in-between mixed company was a small grill, plates of beef and chicken and a mix of vegetables to the side as they rolled what was cooking around impatiently, eating it faster than it could finish.

"so, have you started scouting any fellowships or are you going to keep this job with jungkook forever?" seokjin spoke through a mouthful of rice, ignoring the disgusted look that his cousin returned.

"what do you mean?"

"i mean, i thought you wanted to get to the states still. isn't that what you said when you first moved back?" he leaned forward on his elbow, a big-brother type of glance staring down at the figure across from him, "don't tell me you're going to throw it all away now just because you and jungkook have a little thing going on!"

"how do you know we have a thing going on? who even told you that absolutely not true statement?" taehyung couldn't meet the gaze of his cousin; he had never been great at lying.

"are you going to spill or am i going to have to force it out of you?" the older used his chopstick to knock a piece of beef from his cousin, quick to pop it in his mouth without hesitation, "speak! or i'll do it again!"

he bushed his brunette bangs to the side trying to find the words, visibly annoyed by jin's actions, "not much to tell, we sometimes- i don't know, kiss and we're friendly with one another."

"and he brings you flowers? with apology notes?"

"you read the note?"

"of course i read the note! you left the flowers out and i was curious what it said. if you didn't want me to read it you should have taken the note with you! basic math and science!"

taehyung groaned in annoyance, "this is why i need to get my own apartment as soon as possible!"

"see, so you do want to stay in seoul. is that because of him?"

"well it's not, not because of him." taehyung pondered how silly that sounded, how trivial it was to stay somewhere for a boy that he barely knew, a famous one at that. everyone knew those relationships failed far quicker than just an average, forced one- besides, they weren't even in a relationship! he was jumping way ahead of himself, "it's not just him." he tried to back track.

"he's a really sweet guy." jin smiled politely, "namjoon adores him. calls him his little one!"

"his little one- have you seen the man's abs?"

"have you seen namjoon's arms?"

"fair enough..." tae smirked playfully.

"so, have you had sex with him?" jin was often blunt, hyper focused on the facts so that he could weigh out an entire situation before making a final assessment, "and if so, how was it?"

"that's super personal!" the younger practically choked.

"i'll take that as a yes and a yes." he playfully scribbled notes against his hand, pretending to be holding a non-existent notebook.

tae couldn't help but blush, the memories of previous nights spent tangled together, waking to matching morning breath and hooded eyes- they say occasionally you can catch love quickly. when you're hyper aware. when you've found your person. the younger had never bought that nonsense before, but maybe, it was true because he did feel that connection that was often described as love whenever he saw the boy in question.

to be completely honest, he was absolutely smitten with jungkook. overly entranced and in love with every flaw and bit of him he could see- hell, he couldn't even stay mad at him the one time they had "fought" because truth was, being mad at jungkook was like being mad at an angel on earth.

"can we just say that i really, really like him and then move onto a new subject- i don't want to jinx whatever it is which officially it's nothing but maybe it might be, as long as i knock on wood!" taehyung tapped the table twice for good luck, smiling sheepishly and trying to hide the red tint that lined the apples of his cheeks, "now how about you and namjoon? how is that going?"

"what about me?" speak of the devil, the boy with bright purple hair had finally arrived, clad effortlessly in a suit and tie like he had come straight from important business.

he kissed jin sweetly, only pulling back to smile at him like he was looking at the entire galaxy- they were two men in love, the sweetest sight to see and taehyung could only hope that someday he'd be in their shoes.

"he asked how we're going? how we're doing?" jin raised a brow, "terrible, am i right?"

"the absolute worst. i hate this man with every fiber of my being!" namjoon joked, the sarcasm thick as he eyed up the plate of uncooked meat and pointed his finger to a piece of chicken.

jin immediately got the hint, scooping it up and setting it on the grill, "we're thinking of getting a dog, is that crazy?"

taehyung had to stifle his life, "jin, the man who went to bars every weekend, danced on the counter in a full bright pink suit on not one, but three occasions, is asking me if i think getting a dog with his long-term boyfriend is a crazy idea?"

the older only rolled his eyes, "did i fucking stutter?"

namjoon let a hand twist around his boyfriend's shoulder, squeezing the meat of them gently as to reassure him that he was indeed articulate, "we can't decide on big or small-,"

"or maybe a cat, or we could start with a fish?"

"so, when i'm on the couch, worried you two are going to be having wild sex in the other room, i should be more worried about you guys discussing what pet you're planning to get?" taehyung hummed, "good to know!"

"ope, i gotta take this!" namjoon huffed, annoyed that his phone was ringing by a caller unknown but assuming it was important none the less, "be right back..."

"he never has a damn minute to himself- i swear!" jin groaned, "he'd answer it in bed if i didn't make him leave it in the other room."

taehyung chuckled at the idea of naked namjoon, stomping out of the room to check his messages all because jin threw an absolute fit at the idea of him simply silencing his phone. they acted like they had been married a dozen years already- he hoped that they never changed that.

the purpled-haired man seemed to stagger back to the booth moments latter, gripping onto it, his face white as a ghost as he searched the table for any belongings he may be missing. in a matter of a minute, something had changed and taehyung felt uneasy in his stomach because of it.

"babe, what is it?" jin gripped his elbow, keeping him steady as he stuttered through words.

"jungkook, car- i have to get to the hospital!" he didn't even spare a glance to either of his dinner partners, forgetting about the chicken that was now overcooked and dry as it sat on top of the grill.

"that doesn't sound good." jin wanted to follow him but knew better than to do it, his eyes fixated on his cousin who seemed nervous, unsettled, on the verge of something unknown, "you okay?"

"uh- uh yeah. fine." his eyes said otherwise, the pit in his belly, the way nausea crept up as he wondered what the call had actually been about.

"we should follow joon, yeah? we should be there to support him, right?" jin flagged down the waitress, refusing to acknowledge the fact that his cousin was actually upset over the idea of jungkook because he knew it would make him uncomfortable to admit. he was intuitive, overly aware of what the other was feeling at all times.

"y- yeah, to support joon." tae went to take his wallet out, the motions looking like a slowed down frame as jin batted his hand away, laying down a few crumpled bills before helping his cousin up, "come on, i'll drive us."

tae was grateful for the support of his frame, for the fact that jin buckled him in, and tried to distract with small talk. it took all his might not to burst into a fit of sadness and confusion, baffled at the way his body reacted to even the smallest hint of negative news.

jungkook really did have him wrapped around his finger.