Touch Of The Poor

㉟I Know

 
When Taehyung pattered out of the storage room a few minutes later, he saw Jimin and Seokjin there, talking with the others, and smiled warmly as he dashed to hug them. "I missed you, guys."

"We missed you too, Tae," Seokjin said with a faint chuckle.

"Let's drink, Jeongguk is buying!" Jimin chirped, making the others giggle.

Taehyung threw a glance at Jeongguk, who guzzled his soju. His smile faltered at the sight as he was worried about him, but he couldn't do anything about it at that moment. So he grabbed a beer too and sat at the table with everyone.

"So Jeongguk, how do you feel about turning twenty-four?" Jimin asked.

"Am I supposed to feel different?"

"Why are you so grumpy on your birthday?"

"Thank God we have drinks," Seokjin muttered, but almost everyone was able to hear him since the music wasn't too loud.

"Tae, how was the photoshoot? You didn't tell us," Jimin said with a shocked expression since he forgot to ask him earlier.

"It was great! I think I did well."

"You think? You nailed it! You were stunning, Tae," Hoseok said, educing a bashful giggle from him.

"I hope you paid him well." Seokjin darted his eyes at Jeongguk, and he met his gaze a second later.

"I did," he sneered.

"Oh, you transferred the money?" Taehyung received a faint nod from him. "I completely forgot about it. Thank you, Jeongguk."

"You earned it," he mumbled and gulped down the rest of his soju. He stood up out of the blue and headed to the bar to grab another one.

"What's wrong with him?" Inguk couldn't help but sigh.

"He's like this since the moment he came out of the storage room," Yoongi said with a taunting smile as he glanced at Taehyung.

Taehyung clutched his bottle of beer, glaring at him. "Seriously, what's your problem with me?"

"I'm just saying," Yoongi snickered as his shoulders lifted in a shrug.

"No, you're not. You act like you don't want me and Jeongguk to be friends. Why is it so wrong that we're friends?"

"You know what's the problem, Taehyung?" Yoongi asked, voice rumbling. "He'll get attached to you, and when you leave, he—"

"Yoongi!" Jeongguk bellowed. "What is wrong with you?"

"I just have your back, Kook."

"I don't want you to. Leave him alone or I'm seriously gonna kick you out."

Silence veiled them as Jeongguk made his way to his seat. He took a swig of his soju and laid his gaze on Taehyung, who was already staring at him with doe eyes.

"So, let's cut the cake to lighten up the mood," Inguk said, awkward, and took off to bring the cake.

Taehyung dwelled on it for a while, but he rose to his feet and walked towards Namjoon at the end. "Um, can you change seats with me?" he asked in a whisper, making sure no one was able to hear him.

Wordlessly, Namjoon smiled at him and went to sit next to Seokjin as Taehyung sat next to Jeongguk. He brought his chair so close to his that there was no space between them anymore. Jeongguk didn't say anything, but he observed his every move in depth.

"Thank you," Taehyung uttered as he placed his hand on his forearm. "For standing up for me."

"I should have done this sooner," Jeongguk said, a fond smile tugging at his lips at his tender touch.