The Kim Family Tetralogy

11

"I should tell you something," Namjoon looked at Jin and Tae at dinner, "I told Jiwoo about your parents, I shouldn't have, but,"
"Why?" Taehyung asked.
"I told her she could come over to study with us, and, she wanted to know if your parents would be ok with that, so, I told her. I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine!" Jin assured him as he reached for the rice.
"Yeah, what were you supposed to say?" Taehyung agreed, and handed Jin the bowl, "They're never home?"
"Still, I'm sorry."
"Do you think her parents will be ok with her coming over, knowing that this is an all boys' house?" Jin wondered.
"Dunno." Joon admitted, "Maybe if her brother tags along?"
"Yeay, Hobi!" Tae cheered, "I like him, he's great!"
"They hit if off, I see?" Namjoon smiled at Jin.
"Yeah." Jin said on a breath, "All three of them. It's gonna be a circus."
"You're just jealous 'cause I've got friends." Tae mused.
"I have friends." Jin protested.
"Namjoon." Tae said laconically.
"And Jiwoo." Jin added.
"Mm," Tae agreed, "hordes."
"What, so you have legions? You only hang out with Jimin, for Christ's sake!"
"I hang out with a lot of people at lots of places, school for instance," Taehyung nodded in agreement with himself, "Jimin just happens to be the one I hang out with at home, seeing as we're both raised by single moms."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jin was getting a tad irritated.
"Ok, you two, break it off!" Namjoon said. He seldom got in the middle of their bickering but when he did, they both stopped immediately.
"I hang out with people too, at school." Jin muttered.
"Namjoon." Tae said, to his plate.
"Aish!" Jin faked a slap.
"Well, he's not wrong." Namjoon said, "I at least talk to people, you just stand there."
"I'm waiting for you to make friends, obviously," Jin stated, "friends by proxy." he grinned and pointed at himself, "although, you're not really good at it either..."
"Nerd!" Namjoon called.
"Nerd-nerd!" Jin countered.
"I rest my case." Taehyung said and got up from the table, putting away the dirty dishes before heading up to his room.

"That Hoseok-dude is totally gay, by the way." Jin said as they were an hour in to their homework.
"Ya' think?!" Namjoon laughed, "He was totally checking you out!
Jin turned beetroot, "Yah! He scoped you out too!"
"I noticed."
"And Taehyung. And Jimin." Jin confessed.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"I mean, does it matter?" Joon asked. "I don't think Tae's, and Jimin's obviously, you know, omnivore..."
"No! Of course that doesn't matter! It's just, it could be, I don't want anyone to get hurt, that's all!"
"Jin," Namjoon reached across the table and put a hand on Jin's arm, "I know you love your brother and want to protect him, but he's fifteen, he's gonna get his heart broken! It's just the way of the world!"
"Have you had your heart broken?" Jin wanted to know.
"Kind of." Namjoon admitted. "I mean, I had a huge crush on a girl at my high school, but, you know, she didn't give me a second thought, I mean, I don't blame her! I was two years younger than her and, I really hadn't hit puberty yet so I looked like a chubby twelve-year-old. Not the sexiest person walking around that school, that was for sure!" he laughed.
"I know what you mean, I didn't start puberty 'til I was almost seventeen! Girls did not want anything to do with me..."
"So, you haven't? Had your heart broken?"
"No." Jin thought about it, "I haven't." he paused, "I haven't been in love with anyone, I haven't even had a crush on someone, now that I think about it? Maybe I'm asexual?"
"Or, maybe, you just haven't met the right one?"
"I wouldn't know, I guess." Jin shrugged.
"Well," Namjoon put down his pen, "do you, you know?" he looked away, making a telling gesture with his hand.
Jin was red as a lobster. "Yah! Why would you ask me that?" he hit Namjoon, embarrassed out of his mind.
"Well, do you?" Joon persisted, "'Cause if you do, you're probably not asexual..." he shrugged.
"Of course I do! Can we please stop talking about this now?"
"See. You just haven't found the right one yet!"
"Yaaaaah!" Jin was hitting his ears trying to block out Namjoon, "Whatever. I'm not talking about this anymore." he turned to his book.
Namjoon was giggling at his cute friend, 'and he's gonna be a doctor', he thought, shaking his head with amusement.