Chapter Text
Taehyung looked around after he got out of the bus and grabbed his bag. He and hundreds of other men in uniforms were in a huge courtyard with grey buildings surrounding them from three sides and high fence at the fourth. It looked like a prison to Taehyung, but in reality, it was a military base in which he was going to live for over a year.
He completed the initial boot camp that decided in which units the men went and that’s how he ended up here, in all-men base at the North of the country.
The boot camp was hell, it was intense and tough and Taehyung was honestly happy that it was over, he heard that things got easier after the boot camp, although there was still lots of training and physical exercise.
He was always pretty good at sports, but he wasn’t particularly athletic when it came to working out and military drill, he hated that before and he hated it even more after the boot camp. Half the men he saw around him were taller and bulkier than him, some already had muscles before they joined the compulsory military training and the other half bulked up in boot camps, but not him. He wasn’t short, he was pretty much average height, but he was slim.
Even before he enlisted, when he was in high school and university, people often made fun of him for being skinny and too curvy for a man. He was pretty feminine, he liked dressing up nicely and he was always kind of a pushover – in other words, he was exactly the type that macho men usually bullied. The fact that he was gay wasn’t helping at all and he was never really secretive about it, but in a country like Korea that was full of homophobic assholes, it got really tough sometimes. Already in the boot camp, he was made fun of, called different types of names like faggot or princess and he couldn’t imagine that it’d get better.
The first day was all about dividing all the newbies into units that they were going to train in, there were few hundred men, it would be highly ineffective if all trained at the same time. He ended up in a unit called Delta Bravo, which honestly meant nothing to him because he didn’t know anyone here. He has made some friends in the boot camp, but no one ended up here with him so he was all alone again. He was naturally very sociable though, so he believed that he was going to make some new friends soon.
He and the rest of the unit were directed into a building on the right side of the courtyard where the captain of their unit waited for them to give them other directions and orders.
He looked around the small crowd in the entry hall, it looked like there were around forty men that were part of this unit and on stairs leading up stood their leader.
“Hello everyone, welcome in the Delta Bravo unit. I am captain Choi Jiseok and for the next year or so, you will be under my command,” the man on the stairs spoke.
Taehyung instantly assessed that the guy looked pretty tough and uncompromising, he was tall and obviously muscular and he looked like he was in his late thirties or early forties. On his right stood another tall man, but this one was clearly younger, not that much older from Taehyung, if his guess was correct, but he still looked quite intimidating.
“This is Sergeant Kim Namjoon, he is second in command in this unit and he will give you some instructions now. He is in lead of your training, you won’t see a lot of me,” the captain Choi concluded and stepped to the side to make space for Kim Namjoon.
“Welcome in Delta Bravo, this unit and these barracks will be your home for another fifteen months,” Namjoon started talking: “You all already went through the boot camps so you already know the regime and what to expect from the training. You will get up at seven o’clock and before breakfast that’s at eight, there will be warm-ups in the courtyard. After breakfast, there will be training according to a weekly schedule. Lunch break is between twelve and thirteen and then the afternoon training ends at seven with dinner following. Unless there is some special evening or night training, you will have free time after dinner and the curfew is at eleven.”
That was not really different from the boot camp, it was to be expected, Taehyung thought.
“We will go through your duties tomorrow, that is the morning program, you will take usually weekly turns in duties in the kitchens, cleaning, night watch and so on. The dinner is going to start soon in a hall here in the ground floor on my right, make sure to come in time at seven. Now, I will read your names and room numbers and you will be given time to unpack. Make sure you keep your rooms in order, there will be random checks in the future,” Namjoon concluded the short speech and then started reading names and numbers.
Taehyung waited, the entry hall was less and less crowded as soldiers were leaving to their new rooms and when his name was finally called as well, he grabbed his bag and headed upstairs to the third floor. As if the training wasn’t already enough, of course it was his damn luck that he had to walk three flights of stairs every day to get to his room.
When he got there, his roommate was already there. Taehyung was pleased to find out that there were only double rooms. In the boot camp, dozens of soldiers slept in one building without any privacy whatsoever, so this was a nice change. The room was tiny, there was just one bunk bed, two wardrobes and set of four drawers and one small window, but again, it was better than being with dozens of other men in one building.
Taehyung didn’t like judging people by their appearance because he didn’t like it when others did it to him, but as soon as he saw his roommate, he knew they were not going to be friends.
The guy was huge and bulky, not really muscular, but he was big and he was heavily tattooed. And they weren’t those nice artistic tattoos, they were the type he’d imagine criminals to have and that’s what this dude looked like to him – a criminal.
He was still brought up to be polite no matter what and from personal experience he knew that looks could be deceiving and the roughest looking people were often the biggest softies, so he decided to give the man a chance.
“Hello, I guess we are roommates, I am Kim Taehyung,” he introduced himself politely and bowed too, the guy was clearly older than him so it was a common courtesy.
“I don’t care,” the man replied roughly.
“Well, we are roommates, like it or not, so I should know your name,” Taehyung retorted. He might be skinny and soft looking, but he didn’t take shit from anyone.
The guy glared at him, looking like he was ready to beat him up – which was something Taehyung was convinced was going to happen in the future – but then he grunted: “I am Park Taobin.”
“Nice to meet you,” Taehyung replied, pleased that he got at least the name from the man.
“I’m taking the top bunk, I like my privacy.”
“Go ahead, I actually prefer the bottom,” Taehyung shrugged, not minding at all, although he was slightly concerned how the top bunk was going to hold Taobin and his weight.
“I bet you do,” the guy said bitingly, looking Taehyung up and down with a scowl on his face and at first Taehyung didn’t understand the comment, but then he realized what he said and he understood. He wasn’t surprised that the man immediately labelled him as gay, he was getting that a lot, but he really didn’t care that much so he ignored the remark.
“Just to be clear,” Taobin suddenly said with a hostile expression: “Don’t expect us to be friends, we only share the room and don’t talk to me, especially not outside in front of others, I don’t wanna be associated with someone like you.”
Taehyung gave him a cold stare and replied: “Don’t worry, the feeling is mutual.”
He knew that lots of guys, especially here in the military which was something he learned in the boot camp, didn’t want to be associated with someone like him – someone seemingly weak and feminine and obviously gay. But he didn’t care because he didn’t give a shit about bullies, he’d hate to be associated with them as much as they’d hate being associated with him.
Taobin just grunted and climbed up to the top bunk and that was the end of their interaction.
Taehyung sighed and started unpacking, he didn’t have many things, mostly just what he got to wear here and couple of personal belongings. He folded everything neatly, knowing there were going to be checks and he didn’t want to lose ‘points’ just because of a mess.
He didn’t want to be with his grumpy roommate any longer and he was also curious to see the surroundings so he got on a small mission of looking around the building.
He met people here and there and when they made eye contact with him, he gave them a half smile, not wanting to appear rude or cold, but he also knew that exaggerated friendliness usually didn’t pay off and guys often took it as some kind of dumb challenge.
He discovered bathrooms, they were fairly big and surprisingly nice, there were rows of sinks right when he entered and then there was a wall behind which were showers. Like in the boot camp, there weren’t any separated stalls, there were just shower heads in row one next to another, not giving soldiers any privacy. At first, it was quite hard to get used to it, but by now Taehyung was fine with it.
He also discovered a small kitchenette with some electric kettles and microwaves that they could use apart from the main meal times and when he got to the ground floor, he saw the big hall with rows of tables and benches, which was the main dining room and on the other side of the floor, there was something like a common room. It was actually nice, there were sofas where people could hang out and even a big TV and some tables with chairs and even a billiard in the corner. The place looked slightly cosier than the boot camp, Taehyung thought, but that was probably the point, from now on, things were going to be calmer and less strict and he was definitely here for that.
It was nearly seven so he just decided to go straight to the dining room, there were already some people waiting, so he wasn’t the only one.
He spotted two guys that were chatting and even laughing, which immediately caught his attention because that was a sign of friendliness. He thought that it was a great opportunity to try and make friends since it was clear that he and his roommate weren’t going to be besties.
The food was already being served by big tables at the front, so Taehyung grabbed a tray and went to get his dinner and something to drink and then headed to the two guys that looked around his age.
“Hey, do you have a free spot here?” he greeted and when he had their attention, he gave them a warm smiled because he had a feeling that these guys weren’t assholes that would take his friendliness in a bad way.
“Sure, sit down, the more the merrier!” one of them said loudly and with a big smile.
“Thanks,” Taehyung smiled and sat next to him.
“So the first day, thank god we made it through the boot camp, am I right?” the other guy said.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Taehyung nodded.
“I am Park Jimin and this is Jung Hoseok,” the guy introduced them both.
“Kim Taehyung.”
“Nice to meet you, Taehyung,” Hoseok next to him grinned.
“So, you guys know each other or something?” Taehyung wondered.
“Oh no, we met like an hour ago, we are roommates!” Jimin informed him and Taehyung was instantly jealous. These guys just met, but they already seemed like they were getting along really well. It was just Taehyung’s fucking luck that he ended up with a grumpy gorilla.
“What about your roommate?” Hoseok wondered.
“He made it pretty clear he doesn’t wanna have anything to do with me.”
“Sounds like an asshole,” Jimin scoffed: “But hey, who cares, you are just sharing a room, you don’t have to interact, there are other people that you can talk to, like us.”
“I can assure you that I already like you so much more than my roommate,” Taehyung chuckled and then, pretty naturally, they started chatting about most random stuff, like where they were from, what were they doing before the military service and where were they stationed in the boot camp.
Taehyung instantly liked both guys, sometimes it was just like that, sometimes you just clicked with people and knew that you were going to be friends and he was happy that he was so lucky to meet these two right on the first evening, he already knew that it was going to be less lonely and more bearable here.
They were halfway through their meal, when Hoseok suddenly started waving at someone that just entered.
“Yoongi-hyung, Jeonggukie, over here!” he yelled, making some people look at him, but it looked like he didn’t care.
Taehyung turned around to see who Hoseok was calling.
One of the two men was grumpy looking with cat like eyes, he was shorter and skinnier than the other and if Taehyung was being completely honest, he looked pretty scary.
The other guy though, Taehyung couldn’t stop staring at him, he was just a weak gay man and when he saw someone handsome and fit, he could appreciate that. The other guy was tall, around Taehyung’s height, but he was clearly much more muscular. He had big eyes that would make him look cute, if it wasn’t for the sharp eyebrows and jaw that were making his features much harder. Taehyung saw some tattoos on his hand knuckles that went up to the sleeve and probably higher. All in all, this guy was a whole damn meal, exactly Taehyung’s type.
Yoongi and Jeongguk, as Hoseok called them, glanced their way and for a second Taehyung thought that they’d head over and join them, but then he noticed the way taller guy eyed him and Jimin and said something to the shorter before both of them turned around and headed to another table.
“You know them?” Jimin wondered.
“Not that well, but we were together in the boot camp,” Hoseok explained.
“No offence, but they look like assholes.”
“They are not bad, they are both actually really nice, I don’t know why they didn’t come here.”
“Probably because of me and Jimin,” Taehyung scoffed. He could practically feel that the tall guy figured him out and he, just like lots of guys around here, didn’t want to be associated with a faggot. Taehyung understood that, he knew most people didn’t truly care about him or his sexuality, but they didn’t want to be on the receiving end of bullying from assholes so they just avoided him for their own good. As for Jimin, he had no idea about his sexuality, they just met, but he was very pretty, so he could see how people labelled him gay as well.
“They were cool in the boot camp,” Hoseok frowned: “Maybe they are not in the mood, they are both pretty introverted.”
Taehyung eyed the pair that was sitting few tables away with some other macho men, but his gaze lingered only at one of them.
“Who is Jeongguk and who is Yoongi?” he asked nonchalantly.
“Yoongi is the older, shorter one,” Hoseok replied. Taehyung thought so, Hoseok called him hyung before and he definitely looked slightly older than the taller buff guy, which meant that the tattooed man that looked at him weirdly was Jeongguk. Well, good to know.
*
First few weeks went by pretty quickly and it was not that different from the boot camp that everyone went previously through, if anything, it was actually more lenient. They still did lots of jogging and physical exercise along with shooting and combat training and special exercise, but it wasn’t as physically straining and it didn’t include so much yelling like in the boot camp.
In those few weeks, Taehyung has noticed or realize couple of things.
First, lots of guys were looking down on him since he wasn’t the most athletic and he was often pretty clumsy.
Second, his bubbly and slightly flamboyant personality earned him the reputation of the ‘gay one’ within just few days. Taehyung wasn’t really insulted, he was gay after all, it was who he was and he has gotten used to people calling him names, that couldn’t really hurt him anymore, he has been through that in middle school and high school and even at university.
Third, Jimin and Hoseok were awesome. The three of them became pretty close very quickly and Taehyung was grateful, because he loved being in their company and he could be spending time with them during the free evenings and not be with his grumpy roommate that barely spoke to him and if he did, he was just usually snapping at him. Hoseok occasionally hung out with Yoongi and Jeongguk and in that case, Jimin and Taehyung were alone together, Taehyung had a feeling that Hoseok’s two friends from the boot camp didn’t want to have anything to do with him and possibly Jimin just like almost everyone at the base. Still, even though Hoseok and Jimin were very loud and friendly, most people actually liked them and talked to them, it was just Taehyung that everyone was looking at weirdly and that was slightly irritating.
Fourth thing Taehyung found out was that the second in command of their unit sergeant Namjoon was actually really nice. Thankfully, he was usually in charge of their training, the captain wasn’t present that often, and even though he clearly knew what he was doing and despite his slightly intimidating looks, he was nice, smart and even cracked jokes here and there. He was still strict when it was needed, especially with assholes like Taobin and the friends he made that were like some pseudo gang, but when atmosphere was light, Namjoon was really cool and that definitely made everything easier and even enjoyable.
Fifth thing that everyone in the Delta Bravo unit learned very quickly was that Jeon Jeongguk was apparently good at every fucking thing. That guy was insanely competitive and serious about the training and Taehyung thought it was admirable, but it was also irritating because it wasn’t fair for someone to be so perfect. Jeongguk had it all – he was a fast sprinter, working out was obviously his hobby because there was nothing too exhausting for him, he was great at shooting and he was feared when it came to self-defence and combat training, he quickly got the reputation and no one wanted to stand against him, he usually beat even guys that were a lot bigger and years older. In just about a month, everyone at the base, not just in their unit, knew Jeongguk under the nickname Golden boy.
Sixth thing that Taehyung realized was that he hated Jeon Jeongguk. Not really, of course, he didn’t know the dude enough to seriously hate him, but he hated how great he was at everything and how everyone loved him and looked up to him, while they called Taehyung weirdo along with many homophobic slurs. Jeongguk has never called him anything, they never really spoke unless it was required during training, but Taehyung saw the way Jeongguk sometimes looked at him, there was some level of disgust in his gaze and that told Taehyung that Jeon wasn’t his fan just like almost everyone here.
At first, he thought that things were going pretty well at the new base, he could ignore stupid comments, that wasn’t a big deal. But nothing was ever that simple and he should have known that over time when everyone got used to the life there, people would start going further than just insults.
It started about a month after they all got there.
He was in the showers with few others guys showering around him and he was just minding his business. He usually stood with his front to the wall, he wasn’t shy, but he wasn’t an exhibitionist either.
He barely registered few more men coming to take a shower when suddenly someone said: “Damn, Kim, for a second there I thought you were a woman, you have an ass like one.”
Taehyung instantly knew that the comment was on him, even though the surname could apply to others in the room. He was getting that quite a lot, his ass was naturally pretty big for a guy and it was even more apparent in combination with his small waist.
He lazily turned his head to look at a man that was staring at him with a mean smirk as if he thought his comment was an insult and not a compliment.
“What, you wanna fuck it?” Taehyung retorted, never one to get shit, even if it often got him beaten up.
“Ew, what, no!” the guy shouted, grimacing at the thought: “Not everyone is a sick freak like you, Kim, I am not a fag.”
“Then stop staring at my ass, because that makes you look like one,” Taehyung replied lazily, earning some low chuckles from people around him. People, in general, made fun of him, but everyone could always appreciate a good burn and that surely was one.
“I just said that you look like a woman.”
“You said my ass looks like woman’s, that means you don’t need to be a fag to want it,” Taehyung scoffed as he turned off the water and grabbed his towel, drying his body as he added: “But don’t worry, I have my standards, I might be a fag, but I would never go with someone like you.”
The man just stared at him, perplexed, because he obviously didn’t expect to be spoken back to. Taehyung gave him one last provocative wink before he wrapped the towel around his waist and grabbed his clothes, because everyone was usually getting dressed in their room. And just like that, he walked away with his head held high, smiling to himself when he heard laughter and teasing remarks directed at the guy from others in the showers. That’s what bullies got, if they wanted to be assholes, Taehyung didn’t have a problem with humiliating them.
The bullying started escalating though, it always became more serious when words turned into actions and those actions led to Taehyung getting hurt.
The unit went for a jog in the nearby woods one afternoon, the terrain was rough, but that was the point, it was to train them to run in any terrain if it ever came to it. It wasn’t really about time, but of course, some people – like Jeon Jeongguk – just took it too seriously and ran faster than they needed to so the unit was soon divided into smaller groups with Jeongguk and few others at the front and Taehyung somewhere in the middle with Jimin, while Hoseok ran at the back with Yoongi, because apparently the elder man hated jogging and Hoseok took the opportunity to take it easy and chat to him.
Taehyung and Jimin just got into a spot with lots of roots on the ground so they really had to look and be careful where they were stepping to not get injured and Taehyung was actually pretty proud of himself because he did pretty well for someone who didn’t usually jog.
But then someone bumped into him with a shoulder and it was too hard to be just a coincidence and he stumbled. He tried to gain his balance, but it was too late, his foot got caught on a root and he fell, both knees hitting some roots and stones under him.
“Shit,” he cried out in pain, lying flat on the forest ground, feeling his knees and palms burn. To no one’s surprise, everyone erupted in laughter.
“Why did you do that, asshole?” Jimin snapped at the guy that pushed Taehyung as he rushed to the younger and helped him up, quietly asking if he was okay.
“I am fine, Jiminie, it’s nothing,” Taehyung mumbled back, examining his palms that were slightly bleeding.
“What? The little princess fell, it’s not my fault he tripped over his own feet, I guess he is too gay for this,” the man that Jimin addressed snickered.
“Oh, is that the best comment your tiny brain can come up with, seriously?” Jimin snorted, standing up for Taehyung. Taehyung was grateful, not that he’d need someone to protect him, but it was always nice because it showed when someone cared and in the weeks, he and Jimin became pretty close. He just wished people would treat him like the elder, despite Jimin being quite short and being pretty, no one really made fun of him, maybe because he was quite muscular and also maybe because he was quite scary when his usual smile fell and he got all serious.
“I bet you are a fag too, Park, that’s why you’re standing up for him, that is why you hang out together in the first place, huh? I bet you are into each other, I bet you do it in each other’s ass,” the bully continued, thinking that he got Jimin now, but he just rolled his eyes and folded arms on his chest. By now, everyone that was in their vicinity stopped, watching the exchange and waiting if maybe there will be some fight.
“And if we did?” Jimin said, unfazed: “It would be none of your business, but hey, maybe that is what you think about.”
“What?” the guy frowned.
“Aw, is that it?” Jimin fake cooed: “I bet you are gonna come to your room tonight and jerk off to the images of us fucking each other and you are gonna burst bigger nut than with any of your previous girlfriends.”
The crowd roared with laughter at Jimin’s come back and Taehyung laughed as well, he couldn’t help it when he saw the bully’s face and when he started stuttering that it wasn’t true. He looked like he was ready to pounce on Jimin and beat him up, but then a voice interrupted them.
“What is going on here? Why is everyone just standing around?” Namjoon appeared almost out of nowhere: “You go through military training, you are not at some summer camp, so if you don’t wanna end this with doing push-ups in the courtyard then I advise you to keep going.”
“I am sorry, Sergeant Kim, I fell and it caused distractions,” Taehyung spoke, earning some surprised looks from people around, but then they just took off, taking Namjoon’s threat seriously.
The sergeant came to Taehyung and eyed him worriedly: “Are you alright? Do you need to go see a doctor?”
“No, I’m fine,” Taehyung smiled, appreciating the kindness of the elder, because under that cold and strict façade was obviously a very caring person.
“Alright, then continue,” Namjoon nodded and Taehyung and Jimin took off.
“Fucking stupid bullies,” Jimin got out through gritted teeth when they were far enough.
“It’s fine, Jiminie, but thank you for standing up for me, seeing the guy’s face was great.”
“Still, you shouldn’t be bullied like this.”
“It is what it is, I don’t really care,” Taehyung shrugged and he was speaking the truth. Of course that he’d be happier if this wasn’t happening, but he wasn’t some fragile flower that couldn’t withstand it. He was still very grateful to Jimin, the elder didn’t even deny the guy’s stupid comment that they were doing something together, until this day, Taehyung didn’t know Jimin’s sexuality and he didn’t ask, but one thing was for sure - the elder didn’t care about what people thought or said and he liked Taehyung for who he was and that was more than enough for Taehyung to like him back and consider him a good friend.
*
For the first few weeks, Taehyung was successfully avoiding any interactions with the Golden boy of their unit. First, because he really didn’t care much about macho dudes like Jeon Jeongguk and second, because he was slightly terrified of him. The guy looked like he could snap him in half, so he didn’t really wanna try his luck and provoke him in any way, he was also lucky that he was never paired up with Jeongguk for any of their training.
Until his luck ran out.
“Alright, next up, Taehyung and Jeongguk,” Namjoon called their names. It was a sunny, hot afternoon and the unit was practicing self-defence and combat techniques outside. It was a dirty business, there were no mats or anything, they were doing everything on the ground and it hasn’t rained for at least a week so it was dry. Few pairs have taken turns in the middle of the circle the unit made and all of them were dirty as hell. That wasn’t Taehyung’s issue thought, his issue was that he was paired up with probably the most feared guy of Delta Bravo.
Jeongguk eyed him without any visible emotion on his face and stepped forward. It was summer and days were really hot, so the soldiers were allowed to lose the usual jackets and only trained in khaki t-shirts, so Jeongguk’s heavily tattooed arm was on display along with his bulging biceps and big pecs and Taehyung knew he was gonna get one hell of a beating.
“Come on, Taehyung, don’t hesitate,” Namjoon encouraged the younger with a small smile, sensing how nervous Taehyung was, but he was in lead of training their unit and he couldn’t make exceptions just because some guys were stronger and some were weaker.
Taehyung stepped forward, taking a deep breath. Compared to Jeongguk, he looked like a kid. They were about the same height, but the size difference in their bodies was painfully obvious, more so now when they stood in front of each other. He has seen Jeongguk beat much larger guys and it never looked pretty, Taehyung didn’t stand a chance.
“Alright, let’s start with Taehyung attacking and Jeongguk defending,” Namjoon ordered because that was the procedure they went through today.
Taehyung looked into Jeongguk’s eyes, probably for the first time standing so close to the guy that has already made name for himself and that so many people around here admired. He never realized how dark his eyes were, but in the sun, they looked like they were sparkling and it was pretty. But what wasn’t very pretty was the look of determination in them, it was Jeongguk’s look whenever he was challenged, it was a look that was saying that he wasn’t ready to lose.
Taehyung wasn’t really that hopeless when it came to combat, he wasn’t the strongest, but he was very agile since he was pretty skinny and that was his advantage. He even managed to beat some of his unit members couple of times, so at least he wasn’t completely useless or people would make even more fun of him. But he knew he didn’t stand a chance against Jeongguk.
Still, he didn’t want to look like a coward and so he went for the attack, surging at the younger, not surprised at all when he covered it easily. But Jeongguk wasn’t the only one here that was up for a challenge and even if Taehyung lost, at least he’d lose with dignity, so he did his best, fighting like he has never before.
“Great attack, Taehyung!” Namjoon praised him when he managed to kick Jeongguk in a thigh, but the problem was that the younger didn’t even budge. Jeongguk remained collected and calm, most guys usually got into it and started attacking back when they were just supposed to defend, but not Jeongguk, he stayed completely focused, only moving when Taehyung attacked.
“Alright, you both did great, now let’s switch the places, Taehyung is defending and Jeongguk attacking,” Namjoon ordered.
That was the part Taehyung was scared of, Jeongguk didn’t fuck around when he attacked and just a minute later, he knew that this time wasn’t an exception. Jeongguk never cared who he fought, he didn’t give anyone pass just because they were smaller or worse than him, he always gave it his all and soon Taehyung had a hard time covering himself, actually surprised that he didn’t get punched yet.
That came soon though, he didn’t even register how it happened, he knew what happened when it was over and when he felt throbbing pain in his cheekbone and that was when he realized that Jeongguk punched him.
People around were cheering, obviously happy that the faggot was getting beaten up, but Taehyung didn’t care and he was determined to not go down easily. He stood his ground really well, hearing occasional yells of encouragements from Jimin and Hoseok, but then Jeongguk surged at him, wrapped his foot around Taehyung’s so he lost his balance and then slammed him to the ground.
Taehyung huffed when air was punched out of his lungs, but what he felt the most was pain in was his ankle. Ironically, it was the leg that Jeongguk didn’t use to take him down, but when he fell, it twisted a little and now it throbbed.
“Alright, that’s enough for you two, let’s move on,” Namjoon said.
To Taehyung’s surprise, Jeongguk stood above him and stretched a hand towards him to help him t his feet. The Golden boy was really hard to read, he wasn’t a typical asshole, he has never done or said anything to hurt Taehyung, but what Taehyung knew about him was that he was at least fair play and didn’t find pleasure in beating him up like others would, to Jeongguk it was just an order and part of the training.
Taehyung took Jeongguk’s hand and let him pull him up as if he weighted nothing, but as soon as Taehyung stood on the hurting ankle, his knee gave out and he nearly fell on the younger.
“What are you doing?” Jeongguk frowned, not realizing that Taehyung was hurt.
“S-sorry, my foot…” the elder got out, not wanting to give Jeongguk any wrong idea and piss him off.
Thankfully Namjoon came to the rescue, noticing that Taehyung couldn’t stand on one of his feet and he rushed to them: “Taehyung, are you alright? Is something wrong with your foot?”
“I think it’s nothing, it just…hurts,” Taehyung said, trying to put pressure on it and grimacing when it throbbed.
“You should go see a doctor, we are in military but we don’t wanna ruin you. You are dismissed for the rest of the day. Jeongguk, take him to doctor Kim.”
“What? But-“ Jeongguk opened his mouth to protest.
“You are dismissed too, help him,” Namjoon ordered.
“Yes, sir,” Jeongguk nodded with lips pressed together before he wrapped Taehyung’s arm around his shoulders and then wrapped his own arm around Taehyung’s waist, leading him away.
Taehyung’s mind was quite literally in pieces, he couldn’t really think straight and it was all because of the firm yet still somehow careful arm around his waist. He couldn’t believe that Jeon Jeongguk – the insanely hot and strong Jeon Jeongguk – was holding him and helping him walk to the doctor’s office. He shouldn’t be affected, yet he was, and he blamed in on the fact that he has gone without a human touch for far too long.
“We’re here,” Jeongguk stated when they stood in the main building in front of the doctor’s office and after knocking, he opened the door and helped Taehyung in.
“What’s the matter, boys?” a slightly older, handsome man in white coat looked at them from where he was sitting at the desk.
“I hurt my ankle during training,” Taehyung explained.
“Let’s take a look then,” the doctor nodded.
“Well, I guess I can go now,” Jeongguk said, looking at Taehyung slightly awkwardly when he helped him lie on the stretcher.
“Yeah, um, sure, thanks for the help,” Taehyung cleared his throat, giving the younger a polite smile and instantly looking away because looking into Jeongguk’s eyes felt hard for some reason.
He relaxed when only him and the doctor were in the office.
“So how did this happen?” the doctor asked: “By the way, I am doctor Kim Seokjin, I hope you won’t need me that often, but you should still know my name.”
“I’m Kim Taehyung.”
“Nice to meet you, Taehyung. I know we just met each other, but I am gonna ask you to take off your pants,” Seokjin joked with a playful wink, making Taehyung chuckle and relax. The doctor was young and he looked kind.
Taehyung took off his pants with the help of the doctor so he was left only in the khaki t-shirt and the horrendous greyish boxers. He preferred tighter and softer underwear, but they were required to wear these terrible wide grey boxers and it wasn’t even a nice, dark grey, it was this strange mix between white and grey and it was honestly the least sexy underwear Taehyung’s ever worn.
“So how did you end up with ankle swelled like this?” the doctor wondered when he took a look at the ankle. Taehyung hissed when he touched it and started examining it.
“Just training, I got unlucky and got paired with Jeon Jeongguk, the guy that brought me here.”
“Ah, the Golden boy,” Seokjin hummed: “The kid’s been here for couple of weeks, but I have already had few guys that had injuries from him. There is always this one guy that is stronger than others.”
“Yeah, mildly put, I think he’d snap me in half if he could,” Taehyung joked.
“Well, it doesn’t look like it’s broken or anything so that’s good news,” Seokjin concluded: “And what about those ugly bruises on your knees?”
“That’s from jogging, this one asshole pushed me and I fell in the woods,” Taehyung shrugged, getting a questioning look from the doctor and so he added: “Lots of guys think it’s fun to bully me because I am very obviously gay.”
“Ah, I see,” Seokjin nodded as he grabbed some ointment and started applying it on the ankle. He added: “I swear to god that military training brings some of the worst qualities in some people.”
“It’s not anything I wouldn’t be used to,” Taehyung said casually. He didn’t want to complain to superiors or anything, but he felt like this was just an innocent conversation.
“It’s funny how that works,” Seokjin scoffed: “Usually those biggest bullies end up sucking someone’s dick before they go home.”
“What?” Taehyung laughed, perplexed that the doctor was so straightforward. Most seniors that Taehyung has met so far were acting cold and they kept their distance, but it was clear that Seokjin didn’t care a lot about that.
“Just saying,” Seokjin shrugged, grabbing a gaze to wrap the ankle: “I have been here for two years, medical staff has longer training, so I’ve seen all kinds of things. This is all-men base and it’s infested with testosterone from all the training and well, when women are not around, even the straightest macho dudes often end up with a guy, it happens more often than you’d think.”
“I mean, I have heard that stuff like this happens, but I always thought it was just exaggeration, just like what happens in prisons.”
“It’s not really an exaggeration, it makes sense if you think about it, all the working out and training makes men hornier and it’s usually not enough to be on their own for a year and half, so they just go with other men.”
“Even if that’s true, I can’t imagine any of them being picked up on like me,” Taehyung pointed out.
“They pick up on you because they think you are weak and easy target, don’t let them believe that. Some of them act like assholes probably also because they like you, they are like kindergarten kids, they tease and poke because they don’t know what else to do,” Seokjin chuckled.
“Well, I would never go with a bully, thank you very much, I have my standards,” the soldier scoffed.
“Good for you, know your worth,” the doctor laughed: “Alright, all done.”
“Why is a doctor patching up ankles anyway? Shouldn’t a nurse do it?” Taehyung wondered.
“We are taking turns, doctors should do all kinds of work, that is what I’m learning here,” Seokjin explained: “Besides, at least I get to have interesting conversations about how gay men are.”
That made Taehyung laugh.
“Take a rest for the rest of the day, put the leg up and put some ice on it,” Seokjin instructed him: “If it still hurt and the swelling wouldn’t go away by tomorrow morning, come see me and we’ll figure out what to do next.”
“Okay, thank you for your help and the interesting insight into life in barracks, doctor,” Taehyung chuckled and sat up and grabbed his pants to get dressed.
“Anytime,” the older man smiled and helped him stand up and Taehyung limped away.
He did everything doctor Seokjin told him, but in the morning, his ankle was still swelled. He wasn’t some weak-ass bitch to go see the doctor because of that, but he didn’t want to injure himself even more either and so he went to the office after breakfast.
Seokjin greeted him and examined his ankle and then concluded: “Well, you are definitely gonna need few days to rest, we wouldn’t want to make it worse with training.”
“Alright, so…now what should I do?”
“Nothing, leave it to me, your superiors needs my report anyway,” the doctor said and sat at the desk and started typing something on a laptop while he dialled some number on a phone and put it on speaker.
“Sergeant Kim speaking,” spoke deep, familiar voice.
“Morning, Namjoon-ssi, this is doctor Kim,” Seokjin replied without looking away from the computer screen as he continued typing.
“What’s the pleasure, doctor?” Namjoon asked politely.
“I have a private from the Delta Bravo unit here, he came yesterday with an ankle injury, his name is Kim Taehyung.”
“Yes, I remember sending him to see you.”
“He came this morning on my orders, there is still pain and visible swelling, so I strongly advise him to be discharged for few days, otherwise his condition might get worse.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” Namjoon hummed: “It’s not a problem, follow the standard procedure, sent him to the kitchens, he was supposed to be there on duty next week anyway, so I will just make some changes in schedule. I will just need an official report from you.”
“I’m two steps ahead, sergeant, I am just sending you an email,” Seokjin chuckled.
“Diligent as always,” Namjoon said with smile in his voice: “Thank you for informing me, sent private Kim to the kitchens.”
“Will do, have a nice day, Namjoon-ssi.”
“You too, Seokjin-ssi,” the officer replied which earned him a small smile from the doctor and then the line went dead.
“You heard him, Taehyung, you’ll be on duty in the kitchens, that is what we usually do with people that can’t participate on training, you will be doing something that won’t strain your leg. If it wasn’t getting better, come see me again.”
“Thank you, doctor, I will,” Taehyung smiled and grabbed a paper that Seokjin printed out.
“This is the report I sent to the sergeant, show it in the kitchens so they know we send you there.”
“Thank you again,” Taehyung bowed politely and left.
He knew that he wasn’t going to really rest, but if he was being honest, the prospect of few days without training was actually pretty nice. He didn’t know much about cooking, but he supposed that he was just going to be helping around.
He was right, he was just required to peel potatoes, wash and cut vegetables, wash the dishes and so on, but it was a nice change from the routine of past months, it felt like he was doing something normal that he used to do out in the real world too.
Two days after he started working in the kitchens, his ankle felt much better, but when he met Namjoon, the sergeant told him to stay in the kitchens for the rest of the week that he already changed the schedule anyway. It was just after lunch, he was washing the dishes along with few other guys that were on duty and he had an hour for himself before he had to come to the kitchens again to start preparing dinner.
He was just in entry hall and was about to go upstairs to enjoy some peace and quiet without his stupid roommate when someone called him.
“Hey, hey, Kim!”
Taehyung turned around, confused, and his confusion grew bigger when he recognized Jeongguk.
“Jeon?” he got out, but then he cleared his throat and added: “You need something?”
“Not really, I just thought I’d ask how your foot is doing since I haven’t seen you at training,” the younger man shrugged. Taehyung had no idea why the question shocked him so much, Jeongguk has never talked to him when it wasn’t necessary, now they were alone and there was no need for the bigger man to talk to him.
“Um, it’s fine, just swelled, but it’s better, doctor Kim recommended that I should rest for few days so it wouldn’t get worse,” he replied.
“Alright, good,” Jeongguk nodded: “I just…I’m sorry, I didn’t wanna hurt you, sometimes I just get into it.”
“It’s not your fault,” Taehyung chuckled lightly, pleasantly surprised by the sincere sounding apology. He added: “It wasn’t even your fault anyway, I just fell badly, and we are in military training, injuries are bound to happen, you just did what you were asked to do, it’s not your fault that you are better at it than me and the rest of the guys in the unit.”
“Okay,” Jeongguk blinked, obviously taken aback by Taehyung’s compliment of his skills: “Well, then get well soon, Kim.”
“Thanks, Jeon,” Taehyung replied and just because he couldn’t help it, he flashed the younger a boxy smile that was like his signature. The younger stared like frozen for few seconds before he snapped from it and turned around and left.
Taehyung watched him leave, thinking that maybe Jeon wasn’t such an asshole as he appeared. And his reaction to Taehyung’s smile? That was definitely interesting, but Taehyung chose to not think too much of it.