Jungkook's eyelids peeled open. From behind the closed curtains, he could hear the birds chirping to the tune of their morning calls. He shifted his attention from the ceiling to the space beside him. The covers had been thrown down onto the floor. A cold chill swept over his arms. He slid them into his shirt before pulling his legs up to his chest. His thoughts remained on the cold that gave weight to his toes until the urge to use the restroom pulled him out of bed.

Jungkook held the doorknob firm in his hand as he closed his eyes. Not a single thing seemed to be alive; not even the hum of the water pipes could be heard. He took a deep breath in before stepping out into the hallway. Where before only the silence had engulfed him, now a deep, unsettling calmness welcomed him. The few hours he had spent with Taehyung about the house had brought with it a pleasant amount of noise. He had been on his own for so long that he had forgotten what it meant to be surrounded by another person's warmth.

Jungkook fluffed the pillows, moved the plant back up onto the windowsill and fixed the litter of items on his dining room table before venturing into the kitchen. The glass cup clinked against the one next to it as he pulled it from the rack. After having filled the cup up to the top, he took a seat on the only stool that looked out over the dining/living-room combination.

He set the cup down and closed his eyes again, his sole attention focused on the space around him. He could barely just make out the rumble of engines as cars cruised by the alley and the soft pitter patter of feet in the room above his but no sounds came from his own apartment.

He let his eyelids flip open and was temporarily swayed by the sudden, quick action. He snapped his eyes shut to push back the dizziness and after a moment of forcing them to remain closed, reopened them. He was beyond dehydrated. He took a huge swig before forcing himself to drink much more slowly.

Jungkook set the cup back down and watched as the beads of cold water trickled down onto the porcelain countertop.

Condense, slide, drip. Codense, slide, drip. Condense, slide, dri-

Jungkook laid his forehead onto his folded arms and watched as the tears clouded his vision before blinking them away. In a matter of seconds, his lap was wet with the salty liquid. He shut his eyes but the tears were unrelenting. "I"—Jungkook choked on the sudden intake of air—"Don't want to be alone."

I don't. I don't. I don't. I'm sorry, he thought as the image of his smiling mother flashed before his mind.

His mind went blank with the fatigue. He his lips. They were dry. Jungkook pushed himself off of the countertop and downed what remained of the water before trudging towards the restroom.

He opened the door to an unfamiliar and yet, not unwelcomed, sight.

"Oh, Jungkook. Hello." Taehyung grinned.

Jungkook's eyes grew wide with horror. He ran over to the sink and slapped a towel onto his face before Taehyung could take a good look at his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Washing my face. What else?" Jungkook said as he pretended to rub at his eyes with the towel. After a few seconds, he the faucet. A splash of cold water greeted him. Although he knew that Taehyung would no longer have reason to associate his puffy, red eyes with crying, Jungkook made sure to keep his face tilted away. Taehyung continued to watch Jungkook with inqusitive eyes.

Jungkook bent down to splash his face with water when Taehyung spoke up.

"But isn't your cleanser over here?" Taehyung looked up at the metal rod that sat a few feet above his head on the other side of the tub. Between the bottle of conditioner and body wash, a cream-colored bottle took up residence. A green sticker in the shape of an aloe plant drooped down over the expiration date.

"Just how extensive is your know-"—Jungkook swirled around to face Taehyung—"Wait." His initial flood of surprise rushed back into his mind. "Why are you in my bathtub?"

Taehyung offered him a meek smile.

The feeling of having walked through water registered in Jungkook's brain. He looked down at the floor and true to the connection his brain had made, the tiles were wet. The trail of water led out towards the hallway.

"Why is my floor wet?"

Taehyung chuckled. "Well, you see, I..." He stopped to nibble on his bottom lip. Jungkook opened his mouth to probe him for an answer but Taehyung spoke up before he could utter a single syllable. "I- I'm still soaked," Taehyung mumbled as he stood up.

Jungkook hadn't noticed it before but Taehyung was without outer clothes. The only garment he sported was his underwear and that left little to the imagination as the fabric clung to his hips, his thighs, his cro-

Jungkook looked back up at Taehyung. "You're still dripping water." He left the bathroom and came back with a thick towel strewn over his forearm. "You're perforating water instead of sweat. Do you have any idea why?"

Taehyung shook his head. Jungkook walked over to Taehyung with the intention of soaking up the rivulets of water that slid down his skin but stopped short of raising the towel when Taehyung—whom had his arms outstretched to the sides—frowned.

"Taehyung, these are scortch marks," Jungkook said as he trailed his fingers up Taehyung's side.

"Ah. Wait. No. Jungkook, you're not supposed to-"

Jungkook continued to trace his finger along the swirls and curls that marred the skin on Taehyung's stomach. The markings were alive. They pulsated like lava oozing out of a volcano's crater. The red, almost ant-like shapes seemed to crawl along the stream of orange behind it.

"Jungkook, please." Taehyung continued to plead, his breaths coming out shallower and shallower. His thighs began to shake. Not knowing what to do with his trembling arms, he reached out to grab Jungkook's hair.

"What are you doing?" Jungkook asked.

Taehyung collapsed