I See Colors | Taegi

fifty-seven

Yoongi and I
make it to the cafeteria
and start walking towards
the table in the back.

There are many people
who are lined up to buy lunch,
but just as many
who are eating at the tables.

It's lucky how
people somehow know that the table in the back
is where we sit
and don't bother it.

Before this,
I would sit at the corner of a table
or an area where
nobody else was sitting.

As I get closer,
   I see an unfamiliar boy
sitting at the table.

Tall, tan,
light brown hair,
   black rectangular glasses,
unique eyes.

It checks out.
This is Namjoon.

He's just wearing a simple white shirt and black sweatpants,
but for some reason
he looks somewhat special.
Someone straight out of
some sort of show or movie.

   Hoseok spots us walking towards them
   and quickly tries to finish chewing his food.

   Seokjin notices us after him
   and waves.
   "Hey!
   What took you guys so long?"

   Yoongi glances at me
   then smiles
   as we sit down.

   "Tae took
   five whole minutes
   to pack all his stuff.
   Plus,
   we're on the top floor."

   "TAE?!"
   Hoseok suddenly exclaimed,
   "How didn't I think of a nickname like that?!"

"Hyung,"
Jungkook interrupts,
"You aren't the only creative one in the world."

Seokjin covers his mouth.
"Ohhh!"

As Hoseok is telling Jungkook about
respecting those older than him,
   I glance at Namjoon.

His attention is caught in
Hoseok and Jungkook's bickering.

   I wave.
   "Hello."

   Namjoon glances at me
then waves back.
   "Hey."

   His voice is different
   than what I imagined.
   It's much more
   mellow.

   Then
   a memory snaps in my mind.

   "You're the guy who won
   the badminton game
   a month or so back,
   right?"

   A smile shows up on his face
   and he nods.
   "Yeah.
   Did you see it?"

   I swallow.
   "No..."

   Namjoon chuckles.
   "It's okay.
   Nice to properly meet you, Taehyung."

   I give him a smile
   then turn my head towards Yoongi.

   He's staring
   directly at
   the pink marks
   on my arm.

   I watch him
   use his thumb
   to gently
   rub them,
   then we make eye contact.

   For a moment,
   I'm almost certain that
   I saw Yoongi blush.
   But he looks at Hoseok
   before I can confirm.

   He moves his hand away from mine.

   My ears remind me
   that Hoseok is talking.

   "...and it was all like
   'KA-BOOM!'
   That was so freaking crazy—"

   "Yoongi?"

   He looks at me.
   "Yeah, Tae?"

   "Um..."

   I lean closer to him
   and hold onto his shoulder
   so I can whisper to him.

   I can feel
   Yoongi get tense.

   "Thank you."

   I sit straight again
   and look at Namjoon.
   "I'm sure you'll keep doing great.
   Best of luck
   for the actual competition."

   Namjoon laughs
and his eyes wander to Yoongi.
   "Thanks."

   I've never thought that
   it's possible to sense
   someone staring at you.

"Anyway,"
Hoseok continues,
"We all started freaking out.
And those little little kids?
They were bawling.
Seokjin hyung wasn't even there yet!"

"Hey!
What about all that talk about respecting those older than you?"

"That was so three minutes ago."

   I'm think I like
   days like this
   as much as I like
   being alone with Yoongi.