Jungkook sat on the bed in his dorm room. He stared down at his knees, his jeans old and worn. Behind him lay Taehyung, fast asleep. The older boy had fallen asleep in Jungkook’s bed, hugging Jungkook’s pillow. The black-haired boy felt bad for leaving and making Taehyung worried enough to comfort himself in Jungkook’s space. Taehyung’s brow was knitted and his lips were pressed together. Apparently, his concern hadn’t left him in sleep. 

    Jungkook looked down at Taehyung’s face and hot tears pricked his eyes. He reached and pressed his palm to Taehyung’s cheek, rubbed the forehead crease, smoothed the wrinkles. A single teardrop slid down his cheek. Jungkook leaned down and rested his forehead in the crook of Taehyung’s neck. Taehyung didn’t wake up, but he turned his head to brush against Jungkook’s. This simple gesture caused the tears to flow, racing down Jungkook’s cheeks and soaking Taehyung’s shirt. Astonishingly, this did not wake Taehyung, not the wetness, not Jungkook’s soft sobs, not even Jungkook’s body shaking on top of him.

    Jungkook pushed himself back up and took one last look at Taehyung’s face. He couldn’t spend any more time here; if he did, he wouldn’t be able to leave. Jungkook jogged around the room, packing his few belongings. He washed his face in the bathroom and walked out, not looking back. The hallway was dark and silent, empty of all students.

    Busan was only a few miles from the university, and the last bus had already left. Jungkook sighed and rubbed his face. It’s ok, it was karma. He deserved this. It was fine; Jungkook was on the track team, he had the stamina to walk that far.

    Luckily for Jungkook, no one tried to kidnap him, and he arrived at his parents’ home two hours later. His mother was surprised but joyful to see her son again. His father had died when Jungkook was 5 years old, so he wasn’t there to see him. “Jungkookie, what are you doing here? Don’t tell me you walked all this way in the middle of the night.” Jungkook didn’t speak, but that was an answer in itself. Eomma sighed and touched his cheek. “Baby, I let you go to that university because you promised you would take care of yourself. Walking home alone in the middle of the night is not taking care of yourself.”

    Jungkook averted his eyes, the tears remaining from back at the dorm resurfacing. His mother took his face in her hands and kissed his cheeks. “What’s wrong, my baby? Tell me what’s wrong.” Jungkook sniffled and moved closer, pressing his face to her neck, even though he was a little taller than her. His knees turned to jello and he slid to the ground, Eomma moving with him. She held him to her chest as he sobbed, and he felt like a small child again, safe and sound in his mother’s arms.

    Jungkook rubbed his eyes and leaned back, peering up at Eomma. “Eomma… you remember Jimin, right? Earlier, Taehyung told me he loved me… I never noticed, and now… I’ve lost him forever. Eomma, I waited too long. Eomma, I messed up badly. I can’t stay there; if I am to move on, I must remove myself from the university.” Jungkook continued to stare up at her, unconsciously doing puppy-dog eyes. 

    Eomma sighed. “Jungkook… We’ll try. This’ll have to wait until the morning. Go sleep in your old bedroom, everything is still in there. I can’t say you made the right choice; you will have to tell me everything before I can decide.”

    Jungkook nodded and picked himself up. “Ok, thanks.” He kissed his mother’s cheek and headed to the doorway, and turned back. “Goodnight, Mama. I missed you.”

    His mother smiled sadly, her hand over her heart. “Goodnight, Baby. Sleep well."