Color of My Pain

15| New Spectrums

Seeing where HyeJin lived was insightful to say the least. She easily pointed out where hers and Byulie's room was and opened up the guest room windows where he'd be staying.

The rooms were colorful, the living room a combination of yellows and reds, a big daisy colored couch sat in the center of the room in front of a stone fireplace. The hearth was raised up about knee high and jutted outwards. Decorated in textured, bright, and patterned pillows made it a cozy sitting space. Tae would have designated it as a nice spot for studying or reading in general while Kook would have just curled up among the pillows and napped.

The kitchen had white cabinets and blue tiled walls, a grey marbley material covered the island and counterspaces. The kitchen table was small and round, spray painted silver. It looked like it belonged at a French sidewalk cafe.

The bathroom wasn't the general beach space he'd seen in most houses of this design scope. It had a green and lavender shower curtain with a floral pattern. The tiles in here were white subway tiles.

HyeJin put a hand on his shoulder after she'd shown him around. "I'll let you get settled. I'm taking care of dinner tonight, so I have to do some shopping. We can talk more over dinner, yeah?

"Okay, thank you." He nodded.

"You can help yourself to whatever we have in, if you're hungry. And you don't have to call me mom if you don't want to. Hwasa or HyeJin is fine too. I haven't really earned that title yet."

"O-okay. Bye... HyeJin."

She smiled softly, "Let me know if you want anything while I'm out, bye Yoongi."

He hadn't realized she noticed the lack of a title or name. He had hoped not to offend her and personally, he agreed with what she'd said. He felt bad for agreeing, but he agreed all the same. She was making it up to him though, and that was important.

He sat in his room for a long time. He tried to feel comfortable in his new surroundings, but found them as foreign as the room he'd had in his father's home. It was certainly warmer and he felt more welcome. But it was foreign all the same.

He crawled under the covers and called Hoseok.

"Yoongi," he breathed out.

"Hey," he smiled, comfort flooding through him at the sound of his name on Hobi's tongue.

"Where are you?"

"For now I'm staying with HyeJin and her soulmate."

"How are you feeling?"

"I... don't know what I want to do. Hoseok, I'm afraid that I'll end up be more than she expected to handle. What if I'm annoying to her or to MoonByul. She'll regret taking me in. I don't wanna be a mooch."

"Baby, take it one day at a time. There will definitely be things to handle, but falling through it or facing it together will bring you closer. If you find yourself unhappy, I'll drive there myself and bring you home with me." Hoseok promised. "You aren't annoying in the slightest Yooni. You're my favorite person in the whole world! If your own mom doesn't agree she's terrible."

"You're right." Yoongi smiled. "I am your favorite."

Hobi laughed, "Always will be."

"I've got some work to do for school. So I should go."

"Kay then, bye Yoons."

"Bye Hobi. Thank you."

He texted an abbreviated explanation and change of address to Taehyung and Jeongguk, hoping to avoid worrying them if he wasn't at school for a day or two. Taehyung told him to have fun with his mom and Jeongguk asked if he would still be able to hang out with him on the weekends.

He left out his dad completely, assuring them that things were relatively the same.

He pulled out his essay for English and mulled over his previous editing, continuously and monotonously changing and unchanging the words and sentences to make sense. He was proving a point. Solving a problem. Sharing a view.

He expressed it clearly and fact by fact. Something he hoped he could apply to his stay with his mom and MoonByul.

Day by Day. Like Hobi said.

It was something he could do. He lost track of how long he'd been working.

Until HyeJin knocked at his door, he had been uninterrupted. He started at the noise, then called for her to come in.

"I brought you some fruit. We'll have dinner when Byulie comes home from work." She smiled. "I'll shut these windows so you don't catch a cold."

He thanked her quietly, an odd feeling in his chest at the way she so easily fell into the role he'd imagined a mother to take on. He didn't expect it or assume he deserved it. It just surprised him. A good surprise.

Another surprise was Moonbyul. She insisted he addressed her as everyone else, assuming a position reminiscent of an aunt rather than a parental role of any sort. She was very cool. MoonByul carried most of the conversation between the three of them, ensuring the avoidance of awkward silences and filling it with laughter. He felt closer to both of them after and helped Byulie with the dishes.

Both HyeJin and MoonByul had protested, but Yoongi was stubborn too and earned himself a dish towel to dry while HyeJin put everything away.

They even insisted on sitting together in the living room.

"Its our way of winding down together, it would be nice if you joined us." HyeJin explained, mug of tea in hand.

MoonByul voiced agreement, already settled in the couch, a book spread open in her lap. "You can pick the record, Yoongi."

That excited Yoongi the most. Their record player. It was pushed up against the wall on a cedar wood shelf filled with records. He chose an old one with soft voices and heavily instrumental pieces. He liked to appreciate the music.

Hwasa put a mug for him on the hearth and he brought his essay to the living room.

They spent much more than an hour in the soft stillness of each other's company.