Jin was pleased as Taesu accepted the bite off extended chopsticks even if his expression was sour. It was a small victory, but with this particular mood his brother was in, every fraction of success counted. Jin schooled his grin and kept it off his face for the most part, looking down instead to pick up another piece of food and extend it forward again. He had the chopsticks in the bowl when Taesu said his name and attracted Jin’s full attention.

Golden brown hues flickered up curiously at the formality that burdened his brother’s tongue. Jin knew from experience that sometimes such things could be used to put distance between brothers or express otherwise wordless emotions. He was surprised instead to hear the admission that followed.

Jin put down the chopsticks carefully and eyed his brother with a wide-eyed curiosity. The declaration made sense with everything he knew of Taesu, what was spurring it now in their new situation was what made him weary. “Aren’t I your friend?” Jin teased lightly. He knew that wasn’t what Taesu meant, but Jin wasn’t sure exactly what he was looking for in a response quite yet.

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