~ 1 year ~
Florida, 2020
Drinking law: 18+ (it's my world, I can do what I want 😂😤)
Things will go sort of fast due to it being a short story.
---
"In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take." ~ unknown
"Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive." ~ Matt Cameron
_____ _____ _____ _____
'
Routines suck' Taehyung thought 'why is my life so boring? Everyone else is having fun or are happy, why not me?'
He stared at himself in the mirror, toothbrush hanging out of his mouth and bit of blue toothpaste on his dry, pink lips. His brown hair was pulled back by a headband and he was wearing nothing but a large T-shirt he bought at a thrift store that simply had "Gone" written on it in the middle and a pair of boxer shorts with puppies on them. His face was oily looking and he had a pimple near his temple that would be easily be covered by his hair once he combs it. He looked...normal, boring.
Everything about him was boring besides the fact that he's a foreigner but that's only exciting for others, not for him. His life is boring. His home: a small, one-bedroom, one-bath apartment with a somewhat pretty view of the city and minimalist decor; his car: a simple, white, Nisan Sentra with a flower necklace, a tree air freshener, and a flamingo hanging from the mirror; his job: a secretary at a popular business, just answering calls and making appointments. The only exciting thing in his life are his friends: Kim Namjoon, his long-term girlfriend Keunji, Kim Seokjin and his fiance Jung Hoseok.
Taehyung met Seokjin at school, the older male is in his last year of university, earning his bachelor's degree in medicine. They are in the same physics class and were paired together for a project. And through Seokjin, he met Hoseok. Through Taehyung, his friend group came together and Keunji isn't even mad she's the only female, she feels superior in a way.
His friends try to get him to do stuff, to push him out of his comfort zone, but the brunette always rejects their offers. So his life being boring is his fault and his fault only. Sometimes he can't help but wonder what and who he'd be if he had stayed in Daegu, but he shut that thought out because he knew he was better here than there.
Today, he didn't have anything to do. School was out, he didn't have to work, it was a Saturday, nice and hot outside.
He finished brushing his teeth and washed his mouth out before looking back into the mirror. 'I'm tired of looking so dull, so boring' he thought. He removed his headband and ran his fingers through his thick brown locks, watching them flop onto his forehead. Humming, he stood up straight and grabbed his phone from beside his sink. He unlocked it and went to his messages which was now much fuller than it was a year ago. He tapped on the group chat made by Hoseok which consisted of Hoseok as admin, Taehyung, Seokjin, Namjoon, and Keunji. He sent a quick text which gathered immediate responses.
The brunette lightly chuckled at their responses as walked into his bedroom, dropping his phone on his bed. He grabbed a pair of black joggers and changed his large T-shirt for one that fit him better.
Seokjin didn't lie when he said he'd be there in twenty minutes. The brunette was startled by insane knocking at his door and he was met with Seokjin holding a bag from a beauty store a few minutes from where Taehyung lived, Namjoon, and Keunji.
"Time for a new you!" Seokjin exclaimed, grabbing Taehyung's wrist and pulling the younger male towards his bathroom. "I've been waiting for this my whole life."
"To change me?"
"No, idiot, do dye your boring ass hair," Seokjin said.
"Why did you decide to dye your hair?" Keunji asked, leaning against the wall.
Taehyung shrugged. "I just think its time for a change, my life is so boring."
"Change as in...just hair?" Namjoon asked.
Taehyung shrugged again as Seokjin started to do his hair. "I want to start with my hair...I thought it'd be exciting."
Keunji giggled. "How about next we put some makeup on?"
"I'm a guy-"
"Joon lets me do his makeup, masculinity is social construct, men can wear makeup."
Taehyung looked at himself in the mirror, how his skin looked bland and oily, the pimples, dry lips - "okay."
Keunji cheered, throwing her hands up. "I'll be back, my makeup kit is in our car."
Seokjin didn't tell him what colour hair dye he decided to buy and Taehyung only figured out after getting his hair bleached and when the older male began to put in the dye. On the box was a woman with the brightest colour of red hair Taehyung has ever seen. While doing his hair, Seokjin blabbed about anything he could think of. Hoseok wasn't there because he had to go to a teacher's meeting and Seokjin was because their dog was on a playdate with their neighbour's dog.
Did Taehyung ever feel like he was the fifth wheel when they all hung out together? Yes, most definitely, so he secretly enjoyed the fact that Hoseok wasn't there. All four tried to make him feel included but Taehyung still didn't like hanging out with them when their other half is there, as selfish and fake-friendish as it sounds.
"Do you want to go clubbing tonight?" Keunji asked as she traded places with Seokjin who put Taehyung's hair in a net so the dye could sink in. She took Taehyung's face in her hand and dipped her finger in cream. "This will make your face smoother and when you wash it off, it cleanses it."
"Clubbing?" Taehyung asked.
"Yeah, who said anything about clubbing?" Seokjin interjected.
"Joon and I were talking about it, we've been so cooped up with school and work that we should release so we were talking about going to Neon if you guys want to come that'd be great."
Taehyung wanted to say no, as he knew they knew what he felt about clubs and drinking. He hated the idea of being around alcohol-smelling people who brushed up against him with no care and he wasn't even a fan of drinking unless it was a glass of wine to settle down stress from school. But then he began thinking about how boring his life was and how he was thinking about adding excitement earlier.
"I... I'll think about it..." He said, watching Keunji carefully rub mint-coloured cream on his face.
"Oh my gosh, you're changing," she said. "I don't know if I should feel excited or scared."
"Live life to the fullest," Namjoon said, "Tae finally wants to live."
The other two seemed to agree and Taehyung wondered if it was because they all secretly wanted Taehyung to change and be more open with his life; to stop being so closed up and tight. He didn't voice his thoughts but instead smiled and continued talking to the other three until it was time to wash the dye out and the cream off his face.
"This red is going to bring you out so much," Seokjin said, "you looked cute with brown hair but this red hair is going to make you look sexy and gorgeous."
"Jin, stop," Taehyung whined. He hated being complimented.
"It's true! If I weren't happy with Joon, I'd so~ be with you."
"Keun!" Namjoon exclaimed, "my feelings."
"Don't worry, I'll always love you!" Keunji said, flicking some of the cream at Namjoon. It landed on his black shirt and he groaned and grabbed one of Taehyung's face wipes from the shelf above the toilet to wipe it off only for it smear and there to be a big wet mark on his chest. "Look what you did!"
Taehyung chuckled as they began to bicker back and forth. Seokjin rolled his eyes, "Hobi and I don't even fight this much."
"That's because you two are just happy spirits floating around," the newly redhead said as Seokjin fluffed his hair.
"He one time tried to start an argument with me because I ordered him a milkshake and he didn't want me to waste money but then he went behind me the next day and ordered me a milkshake to which I yelled at him and then we started arguing about wasting money and it ended because we both screamed "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" and then we moved on."
"That's...that's amazing," Taehyung chuckled, "you two should be couple or marriage counsellors."
"Yeah, our patients will have to come in and scream "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" for an hour straight."
Keunji pushed Seokjin out of the way and began placing all her different makeup items on the sink before him. Taehyung watched the foreign objects, not knowing anything about any one of them besides mascara, lipstick, and blush.
"Did you buy out all of Saphora and Morphe?" Seokjin asked.
"Bro, you should have seen her when that Shane Dawson dude's pallet we released, she was like a wild animal," Namjoon laughed.
"They just don't understand," the blonde girl said as she tried to match his skin colour with her makeup.
The makeup ended up looking good, she finished up by doing his eyebrows and trying to add false eyelashes to which Taehyung wouldn't allow. She gave him a natural look and the only thing that screamed makeup with his glossy glips which he kept licking and getting scolded for.
"I'm telling my followers that this is my new boyfriend," Keunji said, leaning her closer to Taehyung's and snapping multiple pictures.
"Yeah, well, I'll just start hanging out with that girl in my animal science class," Namjoon said.
Doing his makeup ended up being kind of useless as the four just lazed around his cozy apartment. Taehyung lived with Namjoon and Keunji for a while until acquiring his current job which paid well. It's been approximately three months or so since he's lived on his own after finding a fully-furnished apartment with reasonable rent. He loves living on his own as he felt like a burden and an intruder on his best friend and his girlfriend's private life. Of course, it got lonely and eventually boring, seeing the same thing over and over again but as of today, Taehyung was deciding to spice up his life so maybe that even included his apartment. Maybe.
Around six, after watching multiple movies and TV shows, Keunji finally said,
"So about that club..."
"I texted to ask Hobi, he said he wants to go," Seokjin said, "the meeting went on forever because they're discussing how fundraisers for a coworker's daughter."
"Okay...TaeTae?" Keunji sat up from her seat beside Namjoon. "You don't have to drink or anything, just come and have fun!"
"You did say you want to spice your life up a little bit and stop living like an old man in a retirement community," Namjoon reminded.
Taehyung sat back against Seokjin's arm which had fallen behind him from being wrapped around his shoulders. He hummed aloud, his vision blurring as red strands flopped in over of his face and got in the way of his mascara-ed eyelashes.
"Okay I'll go—" Keunji pushed herself up to cheer but Taehyung stopped her, "wait! But you have to show me the best fruit drink they have and! And— you can't leave me behind to get taken and sold as a sex slave."
"I promise we won't leave you!" Keunji said, practically jumping over the table to hug the redhead. "Now we have to find something for you to wear! Off to the mall because we all know your closet is full of stuff even my grandma wouldn't like."
---
Word Count: 2015
Q: Best alcoholic fruit drink?
AA (author answer): I never tasted them but mimosas look sooooooooooooo good