Audio Chapter 9

        A week passed by without even a shadow of a dream like the ones Jungkook and Taehyung shared, and between that a lot happened.

        When Taehyung found the scribbled note at the back of the receipt (‘Normal protocol says here's where I'm supposed to give you my number, but what is one to do when you already have that?'), he had made a noise that brought two curious heads popping into his room to ensure he was okay- two that left with equally confused expressions when they found their son giggling to himself after stuffing both of their faces with mooncakes. Jin-sang noted idly that they were from the regular bakers.

        Later, Taehyung sent a text to Jungkook admitting that he wasn't sure about what to do there either because the next step would be hinting towards meeting outside the bakery, but that was effectively thwarted because they did go to school together.

        Jungkook himself wasn't too sure where to go from Taehyung's message that night, so he stared at his screen before replying back, ‘Then I guess it's time to break the mold of what's normal.’ A message which only got sent with the stipulation that he drop his phone and roll away because he couldn't believe he typed that to Taehyung.

        Taehyung did end up tagging along for the next performance and was possibly the most excited fan there, though he made sure he toned it down a little because this time, the people he was cheering for were people who knew him. Every BTS member seemed to take pretty well to him, Yoongi remained intimidating even when conversing casually, but when they were communally rolling their eyes at Yoongi's attempts at jokes ('dad jokes', Jimin mumbled and shook his head for Taehyung's benefit) he too had trouble stifling a chuckle.

        The night passed without much of a chance to converse with Jungkook (much to both of their disappointment), but Taehyung was pretty sure that there were glances passed between them, that if he wasn't mistaken, spoke of sparks flying. Jungkook knew he had looked in the other's direction often enough that he was positive Jimin would be torturing him the rest of the week about whether or not he had told Taehyung of his crush yet- and Jungkook also knew he would ignore Jimin just to bother him.

        And yet, Jungkook couldn't help himself as his fingers occasionally brushed the bracelet he was borrowing from Taehyung, a smile on his lips.

        The Japanese test was on a Friday, and at the end of it and basketball practice, Taehyung was truly too wiped for anything but showering and wordlessly crashing in bed with a bag of crackers and his phone to play games on. Night came and both Jin-sang and Kan were held up at a meeting, so he decided to sleep.

        When he woke up to a wooden ceiling, and a young lady in traditional garb gently rousing him for the 'big day', Taehyung knew there was no time for confusion.

        For the first few hours, Taehyung didn't deviate much from the dream in which he had no control over what he was doing- when he was only looking through Seung-yoon's eyes, seeing all he'd seen and experiencing everything Seungyoon had went through before the fateful moment in which Yejun was dragged away from him. But the cheery air and the attitude that came naturally to royal blood had to be feigned, and Taehyung tried to act the role the best he could.

        In ways the entire thing seemed ridiculous- he was putting on a show to figments of his imagination, the characters of an inexplicable dream. But its inexplicability was enough motivation to put all his effort into it. He didn’t want to see Yejun dragged away once again. So no suspicions could be afforded, and this time “Seung-yoon” made a conscious effort to avoid Youngmin.

        When he had bathed and dressed and had his breakfast, Taehyung asked for a little privacy, and once left alone, headed towards the tree. This time around, time was on their side. Reaching the tree, Taehyung looked around in search of Jungkook, praying he remembered the way.

        It wasn’t long before the other showed up. Between wringing his fingers and pacing around in the little area he could without attracting attention from those who wandered in other sections of the garden but out of earshot, and his own thoughts echoing in his mind, Taehyung barely caught Jungkook's arrival. Twisting around abruptly with wide eyes when he was tapped on the shoulder, he let out a soft sigh in relief.

         "Everyone else gone already?" Jungkook asked softly as he glanced around.

        Taehyung quickly moved to a side and kneeled on the grass, sitting back on his haunches. "Sent them away for a while, but they’ll be looking again soon enough I think. Seung-yoon's going to have to greet honored guests who came for the occasion." Noticing the bag that was tucked to Junhykook's side, Taehyung tipped his head towards it. "Is that the makeup and all?"

        Jungkook relaxed visibly. "Fair enough, I assume." Jungkook settled in beside Taehyung as he placed the bag in his lap. "Yes. This is everything I needed to grab for our plan." He held the handle out to the other, "Can you get it back without too much suspicion, do you think?"

        The concern in Jungkook’s voice gave him pause. Opening the tie of the bundle Taehyung inspected its contents, before nodding in agreement.

         When Taehyung had scanned the items, he bit the inside of his cheek in thought. "I can't lose everyone until the celebrations start near the sunset, so once I'm changed into something less showy, I should be able to meet you at the library and at that point, carrying this shouldn’t be trouble." He paused, rubbing his cheek in thought. Taehyung's brows furrowed lightly as he thought aloud, "I need you to be a look out for me while I change. It'll be a lot of trouble if someone catches me."

        Jungkook nodded in agreement. "I have your back, you know that," he was quick to promise, giving the other a small smile despite the slight air of nervousness that hung about him.

        Jungkook's smile mirrored itself on Taehyungs lips and he nodded in gratitude. Perhaps it was a pretty odd nightmare for Taehyung, but it didn't really compare to Jungkook's. Seung-yoon was robbed of his lover but Yejun had his life stolen from him. And Jungkook was looking through his eyes. It was hard to push off as ‘just a dream’ when everything felt so real.

        Gently bumping his arm against Taehyung’s, Jungkook looked up at the tree above them. "Hopefully we won't have to do this again after today, right?" He added brightly, "Then we can hang out without this dream looming over our heads." He turned to look at Taehyung, "Wouldn't that be a nice reprieve?"

        "That does sound nice..." Taehyung murmured as he let out a small sigh and tied the bundle back neatly so he would be able to carry it back inside his the sleeves of his durugami without it being noticed. "Maybe the library isn't a good idea. We'll meet elsewhere, maybe near the servants’ quarters. Few people would be there at that time because of the celebrations and it gives me a chance to change."

        "Sounds fine to me." Jungkook agreed after a moment, "Will you be able to find your way alright though?" Despite that concern, he too agreed that was one of the best alterations to the original dream either of them could have offered.

          "I'll find my way," Taehyung assured, his voice betraying the doubt in it. Shaking himself of it, he nodded slightly. "I can probably get to the closest one to the main palace. I think the closest ones would be the quarters near the west end, but most of the people there as far as I saw were women. Ladies in waiting to the queen and all, I think."

        His gaze fixed on the grass, Taehyung did his best not to completely loose hope. The west end of the palace was a part he had seen from the distance, but the general lack of men there indicated towards what his cousin had mentioned between a conversation- the rooms of most of the women of the royal family was to one side, and the boarding of the ladies in waiting not far from there. Yet, it seemed the most appropriate place for him to change.

        As the idea hit Taehyung, he perked up. "Seung-yoon has a sister," he had not really been aware of many of the people that morning, but one face and conversation seemed to fit in neatly with words that Seungyoon spoke in the first dream- the cloth spun with his sister and mother. "She's young, I could go to the west end on the pretense of looking for her to join him in the celebrations. And... you could pretend to be dropping off some supplies at the servants quarters. Do you think it could work?"

        Jungkook’s expression brightened at the suggestion. "Yes. It sounds pretty much perfect to me." Jungkook responded brightly, "Alright, so we're ready for this now, right?"

        "As ready as we'll ever be, I guess," Taehyung mumbled and glanced out to a few people heading their way, though still a distance from it. "And that's hoping we'll never have to be ready for it again." Turning his gaze back to Jungkook, Taehyung smiled lightly in reassurance.

        He hesitated a moment in silence, then moved closer and wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders in a hug, almost reluctant to let go. "I'll see you later," he murmured as he pulled back and collected the bag, tucking it into his sleeve before standing up and with a last smile over his shoulder, heading back out into the garden as Jungkook’s whisper of ‘see you soon’ echoed in his ears.

        Things were falling in