WTF?! | kang taehyun

16: special guests

[WEDNESDAY]

Taehyun's thumbs moved back and forth vigorously from each of the buttons on his game controller. He bit his lip as he concentrated. C'mon...c'mon...! he stared into the TV screen.
"Baby!" a voice called from the kitchen.
"Huh?" he replied.
"Taehyun!" the voice called again. Taehyun paused the game.
"Yeah??" he turned his head to his door.
"Kang Taehyun!" they called for a third time. He began to rise from the floor.
"Ugh, coming!" he yelled back. I know she can hear me, so why does she keep yelling? he rolled his eyes.

Taehyun stepped into the kitchen, still wearing his pajamas. It was a tradition for him to get a new pajama set every Christmas Eve.
"What is it?" he asked. His mother turned around from her position at the stove. She wore a pink apron with a white bandana tied around her hair, maid-style. She seemed to be cooking up an assortment of things. Christmas dinner? Taehyun assumed that's what she was up to. Today was Christmas day after all.
"I put 'em on," Taehyun's mother lifted up her leg. He looked down at her feet.
"Oh," his eyes lit up. It was the fuzzy cat socks from the flea market.
"You put them on," he smiled lightly. After the delinquent chase/milk chugging incident, Taehyun retrieved the socks from Y/N, and brought them back to the woman's booth. Out of kindness, the woman tried to give them to him for free. And even though it took every bone in his cheapskate body to not take up the deal, he decided he should put money into each gift he gets for his mother.
"You like 'em?" he asked as he stared.
"Of course I do!" she folded her muscular arms.
"I'm glad," Taehyun smiled and looked back up at her. His mother was his favorite person in the world. No matter how much she scared or annoyed him sometimes, Taehyun would do anything for her. She wanted to him to study and get the education she missed out on? Done. She wanted him to keep friends and learn how to treat others with respect? Okay. She wanted him to keep and clean room and learn how to cook basic meals? Got it. She wanted him to go out with people and try to get experience in romance? That's...a work in progress. Either way, Taehyun knew that she was the one person in the world he could trust with his life. Probably because she gave it to him.

"Anyways, the boys are coming over at six o' clock so I need you run down to the store and get some things for me," she turns back to the stove.
"Ugh," Taehyun rolled his eyes. Can't I have one holiday to rest? he sighed. Wait...what boys?
"Hey your friends are coming over, which is why I need more ingredients, so get to it!" she told him. Taehyun raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? What friends?" he asked. I did not just say that.
"Y'know the boys," she turned back around.
"Like the boys?" he listed the names quickly.
"Yeah," she said.
"Really??" he asked with a bright smile. She raised an eyebrow. He coughed.
"Uh, I mean, cool, cool," he dropped his smile. She grinned slightly.
"Okay, whatever that was, I don't care, go get your coat on and I'll leave the money on the counter," she said playfully before turning back to the stove. He nodded before exiting the kitchen.

~~~

Taehyun walked down the sidewalk merrily, almost skipping. How long has it been since we've all gotten together? he wondered with a smile. Sounds of festive jingle music could be heard from all around. The air was cold yet filled with a different kind of warmth, and shops were decorated with twinkling lights. This, this was the feeling of the holiday season. And as grumpy as Taehyun was, even he couldn't deny the joy of this time of year.

He continued down the street, two grocery bags in his hands.
"Kang Taehyun?" a questioning voice called out. The redhead stopped his tracks immediately. Right in front of him stood a brunette girl with a warm smile, long eyelashes, and dusty pink lips.
"It is you!" she said cheerfully. Taehyun paused as he tried to remember her name.
"NingNing?" he replied. She smiled with flushed rosy cheeks.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked. Whew, I almost called her Minji, he sighed with relief.
"Oh, uh, I'm just getting some groceries for my mom," he ended his sentence by pouting his lips awkwardly.
"Aw, that's so sweet!" NingNing gleamed. Keep saying that until you meet her, it was a life or death situation, he said in his head.
"W-What about you?" Taehyun stuttered. Though he honestly wanted to be on his way, he didn't want to be impolite either.
"Oh, I'm on my way to the bakery, I'm getting a cake 'cause Minji and Ryujin are coming over later," she said. She talks to me so casually, he noticed.
"Cool," he nodded. An awkward pause fell between them. He noticed that NingNing wore a lilac colored parka with tights and a skirt. How is she not freezing? Taehyun wondered.
"So...are you excited for Monday?" she asked. Taehyun looked up.
"Huh? Monday?" he titled his head.
"The trip...? For New Year's?" she raised an eyebrow. Taehyun raised both of his eyebrows.
"Ah, right! Man, just when I had forgot," he said as if he didn't want to think about it. NingNing giggled at his defeated tone.
"Y'know, when it comes up, all I can think about is Y/N," he shook his head. Her smile suddenly dropped.
"What?" she responded.
"How much she's gonna annoy me, I mean, knowing how things always go, I'm probably gonna be the one who has to stop her from putting herself in a life-threatening situation," he complained.
"Yeah..." NingNing's tone was lazier than before. As he spoke of Y/N, it seemed as if his reserved persona had faded.
"It's like everyone expects me to be her babysitter or something!" he went on. That's when he noticed her almost annoyed face.
"Oh—uh, sorry," he apologized.
"You probably don't like me complaining about her," Taehyun said. It was safe for him to assume that Y/N meant a lot to NingNing, just like everyone else, and that she wouldn't appreciate him complaining about her. But NingNing's demeanor returned to normal at this.
"Oh, what? No! That's not—I mean, don't worry about it," she titled her head. Whew, another close one, Taehyun sighed.