Soldier | KookV

7

"Just how much longer are we going to walk? I'm tired..." Jimin whines.

"We're gonna be there soon, behave," Yoongi grumbles, trying to hush the boy clinging to him so the Lieutenants won't hear them. However, Taehyung is harder to tame.

"It's getting late. Are we going to wander inside the woods in the dark?!" The latter makes sure to voice his opinion loud enough.

"The base is still far from here. We need to keep going in the daylight until it's still safe, then we will find a place to spend tonight there." Namjoon answers and turns around to see if there are any complaints. The boys choose to comply without a word.

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The sun is setting. The tall, dark trees contrasting to the purplish-blue sky along with a few tiny sparkly dots between here and there make a beautiful scenery as the boys look up to the clouds. They quickly settle down, pitching tents and starting a bonfire to make sure animals won't bother them. It would've been a fun experience for the group if they weren't terrified of the two Lieutenants in front of them, so they decide to take a rest for the night.

It's past midnight. The wood has turned pitch black and everything is so quiet. Taehyung keeps tossing around in his tent. He tries not to wake Jimin up, but he just can't fall asleep. He has always had a habit of hugging something or someone to sleep peacefully but doing so in this tiny tent where there's not even enough oxygen to share between two people would be suffocating for Jimin. Taehyung groans and crawls out.

A wave of fresh air fills his lungs and he shivers. It's colder outside than he has anticipated. The fire has almost died as well, so he decides to collect some sticks near the tents. He steps into the bushes and gets the armful of wood. As he starts to walk back, he hears a fairly loud rustling noise. His feet get glued to the ground, panic slowly taking over his body, holding his breath as he tries to identify the wild animal in the dark.

No, no, no, no, no. He won't tolerate being eaten alive by a fucking mountain lion. What should he do... run? He'll be even more of an easy prey turning his back to the creature like that. He only now feels the sticks pressing into his ribs rather painfully and there's his survival plan! He wraps his palms around one of the heaviest woods and holds it up like a weapon, dropping everything else to the ground full of dead scrunchy leaves, not realizing that deadly mistake he just made. The rustling sound gets even closer and closer. Taehyung is ready to hit whatever comes to sight and then he feels a touch on his shoulder.

"AAAHH!!" He screams and swings his stick towards the creature.

"Shhh!" Somebody quickly presses their palm to Taehyung's lips and pushes him against the tree. A deep voice whispers right next to his ear, "Be quiet." Taehyung shuts his eyes tightly and the next thing he knows he is kicking the man in the shin.

"Ow! You fucking- What the hell are you doing?!"

Taehyung hears the man's voice much more clear now. Wait a second, is that..? "..Jeongguk?"

"Yes, you idiot. Why are you in the woods at this time?!" The Lieutenant barks.

"I... I..." Taehyung stutters, breathing heavily from the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

"You what? Were you trying to kill me?"

"No! I- I thought you were a... mountain lion." The smaller boy looks down as he bites his lip.

"There are no mountain lions here, Taehyung."

"Oh..." Taehyung feels his cheeks burning.

"You're unbelievable." His eyes snap up again when he hears Jeongguk laugh. That bright, bunny-like smile forming on this tough guy's face manages to steal Taehyung's breath away once again. It's a truly enchanting sight. The latter can't help the small stretch of his lips.

They picked the sticks up and went back to start the bonfire. They sat there for a while, Taehyung picking some dirt with a stick on the ground as he's glancing at the Lieutenant who's staring at the fire, deep in thoughts.

"So... can I ask how old you are?" Taehyung breaks the silence awkwardly.

"27."

"Oh, wow! You look way much younger. And I'm 25! If we were close I'd have to call you Hyung." He shows his boxy smile, making the older look at him weirdly. "what..?"

"Nothing." The corner of Jeongguk's lip twitches and sadly, Taehyung misses it.