Brighter Days || Taekook

Part 26

"Hyuuuung," Jungkook whines. He's leaning over his history book and looking anything but happy. "How am I ever supposed to remember all these dates? What's even the point of that? There's no point."

Taehyung pokes his arm and tells him to stop complaining, before dedicating himself to his Japanese vocabulary once more.

"But I don't want to study. The weather's so nice. I want to go out. It might be the last warm and sunny day of the year. Don't you want to walk under trees whose leafs have changed colour as well?"

"No," Taehyung deadpans and Jungkook whines again, head hitting the textbook hard as he just collapses into himself in exasperation.

"Jin hyung told you to study for tomorrow's test, so you will study for tomorrow's test. That's what you get for keeping upcoming exams a secret from him and not studying for them at all."

Jungkook looks ready to argue once more, but after a pointed look from Taehyung he closes his mouth, sits up straight again and looks at the book with something that's supposedly concentration. His tongue is sticking out at one corner of his mouth and his head is cocked to the side. Two minutes later, he closes the book in frustration and Taehyung rolls his eyes at the younger teen's antics.

"Tell you what," he says. "Remember the dates, and I'll take a walk with you right after. And to make it even more tempting, I'll even top it by getting us a dog to walk."

"Where would you even get a dog from, hyung?"

Taehyung winks at him and grins as Jungkook's cheeks turn slightly red. It's so easy to make him flustered. "I know exactly where."

Jungkook perks up at that. "You promise?"

"I do. But the deal only stands when Jin verifies that you've studied diligently."

Taehyung's more than surprised to see that his offer has worked. Jungkook immediately opens up his textbook again and browses for the page he's last been on.

While the younger one finally studies, Taehyung's thoughts drift off from his Japanese vocabulary to the world outside as he stares through the window. Jungkook's right. It's a warm and sunny day in Seoul. It's the end of October, so there probably won't be many of them left this year. They should take the opportunity if it presents itself to them, but Jungkook's academic success comes first. After all he'll be graduating middle school soon.

"Shouldn't you be studying too, hyung?" Jungkook asks after a while, and Taehyung jumps slightly, his thoughts having drifted far away from the room they are stuck in.

"Shouldn't you be looking at your book?" Taehyung remarks as he looks back at the younger teen, and catches him blush and avert his eyes to the textbook quickly again.

Taehyung grabs his phone and leaves the room quietly as to not disturb Jungkook's concentration – who's he kidding, there's no way Jungkook is actually concentrated – and makes a phone call to a number he rarely called.

"Eomma," Taehyung greets the caretaker of his dog as the old woman finally picks up. "I know that this is rude of me to ask, but could you do me a favour?"
___

"You'll take a walk with Jungkook and your dog?" Jin asks with raised eyebrows. "And you're telling me that before you leave, Jungkook will actually have studied for his exam?"

The disbelief is blatant on his face, and Namjoon who sits next to him chuckles on the quiet.

"You never told me that you can do magic, Tae," the leader says and Taehyung almost glares at him. It's not magic. It's just persuasive measures to get the boy to study, a tactic that Jin obviously lacked so far looking at Jungkook's grades.