https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DdQUszwoc

According to the rumors, Jung Hoseok's roommate for sophomore year was a freshman, the little brother of Kim Baekhyun and Kim Daehyun, the star vocalists of the school. The youngest was also rumored to be majoring in vocals, so he was bound to be just as good, if not better, than his brothers. Apparently he was also just as handsome and charismatic, and was just as intelligent, too. He was going to the be the most popular, well-liked person in his year.

According to Yoongi.

When Hoseok walked into his dorm room for the first time, he found a boy about his height sitting on the one of the beds with his chin resting on his folded knees, seemingly lost in thought. Hoseok carefully set his bags down and shuffled over to the bed, clearing his throat to get the boy's attention. When the boy looked up, Hoseok gave him one of his signature, blinding smiles, and introduced himself.

He was very surprised when the boy returned a smile just as wide as his, a curiously box-shaped one, and giggled as he said "My name is Kim Taehyung! I hope we can be friends, Hoseok-hyung!"

Hoseok smiled gently and asked if the bed Taehyung was sitting on was the bed that he wanted.

Taehyung gazed up at him with large, deep brown eyes and giggled again. "I want the bed that you don't want, hyung."

Hoseok took the other bed.

"Hoseok hyung, Hoseok hyung, you're back from class! Guess what! It's only my first month here and I'm best friends with a kid in my math class! His name is Park Jimin! He says he's Min Yoongi's cousin? You told me that Min Yoongi is your friend, right?"

"Yes, I've known him since last year. He told me his cousin was starting here too. I'm one of the sophomore mentors in one of Jimin's dance classes, actually. That's nice, that you two have gotten to know each other. Maybe we can all hang out sometime."

"That's so cool! Jimin's your friend's cousin!"

Hoseok smiled back at Taehyung, noticing again how wide and bright his smile was, making his eyes turn into crescents. Just like his own.

"I'm going to shower, Taehyung. Knock on the door if you need anything."

"Okay hyung!"

Hoseok sighed as he washed his hair, thinking about the ball of fluff that was Kim Taehyung. The boy was adorable, there was no question about that. He seemed less than half his actual age with the way he acted, and his baby face didn't exactly help to counter the effect.

And yet there was something off about him. Hoseok would know, since he flashed a large, charming, utterly fake grin at everyone. Almost every smile Taehyung shot at the people around him, every giggle, every cute antic, was just a way to cover up something that was bothering him, something eating away at him inside of his mind.

Hoseok needed to help him.

"Taehyung, did you shower already?"

"Yup! I showered right before hyung came home!" Taehyung bit his lip as he stared at the paper on his desk, twirling his pencil as he thought about something.

"Do you need help with your homework? What are you working on?" Hoseok walked over to Taehyung, placing his hand on the back of Taehyung's chair and leaning against Taehyung's back to look at the textbook that he was reading. Calculus. "Math? Why are you taking a math course?"

The pencil stopped twirling for a split second, and started again. In a careful, measured voice, Taehyung replied, "To become more well-rounded. So I can prepare for all of life. It runs in my family. Baekhyun minors in engineering and Daehyun minors in applied math. I'm minoring in dance, so I decided to at least take one math course to live up to the legacy." Taehyung giggled. "Calculus is more fun than biology at least. It's pretty okay actually. I took it in high school so this course is mostly review."

Hoseok frowned, then forced his features into a grin. "You smarty pants," he said, ruffling Taehyung's hair. "So much for helping you with your homework. The most complicated math I've ever done is advanced algebra."

"I'll figure it out, hyung. Thanks for offering."

"Tell me if you need anything other than math help, okay?"

"Of course I will." Taehyung reached around his chair and hugged Hoseok, burying his head into Hoseok's chest. "Thanks for being nice to me, hyung."

Slowly, Hoseok put his arms around the boy and rubbed his back. "Taehyung, obviously I'm going to be nice to you, since you're so sweet and being nice is a good thing in the first place. Hyung's got your back, okay?"

"Yeah. You should sleep now, hyung."

"Promise me you'll sleep soon, too?"

"I promise."

"Do you mind if my cousin sits with us today at lunch? Apparently they decided to rearrange all of the lunch tables two months after school started."

"Mmm."

"Cool. Jin hyung's going to like him."

"Yeah."

"Yah, what's wrong?"

"Sure."

"Yah. Yah. Yah, Hoseok!"

"Yoongi hyung! Why'd you hit me?"

"You're distracted."

"Ah. Sorry. I was just thinking about someone-thing. Something."

"You might want to focus. You have three paragraphs left to write for English."

"Oh. Oh, god. I have to do those, don't I?"

"They're due in an hour. Hurry up."

"Hoseok hyung! Hoseok hyung, hi!"

Hoseok looked up, eyes moving from Taehyung to the short boy standing next to him, with a baby face that could rival Taehyung's. Of course, Taehyung was cuter. "Oh, hey guys. Jimin, nice job during class today, by the way. You're improving pretty fast."

"There's a shock," Yoongi said, plopping down next to Hoseok and setting his lunch tray down on the table, causing Jimin to let out a noise of protest.

"Hyung, you know I'm a good dancer!" 

Ignoring Jimin, Yoongi continued. "Jin and Namjoon might be a couple minutes late. Jin texted me saying that Namjoon fell asleep in class and that he's getting yelled at by the professor."

Hoseok blinked. "But he falls asleep all the time."

"It was during a test."

Taehyung laughed loudly and sat down across from the two of them, pulling Jimin down as well, almost making the short boy drop his lunch. "Namjoon hyung is so funny, Yoongi hyung."

"He is. All of us are, actually. Not a single one of us is normal," Hoseok replied.

Jimin spoke up indignantly. "But I'm normal! I'm not anything like you guys."

"No, you're not anything like us, because you're the least normal," Yoongi muttered through a mouthful of pasta.

"Close your mouth when you eat, Yoongi," a new voice piped up, startling Yoongi and making him jump slightly.

"Jin hyung, hi!" Hoseok smiled up at Jin, who was now dragging Namjoon out from behind him, where he was attempting to sneak away. "Oooh, is Namjoonie in trouble?"

"Yes," Jin said shortly. "We'll go get lunch now. Namjoon, you're paying for me too."

"But hyung!" Namjoon whined, followed by yelping as Jin dragged him away by the ear.

Taehyung giggled and smiled brightly, bouncing slightly in his seat as if he'd had an unhealthy mixture of caffeine and sugar during class.

"Taehyung, why're you so happy?" Yoongi grumbled.

"Does there have to be a reason, hyung?"

Jimin laughed and put his arm around Taehyung. "Hyung, you know that Taehyung is always happy."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Yoongi stabbed at a piece of pasta sullenly.

During the entire exchange, Hoseok watched Taehyung's face carefully. His smile never faltered. It was sitting on his face like it was plastered there. Jimin said that Taehyung was always happy? Always? It always seemed like he was when they were all together, and when he was talking with Hoseok in their room, but there were the small moments that Hoseok would catch where the smile disappeared completely, when Taehyung looked as if he'd known a happy day in his life. Yoongi didn't like that Taehyung was happy all of the time? Hoseok hated that he never really was.

"Taehyung, are you going to eat anything?" Jimin asked cheerfully.

Taehyung wrapped his arms around Jimin's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. "I had a really big breakfast, Jiminnie."

Hoseok looked down at his own lunch tray, which itself had a minimal amount of food, and stayed silent. During his freshman year, he would never eat lunch, but after multiple dizzy spells and public faints, he figured that he had to nourish himself somehow or he would be found out. Hopefully, Taehyung would realize that soon.

The four of them settled into a comfortable quiet, broken only by Taehyung and Jimin's giggles, since they seemed to find everything funny. Eventually, Jin came back with Namjoon, and they sat across from each other, Jin next to Jimin and Namjoon next to Yoongi.

"Yah, guys, are you done with your verses for the new song?" Namjoon asked.

Yoongi mumbled a yes through his food, then swallowed hastily when Jin gave him a glare. "Uh, um, yes. I am. We can record today."

"I'm done, but I can't record today. You guys go ahead," Hoseok replied.

"What?" Namjoon looked at Hoseok, surprised. "Why can't you?"

"My throat's not feeling great. I actually think I'll skip the rest of my classes today."

"Are you falling sick? You have been pretty quiet today, hyung." Jimin asked, concerned, causing Yoongi to scoot away from Hoseok, almost pushing Namjoon off of the bench in the process, as if that would help him avoid catching the sickness.

"I just need rest." Hoseok smiled and stuffed the last few bites of his lunch in his mouth so that he wouldn't have to say any more.

The conversation drifted away from Hoseok, and Hoseok focused on laughing in all of the right places, making all the right jokes, making the people he cared about happy. Lunch ended, and everyone but Hoseok left the table to go to their next classes. Sighing, he ruffled his hair and threw his empty tray away, trudging to the dorm slowly.

Hoseok stared at the picture of his family on his nightstand for a while. His parents and his sister, and him. After some time, he rolled over on his bed to face the other way, letting the tears run down his face onto the pillow. He started sobbing, curling into a ball and clenching his fists tightly next to his heart.

When he was too exhausted to keep crying, he stumbled out of his bed and into the shower, almost forgetting to strip off his boxers before stepping inside. After Hoseok finished, he dried himself off carelessly and put on a pair of sweatpants, crawling back into bed and pulling the covers up to his chin.

Hoseok woke up when the door to the room opened, and Taehyung shuffled around while trying to take off his shoes without using his hands. Hoseok would have to teach him how, because rubbing his ankle against the wall was not how Taehyung was going to succeed. Finally, Taehyung gave up and pulled his shoes off with his hand, and walked inside, smiling at Hoseok.

"Sorry, hyung, did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, but I would've had to wake up anyways."

"But you look really sick, hyung. You should go back to sleep, and take tomorrow off, too."

Smiling tiredly, Hoseok pushed his covers off of himself and gestured to Taehyung to sit next to him on the bed. Taehyung complied, although he gave Hoseok a questioning look.

"Hyung, what's wrong?"

"I'm not really sick, Taehyung."

"You're not? But . . . why'd you lie then?"

"I was just thinking about something. I'm worried about someone."

"Who?"

At this, Hoseok stared straight into Taehyung's eyes, noticing how deep they actually were, so much hidden behind them. "You."

Taehyung drew back, startled. "Me? Why? Hyung, I'm fine!"

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you're completely fine?"

Smiling widely, Taehyung stared back at Hoseok, saying "Hyung, I'm perfectly okay. I'm great! I'm having a lot of fun this year with all you as my friends. Plus I get to sing and dance all day!"

Internally, Hoseok screamed at Taehyung's refusal to tell him the truth, but he laughed and pulled Taehyung into a gentle headlock, rubbing his head playfully. "I know you're great, Tae. I guess it's just the sickness getting to me, right?"

Giggling in response, Taehyung wrapped his arms around Hoseok's waist. "You're funny, hyung."

"I know."

It was hilarious, wasn't it?

Hoseok watched as Yoongi spit fire into the microphone, marveling at how he seemed completely unaware of his surroundings while he was rapping. He wished that he were half as good as Yoongi was, or Namjoon was. They'd been rapping since they were immature kids in middle school, while Hoseok had only started in his last year of high school. At least he knew he was a better dancer than either of them.

Namjoon stood up and turned off the music as Yoongi stopped rapping, panting from exertion. "We're good for today. Hyung, I'll edit your part and layer some stuff over it. I have extra time today so I can stay behind. Hoseok, nice job with the chorus. We'll record your part of the verses next time."

"Sounds good, Namjoon. I'll head out now, guys. Bye!" Hoseok pulled on his coat quickly, picked up his backpack, and walked out of the studio as Namjoon and Yoongi said goodbye. He shivered slightly as a rush of cold hit him as he stepped outside into the crisp, late fall air. It was the first week of December, and all around the campus, colorful lights were strung on the entrance of the buildings and the windows. After about five minutes, Hoseok reached his and Taehyung's dorm building, which itself was covered in green, blue, and pink lights (the pink was courtesy of Taehyung and Jimin, who pestered the student leader of their dorm to put up pink until he finally broke down looking at their puppy eyes). Nodding hello to the group playing cards in the lounge and rolling his eyes at Hyunseung and Hyuna giving each other googly eyes over their hands, he took the stairs two at a time to the third floor and relaxed slightly as he finally reached his and Taehyung's dorm.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to find Taehyung sitting on his bed with another boy, both of them happily conversing. "Tae, I'm back!" he called, not wanting to abruptly intrude on their conversation. 

"Hoseok hyung!" Taehyung jumped off of his bed and ran to Hoseok, tackling him with a tight hug. "You're back!"

Laughing, Hoseok held Taehyung's arms and pushed him back slightly, looking at his face. His laughter faded slightly as he felt how thin Taehyung's arms were, as if he had no muscle, just skin and bone. Pushing the thought aside, he asked, "Tae, did you use your aegyo to get Jin hyung to give you doughnuts again?"

"I'm just happy, hyung!" Taehyung skipped back to his bed, jumping onto it and hugging the other boy. "Baekhyun hyung came to visit!"

Looking up, Hoseok realized that indeed, Kim Baekhyun was sitting on his bed, watching the entire scene with an amused smile. "Hi, Hoseok ssi. I've heard a lot about you."

"Hi sunbaenim!" Glancing nervously at Taehyung, he added, "I hope you haven't heard anything bad."

Baekhyun gave him a rectangular smile extremely similar to Taehyung's, and replied, "Nothing bad at all. You seem to be the best roommate my brother could've gotten."

Hoseok hung up his coat on the hook by the door. "I'd say that he'd be better off with Jimin, but Jimin is a slob, so I guess I am the best choice! Although cleaning up after Taehyung when he forgets that clothes don't belong on the floor gets annoying."

"Yah, Tae Tae, you've been making Hoseok clean up after you?"

"He always cleans before I get to it, hyung! It's not my fault he's a neat freak!"

"It's not his fault you're messy, now, is it?"

"Sunbaenim, really, it's fine. He's really not that messy, it's just that I can't stand things being out of place."

"Call me hyung, Hoseok." Baekhyun smiled at Hoseok and then got up from the bed. "I'm gonna go now, Tae Tae. You take care of yourself, okay? Daehyun's planning to stop by this week too, after his performance in town is over."

"Okay hyung! Thanks for the present!" Taehyung threw his arms around Baekhyun again, causing the older boy to stumble backward slightly.

"Yah, yah, I'm supposed to be leaving. Get off of me, you brat."

Giggling, Taehyung pulled back and sat cross-legged on the bed, watching Baekhyun as he put his shoes and coat on. "Bye hyung."

"Bye, Tae Tae. Be good. And bye to you too, Hoseok. Find me or Daehyun if the little one gives you too much trouble, okay?"

"I don't think I'll need to, hyung. Taehyung's a good kid."

Again, Baekhyun flashed a grin, patting Hoseok on the shoulder gently. "You're a good friend to him. Thanks."

Hoseok smiled back, a real, true smile this time. "I wouldn't want to be anything else."

Baehyun laughed slightly and turned back, opening the door and heading out into the hallway. Once the door closed, Hoseok turned to Taehyung, who was lying on his back staring at the ceiling. "Your hyung is really nice, Tae."

"I know." A small smile. "He and Dae hyung are the best. They've been there for me my whole life."

"Baekhyun hyung gave you a present, right?" Hoseok suddenly remembered, looking around the room until he spotted a miniture Christmas tree sitting on their shared dresser. "Oh, that's so cute!"

Taehyung laughed. "Baek hyung is cute in general, Hoseok hyung."

"I guess it just runs in your family, huh?"

"I guess."

Walking over to the tree, Hoseok examined it, noticing the tiny ornaments strung on it and the small star at the top. Suddenly, he realized something that he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed before. "Tae?"

"Yeah hyung?"

"Why don't you have any Christmas decorations or anything in our room? You begged so much for the pink lights on the dorm, but there's nothing in here."

Silence.

"Tae?" Hoseok turned around to find Taehyung staring at his bed blankly, rubbing his blanket absently. "Tae, are you okay? I'm sorry if I asked something too personal."

"Oh, hyung, it's not your fault. I was just thinking!" That same smile. "I don't know, I just don't like the room to get too crowded, you know? But the lights look really good around the dorm!"

Again, Hoseok felt like screaming. Why couldn't Taehyung just tell him the truth? "Ah. Okay."

"What about you, hyung?"

Hoseok was startled. "What?"

"You haven't put up any decorations, either. You haven't even paid attention to the ones outside the room."

"I. . . don't celebrate Christmas."

"Oh. Is it because of your religion?"

"No. I just don't."

A tense silence, where neither of them seemed to know what to do.

"Did you finish your homework, Taehyung?" Hoseok finally asked.

"Everything but math."

"You should finish soon. It's almost nine. Did you have dinner?" Hoseok asked as he started to change his clothes.

"Yeah, before you came back. Baekhyun hyung took me out."

"Did you eat enough?" Hoseok pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, shaking his head slightly as his bangs fell into his eyes. He needed a haircut.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I, hyung?"

"Just . . . wondering."

Taehyung laughed. "Hyung is so weird."

Hoseok gave Taehyung a look. "Hyung thinks you should stop calling hyung weird before hyung tickles you to death."

"If hyung tickles me, then hyung is even more weird."

Smiling, Hoseok started walking over to Taehyung's bed, causing the younger boy to start giggling and attempt to cover himself with his blanket. Undeterred, Hoseok climbed on top of the bed and started mercilessly tickling Taehyung, causing him to shriek with laughter and push Hoseok away, but, unfortunately for Taehyung, he wasn't strong enough.

"Hyung, stop! Stop!" With a half laugh, half scream, Taehyung wriggled out of Hoseok's grip, and fell ungracefully onto the floor, still giggling. "No more, hyung! I have to do my homework!"

"Will you call me weird again?"

"Probably, but I have to do my work! You go write lyrics or something!" Taehyung smiled up at Hoseok from the floor.

"All right, but you have to sleep early, okay? Don't you have a dance performance tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine, hyung. Hyuk and Sungjae are my partners, so it'll be great, actually. I'll work on math now. Gotta integrate those disks."

Hoseok rolled off of Taehyung's bed and got onto his own, pulling out his sketchpad. "I'll pretend I know what that means. Have fun, Tae."

"I won't, but thanks."

As Hoseok plugged in his earphones to listen to music and started sketching new choreography in his sketchbook, he couldn't help but think about his roommate. Taehyung was skinny. Far, far too skinny. Hoseok had been right in his assumption. When he had tickled Taehyung. he could feel every one of his ribs, and his entire body felt fragile, as if he could break it in half. Of course, there was also the obvious secret Taehyung was keeping from him about Christmas, which was likely tied to everything else the boy was keeping from him.

Hoseok sighed. A body roll here, a pop of his shoulders there, secrets hidden everywhere.

What a hypocrite he was.

"Hyung, you look exhausted," Taehyung commented, watching with his eyes wide as Hoseok stumbled into their room, draped his coat over his desk, stripped off his clothes and put on his usual sweatpants. Without even bothering to put on a shirt, he climbed onto his bed and under the covers.

"Practice hard today."

"Dance? Wow, hyung, you really did a lot, huh?"

"Hmm."

"I thought the math test I'm having tomorrow was going to be bad, but I guess it won't be nearly as bad as you seem right now."

"Mmmnnm."

A short pause. "I'll just let you sleep, hyung."

"Mmmph."

Hoseok woke up a few hours later, blinking his eyes owlishly as he slowly sat up. Squinting at the clock, he realized it was one thirty in the morning, and he wondered why the light was still on until he turned his head and saw Taehyung. The boy was sitting at his desk, sound asleep with his head resting on a textbook, pencil still in his hand. Quietly so that he wouldn't wake him up, Hoseok padded over to the desk and checked what Taehyung had been doing. Math. Of course. Sighing, Hoseok gently pulled Taehyung's chair back and lifted him up with his arms supporting his knees and back, and laid him genly on his bed. Looking down at himself, he also realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt, and put one on, making as little noise as possible. Taehyung stirred slightly as Hoseok turned the light off, and fully woke up when Hoseok got back into his bed.

"Hyung," Taehyung said groggily, his voice extra deep and hoarse from sleep.

"Yeah, Tae?"

"Hyung, why did you turn the light off? I have to study."

"No, you don't, Taehyung, not this much, and especially not for a subject that you won't be needing, considering your other classes."

"But hyung, I have a test today. I have to do well."

"You're going to do well, Tae. I know that already. You always do."

"But . . . but hyung, I never do well enough."

"The lowest score you've gotten is an 85. That's insanely good."

"Other people are doing better."

"Who?"

There was no answer, just a small sniffle. And another. And another.

"Taehyung, are you crying?"

A sob.

"Oh, Taehyung." Hoseok got out of his bed and climbed next to Taehyung in his, wrapping his arms around the younger and holding him tightly. Hoseok could feel everyone sharp bone of his frail body, his weakness from not eating properly. The small act of caring set Taehyung off completely, and soon Hoseok's shirt was soaked with tears from Taehyung's cries. Sobs wracked the younger's body, and Hoseok kept rubbing his back and whispering comforting things in his ear, trying to calm him down. Eventually, Taehyung started getting tired, and quieted slightly, although he was still sniffling.

"Sorry hyung."

"You don't have to be, Taehyung."

"No, I'm still sorry, hyung."

Hoseok sighed and hugged Taehyung tightly, and felt the younger relsx slightly into Hoseok's arms. They stayed that way for a while, not saying a word, just feeling the other's presence.

"Hyung is always here for you, okay?"

"Okay."

Hoseok let go of Taehyung and sat up next to the younger, and slowly started rubbing his back. "Go to sleep now, Taehyung. You need rest."

There was another silence, finally broken by Taehyung. "Hyung?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you hold my hand?"

Wordlessly, Hoseok took Taehyung's left hand into his right and pulled a pillow on top of Taehyung, leaning his head back so that he could be more comfortable. Hoseok squeezed Taehyung's hand gently, and smiled softly as he felt a small squeeze back. Taehyung was okay for today.

They fell asleep that way, Hoseok lying on top of the pillow on top of Taehyung, and Taehyung gripping his hand as if it was a lifeline. The hours of the night passed by silently, neither Hoseok nor Taehyung shifting an inch, both comforted in their sleep by the feeling that someone else was there.

That was all they needed for the night.

A/N:

Hello! Welcome to the first chapter of my first story ever (on this site)! Hopefully it's not too y, although it probably is.

This story was actually orginally meant to be a oneshot, albeit an extremely long one. The thing is that I tend to get writer's block really easily, so I figured I would post this before I hit some obstacle scene and wasn't able to keep going. I mean if I wrote it as a oneshot, it would take me weeks and weeks and weeks to write the whole thing and publish it at once.

But yeah, now it's in chapters, and the first one is up! Woot woot.

Please don't be shy to offer criticism; I actually quite appreciate it, since it helps me become a better writer.

I hope all of you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it~

<3 ^~^