Hide And Seek

It's been ten years since the three kids met, and now they're still friends, the best of friends. Their families invite each other over dinner occasionally, having close ties between them. They've grown a lot, but things never completely change.Hoseokwas still cheerful,Seokjinseems to be less awkward although he doesn't butt over other people's conversations casually like his cousin does, andNamjoon was still the friendly person he was ten years ago. His life went pretty smoothly the past ten years. He has good grades, outstanding ones actually. His family was very supportive and so were his friends,andalong with those important people; he had some flings he isn't afraid to name, although these were influences of some of their new friends, namely;JiminandTaehyung. But it was mainlyJiminwho influenced him to have some flings and his current one is LeeHyeri.
He isn't a fan of commitments that much and he thinks the girls he had and has as flings wouldn’t mind. Everyone is doing it, why wouldn’t he do it as well? He sees and seeks no harm from it. Seokjin did go against his friend’s decision, but it wouldn’t change his mind either. Hoseok seems okay with it. Whatever his friends are happy with makes him happy. Jimin seems proud about his influence towards Namjoon, and Taehyung… They see him as weird, but they don’t care. The more they are, the merrier.
It was Saturday, around two in the afternoon when the boys went to their neighborhood’s playground. It was the same place they went to ten years ago. It was the same place where they first played together. It’s now officially a playground. Kids were running from here and there as some started to cry because of dares to go down the slide. It was naturally about kids and their fears. The group of boys chuckled as they watched the children play. They were under the shade of one of the trees. It was definitely a fine afternoon. It was the first time they brought Jimin and Taehyung to their neighborhood since Namjoon and Hoseok met them during their last year of middle school due to their friendliness towards lower years, and not long after all of them graduated from middle school, they continued to stick together, along with their first encounter with Seokjin in high school.
They didn’t talk that much as they continued to stay laid back, until Namjoon finally fell asleep and the cheeky Hoseok decided to spill something up from their childhood. Talkative was one way to describe him. He wasn’t a backstabber though and he’s sure that once his friend wakes up, they’ll all share a good laugh about the story. That is, if he remembers them.
“Do you guys know why Namjoon suggested we go to this tree rather than that bigger one over there?” Hoseok asked before he could spill out the information he knew.
“Not really. Why,” asked Taehyung who straightened his back up before leaning back at the tree’s trunk.
“Does it even matter?” Jimin followed with another question as he picked some of the grass.
“Well, I thought you guys should know that…” Hoseok was disturbed by his cousin Seokjin who seems to be continuing the discussion formally.
“This was marked ten years ago by Namjoon.” He stated reservedly, letting out a soft yawn.
Taehyung stood up and looked for the markings his friend made. His eyes stopped at a familiar initial that was roughly made through the tree’s mark. The initials were “NMJ” which was followed by a question mark.
“What’s with the question mark?” The curious weirdo asked as he placed his finger tip on his lips.
“Little lover boy here didn’t know her name,” Hoseok answered as he patted his sleeping friend’s head lightly which woke him up in an instant with his eyes half-open.
“Yah~ Horsey, what are you talking about,” Namjoon asked as he sat up.
“You just ruined this tree’s form with a silly little mark,” Jimin said bluntly which was suppose to follow Hoseok’s statement.
“What are you guys talking about,” the boy who just woke up asked once again as he rubbed his nape lightly.
“Stop playing stupid Namjoonie,” the playful boy cooed.
“Oh, the tree, that was ages ago,” Namjoon now realized that they were talking about the markings he made ten years ago. He made those markings on the day they moved in, the day the three of them met, and the day he talked to the prettiest girl in his childhood.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” He didn’t care anymore. It was long ago and things are different now. He has Hyeri and he’s happy with how things are.
“Good for you,” Jimin commented. He’s encouraging his friend about the present and the flings they have and had. He isn’t giving any signs of regret about it and neither did Namjoon. Seokjin still sees Namjoon as the kid he met ten years ago along with the small crush he had on the unknown female child they encountered in the game hide and seek. A soft purr lingered them as a stray cat jumped onto Taehyung’s legs which he eventually caressed.
A child squealed as she approached Taehyung innocently. The child was around seven years of age with a natural pale face. Her bangs were covering her hair as she took the cat in, cradled in her arms. “Bad Heejung!” She scolded the cat lightly as she petted it.
“I’m sorry if he disturbed you!” She was shaking a little bit as her slender arms continued to cradle the cat who tried to escape from her embrace and jumped over Namjoon who seemed surprised. He handed the cat over as the girl took it from him. He was gazing at the child. Her dress was beige and pleaded, with a vintage floral design on her collar. It was the same design he saw ten years ago. Seokjin, too, was at awe as he saw Namjoon’s surprised stare. The girl giggled softly as she distanced herself a bit. “Thank you! And sorry if my cat disturbed you,” she apologized once again before running off.
“Bad kitty,” she continued to scold her pet as she walked behind the tree. Namjoon stood up and grabbed her wrist before she completely left which made surprised her, but gave out a bright smile as she shook her wrist a bit until he lets go.
“Good bye, mister-“ she was cut off as Namjoon introduced himself.
“I’m Namjoon,”
“Oh. Okay, good bye Namjoon oppa,” she bid good bye once again as she left off, skipping along.
“Wai- Wait!” He yelled, hesitating.
“What’s your name little kid?” He asked.
“Oh, I’m Joohee,” she answered, but didn’t bother to face him again as she started walking.
Namjoon returned to his friends who seemed to be laughing at him mockingly. He gave them a what the heck expression as he seated down. He thought they were used to them seeing him introduce himself to kids.
“You’re such a pedophile,” Jimin said, chuckling.
“I am not!” He denied. Seokjin looked at him in a calm manner, but it seems that he, too, was surprised with the events that followed. They were now sitting beside each other and the eldest heard everything from their conversation. He mouthed some words Namjoon couldn’t understand, but he then decided to speak.
“Déjà vu,” he said with a concerned look on his face, and the younger nodded. Every feature was familiar to them. It was like ten years ago when Hoseok couldn’t notice the female child Namjoon was pointing at from behind the mansion.

Notes

Another short chapter~ ppyong~
(Originally posted at asianfanfics)