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It’s been exactly three months, seven minutes and thirty eight seconds since the two called it quits. Yoongi doesn’t even know why it’s so important, but he thinks about it every time it hits midnight, because that’s the exact time they broke up.
Yoongi met Taehyung thanks to their love for photography. Yoongi was in his second year in college and Taehyung was a high school senior. He was taking pictures with his DSLR of the beautiful scenery in his neighborhood’s park during dawn, and the only other person there was amateur photographer Taehyung with his cute baby blue polaroid camera.
After that, they’d always ‘coincidentally’ meet each other during the weekends at the park. Yoongi would help him with his photography skills while Taehyung would amuse him with his strange yet wonderful sense of humor. It wasn’t long until Taehyung shyly asked him out and Yoongi happily agreed.
They started dating in a flash, and a few months later, when Taehyung was out of high school, they moved in together in a small apartment near their college. Things were simple with their relationship, and all they knew was that they loved each other for sure. Every Saturday they have movie nights in which they cuddled for dear life, and every Monday, they have contests on who could get to class faster so it would energize them. When one of them is feeling down, the other would treat them with their favorite food and a day out. Then at least twice a month they’d visit their own families.
They both lived in Daegu as kids apparently, so travelling in their hometowns was a great activity. Yoongi’s parents always made them some special cookies that Taehyung would drool over while Taehyung’s mom always whipped them up with her special kimchi that Yoongi fell head over heels for. She’d make a lot, so they’d bring a few containers back to Seoul and it’d be the only thing they’d eat for a whole week.
Before they knew it, Yoongi graduated with his degree and Taehyung’s in his third year in college taking up art and design. Their relationship was peaceful and happy. Sure, they’d bicker occasionally, but it’ll get resolved whenever Yoongi intertwines his fingers with Taehyung’s. Yoongi also started to become a producer in a small entertainment company along with his other friends and sadly, this was when things took a turn. Yoongi started to stay more in his studio rather than at home, he’d usually forget to take care of himself so he’d skip meals and also ignore all of Taehyung’s remarks of how he’s becoming irresponsible of himself and that his mental health is better than music, but Yoongi never listened to him.
What Yoongi wanted was music the most, so he’ll prioritize that and make a living out of it then one day he’ll get to buy a nice house and buy decent clothes for both him and his boyfriend.
Of course, Taehyung called bullshit on that. The two would ignore each other more often at home, but Taehyung would still send him encouraging text messages sometimes if Yoongi’s staying overnight at the studio. But, on one fateful night, Yoongi comes home late with Taehyung sitting on the couch with his arms crossed.
Yoongi asked why he was still up, and everything that happened next seemed surreal. Taehyung started yelling about how Yoongi being an overworked producer wasn’t okay, and then Yoongi started yelling back how it didn’t matter, and then the words just spilled out of his mouth: “Let’s just break up already!”
Taehyung just bit his lower lip and cursed under his breath before going to their room and slamming the door behind him. Yoongi sighed and the first thing that caught his eye was the wall clock in their kitchen that read 12 am.
The next day, Taehyung volunteered to move out since Yoongi has more belongings in the apartment anyway. When Yoongi came back to the apartment later that night, all of his things were gone, and there was a note on the kitchen countertop that read Moved out already. If you need me, you can always call my house no. XXX-XXX or my cellphone.
Yoongi didn’t necessarily care at the time and focused more on the song he was making. Once that song was done though, Yoongi realized the huge consequences. It was strange at first, living alone again. There was no “Oh, you’re finally fucking back!” to be anticipated, no hugs, no more cuddling on the couch and more importantly no more adorable boyfriend who just woke up and needs help with getting ready because his classes start in 15 minutes.
But he got used to it all over again after a few nights with his good ol’ pal, beer. Yet, no matter how much he tried, Yoongi just can’t completely erase the boy from his life. He still has their photos in his computer and he likes to go through the gifts Taehyung would give him on their anniversaries.
Now, he does countdowns to the moment they broke up. It sounds crazy, and it is crazy. He was the one that broke up with Taehyung in the first place, yet here he was, still thinking about him. Yoongi also cut off any sort of communication from him, but he still has his number saved just in case, of course. Thanks to their mutual friend Namjoon, Yoongi found out that Taehyung is living with his best friend Jimin again like how he did when he was in high school, and it’s only a 15 minute drive away from their apartment.
From another mutual friend, Seokjin, it is said that Taehyung’s been skipping classes more often too. There are rumors saying he’s been seen with some other boy, but they’re saying that’s just his cousin.
That’s also another thing Yoongi ponders about by the way, the possibility that Taehyung already moved on. He daydreamed about this probably a hundred times too. How did Taehyung fall in love with him? Was it in a park too? Or was it something like from a movie where Taehyung was trying to get over Yoongi in some remote place and suddenly a dazzling person appears and they fall in love?
A vibrating sound and a dim light from Yoongi’s peripheral vision distracted him from his own thoughts. As he picks his phone up, he sees that it’s his friend Namjoon.
“Hey you’re still awake, isn’t it past 12 am?” Namjoon asked almost immediately, and Yoongi stifled a sigh. His friends, but mostly Namjoon and this other jolly one named Hoseok, think that he’s in some sort of mental state in which he has to see someone, either a new guy or therapist. They’re saying that his writing got worse, and he’s been looking pale for weeks. Which Yoongi denies, because he thinks it’s just his skin tone.
“Yeah, I was rewatching Riverdale.” Yoongi replied, but that was a lie. At that moment, he was actually standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but boxer shorts and a faded loose Pokemon shirt with a bowl of cheerios and a glass of wine on the kitchen countertop and the only thing illuminating the room was the laptop in front of him in which he was editing a song he was working on.
“Yoongi,” Namjoon sounded annoyed. “How many times do I have to tell you to take care of yourself?”
He shrugged, even though he knew Namjoon couldn’t see it. “I am taking care of myself though, I just don’t have a decent sleeping schedule.”
“Just to bed after this phone call, alright?” His younger friend sighed. “Now the reason why I called you is because I’m here in the studio right now, and PD-nim just bursted in the room and he was… how should I say this, uhm, pretty darn pissed.”
Yoongi raised an eyebrow. PD-nim was strict alright, but he liked that about him. It made Yoongi want to work harder and hopefully someday he and PD-nim can get closer and Yoongi can get more money. But if anything PD-nim never snaps at them. “Why? Isn’t the deadline on Friday next week anyway?”
“He started going off about how he didn’t like the recent demos we sent him. He said it didn’t fit the new concept of Amber Liu, and it has to have better arrangements too.” Namjoon explained.
Yoongi paused and massaged the temples of his head, trying to think of how to deal with his annoying boss. “Alright alright, I’m gonna work on some songs tonight, then I’ll go to the studio early tomorrow, and hopefully we can whip up the songs by the deadline.”
Namjoon clicked his tongue and Yoongi could envision him leaning on the back of his office chair. “I don’t know how we can whip up 9 whole new songs in 9 days though. I tried planning with Hoseok just a while ago and he got so stressed he went home first.”
“Don’t worry Joon,” Yoongi reassured. “Everything’s gonna be fine! We’re gonna finish the album before Friday and then we’ll get rewarded nicely. Besides, you’re with me, Min Yoongi The Genius, what could possibly go wrong?”
“Okay, whatever hyung.” Namjoon breathed. “Just please remember to take care of yourself, and don’t let this job stress you too much.”
“Of course,” Yoongi gripped the glass and took a sip of his wine. “Everything’s going to be okay, alright?”
-
Yoongi was wrong. Oh, was he so wrong that night. Everything wasn’t going to be fine. Everything wasn’t going to be okay. He didn’t seem to be the genius he said he was. He was wrong about the whole thing. Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.
It’s now Wednesday, two days before the deadline. Since that night with the phone call of Namjoon, Yoongi has only ever went back home twice. He’s been having so much allnighters, and his trash bin is just filled with coffee cups and thrown away lyrics or ideas written on paper. Hoseok has cried a total of 3 times today, but overall 16 for the past days. Namjoon has had 4 mental breakdowns and two tantrums. Meanwhile, PD-nim is relaxing in his big office as he yells at Yoongi through the phone about the songs.
So far, PD-nim has only approved 3 out of the 6 songs that they’ve already remade. Now they have to make 6 more, but in reality probably 15 since PD-nim would obviously reject most of them. The trio decided to divide the work so it’s much faster, which Yoongi didn’t want, but it was the best option. Yoongi’s okay with writing lyrics by himself, but making the beats is just too hard to be a one man’s job for him. He needs at least another person with him that can critique on his work and to help him brainstorm ideas.
Namjoon gave in to doing 4 songs, since he’s the one that makes them the fastest, Yoongi decided to do 3, while Hoseok would do 2. Yoongi’s already done with one, and he is nowhere near proud of it. The arrangement is a little sloppy and the lyrics don’t mash up with the beat that well, but he doesn’t care. He just wants this to be over. Now he’s working on the second song, but nothing is going in his mind for the lyrics. What should he talk about? Friends on a road trip? No, he has no experience. Self love? No, he already made too much songs about that. The negative sides of capitalism? No, that’s too much.
“Why is this so hard?” Yoongi groaned as he rubbed his eyes and checked the time on his desktop. It was 9pm, which meant he isn’t going home again today, again. He just wants to go back to his apartment, make himself some hot coco, binge watch a Netflix series, and sleep on his spacious bed with his boyfriend.
Oh right, I don’t have a boyfriend anymore. Yoongi thought and looked at the time again, remembering 12 am. What would happen if Yoongi never said those words, and they were still together? Would Yoongi have the songs done by now or would PD-nim actually accept their original demos in the first place? Would he be cuddling with Taehyung right now as they watch some sappy Disney movie? They probably visited their parents’ last weekend, and Taehyung can be walking around the apartment with a box of Mr and Mrs Min’s cookies and Yoongi would be having some of Mrs Kim’s kimchi.
Oh, how he misses her kimchi.
Yoongi doesn’t even know how to describe it, it’s just different from all the other kimchis that he’s eaten. The blend of everything and it’s spice is just too impeccable for the taste buds, and it’s also astonishing how well Mrs Kim can cook in the first place since Taehyung could ruin any dish he touches. Another thing he loves is the atmosphere of when Mrs Kim cooks it. The Kim household is a little cramped for an average sized house thanks to Taehyung having siblings and his other relatives living with them. So Mrs Kim would be whipping up the kimchi while Yoongi and Taehyung watched in the kitchen, the kids would be in the living room blasting out Red Velvet or Twice and the others would be chattering away.
He also missed how Taehyung would tell his mother stories of him in school, and Yoongi loved the way his eyes would light up if someone mentioned about his photography hobby. He’d go on and on about the various sights in Seoul and about how helpful his boyfriend is, and when someone asks about their relationship the two of them would tell funny or embarrassing moments. Yoongi’s favorite is when they both went to the department store but they got seperated somehow and Taehyung’s phone wasn’t working, so after a few minutes the mall’s PA it blared out “Paging Min Yoongi, please come to the customer’s service to get your child.” and low and behold Taehyung was there, pouting cutely.
Yoongi never realized how lucky he was when he was with Taehyung, and he can’t deny the fact that he misses him to death at this point. But he isn’t sure if he misses Taehyung or Mrs Kim’s kimchi more. Damn, that kimchi. He needs at least another spoonful of that savory goodness, or else he’ll lose his mind.
“No no, shut the fuck up Yoongi.” He murmured to himself. It’s a thing he does when he’s extremely stressed, talk to himself like a loser. “You don’t need that kimchi, and moreover you don’t need Kim Taehyung to make songs. You can do this you motherfucker! You can finish at least one song tonight!”
-
Yoongi didn’t know how he got here, but he didn’t care because he was elated. He was suddenly in the Kim household for some reason, leaning on the kitchen counter and watching Mrs Kim make her trademark kimchi. The kimchi’s aroma was already making Yoongi drool. He can hear Taehyung’s siblings and cousins making noise in the living room, and as he turned around, he also sees Taehyung playing with them. They were sprawled on the floor playing Monopoly, and Taehyung was the banker, so he had this weird old man voice every time someone would buy a lot, but it made Yoongi smile. Taehyung was wearing a plain white shirt and jeans too, and it was making Yoongi’s heart palpitate.
“How’s your relationship with Taehyungie, Yoongi-ah?” Mrs Kim inquired, and Yoongi quickly turned back to her.
“Oh we’re actually…” It was on the tip Yoongi’s tongue, but for some unknown reason he couldn’t exactly say what he and Taehyung were. It’s as if someone zapped him with a gun that erases memories.
“Nevermind that,” Mrs Kim suddenly cut him off. “Would you like to taste some of my kimchi for a moment?”
“O-okay.” Yoongi gave in, grabbed a spoon from a drawer and walked over to Mrs Kim. He got a spoonful of the food, but as he was about to put it in his mouth someone came running in the kitchen and back hugged him faster than the speed of light.
Yoongi knew who it was immediately, and he heaved a sigh of relief. “Hey, Tae.”
“Hey, hyung.” Taehyung replied as he hugged him tighter and rested his chin on the older’s shoulder, and Yoongi chuckled.
“You two are adorable!” Mrs Kim gushed. “Oh I can’t wait until you two get married and have kids, it’ll be wonderful!”
That’s when it hit Yoongi like a truck, that he already broke up with Taehyung. He froze at the spot and put the spoon of kimchi on the counter, not able to say anything as Taehyung continues to back hug him. Yoongi didn’t know how, but he could tell he was getting paler by the second. “Something wrong, Yoongi-ah?” Mrs Kim asked with concern written on all over her face.
“Are you tired hyung?” Taehyung loosened his grip and detached himself from Yoongi. “Are you sick? You wanna go back upstairs and nap?”
He shook his head, and just picked up the spoon again. “I’m okay, I just need to eat a bit, is all.” Yoongi shoved the spoon in his mouth, but he furrowed his eyebrows when he realizes he can’t taste anything. His vision started getting hazy, and the noise in the house was suddenly muffled.
Then, he blacked out.
-
“MIN YOONGI!!” Hoseok’s screech made Yoongi almost jump out of his office chair just seconds later. He looked around and realized he was in his studio, but there were no windows so he couldn’t tell what time it was. He quickly lurched forward to his desktop that read 5:43 am. What the hell was happening?!
“Namjoon’s asking if you’re gonna head home anytime soon.” Hoseok continued as he put his hands in his jeans’ pockets, acting as if he didn’t just almost give his friend cardiac arrest. “He thinks it’s better if we all rest first, and then we’ll get back to work this afternoon.”
“What?!” Yoongi exclaimed. “If we rest, then we’ll never finish the songs!”
“I worked the whole night so I’m almost done and Namjoon already submitted a few songs to PD-nim so there isn’t much of a problem.” Hoseok shrugged. “What about you, hyung?”
Yoongi turned to his little notebook and flipped to the page he remembered he left off last night, only to find out it was blank excluding some doodles of dogs. He then remembered that last night he barely came up with any song ideas and he guessed he just accidentally slept. He made no progress whatsoever, and the deadline is tomorrow! He’s totally gonna get fired. He’ll have to get a new job at some fast food restaurant and he’ll probably get evicted out of his apartment and then start living on the streets. All those years in college, wasted.
“You two head home, I have to stay here.” Yoongi sighed. “I’m just gonna emend the songs real quick.”
Hoseok yawned and lazily nodded at him. “Alright, I guess I’ll see you later.”
As Hoseok left the room, Yoongi sunk into his chair and covered his face with his hands. Him eating kimchi and being with Taehyung was all a crazy dream, and it was making him go insane. He hated how real it seemed to him, and how it made him crave for more of Mrs Kim’s kimchi. He tried to recall more of the dream, and he remembered how cute Taehyung looked while playing with his siblings.
He decided it was best for him to clear his mind first, so he went to grab a bottle of cola first. There was a convenient vending machine in the hallway, and it has a good place in Yoongi’s heart. When Yoongi was new to the job and there wasn’t that much workload yet, he’d hang out there with Taehyung when he’d visit and sometimes Namjoon and Hoseok too. The four of them together were a mess, but at the same time their bond was beautiful. Sadly, when more things to do came in, Yoongi advised Taehyung not to visit anymore since there won’t be time to meet up anyway. Namjoon called him “a dick boyfriend” because of this, but Yoongi at the time didn’t mind. Now, Yoongi wants to punch his younger self in the gut.
As Yoongi inserted a few coins into the contraption to get a drink, and from the corner of his eye he can see two girls walking, most probably stylists or makeup artists. They passed by Yoongi, and he overheard their conversation.
“What are you having for lunch today?” One girl asked.
The second girl murmured something, and then replied with “My mom’s kimchi, you know, the one my dad hates.”
At the word ‘kimchi’, Yoongi rolled his eyes and had the urge to hit his head on the vending machine, but instead he just calmly grabbed his drink and trudged back into his studio. He sat back down on his chair and started sipping his beverage as he started at his notebook, trying to think of something.
Nothing, nothing is popping up in his head.
“I need brain food.” Yoongi muttered under his breath. There was a food house just across the building, and he could go for some ramen, but he knew deep down that wasn’t what he really needed. What he really needs is that fucking kimchi of Mrs Kim.
This was the last straw for Yoongi, so he took out his wallet from his pocket and got out a piece of paper. The same piece of paper that Taehyung left for him two days after their breakup that contained the number to his home. He got his phone and quickly dialed the number, but then swiftly regretted it. There’s a chance that Taehyung never told them about the breakup, but that can never happen since he’s so family oriented. Who would go back to their ex’s house to grab some food? They’d think of Yoongi of this weird freak who has no heart whatsoever. Taehyung was obviously heartbroken when they called it quits, and suddenly he’s just strolling back into his life.
But then again, it was Thursday, which means Taehyung would have classes, and that he’d be nowhere near his house in Daegu. Yoongi can just quietly visit without telling Taehyung and he can negotiate with his family to keep it a secret. A train to Daegu is approximately two hours, so if Yoongi would get a train by 7 am and visit today, he’d just visit for at least an hour, have a talk on how much he misses their kimchi and hopefully get a few containers of it, and then he’d be back in Seoul producing songs by 3 pm.
“Hello?” An elderly woman picked up the phone, and Yoongi immediately recognized the voice, making an ocean of relief wash over him.
“Hi, it’s uh, Min Yoongi.” He said, and unexpectedly the other line went quiet for a few moments. Suddenly a billion scenarios got into his head. What if Taehyung told them he was some type of monster? What if Taehyung told them that he was a cold-blooded snake with no feelings and his presence isn’t allowed in their lot? What if-
“Yoongi-ah?!” Mrs Kim abruptly exclaimed, making Yoongi’s ears ring a little. “Oh my, how are you sweetie? I haven’t heard from you in months!”
Yoongi nervously laughed. “Yeah, I’ve been really busy lately, but I’m good, I’m okay.” He felt bad for lying about his current state knowing how caring Mrs Kim is, but he wanted this over fast.
“That’s great,” Yoongi could feel that Mrs Kim was smiling now. “So, what’s the reason for your call?”
He took a deep breath. “I just- Well, it’s been a really long time since I visited and uh, IwaswonderingifIcouldstopoverthereforlittlewhile-”
Mrs Kim started laughing. “Yoongi-ah, I know you do rapping for a living but I really can’t understand what you’re saying.”
“O-oh, I’m sorry.” Yoongi bit the inside of his cheek and rehearsed the sentence in his head. “I w-was wondering if I could stop over there for little while today since I don’t have much to do and I wanna see how you guys are doing.”
‘Why, of course! You didn’t need to call just because of that, you can visit us anytime you want, there’s always someone in the house anyway. Is anyone coming with you? Are you still in Seoul? What time will you arrive?” Mrs Kim started interrogating.
Yoongi felt a little guilty when she asked if anyone was coming along with him. Was she expecting that he’d be going with his son? “I’m going b-by myself, and I’m still in Seoul but I can be there by 10 am at the latest.”
“Wonderful!” Mrs Kim chirped, and Yoongi shivered thinking about how that’s the same thing she said in his dream about his relationship with Taehyung. “I have some leftover kimchi from last weekend and we can have a nice lunch together with everyone else.”
Yoongi’s heart starting beating faster than ever when she mentioned the kimchi. “Okay, thank you in advance really, Mrs Kim.”
“There’s no need to thank me, Yoongi-ah, you’re basically like a son to me at this point.” She chuckled, which made Yoongi soft inside. That woman has an effect on everyone honestly, just like how her son does. “You do still remember how to get here, right?”
“Yeah,” Yoongi replied, and he can hear more noise from the background of the other line. “It’s easy.”
“Good!” She said louder to be heard and children screaming could be made out. “Well I better get going, the kids just woke up!”
She hung up, and Yoongi heaved a sigh of relief. Now, all he has to do is show up at the house, eat some remarkable kimchi and leave feeling inspired and determined to finish songs. He put his phone in his pocket, reinserted the piece of paper into his wallet, grabbed in coat, and headed out to the Seoul train station.
-
The Daegu streets seemed fresh to Yoongi, as if he didn’t visit the place for hundreds of years. The weather was a little cold that day, and he’s thankful he brought his coat with him and bought a cup of hot coffee once he got off the train in the town. The train ride wasn’t as peaceful as he had hoped since there was a crying baby behind him and the guy next to him was talking awfully loud to his phone half the trip, but either way he made it here and now he can get his kimchi.
As he turned to another corner, his gaze meets it: the two story house with peach colored exterior, a beautifully trimmed front lawn and balconies with colorful flowers decorated on the railings. There was someone in the front lawn weeding some plants, and Yoongi identified them as Taehyung’s youngest aunt, Aunt Hyunjin, who’s in early 30s and has devoted her life to botany. She once told him that the flower Protea, King represents him the best since the plant stands for change and transformation, that it signifies daring and resourcefulness and it’s also symbolic of diversity and courage.
“Good morning!” Yoongi greeted, and the woman seemed astonished to see him there as if he was some sort of alien or zombie.
“Min Yoongi? Is that you?” She asked as she stood up and put down her gardening tool. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”
“Yeah, it’s me.” Yoongi grinned. “It’s great to see you again.”
“Oh, let’s get you inside! The weather today is colder than usual for some reason.” She gestured him to the front door before walking there, and Yoongi followed. As she opened the door, a whiff of antique furniture hits him and that’s when he knew he was definitely in the right place.
Everything still seemed the same from what Yoongi remembered, except there weren’t that much people inside and it’s probably because the kids have school. There were countless picture frames hung on the walls of the family on their vacations or the kids’ first days in school, including Yoongi’s favorite picture of Taehyung, which was him in his first day in high school with huge rectangular glasses and cute boxy smile. Mr Kim was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper while there was chatter coming from the kitchen, which was presumably Mrs Kim and Taehyung’s other aunts.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Aunt Hyunjin said as she closed the door behind her. “I’m gonna get myself a change of clothes.”
Yoongi nodded, and then she went upstairs. As Yoongi examined the living room, he remembered the countless memories he made with Taehyung, including one where they decided to stay up the whole night
only watching really old movies that his parents kept and eating junk food. His heart ached once again thinking about him. He hasn’t seen the boy in almost three months, and he wondered what he was doing. Taehyung was no doubt in uni, or perhaps he’s skipping classes again with that mystery boy everyone has been talking about.
“Yoongi-ah, you’re here!” Mrs Kim cheered, appearing out of the kitchen to give the latter an embrace.
“Long time, no see!” He smiled and hugged her back. Just then, Mr Kim averted his gaze from the newspaper to see the commotion, and his mouth formed a grin once he saw the two.
“Min, I heard you were coming.” Mr Kim stood up and dropped the newspaper on the coffee table. “It’s nice to see you again, how’s the producing thing going for you?”
“It’s...not the best,” Yoongi confessed. “But it’ll work out in the end.”
“Hold on, let’s talk about in more after I go get ourselves some snacks.” Mrs Kim suggested before patting Yoongi’s back and sprinting back into the kitchen. Mr Kim offered Yoongi to sit down next to him, and the boy kindly accepted. Mrs Kim came back with a tray of coke cans and cupcakes. As Mrs Kim took seat on the couch along with the two, and Yoongi got himself a cupcake, they started having a full blown conversation.
-
What was apparently an hour seemed like 10 minutes to Yoongi, and now he was sitting in the long dining table along with Mr Kim, Aunt Hyunjin, and another relative for lunch while Mrs was prepping up the kimchi in the kitchen first. The conversation with Taehyung’s parents went better than expected, and they were both kind, as always. Yoongi decided to just keep it a secret that his producing is going downhill, and just told them that it’s going well and the album is already done. He felt bad for lying, but he didn’t want to risk the two of them telling their son how his ex boyfriend became a loser who’s about to lose his job.
Taehyung was only brought up twice in the entire conversation, and it was both because of his parents. The first time was because Mrs Kim brought up Yoongi’s photography, and Mr Kim proceeded to say that Taehyung has improved a lot in the hobby too. The second time was because Mr Kim was talking about how his classical music vinyls are gathering dust in the attic, but recently Taehyung gets them and plays them in the house for no particular reason.
There were only five of them on the table, since the others said they didn’t want to have lunch yet (which Yoongi has observed for a long time, that they don’t like eating altogether) Yoongi was sandwiched between Aunt Hyunjin and Mr Kim in the table, and in front of him was Mrs Kim’s empty chair and Taehyung’s eldest uncle that was asleep. Aunt Hyunjin was rambling about how the weather is affecting the growth of her new plants to everyone, but the boy wasn’t listening at all. The fact that he was just minutes away from devouring the meal he’s been craving for almost a week was consuming him well. Once he gets a bite of it, he’ll be able to live his life to the fullest again, he can get to make songs better and there’s gonna be nothing to worry about.
Just then, Mrs Kim came with a big bowl of piping hot kimchi, and Yoongi tried his best not to cry at the beautiful. As she set it down the table and told everyone to eat up, Yoongi, who already broke his disposable chopsticks into two, was getting heaps of it to his own plate alreadly. “Did you even eat breakfast today?” Aunt Hyunjin asked as she tried to stifle a laugh.
Yoongi shook his head, getting more of the food for himself. His plate was overflowing already, so he stopped getting kimchi, took a deep breath and started eating. The flavors hit his tongue in a flash, and was all too good. This was unbelievable. He was here, in his ex’s house, (whom he misses so much) having lunch with his family, and it wasn’t as awkward as he expected. Oh my god, but it would be awkward if Taehyung found out. He’d probably march back into Yoongi’s apartment, demanding an explanation and what would Yoongi say? He was craving for his mother’s fucking kimchi.
“M-Mrs Kim,” Yoongi said as he swallowed the food and licked his lips. “Can I ask a favor from you?”
“Ah yes, what would it be Yoongi-ah?” She smiled, taking off her marune kitchen apron and hanging it on her chair.
Yoongi’s voice became small suddenly, and it was as if he was whispering. “You see, I was wondering if you could keep this visit of mine, you know, a little secret from uh...”
Her expression softened, as if she was anticipating this. “From Taehyung, perhaps? Yoongi-ah I-”
A doorbell cuts her off, and they all glance at the front door.
“It’s probably that newspaper boy again, I’ll go get it.” Aunt Hyunjin offered, getting off her seat.
“Now what were you saying, Mrs Kim?” Yoongi turned back to her as they heard Aunt Hyunjin open the door, but her eyes were still glued onto the door and her face read worry.
“Hey, aunt.” A deep, husky yet attractive voice greeted from afar, making Yoongi drop his chopsticks.
No, it can’t be.
It can’t fucking be.
It’s not possible.
Yoongi hesitatingly averted his gaze to whoever the visitor was, and his worst nightmare starting becoming true to life. There, on the doorway, was his ex boyfriend, Kim fucking goddamn Taehyung, wearing a beige coat and jeans. He looked like he just woke up though, with his hair sticking out a little. Yoongi didn’t know how to feel, should he be happy that he can finally see him again? Or should he be ashamed that he was caught back in his house without even telling him?
The world becomes a blur to Yoongi, and he doesn’t even realize that Taehyung came inside. As if it couldn’t get any worse, another person came with him, and after a few moments, Yoongi identified him. He was Jeon Jungkook, one of Taehyung’s old friends way back when he was still in high school. Yoongi has only met him once, and that was 4 years ago when they started dating. From what he remembered, he was a small boy with puppy-like eyes and had a weird yet cute high pitched voice. But now, he was the same height as Taehyung and as he greeted Aunt Hyunjin, his voice was mature.
Is he the one that’s been ditching classes with Taehyung? Is there a chance that they’re dating? Well they have to be, why would Taehyung bring him here in the first place? Jimin even said himself that he has only went to Daegu with Taehyung twice in their entire 8 years of friendship. Is this like some of childhood friends to lovers kind of thing? Yoongi suddenly felt sick at the thought, and by this moment he had lost his appetite. He put his head down on the table and covered his face with his arms, hoping Taehyung didn’t see him yet since when he got inside, he was only ever looking down at the floor.
As the two new additions took off their coats and put them on the couch, Mrs Kim spoke up. “Taehyung and Jungkook, mind joining us for lunch?”
Yoongi shot her a look. Shouldn’t she be shocked that her son is here in Daegu and not in Seoul, studying in university? This day was getting stranger and stranger by the second. Yoongi couldn’t see, but he heard one person take a seat next to Mrs Kim, and he was hoping it wasn’t Taehyung.
“Yoongi hyungnim?” Taehyung’s voice made Yoongi’s knees weak, and a sudden hush fell in the entire house, or maybe even world. Yoongi slowly looked up, and he noticed that the one next to Mrs Kim was Jungkook, who was looking at him quizzically. Yoongi turned his head a little, and he was met with Taehyung standing there, with a sad expression plastered on his face.
This made Yoongi panic and stand up as he stared at Tae for a few seconds. Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that Taehyung had heavy bags under his eyes and it seemed as if he wasn’t eating or sleeping well the past few days. Damn, what kind of boyfriend is Jungkook?
Yoongi parted his lips to say something, but nothing was coming out. It was as if his mind was a computer updating overnight. He imagined meeting Taehyung again many times, but he never imagined it to be in his house just three months after their breakup. Yoongi always imagined it like 10 years later when they see each other in 7/11 or something. What would you say to your ex anyway? “How are you?” “Wonderful weather we’re having?” “Is you life better without me?”
“H-hello,” Yoongi stammered as he averted his gaze from him, and that’s when he was sure he wanted to kill himself right then and there. Now infront of Taehyung, Taehyung’s current boyfriend and Taehyung’s family in Taehyung’s house, knew that Yoongi was a total softie and scaredycat. Well, there was a chance Taehyung already knew that, but still! Yoongi was the one that got all feisty with the breakup and now here he is being all shy with their first encounter with each other.
“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, hyungnim.” Taehyung replied casually, as if this whole thing wasn’t awkward at all, and Yoongi took notice of how he was using honorifics quite seriously. “How have you been? Good?”
Well first of all, I’ve been a total wreck. I’m starting to despise my job, and I haven’t had proper rest for the past month. I’ve also been craving for your mom’s food so much that I was about to go insane. I’m not good at all.
“Good.” was the only thing that came out of Yoongi’s though. “I’m...good.”
“You can go sit on my chair, Taehyung.” Aunt Hyunjin said, and Taehyung nodded at her. As he took his seat, Yoongi sat down again and tried to his best not to look at him again. The most shocking for Yoongi though, was that he was still the same. Taehyung’s scent, his hair, and is attitude so far was still the time. Yoongi always imagined that after they split up he’d have a drastic makeover like dye his hair and change his personality. But no, it was still the same Taehyung he fell in love with.
Yoongi just stared at his food, unable to fully comprehend everything as the family started talking about something - it was something in between the lines of university and apartments. But he was just out of it, and all he wanted to do was leave, go back to Seoul and regret everything he just did until he results himself to isolation. He only took one bite of the kimchi that he was supposed to savor, but the kimchi was the last thing he cared about at this point.
He had three choices: Talk to Taehyung normally again and then apologize to him about the breakup privately later on, because living without him was complete and utter hell, and keeping in touch at least would suffice. Second was to just eat and ignore his existence, which would be insanely difficult considering he sits right beside him. His final option was to just leave at this moment, which is the easiest thing to do.
You can do this Min Yoongi. He tried to give himself a pep talk. Face him, and then talk normally.
His brain was screaming for him to look at Taehyung and initiate some conversation, but his body was telling him otherwise since he was suddenly standing up and getting out of his seat. Yoongi chickened out again, typical.
“Where are you going, Yoongi-ah?” Mrs Kim asked.
“I’m l-leaving,” Yoongi nervously laughed as he got his coat. “I just remembered I have some e-errands to do back in Seoul wow can you believe I’m so forgetful? Anyway it was nice meeting you all again ok goodbye I’ll-”
“Yoongi-ssi!” Jungkook yelled out of the blue, making Yoongi flinch, and possibly everyone else. Yoongi turned around and saw that he was out of his seat too, and that he was walking towards him. Oh god, was he going to beat Yoongi up? His forearm muscles were intense, and it seemed that puberty hit this kid like a truck.
“Can I talk to you outside?” He asked, with a smile that said something like “I’ll punch you in the face if you don’t say yes”.
“Um, sure.” Yoongi nodded, quite intimidated by the taller boy. As Jungkook got his coat, the two of them walked outside into the frigid cold, but Yoongi was sweating so much he barely noticed. He could see the headlines now: Young Adult Gets Beaten To A Pulp By Ex’s New Boyfriend Who’s 3 Years Younger. The two of them stood by the porch, and as Jungkook parted his lips to talk, Yoongi was ready to go down on his knees and plead for Jungkook to spare his life.
But instead, Jungkook closed his mouth, shook his head, and went back inside, leaving Yoongi alone, puzzled. What just happened? Inside the house, a scream suddenly erupted along with a loud thud followed by some footsteps and more yells. Then, a scream that sounded something like “GET OFF ME OR ELSE IM TELLING JIMIN YOUR NASTY SECRET!” which was followed someone else shouting “I DON’T HAVE ANY SECRETS DUMBASS, NOW GET OUT AND TALK TO HIM YOU COWARD!”
This entire situation sounded like something out of a horror movie or slapstick comedy. Either way, Yoongi was terrified.
Just when he was about to go back in to check what was happening, the door swung open, which revealed a disheveled Jungkook with a struggling Taehyung in a headlock. Jungkook let go of him and shoved him outside, almost bumping into Yoongi if Yoongi didn’t move by an inch. “Now, talk things out!” Jungkook panted as he slammed the door on the two and proceeded to lock it.
Taehyung went to the door and fidgeted with the doorknob, desperately trying to get back inside. Since that didn’t work, he started knocking, or likely punching the firm wood while screaming. “JUNGKOOK! JEON JUNGKOOK! GET ME BACK INSIDE I SWEAR TO GOD IT’S
FREEZING OUT HERE WITHOUT MY COAT NOW IF YOU DON’T OPEN THIS DOOR AT THIS INSTANT YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO BID GOODBYE TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH-”
He stopped rambling when he felt something soft and warm touch his shoulders. It was a coat. But it wasn’t any coat, of course, it was Yoongi’s.
“Hyung?” Taehyung turned around and held onto the coat, his expression softening.
“I don’t think Jungkook-ssi is going to open the door anything soon.” Yoongi cleared his throat, a little surprised that he’s actually talking to him without stuttering for the first time. “It’s like winter here these days, isn’t it?”
Taehyung chewed the inside of his cheek. “Yeah, it’s a little frustrating but at the same time it’s nice.”
“It’s relaxing, especially when you get covered with blankets with hot cocoa. You can watch movies for the rest day and-” Yoongi bit his lower lip and stopped, remembering that it was something the two of them used to do together, and he didn’t want this to get more awkward as it is.
The two of them grew quiet, not knowing what else to say. Yoongi knew he had a lot to say, and he was slowly mustering up the courage to say it all, but something inside of him was telling him to just leave, and that his relationship, or even friendship, with Taehyung can never be fixed.
Yet, after exactly 2 minutes of total awkward silence, he took a deep breath. “Look Taehyung, I-I just wanted to say sorry for...everything. What I did was stupid, like really stupid, and I regret it, a lot. Our breakup was extremely stupid. I came here to Daegu again because I needed to ea- er, I mean, clear my mind on a few things. Sorry I didn’t get to call you directly and say that I was visiting your family. I don’t want us to be awkward or anything, so I’m saying all of this. That’s all, so uh, I guess I’ll get going. Have a nice day, you can keep my coat, and I hope your relationship with Jungkook goes well.”
Yoongi wanted Taehyung to say something back, anything would be that signals that the two of them are okay now, but he didn’t. He just looked down at his shoes and licked his lips. Great, he surely hates me. Yoongi sighed as he blinked away his tears and walked off the porch and into the front lawn.
As he reached the sidewalk, he heard someone running. He scanned the area, seeing that no one was around until something grabbed his hand, making him spin around in shock. “Tae...?”
“J-Jungkook and I,” Taehyung breathed. “Aren’t a thing. He’s dating Jimin.”
“Oh,” Yoongi’s mouth hung open. Damn, he felt like an asshole. He could feel his cheeks getting hot, but at the same time he was relieved that Taehyung’s single. “I-I’m uh, sorry, again.”
“No!” Taehyung practically screams, then he minimalized his voice again. “Y-You don’t need to apologize, it’s a common misunderstanding these days since I always hang out with him. Jimin’s in this exchange student program, so now he’s in Japan while Jungkook moved in with me. He also became a freshman in uni, so I became his somewhat tour guide.”
“Oh.” Yoongi repeats, his heart beating so fast by the fact that Taehyung is literally holding his hand and standing only 8 inches apart from him.
“Hyung,” Taehyung’s voice cracked, and the words started spilling out as if he rehearsed it in his head millions of times. “I don’t know how you’ll take this, but I’ll say it anyway. I miss you. Like, a lot. Breaking up with you was the worst thing ever, and I couldn’t sleep at all for weeks. I miss when I stay up at night for you to come back. I miss when we had movie nights. I miss going to your family’s house. I miss when you’d get mad at me because I didn’t put my dishes in the sink. I miss when we’d take photos together. I miss-” Taehyung’s eyes were watering now, and he was hiccuping. Taehyung let go of Yoongi’s hand and wiped his tears with the back of his hands.
Yoongi had never seen the boy at this kind of state, and it was alarming. “Hey, it’s okay.”
“When my mom called me this morning,” Taehyung continued while sniffling. “Saying that you were coming over, I lost it. I started didn’t know what to do because I really wanted to see you again. Jungkook was tired of seeing me miserable and decided to get us tickets, and so we came here and skipped classes. When I saw you inside hyung, I didn’t know what to say, all I wanted to do was run up into your arms. But instead I put my acting lessons into use and pretended to be unfazed. When you were about to leave, I lost hope that we would ever rekindle again, until Jungkook forced me out here.”
“Taehyung?” Yoongi’s entire body was shaking now. All this time, he thought he was the only one that was being sad about their breakup, yet he thought wrong.
“Yeah?” He looked at him with his puffy eyes.
“I-I missed you too.” Yoongi replied, wiping away his tears. Of course, thanks to Taehyung’s height, he had to tiptoe to do so. “You had no idea how much shit I’ve been through these past few months without you. Work became so stressful, and I wasn’t eating right. Then I started craving for your mom’s kimchi, which made me miss you even more.”
A tiny grin formed on Taehyung’s lips as he embraced him. “Do you think we should…?”
“Start over?” Yoongi was taken aback by the sudden hug, but he didn’t hate it, at all. “Yes, we should.”
The two pulled away from each other, but now they were both laughing, and it’s crazier that they both didn’t know why. Meanwhile, Jungkook opened up the front door with Taehyung’s coat in his hands and a container of kimchi in the other, ready to yell again, but instead he was left in a state of shock as he saw the two of them cracking up at the sidewalk.
“So uh…” Jungkook said loudly so they can hear. “Y’all wanna go back inside or do you want to just freeze out here?”
Taehyung looked at Yoongi. “You wanna go on a walk for a while?”
Yoongi nodded with a smile as Jungkook unexpectedly tossed Taehyung’s coat into the air, but miraculously, Taehyung caught it while still staring at the older boy.
“How’d you do that?” Yoongi furrowed his eyes at the coat.
“You get used to it when Jungkook’s a little shit to you and keeps throwing things at you.” Taehyung grinned, handing Yoongi back the coat that was still on his shoulders.
“I HEARD THAT!” Jungkook yelled and threw the container of kimchi into the direction of Taehyung’s face, making Yoongi produce some weird squealing sound from his mouth, however Taehyung perfectly caught it again, and handed it over to Yoongi.
“Oh, thanks.” He grabbed the plastic container with his trademark gummy bear smile that hasn’t appeared on his face for weeks. Was he smiling because of the kimchi or because of him and Taehyung?
It’s most likely because of him and Taehyung.
-
It’s been exactly four months, two minutes and seventeen seconds since the two started dating again. And Yoongi knows why it’s so important, because he thinks about it every time the clock hits 11:30 am. Yoongi quit his job as a producer, and now he’s just making his own music and putting it on SoundCloud, hoping someday he’ll get discovered. He’s much happier making music for himself though, because he knows what kind of songs to make and it all fits his concept harmoniously.
“Yoongi hyung…” Taehyung mumbled from beside him. The two of them were in bed, but Yoongi was sitting with the headboard propped behind him with his laptop on his lap while Taehyung was lying down while shirtless and half asleep.
“Your class starts in 30 minutes, by the way.” Yoongi mentioned as he got his cup of coffee that was sitting on the nightstand. “I don’t want you skipping again.”
“I know, I know.” He grunted as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Making songs, what else could I do?” Yoongi sipped his beverage.
“Well, you can make a good impersonation of a mansion doorbell.” Taehyung snickered. “Like what you showed at Seokjin hyung’s party last night.”
“Whatever,” Yoongi eyed his boyfriend. “Shouldn’t you put on a shirt and get going?”
“Aw, come on.” Taehyung nudged him. “I know you like what you see.”
“I kind of do, but at the same time your degree is at stake, so if you aren’t gonna get ready soon perhaps I’ll just get another producing job.” Yoongi smirked, and at the word “producing” Taehyung legitimately jumped out of bed and ran to the closet to get new clothes.
“Gonna take a shower now, bye and I love you!” Taehyung gave him his boxy smile before sprinting out of the room.
Yoongi chuckled as he shook his head and closed his laptop. Safe to say, he and Taehyung won’t be breaking up again anytime soon. He got off the bed and put on some flip flops before shuffling out of the room and into the hallway. He could hear Taehyung’s voice echoing through the entire apartment as he sings his own rendition of “There For You” by Troye Sivan as he runs the water. Yoongi stopped by the kitchen to prep up a snack for Taehyung before he leaves. This became somewhat a daily routine for him, but he doesn’t mind, at all. Usually, he’d make him a simple sandwich but today was Monday, and just last weekend they went back to Daegu. So when he opened up the refrigerator, he knew exactly what to get. In a yellow rectangular container was Mrs Kim’s kimchi, better than ever.
He wasted no time in putting some of it in a plate. He takes a bite of it, and another bite of it before leaving it on the kitchen counter with a carton of Nescafe for Taehyung.
Sure, breaking up with Taehyung was the dumbest thing he ever thought of, but getting back with him was the smartest thing he ever did.