apology

three

December 15, 2015, 9 p.m.

The moment I step out onto the streets, a gust of cold wind blows in my face. I hug my arms around myself, regretting my decision to dress light. I look around, searching for Yoongi.

I find him standing under the shade of an oak tree, phone in one hand, the other hand tucked into his pocket. Quietly, I approach him, wanting to give him a surprise.

"I'll come over as soon as I can, okay?" I hear my boyfriend say into the phone as I near him. He stays silent as the person on the other end of the line replies. "I miss you too," he tells the person, before hanging up and stuffing the phone back into his pocket.

"Hey!" I exclaim as I wrap my arms around his back. He jumps, but relaxes after he realizes that it's me.

"Hey," he greets me, unwrapping my hands around his waist before pulling me forward to give me a small peck on the nose. "You've been well," he grins at me, grabbing a lock of my hair and twirling it around his fingers.

"So have you," I smile back, before continuing. "Are you ready to go?"

He frowns at me, confused. "Go? Go where?"

"We have a date, remember?" I remind him. "At my place?"

His eyes widen, as if he just remembered something. "Oh, that..." He puts a hand on his neck, looking at me with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry... Something popped up at home. My mom called just now, said that my grandma's been admitted to the hospital." He pauses, before continuing, "I... have to go."

I blink at him, trying to hide my disappointment with an understanding smile. "It's okay," I tell him, "we can reschedule. Your grandma comes first."

Yoongi beams at me, revealing two sets of perfectly white teeth. He reaches forward, hands cupping my cheeks. "Thank you," he says, bending down to peck my lips. "I'll go look for you after the fan-meet tomorrow, okay?"

I nod excitedly. "Okay."

"I'll get going now," Yoongi tells me, pecking me for the last time on the forehead before walking past me onto the busy street. My gaze doesn't leave him until the cab he hails and gets into speeds off in the opposite direction.

***

Shortly after Yoongi leaves, Taehyung and I bid goodbye to the other members, hopping onto my bicycle, which was how I got here in the first place. Taehyung cycles while I wrap my arms around his waist, thinking of our childhood. This was how we went to school back then - my big brother cycling while I just enjoyed the view. Yes, we were poor as compared to the other kids in our school, but we were happy, and to us, that's all that mattered.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Taehyung asks as we stop at a red light.

"Yeah," I smile. "It's been a long time, huh?"

Taehyung turns back to look at me. "Mm-hm." His gaze sweeps across my entire body. "I think you've gained weight," he teases.

"Yah!" I hit his back, glaring at him, despite the smile threatening to spread across my face.

Taehyung laughs, continuing to cycle when the light turns green.

I suddenly realize how much I've missed him. My big brother. The one who's been standing up for me and protecting me ever since we were fetuses. He's the reason why I moved to Seoul instead of staying with our parents and little brother in Daegu - so that there wouldn't be that much distance between us. This is how it always should have been - Taehyung and Minrae. No stupid band, no stupid agency, no stupid fans.

Just a girl and her older brother.

Maybe, deep inside, I've always hated Bighit Entertainment for taking my brother away from me.

Just maybe.

***

That night, after setting up a sleeping area for Taehyung in the study room, I head back to my own room and change into my pajamas.

I flop down onto the bed, wishing that Yoongi was here with me.

Grabbing my phone, I open my chat with Yoongi and send him a text:

How's Grandma?

He hasn't read it yet, so I switch off my phone and place it on the nightstand beside my bed, diving beneath the blanket and preparing to fall asleep.

Just as I'm fluffing my pillows, I hear a series of knocks on the door. "Come in," I call out to Taehyung, who enters the room, dragging the sleeping bag that I gave him earlier behind him.

I give him a weird look, and he quickly explains, "I can't sleep."

I grin. "You're still afraid of the dark?"

He rolls his eyes, putting the sleeping bag down and lying on it. I take it as a silent 'yes'.

I burst into laughter, placing my head on the pillow. "I thought living with six other boys would man you up a bit," I tease.

I picture Taehyung rolling his eyes as he replies, "Trust me, I'm the manliest among the seven of us."

"Pfft," I ignore him, flipping over in bed so that my back is facing him.

A moment of silence passes between us, before Taehyung breaks it with a question. "So... you and Yoongi really are dating?"

I nod, a blissful feeling slowly creeping into my heart. "Why?"

"It's nothing," my brother quickly shrugs it off, changing the subject before I can say another word. "Why did you slap Jimin anyways?"

The blissful feeling immediately converts into anger and annoyance. "He was being chased by some crazy fangirls, so he decided to kiss me in front of them to chase them away," I explain, shuddering as I recall the scene from that day.

"You serious?!" Taehyung exclaims, bursting into laughter as he tries to imagine the situation then.

"It's not funny!" I turn around, reaching downwards to smack his head.

"Ow! Okay, okay!" He raises his hands to defend himself, smile still on his face. "How dare Park Jimin take advantage of my little sister," he says, for my sake.

"That's more like it." Satisfied, I fall back on top of the pillows, closing my eyes as sleep overtakes me. "Good night," I mumble to Taehyung in the dark.

"Good night."

+

to be honest, i don't know how to feel about this story. is it boring guys? honest opinions please ~~

either way, i hope you enjoyed that! i decided to focus this chapter on the relationship between tae and minrae, to express how close they are as siblings and stuff. don't worry though, the action starts in the next chapter so stay tuned ;)

;hoseokieomo