Tw: brief mention of self-harm/suicide/death
Jungkook continues to deny the information the officer provides him. He believes it cannot be true.
"We tried to search for him everywhere, kid. But he is nowhere to be found even after we went for a deep search. It is very surprising but it kinda looks as if he disappeared into the air. We collected a lot of data and news though."
The officer keeps talking but the words fall on deaf ears. Jungkook cannot hear anything anymore. He feels breathless.
The officer tells him that they have gone to their school as well but to no use. Taehyung hadn't returned home either.
And when he is about to close his eyes finally, he feels his mom rushing toward him. And then he doesn't remember anything anymore. He loses consciousness.
When he wakes up, he realizes that he is in a hospital and it has been a few days already. At night, he takes the risk and runs out of the hospital. His feet are barely cooperating but he has to do it.
He somehow manages to go to the same police station where he filed a missing persons report for Taehyung.
He asks them about the boy desperately but the answers only give him shock.
Jungkook coughs up blood, his head spinning. He feels like he will lose consciousness.
The image of Taehyung appears before his blurry vision. The boy still looks beautiful as ever, smiling back at him. Jungkook wants to return the gesture but he can't move. He feels numb. He is completely wounded.
This world is probably never going to accept them. They should've realized that earlier. So they could leave this world together and not separately like this. They could've held each other's hands and kissed as they took their last breath. They could've done a lot of things together.
But they realized it too late.
His father beats him to almost death until he is left breathless and unable to move his limbs. He trembles violently, tears still falling as he lies there in the pool of his own blood.
Yet no sound comes out of his mouth. He didn't dodge a single hit and just took them all thinking he deserved it.
"No, this is not how I raised you, you fucking bastard. I don't want a faggot son. If I need to kill you, then I definitely will. I will be better off with no son than having you. You are just a disappointment. Why didn't you just die before turning into something like this? Why did it have to be you?"
He lifts his head a little to look at his mom who quickly avoids his gaze. She is crying but she is not stopping him.
"You really thought you could get away with this?" The older man said as he used his hands, belt, and his feet to beat the teenager until Jungkook started bleeding from the deep cuts.
Is this how Taehyung felt every time he was bullied and beaten up?
Jungkook thinks it is good that he is also getting the same treatment. Now he will know what Taehyung went through. Now he will feel the same pain. He deserves it.
"The hell is this, Jungkook?"
Jungkook cannot hear. All he can think about is the words written in the letter. His heart beats out of his chest. He thinks it's funny when he doesn't feel anything as his father kicks him and makes him fall on the floor.
He is still looking at the letter as tears flow down silently without stopping. What will he do now? He doesn't even notice when his father takes off his belt and wraps the end of it around his palm until the first hit lands on his back. He curls himself into a ball and starts sobbing. He can endure the physical pain.
But the pain in his chest?
He feels the fear settling in him in a very negative way. He goes back home with an absent mind and an empty heart.
And the moment he enters his house, a sharp pain lands on his cheek, making him take a few steps back from the impact. He cannot process the thing right away.
He looks up slowly, just to find his father standing before him with an expression he can't read. Then there stands his mother who is already crying.
What is happening? And then his eyes fall on the paper his father is holding. It looks like a letter.
W-wait, i-is it what he thinksโ
He feels the fear settling in him in a very negative way. He goes back home with an absent mind and an empty heart.
And the moment he enters his house, a sharp pain lands on his cheek, making him take a few steps back from the impact. He cannot process the thing right away.
He looks up slowly, just to find his father standing before him with an expression he can't read. Then there stands his mother who is already crying.
What is happening? And then his eyes fall on the paper his father is holding. It looks like a letter.
W-wait, i-is it what he thinksโ
โI finally saw you today after so many days. But you were with a girl. I couldn't approach. What am I supposed to think about this, Kook? Are you dating that girl? Does that mean you really don't love me anymore? But why suddenly? Why didn't you tell me anything? Are you disgusted to even talk to me? Is that why you left silently and started dating a girl? Have you really moved on and forgotten me? You broke me, Jungkookie.โ
Jungkook cannot read them anymore. He starts to have trouble breathing because of the sobs.
But there is one paper left. So, he picks it up and opens it just to feel his heart shatter in an instant.
โBut I still love you.โ
How could he forget about it? He was the one who helped Taehyung from having those, practically stopping them and now he ended up being the one bringing them back?
He feels pathetic. He wants to slap himself.
โT-tae,โ he lets out a whisper. His body trembles and he sobs violently when he realizes something.
While he was thinking of saving with a foolish move, the boy was suffering alone.
When he was eating and sleeping at home, Taehyung was starving himself, unable to sleep, and fighting those attacks.
He was all alone. In this dark room. Scared. Without anyone embracing him.
โWhat secret?โ Taehyung raises a brow, his voice dropping too, as he notices how close Jungkook is.
โWell, call me boss if you want. But just between you and me...โ Jungkook looks into his eyes. โWhat if you call me just Jungkook, and I call you hyung?โ
Jungkook senses a shift in his tone as he ends the phone call. But his heart feels happy when twenty minutes later, he receives the text message as promised.
โJust got home. See you tomorrow, Jungkook-ssi. Good night!โ
๐ญ๐
When he says that, Taehyung goes silent for a few seconds. Jungkook's heartbeat skyrockets as he waits for him to speak.
โS-sure.โ He answers. โI'll let you know when I get home.โ
Jungkook sighs. โNo. I don't mind...โ Jungkook looks up and into Taehyung's eyes. โThis.โ
โNo?โ Taehyung smiles as he takes a bite of his food, and then shrugs, nodding. โOkay. I have to spend time here anyway, so might as well eat here I guess.โ
Jungkook bites back a smile. โYeah, but... You don't mind this, do you? It's better than eating alone.โ
โFor me, definitely. But for you?โ Taehyung tilts his head. โIf I spend too much time with you, soon you'll start waiting for me to leave.โ
โThank you, there really was no need to get me to cook for two.โ Taehyung smiles. โI would have made dinner at home.โ
โBut you've been working all day too. It's no big deal.โ Jungkook says. Then, hesitating a bit, he adds. โYou can eat here whenever you like.โ
They talk about random stuff about each other, and Jungkook learns a few things about him in the process.
Like, Taehyung is very close to his parents and siblings and misses them a lot. Or the fact that he can't sleep without hugging a pillow.