Strawberries and cigarettes

12-Hoseok

Around the same time as Taehyung got home, Hoseok finished his training in the dance studio he had booked for today. It was an open and brightly lit room with one wall entirely made of mirrors so that the dancers could see themselves properly. On the right and left walls, the barre for the ballet dancers was fixed while the back-wall which was on the other side of the mirror was where the door led to the hallway. Next to it, there were two windows so that you could see the room from out there for anyone who wanted to watch while someone was working. This was what Hoseok had done a lot in his first year at this college. Watching the seniors dance had been his major inspiration to do what he did today and it had made him fall in love with dancing and music even more.
There was sweat dripping from his forehead to the soft Marley-floor as he was walking over to the shelf where he'd put his bag. From it, he took a towel to wipe his face and his water bottle from which he took a big sip before letting himself drop onto the floor. A big smile was on his lips as he extended his legs and reached for his toes to stretch out his muscles. He loved the feeling of stretching his hamstrings and calves since it relaxed all the tension that had been there from earlier and gave him the impression that he'd worked hard. A satisfied groan escaped his lips and he closed his eyes for a second, taking in the atmosphere of the studio.

Sometimes, he would just come here when no one else occupied the room just to sit on the floor and enjoy being at one of the best dance-universities in the country. In a way, it was comforting to be here. He enjoyed the lightning, the feeling of being in a room with such a high ceiling, and the look of the hard-rock walls. It simply gave him an amazing feeling, spending time in this studio which was why after class, this was where he spent most of his time. He didn't even know what it was that fascinated him so much but there was this tingle rushing through his body whenever he was working out in here so he did. Since his playlist had ended a few minutes ago, there was complete silence around him and Hoseok could hear his own – still quickened – breath while he put his head down on his knees. When he was younger, he'd not been flexible enough to do what he was doing right now but it just felt so good being able to stretch out his legs and at the same time relax his back and release all the air from his lungs. He sighed and sat up again after a while, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths but his cool-down routine was interrupted abruptly when someone entered the studio, letting the door crash behind him with a loud bang.

"Life sucks, you can't convince me otherwise. Hobi, save me! I hate this so much what the heck am I supposed to do, huh?"
The brunette opened his eyes again and scratched his neck, looking up to Yoongi who was walking over to him with quick steps. What happened that made him so upset? It wasn't the first time that the older came to him to complain about something but he'd never been so aggressive and frustrated at the same time, so Hoseok started to worry a little bit. He still couldn't hide his grin though that always appeared on his face when Yoongi used his nickname.
"Calm down, would you?"
Instead of standing up to talk to the other, he reached out his hand and pulled him down on the floor with him so that he could look him in the eye while he told him what was going. The bags under his eyes had become darker in the last couple of weeks and his cheeks were more swollen which showed well under how much pressure he was standing. Yoongi pressed his eyes closed and leaned against Hoseok's shoulder, apparently he didn't care that his shirt was still sweaty from his dancing rehearsal.
"Inhale, exhale, it's alright. Now tell me what's going on, I thought you were out tonight."

Slowly, the older opened his eyes again and glanced up, meeting Hoseok's adoring gaze. He loved seeing him from up close since Yoongi must be one of the prettiest people he'd ever met. It was a shame really that out of all the others, he had to be the most burdened one. It was just his personality that he worried a lot about everything which made him a wonderful friend because he took care of things but it was always going a little too far so that he was sometimes not able to withstand the pressure himself. Hoseok wanted to be there for him in those times and luckily, they'd grown close enough that Yoongi allowed him to. When they first became friends, he remembered well how the grey-haired would always lie to him about how he was feeling, telling him that everything was fine when Hoseok could clearly see it wasn't the case but now there was this trust between them so that they told each other everything. He also knew that he was the only one for Yoongi where this was possible and it made him feel even more special and proud of their connection. They were so different but that didn't mean that they didn't get along. It was like shadow and light: They belonged together, they completed each other wonderfully.