Why did this place make him feel weird? Truth be told he didn't really know. Maybe it was just a hunch telling him that something was wrong. He was about to brush it aside when he remembered MJ's words to him previously. Go with your gut Yoongi, or you'll end up regretting it.
In a spur of the moment decision those words encouraged him to turn to Jimin and open his mouth, but before he could get the first word out the younger's icy glare cut him off. He had already forgotten their previous argument; seemingly Jimin hadn't forgotten.
He sheepishly averted his gaze and shut his mouth. He would mention it tomorrow, he decided.
The others had already began to look around the area and claim sleeping spots. There were 5 areas so they split themelves into twos, the pairs designated by Namjoon.
Namjoon might be clumsy but he was also vigilant - he didn't miss the awkward atmosphere between Jimin and Yoongi. So in true leader fashion, he decided to do something about it.
"Okay so MJ and Jaeun should obviously share a room, and...Yoongi and Jimin." He beamed, showing his dimples innocently. Although the two of them both went stiff at those words, they couldn't refuse. Yoongi nervously side-eyed the pink haired boy but he was still staring straight ahead, ignoring his presence.
"Well anyway, we should head down for dinner right? Let's go!"
As everyone headed off, Namjoon purposefully lagged behind and strolled towards Yoongi. The dark haired boy looked up at him with "help me" written across his face.
"Why did you put me with Jimin? He's still angry at me!" He whisper-yelled.
"You need to resolve things. If not now, then things will only get harder."
"Well how do I do that then?"
"Just talk to him. Apologise. Communicate."
Namjoon chuckled outloud at the expression on Yoongi's face. "I know you're not good at this stuff but you have to do it for the sake of your friendship. For the sake of the group too."
Yoongi nodded with a sigh. The group soon arrived at the cottage, which was larger than it appeared. Inside the kitchen was homely, with a large table with a checkered cloth situated in the middle, and jars of jam and spices spread across the shelves.
Everyone simultaneously felt excitement rush through them as they saw a large array of foods on the table along with a smiling Chan and Felix waiting for them to sit down. They quickly thanked them for the food and took their seats. A few moments later they were also joined by Minhyuk.
"So, what is it you guys are doing here?" Chan began.
"Oh god not again. I'm not telling this story again." Namjoon begged, and Chan chuckled. "I'm joking, Minhyuk filled me in already." After this Chan didn't ask any more questions, which was a little surprising. Yoongi was sure that if he had such vague details about a group of people, he would be a little sceptical about inviting them to stay over.
"Oh right," Namjoon began, "we didn't quite finish earlier. Minhyuk, how did you end up in this place?"
Everyone ate eagerly whilst listening in on the conversation. Minhyuk didn't have a plate of food in front of him, simply sitting back in his usual cross-legged manner with a blank face.
"Well, as I mentioned before I was sent here with our father as a punishment for Eunwoo-hyung getting involved with criminals. I mean, I know you guys aren't criminals," he immediately defended to MJ and Jaeun, "but you know how the government class people."
"Right, but how was being sent here a punishment?" Jin asked next.
"Well, I wasn't originally sent here. I was actually sent to the next town over. That was the punishment. That place is as bad as Omelas is, maybe worse. On the surface it looks like your average city but everyone there is corrupt. There's too much to go into...but trust me, it's not good.
Well after a while my father died. I was given little to no explanation, I was just told that he died at work. I was 15 then."
"Where did he work?" Taehyung piped up, mouth full of spaghetti.
"My father was a scientist. I don't know how he died but I'm willing to bet my life that it was something suspicious. I won't rest until I find out.
But anyway, I got a job and tried to fend for myself but it's hard when you're young. I shared an apartment with some older men but they treated me like trash, making me do all the chores and stuff...eventually I decided to run away and I ended up here."
There was a short silence. Yoongi sensed from the way Chan looked up at Minhyuk as he spoke that he had left out a significant detail. But he didn't pry.
Namjoon hummed. "I see. So you've stayed here ever since?"
"Yep, with us!" Chan spoke up. "This place belonged to my family so I inherited it and I've stayed here ever since, with Felix of course. I have to look out for him." His voice softened at the end, piquing everyone's curiosity.
"I? Don't you mean we? Felix is your brother of course, so surely you both inherited it." MJ asked.
"Could it be...you two aren't actually brothers?" Yoongi quickly deduced. Chan smiled wryly.
"Yeah...you could say that. Felix is my little cousin. But to me he's a brother." he looked over to his cousin and ruffled his blonde locks fondly, causing him to chuckle.
A short while later, all the food had gone and Chan encouraged Felix to go to bed. As Yoongi watched them he noticed how although Chan called Felix his brother, he really acted as more of a parental figure to the boy.
Chan suddenly let out a loud sigh. "I didn't want to bring it up while he was here, but there's more to the story." He began.
"My uncle and aunt, Felix' parents, weren't nice people. They didn't look after him, they barely even took the effort to feed him properly, or pay any attention to what he was doing. We lived on the outskirts of the city, not far from them, so Felix often came over to our place to play with me. He spent practically all of his time with us."
Chan sighed again. "We weren't particularly wealthy either. We barely had enough money to feed ourselves even without Felix. But no matter how much he was ignored, Felix always talked about his parents with a hopeful glint in his eye." He added in a whisper, "it killed me inside."
"Not long after, my aunt and uncle left without warning. They moved to the city, the one Minhyuk mentioned before. And they didn't take Felix with them. They didn't even tell him. He was eight years old. Eight." As he explained through gritted teeth, everyone could sense the hatred he felt towards those people. Rightly so.
"Of course we took him in. But it was so hard on our family to have an extra mouth to feed. I remembered my parents telling me when I was younger about how our grandparents worked on a farm. My dad inherited it from them, but he moved closer to the city for more reliable work. No one ever bought the farm though.
So when I turned 14 (and Felix was 9), I decided to take Felix with me and leave. My parents understood why. They always supported us and told us we could come back, but I wanted so hard to ease their burden. They had worked nonstop for years for us. It was my turn to take responsibility."
But how could you bare the responsibility of looking after a child when you were practically a child yourself? Yoongi wondered. Suddenly their complaining about having to fend for themselves once they ran away seemed obsolete.
"...And that's it. It was hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Felix is my brother. Brothers have to stick together."
There was a moment of silence, seemingly out of astonishment. None of them really expected a story like that from this happy-go-lucky guy.
"That's enough depressing stories anyway, it's late."
"You're right, we should head off. Thank you for the food." Namjoon thanked with a bow.
"No problem, see you in the morning!"
A/N: what do you think of these new characters so far? And do you have a favourite character? :)
Also as promised updates are every week on Tuesday now!