Taehyung was overcome with the most overbearing embarrassment​ and sadness.

He made quick work of making it to the bathroom, wanting to use it as an impromptu panic room.

It was a desolate place, bordering on just barely clean, to completely disgusting.

graffiti laced the walls and part of the floor, with the trade mark male cartoon genetailia being the main subject of these doodle(not to mention a few shady numbers, most likely put there to troll anyone stupid enough to call them).

It smelled as bad as it looked, with a pungent and somewhat off putting mix of cleaning chemicals and urine.

But at least it's empty, it's silent, Taehyung thought to himself, moving away from the entrance

He sadly sauntered into a stall, slamming the door, and trying not to have a complete mental breakdown.

Despite the mysterious gunk sitting on the toilet seat lid, Taehyung closed it, sitting on it anyway.

I'm covered in vomit... what's the point of being all repulsed?

Big mistake. He sits down on the mysterious circular spot to have it squish and stick under his weight.

Just excellent.

This day just gets better and better, the boy thinks to himself, feeling no inclination other than to sigh in despair.

I had one chance, and I ed it up.

I think at this point,all I wanna do is go home.

The bathroom door creaks again: most likely someone coming in.

But who though?

"Taehyung? A voice called out, panicked and a little out of breath.

Tae? It's me, Jimin!"

Oh, so it's Jimin.

"I-i'm here..." Taehyung reluctantly admitted, giving away his position and making himself present.

"Oh, thank goodness! We've been looking all over for you".

And just in time, this "we" pronoun becomes apparent, with Taeyong rushing into the bathroom to join the two.

"He in there?" The second friend asks, wanting to be filled in on the situation.

Jimin nods.

"Tae? You alright?"

...

"...yeah..."

"What happened? We just saw you run out in a hurry, with vomit all over you-"

"Don't remind me, ok?! Taehyung cuts Taeyong off in a brief, frustrated outburst.

Can you just leave me alone now?"

 

"C'mon, Taehyung-ah, Don't be like this! We're you're friends! If something happens, don't we have a right to kno-"

"Oh yeah? Who says that? I don't have to tell you anything!" The stalled boy replied, wanting to shut his feelings in and away.

 

Jimin shrugs, a little lost about how to deal with Taehyung's mix of anger and sadness.

He stops and thinks, beginning to tackle things from a new perspective.

"Ok, maybe you're right, maybe we don't have to know, ok? But judging by all those eyes on you when you ran out, we should at least know, so we can help you as best as we can".

Oh boy, Taehyung said to himself, conceptualising the foreseeable mockery and rumors.

Aish... maybe if I tell them, maybe they could help stop the rumors?...

Taehyung gives further thought, the two friends outside the stall waiting patiently.

*Uh...fine, I'll tell them*.

"I...

...

I vomitted when I went to talk to baek".

"Vomitted?" Taeyong affirms, slightly struggling to comprehend the reality.

"Yeah".

"What, so like on baek? Or-"

"No, not on baek: that new girl, that exchange student in our class".

"Ooooh...", Jimin expressed, a little embarrassed for his friend.

Hearing this, Taehyung sank further into his hole of embarrassment, the vomit on his school shirt symbolising his erratic mood.

"I'm ed. No girl is gonna wanna go near me, let alone talk to me".

"Come on, now! That can't be exactly true, can it?" Taeyong doubted, trying to contribute to improving his friends mood.

"Did you hear what they were saying at Baeks table? They were talking , talking about how I try to date every girl within a 10 meter radius!"

Taehyung's hyperbole didn't go unchallenged, jimin trying to disprove it.

"Now now, I'm sure they didn't-"

"Well, to be fair, you do try and get a girlfriend quite often",  the unnatural blonde pleaded, much to the dismay of Jimin.

"Can you not? We're trying to cheer him up, not bring him down further.

Taeyong backed down, rasing his hands In a metaphorical and chill way.

Besides, Taehyung... what's the need for a girlfriend? You have your Freinds, you have us!"

"Ugh... Taehyung sighed, putting up his hands on his head in contemplation.

He journeyed from the dark depths of his negative stew of emotions, rising to answer the simple question.

Well...everyone else has a girlfriend, so why can't I?"

"Well, tae-"

"Every-day, I wake up and get to school, just to find everyone all happy and lovey dovey, while I just have to sit there and endure it!

There is a surge of silence, Taeyong and jimin listening with a sense of shock and empathy.

Taehyung raises his head to look at the door to the stall, pondering their possible reactions.

But a small voice inside himself pushes himself, urges himself, to express his emotions to his friends.

He continues.

... it's probably not much, but after a while, it gets to you. Eats at you, makes you feel as if no one wants you.

...but then you go out and get a girlfriend, but no one will even talk to you, girls ignore you at every threshold imaginable. It's painful. It might seem ridiculous, but it's damn painful.

And now, to top it off, my fate is sealed: no one's gonna wanna step foot near me, I'll be known as the boy who vomitted on the new exchange student".

This was a painful expression, and Taehyung found his head buried in his arms.

He was punishing himself, condemning himself to the worse possible fate before it had even unfolded.

"Damn..." Was all Taeyong could manage, taken aback by the admission of worry.

"Aish, you've got it really bad...Don't you..."

"Yeah, and after all of this, all I want is to be alone...", Tae added, signalling his emotional fatigue.

 

There was a long and lengthy science, with niether of the three being sure of what to say.

 

But then a lightbulb lit up in Taeyong.

"Or....you could hang out with us!" He suggested, presenting the idea with confidence.

"Hang out?" Jimin questioned.

"Yeah, hang out: you know, my place, us three, some other of the guys, some videogames....

You know, like a LAN party!"

"Lan party...?" Taehyung asked, a little baffled by what he was hearing.

"Yeah! It could be a way for you to relax, chill with us, your friends!"

"Taeyong, I don't think I want to...-"

"Come on! It would be a great opportunity! Think about it, you said you've been feeling lonely right now, right? wouldn't this be an opportune moment for you to, well, not feel lonely?"

The saddened arched a brow from the behind the stall, this soon to be conceived plan clashing with his future plans.

"Mmm... I'm not sure...I *really* just wanna be alone after today..."

The two friends outside the stall sighed in submission, Taehyung's resistance and sadness proving hard to battle. 

But they looked at each other, smiling even, realising something quite obvious.

This situation always occurs.

Like, all the time.

Jimin and Taeyong will invite Tae out to a movie, or a party, or some other social event, he would always decline.
At first.
Then the two other friends would beg and plead, and Taehyung would would reply with the same answer.

Untill...they persuaded him with his favourite thing in the world, beside computer programming.

"Ok, Don't come... But you're gonna miss out on the pepero...!" Jimin adds, beginning to sing songing his way out of the bathroom with emphasis and volume.

Pepero? Taehyung's inner child questioned, beginning to shed the concern over the last 20 minutes.

As the former sentence suggests, Tae had been a huge, no, a colossal fan of the confectionery sweet since his early days, making an effort to buy it at least every month since.

Of course, if he wanted he would buy one every day, but in the fear of weight gain he reduced the frequency, so to make him more comfortable and satisfied when eating them.

"Wait! hold on!" Taehyung shouted.

Jimin cracks a smile with Taeyong, looking back towards the stall.

"Yeah? Have you changed your mind?" Jimin asked, seeking the desired answer.

"I mean...I still want to stay home, but..."

"Oh, well you don't have to come if you don't want to, Jimin stated in an attempt to provacate.

You know, me and Taeyong can just hang out, eat some pepero on our own..."

Rats. I might have to go.

"Wait...maybe I could come for a little bit, drop in, say hello..."

"No, it's fine, you don't have to come".

Taehyung grinds his teeth and sighs.

According to jimins little plan, him smiling and all.

 

There's a slight pause, and jimin fakes the sound of walking out the bathroom in order to break the stalemate.

 

"You know what... it, I'll come!" Taehyung says aloud, putting his previous blunder begin him.

"Aish, your so predictable", Taeyong comments, grinning at typicality.

"Well...

You did offer pepero...

 

So who am I to refuse?"

~*~

Friday night.

The streetlights outside turn on, ending the day.

But at Jimin's rather luxurious and state of the art borderline mansion, the party was only just getting started.

The LAN party, of course.

His house had that futuristic Bauhaus feel in terms of aesthetic: the simple, warm and eye pleasing shapes of the crowded living room furniture making it feel cosy and comfortable.

The smell of barbacue and cheese made it feel even more so, the potent and appetite whetting scent lacing the surrounding rooms.

In addition, this largely social(and nerdy) atmosphere was social, the air being filled with sounds of chatter and laughter, chewing, keyboard noises, and most importantly, "WE HAVE LOST THE PAYLOAD!".

That was mostly Jimin, baekhyn and Sehun, all playing Overwatch on their fancy and overpriced laptops.

"Ottoke! Jimin, can you stop messing around! We need you on the payload!" Sehun exclaims, frustrated at the sauntering genji main.

"Why can't you do it?" Jimin replies, mouth full to the brim with pizza.

"I'm trapped in the corner by this stupid Zara!"

"Aish, this is not a good game for you, is it, Hyung?" Baekhyn replies, unable to resist cracking a smile.

"Ugh! This stupid d.va has me stuck near the spawn!" Sehun exclaims, again.

Baekhyn takes a quick glance at the mini map.

"Where? I think I could actually help you..."

Crunch.

Crunch, crunch.

Crunch,crunch, crunch.

While the trio "enjoyed" their nth game of overwatch, Kim Taehyung sat behind them, spectating as he indulged in his favourite childhood treat.

It should probably be pretty obvious at this stage.

And to boot, it was Oreo flavoured, one of Tae's favourites.

"Aish, how'd you manage to lure me here with pepero?" Taehyung asked jimin, baffled by his own simplicity.

"Works every time. And I mean *every* time. Maybe it's your weakness?" 

"Maybe? I'm pretty sure that if it was possible, Taehyung over here would eat Pepero day in, day out", Baekhyn added, being awarded a smirky smile by Jimin.

Sehun now jumps in, recalling a memory.

"Ah, now that's true. Remember when we went to Busan? You bought a whole pack of that ".

"Oh yeah, I remember that! Is that the trip where baek feel off the bus?!" 

Jimins question doesn't go unnoticed by Baekhyn, who shoots him a funny look.

"Oh yeah! It was, wasn't it! Ottoke! I laughed so hard at that".

"Shut up! I was tired that day, arasseo?" Baekhyn replied, a little flustered by this past blunder.

Taehyung cracks a smile, taking a swig of cola.

That's when it hits him.

The urge to pee.

, I should go to the bathroom.

And so he did, asking Jimin where it was.

"Hey Jimin hyung, where's the bathroom?"

"It's upstairs, second door on the left", Jimin replies casually, giving a rather basic geographic position.

"Alright, I'll be back in five, ok?"

And off Taehyung goes, heading out of the living room and up the stairs.

Ah, when it comes to overwatch, Jimin is the worst, He chuckled to himself.

Maybe I should play more overwatch, too?

Nah, exams are coming up: I probably won't have time...

Maybe after, then?

Ah... we'll see.

Taehyung reaches the top of the staircase, and freezes a little.

In the 20-40 seconds that it had taken him to get up here(in which he had been completely daydreaming) he had forgotten where the bathroom was.

He scratched his head awkwardly and confused, eyeing the large labrynth of rooms proceeding him.

Was it the first door on the right, or the second one on the left?...

Should I go back and ask?...

Nah, Taehyung foolishly thought to himself.

He ponders a few seconds further, before saying " it", and opening one of the nearest doors on the right.

He twists the knob and pushes, the plain white wood giving way.

Opening it, the first thing he could make out is small white tiles, signalling he was in the right place.

Ok! Looks like I found the right place. Now all I gotta do is pee, and-

Taehyung walks into the bathroom and freezes in horror.

Being absent minded, he only just noticed the constant and loud sounds of water, along with the steam on the white tiles.

He wasn't the only one in the bathroom.

The curtain slid back, starting the most awkward 2 seconds of Taehyung's life.

JENNIE KIM!??!

 

_____________________

Hey guys, sorry that I'm a little late on this update, I've had exams so I've had to push it back by a day.