tear me apart; [yoonseok]

two;

Hoseok

Seven

It soon became habit for Hoseok to be attached at the hip with Yoongi, their small hands entangled as the babbled on about whatever. Just about every second of free time the pair had they were beside each other, as they had quickly become the best of friends. It had made it to a point where Hoseok's mom had suggested a play date between the two, exhausted of seeing her son complain about not seeing Yoongi on the weekends. It had taken a while for their parents to work out the details, something about Yoongi's mom not having a car or the spending money for bus fare.

The entire ordeal took much too long to plan, but it ended with Hoseok clambering into the backseat of his mom's car. He was bouncing with anticipation, his small bag of toys and extra clothes clasped in his arms tightly. The ride was short, the radio playing the soft acoustic music his mother loved and his mind wandering off to all the things he had planned to do with Yoongi. In his bag he had packed things he thought Yoongi would have fun with, as he guessed that Yoongi didn't have much for toys. It was just an assumption, but from Yoongi's worn and dusty sneakers to the same 4 thin shirts he wore, Hoseok could tell Yoongi didn't have as much as him. It didn't bother him, not in the slightest, but he wanted to be able to share all of the joy he got from his Power Ranger toys with his best friend. (Was it too early to call him a 'best friend'? Hoseok wasn't entirely sure.)

As they pulled into the parking lot, his mother kissed her teeth at the shabby appearance of the building, eyes shifty as she tightly grabbed her son's hand and pulled him inside the lobby. "Don't leave the building without his mom, Hoseok. This entire place seems like a home for criminals." She murmured, hoisting him up over her shoulder and scaling the stairs. The place didn't even have an elevator, how in tatters the building was was almost worrying. Hoseok stared at the peeling wallpaper among the walls as his mother climbed the stairs, feeling a shiver run down his spine at his mom's reaction to the vibe of the neighborhood.

They reached the Min apartment without getting mugged, much to Mrs. Jung's relief. Within seconds of his mom's harsh knocking against the wooden door, it opened to reveal a rather sickly looking lady. She was around his mom's age, her hair was tied up in a bun and her eyes were sunken with exhaustion. A large smile broke across her features when she took in her guests, ushering them inside.

"Hello, I'm Ms. Min. You're Mrs. Jung, yes?" She paused to coo at Hoseok, her tired eyes sparkling dimly. "And you must be Hoseok! Yoongi talks about you all the time..." Hoseok nodded softly and grinned at her friendliness, wiggling out of his mother's tight grasp. He shuffled around the floor awkwardly for a brief moment, taking in the inside of the house.

There was a single hallway with three doors, two of which must have been bedrooms and the other being a bathroom. It connected to the living area, the floor covered by a rough cream colored carpet. There was a small t.v. placed on a coffee table, and a brown love seat in front of it. A lamp in the corner of the room flickered occasionally, it's soft amber glow making the room seem warm and cozy. The kitchenette had a similar warm beige color scheme, a small counter with two chairs separating it from the rest of the house.

"Yoongi!" Ms. Min called, ambling down the small hallway and into her son's room. Hoseok could hear her talking with Yoongi, their dialogue switching in and out of English. Confused, he looked up at his mom, asking silently what they were saying.

"Yoongi's family is Korean like us, baby. But they speak the language around home more than we do." She paused as she heard shuffling of feet down the hallway. "You might understand a bit of it, but you might've forgotten."

A speeding blob of fluffy black hair knocked Hoseok off his feet and onto the ground with what might've been the strongest hug of his life. It took a second for the air to return to his lung and for his arms to find the strength to hug Yoongi back, his arms circling around the other boy's small waist and breaking out into giggles. They sat on the floor for a while in a pile of each other, their mom's smiling at the sight. Quickly after Yoongi had found his place by Hoseok's side, Mrs. Jung bid her goodbyes and said she'd be back to pick Hoseok up after dinner time. The boys were soon sat in front of the television, Hoseok's toys in a small pile between them as some obscure cartoon played as white noise. Yoongi's mom puttered about the house, occasionally cleaning something or checking on the boys.

It didn't take long for them to find themselves in Yoongi's room, Hoseok pacing about and staring at everything his eyes landed on. The room itself was simply white, the carpet the same off-white from outside in the living room. There was a small twin mattress on the ground, blue sheets hastily thrown over it and a puppy shaped night light in the outlet next to it. There were a few stuffed animals thrown about the floor, along with some worn comic books and crayons. The room suited Yoongi, who had found a place on the mattress among pillows and blankets. The younger boy plopped beside him, smiling at his friend as he crossed his legs.

"Yoongi?"

"Yeah..?"

"You're my best friend."

Yoongi huffed, the tips of his ears turning red before he nodded and brought a plush tiger close to his chest. Hoseok giggled at his reaction, leaning his head on the older boy's shoulder.

"You're my best friend too, Hoseok."