JAEBUM 제이비
CELLY BLOWING UP / FRIDAYNITE
Jaebum strides through the front door of the dorms, hauling two warm take out bags in his arms. He's greeted by the sweet sight of Youngjae curled into the arm of the couch in front of the television with a pink blanket tight around his shoulders. A subbed version of some American program is displayed in the pixels, bathing the boy in an aqueous blue light.
"I'm back!" Jaebum calls out to the silent dorm, tearing his eyes away from Youngjae.
"Oh, thank God..." Bambam is the first to escape his room at the scent of hot food, looking winded. "What's wrong with you?" Youngjae asks, taking the words right out of Jaebum's mouth. Bambam just fans his ruddy cheeks and bats his shirt against his chest like he's trying to cool off.
"Air conditioner broke in my room." He finally huffs. "No one told you that you had to stay in there to sweat to death." Jaebum says, making a face. Bambam just looks around awkwardly and shrugs. "Whatever, just set the table, freak." The leader insists while shoving the takeout bags into Bambam's gangly arms.
"Hey." Jaebum says to Youngjae, slinking over to take a seat on the unoccupied part of the couch. "Hi." Youngjae sits up a little and the blanket falls so Jaebum can see the neckline of his favorite sweater dipping down past his collarbones. He looks away and decides not to scold Youngjae for wearing his clothes. They seem to look better on him anyway.
"So, what are we watching?" Jaebum asks. He shifts his attention to the TV where a boy with a strong jaw is pouring his heart out to a girl in a red dress. "Gossip Girl." Youngjae giggles and Jaebum sees him looking through his peripheral vision. "Are you already over kdramas?" Jaebum scoffs. "No! It's just that I finished everything..." Youngjae trails off, embarrassed about his incessant TV watching.
"Are you studying?" Jaebum asks when he notices the driver's education pamphlet open in the boy's lap. "Kind of." Youngjae shrugs, aimlessly turning through the pages. "I'll take you out driving sometime." Jaebum offers. "Really, hyung? You're not scared?" Youngjae asks hopefully. "You have to learn from someone, don't you?"
"Time to eat, snakes!!" Bambam yells from the kitchen at an excessive volume. "Shit, Bam, chill." Mark responds, plopping down at the head of the table. Jaebum follows Youngjae to the table and chuckles at the way Youngjae is already drooling over the piles of food. Youngjae just blushes in return.
Jackson fumbles in next, looking feverish and bumping Bambam out of the way to claim the seat next to Mark. The boys exchange meaningful glares before hustling along as if nothing had happened. "Jackson?" Mark scrunches up his nose and lightly touches the back of his hand to his friend's forehead. Jackson jumps at the contact but doesn't say anything, already piling food onto his plate.
Jaebum just keeps his mouth clamped shut. Maybe I should say something. As leader, I should say something. But just then Jinyoung enters the kitchen with his hair pinned back by two sparkly, pink barrettes and a scowl to match and he remembers that he rarely understands what his band members are doing. This is just a normal dinner.
Lastly, there's Yugyeom who sits on Jaebum's right. His eyes are glued to his phone screen and his fading, red-ish hair is tucked messily under his black hoodie. He tries to eat a bite of rice without looking and ends up with a mouthful of nothing.
Right, okay.
"Hyung, try this." Before Jaebum knows what's happening there's a roll of gimbap in his mouth. Youngjae smiles, clicking his chopsticks in Jaebum's face. "It's not like I've never eaten this before." Jaebum speaks through the mouthful, pointing at the lump of food stuffed in his cheek. "It tastes better when someone else feeds it to you."
