As soon as the sun was peeking through Taehyung’s window, greeting him in the morning with its bright rays, Taehyung hopped off his bed in a hurry and got ready, feeling a rush of current in him. He wanted to scream and pull his hair out because he was finally going out, and with no one but his one and only brother, Jin, and that alone made him feel energized, and he could’ve sworn that his heart was going a thousand beats per minute, going so fast like a race car. Going downstairs, all giddy and cheerful, Taehyung spotted his mother in the kitchen, preparing lunchboxes, decorating it carefully, with so much love. Bouncing happily, he gave his mother a hug from the back, a big grin plastered on his face as he rested his head on her shoulder, but soon nuzzling his head into her shoulder because he wanted to. She first gasped, startled, not knowing someone had silently crept into the kitchen, but when she reached down to the strong arms around her waist, she immediately knew who it was and she smiled, closing the lunchboxes and putting them in a picnic basket.

“Is mother feeling good this morning?” Taehyung said, burying his head deep into the crook of her neck as he let out a chuckle, noticing how her hair smelled so good, like she used strawberry shampoo, and he couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh. Since the picnic basket was ready, he figured that maybe he and Jin were going to have a picnic. Having that thought in mind, he remembered how he used to have picnics with his family before, how he would laugh so hard seeing the birds gather all around them as if saying they wanted their food, and Taehyung smiled at the thought that maybe they did gather around because they wanted Taehyung’s bread, and him eating it messily as bread crumbs scattered all over didn’t help because they always seemed like they were eyeing their prey: little Taehyung’s scattered bread crumbs.

“So it’s a picnic then?” Taehyung said, more of like a question, as she turned around and kissed his cheek good morning. He’d never been to a picnic with a guy before, aside from his dad, but his mother always went along, but that wasn’t his point. Jin was going with him, and somehow, he felt nervous like he didn’t know what to do because what if he messed up? What if Jin would hate him more?

Then a thought hit him. He remembered what happened a few hours ago when he rested his hand in Jin’s lap, earning that shocked expression from his brother.

He hates me, doesn’t he?

“Yeah it is,” his mother smiled at him, handing him the picnic basket and continuing, “It’s kind of warm today, so it makes things so much better.” Just then, a slam on the front door alarmed them. Taehyung whipped his head to the door, but his mother let him face her again. “That’s Jin. He said he didn’t want to eat breakfast, so I figured that well, maybe it would be better for you guys to have a picnic instead. Both of you didn’t eat yet, so I packed everything in here and you’re good to go.”

A lot of ideas went into his mind like what if he looked weird while he was eating, or what if Jin would pin him down somewhere again, or maybe even creating a scene in public, earning all the judging looks from the others? What if this picnic would turn into a disaster rather than a building-of-trust kind of thing?

He gulped down the lump that was stuck in his throat and gave his mother a blank expression. He was worried, alright. His face didn’t even cooperate well with him right now to even create an expression. Taehyung’s heart was going to explode out of his chest because of a lot of reasons – his excitement, yet, his worries, along with uncertainty with the thoughts of Jin pranking him tagging along somewhere in the back of his brain, begging to be noticed.

“Taehyung, sweetie, you don’t have to be worried. Jin is a really good guy. He’s just shy around new people,” she said as her expression dropped, yet, she still smiled at him, assuring him that everything would be fine. “Especially now, since we have you. Having a brother, a new addition to the family must’ve shocked him, I can only imagine, but we love you, and I know he will get used to this eventually. Just give him time, okay?” she kissed his forehead and Taehyung’s heartbeat stabilized once again. His heart was no longer in the pit of his stomach and his thoughts flying elsewhere – he was here, now, facing reality and that was final. Why worry when it’s just you having a picnic with your brother? “Now go and have fun,” she pushed him out of the door with a big grin on her face and as Taehyung waved goodbye to her, she sighed to herself, feeling like the weight of the world on her shoulders were now gone.

Please let this day go well.

As soon as he stepped out of their house, Taehyung whipped his head from left to right, searching for no one but Jin, gripping onto the picnic basket’s handle tight as he let the sun’s rays warm him up. He adjusted his thick jacket because eventhough it was sunny, it was windy. When he looked to his left, a smile came up to his face and he sprinted, screaming along the way, his small smile being replaced by a huge idiotic grin.

“Jin hyung!” he screamed, running with his limbs going back and forth, and everything was dangerous at that point as his long legs continued to move forward, his eyes set on no one but Jin, and even the picnic basket’s life was in danger as of that moment as it swung from left to right in violent swings. “JIN HYUNGGG!” Taehyung yelled somemore, noticing that Jin was only a few meters away and that’s when he noticed how fast he was running. Heck, his heart couldn’t even take it!

Jin was going ahead, peacefully, not even taking the time to eat breakfast, but he didn’t mind. He knew Taehyung would follow him anyway, so he walked slowly so Taehyung could just spot him immediately. Just then, screaming could be heard and that’s when Jin’s eyes turned into wide saucers. Nevertheless, he continued to walk, straight ahead, not even stopping for the poor boy who he guessed by now was his stupid brother. His voice could be recognized anywhere since it was so deep and at times, it would turn husky, especially in the mornings, but when he was hyper? Jin scoffed. Taehyung would sound like a loud speaker when he was hyper, and Jin took this moment as an example as he sensed Taehyung’s presence getting closer and closer, still calling out to him. He sounded like a dying whale while he was screaming for crying out loud!

He was on the sidewalk, Jin thought, but he silently prayed to God that Taehyung would shut the hell up because he was being an annoying little right now, hollering and hollering and constantly yelling his name for the passersby to hear. So much for living a peaceful life.

“JIN HYUNG, PRINCESS JIN HYUNG, OUR CUTE PINK PRINCESS SEOKJIN!!!” Taehyung yelled louder this time, more like screeched louder this time, and Jin literally had his mouth agape because Taehyung literally made a photo album reference right now, referring to his baby photos showing him wearing a pink princess dress. Yes, it was weird, and yes, he blamed no one but his mother as she forced him to wear that stupid dress because who, on the face of the Earth, lets their son wear a pink dress? Jin now stopped dead in his tracks only to face his brother who grinned even wider this time, proud that Jin finally noticed him. Jin wasn’t the type to get scared easily, but this one was an exception as he took in the image of a certain Kim Taehyung looking like he came out of a horror movie as he looked terrifying, smiling from ear to ear like that, holding a picnic basket. Taehyung’s jacket was falling off his shoulder, his shoelaces came undone, his hair was now messy – Taehyung, overall, looked like a mess.

This little .

Just then, when Taehyung finally reached his brother, he panted, his hands on his knees as he gasped for air, like how a fish is when it’s out of the water, struggling for air as well. He looked pathetic.

Idiot.

“Good morning,” Taehyung greeted him with a smile when his breathing regulated. Good morning? Jin questioned Taehyung in his mind. You embarrassed me in front of all these people, and now you say ‘Good morning’? “Did you sleep well?” Taehyung’s question echoed in his ears and Jin looked at him, not being able to say anything. He just stared at Taehyung because how could this kid be so happy and giddy this early in the morning? Jin would’ve been asleep right now if it weren’t for this Taehyung. Without thinking, Jin bent down only to tie Taehyung’s shoelaces because a part of him didn’t want Taehyung to trip over and land on the floor awkwardly because that would destroy his face and make him look more stupid.

He realized that he tends to abuse the word ‘stupid’ because that word definitely fit Taehyung and he just didn’t know why.

“Can you stop running like that? You’ll trip and fall and your face will land on the sidewalk and you’d look more stupid and that’s not a pretty view to look at,” Jin scoffed as he went ahead, realizing he said the word ‘stupid’ once again. Taehyung followed suit not a second later, walking beside Jin with a smile.

“Thank you for tying my shoelaces,” Taehyung thanked him, looking at his older brother with a certain kind of sparkle in his eyes, and eventhough it was only a small act of kindness, he felt thankful. Well, it was because Jin did it, and it was rare for J