Chapter 7:

Façade

Taehyung’s POV:

It was a usual morning. I woke up alone inside mine and Jin’s shared room. I immediately went for the sink to wash my face. I went out of the room and was greeted by a very delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Everything is temporarily back to the way it was a few months ago, when we weren’t too busy and we still had fun with each other. Everything was back to normal. Or so I thought.

“Good morning, Tae.” Jin greeted me with a big smile while flipping the pancake he was cooking. “It’s weird you woke up this early.” I just nodded. “Can you please do me a favor? Wake the others up. Breakfast will be ready soon.”

“Yes, hyung. I’ll be back.” I said to him as I headed for the rooms of the other members.

I first headed to Namjoon’s room. “Hey, hyung, are you up? Breakfast will be ready in a moment.” I said loudly after knocking on his door thrice.

“Ok, Tae. Be there in a minute.” Namjoon answered. That was fairly easy.

Next stop is at Yoongi’s and Hoseok’s shared bedroom. I knocked at their door three times before speaking.

“Hey, hyungs, are you already up?” I asked with a loud voice to make sure I wouldn’t have to repeat myself. After a moment there is no response.

“Hyungs, breakfast is almost ready downstairs. Are you ready to go down?” Still, there is no response. That was enough for me to know that they are still fast asleep.

I carefully opened the door to their room to check. Just like what I expected, they are still sleeping, with Yoongi lying on his stomach and Hoseok lying on his side, his back against Yoongi.

“Hoseok-hyung, please wake up. Breakfast is almost ready.” I silently said to Hoseok. I chose to wake him up because first, it is easier. Second, I don’t want to wake up Yoongi. He doesn’t like it when his sleep is interrupted if there is no career-related or urgent matter.

“Oh, good morning Tae.” Hoseok said with a sleepy voice. We was still rubbing his eyes when I started to go to the next room.

“Hyung, breakfast is almost ready. Please wake Yoongi-hyung up and tell him to go down to eat.” I said to him as I closed the door to their room.

The last room I went to is Jimin’s and Jungkook’s shared room. Again, there are two reasons why is chose to leave them as the last people I called. First, their room is the farthest from the stairs. It’s just logical to go the nearest ones first. Second, I wanted Jimin to have as much time alone with Jungkook as possible. This is one of my ways to show my support to Jimin.

When I reached their door, the first thing I had to do was knock. I was shocked when even before my knuckles touched the wood of their door, the door suddenly opened, revealing a sleepy-looking, but fully awake Jungkook. Wow, he actually woke up on his own.

“Good morning, Jungkook! Jin-hyung is almost done preparing breakfast. Go and get ready.” I said to him with and energetic tone in hopes of actually waking him and his mood up.

“Good morning, hyung.” He just replied. From the way his voice sounded, my efforts were obviously in vain.

Wow, this is actually happening. Jimin is usually not the person who wakes up the latest. Usually, he’s the one who helps Jin in preparing breakfast and waking the members up, including me. He loves the early morning and he hates it when he misses it, because he would normally wake up at around five in the morning and go out for a walk and jog. Sometimes, he brings me with him. What’s so different with today that he didn’t wake up early?

“Hey, hyung. Wake up now. It’s already past six. Jin-hyung is almost done preparing breakfast for us. We’re eating.” I softly said to him while shaking him. It only took a shake to wake him up.

“Oh, good morning Tae. Sorry for waking up late.” He replied in a sleepy tone. Somehow, there’s more to his tone than being sleepy.

“Follow me downstairs.” I said to him while grabbing his wrist to pull him downstairs.

“It’s ok, Tae. I’ll be there in a minute.” He said to me while easily breaking free from my grasp.

“Ok, hyung.” I said to him as I went downstairs. There’s definitely something going on.

After about a minute, I saw Jimin walking towards the table. He was just in time before we actually start eating. He looked at me before taking his seat and smiled with his usual smile that makes his eyes disappear. Despite that smile, I still see something else behind it. It was quite easy to tell, especially for me for I was Jimin’s best friend since training days.

The usual meal routine of Jimin went on. He put food in Jungkook’s bowl first, then putting food in his before Yoongi gets everything. Jin, of course, he’s very much like a mother. He just waited for the others to get their food. Afterwards, he took his food from what was left behind. Sometimes, I even pity him for having to be very considerate for us.

The breakfast ended a few moments later. Afterwards, Jimin went to help Jin in washing the utensils used during the preparation of the food and eating. Jimin really seemed happy and in a good mood today, but I still feel like something is up with him. Whatever that was, he’ll surely tell me when he’s ready. I think I’ll just have to wait.

Then I went to the living room to watch TV with the other members. They were watching the morning news, which was unusual, because whenever we get free time, we do a movie marathon. Today, they are watching morning news. How funny.

A few moments later, Jimin entered the living room with Jin.

“Wow, you guys actually watching the news, huh? Well, that’s new!” Jimin chuckled, making the other members, who were busy in their own ways, stop and look at Jimin for a short amount of time before bursting to laughter. After cracking the joke, Jimin took his spot beside me.

“Hi, hyung. Are you alright?” I asked him, trying to make my question sound like a normal ice-breaker.

“Why, of course I am!” He answered with much enthusiasm. Actually a little bit too much for it to become believable.

“Ok, hyung. But please, let me know if something is bothering you.” I said to him. This time, I didn’t bother trying to hide my concern.

“Sure, Tae!” Jimin said.

Today is a vacation for everyone. This may be the case, but Jin decided that we should clean the whole house today. Actually, Jin was outnumbered, because I, Yoongi, Jungkook, and Namjoon do not want to clean the house. Since Jin really becomes scary and intimidating when it comes to things like this, we were forced to help him clean the house. First stop is Namjoon’s room. His room is like trash! Clothes everywhere, papers scattered around the room, bed sheets not fixed. Cleaning his room took hours. I really got tired after running around the house when Jin asked me to get this, throw that, wash this, dry that.

I was about to go to my room with Jin to have a rest when Jin stopped me.

“Hey, Taehyung. Don’t go in there yet. We are going to clean that room right now.” Jin said.

“Are you already done with Namjoon-hyung’s room? Why don’t you go to Jimin-hyung’s room first? How about Yoongi-hyung’s?” I asked him, trying not to sound as irritated as I am right now.

“Yes, no and no. See Tae, why don’t you go rest in the living room?” Jin answered. His suggestion made so much sense, but I don’t want to admit it.

“Ok fine… Jimin-hyung, I’m going to your room to get some rest. Is it alright?” I turned to ask Jimin who was busy sweeping the floor of the living room with Yoongi. He just smiled at me and nodded.

I immediately went inside his and Jungkook’s shared bedroom. As usual, it was clean and tidy. Jimin is really that kind of person that wants things to be organized and easily found when needed. The clothes are hanging neatly, the papers are properly filed, and things are sorted out neatly.

I slowly made my way to their bed, and once I was near enough, I jumped onto it. It’s just 10 in the morning, and I already feel like passing out from exhaustion. I sprawled on the bed, feeling free and contented. I kept moving around the bed until something caught my attention. My hand brushed on something cold on one of the pillows. I tried looking for it again with my hand without lifting my tired body from the sheets. When I found the pillow, I snatched it and examined it. I immediately knew it was Jimin’s pillow, because of the patterns on it. Also, it had a JM embroidered on it.

More than the patterns did, the cold feeling of the pillow attracted my attention. It seems like the pillow was… wet. That’s it! The pillow was wet because he cried last night! But why? That realization made everything clearer. Jimin woke up late because he stayed up late and cried the night through. He seemed to be hiding something from me by smiling and acting like he is happy, but that something actually hurts him. Jimin cries only when he is really affected and sad about things. But, why is he hiding it even from me? Whatever that something is, I have to find out what it is, and maybe try to cheer him up. I can’t let this day end with Jimin feeling like crap.

I immediately got up from the bed and went to the living room.

“Hey, guys! I’m going to the convenience store. Anyone wanna go with me?” I asked with a voice loud enough so that all the members can hear me. Of course, as expected, they were too absorbed with whatever they were doing that they didn’t seem to notice my announcement. With that, I went to Jimin and grabbed him. We were already outside when he objected.

“Tae! What are you doing?” Jimin asked with a confused and slightly angry voice.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m going to the convenience store, and I need a companion. I chose you.” I said to him while smiling. Fortunately, he just returned the smile to me and went with me to the convenience store.

When we got there, I realized that I really wasn’t going to buy anything. Just to make myself look less stupid, I bought canned coffee and snacks for everyone at home.

Along the way back to the house, I forced Jimin to stop by the park and have a rest and unwind. When we were finally seated on the benches, I started the talk. The heart-to-heart talk.

“Jimin-hyung, tell me, are you really alright?” I asked him. I can’t help but notice the sudden loss of happiness from his face.

“Yeah, I’m just a little sleepy.” He replied. I knew he was sleepy, but I also know he’s not telling me the whole truth. I decided to go straight to the point.

“If you’re really alright, then why is your pillow wet with tears? What are you crying about last night?” I asked as if I was interrogating a criminal. And there it is, all traces of his happiness disappeared as he started staring at his feet.

“I-I, I’m just,” he didn’t even finish his response when he suddenly burst into tears.

“It’s alright hyung, just cry about it and let it all out. I’m here listening.” I said to him in the most comforting way possible.

“Yesterday, we were really sweet at the fan meeting. After everything happened, I had hope. I felt happy. I felt like I had a chance, even if it is a small one. Everything felt so true to me. I was on cloud nine. After the dinner, when we were in our room, I saw my whole world crumble before my eyes. He said to me that everything that happened, everything that we did, was just for show. Everything was just to make the fans happy. I’m glad he cared for them, but I can’t help but feel down.” Jimin said, but not without sobbing in every few words.

“I never felt as hurt as this before. I never imagined my heart dying and crumbling into pieces. Tae, I don’t even know what’s real and what’s just for show now.” He continued. There I was listening and watching as the façade of happiness he used to hide his broken heart shattered and fell. I hate seeing him this sad and vulnerable.

“Hyung, it’s alright. I don’t know if this will help, but he actually doesn’t know anything about your feelings for him. We can’t expect him to say he did those sweet things because he wanted to.” I said to him while patting his back. “I bet if he knows about your admiration for him, he will become more picky with the things he does with you and say to you.” I continued.

“Everything will be alright, hyung. Remember what I told you? I’m still your number one shipper! I have an idea. I you don’t feel like sharing things with me, you may write them down on a diary. At least, you won’t have to hide and contain all your emotions.” I suggested as we started to walk back to the convenience store to buy a diary.

We kept silent as we headed back to our house. I thought we are going to be like that the whole day when he suddenly spoke.

“You know what Tae, I think you’re right! That was the perfect idea! I’m going to be serious this time. I will not be a stupid bucket just waiting for him to come to me. I will let him know how I really feel.” Jimin suddenly said. For the first time today, I saw his true smile. Smile of pure happiness.

“Thanks Tae. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.” He continued. I just nodded in agreement. Suddenly, we burst into a fit of laughter. I can’t explain, but I really think the laughter was really about nothing.

“We’re home!!! And we bought some snacks!” Jimin shouted as soon as he opened the door of our house, gaining the attention of everyone. Jimin set the food at the table in the living room as everyone crowded around him. I saw him grab two ice creams from the bag and hand one to Jungkook. He’s really serious about getting serious.

“Here, to the best friend in the world.” He said as he handed me the other ice cream. I thanked him before he spun around and went to Jungkook. I only watched the two of them as they talked and laughed about something. I really wanted to join them, but I knew I shouldn’t, so I just grabbed some snacks from the table, sat down with the members, and munched at my food.

This day didn’t end like I thought it would, thanks to me.