"i've seen the paths that your eyes wander down,

i want to come too."

jungkook wanted to find taehyung.

scratch that, he had to find taehyung.

so, when the next tuesday came around, with hoseok reassuring that he had an exam to study, jungkook decided to close his shop for two days and went on a quest to find the man of his life.

after having a quick breakfast wrap, jungkook started from a place down the street called namjoon's bookstore, where taehyung first got his copy of favourite book. he looked through every shelf and every hall, hoping that he would see a certain brown-haired customer lurking inside — hands clutched onto damien or some cinnamon-powdered caramel macchiato that he got somewhere else — but unfortunately, his mere attempt came to no avail.

"you should go to namsan tower! i once saw taehyung holding a rough sketch of the landmark when he last visited," was the only thing the bookstore owner needed to say before jungkook wheezed to the nearest subway station.

it didn't stop him when he realised that he had to take another shuttle bus; which would cost another couple wons, and he was definitely more than short on money. forget about stopping for a meal, or resting to quench his thirst — jeon jungkook was there to find the man of his dreams, and it was exactly what he was going to do.

after hiking for approximately thirty minutes, as the sun went down and changed places with the moon, jungkook saw couples and families gathering to watch the tower change its colours. from yellow to green, green to blue, and blue to red. it was such a beautiful sight that he couldn't help but melt. the weather was nice, the leaves were falling down, but it saddened him how taehyung wasn't there for them to enjoy the show together. 

just where have you been wandering, hyung?

"hello?"

a deep, grumpy voice startled jungkook from behind, almost knocking the soul out of his body. when he shifted his head to find the source of the sound, his vision was met with a short man in his 20s, dressed in a security uniform with slanted eyes and gummy flat smile. "y-yes?"

"the show is over, son, you should come home." security min — or so what the name tag said — replied with a steady, careless tone.

when stumbling around like a deer in the headlights, jungkook realised that he was, indeed, the only person left in front of the tower. the autumn sky was already dark, but the stars were clouded by hazy fogs.

but that still didn't stop him from trying.

when the older man strolled away to resume his job, jungkook managed to catch his wrist in a begging position as he fell on his knees. "uh, what are you doing-"

"-fuck, i'm so sorry," he got up and dusted some dirt off. "this is going to sound weird, but do you happen to know kim taehyung?"

silence.

silence.

silence.

". . . i shouldn't get my hopes up," shaking his head in repeat, jungkook heaved with a sigh as he once again slumped down the street, not caring that sweat had begun prickling down his chin. "hell, i shouldn't even be here in the first place. thank you for your kindness, sir. i think it's best for me to get going."

after making a ninety degree-bow to the confused security, jungkook skipped his way down the narrow hill as he bursted into a million thoughts. he wanted to cry, to scream out his beloved hyung's name and curse the universe for not letting their story continued, but none of them worked — so he just stood there like a man on a hunt, silently groaning in frustration. 

he wanted to ask god, just why would you introduce me to him, to someone nearly as beautiful and perfect as him, only to separate us later on? shouldn't we at least end on a better note?

but there was no use.

well that,

until he saw security min catching up from uphill — silently cursing himself for running like a mad man instead of patrolling as quick as possible (so he could watch his favourite daily soap opera) — eyes scrutinising in pain but lips speaking a whole different language.

"you should go to seoul national university hospital," the older man spoke in between his heavy breathings. "i think you might found something there."