Tae knocked on Jungkook’s bedroom door.
“Come in,” called the soft voice of one of his best friends.
Tae stuck his head into Jungkook’s room. “Jungkookie, I have a present for you.”
Sitting on his bed while he rested his back against his bedroom wall, Jungkook glanced up at Tae. “You have a present for me?”
Jungkook wondered why Tae hadn’t given it to him when they’d exchanged gifts earlier in the day with the other guys.
“It’s – it’s kind of a secret, so I wanted to give it to you in private.” He shut the bedroom door until it clicked.
Jungkook looked sharply over at Tae. A secret? What on earth was he talking about?
Tae stepped forward until he came to sit on the bed next to Jungkook. He held out a small square box. Curious, Jungkook reached for it. As he unwrapped and opened the present, Tae whispered, “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
It was a good thing those words accompanied his gift because Jungkook’s heart lurched as he gazed down at the heart-shaped frame surrounding a photograph of him and Hyejin. They’d been walking through the park, and she had turned to gaze at him with affection clearly written in her eyes. And the look on his own face…well, he was clearly in love with her.
Clearing his throat, he met Tae’s gaze. “How did you find out?”
“I’ve been curious for a while why you suddenly decided to take up jogging. And you’ve just seemed even less present than normal around the rest of us. So, I followed you one morning several weeks ago. You went to her house. So, I followed you another day so that I could take some pictures of the two of you together. I thought how horrible it must be to have to hide the fact that you love her, and she loves you.”
Jungkook felt a tear in the corner of his eye. Tae was one of his best friends in the whole world. And he had instinctively known exactly how Jungkook was feeling and even what he was struggling with.
“So, you don’t think I should tell the other guys?”
“Not if you’re not ready to. A secret is easier to keep when few people know about it. If they knew, then the pressure would be on them to keep her a secret too. Right now it’s just on us.”
“Tae…” Jungkook paused as he stared at him, then he glanced down at the photograph in his hand. Hyejin looked so beautiful in this picture, her long, midnight hair flowing past her waist, her dark eyes intent on his, a lovely smile crowning her face. “Thank you for this,” he whispered, “and for keeping my secret.”
Tae’s boxy grin appeared. “What are friends for?”
Tae’s question caused one of Jungkook’s own to resurface.
“So, Tae, tell me what you know about a girl named Tia…”
