TEENAGE DIRTBAG | VKOOK

:: 02 ::

A crash resounds within the house where the staircase is located, the middle-aged couple's—who lives there—son sat at the landing in a mess of lanky limbs, having slipped on the third last step while rushing down the stairs.

"Ouch." A groan follows the word, the boy rubbing his large palm against his throbbing elbow.

Seeing how he had once again managed to hurt himself on the staircase even after living in this house since he was born, he feels a bit fortunate that he hadn't been wearing his spectacles at least, since looking at his fall now, his crucial lifeline would've most definitely been damaged.

But then, maybe, he has fallen just because he isn't wearing his specs.

Before he can get into the pros and cons of him forgetting to slide his thick-rimmed glasses atop his nose, a palm—that is almost as big as his own—penetrates his peripheral vision.

Flicking his gaze up, he follows the outstretched arm with curious eyes, a sheepish expression replacing the previous anguished look on his face upon the sight of his dad towering over him.

"Why are you always in a rush, Tae?"

Grabbing his dad's hand—feeling how his grip immediately tightens when he tries pulling himself up—Taehyung slightly winces when a dull ache originates in his shin.

Ignoring the pain—although, his dad's observant eyes are drilling into him for any signs of discomfort—he pouts and pulls himself to his full height, slightly looking down at his dad due to him being an inch taller than his old man.

"I'm sorry!" Taehyung's voice comes out frantic. "I'm so late. I don't know how it happened, but I slept in!"

As he bends down to pick up his bag that had flown out of his hands when he had fallen down, his dad puts a hand on his shoulder, obviously demanding his attention.

"Calm down, son. Don't freak out so much." His dad's deep baritone is soothing, and—coupled with him running his fingers through his tousled hair—Taehyung almost forgets the question that has incessantly been nagging him.

"Why didn't you wake me up on time, dad? And where's mom?"

"You answer me first," his dad says, "are you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

The concern his dad feels for him is clear in his forest green eyes, his straight, sharp nose—which Taehyung, himself, has inherited—looking even sharper in the morning light filtering in through the windows.

After years of him injuring himself, one way or another, while walking down the staircase would make anyone get used to his frequent episodes.

Hell, even Taehyung is used to somersaulting down it at least twice in every six months, but his dad's solicitude never deters. He still makes sure that his son is completely unharmed whenever such incidents occur — although, Taehyung claims that his bones have pretty much become immune to the impact.

"I'm fine, dad. This isn't the first time this has happened."

"Neither is it going to be the last."

Completing Taehyung's frequently-used 'excuses' is something his dad quite enjoys doing—as is obvious from the smile now gracing his lips. "And, to answer your question, I didn't wake you up because I thought that you might've gone to bed late. You had seemed to be a little lost in your thoughts yesterday. I just figured that you needed some time to ponder on stuff."

A furious blush starts spreading over Taehyung's cheeks at his dad's observation.

He feels fortunate that his dad has turned away after speaking; it would've been embarrassing otherwise, since he knows that his dad is right about him being very absentminded the other day.