Chapter 4: Too Close, Too Warm

The first time Jungkook realized Taehyung was doing it on purpose, it was already too late.

It started small.

Taehyung leaned too close when Jungkook cooked. His fingers brushed Jungkook’s wrist when passing things. He stood behind him when Jungkook drew, close enough that their shoulders nearly touched.

Too close to be accidental.

“You don’t have a lot of space here,” Taehyung commented one evening, eyeing the tiny kitchen.

“It’s fine,” Jungkook replied, focusing on the pan. “I’m used to it.”

Taehyung hummed and stepped closer anyway. “You shouldn’t have to be.”

Jungkook’s ears burned.

Later, when Jungkook sat on the couch with his tablet, Taehyung dropped down beside him without asking—long legs stretched out, posture relaxed, presence overwhelming.

“You’re distracting,” Jungkook muttered.

“Am I?” Taehyung tilted his head, lips curving. “You’re the one who keeps looking at me.”

“I am not.”

Taehyung smiled like he’d won.

When Jungkook went out to buy groceries, Taehyung insisted on coming along. He stayed close the entire time, eyes sharp whenever someone lingered a little too long.

“Do people always look at you like that?” Taehyung asked casually.

“Like what?”

“Like they want you.”

Jungkook nearly tripped.

Back at the apartment, Jungkook finally turned on him. “You’ve been weird all day.”

Taehyung met his gaze calmly. “I’m learning.”

“Learning what?”

“How this world works,” Taehyung said softly. “What’s mine. What isn’t.”

Jungkook’s heart stuttered. “…I’m not something you own.”

“I know,” Taehyung replied, stepping closer—but stopping just short. “But you’re the reason I exist.”

The silence between them felt heavy, intimate.

Taehyung lifted his hand, thumb hovering near Jungkook’s jaw before pulling back. “Relax. I won’t cross lines you don’t draw.”

Jungkook swallowed. “…You’re impossible.”

Taehyung smiled, slow and teasing. “Then stop drawing me so well.”

Jungkook turned away, heart racing.

Behind him, Taehyung watched—possessive not in action, but in intent.

Taehyung wasn’t just learning how to exist.

He was learning how to want.

(A/N:This is my first short story, a short one only, and it's my own work, I didn't copy it from others, I just let chatgpt correct some of my grammatical errors. It's already edited, I have thought about publishing from a long time, but I always forgot about it😅. It has been in my drafts from a long time, my best friend also help me make this story. It's quite angst story, but not much, since I also don't like angst that much. And also again, I didn't copy this from others, it's really my own imaginations, I've been wanting to create this story from my mind from a long time, since I got busy in school I forgot to upload it here. So I hope you'll like this story😊)

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