"Hyung, she finally said yes." Taehyung's grip on the shot glass he's holding grew tighter, only to relax after a few seconds. Not minding the few spills that fell on random areas of the table, he swiftly collided the glass to his lips, the soju making its way inside his mouth. The bitter taste greeted and attacked him at the same time, sending him into a momentary pause, yet he knew that the sting he felt at the back of his throat was from something else completely. Something that had nothing to do with how the liquid assaulted him. So with a scrunched up face, he placed the empty glass back down the table in a quick thud.

Too soon.

"I see. Congratulations." Taehyung comments, lips curling in the sides as he tried to show Jungkook the opposite of how he really felt. Tried to act accordingly as a proper friend should. Tried to be the Taehyung Jungkook knew. Tried to ignore the heavy feeling in his chest that felt more of a deep ocean than a body part. Tried to ignore  how the fingers on his free hand twitched with the want to grab something that he knew couldn't be his.

"I'm all grown up now." Jungkook said, his toothy grin making Taehyung's breath tangle as he tried to remember how he managed to be calm at the sight each time it appears, barely remaining in control as the smile sent thunders under his skin yet again.

Too soon.

"Maybe. I feel sorry for her. Worried even." Taehyung laughed, tilting his head as he grabbed the soju bottle and filled his shot glass to the brim.

"Yah, what do you mean by that."

And Taehyung really did mean it when he said he felt worried and sorry for her. Worried for her because she might not be ready for the chaotic yet beautiful storm that's about to come her way, and sorry because she can only be second when it comes to uncovering the details he already burned into his memory. She didn't know Jungkook like he did, she wouldn't know how to trick Jungkook into sleeping early, she wouldn't know what to do to soothe Jungkook each time anxiety gets the best of him, she wouldn't be able to tell when something's bothering him, she wouldn't know how to accept him in his worst and she sure wouldn't know how to handle him in his best. She wouldn't know about how stubborn and nonsensical the younger boy can be. She wouldn't know how the moon could cast its light unto his face, the light flickering across his cheeks, casting a faint shadow just beneath his eyelash, outlining the tip of his lips until everything else, apart from the two of them, disappears.

Unfair as it may be, she wouldn't know all the things Taehyung knew, but then again, it wasn't as though he knew what he did immediately. He learned them little by little, noticing each detail about the boy, numerous as they can be, anything he could commit into memory. Treating them like stars as he kept those precious glimmering shards inside him as he filled his jar. He collected and collected, not really admitting it but he did thought of them as his possession presumptuously. And Taehyung did actually feel sorry for her, but not as much as how sorry he felt for himself. She may not know yet, but she will learn, inevitably, just like he did. She will learn to love Jungkook like he did, in a different way entirely. And so it's time to be true to his word.

Seventeen, with a mindset still border lining that of a boy. Just the thought of letting go of his stars(not his) pained him. Though as young as he was, he knew that he had to at some point, so he promised that he'll keep them until he's allowed to do so; until no one had the right to keep them yet. And now, twenty-one, a boy no longer, he will have to, no matter how he wants to own everything. Those stars he have had to be ushered back to where they belong and needless to say, it wasn't with him. He may have marveled at how beautiful they shined everyday, but no matter the amount of marveling he did, he couldn't have them. He couldn't have him.

"Let's celebrate!" Taehyung said, words heavy as he raised his shot glass in front of him. Jungkook grinned as he grabbed his and collided it with Taehyung's, downing the liquid in one go after. Taehyung stared at his glass in silence before he decided to finally drink his share, the act finally signaling the removal of his jar's lid. Another shot, and a star escaped, together with the burning sensation he felt on the lump of his throat. Another shot and another star returned to the sky, the burning sensation shifting to his chest.

"Hyung, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. I just remembered something extremely funny." Taehyung laughed loudly(painfully and bitterly so), taking in another shot of soju.

"Oh yeah? Does it include me?" He heard Jungkook ask, a smile making its way towards the younger boy's face that he almost wanted to cry. By this time, Taehyung's head is already pounding from the amount of liquor he ingested. Still, he had to continue drinking because maybe then, the hole in his chest wouldn't hurt that much, and maybe then could he finally speed up things and smash his jar open. And maybe then, will the galaxy he collected inside him cease to exist.

"The stars are shining beautifully tonight, too." Taehyung said, not saying anything more, even when Jungkook argued that there aren't any stars in the sky due to the clouds. Smiling sadly, Taehyung closed his eyes, feeling the difference of how things are now compared to how it was before. How taking felt different from giving back. And how tomorrow will be different from how it always was because the stars are still there, but this time, they'll be walking backwards.