~

Hoseok walked down a dark street, his boots resonating soft splashes whenever they stepped into a puddle. Raindrops fell on his shoulders, his hair already dripping wet, droplets trailing down his neck. His shirt was now drenched, clinging to his narrow hips in a dangerously suggestive manner. He wiped the raindrops off the gun in his hand, stowing it deep into the pocket of the coat adorned by the man walking beside him.

"Are you serious?" The man scoffed, whacking Hoseok's arm with the back of his hand, causing the latter to snort in laughter. The man frowned, edging closer to Hoseok to share his umbrella with the drenched idiot, but Hoseok shook his head, pushing him away.

"I like the rain," he said, "I don't need an umbrella Yoongs."

"Yoongi or nothing," the man narrowed his eyes at Hoseok. "What the fuck is Yoongs?"

Hoseok shrugged, a small smile on his face as he bumped into Yoongi's shoulder playfully, causing the man to grumble again about how Hoseok was always annoying him. But no one could miss the affectionate smile on his face as he grumbled away.

Yoongi would never admit it out loud, but Hoseok was the closest he had to what he could call a best friend. He had found the man four years ago, shivering in the harsh winter weather amongst discarded crates and empty cardboard boxes, clothed in shredded pants and a shirt with no buttons. His eyes had been full of fear and his hands had dried blood on them.

"Please take the pain away," he had hicupped in between his sobs. "Please end the pain, I don't want to live with this pain."

Yoongi had not known what to do back then, but he had decided to take Hoseok with him regardless. And with some pleading and unending requests to The Supreme One, Hoseok had officially been incorporated into their circle.

"What are you gruelling about?" Hoseok questioned, snapping Yoongi out of his thoughts. He turned to face the man. Hoseok's eyes were scrunched at the corners in somewhat of a smile. Yoongi never wanted to see those eyes in pain again.

"Not about you, that's for sure," Yoongi rolled his eyes, stepping away when Hoseok tried to put his arm around his shoulder. "You're drenched don't touch me."

Hoseok sighed, raising his hands in surrender, moving away from the blond haired man. "Your words are my command sir."

"Idiot," Yoongi grumbled under his breath, trying to hide the smile on his face.

They had reached the main road now, streets lit up by bright lamps and shops bustling with activity. Hoseok noticed a small wine shop in the corner and his eyes lit up.

"Say Yoongs," he started, nudging Yoongi's shoulder, "how about some—"

"No," Yoongi shook his head, "we should head back."

Hoseok frowned, glancing longingly at the wine shop from the corner of his eye. "But you don't even know what I was going to say."

"I said no," Yoongi flicked Hoseok's arm. "You can't hold your liquor for your life. And now's not the time."

"But we finished our job," Hoseok protested, pouting into the distance. "Please Yoongs, I'll go buy a bottle and we'll get going okay? I won't drink until we get home."

Yoongi seemed to ponder over the words, hesitation still clear in his eyes. Hoseok had a tendency of swaying Yoongi's initial plans with his puppy eyes, and hell, the man knew how to work that in his favor.

"Make it fast," Yoongi sighed, not bothering to comment on Hoseok's little celebratory fistbump into the air. "I'll wait at the bus stop. If you aren't back in ten I'm going to leave you here."

"You would never," Hoseok smiled, squeezing Yoongi's arm before he bounded across the street towards the wine shop with giddy eyes.

Yoongi stared in the direction Hoseok had run off to, blinking his eyes in bewilderment at that statement. Because it was a thousand percent true — he would never leave Hoseok alone.

It started raining heavier as Yoongi slid into the bus stop and took a seat in the corner, folding his black umbrella and placing it between his legs. He looked around, people roaming about with umbrellas despite the pouring rain. This was why he loved the small towns in Busan, people went about with their tasks regardless of the weather. Whereas if it rained even a little bit in a huge city like Seoul, people would refuse to step out of their homes.

He scraped at the concrete ground with his shoes, looking in the direction where Hoseok went every now and then. The fifth time he looked up he saw a man running into the bus stop, hands shielded over his head to prevent raindrops from falling into his eyes. He held a paper bag in his hand that was now wet around the edges and almost tearing. He plopped down next to Yoongi, maintaining a respectable distance so that his wet pants wouldn't come in contact with Yoongi's dry ones. Then he started rummaging through the contents of the paper bag, shifting them into the large pockets of his coat. Yoongi realized they were medicines.

Yet another fool like Hoseok who likes the rain, Yoongi guessed, taking in the man's disheveled wet state. His hands were clearly shaking in the cold weather as he stuffed medicines into his coat pocket. Yoongi watched silently for a while as the man dropped a few packets onto the ground, then he found himself crouching down to pick up those packets.

"Here you go," he said, handing them to the man. When the man took the medicines and gratefully looked up, Yoongi felt his heart skip a beat. The last time he had seen such clear, selfless eyes were Hoseok's. "You don't have an umbrella," he muttered, brows furrowing, "do you like the rain?"

The man seemed to be confused by the question and Yoongi wanted to punch himself for his stupid words. Hoseok was a weird guy, not everyone who didn't carry an umbrella specifically liked the rain.

"Forget it," he waved his hand, returning to his seat. He closed his eyes and pulled down his cap, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone.

Even though it hadn't been ten minutes since Hoseok left, Yoongi was growing impatient. He tapped his feet on the ground restlessly, already forming a nice scolding in his head for when Hoseok returns. He felt someone poke his arm and opened his eyes. The man he had helped was now holding out his phone with something typed into the notes. Yoongi furrowed his brows.

"Nice phone," he muttered, causing the man to smile and shake his head, holding out the phone in front of Yoongi's eyes now. "You want me to read?" Yoongi bit his lip, peering at the font.

My grandma has some reunion with her friends and I left home without checking the weather forecast, hence why I don't have an umbrella with me. But I like the rain as well hehe.

Yoongi scoffed, a smile playing at his lips as he took in the man's wet t-shirt and coat. "Of course you like the rain, why am I not surprised?"

Hoseok stepped out of the wine shop, a black polythene bag containing Yoongi's favorite wine bottle inside hanging from his wrist. He squinted his eyes at the bus stop opposite, where he could vaguely make out Yoongi sitting and conversing with someone. He crossed the road, trying to stay away from Yoongi's line of sight as he tried to see who it was that Yoongi was talking to with the softest of smiles.

"You're waiting for the rain to subside, and I'm waiting for my idiot of a friend," Yoongi chuckled, twirling his umbrella between his feet. "How stupid huh?"

Hoseok leaned from behind one of the advertisement boards, eyes growing wide once he recognized the familiar man.

"Jimin?" He smiled, hiding from view and leaning against the advertisement board. Yoongi rarely opened up to people, more rarely so in such a manner, most rarely so to strangers. But Hoseok could somehow see how Jimin could have gotten to Yoongi's soft side in such a short time span.

"Okay it's been really long and I'm going to go check where the fuck my friend decided to run away," Yoongi said, standing up and patting Jimin's head.

He seemed to pause for a moment, eyes drifting from his umbrella to Jimin's wet clothes. Then he sighed, holding out his umbrella to Jimin. The latter looked up in surprise, wide eyes squinting at the umbrella. Yoongi smiled, silently grateful that Hoseok wasn't there to make fun of his actions.

"Take it," he grabbed Jimin's hands, placing the umbrella in them. Jimin shook his head but Yoongi patted his shoulder with a smile. "I insist," he spoke in a commanding voice, "I'll be fine. You need it."

Jimin bowed gratefully, eyes drawn into lines as he smiled. Yoongi smiled at the sight and left the bus stop, passing the advertisement boards that stood nearby. Then he felt someone pull him aside, behind one of the boards. Yoongi crashed into a chest, immediately pushing himself off and getting ready to punch the person. His fist was caught mid-air and Yoongi huffed as Hoseok's face came into view.

"Woah," Hoseok grinned, lowering his fist, "are you trying to kill me or what?"

Yoongi slapped his arm, clenching his fists. "What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you went to the wine shop?"

Hoseok held up the polythene, leaning down to speak into Yoongi's ear. "I got a bottle of Merlot March," he said, grinning as Yoongi's eyes widened in shock.

"You idiot," Yoongi sighed, smiling at the ground. "Can you buy things for yourself instead of spending your money on useless things?"

"It's your favorite wine Yoongs," Hoseok frowned, "something that makes you smile. That's not useless in any way."

Yoongi coughed into his fist, raindrops cascading down his now flushed face. "Shut up you idiot," he mumbled, grabbing Hoseok's arm and pulling him towards the taxi stand. "We can't walk home in this weather. Let's get a cab."

Hoseok sneezed as they stumbled towards the line of cabs, immediately drawing Yoongi's attention. The blond haired man scoffed for the umpteenth time that night, removing the coat from around his own shoulders and throwing it at Hoseok's face. The latter opened his mouth to protest but decided to shut up when a glare was thrown his way.

"Wear it," Yoongi said, rubbing his nose as he opened the door to a cab. "I know it's a little wet but it'll keep you warm until we reach home."

Hoseok smiled as he stepped into the cab after Yoongi, closing the door behind him and making himself comfortable as Yoongi told the driver where they were headed. Once the cab started moving, Yoongi leaned towards the window, looking out at the scenery.

"Yoongs," Hoseok called out, frowning when he didn't get a response. He scooted closer to the man, nudging his shoulder as he tried again. "Yoongs—"

"What?" Yoongi turned to face him and Hoseok grinned. "Did you make me put effort into turning my head just to grin at me like an idiot?"

"Can you stop being rude to me?" Hoseok pouted, punching Yoongi's shoulder. Yoongi knew that if Hoseok put even a bit of his strength into punching his shoulder he would surely sport a bruise.

"Stop pouting," Yoongi scrunched his nose as if he were disgusted but both men knew it was otherwise. "You look stupid when you pout like that."

Hoseok chuckled, turning away from Yoongi as he spoke his next words. "You looked stupid and awkward when you were handing your umbrella to Jimin."

Yoongi held Hoseok's face between his fingers, forcing him to look his way. Then he cocked his head to one side, cheeks slightly flushed at having been caught.

"Why would you spy on me?" He questioned, smiling as Hoseok grinned. "And how do you know that man? Jimin, you said? Your friend?"

Hoseok shook Yoongi's hand off his face, leaning his head against the man's shoulder. "I saw him at Kook's garage. He reminded me too much of Sohye."

Yoongi felt something shift in his gut at the mention of Sohye. Hoseok never brought up his little sister, at least not after that one time he had drunk his ass off and locked himself in the bathroom along with Yoongi, puking every once in a while as he recited how he had run away from home the night Yoongi had found him.

Hoseok had opened up his heart that day, sobbing and choking on his own tears as he told Yoongi how his stepfather had always been abusive, and that night it had gone too far. He had told Yoongi how he had returned from dance class to find his mother dead in the living room. His sister had been hiding in the closet and the two had decided to run away together.

Only Hoseok had made it out, narrowly avoiding the same fate his sister and mother had faced. He had escaped with a broken half of a bottle, its ends dripping with his stepfather's blood, the red liquid finding home on his hands like a beautiful painting on an empty canvas.

"Hoseok," Yoongi's voice was laced with concern as he rubbed the man's head. "It wasn't your fault."

"She was mute Yoongs," the man sighed, squeezing his eyes shut at the haunting memory. "She couldn't even call out to me for help. I should have protected her more. I should have let her go first instead of letting her push me out."

Yoongi held Hoseok's face between his hands again, making him look into his eyes. "It's not your fault, you hear me? You couldn't have done anything more Hoseok, you tried your best. Listen to me."

Hoseok smiled up at the blond haired man, silently leaning back against his shoulder. No more words were exchanged between the two during the ride home, but Yoongi could not shake off the burning sensation in his stomach. He knew the past still haunted Hoseok, despite him trying not to let it surface.

And Hoseok meeting Jimin — Yoongi couldn't understand whether it was for better or for worse.

~

note:
take a shot every time yoongi calls hoseok an idiot 🤠
hey guys, i said a random update on any day of the week so here goes :')
i was having a really bad day yesterday and so i sat and drafted a lot of chapters, but now as i read them i realize they are all over the place so i'll probably rewrite them.
also i woke up with a horrible cold today morning so the next update will probably be only on saturday :(
ily guys i hope you like this 2 am scrawled desperate writing of mine 💖