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At that time Hoseok was watching the cable TV in the living room, waiting for everyone to come. He didn’t remember if it was the ‘Caught On Camera’ show or ‘What Went Down’. What he’s sure is laughing so hard to a bunch of girls dressed in santa outfit that were trying to take a picture on a picnic table and when they jumped, the table breaks and all of them fell. His sister, Jiwoo, passed the room with towel in hands and take a good glance, Hoseok was rolling on the floor.
Then the phone rang on the other room and after a couple of seconds someone picked up, probably his mother. This time the screen on the TV changed into some guys doing bike parkour on a metal railing and hurting their crotch instead. Hoseok shouted a big ‘ouu’ while wincing, that must be such a hell of a pain. Why would they did something like that anyway?
“Hoseokie,” his mom sticks her head out. “It seems like you will be having a guest today.”
“Who?”
“You know, the Kim family that just moved here about like a week ago? No?” Hoseok thinks for a while. There’s so many people that moving into the neighborhood, give it the reason to be a strategic location with high access and this place is new in the town; he could count how many times he saw shipping truck passing on the main road, but he don’t know—couldn’t tell which are which the family were. “Anyway, they’re the one called in just now. Their kid wants to come by and asking for a tutor from you.”
She tells him that the kid is one year younger than him and that he will be going into the same school as him, and also needs a supplementary English tutoring and oh aren’t you good in English, you said the last time you took the test you got the perfect score. Hoseok got the perfect score thanks to Namjoon, to be honest, and wants to tell his mother that but that is impossible. Why that kid (who he really never met) not just call some real tutor is the real question. They don’t even know each other.
“Mom, that would be awkward—“
“Taehyung is already halfway here,” said his mother. Definitely didn’t accept decline. “If you would voluntary teach him, then pudding will be available for you.”
“Ugh.” She always knew. Hoseok’s weakness to pudding. “Shi—alright.”
So here he is, pacing around from the living room to his own room on the second floor because he don’t know what to do. He tried calling Namjoon and sent him messages but not one get a reply, so after a five minutes brainstorming, he decided to just be casual and act cool. Hi, nice to meet you... Kim Taehyung. I’m Jung Hoseok. Oh I heard you need a tutor? Actually I’m not that good with English so pardon me if I confuse you instead. Yeah, that would work. And the front bell ring.
Hoseok’s trying to peek from the stairs. He sees his sister and their puppy, Mickey, on the front door. He scoots to make a clear view, lifting one leg, but then he fall to the steps beneath him instead.
“Hoseok ah!” His sister call out and Hoseok atempted to make a small shriek, ‘yeaa’. “Come here meet your lovely Aunty Shin and help me bring her stuff!”
Hoseok feels so relieved, there’s still time to face that kid. He rarely met with Aunty Shin, which is his father’s younger sister. Their house back in Gwangju was actually face to face. But the things he only heard was that she has a hobby to stay inside the house and writing books. Don’t know what book that is, his mother said he still not have the age to read it. Hoseok often saw Aunty Shin’s husband, but now they’re divorced. And so she came alone.
Aunty Shin greeted, hugged, and even kissed his cheeks with her red lipstick and then giving her two medium size trunks over to him to be taken to the room upstair. Damn, only stay two days here but she needs these big ass trunks. In a while she already talking with Jiwoo and went to the living room.
When Hoseok arrives at the corner room, panting, his sister already shouting again.
“Hoseok, there’s someone who wants to meet you!”
He’s half swearing about his noisy sister while walking downstair while realize it must be Kim Taehyung. What his mother describe was a 13 or 14 years old unknowningly schoolmate bubbly boy. But what Hoseok not prepared was when he came with a smile, a jar of cake on his hands, five centis shorter than him, red snapback, white sweater, duffle bag. And that pants. Hoseok sure there should’ve been no one using that kind of pants in this 21th century, not even this boy. He wears some kind of black baggy(oversized?) cotton pants. And Hoseok furrowing.
“Merry Christmas!” he shouted. “Is this the residence of Jung?”
“...right. You must be Kim Taehyung.”
“Yes!” Taehyung bow and Hoseok follows. He then gives the jar to him (said that Mrs. Jung gonna like that), and when Hoseok noticed its not a cake, but something slope. Pudding. Oh well. He’s the one that’s gonna like it.
“So, you just reach here?”
“Yeah.”
“And I heard you go to the school up the hill too?”
“Yeah.”
Still with the awkwardness, they stand by the door. Because Hoseok actually wants that boy to just go home because he know nothing about teaching. And the pudding is already on his hand. But how could he. He finally called his mother. Who came in about six seconds later (he counted).
“Ah, so you’re here! Come inside.”
When Taehyung took some time to take off his shoes, Hoseok use it to fly away. But then his mother pulled his arm. She grab the jar and said that he needs to be with Taehyung or no dessert. And whispering something about accompany him until dinner time.
In the end Hoseok went to his room with the boy, immediately trying to call Namjoon again. Right when Taehyung says, “If you thought I came here for English tutor, that’s actually unneeded. My mom ordered me to, but I don’t want it.”
“Huh, really?”
“And are you good at English anyway?”
Hoseok frowning. He may still basic but he’s like older that him. “Hey, I’m your hyung. Jung Hoseok, fifteen. We just met. Don’t you dare... well, judge my... english.” Realized it also sounds ridiculous to him.
Taehyung grinning. “I get it. Hyung. Nice to meet you. I guess you’re interesting.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Hoseok raising his eyebrow. “No, seriously, you don’t need me to teach you?”
“No thanks.”
He shrugged, good then. “So, what do you want to do? Because you can’t go home or my mom would scold me.”
Suddenly Taehyung took off his duffle bag (which Hoseok kinda curious on what’s inside) and search something from inside of it. “Can you play poker, hyung?”
“Uh, never tried it,” Hoseok answered. “Not really into card games.”
“You should try.” Taehyung let out one deck of card with rilakkuma pictures on it and starts shuffling it. “I’ll teach you.”
“Why?”
“You will see.”
Hoseok knew poker, but he only watched other people played it, he never joined them. Looking at the clock, 6.25. Perhaps his family won’t be arrived till another half an hour. And his favorite TV show before must have come to an end. No reason to refuse. He shrugged and beckoning Taehyung up to his bed.
“Alright, let’s play.”
--
At first Hoseok didn’t understand why Taehyung really happy when he got packages like straight or fullhouse, and why two is the highest number. But that kid said, hyung that’s the rule and hey hearts are higher than clubs, you lose. And when he realized it’s already the 5th lost.
“If I was you, I’d put out the two spade right now,” Taehyung says. He only has three cards left and Hoseok two.
“Am I gonna win?” asks Hoseok. He do have two of spade and ten of diamond. Taehyung nods, and Hoseok do what he said. After that he put out the ten of diamond.
Taehyung open up his cards, and there is two of club, queen of hearts and queen of club.
“Congratulation, you win!”
“I thought you had a good deck.”
“I told you, you have the key, two of spade. Even if you take out the ten it will be the same, I lost in number.”
His forehead wrinkles, he needs a moment to swallow down every explanation from Taehyung. And then it hit him. “AH! Okay, okay, great. So I won. Let’s play again.”
“Hmph, fun right?” Taehyung smiled and shuffling again.
“I don’t know, is this how you pass the time?”
“This is a game I knew since I was little.”
It turns to be a smile profile interview of Taehyung. Hoseok learned that he came from the same hometown as Yoongi, Daegu. He’s the same age as Jimin and his dad had a huge plantation back in his house in the village. Now his house is at the back of Hoseok’s, at the same block. Since third grade, his dad always made him play card games and so Taehyung likes it and brings it everywhere.
“Now your turn,” Taehyung said, distribute the cards.
“What turn?”
“Tell your story, you know, introduction.”
“Do I need to? You’re in my house, you could summarize it yourself,” Hoseok said, half joking.
Taehyung might have mumbling huh how stingy when he heard a really noisy sound from below and Hoseok knew his family finally here. Then they heard steps up the stairs and a shrill yell of ‘merry christmas’ and about five little kids running by the hallway.
“So your house is the place to come together for your family?” Taehyung asked.
“Only now, this year mom lose on a round of paper, rock, scissor.”
“What?”
“Yeah, we have this meeting where we talk about the event we’ll hold just like this one, uhh it’s like a tea party for the moms, and there my mom lose from the youngest sister.”
“Oh... so peculiar.”
“Hoseok!” He turn around and his sister stood by the door.( Taehyung immediately hide the cards.) Her straight hair fall off to her shoulder. “You must be the kid that just moved in, right? Hi, I’m Hoseok’s pretty sister, Jung—“
“Who likes to spread her legs when she sit, not pretty at all,” Hoseok ridicules.
“What the hell?” His sister is trying to make an argument of disagreement, meanwhile Taehyung laughed and the rectangle shape came out of his mouth again.
“When did you never do that, anyway?”
“Yah! What the hell, you want me to tell him, who—?” “Taehyung. Kim Taehyung.” “—Taehyungie! In the bathroom last week—“
“For God’s sake, not that one noona! What do you want?”
But Taehyung is already stir up his curiousity with ‘what is it? what with last week?’ and Jiwoo boldly tell ‘so hoseok and his toothbrush—‘, and it’s a story in Saturday morning in which Hoseok thought everyone’s already left the house and so he finally have his own time so he start singing inside the bathroom covered with his father’s shaved cream. And when he’s about to reach the highnote, unexpectedly his sister appeared and hoseok was at the tip of the bathtub, surprised, and so his toothbrush slash mic fell inside the toilet.
Jiwoo wanted to finish the story, but Hoseok is already jumped out of the bed launching straight to the door, making undistinctive noise to distract, and close it (almost bumped into) her face (--‘so he decide he won’t use it anymore!’)
Taehyung is still laughing. “You heard that? You heard all of that?” Hoseok asked and his face is blushed. Guess his sister is far gone.
“No, not really,” Taehyung shakes his head and grinning. “But it must have been one hell of a story. Right?”
Hoseok rolles his eyes. No way. “Of course it is.”
Before Hoseok even move from the door, he heard someone from the outside. His mother is calling him, from the floor below. Something about taking care of the dishes. He and Taehyung walked down, and when they went past the living room, they met everyone instead, the whole big family that’s sitting around talking and watching television. And they all found both of them.
“Hey Hosikie, you’re all grown up now!” says one of his cousin who’s just graduated from the college.
Hoseok sourly smiled, hearing Taehyung whispered to him ‘hosikie??’. And then there’s time where he looks around to greet and bow to everyone in the room and at the same time wondering why the hell he needs to have this much of a family. He nudged Taehyung, and that kid did the same.
And before anyone there could talk more, Hoseok already pulled Taehyung’s wrist and get out of there to the kitchen. He kept thinking about pudding, pudding, pudding and it’s dinner time.
As they passing the hallway, they ran over something.
“Mickey!” Hoseok uttered, realizing the brown fur in front of him.
The puppy barks near his leg and he saw Taehyung’s face lit up. “Ah, so cute!” He crouched down and pet Mickey. “Yours?”
“My sister wants her,” Hoseok said. “Said this house is kinda quiet without a pet. She gotta be kidding. It’s already noisy enough with her around here.”
Taehyung giggled.
“Why? You saw her too, right? She’s seriously a chatter box.”
“Right, but I thought the merrier the better,” Taehyung stroking the bottom side of Mickey’s ear. “I had a terrier, but because it seemed like he can’t come with us here, we gave him to our neighbor.”
“Wow, that must be hard.”
“So much.”
When Taehyung was about to play more with the pup, she gets up and running away, leaving them both behind.
“She becomes the extra energy in our house,” Hoseok sighes, then look at the kid besides him. “You hungry?” Taehyung nodded, and he takes him to the kitchen. In there, some women are cooking, including his mother and Aunty Shin. There’s also three little kids drawing on the counter.
“Hey, oppa is caught!” the little girl with braided hair looks at them. Then Hoseok remember her name is Jion, and the twins are Soyeon and Seojun.
“Oh, Hoseok and Taehyung,” Hoseok’s mother said without turning her head. “How is the tutoring, is there any trouble?”
“Uh... yeah—no,” Hoseok answered. “Turns out Taehyung is a quick learner. Right?” Nudged.
“That’s right, Mrs. Jung.”
“Well done, then. Can you guys help me to set the table on the next room for the dinner? Everyone must have already hungry by now.”
“And can I have my pudding?”
“You will, Hoseok. You will soon.”
“Okay, we’ll do it!”
“No, they must do it first!” Seojun shouted while lift his coloring marker up.
“Do what?” Hoseok asked.
Then the three little kids point at the same time to the place over their head. Hoseok’s brows knitted and he gazed up, looking at something hanging not far from their head, right when Taehyung mumbled ‘ah, the mistletoe’. The kids now cheering and telling them kiss kiss kiss and some of the women laughing quietly behind them.
“Ay, we’re not doing it,” Hoseok says, for obvious reason, why would he kiss a boy that he just know about an hour ago? “We’re both guys. It doesn’t counted.”
“Still on the rule!” Jion insisted. “Oppa told us last year.”
Taehyung snorts. “Come on hyung, just once,” he said with a grin.
“Mom, are you gonna let this happen?” He whined.
“Just go with it. You only need to pretend.”
He’s bewildered. She must be joking. Hoseok is the type to dreaming of standing under the mistletoe with a pretty girl he like and to have that dramatic first kiss from that person. But maybe when you met someone as unique as Taehyung, he never knows what will happen. Because suddenly he got both of his shoulders held and suddenly he got pushed backward and all he can see is Taehyung’s face (approximately 3cm from his), that makes him for a while thinking that Taehyung is quite cute. Hoseok observes as his eyes turned into half-moon and the pupil is browner up close. Their nose touches and Hoseok starts thinking weird stuff so he shuts his eyes. But nothing’s happened, he didn’t feel anything. Hoseok opens his eyes and right there Taehyung is trying to hold back his laughter. They let each other loose.
“Are you kid satisfied now?” Taehyung said while pretending to wipe his lips. The little shits are now look like they’re in awe. What the hell. “This Hoseok hyung tastes like onion!”
“Hey, I’m not!” Hoseok sullen, but he feels his cheeks heaten up. Never really understand Taehyung’s thought.
“Well you guys better be working than to quarreling like that,” Hoseok’s mother calls out and they answer ‘okaayyy’.
--
The dinner that night certainly the most festive dinner Hoseok has ever felt that year. In other day there’s usually only him and his sister; his father is still at the office and his mother only present occasionally because she needs to be at work after that too. His mother only cook for them then left.
But of course christmas must be merry, not only with the colorful decorated pine tree or the white glowing snow. Actually, included in it is Jiwoo’s cup.
It has a 2D asimmetrical abstract pattern with a dominant color of blue (his sister’s favorite), and a sticker with her name at the bottom of the cup. Small sized, obviously not even enough for a morning tea, but her ex-boyfriend gave it to her, and Hoseok know well enough it’s precious to her. He put it near one of the plates, but when he realized the tablecloth was imbalanced, he reached it to correct it, but pushed the glass cup instead... and it fell to the floor.
The sound is loud enough for Taehyung on the other side of the table (holding a spoon and a fork) turn his head with an empty look, shocked. But the sound in the whole house is louder, with the tv and the kids and the people talking, so even though his mother is just barely ten meters and there is a quiet cousin leanin on the wall, nobody is aware.
“Shit, I’m going to get killed,” Hoseok murmured, discerning the pieces of the mug on the floor.
“Uh... should I get the broom?”
“Yes, please! Wait, do you know where it is?” Taehyung shakes his head. “No? Well, of course not you stupid Hoseok. Wait here, guard this place, I’ll get the broom. And don’t let anyone know.”
Hoseok is being very secretive to get the cleaning equipment across the dining room (trying to keep smiling like nothing happens when one of his uncle look up to him at the living room, “hey, you’re not going to join our xbox party?” “nah, mom is telling me to do something right now.”) Holy night, Hoseok still have a fortune to dump the mug pieces into the dumpster at the side of the house alive. And while outside, he met a certain boy with bright dyed hair along with its father.
“Merry, merry christmas!” Yoongi hands over a pile of videogames that he borrowed a while ago, while Mr. Min patted Hoseok’s head after greeted him and get inside the house to meet the other, and also to give a small amount of food. It’s already a tradition between the families in the neighborhood, to exchange food on feast. “And let me remind you that I won the bet.”
Hoseok checking the video games (Mortal Kombat, Super Mario, and Fallout 2).
“What bet?”
“That I could beat the boss in Super Mario only in one month. I did it in three weeks.” Yoongi made a proud folding hands gesture, as if he really have no problem on beating the scary boss.
“You did?” he asks and Yoongi nodded with a grin. “I don’t believe it. you must have been making Seokjin hyung did it for you!”
“I only asked him for a suggestion, he didn’t take the console at all!” Yoongi looks a little bit offended, so Hoseok mumbled alright, alright. He then looked behind Hoseok’s shoulder. “Hey, I feel like I’ve seen you before.”
Taehyung is there, eyebrow raised. Me?
“Yeah, let’s see, when did I? Feel like I saw you fishing someplace at the side of a river.”
“Hyung, it could be anyone.” Hoseok interjected.
“I did like to go fishing,” Taehyung said. “In Daegu.”
And then Yoongi said something along to ah so that is. So finally they found out that of course, they did met each other back in their hometown and Taehyung did went to Yoongi’s grandpa convenience store. Such a tiny world. The conversation at the door continued to when the Daegu kids recalling their own hometown and the dishes from there and how they missing it already (Hoseok almost got bored and felt alienated and wondering if there’s a Gwangju kid in the neighborhood) and then Yoongi asks, “Is Namjoon inside?”
“Nope, don’t know where he is,” Hoseok answered. “Why?”
“I want to borrow his new cd player.”
“Oh he finally settled to bought it? You should go over his house tho, he couldn’t be contacted through the phone.”
The expression on Yoongi’s face tells that the tried to think about it so hard, eyes wrinkles and lips becomes a thin line.
“...Or you’re still scared?” Hoseok asks, smiling widely.
“Ha ha, no. No way I’m still scared.” Yoongi walks down the porch’s stairs. Hoseok mutters won’t you come inside first? and Yoongi only waves hand without turning back, keep walking. “Tell my father I’m going out for a moment.”
“Okay, hyung.”
“Who is Namjoon?” asked Taehyung.
“Oh, that Kim Namjoon kid is in my grade, I’ll introduce you to him when we’re at the school. He’s kinda emo actually, but not too much. And by the way Yoongi had an episode with Namjoon’s persian, gave him so many scars, now he’s traumatic and afraid to go to Namjoon’s house.”
“Cat?” Taehyung’s eyes lit up, again. “There’s a cat in his house?”
Hoseok, upon watching this, now certain that this kid is very fond of animals. “You wanna come along with Yoongi there?”
“Uh...”
Taehyung thinking for a long time. And in the middle of this, wind blows right through them, making them shuddering. Hoseok closed the door, realizing they’ve been stood by the cold all this time, seen as the tip of Taehyung’s nose becoming pinkish.
“Yeah. I’ll just be with hyung.”
--
After the dinner Hoseok spend the rest of the night in the living room, fighting with his cousins in Call of Duty, and Taehyung (who’s afraid at first because i’ve never played this game before) after playing one on one with Hoseok suddenly win by 32-25. The kid himself is surprised. And started getting addicted.
And then the smaller kids complained that they want to play it too, so both of them stepped back to let them play. Hoseok’s mother came in with the pudding (Hoseok almost forgot about it) smeared by chocolate.
“Hmm, where did you buy this?” Hoseok asks, tasting the pudding on his own plate. Warm chocolate fills his mouth. Heaven. “I like it so much.”
“I made it,” Taehyung tells him. Looks so content with the compliment.
“Oh, really?”
Taehyung nods. “If hyung interested, I’ll make another one.”
Hoseok grins, that’s a good idea. A couple of kids that were playing are fighting over the only two consoles, argue that they are better at playing than the others. Hoseok shakes his head, glanced up to the clock’s hand that’s already on the 8. It should’ve already the time for Taehyung to go home. “So anyway, you’re gonna stay here?”
“Your mother said I better sleep over.”
If it’s a couple hours before, Hoseok must’ve already suspect his mother and her intentions (in which he always makes many suspects to every stranger he first met) but now he guessed that’s not that bad and well it’s good to have a friend to play with rather than babysitting the smaller children. Also he’s trying to avoid his sister in the meantime.
They made a small blanket fortress in his room and playing some more cards after near midnight and smuggling snacks and Hoseok eventually fell asleep after drinking a glass of water and got awakened by the sound of the fortress’ collapse (it has something to do by Taehyung’s sleeping position). He also realized awakened by Taehyung’s soft sound, ‘mom..’, a whisper between folds of blankets.
It’s not after weeks and weeks Hoseok got told (guessing about four or five months later when his mother is talking with Taehyung’s mother) that the real reason why Taehyung came over to the house and slept over was because Mrs. Kim was rushed to the hospital to get appendectomy. At that time there’s no one in the house and Mr. Kim had no choice but to ask Jung’s family to look after Taehyung until his mother is okay. But at this time, Hoseok still hasn’t know that and his mind is still clouded up.
The dawn is near, the air still as freezing as ever even though all windows and all gaps closed shut. Hoseok furrowed his brows, in a momentary, confused as to why is some kid sleeping besides him. And when he found the cards scattered around on the floor, he also realized the ugly cotton pants.
“Mommy...” there again Taehyung’s small voice.
He sighes and trying to go back to sleep, but then glanced at the kid’s barefoot. Hoseok put a blanket above it. Taehyung is frowing in his sleep and Hoseok can’t help but strokes his hair. Soft. The gesture looks like it makes the kid relax. So cute.
Hoseok snorts. “Merry Christmas, Tae. Your pants is still ugly.”
--