jungkook had found himself surprisingly sober and inspired, the lyrics of a song finding their way to his brain faster than he could put them on paper.

maybe it was the sad expression on the face of his daughter, the pain on the face of his ex-wife, or the comfort found in a stranger but he could feel it. right on the tip, their was something worth saying to the world.

to his left was a stack of crumbled paper, filled with scribbles and notes and words that were jumbled just desperate to be rearranged. to his right a stack of two and a half completed lyrical notes, ready to be tweaked and reviewed.

the feeling of pride bloomed in his chest, unusual as of late.

"holy shit, you scared me!" neither tae nor jungkook had realized the other was around. the older busy in the kitchen prepping breakfast and jungkook curled in a ball by his piano just humming low enough for himself to hear.

"i thought you were sleeping!" tae continued, eyeing the pile of papers curiously, "what are you working on?"

the younger glanced up looking oh so tired, flecks of chestnut floating in those beautiful doe eyes, he looked like the perfect sunrise and damn it. tae caught himself staring.

"lyrics, i guess..." the words came out unenthused, a hint of annoyance and frustration as he shoved the edge of his pen into his bunny teeth.

tae plopped across from him, opening some of the crinkled sheets and reading through them. with his free hand he tapped against the edge of his bare knee, exposed by the athletic shorts he was wearing due to the unusually warm day in seoul, "this is beautiful jungkook!" and he meant it, words genuine, the expression of a man who could never lie.

the younger felt fondness in his whole being at that, a delighted half-grin on his face, "really?"

"are you kidding?" tae plucked the pen from his mouth and started scribbling along the side, "if you opened this with fifteen seconds of really dramatic instrumentals and then just went into the first verse all melancholy- the emotional impact it would have."

the older stood from the spot he had just fell into, waltzing over time the guitar that leaned against the wall, "do you mind if i-,"

jungkook just shook his head, "please, go right ahead!"

tae nodded his thank you, looping the strap around him as he made sure it was in tune before starting to play the most sinister noise. it was fragile and desperate, a person lost in the woods, a man at sea all alone- it was deep and dark and jungkook found himself singing the lyrics as soon as tae let off.

the two smiled in unison before the chorus, both impressed by one another.

"you have a beautiful voice..." taehyung blushed immediately upon saying it. of course he did, he was a fucking idol.

"you play beautifully..." jungkook wanted to ask more, wanted to question how tae knew so much about music, about what other instruments he could play. those long fingers had been made for strings and the younger couldn't help but wonder what else they could do.

both seemed to be lost in the minute, in each other, eyes gazing down their figures as they tried to figure out the tension before it was too late. jungkook cracked first, "i'll credit you on the song if it makes it to final cut!"

tae was stunned at that, he had barely done anything, "are you serious?"

"of course! you contributed more than a lot of people who get credited do- you'd be surprised..." jungkook didn't want to sound like an industry snob but, at the end of the day he was a product of it which made it hard not too, "i think you're special tae."

unbeknownst to tae, he had a cage of butterflies in his stomach, suddenly unleashed by the gentle words spoke by the man in front of him. he didn't know if he should thank him, if he should compliment him back- hell, he didn't know if he should melt into a puddle on the floor. instead, he changed the subject, "do you want breakfast?"

"poached eggs on avo toast?" jungkook had already gone back to scribbling more words down on paper.

"with hot sauce and pepper?" tae verified which received a giddy grin in return.

"already anticipating my needs, maybe a house keeper was a good idea!" his left eye fell to a wink, enough to turn the tips of tae's ears cherry red whole he scurried off.

in the kitchen he let his mind wander. to purpose, to future- the possibility of what might unfold. it felt surreal to pick up an instrument again, something he hadn't done in weeks, an instant lift of the black cloud that had been following him.

he wondered if jungkook could feel it too.