Beyond The Stars || KSJ;JJK;KTH

XVII

Si vis amari, ama

(If you want to be loved, love)

~~~

As soon as Taehyung and Jin step outside, the boys begin to shiver at the coldness of winter, no matter how many garments they got to keep themselves warm.

Taehyung glances shortly at Jin, expecting to see fear or hesitation in his expression or a stiff posture. But there's nothing of that in his sparkling eyes that shine with amazement, apparently loving the falling snow.

It doesn't take long for his cheeks to form a blush at the occasional cool breeze that messes with his hair, and Taehyung doesn't notice how fondly he watches Jin enjoying life for once. It reminds him of the moment Jin has gotten his birthday cake. He would give the world to him.

"You like winter?" Taehyung asks as he begins to walk, to which Jin instinctively follows while trying to catch snowflakes with his gloved palms.

At that, Jin turns to him, seeming to be firstly surprised, before his eyes soften and a nod appears. "My first." he whispers and averts his gaze to the ground, giggling at the crunching noise of snow under his steps.

There is something beautiful growing inside Taehyungs chest, something warm and affectionate at the purity of this boy. Despite everything that happened, he still finds himself feeling somewhat happy. Happy, because despite all this sadness, Jin always finds a reason to smile.

They walk in silence together, watching passing cars which headlights occasionally set an almost pretty, yet melancholic mood. It's then, that Taehyung remembers Namjoon saying that Jin has been on earth for some time now. That means, he surely could have seen some winters now if he wasn't in captivity.

Slowly, their bodies adjust to the temperature and Taehyung feels a lot cozier than before, slightly leaning back and comfortably letting his bare hands rest in his pockets.

About ten minutes pass for Jins excitement to finally decrease, feeling his smile falling when thinking of Jungkook once again. Carefully, he peeks at Taehyung, only to focus back on the ground with uncertainty.

There is a question inside his mind repeating that he desperately wants to ask, but he's not sure how Taehyung will react to it.

Still, Jin needs to have something. He can't just continue living without having at least some reassurance. And so, with a nervous lip bite and a deep breath, he asks "Is Kookie okay?"

It certainly has broken the silence in between them, and Taehyung surely has noticed that Jin spoke a whole sentence, but he doesn't comment on it, not wanting for the other to feel uncomfortable by making a big deal out of it.

So Taehyung actually focuses on the question, burying his excitement as he takes a deep breath and needs some long seconds to answer. They both know that this isn't easy for Jungkook. Hell, it's not even easy for them - for anyone who's included in that matter.

"He has to be." Taehyung decides to eventually say, not daring to look at Jins confused reaction. There is this "What do you mean?" hanging in the air, so Taehyung responds to it without ever actually hearing the question out loud.

"Look, Jin." he stops in his tracks and finally finds Jins big and innocent eyes, brows furrowed in bewilderment. "I've been thinking about this, and I don't think he has a say with whom I want to do what. If I want to kiss you, then I'm going to do it, it's not like Jungkook and I are together."

Taehyung chuckles bitterly as his gaze falls to the ground with his head lowering. "We're just friends. I can't understand why he's acting like that, it's not like he's going to lose me."