daybreak | yoonmin

february 26th.

6:49 a.m.

He took his seat on the train car with great ease.

Trescott Avenue station was not packed with commuters this morning, including a certain Yoongi. Jimin had something to be grateful for, sort of.

After a month of riding the monorail with the fool, he actually became uneasy with the only the sound of the transit at dawn. To be submerged in quietude after days upon days spent getting his ears crammed with foolishness and bad jokes, Jimin felt... peculiar. It had become his regular to want silence but never have. Having it was anticlimactic. Or, to put it more elegantly, it didn't hit the same.

He discarded the thought, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he read Naked Economics. He  accidentally abandoned his sausage egg and cheese on the kitchen counter in his hurry. He may have slightly missed Yoongi, but he was still as irritable as ever.

Speaking of the devil, Jimin could see the very blue-haired creature approaching his train car at the moment. He didn't bother hiding behind his book anymore, figuring Yoongi would be able to spot him like he always did anyway. And so, with a too-wide gummy smile, died whatever longing Jimin may have had for the boy's presence.

Classic case of a little "spoke too soon."

"Ayeee, Min Min!" Yoongi's voice went off like an airhorn on the quiet morning train through his black face mask. He dropped beside Jimin in the double seater, making the seat jerk up and startle him.

Jimin raised his brows in distaste, "Respectfully, Yoongi, what the f--"

"I'm Min. You're Min Min. No I do not accept constructive criticism." He continued on his enthusiastic note, sounding a bit nasal, "Anyway, long time, no see! I thought you might be lonely yesterday while I was gone. I kinda missed you."

"The feeling is not mutual," Jimin replied. Even snow, which fell to the earth the night previous, could not measure up to his iciness.

The train was spacious today, for everything was ahead of schedule. A five minute lead on the early train made for an exponentially faster, relaxed journey instead of their regular. There was no hustle and scuffle among commuters to get onboard. Not everyone liked being to work or school so early. The few who bothered to get on the monorail all had the same lazy amble, comfortable with the idea of guaranteed earliness.

Passengers were sparse, few and far between as if peppered across the train car by some unskillful hand. Yoongi could have chosen anywhere else to sit but chose the seat that made their thighs touch.

When two manspreaders sit together... well, usually the second manspreader would be smart enough to pick a spacier spot so both can sit comfortably. But hypothetically, two manspreaders would engage in that silent challenge of ego and force until one closed or folded their legs. Jimin knew Yoongi wasn't normal because he was doing that in spite of the obvious, aggravated push back he gave whenever his legs were spread too wide. Jimin didn't even think Yoongi knew that's what he was doing.

Suddenly, Yoongi stretched his legs to the middle of the train car, his ankles revealed by rising chino pants. He looked at Jimin with what could only be described as a bean face, and then down at the jade clogs on his feet.

"D'ya like my Crocs?" He exaggerated, reminding Jimin of Minhyuk, the littlest cousin on his mom's side-- who'd gotten his first pair of glasses at two years old.

"They... They're Crocs," Jimin shrugged.

"Yeah, do you like 'em?"

A painful look of reluctance came over Jimin's face as he gave the shoes another gander. It dawned upon him now that Yoongi wasn't asking about the shoes themselves, but the charms he'd used to decorate them:

Y, O, O, and N, a planet with Saturn's rings that looked like a scoop of rainbow sherbet, and a plaque that read THANK YOU, and a chibi Rock Lee on the left clog;

a narwhal, a white cowboy boot with blue stars and red fringe, Princess Peach, a Maneki Neko, and something that resembled a bumper sticker that said "Call my lawyer: 888-542-0916" for the right.

Jimin didn't laugh but nose exhaled in his amusement. This is exactly what one might expect Yoongi's Crocs to look like.

Pulling his gaze up to meet the bean face still, Jimin cocked a brow,  "Will you stop talking if I say yes?"

"No. But I will consider it," Yoongi slowly nodded, the bean face making him look babylike and elderly in the same instant.

"I-..." Jimin couldn't help but sound defeated."Okay. Yes. They're nice."

Yoongi dismissed the remark and sent a smile to note his satisfaction. There was a paperback in his lap that Jimin now noticed. Yoongi gave him barely enough time to sneak a peek at the title because suddenly he found the book extended to him, the elder's expression gone straight.

"I called in sick because I had and continue to have an insane cold and fever, so I'm actually on my way to drop some stuff off at my uncle's house then heading to a doctor. But I brought you a book I finished. It's called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I don't know why, but I thought you might like it."

Yoongi's face seized wildly, and milliseconds later, a fusion of phlegm and germs and spit and any other undesirables in between sprayed the cover of the book. Jimin's face was plastered with a look of horror, while Yoongi became silent and sheepish and red. Nothing left either of their mouths, save for clouds of vapor that danced and coalesced in the wintry air, carrying away words they would have had.

And still, the book was extended to him.

Jimin did not scold Yoongi for his mistake, fearing that he'd hurt the boy's feelings. With a handful of tissues he'd fished from his bag, he took the book and set it in his lap, careful not to touch it with any fingers -- careful to preserve a diplomatic grin.

"It's a book..." He smiled crookedly, "thanks..."

Yoongi, sniffing one last time, reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a little plastic bottle.

"Hand sanitizer?"