Storytime

A boy at the age of eleven looks down from his treehouse at a small boy playing with marbles in the house next door. His giggles filling the empty spring air with delight. And the boy is intrigued.

Without a warning, the boy jumps down from the not-so-high treehouse and lands swiftly into the backyard of the small boy, looking very smug. The small boy looks up startled. Cheeks rosy and puffed, his tiny hands shoot up to block out a silent scream.

And that's how it starts. A precious routine.

***

It's midnight. The stars are gleaming so bright that the elder boy is starstruck with the way they twinkle. A cool breeze ruffles their hair, as the two boys lie on the jute mat that the younger had brought. A few of the flowers from the orange tree from the elder's home fall and the younger boy giggles when they land on them.

"My favourite fruit is the banana, Hyung" the young boy confides as he cuddles closer to the elder.

The elder boy hums in acknowledgement "I like blueberries."

It's a game they play. One they've been playing since last month. A way to get to know each other better.

"I love dancing" the younger excitedly claims. "And singing and chocolates and kimchi and rice and food and Mum and Dad. And my brother and seagulls and Haeundae Beach and You!"

And something flutters in the pit of the elder's stomach. Something foreign yet all too familiar. 

"I like..." he stops. Because there are so many things he likes. Music and writing and CDs and rappers and singers and cycles and candles. He is in love his mother's cooking and loves how much knowledge his brother has. He loves visiting Daegu and loves his friends in Gwangju. And he loves playing various instruments and fixing things and reading and hip-hop and cute but stupid things and action figures. And he loves to cook and eat good food and play video games.

But there's something he loves more than all that. Something small and soft and human.

He turns to the younger boy and with all the sincerity his eleven-year-old heart can gather, tells the nine-year-old. "I like you."

But, just like the time it happened. The two boys part after the elder one has to move away. They soon forget, just like last time and life moves on.

And their story remains incomplete, until next time.

Storytime Over

Namjoon was going to faint with anxiety. This is insane'  he told himself as he tried to get his knees to stop fidgeting. His eyes rolling into his skull because he couldn't control the perspiration in his hands. In his mind, it was all Seokjin Hyung's fault. They were sitting outside the doctor's office and Namjoon was going to have an aneurysm. 

"It'll be fine, Hyung" Jimin's voice came from beside him and Namjoon's reverie was broken as he turned to the boy. The boy smiled pleasantly at him, squeezing his shoulder as a form of comfort and nodded in assurance.

Namjoon gulped his anxiety down a little as he nodded his head jerkily, restating Jimin's own words back at him. "Yeah. Yeah, it'll be fine." As if trying to make himself believe.

Yoongi snorted from his left, a sleeping Miho cradled into his arms, and Namjoon turned his head swiftly towards the elder man. He watched the grim expression on the man's face as he pointed at Seokjin, who was hunched darkly next to the consultation room they were seated outside.

And Namjoon could feel another anxiety attack forming in his gut. Seokjin was leaning ahead as he sat with his arms resting on his knees. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles and his knuckles were white. There was a grim line set onto his lips and frankly, he looked threatening. Namjoon could practically see the dark aura around him.

His reverie was broken, however, by the sharp, crystal-like voice of a nurse calling out their names.

"Mr Kim and Mr Kim. The doctor will see you now."

Namjoon shot to his feet and turned to see Seokjin slowing get up too. He gulped another lump in his throat as he watched the man take Miho from Yoongi without a word shared with the elder. And soon they entered the consultation room.

Leaving a worried Yoongi and a confused Jimin behind.

*****

Namjoon's knees were shaking as the doctor briefed them about the vaccination Miho was supposed to be getting that day. The doctor also breezed through a list of other vaccines Miho would be required to get over the next few months. And with every shot the doctor mentioned, Seokjin's expression grew darker. 

"Any questions?" Doctor Heo inquired with a friendly smile as he got up to get the injection from a chest of drawers. 

"Will it hurt her?" Seokjin voiced put for the first time since they'd arrived at the clinic. Namjoon could hear the warning in the man's tone but the Doctor seemed to be ignorant of it.

With a shrug, the Doctor waved his hands around and exclaimed gaily. "Well of course. It's literally pumping antibodies into her body. But it's fine. It'll heal."

If the earth opened up then and there to swallow Doctor Heo, Namjoon wouldn't be surprised. Seokjin was biting his lips and looked on the brink of attacking the man.

"She better not hurt," Seokjin muttered loud enough for the elder man to hear. Doctor Heo simply smiled at the warning and asked them to bring her over.

Miho, who had luckily woken up by then, stared up at Seokjin with beady eyes as the man glared daggers into Doctor Heo's back. Namjoon stood a little distance away to avoid the man's anger from getting to him. 

"Okay," the doctor began. "Just bring her over and it'll be over in a second."

Seokjin brought her on the examination table as the doctor angled the injection towards her arm. Just as he was about to push it in, though, Seokjin moved away with a shaky breath.

"I don't think I can do this."

Doctor Heo stared at the man with crazy eyes and regarded Namjoon with a look of amused astonishment. As if asking Namjoon what exactly was going on. Namjoon, however, was just as confused as the doctor.

"Hyung!" he whispered-yelled as he inched close next to the man. "What the hell!?"

Seokjin turned to him with glassy eyes as pushed Miho into Namjoon's embrace hastily. "I can't watch her bleed, Namjoon! Please get her the shot."

"Hyung!" Namjoon yelled indignantly at the man shoving Miho back into his arms and crossed his own urgently. "I- I can't do it either!"

"But I'm scared!"

"So am I!"

"But I'm more scared!"

Namjoon huffed a very annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to not bite off his own lips. He blew out air from his nostrils and turned to the man, opening his arms out in a cradle. "Just give her to me and go sit down."

Seokjin hesitated at the man's tired voice but relented nonetheless. Passing the girl back to Namjoon, he edged away a safe distance. Enough to monitor from the sidelines but not interfere.

"May I, now?" Doctor Heo voice out; an amused expression taking over his face. And Namjoon huffed and nodded.

Namjoon could feel his fingers trembling as he held the girl's arm out for the doctor to inject her. He could see his chest rise and fall erratically and his eyesight dwindled into blurriness. And somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that he was sweating profusely. What he didn't understand was the reason for his nervousness. 

It's just a vaccination, Joon-ah.

*****

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Doctor Heo cheered as he turned away to throw the needle into the garbage can. "Make sure to apply pressure, Mr Kim."

Namjoon was feeling lightheaded for reasons unknown and he only managed to mutter a shaky "Ye- yes." Seokjin was by his side the moment Doctor Heo moved away and Namjoon could feel the ground beneath his feet slip away. He fell lightly against Seokjin's chest, who hastened his arms around his waist to help support his weight over him. 

Seokjin stared at the man in his arms. Namjoon had been just as scared as he was, he could tell. And something akin to pride blossomed inside of him. "It's okay" he found himself whispering. "I gotcha." He let his gaze linger on the younger man's face for the smallest while then looked down at the bundle in his arms. 

The younger man admired the loving gaze Seokjin sent to his niece and he could himself loose his footing all over again. This time, however, it wasn't because of nerves. It was all due to tiny, little butterflies, that fluttered in his belly. He shifted his gaze from the beautiful man towards his niece and for once smiled at her proudly.

Miho hadn't cried.

*****

When he exited room Namjoon felt a serious lack of senses in his system. He fell heavily into the waiting room chairs and leant his head on the shoulder that he assume was Jimin's. Huffing a deep, exhausted sigh, Namjoon clutched the unnaturally bony arm and pulled the person sitting beside him closer.

"I feel exhausted, Chimchim." Namjoon breathed in another gulp of air and without letting the other speak, continued. "I was so ing nervous just now. I don't get it. It's just a vaccination. I only held her in for less than a minute to get the shot, but I feel like I've run a marathon or something." The man snuggled his nose inside the person's ribcage, finding it flabby - so unlike Jimin's well toned one - and sighed again.

The person beside him then cleared his throat and something about the raspy tone made Namjoon jump away from the embrace. Wide-eyed and shell-shocked, Namjoon sat staring at a red-cheeked Yoongi who looked just as embarrassed by the situation as Namjoon felt.

"It's... nice to know you care so much."

Another blush flushed Namjoon's face as he tried to erase the scene from his mind. "I- I- I do care, you know..." His voice trailed off, as did his confidence in his words.