Brighter Days || Taekook

Part 9

And just like Hoseok's rap, Taehyung is mediocre as well. But compared to Hoseok, who excels in at least one thing, Taehyung can't even hold a candle to him. His singing is good but nothing outstanding, his rapping is non-existent, and his dancing - well, he tries hard, but sometimes trying isn't enough.

But Namjoon said that for now effort counts, and Taehyung will be damned if he doesn't at least pretend to try and work up a stable relationship with his band members.

Just as soon as Yoongi's birthday comes, it goes away again. Seokjin makes seaweed soup at the dorm in the evening and stays the night. Nothing special really happens, but it isn't hard to notice how the other members are more focused on Yoongi than on any other day. Hoseok even goes as far as offering to switch his bedsheets when Yoongi complains that he hasn't properly washed his face the previous night and has make-up stains on his pillow now.

It's weird to witness this familiarity between the five men. They all wished Yoongi a happy birthday as if he was a brother to them. Taehyung did so more distantly, like one would a coworker.

The days with the band continue on after that as nothing special. With March, the cold days are chased away along the snow, and the first flowers start blooming along the streets, the trees dressing up in pretty shades of green.

Taehyung makes an effort with Japanese, and he feels as if it pays off. He's determined to be good at it, and even the teacher seems impressed. His dancing improves as well. He wasn't particularly bad before, but he slowly gets a hang of how the muscles in his body move and what he has to do in order to make them move the way he wants them to. His vocal teacher is still convinced that she can draw the best out of him, and at one point it's decided that he definitely does not have to rap.

Thankfully.

That's what Namjoon and Yoongi are for, as well as Jungkook and Hoseok. Taehyung knows that Jungkook practices at all times, but he doesn't realize just how concerning all of this is, until he stumbles upon him in the middle of the night practicing in the living room, long after everyone else has gone to sleep already (including Taehyung, he really just wanted to get a glass of water because he was thirsty).

Life is- well, it's actually okay for Taehyung right now. And that's definitely a first for him to admit. He doesn't have to sell his body anymore, so how could it not be okay?

But of course where there are ups, there are downs as well. Adapting to living with five other men is hard. One time Yoongi tried to grab a glass while Taehyung was preparing breakfast for himself. Instead of asking Taehyung to move to the side, Yoongi decided to just reach around him to get a glass out of the cupboard. His front pressed against Taehyung's back, and although there was nothing sexual in the gesture at all, Taehyung froze. He can't help it. The knife he'd been holding clattered onto the cutting board and he inhaled sharply.

Yoongi realised that something is wrong quickly and apologised. Taehyung still felt unsettled for the rest of the day. And he knows that Yoongi noticed that something is up, and he's sure that Yoongi went to talk to Namjoon about it judging by the way the leader looks at him.

It's been approximately a month since Taehyung has become an unofficial part of the band, and with each day he learns something new. Like the fact that the band wasn't supposed to be an idol group at all. That people have left it before it even debuted, and that Namjoon and Yoongi still struggle with the idea to debut as idols. He can see it in the way Namjoon's jaw clenches during dance practice, and how disinterested Yoongi appears when they receive training regarding how to handle future fans. It can't be easy to suddenly have to become someone that you can't identify with. Taehyung thinks he knows how that feels.