BROMANCE | VKOOK - Chapter 17: Chapter 17

"What you're staring at?", Hoseok smacked Taehyung's head jokingly and then wrapped his arm around the boy, "Come on."
Taehyung rolled his eyes, forcing himself to break the eye contact he was holding with Jungkook. The younger looked down and then changed his directions while Taehyung was dragged along by the others. "So you finally broke up with that bitch?", Hoseok then asked, looking at Lia.
Lia gulped.
"Yeah", Taehyung said in a small voice, "We broke up with each other, it was equal", he corrected Hoseok's assumption though.
"Thank god", Yoongi said, joining them now, "That whore doesn't fit in with us anyway. She's finally back at the bottom."
The girl crossed her arms, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you're not a cheerleader, you're not really good at anything and now you just lost the dick that got you popular. You're nothing without a boy, Lia", Yoongi lifted his eyebrows. "Look at Aylie, my girlfriend is the captain of the cheerleaders, she's always gonna be great. But who are you? You were nothing but Taehyung's pussy to fuck."
Taehyung gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to defend Lia in front of the other boys.
"Oh, so you're saying a girl needs a boy to be something?", Lia asked in disbelief, eyebrows furrowed, "In which century are you living in, dude?"
"Why are you still talking?", Hoseok interrupted, "Shut up, whore. Taehyung's always been too good for you anyway."
"I fucked your girlfriend", Taehyung blurted out, looking at Yoongi. "I fucked Aylie and I don't feel sorry for it", with that he pushed Hoseok's arm off him and grabbed Lia by her wrist to pull her away from the boys.
Lia let out the biggest sigh, "God, I hate your friends!"
"I hate them too", Taehyung grumbled. "They're disgusting human beings", he chuckled and pulled her over to the classroom they were about to have class in.
"Why are you still being friends with them?!", Lia blurted out, "They're horrible."
Taehyung shrugged, "What choice do I have?"
"I'd rather have no friends than friends like this", Lia grumbled and sat down on her seat. "Seriously, Tae."
"Lia, I'm not going to stop being friends with them. If my team doesn't have my back, I can basically drop out of football."
The girl looked down, "I get it. I'm sorry, I'm just hurt by what they said."
He nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You don't need a boy, Lia. You're amazing either way."
*
The next few days passed by almost peacefully.
Jungkook and Taehyung didn't even see each other once in the hallways, Taehyung spent his afternoons in the library because he really had nothing else to do. He didn't want to be hanging out with the others, he was still mad at them for being an asshole to Jungkook and Lia, degrading them just because they didn't fit in their picture.
Jungkook just sat around alone, playing videogames with his parents. Lyza wasn't really allowed to hang out at his house, her boyfriend was a bit annoying when it came to them hanging out privately, so Jungkook was stuck with his parents, having no one else to call.
A week passed by and nothing changed.
At football practice, Jungkook would just get run over, coming home with bruises that made him want to quit, but he didn't for his father's sake. And because it was the only chance to see Taehyung. Even though it seemed to be over, Jungkook still wanted to see if he was alright. Somehow he never saw Taehyung smiling and once practice was over, he didn't even shower, he just left the football field, interlocking arms with Lia who waited for him at the fence.
Kook would lie if he'd say he wasn't jealous.
They broke up, they stopped touching-, yet it felt worse than ever to see them together.
He knew that Taehyung tried to make Lia his safe spot, the one Jungkook had dying to be from the moment he fell in love with Taehyung.
But it was easier to be exactly that if you were a girl, of course, why was it even surprising Jungkook at this point?
Today it was Wednesday and Taehyung sat in class with his friends, looking down at a paper in front of him. Listed were colleges and possible scholarships for those.
Hoseok kept joking around getting the best football scholarship, fighting with Yoongi over which school would be the best.
Taehyung's hand was shaking, he wanted to make a cross on Princeton University so bad but he knew that this was an Ivy league college and that he'd never get in there.
But this was only an application, right?
What could go wrong?
There was this week in two weeks where the seniors would spend a week at a college of their choice, having the opportunity to check the campus out and go to some lectures, seeing if a certain college suited their choices.
"Yo, Tae, where ya goin?", Hoseok interrupted Taehyung's thoughts, glancing at his paper.
"Princeton", Taehyung admitted quietly, looking down.
"Dude", Yoongi laughed out, "You do know that they don't give out football scholarships, right? They only offer academic ones."
Taehyung nodded, "I know.."
"Why you even considering it, then?", Hoseok looked at him confused, "You're too dumb for that. All you do is fuck around and do shit? No Ivy league college wants a guy like you."
Taehyung's throat went dry and he let out a sigh while nodding his head, "I know."
He looked away, avoiding the looks of the others before he put the paper away. "I know", he repeated, more to himself than to the others.
"Ya, dude", Yoongi laughed, "You're gonna get the best football scholarship out of all of us anyway, why you're making such a sad face?"
The boy shrugged, "I'm not making a sad face", he hummed, "I'm looking as always."
"True, you haven't smiled in a long time, dude", Hoseok chuckled, "Badass suits you. It's almost hot."
Lia who sat in the back couldn't believe her ears when his friends told Taehyung that it suited him if he didn't smile. What on earth was wrong with these guys?
*
"Jungkook", Lia let out, rushing through the hallway.
"Oh Lia", Jungkook said unenthusiastically. "Shouldn't you be with Tae or something?", he grumbled and sounded more dramatic than he intended to.
"Yeah", she looked a bit bummed, "Look. You gotta talk to him."
"Why?"
"His friends literally told him off when he wanted to apply for a scholarship at Princeton university", Lia grumbled. "I feel like if you'd say something, he'd at least try."
"That's none of my business", Jungkook said sharply, "If he wants my opinion on that, he should talk to me himself. I'm not listening to you, Lia."
"I know you're mad", Lia tried to argue, "I know it sucks that I can be around him and you can't but-"
"Wait", Jungkook cut her off, "What do you know about me and him?"
"Everything, he told me the whole story."
"Did he broke up with you because of me?", Jungkook looked at her questioningly.
"It was equal, we knew we weren't going to last after all the cheating."
"Shouldn't you fuck off then?", Jungkook snapped, "And stop being around him all the fucking time?"
Lia rolled her eyes, "He needs someone, Kook."
"He needs me", Jungkook groaned, "Not you!"
The girl just turned around and walked away, she was not having the boy's shit today. All she wanted was to do her best to get Taehyung comfortable, but if Jungkook didn't want to move along-, she would not waste her energy on that brat.
Kook rolled his eyes and slammed his locker shut before he walked out of school and headed over to his father's car who was there to pick him up as everyday since Taehyung and Jimin stopped picking Jungkook up in the morning.
"Hi champ", Mr Jeon smiled but Jungkook didn't reply, he just got in the car, slammed the door shut and turned the music up. He hated Lia, he hated that girl so much right now.
"Okayy", his father said slowly as he got in as well, "Bad day?"
"I'm hungry, Dad. Just drive", Jungkook snapped, turning the music even louder so his father would have no chance to interrupt his angry thoughts.
Well, it wouldn't be Mr Jeon if he would let the boy get through with that behavior. He just shut off the radio and didn't start the car, looking at Jungkook in all seriousness.
"Dad!", Jungkook groaned.
"Talk", Mr Jeon groaned back. "Stop acting like a teenager in puberty!"
"I am a teenager in puberty", Jungkook explained to his father but Mr Jeon was not having his shit either today, "What's wrong?"
"Lia is a fucking bitch", Jungkook snapped, "Why is she always around Taehyung and then has the audacity to tell me that I have to talk him into some college shit? Do I look like I want Taehyung to go to a college all across the fucking globe?"
"What?", Mr Jeon asked confused.
"Apparently he wants to go to Princeton university? He never even talked to me about it, so why do I have to be the one encouraging him? I don't want him to go to America?"
"Well", Mr Jeon let out a sigh, "It's his future, don't you think that's important? Maybe even more important than being with you?"
"Of course it is, but why does he have to leave Korea to go to a whole other continent?"
"Maybe because he's not happy here?", Mr Jeon lifted his eyebrow, looking at his son in confusion. "And who says he'll even go there? But it'd be good for him if he at least tried? You never know-"
"Why don't you go and talk to him then, Dad?", Jungkook yelled out, "I don't want him to leave!"
"I didn't raise you to be egoistic", Mr Jeon grumbled.
"You also didn't raise me to be gay and here we are", Jungkook shouted and then grabbed his earphones to listen to music on his phone so he wouldn't depend on the radio to end this conversation.
*
"Mom?", Taehyung knocked on the door to his mother's office. She was home for once in her life, so he was going to use his chance. She grumbled something that Taehyung understood as a yes and walked in.
"Taehyung", she grumbled, "I'm busy, what do you want?"
The boy glanced at the screen of her laptop where she was online shopping for shoes. "Busy with shopping?", he asked quietly.
"What do you want?", she snapped at him, "Do you need money? Just take it from your bank account, Taehyung."
"I don't need money", the boy looked down, feeling ashamed of even coming in here to ask for his mother's opinion. "Oh, okay. What else?"
"You know about this orientation week for college, right?", Taehyung started slowly.
"No, I don't. What do you want?"
"I want to go to Princeton university to take a look", Taehyung admitted, "For this one week. To see if I fit in there, maybe I can apply for a scholarship there?"
"Princeton?", his mother looked at him in disbelief. "You wanna go there?"
"I do", Taehyung said, "I've did research and-"
"No I mean, I don't care why you want to go there. I know the principal's wife, I can easily get you in, Sweetie. You don't need to apply for a scholarship, I thought only Jimin would want to go to an Ivy league college, but if you want too, that's fine. We'll work that out."
"I want to apply for a scholarship", Taehyung said quietly. "I don't want you to pay for my college education, Mom."
"Why not?"
"I just don't", Taehyung grumbled. "Can I apply for it?"
"It's an embarrassment to the family's name if you go there with a scholarship like a poor kid who has no other chances to get into a college of choice", she said sharply. "No you can't."
"Mom", Taehyung sighed.
"And you won't get it anyway, honey. You're not that smart", she patted his head, "Just don't worry. Mom and Dad will make sure you can get in Princeton, okay?"
That was it, that was all he wanted to hear.
You're not smart enough.
The same thing everybody told him. Taehyung nodded, "It's fine, Mom. Really. Just don't do anything."
And with that he walked out of the room and was about to go look for Jimin to ask for his opinion on all that, but the boy was not picking up his phone and was nowhere in sight.
Goddamnit.
Taehyung picked up his phone, trying to call Lia but she wasn't picking up either.
He decided to take that as a sign and just walked outside and sat down at the pool, eyes glueing to the water.
Why was there not a single person who would assure him that he'd at least have a chance? He wouldn't care if in the end his parents paid for his college education, but he wanted to at least make sure he deserved the place there.
He grabbed his sunglasses and then laid down, shut his eyes and ignored the doubts that were coming over him. Maybe he would just not go to college and run away with his bank account, start over somewhere else. No one would notice anyway.
"Yo bro", a squeaky voice from above made Taehyung's heart almost stop beating for a second.
His eyes snapped open and he stared in the sparkly eyes of Jungkook who was taking off Taehyung's sunglasses to have a closer look at the older. "Do you wanna swim?", he asked teasingly and put his shirt off to get into the water.
"You're here?", Taehyung asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, convinced my Dad that he'll have an eye for Hoseok and the others if they appear out of nowhere again, he's in front of your house right now", Jungkook explained with a smirk on his lips and pulled his boxers off as well. "What if we swim naked?"
"Jungkook", Taehyung looked away, avoiding the boy's dick at all costs.
"Come on", Jungkook said and started pulling down Taehyung's swimming shorts. Luckily the older was laying in the sun without a shirt anyway so he didn't have much to undress.
"You hate swimming", Taehyung commented but Jungkook only shrugged, "I hate a lot of things", he said, "Like Lia for example, yet I'm still doing her a favor right now."
"What?", Taehyung asked in disbelief. "But Lia likes you tho-"
"It's because I'm pretty likeable, don't you think?", Jungkook said and grabbed Taehyung by his hand before he pulled him up to get closer to the water.
Taehyung followed him, completely overwhelmed by just everything. He didn't know how to handle the situation and he didn't know what to do with Jungkook pulling him inside the water. Jungkook looked at the water anxiously but after both boys were in, he just clinged onto Taehyung, wrapping his arms and legs around the older.
"Dude", Taehyung let out scared, "I'm about to get hard, you really need to let go of me right fucking now, Jungkook-"
"I always wanted to have your boner pressed up my tummy", Jungkook smiled innocently, "Y'know when I was 12 and had my first boner, I asked myself how yours must feel."
Taehyung gasped, gulping hardly as he tried to think of nasty things instead of Jungkook thinking of his dick when he was literally 12.
"I was 14 at the time and you had thoughts like that about me!", Taehyung said, "Why are you like that?"
"Well", Jungkook rolled his eyes, "That's just me being me. So you broke up with Lia because of me, I heard?"
Taehyung blushed, trying to push Jungkook a bit away from him but still steadying him by his hips so he would not get scared of being in the water by himself.
"So why aren't we fucking now?"
"I thought we were over", Taehyung said quietly, "After I left you standing that day."
"Well", Jungkook nodded, "That sucked, you're right. But we're not over, Tae. How about we'll just keep us a secret until highschool is over, then enjoy our last summer together and once you leave for college-, we'll just get over each other?"
Taehyung's smile faded away almost instantly, "College", he sighed. "I-"
"Let's not think that far yet", Jungkook brushed the scary part off, "So where are you planning to go? For orientation week? I think it's in two weeks and you're a senior, so, what you're planning to do, babe?"
Taehyung looked at the boy with big eyes, biting his lips anxiously. "I don't know. Maybe just some public school or something, close to Seoul."
"Just any school?", Jungkook asked him, "You're too good for public school, what the hell-"
"My parents don't want me to apply for scholarships", Taehyung sighed, "And I don't want to use their money to get into my dream school."
"What's your dream school?", Jungkook asked softly, brushing over Taehyung's cheek slowly.
"I don't have one", Taehyung said quickly, "College is whatever to me. I'm a footballer, I'll get into some football school and that's it."
"Is it tho?", Jungkook lifted his eyebrows. "I'd find it hot if my future husband would have been to some Ivy league school", he said sneakily, smirking a little. "Because that's literally the only place I can imagine him in."
"Well", Taehyung grumbled, "I hope you'll find a future husband like that then", he said, jealousy swinging along. "I'm going to go to public school or I'll just skip college and become a drug addict like every rich kid is at some point."
"I was talking about you", Jungkook rolled his eyes. "You should try to go for Princeton or something-, you'd fit in there."
"I wouldn't", Taehyung said, looking down on the water. "I'm too dumb for a school like that."
"You're not dumb, you're the smartest person I know", Jungkook said, snapping Taehyung's chin up, "Apply."
"I don't fit in there", Taehyung repeated, "I'm just a bully at highschool. No one wants me at such a school."
"You never bullied anyone", Jungkook said sharply, "Don't you dare to put yourself with those people on one level. And if you fit in, we'll see after we went there for orientation week, alright? If it really isn't your thing, fine, go to public school. But if you like it there, I'll send your application there even if you tell me not to."
"After.. We went there?", Taehyung asked quietly.
"Usually parents go along, I heard", Jungkook said. "So I thought I could come along instead. I'll just tell the people there I'm your Daddy."
Taehyung gasped. On one hand because his heart lost it when he thought of him and Jungkook being in America for a whole week without anyone around them who knew them. And on the other hand because Jungkook had the audacity to call himself Daddy.
"If anything, I'm the one being called Daddy out of the two of us."
"Mhm", Jungkook grinned and let his hand slide underwater, "I'd like to call you that. In a dorm room, at Princeton, in two weeks-"
"Jeon Jeongguk I swear to fucking god I am going to personally fly there with the two of you", Mr Jeon's voice from behind them made both boys flinch around. "I give you one second to get your hand away from down there, get out of the water and-"
"Dad-, I'm naked", Jungkook whined, "I can't just get out of the water right now. You're here-"
"Jeon Jeongguk, one second", Mr Jeon said sharply. "Get out of there, right fucking now. I brought you here to talk, not to-"
"What's going on here?", now it was Mrs Kim who stood next to the pool, looking at Jungkook and Taehyung in confusion. "You know what-, I don't really want to ask", she looked a bit confused, "Taehyung, act your age and stop making Mr Jeon mad, he's an important man."
With that she turned around, "And put some clothes on, for god's sake."
Taehyung looked after his mother, then looked at Jungkook and then both of them broke into laughter. "My Mom just saw me with a boy in the water-, naked. All over each other. And she walks away", he laughed and facepalmed himself. "How can someone care so little?"
"No idea, man", Jungkook laughed as well. "Your mother is something else-"
"Taehyung", Mr Jeon interrupted them, "If my son doesn't listen, you should. Hands off him, get him out of the water and put clothes on him or I will break your neck and send you off to Princeton personally, so you're as far away as possible from my son who's 16 and a virgin and I want him to stay like that."
"You can't send me to college if you break my neck, Sir. I'll be dead, then", Taehyung grinned as he sat down Jungkook on the edge of the pool, and got out of the water himself. He walked over to where Jungkook left his clothes and threw them at him. Then he grabbed a towel and put it around himself, hiding the obvious boner he was having.
Mr Jeon let out a relieved sigh when Jungkook was finally dressed.
"And this is why you're going to be my favorite son-in-law once you two are adults." The man grabbed his son by his ear and then dragged him towards the car.
"Mr Jeon!", Taehyung yelled out. "Can I take him to Princeton in two weeks anyway?"
"Of course you can, champ."
"Do you think I have a chance of getting in?", Taehyung hurried to ask afterwards, Mr Jeon kept walking but turned his head meanwhile and grinned, "Yes, Taehyung. You're a smart boy", he then grabbed the car door and opened it before he softly shoved his son in who was still complaining about how much he hated everything and everyone.
Taehyung was left behind, smiling while his chest suddenly felt warm and full of pride.
He smirked to himself, "You're smart, champ", he told himself and then as soon as Mr Jeon and Jungkook drove off, he jumped around and threw his fists in the air in happiness.
Two weeks.
And then he'll be free for a whole week.
At the university he always wanted to go to.
With the person he wanted to share this experience the most with.