Taehyung should have known. He should have known from the start that he didn't press the ‘send’ button. If he had bothered to check just now, this wouldn't have happened.

 

 

‘This’ as in his best friend and the kingka of the school staring at each other as if the act could kill the other that instant. He didn't know how it happened, but the moment Junghyun’s eyes landed upon Jimin, his face turned into a menacing scowl.

 

 

Albeit scared of the both of them at that moment, he plucked up his courage and, stepping away from Jimin, walked towards Junghyun with meek steps.

 

 

“Sorry, hyung,” his voice almost inaudible as he said, “I must have forgotten to text you.”

 

 

Junghyun turned to look down at him, smiling gently. “Nevermind, Tae. Just don't do it again next time. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

 

 

The other male’s words made Taehyung furrow his brows in confusion. “Heart attack? Hyung, you do know that I’m seventeen, right?” 

 

His best friend chuckled. “You’re a seventeen-year-old with the mentality of a child, Kim Taehyung.”

 

 

Taehyung pouted. “Yah, Junghyun! You-”

 

 

“Sorry to interrupt but I have to steal Taehyung for a moment,” Jimin’s voice managed to remind Taehyung of the other’s presence.

 

 

“J-Jimin sunbae, I a-appreciate your c-concern but-”

 

 

“But I already got his back,” Junghyun interrupted.

 

 

Somehow, the interruption was not entirely welcomed by the red-haired kingka. He narrowed his eyes at the taller male. “I’m not asking for anyone’s permission. I simply have to bring him somewhere.”

 

 

Taehyung darted his eyes nervously between the two fuming males. He could practically feel the anger coming from his beat friend as the latter glared at Jimin.

 

 

“Well, he’s my best friend so you can talk to him here without having to bring him anywhere,” Junghyun hissed.

 

 

Jimin laughed mockingly. “Oh really? I guess we should just ask Taehyung if he himself is willing to go with me,” he said before turning to face Taehyung.

 

 

The said male stood there awkwardly as both males stared him, waiting for his answer. Not wanting the argument to escalate even further, he suggested the only thing that he thought was best. “Urm, J-Junghyun, I think it’s fair if we see what Jimin sunbae w-wants before assuming th-the wrong things, right?”

 

 

Their reactions were different. Junghyun squinted his eyes the minute he heard Taehyung’s answer whilst Jimin smiled smugly. 

 

 

And here Taehyung thought his day couldn’t get any worse. 

 

 

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

 

 

They had passed through the hallway. And the football field. And the badminton court. Yet Taehyung and Jimin are still walking. 

 

 

“W-Where exactly are we g-going?” the smaller male asked meekly.

 

 

There’s no answer. Jimin only grunts slightly, but never turn his head to acknowledge Taehyung’s question. The act seemed to peeve the latter a little bit, but he kept quiet. He knew it will be worthless if he tried to argue. And besides, he was never the type to get angry, and everyone knew this. So Taehyung deemed it worthless if he went to destroy his reputation.

 

 

It was not until Jimin turned a corner to head to the old music room, to Jackson’s and his group of close friends’ favourite place to hang out, did Taehyung start to panic. He reached out a hand to pull lightly at Jimin’s uniform sleeve, which made the latter stop and raise an eyebrow questioningly towards him.

 

 

“I t-told you that Jackson h-has nothing to do with this,” Taehyung said.

 

 

“And so I’m finding out the truth” were Jimin’s words before he strided towards the music room and slammed the door open without even knocking.

 

 

Taehyung in a breath at the other’s action before reluctantly following Jimin’s footsteps into the room. When he stepped in, the first thing that had caught his attention was the grand piano situated at the corner of the room. It reminded him of when he was little; he used to take piano lessons in hopes of becoming a pianist one day. But the interest stopped the minute he entered high school.

 

 

And now, standing in front of Jackson and his friends, he wanted nothing more than to go over there and play. The urge to run his fingertips over the keys was strong, very strong, but he held it back. He had something important to do as for now. 

 

 

Sliding in beside Jimin, Taehyung practically cowered in fear as Jackson stood up, tall and menacing; eyes glaring heatedly at the pair before him. Taehyung saw the way he clenched his fists in anger.

 

 

“What do you want?” he spat.

 

 

Jimin raised his eyebrows almost tauntingly as he answers, “Nothing much, Wang. Just wanted to ask you something. Hope you don’t mind if I take a little bit of your time.”

 

 

“Spit it out.”

 

 

“What just happened earlier in the morning, it was you wasn’t it?” Jimin asked, arms crossed over his chest.

 

 

Jackson’s eyes flitted down towards Taehyung, smirking. “Does little Taehyung here go and complain to his favourite kingka?”

 

 

Taehyung didn't meet his gaze, terrified. He kept his head down, one hand unconsciously reaching up to curl around Jimin’s wrist. The latter seemed to sense his fear as he took ahold of Taehyung’s hand and squeezed it gently.

 

 

“So you admit that it’s your fault,” Jimin said.

 

 

Jackson sneered. “Yeah, I did. Why? You gonna beat me up or somethin’?”

 

 

The red-haired student chuckled upon hearing his answer. “No. I didn't want to end up in detention, just like you did. Not at all.”

 

 

Everyone’s eyes were focused on him as the kingka stepped forward slowly, until his shoes almost brushed against Jackson’s. 

 

 

“In fact, I just wanted to give you a little warning.” Jimin’s voice was hard as his eyes suddenly turned beady, glaring down at Jackson. “Don’t ever do something that’ll cost you to lose something precious. Something that you held dearest to your heart.”

 

 

Jackson widened his eyes a fraction. His brave stance faltered slightly. “W-What do you mean?” 

 

 

Jimin smirked. “I’m sure you don’t really mind if little BamBam here,” he gestured towards the cowering male, “Gone. Never to appear again in your life.”

 

 

At that, the blonde stammered out his answer, “S-so you’re afraid t-to get detention, but n-not afraid of th-the police?” 

 

 

The kingka shrugged, a cheeky grin on his face. “The reason simply being, I can get away from those bastards in uniforms, but cannot escape from detention.”

 

 

And with that, Jimin turned around, grabbed Taehyung’s wrist and dragged him out of the room. The latter managed to steal a glimpse of Jackson gaping at them before the kingka tugged him forward.

 

 

The atmosphere was silent between them as they headed slowly to the school gates. Taehyung was too afraid to look at the red-haired male beside him, so he settled on looking down, not saying a word.

 

 

Many thoughts were running through his head. How hot Jimin was when he gets mad. How unbelievable charismatic he was when he threw that nasty smirk. And most of all, the one that had bothered him the most; how calm he looked when he practically admitted to have done….things. 

 

 

Things that might be sinful enough to be caught by the police. Taehyung shuddered at the thought. Surely he didn’t really mean what he said, right? 

 

 

“I hope you’d stop letting other people hurt you,” Jimin spoke out softly. His voice managed to startle the other male.

 

 

Taehyung looked up, eyes wide as he looked at the red-haired male beside him, mind trying to digest the words completely. 

 

 

“I-I…” He had nothing to say.

 

 

The kingka turned to face him. “You’re one interesting guy, Kim Taehyung. Not fighting back when others hurt you, keeping quiet and always, always, trying to avoid interacting with other students.”

 

 

Taehyung didn’t know what to say to that. He kept quiet, fingers bunching up the hem of his shirt. “That’s just the way I am, I guess.” It’s the first time he didn’t stutter. The words flew out of him easily; there’s no more fear of being snapped at, or scolded.

 

 

“Tell me more about you then, Taehyung.”

 

 

The smaller male smiled. “Getting to know someone takes a lot of time. So I think, it’s a work in progress,” Taehyung answered.

 

 

The kingka felt himself smiling at his words, which made him grin even wider. Jimin’s smile was ethereal; eyes crinkling up, making him look much softer than the usual strong exterior he had always held.

 

 

Taehyung watched as the smile widened when the other male looked down at him.For a moment, neither of them spoke. They stayed quiet, smiling at each other, both lost in one another’s eyes. 

 

 

A voice managed to bring them back to reality. Taehyung literally jumped a distance away from Jimin, hands smoothing out wrinkles on his uniform. The kingka, however, stayed calm. He had both hands in his pockets, watching as Junghyun made his way towards them.

 

 

“Are you okay, Tae? Did he hurt you anywhere?” Junghyun bombarded Taehyung with questions the minute he sidled up beside the latter.

 

 

“Hyung, he didn’t do anything.”

 

 

“Are you sure? Cuz I don’t trust that guy,” Junghyun answered.

 

 

Jimin cleared his throat. “You do know that I’m literally standing in front of you, right?” 

 

 

“Yeah, that’s why I said so,” came Junghyun’s reply, which earned him a nudge on his shin from Taehyung. 

 

 

The latter frowned. “Don’t be rude.”

 

 

And let’s just say that ended up with the taller male sulking for a whole three days after.

 

 

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

 

 

Taehyung hadn’t realised until then that the faint bruise on his jaw didn’t manage to catch Jungkook’s attention. Right now, just as the tutoring session was about to end, had Jungkook noticed it.

 

 

Taehyung was explaining the corrections that needed to be done to the younger’s working methods when he realised the intense stare being directed towards him. More specifically, his jaw. 

 

 

“Jungkook, a-are you okay?” Taehyung hesitantly asked.

 

 

The younger male shook his head, eyes still zeroed in on his jaw. “Nothing. I was just wondering if you fell and hurt yourself just now,” he paused, “Did you?”

 

 

Taehyung’s hand unconsciously reached up to trace the purplish bruise, wincing slightly at the pain of his fingers pressing down on it. For a moment, he pondered if he should tell the truth.

 

 

“Y-yeah, I tripped on the s-stairs.” And that came out. He hoped Jungkook would not notice; the slight tremble in his voice when he voiced out the lie.

 

 

Taehyung felt as if time had paused itself when the onyx haired student squinted his eyes, as if able to see right through him. The smaller male held his breath, waiting for something, anything. 

 

 

Instead, Jungkook smiled. “Be careful next time.” 

 

 

Taehyung let out the breath he had been holding. Well, that was easy. He returned the smile with a beam of his own. The gesture seemed to coax a chuckle out of the kingka; amused eyes staring straight at him, shoulders shaking as the comforting sound of his light chuckles resonated across the empty classroom.

 

 

“L-let’s continue,” Taehyung said.

 

 

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

 

 

He was heading to his best friend’s table in the cafeteria when it happened; the impact of his body bumping into another. Taehyung could feel water soaking his uniform. Though when he looked down, it was soup, chicken soup to be more precise. 

 

 

He grimaced at the thought of having to scrub off the stain. He sighed, looking up to apologise when his words were stuck right in his throat. His face paled as he took in the pissed off student in front of him. 

 

 

Oh no, not again, he thought to himself.

 

 

“You got a problem with me?” Jackson asked, voice hard.

 

 

Taehyung could no longer hear the chatters coming from the students in the cafeteria; they had all stopped to watch. He shook his head meekly in response to the question. “N-no.”

 

 

The male before him sneered. “Not enough with the punch I gave you, huh?”

 

 

“I-I..” He hadn’t had an answer to the question.

 

 

“Let me warn you one last time,” Jackson said, leaning in to whisper in his ears. “Even if that kingka of yours will threaten me if I did anything, I’ll still beat the hell out of you til you had to beg for me to stop. Would offer to do anything if it means that I’ll stop making your life-”

 

 

“I think you might want to rethink that one, Wang,” a voice smoothly interrupted.

 

 

“And the hero has arrived,” Jackson said quietly. Quiet enough for only Taehyung to hear. 

 

 

The former then turned around, smirk adorning his face. “What’s up Jungkook? Saving your cute little boyfriend?”

 

 

Taehyung could only tremble in his place. To say that he was scared would be an understatement. He was terrified, nervous, upset, and guilty. Guilty because he knew he was too weak to do anything. Guilty because he had to depend on others to save himself.

 

 

“Funny, Wang. I thought you are the one who needs a little saving here,” Jungkook said, arms folded across his chest. 

 

 

Jackson scoffed. “If you thought that you scare me, well you’ve gotten the wrong guy.”

 

 

The younger male in front of him smiled. “I know you’re not scared of me, scared of us. However,” Jungkook paused, eyes trailing towards Taehyung’s hunched figure.

 

 

"However, your gang is scared of me. Especially your sweet lover. Ain’t I right, Kunpimook?” he asked, tone sweet.

 

 

The said male was sitting on the group’s usual table; near the centre, a few tables away from Jungkook’s. Kunpimook casted his eyes downwards, not uttering a single word despite now being the centre of attention.

 

 

To everyone, he may seem calm, laid back, but Taehyung could detect the slight shake of his arms as he bunched up the hem of his shirt in his fists. And the glistening eyes as he looked up explained everything.

 

 

“I’m getting quite sick of this, Jeon,” the shorter man chuckled.

 

 

The cafeteria now seemed quieter than ever. The only thing that could be heard was the clanking of forks against plates as the cleaner threw away the food into the bin. And even he seemed attentive, eyes occasionally darting up to glance between the two males.

 

 

“Always trying to scare me with those meaningless, stupid, dumb threats. Even your sidekick did just that.” 

 

 

Everyone just stared as the blond haired male stepped closer towards Jungkook. 

 

 

“The thing is, you’re too scared to even do anything of the sort. Harm my gang? Is that what you wanted?” he asked, sneering. 

 

 

And just like that, Taehyung could see something in Jungkook snapped. The latter was clenching his fists tightly, eyes glaring darkly towards Jackson. 

 

 

The blond haired male hadn’t noticed it just yet, but the rest did. And so did the rest of his friends. 

 

 

The next thing he knew, Jackson was sprawled on the floor with a busted lip. Gasps echoed across the students as Jungkook bent down to grip Jackson’s collar and heaved him up, right fist raised as if to punch the male before him yet again.

 

 

Taehyung knew he had to stop it from happening. So he did what he thought was best. He ran up to them and curled his hand around Jungkook’s bicep. Ignoring the muscles he could feel rippling beneath his hold, he gently guided them down until the bigger male managed to put Jackson back down on the ground on both feet.

 

 

“Don’t do anyhing you’ll regret soon enough,” Taehyung said softly.

 

 

Everyone was still watching as Jungkook raised his hooded eyes and directed his angry gaze towards his tutor.

 

 

“This useless piece of deserves it, hyung,” he spat out. 

 

 

“But-”

 

 

“Hyung, he deserved to be beaten until he-”

 

 

“Jeon Jungkook and Wang Jackson!” a voice boomed across the large cafeteria. Every pair of eyes lowered their gaze to the ground when they saw the discipline teacher standing in front of the entrance with hands on her hips.

 

 

“In my office. Now.” 

 

 

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

 

 

Taehyung was fidgeting in his seat as he waited for his math lesson to end. His eyes narrowed to the needle ticking ever so slowly in the large clock hung just beside the whiteboard.

 

 

Tick tick tick.

 

 

It took an eternity for the bell to finally ring. When it did happen, Taehyung was the first one to get up from his seat and rush out to the hallway, heading towards the principal’s office.

 

 

He didn’t even bother to put his things in his locker as he walked as fast as he could to the enormous administration building. The sliding doors opened and cool air hit his face the second he stepped in. He didn’t stop to enjoy it however, as there are some things that need to be settled right now.

 

 

Gosh, how hard could it be to just admit I’m worrying for Jeon Jungkook, he thought to himself.

 

 

The sight that greeted him as he stepped into the waiting room was of Jimin and the others with unreadable expressions on their faces, standing outside the headmaster’s office. Some were sitting whilst some were standing.

 

 

They had all looked up as Taehyung arrived, panting, trying to catch his breath. Slightly embarrassed at his messy state, he managed to throw them a small smile. In hopes of covering his real intention by coming here.

 

 

He spotted an empty seat next to Jimin. Afer contemplating for a few seconds, he finally decided to plop down next to the red head. And there, all of them waited. 

 

 

 

______________________________________________

 

A/N: Hey guys, I'm baaaack! So sorry to keep you guys waiting but lately, theres been a lot of things going on in my life.. Next year, I'm going to take this big exam that will basically decide where I'll be going to for my college etc etc.. So yeah.. Anyways, heres a really short present for you guys! Hope you enjoy!

 

-ELF154ever

 

P/S: There might be some changes to the font etc cuz rite now, my phone's lagging so please understand!