STRAY // JJK x HYBRID (bunny)✔️ Re-Writing

CHAPTER 49

(AN: Not the Christmas special. Trash chapter ahead. Announcement/info at the end.)

BO-YOUNG

"3, 2, 1..." Taehyung pauses. My heart races as we wait in silence for the signal. "... Go!"

We begin tugging at the lights as carefully yet as quickly as possible. Within seconds, Hoseok and I have untangled a quarter of our lights. I pause to hear quiet chatting coming from Taehyung and Jungkook's corner. When I turn around, I find that Jungkook and Taehyung have not untangled a single Christmas light.

"Hoseok," I whisper as I nudge him. He continues untangling the lights, but I see his round bear ear twitch towards me, signaling that he's listening. "Tae and Jungkook haven't done anything yet," I point out to him. He glances at the other team before shrugging.

"That just means that we'll get free dinner," Hoseok says, beaming at the idea of food. "Who cares if they're chatting."

I start untangling the lights again, but this time slower. I point my ears towards Taehyung and Jungkook as discreetly as I can. My ears ache slightly as I make an effort to move them. It doesn't take me long at all to zero in on their voices.

Suddenly, I hear everything. Not only from Jungkook and Taehyung but from the people next door too. I ignore them as best as I can.

"Did it go well?" Taehyung asks in a hushed tone.

Jungkook nods before replying with: "Yes, very."

"And she's confirmed to be coming to the Christmas gathering?" Taehyung follows up.

"Again, yes," Jungkook says. It gets quiet for a moment. "I heard you were the one to send out the invite to Jimin. Has he replied?"

"Well..." Taehyung says with a small grimace. "He's not been on his phone for days now. No activity on his social media and hasn't texted anyone. I'm getting worried."

"He does this every year. He'll be back on before Christmas."

It's quiet again as I hear movement. Jungkook speaks. "It seems like we don't need to tell Bo-young and Hoseok, though, seeing as they're listening in."

My ears whip back into their natural resting place as I try to act inconspicuous. I look at Hoseok to see him doing the same thing.

"I didn't know you were listening too," I whisper to him as I clamp my hand over my mouth to stop myself from chuckling.

"I was curious," he whines, a large smile still set on his face.

When I look to the pile of lights, I see that Hoseok untangled all of them. All of them except the two in my hands, which are still stubbornly entwined. "Here. Gimme," he says as he takes the lights, expertly untangling them within seconds.

"We won!" he cheers.

"You won, I did absolutely nothing!" I cheer in the same tone, sounding enthusiastically sarcastic.

Taehyung and Junkook both exaggeratedly slump, saying things like "Aw chucks, how could this happen? We tried so hard!" in a tone so sarcastic that it rivals mine. "So, what do you guys want for dinner?" he asks.

I look to Hoseok to see him deep in thought. I tell him: "You can choose. You did all of the work after all."

His eyes dart up to us. "Pizza."

It feels like all I've eaten is pizza. A shiver runs down my spine as I think of eating more. It is Hoseok's decision, though, so pizza it is.

"There's this nice pizza place a ten-minute walk away. Going to get it is cheaper than ordering in. C'mon Kookie, let's go," Taehyung says as he springs up and rushes to the front door. Jungkook, who looks rather startled and unprepared, scrambles up and to the vestibule behind Taehyung.

"We'll be back in half an hour!" Taehyung shouts as the door closes.

A silence falls between me and Hoseok as we both struggle to process what just happened.

"How much to bet that they planned that," Hoseok says.

"There's nothing to bet on. We both know that they did. I wonder what they're chatting about," I say as I stand up. I walk over to the still tangled lights Jungkook and Taehyung left behind and pick them up, bringing them over to where Hoseok is.

"Nice, they left us more work," Hoseok says as he begins untangling them. We begin untangling again in silence.

"You know they're talking about you, right?" Hoseok suddenly says. "Don't tell them that I said that."

"What?" I ask, looking at Hoseok in surprise. "Why would they talk about me?"

"Well, Taehyung helped Jungkook set up the date, so he's curious about how it went," Hoseok tells me.

"It wasn't a date. Was it?" I squeak.

"That really depends on how you interpret it," he tells me. "Did it feel like one?"

"Well, it felt like just hanging out with him. Nice and comfortable," I tell him.

"But do you like him?" Hoseok presses on.

I laugh before saying: "You're acting like a schoolgirl. Does it need to be a spectacle? Can't I just wait and see how it goes?"

"That's one way to deal with something like this," Hoseok says. "I like it."

(AN: Sorry about the sudden cutoff. I need to write the Christmas special, so I need to end this scene here. Sorry about it being shorter than usual too. I'm writing another chapter today so this one is shorter.)

(The Christmas special will either come out today or tomorrow. Depends on how much time I need to spend with my family today.)