It must have been a few hours later that the door finally opened, the bright light blinding Taehyung's eyes.

He hissed lowly as he felt the cool breeze hit his face, making him sigh in relief.

His tears had already dried on his cheeks as he quickly got up from the floor, eyes blank.

"Go to your room." His father barked before turning to walk away, leaving Taehyung disoriented and traumatized.

He shakily grabbed the bible from the floor, sniffling loudly as he made his way to his room.

"God is good." He whispered.

-

Jungkook waited anxiously outside of Chanyeol's classroom that Sunday, eager to see Taehyung. His mother had not even finished asking him to pick up his brother when he was already agreeing, surprising her.

He looked down at his watch quickly, waiting for the door to open any second. It wasn't long before the old door squeaked open, the children quickly piling out.

Chanyeol called out his name as he ran to him, making Jungkook lightly ruffle his hair.

"Hey how was class?" He smiled.

"Good. We painted! Look it's you!" Little Chanyeol held up his artwork, a bright smile on his face.

Jungkook chuckled lightly at the sloppy painting but nonetheless received it from his brother, thanking him softly.

Chanyeol's eyes crinkled at the kind treatment, grateful that Jungkook wasn't back to ignoring him and acting cold.

Jungkook frowned when he didn't see Taehyung outside the classroom, knowing well that the boy always walked out to greet the waiting mothers and fathers.

"Hey uh- wait right here, okay? Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back." Jungkook instructed Chanyeol to wait by the classroom door as he walked inside to see Taehyung.

"Okay!" He hummed as he squatted down to play with rocks.

Jungkook slowly walked inside the room, looking around for the boy. He smiled lightly when he spotted him in the front of the room, erasing the chalkboard.

"Hey." He breathed, loud enough for Taehyung to hear.

The boy froze momentarily before turning around quickly. He inhaled shakily, refusing to meet Jungkook's eyes.

The muscular boy frowned at his actions, stepping closer.

"Y-You shouldn't be here." Taehyung whispered, hiding his shaky fingers behind his back.

"What?" Jungkook now stood in front of Taehyung, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his behavior.

"I-I don't think we should talk anymore." Taehyung spoke, already making his way to the door.

Jungkook's heart dropped at his words, feeling it crack into a million different pieces. What had happened for Taehyung to realize that Jungkook wasn't worthy of his time?

It hurt more than anything to hear Taehyung say those words to him.

"Wait." Jungkook gently grabbed his wrist, turning him back around to face him.

Taehyung gasped lightly, trying to free his hand from Jungkook's grip.

"Please let go." He begged, trying to hold in his tears of pain in front of him.

"No, not until you tell me what's wrong." Jungkook gulped harshly, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

Taehyung inhaled sharply before he shook his head furiously, finally looking up to meet Jungkook's desperate gaze.

"I can't... Just please listen to me and go." He whimpered at the end, trying his best to wait for Jungkook to leave before he broke down.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but don't- don't push me away." Jungkook whispered shakily, eyes peering into Taehyung's with such intensity that the boy found himself agreeing after a while.

He hesitantly nodded his head, closing his eyes momentarily as he calmed down his beating heart.

Jungkook tried lacing their fingers together but immediately froze when Taehyung let out a yelp and pulled his hand away immediately.

Jungkook found himself looking down to see the latter's dainty hand red and bruised at the knuckles. He bit back a gasp that threatened to escape before he was gently holding his hand up for inspection.

"What happened?" He asked, hooded eyes peering up at Taehyung when the boy looked down and refused to meet his gaze.

"I accidentally dropped a book and it fell on my hand." He said, tone of voice sounding practiced.

Jungkook could tell that there was more to the story but Taehyung looked like he was close to a breakdown by the way his breathing came out labored and his hands were shaking.

"You should be more careful." He frowned instead, watching as Taehyung nodded in agreement and slowly pulled his hand out of his grip.

The conversation was dropped as Taehyung turned around to resume picking up his things, hands carefully grabbing his Bible and placing it into his bag.

"I want to take you somewhere, but I need to take Chanyeol home first. Come?" He asked softly, brushing a strand of hair out of the boy's eyes.

"Okay." Taehyung nodded before letting Jungkook lead him towards where Chanyeol was busy playing with a roly-poly.

"Chanyeol, let's go." Jungkook called out, hands still intertwined with Taehyung's.

Chanyeols eyes brightened at the sight of his favorite teacher. He quickly ran up to give Taehyung a hug, his head barely reaching his waist.

"Taehyung's going to come with us." Jungkook smiled, grateful that his brother already liked Taehyung.

"Yay!" He giggled as he skipped beside them, making Taehyung laugh lightly.

-

"Go inside and tell mom I'll be home late." Jungkook gently ruffled his brother's hair as he watched the boy open the front door.

Taehyung hadn't spoken to him the entire way home, thankfully Chanyeol had covered up the silence with laughs and giggles.

Jungkook hesitantly turned to look down at Taehyung, sighing lightly when he saw him looking around, clearly lost in his own thoughts.

He couldn't help but think back to earlier and how terrifying it felt to think that he had almost lost Taehyung.

"There's a really good ice-cream place around the corner, let's go." Jungkook led the way, feeling concerned with how quiet Taehyung was being.

They made it to the shop in less than ten minutes, Jungkook smiled lightly as Taehyung's eyes brightened at the sight of the frozen treat.

It took some convincing before Taehyung finally told him what flavor he wanted, feeling guilty when Jungkook handed the cashier the money.

But Jungkook was happy that Taehyung was finally coming around as he smiled softly at him and thanked him sincerely.

After all, who doesn't feel better after having a sweet?

They walked out into the heat eating their ice cream as Jungkook led them somewhere else, claiming that it was a secret.

Taehyung whined childishly, making Jungkook chuckle at his adorable behavior.

They made small talk on their way there, Jungkook being careful not to say something that would upset the boy.

"Whoa." Taehyung's lips parted as they climbed uphill and were met by a field of flowers.

"I found this place by accident when I was drunk once." Jungkook shook his head at his past self.

"It's beautiful." Taehyung gasped as he looked around, fingertips brushing over the flowers.

Jungkook gently picked a flower from the ground, slowly reaching up to tuck it behind the boy's ear.

Taehyung blushed lightly at the gesture, his cheeks a pretty pink color.

Jungkook suddenly became aware of how close their faces were, their breaths mingling together as they gazed into each other's eyes.

He softly cupped Taehyung's cheek with one hand as the other gripped his waist, gently bringing him closer.

Jungkook began to notice the slight panic in Taehyung's eyes and the way they glossed over with unshed tears.

"Don't you dare." Taehyung whispered shakily, but his eyes told a different story.

Jungkook's eyes flickered down to his plump lips, his mind already made. He slowly leaned in and pressed his lips softly against Taehyung's.