Min Yoongi was spacing out. Again.

He was lying down on the school’s basketball court. It was class time, and he was skipping classes with his best friend Hoseok, who was sitting right beside him. Hoseok was observing him intently, like he always did. The duo had developed an interesting bond between them. When they hung out, they did nothing in particular, other than just sitting around and enjoying each other’s company in silence. That’s the way it always has been.

“Oi Suga!” Hoseok called out.

Suga was the nickname Hoseok had given his friend when they were little. The name suited him well, because of his milky white skin and sweet nature only Hoseok knew about. Yoongi also had a name for his friend. “Hobi”, which originated from the word “hope”, defining his personality. The boys were careful about not using the names when others were around. It was a special gesture, reserved just for the two of them.

Not getting a reply, Hoseok leaned towards the boy lying down, and poked his cheek lightly, causing him to flinch. “What is it?”

“Checking if you’re dead.”

Yoongi sat up, “Not yet.”

Hoseok took Yoongi’s hand and started to play with his fingers. Min Yoongi had a seemingly cold personality, but Hoseok somehow always managed to have his way with him.

“What’s wrong?” Hoseok asked with a kind tone. Yoongi preferred to hide his emotions, but not from Hoseok. They have been best friend since elementary school, and Hobi could read him like a book.

“I’m fine, Hobi.”

Hoseok was obviously not buying it. But he didn’t talk about the matter any further, knowing Yoongi eventually will open up.

“You see……the thing is……” Just as expected, Yoongi kept talking, “It’s about Jimin……I’ve been a little concerned about his behavior lately……”

Without saying a word, Hoseok held on to Yoongi’s hand firmly, letting him continue. “He’s acting a bit different, don’t you think? I mean, he keeps cancelling the plans……..He doesn’t even call me often……..I barely see him now-a-days……”

“And you’re worried about him?” asked Hoseok, slowly brushing the black bangs away from Yoongi’s face.

“A little bit.” Yoongi admitted.

“Suga…….you know he’s not a child anymore right?” Yoongi looked at his friend, not understanding the point he’s trying to make. Hoseok continued, “I know you’re trying to be protective and all but you should accept the new people in his life. He’s making friends, that’s a good thing right?”

“Yeah.” Yoongi nodded in agreement. “As long as he’s happy.”

Hoseok could tell Yoongi was not completely relieved. He put his arms around the latter’s body. Hugging him from behind, Hoseok whispered in his ear, “You want me to go talk to him?”

Yoongi leaned toward Hoseok. Putting his weight on the taller, he replied, “That won’t be necessary.”

“I’ll go talk to him after class.” Said Hoseok with his usual heart shaped smile. Yoongi didn’t say anything, but he felt grateful. These kinds of small talks with Hobi always helped, no one else understood him so well.

While walking down the school corridor, Park Jimin felt a person tightly hugging him from behind. And he immediately knew who it was.

“Jiminnniiiieeee!!” Yep. There we go again. But it didn’t annoy Jimin at all. He greeted Hoseok with his usual angelic smile, “Hi hyung.”

Ruffling his pink hair, the older asked smiling, “How’re you doing? We didn’t even get to see you last weekend.”

“You see,” Jimin smiled nervously, “I had some plans…..”

“Your new boyfriend’s keeping you busy eh?” Hoseok’s bright smile turned into a mischievous one. “You know, that cute brown haired kid you hang out with? What was his name again? Jungkook, was it?”

Jimin’s whole face turned red. “Ah hyung! It’s not what you think, Kookie is just a friend-“

“Kookie? Aww that’s so cute.” Hoseok kept teasing the younger, “You like him that much?”

Jimin blushed even harder, “Hyung! There’s nothing wrong with it okay? You call Yoongi hyung names too but it doesn’t mean you like him or anything right?”

Hoseok froze. He did not see that coming. How did he know about the names? No one was supposed to know about the names. Jimin got suspicious at Hoseok’s sudden change in behavior. He asked again, “Right hyung?”

“Eh? Wh-what names Jiminnie?” for the first time Hoseok realized that he was a very bad liar, his nervous expression gave him away completely. “I knew it.” An evil smirk crept upon the younger’s face. “Hobi hyung, I’m telling him.”

Jung Hoseok knew he screwed up. But he decided to keep his cool. “Hmm? What are you gonna tell who?”

“Yoongi hyung. About your little crush.” Jimin was quite surprised. Hoseok was the human reincarnation of the sun itself. He had never seen him become so serious. The whole “secret crush” situation seemed pretty amusing to Jimin, though he was secretly in love with a guy himself.

Hoseok would rather die than let anyone know about his love for his best friend. He was a bad liar, but he was smart. So he decided to use the situation in a way that would be advantageous to him. “I’ll tell Jungkook too then.” Jimin sighed. He knew it would come to this. “You’re mean.” He pouted.

“Come on you started it.” The two of them started walking. “But aren’t you gonna do something? Yoongi said you two were friends, he might have a thing for you too you know.” In reply Jimin shook his head, “I’d rather die than tell him.” Hoseok nodded in agreement, “I know what it’s like. It seems all of us are gonna die single.”

“Not all of us.” Jimin laughed a little, “I heard Namjoon hyung and Jin hyung are dating.” “Wow he already asked Jin out? That smooth little .” Jimin couldn’t help but laugh at his cursing, “We should ask him to teach us how it’s done.” Hoseok laughed too, feeling much relieved by letting out the secret he held in for about ten years or so.

Jungkook was not okay. He was stressed. He was confused. He didn’t know what to do with these emotions. It all seemed too puzzling.

Park Jimin was never someone he paid much attention to. He could tell the boy admired him very much. Well, who wouldn’t? He was indeed an admirable guy. He was smart, he was confident, he had the looks. He was good at almost everything he did. Life went on pretty smoothly until that pink haired boy decided to ruin it all. What did he do, you ask? He did something no one has ever been capable of doing. He made Jungkook restless. It all seemed so boring to him. All the video games had lost their appeal, watching tv or social media weren’t any fun either. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about the day when the three of them went out? Why couldn’t he stop thinking about the boy whose hair looked like cherry blossoms? His nights became lonely and sleepless, he felt like he was trapped inside his own self. This heartache, he couldn’t take it anymore. He felt like he needed a hand to hold on to. He needed to be saved.