sᴀᴠᴀsᴀɴᴀ│ᴛᴋ [complete]

.19. ᴡᴀɪᴛᴀsᴀɴᴀ

Let the record show that Jungkook became very good at waiting.

He waited for practice to end so he and Taehyung could go grab a midnight snack from the convenience store across the street. Hands brushing, neve holding. They did hook their pinkies once. Baby steps.

He waited for the release of Taehyung's MV, which occurred at noon on a work day. The yoga class for beginners had never seemed so long that morning. And Taehyung had never looked so good. He'd streamed the song with glee, and even changed his ringtone.

He waited for radio plays and interviews, silently squealing every time he heard Taehyung's voice over the airwaves. If he hadn't already fallen for the boy, he surely would have swooned at his baritone.

He waited for news feeds to update, checking to see if Taehyung's single was given any coverage, feeling disheartened when he realized it wasn't getting nearly enough buzz.

He waited for Taehyung's last text of the day (or at least, he liked to believe he was the last person the singer would message at the end of his busy schedule), which arrived a little later every night. A few words that he was willing to forgo sleep for.

Home, finally!

Sweet dreams~

c u tmrw ^ㅁ^

But these were all the good kind of waiting. The kind Jungkook didn't mind. At all.

Sitting on a chair outside of one of Big Hit's conference rooms, waiting to be called in any moment now, certainly did not qualify as the pleasant sort of waiting. As the minutes went by, Jungkook decided it was most definitely the worst kind of waiting there could be.

Jungkook scrolled through the text messages he'd exchange with Taehyung over the past few weeks, searching for something that would have given them away. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't see anything there that could justify a warning, a scolding, a firing, or any sort of -ing on the part of company management.

He and the idol were not dating. Sure, they had spent time together — friendly get-togethers he would call them — but such moments were growing increasingly sparse due to Taehyung's debut.

But what about their last encounters? Could their touchy interactions have been construed as something other than accidental skinship? Jungkook was just coming to terms with the fact that Taehyung's dislike for physical contact did not apply to himself. If he'd let his desires have their way, he would be convinced Taehyung had essentially been actively seeking closeness.

Hearing some faint shuffling behind the door, he straightened his posture and swiftly stood when it finally opened. He was allowed inside the room where several people he didn't know were already seated. Sitting in an empty chair, his eyes immediately spotted Taehyung, whose smile contradicted the overall strain etched onto his features. He tried to smile back but only managed an unconvincing grimace, due to the growing unsettledness twitching his guts.

A man with a plump face and equally round glasses was watching a video on a tablet computer. Jungkook recognized Taehyung's song playing at a low volume. Next to the person Jungkook assumed was the CEO (whom he had never met), choreographer Son was rubbing his temple, looking a little nervous himself. Namjoon, while leaning on his fist, seemed lost in deep, frown-inducing thoughts.

Jungkook wondered how long they had all been sitting here, and what kind of meeting required the presence of a mere background dancer.

The recording ended and the imposing round man looked up, straight at him. "Is that the boy?" he asked bluntly.

A woman wearing a sharp suit and a tense grin — which didn't match her overall bold appearance — requested he introduce himself.

"I'm Jeon Jungkook. A backup dancer for Taehyung."

"Well, Jungkook, I am Bang Si-hyuk, founder of the company you work for. This (he pointed at the woman) is Ms Ahn, the head of our SNS department. And this (his hand turned to two men sitting side by side) is our CCO, Mr Jang. Next to him is a PR consultant we called urgently to get this matter sorted as soon as possible. I believe you are acquainted with everyone else in the room."

Jungkook gulped at the mention of the word 'matter' which didn't sound like something that could be fixed easily, especially if it required the intervention of external experts. "Nice to meet you," he managed to utter without stuttering, despite the panic rising in his stomach.

"Do you know why you are here, Jungkook?" the CEO enquired, obviously relishing in the prolonged suspense.

"I don't, sir." Though he was getting an inkling as to the seriousness of the situation as his palms turned moist.

Bang motioned for the Ms Ahn to proceed. Looking down at her notes, which she shuffled a little, she finally asked, "Mister Jeon, can you confirm you were on the premises on May 10th of this year?"

This was no longer a conference room. This was a tribunal and Jungkook was accused of some crime he feared he'd committed unknowingly. He tried hard to recall May 10th, but the days kind of blurred together. "It's possible I was here, to practise, yes. I replaced Hoseok hyung who had surgery just two weeks before th-"

"So you admit to having accessed one of the practice rooms that day."

"May I ask what this is about. I don't understand why I'm being quest-"

"Please tell us how you entered the building."

"I had a key card."

"Was it yours?"

Jungkook looked at choreographer Son who just nodded.

"No, it wasn't." The boy realized he had to be careful with each reply given, for it could end up being used against him. What if they had questioned Taehyung already? What if the singer had provided them with answers they were simply trying to corroborate? Jungkook had no idea what had been discussed before his arrival, but he figured the easiest way out of this courtroom resided in him being as truthful as he possibly could.

"Whose key card was it?"

"It was choreographer Son's."

Son slammed his fist on the desk, visibly annoyed. "We went through this already. How many times do I have to tell you that I let him use my card because he only had 10 days to learn Hoseok's part?"

"Calm down," the CEO ordered. "Ms Ahn is just doing her job, confirming his identity."

"If Ms Ahn had done her job properly from the start, we wouldn't be here now, would we?" Namjoon grumbled.

"I cannot check every single tweet or insta post that my team puts out! Besides, the person responsible for the footage disclosure has already been fired." The woman was obviously dodging bullets in the most cowardly manner, blaming somebody else for a mistake grave enough to justify the CEO getting involved.

"What footage?" Jungkook asked. If this leaked footage had cost someone their job and he was in any way implicated, then he figured he deserved a little more information. What he hadn't expected was his cluelessness to be met with seven dumbfounded looks.

"You — haven't seen it?" Taehyung's voice sounded slightly amused.

Bang PD let out a sigh. "Show him, will you?" he asked sharp-suit.

And so Jungkook watched, for the first time, the video showcasing him and Taehyung dancing their hearts out as they laid bare their forbidden feelings for each other.

—

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