Taming Yoongi

Surprise Community Service

        No matter how many times I watch Namjoon’s video it was still amazing. The rhythm was good and the lyrics were fun to listen to, not to mention it was actually really catchy. When I did more research I found out that Namjoon was actually really famous as an underground rapper, well at least he had more fans than me, and that he held concerts at certain places, when invited.

        He had done a few concerts that a lot of fans had showed up to and they even had some people they couldn’t let into the building. Now, if I said I wasn’t jealous I would be lying because I was very jealous. It’s really hard to gain a lot of fans and he already had so many. I just couldn’t understand how that was possible.

        I checked to see if he would be participating in a concert anytime soon, I personally had only been asked to do a few concerts over the past few years but I still had some fans, but not as many as Namjoon so he must be asked to do a lot of concerts. When I checked I saw he had a concert coming up tomorrow at a local club. After exploring for a few minutes I found out the exact time he would be performing.

        I don’t know if it is a good idea to go but I decided I was going to go anyway. If I hide my face then no one will know it’s me and so I can watch without being bothered by Namjoon or, but a lot less likely, some fan that actually knows who I am. I continued to watch videos and listen to songs for awhile before realizing it was past midnight and I should probably go to bed.

        When I woke up the next morning I got up and started getting ready for the day. The club Namjoon was performing at wasn’t too far away from my house but I had to come up with an excuse for my mom so I could stay out later than usual. I looked around the room and saw my backpack thrown down on the floor and got an idea. What better way to trick my mom than to get her to think I’m actually doing work.

        I quickly got dressed and made sure to grab my backpack and put a hoodie in it for later when I go to the concert. I walked downstairs and found my mom sitting at the kitchen table drinking her morning coffee like she did every morning before work. When she saw me her eyes widened with surprise.

        “What are you doing up so early?” She questioned me while raising one of her eyebrows.

        I tried my best to make eye contact. “Me and Minji are going to study today so I’ll be home late.”

        She smiled at me and told me to take good care of Minji for the day. I quickly walked out of the house before she realized I was lying. My mom was always really good at being able to tell when I was lying.

        I put in my headphones and started my music before walking towards town. The walk was nice and peaceful and it was nice to finally have a calm day for once. I looked at my phone to check the time and saw that I still had half the day left to waste before Namjoon’s concert started. I was trying to think of things I could do to waste time and was getting ready to call Seokjin when my phone rang.

        I looked down and saw Minji was calling. It was unusual to get a call from her and I couldn’t think of a reason she would be calling me but I answered the phone anyway.

        “Y-yoongi, we have c-community service today.” Minji said as soon as I answered the phone.

        I stopped in my tracks and stood there for several minutes before I processed what Minji had said. “Community service?” I questioned.

        “I-it’s Saturday.” she said simply.

        I let out a sigh of frustration and asked where I should meet her. Luckily we were meeting at a grandmother’s house that was in the same direction I was already heading. I continued my walk and went to the house and when I finally arrived I was surprised to see a run down old home that seemed ancient. I waited outside for Minji to arrive so I wouldn’t mess something up by going into the house already.

        Looking around the house I realized it was a mess. There was trash everywhere around the front yard and there was a sad, broken mailbox in front of the house. I started to feel sorry for the grandmother that lived here and I was actually happy to be helping her out. I still wondered how her home had ended up like this in the first place.

        As I was standing there thinking I heard someone coming down the street and when I turned to looked Minji was walking towards me in old, ripped jeans and a t-shirt that was covered in paint. Her long black hair was tied up in a ponytail. Honestly, she looked kinda attractive.

        I looked at my own outfit and moaned at the sight of my white shirt and old jeans. I had a feeling I would not be able to keep them clean throughout the whole day.

        When Minji reached the house she explained how we would be helping clean up the trash in the yard and helping to paint the grandmother’s walls because the wallpaper she had at the moment was peeling off. Minji said that all the stuff we would need had already been brought to the house earlier and was waiting inside.

        I felt even more pain for the grandmother that had to live in this home. Hopefully we could help her make it just a little better. We walked up to the house and I knocked on the door. After a few seconds a grandmother opened the door and I had to hold in a gasp.

        The grandmother had to be 80 years old. Minji had told me earlier that she was a widow and now that I saw how old she was I realized why. She was hunched over and had to walk with a cane. Her clothes seemed to be several years old and dirty but she still greeted us with a wide smile. I smiled back at her.

        “What young pretty kids.” The grandmother said while smiling at us.

        “Thank you.” Minji said and smiled back at the grandmother.

        When we went inside I immediately felt bad for everything I had ever complained about. The wallpaper on the walls was peeling off everywhere and the only furniture in the house was an old couch that had stuffing sticking out of it and end table with a lamp on it that looked at least as old as the grandmother. I looked over at Minji and she only smiled back at me to reassure me.

        I walked with Minji to another room that was full of painting supplies. There was rolls of plastic to cover the floor and furniture with and lots of paint and paint brushes so we could paint the walls after we finished taking off the old wallpaper from the walls.

        “Minji, how old is the grandmother.” I asked while I watched the grandmother walk slowly into another room.

        “S-she’s at least 85 b-but no one really knows h-how old she is.” Miji was starting to gather the plastic so she could cover everything up.

        I stood there for a moment to let everything sink in. This poor grandmother was all alone in a house that was falling apart and she had no way of fixing it by herself. I felt horrible because all I ever did all day was complain and get mad at the world. This grandmother, even in her situation, still smiled at to kids when they came to her house.

        “Y-yoongi, are you okay,” Minji asked me when she noticed I was standing there frozen.

        I took one last look around at the house and took a deep breath before looking at Minji, who had a look of concern on her face. “I’m fine. Lets get started.” I started picking up plastic and bringing it into the main room so we could get ready to take off all the wallpaper and start painting.