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The next afternoon, I got a text during lunch from Sejin saying he and the boys had talked and decided I could go back to the dorm for the weekend. He asked if he could pack up my stuff and what he should be sure to grab so that he could bring it to the dorm. I would get to go home with Jungkook and Jin.

The whole day, Jiho was nowhere to be found. It was odd. I was expected to concentrate more on my schoolwork, but I could only think of the night before. I hoped he wasn't avoiding me on purpose, after everything that'd happened.

Without Jiho to say goodbye to when school let out, I rushed to the front of the school and headed towards the bench where Jungkook and I normally waited for Jin.

Jungkook wasn't there yet, so I took a seat myself, hoping he would come soon.

"I'll text you later, okay?" I turned in the direction the familiar voice was. Suho was down the sidewalk a bit with his girlfriend I had met the other day, Yumeko.

"Are you sure we can't hang out? My sister wanted to meet you, and I was hoping we could work on our projects." She pouted, earning nothing but the corner of his mouth to rise in a subtle smile.

"Yeah, I've got to help my mom with some stuff tonight," I saw Suho give her a quick kiss on the lips, sending a wave of emotion shoot through me. It wasn't pain, but it wasn't shock. It was an uncomfortable mix of both. I didn't even think as I felt it, it just came. "Another time, I promise." he smiled.

He could have kissed her somewhere else. Or, not at all.

"Fine," Yumeko smiled softly and kissed him again, "You better text me,"

But why should I care? I have Jiho, and I already established I didn't want to date.

"I will."

I had told myself I didn't like him.

"Good," she smiled and started to walk away, "bye babe!"

I shouldn't care. I don't like him.

"Bye."

I tried to keep myself from staring as the two parted. Daehyun found Suho and they started walking off. My eyes were betraying me, holding towards skipping Yumeko.

It should have been okay. Suho was allowed to have a girlfriend. I had Jiho if I really wanted someone.

"You better not eat all the food tonight," a voice from behind me said, before a pair of arms wrapped me tightly.

"No promises, Jungkook." I looked up to see his wide eyes staring towards Jin's approaching car. "So what's with the hug?"

"I'm happy you're coming back for the weekend."

"Me too. In fact, I think I'm going shopping with Hoseok for groceries to make dinner, so you don't have to worry about me taking your portion of Jin's food."

"Are you?"

"Hoseok wanted to take me out anyway. He texted me."

"Cool. You haven't been able to spend much time with Hoseok hyung have you?"

"Not really. He's one of the members that signed on as my official guardian, so I guess I'd better make a better effort on my part."

The company sedan rolled up, and I was surprised to see mentioned Hoseok driving it for a change. Jungkook and I got in, and he explained that after he dropped Jungkook off, we'd head to the mall to grab the groceries.

"And Jin hyung told me you had some personal things to buy as well," he said as we neared the dorm.

"Yeah, which means I need to grab my wallet. Do you mind if I run in to change out of my uniform too?"

"I don't mind waiting."

I quickly said hello to the members, avoiding any question about how my stay at Sejin's was, and then changed into a white graphic tee and pair of black jeans with a velvet red stripe down the sides. Along with that, I pulled on a pair of black boots with a small heel, and a green bomber jacket. I figured it'd match Hoseok's form-fitting black tee and Dr. Martens, as well as a black bomber jacket with a flower pattern I had seen him wearing in the car. After grabbing my purse, I ran out to the car promising the boys we'd be back in time to make dinner and eat before it got too late.

Hoseok let me chose the music in the car, (A/N I'd say she choses Hangsang from Hope World but it wasn't released yet -_- Actually, we DO stan Hope World so we're going to pretend it was) and he turned it up without me having to ask. The air still lingered with hints of summer, and I was grateful for the windows being rolled down halfway.

"Nae chingu-deul gwa bi-hang-gi ta-go," I said, trying to rap along with the audio. My friend and I ridin' airplane. Hobi looked at me and smiled proudly with a laugh. "Walking, walking, walking... talking, talking, talking."

"Man, my dongsaeng is talented!" he said over the loud music. He started rapping along himself, "Urin hanbok-hae yo-ju-mae uh!"

I laughed with him this time. It felt good. I always felt safe and happy with Hoseok; his positive aura was contagious.

After a while, his face seemed to turn thoughtful. He turned down the music and looked at me, taking his eyes off the road for a moment.

"So how did you enjoy time with your uncle the last few days?"

"It was pretty fun, I-" Remembering the night with Jiho, I blushed. I looked down to hide it.

Hoseok furrowed his eyebrows playfully. "What is it, Sujin?"

"Well," I thought for a second. "Well, Jiho joined Sejin and I for dinner last night, right?"

"Ooh," he nodded his head. A small smile sprouted. "Oh I see. What did you do?"

"We just went to Olive Garden, the one about 45 minutes away from here. We took the subway. It was really nice."

Hoseok smiled. "I think... I approve of this Jiho guy."

"You do?" That made me feel so much better, hearing it come from Hoseok. "Okay, but please please don't tell Taehyung, or Namjoon, or any of the others. They would be so mad, and I promise it wasn't a date. Even though it kinda sounds like it was..."

He laughed, watching the road. The sound seemed to light up the world. "You know I won't. I'm glad you told me, though." He was quiet for a moment before he continued, "It's not often I think you guys take into account that I'm one of your legal guardians. It's kind of funny how there's two of us when we all try to play a part, but if things ever came up legally, well there I'd be.

"I hope you remember, whether guardian or not, I will always be there for you, and listen to you. Do you know what Hangsang in English is?" I shook my head. "It means always. Always, Sujin. Don't forget that, okay? Sometimes the other members overwhelm me and I have to take a step out of everything, and I worry that means I'm not there for you. Let me know if there's ever something you need and I'll get it for you, or do it in a jiffy. Alright, my dongsaeng?"

I didn't know what to say. Hoseok was a unique person, either the life of the party or the most caring and sentimental member. He was too kind, and I didn't deserve that. "Thank you, Hoseok. Of course I'll remember that. I'm glad you're one of my guardians."

"I am too, dongsaeng." He gave me one last sweet smile, and I really felt it. I felt the care he had for me and it was so sweet. It was almost like what I felt from Sejin, just in another way. I still saw Hobi as my brother, but he was different. He was so safe.

"Now let's appreciate my album, eh?"

I nodded and turned up the volume again, bathing in the warm bass and Hoseok's amazing voice.

As soon as we got to a street lined with various types of stores, we parked. We walked down the street, and Hoseok had told me he had a certain store in mind for what we were going to cook. After that, we'd grab some snacks to bring back to the dorm as well. As we were passing the other stores, one caught my eye. It was a woodworks store, and had tons of projects displayed inside a huge window.

"Hoseok," I said, stopped in front of a wooden table project. "Who do you think would like this?"

He turned around and looked at the coffee table I was pointing at. "That's something Namjoon would like, isn't it?"

"Exactly. I asked Jin to get me the materials earlier but I think I should just buy it here. It's a kit so it would be easier to assemble than from scratch as I was originally thinking."

"I agree. It's not too expensive, either. Let's go take a look."

We left the store a few minutes later with projects I'd be able to make for both Namjoon and Jungkook's birthday that were coming up the following month.

As we trailed down the streets with the bright pavement under our feet and the people scattered around us, Hoseok and I scanned the buildings and shops we passed.

"I think the..." He stopped walking and pulled out his phone. "The grocery store I want to go to is down this block and we'll take a right, then it's on the left side of that road."

I nodded, and we continued walking. We were almost down the block when Hobi stopped again and looked up to the big sign above the store.

"Oh? This is a good place to buy clothes..."

"Uh oh," I said, knowing that if we walked in, we wouldn't walk out until the next day. Hoseok was a fashion king, which had it's pros and cons when it came to shopping.

"I'll just be a moment," he mumbled. We entered the store and it smelled of fresh cotton and new fabric. Hoseok paused right away, taking a look at a pair of tan khakis.

"Oh my gosh," I moaned. "This is going to take forever. You don't even wear khakis that often! If you did, you should buy black."

"Aish, dongsaeng," Hobi laughed. "Who said I needed to wear them often to buy a pair?"

"Me! Now let's move on, or else we'll be here until dinnertime!" I grabbed his hand. "Maybe Jimin would wear khakis, though."

"Good idea!" Hoseok pulled away and walked towards the khakis again.

"Hoseok!"

"Okay, maybe Jimin wouldn't." He put his hands up in surrender as his eyes scanned the racks to either side of him.

We wandered around for a while before he stopped again. He pulled out a white t-shirt with three black X's near the top in bubble letters.

"That's nice," he said, surveying the shirt.

"But it's just a shirt, nothing special about that." I took it from him and placed it back on the rack. He sighed, and we kept walking. We neared the opposite end of the store, where there was an assortment of jewelry.

"Oh," he said, walking up to the shelfs. "My sister would like that."

"I'm right here," I laughed.

He grabbed a gold bracelet and looked at it closely. "I mean my sister back at home."

"Oh." I'd completely forgotten he had a sister, a real sister far away, at home. "Look, it even says 'hope'."

He handed it to me to see. It was a rectangular gold plate that had the chain attached to each side, and in the center, in English, it said 'hope'. Quietly, I said, "Yeah I bet she would like that."

He glanced at me, and then said, "I don't think I'll buy any clothes. Let's go, I'll send this to her."

"Okay."

I wasn't quite jealous of his sister getting something nice, I knew there were plenty of opportunities for him to get me a nice gift. His sister needed something to remember him, as she didn't see him often. But another part of me thought the same for myself. Since I always tried to live my life around hope, it seemed appropriate. But, I couldn't let myself think that way. It wasn't right.

We walked to the cashier, and Hoseok was about to pay for the bracelet when he stopped. "Actually, Sujin, wait here. I'm gonna go grab that shirt."

I laughed. Since he knew what he wanted to buy, I knew it wouldn't take too long. "Okay, go ahead. Hurry."

I wasn't too fond of standing in front of the cashier empty handed while he returned to buy the shirt. The cashier said she'd go and restock something out back. I sensed she saw the awkwardness of us both standing there with nothing to do. When Hoseok returned with the shirt hung over his arm, he said, "Go ahead and wait outside. I'll be right there."

"Do you want me to wait outside? I'd rather not by myself."

"Oh, well I mean, it'd be nice if you could."

"Why?"

"Trust me? Please?"

I sighed and muttered an okay, before heading out the store. He came out a minute later and handed me something.

"I thought you were going to give this to your sister," I said, holding the gold bracelet out for him to take back.

"You are my sister."

I laughed. "We just had this conversation! I thought you were going to give it to your other sister. The real one."

"Well you are my real sister... But I got you an extra when I went back for the shirt."

"Ooooh." A smile crept into my face. "Really?"

"Yeah! You're a part of the family now, so we're all part of the Jung family. Or, should I say, the huimang family?" He pulled out a third bracelet and took it out of the packaging. He put the bag with his clothes on the floor before snapping the bracelet on himself. "There it is, and there it will stay. Now both of my sisters will match with me!"

He put the bag over his arm and took my bracelet out of my hands, sliding the gold chain out of the packaging. He carefully took my wrist, and pulled up the sleeve so he could snap it on. When he was done, I moved my wrist around. It was right next to the stiff gold bracelet with diamonds Jimin had gotten me earlier that year, the first time I went shopping with the boys at the mall.

"Wow, Hoseok. Thanks."

"Of course. Let's get going, so we can get the dinner groceries home and we can start cooking."

At the market, Hoseok ordered a variety of seafood, and once we got that, I grabbed items off his list as he pushed the cart.

"We're making Gulguk, so we'll need the oysters and a broth packet. For the spicy shrimp we'll need gochujang for the spice and marinade. Then we're going to need more glass noodles, Namjoon likes them... Oh, one more packet since we're going to use them for dinner later. Okay. Oh. And we need rice to go with the shrimp."

Hoseok instructed me as I grabbed the items and put them in the cart. "Wait," I said, "Namjoon's gonna kill us. All of these have seafood."

"Then we'll be nice enough to leave the shrimp out of his portion of the noodles. He'll eat a lot of those."

I agreed, and we finished grabbing all the necessities for the meal. When we were done, I helped him carry the heavy bags of groceries all the way down the two blocks to the car. I'd almost collapsed by the time we got them inside of the trunk.

"Thank you, that could have taken a lot more time and effort if you hadn't helped me."

"Hey, I got a bracelet out of it," I said, holding up my wrist.

"Indeed."

When we got home, we started cooking the dishes together. Jin wanted to come in every once in a while to see how things were going, but for the most part it was Hoseok, Jimin, and I who were making the meal.

"Sujin," Jimin called from the opposite counter. He had a grey apron over himself, which was quite cute as he got the sauce ready for the noodles. "Hand me the olive oil, would you?"

"Sure." I gave it to him and then turned back to the shrimp I was watching fry on the stove. Hoseok was to the left of me, stirring the pot of oyster stew.

"Do you want me to help you make the shrimp marinade?" Hoseok asked.

"That's probably best. I'm not sure how to."

"Alright." He dried his hands of the steam that'd collected as he stirred the soup, and then grabbed the gochujang. He popped the metal lid off the glass container, and then got out a deep saucepan. He dumped the contents into the pan and then turned on the heat.

"Just watch that, when it barely starts to boil it should be good. And it's better to add ginger or lemon, or both. Taste it to see if it needs more seasoning, maybe pepper."

I nodded and went to shred ginger to put in. Meanwhile, Jimin asked me to cut a slice of the ginger and lemon to put inside of water and heat up in the microwave for a drink. I made a glass for each of us. Then, I squeezed the other half of the lemon to let the juice fall into the marinade, and added the ginger.

Once it got warm enough, I put the shrimp into a bowl, added the sauce on top and gave it all a good stir. Jimin had finished putting the noodles and shrimp together, and the soup was about finished.

"Can you go set the table, and then tell the others it's time to eat?" Hoseok asked me. "Jimin and I will clean the dishes."

"Got it." I took off the pink apron Jin had given me, and then washed my hands before grabbing spoons, metal chopsticks, bowls, and plates to set on the table.

When I went to tell everyone we had finished cooking, I discovered that Jungkook had been gaming on his computer, Namjoon was doing work for the company, Yoongi was writing down notes for future producing at the studio, Jin had been reading, and Taehyung had been messing around on his phone.

When we gathered around the table, Jin dished everyone a portion of the soup and set small plates of the shrimp and rice and noodles everywhere.

Namjoon walked in with a heavy sigh, "I smell seafood."

"Oops."

"We saved a portion of the glass noodles without the shrimp for you, hyung," Jimin said.

He couldn't argue at that so he sat down. We all started to eat, and enjoyed conversations among all of us. The boys were laughing as the meal brought back funny memories of when the boys were trainees and would all help cook the same dishes for dinner. Yoongi loved to share stories of how Jimin acted when he was young, and how Taehyung was outgoing when traveling to America. It got us all laughing and I really enjoyed how we talked over the good food. And, I'd gotten several compliments on the shrimp I'd cooked just right. I wished it could have lasted forever. But, I should have known we wouldn't always get along this well. Things were going to change, and soon.

A/N YOOOOO if you are not already following @im-soo-fancy then go follow them RIGHT NOW  we've exchanged some packages and merch and they've made me SOOOO happy today :D Not to mention they have an adopted fanfic too and it's AMAZING, they're such a talented author, and sweet little Nari is the most adorable person on this planet. 

Hehe also this is still my FAVORITE chapter of this whole book series SO FAR, so what did you think? I love Hoseok uwu. 

Also next week is my last week of school before aviation summer school so yay!

I hope you enjoyed~

Stay happy, safe, and healthy!

-Rose