THE TRANSFER STUDENT

The Party, Pt. 23

"Seokjin, I was wondering what took you so long-" Taehyung stopped in his tracks, mid-sentence as he stared at his brother standing right outside the door of the Kim's residences. "What are you-"

"Quick- let me in-" Seokjin heaved, as he staggered into the house, still carrying Byulyi on his back.

Taehyung stared at the two of them, frozen and complete dumbfounded.

Seokjin frowned at his brother. "Mind helping?"

"Oh-" Taehyung snapped back to attention, rushing forward to grab Byulyi off Seokjin's back and lay her on the nearby sofa in the living room.

"Urgh-" Seokjin flopped onto the sofa next to her, huffing and panting, massaging his shoulder with a pained expression across his face. "It's been so long, I almost forgot how heavy she was."

But Taehyung was still staring at both of them, his mouth hanging open.

Seokjin finally noticed his brother's odd facial expressions. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Why's she here?" Taehyung gestured in Byulyi's direction.

"It's a long story," Seokjin sighed, glancing at Byulyi. "You know how she passed out, right? I was carrying her home, but it was too difficult to carry her all the way back to her house. I thought she could spend the night here instead, since our house was closer."

Taehyung frowned.

But Seokjin didn't seem to notice. He looked around the house. "Where's mom and dad?"

"They're sleeping," Taehyung seemed bothered by something, as he fidgeted in his spot, biting his lower lip. "But Seokjin..."

"Hm?"

"Have you guys talked?"

Seokjin's expression darkened. They kind of did, on the bench earlier, on the way home, but then again, Byulyi was so drunk, he had no idea if she was aware of anything she was saying.

"No," Seokjin pursed his lips, glancing briefly at Byulyi, who was now fast asleep on the sofa. "No, we haven't."

"Hm," Taehyung nodded slowly. "You know you should, right?"

"Yeah," Seokjin nodded slowly, laying his sweater over Byulyi, because she looked cold. "Yeah, I know I should." He looked up at Taehyung. "I will."

"That's good," Taehyung seemed tense, as if he was trying to choose his words carefully. "Um... I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Jisoo."

Seokjin looked up immediately.

"Earlier when she left the party," Taehyung continued, watching Seokjin carefully. "I brought her home. I just thought... she shouldn't go home alone that late at night." He paused, making eye contact with his brother once more. "Especially after what happened between you two."

"I-"

"It's okay," Taehyung intercepted, walking over and putting a hand on Seokjin's shoulder. "It's okay, Seokjin. I know what happened. And she's okay- well, even if she isn't, I'm sure she'll be in due time." Taehyung managed a smile. "You made a good decision, bro."

"Till the very end-" Seokjin croaked. "Till the very end, I wasn't able to be the first one to apologise or break things off. It was her, she was the one who was brave enough to end everything."

"No," Taehyung smiled reassuringly. "I know more than you do, Seokjin. Jisoo had so many doubts as well, she hesitated so much. Both of you were afraid of change, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. What matters now is not who ended it, but is that everything is back into its rightful place now, Seokjin. And I'm really happy for you - both of you."

Seokjin looked up at Taehyung, nodding slowly, biting at his lips to prevent himself from crying once more. "Thanks, Taehyung. You've been here for me since day one."

Taehyung let out a small chuckle. "I guess you could see this as a blessing in disguise. We've gotten so much closer after all this happened, don't you think?"

Seokjin's eyes twinkled.

"Come on, it's time to go to bed," Taehyung smiled, patting Seokjin's shoulders once more. "It's late - we can continue this talk tomorrow."

"Mm," Seokjin got up from the sofa, looking down at Byulyi. "You go to bed first, I'll go grab some blankets and stuff for her."

Taehyung's eyes darted from his brother, down to Byulyi, then back up at him. Then he nodded. "Alright, then. Goodnight, Seokjin."

"Goodnight, Taehyung," Seokjin smiled. "And thanks for everything."