Chapter 9 Discovery

ºAlways find time for the things that make you feel happy to be alive.º

The next morning Jungkook is the first one to wake up. He opens his eyes and sees a handsome face close to his. He gulps when he realizes how near Taehyung is to him. Even if there isn't much space inside, there is enough for two people but the actor seems like he prefers to sleep closer to someone else.

Jungkook clears his throat, chasing the thoughts from his mind. He leaves the tent and finds the little boy still sleeping on the sand. He smiles when he hears him snore quietly.

He decides to take advantage of the calm to run to the sea and jump into the water. He lets out a heavy sigh when the freshness consumes his entire body. He swims until he wakes up well and feels himself ready to start a new day. Today they planned to discover new parts of the island to see if they can find something to eat or anything that can help them survive. Now that they have a child with them it's even more difficult. Jungkook has to make sure he eats well and that he doesn't get hurt and it's not easy when you live in a place when there is no food and there are rocks and insects everywhere.

When he leaves the water, he runs his fingers in his pink hair and walks back to the tent. He finds the child inside trying to wake Taehyung up. He chuckles when he hears the actor groan and mumble curses while sleeping. The child looks at Jungkook and giggles because the blue haired male looks funny.

Jungkook sits by Taehyung's side and taps his cheek gently, "You should wake up."

Taehyung simply hums and keeps sleeping.

Jungkook and the child share a look and roll their eyes.

The pink haired shakes Taehyung's arm and leans down to whisper, "Taehyung-ah, wake up."

The actor opens his eyes and frowns when he sees Jungkook smiling to him. "I'm still not used to being called like this." he spoke with a tired voice. "And can't you dry that hair first? You're dropping water on me."

"You're welcome." Jungkook shrugs, "It's hot, so I'm doing you a favor."

Taehyung rolls his eyes and frowns when he sees the child. "You think I'm funny? Why are you smiling like this?"

"You're funny." the child laughs. "You look nothing like the actor I'm used to see on TV."

"What do you mean?" the blue haired raises an eyebrow.

"Look at you!" the child laughs. "Your eyes are red, you look pale and you even have a beard now!"

Jungkook joins his laughter.

Taehyung sends him a death glare and mumbles, "You have a beard too, so shut up."

"Really?" Jungkook rubs chin chin and smiles, "That's true, but you have more than I do." he caresses Taehyung's beard, "Your skin is soft. You must have taken good care of it before."

Taehyung takes his hand away from his face gently and looks at the pink haired male with a confused look, "Do you often do this? Touch people without their permission."

Jungkook raises an eyebrow, "Are you serious? Should I ask for your consent before touching you?"

"Indeed you have to." Taehyung nods and gets up to leave the tent. He stretches his legs and arms and turns around to look at him, "This face costs millions, so be careful."

Jungkook rolls his eyes.

~

The agent receives a call while he's still in the car. His mother's voice sounds through the speaker, "Good evening, son. Where are you? We're waiting for you for dinner."

"You can eat without me, mum. I'll pass by tomorrow, okay? I'm sorry."

"Is something wrong darling? You sound very tired."

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you tomorrow."

The young male sighs and presses his lips. Even if he has everything he wants in life; a nice job, lots of money and good family, he still hasn't found his happiness. Dinners with his parents mean them asking him if he has a woman in his life and he can never ask this question because he has never been interested in females in his entire life. "'I'm sorry, mum." he whispers.

He arrives to the dance academy where his best friend works. He calls him and waits outside. A red haired appears moments later with a large smile on his face, "Hey man!" he hugs his friend, "Long time no see."

"Yeah, I know. We've been very busy since that plane explosion." he pats his back and follows him inside the building.

"How are the things going? I heard you found a lot of bodies."

"Yeah, but there are many others missing. We still have a lot of work to do." They enter the practice room and the black haired sits down to watch his friend practicing a new choreography. They have been doing this since they met at college seven years ago. Jimin used to dance a lot with him back then, but he stopped a few years later when he got injured in his leg.

Now he just visits his friend at his workplace to watch him and give him his opinions about the choreographies he creates for his students.

"What's wrong, man?" Hyunjin frowns, "You don't seem like yourself."

The black haired sighs, "I met someone."

The dancer raises an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you be happy about it? You haven't dated since ages."

"It's different, man. He is different." the agent sighs. "I don't know, he doesn't seem like the other guys I used to date."

"Really?" the red haired sits beside his friend. "Where have you met him? The club again?"

Jimin shakes his head, "He came to my workplace, his brother is one of the missing passengers."

"Whoa." the dancer chuckles. "What a coincidence. But is he—"

"I have no idea to be honest." the agent shrugs, "I hope he is."

"Damn, you're really falling, man." Hyunjin  pats his back. "He must be really handsome."

"A lot." the black haired smiles.

~

The three adventurers are walking inside the forest, the pink haired is holding the child's hand in order not to lose him. They find some coconuts on their way and they drink from their water to stay hydrated for the day.

They keep walking and stopping from time to time to rest. It's hot and they are started to get tired. The pink haired takes off his shirt and wets it with cold water before placing it above the child's head, "Don't get a migraine, kid."

He turns around and watches the actor moving slowly and tiredly. The heat is weakening him.

Jungkook uses his other free hand to place it around Taehyung's waist, "Don't die Taehyung-ah, we still need you."

The blue haired rolls his eyes, "It's too hot, man. I don't think I can survive."

"Jungkook hyung, do you hear this?" the child stops them. Jungkook raises an eyebrow and concentrates on the sounds around him to hear what little Taehyung is talking about. First he hears the sound of the tree leaves moving along with the gentle breeze, then he hears the birds chirping and the trunks cracking. He focuses more and widens his eyes when he hears the sound of the water falling. "A cascade!" he exclaims. He looks at the child and gives him a wide smile, "We need to find it!" he grabs both Taehyungs' arms and follows the slow melody produced by nature.

They get there in a few moments and the child starts screaming and dancing when he sees the large waterfall. He giggles and let go of Jungkook's hand. He takes off his shoes and the rest of his clothes before running to the water.

"Watch out Taehyungie!" Jungkook shouts.

"Don't worry hyung, my mum taught me how to swim!"

The pink haired shakes his head and watches the kid enjoy himself in the water. He then turns around and sees Taehyung taking off his shirt and his pants, "You're getting in too?" he asks.

"Do you think I'll want to die with this heat instead of freshening up in the water?"

He laughs, "You're right." he keeps his underwear on and follows the actor to the water. The kid laughs when he sees them getting in and he joins them. He tells them how happy he to swim in the cold water because it's very hot outside. He also tells them about how his mother taught him how to swim in Busan's sea. Jungkook notices the sadness of his tone when he speaks about his mother but he also admires him for being a strong boy.

When he finishes talking, the boy looks at them and smirks. He then starts splashing water on them while laughing out loud. Jungkook splashes water on him too and later, Taehyung joins the fight. They keep playing with water, freshening up their bodies and warming up their hearts thanks to the small and happy moment they are sharing together.

Later, they swim to the rocks and stand under the waterfall. They enjoy the relaxing feeling created by the pression and the coldness.

Jungkook can't stop smiling despite all the sadness and fear of never coming back to his usual life. He's happy because he's finally away from the daily routine, from the stress and anxiety, from the countless shifts and the never ending debts. He's happy because he's finally feeling alive.

Taehyung can't help smiling either. He hasn't heard his father's nagging for a long time, he hasn't received his manager's unstoppable calls, he hasn't been annoyed by fans and paparazzis. He doesn't have to pretend to love a woman in front of the media and he doesn't have to act like the person he's not.

The blue haired opens his eyes and watches the kid swimming. He wants to join him and when he walks away from the waterfall he almost stumbles on a rocks before Jungkook saves him from the pain by grabbing his waist tightly. He turns him around because of the sudden action and looks at him with worried eyes. "Watch out, Taehyung-ah." he smiles.

The actor gulps. The water is falling on the younger male, making his pink hair stick on his forehead and his muscled body shine under the sunlight. He feels the strength of his arm against his back and the softness of his skin caressing his own. He's getting confused, he doesn't understand what's going on with him. Why is he feeling this way? Why does Jungkook make him feel strange?

~

Mrs. Jeon places the side dishes on the small table and goes back to the kitchen to put the rice into bowls. Yoongi helps her set their breakfast table, he brings the chopsticks and a bottle of cold water.

His mother asks him where he was the night before and he tells us that he's been invited to dinner. When she asks about his new friend he tells her that it's been a long time since he met someone as kind as Jimin. He doesn't forget to mention how fancy is his car and the suits he wears, he says that he wishes to be as rich as him and the woman takes advantage of it to slap his arm and tell him that he should've studied well in high school to get a scholarship and go to a good college. Yoongi whines and complains about the government who doesn't make it easy for young people to study what they want. Mrs. Jeon rolls her eyes and tells him to stop accusing the government for the failure of his professional life.

Yoongi turns on the TV to change the subject, it's time for the morning news so he increases the volume to hear if there's anything interesting. The president of South Korea appears first, he made a speech to console the families who lost their loved ones during the plane explosion. After this they show a list of names belonging to the new passengers they have found dead down in the sea.

Yoongi and his mother's hearts stop when they read the name Jeon Jungkook.