missduplicities

[missduplicities]

Threads of random pictures of this weekend. I start!

[missduplicities]

Chapter 59: Family Meeting (pt. 2)

Eunha was the last of her roommates to leave the house that morning. She had a virtual meeting, which gave her enough time to prepare something to eat for her and her brother, who was still asleep upstairs. After her meeting, Yoongi asked her to call him so they could schedule their weekly agenda with Han. Finally, about an hour later, Seong Dae-Hyun came downstairs to inspect the kitchen for something to eat. Eunha didn’t notice, being too focused on the screen in her videoconference with her team to realize her brother was pacing around wearing her own bathrobe, which suited him very tight.

            “Hm, Ms. Seong?” Han interrupted when he caught sight of Dae-Hyun in the corner of Eunha’s camera.

            “Yeah?” She asked, still oblivious. Han made a move with his head, not wanting to say out loud that there was someone behind her since Yoongi was distracted by his phone. Only then, Eunha turned and saw Dae-Hyun, sitting on top of the counter, eating the breakfast she had made. “Oh, my God! Can’t you see I’m busy?”

            “Who is that?” Dae-Hyun asked, not reading the room. Eunha muted her mic and turned the camera off; Yoongi was still busy on his phone, so he didn’t notice the interruption.

            “It’s my boss, you creep!” Eunha told her brother. “Why the hell are you wearing my robe?”

            “I didn’t bring mine,” he said, as if wearing hers was the obvious choice. “Did you put salt on this?”

            “Hey, I’m working! Go to your room!”

            “Ugh, so grumpy for no reason,” he sighed, taking his plate to the living room to continue his breakfast.

            “Sorry about that,” Eunha said, going back to her team’s meeting. “My brother arrived last night,”

            “I didn’t know you had a brother,” Yoongi said, finally putting down his phone.

            “Uhm… I’m sure I’ve mentioned it,” Eunha said. “Anyway, back on the agenda,”

            “Right,” Han said, sharing the screen again so they could see the calendar. “We have the trimestral meeting in HQ this Wednesday; the Label Managers have been working on the distribution of the projects per team. From what I heard, they are asking Mr. Min and you, Ms. Seong, to work on the new debut group’s EP,”

            “I called Deku last night,” Yoongi said. “She wanted to discuss the details of the concept they have for this group. It’s pretty straight-forward, taking inspiration from early 2000s American rock bands, mostly,”

            “Do you know who is running the visual concept?” Eunha asked, taking notes.

            “I think it’s the same team that’s running Kwan’s project,” Han said; both Yoongi and Eunha grunted, they didn’t like to work with Kwan.

            “How old are the group members?” Yoongi asked.

            “I think the youngest is 20,” Han said, going over his notes again. “All I know is there are four members: drummer, bassist, and two guitarists,”

            “Make sure to ask for their brand book and concept book,” Eunha told Han. “It will give us enough info to know what we’re dealing with,”

            “Sure, count on that,” the young assistant said. “Now, going to the next point in the minute. I wanted to ask you both about your personal agendas for the next couple of weeks. It is my understanding that Jung Hoseok’s sister is getting married since you’ve both mentioned it before. Are you both planning on taking those days off?”

            “Yeah, I forgot about that,” Yoongi sighed, getting stressed with the whole wedding stuff. “It’s next weekend. I won’t be available from Friday to Sunday, but I’m planning to go back to work on Monday as usual,”

            “Alright,” Han said, blocking the dates on the calendar already. “Ms. Seong?”

            “Yeah, same as him,” she said.

            “Great,” Han blocked the dates for her, too. “There’s a shooting next week in Busan, as well,”

“Oh, I totally forgot about that,” Yoongi grunted.

“It’s the same project from a couple months, the one Ms. Seong was in charge of,” Han said. Eunha wasn’t sure if she remembered the necessary details about her trip to Busan.

            “Cool,” Yoongi said. “Send her back, then,”

            “Hey, I only went last time because you were busy,” she complained. “The team was very condescending with me,”

            “There are rude people everywhere,” Yoongi said. “You need to be firm with them, let them know you are not playing around,”

            “This time they’re shooting a short music video,” Han interrupted. “It’s supposed to be a continuation of the previous one, so…”

            “If I’m going, I’ll need an assistant,” Eunha said out of nowhere. “And I’m staying at least a couple of days. Traveling back home on the same day was a pain in the ass,”

            “We’ll make it work,” Yoongi said, trying to hide his smirk as he knew exactly what was on her mind. “I’ll need Han to stay in the office, so let’s see if we can find someone to help you with this,”

            “Oh, I have lots of friends who are professional filmmakers,” Han said, unaware of what Yoongi and Eunha were telepathically plotting. “Some of them are freelancers, so I could call them,”

            “We’ll check that later,” Yoongi said, going to the next thing to check on their agenda.

After two and a half hours, Eunha was finally free of her morning meetings. She was expected to go to the studio to work with Yoongi later but still had enough time to eat her breakfast and even grab some coffee. She had almost forgotten that her brother was in the same house until she heard his laugh come from the living room.

            “Don’t you have something else to do?” Eunha asked, joining him on the couch. “Why the hell are you still wearing my robe?”

            “I was looking for the only clean shirt I have left but I can’t find it,”

            “Oh,” Eunha said, knowing exactly which one he meant. “Taehyung needed a change so I gave it to him,”

            “First of all, gross! I don’t want your boyfriend’s sweaty body to ruin my silk shirt!” he whined. “And second, we need to talk about him sneaking into your room at night as a horny teenager,”

            “Shut up!” Eunha was not talking about her romantic and potentially sexual life with her brother. “We’re not teenagers anymore, and we’re not horny,”

            “Sure,” he sarcastically said.

            “Besides, what we do or not is none of your business,”

            “So, you are doing it!”

            “No, we’re not!”

            “You’re not?” he asked, now laughing. “You’re really not?”

            “No,” she sighed, fuming.

            “Hey, I just want you to be careful when you actually do it,”

            “Nope, we’re not talking about this,” she stood up, going back to the kitchen.

            “Eunnie,” he said, following her. “I’m serious! I don’t want you to fuck up like me. Just… remember you don’t owe him anything just because he is your boyfriend and because you love him or whatever. I don’t want you to feel pressured to do something if you don’t feel like you’re ready,”

She knew it was coming from a good place, and she actually appreciated her brother’s attempt of taking care of her. Still, she didn’t want to talk about it. She was sure she and Taehyung were not there yet. Sure, the thought had crossed her mind a couple of times, but it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

            “What are your plans in Seoul, anyway?” she asked, letting him know the previous conversation was over.

            “I want to see what the city has to offer,” he sighed. “I’m tired of working in Mom’s restaurant. I mean, I appreciate them letting me stay at their home and all that but,”

            “But you miss your freedom,”

            “Exactly,” he chuckled. “Besides, Dad keeps asking when I’ll recover and go back to play baseball. To be honest, I’m not even sure if I want to do that anymore,”

            “I thought you loved baseball,”

            “I do. I just don’t love the team, the city, the people around me,” he unconsciously started rubbing his injured shoulder, thinking of everything about his current life that hurt him. “After the last time I saw you, I kept thinking of how happy you looked, and good you were doing. I… I want that, you know?”

She didn’t say anything. She wished it was as simple as her brother made it sound, but to get to the point she was now, she had struggled and cried a lot. Still, Eunha didn’t have the heart to discourage her brother. She wanted Dae-Hyun to be happy; he deserved it.

            “Want to grab some coffee?” she asked.

Eunha continued her day as she had planned, only with her brother coming along, too. She was happy to catch up with him as they walked to the bus stop and answered all his questions about Taehyung and her roommates on the way to the café. She was a bit sad that she didn’t get to see James, wanting to introduce him to Dae-Hyun, but still told him all about the little Aussie kid who was friends with her. They walked together to Eunha’s office, where she gave him a tour, showing him the fancy studio where she was supposed to meet Yoongi.

            “This is dope!” Dae-Hyun complimented. “The studio I saw yesterday was smaller,”

            “Yeah, that’s where the rest of the crew works, but this is my boss’ personal studio,” she proudly said. “He lets me use it,”

            “Is that a Johny Cash Martin?” he was already on his way to grab the guitar, which gave Eunha a little panic attack.

            “Don’t! That’s Yoongi’s! That’s like the only thing I’m not allowed to use, so please, don’t!”

            “Damn, you’re making him sound like a monster,” Dae-Hyun said, frowning at the thought of his sister’s tyrant boss.

            “No, he is a sweetheart, honestly. Well, at first he might come off as a jerk, but that’s only because he is an introvert,” she wasn’t helping the mental image he was making. “He’s just very careful with the things that are important to him, like this guitar,”

            “I thought you said he was your friend,”

            “He is. He is probably my best friend. After Taehyung, of course,” she made sure to clear that out. “But he is still my boss and I respect him a lot,”

Just then, the studio door opened, and Min Yoongi came in, holding a six-pack of beers in one hand and a jumbo bag of chips.

            “Let’s finish this fucking EP already, oh… hello,” Yoongi seemed very confused by the presence of a stranger in his studio.

            “Hi, Yoongi, this is my brother Dae-Hyun,” Eunha was fast to say. “Dae-Hyun, this is Min Yoongi,”

            “Nice to meet you,” Dae-Hyun said, bowing his head and offering a friendly smile. Yoongi’s eyes went from brother to sister, trying to catch the similarities between them. “Let me help you with that,”

            “Thanks,” Yoongi said, letting Seong Dae-Hyun grab the beers effortlessly and put them in the mini-fridge.

            “I couldn’t leave him home alone,” Eunha explained. “He might burn down the house or something,”

            “Ha-ha,” Dae-Hyun ironically laughed, glaring at his sister. “She’s just scared that I bump into her boyfriend again,”

            “Taehyung had the brilliant idea of breaking into my room last night,” Eunha explained. “Now he doesn’t trust me,”

            “Honestly, I’m just surprised he had the physical ability to climb through your balcony,” Yoongi chuckled, finally sitting down in front of his computer. “Feel at home, Dae-Hyun-ssi,”

            “Thanks,” Dae-Hyun’s eye smile appeared as he took Yoongi’s word and sat on the couch. “I’ll be nice and quiet, don’t worry,”

            “Where do you want to start today?” Eunha asked, getting into work mode already.

            “I’d like to re-record the bass line now that you’re here,” Yoongi said, opening the bag of Cheetos and passing it to Eunha’s brother. She thought it was cute that he was doing his best effort to make Dae-Hyun feel welcome, knowing how hard it was for Yoongi to open up to strangers at first.

            “Can you remind me what's the melody?” Eunha was already walking over the guitars, taking the pretty precision bass she liked. Yoongi helped her plug it in and played the previous recording so she could figure out what to play.

Dae-Hyun kept his promise, allowing the two friends to work in peace, enjoying seeing their process and noticing how easily they understood each other, almost as if reading the other’s minds. After they finished recording all the bass parts, Yoongi made an unusual pause to open a beer and offer one to the guest.

            “We don’t usually drink at work,” Yoongi felt the need to explain. “But we’re really sick of this particular song. The process it’s been dull as hell,”

            “I imagine,” Dae-Hyun said, accepting the beer. “It sounds great, though. Did you write it?”

            “No, I’m only producing and mastering it,” Yoongi explained. It looked as if neither of them knew exactly what to do with their drinks. Dae-Hyun wasn’t sure if he had to turn his head to the side, not knowing if Yoongi was older or younger than him.

            “So, you’re Eunha’s older brother,” Yoongi said conversationally.

            “Yeah, for two years,” Dae-Hyun said, letting Yoongi do the math.

            “He was also born in 93,” Eunha finally said.

            “Really?” Dae-Hyun looked happy about it. “What month?”

            “March. I’m a Piscis,” Yoongi said. “I mean, not that I believe in that stuff but people always ask,”

Eunha almost laughed at how out of pocket his comment was.

            “I’m a Sagittarius,” Dae-Hyun said.

            “November or December?” Yoongi asked.

            “December,” Dae-Hyun said, finally drinking from his beer. “Jin-hyung is a Sag, too,”

Of course, Dae-Hyun had no idea who Jin-Hyung was but he made sure to remember that information. For a minute, the room went silent. None of the boys knew exactly what to talk about. Eunha was running through her head all the different possible conversation topics she could bring up to make the two of them keep talking.

            “Oh, did I mention Dae-Hyun plays baseball?” she was sure Yoongi had mentioned liking a sport that involved a ball, but she wasn’t sure which was it.

            “Played,” her brother corrected. “Well, I mean, I’m not playing at the moment,”

            “So, you’re in a team?” Yoongi asked with curiosity.

            “Yeah, but right now I’m on a break,” he explained. “I got in an accident recently so, I can’t really play,”

            “I’m sorry,” Yoongi said.

            “It’s okay, I’m still getting paid,” Dae-Hyun drank from his beer again and Yoongi mimicked him. “Do you play any sports?”

            “Basketball, but not professionally,” Yoongi said. “I considered it, though,”

            “Oh, so you must be good, then,”

            “I’m okay, I guess,” Yoongi said. Eunha was happy the conversation between them was going well. She really wanted them to get along, especially if Dae-Hyun was considering staying in Seoul for a while; she thought her brother could use some friends his age. “Of course, that wouldn’t have worked because of my height,”

“What are you talking about? You’re just perfect,” Dae-Hyun laughed. “Besides, stereotypical physical attributes end up being worthless if you compare them to actual talent and use of brains,”

 “Says the guy who is pure muscle,” Yoongi laughed.

            “That only means I don’t have the brains,” Dae-Hyun laughed even harder, making Yoongi laugh as well.

            “Shut up, you graduated with honors,” Eunha didn’t like when his brother used self-deprecating humor to entertain the rest. “He learned to play guitar overnight,”

            “Really?” Yoongi asked. “Do you play any other instruments?”

            “Mostly guitar and piano,” Dae-Hyun said. “But not seriously, I mean I just know a couple of scales,”

            “That’s all you need,” Yoongi said, trying to be nice. “Music is just a couple of scales if you think about it,”

            “I guess. Still, music is not where I shine the most. Not like you guys do,” Dae-Hyun finished his beer, not saying anything else. Yoongi followed right after, drinking the last sips from his bottle, and left it on the table before going back to his computer.

Eunha: So, Yoongi and Dae-Hyun met

Tae: how did that go?

Eunha: surprisingly good

Eunha: They seemed to get along well

Tae: Did you take him to the studio?

Eunha: Yeah, but he left a while ago

Eunha: Said he was meeting some old friends

Eunha: But I’m sure I saw a Tinder notification pop up on his screen

Tae: Good for him I guess

Tae: You said he broke up with his girlfriend, right?

Eunha: Yeah, some months ago

Eunha: So I’m happy for him to put himself out there or whatever

Eunha: What are you doing?

Tae: I’m taking Tae-Jun to get a haircut

Tae: He also needs some clothes

Tae: I don’t think I can make it to lunch babe

Eunha: It’s okay!!

Eunha: Are you free later?

Eunha: Yoongi invited Dae-Hyun to his place later

Tae: So, party at Yoongi’s at night?

Eunha: I don’t think he meant party, but he mentioned some wine

Tae: Sounds great!

Tae: Wait, am I invited or only Dae-Hyun?

Eunha: I’m sure he meant all of us

Eunha: I’ll ask him later

Tae: Alright, text you later

Tae: This kid is taking too long to pick a drink

Eunha: Cuteeeee

Tae: what about me?

Eunha: You're the cutest

Tae: ok

Tae: see you at night love

Eunha: bye 💗

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#byddfw

[missduplicities]

Chapter 59: Family meeting (pt.1)

This was not how he had imagined meeting his girlfriend’s brother would go.

Everyone on the first floor heard the screams coming from upstairs, but it was Midori who showed up first, holding her night lamp like a bat, ready to swing the intruders.

“Wait!” Taehyung yelled, jumping behind Dae-Hyun’s back. “It’s me!”

“What the hell?” Eunha came into her room second after Midori; Sooah and Ji-Eun were still downstairs, too scared to see what was going on. “Why are you naked?”

“I’m not!” Dae-Hyun said, grabbing a pillow to cover his front. “And the question here is what is he doing sneaking into my little sister’s room?”

Dae-Hyun pulled Taehyung from behind him. Eunha felt her face light in flames while Midori burst into laughter.

“I’m impressed that you actually managed to climb all the way here,” Midori said, still laughing. “I just wanted to check on you,” Taehyung explained, looking at Eunha. “You worked a lot today, so I was worried,”

“Cute,” Dae-Hyun said, glaring at the younger guy. “But I don’t buy it,”

“What a mess,” Midori said, still with a grin on her face. She turned to Eunha, gave her a pat on the back, and walked towards the door. “Have fun,”

“Can you wear some clothes?” Eunha asked her brother. Dae-Hyun sighed, picked up the clothes he had taken off, and put his shirt on first. Taehyung stormed towards Eunha, kind of hiding behind her now.

“So, is this the guy you told me about?” Dae-Hyun asked Eunha, trying to diffuse the tension. “Sooah’s boyfriend seemed very excited about you two finally dating,”

“I’m Kim Taehyung,” he nervously said, approaching Dae-Hyun and offering his hand to shake. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Eunha talks very highly of you,”

“I don’t,” she said.

“Your abs are great,” Taehyung said, making Eunha want to disappear. He had never been so nervous.

“Thanks, I got them in the army,” Dae-Hyun laughed, firmly shaking Taehyun’s hand, a bit too strong.

“Oh, are you a soldier?” Taehyung asked, getting even more nervous.

“He means military service,” Eunha sighed, rolling her eyes. “And he is lying, that was ages ago,”

“What happened to your red hair?” Dae-hyun asked his sister.

“I got bored of it,” she said. “Look, it’s great to catch up, but why don’t we talk tomorrow? I really need to sleep,”

“Alright,” Dae-Hyun said, taking off his shirt again. “Well, get lost, this is my room for the night,”

Eunha took Taehyung’s hand and dragged him out of her room. Midori walked out of the bathroom, looked at them with a grin, and locked herself in her room.

“You look gorgeous,” Taehyung said out of nowhere in the middle of the stairs. Eunha actually laughed, thinking of how ridiculous the whole encounter had been. He looked at her with a fond smile, happy to be together.

“As pretty as my brother’s abs?” she laughed. “For a moment I thought who would swap me for him,”

“Hey, you never said he was shredded,” he laughed. “I was just trying to be nice, and I was nervous,”

“I noticed,” she laughed as well, stroking his arm.

“So, you’re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be?” she smiled at him, making his heart beat like crazy. “I’m glad you came,”

He held her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss; he really had missed her.

“Unnie?” she heard Ji-Eun ask from downstairs. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah!” Eunha said, breaking the kiss. She took Taehyung’s hand again and dragged him downstairs where Sooah and Ji-Eun were waiting for news.

“Good evening,” Taehyung innocently said, as if he hadn’t been caught sneaking into the house.

“Oh, God,” Sooah sighed, rolling her eyes. “You could’ve just knocked, you know? You gave us a heart attack,”

“Sorry,” he said.

“Jimin just left,” Sooah informed. “He might not be too far. He could pick you up,”

“Or” Eunha interrupted. “You can stay on the couch,”

“I like the couch,” he said with a smile. “If it’s okay with you, girls, of course,”

Ji-Eun smirked at Eunha, taking Sooah’s hand and dragging her to her room.

“Just remember your brother is upstairs!” the youngest said, leaving the couple in the living room.

“So,” Taehyung said, playfully swinging Eunha’s hand with his. “Did you miss me?”

“I missed you a lot,” she chuckled. “How was your day?”

“It was long,”

“Do you want something to eat?” she said, walking towards the kitchen. “I just remembered I didn’t have dinner,”

“I’m good, Tae-Jun made salmon toast,” he said, following her to the kitchen.

“How are things going with the roommate?” she was not able to hide her smile, feeling proud of his attempts of getting closer to his brother.

“Good, I guess,” he sighed, sitting on top of the counter as she got out the ingredients for a sandwich. “I still can’t talk much to him, but he doesn’t curse at me anymore. We’re getting a haircut together,”

“You’re getting a haircut?” she tried to play it cool, thinking about how much she would miss his hair.

“My hair is awful, it’s so damaged right now,”

“Baby, you just need some hydration treatment,” she was too busy spreading mustard on her bread to see his big smile as he heard her call him that.

“Would you still like me if I was no longer blonde?” Eunha stopped what she was doing to look at him, knowing he wasn’t joking about the question. “I mean, you started liking me after I went blonde,”

“Wrong. You know for a fact I liked you from the first day you entered the café,” she said very seriously. “You could be bald, and I would still find you the hottest guy on earth,”

“Come here,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her closer. She left the unfinished sandwich behind, walking towards her boyfriend until she stood face-to-face with him. He caressed her cheek with his hand and her lips with his own; she closed her eyes as a reflex.

Taehyung didn’t mind sleeping on the couch that night if it meant he was close to Eunha. Knowing that she would regret it the following morning, Eunha suggested they watched a movie together before going to sleep. It took them 40 minutes to finally choose one, but they ended up ignoring it anyway. In between kisses, they caught up with what they did on the day, laughing about how much they seemed to have missed each other in less than 24 hours. They didn’t fit comfortably on the couch, so around 3 am, Eunha left him alone in the living room, going to Sooah’s room to sleep.

“Don’t you have work today?” Sooah asked as she was getting ready for school. Eunha grunted in response, feeling like she had only been asleep for five minutes.

“What time is it?” Eunha asked, still with her eyes closed.

“Six,” Sooah said. “Taehyung’s still asleep; isn’t he going to school?”

Eunha forced herself out of bed, going to the bathroom first to wash her face in the hopes of getting her eyes to look less puffy. She went back to the living room, where her boyfriend was still peacefully sleeping.

“Taehyung,” she whispered, stroking his hair off his face. He frowned in his sleep, covering his head with a pillow. “Honey, wake up,”

Midori stormed downstairs running; her hair still wet from the shower.

“What’s the hurry?” Eunha asked.

“I have an exam in the first period,” she said.

“Do you know if he does, too?” Eunha asked, pointing to the asleep guy on the couch.

“Yeah, it’s our final,” Midori said, checking her watch, then running back upstairs. “I’m leaving in 10 minutes max, with or without him!”

“Taehyung!” Eunha said, this time shaking him. He finally opened his eyes but didn’t look happy about waking up. “You have an exam in an hour,”

“Good morning,” he rubbed his eyes, still very confused about what was happening. “Where am I?”

“My place,” Eunha chuckled, grabbing his head in her hands and pulling him closer to kiss his forehead. “Wake up, love,”

“Hi,” he said in his hoarse morning voice.

“Midori is leaving in ten minutes,” Eunha announced, pulling him out of the couch. “Did you know you had an exam?”

“I vaguely remember, yeah,” he yawned. “I didn’t bring any clean clothes,”

“I don’t think I have anything that fits you,” she laughed. “Don’t you have to wear a uniform?”

Sooah came out of her room, ready to ride to her own school with Midori.

“Hi,” the younger girl said. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“Kinda,” he sighed. “Do you know if Midori has an extra tie?”

Ji-Eun also came out of her room, wearing a fancy jumper and high heels.

“Oh, looking great!” Sooah complimented. “Where are you going?”

“I have a meeting with an author we’re trying to sign,” Ji-Eun explained. “It’s kind of important, so yeah,”

“Good luck!” Taehyung said, trying to be nice. Taehyung felt a bit weird in a house full of girls. Unlike Jimin, he still felt a bit intimidated by Eunha’s roommates, mostly because he didn’t know where he fits in the dynamic.

“Thanks,” JI-Eun said, smiling at him before leaving for the garage. “Can you tell Midori that I need her to be ready by 5 pm? We need to be at the airport at 6,”

“Sure,” Eunha said. Taehyung was a bit curious but preferred not to ask.

“Alright, see you,” with that Ji-Eun left. Just as on cue, Midori came running downstairs again, holding her backpack in one hand and her Taekwondo helmet in the other.

“Why aren’t you ready?” She asked Taehyung.

“I am, just give me a sec!” running to the bathroom to wash his face and tame his hair.

“I’m leaving in five minutes, Kim Taehyung!” Midori warned, taking her keys and storming to the garage. Sooah followed her, eating her usual 6:30 apple.

Eunha ran to the laundry, remembering Dae-Hyun had left his luggage there. She looked for something that was decent enough for Taehyung to wear to school, which was a difficult task since his brother had brought mostly sleeveless shirts. Finally, she found a silky shirt that thought would suit him and ran to the bathroom to give it to him.

“Here, put this on,” she said, passing him the shirt.

“Whose is this?” he asked, checking out the shirt as if he was shopping.

“Dae-Hyun’s,” she said. “Just wear it, he won’t mind,”

“I don’t want to give him more reasons to hate me,”

“He doesn’t care, just put it on!” Eunha was even more anxious about his exam than he was, fearing he wouldn’t be there in time. Losing her patience, she grabbed him by the shirt he was wearing and stripped it off him, not giving him time to react. He didn’t move for a bit, getting very flustered. Then, as if lighting had struck him, he jumped and put on the clean silky shirt. It was a bit big for him, but he didn’t get to complain. “Go!”

He grabbed her face and gave her a final kiss before leaving.

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[missduplicities]

OTASD | Chapter 7: And the clouds grow bigger

The day after Seokjin’s dog’s incident, Nabi woke up to a text from the guy, letting her know that his dog was feeling better. She was genuinely happy to hear that, feeling like she had contributed a bit to the dog’s recovery in some way.

As was now usual, the neighbor from across the street passed by to say hello before taking her baby to daycare; this forced Nabi to leave bed earlier than anticipated. She realized just now how messy the house was, especially her room. For the past weeks, she had been living in self-preservation mode, limiting herself to only the necessary needs, which meant she hadn’t done laundry, worn makeup, or made her bed ever since. She felt angry at herself for not noticing how much of a mess she was, which sent her into a cleaning episode. Not only did she clean and organized her room, but she also did the dishes, took out the trash, and finally put the dirty clothes to wash. Feeling like she finally earned it, she allowed herself to a long and relaxing bath in her mom’s fancy tube, lighting up some aromatic candles, and exfoliating her skin.

After talking to Seokjin, she realized not getting her application letter wasn’t the end of the world. She could take a sabbatical, in fact, that was the best option for her. She could prepare even more for the next application and maybe even get a job or an internship that made her curriculum more competitive. Her life was not over, her life was just starting.

Around 4pm the bell rang, interrupting the sappy movie she was watching. Judging from the time, she knew it was probably Mrs. Kim, bringing her dinner as if she was a convict in a cell. Still, she was happy to socialize with someone as nice as Mrs. Kim.

“Hi!” Mrs. Kim’s son, Kim Seokjin, said. At this point, she didn’t know why it surprised her to keep running into him.

“Hi,” she said, reminding herself to be nice.

“I brought back your bike,” he said, which was clear since she could see him holding her bike. “I totally forgot about it yesterday,”

“Oh, thanks,” she said, grabbing the bike and getting it inside the house. “You shouldn’t have bothered, I’m not planning on riding it soon,”

“Well, that was actually the Trojan Horse. Mom asked me to bring your bike and kidnap you for dinner. For you to have dinner with us, I mean. I’m not saying we’re having you for dinner or anything,” he nervously laughed, wishing he had stopped talking three sentences ago. “Anyways, she won’t let me get home if I don’t bring you with me. So, could you please consider it?”

She laughed for what felt like the first time in weeks, surprised that the muscles in her face still remembered how to do that.

“I was kind of hoping it was your mom who rang the bell,” she admitted. “She told me yesterday that she was making dakgalbi,”

“Well, I’m afraid she lied,” he sighed. “There’s beef stew and dumplings,”

“Even better,” she felt her stomach rumble, hoping he didn’t hear that.

 “So, that means your coming?” he asked, unable to hide his surprise at how easily she had agreed.

“Well, yeah,” she said, closing the door behind her already. He awkwardly led the way to his house, not quite knowing what to talk about. “So, how is Dal?”

“Oh, he’s feeling better! He’s just being whiny because he loves getting attention,” he said with a fond smile. “But he’s fine, taking his meds and all,”

They walked in silence for a few blocks until they reached Seokjin’s house. Mrs. Kim was just as surprised as her son to see Nabi had agreed to come, but she seemed just as delighted. The kitchen smelled delicious, which made Nabi a bit nostalgic for the feel of a home. Her parents had always been busy, she had been kept just as busy, and even though she knew she was very loved, she always wondered what it was like to live in a “normal” household, one where dinnertime existed, and table was set for the family to eat together.

Nabi was glad that Mrs. Kim wasn’t the type who ask uncomfortable questions; she was very fun and nice. Mrs. Kim told Nabi all about Dal and how he came to the family when he was a pup as a birthday present for Seokjin’s older brother but ended up being closer to Seokjin since he was always at home. Seokjin didn’t say much during dinner, but he seemed comfortable with the conversation.

“Do you have any pets, Nabi?” Mrs. Kim asked after a while.

“Oh, no,” she said. “I used to have a fish; his name was Goldie. Well, I think they were a couple of different fishes, but my parents thought I didn’t notice them changing every few months,”

“Seokjin loves to fish!” Mrs. Kim said, happy to find something remotely common between the two teenagers.

“Mom,” Seokjin said, a bit ashamed. “That’s not something you tell someone who likes fish,”

“I mean, I like seafood as well,” Nabi chuckled, seeing how sorry Mrs. Kim looked. “Besides, I was a kid when I had them. I always wanted a dog, but they require a lot of love and attention, and we’re never home, so…”

“When my kids left, Dal became the baby of the house,” Mrs. Kim said fondly. “It’s funny since my husband and I didn’t want to get a dog in the first place, but now he’s our favorite kid,”

“Hello? I’m sitting right here,” Seokjin chuckled.

“Well, Dal-I never complains about the menu or my taste in music,” Mrs. Kim said, making his son roll his eyes.

“I just said I wasn’t craving dakgalbi,” he laughed.

“Oh, the food is delicious, Mrs. Kim. Thanks for inviting me!” Nabi sincerely said.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, and I’m glad you came sweetheart,” she said with a warm smile. “Jinnie said you guys are starting a studying club for the summer. Feel free to come any time, alright?”

“Thanks, Mrs. Kim,” Nabi said, really meaning it. She wondered whether Seokjin had told his mom about how she’d failed at getting to university, hoping he didn’t.

Before she realized it, the night had come. She enjoyed talking to the Kims, feeling like they actually spoke her language. Seokjin told them both a story about his last fishing trip with his brother, which ended up badly because he fell into the lake. This was the longest she’d heard him speak. After she was offered dessert, but kindly declined, Nabi thanked them for having her over again.

“We should take you home,” Mrs. Kim said, looking for the car keys.

“Oh, seriously, don’t bother! I’m literally a couple blocks away,” Nabi insisted, not wanting to bother them even more.

“I’ll walk you home,” Seokjin said. It wasn’t up for discussion, so she didn’t complain. She said goodbye to Mrs. Kim and Dal and walked to her house next to Seokjin. It was hilarious to her that only a day before, she would be really uncomfortable with all of what happened that day. But it was clear now, what she had realized the day before, Seokjin wasn’t much different than her. Sure, her mom and his had different careers and different ways of showing their love and support for their kids, but she never doubted how important she was to her parents. She didn’t have a clue what her dad did in his job, she only knew his profession, and that he worked for Seokjin’s dad. She was sure Seokjin didn’t know the details of his father’s job either. She wondered if he knew as little of himself as she did about her.

“Are you good with Chemistry, then?” Seokjin asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Just because I want to get into the science field doesn’t mean I’m great at every form of science,” she said, getting defensive for no reason. “But yeah, I am, why?”

“It was my worst grade,” he chuckled. “I didn’t get that class this year, and I barely remembered what I studied before going to the company,”

“How did you do in Math?”

“I’m above average in Calculus and Statistics, but my strength in the exam was Social Studies,” he said. “Did you choose Foreign Language or Chinese Characters?”

“Foreign, of course,” she said. “English,”

“I was so dumb for thinking I could do well in Chinese Characters, I can’t even read Hanja anymore,” he sighed, still frustrated about a test that happened months ago.

“I can help you review Chemistry,” she offered when they were reaching her house. “And I guess I could use some help with Social Studies,”

“I can help with that,” he said with a smile similar to Mrs. Kim, one that made Nabi feel welcome.

“When do you want to start?” she asked.

“After graduation?” he suggested.

“Deal,”

“Well, see you around,”

“See you,”

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[missduplicities]

Seokjin: just to let yoh know, Dal is feeling better

Nabi: I'm so glad to hear that!

[missduplicities]

OTASD | Chapter 6: We took a chance, God knows we tried

The final week of classes came, but Nabi’s acceptance letter didn’t. She tried to pretend she didn’t care, but everyone knew she was struggling a lot. Her friends Yuna and Eun-Chae tried to talk to her, but she refused to talk to anyone about the subject. Her parents insisted that she went to the local universities that offered her a place, but she was firm about her decision of leaving.

The school had planned a trip to Jeju Island for the end of the course, right before graduation, but Nabi decided to skip it. If it was for her, she would skip graduation as well. Nabi’s parents were worried, but they didn’t know how to approach her. Besides, they both needed to leave the city, and they really didn’t want her to be alone at home.

“Maybe you can go visit Dani,” her mother suggested before going to New York for two weeks. “I can arrange everything for the trip,”

“She’s in finals,” Nabi explained. “I’ll be ok, mom,”

“You should go to Jeju,” her dad insisted, worried that he would be out for a week. “You’ll regret not having that memory with your friends later,”

“I will forget their names in a year,” she said, going to her room upstairs.

When her peers left for the trip and her parents for work, Nabi was left alone. This was probably the first time in the last month that she felt at peace. She got to read all of the books she had bought in the past year, caught up with her favorite TV show, and even decided to buy a bike in the hopes she found a reason to go outside.

The neighbor from across the street, the one with the baby, had been periodically checking on her. She was very funny, and she had a small dog, so Nabi was quick to befriend her. She wasn’t the only neighbor keeping an eye on her; Mrs. Kim had made it her personal duty to come by every afternoon with food for her, knowing she would keep rejecting her invitation to her house.

On the fifth day of her voluntary house arrest, Nabi felt like going out for an early bike ride. She planned to go to the store, buy some fruit, and return home. Of course, it didn’t go that smoothly. She got lost on the way back home, and she had forgotten her phone back home. Feeling angry with herself, she decided to sit in a park she hadn’t been in before, where she could eat her newly bought apples and probably cry a bit since she had nothing else to do. Just when she found a good spot, hidden in plain sight, she heard whimpering from beneath her. There, she found a small white dog that seemed to be hurt.

“Hi, baby,” she said in a caring voice. “Are you lost?”

The dog seemed to trust her, coming out of their hiding place to meet her. She picked them up with ease, careful not to hurt them; Nabi could see blood in the front paw.

“Let’s find your owner,” she said, putting the dog in the front basket of her bike and going back to the park. She felt a lot of empathy towards the little dog, especially since she was lost as well.

“Dal-i!” she heard a voice call from far away. Since the dog didn’t have a name tag, she didn’t know if it was their name that was being called.

“Is that you?” she asked the dog, pedaling towards the source of the voice that kept calling.

“Dal!” she saw a tall figure yell. The dog started barking, recognizing their owner at the same time Nabi did. Of course, it was Kim Seokjin.

“Is this yours?” Nabi asked. The guy ran towards her with a worried look on his face. He carefully picked up the dog, that started crying as soon as they were in his arms.

“Where did you go?” Seokjin said, stroking his dog. “I was so scared!”

“I found him in the path that leads to the mountain,” she felt the need to explain. “He is hurt, but it doesn’t look too bad,”

“A dog bit him,” Seokjin said, with a worried look. “It happened all in a heartbeat. We were playing catch and a dog came out of nowhere,”

“Poor thing,” Nabi said, feeling sorry for the dog.

“I need to take him to the vet,” Seokjin said, starting to walk.

“I’m sure he’s fine,”

“He’s old,” Seokjin explained. “I don’t want to risk it,”

“Do you even know where to go?” Nabi asked, too ashamed to admit she was the one who was lost. “Yeah, there’s a vet 5 minutes from here. Can you hold him for a sec?” Seokjin passed Nabi the dog, as he looked for his car keys inside his pocket. “I better hurry,”

“Did you come here driving? Are we that far from home?” she asked, now genuinely worried.

“You don’t know where we are?” he asked, low-key judging.

“Well, I took a different route,” she admitted.

“Just come,” he sighed. “My truck is this way,”

Nabi was too tired to get defensive, so she just followed the boy and his injured dog to where a pickup truck was parked. He passed her the dog again as he easily picked up her bike, putting it in the trunk. He walked to the passenger seat and opened the door for her, asking her to carry his dog until they got to the vet. She was in no position to complain, and, at this point, their interactions were not as uncomfortable anymore. This time she knew he was worried, and she decided not to pick up a fight. The dog seemed ok, though he demanded Nabi keep stroking his head during the ride. Seokjin seemed to know where he was going, driving determinately in the streets she still found unknown.

Seokjin took Dal in his arms when they arrived and ran inside the clinic. Nabi didn’t know what to do, so she waited inside the car. He was gone for at least 10 minutes, and she started to fear the doctor had bad news. However, he came back to the car looking less worried.

“Hi,” he said, opening the door of her side. “Dal is okay, they said he still needs a couple stitches,”

“Ouch!” She winced, feeling sorry for the dog.

“He will be okay,” he assured with a smile. “Thanks for finding him,”

“I literally didn’t do anything,” she laughed, thinking of how she was about to have a breakdown when she found the dog.

“I’m sorry about college,” he said out of nowhere as if he had been waiting to tell her. The smile faded from her face, though she tried not to look too upset.

“Why aren’t you in Jeju?” she asked, only realizing that he had missed the trip as well.

“What’s good about Jeju?” he scoffed.

“Hey! No disrespect to Jeju, I was born and raised there, ok?” she said, getting defensively very fast.

“That actually explains a lot,” he laughed. “Islanders are always so proud,”

“I’m not proud!” she knew she was, but she didn’t want him to say that.

“I was joking,” he said with a smirk. A nurse came out of the clinic, looking for him, so Nabi was left alone again. After a while, Seokjin came back to the truck carrying a sleepy Dal with a bandage on his paw. Nabi instinctively opened the door to carry the dog, which Seokjin thanked.

“Is your plan for the sabbatical still going?” Nabi asked, finally addressing the topic she had been avoiding.

“Yeah,” he said with his eyes on the road. “I’m looking for jobs at the moment. I have until November to apply for the next term, so I’ll have time to study and also build a better portfolio for the interviews,”

“Portfolio?” she had totally ignored that part.

“Well, grades are not the only thing that matters. The more you seem like you have to offer, the better. Especially in ivy,”

“Are you applying for Ivy, too?” she asked, a bit jealous.

“Hell, no!” He laughed. “It’s not for me. I’m thinking about Seoul National University or Konkuk,”

“Dad wanted me to apply to Yonsei,” she said.

“Did you?”

“Yeah, but I really don’t want to go there. I want to get as far from here as possible,”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why?” he said, trying to be polite.

“Well,” she sighed. She didn’t have a concise answer to that question. “Sometimes I feel suffocated in here. Trapped. I’ve always followed my parents wherever they wanted to go. I never questioned when they said we’d be moving. But I really don’t want to stay here where I’m doomed to be Ahn Eunjoo and Ahn Hye-Sun’s daughter,”

“I get it,” he said. She knew he didn’t. “My dad was very strict about our career choices. We had a big fight when I left to become a trainee. If it wasn’t for my brother, they wouldn’t have given me a second chance. So now I’m kinda stuck here, working for him, studying in the school he wanted to,”

Ok, he might get it a bit. She thought.

“Is MIT still the goal, then?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“They have spring admissions,” he said. “If you want, we can study together during summer or something,”

Nabi thought about Yuna and Eun-Chae, and how they were probably having fun in Jeju with the rest of the school. She thought about how, even though they had been her friends for the past years, she never felt understood by them. She thought about Dani, her only real friend, and how she was miles away in a different country, living her own life and missing hers. And then, she thought about Kim Seokjin, the guy she had been secretly jealous of. She never understood why she was so upset by him, but now she knew it was because they were very similar. She knew if there was someone who understood what it felt to be her, it was probably him. And, for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel alone.

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#OTASD

[missduplicities]

OTASD | Chapter 5: Waitlist

For the following week, Nabi managed to disappear from the public eye at school. She avoided the cafeteria and library, staying in her classroom during lunchtime. Her friends didn’t suspect any of it, since it was usual for her to sneak away to less crowded rooms. She didn’t even tell Dani what had happened, being too embarrassed to acknowledge it with anyone.

When her parents got back to the city, Seokjin’s dad picked them up from the airport and invited them over to their place for dinner. Nani actually lied, telling her mother she was on her period and had terrible cramps. When she least expected, two full weeks went by without her seeing Kim Seokjin.

Finals were approaching, so she had other things in mind. She had done great in her CSAT but had only applied to one Korean university. She was still waiting for the approval letter from the universities to which she had applied abroad, and every day that passed she became more anxious. There was no Plan B for her; she had to leave the country as soon as she graduated.

During the last months of class, she saw her friends get accepted to their dream colleges, while she had to sit and wait.

The first letter appeared one day:

Dear Ms. Ahn,

The Yale Admission Committee has completed its evaluation of this year’s candidates, and we are genuinely sorry that we are not able to offer you a place in the Class of 2011.

It’s okay, Nabi thought. I didn’t even want to go to Yale anyway.

“When are you moving to Norway?” Yuna asked Eun-Chae one day in class.

“Right after graduation,” Eun-Chae proudly said. “Dad wants to take us on a trip to Europe first, then they’ll help me install in the dorms,”

“Isn’t it exciting?” Yuna said. “It’s just like the movies!”

“No news from NYU yet?” Eun-Chae asked Nabi; a sad smile appearing on her face.

“Uhm, I got waitlisted,” Nabi said, hiding the disappointment in her voice.

“You still have Boston, right?” Eun-Chae said with hopeful eyes. “You know how Americans are, leaving everything until the last minute,”

“Yeah,” Nabi said, trying to convince herself. “What are your plans for the summer?”

“I’m just hoping to see Nick all summer,” Yuna said with a smirk on her face.

“Nick?” Nabi asked. “Weren’t you seeing that Woo Hak guy?”

“Yeah, we broke up,” Yuna sighed. “But Nick texted me, he’s going to summer camp as well,”

“Is Nick the Australian?” Eun-Chae asked.

“The one and only,” Yuna proudly said.

“So, you’re leaving all summer again?” Nabi asked.

“That’s the plan,” Yuna said. “I think this will be the last year I’ll go unless they want me to become Cabin Tutor,”

“I miss camp,” Eun-Chae sighed. “Why don’t you go, Nabi?”

“No, thanks,” Nabi chuckled. “Spending a month in a hot cabin is not to my taste. You have fun, Yuna-ssi,”

“This is our last summer of high school!”

“So?”

“So, you need to start living and having fun, babe,” Yuna said, sitting on Nabi’s desk. “You don’t want to be unexperienced when you go to college, especially if you’re planning on going abroad,”

“I still have time to get some internships,” Nabi innocently said, making both her friends laugh. “What?”

“I’m talking about guys,” Yuna said.

“You stick to guys, I’ll stick to graduating with honors and getting to an Ivy League uni,” Nabi’s ego was getting a bit hurt. If she wanted, she would go out with guys. She just didn’t want to waste her time on that at the moment. Feeling annoyed with her friends’ comments, Nabi decided to leave, excusing herself saying she had to take the bus.

Nabi: Are you picking me up or am I riding the bus?

Dad: I’m running late

Dad: sorry honey

Nabi: It’s ok

Her streak of not seeing Seokjin was broken at that moment when she saw the guy sitting at the bus stop. He was too busy playing with a Nintendo DS to see her, which gave her enough time to turn on her heels and walk to school again. She planned to wait for the next bus so she didn’t have to talk to him. The bus approached the street, so he had to put his Nintendo aside to look for his bus card. He was so afraid of missing it that he left without realizing he had left his console behind. Nabi wished she hadn’t seen it. He surely can buy another, she thought, but she didn’t have the heart to leave the forgotten Nintendo behind. With a sigh, she walked over to the place where he had been and secured the console inside her backpack, waiting now for the next bus where Seokjin had been waiting.

About ten minutes had gone by when she heard someone’s hurried footsteps approach. Scared that she might get robbed or something, she turned around only to see the guy she had been avoiding, soaking wet in sweat and out of breath.

“Hi,” he struggled to say, taking deep breaths with his hands on his knees. “Did you… see… my….?”

“Did you run all the way here from the next stop?” She was honestly impressed; the next stop was pretty far. He only nodded, still too tired to say anything. Nabi took the Nintendo out of her bag and handed it to him. He looked so thankful, as a mother reuniting with the child she thought she lost at the supermarket.

“Thanks,” he said, sitting on the bench next to where she was. “I thought I lost it,”

“No problem,” she awkwardly said, not knowing what else to do.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, still short of breath. She looked at him confused, not knowing what he was talking about. “Your mom said you felt sick the other day,”

“Oh,” she said. “Yeah, it was just a headache,”

“I get those all the time,” he said conversationally. “Are you good now, though?”

“Yeah,” she hated how nosy he was sometimes. Checking the time, she realized there were about 15 minutes left for the next bus to arrive, so she finally sat back on the bench next to him. Seokjin put out his Nintendo and handed it to her, making her very confused.

“I just won a battle with the Gym leader,” he proudly explained, even though she had no idea what he was talking about. “I just caught this Houndour a week ago, but he’s been great in battles. I think I’ll be able to evolve him into a Houndoom in no time,”

“Congrats, I guess,” she wasn’t trying to be mean, she just really didn’t know what to say. He saved his game and put it back in his pocket.

“Did you get your college acceptance letter yet?” why did he have to ask that?

“No,” she said. “You?”

“I got a lot of rejection letters,” he chuckled. “Dad is not happy about that,”

“Why do you look so calm about it?”

“Well, I just got back to school. I knew it was a long shot getting into a good university on my first try, but Dad still wanted me to apply. I’m preparing for next semester,”

“You’re not graduating?” She asked, confused as to why he didn’t look upset.

“I am graduating, but I’m taking a sabbatical semester to actually prepare,”

“Aren’t you afraid of wasting more time?” she regretted including the word more, knowing she sounded rude.

“It’s not a waste if I get something good off it,” he sighed. “I’m getting a job and getting tutors to prepare for the spring semester. Maybe you could do it too, I mean, if you don’t get your letter,”

“I’m getting the letter,” she said, trying to convince herself.

“I’m sure you are. You’re top of the class, aren’t you?” she figured her dad had told him that. “Where did you apply?”

“Where didn’t I,” she scoffed, smiling for the first time. “I sent too many applications for schools way out of my league, I don’t know why. All I wanted was to get away from here. Start my life from scratch in a different country, and all that,”

He didn’t say anything.

“I’m still waiting for MIT to answer,”

“MIT?” he asked; his eyebrows higher than she’d ever seen. “Wow! Which field?”

“Science. Neuroscience, to be precise,”

The bus finally arrived, so they instinctively got to their feet and prepared to ride it. The conversation ended as they went on the bus, sitting on opposite sides. She thanked God that he didn’t text her every bus stop, hoping that they kept pretending her slip-up never happened. When she thought she recognized the bus stop, she turned to the back of the bus, where he was. He understood her question, nodding with a smile to let her know this was their stop.

“When will you know if you got in?” Seokjin asked as soon as they both got off the bus. “When is the deadline?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed, wondering the same. “I think they have to let me know by the end of next week,”

“I’m sure you will get in,” he said, grabbing the straps of his backpack and standing awkwardly in front of her.

“Thanks,” she said, not knowing what to do.

“Thanks for saving my Nintendo,”

“Don’t go around leaving important stuff behind,” she pretended to scold him.

“I’ll learn from this lesson,” he smiled and they went back to silence.

“Well, see you around,” she said, desperate to get out of there.

“Sure,” he said. “See you!”

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#OTASD

[missduplicities]

@justtaehyung 2 babies

[missduplicities]

Chapter 58

Eunha woke up feeling very ill, knowing instantly that it was due to the wine she had drunk the night before. As soon as the smell of fried eggs got to her nose, she jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, feeling sick.

“Everything alright?” she heard Midori ask from the other side of the door.

“Yeah,” she said as she flushed the toilet, a bit embarrassed someone heard her get sick.

“Do you need anything?” Midori insisted. Eunha opened the door to let her see she was ok, brushing her teeth already. “Did you vomit?”

“Yeah,” Eunha sighed.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“As if!” Eunha laughed nervously for some reason, which made Midori a bit uneasy.

“Anything you want to share with the class, unnie?”

“Actually…” If there was anyone she could talk to about this, that was Midori, so Eunha took the chance. She dragged her friend into the tiny bathroom and locked the door behind them.

“Unnie?” Midori asked, getting nervous about her behavior.

“Have you and… when did you know…” Eunha stuttered. “How do I stop being nervous around him?”

“Around whom?” Midori’s concentrated frown appeared on her face.

“Taehyung, of course,” Eunha sighed, feeling her ears start to get red.

“Getting nervous in a specific scenario?” Midori’s frown slowly transformed into an impish smirk that made Eunha regret opening her mouth. “In a horizontal scenario, probably?”

“Shut up, it’s not like that!” Eunha slapped her friend’s arm, even though it was exactly like that. “I mean, we’re not having… we’re not doing anything,”

“Yet…” Midori laughed. “Unnie, is not like you’re teenagers!”

“Believe me, I know,” she sighed as the image of her boyfriend appeared in her mind. “And it’s not like I’m scared of… intimacy,”

“Can you please just call it sex?” Midori was getting uncomfortable for some reason.

“Well, yeah, I’m not scared of doing it. I just don’t know if I want to start my sexual life right now, you know?”

“I wouldn’t know, actually,” Midori laughed. “I mean, we make out a lot, but we haven’t actually done any more than that,”

“Really

“Really,” Midori laughed at her unnie’s disbelief. “If you’re looking for advice, you came to the wrong roomie,”

Eunha laughed, thinking this was another one of Midori’s jokes, however, the other girl didn’t laugh.

******

“What are your plans for today?” Jungkook asked Taehyung from the couch where he was playing video games, still in his underwear.

“I have to study for a test,” Taehyung sighed, unamused of his duties as a student. “You?”

“I have a bunch of teenagers at my disposal for a hip-hop class,” he grunted. “I’m already tired,”

Tae-Jun opened the door of Jimin’s room, where he had spent the night, and came out still half-asleep with a puffy face and messy hair. He walked straight to the kitchen to grab a banana and drink a full glass of milk. They were definitely a mess without Jimin and Hoseok to cook proper food.

“Don’t you have work or something?” Taehyung asked his younger brother, who glared at him as usual.

“Not until 5 pm,” Tae-Jun said with his mouth full. “Where is Noona, still sleeping?”

“Noona is here?” Jungkook asked, pausing his game and grabbing a pillow to cover his naked torso.

“No, she’s not,” Taehyung glared at his brother, who smirked triumphantly before grabbing another banana. “She left last night; early,”

“You could’ve told me. I had to sleep with headphones,” Tae-Jun decided to keep bothering his brother, and now Jungkook seemed to understand what he was implying.

“What’s going on?” Jungkook asked, looking from one brother to the other. “Did you walk in on them or something?”

“Something like that,” Tae-Jun said.

“He’s lying!” Taehyung rolled his eyes, throwing a strawberry at the youngest guy. “We were not doing anything,”

“They were right in that couch, actually,”

“Gross!” Jungkook jumped to his feet at once. “Hyung, at least do it in your room!”

“I hate you both!” Taehyung’s neck was getting red, and he felt his cheeks start to blush. “What my girlfriend and I do or not is none of your business,”

“Uuuuh, my girlfriend!” Jungkook teased; his bunny smile spreading on his face. Tae-Jun seemed to be having a great time, seeing his brother this uncomfortable. “Not in front of the kid, though,”

 “You mean Yeontan, right?” Tae-Jun said with a frown.

“Hey, stop it, both of you! I don’t want you making her uncomfortable with your stupid jokes,” he seriously said, which only made Jungkook and Tae-Jun smile wider. “We’re just starting to get comfortable around each other,”

“She didn’t seem too comfortable,” Tae-Jun earned a smack from his brother this time, but he wasn’t sorry.

“If you need any advice,” Jungkook proudly said, putting his arm around the youngest Kim. “I’m here for you, hyung,”

“It took you ten years to realize you liked Midori,” Taehyung glared at him. “Besides, I don’t need your advice because we’re taking things slow. We’re in love, you know? We’re not in a hurry of getting to fourth base or anything,”

“Getting to fourth base? What are you, twelve?” Tae-Jun mocked his older brother; Taehyung only let it pass because this was the closest to having a good time together. Jungkook laughed really hard, which made Tae-Jun feel a bit proud.

“I’m going to kick both your asses if you don’t stop,” Taehyung warned them, though a small smile appeared on his face. “Do I need to remind you I’m your hyung?”

“Speaking of hyungs,” Jungkook said. “When is Jimin getting back from his honeymoon or whatever?” “Either today or tomorrow morning,” Taehyung said. “Sooah has school on Monday,”

“Can I use his room until he gets back?” Tae-Jun asked.

“Only if you promise to clean it,” Jungkook said. “And, while you’re at it, you could clean the living room and kitchen,”

*******

“Isn’t this nice? Just the two of us, the road, our music,” Jimin said, taking Sooah’s hand in his as he drove around the streets of Incheon. “We should do this more often,”

“I bet mom would love it if I came more often,” Sooah said with a bright smile.

“I love your mom, but I wasn’t necessarily talking about coming here. We could go anywhere,” he looked at her over his sunglasses, unaware of how nervous she still got when he did that.

“We can go to Busan next time,” she proposed in a tiny voice. “I’d love to meet your family,”

“They already love you,” he said, stroking her hand and kissing it.

Ever since they started dating, things felt very natural to them, just as if they knew each other from another lifetime. Even stuff like this, meeting each other’s families, wasn’t as scary as they thought it would. This sudden trip to Sooah’s home for her mother’s birthday confirmed that there wasn’t anything about the other that felt unknown. As expected, Sooah’s family instantly adored Jimin. He was happy to be included to the family with ease; even Eunha’s parents, who were very close to Sooah’s, made him feel very welcome.

“How did you guys meet?” Eunha’s dad asked, putting them in the spotlight during dinner.

“We met through Eunha, actually,” Jimin said with a polite smile. “She’s one of my closest friends,”

“Unnie works for one of Jimin’s oldest friends,” Sooah added.

“Yeah, and she’s dating my best friend, so it’s like we’re family -ouch!” Sooah failed to telepathically tell Jimin to stop talking, so she ended up kicking him under the table. He didn’t know Eunha hadn’t told her parents about Taehyung.

“She’s dating now?” Eunha’s mom asked in disbelief. “Thank God!”

“I told you she was going to find someone,” Sooah’s mom told Eunha’s. “Nothing to worry about! She’s a great girl!”

“Auntie,” Sooah interrupted, trying to change the subject. “How is Dae-Hyun?”

“Oh, he’s great!” Eunha’s mom proudly said.

“Unnie told me she saw him last time she was home,”

“Yeah, he is living with us for a couple months,” Eunha’s dad said. “He had an injury, but he’s recovering fast,”

“Eunha’s brother is a pro baseball player,” Sooah explained to Jimin, who was trying to keep up with the conversation.

“Oh, that’s great!” He said enthusiastically.

 “You must meet him,” Eunha’s mom said. “He’s finishing some errands, but he should be here soon,”

“So, Jimin,” Sooah’s dad interrupted. “Sooah said you’re a dancer, too,”

“Yes, sir,” Jimin nervously said. “I studied Dance, and I am one of the instructors at Hope Studio with Sooah,”

“How is the studio going?” Sooah’s mom asked. “Pretty good, actually,” Jimin said as he cleared his throat. “We’re partnering with some training agencies and labels to help them develop a specialized program for kids who are considered for debut,”

“That sounds very interesting!” Eunha’s mom added. Sooah was glad her boyfriend was interesting enough to the adults, feeling like she could relax from leading the conversation. Her mom occasionally gave her a knowing look, telling her without words “He is great, which she already knew.

In the middle of Jimin’s monologue about the success of the studio, a familiar laugh filled up the entire place. Sooah stood up at once and ran to hug her sister before she got to say hello.

“No hug for me, booger?” the guy who walked in with Sooah’s sister said, messing Sooah’s hair in a friendly way. Jimin stood up to greet them, getting a bit shy.

“This is Park Jimin,” Sooah said proudly. “This is my sister Su-Jin,”

“Nice to meet you,” Jimin bowed respectfully.

“Is this the Prince Charming you can’t stop talking about?” Su-Jin said, looking lovingly at her younger sister, who was still hugging her. “Told you he wasn’t a catfish!”

“Well, we can confirm he’s just as handsome in person,” the guy next to Su-Jin said. Jimin assumed this was her boyfriend, maybe even his husband. “I’m Dae-Hyun, by the way,”

“Eunha’s brother,” Sooah added. Jimin took a better look at him and, without much effort, he saw the similarities between the siblings.

“Oh, nice to meet you,” Jimin bowed again. “I’m friends with your sister, too,”

“She’s mentioned,” Dae-Hyun said with a smile.

After spending another hour with the adults, the younger adults went to Sooah’s house, which was just around the corner. Jimin was too shy to walk hand-in-hand with Sooah, especially since the other couple wasn’t doing it. Sooah, on the other hand, was just happy to be with him in the streets she grew up.

“When did you get home, unnie?” Sooah asked Su-Jin. “Yesterday,” the oldest said. “I almost didn’t make it; the flight got delayed twice,”

“Where did you fly from?” Jimin asked with curiosity.

“Bangkok,” Su-Jin said. “I’m living there until the end of summer. I can’t wait til’ I get back!”

“As if you’re not enjoying being there,” Dae-Hyun said, giving her a knowing look that made her nudge him.

“What are you two hiding?” Sooah asked in a whiny voice that made Jimin smile.

“Nothing,” Su-Jin laughed. “He’s just being an idiot, as usual,”

This time it was Sooah who led the conversation while Jimin happily listened to the sisters catch up. Dae-Hyun occasionally made questions or complemented the conversation with a silly joke, which reminded Jimin of Eunha. Su-Jin and Sooah were similar in particular ways, but Jimin found more and more ways in which his Sooah was unique. Sooah spoke with her whole face; her eyebrows always matched the conversation, her eyes smiled with her mouth, and her hands accompanied every word she said. He didn’t know how long he had been staring, he just wished he could do it forever.

“So, why isn’t my sister with you?” Dae-Hyun asked Sooah. “I was kind of wishing to see her,”

“She couldn’t come,” Sooah explained. “You know how demanding her work is,”

“By work do you mean boyfriend? Because she looked to be having a great time at a museum with him,” Dae-Hyun said, getting his phone out to show them the pictures he’d seen earlier.

“So, is it or not a secret?” Jimin asked confused.

“Do your parents know she’s dating Taehyung, then?” Sooah asked the older guy, feeling relieved.

“We know she’s seeing him, but they don’t think it’s serious,” he explained.

“Why?” Su-Jin asked.

“Well, you know how things have been in the past,” Dae-Hyun casually said, though Jimin didn’t know what he meant. “She goes out with guys, it doesn’t work, she ends up in a crisis,”

“This time is different, though,” Sooah said firmly.

“I hope so,” Su-Jin sighed. “She was a mess for years after that Seojoon guy,”

“No, but seriously, they love each other,” Jimin said, finally joining the conversation. “Taehyungie is one of the best guys I know, he totally adores Eunha,”

“Thanks for the references,” Dae-Hyun chuckled. “Are you going to be Best Man when they get married, then?”

“Of course I am,” Jimin said, not even joking. “Speaking of marriage…” Sooah casually dropped, making Jimin very nervous. “How are things with Jonathan, Unnie?”

“Here we go again,” Su-Jin rolled her eyes. “We’re in no hurry to get married,”

“Come on, you guys have been together for what? Three years?” Dae-Hyun said.

“Five this year,” Sooah corrected.

“Mind your own business,” Su-Jin scoffed. “You’re starting to sound like mom,”

“You know how Americans are,” Dae-hyun said as he stretched casually, putting his feet on Su-Jin’s legs. Jimin liked how close the Choi and Seong seemed to be. “Very liberal and all that,”

“Says the guy who lived with his girlfriend,” Su-Jin said, pushing his feet off her.

 “We all know I’m the rotten apple of the family, noona,” Dae-Hyun laughed as if that wasn’t the saddest statement said this evening. “Didn’t your parents warn you not to be like me growing up?”

“He’s being dramatic,” Sooah explained to Jimin. “He was always a model kid, which was a bit of a pain in the ass,”

“Model kid?” Su-Jin laughed. “Please, he was always getting in trouble,”

“And you were always there for me, noona,” Dae-Hyun got close to her, pretending to kiss her cheek. “Maybe we should get married,”

“Wouldn’t you love that?” Su-Jin pushed him.

“Did you guys ever date?” Jimin asked, too curious to stop himself.

“Hell no!” Su-Jin said. “Though he didn’t mind going out with some of my friends,”

“That’s before I realized I am meant to be a lone wolf,” the older guy dramatically said. “My only mission in life is to meet new people, expanding my horizons,”

“So, go back to being a slut, you mean?” Su-Jin said.

“I’m thinking of moving to Seoul, you know?” Dae-hyun continued.

“What about the team?” Sooah asked, unaware of the recent change of plans for Dae-Hyun.

“There’s baseball in Seoul, too, right?” he said.

“My hyungs are planning on renting one of their rooms, actually,” Jimin casually said, making Sooah’s neck snap as she turned to see him.

“No, they’re not,” she said.

“Yeah, Namjoon told me just yesterday. Since they’re never at home, they think they can rent one of the guest rooms to balance the expenses,”

“I’m sure there’s a waitlist already. We know other people who need a room,” she said, but Jimin didn’t catch up. “Tae-Jun, for example?”

“Oh, I don’t think Junie would be able to pay rent at the Hyungs'” Jimin said.

“Well, let me know when you have the details,” Dae-Hyun chuckled, getting to his feet as he made his way to the kitchen. He acted just as if this was his house, which was a bit unsettling to Jimin; he wondered if this massive guy was always spending time at Sooah’s place. “When are you going back to Seoul?"

“Tonight,” Sooah sighed, secretly hoping she could spend more time with her family.

“Do you have a spare seat?” Dae-Hyun asked; neither Jimin nor Sooah knew if he was joking.

*****

“What do you think of this one, Ms. Yang?” Kim Namjoon asked Ji-Eun as he held an emerald tie in his hands. “Is it too bright?”

“Remind me what color is the suit?” Ji-Eun asked. She didn’t exactly know how she’d ended up in this situation, helping Namjoon and Yoongi on their second consecutive day of tuxedo hunting for Hoseok’s sister’s wedding.

“Black,” Namjoon said, fixing his glasses on his face.

“We don’t know that yet,” Yoongi said, joining them in the aisle. “You can also go for the brown one,”

“Which one are you wearing?” Namjoon asked his hyung.

“I think black,”

“Maybe we should all keep it classy, black tux with black tie,” Namjoon suggested. “Let Hobi-hyung wear something different,”

“Or maybe a black suit but different ties,” Ji-Eun suggested, taking the emerald tie from Namjoon’s hands.

“What about a bow tie?” Yoongi asked, frustrated with all this.

“I don’t want to look like a teacher,” Namjoon sighed.

“Hate to break it to you, but you are a teacher,” Yoongi said, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah but as soon as I walk with that suit and a bowtie they’re going to know I’m a teacher,” Namjoon explained, gesticulating a lot with his hands as he did when he talked about something serious.

“Just buy the damn tie then,” Yoongi grunted, walking away from the youngest guys.

“Isn’t there still a lot of time until the wedding?” Ji-Eun asked, walking behind Namjoon to the nearest mirror, where he tried different ties.

“Two weeks,” Namjoon said, struggling to tie a blue navy tie around his neck. “But Hobi is already stressed, and he said If we don’t show them what we’re wearing this week he will uninvite us,”

“Here,” Ji-Eun said, getting close to him so she could help him with the tie. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach behind his neck to fix his collar. “I always thought it was easier for you guys. I figured you only had to pick a suit and that was it. The girls are driving me crazy with all the dress choices they have,”

“Do you already have yours?” he asked, turning over the mirror again to see how this tie suited him.

“Yes,” she said, also turning towards his reflection to get a better look. “It’s an olive one,”

“What color is that? Like green?”

“Yeah, greenish,” she said, looking over the selection of ties to show him. “Close to this one,”

“Oh, it’s a pretty color,” Namjoon said with a smile. “Thank you for coming, by the way. I know it was short notice, but noona just told us she wanted us to extend the invitation,”

“I get it, and don’t worry, it’s my pleasure!” Ji-Eun said with a bright smile. “It’s been a long time since I went to a wedding,”

“Ji-Eunnie!” Yoongi called her from the register, apparently in a last-minute dilemma. Ji-Eun happily walked to where he was and helped him choose between the long green socks and the dotted burgundy ones; a very important choice to him. Namjoon looked down at the ties again, now undecisive between the silky black one or the olive Ji-Eun had shown him. He glanced over the register, where he saw his friends paying. Ji-Eun glanced over at him, meeting his eyes and flashing her warm smile. He grinned back and put the black tie down.

******

Taehyung: what are you doing?

Eunha: seeing the agenda with Han

Eunha: say hi

Taehyung: hi hannie

Taehyung: where are you?

Eunha: at the office, wym?

Taehyung: I miss your pretty face

Eunha: hi

Taehyung: hi!!! wow hi!! ❤️ I miss you so much

Eunha: I miss you too

Eunha: what are you doing? 👀

Taehyung: photography practice

Eunha: I adore you, look at your face!!

Taehyung: :))

Taehyung: Am I seeing you tonight?

Eunha: I’m coming home late 😔

Eunha: Around midnight, probably

Taehyung: :c

Eunha: Let’s have lunch tomorrow!

Taehyung: c:

Yoongi: hi

Eunha: hello

Yoongi: are you in the office?

Eunha: where else would I be?

Yoongi: I need your help!

Eunha: what is it?

Yoongi: I locked the keys inside the trunk of the car

Eunha: hahahah

Yoongi: it’s not funny!!

Eunha: it’s a bit funny

Eunha: Where are you? Han and I can come pick you up

Yoongi: I have a copy of the keys in my bedroom

Eunha: Is someone home?

Yoongi: Probably Seokjin hasn’t left

Eunha: I’ll call him and get back to you

Yoongi: thanks

Yoongi: hurry

Yoongi: please

Yoongi: thanks again

***

“Do you have any allergies?” Seokjin asked Tae-Jun casually as they scraped the floor of the soon-to-be restaurant. They were finishing the last details of the construction, hoping to open the week after Hoseok’s sister’s wedding.

“Not that I know of,” Tae-Jun said out of breath. “Why?”

“I just like to know,” Jin said, taking a break to drink from his almost empty bottle of water. “I like to keep a register of my friend’s allergies so I don’t accidentally poison them with my food,”

Tae-Jun was still in denial about his boss considering him a friend. They had spent almost every day together for the past month, and he was very friendly to him, but he knew Seokjin only saw him as his friend’s brother. Still, in the time they had spent together, both had opened up about personal stuff. Seokjin told him the reason why he wanted to open the restaurant, and how determined he was to make it work. Tae-Jun struggled at first to tell Seokjin about his current worries, but once he did, he immediately felt better; this was the first time he felt someone listened to him.

“Should I start the inventory?” Tae-Jun asked, secretly hoping his duty of scraping the floor was done.

“No, let’s practice making some basics,” Seokjin walked over to the new fancy open kitchen, washing his hands as Tae-Jun drank some water. The oldest guy set different size knives on the counter, as well as some onions, tomatoes, and cabbages. “Which one of these is the vegetable knife?”

Tae-Jun sat on a stool opposite Seokjin, took a quick look over the tools, and pointed at a big knife.

“This is a straight-edged Japanese Nakiri Bocho,” Seokjin said, taking the knife. “Ideal for cutting, chopping, slicing, and dicing vegetables,”

“Nakiri Bocho,” Tae-Jun repeated.

“The chefs will handle all the complicated stuff, don’t worry,” Seokjin assured. “But you will need to know the basics for the coffee hours. This means, learning how to make an avocado toast, prepare the salad, slice the salmon,”

“When will I actually learn to make drinks?” Tae-Jun asked, getting impatient.

“James and Eunha will help us next week to learn to calibrate the espresso machine and prepare basic drinks,”

“James as in… the Aussie dude?” he wasn’t able to hide the resentment in his voice. “Why?”

“Because he is an experienced barista,” Seokjin said, putting the knives back in the corresponding drawers. “There’s a chance he starts working here, you know?”

“No! Why?” Tae-Jun wasn’t aware of how childish he sounded, but he couldn’t help it. Seokjin was about to give the younger guy a lesson in manners when, thankfully, his phone started ringing in his pocket.

“Wash the vegetables and put them in the fridge. I need to take a call,” Tae-Jun obeyed, still upset about the mention of James. Seokjin decided to deal with it later, going outside to answer the phone.

“Joon-ah! What is it?”

“Are you home?” Namjoon asked.

“No, at the restaurant, why?”

“Yoongi-hyung locked his car with the keys inside,” Namjoon explained. “He says he has a copy in his room, but we’re far to ask for a cab,”

“Give me the phone,” Jin heard Yoongi’s voice as he took Namjoon’s phone. “Hyung?”

“Hi,” Seokjin chuckled.

“I know you’re busy, but is there a way you give Eunha the keys?”

“The keys to our place?” Seokjin asked, already rummaging his pockets, looking for said keys.

“The copy of my car keys. She can come by the restaurant to pick them up,” Yoongi explained.

“Alright, I’ll call her,” Jin saw the time on his watch, knowing his day was going to end sooner than he’d expected. “I’ll let you know when she has them,”

“Thanks! I owe you!”

“Bye, hyung!” Namjoon said.

“Bye, Chef Kim!” he heard Ji-Eun say.

“Bye you idiots,” Seokjin laughed as he hung up the phone, getting back inside to let Jun know they were leaving.

“I think we forgot to buy the kimchi containers,” Tae-Jun said as he cleaned the fridge.

“It’s okay, we’ll get it tomorrow,” Seokjin sighed. “Pack your stuff, we’re leaving,”

“But…” Tae-Jun checked the time on his phone, realizing it was still early.

“I need to pick some stuff at my place and deliver it to Eunha,”

“Taehyung’s girlfriend?” Tae-Jun asked, a bit confused.

“Yup,” Seokjin said, grabbing Jun’s bag and carrying it for him as he walked towards the door. The youngest did his usual routine of checking every light was off and every door was locked, then he met his boss in his pick-up truck. “Did you check everything?”

“Yeah, twice,” Tae-Jun said, putting on his seatbelt. Jin’s place wasn’t too far from the restaurant, about a 10-minute ride with no traffic. After he filled in Tae-Jun with the missing information from the call, Seokjin passed him the phone and asked him to call Eunha, which made the younger guy a bit nervous.

“Seokjinnie-ssi!” Eunha’s voice was heard through the speaker. “How can I help you?”

Tae-Jun was waiting for Seokjin to answer, but he didn’t, instead, he pointed to the phone with his head, letting him know to give her the message.

“Hi, it’s Tae-Jun,” he said.

“Oh, hi, honey! What’s up?” Tae-Jun’s cheeks rapidly blushed; he wasn’t close to many girls, except from his sister. “Are you okay?”

“We are picking up the keys and taking them to you, so you can deliver them to your boss,” Tae-Jun said in a serious voice that made Seokjin smile.

“Oh, great! Thanks a lot,” Eunha said. “See you here then,”

“Alright,” Jun awkwardly said and hung up.

“You don’t have a crush on your brother’s sister, do you?” Seokjin asked, half laughing.

“No! Of course not!” Tae-Jun defensively said.

“Then why did you get so nervous?” Tae-Jun had his reasons; one being the image of her startled the night before as he walked inside the apartment when she seemed to have been busy with his brother.

“I didn’t get nervous,” he lied. “I just don’t like phone calls,”

“Alright,” Seokjin said with a knowing smile.

Once they arrived, Seokjin gave Tae-Jun a quick tour of the house, letting him know he was always welcome. The youngest guy couldn’t hide the excitement in his eyes as he walked inside the fancy home.

“Wow, your kitchen is bigger than Taehyung’s apartment,” Tae-Jun said.

“Let’s go, kid,” Jin said, getting a bit awkward as usual with the comments about his comfortable way of living.

It took them another 15 minutes or so to get to Eunha. On the way there, Tae-Jun was suddenly very talkative, which was a bit of a surprise to Seokjin. The younger guy was telling him about how he wasn’t doing great at the evaluations this term because of everything he had to do, but how he was determined to do better, wanting to secure a place in the debuting team. Seokjin told him a bit about his experience as a trainee, and how he wasn’t as confident as his other friends with the decision of being an artist.

“I think there are people who are born for that lifestyle, and I’m not one of them,” Seokjin said. “Jimin and Hoseok were never scared by the stage or the spotlight, it’s like they become different people up there; their real selves. Namjoon, Yoongi, and I liked to be in the shadows. They produced and wrote a lot, and I managed to get through it all, but I wasn’t particularly good at any of it,”

“What about the others?” Tae-Jun asked, wanting to know about one person in particular.

“Jungkook is a star. He was just born with a talent for everything. I’m sure if he had wanted, he would have been a major star. Just like your brother,” Seokjin dropped the last part casually. “Taehyung was our secret weapon; his problem was that he never believed that. He has a great voice, he’s a great dancer, he even has great looks, but he struggled a lot believing in himself,”

 Tae-Jun didn’t say anything, so Seokjin continued.

“He went through a hard time when we left the company. I think it affected him the most. He just… he lost his light for a long time,” Seokjin seemed a bit melancholic as he spoke, which let Tae-Jun know it was better not to interrupt. “But then he found it again, and I truly think I’ve never seen him happier than he is now that he is doing what he likes to do the most?”

“What? His girlfriend?” Tae-Jun scoffed, but Jin threw him a dirty warning look. “I’m joking,”

“You need to respect your elders,” Seokjin said firmly. “Especially your family,”

Tae-Jun remained silent, not wanting to get into an argument with his boss about how he didn’t understand how complicated his family was.

“And I don’t necessarily mean your biological family,” Seokjin added. “You need to respect your chosen family,”

Through Tae-Jun’s mind, the only thought was how he didn’t have what Seokjin meant. He saw how all the guys, and even the girls, were very close and loyal towards each other. He knew who Seokjin was talking about, knowing his chosen family. But he didn’t have that. He didn’t need one.

“You know who my best friends are?” Seokjin interrupted his thoughts, but Tae-Jun remained silent. “The guys I tried the hardest to push away for many years. I wasn’t like them, I didn’t speak their language. Yoongi had Joon to talk about production, Hoseok had Jimin to talk about dance, and Taehyung had Jungkook to talk about music, but I spoke a whole different language. I used to think I was better off alone, not because I could do it on my own but because they could do it by themselves; they were better without me. But I let them adopt me as their friend and brother, and now, almost ten years later, I’m here, driving across the city to get my stupid brother his car keys,”

This was probably the longest Tae-Jun had heard Jin speak without stuttering or making a joke, so he listened carefully.

“Sometimes you don’t get to choose your family, but there are people who choose to have you in their lives, who enjoy having you around,” Seokjin said all this without taking his eyes off the road, which Tae-Jun thanked since he wasn’t used to people talking to him like that. The younger guy felt an intense need of crying, but he fought against it with all his might until they arrived at Eunha’s office.

“Can you give her the keys? There’s nowhere to park,” Seokjin said, passing him the infamous car keys. “She must be on the third floor,”

“Okay,” Tae-Jun took the keys and his bag and opened the door of Seokjin’s truck. “I think I can go home from here, I know the way, don’t worry,”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, there’s a coffee house nearby that I want to go anyways,” he said, closing the door behind him. “Thanks for the right. See you tomorrow, boss,”

“Call me hyung,” Seokjin said, knowing the guy wouldn’t do it yet. “Or just Jin,”

“I’ll try,” Tae-Jun waved at him and ran inside the building, not really knowing where he was going.

***

Ji-Eun via Twitter: Please help, their brains are melting!

Namjoon: Help, she's losing her mind!

Seokjin: I wish you the best, but you guys are really stupid. ANy WaYs, help is on the way 😘

@chimchim95:

"Soo saying goodbye to Binnie 😭 "

@seokjinniehyung: Whoever that dog is, please bring him with you!!!

@its-sooah:

"You dont understand how much I love you!!"

@chimchim95: I love you ❤️

@justtaehyung: cheekies!!!!!!!

@94junghoseok: that looks soooo good 🤤

***

Succeeding at saving her boss and friends from possible dehydration, Eunha and Han managed to get the car keys to Yoongi so they could leave. By the time they arrived, it was only Yoongi who was waiting in the parking lot; he had sent Ji-Eun and Namjoon inside the mall.

“I owe you, seriously,” Yoongi said, finally starting his car.

“It’s nothing, boss,” Han said, giving a friendly arm squeeze to Yoongi.

“How is the agenda for the day?” Yoongi asked, going straight to work-mode.

“We only have to finish the master of the track that’s due on Wednesday,” Han confidently said. “But I can do that overnight,”

“Great, because I need a good bath, so I’ll work from the home studio,”

“I have to meet the director at HQ for the shooting we’re doing on Friday,” Eunha sighed. “But everything’s ready, don’t worry,”

“Alright,” Yoongi let out a sigh of relief.

“If you want, we can wait for the guys so you leave,” Eunha suggested.

“Cool,” Yoongi didn’t need to hear it twice. “I’ll call you tonight,”

“Sure,” Eunha said as Yoongi left. Not even a minute after, Namjoon and Ji-Eun came out of the mall with ice cream cones in their hands. “Hi there,”

“Unnie!” Ji-Eun was happy to see her friend. “Finally!”

“Where is hyung?” Namjoon asked, just realizing the car was gone.

“He had to go, but we’ll take you,” Han said. “I don’t know if we’re properly met, I’m Han Hoseok,”

“Oh, yes! The other Hoseok!” Namjoon said, shaking hands with the guy. “I’m Kim Namjoon,”

“Ji-Eun,” Ji-Eun said with a smile and a small bow.

“Should we go then?” Eunha said, opening the back door for them. Namjoon waited until Ji-Eun got inside, holding her shopping bag until she sat, then he closed the door and went over to the other side of the car to join her in the back seat.

“How was the tuxedo hunt?” Eunha asked conversationally.

“Well, we narrowed it down to three choices,” Namjoon said, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. “I think I still have to get mine tailored; it’s a bit lose in the shoulders,”

“Do you know if Taehyung already has his suit?” Ji-Eun asked, eating her ice cream.

“There are more suits than t-shirts in his wardrobe,” Eunha laughed. “But yeah, I think he’s going for a three-piece black tux,”

“Did you pick the dress already?” Ji-Eun asked.

“I’m still between the black or the flower print,” she sighed. “I’m waiting for Sooah to pick one so I know the etiquette,”

“When is she getting home?”

“I think tomorrow early,” Eunha yawned, feeling already exhausted even though it wasn’t that late. “Is Midori home?”

“She had an important meeting today. The publisher wants her to illustrate a whole series,” Ji-Eun proudly said. “She also said something about getting a tattoo, but I think she was joking,”

“That’s what I thought when Jungkook told me,” Namjoon chuckled, looking at her over his glasses. “Every time I see him he has a new tattoo,”

“Would you get one?” Ji-Eun asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Namjoon said. “You?”

“No, I’m a bit scared of needles,” Ji-Eun said very seriously.

Taehyung: what are you doing now?

Eunha: missing you

Taehyung:

Taehyung: My hair is a mess, I can't go to the wedding like this

Eunha actually malfunctioned as she saw the picture. She quickly locked her phone, hoping no one saw her boyfriend’s exposed chest. For a moment she thought she had imagined it, so she unlocked her phone only to confirm. Yes. The picture was still there.

Taehyung: Should I dye it again or something?

Taehyung: Go back to brown, maybe

Eunha: I think it looks very good on you

Taehyung: My hair is literally fried

Eunha was having trouble concentrating on his hair. She was having trouble thinking about anything, actually.

Eunha: Are you already home?

Taehyung: I came to pick Yeontan up, he was alone all day

Eunha: Poor baby

Taehyung: He's with daddy now

Eunha locked her phone again. Then she got another message.

Idiot: hi dork

Eunha: hi idiot

Idiot: where are you?

Eunha: working

Eunha: you?

Idiot: liar

Idiot: you're not here

“No way!” Eunha let out loud.

“What?” Han asked, getting a bit scared.

“Unnie?” Ji-Eun asked, but Eunha ignored them both, she was too busy calling someone on the phone.

“What are you doing at my studio, idiot?” Eunha asked; the rest of the passengers turned to her with worried looks.

“Hello, baby sister, I missed you too,” Dae-Hyun said. “Where are you sneaking to when you’re not in the office, huh?”

“I’m working,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You didn’t answer my question?”

“Well, since you didn’t come home for auntie’s birthday, I decided to pay a visit,” her brother said. “You don’t mind if I stay at your place tonight, right? Sooah already showed me the place,”

“Do I have a choice?” she sighed.

“Damn, you really don’t sound happy to see me,”

“Of course I am! I just can’t believe you’re here,” Eunha felt a bit bad for giving her brother the wrong impression. “How did you get inside, though?”

“The receptionist let me in, I just said I had a meeting with you,”

“I do have a meeting at the other side of the city, so I guess I’ll see you later at home,”

“Okay,” Dae-Hyun said as he hung up.

“So, turns out my brother is here,” Eunha finally explained to the rest.

“Yey!” Ji-Eun said with happy tiny claps. “We’re finally meeting him!”

“Is it ok if he stays only for the night at our place? I’ll lock him inside my room,” Eunha said.

“Sure, no problem with me,” Ji-Eun said.

“How long will he be staying?” Namjoon asked. “I can discuss with the hyungs to see if he can stay at our place,”

“I don’t know,” Eunha sighed. “But I’ll ask him and I’ll let you know, thank you,”

“No problem,” Namjoon smiled and finished his ice cream.

***

Taehyung had been staring at his face in the mirror for at least 40 minutes, having a full crisis about his hair. He even considered shaving his head, wondering whether Eunha would still like him if he did so. Defeated, he decided to leave the crisis for later, going to his room to do a bit of exercise.

He had never worried too much about his image, specifically, about his strength. He wasn’t as disciplined as Jungkook at practicing a sport and he rarely hit the gym, but he enjoyed going for a walk with Namjoon, swimming whenever he would, and he tried to do at least an hour of workout, mostly for his mental health. He had the tendency of getting anxious if his body wasn’t busy.

Taehyung: do you think I should start practicing boxing?

He sent the next in the middle of his set, already out of breath.

Eunha: do you want to?

Eunha: I thought you didn’t like contact sports

Taehyung: idk, I could give it a try

Taehyung: are you still working?

He checked the time, it was about midnight. He really hoped she was home, getting rest.

Eunha: I’m omw there

Taehyung: how was your day?

Eunha: busy, but I can’t really complain

Eunha: yours?

Taehyung: not as busy as I’d liked

Taehyung: I missed you a lot

Eunha: I miss you, too

Taehyung: Am I seeing you tomorrow?

Eunha: yeah! Lunch, remember?

Taehyung: alright <3

Eunha: wyd

Taehyung was a bit ashamed of telling her he was struggling to do pushups, not really knowing why.

Taehyung: about to go to bed

Taehyung: I wish you were here

Eunha: Me too, believe me

Deciding he was done with his routine, he walked out of his room to see if Yeontan was sleeping, finding his brother reading in the living room with the little dog in his lap.

“Hello,” Taehyung said with a smile.

“Hi,” Tae-Jun said, not lifting his gaze.

“When did you get here?”

“Like three hours ago,” Tae-Jun said. “I have a lot of homework,”

“You do homework?” Taehyung wasn’t trying to be mean, he was just surprised.

“Only the necessary,” Tae-Jun said.

“Did you have something to eat?”

“Yeah, salmon toast,”

“I didn’t know we had salmon,” Taehyung said, impressed. “Or toast,”

“I bought some,” Tae-Jun casually said. “There’s some in the fridge,”

“Thanks,” Taehyung couldn’t help worry about his brother; he was being too nice compared to his usual self.

“I saw your girlfriend,” Tae-Jun casually said, still reading his book.

“You saw Eunha?” Taehyung beamed at the mention of her. “When? Why? Where?”

“At her job,” Jun said. “Seokjin-ssi and I gave her something her boss needed. I saw a guy I know from my old company, Han Hoseok,”

“Yeah, he’s her assistant,” Taehyung said. “You know each other?”

“We never talked, but he produced great beats. He once gave us a masterclass in production,” Tae-Jun explained. Taehyung was waiting for a mean comment to come, but it didn’t.

“You need a haircut,” Taehyung casually said; he had been looking at his brother in silence. “I’m planning on fixing my hair before the wedding. I can make an appointment for both,”

“Sure,” Tae-Jun simply said, taking his brother by surprise once more. “I was actually thinking of dying it, but maybe later,”

“So, did Eunha say something about me? Did she ask about me or anything?” Tae-Jun laughed at his brother’s sudden change of subject.

“You’re head over-heels about her, aren’t you?” Tae-Jun asked, finally closing his book and putting it on the side.

“You’ll fall in love one day and understand how I feel,” Taehyung said with a grin on his face.

“I’ve been in love,” Tae-Jun casually said. “Well, I think so. I had a girlfriend in Cali, she was older than me. It wasn’t great,”

“I thought you were not allowed to date,” he said, referring to his company contract.

“I’m not,” the youngest guy said. “Which is why it was a secret. Or so she told me, I don’t know. Thing is, I’m not crazy about love. I’m good on my own,”

“You say that now,” Taehyung said with a smirk. “But one day, you’ll be sneaking a girl in, and I’ll have to pretend to get mad,”

“Speaking of sneaking a girl,” Tae-Jun said with his mischievous smirk. “Where is noona?”

“It’s not like she sleeps with me always,” Taehyung defended himself. “Besides, I told you, we don’t do anything. Anything other that kiss, I mean. Why am I even giving you an explanation?”

“Are you sure you were not just about to sneak out,” he wasn’t but now that he had the idea, it was hard to fight against it.

“Well, I was just considering paying a visit,” Taehyung said, looking over the kitchen counter to where Jimin’s car keys usually were. “When did Jimin arrive?”

“He’s here?”

“His keys are here,” Taehyung said, walking over to the counter to take them.

“I guess I’m sleeping on the couch again tonight,” Tae-Jun sighed.

“You can use my room,” Taehyung said, already walking to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow,”

Tae-Jun only smiled; he couldn’t help but feel a bit proud of his brother for surprising his girlfriend.

***

By the time she got home, Eunha was surprised to see that all her roommates, their boyfriends, and her brother were still talking in the living room. Jungkook, Midori, and Dae-Hyun were discussing sports, while Sooah and Jimin filled Ji-Eun in on the details of their trip to Incheon.

“There she is!” Dae-Hyun said, standing up as he saw his sister enter the room. “Why are you getting home this late?”

“Unnie! Your mom sent food,” Sooah let her know, running to greet her with a hug.

“What, are we having a sleepover?” Eunha asked, knowing that Jungkook never left this late, and assuming Jimin had plans to stay, too. “I could have let my boyfriend know, thanks for gatekeeping,”

“No, they’re actually leaving,” Midori said, looking over Jungkook, who frowned at her, not pleased to be kicked out. “You have a test tomorrow!”

“I don’t need to study, I’ll pass,” Jungkook protested.

“Let’s go kid,” Jimin said, getting to his feet and walking over to Eunha and Sooah. “I’ll cover your class tomorrow, don’t worry,”

“Are you sure?” Sooah asked.

“No problem,” Jimin said, giving her a tight hug and a kiss on her head. “Get some rest, okay?”

“You too,” Sooah said.

“We need to catch up,” Jimin told Eunha, still holding Sooah in his arms. “Coffee next week?”

“Sure,” Eunha said, too tired to say something else.

The guys finally left after saying goodbye to their girlfriends for about 10 minutes. Ji-Eun left for her room, saying goodbye to her roommates and Eunha’s brother. Midori disappeared, too, while Sooah insisted that Eunha should sleep with her in her room, leaving Dae-Hyun Eunha’s room for the night. In that agreement, Eunha took her brother to her room, showing him the bathroom he could use and what he definitely shouldn’t touch.

“Please don’t sleep on my bed wearing sweaty or dirty clothes,” Eunha said.

“Alright,” Dae-hyun yawned. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a hotel to stay tomorrow,”

“You can stay here,” Eunha insisted. “It’s only a couple of days, right?”

“A week, so don’t worry, dork,” he said with a genuine smile. “I’ll leave tomorrow very early. Thanks for letting me crash,”

“It’s good to have you here,” she sincerely said.

“Go to sleep, we’ll catch up tomorrow,” he demanded, pushing her out of her own room. “You look exhausted,”

“Don’t touch my stuff!”

Dae-Hyun looked at the time, feeling very tired suddenly. Eunha didn’t say anything about not wearing a shirt to sleep, so he stripped into his underwear and locked the door from the inside, jumping to Eunha’s bed to finally relax. He closed his eyes and let out the longest and loudest sigh, feeling content with his decision to come to the city.

He was falling asleep when he heard grunting coming from outside, which didn’t make sense, since the house was protected by a tall fence. He thought he was too tired, probably imagining things, but then he heard panting again. Sitting up in bed, wishing he had his baseball bat with him, Dae-Hyun tried to fix his sight, rubbing his eyes, and looking over the balcony. Just then, a hand appeared in view, scaring the shit out of him.

“The hell?!” Dae-Hyun jumped, ready to beat the person climbing the wall. He opened the door, getting outside, holding Eunha’s desk lamp as a bat. The climber landed on the balcony, and was just as startled as him.

“Who the hell are you?!” Dae-Hyun asked, already swinging the lamp.

“Me? Who the hell are you?!” Taehyung avoided the swing. He seemed very confused as to why a guy wearing only boxers was coming out of his girlfriend’s room. They both recognized each other at the same time, having met only through Instagram posts.

“Taehyung?” Dae-Hyun asked, lowering the lamp.

“You’re Dae-Hyun?” Taehyung asked, feeling very embarrassed to have his girlfriend’s brother caught him sneaking into her room in the middle of the night. This was definitely not a great first impression.

(Previous) (Next)

[missduplicities]

4 hour trip for a 20 minute meeting 🥱

[missduplicities]

Chapter 57: Never gets old

Some things could never get old for Taehyung when it came to Eunha. He still felt a rush of excitement run through his body every time she walked into a room, and his heart would melt as soon as their eyes met. Eunha loved calling every night, especially now that, due to her incredible amount of work, they couldn’t see each other daily. They would stay on video calls until one fell asleep, sometimes even waking up together, still on call.

“Taehyung?” he heard her soft voice call his name. For a second, he thought he would open his eyes to find her beside him in bed. Instead, he saw her face on the dimly lit screen of his phone.

“Hi,” he said in a hoarse voice, still waking up.

“Hi,” she said back smiling. “You should get up, love. It’s getting late,”

 He had forgotten to set the alarm again. The previous night, he had stayed up doing his homework while Eunha worked on a song she was producing.

“What are you doing today?” Taehyung asked, although he already knew she had to work.

“We’re doing some promotion shows for the artist Yoongi signed,” she sighed, feeling the same frustration as him of being pulled apart again. “It will take us all day,”

“Jimin and Hobi-hyung asked me to help them record a video with the trainees,” Taehyung said, finally getting off the bed. “The studio is gaining so much popularity after that video of Jimin went viral,”

“That’s great for them, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Though, at this pace, I’m going to need assistance recording and editing,”

“What about Tae-Jun?” Eunha didn’t get what Taehyung was insinuating.

“Tae-Jun?” he asked, clearly confused.

“Yeah, you could ask him to help you. It would be an opportunity for you guys to spend time together,”

“I think that’s the last thing he wants. He’d rather spent a night in jail than an evening with me,” he said. “Have you seen James, by the way?”

“Yeah, he brought us coffee to the studio yesterday,” Eunha said with a smile, walking out of her room, and taking him with her. “He’s living with a friend from his company, and he seems to be doing better,” “I’ll text him later,” Taehyung left the phone on the bed and proceeded to change his clothes, barely out of frame. Eunha pretended she didn’t see his topless back, changing the conversation as soon as he returned.

“Hey, did you hear that Jimin and Sooah are going away for the weekend?” she said.

“Yeah, he’s nervous about meeting her family,” Taehyung said as he put on a baseball cap he randomly picked from the floor. For some reason, that made Eunha even more nervous.

“He’ll meet my family, too,” Eunha said. “They’re throwing a party for Sooah’s mom at my place,”

“Oh,” Taehyung couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous. “Maybe we should go, too,”

“Or… we could stay at your place all weekend,” Eunha said casually, avoiding meeting his eyes for a minute. “I heard Hoseok is also visiting his family. His sister’s wedding is very soon and he said she needed help. Jungkook will oversee the studio, and help Jin with the restaurant, right?”

He didn’t know how she found out all this, but it was more surprising how straightforward she was about wanting to come over. Something very instinctual was making his head dizzy, so he had trouble hearing what she started saying.

“…so I thought we could go. What do you think?

“Sorry?”

“I said there’s this art exhibition I thought you’d like. We can go and have a proper date for a change,”

“I’d love that,” he said before she could finish, making her smile. That was something else he had not gotten tired of, her smile. “I want to see you so bad,”

Eunha was caught up by the longing in his voice, blushing a little.

“Me too,” she sincerely said. She was getting more nervous at how he looked at her when she remembered they both had things to do. “You’ll be late for school if you don’t leave now,”

“I’ll go now,” Taehyung said, finally coming out of his room. “I love you,”

“I love you, too,” Eunha said, smiling back at him before ending the call.

“That was disgusting,” Tae-Jun said from the sofa, where he was playing video games. Taehyung wasn’t expecting to see him, he was sure he was the only one left in the apartment.

“Why are you not in school?”

“I don’t have classes today,” Tae-Jun said with his eyes still fixed on the TV.

“Are you staying at home all day?” he asked, kind of wishing he said no.

“Why? Did you have plans with your girlfriend?” he said in a teasing way. “I can use headphones, you know?”

“What about your practice?”

“I only have to work today,” Tae-Jun said, pausing his game and going to the kitchen for some cereal.

“Hobi-hyung asked me to record a new video for his dance studio,” Taehyung said. “You want to come?”

“You’re going to Hope Studio?” Tae-Jun tried his best not to sound too excited, failing incredibly.

“Yeah, you follow them? I make and edit the videos,” Taehyung said, rather proud. “Did you see Jimin going viral last week?”

“I have to work later…” Tae-Jun said, more to himself than to Taehyung.

“It’s not too far from the restaurant,” Taehyung said, taking his beanie and putting it on. “I could actually use some help,”

“Fine,” Tae-Jun sighed, finishing his bowl of cereal and leaving it on the counter. “I’ll go,”

Even though he was nervous, Taehyung was happy that his brother had finally agreed to spend some time with him. It wasn’t the ideal plan, but it was something.

It was a bit awkward at first, as they walked in silence to the subway station. Being a bit nervous, he decided to text Eunha.

Taehyung: What do I talk about with Tae-Jun?

Eunha: hi

Eunha: hmm I don’t know

Eunha: Ask him about his job?

“Are you liking your job?” Taehyung asked, making him startle a little since he wasn’t expecting his question.

“Uhm, it pays, so yeah?” the guy awkwardly said.

“Jinnie-hyung – I mean, Seokjin-ssi, he is really nice, isn’t he?”

“How come he is rich?” Tae-Jun bluntly asked. “Aren’t you about the same age?”

“No, he is much older than me,” Taehyung said, frowning a little. “He started working from a young age,”

“He’s got some massive shoulders,” Tae-Jun said out of nowhere, not adding anything else.

“Yeah, I guess,” Taehyung said, clearly confused.

“Do you think that’s genetic? Or does he work out?” Tae-Jun seriously asked. “My genes suck,”

“We have the same genes,”

“Exactly,” Jun gave him a side-eye look that made Taehyung a bit self-conscious. “I’m taller than most kids my age, but they’re stronger than me. I want to be Center when I debut. I want all eyes on me,”

This was the closest thing to a conversation they’d had, and Taehyung was a bit anxious about it ending and him not knowing what to talk about. They had been walking for a while now when Jun asked a random question.

“Why don’t you have a car?” Tae-Jun was actually curious, not trying to be rude or anything.

“Cars are expensive,” Taehyung said. “Besides, Jimin lets us use his and we pay gas,”

“Jungkook said he’s getting a motorcycle,” Jun pointed out.

“Yeah, which means I’ll get to use the car more,” Taehyung happily said. “Do you know how to drive?”

Tae-Jun nodded.

“Did Dad teach you?” Taehyung asked, not ready to end the conversation.

“No, Noona did,” Jun said. This time it was Taehyung who went silent. “Did Dad teach you?”

“No,” Taehyung said in a low voice. “He was always busy. Seokjin did. He needed all of us to learn so he wasn’t the only designated driver,”

“When I have money, I’m going to buy a car,” Tae-Jun promised himself out loud, making Taehyung smile a little. Once they got in the subway, the conversation was interrupted again, but Taehyung saw it as an opportunity to talk to his girlfriend.

Eunha: how is it going?

Taehyung: good, I think

Taehyung: Do you think my genes are bad?

Eunha: What?

Taehyung: My shoulders are not broad

Eunha: What is this about?

Eunha: Your shoulders are perfect

Eunha: They’re like my favorite place to sleep in

Eunha: Very comfortable

Eunha: And kissable

Taehyung blushed hard, even noticeable with his mask on. Tae-Jun looked at him, slightly grinning in an annoying way. When they finally got to their station, Taehyung let his brother know they had to get off and walk a couple of streets. As they walked in awkward silence again, Taehyung was looking for possible topics to talk about but was scared to trigger his brother’s anger with some stupid question.

“What was your girlfriend’s name?” Tae-Jun asked out of nowhere.

“Eunha,” Taehyung said with a silly smile on his face. “Seong Eunha. Why?”

Tae-Jun got out his phone and looked her up on Instagram, finding her profile very fast. He scrolled a bit, looking at pictures of her and her friends.

“She’s hot,” he bluntly said, succeeding at bothering his brother, who glanced at him.

“Stop that,” he warned him.

“What? It’s a compliment,” Jun laughed. “She is nice, too,”

“Look, we’re here,” Taehyung pushed him a little bit too hard as they reached the stairs of Hope Studio. Tae-Jun was smirking, clearly having fun messing with his brother. “I just need you to help me make sure the still camera is recording, and that it doesn’t get kicked or anything. I’ll make some handheld takes,”

“Wow, this place is cool!” Tae-Jun said, already going into one of the studios. “I’ve seen lots of pictures taken here,”

“Oh, my roommates!” Hoseok came to the lobby to greet them, wearing his baggy shirt and colorful shorts. “The kids are getting ready at Studio A, we can start setting up the cameras,”

“Sure,” Taehyung walked straight to the room, but Tae-Jun stayed a bit behind, looking at the place.

“I imagine it’s not as fancy as your company’s facilities,” Hoseok said, putting an arm around Jun’s shoulders. “But it’s home,” “It’s pretty cool,” he tried not to sound too excited, but his eyes couldn’t lie.

“You’re always welcome,” Hoseok said. “If you need a private place to practice or anything, just let me know,”

As they entered the studio, Jun was surprised to see that the kids Hoseok talked about were probably older than him or at least around his age. He felt a bit intimidated when they started dancing, which rarely happened since he considered himself to be the best in the company. However, this was not his company, and he was reminded that the competition was not only happening inside that building but in many others at the same time.

Taehyung asked for a few extra takes, so Jun got to see the dance a lot of times, wanting to go home to try to replicate it. Among the dancers, there was a girl who Tae-Jun thought danced pretty well. He tried not to stare for too long, but they actually exchanged looks a couple of times.

Once they finished recording, Hoseok asked them to stay to review some details about their upcoming events and practices. Taehyung asked his brother to help him make a backup of the videos before they left, so he went to the other studio to do so. While the files were transferred, Tae-Jun reviewed the dance and easily did it by himself. Pleased to know that he was still good enough to learn from sight, Tae-Jun went back to Studio A with his brother and roommate but bumped into the girl he saw earlier. She was with a couple of friends, a guy, and another girl.

“You’re from Crown Entertainment, aren’t you?” the guy asked him just as he was about to open the door. “You’re Kim Daniel,”

He couldn’t help but feel a bit proud about getting recognized, but he still wanted to look cool, so he simply looked back at them.

“Are you also trainees?” Tae-Jun asked.

“Yeah,” the guy said. “We’re with OMMO,”

“Cool,” he smiled. “Sorry, I don’t know your names,” “I’m Tae-Il,” the guy said. “This is Gaeul and Kyujin,”

The girls simply bowed to greet them, so he bowed back.

“Are Crown trainees also in the special trainee program at Hope Studio?” Kyujin, the girl he had seen dance, asked.

“The what?” Tae-Jun asked, genuinely confused.

“We’re preparing for debut,” the other girl said. “So our company made sure we’re learning from the best,”

“Cool,” he said again, scratching the back of his head, not really wanting to socialize.

“Are you Coach Jung’s intern?” Tae-Il asked.

“No, I’m his roommate,” Jun said, trying to impress them, though it backfired.

“So, you’re not living with your group?” Tae-Il asked. “Or are you not part of a group?”

This one hurt. He had been training for a group for more than a year, but one day he was simply kicked out, watching as they got to debut together. He was about to say something very hurtful to the nosy kid when Hoseok and Taehyung came out of the studio.

“Did you do the backup already?” Taehyung asked, and he just nodded. “Let’s go, then,”

Jun grabbed his bag and walked outside the building so fast that Taehyung had to sprint a little to catch him.

“Wait,” he said, already out of breath. “What’s the hurry?”

“Am I free now?” Jun dryly asked. “I have to go to work,” “You still have time to eat something, don’t you?”

“I’m not hungry,” he stated. Taehyung knew it was better not to push him or force him to spend time with him, hoping it would naturally come one day.

“Alright, will you be home late today?”

“I don’t know. Seokjin-nim said there’s a lot to do,”

“Ok, text me if you need me to pick you up or something,” Taehyung said as he opened his bag, looking for something. After a while, he put out a keyset and handed it to him. “Orange is for the building gate and green is for the main door. Jimin is out of the city, he said you can stay in his room as long as you keep it clean. I’ll go out with Eunha later, but I think I’ll be home by the time you arrive,”

Tae-Jun didn’t say anything, he just took the keys and put them in his bag, standing awkwardly in front of his brother.

***

Eunha was exhausted after spending all morning trying to fix a vocal chain with Yoongi in the studio. Even Han had to step in at some point to try to help them make it sound as good as they wanted, but at a certain point, they were just hearing noises, unable to advance.

“Was the fifth version better?” Yoongi asked, sitting on the floor, defeated.

“I can’t even remember which one was Number 5,” Eunha grunted. “Why don’t we get a break and go for some coffee?”

“No, I think we’ll call it a day,” Yoongi unexpectedly said as he turned off the screen. “I’m meeting Namjoon, we’re going tuxedo shopping, apparently,”

“For the wedding?” Eunha asked, instantly relieved as they stopped working.

“Yeah,” Yoongi said, fixing his hair under his beanie. “Hobi said he’s planning on inviting the girls,” “What girls?”

“You and your roommates,” Yoongi said.

“Why does he have a say on that? It’s not like it is his wedding,”

“Because they’re kind of rich and they do crazy stuff like that,” Yoongi sighed. “Anyways, can you come early tomorrow to help me finish this?”

“Sure,” Eunha said.

“Cool, bye,” Yoongi seemed to be in a hurry to leave, barely saying goodbye. Eunha was too tired to move from the couch, so she decided to stay a bit longer there.

Eunha: Hi

Taehyung: HI!!

Taehyung: I missed you

Eunha: I’m free!

Eunha: where are you?

Taehyung: Coffee shop with James

Taehyung: Want me to meet you there?

Eunha: Yeah, I could use a nap while you get here

Taehyung: Baby, if you’re tired we can just go to sleep

Taehyung: We can go to the exhibit any other day

Eunha: No, I really want us to go today

Eunha: God knows when we’ll be free at the same time again

Taehyung: Alright, I’ll see you in 20

Eunha: Love you

Taehyung: Love you more

She opened her eyes at the sound of the doorknob turning, not knowing how long she had been asleep. She had one of those naps that messed with your head, not sure about what day even was it. It took her a full minute for her eyes to send the signal to her brain that it was Taehyung who was walking inside the studio, holding what she immediately recognized as an Iced Americano.

“Sorry I took so long, I had to catch up with James,” Taehyung said, walking towards her and planting a sweet kiss on the top of her head. “He says hi and sends you this,”

“Thanks,” Eunha said, grabbing the cup and smiling at him.

“Looks like you got some sleep,” he chuckled, sitting next to her.

“Apparently,” she was very much still asleep, so she took a sip from her coffee, letting the delicious drink spread through her whole body.

“You’re so cute,” Taehyung said with a big smile, getting close enough to kiss her cheek. “I missed you a lot,”

“I missed you, too,” she put aside her beloved drink to get closer to him, hiding her face in his neck and breathing him in. “Why do you smell so good?”

Taehyung was glad she couldn’t see his face and how red it was. He was still nervous at her proximity. She breathed in once more before planting a soft kiss on his jaw, then on his cheek, then on his mouth. Taehyung’s hands instinctively going from her arms to her face. As they were getting comfortable, balancing their weight like a pendulum, Taehyung wondered whether they would get to see the art exhibit that day, kind of hoping they didn’t.

It wasn’t in the original plan to go to the art exhibit under the influence. The bottle of wine happened to be in the studio’s minifridge, and they simply had to finish it in one go. They were about to call it off when Han called on the door to say there was a recording scheduled and he needed to use the room. Avoiding eye contact, Taehyung and Eunha said goodbye to the young assistant, who seemed to enjoy the situation too much.

With tipsy steps and a lot of giggles, they managed to get to the art gallery, where they took a few pictures before being asked to leave for making too much of a fuzz. Eunha was a bit nervous about the situation but Taehyung seemed too amused; in fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Taehyung laugh that much.

Finally, they decided to go to his place, since it was closest in walking distance and neither of them felt sober enough to drive. She was happy to see they had a place for themselves, knowing no one could kick them out for being too loud. It had been a while since neither of them had anything else to do, so they relaxed and decided to drink a bit more wine (which Taehyung promised to buy later for Hoseok). This was Eunha’s ideal plan, just spending time together, laughing about nonsense, and sharing the same air.

“I liked you first,” Eunha admitted, her ears red from the alcohol when they were discussing the silly things about their relationship. “But you definitely started flirting first,”

“No, it was you!” Taehyung said with a fake frown.

“You literally made up a story about how we would get a discount for traveling as a couple,” Eunha laughed as a smirk spread on Taehyung’s face at the memory of their trip to Busan. “Admit it, you started flirting first! Making up excuses to hold my hand, making me take pictures of you when you knew you looked so well, looking at me with your beautiful eyes,” Eunha was determined to keep the list going, but Taehyung had other plans. He silenced her with a kiss before she could say anything else. His lips moved slowly against hers with a gentle, lingering touch that told her so much without any words. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him, making him smile against her lips, thinking she’d never been so attractive.

“We’re going to be late,” she said, still on his lips. He couldn’t care less about the museum. “Tae,” “I love it when you call me that,” he said, barely separating from her lips, still with his eyes closed. A shiver with the force of lightning ran through Eunha’s back, but instead of running away, she got closer. Suddenly, all the scenes from the times she had been physically close to him before they were dating played in her head. The day he was her assistant, the time they were lying next to each other on Yoongi’s bed on his birthday, the time in his kitchen when he showed her his pierced ears, that night in the dimly lit alley in Busan when they were just inches apart. All those times she had wished they were this close.

He seemed to be thinking about something similar, since his kisses became hungrier and he closed the remaining distance between them on the sofa, picking up her legs and putting them on top of his. She wondered if she would ever stop getting nervous when it came to him, which made her smile and even giggle.

“What?” he breathed; a bit annoyed with the interruption.

“Nothing,” she chuckled. “I just can’t believe you’re my boyfriend,”

He smiled brightly at her, chuckling too.

“Because I’m too handsome?” he joked.

“Because you’re just perfect,” she said, kissing him again, this time softer.

“I love you,” he said in a whisper. “I love you so much,”

“Tae?” she asked, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

“Hm?”

“Am I… good at it?”

“Good at what?” he asked, taken aback by the sudden inquiry.

“You know… kissing,” she mumbled. He couldn’t put a word to the mix of feelings that formed in his stomach and burst in his chest.

“Are you asking me to grade your kiss?” he chuckled, finding it endearing yet, in a way that was hard to explain, very flattering.

“Stop laughing!” she protested.

“Babe,” that was the first time he called her that. “You’re better than alright,”

“You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?” Eunha sighed.

“No, I’m not!” he chuckled again, gently stroking her arm. “I mean, I’m not the expert, either. It’s me who should be nervous, actually,”

“Hey, it’s not like I’ve gone around all my life making out with guys,” she said defensively.

“So, is this what we’re doing?” he asked with a smirk. “Making out?”

“Isn’t it?” she was nervous again.

“Why did you ask me if you’re doing it right?” he couldn’t let go of it. The proud silly smile appeared back on his face, which was starting to annoy her in the way that she loved to be annoyed.

“Because I’m self-conscious,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “Because I’m not sure if I’m doing any of this good,” “It feels good,” he absentmindedly said, but she decided to ignore that comment since she didn’t want to start blushing like crazy again.

“I just want to be a good girlfriend, you know?”

“You are,” he gave her a kiss on the cheek, knowing this was a serious concern. “And I’m not saying it only because I want to keep kissing you, even though I would like that very much,” he stole a quick glance at her lips, making her heart skip a beat. “You’re like… you’re much more than what I could have dreamed of. I am not saying it to be corny or anything but, seriously, Eunha, not a single day goes by when I don’t look at you and say ‘wow, I really like this girl, how did I get so lucky?’ because, I mean, seriously, look at you…”

“Stop,”

“I can’t believe you’re mine,” there was so much adoration in his words. Eunha felt something warm and heavy drop to her stomach, which she figured was her heart or something. She wanted him to kiss her now. Not the way they had been kissing for the last hour, just a brief brush of his lips simply because it was the most natural feeling in the world.

“So…” he said with a smirk, pressing his face against her cheek. “Can we go back to making out?”

She laughed, feeling drunk with love for the guy who was touching her skin. He kissed the tip of her nose, then her eyelids, then her cheek, making his way down her jaw, spending some time in the intersection between her jaw and her neck, only to go back to her lips. It was funny how comfortable she felt kissing him, considering the fact that she was usually very hesitant about everything else. But this was Taehyung.

He seemed to be getting comfortable as well, pushing against her until they were lying on the couch. She appreciated the fact that he was holding all his body weight in his arms for two reasons; one: because she was too nervous to feel him actually brush against her chest, and two: because she got to see and feel his triceps flex. It was hard to keep a notion of time when there were only the two of them, but she figured they had been in that position for a long time once she felt Taehyung’s arms begin to shake, getting tired of holding his weight. She was fighting the voices that told her to make a move so they could be more comfortable when Yeontan, who had been in Jungkook’s room the whole time, came running down the hall, barking hysterically to the main door. Eunha’s heart skipped a beat, getting scared by the loud barks. Before she could do anything else, she heard the door open, and without thinking she pushed Taehyung so strong that he ended up falling to the floor. A second later, Tae-Jun entered the room.

“Hi!” Eunha said, playing it cool.

“Jesus!” Tae-Jun seemed just as scared as they, probably not expecting to see anyone. “What are you doing on the floor?”

“Flexes,” Taehyung said, attempting and failing to do a single push-up since he was tired. “What are you doing here?”

“I… It’s my free day. I was going to sleep,” he said, finding his brother’s girlfriend’s nervousness kind of suspicious. “I’ll be in Jungkook-hyung’s room, wearing headphones, listening to very loud music. You know, just fyi,”

The youngest guy disappeared behind Jungkook’s room, wearing a smirk on his face very similar to Taehyung’s. Yeontan went in with him, looking like he feared ruining the mood.

“Doing flexes, seriously?” Eunha laughed.

“What was I supposed to say?” Taehyung laughed as well, standing from the floor.

“I can’t believe he thinks we were,” she stopped herself midsentence when she remembered that they, in fact, were doing what Taehyung’s brother thought they were doing. “Do you think he is hungry? He might want to use the kitchen or something,”

“I’m sure he is fine,” Taehyung sighed, stretching his arms over his head. Eunha couldn’t help but look at his biceps, which she rarely noticed. “Are you hungry, though?”

“Not really, you?”

“I’m good,” he smiled before walking towards her, standing right in front of her as he gently lifted her face by the chin, kissing her again. She didn’t know when the alcohol faded from her body, but now that she was sober, she grew very nervous.

“It’s getting late,” she said, breaking the kiss. “I think I should get home,”

“You’re not staying?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“I have to work very early tomorrow,” she said.

“So? I can take you,”

“I don’t think I’d be able to sleep if I stay,” she stupidly said as she nervously laughed.

“Why?” he said with a smirk, knowing damn well that she was nervous.

“Okay,” she said, standing up at once. “I better go before Ji-Eun worries,”

“Alright, alright,” he sighed, giving up on his dream of her staying. “At least let me take you,”

(Previous) (Next)

[missduplicities]

Chapter 56: Little help

The first few weeks of living together with his brother and his roommates were not nearly as bad as Tae-Jun had thought, though he would never admit it out loud. He tried to stay out of the apartment all day, only crashing to sleep after his social service, school, practice, and brand-new job as Taehyung’s friend Seokjin’s helper. With the restaurant’s opening coming, Seokjin needed as much help as he could and had agreed to pay James for cleaning, painting, running some errands, and basically being his assistant. Jun was hesitant at first, but after hearing his payment, he instantly changed his mind.

“We’re having a soft launch first,” Seokjin explained when he and Taehyung were helping Jun move out of his dorm. “A limited food and beverages menu from 4 to 10pm, only to heat the engines, see what people like and what we need for the official opening. I would mostly need you to help me organize the kitchen, make calls, go to the supermarket, and help me finish some details,”

“Sure, ok,” Tae-Jun said.

“Do you like to cook?” Seokjin asked, looking over the rearview mirror.

“Uhm, I’m not particularly great at it,” he was a bit embarrassed to admit.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you the basics and I’ll do the rest,”

Even though his brother had offered he took his bed, Tae-Jun asked to sleep in the living room, feeling too weird to share a room with his brother after years of living apart.

“I hate to be that person, but I’d like to discuss the house rules now that you’re here,” the oldest guy, Jung Hoseok, said once they were all together. “We try to keep the place clean because we want it to be welcoming to our friends, who are usually around. That’s the only thing I’m going to ask,”

“Yes, sir,” Tae-Jun said seriously, knowing that the guy wasn’t joking.

“You can have anything from the fridge and pantry, and if you ever need some personal space or want to rest peacefully, you can use my room,” Park Jimin said with a sincere smile. “I’m not at home that much, anyways,”

“Thanks,” Jun said.

“We all have girlfriends,” Jeon Jungkook said with his mouth full of cereal, sitting on top of the kitchen counter. “So try not to walk around the house naked,”

“I imagine that your company has some strict dating rules that we’re not planning to break,” Hoseok chuckled. “So, you’re not allowed to bring girls over,”

After two weeks, Tae-Jun had gotten used to the pace of the apartment. Jimin and Hoseok were always first to wake up, leaving early to work, and taking Jungkook to school on the days he didn’t take the bus. Jimin was kind enough to wake him up early and make breakfast for him, ensuring he ate something before going to school. Taehyung seemed to struggle to get ready in the mornings, so he always rushed out of flat, which was a relief to Tae-Jun, who still didn’t want to spend much time with him.

Working for Seokjin was easy and almost fun. He got paid to pick paint, chose knives, and learned about different spices and their use. Even though he was much older than him, Seokjin was easy to be around. He didn’t talk much, which Jun appreciated. There were days when Jungkook came to help, which was always fun. Sometimes Jungkook’s girlfriend Midori would show up, too. Jun liked them, and he thought they were very cool.

“I’m trying to convince him to get a Ninja,” Midori told them one night they were painting. “But he insists he wants a Harley,”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Jungkook rolled his eyes. “I’m also interested in a Ducati,”

“Do you know how dangerous motorcycles are?” Seokjin pointed out, slightly frowning at the younger guy.

“But they are cool,” Jungkook said as if it was a convincing point.

“And hot,” Midori added, unaware that her statement made Tae-Jun blush. “I always wanted one,”

“You can ride mine whenever you want,” Jungkook said, putting a strain of hair behind her ear. “I can come and pick you up at school in it,”

“Alright, psychos, back to work,” Seokjin cut them off before they got too handsy in front of the youngest helper.

“How are your roommates treating you, Little Kim?” Midori asked Jun, taking him by surprise.

“Little Kim?” Jungkook chuckled.

“Well, he is the littlest of Kims,” she stated. “There is Professor Kim, Chef Kim, Classmate Kim, and now Little Kim,”

“You can just call me Jun,” Tae-Jun said, still a bit nervous to hold Midori’s gaze for too long.

“I’ll call you Metamon,” Midori said with a smile.

“Why?” Seokjin laughed. “He doesn’t look like Metamon at all,”

“Yeah, he does,” Midori said, walking over to him. “Look at his cute cheeks,”

“No, he’s definitely Eeeve,” Seokjin said.

“Can you discuss what Pokemon I look like when I’m not here?” Tae-Jun was now properly blushing.

“Okay, Eevee,” Midori said.

It was getting late and Tae-Jun was getting tired. Thankfully, his boss called off the day and offered to take him home. But, since Jungkook and his girlfriend were heading to the same place, he accepted the ride.

“Same time tomorrow?” Seokjin asked the boy as they closed the place.

“Uhm, sorry sir,” he said in a low but firm voice. “I have late-night practice tomorrow. I can cover the hours next time,”

“Don’t worry about it,” Seokjin gave him a genuine smile. “How are things at the company?”

“Uhm, good,” he lied. Ever since the incident with James, he had not been doing great at the evaluations, and his teammates were resentful about it. He was used to being alone, but it was harder now that he was everyone’s target. After all, they were all competing against each other.

“Are you hungry, babe?” Jungkook asked Midori from the passenger seat, playing with her hair as she drove, definitely not caring that Tae-Jun was behind them.

“Not really, you?”

“I was thinking of getting a milkshake,” he said in a way that made Tae-Jun consider jumping from the moving car.

“Do you want a milkshake, Eeevee?” Midori asked, turning to Jun in the backseat.

“What?” he was startled, so he started mumbling. “I’m good, thanks,”

“I think you need a milkshake and some fries,” she said, smiling at him. “You’re skinny,”

“Jun-ah, remember when you visited us with your father?” Jungkook asked, reminiscing about the old days. “You had a bowl cut and you were wearing thick glasses. I remember thinking you were nothing like Taehyung,”

Tae-Jun couldn’t agree more.

Dinner with the couple wasn’t as bad as he had expected. Apart from sitting very close, they kept their hands off each other and focused on their meals. Even though she said she wasn’t hungry, Jungkook’s girlfriend helped herself to some nuggets and fries and drank half of Jungkook’s milkshake after insisting she didn’t want one. Tae-Jun was not hungry, so he only ordered an ice cream.

“Please eat something else,” Lee Midori said. “It’s on me, what do you like?”

“I’m good,” Jun insisted.

“Let him have his ice cream,” Jungkook said, munching his fries. “There’s food at home. If he’s hungry he can eat later,”

“How is it being roommates with these cavemen?” Midori asked, trying to make conversation.

“It’s ok,” he said, not wanting to be rude but not quite knowing what to say.

“You can sleep in my room tonight,” Jungkook said, sliding his fries over Tae-Jun in the hopes that he took at least one. “I won’t stay home,”

Tae-Jun didn’t have to ask where he would be spending the night, Midori’s reaction as she cleared her throat and changed the topic spoke enough.

“Are you into sports?” the girl asked out of nowhere.

“I skate,” Jun said. “And I used to play soccer when I was little,”

“Cool!” she smiled.

Jungkook drove on the way back to his place so Midori could take a nap. Tae-Jun pretended to be asleep as well, only so Jungkook didn’t try to start a conversation with him; he simply didn’t feel like talking. Only then he realized how tired he actually was, because it was almost impossible for him to stay awake for too long. He blinked and when he opened his eyes again the car was stopping.

“This is your stop,” Jungkook said as he shook his knee to wake him up. “If you do sleep on my bed, wear clothes,”

“Thanks for the ride,” Tae-Jun said, picking up his bag and getting out of the car. Jungkook left short after, before Jun realized he didn’t have keys and it was too late to ring the bell. He climbed the stairs of the complex, heading to the apartment in the hopes that the door was unlocked. It wasn’t. Unfortunately, Yeontan heard someone trying to get in and ran to the door barking.

“You need to stop forgetting your keys,” Taehyung grunted as he opened the door. “Oh, I thought it was… were you not with Jungkook?”

“Yes,” Tae-Jun said, walking past his brother, getting inside the apartment. Yeontan seemed excited to see him, waggling his tail.

“Where is he?” Taehyung asked, closing the door behind.

“He left with his girlfriend,” Tae-Jun said, getting to his knees to play with the little dog for a bit.

“Are you hungry?” Taehyung asked, a bit nervous. “Jimin made dinner,”

“I had ice cream,” “Please eat well,” the older guy sighed. “Do you have classes tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Jun decided he was done with the conversation, standing up to go to Jungkook’s room. “He let me sleep in here before you ask. I’m not stealing anything, don’t worry,”

“Hey, don’t say stuff like that,” Taehyung frowned. “I never implied-”

“I have enough to pay for a month's rent. I’ll leave on Monday,”

“You don’t have to,” Taehyung said in an almost non-audible voice. “But I understand if you want to leave. I’m not stopping you from leaving, but you can come here whenever you need it,”

“I don’t need you,” Jun said firmly, looking at his brother straight in the eyes.

“I know,” Taehyung said, forcing a smile on his face that came out as a grin. “You’ve done great on your own so far, right?”

Tae-Jun thought he was being sarcastic and was getting angrier when Taehyung started speaking again.

“I know you don’t need me; I just like having you around. I know we don’t know each other that well, and we don’t have to be friends, but I’d like to make an effort at getting to know you better,” Taehyung stayed silent for a full minute, and Jun was too proud to say anything. “I’m not the dick I was before. I was an asshole, I know that,”

“Yeah, you were,” Jun couldn’t stop himself from saying it, making Taehyung laugh a bit.

“You were not an angel, though,” Taehyung chuckled. “You were pretty annoying, but I was always jealous of you,”

“Why?” he asked, not trying to be smart or anything, he just found it impossible to believe that.

“Because you were better than me,” the words came out of Taehyung’s mouth but sounded so distant. Jun didn’t know how to explain the type of anger he was feeling. More than anger, he felt anxious. He didn’t feel like talking. He just wanted to sleep.

“It’s late,” Tae-Jun said, not exactly talking about the current time.

“Right,” Taehyung said, reading the room. “Good night,”

[missduplicities]

OTASD | Chapter 4: I was just tongue-tied

“What did you do yesterday?” Yuna asked Nabi as they walked to their classroom.

“Not much. Went for a walk and stayed home watching movies,” she didn’t know why she felt the need to lie about it, she had stayed home studying (or at least trying to). “You?”

“I was forced to be social,” Eun-Chae sighed. “I went to church with my parents, then they had this amazing idea to invite people over for dinner,”

“Sounds awful,” Nabi said, not joking at all.

“Speaking of church,”

“No thanks!”

“I wasn’t going to invite you,” Eun-Chae rolled her eyes. “I was going to say that the hot guy showed up with his family,”

“Hot guy who?”

“Yuna’s photography class hot guy,”

“Kim Seokjin was at church?”

“So, that’s his name! I spent the whole service trying to remember what he was named. I didn’t know he was Sister Kim’s son,”

“You know her mother?”

“From the church,” Eun-Chae said. “She is worship leader. She has a beautiful voice,”

That makes sense, Nabi thought. All she knew about the guy was that he was on his way to becoming a singer just a while ago.

Something Nabi would never admit was the fact that she found it annoying that this guy who came out of nowhere was becoming relevant in her people’s lives. He wasn’t even hot, he just was a new face, that was it.

During the lunch break, Nabi ditched her friends to continue (and hopefully finish) the book she was reading. She walked to her usual spot, only to light up the resentment she had been feeling earlier, as she saw the guy everyone seemed to be talking about, reading in her spot.

“Oh, hi,” he said as he looked up, fixing his glasses.

“What are you doing here?” this had to be a joke.

“In the library?” he asked, a bit confused. “Reading?”

“And you couldn’t find another spot to read?” she wasn’t usually this pressed about stuff like that, but it was her spot. She didn’t complain when Eun-Chae sat next to the window, even though she liked that seat, too. She never said anything when her parents picked the place when they were out to eat, even on her birthday. She didn’t mind that Yuna took the last spot in the Photography class, even though she had said before that it was something she wanted to try. And she didn’t complain when her father brought up the Kim’s model son in every conversation, even though she wished it was her she was proud about. This was the only thing that was hers. This stupid, little spot in the school library, where she could escape from the world for a while.

“It’s a good spot,” he said quietly. “Away from everyone else,”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, unaware that she was frowning.

“Oh, that’s why you came here, right?” he felt a bit bad for intruding in her alone time, standing up quickly, ready to leave. “There you go, all yours,”

He didn’t have to go. She hated him for doing so. He didn’t have to be nice when she was a dick to him. He was so annoying. She refused to say anything else, so she just sat in the corner, got her iPod and headphones out, and started reading her book. Not long after, she was interrupted by her own thoughts and feelings of remorse. She felt guilty for talking to the guy like that, only then realizing that he was also looking for a place to hide from the world. Unable to keep reading, Nabi left the library earlier than she expected.

The last few hours in school felt like an eternity to Nabi, who desperately needed to get home and disappear for a while. She barely talked to her friends and was even ignoring Dani’s texts. When Eun-Chae offered to take her home, Nabi politely declined, saying she’d like to learn to get there on the bus. She had never done it, so she was a bit nervous. To make things worse, she bumped into Kim Seokjin once more. It was awkward for both of them. He took his distance, quietly standing while waiting for the bus to arrive. She pretended to know what she was doing, getting to the bus with her headphones on, completely unaware that the driver was asking her to pay, which (she didn’t know) Seokjin did for her. Nabi sat next to an elderly woman at the back, while Seokjin chose one seat at the front, which was helpful since she didn’t even know which exactly was her bus stop.

Kim Seokjin: Sorry to bother

Kim Seokjin: Is it okay if I come by later to park your dad’s car in your garage?

Kim Seokjin: My dad took it to the mechanic to get it checked

She had totally forgotten that she had his number. There was that feeling again. She didn’t understand why the familiarity between their families was so infuriating to her.

Ahn Nabi:  sure

Ahn Nabi: please tell me you’re awake

Dani: barely

Dani: what is it?

Ahn Nabi: I hate my dad

Dani: what did he do now?

Ahn Nabi: Well, no, I don’t hate dad

Ahn Nabi: I hate the Kims

Ahn Nabi: They are so nosy

Dani: I love the Kims, they are very nice

Ahn Nabi: didn’t seokjun break your heart?

Dani: yeah, a bit

Dani: But his family is very nice

Dani: I’m sure they’re just trying to be nice

Kim Seokjin: just fyi

Kim Seokjin: we’re five stops away

I didn’t ask, Nabi thought.

Dani: did you finish the book?

Ahn Nabi: Dude, I finally did!

Dani: thoughts?

Ahn Nabi: I was shook with the last scene

Dani: What did you think about the affair?

Kim Seokjin: four stops away

Ahn Nabi: this asshole

Dani: Who? Seb?

Ahn Nabi: Don’t talk to me about Seb!!

Kim Seokjin: 3 stops away 😁

Dani: You’ve got to admit he is hot

Ahn Nabi: He is hot, we all know that, that’s the problem

Dani: You can’t blame her, can you?

Kim Seokjin: next stop is where we get off

Ahn Nabi: 👍

Ahn Nabi: I can’t blame her for wanting one last rough sex night with her high school sweetheart before she was exiled

Ahn Nabi: I mean he is fine as hell

Ahn Nabi: I do blame her for getting married with the man she didn’t love, though

Kim Seokjin: this is where we get off

Dani: Did you see who is playing him in the movie?

Dani: that white dude from that movie where he loses his memory

She waited until Seokjin got off to stand from her seat, avoiding him as much as possible. He seemed to be in a hurry all of a sudden, walking straight to his place without looking back. She thought it was rude of him, even though she had been planning on doing the same.

Nabi thought she had never been so excited to get home. She was determined to enjoy the last couple of days before her parents arrived, which meant she would get to blast the music as loud as she wanted, mostly.

As she went to the kitchen to pick up some leftovers, she heard an engine she recognized approaching. The garage gate opened, and her dad’s car came in. She was trying to come up with an excuse to avoid seeing the guy but was too ashamed to use the ‘sorry I was in the bathroom’ one.

Kim Seokjin: I left the keys in the trunk

Ahn Nabi: Thanks

Nabi froze. She felt something heavy and cold drop to her stomach, immediately followed by a rush of heat that made her face burn. Right above his message, she read what was supposed to be sent to Dani.

Ahn Nabi: I can’t blame her for wanting one last rough sex night with her high school sweetheart before she was exiled

Ahn Nabi: I mean he is fine as hell

Ahn Nabi: I do blame her for getting married with the man she didn’t love, though

Kim Seokjin: next stop is where we get off

Ahn Nabi: *thumbs up*

Kim Seokjin: I left the keys in the trunk

Ahn Nabi: Thanks

(Previous) (Next)

[missduplicities]

Old Tapes and Sunny Days | Chapter 3: One look out my window, there’s trees talking like people

“Hello, baby, how are you?” Nabi’s mom called her for the third time that day. It wasn’t the first time she stayed at home alone, but, for some reason, her parents needed to make sure she was alright this time.

“Hi mom, still studying,” Nabi liked having the house for herself. No one was bothering her for being in her pajamas all day long, and she got to eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted.

“Did you eat?”

“Yeah,”

“Proper food?”

“Yup,” she lied. She had microwave ramyun for breakfast. “How is Berlin?”

“Belgium,” her mom corrected.  “The flight was delayed, the hotel is not the best, to be honest. But I can’t really complain,”

“Is Belgium the one with the waffles?”

“What waffles?”

“Never mind,” Nabi sighed, sad that her mom didn’t know about Belgium’s worldwide famous waffles.

“Honey, can you make sure to water the plants?”

“Sure,”

“The ones in the front garden as well, please,”

“Okay,”

“Well, I must leave. Behave, see you on Wednesday,”

“Bye,”

“Behave,”

“Yup,”

“Study hard,”

“I will. Bye!”

Nabi decided it was the best moment to take a break from studying calculus to water the plants before she forgot again. In moments like that, she liked to romanticize her life, allowing herself to believe for a second that she was a successful entrepreneur that had her own house.

“I need a dog,” she said out loud, thinking of ways to complete her fantasy. She finished watering her mom’s plants and kept on snoozing her responsibilities, going to the armchair that was unofficially her dad’s seat to continue reading the novel she only read when she was alone.

Ahn Nabi: This is disgusting!

Lee Dani: Hello

Lee Dani: What is?

Ahn Nabi: Lara picking Seb over Oliver!!

Lee Dani: Did you finish already?

Ahn Nabi: Almost

Lee Dani: Where are you?

Ahn Nabi: They ran away to the city

Lee Dani: Oh, so you already read the cringy car sex thingAhn Nabi: Gross. I can’t believe she picked Seb

Lee Dani: I like Seb

Ahn Nabi: Of course you do

Her reading and book discussion was interrupted by the doorbell. Nabi seriously considered not opening, after all, her parents were not home and she had clear instructions not to talk to strangers. She stopped moving, and even breathing, just to make sure the unprompted visitor couldn’t hear her. When she was sure they had left, the bell rang again, so she gave up and headed to the door, reminding herself she was an adult who had nothing to be afraid of.

“Hello, dear, how are you?” a woman she had never seen was standing outside her door.

“Good morning. Are you looking for my parents? They’re not home,” Nabi anxiously wondered if she was wrong for revealing that information to the stranger.

“Oh, really? That is Mr. Ahn’s truck, isn’t it?” The lady pointed to her dad’s car across the street.

“Yeah,”

“Well, you see, that’s my house,” the lady kindly said. “I’m trying to get my car out of the garage but I’m afraid your dad’s car is the way,”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Nabi grew very anxious, not even knowing where the keys were. “Give me a minute,”

“Sure, thanks,” the lady just crossed the street and walked inside her house in peace while Nabi had a breakdown for not knowing where her dad had hidden the keys. After 5 minutes which felt like 30, she finally called her parents to ask them.

“Hi, apple pie, how are you?” her dad happily answered the phone.

“Dad, where are your car keys?”

“I have them with me, of course,” he said matter-of-factly. “You don’t even have a license, that’s why I didn’t leave them home,”

“Dad, I need to move the car, the neighbor can’t get out! Where are the copies?”

“I will not fall for that one,”

“I’m serious!”

“I left the copy at Mr. Kim’s place,”

“Dear Lord, why?!” she was losing her patience at the avalanche of inconveniences coming her way.

“Go to the neighbor’s house, apologize, and tell them the copies are on the way,” her dad didn’t give her time to complain about how it wasn’t her who needed to apologize, he simply hung up.

She ran out of the house and crossed the street, heading to the neighbor’s house.

“I’m so sorry, my dad left but he said keys are on the way,” she told the lady, who was struggling to sit her baby in the baby seat of her own car.

“No worries, we’ll wait,” it was almost annoying how peaceful she was. “I’m Mrs. Choi, by the way. Choi Ji-woo. This is my son Hajoon,”

“Hi, I’m Nabi,” she was still too anxious to socialize, but she appreciated the lady’s effort to make things less awkward.

“We moved in last week,” the lady said. “I met your mother the other day, she’s very kind,”

“Oh, are you new to the city?”

“We lived in America for the past couple of years, but we’re originally from Gwangu,”

“Oh, that’s so cool!” Nabi said, trying to keep the conversation going. “Welcome! Or, well, welcome back I guess, ha-ha,” she awkwardly laughed. “The neighborhood is nice and quiet. You won’t have any trouble. Well, I guess we’re the trouble right now, I’m so sorry for that. I guess Dad didn’t know that there were people living in this house now. I don’t know what was on his mind when he parked here, I’m so sorry,”

She desperately needed to stop talking. She was actually starting to sweat from the embarrassment. Just as if she needed more humiliation, her dad’s friend’s handsome son was walking across the street, heading straight to where she was.

“Hi,” Kim Seokjin casually greeted. “Your dad called. Here are the keys,”

“Oh, thanks. Sorry for the disturbance. Mrs. Choi, this is Kim Seokjin, he lives nearby. He goes to my school,” Why am I saying this? Somebody stop me! she thought. “He is a friend of my dad, well, he is the son of my dad’s friend,”

“Nice to meet you,” Seokjin bowed to greet the lady, clearly confused by the sudden introduction.

“Oh, nice to meet you, too,” Mrs. Choi chuckled, clearly amused with the situation. Her baby didn’t seem to be having such a great time, getting impatient as to why his mother had not moved the car yet. “I think this one really wants to go to his doctor’s appointment,”

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” she handed back the keys to Seokjin, who looked at her very confused. “I don’t have a license,”

He sighed, took the keys, and helped her move the car, parking it outside her home as it should. Mrs. Choi thanked them and finally left with her kid, leaving Nabi and Seokjin alone in the street.

“Thanks,” was all Nabi could say.

“Sure,” he said, putting the keys to her dad’s car back in his pocket. “Mom asks if you have food,”

“Of course I do,” she couldn’t stop herself from frowning.

“Okay,” he sighed, scratching the back of his head. “She asked me to call you to invite you to dinner, but I don’t have your number. I realized I gave you mine but you didn’t give me yours,”

He handed her his fancy phone, letting her know he was not leaving until she gave him her number. She gave up, feeling compromised to do so since he had come all the way to move her dad’s car.

“Tell your mom thanks, but I have food,” she said, getting very frustrated for some reason.

“Alright,” he put his phone in his hoodie’s pocket and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, I guess I’ll go back home,”

“Okay, thank you,”

“No problem,” he smiled before turning around and leaving. Nabi ran back home, locked the door behind her, and hid in her room, feeling even more embarrassed as she realized she was still wearing her pajamas, and she was not wearing the minimum amount of makeup.

(Previous) (Next)

[missduplicities]

Chapter 2: Beware of The Kims

At this point, Nabi was used to navigating school on her own. She had a couple friends from class and the extracurricular courses, but she wasn’t the type of hanging in packs. She was a silent reader, and a silent everything, actually. She liked to sit at the back of the classroom where she could simply take notes and not ask questions.

Nabi usually walked to the cafeteria with her two closest class friends during recess and lunchtime. Though on the days she needed to be alone, she went to her favorite hidden spot in the library, next to the Religion section, which everyone ignored.

One of those days, she managed to escape her friends for some alone time at the library, only because she had one objective in mind: finishing a novel she was too ashamed to be seen reading in public.

Lee Dani: Did you finish Chapter 13?

Ahn Nabi: I’m on it, sh!!

Lee Dani: omgomgomg

Lee Dani: aren’t you at school?

Lee Dani: you little perv! Hahaha

Ahn Nabi: shut up

“Excuse me?” she heard someone call. As fast as she could, Nabi shut the book closed and threw her phone to the floor, right next to where she was sitting. “Do you know if we’re allowed to eat in here?”

She didn’t even lift her gaze; she was too ashamed to look someone in the eye after what she had just read in the last few pages.

“It’s just an apple, nothing smelly or anything,” the guy said, unaware of how uncomfortable she was.

“I mean, as long as no one sees you, I don’t think you’ll have a problem,” she said, doing her best at remaining calm. Just as she met the guy’s eyes, however, she started freaking out again. “Kim Seokjin?”

“Sorry, who are you?” the guy seemed very confused, not expecting to hear his name out of her mouth.

“I literally had dinner with you and your family the other night,” she said, a bit annoyed.

“Oh, you’re Mr. Ahn’s daughter,” he said with a weird smile. “Nabi, right? You know, you’re basically the reason Mom made me come here,”

“To the library?” she asked, very confused.

“No, to this school,” he chuckled awkwardly.

“You study here now?” she tried not to sound too rude, failing a little. “How did you manage to get an admission in the middle of the term?”

“By taking an exam?” he frowned a little, not appreciating her tone.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in college now?” she asked.

“I… lost a year,” he muttered, becoming a bit smaller. Nabi felt bad for interrogating him like that, realizing just now that this was their first proper conversation.

“You can eat in here as long as it’s not smelly and you pick up your trash,” she changed the conversation out of nowhere, picking up her bag, ready to leave. “See you, then,”

“Sure,”

Ahn Nabi: guess what?

Lee Dani: Did you finish the book?!

Lee Dani: What did you think about the boat scene?

Ahn Nabi: what boat scene?

Ahn Nabi: No, I haven’t finished

Ahn Nabi: Seokjun’s brother is at school

Lee Dani: Doing what?

Ahn Nabi: Studying, apparently

Lee Dani: Beware of the Kims!

“So, Mr. Kim’s youngest son rolled in my school,” Nabi said as soon as she joined her dad in the front seat of his car as he picked her up.

“Yeah, they’re friends with the principal. They’re letting him finish by credits,”

“What does that mean?”

“It means he only needs to attend certain classes, present the exams, and hand in some work,”

“That’s not fair!” she grunted. “You know, most of us have to study our asses off for years. He just shows up and they let him in?”

“You better be nice to him,” her dad warned her. “He is not your competition, he is your ally,”

“If he’s trying to apply to at least one of the colleges I am, then he is a threat,”

Nabi’s dad laughed, though she was not joking.

“I’m sure he’s not in your field. From what Mr. Kim told me, he’s supposed to run the business in a couple years. So, no need to worry about him becoming a neurosurgeon,”

“That’s not what I want to do,” Nabi frowned at her dad, tired of him not paying attention.

“Oh, isn’t it?”

The next time Nabi saw Kim Seokjin was at school again. She and her friends were waiting outside of the laboratory.

“Are you sure he is in our year?” Nabi’s friends Yuna and Eun-Chae were gossiping about boys, as usual, as Nabi went through the reports they had been studying the previous week.

“Well, he’s in my Photography Class,” Eun-Chae said. “Jungwon said he is in his team for the mid-term report,”

“Did Jungwon say if he is single?”

“Yuna, you have a boyfriend,” Nabi laughed, finally joining the conversation.

“We’re not in the best of terms right now, anyway,” Yuna said. “Besides, did you see the guy?”

“What guy?” Nabi asked.

“Why is your head always in the clouds, Nabi-ah?” Yuna whined. “The guy in the cafeteria this morning,”

“I didn’t have lunch with you today,” Nabi simply said.

“Didn’t you?” Yuna asked; she wasn’t the brightest person, but Nabi liked her. “Well, there was this Greek god a couple of tables away from us. Eun-Chae says he’s new,”

“He joined the Photography Class last week,” the other, much calmer girl said. Nabi didn’t need more details; she just knew they were talking about Seokjin. Still, for some reason, she decided not to tell them they kind of knew each other.

After classes, she confirmed her theory when her friends went crazy about the guy who was walking to the bus stop.

“It’s him!” Yuna squeaked. “Gosh, he even walks like a god!”

“You guys are nuts,” Nabi rolled her eyes.

“Come on, you have to admit he is handsome,” Eun-Chae nudged her, trying to get her to say it.

“See you tomorrow,” Nabi walked to the parking lot, where her dad was already waiting for her. She appreciated how her dad always made the effort to pick her up, knowing it was their daily bonding time. “Hi,”

“Evening,” her dad greeted, passing her a smoothie he bought for her on the way there. “Just talked to Mom,”

“How is she?”

“Good, she arrives tomorrow,”

“When are you guys leaving?”

“Friday. Are you sure you can’t come?”

“I have exams on Monday, I mean I could go but I can’t risk arriving here late on-”

“Is that Seokjin?” her dad interrupted her as he saw his friend’s son sitting at the bus stop. “What is he doing there?”

“Waiting for the bus, perhaps?” before she knew it, her dad was rolling down the window as he parked in front of the guy and a few other students.

“Isn’t that Kim Seokjin!” he cheerfully greeted the boy, who seemed taken aback by the sudden recognition.

“Hello, Mr. Ahn,” the guy clumsily bowed his head.

“I thought you had a car, son,” never in her life had Nabi heard his dad call a random guy ‘son’. He was acting just like Yuna and Eun-Chae, fangirling over Kim Seokjin.

“Uh, I had a problem with tires,”

“Dad, we’re not supposed to park here,” Nabi whispered, making sure the guy couldn’t hear her.

“Well, what are you doing there? Get in!” Mr. Ahn said, unlocking the doors.

“Oh, don’t worry, the bus will be here any minute now,” the guy said, clearly uncomfortable.

“Nonsense, we live in the same neighborhood. Get in!” Both Nabi and Seokjin knew at this point that Mr. Ahn wasn’t moving until he got into the car.

“Thank you,” Seokjin said as he got into the back seat. “You really shouldn’t bother,” “No problem at all!” Mr. Ahn said, finally driving away. Nabi decided to fix her eyes on the road; maybe if she didn’t move, she would become invisible.

“You already know Nabi, right?” her dad said.

“Yeah, we met a couple times,” Seokjin cleared his throat, thanking they couldn’t see how he awkwardly he was blushing. He wasn’t good at small talk. “Hi, Nabi,”

“Hello,” she said, almost in a robotic way.

“How is Yongsan treating you? Is it much different from Hanlim?”

“Uhm, school’s good. I didn’t really go to Hanlim a lot,” Seokjin said, clearing his throat again.

“I guess you were too busy being a star, right?” Mr. Ahn laughed with that awkward loud-dad-laugh that made Nabi a bit embarrassed at times. “Well, if you ever have trouble at school or need help, don’t mind asking Nabi for help. She’s top of the class, you know?”

“Oh my God,” Nabi actually sighed out loud, thankfully, no one heard her.

“You should give him your number, honey-girl, in case he needs anything,” Nabi felt sick, actually sick. She felt like she could vomit if the car stopped moving, Why on Earth would her dad use that creepy nickname in front of a stranger?

“Thanks a lot,” Kim Seokjin said. “I’ll keep it in mind,”

“Come on, mouse, give him your phone,” she would have jumped out of the car if it hadn’t been for the red light that made them stop. Nabi didn’t know what to do, she simply passed the guy her phone and let him type his number. She didn’t make eye contact, not once during the 20-minute drive.

“Thanks, I saved my contact as Kim Seokjin,” he said in a small voice.

“Ok,” that’s all she could say. Thankfully, her dad continued his conversation with the guy in the back seat for the rest of the ride, while she kept on reading the book she kept hidden in her backpack.

“Oh, you don’t have to take me home, I can walk from your place,” Seokjin said, and Nabi wondered whether he was just as eager to get out of the car as she was.

“Nonsense!” Mr. Ahn said, and Seokjin knew by now there was no use fighting.

Nabi knew her dad’s friend lived close, but she didn’t know how close. It was ridiculous that they literally lived a couple blocks from each other, and still, every time Nabi’s dad visited Mr. Kim he took the car instead of walking.

“Thanks for the ride, Mr. Ahn,”

“It’s nothing, seriously,” Nabi’s dad said with his big smile. “Please say hi to your mom and dad from me,”

Just as if he had been summoned, Mr. Kim came out of his house, with a similar smile to that Mr. Ahn was wearing.

“What are you doing here? You’re ruining my front lawn,” Mr. Kim joked.

“I found the prince without a carriage, so I decided to bring him home safely,” both fathers laughed, but Seokjin and Nabi didn’t. They were too embarrassed to even move.

“Are you ready for Belgium? It’s a big one, isn’t it?” Mr. Kim had decided to continue the conversation with Nabi’s dad, forcing his son to stay seated for another awkward minute.

“Yeah, but I know we’ll win the case. There’s no need to worry, boss,” Mr. Nabi confidently said.

“The family is coming with you, right?”

“Only my wife,” Mr. Ahn said. “The princess is staying in the castle,”

How on earth was it possible for her dad to keep embarrassing her, even though she was doing a great job at pretending she wasn’t there.

“Well, Ahn Nabi, you’re more than welcome to join us for dinner while your parents are out,” Mr. Kim took Nabi by surprise as he spoke to her directly.

“Keep an eye on her, and tell me if she decides to throw a party,” her dad joked and she just wished he stopped.

“I’ll ask the prince to keep an eye on her,” Mr. Kim said as he winked at his son. “Good thing you already know each other,”

(Previous) (Next)

[missduplicities]

Old Tapes and Sunny Days|| Chapter 1: When everything feels like the movies

By this point in her life, Ahn Nabi was used to packing and unpacking her whole life inside cardboard boxes, going from one house to another, from one city to the next. The expectation and novelty feeling she used to feel every time her parents told her they were moving had now turned into something different, something heavy and uncomfortable.

Even though she was getting used to living in Seoul, she still missed Busan. She couldn’t get quite used to the pace of the capital, where everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Even her parents, who had sworn they would get more free time since they wouldn’t have to travel too much for work, seemed to be hectic all the time. Of course, by this point, she was used to being on her own. After all, that was the only constant in her unpredictable life.

“But there’s a lot to do in Seoul,” her father said one night he picked her up at school. “Name something Busan has that Seoul doesn’t,”

“A beach,” she said.

“Well, that’s one little thing,”

“Nice people,”

“People here are nice, too,” her father tried again to cheer her up.

“When is mom getting home?”

“Tuesday,” her dad said as he went through his texts, even though he always complained about people who drove and texted at the same time. “Did you see the pictures she sent? Greece seems pretty, we should go in the summer,”

“Sure,”

“Did you decide which club you’re joining yet?” her father had been quite insistent about her joining extracurricular activities, saying how she was wasting the great opportunities that her fancy international school offered.

“Not yet,” was all she could say.

“What about de United Nations Model?” her dad suggested. “Or the Mock Trial Club?”

“I was thinking Mu Alpha Theta,” she said. “Or robotics,”

The reason why Nabi didn’t want to join any clubs was the exact reason why she never fully unpacked: she knew she had to leave soon. But, this time, as months passed her parents seemed more and more comfortable with their new lives. Within the first year, her father got a promotion. He was part of a significant firm and was now the official lawyer for one of the most prominent technology corporates in South Korea. They moved to a bigger house in the private sector where her dad’s rich friends lived.

“It’s your birthday soon,” her mother said as they walked together in the supermarket, which was probably Nabi’s favorite activity. “Do you have any plans in mind?”

“Not really, I was thinking maybe we could eat out and go a museum later,”

“Uh, sounds cool,” her mom said while walking down the wine aisle. “What if we go to Jeju for the weekend? It’s been a while since we’ve gone home,”

Nabi didn’t have many memories of living in Jeju, even though it was the place she had spent most of her childhood in. She had been born there and moved until she was around 12, but all she remembered of those years was her busy schedule of all kinds of classes, that kept her entertained while her parents worked so she didn’t have to be home alone.

“Sure, sounds nice,” Nabi said, knowing her mother had already made up her mind on the subject.

At home, once her father arrived, they discussed their weekend escapade to the island. Initially, he was hesitant, not wanting to skip an important meal with his boss and some important people.

“But it’s her birthday!” her mom complained during dinner.

“It’s okay, we can just do something here,” Nabi proposed, trying to calm things down. “I have a presentation on Monday, anyway,” “She’s turning 16!” her mom fought back. In different cultures, turning 16 was something significant. But for Nabi, it was just like any other day, she didn’t understand what the big was.

“But we were hosting, Hye-Sun! You know how important this is!” her dad said, raising his voice.

“Well, then let’s host in Jeju!”

And that’s how Nabi spent her sixteenth birthday with her parents and her dad’s old coworkers at her childhood home. Nabi’s dad and his coworkers prepared the meal, while her mom and the other wives talked about adult stuff she found unpleasant. One of her father’s coworkers brought their kids with them, and they made Nabi babysit them.

“When are we going to the aquarium?” the 8-year-old girl asked her.

“The aquarium?” Nabi asked.

“Mom said there was a pretty aquarium in Jeju,”

“Is there?” Nabi didn’t want to be mean to the kids, but she was too busy studying for her French presentation.

“Do you have a Nintendo?” the little boy, who was probably 10, asked.

“No, I don’t,” Nabi said.

“Do you want to play Mario Kart with me? I brought mine,” the kid offered.

“Can we go build sandcastles?” the girl asked.

“Why don’t you guys watch a movie?” Nabi tried her best to keep them both entertained and safe, or at least alive.

“Hi,” The other teenager that had been forced to join her parents in this awkward trip entered the room. “Your mom said I could join you,”

“Hi, yeah, please,” Nabi didn’t want to sound too eager, but the prospect of talking to someone closer to her age was probably the most exciting thing about her birthday so far. “You are Dani, right?”

“Yup,” the girl said, sitting close to Nabi. “Sorry I didn’t talk much on the way here, I get dizzy during flights,”

“Yeah, me too,” Nabi lied only to sympathize with her.

“You go to Yongsan, right? I go to Dulwich. What grade are you in?”

“Second,” Nabi smiled. “You?”

“Third,” Dani said.

“I’m also in second!” The little girl said, meaning primary school, but still wanting to be a part of the conversation.

“How is your French?” Dani asked, looking at Nabi’s notes.

“Not well, to be honest,”

“What about English?”

“I feel more confident there,” Nabi admitted.

“Cool, I don’t think these dwarfs understand what we’re saying. They can barely speak Korean,” Dani effortlessly switched to speaking in English with a natural British accent that caught Nabi by surprise. “I guess you were also tricked into coming. Dad said Mr. Kim’s hot son was coming,”

“Isn’t this kid Mr. Kim’s son?” Nabi asked, quickly glancing over the kid playing with his Nintendo DS on the couch.

“No, the other Mr. Kim,” Dani said. “The one that came alone,”

“Oh, I still don’t know everyone’s names,” Nabi admitted. “Is Dani your English name or your given name?”

“It’s my name-name,” the older girl laughed. “My mom’s family is from Dublin. Have you ever been there?”

“No, but I’ve been to Scotland. It’s kind of close, right?”

“Yeah, sort of,”

Nabi’s homework was soon forgotten after Dani joined her. They talked for hours, getting to escape from the kids to walk around the island with their parent’s permission. Dani was exactly what Nabi thought a cool girl was; she had one of those new fancy touch phones, she was rocking the pixie cut like that one girl in those vampire movies, and she was so confident while speaking. Nabi wondered if that self-confidence was something that came with age.

After chatting and walking for a couple of hours, Nabi and Dani went back home, where the adults were already sitting at the table. It wasn’t until she took her seat next to her mother that Nabi realized there was someone else in the room that she hadn’t met before. Next to Mr. Kim sat a young and handsome guy, with dark long hair and piercings in both ears. Nabi gave a quick glance at Dani, who nodded as to confirm this was the hot guy she had told her about.

The dinner was as amusing as a business meeting could be. Nabi was happy that her father, and his friends from work, seemed to be having a good time. Everything would have been perfect if it wasn’t for her mom’s surprise cake. She had to sit uncomfortably at a table full of adult strangers who awkwardly sang Happy Birthday to her. Feeling her cheeks burn, she only thanked and refused to meet people’s eyes.

By the end of the day, only Mr. Kim, Dani’s dad, and Nabi’s parents were left. The other two couples had left earlier in their shared private flight, while the rest of the adults comfortably talked while sharing some drinks. Nabi had always admired her parents’ ability to make friends. Her mom and Dani’s mom were comfortable speaking in English, just like the daughters had been a couple hours prior. The men were laughing in the garden, looking much less formal now their boss was gone. Nabi thought she could at least keep talking to Dani for the rest of the night, but she had disappeared with Mr. Kim’s son, and she thought it was better if she gave them some privacy. So, that’s how Nabi spent the final hours of her 16th birthday studying alone in her childhood room.

Almost every weekend after Nabi’s birthday, her dad would meet Mr. Kim and Mr. Lee, Dani’s dad, for casual plans like golfing, cooking, or fishing. Sometimes the wives and kids would get invited, but due to her mom’s busy agenda, Nabi was left alone with the weird combo. At first, it wasn’t that bad. After all, Dani was always friendly to her and she didn’t feel so alone. But whenever Mr. Kim’s son came, she felt like she was third-wheeling; it was clear the older guys had something going on. The guy was a bit douchey; he never spoke to Nabi, acting as if she was never in the room. Dani tried to convince her that he was just too shy, but she knew she only said that because she fancied him.

As the end of the school year approached, it got harder to see Dani. She was in her last year of high school, and it was in her plans to get into a fancy university in the UK. Nabi’s father would constantly bring up the subject, making it clear that he wanted his daughter to be like Mr. Lee’s daughter.

Soon after she graduated from high school, Dani visited Nabi to let her know she was going to Bristol to study Economics. She also confessed that she and Mr. Kim’s son were no longer seeing each other since he was now officially dating some girl from his college. It was a bit weird to Nabi that Dani didn’t look upset about it, probably because she was ready to start her new life abroad.

Something about that last day with Dani made Nabi feel something weird. As she walked down the Han River with her friend, she realized up until this moment, her life had always felt like a movie. To be very specific, her life felt like the VHS in her dad’s collection, where the tape randomly jumped from one scene to the other, not giving many contexts to the characters or the situations they were in. And, somehow, Nabi was in every scene, but she didn’t feel like the main character of her own life. All the experiences belonged to somebody else, and she just happened to be there for the ride.

“Have you thought about college yet?” Dani asked her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“I think so,” Nabi said, not convincing even herself.

“Well, you still have a year to decide,” Dani said with a sweet smile. “Maybe you can apply to Bristol and we can be flatmates,”

“Yeah, that would be nice,”

“Promise to text me, ok?”

“Ok,”

In her third year of high school, Nabi decided she was done wasting time. She was determined to excel in her classes, join a couple of extracurriculars, and get top grades in her university exams. She had a plan, and that was applying to precisely 10 universities. She would apply to three in Korea, two in China, three in America, and five in Europe. She was going to become a Neuroscientist, and, most importantly, she was going to live far from home.

The weekend before the first day of school, her father changed their plans (as was now usual), taking Nabi and her mother to a fancy dinner with one of his coworkers. That day, Nabi was planning on dying and cutting her hair to start the term with a fresh look, instead, she had to doll up to have dinner with the people her father wanted to impress, though she couldn’t care less about it.

“That’s a nice dress, you look pretty,” her mom complimented as she joined Nabi in the living room. “Is it new?”

“No, it’s the only dress I’ve had for years,” she sourly said, getting frustrated with the change of plans. “I don’t get why we have to go. Why can’t I stay home?”

“Because this is an important reunion,”

“You always say that,”

“No, this time it really is,” her mom said while putting on her earrings. “It’s Mr. Lee’s last weekend in Seoul,”

“Dani’s dad is moving?”

“The whole family is, didn’t she tell you?” her mother asks, completely unaware that Dani and Nabi had lost contact since the older girl started college. “They’re all moving to Essex,”

“Why?”

“Mr. Lee will run the European division of the company,” “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

“Good for them and the company, but dad and Mr. Kim are sad. You know they are very close,” it was hilarious to Nabi how much these middle-aged men loved to hang out together, even though they saw each other almost every day at work and outside the office. Nabi always knew she was more like her mother in the social aspects, preferring traveling alone than in groups, and actually enjoying the solitude. Her dad, on the other hand, needed to move in packs, and he was usually the leader. Even at home, Nabi’s dad would always insist on doing stuff together, the three of them.

Nabi had only been to Mr. Kim’s house a couple of times, even though he lived only a couple minutes away by car, but higher on the mountain. The Kims were nice, but they felt too much like a family that came out of a TV show for Nabi’s taste. They were always happy and cheerful, which was a bit annoying. Mrs. Kim was the kind of mom that you would read in a kids’ book; she had a very homey feel. Nabi wasn’t used to that. Her mom was a bit of a superstar in the architect world; she collaborated with different international firms and was part of many important projects abroad. Since she traveled a lot, Nabi didn’t get to spend much time with her growing up and had gotten used to catching up on phone calls or during car rides. But I guess one could say that their relationship was good, they were more like sisters in a way.

Nabi had no choice but to join the wives in the living room while the husbands played pool in Mr. Kim’s basement. By this point, Nabi knew how to act to make them think she was part of the conversation; all she had to do was react, answer the usual questions about how school was, and compliment the host’s meal.

“Are you excited for your last year of high school, dear?” Mrs. Kim asked, looking at her with a warm smile.

“Yeah, I can’t wait to graduate,” Nabi said with fake excitement.

“Have you made up your mind about uni, yet?” Mrs. Lee asked. “Dani told me you were thinking about Bristol?”

“Oh, I don’t know yet,” Nabi politely said.

“Are you following your mom’s steps and becoming a great artist?” Mrs. Kim asked.

“Oh, you can forget about that,” Nabi’s mom chuckled. “She’s betraying me and choosing a different way,”

“Are you studying law, like your dad?” Mrs. Lee asked.

“No, I’m more into science,” Nabi said, getting nervous for some reason.

“My eldest was into medicine at first,” Mrs. Kim said. “But he ended up in Architectural Engineering,”

“Really? I didn’t know that” Nabi’s mom suddenly seemed interested, which was a relief for her.

“Yeah, and my youngest had plans to become an actor, then a singer, and now God knows,” Mrs. Kim laughed. “But, honestly, I’m just glad to have him back home,”

“Seokjin is back?” Mrs. Lee asked.

“Yes, he left the company and is ready to focus on his college applications. I think he is still unsure about what major to choose,”

Nabi took this as the perfect moment to excuse herself to go to the bathroom, leaving the moms to brag about their kids alone. There were a lot of family pictures displayed down the entire corridor to the bathroom. Nabi recognized Seokjun, the douchy oldest son of Mr. Kim, and saw a smaller and goofier version of him she assumed was the younger brother. For Nabi, who was an only child, the concept of siblings was almost alien. For a while, she even considered studying something related to genetics, just so she could get a better hold of the complexity of human nature. She always wondered what was the formula that made her look and behave like both her parents, and often thought about how a slight change in said formula would have a significant impact on the result of a human being.

Thinking about the complexity of nature, Nabi made her way into the bathroom, wondering if she should reconsider her career choice once more. She was too busy thinking about it that she forgot to knock on the door, and simply stepped inside the bathroom.

“Jesus Christ!” she gasped and jumped as she saw someone standing in front of her.

“Holy shit!” the guy yelled, equally scared.

“Sorry, it wasn’t- it wasn’t locked!” she stuttered. It took her a couple of seconds to realize it wasn’t Seokjun, but the guy named Seokjin who was standing right in front of her. He looked very different from the nerdy small kid she had just seen in the family portraits.

“I was… just… getting out…” the guy said, blushing furiously and avoiding eye contact. “All yours,”

He said before storming off. Nabi simply got inside the bathroom and locked the door behind her, more interested in genetics than ever. Suddenly forgetting about her bladder needs, she pulled out her phone and texted Dani for the first time in months.

Ahn Nabi: do you remember Kim Seokjun?

After a few minutes, her friend responded.

Lee Dani: Do you think Jesus could forget Judas? Of course I remember that prat

Ahn Nabi: did you ever meet his brother?

Lee Dani: only in pictures, why?

Ahn Nabi: he looks just like him, it’s scary

Lee Dani: I mean they are brothers, they must have some things in common

Lee Dani: But

Lee Dani: Are we talking about the same person?

Lee Dani has sent a picture. Click to download.

Downloading

Lee Dani:

It was clear that the kid in the picture was him, but it made no sense how much he had changed. Nabi had lots of questions in mind the main being “why do I look just like when I was in primary school?” followed by “should I really study Neuroscience or do I explore Genetics?”

Lee Dani: send me a picture of what he looks like now

Lee Dani: is he cute?

Lee Dani: Look, if you want my advice, nothing good can come from someone’s whose brother is Kim Seokjun

(Next)

[missduplicities]

Minisode: Roommates

The company called Kim Tae-Jun and Shim Joowon to the office, where they met with the staff and none other than Mr. Son. Fortunately for them, the company decided not to kick them out and allow them to continue their training. Of course, there were some consequences to their actions. For starters, Tae-Jun lost his living support, which meant that he would no longer be allowed in the company dorms. Both James and Jun had to complete social service inside and outside the facilities.

One day on their way from school, James bumped into Jiung and told him as much as he could about what had happened. They decided to walk together to the company since their dance lesson would start soon. Jiung got a bit mad at James for not telling him that Jun was straight-up bullying him, and asked if he wanted to press charges against him.

“My dad has very good lawyers,” Jiung seriously said. “Do you want us to ruin his career?”

“No, of course not,” James sighed. “Look, he’s already dealing with the consequences. Things are hard for him, too,”

“Mate, with all due respect, you look like shit,” Jiung said, not trying to be mean or anything. “I saw you falling asleep the other day at the lesson. You’re also skinny, not in a good way. You look sick, dude. I’m sure there’s a lot going on, and from what I know from you so far, you’re making everything that’s in your power to hide it from people,”

“I am okay,” James lied, trying to convince himself. “I’m just fixing my sleep hours,” “How many hours do you sleep a day?” Jiung asked with a frown.

“8,” he lied, but Jiung gave him that I know you’re full of it look. “Fine, around 3,”

“Dude!”

“Look, I just have a lot on my plate right now. I have school, work, training, social service at the clinic, service at the company, and I’m still trying not to drop my grades and company evaluations,” he was losing his temper, actually getting angry with the sense of injustice that he had been trying to drown. “I’m sorry for not having my life solved like you and your rich friends. I’m sorry for not having an important who gives me everything I need. I just have to do it on my own, ok? So if this means I have to work my ass off, eat once, maybe twice a day and sleep only a couple hours, so be it,”

Jiung stopped walking, grabbing James by the wrist.

“Is not like things are all easy for me,” Jiung said, putting James in his senses.

“I’m sorry,”

“It’s okay,” Jiung released his grasp. “I know it sucks. I’m not pretending is just as hard for me as it is for you, but… I don’t know, you’re my friend, I worry about you,”

Friend. Jiung didn’t know how much that single word resonated inside James’ head. Ever since he moved to Korea, he had struggled a lot to feel welcome. He knew Jiung was friendly to him, but he didn’t know he considered him a friend.

“Besides, you’re like the most talented in the company right now. After me, of course,” he mocked him in his best attempt of releasing the tension, probably knowing James had gotten emotional with the previous statement. “I’m sure if I’m debuting it’s next to you,”

“I don’t think I’m debuting,” James admitted.

“Not at this pace,” Jiung smacked his arm, trying to get him into his senses. “You need to slow down. What if you leave your job?”

“Then I wouldn’t eat at all,” James ironically laughed, though he was not joking. “I would probably have to sleep under a bridge or something,”

“Look,” Jiung said very seriously, putting his hands on his hips, reminding James of his mother. “What if you just move in with me?”

James laughed out loud, thinking this was some kind of joke.

“You’re not serious, are you?” James asked once he saw Jiung’s unfaced expression.

“Why not? I have an extra room at home, my dad is always traveling, and mom wouldn’t mind,”

“That’s rich-people behaviour, dude. You can’t just go around picking up kids as if they were stray dogs you want to adopt,”

“Hey, I’m not trying to be mean or anything,” Jiung said in English with his American accent. “It would be fun, it’s like living in the dorms anyways, we can be roomies,”

“Mate, you’re out of your mind,”

“Why?” it was shocking how serious he was about this. “You don’t have to decide now, but dude, honestly, mi casa es tu casa,”

“What was that?”

“Don’t you speak Spanish?”

***

For Kim Tae-Jun, things were not that simple. After losing his dorm coverage, Tae-Jun realized his sister’s economic support wasn’t enough to pay for a place of his own. He had a plan that assured him a place to stay for at least two weeks, which consisted in staying in his room until security actually kicked him out. It didn’t work, of course, so they allowed him to stay an extra week, giving him enough time to either cover the fee or find a new place to live.

He wasn’t surprised to see his brother near the company building one day, thinking he was there to pick up James or something like that; he had been avoiding them both. However, he was surprised to see Taehyung waving at him, walking straight in his direction.

“Why are you ignoring my calls?” Taehyung asked.

“What are you doing here? This is harassment,” Tae-Jun said, putting back his headphones.

“Hey, I’m only here because Eon-Jin called me. She asked me to come to talk to the staff directly and try to persuade them not to kick you out,” Taehyung followed him close behind, knowing he wouldn’t stop walking.

“I don’t need your help,”

“Stop being a dick and look at me,” Taehyung said firmly. “I have an offer for you,”

“Not interested,”

“Jun-ah, stop!” he grabbed the loose strap of his backpack and made him stop, taking his headphones off as well. “I talked to my hyungs,”

“Congratulations, now let me go,”

“My place is not that big, and I know you would hate to live under the same roof as me,” Taehyung said with a hint of annoyance. “Do you remember Seokjin?”

“The rich-handsome one?” Jun asked, not joking.

“Yeah,” Taehyung said. “He’s opening a restaurant soon, and he needs help. You’d only have to work for a couple of hours, and he’d pay you. You can stay at my place until you save enough to pay the dorm fee or something,”

Tae-Jun didn’t say anything. He was upset for so many reasons, and his pride was getting hurt for even considering taking this unrequested help from his brother.

“Listen, I know it will take a long time for us to be completely comfortable around each other, but we can try, right?”

Even though he didn’t show it at the moment, Taehyung was feeling all kinds of ways. He was upset, he was nervous, he was a bit angry, but mostly, he was sad. He had only admitted it to Eunha, but he was now sure he wanted to fix his relationship with his family, or at least try. Especially, he wanted to fix his relationship with his brother.

“Did Eon-Jin pay you to do this?” Tae-Jun asked.

“If she had the money, I think she’d rather pay you for a different dorm instead of taking the risk of us living together,” Taehyung chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “But no, she didn’t. I’m doing this because I want to. Because I-,” he almost didn’t say it, but he knew he needed to be honest. “Because I care about you,”

“Gross, you’re not going to kiss me, are you?” Jun frowned at him, getting really uncomfortable.

“Oh, shut up and get in the car! We’re getting your stuff,”