Heavy snow | Taekook | ??

Taehyung's eyes stayed fixed on the spot where Jungkook had walked away, his frustration building with each passing second.

Ba Reum glanced at Taehyung's tense posture and sighed. "Taehyung, you need to let it go. He's not running off to do anything dangerous. He's just going to surf with friends. Give him some time."

Taehyung turned to him, his voice sharp. "Time for what? To go laughing and surfing with his friends while I'm here worrying if he's okay? How am I supposed to just stand by when he's out there acting like everything is fine?"

Jungkook's mother placed a gentle hand on Taehyung's arm, her voice calm but firm. "I know you're worried, but you're not helping him by hovering. He's not shutting you out because he doesn't care. He's doing it because he's trying to heal. He just got out of the rehabilitation. He's finally clean. He's finding himself all over again, just like a newborn. It happened before. Just believe in him."

"Finding himself by avoiding me?" Taehyung snapped, his frustration bubbling over. "Why is it that he can spend hours with them, but the second I try to be there for him, he pushes me away?"

"Because you remind him of everything he's been through," Ba Reum said bluntly, crossing his arms. "You think it's easy for him? Every time he looks at you, he probably remembers the worst moments of his life. That's not your fault, but it's the truth."

Taehyung's jaw tightened. "So what am I supposed to do? Just stand by and watch? Pretend like I don't care?"

"No," Jungkook's father said, stepping forward. "You keep caring, but you do it in a way that doesn't feel like pressure. He's not avoiding you because he doesn't want you around. He's avoiding you because he's not ready to face everything you remind him of."

Taehyung shook his head, his frustration spilling into his voice. "I don't understand this. How does giving him space help? What if something happens? What if he gets hurt? Am I just supposed to wait and hope for the best?"

"Taehyung," Jungkook's mother said gently, "you're not helping him by suffocating him. Yes, you call it care, and it is care, but it's not what he needs right now. He needs to find himself again, and that means stepping away from the people and things that tie him to the pain."

Ba Reum nodded. "Do you think it doesn't hurt us too? He barely talks to us most days. But we don't push. We let him come to us when he's ready. That's what you need to do. It was even harder the first time he existed the rehabilitation years ago, but now, we know how it works."

Taehyung's frustration reached its peak. "So I just wait? While he's out there with people who don't care about him the way I do? While he's acting like nothing happened?"

Jungkook's father placed a hand on Taehyung's shoulder, his voice steady. "It's not about the friends. It's about the weight he feels when he's around us. We remind him of everything he's trying to move on from. You're not losing him, Taehyung. He just needs to breathe."

Taehyung stared at the ground, his hands clenched into fists. "I don't know if I can do that. I can't stop thinking about what could happen. What if I'm not there when he needs me?"

"You were there when he needed you the most, Taehyung. But now, you need to trust him. He's not the same person he was back then. He's stronger than you think." Ba reum said.

The words hung heavy in the air as Taehyung stood frozen, torn between his instincts to protect Jungkook and the reality that his care might be doing more harm than good.

-

Taehyung walked along the grey sand, his surfing suit clinging to him as he held a paddle in his hand. The sky was overcast, heavy clouds casting a dull gray over the sea, making the waves blend with the horizon. He wasn't in the mood to surf-he never was today. The only reason he came was Jungkook.