Paradise in You | sope

paradise found | five

True to Jess's words, his parents had left silently the following day, leaving nothing but a note telling Yoongi that they would be spending the holidays with their family in Florida. They assured Yoongi that he had enough money to feed himself for the week, and in the case that he felt lonely, Jess's family had happily offered him a place for the holiday celebration. Yoongi knew that it shouldn't hurt, but he felt the sting in his eyes as he read the note, and once he was done, he threw it in the trash.

They hadn't even had the decency to tell him face to face that they were gone. Yoongi knew his parents didn't owe him anything, but a little communication would have gone a long way. With the way things had progressed yesterday, his parents sitting down with him and bonding like they did during the holidays, Yoongi had thought for a second that his relationship with them was mending. It had all been for show, Yoongi realized. To lull him into security. Knowing them, this was probably a ploy to get Yoongi to hang out with Jess's family, and connect with them on a more personal level, but Yoongi had no intention of doing that.

At least, he'd been given permission for Namjoon to sleep over.

That was always a plus.

"Hey."

Namjoon stood there with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, beaming excitedly as Yoongi opened the door. Yoongi ushered him inside, embracing him, before showing Namjoon to the spare room. When Namjoon had settled in, Yoongi and Namjoon flopped on the couch. Yoongi's mother had left some breakfast made, so Yoongi brought it to the living room, gave a plate to Namjoon, and settled down to eat. Though it had only been a few days since Yoongi had seen his best friend, he realized so much had happened— too much, and Yoongi spilled it all as he ate, watching as Namjoon's eyes widened with every word that passed through Yoongi's lips.

"So what are y'all?"

Yoongi shrugged. "We're in the together but not together stage."

Namjoon nodded in understanding. "So exactly how you were these past couple weeks, but you two aren't pining from a distance anymore."

Yoongi rolled his eyes, cheeks flaming red. "Don't say it like that."

"I knew something had happened," Namjoon stated proudly. "What? Jimin was fuming. I asked him why and he told me Hoseok had broken things off with Alex. For good."

"Good," Yoongi said, feeling satisfaction. "I feel like if he would have kept that, then it could count as cheating."

Namjoon laughed, pausing only to take a bite of his food. "No, because Jimin swears up and down that you had some to do with it, and I'm over here telling him he's making shit up and that Hoseok just didn't want to force himself into a relationship with someone he wasn't fully committed to. Clearly, I lied." He set his plate down, looking at Yoongi concerned. "How are you feeling about everything?"

In truth, Yoongi was still riding on the high. Now that his parents were out of the picture for the coming weeks, Yoongi knew there was no way his parents could find out anything about him and Hoseok. If Yoongi wanted to, he could invite Hoseok to his place, and Hoseok could spend his nights with Yoongi instead of the usual— going to his place. The possibilities were seemingly endless, and it gave Yoongi hope.

Surprisingly, Namjoon understood.

"It starts like that," Namjoon said. "I know with me, I was so excited at first. Jumping off the walls, all I could only think about was how Jimin was my first real boyfriend. It was secret, fun, adrenaline rushing. After that, it hit me. I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell my parents. I couldn't tell anyone in my life. I remembered everything that everyone in my life stood for, and I forced myself to keep Jimin a secret. I even faltered, with him. I thought I'd made it up in my head. The guilt starts to seep in. Then, the paranoia. You think, what if that was someone you knew? You become uncertain."