Red Revenge ✓ tk

Who Really Knows

Taehyung doesn't like to admit it but not having his precious boyfriend close to him has been fucking with his mind.

Maybe he hadn't realized it before. He had been in the mindset that he was the one protecting Jeongguk and being there for him, giving the boy a home and making sure he was comfortable. But now, as Jeongguk wasn't in his reach anymore, it was obvious that Jeongguk had brought him the same comfort.

He had been walking around the gym like a zombie, his usually confident shine gone, his energy that vitalized his trainees drained. His customer watched him wander around, weirded out or worried glances shared between them. Taehyung wasn't doing too good and he cursed himself for letting Jeongguk's absence influence him like this.

He was a grown man. He shouldn't be wandering around like a love sick puppy.

It might have been pathetic but he had been trying to catch a glimpse of Jeongguk every now and then. He wasn't proud of it but he found himself visiting the store around the same time school ended so he could drive by and look for Jeongguk in the crowd.

He only saw him once. His black hair messy, his smile ever so cute as he goofed around with an unknown boy when they walked out of the gate. He looked healthy and happy and it calmed down Taehyung's raging worry.

At one point the boy that was by Jeongguk's side had noticed the car slowly passing by and they had made eye contact for a split second. He wondered if the boy recognized him and if he did, if he had told Joengguk about Taehyung's presence. He hadn't heard from Jeongguk in two weeks and maybe he had hoped that Jeongguk would appear on a random day, telling him not to creep around school like this.

It was a Friday and Taehyung dreaded the following days. His gym was closed in the weekend and without his job forcing him to go outside and socialize, he'd be stuck inside his apartment all day, watching old reruns of shows he didn't really care about.

He sauntered around the place, watching men and women work their best to train their bodies. They occasionally chattered with each other and he could catch glances between them, glances he recognized as ones of interest. It wasn't rare to see couples form between his regular customers but it hurt a little more now that he didn't have anyone to share glances with.

As he neared the entrance of the gym where his desk was situated, the doors to the entrace slid open and a boy walked inside, his clothes not proper for a day in the gym. Taehyung watched the boy near him and with a sudden realization he recognized the boy as the one he had made eye contact with a few days prior.

"Hello." The boy came to a halt in front of him. "You're Kim Taehyung, right? The owner of the gym?"

Taehyung nodded and he watched the boy smile. "My name is Hoseok, I'm a friend of Jeongguk."

Taehyung was hesitant. He didn't want to blurt out something he'd regret. He wasn't even sure how much this person knew about Jeongguk's situation.

"I wanted to talk to you." Hoseok continued. "Jeongguk's been staying at my house for a week now and he has told me about what happened."

"He did? So you know about me?"

Taehyung was shocked. He hadn't expected Jeongguk to be comfortable enough with this boy to tell him about Taehyung. When the initial shock faded away, his worry flooded in.

"How is he? Is he well? Is he eating?" Taehyung stepped closer. "Has he said anything about me?"

"Of course he said something about you." Hoseok chuckled. "He talks about you nonstop ever since coming out. I don't think he's ever not thinking about you." The boy's fond smile slowly lowered. "And yes, he's doing well. I don't want to say too much but I think he's really using his time to think."

Taehyung nodded. "I know he needs time to think. I'm not sure why he needs time away from me to think though." He then sighed as he watched the boy frown.

"Taehyung, I realize your intentions are good but I'm sorry to say this but I think Jeongguk made the right decision. He wants space and the reason for that is so that you can think about some stuff as well. Jeongguk doesn't want to hurt you."

The man frowned, his heart pained. "But he's doing just that!"

"I know. He's an idiot at times but I know he does love you. He just has to come to terms with himself—and not just about his sexuality." Hoseok explained. "He's struggling with everything Taehyung. I know what it feels like to loathe yourself and I can see Jeongguk struggling to piece himself together with bits he doesn't resent about himself."

"You can't start loving someone when it's too hard to love yourself. He needs to work on his self-love before he can accept the reality of anyone ever loving him." He continued. "But I do know that he's scared to lose you. He's scared you'll move on and find someone better in the time that he's away."

"How could I? There's no one better for me than Jeongguk. I love the boy with all my heart but even that has never been enough." Taehyung croaked out, the reality of it all hitting him quite hard.

"I want to say he's doing this for you, to finally come out to the world and love you openly, but I can't. If he's doing this for anyone, he should be doing this for himself. From what I've gathered he has been struggling with himself for years and for the first time now he has been able to tell someone about his sexuality and about you."

Taehyung sighed deeply. He knew he shouldn't feel like this, like an abandoned puppy. Jeongguk was working on himself, and thinking about him. The boy would return to him and he just needed to wait for that to happen.

"I understand." He then said. "Does he know you're here?"

"I told him I'd be going to the gym this afternoon and he told me to check how you were doing. I didn't tell him I'd talk to you or saw you at school though." Hoseok admitted. "He's going to talk to my cousin in a few days. He'll talk to Jeongguk about his coming out story because I thought it might help."

"Do you think I'll see him soon?" Taehyung watched the other with hopeful eyes but Hoseok merely shrugged.

"I'm not sure. That's for Jeongguk to decide." The boy replied. "But I'm sure he wants to see you soon. That boy has been fretting about you all day every day and I can't stand it anymore. He really needs to take a breather. You're a grown man but he acts like you could slip and die any moment."

Taehyung chuckled lightly. "Tell him I looked fine."

"But you look like a zombie." Hoseok said, pointing out the bags under his eyes and his pale complexion.

"We both know he doesn't need to know that." Taehyung gave him a small smile. "And we both know you are not going to work out in those clothes. Who even wears leather jeans to a gym? How did Jeongguk not see through your plan?"

Hoseok laughed. "I'll just pass my time eating donuts while waiting for the hour to be over. Hopefully he won't notice."

"Buy him a chocolate one with pink sprinkles if you can." Taehyung smiled, remembering Jeongguk's happy expression whenever Taehyung brought home donuts. "It's his favorite."

Listen to the song in Taehyung's perspective!! Also obviously this talk between taehyung and hoseok happens before Jeongguk talks to Yoongi.