Jungkook had been smiling questioningly at the sudden tension in the air, and decided that the best thing for him to do was to respond cordially to Taehyung's half-formed sentence from earlier. 

"Cover you for tomorrow right? Yeah sure! You have the end-of-term assignment to submit tomorrow yeah? Consider it done."

"Thanks Kookie..." Taehyung smiled weakly at Jungkook and with that, he didn't look back at Jimin anymore, deciding instead that the floor was a preferred choice to stare at intently.

"Sorry I gotta go." Taehyung grabbed his bag and bolted out of the main exit.

Jungkook was stunned and called out with some delay after Taehyung's departing figure, "Ok bye?? Just grab a taxi ok! Forget the bus!"

Jimin turned sharply towards Jungkook, hastily trying to understand the situation in his alarm. 

"Taehyung has been strapped for cash lately... I've told him time and again to get a better-paid job closer to where he studies, but for some reason he's working himself into the ground travelling miles to and fro here everyday." Just as Jungkook said this, revelation washed over him and he exclaimed to Jimin. "He's been making you those meals!"

Jimin had known that the very moment Taehyung showed up, and all that was left to do was to go after him.

"Jungkookie, which way could he have gone? The bus stop?"

___

Jimin ran out of the main wing of the hospital, and saw a familiar figure seated on a bench outside. Taehyung had waited for him. Or that could be just what he imagined, because Taehyung did not look in his direction as he approached the bench.

Perhaps Taehyung did not expect to be found, or worse, maybe he didn't in the slightest hope for Jimin to find him.

"Can you stop making me chase you."

Taehyung raised his head to see Jimin drawing quick breaths with arms crossed over his diaphragm.

Taehyung looked anything but happy to see Jimin, and his eyebrows furrowed as similarly troubled eyes trailed along Jimin's arms that barred his chest from sight.

"Does it hurt anymore?"

"What?"

"Your chest. Does it hurt anymore." Taehyung held Jimin's gaze in seriousness, and Jimin realized that the question was about his injury caused by Taehyung's Dad a year ago and it carried utmost gravity in Taehyung's perception. 

Jimin uncrossed his arms and answered non-committally.  "No."

Taehyung nodded with a strained smile like he was relieved to hear that, but something was holding him back from demonstrating concern for Jimin.

"Even if it did hurt, you'd be the last to know." Jimin glared at Taehyung, daring him to refute. "The last time we talked was a year ago."

Taehyung had mentally prepared himself for this accusation, and seemed to have steeled himself to take the arrows. He sat very still and lapsed into silence while his eyes once again sank to the floor.

"Taehyung, look at me." Jimin stepped forward to lift Taehyung's chin in his hand, but Taehyung evaded the contact through shrinking backwards.

"You won't even look at me now?" Jimin tugged at his hair at the back of his neck in frustration. "Why are you here, Taehyung? What sort of game are you playing at, hiding just metres away from me? Does it feel ing great? To see me smiling and laughing with someone else while you slog behind in the kitchen making those redundant meals?"

Taehyung lifted his eyes, and clearly Jimin had struck a raw nerve with him, because he was choking back tears and looked like he might die from grief.

"You don't care right? You don't even care if I thought Jungkook was the one giving me extra food? You'd willingly let someone else take your place, so you probably wouldn't care either if I just erased you from my life?" 

Jimin was livid by now and all his bottled-up emotions from the past year were being let loose. Taehyung had turned a little pale and seemed affected by a shortness of breath as he stared blankly ahead, letting the current of Jimin's anger rush over him.

"You know, sometimes I wish I did have amnesia back then... Maybe you wouldn't have walked away so easily." Tears spilled down Jimin's cheeks as Taehyung locked eyes with him desperately, still at a loss for words.

"I'm tired of chasing after you. And if you don't need me like I need you... Then I'm really gone this time."

___

Author's Note A/N:

Closer closer... We keep inching closer to the ending now.

Guess what song I have in mind for the ending? Lol here's a hint of what to expect:

vmin ➳ my everything by jiminniev on YouTube

Am I being a tease... Don't worry, Taetae is alien but genius, he won't disappoint.

Always happy for love from my readers, pls continue to support, I'd BRB   \(=* ³ *=)/