Growing Pains

37

Taehyung snapped another picture of his friends as they twerked in the middle of the living room.

He laughed and posted the picture on his social media before turning around to find Jungkook.

He and Jungkook were at a classmate's house for a supposedly Halloween party but no one was in costume.

Taehyung hadn't wanted to go at first but he noticed his friend had been looking down in the mouth for the past two months so he had dragged him here tonight.

He was starting to wonder if it was a good idea because the moment they walked in through the door, Jungkook had made a beeline for a group of girls standing at the side and grabbed one of them by the hand before disappearing with her.

Taehyung tapped a passing classmate's shoulder.

"Hey, have you seen Jungkook?"

"Try the study. I think I saw him go in there with a girl."

Taehyung frowned and began making his way to the study.

He was concerned for his friend.

Jungkook had become a serial dater when they started high school.

Most of his relationships fizzled after two weeks, the longest being three weeks.

It puzzled Taehyung because after the incident at the dessert shop the day Jungkook had punched his brother, he had thought Jungkook had a crush on Jin.

He had even been rooting for his friend to get together with the older boy, especially after Jungkook's birthday.

Jungkook had been so giddy with happiness when he told Taehyung what Jin had done for his birthday.

His emotions had been so strong when he was talking, it had overwhelmed Taehyung and he'd mentioned it to Namjoon.

Taehyung knew his brother liked Jin, and though he loved his brother, he could see a stronger connection between Jungkook and Jin.

But nothing ever came about between the two, and it had frustrated Taehyung.

He had even tried to give them a nudge at graduation by pointing out how much they looked like newlyweds as he was about to take their picture.

He could tell that they both liked what he'd said because Jin had blushed prettily, and Jungkook had placed his hand on the older's back like a proud husband.

But still nothing progressed.

Instead Jungkook had called him later that night in tears, and accused him of keeping secret the fact that Jin was going to Hanyang with his brother.

Taehyung had defended himself and said he didn't know.

It took some convincing but his friend had finally believed him.

Then the day came when Namjoon and Jin left for Seoul.

His brother had told him that Jungkook was not there when Jin said goodbye to his family.

It had made Namjoon angry because Jungkook's mother had seen Jin off but her son had not.

And it had made Namjoon even more furious with the younger because his absence had made Jin cry.

Taehyung pushed the door to the study open in time to hear a loud slap and someone bursting into tears.

"You bitch! You manky bitch! How dare you! He's my boyfriend!"

Taehyung stepped into the dimly lit room and his eyes widened at the sight.

Jungkook was sitting on the couch, his shirt undone, and a weeping girl on his lap, her spread thighs straddling his hips as she held one hand to her red cheek.

Another girl was standing at the side of the couch, her chest heaving and her eyes flashing with rage as she glared at the girl on Jungkook's lap.

"Let's not go overboard here," Jungkook drawled as he pushed the weeping girl off his lap.

He stood and buttoned up his shirt, catching a glimpse of an astonished Taehyung in the doorway.

He nudged the angry girl to the side as he made his way to Taehyung.

"I'm not anyone's boyfriend. I just want to have fun, and if you're down with that, then great. But if you're looking for a relationship, keep looking because I'm not."

He stopped in front of Taehyung and smirked.

"Shall we go, Tae? This party's dull."

A half hour later, Taehyung was tossing a faded black t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants to Jungkook as the latter headed to the bathroom attached to Taehyung's bedroom.

Jungkook was staying the night in the Kim mansion.

After leaving the party, the pair had hopped on a bus and gotten off near Taehyung's house.

They had walked in silence, neither wanting to talk about what had happened at the party.

As soon as they entered Taehyung's room, Jungkook had said he was tired and that he was going straight to bed after a shower.

Taehyung had shrugged and pulled spare clothing from his dresser for his friend.

He had waited until his friend was done before taking a shower too.

When he came out of his steam-filled bathroom, Jungkook was already asleep under the covers so he turned off the remaining light in the room, and got in his bed to lay next to Jungkook.

He was just about to drop off to sleep when a soft voice whispered to him.

"I miss him, Tae. I miss Jin-hyung. I want him back."

And Jungkook began to cry.