what else is there | jj project

♥where the stars come & go♥

They have crossed eleven winters together, growing as friends and getting closer to understanding each other without saying a word. 

And just like that it's January once again. Jaebum is about to turn 14. Jinyoung doesn't need special invitation to know that he is invited anyway. Hell he would even show up without invitations to Jaebum's house precisely because of three reasons. Mrs. Im is on top of Jinyoung's list of favorite human beings for the amazing kimchi fried rice she makes, ofcourse other than the food there is Jaebum and a new arrival in Jaebum's family.

The stray cat, now named Nora, was picked up by Jaebum on his way back home from school. The first thing Jinyoung would do after entering the Im family's house is to go find Nora and cuddle her good. To no surprise, Nora waits for Jinyoung on the day of Jaebum's birthday as well.

Only close friends and family members are invited and as a result Jinyoung turns up ahead of time with a fitting gift for Jaebum- a collapsible cat tower. Jinyoung has a big smile on his face and he has gained a lot of confidence about his looks over the years. Nobody calls him a monkey anymore because puberty was working it's magic slowly. He has started to loose the baby fat yet retaining his round cheeks. Jinyoung checks out fashion magazines and at times tries to secretly style his hair in something which he considers cool. And his mother was right. He wasn't a midget sized fat boy subjected to bullying anymore. Jinyoung was on his way to grow taller by the years.

But he had one disappointment or more like a harboring jealousy. Jaebum has grown an inch above him and along with that he was several months older than him and it showed in his features. Jaebum's body had started to fill up with right quantity of muscles in right places and he wasn't sickly thin anymore.

With Jinyoung's arrival the small party begins in the modest fashion. The cake is cut and people sing the mandatory happy birthday song to which Jaebum blushes heavily due to embarrassment. One of his uncles makes Jaebum wear an obnoxious birthday hat despite of all his protest and as the rest of the family and some of his friends from music class get busy with eating and laughing, Jaebum whispers to Jinyoung, pulling him by his shirt.

"I look so stupid."

Jinyoung doesn't say anything in return. Out of all the good things in his wardrobe he had decided to wear a baby pink t-shirt, instantly becoming a butt of joke because Jaebum thought pink is the color invented for women. So Jinyoung decides to notch it up a bit more for the sake of his best friend's happiness. He looks around to find a stray birthday hat lying on the couch. Picking it up, Jinyoung wears it as well as smiles wide at Jaebum to reassure him.

"Don't worry, we both look stupid."

Jaebum bursts into a hearty laughter and throws an arm over his shoulders.

Nora breaks them apart, tail wagging and meowing for attention. Jaebum picks her up to hold her in front of his face as if he was trying to study the behavioral traits of the feline species.

"Looks like Nora isn't enjoying the party," Jaebum says, hugging the cat to his chest.

"Let get some fresh air for this poor thing then?" Jinyoung suggests and Jaebum is more than happy to tag along.

The sit on the porch, birthday hats still crowned atop their head as both of them take turn to cuddle and pet Nora. Apparently, the cat enjoys the excessive pampering a bit too much and starts stretching and yawning. Soon after it falls asleep on Jinyoung's lap.

"I love this furry baby," Jinyoung keeps stroking her behind the ears and the cat purrs in her sleep.

"So Jinyoung-ah, since I am 14 now and you are still 13, doesn't that make me your hyung?" Jaebum cups his chin and look at Jinyoung with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Jinyoung stops stroking Nora and feigns annoyance.

"There is no way I am gonna start calling you hyung all of a sudden. Keep dreaming."

"Honorifics are necessary Jinyoung-ah. You gotta learn that or someday someone might call you rude because of your lack of knowledge."

Jaebum leans back supporting himself on his forearms and Jinyoung snickers.

"Come on, I am turning 14 in a few months and then I won't have to call you anything other than Jaebum or Jaebummie."

Jaebum cocks an eyebrow at that. Jaebummie has been his least favorite nickname of all time, yet Jinyoung calling him that had a pleasing ring to it. 

"Race me to the dead end of the street and if you loose you can keep calling me anything you want otherwise it's gonna be Jaebum hyung for you."

Watching Jaebum already get up on his feet Jinyoung carefully sets down Nora on the porch and gawks at him.

"Are you serious? That's the silliest bet ever. You know this can backfire real bad and I just might go around calling you something absurd around the girls, specially around Sora noona," Jinyoung wiggles his brows hinting at a dreadful aftermath of losing.

Jaebum freezes. Jinyoung knew that his best friend had a crush on their senior Kang Sora for a year now. Jaebum rethinks if he is ready to move ahead with the bet.

"Whatever, I am not afraid of losing. Now are you ready?"

The two teenagers stand at an imaginary point of start as then count down to three and sprint as fast as they can manage. Jaebum being a tad bit more light on his feet, exerts himself to the extreme. Jinyoung inevitably looses.

"So the loser of the day, do you have something to say?" Jaebum comically jumps and claps in front of Jinyoung's scrunched up huffing face in excitement. "Wow, that rhymes."

"Jaebum hyung," Jinyoung breaths  out the honorific attached to his name unwillingly.

"That's a good boy."

But once Jaebum earns it from Jinyoung, it never goes away. What starts off as the penalty for losing a silly bet turn out to be Jaebum's secondary identity. He becomes Jinyoung's hyung, forever. Jinyoung never stops calling him hyung after that, claiming that it has started to grow on him and Jaebum takes all the pleasure in bossing around Jinyoung to finish his chores sometimes while pulling your hyung card.

"I am your hyung, Jinyoung-ah. It's your duty to help me wash the dishes."

Jinyoung glowers and swats Jaebum over his arm.

"Nice try. What do I get in return?" Jinyoung gets ready to negotiate.

"I'll treat you with ice creams for one whole week," Jaebum smiles while waving a dirty spatula at him, his hands covering in rubber gloves.

"Promise?" Jinyoung readily approaches with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Do I ever break my promise?"

"No, hyung, no. You are the best." 

Jinyoung squeaks, back hugs Jaebum and starts doing the dishes with him enthusiastically.

While the two boys giggle and throw soap suds at each other downstairs, Mrs. Im muffles a sob in her bedroom where she claims to be taking rest due to illness. And by the next week, the ice cream becomes a forgotten promise as Jaebum watches his family falling apart and Jinyoung watches Jaebum getting sucked into a pool of quicksand helplessly.

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