swxtched. | jhs

XVII : SIMPLY CONCERNED

GREEN SLOWLY ENTERS the basement dance room only to find Taehyung there. Alone. By himself. Which isn't that odd, except he isn't dancing around or on his phone or randomly attempting to rap.

Taehyung doesn't move an inch, staring into space at his reflection on the mirror wall. He doesn't even seem to notice her presence until she's standing directly beside him, hands on her hips, cracking her neck noisily to break the silence.

"Oh, Hoseok-hyung," he remarks.

Green grins. "How are you, Tae-ah?"

"I'm a little sleepy," Taehyung murmurs, spreading his arms and falling onto Green's chest. She flinches at the contact, but breathes in deeply and pats his back.

"You're early."

"Is Geurin-noona coming in today?"

"Nah. She's sick, actually."

"Oh, hyung." Taehyung lifts his head, giving her a disapproving look. "Is she okay by herself? Shouldn't you be with her right now?"

"How do you know she's by herself?"

"She told me she's always home alone."

"I ne—" Green pauses midsentence, biting her tongue. "Really?"

Taehyung nods, shuffling his feet. "Can I ask you a question?"

She stares down at his feet. "Sure?"

"How did you two get together? You can tell me the truth, you know." He scratches his head, a nervous tick she's noticed. But then he stops, looking straight into her eyes. "I'll be honest. None of us believed it at first. I couldn't help but think it was a cover-up for something. Blackmail, maybe? But you two were so nice, I just... I couldn't think of an explanation for it. Like you two had no choice?"

"You think we were faking it?" Green asked, face blank.

"I think it was fake at first."

At first? Green laughs sheepishly, relenting. "What gave it away?"

"It just didn't make much sense from my perspective. You two didn't even get along much before. It's almost like you were forced to be together because of something."

His intuition is too good.

She thinks quickly. "Well, I was trying to be friends with her because I could just tell she was going to be lonely from the start. Not to mention, she didn't get along with anyone. Literally anyone. No one liked her in particular and some even hated her."

Taehyung's eyes widen like saucers. "Ho— how could anyone hate her? That's so strong to say, especially for you hyung."

I really gotta put my personal feelings out of this, Green sighed internally, realizing her mistake. How do I turn this around?

"Wait... did you befriend her out of pity? And even date her out of pity? Hyung."

Green wants to smack her head. "No, no, that's not it! I just— she— she was such a—"