Chapter 8 – Ice Cream

“Hello!” said a familiar, happy voice behind her.

It was lunchtime on Wednesday and Insook was sitting outside, in the deserted bleachers of the sports ground. She didn’t feel like sitting with her usual group today. In fact, she didn’t feel like talking to anyone – nevermind a perky boy whom she had only met a few days ago. She just wanted to be left alone in her gloominess. So she didn’t even acknowledge him. She just kept on staring ahead at nothing.

V sat down next to her and just stayed there quietly, not saying a thing. After several minutes she turned around to look at him, but he was looking away. ‘I really don’t understand this boy…’ she thought, looking at him curiously. As if hearing her thoughts, he turned and stared back at her. Intensely. For several seconds.

Then he smiled.

He reminded her of a little kid for some reason; so guileless. Somehow, even though she didn’t know him well, his presence there was comforting.

“Something bad happened” he said. It wasn’t a question; he said it like he was stating a fact.

Insook nodded, looking in the distance.

And they stayed like that, in companionable silence ‘til the bell rang.

*

On her way out of school, Insook’s phone buzzed again. She took it out of her bag, saw that it was a text from Rapmonster and shoved it back inside her bag grumpily. Ironically enough, now that she was ignoring him, he couldn’t stop texting her; when the day before it seemed like he couldn’t even remember she existed. But the phone buzzed again, incessantly, so she sighed and took it out.

[Hey cutie, how are you doing?]  08:22

[Can we meet after school today?]  10:17

[Hey, you there?] 12:38

[Insooooooook???] 14:45

[I’m at your locker, where are you?] 15:32

[Did you go home already?] 15:40

[Is everything ok??] 15: 42

[Hey I’m worried about you…] 15:43

She opened the conversation and saw the 8 messages Namjoon had sent her that day. If she wasn’t so hurt by the fact that he was just using her, she would find the reversal situation of him being the needy one pretty funny. But as things were, she just sighed as she typed a reply.

[Not feeling well. Going home. Can’t meet you today. Sorry]

And threw the phone back in her bag. Ignoring it as it buzzed yet again.

“Your phone’s ringing.”

She looked up and noticed V had fallen into step next to her.

“I don’t care. It’s not important” she told him.

“Oh?” he said, raising his eyebrows questioningly, but she didn’t elaborate.

They walked together in silence for a while and then, suddenly, he just grabbed her hand and said, “Come!”

Before she could say anything, he was dragging her away from the road, towards a convenience store.

“What are we doing?” she asked as he pulled her up to the plastic chairs that were set up outside.

“Wait here” he told her, before darting inside the store.

She considered leaving, but was too puzzled by the boy’s behaviour so she just waited for him to come back. A few minutes later, he exited the store, a triumphant smile on his face.

“Tadaaah!” he said, brandishing two ice-cream bars in front of him.

“Which do you want? Strawberry or choco-chip?”

“Who cares,” she retorted shrugging, “it’s just gonna make me fatter anyways…”

“I don’t care you’re fat” he said, oblivious at his lack of tact, shoving the choco-chip one into her hand, while she just stared at him, dumbstruck that he’d just said that.

“When a girl says she’s fat, you’re not supposed to actually agree…..” she said, giving him a flat look.

But the boy just shrugged and tore open the packaging of his ice candy, popping it into his mouth and taking one huge bite off the top.

“I like your chubby cheeks” he said, with his mouth full, and then, as if to prove his point, just reached out and pinched her cheek – rather painfully – with the hand that wasn’t holding the ice cream. “And if I hug you you’re squishy.”

He went on to give her a sudden hug, squeezing her really hard, and she just had to laugh.

“You are so weird. Has anyone ever told you that??” she asked, after pushing him away.

“Oh, all the time” he replied, matter-of-factly, waving a dismissive hand at her, and she cracked up again.

***

After school, BTS were in Suga’s apartment, rehearsing their lines for their upcoming performance.

The red-headed boy was standing in front of the other two, delivering a super-fast rap into a “microphone” made of a rolled out stack of papers. J-Hope was staring at him with sparkling eyes, bobbing his head to the beat, but Rapmonster was just absentmindedly scrolling through his phone with a frustrated expression.

When Suga finished, J-Hope clapped eagerly.

“Wae, no applause from you?” asked Suga, squeezing between the other two boys on the couch, forcing Rapmon to move over.

“Oh, what, sorry?” asked the blonde boy, looking up.

Suga just shook his head and rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Ah sorry bro, I wasn’t paying attention, but you know you killed it” apologized Rapmonster, with a sheepish smile.

“And just whose call are you awaiting? You keep staring at your phone like a 14y.o. girl with a crush” said Suga, making J-Hope crack up and Rapmon shoot him a glare.

“Aah, it’s just that stupid girl!!!” exclaimed Rapmon, scratching his head in frustration.

“Bet girl?” asked the dark-haired boy. His friend nodded, not wanting to admit it with words. “What’s wrong? I thought it was going well?”

“It was!” exclaimed the blonde boy, “I thought it was!” he whined, sounding much more like a teenager than usual. “But she’s been giving me the cold shoulder all day!”

“So, ready to pay up then?” Suga extended a hand towards him, grinning.

“No way!” Rapmon made a face at him and J-Hope chortled.

“Hi guys! Am I interrupting anything?”

All three heads turned around to see Jimin, who was standing in the doorway, looking oddly adorable in his oversize basketball clothes with a snapback on his head.

“Hey! That’s my cue!” called out J-Hope, jumping off the couch, heading over to Jimin and ushering him through the door. “Good luck with your girl troubles Namjoonie!”

“Huh… bye guys!” Jimin only had the time to mumble as J-Hope was pushing him up the stairs.

“Wait, Namjoon-hyung has girl troubles?!” he whispered as they left, making J-Hope break into laughter again.

***

Several hours later, after another long, hard practice session, Jimin and J-Hope emerged from the dance studio, chatting together happily.

“Gonna run home to mama again?” teased J-Hope, as they both hovered outside the studio, not really wanting to leave.

“Yah!” exclaimed the younger boy, resentfully, “what else am I supposed to do?” he added, laughing.

“Let’s go have ice cream! There’s a good place around here. They have the best sundaes!” piped up the older boy, bouncing around from one foot to the other.

“I’m watching my weight now hyung… sundaes are a bad idea!” complained Jimin, making a really adorable sulky face.

“Okay, then you can just watch me eat!” grinned his hyung, and Jimin laughed.

“Come oooon!!”

J-Hope hooked his arm with the younger boy’s and dragged him along before Jimin could protest. The ice cream place was just across the street, and was currently half-empty, so they got to order right away.

“One super select triple choco sundae please!” ordered J-hope.

“Sure thing” said the old man behind the counter, “and for you?” he asked Jimin.

“Ah, nothing, thanks” smiled Jimin, like a well-behaved boy.

“This is stupid, your body looks fantastic, why do you even need to diet?” whined J-Hope, making a face at his friend.

“It looks fantastic because I DO diet” scuffed Jimin, crossing his arms over his chest, and J-Hope just rolled his eyes.

He paid for his food and they walked outside to eat it. They sat on a bench at the very end of the deserted seating area and Hoseok dipped his spoon into the gooey mixture.

“Say aaaaah….”

Jimin laughed as he saw J-Hope take a big spoonful of ice-cream and attempt to feed him.

“Come on, just one bite!” pleaded the older boy, but Jimin clamped his lips tightly shut.

Hoseok made a cranky face and decided to just try and push the ice against his donsaeng’s mouth. Jimin kept cracking up but never let him in.

“Bah… you’re no fun!” sulked J-Hope, popping the ice-cream in his mouth as Jimin could finally laugh freely. While he laughed, he didn’t notice his friend quickly dig out another spoonful, and fly the spoon at his face, before he’d smeared it all over his nose.

“Aaah!! It’s cold! Hyung, why did you do that?!!”

Jimin jumped back and fumbled around while J-Hope was just killing himself laughing on the bench. The younger boy fussed in his pockets for something to wipe his nose with, but came back empty-ended; the ice-cream starting to melt off his nose.

“I don’t have tissues!” he whined, “It’s cold!!”

“Okay…” said J-Hope, trying to steele his laughter, and then leaned-in as if he was gonna eat the ice-cream off of Jimin’s nose.

“Hyung!!!” squealed Jimin, in shock, as J-Hope started laughing even harder.

“Here,” he said, taking off his hat and removing the bandana he wore half-folded under it, “you can use this.”

“It’s stinky…” Jimin wrinkled his nose as he accepted the bandana and J-Hope smacked him.

“Fine! Give it back” J-Hope extended his hand.

“No, no, it’s okay!” protested Jimin, finally whipping his nose free of the sticky stuff.

“Thanks hyung. I’ll wash it” he said putting it in his pocket.

“You know you don’t have to call me “hyung” all the time. Just call me Hoseok. Or Hobi. Or J-Hope.”  said the older boy, “we’re friends.”

Jimin laughed.

“Okay.”

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well, here's a little bit of fluff for you before the storm.... kekeke... did you enjoy it?
I really liked writing both of those scenes ^_^