BTS Christmas drabbles 2020 [BxB]

24- That's Christmas to me - vhope

Prompt: Hoseok doesn't feel the Christmas spirit, but Taehyung, who lives above him, keeps playing Christmas carols really loud.

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Truth be told, Hoseok didn't give a damn about Christmas. His parents had never been keen on celebrations, for once, and he didn't feel the lack of it while growing up. They celebrated birthdays, New Year, Seollal and Chuseok. Hoseok had also participated in some Valentine's Day celebrations — well, he politely had returned chocolates on White Day when he'd received some from shy girls, and one brave boy back in 11th grade — and had taken his ex-girlfriend out to the restaurant on Christmas three years ago. But he was not really a celebration guy, let alone a Christmas guy.

As much as Jeongguk and Namjoon kept bugging him about Christmas, Hoseok really didn't see the appeal in a religious-turned-commercial celebration that was, nowadays, just singing the praises of capitalism. He would listen to Jeongguk trying to convince him every year that there was a change in the air as soon as December 1st came round, and that people tended to be more happy and generous and other things they usually weren't. "That's the power of the Christmas spirit, Hyung!", the younger would nod furiously, and Hoseok would just shrug, not wanting to upset his favourite dongsaeng — or coax the wrath of a protective Namjoon over his lovely boyfriend.

Since his family, as previously stated, didn't give a shit about Christmas, Hoseok usually didn't come home for the holidays. Thus, he hadn't been able to refuse Jin and Jimin's invitation to their Christmas party two years ago, and Yoongi's invitation to have "a chill night between bros" last year, but he had successfully turned down Jeongguk and Namjoon's proposition this year.

"You guys are better off spending Christmas together", he'd reasoned. "This is a small holiday you can enjoy together as a couple! I'd just be in the way."

After a thorough explanation of why Hoseok didn't particularly want to third-wheel his two friends on Christmas Day, Jeongguk had reluctantly caved in, making him promise to call them if he ever had a change of heart. Hoseok had laced their pinkies together with a small smile, promising to call them if anything was wrong, and that was it. Hoseok was going to spend his Christmas all alone, in the quiet of his apartment, with his mangas and Netflix and some take-out, maybe take a relaxing bath with one of his special bath bombs and scented candles. At least, that's what he had planned for himself, but Fate apparently had other plans in mind for one Jung Hoseok.

Hoseok didn't mind Christmas as a whole, but they were a few things about this celebration that threw him off a little. Firstly, the fact that capitalism had stripped a religious day of most of its religious meaning. He was no believer, but he knew that if you asked anybody in the streets what Christmas was about, they would reply with some blithering answers about Santa Claus and offering gifts rather than Jesus and whatever Christmas was supposed to be about. Hoseok and Yoongi stood together on that point against Jeongguk and Namjoon. Fucking capitalism.

Secondly, the pressure society exerted on everyone or rather, the implied etiquette that said that you had to like Christmas. Unless you had faced a tragedy around that time, there was apparently no valid reason to not enjoy Christmas time, and Hoseok had had a hard time pretending he was eagerly waiting for Christmas. Like all media talked about football whenever there was a football world cup, come December 1st, Christmas was all people were talking about. At work, at home, in ads, on the news, on the radio, in the streets, in schools, shops, markets, "Christmas" seemed to be the only word everyone knew. And it annoyed Hoseok greatly. Was Christmas the sole worthy topic of conversation in December? What about the homeless people dying from the cold in the streets? The icebergs and ice floe at the poles shrinking at an alarming speed?