Apartment Building No. 5 [A Taekook Short Story]

~ Five years later ~

Jeongguk had been roped into attending a freaking conference for some company's behalf.
The government wanted their help to design a new feature for an online shrine of worship and commerce dedicated to the most sucessful pop-sensation the land had ever seen.
And it payed a fortune.
Otherwise he would've run as fast as he could in the other direction.
Yeah, he got why the company outsourced it to a freelancer like him.
No sane person would touch this with a ten foot pole.
But, they'd helped him out in the beginning, so he owed them.
Big.
But maybe not this big.
Some clown was up on stage, giving a run-through of what they wanted.
He felt like vomiting.
It was, horrendous.
He wanted to unsee every gaudy slide from the presentation, erase them from his mind.
Forget they ever existed.

When the lunch break came, he thought about getting an emergency appendectomy to get out of there.
But he had a sneaking suspicion the medical corps didn't perform those on command.
And, there he was.
The man he couldn't get over these past five years.
No matter how hard he tried.
Or how much he wanted to.
The man that, eventhough he was a certified asshole, made all other men seem dull and shallow.
Lacking.
The man he loved to hate.
Kim Taehyung.
Putting food on a plate.
Right in front of him.
"I might have to fucking kill myself." he heard him mumble down to his food, and saw him shiver.
"I'm thinking about getting an unnecessary medical procedure myself." Jeongguk said out loud.
"Jeongguk?" Taehyung said without seeing him at first, but turned around and looked at him.
"Hi, Tae." Jeongguk smiled.
"Hi." Taehyung's face lit up from within.
Floored.
He was floored.
Desperately seeking some sort of segway to something, anything, other than the way Tae's smile made him feel.
Cooked spaghetti.
If anyone was wondering.
"God, you're with the government." Jeongguk groaned when he found his save as he saw Taehyung's name tag, and proud he hadn't gone, 'you're beautiful' after the taking the name in vain part.
Proud.
Will of steele, right here.
Monk-like self-control.
Let's pretend.
"Schh!" Taehyung hushed him, looking around in a pretend panic, "People might think this was my idea!"
"Please say it wasn't?" Jeongguk begged, whining.
"Oh, hell no." Tae fought off that idea with his hand, "I just learnt this today." he shivered, "I've been caught up with handling that, you know what, I don't even want to take his name in my mouth."
"Oh, you poor sod!" Jeongguk laughed, realising Tae'd had to deal with the unsavoury child trafficing scandal one of the Ministers had been sent to jail for.
There'd been quite the fall out.
"All good fun with Dick and Jane, huh?" Jeongguk joked.
"More like The Shining." Taehyung chuckled.
"Wanna?" Jeongguk motioned his head towards an empty table.
"Yes." Taehyung smiled.

"How have you been, Taehyung?" Jeongguk asked, looking at the most stunning man he had ever laid eyes on.
He was even more goodlooking now.
How that was even possible.
"Busy." Taehyung said, with a bit of sadness showing behind his smile, "Lost." he admitted and took a big bite of food, looking down.
He'd decided to dive right into it.
He wouldn't tell the smallest of half-truths to Jeongguk this time.
Not even to make small talk.
"You?" Taehyung looked at him.
"Lonely." Jeongguk confessed.
"That makes me very sad to hear, Jeongguk." Taehyung said, solemnly, looking him in the eye.
Meaning it.
Jeongguk shrugged, "Busy too."
"But, you haven't been single this whole time, right? Please tell me you've found someone to love?" Taehyung fretted. He did not want that on his conscience also!
He still felt like putting a bullet through his head, thinking about the complete asshole he'd been.
How he'd.
No, he wouldn't go there.
He wasn't that deceitful person anymore.
He'd worked really hard to get away from him.
But he still felt bad for the things he'd done.
As he should.
"No, I was with someone, someones, for a while, but." Jeongguk shrugged again, "You?"
"Well, I tried." Taehyung lifted the corner of his mouth in a loopsided smile, "Couldn't make it work." he paused, but decided to tell him, "They kinda fell short in comparison with this wonderful guy I messed up with. That kept invading my thoughts."
The truth.
The whole truth.
And nothing but the truth.
"Mm," Jeongguk nodded, smiling crookedly, "been there, done that."
"Oh."
"Mm."
"I," Taehyung started, but there was this sound, announcing the start of the next block, "Fuck." he hissed, "I swear to God, if they..." he shook his head slightly.
"Oh, they're gonna." Jeongguk warned, amused.
"Sit with me?" Tae asked.
"Yes." Jeongguk smiled.

It was bad.
So bad.
One idea worse than the other.
Horrible.
Horrible times at Ridgemont High.
Felt good to have Taehyung beside him though.
Comfortable.
Someone who got him.
Wordlessly.
Who's shifting of his body even in the slightest way, communicated a million thoughts.
Commented a thousand things about the, God-awful, capitalism-at-its-worst, exploitations being scurried around on stage.

When a brand new clown got up and paraded bottles of bubble baths in the liknessess of the poor pop-sensations around, yapping about what great value it would have for fans and tourists alike to get their hands on those, both their jaws fell open and they sat gaping.
"King Tut." Jeongguk uttered, incredulously.
Helplessly.
"Jesus Christ!" Tae groaned and had to bend down, hiding below the seat infront of him, he was flipping loosing it! "I need to get out of here!" he croaked out, unable to contain his laughter for much longer.
Luckily for them the clown'd just ended his skit and there was a bit of applause before a new PR-anti-genius prepared to get up on stage.
The snuck out like two civilians getting out of a bombing, hunching down, trying to survive.
"Maybe they should just do an interactive tourist map?" Jeongguk joked as soon as they were out of there, "Here's were so-and-so picked his nose for the first time, now you, can pick your nose like a popstar too!"
"Schh! Be quiet!" Taehyung hushed him in a real panic this time, "Someone might actually do that if they hear you!"
"Honestly, I think I might float that idea to the company." Jeongguk laughed, "Save me some time and trouble and still be, you know, fresh." he imitated one of the government clowns they'd listened to.
"You wouldn't." Tae stopped, looking at him.
"Yup." Jeongguk grinned.
"Asshole." Taehyung smiled.
That smile.
"God, you're beautiful." Jeongguk gasped, out loud, before he could stop the comment from escaping.
"Jeongguk." Taehyung said, stricken.
"Jesus Fuck! I'm sorry!" Jeongguk raked his hands over his face, "I didn't mean to," he couldn't continue.
The raw desire, the want, the love, he saw in Taehyung's face, rendered him mute.

And then they were kissing.
Clawing at eachother.
Having to be closer.
They almost knocked over a fake plant, slithering about intertwined, and sobered up from their intoxication an increment.
"This could be the worst idea in the history of mankind." Taehyung whispered, leaning his forehead against Jeongguk's.
"Or the most brilliant." Jeongguk panted, and took him by the hand and yanked him out of there with him.
He hailed a cab and they got in the backseat.
Sat there.
Looking at eachother.
Taehyung let his fingers trace the features of Jeongguk's face, "I love you." he heard himself say without his conscious participation.
"Oh, God, Taehyung!" Jeongguk mewled and pulled him towards himself, kissing him again.
"We're here." the cab driver barked, wanting to get rid of the homosexuals in his car as soon as possible.
"Keep the change." Jeongguk said, icily, and gave him zero tips and got out after Taehyung.

"I can't believe you still live here." Taehyung was panting against Jeongguk's neck, licking a wet line, looking up at the same apartment building as before.
"Well, I own the building now." Jeongguk shrugged and grabbed Tae's ass, dancing them inside.
"No shit?" Tae said through chattering teeth.
"Mm." Jeongguk groaned and frecken tongued him.
Someway or another they got into the elevator.
Jeongguk more or less pushed Taehyung into it, slamming him into the elevator wall, attacking his mouth. Hitting at the floor buttons with one hand.
Lost in the sensation that was Tae, back in his arms.
"We're not moving." Taehyung realised.
"Fuck." Jeongguk hissed, and managed to get his key card out without dropping it, but he had a hard time fitting it into the slot with his shaking hands, "God dammit! Fit!" he ordered, and the card finally obeyed, and the elevator started moving.

Jeongguk cupped Tae's face, looking into his soul, "Promise me you won't hurt me this time." he said all serious.
Taehyung stilled his frantic motions, trying to rid Gguk of his clothes as he'd been, and took a little step back, placing his hands over Jeongguk's, "Jeongguk, I can't promise that." he shook his head very gently, "I probably will hurt you somehow, without meaning to. Just as you'll hurt me." he paused, having to swallow, "I can promise you I'll never hurt you on purpose. But that is the only thing I can promise." he held his breath, wanting to give Gguk a chance to withdraw, if he wanted to.
"That was a test." Jeongguk said, darkly, scaring the shit out of Taehyung.
"You passed." he moaned, and fitted their mouths together again, "Taehyungkkeo."

***