Enter, You

Smile, for it isn't mine.

After a confusing day, Seokjin went home to no one. Before, Namjoon excused himself in a bright red blush and in a hurry. Walking the streets back home, he was lost in his own thoughts all alone. It was so much easier to reject total strangers who didn't know any better, for they weren't a part of his life. This was so jarringly different, Seokjin didn't know how to react. He was a part of him at this point in life, he couldn't bring himself to throw him away as he did with others. He's seen him at his most vulnerable and proved to be nothing but useful. He couldn't throw that away. The sidewalk still had excess amounts of water on top, the cuffs of his pants growing moist and cold. He would've let his choices be on a whim, but Namjoon deserved so much more than just impulse. That's the thing with relationships, he thought. If he ever started a relationship, the other would only realize he was nothing more then a bland shell with a pretty appearance. Keeping people at a distance so no one could truly grow bored of him, was that all he was meant to be? He pushed open his home's door and closed it with strange determination. Collapsing on the couch slightly wet, he closed his eyes and hoped for better.

Hoseok wondered what he was doing here. Well, obviously he knew what he was doing here. Standing on Seokjin's doorstep anxiously, he held a surprisingly thick folder of all the homework assignments he missed for the day. It was a better question to ask why. It would've been a terrible mark for a teacher to arrive on a student's doorstep unattended and with possibly devilish intentions. No, he was only here to deliver homework and leave. Clearing his throat and his mind, he knocked on the door. He paused and waited for a response. With no reply, he looked through the windows to see if he was home. There in wait, a stirring Seokjin waiting for a prince to kiss him awake. Kiss him awake?! Hoseok took a deep breath. Remain professional, dammit. He knocked again, this time demanding attention. He could see Seokjin stumble awake, knocking off pillows and almost a nearby vase. Hoseok did a quick check of all of his belongings and stood up straighter. He'd drop it off and leave. Seokjin opened the door and upon realizing who it was, smiled.

"Hobi!"

Seokjin saw the pack of homework he carried.

"Come inside! It's cold as hell out here."

And then he smiled. Hoseok was thrown in for a ride when he saw that damned smile. Abandoning his previous plans, he moved inside the warmth of Seokjin's house.

Saying Seokjin was unprepared was an understatement. He barely managed to put himself to sleep to escape his problems but now he was left alone with Hoseok. Questioning the legality, he noticed his clothes were still partially soaked.

"I need to shower real quick! Don't sit on the couch, it's wet."

He went into the shower and closed the door behind him. Thoughts swarmed him again as steam clouded the mirror from the rushing water. He was probably too confused to even talk to anybody. It was impossible to get out of this given how thick the homework papers seemed to be and how much of class he skipped. This could be an opportunity for something better and given the teacher, it would've been much easier to sit through.

Being left alone in Seokjin's house, Hoseok took it upon himself to wander around his house respectably. His house was strangely devoid of any traces of adults, with no parents or even an extra bedroom to be seen. Among the walls, shelves of all sorts of video game characters were arranged in neat order, most of them stemming from Nintendo. If he didn't know any better, he could've guessed that this was a child's room. Seokjin seemed more childish then he let others believed. Closing his bedroom door, he sat on another chair beside the sofa (given the warning) and waited for Seokjin to emerge. Looking through his own set of work, he noticed that the day's work of grading was sloppier as if his attention was somewhere else. There was something about Seokjin that seemed to will Hoseok to smile genuinely, and without him in the classroom, he failed to smile with any hint of genuine joy. If it weren't for years of practicing, it wouldn't have been able to fool his students.

Hoseok learned two important facts on his own before he reached full adulthood. First of all, he would never truly be loved for himself. Without that plastic film that molded him into the perfect ball of happiness, everyone would see him as nothing more than a ruined orphan. Growing up, his own mother often abandoned Hoseok for long periods of time without adult supervision, falling into crowds that cast him out as soon as they were bored of him. His only real memory of happiness ended quickly after a game of hide-and-seek in which his mother won easily, never to be found again. Secondly, if he never could be loved for himself, they would fall in love with his persona. He probably could've made it in show biz given his acting skills. People could easily fall in love with a smile that had no feelings behind it than with an orphan with nothing but abandonment issues. Even if his smiles weren't real, he could still feel that connection people attempted to make with him. That's all that mattered, right? The lengths pity fell short on, a bright smile could make up for it. He's worked hard enough to create a fine enough barrier between who he really was. A pitiful orphan with nothing to keep him together wasn't going to be loved. Turning his attention to the shower door that creaked open, Seokjin stepped outside with comfortable clothes and not much else. Maybe Seokjin could be his reason to smile, even if it was only for himself.