iris . vkook

thirty nine

서른 아홉

Taehyung's PoV;

I watched as Jeongguk stuffed the last backpack into the boot of the car, shutting it with a small huff and standing with his hands on his hips.

"Just one more thing. Follow me." He said, walking back into the house.

I followed him, walking onto the balcony where he grabbed some of the potted flowers.

"Will you carry some, please?" He asked.

Nodding, I picked up the rest and followed him like a lost puppy, down the apartment complex and through a darkish corridor, tiny and damp houses leading to the middle.

He happily trudged through the corridor, turning and walking up one of the paths.

He smiled widely at a couple of children in the window, who immediately got up and ran once they saw him.

The door suddenly flew open and both of the children screeched in delight, "Jeon!"

"Hey!" He said back in a friendly tone, "I'm going back to Seoul again, but me and Taehyung need to ask a favour!"

The two nodded, smiling at me shyly before turning their attention back to Jeongguk, who had now crouched to meet their small height.

"Will you promise to look after Jeon's flowers?" He asked, "they're very precious and mean a lot to me."

I bit my cheeks to stop me from grinning at the interaction, choosing to snort lightly at Jeongguk's gentle blackmail.

"We will." The girl nodded before speaking up again, "what happened to your eye, Jeon? And mouth?"

The little boy gasped dramatically, kissing his hand before pressing his tiny palm on Jeongguk's lip and eye sweetly, earning a smile from Jeongguk and a, "feels better now, thank you!"

"Jeon got in a silly fight."

"With Jisom?" She asked.

Jeongguk stiffened slightly, coughing to cover up his teary eyes, "u-uh, no. No, no. Jisom is long gone, bunny, long gone."

"Good! That man was mean! He hurt our Jeon!" The boy said, puffing out his chest in an attempt to look strong in front of Jeongguk.

"Very mean indeed." Jeongguk mumbled, seemingly more lost in thought.

"Kids, how many times do I have to tell you to shut the do- Jeongguk?" An aging woman appeared at the door, light brown hair fading gently into grey.

"Hey, 'ma." He smiled politely.

"Why are you in Busan? I thought you lived in Daegu?" She asked, clearly pleased to see him.

"Uh, I think Jeong-ja is in Daegu?" He questioned, "I was visiting family."

I looked at him from the corner of my eye, surprised at how easily he let the lie slip. He clearly wasn't here visiting family, his only family is Jeong-ja, who's supposedly in Daegu.

"Ah, I see." She spoke warmly, "and who is this lovely gentleman beside you? Aren't you pretty!"

I looked down, a little bewildered by the woman's sudden compliment.

Jeongguk, realising that I'd probably stutter tons over my words if I spoke, answered for me, "this is Taehyung, my boyfriend."

My heart fluttered at his words.

Hearing him finally say that felt so nice, I felt special.

We'd gone from classmates to boyfriends. I was no longer the kid that he sat opposite in art, the one obsessed with flowers and blushed a lot. I was his boyfriend, I genuinely meant something to him.