https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKTaIsFkCcY

"Yah, Kim Taehyung. Wake up," Hoseok whispered, straddling a sleeping Taehyung on his bed. "Wake up."

Taehyung opened his eyes slowly, and grinned at Hoseok. "Good morning, hyung."

"Happy birthday, Tae."

Laughing, Taehyung reached up and pulled Hoseok down for a hug. "Thanks, hyung."

"Wanna see your present?"

"You got me something?" Taehyung exclaimed, genuinely surprised.

Hoseok rolled off of Taehyung's bed, and went over to his dresser, opening the bottom drawer and pulling out Taehyung's gift. When he threw it to Taehyung, who was now sitting up, the younger boy screeched, and Hoseok smiled in satisfaction.

"Hyung, how much did this cost you?" Taehyung asked, staring down at the black, red, and white snapback in his hands in awe.

"Honestly not much. I took the bus into town and bought the cheapest hat I could find that I thought would look good on you."

"It's amazing." Taehyung looked up at Hoseok with wide eyes. "How did you know I wanted one?"

"You've only been talking about wanting a legit hat for a month now." Hoseok winked and started gathering his clothes, preparing to brush his teeth and shower. "Check your phone. It's overflowing with love. Have fun reading through all your messages."

Taehyung giggled and reached for his phone. "You're awesome, hyung."

"I know." A pause. "Yah, Tae."

"Yeah?"

"You look really happy today."

"I do?"

"Yeah."

"Huh."

Hoseok gave Taehyung a soft smile before walking into the bathroom.

Hoseok didn't see much of Taehyung for the rest of day, since everyone was dragging him around, wanting to celebrate with him. He couldn't complain, though, because Taehyung looked extremely happy in every single picture that his friends posted with him. He spent some time in the studio with Namjoon, creating new beats by beat boxing while Namjoon translated them into the computer, laying down the foundation for their next track. The two of them were interrupted when Jin and Jimin burst into the room, startling Namjoon, who hit the wrong button on the computer. A loud whine started coming from the speakers, and all of them covered their ears. Hoseok eventually managed to turn the speakers off by unplugging them, making everyone sigh in relief.  Looking around at Namjoon who seemed annoyed, Jin who seemed blank, and Jimin who seemed very sheepish, Hoseok started laughing, and soon the other three joined him.

After they caught their breath, Jin spoke up. "All right, let's go. We're having dinner with the six of us for Taehyung's birthday. Jimin, Yoongi and I already brought the cake, too."

Namjoon started closing all of the windows open on the computer, making sure to save everything. "Why didn't you let us pick the cake with you?" he asked, sounded a bit disappointed. Hoseok nodded in agreement.

"We didn't pick the cake, Jin hyung made it," Jimin said cheerfully. "With me and Yoongi hyung!"

"Why not us?" Hoseok started pouting, causing Jin to give him a strange look.

"Because Namjoon would set our apartment on fire."

"And Yoongi wouldn't?" Namjoon gave Jin an exasperated look.

"But I'm actually good at cooking," Hoseok whined.

Jin shrugged, and started pulling them out the door, barely giving them time to put their coats on. "Too late. Now let's go!"

The four of them started walking down the street, huddling together for warmth since it happened to be a very cold day. They sighed in relief as they finally reached the restaurant, and found Taehyung and Yoongi sitting together inside, discussing whether soda should be carbonated or uncarbonated.

"Hyung, soda's supposed to be carbonated! That's why it's called . . . soda?"

"But what if we think that soda has to be carbonated just because people started carbonating it? All of those soda flavors started out as juice, anyways."

"But if you want juice, you can just have juice. Soda is different."

"But soda is just juice with bubbles in it!"

Jimin started giggling, and Taehyung looked up at all of them, lips spreading into a wide grin. The rest of them sat down, with Taehyung sandwiched between Jimin and Namjoon, and Hoseok sitting across from Taehyung in between Yoongi and Jin. The very intense conversation continued as all of them started arguing about it (Jimin and Jin were on Taehyung's side, while Hoseok and Namjoon were on Yoongi's), until the waiter came and they ordered their food. Taehyung told the waiter what he wanted while repeatedly glacing at Hoseok. Hoseok gave him an encouraging smile, telling him through his eyes that it was perfectly okay to eat.

When their food came, the six friends talked and laughed and ate, enjoying the company of one another. And Hoseok was so, so proud because Taehyung actually managed to eat half of what he ordered, and he would make sure to tell Taehyung how happy he was about it when they got back to their dorm.

He himself, on the other hand, was having a problem. He'd started feeling sick after just a dozen small bites, which had unpleasantly surprised him because he thought he would've been able to handle eating at least that amount. He supposed that restaurant food was different from the food that he made for himself and that he got from the cafeteria. Maybe it was because he felt more disgusted at how many calories it must be.

Hoseok gagged.

"Guys, I'm gonna go the bathroom real quick." Standing up, he walked briskly to the bathroom at the back of the restaurant, locking the door of one of the stalls behind him before crouching, holding his head in his hands. He took deep, labored breaths, trying to keep from throwing up everything. He could do it. He knew he could. He just had to calm down a little and not get too upset and everything would be fine and he wouldn't go hungry again and it was okay for him to eat and oh my god he just wanted to disappear and he felt himself gagging again and he was about to scream and his head was spinning and he felt like he was going to black out and oh my god he was getting reminded of what happened seven years ago and oh my god he was going to die for real this time and where was his knife he needed his knife no Yoongi took it away and it was gone now but he really wanted it and why was he feeling this way now this was not the right time to feel this way and -

"Hoseok."

Hoseok fumbled with the lock of the stall, opening it hastily and pulling Yoongi inside. He kissed Yoongi desperately, grabbing Yoongi's hair so hard that the older boy let out a small hiss, but before he could let go and apologize, Yoongi started kissing him back just as hard, pulling Hoseok closer by his waist so that the two of them were pressed fully against each other. And eventually Hoseok started calming down, and the kisses got slower, and Yoongi started rubbing comforting circles on Hoseok's back, and Hoseok released his grip on Yoongi's hair, and the two of them broke apart, pressing their foreheads against each other's, panting.

"What happened?" Yoongi asked quietly.

"I don't know. There was no usual trigger. I think I need more sleep."

"Do you want to stay with me tonight?"

"I'm fine now. It wasn't that bad this time."

"It hasn't happened in a little while though." A pause. "Has it?"

"A couple days ago."

"Hoseok, why didn't you tell me?"

"It only lasted a few minutes."

"Hoseok . . ."

"Sorry."

Yoongi sighed. "Head back out, they must be wondering."

"Hyung, you know how much you mean to me, right?"

"Of course I do." Yoongi smiled softly.

When Hoseok walked out of the bathroom back to the table, he was all smiles, and told everyone that he'd been feeling a little sick, but that he was okay now. Then Yoongi came back, bringing with him the cake, and the rest of the celebration was full of happiness and delight.

Hoseok didn't eat a single thing. He barely let go of Yoongi's hand, which he was holding tightly under the table.

He couldn't stop staring at Taehyung, who smiled proudly at him as he finished an entire slice of cake.

Hoseok felt terrible.

Hoseok felt so, so happy.

Namjoon almost dropped his glass as he raised it while standing on the table in his and Jin's kitchen.

"Yah!" Jin shrieked, about to have a heart attack. "If you break anything, you're paying for it, not me!"

Jimin laughed along with everyone else and leaned over to whisper in Hoseok's ear. "I think Jin hyung is more worried about whether the glass lives than if Namjoon hyung does."

"Five bucks that Namjoon breaks something today?" Hoseok whispered back, smiling.

"No deal. I'm not betting against something that's definitely going to happen." Jimin giggled and shot an innocent grin at Namjoon, who was giving the two of them a strange look as he got off the table due to Jin's screeching. Hoseok flashed a peace sign, which made Namjoon curl his lip slightly and look away, and Jimin and Hoseok exchanged mischievous glances.

The six friends were in Jin and Namjoon's apartment, having their own small New Year's party, avoiding all of the big ones that other students were throwing, since none of them felt comfortable going to those. Even though they hadn't broken out the alcohol, deciding that they wanted all of them to start the new year sober, they were still acting extremely drunk, which was normal for them. In the living room, Taehyung and Yoongi were playing a very competitive game of Spit, the card game, and they both seemed very concentrated. The rest of them had been watching the two of them, marveling at how fast they were, until Namjoon had decided that he was crazy and that he wanted to show it off, getting on top of the table with his soda (the soda debate was still ongoing) and trying to dance to girl group songs.

Currently, Jin was giving Namjoon a piece of his mind, saying that just because Namjoon paid half of the rent didn't mean that he got to damage the furniture. After that particular situation calmed down, they went back to focusing on Taehyung and Yoongi's game, which seemed to almost be finished. Yoongi let out a yell of triumph as he slapped the last pile, flipping all of the cards in the other into Taehyung's face.

"Hyung, for someone who really hates to move and doesn't care about anything, you're very competitive," Jimin commented thoughtfully as Taehyung pouted.

Yoongi laughed, replying, "It's just for today. Don't get used to it."

"Don't worry, we won't," Jin muttered, causing Hoseok and Namjoon to snicker as Yoongi rolled his eyes.

"It's almost twelve!" Taehyung shrieked, turning up the volume on the television as the newscaster kept talking about the performances that were being held. The six of them piled on the couch, watching as the clock hit 11:59. After a minute of staring at the clock silently, it finally hit exactly 12:00, and the crowd on the television erupted into cheers, announcing the start of the new year.

Without a word, all of them drew each other into a large group hug, where none of them could tell where exactly any of the others were. They kept hugging for a few minutes, not minding how uncomfortable the position was.

"I'm glad I have you guys," Jimin said, his voice muffled.

Five voices chimed in agreement.

"School starts again in two days," Namjoon added.

A pause.

"Hyung, you just killed the mood."

"Namjoon, get out."

"Way to ruin the moment."

Regardless, they stayed that way, satisfied to be with one another, for a while.

Hoseok wiped his forehead and took a gulp of water, feeling Taehyung's stare on him.

"Hyung, why are you so good?"

"Hm?" Hoseok glanced up at Taehyung before drying his sweat-soaked hair with a towel. "What are you talking about?"

"At dancing. You're amazing."

Hoseok laughed. "You're funny."

"Hyung, I'm serious. You're like, the best dancer in your grade. Maybe even the whole school."

Hoseok decided to ignore Taehyung's last statement, not wanting to accept any compliments. "Play the next song, please."

Sighing, Taehyung gave Hoseok a look (Hoseok also decided to ignore that) before pressing a button on the stereo, playing another electronic song with a hard beat and intense bass drop. These were the songs Hoseok lived off of, danced to in the way he was most comfortable with. He started freestyling, glancing at Taehyung watching him in the mirror, before decided that he'd had enough of the younger boy simply watching him.

Walking over to Taehyung, Hoseok nudged him with his foot. "Get up."

"Why?" Taehyung asked, bewildered.

"You've been watching me for ten minutes just sitting there. You're a dancer, get up and dance with me."

Taehyung hesitated before replying. "I'm afraid of dancing in front of you, hyung."

"Why?"

He hesitated again. "I'm not as good as you."

Hoseok rolled his eyes (he felt like Yoongi) before grabbing Taehyung's arms and pulling him up. "And how do you expect to be as good as me when you haven't moved a muscle while I'm covered in sweat? Get your low self esteem out of the way and just dance, would you? I'm ditching Yoongi and Namjoon in the studio to be here. Do something."

Taehyung bit his lip and nodded, before giving Hoseok a crooked smile. "This is a new side of you, hyung. Not as constantly cheerful and sweet as you seem?"

Hoseok's eyes darkened and he smirked. "You would know."

Laughing, Taehyung walked behind Hoseok and started stretching. "I think I like this side of you better."

"Likewise." Hoseok walked over to his phone, which was plugged into the stereo, and looked up a song. "Jimin told me that you and he got As on your last project for your choreo."

Taehyung nodded, almost done stretching.

"Show it to me," Hoseok said, and played the song, causing Taehyung to jump up and get into position. As the introduction of the song finished, Taehyung started dancing, and Hoseok watched him with a critical eye. The choreo was sharp and detailed, and Hoseok felt a smidgen of pride as he realized that Taehyung and Jimin had created something like this on their own.

After the song ended, Taehyung stood in the center of the room waiting for Hoseok to say something, panting.

"I can see why you got As for the choreo. It's pretty good. You still have the same problems that I've told you about before, though."

Taehyung sighed. "I've been working on them, hyung, but I don't know what to do."

Hoseok smiled and moved closer to Taehyung. "Well, now you will, because today I'm going to help you one on one, instead of with a bunch of other freshmen. Now, start doing the dance without the music. Just go through the movements. Make them less jerky. I know you guys made the choreo based off of it being especially sharp, but in some place it looks a little awkward."

An hour later, both boys were collapsed on the side of the practice room, unable to dance anymore. After a few minutes of silence, Hoseok finally spoke up.

"You shouldn't be this tired after an hour, you know. I'm pretty exhausted, but you look like the soul has been from your body."

"I'm always this tired."

"Then eat more."

Taehyung groaned. "I don't want to do this now, hyung."

Hoseok stood and slung his backpack over his shoulder before squatting next to Taehyung and giving him a glare. "Then when will you?"

"It's in moments like these that I regret telling you everything. Get off my case, hyung."

Hoseok laughed mirthlessly and grabbed Taehyung's shirt, pulling him up so that their faces were just inches away from each other. "Keep this up and you won't have a case for me to get off of, Tae Tae."

Nervousness flashed in Taehyung's eyes before it transformed to a look of guilt. "Sorry, hyung. For worrying you." A pause. "Now would you mind letting go of me?"

Releasing Taehyung's shirt from his grip, Hoseok smiled and ruffled Taehyung's hair. "You need to stop giving me things to worry about."

"Hyung, are you bipolar?"

"No, I think I'm just spending too much time around Yoongi hyung. Speaking of which, I'm heading over to his place to watch a movie with him and Jin hyung."

"You're all sweaty and gross."

"I'll shower there. Bye, Tae."

"Bye, hyung. Have fun."

"I will." Hoseok got up and smiled at Taehyung one last time before walking out of the room.

On his way to Yoongi's apartment, Hoseok couldn't help but think about how Taehyung had so easily brought out of the side of him that no one but Yoongi was supposed to see. It should have bothered him, but it didn't. Maybe it was because he knew that he brought out the side of Taehyung that no one but Jungkook had seen before. Hoseok shrugged to himself.

He and Taehyung worked together.

Hoseok let out a cry as a stab of pain hit his ankle, and he collapsed in the middle of dance class. Jongin, Jinhwan, Sehun, and Sohyun were the first to rush over to him, while eventually the entire class crowded around him, making him feel suffocated.

"I don't think giving an injured person claustrophobia helps his condition very much," Sehun commented in a dry voice, causing everyone to back up a few steps guiltily.

"Hoseok, what happened?" Sohyun asked, staring at Hoseok in concern.

"My ankle's busted I think," he managed to squeeze out from in between gritted teeth, grabbing her hand tightly to avoid screaming from the pain. He tried to smile as he felt Jinhwan rubbing his back, trying to help him feel better. "It's getting better already. It's probably not that serious." Jongin poked the ankle, and Hoseok yelped as it stung.

Sehun snorted, causing Sohyun to give him a glare.

Their teacher, whom they all referred to as Hyukjae, his first name, because he was just cool like that, walked over to the five of them, hanging up from a phone call. "Nurse is on her way. She's bringing a wheelchair."

"Yay," Hoseok muttered, still hurting.

"Hey, you're getting pushed around for free," Jongin said, grinning.

"Get back to work, guys," Hyukjae called out, and the class started getting into formation again, causing Jongin, Jinhwan, Sohyun, and Sehun to get up, leaving Hoseok alone with Hyukjae until the nurse came. "You'll be fine," Hyukjae commented. "If it were broken, you'd be crying."

Hoseok grunted in reply, staring at his ankle which was now starting to throb and turn very, very red.

The nurse just couldn't come fast enough.

Hellooooooo my lovely readers!

I'm dying from stress, so I decided what better way to procrastinate and get more stressed out in the future than update?

:D

I'm seriously so stressed I feel horrible. TT

Anyways, there ya go. I added in more nuggets about Hoseok's past. And yayyy, Taehyung seems to be doing a little better! Also don't worry too much about Hoseok's ankle because as Hyukjae said, if it were broken he'd be crying.

Lol.

Tell me about the nuggets you've caught so far. I wanna see how good you guys are at finding them, heh heh. Not that they're very difficult to find, but still. XD

71 SUBS HOW EVEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SPENDING YOUR TIME READING THIS IT'S NOT EVEN THAT GREAT. I feel so honored you guys don't even know.

Until the next time~

<3 ^~^