18 – V focus
Locked. In a cupboard. With Jungkook. Taehyung couldn't think of anywhere else he wanted to be more than there, but he pretended otherwise. If he looked as delighted as he felt, Jungkook would think he was insane. He felt slightly embarrassed at having called him Kookie, but hell, it had worked.
"So…" said Jungkook, looking slightly awkward, "what do you wanna do now?" Taehyung strained to prevent himself from telling Jungkook the answer that was actually in his head and sat on the floor with his back to the wall.
"I don't know," Taehyung said as Jungkook slid to the floor beside him, making his heart beat louder, "We could just talk. You said you had a brother, right? Older or younger?" Jungkook smiled and Taehyung was proud of himself for having a normal conversation with someone that stunning.
"Older. His name's Jung-Hyun and he's the best big brother in the world, most of the time. He hits me and teases me a lot, but he's my brother; that's what he's supposed to do. What about you? Any siblings?" Taehyung smiled as he remembered the two little menaces he had waiting for him at home.
"Yeah, two. I've got a little sister called Eon-Jin and a little brother called Jeong-Gyu. They're so annoying sometimes, but they're cute so I guess that doesn't matter." Jungkook was looking at him, his shining eyes making Taehyung's breath hitch, just as it did the first time he saw them. Jungkook smirked,
"You're the oldest? Aren't you supposed to be a bit more…mature?" Taehyung folded his arms in a fake pout.
"I am mature!" he whined, "Who came running after you when you hurt your knee? Who told that mean kid off when he tripped you up, huh? Maturity at its finest." Jungkook giggled and Taehyung realised how much he loved making the younger boy laugh.
"Can I ask you something, hyung?" Jungkook asked and Taehyung felt himself blush at the name.
"Yeah, sure, anything." Taehyung didn't know what it was, but Jungkook looked slightly apprehensive and Taehyung found himself being feeling anxious for him.
"Do you know if Park Jimin… Does he like anyone?" I'm sorry, what? Taehyung was confused. Why did Jungkook care? Did he like Jimin? Was he only hanging out with Taehyung to get to Jimin? All of this sped through Taehyung's mind and he tried incredibly hard not to let it show on his face. Calm down. He didn't know that Jungkook liked Jimin. It might just be curiosity. If so, then why was he so nervous? And why did Taehyung feel like he had been stabbed? Taehyung thought the best option was to let him down gently and pray that he was wrong about this.
"Um… yeah, he does. Sorry," Taehyung scratched the back of his neck and refused eye contact. Jungkook laughed,
"Not me! I was just…curious that's all. I just heard rumours, or something, about someone that liked him." Jungkook was lying, but Taehyung was unsure of what he was trying to hide. "He does like someone, though. It might be the same person!" Jungkook's doe eyes lit up and Taehyung relaxed. He wouldn't be this happy if he really did like Jimin. Taehyung was still caught in a dilemma. To spill or not to spill. As much as he loved Jimin, he trusted Jungkook and wanted him to know that.
"Okay. You promise not to tell?" Jungkook nodded eagerly. Taehyung leaned in to whisper in his ear and was thankful for an excuse to be this close. "Min Yoongi." As he pulled away, Jungkook squealed quietly. Taehyung looked at him and saw that he was bright red and biting his lip in excitement. "What?" Jungkook stayed silent but looked like he was about to have a heart attack. No way. "You're kidding, right?" The excited younger shook his head. Taehyung's jaw dropped and he found himself just as energised as Jungkook. Jimin would be ecstatic.
"Taehyung, you can't say anything." Maybe not then. "Yoongi would kill me if he found out I told and I really don't feel like provoking him." Taehyung felt like a child again.
"But Jimin would be through the freaking roof! He's liked Yoongi since a whole year ago and you're telling me we can't tell him?" Something clicked in Taehyung's memory. "And if Yoongi wrote that note for Jimin then he'd be just as grateful if we got them together. Please, Jungkook?" Jungkook looked conflicted but still stubborn.
"No, we can't. None of Yoongi's friends even know he's into guys and they're all low-key insanely homophobic. If he started dating Jimin, he'd get ruined. Plus, I'm wasn't even kidding when I said he'd kill me. He's kind of scary." Taehyung could understand this. He was torn between two worlds and didn't know what to do. And idea sparked in his mind.
"Okay, okay, how about this: we tell Jimin and he doesn't spend the rest of his life thinking that Yoongi hates him. If we can get him to confess, then it's up to Yoongi what to do. If he chooses to be truthful, then he can decide to ditch his friends or decide that they can't be together. If he lies and rejects Jimin, then we can say we made an honest mistake and Yoongi will have to live with his choice." Taehyung waited for Jungkook's verdict. After a while of debating in his head, Jungkook beamed and nodded.
They laughed and talked for over half an hour about how to set their plan into action until they heard movement in the corridor. Taehyung sprang to the door and started knocking furiously while Jungkook waved at the window to try and get the cleaner's attention. After a minute, Taehyung heard the lock click and stepped back from the door. He was slightly disappointed that his time with Jungkook was over but he was also glad to be getting out of that cupboard.
The cleaner looked confused when he opened the door, but the two politely thanked him and walked out of the school. They parted when they realised they both caught different buses and Taehyung yearned to take the really long route just to spend more time with his crush. When he finally got home, he flopped down on his bed and squealed into his pillow like the infatuated little schoolboy that he was.
The next morning, he practically skipped onto the bus, much to the confusion of the exhausted Jimin. Taehyung bounced to his seat and beamed at Jimin.
"You will never guess what happened yesterday," they spoke together. As badly as Taehyung wanted to spew every detail of the day before in Jimin's direction, he let the black-haired boy speak first.
"I sat next to you-know-who on the bus home," Jimin explained, "We didn't even know it was him until the rest of his friends left. But he was so quiet and Hoseok basically talked for the whole time since I couldn't concentrate and he wasn't talking. I don't know if he's always like this, but it felt weird." Taehyung grinned.
"Well my friend, I have something to tell you, although I should probably wait until we get into school for that." Jimin looked puzzled and Taehyung was still buzzing. "Anyway, yesterday I accidentally got locked in a cupboard with you-know-who…" Jimin burst out laughing and Taehyung laughed with him. "I know! We were meant to be tidying the cupboard, but I think someone locked it from the outside. So, we're in the cupboard just chilling and I swear to God, Jimin, he's soooo beautiful!" Taehyung didn't even care that he was in full fanboy mode, he just wanted to get to school and have everything work out exactly as he had planned.