"It's really good to hear your voice saying my name. It sounds so sweet. Coming from the lips of an angel and hearing those words, it makes me weak. And I never wanna say goodbye, but, girl, you make it hard to be faithful; with the lips of an angel."

Illicit. Scandalous. Unacceptable.

These are pretty much the words that people will call their relationship once it becomes public. Yes, same-gender ships are hyped up among Korean Idols, but that can easily flip when the reel suddenly turns into real life. They have seen that happen way too many times. People can be ruthless and downright unkind, especially in the culture they were born and raised in. They know it best. They have lived it for more than a decade. They're still living it, even with the stature they have now achieved. The sad truth is that people will support and love you when you please them, but once they're no longer entertained, sweet could easily turn into sour. In a heartbeat.

This is why Jin and Jungkook had kept their relationship tightly sealed away. This is also one of the main reasons BigHit had lawyers on speed dial and under their payroll. Ever since they were sprawled across numerous media outlets for their fruitiness, the management went into full Mafia mode to protect them, hence, their obvious separation in many of their TV guesting and public appearances. The two couldn't understand it because same-gender ships were sailing smoothly and were widely accepted so they vehemently questioned the management's decision. The other members were also in the same boat, they also felt the unfairness of it all so they presented a united front.

There was a lot of back and forth about this argument and it quickly became very chaotic to the point where Bang PD had to be involved. He stepped in and patiently explained to them why there was a sudden switch in their on-screen dynamics. He sat them all down and made them understand the consequences if they didn't heed their lawyer's advice. He even went through every detail of fan serviceand real-life romantic relationships and how they vastly differ. The old man voiced out his support for their off-screen romance, but he also pointed out that he would do everything in his power to protect them by any means so that they wouldn't suffer the same fate as the other Idols who came before them. A lot of lives had been lost unnecessarily and Bang PD made it clear to them that he refuses to make them a part of that census.

Jin stuck to those rules most of the time, but Jungkook was another story. Due to his age and lack of maturity at that time, he needed a constant reminder, which soon after led them to be separated into different ships to stifle down the rumor that seemed to be brewing on the back burner. This is one of the major reasons why NamJin, TaeJin, Jikook, and TaeKook were born. The management was forced to pair them, much to everybody's chagrin. It took a lot of adjustments since most of the members hated that type of fan service, but they all did it without complaints or questions, simply because the love they had for these two was unconditional.

They've gotten better at it as time passed by, but there were still moments where they both slipped and it was caught in 4K, especially Jungkook, his face couldn't save him. It had happened too many times that it already became a running joke within them; that his BT21 character should've been Koya instead of Namjoon because he just couldn't stop clinging to Jin like a Koala whenever he got the chance to.

Jungkook closed his eyes, feeling a bit guilty from his outburst. He knew that Jin wasn't completely at fault, he had his doings, too. Hell, he was even engaged right now, and the other man didn't even have a single dating humor under his belt. He leaned back on the door and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Hanna came barging in right now to ask why you were shouting," Jin snorted.

"I don't think she heard me," he responded. He then pulled away from his perch and made a detour towards his couch to make himself more comfortable. God knows he needed all of the comfort he can get right now. He plopped down, not giving a single fuck about the papers he knew he sat on. He shifted sideways, his back resting on the armrest instead, and pulled his knees to his chest; an instinctive habit that he always had since he was a kid. It was a pose that made him feel safe. "What did you want to talk about?" He heard a loud shuffling coming from the other line, an indication that Jin also moved away from where he was. There were a few beats of silence before he heard the soft thud of a door being closed from the background.

"I just missed you, Kookie, is that not enough reason to call?"

"Took you long enough," he huffed.

"Don't be like that."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop saying you're sorry," Jin paused, "That's the last thing I want to hear from you, you've already said that enough."

"I know," he half-whispered.

"Now, moving on to the brighter side of things, I saw on the news that you just popped the question," Jin paused, clearly being careful with his words, "Am I invited to the engagement party?"

He pulled his knees tighter to his chest, somehow hoping that by doing that, it would lessen the pain that he was feeling. This marriage was a scam. Both of them knew that and so as their brothers. It was a decision he made on impulse when he saw in a stupid article that Jin had gone to a romantic rendezvous with his on-screen partner. Blinded with jealousy, he decided to make a headline of his own and announced to the world that he had been dating for years and was now ready to take it to the next level. Somehow forgetting that he didn't have anyone aside from the man he had loved for as long as he can remember.

Hanna was a childhood friend. He had known her since they were kids. Their mothers were schoolmates in high school and were besties, which is why they also grew close. They never lost contact when he moved to Seoul. She pursued being a doctor, following her parents' footsteps, and he followed his dream to be an Idol. He also knew that Hanna was fully aware of his preference so that's why he felt safe to ask for help. It was only supposed to be a short-term stunt since he was also helping her regain her confidence from a recent heartbreak, but that immediately went south when he temporarily lost his mind.

"Are you still there?"

"Y-yeah," Jungkook replied.

"So, am I invited, or am I not? I need to clear my schedule for that. I'm a very busybody, you know?"

Jin didn't know all of this, though. He knew Hanna and had met her on numerous occasions, but he was not aware that she was privy to their relationship which made this mess even harder to clean. He's been trying to clear that up for more than a year now, but it looks like he's back to square one upon hearing the other man's questions. "Do you want to come?"

"Do you want me to be there?" Jin asked.

"I hate this, Jin," he blurted out somewhat defeatedly.

"It doesn't seem like it," Jin said, his voice tinged with a bit of sadness.

"Jin..."

Jin sighed again, "What do you want to hear from me, Jungkook-ah?"

"The truth."

"And you already know it," Jin paused; a clear sign that he was trying to get a hold of his emotions. "You made this decision for the both of us. What did you expect me to do?"

"To fight-"

"You took away that chance when you announced to the world that you have a girlfriend," Jin said, cutting him off.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He wiped the lone tear that escaped his eye and just snapped his lips close.

Jin sensing the change in his demeanor pulled back, "Jungkook-ah," he started with a mellow voice, "I didn't call to argue so let's just stop this, please? I'm trying my best here because I want to salvage what's left between us. I don't want to lose our friendship at least. I don't want to lose you."

Jungkook sniffed loudly, "Is this because of the reunion? Is this why you're doing this?"

"As if a reunion could make me do things that I don't want to do," Jin snorted.

"Did Namjoon-Hyung or Yoongi-Hyung put you up to do this then?"

"Why do you always assume I need people telling me what to do?"

"I don't know, it's just weird that you're doing this out of the blue," he admitted.

"Fine. Yoongi and Namjoon pretty much cornered me last week. Are you happy now?"

"I wouldn't want to be in that situation. Yoongi-Hyung is a little bit stressed now."

"Ha! Stress is an understatement. I had to buy that feral cat the most expensive whiskey to get him off my back," Jin scoffed.

"He has refined taste."

"I wanted to smack him on his head, but I know he just wanted to help," Jin stated, his voice was filled with fondness.

"Mm-hmm," he responded. If there's one person in their group who can make Kim Seokjin soft, it will always be Min Yoongi, and Jungkook was very much aware of that. He used to be insanely jealous of his Yoongi-Hyung before because he seemed to be the only person who could talk sense to Jin, but that later changed when he began to understand the bond that the two shared. They were brothers, regardless of their blood. They'd easily take a bullet for each other without even thinking twice. No questions asked.

"Ya, Jungkook-ah, don't tell me you're still hung up on me and Yoongi-ah."

That seemed to bring him back to the present. "Of course not. You're not Yoongi-Hyung's type, not by a long mile," he said with a chuckle.

"Ya! I'm still Worldwide Handsome, you know? A lot of people are still dying to just be in the same space as me!"

He rolled his eyes, knowing full well that what Jin said was true. At 38 years old, he was still as handsome as he was 17 years ago when he first met him; he aged like fine wine. "Sheesh. I know."

Jin snickered, "Good to know." He then paused for a few seconds and cleared his throat, "It's getting late and I don't want to keep you on the phone for too long. I just wanted to...err...clear the air a wee bit and touch base."

Jungkook swiveled on his seat and planted his feet firmly on the ground. His eyes strayed towards the familiar ink on his hand as he took a deep breath, "I never wanted this to happen."

"I-"

"Let me finish," he said, cutting him off this time. He lifted his arm and put his hand on eye level, "I had your initial tattooed on my ring finger, Jin, have you forgotten?" He then let his eyes wander down to the rest of his arm, taking his time to study each ink he had that represented him and them. "If all of this art is not a clear indication of how much I love you then I don't know how else to say it. That's my truth, Jin. My love for you never changed. You're still it for me," he stated loud and clear, unapologetically.