bittersweet | taekook

four

jeongguk recognized this man as the same one who had provided with him the jacket a few nights ago.

it was harder to distinguish the man's facial features due to the dim lightning – not aiding him to the best potential, however, jeongguk could still distinguish a few noticeable details; the pierced ears hiding behind the fluff of hair, as well as the gaze that seemed rather intense yet was mixed with a tinge of playfulness. the clothing that was either strategically layered or thrown on and made fashionable at the last minute – it was hard to figure out which was the correct action, because it made the man look attractive either way.

not that it mattered to jeongguk.

the man's eyebrows rose, and his mouth formed a small o-shape – the same as a fish that was mindlessly minding its own business. "hold on, aren't you the guy from the bridge?"

"you recognize me?"

"of course, how could i forget the baby face that was asleep on the ground... but didn't act so baby when abandoning me all by myself at the bridge?"

jeongguk wasn't interested in this. the man was probably somebody who looked for an argument to cause.

"whatever."

jeongguk turned to leave with the most uninterested face ever, admiring the way that the man's face hardened when he was brutally ignored. the man pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on and turned around to grab jeongguk's wrist to stop him in his tracks.

jeongguk arched an eyebrow, spitting out "what do you want?"

the man let go of his wrist and then walked to his side. "are you going to be working here?"

"so what if i am?"

the man smiled. "that's nice to hear, i'm actually here working as a tattoo artist. if you want, i'll draw on you anytime." the man seemed rather flirtatious, or perhaps, that was his way of becoming friends with one another.

friends.

"not interested," jeongguk murmured before walking ahead again.

"harsh." the man replied with a tint of the playfulness still engraved on his face. "i'm taehyung."

"..the name's jeongguk."

"can i ask you a question?"

"no."

"what were you doing on the bridge at night? don't you have a home?"

"i was sleeping."

taehyung rolled his eyes at the brutality of jeongguk – he had never met such a cold person and that convinced taehyung to start turning the wheels in his brain to think. how can he warm up the heart that seems to be frozen all over?

jeongguk stepped out of the building and his eyes trailed up to a large line of people, appearing to be waiting to be granted entry into the building above the tattoo parlour.

taehyung seemed to follow jeongguk's trail of interest and answered the question that seemed to be visible in his eyes. "didn't you know? there's a club above our workplace, so it's common for people to start visiting this place in the evening. it's rather relaxing, actually – drawing tattoos whilst the faint beats of the club music can be heard."

jeongguk turned around and looked at taehyung once more. he doesn't seem so bad, jeongguk thought before replying with a small "ah" that unintentionally escaped his mouth.

taehyung leaned against the stairs that led their way upwards and jeongguk was genuinely surprised at the fact that the stairs didn't crumble under his touch.

"are you going home?" taehyung asked, slightly shaking his head from side to side to get rid of the hair that's poking at his eyes. "or the bridge again? i wish i could join you, but i've got a shift right now."

"is that how you stumbled onto me at the bridge? after finishing a shift during night?" jeongguk asked whilst avoiding eye contact – he wanted to know more about the male but tried his hardest to seem uninterested.

"good to know you catch on quick," taehyung spoke in reply with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "it was the early morning when i found you, so i approached you. your hands were absolutely freezing, so being the gentleman that i am, i lent you my jacket. it was expensive! how could you have the audacity to throw it back on the ground?"

jeongguk shrugged in response. "i'm not somebody who's bothered about that. clothing is clothing."

somebody else's phone screen lit up; grabbing jeongguk's attention. he turned his head to glance at the time on the phone, then looked back at taehyung. "aren't you supposed to be working?"

taehyung rolled his eyes and waved his hand as if to tell jeongguk to go already. "yeah, whatever. see you around, baby face."

after earning no reaction from jeongguk, taehyung retreated back inside and he shut the door quietly.

jeongguk's legs moved by themselves once more, following the same path once he reached a familiar area of his neighbourhood. from there on, he shoved his hands in his pockets; engulfing himself in the warmth whilst mindlessly walking towards the bridge once more.

his parents most likely didn't care about his status or whereabouts, so jeongguk wasn't necessarily fussed about them. however, he made it his priority to get home sooner so that he could change into the same, usual school uniform for the morning.

if he wanted to keep the job, he needed to improve his grades.

minutes rolled by just like the rain that occasionally passed his body and once more, he had entered the zone of his safe area.

he slumped down against the wall once he had reached his usual spot – the middle of the path – which was distinguishable due to the endless wires above his head, all connected but on separate paths.

he took a cigarette pack out and used a lighter to light up the cancer stick. earlier that day, he had noticed that yoongi left it on the ground after leaving their usual spot, so jeongguk had took it in hopes of returning the packet as some point.

which would be hard if he wasn't going to skip out on lessons anymore – it just meant he wouldn't necessarily see yoongi, however, he didn't mind sacrificing one lesson (namely maths) to meet his classmate.

jeongguk's eyes eventually fluttered shut as he exhaled the gush of smoke from his throat, leaving a burning sensation that he enjoyed – it brought him pain, which was the only emotion that he was familiar with.

with that, his hand dropped to his side and he entered the nightly routine.

a few hours passed and it was normal for him to wake up to the sound of countless cars driving past as it had become his alarm. as usual, the sun begun to gradually rise.

he glanced down at his lap and found that the cigarette had been disposed of and rather than the view of his trousers, he was met with a jacket once again.

looking curiously to his side, he noticed how taehyung was asleep in the same position as jeongguk – sat against the wall. it looked uncomfortable, now that he thought about it.

he got up with a grunt, taking the jacket off his lap and jeongguk stretched out his limbs, wondering how he hasn't gotten hypothermia by now – especially since it was creeping up on winter.

jeongguk looked down at the sleeping man and unlike last time, jeongguk decided to put the jacket on taehyung's body instead. it was improvement – at least he didn't leave it on the floor, especially since taehyung had previously complained about the price of his items.

"why are you even here..." jeongguk mumbled under his breath before turning around and walking back to his parents' home.