𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗚 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

• C H A P T E R 34 •

Campus Cafeteria - Early Afternoon

The cafeteria was its usual chaotic symphony-forks clinking on trays, students laughing too loudly, chairs scraping across the floor. The scent of food wafted thickly in the air, but Jungkook barely noticed. His pulse was loud in his ears as Jimin tugged on his wrist insistently, dragging him through the maze of tables.

"Hyung-where are we going?" Jungkook whispered nervously, eyes darting around.

Jimin didn't answer at first. His grip on Jungkook's wrist was firm, determined, like a man on a mission. He only glanced back with a smirk and said, "Lunch. With them."

Jungkook's stomach dropped.

"Them" could only mean Taehyung and Yoongi the two brooding black-clad heart attacks who sat at the far edge of the cafeteria like they owned the place. Jungkook spotted them immediately Taehyung, in that same bandana from earlier, leaned over his tray lazily while Yoongi sipped iced coffee like he had a personal vendetta against warmth.

They looked effortlessly intimidating. Like rockstars who didn't care what anyone thought.

And then there was Jungkook-being dragged by Jimin like a blushing, wide-eyed bunny.

He tugged on Jimin's sleeve desperately. "No, hyung please what if he's still mad? What if he thinks I'm following him or-"

Jimin turned sharply, placing both hands on Jungkook's shoulders.

"You need to face him sometime, Kook. He's not going to bite."

"You don't know that," Jungkook muttered under his breath, cheeks flaming.

But Jimin didn't let up. With one final pull, he led Jungkook to the table and plopped down on the empty seat across from Yoongi. Jungkook hesitated, fidgeting with his fingers before sinking into the seat beside him.

The table was quiet.

Taehyung didn't look up immediately, but Jungkook felt the tension like a wave crashing into him.

Yoongi raised a brow. "What's this? Lunch date?"

Jimin smiled innocently, "Something like that."

Taehyung's eyes flickered toward Jungkook once just a glance, no words but it was enough to make Jungkook's breath catch. There was something sharp and unreadable in that look. His bandana framed his face perfectly, messy strands of hair falling over his brows. He looked like danger incarnate, and Jungkook's heart was already spiraling.

"Didn't know you'd be joining," Yoongi said to Jungkook, casually breaking the silence.

"I-I didn't know either," Jungkook stammered. "Jimin hyung just..."

"Dragged him," Jimin grinned, sipping from his juice box like he hadn't caused a social earthquake.

The silence lingered again. Taehyung pushed his food around with his chopsticks, jaw tense, clearly trying not to look at Jungkook.

Jungkook peeked sideways.

His leg brushed Taehyung's under the table-barely, accidentally-and he stiffened.

Taehyung didn't move.

But he didn't pull away either.

Jungkook's fingers curled into his lap, eyes falling to the table. His heartbeat was wild, cheeks warm, stomach full of tangled knots. Maybe Jimin was right. Maybe he needed to face this. Taehyung wasn't the same anymore. And neither was he.

Somewhere between fear and wanting... Jungkook realized he didn't want to run anymore.

Not from him.

The awkwardness at the table was practically radioactive.

Jimin tapped his fingers on the table, eyes darting between Jungkook who looked like he was about to melt into his chair and Taehyung, who was doing a pretty poor job at pretending to be unaffected. He still hadn't looked directly at Jungkook since they sat down, but his clenched jaw and the way he kept adjusting the sleeves of his jacket gave him away.

"Well," Jimin started with exaggerated brightness, breaking the unbearable silence. "Isn't this fun? All of us, hanging out. Just like normal people. Talking. Smiling. Interacting."

Yoongi gave him a dry look and deadpanned, "You sound like a kindergarten teacher trying to stop a food fight."

"I mean, look at these two," Jimin went on, elbowing Jungkook lightly. "Wouldn't it be crazy if they, I don't know, talked to each other?"

Jungkook immediately turned a deeper shade of pink. His fingers gripped his thighs under the table as he looked down, too flustered to meet anyone's eyes.

"I-I don't know what to say," Jungkook mumbled quietly, voice small and unsure.

Taehyung glanced at him, but the moment Jungkook's gaze twitched up toward him, he looked away just as quickly, turning his head to the side and fiddling with the ring on his finger. His ears, betraying his cool expression, were flushed red.

Yoongi smirked behind his cup.

Jimin narrowed his eyes and stage whispered, "You two are hopeless."

"Am not," Jungkook murmured defensively.

"You're blushing like he proposed to you again."

"I am not!"

Taehyung coughed into his fist, shifting awkwardly in his seat. "Can we not do this here?" he said, voice low but not harsh. More like embarrassed.

"Oh?" Jimin raised an eyebrow. "Why? Someone scared of feelings?"

Taehyung didn't answer. His hand reached for his drink again, taking a long sip, eyes flicking to the window as if the view of the campus lawn was the most fascinating thing in the world.

Jungkook risked a sideways glance at him. Taehyung was so effortlessly cool, even while clearly flustered shoulders tense, one boot tapping faintly under the table. But there was a slight pink dusting across his cheekbones now. Just like Jungkook.

The tension lingered in the air thick, a little sweet, almost vulnerable.

Jimin exhaled, defeated but amused. "Okay, you know what? We're getting there. Slowly. Painfully. But we're getting there."

Yoongi leaned back in his chair and murmured, "At this rate, they'll kiss when we all graduate."

Taehyung's ears turned a deeper red.

Jungkook nearly choked on his water.

And Jimin? He just grinned, pleased with himself, as the two boys beside him fumbled in their own silence, hearts pounding loud enough to shake the air between them.

TO BE CONTINUE