The Brothers Kim

Taehyung looked at her as he carried the bundle of food in his arms. "I hope the orphans like this," he said to himself more than to her. "I promised them I would get them more delicious food."

"They"ll like it" Gyuri replied. She turned to his direction and noticed him struggling with the large basket. "You need help?"

Taehyung was defiant, "No, I can manage."

But Gyuri noticed his arms quivering because of the weight. That stubborn kid, she thought to herself. Unable to resist helping him, she s.n.a.t.c.hed the basket from his arms before he could object. Gyuri heard him gasp in relief and she smirked.

"Geez, you need to work on your arms. You"re so weak."

Taehyung glared at her. "I am not weak!"

They continued strolling down the market streets as they made their way to the field. It was a busy day as usual and Taehyung was used to making the journey to the orphans alone but, for some reason, having Gyuri with him made the journey feel different. Sneakily, he peered up at her and watched her scrunch her face in mild annoyance as she squinted at the path ahead. Taehyung hid his grin. For some odd reason, he was in a good mood.

"Isn"t the guy meant to be carrying the stuff?" Gyuri queried haughtily. "It feels like I"m the guy here."

"It was you who s.n.a.t.c.hed it off me."

Gyuri shrugged. "That"s because I pitied you."

Taehyung arched his brow.

"I felt like I was taking advantage of a weak kid."

"For the last time, I am not weak" he retorted saucily. "And anyway, carrying baskets are for women."

Gyuri let out a shriek of laughter.

"What is so funny?"

"You can"t even carry a basket so doesn"t that mean you"re weaker than the average woman?"

Taehyung pursed his lips as he realised his mistake. "Girls are stupid" he grumbled when he saw Gyuri snickering. "You know what, why do they even exist?"

Gyuri stopped her giggling and gaped at Taehyung. Was he asking a rhetorical question? When she voiced this out to him, he replied, "No, I really do not see their purpose in this world. Girls are stupid and useless and..." he glared at her, "annoying."

"You"re being unreasonable" Gyuri dismissively countered. "If it weren"t for women," she said matter-of-factly, "you wouldn"t even be here."

"What do you mean?"

"You know..."

But Taehyung just stared blankly at her.

Gyuri stopped at her tracks. "Wait... you don"t?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "You don"t know?"

Taehyung continued to gape at her like deer fixated on headlights.

"Well, this is, er, awkward." She scratched her head and darted her eyes in every direction apart from his. "No one told you about..." she paused as she chose her words carefully, "the birds and the bees?"

Taehyung continued to look at her, baffled. "What is that?"

Oh, boy...

Gyuri smiled impishly as she suddenly saw an opportunity to mess with him. "Tell me, how do you think babies are made?"

Taehyung was taken aback by the sudden question. "Er..." he thought for a while before answering, "Cousin Namjoon said that children are made when a man and a woman "spend the night together"." He shrugged as he added, "whatever that means."

Oh, this innocent child!

Gyuri tried to keep her face straight. "Well, just so you know, a baby is made because of this."

Taehyung watched Gyuri point to her lips and was startled when she suddenly leaned in so that their faces were only inches apart. She grinned at him mischievously as she whispered, "Babies are made through kisses."

As Gyuri said those words, Taehyung inadvertently sneaked a glance at her lips. They were slightly parted and they were plump, pink and kissable. He gulped.

"And do you wanna know something else?"

Taehyung"s eyes met hers.

She dropped her voice even lower as if she was revealing a sacred secret. "It"s the men who give birth to children."

"W-what?"

She pulled away and nodded insistently. "It"s true. Their stomachs swell up and the baby lives in their stomach for nine months."

"That is a lie!"

"Oh, but is it?" she asked. "Have you ever wondered why your father or your brothers have never mentioned it to you?"

Taehyung bit his lip as he pondered over Gyuri"s words. The truth was, he had no idea why none of his family had mentioned it to him. Perhaps because it was such a sensitive topic? And because he had no idea, he didn"t know whether to trust Gyuri. Either way, the possibility of accidentally bearing children because of a shared kiss, scared him. He should protect his lips at all cost... just in case.

"No," he murmured in reply. "And I do not wish to know any more." He briskly raced ahead of her while covering his mouth with his hand. "The orphans are waiting for us," he mentioned, his voice m.u.f.fled. "Let us hurry."

Gyuri chuckled, pleased that she had succeeded in fooling him.

Oh, Kim Taehyung. You"re so gullible!