There are things Taehyung likes about libraries: They are extremely quiet; none of the preps are ever in here, (and he means never; especially not during summer vacation) and finally, he can read as long as he wants, and no one (cough; his mother) tries to get him to put on dazzling clothes and parade around like a poodle in a dog show.

Bitter? He could say that. His mother seems to think that he needs to get his head out of his books and start thinking about things like “his future”, and “what sorority he’s going to join”. He’s not kidding, sometimes his mother uses air quotes. It’s extremely irritating.

“You’ll never make friends with your nose stuck in a book,” she says. It’s one of her favorite lectures to give him. Being the youngest of three sons (all whom are extreme joiners), she expects him to be exactly like Seokjin and Hoseok, his brothers.

Seokjin is the oldest. He’s at Seoul University (third year) for his law degree. Hoseok is in second year, also at Seoul University; he wants to be a doctor. High standards are set for him, and he’s only a senior at Bangtan High.

Mom keeps going on about how he should “embrace his senior year,” and “try to make more friends”. She doesn’t actually use air quotes that much. Mainly he imagines them floating around his mother’s head while she’s talking, like some weird version of wasps. Except these wasps really wants him to make friends.

Taehyung has friends. Let him correct himself – one friend. His name is Jimin. He’s completely amazing, and has been since he was seven, when they met. Jimin moved to Seoul from Busan, and still has a little bit of an accent. Not that he likes to be called on it. He’s been known to hit people that bring it up. In August, before the school year started, Jimin told him he’s moving back to Busan with his dad. Apparently, his dad doesn’t realize that Jimin is going to miss senior year with his bestfriend. Jimin’s kind of annoyed, but Taehyung thinks he’s kind of looking forward to living with his dad again. Plus Jimin promised to email atleast once a week (no cell minutes), and tell him the details of his new school. Even though Jimin has it worse – getting ready for his first day at an entirely new school, Taehyung’s still here, moping in the library, trying to decide what to do with his life.

“Hey, Taehyung.”

He looks up – the first time he had looked up in hours (his neck is extremely stiff) to see one of his fellow band kids from school. He’s cute in a geeky way, tall and lanky, with short dark brown hair and glasses. His name is Namjoon, he recalls. He haven’t really talked to him before.

“Hi.” He smiles. “How are you?”

“Good. Joining band again this year?” Namjoon asks.

He nods at him, and Namjoon smiles. “Good. I heard we’re getting some newbies in class this year. Maybe they’ll join too.”

“New meat. Interesting.” Taehyung gives him a smile, adjusting the glasses that are slipping down his nose.

Namjoon grins back, raking his hand through his hair. “See you later, Taehyung.”

“Later,” he echoes. Seoul is a huge city, but normally they don’t get many new students at his school. That’s mainly because it’s a “Bangtan High School”. His dad, although not a Senator, or the President’s body guard’s sister, or any big positions like that, is a cardiologist. The head of the school has had some troubles with his heart, and his dad has been his doctor ever since he was little. That merits a full scholarship to Bangtan High, apparently, for his brothers and him.

His phone buzzes loudly in his pocket, and he takes it out to see that it’s almost five. Apparently he’s been reading longer than he thought. His head is on auto-pilot while he packs up his things and heads out the front doors of the library.

He walks down the front steps, relishing the feeling of the September air on his cheeks. After so long indoors, it’s nice to have some fresh air. He should probably get out more. It’s not cold exactly, but he’s still happy when he gets to Austen, his red Ford Mustang. She’s named after one of his favorite authors; Jane Austen. He thinks most people think his dad bought Austen for him, but in reality, he bought her with hard earned funds from working at the bookshop downtown. The drive isn’t busy – it’s a weekend after all, so he takes the long way home. His family lives in a quiet neighborhood that’s lined with trees that are perfect for climbing. As he’s pulling into the driveway, he hears his name being called.

“Taehyung!”

He turns around, squinting in the sunlight. He wish he’d brought his sunglasses with him.

“Hi Andy.” The seven year old boy that lives next to him grins, he’s missing two of his teeth.

“I lost my teeth!” He yells, running over to him. His black hair is dripping wet.’

“That’s cool! Are you and Mary playing in the sprinkler?”

Andy nods, looking over their conjoined lawns. He sees the water sparkling as it shoots towards the sky. “When are you coming to play with us again?” he says.

“Soon. It depends on when your mom needs me again.” He looks up across the lawn and sees Mary, a three year old with lots of baby fat. Her arms jiggle as she waves at him.

“Is it because of the baby?” Andy frowns at him. “Don’t you like her?”

Taehyung laughs, and Andy looks confused. “Of course I like the baby. But your mom doesn’t need me again just yet. I’ll come over soon though, promise.”

Andy smiles. “Okay. See ya!”

Andy runs off, jumping back into the sprinkler beside Mary, who giggles. Their mom, Jenny, just had another baby boy – a boy named Leon, so she’s on maternity leave right now. Taehyung’s been babysitting for them since Andy was two, but since their mom is home, they don’t need him for now. It’s kind of a bummer – they’re fun kids.

When he gets in his own house, he immediately hears his mom yelling, “Taehyung? Is that you?”

“Yeah mom.” He dumps his stuff in the hall, and attempts to sneak in his room. His mother has other plans however – she spots him as he passes by the kitchen. “Taehyung! In here!”

He stops in the doorway, suppressing a sigh. He enters the kitchen to see his mom, a tall woman with jet black hair and brown eyes, standing on a step stool to clean the top of the cupboards. She’s a bit of a neat freak. Mom is beautiful, just like his brothers. He’s the only one in the family who’s kind of not blessed with their genes.

He starts looking through cupboards, searching for food. Unfortunately, he’s not tall enough to reach the high places – like the Pop Tarts he knows Hoseok hides behind the popcorn machine in the cupboard above the stove.

Mom steps down from her stool, taking in his appearance. She knows, as she always does, where he had been, and yet she still asks.

“Been at the library?” She’s unusually chipper. He’s about to ask why when he sees the pile of colored plastic shopping bags on one of the kitchen chairs.

“Yeah.” He starts to inch out the door before his mom can tell him about the bags. She notices his escape attempt and frowns. “Tae, you need a new wardrobe. I bought some –“

“Mom. I told you I’d buy my own clothes this year.” And the year before, and the year before that… His mom has a bad tendency to pick out clothes that she likes, not clothes that he likes.

“At least try them on.” His mother does an exceptional eye-roll.

Taehyung nods and lug the bags to his room. There’s really no fighting with her. It’s better to just give up. At least she left the receipts in the bags, so he can take them back later if he needs to.

When he turns on his computer, he finds an email from Jimin. He moved back out to Busan a couple weeks ago.

Message Recipient: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

I am (surprisingly) not completely happy here in Busan. Since dad and I got here, he’s been a lot more chill than normal. Then again, mom’s not here to make him freak out, so I’m gonna guess that’s helping. I’ve seen many cute boys since my arrival – get this, a kid I knew when I was little recognized me. Like actually came up to me, and was like, hey what’s up! And of course I was like, dude, what are you doing? Anyway. We both have school tomorrow, so we should probably get prepared for that. It that we can’t be together as seniors! Tell me everything when you have time.

Cheers!

Jimin

That would be Jimin. His best friend is a total boy magnet something about his personality he guesses. He sends him a quick email and, true to his word, tries on the outfits his mom bought. Surprisingly, three of them actually looks good. He chose a periwinkle shirt and dark wash jeans to wear as his outfit tomorrow, and head downstairs to dinner.

Most of the time it’s him, mom, and his brothers for dinner, since dad works, but tonight it’s quieter than usual. Seokjin and Hoseok are both out, so mom and him eat together. When he tells her about the clothes, she’s ecstatic.

“I told you you’d like them,” she beams. To humor her, Taehyung doesn’t mention the other outfits. The ones that doesn’t suit him. They’re all bright colors and tight fits. Not exactly his style.

That night when he heads to bed, he places the books he brought from the library on his dresser. More than anything, he wants to read them. This time he got Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. He’s read them before, but they’re light reading, and that’s what he needs right now, especially since the school year is starting.

He placed his glasses on the bedside table and presses his face into the pillow. The only thing he doesn’t like about having glasses is reading with them. He can’t lie down or they get crushed against his face!

He rolls over and stares up into the darkness. There’s a small shaft of moonlight coming from the part in his curtains, but not enough to keep him awake. First days of school had always given him a bit of anxiety. This time though it feels worse, especially since Jimin isn’t there with him.