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chapter two
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Taehyung did not look up from his work as the front door swung open, letting in a cold draft of air, a strange waft of unfamiliar, expensive perfume-
And Jin.
"Total hottie moving in across the hall," Taehyung's older brother informed him in a business-like manner, as he dropped his briefcase and shrugged out of his suit jacket.
Taehyung didn't even glance up from the wheel, smoothing the clay with focus. "Good evening to you too, Jin-hyung," he sighed.
"Mhm," Jin confirmed as if Taehyung had displayed any interest at all, plonking down onto the couch and undoing his top button. "About this high, great figure. Seems kinda high maintenance, but I reckon I could loosen her up a bit."
Taehyung fought very hard not to roll his eyes at this as the wheel in front of him continued to spin. "Do you think maybe we could make it through at least one neighbour that you don't have sex with, hyung?"
Jin flashed him a charming smile over his shoulder. "Don't be boring, Tae."
Taehyung huffed. Feeling his wire-framed glasses slip down his nose, he used the back of his clay-covered hands to push them back up again, shaking the long blonde strands of hair away. He really needed a haircut sometime soon.
When he got paid, he thought. Mrs. Ahn, the wealthy old lady he was designing this vase for, had promised to pay him by the end of this week; although Taehyung had still shuddered at the way she'd raked her eyes over him when she'd said this.
But it didn't matter if some randy old lady wanted to eye him up, as long as he got paid. He'd cash in for this project he was currently working on, and then go straight down to the barbers, along with a quick pit stop at the pet store to get Yeontan a new dog bed. The pup had destroyed the last one in a hissy fit when Taehyung didn't feed him on time.
The ball of pampered fluff in question was currently leaping up onto the couch next to Jin, rolling onto his back pompously to accept a belly rub from Taehyung's brother. Taehyung rolled his eyes, going back to the clay still half-finished on the wheel.
Yeontan was the epitome of a spoiled brat.
Not that Taehyung planned on actually changing that any time soon, considering he was the one who spoiled him.
"Actually, I was thinking more about you, Tae," Jin continued, and it took Taehyung a minute to remember what he was talking about. "When was the last time you got laid again?"
Taehyung bristled, dipping his hands into the water bowl before pinching the clay carefully to form the mouth of the vase, trying to ignore the fist that squeezed at his heart.
"You know when," he said quietly, praying that Jin wouldn't push it.
And he didn't. Taehyung's brother might be a nuisance, but he knew when to stay away from a sore subject - and what happened to Taehyung a few months ago was still very sore.
"All I'm saying is, it's good to get back out there," Jin shrugged, now scratching a veritably preening Yeontan under his chin. "Life is short, and the women are wide. Isn't that right, Tannie?"
"That's a heinous misquotation of Mamma Mia 2," Taehyung muttered under his breath, remembering last week when they'd watched that show over takeaway pizza. "In what way are the women wide?"
"Their legs certainly are, when they see me," Jin winked, standing from the couch and striding across the lounge, Yeontan close at his heels.
"You're a misogynistic pig!" Taehyung chimed after his older brother in a sing-song voice.
"Don't worry, I objectify men, too!" Jin called over his shoulder, his distinctive windshield wiper laugh echoing long after he disappeared into his bedroom.
It was true, Jin was an unstoppable rake with both men and women. But Taehyung loved living with his brother.
He'd only been here a few months, since... well, since his previous living situation had become untenable, and Jin had allowed him and Yeontan to move in. But even still, he liked the company here, and the views from the top floor. He especially loved the open loft-style lounge, which had plenty of space for his pottery wheel at the back, so he could work in peace when Jin left for the office.
There were a number of downsides to the apartment, of course - the nightmarish steps and the broken elevator, the drafty air, and the fact that it was right above a coffee shop, making the entire building stink of java beans on a permanent basis. Which, he supposed, might be attractive to some, but Taehyung hated coffee.
But there was one huge upside - a very reduced rent, considering his brother had a spare bedroom, and no need to cash in on renting it out to a much higher bidder.
It baffled Taehyung why Jin even chose to live here - his position as an investment banker in the city could have easily secured him a much nicer place. But then, Jin had always been somewhat of a mystery, even to his brother. He would have his reasons.
And Taehyung didn't push it. After all, he couldn't afford to live anywhere else, on a freelance artist's salary.
He thought back to this time last year, when he'd been living in a far nicer place - but he pushed it down almost immediately. To think about where he'd been living would also necessitate thinking about who he'd been living with, and he didn't think he was ready for those kind of emotional acrobatics right now.
Besides, he had a vase to finish.
As he smoothed out the lip of the vase, removing it from the wheel to rest, he let his mind wander back to Jin's news. He wondered who the new tenant across the hall might be; the last guy who lived there hadn't really come out much, so Taehyung and Jin hadn't known him very well. That is, until Jin went over there with a bottle of whiskey and his charming smile and a sleeve of condoms; and the mysterious neighbour finally let on in bed afterwards that he was a professional gamer. Three months later he was gone, to start over again and try his luck in America.
Taehyung had asked his brother if he was bothered by their neighbour leaving. Jin's reaction had been about the same as the time when Taehyung had told him that they no longer made the kimchi flavour of Jin's favourite ramen. By the next day, he'd forgotten all about it. That was pretty much Taehyung's brother in a nutshell.
And now, they had a new neighbour, at the beginning of the autumn season.
New beginnings all around, Taehyung thought, making his way to the sink to rinse his hands. For him, for the neighbour off to America, and for their newest arrival across the hall.
He only hoped the new neighbour enjoyed her fresh start a whole lot more than he'd enjoyed his.
