Title: Summer

Prompts: Summer & Sunshine

Characters: Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) & Lee Juyeon (OC)

Jung Hoseok was a literal ball of sunshine and hope, he could practically brighten up anyone’s day even the people who were having the moodiest of days would at least crack a smile at Hoseok’s jokes and energy. Naturally, Hoseok loved summer and he would always spend time at the beach or the local swimming pool just to cool off. At other times he would set up the sprinkler system in the garden of his house just to splash around. But another reason why Hoseok loved summer was because he fell in love for the first time during his sixteenth summer.

During his sixteenth summer, Hoseok met a girl who had almost the same personality as him. She never seemed down and she always had a smile on her face. But the thing that separated their personalities was that she had a fear of water. She was aquaphobic due to an incident where she nearly drowned in a swimming pool after she was bullied by three older boys who pushed her into the deep end of the pool, as Hoseok found out from his friends. But Hoseok never found out her name until four months later when he heard someone calling for her by chance. Hoseok found out that her name was Lee Juyeon, and that her birthday was exactly one day after his.

But they never met or talked formally other than the occasional greeting in the school hallways. Hoseok wasn’t usually the shy kind, in fact, he was really friendly and outgoing. But there was something about Juyeon that made him shy and nervous. If it were another girl, Hoseok would happily start a conversation with her but with Juyeon, Hoseok couldn’t help but stutter over his words even in his mind whenever he thought of her.

But Hoseok’s chance to finally talk to her uninterrupted came when they were paired up to take care of a pet together, as part of an environmental and animal protection project adopted by their school in partnership with the local animal shelter. Both Hoseok and Juyeon had chosen to raise a puppy and they were paired up to take care of a pair of six month old mixed Welsh Corgi and Pomeranian twins whose mother had died in a car accident after being run over. Juyeon and Hoseok had affectionately named the twins Sunshine and Hope since one of them was a male and the other was a female.

“How are the twins today?” Asked Juyeon, as she stepped into Hoseok’s house where the twins’ home were step up since Hoseok’s house was nearer to the animal shelter than hers.

“They fell asleep after drinking their milk, I was planning on waking them and giving them a bath but I couldn’t especially after seeing their adorable sleeping faces.” Said Hoseok, gesturing to the twins’ beds.

Juyeon smiled softly as she watched the dog twins sleeping peacefully. But it wasn’t before long that the twins woke up from their nap and they rubbed their eyes adorably and Hoseok managed to capture a video of the cute moment. And when the dog twins became aware of their surroundings, they barked happily when they saw Juyeon.

“I think they miss their mom.” Joked Hoseok.

Juyeon giggled before she picked up Hope and scratched her ears while Hoseok picked up Sunshine and he patted his head affectionately. It wasn’t before long that Hope and Sunshine fell asleep again, which was to be expected since they were still so young.

“You know, I read somewhere that pets are often a reflection of their owners.” Spoke Hoseok, casually after they put the twins back into their beds.

Hoseok had offered Juyeon to stay for a while and the two were currently sipping on some juice while sitting on the couch.

“That’s true.” Shrugged Juyeon lightly.

Hoseok fell silent for a moment before he took a deep breath. Hoseok shuffled closer to Juyeon much to her surprise and confusion.

“Juyeon, there has been something that I’ve been meaning to tell you but I really don’t know how. I hope that you won’t be mad at me.” Said Hoseok, rambling.

“Hoseok, you are not making any sense with your rambling.” Said Juyeon, setting her glass of juice down.

Hoseok gulped before he gathered up his courage and confessed his true feelings.

“I like you, Juyeon. I really like you. I was hoping that you’ll be my girlfriend?” Spoke Hoseok.

Hoseok felt his heart drop when he saw Juyeon’s shocked expression.

“I apologise if this is too sudden, I hope that this won’t affect our friendship.” Said Hoseok, completely dreading saying these words.

“No, Hoseok that’s not it. I don’t know if I like you yet but I have to admit that you caught my eye and attention on the first day of high school.” Said Juyeon.

“I was pretty happy that we got paired up to take care of Sunshine and Hope, and I’m happy that we’re friends. I admit that I do get butterflies in my stomach whenever I see you smile, I just never thought that you would actually like me.” Said Juyeon

“Then how about we give “us” a try? This way you can confirm your own feelings and I’ll feel happy to have dated you even if it was for a while. That way I wouldn’t have any regrets.” Said Hoseok.

Juyeon bit her lower lip before she leaned closer and she placed a gentle kiss on Hoseok’s cheek much to his surprise.

“Hoseok, I think I like you too. But I don’t want to use such a deal as part of our relationship. I don’t want to think what could happen later on if we did such a thing.” Said Juyeon, pulling away.

Hoseok paused before he nodded his head. “If that’s what you want.”

Juyeon smiled and she hugged Hoseok, much to his surprise. Hoseok soon recovered from his surprise and he returned the hug while smiling. It took a while but it all worked well in the end for Hoseok and Juyeon.