#kreativewriters

[bluekyun]

Roomie Code

‘The Assortment’ Collab Masterlist

Genre: fluff, smut and humour — roommates!au

Word Count: 17.044

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Jungkook is an awkward human who doesn't know how to act around women, but at least he’s a connoisseur of all things vanilla. Meanwhile the reader forgets how to have sex, but it’s okay, Jungkook’s got it covered.

Summary: When you first decided to move into a house full of guys, you figured it wouldn’t nearly be as bad as people made it out to be. Little did you know, living between your best friend, your crush and a mysterious recluse would only turn into disaster upon finding yourself caught in the middle of a brutal love triangle.

Author’s Note: It’s not really a full triangle, maybe a very nicely shaped ‘V’, but we're just gonna go with it. Either way, still tragic. Enjoy!

When it comes to living with in the same house as three other people, there has to be rules. Rules, that no matter how minor or insignificant, shall not be broken. And considering you are rooming with three men, none of which happen to be ideal housemates, these rules must be set in stone and obeyed by all. The rules are as follows:

Keep your spaces clean and do your part to maintain the integrity of the household.

DO NOT go into each other’s personal spaces without permission. You will get caught.

If you’re going to have sex in the house, keep quiet. No one wants to hear that shit.

Whatever happens in this house, stays in this house.

And finally, the most important rule...    

No relationships between roommates.

Coming up with these rules was inherently simple – everyone agreed and no one protested. It was a combination of everyone’s input. The last one, which definitely received a lot of odd looks, was more directed at you in particular. To which Yoongi was the only one who laughed, knowing well of your feelings for a certain one of the housemates. But regardless, it ended up on the board. You can’t say for certain if every person in this house is straight, as it is really none of your business anyway, but clearly they had felt the need to cover all their bases. Either that, or they somehow thought it a good idea to bring attention to your unfortunate relationship-less lifestyle for whoever else happened to walk through the door and see the large chalkboard in the entryway. And you wouldn’t be surprised considering you are a surrounded by a bunch of imbeciles who love to rub it in your face that you are essentially the loner of the group.

Over the past year of living together, one thing you can appreciate is that none of these rules have been severely broken. Although, according to Yoongi, there is one person in particular who just doesn’t know proper volume control.

“If I have to listen to another girl’s scream come out of Jimin’s room at 3 am, I might actually kill him.” Of all the people in the house, Yoongi is the only one to have ever heard anything of the sort. Which, you suppose, doesn’t surprise you considering he is a really light sleeper. Even after investigating on several occasions, scouring the house for signs of another girl, even any hints of perfume or strands of hair that weren’t blatantly yours, there has never been any evidence. Jimin, very adamantly, always denies this as well.

“I didn’t even have anyone over last night! Why do you always think it’s me, what about Jungkook? What if it was Y/N jacking off?” Slapping his arm, you’re offended at his insinuation. As if you would ever make that kind of scene while masturbating with them still in the house. What are you, a heathen?

“Actually, she was in my bed so I know it couldn’t have been her. Jungkook’s room is on the other side of the house. So it could have only been you.” Sitting beside Yoongi on the couch, you aid in glaring Jimin down. Clearly at a loss for words, he throws his hands up in defeat.

“You know whenever I bring someone over, why would I only hide it sometimes. But fine, don’t believe me. What are you gonna do, kick me out?” Rolling your eyes, you lean back against the cushion, waiting for Yoongi to deliver the final blow.

“No. But you can make up for it by being on bathroom duty for the rest of the month.” As much as you would have liked to maintain your stoic demeanor, you can’t help but smile at the way Jimin drops his jaw. When it comes to Yoongi, there is no arguing, everyone does as he says. He’s the one who paid the deposit on the house after all.

“Fuck both of you. At least I get laid, unlike someone.” Letting your arms drop to your side, your mind immediately goes blank. It’s a known fact, at least among everyone in this house, that there is only one person who hasn’t had sex in an eternity. And that one person is you.

“Jimin what the fuck!” Standing up, Yoongi grabs Jimin by the collar of his shirt. Yoongi may be a generally non-confrontational person, but when it comes to protecting his best friend, he shows no mercy.

“I’m sorry-I’m sorry-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I was mad-” Without another word, you squeeze past them and head straight to your room. It’s not that what he said was wrong, it is, of course, the bitter truth. But hearing those words come out of the mouth of the person you have feelings for… that hurts. As if his pure existence doesn’t hurt to begin with.

Grabbing the stack from the cabinets, you line the plates expertly around the table. From your periphery, you notice Jimin peaking from around the corner, ducking his head every time you just so happen to catch him in the act. On other nights, you might have just forced him from hiding, telling him to do his part and at least get everyone’s drinks. But today you just don’t seem to have the energy. It would be an understatement to say you weren’t exactly over his little stunt earlier.

Returning to your duties, you pull out a few glasses, filling two of them with water for both Jimin and yourself. The remaining glass gets filled with banana milk, a delicacy you didn’t even know existed until you had moved into this household. You set it at the side closest to the bedrooms, the recipient’s favorite spot. And last but not least, you pull out the beer bottle for none other than Yoongi, who even on weekdays, can’t seem to get through the night without at least a little alcohol in his system. If only you could convince him to spend as much money on you as he does his unhealthy habits, you might just be living the ultimate dream.

With your back turned and facing the stove, you hear Jimin’s small footsteps along the linoleum floor, the sound of the chair as he quietly sets himself upon it. You can’t tell if he’s trying to be funny or trying to avoid your temper, but whatever he’s doing, you appreciate it. The longer he’s out of your hair, the better.

Taking as few trips as possible, you bring over the plates of various veggies and kimchi fried rice, making sure to leave room for the main dish of the night.

“Is dinner almost ready?” The tinge of annoyance hidden in Yoongi’s tone is only expected from him at this point. His patience often wears thin once the sun sets and you aren’t one to get on his bad side. He, like Jimin, receives minimal response from you, a sign to him that tonight will likely be over before it can begin. So long as he cooperates of course.

Grabbing the final platter, full of various cuts of steak, you set it in the center of the table. The way the two men sitting across from each other eye the delicacies only makes your stomach turn over itself. If it’s not women then it’s meat, there is no in between.

“Have you seen Jungkook?” You ask, sliding into your seat. Glancing between them, you realize neither seem to have heard a word. Their only focus is filling their plates, the thought of having a 'family' dinner now entirely out of their minds.

Rolling your eyes, you take small sips of water, quelling the nausea the seems to plague your very being. The atmosphere surrounding the table feels awkward and stiff as if the past year of living together never happened. As if you were surrounded by people who didn't know each other.

Just when you thought it might be a lovely and uncomfortable evening with just the three of you, Jungkook slips in through the front door, immediately setting down his bag. Glancing up, he notices the array of food quietly on table, but as you expected, he doesn't say a word. He doesn't even bother to mention the fact that he's home. He acts as though he doesn't even exist.

"How was your day?" Considering the two idiots beside you aren't likely to join in the conversation, you decide to focus your sights on the one person in this household who at least has some sense of decency.

"Ah... it was good." Filling his plate with veggies and several pieces of steak, he only glances at you once before taking his seat. As you expected, he ends the conversation short.

"How's the project you're working on? You seemed excited about it yesterday." The subtle blush that tinges his cheeks surprises you, his shy demeanor quickly returning.

"Oh. Yeah, it's going well so far. I mean I just started it... but I'm hoping it will go well. I just don't know yet." Despite having lived with this boy for many months, you can adamantly say there isn't a whole lot you know about the kid. Seldom ever do you see him, especially on weekends as he is either out all day or trapped in his room. But one of the few things he has mentioned to you, much of which was actually told to by Yoongi, is that he is a very passionate graphic designer. Just from the one piece you saw, a mock billboard he used to advertise feminine products (the only time he will ever explicitly look at a tampon, you quickly found out), you knew he was talented. Exceptionally talented. His knack for unique design and color was something you had never seen before. So when he mentioned his latest project, you were almost as excited as he was. Besides, the only passion you ever see from him is when he’s talking about his work.

"I'm sure it'll be great," you reassure him, "I have faith in you." Which, to be fair, isn't a lie. You may not be very knowledgeable about his field, but you do know that he has this job for a reason. And from the way his smile quickly spreads across his face, he knows it well.

"Like she said, it'll be great. Once you're done, we can throw a party for you and celebrate your hard work, how does that sound??" Rolling your eyes, you use your fork to chase around one of the eggplants on your plate. Of course Jimin would suggest a party and of course he would do so under the guise of wanting to celebrate Jungkook's achievements.

"I don't know..." Jungkook ponders, shoving a piece of ribeye into his mouth.

"That's not happening, not more parties." Yoongi, the ultimate decision maker, finally steps into the conversation. He, as well as you, has seen the disastrous parties that Jimin has attended in the past, once even letting him throw one at the house. And to this day, you all agreed to never let it happen again, at least not after you all needed to pitch in for recarpeting the entire living room. The jungle juice was never going to make it out of that white. Never in a million years.

"It'll be a small one I promise." Not even daring to look at you, Jimin focuses his sights on Yoongi. He had two options and yet he went with the one he would automatically lose to. But you suppose you weren't much of a better option. You hated him with every fiber of your being.

Luckily for you, you and Yoongi shared the same thoughts, knowing full well that this thought of a party needed to be shut down immediately. At least if you were going to celebrate, it was going to be under the guise of a small get together. The words "party" and "Jimin" do not need to be in the same sentence.

"We'll do a little something for you to celebrate with just us. No need to invite anyone else when we're your favorite people." Just at your words alone, Yoongi chokes on his food, apparently the sight of your wink only aiding in his suffering.

"Never do that again." He warns, after taking a sip of his beer. What surprises you, though, is when Jungkook erupts into a fit a laughter, a side of him you rarely ever get to see, at least not in this household. The way he clutches his stomach as he scrunches his nose suddenly fills your heart with joy, this precious side of him being too much to handle.

"What's so funny?" Looking between Yoongi and Jungkook, Jimin tries to figure where this sudden outburst came from. But from what you can tell, Jungkook has only lost himself to exhaustion.

"Yes you're my favorite people." Wiping away a tear, he returns his attention to his food, quietly eating while the rest of the table stares in awe. You are entirely convinced no one will ever be able to understand him, at least not with his sudden mood swings and odd changes in behavior. But you suppose you'd rather have this than anything else. At least it's better than having a second Jimin around.

After a while of silent eating, the family dinner having entirely burst into flames, you allow the rest to leave the table. You’ve taken control of the kitchen for the night, and the last thing you need is for them to stick around any longer than necessary.

Once you finish cleaning the dishes, setting them on the racks to dry, you check the time floating above the stove top.

“12:15…” Since having to be awake at six this morning, you have been running on little to no energy. You are exhausted, to the point where every muscle in your body is aching, and yet you know if you go to lie down right now, you won’t be able to fall asleep. Sincerely, on nights like this, you have very few options. You can either stay awake and suffer, either staring at the ceiling or watching murder mystery specials, or you could sneak into a certain someone’s room and force them to let you sleep in their bed. And honestly, you already know you will end up doing the latter at some point.

After turning off the lights, you saunter over to Yoongi’s room, not even bothering to knock before entering. Considering you two have been friends for what feels like an eternity, you already know his late night habits just as well as you know your own. Nothing surprises you anymore, at least not with him.

Inside his room, he is already curled in a ball with his back toward the door. In the corner of the room, he keeps his special night light, although, you are never allowed to use those words around him. He refuses to believe he has a night light. Instead, he insists it’s just a lamp that he always forgets to turn off at night. Sure Yoongi, whatever you say.

With him being so close to the wall, you can tell he was expecting you to come at some point in the night. Whether or not it would be this soon after dinner, you suppose it doesn’t matter, so long as he’s not surprised the moment you pull back the covers. Doing your best to stay quiet, you sneak into his bed, making as little movements as possible.

“What took you so fucking long?” He sighs, “I’ve been lying awake for the past hour waiting for you.” Snuggling up against him, you try to express your apologies without words. You are about five seconds from passing out and the last thing you want to deal with is his attitude.

Considering he doesn’t respond any further, you take it as a sign of forgiveness. Either that or he’s just as unwilling to deal with it as you are. Knowing him, it’s probably the second one. You already know he has a large book of grudges, most of which he likes to hold against you.

With the dim lighting of the so-called lamp in the corner, you feel yourself start to drift. The aches and pains which have plagued you all day are finally starting to disappear, the day’s stress dissipating the moment you close your eyes.

Jolting awake, you automatically squeeze your thighs together. The several glasses of water you had for dinner are finally catching up to you. Looking over at Yoongi’s desk, you realize it’s only two in the morning. You didn’t even last two hours before your bladder decided to punish you just for trying to be a healthy adult. Carefully taking off the comforter, you crouch onto the floor as to make yourself as invisible as possible. Normally, you would try not to move at all, knowing that Yoongi would probably kick your ass if you woke him up. But this is one time when you don’t think you’ll make it out alive if you don’t go now.

Crawling toward the door, you do your best to avoid the articles of clothing and odd stacks of paper strewn on the ground. The door, much to your surprise, is entirely quiet, opening without so much as a problem. Looking down the hallways, you notice no one else is up and around, the perfect setting to execute your plan. The place has never been so still. Too lazy to reorient yourself, you continue to crawl in the direction of the bathroom, the new stealth mode you have just acquired being utilized to its fullest. Once inside, you release the breath you had been holding, but not before quickly clenching your legs. Scrambling to the toilet, you are finally able to do your business, the hardest part of the night now quickly over with.

Turning off the light, you head back to Yoongi's room, but when you happen to walk past Jimin's door, you hear strange sounds coming from within. On a normal night, and maybe in an alternate universe, you probably would have ignored it, deciding that your sleep was worth more than whatever goes on behind that closed door. But considering it is this particular night and you have no control over your curiosity, you decide to place your ear to the door. From what you can tell, there isn't a lot going on, nothing but silence on the other end. Just when you are about to turn around and head to bed, you hear the smallest and most sensual moan. At first you think you're imagining things, the thought of this asshole masturbating being both a blessing and curse, but when you can't seem to pry yourself away, you already know you're in for quite the ride. When his moans suddenly become louder, the faint sound of a female in the background, your heart begins beating out of control. There is something very intimate about this scene and although you might enjoy this any other time, the fact that Jimin is still a piece of shit makes you feel otherwise. Although the arousal beginning to pool at your center seems to tell you otherwise.

"Ah... Y/N..." At the sound of your name, your heart immediately stops. Out of the female names you have ever heard come out of his mouth, the last one you thought you’d here during a moment like this is your own. As hot and amazing as it sounds coming from him, you can’t but hate it at the same time. He has the audacity to bruise your ego with comments about the fact that you can’t get laid, and yet in the same breath, will moan your name while masturbating? With porn no less? He has some nerve.

Deciding to call it a night, you rush back into Yoongi’s room, slamming the door shut. You’ll deal with the repercussions later, all you want to do is forget it ever happened.

“What the fuck was that for?” Yoongi groans, tossing in his corner while you make your way back underneath the covers.

“Jimin can’t keep my name out of his filthy mouth.” You state, the frustration only adding to your headache.

“I wish he would stop that shit, I don’t wanna know what he’s thinking about when he’s touching himself.”

“So you knew about this?” You aren’t even surprised to know that this happens often, but the fact that Yoongi is fully aware of your name somehow being involved in Jimin’s private time is what irritates you most.

“Clearly you hate knowing about it so why would I tell you?” Although he has a point, you can’t help but hate every man in this house. Except for maybe Jungkook. Either way, you only hope tomorrow, Jimin avoids you at all costs.

The following morning, you wake up feeling like absolute hell. After that little interaction, not being able to get your mind off the way he moaned, every syllable of your name that came from his mouth is now eternally burned into your memory. It kept you up all night, and considering you only go to Yoongi to help you sleep, this time he was of no help at all.

Getting up, you try to pat Yoongi awake only for your arm to be pushed away and a string of curses being sent in your direction. For someone who is normally a morning person, it seems he might have gotten just as little of sleep as you did. And for that you feel slightly guilty.

"Sorry for keeping you up all night... it's time to get up, you have to leave for work soon." Reaching him arm from underneath the covers, he grabs his phone that is perched on the windowsill. It only takes one glance before he starts whining, realizing that yes, indeed, he did have work in an hour.

Forcing yourself from the comfort of his bed, you walk out of his room straight into yours directly across the hall. From the small bit of conversation you can hear, Jimin and Jungkook are busy chatting away in the kitchen, the two idiots clearly not having left for work yet. It's usually you and Yoongi still left in the house as your jobs don't start until later, but, for some reason, they seem to be taking their sweet time. Unfortunately for you, you might actually have to face Jimin. Wonderful.

One thing you are grateful about is that the boys agreed to let you have one of the rooms with its own bathroom, knowing full well that sharing the one in the hall would only lead to disaster. The other, which was given to Jungkook after an intense game of rock-paper-scissors, is still not nearly as nice as yours. It's not as if they would have utilized the spa tub anyway.

Grabbing your toothbrush, you start to get cleaned up, taking special care to wash your face in the hopes that it will take away every bit of blush that seems to have permanently stained your cheeks after last night. It would be a miracle if by the time you were done, everyone would be gone and out of your hair, giving you the rest of the day to pull yourself together only to meet them again later in the day. You even take extra time on your makeup, coating each individual lash in the hopes that they have already left.

Digging clothes from your closet, you decide to wear your favorite jeans, a crisp white bottom up blouse on top. Paired with your favorite earrings and chunky heel, you are set to finally leave. Checking one last time in the mirror, you take one last breath before grabbing your jacket and purse and heading out. When you close your bedroom door, you realize that Jimin and Jungkook are still in the main room, chatting as if neither of them had responsibilities. You do your best to quietly sneak past them, but when they come into view with Jimin's back facing you, you realize that maybe you should have taken a little more time to get ready.

"I'm telling you, she is the most gorgeous girl I've ever met in my entire life. She puts every girl I've ever been with to shame. And she asked meout, can you believe that? I bet she'd look pretty on her knees..." When Jungkook notices you, he tries to signal with his eyes to Jimin. From what you can decipher, he's basically saying "shut the fuck up you idiot", but of course, amidst his banter, Jimin doesn't notice a thing. Too lost in his own world about the next girl he's going to bang.

Not wanting to hear anymore, you make sure to be as loud as possible as you nearly rush out the door. Feigning lateness is one thing, but more than anything you wanted him to know you heard everything. How this sex-addicted piece of shit manages to say one girl's name while jacking it and think about his next escapade not a moment later is something you will never understand. He is a player, and he does what every other player does. Piss you off.

All you need to do is get through the day then maybe you can survive the day without killing anyone.

By the time you arrive home, it being almost six, you feel as though you're seconds from passing out. You had entirely forgotten about the meeting at work, not being prepared to give your presentation about recent Artificial Intelligence breakthroughs (although expertly pulling it off like you always managed to do) but in the end, all your energy is drained. And to be honest, it wasn't as if you had that much to begin with.

Based on the current state of the house, you can tell that Jimin and Yoongi aren't home, the hooks for their keys being empty. You do, however, see Jungkook's sneakers in the entryway, his keys on the kitchen counter alongside a small box and a note. Pulling off your heels, you walk over to grab the small card, opening it to see your name written delicately in glitter pen.

"Y/N,

Sorry about this morning. Here's some chocolate.

-JK"

Putting down the card, you can't help the infectious smile from taking over your lips. Even if it's the most dry message, the thought is still there. The fact that he even thought to get you anything is in itself a surprise, yet he somehow knew that one of your biggest weaknesses is good chocolate. Untying the multi-colored ribbon, you carefully open the box only to be met with the sight of a lifetime. Each row contained your favorite chocolates: from caramel, to rum nougat, to that one fancy one that you still can't manage to pronounce. You can't even contain your excitement about the thought of eating them all in one sitting, you entire body vibrating. It's been so long since you last went to buy yourself treats, and having them waiting for you upon coming home was definitely a wonderful surprise.

Looking toward Jungkook's room, you see his door slightly ajar. He likely heard you come in, the sound of those chunky heels not an easy thing to miss. But when you hear the sounds him shouting, the subsequent "you fucking bastard" strung between each command, you realize this kid is likely too deep into his games to remember that you even exist.

"Listen here assholes, if you don't do as I say we're going to have a fucking problem. I carry this team on my fucking back every fucking week and if you don't start pulling your weight, I'm gonna strangle you through the screen!"

Never in your life have you heard Jungkook swear like this, a majority of his demeanor being quiet, and quite honestly, he is more of a recluse than anything else. Most of the conversations you've witnessed have never been anything more than him either listening or throwing in a few phrases here and there just to maintain the flow. This side of him is entirely new, and you're loving it.

"For fucks sake! Do something! Go Go!" He shouts, frustration seeping through every syllable, "Oh my fucking god I'm going to kill all of you."

You can't help but smile at this newly obtained piece of information, the fact that he's not nearly as innocent and sweet as you originally thought. He's sworn before, yes, but only in the presence of alcohol. And the most he'd ever said was 'shit', and even then, you couldn't take him seriously.

Walking up to his room, you peak your head through the door. From this angle, you can see the television screen, watching as his character runs around aimlessly with two swords clutched in each hand. You have no idea what game this is.

"I've gotten nine out of the nine kills for our team, what the fuck are you doing, jerking each other off?" It becomes more difficult to contain your laughter, the string of profanities coming from his mouth nothing less than comedic.

Once a flashing pop-up appears on the screen, spelling the words "Team A Loses", you know damn well the show will only become more dramatic. Just as you are about to hide away, leaving him to deal with utter defeat, you catch a glimpse of him throwing his headphones on the ground, using his foot to turn off the console. From the looks of it, this is probably not the first time this has happened.

The poor kid is left nearly pulling his hair out, leaning back in his chair with his eyes shut. He's probably conjuring several ways to murder his teammates as we speak, something you likely would have done too if you were in his position. But then again, you know absolutely nothing about video games.

In an attempt to walk away, you manage to trip over your own feet, falling over directly into the handle of the closet door. The sound of your accident must have caught his attention, as the next thing you know, Jungkook is crouching beside you.

"Are-you-okay what-happened?" His speech comes out far too quickly for you to understand, the heat beginning to accumulate in your body only adding to the pain beginning to form at your side.

"Yeah-uh I'm fine. I came to ask what you wanted for dinner but I tripped on myself..." Doing your best to cover your tracks, you try to act as though you didn't just hear the last few minutes of his predicament.

"Oh, you're cooking tonight?" He asks, grabbing your arm to help you up. Realizing your mistake, the fact that it was indeed a weekday and had only had family dinner night yesterday, you try to think of something to solidify your alibi.

"Yeah I know everyone is probably suffering from a case of the Mondays and I'm feeling exceptionally nice today..." Adorning a fake smile, you casually limp in the direction of the kitchen. Jungkook immediately comes to your aid, once again, placing his arm around your shoulders as he leads you toward the kitchen.

"Did you hurt your leg too?" Looking at you from head to toe, he examines the state of your body. Watching him from your periphery only results in the rouging of your cheeks, sweat beginning to form underneath your armpits.

"I-ah well... It just hurts to walk, I don't know, I'm stupid." At this point, just existing is painful, especially after having made a fool of yourself. It's not that you usually don't, in fact you're certain Yoongi calls you an idiot at least twice a day, but this has put you at a different level of stupidity. Yoongi's going to love it when you tell him.

"You're not stupid. It happens. Do you want an icepack?" Looking over at him, you try to decipher his expression. All you see is pure concern, the innocence which you have known him for immediately coming back.

"Yeah that would be great." Setting you on the bar stool, he walks to the freezer to grab the small ice pack, the one with the small rubber ducks on it that you specifically set aside for yourself.

Handing it over to you across the counter, he gives you a small smile. You feel like your face is ready to explode.

"Don't worry about dinner, I can handle it. Just relax." You don't think you've ever once seen Jungkook volunteer to cook, taking advantage of his status as the one youngest in the house. Not even that, but you can speak for both Jimin and Yoongi when you say that you all inherently have a desire to care for him, even if it means taking on extra work to take care of the house.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it. For the chocolates too, that was very sweet and a nice surprise." Looking over his shoulder, he smiles brightly, nodding his head as an informal 'you're welcome'. Although you had never thought you'd be spending this much time with Jungkook of all people, you're almost glad you have a tendency to be a walking accident. Although the screaming pain at your ribcage is telling you otherwise.

Placing the icepack at your side, you rest your head against the counter and just watch the show. Jungkook, much to your surprise, isn't as hopeless in the kitchen as you originally thought. Even though he chooses to make a giant pot of ramen, the addition of chopped sausage, chili bean paste, and green onion is something you never would have expected from him. Since he is usually the first one home, he probably makes dishes like this all the time. But seeing it up close in action is entirely different story.

Over the next few minutes, you watch as Yoongi makes it through the door, immediately awe struck at the sight of Jungkook in the kitchen.

"You're actually cooking? You know how to use the stove? Who taught you this." He taunts, setting his jacket on the hook.

"I know how to make ramen, thank you very much." Watching Jungkook roll his eyes at Yoongi has never been so amusing, clearly the loss doing wonders for Jungkook's new personality.

"It better be good," Yoongi warns, "And the hell happened to you?" Taking a seat at the stool next to you, he pokes at your arm until you finally cave in and respond.

"I had an accident okay, don't worry about it." The wound to your pride is far too fresh to admit to the actual string of events. He'll find out eventually, just not right now.

"Jungkook, what'd she do." Knowing he won't be able to coax an answer from you, he decides to attack his only source of information.

"She came home like that, how would I know." Raising your eyebrow, you're surprised to see a sudden ally. Apparently you'd been wrong about Jungkook this entire time.

"When is Jimin coming home?" You ask, the way his name falls off your tongue already leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth.

But you are only met with silence.

"Is no one going to answer me?" Lifting your head, you look between Jungkook and Yoongi, neither of them budging. Both seem to avoid eye contact with you, Jungkook too focused on stirring the pot while Yoongi is preoccupied on his phone.

"I see how it is..." Returning your head to the counter, you stare at the clock on the wall. It's almost seven, and Jimin should have returned a while ago. Maybe he isn't coming home at all.

"You know Jimin likes you right." With how quickly your head shot up from the counter, you likely gave yourself whiplash. As much as you would have liked to hide your intrigue, you can't help but react.

"What are you talking about." Yoongi's low tone can only be read as a warning, Jungkook's sudden outburst now coming under fire.

"Jungkook, don't fuck with me. He what now?" The room remains silent except for the sound of the ramen boiling, both of them locked in staring contest, as if your presence is no longer welcome.

"Jimin likes you." Jungkook repeats, never once breaking eye contact with Yoongi. You aren't sure what alternate universe you've stumbled into, but you wish you could escape.

Jimin having feelings for you is something you never thought would happen. Never. You may have dreamt about it several times, but each time you woke up knowing that it would never be the truth. And yet you're here, those words suddenly coming out of Jungkook's mouth and you're left wondering how much of this reality is even true. Jimin is the type who doesn't like to settle down. He has a new girl around his arm every month. Sometimes, every week. Jimin doesn't do feelings. He does sex. At least that's what Yoongi always tells you.

"Oh." You aren't sure how to respond as nothing about this situation makes sense. Technically, Jungkook would be the one to know those little secrets about Jimin. It would make sense for Jungkook to know those things. But the fact that it's you? He must be making it up. Is this part of his gift? To tell you what you want to hear? Well you don't want it. Not in the slightest.

Removing yourself from the counter, you head straight into your room, ignoring the way your body screams at you in pain. Your heart, which you thought would be overjoyed, only hurts. If it is indeed true and Jimin does have feelings for you, then he has only put you through all this pain for what? Considering everyone and their neighbor knows of your feelings, you wouldn't be surprised if Jimin caught on long ago. And yet he continues to go out, meet girls, and bring them home in front of your face as if it meant nothing. He truly is, and will always be, an asshole.

Lying on your bed, you rest the icepack on your side. From how hot you have been feeling, it is mostly liquid, but at least in some ways, it continues to cool you down. If only you had one for your entire body, then maybe you could see yourself getting through this.

Stretching your arms to the ceiling, you quickly realize you had fallen asleep. Looking at the clock on your nightstand, you read that it's already eleven. You had slept for four hours. There is no way you will be able to sleep tonight.

Sitting up, you place the ice pack on the table, tossing your legs over the edge of the bed. Your entire body is sore, a majority of your rib cage still aching like no other. You really did yourself in.

With the sole thought of getting that box of chocolates, the concept of shoving every single piece in your mouth, you decide to leave your room. Opening the door, you notice that the house is quiet, a majority of the lights turned off in the main room. Stepping out, you try to be as quick as possible in retrieving the chocolates, but when you notice Jungkook chilling on the couch, nothing but his phone in his hand, you aren't sure if leaving the comfort of your room was as good of an idea as you had originally thought.

Unfortunately for you, he notices you immediately.

"Hey... you're awake." He states, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Yeah... I was tired." Heading directly into the kitchen, you grab the box and the note, set on hiding in your room for the rest the night. Maybe even for the rest of eternity.

"Can we talk?" Had it not been for the fact that the house was essentially empty, you never would have heard him. If you had to describe his voice in two words, it would definitely be 'tiny font'.

Turning around, you nod slightly, making your way over to his spot on the couch. Sitting on the opposite end, you wait for him to continue, but for a while it seems as though he is collecting his thoughts. Either that or he entirely spaced out. When he suddenly turns his body to face you, you feel your heart beating rapidly in your chest.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I don't know why I said that. I should have known that it would make you uncomfortable considering we're housemates and all." Shaking your head, you try to reassure him. It doesn't help that the current series of events has put you in a weird mood lately, but you also understand that he meant no harm in doing so.

"It's okay, really. I was being sensitive I guess, I didn't really have a reason to act that way." Pursing his lips, he processes your words. He doesn't say anything, instead letting awkward silence fill the space between you. You want nothing more than for this conversation to be over with so that you can at least be alone to deal with your now extremely disorganized feelings.

"It's not okay. I know you like him... and I probably made things really awkward." Biting your bottom lip, you mentally scorn yourself in your head. You had figured that Jungkook had known, either just by witnessing the many awkward exchanges or Yoongi spilling the tea, but never did you think he would confront you about it. Not like this.

"I... yeah I do. But let's just pretend that's not the case so I can move on without wanting to yeet myself down a flight a stairs." Normally when you have conversations such as this, the person on the other end is almost always Yoongi. Yoongi appreciates dark humor and your ubiquitous use of the word 'yeet'. Jungkook, on the other hand, has never spoken more than a few casual sentences with you.

"Please don't do that, I feel really bad now, I'm sorry!" The pure concern and sorrow etched onto Jungkook's face is something you never thought you would witness first hand. He is sweet and has never once been on anyone's bad side, especially in this household. Yet he masters the art of looking pitiful quite well.

"No no! I don't mean it literally. Only Jimin is that dramatic." Trying to reassure him, you laugh it all off, pretending as if doing so doesn't kill you from the bruised rib. He is only response is to mouth the words 'oh', the entire subject now being dropped.

"Are you hungry? I can make-" Just as Jungkook tries to speak, Yoongi bursts through the front door. From the way he staggers inside, you can tell he's veryvery drunk.

Running over to him, you hold him up while he kicks off his shoes. Upon seeing your face, his breath reeking of alcohol, a large smile forms across his face.

"Hey... you. You're alive, I miss-ed youuu." You can't help but cringe internally at his words, his attempts at being cute probably being your least favorite moments. Drunk Yoongi only has three settings: soft, mega soft, or an asshole. And from what you can tell, he's in the mood to be as obnoxiously soft as possible.

"Missed you too bitch. Come on, let's get you to your room." Pulling him close to you, you try to breathe through the pain and lead him in the direction from his room. Eyeing Jungkook on the couch, you can tell he wants to help. But both of you know that when it comes to Yoongi being drunk, there is only one person who he will have anything to do with. And that person is you.

Mouthing the words 'sorry', you make large strides to get Yoongi into his room. Upon opening the door, you find that his room is spotless - even his entire desk had been reorganized. Which only tells that you something must have happened at work. He's known to be quite the clean freak amidst a lot of stress.

Throwing him onto the bed, you try to catch your breath. He may be small human but it's not as if you're the strongest person either. The fact that you even got him this far is quite a miracle.

Going back to close the door, you take the chair at his desk and pull it toward the bed.

"So what happened?" Simple interrogation is easy with drunk Yoongi, because unlike non-drunk Yoongi, this one is willing to tell you literally everything.

"I was mad." He pouts, tossing one of the pillows of his bed.

"Mad about what exactly?"

"Jungkook's stupid." Alright, well there's a clue.

"He's not stupid," you emphasize, irritated that Yoongi would even suggest such a thing, "don't say shit that's not true."

"He shouldn't have told you that. Not even I was going to tell you that." As you suspected Yoongi knew this whole time as well. He was just waiting to watch everything burst into flames.

"Good to know you keep shit from me. And you call yourself my best friend." Even if you aren't entirely irritated, knowing full well that Yoongi always has his reasons for keeping things from you, but the fact that you had to find out from someone other than him does hurt your pride. Just a little bit.

"Oh please, I am your one and only. And if it makes up for it, I can tell you something else." Intrigued by his offer, you swivel the chair until you are directly facing him. "And that is?"

The sudden smile that appears on his face terrifies you, as you've only known that look to be associated with nothing but a bad time.

"Jungkook likes you too." Rolling your eyes, you consider punching him in the throat. Why he thinks it's alright to play with you right now, you're not sure, but one thing you do know is that he won't be getting away with it.

"Shut the fuck up, I'm going to bed." Getting up from the chair, you get ready to leave.

"I'm serious! He told me." Turning around, you try to contain the anger suddenly building up within you.

"Enough jokes Yoongi! Stop!" Being single and alone sucks so much more when every man around just like to play with your feelings.

"Y/N. Seriously. Did you really think he picked out those chocolates without coming to me first? I'm literally the only person on this fucking earth who knows what chocolates you eat, especially since you can only buy them from one specific store. And second, this bastard has been eyeing you since the day we moved in. Avoids you like the plague because being near you makes him nervous. Worries about you constantly. Remember that night he went to go pick you up from that one stupid bar because you were too drunk and your date disappeared? Do you think that was coincidence, no this bitch overheard you drunk calling me and ran out the door like the house was on fire. He likesyou. Just face it! Ugh, you get on my nerves sometimes." Rolling over, he curls up into a ball against the wall. Leaving you to sit with the mess that his drunk self has so lovingly created.

Taking your leave, you make your way into your bedroom, closing the door as quietly as possible. If you could wish for anything, you would wish to not exist. Everything is confusing, nothing makes sense and somehow you are put in the most awkward position on the planet thanks to these idiots who can't seem to get their shit together. You wish they would have just left you out of this, let you suffer in peace as you had done so before everyone's feelings got mixed in.

Lying on your bed, you can only stare up at the ceiling. With things being a million times more complicated, there is no way you are going to be able to sleep. Not when there is too much to figure out before things get out of hand.

The following morning, you do your best to get ready early. A full two hours early. Knowing that Jungkook and Jimin would be leaving within the next hour, at least assuming Jimin even came home last night, you rush to pull yourself together for work. You figure you can sit in the cafe on the first floor of your office building to pass the time, eat some food since you basically had nothing yesterday. Whatever you can do to get out of here early, you will absolutely do so. You hate every bit of this.

With your favorite dress on, tights and black booties to match, you grab your jacket and head straight for the front door. However, when you make it to the main living room, you're met with Jungkook, his favorite thermos for coffee in hand.

"Good morning. You're up early?" The inflection at the end of his question makes your heart constrict, the utter thought that this man has feelings for you killing you on the inside. You had never considered the thought and now it’s all you can think about.

"Yeah, I have to go in early to get some extra work done." You will lie straight through your teeth.

"Hopefully that means you can come home early. Maybe we can hang out and watch a movie or something." Oh my fucking god.

"Sounds great, I better get going, see you later!" Waving awkwardly, you head straight for the door, only to be knocked over by Jimin suddenly swinging it open.

"Oh shit, sorry Y/N, are you-"

"I'm fine, bye!" Rushing past him, you run straight to your car, no longer caring about your image at this point. Every man in this house is out to kill you, and the last thing you need is to be spending any more time around them if you can help it.

Once safely inside, you shift the car into reverse, leaving as if your life depends on it. Not only do your ribs hurt, but your shoulder is now out of commission as well. And who’s going to pay your medical bills?

After the conversation with Jungkook from this morning, your worst fear for the day was going home. In fact, you even made a point to go out with one of your coworkers just so you wouldn't have to. The idea of being with Jungkook alone only gives you anxiety, the fact that he even asked in the first place being so out of character.

But, as you stand outside the house at nearly eleven o'clock, you know that you can't avoid it forever, as much as you would like to. You're going to have to face him at some point. Might as well get it over with so that maybe you can get a good night's rest for once. As if that would ever happen.

Opening the door quietly, you sneak inside. You took your boots off prior to coming in, hoping that it would lessen the noise, and luckily for you, all the lights were off albeit the lamp in the corner. A sure sign that everyone is either out or preoccupied in their respective rooms. For your own sake, you only hope it's the latter. Tip toeing into your room, you drop your bag and your coat. As quickly as possible you change into sweatpants and a t-shirt, removing your makeup and brushing your teeth. You want to just sleep for as long as possible, so that when you show up to work tomorrow, you might actually be able to do your job.

Going across the hall, you open the door to Yoongi's room. Except for when you open the door, he isn't even inside.

"This asshole..." Of course the one night you desperately need him in order to sleep, he isn't even home. And he probably won't even come home this time, especially after last night. Essentially, you're screwed.

Returning to the living room, you sit quietly on the couch. From what you can tell, Jimin and Jungkook are both asleep, not a peep coming from either direction in the house.

Turning on the television, you immediately turn down the volume to 'non-existent', choosing to put on subtitles instead. Whenever Yoongi isn’t around and you have enough energy to exist outside of your room, you have a tendency to watch a series of murder mysteries, just to preoccupy your time. Not that things like that even scared, you found them extremely fascinating, but on occasion when someone would find you curled up on the couch at four in the morning zoned out on a murder scene, you would only receive criticizing looks. As if any of their habits were any better than your own.

Opening HulaHoop, your favorite streaming app, you continue where you last left off. You are currently on Season 5, making your way through Episode 3, fighting your way through the evidence surrounding the chilling torso murders. As you make your way through the rest of the season, quickly losing track of time, you hear the sound of one of the doors opening. When Jungkook comes out, hair disheveled and his collarbone exposed, you damn near choke on air.

“Ah, you’re home?” His gruff, sleep-heavy voice catches you off guard, much deeper than you’ve ever heard him sound. As much as you hate to admit it, he sounds really hot.

“Couldn’t sleep. What are you doing up?” You ask, trying to avoiding looking at his smooth, exposed skin.

“Water. I’m dying.” Chuckling softly, you watch as he basically waddles into the kitchen. He must still be half asleep from the way he can’t seem to find a glass despite living here for an eternity. Finally stumbling upon the right cabinet, he takes one of the largest glass and fills it with water from the front of the fridge. You only blink once and the water is nearly gone.

“Damn, you were real thirsty.” Nodding his head, he fills it once more, basically chugging it before placing the empty glass in the sink.

“What’re you watching?” He asks, focusing his sights on the screen.

“Murder mysteries. This one is about a family who disappeared from their cabin. Apparently only the youngest daughter was found alive and she can’t remember anything, not even her own name. It’s crazy.” Trying to comprehend your words, he just stares into the void of the screen, looking as if he’s about to fall asleep standing up.

“Is Yoongi not home?” He realizes, checking the hallway in the direction of your rooms.

“Nah. I don’t know where he is.” Not that it would make a difference anyway. He’s just not home.

“Did you want to come sleep with me?” Before he even processes what he says, you stare at him wide-eyed. This was the most blatant flirting this kid has ever done.

“Wait I’m sorry, I retract that, too far, oh my god.” Rubbing his bare face with his hands, he walks in circles, trying to snatch his words out of existence. If only his offer didn’t sound so promising.

“Actually… can I? I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and I really need sleep. And Yoongi’s not home…” The last thing you want is to sound eager, especially since this is honestly the last thing you want to do, but it would be an understatement to say you’re desperate at this point.

“I-I guess, if you want.”

“Jungkook. You’re the one who offered, I don’t hav-”

“No-no it’s chill, it’s fine go for it.” He’s about five seconds from having an absolute mental breakdown.

“Okay…” Turning off the television, you follow him into his room. Just as you expected, his room is neat as always, everything in its place. At least Jungkook’s bed is in the center, meaning you didn’t have to worry about being crammed against a wall.

“I usually sleep on the left side,” Jungkook states uncomfortably, “but you can have that side if you want.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter, I can take the other side.” Everything about this exchange is more awkward than anything you have ever experienced. No wonder he’s just a recluse.

Turning off the lights, you both crawl into his bed. After a few moments of staring at the ceiling, neither of you willing to move, you both seem to read each other’s mind, turning away so that your backs are now facing each other. From underneath the blankets, you could feel a tremendous amount of body heat radiating from his side of the bed. It is a known fact in the house that Jungkook is quite the lover, a serial monogamist one might call him, and yet when it comes to being around you, he just can’t seem to get a hold of himself. And much to your dismay, you’re absolutely a nervous wreck right beside him. Everything about this screams uncomfortable, although his mattress is probably the nicest one you’ve ever lied on, but still! You feel like you’re roasting alive under the tension.

“Do you mind if I turn on a little music? It helps me sleep.” He asks quietly, shifting closer to the edge of the bed.

“Wouldn’t mind at all.” For a moment you feel him fumble about, probably reaching somewhere in the darkness for his phone. Seeing your shadows illuminate on the wall, you guess that he found exactly what he was looking for. All around the room, soft piano music begins to play, the dim lighting illuminating the small speakers in the corner of the room.

He is quite tech-savvy.

Locking his phone, you hear it hit the carpet of the floor. Despite having felt as stiff as a brick only moments ago, the sounds of the music quickly seems to alleviate your stress. You had never thought before to utilize music to help you sleep as Yoongi just seemed like a convenient option considering you used to have to sleep in one bed when you used to share the smallest studio in existence. Although it doesn’t have the exact same effect, it’s doing enough to at least get you to relax. At this point, that’s all you really need. After a couple minutes of just following the notes, allowing your mind to drift alongside the music, you find yourself falling quickly into dreamland, not another peep to be heard.

With a few weeks having passed, things slowly started to go back to normal. You had, in many ways, fixed your friendship with Jimin, him apologizing a million times over after subsequently finding out from Yoongi that he had, quote, “royally fucked up”. You knew from the beginning that you weren’t going to hold a grudge forever, especially knowing that after a certain point, your weakness for him would ultimately win everything else over. And not because you have feelings for him. Just because it’s Jimin.

As of recently, the general dynamics in the house have shifted dramatically, Jimin spending more time at home and Jungkook becoming more involved with everyone to the point of him actually making plans for everyone to go out together. After nearly a year, things were finally starting to fall into place, the family of friends you had dreamed of slowly beginning to manifest itself in front of your very eyes. If only feelings weren’t still an issue.

As part of your resolution, after having witnessed the aftermath first hand of what it actually felt like to live in the same house as your crush, you vowed to sever the feelings you originally thought you would never get over. Whether or not it has been successful is still up for debate, Yoongi being on the side of delusional rather than an actual breakthrough. But you expected nothing less from him considering he can’t grasp the concept of not being cynical.

You had arrived home not too long ago, the beloved Friday finally gracing your presence. Your plans for the weekend consisted of nothing and more of nothing, every part of your body aching to be in sweatpants for a full 48 hours. Whenever Valentine's Day is approaching, you always manage to secure your weekend with selfcare and selfcare only, even if it means watching a drama for hours on end and eating the largest box of rum nougats. Your favorite part being the rum, of course.

When you first walk through the door, you notice the typical arrangement against the wall: Jungkook’s keys alongside three empty spots. It’s like a ritual to come home like this on the weekdays, one that at least serves as some validation that the world is still in order. You can still remember the one day you had arrived home and saw that not even Jungkook’s keys were on the hook – a sight you hadn’t seen in the entirety of living in the house. You had even gone so far as to call Yoongi and Jimin, ready to put out an amber alert for your missing child to which Yoongi only responded: “He went to a conference for work, he’ll be gone all week will you calm down?” Ever since then you’ve made sure to rely on things other than Jungkook's keys to check the status of the universe. However, it hasn't been easy considering the ritual continued immediately after he had returned from his trip.

Heading straight to your room, you notice the door is left slightly open. Whenever you leave for work, you know for a fact that you close the door. Every time. Slowly opening it, you are surprised to see quite the assortment laid out on the bed, including a giant teddy bear, flowers and that very familiar box of chocolates.

Someone clearly ignored rule number two.

Rule 2: DO NOT go into each other’s personal spaces without permission. You will get caught.

Well it's not as if they were trying to hide it... this is almost too blatant.

Walking up to your bed, you immediately grab the card.

"My dearest Y/N,

For this Valentine's I have gifted you a buddy that will hopefully help you sleep along with some of your favorite flowers and the chocolate I know you love more than anything else.

I hope it's not too late to encroach on your plans for the weekend, but if you'd like, I have reservations to la Cour du Feu, a little restaurant on the water that I'm sure you'll come to love.

If this flops, pretend it never happened. Thanks.

with uncontrollable feelings, Jungkook"

Unable to hide your amusement, you toss the card onto the bedding alongside the tremendously large bear. Everything about this is sweet yet hilarious, a part of you wondering how you managed to get yourself into this situation. Even the bear seems a little over the top, but you can't deny that it's probably the cutest bear you've ever seen. If you squint, it actually looks around the same size as Yoongi, so maybe, just maybe, Jungkook might be onto something.

Despite your best efforts to control yourself, your first inclination is to open the suspecting box. Just as you predicted, the same assortment from before welcomes you, several more of each kind filling each of the little spots. You're true weakness, these stupid chocolates, fill you with so much joy that you almost forget to consider the proposition previously presented to you. Almost.

Rule 5: No relationships between roommates.

But is it really breaking the rule if it's just one date? Likely not. And besides, you would never end up with him anyway. Even though he's adorable and mildly attractive. Actually, very attractive. But who are you to refute facts?

Popping one of the nougats into your mouth, you quickly try to decide your course of action. As much as you'd love to go to a nice restaurant and be doted on for once in your life, and on Valentine's Day for that matter, you aren't sure if you're willing to start something you can't finish. Not even Yoongi is here to try and help you, acting as the voice of reason you never seem to have on your own. Jungkook knows you're home, the poor kid is probably waiting on his bed petrified, which means you have about a minute to decide.

What harm could it possibly do?

Probably a lot, actually. Pulling at your own hair, you realize that this can either go really well or really poorly. And even though you're a risk taker, are you willing to put the sanctity of this household at risk just because you want to be wined and dined?

Yes, yes you are.

Exiting your room, you head straight to Jungkook's. His door is closed and you can't hear anything coming from inside. He's not even bothering to play his games.

Knocking on the door, you hear the saddest "come in" in existence, his voice having audibly cracked in the middle of it.

"Hey," you say peeking through the door, "I came with my answer."

His eyes perk up at your words, the genuine anticipation in his eyes almost killing you.

"Yes, I'd love to go with you."

The sigh of relief that expels from his body makes you laugh, as he had very harshly thrown himself back on the bed.

"Thank god, I had put that there like two hours ago and I've been suffering ever since. Especially after you came home, I seriously considered just jumping out my window, I couldn't handle it." He pauses. "But I'm glad. I'm very very glad."

Sitting next to him on the bed, you wrap your arm around his shoulder.

"You did well, those were expertly picked gifts." His smile only makes your heart melt, every part of you wanting to pinch his cheeks and shower him with affection. But of course you would never do that. Never.

The rest of the night went by relatively smoothly, both Jimin and Yoongi returning home at their usual times. Jungkook had decided to put on a movie to watch in the living room, everyone seeming to have had the same sort of day at work. An unbearable and brutal one.

Both you and Jungkook agreed not to say anything to the others, knowing that this would inevitably put the rules into question. No, you weren't in a relationship, but it's not as though going on a date didn't inevitably turn into more dates. Which, you can conclude, would lead to a full blown relationship. Although, if you were to get caught, you would just claim you had asked Jungkook in desperation to finally be taken out on a date for Valentine's Day. That shit hasn't happened for years, and it just seemed like a perfect opportunity. At least that's what you would tell them. You already know Yoongi wouldn't buy it, but at the very least, it might work on Jimin. If he didn't get butthurt, that is.

Sitting next to Yoongi, you rest your head on his shoulder. Just like every other movie night, you use him as your personal body pillow. Every few seconds, you notice Jungkook glancing over in your direction, and although you'd like to think he was just checking on your well-being, you know the look on his face very well. It's the same look you would tend to give Jimin whenever he would bring another girl over. Speaking of which, you haven't seen in quite some time.

"Yo Jimin, what happened to that one pretty girl you were dating? The one with the short brunette hair that always smelled like roses." The fact that you saying those words induced a revelation followed by an 'ahhh' coming from Jungkook, you know that it wasn't just you who noticed her odd and sudden disappearance, at least without a replacement.

"We broke up. She didn't like the fact that I was living with another woman." Rolling your eyes, you add that to the list of stupid excuses you've heard from Jimin's lovers. This one, in particular, has been used quite a bit.

"As if that means anything. We have those rules for a reason. And besides, nothing will happen between us." The conviction in your voice came out more harsh than you had planned, and albeit stating a fact, you couldn't help but feel guilty. Especially after seeing the disappointment etched on his face.

"Right." Looking at Yoongi, you try to get some help, but when he only shrugs his shoulders, you realize you are completely on your own.

Everyone eventually gets back to the movie, Jungkook making another round of popcorn for the second half. Upon the movie’s ending, Yoongi is the first to get up, bidding farewell in the only way he knows how.

"Night assholes." The slamming of his door is one indication that he is in a mood and in no way willing to spend another moment near everyone. Which means you're probably going to sleep in your own room tonight.

"Y/N, can I talk to you?" Jimin asks, standing up to face you. For a moment, you feel panicked, not sure how to get out of it. He tone is deadpan and slightly harsh, meaning whatever he has to say likely isn't positive. At first you look to Jungkook, hoping he might be of some assistance, but before you can even ask, he is already heading to his room.

"Sure." When he grabs your arm, you realize the severity of the situation. He doesn't just want to talk, he wants to talk talk.

Pulling you into his room he shuts it behind him. Everything about this situation makes you feel weird and not in the 'oh this might lead to some really hot sex' kind of way.

"I like you." He states, matter-of-factly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I'm aware." As much as you'd love to sit here any longer, you're also not in any mood to play games with him. Not like this.

"So you know. And I know you like me. And I know we can't be in a relationship... but." He pauses, finally dropping his arms. "I don't know, this isn't going how I planned."

This fucking idiot.

"Not going as planned? How the hell did you think this was gonna go?" Sometimes it truly amazes you the kind of people you managed to live in the same house with.

"Not sure. Just not like this. Can we change the rules?" He asks, giving you his best, pleading smile. You can't help but scoff. He truly is on some other level.

"First of all, we're not changing any rule. Second of all, how dare you think you can trap me in your bedroom and expect me to somehow say yes to whatever weird proposition you're trying to make. Third of all, I do like you but I also know boundaries. This is a little extreme, Jimin." Nodding his head, he takes in your words, probably finding a way to get out of this situation.

"Okay. But can I at least tell you how I feel?"

"The floor is all yours." Shifting his weight between his feet, he pushes his bands out of his face. You already know you're in for quite the show.

"I know I have a really bad habit of saying this. But I mean it when I say it to you. That you are genuinely the most beautiful person I have ever met. And not just for looks. I mean of course, that but I mean otherwise too."

Oh boy.

"And even though I've been nothing but an asshole to you, and I have an awful tendency to bring girls over, I still believe it's true. Wow I sound pathetic. Okay," he pauses, licking his lips, "I know we can't date, but I think being around you has made me a better person."

Is he forreal?

"I don't want to mess around anymore. Hence why you haven't seen... her in a while."

"Do you even remember her name?" You interject, not buying a single word coming out of his mouth.

"I do, but that's not the point. As I was saying, I want to be better person even if it means we can't be in a relationship. At least not right now, I don't plan on living in this house forever."

Oh, he forreal, forreal.

"I just want you to know your feelings are reciprocated and had it not been for the rules, we probably would have spent an eternity together."

"Alright, this was fun, thank you for letting me know how you feel. I'm glad we got to have this talk, and yes, even though we can't date, it was lovely getting to understand your point of view. I'm glad you want to become a better person, and I hope you continue on that path." Sitting up from his bed, you try your best not to laugh. Whatever exchange that was, it really put the nail in the coffin regarding your diminished feelings. You had known a while ago that whatever feelings you had would inevitably lead you nowhere. Either that or to heartbreak. And seeing him now, you are relieved knowing that in the end, Yoongi was right. Jimin just isn't the one meant for you.

Closing the door behind you, not bothering to hear another word, you make your way into your own sanctuary. Except when you open the door, you are met with another set of eyes illuminated solely by the nightlight that resides underneath your desk.

"Jesus Christ Jungkook! I could have had a heart attack!" With your hand on your chest, you lean back against the door, hoping at least it will keep you upright.

"Sorry, I needed to ask you about details for this weekend and I didn't want to interrupt. I heard everything, that was. fucking. awful." He whispers, emphasizing his last words. Which, to be fair, isn't wrong. It was truly one of the most awful conversations you'd ever had with Jimin.

"I mean yeah you're right, it was awful. I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that deep in their soul. But what did you want to talk about?" You ask, sitting on the bed next to him. The last thing you want to do is talk more about what had transpired in the other room. You’re definitely taking that to your grave.

"Right, so it's a nice restaurant and everything and it's probably expected that we dress formally right, and honestly, I have no idea what your closet looks like and considering the reservation is for tomorrow, I wasn't sure you'd be prepared soooo..." He pauses, reaching to the side of the bed, "I bought you something."

"Jungkook! No!" Although he is right, you don't really have anything expensive to wear per se, but you never considered the idea that he would actually buy you something.

"I had it earlier, but I figured it didn't make sense to give it you if you weren't going to say yes." Handing it over, he rushes to turn on the light. In your lap is a large blue box etched with gold writing. It looks extremely expensive.

Opening the top, your first instinct is to cover your mouth. Inside the tissue, there lies a beautiful, sapphire dress, adorned with small beading along the bust line. It has spaghetti straps, not particularly your favorite, but at this point who are you to complain.

"Jungkook, this is gorgeous. How in the hell did you afford this?" You question is only answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You deserve it. Try it on." Standing up he wanders into your bathroom, closing the door.

"I'll wait in here! I just want to know that it fits, I kinda had to guess." If there's one thing he's good at, it's being cute, and for some reason, you just can't seem to get enough.

Taking off your clothes and putting on the dress, you're surprised when you look in the mirror to see that actually... it fits perfectly. Twirling around a few times, you watch as the train dances with you, the embroidery along the bust sparkling against your bedroom lights. The dress is velvet, extremely soft against your skin, and for once in your life, you actually feel glamorous. If only your hair and face matched, you might have just asked yourself out.

"You done?" He questions through the door. Even though he's the one who bought it for you, you're a little nervous for him to see you in it. When it comes to your body, you've never been the most confident, but considering how stunning you look even in your own humble opinion, you only predict that he might find it lovely as well.

"Yeah I'm ready." When the door opens slowly, you notice he has his hand over his eyes, the other being used to navigate his way around.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I want to be really surprised, that's all. I already know you look great, but it’s more fun this way." You can't help but scoff at his remark, his smooth words soothing the anxiety pooling in your chest.

"You can open them now." You coax, hoping that by doing so you can get this entire thing over with.

Removing his hand, he looks up at you, only for his smile to disappear entirely. For a moment you begin to panic, the fact that he hasn't said a word only stressing you out.

"Jungkook? What do you think?" When he doesn't respond, you're seconds away from calling everything off. You feel embarrassed and slightly humiliated.

"I-... sorry I just don't have words? To express how beautiful you look? Wait I don't mean to phrase that as a question, but really, you look stunning. More than that. Shit, Sofi what's a better word for stunning."

"OK, I found this on the web for 'what's a better word for stunning':"

"Dammit, Sofi, you're useless." Tossing his phone behind him, he can only stare at you. Glancing between your back and your image in the mirror, he can't seem to tear his eyes away.

"Definitely wear that tomorrow. It's perfect. I have a matching tie, we'll be the best dressed there guaranteed." He says, his vibrant smile returning to his features.

Turning around, you immediately run to give him a hug. Everything about this Valentine's Day seems to be falling into place.

"Thank you..." Hugging you back, he instinctively pulls you into his lap. Neither of you say anything, instead relishing in each other's presence. For a while you stay just like that, at least until you get a glimpse of the clock.

"Holy shit, it's 1? Where did the time go, wasn't it just 9?"

"I don't know what planet you're living on," he responds, "but it was nine ages ago." Rolling your eyes, you remove yourself from his lap. Despite the excitement still coursing through your veins, you know that in order to be a functioning human, you need to get your sleep. And besides, you have a lot of preparation to do for the evening. Especially on those legs of yours.

"Alright, I'll see you in the morning, yeah?" You hope he catches the hint.

"Oh, yeah. Sounds good." Wiping his hands on his sweats, he gets up from the bed. However, before leaving, he can't help but take one last glance at you. The glint in his eyes is almost bewitching, the way pure joy radiates from his expression being too much for your weak heart. After sending him off with a smile, he carefully exits your room, finally leaving you to your own devices. It would be an understatement to say you are excited for tomorrow, but more than anything, you're exhausted. After changing into sleep attire, all it takes is for head to hit the pillow before you whisked to sleep, the teddy bear clutched within your grasp.

Getting ready for the dinner was an adventure in itself, coordinating ways to sneak out of the house so that neither Yoongi nor Jimin were suspicious of your activities. But from the way you had spent nearly seven hours in your room, pampering to the nines with a bubble bath and face mask treatment included, Yoongi was already suspicious of you. However, convincing him that it was something you desperately needed didn’t take much effort, a fact to which he quickly agreed.

“Are you excited?” Jungkook asks, holding your hand across the center console.

“A little nervous, honestly. What if people stare at me?”

“And what if they do? It’s because you’re gorgeous, trust me. You haven’t a thing to worry about.” Despite feeling hesitant, you know to trust his words. No matter what happens, he will take care of you, a promise he had made right before you had left.

The drive to the restaurant is relatively short, making it to the lake taking only twenty minutes. Much to your surprise, Jungkook manages to find the right place with little help of his phone, relying solely on his memory to take the right turns. When the valet comes to open the door, you can’t help but feel like royalty. Even the staff, greeting patrons with warm towels outside the door, are dressed exquisitely well.

With Jungkook finally at your side, he intertwines his fingers with yours. The excitement on his face becomes contagious, no longer able to hide your smile. Everything is starting to come together – the attire, the scenery, the date. If only you could relax a little more, you might be able to make it through the main doors without inevitably passing out. Taking a deep breath, you finally ascend the set of stairs, accepting the hot towel without so much as a problem. Walking into the restaurant is like walking into a castle, everything adorned with gold, various paintings hanging on the wall. He wasn’t kidding when he said the restaurant screamed expensive. You’re certain you can’t afford to even look the place.

“Reservation under Jeon Jungkook.” Squeezing his hand, you try to calm the rapid beating of your heart. Every part of you feels like it’s about to explode, the realization that this isn’t just a dream. This is real life.

“Right this way.” As the host leads you down the hallway and into the large dining area, you quickly find yourself lost in a maze. Unlike the outside, the inside is massive, several dining rooms contained within this one building. Each room had its own theme, set with its own wallpaper and various works of art. Upon traveling into the room with navy, one that seemed to complement your dress nicely, you find yourself starting to get sick with anticipation. You just want to sit down.

Finally making it to your table, the menus set in front of you, you feel as though you can finally breathe. Even Jungkook notices the way you relax once the host disappears from sight.

“You gonna be okay?” He asks, raising a brow. Nodding your head, you can’t seem to find your voice. All day you’ve been focused on the food, and now that you’re finally here, you can’t wait to dig in. Opening the menu, everything is as you expected. No prices.

“Get whatever you want. Everything is on me tonight.”

Dinner had gone smoothly, everything coming out perfect. Both you and Jungkook decided to get separate dishes, sharing as much as possible to get the full experience. Even having glasses of wine, him only one and you, well, quite a few, only added to the ambiance of it all. It was the nicest place you’d ever stepped foot in and probably forever will be. And now you have a beautiful and expensive dress to add to the collection of clothes you will never be able to wear again.

“I’m so tired, that was so good. Let’s go back there again.” Hitting his arm in disbelief, you wonder how he could even suggest blowing that kind of money again.

“As much as I loved it, please don’t ever spend money like that again. I will literally cook whatever you want.” Taking the thought into consideration, he looks between you and the road.

“Sounds promising. But not the same.” The shit-eating grin on his face is only one small indication of his slightly sadistic behavior, loving to watch money fly out of his bank account somehow becoming his favorite thing. You will never understand him, not that you ever think you could, but you still can’t help but appreciate the sincerity behind his actions.

The drive home is quiet, basking in the sights of the night sky and the moon. Both of you are exhausted, despite not having done much at all, the thought of just lying in bed more enticing than anything else.

Parking in the driveway, you try to close the door as quietly as possible. More than likely, the other two are awake, and the last thing you need is to be berated with questions. Once inside, Jungkook gracefully returning his keys to the proper spot, he grabs your wrist and leads you in the direction of his bedroom. Neither Jimin nor Yoongi seem to be around, making your transition back into normal life that much easier.

With you both inside, he quietly closes and locks the door. Taking a glance at each other, you can only smile, the day being far more eventful than you could have imagined. Removing your heels and your jewelry, you set everything aside in the corner of the room, immediately plopping onto the bed. Just like before, your body melts into the mattress, only this time, you don’t feel as awkward.

“Tired already?” Climbing onto the bed beside you, he begins massaging your back, his tender hands doing wonders on your muscles.

“That feels so good… please don’t stop…” Just the simple act of his hands on your back is enough to lull you to sleep.

“Com’ere.” Just when you thought you were going to be able to rest, Jungkook moves away from you toward the head of the bed. You were really banking on a full blown massage, but you suppose that might have been too much to ask for considering all he’s done for you in the first place.

Lifting yourself up, crawl toward him on the bed, hating the way your body aches in response to the movement.

“Lie down and close your eyes.” As if he had to tell you twice.

Placing a pillow over your face, you wait patiently as he gets up and moves around the room. From different areas you hear him rummaging through various bags, the sound of clicking quickly followed by strings of profanities.

“So romantic.” You comment, laughing at his odd behavior.

“One moment, I promise I’m almost done.”

Counting backwards in your head, you try to keep yourself preoccupied, hoping you don’t fall asleep before he even gets the chance to reveal the surprise. That would be something that would only happen to you of all people.

“Okay aaaand, done!”

Tossing the pillow aside, you sit up and open your eyes only to be met with an array of candles surrounding the room. Beside you on the bed, there are various rose petals, a combination of red, pink and white.

Everything is straight out of a movie, picturesque in the way it’s simple, yet romantic.

“Jungkook… why are you so good to me?” You’ve never experienced such genuine acts of kindness in your life, never once having been courted nearly as much as you have been with him. The fact that he’s gone to such an extent for someone he’s not even in a relationship with is still baffling. The idea that you are on the receiving end of it even more so.

“I… I like you. I like you a lot and I think you deserve the world. And even though I can’t give that to you, I hope this in some way shows my appreciation.” Just listening to his words is enough to nearly bring you to tears, the exhaustion mixed with his adorable nature only adding fuel to the fire. You are so soft, especially for him, that you aren’t sure how you are going to move forward from this. He won over your heart, in its entirety. How were you possibly going to explain that?

“I want to show you… how much I care for you. May I?” Never before have you been asked such a question, but considering it’s Jungkook, this is something you wouldn’t put past him. He is the sweetest person to ever exist, and yet you are only just discovering the fact.

“Yes… please.” With a gentle smile, he joins you on the bed, holding you as close to him as possible. As he gently strokes your hair, you can only admire his features in the dim lighting, appreciative of the fact that he is here with you.

Leaning back onto the pillow, he pulls you forward, staring directly into your eyes. Everything about this feels surreal, from the lighting of the candles, to the rose petals strewn across the bed. To you, the entire night has been nothing but perfect.

“Are you ready?” He asks gently, rubbing his thumb over your cheek. Despite the nerves starting to get to you, you nod in response. You are so nervous, it seems, that you didn’t even notice your death grip on the comfort.

Running his fingers along your arm, he tries to reassure you. “It’s okay, don’t be nervous. I promise I’ll make you feel good.” Leaning forward, he captures your lips in his, moving slowly to adjust to your taste. At first, you can’t help but feel stiff, it having been far too long since you’ve opened yourself up enough to kiss someone. But as he guides you through the process, carefully rubbing your back, you find yourself relaxing into him. But when you feel your breasts against his chest, you quickly pull away, the feeling having become entirely foreign.

“Ah sorry, I just forgot how that feels…” Closing your eyes in embarrassment, you mentally scold yourself for coming off like an idiot. At this point in your life, you think you would be able to get your nipples touched without creating a scene.

“It’s okay. Let me help.” Taking the spaghetti straps of the dress, he slides them down your shoulders, exposing the hardened buds. Very gently, he uses his fingers to graze them, allowing you to readjust to the new sensation. You had really considered the idea that it hadn’t been that long since you last had any sexual interactions, but based on the way your body seems to be reacting to Jungkook, you are convinced that it has been far longer than you had thought.

For a while he continues his ministrations, pleasure starting to take over your senses as you lean into his touch. Never before have your nipples been this sensitive.

When he suddenly stops, a whine immediately falls from your lips. You had been enjoying yourself so much that you nearly forgot this was just the beginning. Placing his hands on your cheeks, he pulls you into him to continue where he left off. This time around, you find your rhythm almost immediately, molding your lips with his. Unlike others you have kissed, his lips are extremely soft, making his kisses much more delicate. He feels like heaven against your own. As everything progresses, he moves his hands so that one is on your thigh, the other on the small of your back. Grabbing at the fabric of the dress, he tries to pull you closer, never once breaking contact. However, with it having been so long, your ability to hold your breath no longer serves you, and not soon after, you have to break away for air.

“We should probably get this off you… it wasn’t cheap ya know.” He gently suggests with a smile, grabbing the train of the dress and slowly lifting it up and over your head. Normally, you would have done it yourself, but considering he takes so much pride in his gift, you allow him do as he wishes.

Gently setting it aside, making sure it is out of the way, he returns his attention to you. Only this time his attention has faltered slightly, choosing instead to focus on unchartered territory.

“White lace? How fitting for an angel.” As much as you would have liked to scold him for his choice of words, you know you had set yourself up for that one.

“Hush…” You can’t help but shy away from him, everything he does only turning you into sappy mush.

Just as he’s about to lean in for another kiss, you instinctively go to take off his shirt. Unfortunately for him, and you suppose you as well, you miscalculate the distance, ultimately head butting him in the face. In horror, you cradle his cheeks to check the damage, but when he only has a small smile on his face, you are left both concerned and confused.

“I’m so sorry, I’m such a mess, are you okay?” Taking your hand, he kisses along your knuckles, making sure not to break eye contact with you.

“Yes I’m fine, don’t worry,” He reassures, placing your hand at the bottom of his dress shirt, “come take it off.” His seductive tone only melts you to your core, every reservation you had now being pushed aside for what you can finally say is a willingness to let him take control.

Doing as you were told, you unbutton it one by one, taking extreme care as to not fuck up anything else. You were already nervous, but now you are entirely on edge to the point where you can’t even stop your hands from shaking. Pretending not to notice, he allows you to continue at your own pace, so entranced by the concentrated look on your face that he doesn’t even realize you had finished the last one.

Leaning forward, he allows you to remove the rest. You try your best to be gentle, but the excitement mixed with fear is doing nothing to help you. Everything you touch feels expensive, him included, and the last thing you want is to ruin the clothing he has worked so hard to afford. And just when you thought things couldn’t get better, you are met with the image of toned muscles, the faint lining of his six-pack barely visible in the dim lighting. This entire time, underneath his clothes, he’s been hiding this kind of body. Considering you’ve never seen him work out, you figure he might just be naturally gifted, either that or he just does it in the privacy of his own room.

With the shirt finally out of the way, he pulls you closer until you are nearly lying on top of him.

“You’re so beautiful, you know that?” He questions, squeezing you tightly.

“So I’ve been told.” Your abilities to respond to compliments have always been questionable, and even amidst sex, you can’t seem to pull your act together. Luckily for you, he finds your sense of humor adorable. Or at the very least, entertaining.

Returning his attention to your body, he takes one of your nipples into his mouth. The moans that escape the borders of your lips are suddenly cut short, his hand being gently placed over your mouth.

“The rules, remember?” Despite having warned you, he continues to attack your breast with little to no mercy, removing his hand to give some attention to the other nipple. Caught between pleasure and fear, you try to withhold the sounds from escaping. Just as you suspected, it’s much harder when the person you’re with knows what they’re doing. And Jungkook seems to know this game very well.

Removing himself with a muffled pop, he gently flips you over until you are lying down on your back.

“Let me pleasure you.” He says, leaving one final kiss upon your lips.

Nodding your head, you allow him to do as he pleases, watching as he leaves a trail of kisses down the length of your torso. Upon reaching your lower half, you can’t help but squirm slightly, the anticipation already killing you before he even begins.

Placing kisses along the waistband of your panties, you can already feel the arousal starting to stick to them. He hasn’t much of anything and yet he has you wrapped around his finger. Pulling them down gently, he exposes your womanhood, licking a strip from your entrance to your clit. Despite trying to mentally prepare yourself, you find yourself unable to control the groan that escapes past your clenched teeth. Using your hand to cover your own mouth, you squirm underneath his touch as he places two fingers against your clit. Your underwear, having been ditched at your ankles, becomes long forgotten the moment he begins his fingers in circles. Moving agonizingly slow, he watches in fascination as you try to keep yourself together, bucking your hips every now and then to chase the stimulation.

Switching out his fingers, he returns his mouth to your bud, nothing but cat licks coaxing you to the edge. Having his mouth on you is driving you insane, more pleasurable than you ever could have imagined. The way he sucks on you, using his fingers to tease your entrance is enough to nearly put you out of commission. Clearly you had forgotten just how good sex can really be. Or maybe it’s just him.

Removing himself from your core, he returns to the head of the bed. Unable to control your desires, you place your hands on his cheeks, pulling him toward you and against your lips. The taste of your own arousal turns you on more, the thoughts of what else is to come only fueling your impatience.

Reaching between you, you aim for his belt, the angle suddenly making it awkward to pull it through the loops.

“Having a rough time there?” His mocking nature only eggs you on more, the determination to remove his pants that much stronger.

Using both hands, you manage to finally get the belt undone, next unzipping with so much vigor that for a moment, you genuinely thought you broke it. Doing you a favor, he finishes the job, removing his underwear along with them, only to be tossed to the side.

With his erection finally free from the constraints, you get the chance to admire him up close. Everything about him is perfect, no surprise that he is also well endowed.

“Like what you see?” He asks, leaving a trail of kisses along your jawline.

“Of course.” It would have been a lie to say otherwise, not that you would ever need to fabricate the truth.

Readjusting himself above you, he lines his erection with your entrance. Holding your breath, you remain still while he slides himself in, the stretching of your walls being something you haven’t felt in quite some time.

“Still doing okay? Does it hurt?” Shaking your head, your try to get him to continue. The slower he is, the longer it will take to fully adjust, and considering how badly you wish for him to make love to you, you’re surprised you’ve managed to hold out for this long.

Finally finding his pace, he continues to leave his mark along your neck. You try your best to bite your tongue, knowing full well what will happen if you manage to get caught. But as he increases his pace, holding it in might much more difficult.

“Moan in my ear,” he whispers against your jaw, “don’t hold it in. Let me hear you.” Just when you thought you were going to make it out alive, his words only coax out every moan from within you. Not soon after, his thrusts become quicker and more sloppy, the sound of skin against skin reverberating off the walls of his room. Digging your nails into his back, you try to chase your high, the biting against your neck doing nothing to aid in desire to keep quiet. When his thrusts become hard, bucking his hips into you, his name becomes a mantra on your lips, your vocalizations only becoming louder with every subsequent thrust. You are so close to your orgasm, the stars behind your eyelids only a small indication. The coil in your stomach finally snaps, a wave of euphoria washing over your entire body.

Feeling you come around him, he only lasts a few more before quickly pulling out, spilling his seed onto your stomach and your chest.

“Fuck.” Catching his breath, he sits up, wiping the film of sweat from his forehead. Neither of you are able to move, the physical expense of your activities finally taking their toll.

As much as you would have liked to admire his sweaty body all day, the cold beginning to set on your abdomen is only becoming more uncomfortable.

“Can I get a tissue or something?” Crashing back into reality, he hops from the bed, opening one of his dresser drawers. Pulling out a small towel, he returns to your side, taking it upon himself to clean the mess.

“So does this mean we’re dating now?” He asks, trying to keep a straight face.

“We can’t it’s against the rules.”

“I’m pretty sure you outed us with your moans. Might as well go all out you know?” As much as you hate to admit it, he has a point. You know exactly what kind of treat you’ll be in for tomorrow, disapproving looks to be received from both your other housemates.

You’d already managed to break two of the five rules, would it really hurt to break another?

[kreativewritersnet]

KWN’s First Fic Fest

KreativeWritersNet is a community of writers for the K-Ent industry. This fanfiction festival has a theme of true love. All K-Writers are welcome to participate in the event.

The stories may revolve around the concept of soulmates, love at first sight, soul-finding, intuition and more. 

Notice: More information will be added later to this post.

KWN 2018 FIc Fest Schedule

January 1st, 2018 - Prompting Starts

January 21st, 2018 - Prompting Ends

January 25th, 2018 - Prompts Released

January 28th, 2018 - Claiming Starts

February 28th, 2018 - Claiming Ends

June 12th, 2018 - First Check-in (500 words)

November 14th, 2018 - Second Check-in (1,000 words)

December 31st, 2018 - Deadline for Submission

[To be announced] - First Day of Posting

[To be announced] Last Day of Posting

[To be announced] - Guess Who

[To be announced] - Reveals

What is a Fic Fest?

In a fest, the admins collect prompts, sort them, then provide the list to participants. A prompt may be claimed only a limited amount of times (usually only two writers can claim it). The fest, basically,  someone submits prompts, then writers will claim a prompt and write a story based on it.

General Rules

This is only for the K-Ent community. Only prompts concerning the K-Ent artists will be accepted. We will not accept gender-bending, rape/non-con elements, extreme gore, underage, or romanticizing mental illnesses.

We accept all ratings from General - Explicit.

You can submit prompts and write stories with light themes, as well as some heavy themes. The main goal of the fest is to express true love. Although we are open to explicit themes, the admins reserve and will exercise the right to review and remove a submission or content that do not treat sensitive topics with care and discretion.

You can submit an unlimited amount of prompts even if you don’t intend to claim any of them.

The claiming of the prompts will be first-come, first-served. With a few exceptions, you can only choose a prompt that hasn’t been already claimed.

You can claim more than one prompt, but you must submit your first story before claiming another.

The minimum word count for your fanfiction is 500 words.

We will not accept stories which have been already posted publically before this event.

If you can’t submit your story on time, let us know and we will give you an extension

If you can’t finish your story and decide to drop out, please tell us immediately. If you chose a prompt from our list, the prompt would be available again for claiming.

You can tell everyone that you’re participating in the fest, but do not tell which prompt you submitted. You’re supposed to stay anonymous throughout the entire event.

Plagiarism is a serious offense and won’t be tolerated. If you’re caught, you will be banned from the event and the network.

Inspiration for the event (1|2)

Definition of Terms

Prompt - a summary of a story that you want an author to create

Prompting - the submission of prompts, done anonymously through a form

Claiming - an author fills out a form with their desired prompt, then the admins will send an email as confirmation

Check-in - writers will send, through email, a draft of what they have so far. The drafts will not be released to the public

Guess who - everyone will have the chance to figure out who amongst the list of authors who created the story

Reveals - the time when the prompters and authors are made known

If you have any concerns, send fanmail the network, contact us on twitter, ask.fm, or send an email. 

[prettyboy-jimin]

Bedful

Pairing: Park Jimin x Reader

Genre: Cheesy Fluff

Summary: Lazy mornings with Jimin

Note: This was supposed to be for Jimin’s birthday but my old phone where I wrote it on broke :-(

The soft, cool fabric of your pillow cushions your cheek as if you were lying on cloud nine. The white blankets to match the onset tucked beneath your chin as you revel in the warmth your body reverberated under the covers but also in the coolness that tries to seep in.

Unconsciously, you reach a hand out to stretch, but also to find someone. The gentle october chill making the hairs on your arm stand slightly but your mission is not left incomplete when you find who you were reaching blindly for.

Your hand finds refuge on the swell of muscle where his shoulder curves out to his bicep; pulling yourself towards him as he chuckles lowly, the sound laced intricately with sleep.

You open your eyes, met with his tan skin and light brown eyes framed by his artificial gold tufts. Leaning forward, you plant a soft kiss on the tip of his nose before whispering a gentle ‘good morning’ to him. He smiles at you lovingly, the stretch of muscle seeming tired but genuinely grateful all the same before he leans towards you in turn to kiss your lips in a chaste press.

“Morning breath, Jimin” you scold playfully, using the same hand you held out to find him to hold him back from kissing you any further. You stick your tongue out at him as he teases you about how that shouldn’t matter by now, and move to make your way out of the sheets and into the bathroom. But before you could flip the comforter off of you, a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around your waist and bring you backwards to hold you against a warm, taut chest. “Jimin!”

“Stay with me” he mumbles sleepily, nuzzling his face into the side of your neck. “Please”

It’s rare that you get to spend lazy mornings with Jimin like this, considering how he’s always so busy as are you; and whenever the opportunity arrises, neither of you notice before it’s too late. So, really, it’s way too hard to deny him something as simple yet as meaningful as a few more minutes― hours, rather, in bed together.

So you relax into his hold, telling him that he can loosen his grip a little because you won’t run away to brush your teeth like you originally planned. Once he does, having his hands rest on you, you turn to face him and rest your forehead against his as you heave a contented sigh through your nose.

You lean into him, giving him the go signal to hold you against him; the giant shirt you sported not being able to shield you from Jimin’s body heat. But that’s okay, it was a nice contrast from the temperature that awaited above the blankets.

“Hey” he mumbled, voice rough and gravelly with his eyes closed and chin perched on the crown of your head.

“Yes, Jiminah?”

He groans slightly, a signifier of his state of minor fatigue rather than a reaction to how his name sounds when you say it with a sleepy voice.

“I never wanna be anywhere else” he says slowly

“Not even in the kitchen?”

“Nope.”

“We’ll starve.”

“I can get it up fast, don’t worry”

With that you smack him in the chest, making him retreat slightly as you both giggle and laugh like little kids.

“Really though” he starts again once you’ve both calmed down enough as resettled into each other’s embrace. “I love lying here with you”

“Same” you smile, pressing your cheek against his collarbone and inhaling the subtle mist of his aftershave from last night

Mornings like these were rare, and neither of you ever want to waste them. Breakfast can wait until lunch, social lives were non-existent until after noon anyway and the groceries would be delivered around late afternoon so really, there was nothing that even tried to tear you out of Jimin’s hold. It was that good of a start to a new day.

[feralbangtan]

Through the Fire and the Flames (M)

Member: Jeon Jungkook (BTS) Genre: Angst/Fluff/Smut Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, suicide mentions, character deaths, graphic violence, self-deprecation AU: Hybrid/Royalty/Fantasy Word count: 15.1k Playlist: Hail to the King - Through the Fire and the Flames - Blood Sweat and Tears - Fadeless Tagging: @cyquerslut @icedrice @itskimtaehyung @kimvitae @heolseoks @namgerine @jiminyoongs @dianas-world @bangtanhoseok @domesticphil

Being invited to the king’s castle was always frightening, because every time someone goes in, they don’t come out the same, or at all, considering that he was an awful man Y/N and Hobi had been invited, they had no idea why, and were honestly afraid of what they were going to have to do for him since they were in one of the lowest levels of the kingdom hierarchy, being trainers and caregivers of the hybrids, with all of the hybrids at the bottom of said hierarchy. When the two arrived, they were greeted by the king’s brother, who seemed to be confused as to why they were at the castle doors.

“Excuse me, I don't mean to seem rude, but what exactly are you two doing here?” He asked kindly. 

“King Seokjin invited us to talk about a deal, something about hybrids.” Y/N answered. “I see, you two can follow me to get his attention, since he tends to be 'busy’ all the time.” He said, letting the two inside. The three of them walked through the well decorated stone hallways and up two of many spiral staircases to get up to Jin’s room. There seemed to be something going on in there, considering that there were high pitched moans, and the sound of the wooden headboard banging against the wall coming from inside the king's room. His brother sighed and knocked on the door to get the king’s attention from whatever was going on inside the room. He waited a moment before he let out a groan and opened the door to find king Seokjin thrusting his hips into what seemed to be one of his servants, the three stood there in shock as the moans of the boy sang out louder now that the door had been opened. Seokjin’s brother cleared his throat loudly to get his attention and crossed his arms as he looked up at his brother. “Namjoon, I told you to knock first!” Seokjin exclaimed, quickly pulling out of the man below him. “I did knock. Get dressed, as you can see, you have people here that need to talk to you.” Namjoon said. Seokjin clicked his tongue and sighed before telling his servant, whose name was Jimin to clean up and get dressed so he could bring them all tea for them to drink during their discussion. Seokjin got dressed quickly and lead Y/N and Hobi down to the throne room where they could discuss their deal. Jin sat down on his rose gold and emerald embellished throne before crossing his legs and looking at the two in front of him. “Starting off, I wish to apologize for how you two had to first see me, I'm sorry for my indecency.” King Seokjin said, the two nodded at him. “Now we can get to our business. Recently our dragon hybrid Jiyong that had been looking after the castle and protecting it has died from unknown causes, so we need a new one, and I'm turning to you two to find me a new one and train it.” “I'm sorry your highness, but I don't think I can do that. All hybrids are human too despite what you say, I don't think it's right to keep them as pets or protectors for your own benefit, they're not objects, they have feelings and problems too.” Y/N said, with a sigh. “You don't get it sweetheart, I'm not giving you an option, you get me a dragon hybrid, train it, and bring it here, or else.” He said.

“Or else what?” Hobi asked. “I’ll have you both beheaded and you don't get your 10,000 Orbs for doing it.” Seokjin said with a smirk. “Whoa, 10,000 Orbs?” Y/N asked. “Not enough for you, why don't I make it 5,000 Orbs?” Seokjin threatened. “Oh no, 10,000 is fine, I was just shocked at how much you'd give us.” Y/N said. “Good, then it's settled, you bring me my dragon hybrid and you get paid and don't die like all the other low-class swine like you two do.” Seokjin said with a sly smile on his face.

 The two trainers could only roll their eyes at the king’s notation of hierarchy being a factor of whether they get to live or survive seemed ridiculous to the both of them. It didn’t matter though, they had a job to do and the two would set off on their journey to find the dragon hybrid that only a king would dream of having. Their venture started out slow, searching where they would normally find dragon hybrids, in the valleys and the their caves where some of them normally would be, but it was no luck, none of them would agree to the crazy idea of becoming the king's personal hybrid, which in their opens was very reasonable, they both knew that if they were hybrids that they wouldn't agree either, but they'd have to keep trying to find one since they really didn't want their heads on a silver platter for Seokjin. By nightfall they had hit a small village that seemed friendly enough to walk through this late, but it just made it a lot harder to find a place to stay for the night, especially considering that the only place around that was open was a small tavern that was so lit up that it almost made it seem like the main center had sunlight despite the moon being out and glowing brightly above them. Y/N and Hobi walked into the tavern, hoping that they would be allowed to sleep there for the night, or if someone would know where they could stay. The two were greeted by a young man who had glowing wings sprouting out of his back and bright smile on his face while he walked over to the two of them standing at the entrance. 

"Hello, I'm Taehyung, I'm one of the servers here, can I help you?" He asked excitedly. "Oh um, we're from the next village over and we were wondering if you knew where we could stay just for tonight." Y/N replied quickly. "There's a shack a little bit down the road, the man there will probably let you stay there for the night, well if he's not sleeping right now anyway." "Um thank you, goodnight!" Hobi said. "Goodnight Y/N and Hobi!" Taehyung exclaimed.

They didn't bother to ask why Taehyung knew their names, but they continued out the door and down the road, trying to find the place Taehyung had pointed out to them moments ago. It took about five minutes for them to reach what seemed to be the shack that had been mentioned, so in turn Hobi went up to the door and harshly knocked on the door and waited for whoever lived there to open up. From inside, there was a tired groan and feet stomping towards the door. When it opened there was a short man, rubbing his left eye and trying to figure out who would be knocking on his door at this hour. When he finally looked up he just sighed. "Taehyung sent you, here didn't he?" The man asked with a yawn. "Yeah, he did, I'm assuming he's done that before." Hobi said. "More than once. Come in, get comfy." He said, sighing at the mention of Taehyung sending the two of them to him. "Well thank you, we'll be out of your hair by morning, I swear." Y/N said as the small man lead them inside. "Well I'm glad to hear that, but what are you two doing going through this town this late at night?" He asked.

"We're looking through the villages trying to find a dragon hybrid." Hobi said as he plopped himself on the man's love seat. "...Oh." The man said. "It's not for what you think." Y/N said in a panicky tone. "So, you're not trying to own one, if that's so, you are trainers and you're doing a job for someone, most likely the king since that ass hat has a thing for using those as his protectors for that god awful castle of his." The man said. "Well, you got all of that right, but would you know where a dragon hybrid would be?" Hobi asked. "...No..." The man said hesitantly. "Liar." Y/N pointed out. "Damn." The man cursed under his breath. "Listen here, whatever your name is, I'm Y/N and this is Hobi. Yes, we're under king's order to find him a new hybrid, but we don't want to, if our lives weren't on the line to find him one, I'd be back at home, sipping my tea and waiting for hybrids to come on their own accord to get training, I don't do train owned hybrids because I know how their owners treat them and I don't want to see the aftermaths of what had been done to them." Y/N said intensely. "Okay, Y/N, I'm Yoongi, I do know where a dragon hybrid is, but he's sleeping right now, I can take you to him in the morning, but he might be a bit stubborn, especially since he's afraid of humans." Yoongi said, completely understanding why they have to do this. "That's fine, but thank you, and we're sorry for waking you." Hobi said. Yoongi just waved them off and let them get comfy in his living room. Hobi had ended up taking up the entire couch so Y/N ended up on the floor, curled into a ball and trying to keep warm on the porous wooden floor. At sunrise Yoongi woke up both Y/N and Hobi up, a staff in his hand ready to show them where they would find the dragon hybrid.  He led the two of them outside and a bit further down the road and into the forest. They followed a side path that lead to what seemed like an open space, at least until Yoongi said some sort of incantation and with a glow from Yoongi's staff, a cave appeared before them. Yoongi made his staff glow bright with white light and Y/N and Hobi followed Yoongi inside. They walked deep into the cave, until Yoongi held the two of them back and walked forward a bit more and leaned down and whispered something to someone on the floor. Yoongi walked back over to them and to where the person he whispered to was. Sitting up slowly and rubbing his doe eyes as he woke from his slumber. The boy had dark hair with vibrant red streaks throughout his bangs, it gave Y/N a hint as to what his scale colors might be while in his dragon form. Hobi stood back a bit when he saw the boy, but thought nothing of it as she went to crouch to the boy's level to talk to him. "Hi, I'm sorry we had to wake you up, but we need to talk to you, is that okay sweetheart?" Y/N asked kindly. The boy could only nod at her. She offered to help him up as Hobi walked up behind her the boy's eyes got wide and a loud growl emitted from him. "Yoongi, Hobi, run!" Y/N yelled as a bright flash of light came from the boy in front of her. She got out of the way quickly seeing as that if she didn't she would be crushed by the boy's dragon form. She got a good look at the transformed boy, a completely black dragon with red scales running from his head to his tail and his eyes glowing two different colors, a bright yellow and a deep crimson, she was amazed, but also afraid because he looked like he was ready to attack. Hobi didn't move very far or quickly and the boy went to attack him, fire from his breath rushing from his mouth aimed directly at Hobi.

Hobi rushed to the entrance of the cave and Yoongi ran to the boy, slipping leather gloves on to his hands as he ran, and carefully touching the boy’s belly, slowly rubbing and whispering that he'd be okay. A few minutes went by and the boy slowly transformed back into his human form and sobs could be heard from the boy, it was heartbreaking. It took a few minutes for Yoongi to calm him down and have him ready to talk to Y/N and only Y/N, mainly because Hobi had ran off into the forest somewhere and couldn't be found. "I'm going to leave you here with him. His name is Jungkook, he's still a bit scared, but he said that he'll talk to you since you look nice and look like you won't hurt him." Yoongi said as he went to leave. Y/N took a deep breath and walked over to the boy and sat in front of Jungkook and smiled at him. "I'm going to introduce myself to you Jungkook, I'm Y/N, I'm a trainer and tamer, I'm here to help you." Y/N said softly. "H-hello Y/N. What exactly are you going to train me for?" He asked shyly. "I was hired by the king to find and train someone like you to help protect his castle, you probably won't like him, but if I don't do this, I die, and I'm sure you understand that I don't want to die." She said. He nodded. "I'll do the training, but do I have to deal with people?" "You might have to Jungkook." "I'm afraid of people, I don't know how to cope with them or a lot of them at once, I'm sorry." He said as a few tears went down his cheeks. "Jungkook we can work on the people problem, we can start out small with just me and Yoongi because you don't seem to like Hobi very much, and after that we can build up the amount of people you can be around so you won't be scared of them anymore, and you don't need to cry because of this, you'll be okay, I promise." Y/N said reassuringly. Jungkook wiped away his tears and looked Y/N in the eyes to see her smiling at him. He reached his hand out to here for her to shake his hand, she took his large hand into hers and shook it firmly before she got up from the dirt floor. "I'll be back in a little bit, I need to go talk to Yoongi and Hoseok, then I'll be back, okay?" Y/N asked. "That's okay, I'll see you in a little bit." He said with a smile that flashed his bunny looking teeth. Y/N smiled back at him and walked towards the entrance of the cave and back down the paths to Yoongi's shack. When she walked in there was a sight to see, Yoongi had Hobi pinned to the wall with a knife to his throat and threatening him with venomous words. Y/N ran over to Yoongi to pull him off Hobi, but he released him from his grip. "You have some explaining to do to her." Yoongi said angrily. "What does he need to tell me?" Y/N asked in a confused tone. "Go on tell her." Yoongi said. "Jungkook and I have a history together." He said. "And?" Yoongi said, shooting daggers at Hobi with his eyes. "I'm just going to explain this right now," He sighed. "I used to own Jungkook, he was my hybrid until he ran away. I branded him, beat the shit out of him, I did everything to him, I nearly killed him a few times, I was absolutely awful to him. That's why he's afraid of people, that's why he tried to attack me. I'm sorry." "Sorry is not going to cut it here Hoseok, you fucked up. You lied to me. You told me that you'd never hurt a hybrid, that they're just as human as we are. Get the fuck out of my face you monster." Y/N said, feeling hurt by Hobi's actions. "Y/N, please don't do this." Hobi begged. "I said get out of my face!" Y/N exclaimed angrily. Hoseok looked at the two in front of him, seeing the rage pouring from their faces and auras. He ran out the door quickly and into the forest, neither of them watched him after that, they only looked at each other in disgust and ran back to Jungkook's cave. When they entered the cave the first thing they did was hug the boy that was sitting on the ground, drawing in the dirt, because he seemed to not have anything else to do with his time. Jungkook toppled over at the force of the two-people hugging him, but he felt comfortable with them clinging to him tightly. "What's this about?" Jungkook asked. "I'm so sorry that Hobi did all of that to you, you didn't deserve to be treated like that by him or anyone." Y/N spat out. "Is he gone now?" Jungkook asked curiously. "He's gone, you don't need to worry about him anymore." Yoongi reassured him. The two released Jungkook from their grasps and looked at Jungkook while he sat back up before they talked to him again. "I'm going to leave her with you again, you two need to get to know each other before anything else happens, so I'll see the both of you later." Yoongi said as he got up and patted Jungkook's back as he walked out of the cave. Jungkook smiled at her. "What do you want to know?" "Well, how old are you?" She asked. "I'm 19 years old." He answered. "What about you." "I'm 21." "Ooh you're a little bit older than me." He inquired. "How long have you been training and taming hybrids?" "Funny story, I started when I was 3, my dad taught me everything I needed to know, at least until my cousin ate him. But my strength in training lies with the dragon hybrids, but that's only because it's all my dad worked with." She answered. "That's really cool, except the thing about your dad being eaten by you cousin." He said with a laugh. "It's okay, we all laughed when it happened, my dad was old though, at least in his dragon taming years, most of us don't live past 25." She said. "That's not a very long life." He said sadly. "That's why we try to live life as best as we can before a dragon either burns us alive or eats us just because they're tired of hearing us drone on about how they need to do something a specific way." She said with a small shrug. "Speaking of telling people what to do, when do we start my training?" He asked. "Probably tomorrow, it seems like the best idea for now." She said. They sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying the presence of each other, until Jungkook looked like he had something to say. "Y/N, do you want me to tell you how I got away from Hobi?" He asked suddenly. "Only if you want to Jungkook, you don't need to tell me, all I need is for you to be safe and healthy." Y/N said. "I want to tell you, just so you can understand somethings I might do," He stated. "I think it was about a year ago when I had just been through enough of his abuse, you know. I could only take so much of his beatings, him starving me, and after he put a brand on me I felt dirty and I know it will never go away, but sometimes it still hurts, sometimes it starts burning again while I'm trying to sleep. One day I just decided I wanted to get away, so when he went to the market I escaped to this village and Yoongi found me, I kind of collapsed in front of his shack and he brought me inside, I was cold and hungry, and he took care of me, that's why I trust Yoongi so much. He's protected me since then, he made me this cave and then hid it so I could be alone and not having to worry about people hurting me again." Y/N tried to hold back the tears that pooled in her eyes. "Jungkook, I'm so sorry that he did that to you. I didn't even know that he had hybrids and I regret letting him work for me in the first place." "It's okay Y/N it's not your fault, but I need to tell you about things that I might do despite being comfortable with you,” He started again. “I might flinch when you try to touch me, I have slight hearing problems so if I don’t hear you please don’t get mad at me, I sometimes have these moods where I just don’t want to talk to you and it’s not because I’m mad, it’s just because I can’t bring myself to talk to you. I think that's it, but you'll probably figure other things out as you train me." "Those are good things to know, especially the hearing one, so I can understand if you didn't hear me that it wasn't on purpose." She said. "Now that that's out of the way, is there anything else wanted to know, or do?" He asked. "I can figure everything else out while I train you, but maybe we could try to get you accommodated with humans, just for today, you come and hang out with Yoongi and I at his shack, we can have bigger groups after that, but we'll go slow so you don't get overwhelmed." Y/N said, softly putting her hand on top of Jungkook's and gently rubbing her thumb over her knuckles. "I'm sure I can do that, I have faith in myself that I can handle you two all day." He said confidently.   "That's good, if you're ready to go we can walk back to Yoongi's shack and we can probably mess around there, he has things to do there, and maybe you can get clean since you're covered and dirt and I don't think Yoongi likes mess in his home." Y/N said as she pushed herself up off the ground. "Yeah, Yoongi has told me that I need a bath before, but I don't always listen to him, he's kind of like the dad I never had." Jungkook said as he got up to walk with Y/N. "I suppose he is like that to you. I'm not going to ask about your family, it's a touchy subject to everyone, especially hybrids that got sold into the system." Y/N said as Jungkook clung to her arm. "I can tell you later, but it's really not that touchy for me, I like talking about my family, even if I don't remember a lot about them." Jungkook said with a bright smile. "I guess that's good- what is Yoongi doing?" Y/N asked, seeing that Yoongi was on his roof and swinging his staff around at something above him. Jungkook took off running towards the shack to see what Yoongi was doing, only to see him casting spells at bugs that were swarming around his chimney and Y/N couldn't help but to laugh at the small man whacking the bugs and spilling obscenities out of his mouth. Jungkook stopped just before the door and looked at Yoongi struggling to get the bugs away and he let out a small giggle before running into Yoongi's house. "You two gonna help me, or am I going to have to struggle with all of these damn bugs while you two lollygag inside?" Yoongi asked with a sigh. "Sorry, I don't know how to help you with that." Y/N said with a laugh as she walked inside. Y/N could hear Yoongi's loud sigh from inside the house as he continued to fend off the bugs. Jungkook had already found his way to the small bathroom that seemed to be mostly filled with plants, not exactly strange considering Yoongi is a sorcerer and the plants have supposed types of calming remedies to them. Y/N debated going in there to help him, but decided against it to give Jungkook some privacy, that was until he called to her about not knowing how to turn on the tub. She walked in to see that Jungkook had already stripped himself of his clothes and tried to keep her eyes away from seeing his naked body. However, after she got the bath started she could help but to stare at the brand in the middle of Jungkook's chest, it made he sick to her stomach to see it, and even know how it got there in the first place. Y/N tried to walk out as Jungkook slid himself into the bath, but he stopped her in time, just so he could talk to her while he took his bath, and maybe have her help him get clean. "If you need to find the soap it's under the sink, just don't use too much of it, I don't want to go out and buy more just because Jungkook is a dirty man." Yoongi said. "I'll try not to old man." Jungkook said jokingly. "Do I need to hex you for calling me an old man again?" Yoongi warned. "No sir." Jungkook said with a gulp. "That's what I thought, now get clean so you don't dirty my furniture," Yoongi started. "Why the hell is she in there with you, you're an adult, you can clean yourself." "I need her to wash my back, it's not like I can reach it." Jungkook said. "Oh yeah, you can't use magic to help you get clean." Yoongi said. Jungkook could only roll his eyes at the man and watched as Y/N went to grab the soap from under the sink. She handed him the small glass bottle and let him wash his own hair and the front side of his body before Y/N had to scrub his back to get all of the dirt off him. It seemed a bit awkward, especially because Yoongi just stood at the door watching the two of them. Jungkook got all the soap off him and shooed Y/N and Yoongi out so he could dry off and find clothes to wear. "Do you have clothes for him to wear here?" Y/N asked as she went to sit on the couch. "Of course, I do, it's not like I don't have him come here every couple of weeks to get clean, even if it is just me bathing him like a child, but I bring him food every day so he doesn't die. I take care of him as best as I can while he lives in the cave." Yoongi explained. "Well I suppose that's good." Y/N said as Jungkook walked out of the bathroom. "Can I sit down on the couch now that I'm clean?" Jungkook asked. "Well yeah, that's normally the rule, isn't it?" Yoongi replied. Jungkook lit up with joy and jumped on to the couch next to Y/N and sat comfortably on the couch and all Yoongi could do was sigh at Jungkook's actions, but Jungkook was honestly a little kid at heart.

"So, what are you guys going to work on today?" Yoongi asked. "Well, for today we're working on people skills, since he'll need those, and he doesn't necessarily have those skills." Y/N answered. "Are you taking him to the pub, because if you are, that's a bit too much for him. Last time I tried he ran away at the door and there was maybe four people in there." Yoongi said. "No, he was just going to stay here with us for today, he's comfortable with us. I know how to do this Yoongi, this isn't my first rodeo on introducing hybrids back to society." Y/N said. "Oh, okay hybrid expert." Yoongi said sarcastically. "But she actually is a hybrid expert Yoongs."Jungkook chimed in. "Stay out of this kid." Yoongi snapped at him. Jungkook got quiet and got a sad look on his face, and curled himself into a small ball. "Yoongi look what you did, you made him sad!" Y/N exclaimed. Yoongi looked over to the couch where Jungkook was and got a look of guilt painted on to his face. "Come on Kook, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean to snap at you." Jungkook looked up at Yoongi, fat tears rolling down his face. Y/N didn't like seeing him look so sad, she looked at him and gently rubbed his back to see if it would help him calm down a bit so Yoongi could talk to him again. "He was just trying to tell you that I am an expert on hybrids, Yoongi. I've been doing this all my life, I know what I'm doing, you don't need to question what I'm doing or how I do it." "I know, I know. I shouldn't have snapped at him or doubted you, but now we have a sad dragon boy who needs to not be sad so we can have fun." Yoongi said with a sigh. "Can you bribe him with food, that works for a lot of people." Y/N said. "No, I don't have enough food to bribe him with, but I know something that will make him happy." Yoongi said as he walked towards what looked like a closet. "What the hell are you getting?" Y/N asked. "His blanket, I keep it here so it doesn't get all dirty in his cave, it's sort of like his cure all when he's upset, mad, anything that's not happy." Yoongi explained. Y/N could only look confused as Yoongi pulled out a light blue blanket that had small bunny faces covering it. Yoongi walked over to Jungkook quickly and put the blanket over his shoulders. Jungkook lifted his head again and saw the fabric covering him and snagged it quickly and brought it to his face and widely smiled at the blanket before smothering his face into it. "See, I told you." Yoongi said. "Didn't say that it wouldn't, but do you think I could use that for his training, it might be useful when he feels defeated you know." Y/N said. "Well yeah, just make sure that it doesn't get dirty, I mean I can clean it, but that doesn't mean that I want to." Yoongi said. "I'll try not to, and thank you." Y/N said. "What are we gonna do now?" Jungkook asked suddenly. "Whatever you want to do." Yoongi said. "Can we go to your garden and help you make stuff?" Jungkook asked excitedly. "Jungkook, I don't have anything to water right now, but you two can help me make this love potion that King Asshole asked for." Yoongi said. "Oh, you don't like the king either." Y/N deadpanned. "Hell no, I'm one of the only sorcerers he knows and comes to me for this stupid stuff." Yoongi said as he took the two of them to his small potions room. "I see, at least you didn't have to meet him the way I did, I'll never get that sight out of my head." Y/N said with a shudder. "Oh god, who was he fucking this time?" Yoongi asked. "Well you guessed how I met him, and I believe it was his servant. I think his name was Jimin." Y/N said. "Oh, so the person he's always fucking. He said that he needed the potion for someone named Namjoon, he didn't tell me the relationship between the two, but I'm pretty sure that's his brother, and I'm not exactly sure who he's trying to make him fall for, but if it's himself I'm gonna smack the shit out of him." Yoongi said. "Oh Jesus, I'd hope so, nobody needs to be in love with that ass hat." Y/N said. "I'm going to be working with him?" Jungkook asked. "Just for him, you might not have to see him, but you'll definitely be working for him, and hope he doesn't kill you, which he probably did to the last one because he was bored with him."  Y/N answered. "Don't say that, you're going to scare him." Yoongi said. "I'm not scared because that, I kind of figured that, it's not like hybrids aren't normally used and killed like that in the first place." Jungkook said in a serious tone. "He's right, that's why I said it, but I normally don't just send the hybrids I trained off, they get attached to me, so I find homes for them that aren't too far from my own so they can visit me at any time, and they find ways to hide being hybrids so they can work like normal citizens." Y/N explains. "I swear you're fucking crazy, there's no way you help that many people." Yoongi said. "Not this again, Yoongi, shut the fuck up okay." Y/N said angrily. "Both of you, shut up, how about we just work on this stupid love potion for King what's-his-nuts and get it there, and if you two don't stop fighting it's never going to get done." Jungkook interjected. Yoongi and Y/N both stopped talking and looked at Jungkook who looked innocently at the both of them and neither could bother to start arguing again, so Yoongi just started instructing the two of them on what to do and how he could help him, it didn't take very long for them to finish putting it all together and Yoongi only told them that now it was time to wait for it to brew before Yoongi would have to walk to Jin's castle, which would take almost all day and wouldn't be the best journey to do alone, so he'd probably convince both Y/N and Jungkook to join him and they'd most likely agree because there was no way Yoongi was going to leave the two of them alone in his shack, it would get dirty too quickly and his head would explode by the time he got back and it would be absolute hell for the two of them. "So how long will the whole brewing process take?" Y/N asked as the three of them walked back inside and sat in the living room. "About three months, he asked for a strong brew, so it'll take a while, I still need something for it, but that needs to be added just before the person drinks it, so we don't have to worry about that right now." Yoongi answered. "Okay, then we'll just deliver it when I finish training Jungkook, considering that that's about how long it'll take to train him properly and get him reacquainted with people so he can survive the world you know." Y/N said. "Good plan, now that we've established all of when we're leaving, what are gonna do now, or I'm gonna get bored." Jungkook complained. "I don't know, why doesn't Y/N take you out into the village and let her see how scared you get, let you eat a few people in the meantime." Yoongi joked. "Yoongi, come on, don't be like that." Jungkook said. "I was kidding, chill. Why don't we go down to the river and play around down there, it's probably the most fun we could have for now." Yoongi suggested. "That sounds fun, let's go." Jungkook said eagerly. Jungkook bolted out the door like he was a little kid wanting candy from one of the merchant shops while they were in town for the day. Yoongi and Y/N followed behind him quickly because otherwise they'd lose Jungkook somehow, and that wouldn't necessarily be the greatest thing to happen. The two eventually caught up to Jungkook and that was about halfway to the river, but even with the catching up Jungkook still tried to run from them to get to the river quicker. It was amusing to see Jungkook dive head first into the river and Y/N was surprised that he didn't hurt himself doing that. Y/N ran the rest of the way to the river to join Jungkook, Yoongi followed suit behind her, but unlike Y/N who ran in and jumped on Jungkook, Yoongi walked in slowly and accidentally tripped over something in the water and fell face first into the water, he was lucky that he didn't accidentally drown himself after his tripping. Jungkook laughed at Yoongi when he finally adjusted himself and sat in the shallow water groaning about how he was now completely soaked from his own faults. "You think this is funny, just wait until I turn you into a bowl of porridge and leave you for the crows to eat." Yoongi warned. "How many times are you going to threaten him because this can't help how he communicates with other people." Y/N said with a sigh. "I'm not arguing with you again, you two just play while I sit here and try not to drown myself instead of having to deal with life." Yoongi said nonchalantly. Jungkook couldn't help but to roll his eyes at Yoongi while him and Y/N splashed each other and trying not to splash Yoongi in the process, because going by Yoongi's empty threats, he would hex them for it and he'd have no remorse about it. They spent most of the day at the river, talking to each other and working on Jungkook's small quirks that gave him a hard time. Yoongi seemed like he had fun while he was there with them, he had a smirk on his face while he watched the two, he seemed happy with what he saw. Before dark Yoongi took them back to the house so they all could eat and lead Jungkook back to his cave safely, since Yoongi had seen too many people chased out of the forest at night just due to the small creature making too many noises and then trying to eat prey bigger than them. They all changed clothes when they settled down at Yoongi's house so they would be dry and warm. They sat around Yoongi's small circular table in his kitchen while their dinner cooked in the oven. "So, Y/N, you wanna sleep in my cave, I can protect you and keep you warm while you sleep, plus it'll be easier for you to train me in the morning." Jungkook suggested. "Jungkook I'd love to, but you wouldn't be able to keep me warm, even in your dragon form, I can't touch you because of how hot your skin is while you're a dragon." Y/N said. "I can send you out there with blankets and pillows, and I'm sure he can make you a fire to keep warm, since you know, he can breathe fire." Yoongi said. "He's right, I can do that." Jungkook said confidently. "I suppose that could work." Y/N said with a sigh. Jungkook got excited and jumped up and down clapping his hands happily and Yoongi could only smile at Jungkook before Jungkook noticed and stopped himself and became awkward about it. The three ate before gathering blankets and pillows, and walking to Jungkook's cave just before sunset so they would have plenty of light to walk there and so Yoongi wouldn't have to fend off the creatures of the forest at night. The three made it to the cave and threw the pillows and blankets on the ground, afterwards Yoongi and Jungkook went to go find firewood so that Jungkook would be able to keep Y/N warm throughout the night without hurting her by his intense body heat. The two came back with arms full of wood and they carefully placed it into a pile. Yoongi took Y/N outside so Jungkook could transform and breathe his fiery breath on to the wood for Y/N's heat source for the night. "This should keep you warm, I'm going to leave. I'll bring you two breakfasts in the morning." Yoongi said as he started walking back down the path to his home. Y/N could only watch as Yoongi disappeared into the sunset before she went back into Jungkook's cave. He was laying out her pillows and blankets neatly on the dirt floor and looked proud of himself when he saw her walking into his cave. "This is the first time that I've let someone sleep in my cave that isn't Yoongi, so I guess welcome." Jungkook said awkwardly with a smile. "Well, I'm glad that you're welcoming me into your home." Y/N said with a soft smile. "I wouldn't really call this a home, it's more of a protection barrier than anything, it doesn't feel like a home at all to me." He said. "It won't stay that way for long. I can't guarantee how King Seokjin will accommodate your living space in the castle, but I'm sure it'll be better than the cave, at least I hope." Y/N said. "From what I heard he doesn't seem very nice. I know that you're doing this to save yourself from him beheading you, but I'm kind of scared, what if he kills me, like you said he might have done to the last one." Jungkook worried. "If he tries to kill you, I'll have him killed, I don't care about treason at that point." Y/N said. "I think Yoongi would say the same thing, he doesn't want me to get hurt, I'm surprised he even said anything about me to you." Jungkook said. "He almost didn't, he was hesitant to even tell us of your existence." Y/N said with a small laugh. "So, he didn't just give me away immediately, I suppose it's better than him just selling me out, proves he cares at least a little bit." "Don't be like that, he obviously cares about you, he made you a damn cave in the middle of the forest, takes care of your needs, hell I'm pretty sure he'd do back flips for you if you asked him. I may not like Yoongi that much because of how much he likes testing me, but he seems like he knows how to take care of you and keep you happy." Y/N said, trying to comfort Jungkook a little bit. "I guess..." Jungkook said in a huff. The two were quiet and looked at each other for a few moments before Y/N decided she was tired and laid down on her blanket pile and closed her eyes, Jungkook was slightly confused at her actions, but followed suit with and laid down across from her. The night seemed quiet, nothing woke Y/N throughout the night, not even Jungkook waking up in the middle of the night and just screaming at an imaginary pain that he felt in the middle of his chest. He got over it soon and laid back down, trying to fall back asleep, but realizing he can't. He found himself quietly sneaking over to Y/N and laying down next to her until he fell asleep again. The next morning was anything but normal. Yoongi woke Y/N and Jungkook up by putting out the fire that was keeping Y/N warm and the shouting at them to wake them up. It worked, but neither were very happy about it. "Come on Yoongi, why do you thay wake us up like?" Jungkook complained. "If you want your breakfast to stay warm you have to wake up." Yoongi said with a sigh. Jungkook groaned and sat up so Yoongi could give him his plate so he could start eating. Y/N got up soon after and let Yoongi place her plate on her lap before he sat down on the ground with them to join them. "What are you gonna teach him to do today?" Yoongi asked. "Probably just the basics of fighting, he probably only really needs fighting skills, seeing as he's good at protecting already." Y/N stated. "Well, I could've told you that, but, I brought his blanket like you asked me to, hopefully you won't have to use it a lot." Yoongi said, pulling the small blanket out of his bag. "Thank you, now if you don't mind me, I'm going to go to your shack and change my clothes so I don't burn myself while training Jungkook." Y/N said, placing her semi-empty plate next to her before standing up. "Why don't you just change in here?" Yoongi asked. "You're an idiot, I'm not changing with you two in here, and I left my bag in your shack." Y/N said as she started walking towards the entrance to the cave. "Alright, don't have to tell me twice, now go before I hex you into the next dimension." Yoongi said as he waved her off.

Y/N rolled her eyes and walked out of the cave and back up the path to Yoongi's shack to change quickly into her brown leather training attire and grabbed her bag to put Jungkook's blanket into it before leaving the shack once more and returning to the cave. Yoongi was surprised at how fast she came back, almost questioning if she was a magical being like himself, but he figured out quickly that she didn't have any type of magic running through her and shrugged it off. "You two have fun. Jungkook, try not kill her. Y/N, don't die." Yoongi said before he picked up all the plates and started to leave. "Why would I kill Y/N, she's nice to me." Jungkook said. "It's a joke Jungkook, don't worry about it." Y/N said, shooting Yoongi a death glare. Jungkook only smiled as Yoongi left. He stood up to go stand next to Y/N so they go wherever she planned on taking him to train him. "Jungkook, do you want to fly to find a spot, or do you want to walk?" Y/N asked him kindly. "I haven't flown in a while, so I wanna fly, and we can find a spot better that way, shows the clear spaces." Jungkook said. "That's a great idea." Y/N said, looking at the boy who was staring up at the sky. Jungkook told Y/N to step back so he could transform and not crush her with his heaviness. Y/N watched the boy disappear into a flash and emerge as the large black and crimson dragon she had seen the other day, still absolutely amazed by his size and colors he was. Jungkook lowered his body closer to the ground for Y/N to climb on his back. Y/N quickly slid on her leather gloves and approached Jungkook, placing one hand on the top of his front leg and trying to get up on his back without hurting him or herself. She eventually ended up pushing herself up with both of her arms and tried to get up that way, it seemed effective, until she slid off him on her first attempt and landed on her ass, she sighed and pushed herself off the ground. "Do you need help?" Someone asked from behind the two. Y/N turned quickly to find the fairy man that told Y/N where Yoongi was in the first place. "Oh uhm, yeah, just be careful, I don't need you burning yourself or just hurting yourself in general." "Even if I do hurt myself it'll heal quickly, fairies are magical like that, but I'll help you." Taehyung said with a kind smile. Y/N beckoned him to come over to the two of them, and quickly boosted her up on to Jungkook's back, and waved goodbye to the two of them after Y/N thanked him for helping her. Jungkook watched as the man walked away and started to beat his wings and slowly bring himself to the sky line. Once he was up high enough Jungkook propelled himself forward, moving quickly as Y/N looked down at the ground trying to find a spot that was relatively close to Jungkook's cave. They flew for around 30 minutes before Y/N found a field down below and told Jungkook to head down that way so they could start his training. Jungkook headed downwards and slowly landed in the field before he let Y/N slide off carefully and went to stand in front of Jungkook, looking up at his snout, trying to figure out how she was going to get his attention to get him to bring his head down so she could talk to him and instruct him on what to do. She looked around for something she could use to get his attention, but the only things surrounding the two was grass, corn, and rocks, and none of them seemed like good attention grabbers for him. "Jungkook!" Y/N shouted as loud as she could. He looked down and brought his head down, figuring that she needed to talk to him. Y/N gently patted the boys head and he made a small growling noise, Y/N stopped for a moment, but Jungkook quickly moved his head back to her hand so she could pat his head some more. She chuckled at him and stopped so she could talk to him. "Okay Jungkook, it's time to start, I'll give you more head pats later, but you have to wait," Y/N started. "We're going to start with your ground strikes, I'm going to set up a few items and I need you to strike at them, of course without hurting yourself." Jungkook gave a nod of his head and watched her pull things out of her bag, he was amazed at how big the items were coming out her bag, he thought maybe that she had someone bewitch her bag for that to even be able to happen. When she finished sitting the items up she had him back up a little bit and let him let loose on them, he did well, but she was sure that he at least hurt his snout on one of the strikes. She looked at the dragon boy as his eyes scrunched up and moved his head back down to Y/N. "You accidentally hurt yourself, didn't you?" She asked in a concerned tone. He nodded his head and looked at her with sad eyes, hoping for sympathy and more headpats. Y/N could only try to and give him a few head pats before she changed what she was having him do. They continued for a couple more hours, Y/N constantly making sure that Jungkook wasn't hurting himself anymore, she needed him to be okay so his training wouldn't be faltered, even if it was every other day between people training and fighting training, there needed to be some break time on the physical training or Jungkook would exhausted all of the time and that wasn't ideal for Y/N's time frame, or Yoongi's, so they had to push on and try not to get anymore injuries.

At the end of the training session for the day Jungkook decided he wanted to walk back to the cave instead of flying because he was tired from everything he'd done that day. The two walked through the thick forest, talking and laughing along with whatever joke was told or something silly Jungkook said. They knew they were close to Jungkook's cave after seeing imprints of shoes in the dirt, at least that's what they thought, until they found something highly unusual hanging from the tree in front of them. Y/N looked up at the tree, seeing Hoseok's rotting body hanging from it, she couldn't help but to cover her mouth and scream at the sight. Jungkook was shocked into silence. Y/N quickly pulled Jungkook's blanket out of her bag and put it over his face and grabbed his shoulders so they could quickly walk away from the situation and back to the cave as fast as their legs could carry them. They both ended up running into Jungkook's cave, to find Yoongi sitting on the ground and looking confused as to why they were running. "What the hell is wrong with you two?" Yoongi asked bluntly. "Found Hoseok hanging in a tree, he had to have been there for a few days, his body was rotting away." Y/N said through pants. "Holy shit, what?" Yoongi asked in a shocked tone. "If you don't believe me, walk into that damn forest and you'll find him, I'm surprised he wasn't eaten." Y/N said. "I believe you, Jungkook wouldn't look like that and holding his blanket like that if you were lying." Yoongi said. "Well we can't just leave him there, if Jungkook and I have to take that path almost every day this is just going to keep happening." Y/N said. "I'll go cut him down and let him sink in the river. You try to comfort him and get him settled down, I was going to let you both sleep at the shack tonight and we don't need him to be freaked out and not sleep." Yoongi said as he got up from the ground and dusted himself off from all the dirt. Y/N nodded and turned to Jungkook, who was curled up in a ball and rocking back and forth, mumbling quietly to himself and looking like he wasn't himself at all. He was as pale as a ghost and Y/N knew that was never good. She got down on the ground next to him and stroked his hair softly and hummed him a lullaby to sooth him. However, she stopped for a moment, listening to what he mumbling, until he noticed Y/N was right next to him. "Y/N I'm dirty, not the unclean kind, but the impure kind, you shouldn't be nice to me, you should treat me like I'm an object." Jungkook said in small sobs. "No, no, no, you're just fine Jungkook, you don't deserve that and you know you don't, you're away from all of those people who hurt you, please don't say that about yourself." Y/N pleaded as she shushed him and brought him into a tight hug. "Yes, I do, I'm nothing but a filthy low life that's only good for beating and using as a slave." Jungkook said, tears now heavily streaming down his face. "Jungkook, you listen to me. You're not a filthy low life, nor a slave, you know this, you're a free man, yes, you're a big brave man that's going to be a good protector and fighter, keeping loads of people safe from harm. You are so much more than just a hybrid. You're a person too, you deserve all of your own luxuries; one more negative thing you say about yourself and you're going to be tickled until you get those nasty thoughts out of your head and you're a laughing mess." Y/N ranted on. Jungkook's face lit up a bit and looked at Y/N with tears still going down his face. He crushed her into a tighter hug and sobbing hard into Y/N's shoulder. "I'm sorry I was being mean to myself, I know better, but s-seeing Hoseok like that j-just made me feel like this a-and I can't handle it." Jungkook choked out. "It's okay Jungkook, I understand. Self-deprecation is very common in previously owned hybrids, but you need to be nice to yourself, that's important in helping you get back to the happy person you most likely were before you were sold into the system." Y/N said while continuing to softly stroke his hair. Jungkook stopped sobbing after a few minutes and released Y/N from his extremely tight hug and looked her in the eyes. "Can I still get tickled, I wanna laugh a little bit." Y/N chuckled at him and nodded. He quickly smiled and moved a little further away from her so she could tickle him to the best of her ability. When Y/N started in on him Jungkook let out a hearty laugh and couldn't help but to let himself try to tickle her back. They ended up in a tickle war, trying to see who could laugh the hardest over the tickling. It was all fun and games until they heard Yoongi clear his throat so they stopped immediately to look at the man before them. "You obviously got him to calm down." Yoongi said with a smirk. "Oh, shut up." Y/N said as she crossed her arms at him. Yoongi slightly chuckled at Y/N and looked at the two of them. "You two are sleeping at my shack tonight, let's go before I change my damn mind and make you sleep out here." Jungkook stood up quickly and helped pull Y/N up from the ground. Yoongi took them back to his shack where they ate a filling dinner and after Y/N and Jungkook help Yoongi clean up their dinner he set up the couch, which Yoongi turned into a bed with his sorcery and he looked satisfied with himself after he pushed bot Y/N and Jungkook on the bed and ran away in a fit of giggles because he thought he was so funny. Y/N and Jungkook got comfortable on the bed and Yoongi turned all the lights off and they all got comfortable before sleeping once more. Jungkook's training continued on, always getting better and better each time, he practiced, he allowed himself to not get into his head through the last few weeks and grew closer to Y/N, completely trusting her and it helped him slightly get over his fear of humans, it was still there, but not as much. Jungkook had become a lot touchier when it came to just conversational speaking with both Y/N and Yoongi. Yoongi didn't like that Jungkook was always trying to touch him, but Y/N didn't mind, she knew it was a good thing, a great thing actually, it meant that he was quickly progressing into getting better with others. Y/N finally decided to take Jungkook into the main village, hoping that he'd be able to handle it and not freak out about how many people were surrounding them. "Are you sure that you want to go into the village?" Y/N asked cautiously. "I'm sure, I think I can do it, I've worked hard enough for this." Jungkook said confidently. Y/N out her hands on the tall boy's shoulders and stared straight into his eyes. "The moment you start to get scared you grab my hand and we'll come back home and Yoongi can give you your special blanket." "Why can't you give it to me?" He asked inquisitively. "Yoongi had to wash it, so he'll give it to you if we need to come back at any point." Y/N said. Jungkook nodded and the two walked down the path to the village, passing by merchants and a few animals along the way. Jungkook tried to pet a small dog along the way, but Y/N got him away quickly because if Jungkook went any closer to it she was sure he was going to get bitten by the small thing. The first place they went was to the tavern, and although Jungkook got a bit tense walking in it resided quickly when Y/N wrapped her arm around his waist and directed him to a table in the middle of tavern. Taehyung came to their table and was immediately very cautious with what he asked Jungkook, knowing that he had ran out of there before because he was scared of everything that was Taehyung and well everyone else in the tavern. He was impressed that Jungkook was doing so well with being in a public place that is surrounded by people, he may have stuttered a bit, but that's because of Jungkook's nervous nature. When they finished their time at the tavern they decided to go to the candy merchant since Jungkook had asked to get some blueberry flavored candy and he was sure Y/N would have no problem buying him a package of it, he deserved it for being able to handle the tavern. When they stopped in front of the merchant stand Jungkook very quickly found the blueberry flavored candy and handed it to Y/N so she could pay for it. "That'll be 5 Orbs ma'am." The merchant said. Y/N dug around in her bag finding a sack full of Orbs and handed it to the man at the stand. "That should cover it.

The man opened the bag finding at least 2,000 Orbs in it. "This is far too much ma'am."

"Consider it payment for when I come back for more candy." Y/N said as she walked away with Jungkook.

They started heading back to Yoongi's shack, but it wasn't too long before someone stopped the two of them.

"You, lady- hey stop!" A man yelled.

Y/N turned around, with Jungkook clutching tightly on to her hip. "What do you want?"

The man clicked his tongue. "Well I don't want your attitude, but I can tell you're not from here, where you from?"

"That's none of your business, come on Jungkook, let's go back home." Y/N said; turning back around and continued to walk to Yoongi's shack.

"Awe, is your little boyfriend going to protect you from me, he's so scrawny that I don't even think he could hurt a fly." The man pestered.

Jungkook stopped in his tracks and got a cocky smirk on his face. "Yeah, I'm gonna protect her, she's important to me and I'm not going to let you pester her or me because I'm a bigger man than you and I don't pick on people because they haven't seen them before."

"Jungkook, don't pick a fight, we don't have time for this." Y/N pleaded.

"I'm not going to let him treat you like this, you don't deserve it, and my job is to protect the people, why don't I start right here, with you." Jungkook said.

Y/N sighed at him, not quite sure how to feel about Jungkook's sudden boost in confidence, but she just took it as a growth in the protection area of his training. She watched Jungkook as he walked up to the man and got in his face, which could only come to one thing. The man tried swinging a punch at Jungkook, but he quickly dodged it and headbutted the man then punched him in the nose, effectively knocking the man to the ground and afterwards the man got up and ran back towards what Jungkook would assume was his house. The villagers around them clapped for Jungkook, who had finally put that man in his place and Jungkook beamed with happiness at how he was being applauded. He quickly ran back to Y/N in excitement.

"Y/N are you proud of me?" Jungkook asked excitedly.

She smiled at him. "Of course, I am Jungkook, you did so well."

Jungkook looked at her, his palms becoming sweaty and his cheeks going a shade of red. He wiped his hands on his pants before bringing his hands to her face and gently melding his lips into his. Y/N was slightly shocked, but she quickly got over it and carefully wrapped her arms around his waist.

Jungkook slowly pulled away and gave Y/N a small smile and got shy soon after. Y/N giggled at Jungkook becoming shy and took his hand so they could continue walking back to Yoongi's shack. As soon as they arrived to Yoongi's shack Y/N got rid of her smiley face so Yoongi wouldn't ask about anything, and well Jungkook, he was stuffing his face with his candy, and Y/N wasn't surprised considering that he did beg for the candy in the first place.

"I can see he got the candy he begged for, and I saw Jungkook beat up the old man who likes being nosy, and don't act like I don't know that you two finally kissed, your face can't bullshit me Y/N." Yoongi said.

"You little shit why do you always know when shit happens?" Y/N complained.

"Normally, magic. This time, I was there." Yoongi said.

"Why were you there?" Jungkook asked.

"I was worried, you guys were gone for a while and I thought maybe Jungkook was scared and you couldn't get him to leave because he was so scared, but when I saw Jungkook finally putting that idiot in his place and you two finally getting over your stupid skinny love thing you had going on, I was proud to see it." Yoongi explained.

"Wait, you care for me, someone who you've fought with almost every day for a month and presumed that you hated this entire time?" Y/N asked in a shocked tone.

"Of course, I care about you, you've been taking care of Jungkook so well and it's honestly been a real shock to me, I never expected Jungkook to take so well to another human since he was scared of me when I first found him, he didn't even let me talk to him until he was trying to tell he was starving, and he was basically skin and bones then, so now that he's the healthiest I've seen him and that his fear of humans is slowly going away all because you've been helping him and training him. Of course, I care, you broke him out of his shell, and if you never came around I'm sure Jungkook would still be in his cave, hiding from everyone and shrinking away whenever I made him go to town with me because he wanted candy, I could have never done what you've done, you worked miracles and it makes me happy to see someone finally getting Jungkook the help he needs." Yoongi said passionately.

Y/N stood there, trying to process all of what Yoongi just spilled out to her. "Wow, um, I wasn't expecting that, I was expecting a sarcastic answer, but, I'll take this as a step in a better direction."

"Okay, now that Yoongi has spilled his heart out, can we have fun, I'm bored and want something to do." Jungkook said.

"Well, we can go work in the garden since I know it needs tended to, so why don't we go ahead and go out there to have some fun." Yoongi suggested.

Jungkook nodded to the suggestion and Yoongi just took it as an okay to go ahead and head out there. Y/N followed behind Jungkook and Yoongi and now she could see why Jungkook liked helping Yoongi so much with it, the garden was humongous and it had so many different types of plants she'd never seen before and a few familiar ones, especially all the dragon's breath that was surrounded by lavender, it drew her in because she hadn't seen that much dragon's breath in years. Jungkook watched her as she squatted down and ran her hand through the flowers with a smile. He walked over to her and squatted down next to her.

"Do you think that these are pretty?" Jungkook asked.

"I think they're beautiful, it reminds me of my childhood home on Lavender Hill, my parents let it grow wild in our back garden, but then my brother ate some of it and he died because it's highly poisonous to humans, but you can eat it, at least when you're in your dragon form, but we kept it around so when my dad trained his dragons he had a treat for them when they finished, so maybe I'll ask Yoongi if I can have some for a different treat for you while you do your physical training." Y/N said.

"You're talking about the dragon's breath right, because if so, please do, Yoongi used to give to me and he told me to eat it while I was in dragon form because he didn't want me to die because I didn't know what it was at first." Jungkook said.

"So Yoongi is smart with dragons, I didn't exactly doubt him, but I wasn't too sure about his knowledge on the subject." Y/N said.

"Would you two please stop messing around with my dragon's breath and help me get this wolf's bane collected so I can send it off to the apothecary." Yoongi shouted.

Y/N sighed and tried to stand up, but before she could do that Jungkook picked some sprigs of lavender and put them in her hair. She chuckled at him before they both got up and walked to Yoongi to help him with the gathering. It didn't take that long because Yoongi had gone through and picked most of them and put them in a burlap sack and only let them pick a few before he decided it was enough.

"Before we do anything else, can I have some of your dragon's breath so I don't just feed Jungkook candy all the time?" Y/N asked.

"Sure, I don't mind, I used to give it to him all the time, he seemed to like it, so go ahead," Yoongi stated. "Now the rest is just watering, but I can handle that myself, so you and Jungkook can go mess around in his cave or something, just don't do anything too stupid, and uh, nice lavender in your hair, fits the whole 'Lavender Hill' girl look." Yoongi said with a chuckle.

"You heard me say that didn't you, I swear you have super hearing or something." Y/N complained.

"That's because I do, magic had its perks Y/N. Now go before I make you and Jungkook take care of the bugs surrounding the barrier in here." Yoongi threatened.

Y/N smiled and ran off towards Jungkook, who was back looking at the dragon's breath.

"Yoongi said I can have some dragon's breath, so you'll have a snack tomorrow that isn't candy." Y/N said as she squatted down next to Jungkook.

"Ooh, I get an even tastier snack than my candy." Jungkook said excitedly.

Y/N smiled and started picking some of the dragon's breath and putting it into her bag. She got quite a few before she stood back up and reach her hand out for Jungkook to grab so they could go back to Jungkook's cave.

The two walked back through the garden and through Yoongi's shack so they could make their way back to Jungkook's cave to do who knows what, but whatever they did end up doing, it was bound to be fun. They walked down the path like they had done numerous times, but Jungkook was bold enough to hold her hand until they go to his cave. Where they laid down next to each other and stared up at the ceiling of the dark cave and laughed to themselves.

"Hey Y/N, I never told you about my family, did I?" Jungkook asked as he turned his head to look at the smiling girl.

"No, you didn't, do you want to talk about them now?" Y/N replied, moving her head to face Jungkook.

"Sure. I don't see why not," Jungkook started. "I was with them until I was five years old, it was pretty nice, they were both hybrids so I just immediately got they hybrid gene, but somehow my older brother didn't, it was sort of tricky, but he was sort of our protector since he was considered a normal citizen, so he got us all the things we needed from the market in town. Sometimes he took me with him, but that was when I was really little and didn't show any signs of being hybrid, so when I went with him he'd buy me candy and clothes that were sure to fit me, since my mother originally sewed all my clothes and she wasn't the best seamstress, so most of my clothes were too big for me, but it was okay, it was the thought that counted. Overall, I was a pretty happy kid, until my brother sold us out so he could live happily, so my parents and I were taken into the system, they were gone in two weeks, but I was stuck there until I was 17, when Hoseok bought me, but after that I had no family, at least until Yoongi found me and took care of me, he's my only family I have left, even if he isn't real family, he sure took care of me like he was."

"Jungkook, do you remember what village you lived in when you were little?" Y/N asked suddenly.

"Not really, but I remember it having a lot of flowers and there was a castle there too." He said.

Y/N laughed. "You lived in the main village, except that was when our current king was a child, and his father ruled, he wasn't as bad as Seokjin, but still bad."

"I did? I thought only rich people lived in the main village." Jungkook said.

"That's the way it is now, only the well off and most sorcerers live, plus the royal family, so, you're not completely wrong." Y/N said.

The two were quiet for a moment, just enjoying the sounds of the wind blowing outside. It seemed just right, it wasn't anywhere near the winds they got when it was about to storm, it was just a relaxing wind. Everything was calm until Jungkook suddenly sat up and started tickling Y/N. She busted out into laughter and tried to tickle him back, but it was no help, Jungkook was too strong to stop. He continued tickling her for what seemed like forever, but he eventually stopped and looked down at Y/N who was still giggling even though she was out of breath and he was no longer tickling her. Once she caught her breath Jungkook smiled and grabbed her cheeks and lowered himself to slowly start kissing her. It started out soft and innocent, but it quickly became heated with Y/N slipping her tongue into Jungkook's mouth, both trying not to accidentally knock their teeth together. Y/N let her hands wander over Jungkook's shoulders and back, feeling his muscles through his skin. The two continued to get even more heated as time went on, ridding their clothes in minutes, eager to have each other for the first time. Y/N slowly pumped Jungkook's cock, making him harder than he already was, except Jungkook didn't quite know what to do, this was his first time with anyone and he'd never seen anything that would tell him what to do either; until Y/N helped him. She grabbed one of his hands and brought it to her clit and moved his fingers in a circular motion and then he understood what he was supposed to do, at least at the time being. Y/N stopped pumping Jungkook and he got confused and stopped himself as well.

"Jungkook, are you sure you want to have sex?" Y/N asked him sincerely.

"There's a first time for everything, and this may as well be mine, so I'm sure." He stated.

Y/N smiled and helped Jungkook find his way to her entrance. He pushed his tip in slightly, getting it went in her arousal, he did that a few more times before slowly sliding in as far as he could and let Y/N adjust for a moment before he started moving his hips, a bit sloppily at first, but once he found a rhythm and set a faster pace he was golden. He could feel that he wasn't going to last long, he felt warmth build up in his stomach and hoped that Y/N would finish soon, maybe at the same time, but that was only if he was lucky. Y/N tried to get herself closer, bringing her fingers to her clit and rubbing soft circles into it. Jungkook didn't last much longer, quickly filling Y/N with his seed, and with the feeling of becoming so full Y/N climaxed soon after. Jungkook kissed her after she started clenching around him, just to swallow down both of their moaning and groaning. That kiss was followed by a series of small pecks before Jungkook pulled out of Y/N and rolled off her to lay next to her. Jungkook laughed a bit and put his hands to his face.

"Jungkook, can you hand me my bag, I need my tissues." Y/N said.

Jungkook nodded and got up and walked the short distance to grab Y/N's bag and give it to her. Y/N dug through it and pulled out her tissues and wiped her thighs and her nether regions so she could be clean, well at least cleaner. Y/N and Jungkook redressed themselves and Jungkook quickly transformed to make a fire and transform back so he could lie down next to Y/N and cuddle her to sleep.

The next morning when they woke up, it wasn't because they wanted to, it was because Yoongi came in yelling.

"Why the fuck does it smell so damn bad in here, did you shit on the floor or something?" Yoongi complained.

"Shut up, I'm tired!" Jungkook whined.

"You have to get up so you two can east and go train." Yoongi said.

Jungkook groaned and sat up to find Y/N slowly sitting up beside him and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"You two look pretty rough, you guys okay?" Yoongi asked.

"Yeah, we're fine, just a bit tired is all." Y/N answered with a smile.

Yoongi just smirked and nodded his head at the two before handing them their breakfast. Their breakfast time conversation wasn’t about anything in particular, it was more just awkwardly staring at each other than actual conversation. Y/N wasn’t too sure why Yoongi just kept staring at her in particular, but she tried to just shrug it off, thinking that he was staring off into space while he was eating. After they finished they all went their separate ways to continue out their days.

The weeks that followed something continued to be off, Yoongi would constantly be staring at Y/N, and Y/N had been getting sick on and off day in and day out, but return to being fine soon after. Y/N had thought nothing of it, Jungkook was worried about her, but she told him she was fine and that it was probably nothing. By the time another month passed by it was truly crunch time for Y/N and Jungkook, needing to train longer than normal, which most likely meant that they’d be sleeping in Yoongi’s shack more often than not, but Yoongi wouldn’t mind, he stopped caring about the two sleeping in his shack. On their second week of practicing until long after the sun went down Jungkook was completely exhausted and couldn’t be bothered to sleep on his dirt floor bed in his cave, so they immediately went to Yoongi’s shack. When they arrived Jungkook crashed into their couch bed and went to sleep, Y/N wasn’t quite as tired so she went to the kitchen and sat at the table for a while.

“What are you doing awake, you should be sleeping.” Yoongi said as he padded his way into the kitchen.

“So, should you.” Y/N retorted.

“If we’re both not going to sleep, now is the time I can talk to you without dragon boy hearing anything.” Yoongi said.

“Why would Jungkook not want to hear anything you say to me?” Y/N asked.

Yoongi sighed. “Listen, I know you two fucked in his cave, and some shit happened because of that.”  

“Okay, gross that you know that, and what do you mean shit happened?” She replied.

“You’ve been getting sick, you can’t act like you haven’t been, and it’s not for no reason, it’s because someone over there impregnated you, so in other words, you’re having dummy’s child.” Yoongi said.

Y/N sat in shock for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Y/N of course I’m sure. I’m sure because you have the scent. Only certain beings can smell it, and sorcerers are one of them, so I’m really sure.” Yoongi said, placing his hand on her back and rubbing gently to calm Y/N a bit.

“Oh my god,” Y/N breathed. “How am I gonna tell him, there’s no way he’s ready to have this responsibility, I’m screwed.”

“Don’t say that. Jungkook was mature enough to get himself into this, he has to be responsible enough to handle you and everything that comes with having a child.” Yoongi said.

Y/N sighed and looked over to the snoring Jungkook, convincing herself that she would tell him before they went to go see King Seokjin, and she still had another month before that would happen, she still had time to tell him.

The final weeks passed by like they were nothing, Jungkook’s training was near it’s end and the love potion for the king’s brother was nearly done. Both had two days left and then it’d be time to go to the castle and give everything they needed. There was one other thing though, Y/N still hadn’t told Jungkook about her carrying his child, she hasn’t really had time to, between training and Jungkook being exhausted almost every day, there was no time to tell him. Now was her time to tell Jungkook, sure it might all go to shit and he panics and doesn’t know what to do, or he could be mature about it and be excited about it, she hoped for the latter. Jungkook had been sleeping almost all day, but only after waking up in a panic thinking that he had to train that day, but when Y/N told him to go back to sleep he calmed and slept for a bit longer. Yoongi on the other hand had been in his potion room all day, putting finishing touches on the love potion, and when Jungkook woke up the second time he nuzzled himself into Y/N’s shoulder, breathing in her light scent and trying to check if she was awake.

“Hello to you too sir dorks-a-lot.” Y/N said with a smile.

“Did I wake you up?” Jungkook asked worriedly.

“No, I’ve been up for a while, but now that you’re up, I need to talk to you about something serious.” Y/N said.

“Oh…” Jungkook trailed off.

“Jungkook, you remember when we had sex in your cave?” She asked.

“Well yeah, kind of hard to forget, why?” Jungkook replied.

“You see, uh, after that, you kind of got me pregnant.” Y/N said.

Jungkook was silent for a moment, and Y/N was worried that he was about to panic, but his eyes lit up a second later. “There’s a baby in there, and it’s mine?”

“Yes Jungkook, there’s a baby in there.” Y/N laughed.

He shot out of bed and ran around the shack excitedly before jumping back into the bed and covered Y/N’s face in kisses.

“I’m guessing by his excited nature you told him about the baby and he’s happy about it.” Yoongi chortled.

“More than happy.” Jungkook said as he bounced on the bed excitedly.

“See Y/N, I told you he’d be happy about it.” Yoongi said.

“How did he know?” Jungkook asked.

“He’s the one who told me.” Y/N stated.

“Oh, okay, but now that I know, I don’t wanna let you go, I don’t want to live in a castle with that mean king, I want to protect you instead.” Jungkook said.

“Jungkook, you know that it’s not possible, you trained so hard and there’s no time to go find another dragon hybrid. Let me put it this way baby, if I don’t take you to King Seokjin tomorrow, he’ll have people find me, and kill me, or if I show up with no one, he’ll kill me too, there’s no way out of this okay, I promise you that we’ll see each other, I’ll make some deal with him to let me see you every day, just please Jungkook.” Y/N pleaded.

Jungkook looked at her with sad eyes. “I guess I’d rather see you alive because you did your job.”

“Thank you Jungkook, I promise I’ll find a way to see you.” Y/N cried before Jungkook brought her into a tight hug.

Yoongi smiled at the two and watched them while Jungkook gently rocked Y/N back and forth in his arms, trying to care for her as much as he could before he had to be given up to King Jin the next day.

The next day came and the three living in the shack woke up early in the morning. Yoongi gathered the love potion into a vile while Y/N and Jungkook were outside waiting for him. Y/N had her leather gear on and had given Yoongi a spare pair of thick leather pants and Yoongi already had a pair of leather gloves so they could fly into the main village and go to King Seokjin all at once. When Yoongi came out he helped Y/N get on Jungkook’s back and then somehow managed to get himself behind her on Jungkook’s back, but he probably cheated and used magic to get up there.

The flight to the main village only took until mid-afternoon and when they landed just outside the village they walked, it wasn’t a very long walk, but it still took a bit of time. When they arrived at the door they were greeted by guards, unlike the first time Y/N went to the castle. They were led to the throne room, where King Seokjin sat, his legs crossed, and looking rather satisfied at what he saw.

King Seokjin took a deep breath before he spoke. “Sorcerer Yoongi, hybrid trainer Y/N, thank you for bringing me what I asked of you,” He started. “Now that I have what I need, you two will be paid your Orbs.”

King Seokjin grabbed two bags full of Orbs and tossed them in front of the two.

“Thank you, your highness.” Y/N and Yoongi said in unison.

“Oh no thank you, and may I ask what his name is?” King Seokjin asked, gesturing to Jungkook.

“My name is Jungkook, Y/N trained me to be your dragon, I hope I can do your services correctly… your highness.” Jungkook answered for himself.

“Oh, a pleasure.” Seokjin said sarcastically.

“King Seokjin, may I ask a favor?” He nodded. “After I train the hybrids I like to keep up with them and make sure that they’re okay, would you please allow me to see Jungkook every now and again, it doesn’t have to be every day, I would just like to see him every once and awhile.”

He thought for a moment. “I suppose I can allow that, he clings to you like a lost puppy, and I don’t think he’ll stop even after you leave. I’ll allow 3 times a week, that is it.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Y/N said.

“After Sorcerer Yoongi hands over the potion I asked for you may leave.” King Seokjin said with a smirk.

Yoongi took the vile of potion off his neck and put it in King Seokjin’s hands he and Y/N turned around and started heading for the door.

“Wait a second, something is off here…” Seokjin said.

Yoongi and Y/N stopped in their tracks, wide eyed and staring at each other like they were both going to die. They heard the king’s footsteps echoing towards them, and he stopped right behind Y/N, a sadistic smile plastered upon his face. Y/N gulped as she heard him smell her.

“Well would you look at that, someone here is carrying the child of our dragon hybrid. We can’t have that, now can we,” He paused. “Guards!”

The guards surrounding her tried to begin attacking her, but they couldn’t even try. Jungkook had transformed into his dragon form and knocked down all the guards before Y/N turned around to hear King Seokjin scream as Jungkook gobbled him down. Y/N stood in shock as she watched him transform back into his human form and running to Y/N, bringing her into a close hug.

“I’m sorry, that was probably bad, but I couldn’t watch them hurt you, and he, he, was the one who ordered it and I just couldn’t have it.” Jungkook sobbed.

“Hey, don’t cry, you did you job okay, you were protecting me, like you promised.” Y/N said, tears now pooling in her eyes.

“Sorry to interrupt, but, where’s my idiot brother?” Namjoon asked.

“Did you not just see everything that happened?” Yoongi replied.

“I ate him.” Jungkook answered bluntly.

Namjoon blinked in confusion. “How?”

“Dragon.” Yoongi said nonchalantly.

“I see, I guess I could thank you, I didn’t call him an idiot for nothing. If you don’t mind me, I’m going to the council to tell them of the king’s demise, I’m not going to tell them that he ate him, but, I’ll tell them that he accidentally set himself on fire and he burnt to a crisp, they’ll believe it, trust me.” Namjoon said.

The three nodded and headed towards the doors of the castle, not sure of their reality to come in the next few weeks.

Weeks passed and almost everything had changed, Namjoon became king and changed everything for the better, he got rid of the social hierarchy, making everyone equal, hybrids and all, making all hybrid’s lives safer, including Jungkook’s. Jungkook now lived with Y/N, helping her throughout her pregnancy and keeping each other happy through and through. Everything was different, but in the best way possible.

[sopewriters]

Chromatic.

Series:  Yoongi | Jin | Jimin | Namjoon | Jungkook | Taehyung

Genre: Angst, but a happy ending; Soulmate!AU where you lose color vision when you meet your soulmate

Pairing: Hoseok X Reader

Word Count: 3.3K

“Which color is this?”

You glance over at the thing your mother is pointing at, and shake your head at it in disgust.

“Ew, no.” You say, tugging her away from the hideously colored, zesty orange scarf, “That is gonna look absolutely terrible on you—don’t buy it.”

“Relax.” Your mother rolls her eyes, still letting you guide her to the… safer section of the store, “It’s not like your Dad’s going to mind, sweetheart.”

“Yes, but,” You shrug defeatedly, “That’s because Dad can’t see how hideous the color is. I still can.”

“I thank you for the sentiment, honey.”

“Anytime.”

The two of you share a private grin, before your mother hums delicately and busies herself looking through racks and racks of shirts, feeling the material absently. You only watch, noting to yourself sadly how she frowns confusedly at certain shirts of the same design, but different colors. You sigh then, propelling yourself forward.

“Take this one.” You push the plum colored shirt back onto the rack, and press the maroon one into her hands, “It suits you better.”

“Oh, thank you sweetheart.” She says gratefully, smiling gently at you, “What on earth would I do without you?”

“I ask myself that every day.” You mutter to yourself as you watch her make for the changing rooms, “Indeed, what would you do?”

Sighing, you take out your phone, trying to preoccupy yourself with one of your apps so that you can pass the time away. No matter how much you play, though, you can’t get your mind off your mother’s predicament.

Why on earth would people actively look for their soulmates, if their vision turns grey the second they do? What on earth would possess them, for them to do that? It doesn’t…it just doesn’t make sense.

Your mother comes back, by then, clothes bundled up in the shopping bag. You take it from her and, sighing at the ugly orange scarf at the bottom of the pile, make your way to the cash counter with her so that you can pay.

“Good morning Ma’am!”

You trace the countertop idly as your mom exchanges pleasantries with some guy behind the computer. You don’t look up, not until your mom nudges at you to hand her wallet over. Fishing it out, you present it to her, before lazily trailing your eyes upward, locking on surprised cocoa brown ones, before everything turns grey.

It’s like the breath whooshes out of your lungs, like someone sucker punched it out. You don’t move for a while, not even when your mother nudges you in obvious confusion. The boy stares back at you, equally slack-jawed, before a brilliant smile overtakes his lips, forming a heart that, under normal circumstances, would be breathtaking.

These, unfortunately, are not normal circumstances.

You take a step back, though a small part of you feels terrible for being responsible for the surprised look on the boy’s face.

“I-I’m sorry.” You stutter out, just as he says shakily, “W-Wait!”

“Wait, Y/N—” Your mother intervenes, looking uncertainly between the two of you, but you don’t wait for her answer, turning around completely and bolting out of the store. You must look like an idiot, doing that, but you don’t care. You can’t, not when your world is crumbling around you, falling from underneath your feet.

The world is swimming back into color again and, by the time your mother returns, shopping bags in hand, the trees begin to look green again. You don’t say anything, staring resolutely at the dashboard.

“That boy…Hoseok, was it?” Your mother comments softly, “Is he…?”

You say nothing, but she understands, quietly starting the ignition. You find yourself wishing she didn’t say anything, though, because now you have a name to match the boy with the beautiful smile.

Hoseok.

“This isn’t doing you any good.” You sigh in response to the unwelcome voice filtering through the phone, “I can’t even see you, Y/N, but I already have a feeling that you look terrible.”

“Thanks.” You snap half-heartedly, “Rude much?”

The sad attempt for a joke does the exact opposite of its intended effect and, over the phone, you hear Jimin sigh in exasperation.

“Look, this isn’t you, alright?” He says, sounding like he’s trying to be positive, “So what if you found your soulmate? No one’s asking you to accept him right off the bat.”

“Yeah, but,” You shake your head, forgetting, for a second, that Jimin’s not here with you, “I don’t…”

Your voice trails off as you admit, “I don’t think I ever can, Chim.”

“You’ll never know till you try.” Jimin points out, rightfully so, “I certainly didn’t. But now I’m happy.”

“And I still don’t know how.” You tease lightly, trying to lift up the mood, “How on earth do you manage Jeon Cena on a daily basis, anyway?”

“It’s love.” Jimin sounds nostalgic, and you fall quiet, “And you never realize it till you give it a try.”

Despite Jimin’s encouraging words, you can’t find it in yourself to go back and look for him. That boy. Hoseok.

No matter how much you try to distract yourself, though, you can’t help but think of him, of the boy who stole your heart with just a look. But, try as you might, you can’t even find any explanation for this sudden attachment. Not when the only thing you’ve ever said to him is a half-assed apology, after which you ran away.

You’ve messed up, big time, and you know it.

You throw yourself into your work then, willing to do anything to take your mind off him. You don’t want to lose sight of the beautiful splashes of color available for your eyes, the reds and pinks and blues and greens that form something you’ve taken entirely for granted. You try to divert your focus to things that don’t involve your soulmate—but, does it work?

Of course not.

That person from a week ago—Hoseok, your mind supplies unhelpfully—is permanently stuck on your mind. You can still see the unabashed joy that lit up his features when he recognized what happened, and your own insides warm at the thought. But they grow cold again when you realize that you’re at fault for what happened afterward; the cold, hollow horror in his eyes as he asked you of something so simple…to just wait.

You…really, really hate yourself sometimes. And this…this takes the top of the list.

Everything comes to a screeching halt on one Thursday evening, with a single phone call. You pause in your writing, checking your phone to see it’s from an unknown number, before shrugging and picking it up.

“Hello?” You ask in trepidation, and the line’s entirely silent, save for the sound of harsh breathing, “H-Hello—?”

“Y/N?” Your eyes widen at how familiar the voice sounds, but your mind struggles to connect it to a face.

“Uh, yes, who is this…?” Your eyes widen when the dots finally connect, and a tiny gasp leaves your lips, just as he says, over the phone, “This is Hoseok. From, uh—”

“I know who you are, never mind.” Your voice comes out colder than you mean for it to, and you take a deep breath before saying, softly, “I…remember. Um, why did you call?”

You silently curse at yourself for not sounding nicer. You’re supposed to apologize, damn it, because as much as you hate having soulmates, you can’t shove it onto a guy who probably has zero idea of what’s going on.

“I wanted to ask you…” There’s a pause, then the sound of some shuffling, “Would you be willing to meet me on Saturday morning?”

“Why?” You can’t help but sound suspicious, but he needs to know what he’s getting into, “Look, I don’t know if you…garnered this from our previous meeting, but I’m not entirely keen on the idea of having a soulmate—”

“Yeah, I figured.” There’s a cheerful laugh that takes you by surprise and forces a blush to your cheeks, “But I wanted to ask you for one chance. I’m not saying I want you to accept me, just…give it a shot? Please?”

“I…” Your throat dries, so you clear it, before nodding, “Okay. Text me the time and place?”

“Sure.” He pauses for a moment, before saying quickly, “I love you.”

You’re left staring at the phone in undisguised shock, turning over the words over and over and over again in your head. It doesn’t make any sense, not when you’ve just barely met once. You don’t even get to question, in your surprise, how he managed to get your number. No, the words are far more important. They go through your mind, like a merry-go-round.

I love you.

“Where are you going?” Taehyung asks curiously as you descend the staircase quickly, decked out in your neatest pair of jeans and a t-shirt, “And all dressed up too?”

“Shut up, Tae.” You quickly pour yourself a glass of orange juice and chug it down, deeming it enough for a breakfast.

“Are you visiting your parents again?” He squints his eyes at you and barely manages to dodge the paper cup sent hurtling at him, “Yeesh! I was just asking?”

“I have a social life, thank you very much.” You say pointedly, and he bites his lip, before nodding seriously.

“If you die, can I have your laptop?”

You end up making it to the designated place on time, awkwardly fiddling with your phone to distract yourself from the wait. You wonder how long it’ll take for Hoseok to arrive, and are just about to go sit down when something slips over your eyes, settling comfortably on the bridge of your nose.

You shriek in thinly-veiled shock, turning around to see Hoseok grinning brightly at you.

“Calm down, Y/N.” He chuckles, before tapping his own pair of sunglasses, “I just thought it’d be easier for you if I brought one of these along.”

“Um, thanks.” You shrug, “But why…?”

Sure, it’s sunny, but that doesn’t mean he needs to get you sunglasses. It seems weird.

“Well, you don’t like the idea of only being able to see black and white, right?” He asks you seriously, before smiling softly, “I thought…I thought it’d be nice if you learned to like me without losing your sight.”

And, oh, that’s such a kind sentiment, and maybe your eyes are stinging, but he saves you the embarrassment by scooping up your hand in his and pointing in the direction of the Fair.

“Let’s go then, shall we?” He waves his other hand, holding your tickets, in the air, and you can’t help but giggle at how excited he is. Maybe the day won’t be so bad.

“Sure.”

Hoseok is an absolute sweetheart. That, is something you are entirely sure about. Your people senses are usually never wrong and, with him, you feel like there’s nothing to fear. You feel like you’ve known him your whole life. That, of course, might just be because he talks about anything and everything under the sun just to keep a conversation going but, honestly, it’s just so endearing.

You learn that his name is Jung Hoseok (“but you can call me Hobi!”), that he’s from Gwangju in South Korea, that he loves to dance and his favorite color’s green. He doesn’t like horror movies, and he’s scared of bugs, and he likes to sleep with his blanket half on him and half on the floor. He also tells you he can’t eat spicy food, but only after he nearly dies trying to eat the spicy rice cakes that you’re so fond of.

The entire day is spent with you just enjoying his company, and your sight and, honestly, you can do this forever. The only downside, really, is that you can’t really see his features properly, but he promises to text you a selfie or something later.

Your heart jumps in giddiness.

“So, we’re going to text now, are we?” You inquire casually, grinning when he fakes a look of betrayal at you.

“You’ve taken me for a fool?!” He pronounces in horror, before dramatically shielding his eyes from the sun, “What is my life to amount to now?!”

“I’m just kidding!” You laugh, elbowing him, and feel a secret thrill when he elbows you back, before something occurs to you, “How did you get my number, by the way?”

His cheeks flush guiltily at the question and he mumbles out, “From your mother.”

Your jaw drops, but it’s honestly not that unbelievable,

“I can’t believe it.” You mutter in mock disbelief, “Turned in by my own mother!”

He laughs then, and it’s all sunshine and rainbows and tinkling bells. You listen to it, before taking a deep breath and saying the words you never thought you’d say, “Do…Do I get to plan our next date?”

When you see the smile overtaking his lips, though, it’s totally worth it.

“Of course!” He says, and your heart sings with him.

And it continues, for months on end. Hoseok never pushes, which you’re grateful for, but he doesn’t have to. Not anymore.

Your attention diverts from your work as your phone pings and you quickly unlock it, smiling unconsciously.

Your eyes trace, for a brief moment, the cheerful lines of his face, the gentle slope of his dimples and the natural curve of his lips. Your eyes get stuck on his fluffy orange locks, and you wonder again, for the life of you, why it has to be orange, of all colors. It could literally be anything else.

Still, you find that you’re starting to hate the color less and less, especially when you look at his hair. It seems that orange can complement some people after all. And, it somehow makes sense that Hoseok, of all people, seems to like it.

You bite your lip before playfully answering back, like you have for a couple months now:

 Your heart beats painfully in your chest as you look through the countless other messages, almost in warning of what you’re going to do. You’re seriously starting to fall for him; even when it feels like you can’t get any deeper, he manages to prove you wrong. And, this is the one time you don’t mind it so much. Jimin was right that day, you realize. You really can’t find love unless you try. And you’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.

When people give up their sight for each other, you think, they find that the person they love really is worth everything, huh?

The door creaks open.

“Yah, Y/N-ah.” Taehyung stands at the door, ready to go, “Are you coming or what?”

“Yeah, I am…” You sigh deeply and it’s like he understands, because he falls silent and waits, brown eyes peering anxiously at you.

“Are you alright?” He asks you seriously, as the two of you walk towards his car, “You don’t have to if you’re not ready.”

“Taehyung.” You interrupt, smiling softly at the concerned brunette, “Don’t worry. I’m ready.”

“Okay.” He smiles back at you in understanding, before his tongue peeks out and he pokes your side, “Now get inside!”

You laugh, but get inside, nerves still entirely frayed. The rest of the ride is spent in silence, probably because Taehyung understands where you’re coming from. He’s uncharacteristically quiet too, hands tapping restlessly against the steering wheel as you wait in traffic.

When you finally pull up at your destination—the sleek Omelas club—he takes your hand gently, squeezing it.

“Good luck, Y/N-ah.” He says sincerely, and you want to cry at how supportive and understanding he’s being, “Now go and get him!”

When you get out of the car, though, he peeks his head out.

“Don’t forget the thing about your laptop though, alright?”

“Shut up, Tae.” You frown, but end up chuckling, “Go and park.”

“Sheesh.” He protests, but obediently tucks himself back into his seat, “Fine!”

You walk unsurely inside after waiting in line and undergoing the whole ID check. The place is, surprisingly, pretty well spaced, and people aren’t actually going crazy and grinding against each other unlike with most other clubs you’ve acquainted yourself with.

There still is a pretty big crowd, though, so you need to push your way through throngs of people to reach center stage—and just in time too—to see your boyfriend step forward, confidence oozing in his every movement. The lights dim, and the crowd hushes—and then the beat drops.

Your mouth parts open in silent surprise because, even though you’ve seen him dance in the short videos he’s sent you, you’ve never been able to appreciate how graceful he is live. His dancing is powerful, charismatic; he dances like the world’s going to end, but like it’s the last show he’s got. It embodies everything, and, frankly, you can’t even take it all in.

But you cheer as loudly as you can, trying to stand out with the crowd. Maybe you’ll get a sore throat by tomorrow, but you don’t mind, not when you see the brilliant smile on his face—and you’re lucky you can’t see his eyes, because you wouldn’t be able to see his gorgeous tan like this, with perspiration matting his orange locks down.

You barely register when the performance ends, because he looks in your direction then, mouth parting in surprise, before a huge grin threatens to split his face in half—and you know he’s seen you. As he makes his way off the stage, you too make your way toward the back; both of you move with a common purpose and, before you realize, he’s gripping your hands in excitement, mouth moving a mile a minute.

“I can’t believe you actually came, I mean, I know you know how important this is to me, but still you came oh my goodness we need to get a picture together…how have we not gotten a picture together yet? Anyway, you should totally—”

“Hobi.” You interrupt as gently as you can, and he understands, guiding you toward a more secluded area in the building, less crowded and a lot quieter.

“What is it?” He looks worried, gently grabbing your chin in his deft fingers so that you can look each other properly, before his eyes widen when everything begins to tint grey, “Shit, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking—”

“It’s okay.” You say, and he stops short, looking at you in shock and, at his silent question, you nod again, “It’s okay.”

“You…you mean…?” He can’t even complete his sentence, eyes beginning to glaze over, matching your own and you nod, even as the last of color slips away from you, even as his bright orange hair turns a fuzzy grey, “Y/N…”

“Shush.” You smile tearfully up at him, reaching up to press your lips gently against his, “Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for?”

“Yes.” He breathes out, eyes still wide, before a beatific smile stretches over his lips, “God, yes.”

“Then what are you still waiting for?” You ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Huh?” He looks confused, “What do you mean?”

“Say it.”

It’s like a light bulb flashes over his head then and, eyes softening in understanding, and chest heaving with an effort to remain in control, he wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you close.

“I…I love you, Y/N.”

Smiling, and pressing your lips to his, you let out the words he’s been just as desperate to hear as you are to say.

“I love you too, Jung Hoseok.”

Written By: Admin Midnight (who should be studying but blegh)

[thestarsarejusthelicopters]

Sweeter than Sweet

Genre: Fluff <3 Pairing: Namjoon x reader Summary: Baking with Namjoon turns out a little messier than planned~ Word Count: 1,100 A/N: whoops so i haven’t written in forever sorry TT but here’s a little something (lol just ignore the caption in the gif ><) 

It’s absolutely hilarious watching Namjoon in the kitchen.

Over the last twenty minutes or so, he’s already dropped two bowls, broken the hinge of a cupboard, and spilled flour all over the floor by just opening the bag. Sure, accidents are bound to happen when Namjoon’s around, but it’s honestly such a small price to pay just to spend some time with him – and it’s not like you didn’t expect it anyway.

Your eyes skim over the recipe once more before turning to look at an oblivious Namjoon; he’s just standing there with the blankest look on his face and you could almost swear you’ve never been in love with this man as much as you are now. “Babe, could you crack the eggs into that bowl over there for me?”

“Here?” Namjoon takes the two eggs into his hands and gestures towards the bowl you had set out on the counter near him.

“Mmm~” You start measuring out the sugar into your own bowl, 250 mLs, then another 50, when you hear him swear suddenly under his breath.

You glance over at him and laugh when you see the mess in his hands. Eggshells are littered throughout the bowl and his hands are covered in raw egg. Namjoon looks at you sheepishly. “Um… maybe you should do this, Y/N. You know I’m not cut out for this kind of stuff.”

“But we’re supposed to be baking together, Joon~ Go wash your hands and then we’ll try again, okay?” you say, reaching up to open the cupboard and grabbing a new bowl as Namjoon shuffles over to the sink to watch his hands.

“This is how you do it, alright?” you tap the egg on the edge of the counter lightly and gently push your thumbs into the middle of the egg and crack it open; the shell is perfectly split in half and the egg falls perfectly into the bowl, yolk still intact, unharmed. You look up at Namjoon; he looks awe-struck, and his eyes are wide open, impressed. A smile finds its way onto your face at the sight of such an innocent, child-like look on your boyfriend, and you lift your hand attempting to cover it, but he catches you. “Why are you looking at me like that? What? Is there something on my face?”

Another laugh escapes your lips as Namjoon starts patting at his cheeks, determined to find the cause of your smile. After a thorough check-over, he stops and stares at you accusingly. “There’s nothing there Y/N!”

You just bite your lip, trying to hold back your fits of laughter. “I never said there was anything, Namjoon! It was just you who thought there was! There’s nothing there, I promise~” you place a soft kiss on his cheek. “See?”

Namjoon looks satisfied at your words, and turns back to the egg. He picks it up and attempts to tap it on the counter, like how you had demonstrated previously, but he underestimates his strength and the whole egg collapses on the sharp edge and some of it starts dripping onto the floor. You run your tongue over your lips and press them together, trying your best not to comment on the new mess he had just made.

He furrows his eyebrows as he glances over at you and it’s so cute and funny that you can’t help but burst into laughter yet again. “Fuck this shit. I’m done,” he lets out an exasperated sigh and picks up another egg before flinging it carelessly to the side, aiming it at a wall or something in frustration, without thinking. He leans back against the counter behind him, shutting his eyes, but they flutter open when he notices that you’re no longer laughing. Namjoon turns and his eyes widen as he takes in your shocked expression as raw egg drips from the crown of your head and down your cheeks.

“Oh my god, Y/N, I’m sorry, um… shit. What do I do? I’m so sorry-” His words are cut off when a cloud of flour is suddenly flung at him. He sputters and stares at you as your lips spread into a wide smile, giggles threatening to push its way out. “What?” you say, trying your best to feign innocence.

His eyes narrow and a determined look crosses his face. “Oh it’s on, Y/N, it is on,” he laughs. He picks up the bowl of sugar you had just measured and throws the enormous amount of sugar over your head. “Namjoon!” you try dodging, but it’s no use. “I had that perfectly measured out, you asshole! Now I’ll have to do it all over again!” He shrugs, unfazed, and reaches for the salt and starts sprinkling it over you as well.

You shriek and fling your hands on the counter blindly, and smile when they land on the bottle of vanilla extract. “Take this!” You screech as you hold the bottle upside down over his head and shake out the contents, all on your tippy toes.

Your smile disappears though, when you feel your feet slipping on the mess below you on the floor. You flail aimlessly and your hands land, hard, on Namjoon’s chest. One moment later, and you’re sprawled out on top of Namjoon’s body; the two of you are now a tangled mess on the floor. You’re both breathing heavily and you blink, blushing, not knowing whether to move or not.

His hand reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear and he smiles warmly at you. “What? What is it?” you say, blushing. He shakes his head, still smiling. “You’re just… you’re so beautiful Y/N. And so kind and supportive and understanding,” he takes in a shaky breath. “I’m so lucky to have you, you know? Damn baby, you have no idea how in love I am with you,” he leans up to peck you on your nose. You’re almost sure your face is absolutely red by now.

“I love you too, Namjoon. So much,” you lift your hand to brush some of the flour off his cheeks and his lips and laugh before you lean in and kiss him. He smiles as you kiss him deeper.

Sure, maybe you didn’t always get a chance to be around him; he was busy – you knew what you had signed up for. But it was moments like these that you lived for. Tiny little moments that made your heart bubble and burst. Moments that were better than best, dearer than dear, sweeter than sweet. And you loved every single one of them.

[park-thatasshere]

Polar

                     ‘Your eyes were blown wide full of such promise.’ 

Featuring: V/Taehyung Genre: Angst/Fluff/Smut (light) Word Count: 1.3k

m.list

A/N: This was supposed to be less than 500 words, oops!

You had no idea how long you’d been back here but Taehyung was dead set on keeping you here until he got to satisfy the both of you.

His lips hadn’t left yours the minute you got into the car, hungrily sucking on your bottom lip until it was numb and swollen. You let out a mewl and he released you, wanting to get a better look at his handy work. Your eyes were blown wide full of such promise.

Promises of a future together with a small apartment the size of a shoe box in the heart of the city you’d be able to call home. Promises of a small puppy you’d adopt together. Promises to love him when his defenses were down and he was purely vulnerable to your cuddles.

Seeing you like this only fueled his desire for you even more. His large hands dance under your shirt, warm palms cupping lightly at your supple flesh. He was met with a pleasant surprise when all he felt was the softness of your breast. His thumb swiped across your pert nipple, rolling it between his fingers.

“Mmm, baby, I love you.”

His words startled you, disgusted you almost. Why was it that in times of greed and lust he was always so quick to throw out ‘I love you’.

Feeling a bit discouraged you lightly push against his shoulder to get him off of you. He misses the hint though and continues trailing kisses down your jaw, suckling on the tender skin of your neck. You try to hold in the moan bubbling up in your throat but he gives you an exceptionally hard suck and you are gasping for air, arching up into his chest.

“T-Tae please get off of me.”

“Huh?” He raises his head to look down at you and he wishes he hadn’t. Your eyes are completely foreign to the ones he had just peered into just moments prior. They were cold and had him shivering at how distant you’d become in a matter of minutes.

He slowly sits up, allowing you room to pull your shirt down and adjust your pants.

“W-what’s wrong baby? You feelin’ sick?” He feigns innocents, like he doesn’t know of the many underlying factors in your failing relationship.

“You don’t love me so please don’t say it to me anymore.” Your eyes are cast down as you twiddle with the fringe on your shorts.

“What do you mean?”

“Can we take a step back to remember that you are the hot, well sought after, panty dropping Taehyung and I’m the fucking waste of space with a mustard stain on her shirt!?”

“You have a mustard stain on your-? Oh.” Taehyung snickers into his hand, trying desperately to contain a full blown laughing fit.

“I’m serious Tae! You said you could care less who knows if we are together or not and yet-. Never mind just forget it.” You slide out the back seat, rushing across the street before the tears mar your face.

You feel so humiliated. Humiliated that he was ashamed to call you his girlfriend. Humiliated that you let someone so shallow take your first time, in that same back seat at that. Humiliated that you had a fucking ugly ass yellow mustard stain on your shirt.

All you seemed to be seeing nowadays was the roof of his car. He no longer felt the thrill of getting into the frumpy looking girls pants and only kept you around for a convenient fuck.

You were mainly humiliated with yourself for being so naive. For actually believing that someone so high up in the social hierarchy at your school could go for someone so lame.

When he walked up to you during PE asking for your number you should’ve pretended to be mute like you did to all the other guys that seemed to only see you as a challenge to prove to their friends they could bang you and have you dick whipped for them in a matter of days.

But Taehyung was so sincere and no matter how hard you wanted to ignore him, you were only human. Only a girl with raging hormones. You were no match for his smile. No match for his eyes, his laugh, his fucked out expression, none of it. And it took you nearly ten months to figure that out.

You hear the slamming of a car door behind you followed by someone calling out to you but you just ignore it, trying to get out of there as fast as possible. The tears have already made their arrival along with the snot, you try so hard not to heave or sniffle or make a sound because then he’ll catch on to the affect he has on you.

“___! ___! I know you can hear me!”

He catches up to you with ease and you curse his athleticism for making your escape that much more difficult. He clasps a hand onto your shoulder spinning you around abruptly to be met with an onslaught of crocodile tears sliding down your cheeks in succession. If this wasn’t the cutest fucking thing, but he doesn’t have time to gush over your wide doe eyes and your round cheeks.

“Baby, ___, what’s the matter? Why don’t you think I love you?”

You snivel out, attempting to regain your composure and let him have it.

“Y-you never take me out on dates, a-and w-when you do it’s always i-i-incognito. You are ashamed of me I know it! Y-y-you only use me for s-s-.”

He doesn’t even let you finished you sentence, before he’s extending his arms out to you. He wraps you up in his embrace, rocking you back and forth as you completely break down in his arms. He coos soothing words, rubbing your back up and down in a comforting manner, encouraging you to calm down.

Once he deems you calm enough he pulls you away from him looking down into your eyes. You’ve seen the many faces of Taehyung; his pouting face when you don’t share your food, his upset face when you do something in spite of him, his giddy face when you buy him a rare pokemon card, his O face when he cums. This face was completely new, he seemed so dispirited, like his whole world was determined on if you smiled or not.

“I never, in our ten months of dating, have been ashamed of you in the slightest. Yeah in the beginning I was a bit on edge with how some people were taking the news but it hadn’t bother me enough to care. Well, not until about five months ago,”

He looks to you for permission to continue and you nod your head up at him in approval.

“People started spreading nasty fucking rumors about you and I was so pissed at how they might affect you, So I did distance myself from you at school, but only because I didn’t want you to get hurt. Your life was so peaceful before me and I wanted you to have that peace again. I’m so sorry I hurt you. But don’t ever for a second think I’ve lied when I told you I loved you.”

Your tears had slowed drastically, nearly stopping as you heard his reasoning. This whole time all he’s been doing was protecting you? You reach up to caress his face, pulling his head down to rest his forehead against yours. Words were not needed to convey how sorry you were for doubting him.

“Uh, excuse me, but this is private property. I called the cops ten minutes ago so you’d better scram before you spend you sappy make up in handcuffs.”

You both redirect your attention to see a sour looking woman peeking from her front door with a head full of curlers and a phone in hand. You both apologize profusely before you’re headed back to the car in a fit of laughter. All was well again amongst the pair of you and you couldn’t wipe the smile from your face for the rest of the evening.

[goldenscript]

rule breakers. (m)

↳ based on the prompt, “best friend’s sibling au” → drabbles

pairing: kim taehyung | reader genre: fluff, light smut warnings: light voyeurism word count: 20,453 description: there’s some unresolved history involving your best friend’s brother... but hey, maybe some rules are meant to be broken. author’s note: i get inspired by the oddest little tidbits, and i swear the word count was supposed to be half the amount you see up there. also, say hello to the longest one-shot i’ve done so far.

You have one of the greatest fortunes to be acquainted with the Kims in your first year of primary education, and perhaps it’s what has led you to one of your greatest downfalls (but we’ll get into that later on).

Your best and only friend at the time -after all kindergarten is the toughest on the shy ones- is a girl by the name of Jennie. She’s lively and outgoing, smart as all hell and knows it, and overall, the girl among the rest of the class. For some reason, ones you spent nights on end trying to figure out with no prevail, she picks you to play with. The moment she locks eyes with you, a wide grin already plastered all over her features, she latches herself onto you and won’t let go, and despite your inability to figure out why, you roll with it like many kids do to enjoy this time with a newfound friend.

It doesn’t stop there either. She actually invites you to her house on a play date, something your mother rejoices in as she had fears that your shyness might bar you from proper social development, and you acquiesce within the two weeks of your budding friendship with the extroverted girl, who seriously can’t fight the grin on her lips at the fact that you’re coming to her house the upcoming Saturday for a day of “fun in the sun” despite summer being another ten months. She doesn’t care, and for once, neither do you. You can’t even deny your own excitement at the prospect either, so you’re content to continue chatting with Jennie about the homework for the week now to avoid worrying about it then.

It’s Saturday in no time, and you’re anxious more than ever to be going to the Kim’s house for the very first time. Your mother smiles as she drops you off, pressing a kiss to your forehead before she waves at you. Her eyes are trained on your figure as you knock on the door with a mild tremor, eyes shifting between the light blue paint and the fern perched beside the door. You barely notice the way the white curtains shift off to the corner of your eye though you barely have time to register it in your brain when the door is flung open--a boy with a mop of chocolate brown locks hanging dangerously close to his eyes and a toothy grin meets your wide eyes.

This is Taehyung.

You remember when Jennie told you about her family, naming him right off the bat as the most annoying, gross boy ever that she loved on occasion when he wasn’t trying to show her the worms in their dad’s garden. He has the notorious Kim grin--absolutely unabashed in joy and ulterior motives beyond the innocence their childlike features could mask, and still so strikingly alike, you were absolutely certain that they were indeed siblings.

Behind him are their parents, Jin and Yuna, a peaceful and passive pair who loved that Jennie made a friend she could jabber about as animatedly as she did with you. They’re kind, smiling at you before turning to your mother. They talk to her while Taehyung cranes his head toward the open hallways, giving a squeaky shout of his sister’s name.

Jennie grunts a “What!” from up the stairs.

“Y/N is here!” He huffs, “Hurry up before she dies of boredom!”

She doesn’t say a word until she bounds down the carpeted stairs with a Kim grin on her lips, already locking a hold on your wrist.

“As if she’d die of boredom with me! Maybe with you, Tae!” She giggles, dragging you along.

You turn your head and give your mom a wave while she utters a “Have fun!” A grin on her lips before turning back to Mr. and Mrs. Kim to exchange another string of words before she takes her leave.

Although her departure slips your mind as Jennie leads you outside, releasing your arm and plopping on the soft green grass with an elegant “oomph!” Her legs are folded beneath her and you follow suit, giggling as Taehyung quickly runs past with complaints on his lips about being the ‘boring’ one though she blatantly ignores him.

“Anyway,” She smiles at you, holding an arm behind her back. “I was taking a long time because I have something for you!”

You blink, eyes wide, “Me?”

She nods, leaning in close and even cupping around her lips, “It’s a special thing for our friendship so you absolutely cannot take it off! I mean unless we stop being friends but we’re gonna be friends forever anyway so yeah.” She drops her hand, looking serious, “No taking it off, okay?”

“Okay,” You nod, still trying to figure out what this thing would be. You and Jennie had talked plenty of times about solidifying your friendship together but it still never occurred to you what it could be. You had a handshake already. Hell, you both hung out at lunch. What else was there?

And then it struck you as she has you stick your arm out, tying a small multicolored band made of rope around your wrist. A friendship bracelet.

You stare at it, still amazed as ever at the intertwining of colors and the way they all suit each other. It settles nicely on your wrist and you smile broadly at her.

“Thank you!” You exclaim, touching the way the reds and blues mingle together, a string of black thrown in there as well. Hers is the same color scheme (though hers is white instead of black), just in a different style. The pattern on her wrist crosses in the opposite direction of yours, and it works when it’s held side by side. You touch the half-inch wide material in awe, “I love it…”

“Good, I’m happy. That’s why I was late!” She says a little louder, glancing at the corner of the garden where Taehyung is look beneath the decorative stones for some new creature. He ignores Jennie, his gaze flickering you for a split second before he pretends to get interested by the dark dirt below.

She shakes her head, turning to you with raised brows. “So, how about we play something?”

You nod, “Okay!”

The two of you decide on an imaginative game where you’re in search of a magical world that can only be accessed through the stepping stones. It’s a place where ice cream is behind the foliage of the trees, waiting to be eaten, a place where each step is carefully calculated, and a place where there are “no annoying brothers” according to Jennie. Taehyung only complains when he hears that, eyes flickering to meet yours though you look away immediately and try to avoid his stepping stone to save his feelings.

Taehyung doesn’t bother you two after that though he does manage to wiggle his way in when you’re both complaining that there needs to be some action in your sudden tale of a prince turning into a monster so the princesses must save him. He pretends to try and throw dirt at you two, nearly whacking a brass wind spinner in the process. The shrieks you and Jennie elicit in response are matched his squeaky laughter, the three of you running around in a frenzy until their mother comes to check on what all the ruckus is about.

She returns to a seen of Taehyung beneath you in Jennie, his small pants trickling out in between bits of laughter as his sister attacks his sides with laughter to get him to release you in your failed attempt to “turn” him back to human. You can’t help but squirm, trying to join in as soon as he releases his hold and already calling for mercy.

You two are triumph, and although he grumbles about losing he can’t seem to deny the happiness in seeing how happy you two are with a satisfied grin. He glances at his mom, waving at her as she laughs at you three, a twinkle flashing in her eyes that none of you seem to notice.

“Come in for lunch, sillies.”

When the day comes to an end -basically 6 PM- you three are exhausted, spent from the day yet still housing enough energy to voice your disappointments when your mother comes to pick you up. She’s happy to see you’ve enjoyed yourself, and even Mr. and Mrs. Kim are happy to see their own kids quite elated from the day as well.

Before you go Jennie gives you a hug and Taehyung gives you a small wave, both of which you return, and as you turn to leave, Mrs. Kim is content to say, “Please come again!” with that same twinkle in her eye as before.

The moments to transpire afterwards meld into more memories where Taehyung integrates himself in your adventures, and in turn, your friendship.

Usually asking if you need a third person or if there’s anything he can do to contribute though Jennie often just as quick to shut him down, taking you by the hand away from his vicinity to continue your game without his intrusive presence. But sometimes -okay, most times- he grows a little more sad about the rejection, his sunny smile fading into a deep pout, and then you’re the one who warms to the idea of incorporating him. If it meant keeping his tears at bay, you were all for it. After all, seeing Taehyung, toothy grin inventor, unhappy was far too much for you to handle. It just never sat well with you. So, begrudgingly Jennie would acquiesce, telling her older brother to stop crying before explaining him the gist of the current scenario, earning the two of you a very sunny smile.

As time faded into weeks to months to even years, you found your time spent at the Kims was no longer in make believe adventures in the backyard but lounging there on an old blanket of Jennie’s as you both tried to do your book reports on S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, your budding kinship with Taehyung began to fade as he entered the seventh grade. The bond between the three of you in hour long playing sessions where he begged to join in on were practically rendered moot the moment he brings Park Jimin into the house.

He’s a perky kid like Taehyung, but he’s no stranger to attention and often basks in it whenever it’s given to him. With a mop of dark hair and a charming smiling, he loves to aim it at you and Jennie though nothing comes out of it with the older Kim by his side to drag him away to his room to play a new video game or do homework. You admit he’s cute but you only told Jennie that once, and she agreed, swearing you to secrecy when you nearly toppled over in laughter considering she actually dumped a bowl of water on him and Taehyung on a dare from your last sleepover with Hani.

But it isn’t those things that really strike your attention as the main catalysts to Taehyung’s sudden departure from your trio--.

It’s actually the way he treats you.

Nowadays, he ignores you, avoids your eye contact, and only vaguely flashes you one of his sunny grins. If you’re lucky you’ll catch him in mid-laughing fit with Jimin when you’re passing by his bedroom to Jennie’s or when Mr. Kim tries to crack a pun joke, running a palm across his features along the way. You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t a sight you missed, but you decide to ask Jennie about it one day.

“Does he hate me or something?” You ask her, lying atop her bed with your palms underneath your head.

She blinks over at you, head tilted as she swivels around on her chair.

“Who? Tae?”

You sit up so you can nod, “He avoids me like the plague and won’t look me in the eye. So, what’d I do?”

She shrugs, halting her twirling, “Nothing, I bet. You’ve always been nice to him. He’s probably just going through like puberty or whatever--y’know like Jisoo’s brother, Namjoon. Apparently, he -like- skyrocketed over the summer and his voice is all hoarse like a donkey’s.”

You have to refrain from laughing though you fail miserably.

“Oh god, That’s weird to imagine. Tae’s always had a squeaky voice.”

She shudders, nodding, “I’ll need to invest in a new pair of headphones if he starts sounding like a donkey.” She lets out a small giggle before looking back at you, “But yeah, don’t worry about him. He’s just gotten weirder since he became friends with Jimin.”

You can’t seem to get it off your mind though you’re not even entirely sure why it matters in the first place. It isn’t like he was going to keep playing make believe with you and Jennie forever… you just didn’t think he’d end up forgetting your existence in the process.

But then again, it just brings the thought to mind: why does it even matter anyway?

Taehyung hates that he doesn’t understand a damn thing about feelings and expressing them.

He doesn’t get it. What does he do? Is he even supposed to be feeling these things anyway? He’s only in the seventh grade, so why is his heart doing funny things around you?

Out of all people, he can’t shake you off his mind.

He remembers the way you scrunch your nose when you laugh at something he says (at least back when he actually talked to you) or when Jennie brings up an inside joke between the two of you that no one else would understand. Or the way your smile shines the brightest compared to any star in the galaxy in his book. It’s so contagious to smile or laugh when you do, and even though he avoids making any eye contact with you now, he does so with his back turned, trying not to let it show just how much you seem to get him to feel things so effortlessly.

He’s not sure how it happened, because after seeing you in the house for six years straight, he should be used to these things. He shouldn’t think twice about what you mean to him because what you should be is his sister’s best friend and nothing beyond that. Hell, you should be considered a sister by now, but instead you’ve become something beyond platonic names. He doesn’t even want to say the word--crush, but Jimin loves to say it whenever the four of you are within the same vicinity of the second floor with a shit-eating grin and coaxes to get him to confess already.

Whenever he sees you, there’s a sudden flutter to his organ akin to a heart murmur, but perhaps it’s the murmuring of his own heart yearning to tell you the truth about his feelings because he feels like shit for ignoring you, but dammit, he’s so scared of talking to you and risking his feelings getting revealed. He’s seen what’s happened when people confess in the seventh grade. It ends in two ways--success or failure, but for the most part, the good looking boys score the girl, and he’s most certainly no Hyungwon, and he doesn’t want to risk doing that to you--of all people. Plus, Jennie might actually kill him if he scares you off.

He just… he wishes he knew what to do with these feelings he can’t seem to control or comprehend a great deal. It isn’t like he doesn’t think other girls are cute or pretty, but it seems like you just come pushing through the crevices of his mind and settle back to the forefront with that smile and kindness that makes him a mess.

“Just tell her and get it over with,” Jimin tells him one day.

It’s another day back at his house as his place was always the most fun with his large array of video games and the plenty of open space, and although Taehyung has no complaints to his best friend coming by, he hates having this conversation because he’s always conflicted between blurting it out or keeping quiet until he’s certain it’s finally died down, because feelings do that eventually right?

Chocolate brown locks go flying across his forehead as he shakes his head. He states, “No way. We’ve talked about this before, Chim.”

“C’mon, Tae,” Jimin says, eyes wide and brows slightly furrowed. “It wouldn’t hurt you to get it off your chest for once.”

“Yes, it does. It will...” Taehyung says, turning his limbs away from the boy. “Unlike you, I can’t get girls so easily, especially not this one.”

Jimin’s features fall for half a second. It’s quite obvious to Taehyun that his best friend is only trying to help alleviate his growing issue, but it’s one that thinking about is something he already does… on more occasions that he really means to.

You’re already on his mind, when he was in 6th grade and he had no true conception of a crush, only vague pieces that never really pricked his mind into a wholesome puzzle, he enjoyed all his time spent with you. He was able to play games of catch with you and Jennie. Sometimes even create a new one that the three of you could play altogether. There were other times where the three of you would hang around in the living room during a sleepover, talking about the universe and if aliens existed or not. It was all normal and easy and it stuck with him even after the hours of your usual midday departure.

But now, he can’t look at you without his mind drifting to his newfound realization of romantic feelings. Or just feelings in general since he didn’t know what being a romantic was. He’s only seen Nicholas Sparks movies and that one really good film that the three of you loved called “Ten Things I Hate About You”. Unfortunately, he could not be the Patrick to your Kat or the Cameron to your Bianca. Not even the Michael to your Mandella. He was just Taehyung, your best friend’s older brother.

“I mean… would it really hurt to let her know? Just tell her and even if she doesn’t feel the same way then you can get over her! That could be pretty beneficial, y’know.” Jimin perks up, eyes alight with a glimmer of hope.

It’s endearing, and Taehyung actually considers the possibility. What we would do to just tell you and see what happens… but then it hits him--.

What if you do feel the same way? What then? What’s supposed to happen after you two realize your feelings for one another? Do you start dating? Are you boyfriend and girlfriend already? Again, he has no actual conception of what to do in either situation. Either get hurt and deal with his first rejection or get thrown into a scenario that he is far from being equipped to handle.

And so, he shakes his head again. His eyes trained on his desk where their finished homework lay. He just wishes it was simple again.

“I can’t even do that…” He sighs, “I still wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Taehyung…” He hears Jimin’s voice, soft and a little sad, but he just flashes the older boy a halfhearted smile even if it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

“I think it’s better I don’t say anything. Maybe the feelings will go away on their own.”

In this moment, a quote from the Outsiders flashes his mind: “I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.”  

Perhaps he just hoped the more he said that the feelings would go away, the more likely they actually would.

The next two years pass by quickly, each one filled with a new adventure with Jennie and Taehyung, nothing but soft smiles gracing his lips or a gentle greeting that comes in the form of a flick of the wrist. It all leads to the big announcement at the end of your eighth year in education.

In the midst of planning your next four years in high school with your best friend, the plans are put to an immediate halt when your mother announces that you’ll be moving to a city nearly an hour and a half away for a new job. It feels like everything’s suddenly been put on pause and your heart can’t bear the news when you break it to Jennie, who actually looks like she could start crying if you keep talking about the notion.

The ideas of experiencing high school parties and later curfews seems like a fleeting ideal as your mind wraps around the mere fact that you will no longer be living in this same, quaint town with the same people you’ve known since you were learning how to read and write, some even before that like learning the concept of sharing and manners with them in the year prior to the real, hard-hitting academics. Even if you can’t say your entire experience in this place is perfect, it was the best that it could’ve been through your eyes, and what’s worse is knowing that high school is going to be spent alone without the comfort of your best friend at your side.

The day you tell your surrogate family the news, their downcast faces are fresh in your mind. Yuna gives you a tight hug and Jin gives you one as well. The former imparting her own wise words before you move onto the next stage in your education before you’re moving onto college. Given, that’s only four years away, you take her kind words to heart: “Don’t let the world change you, okay? Whatever you want, you chase for it because what you want will always set you free from whatever boundaries your mind thinks up.”

Jin just grins at you, a bright, pearly set meets your eyes and it immediately strike you how much it reminds you of Taehyung’s, instructing you on how to throw a mean punch if you ever need to, and of course, you make sure to keep that one in mind as well. Who knows when you’ll need either pieces?

Jennie is an absolute wreck. She makes her upset visible and her bleary eyes make yours prick with threatening tears. Your heart feels like it’s being wrenched together and apart like an accordion as she continues to mention all the things you were supposed to do together during high school, all the things you were going to experience together, all the parties, the sleepovers, the conversations about which teachers you hated and loved together, and all the other components that best friends often did during these fours years before college came and took its course on their lives--the ultimate test to the friendship that would determine whether it powers through or falls apart. And now… it’s not possible.

At least not in that way you both anticipated.

There’s no doubt you two would keep in contact —cell phones, letters, social media… it’s all within your reach and at your disposal so there is not any reason to fear for a future without your best friend. You know this; she knows this. And as begrudging as she is to the idea of letting you go, you two promise to talk everyday and, if you can help it, then visit one another during the summer time or during school vacations because it was absolutely necessary to see one another.

“We’ll have a spring break where we go to the beach or something. Maybe you can come for like a month of summer too!” Jennie says, her eyes are glimmering with hope and anticipation among the sadness that still clouds her warm brown eyes.

You nod vigorously, hoping that she won’t start crying again. Once she starts, you might not even hold back either. It’s worse thinking about the actual moving day when you’re sure the water works are going to burst for certain.

“Of course! When our new place is settled and you’re free, you’re visiting me too okay?”

She flashes you the famous Kim smile, at least an attempt of one, before extending her hand out to yours, “Of course! It’ll be the only thing I look forward to.”

You give her hand a squeeze, feeling your heart flutter at the warmth it provides.

It makes you sad that you can’t even take away the pain. This is beyond something that comforting words and tight embraces can fix, and perhaps it’s just something you two will have to overcome for the sake of each other.

“You should tell Tae when you’re moving.” She says softly, “I’m sure he’d like to be there. Not that I wouldn’t drag him over there but it’s probably better he hears it from you anyway.”

You quirk a brow at her, “Would he even care to come?”

“You never know… maybe he’s grown a heart now that he’s in high school.” She gives you a shrug, but your confliction is obvious on your features because she continues to speak, “Hey, he still cares. You’re the one who used to defend him from me remember? He just has trouble expressing himself.”

“Over what?” You ask her, both brows now quirked upward. “I mean what would he need to express. A simple conversation wouldn’t hurt y’know. And for the past three years all he’s done is ignore me or act really awkward around me.”

“Maybe you make him nervous?” She suggests and her usual sarcastic smile isn’t curved on her lips as she says this, which throws you off over all else. Taehyung being nervous around you of all people? You’re hardly anyone should be nervous around--let alone him.

Your eyes narrow and your brows scrunch together, “Ha-ha. Very funny, Jen. But I’ve been around for like nine years already, why would I do that?”   

She lets out a small huff, “Honestly, I have no clue. I confronted him on it like once but he never told me anything. Just that he really wasn’t sure how to be around you. Whatever that means--just… well, you don’t have to tell him, Y/N. I can do it.”

You smile and nod, “Please do. I want to. I do, but it’s always a door to the face talking to him. He barely looks at me, acknowledges me… I mean I’d understand if I actually did something but the worst thing I did -that I can remember- is stepping on that one stone with his friend Mr. Grey!”

Jennie lets your hand go, trying to cover her mouth of the titters leaving her lips, visibly failing, mind you.

“You still remember that?”

You nod, “It might’ve been second grade but I certainly remember making him cry, okay!” Even though it was a terrible thing at that time, you can’t help but smile as your best friend laughs with wholesome giggles.

Even if Taehyung didn’t want to speak to you, and leaving without a word leaves you feeling off and empty like an unnatural and uncomfortable jab to your side. It gives you an ache in your head and heart, because for the past three years, you’ve been ignored by him. And for the past three years, it’s been on gnawing on your mind as to why this might be.

What did you do? You’re certain that it’s nothing. Could you have done something? Possibly, but how can you ever know if he won’t tell you? But most of all, the same question you had three years ago: Why does it matter anyway?

He’s your best friend’s brother. Why does it matter that he’s been ignoring you? If anything, this should’ve been a blessing. Most siblings were extremely annoying like Jisoo’s older brother, Namjoon! He loved listening into your conversations and wouldn’t relent unless you three blackmailed him with that one time he slipped onto his back after one step into a pool that Jennie (thankfully) recorded.

However, he’s far from being like that. He’s always been supportive and quite respectful toward his sister, always the one to drag Jimin away if the older boy was being too flirty though it was in good fun anyway. You and Jennie didn’t mind, but her brother did in that respect. And it was admirable.

Whatever his reasons are, you’re actually quite surprised to see him at your door on your moving day.

He softly asks if you need any help moving, and when he steps aside, you only see Jimin behind him, waving at you while he goes over to your mom to ask if there’s anything that he can move while it appears the brunet entering your home handles the inside.

You nod, pointing him in the direction of the kitchen where all the silverware and the plates are. One of the boxes is still taped up, a few handmade knick knacks placed inside that your mother was still carefully wrapping up before it got stored away inside the front of the care alongside a few other important, fragile items you both wanted close.

He grabs hold of one of the box of plates with as much grace as a baby deer trying to walk. He huffs a little at the sudden weight but his long, gangly arms manage to grapple onto the cardboard material with a proper grip before he’s asking you where you want it in the truck. You follow him outside, giving him instructions on putting it near the front since most of the heavier stuff has already been loaded into the back.

He nods, placing it onto the metal bed before following you back into the house for another load while Jimin is still chatting with your mother about where what goes.

“Where are Jennie and your parents?” You ask him as you finish the job your mother was setting out to do with the handmade knick knacks.

You try not to make eye contact with Taehyung, but the burning desire to see him is all too powerful as your eyes flicker in his direction to find him staring at you.

He blinks away, eyes trained back on the cardboard box on the counter filled with pots and pans. “Um, Jennie wanted to surprise you with something, and my parents said they’d come in a bit…”

“Okay…” You nod, eyes flickering over his figure. His posture albeit terrible from all his countless video game marathons with Jimin finds purchase in the corner of your counter and his fingers are gripping the box so tightly it’s damn near slipping. “Are you alright? I’m sure you could’ve waited with your parents to come or something...”

He nods quickly, suddenly meeting your eyes, “I’m fine… I—uh; well, I figured I should help out. Jimin wanted to also… so… yeah.”

When you nod again, he adds, “It’s no problem anyway.”

“I hope you aren’t just helping ‘cuz your parents are forcing you to…” You half-joke with a matching half-smile. For whatever reason, if being around you made Taehyung that uncomfortable then you certainly hoped that he wasn’t being forced into being around you. You can accept his discomfort, and if it’s that bad then you’d certainly do your best to alleviate it without too many qualms about it.

“No, I wanted- I mean I want to.” He stammers just a bit. His cheeks dust with slight rouge, but you make no comment on it.

You have your own little dust of pink when you feel yourself smile ever-slightly, but try to ignore it enough to nod once again. “Okay, since you say so…” You rise from your spot, knowing that the busy work can wait as you grab hold of a different box with an assortment of bowls before guiding him back to the truck where it appears Jimin is also shoving one of the containers of your mother’s clothes into the moving van.

You follow suit and Taehyung does the same, and the cycle goes on even as Jennie arrives after another hour with her parents with a item behind her back.

Your mother goes over to them with a grateful smiling, thanking them profusely for sending the boys over to help out and for coming on such a busy day to see you off. Of course, they assure her it’s no problem, and that they’re more than happy to stop by and whenever we’re ready at our new home then they’d gladly come by to check it out and celebrate which your mother was more than elated to agree to.

Jennie sneaks over to you, Taehyung, and Jimin perched on the edge of the truck. Her lips are pulled into a grin as she reveals the concealed item from her back and into your lap. It feels quite light as a whole and it takes up a small, rectangular shape in the newspaper wrapping.

Soon enough, you’re tearing into the paper as the onlookers watch around you. There’s hints of red and canary yellow with some black thrown in on the cardboard packaging. The ideas are already pouring in your head at the Kodak reusable camera now unsheathed in your palms. Before you decide to take action you turn to Jennie with a grin on your own lips, pulling the brunette tightly in your arms.

“Thank you,” You tell her, feeling something well up in your chest. It goes upward into your throat and settles in your tear ducts, but you refuse to let it overtake you. If you start, she’ll start too. For both your sakes, you just muster enough of a poker face and turn to the pair beside you, “D’ya guys wanna take a group photo?”

Jennie voices her affirmation and even Jimin’s chorusing with his own ‘yes.’ It just leave Taehyung, and he barely looks at you when you focus on him. Despite him ignoring you these past few years, you won’t deny that you’d like to have his face commemorated among yours, Jennie’s, and Jimin’s after all of this.

He turns away from your expectant gaze, looking at the ground before softly offering to take the picture instead.

The three of you are quick to voice your complaints, but he merely continues his ministration, ignoring the white noise. He’s almost ready to hop off the truck and walk away until you say, “C’mon Tae, I want you in the picture too!”

For whatever reason, it grows a little silent after that, and as embarrassing as it sounds, you refuse to take it back when you mean every word.

He looks up at you, ignoring the look that Jimin and Jennie both have trained on him. He sounds different when he talks once more, but his still slightly high voice is complete with conviction when he says, “Alright. I will then.”

You grin widely at him, taking a seat beside him while Jennie hails one of the adults to your area. That alone halts the adult conversation, piquing their interest as someone begins to talk back as Jennie takes her spot beside you. Yuna appears with curious eyes before you hand her the camera and ask if she’d be so kind as to taking a photograph of the four of you together.

She makes sure to hear the click of the camera before counting down from three and snapping the shot of the four of you perched at the back of the moving van. There are three photos from that day - one normal one of the four of you, a silly one, and somehow the four of you managed to squeeze in together the rest of the adults altogether. Each one you absolutely knew you would adore.

As sad as the day is, you can’t deny how much you’ve come to enjoy it.

How the sun is just right, hanging in the middle of the sky casting a yellow and orange glow, melding together in a swarm of flames that dance lower and lower into the sky as time continues to pass. Although it reminds you of the fact that your time in this town is up, it brings you joy that everyone could gather and spend it all together.

The last of the boxes are soon packed up, and the tears welling up in your tear ducts threaten to come loose, cascading down your visage in waves as Jennie gives you one last squeeze. Yuna even adds in her own set of warmth as well as Jin. You aren’t surprised Jimin does so as well, but you feel another set of arms soon wrap around you that you swear you never thought you would feel again.

Mr. and Mrs. Kim have long seen released you, going to your mother to comfort her with their words and even appease their own sadness of letting go of their own friend. Somewhere along the way so does Jimin and Jennie, but only to look on with curious eyes veiling the wide ones at this sudden form of contact.

You see Taehyung with pink cheeks adorning his too-small face that housed his too big nose. His long, lanky limbs too long and lanky for his still-growing body. And although he’s nothing like the boy you remember in previous years, you can’t deny the warmth he offers you as he squeezes you tight without another word aside from a soft good-bye before Jennie takes you back up in her arms and lets her water works continue to flow.

“Visit soon okay?” She mutters into your ear, causing a small convulsion to wrack your body. It tickles as she continues but you cling to her tighter, “We’ll get through high school together. Me and you.”

You nod vigorously, “We will… Jen… I’ll see you soon.”

The embrace is broken, sad smiles both perched on your lips before you approach Jimin and Taehyung one more time and Jennie’s gone over to your mother to give her one last hug. You glance between them and say, “I know I didn’t say this earlier but thank you for helping and coming out here. I know it’s not the best way to spend a Saturday but I’m glad I got to see you, Tae…”

With an added nod in Jimin’s direction, you continue, “Chim…”

You turn to go, seeing as everyone else seems to be wrapping up their farewells, trying not to focus too much on the push that Jimin sends in Taehyung’s direction.

When he nearly topples over, you’re at his side. “Are you okay?” You ask, eyes as wide as they can get despite the puffiness overtaking them.

He nods, muttering, “Jimin’s just a dummy,” as the older boy walks off in search of nothing in particular, “I- um- I’m alright by the way.”

His voice is soft again, but you just smile and giving him a little room.

“Y/N-”

You tilt your head at him, eyes meeting his in the ensuing twilight, mind completely blank in the possibilities of what he might say next. It’s been so long since you two have last talked. It’s actually been too long since then. The moment you two will finally talk is here, and it’s invigorating to imagine that, because after so damn long you can finally hear him talk to you instead walking the other way or giving you that really awkward tight-lipped smile and flick of his wrist combination.

“I-” But a voice calls your name, and disappointment plunges your heart into your stomach at the interruption. You look at Taehyung with apologetic eyes, hoping he’ll continue but his mouth is clamped shut. “Never mind.”

“Are you sure?” You ask, still looking at him.

He refuses to meet your eyes now, but nods in response.

“Yeah… I’ll -uh- see you whenever. Good luck.”

You don’t press further, no matter how much your curiosity burns,  just flash his a small smile then take your leave to the moving van with your mother.

The scene passes in a blur - you remember waving at all the melancholic faces, sporting your own as well, and suddenly you’re down the highway toward your new home.

His mind swims with too many thoughts. What he should have done, what he did not do, and what went wrong — especially to what broken sentiments his heart is feeling.

You are gone, leaving him alone; and, he never found the courage to tell you three simple words.

“Did you do it?” Jimin asks, returning to the younger boy’s sides the moment the van begins to disappear down the street.

Soon it’s out of sight.

And suddenly Taehyung feels worse than before. The sun’s already gone down and like the warm and light of the burning sun, you’re gone too.

He shakes his head, “No. I couldn’t.”

As sharp exhales exits Jimin’s lips and he gives him a small shove.

“You know you could’ve. You just chose not to, Taehyung.”

The aforementioned dares a glance at the older boy, receiving a disappointed look. He knew he was supposed to, but even just saying it now wouldn’t have been right either. The more he considered it the day Jennie told him you were leaving, he wanted to denounce the idea of telling you altogether.

He was getting closer and closer to just ignoring the mere fact, pretending it never existed like he thought he should before - after all, feelings go away right? And with enough time he’d forget the curve of your smile or the light in your eyes or the way you’d scrunch your nose is amusement whenever Jimin tried to throw a cheesy pick-up line your way.

He still finds his mind plagued with thoughts of you and the regrets he’s had since the moment he acquired feelings for you, because since then he’s treated you as crappy as he could muster without being completely terrible in hopes that maybe he won’t have to admit to it some time down the road. It’s all too much to believe that he still has feelings for you now.

Nearly four years down the road, and here he is - still in awe over your visage and your hard work. All your passion in things aside from boys and what the girl wear -”because who gives a crap?”- and instead all your focus on academics and making sure Jennie’s on track right with you. Even asking him how he’s been despite his prolonged attempt in shutting you out.

Telling you on your last day in town wouldn’t have done anything but confuse you. And if he could help it, he wouldn’t let you suffer through that phase like he did… like he’s still suffering through it.  

“It’s just not the right time, Chim.”

Maybe one day.

You move that summer before high school begins, unseeing the magic of puberty take its course on the young man by the name of Kim Taehyung, yet leaving him in that same dilemma in which he is unable to see puberty take its course on you as well.

The move away from Daegu is a positive one. Busan itself is beautiful and an opportunity to redefine yourself as a solo person. Back there, you were always one half of a dynamic duo, and now you’re free to finally understand yourself and not be clumped with Jennie in case any mishap happens among your peers though it was highly likely it was because of the two of you but that is besides the point--

Your freshman year is spent getting adjusted to a life away from the place you considered home for the past thirteen years. It’s spent getting to know the other first years, trying to establish some form of friendship to make the entire experience bearable. They certainly came considering you were not part of their middle school cliques, but very few actually withstood the passage of time - a boy by the name of Jeon Jungkook, a girl by the name of Rose, and another boy by the name of Kim Yugyeom. Each other of them were kind, sticking by you and even advising you in the ways of navigating the campus whenever you got lost though there were times when the tallest of the bunch managed to get you all on the opposite side of where you were supposed to go, it certainly saved for plenty of stories that you’d relay back to Jennie, who would do the same with her tales about Hani, Jisoo, Changkyun too, and even some of Jimin and Taehyung.

Now that you weren’t around, it seemed that Taehyung had opened up though you aren’t sure how your presence would’ve changed anything either way you were glad to hear him finally speaking up for himself whenever it was granted. He never gave an indication of contact with you. Not even when you called Jennie and she offered to pass him the phone, opting to do homework or excuse him to go out with the rest of the guys, because someone he managed to befriend Namjoon and Hoseok.

Jennie tells you his voice gained momentum, deepening at the start of his sophomore year and his lanky, awkward limbs grew into their own proportions, leaning him up to almost two two meters. No longer soft spoken or quite as awkward, he seemed to find his place among his friends, earning a title as the most daring of the bunch.

It’s surprising at first, but you’re glad that he has finally found a place now.

Your sophomore year is spent with a new array of challenges, but ones that pay off nonetheless. There are things like feelings and boys and some girls and it’s an utter mess. You don’t even know how to feel or what to think so much as you’re certain that you can’t wait for your spring break when you’ll get to have your best friend come over. The plans you two can do together mostly mean a venture to the beach and it brings a smile to your face to finally have close.

It’s only a little different to see her in the flesh this year. The passage of time is washed over her features, her hair is a little longer past her shoulders, and her limbs have grown just a smidgen taller, and nonetheless she is gorgeous as ever. Her personality has changed little, still the spitfire, ready for the next adventure as you two go on to meet up with some of your friends after she’s settled at your place.

They suggest a day at the beach, and perhaps that’s the day that changes more than you think. For reasons unbeknownst to you, those feelings you’ve never understood resurface and play into your excursions together. You’re not sure why you feel so fond of her, but there are butterflies that ricochet throughout the confines of your stomach the longer you spend with her. That day at the beach changes everything. The feeling of her taking away your first kiss as innocent as it was. Your heart flutters but the two of you know beyond the title of best friends there’s nothing to change that status even with a little kiss that washes away the anxieties you’ve had previously about whether you could actually do it because this is the sole reason why things never worked out with Jaebum anyway (not that he’s very bitter about it either).

Like any other moment between you two, this one is sealed away like a tale for a random day when you’re among friends.

What she tells you afterwards still resonates in your mind, “At least I was the first one.”

“Well, who’s supposed to be the second then?”

She winks and gleams the fact that you might find out the following year — whatever that means.

Your junior year is finally your time to stay at Jennie’s for spring break. It’s exciting to know you’ll be spending that time at the Kim’s, maybe catch a glimpse of Taehyung if you’re lucky, and spend that time with your second family. For whatever reason, he was never present at your brief visits prior to this one. Something akin to being out with the guys or spending nights at their place until your visit was over.

Still, what are the chances of him avoiding you again anyway?

Jennie did say he changed since you were last living there after all.

You find out the day you arrive at the Kim’s. Jennie’s elated visage greeting you at the doorway before wrapping her arms around you and guiding you inside. She has you set all your items in her bedroom while you plop onto her bed, feeling the fatigue of travel finally washing away the longer you’re around your energetic best friend, who’s already chatting your ear off about the plans you two have for the next six days together.

Luckily for you, today is the chill one.

“Where is everyone?” You ask her, sitting up as she swivels around on her chair.

“Mom and dad went grocery shopping since you’re here, Tae’s -um- I think he’s out with friends maybe?” She shrugs her shoulders, “He’s usually out doing something nowadays.”

You nod, feeling oddly curious to see the elusive boy. It’s been too long since you’ve seen him and his mop of dark locks or heard the sound of his voice. Hell, you actually wondered if he sounded the same or if he even looked remotely akin to what you remembered. Time itself usually aids in the transformation but how different did he look now?

“Oh! I finally printed those pictures I was telling you about,” Jennie exclaims, rolling her chair over to the white bookshelf leaning against the wall beneath her window. “Some of them are from last spring, but I have a few from Christmas that you haven’t seen yet. My mom loves the oven mitts, by the way.”

You grin, “Good, I’m glad! Did the tie fit your dad okay?”

She nods, handing you the faux-leather bound album. “Take a look. I think he’s wearing it in the picture. He loved it a hell of a lot more than the Rugrats tie Tae got him. Mind you, dad was even happier that you actually remembered he was a Pokémon kinda guy.”

You laugh, flipping through the pages of the album from the start. It’s large and filled with tons of photos that start from the moment Jennie picked up a camera. Each one a memory that she deemed necessary to be recorded - quite a few had you in it, and you smile at the one you sent her that time you moved.

The top one has you, Jennie, Taehyung, and Jimin seated in the back seat of the moving van with the light of the sun casting a deep orange glow over your smiling faces. You remember Yuna taking the photo, smiling as ever, as she counted down and snapped two shots. This one was the normal one. The second one was the silly one with the eldest of your bunch sticking his tongue out, Taehyung had his nose puffed out with his cheeks, Jennie was cross-eyed, and you were doing a mix of nose scrunch and puffing out your cheeks. It elicits a growing grin on your lips.

The next set is the one of the everyone cramming together. Somehow half of Jimin managed to get cut out and Jin’s shoulders are mostly present, but it’s a photo of that you still have hanging in your room, reminding you of simpler times.

You continue onto the next set of photos, catching glimpsing of a familiar Taehyung in some of them until the next two pages have someone else in his place. It’s a man who has the same mop of dark brown hair as him, but the usually large nose of his face actually fits the rest of his features and the limbs are evened out. He actually looks really tall compared to the others too.

Is that him?

Now that you’re looking at the other faces, you catch sight of Jimin’s - his notorious eye smile is a dead giveaway next to the mop of jet black locks adorning his forehead haphazardly. You see Jennie’s, dark brown like the taller man’s, and a grin that matches his. And suddenly it hits you!--

Same grin… it has to be… right?

“That’s your brother?” You ask, pointing at him.

Jennie blinks, glancing at your finger, before nodding.

“Yeah, why?”

You respond, “He…” Looking at it once more, “Looks different.”

“I suppose so. I did have to buy a pair of those headphones though.”

Your nose scrunches as you giggle at the reminder of donkey screeches back in sixth grade though you still can’t deny how much Taehyung has aged nicely.

If Jennie had not confirmed your suspicions you would’ve assumed the guy in the photos was just some really attractive guy standing between your best friend and her brother’s best friend. But the more your eyes linger on the photo, it becomes undeniable that it is indeed Kim Taehyung, aged gracefully and fruitfully by time and her companion puberty at its finest.

And for anyone, this might seem weird (and perhaps it is) but you’ve spent plenty of time wondering what he looks like now, how he’s been, and what he sounds like because there has been too many times where you swear you hear a deep, baritone voice and it makes you curious who that could be.

You genuinely ponder if could it really be him? It strikes you how much has changed now that you’ve seen him and possibly heard his voice, but you try not to dwell on it so much. After all, why does it matter anyway?

People grow up, get taller, voices change — it’s normal.

So, you continue to flip through the photos, settling on the Kim’s last Christmas photo. The unrecognizable man in the photos is among the four bodies smiling broadly with a grin that is akin to Jin’s, and it’s just presently clear just how much time has passed since you last came around to visit and it definitely makes you wonder just how much you’ve missed since that day three years ago.

> > >

And not even an hour later, you do find yourself face to face with the man you’ve spent that time pondering about.

You’re downstairs with Jennie while Yuna and Jin are preparing dinner together, happy to have you but insistent as ever to get you to relax since you drove over there. The two of you are just giggling over what’s going on in the movie, the two of you coaxing the main characters to think a little more wiser when the doorbell rings and halts your advising.

Jin asks if either one of you two can get it, so you and Jennie decide with rock-paper-scissors, leaving you as the loser and the door opener.

Rising from your seat, you tentatively make your way to the door and briefly check on the peephole. You see a mop of dark locks and open the door, smiling when you see that it’s Jimin, who’s eying you with raised brows.

“Y/N?” He says with a curving grin on his lips.

“Yes, and you’re Jimin.” You reply, he’s ready to flick your forehead like he used to before but he wraps you up in a tight hug instead, earning a yelp in response.

Somewhere in the background, Jennie snickers in response.

“Hey!” You huff when he promptly lifts you from your spot. “Use your strength for good, not evil Chim.”

When he sets you down, he’s about to open his mouth when someone comes jogging beside him. Their attention is trained on the alabaster-skinned boy with a pointed look. A deep voice questioning him, “Are you harassing my sister again, Chim? ‘Cuz-”

“No!” Jimin says immediately, gesturing toward you. His eyes are agleam, a smirk curving on his pinkish lips.“I was greeting Y/N!”

There’s air of mischief as the eldest teen says this, not that you have a moment to question it, because the moment he does, Taehyung’s gaze follows the trail of his arm and rests his sights on your visage. His eyes go wide as if he’s never seen you before, but when he utters your name, your heart is fluttering in an unfamiliar tempo.

When he sees you, he can’t deny how much time has aged you to perfection. The way your hair falls past your shoulders, eyes still lovely as ever, and the smile he sees on your lips from your residual fun with Jimin. He’s not sure what of seeing you has caused his brain to go into haywire, but any other words can hardly formulate sentences as he continues to make eye contact with you.

“Hi,” You say without a moment to spare. A part of you hopes to see if he’ll respond, but another part is still stuck in how brown his eyes are, how much wiser they look now that there’s been some years between his freshman self to now -- a senior in high school no less.

In all the time that has passed, neither of you never would’ve anticipated seeing each other in a flurry of circumstances like this one, and neither of you certainly never would’ve found yourself finding a sudden sensation of chemicals to rush in the your brains and relinquish something as potent as it did, but even as you both stand there staring at one another, he’s thrown back to emotions he thought he forgot about and now you’re thrown into a set of emotions that you never once thought were ones you held for him.

Whatever is the case, the two of you break away from the contact. Its power resides over the two of you like a cloud, leaving one another in a semblance of turmoil to understand what exactly happened just then.

“R-right, um… hi.” He says, blinking once again as Jimin nudges him from the corner of your eye. His voice is familiar, yet far from the soft, squeaky voice you’ve known though you have to admit you quite like the sound of it now as well.

You step aside to allow them a chance at entering and wonder back to your seat besides Jennie. Jimin waves at Jennie and sneaks into the kitchen to greet Mr. and Mrs. Kim before the two are scurrying off into Taehyung’s room.

Jennie looks over at you, cheeks flushed and eyes trained on the coffee table, and asks after nudging you with her elbow, “You okay?”

You blink before meeting her gaze, her coffee brown hues taking in your features with a keen eye, so you nod quickly, “I’m fine. Just surprised to see them s’all.”

The brunette nods, humming an affirmation though the prominence of her cheekbones only tells you that she knows more than you’re letting on.

> > >

The next few days have become an odd nostalgia to the sixth grade when Taehyung did his best to avoid you or keep as far as he could without being too weird about it. He’s mostly been going out with his friends. On occasion, he’ll wave at you, then turn away to leave to wherever is his next venue, but each glance you two share lingers and your thoughts about one another seem to only come more and more frequently. At least on your end, you can’t seem to get him out of your mind.

Coming back to the Kims reminds you of all the times you spent playing with him as a kid then later all the times you spent wondering why he refused to talk to you. It bothered you back then like it does now because you simply didn’t know why he was ignoring you. All you wanted to do was hang out with him, have a laugh… be someone to make him laugh, make him smile, spend time with him. It’s not wrong right?

It’s new to think that these are the reasons why him not talking to you bothered you so greatly, but in understanding your feelings and what it meant to have crushes in the past few years, you’ve slowly started to succumb to the idea of seeing Taehyung as more than just Jennie’s older brother. He was more than that in your eyes, but you never considered him like your own brother either. Maybe that was why it always bothered you. Maybe in seeing him as more than a surrogate sibling and in your irritation of being ignored, you hoped that he would simply see you as more than just his kid sister’s best friend.

Maybe that’s why things never worked out with Jaebum or never started with Jennie though you’re still fuzzy on the latter. You’re sure that whatever’s there for Taehyung runs deep because since you were a kid you saw him in high regard. He was always helping you if you needed it, and if there was a monster at the door he would answer it and try to chase it away. Back when you were scared to sleep over at Jennie’s for the first time, he tried to make that time as comfortable as possible by nestling himself on the floor of the bedroom, making a tent so the three of you could nestle inside with giggles and stories to last until it was midnight and you were all fast asleep.

It isn’t to say that these were the reasons for you to crush on him, but it’s your reasons to see him so fondly because instead of deeming you and Jennie “dumb girls” he played with you two anyway - cooties or not. He made sure to take your feelings into account because that’s what kind of person he was. No matter what he wanted to make sure you and Jennie didn’t have to suffer too much heartache as kids because he didn’t like it himself.

And in all that consideration, you can’t help but recall the fondness you’ve always held for him during this time spent at the Kims. It’s been there. You know that for certain. Without a doubt, it’s become second nature to care for him and Jennie - it’s why you’ve sent Christmas and birthday gifts because you loved the entire family, including them both.

Jennie is indeed your first friend, but to be perfectly honest, Taehyung is your second friend.

Since this realization, an epiphany that cost you a sleepless night, you’ve tried to determine whether they were plausible feelings or not. For all you know, it could just be your own hormonal lust over the sight of your best friend’s attractive older brother over all else, and doing anything with him might actually leave you with nothing in hopes of a relationship or a connection.

You had it with Jennie, that’s for certain, but neither of you pursued anything further. But what about Taehyung? Could anything be there as well?

You’re not even sure if you want that, but an answer is better than waiting forever.

> > >

Later that night, Jennie hears about a party at a Min Yoongi’s house. It’s supposed to be a rager considering it’s a spring break kickback, but she knows that the prospect of alcohol and smoking will turn her parents away from the idea. Especially knowing that Yoongi is one of Taehyung’s friends - not that he has bad friends, per say, but the last time your best friend tried going to one of his friend’s parties, the elder Kim did his best to turn his parents away from letting her go despite him going later on.

“We’ll take my window.” She answers when you ask her how she expects either of you to get out without anyone realizing it. “And we’ll use your car since my parents are gonna be deadass asleep anyway. Tae’ll be out before we are so we’ll just go late.”

It all sounds fairly simple, and you’ve never doubted Jennie’s skills once.

There’s a white fence leaning against the space beneath her window. You scale it and hop down, sneaking out by the fence on the opposite end of where Mr. and Mrs. Kim are sleeping. You’re donning a pair of shorts and sheer blouse, thankful that you didn’t opt for anything other than that as you maneuver your way down toward your car alongside a grinning Jennie. You parked a little down the street, so you’re both quietly jogging over, trying to stifle your excited giggles.

It’s around 1 AM when you both arrive to the shindig.

Min Yoongi’s house is filled with bodies clumped together is masses among the dimly lit living room, red cups in their hands as some dare to take tentative sips. Others down the whole thing like it’s some cup of liquid courage before trying their hand at impressing one another with some sauve opening line. Some seem to be successful while others are visibly drowning as their possible partners walk off in search of other options. At the least, decent music is reverberating against the walls in waves, even the crowd is swaying rhythmically to the well-produced tunes.

There’s a refreshments table on the left side of the room, a crowd of bodies in the center of the floor, and the entrance of the kitchen is at your right past a corridor and at least three other bodies that you didn’t bother getting a good look at.

Jennie’s eyes are gleaming with excitement at the sights, darting between the options,  and you admit that you’re bubbling all over as well.

She leans in close to the shell of your ear and whispers, “What should we do first?”

Your eyes scan the area carefully. Next to enjoying yourselves, you both did not want to bump into Taehyung or any of the other guys if possible.

From where you are by the doorway, you catch a glimpse of Taehyung laughing up a storm with Hoseok about god-knows-what in the kitchen. The former is seated on the counter while the latter leans his hip against the edge.

“Dance floor,” You turn to her, pointing a thumb toward the kitchen. “Spotted your brother and Hobie, by the way.”

By the time you’re on the dancefloor, you two have narrowly missed a stretched out version of Namjoon. You sway besides Jennie, her body pressed against your body in the close-knit circle of dancers, watching as he’s now chatting up a tall girl with long legs and short hair, but the dimpled grin on his lips and the cup in his hand is enough to keep him busy for quite a bit.

At least Tae and Hobie are in the kitchen… Joon’s there. That just leaves Chim.

It reeks of booze and sweat in circle, not that it’s any better on the outside, but you two come out for air after a good twenty minutes.

Perspiration coats the sides of your faces, smiles already curved on your lips, and an insatiable thirst overtaking both of your senses. You two then scurry over to the drinks table for the glorious red cup to quelch yourselves. All it takes is one sip for you to feel the burn tingle through your throat as it goes down. Then you’re taking a long swig until it settles in your stomach and leaves it tingling all the way through.

You’ve never been considered a lightweight. Three, maybe four cups and you’re probably on the precipice of a drunken state, but one does nothing but get your nerves feeling less terse. Since your agreement with Jennie to avoid her brother and his friends at all costs, you’ve tried to be aware of your surroundings and keep the possible deterrents away from you and your best friend, who is now giggling at something that someone named Lisa is saying, a flash of a look in your direction.

Before you can speak, you hear another voice enter the conversation, “Jennie? Y/N? What are you two doing here?”

At your left stands a baffled Jimin, brows raised and hands cupped around his mouth, but neither you or Jennie give him an answer.

Instead the brunette winks at you, “I got this.” She turns to Lisa apologetically and says, “Hopefully I see you later, yeah?”

The blonde nods, watching as your best friend scampers off into the crowd while you make a break for the other side of the crowd. Jimin appears to follow the same path at Jennie, so you try your best to get somewhere safe so she can meet you. It’s silly to think that you’re running away from Taehyung and his friends right now, and a part of you actually starts to slow down in your movements between the crowd of bodies on that realization. After all, what can he do? Send you two home, rat you guys out? Wasn’t he here too? If he was bringing you two down, then you were certain you would do the same just because it wasn’t fair.

By the time you’re on the other side of the crowd, you’re only slightly breathless as you turn toward the open corridor of the hallway. You’re positive that if you see him or Jimin or anyone of his friends then you’ll be sure to tell them that if they are there, then you and Jennie should be perfectly fine with being there as well. If anything, you’d just tell them to screw off.

Not that you mean any disrespect or anything but you need this. Maybe not need it. But it’s a risk that you feel as though you can afford to take when all your mind has been clouded with is over him.

You want to understand why he ignored you so much since you were eleven. You want him to just tell you what changed. And you really want him to stop ignoring you period. It’s not hard to see that it’s just you he’s treating differently. Since your return it’s like being thrown back to sixth grade when he hardly ever wanted anything to do with you, and of course, you’ve been more than willing to ask what you did wrong, but when he goes on and claims nothing then what are you supposed to do but wonder what the hell is going on?

Honestly, if he was here, you’d give him a piece of your mind!

I would tell him that it’s pretty shitty of him to tell me one thing then act another way. I mean… I’d get it if he would just say something. I wouldn’t be so bothered by it if I had an explanation. Simple as that. Yet another part of you thinks, But is it really? Are you bothered that he’s ignoring you because of that or because you’re confused by your own feelings?

You let out a deep sigh before entering the free bathroom to check your phone. There aren’t any new messages from Jennie. It’s nearly 2 AM, and you’re feeling the beer coursing through your veins.

Maybe it is because of him. I just- don’t understand this. Of all people… of all times… why him? And why now?

With a shake of your head, get a grip, you open the door, turning to exit when you feel yourself collide with someone’s chest. Their hands immediately settle on your shoulders to keep you steady.

Have his hands always been this warm?

You’re about to brush them off when your eyes make out the familiar shape of the Taehyung’s straight nose, furrowed dark brows, and wide, coffee brown eyes from the light of the open door.

The words trail off weakly, “Oh shit-! Sorry… Tae.”

“Y/N… what are you-” His eyes wash over your features, taking in your dishevelled state, though they linger longer on the bottom of your face. “Never mind. You’re here with Jennie?”

You nod, brow quirked upward, “You gonna make us go back home?”

“I-” He blinks once again. Now that you’re focused on his visage, you note the way his breath is a mix of mint and that beer. His furrowed brows relax the longer his eyes remain trained on yours, and it seems he hasn’t moved his hands from your shoulders either. He shakes his head, “I won’t. Just… surprised to see you here.”

“Yeah, I know being around me is the last thing you want so seeing me must’ve been disappointing.” You reply, already beginning to slip away from his touch when he tightens his grip to keep you from leaving.

You look at him in confusion.

“Why would you think that?”

“It’s pretty obvious you’ve been avoiding me, Tae. Anyone with eyes can see that, but I can feel it. You leave when I’m around, you can barely talk to me. Let alone look at me… it’s actually a miracle this conversation is happening at all.”

He genuinely looks like he’s at a loss for words though you can’t blame him. Rose and Jungkook have always told you that you’re too blunt for your own good when you’ve had alcohol in your system, but hey… drunk words are sober thoughts right?

“I can leave you alone now.” You say after another moment.

He shakes his head, eyes no longer in a daze on the space over your head but are now trained on you. “No, it’s not like that, Y/N. I- I mean yeah I have been avoiding you but...”

You interject, hoping to coax him back into words, “But what?”

“It’s not for what you think, okay? I don’t hate you. I definitely don’t hate you, I promise.”

“Huh? Then why?”

You’re heart is thudding against your chest, reverberating inside like the bass against the walls, and still you’re not sure what to think or feel. A part of you is burning to know the answer, but another part fears that maybe you overlooked something and maybe he was just uncomfortable around you. It could be a possibility, but it’s one that your heart definitely hoped wasn’t so.

“I- I can’t explain it, okay? You just do things to me and I can’t quite explain it.”

His visage is so close now. It hardly registered in your mind how close they were, but it still elicits a thrumming in your chest. You don’t know what to say or think, but when he’s this close your brain ponders what it’d be like to feel his lips against yours.

“They look soft.”

He blinks, “What looks soft?”

You shake your head, snap out of it goddammit, “Your lips--but explain your thing. Try. Please ‘cause I’ve really been stuck with this impression that you hate me or something, Tae.”

“You think my lips look soft…” He says to himself, his eyes glance at the floor until you wave your hand in front of his face.

“Still here.”

“I don’t hate you, Y/N.” He repeats, taking his time to meet your eyes once again. There’s a quiet determination set in his dark hues. It’s one of the few times you’ve seen it, but having it trained on you is both unnerving and titillating.

His voice is low when he mutters under his breath, “I’d say it’s quite the opposite.”

“What was that?”

He shakes his head, “It’s nothing. Um- remember that day before you moved?”

You nod.

“Well, that day I was going to tell you something. Do you remember that?”

It’s almost instantaneous when you affirm his question. Since that day, you’ve thought back to a lot - always wondering what was he going to tell you. You had too many ideas back then, but none of them ever seemed to suit Taehyung and the patient, levelheaded way he had in going about things. He could never be that person to tell you some half-assed secret about liking pie or joke about dying… no, you knew that it was something important, and for whatever reason, when he didn’t tell you that day you were sure that he’d choose the right time to do it.

Now with this moment happening, you’re hoping that this is the moment of truth.

“Well, I was gonna tell you that…” He utters a guttural “fuck it” under his breath before finishing his statement, “I like you. I mean that I liked you back then. I know it’s silly to keep it from you for this long but I wanted to tell you in person, not over the phone… and really, it’s no excuse to treat you the way I did but I... yeah… That’s why.”

You’re not sure what you’re thinking when you were hearing him out. It isn’t like you weren’t paying attention, but the longer you listened to him, the more you noticed just how soft his lips looked up close, how cute it was to see his eyes dart across your features as he talked, and how his hands on your shoulders never seemed to leave your vicinity or just how much you liked the way they rested on your shoulders...

Even when he has long since stopped talking and the only thing that surrounds you two is a comforting silence, the rest of the world- party and all, there’s an overwhelming desire inside you that you can’t fight. (Not that you want to anyway.)

When your brain makes aware just how close he is, you can’t help but feel yourself lean in to close the distance between your lips.

The feeling of the soft plushness dulls down the beer permeating his mouth. It elicits the same tingling in you- not in your throat; however, it travels up and down your body. Your adrenaline pumps just as erratically as your heart because holy shit I’m really kissing Taehyung right now, and what blow your mind the most is the fact that he’s actually kissing you back.

But just as quickly as the kiss comes, it ends.

You both pull away, watching one another as you stand before one another, probably both trying to register what the hell just happened. Given, you two just kissed, but again you two kissed. It isn’t just everyday that you give into your own impulses and just kiss your best friend’s brother. Nor is it an everyday thing that he kisses you back.

It’s like a looming cloud over you two now that this has happened. Neither of you saying a word, but it feels like you should. After all, didn’t he just tell you that he used to like you as kid? What did this kiss mean th-

Ring!

You nearly jump at the sound, looking down at your pocket to see Jennie’s calling.

When you chance a look over at him, he’s still staring at you; his eyes alight with something vibrant, but his lips are clamped shut as if whatever he said prior to what just happened are the last things he’ll say. Regardless, it causes blood to rush to your cheeks before you excuse yourself to the bathroom to answer your phone.

He only nods, his own cheeks giving way to his own embarrassment but he waves you off.

Once the door is shut, you say, “Jen? Where are you?”

“Better question is where are you? I lost Chim a while ago, but I’ve been trying to find you for the past fifteen minutes!”  

Her voice is relatively clear from the rest of the partygoers, so you just ask where she is.

“I went out front. It was getting hot and stuffy after running from Chim. So are you gonna answer my question?”

“I’m coming to you. I went to the bathroom.” You reply though you don’t hear much else of what she’s saying when your brain is replaying the kiss.

After a moment, you hear her break the sudden silence, “Hello?”

“Sorry, I’m on my way.” You reply quickly, wondering if he’s still outside the door. But when you open it, he’s nowhere to be seen. Where did he…? Never mind, I shouldn’t keep Jennie waiting. “See you.”

You meet the younger Kim outside, a smile on her lips when she sees you. Her eyes are trailing over your visage, searching for any signs of distress that you refused to show over the phone. It’s like she knows something went down, but she’s just waiting for you to expose yourself.  Twelve years of friendship can really help you read someone after all.

“Did something happen back there? ...You look frazzled.”

“Sorry, that beer might’ve gotten me after all...” You say though your brain scolds you for trying to lie right now, and to Jennie of all people.  

“Is that really all that happened, Y/N?”

“Um, I’ll -uh- tell you later, yeah?”

She nods, a brow quirked in interest as if to tell you that she intends to get the truth out of you one way or another.

“You wanna head back in or are you done for the night?”

You think for a moment, if you go back in you’re risking on any more poor decisions -not that kissing him was a poor decision but it’s opened up another box of uncertainty- or did you want to go back home to the possibility of this whole thing being some forgotten memory?

It was probably just a drunken kiss on both our parts… right?

She nudges you, “I can just ask Tae to drive us back if you really don’t feel up for it? He hardly ever gets wasted when he comes to parties anyway, so I don’t think he’d mind.”

“What?” You ask, blinking at her.

Before she continues, you shake your head, “Never mind. Um, I think I’m okay to drive us back. I just had one beer.”

“But didn’t you just say it got to you…?” She raises a brow at you, stepping forward to press her hand to your forehead, “Are you sure you aren’t coming down with anything, Y/N?”

“I’m fine, I promise. It’s just… c’mere,” You pull her toward the direction of your car. “I’ll tell you once we’re inside.”

When you’re settled inside your car, you tell her about the kiss. Her eyes widen for a brief moment before she utter something under her breath - it sounds like “final-fucking-ly” but you’re so spent from what just happened you can’t even find yourself to ask her to repeat herself. You just want to shower, lay down, and sleep.

By the time you two get back, it’s nearly half past 3 AM.

All you do is park down the street, sneak your way into the house, and wait for Jennie to finish using the bathroom. You don’t talk further about what happened though it’s probably on the fact that the one person you do want to talk to this about is someone that’s not even there. It just rings through your mind that the pounding in your mind is because of Kim Taehyung, a boy you’ve known since you were in kindergarten, a boy that ignored you for three years straight because he liked you, and a boy that you just kissed with complete awareness.

By the time you’re out of the shower, hair only a little damp as you clamber into the bed beside your best friend, you can’t help but think back to the conversations you had with her in regards to him, questioning her why he seemed to hate her so and questioning yourself about why it seemed to bother you so much. Then you think back to tonight, to your revelations- it all becomes even more clearer than before.

This is why it matter so much back then isn’t it?

He wishes to savor the taste of your cherry ChapStick and the beer in your mouth.

He never imagined this is what you’d taste like but where is he to care when he’s finally tasting you after years of pining. He knows how long he’s spent trying to repress the feelings he’s had bubbled inside, and now that he’s finally let it loose he feels lighter.

The fact that he got to kiss you after all of that is still replaying in his head- he smiles broadly as he ventures away from the closed bathroom door. It’s all he can think about by the time he’s reached the kitchen, and the questions aimed in his direction go unanswered because what can he say? That he finally told his first crush that he liked her and he kissed her?

It’s not that he doesn’t want to brag about it to the world but that’s all that happened. You two didn’t consummate some hidden, undying love for one another. You two barely even talked about what just happened anyway. And the more he thought about it, he actually has no clue how to go about talking about this with you either. Even when he had the moment to say something post-kiss, all he could do is stare at you in wonder because holy shit you’re still cute as ever and what else is he going to say? What can you two say?

He must’ve looked pretty fucked over this because he’s suddenly getting taken aside by Jimin, who’s looking at him with furrowed brows and concerned eyes.

“Are you okay, Tae? You’re just smiling…. At nothing in particular?”

“I kissed… her…” He answers the older man.

Jimin blinks at him, squinting in the placid darkness. “Kissed who? Are you talking about-”

Taehyung shakes his head, interjecting immediately, “Y/N. We kissed.”

“What?”

“Yeah, we kissed earlier, Chim. Holy shit…” He says softly, looking at the shorter boy with a broad grin. “I’m just not over that…”

“That makes two of us…” Jimin tells him. “So you told her that you love her then?”

“What- I don’t….” Taehyung blinks, shaking his head from the thoughts floating around his head to meet Jimin’s raised brow. “What?”

“Okay, what exactly happened that led up to the kiss? And what happened after?”

“Well, we bumped into each other by the bathroom and I told her what I was supposed to tell her the day she moved. Then it just got really quiet and still and we just… kissed. We didn’t talk afterwards because I think Jennie called her and then I came over here.”

“What? He says in response to the incredulous expression wash over his best friend’s features.

“So, you didn’t ask her how she felt? Or I dunno… try to figure out what that kiss meant?”

“It’s not like I had any time to since Jennie called her, Chim.” Taehyung scoffs, his lips pulling into that of a pout. “And besides, what am I supposed to say? ‘Oh, by the way, I think I’m in love with you, Y/N. I hope that kiss doesn’t weird you out too much?’”

“Well, I would’ve thought you’d at least tried to talk to her about what the kiss means to her as well? i mean are you gonna try to talk to her about it tomorrow or are you just going to keep ignoring her every chance you get?”

It occurs to Taehyung that as irksome as Jimin is being to his happiness he knows that he’s right, that there is an after to this tale, and that he cannot keep running from the moment of truth. You weren’t drunk and incapable of controlling your own actions, so why had you kissed him? What made you initiate it?    

“I’ll give it some time… or something.”

Jimin rolls his eyes, a small smile curving on his lips, “I hope you do… congrats, by the way.”

I will… I’ll talk to her about it… eventually.

The next few days at the Kim’s roll by in ease.

You try not to dwell too much on the events of what had happened that night, mostly to enjoy the rest of your time with Jennie, who was more than ecstatic to take you back to old sites just for the sake of nostalgia.

She takes you to the old arcade you both liked to go to with Taehyung and Jimin, to the movie theaters with the out of this world buttery popcorn, to the old elementary school where you two met and grew up together in, and to the small market by both of your houses for a bunch of snacks to take on your other trip to the park.

Each place holds a place in your memory that you can always correlate to the Kim siblings. If it wasn’t just you and Jennie, then Taehyung would accompany the two of you - if he couldn’t, for whatever reason, then Yuna and Jin were happy to take you two wherever you wanted. You can recall the key events like the time when Jennie sprained her wrist trying to rollerblade at the park or the time when you hid so well by the market everyone else had to give up and how Jennie was genuinely close to tears because she thought you really disappeared.

During those next few days, you’re taken back in time to simpler moments when boys and girls and feelings didn’t muddle with your brain. And despite those moments when you wished you could grow up faster, you can’t deny how much you appreciate your childhood and how much the Kim family helped create most of those memories you cherish to this day.

You tell Jennie your feelings on your last day in town, and she receives you with a broad grin and tight embrace.

“Good, I hope this makes you miss us so much you’ll come back again.”

You wink with your own growing smile, “I will. Just like you’ll come back right?”

She rolls her eyes, poking your cheek, “Of course! Why wouldn’t I huh? The beach is always nice around this time anyway.”

Yuna and Jin brush their daughter aside when you both release your tight holds to give you their own set of embraces, both of them mumbling their gratitude for your visit this spring.

You respond, immediately tightening your arms around them, “It was my pleasure. Thank you for having me!”

They both press kisses to your forehead, setting aside so Jennie can help you shove your duffle bag into the trunk of your car.

Despite what happened at the party, Taehyung didn’t dare intrude on your time with Jennie. He didn’t necessarily ignore you, but every time you two had a moment together, it was silent and almost foreboding in the sense that neither of you genuinely didn’t know how to breach the point of conversation to what you both wanted to discuss most.

You debated on it incessantly. You questioned whether you should or shouldn’t, but of course you knew you should. You just kept choosing not to. For Jennie’s sake, but also for Taehyung’s, because what if the kiss was just something that happened and nothing more?

Given he did like you at some point, but perhaps the reason why neither of you talked about it these past few days was simply on the basis that there was nothing to talk about.

After all, it happened, and that’s it.

Although you’re the type of person to address confusing things with confrontation -nothing aggressive or anything- you decide that this just isn’t the time to do it. You’re leaving (again), so it certainly wouldn’t be fair to Taehyung to suddenly spring the topic of what happened on him. Not to mention the fact that he would be leaving for college later in the fall… like he did with withholding his confession from you, perhaps you would just do the same in this regard. Rather than confusing him the day you’re supposed to leave, you’ll wish him the best of luck and bring this up the next chance you get when you’re alone like at a Christmas party a few years down the road or something.

Once you’re packed and ready, you smile at Mr. and Mrs. Kim and Jennie, the two already waving you off though the latter is calling for Taehyung to at least do the same with them as well. You assure her it’s fine, but he comes bounding out the door to stand with his parents, waving with a small smile as well.  

Your brain wishes you wouldn’t be so considerate, but you’re determined to let him live on because feelings fade right? Especially fuzzy ones like these…

Right?

“Dude, she’s coming here.”

“What? Who? Stop playing this pronoun game with me, Tae!” Jimin scolds him, ready to flick the taller man’s forehead.

“Y/N, Chim. She’s coming here. Same school, same building, same floor. Fuck-!” Taehyung says in a quick huff. He doesn’t know what to think or do at this point. His mind already knows what he plans to do, but his body is still preparing itself on the fact that this is the moment of truth.

He mutters to himself, “What am I gonna do?”

“Well, for starters, you could tell her how you feel,” Jimin quips, his inflection already hinting to the impatience the shorter boy has had with him for the past seven -or was it eight?- years of pining. “Better yet, actually have a conversation with her… wait, that might be difficult for you.”

“I can talk to her!” Kinda.

He can already imagine Jimin quirking a brow at him, looking up he sees his guess is true, “Oh really? So what would you say when you see her?”

“I -um- would say… er...” His heart is hammering at the thought of seeing you again. When he heard you were coming to Seoul, he knew he had to prepare himself. All this time without talking to you, and this was going to be his moment.

“What was that?”

Taehyung groans, “Oh shut up, Chim. Seriously what do I do?”

“Tell her. That’s it. You’ve said ‘maybe someday’ since she moved, so take this as your chance as your damn someday already. Please.”

The brunet releases a deep sigh, running a hand over his visage before nodding.

“That’s the plan.”

The events that transpire after junior year are hardly worth mentioning aside from the fact that not another word is passed between either you or Taehyung about the kiss though it still plagues you at the back of your mind.

Aside from all that-- senior year passes in a blink of an eye.

It’s a joyous time for you and for your friends. Finally free from secondary education, and going onto tertiary school. Some actually accompanying you to Seoul while others chose the local college in Busan. Either way it’s liberating… No more stuffy teachers constantly telling you that what you do now with your life will cement what you will do after university, no more peers either watching you or not giving two craps about you, and no more worries about whether you’ll actually get into university because you’re well on your way to Seoul where you’ll be attending school alongside Jennie (and apparently Taehyung as well).

College is the new beginning. Everyone says so, and you think so too.

This is the place where opportunities will arise and you’ll be able to learn more about yourself than you did in high school, because this is the place where there won’t be any stuffy teachers breathing down your neck or any forgettable students trying to use you for your academic strength. Here, it’s worrying about yourself and doing what’s best for you.

Although you don’t entirely have worry about yourself too much.

Under your mother’s worrisome calls to Yuna and Jin, mostly just for the reassurance that you’ll be fine in Seoul, the Kims suggested to her that if she was that worried then you could choose the same residence hall as Taehyung so he can help keep an eye you. Not that you really mentioned any of the odd behavior that passed between the two of you to either of the parents, you figured you’d appease your birthgiver in that respect.

That was months ago, and you actually forgot about the whole thing until you find yourself on the fourth floor of Potter Hall, standing in the lounge among the other students, Jennie included, being led by Taehyung and a girl named Minah. The two are giving the entire floor a breakdown of the rules and their information in case any of you first years need to contact them.

The rules are fairly simple: No messing with the lounge furniture unless it’s put away properly afterwards, no disturbing students during study hours, no avoidable messes in the bathroom, and for some reason (though you can see why), no two people in the big shower stall of the bathrooms. There are a few others, but these are the ones they liked to emphasize the most, so you don’t argue with any of them.

What strikes you the most in the whole thing is seeing Taehyung. He’s still as handsome as ever, but for the past year and a half since you’ve seen him that day, this is the first time you’ve seen him. He didn’t show up to the visits to Busan and he certainly wasn’t around when you stopped by Daegu. Whatever the chances were, you didn’t have the opportunity. But seeing him now is like seeing him for the first time again.

It’s like the sunrise waking you from an open window in your bedroom- completely unexpected, but nonetheless a wonderful sight. He looks so much older now. His mop of dark hair is still hanging in his eyes, but it suits his now filled-out face. His lips are pulled into a boxy grin, and he looks completely in his element as he answers questions from your peers. He’s almost akin to the boy you saw at the party all those years ago, but there’s no red Solo cup in hand this time.

It’s cute. You think to yourself with a small smile threatening to curve on your lips.

You still had yet to talk to him about it. With Taehyung-less visits, texting or calling him didn’t seem like the right way to confess. You want the moment to be right. Like the way he confessed to his middle school crush. It only makes sense that way. However, the more you didn’t see him, the less you found yourself anxious to tell him and the more you just figured it was just something that came in passing. Whatever was there, you could just store away with the memory, and so you did with full certainty that it wouldn’t resurface.

However, it seems that whatever feelings you stored away your junior year are beginning to resurface at the sight of Taehyung and his true colors. Not that you’ve tried to forget but after a few disappointing Taehyung-less visits, you told yourself that it was better to just let the feelings stave off until they were completely gone. You were certain upon entering that it wouldn’t be a problem, but damn seeing him again elicits waves of nostalgia to permeate your mind, taking you back to the night when your lips made contact.

Since that night, before you decided to store it away, the kiss passed your mind. The softness, the feelings… it was everything you wanted in one after sharing your first one with Jennie. It felt almost identical, even the flutters in your stomach, but the dismissal of the latter kept the former from leaving your mind completely, because at least there was closure with Jennie. You both thought your friendship was worth more than a relationship though you’re both damn sure that it would’ve worked out either way. But… Taehyung?

There’s still so much you don’t know. Why was he still ignoring you long after his crush on you in middle school? When did he stop? Why did he even start? And more seriously, did he still think about the kiss?

The last one is more for your own curiosity on the matter, because you can’t be the only one right?

You try not to ponder it further when Minah cups her hands around her mouth to call everyone else to attention.

When the older girl is certain that everyone is paying attention, she drops her hands and announces with a smirk, “We’ll be throwing a celebratory welcome party for you all tonight. Consider yourselves lucky since classes start on Wednesday so try taking it easy, yeah?”

She leaves everyone with a wink, “See everyone at eleven!”

Afterwards, you and Jennie head over to your room among the other dispersing bodies. The two of you still have plenty to unpack so you decide to start on that before getting ready for the festivities later on.

“Have you talked to your brother since you arrived?” You ask as you lug a stack of tops from your giant purple suitcase.

She shakes her head, “Not yet. I’ll catch him at the party or something. What about you?”

You guffaw, “Not since eleventh, Jen.”

There’s a small smirk curving on her lips, “So, not then… what about now?”

“I mean I wouldn’t mind it- I still have a bone to pick with him about what happened honestly.”

“Better now than never amirite?”  

You nod, setting your stack of clothes in the provided tan drawers. Most of it’s filled now that you’ve emptied out your suitcase. You also have a miniature fridge for food and drinks that you were sure you brought snacks for -- where are they?

“Damn, did I grab the snacks from my car?” You ask as she’s zipping up her suitcase and stowing it underneath her car.

She pauses for a moment before shaking her head, “Want me to go grab ‘em?”

“You don’t have to-!” You say, trying to stand among your luggage and the duffle bag, but she only giggles in response.

“It’s no biggie, I was gonna grab some drinks from the convenience store downstairs anyway.”

You relent, tossing her your keys before turning back to your mission of unpacking. She slips away, and just as quickly as she leaves comes a knock soon afterwards.

You let out a laugh, carefully stepping over your methodical mess to open the door. “Didja forget your keys, Jen-” You blink, taking in the sight of Taehyung in all his brunet glory, “Oh hi, Tae.”

He smiles at you, and it feels like your chest might implode,  “Hey Y/N! How’s moving going?”

“It’s… happening.” You laugh, looking back at the mess you and Jennie unleashed in the meager room. “Were you looking for Jennie or did you catch her on your way?”

He laughs at the sight of the clothes covering your beds, the large stacks all threatening to topple over. There are some boxes of school supplies placed carefully around the room as well. And unfortunately, a large box of Jennie’s shoes too. It’s chaotic, but you know he’s seen worse in his own room.

He whistles before saying, “Wow, and yet that’s still not the worse one I’ve seen so far. And to answer your question, I did. Just wanted to check on you guys... and the other students too. ”

His cheeks are threatening with an onslaught of pink as he continues to meet your gaze, “But, um, that’s good you’re… settling well.”

You nod, “Well, thank you for checking in. How do you like being an RA?”

“It’s actually really fun. I like it a lot. Getting to know people, see little first years… I’m sure you’d like it too.”

You quirk a brow, a small smile threatening to curve on your lips, “Really? How are you so sure about that if you haven’t actually talked to me, hmm?” Not to mean it in insult, but you wanted to see what he’d say in response to that.

“Um.. uh… I-” He’s stammering out of nerves. His hand runs over his visage before he seems to compose himself, “Well, I mean you’ve always been nice and friendly, so that’s something we look for in an RA, y-y’know?”

You laugh, “What happened to Mr. Suave RA Dude earlier?”

His mouth opens before shutting, his cheeks burning as ever as he tries to formulate a response.

You wave it off, “It’s okay. I’m messin’ with ya. I’ll consider it next year. But um, yeah- so far everything’s pretty good.”

He nods, smiling, “That’s good to hear then…” He’s about to turn to leave when he turns to you again, “Oh! Are you coming to the party tonight?”

“Yeah,” You answer, “I’ll see you there!”

He’s about to turn and leave once more, but he cranes his head in your direction with a pink-cheeked grin, “Can’t wait to see you until then.”

With that, he leaves you in a hot-cheeked mess. Your heart thrums even louder now that he’s gone, the conversation going through your head as it hits you that you guys actually talked for once. As fleeting as they are, they always seem worthwhile - at least this moment gives you the impression that maybe you’ll finally have that chance at talking to him about everything.

> > >

The party is in full swing.

Your fellow first years are mingling among each other in the lounge while some music plays off someone’s portable speaker. There’s a makeshift snacks table and what looks like a makeshift mini bar with Minah pouring the drinks into the red Solo cups by hand. Her partner, Taehyung is nowhere to be found, and the moment she spots Jennie, she asks her if she knows where the elder Kim.

The older girl’s features contort in irritation and a huff departs her semi-chapped lips. “Damn him for disappearing on me,” She says before turning back pouring the drinks.

“Who disappeared?” Taehyung’s notorious baritone voice cuts through the loud playing of one of Chance the Rapper’s song.

He has a grin on his lips even as Minah rolls her eyes at him, holding him an empty cup and a can of beer for him to pour. “What took you so long, princess?”

He laughs, “Y’know me I had to get all dolled up for this thing.”

She looks him over, eyes narrowed in playful scrutiny, “Hm, I see no difference.”

He pouts at her, “Aw, my feelings are hurt.”

She scoffs, a smile curving on her lips, “Good! Your ass tried to leave me to do all the work! I’m giving you hallway duty after this, you got it?”

He lets out a guttural groan before turning back to work on the rest of the cups. “Fine, I deserve that,” He says. Turning to Jennie, he grins, “Heyo sis! Enjoying yourself?”

She laughs, grabbing two cups of the beers, “Yeah! We’ll see you later, Tae. Have fun~”

“Drink responsibly!” He warns, watching as you two depart. He only receives giggles in response, a lazy wave from his sister as you two weave through the crowd of students. You can feel something burning into your back but you’ve already rounded the corner toward an open space in the corner of the room.

You’re met with a view of the other three buildings spread nearby Potter. Other floors are hosting their own array of parties, many of them wildly dancing and even yelling so loud, it feels like the sound is resonating toward your own building. None of it really bothers you too much, on a normal basis you wouldn’t be partying like this, but having this taste of freedom in higher education is liberating. Even more so, the taste of your beer -the burn and all- is helping you edge off the sudden wave of nerves nestling at the back of your mind.

Maybe tonight is the night I talk to him about it.

It’s a bit of jump considering he was casually talking to you a few hours ago, but seeing him is a revival of feelings that haven’t left. If you want to move on, whether that’s from or with him, then this is something that needs to be done, because the longer you push it away, the more you know you’ll be scared to speak on any of it. After all, feelings are so damn scary. It’s hard to understand them, especially if it involves someone you’ve known for more than half your life. Taehyung has never has a title above your best friend’s brother, maybe crush too, but nothing more beyond that and it’s not even guaranteed that he feels the same.

You suppose the most important aspect to your feelings is the finality of it. You want answers. You want to put an end to all your confusion. And you hope that he provide this mystery to a conclusion-

“You good?” Jennie asks suddenly, tilting her head at you with raised brows. “Want any snacks?”

You shake your head, freeing yourself from your thoughts, “Sorry, my mind’s just everywhere right now.”

She nods, squeezing your shoulder in sympathy, “Take this,” Her drink now in your hands, “And I will go grab some snacks, yeah?”

You smile, “Thanks.”

Your first beer is gone after another swig. The alcohol flooding your system in its usual burn while you take a tentative sip at Jennie’s cup the moment you leave. You don’t feel your body quiver so much - your nerves mostly washing away the more you focus on the cup than the rampant thoughts running circles in your head. You’re not ready to do anything but stew right now.

Unfortunately, the universe doesn’t want that. (Is it really unfortunate though?)

All you’re doing is sitting by the bay window, holding your second beer when a flying projectile comes in your vicinity and suddenly your second beer is no longer in your grasp but on the front of your T-shirt and denim shorts, some of it is even dripping down your leg in an uncomfortable drip. The perpetrator is some jock mumbling a curse, asking you to pass the Nerf football, which you do with an aggressive lob. You don’t bother staying where you are, opting to travel to the bathroom near your dormitory.

I’ll just tell Jennie what happened after I get this crap off.

All your mind is focused on is getting the stench and stickiness of beer off your body and your clothes that anything else slips your mind - this includes watching your surroundings for any wandering bodies. Of course, there’s plenty of those, but most of them have either stuck to the wall or wandered into the confines of their dormitories where there are actual beds. But it’s this particular one that has you reeling when you realize you nearly plowed through Taehyung on his hallway monitoring.

“Oh shit- sorry!” You say, turning on your heel when you realize you bumped shoulders with the lanky boy.

He barely notices, only focusing on your features when he sees that you’re kind of sopping wet at your waist and down below. “You okay there, Y/N? Try your hand at chugging or somethin’?” He half-jokes, a corner of his lip quirking upward.

You shake your head, “Some idiot spilled their beer on me, so I thought I’d go wash off. How’s playing hall monitor for the night?”

He scrunches his nose, shaking his own head, “If you’ve ever seen movies with a hallway monitor included, then it’s exactly like that - just even more boring.”

“I’d feel bad if I wasn’t doused in beer,” You say with a half smile of your own. “I mean I’d stay out here with you, I just… should get changed…”

“Oh… right,” He nods, his eyes appear a little more clouded than normal as if he’s conflicted with some internal issue, but you make no mention of it.

When you’re about to turn in the direction of your dorm, he stammers, “Y/N, w-wait! I need to -um- tell you something.”

You blink at him, tilting your head, “What’s up, Tae?”  

He licks his lips before taking a deep breath, the cloud in his eyes subsiding just enough to showcase his determination, “Do you -um- still think of the kiss from… before...?”

You freeze in that moment, reiterating his words over in your head just to make sure you heard the question correctly.

“The kiss…?” You say softly.

“Yeah… I mean I get if you don’t remember since you drank that night but I’m asking because…” He lets out a deep breath as if to release a weight set on his shoulders, “Well, because I do. I think about it a lot. Probably more than I should.”

“You do?” You say, taking a step to face his direction. “Really?”

He nods, “I actually like you a lot. Again, probably more than I should, but after eight years I thin-”

“Wait, you what?” You say, hoping to hear him say it again. You want to make sure this is real. This can’t be a dream right?

“I’ve -um- liked you since the sixth grade.” He says, scratching the back of his head in a nervous huff. “I know that’s a really long, fucking time. Jimin even says that’s probably love but I mean who knows? All I do know is that I like you and that kiss really fucked me up over you.”

He stands there watching your reaction though you give little away but a transition of surprise to actual… elation. You break out into a small grin before you reply, “I- I still think about it too, Tae.”

Immediately, he says, “Really?”

“And that kiss fucked me up too.” You add, “I wasn’t sure what to think when I did it, but I knew that I really wanted to kiss you. I knew that I felt something toward you, and I just… couldn’t control myself. Then you kissed me back- all I could think is, ‘holy shit, he’s kissing me back,’ and fuck, I haven’t stopped thinking of it since.”

It’s a quiet moment between the two of you. The kind that comes after the moment of truth. Both your bated breaths suddenly released from your lungs, and all you can think to do is take another tentative step towards him while he matches each one until you’re standing directly in front of one another.

Without a second thought, you ask him, “What did that kiss mean to you?”

He replies, “Everything. It meant the entire world to me, and I have enough bruises from Jimin because I would not shut up about it.”

You laugh when he offers to show you. His lips pulling into a broad grin, “What about you?”

“It answered some questions for me, but it was the second best kiss I’ve had.” You admit, returning his smile. Your mind can’t seem to wrap your head around this whole thing, even the pinch to your arm does nothing but make you think that your brain might just be playing some cruel joke on you, so you grasp his shoulders like how he held yours to steady you at Yoongi’s party. “Fuck… wow, you’re real. This is real...”

“It is. I’m here. This is really happening.”

You meet his gaze, delving into the coffee brown hues in search of nothing in particular. You want to bask in the warmth they provide, you want to understand the emotions behind them… wait, did he just look at my lips? You mirror his gaze, training your sights on his soft, pinkish lips.

Fuck, they still look just as soft as before.

Your brain is still muddled with the first beer, blunt thoughts already formed into physical words as you ask him, “Can I kiss you?”     

He can’t contain his grin, and it’s seriously the most adorable sight you’ve seen. His voice is a low, guttural sound as he replies, “Fuck, please do.”

And you do.

The kiss is like the first one, setting jolts of electricity running up and down your skin, it makes you feel alive more than anything else to feel his soft lips pressed against yours in a matched pace to yours. It’s continues to escalates in a fervid flurry, your tongue grazing his bottom lip before slipping into his mouth and his exploring the crevices of your taste. His is that of beer, mint, and remnants of a cherry lollipop, but nonetheless, a taste so divine you want to keep indulging.

His body presses against yours, his hands intertwining with your soft locks. His breath fans across your visage while the notorious Kim grin graces his features. When he speaks, it’s a deep sound that elicits a shiver in your ear, “That was even better than the first time… fuck…”

The sound of his voice ghosting the shell of your ear ignites a fire in you, and you’re asking him where his dormitory is.

“Let’s make up for lost time,” You smile, pressing your lips to his once more.

He exchanges your grip on his shoulder for his hand, half-guiding and half-glancing at you until he halts your further trek down the hall to press his lips to yours once more. This time you two don’t break away quite as quickly as last time.

“It should be that one.” He points at a dark room right across from where you stopped. It isn’t like you both are paying much attention, but you allow him to move the two of you toward the open door. His hands fumble for the light switch until you take a step backwards and find yourselves in the bathroom.

You hear someone call your name from down the hall, so you push Taehyung toward the large shower stall. You press a finger to his lips when you lock it behind you with your free hand.

When you’re sure you’re safe, you let out a deep breath, walking over to the water control and turning it on.

You whisper, “Sorry, I kinda panicked.”

He shakes his head, wandering over to you, “It’s okay. I like that we can spend time together… in a shower stall.”

You try not to laugh, nudging his chest with your cheekbones prominent.

“I’m sorry, I just want to spend this time with you-”

He finishes, “in a shower stall.”

You try not to laugh again, watching as his lips are pulled into that usual grin of his. When it sounds like he’s ready to let another joke rip out in a hushed whisper, you merely hush him once again, earning you a puppy dog pout.

With a roll of your eyes, you tug on his T-shirt and press your lips to his once more, leaning on the tile wall of the shower area. It’s cool against your skin which is balancing the heat pressed against your still-damp front.

From the sensation of his body against yours, you feel your hips roll against him. He releases a pretty, guttural groan in response, so you do it again.

He whispers under his breath, “Y/N, what are you doing?”

You fail to bite back a smile, “Kissing you… in a shower stall.” You pause for a moment to recall something from earlier, “Unless I mean you write me up since there are two people in here right now.”

He rolls his eyes this time, kissing your nose. He rests his hands on your hips, kissing you again. He mutters between pecks, “You’re so silly. I wouldn’t do that. You’re safe with me as your RA.”

The two of you begin rocking your hips against one another in attempts to create friction between your clothed heat. Your lips are locked until he breaks from the connection to press his soft lips against your jawline.

You don’t realize that anyone’s walked in until you hear Jennie ask from outside the shower stall, “Y/N, are you in here?”

You hum an affirmation, adding in a grunt when Taehyung mischievously rolls his hips again.

“You okay in there? What was that?”

“Just trying-” You huff when he nuzzles his features against your neck, “-to remove this stain this idiot at the party poured on me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! You want me to go get your towel and some clothes then?”

“Please?” You squeak when he nips at the skin again.

“On it!”

“Thanks!” You say as you aim a glare at the man stroking your cheek.  Only letting out a breathe of relief when you’re certain that she has left the vicinity.

“What?” He asks, batting his eyelashes up at you. “Aren’t you glad you’re sharing a kiss with me in shower stall?”

You let out a small breathy laugh, poking his cheek, “Well, you aren’t the first Kim I’ve kissed, but I’m glad that I can say this one was in a shower stall.”

He breaks out into his boxy grin though it falters in a moment just to say, “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

Before you can answer, Jennie answers, carrying your necessary items, so you pull the curtains around Taehyung. You make sure to let Jennie know that you’ll return after you’ve washed up, apologizing for not reaching out to her sooner. You then grab your necessary items with a grateful smile to your best friend before returning to the probably sopping wet boy.

When you’re sure she’s gone, he tells you, “I hope you know I’ll be asking for an elaboration on what you just told me earlier, miss.”

You set your shower caddy down, placing the clean clothes on top before giving him your answer, “I know but we have plenty of time to make up for what we lost right?”

Taehyung sighs, giving a nod, “Right. That we do.”

He goes to the other side of the stall, allowing the curtain to separate the two of you. Like you said, there’ll be plenty of times for you two to share anecdotes and precious moments together.

Despite all else, he still looks at you in wonder, leaning against the other side of the stall. All these years left wondering if you would ever feel the same, wondering if things would be weird between the two of you if he ever decided to bounce back- now he’s free from his bounds, smiling wide as ever as you rinse off the scent of beer, humming a song he’s unfamiliar with but one he’s sure you’ll be glad to tell him someday.

It’s funny how someday turned into today, and how he broke a rule today as an RA -probably a lofty offense- but moreover, he’s quite amused that you two have finally admitted to your unspoken feelings through drunken stupors and kisses.

All he knows is that he can’t wait to share a proper sober moment with you.

[sarashiame]

A Noisy Silence: Attempted Quiet Ch.1

A/N: I wrote this fanfic for @jimintensify and brainstormed the idea with her. It may not be the finest piece you’ve read, but please enjoy it.

Trigger Warning: Attempted suicide and schizophrenia (schizoaffective)

Fans are screaming, so loudly that it drowns out the music. Fire is playing and the pyrotechnics flash before his eyes. Namjoon watches the fans chant with passion, and he sees the smiles on the faces of his members. He knows that he should be happy, but an invisible hand clenches his heart. In a facade that he, himself, cannot break, Namjoon smiles as his heart feels as if it’s being crushed underneath his own foot. Whispers make it so that he couldn't focus anymore, and he nearly missed his part in their song. With that, their last concert in their tour ends.

Namjoon’s studio remains dark, curtains were drawn and blinds shut. With a glass door and wooden floor, it's a messy place. Here in this space, his voice becomes louder and pain shoots through his chest. Rapping that never suits him somehow and the fan’s online hate. He's not who he used to be, no longer an underground rapper. His voice breaks and turns hoarse. A constant whispering, and an occasional shout in his head reminding him of things that he knows. “You should’ve died a long time ago,” one whisper says. “Do you even deserve to be where you are?” Says another whisper. Stress remains along his spine, pain all throughout. Back issues come with his stress and Bang PD won't let him rest. Playing the beats loud, Namjoon drowns out the whispers. He loses himself in music for hours, until a knock on the door reminds him of reality.

Yoongi opens the door at two in the morning, with dark bruises from lack of sleep under his eyes. Bidding Namjoon farewell, he knowingly leaves Namjoon in his pit of madness. Namjoon confessed what was going on with him to Yoongi a while back. Bang PD left hours ago and Namjoon knows the security pin by heart. The building is so beautifully quiet at night. The quietness of it makes the whispers stronger in his ears and Namjoon feels an urge to scratch it out. With an empty stomach and heart, he eventually leaves as dawn breaks the sky.

Walking to the dorm in the stillness of dawn, Namjoon feels as if his ears are bleeding due to the deafening noise of the whispers. A headache appears and Namjoon lets out a tired breath when he finally makes it back.

The dorm is a quiet place within the earliest hours of the morning. Everything seems still and tranquil as it was outside. Despite the quietude, the voices still simmer in the bottom if his ears and taunt him. Wishing for the voices to disappear, Namjoon plugs his ears with his hands only to realize that it's coming from inside his head,

Opening the door, Namjoon throws his jacket onto the couch and walks towards his heavenly bed of despair. Silently opening the door to his shared room, he plops himself down onto the bed after changing into his pajamas. Cracking his spine, he stretches as he worms his way underneath the covers. With his comfy sweatpants and shirt, he cuddles one of his Ryan plushies and closes his eyes. A few seconds later, a blaring noise jolts Namjoon awake. Groggily getting up, he finds himself alone, and the feeling of nausea and dizziness warps his vision.

Stumbling towards to bathroom, Namjoon nearly knocks Taehyung over. Uncaring of the world at such an early hour, neither of them has the voice to excuse themselves as they continue walking. Namjoon enters the bathroom and quickly starts to wash his face, the grime of the previous day sticking to his skin makes him feel icky. Then he remembers who he is and sees the shadows standing behind him.

Staring at them through the mirror, he uneasily smiles before he hears the obnoxious sound of loud footsteps coming towards the bathroom. Hurriedly, he finishes his daily routine before Jin knocks on the door to remind him that breakfast is ready.

The other members and he gather around the table, but suddenly Namjoon doesn't feel hungry anymore. A jealousy that clenches his heart painfully exists within him. So he can't stand the looks of happiness on their faces.

After breakfast, they prepare to go to practice, and Namjoon can't bring himself to do so with his lack of sleep. The members all heard him when he came back, and wouldn't care if he didn't come right? So Namjoon lays down on his bed and closes his tired eyes to fall asleep.

Waking up has always been a hard thing for Namjoon, and today was no exception. True to his expectations, he awoke to find himself alone in the dorm. The voices are loud in the morning too, making him want to scratch his ears out, so it's a hard thing to restrain himself. Trudging to the bathroom, he feels a sense of readiness that could only signify one thing. Still tired, lazy, and useless he prepares a bath. Taking out his box cutter knife, he goes in the bath with his clothes still on.

After turning off the water, he sits still contemplating whether he's going through with it or not. After making his decision, he stares at his arm for an eternity. Raising the blade, he holds his breath as he cuts up his arm, deep enough for bleeding. Pain shoots up his arm, and Namjoon winces at the pain. Peace overcomes him, and he happily closes his eyes for what must be the last time.

Taehyung wasn’t expecting much when he came back to the dorm early, he thought Namjoon would be sleeping or working secretly on something. The dorm was dead silent when he walked in, and something felt off. It felt as if time was frozen, and a dreadful feeling creeps into his mind. He has to find Namjoon, maybe the feeling would go away then. Briskly walking into Namjoon’s and Jungkook’s bedroom, he finds Namjoon’s bed messy but empty. The entire room seemed dreary somehow and a shiver went up Taehyung’s spine.

Looking around the dorm and he makes his way to the bathroom with hope and dread in his heart. His heart hurt so much from the dread, that he found himself hesitating. Then, he heard a sob from the inside. Bursting through the door, he first sees blood staining the clear water. Looking up, he then sees his wrist cut, then Namjoon’s crying face. He makes eye contact, and that spurs him into action. Taking out his phone, he dials the emergency line and then suddenly he can’t breathe. Namjoon closed his eyes and let out a big breath. The operator could hear him struggle to breathe and calmly asks for his location. Answering between heavy wheezes, he feels himself start to cry. He hangs up and rushes to Namjoon. Holding the bleeding hand, he starts to cry harder when he finds it cold. Sobbing, he doesn’t notice the ambulance arriving nor the emergency staff flooding in through the doorway. He only notices when they pull him away from Namjoon, and Taehyung simply lets them. He follows them to the ambulance and gets in.

When Namjoon wakes up, his first thought is, “I should’ve died.” Looking at the white ceiling and the pastel yellow walls, he breathes a breath that releases some pain that he’s feeling. He’s in a room with several other people on beds. An IV is attached to his arm and he feels the pain coming from the bandaged one. A door opens and he sees Taehyung come running through the door, with the rest of the members trailing slowly behind them. He should’ve known. He should’ve known that they would be reluctant to see him if he survived his suicide attempt. Snapping out of his thoughts, he notices the way Taehyung doesn’t immediately hug him.

The meeting blurs and is quickly put in the back of his mind with what comes when he’s healed. Not allowed to return to his life until the doctors are sure that he wouldn’t do something like this again, he is admitted to the psychiatric ward and is among other people like himself. He also is in a daze while he’s there and the doctors can’t keep him there past a week.

When he returns, Namjoon obviously lost a lot of weight due to it fluctuating in the hospital. Jin instantly disapproves with this and cooks his favorite meal for dinner. Namjoon barely eats it, and everyone is careful around him and leaves to let him eat at his own pace. Taehyung is the only exception and stares holes into Namjoon’s eyes. Eating slowly under Taehyung’s watchful gaze, he manages to finish his dinner. Taehyung smiles brightly when he does so. And practically jumps over the table to hug him, but is careful to not agitate his wound. Namjoon feels as if he truly doesn't deserve him.

After cuddling with Taehyung for a while, they decide to go to bed as it has gotten quite late. Namjoon tries to go immediately to their shared room, but Taehyung forbids it by blocking the path with his body. Taehyung laying on the floor with his arms outstretched, as if it would stop him from going to his room. It works and the two go to the bathroom and brush their teeth together.

Namjoon longs for the box cutter knife but doesn't know what his members did to it. And he can't cut himself with Taehyung in the room. His thoughts drift off like that, and he doesn't notice the toothpaste drooling out of his mouth. Taehyung notices the toothpaste falling and he makes a weird noise of disgust which snaps Namjoon back to reality. Quickly spitting it out, he finishes brushing and flossing his teeth.

Namjoon goes to his room again, and Taehyung grabs his good arm and drags him to their shared room. Forcing Namjoon to lay down on his bed, Taehyung tucks him in then grabs another blanket for himself. Then Taehyung lays down and goes under the blanket with Namjoon, putting the other blanket on top of the both of them. Turning towards Taehyung, Taehyung smiles.

“This way you'll be warm,” Taehyung whispers.

Humming in acknowledgment, Namjoon feels his eyes start to close as Taehyung cuddles him by being the bigger spoon. Like this, Namjoon feels protected and falls asleep quickly.

The first thing he hears when he wakes up is a very annoyingly loud agreement. Groggily sitting up, Namjoon gingerly gets out of bed after noticing that Taehyung was missing. With a headache already, he opens his door only to his someone. That someone was Jimin, and guilt floods through Namjoon. Then he notices how red his cheeks and ears are, then he notices Taehyung there too gaping at him.

[ilyseok]

what happens at the beach

...stays at the beach.

Fandom: GOT7 Pairings: Choi YoungjaexReader Genres: Fluff, humor, parent!AU, summer!AU Rating: PG Words: 1800

Preview: 

Had it been twenty minutes? Maybe it was five. Or maybe no time at all had passed. Youngjae lost track of how long ago you'd left to find a bathroom, and through the panic he persevered with only one thought:

I am a responsible parent who is capable of handling three children by myself for just a short time.

A/N: I was gonna use a yoonseok summer fling AU for my June event submission, but someone just had to put the idea of a summer AU with dad!Youngjae in my head before I could even finish it... and so “What Happens at the Beach” was born.

AO3 link

Arms packed with over-sized towels and beach totes, you looked up at the beautiful blue sky on the clear sunny day, squinting at the brightness from the sunlight.

"Jae, can you grab Seyoung before she upsets Youngsoo? She's starting to get really fussy," you asked your husband.

He hummed in recognition and finished unbuckling your oldest child from her car seat, lifted her out of the car, and set her feet gently on the asphalt of the parking lot. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and turned to the eight month old girl in the back seat of your family van. Swiftly picking her up into his arms, he hushed his small daughter as he rocked her back and forth, trying to prevent any upset to the cool and collected mood of her twin brother. After a few moments of prodding and investigating her sour mood, he soon sated her by sticking a chilled plastic ring in her mouth.

"Just teething," he said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

With the first tantrum of the day already behind you, the five of you proceeded to a less populated location along the packed beach. It's not that you particularly wanted to isolate yourselves from society, but with two infants and one toddler, you wanted to make your short family vacation pleasant for both easily disgruntled beach-goers and children. You shoved your son into your husband's arms to lay out a large blanket on the sand. When you looked back at him, a soft smile crossed your lips as you admired the love of your life, who held two of your three children while the third clung to his leg.

"Dae, come here and put some sunscreen on," you said to the shy child and tugged her out from behind her father. Reluctantly, she complied and let you spread a generous amount of  sunblock for children on her arms, legs, and face. When you were finished, you turned to relieve Youngjae, who was patiently waiting and entertaining both of the twins with funny faces when you took his son from his arms once again.

"Daddy, come build a sandcastle with me!" Dae, clearly over her initial shyness, tugged at his bright orange swimming trunks. He arched an eyebrow and looked to you, silently asking your permission.

You smiled and nodded, "Go have fun. I love you."

"I love you too," he said and kissed your lips. He handed off Seyoung to you and took the small hand of your three and a half year old daughter. The two of them spoke animatedly about the architecture of their sandcastle, and you could have sworn at some point the words "laser sharks" were uttered by Youngjae himself.

So there's one night of sleep I can kiss goodbye, you thought as you visualized your daughter nudging her way into your bed between you and your husband, terrified at the thought of a shark invasion.

You welcomed warm sun overhead that toasted your skin as you sat on the blanket with the twins, Seyoung chewing on her teething ring and Youngsoo playing with a small, squishy beach ball. Suddenly hit with the need to find a bathroom, you waved Youngjae back over to the blanket so you could find a decent restroom.

"I need to find a bathroom," you said, kissing his cheek. "Watch the kids while I'm away, okay?"

"Gotcha." He returned the loving peck you gave him and watched you as you wandered away to find a restroom, leaving him with the children.

Had it been twenty minutes? Maybe it was five. Or maybe no time at all had passed. Youngjae lost track of how long ago you'd left to find a bathroom, and through the panic he persevered with only one thought:

I am a responsible parent who is capable of handling three children by myself for just a short time.

He told himself that, but he was really just trying to deny the fact that navigating a thick crowd with three small children to buy ice cream was not the best idea he'd ever had in his life. He hadn't anticipated the three year old would throw a tantrum over the strawberry ice cream she clearly asked for, complaining that she now wanted chocolate instead. Nor did he anticipate that said three year old would give her ice cream cone to her younger brother, who would then proceed to smear it all over the top of his twin sister's head.

Y/N, where are you?

After taking a bit of bottled water and napkins to rinse off the ice cream in Seyoung's hair, he laid back on blanket to relax a bit while he kept an eye on Dae who was playing in the sand quietly. The warmth of the sun loosened up the tension in his outstretched limbs and his face. It was a relaxing experience, despite the miserable heat and the crashing waves on the shore that taunted him, knowing he was unable to enjoy the water itself. It was only for a moment, but in the brief moments of peace he felt, he dozed off.

That all ended, of course, when the three year old started digging through the beach bag and pulled out a shiny metallic packet, inspected it with awe, and shouted for the whole world to hear "What's this, daddy?"

He didn't think anything of it until he looked up to see Dae holding up the condom packet for the whole world to see, but then his face quickly drained of all color.

Damn it. He could have sworn he'd unpacked everything from that beach bag after you'd used it during your last romantic getaway.

Youngjae snapped up and reached for the packet in the girl's hand. "That's a, uh... special water balloon only mommies and daddies are allowed to play with," he stuttered.

Smooth, Youngjae. Real smooth. Now she's gonna be asking Y/N about the "water balloon fights" you have.

Dae jerked her hand away from him and held it closer to her. "Why can't I play too?"

He really wanted to kick the slightly younger version of himself for not making sure to childproof every bag they packed.

"That's because those water balloons can only be opened after all the children in the house have gone to sleep. Trust me, though, your pink Hello Kitty ones are much prettier."

The girl hugged the packet to her chest, unrelenting in her effort to persuade her father to let her play with it. A small frown crossed her lips and she huffed and started to walk away from Youngjae.

Well, now you've done it.

He followed after her, trying to drag her back to the blanket peacefully and without much public humiliation. Only after making a deal with the devil Dae was he able to get her to give it up.

And now you have to explain to Y/N why Dae thinks she can have ice cream for dinner every day for the next two weeks. Great job, Jae.

He was just thinking to himself that the twins had been so peaceful when he came back to carefree, bubbly smile of Youngsoo, who was covered in children's sunblock from head to toe. Seyoung sat next to him, completely oblivious to the mischief of her slightly younger brother. Youngjae took the empty bottle from his small hands and tried to salvage what he could of the sunblock covering his son by scooping it back up to put in the bottle. He took a few smears to also reapply to Seyoung's face while he was at it.

When he finally thought everything was over, when he was certain he had everything cleaned up and taken care of, he was relieved. You could come back at any moment. But life and children themselves are not quite that forgiving.

He knew he shouldn't have put the bottle back down, and he knew he should have closed the cap before he did so. But sometimes Youngjae just doesn't know why he does the things he does. He bit his tongue and cursed at himself internally when Youngsoo grabbed the bottle of sunblock and gave a light squeeze that spluttered the white lotion all over his father's face. A thin line formed on Youngjae's face, and he sighed, choosing to just rub it into his skin rather than wiping it off. He closed the bottle and tossed it far away from the child. The small boy looked at him with wide eyes and a beautiful bubbly smile that never once faded from his face - a trait he inherited from Youngjae himself.

"Listen here, buddy. You and I need to have a serious talk."

You walked quickly back to the spot on the beach where you'd left your husband and children, feeling a little regretful that you hadn't taken your phone. The only restroom facilities on the entire beach were at least a ten minute walk from your location, and unfortunately the line was so long that it'd taken you twenty-five minutes to get in and out rather than the five you'd anticipated. Once you spotted your family, you broke into a light jog to get to them a little quicker.

When the sight before you had actually come clearer, you saw your husband squatting down to the height of your youngest child, maintaining serious eye contact and speaking in a low voice.

"There are many things you'll learn as you get older, son," he said, taking small, chubby hands into his large, calloused ones. "But the main thing I want you to learn is to respect your parents and to respect women. That goes for your sisters, too, by the way. Respect goes a long way, son-"

"Jae? What's going on?" you couldn't help but interrupt their little heart-to-heart. "Sorry I took so long. The line was huge- what the heck is this sticky crap in Seyoung's hair?"

In the entire seven years you'd been together, you swear you've never seen your husband look at you more fondly than he did the moment you came back. He dropped Youngsoo's hands and jumped up to envelop you in a tight hug.

"Thank god you're back," he whined.

"What? Why? What happened?" you pulled back to look at his stressed face.

"Just... Never leave again."

"Never?"

"Never ever."

He still refused to tell you what happened when you got home later that evening, but you suspected it may have had something to do with the mysteriously empty bottle of sunblock or the fact that Dae insisted she made a deal with her father - that she was allowed to eat only ice cream for dinner for the next two weeks. When you tried to ask, he only had one reply.

"What happens at the beach stays at the beach."

[bluekyun]

An assortment of tropes that will satisfy all your Valentine’s Day needs...

➼ Let’s Play Pretend → arranged marriage!au with a dash of fake dating

↳ part one | part two

An arranged marriage between a reluctant, sarcastic, commitmentphobe trust fund baby and an eager-to-please, mommy’s boy future business mogul sounds complicated enough.

But when you throw in a cruel step-father, oblivious mother, angry supermodel-level gorgeous girlfriend, swarms of paparazzi and, oh, doomed feelings into the mix, it gets a whole lot worse.

written by @jhspetitegf

➼ When the Stars Align → faking dating!au with a hint of roommates

With cuffing season approaching its end, you thought you had escaped the pressures of finding a boyfriend for the holidays. That is, until your friends set you up on a blind date that goes horribly wrong. This prompts you to enlist the help of your roommate, Min Yoongi, to fake a relationship so your friends will stop meddling in your love life. And it turns out Yoongi is a lot better at this romance thing than you originally thought.

written by @itskimtaehyung

➼ Hell’s Coffee → coffee shop!au

Namjoon’s got a coffee shop on the corner, convenient for foot traffic and tired college kids. You’re one of his favorite regulars until he finds out who really wrote that angry Yelp review last week. Or, “you’re hot and I really like you but please take down that bad review of my coffee shop, it’s bad for my business” au

written by @prolixitae

➼ Pinky Promise → best friend’s brother!au

You’d thought your embarrassing cliché of having a crush on your best friend’s older brother had died out along with your other embarrassing high school memories. But when her wanderlust-enslaved brother suddenly moves into her apartment with her, you realize your solemn preteen promise to never fall in love with him might be harder to keep than ever before. Especially when it seems he doesn't just see you as his little sister’s best friend anymore.

written by @hoseokiehopie

➼ The Pleasures of the Unexpected → enemies to lovers!au and performing arts university!au

It’s the story of a performing arts school rivalry - of course, the ballet dancers and the hip-hop dancers can’t stand each other. That’s basically a fact of life. But another fact - one that is almost incontestable - is opposites attract.

Supposed opposites like Park Jimin and Y/N L/N. He’s never been one to veer off the path he planned on, while she has never been one to settle for less. He aches for more, something different... and, well, she might just be the one to help him see that the horizons aren’t so far away after all.

written by @nochanchu

➼ Roomie Code → roommates!au

When you first decided to move into a house full of guys, you figured it wouldn’t nearly be as bad as people made it out to be. Little did you know, living between your best friend, your crush and a mysterious recluse would only turn into disaster upon finding yourself caught in the middle of a brutal love triangle.

written by @bluekyun

➼ Amor Fati → friends to lovers!au and flower shop!au

You’ve never had an interest in flowers. That is, until unemployment and an eviction note came knocking on your door.

When your eye catches the “we’re hiring” poster on the window of the flower shop below your apartment a day later, you don’t hesitate to take it as a sign that your life in the big city is far from ending. What you don’t expect to find, however, is that the owner of the shop and now your boss is none other than your long lost friend from your high school days...

written by @94hixtape

[prettyboy-jimin]

Just This Once

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Jung Hoseok

Genre: Angst

Word count: 5k

Summary: Based on a prompt I found (Probably from otpprompts) that goes like:

“Just this once... please stay”

Note: Y’all I have never been so relaxed and please while writing and finishing a story. This was birthed from my good friend’s endless love for Sope, she wanted to hurt so I gave her a reason to (I’m sadistic like that) I’m actually really proud of this and I do hope you enjoy! Excuse any overlooked mistakes

Hoseok always had to remind himself that Yoongi wasn’t going to change for him, no matter how much he loved Yoongi. The elder was his own person, Hoseok understood that, but the dancer had left everything behind for the latter, defending him endlessly when it came to others’ criticisms about him and forcing himself to look at the positive traits that Yoongi had when Hoseok’s other friends would name his horrible attributes.

It had been years, a couple of months over three if Hoseok was counting… not that he was. The years didn’t mean much to Yoongi so why would they mean so much to Hoseok? It’s not like Hoseok cared as much as he let on every anniversary that passed, he wasn’t hurt when Yoongi didn’t put in as much effort as he did. He knew Yoongi loved him just as much as he did Yoongi, why else would he have stayed for so long… right?

Now, just like every other time Hoseok had planned to hang out with Yoongi, he had to wait for the older man. It was nearing 9PM when Hoseok looked at the clock. He could see the patrons of the restaurant he sat in for two hours waiting for Yoongi, eye him in his peripherals. He sighed, knowing he would have to face the humiliation sooner or later. Dejectedly and already planning his rant to Yoongi once he got back to their apartment, Hoseok raised his hand and weakly motioned for the waiter to come over.

“Sir?”

Hoseok sighed again, not having the strength to look at the patron as he asked him for the bill.

“On the house, don’t worry about it.” The waiter said before Hoseok met his eyes and had given the young dancer a sad smile. Hoseok returned it with a tight lipped version of his own, thankful for the kindness but unwelcoming towards the pity that he was given. Nonetheless, Hoseok accepted their compassion and managed to drag his feet out the double doors and make the walk back to their apartment where Yoongi was either watching television or passed out.

Hoseok was angry, sure, but he was also used to it. Although, that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t disappointed in Yoongi. They had been together for so long but Yoongi was still the same asshole he was when Hoseok met him. But that sort of changed when they got together, when their dynamics rerun its course. Yoongi was still outspoken, vocal of his snide remarks and opinions but that had toned down whenever Hoseok was in the room, Yoongi was loving and clingy and he loved to hold Hoseok as they slept but when the latter wasn’t present, Yoongi was himself; Unfortunately.

The young dancer had received and endless stream of questions about Yoongi, about himself, and more so their entire relationship. People questioned them and told Hoseok that they weren’t good for each other. Some believed that Hoseok was good for Yoongi, but not the other way around. Someone as cynical as the older man ‘didn’t deserve someone as contradicting’ as Hoseok, which of course Hoseok disagreed to. But over the past several months, he was actually trying to convince himself that Yoongi was a good person, something he never had to do until recently.

The cold air comforted Hoseok as he walked with his face gradually warming, tears threatening to spill over as he struggled to keep his breathing levelled.

No. He wasn’t going to let Yoongi make him feel this way. Not in public. Not in front of him. Not if Hoseok had anything to do about it.

He angrily swiped at his damp eyes with the sleeves of his jacket, huffing out a staggered breath as the taste of salt stained his tongue. Hoseok hated it when he cried, which only added fuel to the fire. He swore under his breath, quickening his steps as their apartment complex finally came in to view and the light from their window showed that Yoongi was home, the flickering and changing of colours proving that he was watching television.

Hoseok’s eyebrows scrunched together in anger as his tears re-emerged once more. He stomped up the steps, flinging the door open and made his way to the little elevator that would take him to their floor. The sound of the electronic bell seemed to rip Hoseok’s gaze away from the ground and to the red LED which showed that the elevator was now on the ground floor; it opened, thankfully empty. Hoseok made his way inside, the anger simmering to a low with the gentle hum of the elevator music. He sighed as he clicked his floor, tears threatening to come up again. Hoseok cursed himself for being weak, for crying. He hated crying. He knew this so why couldn’t he control his own body fluid?

First floor.

He was going to leave. Hoseok was going to leave Yoongi. It wouldn’t be the third time that Hoseok decided this; it wasn’t the first time Yoongi had stood Hoseok up in their entire three years together. In the past, Yoongi wouldn’t even bother holding Hoseok back, knowing that the younger only needed a night or two away from the latter before he would come back. He knew this because Hoseok always packed a bag only for the duration of his stay.

Second floor.

He was already making a mental list of what he would bring. Yoongi had never met Hoseok’s dance troupe, so that meant that Hoseok could stay at either of his hoobae’s places. Hoseok was filled with disappointment to realise that Yoongi had never even seen a single one of Hoseok’s dance performances, always giving excuses about having to be somewhere else, an essay to make, or a song to focus on and submit soon. Hoseok never thought that he minded, dance was his life, music was Yoongi’s. It just seemed as if the two were perfect for each other even though they contradicted each other at some points.

Third floor.

Hoseok wasn’t going to bother confronting Yoongi, mentally planned out rant now partially forgotten but not entirely since he might have to put in a few words if ever Yoongi does stop him. Key word being “if”. He was going to bring majority of his clothes, jeans, long-sleeves and underwear being some of the most important. September proved too cold this year, October creeping up as the time tinged the tree leaves a darker green, falling as bright orange. Hoseok would have to pack his running shoes more than anything too; it’s not like his street style matters right now. He thought of how the irony of its name applied to his situation. He needed running shoes, so he could run away from Yoongi. No that’s not it.

Fourth floor.

That’s not it at all.

Hoseok stepped out of the elevator, head held down, and his eyes wide and very confused as he stepped towards their apartment — no. Yoongi’s apartment. Hoseok had had enough now. He didn't want any more. He was so tired of being so in love with someone who returned his affections half-heartedly. It wasn’t fair, the more Hoseok thought about it, the more he realised it was never fair in the first place. His steps fell heavy and Hoseok could hear his weight shift with every single one he took closer towards the door. His chest constricted, as if his heart found its way right behind his sternum and was banging on it for freedom. Even though it hurt Hoseok’s heart to even think about this, he was doing what was best for him.

He swallowed down the lump in his throat, his heart hammering now. Hoseok reached for his key in his back pocket and stuck it in, it felt like a stab in the chest, a knife twisting in his gut as he turned it in the lock. He could hear the television through the walls that separated his home for the past two years from the outside world. With fear flowing through his bloodstream, he took out his key and reburied it in the fabric he took it out of. His sweaty palm made the doorknob seem like it wouldn’t budge but Hoseok managed to turn it anyway.

Hoseok couldn’t see into the living room entirely, just a portion of the couch’s rear took up a frame of the little hallway while the kitchen counter stood parallel to it. He bent down and was just about to take off his shoes when he realised he wouldn’t be staying for long, and he shouldn’t be giving Yoongi ample time to convince him otherwise. Hoseok straightened himself, his steps still as heavy as before but a lot gentler than those in the hallway. He emerged into the living room to see Yoongi sprawled out on the couch, his head rested on his open palm with his elbow propped up on the cushion, watching reruns of some show Hoseok knew he was never interested in to begin with.

“Hey Yoongi” Hoseok greeted monotonously, his voice void of all emotion except sadness and palpable disappointment in the older man.

Hoseok didn’t even get a comprehensive response, just a grunt that reverberated from Yoongi’s throat as his eyes never left the TV. Hoseok scoffed, smiling humourlessly as he rolled his eyes and made his way towards their bedroom—Yoongi’s bedroom. Once there, he dug for his largest duffel bag at the back corner of the little four-walled closet and began to gather the things he deemed necessary for his departure.

He didn’t understand. Three years. Three years together and Yoongi still treated Hoseok like dirt; dirt that he would tolerate more than anyone else anyway. Hoseok wanted to see that as something good, he wanted to look at that and see how Yoongi cared for him more than the average friend; why else would Yoongi tell him he loved him? Why would Yoongi say he felt the same towards Hoseok? Why would they have wasted three years of their lives together if Yoongi never reciprocated what Hoseok felt for him…. right?

Hoseok was failing to see clearly, physically. He didn’t want to wipe the tears away because if he did, he would’ve wasted precious seconds of gold. Time was money, it was freedom, and it was something Hoseok couldn’t afford to lose any more. He shook his head to get the saltwater out of his eyes, staining his cheeks with them as he did so. His watch ticked away on his wrist, taunting him to move faster, insulting him for being too slow, for being weak because he wanted Yoongi to walk in and see him crying as he packed his bags. Hoseok didn’t know what he wanted anymore, but he knew that leaving Yoongi was something that he needed to do for both their sakes.

Shoving his clothes in by the pair, his sweatpants bundling up on themselves as he threw them in and forced them to fit, he would have to change his shoes instead of packing them. He vaguely realised that all of his things couldn’t fit in just one bag or two so he’d have to come back for the rest. Hoseok was about to curse himself for being irresponsible like this and inevitably forcing himself to see Yoongi again, but then he realised that there was a piece of metal identical to the one Yoongi had, sitting in his back pocket. Hoseok just needed to know when Yoongi would be out so he could get whatever was left of his stuff. He let out a breath as relief washed over him for a split second before he remembered what he was doing; he stopped the tears… he had to.

When the article of clothing he tried to keep shoving into the bag wouldn’t fit anymore, Hoseok cursed under his breath and reached for another pack. He shoved in everything else he needed that wouldn’t fit into the initial parcel and carried on trying to even his breathing out.

This was it. Hoseok wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stop him. His hyungs never liked Yoongi for Hoseok in the first place, even if they were all friends. They were just too different to work and it surprised his elders that they even lasted this long. Hoseok let out a humourless laugh, thinking bout all the times he held pride in his smile when they would tell him so. Then out of nowhere, he was done packing.

He stared at the two bags that carried everything he would need from then on; only containing clothes, necessities. No pictures, books, or memoirs of any sort could be found inside; he didn’t need those. Not anymore at least.

“What are you doing?”

Hoseok whipped his head around sharply, his eyes widened with fear and surprise to see Yoongi standing at the opening of the closet. “H-hyung”

“Hoseok-ah, what are you doing?” Hoseok could see Yoongi eyeing the bags he had just finished zipping up, his eyebrows scrunching together in confusion and the desperation to understand. Yoongi didn’t get it, but then again, when did he ever?

“H-hyung, I” Hoseok couldn’t look at him, his eyes darting everywhere, anywhere but back to Yoongi. He was more affected by this than Hoseok expected him to be and Hoseok didn’t prepare himself for this. “H-hyung, I’m leaving”

“But” Yoongi didn’t understand “Why?”

Hoseok closed his eyes, remaining on his knees on the floor of the small compartment. For a split second he thought that Yoongi just might lock him in to keep him there. He scratched at the denim of his jeans, his throat turning scratchy and desiccate. What was he supposed to say? That he’d had enough? That Yoongi never loved him as much as Hoseok loved him? That this relationship wasn’t fair to begin with and the past three years of their lives together was a mistake? He should probably say all of those things, but Hoseok didn’t have it in him to do it.  His voice didn’t have the strength to be anywhere audible and Yoongi had to ask him to say it again.

“I said,” Hoseok whimpered, tears building in his eyes once again as he brought his gaze up to meet Yoongi’s “I can’t do this anymore, Yoongi.”

Yoongi didn’t understand, Hoseok knew that. For so long the younger man had taught himself to take Yoongi’s bad attitude and excuses as something valid, knowing that Yoongi favoured him more than other people, that Hoseok was something significantly important to Yoongi compared to other people. But Hoseok didn’t want to be slightly different from the others, he wanted Yoongi to loved him whole-heartedly the way Hoseok did him, but he never got that; and without expectation of ever having that, Hoseok didn’t bother to ask for it anymore.

“I’m so tired, Yoongi.” Hoseok was crying now, his voice wavering as he spoke and struggled to see through the water. “I’m so tired of you letting me down and constantly telling me you’ll make it up to me but you never do.” He took in a breath “I’m so tired of being stood up, of being left in the air without and explanation and most importantly? I am so tired of having to convince myself that you love me when you don’t.”

Hoseok was chasing air now, tears falling relentlessly on his face as he looked up to see Yoongi; emotionless. He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt and grabbed his bags as he stood up, uttering an ‘I’ll come back for the rest of my stuff later’ before he pushed past Yoongi and tried to get to the door. Hoseok had only set a foot out the doorframe of their bedroom when he felt a hand envelope tightly around his wrist. He stopped moving; his breathing slowed but remained as laboured as ever.

“Hoseok-ah”

No. He wasn’t going to let Yoongi play the pity card; Hoseok had had enough of understanding him. He was too tired. He had wasted so much time, so much of his life on someone who didn’t return his feelings just as strongly. No. Yoongi wasn’t going to win this one.

“Yoongi; please let me go.”

Hoseok thought that Yoongi actually considered it, maybe even almost did do as he asked when he felt Yoongi’s hold loosen slightly, but it only held on tighter as Yoongi said “No.”

“I can’t do this anymore, Yoongi.” Hoseok forced his voice to keep strong, he forced himself; if he wanted to leave this apartment in one piece then he had to have some will. “I’m leaving.”

“You’re staying, Hoseok-ah. This is your home.” Yoongi had stepped closer; Hoseok’s wrist now in between both of the latter’s hands.  He pressed his chest to Hoseok’s back and the younger swore his knees almost buckled beneath him. “When have I ever asked you for anything?”

That struck a nerve. How dare he?

“How dare you?” Hoseok turned, dropping his bags on the floor and ripping his wrist out of Yoongi’s hold. Yoongi had asked too much from Hoseok in the past three years without once giving anything back. Hoseok seldom asked for anything but whenever he did, it was always something that mattered immensely to the younger man. Yoongi was inconsiderate and selfish, Hoseok told him so.

“I’m sorry, that I’ve been an asshole but I—“

“You think ‘sorry’ is going to cut it, Yoongi? Three years of my life wasted on your bullshit?”

Yoongi was at a loss for words, he didn’t know what to say. Hoseok had never been this angry, so angry to the point that Yoongi couldn’t sweet talk him into calming down and this was an entirely new and foreign situation to him.

“Hoseok” Yoongi mumbled, his voice going soft “Baby—“

“No! Fuck you, Yoongi!” Hoseok shouted, taking a step back as he jabbed a finger at Yoongi’s chest to enunciate his point. “You don’t get to fucking ‘baby’ your way out of this! I’m so fucking done with you and I can’t take it anymore!”

Hoseok was shocked to see Yoongi tearing up. Yoongi never cried. Hoseok was always the one responsible for the waterworks in their relationship but finally getting to see Yoongi’s emotions show through was almost enough for Hoseok to give this another chance. Almost.

“I’m sorry, hyung.” He whimpered, voice shaking continuously as his tears kept falling. “I’ve had enough and I can’t take it anymore.”

Hoseok stared at Yoongi as the elder began to mirror his tear-stained face, he didn’t know what to say anymore. Was there anything else? Yoongi didn’t understand, and Hoseok had enough of it. It was time they went their separate ways and severed the relationship the way they should’ve done a long time ago.

Looking at Yoongi now, tears staining his cheeks as he asked Hoseok—told Hoseok to stay with him, the younger had to force himself to believe that what he was doing was the right thing.

He bent to pick up the bags he had dropped, not even halfway down before Yoongi kicked them a little out of his reach. Hoseok could hear him sniffle, he didn’t want to look up at him, he knew it would only hurt more and waste even more time. He bent further, trying to reach them once again but Yoongi kicked them as he did before, but stronger; sending them a ways away from Hoseok.

The younger heaved a sigh, his back ached from the suspension but his heart hurt more from the last three years and the events of the night.

“Baby, I’m sorry” Yoongi said, forcing himself to sound strong even though his voice wavered from his tears and he just wanted to break down in hopes Hoseok would see how genuine he was being. Hoseok stood straight, met by Yoongi’s face covered in fresh tears. “I’m sorry I’ve been so shit to you. I’m sorry that I’ve wasted three years of your life by not telling you I love you, but goddamnit Hoseok, I love you. So fucking much. But I am too fucked up in the head to be anything relatively good to you. I’m so sorry I’ve treated you to badly and I know I always ask things of you and never do anything for you but please… I know. God. I know you’ve wanted to leave so many times but please… please, please just this once… please stay.”

Yoongi was rambling, Hoseok realised midway. Blinking back the tears that were nuisance to him and his feelings but they made Hosoek all the more assure that Yoongi was being genuine and that at some point, he cared the way Hoseok always wanted him to.

But even with such a confession; Hoseok had decided to stay with Yoongi—for Yoongi, too many times in the past, this wasn’t enough to make him stay again.

New tears made themselves known, Hoseok cried with Yoongi as he had been doing the entire time the night dragged on. His chest constricted, his heart banging against the inside of his sternum once again as it screamed to be closer to the older man. So many things that Hoseok wants to do, with only one thing he should do.

But he figured one of the things he wanted would prove important enough.

He stepped towards Yoongi, the pale boy’s lip quivered as Hoseok cupped his face. He stared into Yoongi’s eyes, looking for any sort of indication that Yoongi was holding back, but all he found was remorse; a lot of it.

“I love you, Hoseok” Yoongi whispered, his hands rising to overlap the younger’s. The patterns of their breathing became identical, shallow and uneven. They struggled for oxygen on their own accords but not even that could stop Hoseok from leaning forward ever so slowly. Yoongi’s eyes closed; the small cries that came from him muted slightly but not entirely. As Hoseok pressed their lips together, the taste of salt and iron stained their tongues.

Their kiss was chaste, gentle but firm, an innocent press that told Yoongi everything Hoseok had told him before, but a desperate press that also told Hoseok everything Yoongi never said.

Yoongi’s arms wrapped around Hoseok’s waist, an attempt to keep Hoseok with him for longer, a last opportunity to hold Hoseok like this. Hoseok thought of deepening the kiss, savouring everything he could with Yoongi before he’d leave him, and everything they’ve shared behind.

But he didn’t.

He just kept Yoongi’s bottom lip between his own with enough pressure to tell Yoongi that Hoseok loved him. That Hoseok loved him so much and just enough to let Yoongi go.

He tried to pull back only to have Yoongi chase after his lips in blind desperation. Hoseok felt Yoongi trying to hold back his cries so he could kiss Hoseok properly, but the younger man still felt his whimpers voice through. Hoseok knew that Yoongi was trying to convince him to stay, make things work and sort everything out.

But Hoseok knew better.

They eventually had to separate for air, much to Yoongi’s heartbreak as Hoseok rested their foreheads together, breathing slowing down to a certain pace before Yoongi couldn’t stop himself from sniffling. Hoseok tried to smile through the pain of separating from Yoongi like this. Their relationship was all they had known for the past three years and finally giving up on it was tearing Hoseok apart from the inside out, seeing Yoongi like how he was right now; desperate and afraid, made Hoseok think that the older man was in just as much pain as he was… maybe more.

“Yoongi-ah” Hoseok whispered, his eyes still closed and his forehead still against Yoongi’s as the term of endearment rolled through his lips. The next few words proved a struggle to him as he tried to formulate the words. Straight to the point but gentle were what Hoseok was aiming for when he asked; “Why’d you stand me up tonight?”

Yoongi began to cry again, his face wobbled slightly in Hoseok’s warm hands as the younger tried to soothe him by rubbing his thumbs over Yoongi’s cheeks to wipe his tears away.

Hoseok was afraid of his answer, but regardless what it was, it wouldn’t change his decision of leaving.

Yoongi stuttered, clutching to Hoseok’s shirt tightly as if it could hold him together than he could do so himself. His tongue unable to form coherent words, twisted in on itself as Yoongi tried to speak.

“I— I” he clenched his eyes shut tighter, removing himself from Hoseok only to envelope the latter’s torso in his hold, nuzzling his tear-stained face into Hoseok’s neck but Hoseok was too emotional to care. “Hobi, p-please stay. I didn’t come because I had a s-song to finish, I wanted to I really did but it c-couldn’t wait and I was too p-proud to call you to c-cancel, I’m so s-sorry. Please s-stay.”

Hoseok wanted to be angry, just like he was when he walked here, just like he’d been trying not to be for so long but all he felt was disappointment; in Yoongi. He unravelled his arms from around Yoongi’s shoulders, the other’s hands still gripping at the fabric of Hoseok’s waist. He wiped away Yoongi’s tears, succeeded by his own.

He smiled, a tight stretch of muscle that Yoongi knew Hoseok forced for his sake as he reached for Yoongi’s hands and removed them, holding them gently in his own between them.

“Hyung,” Hoseok said, voice levelled out and his eyes red “Yoongi… I love you.” And I know I always will “but if we really are for each other, then we’ll find our way back to each other one day.” Yoongi wanted to protest, but Hoseok wasn’t finished. “When we’re better people”

Hoseok could see water brimming in Yoongi’s eyes again, before the elder could say anything; he had turned and grabbed his bags, stalking towards the front door and leaving Yoongi all alone.

Hoseok had barely gotten the door open when Yoongi ran after him, clutching him and forcing Hoseok’s back to Yoongi’s chest.

“Please” Yoongi whispered, “Just this once.”

Hoseok did his best to bite down the urge to submit, leave his bags there and hold Yoongi in the bed they’d shared every night for the past hundreds. He didn’t want to say anything more; he’d wasted enough breath and time already. So even though this was as painful as it was going to get, Hoseok shook Yoongi off him; struggling slightly when he tried to follow him out the door.

Hoseok bit his lip to keep his sobs in when he heard Yoongi crying for him. It took everything in Hoseok to keep walking, unsure that Yoongi wouldn’t run after him if he took the elevator; so he took the stairs to keep himself moving.

With one last glance over his shoulder, he saw Yoongi on his knees in silent tears, uttering Hoseok’s name meshed together with his please for the younger to stay and give him another chance. But Hoseok couldn’t afford another chance. Hoseok loved Yoongi endlessly, but just this once—he had to put himself first.

//

Yoongi knew he’d lost him; that he had fucked up for the last time and now Hoseok was done with it. Hoseok was done with him and Yoongi knew that he wasn’t going to come back.

He stayed on his knees, crying into himself as his hands pulled at the roots of his hair. He didn’t understand why he was like this, why he had been so irresponsible and emotionally detached for so long even with the one person in his entire world that made him feel otherwise.

Hoseok had given him everything he needed and more, giving so much yet asking for so little and Yoongi couldn’t even give him the slightest form of effort. Yoongi looked back on their years together, all the dance competitions that he’d missed, the birthdays he had taken for granted, and the dates he had stood Hoseok up; tonight included. Along with all of these, he thought of all the rap battles that Hoseok had supported him at, the finals weeks that Hoseok had taken care of Yoongi and never asked for anything back, the surprises that Hoseok had thrown and planned for Yoongi on various occasions and he felt a twist in his gut; similar to a twin-bladed knife being twisted from the inside of his stomach.

Yoongi was sick, he was disgusted with himself for how he treated Hoseok and tonight was the turning point he told himself he was going to change, but as he remained unmoving at the open doorway; it was crystal clear that Hoseok no longer had any chances to give him.

His head hurt, a pulse-like sensation bouncing off the insides of his skull had seemed to create some kind of high-pitched ringing in his ears. It had been too long since he had a panic attack, the pins and needles in his hands, face and ears all seemed too foreign that it terrified him. But if Yoongi wasn’t determined enough to keep Hoseok with him, he was determined to earn him back; starting with not letting his own demons be the reason why Hoseok would stay with him out of pity.

He rose from his position, his back arching slightly from his developed slouch, and tried to breathe properly. Inhaling through his nose, holding his breath for a short period of time and thereafter exhaling through his mouth as his shoulders relaxed and slumped with him; he stared at the portion of stairs that he could eye from down the hall, mere seconds ago Hoseok was there, minutes ago Hoseok was here, days ago Hoseok was with him, yet now, Hoseok was gone.

Yoongi could feel himself started to cry again, but he shook his head, making his headache worse as he forced himself to have some self-control. He groaned, rising off his knees and straightening himself before he shut the door and locked it, walking back inside to lie in a lonely bed; the one that he used to share.

[feralbangtan]

Time Management (M)

Member: Kim Namjoon (BTS) Genre: Fluff/Smut AU: Non-idol Word count:  12: Domestic 16: “No, no, no. I know where this is gonna lead. We do not have the time for sex.”

Request here

Married life with Namjoon was anything but easy. He was either accidentally hurting himself on anything and everything or breaking something because one of his long limbs hit it, but it was okay, now that they have a child running around she’s less worried about Namjoon breaking something and more worried about if their child has broken something or has accidentally eaten something they weren’t supposed to.

Today was Dowoon’s last recital of the year and Y/N was determined to get there on time, she even had her mother take him to the recital early so he could be ready for it. Namjoon on the other hand, he had other things in mind. Y/N was in their bedroom getting ready to go and Namjoon was already ready to leave, so he thought that they could have a little fun. Namjoon waltzed his way into their bedroom seeing Y/N putting on her jewelry and making sure that everything she was wearing was straight and neat. He came up behind her and placed his arms around her waist and softly rested his chin on her head.

“Hello there handsome.” She said with a smile.

He only smiled back at her and moved his chin off her head and she turned around to look at him. Namjoon got what he wanted and smirked at her before quickly moving in and softly kissing her neck.

“No, no, no. I know where is going to lead. We do not have time for sex Namjoon.”

“Come on, please, it won’t take long, it’ll be like the quickies we did back in college.” He begged.

She crossed her arms and sighed at him, not sure if she was willing to cave to him or not, but it didn’t stop Namjoon from kissing and sucking at her neck while she pondered on it.

“Fine, but we need to be quick.”

Namjoon let out a small yes and lifted her up quickly to put her on their bed. He got her laid down and hiked up the skirt of her dress and pulled her navy lacy panties down her legs before he undid his belt and pulled his pants and boxers down just enough for his hard cock to be out of his pants.

Namjoon wasted no time, he quickly put on a condom and slid himself into Y/N with ease. He set a quick pace, the sounds of Y/N’s soft moans and skin slapping skin sounded through the room. They both needed their climaxes to come soon or they would be late for one of the most important things their child was doing to date. Namjoon rubbed circles into Y/N’s clit getting her closer to orgasm. It didn’t take very long for either of them to come to their orgasms and get themselves straightened out again. They were just about to leave when they realized that if they really didn’t hurry now they’d for sure be late.

“Jesus we need better time management.”

[sopewriters]

Gula.

Seven Steps to Hell: The Second Step.

Series: Prologue | BamBam | Jackson | Youngjae | Yugyeom | Jaebum | Jinyoung  | Conclusion

Genre: Good question, but kind of smut and angst?; 7 Deadly Sins! AU

Word Count: 1.9K

Notes: Fair warning, this has a mommy kink (?) which is completely non-sexual. Which is why it isn’t exactly smut. I’ve been seeing this around lately, so decided to give it a shot. 

Edit: Moodboard below submitted by @saf0607

“The one whose concern is with that which enters the belly will discover that his value is found in that which goes out of it.” - Imam Al-Ghazali

You can hear him even as you approach from a distance. You hesitate, for a brief moment, before you ignore your inhibitions and push open the door, entering the well-lit room.

He’s hunched over in a chair in front of a table filled with delicacies, hands cradling his head despairingly; and you can’t help but feel guilt for what he is going through. Still, it must be carried out, in order to give them another chance at having their peace.

“We’ve failed, yet again.” He says, without even looking up—and there is a reason why he’s one of your favorites—as though he can sense you there, “I’m sorry for that, Creator.”

His hands are trembling as they pull away from his gaunt cheeks, and he looks at you with hollow eyes of flickering orange that scream of years and years of turmoil.

“I know we’ve failed.” He says, even as you sit opposite to him, “I know that, but why must I face this?”

He doesn’t look at the food and, in consideration, neither do you.

“It’s all a part of the natural order.” You intone quietly, taking a hand in yours, “You must endure it.”

“I know,” He sighs, before, “Will you stay with me through it, at the very least?”

“Of course I will.” You assure him softly, gently carding your fingers through his soft brown strands, “You know you’ve got a time limit this time too, though, right?”

“Yes.” He answers, voice small, before taking a peek at you from the corner of his eye, “How long have I sat through already, if you don’t mind telling me?”

“Well, it seems you’ve managed 90 hours so far.” You answer, managing to keep the tremor out of your voice, “Y-You’ve only got six hours left, you can do this.”

Even 3 hours, with Mark, seems daunting and unfair. Your hands fist into the material of your dress as you stare down at your lap; he shouldn’t have to be put through this, but you know it’s his punishment. To resist temptation for 96 hours—four whole days.

“Six more?” Mark looks entirely dejected, and you can’t help but feel sympathetic, “I-I can’t anymore…”

You shush him gently, unable to bear his sorrow, and offer, “I’ll talk you through it, alright? You know you can’t leave, not until you’ve mastered Temperance.”

“I’m aware.” He grits out, and you fall silent, knowing how much he’s going through, “But starvation is still painful…even more so when your ticket out is right there.”

“You’re lucky He’s reduced your time,” You say, before hurrying to add, “Not that it’s still a good thing, but…”

You sigh, “If the seven of you unite, it’ll end eventually, you know that.”

“It won’t work.” Mark is despondent as his fingers tap quickly at his knee, “You know that. We’re doomed to be in the cycle forever, on repeat.”

“But still—”

“It’s not going to work, okay?” Mark snaps out, surprising you, cheeks flushed red, “I’m always the first one, aren’t I? Every time I go to Earth, every time I try to plan, it fails.”

He shakes his head again, “It will always fail. This is going to happen for eternity, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”

“Mark,” You say gently, eyes stinging with the injustice, “Mark, you know I love you, but can’t you see that there’s always a way out?”

His shoulders slumping, he shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, Creator,” Mark is resigned, the emotion etched over his features, “But there is nothing that can change that.”

“Please don’t give up.”

“…I’ll try.”

It’s an empty promise, and the both of you know it.

 Most of the time passes similarly: in silence. You can’t help but glance at the handsome brunette from the corner of your eyes, occasionally, and a frown makes its way to your lips when you see that he’s chewed his bottom lip to the point that it’s swollen, every time his gaze lands on the mountain of food.

He’s already moved onto his fingernails next, nibbling on them lightly, and your chest aches at the thought that he’s going crazy from the hunger. Sure, it isn’t the longest he’s had to endure—four days is nothing compared to 7 months (and you will never forget that)—but it has been a long time, and Mark’s always been one to want desperately for his food.

Gluttony. The simplest of the Sins, yet the first to fall.

You bite your lip, pondering over what to do in order to salvage what’s left of his nails and other designated parts of the body, when it occurs to you. You hesitate briefly, entirely unsure of what you’re about to suggest, but when you see his squeeze his eyes shut in pain, you blurt it out.

“Do you need something to suck on?”

Retrospectively, you realize that sounds extremely strange. Mark, too, seems to think so, because he freezes mid-bite, staring at you with wide eyes.

“W-What?” He manages to choke out, and you will away your blush, before getting up to sit next to him.

“I noticed that you’re always biting on something.” You gently take his hand in yours, smiling at the length of his fingers, “And that can be dangerous for you.”

He looks at his uneven fingernails, cheeks flushing as it registers, and heat warming his face when you tilt his head towards you.

“And your lips too,” He hisses when you thumb gently at his swollen lips, though his face is growing steadily pinker, “Which is why I’m asking if you want me to give you something to suck on?”

“U-Uh,” He stumbles over his words, which you can’t help but find adorable, “W-What does that include? Because, um, no food allowed.”

His eyes dart quickly to the table, before resting on your face, pained.

“I know.” You laugh, before quieting, making him frown. You take a deep breath, as you slip off the hem of your gown so that only your bare chest is visible, nubs hardening in the cool air.

Mark’s eyes widen impossibly at he looks at you in complete shock.

“I-I think you’ve got it mixed up?” He laughs nervously, eyes never leaving yours, “This is something BamBam might like, not me. I’m Gula, not Luxuria, so—”

“Mark, I know.” You roll your eyes, indecision undone by his awkward fumbling, “I’m not propositioning you.”

“Good—uh—wait, you’re not?!” He stares at you like you’ve grown another head, “Then what are you doing…?”

You exhale through your teeth as you cup one of your breasts in your hand, as though in offering.

“Something to suck on.” Is all you say, but he seems to understand now, eyes widening.

“Oh.” He says in wonderment, leaning in, before he looks up at you, eyes wide, “May I…?”

“Yes.” You smile as softly as you can, knowing he’s as new to the concept as you are, “Go ahead.”

He wavers for a moment, before his mouth closes around your nipple, and his eyes flutter shut. Yours mirror his, only because it’s strange at first, having something hot and pulsating around you, in a place left mostly untouched.

He doesn’t do much at first, before he experimentally sucks your nub into his mouth gently and, seeing no rejection, allows his eyes to flutter shut as he suckles gently.

You sigh at the that, because it’s not the most pleasurable of feelings, but it also has a strange charm to it and, more importantly, it’s calming Mark down. You can already see the previously taut line of his shoulders easing up, as he burrows closer into your warmth.

He makes a sound of protest as you shift, but quietens back down again as you readjust yourself so that he’s tucked more comfortably into you. You draw your fingers gently through his hair, humming as he greedily laps at your chest with a desperation you haven’t seen in a while.

“Does this feel better?” You ask quietly, unwilling to disturb the peace, but wanting to make sure, “Mark?”

He doesn’t answer, mouth still preoccupied, and you roll your eyes in amusement, before tapping his cheek gently, making him look at you with blown eyes. Before you can say anything, he’s shaking his head, eyes tearing up.

“Please don’t leave.” He begs, teary, “Please, Mommy.”

The word has you freezing in shock, as does he; and you feel a sense of vertigo when it registers in your head. You’d heard of this, but…never had you thought it’d hit someone close to you. But, if that’s what he wants…

“Mommy’s not going anywhere, baby.” You reassure, the word feeling foreign in your mouth, but ploughing on because it’s for Mark, “I just want to know if it makes you feel good.”

He nods quickly, before looking at you with question in his flickering, orange eyes. You understand, sighing, and shift over again, so that your other breast is presented to his awaiting mouth.

“Mark,” You sigh, a weary smile pulling at your lips as he tongues headily at your nipple, “What am I going to do with you?”

 Time passes by, like that, and you’re so drowsy at that point that you can hardly bear to move yourself to look at your watch. You know Mark’s dozed off a while ago, mouth still closed around your bud. Responsibility tugs at you, however, so you force yourself to check for the time, jostling Mark, who’s been resting his face peacefully against your chest.

“Baby, it’s time to wake up.” You say, unsure of whether he’ll still be in that headspace or not, but when he looks at you, eyes a mix of hazel and orange, you know he’s back, “There’s only ten minutes left to your rebirth.”

“Okay.” He says quietly, watching you cover yourself up again, before he’s biting his lip in trepidation, “Uh…I’m sorry about before with the...you know.”

“It’s completely alright.” You grin softly at his stutter, before kissing his cheek, softly, “If it helps you, Mark, then I’m all for it.”

“If…” He pauses, conflicted, “If you’re sure.”

“I am.” You reassure, placing a hand on his shoulder, “It’s nothing to be ashamed about. Besides,”

A small smile plays at your lips, “You can brag about it to the others now.”

“Yeah,” He looks unsure for a moment more, before he turns quickly, catching you by surprise with the soft brush of his lips against yours, “I guess I’ll see you?”

“Hopefully, you won’t have to.” You stare at him in surprise, before breaking out into a genuine smile, “Goodbye, then, and… good luck.”

“Bye.” He steps forward, to the open door, before turning back to look at you one last time. You wave like you’ve seen other Earth-born do and, much to your delight, he waves back, before stepping through the door, ready to begin the next cycle.

The smile leaves your lips as you begin to walk away, towards the other door, knowing who to go to next. Someone who you’ve always been fond of: Avaratia.

The Third Step.

Written By: Midnight^^

[tingznstuff]

i find this same problem with that thing academics call "design". its the approach to art of a greedy person and a scientist, trying to package expression of the soul as a predictable, controllable commodity when it is everything but that. and it is because of what it is that people gravitate toward such expressions as art in the first place!

“Modern research divides nature into tiny pieces and conducts tests that conform neither with natural law nor with practical experience. The results are arranged for the convenience of research, not according to the needs of the farmer”

— Masanobu Fukuoka

[park-thatasshere]

Oh!Baby

‘it was safe to say that Taehyung was much more suited to settling into a family oriented lifestyle, and that scared you’

Featuring: V/Taehyung (bts) Genre: Fluff

m.list

“You’re on the pill?”

 The question, although reasonable enough, catches you off guard. You didn’t go out of your way to advertise to Taehyung that you had started taking birth control once your relationship started to get more domestic and the need for him to ‘wrap it before he tapped it’ became less of a must.

 It’s not like the both of you didn’t take the proper precautions when it came to sex, but sometimes in the midst of a heated quickie, a condom was the last thing either of you cared to remember.

“Well yeah wouldn’t want to risk any potential accidents.” You pay him a quick glance, noting the empty tin package he was twiddling between his fingers. His eyes shoot up at your inclination, very much taken aback by how harsh your words seemed come out. “Having a baby with me would be an accident?” “Tae it’s not like that.” “We’ve been together for five years and you can’t trust me enough to have a child with me?” This has you turning your head dramatically slow in his direction. Was he actually serious? There was barely enough room for the both of you without your elbow jamming into his rib or him stepping on your foot on occasion. “Look around you, where is there room for a baby!?” “He could stay in the dorms with me.” “She won’t be anywhere near those dorms surrounded by rowdy boys all day.”

 You rub at your face exasperatedly and look to Taehyung once more to see his face alight with realization, an epiphany of sorts.“Wait did you just say she?”

“I-I think I did?”

 A silence falls over the quaint apartment and neither of you can exactly decipher if it’s good or not. You reanalyze your whole relationship up until this point. The way Taehyung interacted with your nieces, how he was always attentive and willing to step out of his comfort zone to ensure they were happy and smiling.

 Then you thought about every interaction you’ve had with anything under six, it was safe to say that Taehyung was much more suited to settling into a family oriented lifestyle, and that scared you. You never wanted to fall short, always striving to put in as much effort as you were given, but maybe with Taehyung’s guidance you’d be able to fill the role of a nurturing mother.

“A-are we really considering this?” Taehyung finally voices what you both were undoubtedly thinking.

“I guess we are.”

“Whelp what are we waiting for.”

“Hold on Tae wouldn’t your parents feel…I don't know; uncomfortable with us having a baby out of wedlock?”

“I don’t think they’d be opposed to it. They’ve been begging me to tie the knot with you for years now and having a baby will make sure of that.” “See this is the kind of thinking that’s gonna get your feelings hurt.” You facepalm, just thinking about having to deal with a little Taehyung running amuck. Another mouth to feed, another person to clean up after. Were you talking yourself out of this? “Tae I think we should-”

 “Oh no no no baby girl you are having my baby.” He tackles you down onto the couch, drowning your neck and face in short pecks, tickling your sides.

 You stood no chance against his tickle torture, and gave into his ceaseless attack. He sees you’ve had enough and draws his face closer to yours, until his lips are slightly grazing yours, hesitant to continue.

 You snake your hands around his neck, pulling him down so the two of you are chest to chest, “Don’t worry Tae, I’m ready.”