~넌 스케이트보드를 타니?

???

Taehyung's brain was filled with a thousand question marks all throughout his walk home that night, even until he was getting on the bus for school the next morning. Jimin sat next to him and wondered out loud what was the matter with him.

    "I don't know, Jimin. That's what's the matter. I don't get it."

    "You don't get what?" The bus had stopped just a brief moment before Jimin said that, and among the boarding passengers was Sorah, who he noticed and tried waving to. She locked eyes with them for half a moment; her face entirely blank as she gripped her backpack to the point of her knuckles being white, then tore her eyes away and took a seat toward the front, dropping the backpack at her feet carelessly. "Hey, what's wrong with Sorah?"

   "That's what I don't get!"

   Even when the bell rung for lunch and Taehyung and Jimin were finding a table to sit at, Sorah ignored Jimin's invitation to come and sit with them to eat and pushed past the two coldly, as if they hadn't been speaking to her at all. "Did you make her mad? I don't think I did anything to upset her."

   "No! I'm really confused."

   At the end of the day, Sorah was still completely ignoring him, and his several attempts at a conversation were each shot down with a fiery glare; a departure from her usual icy nature. He was ready to consider it a pretty terrible day until Jeongguk surprised him as he waited for the bus.

    Waiting on the curb with Jimin, he hadn't expected the boy to suddenly appear beside him, wearing a tight-lipped smile that pushed up his cheeks and showed he was up to something. He tapped Taehyung's shoulder and waited for him to turn and welcome him with a suddenly bright expression before offering a single, recently plucked daisy.

   With a cute titter, Taehyung thanked him for the gift and tried to keep his cool as Jeongguk placed a hand on his cheek, tucked his hair behind his ear, and threaded the daisy through two dark brown strands, his eyes scrunching up when he took a step back to see how cute he looked. Taehyung wasn't sure he could make it much longer with Jeongguk continuously giving these little romantic displays; he was afraid his heart might combust.

    "Now that is absolutely disgusting and adorable. I wanna see more," Jimin commented as he watched the two, making them grin. Jeongguk broke away from him and stood quietly by his side until the bus finally pulled up to the curb and opened its doors.

    The three boarded together. Taehyung and Jimin had been getting accustomed to Sorah being with them, so with her being absent, hanging far back in the line of kids getting onto the bus to avoid them, it felt like something was missing. Though, Jeongguk was a welcome addition. Before Jimin and Taehyung took their seats, Jeongguk leaned in close to Taehyung. "Hey, Taehyung? Would you want to come over today? Since you wanted to meet my mom..."

    "Yeah!" He nodded quickly. "Sounds good." With the plans set, Jeongguk took a seat on the bench across from them and watched the scenery fly past outside the small, sqaure window. While they waited, Taehyung and Jimin carried out a hushed conversation.

    "Are you two boyfriends yet??" Jimin whispered.

    "No, Jimin. We've gone on two-ish dates so far."

    "Are you gonna ask him to be your boyfriend?"

    "I.. don't know." Before Jimin could ask why, the bus had paused at Jeongguk's stop, and Taehyung was waving goodbye and apologizing for leaving the boy all alone.

   As they stepped off the bus together, Taehyung felt like he was- maybe- starting to get used to Jeongguk being around, talking to him, holding his hand- actually, not that part yet. As they approached the boy's porch once again, Taehyung noticed the healthy, tended flowers and greenery around the house for the first time. The garden surrounding the porch seemed to make the house offer a welcoming, sunny smile as the two walked inside. Jeongguk had unlocked the door and held it open for Taehyung.

   Timidly, the boy stepped inside, followed by Jeongguk, and the pair took off their shoes. Jeongguk took off toward the kitchen, looking around, but finding no sign of life. He called for his parents, but the house stayed quiet.

    "That's weird. My dad might still be at work, but my mom should be here..." Taehyung stayed at his side while he picked up a sticky note from the counter. Taehyung looked all around the room while he read it. The whole house was very visually pleasing and cohesive, with a single, well thought-out color scheme of grey and white with pops of brown from wooden floors, chairs and tables, and green from potted flowers and succulents. An L-shaped counter housed a breakfast bar at one end, with three barstools which Jeongguk stood beside while he read the note.

    "Darn. Mom's gone for an art conference until tomorrow. I guess she just forgot to mention it again..." He trailed off, looking down at the white, marble counter as he set down the note. He looked up again, at Taehyung. "Sorry... I thought she'd be here today."

   "No worries, I can come over again some other time."

    "You sure it's okay?"

   "Of course it is; I still get to spend time with you, don't I?" Those words seemed to hit Jeongguk like a brick; his already-sweet eyes softening, as if he had never heard kinder words. He gulped, and swallowed words he deemed unfit to be said.

    "Want me to show you around then? I guess there's not a lot to see, but my mom has some really cool paintings hung up."

   "Mhm!" Jeongguk's brief house tour began at the kitchen's sliding glass door, since Dakota, who'd been left out in the backyard, had finally noticed Jeongguk in the kitchen and was whining loudly to be let in to tackle him and get his spit all over his cheek. After that, the dog had trotted around the house after them, while Jeongguk showed Taehyung his living room, which had a few spring-themed paintings. He'd explained that his mother did a set of three paintings to hang in the same spot for each season. Taehyung marveled at that woman's determination to paint four sets of three large, stunning paintings.

   A few more rooms contained more paintings, mostly landscapes, though one was a portrait of Dakota; the wall in the upstairs hallway showed pictures of a young couple holding a baby that heavily resembled Jeongguk.

   "Is that you?" Taehyung asked.

    "Mm-mm. That's my brother," he sighed.

    "I guess you two look a lot alike?"

    "We did when we were younger. Not so much now. That's probably the only thing that kept him from calling me ugly," Jeongguk chuckled, dryly, but he didn't seem to find it funny.

    "That'd be a huge lie, anyway." Taehyung tilted his head to see Jeongguk's face, which had been hidden by his bangs. "I still wonder if you're real every time I see you."

    The boy had to turn his head away, absolutely flustered and having no response to being complimented so boldly. "You can't say things like that when I'm not prepared."

    "Why not? What if I like making you flustered?"

    "Oh, you're one to talk. Don't think I haven't noticed you blushing every time I touch you." Normally sweet-as-sugar Jeongguk's words had quickly turned confident and suave. To demonstrate, he placed a hand on Taehyung's waist and pulled him in until their chests nearly touched, making sharp and heavy eye contact that caused Taehyung's eyes to blow up, and, just as Jeongguk said, he blushed darkly. Jeongguk quickly broke out into a grin, his eyes crinkling up adorably. "Just kidding. But only sort of."

   He let his fingers slip away from Taehyung's waist. "Wanna see my room, now?" Still too stunned to speak, Taehyung nodded and followed behind him. Jeongguk clearly was able to go past merely sweet and gentle, and despite being very attracted to those aspects, Taehyung now wondered just what he was capable of.

    Jeongguk's room was neat, but cozy, the only clutter on the floor being a blanket that had fallen from his bed and what seemed to be his version of pajamas. The bed, dressed in grey sheets and pillows, was tucked into a corner, an alcove with a window seat across from it. On the other side of the room sat a wooden desk, displaying a small white lamp with a pot of blue hydrangeas keeping it company. Taehyung had seen quite a few live plants around the house. He wondered if it was Jeongguk that took care of them. It was definitely in keeping with his nature, to care for whatever was around him. A dog bed was beside it, where Dakota promptly laid and curled up. The closet door stood open, and seemed the interior was neat; the floor completely clear except for a skateboard that looked as if it had been shoved to the side and forgotten.

   "You skate?" Taehyung pointed to the board.

    "Oh- That. I used to, yeah."

    A closer look to the room, this time including the decorations on the walls, revealed shelves holding trailing house plants that gave the illusion of actually growing on the walls like ivy; a canvas that might've been painted by Jeongguk; and a corkboard holding a few tacked-on keychains, a birthday card, and a couple, dusty polaroid pictures of him and a girl, smiling at the camera blissfully.

  Did he have a girlfriend?

   "Yep. This is my room."

    "I like it. It definitely looks like you." It was a bit difficult to describe, but the room seemed to have some distinct Jeongguk quality to it. It showed pieces of his personality and nature.

    The boy flopped backward onto the bed, crumpling the sheets. Now seemed like a good time to ask about the moment that had been in the back of his mind all day.

    "Jeongguk?"

    "Mhm?"

    "I don't know how well you know Sorah, but she is your neighbor... So.. What I'm trying to say is,  do you have any idea why she's so upset all of a sudden? Last night I ran in to her while I was leaving your house and ever since she's been so angry she won't say a word to me."

    Taehyung hadn't expected this kind of reaction. Jeongguk went stiff. Shakily, he sat up, looking so honestly distressed that Taehyung had the impulse to apologize for bringing it up. He took his time to answer, thinking long and hard.

    "Could you... Could you do me a huge favor?"

    "Yeah, what is it?"

    "Tomorrow, after school, could you try to get a hold of her?"

    "I mean, sure but.. why?"

    "I just...  think I need to talk to her."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

I BEEN WAITIN FOR THIS ONE

cant wait to write the next chapter >:)