sᴀᴠᴀsᴀɴᴀ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.16. sʜᴏᴛsᴀsᴀɴᴀ

"Two beers please," Jimin ordered as per usual, but Jungkook raised his hand to rectify. "Actually I'll just have one of those soft fruit cocktails instead."

The bartender pulled a face. "Who are you and what have you done with Jungkook?"

"I don't drink any more."

"You might later," the man replied with a knowing smirk.

Jimin, who had also noticed the boy's long face, agreed. "Hyung is right. Usually, heartbreak is a good excuse to start drinking. Not quit."

Jungkook's gasp was loud. A bit too loud to pass off as genuine. "Heart — what? What are you on about?"

"Hun, it's written on your pretty forehead." The bartender was back with the drinks. And the schmooze.

"What is?"

"Heart-bro-ken."

Jungkook huffed, trying to pretend he was above the 'cure my heartache with booze' cliché for a little while longer. "How can I be heartbroken when I didn't even get to date the guy?"

Jimin leaned forward, fishing for the unspoken revelation. "Did you ask him out?"

Oh. So that's how it felt, to be cornered. "I did not."

"Why not?"

Jungkook recalled the chance encounter at the park, the coffee they shared, their small talk. And that one enquiry that lingered in the back of his brain. It was like that test question you realize you got wrong even though the correct answer still evades you. Jungkook. Is there something you want to tell me?

"He'd like for us to be friends."

Jimin and the bartender both drew breath through their teeth. Which could only mean one thing.

"It's bad. I know."

Jimin's brows began to twitch asynchronously. "When did you have that conversation?"

"Two weeks ago. Why?"

Cocking his head to the side, Jimin wondered out loud whether this was Taehyung's way of rejecting him.

"Reject what? I didn't make a single move on him!"

Jimin must have realized something for his jaw opened wide. "You haven't spoken with Hoseok hyung, have you?"

"He's been avoiding me lately. I don't know why."

Placing both elbows on the counter, Jimin buried his face in his palms to embody a brand new 'I'm so done with this plot conflict' meme. When he was done expressing his frustration, he took one of Jungkook's hands in his, as if to soften the blow he was about to give. "You know how much I hate it when dramas entertain those useless misunderstandings just for the sake of conflict."

"Er — sure."

"Good. Then you'll understand why I'm about to share this information with you. So you may do with it what you will."

"What information?"

"Pretty boy knows."

"Taehyung? Taehyung knows what?" Jungkook's voice sounded slightly panicky.

"He knows about your little crush on him."

"— "

"Jungkook? Are you still with us?"

The boy had transformed into an ice sculpture, save for his eyes which had turned frantic. "How — how even — "

"It was a slip-up. Nothing intentional really. And certainly nothing purposefully malicious."

"Who told him?"

"Hoseok hyung and Taehyung know each other. He didn't get into much detail but hyung did mention something about them working together."

There are close to ten million people living in Seoul. TEN. FUCKING. MILLION. How was it even possible for these two to have any kind of connection? Was Taehyung into b-boying? Because that would in effect drastically reduce the pool of potential common acquaintances.

If Jungkook's shuddering sigh was anything to go by, the boy was visibly shaken as things began to take on new meanings in light of this disturbing truth. Jimin could almost hear the puzzle pieces clicking into place within the younger's brain.

Hoseok's casual avoidance since his last yoga practice with Taehyung — his confused look when Jungkook had apologized for his injury instead of — oh my, had Taehyung been expecting a full-on confession? Or perhaps some kind of acknowledgment of the attraction he felt for him?

No wonder he'd resorted to friendship to keep their rather ambiguous relationship afloat. If Jungkook was unable to come clean about his own feelings, what was Taehyung to do? Pretend he didn't know sounded like the sensible option here, given Jungkook's cowardice.

The bartender, who had served other customers, returned. "Is this my cue to pull out the shot glasses?"

Jimin nodded before placing a gentle hand on Jungkook's now slumped figure. "Hey. It's going to be fine. Have a drink — a real one — and then we'll figure out what to do."

"I-I always thought it would make things awkward between us if, you know — if I'd shoved my feelings in his face when all he wanted was to take some yoga classes in peace."

"You were very considerate. Honourably so."

"But hyung, this is — this is worse than awkward — it's a mess. That's what it is." Jungkook couldn't make sense of the fact that doing what he believed had been the right thing had essentially landed him in such a problematic situation.

"Well, if it's any consolation, the guy might not even have taken Hoseok hyung's slip seriously."

"How would you know?"

"I can't say for sure, but he did agree to meet you. You two talked. That doesn't sound like he minds at all you crushing on him, if you ask me. Otherwise he'd have ghosted you, don't you think?"

There was a soft sob. "He kinda has, actually."

Jungkook eyed the shots sitting in front of them, waiting to be downed. "Fuck it," he muttered before gulping down the stiff drink.

It didn't take much alcohol to loosen his tongue, and Jungkook soon began listing all the clues supporting the idea that Taehyung had indeed given him the brush-off. "He handed me an opportunity, and I blew it." He scoffed at another detail he'd forgotten. "He lied, hyung. He had to resort to lying because I didn't have the guts to talk straight."

"What did he lie about?"

"He told me that him not answering my texts for a whole week had nothing to do with me — blamed it on work — "

"Guk, Ima go with my gut feeling and assume that he only said that to make you feel better. If he really was uncomfortable with the fact that his yoga teacher has been pining for him all this time, then he'd have been more blunt about it. Don't you think?"

"I guess." The insecurity in his voice did not give away Jungkook's desperation as he held on to this belief in order to avoid drowning in guilt and shame.

He was about to ask for a refill when he sensed his phone vibrate inside his back pocket. A text. From Hoseok hyung. Jungkook laughed at the poor timing and put the device away, trying to ignore the multiple notifications.

"You're not going to check your messages?"

"I don't feel like it right now."

"Might be important."

That's when Jimin's phone started ringing. Dismissing Jungkook's silent pleas, Jimin picked up. "Hoseok hyung? Is everything alright?"

—

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