Chapter 3: chapter 2

Taehyung wakes up before dawn, as he always does. His morning routine is precise wake up, shower, dress, drink exactly half a cup of coffee, and leave for work. There is no deviation, no unnecessary movement. Efficiency is the foundation of his life.

By 8:15 AM, he’s in his car, the streets of Seoul still quiet under the fading darkness. The city is waking up, but Taehyung has already begun his day.

At 8:30 AM, his phone vibrates.

Jungkook: Did you eat breakfast?

Taehyung doesn’t answer.

At 8:35 AM, another text.

Jungkook: You didn’t. I know you didn’t. Hyung, you can’t just survive on coffee.

Taehyung exhales, placing his phone face down on the seat beside him.

It doesn’t matter.

.

.

..

.

Park Jimin is already at his desk when Taehyung arrives, a cup of warm coffee waiting for him. Jimin is an excellent secretary attentive, detail-oriented, and efficient. That’s why Taehyung keeps him around.

“You have a meeting with the financial team at ten, a conference call at eleven, and lunch with Director Min at one,” Jimin lists as he follows Taehyung into his office.

Taehyung nods, taking his seat. “Understood.”

Jimin hesitates. “Sir, I know you dislike personal inquiries, but…” He glances at the untouched tea. “Did you eat breakfast?”

Taehyung doesn’t look up. “It’s not relevant.”

Jimin sighs. “Jungkook called me.”

Taehyung stills.

“He told me to remind you.”

For the first time, Taehyung looks up. “He called you?”

Jimin nods, looking slightly amused. “Yes. At nine in the morning.”

Taehyung doesn’t know what to say to that.

Jimin smiles slightly. “I told him I’d remind you, so consider it done.”

Taehyung says nothing, merely flipping open a file. Jimin lingers for a second before bowing and leaving.

The room falls silent.

Taehyung stares at the document in front of him, but the words blur.

Jungkook.

Taehyung doesn’t understand why Jungkook insists on doing things like this. Why he cares whether Taehyung eats or sleeps. Why he texts, calls, shows up at his office unannounced.

Why he stays.

He has asked Jungkook before directly, bluntly that why he bothers.

Jungkook had simply smiled and said, “Because I want to.”

That answer never made sense to Taehyung.

People always want something.

.

.

.

..

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Jungkook is waiting for him.

Taehyung doesn’t realize this until he steps out of the building and sees the familiar figure leaning against a black motorcycle.

Jungkook grins when he sees him. “Hyung!”

Taehyung stops a few feet away. “Why are you here?”

Jungkook tilts his head. “To pick you up, obviously.”

“I have a car.”

“And I have a bike. More fun.”

Taehyung stares at him. “That isn’t logical.”

Jungkook laughs. “Who cares? Let’s get dinner.”

“I don’t have time.”

“Liar,” Jungkook says easily. “Your schedule is clear after six. I checked with Jimin.”

Taehyung narrows his eyes. “You have no boundaries.”

Jungkook grins wider. “And yet, here you are, still talking to me.”

Taehyung exhales, long and slow. “One hour.”

Jungkook cheers. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

The place is noisy, filled with chatter and the clinking of chopsticks against bowls. Taehyung dislikes crowded spaces, but Jungkook seems completely at ease.

He watches as Jungkook orders for both of them without asking.

“You don’t like making choices,” Jungkook says when he notices Taehyung’s expression. “So I made it for you.”

Taehyung doesn’t argue.

The food arrives, steam rising in soft curls. Jungkook immediately digs in, but Taehyung hesitates.

Jungkook notices.

“You’re overthinking again,” he says between bites. “Just eat, hyung.”

Taehyung lifts his chopsticks. Takes a bite. The warmth spreads through his chest, unfamiliar but not unpleasant.

Jungkook watches him, something unreadable in his gaze.

After a while, he speaks.

“Hyung,” he says softly, “do you ever feel lonely?”

Taehyung freezes mid-bite.

Lonely.

Another word he understands but has never truly felt.

“No,” he answers simply.

Jungkook doesn’t look surprised. “Of course not.”

Taehyung watches him. “Do you?”

Jungkook smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Sometimes.”

Taehyung doesn’t know what to say to that.

Jungkook looks down at his bowl, stirring the noodles absently. “It’s weird, isn’t it? How some people can feel too much, and others not at all.”

Taehyung studies him. “Are you implying something?”

Jungkook shakes his head. “No. Just thinking out loud.”

They fall into silence. The ramen shop is still loud, but between them, the quiet feels heavier.

After a moment, Jungkook grins, the mood shifting back to something lighter. “Anyway, finish your food. If you don’t, I’m making Jimin report it to me tomorrow.”

Taehyung sighs. “You’re insufferable.”

Jungkook winks. “And yet, here you are, still putting up with me.”

Taehyung has no response to that.

Because Jungkook is right.

He is still here.

And he doesn’t know why.

🐻🐰