CALLOUS, yoongi

vii.

;;;;

relief.

an erratic breath escaped his lips. the game had ended and as he had hoped, they won the game by a landslide. a euphoric sensation entered his chest, gulping down the last drops of his drink. the water tasted sweeter than usual.

"good work, hyung," he turned to see junhyung changed into his casual clothing.

yoongi grunted lightly, giving him a nod. "nice work out there too, junhyung."

just as the younger latter was about exit the gym, junhyung turned around, blinking in mild surprise. yoongi raised a brow in confusion. "what?"

"i-it's just that," junhyung scratched the back of his neck. "you usually don't give out compliments so it's kind of surprising to hear it."

the grey-haired male simply sat still, gazing at him. yoongi was slightly unnerved to hear it. even though he subconsciously allowed those words to escape his lips, he was still musing over what junhyung had said. what did make him compliment the boy all of a sudden? was it the fact that he was able to play after weeks and win the game? yoongi bit his lips. yeah, that was probably it.

"sorry if that sounded weird," the latter chuckled, snapping him back to reality. "you've been looking a lot.. brighter these days. it's been easier to approach you, hyung." junhyung smiled lightly before walking out the large doors.

++++

the walk to the bus stop consisted of yoongi constantly mulling over junhyung's words.

his brows would furrow, wondering if he had been a lot more easy-going these days. in fact, hd had felt lighter, although he wasn't able to properly pinpoint as to why. he sighed, the sound of the snow crunching filled his ears. his earbuds were gone and he didn't know where it went. that didn't bother him too much though, surprisingly.

as he reached the stop, the boy managed to get a glimpse of a certain short haired girl, sitting down and burrowing herself on the scarf. yoongi blinked, slowly walking towards the bench and sitting down, glancing at her to see if she had noticed him. still, there was no reaction. jooyoung's eyes were closed, small puffs of warm breath emitting from the scarf.

he wanted to say something. somehow, her presence in the game might have boosted his morale and eased him up. yoongi wanted to softly tap her shoulders, wanting to see her cheery grin when he felt a warm sensation on his cheeks. the grey-haired male turned to see jooyoung's hands stretching out, a can of green tea poking his cheeks.

with an eye peeked open, she tilted her head towards him and smiled. "congratulations."

he blinked, mildly surprised at the sudden gesture when she pressed the can further, urging him to take it. his callous hands grasped the warm can, glancing down at the item. it was the same brand she had bought the last time they sat beside each other. yoongi didn't know why she had given it to him when they barely knew each other.

he didn't like green tea too much.

"thanks," he mumbled, grateful as he gave her a glance. "for this and for coming to our game."

her lips curved. "i enjoyed your game. you were pretty cool, you know? seeing you do all those moves and everything is a first."

even though he had received a million of compliments from people, somehow, it felt different. yoongi didn't know if he was embarrassed, but he felt his palms sweat against the can. "ah, thanks."

she hummed in response. silence filled in between them and he wanted to say something at least. he glanced at her side profile, watching as she looked ahead.

with a lick of his lips, yoongi opted to open the can, the sound of it clicking resonated against the cold air. he brought the edge of it to his lips, tilting it to gulp down a bit of its contents.

the corner of his lips curved subtly, glancing down at it. silence had ensued between them, but neither of them disliked it. it was calming, a change of pace than their usual bustling school. somehow, their bus stop was often empty, barely anyone had been riding in their stop. for once, yoongi had a different reason for liking the deserted stop.

strangely enough, the bitter taste of green tea had tasted sweet.