The first time it has happened, Jungkook remembers, is when Taehyung trips on a slippery floor during their dance practice just two days prior to their debut MV filming.

The bruise on Taehyung’s knee isn’t something serious, but it’s serious enough for him to not be able to practice again for that day because of how badly it hurts every time he makes a move. He sits there on a chair boredly, watching the others dance continuously without a pause as he glances once in a while at the square of bandage tape on his knee with a pout.

Taehyung is sure he has been asleep when s finish their dancing in time for dinner. He remembers them dancing at one moment and the next moment he opens his eyes, they are all done, passing water bottles to each other and mumbling about who’s going to take a shower first.

Jungkook, being the caring maknae he is, walks over to Taehyung with the bottle of water that he has been drinking. He smiles and hands it over to the elder.

“You haven’t even drunk water when you’ve been sitting there the whole time.” Jungkook sits down cross-legged beside the latter. Taehyung gratefully sips on the bottle and finishes it whole.

“How do you know that I haven’t? You’ve been absorbed in practice after all, you wouldn’t have noticed.” Taehyung challenges for fun, as usual. Before Jungkook could react, the members are talking to them, asking them if they’re planning to be in the practice room the whole night.

“We’ll be there in a minute.” Jungkook says and after the others have left, he turns to Taehyung again, giving a half smile.

“About that,” He says confidently. “If I hadn’t noticed, I wouldn’t have said it so surely.” Taehyung just raises his eyebrows amusedly in response as Jungkook’s eyes divert to his bruised knee. “Does it still hurt?”

“A damn lot.” Taehyung murmurs.

“Really?” Taehyung thinks it so cute; the way Jungkook glances at him concernedly with his huge innocent eyes. “Does it really hurt?”

“Mhmm.” Taehyung nods, making a wincing face. “Kiss it better.” He says casually and sees the surprised look on the maknae’s face. Seeing Jungkook staring at him motionlessly, Taehyung raises his eyebrows. “What? What’s with the face?”

Jungkook finally makes another face of disbelief. “You’re crazy, hyung.”

“What’s so crazy about that?” Taehyung questions, calmly stretching his leg towards Jungkook. “Come on, kiss it better. It hurts a lot and I need to recover before tomorrow.”

Jungkook’s eyes shift from Taehyung’s knee to his face, then back at the knee. After scoffing a bit, he finally agrees.

“Fine. I’ll kiss it better and after I do, it better stop hurting.” He mutters before leaning in, softly pecking on Taehyung’s bandage tape. After he raises his head, he sees the unsually gentle smile on the elder’s face.

“I kissed it. Happy?” The younger asks as the latter nods, grinning widely.

“Thanks Jungkookie.” He chirps. “I can’t even feel the pain anymore.” Jungkook doesn’t mean to chuckle at Taehyung’s stupid statements but still he does, because Taehyung’s laugh is too bright to not join in.

......................................................................................................

About a year has passed and the situation has also changed. Taehyung is not sitting on a chair with a bruised knee and a bandage tape stuck onto it. Instead, he is lying on a hospital bed with an injured forehead and bandages circled around his head.

It has been an unfortunate accident of their van tripping on a slippery road while Taehyung and Hoseok along with their manager has been headed to a radio show airing. The incident has caused an uproar in the BTS dorm, all the members rushing into the hospital, praying internally for the three of them to be fine without serious injuries.

The BTS boys spend the entire day with their manager and two members, and Taehyung thinks it’s so unfair that Hoseok gets to return to their dorm that night with the members with a broken arm while he is instructed to stay one more day in the hospital. Even the manager with a cut forehead is allowed to go home even if he has decided to stay with Taehyung. Totally unfair.

“I can’t believe I have to stay here for another day.” Taehyung groans when the members gather to bid him goodbye. “Today has been hell enough.”

“I’ll stay with you and manager hyung!” Jungkook immediately exclaims and everyone looks at him.

“That won’t do, Jungkook. You have a long schedule tomorrow.” The manager opposes but the younger has so much to ask Taehyung but the members being there hadn’t given him enough time to do so. It’s not only about the questions either. He wants to stay with his hyung; Taehyung needs someone.

Even with the manager protesting, Jungkook insists so much that he stays and makes so many promises that he isn’t sure he can keep that finally the manager decides that he could stay back.

Later that night when their manager is out buying dinner for the three of them, Taehyung and Jungkook sit in the ward, blankly staring at the small TV above the cupboard showing a variety show, neither of them really interested in it.

“Why didn’t you go with them?” Taehyung question all of a sudden.

Jungkook waits a moment before answering, eyes still glued onto the TV. “Because you’ve been whining about how boring and unfair it is for you to be alone with manager hyung.”

Taehyung chuckles. “You care about me that much, Kookie?” He teases, but Taehyung does mean that question, partially. “That’s so sweet of you.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, turning to look at Taehyung properly. “We have schedules packed these days. I’m just worried because it’s not okay for you to be getting injured at a time like this.” He sighs. “Are you sure you’re fine?”

“I am!” Taehyung whines out, but pauses after that. Suddenly an evil smile creeps up his face. “Actually, no. I’m not fine.”

“What?” Jungkook frowns doubtfully as Taehyung touches his bandage and fake-winces.

“Really. It really hurts.” He opens one eye to look at a puzzled Jungkook.

“Hyung. Will you talk with one mouth, please?” He blurts as Taehyung abruptly leans so close to Jungkook that he is taken aback by the suddenness.

“W-What..?” Jungkook stutters, eyes wide as Taehyung pouts cutely.

“Kookie…” He points at his forehead. “Kiss it better.”

Jungkook suddenly remembers the first time Taehyung has asked him to kiss his knee when it has been bruised, and the younger doesn’t even know why his cheeks heat up a little at the remembrance.

“T-That again?” He stammers when Taehyung nods, still pouting.

“Please. Please, pleeeease.” The elder pleads like a child and finally Jungkook gives in hopelessly. He cups Taehyung’s face and plants a kiss on top of his head. He pulls back and sees that contended smile on the latter’s face once again, making the younger even more embarrassed.

“The ultimate cure has been done.” He jokes as Jungkook frowns.

“You are an idiot, hyung.”

......................................................................................................

When Jungkook accidentally opens the washroom’s door into Taehyung who’s about to brush his teeth before going to bed, he quickly mutters a ‘sorry’ and closes the door.

“Jungkook.” The younger hears Taehyung calling from inside so he slowly opens the door once again, peeking inside. He sees Taehyung in front of the mirror, rubbing his eye intensely as if in struggle.

“You called me, right?” Jungkook questions and Taehyung nods. “What are you doing, hyung?” Jungkook walks inside, closing the door behind him.

He walks over to Taehyung and slowly turns the latter towards him. “Did something happen to your eye?” He takes Taehyung’s hand off his left eye and winces when he sees how red it is.

“Oh my god! You’ve been rubbing it too much!” Jungkook says worriedly.

“I think something fell inside…” Taehyung says blinking rapidly. “It’s itching like hell.” He allows Jungkook to take a look inside and the younger shakes his head after a check.

“There’s nothing inside, hyung.” He says, examining carefully. “You must’ve got an irritation.”

Taehyung’s hand flies over to his eye once again but Jungkook grabs it.

“No, don’t rub it anymore.” He says, and while still holding Taehyung’s hand and opening Taehyung’s eye with his free hand, Jungkook leans in closer and softly blows into the eye.

“How’s it?” After he feels that Taehyung has gone a bit silent, he asks.

“Do it again.” Taehyung says and Jungkook once again blows into his eye, this time for a bit longer.

“Better?” He asks after moving away and looking at the elder. Taehyung’s blinking has reduced and he isn’t rubbing anymore. “It doesn’t itch now does it?”

“It still does, a bit.” The latter looks into the mirror and turns to Jungkook before grabbing his shoulders and pulling him a bit closer, startling the younger. Jungkook’s huge eyes look into Taehyung’s that has a hint of mischief now.

“Maybe if you give it a kiss, it’ll stop completely.” Taehyung winks and Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“Really, now?” He blurts out, but knowing that there’s no going back for Taehyung, he kisses the reddened eye nonetheless.

Jungkook wonders if his lips really does a healing for Taehyung, or if it’s just to annoy Jungkook that he asks for a kiss everytime he’s hurt somewhere.

......................................................................................................

One day, Jungkook goes to bike riding with Taehyung and Jimin. They ride along the most complicated places- up the highest roads and along the steepest cliffs. Since they have been riding their bikes together since their debut days, they have been pretty used to the roads of Seoul.

However, that day they take a path that they haven’t taken before in an unusually rocky cliff, but they do not expect danger while the sky slowly begins to turn dark as it nears the sunset.

“We should head back soon. It’s almost sunset.” Jimin looks at the sky now painted in a beautiful shade of orange. The three of them increase their speed to get to their dorm quickly, none of them really aware of how bumpy the cliff is.

And as Jungkook speeds up more than the other two at some point, Taehyung suddenly catches the hazardous sight of a huge rock right in front of the maknae that he is sure nobody else has noticed. He opens his mouth to shout out at Jungkook to stop, but he realizes that he won’t make it on time so he does what he think would only save Jungkook in the pinch.

He grabs Jungkook’s shirt from behind and the both of them are hurled behind, landing on the ground full of rocks as their bikes lose balance and topple over one another.

Jimin brakes suddenly, jumping off his bike and running over to Taehyung who’s hissing in pain, and Jungkook who’s curled against Taehyung’s chest protectively, unharmed.

“Yah! What happened back there?!” Jimin shouts in panic as he quickly pulls Jungkook up from Taehyung’s hold. “Are you okay?” He quickly asks Jungkook as the younger quickly nods.

“I’m fine.” He sits down beside Taehyung who is still in pain. “Hyung! Hyung!” Jungkook feels the guilt bubbling up after seeing how hurt the latter is, but he is thankful that there isn’t any visible bruises or cuts or whatsoever, which seems miraculous considering how hard they both fell.

“Let’s go back quickly.” Jimin says before they both help Taehyung climb up Jimin’s back.

Jungkook drags all the bikes with him and Jimin supports Taehyung on his back as they walk all the way back to their dorm. The sun is setting slowly; it’s a beautiful sight, but Jungkook is too worried and sad to even spare a glance at the breathtaking landscape across the road.

They’re back in their dorm and Jungkook’s in Taehyung’s room, applying painkillers everywhere that Taehyung shows him that hurt.

“The sunset was awesome. You were too busy sulking that you missed the awesome view.” The elder says with a small smile, observing Jungkook’s fallen face. “And you’re still sulking that you’re missing the awesome view of my amazing body.” He frowns when the younger still doesn’t even listen.

Taehyung is trying his best to wipe the sadness off the maknae’s face with all those alien jokes, but the latter seems to be too drowned in guilt that those jokes aren’t really working anymore.

“I’m so sorry, hyung.” Jungkook murmurs for the nth time that night.

“Like I asked, what are you apologizing for?” Taehyung questions. “I survived, got to become a hero, I got a piggy back all the way home and I saw the most awesome sunset. All because of what happened today.” He pushes Jungkook’s forehead gently with an index finger. “What’s there to apologize for?”

Jungkook slowly gazes up at Taehyung. “You got hurt because of me.” He bites his lips and Taehyung sighs helplessly.

“These are nothing! I didn’t even get a bruise!” Taehyung tries to assure but suddenly Jungkook’s eyes have widened a bit as he stares at a certain part of the elder’s face. Jungkook’s squints and gasps, making Taehyung frown.

“What? What’s wrong with my face?”

“Your lip is bruised.” Jungkook breathes, reaching out to gently brush his thumb against the small reddish swell at the left corner of Taehyung’s bottom lip.

“But I didn’t even fall on my face.” Taehyung murmurs, trying to recall the situation. Jungkook gasps once again.

“It must be…” He pauses. “…When we fell, my head must've hit your mouth.” The younger says concernedly, and that must be the only possibility. He drops the painkillers and cups Taehyung’s face, taking a more careful look with worrisome eyes. “Doesn’t it hurt?”

“No, not at-“ Taehyung begins, but he halts immediately. His eyes fall onto Jungkook’s, but it doesn’t seem like the latter has even noticed that he has started speaking. Jungkook is too busy fussing over Taehyung’s lips that has gotten bruised because of him.

“Uh…” Taehyung’s gaze drops further, onto the younger’s lips. He has asked Jungkook to kiss his wounds better everytime, but this time, asking for that seems to be a little awkward. Actually, not a little awkward, but very awkward. “Well….”

“Oh my god I’m so sorry.” Jungkook starts apologizing all over again. “I’ll kiss it better! It’ll get better okay? I swear!”

“Jungkook-“ Before Taehyung is able to even say anything at all, Jungkook pulls Taehyung’s face closer to his and presses his lips over the swell on Taehyung’s lip. Taehyung’s world stops for a moment when he feels those plump lips on top of his for the first time, but he quickly shoos the inappropriate thoughts away.

No, he can’t be thinking stuff like that. Jungkook is his dongsaeng- male dongsaeng who’s just too reckless over his health at the moment to realize anything.

Only when Jungkook feels Taehyung’s still lips is when he realizes what he’s doing. He quickly pushes his hyung’s head away, his own face as red as a freaking tomato.

“Uh…U-h…” He stutters, not even able to look into Taehyung’s eyes. “S-sorry! I just… I didn’t realize it was your lips and I-I… I j-just wanted to…”

Taehyung chuckles softly and hushes the stammering boy before ruffling his hair playfully.

“You don’t need to explain all that. I know already.” He says, fanboying inside on how adorable this embarrassed Jungkook is. “And you don’t have to worry about me. I’m completely fine.” He smiles brightly. “Go get some rest, Kookie. You’ve done enough making up for whatever you think you’re at fault in.” He mocks and Jungkook pouts but nonetheless slowly stands up from the edge of the bed.

“Okay…” He mutters, face still flushing a shade of pink. Before the younger’s out of his reach, Taehyung grabs his wrist.

“By the way, my lip is all healed now.” He winks as Jungkook’s eyes widen and he grows red from his neck all the way up to his head all over again.

“Shut up, hyung!” The maknae yells out in humiliation before running out from Taehyung’s room, cursing at his stupid hyung and stupid himself.

It’s all Taehyung’s fault though, Jungkook believes, for asking him to “Kiss it better” every single time.

-END-

A/N: *Goes and hides in a corner*

       *Cries*