The two walked silently down the pathway to the  dorms, but surprisingly it wasn't awkward, and they seemed to feel comfortable around each other. Shoes slowly drowning in puddles of water, only to be lifted back up and splash into the next.

The younger boy was about to turn to the left corner, but was stopped by the older who put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't go that way, it's longer and that's usually where there is flooding. Let's take the short path." The darker haired boy suggested in a deep, gentle voice eyes glancing toward the pathway to the opposite direction.

Jeongguk looked toward the shorter sidewalk path, but noticed the dimly lit lights flickering, and the pitch black darkness in the narrow, ashy allies. Not to mention the real reason why he never attempted to go on down that path. The younger didn't want to go down that path, but he didn't want to seem scared or afraid and fragile to the older.

Jeongguk nodded, biting his lower lip, and walking to the other side, leaving a slimmer, smaller gap between the two. Feeling the misty wind brush softly against the tip of his fairy, brown hair. Slightly clinging onto the stray, strings of fabric coming from the older's black sleeves hoodie, as they walked down the alley. The younger's head tilted toward the older's side, as the rain grew heavier and breeze blowing faster and faster.

Taehyung looked down at the shorter nervous boy, feeling him closer to his body almost for protection, and saw his fingers tangled and intertwined between his black and white sweater paws. "Are you okay?" Taehyung asked the younger boy, who seemingly like something was visibly bothering him, with his large doe brown eyes, have turned into ones with terror big as saucers.

"F." Jeongguk signed slowly, before continuing with lip quivering, shaking and shivering fingers. "Ine." The two had reached the grainy road, where all cars sped down as fast and quickly as lightning bolts. Tires screeching against the ash fall surface, crushing any single pebble or abandoned empty, plastic bubble tea drink.

Seeing the other's scared, fragile reaction, Taehyung embraced and wrapping the smaller boy with his free arm while holding the cute bear umbrella in his other, as their shoes met with the lined curb. Again, he didn't know why he had the need to protect Jeongguk, after all he didn't like him anyway, but look at him now.

Jeongguk reminded him of...
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The ash gray haired boy, Kim Taehyung, walked down the city at night, with his peach ring haired best friend, Park Jimin, casually eating their soft serve ice cream. The two best friends had decided to go out to get ice cream after their cheap cup noodle dinner at a local convenience store nearby their homes.

They saw three children playing around at the corner. One quiet boy with mint green hair who seemed to be listening to the other two, and the other boy had brown coffee hair with a bubbly personality. Lastly, was a girl with bright cherry pink tips, who was playing with a dull red bouncy ball, whom the bubbly boy chased.

The mint haired boy seemed two years older than the two, while the other boy seemed younger by a year or two. The girl who kept bouncing her ball with the tips of her fingernails seemed to be the youngest, but not too immature for the other kids Taehyung have seen.

Their parents seemed nowhere to be found, but the two older boys who were licking their ice cream, thought nothing of it, after all lots of children played outside after supper. Especially since most of their parents were busy working late night shifts to pay for electrical bills and rent, which led to kids hanging out during the spare time.

At that time Taehyung and Jimin were both only ten, so he did the same thing everyone else did. Learning to buy and prepare their own food by themselves, and learn to teach themselves how to do math problems they didn't understand without a tutor since they couldn't afford for one. Even take the metro bus all on their own by the time they were nine years old.

Taehyung laughed as Jimin puffed his cheeks angrily after being insulted for his height once again and then overheard the voices of the children.

"Seohye! Can you teach me? I want to do tricks with the bouncy ball too!" The brown haired boy asked, clapping his hands excitedly looking at the girl with admiration and adoration. "I want to be cool too!"

"I'll show you!" The pink haired girl said, before dribbling the red ball and then cooly spinning it through her fingers. The brown haired boy stood there in awe as if it was a special magic trick. "See? Like this! Between your fingers!"

"Kay kay! Kookie try!" He snatched the red ball from the girl and tried to dribble it and then spin it on his pointer finger. Watching the ball go up and down, and then fall off of his fingertip when he attempted to do the same move the girl had performed before.

Pouting cutely when he couldn't do the same thing, and then gave the ball back to the pink haired girl who seemed impressed by his performance. "Let me show you again! You can do it I'm sure!" She replied happily, as she bounced the ball again on the tiled speckled colored pavement.
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The younger fit like a perfect puzzle piece in his arms, and Jeongguk felt right in Taehyung's embrace, inhaling in his comforting scent, but the cars blazing by didn't escape his sight. He could already feel himself spinning in his head, thoughts clouding in, and wanting to collapse down to the ground, watching them zoom by like no tomorrow.

Taehyung stepped forward to cross the rain, but the younger didn't budge, staying put tapping his fingers together nervously with hot sweat dripping down his cheek. The older stepped back and sighed heavily, pushing the two across the road, covering the younger's eyes so he couldn't see the yellow flashing headlights of the cars.

"Don't worry, your fine." Taehyung said softly, as he felt the younger clutch tightly around his waist, and burying his cute face into his cotton hoodie.

Stop making me feel this way. Jeon Jeongguk what are you doing to me? I barely know you but I feel things I shouldn't feel.
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[ AUTHOR'S NOTE ]
How was that? I hope your staying healthy and well! Hope your passing your classes and even if your not, or received a bad grade on a test, know one exam isn't going to count~ ! I purple you ~ ! <3 💜💞

QOTD (s) : How do you feel about the flashback? Why do you think Jeongguk acted the way he did?

WORD COUNT: 1146