broken ghosts

part twenty-one

Little by little, things started becoming normal again. You weren't doing perfectly mentally, but you were getting there. You had found a part-time job and you had started your studies again, slowly finding back the life of people your age —or three years younger, but did it really matter ?

You had put some distance between your friends and you, needing to focus on yourself for some time. You knew everyone was pretty much always worried about you but you also knew your parents would tell Taehyung how you were doing and he would then repeat it to the other guys.

You had decided to stay home this day and were taking some time for yourself, cooking and cleaning your apartment to keep your mind busy. You were finishing cleaning everything when someone knocked on the door. You weren't expecting anyone but you knew the chances of one of your friends standing there were high since they kept messaging you asking you to hang out with them. That's why you weren't surprised when you opened the door to Taehyung's smiling face, his eyes lighting up when seeing you.

"Damn Y/N, have your hair always looked like that ?" was the first thing he said to you after not seeing you for weeks. You chuckled, shaking your head softly.

"I changed it a little-"

"Oof that's good, I thought I had forgotten how you looked after not seeing you for so long," he said, insisting on how long it had been since the last time you hung out.

You'd be lying if you said you weren't glad he came without you asking him to —you were starting to feel lonely.

"Aren't you going to let me in ?" he asked, getting you out of your thoughts as he looked at you with an offended face, though you could see the playful spark you knew by heart in his eyes.

You stepped on the side and as he walked past you, he paused to gaze at you softly. He soon pulled you in a hug, holding you tightly as you rolled your arms around him, feeling at home in his embrace.

"I missed you," he said quietly and you smiled, letting go of him.

"I missed you too."

His face brightened and he ruffled your hair softly before walking away, talking enthusiastically, your little emotional moment already forgotten.

"Do you have snacks ? I've never been so hungry in my whole life," he complained as he flopped on the couch, his shoes flying in the room as he made himself comfortable.

"I always do," you smiled, throwing some snack on him. He caught it just before it hit his face, glaring at you jokingly. "You got better reflexes than what I remembered," you said as you sat on the ground, resting your back against the couch where he was lying down.

"Since Jungkook lives with me now, I get to practice every day so I got better I guess," he said bitterly and you chuckled, imagining the two of them messing around all day long. A comfortable silence settled between the two of you, only disturbed by the sound of Taehyung eating his snacks.

"Why didn't he come ?" you eventually asked after hesitating for some time. You looked at Taehyung and noticed he was already looking at you with something in his eyes you couldn't quite read.

"I asked him to but he wasn't sure you'd want him to be here so he stayed home," he paused for a second before shaking his head with a sigh, "I mean he didn't exactly say that but you know Jungkook, he invented another excuse to avoid me questioning him."

Your heartbeat increased without you really knowing why as your mind went to Jungkook. You could imagine the way he would fake a smile as he said this to Taehyung, the way he would turn around quickly to end the conversation or the way he was probably fidgeting right now, wondering if he should have accepted. You looked at Taehyung eating his snacks carelessly, asking yourself if you should just say it.