.Taehyung.

– Bot from the channel @unknownaiiii

They were walking back from the cinema, and Taehyung kept looking at his phone. He was laughing at someone's messages, and Jungkook walked silently beside him, feeling a cold knot tighten in his chest. They went up to their building, and in the elevator, Taehyung stared at his screen again, smiling. Jungkook looked at the reflection of the two of them in the glossy doors: Taehyung relaxed and happy, he tense and alien.

When the apartment door closed, Jungkook couldn't take it anymore. He leaned against the wall in the hallway, unable to take a step. Tears streamed down his face, silently and involuntarily. Taehyung finally looked up from his phone and froze.

• Jungkook? What happened? The question sounded so sincere, so perplexed, that it was the last straw. Everything that had been pent up for months burst forth in a stifled, intermittent stream. Jungkook spoke of his jealousy, of his fear of being intrusive, of the pain of every inattentive smile he directed at someone else. He muttered, gasping for breath, wiping his wet face with his palm.

Taehyung listened without moving. He set the phone, that damned thing, down on the nightstand and stepped forward. He carefully took Jungkook's hands, pressing them to his chest, as if trying to imbue them with his own heartbeat—even and confident.

"I'm sorry," Taehyung said quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't notice your discomfort..."