Over the following weeks, Jungkook did better and better at handling Miri, moving on to more complex commands and progressing to the point where he could have Miri listen to him without him having to assume a certain mindset or even tone. Taehyung had developed an internal clock that made him sometimes open the door in the morning even before Jungkook rang the bell and he managed to adjust to his new schedule so that he wouldn’t yawn anymore from morning to the time he went to sleep. Under his tutelage, both over Miri and Jungkook, the former had almost completely stopped causing a commotion and knocking things over when she was distressed or craving attention. Instead, Miri seemed happier than ever because, as Taehyung explained, she was consuming a lot of her energy on learning new things and she had fun with it.

T: “Young minds especially love to learn, even if they’re not aware that they do. The mind’s just like a muscle that can atrophy if you don’t use it and you can pretty much develop it any way you want.”

J: “I know I’m saying it for the umpteenth time, but you seriously sound like a teacher sometimes.”

T: “How about making the umpteenth time the last? I never want to have that kind of activity again and you’re making me remember those unpleasant days.” Taehyung said, lighting himself a cigarette and exhaling some negativity with the first puff.

J: “So you actually were a teacher at one point?”

T: “Ish. I though art at a high school for two years while I was in college because practical pedagogy was mandatory for graduating.”

J: “Oh, wow… How was it?”

T: “A pain in the the magnitude of which could rival hemorrhoids.”

J: “You sure a have a way with words for someone into visual arts… Did teenagers give you a lot of trouble?”

T: “Not as much as I gave them.” Taehyung said with a devilish expression while blowing out the smoke.

J: “What… did you do?”

T: “Took advantage of the fact that they’re at an age when they don’t know what they want, but they have the firm impression that they do.”

J: “Meaning?”

T: “No one takes art class seriously in high school. I didn’t either. But it was frustrating being forced to teach something when no one was willing to listen and I got even more frustrated with myself for getting frustrated. So, at one point, I went to class and told them to separate into two groups. One that sits at the back of the class where they can do anything they want as long as they complete a very easy assignment by the end of the semester and don’t cause disturbance more than two times. As long as they followed these rules, I would give them a passing grade. If not, I made sure they knew I was serious about failing them. The other group sits at the front, where the class would be conducted normally, they would have the chance of learning something and getting a higher grade. Usually, whenever I announced this, over 80% would go to the back. By the end of the semester, however, over 60% would be in the front. Can you guess why?”

J: “Maybe. But I’m gonna let you enlighten me.”

T: “People don’t know what they want if there are too many options. Take you for example – out of the many people you sleep with, could you make a top 3 most desired as lovers?”

J: “…”

T: “Same thing with those high schoolers. They wanted to get a good grade, they wanted to get an easy grade, they wanted to fool around on their phones, to be somewhere else, to do their homework for other classes and so on. When you want too many things and run after too many rabbits, you end up catching no rabbits at all and you don’t enjoy the hunting process either. However, if you limit the number of options and slightly force people into one or a few of them, they have a higher probability of figuring out what they actually want. Those in the back had various motivations to come in the front. Those in the front, however, barely ever went to the back. Know why?”

J: “Because once you’ve started investing time and effort into something, at one point it becomes harder to give up on it than to continue investing.”

T: “I guess with your line of work you know more about motivation and self-motivation than I do.”

J: “It’s like how you know what colors to use to create the effect that you want. And I also know that most people get more attached to those who listen to them than those who talk to them.”

T: “Really? You’re a lot sneakier and smarter than I initially thought you were.”

Jungkook shared that opinion. He sometimes surprised and impressed himself with how smart he ended up sounding. Not that he was or ever thought of himself as stupid, but interacting with Taehyung sometimes slightly forced him into performing on a higher level and, Jungkook being Jungkook, he liked being challenged like that.

He discovered that Taehyung couldn’t be bothered with polite conversation since he was highly selective in what he invested his time in. But, with conversations like this, he would forget about the time passing by and about the original purpose of them meeting up, and the usual sourness would rarely make its appearance on his expression.

Jungkook enjoyed discovering things about Taehyung, no matter how that information came, including the fact that he had grown up on a farm, with many breeds of dogs taking care of dozens of sheep, and that he had two younger siblings, one of which was allergic to nuts.

J: “Okay… Does that information play a vital role in something?” Jungkook asked after Taehyung randomly mentioned such a detail about his little brother.

T: “I guess it does.”

J: “Care to elaborate?”

T: “We were too young to properly understand what being allergic to something means so, when my little brother saw me eating nuts and begged me to give him some too, I did. Even though mom had told me nuts were bad for him. That day we had to take my little brother to the hospital, I learned what being allergic to something means and I got the biggest scolding of my life.”

J: “But your brother was okay after that, right?”

T: “He was, but he didn’t make the connection between nuts and danger. I never let him have nuts again and, whenever I caught him trying to steal some, I hit him over his wrist and yelled at him even if I ended up making him cry.”

J: “I feel like you’re trying to get somewhere with this.”

T: “He too called me “cruel” in the beginning.”

J: “Oh…”

T: “And, had he known the terms “Spartan” and “Hard-”, he also would have called me that too.”

J: “Well, to be fair, I also called you “kind-hearted” at one point.”

T: “Too bad compliments don’t affect me the way they affect you.”

J: “What does that mean?”

T: “It means compliments don’t affect me the way they affect you.”

J: “Care to elaborate?”

T: “No. I’m here to help you train your dog, not help you on your journey of self-discovery.”

Jungkook didn’t particularly need Taehyung’s help in understanding what that meant. He was aware that, on the rare occasions Taehyung would compliment him, it would make him feel flustered, happy and most often a combination of those feelings. He was also painfully aware that he didn’t react that way if the compliments came from people other than Taehyung.

He was starting to think that Taehyung treating him like a dog by ruffling his hair and giving him treats whenever he performed well in the process of training Miri was starting to mess with his head. After a series of dreams featuring Taehyung as the master and Jungkook in a leash that made him wake up screaming in the middle of the night, also waking up Taehyung on the other side of the wall, Jungkook was sure that he had a problem. He instinctively started jumping away from Taehyung’s touch and it took only two such incidents for Taehyung to completely stop ruffling Jungkook’s hair, giving him treats or saying “Good boy.” to him. Jungkook told himself to stop being an idiot, but he still felt like he was mourning a great loss.

Besides this, there was another thing clouding Jungkook’s happiness – the fact that the training sessions would soon come to an end. Jungkook and Miri were doing well and, while Jungkook was genuinely happy about that, it meant that he would soon stop hanging out with Taehyung almost on a daily basis. Taehyung would still continue dog-sitting, as he had visibly grown attached to Miri, but his interactions with Jungkook would be limited to a few minutes per day or however little it took for Jungkook to drop off and pick up Miri.

Early on, Jungkook attempted extending the scope of their interactions by calling Taehyung over to play a video game, suggesting going for drinks somewhere, urging him to come to the gym where Jungkook worked, but he was always, without exception, refused with replies such as “Don’t have the time.”, “Not interested.” or the plain and simple “No.”. Jungkook half-jokingly told Taehyung that he was the very definition of playing hard to get, to which Taehyung replied:

T: “What makes you think I wanna be gotten in the first place?”

Jungkook couldn’t even tell anymore who was more annoyed between him and Taehyung and he cursed the way his mind worked, fully aware of the fact that Taehyung’s constant rejection only amplified his desire to hang out together and that, if Taehyung had accepted the first couple of times Jungkook asked, the latter would have been way more chill about everything.

He certainly wouldn’t have ended up doing something highly uncharacteristic for him, such as banging on a wall at 2 a.m. while he was smoking pot with some of his friends and yelling through said wall for Taehyung to wake up and come join the fun.

Taehyung eventually ended up coming to his door to enforce peace and quiet with a very colorful and serious threat that, somehow, got Jungkook laughing and dragging Taehyung inside with force. After being greeted by a crowd of cheerful, incoherent people, Taehyung growled as he exhaled before accepting his fate as well as the joint that was passed to him.

To be honest, Jungkook was partially looking forward to Taehyung scolding each and every one of them, including him, into absolute muteness, although he didn’t know why he would want something like that. He didn’t expect Taehyung to get high, get talkative and really chummy with his friends, and even get playful with one of the girls. And Jungkook certainly didn’t expect his mood to get fowl enough for him to just get up, announce that he was going home and walk out his own front door before coming back a minute later in the middle of a never-ending mocking session.

Jungkook didn’t know what was up with him until he noticed Miri making a huge fuss one day when Jungkook was petting another dog. Miri looked like she was ready to rip something to shreds and Jungkook laughed at how cute her fit of jealousy seemed until he realized with a feeling close to terror that it matched his attitude towards Taehyung being close to other people. Up until that point, Jungkook wasn’t even aware he could have the desire or tendency to monopolize someone, but he knew that’s what had made his mood fowl on the night Taehyung came to his place for the second time in his life and what manifested on two other occasions.

One such occasion was when Taehyung was helping Jungkook train Miri and Jungkook suddenly said:

J: “Hey, you know that guy you met when he was walking out of my apartment? He asked me for your number two times already. I told him you wouldn’t want me giving it to him, but I thought I should check with you just in case.”

T: “Ah, don’t worry about it. I bumped into him as he was coming to see you one time and I was going out to buy cigarettes, so he asked for my number directly and I gave it to him then.”

J: “What? Why?”

T: “Why not?”

J: “Why yes?”

T: “Why are you asking?”

J: “Why can’t I ask?”

T: “Why am I even playing this game with you? Tell me honestly why you want to know and I’ll tell you.”

J: “…”

T: “Are you jealous?”

J: “What?! Hell no! Why would you assume that I’d be jealous over you?”

T: “I… meant over him… Since he’s the one you’re occasionally sleeping with, not me.”

J: “Oh… I’m not jealous over him either. There aren’t any feelings involved.”

T: “Okay. Then you have no real reason for why you need to know.”

Taehyung ended the argument and, soon enough, he also ended the training session, Jungkook’s mood being visibly fowl and not allowing him to properly focus on what they were supposed to be doing. Before heading off, Taehyung threw one last punch by saying:

T: “I don’t have time to waste with childish people who can’t even understand or admit to their childish feelings.”

Jungkook refused to debate with himself what had happened and resolved to just forget about it. Things were somewhat clarified on a later date, when the guy in question met with Jungkook and gave him a copy of his freshly published book, which Jungkook stared at for quite a few seconds before saying:

J: “The cover looks… weird.”

G: “I know. And I love it! Your neighbor did a pretty awesome job at putting the gazillion things I had in my head into one single image. I’ve already recommended him to everyone I know, but it seems like it’s hard for him to find time for new projects.”

J: “This is what you wanted his number for? I thought you had other kinds of intentions.”

G: “I did and I straightforwardly relayed those intentions to him.”

J: “And?”

G: “And he just as straightforwardly told me he’s not interested in any type of connection without commitment.”

J: “Really?”

G: “He also mentioned something about going all in when playing poker, even though that mostly leads to a loss, but the feeling when he wins is worth it. He’s kinda cool, but too much of a hard- for my liking.”

J: “Pff! Tell me about it…”

The other occasion when Jungkook’s new-found tendency manifested came about as Taehyung was informing him that he could not make it to the training session on the following day because he had plans to meet with friends.

J: “Real or imaginary?”

T: “You think I don’t have friends because I spend most of my time in my apartment?”

J: “Let’s just say I’d like to see them with my own eyes. Can I join you?”

T: “…”

J: “I knew you wouldn’t agree to it, but…”

T: “Wait, I’m thinking.”

Jungkook was almost in shock that Taehyung was even considering hanging out with him outside of anything that had to do with Miri.

T: “Well, this non-imaginary friend of mine is having an event in her gallery and she said that the more crowded the place will be the better the pictures will come out. So, I guess, if you don’t mind wearing a suit jacket and listing to boring conversations about stuff people pretend to be interested in, you can come with me.”

J: “What time do we leave?”

T: “Around 6. Can you make it?”

J: “I’ll make it work.”

At 6 p.m. the following day, Jungkook met with Taehyung in front of his building and both of them stood still, silent and staring at each other with wide eyes for a few seconds because of the impact the other’s appearance had on them. Taehyung was used to seeing Jungkook in sportswear. Jungkook was used to seeing Taehyung in baggy clothes that you couldn’t quite tell if they were meant to be worn on the streets or strictly in the house. So seeing each other in well-fitted black suits and black dress shoes definitely left an impression.

T: “THIS is how you look when you clean up?”

J: “Why? What of it?”

T: “Nothing. I’m just surprised.”

The taxi arrived just then and they both got in on the backseat. Surprised was a neutral term and it was killing Jungkook because he couldn’t tell by that if Taehyung thought he was above or below his expectations. Meanwhile, Taehyung’s mind couldn’t stop mentally designing fashion magazine covers with Jungkook in the center of them.

When they got to the gallery and Taehyung went to greet his friend and the host of the event, she took a long look at Jungkook after spotting him behind Taehyung, then turned to her friend and said:

F: “Tae… Are you trying to overshadow my artwork by bringing in this living, breathing and walking piece of artwork?”

T: “Competition for the spotlight’s always been a part of this industry, you know? If you can’t handle it, there’s always room for one more in the non-fascinating realm of freelancing.”

The evening progressed nicely for the most part. Taehyung’s friends were likable and friendly, which seemed strange at first till Jungkook realized that Taehyung was also like that when he was among them. Taehyung smiled so much, both genuinely and not genuinely, that Jungkook thought for a moment that he had accompanied the wrong person to the event.

However, Jungkook could barely keep up with most of the conversations, since the things discussed were very much outside his area of interests, and he felt like a fish that had been thrown back into the sea when someone asked him how different sports influenced the shape of the human muscles.

Another thing that made the evening a bit hard to handle for Jungkook consisted of the numerous barter offers he received, which involved him being someone’s personal trainer in exchange for often dubious-sounding opportunities like entering the modeling and acting world, and also numerous requests of being a model for sculptors, painters, photographers and other such artists. Jungkook was seriously considering writing “No to Nudes” on his forehead and walking around like that.

Taehyung had told him to bring business cards, but Jungkook didn’t have such items since he usually got enough clients through recommendations, so Taehyung whipped him up a couple dozen professional looking business cards, got them printed, cut and laminated in the span of less than a day. Still, Jungkook gave out very few of those business cards because he felt that most of those claiming they wanted to get into shape or live healthier were just blowing hot air.

The only time he gave out a business card without being asked for it was to an older gentleman that had spent nearly twenty minutes explaining to Jungkook how restoration work had affected his health. Jungkook offered his business card and a free two-hour session in which he would evaluate the man’s physical state, prescribe exercises he could do on his own and show him how to do them.

G: “Thanks, but it wasn’t my intention to guilt-trip you into this.”

J: “It’s not that. This has been the most relaxing conversation I’ve had tonight and I want to help.”

G: “I’m sure there were others here who have asked for your type of services. Wouldn’t you rather spend your time on someone young and good looking?”

J: “No, not really. I thought I was shallow, but I’ve discovered tonight that looks don’t mean that much to me.”

And Jungkook meant it. At the event he saw over thirty people whose looks were to Jungkook’s liking, even more than Taehyung’s were, and a lot of them approached Jungkook for one reason or another, but his eyes kept getting pulled towards Taehyung and, specifically, the way he smiled widely and laughed a lot with the people there.

At one point, the question of why Taehyung was like that with other people but not with him formed in Jungkook’s mind and it bugged him continuously afterwards. The feeling swelled into irritation and Jungkook decided it would be best if he left so he wouldn’t have to see it anymore. However, when he told Taehyung that he was going home, all that Taehyung said was “Alright.” and that indifference towards his presence there or the lack of it made Jungkook even more irritated and also a bit sad.

He attempted leaving, but his path was suddenly blocked by a lady with a clear and firm goal in mind of getting Jungkook to star in her play. She talked in a way that didn’t give Jungkook any chance of refusing or escaping, he was getting uncomfortable and he was worried he might snap at her if she didn’t stop.

Right then he felt hands on both of his biceps and Taehyung suddenly appeared to his right saying:

T: “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to steal him for a bit.”

Then he swiftly pulled and pushed Jungkook, holding him in the same way as they walked towards the exit.

T: “Don’t you feel like throwing up?”

J: “Huh? No.”

T: “Really? Cause I do. Join me outside for a smoke?”

J: “Sure. But you should really quit smoking.”

T: “Mind your own business!”

J: “Mind your own health!”

T: “I AM minding my own health.”

J: “How?”

T: “I’m talking to you to calm my stomach down and keep it from shooting acid up my throat.”

J: “Oh… Why did you come here if you hate it so much?”

T: “To support my friend and talk to people I enjoy talking to. Which are only a portion of the people I ended up talking to, but I can’t act rude at my friend’s event.” Taehyung explained as they got outside and went to a corner where Taehyung lit himself a cigarette before he continued with something else: “Weren’t you going home?”

J: “I got held hostage.”

T: “Oh. Too bad that you’re leaving, but I guess you’re not really having fun here, not that I don’t feel’ya on that, and you don’t wanna leave Miri alone for too long.”

If Taehyung thought those were the reasons, Jungkook wasn’t sad or irritated anymore about Taehyung not having any reaction to him leaving. He opened his mouth to say something, but right then a gush of wind came and made him shiver before he crossed his arms over his chest.

T: “Pretty cold, huh? You can leave if you want, you don’t have to stay with me till I finish.”

J: “Nah, I’ll stay… But you should really quit smoking.”

T: “Shut up… Just stand there silently like a pretty piece of artwork.”

J: “Pff! I’ve been called a piece of artwork way too many times tonight. Enough to last me for a lifetime.”

T: “Well what did you expect stepping out of the house looking like that?”

J: “Looking like what?”

T: “Like you’re out to make everything breathing and non-breathing blush.”

J: “So looking… good?”

T: “Check with a mirror or get yourself some glasses, Jungkook. Good’s a shameless understatement.”

Jungkook stared at Taehyung with his mouth handing for a bit, then covered it with the palm of his hand to keep his heart from jumping out his chest through it with the way it was frantically pumping blood into his face and giving him a hard time breathing. The cumulated effected of everything everyone said to him that evening couldn’t hold a candle to how he felt at that moment.

T: “And THAT is how compliments don’t affect me, but they affect you.”

J: “Compliments don’t affect me this way either… usually…” Jungkook said, turning his gaze back to meet Taehyung’s and held it for a while before Jungkook took a step forward. “Taehy…”

F: “Taeee! I’ve been looking for you.” Taehyung’s friend, the event host, came calling and making Jungkook stop right before he got really close to Taehyung.

J: “I’ll be heading home now.” Jungkook told Taehyung before he realized Taehyung was looking at him with an unreadable expression and a gaze so intense it felt like it was drilling into Jungkook’s soul and he felt like he needed to make a run for it.

Jungkook marched away and tried calling a taxi, but his fingers were shaking too much to properly operate a mobile device so, eventually, he did end up running all the way home, in a suit, gaining many stares along the way, trying to shake off feelings he hadn’t even deciphered yet.

Back at the gallery, Taehyung’s friend picked up on the tension and asked:

F: “Was… something about to happen and I interrupted?”

T: “Yes.”

F: “Oh… sorry…”

T: “It’s fine. If it doesn’t come to the point of “about to happen” again, this doesn’t matter.”

After three incidents of getting jealous, quite a few dreams, several strong reactions to Taehyung complimenting him and one incident in which Jungkook belatedly realized and admitted to himself that he intended to kiss Taehyung, Jungkook came to the conclusion that the recent weirdness he was experiencing wasn’t because he had gotten messed up by Taehyung treating him like a dog, because Taehyung kept switching from warm to frosty cold in a nanosecond or because Taehyung felt like a tough challenge that would be very rewarding when overcome. Or maybe it was because of all of these things, but also because of one simple fact – Jungkook liked Taehyung.

As soon as he came to that conclusion and accepted it, he calmed down. So he developed the hots for someone who might poke his eyes out if he ever said something inappropriate before said person had his morning coffee... So he realized he wanted to get closer to someone who, instead of happily running into his arms, would soon get even further away... Big deal. All Jungkook had to do was to win him over. Even though he had rarely been the pursuer or had performed pursuing for an extended period of time, Jungkook was confident that he could do it now that his motivation and goal were clearer to him and, even if this was Taehyung of all people, he thought it wouldn’t be that complicated.

As a good personal trainer, Jungkook knew the importance of setting short term and long term goals, then laying down the steps needed in order to achieve them. The long term goal was basically banging Taehyung. As for short term goals, Jungkook had to secure a pretext under which he could regularly meet with Taehyung to provide a context for any of the following steps.

Taehyung’s training sessions with Jungkook and Miri would come to an end pretty soon and Jungkook had barely made any progress in getting Taehyung to be chummier with him and it was far from them being chummy enough to regularly meet with both parties willingly engaging in such a thing.

There was only one solution Jungkook could think of and it was actually a solution that seemed to fit in naturally and would be beneficial to Taehyung.

So, on the day when Taehyung announced Jungkook’s graduation from dog training boot camp, Jungkook took a bow full of reverence and thanked Taehyung for his care and teachings.

T: “Sure. And I don’t mind if you’re gratitude will make you continue to do my grocery shopping for me. But buy the damn cheese when I ask you to buy cheese! I understand why you won’t buy me cigarettes, but cheese won’t give me cancer or kill me.”

J: “It’s pure cholesterol and it’ll give you atherosclerosis, which might, eventually, kill you.”

T: “Oh dear Lord… Next time I’m gonna help someone with their dog I’m gonna make sure they’re a car mechanic or something like that…”

J: “I’m glad you brought up my profession. When can we start?”

T: “When can we start what?”

J: “Me making your body better.”

It took Taehyung a few seconds to figure out what Jungkook was trying to say and, when he did, he eye rolled out of reflex. Jungkook had brought that up quite a few times since they started Miri’s training, but it seems a clear “No” didn’t work on Jungkook, so Taehyung tried a different manner of replying:

T: “I’ll let you know. Do hold your breath until then.”

J: “Come on, Taehyung. What’s your excuse gonna be this time?”

T: “The classic – I don’t have time for this.”

J: “Sure you do. You’re free from dog training duty, so now you have an extra hour each evening which you could invest in exercising. And I don’t even need you to invest that much. We can do three hours on three non-consecutive days of the week or half an hour for any six days of the week. Take your pick.”

T: “Hasn’t it ever occurred to you that I might want to invest that time into new projects?”

J: “To do what? Make money? So you can pay for all the surgeries you’ll have in twenty years or so?”

T: “Is THIS how you get your clients motivated usually?”

J: “Some of them, yes. Because, for some people, fear is the only thing that’ll motivate them into changing their bad habits.”

T: “Well fear’s not gonna do anything for me. You’re wasting your time barking at a brick wall, Jungkook. Go do something more productive with your time.” Taehyung said, turning to walk away and not giving Jungkook the option of replying.

Jungkook exhaled angrily, but he wasn’t angry. Rather, he was slightly excited for what was going to come. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. If Taehyung was likely to agree with just this, Jungkook wouldn’t have considered this process a goal instead of a step. And he was always exited when setting a new goal.

The next morning when Taehyung opened the door to take Miri into his custody, Jungkook said:

J: “Morning, Taehyung. Get ready to go for a run tonight.”

Taehyung took Miri and closed the door without saying a word. In the evening, when it was time to give Miri back to Jungkook, as soon as Taehyung opened the door he heard:

J: “Hey! Let’s go for a run.”

Again he closed the door without saying a word. This ritual continued and they both got creative about it. When Taehyung opened and closed the door really fast, Jungkook shouted through the door. When Taehyung opened the door with headphones on through which loud music was blasting, Jungkook started leaving notes under Miri’s collar or on the package of her dog food with all the negative consequences of a sedentary lifestyle. When Jungkook started getting hit in the head with the crumpled up notes as Taehyung was handing Miri back to him, he started sending text messages and calling. After a while, he realized Taehyung had blocked his number, so he left letters in his mailbox. When those letters were thrown onto his balcony, Jungkook tried yelling through the wall and was met with music turned loud on the other side of it.

One evening, Taehyung didn’t open the door even slightly and didn’t throw some threats from behind it no matter how much Jungkook rang the bell, knocked and yelled. He could hear Miri barking happily behind the door but he couldn’t hear any other sound coming from inside. Jungkook waited for a while in case Taehyung had gone out without taking Miri, but nothing happened so he tried calling Taehyung’s phone from a different number, one that wasn’t blocked, and he heard the phone ringing inside, but still no other sound aside from the ones Miri was making.

A while later, as Taehyung was fully concentrating and immersed in the video game character he was designing, listening to music through his headphones with the volume turned all the way up, he felt Miri jump on his legs and he snapped out of the state he was in and looked at her to see what she wanted. Taehyung watched Miri head over to the closed balcony and there he saw Jungkook. Taehyung jumped back in his chair from the startle and mouthed “What the ?” as Jungkook tapped on the glass door saying something Taehyung couldn’t hear. He took his headphones off and went over to the balcony, but didn’t open its door and opted instead for yelling through it to communicate with Jungkook.

T: “What the hell are you doing there?”

J: “Let’s go for a run. The weather’s nice enough, let’s go before it gets cold.”

T: “Go back home, you lunatic!”

Taehyung closed the dark drapes through which neither of them could see the other anymore and went back to work still in disbelief that Jungkook had actually climbed from one balcony to the other just to get Taehyung to go for a run. Half an hour later, however, Taehyung gave up on trying to get his concentration back because he couldn’t stop thinking of how dangerous it actually was to cross over from one balcony to the other and the fact that there was a possibility, even if it was a small one, that Jungkook might have fallen while attempting that stunt. He went over to the balcony and planned on taking a sneak peak over the railing just to check that there was no body there, but when he pulled the drapes he saw that Jungkook was still sitting on the doorstep of his balcony doing something with his hands.

T: “What are you still doing here?” Taehyung asked after opening the balcony door.

J: “Destroying your cigarettes.”

T: “And my nerves… Why haven’t you gone back to your own place yet?”

J: “I came here for a reason and I’m not gonna cross over from one balcony to the other twice while leaving empty handed. So I’m staying here till you agree to go jogging with me.”

T: “This is still my balcony, you know?”

J: “What are you gonna do? Throw me off of it?”

T: “Fine! Then stay there until winter!”

Taehyung closed the balcony door and pulled the drapes again with Jungkook not even flinching. One hour later Taehyung started hearing the wind build up and another hour after that he went to take a peak from behind the drapes to check if Jungkook was still there. He was and Taehyung snapped. Jungkook suddenly heard the door open behind him and, not even a second later, felt himself getting dragged inside by the collar, thrown onto the bed and thrown a series of blankets over while Taehyung spat colorful curse words and phrases indicating his disbelief at Jungkook’s level of idiocy. Jungkook covered himself with the blankets as Taehyung went into the kitchen, feeling like his mind was going numb from the sudden increase in the surrounding temperature. Taehyung came back shortly with a cup of hot tea and some medicine he gave to Jungkook as he said:

T: “You go on and on about atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, cancer and all that… Ever heard of pneumonia? Did you know idiots like you are very prone to developing it?”

J: “Ah… You caved in so much faster than I thought you would…”

T: “Do you want me to drag you back out there?”

J: “That’s an empty threat. You’re so soft-hearted, Taehyung… I really like…” Jungkook trailed off and dozed off for a second, then snapped back to reality and looked highly confused about his surroundings.

Taehyung placed his hands on Jungkook’s forehead and neck and, after inspection, said:

T: “Ah, great… You have a fever.”

J: “Lemon water should help.”

T: “Really? In this situation? I don’t think I have lemons though.”

J: “You’re basically a lemon.”

T: “Finish that tea and try sleeping it off. I’ll look for a cloth to soak in cold water.” Taehyung said, attempting to go and do that when Jungkook suddenly grabbed his hand saying:

J: “I meant what I said – I’m not leaving here until you agree to go jogging with me.”

T: “How about this – I agree to go jogging with you ONCE… if and only if you wake up tomorrow with absolutely no cold symptoms.”

J: “Deal!” Jungkook declared before he downed the very hot tea like it was water and snuggled under three layers of blankets in Taehyung’s bed, breathing in and committing their smell to mind before falling asleep.

Miri whined at the foot of the bed and looked towards Taehyung with begging eyes. Taehyung breathed out slowly, made an exception and allowed her to go onto his bed and snuggle against her owner.

In the morning, Taehyung was startled out of his sleep when he heard dishes falling and he almost fell from the desk chair he had been sleeping on. Miri ran to him to give her morning greeting, then accompanied him on his way to the kitchen where Jungkook was cooking or rearranging his kitchen, Taehyung wasn’t sure.

J: “Morning, Taehyung! Hope you’re ready for a protein-rich breakfast and some awesome news – I don’t have a cold, so you’re going jogging with me!” Jungkook cheerfully declared, pointing at Taehyung with the index finger of his free hand.

T: “You don’t have a cold? How? You had a fever throughout almost all of the night.”

J: “Yeah, but I also had your healing TLC and the will to defeat the cold by morning so that you would go jog…”

Jungkook stopped in the middle of the word and sneezed strongly, making Taehyung burst out in laughter while saying:

T: “Fail.”

J: “No, wait! This is just pepper that got into my nose as I was cooking. It doesn’t count. I don’t actually have a cold.”

T: “A fail is fail, Jungkook. Be a man and accept it.”

J: “Fine… But I’m still not leaving here till I get you to agree to run.”

T: “Really? Don’t you have appointments today? Are you gonna call your clients and cancel?”

Jungkook growled before he turned his gaze back to Taehyung with even more determination.

J: “Alright, I’ll be leaving, but I’ll be back again in the evening!”

T: “Don’t.”

There was something absolute about Taehyung’s tone that did not allow for any further arguments, so Jungkook just lowered his head and stayed silent till Taehyung resumed talking.

T: “I’m gonna be catching up on last night’s sleep in the evening. You should probably rest tonight too if you can. Miri can stay here or you can come pick her up before I hit the sack. Both options are fine, but text me beforehand and let me know.”

J: “You blocked my number though.”

T: “I haven’t blocked the other one you’re using… yet.”

That was all Jungkook needed to remind himself that the game wasn’t over yet and he cheerfully continued to make breakfast, subtly trying to educate Taehyung on what was generally good to eat for breakfast in the process.