𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 || 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄/𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐖𝐎𝐍

Chapter Eighteen

INTRO TO SEGMENT 2

"Bloody hell!" Jungkook yelled in frustration at the TV as Arsenal failed to score once again.

Taehyung hid his smile in Jungkook's shoulder. Unlike his boyfriend, he had no love for Arsenal, so their continued failure to score was pretty amusing to him. He knew better than to say it aloud though.

Taehyung's smile faded when he caught sight of Wonwoo sprawled on the other couch. "Sprawled" was probably the wrong word for the way his friend was seated: there was something stiff and unnatural about Wonwoo's posture. It wasn't the first time Taehyung had noticed that about Wonwoo ever since his return home. Taehyung couldn't quite put a finger on it. It wasn't that Wonwoo seemed unhappy, per se. He didn't. There was simply something off about him. Sometimes.

Taehyung chewed on his lip. He had thought offering Wonwoo a job at his family company would take Wonwoo's mind off of what had happened to him. While it did seem to help—Wonwoo was clearly happy to do what he was good at, and glad that he didn't have to depend on his father—something was still off. Wonwoo wasn't the same. Taehyung wasn't sure what to do about it. He had given Wonwoo some space, not wanting to pressure him until he was ready to talk, but it had been three weeks since Wonwoo's return and Wonwoo still laughed it off and evaded the topic completely. It was as if... as if something had happened to him while he was in Russia. Something Wonwoo didn't want to think or talk about.

Taehyung shivered and snuggled up closer to Jungkook, breathing in his familiar scent.

Jungkook turned his head. "Tae?"

Taehyung pointed with his eyes toward Wonwoo and whispered, "You see it, too, right?"

Jungkook's gaze shifted to Wonwoo. He nodded.

"You think something happened to him while those people had him?" Taehyung said, careful to keep his voice low.

Jungkook frowned. "Tae, some criminals had him kidnapped for two months. It wasn't exactly a holiday. It's natural he seems a bit down."

"I guess," Taehyung said, but he wasn't convinced. Wonwoo was the most positive, optimistic person he had ever known. Being locked up for two months shouldn't have affected him in such a way—if that was really all that had happened, as Wonwoo claimed.

"I want to try talking to him again," Taehyung said.

Jungkook studied him before nodding. "If it'll make you feel better," he said, kissing the corner of Tae's mouth, then the other one. "It's not your fault, Tae bear. You know that, right?"

Taehyung buried his face in the crook of Jungkook's neck, nuzzling into him. "Yeah," he said, without much conviction. Logically, he knew it was unlikely he could have prevented Wonwoo's kidnapping, but there was a part of him that kept wondering what would have happened if he had dragged his ass out of bed and insisted on accompanying Wonwoo to Saint Petersburg. If he had been in the right state of mind, he would have done that. But he had felt so shitty without Jungkook that he hadn't cared enough. He should have been a better friend. He and Wonwoo had always had each other's back. They had very few secrets from each other—normally. That was why the fact that Wonwoo didn't open up about his time in captivity worried him. Wonwoo wasn't the type to brood in silence. He wasn't the type to brood, full stop.

"I'll talk to him now," Taehyung said, untangling his limbs from Jungkook's.

Wonwoo looked at him inquiringly when Taehyung sat down next to him. "All right?" he said, glancing at Jungkook.

Taehyung let out a laugh. "We're not always attached at the hip, you know."

Wonwoo snorted. "Could've fooled me. The two of you were bad enough before, but you're completely disgusting now that you're exchanging bodily fluids. You're like conjoined twins who fuck each other silly. Ugh."