♔ Royal Pain ♔ → kth | jjk

XIII

nicole told me she can't b w/ me anymore bc of the last chapter so im updating again take me back nicole pls ily

Jeongguk ended up staying in Taehyung's room. He made himself comfortable on the futon that was against the wall adjacent to the door, using a spare blanket and pillow. 

Now maybe it was a bit weird to stay in Taehyung's room when his own was directly across the hall, but as much as he hated to admit it, Jeongguk was still a bit of a kid. When he was upset, all he wanted was company. There never needed to be any exchanged words or glances, he just needed to feel someone's presence. 

Loneliness always made him feel worse. 

When he was a kid he would always go to his parents room at spend the night snuggled up into his mother's side, but now he was 19. He was too old for that, wasn't he?

As much as he tried, Jeongguk couldn't sleep. His mind was too cluttered with thoughts, replaying the situation from hours prior in his mind. 

Did Jimin really hate being his friend? Or was he just being drunk Jimin?

Drunk words are sober thoughts, though, aren't they?

"Mm..." 

Jeongguk lifted his head at the sound of Taehyung shifting around in his bed and the sleepy humming. He got up from where he laid on the uncomfortable piece of furniture and quietly approached the bed. He knelt down and folded both arms on the edge, then rested his chin between his elbows. Jeongguk gazed at Taehyung, who remained soundly asleep. 

"What is so special about you?" Jeongguk whispered, more so to himself. He stared at the back of the sleeping Prince's head. Blonde looks good on him, Jeongguk thought. 

He quickly dismissed that thought and rubbed his eyes with one hand. He was supposed to be angry at Taehyung, wasn't he? Taehyung had ruined everything and yet here he was... admiring him. 

Jeongguk sat very still, feeling a feeling creep up the back of his throat that over the past few weeks had become all too familiar to him. He swallowed thickly and rested his head back onto his arms, continuing to gaze at Taehyung. 

"What do you have that I don't?" He whispered again, this time his voice a bit more shaky. "Everyone loves you, and everyone hates me. Why? What am I doing wrong, Tae? Why can't you teach me that?" Jeongguk whimpered quietly. 

He fucking whimpered. 

Here was, freshly turned 19 years old, and he was whimpering into his arms like a child. He tried to keep those whimpers as quiet as possible, worried that if he let it go anymore he'd break down completely. Again. 

Taehyung rolled over again at that moment, causing Jeongguk to silence himself immediately. The boy's eyes were still closed and the look of peace was still gracing his delicate features. Taehyung was laying so close to the side of the bed that Jeongguk could almost count the eyelashes on each eye. 

The room was dark, but Taehyung still seemed to glow. If it weren't for the fact Jeongguk was in a shitty position, he'd find it marvelous. Alas, that wasn't the case. Instead he stared at the boy's face enviously for a handful of seconds before that look of envy melted into something else. 

Regret? Dejection? Confusion? Maybe all of the above?

And it was there, in that very moment, that it hit Jeongguk. 

Taehyung had everything that he didn't. He didn't just have the contagious smile and absolutely addicting presence; no, it was so much more than that. For Taehyung, beauty was natural. It wasn't his appearance that made him so attractive, although physically speaking he definitely was.