he ; yoonmin

027

027

The front door to the park's residence opened with hesitance, only creaking ajar a few inches for a face to peak through from inside. hoseok stared at the distraught as well as tired face of whom he assumed to have been jimin's mother—she had his eyes.

"hello," hoseok shifted his weight onto his right leg in uneasiness.

there was muffled shouting coming from behind the large door and mrs. park had been worrying her bottom lip between her teeth in a bad habit she picked up over years of stress. however, she still managed to smile kindly at the young man standing on her door step.

the shouting from inside seemed to veer closer and grew increasingly loud in volume, having hoseok stupefied for a moment. he had half the heart to push his way inside and alleviate the issue.

he stayed put.

"i'm sorry if this is a bad time." hoseok, for once, was lost for words. he could clearly make out the voices being jimin and his father, but he couldn't tell exactly what the argument was about. random words and phrases were thrown out of context for him, but he thought back on yoongi's words the day prior.

jimin's parents were protective. hoseok witnessed it firsthand as well; having met jimin's dad personally.

before mrs. park could respond, or even shut the door with an apology, jimin's dad called for her from a place unknown to the boy outside. hoseok had struggled to make out what the words were, but he figured it was something along the lines of questioning who had knocked on the door.

she turned back to look at him, opening and closing her mouth a few times with no words. "my name is jung hoseok, ma'am." he bowed quickly out of politeness, answering her silent question. "his name is jung hoseok—" mrs. park called back over her shoulder, into the home that had grown unnervingly still.

it wasn't until after hoseok's name had been revealed that the loud voices started up again. "park jimin, i'm not done with you!" mr. park had raised his voice to where hoseok was sure the neighbors could clearly hear. the door had widened soon after, revealing the interior of the family's home and it's occupants.

"hoseok hyung!" jimin's relieved tone and sudden honorifics caught the older off guard, causing him to momentarily gawk at the shorter boy. "dad," jimin began, "i had spent the night with hobi at his house because i didn't want to sleep alone. i've told you this—"

the rest of the words had been blocked out by hoseok's temporary state of deafness. he stared at the black haired boy across from him, watching and numbly listening to how easy it was for him to spew lies; some type of second nature.

"it's true, mr. park, sir." hoseok cleared his throat once he regained his conscious, remembering his whereabouts. he wasn't sure if he had lied because he wanted to help jimin or because he was asked to do so by yoongi, but here he was, either way.

"my parents were home as well," hoseok attempted to keep his voice leveled and not falter under the intense stare given by none other than park jimin's very intimidating father. "you can ask them, if you'd like, however, they're both working today." and it was like jimin's presence and willful gaze alone turned him into a pro liar; a con artist.

jimin's father looked at the faces of the three people in his vicinity, weighing whatever options he held in his mind. "that won't be necessary, jung hoseok." jimin's dad had a voice that exactly the way one would imagine a father's to be. it was stern yet eerily calming—nice, even.

"are you–are you still at me?" jimin's confident liar persona faded. he shrunk back into what hoseok was used to seeing, what he had believed jimin to be up until now. the younger's hands were clasped behind his back, but tugged at the end of his jean jacket.

sighing, an exhale consisting of mental exhaustion, mr. park answered. "no."

"then am i still in trouble." jimin's hopeful eyes shone and sparkled like stars, hoseok realized, like jungkook's eyes.

"no, sweetie, it's okay. we were just concerned for you is all. isn't that right?" mrs. park gave her husband a look only the two of them seemed to understand the meaning behind. in return, the man gave a tight lipped smile.

"then, is it alright if jimin and i hung out?" hoseok prosed, looking more to jimin's mother than his father. mr. park made a sound of objection, but it was quickly quieted by his wife who gave him a stern glare. "that's fine." she answered and turned to jimin then, speaking quietly under her breath so her words could only be heard by her family.

hoseok felt somewhat offended, but he understood. maybe she did this so jimin wouldn't be embarrassed, not to sound her unwelcome visiter's ego.

"i'll be home by five, i promise!" jimin smiled gratefully before rushing to hoseok's side. he bid his parents a quick farewell and pulled hoseok away from his door and down his driveway.

"thank you so much for saving me," jimin let out a lighthearted laugh once the two had made it away from his house and further down the sidewalk. away from his parents that were probably watching from the window. the thought alone made hoseok shiver. he thought jimin's mom and dad were a little too overbearing.

hearing the shorter's thanks, however, gave him a sense of pride. at the tip of this tongue, he wanted to say that it was mostly yoongi's idea, but he didn't. after all, he had been the one to actually retrieve jimin and get him out of trouble. so he swallowed the budding words and spoke something else.

"your knight in shining armor, i guess." hoseok smiled shyly with a shrug.

jimin ignored this.

"if it's alright, can we round the block and head to yoongi's," he asked, "only if it's alright. i'd rather see him in person then text him another apology."

hoseok flashed a tight lipped smile. "of course." he agreed, suggesting they walked quicker so they could get to the blond's house faster.

it wasn't like hoseok had plans to hang out with jimin anyway. at least none the younger knew of, so it would be unfair to be mad.

wouldn't it?

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you guys should listen to unravel me and orion's belt by sabrina claudio