Jungkook's body felt cold.

 

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he's in a dark place. More specifically, he was lying down, like he had just woken up. His stomach growls, making him look down at it. He pulls the big t-shirt outwards, poking a finger through one of the holes. Someone's soft sigh from behind him caught his attention.

 

Jungkook saw Seokjin, still asleep. His arm is tucked under his head since he let Jungkook have the pillow.

 

The young boy moves closer until he can feel Seokjin's breaths against his face. He had always admired everything about the older boy: his face, his kindness, his patience, and most of all, his affection.

 

Jungkook snuggles closer, his head tucked under Seokjin's chin and small arms around his shoulders. He must have moved too much because the older boy's eyes began to open.

 

"Good morning, Kookie," he says quietly, due to tiredness. But he never fails to smile, which is something that Jungkook loves to see each and every morning.

 

"I'm sorry for waking you up, hyung," Jungkook mumbles, burying his face into his shirt even deeper.

 

"It's okay. I have to get up earlier today anyway," Seokjin said before sitting up and waking the rest of himself up fully. He turns back to Jungkook.

 

"Stay here. Get as much rest as you need," he the younger boy's messy hair.

 

Jungkook nods and watches Seokjin until he leaves, tiptoeing up the creaking stairs. He does what he is told and just when he was going to drift back to sleep, he heard shouting.

 

It was muffled since he is in the basement, but kept him wide awake again. The yelling happened so many times that it felt like it was part of his daily routine.

 

He waits until he is sure that Seokjin's aunt left the house. The second he hears the front door close, he jumps up and climbs up the stairs. He runs pass the plate that held his breakfast and to the bathroom.

 

Jungkook saw Seokjin in front of the sink. Without even stopping, the little boy hugs him from behind.

 

Seokjin is beautiful.

 

It has been too many times that Jungkook has to see him cry.

 

"Thanks, Jungkook."

 

.........

 

Jungkook's eyes almost shot open and he sits up.

 

Another dream about Seokjin.

 

He sighs; it was another reminder that he must go and find Seokjin still. It's been years already.

 

~~

 

"Stronger," Jungkook orders. Seokjin adds a little bit more force.

 

Just for a start, Jungkook had Seokjin push him, very simple. He's just curious to how much strength the other has.

 

But he's not surprised when Seokjin tried. It was so soft, it was more like he only pressed his hands gently against Jungkook's chest.

 

"Yoongi, if I was a stranger trying to harm you, this is how you're going to react?" Jungkook asks.

 

"Uh, I..." Seokjin's voice drifts off. He suddenly catches Jungkook off guard and pushes him with enough force to move him a couple steps back.

 

"Woah," Jungkook balanced himself.

 

"Sorry."

 

"Don't be. You're doing what I told you to do."

 

Yoongi, the real Yoongi, came to them. Seokjin walks towards him and they hugged once again.

 

"I can't believe you're leaving already," he said and Yoongi parts from him.

 

"Don't worry. I'll be back to visit again," he smiles and sees Jungkook. "You," he points directly at him. "Take good care of him for me."

 

Jungkook nods. "That'll be no problem.

 

Before Yoongi turned to grab his bags, Seokjin stops him. His has a request.

 

"Hey, could you..." Seokjin felt unsure if he should really ask this. "When you come back, could you please tell me how Taehyung's doing?"

 

Yoongi's small smile fades. "Taehyung?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Okay," the friend says. "But I guess you should know that he has been looking for you desperately."

 

"He's been looking for me?" Seokjin feels his heart beating faster. Jungkook, who is in the background, noticed how his eyes lit up.

 

"He never stopped wondering why you left. I know Jimin kicked you out but if Taehyung knows then maybe you can go back to the farm," Yoongi shrugs.

 

Seokjin sighs, "Or maybe it's best that I don't return. I can't be so careless when I don't know what will happen. For now, I'll settle here and see how things go."

 

Yoongi's shoulders slumped in defeat. With nothing else to add, he then said his final farewell before leaving. Seokjin's shoulders sag a little when his friend is completely out of sight.

 

"Let's take a break," Jungkook suggests when he senses the blue, downcast aura around the older man.

 

While they sit together, just enjoying the quietness and slight breeze, Jungkook became curious once again.

 

"Love can be so difficult at times," he starts. He wants to more about Seokjin but doesn't want to ask questions bluntly and immediately.

 

"It is..." Seokjin's eyes softens. "But I love the feeling of it. I never thought that I would ever feel it romantically until I met him."

 

Jungkook doesn't knew him to specify who 'him' is.

 

Seokjin turns to him and with a gentle voice, he asked, "Have you ever been in love?"

 

A moment of silence went by as Jungkook automatically pictured the young Seokjin that he use to be with.

 

"Yes, I have."

 

"Isn't it amazing at times?" Seokjin says dreamily. He never believed that butterflies will flutter inside his stomach but whenever Taehyung comes close, he was proved wrong every time.

 

"It's also painful," Jungkook closes his eyes. "The person I love has been the only person I have been in love with. You may think that it's childish, that it isn't something serious."

 

Seokjin watches him take a deep breath, as if he was trying to relive something.

 

"I loved him ever since I met him as a small child," Jungkook's tone is serious. "We went through bad times, but then I left. He was left behind and since then, I made a promise to save him. Not too long ago, I went back to get him, only to find out that he got forced to get married and ran away."

 

Seokjin perks up a little. This seems similar to him. "J-Jungkook."

 

"But it's fine. I know that I will see him again someday," Jungkook sounded hopeless. He opens his eyes and stood up. "You too. Trust me, you'll see Taehyung soon as well, Yoongi."

 

He goes back inside and Seokjin wasn't sure if he should follow or not.

 

~~

 

Seokjin smiles at the kids playing around the small playground. Because he never really got the chance to actually play as a child, he loved getting to see other children do so.

 

Jungkook had told him about the playground that is not too far from his house and suggest that maybe Seokjin might like it. So the handsome man left, with Jungkook saying that he'll show up later after running some errands.

 

As he sits at a nearby table, he noticed a toddler. A tiny but chubby boy who's face have a resemblance to the little Jungkook he knows.

 

The toddler looked like he must have only learned how to walk not too long ago. In his mouth is a baby blue pacifier, adding more to his adorable face.

 

He caught Seokjin looking at him. The child stares at him intently, scratching behind his ear while on his pacifier. An older kid who was running from another child accidentally bumps into the toddler.

 

Seokjin gasps as the Jungkook-like toddler hit the ground. He expected him to cry but the pacifier stayed in his mouth.

 

A few seconds later, Seokjin clutches his chest in surprise as the older kid gets chased by the toddler, who's innocent face has turned angry yet still cute.

 

Seokjin begins to chuckle. The little scene in front of him makes him think. After all this time, would Kookie look completely different?

 

"Yoongi!"

 

Seokjin looks over his shoulder and sees Jungkook arriving. He waves at him as he comes closer. Jungkook sits down just as the kid and toddler ran past the picnic table.

 

"Woah. What's going on here?" the latter says. Seokjin smiles and explained what happened. The toddler may be younger and slower, but he is currently more intimidating than before.

 

Jungkook laughs. "He looks like me!"

 

Seokjin tilts his head. He looks at the chubby kid, who finally let the older kid go, then at Jungkook, who's face have no baby fat at all. He couldn't see anything much until Jungkook looked at him in the eyes. It's those big eyes that are the most similar to each other. Before Seokjin got to compare more of their face features, the child's parents took him home.

 

"You seem to like this place," Jungkook says, taking Seokjin's eyes away from the children.

 

"Yes, I do. There is happiness all around. Not to mention, I've never really get to go anywhere very much," Seokjin admits.

 

Growing up, he'd live and be in his aunt's house almost all the time. When he lived with Taehyung, most of the time it was always him at the farm.

 

"How much of this town have you've seen?" Jungkook asks.

 

Seokjin thought about it. "Not very much. I don't even know a lot about the town I grew up in."

 

Jungkook grins at that. "That makes it perfect. I'll take you exploring!"

 

~~

 

Seokjin didn't realize that he had been smiling ever since they got here. There was a small event in town and many were gathered to see.

 

At first, Seokjin felt anxious at the thought of a crowd but so far, nothing bad is happening to him.

 

There is a band of musicians, filling the air with a cheerful song. It went on and people began to clap along to the beat.

 

Seokjin felt a hand on him and turned to see a smiling Jungkook, who spoke loudly. Even so, his voice is almost drowned out. "Come with me!"

 

His hand is taken by the younger one and they squeezed past people until they’re in the center of attenttion. Seokjin is confused until Jungkook finally told him.

 

"Enjoy yourself! Dance with me!"

 

Seokjin freezes up at the word 'dance'. He'd never done that before. He tried to protest but with all the noises, Jungkook struggled to hear him.

 

When he tried to turn and leave, Jungkook grabs his hand again. This time, however, he pulls him in until he was against his chest.

 

"It'll be fun," Jungkook said with a calming voice. "I really want to dance with you."

 

And in an instant, Seokjin finds himself spinning. It's like Jungkook has some sort of magic, guiding him with every step. The crowd got even more excited because of them and some even joined in on the fun.

 

Jungkook twirls him back so that their faces are close. For a brief moment of not dancing, the man tells Seokjin, "You're doing great! Now, I want you to actually feel it!"

 

And then the dancing continues. Seokjin didn't know how to 'feel' what they're doing. Then he sees how Jungkook looked.

 

He looked so natural, like he was born to dance and his eyes shone with happiness. Even though Seokjin can't hear it, he knows that Jungkook is laughing, especially with the smile he had. It didn't take long after that until Seokjin began to feel the same.

 

When Jungkook saw how beautiful Seokjin looked, he became mesmerized. They came close to each other one last time and he takes in his soft features. The eyes, lips, cheeks...

 

Just like someone he knows...

 

~~

 

As time went by, Jungkook forgot that Seokjin is just staying at his place until he's ready to leave. The two spent so much time together since Seokjin arrived that it already felt as if he and Jungkook were living together from the start. Even Seokjin himself had forgot too because Jungkook made him feel so at home.

 

One day, Seokjin is washing the dishes. He hummed a little tune to himself. Jungkook sneaks behind him and when he's close enough, he scares Seokjin.

 

"Boo!"

 

Seokjin's surprised yell turned into laughs as Jungkook's hands attack his sides. The tickling died down and left the two of them smiling.

 

"Why did you do that?" Seokjin chuckles then turned back to washing the dishes. Jungkook automatically stands besides him, helping him get the job done quicker.

 

"Why can't I? It's fun to see your reaction like this from time to time. You've changed a bit, you know," Jungkook says. Seokjin pauses for a moment. "How so?"

 

"Look at yourself. You're much more relaxed with me than you were before. Yoongi would be so proud of me," Jungkook jokes. They continued their task afterwards with small talk.

 

Seokjin hands a soapy plate over for Jungkook to rinse. It was only now that the younger man noticed a particular bracelet on the latter's wrist.

 

The plate fell back into the sink when Jungkook grabs Seokjin's arm. He pulls it up to examine the accessory better. Water ran down Seokjin's upright arm and he watches Jungkook hold the wrist close to his face.

 

"Did you buy this recently?" he finally asked. His eyes then flickered to the other man.

 

Seokjin shakes his head. "No. I had this since I was young. I just wanted to wear it today."

 

Jungkook's thumb fiddled with the bracelet. His heart started to pace and he had to calm himself to make sure that he's not raising any false hope for himself.

 

"Who... who gave it to you?"

 

Seokjin, a bit worried about Jungkook's behavior, answered hesitantly. "A friend. To be more accurate, my friend's friend."

 

Jungkook gasps. His other hand came up and held Seokjin's second hand. "Do you remember his name?"

 

The sudden gesture made Seokjin flustered. "I don't really remember. It's a long time ago and I barely talked to him."

 

Now Jungkook leaned a bit closer. "What about your friend?"

 

Seokjin slowly looked back into his eyes. He wondered why this is happening.

 

"Ju...Jungkook."

 

Jungkook disappeared so quickly, leaving Seokjin confused. He hears him inside his bedroom, searching for something. Many things were moved frantically; drawers were opened and closed, small items were heard falling onto the ground, even the table skittered.

 

Seokjin carefully walked towards the room but stopped at the hallway. He leaned on the wall and Jungkook came out with one of his hands clenched. The young man wasn't angry or anything.

 

He slows to a halt in front of Seokjin. One hand is placed on Seokjin's right shoulder.

 

"Yoongi..." Jungkook whispers. "Is your name really Yoongi?"

 

Seokjin looked at Jungkook's closed hand. As it slowly opened, his eyes widened. In the palm of his hand is a matching bracelet. He looked back into the eyes of the man before him. His voice is quiet and shaky.

 

"Kookie?"

 

In a flash, the two find themselves in each other's arms, crying. Jungkook leans into Seokjin's body, missing the warmth that it gave him as a child.

 

"Seokjin.... Seokjin.... Seokjin," he chants repeatedly. He had longed for this day to come, for him to reunite with the person he love.

 

Seokjin pulled away to look at his face. His hands caresses both sides of Jungkook's face. "Jungkook, you've grown so much! I wasn't able to recognize you!"

 

Jungkook laughs even with the tears still streaming down his cheeks. It's like they're meeting each other all over again. He couldn't believe it. The person that he had been searching for had been with him all along.

 

"Why did you lie about your name?" he wipes a few tears away from Seokjin's eyes.

 

"I didn't know who you were at first," Seokjin chuckles back.

 

Jungkook envelopes himself back into Seokjin's embrace. Today had got to be the best day of his life.

 

~~

 

Jimin is gripping a pillow with both hands, cornered in the bedroom.

 

"Yoongi, this isn't funny."

 

Yoongi sighs and steps closer, seeing Jimin raise the pillow. He sits on the bed. "Go ahead, hit me. That pillow is surely capable of breaking my face."

 

Jimin huffs, bottom lip protruding out. "It will be once all the feathers are replaced with rocks."

 

"Give up, already. Seokjin needs to come back," Yoongi tries again. "He misses Taehyung."

 

"What he feels doesn't matter," Jimin hissed and throws the pillow at Yoongi. It bounces off his head and fell to the ground.

 

Jimin yelps when Yoongi pushes him onto the wall.

 

"Taehyung misses him," he glares at Jimin and held him still by his shoulders. A few seconds of silence, excluding the angry pants of Yoongi, went by until he lets go of him. Jimin stayed quiet after that, not responding to Yoongi's statement. Yoongi steps away. "But I guess what Taehyung feels doesn't matter as well, right?"

 

Yoongi stomps out, leaving Jimin alone. He remained stiff, frozen by a Yoongi's biting words. When he regained control of his body again, he fell to the side, landing on the bed. His cries were muffled as he pressed his face into the mattress.

 

Over the past few weeks, his chances with Taehyung had only dwindled into impossibility.

 

~~

 

Seokjin brushes Jungkook's hair with his hand. The two were laid down in the soft grass behind Jungkook's house.

 

Jungkook missed this feeling, to have Seokjin shower him with affection. His head is right beside him. He faced Seokjin while Seokjin faced towards the sky.

 

'Of course Seokjin would grow up into an even more beautiful person,' Jungkook thought. He scoots closer.

 

"I went back to get you," Jungkook says. "But you weren't there."

 

Seokjin rolls into his side to face Jungkook. His brows furrowed slightly as his frown, like he ate something bitter. "Yeah. It's... it's something that I don't want to go through again."

 

"At least you got away," Jungkook drapes an arm over Seokjin's waist. "You're not trapped in that disgusting house anymore."

 

Seokjin didn't look completely eased. "Jungkook, I'm so scared that they'll find me."

 

"It's okay. I'm with you now. You can live with me forever if you want," Jungkook smiles. "I like you, remember?" He rolls so that he lays flat on his stomach, still looking at Seokjin. "You are the one that I am in love with. It's perfect for you to live with me!"

 

Jungkook's excitement falters when Seokjin didn't respond with the same feeling.

 

"Jungkook, I care a lot about you," Seokjin chew on his lips for a few seconds. "But for me, there is still Taehyung."

 

A foreign feeling stabs Jungkook in the heart. He had been so exuberant that he had not recalled why Seokjin is here in the first place: Seokjin and someone else are in love with the same person, Taehyung.

 

"Of course," Jungkook lowers his eyes, "I'm sorry for being selfish."

 

Seokjin takes one of his hands, "Don't say that. You've done so much for me ever since we first met years ago and I feel blessed to see you again. It must be serendipity."

 

Jungkook smiles. He places his head on Seokjin's chest. It's alright if Seokjin doesn't feel the same. It stung a bit, but he can live with it.

 

"I love you, Seokjin."

 

"I do too, Kookie."

 

~~

 

A few days later, Yoongi knocks on the front door of Jungkook's house. He cleans his fingernails while he waited for someone to let him inside.

 

"Yoongi!" Seokjin exclaims happily.

 

"Seok-" he chokes back the rest of the name. "Uh- Yoongi!"

 

Seokjin laughs and hugs Yoongi. "You don't need to worry about that anymore."

 

"I don't? What happened then?"

 

"Turns out that Seokjin and I knew each other since we were kids," Jungkook answers and greets Yoongi at the door. "Welcome back."

 

"That's interesting," Yoongi rubs his chin. "How'd you find out though?"

 

"We got matching bracelets and I didn't know Seokjin had it until a couple of days ago," Jungkook shrugs and the trio walked to the living room.

 

"I see. That's pretty cool," Yoongi says before he noticed Jungkook's fond face. He was staring at Seokjin, making Yoongi smile teasingly. "So, how did the training go?"

 

"Huh?" Seokjin leaned forward a little.

 

"Self-defense," Yoongi says suspiciously. "Have you guys even start?"

 

"We did!" Seokjin exclaims. "We didn't do it that much though. I'm quite bad at it." He laughs nervously.

 

"What about you?" Yoongi asks Jungkook. The youngest one is still gazing at Seokjin. He didn't even hear Yoongi's question.

 

"He obviously failed," Yoongi mutters.

 

"What do you mean?" Seokjin asks as he stares back at Jungkook's dreamy face before looking back to Yoongi. "He's only teaching me."

 

"No, not that," Yoongi points to Jungkook. "Look at him. It's very obvious that he likes you now."

 

"Hm?" Jungkook is finally brought back to reality. His wide eyes showed that he did not catch any words that he been exchanged between Yoongi and Seokjin.

 

"Could I get a glass of water?" Yoongi requests. Jungkook gets up and leaves.

 

"Yoongi," Seokjin says quietly. He didn't need to say anything else because Yoongi knows what he wanted.

 

"I'm sorry, Seokjin," he sighs. "I can't really say anything about Taehyung. Jimin is still at the farm but Taehyung hasn't been around."

 

"You mean he left?" Seokjin sits up straighter.

 

"No. I just don't see him whenever I visit," Yoongi leans back into the soft sofa.

 

"I try not to think about him but it's not working," Seokjin slumps down, "I miss him."

 

"I guess I understand why you don't want to return," Yoongi casts a glance to his friend. "That Jimin is a really stubborn person. You going back won't be pretty."

 

"You think so?"

 

"Yes," Yoongi reaches over to take one of Seokjin's hands. "And I don't want him to hurt you again."

 

They hear footsteps coming back and returned to their normal expressions, like they were just chatting about something casual. Jungkook returns with Yoongi's water and hands it to him.

 

"Did I miss anything?" he smiles innocently, tucking his hands into his pockets.

 

Yoongi takes a sip of water. "Nope. Not a single thing."

 

~~

 

For Yoongi's second visit, Jungkook and Seokjin wanted to go out of the house with him.

 

They wanted to go somewhere with space, not crowded with people. The park they found isn't bad; there were people but since the place is so wide, there's no problems in interrupting anyone's picnics or games.

 

Jungkook unfolds their blanket, spreading it on the trimmer grass. Seokjin then puts their packed lunch that he made in the center. They turned their attention over to Yoongi, who had his head turned up to look at a tree. He stood a few feet away and looks back at them, more specifically, at Jungkook with a smirk.

 

"Jungkook!" he called the said man. "Bet you can't climb to the top of this tree." He grins when Jungkook strides over confidently.

 

"As a matter of fact, I can," he stares down at Yoongi with an amusement. "I'm very good at climbing trees."

 

"So am I. How about a quick competition. Let's see who can impress Seokjin," Yoongi suggests. That really sparks Jungkook's interest. He looks at the handsome man, who sits crisscrossed on the blanket, waving at him. Jungkook can't let this opportunity without trying.

 

"Be ready to lose."

 

~~

 

Seokjin gasps when his two friends begin climbing the tree in front of them. He stands up and runs over. "Jungkook! Yoongi! What are you two doing?"

 

They were already higher than Seokjin's height. Yoongi yells from above, "Just having fun!"

 

As Seokjin was going to tell them to be careful, something catches his eye.

 

A blue butterfly.

 

It fluttered past him and Seokjin's eyes followed it. He'd never seen such a beautiful butterfly like this one. Before he could stop himself, not just his eyes, but also his legs began to follow it.

 

Jungkook looked down to see if Seokjin is watching him. But to his surprise, the man isn't standing at the bottom of the tree or sitting on the blanket.

 

"Better pay more attention or you'll lose," Yoongi laughs and climbed up even higher, using the firm branches to heave himself up. He passed Jungkook but the younger one didn't care anymore. Instead, he climbed back down, to see where Seokjin had gone.

 

~~

 

The blue butterfly lands on a flower. Seokjin slows down and approaches the butterfly carefully. Just when he started to crouch down to the same level of the flower, the butterfly flies off again. Seokjin's eyes are still tracing it as it flew away. Then he noticed the person that the butterfly just passed. The man turns and Seokjin stopped breathing.

 

What is Taehyung doing here?