Berea's Got Idols

by BangtanCoe

BTS members (under different names) meet from different states and countries and become housemates at Berea College, having little background with each other previously. Their living quarters and classes in Berea draw them closer together, and eventually they come to understand each other more than anyone else ever could. Their backstories are roadblocks they each must overcome.

21. Chapter 20: The Sugar Family

p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanBacon…" Namjoon muttered under his breath, his senses awakening him just enough to smell the scent that trickled in from the downstairs kitchen. Drool even began to slip from the corner of his mouth as he hugged his pillow, unaware that the scent wasn't just in his dream./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI smelled it first…" Hoseok yawned as he rolled onto his left side and reached over to pick up his phone off of the bedside table, pressing the home button to read the time, "... Hey… I think we should get up. It's already 10:30," he stated as he sat up and ruffled his hair./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan10:30? There's still time…" Namjoon groaned as he switched position to his stomach, his face buried now in his pillow. After just a few seconds, however, his head raised, and he looked 8over at Hoseok with curiosity, "The smell is real? Who's making the bacon?"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanProbably Jin hyung." Hoseok replied, his eyes watching as Namjoon sat up beside him. He shook his head and gestured at his face with a grin once he noticed the drool that remained on his chin, "You must have slept well; you're a complete mess!"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Namjoon scoffed at Hoseok's comment and rubbed the liquid from his face with his t-shirt sleeve, "After that long drive, I'd certainly hope that I slept well. Anyway… I hope Jin hyung didn't have to get up too early to find somewhere to get food. We didn't even bring cookware, so I'm kind of surprised…"/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Hyung has his way of taking care of things, that's for sure." Hoseok nodded in agreement has he began to text the household's group chat: "/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Anyone else awake? Looks like Jin hyung already went out without us!/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;""/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Hoseok's text sent off a ding on Taehyung's phone, which had been left somewhere on the bed that Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook all shared, two rooms down from Hoseok and Namjoon./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... Phone…" Taehyung mumbled, refusing to move a muscle from his current position. He was rather comfortable as he lay on his stomach with his arm rested over Jimin's upper torso. He and Jimin had been forced towards the edge of the bed because Jungkook had gotten too hot and kicked everything away from him./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanMine's on silent…" Jimin replied as he gently moved Taehyung's arm out of the way so he could roll onto his side and pick up his phone off the floor. "Oh, it's Hoseok hyung... Huh? He says Jin hyung already went out."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhat? Oh, that must be why we smell bacon…" Taehyung remarked as he purposely moved himself closer to Jungkook, maneuvering one of his arms under the maknae's back so he could hug his torso, "Jungkookie-yah~ wake up~."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jungkook's eyebrows knitted together as he felt the sudden pressure around his torso and his immediate reaction was to try and push Taehyung away./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Taehyung grinned as he refused to be pushed away and began to blow towards his ear, knowing that it could be quite bothersome. Jungkook tried to swat the air away and groaned as he tried to roll over but couldn't. Taehyung and Jimin were certainly getting a laugh out of this!/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"We're waking Jungkook now; all that's left is Yoongi hyung./spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"" /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Jimin texted back to Hoseok in the group chat./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWAKE 'N' SHAKEN, IT'S TIME FOR BACON!" A foreign female voice shouted up the stairs, causing all of the boys in the house to freeze at the unexpected presence of a stranger (and a female one at that)./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Quickly, each of them began texting to one another in the group chat, now uncertain as to whether or not they should leave their rooms. After all, many of them had slept in their boxers, and their suitcases remained downstairs in the living room!/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Taehyung: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Are we in the wrong house?!/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Namjoon: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"We were able to get in, so I don't think so…/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Jimin: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Did someone leave the door unlocked?/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Namjoon: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"No, I checked it before we went to bed/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Hoseok: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Maybe they returned home early?/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Jin: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"They didn't everything is fine :)/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Jimin:/span span style="font-variant: normal;"Hyung, what's going on?/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Taehyung: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"We deserve an explanation; all our clothes are downstairs! D:/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Suddenly all of them could hear a door slamming down the hall and footsteps hurrying down the stairs, but the shouting that occurred afterwards wasn't loud enough for any of them to understand./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Jin quickly texted to the group just as Yoongi stormed into the kitchen: /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;""/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"I'll bring your suitcases up."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhat the hell are you doing here! If I had known you were going to walk into this house on your own, I wouldn't have given you the passcode. What is going through your head?! There are seven men staying here, and you think it's okay to waltz right in?" Yoongi scolded the girl that stood in the kitchen./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Leaning against the counter in front of the many pancakes and pieces of bacon she just finished making with Jin, Alyssa Sugar couldn't help but grin when she saw her brother enter the kitchen. It had been several months since their last meeting, so she had been looking forward to their arrival for weeks! "Surpriiiiiise?" she joked as she threw random jazz hands in the air before rushing up to him and throwing her arms around his neck, "It's great to see you! But… did you get some kind of makeover this semester? Are you taking a fashion class? You look comfortable yet somehow totally fashionable." she commented as she took a step back to look him over./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAlyssa, you're not listening to me. We just came in at 3 am last night and left all of our clothes down here, and one of them could have come down at any point wearing his boxers. Wait… how did you meet Jin hyung? Was he fully clothed?" Yoongi tried not to give in to his sister as he hoped to convey to her how serious this was. "And what are you wearing? It's the middle of winter and you're wearing a dress, which isn't even your first pick for clothing. You usually wear sweatpants and sweatshirts; is there some kind of special thing going on today?" He was genuinely concerned about his sister's reputation and well being!/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Yes, he was, and what's wrong with me wearing a dress now and then? Come on, why are you being like this? I just wanted to surprise you…" she pouted as she gestured to the food, "I've been cooking for an hour and a half…"/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi breathed a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. She was making this really difficult for him, and he was really stuck between being upset with her and being happy to see her. "Look I'm not discounting the fact that you made food. But you're really missing the point. Promise me you won't do this again. And get some pants on when you get back home, sheesh."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... Alright, alright, so I should have said something before coming, but... " she was going to make several more excuses, but she realized she should just do as asked, "Fine, I promise."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanGood. Now that that's settled, let's set some ground rules. All of them are off limits. They're too old for you, they're not your type, they're not good looking. So get all of that out of your head, okay? Okay, good talk."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanDaebak…" Hoseok shook his head, having overheard the last bit of their conversation from the bottom of the nearby stairs. "Caught in the act-look at how you talk about us behind our backs." he tisked as he entered the kitchen to greet Yoongi's sister. However, before he could get any word out to say hello, she was quick to speak up first./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHeeeey, you're phone thief guy!" Alyssa spoke up, throwing her hand out to shake hands with him now that they were finally meeting./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Hoseok laughed a bit as he took hold of her hand and shook it as well, "I take it that you're ABS."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanActually… only my brother calls me that on occasion. But you can call me Alyssa." She corrected as she pulled her hand away once the shake was completed, "And your name is?"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAh it's-well…" Hoseok exchanged glances with Yoongi, uncertain as to whether or not he should give her his English or Korean name. These days he really preferred his Korean name…/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanPick a name, any name. Evan already told me you guys have Korean names, so pick what makes you comfortable. But to be fair, I might completely butcher your Korean name, sooooo it's up to you." Alyssa had no experience with the Korean language, so she had to be honest about the fact she would probably be unable to say the name properly./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanRight. In that case, my name's Rhodon Hope." Hoseok responded so as to make things easier for her. At this time, several of the other housemates began trickling in now that they had gotten fully dressed, obviously very eager to start eating breakfast. Honestly, Yoongi wished they would for once dress like trash…/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa stared at the boys as they entered the kitchen, her eyes wide as she pursed her lips to keep from saying anything. She cleared her throat and looked over at her brother, her eyebrows raised knowingly. "Yeah… they don't look good AT ALL… But you know… I know someone who runs a fashion magazine." she commented to her brother quietly with a grin./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi practically glared at his sister, not quite appreciating her sarcasm and what she was implying. He again mouthed to her "Off. Limits."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa laughed a bit, before again introducing herself to the rest of the group, "Hey guys, I'm Evan's sister, Alyssa. It's nice to meet you; my brother's spoken a lot about you. And I mean a lot. All good things, of course! Well… I think."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWait… Rhodon what IS your Korean name? He only refers to you guys by your Korean names.. Oh and can you tell me where you're from?" Alyssa wanted to try and connect what her brother had said about his friends with the faces of the people she was finally meeting./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, it's Hoseok, and I'm from Canada." He answered, not wanting to confuse her by telling both his first and last Korean names./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOhhhh, okay. Can the rest of you introduce yourselves with your English and Korean names?" Alyssa asked as she waited for the next person to speak./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanUh.. I'm Taehyung, and my English name is Aiden Valentine. I'm from Kentucky."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanMy name is Jimin, aaaand my English name is Andy Chimabue. I'm from Texas."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhat's up, I'm Namjoon, also known as Hiroshi. I'm from Japan."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHi, I'm Jin from South Korea, nice to meet you."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"An awkward silence commenced after they all finished as they waited for Jungkook to speak up, but it wasn't until Jin nudged him that he snapped out of whatever daze he was in that he finally said something./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI'm Jungkook from England." he said quietly./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanUh… Jungkookie-yah… English name." Jimin reminded him, "And you might want to speak up a little."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jungkook sighed before speaking louder for her to hear, but he still didn't quite make eye contact with her, "I'm Jungkook, or Damien, and I'm from England."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhaaaaat, Evan, I'm so proud of you. You've made friends with people from all over the world! Wait, how old are you guys anyway?" Alyssa asked curiously./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanThat doesn't matter, come on, let's eat. The food's getting cold." Yoongi answered as he gestured for everyone to grab a plate and dig in. While he was somewhat excited that his best friends were finally meeting his sister, he couldn't deny that he was concerned that one of them may end up getting too close to her. It was a worry any protective brother had! So until he was comfortable, he didn't want them to exchange too much information with each other as of right now./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSeriously though, how old are you? You and Yoongi hyung seem pretty close." Namjoon asked as he waited in line behind Jin to get the food./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, I'm 17. He's a couple years older, but we've always had a pretty good connection, for siblings you know?" She responded./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh really? Our Jungkook is 17, too. He's young for a college student because he was home schooled." Namjoon informed her, just trying to hold some friendly conversation./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanDang, he's really lucky. High school's a nightmare." Alyssa frowned as she looked over at Jungkook since he was the one they were talking about./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWell if you ask me, college really isn't any different. At least our school isn't. I guess at most colleges you have so many students that no one cares or knows about others attending the school unless they sit beside each other in class. But at our school, almost everyone has met each other once, even if just passing by and saying hello. Small colleges have drama just like high school, just a different kind." Taehyung replied, though he was just speaking his opinion of course./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanRemind me not to attend your college then." Alyssa laughed a bit as she briefly glanced at her brother to make sure he was okay. She wasn't sure how much of his concern was real, or if he was mostly joking when it came to forming any friendships with his housemates./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan? /span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"ﾝﾅﾥ/span/font/span/spanspanspan? I DON'T WANT A LOT FOR CHRISTMAS/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"THERE IS JUST ONE THING I NEED/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWho's playing the Christmas music? Is that someone's phone?" Hoseok asked as he already began dancing excitedly, swinging his arms back and forth as he snapped to the beat. He was already invading Jin's space to intentionally bother him and make him dance as well./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE PRESENTS/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, that's mine. Isn't it great!" Alyssa exclaimed, letting it ring on the dining table because she was in the middle of putting food on her plate./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"UNDERNEATH THE CHRISTMAS TREE/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOf all songs, you choose the most annoying, overplayed song of the Christmas season." Yoongi commented with a roll of his eyes and a grin on his face as all of the boys were already singing along, even though most of them didn't even know most of the words. Honestly it was just a bunch of yelling and terrible singing; weren't they supposed to be good at this? "Who is it anyway? You do person-specific ringtones don't you?"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"I JUST WANT YOU FOR MY OWN/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, it's mom. Her ringtones change with the seasons." Alyssa replied nonchalantly as she finally finished getting her food and headed over to the table./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"spanspanMAKE MY WISH COME? /span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"ﾝﾅﾥ/span/font/span/spanspanspan?-/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHello?"Alyssa finally put an end to the song -to all the boys' disappointment- and answered the phone to speak with their mother./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"While Alyssa was on the phone, the boys merely finished getting food before joining her at the table and quietly talking amongst themselves. No food remained in the kitchen as the seven of them were quite hungry after their long trip of junk food from gas stations and fast food restaurants. Not that pancakes and bacon were much healthier, but it was a step up!/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSo what's the plan for today hyung? Are we gonna go shopping?" Hoseok asked excitedly, ready to go out into the big city, possibly visit L.A. as they began their California travels./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanUh… not today. I think my family wants to meet you guys today, and my dad works tomorrow, so it's kind of more ideal I guess." Yoongi replied, though he was uncertain as to what the plans were. His mom probably had a much better idea of what they would all be doing today than his father did, so hopefully that was why she called Alyssa./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"All of them gasped, having expected to meet them on a later date, or maybe not even at all. They really didn't think Yoongi would actually follow through with them meeting his family, "You mean, we'll actually get to meet the people who raised you today?" Taehyung asked teasingly./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... My parents, yes." Yoongi responded, giving him a strange look. It had taken a lot for him to consider letting the others into his past, but he knew it wasn't even a guarantee that he would be completely exposed. Even so, he was hoping for a release of sorts… He didn't like that he felt so secretive and so dishonest every time one of the others talked about something that had happened to them. There were only three of them that he didn't quite know the history of, though of course he didn't know anyone's complete life. He felt it was time to be open./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAre they like you? I mean… cool headed and composed most days?" Jimin asked, quickly saying something to boost Yoongi's ego in case he thought he was questioning him in a negative way./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWell…" Yoongi began, though his eyes glanced over at Alyssa just as she put her phone down, "What'd she say? Is there a plan?"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanShe just said to go to dad's place after we're done eating. Everyone will be there except our dear little brother, who is apparently too busy selling popcorn to Walmart customers with his fellow Boyscouts." Alyssa replied, actually rather amused by their younger brother, "You know, he's been working hard to get those badges to prove he's better than you. Not in a bad way, but I mean… it's his way of competing I guess."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWait… exactly what is he competing for? Not to say anything negative about you AT ALL, hyung, but… you don't exactly seem like the outdoorsy, Boyscout badge kinda guy." Jimin laughed a little with the others who couldn't help but agree./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanThat's because I'm not. I was in Boyscouts, and the troop leader hated me because I didn't want to do most of the tasks. I appreciate nature and all, but I wanted to be in a music studio, not in the forest. If I were to get any badge, I think it would be the underachiever badge." Yoongi laughed a little as well, "I think my brother is just in a phase where he wants to prove his worth in some shape or form, so I don't mind. I'll just remind him not to take it too far."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYeah, brothers are like that sometimes." Jungkook commented with a small smirk. Once he made eye contact with Alyssa, however, his gaze quickly returned to his pancakes so he could finish eating./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa grinned when she noticed that Jungkook was trying to avoid looking at her. It was oddly adorable how shy he was! Her eyes watched him out of pure curiosity as to how he could possibly be close to her brother. They were so different!/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi had just finished his last bite of pancake, and as he was chewing, he looked up to see that his sister was staring at Jungkook. He scowled at her and promptly nudged her foot with his own. He swallowed before he whispered to her, "Off. Limits."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa rolled her eyes at her brother, "You're ridiculous, you know that?" She whispered back. "Alright, we should be heading out soon. You and your friends can just meet me there. I'm getting Starbucks." She stood and picked up her plate to wash it in the sink./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanJust place your dishes in the sink; I'll wash it." Jin offered with a smile. He was grateful that Yoongi's sister had been so helpful and nice so far, and this wawa the best he could do to help in return./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHey, Alyssa, can I go, too? Starbucks sounds great!" Taehyung asked hopefully./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHow many can you fit in your car? I'd like to come, if that's alright." Namjoon said as he helped clean up Taehyung's plate as well as his own./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jungkook quickly stood and leaned over to whisper into Namjoon's ear, "If you go can you get me a coffee, too?"/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Namjoon gave him a strange look as he stood up, "Sure, I guess?"/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhy don't you just come with us? I can have 3 people." Alyssa offered, knowing fully well that Jungkook was asking about coffee too./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHow about all of us boys just go to Starbucks ourselves? We all want it, and Alyssa can't fit us all. Let's just go after we clean up." Yoongi almost interrupted Alyssa once she suggested that Jungkook come, too. He was worried that since Jungkook and Taehyung were so close to her age, maybe they could become too close to her. Well… it didn't help that she was very obviously just trying to annoy him all morning./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhatEVER you want, big bro. I'm outta here." Alyssa lightly punched Yoongi's shoulder teasingly as she walked past him to leave, "See you guys at the farm!" And with that, she was gone./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The boys all stopped what they were doing to stare at Yoongi now that they were finally alone together. Alyssa was definitely an interesting character, and while they enjoyed her company, it had definitely come as a huge surprise to be meeting her for breakfast./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSo… that's your sister, huh?" Namjoon grinned at Yoongi as he and Jin finished gathering up everyone else's plates./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, shut up…" Yoongi replied grumpily as his eyes practically glared in Jungkook's direction./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... What are you looking at me for? I didn't say or do ANYTHING," Jungkook defended himself in response to Yoongi's accusing look./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanDon't pay him any mind. He's just really protective of his sister, didn't you notice?" Jimin replied with a laugh, "You should really loosen up a bit, hyung. She is her own person, and you can't control her."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI'm not trying to control her. I'm just… trying to make sure no one gets in anybody's else's business. Alyssa is Alyssa. You guys are… well, you GUYS. Just. Promise, okay?" Yoongi said in a very matter-of-fact tone of voice./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... Exactly what are you implying?" Namjoon asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanNamjoon, let me say this very clearly: Keep your hands to yourself, or you're gonna catch mine." Yoongi glared at him./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jungkook looked at Taehyung quizzically, "What does that even mean?"/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Taehyung shook his head and just waved off Jungkook's question, "Yoongi hyung is just being cranky because he hasn't had much sleep, and he's in an uncomfortable position right now. It's best to just listen to what he says."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAre we going to sit here and talk about this all day, or are we going to get Starbucks?" Yoongi was already tired of having the conversation about his sister, knowing very well that all he was going to receive from the others was teasing./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHey, guys, let's go easy on him. This is just how it is with siblings," Hoseok interjected before anyone else could make another comment. Even though his sisters were older than him, he still had that feeling of protectiveness over them that couldn't be easily explained to anyone that hadn't experienced it before. "Sorry if we've made this hard on you at all, hyung. The last thing we want is to misplace the trust you have in us."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;"Yoongi exhaled through his nose. "Yeah, I know. I'm not /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"really/span span style="font-variant: normal;"worried." The last thing on his mind was his friends doing anything that would ruin their friendships. His sister appearing out of the blue without much regard for what could possibly be going on in the house was just an added talley to the list of stressors that had been piling up. "Seriously, though, let's get out of here."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou heard him, guys! Let's go!" Jimin called out excitedly./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The seven of them hurriedly cleaned everything and headed outside to climb into the van. Coffee was a much-needed beverage for many of them this morning, which was obvious from all the yawning they were doing on the way there. It took nearly 30 minutes for the boys to arrive at the Sugar family home since their stop at Starbucks had taken a good portion of that time./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi was the only person who didn't get coffee this time around. He would've gotten one if his internal turmoil wasn't already stressing him out. His heart was already beating faster than he liked, and caffeine might just make him feel sick. Was he glad his housemates were with him? Yes, maybe? He didn't know… He thought they could help him feel more at ease upon his return home, but he also worried he was being too selfish… What if something happened that would ruin the whole vacation for them? Would this trip change their opinion of him? It was too late to turn back now…/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi probably shouldn't have been driving due to how stressed he was, but his outside composure remained steady and merely slightly absent. Some of the housemates had tried talking to him a few times, but he only responded with brief answers since he wasn't really listening. Once he pulled into the family's driveway, he put the car in park, turned off the engine, and stopped for a moment as he stared at the large, two-story home in front of him./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"This house really did seem like the picture perfect place to grow up in. The front yard was well-kept, and along the driveway and surrounding the house there were beautiful shrubberies and trees to give a nice, warm welcome. The house itself had a sleek, modern design, and in the driveway there was a large, sleek black hummer. Beside the hummer was Alyssa's old, paint-eroded, red Honda Civic; it seemed quite misplaced alongside the hummer./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Well… here it is." Yoongi sighed. He felt glued to his seat, as if something had its hold on him and wouldn't release him./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Huh… and to think that I thought you were homeless when we first met." Taehyung scoffed at himself and laughed. He still couldn't believe he had made such an assumption./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The others laughed with him as they unbundled their seat belts and got out of the car. Yoongi couldn't even fake a laugh due to his mood at the moment, so he merely offered a small smile in Taehyung's direction and slowly unbundled his own seat belt. He opened the driver door, but again struggled to leave the van. It was then he realized that Alyssa seemed to have been waiting on him. She was leaning against the side of her car and had only just turned to look at Yoongi once he opened the door. She looked a little more upset than she had earlier./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Glad you made it." Alyssa waved slightly at the boys as she walked to Yoongi's side to have a quiet conversation with him. "Dad's late. I had told him we would be here around this time, but you know how he is. He and Beverly decided to go out for breakfast real quick." Beverly was the stepmother of nearly 8 years now. Alyssa was obviously annoyed by their father's lack of common courtesy, but her facial expression softened when she brought up their mother, "Mom's almost here. It's been a while right?"/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Yeah… I want to see her, but is it really okay that she's coming here? I know she and dad are still friends, but… coming around at a meeting for the holidays? I don't think Beverly will like it." Yoongi commented. He didn't care as much about his step mom's feelings as much as he worried about his own mom feeling comfortable. He wasn't surprised by his dad's actions and honestly, it put him more at ease knowing that his father had not yet arrived./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Yeah well… she wanted to see you as soon as possible. I think she's held in the excitement for so long that she could implode at any moment," Alyssa laughed a little to ease the tension in the air. However, she cleared her throat and quieted down again, "Hey… let's try to be as agreeable as possible okay? I know how you feel, and I'm on your side. Let's just lay low."/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi smiled a little when Alyssa mentioned how excited their mom was. He spent most of his summers with his mom, but this past summer he had actually been doing an internship through his college. His mom only saw him during the first 2 weeks of summer! As for his dad… well, now that he was older, he really only saw him on holidays that his dad insisted upon./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""...yeah. It'll be fine, don't stress okay? I know I was a bit of an asshole this morning, but-"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""I know." Alyssa interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. She knew why he was on edge, and she was too. "I'm not upset. Anyway, let's just try to ignore where we are and enjoy the company, okay?" She remarked with a smile, her eyes averting to Yoongi's friends who were all joking around with each other and making weird gestures to one another. "Your friends are weird."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"After Alyssa finished her last comment, Yoongi turned his head to look at his housemates. He was appreciative of Alyssa's ability to understand his feelings, and he definitely welcomed the change of topic. He watched as Jimin was choking up water onto the ground due to his inability to keep in laughter while he was drinking from the bottle in his hand. Jin and Hoseok were busy patting his back to try and help, but of course, they were laughing too. "... They're a refreshing kind of weird, don't you think? Sometimes they drive me crazy because they're so loud, but they're not too bad." He remarked without any noticeable expression./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa laughed a little, amused by how soft Yoongi had become since she last saw him. She was happy to see his growth and more than grateful to his housemates for being there for him. "I like them a lot. I think-"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Okaaaaay, good talk. Let's not discuss how much you like my friends, okay?" Yoongi interrupted as he finally jumped out of the van and shut the door behind him. Enough of this feely stuff. His sister didn't often get sentimental with him, so he knew she was just trying to get him into a better mood before they had to walk into this dreadful American-dream home./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The two of them finally joined the others, who were now teasing Jimin for not knowing how to drink water properly. The laughter was almost piercing into Yoongi's ears, in a way that he couldn't quite describe. The mood change was annoyingly sudden for him, but it also made his thinking stop entirely. The noise was a distraction, and for that, it was worth the annoyance./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Wow, first time coming to our house, and you're already slobbering all over our driveway." Alyssa teased Jimin as she joined the group./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jimin's face was completely red from coughing so much and trying to breathe after inhaling that water. He took a few breaths before responding to Alyssa with a small, hoarse voice, "Sorry. It wasn't…" he coughed again, "on purpose." He laughed a little./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Okay, okay, stop laughing and just breathe, will you?" Namjoon shook his head with a grin. He patted Jimin's back once more time to try and help him out./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jimin continued to laugh and cough at the same time; for some reason, even Namjoon's words were funny to him! Soon enough though, he calmed himself down and took several deep breaths before he could at last drink some water properly. At last, he could soothe his throat! He felt relieved to be breathing freely again!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The others raised their eyebrows at Jimin, watching as he finally seemed to get control over himself. When he was finally through, Jin's eyes averted to Yoongi and Alyssa. He didn't know what they had been discussing, but they seemed to be in a better mood of sorts. "Is it okay that we're all out here on the driveway? Your parents are expecting us, right?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi was about to respond, but Alyssa was way faster than he was, "Nah. Our mom will be here in a few minutes, and our dad is out with the stepmother. Not sure when they'll be here, but they will be." She shrugged. She didn't care to spill the beans about what was going on. She seemed rather nonchalant about the matter, but inside she felt just as bitter and annoyed as Yoongi was./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi nearly glared at Alyssa for being so upfront about the awkward situation, but he knew they could either find out now or later. This was probably the best time. His eyes softened a little as his expression turned to one of guilt. He felt bad for not mentioning anything sooner to the boys, "Yeah, uh… Sorry for not explaining. My mom and dad still talk and are weirdly friends, and my dad also married someone else several years ago. So… yeah. They get together every year for the holidays so we can celebrate as a family, so it's not like this is some random confrontational gathering." he laughed nervously. He was so uncomfortable…/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou didn't tell them? That's awkward…" Alyssa commented before looking over at all of the boys who seemed to be very confused. Well, some of them were… Others maybe just didn't know what to say in response. "Don't worry too much. If a brawl breaks out, I'll protect you guys." she smirked, throwing her fist in the air with enthusiasm./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWe hardly need protection." Namjoon laughed a little, amused by the stark difference between Alyssa and Yoongi's personalities. "Appreciate the gesture though."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSpeak for yourself. If there's gonna be a fight, I'd like protection." Hoseok pouted jokingly. Deep down he was kind of serious though… He couldn't have made it any clearer to his roommates that he hated arguments. He was uncomfortable that Yoongi hadn't mentioned anything about the situation sooner, but at the same time he understood… After all, the seven of them were still trying to help each other through their own hardships and secrets were still kept for the sake of sparing happiness. He wanted to be there for all of his friends, and maybe this was a sign that Yoongi simply didn't want to go through this family gathering alone this year. Maybe he needed them./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi slapped his forehead. Why did she have to say it like that? What if they actually think a fight could happen? He was about to argue with her on the matter, but Aiden spoke first./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanIt's okay. If anyone can understand what it's like to have a dysfunctional family, it's us. You've been through a lot for us because of our problems. We're ready to be here for you, too." Aiden stated seriously./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"All of the housemates nodded in agreement with Aiden's comment, offering up encouraging smiles to Yoongi. Of course this wasn't the ideal situation, but they could get through it! Hopefully all of them got along!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi breathed a sigh of relief. He was thankful to his friends for understanding him and being so forgiving towards him for not explaining anything beforehand. He knew he should have spoken up earlier, but… he was selfish. He didn't want to come home alone. He wanted to try and get along with his family, and he hoped that bringing his close friends would help ease his tension with his father and stepmother. "Thanks guys… We'll do our best, but honestly there may be a few times my dad and I won't get along. We have a lot of differences…" he admitted./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSpeaking of differences, here comes mom!" Alyssa exclaimed as she quickly broke away from the group to run to greet her mother./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHey, Alyssa! That's dangerous!" Yoongi shouted after her, though his legs didn't move to chase her. He knew his mom would be careful enough to stop before anything were to happen./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The old, dark blue Toyota van pulled into the driveway and slowed down as soon as Alyssa got in the way. As it slowed, Alyssa walked alongside it once the driver rolled down the window, "Hey, mom! Just pull your van next to my car, okay?" she insisted as she gestured for all of the boys to move from the parking spot./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The group of boys hurriedly moved off the driveway and onto the grass, just in case they got in the way. Once the van pulled in and the engine came to a stop, a woman immediately opened the car door and embraced Alyssa in her arms. "It's so good to see you~~ You look so grown-up! Since when do you wear dresses?" She teased her daughter as she pulled away to get a good look at her. After she was done inspecting her daughter, she then looked to the group of boys who were standing in the grass and just staring at her with curiosity. "My, there are a lot of you, aren't there?" She laughed a little. However, she couldn't find her son in the group. Where was he?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Ahem…" Yoongi cleared his throat to inform his mother that he was standing right behind her, "Over here, mom."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""There you are! My sweet baby! Look how tall you are! And handsome too~~! " His mom exclaimed as she even slipped in a kiss on his cheek./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Mom, mom!" Yoongi quickly pulled away and rubbed his cheek as if rubbing it would get rid of the embarrassment he received from it. "Seriously, you've got to do that in front of my friends? I'm not five anymore, ma." He pouted as he tried to step away to regain his dignity./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Oh, stop being dramatic and let me look at you~" His mother teased as she looked him over, "Still need some sunlight, but you've been working out, haven't you? Since when did you enjoy going to the gym? Ohhh you know what?" She then whispered in his ear, "I'm your biggest fan now! That's why you are working out right? For the dancing? My boy is a full-fledged performer now~~~~~" she once again pulled him into a very tight embrace nearly picking him up off the ground./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Hey, hey, hey! Mom! Would you just-" he tried to get out of her hug and struggled to pull away, practically glaring at his mother, "Cut it out, you're embarrassing me!" He whined as he backed away from her several steps, "How did you even know about that anyway?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""I'm your mother, honey, I know everything." She laughed as she showed him her phone and waved it in front of him, "I shared it with everyone I know, too~~ I'm so proud of my baby boy~~~"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"She reached out to hug him again, but he quickly maneuvered around her and ran over to his friends to hide behind them./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""I'm your oldest son, can you remember that please? I'm not a baby, so cut it out already!" He exclaimed from behind Jin. The boys were cracking up!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"His mom laughed as Yoongi ran away. And she walked around her car to stand in front of the seven of them, "Wow, all of you are such handsome boys~ Right Alyssa?" She looked them up and down, and the boys were quick to stop laughing as they realized that they were now becoming the center of attention. "I've heard so much about you guys~~ Thank you for taking care of Evan for me. He's a handful sometimes, and I know he's a grumpy boy. But isn't he just the sweetest thing?" She teased. "Now why are you all just standing out here? That's not a way to treat your guests, Evan. But first! Greetings~~"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Mom… mom. Could we just, not? You don't need to- aaaaand she's starting," Yoongi face-palmed as he realized his mom was going to get up close and personal with each and every one of them./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""My what a handsome facial structure. You seem like a sweetheart too~. Welcome to Yoongi's family~." Yoongi's mom said sweetly as she pulled Namjoon into a big hug as well. She did this with every single housemate. She would reach over and say something sweet to them, learn their name, and give them a hug at the same time. That is until she paused for a moment after the 5th housemate, "Now wait a moment… weren't there 6 of your friends here?" She questioned as she took a step back and began counting all of the boys again./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jungkook had slipped away to hide behind Namjoon as she had been busy hugging all of them. He wasn't ready for something so intimate with a stranger! However, as soon as Yoongi's mom mentioned someone was missing, all of the housemates pointed to Jungkook and even moved out of the way so she could visibly see him!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""He's a bit skittish when he's meeting strangers. You'll have to excuse him." Jin laughed a little as he grabbed Jungkook before he could run away, "Where are your manners? You have to introduce yourself just like the rest of us. You deserve a hug too~~" They all laughed as Jin teased him./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi's mom stood in front of Jungkook, whose eyes were now fixated on the ground as if avoiding her gaze would keep her from hugging him. Everything about his body language screamed that he was uncomfortable in this situation. And he waited and waited for the hug to come, but… it never did. So slowly, Jungkook's eyes raised to meet hers, his hands subconsciously gripping the hem of his shirt tightly./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Don't worry, I'm not going to hug you, since it makes you so uncomfortable. It's nice to meet you." She said, reaching out her hand for a handshake instead. Jungkook was quick to take this handshake offer instead so he could show his appreciation for not hugging him./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""You make me uncomfortable every time you force me into a hug. Why can't I ever get out of it?" Yoongi muttered as he watched his mother greet the youngest./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""You're my son. Of course I can hug you." His mother retorted with a grin. "Alright boys, let's get you all inside so you can relax. I'm sure your drive here wasn't easy and the time change certainly doesn't help." She said as she waved for them to follow after her./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The boys had no idea what to say at the moment. Everything was strange compared to what was usual. Yoongi was being treated like a baby, his mom was so bubbly and loving, and his mom also happened to have the key to her ex-husband's house. It was… strange wasn't it? This family dynamic was sure to be interesting./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""You guys should see your faces!" Alyssa laughed as she zoomed in with the video camera that she had been recording with this entire time. She finally turned it off as they started to follow after Yoongi's mom, but she obviously succeeded at embarrassing all of them. "Yoongi, can I use this as blackmail against you? I even have your embarrassing hug with mom on here." She grinned as she tapped her camera with love./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""... I'm not giving you the satisfaction of arguing with you." Yoongi scowled at his sister. Why did she have to make this more embarrassing than it already was! Surely he could get that camera away from her when she least expects it. Should be easy enough…/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHey, can you send me that, Alyssa? I'll give you my email!" Taehyung said as he hurried to her side so she could hear him better, "Just don't give it to your brother. He'll destroy it before any of us get to see it."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSure thing! I'll send it once I get it downloaded on my computer!" Alyssa replied with a grin. She was more than happy that someone else could enjoy teasing her brother with her. Yoongi was going to be embarrassed forever! HA!/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"As the nine of them entered the household, the boys were able to notice just how well-off Yoongi's family was. Immediately to the left as they walked in, the boys noticed a large parlor room full of matching plastic-covered furniture, including 2 couches, 3 armchairs, and 3 lamps. Additionally there was an old, brown piano against the wall of the room next to one of the couches. It was clear that this room was not meant for the average gathering./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAnd to your left we have the 'don't you dare touch room.' Go in there and you might just see your life flash in front of your eyes." Alyssa said with a creepily peppy voice./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanTry not to scare them away, 'Lyss." Her mother commented as she led them all to the second common area that looked more normal than the first. At least this living room could actually be used for a real gathering./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"All of them took a seat in the room to await the arrival of Yoongi's dad and stepmom. The boys stared at the oddly painted canvases that adorned the walls. This was such a strange place; it was so unexpected from the image that they all had of Yoongi. They had so much to talk about! However, before anyone could speak up to start a conversation, all of them heard a sound coming from the front of the house which sounded like a low hum. Soon after, the door opened and footsteps were heard entering the house./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWe're home! "Lyssa, didn't I tell you to scrap that car of yours? It's-" Yoongi's father froze when he finally spotted the nine people in his living room. For some reason, he hadn't yet registered the fact that everyone had already arrived, "Oh, uh… sorry. I didn't realize you were all here. It's nice to meet you all. I'm Oliver, and this is Beverly." He introduced himself and his wife who stood beside him./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou mean the van wasn't a good indicator that maybe 7 people just arrived?" Yoongi muttered under his breath. How do you miss an 8 passenger van in the driveway? Oh, right.. He was probably used to all the fancy stuff; it must have looked like a decoration./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanDidn't we just agree to lay low?" Alyssa quietly said to Yoongi through a very fake, wooden smile. "Hey Oli-dad. Sup." She nearly made the mistake of calling him by his first name like she did when she didn't like him./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan...Subtle." Yoongi commented with a smirk. So far, Yoongi:1, Alyssa:0. "Where've you been? You said 11:30 sharp didn't you?"/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Oliver seemed unphased by Alyssa and Yoongi's remarks, and he merely nodded to acknowledge that Yoongi was correct, "Yeah, but you know how things are. Busy as usual. We just dropped Ellie off at her Ballerina class."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, and you cou- I mean… could you tell us next time when plans change? Or like… when you have an appointment?" Alyssa asked, her smile remaining on her face. She might as well be staring daggers at her father, though./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanEllie forgot to tell us that she had another class today." Beverly replied matter-of-factly, defending their father as soon as she recognized their bad attitudes./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, and did she forget her car keys, too?" Alyssa sneered, but she quickly realized that she was supposed to be laying low./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi nearly laughed at Alyssa's comment, but he bit his lip to hold it back. The housemates merely stared at Yoongi and Alyssa and then back to Oliver and Bev in confusion. What was going on?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh please, this is not the time to be throwing about your sarcastic remarks, Alyssa." Beverly rolled her eyes./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi was about to step in, but their mother commented instead, "I'm sure Alyssa was just trying to state that it's easy for a 7-year-old girl to forget something like that. She didn't mean anything rude by it." She was being way too nice about this, but she looked at Yoongi and Alyssa with a knowing look. Her expression basically told them to stop instigating and just be passive. There were guests over after all./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAnd we're being rude to our guests. That wasn't your plan, was it?" Oliver commented towards Yoongi before he offered a smile in Jin's direction and shook his hand to greet him. He proceeded to do this with each of the housemates, but none of them returned the smile. They were already coming to understand his character, and it definitely was not what they had expected./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly took a deep breath and forced a smile as well, "Sorry about the squabbling. I know that it's not a great welcome. You know how families can be sometimes. Anyway, it's very nice to meet you all. We don't know much about you, so we'd love to discuss it over lunch. You all just look… so handsome. Don't they Alyssa? Right up your alley."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi quickly stood up in response to Beverly's last comment, but Alyssa was quick to pull him back down to a seated position. She raised a finger in Beverly's direction, signaling for her to wait before she suddenly audibly gagged and let out a small burp. "Man… that was disgusting. Jesus, Bev, you nearly made me spit out my breakfast."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWatch your language! And your manners… I mean, really." Beverly was very obviously disgusted by her actions./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOkay, okay, let's just… calm down and think sensibly. What you said to my daughter was unacceptable, so screw your high sense of superiority and for once overlook her 'bad manners.' We're all adults here, right? Let's act like it, shall we?" Yoongi's mother finally stood to fight for her daughter in this case. She was not an aggressive person at all, but Bev had crossed a line./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi was angered by Bev's comments towards his sister and the meaning she implied. It was definitely a good thing that their mom stepped in to stop them before he was able to get a word in. He then cleared his throat a little and looked over to his friends apologetically. He had no idea that it would start like this. Usually his first day back wasn't this hectic, so he was beginning to think that maybe Alyssa had had an argument with them this morning… Maybe that was why she showed up at the air bnb so early…/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Everyone became silent in the room before Oliver piped up once more, "You're right Sarah." he nodded towards Yoongi's mother then turned to the guests, "Again we apologize for this… there were some unsolved familial issues we had previously this morning, and I think some of us are still… a little raw from it. I'm sure you all understand. We would appreciate your forgiveness in the matter; let's move past this unpleasant introduction, shall we?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi and Alyssa simultaneously rolled their eyes and stood up. Yoongi gestured for the boys to do the same so they could get out of this room or something. It was apparent that his dad had no intention of joining them in the living room, so there must be something else he had in mind. He hated that he had to hold in all his frustration, but he knew Alyssa was right there with him./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhy don't we go out to the patio by the pool? Get some fresh air and ease some tension, hmm?" Beverly suggested, "I'd love to get to know everyone. I can bring the drinks out."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanThat's a great idea, sweetie." Oliver agreed, "Why don't you get that scotch from the cupboard? This is a time for celebration! And maybe bring out a snack tray as well."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanScotch?" Sarah asked, a little shocked by the suggestion, "Um.. Oliver, can I talk to you for a second? Just… over here." she pulled him away into another room but gestured for Yoongi to take everyone outside so they could speak privately./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Once they were finally outside and away from all the parents, most of the boys all physically let out a sigh of relief. They had become rigid and tense without even noticing it, and only now could they let themselves relax./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Hoseok and Jungkook seemed to be a little traumatized, Jimin and Taehyung were concerned, and Namjoon and Jin seemed to be busy analyzing the situation still. What in the world?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa looked around at the boys and cleared her throat, "Yeah, um… that was a shit show. Sorry. I forgot to tell you guys I got into a fight with them earlier this morning. Probably would have been good information, huh?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi glared at Alyssa in response, "You think? You were the one who told me to lay low! I mean really, what the f-"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAlright let's cool it down." Jin stepped in between them and scratched his head. He had no idea how to solve the situation when he had no background information at all, but… he would try to at least ease the tension, "I obviously don't know what's going on, but try not to blame each other for anything right now. I understand you're angry, but it won't help anything if you just attack each other like this."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou don't understand. Our dad is a lawyer. He went to school to become an asshole. Everything is about winning for him." Alyssa replied with a heavy sigh, "It's not like we try to be in arguments… Beverly just pops up and boom, it's like I'm ready for dad to flip the switch. He likes to pretend like there aren't sides, but that's just the manipulation talking."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAlyssa… let's just stop. I don't want to talk about it." Yoongi said finally, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Let them say what they want to say. We're only here for a short while, anyway."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanEasy for you to say. You don't live here anymore." Alyssa snapped back at him./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanIt's not easy!" Yoongi yelled back, his eyes glaring at her for a mere moment. Soon his whole demeanor softened, however, when he took a brief pause to place a hand on her shoulder, "I don't like leaving you here with them… It's not easy going to college knowing that you have to deal with this. I don't know what you go through, but I have to bear the guilt that comes with it."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa stared at her brother for a moment. She didn't mean what she had said to him… This house was just suffocating and always made her become so defensive about everything. "... I'm sorry…"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... Me too. We just have to stick together on this. Okay?" Yoongi asked as he then looked to his housemates, "I'm sorry guys… I know you didn't expect this, and it's not what I wanted for you either. I had hoped that things wouldn't be like this when you visited, but I was wrong. You guys can leave if you want…"/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Jungkook and Hoseok couldn't deny that this offer was tempting. The arguments were really triggering for them. However, their care for Yoongi made them immediately shake their heads 'no' in agreement with the others./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWe're not going anywhere. We promised we'd be here for you. Until you want us to leave, we're staying by your side. And… that goes for you, too, Alyssa." Namjoon said with an aura of positivity and poise about him./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan...Wow." Alyssa stared up at Namjoon with respect, "Where'd you get him? I want one." She joked to Yoongi, "I'm joking. Obviously."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI was about to say, you nearly vomited when Bet...Beth.. Bev… whatever her name is- mentioned us being your type." Taehyung teased her a little. Honestly, that had been quite amusing. The sarcasm really runs in the family./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Oh that was because of her, not you guys. I don't have anything against any of you or your looks. It's just Beverly. Her comments and implications are what made me gag." Alyssa replied with a shrug. "Anyway… we-" she quickly shut up when she realized that Beverly was walking towards them with a tray of several ice-filled, ornate cups./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly gingerly placed the tray on one of the picnic tables near where the boys were all standing. She then headed back inside to retrieve the alcohol that Oliver had requested./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"As soon as Beverly was back in the home, Jimin quickly piped up, "Hey Yoongi hyung? We won't be judged if we don't drink… right? I mean, most of us are underage." he commented nervously./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanIn England, we're all at a legal age." Jungkook said quietly, though his eyes remained fixed on something in the distance. He seemed kind of… absent./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYeah, well I hate to break the news, but you're not in England, Kookie. Here you can get in big trouble for underage drinking." Hoseok replied as he stuffed his hands into his pants' pockets and heaved an anxious sigh. He wanted to be here for Yoongi's sake, but it was definitely a challenge for him./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHe's right. Besides, I recommend not touching my dad's alcohol." Yoongi said as he gestured for all of them to take a seat wherever they wanted. "You guys can all spread out if you want and sit wherever. You can even stick your feet in the water if you feel like it. I've got to check in on something. Sorry to leave you guys, but I'll be right back." He didn't want to leave his friends in the hands of his stepmother, but he wanted to make sure that his mom was okay. Even Alyssa offered an encouraging gesture to the boys as she also followed Yoongi./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"With his friends left behind at the pool, Yoongi and Alyssa went inside to find their father and mother in a guest bedroom at one end of the house. He wasn't at all surprised to find them having a small argument, but he was grateful there was no yelling involved just yet./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI'm just asking that you defend our children when your wife makes comments like that. Is that too much to ask?" Sarah was obviously very annoyed with Oliver's lack of good parenting./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI know, I know. I didn't think Bev meant anything by what she said to Alyssa, but if Alyssa feels that way, then I'll apologize to her. I mean, if anything Bev was telling Alyssa that she shouldn't be afraid to approach one of those boys; it was just an encouraging statement." Oliver defended his wife, fulling twisting Bev's words into a much kinder meaning than what was actually intended./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAhem…" Alyssa cleared her throat to make her presence known. Both of their parents turned to face Yoongi and Alyssa, but Sarah was the only one who seemed apologetic. Oliver's expression didn't really seem to show anything. "Why can't you just admit that Beverly was basically calling me a slut. You're a lawyer. You know what she meant; you're just twisting her words around so that you can make us out to be the bad guys."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanShe didn't even say that 'Lyss. Would you stop with the dramatics already? I get that you're a teenager, and you're going to butt heads with your step mother, but this is not the right time." Oliver scolded her sternly./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOliver, you-" Sarah was quickly shushed by Alyssa./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanMom, I appreciate you defending me, but I've got this." Alyssa said as she glared at her father, "I'm not wasting my energy on you anymore. You're bound by duty to defend the wrong people. So by all means, keep doing it. By the way… remember how you used to wonder why Evan and I left? Remember how you used to ask us why we chose mom's last name instead of yours? Well, now you know. I can't wait until I'm 18; I still can't believe the courts thought this bullshit was better for me than living with my mother." She stormed off before her father could say another word./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanAlyssa!" Sarah called after her as she followed her out of the bedroom, leaving only Evan and Oliver alone in the room./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"An awkward silence came over the room as the two of them refused to speak the first word. Oliver was busy thinking about Alyssa's words, and he also rarely had the chance to have a conversation with Yoongi. However, Yoongi was simply trying to calm himself down after all that his father had to say about his sister. His dad really had become worse than he remembered. During his breaks, Yoongi often avoided being home as often as possible. He didn't allow his dad into his life. But now, he realized how blind he had become to his sister's hardships./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan...Oliver. This is some serious bullshit, you know that right?" Yoongi commented quietly as he leaned against the wall opposite to his father with his arms crossed, "Alyssa is your daughter, yet you still defend Beverly even when she insults Alyssa right in front of you. Doesn't your own child mean anything to you? You turn a blind eye to the people who should matter to you. If you want to retain this perfect, rich image of yours, maybe you should apologize to the people you neglected. Alyssa should be your priority. As soon as she turns 18... we won't be a part of your life anymore. You have 2 months to fix your relationship with her." Yoongi didn't want to sugarcoat anything. He held no sympathy for his father. He was sure that Oliver already knew that the only reason Yoongi ever came over was because of Alyssa. He had other siblings, but he and Alyssa had a bond that couldn't match anyone else's. They had gone through some messed-up experiences together./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Oliver listened quietly to Yoongi. He didn't listen to women well, but when his eldest son spoke to him, he somehow was able to get through to him. He stared at his son for a moment… He realized just how much of a stranger he was to him. He didn't know if he had always looked so serious. He didn't know if he had always dressed like this. He didn't know if Yoongi had always been so skinny or if he had always had a little muscle in him. Even his voice was foreign to him; the last time they had actually spoken to each other wasn't even in his memory. "... I'm sorry that your friends had to experience this. You're right, I need to repair my relationship with Alyssa. I'm going to do my best, I mean it. Let's wipe the slate clean, okay? I'll go apologize to Alyssa, and we can try to enjoy the rest of the time as if none of this happened today. I want to get to know your friends and learn about who you've become. I'll try to talk to Bev." He promised, he made eye contact with Yoongi to convince him that he was going to do his best./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The eye contact made Yoongi uncomfortable; maybe it was because his father's promises meant little to him. Maybe some people believe that if someone makes eye contact when they make a promise, surely they're being honest. But his father's eyes never offered any absolution of truth. Still, he couldn't argue with this promise. He didn't want his friends to be miserable for this entire lunch, and he also didn't want the tension to grow anymore than it already had. "...Fine. Apologize to Alyssa before you go outside." Yoongi felt like he had no choice but to accept this for now. He had to at least try and keep the peace today, and if it was the only way he could spare his friends an argument for the remainder of the time, then so be it. He would have to address this later when his friends weren't in the middle of it. Yoongi promptly left the room after this decision had been made, and he made his way back outside to join his friends again. However, the conversation he was overhearing once he stepped outside was no better than before!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly was sitting at one of the tables and had all of his friends sitting with her as she held a conversation with them. The bottle of scotch sat on the table alongside a pitcher of lemonade, which had apparently become the other drink option. "Oh don't be humble, I'm sure you're both great at math, what with your background and all. Say! Evan's brother could really use a math tutor. He's having trouble with it at school, just getting Bs in that class. Not really good enough to get into a good school, you know? So what do you say? Think you can do online tutoring or something? We can pay good money. If you can add in a few Chinese lessons here and there, we'd definitely pay extra."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Namjoon and Jin exchanged uncomfortable glances. This obviously wasn't the first time they had been put into this kind of situation. This was a common stereotype that people held about people of Asian ethnicities. First, the assumption that Namjoon and Jin were of Chinese descent was unfortunately common for them in America. People were quick to assume instead of asking about their nationalities. Second, there was the stereotype that all Asians are just so amazing at math./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Thankfully neither of them were able to form a response before Yoongi made an obnoxiously loud noise with a chair when he decided to sit between Hoseok and Namjoon, across from his stepmother. "Yeah, you know what, I'll find my brother a tutor if that's what he really wants. My friends aren't for hire. Oh, and uh… they're not Chinese."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly raised an eyebrow at Yoongi as he sat down in front of her. She didn't quite approve of his challenging attitude, and frankly she found the space much more comfortable without him there. She wasn't afraid of Yoongi, she just didn't like the space he took up in their home. "Did I ask for your help? You're hardly qualified to find a tutor for your brother; you don't even know why he needs one." She scoffed. Jimin, Namjoon, and Jin all opened their mouths to say something to defend Yoongi, but she was quick to change the topic, "So… seven boys in one house, huh? It must get terribly messy… Do you all have a maid or something to take care of things?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanNo." Taehyung responded quickly and succinctly. He didn't like Beverly, and he didn't feel like wasting his breath to give her unnecessary details./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"The boys all shook their heads or rolled their eyes in response. A maid. Really? What, can men not clean?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHoney, you could have just asked for the money. You don't have to be embarrassed; there's nothing wrong with helping your friends once in a while." Beverly tisked. She was purposely toying with Yoongi's emotional state. The more uncomfortable he was, the sooner he was bound to leave./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhen there's seven people in one house, I think there's more than enough hands to take care of it." Jin replied in a stoic manner. The boys all knew that Yoongi was not someone who needed defending. However, they also wanted to defend themselves. This wasn't just Yoongi's fight./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Seven /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"boys /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"couldn't possibly keep a house clean." Beverly laughed a little before she took a sip of her brandy, "Besides, even if boys could do such a thing, there's no point in wasting your energy on that. You should be looking for upstanding careers at your age, not frivolously spending your time on dreams that don't pay." It was obvious that she looked down on all of them and their life choices. "Now what about girls? You all have girlfriends don't you?"/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"All of them remained silent and just stared at her, some of them crossing their arms to block her off entirely. Jungkook had checked out a long time ago, and he was just staring at the alcohol in her hand. He wasn't blinking at all, and instead of letting his mind roam freely, it had gone blank. Hoseok and Jimin also seemed like they were extremely uncomfortable; their body language unintentionally expressed just how submissive they were in comparison to Beverly./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly checked that question off the list, obviously passing judgement on the boys for not having girlfriends as if that was some kind of requirement. She had also noticed that only a couple of them had talked this entire time, and she was beginning to wonder… did they even speak English? Her eyes scanned the boys up and down to observe their clothing and appearances to try and decide. "... So we've already established that you two aren't from America. What about you four?" She resituated herself to a more dominant body position, her elbows firmly planted on the table and her fingertips pressed together in a full steeple./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWhy is that of any relevance? How do any of these questions have any relevance?" Yoongi replied, glaring across the table at his stepmother as he and Namjoon both shifted in their seats to mirror her body language./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly smirked, knowing very well that all of her questions were getting on his nerves. This was just a game to her, and she was winning. "Oh, so they're not. Is that why they're not talking? Because you know…" she made eye contact with Jimin, Hoseok, Taehyung, and Jungkook, "Looking American isn't enough. If you don't speak English, you're going to have a hard time here."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspan... /span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"와… 형/span/font/span/spanspanspan, /span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"우리 새엄마를 정말 싫어/span/font/span/spanspanspan." Taehyung commented in a low, disgusted tone as he glared back at Beverly./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"나도 그렇게 생각했어/span/font/span/spanspanspan." Jin agreed with an exasperated sigh. They were here to support Yoongi, and that was exactly what they intended on doing./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"spanspanYoongi felt guilty as he listened to his friends continue to complain in Korean, so he waited for them to quiet down before he could look at each of them and apologize, "/span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"미안/span/font/span/spanspanspan. /span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"갈 수 있어/span/font/span/spanspanspan."/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"안돼/span/font/span/spanspanspan. /span/spanspanspanfont face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"함께 해결할수 있어/span/font/span/spanspanspan." Hoseok responded, hoping that Yoongi realized that he wasn't doing wrong. How could he have known that his stepmother would say so many awful things to them? Obviously Yoongi knew she wasn't a good person, but he probably had no idea that she would be rude to them, too./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI see, so you really don't speak English." Beverly cleared her throat to try and take control of the situation once more. All this foreign chatter had made her uncomfortable, and she was ready for it to stop, "In this house, we speak only English. Otherwise, it's rather rude don't you think?" She looked at Yoongi once more as if to tell him he should tell his friends to shut up./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWe speak English." Taehyung finally stood up, tired of listening to her babble on and on about how superior she was to all of them, "But what does speaking English have to do with treating people like human beings?" He had been quiet for too long during this conversation, and he was about ready to just leave the group to cool down. However, Hoseok's hand was quick to gently grab his arm and offer it a soothing squeeze./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanHey, it's okay. Calm down." Hoseok insisted quietly. He didn't want to make this any more uncomfortable for Yoongi./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Before Taehyung could decide whether to leave or sit back down though, Yoongi's father finally approached the table. It was at this time that Taehyung felt it was best to just stay with the group for now, so he sat back down./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly raised her eyebrows at Taehyung's actions. Aggressive… she ticked that away in her mind. Boys could often have unchecked aggression, and she thought that this was probably a characteristic of all of Yoongi's friends. He himself had anger problems, so why wouldn't they?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSorry we took so long." Oliver offered a smile to the boys as he poured himself a glass of brandy. He guzzled the whole cup down and placed it back on the table before letting out a refreshed sigh, "That's nice. You guys got yourselves a drink, right?" He grinned as he sat down across from Jungkook who was still staring off into space. He gestured his thumb towards the house, "Your mom and sister are still inside. They wanted to get some water before joining us." He informed Yoongi to assure him he had talked to them as he had insisted. "What were you guys talking about?"/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, all sorts of things." Beverly smiled in response as she poured Oliver another glass./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi stared at his father as he drank the entire cup of alcohol at once. His fists clenched inside his pockets as he responded, "... We're not having lunch."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Oliver's smile faded away into a serious expression, as if he was ready to analyze Yoongi's body language and tone of voice. "Did you and Bev have another dispute again? Let's not delve into the past during your vacation. You have guests here, and we want them to have a good time. I know you have a grudge against me and Bev, but can't you see that holding onto those things is just ruining your time here? Ease up a little. We can have a private discussion about this later. I'm ready to listen to you, and I'm sure Bev is, too. You just need to open up to us at an appropriate time and in a composed manner."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"All of the boys stared at Yoongi's father in disbelief, and even Jungkook had finally broken out of his daze to look around and see what was going on. He seemed to have missed a lot considering all that Yoongi's father was saying. What happened?/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly had the slightest smile pull at the corners of her lips as she sipped the rest of her brandy. She had succeeded in making Yoongi want to leave, and she was sure that his father would cut him out of his will and out of their lives now that he's caused trouble again./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanWe're not staying." Yoongi reiterated in a more harsh tone this time. He wasn't budging on this. His friends didn't deserve this treatment. And if he has learned anything from living with his housemates, it was that he also didn't deserve this. This was going to be his last time visiting his father./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Oliver breathed a heavy sigh as he pulled his wallet out of his left pocket and pulled out five 100 dollar bills to place on the table in front of Namjoon, "Take this for your troubles.. Sorry things turned out this way, I know you all wanted to have a fun experience here in California. If you all are ever in need of anything, you can reach out."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Yoongi took his glass of water and slowly poured it over the money as he glared straight into his father's eyes. There was no need for an exchange of words at this point. Anything he said would just be used against him or dismissed. But he knew money was where it really hurt them./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanEvan Alexander Samuels! How dare you disrespect your father this way!" Beverly screeched as she quickly stood to her feet and picked up the money to save it from the pool of water that had formed around it, "He was offering a nice gesture to your friends, and you can't even give thanks for it?"/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"It was at that moment that Sarah and Alyssa came rushing over as they saw the commotion that was taking place. They could hear the yelling from inside!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Evan, you okay?" Sarah asked as she hurried to the table and worriedly looked her son over to try and get an idea of what was happening./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""I'm fine, mom. Do me a favor and take my friends home, will you?" Evan asked of her, grateful that she had finally joined them. It was time for him to stand up for himself and his friends, and he didn't want his housemates to deal with this nonsense any longer./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"All of the boys exchanged glances, and while some of them were ready to protest, Jin was the first to stand and show that he was ready to do as Yoongi asked. Yoongi wanted privacy, and they had to respect that. The others felt upset and guilty for not choosing to stay with their friend, but it seemed as though Yoongi really wanted them to leave. Even his mother was gesturing for them all to come with her./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"As they hesitantly stood to their feet, Hoseok gently placed a hand on Yoongi's shoulder in hopes of giving him courage to handle this situation. Yoongi was strong, and Hoseok knew he could get through this. He just didn't want him to be left alone at the end of this whole ordeal…/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa watched as all of Yoongi's friends left his side, and as soon as they were out of the way, she pushed her way through and pulled up her dress's sleeves to show that she was more than ready to get into a fight. She was proud to take a stance next to her brother! "I don't know what happened, but I'm ready!" She said confidently, grinning at Beverly as she said so. She wanted to fight her sooooo badly!/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Not this time, Abs. Go with mom." Yoongi insisted, though his eyes remained trained on his father and stepmom. He felt that if his eyes looked away for even a second, maybe they could somehow gain the upper hand. He had to stay alert. He wasn't rolling over this time./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Go with mom? You're joking right? I'm not leaving you to deal with this by yourself, I deserve to have a say in this, too!" Alyssa argued, not moving a muscle from Yoongi's side./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""Alyssa. You've dealt with enough of this while I've been gone. I need to do this myself." Yoongi said sternly. He wasn't going to budge on the matter. Alyssa had expressed to him how hard home life was while he was away, and he knew that this time, he had to be the one to put a foot down and say that enough was enough./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Alyssa finally looked at her brother, annoyed and frustrated that he was actually serious. He needed this? Why? Why did he always feel the need to try things on his own first? Why did he always try to keep her out of a situation, even though it affected her as well? She knew that Yoongi was too stubborn at this point. He had a look in his eyes every time he had a goal in mind. He was set on something, and there was no talking him out of it. "...Fine. But I'm not going far, so call me ASAP." With a sigh of exasperation and frustration, she stomped off to walk away with her mom and Yoongi's friends. All of them looked back several times as they were leaving, wishing they could pass on all of their energy to him. It felt wrong to leave him behind, but some battles had to be done alone./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"As soon as all of them had left, Yoongi gestured for Beverly to take a seat, his stare of defiance unwavering. He had no intent on allowing her to win this argument the way she wanted to. Perhaps she would get what she wants in the end, but he wasn't going to be manipulated by her anymore./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly hesitantly took a seat, but she didn't do this because Yoongi told her to. At least... that's what she told herself, "You have some nerve, Evan. You're always making everything out to be bigger than it needs to be, and you threaten us every time."/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanThreaten? Do you feel threatened?" Yoongi asked calmly./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Beverly didn't respond to this comment, and Oliver was busy drinking down another glass of alcohol. "Listen, son… I don't know why you have to cause problems every time you return home. I've done everything you've asked of me, I give you money, I offer to pay for your college tuition and your friends' vacation. Yet you consistently greet us with a bad attitude and insulting behavior. Did you bring your friends over to make us look like fools? You realize you only made an ass out of yourself, right? I didn't raise you to be a delinquent of society." Oliver's tone of voice raised with every comment he had to say to Yoongi./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Raise/span span style="font-variant: normal;"me? You didn't /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"raise/span span style="font-variant: normal;"me! If anything, life raised me! Did-" Yoongi tried to defend himself, but his father was quick to shut him down./span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanDon't you use that tone with me, young man. Whether you like it or not, I am your father and you will treat me with respect!" Oliver shouted at him. "I didn't bring you into this world and do all of this for you just so you could become a spoiled brat." Again, he drank more alcohol./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanSpoiled? Exactly what-"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI said, fix your attitude!"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanListen to your father, Evan!"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanStay out of this Beverly! I'm trying to-"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanDon't talk to her that way just because you can't handle your own damn emotions."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI just-"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI wasn't done talking. Shut up and look at me when I'm talking to you!"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanLet me speak…" Evan whispered quietly, his hands trembling as he stared at the cup of alcohol that his father kept drinking./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou can't listen if your mouth keeps moving."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanObviously he's just going to keep yapping if he doesn't get it out. Evan, if there's something you have to say, then speak up like a man. Tell your father how absolutely terrible he is; it's nothing new."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI wasn't done with what I was saying, and he should learn his place!"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanLet me speak..!" Yoongi's voice only grew a little louder, but he could feel himself about to burst. They were so loud he couldn't hear himself even think./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOkay, okay, don't take it out on me, he's your son."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanI'm dealing with the problem, so just leave it to me, will you?"/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanLET ME SPEAK!" Yoongi finally shouted as he grabbed a hold of his father's cup and threw it onto the ground beside the pool. The glass shattered upon impact, emptying its contents onto the concrete. This action seemed to finally grab the attention of his father and stepmother, who had never seen him explode like this before. It was a shock for them, and it finally gave Yoongi a moment to speak his mind.../span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 138%;"span style="font-variant: normal;""/spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"Did you forget what happened after you and mom divorced? Who was stuck in the middle of it, huh? Your damn children, that's who! You became a drunk. You took us away from our mom even when we begged you not to! You were so fucked up that your own 13-year-old son had to learn how to take care of his younger siblings and sign off on mail to pay for bills that you forgot about. When Alyssa and I left, you didn't even call the police to look for us. You think you /spanspan style="font-variant: normal;"raised/span span style="font-variant: normal;"us? You're so full of lies that you've lied to yourself." Yoongi growled. He had been holding all of this in for far too long, and he knew he couldn't let the anger build up anymore./span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanOh, stop it with the pity party already. You have no idea what you put your father through after that ugly divorce. Your mother hurt him, and of course some people drink when they can't get rid of their grief. Sometimes you have to help your parents get through difficult situations. You abandoned your family when they needed you." Beverly scowled at Yoongi, her words laced with hate./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou're right. I became drunk after that happened, and you shouldn't have had to deal with that. But you could have stayed strong instead of running away. I didn't call the police because I knew you had decided to leave. I accepted that as your choice, and it's time you take responsibility for what happened to you. And while we're on that matter, look at Alyssa. You dragged her with you when you ran away and now look at her. She's brainwashed! You led her down a path that she would not have taken if it weren't for you. She had so much potential, and you crushed it." Oliver said angrily./span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYOU ARE THE REASON SHE SUFFERED!" Yoongi yelled as he pounded the table with his fist in anger. He was so tired of them gaslighting him and blaming him for everything that happened. He was exhausted from holding this anger inside of him and believing in lies he knew weren't real. He had suffered from self-loathing for a number of years, and even now he was trembling because he didn't know how to heal from it. "You… you let a criminal walk free. You defended a man that was guilty of rape and murder, and because of you, he was ruled as innocent. A year later, you defended him again when he was on trial for the murder of Alyssa's one and only friend. You think she was too young and stupid to know that you defended a bad man? She didn't know why or how it happened at that time; she could only understand that her best friend was taken away from her. She attended her funeral and understood little, and you couldn't even apologize to the family. The parents hated her because you were her father. They told her that her father killed her friend. She was afraid of you. I took her with me to save her; you abandoned her… and you still defended that man a second time."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanShe knew about that..?" Of course Oliver knew that he had let a guilty man free, and he knew Alyssa's friend had been murdered because of it. However, Oliver thought Alyssa had been too young to remember what happened; he thought she knew nothing of his involvement. "Okay so maybe I made a few mistakes, but I'm human. Can't you and Alyssa find a way to forgive that mistake? I've tried everything I can think of to bring this family back together, and you fight it every time. I don't know what you want from me."/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;""spanspanYou never asked. You always tried to solve everything with money; money given to you for defending those criminals in court. We don't need your dirty money. And you know what… you never defended me or Alyssa nearly as much as you defended them. Beverly constantly belittles Alyssa any chance she can get; she sat here and made racist and misogynistic comments to my friends. She made them feel inferior and then pretended like she was the most gracious host as soon as you came out here. And somehow… every time you tell us that we're the problem. You tell us to leave Beverly alone. You sweep everything under the carpet, and not once have you listened to what I have to say. I had to fight just for you to see a glimpse of what you have done to me and my sister. But I'm not a kid anymore, Oliver. I've learned that there are things in life worth fighting for… but this?" Yoongi stood up from his seat and pushed it back into place, "This is not worth it." And without another word, he turned his back on them and left their presence./span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: .5in; margin-bottom: 0in; font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 138%; text-decoration: none;"span style="background: transparent;"Leaving that home for the last time felt like the sweetest thing on Earth. He wasn't healed, but from now on, he knew he could be. He didn't know how much he held inside him. He didn't know just how much stress that argument had put him through until he had reached the end of the driveway. His knees felt weak, and his eyes were heavy. He could feel the tears threatening to fall from his eyes as a flood of emotions fought to leave his body. And before he knew it, he was being embraced by Alyssa and his mother. And so the floodgates opened, and he finally allowed himself to sob and let out all the pain. It was time for this chapter of his life to end at last./span/p