Tae: Lisa? Please, sit!
Eun Woo gave her a side hug.
Eun: So, you know her? Lisa, you didn't tell me either!
Lisa: Of course he knows me. JK himself introduced us to each other.
Eun: Then why didn't he introduce him to me too?
Lisa: Cuz you were not present when he came to snatch his boyfriend from the party. (smiled) Moreover, you're not cute enough to make his little boyfriend jealous, but I was!
Eun: He called you over to make him jealous? Wah, great! But wasn't he JK's secret crush? When did they became boyfriends?
Tae's POV: What the hell are these two talking about? Secret crush? So, about that diary, all my assumptions were correct, except for the fact that it was drawn by a girl. And Lisa..... she was not his girlfriend, instead, a prawn to make me drink the sour.
Lisa: Leave it. Hyung. Eun Woo told me a friend of Umi called him. So, I thought of joining. You won't mind, will you? I swear I'm not that bunny's girlfriend.
Tae: It's alright. In fact it's better if you joined. Order something first.
Lisa: No, hyung! I'm on diet. I guess you don't know, but I'm a badminton player.
Eun: Of the national team.
Tae: National team? But I never saw you before in the joint games club.
Lisa: Hyung I'm not Korean, I'm from Thailand. But it's my vacation and my friends are all in SK. So-
Eun: So, she came here for free meals.
Tae: (smiled) Are you two dating?
Lisa: No way!! He's not my type.
Eun: Hyung what are you even thinking? Her and me? Oh please! I would better date my Moon Bin.(rolled eyes)
Lisa: And I would definitely love to date our Jennie.(glared at Eun)
Tae: Are you talking about Kim Jennie?
Eun: Oh, right! You should know him, hyung! She's also a badminton player.
Lisa: Of South Korea National team.
Tae: I know this kid. She's pretty talented I must say.
They nodded head in agreement.
Eun: So, hyung! What do you wanted to talk about?
Tae: Um.... Are you in contact with him?
Lisa: No, Its been years we haven't talk. Why? Did anything happen?
Tae: When did you last talk?
Lisa: Last time was when he introduced you to us. After that, we haven't talked again.
At this point Taehyung was pretty sure that these two had no idea about the penalty Kook got that year. And he certainly didn't wanna involve anyone else in this mess.
Eun: Hyung, I remember he said his elder brother was your closest friend. You could ask him instead.
Tae: I can't reach him either. Did they go on a vacation without informing me?
Lisa: That could be true. Hyung, I know a kid, he recently came back from US. I remember he used to talk about Jungkook a lot. How about u talk to him?
Eun: You mean that little kid? Cousin of Yoongi hyung? Man Yoongi hyung was nuts about Jimin Hyung. How could I forget that? I have Yoongi Hyung's contact number.
Tae: Fine, both of you have Instagram account I guess?
Eun: (excited) Can't believe I would be this lucky to get you follow me back. I'm already following you hyung!
Lisa: (teasingly) Couldn't tell you were such a big fan of your captain Hyung! Aren't you scared that bunny will bury you alive?
Eun: Haha. You better shut your mouth in front of him. (bombastic side eyes)
Tae: Fine, knock me when you go back home. I gotta join the pride parade today. I would better go back and prepare for that.
Tae took farewell from them and headed towards his apartment. Taking a quick shower he decided to go through the diary again. Everything was a bit confusing for him right now. Going through those sketches might help him to solve the puzzle. But to his surprise, the diary was nowhere to be found. He remembers well he put it right on his study desk. Then he went out to meet Eun woo and Lisa. Why did it disappear within one mere hour?
The surrounding doesn't have any sign of breaking in. There is no other staff lost either. It could prove only one thing. The person who took it away knew the password of his apartment and he's most probably the same person who left that diary last time.
Was is Jungkook? Did he come here and accidentally left it? That's why he came back again to grab it back? It has to be like this, right? But how to confirm it?
CCTV camera records! Right! I can just go downstairs and check it out through security panel.
Just as he was about to leave his room, something got stuck under his sleepers. He bent down and found a pen that certainly didn't belong to him. Holding it carefully he discovered it looks pretty much like the pen recorder he saw during his last interview. It didn't take him many seconds to find the button and press it. It was indeed a recording. But he wasn't expecting it to start with anger and desperation.
"Don't touch him."
It's Kook!
"Fine I won't. Then find me someone to take the blame instead."
Who's this person? What is he doing with Jungkook?
Tae sat down to hear the rest of the conversation. It was Jungkook again.
"Don't push your luck."
"Tch! As if you're capable of stopping him! You should have come earlier JK! Now that he already knows we got a boy, even if you beg me, I can't do anything about it. Boys!"
Is he calling his gang to beat Kook up?
"I said don't touch him! Fine, you just need someone to take the blame, right? Let me be the one to replace him."
"And why should I trust a cunning fox like you?"
"Coz I can trick you about anything. But when it comes to Kim Taehyung, I'll never!"
The recording stopped right there. There was a sticky note lying near the spot where he found the pen. The note said something even more surprising:
Hyung, forgive this kid for taking the notebook back in rush. Or else if Jungkookie hyung notices, I'd be buried alive.
Now it was a whole mess inside Taehyung's head. What on earth Kook replaced him for? Was is all because of Tae that he had to receive the penalty? And who's this kid trying so hard to inform me about it?
Taehyung unknowingly sat down beside the table and covered his face with his hands.
It's been almost 5 years. Every moment he tried to forget everything about his love, his rival, his everything. Every day he had to fight with himself, everyday he had been blaming Jungkook for being ruthless and heartless. Again every night he missed his warmth. They were never a couple but there are few things that need not to clarify always. Their feelings for each other was like this. Anyone could say they were head over hills in love with each other.
When Jungkook decided to leave Taehyung alone, he was frustrated and had complicated feelings. But as a way of self protection, he ended up taking Jungkook a person who wasted his whole youth. He gradually started to try to hate Jungkook and maybe he was this close to hate Jungkook, again his thoughts and emotions all got blend into something even more complicated. If Jungkook ended up in jail only to save Taehyung, then how would he ever forgive himself?
Loving someone is like writing a song, the more you think, the more it you forget the original concept of the lyrics. But once you finish the song, it becomes an inseparable part of yourself. This song belongs to you, it beholds the emotions you can't express, reminds you the feelings you will never forget.
But alas! Wish loving Jungkook was like writing a song. At least the song can't tear the lyrics up by himself without the consent of the composer.
Jungkookah! Why did you have to choose it for me? How am I supposed to forgive myself ever in my whole life?
Tears started to fall down like the stream in springs. It had delightful freshness as he learnt how much Jungkook loved him, yet had the bitter pain thinking about the sacrifices Jungkook made. He certainly doesn't have the memory of the incident. But he wasn't a dumbass to stay ignorant towards such a clear hint regarding the whole incident.
He opened up the file in his phone that he hid in secured folder so that he'll not have to see them time to time. It's filled with lots of pictures of Jungkook. He zoomed one and slowly touched his cheek, probably as an attempt to feel the warmth he had been missing.
The whole day went like this. He listened to the voice recording again and again, went through the pictures and did reminisce about their past.
It was already past noon when he received the text of Umi.
"Bear, the parade is about to start. Please come quickly or else you'll really miss it."