CHAPTER THREE

Hoseok knew when something was wrong. Jin had came in quietly into his house, not knocking other any items or bumping into his furniture. You could say that he was genuinely worried why nothing had fallen onto the ground yet. "Jin?" Hoseok hesitantly called out. The said man had found a comfortable spot on the other's bed. "Hoseok..." He breathed out.

"You...You should know something." Hoseok scurried near Jin. The latter reached over and balled the other's shirt in his fists. "I'm friends with Kim Taehyung." Hoseok's jaw dropped, he steadied himself onto to wall as if he might just collapse. Jin patted his bestfriend on the back. "I know right. I don't know what to do." 

Without warning, Jin had recieved a punch on the shoulder. "Ow! What was that for?" Jin yelped, holding his arm. "That's going to leave a bruise, I swear." Hoseok scoffed and fidgeted with his headphones. Jin noted that they were the headphones he had bought Hoseok for his 19th birthday. The boy had complained about the expensive brand but Jin would not take no for an answer. 

"There's nothing wrong with being friends with him. Infact you should make some friends in your class." Jin sat criss cross on Hoseok's bed. He did make sense. Jin wanted to make friends but Taehyung was just so different then him. He was the kind of person that Jin tended to avoid like the plague. Hoseok turned his chair around and continued his work on his laptop. "Has anyone else tried to be your friend?" He asked, not looking back at Jin.

Hoseok took Jin's silence as a no. "He's popular too. Ask him to help you out." Jin let out a loud grunt and laid down. "So frustrating. I wish you were in my class again." The room became silent again. Jin could hear the rap music blasting through Hoseok's headphones. He suddenly wondered where his old highschool friends were. There was Min Yoongi and Namjoon, two of his friends before the accident.

The two had visited multiple times when Jin had the accident but after a few months, they had stopped coming. It wasn't till the third month when only Hoseok would arrive with flowers. The softness of the bed and the familiar scent of his Hoseok's smell, comforted Jin into relaxing.

Without realizing it, his eyelids fluttered and he drifted off to sleep.

Jin didn't have dreams. He had nightmares. He couldn't remember the last time that he had a dream where he wouldn't wake up in the middle of night, sweating. Tonight wasn't an exception. He was stirred awake by Hoseok who looked worried. "You were moving around a lot." Jin smiled, hiding his face with his arm.

"I'm good now. Thanks." He took a deep breath to calm himself beore sitting up. Jin checked his phone and realized it was already 2am. Hoseok's back was facing Jin as he worked on his laptop. "I already called your mom and said you're sleeping over."

Jin rested his head on the wall and noticed how Hoseok's appearance didn't change from when Jin fell asleep. "Did you not sleep at all?" Hoseok shook his head. He left one ear bare. "I was too busy with my mixtape." Jin yawned loudly, his eyes getting watery. He crawled to the side of the bed and noticed a small table set up with rice and some kind of pot.

"Did you eat?" Hoseok waved it off. "I cooked but didn't feel hungry after. You could eat it." Jin sat down on the floor and opened the pot, revealing kimchi jjigae. His stomach grumbled at the smell. "Smells good." He smiled to himself.

Jin mumbled a thank you to Hoseok then began to dig a large amount of rice onto his spoon. He forgot that he hadn't eaten the entire day. Jin had practically been asleep the whole day. Soon the pot of kimchi jjigae had quickly lessened and the bowl was clear of any traces of rice. He let out a satisfied sigh and rubbed his stomach. "Your cooking skills are still good."

Hoseok's response was a small laugh. "I learned how to cook from you." When Hoseok had come into Jin's hospital room nearly a year ago saying how he had been kicked out of his house and was living alone now. Jin had fiercly taught the man how to cook everyday foods with Hoseok even going as far as to take notes. 

His notes payed off. "You're not going to eat?" Jin asked. Hoseok shook his head. "Surviving on energy drinks right now. I'm almost done with this new song." Jin's motherly side suddenly showed up.

"You are not going to survive on energy drinks. Do you have anything in your refrigerator?" Hoseok laughed.

"Used all my ingrediants to cook you dinner." Jin face reddened. He didn't mean to be such a rude guest. He stood up, grabbing his backpack. "I'm going to check the convience store for some food. I'll be right back."

Hoseok yelled out,"Be careful!"

The dark always scared Jin. He heard from fellow patients at the hospital how when you die, all you see is darkness.

Of course he didn't want to retort how anyone would know that if they were dead. He was thankful that the bright Seoul streets were always crowded. Jin stepped into the closest convience store and met eyes with the cashier. Jin quickly looked away. He wondered if he would ever manage to make eye contact longer then his previous record- ten seconds.

Jin mumbled to himself as he walked through the aisle. The lights flickering with each step he took. "Not ramyun." He said to himself. He tightened his grip on the straps of his backpack. What kind of nutritious foods could he possibly find at a run down convience store? Jin eventually settled for a kimbap roll. He went over to the register and took the wallet out from his backpack. The middle aged cashier chorted at Jin's childish wallet which featured Princess Aurora in the front. He blushed at the bright pink wallet and avoided the strange look he got.

Hoseok had given it to him as a joke. Saying how Jin seemed like Sleeping Beauty as he just slept most of the day in the hospital. The wallet was still nicely intact even after a year, so he found no reason to stop using it. "Thank you." Jin grabbed the bag and headed out.

Jin inhaled the cold air and exhaled loudly. He thought about how he'd have to go to school in 5 hours. The thought quickly depressed him. He wished that he hadn't been such an awkward person. Maybe he could've made some friends or at least had the class not around with him. Jin looked over to the street of cars and noticed one that stuck out. A black mercedes benz that reminded him of those dramas where the rich kid would ride in. 

The windows were heavily tinted, so Jin could not even see anything or anyone inside. He froze when one of the windows had rolled down. A head popped up, Kim Taehyung's. Jin honestly expected Taehyung to notice him even though the large crowd left Jin hidden. He rested his head on his arm and stared out at the streets.

The sight of Taehyung made Jin hold his breath. It was nothing special about what Taehyung did but it completely froze Jin. He looked like royalty, something untouchable. It made his stomach turn when Taehyung's sleepy expression turned into a glare. Jin could see that he had his school uniform on. His tie loosened and his shirt wrinkly. 

The light turned green and the car began to speed up. Taehyung went back to his tired expression. He touched his temple in thought. Jin wondered what he was thinking.

The last sight Jin saw of Taehyung that night was him closing the window.