Chapter 5: chapter 4

Taehyung wakes up to the scent of something burning.

It’s subtle at first, just a faint trace of smoke in the air. Then it sharpens, seeping through the walls of his quiet morning.

He rises immediately, stepping out of his bedroom.

The sight that greets him is both expected and exasperating.

Jungkook stands in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, hair a mess, staring at a frying pan with an expression of mild betrayal. The eggs in the pan are… unrecognizable. Burnt black around the edges, the yolk completely destroyed.

At the sound of Taehyung’s footsteps, Jungkook glances up.

“Good morning, hyung,” he says, completely unbothered.

Taehyung crosses his arms. “What are you doing?”

“Cooking,” Jungkook replies, then gestures to the disaster in the pan. “Well. Trying to.”

Taehyung stares at him, then at the mess in the pan. Then back at Jungkook.

Jungkook sighs. “Okay, I get it. You’re silently judging me.”

“I wasn’t being silent,” Taehyung points out.

Jungkook waves him off. “I thought I’d make you breakfast.”

“You can’t cook.”

“I’m learning.”

“You set my kitchen on fire.”

Jungkook huffs. “It’s not on fire.” He gestures vaguely toward the charred eggs. “It’s just… slightly overdone.”

Taehyung leans against the counter. “Why are you even here this early?”

Jungkook blinks. “You let me sleep over.”

That was a mistake.

Not that Jungkook hadn’t stayed over before. It happened sometimes when he was too tired to go home, when it was too late to ride his bike, when he simply didn’t want to leave.

But this was different.

Because this morning, for the first time, Taehyung had woken up expecting Jungkook to be here.

Jungkook smiles, nudging him. “Sit. I’ll make coffee.”

Taehyung hesitates.

Then, against all logic, he sits.

The coffee is terrible.

Taehyung takes one sip and sets it down. Jungkook notices and pouts. “You didn’t even give it a chance.”

“I don’t need to. It’s bad.”

Jungkook groans, dropping his head onto the table. “You’re impossible.”

“You’re the one who made this.”

Jungkook lifts his head, chin resting on his arms. His eyes are still hazy with sleep, his voice softer when he speaks again. “You’re so used to being alone, hyung.”

Taehyung looks at him.

Jungkook’s expression isn’t teasing anymore. It’s quieter, something unreadable lingering in his gaze.

“I’m used to it,” Taehyung says simply.

Jungkook watches him for a long moment, then exhales. “That’s the problem.”

The words stay in the air, unspoken meanings laced between them.

Taehyung doesn’t respond.

Not because he doesn’t want to but because he doesn’t know how.

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Taehyung is sitting at his desk, reviewing financial reports, when his office phone rings.

Jimin’s voice comes through the line. “Sir, your eleven o’clock meeting has been rescheduled.”

Taehyung nods. “Understood.”

A pause. Then, cautiously, Jimin asks, “Did Jungkook leave your place this morning?”

Taehyung stills. “Why?”

Jimin chuckles. “He texted me at seven-thirty, demanding to know how you take your coffee.”

Taehyung exhales. Of course he did.

Jimin hums. “He’s… persistent, isn’t he?”

Taehyung leans back in his chair. “He’s disruptive.”

“But you don’t stop him.”

Taehyung doesn’t answer.

Jimin sighs. “Just don’t hurt him, sir.”

The words settle in the silence.

Taehyung grips his pen. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Jimin’s voice is gentle. “That’s exactly why I’m worried.”

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Jungkook’s texts are unread.

Taehyung has ignored them all day. Not intentionally at least, that’s what he tells himself but because something about this morning unsettled him.

Not the burnt eggs. Not the bad coffee.

But the way Jungkook had looked at him.

Like he saw something in Taehyung that even Taehyung himself didn’t understand.

His phone vibrates. Another text.

Jungkook: You’re ignoring me.

Taehyung doesn’t move.

Another text.

Jungkook: Are you mad?

Then, after a few minutes:

Jungkook: …Or are you avoiding me?

Taehyung exhales.

Avoidance implies something to avoid.

And he doesn’t know what that is.

So he does what he always does.

He doesn’t reply.

And for the first time, the silence feels heavier than before.

🐻🐰