Midnight Bruises

Chapter Four

~Jaebum's POV~

I had to know what Youngjae was doing at night, it was killing me to know.  I realized I wouldn't get anywhere with Yugyeom and I couldn't walk up to Youngjae and ask, "Yo what the fuck do you do in the woods at night that leaves you covered in bruises?"  So i'm going with the only option I can think of.

I'm going to befriend him, it'll be a little slow which will be tedious for my curiousity but what if Youngjae was fighting drug dealers in the woods or something at night?!  I had to figure it out, and if he was just getting hurt from someone picking on him then I could help him...

I invited Yugyeom and Youngjae to sit at our table at lunch, it'd be a subtle way of getting to talk to Youngjae and it'd make BamBam happy.  Jinyoung was confused as to why I suddenly added to our little group at lunch but I said that Yugyeom was a really nice kid and part of the swim team now and if Bam wanted to get to know him better it would be nice to all meet him at lunch, and we couldn't leave his friend out.

That was enough of a reason to get everyone off my back thankfully since I didn't really want to admit what I was doing.  I don't think any of them would really care per say but they would definitely find it weird how much I cared and needed to know about Youngjae's bruises, hell I found it weird!

At lunch we all sat at the table and started eating like normal, Youngjae sat across from me and quietly ate his PB and Banana sandwich with his little red and scraped up hands. 

"So how long have you and Yugyeom been friends?"  I asked breaking the ice.

Youngjae looked up at me his cheeks full of food and his eyes wide with surprise as he chewed his food and smiled.

"Um, I've known Yuggie since I was probably 10, he's like my little brother at this point."  Youngjae said after thinking.

I smiled and took a bite of my sandwich while thinking of something else to say or ask.

"When did you start swimming?"  He asked and I instantly smiled.

"I've been swimming since 5th grade, it's just always been something that calms me down.  If i'm stressed or sad I swim, nothing can worry me when i'm under the water."  I said and I heard Jackson snicker causing Mark to smack him telling him to shut up.

"That's really cool!  I've never really been into any sports."  Youngjae said and I chuckled.

"What are you passionate about then?"  I asked and he looked at me for a moment before answering.

"That's hard I'm passionate about a lot of things..."  He said after some thought and I nodded.

"I mean, like how I enjoy and love swimming, what do you enjoy and love doing?  That makes you feel better if you're ever down?"  I asked trying to help him out, there had to be something.

"As a kid I wanted to be an astronaut...  I always loved the thought of being in the sky."  Youngjae said after a bit and Yugyeom smiled nodding.

"That's cool, do you not still want to be one?"  I asked and Youngjae looked at me with a zoned out gaze before smiling.

"Of course I do, but i'm focusing on now and not later.  I can't be one today so why bother thinking about and worrying over it today?"  Youngjae said with a giggle.

I paused, that's one way to look at it.  Shouldn't he be doing everything he can to be an astronaut though so that he can do it one day?  I would ask but the bell rang and we all left for class.

Youngjae was a lot more complicated than he let on....