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lovestrippedbare) wrote2018-11-23 02:41 pm
lovestrippedbare) wrote2018-11-23 02:41 pm
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Ever since starting high school, Jungkook finds himself constantly searching for more opportunities to escape the house after class. He doesn't hate being home — he couldn't, when his mother is always there to welcome him with an embrace for her youngest, the only son she's had since birth. But there are times when returning to his home feels suffocating. When his stepfather's eyes watch too closely, looking for any trace of a misstep. When his stepbrother's feet always seem to be in the wrong place, jutting out enough to send him stumbling down the stairs, or tripping into a wall.
Home is a place where he needs to tread carefully, where the line between a safe haven and bruising can be so hard to spot.
Jungkook takes his time gathering his books and workbooks, carefully slipping them into his backpack, making sure none of the pages crease. From one of his ears hangs an earbud, playing quiet piano melodies. The music is his shield as he pads quietly through the house, rummaging through the fridge and pantry, pulling out ingredients that shouldn't be missed. He's not taking any of the nice meat. It isn't that Jungkook doesn't want to bring the best for Hoseok, but there's only so much he feels that he can take when he doesn't contribute to the household income.
And he would never want to leave his parents with the impression that any of his friends are leeching off their generosity.
"Mom," he murmurs, peeking his head into the living room. Finding her seated alone on the recliner, Jungkook bounds forward with a brighter smile, quickly pressing a kiss to her cheek, skin soft and warm.
"Aigoo," she breathes, brightening immediately. Subconsciously, Jungkook raises the collar of his shirt higher over his neck, hiding a small bruise from where his hyung hit his collarbone. His mother's hands slide over either cheek, pushing them together. "Jungkook-ah, you finally have time for your mother?"
His chest squeezes. "I always have time for mom," he replies, stomach twisting with guilt. "But I was planning to have dinner at Hoseokie hyung's tonight. He's going to help me with my studies. I'm just bringing a few things for budae jjigae." Jungkook raises his hand, the plastic bag rustling.
Mother's lips freeze for a moment, then soften again into that same smile. "Ah, I see. Yes, Hoseok is so good to our Jungkook, helping you with your homework even when he's juggling a job with his own studies. Go, go. Say hello to him for me, and take some of the extra banchan in the fridge."
Jungkook quickly presses another kiss to his mother's cheek. There are more wrinkles there now, he thinks, than there were a couple of years ago. "I will. He loves your banchan, mom. He always says he can't thank you enough."
"Don't be ridiculous," she chuckles, patting his shoulder. "Go. Be back before it's too dark."
It's not a promise that will be easy to keep, Jungkook thinks to himself, frowning at the way the sun's already dipping below the horizon when he arrives at Hoseok's doorstep. But perhaps her words were more sentiment than true suggestion. He's not sure how much he'll really be missed, even if he returns after everyone else has gone to bed.
"Hyung," he calls softly to avoid disturbing the neighbors, his knuckles rapping gently on the door. "Hyung, it's Jungkook."
Home is a place where he needs to tread carefully, where the line between a safe haven and bruising can be so hard to spot.
Jungkook takes his time gathering his books and workbooks, carefully slipping them into his backpack, making sure none of the pages crease. From one of his ears hangs an earbud, playing quiet piano melodies. The music is his shield as he pads quietly through the house, rummaging through the fridge and pantry, pulling out ingredients that shouldn't be missed. He's not taking any of the nice meat. It isn't that Jungkook doesn't want to bring the best for Hoseok, but there's only so much he feels that he can take when he doesn't contribute to the household income.
And he would never want to leave his parents with the impression that any of his friends are leeching off their generosity.
"Mom," he murmurs, peeking his head into the living room. Finding her seated alone on the recliner, Jungkook bounds forward with a brighter smile, quickly pressing a kiss to her cheek, skin soft and warm.
"Aigoo," she breathes, brightening immediately. Subconsciously, Jungkook raises the collar of his shirt higher over his neck, hiding a small bruise from where his hyung hit his collarbone. His mother's hands slide over either cheek, pushing them together. "Jungkook-ah, you finally have time for your mother?"
His chest squeezes. "I always have time for mom," he replies, stomach twisting with guilt. "But I was planning to have dinner at Hoseokie hyung's tonight. He's going to help me with my studies. I'm just bringing a few things for budae jjigae." Jungkook raises his hand, the plastic bag rustling.
Mother's lips freeze for a moment, then soften again into that same smile. "Ah, I see. Yes, Hoseok is so good to our Jungkook, helping you with your homework even when he's juggling a job with his own studies. Go, go. Say hello to him for me, and take some of the extra banchan in the fridge."
Jungkook quickly presses another kiss to his mother's cheek. There are more wrinkles there now, he thinks, than there were a couple of years ago. "I will. He loves your banchan, mom. He always says he can't thank you enough."
"Don't be ridiculous," she chuckles, patting his shoulder. "Go. Be back before it's too dark."
It's not a promise that will be easy to keep, Jungkook thinks to himself, frowning at the way the sun's already dipping below the horizon when he arrives at Hoseok's doorstep. But perhaps her words were more sentiment than true suggestion. He's not sure how much he'll really be missed, even if he returns after everyone else has gone to bed.
"Hyung," he calls softly to avoid disturbing the neighbors, his knuckles rapping gently on the door. "Hyung, it's Jungkook."
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It's not something he thinks about very often. He doesn't want to get his hopes up for something that isn't going to happen.
But this is nice, having Jungkook here tonight, and he's going to savor it.
"I'm not sure how that works," Hoseok admits as he finishes cutting up the tofu into 3cm cubes, trying to keep them as uniform as possible. "I only cook at all because I can't eat ramyeon for every meal," he adds with a laugh. He doesn't miss the orphanage, he really doesn't, but he sometimes misses the food. And not having to eat alone, even if all he was doing was sitting in a room full of people and not talking.
"Learning would be fun," he says after he moves to add the tofu to the pot. "Doing it all together, I mean. But only if he still wants to do it. I don't want to put him out or anything."
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He wishes it were easier to sneak away from his home, spend more evenings with Hoseok like this. It's hard to slip out from the discerning watch of his stepfather. His grades are already starting to slip compared to middle school, and even though Jungkook wants to believe that it's just a consequence of competition heightening as everyone approaches exams, it correlates too well with the time spent with his hyungs.
Even though he knows, really, his hyungs are the ones who keep him afloat.
With the pot half full of water, Jungkook carefully walks it back to the stove, turns the flame on high. "Ah, then I should have recommended something other than budae jjigae," Jungkook laughs, pointing out the ramyeon packets in the bag, which are such an important part of the dish. "I'm only good at making the instant stuff, though, so we should definitely ask Jin hyung for help. Or we can watch YouTube videos together! Those are really good for learning, right? And then we can surprise Jin hyung sometime, or the others."