"Your parents are home?"

Jeongguk cursed lowly, pecking the blond's lips one last time before letting go of him to run to the door. He leaned his ear against the wooden frame, confirming that his parents are back home as he heard them talking.

"They can't know we're here," he whispered.

"What are we gonna do?" Taehyung got down from the table, his heart beating widely in his chest due to the arising panic, but also still due to the lingering feeling of Jeongguk's lips on his. Taehyung knew Jeongguk's parents didn't like him and he feared they would take Jeongguk away from him again if they see them together.

Jeongguk looked around the room, his eyes landing on the small window, big enough for a person to climb through. He sighed. "We can climb through that window?"

Taehyung turned around to spot the quadratic window there. Luckily the room was in the basement, so if they were to climb through that, they're instantly on the ground, so no need for jumping down floors. "Okay, I'll go and you go to your parents and pretend like you were working on your pottery—

"No, I'll come with you!" Jeongguk retorted, too quick, that it left Taehyung startled. He let it slide though, having no time to worry about why Jeongguk acted like this. "Oh. Okay.."

Jeongguk climbed on the table, careful to

not step on his clay stuff, then reached his hand out for Taehyung, who blushed as he took it and let Jeongguk help him up.

"Fuck, we need a screwdriver." Jeongguk never cared about this window, so he never noticed how it's getting opened or even if it's supposed to get opened. Apparently not, because there was a grid in front of it, screws on each corner.

"Cross or line?" Taehyung asked, looking around. Jeongguk examined the screws. "Line."

Taehyung's eyes lit up as he jumped down from the table again, to walk to one of the shelfs with Jeongguk's art supplies. And then he found the metallic ruler he had spotted earlier for some reason. Maybe his senses were prepared.

He climbed up the table again, showing the ruler to Jeongguk with a proud smile, that had the ravenette's heart melting. "I once watched a movie, where they used a thin metallic ruler to undo line screws—

"I know, we watched it together," Jeongguk reminded, which made Taehyung smile, then turn to the window. He used the end of the ruler to stick it into the line caved into the head of the screw and rotate it out of the hole.

Jeongguk smirked watching Taehyung work with a proud look.

And then, one after one, Taehyung removed all screws, a grin forming on his lips as he could remove the grid and then opened the window.

"You did it," Jeongguk smiled, his eyes — and Taehyung's too — widening as they heard steps coming from outside of the room.

"I could swear I heard something," Mrs Jeon's voice resonated, the boys panicked.

"Quick, climb through it," Jeongguk urged, as he grabbed Taehyung by his waist and lifted him up to reach the window and climb through it. Taehyung hated how easily he blushed by Jeongguk's simple touch, as he pulled himself through the window until he was on the grass in the backyard.

"Now you." The blond watched with a roaring heart how Jeongguk jumped up a little to reach the window, then pulled himself up. His eyes wandered from Jeongguk, to behind him to the door, suddenly feeling nervous as the steps seemed to get closer.

But you can count on Jeongguk, he climbed up smoothly, a height like this being no burden.

They heard the door handle rattling and Jeongguk was quick to pull Taehyung to the side, his back leaning against the wall next to the window, Taehyung in his arms, on his lap as his breath heaved a little.

And then the door opened, the boys trying their best to not make any sounds or movements.

"Honey, come look at this!" Mrs Jeon's voice was hearable, the boys knew it was obvious someone has been there, also the grid was unscrewed, still abandoned on top of the table and the window also open.

"What is it?" Mr Jeon's voice was next.

Jeongguk felt his heart pick up a faster pace hearing his parents voices and a shoot of resentment ran through him, the same as it did inside of Taehyung. They really didn't like him, huh?

"Someone broke in.." Mrs Jeon said, but her husband shook his head. "Someone broke out. Jeongguk must've been here."

Hearing his name come from that mouth made a shiver run down Jeongguk's spine. He feels like this is the first time in years that his father took his name in his mouth, since he is usually too busy to spend any time with his son anyways.

Mrs Jeon scoffed, her eyes wandering to the opened window, turning glassy. "How could you say that to him? This is your fault."

Confusion got mirrored in Taehyung's eyes as he looked up to Jeongguk. He didn't understand what Jeongguk's mother was saying, but judging by Jeongguk's stern expression and his tight hold on Taehyung, it was something... not so nice.

"He chose that boy over his family, it was his own decision," Mr Jeon responded, poison dripping from his voice.

Taehyung's eyes widened, his body froze. He chose the boy over his family. Was he that boy?

"But he is our son! Imagine how it must be for him to have to break in and out his own house! He can't even—

"This is not his house anymore, we talked about it! He had two options, stay with us or go to that boy! Of course that useless fag chose him! He never cared about us anyways."

Jeongguk took in a sharp breath, his chest heaving up and down. He tried to avoid Taehyung's eyes at him, but he knew the blond was shocked hearing the new information.

"I don't have a son anymore, I don't need a gay son." Hard footsteps leaving the room could be heard, Mr Jeon left the room, while Jeongguk's mother was still there, fighting against her tears as she looked around, everything being she's seeing being something her son created or invested in himself. She was definitely against her son's preference in the same gender, but if loosing him is the price for that, she would at least try.

Jeongguk's expression was hard when he heard his mother leaving the room too, not even getting a glimpse of her, or the tears that rolled down her cheeks in silence.

"They're gone, let's go," he simply said, helping Taehyung up first and then getting up himself. He knew the fact that the blond didn't say a word was because he definitely will once they're away from the Jeons' house.

And once they reached the park nearby, Taehyung stopped midway and spoke up. "You... Why didn't you tell me?"

A sigh left Jeongguk's lips. "That I was kicked out?"

Taehyung hummed, looking to the ground. "You shouldn't have left your parents."

Jeongguk just chuckled. "One day or another, I would've done it anyways, also... you heard what they said. I had to choose between them and you."

Taehyung gulped, chest filling with a drowning feeling. Jeongguk chose him over his parents. He didn't want to stay between Jeongguk and his parents, although he knows that their bond wasn't that good anymore. "But they're your parents..."

"Bub, why are you like this?" Jeongguk asked affectionately, a soft smile on his lips, that surprised Taehyung. He should've known the ravenette would notice Taehyung's behavior and find out that he was giving himself the fault in it. There's no one that knows him better than he does, even if there was a year long pause in their friendship. Jeongguk didn't look like he got kicked out of his own home. "It was my decision to leave, my decision to choose you. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Taehyung nodded softly. It was like Jeongguk could read his thoughts and knew exactly what to answer, but he still felt a little uneasy with the situation.

He felt guilty.

"If I weren't, this wouldn't have happened though.. I'm sorry," he mumbled, not really knowing how to express the genuine worry he felt inside.

Jeongguk looked at Taehyung for a few seconds, before pulling him into his embrace. "I don't even want to think about how it would be if you weren't here.. This has nothing to do with you, Tae. My parents were never there for me, they never cared about my well-being, never cared about my feelings and what I want and I got tired of it.. I don't want to follow them around anymore. You know..." Jeongguk fell silent, holding Taehyung against his chest, before continuing: "They're planning to move to Busan to get me away from you. I don't want that, so I caused a scene and they kicked me out"

Taehyung's eyes widened, as he leaned a little out of the hug to look at Jeongguk. "Wh-what?"

The older sighed. "I can't. I can't bear not being around you, I can't just leave everything behind that I have here. School, Yoongi, Hoseok... You and your mom. My parents only need me to brag to others about how successful their son is in school and that I like a boy isn't sitting right with them.. I just... want to do what I want. Not what they want me to."

He placed a small kiss on Taehyung's forehead, the younger stiffened by that. "You don't have to blame anything on you, it is my decision to stay here in Seoul and not move to Busan."

Taehyung was still awestruck by the forehead kiss Jeongguk just gave him, in a way that wouldn't even imply anything about that they already had more intimate skin contacts before this. As if they hadn't had a full make out session less than twenty minutes ago.

The blond hummed, his doe eyes staring up to Jeongguk, his cheeks tinted in a pretty pink, one that had the older want to melt on the spot, or kiss the daylights out of Taehyung.

Alone the thought of the earlier activities let both their hearts pick up a fast pace, the feelings they recalled bursting through them.

"You can stay with us for the meantime. However long you want and need." Taehyung averted his gaze downwards, to Jeongguk's shoes, white, old air force 1 he has been wearing for two years already.

"Thank you," the ravenette spoke, genuine gratefulness getting mirrored in his beautiful dark eyes. "I didn't know my parents would come home early and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about... my situation and you had to find out this way."

Taehyung looked up, smiling warmly, still a little hesitant though. "It's okay, it's your decision wether you want to tell me stuff, but I really hope you know that if you need my help or need someone to talk to, I'm here for you."

Jeongguk's lips parted by the blond's words. He'd literally do anything for Taehyung and he felt stupid for not having realized this earlier. He should've never listened to his parents. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think I'm using you to have somewhere I can stay at, you know..?" Jeongguk's quiet tone revealed obviously how unsure he felt and how genuine he meant it. And it's obvious he is still scared Taehyung thinks like this of him

The younger looked at him in surprise. "I didn't even think of that."

A sigh left Jeongguk's lips, relief written all over his face. "Good, because I want to straighten my mistakes." He took Taehyung's hand in his, placing a kiss on his knuckles. "I want to be worthy of you, Taehyung, and right now, I'm everything but that. I'm sorry... for everything."

Taehyung bit back a smile, instead he got on his tiptoes, to place a kiss on Jeongguk's cheek.

"I forgive you."