bloomsbury's pride // bts ot7 // editing

-voice]

the last months have all just been a blur.

a wise man once said that there is a thin line between laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt. the world isn't sure if life had become an outrageous comedy or remained its ongoing tragedy.

there was humor to be found in a rich woman dropping a sharp knife on her own foot while cooking and talking business over the phone. in the modern world, you would laugh at the fact that a rich person was not using their luxury to its full extent. in fact, you could call the woman stingy for not buying her way out of every necessity there was and keeping the money to herself.

however, the only way to stay rich is to stay on top of your spending and hoard your wealth. that's how the rich stay rich: hoarding. this is the type of world kim namjoon lives in; its a dog-eat-dog lifestyle, always keeping up with the trends and being cut out of your circle if you didn't have what it takes to be on top.

namjoon's mom stabbed  herself in the foot on accident- well, the real issues probably started earlier, but this is the most recent incident, as of late. namjoon's mother was sent to the hospital first, then the police just to question why she had a knife in the first place. it takes another two days before she comes back home due to the crowds of paparazzi and interviewers wanting the inside scoop on her condition.

to namjoon, this is not a comedy. it's real life.

he tries to act strong, however, the teenager is fragile in all meanings of the word. he doesn't handle stress well, the weight of past stresses such as this taking their toll on his physical and mental state. he is at the bottom of the social pool because of this, despite his mom's dominant and outgoing demeanor in the public eye. her wealth, her popularity, her creativity is how namjoon's shy and underwhelming presence has made it so far in life.

so, in august, he decides he can't live with so many burdens anymore. it's just him, his mom and his younger sister in a massive house all by themselves, always smiling and perfect to the public at large. and on top of that, he's been dealing with a stalker at his bus stop recently who walks with him up to the end of his street and suddenly walks the opposite way on most days.

namjoon never really catches the face, but it looks like a girl in stature, long legs that go on for miles and small shoulders. it has to be a girl, right?

wrong. on his last day of the school year, he catches the culprit, unmasking a middle school boy that lives a few streets away. more specifically, the boy he babysat through his elementary, middle and now high school years..

"y-yah! bam bam, why're you following me around?" the gangly, feminine kid sheepishly looks away and holds up a letter from a prestigious private academy just off the main city of san francisco, one of the many namjoon looked into for the next two years of high school. "y-you know, we got this in our mailbox about a month ago and i- i don't want you to go! who am i going to hang out with?! your sister hates me!" the middle schooler pouts, tears welling in his eyes.

namjoon hates saying goodbye. it's why he avoids everyone at school, most of his neighbors, the kids on the bus; he's too soft for goodbyes. even then, he knows he's going to miss the routine of his old home, saying thank you to his bus driver every morning, saying thank you to his teachers, saying thank you to the lunch ladies. he realizes he never receives the same politeness back. maybe this academy will help him grow a backbone.

"bam," he starts affectionately, patting the younger's head softly. "take my mail like that again and you're dead meat." he hits the boy's head lightly before pulling him into a hug. there's a moment of silence between the two. "i'll miss you, too. i know my sister is scary, so keep your head down and be polite. i'm counting on you to watch over her."