HEARTBEAT | VKOOK - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

"So, how was it?" The blonde male broke the short silence that had consumed the vacant break room, looking over to the ravenette sitting beside him. The other employees had left shortly after his arrival, as it had gotten late and it was time for closing up already. Jeongguk stayed behind, being in charge of locking his boss's office right after he was done with his work.
Jeongguk snapped out of his thoughts, meeting the older's eyes with a look of disbelief painted on his features, a slight scoff emerging from his lips, "Haven't you seen him, hyung?" He then tore his gaze away, back slumping against the couch and eyebrows creasing slightly as he pursed his lips, "He's been really fucking bossy lately and it's getting on my nerves."
"I don't get him. He's been really cold to other workers, but. . he's been weirdly nice to me," Jeongguk spoke slowly and thoughtfully as he collected his thoughts, seemingly in a daze. He exhaled softly through his parted his lips, "I don't know, he's just. . so complicated. I know that's just-"
"I'm not talking about the meeting, gguk." Amusement flickered in Jimin's eyes, eyebrows raising upwards in mild surprise as he met the younger's conflicted gaze, "The trip, I'm talking about the trip you guys had a few days ago. How was it?"
That seemed to push him off guard, pausing as he blankly stared at the older's face for a moment. Jeongguk then averted his gaze down to the floor, face heating up as the memories came flooding into his mind, images that just couldn't seem to leave his mind.
A tense silence settled in the room, causing Jimin to furrow his eyebrows as he leaned forward, scanning the younger's face, concern flashing in his eyes, "Jeongguk?"
The aforementioned male flinched slightly, eyes flickering to the older, taking in the concern evident in his gaze. He shook his head, looking away as he took a deep breath, lifting an innocent shoulder, "I-It was pretty fine."
Jimin simply raised a brow at that, unfazed. And it was clear that he wasn't believing his words until he'd spill out the real truth. Or he had his own ways to figure out the truth of course. Jeongguk fell silent, lips twitching as he looked away, tongue running over his bottom lip distractingly as he collected his thoughts.
The side of Jimin's lips curved into a sly smirk as he leaned back against couch, "You're a bad liar, Jeongguk. I can tell by the look on your face that you're lying."
"Tell me, gguk. What got you so flustered?"
Jeongguk stayed silent, chewing the inside of his cheek as he recollected the memories buried within his mind. His heart fluttered in his as he recalled their kiss, an evident blush coating his cheeks. Jeongguk blinked rapidly, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he glanced around, attempting to compose himself.
Jeongguk gulped, chewing onto his bottom lip as he recalled their conversation, "He says he can't make any promises of reciprocating my feelings."
"He says he's unsure, He doesn't want me to get my hopes up." Jeongguk mumbled, and Jimin could sense the hint of sadness laced within his tone, and a concerned look painted his features as he listened carefully to the younger.
"I don't know if he's fooling me with his words or. . if he truly means what he says." Jeongguk seemed too lost in his ocean of thoughts as he bit down onto his bottom lip hard, which caused Jimin to frown, leaning forward and interlacing his own fingers on his lap. "What makes you say that?"
"He's a man of his words, whatever he says, he means it and I'm sure he—"
"He kissed me," It left his lips as a mere whisper, almost inaudible, and Jeongguk was sure the older would've missed it if it wasn't for the tense silence lingering in the room.
Jimin paused at that, shock clearly written all over his face, lips slightly agape. A piercing silence followed right after, one that Jeongguk seemed to hate— as he was never accustomed to a silent Jimin. And if there were times when he was actually silent around him, that'd be when he's upset.
"What?"
A sigh then evoked from his parted lips, eyes affixed on the shiny tiles of the room, mind clouded with thoughts, "Not once, twice."
"Twice?!" Jeongguk flinched from the sudden outburst of Jimin, who shot up from his seat, eyes wide and eyebrows hiking up, "And you never told me about it?"
Jeongguk simply stared up at him, surprised and seemingly out of words, "How could you, Jeongguk?"
"Listen, I—" Jimin cut him off, "Taehyung, the Kim Taehyung, who swore to never get in a relationship after the accident, kissed you?" His expression was priceless, "Do you even know what you've done? You have induced feelings from a man who never showed interest in anyone."
"Which makes you the first person to ever get a reaction from him, that is even something way different from the usual rude side of his— He freaking kissed you, oh my god." Jimin sounded overjoyed, absolutely awestruck. Happiness blooming in his features, seemingly overwhelmed with emotions to comprehend anything.
His eyes then snapped up to Jeongguk, "And you're saying you doubt him? He has given you the biggest hint!" Jimin stared at him with pure happiness sparkling within his orbs, "Although maybe he's a little hesitant to get into a relationship, I'm so fucking sure he's in love with you, Jeon Jeongguk."
Soft droplets of water trickled down the misty windows of his car, the once slight drizzling now getting heavier with each passing minute, reminding of winter cold and numb feet, the icy cold wind growing stronger with the rain.
But it didn't seem to bother Taehyung, who seemed to be lost in a world of his own, with the low jazz music playing in the background, working in rhythm along with the soft pitter-patter of the rain. Taehyung's eyebrows creased slightly as he focused on the road ahead, the dark streets filled with the noise of the rain, and the cars speeding by.
Yet he couldn't seem to focus. As his thoughts were disarrayed, or perhaps occupied with a certain someone, who just couldn't leave his mind after all the events of today. It ignited something in him— the sparks of jealousy filling his veins as his grip on the steering wheel tightened, eyes intense. The side of his lips twitched slightly as  he released a soft sigh through his nose, the vehicle slowing down as the signal turned red.
His eyes darted towards the misty window for a split moment, lips pursing slightly as he turned ahead, fingers tapping patiently onto the steering wheel. He found himself reminiscing the events of today, tensing up at the thought of Jeongguk being left alone with Jae, after catching him being a little too touchy with Jeongguk, too much for his own liking.
Of course, he knew they were friends. He simply couldn't stand sighting them together— the sole reason to why he'd always come up with random works for Jae just to keep him away from Jeongguk, yet they'd always find a way to be together. A heavy feeling settled in his chest at the mere thought, even though he should be happy for them.
But it just didn't feel right.
He turned the steering wheel with one hand, a ticking noise filling the atmosphere of his car, the volume of the music now turned down. An image of Jeongguk hugging Jae swam in front of his eyes, Taehyung biting the inside of his cheek as he glanced at the seat next to him, eyes flickering back to the road.
The soft tapping noise of the rain got louder as it crashed with sheer forced on the streets of Seoul, reminding Taehyung of how Minjun got terrified of storms. Which led him to the thought of worrying about the boy although he knew that Jimin made sure to put him to bed before arriving at his workplace.
Or maybe he couldn't sleep due to the loud thunders, as it began raining right after Jimin left his place. Taehyung felt restless as the concern weighed him down, along with the heavy feeling in chest that never seemed to leave. Perhaps it was just him, or something felt awfully wrong due to the anxious feeling in his gut.
The car then came to a stop, Taehyung stepping out of the vehicle, and slamming the door shut. A few guards surrounded him with an umbrella, greeting him and accompanying him all the way to the doors of his mansion. They left once he stepped inside, the doors closing shut.
He was left with the dull silence of his house, the small boy seemingly nowhere in sight, and Taehyung wondered if he was fast asleep. He then headed to the boy's bedroom, twisting the door open and stepping into the dimly lit room with silent steps, only to see the boy fast asleep, seemingly unaware of his presence and caught up in his dreams.
He felt a wave of relief wash over him at the sight of the boy, a soft smile breaking out on his lips as he approached his bed with almost eerie steps, and took a seat on the space beside him. He watched him for a moment before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to the boy's cheek. He stared at the small boy for a moment, caressing his cheek lightly with a small smile on his lips. He then lifted himself from the bed, taking one last look at the boy before slowly creeping his way out of the room.
A sigh left his lips once he stepped into his own bedroom, lips twitching slightly as he stood in front of the body mirror and took off his coat, placing it away and loosening up his tie. He took a fleeting glance at his reflection in the mirror, taking in his messy appearance and the exhausted look on his face. Perhaps, the heavy feeling in his chest might have been due to the exhaustion, as he had an awfully stressful day with all the meetings and events he had to attend, and the only thing his body screamed at the moment was sleep.
He stood there for a moment, scanning himself in the mirror as he unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, an exasperated frown imprinted on his face. His phone, that was left on the bed buzzed away, averting Taehyung attention as he glanced over his shoulder at the device, eyes narrowing when he caught the name flashing on the screen.
Taehyung then glanced at the clock hung on the wall over his bed, the exasperated frown on his face deepening as he exhaled deeply. It was almost past midnight, and Taehyung was certain something was up or he was either drunk or caught up in a problem. But then again, its no surprise if he's sober— he'd call him at five in the morning just to cry about how his fish died, and how he's in need of someone to comfort him.
The buzzing noise pulled him out of his thoughts, Taehyung sighing heavily as he reached out for his phone and answered the call, pressing the phone to his ear as he unbuttoned his shirt with one hand, "What is it, Hoseok?"
Taehyung haulted his movement when he was met with sheer silence from the other side, the skin between his brows creasing slightly as he tilted his head, "Hyung?"
It was dead silent on the other side, not a single noise to indicate the presence of anyone who was actually on the call with him if not Hoseok, which alarmed him for a moment. But then again he thought, it could be another ridiculous prank of his too, with the sole purpose of scaring him away, and Taehyung wasn't up for it, not now at least.
"Officer Jung, if it's another silly prank of yours, I swear I'm not in the mood for this shit-" Taehyung cut himself off when he finally heard a distant noise that sounded more like a whimper, the muffled sound of sniffling taking him completely guard.
"Hyung? What's wrong?"
It was dead silent for another good minute, now having Taehyung's complete attention as he focused on the muffled noises and shuffling. His ears picked up on the almost inaudible sobbing noises and heavy breathing, alarming him that something was actually wrong.
"Hoseok? Is that you or-"
"T-Taehyung," It came out as a quavered whisper, almost incoherently and Taehyung would've missed it if it wasn't for the tense silence around him. His tone was rather broken, filled with melancholy, as though he'd been sobbing for the past few hours or so.
"J-Jeongguk..." He breathed heavily against the phone, voice shaky as he sobbed uncontrollably, causing Taehyung's eyes to grow wide, "What's wrong with Jeongguk?"
"Tae..." His voice cracked, the whimpers getting louder as he attempted to catch his breath, his voice shaky and broken, "J-Jeongguk and Jimin..."
"Jeongguk and Jimin what?" Taehyung yelled, heart thudding in his chest as his mind raced with thoughts, stomach twisting as he awaited the worst.
The noise of shuffling resonated  through the phone, a moment of silence seeping in before another familiar gruff voice spoke, "Taehyung,"
It was Yoongi, and unlike Hoseok, his voice was rather stable, although Taehyung didn't fail to notice the sadness laced within his tone, "They had an accident..."
It's as though his world came crashing down, the words being absolutely unexpected of what he had actually anticipated. His face paled, draining of colour, breath catching his throat as the words remained frozen in the air, unable to comprehend the situation, and all he could mumble was an inaudible, "What?"
Yoongi went silent for a moment, attempting to comfort Hoseok who was a sobbing mess next to him, and Taehyung could almost imagine how he seemed at the moment, squeezing his eyes shut and placing a hand over his mouth to suppress a sob, "Come here now, I'll text you the address."