You made this mess
"He's just so..." Taehyung rakes his hands through his hair, not caring that the action ruins the perfectly styled coif.
"Frustrating?" Yoongi tries.
"Yes exactly!" He'd been venting to his best friend for the past twenty minutes now, about how agonizing it was to work with Jeongguk. He'd been nothing but professional, not even an inkling of emotion slipping past his stoic face as he rattled off various hospital protocols that needed to be accommodated, using words Taehyung couldn't even hope to understand. He just hoped that the architect had gotten everything down, because he had been too busy dodging Jeongguk's laser glare.
"Cold?"
"That too."
"Bitter? Cruel? Judgemental?" Yoongi lists off, and Taehyung nods vehemently. "Hurt? Confused? Justifiably... angry?"
The words make Taehyung pause, mouth running dry as Yoongi raises an eyebrow.
"But..."
"Defensive?" Yoongi continues. "Trying to protect himself against a world that was never kind to him?"
"He threatened me inside Namjoon hyung's tomb!"
He's still absolutely furious about it. No sane person would ever intrude and speak ill in a place of the dead.
"Well, yes, and it was terribly disrespectful of him, but I don't think he was thinking clearly."
Yoongi says, taking a slow sip of his latte.
"Whenever he's talking to me I can feel him judging me. And when he talks it's only to say rude things." Taehyung splutters at Yoongi's words.
"You had some pretty good one liners there too." Yoongi remarks, taking another sip. Taehyung's face clouds with embarrassment and guilt at the reference to the appointment earlier in the week.
"This is some damned good coffee," Yoongi says.
"Has your chef been experimenting?"
Taehyung runs a hand over his face. "Yeah. He's too excited about the heart center."
"Seems like everyone is except for you."
"Yeah well..." Taehyung looks around the large dining hall. "This place has been my home since before I could remember."
"Why don't you just keep it then and use a different property for the center?" Taehyung shrugs.
"It's too big of a place for me anyway... Too many memories." The sprawling mansion was beginning to feel too large. Hollow. Whenever he was here he just felt lonely and uncomfortable, knowing no one was there. Of course, there were always maids and butlers bustling around, but it wasn't the same as having Namjoon and Jeongguk.
Taehyung barely even came by anymore. He was always off in some foreign place, for business deals and meetings and society functions after he'd taken on the company. Coming back to an empty mansion was unnerving, and he hated sleeping, knowing there was no one nearby.
So he had decided that it would be the best place for his heart center. He was having major renovations done to it to accommodate the various needs of the patients and the doctors. Jeongguk had--much to Taehyung's chagrin--been incredibly helpful in terms of listing out the specifications that the center would have to meet in order to be fully functional for use.
At least one good thing had come out of this arrangement.
"So where are you going to stay?" Yoongi asks.
"I'm going to stay in one of the penthouses in the Kangnam Apartments," Taehyung says dismissively. It honestly didn't even matter that much. He wasn't going to be around enough to care.
"I mean... couldn't he just act a bit more mature?" Taehyung wonders, and Yoongi takes another drink of the latte, unphased by the odd topic change.
"Couldn't you? "
Taehyung gapes. "He started it!"
"No, you did. Ten years ago. When you decided that some stupid picture was worth more than a beautiful relationship you built with someone who trusted you too much."
Yoongi's words are sharp, and guilt gnaws at Taehyung. Yoongi is, as usual, right about everything, and Taehyung feels foolish, embarrassed, and at a complete loss of what to do.
"God, I hate this." Taehyung groans, burying his face in his hands. He's never felt so conflicted about anything in his life .
"You're both being stubborn and it's causing more trouble than it's worth." Yoongi states plainly.
"So what do I do?" Taehyung moans. Yoongi pats his back.
"There there, little baby. It's going to be alright." Taehyung shoots the older a dirty look. Yoongi grins, before his eyes turn serious. "The answer is simple, Tae."
"Enlighten me. Please." Yoongi clicks his tongue in annoyance.
"You know what Namjoon hyung always used to say? A little kindness-"
"--goes a long way. I know." Taehyung finishes. His heart pangs at the mention of his older brother, and he digs out the necklace that has always remained around his neck. Whenever he thinks of Namjoon, he always remembers that he has a piece of his older brother with him, always.
"So buck up. Swallow your Titanic-sized ego and apologize."
It seems so easy when Yoongi says it like that, but Taehyung knows going about it will be difficult, especially if Jeongguk is determined to hate him.
"You made this mess, Tae. Now you have to clean it up."
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🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
