Once Again

18

Taehyung walked into the private club and looked around the dimly lit area. He immediately located Jungkook at the bar, staring morosely into his tumbler of dark whiskey. He made his way to him and put his hand on his shoulder before taking the seat next to him.

"Long time no see, Jungkook. How long has it been?"

"Tae!"

The look of pure joy on Jungkook's face dispelled all of Taehyung's remaining anxiety and questions about the wisdom of meeting his former best friend. This was Jungkook, the boy he grew up with, the man that he was before they argued the morning of his wedding rehearsal dinner.

"Bartender! A drink for my friend!" Jungkook beckoned the man behind the bar.

"I'll have a Yebisu," Taehyung informed the bartender who nodded and brought him his beer.

"How have you been, Tae?"

"I've been great. You? How's married life?"

Jungkook's face darkened, and it gave Taehyung pause as he put his beer back on the bar after taking a sip.

"I'm getting a divorce."

"What?! Why?!" Taehyung's eyes widened in shock.

"You were right, Tae. He was not the man for me."

"What happened?"

"He cheated on me. He cheated on me even before the wedding."

"Oh Jungkook, I tried to tell you."

"I know you did, and I love you for it. You're a good friend, Tae. I should have listened to you."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You were trying to save your family's business."

Taehyung sipped his drink, when a thought crossed his mind.

"Well, at least he never got pregnant, right? So there's no child custody battle when you divorce?"

Jungkook scoffed and chugged his whiskey back. He signalled the bartender for another.

"Oh, he got pregnant, alright. Twice that I know of, but he aborted both times."

Taehyung gasped, horrified at how indifferent Jungkook looked when he shared that. Now that he was a father with one child, and another on the way, he couldn't imagine being so unaffected at knowing his spouse would willingly terminate a pregnancy.

"Don't worry," Jungkook said. "Neither babies were mine. I never consummated our marriage."

Taehyung was still disturbed though. Was Jungkook so unfeeling that he didn't care about the killing of an innocent child regardless of who fathered it?

"Did you try to stop him? From doing the abortion?"

"I told him to talk to the father of the first one. He didn't. He never even told me he was pregnant the second time. He just came home one day and told me what he'd done."

Taehyung breathed a sigh of relief. He'd heard the distress in his friend's voice even though he had tried to disguise it with his mask of indifference. He decided to change the subject.

"Did you manage it? Did you save your family's business?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? You succeeded in doing what you set out to do."

"Yes, but I paid a heavy price for it. Looking back, I don't think I would have done it that way had I known."

"Known what?"

"Known that losing my boyfriend is the worst thing ever."

Taehyung looked at his friend sadly. The pain emanating from the other man was so raw and palpable that he felt suffocated by it.

"I miss him, Tae. I still miss him," Jungkook's voice cracked as a sob escaped from his lips.

"Have you tried looking for him?"

"I tried six months after my wedding, but he'd disappeared. I thought he might have returned to the States but there's been no trace of him."

"Maybe he's gone somewhere where he knows you won't be able to find him. Give it time, Jungkook. If you're meant to be with each other, you will meet again."

Jungkook nodded and decided to change the subject. He knew that if he continued to talk about his Jinnie, he will break down.

"So what about you, Tae? Still the jet-setting, globe-trotting, hot photographer?"

Taehyung laughed.

"I'm still a hot photographer but I'm no longer jet-setting nor globe-trotting."

"Huh?" Jungkook looked at his friend, puzzled.

"I'm married now. We have a son, and I just found out that we're going to have another baby."

Jungkook's jaw dropped open in disbelief. Taehyung the married man? Taehyung, a father? It was unbelievable.

Among their friends, it was a general consensus that Taehyung was a confirmed bachelor who would remain single and footloose forever because he loved his freedom too much to commit to anyone.

"Close your mouth, Jungkook, or you'll swallow a fly."

"So who caught Taehyung's elusive heart? I must meet this person who achieved the impossible!"

"Haha! I know, right? But Yoojin really is amazing. I didn't know life could be so wonderful until I met him. Every day is like a brand new day. Regular things that I used to take for granted feels like I'm experiencing it for the first time when I'm with him."

"Wow! You've got it bad. I can't believe this! Taehyung fell in love and got married."

The two men laughed and clinked their drinks together.

"Hey, how long are you in Tokyo for?" Taehyung asked.

"As long as I want to. There's things happening in Seoul that I've been advised to stay away from."

"Like what?"

"My soon-to-be ex-husband is embroiled in a very public scandal with a married politician and a K-pop idol." Jungkook waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh," was all that Taehyung said. Though he was curious, he wasn't going to pry. "Come to my house this Saturday. It's my wedding anniversary. We're having people over to celebrate."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"No, you won't be intruding. It's just friends. Please come. I want you to meet my husband."

Jungkook smiled. To tell the truth, he was curious to meet the person who made his best friend so happy.

"Okay, I will. Text me your address and I'll be there."

Taehyung immediately texted his address to Jungkook's phone so he wouldn't forget. Then the two friends spent the rest of the night reminiscing about the past, and rekindling their friendship.

It made Jungkook remember what happiness was before Jimin. When he still had his love. Jin.