Jeongguk felt as though he was drowning.

Drowning in his own overwhelming emotions, drowning in the words that had left Jimin's lips yesterday. He couldn't breathe. Ever since his and Jimin's 'encounter' yesterday, he couldn't get his words out his mind. They were drilled into his brain, tattooed, anything permanent.

Jeongguk- he- he had never seen Jimin so.. out of character? It frightened him from how dark Jimin's eyes grew, how his words were like pure poison that Jeongguk had drank up. Venom that was injected into Jeongguk's mind.

The words saying that he meant nothing to Taehyung kept going around in circles in his mind, not giving him any rest and because of that, Jeongguk hadn't talked to Taehyung since. Despite receiving multiple texts from him and seeing the boy frantically trying to catch his attention to which Jeongguk ignored.

See, Jeongguk would've asked Taehyung if Jimin's words were true but he looked just as guilty as the boy. That proved that Jimin's words must've had some truth to them if Taehyung acted like that and Jeongguk wasn't going to lie. It made him want to throw up.

He hadn't spoken a word to Jimin since, he didn't even want to. Jimin didn't bother trying either hence why Jeongguk was seated next to Hoseok for one of their shared lectures and not beside Jimin or Taehyung.

"What's up, Jeoncock- Jeongguk?" Hoseok chuckled at his own mishap but Jeongguk wasn't laughing. His face bored something melancholy, his cheek pressed against his palm in absolute disinterest.

Jeongguk glanced up at Hoseok and lazily shook his head. "It's nothing." He replied with a monotonous voice.

"That's a lie if I ever heard one! You're not good at lying, are you?" Hoseok laughed once more but it soon disappeared when Jeongguk still bored the same expression. "Why aren't we sitting with Taehyung and Jimin?" Hoseok pointed up with his pen, and Jeongguk glanced over to them and saw them sitting next to each other. He sighed.

"Just some things went down between us, nothing much."

Hoseok nodded, resting his elbows on the table as he spun his pen around his fingers. "So that's the issue? What even happened?"

Jeongguk took one last look at the pair, quickly averting his gaze before he could cry again. "I- it was nothing, Hobi." He stammered out, his voice barely audible.

Hoseok frowned, clearly not satisfied with Jeongguk's answer. "No, Jeongguk. It must be something. We're friends, right?"

Jeongguk nodded his head hesitantly, brushing some brown tufts of hair away from his face. "Yeah, I guess."

"What do you mean 'I guess'?" Hoseok asked with wide eyes, placing his pen down as he looked at Jeongguk's tired expression, how his brown eyes seemed to be glistening with tears. "If we're friends, you can tell me what happened to make you this upset."

"I just- I don't know, Hoseok. Can we just stop talking about this, please?" Jeongguk urged, looking at Hoseok with aching eyes. Hoseok stilled for a second before going along with the boy's wishes, agreeing.

"Yeah, sure."

Jeongguk gave a weak smile to Hoseok, that probably showing his thanks to him before resting his head on the table. He let out another solemn sigh.

He didn't know what to think or do anymore, who to be mad at or if he even should be. Hurt filled Jeongguk's mind at the thought of either Jimin or Taehyung. Jimin, for one, had made him feel like utter shit for the past few months for always leaving at the most random of times and now that Jeongguk knew the reason to his disappearances, should he be relieved?

As for Taehyung? Jeongguk really didn't want to think about him, he was far too scared of Jimin's words being the truth. That he meant nothing to him.

Jeongguk was so desperately trying to reason with himself in his head. Taehyung seemed so genuine when he had 'confessed' but if he had really been hooking up with Jimin, that would be enough to tell Jeongguk that it was all a fucking act. All the pet names, kisses, late-night conversations, none of it was sincere if Taehyung had been having sex with Jimin the whole time.

Was Jeongguk being played then?

Soon enough, the teacher entered the hall, starting the lecture about- limits or whatever, something Jeongguk couldn't give half a shit about. He glanced to Hoseok who was jotting down what the teacher was saying and then realised he was in a lecture, notes!

Jeongguk hastily got out his notebook and pen, flicking to a random page and scribbling down whatever bullshit was coming out of the teacher's mouth at a fast pace before he finally caught up and could write them down with leisure. However, during the lecture, despite how hard he was trying, Jeongguk couldn't concentrate, his emotions were too much to ignore. As if they were desperate to break out into either a sob or a scream.

Jeongguk then heard the sound of paper being ripped from a notebook and then the sound of it being slid over to him a little bit after. It was from Hoseok. Raising a brow, Jeongguk glanced at the boy and saw how he motioned for him to open it, eyes pointing to the note.

Sighing, Jeongguk opened it up under the table, being careful not to make to be loud in fear of disturbing the other students, it read. 'i know u probably dont wanna talk about it rn but if u want i can come over to ur dorm after i finish my classes and we can watch clueless together to cheer u up from whatever happened, even if we're not friends :(('

Jeongguk let out a small giggle, putting the note on the table and flipping it onto the other side before he wrote back. 'really?? u would do that??' He slid it back to Hoseok discretely.

After a little while, Hoseok returned the note. 'ofc i would u weirdo- so is that a yes?' Jeongguk felt his chest warm from Hoseok's kind offer, his mood was starting to lighten up. He looked at Hoseok with a small grin while the other had a wider one. He nodded, accepting his offer.

After a while, the lecture had ended and the students were free to leave. Hoseok got up from his seat and yanked Jeongguk to his feet which earned him a small yelp from the boy.

"Hey!" Jeongguk groaned, crouching down to grab his bag and shove his stuff inside while Hoseok rolled his eyes. "Bro- don't be so dramatic."

Jeongguk huffed, slinging his bag over his shoulder, playfully ruffling Hoseok's crimson hair before walking down the stairs, the boy following suit. However, whatever was left of Jeongguk's smile was soon to vanish when he saw Taehyung pacing down the stairs and presumably towards him. He widened his eyes.

In a panic, Jeongguk grabbed onto Hoseok's arm tightly, dragging him out of the hall in a jog, shoving past the many students. Hoseok had a dumbfounded expression painted onto his face as he let Jeongguk lead him into the corridors.

"Jeongguk, what-"

"I'll walk you to your class." He let out, glancing back to see Taehyung trying to jostle his way through the wave of students. "Let's go already!" He cried, tugging onto Hoseok's arm and practically began to run out the building.

"Jeongguk!" He heard Taehyung's deep voice call out but Jeongguk just ignored it, gripping onto Hoseok's arm tighter as he tried to run quicker, drowning out Taehyung's voice by placing his free hand over his ear.

Hoseok was still confused and tried calling out for Jeongguk as well, who was ignoring him, still running and letting out small breaths of fatigue. The boy glanced back once again and to his relief, Taehyung seemed to be out of sight, Jeongguk had a small grin of triumph on his face however that was cut short when Hoseok broke his arm free from his grasp and stopped running.

"Um. Jeongguk," Hoseok tried again, slightly panting. "This isn't even the way to my class." He mumbled, and Jeongguk looked at him for a couple of seconds before letting out a sheepish giggle.

"O-oh." He began, looking at the ground with his heart still beating wildly from that run as well as the sudden panic. "Sorry- sorry about that then, Hobi."

Hoseok let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he gazed at Jeongguk intensely. "Are you sure you don't wanna talk about what happened?" He asked, scrunching his hand lightly around his hair.

Jeongguk shook his head, raising his hand to wave goodbye. "I- I'm fine, I'll see you then. Bye Hoseok." He quickly said before walking off, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Hoseok wanted to protest but he knew Jeongguk wouldn't want to open up anytime so he didn't bother chasing after him. He sighed, walking in the opposite direction.

Jeongguk tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to fall, it was difficult to keep himself together with Taehyung trying to talk to him, Jimin's words echoing in his head, that adding to his frustration and hurt he was feeling.

The boy was about to take another step but froze when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jeongguk turned around and it was none other than-

Taehyung.

Fuck. Jeongguk swore he lost him! He gulped, feeling his breath grow slightly erratic when he was met with Taehyung's eyes. Jeongguk was about to make a run for it but Taehyung latched onto his arm, holding onto it firmly.

"L-let me go-!"

"Why have you been avoiding me for all of today and yesterday?" He softly asked, eyes begging for an answer which made Jeongguk feel all the more worse. He then averted his gaze from Taehyung, should he try to ask?

Fuck it. Jeongguk needed his answers, and from that, he can decide who he should be mad at and why.

Shakily sighing, Jeongguk swallowed down the growing lump on his throat and looked up to face Taehyung. "Just- just come over to my dorm. I-I have something to ask you.." He trailed, and Taehyung let go of his arm nodding before they began making their way to Jeongguk's room.

"So, what's wrong?" Taehyung asked from Jeongguk's bed while Jeongguk stood by the door, leaning his back against it with closed eyes as he inhaled deeply.

Jeongguk fluttered them open again, and walked over to the bed, sitting down on it and wrapped his arms around a pillow as he disregarded his doe eyes filling with tears. "Is it true?" The boy let out, voice close to breaking.

Taehyung blinked his eyes in confusion. "What is?" He asked but then he saw the tears rolling down Jeongguk's cheeks, lips quivering.

Taehyung widened his eyes and reached out to wipe them off but Jeongguk was quick to swat his hands away, sniffling. He looked at Taehyung with an expression of hurt.

"Is it true y-you hooked up with J-Jimin?" Jeongguk finally asked, voice wavering as he eyed Taehyung's face, fearful for his response. Taehyung's eyes stayed as wide as ever and Jeongguk didn't know how to interpret that.

"Where did you get that from-?"

"Just answer the fucking question!" Jeongguk yelled, startling Taehyung before more salty tears streamed down his cheeks.

Taehyung bit his lip, gazing at Jeongguk's teary expression but he couldn't lie to him, even if it would upset him more. He shouldn't have held it in for so long. "W-well, we did but I was never happy with him."

The second those words left Taehyung's mouth, Jeongguk felt his insides crumble, his stomach twist. He couldn't believe it! Jeongguk's lips were parted in shock as he desperately tried to search for any signs of Taehyung lying about something as absurd as that but couldn't find any. It was then at that moment, Jeongguk had realised that-

He just got played by Taehyung.

"Was I- I a fucking joke to you then?" Jeongguk scoffed, trying to hold in his sobs for as much as possible, he still couldn't believe what was happening, how long has this been going on for?

"What? Jeongguk, no-"

"W-was I just a game to you? Someone to t-toy with?" Jeongguk continued, he couldn't clearly see Taehyung's expression from his cloudy vision but he didn't need to see it to know that it was one filled with guilt.

"Jeongguk, you know I would never do that to you!" Taehyung argued, going again to try to hold Jeongguk but like before, his hands were swatted away by the furious boy.

"D-do I even know you?" He asked, sniffling after. "Was it fun, T-Taehyung? Having m-me wrapped around your f-finger? You had your fun with me, didn't you?" Jeongguk's voice dropped to a whisper at the last part.

Taehyung's mouth hung open, he was utterly shocked that Jeongguk would even think that. "I- this was never about sex, Jeongguk! You remember how everything started, right? When you found me while I was having a panic attack, you helped me deal with my problems so what makes you think this was about sex?"

Jeongguk stayed silent, only tightening his grip on the pillow as he listened to Taehyung. "Sure, we- we've slept with each other before and did some other things but wasn't this about being there for each other and discussing our problems?" Taehyung asked once more, scanning Jeongguk's face as he looked down.

"I meant it when I said I liked you, Jeongguk. I wasn't- playing with your feelings or something. I would never do that to someone."

"I- I think you're ignoring the bigger picture. You've slept with Jimin, my best friend and didn't even think to tell me during all this." Jeongguk muttered, wiping his tears messily with the back of his hand, and Taehyung clenched his jaw.

"I never fucking slept with him while we were a thing!" Taehyung growled, frustration starting to build and Jeongguk snarled.

"Why should I believe you? If the fact that you've hooked up with Jimin before was true, then everything else must be!" Jeongguk shouted back, feeling the warmth of his tears run down his already damp cheek.

Taehyung furrowed his brows. "Everything else? What's that supposed to mean?"

"That you've been playing with my feelings on purpose, that you couldn't give half a shit about me! Was I that easy to you?"

"Who are you getting this from?" Taehyung demanded and Jeongguk scoffed again, glancing off to the side. "You know that isn't true, don't you?"

"I don't believe you," Jeongguk spoke lowly and he heard Taehyung slightly gasp. He looked at him with watery eyes.

"Just- just fuck off, Taehyung. Get out." Jeongguk spat, pointing to the door as he was still looking down but Taehyung let out a sound of protest.

"Jeongguk, look at me!" He called out and begrudgingly, Jeongguk did, blinking his watery doe eyes. "I really like you and- and believe me when I say that I've never played with your feelings or even had the thought of it."

Jeongguk didn't say anything, so Taehyung shuffled up closer towards the boy, aiming to hold his face and expected Jeongguk to turn away but he didn't. Taehyung took the opportunity to wipe the boy's tears with his thumbs, looking at him with gentle eyes.

"I know I should've told you about Jimin sooner but I didn't know how to bring it up without you getting mad." Taehyung's hand travelled to Jeongguk's chin, tracing his thumb over his lips as he heard the boy's breath hitch.

"I never slept with Jimin at all during my time with you, last time I did was at the night of the party." Taehyung tilted Jeongguk's chin up ever so slightly, leaning in slowly and closed his eyes. "So why can't you trust me?" He whispered, the gap between them was becoming non-existent, their lips millimetres away from touching, from-

Jeongguk harshly shoved Taehyung off of him, watching how he tumbled back onto the bed, watching how his expression morphed into one of confusion and disbelief along with hurt. Jeongguk tightly balled up his fists, eyes glassy as he shakily opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't make me fucking repeat myself." The boy growled, and Taehyung was still utterly shocked and perplexed by Jeongguk's harsh reaction. He stayed in that position for a couple more seconds before sighing out, he got to his feet and hesitantly nodded.

"If that's what you want." He walked over to the door, looking at Jeongguk one more time. "Why can't you trust me, baby?" He repeated before opening the door and walking out, shutting it behind him.

Right after that moment, the sobs broke out, new tears finding their way to roll down Jeongguk's cheeks once more as the heavy sobs escaped his lips without showing any signs of stopping.

Taehyung could hear them from the other side, Jeongguk's sobs making his throat tighten. Swallowing thickly, Taehyung breathed out, blinking back any possible tears from the painful noises before reluctantly walking away from Jeongguk's dorm, trying to block out Jeongguk's cries.

Whilst walking, Taehyung passed by Hoseok who had stopped walking and was glaring at him. "Look. I don't know what you did, man, but I really hope you're happy." He pointed towards where the sounds were coming from, shaking his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable." He grunted before walking away, presumably to knock on Jeongguk's door to comfort him.

Taehyung felt his mouth go dry at that, feeling guilt fill all his senses. He dug his nail into his palm, biting the inside of his cheek.

Why did he have to mess up everything?

Bringing a hand up to harshly tug at his dark locks, Taehyung was about to walk back to his dorm before he was wondering-

Who told Jeongguk all this?

Taehyung then widened his eyes in realisation when he thought back to Jimin. He completely froze up when he asked him what was up with Jeongguk this morning and acted like he had no clue. Not to mention he was acting weird around the time Jeongguk stopped talking to him. It must've been him!

Taehyung let go of his hair, his hand falling to his side as he prepared to pay Jimin a visit, but then again, Taehyung was never good at confrontation, only when he was doing it to joke around but never seriously. He then remembered Jeongguk's words of encouragement when he got like this, that he could do this, he breathed in and out.

After taking a final breath, Taehyung then wasted no time to speed to Jimin's dorm, not bothering to politely knock and instead slam the door open and bust in the room. His eyes scanned around the room for a fraction of a second before landing on Jimin, who seemed quite confused.

"Taehyung?" Jimin quickly scrambled to his feet, walking over to the boy. "What are you doing-"

"What did you tell Jeongguk?"

Jimin furrowed his brows, opening his mouth then closing it shut, then back open. "W-what do you mean?" He asked, his voice suspiciously higher than usual.

Taehyung scoffed and inched closer towards the boy, eyes darkening. "What did you tell him?" He repeated again, this time his tone being harsher and scarier which Taehyung wouldn't expect from himself if this was serious.

"Taehyung? I-"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. You definitely know about me and Jeongguk, I don't know how you do but now Jeongguk somehow found out about us and thinks that I've been playing with his feelings and couldn't care less about him, how did he get to that conclusion?" He spat, and Jimin gulped.

The boy replied with nothing and sat on his bed, his palms pressed against the mattress as Taehyung sat on Hoseok's bed, waiting for an answer.