stargazing | kth & jjk

chapter 1

dinner's always been kind of quiet. there's the sound of chopsticks clicking together, glasses being lifted and sat back down, tissues being used and plates scraping over the hardwood of the table.

chitchatting has never really been something the jeon's cared for deeply, and although jeongguk's parents are loving and nice enough, they aren't usually very conversational. the talking is kept to a minimum, the only questions asked are about school, work or anything equally as superficial and boring.

jeongguk and his older sister soojung grow up in a house filled to the brim with silence. there are days he savors the feeling of nothing else but silence filling his ears.

on other days, he hates the emptiness clouding his mind. days where he wants to scream at them, beg them to say something, anything.

this is one one of those days. he's surprised when he finds that his wish comes true for once.

it's a rainy monday evening when soojung suddenly speaks up, her mouth still half filled with japchae, mumbling a bored "we have a new student" without even looking up from her plate. his mother shoots her a stern glare for speaking with a full mouth, but soojung ignores her in favor of shoving more food into it. she quirks an eyebrow at her daughter but decides to drop it, raising her glass to take a sip of wine instead.

"in twelfth grade? what's their name?" his mother asks after setting the glass back down again, picking up a tissue and patting it around her mouth.

"kim taehyung." soojung replies, eyes still zeroed in on her plate. the table perks up at that.

"he's korean?" their father chimes in, the name having spiked his interest as well. soojung looks up then, fixating him with a look that would probably translate to duh. jeongguk snickers lightly but catches himself upon seeing his sisters gaze shift over to him. he glances down again, resuming to prod at the food still left on his plate, silently praying that someone will pick up the conversation again. his mother's curiosity doesn't disappoint.

"well, where's he from?"
"dunno. daegu or something"
she nods, obviously satisfied enough with that answer.

-

"hey, could i bring taehyung over sometime?"

jeongguk's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline upon hearing his sisters request. it's barely been a week since soojung had brought up taehyung for the first time, and now she apparently likes him enough already to invite him over. what a charming boy he must be. jeongguk looks up to his parents who seem equally as baffled as him, then over to soojung again. her face, usually looking slightly annoyed and stoic now has a hopeful expression to it. obviously no one would reject her offer to bring someone around.

"yes of course, sweetie." is the reply soojung gets and she nods, picking up her empty plate and heading to the kitchen.

-

no. absolutely not.
could no one have warned jeongguk that kim taehyung, his sisters new classmate from 'daegu or something' would be cute?

the first thing jeongguk notices about him is the box shaped smile that seems to stretch over the older boys face for hours. his blonde hair seems to give his face a cold touch, although his features look wildly sympathetic. he looks like the kind of guy you'd trust to look over your dog. then there's the elegant slope of his nose, a little mole right on the tip, leading up to a pair of sparkling brown eyes that radiate so much warmth and familiarity that jeongguk can't help but fall a little for him right then and there.
he's so entranced by taehyung's face that he barely registers the other boys' attempt to introduce himself. his low baritone voice is soothing, not necessarily what jeongguk expected, but it sends shivers down his spine nonetheless. he only snaps out of his trance when he notices taehyung's slightly distraught expression. jeongguk flushes bright red when he realizes his mistake, stuttering out an excuse as well as him name.

"it's very nice to meet you, jeongguk-ah!" taehyung is smiling again, his eyes searching jeongguk's carefully. jeongguk nods, his gaze falling to his feet. before taehyung can say anything else soojung grabs his arm, pulling him towards her room.

"we're going to my room." she says quickly, loud enough for their mother to hear, sending a death glare jeongguk's way before the door closes behind her. jeongguk climbs upstairs and goes back to doing his homework, managing to finish his maths exercises and to reread the same page in his history book three times before giving up and walking back downstairs to help him mother set the table.

if jeongguk thought that taehyung was a happy person out of nature before, it was only more confirmed at dinner.

taehyung talks a lot, his genuine laughter and stories about home filling the room comfortably. jeongguk's parents are beyond charmed, even partaking in the conversation themselves. soojung smiles so much that jeongguk thinks the muscles that allow her to smile must hurt from the usual disuse. he listens attentively, taehyung's story about how he once broke his arm because of a cat on a tree being that much more entertaining than anything that's ever happened at dinner.

he's smiling to himself as he watches taehyung interact with his family, not noticing that the older boy has directed a question at him until he feels the stares of everyone present weighting on him. he looks around, confused as to why all the attention is suddenly on him, and apparently taehyung takes pity on him, because he just smiles gently and repeats his question.

"i just noticed that i've never seen you around in school? of course, it's quite a big school and i haven't been here for long but, still. i think i would've remembered your face." jeongguk flushes at that, letting his gaze fall down to his plate like he did the other times, when taehyung had caught him staring. again.

"oh, our jeonggukie doesn't go to your school. he goes to the BigHit High School downtown!" his mother gushes when jeongguk doesn't reply and the silence stretches too long. taehyung's features light up with recognition and he grins.

"i would love to hear more about that, jeonggukie." taehyung uses his nickname without any mockery in his voice, just genuine affection that seems to seep through into his voice. his eyes twinkle excitedly.

jeongguk flushes at his words, mumbling a short, "maybe on an another day, taehyung-sshi." taehyung shakes his head gently, pointing out that the formality is unnecessary and that he should just call him hyung.

jeongguk smiles and nods shyly, getting taehyung to grin in delight in response.

somehow, that was the highlight of jeongguk's night.