Waiting for Anpanman

CHAPTER 24: Gemini

"Here they come. Tch! They look like twins." Jimin commented to Taehyung as they watched their missing members rush to their assigned waiting area on the athletic dome grounds.

Upon hearing this Namjoon and Seokjin stood up, anticipating the arrival of their late members. Their leader grabbed the mandatory hoodie uniforms as he waited to hand them over to their owners. While Jin prepared to give the duo a piece of his mind, puffing up his chest and his hands landing on his waist like an angry mother.

"Yah!" Jin bellowed the same moment Namjoon handed over the hoodies to Yoongi and Yoonsoo. "Why are you so late!? Because of you two, I think we just ran out of all the good categories!"

"Mianhaeyo." Yoonsoo and Yoongi responded in perfect timing as they pulled their hoodies on.

"Hyung, I think Yoonsoo hyung's hair answers that question." Namjoon lightly elbowed Jin to get his attention as he watched Yoonsoo, who now sported an exact replica of Yoongi's hair but in pastel green, fix his hoodie.

"No worries!" An exceptionally cheery voice cut into Namjoon and Seokjin's conversation as Hoseok burst between them. "I heard that around three groups are still stuck in traffic and seven are still waiting for their late members."

"Gaja! Let's go sign up for the games now that we are complete!" Jungkook announced to the group as he bounced on his feet with excitement and lead the group to the sign up area.

"Are there any shooting games or co-op games...?" Yoonsoo inquired of anyone who would listen.

"Sadly, hyung, there are but it's not what you are thinking." Jungkook looked over his shoulder at Yoonsoo, popping his bunny smile. "There aren't any computer games here. Athletics, remember? Hehe."

▪▪▪

"Yah! Just sign Yoonsoo hyung up for wrestling!" Seokjin raved at Namjoon. He didn't like participating in the category but in the previous years he had no choice since they couldn't risk Namjoon's "god of destruction" powers for the competition. "Why do I have to do it again this year!? Do you want me to lose and embarrass myself this year too!?"

"Calm down, Jin-ah. I'll do it for you!" Yoonsoo rescued Namjoon who looked like he's about to start screaming to shut everyone up. But Yoonsoo's over enthusiastic smile made the two suddenly unsure about the decision.

"Hyung," Namjoon began cautiously, "it's just for fun. Okay? We don't want to be sued by other teams for using excessive force. You understand, right?"

"Jeoldae." Yoonsoo looked at Namjoon in a conspiratorial side glance, his smile stretching over his shark grin.

"Jjinja," Yoongi scooted closer to the trio, "sometimes I doubt if you didn't actually enjoy getting beat up back then." With a waving hand, he called for Namjoon's attention cockily. "Namjoon-ah! Just sign him up for all the hard games. He seems to like pain anyway!"

Not so far from them, Hoseok and the maknaes excitedly looked up which games to sign up for and what groups were signed up for what.

▪▪▪

"Tell me again why I was signed up for archery when I don't know sh** about it?" Yoonsoo looked at the bull's eye doubtfully as he notched his bow. "Didn't you do this category every year?"

Yoongi admired his handy work as he looked over the whole effect of the school-boy-cut with an undercut on the clueless archer in front of him. The small man looked even cuter now that they got rid of his punk-style-hair. He had dragged Yoonsoo at the break of dawn to BTS' stylist, just like he promised, and he wasn't sorry for it.

"Yah! Are you even listening to me!?" Yoonsoo, irritated by the lack of response from the man responsible for his predicament, looked behind him and glared at Yoongi.

Acting like he didn't notice, Yoongi lazily pulled up the hand that Yoonsoo held the bow in. He stood close behind Yoonsoo, leaving just the tiniest breathing space between them, as he guided the hand wielding the arrow and encased Yoonsoo in a sneaky embrace.

"They're all sick of me winning every single year. Just man up and keep up, hyung! You're lucky they're letting you practice." Yoongi whined into Yoonsoo's ears.

"Why do I feel like you're doing something else back there? Yah! Let go!" Blood slowly creeped up to the surface, created a deep blush on Yoonsoo's cheeks, and made them burn. This was the nearest he has ever gotten in getting a back hug from Min Yoongi.

"No way!" Yoongi teased as he closed the distance between them and pulled Yoonsoo into him even more.

▪▪▪

"Alright! Now, let's hear from one of the new faces to join ISAC this year. I thought I was finally seeing Syuga-ssi do wrestling but it's Sushi-," the female correspondent stopped mid statement and raised a hand to cover her lips. She just made a person sound like Japanese cuisine. She apologized to the contestant she was interviewing and to the watching fans too.

"It's okay." Yoonsoo smiled kindly at the flustered MC as Jungkook and Taehyung laughed beside him. "It's Taehyungie's fault for making that my official stage name. Please use my legal name if it makes you more comfortable."

"Ah, yes. So, ehm! Yoonsoo-ssi, how do you feel participating in the wrestling division with your younger members?" The MC skipped the small talk and tried to get things back on track.

"Ah. I'm really excited since it's the first time. But don't you think it's a bit unfair?" With playful eyes, Yoonsoo looked over to the opposing team's side. "Why is there such a big height difference between their last wrestler and me? It's like putting up Park Jimin against VIXX's giant maknae!"

Gaining her confidence once again, the MC answered with the game guidelines - something she had a grasp on. "We apologize for the injustice but the preliminary matches were randomly set up. I'm sure you'll do fine against Bambam-ssi."

"You shouldn't give false hopes, Miss. It's cruel to lead someone on when you know yourself that it's not going to end the way the other person is hoping for." Yoonsoo joked good-naturedly.

In the side lines, Seokjin screamed. "Hyung! You knew that all along. So, stop doing it!" Beside him, Yoongi couldn't stop fidgeting. //

A/N:

Hugot time! This is quite popular in the Philippines, especially for the younger generation. My dongsaengs keep on spouting these things that you'd get sick of it real quick.

Hugot

/n/ A statement used in everyday life that usually references a general/personal experience concerning romantic events, disappointments, sufferings, and what not;

/v/ The act of making such a statement.

Example of a hugot:

"You shouldn't give false hopes, Miss. It's cruel to lead someone on when you know yourself that it's not going to end the way the other person is hoping for."

It is clear that they were talking about the hopelessness of facing an opponent who seems to be out of your league. But it can also be interpreted as Yoonsoo telling MC-ssi not to be too kind to him when, in fact, she was not going to reciprocate his feelings. For the second interpretation, it can be construed as an act of flirting or just messing around.

In the Philippines, hugot is usually used for joking and making boring or gloomy moods disappear. That being said, you can say these sort of things even to your best friend or siblings and it wouldn't be interpreted as flirting. Just you being corny. Lol.

To my readers, whether you're a one-chapter-stand or a loyal reader,

Ang araw pinapainit niya ang malamig na panahon. Kagaya mo, pinapainit mo ang malamig kong puso. (Simply put, you warm my heart.)

Reader-nim gamsa! Thank you for waiting for me. I purpr you!

P.S. I don't know why I suddenly included a cultural lesson here.