Jeongguk noticed how Mr Kim threw not a single glance at him during the entire class the next day. Not that he expected the man to, anyway, because the man had left their house at the ass crack of dawn just to avoid the embarrassment of having to face Jeongguk.
Jeongguk couldn't help but be smug now. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to be bullied by Mr Kim anymore. It felt as if the man didn't have the upper hand anymore. Not when Jeongguk now knew a secret of his.
He could clearly see Mr Kim's ears turning red every once in a while as the man wrote sums on the board, probably from the embarrassment that he was facing from the intense stare that Jeongguk kept gracing him with from the very beginning of the class, and it amused Jeongguk highly.
At some time, he even ended up chuckling by mistake, and it felt like he was flying on a cloud when Mr Kim did nothing but throw a glare his way without even meeting his eyes.
In the midst of all of this, however, he noticed how down Yoongi looked. The boy even had dark circles under his eyes, clear proof that he hadn't slept the previous night. He frowned, deciding to confront Yoongi later. He had given the boy enough personal space until then and he had enough of waiting for the boy to tell them what was troubling him on his own.
Yoongi tried his best to deny what was happening, but all Jeongguk and Jeongyeon had to do was to force him into a group hug for him to finally break down and spill.
"I l-love Seokjin hyung so much, it's...it's getting out of hand, b-but I don't know wh-what to do...I-I...I know it's r-ridiculous to love someone double my age, b-but I can't help it. H-Hobi says it's okay to l-like someone double y-your age, but I kn-know hyung doesn't s-see me as anything other than a brother and it hurt s-so fucking much last night because...because it's proof that he doesn't see me that way, and I don't know h-how to get over him...I-"
"Okay, okay," Jeongguk said, having heard enough. In a small corner of his heart, he felt like he already knew this. Like it wasn't too shocking for Yoongi to be in love with his cousin. In a way, it stared him in his face the entire time with the way Yoongi behaved around Seokjin. He was the fool who didn't catch on.
"And how come Hobi hyung knows about it and not us?" he asked. As far as he knew, Hoseok and Yoongi came into contact only recently, even though the relationship between the two of them was a little confusing to Jeongguk and Jeongyeon. Yoongi swore they were just friends, but the way they chatted literally all the time was weird. Something just wasn't adding up.
"H-He confessed to me about a month or so ago a-and I-I rejected him because obviously, I-I have no feeling f-for him. H-He asked me why I rejected him and I felt l-like I owed him an explanation, but I was also already feeling s-sad about Seokjin hyung, so I kinda just broke down and told Hobi about m-my feelings. He's been there for me since then. Just as friends, though, because he keeps pushing me to pursue my feelings. I know I've like zero chances, anyway. Now more than ever."
"Oh, Yoongi, you toad," Jeongyeon said and Jeongguk gulped, knowing a long speech was due.
"Do you not consider us as your best friends at all?! Are we decorative items in your life? Why couldn't you tell us all of this and lessen your burden a little?! Did you think we would judge you or something?! Also, Hobi hyung is right, but so are you. It is okay to love someone double your age, but it is not okay if they are in love with someone else. We don't know if Seokjin oppa is in love with Mr Kim, so you can still try if you really want to give it a chance.
But I personally think it would be a little weird and awkward and that you would lose what friendship you have with him because he clearly sees you as his brother and all of us know that already. It would only make things awkward is what I feel. You can go ahead and give it a try though, but if you ask me, I totally think it is better to give Hobi hyung a chance and sort your feelings and move on. It's your wish, though. I hope you know that it isn't my intention to discourage you. I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you to regret it later after things go out of hand."
Jeongguk cleared his throat awkwardly. Leave it to Jeongyeon to go straight to the point and be blunt about what she wanted to say.
"I think she's right," he started hesitantly, "It'd be better if you give Hobi hyung a chance instead. I feel like he's gonna be great to you. And it would give you a chance to move on from Seokjin hyung. Because I know for a fact that Jinnie hyung is head-over-heels for Mr Kim. He might not be in love yet, but he's totally smitten. But you know that we would be there for you, right, Yoongi? It wasn't too nice of you to hide it from us for so long. At least keep in mind now that we'll be there for you no matter what decision you take and that we would never judge you. Okay?"
Yoongi sniffled slightly and wiped his face with his sleeves. "Okay," he nodded, "I'm sorry for not telling you guys. I would have if it was someone else, but I didn't because it's your cousin. Gimme some time to think about everything, though," he said.
"Okay, now let's go and have lunch. Jeongie looks like she's about to combust," Jeongguk joked, snorting when he received a smack from her.
It was worth it though, when he heard Yoongi snort as well, albeit wetly.
