WARNING!!!: homophobia and discriminating remarks, insults, offensive terms!!!! (I'm sorry if I offend some of you...)
Also, I'm sorry to Jungkook and his parents for portraying them in this way. Please know that they in no way resemble these characters in real life, and that Jungkook's parents and brother are actually extremely sweet, supportive people who have raised our Kookie to be so kind and amazingly talented.

It was dark by the time Jungkook and Taehyung started heading back to the Institute. Sparks of light were flickering on all over the city; streetlamps and neon signs, the harsh glow of car headlamps and the soft lamplight shining from between the curtains of living rooms.

Jungkook and Taehyung walked in silence among the lights, enjoying the night view. There weren't that many pedestrians around them. Most people were in their cars zooming past or already in bars, drinking the night away. The rush hour had passed - the streets were calm and quiet. Jungkook whistled a small tune as they walked. A soft look in his eyes, he drank in the cool night air and the twinkling night view. Taehyung glanced at him quickly. They were walking side by side, close enough for their hands to risk bumping into each other, and his hands were itching to grab the younger's. A fierce internal debate ensued. Should he just hold his hand or not? Should he ask? Should he just leave it be? A million thoughts flew through the frowning boy's head.

Jungkook grinned to himself, guessing what was going on in Taehyung's mind.

"You should stop twitching your fingers so, hyung," he chuckled. Taehyung startled and blushed, curling his fingers into fists. Jungkook laughed and reached for his hand, smoothing out the curled fingers and sliding his own through them. "I could hear your thoughts all the way from here," he teased, swinging their linked hands lightly. Taehyung let out an embarrassed cough. Despite his chagrin, a happy smile still broke out on his face as he gripped Jungkook's hand tighter and he started humming happily.

They were almost at the Institute when they heard a surprised voice.

"Jungkook?"

Both boys spun around simultaneously, looking for the speaker. Jungkook had a sinking feeling in his stomach that he tried to ignore. The voice was horribly familiar to him and he hoped with all his heart that it wasn't who he thought it wa-

"It is you!" A middle aged man in an expensive business suit stood on the sidewalk, a black Mercedes Benz idling in front of him with another man in black holding the back door open.

"Dad," Jungkook faltered, shrinking into himself. Taehyung frowned, confused at the way the other was behaving.

"Hello, Mr. Jeon!" he decided to introduce himself, stepping forward with a hand stretched out. Jungkook stretched out a hand to stop him but Taehyung didn't see it, smiling broadly at the austere businessman. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kookie's friend-"

"What do you think you're doing?" Mr. Jeon snapped at Jungkook, completely ignoring Taehyung. The older boy frowned again, slowly pulling his hand back as he glanced between the father and son. "I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again. What are you doing here, in Gangnam? And holding hands with another boy, at that?"

Jungkook seemed to grow smaller with every word his father threw at him, looking down at the ground and wringing his hands like a scolded little boy. "I'm sorry, father," he muttered in a broken voice, a sob threatening to break through.

"Disgusting," the man spat, glancing disdainfully at Taehyung. "No wonder you're such a disgrace to the family name. Bah!" He spat at Jungkook's feet. "Seeing things and making up stories about monsters, lying, acting out, felony! And now, you turn out to be a ing , too?" Taehyung's head snapped up at that, staring at him in shock. "It disgusts me to think that you're my son."

Jungkook was crying now, silent tears dripping off his nose onto the cold asphalt. Taehyung was frozen in place - he couldn't believe his ears.

"Don't you think you'll get anything from coming back home, boy," Mr. Jeon continued. "I don't care if you grovel or beg - we're not taking you back in. And don't expect any help or money, either. As I said, you're no son of mine any longer." And with those final icy cold words, he turned to get into his car.

"Wait!" Taehyung yelled. Surprised, Mr. Jeon turned back around.

"Don't, Tae," Jungkook protested weakly but Taehyung wasn't listening.

"Are you talking to me, boy?" Mr. Jeon asked him, raising an eyebrow as if astounded that someone like him had dared to address him, to yell at him even.

"Yes," Taehyung growled. He was beyond furious. He couldn't believe all the insulting words Jungkook had had to listen to, and the fact that this man believed Jungkook was worthless and disgusting made his blood boil. "What exactly do you think gives you the right to say such horrible things to him?"

"I'm his father, if you hadn't caught on," the businessman replied haughtily, staring down the tip of his nose at the angry boy.

"So?" Taehyung raised an eyebrow.

"So?" Mr. Jeon spluttered, turning red. "So I'm his father, you brat! That gives me the right to say whatever I like to him!"

"No, it doesn't," Taehyung countered immediately. "Being his father has nothing to do with what you just said to him! Do you think that you can just say whatever you want, and that he wouldn't be hurt by it? If you're really his father, shouldn't you be more concerned with his feelings? How can you possibly just throw him out into the street like that?"

 "I don't think you understand, boy," the man sneered. "A son like that is useless to me. Always stirring up trouble, shaming me. It's much better for me and for the family business if I don't have a son like that."

"So you threw him away?" Taehyung exclaimed, outraged.

"Yes!" Mr. Jeon shouted, becoming angrier by the minute. "I threw him away. He's of no use to me. And I really don't think you have anything to do with what I do with my family, thank you very much." With those words, he spun on his feet, heading back to his car.

Taehyung stared after him, speechless. He could think of nothing that would break through the man's defenses - it was like talking to a wall. A cold, heartless, business-minded wall.

He turned to comfort Jungkook and to apologize for making things worse, then stared around him in dismay. The other boy was nowhere to be found.

In truth, Jungkook had run away during the middle of his father's last words, unable to handle any more.

"," Taehyung groaned, running an agitated hand through his hair. He glanced around quickly, trying to guess where Jungkook might have gone.

"I need help," he muttered to himself. Running to the Institute, which was only a few streets away, he burst through the doors, effectively startling Jimin and Yoongi.

"Have you seen Jungkook?" he demanded immediately and Jimin shook his head in alarm.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, hurrying to calm his Parabatai.

"Jungkook's gone," Taehyung told them, biting his lips. "We ran into his dad outside, and he... things were pretty bad." Yoongi's eyes glinted sharply at the mention of Jungkook's father. "I think I might have made things worse," Taehyung fretted. "I was trying to defend him, but his dad... he said some really mean things, and when I looked around after he left, Jungkook was gone."

Jimin and Yoongi exchanged concerned looks.

"I thought maybe he'd come here," Taehyung said hopelessly.

"We haven't seen him," Jimin confirmed, wracking his head to think where the boy might have gone. "We'll help you look for him."

"Ah," Yoongi said suddenly, "I think I might know where he's gone."

Both boys turned to look at him in surprise. "You do?" Jimin asked, taken aback.

"Yeah," Yoongi said, hurrying outside. The Parabatai pair trailed after him as he ran through the empty streets. He stopped at the door of a small bar and the others stared at him with wide eyes.

"A bar?" Taehyung asked incredulously. "You think Jungkook came here? To what, to get drunk?" Yoongi sighed in exasperation.

"No, you ," he tutted. "Jungkook told me once that he used to perform here, back when he was homeless. The owner liked his voice and let him sing sometimes. He even gave him free food in exchange. He didn't get paid but he was allowed to keep whatever tips he got, so it helped him out a lot when he was starving."

Jimin looked thoughtfully at the bustling bar. The windows were clouded but they could see the silhouettes of the people drinking and dancing inside. A couple pushed the door open, stumbling outside and laughing at nothing in particular as they made their way down the street. A blast of music hit the trio, quickly re-becoming muffled as the door swung closed, but it was enough for Taehyung to tug it back open and hurry inside. Someone was singing inside, the voice clear and ringing with emotion.

"Who are we? Just a speck of dust within the galaxy. Woe is me, if we're not careful turns into reality." The sound was raw and the band mediocre at best, but anyone could tell even from those few seconds that the singer with the beautiful voice was incredibly talented.

Jimin and Yoongi quickly followed Taehyung inside. The bar was crowded, the crowd swaying slightly from side to side to the soulful voice of the singer. Couples were slow dancing and others were simply standing with their drinks, moving their bodies to the song. The darkened room and the soft lamps on the walls gave the whole place a very rustic, comfortable feel, and the voice floating through the place accentuated that mood.

Taehyung's eyes immediately zeroed in on the wooden stage at the far end of the bar, where a small band was playing Lost Stars. Jungkook was standing in the middle of the stage, singing his heart out into a microphone.

"Turn the page, maybe we'll find a brand new ending, where we're dancing in our tears and-" Jungkook sang. The lights lit him up in a soft glow. Taehyung could see a lone tear glinting on his cheek. "God, tell us the reason youth is wasted on the young. It's hunting season, and the lambs are on the run searching for meaning." Jungkook continued to sing. Taehyung kept his eyes fixed on the boy as he weaved through the swaying crowd."But are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?" He reached the stage as Jungkook reached the end of the line, his voice breaking on the last word. He hung his head, tears falling onto the wooden paneling, and Taehyung vaulted onto the stage without hesitation. 

"And I thought I saw you out there crying," he sang, grabbing the abandoned microphone stand and singing directly to the crying boy in front of him. "And I thought I heard you call my name." Jungkook's head shot up in shock, his teary eyes meeting Taehyung's intense gaze. He found he couldn't look away as Taehyung sang, lost in the strength and fire burning inside the dark eyes that seemed to speak directly to his soul. "And I thought I heard you out there crying, oh, just the same, oh, yeah, ooh~"

The crowd was cheering, loving the interactions between the two as well as the deep, soulful voice of the new singer, but the pair on stage heard nothing but a dull roar in the background, their focus entirely on each other. Taehyung held out the microphone with a small smile and Jungkook took a deep breath, joining him for the next part.

"God, give us the reason youth is wasted on the young," they sang together, Taehyung adding ad-libs and harmonies to Jungkook's voice. "It's hunting season and the lambs are on the run, searching for meaning. But are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?"

"And I thought I saw you out there crying," Taehyung continued. "Crying, yeah," Jungkook sang, a small smile on his face despite the tears that kept falling down his face.

"And I thought I heard you call my name. And I thought I heard you out there crying."

"And are we all lost stars," Jungkook's voice was clearer than ever, despite all the crying he was doing. "Lost stars," Taehyung hummed. He reached out and cupped Jungkook's face carefully in his palm, gently wiping the tears off Jungkook's cheek with his thumb.

"Trying to light up the dark..." Jungkook's voice choked up.

"Are we all lost stars," Taehyung repeated, taking over for him. "Lost stars," Jungkook echoed with a teary smile.

"Trying to light up the dark..." they finished together, and the crowd went crazy.

"Oh, my god," Jimin whimpered, crying into his boyfriend's chest, "that was so beautiful, hyung, oh my god."

Even Yoongi had tears in his eyes as he comforted Jimin. A proud smile spread on his face as he watched Taehyung lean in to whisper something in Jungkook's ear. Jungkook blushed and smiled shyly, the sadness in his posture slowly melting away.

"I think we can leave them alone, now," Yoongi told Jimin softly and the younger boy nodded, hastily wiping his tears away with his small hands. Yoongi smiled fondly, catching his plump fists and pressing kisses to each of them before kissing the rest of Jimin's tears away. Jimin beamed up at him, eyes turning into happy crescents at the normally gruff man's sweet gesture.

"Come on," Yoongi coughed awkwardly, looking away from Jimin and tugging on his hand, leading him back out of the bar.

Lost Stars by Jungkook (Cover)