As soon as Taehyung made it back to his house, he stormed into his room, slammed the door shut, and dove straight into his bed. Without a second thought, he yanked the blankets over his head, cocooning himself in his own little world of mortification and regret.
His heart was still racing, his mind running wild with the disastrous series of events that had just unfolded.
Jungkook.
Jungkook, half-naked.
Jungkook, towering over him, dripping wet, toned muscles on full display.
Taehyung groaned, gripping the edges of his blanket tightly as if that would somehow erase the images from his brain.
"Well, technically, he wasn't fully naked," he muttered to himself. "But basically he was naked."
And that was bad enough.
His face burned as he recalled how his eyes had betrayed him, lingering way too long on Jungkook's toned abs, the curve of his collarbone, the sharp lines of his jawâugh. He wanted to erase himself from existence.
And just when he thought things couldn't get worse, he remembered the way he ran out of there like a scared little kitten.
Taehyung groaned even louder, rolling over and burying his face into his pillow.
"I am never leaving this bed again."
__________
Taehyung had no idea how much time had passed when he heard the sound of his bedroom door creaking open.
"Taehyung?"
The voice was too familiarâa voice he did not want to hear right now.
Before he could react, his blanket was yanked off his head.
"YAH!" Taehyung shrieked, flailing as he tried to grab it back, but it was too late.
Jimin stood there, arms crossed, staring down at him with an expression that screamed mischief.
Taehyung froze.
Jimin's sharp eyes scanned him for exactly two seconds before his lips curled into a smirk.
"Oh my god," Jimin said, grinning like a devil. "What did you do?"
Taehyung glared at him, debating whether he should throw himself out the window or just accept his fate.
"Nothing," he muttered, turning to bury himself back under his blankets.
Unfortunately, Jimin was not going to let him off the hook that easily.
Jimin grabbed the blankets and ripped them away again, ignoring Taehyung's protest.
"Okay, no. This is not how people act when they do 'nothing,'" Jimin said, raising an eyebrow. "Spill."
Taehyung groaned dramatically, rolling onto his back and covering his face with his hands.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Which means I definitely need to hear about it," Jimin shot back, sitting cross-legged on the bed beside him.
When Taehyung still refused to answer, Jimin pulled out his phone.
"I'll just call Jungkook and ask him what happened, then."
Taehyung shot up so fast he nearly headbutted Jimin.
"DON'T!"
Jimin cackled, clearly satisfied that he had cornered him.
"Spill," Jimin said, leaning in smugly.
Taehyung sighed deeply, pressing his palms together as if praying for strength.
He took a deep breath and thenâ
"I ran away."
Jimin blinked.
"...Huh?"
Taehyung groaned, grabbing his pillow and shoving it against his face before muffling out his confession.
"I stormed into his house to confront him, saw him half-naked, and then ran away."
For a second, there was silence.
Thenâ
Jimin threw his head back and screamed with laughter.
"OH MY GODâYOU RAN AWAY?!"
"Don't remind me!" Taehyung whined, pulling his knees up to his chest and hiding his face.
Jimin was laughing so hard he nearly fell off the bed. He wiped at his eyes, still grinning like a maniac.
"This is the best thing I've ever heard," he wheezed. "Youâyou seduced him last night, and today you saw him shirtless and ran for your life?"
Taehyung groaned louder, smacking his forehead.
"This is so embarrassing. I panicked! I had a whole plan, Jimin! I was supposed to confront him, notânot run away like a coward!"
Jimin wiped fake tears from his eyes, still snickering.
"Wow. This is truly a historic moment. Kim Taehyung, the biggest flirt I know, just got defeated by a shirtless Jeon Jungkook."
"Shut up."
Jimin smirked, leaning back on his hands. "So, what now?"
Taehyung huffed, flopping onto his back and staring at the ceiling.
"...Now, I have to come up with a new plan to talk to him properly."
Jimin grinned. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."
_______
Days passed.
Days of stolen glances and awkward silences. Of pretending. Of dancing around the elephant in the roomâor rather, the kiss in the room.
Neither Taehyung nor Jungkook brought it up.
Not when they walked past each other in the hallways.
Not even when their friends talked to them like normal, making Taehyung feel like he was losing his mind because everything wasn't normal.
And the worst part?
Every time they were aloneâeven for a secondâthe air between them felt too heavy. Too charged. Like a single wrong move would shatter whatever fragile illusion they had built.
Taehyung hated it.
He wanted to talk, wanted to fix things, wanted toâ
But then, he'd catch Jungkook looking at him with those dark, unreadable eyes, and suddenly, his courage would shrivel up and die.
What if Jungkook regretted it?
What if Jungkook didn't feel the same way?
What ifâ
"Oh my god, just TALK to him already!"
Taehyung flinched as Jimin's voice cut through his anxious spiral.
Jimin sat across from him in the cafe, arms crossed, eyes sharp with exasperation.
"Iâ"
"No, don't 'I' me, Taehyung." Jimin rolled his eyes. "You've been avoiding each other for days. And don't even try to lie, because I've seen it. You want to talk to him, but you're too much of a coward."
Taehyung scowled. "I'm not a coward."
"You literally ran away from his house."
"...That was different."
Jimin shot him a flat look.
"Right. And now you're just pretending the kiss didn't happen, huh?" He sighed. "And what about Jungkook? What if he's waiting for you to say something?"
Taehyung opened his mouthâbut closed it again.
What if...?
Jimin, sensing his hesitation, leaned forward with a smirk.
"Alright, since you're both idiots, I'll handle this."
Taehyung narrowed his eyes. "Handle what?"
But Jimin was already texting.
"Don't worry about it."
____
That weekend, Jimin and Mingyu arranged a "group hangout"âone that, conveniently, neither of them showed up for.
Which is how Taehyung and Jungkook ended up alone in a private room at a cozy restaurant, staring at each other across the table in stunned silence.
Taehyung's mind short-circuited.
That littleâ
He was going to kill Jimin.
Jungkook, on the other hand, was still processing. He had expected a groupânot just him and Taehyung. And definitely not this unbearable tension.
The air grew heavier by the second.
Taehyung cleared his throat. "I, uh... think Jimin and Mingyu ditched us."
Jungkook nodded slowly. "Yeah. I figured."
More silence.
Taehyung fidgeted. He should say somethingâanythingâbut his tongue felt like lead.
Jungkook, on the other hand, had had enough.
His jaw clenched. His patience snapped.
Before he could think twice, he reached across the table and grabbed Taehyung's wrist, holding him in place.
"What are we doing, Taehyung?"
Taehyung's breath hitched.
Jungkook's eyes were intenseâdemanding answers.
No more running. No more dodging.
Taehyung swallowed hard, heart hammering against his ribs.
There was no escape this time.
So he did the only thing he could.
He told the truth.
"...I think I'm falling for you, Jungkook."