way go get over the fear, kookie."

"that sounds like a lot of hassle." jungkook snorted, waving him off. "i'm fine, just restless... i've never been able to sleep during a thunderstorm."

"jungkookie..." hoseok's smile wavered. he knew that it was likely that jungkook spent the night crying, alone, terrified in bed. the younger was always distraught when there was a storm. "you know you can always call me, don't you?"

"i can't inconvenience you, hyung." jungkook protested, looking over at the other. "it's stupid and i just need to get over it-"

"why are you so preideful? just call me, okay?"

"but-"

"hello, how can i help?" hoseok beamed, his eyes forming pretty crescents as he turned his attention to the customer. "wait- yugyeom?"

jungkook's eyes widen, and he spun around, a wide smile gracing his lips when his high school best friend stood before them; on the other side of the counter with a warm smile. "yugi?"

"jungkook? hobi?" yugyeom's eyes twinkled and he grinned, leaning forward with wide eyes. "wow, i almost didn't recognise you! you look grown up now!"

"it's only been a few years.." jungkook blushed, looking down shyly, flustered under his long-time friend's gaze. "h-how have you been?"

"even better now that i've ran into you guys." yugyeom winked, his smile only growing. "could i have one vanilla latte? to sit in? i wanna catch up with you two during your breaks... is jimin here?"

"o-of course." jungkook softly smiled, starting to prepare the drink. "jiminie's not in today, he's here tommorow." kim yugyeom was a close friend in highschool; jungkook having had a little crush on the boy for a while before school ended. "do you want any food with it?"

"a slice of cheesecake sounds good." the other boy grinned, handing hoseok his money. "thanks jungkookie, hoseokie, tell jimin i said hello~"

with that, yugyeom made his way towards a nearby table and jungkook looked over his shoulder, his gaze trailing after the dark haired boy. yugyeom had matured over the past few years; he was taller, broader yet his voice and smile were the same.

"you used to have a crush on him, do you remember?" hoseok teased, wiggling his eyebrows as he nudged jungkook's side, the younger man fixing up the drink. "it's been a few years, why don't you test the waters a bit?"

"don't be silly." jungkook snorted, shaking his head. "besides, you were the one who asked me to find you a pretty boy... what about yugyeom?"

hoseok just clicked his tongue, shaking his head with disappointment. "get on with that order, young man."

jungkook grinned, his cheeks tinted with a light blush. as he handed the vanilla latte and a slice of cheesecake to hoseok, he couldn't help but steal glances at yugyeom, who was now immersed in his phone at the nearby table.

"stop being a coward, kook," hoseok teased. "why don't you go talk to him? it's been years since you caught up."

jungkook shot hoseok a playful glare, but deep down, the idea wasn't as daunting as it seemed. so taking a deep breath, he approached yugyeom's table with a friendly smile, his order in his hands.

"hey, gyeom," the brunette greeted, sliding into the seat opposite him. "it's been too long, huh?"

yugyeom looked up, his eyes lighting up at the sight of jungkook. "absolutely! i can't believe we all ended up in the same town. how have you been, kook?"

"j-just working at the cafe and doing some art on the side." jungkook mumbled, his casual demeanor hiding the underlying nervousness as he looked down at his fingers. "what about you? last i heard, you were into dance."

"yeah, still dancing. actually, i'm part of a dance crew now..." yugyeom grinned, nodding. "it's been pretty exciting. and, you know, trying to adult as much as i can."

the conversation flowed effortlesslg as the two friends caught up on the years that had passed. the younger couldn't help but notice the easy rapport they still shared, and the initial awkwardness melted away.

jungkook and yugyeom were good friends, who tried to test the waters of starting a relationship in senior year. but it was only a few weeks in before they realised that they were too good of friends to be anything more.

hoseok, observing from behind the counter, had a  satisfied grin on his face. he couldn't resist chiming in, "you two are getting along like no time has passed. maybe it's time to rekindle that old friendship, huh?"

jungkook playfully rolled his eyes, but there was a glint of amusement in them. yugyeom, on the other hand smiled softly. "maybe."

—

"so when will i meet this boy?"

"at the exhibition." the artist replied, not sparing the older man a glance as he added the final touches to the painting with a fine-bristled brush. "he's coming to the unveiling."

"good. i was starting to think that you were hiding him from me." yoongi chuckled, sipping on his beer as he watched the younger man paint. he looked over the painting, letting out a low whistle— his brows raising. "this is the best piece you've done, tae."

"because," taehyung looked over, managing a small smile. "i had the perfect muse."

______

i need to bring jimin and yoongi back into the plot because they're absent, but idk how to at the minute😅

-TaesThickThighs