The Last Boy Scout

18

It was around 8 in the evening. There was a slight breeze coursing through Seoul. Taehyung dialed up Namjoon, and they spoke about Hoseok for a while.

"Do you miss him as much as I do?" Taehyung's voice echoed clearly through the phone line. Namjoon listened with intent, a weird feeling poking at his heart.

Namjoon went silent for a minute before finally answering. It had been ages since he and Taehyung had talked last. "Yes, Taehyung, I miss him too; just as much as everyone else..."

Taehyung sat on his kitchen floor, fiddling with the expensive watch on his wrist. He kept turning his hand over to see how the accessory glistened in the light.

"He was like the sun in our lives," Namjoon continued. "Without him, everyone feels... lost. It's as though darkness crept over us the moment he boarded that damn plane..."

Namjoon was beginning to get philosophical again. Taehyung always tried to wriggle his way out of conversations like these. He always took what Namjoon said for granted, but now he craved for more. He enjoyed listening to his Leader hyung's perspective on life.

"What about when Min Yoongi hyung enlisted..." Taehyung asked. "What did you feel then?"

Namjoon paused, searching for what words could express his feelings. "Yoongi was different..." he began. "When we found out he was enlisting... I felt useless. We were so close. I've known him the longest, I didn't think we would come this far...
"When he told us he had to enlist soon... I- I didn't know what to feel. We've been through so much together, and him leaving meant that a piece of me would leave, too."

Namjoon stopped to catch his breath. He slowly picked up the water bottle beside him and took a sip.

Taehyung spoke again. "When Hitman told us Yoong-ssi got... hurt, what do you think... he meant by that?"

"He wouldn't tell us Yoong-ssi was injured if it was something small." Namjoon informed wisely. "Honestly, I don't know what he meant by that. Maybe it had something to do with his... mental state."

Taehyung grew silent. He remembered looking over the lyrics in songs Yoongi had written and composed. The lyrics were so... intricate. When Hoseok told him those lyrics expressed how Yoongi felt about his image, Taehyung had no idea. He didn't know his hyung starved himself once.

Taehyung turned the focus of their conversation over to another member. "I'm guessing you miss Jin hyung the most,"

Namjoon didn't answer right away. Talking about Jinnie made him more emotional. Namjoon didn't want to answer for a moment was because Taehyung was right.

"I suppose so," Namjoon replied. "Jinnie... was..." he was lost in his thoughts. "As I started to get to know Jin better, he slowly carved out a piece of me. He had a safe place in my heart, as cliché as that may sound, but he was the first one to enlist... and it was the hardest goodbye I ever had to give." Namjoon took another sip of water. "We were so close, Taehyung,"

Taehyung nodded, even though Namjoon couldn't see him. He knew the two were close. Too close, in fact.

Namjoon broke the sudden silence that crept over them.

"Taehyung, what about you? What did you feel when Hoseok left..?"

"I-" Taehyung wasn't used to being asked questions like this. Often, his hyungs wouldn't take him seriously, for one reason or the other. Now that he was being asked such questions, he didn't know how to respond, especially after how deeply Namjoon expressed his feelings.

"I don't know," was all Taehyung could speak, which made him feel more dumb than he already thought he was. "I- he- Hoseok was... close to me, I guess." He continued. "I get what you mean by him being like the sun in our lives. He was always so- happy. He never got angry or frustrated... well at least he didn't show he was mad. He set a good example for us... I just wish I could follow what he did."

Namjoon never expected Taehyung to say something that profound before.

"When I hugged him goodbye..." Taehyung continued, feeling tears starting form at the corners of his eyes. "He was still smiling, even though he knew he had to leave. Jihae-ssi hugged him goodbye, and even though everything was sad, it was... sweet. Bitter sweet."

Namjoon replied calmly. "Hoseok was the sun in everyone's life. I even saw ARMYs posting about it..." he continued, staring out the large window. The sun was just about to be hidden by the tall buildings of Seoul. He found it fascinating how the sun would set and eventually come back the next morning.

Taehyung sighed and Namjoon fortunately carried on the conversation he so desperately needed at the moment.

"Hoseok was and still is Bangtan's sun, and him leaving us means that the sun has set, and all we can do is wait for him to return."

Taehyung, now off of his kitchen floor, felt a tear roll down his cheek like a raindrop sliding against a car window, slowly joining up with the other raindrops and forming a bigger one. Namjoon was so metaphorical, and Taehyung loved that about his leader hyung. He dreaded the day he would have to enlist.

"Don't worry Taehyung..." Namjoon assured. "Sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful too,"

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