PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO DATES.

Date: July 20th, 2017
 

The news wasn’t good. The war was quickly spreading across the border. Things were growing tense. Namjoon steps out of the door, cup of coffee in his hand and nearly bumping into Yoongi on his way back.

They murmur their hellos and push past each other. His eyes flicker to the next door neighbor who is stepping out of her apartment as well. She had just moved in, and her lips lift into her a smile when she notices Namjoon.

He smiles back. Her name was Son Nari, and he can find himself thinking in a way that he didn’t know was possible for himself. He was thinking that Son Nari wouldn’t last a minute in the war. He curses under his breath. The news really brought out the worst in him these days.

But still, he couldn’t say that he was wrong. Her eyes were innocent and large, and there was a hop in her step. Her skirt flutters around her thighs and he tears his eyes away. She was more of Jin’s type anyway.

Namjoon walks past her, heading down the stairs and catching the bus to go to the supermarket and stock his empty pantry and fridge. He isn’t surprised to see the inflated food prices. They were in the middle of the city, and with some of the supplies cut by the war, it was a given that it was going to have an effect on food.

He hands over the money with some reluctance, knowing that they would really have to stretch their food for the week. Payday was going to be at the end of the month, and even though he and Yoongi had some money left over from previous months, he didn’t want to dip into the savings. Who knows if they would need it?

They were young, and a few hungry nights wouldn’t kill them. They were slaves to the Korean business world, and that meant long hours. Yoongi worked for a music production company, and Namjoon had to say he was a bit jealous. But he had to make sacrifices. He was offered the same job with Yoongi, but he chose the one with better pay. He had to pay for his sister’s schooling.

His eyes flicker to an elderly man who was begging the cashier. He seemed to be short a few dollars, and he was pleading something about how people had stolen his money because of the war and to please let it go.

Namjoon knows that he shouldn’t, but he places down a few bills on the counter between the two, passing past them without a second look.

It seems like they would have to have a few more hungry nights. They’d survive. They always did.

The streets are emptier than usual for a Saturday morning, and he knows why. People were fleeing Seoul because of the fighting growing closer and closer. But he knew that wasn’t a choice for Yoongi, Jin, Hoseok, and him. Where would they get the money? Where would they go?

They had said that there would be a few years of hard work and schooling, and then they would be able to live comfortably. It was a hard thing to repeat and believe, but it was supposedly true.

Even if they did run to Daegu, Anyang, or Gwangju, where would he go? He was originally from Seoul, so he was stuck. The forces would stop the war before it got to Seoul anyway. There were too many lives at stake.

The bus ride back is quiet. A little too quiet. It was like the others could sense the trouble coming in the next few months, and it was dampening the air. He reminds himself to talk to Hoseok about getting some form of self-defense. If it came to hiding and going underground, they had to find a way.

But still, they were thoughts on the fringes of his consciousness. The more pressing questions were if Jin and Hoseok were awake, and if Hoseok had gotten rid of that puppy he had picked off the street the other day. It was pretty cute, but it was another mouth to feed and they had to be realistic. Still, it was hard to say no.

Yoongi was the one who put his foot down, but even he was softening up. Jin, of course, stood no chance.

And that’s why, Namjoon had hesitantly bought a small bag of dog food.

He steps off the bus, bags in hand and walking back towards the apartment. He had plenty of chores and cleaning to do, and with his bad luck, he would break something. That would only make Yoongi wake up, curse, and fix it before flopping back on to his bed.