" Every name is real. That's the nature of names. "
-Jerry Spinelli
Late at night, Sora stared at the moon, admiring the stars that were shining in the midnight blue sky. Her eyes focused on the satellite of the Earth while a bitter smile spread on her face. Her thoughts were collected, but her feelings were still in a chaotic state.
Her eyes fluttered at the stars as she recalled yesterday's event.
For her, narrating her story to Yoongi had more of an impact, that she had initially considered. She had to remember things that she had wished to seal away. Show a vulnerable part of herself that no one had yet to see.
Yet, she did it.
She told him about her past, her nerve-wracking emotions, and her fears.
And as if a spell had been cast on her, Sora silently closed her eyes. Her conscious fading away, she listened to Yoongi's sweet words of comfort in her ears.
His harmless promise to never leave her side until she had decided otherwise.
However, what Sora had failed to notice, were the tears that were soundlessly streaming down his chubby cheeks. His unique thoughts about his affection for her and his fears about leaving her.
After all, she was to him merely but a sweet poison.
As the young woman opened her eyes back to reality, she noticed that it was past midnight. Her thoughts quickly shifted to her own promise to spend the rest of the week with Yoongi and her friends.
She laid her back against the mattress of her bed and exhaled. As she made a wish upon the stars, Sora quietly fell asleep.
Swiftly, the sounds of birds tweeting awoke the young woman from her sleep. Confused, she frowned and laid her eyes toward her window. A decision that Sora had quickly regretted as she was blinded by the ray of sunlight.
" Ah... " She moved her hand to block the daylight and sighed.
She felt like she had gotten to sleep only a few minutes ago. She turned around, looking for her phone, and as she found it, she turned it on to look at the time.
" 8:09am? "
All of sudden, noises from downstairs grabbed her attention. Was Yoongi already awake? She asked herself.
Unreluctantly, Sora sat up on her bed, blinked, stood up, and blinked again. She stretched her body as a yawn escaped from her lips and walked toward the bathroom.
Her face was quite a sight to see. She had failed to notice before, but the bags under her eyes and the obvious war state of her hair had only worsened overnight.
The young woman sighed before deciding to take a shower and tidy herself up a bit while on the other side of the house, Yoongi was preparing their breakfast.
He neatly prepared a bowl of stew with rice and some dishes as accompaniments while waiting for Sora to get downstairs. Yoongi then took a seat while his eyes were focused on the stairs. His ears twitched at the sound of familiar footsteps, and a smile spread on his face.
He then tore his eyes away from there to look at his plate.
" Oh, it smells good. " Noted the high pitched voice.
Yoongi giggled, " Well, of course, since I made it. "
" Yeah, yeah, master cook. " Sora took her seat and quickly took a bite of the stew and hummed. " As expected, it tastes really good. "
" Right? "
She nodded.
While both were quietly enjoying their breakfast, a question arose in Yoongi's mind, " Ah, when are we going to join the others? "
Sora hummed in ponder, " Well, Jin did say that he would be a bit busy in the morning, and Jaebum and Lisa have to work today, so they will only join us tonight... " She stared back at him, " We can go in the afternoon. I will text Jin the exact time. "
Yoongi nodded, " What about Tae? "
The woman smiled, " Haven't you texted him? You are closer to him than I am now. "
" He is the one who always texts him. "
" And you are the one who always agrees to his tantrum. " Said Sora as a matter of fact. " But I can't blame you. It's hard to say no to that kid. " Stated Sora, to which Yoongi silently agreed.
As the two finished their breakfast, Yoongi walked toward his room and enjoyed playing with his piano while Sora enjoyed a show on Tv in the living room. Quickly enough, a few hours had passed by, and both received a text from Taehyung.
" Sora! " Quickly yelled out Yoongi from the other side of the house.
The woman smiled as she had already predicted they were first going to spend some time with the Labrador hybrid before joining the others.
" Yeah, I know! " She yelled back.
She got up from the sofa and stretched her body a bit before walking up the stairs to her room. She grabbed herself a coat and a warm scarf, then walked back downstairs. Her wolf hybrid was already standing near the entrance, his back facing her.
A black coat, black jeans, black boots, and a black scarf. The only thing that added a bit of liveliness to his appearance was the red highlights on his hairs and fur.
" Ready? " She asked.
The young male turned around and nodded.
As Sora was struggling to put on her shoes, she had noticed the black rectangular-shaped object.
Hoseok's journal, she noted.
She tore her eyes away from it and said nothing.
" Let's go. "
Both quietly exited the house as the cold immediately kissed the tip of their skin. A small moan escaped from the woman's lips while her body reacted to the chilly wind.
" I can't believe the year is going to end soon. " Remarked Yoongi while they were walking toward the bus stop.
" I know, right? " Sora chuckled, " Time sure flies fast. "
The duo kept exchanging their thoughts on anything and nothing. From the memories they had shared together in the laps of time, they had to know each other to the one they had experienced before then.
The next thing they knew, the duo was was already standing in front of Taehyung's apartment, knocking on his door. After a few knocks, the young male opened his door with a grin on his face. He offered them to enter, to which they gladly accepted, and stepped inside his apartment.
" Come inside and warm yourself. "
Yoongi and Sora slowly took off their shoes and walked toward the living room before taking off their coat and scarf.
" Ah, put that here. " Indicated the Labrador hybrid as he pointed at a hook near the entrance.
" Did you redecorate your place, Tae? " Asked Sora as she looked around.
To her question, Yoongi turned to the woman, and he asked, " What do you mean? His place had always been like that. "
Sora frowned, " No, it wasn't. I certainly have never seen a living plant in his living room. "
" That's because it has been a while since you last visited me, Sora. I'm usually the one to crash at your place, so that's understandable. "
The woman nodded, " Well, that's true. "
Taehyung then walked toward the duo with a plate of hot chocolate. While Sora was sipping her drink while talking with her friend about work, Yoongi suddenly got up from his seat and walked toward the entrance. Noticing his weird behavior, Taehyung asked him where he was going, to which he quickly replied, " I have something to return to Jin. "
" But, Jin won't be home until later. " Stated Sora.
Yoongi then went to look for something in his pocket and took out a pair of keys. " Which is why I have that. " He said as he waved Jin's house's key.
" How do you have that? " Asked the woman, astounded.
" Like how I got the notebook. " Nonchalantly replied Yoongi as he opened the door and left.
" What was that? " Asked Taehyung this time, to which Sora quickly shrugged off.
" A few things happened. "
Confused, the young hybrid asked this time, " Does it have anything to do with you taking a few days off and your weird behavior from the past couple of days? "
Spot on, thought Sora.
" It does. But it's okay now... I think so. " She added.
Taehyung didn't pry any further and simply sipped his own drink before changing the topic of their conversation. Later on, Yoongi joined them back and acted as if nothing had happened.
Then, by the dirty blond-haired male's idea, they all decided to spend the time playing video games. They still had some time to spare before the others were to join them, so they all agreed to play Mario cart. Surprisingly enough, Sora was almost always the winner to the point where Taehyung switched their controller, saying Sora was cheating.
The living room was filled with the sound of laugher and screamings.
On the other hand, Yoongi had a hard time following the other two and would spend his time mumbling to himself and blame his controller for losing the game. He would then watch the other two and giggle at their bickering while taunting them to lose.
And before the trio had even noticed, the sky was now filled with a darker color. This forced Taehyung to get up and switch the lights on while keeping his eyes on the screen. A funny sight to see.
Suddenly, the sound of laugher and yellings was cut off by the sound of knockings. The trio exchanged glances before Sora decided to stop their party to open the door.
Without much of a surprise, Jin stood before her with several boxes of pizzas.
" Jaebum and Lisa are on their way! " He said as he let himself in.
The young woman chuckled as she closed back the door before she took the boxes away from her friend so he could take off his coat and shoes. She then put them on the counter of the kitchen, which was open to the living room.
" Ah~ Sora, hurry and come back, so we finish this party! " Whined the blond-haired male.
" Wait, I will be playing in her stead. " Quickly replied back Jin, the cute nerd of their group.
Sora, on the other hand, shook her head before she opened the boxes to check their contents. Margherita, Pepperoni, Chicken, and Hawaiian. She licked her lips, loving the sight before her. She then joined back the boys in the living room and took a seat next to Taehyung.
" Ah! " Suddenly exclaimed Seokjin. " Sora, could please see if there is anything to drink in the fridge? " Asked the man while his eyes remained on the screen.
To which the Labrador hybrid quickly replied with, " Wait, I think there is a bottle sprite left. "
The young woman got up without a word and opened up the fridge, only to discover an almost empty bottle of sprite. A small chuckle left her lips.
" I doubt there is any use of an empty bottle, Tae. " She said as she shook the bottle in question.
The boys all turned their eyes away from the screen to look at what Sora was holding.
" Why are you even keeping this? " Asked Yoongi with a frown on his face as he looked at the blond-haired male.
Without sparing him a glance, he replied, " I don't know... I thought it was full. "
At the same time, they all heard knocks on the door. Sora turned her head toward the entrance before she glanced back at the guys and put down the empty bottle of sprite on the counter. Shen then walked to open to door and opened it without checking who it was.
" Hey! " Greeted Lisa beside Jaebum.
" Oh, hey! You two arrived together? " Asked the woman while letting the duo getting inside.
" Yeah. " Replied Jaebum. " We finish our shift around the same time, so we figured we might as well come together. "
" By the way, we got you some drinks!! " Shouted Lisa as she waved a plastic bag.
Sora nodded, " Perfect timing! We were wondering what to do since we had nothing to drink along with the pizzas. "
" You got pizzas? " Asked Jaebum.
" Yup! " Replied Jin. " They are on the counter if you wanna check. "
While Sora was getting the drinks inside the fridge, she heard a whisper next to her.
" How did it go? "
Startled, the young woman turned to find her childhood, Jaebum, with his arms crossed, eyes focused on her expression, and his hips touched the counter.
" What are you talking about? " She whispered back.
The man sighed and turned his eyes on the others. " About Yoongi... and him. " When he turned back his eyes on Sora, he smirked. " Seokjin explained everything to me yesterday. We were worried about you, you know? "
Her eyes traveled from Jaebum to Yoongi. " I told him everything. "
" Did you now? "
She glared at him. " I did. "
He nodded, " You did well. " He said before he playfully ruffled Sora's hair.
" Hey! " She pushed his hands away and pouted. " When will you stop doing that? "
The man pondered. " Hm, probably never. " He playfully replied, to which Sora scoffed before she put the last drink and the fridge and exited the kitchen.
While the man was grabbing himself a drink, he felt a presence next to him. When he spurned around, he was surprised to meet with Sora's hybrid. Min Yoongi. He was startled because the last time he checked, he was still sitting on the couch next to Jin, watching the others play.
His copper-colored eyes shifted toward his friends, and noticed that Lisa was now occupying his seat.
" Want a drink? " Awkwardly offered the man to which Yoongi declined.
" I'm fine, thanks, but... " The male trailed as his eyes focused on Sora.
" You have something to ask, don't you? "
Quickly, Yoongi stared back a the man and silently nodded his head.
" Tell me. " Said Jaebum as he opened his can of beer. " Those guys are too engrossed by whatever they are doing right now. They won't be able to hear a thing. "
Yoongi laid his eyes on the group and slightly smiled.
" You must have already heard about it... " He started.
" Our past? " Finished Jaebum.
The black-haired male nodded, " But, there is something that Sora had not really explained yet, but I thought that I shouldn't push her any further. "
" Why did you not ask Seokjin? " He asked as he took a sip of his beer. " He is the one who lent you the notebook, isn't he? "
" I've considered doing that, but I knew he would probably tell me that he couldn't say a thing and that I should ask Sora instead. "
There was silence. Only the noise from the kids could be heard until Jaebum cleared his throat.
" Well, Seokjin doesn't like talking on people's behalf. " He then turned his eyes on Yoongi. " What do you wanna know? "
" About what happened after? If you guys ever looked for Hoseok? What about Sora's parents? And your other friends? "
With a hand in his pocket, and the other holding his beer, the man pushed his back against the counter for support while his eyes remained on Sora.
" A lot of questions you got there. " He pointed out. " Nothing much happened after that. Well, as you might know, Sora's mother is gone. We have never seen her again. As for her father, he stayed some time in prison, and Sora had to stay in a foster home for a little while before Seokjin's parents took her in. Ah, Jackson and Joy often come visit us when they have time. I think you are going to like Jackson. He is a social butterfly like Taehyung. " He pointed at the man in question. " As for Hoseok... " He turned his eyes to Yoongi, " Who knows? He must be alive somewhere. "
" Haven't you looked for him? "
Jaebum took a big sip of his beer before he replied, " Even if we did, it's not like we can make someone comes back when they chose to leave, you know. "
" What? "
" Just know that he is alive. That's all that matters anyway. " He whispered at the end. " By the way, if you ever plan to leave her. " His eyes darkened, " At least don't run away as he did. It might not look like it, but Sora had gained some kind of trauma since then. " He explained as he looked back at his friend, and Yoongi's eyes followed. " People leaving her is what scares her the most. First, her mother, her father, then him... I hope you won't become the fourth person. "
" I don't plan to leave her! " Half shouted the hybrid, thankfully not bringing any on him, he explained, " I promised her that I wouldn't leave her. That I would stay as long as she needs me to. "
" ... She cares about you. " Suddenly stated Jaebum. " The fact she opened herself up like this shows how much she cares about you. " He said before leaving Yoongi standing in the middle of the kitchen, his eyes glued on the floor.
He knew the heaviness of Jaebum's words. He was already aware that Sora held some kind of affection for him, but directly hearing it from someone else bought a warm feeling to his heart.
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