The rest of the auditions went by in blur for Taehyung. All ten candidates sang, Jungkook included, but he barely heard them. Instead, there was an incessant ringing in his ears. The only thing that would make it go away was to get the hell out of here.

But Namjoon's and Yoongi's hands on his wrists were preventing that. When he tried to bolt five minutes ago, they decided to hold him down themselves.

So, rather than physically leaving, he mentally checked out. He let his mind wander to his childhood and he recalled memories he had sworn to forget. But seeing Jungkook was the catalyst for remembering not only the pain the boy had caused, but also the pain his parents had inflicted on him.

His parents, in short, were bad people. They had always been drunks who failed to acknowledge Taehyung, except for when they needed someone defenseless to be their proverbial punching bag. While they never physically harmed him, the emotional damage was enough. He'd grown up thinking he was a waste of space who was undeserving of love.

Only Jungkook made him ever think otherwise.

The early years of their friendship taught him how to have fun, play, and explore. It was actually Jungkook who introduced Taehyung to singing and dancing, and though he never dared to admit it, he quickly fell in love with those arts.

When they grew older, Taehyung slowly opened up to Jungkook about his family life. The younger was his rock through it all and constantly offered Taehyung endless love and support. It was easy for Taehyung to fall in love with Jungkook after that.

Jungkook got him through some of the worst nights at his parents' house. The younger was also inadvertently the reason he finally left his parents once and for all.

But that was a night he would not dare to consciously recall.

Why would he, when it was the fuel for the nightmares he had each time he closed his eyes?

He was brought out of his thoughts by a sharp shaking of his arms.

"V. Time to make a decision. Do you want to go first?" Namjoon asked him.

Fuck.

Taehyung didn't know what to do or who to pick. It was obvious that he couldn't pick Jungkook. He couldn't subject himself to that type of torture.

But he hadn't watched anyone else.

They were probably all fine. All talented in their own way. And it wasn't like Taehyung was actually planning on taking this seriously, right?

Finally, after Taehyung ran both hands over his face, he turned to Namjoon. "I'll go last."

Namjoon quirked an eyebrow, clearly baffled. He made eye contact with Yoongi, who just rolled his eyes. They both thought it was bizarre that the younger didn't want to pick his mentee first. This was V afterall. He always put his wants and needs first.

"Okay, if that's what you want," Namjoon responded, organizing his notes in front of him.

Taehyung just sat there, waiting to be dismissed. His emotions were running high and if he didn't leave soon, he was going to explode.

Wouldn't that give everyone something to talk about.

Namjoon picked his mentee, some lanky kid named Yeonjun. The kid wore a shocked expression, not expecting to be selected in the slightest. He looked so young and innocent to Taehyung. He probably came from a loving family, he speculated, and had not yet faced the harsh reality of the real world.

Taehyung wanted to shield the kid from it all. Very uncharacteristically, he wanted to tell Yeonjun to run far away from this industry and to never look back. But he kept his mouth shut. His producers wouldn't appreciate him causing a scene.

Yoongi ran over his notes and scanned the remaining candidates, seriously debating who to choose. Taehyung huffed beside him, wanting the elder to make up his damn mind already.

"Is someone in a hurry?" Yoongi asked, noticing Taehyung tapping his foot on the ground loudly. "You are more than welcome to choose your mentee before me."

"Just pick someone, Suga," the younger sighed.

Yoongi smiled to himself as he considered his two options. Either pick the person he thought had a lot of potential, or . . .

Or, irritate Taehyung to no end and choose the person the younger couldn't keep his eyes off of.

"Jeon Jungkook," Yoongi said loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

Up on the stage, Jungkook broke into a big smile and thrust his fist into the air. A pink haired boy next to him wrapped his arms around Jungkook's lean waist in congratulations.

Taehyung didn't know what hit him, but he was suddenly seeing red. The ringing in his ears turned into a roar as blood rushed to his face. The emotions he tried to keep concealed bubbled up to the surface. He had no desire to select Jungkook at all, but that still didn't stop him from doing what he did next.

"He's mine," he snarled to Yoongi, much louder than he intended.

Everyone in the auditorium heard his words and instantly quieted down. Jungkook became frozen on stage, his eyes looking directly at the blue haired artist.

"The guy definitely wants to get in your pants," Jimin snickered next to him, speaking lowly so only Jungkook could hear.

Jungkook had no words. He didn't understand.

Taehyung felt like he was going to be sick again. He stood up from his seat and stalked to the exit. He needed air and space and quiet.

He heard Yoongi pick someone named Park Jimin as he threw open the doors. He ran down the hallway as fast as he could to a communal bathroom.

Taehyung made it just in time as he collapsed on the floor in front of a toilet, heaving.

And as he emptied his stomach, he questioned himself over and over and over.

What the fuck did I just do?