The Baggage You Carry • Jung Hoseok

Part 2 • Hoseok

Friday, March 20
Yongsan District, Seoul
6:30am
Hoseok

Jung Hoseok was overall a happy guy.

Seriously - you could ask anyone and they'd tell you that Hoseok has the uncanny ability to make anyone open up to him, just by smiling at them. That's how people suspected him of becoming best friends with one Min Yoongi - who was truly a loyal and fierce friend (and frankly a massive teddy bear), but was quite the introvert and had a gnarly resting bitch face, which led most people to find him rather intimidating.

If you were ever in a bad mood, Hoseok was the person that could almost certainly flip your frown upside down. It was like a secret superpower that only he was able to use.

Yup, Hoseok usually woke up feeling really optimistic and ready to start the day.

Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

Hoseok did not sleep well last night, and woke up feeling like he was hit by a truck. But it was fine - totally fine. A poor night's sleep can be solved by two things: a nice hot shower and coffee. One of his two roommates (and aforementioned best friend) Min Yoongi worked at the cafe down the street, and happened to be working this morning, so he definitely planned on stopping by and saying hi (while also grabbing the liquid energy he needed in order to complete his 9am dance class (and the rest of the day too).

The first thing he needed though before he could even think about leaving the apartment to grab coffee was a hot shower. In fact, the mere thought of how nice and relaxing the hot water would feel was enough to get him out of bed.

Now, another superpower that Jung Hoseok seemed to possess was that his gut feelings (like the one he had when he woke up this morning) were pretty accurate. He seemed to have a sixth sense and it was both a blessing and a curse. He (usually) knows by now that if his gut is telling him something is off, he (usually) pays attention and errs on the side of caution.

Usually being the key word, because usually Hoseok gets a fulfilling night's sleep and is functioning enough to listen to his gut.

Again, today was not one of those days.

Today, Hoseok woke up pretty quickly from his shower, but not because of the nice, relaxing warm water he was expecting.

Instead, he was woken up by water that was as cold and frigid as the Arctic Ocean (you know, before global warming and all that).

He let out a scream - a very manly scream, he would assure you - and almost slipped because of the shock. He rushed to turn off the tap, and when he stood back up, he felt a twinge of pain in his side and groaned when he realized he probably popped out a rib from trying to regain his balance.

Fabulous - that's just the thing a dance teacher needs when he's got a full day of classes.

He grumbled and resentfully got out of the shower and got dressed. As he made his way into the kitchen, he saw his second roommate, and other close friend Kim Namjoon sitting at the kitchen table, brushing up on his notes for an exam he had that afternoon (kind of pointless because this guy is literally a genius, but who was Hoseok to judge.)

"Morning bud," Namjoon started as he looked up from his papers and let out a gasp when he saw the look on Hoseok's face. "What happened to you?"

The smile that was normally on Hoseok's face was nowhere in sight. Instead, it was replaced by a deep frown and harsh eyes. The look in Hoseok's eyes was enough to make him uncomfortable, but pair that with the frown he was wearing, and Namjoon had literal chills.

"No hot water." He grumbled out and headed to the door to slip on his shoes.

"Ah, fuck. I forgot to tell you. The landlord said they were working on the water pipes and we might lose hot water throughout the day." Namjoon looked terrified - normally because Hoseok didn't look like he was capable of murdering someone, but today was definitely an anomaly.

"Good to know." Hoseok responded. He grabbed his bag by the door and got ready to leave for the cafe. If a hot shower couldn't help his foul mood, then maybe coffee will be his saviour.

Hoseok rushed out of the door because he knew until he consumed coffee, there was a strong possibility he would snap on Namjoon and he would feel absolutely horrible for snapping on the poor guy.

———

By the time Hoseok got to the cafe Yoongi was working at, he felt 10 times better than he did when he left his apartment. He was attributing it to the fresh air and the thought of a freshly brewed coffee.

He opened the door and was immediately assaulted by the smell of coffee beans and he smiled in contentment. He saw Yoongi standing at the counter and they shared a head nod before Hoseok got in line.

"Hey Hobi." Yoongi greeted Hoseok when he approached the counter. Because Yoongi and Hoseok have been friends since Hoseok came to Seoul, Yoongi could immediately tell something was up. "You good?"

Hoseok shrugged. "Didn't sleep well. There's no hot water in the apartment right now. Think I might've popped a rib out. And, I still feel like something else is wrong."

Yoongi looked at him in disbelief and shook his head. "Jesus, are you sure you're gonna survive a day full of dance classes? Especially with the 5 and under kids this afternoon? They really like when you pick them up and swing them around."

Hoseok internally groaned. He didn't even think about how that would go with a popped rib. Whatever - he'd pop a couple of aspirin and deal with it when it happens.

"That's a problem for after-lunch Hoseok to deal with. Current Hoseok just needs coffee." Yoongi nodded in understanding and started punching Hoseok's usual in on the iPad.

"One shot of espresso or two?" Hoseok mulled it over and considering the day he's had so far (and it's only 6:50am), he answered:

"Two, please." Hoseok took his bag off his shoulder and reached in to grab his wallet, but, where the fuck was his wallet? "Are you fucking kidding me." He grumbled under his breath. Of all days to not bring his wallet.

"You okay Hobi?" Yoongi asked from over the espresso machine. He caught a glimpse at Hoseok's face and he's never seen Hoseok look so frustrated. Okay, that was a lie - he's definitely seen Hoseok this frustrated before (Hoseok is a chronic perfectionist regarding his chosen forms of art: dance and music), but not this early.

"I forgot my damn wallet." Hoseok groaned. He really needed that coffee too.

"Tell you what, today it's on me." Hoseok's head snapped up and looked at his best friend. Yoongi smiled and noticed that his small gesture seemed to help in cheering up his best friend. "Just listen to my mixtape today and tell me what you think!" He said as he passed Hoseok the coffee in a to-go cup. "Good luck today, bud!"

———

Hoseok got to the Hannam Train Station about 10 minutes before his train was due to arrive, so he figured it was probably a good time to listen to Yoongi's mixtape. He got his phone out of his bag and his headphones and started listening away. After some time of listening to the song, Hoseok dropped his bag on the floor to text Yoongi about his thoughts on the mixtape.

He heard the announcement on the PA that his train had arrived, so he picked up his bag and headed towards his train.

Hopefully his gut feeling was wrong and the rest of the day would be peachy keen.