Boys in Love

~16~ Cookies and Bakesales

Hoseok's POV

Chuckling and guffawing, we entered our school, probably looking like maniacs to the other kids in the school, judging the way Jin hyung was still clinging onto Jimin's back like a koala.

Not that we cared anyway.

It had already been a week since we first went to school. I looked over at Jin hyung and smiled proudly.

I don't know why I had this proud grin, considering the fact that he, Jimin, and Tae were doing something that I should probably be ashamed or embarrassed (honestly I couldn't really care any less) of, but maybe it was 'cause Jin hyung seemed to be opening up more now. It seemed like just at that moment, it was just us four chaotic clowns who seemed to be content in their own world.

My beam seemed to have brightened all the more when I caught Jin hyung shamelessly screeching and wailing like a banshee while at the same time miraculously managed to yank Taehyung's ear (which seemed extremely painful) at the same time without falling of Jimin's back.

He multitasks.

Then he went on rambling about something (I wanna say some sort of recipe(?)) with full rathe, his voice booming against the corridor full of kids, apparently not caring about the confused looks he got as he brisked past them.

He might seem like he has a lot of confidence. Actually, he does have a lot of confidence. Perhaps even more than me and tae combined (we'll exclude Jimin from the list cuz his level of confidence and sass is another one altogether)

It's just that everyone has some sort of flaw, habit, or some sort of phobia that they should work on, whether controllable or not, and Jin hyung's is about caring.

I don't mean he should stop caring. I mean I don't even know how us crackheads would survive without him and I am forever grateful for him, but when I talk about caring, I mean caring about opinions.

Other people's opinions, which honestly shouldn't matter but they do. A lot.

People can be rude and hurtful, sometimes unknowingly as well, and that has a huge impact on almost everyone. Some learn to shrug it off while some keep it deep down, buried in their subconscious, and worst of all, their heart. Their harsh and atrocious words scar their thinking and soon reach till a point where those untrue yet hurtful words become their inner voice.

Jin hyung is one of those people.

None of us know exactly when it happened or what happened to cause our hyung to start caring about useless opinions but I think me, Tae and Jimin have an inkling.

I guess it all started when Tae and Jimin were in grade 4. Me and Jin hyung were in 5th grade at that time.

There was some sort of bake sale or fundraiser. I don't recall, the details are fuzzy but what I do recall is that the class had to raise some money.

The groups were divided into two, under the categories of girls versus boys. It was sort of like a competition. A nifty trick all teachers used to get the best results.

The rules were simple. Both teams were allotted a particular activity and the team which managed to raise the most amount of money won a free trip to the local pizzeria.

The boys were allotted a car wash and the girls had a bake and sale.

Now, this is the part where Jin hyung comes into the story.

Jin hyung, since the mere age of 4, was fascinated by the kitchen. I remember him telling me how he used to wonder about the way how one vegetable or fruit could be used in more than millions of ways to form something delectable every time. At the age of 5, he started taste-testing different varieties of food. By the time he was 7, he had started coming up with his own combinations. Combinations that even master chefs could not fathom but they tasted oh so good. Especially his cookies.