Days of Summer | j. jungkook

7: death and all his friends

First week back to school went by easily. I met my friends again and laughed with them while sharing stories of what each of us did over the summer. Like nothing happened. Of course I didn't tell them about my condition. I don't want to see the kind of faces they make. I don't want to be treated differently. I hate being pitied on the most. They noticed the changes that I've gone through; I lost some weight and my skin turned a little ashy because of chemotherapy.

My homeroom teacher knows about me though. Dad begged me for my permission to let one person from school know about me having cancer. He said he wouldn't feel at ease at work and he'd keep thinking about me all day. That convinced me so he talked to my teacher and asked her to keep it private as much as possible.

After school, I hung out a bit more with my friends. We went to a studio where Taehyung practices with his bandmates. He played bass and sucked at it pretty bad. We made fun of him but he didn't get angry. Taehyung is one of those people who are really good at handling their emotions. After that, some of us had to get home. I needed to get home too because I didn't tell Dad about coming home late and I forgot my phone this morning in my room so I couldn't call.

Hoseok and I take the same train since we lived near each other so we walked together to the station. While walking, we passed by a donut shop. I stopped walking and just stared inside the shop. Hoseok noticed me soon after, "You want to buy donuts?"

"Uh.. I don't know." I answered him but still staring through the window.

"You don't know?" Hoseok chuckled as he walked back towards me. "You've been staring at it for awhile. Just buy some! Come on."

He pulled me inside with his arm latched around my shoulder, "Hey, wait. I'm not sure if I should buy."

"What? You don't have enough money? I'll lend you some." He shoved his hand in his pocket to take out his wallet and handed me money, "Here."

I like sweets but, at that time, I wasn't thinking about myself. I was wandering if Y/N also liked sweets like me and since she doesn't have friends. No one probably gave her chocolates or snacks to share with. So, in the end, I bought donuts with Hoseok's money. "Thanks. I'll return the money tomorrow."

"'s no big deal, man." Hoseok said, checking his messages on his phone as we waited for the train. "I just got my pay from my part time job so I have extra money."

We boarded the train and, as usual, it was full of people. It was rush hour after all. Everyone was on their way home from work or out to meet friends on a Friday night. Hoseok and I stood near the doors so that we can go out easily when we get to our station which was only two stations away from school. Dad could've drove me to and from school but I told him that I want to be like other kids as much as possible.

"Hey, about Y/N.. you're friends with her, right?" Hoseok lifted his head to look at me. I was going to ask how he knew her but I remembered that he used to mow their lawn and that they had..

"We live next to each other." I replied vaguely.

"Why doesn't she go to school?" He questioned.

"Not sure. All I know is that her parents wants her home schooled." I shrugged my shoulders. "Why didn't you ask her yourself? You probably know her better?"

The corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. "I lied."

"What?"

"About being her first. I lied." Hoseok admitted, "She paid me to lie and tell you that we had sex. Who wouldn't say no to that?" He added with a laugh. "Truth is, we've never said a word to each other in person. She barely comes out of her room. She's just there, watching from her bedroom's window. She's a little weird but maybe she has her own reasons."