PaperHearts

Certainties

There were a few certainties in life... the sun would rise and set, the day would consist of 24 hours, you will grow old... and there would be heart shaped pieces of paper hidden in a card today by a mystery person.

The latter was something that Tae was convinced of because it had been happening for years. He didn't remember when it started, possibly two years ago, but he wasn't really sure. What he was sure about though was that it had been consistent, a part of his life that had arrived without warning and now was accepted. There were certain occasions when this phenomenon happened... his birthday, Christmas, Easter and Valentines day. There were sometimes hearts left around on other dates but they appeared to be random so he didn't count those ones.

Today is Valentine's day so he woke up with a little bit of excitement, even though he was single, he would be adding more hearts to his collection and having a tiny bit of hope that the sender would reveal themselves to him. He would be spending the day with his best friend once he had auditioned for a new drama that was yet to be given a name or have the script finished. He had been in detective mode for years, trying to find out who was sending the hearts, one of which was always cut in half, even roping his friends into the mission to reveal the secret admirer but they hadn't gotten anywhere either. He shared an apartment with his best friend, in the same complex as his other friends. They had been together since high school and had all moved into a new complex when it was built, having lived in each others pockets for years, they saw no reason why it shouldn't continue.

Tae's housemate and best friend in the whole world is Jungkook. They don't remember the day they met because their Mothers met in the playground when they started preschool, both bonding over the fact they had recently moved to America from Korea. That had cemented the link and the boys grew up side by side, attending the same schools and even the same university. Jungkook was the opposite to Tae in so many ways, but that also worked the other way too, which is why they got on as well as they did or so they believed. Jungkook was roughly the same height as Tae, usually dressed all in black, loved working out in his room and had the abs to show for it. He was working for a production company, editing and producing dramas, movies and adverts for television plus studying part time. He was the one that filmed everything whilst Tae preferred the still image so was the photographer in his spare time. Tae hated working out and loathed that Jungkook seemed to have made it his life mission to get him to enjoy it, always trying to come up with new ways to tempt him... most of which failed. Tae was happier at an art exhibition and Jungkook loved a baseball game but one would always drag the other along in the name of 'education'. Tae liked being around Jungkook while he worked out but that was a different matter entirely. They both loved duvet days and ice cream, they both read each other like a book and always knew when there was something troubling them. Their friends often joked about how annoying they were because it was like having surround sound speakers when they were together, often saying the same things at the same time.

But that's what best friends did, especially when they have grown up together.

Spending valentines day together was also the norm, since one year when Tae had been dumped at a romantic meal by his boyfriend and Jungkook had been there with the biggest tub of ice cream, a duvet, horror movie and a shoulder to cry on. From that day onwards they decided that valentines would be better spent together because no one could be let down or end up in floods of tears that way, it was the safest way to celebrate and always with a horror because romance was overrated.

They went paintballing last year and spent the evening laying on the sofa, one at either end, complaining at how bruised their bodies were and blaming the other for certain marks. Jungkook had won and Tae had literally whined all afternoon and evening until he gave in and let him have the trophy, telling everyone that came to their apartment that he had won it, not that any one believed him. Tae loved his best friend but he lived in apparent ignorance... blissful ignorance from Jungkook's point of view... seemingly unaware that his best friend loved him too... loved him so much that he thought of very little else than the day they could be together as a proper couple.