6 years ago
Keeping his eyes open wasn't making any difference. The images of what Jungkook had seen on Yongsun's computer yesterday were still there, burned into his brain, even with his gaze focused on the orange hues the sky was showing.
"Sorry," Taehyung said after climbing the fence and landing on Mr. Sihyuk's side of the yard. "I went back to school because I forgot something."
Jungkook frowned. "Did you meet up with someone?"
"Nah." Taehyung pulled himself up to rest his legs on the bed of the old truck, fingers finding his friend's right ear and poking it. Jungkook spat the hand away, glaring at Taehyung but fighting a smile. The scent of Taehyung's soap filled his nostrils.
The truck had turned into their favorite spot when Mr. Sihyuk, the angry neighbor from down the street, cut all the plants that had dried out, leaving what was on the other side of the fence exposed. Most of the time, Mr. Sihyuk showed up and told them to leave. They were never welcomed, sure that the man hated them.
These hangouts decreased after Jungkook's days were filled with his new friends, Jaebeom and Yugyeom, from the nearest school. Taehyung, being the best at socializing, made Jungkook realize he had to make friends of his own, too.
But he really enjoyed hanging out with Taehyung the most, so he agreed immediately when the boy told him about today's idea.
"You're not wearing shoes again," Jungkook said, while looking at Taehyung taking his backpack off and leaving it on the side.
"Affirmative, detective."
The corners of his mouth pulled up, a strong red color tainting his lips and upper teeth after having probably eaten his favorite lollipop that sometimes Wheein gave him.
Jungkook rolled his eyes. "My dad said it's gonna rain today."
Taehyung laid down with both hands on the back of his head, eyes closed. He didn't even bother to reply. Jungkook watched him, his body weight supported by his right arm.
A silence fell between them. After noticing he had been staring for too long, Jungkook picked up his backpack and pulled out the Walkman his mother had left behind.
"Did you bring the cassette?"
The smile on Taehyung's lips was wide this time. He searched in his pockets and gave Jungkook the tape. What's the story morning glory was written on the front with a black marker.
"From the beginning, please."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jungkook got everything ready, handed Taehyung one earphone and turned the music on.
He laid all the way down, his sweater brushing Taehyung's t-shirt, too light for the cold weather. There were gigantic clouds up there with a threatening look that Taehyung seemed to not mind at all. He was making those weird hand movements through the air he always liked to do during the intro of the tape, before Liam Gallagher started singing.
Taehyung got lost while humming the lyrics under his breath.
Nervous was the correct word to describe how Jungkook was feeling. He was trying not to look at his friend moving his lips that way, but he couldn't help it. Jungkook really liked Taehyung's lips, yet it was the first time his chest felt like a mess while staring at them.
He wished he could stop the images of that music video on the computer from appearing in his head. Two boys. They were looking at each other like Yongsun used to look at the guys she'd briefly dated. Jungkook spent all the school day looking at his classmates to see if they made him feel anything. But nothing happened. Not until now that one boy's face from that video was quickly being replaced with Taehyung's. And it was ridiculous. The way Jungkook was thinking about how it would feel like to…
"What do you think about kissing?" Jungkook asked after the song finished and the second one played.
He wasn't sure if Taehyung had heard him, or if he acted like he hadn't. With a stomach turning into knots, Jungkook asked again, louder.
"Kissing," Taehyung echoed, not in a question. It was as if the word had never left his lips before and he was savoring it. "I wanna do it."
Jungkook turned his head to the side, eyes focusing on the mole of Taehyung's cheek. The sky had turned purple, soon fading into a shade of dark blue. There was no light on in Mr. Sihyuk's property for now, so Jungkook stared all he could until the last rays of sun disappeared.
"You want to kiss... girls," Jungkook said. He didn't know why it came out like that, soft and tiny, as if it had scared him to voice it out. But when he thought of taking back his words, Taehyung opened his mouth.
"I want to kiss someone."
Warmth spread in Jungkook's body all the way to his toes. He wasn't sure why he was feeling this way. The same way whenever Taehyung chose him as part of his team while playing basketball at school during recess. Taehyung always wanted to play with him, and that gave Jungkook a funny feeling, just like now.
"Me too."
Taehyung looked at him then, with one eye open, the other one shut. "You're curious?"
"So?"
"It's just kissing."
Jungkook believed it was more than that. The boys kissing yesterday on Yongsun's screen seemed to share something special.
"Who do you want to do it with?"
Licking his lips, Taehyung shrugged. "I don't know… you?"
"Me?" Jungkook's heart sank in his chest, face morphing into a frown. He ignored that weird thing doing who knew what in his stomach as Taehyung opened his eyes wide and straightened up.
"No!" Taehyung gasped. "I don't know who. I meant who you wanna kiss."
Jungkook's cheeks burned. He was a fool. Maybe this entire conversation was absurd. After Taehyung's reaction, Jungkook wished he could erase everything and disappear.
"Wheein," he said, holding his breath. It had been the first name that came to his mind. The girl with the lollipops. He didn't even know if Taehyung believed him, but soon after, Jungkook changed the topic. "Yongsun's leaving soon. She told me I could keep her TV."
"That's cool." Taehyung looked down at his hands before closing his eyes and resting his back on the truck again.
At that moment, the third song on the tape started playing. That famous acoustic guitar intro followed by Liam Gallagher's voice, singing Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you.
For the first time, Jungkook didn't feel like smiling while listening to that song. He just forced himself to look away, raised his head to the sky, and hoped for the rain to fall.
