First came the smile, then came the smirk. Or did the smirk come first?
Kim Taehyung was born golden. Literally. He was born with an ethereal glow. The Kims are old money. Theirs is a family of businessmen, politicians and military officials.
Mr. Kim, town Mayor at one point, was best friends with my dad. In contrast to the Kims, ours is a working class family. The two elders grew up together and coincidentally married beautiful women who are ten years their junior. It was almost a given that their children will be friends as well.
So the Kims had Taehyung and the twins J-Min and J-Hope. The Jeons had my older sisters, Jina and Joona and me, Jungkook.
While Jina is a sweetheart, Joona hated my guts. Guess she needed someone to blame for that name. Huh! (It was much later that I realized Joona was in love with Taehyung and resented me for being close to him and ruining her first love.)
Taehyung had an aura about him. Even as a child and despite his social status, people gravitated towards him. Sure, he was a scrawny kid, but you could tell he was destined for great things. I was fascinated by Taehyung and followed him like a little puppy. Or a little bunny as people always pointed out my two front teeth.
I spent most of my youth at the Kim household where they welcomed me with open arms...and a dining table full of goodies that we can't afford. Mrs. Kim was wonderful and was like a second mom to me. When I was five, she gave me a puppy which infuriated J-Min because I found out it was his. J-Min was born dramatic but he got over it and became close friends as well.
Taehyung and Jungkook.
We were inseparable scrawny kids just having the best time of our lives. People got accustomed to seeing us together over the years. Climbing trees, bathing in the river, going to the town fair. The list went on and on.
It was all blissfully innocent fun.
It was PURE.
Taehyung's laugh is distinct. First he'd smile, then smirk, then laugh at the silliest things.
Then, when I was 15 and Taehyung was 17, I felt a shift. Behind that smirk, I saw an unfathomable twinkle in his eyes every time he'd look at me.
For the first time in my life....my stomach was queasy but not from food.
My heartbeat reverberated inside my ribcage.
It was an awakening.
