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theharrowing · 2 years

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This Sordid Place 📲 1: We do not sl*t-shame in this house!

Namjoon breaks down and installs Grindr after his friends complain he is “terminally single,” despite never really being into hook ups. Jungkook is an old pro at the hookup app.

Their connection is instant.

📲 Namjoon x Jungkook

📲 word count: 10.4k

📲 strangers to lovers, dating app au, smut, fluff, slash, nsfw, 18+

📲 warnings: use of the word “slut” but not derogatorily; pining; flirting; general anxiety; Jungkook is a confident gay; Namjoon is trying his best; almost juggling two men on grindr (Joonie has options okay); side YoonJin with an appearance of Taehyung.

📲 written for the BTS Found Fest!

📲 thanks to @neoneunnajimin for beta reading!

📲 posted dec. 2022 | read on ao3

INDEX | NEXT

Namjoon stares at his phone, feeling absolutely ridiculous. He has made a Grindr account at the behest of his best friends Yoongi and Seokjin, who complain that he is "terminally single." And now he scrolls through the sea of images, deciding who he deems attractive, nervous that someone may deem him attractive enough to strike up conversation.

Warm breath wafts over Namjoon's cheek and he jumps as he realizes how close Seokjin is sitting, his pointed features and dark brown hair coming into focus in his periphery as the man stares at the wall of profile pictures on Namjoon's phone.

"This is just for fucking," Namjoon mutters sheepishly.

Seokjin chuckles. "Yes, but perhaps you will enjoy fucking someone so much, you'll decide to date them."

"But what if they're...promiscuous," Namjoon says. "How do you...I don't know...stay safe?"

A firm slap across the back of Namjoon's head makes him jump, and he spins quickly to find Yoongi standing behind the sofa with his arms crossed over his chest, and his long, wavy dark brown hair nearly obstructing the glare of his cat-like eyes. "We do not slut-shame in this house, Namjoonah!"

Namjoon clears his throat and feels embarrassed. "No, I know—that's not—fuck, I'm just nervous. I don't usually meet others with the intention of hooking up, and I wasn't thinking."

"You can always ask to see a record of their last test," Seokjin says softly. "And you should get tested, yourself."

"Wear a dong bag if you're worried," Yoongi adds, and Namjoon chuckles.

"Yeah. You're right. Sorry for slut-shaming, hyungs. I didn't mean to."

The hand that slapped Namjoon on the head pats his hair like one would pat a golden retriever for a job well done. Yoongi's voice is lower and more calming than before. "You're a good boy, Joonie."

"You can search for profiles that have 'condomsonly' tagged, too," Seokjin adds.

Namjoon nods and hums. He supposes that is true.

Namjoon's phone buzzes, and he finds a notification in his inbox. With a fortifying exhale, he thumbs over the inbox icon, only to find that someone named Jacks420 has sent a rather impressive but completely unsolicited dick pic. Namjoon quickly fumbles to shut off his screen, then tosses his phone to the table with a loud clatter and slams his eyes shut.

"This cannot—guys, I'm—I hate this. I hate this a lot."

Namjoon's friends chuckle—because, of course, they do—and he peels one eye open to gaze around and glare at them before slamming it back shut. "Glad this is so amusing to you two."

"Oh please," Seokjin says through soft laughter, "as if you've never seen a cock before."

"Yes, but I consented to seeing it!" Namjoon whines. "I didn't—he just—what the fuck!"

"Apps like this are no man's land," Yoongi quips. "No gods, no masters."

Namjoon rolls his eyes. "Great."

While setting up his account, Namjoon settled for a nice smile-to-chest shot, not giving too much of his identity away while still showing off the two assets people tend to mention most: his dimples and his "namtiddies," as his friends so lovingly say.

Notifications pour in, and Namjoon becomes substantially more anxious as his phone vibrates across his worn, brown table. With a sigh, Seokjin picks up Namjoon's phone and shoves it into his hand, and Namjoon reluctantly unlocks his screen, opening his inbox.

Every message is some variation of "Hi," or "Hey," or an image attachment that Namjoon decidedly does not open. He sighs and drops his arm down onto the sofa.

"This is pointless. I can't strike up a conversation from 'Hey.' What do they want from me?"

"You could take the initiative to find someone who seems interesting and do the conversation striking," Yoongi suggests.

As right as Yoongi is, Namjoon hates the thought of it, but he nods and lifts his phone once more, scrolling over the images. Supposedly everyone who appears at the top of the list is nearby, which Namjoon finds equal parts promising and horrifying.

"This one looks cute," Seokjin says as he leans into Namjoon's personal space and points to one of the many squares on the screen. Namjoon taps the image and opens the profile, only to immediately agree with Seokjin's assessment.

User JayKay97 is, in fact, very cute, showing off a smile that is both soft and sharp, and a neck and clavicle that appears to slope down into a toned chest and biceps. Not that Namjoon can really tell what this person looks like, but the hints are nice, and he finds himself wanting to see more.

On his profile, JayKay97 also has a mirror selfie that appears to be taken at a gym with a mask over his mouth. Although it is hard to see the top half of his face—which is conveniently hidden behind wavy, dark brown hair that hangs over his eyes—he can see the rest of JayKay97's arms and torso, flexing for the camera and showing off some very impressive muscles, and one arm covered in dark tattoos.

"Ooh, he works out," Yoongi grumbles over Namjoon's shoulder.

"You two could be gym buddies," Seokjin adds.

"Okay," Namjoon sighs, turning off his phone screen, tired of the two of them peeping in his ears. "Enough. You two have done quite enough, and I have some work to get done."

"Alright, alright," Seokjin responds with his hands raised, as if in surrender. "We get the hint; we'll fuck off. But if anything comes of this, you had better tell us."

"You know hyung loves to gloat," Yoongi mutters, mussing up Namjoon's hair with his hand. "And he will be taking credit for this if all goes well."

Namjoon leans forward to escape Yoongi's playfulness and stands from his brown leather couch, which creaks and groans beneath him. He meets them by the door and hugs them goodbye with a half-hearted wave to show them just how unenthusiastic he is about the entire ordeal.

Then, as soon as his front door is shut, Namjoon quickly unlocks his phone and rounds his couch, plopping himself down with a huff as he opens the app and stares at JayKay97's profile. Something about this guy really appeals to Namjoon, and he can't stop thinking about him—imagining what he should say to strike up a conversation. The gym JayKay97 goes to looks like the same gym Namjoon goes to, but he feels weird opening with that. So instead, he overthinks it until, eventually, he says nothing.

It is around 11 PM when Namjoon finally makes his way to bed. Since bidding his friends farewell and getting started on the work that he should have done hours earlier, he had gotten a lot of vapid messages and decided to disable notifications.

Now, with a deep sigh, Namjoon opens Grindr and navigates to his inbox. He nearly misses it in the sea of nonsense, and when he does see it, he gasps and does a double-take. A message from JayKay97 awaits him, and it was sent two hours earlier. Better still, it opens with more than just a single word, and there doesn't seem to be any photos attached.

JayKay97 Well, hello, BonsaiDaddy94. I love the username. I don't see a "daddykink" tag on your profile, though, so am I correct to assume that it is just a clever way to say you have a lot of plants?

Namjoon chuckles to himself and nibbles on the inside of his lip, turning onto his side as he stares at the screen. He wants to respond, but feels anxiety swirl around, making him dizzy and a bit nauseated.

On one hand, if they have nothing in common, he can just move on—no harm done. But on the other, he would feel pretty bummed if he shot his shot with someone as cute as JayKay97 seems to be, only to fuck it up. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes on the exhale, attempting to find some inner peace.

BonsaiDaddy94 Hey, JayKay97! I do happen to have a lot of plants. And I was just being clever. I suppose it's never too late to discover a new kink, though.

Immediately after hitting send, Namjoon feels embarrassed and mutters, "What am I doing," under his breath. He wonders if JayKay97 will read the message and think he is an idiot. He almost searches naver to find out whether or not one can delete a message that has been sent over Grindr, but then three little dots pop up, and Namjoon feels his heart pound in his chest with anticipation. As soon as a new message appears, Namjoon gasps and holds in his breath.

JayKay97 Wow, you're cute, aren't you? Do you work out, daddy? Do you mind if I call you daddy?

The breath that Namjoon had held in comes out as a scoff, and he reads the message three times, swallowing a lump in his throat as he decides what to say next. He hovers his thumbs over the keyboard, but the three dots pop back up.

JayKay97 By the way, I found you in fresh faces. Is this your first time on the app?

BonsaiDaddy94 This is my first time on the app. And you may call me daddy, though...I'm not sure what I would call you. Maybe I should have searched naver for daddy kink terms before responding.

BonsaiDaddy94 And yes, I do work out.

Namjoon tosses his phone to his bed and sinks low on his pillow, pulling the soft, dark comforter up to his chin. Everything about this feels ridiculous, and yet, he already likes talking to JayKay97. The guy seems charming and charismatic, and Namjoon likes that he leads the conversation.

Feeling antsy about having his notifications turned off, Namjoon reaches around for his phone, hitting his open palm against the mattress several times before finding the device and pulling it to his face. He opens the app to see two more messages from JayKay97, and he smiles hard.

JayKay97 Ooh, an app virgin. To what do I owe the pleasure? Are you here for hookups, or are you one of the many fools who come to this sordid place looking for a relationship?

JayKay97 Also, I suppose if you're daddy, I'm baby boy. Baby is fine, too.

One of the many fools who come to this sordid place looking for a relationship. Namjoon hates how the phrasing makes his heart sink—hates how he already feels a connection despite knowing absolutely nothing about this guy. Sure, his profile states weight, height, and body type, but someone could put anything into those fields; there is no guarantee of authenticity.

Namjoon nearly gives up and goes to bed, abandoning the conversation entirely. But then he decides to give honesty a chance. Worst case scenario, he remains as lonely as he already is.

BonsaiDaddy94 I'm not really sure why I am on here, tbh. My friends complain about how "terminally single" I am, (their words,) so three beers and a lot of peer pressure later, here I am. I guess part of me is foolish enough to want a relationship; I've never really done hookups. But I'm open to possibility.

BonsaiDaddy94 What about you, baby boy? What brings you here?

Namjoon types and deletes baby boy several times before deciding to keep it. If, in fact, there is a chance that JayKay97 will want to get to know him after this pathetic revelation, he figures being flirtatious will work in his favor. And as the three little dots pop back up, his anxiety swirls, once again.

JayKay97 I'm here to find a cutie to fuck. Plain and simple. But I guess I am not opposed to the idea of a relationship. Nobody on here really tries to get to know you like that, in my experience. In fact, this is probably the most I have talked to someone without them asking if I am willing to host.

At this, Namjoon feels a wave of disappointment. Of course, there is no reason to; he came to a hookup app and is now being told that the users are just here to look for hookups. So why does he feel let down?

BonsaiDaddy94 Ah. I guess that makes sense. Well, I won't waste your time if you're just looking for a quick fuck. Not that I'm not interested in you; I just like to get to know people a little better before getting to know them like that.

With a sigh, Namjoon drops his arm to the bed and stares at his ceiling. Since he has already jumped over the hurdle of downloading an app for meeting others, he reasons he will have no qualms with also downloading a proper dating app.

Tomorrow, he tells himself. He has already been through enough tonight.

Namjoon doesn't remember falling asleep, and he wakes up with his phone buzzing on his bed, pulling him from a somewhat restless slumber as the light that filters into his room causes him to squint. He has no obligations until the afternoon, but he likes to wake up every morning around 8 AM just to have a full day and not fall into a sad slump. Especially with winter arriving and the days becoming shorter, Namjoon needs to do everything he can to avoid seasonal depression.

Once he is all stretched and yawned out, Namjoon rolls out of bed, sits on the edge of the mattress, and grabs his phone. When he unlocks his screen, Grindr is open, and there are two more messages from JayKay97, sent twenty minutes apart.

JayKay97 Now, now, not so fast. I like your vibe, and if the rest of you is as attractive as your smile and chest, then getting to know you is not wasting my time. But just so we're clear: I will absolutely be trying to get into your pants.

JayKay97 I either scared you off or bored you to sleep. Either way, I hope you have a lovely night, daddy!

Namjoon sets his phone down and gets up to get dressed for the day, throwing on some ripped blue jeans and a burgundy polo. He makes his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth and run a comb through his dark brown hair, tugging at strands as he marvels at how it has grown into a bit of a shaggy mullet. Then, he loads up his coffee machine, presses the start button, and returns to his room to retrieve his phone.

For a split moment, Namjoon wonders if it is uncustomary to message someone on Grindr before 9 AM, then decides to take the chance. He has already come this far, and he would hate for JayKay97 to think he was bored to sleep or scared off.

BonsaiDaddy94 Sorry for disappearing, baby boy. You neither scared me off nor bored me to sleep. I suppose I scared myself off? I thought my last message would solidify just how uncool I am to a seasoned Grindr vet such as yourself.

Moments pass as Namjoon stares at the wall ahead, wondering if he is making a mistake. There is more he wants to say to JayKay97—a flirtatious tone that he would like to return. As the coffee machine in the kitchen makes a gurgling sound indicating that it has finished brewing, Namjoon sighs and sends off one more message—

BonsaiDaddy94 Perhaps your disclaimer should scare me away since I am very much still nervous to dip my toe into these waters, but I find myself intrigued by you. And, I would be lying if I said I didn't find your mouth and chest very attractive.

—before abandoning his phone for a fresh cup of coffee and the morning news.

Namjoon knits his brow and cocks his head at Yoongi, whose brow is knit and whose head is cocked. Judging from his expression, there seems to be something that Yoongi finds suspicious, which Namjoon finds obnoxious, and they stare at one another before Namjoon shrugs, and Yoongi shakes his head.

"I don't know, man, you seem...happy." There's an air of disgust in Yoongi's voice that makes Namjoon laugh.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, hyung. I'll reel it in."

"You already met someone, haven't you?" Yoongi says with wide eyes as if he has just unlocked one of the universe's greatest secrets. "Oh my god, the slut-shamer becomes the slut!"

Namjoon clears his throat and glances around, happy to see that there is nobody within earshot of their park bench. It is still late morning, when children are in school, which is why they have chosen this time for their daily walk to get fresh air and pretend that they are well-adjusted adult men whose mental well-beings aren't being crushed more and more with each new leaf that falls, yellow, from the trees, welcoming the crushing cold of winter's approach.

"I have begun to talk to someone," Namjoon admits, voice low as if he is committing a crime. "But we have only chatted some. We haven't even exchanged pics."

"Exchanged pics?" Yoongi parrots, drawing out each word as if they are spoken in some foreign tongue he cannot fathom. He waves his hand in circles, giving up on this matter, and says, "And? Go on."

Namjoon shrugs. "That's all. I haven't checked my messages in a few hours, so I'm not sure where the conversation might be heading. But I admitted to wanting to get to know someone a little before hooking up, and he stated rather brazenly that he is fine with that, but plans to get into my pants. So...things are looking up, I guess."

The grin that tugs on Yoongi's lips sends a chill down Namjoon's spine, forcing him to adjust in his seat; nothing good can come from Yoongi grinning. He pulls out his phone and begins to type, biting his lip, then returns his gaze to Namjoon and says, "Jinnie-hyung is going to be over the fucking moon. Is it the one guy with the gym photo? I'm willing to bet five thousand won it is."

Namjoon clears his throat and smiles sheepishly, regretting his choice to bring it up in the first place. Meanwhile, Yoongi wiggles in his seat as he types away on his phone, presumably to Seokjin. Namjoon is never going to hear the end of this.

JayKay97 A seasoned Grindr vet? What gave it away?

JayKay97 Should we exchange photos? Would that make you too uncomfortable? I figure that, if we are going to take things a little slower and get to know each other a bit better, we should at least find out what the other is working with in case one of us is shallow enough to change our mind.

BonsaiDaddy94 There were a few tells that suggested to me that you're a vet. You have a confidence that I feel comes from practiced usage of a hookup app. And you sent more than one word as a greeting, suggesting you are used to—and likely sick of—the boring one-message greetings. Also, something you said seemed like it was probably app lingo…I believe you said "host."

JayKay97 I'm impressed. You are correct; I am a veteran on this app. I have used it to hook up with several men over the past few months—practicing safe sex each time. Does that bother you?

Namjoon remembers his conversation with Yoongi and Seokjin and chuckles to himself. In this house, we do not slut-shame.

BonsaiDaddy94 It does not bother me.

JayKay97 Wonderful. Shall we exchange photos?

With nervous thumbs, Namjoon opens Instagram and searches his grid for a photo to send to JayKay97. He wants to find one where he looks attractive without being too revealing or flattering—an example of a more casual look that, should they actually date, he would most likely be seen sporting.

BonsaiDaddy94 [Photo attachment of Namjoon wearing a black beanie with his dark hair sticking out from the back, curling slightly on the ends. He has on a light blue button-up baseball jersey, tan khaki pants, and black and white Nike sneakers. His hands are at his chest, palms open and waving, his dark brown eyes are wide and happy, and his mouth is closed but upturned into a smile, which shows his dimples slightly. Next to him is artist Takashi Murakami, and behind him is one of Murakami's art installations.]

As Namjoon gets seated at his desk and logs in to check his email for the evening, his phone lights up. He has since enabled Grindr notifications in the hopes that the thrill of knowing when JayKay97 responds will offset the annoyance of getting messages from others. Luckily, since the first night, the messages have begun to slow substantially. When Namjoon glances at his notification, he is pleased to see it is, in fact, from the man he wishes to hear from.

JayKay97 Um. Daddy. Wow. You are handsome as fuck. I am definitely going to continue to shoot my shot.

BonsaiDaddy94 Flattered ;)

Despite his very outdated and not-at-all cool emoticon-laden response, Namjoon's heart pounds heavily in his chest. Sure, he had been flirted with before, but the photo he sent is one that he hardly considers flattering, and to receive such a thirsty response is quite exhilarating.

The three dots pop up, but rather than receiving text, Namjoon watches as a photo pops up on the screen. His breath hitches, his palms immediately begin to sweat, and Namjoon mutters, "Holy shit," as he lifts his phone to get a better look.

JayKay97 [Photo attachment of JayKay97 that is clearly a selfie taken at a slightly high angle, pointing downward at his face and chest. His dark brown hair is coiffed off his forehead with the exception of a swoop of bangs that hangs over an eyebrow, and the back of his hair peeks out just below his ear—which is adorned with several silver studs. His eyes are wide, dark brown, and gazing slightly off to the side, suggesting that he is looking at his reflection rather than into the camera, and his expression is blank—lips closed with a silver ring through the bottom one, on the side. He wears a long silver chain over a long-sleeve black shirt, and his body is at a slight angle away from the phone.]

JayKay97 I got too impatient to find a photo and shot this selca now. I can send a full-body pic, though, if you prefer.

Namjoon blinks a few times in an attempt to get his brain to boot back up, as he stares at the photo a little longer. JayKay97 is pretty. The kind of pretty that Namjoon finds intimidating. The kind of pretty that he is certain he might do anything for.

BonsaiDaddy94 I'm sorry, my brain has logged off, and I am currently incapable of coherent thought.

JayKay97 Hmm, that message was pretty coherent, but...whatever you say, daddy.

BonsaiDaddy94 You are...dangerously pretty.

Immediately, Namjoon closes his eyes and curses himself for writing that. He scolds himself with a shake of his head and wonders how hard it would be to pack up and move far away from this city to prevent ever having to run into the dangerously pretty man to whom he continues to send embarrassing words.

But then, Namjoon's phone buzzes, and he opens his eyes quickly, eager to read the man's response.

JayKay97 Is that so?

BonsaiDaddy94 I'm embarrassed. Let's pretend I never sent those words.

JayKay97 Not so fast, daddy. I called you handsome as fuck, remember? Elaborate on what's so dangerous.

BonsaiDaddy94 I blurted it out without thinking. Just pretend it never happened.

JayKay97 Your thumbs blurted it out and then pressed send without your eyes noticing? Interesting.

Namjoon sighs and sits back in his leather desk chair with a huff, making it sway slightly from the movement. He enjoys the playful banter with JayKay97 a lot, but he knows he should focus on work instead of chatting so much. He decides to swallow his nervousness and be daring.

BonsaiDaddy94 Don't play coy, baby boy. You must know exactly what I am talking about.

BonsaiDaddy94 But perhaps you would like to discuss it over drinks, instead? Sometime this weekend? My name is Namjoon, by the way.

With the way Namjoon's heart pounds, he could have completed running in a marathon, having just crossed the finish line moments ago. He sets his phone down, but it buzzes immediately, and Namjoon picks it up and smiles at his notification, feeling a swell of excitement burst and bloom in his chest.

JayKay97 Nice to meet you, Namjoon (though, I still like daddy.) I'm Jeongguk (but you can call me baby boy.) Drinks this weekend sound perfect. [Phone number attached.]

“You what?” Yoongi shouts over his pint of beer.

Namjoon ducks his head down, feeling warmth rise up his neck and cheeks. Despite being in a loud pub, he feels anxious about being overheard.

“We haven’t actually made a plan, it’s just tentative. I haven’t sent him a text since he's given me his number, yet. I was going to after work but then you two dragged me out.”

“Text him now!” Seokjin eagerly supplies.

Rather than respond in protest, Namjoon opens his mouth and groans out a long, shaky vowel. He supposed he could text Jeongguk now—nothing is stopping him. And it’s not as if the others will allow him to change the topic until he does.

“Have the two of you exchanged pics yet?” Yoongi asks, using his fingers to indicate quotation marks around the emphasized words.

Namjoon nods and hums, causing both men to jump from their barstools. As if to protect his precious sanity—or what is left of it—Namjoon hugs his phone close to his chest and shakes his head. He has not saved Jeongguk’s photo because it feels like a weird thing to do, and he absolutely does not want the two of them to have access to their chat.

“Is he hot?” Yoongi grumbles with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

All Namjoon can do is scoff and nod, muttering, “Very.”

“Yoongi told me it’s the guy with the gym pic,” Seokjin says, leaning forward with his chin on his hands, elbows on the table.

“I never confirmed—“ Namjoon begins, but Yoongi waves him off.

“Didn’t have to; I saw the look.”

Curse Yoongi and his powers of observation. He has always been able to read Namjoon like a book.

“Text him,” Seokjin urges over his nearly empty beer glass. “Don’t let us stop you.”

Yoongi raises an eyebrow and drinks from his just-as-empty glass. With a sigh, Namjoon unlocks his phone, opens Grindr, and copies the number Jeongguk sent over. A glance at his friends shows they’re intently watching him, making him chuckle as he opens his text messaging app and pastes the number into a blank message.

“What are you gonna say to him?” Seokjin asks, leaning over the table.

Namjoon takes a step backward and shakes his head, guarding his precious phone with his life. Then, he takes a deep breath and begins to type.

Namjoon Hey, Jeongguk! It’s Namjoon. Sorry for not messaging sooner. I hope your day has been going well.

“There,” Namjoon says as he sets his phone down with both hands shielding it from his friends. “I sent a message. Can we drop it, now?”

Yoongi shrugs and chugs back the last of his pint, but Seokjin seems unconvinced.

“I want to see the photos you exchanged.”

With a sigh, Namjoon concedes, unlocking his screen and opening Grindr. “I sent the shot of me with Murakami,” he says as he thumbs to their messages and finds the selfie Jeongguk sent. It gives him pause—makes the air in the room shift. He can’t help but stare.

“You sent him a frumpy pic?” Yoongi snickers. “Bold move.”

“I didn’t want to send something too hot,” Namjoon mutters defensively. “What if he thinks that’s all I have to offer? Being hot is something I only have the energy for a few times a month, at best. And anyway, he called me handsome.”

"That's because you are handsome," Seokjin interjects, always ready to come to the defense of any of his friends who have the audacity to downplay their wealth. "Yoongi may call you frumpy, but we all know that for you, frumpy is still an 8.5 out of 10."

Namjoon continues to stare at Jeongguk’s photo while they talk. He wonders what his voice sounds like, how tall he is—wonders what kinds of food he likes to eat and what kinds of things he does for fun. He supposes he could ask, but it feels like so much pressure.

Seokjin clears his throat, making Namjoon jump, then Namjoon tilts his phone toward Seokjin, holding tightly as he attempts to grab it. Seokjin huffs and leans in, crowding Namjoon’s space, and Yoongi rounds the table and appears between them, craning his neck to get a look.

“Wow,” Yoongi says, and Seokjin responds with an emphatic, “Mmhmm!”

“Yes?” Namjoon asks, amused by their reactions.

“He’s very pretty.”

“Super pretty.”

“Yeah,” Namjoon says quietly, smiling to himself.

“He has his lip pierced,” Seokjin muses, to which Yoongi grumbles something Namjoon doesn’t catch. He is too busy thinking back to their chat and how flirty it became toward the end. He hopes the several hours of radio silence hasn’t scared Jeongguk away.

As if on cue, Namjoon’s phone vibrates, and before he can retract it and check the notification, Seokjin grabs onto his wrist and stares at the phone with wide eyes.

“Handsome daddy?” Seokjin huffs, amused.

“Wait,” Yoongi mutters, getting onto his toes to get a closer look, “did someone just call our Namjoonah daddy?”

Namjoon clears his throat and tugs his phone away. His ears must be beet red, and he looks off to the side—anywhere but at his friends.

“It’s an inside joke.”

“An inside joke?” Yoongi chides.

“My username is bonsaidaddy94, and he thought it would be cute to—“

“Oh, it’s extremely cute,” Yoongi interrupts, “but what do you call him?”

Having had enough of the conversation, Namjoon turns to the side and opens his messages. Sure enough, there’s a response from Jeongguk.

Jeongguk There’s my handsome daddy. I was worried you had forgotten about me. ):

Handsome daddy. Namjoon knows it is foolish to let the silly nickname affect him, but it does—it affects him quite a bit. What will become of him should Jeongguk choose to use the nickname in person? Will Namjoon live to tell the tale?

Seokjin clears his throat and raises an eyebrow. “We need shots and another pint. You,” he directs at Namjoon, “hold the fort down and continue your conversation. I need details once we return. All of them.”

Once Seokjin and Yoongi walk off, Namjoon leans on his elbow against the sticky bar table and nervously thumbs a response.

Namjoon How could I forget someone as pretty as you, baby boy? Unfortunately, I was just working. And then my friends drug me out to a pub, where I have been asked a million questions about you.

Jeongguk You're still at the pub now?

Namjoon I am...

Jeongguk Interesting.

Namjoon What is interesting?

Jeongguk Grindr says you're only 300 ft away. I bet if I wanted to, I could figure out which pub you're at.

Namjoon shifts in place and looks over his shoulder despite knowing that, realistically, there is no way Jeongguk would be able to suddenly appear behind him. The prospect of being located by a hookup app's GPS is so nerve wracking, despite the small inkling of Namjoon wanting Jeongguk to come find him.

Namjoon Ooh, stalking before the first date? Now that is a surefire way to get into my pants, baby boy.

Jeongguk What a shame I'm too nervous to come meet you and your friends all at once. I guess I'll have to leave the stalking for another time.

The idea of Jeongguk being nervous is something Namjoon can't help but find interesting. Of course, it is only natural to feel nerves when meeting anyone for the first time, but if Jeongguk's main mission is to get into Namjoon's pants, surely he would have no qualms with meeting Namjoon's best friends. Unless Jeongguk banks on possibly seeing them more than once.

Perhaps, Namjoon thinks, he is reading into it too much. It is quite a different thing to be assertive over text and assertive in person. Maybe dangerously pretty Jeongguk, who instantly took to calling Namjoon daddy, is actually shy. The idea makes Namjoon swoon.

Namjoon My baby boy is shy? I never would have guessed.

Seokjin and Yoongi return with a tray full of alcohol, and Namjoon nods noncommittally at them before turning his attention back to his phone. Drinks are placed in front of him, and he absent-mindedly picks up a pint of beer, nearly spilling it on himself as he raises the glass to take a sip.

Jeongguk Why? Because I'm promiscuous?

Jeongguk's message gives Namjoon pause, and he stops moving his drink closer to his lips, hovering the glass just inches away. Suddenly, Namjoon feels a crushing weight on his chest and back, squeezing the air out of him. The last thing Namjoon would want Jeongguk to think is that he is judging him.

It does not help that Namjoon's mind goes completely blank as he stares at his phone in an attempt to think of anything to say. Yoongi approaches and gently takes the beer from Namjoon and sets it on the table, then softly rubs a hand over the small of Namjoon's back. Namjoon blinks rapidly and clears his throat, then lifts his idle hand to his phone—this matter requires two thumbs to navigate.

Namjoon Because you're assertive, forward, and quite flirtatious.

Despite having sent his message mere seconds ago, Namjoon considers more that he could say—that he should say. However, a message comes in before he gets a chance, and it throws him off.

Jeongguk So, what have your friends been asking about me? Are they the friends who peer-pressured you into downloading the app?

Now, Namjoon cannot figure out whether Jeongguk was joking before or if he is simply deflecting after what Namjoon said. He wishes he knew the man better so that he would not have to worry about saying the wrong thing over text—a medium that can be hard to read the tone behind. For now, he decides to roll with it. They can always discuss the topic in person.

Namjoon The very same friends, yes. They more or less begged me to show them your photo. I hope it's okay that I did. And they have been trying to get to know what kind of person you are, but I am trying to save what little I know about you for myself before giving all the goods away to them.

"So...is everything alright?" Yoongi asks from Namjoon's right. His hand has stopped rubbing circles against Namjoon's back.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Everything is fine. I was just sidetracked by something."

"Okay."

Jeongguk That's cute of them. You're right that we know so little about one another. We should fix that. What do you do for a living, daddy?

Namjoon can't help but chuckle at how forward and cute Jeongguk is. He glances up from his phone long enough to grab his beer, this time taking a nice big gulp of it. Then he sets it down and goes back to typing.

Namjoon I work as a museum and gallery curator. Mostly, I help acquire artwork, store it, show it. I also do guest curation for exhibits in the United States. The photo I sent you is of myself and Takashi Murakami.

Jeongguk Oh, shit, I was so busy looking at you, I didn't even notice his art behind you. That's really fucking cool. I'm impressed, daddy.

"Encouraging him to message the boy was a mistake," Yoongi mutters, to which Namjoon hums and looks up at his friend with an attentive expression. Both men have their heads cocked to the side, and Yoongi is shaking his head. "We were going to do shots, remember?"

"Oh! Right," Namjoon says as he sets his phone down on the sticky table and turns his attention to his hyungs. Seokjin scoots a small glass of clear liquid toward Namjoon, and they all three lift their glasses to the center of the table.

"To Namjoon finally getting laid," Seokjin snickers.

"And to us losing him completely in the process," Yoongi adds.

Namjoon rolls his eyes but meets their shots with his, then turns his head as he gulps back soju. The taste is bittersweet, and the liquid is slightly too cold for comfort. Seokjin takes the liberty of pouring more shots while Namjoon lifts up his phone. He never responded to Jeongguk.

Namjoon Art is definitely my passion, but as someone who has no talent for making it, I stick to turning my appreciation into something I can market. What about you, baby boy? What do you do?

"After these drinks, we're going to call it a night," Yoongi announces. Namjoon turns and raises an eyebrow as he continues. "So you'd better hang out with us before we go."

At this, Namjoon rolls his eyes and pockets his phone. He can handle some time without it—he has done it before.

Or, so he thought.

Namjoon is mid-reaching for his beer when his phone vibrates in his pocket. The urge to pull it out and check the notification is enough to make his hand twitch, but he does his best to stay present with his friends.

They discuss how work has been and what plans they have for the weekend, but all that does is make Namjoon think about how he and Jeongguk still haven't made a solid plan for a first date.

He does his best to participate in the conversation, but his mind drifts. He wonders whether Jeongguk would like to see one of his latest exhibits or if he is more of a bar-on-the-first-date type. Maybe he will want to go out to a restaurant or go to Namjoon's place to cook something together.

The phone in Namjoon’s pocket buzzes, pulling him from his thoughts, and he once again begins to reach for it before remembering his silent promise to his friends. His friends, who are tipsy and in their own world, gazing at one another with stars in their eyes.

Ordinarily, Namjoon would groan and down his drink, whining that this is exactly why hanging out with the two of them is frustrating—that their love is just a big, heavy reminder of how lonely he is. But tonight, he doesn’t mind. His thoughts are so clouded by a pretty boy with a lip ring and big, round eyes. His friends can be gross all they want.

“Shots!” Seokjin calls, and shots they have. And again, and again.

They sing too loudly to some ballads Yoongi selects on the jukebox and finish their beers. And, just as Yoongi promised, once their glasses are empty, they begin their goodbyes and leave for the night—Namjoon getting a cab home, and Yoongi bickering about how well he can drive drunk while Seokjin calls a cab for the two of them, ignoring him. This is a dance the two of them play often, and in the morning, one of them will bus over to retrieve their car; they usually play scissors, rock, paper to determine who goes.

Namjoon clambers into the backseat of the cab and, while the dome lights are still on, he snaps a selfie. He had changed into a white button-up and applied some makeup before going to the museum earlier in the evening to meet with one of the directors, and tonight, he is feeling himself, as the kids say.

Once his phone is unlocked, Namjoon is happy to find a response from Jeongguk but disappointed that there is only one message from him, despite the two vibrations he had felt at the bar. The other message comes from Grindr, and Namjoon opens it out of curiosity.

TaeTae That smile is too sweet for an app like this. But with daddy in the name…you’re sending mixed signals, babe. You intrigue me. Are you a wine-and-dine type?

Namjoon’s heart begins to race. Most of the men on the app have their faces somehow obstructed so that they are difficult to identify, but TaeTae has his face showing, for all the world to see, and he is breathtaking.

With eyes and lips that slope in a soft but almost sad way, despite his rectangular smile, TaeTae is the kind of man artists and poets use as a muse. How deadly, in combination with the slightly whimsical way in which he writes.

BonsaiDaddy94 Is it that obvious that the hookup app isn’t quite my scene? I am the wine-and-dine type. And you?

Namjoon types and sends without giving it much thought. And then he remembers Jeongguk, and his stomach sinks. Of course, Namjoon has done nothing wrong by responding to a message—he assumes Jeongguk is also continuing to message others—but he feels guilty for checking this other man’s message first.

Jeongguk I work part-time as a model while I finish my degree in photography. Seems you and I have similar interests, daddy. (;

Namjoon Seems we do. What kind of modeling do you do?

Jeongguk He lives. D: I thought I had lost you! How are your friends? Will you be out long?

Namjoon Friends are good! They were complaining that I was ignoring them, so I put my phone away. I'm taking a cab home now.

Without allowing himself to second guess, Namjoon sends Jeongguk the selfie he snapped moments ago.

Namjoon [Photo attachment of Namjoon’s face from a straightforward angle. His head is slightly tilted to the side with his jaw resting on his hand, elbow presumably on the car door off-screen. Namjoon doesn’t smile, his parted bangs fall over his forehead, styled neatly but simply, and he has a faint dusting of eyeshadow. There is a small silver hoop in his ear, and the top button of his white button-up is undone.]

Jeongguk Excuse me??? Daddy!!!

Namjoon smiles wide and lets himself revel in Jeongguk’s simple but emphatic reaction.

Namjoon Yes, baby boy?

Jeongguk You’re. You. Your. Makeup???

Namjoon I wear makeup to work, sometimes, yes. I clean up well, huh?

Jeongguk I’m howling and barking like a dog right now; I hope you know that.

Namjoon I’m flattered. ;)

And this time, he really is flattered. This time, Jeongguk’s response feels earned, and it feels good.

Jeongguk Are you sure you don’t do hookups? I don’t live far from that pub. Or we can snuggle, whatever you’re into. I just need my hands on you holy fuck.

Namjoon actually considers it. He’s intoxicated from the alcohol and high on Jeongguk’s praises, and he almost asks for the address. But he wants to stick to his guns and take Jeongguk on a proper date first. Or, at least, make an attempt to.

Namjoon Snuggling does sound nice, but I have an early morning tomorrow, and I am a bit more drunk than I hoped to get tonight. We should solidify a date for this weekend. I’m free tomorrow evening, Saturday, and Sunday, if something works for you.

The cab pulls up to Namjoon’s place, and he clambers out with a thank you, having already paid for the ride with his phone. His phone buzzes, and he smiles as he fishes out his keys to unlock his apartment building. Through the lobby, on his way to the elevator, Namjoon sneaks a glance at his phone, and immediately, he feels overwhelmed by the sudden surge of attractive men messaging him—two feels like a lot, compared to none.

TaeTae I’m busy this weekend, but we should grab dinner and chat Monday if you’re free. I want to know more about this bonsai daddy with pretty lips and deep dimples.

All Namjoon can do is chuckle. He feels like he has entered some new dimension where, suddenly, he is being perceived. Not that people don’t notice Namjoon in his day-to-day life, but nobody is so brazen in their attempts to get to know him.

As he exits the elevator and makes his way to his apartment door, he mulls it over. This TaeTae guy seems nice, but Namjoon really likes Jeongguk. Not to mention, juggling two men at once seems overwhelming.

BonsaiDaddy94 I’m flattered, and I do have some free time on Monday evening, but I am curious what your intentions are. I’m not really into hookups, so I don’t want to disappoint you.

Namjoon keys in the code for his apartment door and slips in, letting the door close behind him. While unbuttoning his shirt, he toes out of his shoes, and, by the time he walks through his living room, past his kitchen, and into his bathroom, his shirt is open and untucked and he is undoing his belt—running on autopilot and ready to go to bed.

He brushes his teeth, wipes the makeup from his face, and moisturizes in slow, lazy movements. Suddenly, the weight of the day, mixed with the newfound excitement, has him feeling heavy and worn out.

Although they hardly know one another, Namjoon wishes Jeongguk would respond so they could make a plan. It has been a long time since Namjoon has actually wanted to get to know another person—to schedule someone into his life and make time for them. Instead, his phone vibrates with enthusiasm from another.

TaeTae My intentions include whatever you’re comfortable with, of course. The idea of wining and dining you with the promise of your body as dessert does entice me to no end, but if you like to take things slow, I am happy to oblige.

Rather than respond, Namjoon undresses and climbs into bed, beneath his forest green comforter, which he pulls up to his chin. He exhales slowly and closes his eyes, and he wonders to himself just what the fuck he should do. Despite the rules he has always had in place for himself, he desperately wants to get laid. Picturing dangerously pretty Jeongguk and breathtaking TaeTae doesn’t help.

And he knows he shouldn’t respond to the Grindr message, but he feels a buzz from the back and forth that they have established, and he finds he can’t help himself.

BonsaiDaddy94 I do prefer to take things slow. Although…perhaps my body will persuade my mind to let go for one night. I am equally intrigued by you, and the sweeter you talk, the more I find my walls beginning to crumble.

When Namjoon wakes up, he has a headache. This is the first indication that he got too drunk the night before and may have said or done something regretful. As he stretches and yawns, he thinks about his conversation with Jeongguk—how he boldly sent a selfie and attempted to make a plan.

And then he thinks about his conversation with the other guy, and his heart jumps into his throat.

“Oh, fuck,” Namjoon mutters as he frantically searches his bed for his phone. For once, he must have had the wherewithal to plug it in, and he spins, twisting himself in his comforter, to find it sitting on his nightstand with one message from Jeongguk and two from his new friend.

Jeongguk I would like to see you as soon as possible, so how does tomorrow sound?

Namjoon Good morning, pretty! Tonight sounds perfect. Are you a dinner and drinks kind of guy? Would you like to see one of the galleries I’ve curated? I’m very flexible.

Jeongguk Flexible, hmm? (; Dinner and drinks sound great, but rather than someplace fancy, do you like noodles? There’s a hole-in-the-wall noodle spot near the pub I nearly stalked you at. Is that something you would be into? Not that I'm not into the idea of going to see art, but I may have a problem keeping my eyes off you, and I don't want to waste such a lovely experience.

Namjoon If you’re asking whether I would be interested in meeting you over the best bowl of udon I have ever had, the answer is an emphatic yes. I work from home today, and I should be done around 4, so any time after then is good for me.

Jeongguk You know the spot! Perfect. How does 6 sound?

Finally, a plan for a date has been solidified. Namjoon feels so excited, he rolls onto his back, stares at his ceiling, and smiles. He also wants to meet Jeongguk as soon as possible and is thrilled that the feeling is mutual.

Namjoon Perfect. See you at 6!

It is past noon when Namjoon realizes he never read or responded to the messages from his Grindr friend. With a date in motion with Jeongguk, he almost feels inclined not to acknowledge him. Namjoon can’t remember what they chatted about just before he knocked out, and he isn’t sure he wants to.

But then, in the depths of his mind, he recalls possibly setting up a date with the other guy, and for the second time in a span of four hours, he panics.

“The sweeter you talk, the more I feel my walls beginning to crumble,” Namjoon recites as he reads over his last sent message. “Oh, what the fuck?”

He feels so embarrassed he considers deleting the app from his phone and never looking back. Luckily, his new Grindr friend seems to be taking it in stride.

TaeTae My sweet bonsai father, you are kind and adorable, but I would rather go at the pace you prefer, so, no need to make lofty professions of desire. Should we be so lucky as to fuck, then we shall fuck. But I will be delighted no matter how much or how little I get to have of you.

The second message came nearly an hour later.

TaeTae By the way, you can call me Taehyung.

Taehyung. Namjoon likes the name and is instantly reminded of his pretty, sad smile. Both Jeongguk and Taehyung seem so different in personality, but also similar in the way they initiate conversation and steer it effortlessly. He almost wishes one of them was more boring or annoying than the other so he wouldn't feel so overwhelmed with the task of getting to know them both. But there is a part of him that really wants to get to know them both.

BonsaiDaddy94 Nice to meet you, Taehyung. I'm Namjoon. Bonsai father is a fitting name, too, though. I would hate to stifle your creativity with something as bland as a given name.

Namjoon reads over his cheeky response, feeling pleased with himself. There is a whimsy to Taehyung that makes Namjoon's inner award-winning poet want to come out to play. When three dots pop up, indicating that Taehyung is writing a response, Namjoon feels eager.

TaeTae You are positively splendid, Namjoon. I wonder what it is you do for a living—how you spend your time? What kind of company do you keep? What color is your favorite comforter? Do you really father a bonsai? Does it blossom? Would you like to move this conversation over to text, or does this hookup app, as you call it, suffice? (Just in case...[phone number attached.])

Suddenly, Namjoon feels like he is drowning, but not in an unpleasant way. He is underwater, gazing up at the light reflecting from the sun—beams of sunshine breaking the surface while dots of light and shadow dance and sway atop the gentle waves. He wants to surface—knows he must eventually come up for air and make a choice—but for now, he enjoys the weightlessness of opening up to and flirting with two men who, as of this moment, only live inside his phone.

Namjoon saves Taehyung's number to his contact list, glances at his computer to remind himself that he does actually have responsibilities to take care of for the day, then responds to Taehyung, anyway.

Namjoon Hello, Taehyung. It's Namjoon. As much as I love the blocky, uninviting vibe of the hookup app, this is much more pleasant. To answer your questions: I am a published poet, but I don't much enjoy the pressures of having to produce, simply to make a living, so I work as a museum curator. I spend a lot of my time around art and thinking about art (and talking about art.) My friends are grumpy and quiet, or enthusiastic and loud; a little over the top sometimes, but always respectful and caring. Works of art, in their own regard. My favorite comforter is forest green, and I do father two bonsai. One blossoms every few months, and it makes my heart swell with affection every time. And now I have sent you a novella, wow. Sorry?

Everything feels light and heavy at the same time as Namjoon sets his phone down and attempts to get some work done. And he is successful for a solid hour until his phone vibrates again, and he instantly picks it up to read the message. Luckily, he has already caught up on his emails and has set meetings with several artists he would like to host for upcoming exhibits, so he has a little time to breathe before deciding which item to check from his to-do list next.

Taehyung Namjoon, darling. My god, you are perfection personified. I am foaming at the mouth. Poet and museum curator? I'm a photographer! Small potatoes, for now; I mostly dress my roommate up in our friend's latest fashions and make him pose. I also do landscapes and nature shots to make money here and there, but I have been considering the next steps for really breaking out and making a name for myself. I won't burden you with that, though; you are welcome to see my work, but I do not want you to think that I am using you to get to your power and influence. (So fucking hot that you have power and influence, though, ugh.) And now it is I sending the novella. I refuse to apologize, and so should you.

Taehyung PS. I still haven't seen all of your face. No rush, no pressure. But I am curious. I would be happy to send a bespoke selca just for you in return.

At this moment in time, Namjoon feels at a crossroads, and he wheels himself away from his desk and stands—tall and flexed, for some indiscernible reason, as if steeling himself for battle. Something about Taehyung makes him want to be playful, and he feels dramatic—he wants to lean into the feeling a little.

But he also wants to be straightforward and honest, so he paces around his home office—a small room with a considerably large window that overlooks a narrow street, full from wall to ceiling with art, photos, and other things he enjoys—and he stares at his phone in his hands, deciding what he should do. Taehyung needs to know that he has a date tonight, and that he is unsure about his plans and feelings, overall.

Namjoon I would be happy to both send and receive a selca, but first I think it would be fair to tell you that I have a date tonight with someone, and I am still uncertain about my feelings and intentions with that person. I am trying to stay open to possibilities, hence chatting with you, but I also don't want to lead you on or make you feel deceived.

Despite feeling confident in his diplomacy, Namjoon is worried and continues to pace. Juggling two attractive, interesting men is such a foreign concept to Namjoon, he considers deleting the Grindr app in an effort to save himself the trouble of possibly liking a third person.

Namjoon nearly sits back down at his desk when his phone buzzes, and he feels himself gasp with anticipation. He paces one last time, then takes a seat in his leather computer chair and leans forward with his elbows on his knees as he opens Taehyung's message.

Taehyung You are the sweetest; I could literally die. I hope you enjoy your date tonight and that it is everything you wish for and more! I, too, have a date tonight, but I am out of town for work, so it's more like a hookup. Don't worry; I practice safely and am very discrete (not that I get the vibe that you're judgmental, but since I am pursuing you, I feel you deserve to know.) Should you fall in love during your date, I will have no hard feelings, just let me know, so I'm not left out in the rain, okay?

Namjoon I'm so not used to dating that all of this feels strange but cathartic to talk to someone about. Usually, I meet someone from work—or school, when I was still in school—and then we go from there, exclusive from the jump. App dating is so much different. I think the laid-back nature of it all is as much of a relief as it is terrifying.

Taehyung Sometimes app dating is the opposite of laid-back. But I am laid-back by nature, so you are safe with me. While I find drama to be fascinating and exhilarating at times, I simply do not have the energy.

Namjoon Relatable.

Taehyung Oooh! If you'd like to make my selca wish come true, perhaps you can send me what you plan to wear to the date. Or would that be too weird? I'll do the same; we can compare notes.

The idea of comparing date outfits with someone who Namjoon also has tentative plans to go on a date with feels strange. It also feels delightful, and he accepts. And then, he makes a valiant attempt to get back to work.

The minute 4 PM rolls around, Namjoon is out of his chair and getting into the shower. Yoongi has already attempted to get him to hang out with him, and for once, didn't put up a fight when Namjoon declined. He must be happy that his friend has a date—which, Namjoon thinks, he should be happy about, since all of this was partially his fault, to begin with.

Namjoon showers quickly, then towels off while preemptively stressing about what to wear. They are going to a noodle spot, and he doesn't want to wear something that might risk getting messy, so he decides on black. Namjoon styles his hair simply with his bangs parted and his hair nicely combed. He doesn't add any product, save for a bit of creme to keep any flyaways at bay, and he puts on a nice, simple black long-sleeve tee, tucked into black slacks, with a nice black leather belt.

It is approximately 5:30 PM by the time Namjoon has finished pacing around anxiously, deciding on whether to wear any jewelry and stressing over which denim jacket to bring. He settles on the same small silver hoops he has been wearing lately, which he has left on a wooden tray in the bathroom—a catchall for things he doesn't want to shower with.

Before making his way to gather them, however, he remembers his agreement with Taehyung and snaps a selfie for him. He sits at his desk, opts to make a peace sign, and purses his lips, with the camera slightly to the side and the photo capturing more of one side of his face than the other. Without giving it too much thought—because he will second guess it to death and decide against it if he allows himself to—he sends it off to Taehyung.

It takes approximately twenty seconds for him to receive a response. Namjoon opens his messenger, and immediately, his jaw drops to the floor.

Taehyung [Photo attached of Taehyung standing in front of a mirror with his phone held in front of half of his face. The half that is in view is relaxed—no smile, but no frown—and he appears to be looking into the phone screen rather than into the mirror. His hair is wavy and fluffy, falling over his forehead and sticking out from under his ears in the back. Around his neck are several short, thin necklaces, including one that appears to be a string of pearls. He wears a cornflower blue button-up shirt, powder blue slacks, and a white leather belt. The shirt is unbuttoned and untucked, hanging open to reveal a generous strip of skin from his neck, to his belly button, to his hips.]

Taehyung Namjoon, bonsai father, darling. You are stunning. I hope it's not too rude to say your lips *do things* to me.

Namjoon hardly has a chance to respond to Taehyung's text, still reeling from his photo. The glimpse of skin beneath the pretty blues—he is the one who is stunning. Namjoon shifts in his chair, clears his throat, and stands. He has to get moving if he wants to meet Jeongguk on time, so he leaves his office, shuts off the light, and makes his way to the living room, all while staring at his phone. What does he even say in response to everything that has just inundated his vision?

Finally, after slipping into some black chelsea boots and patting down his pants to ensure he has his wallet and keys, he lifts his phone to respond.

Namjoon You left me speechless. I'm stunning? I'm afraid you are the one who is stunning. Your...everything...does things to me. And now I must attempt to go meet my date and not think about you...wish me luck.

Namjoon isn't quite sure why he adds in that last part; Jeongguk is also quite stunning. But there is a gravitational pull to Taehyung that makes Namjoon want to flirt and be vulnerable in ways he doesn't often allow himself to be.

As soon as Namjoon hits send, his phone lights up with a message from his date, and his heart skips an anticipatory beat.

Jeongguk I'm leaving a bit early, so I'll save us a seat!

Ordinarily, Namjoon would order a cab, just in case he has a little too much to drink, but since Jeongguk says he lives near the noodle spot, he opts to drive. And anyway, if Jeongguk's place is close, and they do hit it off, perhaps it won't be a problem for him to drink, since he won't have to drive home.

Namjoon Sounds good. I'm heading over now! Be there in 10ish.

tags: @btsstan12 @codeinebelle@dasexydevitt13 @giriiboyy @moonleeai @m1sss1mp @spookyminyunki 📲 this is a limited run fic, but if you would like to be added to the tag list (or all of my tag lists,) please comment or dm!

INDEX | NEXT

#namjoon x jungkook #namkook #btswritersclub #btscarnivalnet #btshoneyhive #namkook fluff #namkook smut #bts fluff #fic: this sordid place

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sizzlingpatrolfox · 7 months

Note

that jk solo has some nerve saying only kth and pjms talk about about ships when they were tagging the ministry of defense when it seemed like jikooker were enlisting together and calling jm slurs to the government and threw another fit when jk's log diary was leaked, NOT because it was an invasion of privacy, but because it was supposedly fake and made by jikookers and when it turned out it was real no one even said anything. also if jm mentions jk doing well he's leeching off him etc etc. they adopted all tkkers narratives and more they really hate jm and his closeness to jk more than they like jk. pjms don't like jk and some are actively hateful to him too, but majority acts civil when he mentions him in passing just relaying the news and moving on, then shit hits the fan when jjks start the hate campaign

The most ridiculous part is them claiming they weren't a jjk when their ask literally said this

"notice how only kths and pjms talk about shippers constantly even in solo era because thats the only type of content you have since those men give you nothing."

THOSE MEN???? Why were they even here if they don't like Jimin is beyond me.

Disguising their akgae ass behind "jikookers aren't so bad" and then in the proccess dissing Jimin, Taehyung and everyone EXCEPT Jungkook. I have to laugh.

I also didn't say that I never wrote an unprovoked post about jikookers. I just said that jikookers are doing it everyday and for what.

Jikookers get Jimin dragged ALL the time. btw. The entirety of the past decade, it was jikookers thinking they were so smart for posting jikook clips where Jungkook looked like he was not interested in being in the same room with Jimin and thus giving taekookers ammo to hate on Jimin.

And yes, you're absolutely right. It's insane to say jjks don't talk about jikook when they actually do, just not in a way that you can argue with them or bring up what they say in a civil conversation. You can't quote them on what they say about jikook because they're calling Jimin an animal and a rapist 24/7, or asking the Korean goverment to investigate him for being gay. That's how they talk about jikook, and they do it literally all the time. If they're not talking about jikook, they're still talking about Jimin, so how's that different? In the messages they sent me they made it sound like talking about jikook = jimin, so it should be the same the other way around.

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sparklehoney7 · 11 months

Text

the only one who makes me

by: lvlyvmk

pairing: jimin/taehyung

info: one shot (8,845)

tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot / Porn with Feelings / Friends With Benefits / Sort Of / Alternate Universe - Fraternity / Himbos / Himbos Everywhere / Forbidden Love / Technically / Top Kim Taehyung | V / Bottom Park Jimin (BTS) / Masturbation / Anal Sex / Anal Fingering / Fluff and Smut / jimin spends 90 percent of this fic gay panicking / and i think that's very sexy of him

summary: “what the hell,” jimin whispers, half-terrified, half-annoyed that his orgasm was ruined by this weirdo intruder. are they being robbed? should he go get someone?

he squints, surreptitiously wiping his fingers on his powder-blue bedsheets. he wiggles under the covers, trying his best to yank his underwear and pants up so that he doesn’t have to fight a burglar with his dick out—

and then, suddenly, there’s a muffled whine of, “jimin-ah,” and a face smushed against the glass.

taehyung and jimin are in feuding fraternities. they're also exclusive fuck buddies. taehyung climbs the side of jimin's fraternity house in the dead of winter to see him, which is totally a bro thing to do. definitely not romantic at all.

link

#bts fic #fic rec #one shot #vmin

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nightswithkookmin · 2 years

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More Pictures of Tae and Jennie are out and at this point I'm kinda feeling bad for taekookers, at the same time they had it coming, shipping a ship that was barely there in the first place Vope was more realer than taekook that's how much content tae kook had. But anyways I'm starting to approve of Tae and Jennie before I was like hell no but now I don't mind it, do I think he could do better yes but at the end of the day it's his happiness, and that I approve of.

Oops I'm dead again

I knew they were fucked the moment it was with miss Jennie. Poor tuktukkers🥲

It breaks my heart for them

Its them coming up eith elaborate theories to explain why JK's brother allowed Jikook tags on his page for me. That was the last straw

Claiming the original poster unarchived her post- if all it takes for tags to show up on his page is to unarchive posts he's already tagged in, why don't yall unarchive your posts as well?? You know you want to

The lies they tell on Beyonce's internet.

About these two.

You know I saw one tuktukkers on my timeline saying they believe the dating rumors now but the leg and nose in the photos don't look like Tae at all....

To be honest I think Hybe needs to put all this to rest now. Confirm it or deny it and let us move on with our lives. I'm getting tired of saesangs putting their relationship in my face every few sec. They screwing. Cool. Know who else is screwing? EVERYBODY.

This is getting too much attention than it should. And it's becoming too much of new old news every single minute. It's like they don't want us to forget and the minute it dies down it circles back up. Which saesang has the time to orchestrate something like this? Serving tea one teaspoon full at a time?

Feels like a whole marketing ploy.

It was shocking, titillating the first few times, now it's just plain annoying.

And I'm gay. I do not want to hear nothing bout heterosexual people on my timeline always

Make it stop. Hybe. End it please. I can't take it anymore. They broken my ear with it😫

This certainly isn't my favorite couple reveal moment and this whole trajectory of the reveal leaves such a poor taste in my mouth. They are not being photographed on the streets by paparazzi or even being outed by owners of the places they staying. No. These are images ordinarily no one but them would have access to💀

And they all going about their lives like it's the most normal thing. When one word from either of them and both camps would nip this. Just one word.

If it was privacy invasion I know HYBE WOULD HAVE SLAPPED WHOEVER IS BEHIND IT WITH A SUIT. Tae would have cussed them out himself. Someone from both camps is behind it with their blessings. I said it.

People want to act like everyone wants to hide their relationship when it's like but if you've ever been in love especially the first time you just want to shout it to the whole world💀 Free Jikook in gcf.

I take little to no stock whatsoever in their dynamic. But out of love and respect for Taehyung I wish them well. Wish he's happy.

Tae deserves to be happy. If she makes him happy and he makes her happy- which he will cos I know that man a lover and she's very lucky to have him. Very, very lucky. Not sure I can say same for her cos I don't know her like that. Let's hope she does else I'm rallying up tuktukker's and starting a riot.

You'd be surprised how many people will lose interest in them the moment they confirm it. I'm here for BTS, to support their music and make them rich at my expense, what they do in their private capacity with private persons and persons outside BTS is none of my business.

But this whole Romeo and juliet trope they have going on irks me. They out there living their best forbidden love romance trope life thinking we don't want to see them together- like no. We just don't care 🤷🏾

Some of us just don't care at all😫

Miss Jennie lost her wow factor two public relationships ago for us to care who she dates anymore sorry💀

Then on the other hand, because this is Tae's first public relationship we care so much and have so many judgements to pass cos in our eyes no one deserves Tae but us🥺

But we do see the power couple potential they have😏

I just wish Jennie was Tae's second public relationship not his first.

Their shippers must be so happy 😊

That said, if Namjoon wanna date someone say tall, skinny, Asian, female, who is into pilates👀

Anyway this has been a rather satisfying jikook karma moment 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'll be in tuktukland all day🥳

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ktheist · 4 years

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2prettybestfrens | jjk

muses. jeon jeongguk x reader x park jimin ft. kim taehyung

genre. strangers to lovers!au. university!au.

words. 18.2k

drabbles. pjm

feedback.

warnings. mentions of physical insecurities, alcohol use, juul use, mention of adoption, mentions of dysfunctional families, handcuffs - lots of handcuffs, jeongguk crossdressing, too many one-sided pinings lmao

synopsis. you’re in love with kim taehyung who’s in love with jennie kim who’s in love with professor kim namjoon. so park jimin doesn’t exactly fit in all of this, yet he’s always been there in your weakest moments which may or may not be caused by your heartbreak boy - or so jeongguk likes to call him.

oh and jeongguk? you don’t even know jeongguk until that party-gone-awry night where you end up handcuffed together to ponder on what you did.

when you uploaded a snapchat of your darkened room and a single teary-eyed emoji because kim taehyung uploaded one where a beautiful girl was covering her mouth while she giggled, jimin snapped back a ‘why r u awake 😬’ to which you snapped the same darkened room with a slightly different angle and a ‘just cause’. his last snap to you contained a ‘cool wanna call?’ before you dialed him up and ended up talking until 5 in the morning before bidding each other-

“well, good night then,” you’d muttered.

“g’morning,” he’d wished you back in a soft mumble and a hint of sleepiness taking over.

that happened on a friday night. on monday and for the rest of the week, you merely greeted each other in the hallway and went on your days without the inclusion of the other.

when you sat by yourself on the bench on the sidewalk of campus, under the shade of a great old tree a few feet away from your department after being left high and dry when kim taehyung’s friends asked him if he’s joining them to get mcdonald’s which he’d in turn asked if you wanted to tag along and you said you were good only because you never did well in groupies - park jimin sat down next to you, head thrown back as he squinted at the gaps of the leaves where the tiniest of sun rays managed to pass through and dot his face. blonde tresses swaying ever so softly when the wind blew past you.

“so how was finance?” he looked like he was asking the waving branches.

“eh, it was fine, professor kim’s a good teacher,” you shrugged, the sight of jennie suavely smiling and said professor shooting glances at her made you mentally vomit.

“man,” he blew a gust of air from his mouth as he ran a hand through his semi-long tresses, “were we in the same class? because all i remember was dozing off five minutes into class.”

“that’s why you should sit at the front,” you’d suggested.

it was then, did he push himself off the ground and stood up, black and white jacket pushed back as he slipped his hands into the pocket of his jeans. eyes narrowing while his tongue protruded against the inside of his cheek before he went, “you hungry?”

“starving,” you rolled your eyes before collecting your mac and holding it to your chest, bag slung over your shoulders.

the both of you didn’t go to mcdonald’s but the food tasted just as good that day at the cafe in your faculty.

when kim taehyung asked jennie if she was free friday night and the girl turned to you with an endearingly oblivious, “do we have any plans on friday?” and taehyung awkwardly but not so hesitantly corrected, “um, i mean, just you jennie,” the air, without a doubt turned tangibly tense and awkward.

“oh,” jennie’s brows knitted together as she stared at him, as though trying to spot the caption on his forehead as to why he invited only her when everyone knew you and jennie never go anywhere without the other if you didn’t have any prior engagements, “well, ___ and me are going to hang out together so yeah, i’m not free.”

you weren’t sure if she was dumb or playing dumb but you’d found out later that night, that she’d been irritated with kim taehyung’s non-considerate advancements which she’d recently noticed seemed to exclude you ‘i hate people who make plans in front of someone and not invite them’ was her exact word before she followed up with a ‘blockedt’.

but backtrack to when the tension seemed to rise higher than the sky, you were saved by jimin when he came mini-jogging towards you with that adorable boyish smile and crescent eyes, “hey, i was looking for you - you wanna walk to accounting together?”

you’d waved jennie and taehyung goodbye and gladly walked with jimin to class.

and so it goes, with kim taehyung’s eyes lighting like fireworks in the midnight sky when he sees jennie and the girl itching to make a beeline to the opposite side of where he comes from and you shooting her ‘be nice’ looks whilst park jimin pops up now and then in the most convenient time until ‘us’ no longer comprise of you and jennie but also taehyung and jimin.

so much so, some of your casual friends come to you asking for either of the boys when they seem to have something to inform them which you’re not sure why isn’t informable through text. but either way, you’ve become two best friends with additional friends.

maybe said additional friends happen to fall in the top list of cuties in the girls and gays’ books but besides kim taehyung, if you looked, like really really looked at park jimin, you concurred, perhaps he does have the right to be in said list with his unblemished, smooth skin, perfect pink lips and pretty sparkly eyes.

“what?” his lips do the thing where they curl, revealing a pair of perfectly lined white pearls.

“nothing,” you say as you find yourself third-wheeling in taehyung’s bmw with jimin at the back and the first commenting something about his older sister liking to shop at zara as well when jennie asked you if you were free tomorrow to go to the mall near campus.

“i mean i can go with you girls, i have a two-hour gap between classes,” the boy offers.

“oh,” the first laugh trickles out of your mouth without a stop switch, “you’re so cute.”

you can hear jennie snickering in the passenger seat as you turn away from the angle where taehyung could see you in the rear-view mirror, only to come face to face with jimin who seems to get your humor.

“it’s not a big deal,” taehyung shrugs, a tinge of pride in his voice.

“my man,” jimin pats said man on his shoulder, “you don’t know jack shit about women.”

“what?” the older boy asks, perplexed and quite honestly irritated for some reason - but then again, he never seems to like jimin’s quick-to-catch-on nature when it comes to any girls-related topics.

“two hours is not enough to shop, taehyung,” jennie finally decodes the long standing cipher, “we can barely explore one shop.”

by the end of her words, you’re is full out snickering like an unattractive hyena, “i thought you have a sister?”

“i do,” there’s a tinge of confusion in his tone, “she usually goes shopping with her boyfriend.”

“well, how long did it take them to go shopping?” she quizzes, sharing an amused look with jimin.

“uh,” it’s then, do you hear the sound of the screws in taehyung’s brain twisting, “she usually stays over whenever they do.”

“well, whatever you think they did after they went shopping - it’s probably not it,” jimin snickers, shoulderline jolting as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“so cute,” jennie echoes your earlier words, neck craning to look at the two other passengers in the back seat as she gives you a one-eyebrow-lifted look as if to say ‘this is the guy you’re crushing on?’

at that, you shrug, unapologetically mouthing ‘he’s cute’ - in a much different and adoring sense than the first time which jennie must’ve gotten when she shakes her head, a hopeless smile on her lips as she turns to the road again.

you were on your way to the movies then.

“oh my god,” jennie squeals, eyes skimming your specifically-handpicked-by-jennie-kim attire, “you look so cute!”

“only because i agreed to be your live mannequin,” you say rolling your eyes but the curl of a smile on your lips is unstoppable.

“no - because i know what kind of style suits you,” she narrows her eyes in a ‘you know i’m right’ kind of manner, “no offense, your usual style is cute too but it’s more like an... ‘i have a crush, don’t talk to me’ kind of look, you know?”

“am i wrong though?” your eyebrows rise, mimicking her ‘you know i’m right’ look.

she raises a hand, her free one scrolling through her phone as she announces, “i don’t recommend crushing on airheaded guys but you do you sis,” then she looks up, staring at you straight in the eye with the most deadpanned expression, “but if he breaks your heart, i’ll break his leg,” it’s a full, solid moment later, just as you were about to burst out laughing, does she say, “literally.”

and it’s times like these that you fear for another person’s life that isn’t yours - well, taehyung’s life isn’t just anyone’s but - as she turns back to her phone ever so casually.

but before you can fret any further, your phone vibrates, the words ‘chim’ flashing across your screen with a ‘get yo asses down’ and contrasting ‘ur chauffer awaits’ popping a second later.

“get your ass up. they’re here,” you end up saying, pushing your phone into the back pocket of your leather pants that jennie manages to convince you to put on for some unknown reason - that reason going along the lines of ‘kim taehyung’ and ‘jealousy’, but you’re not one to dwell on why one do things they do as you accept jennie’s grabby-motioned hands in request for assistance to be pulled up.

it turns out the shopping plan gets pushed to saturday where taehyung is basically spouting out how he’s a good judge for fashion and that he hasn’t gone to the mall since the semester started which to be fair, was only a month ago.

you’re not sure how jimin ended up tagging along - the two aren’t even the bestest buddies - but someway, somehow, he always manages to get taehyung to pick him up and drop him off whenever the taller man makes plans to go out with you and jennie.

“wow,” jimin is the first to notice, mouth taking on an ‘o’ shape he basically ogles in plain daylight.

“what do you think?” jennie comes up behind you, chin resting on your shoulder as she wraps her arms around your waist then she turns to taehyung who was the last to get out of the car, “doesn’t ___ look pretty, taehyung?”

at the sound of his name rolling off the tongue of the girl he’s been pining for since he laid eyes on her, his gaze lights up - but only to meet jennie’s. one look at you and he turns back to her with the most beautiful smile, “yeah, she looks great - did you help choose the top?”

“actually,” the girl begins with a cheery tone - they’re walking a few steps behind you whilst you and jimin walk together. it’s been like that for as long as you remember, “i picked out the whole fit. it wasn’t easy though because...”

kim jennie walking side-by-side with kim taehyung whilst you with jimin whenever the two boys join you, be it whether to get to a class you all share, to go to the library to study or to get some lunch - has become a familiar view to your mutual friends. so much so, you’ve heard of a rumor going around that you’re a couple of best friends.

like literal couples. you with jimin and jennie with taehyung. thanks to that, no one would have suspected jennie’s relationship with professor kim nor would anyone see through the veil of friendly smiles and amicable conversations to be you pining over your best friend’s alleged boyfriend.

you’ve gotten used to hearing jennie and taehyung’s conversation fade into the background yet never really able to disregard the way taehyung laughs at something your best friend says or the sight of the two walking a few feet ahead with taehyung’s head almost always turned to jennie’s and the girl, oblivious, occasionally cranes her neck to look at him at the beginning of her sentence before directing her gaze to the front where she’s walking.

jennie dislikes taehyung less now, if only because he steers the conversation towards the areas of interest - which he seems to know a lot of. kudos to you for answering his ass-crack o’clock texts of ‘heyyy what kind of movie does jennie like?’s and ‘heyy you girls got any plans tomorrow?’s.

“you look great in those leather pants, by the way,” jimin’s voice makes you turn to the other boy, a boyish smile on his lips, “so let me guess,” his head tilts to the side as the dip between his thumb and index finger hooks itself underneath his chin, eyebrows knitted together in heavy contemplation, “are you going for a good girl gone bad kind of look,” a playful smile tugs on the corners of his lips, “or are you in a secret biker gang and have a biker meeting at 7?”

you lean closer to the man, hand covering your mouth as you whisper, “you didn’t hear this from me but we’re convoying to disney land. i heard it’s more magical during christmas.”

or so you thought your whispering skills were close to perfect but a cat with brown hair pops up from next to you, eyes glinting with excitement, “did someone say christmas?!”

so you end up early-christmas shopping just because of that one word that triggers the warm-hearted-who-ness in her. and that’s how you, taehyung and jimin gets dragged from one store to another. but where your attention gets robbed with material things like-

“oh look, a snow globe with a puppy and a snowman in it!” you shake the see through globe, watching as pseudo snowflakes rain over the unmoving pupper and olaf lookalike before you sigh, “technically the snowman isn’t alive and the doggo is alone by itself in a world where nobody else can enter - and on christmas at that . oh my god, i think i’m gonna cry.”

- but jennie’s interest lies within the holiday-themed clothes. sweaters. costumers. lingerie. you name it and jennie kim tries it on.

“___ - pssst, hey,” there she goes, hiss-whispering your name as if you’re not right in front of the curtain she’s poking her head through, eyes darting around for the two boys who, last you saw, were doing the best to look interested in reindeers and candy printed sweaters.

“what, girl, what?” you whisper back, trying to peek through the gap of the curtain over her head as if you’ve never entered a changing room together.

and as if reading your mind, her bare arm that’s supposed to be wrapped with the floral cotton material of her sleeve - shoots out, hand wrapping around your wrist.

a “wha- ah-!” probably echoed off the walls and turned some heads but you’re no longer in the position to check as you find your back pressed against the wall of the cubicle and red and white lace-wearing jennie posing for you.

“so?” she beams.

“those are so cute, oh my god,” you end up his-whispering whilst trying to keep your voice low, “where did you get them? i only ever saw you checking out - and you have got to admit this - ugly sweaters!”

“girl, the lingerie section is just next to the sweaters,” her eyes seem to disappear behind her crescents as she crinkles her nose, “no but for real, you think i was gonna buy them? i just needed the boys to go away. and. they. finally. did,” she rolls her eyes, “it took awhile but kim taehyung is so persistent.”

“that’s why he’s so... cute,” you hum, eyes shutting close as the picture of the aforementioned man flashes behind your eyes. he’s looking at you with those dark eyes and he’s smiling at you with that magnetic-

“gross! get your ass out of the gutter,” a squeal hits the air as your eyes flutter open to the sight of your best friend’s contorted faces as if-

“um, girl,” you tilt your head just the slightest bit, hand on your hip while your other hand raises in a ‘hold up’ manner, “out of the two of us, you’re the one that’s gotta stop being silly and start wrapping professor kim’s willy.”

a stick of tongue out is all you’ve got as a response before she turns to her phone that’s vibrating at an alarming rate.

that’s when you feign almost-vomit, “did you - ulgh - sent him a - ulgh - nude?”

in any ordinary circumstance, she would have made faces to mimic a much ridiculous series of vomiting in response to your fake almost-vomits but when her smile tugs downwards in a disheartened pout, you practically drop all the ugly sweaters you picked out just for the sake of getting into the christmas spirit and rush over to the girl - which is only one and a half feet away.

“hey, hey, what’s wrong?” you coo as she starts blinking back tears.

“i knew it,” she huffs out a puff of air, hand fanning at her waterline, “i fucking knew it.”

in between the ‘you’re okay’s and ‘everything’s going to be okay’s on your part and jennie’s increasingly growing sobs, you manage to make out the words she blurts out. something along the lines of ‘not spending as much time as we used to’ and ‘because i’m ugly as fuck’. so you hold her tighter, fingers brushing out the potentially forming knots in her hair each time it gets into her tear stained face and gets aggressively pushed out of said face with the back of the hand.

it’s been going on since the start of the third year - the ‘i can’t make it tonight’s and ‘sorry, i’m going to have to rain check’s.

you’ve been a silent spectator of how your best friend’s face lights up whenever she talks about her secret affair with the youngest professor in the business faculty, how he lives up to her private swooning with the smallest ‘miss kim, how was your day’s when he met her in the hallway, ever so casually greeting one of his supposed students like any professor would and treats her to fine-dinings and became the reason why forehead kisses are her favorite kind of kiss now.

he never really tried to hide his fondness for her even at the faculty and though you knew your best friend could get anyone she wanted, you were dubious of whether that anyone actually deserved such a loving, beautiful person. nonetheless, kim namjoon seems to be the exact person who does.

“hey, look at me,” you implore, sitting cross-legged on the floor whilst your knees touch and your fingers twine together in a fingers hug, or so jennie coined the term in your first year, “you’re so beautiful.”

“you don’t mean that,” she mumbles out.

“girl, if i were to be born again and were allowed to choose how i’m going to look - i want your eyes, they like, pull people in - not gonna lie, i started talking to you because you were intimidating but also really alluring. does that make sense?” you hold up a hand when she begins to giggle lightly, head shaking in show of her disagreement.

“but when i did get to know you, you’re the sweetest, squishiest,” a protest falls from her lips as she clasps a palm over the spot on her arm that you just pinched, “person alive. and oh!” you pinch her cheeks next, chuckling at how she crinkles her nose and like the feline she’s always been associated with, “and i want your cute chubs cheeks! and your adorable nose, and your lips,” you pause for the longest moment before retracting, “okay maybe i’d want my lips but your lips are juicy too!”

she makes a sound at the back of her throat, eyes of dried tears rolling, “please, i barely have any lips.”

“i mean, they’re still kissable,” you shoot her a suggestive look, “and i know out of the two of us, one would kiss you if she’s a little bit more fruity.”

“okay, maybe you think i’m kinda pretty,” she gives in.

but that’s not enough for you,“bih, you’re a literal goddess,”

“i’m not but anyway beauty is subjective so maybe namjoon’s perspective’s changed.”

“nope - nu-uh, we can cry and just... let ourselves feel the emotion that’s been bottling up and burst at one single message but what we’re not gonna do is mope around, being sad all day because of our presumptions that someone else thinks we’re not good enough or pretty enough. because you are and i would die for you.”

she hiccups, “i don’t know if i would die for you but i’d sacrifice my first born for you.”

“ew,” you feel your nose crinkling, “no, you’re not gonna trap me with a kid - that’s a trap right there and i’m not falling for it.”

jennie ends up laughing too loudly that one of the store attendants end up kicking you out. jimin and taehyung followed suit a second later, acting like they didn’t know you two but walking towards you anyway. you’re not sure if they noticed jennie’s swollen eyes but neither mentioned anything about it. instead, taehyung suggests- “since we’re already out, you guys wanna go to chanyeol’s party?”

so you end up going to the party. the apartment’s too cramped for your liking but jennie’s found some mutual friends of yours that she’s dancing and laughing with. and maybe that’s why you haven’t bolted right out of the door the moment you stepped in.

jimin found some of his own friends. they’re probably not from the faculty since you don’t remember seeing them around and taehyung-

you’re not quite sure why taehyung is following you around like a lost puppy and trying to make small talks with you. internally, your heart’s doing flips but your head’s been giving out one of those obnoxiously loud sirens with lights as red as the cup you’re holding.

“...and you know, it’s pretty cool how they managed to attract foreign investors within six months of starting up their business,” taehyung is saying, the awkward shrug and eyes glued to the ground telling you that he’s not so into whatever he’s saying either.

“yeah, like, they definitely got lucky or something,” you nod in agreement.

funny how the blare of the music is barely allowing you to have a proper conversation but all you hear is deafening silence as you stand five feet apart - the kind of distance that screams acquaintances but less than friends and most definitely not lovers.

but then he stands on his two feet instead of leaning his weight on just one - and he looks at you right in the eye for the first time that night. and your stupid heart goes fluttering like the petals in a field.

“hey, i don’t wanna be a nosy or anything but,” he pauses for the briefest second, eyes slanting to somewhere on the dance floor where you think you last saw jennie and then he refocuses back to you. but you already know where his mind and soul remains, “what happened today? like, jennie’s acting off, like something’s bothering her and she’s kinda drinking more than she should and it kinda feels like she doesn’t want me around.”

it takes a moment to ponder on how much you should say before your words become affirmation and affirmation will probably lead to more assumptions and - “well, you should ask her.”

“uh, i- she doesn’t- i don’t know how - i don’t wanna annoy her, you know what i mean? and since you’re best friends, i thought maybe you’d-” he’s scratching the back of his head when you cut him off.

“there’s your answer,” you raise the half-empty cup that’s been lying undrunken in your hands, “if you’re not gonna square up and tell her how you feel, then you, my friend,” your stomach drops at the word but you manage to land a solid pat on his arm, “are going to live the rest of your live like this - wondering what the hell is going on because you’re really not sure where you stand. and i get it, confessing to someone is terrifying and depending on jennie’s answer, you might or might not be able to talk to her ever again but it’s better to get it out there. feelings are like farts, you know?” the way his brows come together in a confused what-the-hell moment, is adorable, “hold it in and you’ll feel like something’s not right and it is never going to be until you get all of it out of your system.” and with a nod and a tight-lipped smile, you leave him with a “good luck,” before wandering over to the dance floor, not sure where you’re going because jennie, lisa chaeyoung and jisoo’s not where you thought they were and the only less crowded but still suffocating part of the apartment is the kitchen where you don’t want to risk going back and seeing taehyung there, unmoving in the spot where you left him.

amid all of it, you almost get your shoulder dislocated before a hand shoots out and pulls you back on your two feet whilst you raise your cup higher in hopes to save its contents from spilling.

the man that caught you looks between you and your raised cup for two solid seconds before a grin tugs on his face and he clicks his own cup to yours, “cheers.”

“aha, yeah,” you laugh as you feel his grip on your arm loosening and you pull it back to your side like a robot, taking a sip of your nicely saved drink.

“thanks for not letting me fall,” you say a moment later, after thanking whatever deity is out there that allows you to get your first drink into the right pipe without feeling the need to cough out loud.

“no problem,” even in the poor lighting, you can easily catch the sight of pearly whites lined up perfectly amid an alluring smile, that is, before a pair of brows knit together in what seem like an unresolvable conundrum, “hey, you don’t happen to...” he pauses for the longest moment, eyes slanting to scan the crowd and making you do the same until he commands your attention back with his next words, lips curling back into the breathtakingly attractive smile as words tumble past them, “...see two pretty best friends in here, do you?”

and that’s when your interest, wherever it is, plunges straight down to the ground and into the ether, “oh,” your vision shakes as you nod repeatedly before forcing out a dry “ha ha” which isn’t meant to disguise your displeasure at all - if anything, a wave of satisfaction crashes over you when his smile falters, “yeah, that - that’s really funny,” you say plainly, smile still plastered on your face.

“o-kay,” he drags out the word for half a second, teeth clenched together in growing panic as all traces of humor fade away, “...joke too old?”

“well, let’s see,” you feel your index finger tapping your chin as you throw your gaze up to the ceiling, “i get it, tell the ugly best friend she’s ugly but in a joking way,” you shrug, “you don’t need to rub it in my face cause i know and yes it’s getting old.”

it takes a whole solid moment of blaring music and non-caring half-way-drunken college students continuing to grind against one another and this insanely attractive stranger staring at you with jaws on the ground, for you to wave a dismissive hand.

“you know what? don’t worry, jennie’s not here, thankfully or she would’ve blo-” air fills your throat and cuts you off when he frowns, “who?”, to which you raise your eyebrows, “je-” you almost choked, “jennie?”

he shakes his head the second time, bottom lip jutting out in an additional- “nope” gesture as he continues with “never heard of her,” after your “jennie... kim?”

so you go one, “kinda cute height, long hair, brunette-” he shrugs, “nope- doesn’t ring a bell,” in the middle of your, “-fierce cat-like eyes but adorable as heck personality?”

in the end he wins with a final word of, “no - nope,” after a whole solid moment of your silenced disbelieve and him drawing his pondering session to a close.

“oh,” escapes your lips before you can even register, “so - it was- like-”

“yeap,” he nods, “it was-”

“a joke?”

“a joke.”

you both announce at the same time. the tones may differ but the essence is there, leaving one to stare at the ground in shame for having snapped at a complete stranger and the other staring with unapologetic eyes.

“i’m sorry,” you finally manage to utter, shoulderline falling with your walls of pride, “i thought it was one of those micro aggressive jokes people throw around just because they can’t straight out tell someone they’re ugly-”

but the words seem to enter through one ear and go out the other when his brows begin to knit together for the nth time of the night - and in a matter of less than thirty minutes at that - when he declares before you get to properly end your sentence, “you’re pretty as hell. why did you think i’d randomly try to crack a joke to a stranger and risk pissing pants off on the off chance she took it badly... which you did. i’m sorry for pushing the wrong button.”

“oh,” but just like him, your brain short-circuits and you seem to only truly hear the first part of what he’s saying as just like any girl - you curse yourself as you - shy away from his gaze, hand going up to tuck your hair behind your ear before you slowly peek up through your lashes, “thanks,” you blink once, shrugging, “and it’s fine i get that joke a lot - i don’t usually care, i don’t know what got into me tonight.”

but before he manages to say anything, the loudspeaker starts reverberating with the sound of someone clearing their throat and a “how’s everyone doing?” and a dismissive “alright, alright you might be wondering ‘who the eff is this guy’ right? yea, yea, i know, but-” he stops, eyes scanning the crowd for a suspenseful effect, “-but you’re gonna wanna hear this,” to which a groan erupts from the crowd, so he quickly gets to the point “don’t panic,” most of the time, that’s exactly when you should panic, “so, the police are coming.”

his name is jeon jeongguk and he goes to your university’s rival university. his hair is actually a shade of rich deep brown that forms wavy ends and contrasts glaringly against his sharp jawline under the fluorescent lighting which also highlights his pearly whites that remind you of bunnies when his lips curl over them when he smiles.

to think that he’s doing that now while the police officer, a man in his 40′s and on the shorter side of the spectrum is ten steps from marching up to you with a disapproving gaze on his face.

his hair falls over his face in half ringlets, an excited glint in his eyes, “he’s mad cause we’re clean.”

a guy somewhere a few people away from you is sobbing increasingly loudly with every step the officer takes before he comes to a stop in front of you, eyes skimming each faces one by one until he stops on you.

“you,” he announces before sighing deeply, “you look like a kid who wouldn’t cause trouble, why are you here?”

“uh,” the chain around your wrist feels cold but jeongguk’s pinky that’s touching yours as your thighs brush together - is warm, “i...” you pause, in search for words before settling with a disappointing confession “i don’t know,”

the officer echoes your statement with a critical emphasize on the ‘don’t’.

and because of that, you blink once, “in fact, does anyone know what they’re doing at all? if you think about it we’re just astronomical particles in this vast universe which is called the milky way,” you pause, if only squint at his sparse mustache, “why is it even called milky way? like, there’s absolutely no scientific evidence that milk exists in outer space or do you reckon the guys that named it just feels like drinking some milk while they were-”

by the end of it, a few snickers have escaped from the people you and jeongguk were caught with, the aforementioned man, having turned his head the other way as his shoulders jolt silently and it’s only then does the officer’s increasing confused expression contorts into that of a maddened bore, “keep hanging out with him and you’re gonna find yourself behind bars.”

“that hurts my feelings, detective yoo,” jeongguk confesses, forehead creasing as his uncuffed hand holds the spot on his chest where his heart should be.

the man finally shakes his head, motioning to a younger officer who looks just about your age to start unlocking everyone’s cuffs - there were a few other people you’ve never seen before dragged out of the vicinity and to the station. he speaks a moment later, “you kids are lucky because none of you are associated with the ones down the hallway - we were initially going for them. busted their asses and found over a hundred kilograms of cocaine.”

once your cuffs are off and you get your phone back, you’re fast-scrolling through the messages on the notification window before swiping up and searching for jennie’s contact. it turns out she, taehyung and jimin guessed you were one of the few who didn’t make it and waited for you near the building where the party was busted.

“oh my god,” jennie is the first to dash into your arms as if she hadn’t seen you since forever, “i’m so sorry i left you!”

“well to be fair, i left you,” you mumble, your arms banded around her waist while hers around your neck.

and just when you thought the melodrama would end when she pulls away, you find yourself staring at sparkly-eyed jennie and the most heartbreaking downturned lips, “i will never,” she pauses, “ever let you out of my sight.”

you’re exactly against that idea - after all, you’ve made plans to buy a beach house and move in together in your olden days once you’ve poiso- burried your husbands who died of a totally natural cause.

it’s only after breaking apart from a second hug, do you realize the man standing not-so-awkwardly five feet away.

“don’t mind me,” jeongguk holds up his hands, “i don’t watch much drama but i might after all this.”

“jeongguk,” you can’t help the smile that creeps up your face at his joke, “this is jennie,” then you turn to the girl who still has her arm around your waist, and you her, “jennie, jeongguk.”

“have i seen you before?” her cat-like eyes narrows just the slightest bit, as though if she tried hard enough, she’d see the pieces of moving memories that’ll somehow point out where she claims to have met him - but you don’t doubt it if they have, jennie gets invited to a lot of parties and hookups.

you should’ve known when jeongguk’s eyes sweep over you with a playful glint in them as he begins, “that’s funny because ____ here-” that from this point forward, that you shouldn’t have put your foot forward and prance at him like a predator with a secret, hand clasped against a surprisingly hard chest before your brain can register what you’re doing.

and when it does, you’re left to awkwardly pat his chest in what you hope to be friendly gesture whilst you force out a laugh, “that- that was really funny jeongguk,” you turn to jennie who, having known you all your life easily catches onto your out-of-character laugh but says nothing, so you point at the guy you’re basically and is still groping - to which you’ve finally tear your hand off his body, “he’s a funny guy.”

“and who exactly is this funny guy?” taehyung comes up on your left - you think you catch sight of his sleek bmw parked on the other side of the street where he must’ve strutted up from in his beige jacket with his hands buried in its pockets.

“just...” you trail off before your brain completely fries and you blurt out, “some guy.”

and that’s when jeongguk decides to call you out, “some guy? i helped you through a life lesson.”

you attribute the alcohol in your system that’s slowing down the neurons and disables you from thinking before you act when you roll your eyes, “in case you didn’t realize, you were in there laughing your ass off when i had to have my own back while that officer looked like he was a word away from dragging me to the police station for talking back to a law enforcement.”

“you talked back to an officer?” jennie chirps, her jaw falling to the ground as her cat eyes widen in excitement and astonishment.

“she did,” jeongguk nods at the girl, a displaced proud smile on his lips before he looks back to you, “brought out the boomer in him too.”

“you pissed off an officer?” this time, it’s jimin who pops up from behind taehyung, before casually nodding to jeongguk with a “hey man.”

“i mean, it was probably ___’s sheer guts and rebellious streak alone that helped free us,” jeongguk goes on, eyes glinting with amusement in the briefest moment they slant to meet yours but they’re gone too soon as he redirects your attention to jimin and jennie’s overpouring questions.

and because jennie wanted to hear more about how jeongguk embellished what went down, taehyung ends up agreeing to give the stranger a ride as you get squished between two men with jennie constantly pulling on the strap of the seatbelt to look over to the backseat, her mouth constantly dropping with every word jeongguk utters like he’s some well-known storyteller.

by the time the car rolls to a stop in front of his apartment building, jennie’s shooting you approving, borderline provocative looks your way - you don’t doubt that if she had any power in her hand to put both you and jeongguk in the same room, lock the door and swallow the key, she would in a heartbeat.

“hey,” jeongguk leans over the doorframe, “can i talk to you for a sec?” it’s the way he tilts his head to the side on a 35 degree angle, paired with that dangerous smile he’s been shooting you in the briefest span of moments jennie’s head is turned to the road and jimin’s gave is thrown outside of the window and taehyung isn’t stealing glances from the rear-view mirror - that makes you want to shake your head in rejection to his request and prance out of the car like a predator in heat at the same time.

but instead, you calmly slide over to the side now vacant side and slip out of the car, closing the door behind you so no ears can eavesdrop.

the scent of his cologne wafts stronger into your senses now that you have no police officers to be cautious of nor any embellished stories to correct.

that, or maybe it’s the way he’s got you trapped against the car door and his body, right arm placed perfectly on the roof of the car, next to your head.

“bout time you give me your @, no?” the corner of his lips tilts higher into a cocky smirk.

“um, yea,” you begin, “i think it’s better if we leave into the night like strangers with stories, you know? and if we’re meant to find each other, we will,” you swear on your grandmother’s grave that you will never go to any parties anymore, “makes a good plot for a drama,” eyes going wide and mouth taking on an ‘o’ shape, you continue, “didn’t you say you were gonna start watching those?”

his shoulderline shakes as he chuckles, head dropped it tilts up, eyes capturing yours, “i’m not falling for that,” his announcement is plain and simple and yet you’re forced to put twice the effort in your smile as to not let it falter, “after getting my chest groped and caressed, i deserve at least-”

“it was a friendly pat, mind you,” you correct, smile still glued to your face before rolling your eyes, “but snapchat is as far as i’m willing to go.”

“works for me,” the screen of his phone flashes with a dark mode keypad splayed over it - you’re not sure how he unlocked it without taking those glinted eyes off you but he did. so you swipe the phone off his hand and send yourself a request through his account.

“i’m gonna open your snap and leave you on read!” you announce, and he laughs, “alright, bet!”

and with that, he waves at you using the same phone he told you to put your number in, taking a few steps backward, allowing you room to breathe properly again before he whirls on his heels and walks through the glass double doors.

you don’t wait any longer than you have to, shivering from the cold night air when you slip into the car.

“did you give him your number?!” jennie practically screams.

“no but i gave my snapchat only because he looked like he wouldn’t sleep a wink at night if i didn’t,” you shrug.

and that’s how kim jennie gets it into her head that you’re going to get your first-boyfriend-cherry popped. or so she likes to believe.

but that’s the least of your concern for the greater one comes in a devil with black jeans and matching plain t-shirt and timberlands and a lit up screen at exactly three something in the am, right after you’re done with a hot shower and in a middle of towel drying your hair and putting on your night routine skincare.

you open the text revealing a night view of a cityscape from a window which room is surrounded by darkness and a transparent horizontal strip with a ‘❄️ ’ in the middle from a goldenjks.

so you snap a picture of your skincare products next to a mirror with you and a towel on your head, face blocked by your hand that’s holding your phone, choosing to send ‘🍜’.

and so it goes, the snap war that erupts between you and user goldenjks throughout the night which, after you’d gotten into bed with the lights off, basically includes snaps of your darkened room and his more superior window view.

before long, you started texting on snapchat about how the police officer seems to know him and how-

goldenjks

u were p chill for someone who got arrested for the 1st time

you’re giggling in the darkness at 5:23 am.

you

cs ik i didn’t do anything wrong

duh

and he mentions something about a sobbing kid that was made to wait with you and nobody really did anything to comfort him.

goldenjks

that coulda been u if i wasn’t there probably

you roll your eyes but you can feel your muscles becoming sore from the way your lips are stretching from ear to ear.

then it starts with how taehyung didn’t saying anything throughout the ride up until the car rolled to a stop in front of jeongguk’s place.

goldenjks

r u guys using him for his car???

cs same

i would 2

you

wtf

we’re not 😭😭

and without much thought, you end up spilling a not-so-secret but not-so-well-known truth.

you

welp

he’s using me to get close to jennie so

ig i should use him for his car

oof

goldenjks

ooof

so let me guess

u can’t say no to him cs u have the biggest crush on him

“what the hell?” you mumble to yourself, smile pulled down into a frown, but before you can type out a reply, two more pop up on his side.

goldenjks

and jimin head over heels for u

you

🧢 🧢 🧢

u funny 😂😂😂

goldenjks

fr fr tho 😔😔😔

i would b too

all of a sudden, a boy with the softest blonde hair and crescent eye smiles floods your throughts. you and jimin might have been casual friends for the longest time and only until recently started hanging out together - and he may or may not hold confidential information about the littlest details of the lack of smile on your face and the blank snaps in your stories whenever you’re down.

but to say he’s reacting such way because he’s into you would be a total scam.

so you shake your head, laughing out loud, “nah can’t be.”

you

alright imma 😴😴😴

to which jeongguk tests back a gnight and after one whole solid minute, a text u tmr?

you leave him on read.

“like, who does he think he is?” you huff, burying the plastic spoon into the ice cream before scooping up a chunk of neapolitan flavored goodness and directing it into your mouth, “he literally met us just last night and he’s spouting shit like he knows us for years?”

“i don’t know,” jennie humps, tongue darting out to lick the remnants of strawberry ice cream on her upper lips before she goes on with a smile that screams ‘just get together already’, “it’s kinda hot to me when guys know shits, you know what i mean?”

you’ve managed to avoid jimin and taehyung at all costs and sneak to the ice cream parlor that’s five minutes away from campus where you spilled your guts out about how you got unreasonably irritated by the long running joke, about how jeongguk’s hand wrapped around your wrist and he pulled you out of the way of the chaotic college students who were rushing to get out of the small, cramped apartment and how you stopped him from relaying your disbelief of his lack of knowledge about her.

“like, i flipped out at him because of some stupid joke,” you shrugged, hands fiddling with each other while a coat of smoke wafted over the newly scooped and paid-for ice cream.

your name rolled off her lips before she stared at you with her hands on hear heart, “i- i didn’t know you would go so far as fight a guy for me for calling me ugly,” then she laughed, “but you don’t have to. girl, we been knew i’m ugly as fuck.”

your jaw hit the ground at the word she used to describe herself before you blinked and came back to your senses and aggressive defenses, “oh my god, i’m the ugly one and you’re the literal goddess - like, i shouldn’t even be looking at you. i should be looking at your sole. you should be stepping on me - step on me! now!”

a yelp resonated into the air as you groped around for jenni’s left leg in an attempt to lift her foot to make her step on you to which you both ended up laughing hysterically after realizing that she was wearing a skirt and the way you were sitting may or may have not resulted in an array of possible outcomes.

“oh my god, do you think she saw my panties?” she meant the woman in her late 40′s who were shooting disapproving eyes at the both of you as she scrolled through her phone, seeming to be waiting for someone before placing an order.

“you just flashed a poor old woman who came to have some ice cream,” you were hunched over, hand covering your face as you stole glances her way which didn’t hold long because you ended up giggling with the girl when you caught each other’s eyes.

“you think she likes what she sees?” jennie’s brows rose suggestively and you knew what she was going to say next before the words even leave her mouth, “you think maybe i should tell her about my onlyfans?”

it was a few bursts of giggles later, that you’d finally managed to talk properly. or probably because jennie’s question brought out an unwelcomed emotion that you pushed to the back of your conscience last night and for the most part, managed to forget, “so,” her brows were wiggling like earthworms on her forehead, “did he text you?”

that was what spurred the whole confession and up to the moment where you spilled the contents of the unfairly attractive stranger’s text.

“i don’t know, he kinda went overboard,” you shrug and jennie’s hand reaches over yours, patting it once with what you assume is an understanding manner.

“sweetie, i get it,” she announces, “you feel exposed because he said the absolute truth and only the truth and now you’re projecting your embarrassment on him through disdain.”

silence follows her statement.

and staring.

on your part, that is.

“girl,” you blink once, eyebrows arched, “whatever you’re having - i want some.”

that warrants a bout of giggles from said girl before she scoops her last bite of ice cream and hook arms with you as you walk towards the trashcan to dump your empty paper bowls, “no but for real, i like jeongguk-”

“then you date him,” you announce, nodding in approval.

“i like how he brings this... this... fire out of you, you know?” she quizzes to which you shake your head in a ‘no, i don’t know’ kind of manner as she goes on, “and i already have namjoon so,” she sing songs as she starts to skip in the middle of the mall and since your arms are linked together, you end up taking larger steps to accommodate to hers before deciding that you can’t root your feet down to slow her down into a normal pace. so you join her, skipping to the exit where you wait for your uber.

��you guys made up?” the question comes out in a calm, poised manner once you’ve both slipped into the backseat of the uber - you’d like to believe you’re doing a pretty good job on trying to conceal your spiking disbelief and the need to whoop someone’s ass. that someone being a girl who just pledged an oath to choose herself first instead of some man who-

“i texted him and told him how i felt with him cancelling on our plans and when i didn’t get any reply, i turned off my phone and got into bed because i’m not gonna mope over someone who won’t appreciate me,” at that, you give her an approving nod, “but then he came knocking on my door at like 5 in the morning in yesterday’s suit because apparently he has a deadline to meet and he’s been bending over backward trying to finish it on time and he brought his laptop with him too and managed to submit on time after explaining everything. he said he tried calling multiple times but obviously it went to voice mail so... yeah we made up.”

“that’s...” you trail off, only to stare at your friend’s beaming face like she’s just had one of the best facials on earth, “wow, i... i don’t know what to say now that we know he’s not trash.”

“i know,” you feel her pat the back of your hand sympathetically, “and that’s what a man is,” and when she looks at you with eyes that have one goal in her mind, you know not to start listening because the facts are going to bruise your pride and hit the nail on the head more times than you’d-

“liking a boy has more downs than ups but i’m not too worried because you’re a self-loving bitch and i love that for you but kim taehyung is not it,” she says all that with a straight face.

“yeah,” you mumble, thumbs fiddling together as you turn your attention to them as if it’s the most magnifying thing in the world to find out that identical parts of your body could move on their own with just a thought.

“okay, but i swear, he’s so oblivious all the time-” the girl stops short of her lament, you can see her head tilting to peer at you at a slightly different angle as if to see traces of an impostor on you, “wait, what?”

“we got into a fight last night- i don’t know if it’s even a fight but you know how i go off in a tangent when i get like annoyed, right?” you steal a glance at her for half a second before going back to your thumbs, “so i kind of did that to him before the dude announced the cops were coming and we haven’t really talked to each other since then.”

before any of you could say anything else, the sound of a cough echoes in the air, warranting your attention to turn to the driver, a woman in her mid-thirties. you return her smile through the rear-view mirror, “if you don’t mind me saying this - i know you girls are smart as fuck, but you sound just as dumb as that guy - whoever he is because it’s completely normal to get mad at someone you’re crushing on and still have a crush on them but sounds to me like you’re thinking one fight is the end of the world for you.”

“sis, please, don’t encourage her,” jennie talk-whispers as she leans forward just the slightest bit and covers the side of her mouth with her hand.

“well, we’re not really friends,” you begin and jennie groans - you two went over this and agreed to disagree with each other’s wildly contrasting views about crushing on crushes that could crush you but the lady hasn’t heard it so you’re not going to stop lamenting over it, “and whatever i do, it’s like i’m teetering on a tight rope because one wrong move and he probably won’t talk to me ever again and i’m not like miserably crushing on him - like, whatever we are right now - it lets me see him every day and he has the cutest smile and the prettiest fingers- i just - it’s better than not talking to each other forever, you feel?”

“um, don’t i?” she rolls her eyes, as if coming from a place filled with oblivious boys and hopeless crushes.

her name is solar and she does uber as a part time while working 9 to 5 at a firm that she claims to pay better but still not enough for her to save up for her wedding on the side and she and her fiance knew each other since high school but she’s seen him date two girls and get his heartbroken by both before he actually noticed her, the friend that’s always been there for him through his heartbreaks.

coming from someone who isn’t jennie and her alarming obsession with breaking parts of bodies of people who hurt her loved ones, solar’s view is somewhat a mixture of you and your best friend’s which still bases on one simple fact: whatever you say to and about taehyung comes bouncing back at you like a ping pong ball because-

“you have a crush on him and he has a crush on jennie,” she surmises before looking over at the aforementioned girl, “and people with crushes act like idiots- by the way how do you feel- like how do you handle the guy’s advancements and still aren’t awkward with each other because i have never seen...”

when the car rolls to a stop in the parking lot of your faculty, she finally turns to the two of you, her bleached blonde hair framing her face in waves as the silence - on you and jennie’s part as you both share glances at the indicative joke opening - hangs in the air with a sort of tension you can feel.

might even bite back like you did with jeongguk but you’re more in control now.

“...two pretty best friends who are still best friends when there’s a guy that comes between them.”

“oh thank god,” jennie sighs, laughing and you’re nodding in agreement, “thanks for not-” and your best friend echoes, “yeah,” before you can even finish your sentence, “-saying that cliche joke or like for giving your own twist to it,” waving a dismissive hand, you address her initial worries, “and taehyung doesn’t-”

“he doesn’t-” jennie chimes in.

“-come between us.”

you both say at the same time.

“oh my god, that’s great, you know my best friend tried sleeping with my fiance behind my back once,” solar crinkles her nose, “wasn’t a good experience but anywho, i’m so glad to see two girls having each other’s back like you guys. makes me want to...”

it’s a few moments later that you finally hand her the money and murmur out appreciations for being such a great uber driver along with some ‘give me five stars! thanks!’ and ‘we will! have a nice one!’

you both part ways in the hallway when you’re supposed to go for marketing and she has to go for personnel management. jimin’s already reserved a seat for you, waving at you to catch your attention which he succeeds splendidly. by the start of the second year, you’ve opted to sit together in classes you have in common, though not as close as the front as you’d like, it’s better than sitting at the back where you can hear the buzz of flies - you mean people, talking.

“are you doing anything this friday night?” jimin asks amidst people zooming out of the class as if they don’t want to be there for longer than a minute after being dismissed.

that, or they have another class to get to on the other side of the campus.

“uh, just me or me and jennie ‘you’?” you dumbly question.

that warrants a chuckle from the boy, “you and jennie... unless you wanna come alone?”

a hum vibrates in your chest as you narrow your eyes at him, as though if you looked close enough, you can see through his skull and right into his thoughts.

but you can’t so that’s why you’re spouting out another question, “where exactly are you inviting us again?”

“so, like, you know i dance right?” he drops his gaze for the briefest moment before coming back up to lock it with yours, “it’s very lowkey - just something i do for fun, but we kind of have a dance off with other teams every month and this month’s round is this friday night so i was wondering if you wanna come?” then he quickly adds, “with jennie, of course.”

to be frank your weekends are as boring and dull as it gets - the party-busted incident was a rare exception - but you and jennie are quite content with it. you start having more to do and places to venture out to when taehyung and subsequently jimin join your group of two and made it a group of four but for the most part, if you’re not going anywhere, your weekend is usually spent with watching movies and burying yourself in work for the rest of it.

“bet,” your reply might have come a tad bit delayed judging from how his brows rise to the ceiling and his eyes go round as he chirps, “really?”

“yeah, just text me or jennie the location the day before,” you request as you both walk down the hallway.

“great- yeah, i’ll... i’ll text you the place,” jimin beams even as he bumps into someone behind him, turning around to lower his head and mumble out an oh sorry before turning back to you, “i got another class but i’ll text you- on thursday - not today, of course.”

and you wave back, shouting out an ‘okay bye!’

then he’s gone like the wind.

the days pass by like a breeze.

kim taehyung caught you in the middle of waiting for jennie’s class to end whilst also finishing up some work in the library. he knew your favorite spot and he knew where you’d usually be - but you had an inkling that you weren’t exactly the reason why he memorized these little things. he waved at you in greeting and you waved back. you would’ve pretended he didn’t exist after that and go back to your laptop if he didn’t hold up his phone screen with blank white space and blue and grey bubbles on the side.

so of course you picked up your phone, noticing that there were already three wiggling dots when you tapped on his name.

kth: hey

you met his gaze once, as if to affirm that he meant to send it. when he shota half, almost pleading smile, you typed out a reply.

you: hey what’s good

kth: nothing

kth: just waiting for a friend

seeing as there was not really a conversation going on where jennie wasn’t involved and how the boy’s blatant dismissal in addressing the big, giant elephant in the room, taehyung must’ve had seen the way your lips pursed into an irritated pout before his phone vibrated.

you: cool

and then you were back to your laptop, typing sentences out and backspacing because of its incoherent nature, or lack of quality or whatever reason that stopped you from doing your job before kim taehyung’s arrival.

then he started whispering “hey, uh, ____,” from across the table. upper body leaned to the front as if it’d help enunciate his words.

you took your sweet time taking out your airpods from each individual ear and placing them down next to your mac before finally arching a brow at the boy, “what?”

“hey,” he repeated, this time with a frozen mid-wave, “hi, how you doing?”

“great thanks,” there was a minimal effort on your part to disguise your ‘what even?’ expression on your face as you picked up your right airpod first - only to be stopped by the boy’s-

“i’m sorry.”

it’s clean and short but his face made up for conveying his genuinity.

“why are you saying sorry?” it didn’t mean you were going to let him off the hook easy.

“well, because...” he trailed off for the briefest moment but the unconcealable bop of his adam’s apple isn’t really helping him appear any more convincing, “i was being pushy...” he looked to you for an indication of him being on the right track to which you were not sure if he did get any but he still went on with his wits and his will - it took you everything not to gush over how cute he looks with his panic-blinking and pretty lips moving as if to say something but no words coming out, “...and i was generally being an annoying little shit.”

“and?” you pressed on, blinking once as if to paint a look of unbotheredness.

“...and...” he echoes, eyes darting from your phone to somewhere behind you and then something next to it but only silence fills the space between you and him.

“alright, i’m gonna be real with you,” leaning back, you cross your arms over your chest, “i know you talk to me when you need something and i don’t really care - well i do, but i just bottle it up until it one day burst out, you know what i’m saying? so yea, if you’re wondering if that night was me blowing up on you, it kinda was and it wasn’t because you were making small talks with me just to poke into my best friend’s business - well, it kinda is but like not in that way, you follow? what i mean is.. don’t let me catch you sneaking behind jennie’s back asking personal shits about her that you don’t think she’s going to disclose even if you straight up ask her - that’s sus, taehyung.”

by the end of it, he was staring at you like you had two horns and a tail swaying around behind you. but you concur, that may or may have not been your inner self coming to light - just a hypocrite criticizing someone for doing the things she would have done, if she wasn’t already doing it, if she was in his shoes.

and to be quite frank, taehyung’s shoe size is probably a few inches bigger than yours but if they had laces, you would’ve been able to put them on and tied them up to accommodate your ego.

so taehyung didn’t - couldn’t say anything in response to your second time going off into a tangent and because of what he did, at that. he stopped texting you altogether and only talked to jennie whenever you weren’t around and left before you got to them if he saw you coming his way - jennie’s actually.

either way, jennie wasn’t as elated as you thought she’d be once you told her that you called taehyung out on his bullshit.

“um, i’ve always wanted to tell him about me and namjoon so he’d give up - you were the one who didn’t let me,” she might or might not have said something along the lines of you making her “lead him on all because you wanted to an eye candy to look at every day.”

“what do you mean?” your forehead was creasing a thousand folds.

“not that i’m pointing fingers,” she went on, eyes glued to the pairs of indoor shoes in the corner of the room and anywhere but your eyes, “but i’m like, cool with or without him around but you sort of said ‘okay, then it’s cool if he comes with us right?’ and you were making puppy eyes and i couldn’t no to that-”

and so you were laughing dryly, “aha- wha- what so it’s my fault that he’s being a total wuss and won’t square up?”

“i didn’t say that,” jennie’s reply came a heartbeat later which meant yes, it was.

so now you’re not talking to your best friend and neither are you talking to the boy who’s crushing on her. which leaves you a lot of free time to finish up your work in time to hop into a bullet train and then an uber and get to the building where jimin’s dance off is held.

you’re in the middle of texting the boy a ‘sorry, might b late. i didn’t know there’d be a line 😭’ when a figure comes up to you from the corner of your eye.

fitted in black jeans and matching tucked in t that shows off his slender waist and beanie, the only thing that isn’t black is probably his white-yellow timberlands, “so you weren’t kidding when you said you were gonna leave me on read.”

“you know, it’s so cute that you think you’re worth the reply at all,” you blink, eyes going wide and jaw hanging loose from shock, “this... this... confidence - where do you get it? seriously, tell me because i have never seen someone with such immaculate self-absorbance.”

jeongguk’s head moves as he nods in admittance, hands buried in his pocket before he looks up at you. that familiar glint in his eyes is telling you that whatever he has up his sleeve, you’re not going to be able to refuse.

“you know, eugene over there and i are homies,” he nods towards the burly tall man at the front who’s mainly the reason there’s a line in the first place - one that no one seems to dare cut, “i could get you in faster.”

“oh my god, look what that self-absorbance’s got you believing,” you put one, sympathetic hand on his shoulder as your free hand goes to cover the spot on your chest where your heart is, “i’m so happy for you,” you glance over to the not-declining-anytime-soon line behind you, “but sometimes, even confidence can’t get you into invites-only events.”

to any other person, it must’ve looked like you and jeongguk are friends - friendly acquaintances hitting best buddies at the very least. but something in the way his grin curling sweetly on his lips and the curve of the half ringlet of his hair touching the corners of his onyx eyes, makes your toes curl inwardly and your stomach churn with a sort of emotion you can’t pinpoint.

and because of that, you know there won’t be any sort of friendship forming between you and jeongguk.

he leaves you with an amused smirk and a “see you inside,” and marches up to eugene, the two sharing an uncomplicated handshake before the man steps to the side and lets him in.

well.

it takes you another ten minutes of standing in line and assuring jimin that he doesn’t need to rush out and risk having his team go without him when their turn comes. which according to jimin, ‘isn’t anytime soon - they let the bigger teams go first’.

but then jimin knowing jimin, that probably meant soon enough.

when you’re finally on the front of the line, crumpled up ticket in hand, eugene gives you a once over and nods at his not-as-burly-but-just-as-scary-looking friend.

“follow me,” and with that, she struts in through the door but instead of going down the hallway like the ones before you did before they disappear from eyesight in the corner, she takes a sharp turn to the right until she stops in front of an elevator.

her deep violet hair brushes against her cheekbones as she nods at the empty box with mirrors all around.

yeesh, guess everyone expresses themselves with their bodies here.

the numbers constantly change from ground level to 1 to 2 and finally stops at the 3rd floor where the blare of the music seems to come from. and that’s when you see the black haired boy who has his forearms leaned against the railing as he grins at something on the bottom floor where the shouts and cheers seem to erupt from. but before you can make a sharp 180 to go back down where jimin said you’d only need to follow the hallway and take the turn around the corner like the people before you did, jeongguk looks up as if sensing the heat of your gaze drilling holes inside his head. with one hand raised, he beckons you over.

“your majesty,” you drop into a bow once you reach him, “this humble servant thanks you for bringing her here but,” pointing your thumb over your shoulder at the hallway you just came from you continue, “i think i’m on the wrong floor because all i can see here is flocks of hair - an oh, shiny scalp from that guy - arms flailing around. takes away the magic of dance, you feel?”

“so you’re here for jimin.” it doesn’t sound like a question - so it must not be. a ponderous hum vibrate from his chest as you shoot him an arched brow whilst your insides burst like fireworks at the way his darkened eyes traces down your body and back up after he’s done with what seems to be a scout’s assessment.

“no leather pants and no best friend or heartbreak boy hovering around like a lost puppy - let me guess, he did something that made you mad, the best friend backed him up and now you’re mad at both of them?” he raises his own brow, lips curling into an assured smirk, “oh and jimin here’s probably taking a neutral stance because it ‘doesn’t concern’ him.”

you don’t know if you want to run away or grab the neck of his shirt and smack your lips on his.

so you settle with handguns pointed in his face, “alright, catch you never.”

but before you can even take a step to where you came from, jeongguk’s laying out his card on the table, “you sure bout that? it’s bulleproof boys’ turn - it’s jimin’s teams name, in case you’re wondering and judging by who they’re going against, it might be their first and last performance for the night.”

“i knew that,” respectfully, you had no idea that the teams have specific names besides the alphabetical letters given to them upon registration.

jimin’s only mentioned dance match once and that he’s in team c that’ll go against team d.

so you stick around, watching from all the way on the third floor where the lest people are gathered, cheering out names of teams that are alien to your ears which seem to be the team jimin is going against. but the fact that jimin could dance with such precision and grace is magnifying enough. he’s mostly posed on either sides of the formation, switching from the front left to the furthest back line on the right side as the beat drops.

jimin’s name pours out of your mouth in cheers but it’s swallowed by the other cheers before it can even reach him. in the end, jimin’s team loses. they still go up to their opponent and share handshakes and sidehugs before moving away from the dance floor.

he’s not smiling nor is he frowning as he stands in the crowd after the prelims but his lips curl and eyes disappear into crescents when he sees you.

“hey!” his arms open up into a hug, only to stop halfway in hesitation but by then you’re already wrapping yours around his neck with a “you were so cool!”

and just like that, the awkwardness in the air dissipates.

“i didn’t see you in the crowd.”

“so what? you thought i left?” a light smack lands on his arm, “by the way, you didn’t tell me it was this intense - i can feel the tension from all the way...” you pause for the briefest moment, “...in the audience.”

“everyone here just likes to dance so it gets competitive at some point but at the end of the day, it’s important to have fun,” he shrugs, a shy smile plastered to his face.

“either way you did great,” you bump his elbow with yours, and he shifts his weight to his left foot.

“we lost but it was a fair match the bts people were too good,” a mixture of regret and contentedness crosses his face as he nods to himself, as if admitting the difference in skills.

“let’s get a drink later, i’m buying,” you propose and jimin looks like a kid who just received his favorite candy.

well, that was the plan for the rest of the night up until the winner was announced. then a boy no older than you and jimin came up to the latter, arms slung over his shoulders, “dude, beyond the scene just asked if we wanna join them at the afterparty. can you believe it?”

“dude, you capping - don’t fucking joke with men man, i was about to shit my pants-” jimin attempts to shove the guy away half-heartedly which does nothing as his friend - teammate, cuts him off.

“i’m not fucking joking, man, behind the scenes literally asked if we wanna chill with them!”

the two boys are basically shoving each other back and forth before they start slapping each other on the face once to wake the other up. whoever this behind the scenes guys, they seem like a pretty big deal if two grown adults are fanboying this hard about them.

only after they’re sporting the faintest shade of pink on their right cheeks, do they finally realize that they weren’t squeal-whispering by themselves. he introduces himself as kai - “jimin’s best friend and mentor.”

“he likes to say that because i got into dance because of him,” jimin adds, debunking the mentor myth.

you’re about to wave the two goodbye and call it a night since it’s pretty clear that the behind the scenes guys only invited them and not their friends.

“come with us,” kai announces as the three of you walk down the back entrance where it’s less crowded and meant for the participants to use, “baekhyun can’t make it so we’ll still be five people.”

“i really should go- it’s getting late and my place is in seoul-”

and so begin your war of apologies and ‘no, you’s.

“oh shit, i forgot.” jimin’s usually almond-shaped eyes turn round and wide, “you used the subway-”

“yeah, but i can still catch the last train home-” you try to assure.

“i’ll accompany you back-”

“no, no - you should go with them-”

“no, i made you come to watch-”

and it would have gone on until morning if you and jimin were left to argue on who should do what if kai didn’t clap his hands together and put an end to the long debate, “okay, okay, break it up.”

he looks between the blonde haired best friend and then to you, “jimin came with me so i’m gonna drive him back anyway and i could drop you off too after chilling with bts - it’s nothing you’re not used to, beers and games and shits, you know? plus it’ll be like, less than 20 people there - bts never invites other groups into their circle - who knows, maybe you’ll find your true way like jimin did,” he pats the aforementioned man on his shoulder whilst jimin rolls his eyes at the way best friends who’ve heard their best friend boast about an-untruth for the umpteenth time.

and because you basically made another friend and that means you’ll have at least 2 people to hang out with if the rest turns out not to be your kind of people - so you cave in, “okay, sure, why not?”

'why not’s are subjective - or so you’d like to think.

like when you’re not particularly into americano and prefer latte but wouldn’t say no to having the first if jennie mixed up your order and bought you your not-so-favored but also not-so-hated drink.

but jennie’s known you since she shoved you off the swings at five after you outran her only to get to the swings faster because only one was vacant and the other kid was already in the other one.

so she’d know your preferred drinks.

but in the event she suddenly has amnesia or anything and got you and americano, that’s when you’ll go, “why not?”

but that and finding out that jeongguk used to be part of bts until he hurt his during practice, having to have 2 major surgeries because of it, rendering him no longer able to dance so he’s only going to the dance offs to cheer for his friends which was how he met you at the entrance and now you’re handcuffed together (and yes, again) in the middle of the forest - are two disparate things altogether.

hoseok, the most outgoing and friendliest of the bunch, suggested for the ice breaking to be in a form of 2 beer bottles and a sort of rope or chain tying people from bts and the bulletproof people together to talk for five minutes. they only have 2 pairs of cuffs so the others that lack them have to make do with bandanas and you think a seokjin got harassed into taking off his shirt and using it as him and his designated partner’s pseudo handcuff.

yours and jeongguk’s are - you’re not sure if it’s a fortunate or unfortunate thing - real ones (you’re not sure if you want to know why and how seulgi easily pulls out a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and a normal-looking one - out of the blue).

but you’re almost sure that you’re leaning on the side of the internal argument of this - this, right here - is why not.

“why didn’t you text me back?” jeongguk is in the middle of asking as you take a big chug of the alcoholic beverage.

"oh my god,” you let a pleased smile tug at your lips as you feel the buzz of the alcohol coursing through your system, “i was just gonna talk to you about that - jennie said i was being a ghosting b because you only said facts and i got like, offended without a reason but i agree that people can be wrong sometimes and that was her time... i just...” you shrug, “i just didn’t want to text you back so i didn’t,” you look at him with a new found familiarity, “anyways, how was your week?”

by the end of it, jeongguk’s nodding and poorly suppressing his smirk.

“well, let me start first,” you begin before he can even say anything, listing down the happenings in a chronological order which may or may have not confirmed his initial assumption on why you’re here alone “...i mean, was it my fault though? between you and me, i think jennie and i need to sit down and actually talk about accountabilities first, you know? but anyway, that’s how my week went! how about you, how was your week?”

to say that your turmoil of a week is anything close to a laugh-worthy joke, would be a lie but for some reason, trickles of laughter are escaping jeongguk’s lips and into the night air as he leans back, holding his stomach. he would’ve hit the ground if you’d poke him.

“wow,” you slowly nod, “that’s... that’s very... flattering that you think my somewhat a quarter life crisis is amusing,” a grin stretches across your face but your eyes drill holes into the boy’s skull, “maybe i should just quit uni altogether. that’d be... exciting, right? just... quit uni and live a life as a comedian because look at how much i’m cracking you up right now!”

and it goes on for another minute of jeongguk’s laughter filling the air as you threaten him to stop in the guise of encouragement besides the cracking of the branches as it gets swallowed up by the fire in the barrel not too far away from where everyone’s scattered.

“god,” when he’s finally reduced to chuckles and wiping invisible tears off the corner of his eyes, you’re about halfway done with your bottle.

“and he’s back,” you announce, “welcome back. can’t say i missed you though but glad that you’re back with us.”

but before jeongguk can get a word out about his own week which you’d asked, if only to be polite, hoseok is already summoning everyone to gather around the barrel as he raises a bottle in the air to - “new groupship and friends!”

or so you think he said.

you’re not too sure because you’re too busy demanding jeongguk to - “uncuff me right now, jeon - was that too pushy? let me try again,” you pause, clearing your throat, “can you please, please, please, uncuff me so i can go back to my friends and not have to stay here a minute longer?”

“don’t act like you don’t enjoy my company,” he offers you one of his self-assured smirks before addressing your concern, “i’m trying,” he says simply, free hand patting around the pocket on the side of his jeans before groping his own ass.

“um, maybe try harder?” you suggest, smiling sweetly but it downturns into a frown not even a minute later when he declares, “i can’t find it.”

“you... can’t find it?” you echo his words.

“it’s not on me,” he states.

“well, did seulgi give it to you at all or...” you trail off only to be met by a devious smirk which doesn’t exactly help his case.

“guess you’re stuck with me,” he shrugs ever so easily.

“oh, hell nah,” and that’s when you latch onto to smirking boy’s body - on your hands at least, and since his left hand and your right hand are cuffed together, it doesn’t allow much room for your physical inspection which is how using your only free hand to get to the side of his pocket that’s farthest from you - may appear suspicious to others.

you only notice that you’re fully facing jeongguk and having your back turned to everyone else when hoseok’s voice cuts through the air, “yo hold up, hold up, hold up - this is bonfire and chill, not netflix and chill.”

your jaws hurt from hanging a bit too low as you meet each and everyone’s eyes, their giggling and laughing already telling enough of what the majority thinks - everyone except jimin, that is.

but you’re a bit too preoccupied with trying to clear the supposed air of you and jeongguk getting it on in the middle of the forest with both your friends and his around, “aha,” you force out, “i know this,” free hand waving between the chain linking your wrists and the open air which isn’t helping your case because jeongguk’s poor attempt at subduing his smirk is well, poor, “might look sus to you but it isn’t - jeongguk lost the key and if someone could help us find it, it’d-”

“oh, don’t worry, i have a spare at home,” seulgi chirps up, hand waving her illuminated phone, “i’ll text my girlfriend to bring it here.”

well, that explains the fluffy cuffs.

“sick,” jeongguk nods over to the girl to which she holds up an ‘okay’ sign and a meaningful smile to him which shouldn’t be ominous but is.

so you fix him a stare when hoseok goes to say something along the line of ‘great’ and ‘lifesaver’ to seulgi.

which the boy only asks back with a “what?”

“i have something to say but i’m not gonna so i’m just gonna keep quiet but just know that i’m watching you,” but the warning doesn’t exactly bring out the intimidating aspect that you hoped for.

“watch all you want, i’m yours for tonight,” the velvety sound of his chuckles is awfully distracting because you don’t even notice the chain clinking until his fingers interlock yours before he brings them up in the air - as if to emphasize on the technicality of his titillating claim.

the night goes on with bottles of beers scattering over the ground, faint smoke dissipating into the air as the scent of something sweet and fruity wafts around whilst the juul gets passed around.

once in a while someone’s laugh echoes between the gaps of the trees and into the night, amidst the sound of woodland creatures. you’ve downed one and a half bottle of henny whilst jeongguk doesn’t seem to have gone past even half of his first bottle. but he’s chuckling and laughing at something someone said which, for the most part, is funny or warrant a jaw-dropping, pin-drop-silence kind of reaction just like now as seulgi confesses to-

“never have i ever slept with my mom’s boyfriend at 19.”

“and that’s on mommy issues,” you hold up a beer in a ‘cheers’ manner at her whilst she mimics your action before you both tilt your head up and take a chug out of your individual beers at the same time.

“what about you?” jeongguk asks and for a moment, you forget that there are people around because jeongguk’s eyes look like someone reached up the sky and handpicked two stars each for his irises and trap them in there like a class case.

but you’d like to believe it’s the alcohol doing its rightful work in your system because you’re back on the ground with an unrelenting itch on your ankle where it’s brushing against the blades of grass.

“yea, what’s your never-have-i-ever mommy issues edition?” kai speaks up.

“nah, it’s wack,” you wave a dismissive hand but end up agreeing to spill the beans when a bout of protest spreads across your ever so faithful audience.

“okay, okay, never have i ever fucked my biological mom’s husband who isn’t my dad,” you say which earns a bout of cheers and ‘that’s messed up’s before seokjin claps his hands together.

“never have i ever...” he pauses, grinning as an added suspense before he goes on, “fucked my brother’s boyfriend.”

the game doesn’t last for long when everyone collectively agree to take the atmosphere up a notch and play strip truth or dare. but before your turn came, seulgi announces her girlfriend’s arrival concurrently with her having to leave for the night because she’s her ride home. and because you and jeongguk are both of the same mind that you’re the ones that should be following after her to get yourselves uncuffed, you do just that.

yeri is a sweetheart and matches seulgi’s playful yet reserved nature. they take the cuffs with them and seulgi waves you two goodbye with the same, meaningful smile directed to jeongguk - but if that’s not enough, the ‘good luck’ thumbs up is a screaming red button for you.

but before you can even call him out for his possible hand in convincing his dance friends to invite jimin’s and consequently you to the forest after the match - he beats you to it.

“you okay?” this time, his features are lacking the smirk.

“yea, why wouldn’t i be?” you say, hopping on the rail of the train track that’ll lead to the spot where the others are - so far, you’re doing a good job not falling to your demise.

“i don’t know,” the scraping sound of his soul kicking against the pebbly ground fills the air as he walks next to you, hands in his pocket, “you’ve been pretty quiet after that thing about your mom.”

“you think what i did was messed up?” you inquire, resisting the urge to steal a glance at him to see what kind of emotion he’s making - whether it’s contorted with disgust or whether his nose is crinkling at an attempt to appear unbothered or whether there really isn’t any judgments being passed and he’s just downcasting his eyes because he’s looking out for possible sharp objects protruding from the ground.

“everyone’s a little messed up,” his shoulderline shakes as he shrugs, “it’s the why behind it that counts.”

“nah,” your hair tickles your face as you shake your head in blatant refutation, “i didn’t have a reason.”

and just when you expect a disgusted scoff to erupt from jeongguk’s pink lips... it doesn’t.

“that works too.”

silence follows his words for the longest moment with you trying placing one foot in front of the other, pretending like teetering on that tightrope you’re stuck on with kim taehyung at the end of it, not even waiting for you but just happen to be there.

so you break the silence, “i finally found her last year - flew all the way to jeju because my biological aunt saw my the post i put up on facebook in a last ditch attempt before i hire a private investigator like my dads suggested. she set us up to meet,” the picture of a woman who’s so similar yet dissimilar to you flashes at the back of your head, a biscoff cheesecake slice lying untouched on the table and someone screaming at the top of their lungs right in front of your ears, “my biological mom didn’t know anything about it, flipped out and told me to never bother her again so i looked up where her husband worked and slept with him and sent the video to her.”

jeongguk doesn’t say anything, only nodding in your periphery before a soothing kind of silence lapses between you.

“what’s your story?” you ask a moment later.

“hm?” he glances at you, the moonlight shining over that smirk that you’ve come to miss in the course of the five minutes it went missing, skin painted a creamy white.

“if you don’t wanna tell, that’s fine too but like, you basically tore down my walls and i’m naked as hell - figuratively -” you add as soon as his eyes light up, “right now.”

but then he tries to bargain, “promise you’ll text me back and i’ll tell.”

and you try to teeter in the grey area between words and its meanings, “alright, promise... i won’t leave you on read.”

“nah, you gotta promise to text back,” his half curls sway as he shakes his head - your end of the bargain not sufficiently satisfying.

it’s a few moments after your surrendering, “you know what? keep your skeletons in your closet - i’m good,” that he finally says something.

“i used to do tracks, lucked out with a sports scholarship but by freshman year in college, realized i didn’t even like tracks and dropped out...”

jeongguk’s parents weren’t happy about it - didn’t exactly welcome him when he came back with a suitcase and a letter from his unversity claiming the outstanding balance of his first two semesters. but he wasn’t happy at home either.

so he packed his bags one more time and took the first train to seoul where he worked part time at a restaurant and occasionally at the dance off’s, before he found the beyond the scene people and subsequently found dance. that was amidst of a developer of the game he was playing approaching him through the game’s chat server and offering him a job to test out their games with the condition that he gets a degree in computer science which they paid for on the company’s scholarship fund.

and so it was obvious that jeon jeongguk, wherever he chooses to go and stop at, blooms like a wildflower that strives in any condition thrown in his face whether it be a storm, a hurricane or a sunny weather that barely allows any rain to cover the soil he’s rooted in.

and because he’s true to himself, it isn’t as unbelievable, when almost everyone - from every layer of backgrounds, flock around him like honeybees in spring - allured, magnified and bewitched by jeon jeongguk that makes him... well, him.

to say you understand him a little bit better may be an overstatement but maybe you’re less suspicious of his keen intuition and uncanny prognosis of what happened in your relationships, both with your friend and your not-so-friendly crush.

jeongguk jests that his leg “doesn’t work like it used to but-” - he’s been to places. seen people.

“so why are you obsessed with me?” you question into the night in a light hearted joke, “i mean, i can possibly see why because well, i’m... me and i’m amazing but you know, it’s not healthy to be this obsessed with people.”

his chuckles sounds like wind chimes on a spring day, "besides the fact that i was too busy being a tracks nerd for most of my life so i have zero flirting skills and decided to make all the calls that seem to irritate the one person i want to get to know? it’s because you looked like you were head over heels with the guy you were putting in place but still managed to not make it personal.”

it takes a moment for you to digest what he just said, and even then, you’re nodding in complete disagreement as you blurt out, “pretty sure some parts were personal,” and you turn to him with a smile stretched over your face, “but glad that you don’t think i’m the impostor.”

so you stop twenty steps away from where you can see the fire in the barrel and hoshi, one of the guys from bulletproof boys, standing in boxers and shouting an oath before gulping down a bottle of henny at an alarming rate.

“everyone’s a little sus now and then,” he refutes, nose crinkling as a grin spread across his moon-kissed features as he offers you his hand and you take it, hopping off your tightrope journey and onto grounding earth.

when morning comes, you wake up to the familiar but not-very-welcomed sound of cars honking from outside your window and the light piercing through your eyelids, so much so, you surrender to the start of the day. arms stretched over your head and a guttural sound vibrating within your chest as a sign of protest before your vision finally gets used to the bright sunny rays.

and that’s when you freeze. arms stretched and all.

“after all this, you can’t say no to a date with me,” jeon jeongguk is lying right next to you, in your one-person bed which you could never imagine would fit more than your need-for-maximum-space self when you sleep but there he is, in yesterday’s clothes, hugging your light pink alpaca plushie on his stomach whilst his elbow which you don’t notice before is poking into your rib.

the events of last night untangle in a web of hazed memory coming to high definition as each passing second pass by.

you and jimin live on the opposite ends of the city which made you reluctant in having kai drive you back at all, so jeongguk offered to split the uber bills with you because apparently, “oh, hey, we live in the same area!”

which later turned out you didn’t and it would’ve made more sense for him to hitch a ride with kai and jimin. but you didn’t even need to ask why he did what he did.

because by the time you and jeongguk returned, it’d been a set-in-stones assumption that you were off making out somewhere under a tree and everyone cheered you and him for it upon your return.

well, except jimin.

so you pulled jeongguk to the side once the attention was directed to hoseok whose dare was to lick the grass he was stepping on.

“is that thing about jimin liking me true because he’s been like, avoiding my eyes the whole night and now he’s acting like i don’t exist and i’m pretty concerned because his friend is my ride home,” you whispered underneath your beath.

jeongguk threw one, confirming glance at the aforementioned man before nodding casually, “he’s jealous as fuck because he thinks we did the do - cross my heart and hope to die.”

so you ended up offering jeongguk to sleep in your bed because it was already late and it felt like a waste to spend another thirty bucks to go back to a place where nobody was waiting for him anyway.

you were so beat, you’d fallen asleep as soon as jeongguk pulled your protesting self off the futon-splayed floor and held you captive in your own bed.

“you know what? i might as well,” you say, legs thrown off the bed and stretching some more before looking down at the smiling, plushie-holding, grown ass person in your bed, “now we need to figure out how to sneak you out because this is a girls-only dorm and if they found out i have a guy over, i might get expelled.”

but before you can even start brainstorming the best possible route for jeongguk to sneak out without being detected, an obnoxious rapping reverberates against your door. the look of pure horror settling in as jeongguk’s smile melts into a wide-eyed, panicked face would have been adorable if you’re not in the middle of shoving him into your “quick, in the closest!” which he needs to hunch his shoulders to become as small as possible before you can close it whilst you yelp out a “just a minute!”

by the time you manage to school a smile on your face, jennie’s is already sprinkled with a dust of red as her brows come together, judging your choice of outfit and the events that went down last night.

“hey, girl,” you drag out the first word in idle panic, body leaning against the doorframe a little too defensively, “what’s...” you can’t even find the right words as you tap your fingers against the doorframe before finally saying, “what’s good?”

but one questioning look from her and you’re stepping out of the way, left to stand at attention like a cadet in the presence of the general whilst said general struts into your room and scans it once before turning to you.

“’what’s good?’” jennie echoes and you know from the way her head does the slightest of movements according to her enunciation, “imagine seeing your best friend on some mutual friend’s snapchat story which mind you, said mutual friend isn’t anywhere close to either of you and the time in the snap says a big whooping 4:03 am while you’re here feeling bad for hurting her feelings with your words words. but does she feel bad? well, it doesn’t flipping look like she even gave any thoughts about you, did it?”

and that’s when the closet decides that it’s had enough of storing a full grown human in its belly and slowly, but surely swings the door open with thunderous creak in the midst of the calm before the storm. and lo and behold, a jeon jeongguk, still hugging your alpaca tightly, keeping his eyes closed as if it’ll make him invisible before he gradually screws one eye open to the sight of a raging but confused jennie kim and a mortified you turning to said girl.

so much for keeping skeletons in closets.

“i-i can explain.”

it turns out all it takes for jennie’s anger to subside is for her to find a boy in your room. namely the boy she’s been blatantly shipping you with even though you barely knew each other then.

“i have a wig in my room,” she suggests after you’ve exhausted all options - jeongguk can’t climb through the window and jump down from the second floor.

“well, he can but there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to leave without one of his limbs intact,” you’d added, shrugging.

he’s sitting crossed leg on your bed, alpaca in his lap and looking cute as hell as his eyes go round at the mention of a wig and five minutes prior, crossdressing. the plan is for you and jennie will walk him out once he’s all dresed up like you’re just three - well, one is kind of buffed up but still pretty - best friends who had a girls’ night and crashed in your room.

he whistles lowly, head lulling to the side as he stares at the door before turning to you with a playful smile, “i’ve always wanted to wear a skirt.”

and so it goes, jennie kim’s squealing and making a short trip to her room and returning with a bag full of wig, stretchable sweaters and lycra skirts whilst she scours through your closet for clothes that you have but don’t even remember. the oversized sweater that’s a few more inches too big for you wraps around his body tightly and the skirt is a tad bit too short for him, going down to a few inches above the knee. but the head turner is the way the curly brown wig gracefully frames his face and softens his jawline, giving an illusion of how his half-ringlet would have looked if he grew them out.

you apply the soft pink lipgloss on his already rosy lips as a joke in a guise of a final touch, heart skipping as his lips curl whilst he gazes at you the whole time you’re putting on the glimmering liquid.

“okay, i feel bad,” you confess, shoulder line falling, “i thought you’d hate the lipgloss and i was going say it’s important to make the look work if you said no but you’re not saying no and you’re looking at me like you’d trust me with your life...” a sigh rolls off your lips at the end of it.

“you feel bad?” he echoes, glossed lips looking kissable as hell - it doesn’t even matter that he’s smirking like it was part of his plan all along to manipulate your conscience into confessing your ulterior motive.

so you nod.

“good,” he states simply.

“you saying good like you’re satisfied that you managed to pick on my guilty conscience is making me feel less guilty,” you narrow your eyes, not even bothering to hide the smile creeping on your lips.

“oh my god, my ship is sailing!” jennie’s whispered squeal cuts through the air before she reverts to her deadpanned self, “okay but seriously, if you’re done sprinkling sugar cubes all over the place, i think we should get jeongguk out before miss snitchery sonyeon next door sniffs the man in jeongguk and snitch on us.”

sonyeon has been known for reporting 2 boy-sneaking activities that went on last year which would have been justified if the girls that brought the boys into their room was doing questionable things and loudly at that but the first incident was with a late enrolled newbie that just moved in and didn’t know that boys weren’t allowed inside and though the other girl did sneak her boyfriend in, it was only because he was bleeding profusely and needed first aid treatment which she stored in her room.

you’re just about a few feet away from the double doors when a familiar but disembodied voice drums in your ears.

“you three, stop right there.”

you think your heart stops working for the briefest moment as time freezes and you’re craning your head to look at jennie whose fear-stricken face mimics yours and then jeongguk whom you don’t expect to wear such ceases in his forehead.

so you do the one thing that you think of-

“run.” you whisper.

all of a sudden, the wind is in your face and a few heads turn your way - but you doubt that it has more to do with how unfairly gorgeous jeongguk looks than the fact that the ra is on your tail, her pitched demands for ‘someone stop them!’ whilst. you’re not sure if someone did try to chase after you or if the adrenaline pumping in your system is what helps you sprint faster than a cheetah but when you finally slow down, almost skidding to a stop on the grass somewhere on campus grounds instead of the dormitory area - it’s because jennie is dramatically breathing through her mouth and found herself a bench to put on an act of dying whale.

“you guys... go on... leave me be...” she croaks out in between breaths, hand reaching out to the air.

“dude, tell me if you’re gonna stop so we can stop and get caught together,” you guff, plopping down, your state no better than jennie’s while jeongguk shakes his head at the two of you.

not even a beat of sweat or heaved breathing coming from him - not to mention that-

“how are you the fastest-” you suck in a much needed breath, “-when your leg doesn’t work as good anymore?”

“yea, didn’t say i can’t run,” he grins.

“jen, let’s go,” you say, tapping the dying whale on her shoulder as she starts wailing words of saddened goodbyes.

“forsake me! save yourselves!” she wheezes, staring into nothingness before waving a dismissive hand, “no for real, i don’t think they’re gonna chase us all the way here. you guys go, i have a date anyway, i’ll text kim,” it’s the name you coined for namjoon whenever you talk about him in public, “to pick me up here.”

a year ago, you would have called her a brave fool for having her boyfriend slash professor that’s teaching at the same university - pick her up in plain sight. but once you saw the unfamiliar ferrari roll to a stop in front of the dorms with tinted black windows, you understand why they can be as free and uncaring as they are.

“you sure? what if they saw you here?” you question, needles of doubt still deeply pierced into your racing heart.

but when she looks at you with arched brows and a familiar couldn’t-care-less attitude, you know nothing you say can change her mind which helps ease the knots in your stomach by a lot.

so you cave in, waving her goodbye - but not before the scarring ‘we still need to talk though’ reminder - and going back to the tall, brown haired person who’s holding his left hand midair and wiggling his fingers about in what you think is a parodic depiction of how girls wave at each other while mouthing a nasally, higher-pitched “thank you so much for helping us.”

one minute into the walk, you stop in front of the cafe you’re used to having lunch at with your group of 4 - if there’s even any group left after this, “so this kim guy - he’s way older isn’t he?”

“if you’re all knowing, you wouldn’t end that sentence with a question,” you assert, “so i’m not gonna say anything.”

“that’s a yes then,” he nods.

“i think we lost them,” you say, a tad too late but pretend to look around anyway like you’re not 200% sure of that fact.

to any outsiders, you’ll probably look like two girls standing three feet apart from each other, looking out in a distance.

“nice,” jeongguk nods, joining in your scouting party before he squints his eyes at something in the most casual manner before suggesting, “so... you wanna go on a date?”

“you think we lost them?” you whisper under your breath, worry filling your chest as you throw your gaze over somewhere at the end of the alleyway where flashes of red and blue lights passed by.

but before the black cladded boy can say anything, his lips smack together as he and you both press yourselves flat to the wall as the sound of radio static bounces into the narrow space you’ve found yourselves in. six months after your first date, which involves a crossdressing jeongguk and a day at a park that had you returning to the dorm with a giant teddy bear and a strip of photo you took from the booth comprising the multiple personalities embodied in one person from sassy to stare-into-the camera-intimidating face to him looking down and shyly peeking through his pushed back curls - you’ve gone on multiple other dates.

none of which can be considered normal because you’ll always end up in a sticky situation like you are now.

on your second month, you found out that jeon jeongguk not only has a stable income for literally playing games while trying to balance out his education but he also paints and draws.

on your third month, you go on your first mural-painting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-dressed-as-robbers date to which ended pretty well with the two of you getting hungry and having ramen at a 24 hour convenience store. so the mural painting becomes a monthly routine.

jimin finds out about it somewhere down the line and broke out into the most heartwarming smile while teasing you about how “the singles lost another one,” as he shook his head in dismay. but things went back to normal for the most parts. taehyung talks to you more now. he apologized for having only treated you like someone useful to him when he needed something and found that you have more in common than you think.

like how you’re decently informed about the greatest artists of all time - all because jeongguk was telling you about them whilst you chill at his place on days you don’t feel like going out but still want to spend time together. jeongguk, later found out that his supply of artistic information was what led to you and taehyung’s improving friendship and offers to become your spokesperson by having you invite taehyung to a cafe so he can pour his abundance of knowledge in the fine arts of painting - “since he’s so interested in van gogh, you know what i mean?”

he even finished it with a tilt of his head and an sassy ‘ugh.”

“i think we gotta run,” jeongguk’s declarations doesn’t have you arching your eyebrows and looking at him in an ‘are you for real?’ kind of manner.

it could be because you’re so used to running from law enforcement now.

or maybe because jeongguk showed you the world through his eyes. doesn’t mean it’s any less terrifying - the thought of being caught and shoved behind the bars whilst they included it in your records. but hey, at least, you’re no strangers to handcuffs.

“on one,” you say and he nods, hand squeezing yours as if saying i’ll never let them get you.

“three,” you begin, eyes fixed on the stars in jeongguk’s gaze, “two,” jeongguk breathes in deeply, “one.”

run.

note. i hope you guys enjoyed reading!! and if you want anything similar to this kind of style, i have one more college au. the second part of that one is my pinned post which also has a link to the first part. if you’re curious why i’m not gonna link or name it is because i’m convinced that tumblr literally makes anything that’s linked or mentioned it blocked for some reason idk.

but anyways, thank you for reading!!

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thetaekookcloset · 2 years

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This could be one of the instances where I say not everything they say is true. My take on the situation? I don't remember Jin taking any grapes back, please correct me if I am wrong. This simply makes me think he left both the bags with Jungkook so the other could be passed onto Taehyung. It is not a wild thought, if earlier he had a mind to give Taehyung when Jungkook was not available, with one of the assumption they'll share/pass on to each other, so him doing it now makes sense and natural.

Why I think they lying?

Before a day of this live Taehyung knew Jin gave him grapes coz he tagged Jin in his grape story. If the company had sent him those grapes, they definitely would have mentioned Jin's name hence the tagging. Then the whole conversation becomes moot because Taehyung is aware of this knowledge but Jin should also since he would have specifically asked them to pass the grapes to Tae .

It's a little tricky why he got surprised when he got to know about grapes. If Jin wanted to give grapes to company to pass on to absent members he could have also done in Jungkook's case (when he didn't have his no.) and would have remembered it and not said "I thought I didn't give you".

So that means either the company gave Taehyung those grapes and said Jin sent him this. Maybe company (one of the person as company is not a person) gave Tae their own share as Jin definitely didn't ask them to. The company is definitely sincere to pass the grapes to one of the members when they thought Tae didn't get his share, especially something which a member got from his private scene and is not an obligatory thing for company to pass on to every member. Makes me wonder how many Jin got those and who was kind enough to give Tae his share without taking credit.

Was it you Manager-nim? Oh but weren't you also with Tae? NVM.

Or Since fans definitely would have wondered how Tae got the grapes if Jin gave them to Jungkook linking the connection they met as more of a convincing proof, they still might do but can easily be shut down by pointing company's involvement as a grape passer. You might ask why need to hide. Well supposedly they are hiding many things now. I still don't believe they didn't meet on Jk's birthday. It's simple, if you in a relationship and you can't meet your partner who lives 5 mins drive apart, all because of stupid jet lag. Even if he would have been tired and slept the day off, still could spent together particularly when JK didn't have any plans to go out. So it's not like any tampering with plans. This is all on an assumption they are together of course.

I just think sometimes Taekookers also doesn't see the big picture. It feels to me Taekook are being themselves but don't want to link with each other behind the scenes what with coming Busan Expo and military enlistment. They insuniated Jk was with other 97 liners after Tae left for NY which is untrue simply because of the itenary of people involved in the dinner. It would been a month earlier. I'll send you the link in next ask. This whole stupid Taennie scandal which everyone is quiet about. So yes I believe they have been spending time together but have been told to be tight lipped about this. A lot of things are at stake, what with company not affording to lose sponsors for expo if Taekook closeness is perceived as typically gay in SK. I will not elaborate on this now but a person with enough business acumen will understand this.

To conclude I still think Jungkook gave Tae the leftover bag. It could be true or not. At the end it doesn't diminish the bond they two have and also the primed way members think about them.

Before I get into this, I just want to say sorry lol, I totally didn’t realize that link was meant to go with this ask. They got separated in my inbox, so I responded to that as its own post and it should be up already.

The long and short of it is that I personally figure the 97 liners’ signatures from that restaurant visit were shared when they were less to conceal the timeline than simply because the restaurant didn’t want to post it right away and they got to it when they got to it. Could it be more complex than that? Sure, it could, but since I don’t see any other evidence to suggest otherwise, at least for now I feel like that’s the most likely case.

Similarly, I’m not sure how likely I find it that the grape situation was this complicated. Though I suppose really, the gist of your theory is that Jin simply left the second bag of grapes with Jungkook for Tae, and the confusion later came from everyone not being on the same page about the story of where the grapes came from? I’m sorry if I’m misrepresenting your argument here.

Despite not being sure I think that’s necessarily the more likely scenario, I do agree that if Jungkook and Taehyung are in a relationship, they would need to obscure that fact, and trying to refrain from giving the impression that they spend a lot of time in the same space might very well be one way they could choose to do that, or be one way they’re expected to do that.

Ultimately, like you alluded to, this is a tiny detail in the big picture of a relationship that’s lasted, in one form or another, eleven years, so yeah -- I don’t think their whole bond is going to be made or broken over some grapes lol.

#ask

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kimchokejin · 2 years

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i was tagged by the brilliant @blueside-hobi, the joyful @joon-rkive, the jiminy @jiminsproof, and the wondrous @wistfulocean to share 6 albums i’ve been listening to lately! i so appreciate all the recs you guys make because a lot of the time it's music i wouldn’t even think to check out and then i usually end up loving it!

i have been trying most of this year to be in hardcore music discovery mode so i’m generally trying not to put albums on repeat. with a few exceptions ofc but i think i’ve pushed those ones enough lmao. so here are a few albums i’ve listened to recently, only a couple times tbh, but i really liked!

rachel@fairyland by rae morris - listen to this album if your mood ring tells you you’re feeling romantic, you’ve ever had plans canceled on you after you spent hours getting ready, or you wanna dance with taehyung at the seniors jazz club

fave songs: low brow (😜) and table for two (😭💞)

food house by food house, gupi, fraxiom - listen to this album if you’re a fuckin freak. an absolute maniac. a silly billy koo koo boo bird. if you want to know what it sounds like when you put a computer in a blender. and you hate reagan.

fave songs: 8 now (🥒) and mos thoser (🐸)

live by joywave - listen to this album if you want to hear some band’s greatest hits, enjoy quality live alt rock, and can tolerate the lead singer trying to be a comedian (if you’ve dealt with me this long you should be fine)

fave songs: we! are all we need! (🤘) and DESTRUCTION (😈)

rainbow boy by keiynan lonsdale - listen to this album if you want to go to gay pride church without leaving your house, love yourself (for namjoon), or need an afternoon pick me up/kick in the ass

fave songs: i confess my love (💔) and on my wave (🌊)

retriever by kevin atwater - listen to this album if you're dreadfully insecure, a little bit needy, and sam smith sad, but you look sexy in a sweater vest

fave songs: ashes (🤓) and money shot (📖)

ruin by the amazing devil - listen to this album if you need music to play on your way to the renn faire, appreciate duets that aren't romantic, or are wearing a dress with pockets but in a nefarious way

fave songs: secret worlds (🌳) and the calling (👗)

okay this is a tag game i am no pressure tagging @sugaggukkie, @mutedstring, @cheekyquokka, @lesovoj, afraid to tag others out of fear but if you wanna do it say i tagged you i love you!

#tag: i’m it!#blueside-hobi #joon-rkive #jiminsproof #wistfulocean #sugaggukkie #mutedstring #cheekyquokka #lesovoj #i will also just say the lyrics in some of these albums are…hilarious…i hinted at some and i could go on and on and on and on but i won’t #construction over i am laughably bad with technology but also tumblr post editor is ridiculous amirite ladies

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btsandvmin · 3 years

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When people ask me about KTH1 and I don't know how to not expect some Vmin from it with Vmin's track record while also not wanting to expect something in fear of being dissapointed and holding on too hard to possibly incorrect theories. 🤡💦💦

But really it's mostly Vmin's fault. And in particular with Tae being so loud lately.

(This is just me being tired and overwhelmed by Tae putting weird thoughts in my head and also maybe being a tiny bit annoyed how overlooked Vmin is.)

I mean... This is literally all Vmin's songs so far:

95z graduation song - Sounds romantic.

Stigma and Lie - Possibly LGBT+ and possibly matching lyrics. If nothing else docskim's Vmin photo with tag "caught in a lie".

4 o'clock - Tae's FIRST song, Jimin has a direct connection and there is a gay reference in the lyrics.

Serendipity and Singularity - Not their own songs in the same sense and yet they were made to match. Also, what is wrong with Tae, using "Blue mold" for Jimin?

Happy Christmas - I don't even have to say anything, but apparently too gay and romantic and directly connected to Jimin, again.

Promise - Jimin's FIRST song, and at the very least the cover is by the best photographer Taehyung. But also the timing and the lyrics.

Scenery - Likely has a direct call back to 4 o'clock (also timing and Jimin Promo). (Also Spring Day analysis is coming.)

Winter Bear - Cover bears and promo from Jimin.

Friends - Everything is gay except the title.

Filter and Inner Child - Vmin gave me a break, but at what cost? (Jimin's performance was deadly and I could make a case for Inner Child's lyrics but I won't.)

Sweet night - Might have no direct connections, but there is the timing and "best friend".

Snow Flower and Christmas Love - Just timing and lyrics, so possibly nothing.

KTH1? - Who knows what Tae might get up to?

There are many thematic possibilities Tae seem to like to use in his other songs. And as noted he does have a good track record of making things about Jimin. I really need to finish some of my posts before Taehyung drops his mixtape. (Especially the Spring Day analysis it seems.) 🌸🌸🌸🌸

(And please take this post with a grain of salt. I am obviously just throwing these moments out there because I am once again tired and overwhelmed by Vmin and don't have access to my computer so I can't properly work on actual posts, so all you get are shit posts when I should be sleeping. I know it's the second night in a row, but Vmin are to blame.)

Sweet night~~

#i take no responsibility #vmin #vmin made me do it #vmin shit post #vmin songs #don't go delusional because of this please I just needed to release some stress

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here4theheartbreak · 4 years

Text

Who’s the King?

AO3 Link Here!

Relationships: Min Yoongi x Min Yoongi Genre(s): Smut, Angst

Rating: Explicit Tags: Self-cest (sorta), Alternate Universe, Inspired by Daechwita (Music Video), Royalty AU, Parallel Universes, Violence, Mild Blood, Minor Jeon Jungkook/Jung Hoseok | J-Hope, Minor Kim Namjoon | RM/Kim Seokjin | Jin, Mentioned Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin, Minor Character Death, First Kiss, Barebacking, Riding, Rimming, Oral Sex, Coming Untouched, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: Suga gets thrown into an alternate timeline. It's the Joseon dynasty - sort of - but the country is being ruled by his cruel doppelgänger- King Min Yoongi. Suga gets wrapped up in an assassination plot in order to get home, but learns that everything isn’t always as it seems.

Word Count: ~20.1k

His head was pounding as soon as he opened his eyes. Why was it so bright? What did he do the night before?

“Hey, Mister – I don’t think you should be here,” came a small voice to his left. He turned, squinting against the unforgiving morning sun. The small child was dressed in rags, his feet bare and hair long and messy. A streak of dirt was running across his nose.

“What?”

The boy gasped a little. “Wow, what a big scar… Who are you? How’d you get into my yard?”

“Your yard?” He growled. “I’m fucking Suga, shouldn’t you recognize me?”

The little boy tilted his head and giggled. “That’s a funny name. I’m Namkyu. Are you okay, Mister Suga?”

Suga coughed, lifting himself first onto his knees and then standing. He looked around, brows furrowed. The last thing he remembered was stumbling out of the club in Hongdae with Jin, laughing about scaring the pants off some wannabe gangster who’d tried to rough them up.

Now he was in a dirt patch, surrounded with a shabbily placed fence. A small hut was to his left, the door hanging crooked. A large, white dog sat on the porch.

“Where am I?”

“Hanseong. This is my house.” Namkyu pointed. “How’d you get here? You’re wearing really funny clothes.” He reached out and touched one of the zippers on Suga’s jacket. “Is it metal?”

“I—Hanseong?” He repeated.

“Sure! The capital.” Namkyu pointed upward. Suga followed where he was pointing, seeing a large, towering structure on a hill. It looked like the capitol buildings that Suga had seen in history books in school. He furrowed his brows.

“It’s 2020, right?”

“What’s that?”

Suga spun around, panic clenching his throat. “Who is ruling?” He asked suddenly.

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Namkyu asked. “Everyone knows the ruler. King Min Yoongi.”

“What did you say his name was?”

“King Min Yoongi. He’s the youngest King we’ve had. No one really knows what he looks like except a certain few… He’s pretty mean to the village though, so we kinda all hope…” Namkyu shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

“Namkyu! Who’s that?” Suga looked up, seeing an older woman open the door.

“Gramma! I found him in the yard!” Namkyu called. Eager to prevent the inevitable scream for the police, Suga hurried up to her and bowed.

“My name is Suga, ma’am. I’m so sorry to intrude, I wandered in last night. I had been drinking, I’m from out of town. Could you point me to the city exit?” He asked. Her eyes narrowed. She glanced over at Namkyu then back at Suga before pointing to the left.

“Go out our gate and follow the road. You can’t miss the village gates. But if you’re not from around here, you’d best move quickly… The guards don’t take kindly to strangers wandering in unpermitted.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Suga bowed low once more and turned.

“Oh wait. Take this.” She disappeared in the hut for a moment before returning with a large conical hat. “That scar is pretty noticeable. You could frighten someone, or catch the wrong attention.”

Suga hesitated then took it, carefully tying it under his chin. “Thank you.”

He glanced at Namkyu, who was looking at him with his head cocked. He smiled a little and nodded. “And thank you for waking me up, Namkyu. I would have been in a lot of trouble if you hadn’t. Can you imagine the sunburn?”

Namkyu grinned then. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Suga.”

Suga chuckled and headed out, slipping through the gate onto the dirt path. He could see a horse coming up from the left, and to the right he could hear the bustle of people. He stepped as far off the road as he dared, lowering the hat over his face to hide his scar. He walked toward the bustling noise, his mind working a million miles an hour.

Last night was the year 2020, and he’d been in Seoul. He was the leader of a relatively powerful and well-known street gang. His best friends were Jin and Namjoon. He’d been out drinking – celebrating. And then he woke up… Here. Wherever here was. It was clearly Korea, they spoke the same language, but Hanseong? Seoul hadn’t been called Hanseong since the Joseon dynasty, if his schooling hadn’t failed. And the King...

Only a few living people knew Suga’s real name. Jin and Namjoon knew it, of course – they were his closest friends and confidants. His parents, though he never spoke to his mother and his father died three years before. And he supposed the children in school back in Daegu, but many of them – according to varied reports, thought he had died at some point. To everyone else, he was Suga. His real name though, the one on his birth certificate from that rundown hospital, was Min Yoongi. The King’s name.

Suga reached the market district and was immediately taken aback. It was bustling with life, stalls lining the road as people walked or led animals through. The annoyed shouting of salesmen and laughter of children, the promises of fresh meat, real spices, sweet fruits. The scents of a village – manure, home cooking, fish, and perfumes – permeated the air around Suga, making him a bit woozy. He could see the gates of the city rising up in the distance, and rushed down the street toward them. He kept his head low, unsure what would happen if someone called him out for not belonging. His clothing and shoes were out of place, and he could feel the weight of his pistol still in his inner pocket. How had he gotten here?

Suga bumped into a tall, slender villager in his rush, mumbling a canned apology. “Yoongi?”

Suga hesitated. He turned and looked at the man he’d run into. Jin stood in front of him, dressed head to toe in clothing of the period they seemed to be in. A fishing rod was slung over his shoulder.

“Jin!” Suga cried, hurrying toward him. Jin’s eyes widened. He grabbed Suga’s jacket as soon as he was within reach and slung them both off the street, pinning Suga against a wall behind a couple of stalls.

He backed up immediately and dropped into a full bow, forehead to the ground. “Apologies, my King. I was so startled seeing you out and about, I needed to hide you.”

“Wh—” A wave of nausea began to form in the pit of Suga’s stomach.

“Jin. Please, it’s me. It’s Suga… Please tell me you know where we are.”

Jin looked up hesitantly, his brows furrowed. “What sort of alias is Suga? What does that mean?”

“Wh—Jin, come on. We were out having drinks last night.”

Jin rose, stepping close to Suga. His eyes narrowed as he searched his face.

“You… You’re not King Min.”

“Goddamnit, Jin, this isn’t funny!” Suga snapped, shoving Jin backwards. “Where the fuck are we?”

Jin stumbled, then went forward. He dropped his pole and turned his net, jamming the handle into Suga’s stomach. The pain radiated through Suga’s entire body and he doubled over, groaning. Jin slammed him back against the rough brick wall, using his body to pin Suga’s and the net handle against his throat.

“Who are you?” Jin hissed, going almost nose to nose with him. “Why do you look like the King?”

Suga struggled for his pistol, but the Jin lookalike in front of him had him firmly pinned. This wasn’t his Jin. His Jin was sweet, an older brother and confidant, always supportive. Gentle. The man he trusted with his entire life.

“My name is Suga,” he rasped. “I don’t give a fuck about your King. I just want to find out where I am. I’m from 2020. Seoul, South Korea.”

Jin’s eyes narrowed. He relaxed the pressure of the net enough to let Suga draw in a much-needed breath.

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

“Why would I lie? Do I look like I belong here? I was out drinking with my friends last night in the year 2020. I’m twenty-seven, I have a small dog named Holly. I lead a gang of guys who spend their days fundraising for gay groups and fighting against capitalism for fuck’s sake. My best friends are Kim Seokjin and Kim Namjoon. They’re lovers.” Suga’s shoulders slumped a little as he relaxed against Jin’s grip. “I just wanna get home.” He muttered. The fight drained from his body, replaced with fear and nerves as he spoke. Tough covers or not, he was lost, and arguing against everyone and everything would do him no favors.

“If I let you go – you won’t run?”

“Not if you can help me.”

Jin lowered the net and stepped back. Suga coughed, rubbing his sore throat.

“My name is Kim Seokjin too. I grew up serving the royal family. I’m King Min’s personal servant. Kim Namjoon… He’s a smart man,” Jin smiled a little, a familiar expression that had Suga aching for his Jin. “He writes. Very well educated. He’s a doctor.”

“He’s crazy smart where I’m from too. Are you and he…”

“Uh..” Jin chuckled and shrugged. “Sort of.”

“I know this is weird…”

“That’s an understatement… There are so many people eager to end the King’s reign… How can I trust you?”

“I’m going to reach into my pocket, okay? Don’t freak out.”

Jin’s grip tightened on his net, but he nodded once.

Suga reached into his jeans, pulling out his wallet. He held it up and opened it, withdrawing his driver’s license. “See?” He held it out for Jin.

Jin blinked at it. “What’s this?”

“My ID. It says my name and my age and everything.”

“It… I can’t read this.”

Suga scowled. “What do you mean? It’s right there!”

“I was never taught,” Jin shrugged.

Suga’s face dropped. He’d get nowhere like this. He pulled out a ten thousand won banknote and held it up. “Look! Money from my time. This is Sejong the Great. He was King.”

Jin took the banknote and flipped it over, his brows furrowed and mouth in a concentrated pout. “You say this is money? But it’s just paper. Sejong was never King. He was Yoongi’s brother, the title was stripped from him. Yoongi was named heir.”

“It’s what we use. That or these.” He held up one of his credit cards. Jin plucked the card from his fingers. He flipped it over, scowling.

“What is this?”

“A piece of plastic.”

“It’s money?”

“It stores money. Hey!” Suga tugged the card out of Jin’s hand when he made a motion to bend it. He put his wallet away and rubbed his temples. “This is ridiculous.”

He leaned back against the wall, puffing out his cheeks in thought. “So, it’s not time travel, that’s impossible… And the timeline is wrong, Sejong was made King… So what is it. A giant joke? No, that’s… Impossible. Am I sleeping?”

Suga dug his thumbnail into his arm, hissing. “Not sleeping. Drugged?”

He rubbed his arm over the rough wall behind him, scowling. No, that felt pretty normal. He examined the light hairs on his arm… Normal. He reached out for Jin. That cloth should be rough.

Jin stepped back, smacking Suga’s hand out of the way. “What the hell are you doing?” He cried.

“Making sure I’ve not been drugged,” Suga grumbled. He touched the fabric of Jin’s shirt and nodded. “Okay… So, I’m not drunk, not drugged, not dreaming.”

“No, you’re standing in the middle of the marketplace acting like an animal,” Jin grumbled, crossing his arms.

Suga huffed. “Well, do you have any useful advice then?” He asked, flinging his arms out in frustration.

“Well, there is the royal advisor. councils the King in everything and knows almost everything. I don’t know that I believe your tale of being from the future or… A different future… But it would make sense to go to him. If someone that knew the King’s face were to see you on the street… Things may happen.”

“What things?”

Jin twitched his head to the side, shrugging. “The King is not adored in the village.”

“Why not? You mentioned people eager to end his reign…”

“It’s not my place to say, especially not to someone I know nothing about. And is wearing his face… Down even to his scar.” Jin touched Suga’s cheek. He jerked back.

“I don’t like being touched.”

“Nor does the King.” Jin shook his head. “The resemblance… It is frighteningly uncanny. It’s as if the boy I grew up with is standing in front of me, wearing such rags and… This dark hair.” He grimaced. Suga touched his own hair peeking out from under the hat.

“What color is his hair?”

“White as snow. Long and beautiful,” Jin said proudly. “Anyway… Come. Let me get you to the palace. But… I’m still not sure…” He pressed his lips into a thin line, looking Suga up and down. Suga scowled, crossing his arms.

“What’re you staring at?”

“You look so strange. These clothes.” Jin touched one of the zippers on Suga’s coat. “And the fabric of your pants.”

“Yeah, they’re jeans. They’re comfy. Better than whatever the hell canvas you’re wearing,” Suga grumbled. Jin frowned and looked down at his clothes. “My brother’s partner made me these. They’re very comfortable.”

Suga scoffed. “Whatever. How do you suggest I blend in more?”

“Well, I think you and my brother are the same size. Come to our home. I’ll let you borrow something of his.”

“Nuh-uh. I am not wearing any potato sacks.”

“It’s better that than be killed on the spot by one of the royal guards, isn’t it? Not that I would be hurt if you were… Has anyone ever told you that you have quite an abrasive personality?”

Suga laughed, both out of surprise and humor. “I’ve been told.”

“But I have to admit… I am curious how this all ends up. So hopefully you don’t die too quickly. Come on, my home is right back this way.”

Suga followed reluctantly after Jin, having to dodge a few times to avoid his pole and net. He peeked around the marketplace as they walked, hit with a pang of homesickness. Today in his world would have been Saturday. He and Jin would have met up with Taehyung and gone down to the soup kitchen, volunteering with some of the homeless. They would have all spent the evening together, playing games and wandering the city he loved so deeply.

Suga was lost deeply enough in his thoughts that he bumped into Jin’s back when he stopped. “Hey—” Jin turned and put a finger to his own lips.

“Shh now, don’t wake them.” He whispered.

Suga peeked over Jin’s broad shoulder, surprised to see the “them” Jin was talking about was a large, beautiful black dog with a coat of long, shaggy fur, and a younger man, hat pulled over his face to hide from the sun, sleeping on the dog’s side.

Jin crept around the two with comically exaggerated movements, using his pole and net as a sort of balancing rod.

Suga cocked a brow, looking once more at the dog and boy pair. He shrugged and followed after Jin, the toe of his sneaker scuffing a rock in the path. Jin winced visibly and turned. The dog’s eyes were open, staring directly at Jin. He let out a low, deep woof, and the sleeping boy stirred. He sat up, pushing his hat back. Suga was taken aback by how familiar he looked. Long, dark hair in a ponytail, and a perfectly shaped nose and mouth, he could have easily been an idol in Seoul.

“Kim Seokjin!” He snarled, revealing large front teeth that would have looked comical if not for his already impossible beauty. “I’m going to get you!” He scrambled to his feet and took off, the dog following close behind. Jin screamed and bolted toward an opening in a fence, kicking up dirt and rocks as he ran.

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#mygsnet #btsbookclub #bangtanhq #networkbangtan #boymeetsmxm #ficswithluv #yoongi x yoongi #royalty au #parallel universe #smut #angst #minor character death #self-cest #min yoongi x suga #suga x suga #mywriting

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sombreboy · 4 years

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Love Maze »4

Previous » Next Series Masterlist ▎ 18+ ▎ pairing: Taehyung x Jungkook ▎ genre: School AU, crack humor, smut, angst, ETL, slow burn, fluff. ▎ word count: 9.2k ▎ ch.warnings: cursing, slight angst, homophobic slurs, alcohol consumption, descriptions of throwing up (due to the alcohol), dumb chaotic energy. A/N: A LOT happens in this one hahahah thank you @velvetwicebang for co-writing this with me ilysm and I love this rp, you’re so talented I will never stop saying this. Also amazing header made by lovely lovely mentioned.

The next day Jungkook was feeling tired, but he was adamant to go back to his usual routines. He was gonna dive back into being Jeon Jungkook, the golden boy that puts his everything into class and practice. First thing in the morning, he sat down in the classroom, when a new face was introduced to the crowd. He stood tall in front of everyone, a pearly white smile on his face as he introduced himself after the teacher gathered everyone's attention, "Hello. My name is Ash, thank you for having me." His introduction was brief, but he still seemed to charm the crowd. He was indeed good looking...Tall, even taller than Jungkook, well built, he must be an athlete, a strong jawline. His hair was dyed in a lighter brown, wavy subtle curls that were a little too long, dangling over his strongly defined, brown eyes. It wasnt surprising that he already swooped the females off their feet. However, his eyes had landed on Jungkook, who seemed to be completely focused on the papers in front of him.

As class resumed to normal, Ash had invited himself to take the empty seat next to the doe eyed boy, leaning in with a small smile, "Hey, what's your name?"

Jungkook glanced up from his books, his eyes taking a quick glance to trace the features of the new face, "Jungkook."

Ash hummed with a nod, "Im Ash. You know, I'm kind of behind on this, being new and all, care to catch me up?" In reality, he wasn't that much behind. He was just curious about the younger guy.

Jungkook didn't see why not, sliding his book over to share his notes, "Sure." Ash gave him a small smile, and it was cute. Maybe this day wasnt completely terrible. It did distract him from the continuous loop of Taehyung in his mind.

Taehyung bet right, today sucked. Before he came across Jungkook and his new friend in the hallway, Tae had been casually taking a stroll with Hoseok during their break, half-assedly listening to the elder rant about his problems. “The thing is, she didn’t even kiss me back! She said my lips were too chapped— which, no the hell they aren’t. You think a thirty dollar chapstick would do that?!” Taehyung shook his head, knowing Hobi was expecting him to agree. “No, hyung. Your lips are fine. They’re.. the opposite of chapped..?” He glued on a strained smile, the obnoxious grin immediately dropping to the ground the moment Hoseok looked away, looking pleased with Taehyung’s answer, “Tae, you’re such a mood maker!” The said boy’s face stayed as emotionless as always, sharp eyes glaring ahead of him. “Thanks.” Fuck, he caught himself thinking about Jungkook. Again. The pair made a few more laps around the hallways, the elder doing most of the talking. However, when they turned at a corner, Hoseok’s voice increased in volume. “Kook!” His big smile was put on display, meeting Jungkook halfway. Before Tae was given the opportunity to fully register what was going on, his eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar member in the group. Was he new? He’s never seen him before. “Name’s Ash,” The unfamiliar male extended out his arm, introducing himself with a blinding smile on his face. “Yo, I’m Hoseok! Nice to meet you.” Hobi gladly took Ash’s hand in his, giving it a firm shake. Meanwhile, Taehyung stayed still, taking a couple of peeks at Jungkook without trying to make it too obvious. He had no intentions of getting to know the new kid, but the new kid was set on getting to know him. He extended out his hand once again, “I’m Ash.” “Huh?” Taehyung couldn’t care less, visibly uninterested. With a breathy chuckle, Ash opted for repeating himself, “Ash. Need me to spell it out for you?” Tae’s facial expression hardened, “No. I got it.” The corner of his lip twitched. The fuck kinda name was that.. Ash. It sounded like it belonged in the Warrior Cats books, “I’m Taehyung.”

“Nice to meet you, Taehyung.“ Ash flashed another smile as he withdrew his hand to settle it on his hip. He stood awfully close to Jungkook, their shoulders practically touching. Unless you had a sharp eye, you wouldn’t notice it within the group. “Well, nice to meet you guys.” Ash paused to look at Jungkook, “Kookie, it’s lunch time, no? Let’s head to the dining hall. You guys wanna tag along?”

Jungkooks eyes kept landing on Taehyung, remaining silent throughout the interactions. When his name was called, he nodded, but he didn’t expect Ash to invite the others. He held his breath, trying so hard not to care about whether or not Taehyung would accept this invitation. He still felt awkward. ~ What was it with the new kid and the constant smiling? It didn’t seem like a genuine one, either. Compared to Hoseok’s smile, Ash’s seemed more cocky and.. conceited.

Tae couldn’t exactly pinpoint to what it was, but there was something off about the guy. At least in his eyes. ..Maybe it was the way Ash was standing so close to Jungkook, the word ‘personal space’ a foreign concept to the both of them. No, that couldn’t be it. Taehyung didn’t care. He spoke too soon, his head snapping towards Jungkook’s direction for what it seemed like the hundredth time that day. ‘Kookie’? They were already on a nickname basis? How much did they know each other, surely they’d just met? “Yeah. Sure.” Mumbling under his breath, Taehyung looked over at Hobi, “We should be the ones asking him..” Nevertheless, they walked towards the dining hall and Hoseok invited Ash to sit with their group of friends. Taehyung sat himself across from Jungkook, watching Ash take a seat next to the younger as he flashed that same, stupid smile of his. Tae wanted to gag. “Hey, Ash.” Namjoon spoke up, picking up some of his food before popping it in his mouth. “What made you move here? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Ash took a bite off his food, his eyes landing on Namjoon at the question, “Parents moved here for work, and I kind of had to just deal with it. You know?” He chuckled a breath through his nose, “I don’t mind though, my last school was pretty lame. So far I like it here, much better.” His hand subtly snaked underneath the table to land on Jungkooks knee, to make it a point with his words. Jungkook visibly tensed up, not used to the casual physical contact, towards him in this manner. Especially not by a guy, nor in public. He kind of liked it.. Kook gave him a small smile while chewing his mouthful of food, quiet but content. He almost forgot about how Taehyung would feel about this. And even if he did wonder, Tae said so himself, they weren’t dating. So it probably didn’t matter to him. Ash, however, was almost too aware of the way Taehyung kept looking at Jungkook when he wasn’t paying attention, and it both intrigued and annoyed him. Ash wanted Jungkook, and he was doing well so far.

“Im curious, what sport teams are there in this school? I’m considering joining one of them,” Ash changed the topic, aiming the question to the group in general. His eyes looked over the table, his hand gently rubbing circles on jungkooks knee, whom didn’t withdraw from his touch.. it was quite nice after all.

“Well, there is the soccer team, swim..” Namjoon’s words flew over Taehyung’s head, who was now poking at his food to keep himself entertained. He tried to not look at Jungkook all that much, he really did, eyes glued on the way his meal was mostly untouched. But, Taehyung felt like some words were left unsaid, he just couldn’t quite make out what they were. Suddenly, going back to ‘normal’ wasn’t as easy as he’d previously imagined it to be. When everything was ‘normal’, the taste of Jungkook’s lips was unknown, how the younger wrapped around him was unspecified, sleeping next to him was unheard of. Now, Tae was accustomed to different things. He fucking hated himself for it. “..Football in the fall, and lastly, basketball. Which, is the best sport in my opinion.” Namjoon’s cheeky smirk widened even further when Jin caught him, “Of course you think that. Joon’s the Captain.” Namjoon sat up a little straighter, proceeding to eat his food. “Why? You thinking of joining?” A smile tugged at Ash’s lips, “Maybe.” He looked over at Jungkook, reassuringly squeezing his knee, “I don’t wanna scare my parents by being gay and not trying out for an extracurricular activity. They already think I’m some sort of outcast.” Ash joked, knowing his parents were supportive of his sexuality. Everyone in the table had stopped moving mid-chew; Taehyung had nearly spilled out his invisible drink, “Wait, you’re gay?” “Taehyung!” Jimin slapped the back of the boy’s head, looking over at Ash with an apologetic expression on behalf of Tae. “That’s—That’s great! It’s a hard thing to come to terms with, you’re very brave.” Namjoon quickly stepped in, glaring at Taehyung.

Jungkook tensed underneath Ash's touch for a moment, ceasing his chewing. Suddenly the hand on his leg felt entirely different. But... it wasn't bad. Was he showing some kind of interest? How, what....He's never had this happen to him before, not like this.

''It's fine, don't worry about it,'' Ash gives Taehyung a quick smirk before giving his attention back to Namjoon, ''So, basketball, huh? Maybe I'll check that one out... Is everyone here part of the team?''

Jungkook nodded, for the first time participating in the conversation, causing all heads to turn even if it was just a simple word, ''Yeah.''

''You're in the team too?'' Ash turns to look at the younger, squeezing his knee a little harder, ''Then I'll have to join.''

Jungkook couldn't help but blush at the blunt statement, looking down at his food. He really wasn't used to this open flirting from a guy, or anyone really.

To everyone else at the table, Jungkook’s blooming blush was a first.. The rest of the boys exchanged secret glances between one another, eyebrows knitted together whilst some wore a cheeky grin on their face. Who would’ve thought that the new kid’s words had such an impact on their Golden Boy? Of course, Taehyung wasn’t part of that bunch. Unlike his hyungs, not a single ounce of amusement lingered in his features. With a scowl on his face, Tae abruptly sat up from his spot, his tray of food at hand, “Right, you’re gonna regret having that as your main reason to join.” He scoffed, looking at Ash before switching his gaze over to Kook, smirking, “Jungkook can get annoying as hell, and fast.” Taehyung forced out a snicker, not bothering to hear what Warrior Cat boy— or anyone else— had to say before throwing his bag over his shoulder, putting a hand up in the air as a farewell and walking away. “What the hell’s his problem..?” Ash wore a barely visible pout, eyes darkening at the thought of Taehyung. “I ask myself that everyday.” Jin sighed out loud, to which everyone else agreed.

Jungkook shrunk in his seat at his words. Did Tae really mean that? Fuck, it shouldn't have hurt as much as it did.. If Taehyung really thought that he was so annoying, somehow, it made it easier for Jungkook to shift his sadness over to anger. He didn’t need Taehyung-- because Taehyung didn’t need him.

Ash moved his hand to rub Jungkooks shoulder, his eyes still trailing after Tae until hes out of sight. He wasnt sure what was up between these two, nor what had happened to make Taehyung say such a thing. But one thing he was certain of, and that was; he didnt give a fuck. Jungkook was gonna be his.

"I'll think about joining the team, then" Ash chimed with a smile, infectious to the rest of the group as they seem just as thrilled about it. They surely could use another player, and judging Ash by his physique, he'd be a useful addition.

Jungkook grabbed his tray as he got off his seat, "Class soon, I'll see you guys." Kook paused, his eyes moving to meet with Ash's, "You coming?"

"Of course, Kookie." Ash winked at him, earning another flustered look from the younger. He turned to the rest of the group and bowed his head, his eyes lastly landing on namjoon, "Nice meeting you guys, I'll make sure to check out the team in action soon." He drew a wide, dimpled smile from namjoon before putting his arm around Jungkook, leading him out of the dining hall.

"So...." Yoongi spoke, turning the attention towards him, "Ash and Jungkook?" He shrugged, continuing to eat his food, while the rest of the group shared glances and smiles. Were their golden boy into guys?

Namjoon clasped his hands, jaw jutted in thought. This seems to be a lot more complicated than he thought.

“Kookie?” Ash dropped his hand on Jungkook’s toned thigh to get his attention, merely resting it there. Setting his pencil on the table, he solely focused on Kook’s face instead of the loose piece of notebook paper that was scribbled over with mathematical equations, “That.. Taehyung guy..” Ash knew it was stupid to worry; Taehyung had nothing on him in terms of physical appearance and, now— after getting to hear him talk during lunch— personality. But despite all of that, he couldn’t help but wonder.. “Are you guys close?” His thumb now brushed over the fabric of Jungkook’s jeans, tongue swiping over his lips, “I mean.. he’s a complete asshole.” Ash said with a shrug of his shoulders, already not too keen of Kim.

There it was again, the hand on his leg. The casual, yet intimate touch from this man had become very frequent in an extremely short amount of time. And Jungkook decided he’d let it happen, he liked it. Why wouldn’t he? Ash was strikingly good looking, blessed with a face that had anyone turning their head as he walked by. And he seemed to give a fuck about him. Not to mention the nickname that already had him feeling certain things, “Close? No,” Jungkook shrugged, there was no way he would mention their short lived friends with benefits ‘romance.’, if one could even call it that, “He is a total ass.” Jungkook agreed, but a part of him protested.

Even if he was a total douchebag, there were moments of privacy where he was anything but that. But he would never see that part again, they both made that clear.

“Yeah? Oh, what a relief.” Ash smiled, inching his hand up Kook’s thigh, painfully slow, leaning in to whisper into his ear, “I almost got worried that I’d have to feel jealous.” This small gesture had JK melting, weak underneath the bigger mans touch. But this wasn’t the time. “N-no... don’t worry..hm.. I-I have to finish this..” Jk weakly breathes out, drawing a wider smirk from Ash. “Okay, okay... how about this... dinner tonight? I’m really, really dying to know you better.”

Jungkooks doe eyes were wide as they flickered up to the larger male. Did he just ask him out? In the middle of class? Anyone could hear. And they did. Subtle whispers were heard, trying to discretely observe the interaction between the two men.

After a long minute, Jungkook finally responded, “Okay.”

Word around the school spread like wildfire, and everyone’s interest seemed to be on the mysterious newcomer and his choice of date: Jeon Jungkook.

‘Ash asked him out? Is Jungkook even gay?’

‘They literally just met. How did Jungkook manage to get a man faster than I could in eighteen years?’

‘No one knows for sure.. but if it’s true, they’ll be so cute together!’

Taehyung’s ears were ringing. He just wanted to take a shit in peace, was that too much to ask? For the group of boys chatting outside of the stall, apparently so. “You heard all of the stuff going around ‘bout Ash?” All of the sudden Tae’s ears perked up at the question, forgetting about what he came to do here in the first place. Now this seemed worth his while.. ‘Not even a full day in and he’s already made a name for himself? Unbelievable,’ Taehyung mused, the urge to roll his eyes too overpowering. “The new kid? No, what happened?” A mocking snicker followed suit, “Apparently he likes sticking it up the ass or some shit.” Taehyung’s shoulders sagged down in disappointment; he was anticipating something he didn’t already know. “What, like anal?”

“No, I mean he’s a f*g, dumbass.”

An obnoxious gagging sound echoed throughout the room, followed by a series of laughter. “And you wanna know something else?” Tae’s jaw locked in place; they needed to shut their mouths before he knocked out a couple of teeth. Aside from the obvious, he went to the bathroom in hopes of catching a break from.. everything. Taehyung didn’t want to hear about Ash, of all people.

“He asked Jungkook out.” He froze in his spot, feeling his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. What..? The boy’s lips barely went agape, hands subconsciously balling up into fists as he forced himself to listen further, praying that he heard wrong. “Jeon Jungkook? Damn, didn’t take him as a fairy.” But something from inside Tae told him that it was the twisted reality. “You know, now that I think about it.. he always did kinda come across as a f*ggot. He seemed chill, it’s a shame.” Although the day was close to being halfway over, for Taehyung, this was the beginning of a horrible day.

As Jungkook was walking with Ash towards the basketball practice, which was JK’s last stop for the day, something felt different. The atmosphere in the hallway seemed more quiet then usual, and when he decided to actually take a look around, he didn’t fail to notice everyone’s eyes following him and the ‘new guy’, followed with whispers and subtly pointed fingers. Some seemed to be happy, some straight up disgusted.

What is going on?

“Hey Kook.” Ash brought him back down to earth, a reassuring smile on his face.

“Why is everyone staring at us?” Kook asked.

Ash knew exactly why, and he fucking loved the attention. This is exactly what he wanted. He deliberately asked him out during class, knowing the word would quickly spread around the school, and in the end, reach Taehyung’s ears. “Well, you did say yes to dating me. People just... react to that.” Jungkook hummed at Ash’s words, feeling anxious. Did he accidentally come out? Or... was this supposed to happen? “We aren’t dating yet.” Jungkook replied with a bratty grin, his nose scrunching as he gazes up at the man. To anyone looking, they might as well be dating already, with the way Jungkook smiles at him. Kook rarely smiled like that. Ash put his arm around Jungkooks shoulder with a playful chuckle leaving his lips, this little man was so fucking adorable, “Not yet, but after tonight, that’s gonna change.”

Ash had decided that he wanted to check out the basketball practice in action, letting Jungkook head downstairs towards the locker room by himself as he himself would head to the practice hall to find Namjoon, “Hey, Namjoon!”

“Hey, Ash, you’re here! You’re joining?” Namjoon smiled, happy to see him here. But a part of him knows that if he joins, he surely hoped it wouldn’t cause more drama between the men. But, knowing exactly about the rumors of today, it was bound to happen. “Yeah, maybe, I came to watch.” Ash gazes around the practice hall. “Well, have a seat, we’re just waiting for the guys to get changed and then we’ll begin.”

On the outside, Taehyung fooled his peers by seeming relatively calm. He wore his hood up, a few strands of black hair draping over his eyes as his arms were found crossed over his chest, gaze somewhat.. lifeless? That’s how the latter looked like everyday— especially during Chemistry— so, no one dared to question it. However, in the space where his inner thoughts hid.. ‘What does Jungkook even like about that guy? Who deliberately goes for someone named Ash--‘ It was a mixture of pure chaos and confusion all in one. Confusion because, why does he care? Why was this fucking so bad with his head when all he’s ever done was treat Jungkook like shit? This.. this wasn’t normal, and Tae was aware of that. He wasn’t normal. All of these new feelings; Taehyung wanted to get rid of them, but he was afraid the pile was only growing larger in size.

Not overly enthusiastic about going to practice today, Taehyung still dragged his feet down the stairs. If he were to skip when all of the rumors were floating around, Namjoon would’ve pounced on the chance to call him out for it. If Tae wasn’t in the mood to deal with the elder before, he surely wasn’t going to be now. “Tae, it took you long enough!” Hoseok placed a hand on the boy’s back, excitedly leading him to their group of friends. “Jungkookie, are you positive you want to go on a date so soon? You just met Ash, get to know him a little more.” Jimin suggested, getting cut off by Yoongi, “So, you like boys?” He was still having a hard time processing the new information. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, Yoongi always seemed to be lost. Taehyung, on the other hand, wished he would’ve turned back around before walking in to Ash’s name getting dropped in the conversation. He was getting fucking tired of it, and it showed by the way he kept his distance from the others.

''Ah, well, isn't that what a date is for?'' Jungkook answered Jimin's question with a question of his own.

Jimin hummed, rubbing his chin in thought, ''You're not wrong. But are you sure you want to?''

Yoongi still looked like a lost child, squinting at Jungkook, ''Boys...''

Jungkook didn't want to feel like he had to hide this, so he just lets out a quiet sigh after slipping on his basketball sneakers,

''Yeah, I like boys.'' He took notice of Taehyung standing a little further away from the group, and he couldn't help but steal glances over towards him. He must think Kook is disgusting, knowing now that he likes boys, and making it so obvious that he liked him. But that was in the past, he's going out with Ash tonight, and he actually seemed to like him. He was lying if he said he wasn't a little giddy about it.

Jimin hugged Kook, a little out of nowhere, causing him to yelp in surprise, ''We will support you whether you like boys or girls, Jungkookie! We're so proud!'' ''Ash better treat you right.'' Yoongi grumbled like an old person before starting to head up with the rest of the group, one by one disappearing towards the stairs. Jungkook walked behind them, passing Taehyung on the way. With the locker room hallway being rather tight with the group walking together, Jungkook's arm brushed against Taehyung, his mild scent of laundry detergent reaching the elders nose.

Everything seemed to be unraveling far too quickly, and like a robot obtaining a new piece of information; Taehyung had trouble keeping up. Based off of what he overheard in the locker room, Jungkook definetely likes boys. The younger had to repeat himself to Yoongi so many times, Taehyung was sure it was permanently inked in his own brain by now. He couldn’t help but wonder, was Jungkook fond of him during the short amount of time they spent together? Did the latter’s heart feel like it could out win any olympic runner by how fast it pounded when he kissed him..? The string of never ending questions had Taehyung hooked on to the way Jungkook’s arm subtly brushed against him, that familiar fragrance drawing him in like no other. “Taehyung, snap out of it.” Namjoon clapped his hands, sighing out loud when he saw Taehyung’s undivided attention was on anything else but practice. “Uh, yeah.” He quickly did as he was told, running a hand through his messy hair before setting his worries aside. For this short droplet of time, it felt good to let loose. Taehyung felt like he needed to sweat it all out in order to feel more light, less clamped down to the ground. Practice went as usual in terms of Taehyung scoring a lot of points, but everything else after that felt out of place. What caught Tae by surprise was, a small part of him missed the constant bickering, the cursing back and forth, the yelling.. It was trippy as hell, but he did. “Shit..” Taehyung groaned to himself, blindly reaching for his bottled water when he realized he didn’t bring one. “I’ll be back.” He muttered, making his way over to the water fountain around the corner. Taehyung was wiping the sweat from off his face when he bumped into someone. Or rather, his front bumped into someone’s behind as they were leaning over for a drink of water, “Sorry— Jungkook?” His eyes grew wide, suddenly becoming even more embarrassed by who it was.

Jungkook quickly stood up straight with a small yelp, the always so easily startled younger man, when he felt someone bump against his behind, abruptly turning his head to see who it was, and he coughed as he almost choked on the water in his throat, hitting his chest to get it down, ''Ah, Taehyung.''

Jungkook had forgotten his waterbottle as well, and needed that moment to himself to just think. He was in the limbo of getting over Tae, and getting into Ash, whom was sending him signals left and right, and now they had a date tonight.

The younger backed off a few steps to grant Taehyung access to the waterfountain, wiping his wet lips with the back of his hand. Why wouldn’t he just leave? There was no reason to stay around when Taehyung was here. But for some reason, he felt like he wanted to, for just one moment, let his eyes rest on the elders features a little longer.

Like old gum on the school ground, Taehyung stuck to his spot like an absolute idiot, trying his hardest to lie and not seem fazed by Jungkook’s presence. With another anxious look thrown in the younger’s direction, Tae managed to swallow down the obvious lump in his throat before leaning down for a needed drink, hands placed on either side of the water fountain as his Adam’s apple danced after every gulp. Suddenly he was more thirsty than ever, his mouth having gone dry when he bumped into Kook unexpectedly. After refreshing himself with enough water, Taehyung licked over his lips, pushing his fringe from out of his eyes, “What?” Jungkook was just.. standing there.

Jungkook stared at him, feeling just as dumb himself. Taehyungs voice brings him back to the reality of the situation,

“Uh...” he sounded just as dumb as he felt, the flight instincts in him kicking in. His feet suddenly move on their own, trying to get out of there to head back to the locker room, but his clumsy ass just had to slip on the water puddle by the fountain, falling backwards right next to Taehyungs form.

This was it. He was gonna get a fucking concussion on top of everything, wasn’t he? As if time moved in slow motion, he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact.

When Jungkook turned his back to him, Taehyung felt like he could finally relax. Jaw nowhere near as clenched, and posture no longer mirroring a wooden board. That feeling only lasted for a second, however, before he heard the loud squeak of the younger’s shoe on the ground. “What the—“ Before he was given the chance to see what happened for himself, Jungkook’s body was plummeting down towards him. Instinctively, Taehyung reached his arms out, looping them around from underneath Kook’s armpits to hold him up against his chest, “Dumbass!” Tae cursed out loud, questioning why he felt so relieved. It wasn’t like he cared if Kook were to fall and break his head open.. Taehyung swiftly turned Jungkook around by his hips, meeting his eye. “Don’t you ever watch where you’re going?” He scolded, leaving barely any room between the two. Suddenly, fresh memories from before came rushing back to him.

Jungkook stared up at the taller man with his big eyes, flinching slightly at his scolding. For some reason... for some damned reason, Jungkook couldn’t help but feel happy about it. This was the Taehyung he’d always been around, the scolding, cursing guy that always made sure to point out Jungkooks flaws. This time, it didn’t even make him mad.

However, just as quickly as he was caught, his realization of their close proximity hit him. The familiar strong arms holding him close felt too familiar, his face so close but so far away. If only he would lean in just a bit... No, what is he thinking? Taehyung does. Not. Like. Him. And he, he has ash now. “Thanks, eh...” as if the cat got his tongue, he withdrew himself from Taehyungs hands, internally scolding himself for missing them, and turns on his heels to stride back to the locker room. It’s as if god wanted to punish him, his cheeks flushing red as soon as he’d turned away from the elder.

Taehyung’s arms dropped down to his sides, no trace of emotion swirling within his piercing eyes as they shamelessly followed behind Jungkook, almost in a trance-like state until the latter was out of sight. Fuck. He was losing it, wasn’t he? I mean, he had to be a lunatic if subconsciously, a deeper part of him, found himself aching to feel Jungkook. Hands longing to touch him.. to tease him. Sexually, or platonically. Taehyung was even more confused than before. ‘Platonically’? Who the hell was he..? No. He was just envisioning things without thinking. By this point, it wasn’t anything new.

“Kookie!” Ash excitedly hopped down from the bleachers, meeting Jungkook in the gym after he was back from changing. He didn’t shy away from wrapping his arm around Kook’s waist, ignoring the not-so-subtle looks from the other players, “You were so good out there! I have to admit.. I wasn’t expecting all that much.” Ash playfully smirked, drawing Jungkook even closer to his warmth, “Anyways, are you excited for our date?” The taller man wiggled his brows, biting down on his lip, “I reserved us a spot at seven. And before you ask where it is, it’s a surprise.”

Jungkook had found himself in the same trance-like state the entire time he was changing, but quickly got distracted when he felt Ash's hands wrap around his waist, his firm body feeling really good against his. It wasn't the same as Taehyung's, but, that was kind of the point. ''I'm curious now, I don't do well with surprises..'' Jungkook craned his neck to look up at the taller man, he felt so small with him. it was nice, to feel this kind of affection from someone who wasn't scared of showing it. However, it didn't stop his face from feeling hot at the lingering eyes that flickered between the two of them.

''Too bad,'' Ash snickered, one hand reaching up to brush stray hairs away from Kook's eyes, his dark stare drinking in the youngers beautiful features, ''Because I still won't tell you. Oh, practice is over now, right?''

Jungkook nodded, ''Yeah, we're done for the day.''

Ash shifted his hold so that they stood next to eachother, his arm wrapped around Jungkook's waist to drag him along to leave, ''Let's go, then.''

The tall man looked over his shoulder on the way out, waving goodbye to the team, a knowing smile on his face at the way they all stared them down, ''I'll see you guys next time.''

He really didn't care too much about basketball, but it would give him more time with the younger, and that, he did want a lot more of. He had to keep an eye on him, especially around that Taehyung guy. Something was up with that, but he couldnt quite place it.

“Taehyung, I better see your ass at that party. Plus, there’ll be a lot of foreign chicks there; I know how much of a sucker you are for blondes.” His friend, Haechan, teasingly nudged Tae with his shoulder, trying to get him to change his mind. The boy looked miserable as fuck, and since Taehyung wouldn’t tell him what was going on, Haechan hoped a little bit of alcohol would loosen up those tightly sealed lips. “Fine.” He gave in with a defeated sigh, mustering up his first word in a while. Strolling out of the door with Chan at his side, Taehyung grimaced when he listened to him cheer excitedly and without a restraint, shake him by his shoulders like a madman. “We’re gonna get so fucked up tonight! Dude, you need it.” The elder didn’t doubt the last part was true, hence why he agreed to going in the first place. Maybe after he downed a couple of shots and fucked the first girl he laid his eyes on, all of this would get pushed to the back of the burner. Taehyung knew he was trying to drink less, but for this party, he made an exception. So what if he didn’t do good with alcohol? So what if it fucked him up so much to the point where he didn’t remember his own name? Honestly, that’s what Taehyung needed the most.

As the evening finally came, Jungkook jumped when he heard the firm knock on his door. Ash was here!

The younger took a second, even a third look at himself in the mirror, moving his hair out of his eyes to no avail, as the dark locks kept falling back into where they just wanted to stay. He sighed, straightening out the fabric of his shirt. Ash had said to keep it comfortable, so he did, dressed up in ripped blue slim-fit jeans with a black v-neck long sleeve. It was cute, he looked good. He felt good. His legs were muscular, and they looked fucking great in those jeans. He took a deep breath before turning the doorknob, opening it to be greeted by Ash's handsome smile. He was beaming, drawing the air out of Kook's lungs like punch in the gut. ''Hey Kookie.'' Ash's eyes drank in the shorter's outfit, he subtly licked his lips, ''You look so good! How about me?'' he winked, giving a little twirl before smiling widely. Jungkook nodded agreeingly while stepping outside, closing the door behind him, ''You look good too..'' He smiled, a little embarrassed. Ash couldn't stop thinknig about how fucking/cute/kook is when he is flustered, which was very easily done.

Ash wrapped his arm around Jungkook's, pulling him with him to his car. It was a nice car, it looked expensive. Probably paid for by his parents, and judging by his outfit, his parents were fairly well off.

A couple of hours after the darkness had casted a shadow in the sky, Taehyung attempted to parallel park a few streets down from where the party was at, trying to not damage his car in the process. It was already missing a wing mirror, for fucks sake— which he still hasn’t gotten fixed. Taking a second to close his eyes, Taehyung exhaled, his grip on the steering wheel unfastening. The goal for tonight was to let loose, not pick at the little inconveniences that would only stress him out even more. After he managed to do a decent job with his parking-- actually, it sucked. He was horrible at parallel parking, but everywhere else seemed to be occupied. Taehyung allowed the muffled bass of the music to lead him to his destination, able to subtly make out the lyrics of the song from where he was. Why haven’t the cops been called yet..? From the looks of this neighborhood; everyone seemed to either be on their private jet to Rome, or were too high and mighty to care. Which, Taehyung definitely didn’t mind. This way, he was sure nothing was going to stop him from having a good time. “Taehyung! Dude, you made it.” Haechan immediately wrapped his free arm around Tae’s shoulders, the other hand busy holding a red cup.. and a girl. “Meet Mila, I have no fucking clue what she’s saying. But hey, she’s hot.” He laughed, tilting the cup up to his lips. Taehyung only chuckled, slipping from under Haechan’s hold. He stole a glance at Mila, noticing how her vibrant, blue eyes were already set on him. Taehyung’s tongue poked at the side of his cheek, hungrily scanning over her body in the most discreet way possible. She was gorgeous, no doubt.

Ash parked his way-too-fancy-for-his-age car by this restaurant that Jungkook's never been to before, and honstly, he doesn't recall ever seeing it around. Probably because it was large, and it looked pretty expensive, ''I thought you said we weren't supposed to dress up..'' Kook murmured, feeling way too underdressed now. ''I am comfy too, don't worry about it. I just wanted to treat you to something nice! Besides, this is only the first part of our date.'' Ash winked before getting out of the car, circling around to open the door for kook, reaching his hand out like a true gentleman. Jungkook blushed again, taking his large hand to be pulled up, feeling the way ash wraps his arm around his waist once more, walking him into the nice restaurant. They were greeted by the nice staff, they seemed to be able to tell that Ash was of higher class in some way, and he shot them a dazzling smile before giving his name for the reservation. Quickly, they were seated by a table more secluded in the back, the lady giving them the menus before heading off. Jungkook eyed the menu, his nose scrunched at the prices, ''This is way too fancy.'' ''Don't look at the prices, Kookie, eat whatever you want. It's on me tonight,'' Ash was content, seeing the little boy be so amazed by something so simple by nice food. Spoiling him was fun, and he couldnt wait to give him more. ''Okay, hm.. I'll have the steak then.'' Jungkook smiled, putting his menu down. ''Ah! Excellent. I'll have the same.'' Ash snapped his fingers, bringing the waitress over to order their food. As they were once again left alone to wait for the food, Ash leaned closer over the table, gaze burning into the younger, ''I was thinking, Kookie... You said you didn't want to date me, yet, so..does that mean you'd actually date me after tonight?'' Jungkook tensed up a little, he wasnt expecting this question so early, ''Um.. well....maybe? I don't know yet.'' Ash hummed, ''Fair, I suppose I'll just have to swoop you off your feet as much as possible tonight.''

Taehyung started off his night with one drink, then two, three, and so on until he lost count. Apparently, he had to have a lot of alcohol to be in the middle of the dance floor, grinding against every girl he could get his roaming hands on, pulling their hair aside before whispering into their ear, occasionally sipping from his cup as if he’s dying to make himself forget, trying to cloud his train of thought. Everything around him was a big blur, the ground seeming like it could swallow him whole at any give second. That didn’t stop his hips from rocking against the next girl, the tingly sensation in his body was too good to turn away. “Ah, fuck.” He whined, tilting the red cup up to his lips, but instead he was met with nothing. He needed more alcohol in his system. Crushing the plastic in his hand, Tae pulled away, trying to sneak past the group of sweaty bodies. “Hey, where are you going?” The random girl turned to look at Taehyung, yelling over the music whilst looking hurt. “Uh, I-I’m.. I’m coming ba-back. I swear, okay? Just—I need..” His slurred words drifted off, the only thing clear in his mind was the taste of the strong liquor. He wanted more. Ignoring the list of curses thrown at him as he bumped into people; Taehyung sluggishly made his way over to the familiar kitchen island aligned with bottles. Just as he was going to pour himself another round, he realized his cup was all crumpled up. “Shit.” A little pout adorned Taehyung’s lips, whom tried his hardest to fix it, oblivious to a stack of new cups in the corner of his eyes. “New?” Taehyung’s head perked up, it was Mila. “Huh?” She laughed, brushing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, “New cup?” Mila reached over close to Tae to grab one for him, unaware of the eyes lingering on her prominent cleavage. “Th-Thanks.” He gulped, shifting his attention to his bottle of choosing. Mila watched with curious eyes, bottom lip held captive in between her red-tinted lips, “I’m Mila. Mila Kuznetsov.” Taehyung turned his head over to her once again, seeing as she wanted to keep the conversation going. “What?” He could barely form a simple thought, much less speak all that clearly. “Mila, is my name. Uh.. last name, Kuznetsov.” She spoke in broken Korean, her strong accent peeking through. Tae’s eyes widened, “Kuzne—what?” His reaction earned himself a giggle, the corners of his own lips rising up. “Never mind.” She settled for a shrug of her shoulders, not planning on leaving Taehyung’s side anytime soon. “What’s your name?” Tae now comfortably leaned against the edge of the counter, wearing a cocky smirk on his face. He got the message. “Taehyung. Kim Taehyung.”

The night continunes, a comfortable dinner with lots of chatter, Ash flirting and throwing all kinds of signals towards Jungkook throughout the evening. It was enjoyable, the attention was amazing. He started getting comfortable, and slowly, Ash had started to get the younger to warm up. ''Did you like the dinner?'' He asked the doe eyed boy, whom happily finished off the last piece of his steak. ''It was delicious!'' He smiled, nose scrunched. So, fucking cute. Ash just wanted to ruin him right then and there. ''Alright,'' Ash wiped his lips with the napkin before getting up, reaching out to grab Jungkook's hand in his, ''Let's go, part two of our date!'' Jungkook tilted his head to the side, all while letting Ash guide him back to the car, ''What do you mean? There's more?'' A small smile crept on his lips, he's never had someone put this much effort in. Ash pulls him close by the shoulder, placing a soft kiss on JK's forehead followed with a laugh, ''You should see your face! yes, Kookie, there's more, but it's a surprise...'' Jungkook laughs too, his cheeks tinted with red as they move on to the next destination. This date seemed to be going pretty well.

“Wait, uh.. how do—how do you pronounce it again?” Taehyung was eager to learn, staring up at Mila from where she sat on the counter, looking the most determined he’s ever been. Yet another laugh, “Kuznetsov. It’s easy, no?” The elder threw his head back with a groan, one because of the dizziness, and the other due to the pent up frustration. “Easy?” He shook his head in utter disbelief, suppressing a laugh. “You don’t know what that means-“ He hiccuped, “do you.” The pair found themselves secluded away from everybody else, and surprisingly enough, Taehyung didn’t mind. He was learning a bit of Russian, all the while they talked about their likes, dislikes, friends.. The conversation seemed to go on forever. “You ass!” Mila playfully slapped Tae’s shoulder, hearing his deep laughter for the hundredth time that night. “I know the word easy..” A pout took over her plump lips, eyes lingering on Taehyung before they raked around the empty kitchen, awkwardly rubbing at her naked thighs. “Taehyung, you have a girlfriend?” Mila nervously chewed on the inside of her cheeks, batting her long eyelashes at him. He brought the cup up to his lips, mind wandering to the image of Jungkook. “No.” At the uninvited thought, Taehyung gulped the remainder of his drink down in one go, “Why. Are you interested?” Tae sat his cup down, noticing the way she uncrossed her legs. A couple seconds of silence passed by. “Maybe..” Taehyung’s smirk widened at the confession. Suddenly, alcohol was the last thing on his mind. “Maybe, hm?” He parted her legs, situating his body in between. Mila’s arms naturally found their way around his neck, drawing him closer. “Mhm..” With one last look at her ocean eyes, Taehyung tackled her lips into a messy, needy kiss. His big hands initially placed on her thighs, slowly traveling up her skirt, lastly going around to grope her ass. “Let’s t-take this up-upstairs.” He slurred his speech, taking a hold of her hand and disappearing into the first room he saw, nearly tripping on the last step. While Mila focused on stripping herself free of her clothes, Taehyung did the same thing, throwing his belt off to the side. He was eager to take his cock out from his boxers, chest heaving with adrenaline as he watched her get down to her knees, eyes darkening with lust. “Ah yeah.. fuck.” He rested his hand on the crown of her head, watching as she bobbed it at a fast pace from the start. Despite the immense amount of pleasure he was feeling, his body wasn’t happy with him. Tae began to feel.. nauseous, the space in between his brows covered by a cold sweat. “W-Wait..” Taehyung pulled away from Mila’s mouth, holding himself up by one arm against the nearby wall, working towards regaining his clear vision. Everything felt like a blur.. Why was the room spinning so much? Why.. His stomach grumbled. Before he knew it, the strong urge to vomit hit him like a truck, causing him to clasp a hand over his mouth. Not having enough time to run to a restroom, Tae’s knees gave out and he vomited on the carpet, his skin freakishly pale. “Taehyung!” She quickly rushed over to him, pushing past the smell. “Tae—“ Another round; it never seemed to falter. How much did he have to drink?! After he was done, Taehyung dropped his head against the wall, sharp eyes glassy. “I-I fuck.. I don’t— sorry.” A wave of emotions washed over him. Not knowing what else to do, Mila opted for reaching into the pockets of Taehyung’s jeans, getting a hold of his phone. She went to his contacts list, tapping on the first name that popped up. When the person on the other end of the line picked up, she breathed out, “Um, is this Taehyung’s friend? Please come, he’s not doing good.” Mila gave Namjoon the address and worked on dressing Tae back up as they waited.

''An arcade?! Really?!'' Jungkook was beaming, jumping in excitement like a child on christmas. ''Yeah, you said you like videogames, so I figured this would be the perfect date!'' Ash was surprised when Jungkook initiated to hug him, holding him in his arms for a long moment. Ash wrapped his strong arms around his waist, nuzzling his nose into the youngers hair. ''Let's go get you some prizes. I bet I can win more than you.'' Ash teased, seeing the way Jungkook's eyes ignite with the competitive side of him, ''You're gonna regret saying that!''

It went on, Jungkook excelled in every single game, earning higher scores than anybody to pile up the points. A proud smile beamed on his face while he sees the numbers rack up on the shooting game they played together, knowing he did the most damage out of the two, ''Told ya, I'm unbeatable.'' Ash crooked an eyebrow, putting the toy gun away to grab Jungkooks jaw and guide it closer to his face, hot breath fanning his face, ''Yeah? Perhaps I'll have to reward you for being so good at these games, hm?'' Jungkook felt the blushing heat rise on his cheeks. But, he figured, what the hell. He didn't pull away, but stared right back into his eyes. Ash made the first move then and there, in the midst of people rushing back and forth between games, chatter and music, he leaned down to press his lips against Jungkook's in a soft kiss. They withdrew for a short second before leaning back in, placing several chaste kisses on eachothers lips, their breath getting shallow, until they pull away to catch their breath. Ash presses his foreheads against Kook's, a small smirk on his lips, ''How about that for a first date, hm?'' Jungkook nods, ''Yeah, it's...good..'' It was good. Great, actually. But a part of him couldn't help but compare it to Taehyung. It wasn't the same. But it wasn't bad. He looked back up on the taller man, doe eyes sparkling from the reflection of the videogame screens surrounding them. Ash leaned into his ear to whisper his next words, ''Wanna get out of here?''

“Come on, Tae. Help me out a little..” Namjoon had one of Taehyung’s arm thrown over his shoulder, Mila had the other. Together, they worked towards getting the drunken male down the stairs, safely. Taehyung cooperated, for the most part, well.. as good as he could during a blurry state like this one. He nearly tripped over his own feet a couple of times, each one just as startling as the first for Namjoon, whom still couldn’t believe how much his night had taken a turn for the worst. The latter had been face deep into a pile of handwritten notes, in the middle of studying his hardest for an upcoming test when his phone began vibrating. He picked up Taehyung’s call, expecting to hear Tae’s voice only to be met by a woman’s with a heavy accent, clearly sensing her panic from the other line. A few minutes later, and Joon found himself in front of a cliché house party, no longer indulged in his studies. Obviously. Now, right at this second, his focus was on trying to get Taehyung in his car. Apparently seeing a guy get dragged down the stairs was nothing out of the extraordinary; no one even batted an eye, just continuing to move their sweat-glistened bodies to the beat of the song. It caught Namjoon off guard, but then again, he wasn’t one to party on the daily. The elder’s car was parked outside of the main entrance, and needless to say, Joon’s eyes lit up at the sight. They were so close! Just a few more steady steps to go.. “There, we got you Tae. Relax.” Namjoon softly reassured, hearing his friend’s incoherent mumbling as he buckled him in. With one last look at Taehyung, Namjoon braced himself for the embarrassment that was to come as he pivoted around in his spot to face Mila. “Thanks for calling, and.. sorry about all of this.” He sheepishly rubbed at his nape, feeling awkward speaking to the girl Taehyung was about to have sex with. “No problem, really.” She waved her hands in front of her face, as if telling him not to worry. Namjoon only nodded, pasting on a weak smile before hopping into the driver’s seat, starting his car. The blonde haired girl, however, had one last thing to say, “So, when Taehyung wakes..” Mila began, already nervous to continue. “Can you give this?” She extends out a small piece of paper for Joon to take, her phone number scribbled on the inside. Not given any reason to not take it, Namjoon happily did, reminding himself to give it to Taehyung when he was feeling less.. shitty.

At a time like this, Joon was glad his parents weren’t home; he had the feeling they wouldn’t like him bringing in a drunk person to crash on their couch. But, it was the least that he could do. Taehyung looked weak, and that was definitely a new look on him. The younger’s skin had lost most of its tanned melanin, his face lacking any trace of color. He could tell Tae was having trouble staying awake, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. Namjoon brought in a bucket just in case— Taehyung leaned over the couch to empty out his stomach, panting from the light strain. Fuck, Namjoon had no idea what to do! He was freaking out. With shaky hands, the elder reached for his cellphone, knowing Jimin would be far more wise in a situation like this one.

To: Chim I have a problem. Taehyung’s passed out drunk on my couch, he’s sweating a lot and won’t stop vomiting. What the hell do I do?? he seems really weak so I don’t wanna move him

He pressed send, antsy to hear back a response. But, he never would, at least not from Jimin. Namjoon didn’t know that, of course. He didn’t know that he texted Jungkook instead.

“Yeah, that—“ Jungkook wasn’t able to finish his sentence when his phone chimed, fishing the phone out of his pocket to read it. Ash crooked an eyebrow, waiting for the answer, “Who’s that?” Kook freezes on the spot when he reads it; Taehyung passed out? Drunk? Throwing up? It felt like his heart was stuck in his throat at the thought, suddenly nothing else seemed to matter, cursing himself for even saying what he says next; “Hey, I have to go, it’s an emergency. Let’s.. call it a rain check?” He pleads, and Ash seems to be thinking about it. “You’re leaving our date that I prepared for you, for what?” “It’s my friend. He needs my help—“ the anxiety in him made him stumble on his words, feet already moving as he heaved himself on his tiptoes to place a quick peck on Ash’s cheek, whom seemed less than pleased about this, but, he let it slide.

For now. “Alright. Do you need a ride?” Jungkook shakes his head, he did not want to burden ash with this, no way, “I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” With that, he ran, as fast as he fucking could until he reached Namjoons house. He hadn’t read the text properly, not noticing it wasn’t meant for him. All he knows is that Taehyung is in a shit condition, and he needed somebody.

Why was that enough for him to drop everything and fucking run?

#fic: Love maze #bts high school au #taekook #taekook fic #taekook series #taekook smut #bts mxm #vkook fic #bts series

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namjoonsyoongi · 4 years

Text

blurred lines | namgi

summary: what’s a few blowjobs between friends?

rating: M

word count: 4610

genre/tags: friends to lovers, friends with benefits, university au, comedy, crack, fluff, angst

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18663031

Namjoon and Yoongi have known eachother for as long as they could spell their own names, but that wasn't enough to keep Namjoon from wanting to slap his friend upside the head sometimes.

What did keep him from doing so were the little things. The song Yoongi wrote him for his seventeenth birthday, a last minute rap that lasted all of fifty seconds written on a crumbled sheet of lined paper; A song that Namjoon wouldn’t be able to remember even if someone put a gun to his head and told him to recite it. The way that he could read his mind on any given day and act accordingly, and how they’d have a conversation with one another through brief glances and raised eyebrows alone.

Yet he still managed to discover a way to be utterly infuriating.

The other night, the all too allusive Min Yoongi, cat-eyed and full of indifference, crawled into his bed in the middle of the night. Have you ever watched the flicking tongue of a snake as it slithered toward a mouse, and then looked away before it could swallow the mouse whole? That's what Yoongi was to Namjoon on nights like these, intruding into the covers and tangling himself in Namjoon's longer limbs.

Namjoon wouldn't have any issue with a few nighttime cuddles, Yoongi's was just one of the many affectionate boys in their group of friends, and wasn't anywhere near the worst of it. Jimin could be more attached to him than his own skin, and Taehyung was like a puppy in the way he needed constant verbal and physical affirmation to make sure they were, in fact, best friends forever.

Yoongi's not like that, not most of the time. He came with a purpose.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Yoongi was simply laying by Namjoon's side at this point, before rolling over into him. "I'm just annoyed with this project. I texted my lab partner, Seungwan, and she’s more lost than I am. I'm never gonna finish this dumb fucking -- stupid fucking -- fuck this project. I'm getting pissed just thinking about it."

"You should have never took engineering."

He really shouldn't have, but Namjoon knew why he did. He'd spent enough time at his house growing up to know of the expectations his parents had for him, as did every parent. Namjoon had almost fallen into the same trap, on track for medical school until one day, with the lyrics of Epik High's Fly on loop in his head, something stirred in him to stand up and say no. Namjoon spent his first year as a music major estranged from his parents, while Yoongi spent it as the epitome of the perfect son, and unhappy.

Namjoon spoke again. "On the brightside, only one more year."

"Shut up, please."

That was not the first night, where everything was different. Where those lines between friendship and lover blurred, for just an hour, sometimes two.

Yoongi, rather than sulk and complain, opted to release a kiss onto Namjoon's neck - and then another.

"Mm."

He keeps going, further and further, and Namjoon never tries to stop him, even when he knows he should. He palms the bulge in Yoongi's track pants, which seems to be exactly what he wants, and gets to work, going for just long enough until the warmth was enough to burn away any remaining irritation.

Namjoon never went all the way with Yoongi, but it would probably be pretty nice.

Yoongi's lips had that sweet taste of rum the first time, and it calmed the bitter flames of the vodka present in Namjoon's throat. He couldn't say for sure who made the first move, but he could perfectly recall the pleasant fuzz that clouded his senses, and the way Yoongi moaned as if no one could hear them, as if Jin wasn't in the next room over.

When Namjoon awoke, the faint memory of Yoongi's weight in his mattress was all that remained. Any semblance of permanency floated into the air like dust, he greeted a smirking all-knowing Jin the next morning and went to class none the wiser. A dream, he chalked the whole thing up to, just a weird dream.

"Can I be honest?"

"Go off."

"I'm starting to think Yoongi isn't exactly straight."

Silence.

Like a choir, Hoseok, Jimin, and Taehyung burst into loud, screeching laughter, accompanied with celebratory hand clapping and Hoseok throwing himself into Namjoon's lap because he can't keep his balance with the sheer humor of it all.

"-And you just realized this!?"

Namjoon swallowed something stuck in his throat.

It's during a brief period of peace with Yoongi, who's laying sprawled against Namjoon's chest, when he asks about it. Namjoon had meant to approach such a subject with the utmost eloquence and thoughtfulness - You can trust me with anything you know, sometimes I feel like you tell the others things you won't tell me. I never would have judged you if you told me you like more than just girls. Do you even know how much respect and appreciation I have for you? That I'll always have for you?

But what came out of Namjoon's mouth is, "Do you give all of us blowjobs?"

Yoongi didn't answer immediately. Namjoon lifted his neck, but all he could see was the black waves of hair on the top of his head, leaning against his chest. The air in the room fogged with the added tension, and Namjoon could only guess what Yoongi's face looked like.

He said nothing. Nothing . He shuffled out of the covers and away from him, leaving the room with the mundane click of the door closing behind him.

That was something Namjoon had always known about Yoongi, his silence was louder than anything, he never had to yell.

"Fool me once? Shame on me. Fool me twice? Shame on you. Suck my dick a third time and 'no homo' is officially off limits." Jin yelped into laughter at his own joke before Namjoon could even process the words.

This was why Namjoon came to Jin for absolutely nothing.

"You're not funny."

"You're gay," Jin said, practically basking in the glare he's earned from Namjoon. "-No excuses, you sucked his dick."

Namjoon rose from his seat. "Don't tell the others."

"Why not? The rest of us admitted we were at least a little gay freshman year, we've been waiting for your coming out for years - years!"

So you knew about Yoongi too? Namjoon wanted to ask. There was something humiliating about the fact people who Yoongi had known for three years knew more than the one who knew him for fifteen; An anchor of shame dropped silently into his empty gut.

"Not about that," Namjoon said instead, digging into the fridge for a can of beer. "About me and Yoongi, what we've been...you know."

"Oh no, I won't. That'd scar Jungkook and you know it, that's like when you find out that your mom and dad have sex for the first time."

He tossed the can of beer in his hand, not caring enough to see where it landed, if it smacked against the handsome face that was the older's pride, or broke something along the way.

"...I don't."

Namjoon detached from him, and Yoongi groaned once the cold air met his wet length. "Wh-What?"

"I don't give the others blow jobs, you're an asshole for saying that."

"I know, I'm sorry. Really." Namjoon, about to dip his head back under the covers, stopped to continue his thought. "Also, It's really hard to have a conversation with you while your dick is in my mouth." He moved to go under for a second time, and halted again. "Also, neither do I."

"Neither do you what?

"Give the others blowjobs."

"Good."

Shards of glass could cut you so easily, a sharp end that sinks deep into your skin, yet you don't immediately feel it when it does. That was the thing about them, he and Yoongi; Their bond was like glass, clear and delicate, it could break at one wrong move, with the simplest of words that hit the other in just the right place.

With someone as clumsy as he was, who has broken more than enough glass made objects, a connection like that was futile. Or that's what he thought, cause no matter how bad the fall, no matter how worse the cut, they somehow put themselves back together as if it had never been touched.

"Joon, your cup!"

Snapped forcefully from his reverie, the weight that had been steady in his hand slipped out before he could save it. The jarring sound of shattering glass cut out the white noise that had been playing as a soundtrack to his own thoughts.

He cursed, watching the reflective shards twinkle menacingly on the tiled floor. "Shit."

"You know, sometimes me and Jimin talk about getting a plastic set just for you." Jungkook jokes, it wasn't anything new to him.

"Let me guess! Namjoon bumped into something again." Jimin calls out, turning around the corner to be met with the new mess decorating the floor of his kitchen.

"He spaced out, I think."

"The last time you did this shit, I was stepping on tiny - like I swear microscopic pieces of glass that we couldn't clean up."

Jimin ushers Namjoon out with mumbled reassurances that everything was fine and the two of them would clean it up. Today was one of their regular get-togethers, but it'd be the last one before they'd return home for the holidays. Jimin thought it appropriate to replace their soft drinks with alcohol, alcohol which Namjoon had just spilled half a glass of onto the ground, along with the cup.

In the living room, sat the rest of them, gathered close around Jungkook's flat screen. Namjoon could hear the muted yet very present sound of crunching as Jin and Taehyung shared a bag of chips. Hoseok lounged in a recliner, leaning back and huddling into his blanket, mindlessly flicking through Netflix.

With midterms having marched to and fro and subsequently ruined their lives, Yoongi had been a bumbling mess of yawns and naps for the past month. All both Jin and Namjoon had seen of their roommate was him fast asleep on their couch and drooling on his study notes, and glimpses of him going to and from the school before locking himself in his room.

He wasn't here, Namjoon's shoulders slumped.

"Where's Yoongi?"

"Canceled," Hoseok muttered with a deep-set pout, not looking away from the screen.

"Since when?"

"Five minutes ago."

"Hobi's still pissed." Jin chimes in, the bag rustling as he picked it up and held it out to Namjoon.

Namjoon took a handful of chips, and watched as Hoseok’s pout only deepened, a rare darkness in his eyes that only appeared when you had truly committed the worst of his friendship sins. "I wouldn't be if it weren't for this being our last night here, or if he weren't ditching for Seungwan. I would never...we would never!"

The room lapses back into a silence, as if they imagine Namjoon can understand every word and name that had just left their mouths.

"Seungwan?"

Despite everything, Yoongi was always the one to initiate things. Even when he wore his favourite black skinny jeans, and Namjoon's eyes became glued to the gentle curves of his thighs and the belt that hugged his waist. Even when, just like that snake, he wanted nothing more to devour him whole - he didn't, he waited for him.

It felt strange to take what he knew wasn't truly his.

Then came those past two months, where Yoongi tiptoed around Namjoon, as if coming any closer would break him. Namjoon thought it all in his head, Yoongi was busy, he was an engineering major, he just had to focus. Namjoon thought he was the one who could always make him focus, rejuvenate him, perhaps he was wrong. He was fine with that.

In reality, however, there was Seungwan. Pretty girl Seungwan, with her delicate face and cherry coloured lips. Slim and yet plump just where it mattered.

Jin's words hit so cold that icicles could have formed from his lips. "Seungwan and Yoongi have been dating for the past 2 months."

Why didn't you tell me sooner? Namjoon wanted to yell back at him. Why didn't any of you tell me sooner? Why didn't Yoongi tell me sooner? His heart raged against his ribcage, it wanted to scream and shout too, it wanted to run away from the man child it was stuck in, and who idiotically decided to fall in love with his best friend. The best friend he didn't know was gay until he found his way into Namjoon's sheets, the best friend who never spoke about their moments of passion in the day, the best friend who couldn't care less.

"I'm gonna go get another drink," he said instead.

And so he moved on, moved forward. Swallowed the feelings and let them dissolve somewhere in his gut. The next time he'd see Yoongi, with Seungwan hanging off his arm, he'd smile graciously and greet the both of them. Observing Yoongi as he'd mask on a disinterested demeanor when he did something thoughtful for her. He'd welcome Seungwan like the morning sun, he'd laugh at the jokes she'd quip about all the little ticks Yoongi had that Namjoon was long accustomed to and support her when she’d eventually come to him with questions like “what type of food would Yoongi want me to get?”, “Do you think Yoongi would like this as a gift?”. He'd listen attentively to every word, as if she wasn't just echoing the thoughts and feelings that had planted into his very being like a weed, sprouting once again every time he thought he’d picked it out.

Or at least that's what he would have liked to say happened, and that's what would have happened, had it not been for the long road trip he was stuck on the morning after Namjoon found out about her.

A blanket of mist settles across their driveway like smoke. The overnight storm pelted away the flames of his intoxication, but the subsequent hangover pounded just as relentlessly.

By the car, a phantom stood, posture hunched. Yoongi looked like he was sinking into a black hole with his oversized winter coat, it was almost endearing.

Cute. Adorable actually.

Yoongi smirked. "Wow, who hit you with a bus?"

You.

The grey scarf flew from his pocket as he wrapped it around his neck and up his face, until all but his swollen eyes showed. "Let's just get this over with," He uttered, voice muffled.

It wasn't a ritual more than it was convenient for Yoongi to drive him back home for the holidays. Their houses were five minute walks between each other respectively, and Namjoon, with his immense lack of grace and poise, has never dared touch a steering wheel in his life. Yoongi liked to say he was his personal uber, then again he also liked to complain about how annoying that was.

On the passenger's side, his eyes catch a rip edged into the cushion with the tiniest of threads holding it together - How is this piece of shit car still alive, honestly? There he sits down stiffly, another place he has essentially spent the past several years making a home of, and the two set off.

The nausea was already striking, and not just from the hangover. Something boiled unwelcome in his chest, and ran all the way down to his abdomen.

Apparently he isn't doing a good job of hiding it, cause Yoongi speaks up and says, "Don't throw up in here."

"I won't. " He snaps back.

Fuck.

He used to think he was better than this, better at setting emotion aside in favour of the overall peace that'd remain instead. Lips zipped shut meant tranquility, and Namjoon valued that; Especially with him, he who he hates more than anything right now.

How...how? How did he fall for this badly acted charade, of course Yoongi never wanted him - like that - if he did, he would have said so.

Stop. Shut up. It isn't that serious.

His jaw locks.

But it really is.

Namjoon's an atheist, but for the first time in years he prays.

He prays that this ride will proceed in silence, because if not, the emotions he didn't have enough time to bury will overflow and drown whatever was left of he and Yoongi's relationship.

Fortunately, the prayer is answered, though sparingly. Identical looking streets pass by wordlessly, with Yoongi twisting and turning through roads and towns that Namjoon can't recognize. His eyes are too exhausted to focus on anything, not that there was anything worth looking at; Every building becomes a blur of mild colours, and the sky is as gray and dull as watching cement dry.

"We're close," Yoongi says.

Namjoon hums, along with the engine as the car slows down, going up a soft incline into a gas station.

The driver's side door opens, Yoongi huddling into his coat as a gust whistles into the vehicle. "I'll be right back."

Don't come back. Just leave me in here to shrivel up and die.

When Yoongi returns, rushing into his seat before shutting the door and ramming the engine again, he says nothing. But Namjoon can hear him, his indifference, a quality which he once admired.

He'd cut his tongue out if it meant he'd keep his mouth shut, but all he can do is sink his teeth into his bottom lip, deeper and deeper as the car pulls out.

"...Yoongi?"

"Yeah?"

Don't say it.

"What am I to you?"

The engine whines, filling the emptiness of the car.

"My best friend."

The nonchalance cuts Namjoon to the bone, until his lungs are clinging for life. His labour breathes repeatedly stab through the silence, and all he can do is stare, unanswered questions overflowing in his skull.

They've never talked about - them, what they were and what they did. Any conversations that went past platonic stayed in Namjoon's room and Namjoon's room only. Which is why now even implications of their deeper relationship felt forbidden, his lips clipped shut when the vaguest of words pass his mind.

But Namjoon doesn't have to be the one to say it.

Yoongi laughs, scratching his ear. "Maybe a best friend with benefits?"

The sharp edges of his eyes go a deeper shade of red, the hurt settling into the crevices. Acknowledgment, shouldn't that satisfy him?

"Still?" Namjoon asks, his voice barely a whisper.

The pink that dusts over Yoongi's cheek is rare. The sight nearly makes Namjoon's heart swell, until he's hit with the thought that Seungwan is on the older man's mind.

"I mean..." Yoongi clears his throat. "Yeah...if you still want-"

"And what about Seungwan?"

His brows furrow, almost offended. "What about her?"

The response boils in Namjoon's ear, like an off key note.

"Can't you be straightforward with me? Like you usually are?" Namjoon says.

"I am."

A snap cuts out his next thought.

They return their attention to the windshield, and watch as the wipers twist unnaturally before flying off the car into the highway, making a couple vengeful scratches across the windows along the way. All that's left of them is two little useless black nubs, which twitch as they try to operate without their second half.

"Aw, shit!" Yoongi curses, a veil of white particles smudging onto the windshield. The flight of snow has accelerated, rushing to the ground and with nothing to push the snow off their windshield, their view of the road is being eclipsed in white at an alarming rate. "I've gotta pullover."

The gravel hisses as Yoongi's car pulls over into the side of the road, coming to a full stop and leaning into his seat with a groan. "The wind must have been too harsh, they completely snapped off. I'm gonna have to call my parents to pick us up, we can't drive like this."

"Are we just leaving the car?"

"We'll lock it and probably get like - I don't know - someone to pick it up. That's gonna cost a shit load."

Namjoon expects the older of the two to pick up his phone and call his parents, but he doesn't and favours sulking back in his seat, hands rubbing his eyes and grumbling to himself. The stare catches onto his peach lips, and the way he's nibbling on his bottom lip.

"Yoongi..."

"Hm?"

"You looked stressed."

"Do I?" He remarks sarcastically, a grin pulling his lips.

Thoughts of Seungwan sink into the very corner of his head as he stares at his companion, someone who he truly has loved so dearly for as long as he could remember. He just wants to pretend he’s his, and hold him so tight that the mere thought of him ever leaving can’t cross Namjoon’s mind.

I just want to be with you, even if it’s only for a second.

"Do you want me to help?" Is all he says.

There's a pause, one that sucks all the air out of him. Yoongi almost laughs, a giddy smile on his face. But slowly, agonizingly, Yoongi's hands tumble down his face until they settle onto his neck. His eyelashes hover, and Namjoon follows them until they finally open and take in the eager and desperate man right in front of him. Yoongi's eyes, so deep and dark, swirling with a curious lust that the other is sinking into.

He doesn't speak, he nods earnestly, as if it was the question he’d been waiting to be asked all day, He leans into Namjoon's space, until their gazes tangle together. His lips, slightly chapped, barely brush over his, testing him.

Namjoon says yes; His large hands envelope his thin wrists, and pulls him forward so that their lips connect. Starting from the soft plump surface, the fuzzy feeling that alcohol can never recreate the same way runs into his veins, and he feels his heart already urging him forward with the strong and abrupt ache that develops.

He goes further, deepening the kiss as Yoongi's arms find their place around Namjoon's neck.

He doesn't know how long the kissing last until he manages to groan out a husky "c'mere," between the mess they're becoming. He breaks the kiss, waiting for Yoongi to come to him as the smaller tries his best to crawl onto Namjoon's lap in the cramped car. It's in that quiet moment that Namjoon realizes both of their coats are already off and probably somewhere in the backseat, lost to the heat of the moment.

He can already feel the growing bulge in the Yoongi's jeans, and the man impatiently moves to pull down his own zipper before Namjoon halts the action.

"Let me." He demands, voice husky and out of breath. His fingertips barely graze the metal, and stay there, playing with the sharp criss cross that leads up to the metal tab and enjoys the way the other fusses. Yoongi's head scurries into Namjoon's neck, biting in some kind of retaliation.

"Yoongi..."

"Godammit, what!" He exclaims, huffing warm breaths onto his neck.

"I want to go all the way - well, I wanna fuck you, I guess is the proper way to put it."

He feels the way Yoongi tenses up, and thrives in the flustered tremble that sticks to his voice.

"Y-Yeah. Then...Okay."

Finally, he pulls the zippers down, and helps Yoongi to raise himself up and pull it down to his ankles. Namjoon's hands strokes the newly exposed skin of his thighs, pale and covered in goosebumps.

Yoongi's hands in the meanwhile, begin to fiddle with the leather belt looped around Namjoon's own jeans. His eyes glazed with steam, like fresh mocha. Namjoon, for a first, lets him have his way as he loosens the pants and fights to pull them down.

"-And one more thing..." Namjoon whispers, leaving a kiss on the shell of his ear.

"What?"

"I love you. You know that right?"

"I love you, too." He says, adding the last part after a hesitant pause. “As more than...best friends. A lot more, actually.”

Namjoon smirks, lips trailing down the length of his neck.

"...Then prove it."

"Do you think it worked?" Jimin's voice flutters into the air; His chin is on the young Jungkook's shoulder, watching as his nimble hands maneuver a paint brush across the canvas, lips tight in concentration as he adds a strike of black.

Snowflakes dance gracefully across the glass window to their side, the ice that had once tangled into the earth leaving a mild frost in its wake. Nothing but whispers of the raging winter night was left.

"Of course it did. It was my idea." Seokjin declares, hands on his hips as he views the large gallery in Jungkook's workroom. He's bullied the youngest more than a few times about having a useless major, but his collection of artwork never ceased to amaze him. Maybe he won't be a beggar on the streets once he graduates afterall.

"What if they hate each other after this?" Hoseok says, a pout weighing down his face, a real one this time.

Seokin's broad shoulders shrug. "Then you'll have to live with the guilt, couldn't have done it without your A plus acting. Can't wait to see you at the Oscars next year."

A furious slap from Hoseok lands right on his upper arm, and Seokjin cries out as if he's just been stabbed, doe eyes wide and flickering with false innocence.

Taehyung grins, linking arms with Hoseok. "Don't worry about it too much, Hoseokie. Namjoon and Yoongi aren’t stupid, it won't be that long until he figures out Seungwan and Yoongi were never dating."

Is that so...Because they also spent the last year certain that no one but Seokjin knew about their frequent late night rendezvous, something Seokjin quickly learned was quite the opposite.

"Can someone remind me why Jin said they were again?" Jungkook chimes in.

"Jealousy makes the heart grow fonder, Kookie." Seokjin claims, the eldest always seemed to have wisdom to pass on, even if such words of wisdom fell on deaf ears. "Or I guess, more possessive."

"Why can't people just say they love someone when they love someone, it's not that difficult." That was easy for him to say. Jungkook's one and only crush throughout his first years of college was currently leaning over him and giggling softly into his ear, arms hugging his center.

Whenever he recounted he and Jimin's personal love story, it was a few short sentences, and went something along the lines of "met him at orientation and I thought he was cute. Became friends, then I told him I wanted him and we've been going strong ever since." No one in the room could even imagine a world in which Jungkook's desire could be rejected, or not returned back tenfold, let alone by lovestruck Park Jimin.

The pause in conversation lasts too long, and Jimin pipes up. "They're probably fucking in the car as we speak."

The room bursts into a series of gasps, boos, and broken laughter. The ringing that follows is barely audible, but Seokjin feels the phone buzz in his back pocket. He hushes the rowdy group, before picking up the call without much as a second thought.

“Hello~?”

There's a shuffling of clothes on the other side, but Yoongi's exasperated voice eventually comes onto the line.

“Each and every one of you are so fucking dead to me.”

#namgi #fanfiction #myfanfiction #kpop #bts #namgi fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #namjoon bts #yoongi bts #namjoon #yoongi #rpf

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