THE SUN AND HIS STARS ✓

03.

Clouds started gathering in the sky. Hoseok wanted to leave. He wanted to run away, go home, go somewhere where the others wouldn't see him freak out over the most common form of precipitation.

Hoseok swallowed as the rain began hitting the window. Something bad was going to happen. Something bad always happened.

Jungkook seemed to notice.

"Hoseok hyung?" he asked quietly, so that Jimin or Seokjin wouldn't hear. "What's wrong?"

Hoseok shook his head vigorously. He couldn't form words. He had to get away get away get AWAY—

His panic seemed to catch Taehyung's eye from across the room. Taehyung immediately rushed over.

"Hoseok?" he asked. "Hey, hey, you okay?"

"I don't — I can't —"

-

There was something wrong with Hoseok. Taehyung could tell from when he had turned pale and his eyes had widened.

Hoseok was having trouble speaking. Turning to the others, who had noticed the commotion, Taehyung asked, "What do I do? What's wrong with him?"

"I'd say panic attack, but it doesn't look like one," Yoongi said. "He's just full on panicking."

Taehyung racked his brain to try and find out what was bothering Hoseok. He remembered in the morning, when he walked to school with Hoseok, Hoseok had flinched at the sound of thunder.

Taehyung stood up and rushed to the window. He turned the blinds down as quickly as possible, before rushing back to Hoseok.

"Hey, hyung, let's just— let's go outside for a bit, okay?"

Taehyung guided Hoseok outside the room and shut the door behind them.

He let Hoseok breathe for a minute before asking, "You okay?"

Hoseok nodded once.

"Does the rain bother you?"

Hoseok, hesitantly, nodded again.

Taehyung tilted his head to the side, considering it. What would make Hoseok so bothered by rain?

"Bad things happen," Hoseok said, as if he could hear the unspoken question, "bad things happen when it rains."

Taehyung nodded. He wanted to know what had happened to Hoseok, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask.

Hoseok being bothered by the rain was like Taehyung flinching when someone raised their voice or their hand at him. It was scary to him, when no one else would find it so.

"Nothing's gonna happen to us," Taehyung promised, stopping his mind from drifting too much. "Nothing will happen, I swear."

"You think differently of me now."

"No, I don't." Taehyung shook his head. "We've all got our problems. If anything, I can help you better if this ever happens again."

"I don't need your help," Hoseok said flatly.

At this, Taehyung smiled. He'd expected that. "Yeah, maybe you don't, but that won't stop me from trying, will it?"

-

Hoseok went home after that. Taehyung was offering to accompany him, but Hoseok had just shook his head and left.

"So," Jimin said, as they all sat in a circle on the ground. The rain was still pounding on the window. "What happened to him?"

Taehyung felt bad. He was technically talking about Hoseok behind his back, but he knew the others were trustworthy. What if he wasn't around next time? The others would have it handled if they knew what was wrong.

"The rain," said Taehyung. "It bothers him. A lot."

Jungkook stretched his arms behind his head. "Yeah, but why?"

Taehyung shrugged. "He said bad things happen when it rains. I dunno. I didn't want to push my boundaries, y'know?"

"He's an odd kid," Namjoon said again. "Not to sound mean, Tae, but why do you trust him as much as you do?"

"I just... I don't know," Taehyung admitted. "There's this feeling I have. I can't explain it, but... I have to stick with Hoseok. I've got to."

There was silence for a while, before Seokjin said, "I understand. But I feel like we don't know anything about him."

"Well," Taehyung sighed, "he's not exactly one to open up, you've seen that. I can't really blame him; it doesn't seem like he's got anyone."

Jungkook straightened and tilted his head at Taehyung. "He's got you. And I think he's got us, too. It'll just take him a while to get completely comfortable with us, I guess."

"I'll bring him tomorrow," Taehyung suggested, "but I don't know if he'll stay. I think he's embarrassed. He thinks I think differently of him now that I know he's afraid of the rain."

"Do you?" Yoongi asked. "Think differently of him, I mean."

Taehyung's eyes drifted to the window. The blinds were back up and he could hear the rain tapping against the window, asking to be let in.

"No, I don't think differently of him at all."