The Buddy Program

02 | i'm e.t. in my freetime

"You're Jeongguk!" His gaze flitted to where the voice came from, and when he did find them, he had to look down a little to meet their bright smile.

"This is Jimin," Taehyung said, a hand settling on Jeongguk's shoulder. "He's my best friend."

He pointed to the pink-haired boy with the thick yellow sweater on. He was pocket-sized, pale, but Jeongguk couldn't ignore the way his cheeks were a natural rosy red. Maybe he was sick, he couldn't tell. But the hospital bracelet on his wrist was a dead giveaway.

"Hi!" Jimin held out his tiny hand, and out of sheer awkwardness, Jeongguk shook his hand back. "It's nice to meet you. Taehyung said you liked twix."

"And that's all he'll ever know about me,"Jeongguk murmured, side-eyeing the bastard. So he couldn't keep his mouth shut either? Pleasant.

"Right, well, this is Yoongi," Jimin gestured at the boy beside him. He was awfully frail and skinny, and Jeongguk didn't expect the guy to wave his fingers at him. Awkwardly, he waved back.

"I'm Hoseok," The orange-haired guy with the cannula and oxygen tank spoke up. Jeongguk nodded a hasty acknowledgment to the guy.

"I'm Sooha," The only girl gave him a warm smile. Jeongguk returned one back, albeit a bit weak.

"That's everyone," Taehyung patted his back. He nearly stumbled forward, but Jeongguk held his ground, not wanting to embarrass himself around this much people. Taehyung proceeded to pull him away a good distance from the group, but before he could argue, he leaned down close to his ear.

"When Namjoon comes, you'll find out what they all have if you're curious," He added in a whisper only Jeongguk could hear.

Jeongguk pushed him back, glaring at him. "Bro, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

Taehyung raised an innocent brow, "What? You looked like you wanted to know, especially 'cuz you were staring at Yoongi—,"

"—The fuck? No I wasn't," Jeongguk grew defensive, but Taehyung didn't seem to believe him.

"It's alright, he's used to the stares. I guess you can tell he has anorexia," Taehyung shrugged.

"That's awful," Jeongguk said the first thing that came to mind. Taehyung nodded, pressing his lips together into a firm line.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Why are you so casual about it?"

"Because there's nothing wrong with having it," Taehyung shot back. At that, Jeongguk deflated a little. "He's fine with people knowing. It's not like it changes anything else about him."

"Well you don't know that for sure, y'know," Jeongguk mumbled, snaking his hands into his sweater pocket, gaze averting to the ground.

"Maybe, but even so," Taehyung nudged his elbow, getting him to look at him, "Just 'cause you're sick, doesn't mean you're any less of a person."

"Gosh, I didn't know that already," Jeongguk rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the Ted Talk. Oh, wait. I didn't need it because I'm breathing. Breathing means I'm a human!" He said, sarcasm dripping off his words.