It was getting darker outside and yet, his aunt and her whole lot of cousins still had not gone back home. His parents and the other adults were still chatting over coffee while his cousins, who were all little toddlers mind you, were running around, playing with each other. 

Do not get him wrong, he loved kids. But as for now, he did not have the energy to go and play with them. He had been ecstatic at first, when he played several games with them but after a while, he was starting to tire out. Now, he was left with a sweating body and a tired mind.

Laughter echoed across the living room where the adults sat and talked. He stared gloomily at them as they chatted animatedly about something. Pft. Must be about politics and other blah staff. He turned to look at his cousins who were now begging food from their moms. Probably hungry from all that playing.

He sighed dejectedly as he stared down at his fingers, inspecting them out of boredness. Nothing to do. His phone was up in his room. His mom had decidedly warned him to ‘put away all those useless gadgets away and bond with your relatives’. 

Yeah. He could practically feel the bond tightening from the way he was left alone in the kitchen. He sighed once again. Drumming his fingers against the tabletop, his mind wandered back to the incident earlier in the noon. Instinctively, he felt himself going red.

He could not help but to think back to the way Jungkook was staring at him intensely when they met each other at the entrance. The way those brown eyes sparkled in mirth whenever he . The way those hands had gently made their way to his hips. 

Unconsciously, his face broke out into a gentle smile. Having these thoughts in his mind, he then realised how sudden the change in the younger’s behaviour towards him had been the minute he became Jungkook’s tutor. 

All this time, he could just stare at the table he sat at. At that time, he had always wondered what it felt like to be sitting with him. Talking to him. Being his friend. He certainly did not expect this to happen.

Being his tutor had its pros and cons. 

But you just knew him about a week ago. He might have a bad intention, his cautious self reminded him.

He pondered over the thought. True. Jungkook might have a bad intention. Probably he just just to have fun, just to play with him and embarrass him in front of the whole school population the minute their tutoring sessions ended.

But then again, he could feel the sincerity pouring out from the way his friends behaved towards him. Would anyone call a person insincere when the latter decided to send him home willingly? Even though they might have something going on, they still make time to send him back home earlier.

Sigh. He didn't know, really. As for the moment, he decided to let this matter rest. Meanwhile, he was currently requested by his mother to open the front door. He had to go and do that first. A good distraction from his previous doubts.

He stood up and went across the living room to the door. He grasped the doorknob and turned it, opening the door swiftly.

Only a gasp had managed to escape his mouth as his eyes landed upon the person in front of him.

“Miss me?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyung felt that he could never stop smiling. Since his best friend’s arrival from earlier, he only knew how to smile.

He never expected it to happen, but it did. His best friend, Junghyun, really did come to his house. And the proof was right in front of him. Currently laughing over his little cousins who opted to bother the other male the minute he arrived.

Taehyung burst out laughing when one of his cousins shot Junghyun with a water gun. Right in his face. The latter’s face  was dripping wet by the time his mind registered what had happened. He snarled playfully as he tried to grab the culprit, his three-year-old cousin.

There were still remnants of laughter as Taehyung handed his best friend some tissue. Junghyun shot him a look, as if telling him to stop laughing. But that just made him laugh again. Even harder this time.

“I expect my bro for life to be a matured and cool man when he arrived back from London. But I didn’t even think that this might happen. The almighty Jeon Junghyun, who was given an opportunity to study in London because he was so smart, was shot by a three-year-old right in the face!” Taehyung exclaimed, smiling so wide he was afraid his face might tear.

His best friend nudged him playfully in the ribs. “Shut up, Kim Taehyung. Would you like for me to tell your family the time when you decided to confess to your classmate by singing in the-”

“Okay, stop right there young man. That’s in the past. So you don’t have to go and tell all that to my family. Sheesh, such a jerk,” Taehyung sulked, crossing his arms over his chest and turning away slightly from the other male.

“I’m just kidding, Tae. Gosh, you’re so sensitive sometimes,” Junghyun responded, shaking his head when his best friend’s lips jutted out.

“Ignore him, Junghyun. He’s always like that at home. Sulking every time we but then recovered back the moment after when we bribed him with food,” his mother interjected, a fond smile playing on her lips when she witnessed the sight of the two best friends playfully arguing.

Taehyung casted a betrayed look towards his mother. “Moom, you don’t have to say that. He knows enough about me already! You don’t have to go and blab about these unnecessary facts to him,” he said.

Junghyun chuckled. “Alright maam. I’ll be sure to bring with me tons of food next time. Just in case he decided to sulk,” he teased.

His best friend then earned himself a harsh nudge to his shin, making him  bend over in pain. “Didn’t know you were this harsh, Tae. You were so kind and good to me the past few years. Never would have thought that so much had changed since then,” he said.

Taehyung pouted at him. “Stop messing with me.”

Junghyun smiled, hand reaching out to tuck Taehyung’s hair behind his ear. “Just kidding, Tae. I’ll never hurt you. Not again, and not ever,” he said, eyes fond as he his best friend’s hair.

Taehyung couldn't help but to sigh at his best friend’s words. He fought the urge to frown and forced out a smile, just letting Junghyun his hair.

That night, as he lay down beside the older male, Taehyung found himself tossing and turning around on his bed, as if one with an insomnia. He just couldn't keep the thought out of his mind.

Junghyun still hadn't forgotten about the incident.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Wake up, Tae,” a voice said.

Taehyung grumbled in annoyance, pulling his comforter over him. “It’s still Sunday, mom. No need to wake me up early,” he whined.

“Tae, I never knew you didn’t have school on Monday,” the voice replied.

The second those words were registered in Taehyung’s mind completely, did the latter then sat up straight in his bed. His hair was in a tangle of mess. There were bed streaks on his cheek and he did not even have to look to confirm that he had drooled while he was sleeping.

The source of the voice, Junghyun, stood in front of him, smirking upon seeing Taehyung in his sleepy state. He stood even closer to his bed and leaned down towards him. “You look so cute right now, Tae.”

The said person just glared at him through his bleary eyes. He knew the other male was taking advantage of him while he was still sleepy. Too lazy to even fight with his best friend. 

With a sigh, Taehyung stood up and pushed Junghyun away, hands reaching for his towel. Once he stood in front of the bathroom, he turned around once more to glare at the other male before heading inside and slammed the door shut.

“Breakfast will be pancakes and waffles, Kim Taehyung. Better hurry in there before it’s gone!” Junghyun shouted.

“The only reason if I didn’t get to eat then will be you, Jeon Junghyun. Always you!” Taehyung shouted back from inside the bathroom.

Junghyun chuckled when he heard that. “Alright, alright. I admit it’s always my fault. But I swear I’ve changed!” 

He heard Taehyung scoff and laughed when the latter just ignored him.

With a smile, Junghyun decided to wait for his best friend downstairs while Taehyung finished showering. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyung was currently having the best time of his life. Junghyun apparently, despite having studied in London, decided to enroll in Taehyung’s school for his last of year of high school. 

That had been wonderful news to Taehyung and the latter immediately declared that this year would be an amazing year for him. Junghyun could just chuckle at his best friend’s words before dragging him outside, reminding him that they were going to be late.

“Really, Junghyun. The kid  that I’m supposed to tutor is really annoying. Like over-the-top annoying. He and his little crew is just very-”

“Alright, I get it. You hate these guys very much,” Junghyun teased.

Taehyung shot his best friend a look. “Can you please not cut me off if I’m in the middle of conveying a very important fact,” he said.

The other male just chuckled in response. He reached up a hand to ruffle Taehyung’s hair, to which the latter whined at him in retaliation.

“Don’t mess up my hair,” Taehyung said.

Junghyun smiled at him, deciding to by sticking out his tongue childishly. The other male shot back with equal force. And by ‘force’, he is referring to him sticking out his tongue back at him.

They continued their childish argument until they arrived at school, laughing together with linked arms as they headed inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyung fought back a remark to the student before him, who was currently towering over him with a sneer.

“You really think you can be all arrogant now that the kingka is giving you all their attention? Do you really think that?” the student asked.

Taehyung couldn’t answer him, resigning to just look down without fighting back. The student had now caused a crowd to form around them. All tensing when the student grabbed Taehyung by the collar and pressed him back to the row of lockers.

“No answer? Huh, you’re more smug than I thought, considering you’re still just a nerd, begging for the kingkas’ attention when-”

Taehyung had tuned out what the other was trying to say. He did not know what had really made the student before him, Jackson, mad. He was just heading towards the lockers to take his books for the next class, and the next thing he knew, Jackson was in his face, tormenting him and whatnot.

He kept quiet the whole time Jackson taunted at him. His ears had refused to listen to what the other was trying to say. That is, until he felt a blinding pain near his jaw when Jackson threw a punch to his face.

The whole crowd gasped as Taehyung fell down on his back. He forced back a whimper when he saw how Jackson sneered at him. 

“Still not saying anything, nerd?” the other male asked.

Taehyung had nothing to say. What was he supposed to do? Fight back? Huh, if he was wishing to die now, then he was most utterly welcoming himself to fight the blonde haired male right now. However, he had no combat moves whatsoever. So at last, he could only manage to cower even more.

Apparently, his silence riled Jackson up even more. “You really want to get it, huh?”

And before he knew it, he was bracing himself for the impact of Jackson’s punch when the latter raised his fist up in the air.

He waited and waited, but nothing came. His eyes, which had fluttered shut on instinct, opened up slightly to see what had happened. 

“Having fun, Wang?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyung decided that today, from this moment forward, he will be the quietest boy in history. And so he did. 

On the bed, he sat silently as the nurse tended to his bruises. He flinched every now and then, but the pain did not hurt that much. His fear overcame the pain his bruises had caused him. The fear that had come from the man standing near his bed, leaning on the wall with crossed arms.

Taehyung did not dare to look up, fearing that he would make eye contact. He kept his eyes downcast as he listened to the nurse informing the other male about his medicine. A pair of footsteps leaving the room he was now in indicated that the nurse had just left. It was only him and the other male now. Alone.

Gulp. Taehyung fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, clearing his throat now and then. The tense atmosphere lingered in the air, seeming so strong that it looked as if no force could ever break it. 

Taehyung’s heartbeat picked up when he heard footsteps approaching his direction.

“What happened, Tae?” the male asked, voice stern.

Taehyung had to force back a whimper down his throat at the firm tone the other male was using. “U-urm, I-I don’t kn-know what really h-happened,” he stuttered.

He heard the male scoff, obviously annoyed with his answer. “Oh, you don’t know? Then let me rephrase my question. Why did Jackson Wang punch you in the face?”

Taehyung finally plucked up his courage to look up into the eyes of his long time best friend. “I really don’t know, Junghyun. I was just walking to my locker when suddenly he jumped on me, even when I did nothing wrong,” he defended himself.

Junghyun cocked his head, eyes scanning the brunette’s face intently. Taehyung seemed scared and confused. A huge proof to say that what he stated just now was the truth. He didn’t know what happened. He then sighed inwardly, wishing for God to give him an explanation. Only He knows how worried he was for his best friend.

“Tae, there must be something that triggered this to happen. He can’t just...suddenly hates you for nothing,” Junghyun pauses before he continues,“Unless, he always bulies people for fun. Wait, did he do that? Did he bully you? Oh gosh, I should have known from the beginning that that Wang kid’s been messing with you. I should have punched him in the face-”

“Hyung-”

“Yeah, I should have hit him ‘til he’s bleeding and-”

“Hyung, he didn’t-”

“Wait until he saw the consequences of messing with my best friend-”

“Hyung!” Taehyung exclaimed.

The loud call of his name finally shut the slightly older male up. “Yes, Taetae?”

Taehyung sighed exasperatedly, almost facepalming at the mere idiocy of his best friend. “Jeon Junghyun, Jackson didn’t bully anyone, okay? He was just one of the kids that always finds trouble with the teachers, BUT never with the students. In fact, he is one of the nicest students I know. It’s disheartening to see this happened. I didn’t even do anything to him,” Taehyung’s voice turned softer and softer, the last sentence almost directed to himself.

Junghyun’s gaze softened at the sight of his best friend pouting, lips quivering as he was on the verge of tears. He walked towards Taehyung, sitting down beside him on the edge of the bed.

He put an arm around his shoulder and pulled the other male in for a hug. “I don’t blame you, Taehyung. I just worry too much about you. What shall I do if I lose you once again? I simply could not let that happen,” he said.

Taehyung tensed up in his best friend’s arms when he heard what the other male had just spoken. He wanted to say something, but he was afraid that it might cause them to argue. So instead, he stayed quiet the whole time as Junghyun rocked them back and forth to a silent rhythm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyung thought he was prepared for the weird stares he’ll get the minute he stepped inside the classroom. Apparently, he wasn’t.

He could feel the stares burning a hole through the back of his head as he walked down the aisle towards his seat. He almost lost his grip on his pencil twice as he decided to finish up his math assignment while waiting for the teacher to arrive.

He kept his head down, not wanting to face the stares directed towards him. Minutes ticked by and the teacher still hasn’t arrived. 

Beads of sweat were starting to appear on his forehead. His eyes were still focused on his paper, too afraid to look up. The sound of a door slamming open made him look up in surprise. It seemed that everyone too was surprised by the sudden sound. 

And in come the person who had made his social life miserable. 

Jeon Jungkook.

The said male scanned the whole classroom before smiling when his eyes landed upon Taehyung. 

The latter, however, seemed surprised by the younger’s presence. His eyes followed Jungkook’s form as he headed over towards his table.

“What a-are you doing h-here?” Taehyung asked.

The younger male smiled as he took a seat beside him. The action somehow managed to make Taehyung blush, even more so when their arms brushed against each other slightly.

“Mr Im’s absent, so Mr Park decided to teach two classes at once,” Jungkook explained.

The smaller male nodded his head. “Where are th-the others then?”

“Slowpokes,” was the only thing that Jungkook said before the bell rang and the rest of his class arrived.

And that was how Taehyung had to endure the whole lesson trying to concentrate whilst under the intense gaze of the kingka. And it would be a lie if he said that he was not nervous at all. Not one bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taehyung somehow managed to avoid any disgusted gazes and mean comments the rest of the day. And to say he was grateful for that would be an understatement. 

He was currently sitting on one of the benches situated just outside the school, waiting for Junghyun. He had not seen the other male ever since he went to his class right after being treated at the clinic. And admittedly, he was glad. He didn’t want to face Junghyun’s guilty expression anymore. 

After a few minutes of waiting, Taehyung decided to text him. 

Where r u?

He tucked his phone inside his pocket, staring dazedly into nothing while waiting for a response from his best friend. 

Footsteps headed towards his direction, however made him turn his head to look. The sight before him sent a rush of blood to flow up to his face.

He stood up immediately and bowed to the student before him. “J-Jimin sunbae,” he greeted meekly.

The male before him did not flash him a smile. He was seemingly scanning every inch of Taehyung’s face, and his body too. Imagine his surprise when the built student before him grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer towards the kingka.

Taehyung turned a beet red at the movement. He reluctantly looked up when he heard Jimin clearing his throat.

“Did Jackson do this to you?”

His tone was quiet, yet menacing. Everyone could detect the underlying venom behind his words. Taehyung included. The latter shuddered slightly as he answered, “He d-did nothing.”

Jimin narrowed his eyes when he heard Taehyung’s answer. He was obviously lying. And he hated liars.

The kingka reached up a hand to the faint bruise on the other’s jaw. “Then what is this?” 

Taehyung shivered under the touch. It was gentle, yet he could feel the protective feeling the touch oozed out. “I-I fell.”

The red-haired tightened his grip on the other’s jaw, making the smaller male winced slightly at the pain. “Stop lying,” he growled.

“I-I’m not lying.”

Jimin raised an eyebrow, staring at him intensely. “Really? Then why-”

“Taehyung, god dammit! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” 

________________________________________________________

A/N: Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!!! I know I have broken my promise.. This update just took much longer than I expected it to be hehehehe.. sry agaiiiinnn.. please forgive ur authornim.... And i hope this update makes u happy, if not then I totally understand cuz this is soo sudden.. what with this long time bff of tae that i never even introduce to you so yeah.. but trust me when i said the drama's about to start... Kekekekeke.. anw, do leave comments! They will be much appreciated!

-ELF154ever