Taehyung's POV

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I hadn't seen Jungkook in over two years, now. We remained in contact for quite awhile after I went back to Europe but over time, the distance formed a rift between us. We were always very excited when we did get to see each other, a few times a year, but it was never quite the same as it used to be.

The calls became less urgent and the visits less frequent, as we both went about our own lives. We certainly never stopped caring about each other. However, we were forced to grow up and worry about setting the foundations for the rest of our lives. Things that seemed important when we were young, suddenly seemed trivial and responsibilities got in the way of our free time.

I had completed my art degree, with little difficulty but much determination. By the time I graduated, I had sold enough art pieces to save up for my own gallery. Today was the grand opening. I chose a location that wasn't too far from where I used to live. I was hosting a party and really hoping my first love would be able to make it.

Jungkook had, unsurprisingly, gotten a full scholarship to one of the top universities in Seoul. He had completed his four-year degree early, graduating at the top of his class. I always expected him to do great things with his life. I was surprised to find out he was going to be a college physics professor. He said he wanted to go back to school, eventually, but for now he had always wanted to be someone to look up to and hopefully he could find a student to guide who was the same way he used to be. I told him to go for it, since it made sense to me that he would want to help someone, like that.

I ended up having to become civil with Jin. He was a big social director in the art scene around here, so it was unavoidable. He had toned down his irrational behavior, same as me, so we got along ok but weren't very close. We had an understanding after the whole Jungkook thing. He felt like an about what he did and kind of wanted to make it up to me by helping me promote.

I was chatting with my date, Ellin. "I told you that outfit was your style, you look fantastic! It's very casual-chic." She said, referring to my white shirt, black blazer and jeans. I was complimenting her dress, when she pointed out someone was standing behind me.

I turned around and nearly jumped up with glee when I noticed it was Jungkook.

"Surprise." He chuckled. He had a smile plastered on his face, looking super handsome in his black suit and light pink tie.

"Wow, hello Professor! Look at you!" My eyes formed crescent shapes as I pulled him into a friendly hug, patting his back. 

"Ellin, this is Jungkook. My long-time friend." I said.

He cleared his throat and shook her hand, bowing politely.

"Well, I'll leave you two, I think I saw Soyul by the horderves. Bye." She said, smooching me on the cheek and walking away.

Jungkook continued smiling, he scratched the back of his head, avoiding my eyes.

"I shall show you around." I hinged my arm around his shoulder, without hesitation and walked forward, ignoring any awkwardness.

We walked around the brightly-lit gallery. There were thirty of my painting, in all, adorning the walls. Some big and some small. There were clusters of people, scattered about, admiring the paintings and quietly chattering as if they were in a library. Most of them were holding champagne glasses and a lot of them looked pretty wealthy.

I grabbed a couple of champagne glasses from a server, as she walk by and handed one to Jungkook.

"This is really impressive." He finally said.

"Thanks, I think this may be some of my best work."

"Oh, I meant the party. The champagne is fantastic. The art's ok, too." He joked.

I let out a chuckle. "You can thank Jin's organizational skills. I doubt I could have managed, without him."

"Really? You and Jin working together, huh? I guess you guys have really grown up." He stuck out his tongue before sipping his drink.

"You sure grew up into a little smart-." I said, biting my lip.

"Please, hyung, don't be threatened by my endless wit. I'll try not to use too many big words, around you." He winked.

I glared at him and pinched his cheek, making him wince in annoyance and move away. He had matured quite a bit but he was still always-cute-baby-faced Kookie, to me. I smirked at this and led the way to the next room, which had an outdoor balcony.

We headed straight for it, after Jungkook commented on how stuffy it felt, in there.

"Yeah, sorry about that. The turn out is much better than I expected." I said, leaning over the railing and biting my thumb. The balcony was on the third story, overlooking the street, which was lined with several pottery barns and craft stores. It was a perfect area for a gallery and I was lucky to have landed it.

"You ok?" he asked, once he noticed the distant look in my eyes.

"Yeah. It's just.. my mom died today.. 5 years ago." I nodded, sticking my bottom lip out.

"You know, I never asked you how she passed.."

"She just died." I said, somberly.

"What do you mean?"

"Her and my father were arguing about me, again. My mother was always defending my dream and my father tried to insist it was unrealistic. Anyways I went upstairs to try to calm her down.. she had been really stressed that week. It wasn't the first time their discussion had escalated, like that. She dropped to the floor, mid-sentence. It was a brain aneurysm. She was supposed to have gone to the doctor the next day for her headaches.. I guess it was already too late. She died before the ambulance arrived." I continued looking down.

"Wow, I didn't know she died in front of you. I'm so sorry, hyung. I understand why you never wanted to talk about it."

"It's ok, I think I've gotten to the point where I've accepted death as a part of life. At least now I can remember this day, more fondly...althought it will remain nothing more than bittersweet."

Jungkook nodded. There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"So, uhm, you and Ellin? She's cute..." He said, slowly.

"Uh, yeah. I met her a couple of weeks ago at a cafe. She's really interested in my art. We've only gone out a couple of times so it's nothing serious." I tried to emphasize on the last part. I hadn't exactly planned to meet her but she was helping me pass the time until I saw Jungkook, again. I wasn't absolutely certain that he would be available, after all this time, and I didn't want to just assume things.

After actually seeing him again, though, it was hard to resist tearing his clothes off and ravaging him, where he stood. He looked so damn y in a suit!

"Oh... I see. Well, you are pretty darn interesting. Can't blame her, at all."

I chuckled, hitting his arm. He shifted, uncomfortably and I could tell he was jealous.

There was a long silence. We stared out over the balcony, at the stars, occasionally sipping on our drinks.

"Ah, I could use a refill, how about you? Here, I'll go get us some more." He turned to face me, reaching for my empty glass.

"Jungkook." I grabbed his arms, before he could walk away. He lifted his head up slowly to meet my gaze.

I smiled, contently. I had been waiting for him to finally gain the courage to look at me for more than a few seconds, at a time. Sometimes he needed a push. I knew what it did to him and to be honest, it's what I longed for. "I'm not going anywhere." I stated, simply.

I could feel the heat rising in his body. Seeing his ears turn red reminded me of old times. He stared at me for a few seconds before suddenly lunging his body forward to embrace me. I hugged him back, feeling a sense of relief.

There was no need for words.

There was no more distance between us. There was no more fear or counting the days where we could meet again.

There was only tranquility.

We stood there, soaked in each other, feeling thankful for the long anticipation. For without it, this moment could not have been as beautiful.

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A/N: Ok, now all that's left is going back and revising all the chapters so that they are more readable ^^' Some are good enough but there's a lot of em I could ahve done better on. Thank you so much for reading ♥ Much love and happy holidays, everyone! Be good xp Please look out for my future stories!