VIRGIN

IV

"Again?" Taehyung smiled down at his hyung, who was currently slouched on the front steps of his small home, a cigarette resting loosely between his index and middle finger as he blew smoke out of his mouth.

He sighed and turned his head, bringing the thickly rolled tobacco stick to his lips and inhaling another wiff. "It's chilly." He said and stood.

"Summer's not over yet. It's 70 degrees out." the boy reasoned as he watched his hyung rise to his full height. The minty haired teen gave a loose sigh. "Yeah, I know." to which Taehyung could only chuckle in return.

Ever since the day they met, Taehyung had never liked his hyung's little habit. A pack a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Either way, he had been doing it for as long as the boy had known him. Which hasn't been very long, in retrospect. There were times when Taehyung could see he wanted to quit, and perhaps that resolve was still in his mind somewhere. Sometimes he'll only let it burn halfway, other times he'll merely light the cig and leave it hanging loosely from his fingers before discarding it, but most of the time he'll finish them. It must not be easy to resist inhaling that toxic air once it's right between your lips. It's an addiction. A disgusting one, yes, but is any addiction really a good one?

"So what're you doing here? I'm surprised you still remember where I live." Yoongi asked before making his way down the slope of his neighborhood street, Taehyung following close behind.

His neighborhood wasn't what one would call a "privileged" area. Most of the neighborhoods around these parts weren't. The houses lining his street were old and dingy, beaten and discolored by the natural forces of nature. His hyung's home had to have aluminum planks hammered where their shutters had stood, once upon a time. Yeah, not exactly the type of neighborhood you'd want to settle down in. Though Taehyung had lived in many homes thanks to the foster care system, he'd never had to live in an area such as this. In some ways he was thankful. But  in others, if the family was good then perhaps he would prefer a house like this to some of the homes he's had to endure.

Kids smelling of musk chased each other down the sloped pavement the city liked to call a street, some tripping over themselves from the adrenaline and others merely jogging behind. The "park" located at the bottom of the slope was hardly kid friendly, if at all. Only a small swing set with monkey bars towering over rock hard concrete stood in the center, a broken seesaw timidly rusting behind them. Kids barely even came here, usually opting to use the vast space of the street instead. Not a very safe thing to let your children do, but in this neighborhood, there was no such thing as parents looking after the safety of their children.

They passed the park and stopped at a small opening just outside of a thickly wooded area where a cluster of picnic tables stood. Yoongi clamped his cigarette gently between his teeth and sat on the edge of one of the seats, Taehyung quickly following suit.

"I pass by here to get to my new home. I saw you sitting out on your porch and remembered you lived here, so I thought I'd say hi." He smiled.

"Yeah, your memory's never been good." He took out his cigarette and let it rest in his hands again.

"Hey, I'm getting better." Taehyung defended. "So hyung, what have you been up to this summer?" The boy asked.

Yoongi shrugged. "Working I guess. I actually have a shift in another hour," He muttered. The boy nodded.

"Yeah, you're always working. I dont think you've ever been without a job in the time I've known you."

"Well, someone has to.." he replied and brought the cig to his lips again.

The boy scratched the back of his neck. He actually didn't know much about Yoongi's home life. But he knew that whatever was going on, it was forcing him to work alot more than an average teenager should be working.