Book 3: 24/seven | A Jung Hoseok BTS Fan Fiction

Hopi's World

Jin called everyone to the kitchen to get their bowl of ramen. As he walked in, he noticed that the maknaes were huddled talking in whispers while Namjun was reading the book. It looked like Yoongi had finished the volume. He was sitting quietly on his own with a storm brewing on the cloud above his head.

Seriously, Hobi scoffed and shook his head. Everyone got so invested in the story. In the last few days, the boys were asking so many questions about Gwangju, Hobi's city, it was not as big as Busan or Seoul, but it wasn't as rural as other areas. Gwangju was a beautiful place, the birthplace of revolutionary thinking in Korea. It wasn't usually the first place people think of going to when they visit South Korea, but it was the most special place in his heart where he was born and started to dream.

In bits and pieces, he started hearing parts of the story, and it was something he was looking forward to reading very soon. It was good to know that the book was finally with Namjun who was a fast reader. The setting also excited Hobi because he will be reading about familiar places to him.

Soswaewon was a place Jeongguk mentioned just a few days before. A turning point in the story must have happened there. With a preference to be near the sea, he was never big on going into the wooded area around the lake when he was younger, but he had made his way there at one point in the past.

Soswaewon was erected during the Joseon Dynasty, its tiled roofs preserved through the century and maintained by the descendants of the exiled philosopher who built it in his time. It was also an interesting coincidence that the story started off with a boy meeting a girl at a bus stop and somehow, they must have ended up in Soswaewon.

Years before, he had been to Soswaewon himself with a girl he had met at a bus stop. She needed directions to the lake's Eco Park, and he offered to take her there. One of the places they went to first was the pavilions of Soswaewon where they were hoping to meet her friends, and met them there. It was a beautiful, peaceful spot with a pond and an artificial waterfall surrounded by maple trees, peach trees, and of course, tucked and hidden in the bamboo grove.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh!!! Noooooo!!" Namjun yelled and started jumping around.

"What? Finished already?" Jin laughed, "Did you skip pages?"

Namjun stalked towards Hobi and put the book in front of him on the counter.

"Who has the next volume?" Namjun look around and asked.

"It's not yet out. I think it will be out next week." Jimin smiled. Namjun took his bowl from the counter and took his place at the head of the dining table. Namjun cursed under his breath which made everyone smile. Yoongi patted him on the back.

"Is it so wrong that this book is making me so pissed?" Namjun asked.

"Hey..." Hobi reminded, "I haven't read it yet."

Namjun waved his hand at Hobi and apologized, "Sorry. No details. I just need to get it out of my system. But Hoseok-ah, can you hurry reading? We're all dying to talk about it."

"Ok! Ok! Calm down my daughta." Hobi said with a smile. He took the book and put it under his arm as he walked out with the book to eat his ramen elsewhere.

He decided to settle himself in the living room. He sat on the sofa and took a quick slurp from the side of the bowl before setting it back down and getting comfortable. He looked at the first page again. He had seen it over Yoongi's shoulder. On the following page, the boy waited for people to leave. When he was alone, he caught her attention and introduced himself.
"I'm Hopi." the boy had said with a smile. The next panel showed their hands shaking and then the girl smiling. Her name is Emiko.

Emiko, Hobi repeated in his head. Emiko reminded him of the girl he met many years ago. Her name was Aiko, he remembered. She was part Japanese and had a natural blush on her porcelain cheeks. She was a few inches shorter than he was and had the smoothest black hair that fell to her waist. She was also wearing a short skirt and sneakers which he thought was very fashionable and cute but was not appropriate for an eco-park hike. Aiko was also lost when Hobi met her. Although he could have just given her directions, he was uncomfortable leaving her on her own wandering, especially in the park so he decided to offer his company.

He continued reading.