Really, Baby (I Will Be Just Fine)

15

Getting Taehyung’s penny board takes far longer than anyone had expected because Taehyung, typical Taehyung, forgets where he and Jimin had parked that morning. They weave through the crowded lot of cars, full because it’s a sunny day and the perfect weather to head down to the river, and Taehyung won’t stop clicking the keys, determined to hear the beeping of their car, as if searching for treasure or a lost dog.

“Damn it, I could’ve sworn we parked it next to a blue Jeep with shitty cat stickers,” Taehyung sighs, hand shielding his eyes from the sun and clicking the keys in every direction possible. “Keep an eye out for the car that looks like it belongs to a cat worshipper.”

“Is it obvious?” Hoseok asks, scanning the lot.

“Extremely. The entire back of the car is covered.”

Hoseok isn’t sure how long it takes, but when they finally hear the beep of the car, he thinks it’s a lot like finding fresh water in a dessert. The car is parked on the opposite end of where he and Yoongi had parked, and Hoseok honestly doesn’t understand why they were supposed to be looking out for the Jeep instead because Taehyung’s car, to put it simply, is tenfold more eye-catching than a few cat stickers.

It doesn’t surprise him, not in the least, that Taehyung drove a yellow mini cooper to match his penny board.

“Fucking finally,” Taehyung groans in relief, opening the trunk excitedly and grabbing his board from his backpack, the colors almost blinding as sunlight reflected off all the yellow.

“Yellow is your favorite color?” Hoseok states more than asks, watching Taehyung slam the trunk closed.

“This was my mom’s car,” Taehyung says, patting the top of the car gently. “She moved onto bigger and better things, aka, cows because my family moved to a farm in the countryside. I wasn’t about to object a free car.”

Taehyung locks the car doors with yet another beep, turning towards Hoseok and holding up the penny board, “And this, Jimin bought me specifically because it matched my minion of a car. My old one broke in half after I tried grinding a rail on my grey penny board.”

“It fits you,” Hoseok says, patting the surface of the board. He wants to tell Taehyung that yellow represents happiness and warmth, that each time he watched Taehyung smile, he saw sunshine on new mornings and reflections on the beach. Instead he says, “Yellow is a fun color.”

Hoseok had taken a color theory class once in high school, but he isn’t sure if this feeling is from the textbooks or reality.

On the way back, Taehyung holds his penny board at his side and stays on foot because Hoseok doesn’t want to jog until they meet back up with the others. It’s okay because sometimes their knuckles will brush without anyone acknowledging it, because he walks so close to Taehyung’s side that their shoulders bump. There’s no commitment or obligations, and the ease of being with Taehyung makes him fall just a little harder, even if he won’t believe it himself.

When they finally walk down to the riverside, Hoseok glances around and spots nothing but a few picnic benches and a family further down to the right. He calls out a few times, but no one responds.

Jimin and Yoongi are nowhere to be found. No note, no text, nothing. Hoseok frowns at the realization that one, he’d been set up, or two, Yoongi and Jimin had run off on their own to do the Deed. Both scenarios are equally as displeasing, but he has a strong feeling it’s the former.

“They ditched us,” Taehyung says casually, looking around. “Bet you five dollars they went to fuck in the bushes.”

“It’s so obvious that it can’t even be a bet,” Hoseok responds, keeping the first, more than likely, option to himself because Taehyung did not need to know that their friends were trying to set them up. The more oblivious, the better.

“It’s only been like, an hour and a half,” Taehyung says, glancing at his phone. “I had more faith in their ability to wait.”

“I didn’t,” Hoseok sighs, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Typical.”