Tomorrow's Childhood

Pool man

"Why is my house always the hangout?" Taehyun wondered, pulling out his popsicle. Him, Soobin and Yeonjun were hanging out on the porch, the oldest of which was actually hanging on the porch.

"Because it's cozy" Yeonjun answered without hesitation. Taehyun gave him a confused look. His house was far from cozy. It was rundown and tiny. He would much rather be at Yeonjun or Soobin's places. And Taehyun has seen where they lived. It was like a mansion compared to his tiny house.

"I want to go to your houses" Taehyun decided.

"That's not happening" Yeonjun cut in.

"Why not?" Soobin wondered. Taehyun was about to ask the same thing so he just waited for the answer.

"You know why Soo" Yeonjun retorted. Taehyun looked between the cousins confused.

"Come on, how bad could it be?" Taehyun got up, throwing his popsicle stick away. Soobin followed his example, both of them waiting for Yeonjun.

"Fine" Yeonjun gave in, flicking the popsicle stick away and jumping off the porch, leading the way to his house. Taehyun had to admit; he was nervous. Yeonjun made his house feel like the doorway to hell.

The oldest stopped in front of the door, hesitating. Then he took a deep breath and walked in. Right away, Taehyun could feel the cold tension in the house. It was quiet, his place was too but not like this. This was an eerie quiet, like when watching a horror movie and being on the edge of your seat. That's what this place felt like. Yeonjun was noticeably bothered by it but he was pretending not to be. Soobin moved closer, grabbing Yeonjun's hand and reaching back for Taehyun.

"Are your parents not home?" Taehyun wondered.

"Nope. Never are" Yeonjun answered, going up the stairs. He wasn't as comforting as he usually was. In fact, Yeonjun was on edge and his responses were sharper.

"Don't take it personally. There's a reason we like being at your house" Soobin explained. Taehyun was beginning to figure that out. Yeonjun peeked back out of his room.

"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet" Yeonjun ran back down the stairs, brushing past his cousin and friend. Soobin grinned, pulling Taehyun down the stairs and into the backyard. There was a boy lounging in the pool, not moving. His eyes were closed and he was just...floating. Taehyun almost wondered if he was dead.

"Huening Kai! Wake up" Yeonjun cupped both hands around his mouth and yelled as loud as he could. The boy startled, splashing around and then going under. Yeonjun crossed his arms, waiting. Taehyun was about to ask if the kid was okay but then he surfaced and swam over to the wall, climbing out.

"Taehyun, this is Kai" Yeonjun stated, looking proud. Taehyun studied the kid.

"You're in my class!" Kai walked over, towering over Taehyun.

"Um.. yeah. I sit behind you in math, unfortunately" Taehyun mumbled the last part to himself.

"Oh, yeah. We can switch seats if you want. So you can see the board" Kai offered. Taehyun's mouth twisted into a scowl.

"Thanks" He shrugged, not sure how to respond to that. It felt like a jab at his height even though Kai was only trying to be nice.

"Wait, so you just let this kid in your house and your backyard?" Soobin interrupted, pointing out how weird that was. He had met Kai but never when Yeonjun wasn't around and he always just assumed that Kai waited until Yeonjun was home before coming over.

"He's okay" Yeonjun answered, throwing an arm around the younger boy. Kai shivered a little and Yeonjun pulled away, going over to a shed thing and pulling out a towel.

"Here, I should have some clothes that fit you" Yeonjun led the way back inside. Soobin and Taehyun didn't question it but they were curious what Yeonjun meant by 'he's okay'. How was it okay that a kid just showed up at a random house without warning?

"Kai's your age, I think. I'm sure you two will get along well" Yeonjun sounded so hopeful that Taehyun couldn't argue.

"I guess" He shrugged. Honestly, Taehyun had never talked to anyone in his grade and he did remember Kai from kindergarten. The taller kid hit him in the head with a block, after stealing said block from Taehyun. They had been enemies since.

"Kai's the only reason Yeonjun still comes here. Be nice, please" Soobin added. And this time, Taehyun agreed. He could be nice to Kai, even if he didn't like the kid.

Taehyun never did find out why Kai was at Yeonjun's house that day, at least he didn't until years later, when they were all in middle school. Eventually, Taehyun did accept Kai into the group, but there was still something missing. They needed a middle man. Someone to balance out the group. After all, three is okay, four is weird but five...five was perfect.

Yeonjun-11. 6th grade
Soobin-10. 5th grade
Beomgyu-9. 4th grade
Taehyun-8. 3rd grade
Kai-8. 3rd grade