gyeom's crib
"Cannon!" Jaehyun shouted and started dancing merrily.
Minghao frowned. "Wait, what's 'cannon', again?"
"It's when the cue ball hits both other balls." Mingyu explained. They were playing billiards...
"I don't want no cue ball hitting my balls." Minghao said and restarted everything again.
"Damn it. It's not about that!" Jaehyun said and started teaching his Chinese friend all over again about the rules.
Yugyeom just observed all of them, narrowing his eyes while staring at what are his friend's doing.
Jaehyun, Mingyu and Minghao are playing billiard. Taehyung and Jimin are playing Xbox. While Jungkook is... spacing out. In deep, deep thoughts.
He furrowed his eyebrows then approached him. Jungkook's sitting at the couch while nibbling his bottom lip, her eyes glued at the table right in front of him.
"Hey, Jungkook..." Yugyeom said and sat across him.
"Hey..." He replied.
"You look like shit. Are you okay?" Yugyeom cringed at him.
Jungkook nodded then ate grapes that are placed at the middle of the table, in the basket.
"Bullshit." Minghao sang. "We're friends ever since we're young. I know that face, we know that face." He clicked his tongue then pointed at his cheerless expression.
"By the way, where were you yesterday night? It's Jang Suseonhwa's birthday party and she kept bugging me– asking me why you didn't attended." Mingyu said.
"Suseonhwa? I don't know her." Jungkook frowned.
"That long haired girl during middle school who confessed to you by sending love letters at your locker." Taehyung explained.
"Nah, he won't remember. There are too many who did that." Jimin smirked and laughed. "Of course, he inherited that from me."
"Too bad. You kinda missed lots of fun. The party was lit." Jaehyun said.
Jungkook's lips twitched then remembered some thing.
"W... We'll buy two t-tickets."
He smiled at the thought then non-chalantly shrugged. "I think I had fun more than all of you."
"Eh? You're with someone, aren't you?" Jimin smirked. "I seriously gotta meet this Sana girl who's making you whipped-"
"Hyung, I told you we're just friends." Jungkook said rapidly the same cratered the back of his neck.
"Please." Taehyung snorted.
"Still. I gotta meet her." Jimin teased making him roll his eyes.
All of the sudden, the door bell rang... a perplexed expression was written in all of their faces.. "Who is it?" Minghao furrowed his eyebrows.
Yugyeom's place has a really advance technology. Their doors are all glasses and has a thumb print scanner as well as a code so they could get in. And only them knows the password.
When the person entered. Their faces lit up and a smile was there in their lips. "Hoseok Hyung!" All of them except Jungkook rushed to him. Hoseok rolled his eyes and just cringed at them, he's holding lots of shopping bags then was dropped at the floor because all of them hugged him tightly.
"I missed you Hoseok Hyung!" Yugyeom cried dramatically at him.
"I miss your food, Hoseokie. Especially japchae." Mingyu said and clung on him like a leech.
"Ew. Get off of me, you punks." Hoseok shivered in 'disgust'.
"Aw, come on, Hobi. Admit it, you miss us too." Jaehyun said and smiled sheepishly.
Hoseok sighed. "Fine. I missed all of your butts. Now get off of me."
They laughed then got off from him. "Woah, what is that? Is that for us?" Minghao said with amusement in his eyes.
Hoseok nodded then placed everything on the table, then roamed his eyes around their place. He has been taking care of Jungkook ever since. Though, since Jungkook is always with his friends. Hoseok got fond of them too.
"You punks act as if you aren't from a wealthy family." He said and started giving out what he bought for them.
Yugyeom back hugged Hoseok tightly. "Hey Jungkook, why didn't you tell us Hobi's home already. You know how much we miss him."
He chuckled. "Sorry. I was a bit occupied."
Jaehyun snorted. "Occupied, really? You barely spend time with us now."
Minghao smirked then approached Hoseok. "You know what, Hobi. Jungkook here is–"
"Hey! Don't you dare." Jungkook said.
"-her name is Sana." Minghao finished.
"Goddamnit, Seomyung!" Jungkook sighed frustratedly.
"Sana?" Hoseok frowned. "Why do you like her-"
"I don't like her-"
"-She's Japanese."
"Oh..." Hoseok nodded. "Just make sure she's unlike Yerin."
"Hyung, I don't like her." He said then his phone started ringing.
"Don't worry, she's so far from Yerin." He muttered then went at the balcony, answering the call.
"Hey!"
His lips twitched. It's the first time her voice sounded cheery through the call. "Hey.."
"I was wondering what are you doing?"
"Interested?" He smirked.
"Hm, maybe. That's why I'm asking, right?"
"At my friend's. Why? Missing me?"
"Want my knee on your balls?"
"Ouch..." He chuckled. "You know, you've gotten popular and popular with my friends for some reason. They wanna meet you so bad I don't know why too."
"Really?" He didn't saw but he swore she frowned.
"Yeah... I told them 'no' because you'll probably just diss them because of their hair-"
"When do they wanna meet me?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What? You wanna meet them?"
"You said I should meet new people, right?"
He let out a scoff. "Right. I said that. But not them."
"Why not?"
"They're flirty, you wouldn't want to deal with them-"
She raised her eyebrows. "And you're not?"
"You..." He stopped. Not able to utter a word.
He didn't know what to say. Since... his friends are flirty then so is he. Though, there is still a big difference.
He licked his bottom lip then decided to smoothly change the topic. "Have you eaten lunch? You weren't answering my calls earlier."
"No..." She said bluntly.
"What? Why not?"
"I was too busy with assignments and the essays that I didn't finished yesterday. I had to mute my phone even if you're the only one in my contacts."
"Why would you mute it?" He chuckled.
"You keep on calling and texting and whatever.. I couldn't focus on what I'm doing."
He laughed.
"Though... I'm done already and I'm hungry. The only food I have here is spicy ramen."
"I told you to stop eating too much spicy ramen, you stubborn little ass."
"I know, you jerk. Do you want to go to the convenience store with me?"
His lips twitched. That escalated so quickly...
He contained his smile. There was a few seconds of silence until she spoke again.
"Kook? Are you still there? I'll treat you, let's eat dosirak."
He smiled. "Alright.."
"Great! See you, Kook."
"See you-"
He sighed then glanced at the phone. She hangs up in calls really quick.
Jungkook smiled again then went back inside. "I'll go ahead..." He said.
"Hyung... I'll go." He said whilst facing Hoseok then went outside. He's wearing his usual clothes, black from top to bottom.
Hoseok nodded and hummed.
When he got out, Taehyung smirked. "He's really all into her."
convenience store
"It's so good.." Sana hummed while chewing the cheese kimbap from the dosirak. A dosirak is a packed meal usually bought by students in convenience stores, it consists of a cooked rice and other side dishes.
Jungkook just chuckled. He was sitting across her. "I know someone who can cook cheese kimbap tastier than that."
"Who? Your mom?" She talked, her mouth still full.
"No.. actually." He shook his head. "My mom can't cook."
"It's my grandma. I miss her though." He said and used chopsticks to eat the side dishes on his dosirak.
"Why don't you visit Busan, then?" She frowned. "If you keep on missing your family."
"My grandma lives in Incheon." He spoke.
"Still." She shrugged, then continued eating.
"Some other time... Finals are approaching soon." He lightly chuckled. "Oh.. hey. Jiwon is going back to school from her suspension this week."
She stopped chewing then looked up to him. "Whatever. I don't care."
He frowned. "Why are you two rivals anyway?"
"We're not 'rivals'. She's just the biggest bitch I know besides you."
"I don't think so.." He snorted then laughed. "You and your mouth..." He said.
"I got a dream last night and it was about the Lotte Theme Park. I miss it already. It's weird, honestly... I don't usually get dreams."
He asked. "You're done eating?"
She nodded then took a sip of her drink. He pressed his lips then started arranging their table, cleaning it all out then threw their trash at the proper area so that the lady who's working for the store wouldn't have to.
"Are you okay?" She asked, blinking whilst staring at him as he sits down. "Yeah.. Why wouldn't I be?"
"That's the question... Why wouldn't you be? But you look different, you look sad..." She narrowed her eyes.
He chuckled. "Didn't you see me laughing and all when I'm with you?"
"Yeah but you look sad when you entered.." She shook her head. "No. You can't be sad."
"I'm not sad."
"People lie the most when they say they're fine." She said, making his words go right back at him.
"By the way..." She said while playing at the straw of her drink. "Where did you find 'Magic Shop' ?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you... found out about it?"
"Ah.." He nodded. "Honestly... I just made that up." He sighed.
"Really?"
"Yeah... whenever I think of it.. It just makes me want to hug every sad people and protect them forever. I want them to love themselves, because how can you love others if you don't love yourself?"
"It's okay to not be okay. Because it will pass and it's impermanent. I mean... we all have good and bad days. I think that what's makes us human."
She smiled... reaching her eyes. "Let's find it."
"Find what?"
"The... galaxy inside my heart. The place where I'll enter when I hate being myself... or when I want to disappear forever. I want to find it."
He smiled then extended his arm to arrange her bangs using his long fingers. "Okay... Let's find it together."
Her lips curved sheepishly too then glanced at the moon that's now present. "Look!" She pointed at it.
"The moon is so beautiful."
A waning crescent moon...
He glanced at the moon she's pointing at.
"Yeah... it is." He answered while staring at her.
• • •
I feel like it's cringey oshdkshdn but whatever. It's okay to not be okay. Always remember that. Magic Shop is soooo beautiful— the song itself not this book, haha. Whenever I'm sad, I always listen to it then remember that there are seven men in Seoul who understands me, who's teaching me how to love myself. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. 💘