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singguks · 2 years ago

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#fighton! ✱ 3 | bts

synopsis. like every college, this one also has gossip and drama to fill the hallways, as well as lot’s of parties and games to attend. but when two of the most popular groups start to collide the whole campus goes into havoc. suddenly all eyes are on them. what will be the final outcome of this clash of clans?

📕 this is a revamp; the old archive is here

pairing. bts x oc's

genre. college au + fluff + slice of life + smut + angst

word count. 17.5k

warnings. unresponsible drinking, lots of fights, and sexual tension.

a/n. dedicated to @tangyguk as a belated happy birthday gift!! thank you for being part of our precious group ♡ we adore you dearly and wish to have you next to us for many more years!! here's to you, sunny, and to your day. happy twelve of august ☀️

✱ chapters. #1 — #2 — #3 — #4

Carolina’s cell phone display marked eight-thirty am and the girl couldn’t help but shake her leg up and down in pure anxiety.

She hated arriving late to practices in general, but today she just couldn’t.

As it turns out, today was the first volleyball official game of the season. The male team would be competing later in the evening to classify, and whenever they had big games like that the whole team would be called to train together and help appoint errors on whatever they needed to better in court so they would be ready to ace the other team.

“Hey,” Ben called for her, his eyes trailing to the car changing lanes in front of them. “You’ll arrive in time, don’t worry!” He chuckled, finding the way she was clutching her seat belt in the passenger seat actually funny but also adorable.

Carolina didn’t say a word, just nodded in agreement. For a second there, she felt guilty for choosing to sleep in Ben’s place instead of her own apartment, knowing it was way closer to the pavilion and Jin would always know shortcuts to get her on time.

Her mind was only able to rest at ease when Ben parked the car right in front of the main door, and she gave him a quick peck before jumping out of the vehicle and running towards the locker room. She had precisely seven minutes to change her clothes, before the coach blew his whistle, marking the beginning of practice.

She managed to barge through the court’s door a few seconds before Mr. Hoffman, their coach, blew that annoying thing he always carried around his neck. The players were all aligned, looking at Mr. Hoffman as he remarked stoically, “I thought you would miss today's sess too, Jones.”

“When did I ever?” Carolina punched back filling her spot on the line, and gaining what it felt to the start of a smile on the coach’s face.

Mr. Hoffman had been a volley player too back in the days, so his natural stature of six foot one and his cranky face could make anyone step back in fear. But for the ones that dared to know the man better, or drive him mad at every opportunity like Carolina did, it was clear as day he was nothing but a softy deep down. He was just really stressed and short-tempered.

“Alright.” He gave in. “Just don’t throw up like Jeremy over there… I know you guys had a party last night, but suck the hangover in, alright?! Shouldn’t hav’ gone to it in the first place.”

They all held in laughter seeing the male’s team opposite hitter, Jeremy, laid on a bench, arm over his eyes like the world was ending. If they didn’t know him better, concern about him not being able to play in tonight’s game would surface, but then again, Jeremy was out and about every day.

Countless times had he arrived minutes before practice with a massive hangover. And if you’re wondering… No, the coach didn’t need to take any measures. Jeremy is a wild card alright, but he’s also one of the best out there; he can be anything but unprofessional when it comes to volley. Or unpassionate.

“So that’s where you were last night!” Lu whispered indignantly at Carolina’s ear while eyeing the bleachers. “I can’t believe you missed a sleepover at my house because of that gorgeous and sexy as hell man over there.” She added, making Carolina laugh and glance quickly at Ben, who waved at her.

She saluted him jokingly, making him flash a big smile before she turned back to face the court to start practicing. And while she chatted cheerfully with Lu about her rendezvous, simultaneously stretching, a pair of eyes on the other side of the net followed her every move.

Jungkook still hadn’t swallowed the scene he had witnessed the previous night. And seeing his teacher in the bleachers, staring at Carolina without a care in the world, wasn’t sitting right in his stomach.

“JK?” Eunwoo, the male’s team setter, called for him again as he was lost in thoughts. “You following?”

“Huh?” He snapped his head back to the actual team. As Eunwoo pressed again with a raise of his eyebrows, smiling at Jungkook’s unusual loss of focus when it came to the sport, he shook his head. “Sorry, yeah. Go on,”

Eunwoo had been explaining what plays he wanted to make for their game later that evening, as he had been up late at night studying the other team’s moves.

While he did so, and the rest of the team listened attentively, the girls were completely dispersed. The team itself wasn’t as close as the boys were, and that resulted in some inner circles as they stretched or practiced.

Truth is, ever since Carolina arrived on the team there had been problems. Jennifer’s posh attitude had crashed immensely with hers, and to worsen the situation, the coach had appointed Carolina to the setter position and the starter line without even doing much training.

At first, the collision was mostly bickering and eyes rolling here and there. Jennifer would always try to anger the girl somehow, but Carolina stood her ground without paying much mind. With time—not that long as you are probably thinking—things started running south. After the setter heard that conversation between Jennifer and Jungkook, she no longer ignored her snarky remarks or childish behavior. Carolina started barking back and that made things between the team shift.

“Let’s move!” Mr. Hoffman demanded with arms crossed while his assistants kept a closer look at the players that were jumping up and down and taking their positions on the court.

They were going to start the practice with the male team starter line playing against a mix of the female team starters and the male players that were on the bench as the coach would definitely make them substitute on the first or second sets.

Jungkook was by the net and although Jennifer kept smiling at him from the other side, craving his attention, he had his eyes elsewhere. The bleachers.

“Don’t take it easy on us,” Eunwoo smiled friendly while offering his fist beneath the net to Carolina, who took the same position as him on the other team.

She bumped it gladly, “Never!”

Tracy, Jennifer’s best friend and the middle blocker of the female team, was getting ready to serve. Jungkook’s eyes went to follow her movement to try and predict where the ball would come to but all he could see was Ben’s figure leaning forward with a grin on his face while ogling Carolina.

Is he looking at…?

“My bad!” their libero shouted as he failed to correct the ball’s trajectory to a perfect pass.

Eunwoo moved swiftly to get the second touch and arrange the perfect position for one of his hitters. Jungkook saw the exact moment he was about to pass it to Jeremy, but he really needed that one. He needed to carve that ball deep into the court to let some steam off.

“Open!” the raven-haired boy shouted with his right arm up; eyes eager and about to burn.

Eunwoo didn’t think, he didn’t need to. Whenever this happened, his body reacted instinctively to Jungkook’s motion, much like a magnet. And so he tossed the ball to his teammate in a perfect parabole.

Jungkook took a swing as if he was about to fly.

As his body was raised closer to the net, he targeted the spot intended for the ball to go, and his hand came in like an unmerciful whip. Carolina, Tracy, and Jason jumped to block it, but they all knew it was a lost battle. Whenever Jungkook attained such a majestic form on the other side of the net, a point was guaranteed. So they all looked back when they heard the loud bang the ball made, but much to their surprise, it hadn't come in touch with the wooden floor like it always did.

“Fuck!” They heard a loud groan coming from the bleachers.

Carolina gasped as she saw the ball rolling down the seats, right next to Ben, who had his right hand over his shoulder with closed eyes and furrowed brows.

“Holy…! Ben!” She went running toward him after the scene sank into her mind. To her relief, Mr. Hoffman had already sent his assistant to check on the man injured before her.

Jungkook kept panting from the other side with his hands on his hips; his expression far from guilt or regret.

“I’ve never seen you be so accurate before,” Eunwoo tapped on Jungkook’s shoulder with a naughty chuckle and a nod of his head making his teammate scoff and turn around to go fetch another ball.

Jimin wasn’t supposed to be awake. At least not at eleven in the morning.

He and Taehyung had arrived way too late last night, both unable to find their building or even walk straight for the matter. By the time they managed to do so, the sun was already shining bright on the horizon, turning everything it touched into shades of soft gold.

The jock had planned to stay in bed until a bit after lunchtime, only getting up to eat something and then going back to his safe haven until it was time to get ready for yet another massive event—the volley team game and its party. Unfortunately, as he struggled to open his eyes, alarmed by the maddening sound of an unknown alarm, he saw himself in a different scenario.

The owner of said alarm, Taehyung, sleeps soundly on the other side of the room, without mention of moving or even turning off the diabolical thing.

So Jimin was forced to get up to do so.

He kicked his blankets to the side, lazily crossing the distance to pick his friend's device up just to state his fear. Frowning to see how early it was, he cussed under his breath. The situation was about to turn south, as he turned off the maddening sound, ready to wake his roommate up with at least a pull on his leg when he spotted her.

Right on the front lawn, under the willow tree that made their dorm have the best view compared to the others on campus, Jimin spotted Sarah.

He didn’t have his glasses or contacts on, but he knew, from the way she laughed with her whole body, to her blonde locks fluttering in the light morning breeze that it was her. He had admired her long enough to know.

The girl was accompanied by a group of friends, and she was the only one standing while the rest of them sat on top of a sarong extended on the lawn. They all looked at her, laughing as well. From what Jimin could gather, she was quite the taleteller.

He looked at the device in his hand again. It was seven minutes to eleven-thirty. Jimin sighed. And then forgetting all about his rest, he opened his wardrobe, picking a pair of jeans and a loose dress shirt to put on.

Not even fifteen minutes later, he was walking out of the building, teeth brushed, hair messily combed back with a pair of sunglasses to support his casual style.

The coffee shop was right across, and he would definitely pass by Sarah if he were to trace through the lawn instead of going around it. It was perfect.

But he should have predicted she would spot him first. And then what could have been a serendipitous moment became just a long catwalk while she stared at him with a large smile, and a hand over her eyes so the sun could be blocked.

“Enjoying a morning walk after last night?” Sarah teased as he came closer to her and her friends.

Jimin chuckled amused. “Came just for the coffee,” he said, pointing toward the coffee shop behind her. Then he looked at her friends sitting on top of a red sarong, with a shy smile. “Hey, how you doing?”

The girls greeted him excitedly, exchanging glances between themselves. Sarah was too invested to notice.

“Just for the coffee, huh?” she raised her eyebrow teasingly. Jimin chuckled.

“Are you going to the game later tonight too?” a short girl with bangs asked him, all smiles.

He looked from her to Sarah, as if waiting for an introduction and she quietly whispered her friend’s name to him. “Uh- Yeah! Are you going too, Sunny?”

“We are!” she answered excitedly. “I was just telling Sarah we should go earlier since I’m pretty sure the place will be packed… Anything for a good seat!” she laughed, and Jimin nodded agreeing.

“You should! I’m going earlier too” the boy added.

“Well, I still have to find someone to interview today…” Sarah sighed, looking around as if her savior would come.

Eliza, the other girl sat down, eyed her for a bit, and then shifted her glance toward Jimin. Sarah met her eyes and as soon as it happened she knew what was going to unravel next. She gulped nervously.

“You’re an athlete aren’t you?”

Jimin looked at the girl before even realizing the question was directed to him. “I am,” he said simply, waiting for further context.

Sunny looked at her too, expectant. Eliza then turned to Sarah. “Why not interview him?”

“Oh I don’t know-“ Sarah said hesitantly. “I don’t want to take your time or anything…” she added, biting her lips.

Jimin opened another radiant smile, looking at her fondly. He hadn’t expected to reach the coffee shop anyways, her company was all that he had been hoping for.

Not knowing what the interview would even be about, Jimin answered. “It would be a pleasure to be interviewed by the infamous Sarah Lewis,” he added a wink at the end and the girl melted under his gaze.

The blonde said quick goodbyes to her two friends, with promises of being as speedy with the interview as she could so they could meet early to attend the game. Meanwhile, the jock could only hope to extend their time together, after all, they did have some pending business.

Jungkook was pretty nervous. He was in the locker room, sat down together with his team, all waiting for the game to begin while their coach kept giving last advice and cheering them on. And although Jungkook very much liked the “old man” as he would call him, he had been listening to none of the words leaving Mr. Hoffman’s mouth. His only focus was the loud cheering he could hear from outside and the way their benches would shake from the crowd’s loud stomps. From what he could tell, the bleachers of the inside court were already packed, and he was right.

Jimin was the first of his group of friends to arrive, and because of that, he was having some trouble safeguarding the seats for everyone. He was trying hard to balance out a rather large beer cup on his hands—that was already half empty—while his left leg was up to the side, on top of two seats, and his jacket on the other one by his right, as well as the cardboard piece he had made earlier that afternoon to support Jungkook.

The more crowded the place got, the more he was finding it hard to keep the seats since they were definitely in the best spot to watch the game; courtesy of Jungkook who had given him the tip. The number of people trying to sit there just for him to say “I’m sorry it’s occupied”, especially the bad-mouthing session that came right after it, was proving to be a challenging task to his patience.

He was about to curse someone himself, mentally blaming his friends for running late, once he heard Deo’s voice calling for him.

“Chims!”, she did her best to get noticed by everyone passing by. “Down here!!”

He took a second to spot her arms, waving the best she could as the place was very much full of people trying to accommodate themselves on their seats.

“Come quickly!” he screamed back, caving into a full smile, “My leg is numb!”

That was the thing about Jimin, he could get grumpy and emotional, or sometimes really mad, but he couldn’t do so for long. And if he were to be honest, he was always the one running late inside his circle of friends. Today had just been the exception thanks to a gorgeous blue-eyed girl.

“I thought I was going to lose a leg,” he sighed taking down his limb off the seats as Deo and Hoseok approached him to sit down, “I mean, I’m great at doing splits but this was just too long of a torture!”

“Stop being dramatic,” Deo cut him off. “It was only fifteen minutes.”

Hoseok laughed out, partially guilty while accommodating himself on his seat, “It was way more, and you know it!”

The blonde one lifted his hand to point it at Hoseok, clapping it down again on his leg, happy for having someone side with him. “Thank you!”

“Wanna die?” Deo intervened quickly with a look making her friend raise his hands in defeat as she bit down a smile. “Where’s Hyori by the way?” she asked, looking around.

“Texted me a while ago saying she was just changing to come…”

Hoseok took the cup from Jimin’s hand taking a quick sip, “Still? I dropped her off at the dorms hours ago!”

Deo’s eyes quickly left the court to question Hoseok about her roommate. It wasn’t of Hyori to arrive late, much less to dwell so heavily on getting ready. “And you’re sure she went to our dorm?”

“Mmhm, I’m sure.”

Hoseok was clueless about the worrying state Deo immediately had gotten in. The sunshine of the group munched on some red gummies, sugar-coated, as his eyes scanned the volley court. With each second, more and more people were arriving and it was certain that there weren’t going to be enough places for everyone.

“There she is!” Jimin pointed out to the entrance on the other side of where they were seated before the strawberry blonde girl could ask Hoseok more questions.

Hoseok squinted his eyes trying to look for Hyori among the crowd and as he found her, he got up from his seat raising his arms. “Wave at her!”

“There’s no way she will see you.” Deo giggled while searching for her phone inside her purse. “I’m going to call her.”

“Just shout her name,” Jimin added fuel to the fire getting up from his seat as well.

“Guys, oh my God–” Deo covered her face as the two were already up on their seats, standing high. “Where’s Jungkook when you need him…”

As the duo began to chant the brunette’s name, Hoseok began to jump, hands up in the air, trying to catch the girl’s attention. Jimin fell into a fit of laughter immediately, almost falling off his seat as his stomach began hurting. Deo already had her phone glued to her ear when Hyori hung up.

“She sees me!” Hoseok's strident laugh is heard all through the venue, as he looks proudly at his friends.

“Hope, you should try out for the cheerleading squad. That was amazing.” Jimin managed to say in between gasps for air.

Hyori had to strategically pick out a route to be able to reach her friends. And by the time she did, she was puffing, bag strap swinging over her head as she struggled to take off her jacket. Jimin, ever so gentleman-like, gave her his hand to help her sit as the other took care of the weight of her bag.

“This place is packed!” Hyori commented, eyes scanning the room.

“Hell yeah!” Hoseok cheered, “those suckers won’t know what hit them!”

The bleachers remained loud, people casually talking with their peers as they waited for the main attraction: the volleyball team, with Jungkook leading them out of the locker rooms. By this time, they were probably receiving a last-minute pep talk from the coach.

“Hyo, you look so nice!” Jimin squeezed the girl’s side, making her slap his hand.

“Thanks.” Not knowing how to react to compliments, Hyori smiled, head leaning on the jock’s shoulder. “So do you.”

“Hey, missy, what took you so long?” Deo inquisitively asked by her roommate’s side.

“What do you mean? The game hasn’t even started.” Hyori replied coyly. If someone knew her was her roommate.

Scoffing, the cheerleader presses, a smile adorning her features. “And did you have time to hide the evidence or when we get home your desk will be covered in highlighter?”

Hyori furrowed her brows, eyes rolling instinctively. In her mind, she battled with her two options: keep being oblivious to her best friend’s questions or come clean.

She chooses the latter. “Is it bad?”

“Not at all.” Now eyeing the girl’s skin in more detail, the strawberry blonde compliments. “You’re at a pro level. Next time I need to do my makeup, I’ll come to you.”

“Deal.” Hyori turns her body to chip in on the conversation of the boys next to her.

“Is it for the cute boy from the texts?” Deo whispers, teasingly and laughs right after, noticing how the girl beside her stiffens.

“I–maybe.”

Hyori knew that Deo wasn’t mocking her but she didn’t want the boys to know. They would make this a more significant thing than it actually was. And that was precisely why she hadn’t gone to Jungkook yet. Deo had pointed out how their friend could smooth things out for Hyori. So she glared at her bestie, a look the other knew as half a plea, half a threat to keep her mouth shut.

“What cute boy?” Hoseok's head almost popped in between the two girls.

“Me, obviously.” Jimin smiled big, cockily.

“You are such a jock.” Deo snorted.

“Excuse me??” Pretending to be offended, the blonde boy protected his heart with his hands. “Am I not the cute bo–”

“LOOK! THERE THEY COME!”

The doors that led to the locker room opened with a loud bang making the crowd avert their attention to the players running towards the court. Both teams came to greet the audience from opposite sides. Jungkook passed by right under where his group of friends was, swiftly turning himself on his heels to look up and send them a flying kiss. They all laughed at his exaggerated expressions while doing so.

“MAKE US PROUD!” Jimin shouted loudly, making the other three by his side laugh hysterically, and even join the chant of Jungkook’s nickname a bit after.

The raven-haired boy couldn’t help but open a huge smile, even if he felt a bit embarrassed at the racket his friends were making on the bleachers. As soon as he sat down to hear the tactical moves his coach was about to suggest, however, he became serious and relentless. Almost like he couldn’t hear a single word around him but the ones falling from his coach’s lips.

Not long after, the team got up. The players gathered around their coach to put their hands together, shouting the college catchphrase “Fight On!” like they were about to go to war. Once that was out of the way, the front-line players formed a line outside the court, waiting for the host to call for their names so they could make an entrance.

“Here we go!” Taehyung exclaimed excitedly. A bucket of fries in one hand and a red and golden flag with the college insignia in the other; waving it proudly.

Yoongi couldn’t help but chuckle amused as he saw Carolina cross her arms; she was sitting right under them, between their legs. “You are really out to piss her off today, aren’t you?” he looked at the players running to the court but Taehyung knew he was talking with him.

“Pshh,” He scoffed, taking a fry to his mouth. “I’m not…”

“I'm betting two dollars that Carolina will have him trapped in the girls' locker room by the end of this match,” Jin said casually to Namjoon, bending forward to see him as they were separated by Carolina and Luiza who sat in the middle. Not satisfied, he took two dollar bills out of his pocket and started waving them.

The girl in question didn’t say a word. She was too pissed with what had happened earlier in practice to even bother taking her eyes out of the court. The thought of Jungkook failing all his serves played like a loop in her mind. Still, she couldn’t afford to think that way as the male team needed to win this game if they wanted to qualify for the finals.

“What am I even doing with two dollars, bro?” Namjoon questioned, glancing at the bills in front of them with furrowed eyebrows.

“Namjoon, sometimes you fail to see the beauty in capitalism… If you bet two dollars as well, we have four. The winner gets to buy a hot dog.”

Jin didn’t need to say much more. Yoongi took his wallet out, fishing some bills out of it. “I bet she will at least pinch him. You know that hellish pinch of hers?” He asked with a sufferable expression as if he could feel his skin burning just from thinking of it. Jin looked up at him.

“The sucker pinch?” The oldest asked while Taehyung ate his fries rather anxious while listening to their bets. “That’s a good one. How much?” he asked as Yoongi nodded his head. The game was about to start but the two were not at all focused. Namjoon, who was right in the middle of the trades, kept drinking his beer totally unbothered.

“Three dollars” Yoongi flashed his bills out, “One hot dog and a beer.”

At that moment, Taehyung scoffed. “She’s not pinching me, I’m like her bro- OUTCH!”, the boy’s hand went flying to his inner thigh in desperation, rubbing his burning flesh as Carolina laughed satisfied. Jin sighed, giving Yoongi two dollars and the latter immediately waved his hand in the air so the hot dog seller could spot him.

“Why?”, they heard Taehyung whine.

“Yoongi seemed hungry and you know, I like to help out artists… The music industry these days is tough”, she shrugged off with a serious face while Lu kept on laughing beside her.

Yoongi bit down a tiny smile that threatened to escape, ruining his usual poker face. Before the hot dog seller approached him through the staircase, as he was sitting at the end of the row, he blurted out words that didn’t usually leave his mouth. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” Carolina had said back without turning her head to look at him. She too was biting down a smile of her own.

“What about me then?! Your dear roommate, hm?” Jin twisted his body completely to face her side profile; her lips trembling, struggling to hold in the laughter. Gaining no reaction or response from her, he exclaimed indignantly. “People these days! She’s worse than the music industry, let me tell you!” he was saying to whoever wanted to listen as the others laughed. Not satisfied, he glanced to his right, and locking eyes with a random guy he saw the opportunity to complain. “Can you believe this, Patrick?”

There was a second of doubt. “M-My name is Noah”, the guy introduced himself awkwardly.

“Oh…” Jin blinked, and if he got flustered he didn’t show. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jin. Can you call that girl over there selling fries, please? I’m hungry as fuck!”

The boy beside him nodded, visibly taken aback by Jin’s behavior, and that only added more reason for Yoongi to burst out in laughter. “I can’t believe this guy”

“Hey Noah, ask her for one more bucket, please!” Taehyung added, acting naturally as if the boy in question was a friend of his and not a complete stranger.

“And to think I argued with my dad to defend my friends…” Namjoon said humorously, taking another large sip from his beer. Both Carolina and Lu glanced over at him, and while the latter chuckled, assuming he had been making a joke, Carolina knew him better than that. His eyes weren’t smiling.

She leaned back, waiting for him to look at her too, as Lu—who sat between them—was focused on the game playing on the court.

“What happened?” she mouthed silently as his eyes met hers.

“The usual,” Namjoon shrugged with a melancholic smile. “But not now. Maybe once I’m properly drunk I’ll spill my heart out to you.”

Carolina knew it was not the moment. Namjoon always talked whenever he felt ready to; on that, they were very much alike. So she nodded in agreement, giving him a bright smile, but holding onto that promise.

“GO TROJANS!”, she shifted her focus back at the game as Taehyung screamed from above her, getting up to wave his flag passionately, smiling like a kid. Jungkook had scored another point. She sighed, slumping on her seat, head leaning on Yoongi’s right knee.

To outsiders, it might seem she was supporting the other team, which was not so incorrect. It turned out she had been holding this childish grudge against the MVP of UCBL, so she was in internal conflict. Carolina didn’t want her college to lose, but she also didn’t want Jungkook to win. To her misfortune, the sport she loved so much wasn’t a solo one… Losing, here, wasn’t an option, and she knew deep down they wouldn’t.

The first set was almost coming to an end. The Trojans, Jungkook’s team, had already scored twenty points and the Princeton Tigers had a six-point difference to cover. Everyone in that court knew the Trojans would win. It was an easy game. But Jungkook was foolishly wasting all of his energy on the match.

The team's main player had been, from the start, serving with brute force; his attacks were merciless and he would run with all his might after balls that weren’t worth running for. So much so, that once he scored the last point, securing the Trojans the win in the first set, and everyone cheered loudly screaming his name, his coach had no option but to call him in.

“What are you doing, kid?” Mr. Hoffman asked as he came in sweaty, with a water bottle in his hands. Both teams had headed to their benches, as they prepared to switch sides and start the second set. Jungkook glanced around, with heavy breathing. “Hey, hey. Look at me! There’s no need to waste energy like that, you hear me?”

“Why not?”, he retorted out of pure spite. His eyes encountered the confused ones of his coach for brief seconds before resuming to scan the inside bleachers, chugging down more water as he did so. “You always say we must have that kind of competitive spirit.”

“And it’s meant to use it wisely, you twat! What happens when you tire yourself out and they begin advancing on us?! What then?”, the coach exploded. The grey man had to take a moment to breathe, his hand coming to his hip as he looked down to inhale. Mr. Hoffman was close to grabbing Jungkook by his collar and dragging him to the bench to teach him a lesson, but he really couldn’t afford to take his best player out of the game before the second set even began.

Jungkook tilted his head, starting to feel his blood boil again. “I know my limits, old man. My energy won’t end just because of this simple match,” he stated cockily.

“That’s why you’re not my elective captain for when Sean graduates! You don’t think straight.”

Jungkook finally looked at him properly. His jaw tensed to the sudden attack. “I’m your coach, kid. And I’m telling you not to waste any more energy. At the very least don’t make it seem like you need to give all of yourself to defeat them.”

“That’s not fun–” Jungkook huffed vexed.

“It’s not supposed to be fun, it’s supposed to be smart. So when we win this game our next adversaries—the Eagles that you sweat your ass so much to win over—are more mentally shaken thinking, ‘Wow that player didn’t even waste a breath on them’ you understand now?”, the elder asks him as if asking a five-year-old, verging on despair.

Jungkook dropped the water bottle on the floor. “Fine.”

The coach sighed while watching him march his way to the court, waiting for the referee to start the second set.

“What happened?” Hyori asked once the Trojans scored the seventh point in a carefree manner. “Why is Jungkook playing like he was playing beach volleyball with us?”

Hoseok squinted his eyes toward the court, observing their friend. The boy in question had his hands on his hips as he waited for Eunwoo to go serve. “Is he already tired?”

“No it’s–”

“Is he trying to mock the other team?” Deo cut Jimin’s explanation, turning to Hoseok for answers.

“JEON JUNGKOOK IF YOU DON’T START REACTING RIGHT NOW I SWEAR–” Hyori yelled, alarming people around her.

Jimin’s hand came to her mouth to shut her up. “He’s probably just playing lightly because they don’t need to do much to win against the Tigers, guys. Calm down.”

“But I mean… Couldn’t he at least try a little harder? It’s boring this way.” Deo added, and they all looked expectant at their friend who was preparing to jump.

Eunwoo made a perfect pass and Jungkook came smashing it with full precision. The referee whistled. Another point for the Trojans team. “He’s doing good, nonetheless,” The group of friends heard, and one by one they turned around to see who had made that comment.

It was Sunny, the girl Jimin had met earlier that day with Sarah. She greeted him with a knowing smile and he mimicked her actions.

The petite girl didn’t play volleyball but she had been attending the games ever since she started college. Hearing one comment here and there about how the players made their moves, made her understand more of the game. And she could talk with ease about Jungkook’s skills now.

“I think so too,” Jimin added, winking at her. Turning around to pick up the cardboard he had done, he nudged Hyori. “Help me out with this cardboard”, as soon as they lifted it up he shouted. “GO JK!”

Jungkook was the outside hitter of his team, his function on the team was to be the last one hitting the ball so they could score. Even if he exercised said job lightly, he still managed to make it look amazing.

The team had just blocked a counterattack from the Tigers, and the scoreboard showed the number twelve in red neon lights. Their rivals were still behind them, and at this pace, they wouldn’t be able to catch the Trojans.

The referee beeped and they all stopped. The opposing coach had asked for a break. The crowd cheered as they watched Jungkook run to the side of the court alongside his peers to drink some water and take the opportunity to hear anything else their coach would like to add as well.

“Any extra moves, coach?” Eunwoo, the team’s setter, asked with a victory smile.

“You know, they’re not so bad…” Ian, their libero, let his thoughts come to the surface. “They’re just unprepared compared to us”

“Don’t let that fool you. And certainly don’t drop your guards! Now– Keep it up, boys! You’re doing a great job.” Coach tapped their shoulders as a way of thanking them for the good work. He then proceeded to clap enthusiastically, gathering their strength before the time out ended.

“Be careful with that hitter on the left…” Sean, their middle blocker and captain, warned them as he dried his forehead, looking at the other team pensively. “The kid managed to fit in points in some difficult corners”

Eunwoo glanced at his captain, giving the water bottle he had in hand to their technician. “You think we should press his side more?” Sean didn’t give him an answer, however, just kept his eyes glued to player number twelve on the other side of the court. “What do you think, JK?” the setter turned to him, watching him drink water absentmindedly; eyes round and big, looking at the floor. Eunwoo knew him long enough to understand that was normal behavior whenever Jungkook had something stuck in his mind. “Hey! JK!” he punched his arm.

“Mm?” Jungkook looked at them waiting for enlightenment.

“He’s too distracted with Jennifer… She’s in the bleachers somewhere” Jeremy, came by teasing and the boy in question snorted.

But that wasn’t the case. Jungkook got to know of Jennifer’s presence there at that exact moment. No, his head was somewhere else entirely… It had been ever since he had witnessed Carolina with his History teacher last night in that alley. And earlier today again, when she showed up to practice with the ginger man.

Something about the whole situation wasn’t sitting right with him. And he couldn’t brush it off. That wasn’t something he knew how to do.

“Just worry yourself with hitting that ball inside their side of the court, Jeremy”, the raven-haired hitter countered, returning to the match, and making his peers laugh.

Their captain, however, got nervous with the newly acquired information. “The girls came?!” Sean asked, looking around with a hand above his eyes to shield them from the lights.

Eunwoo was about to answer when Mr. Hoffman showed up behind them, slapping the taller one on the back of his neck. “Stop looking for girls! Go play!”

The three of them muttered a ‘yes sir’ and jogged with a different posture toward the court where Jungkook awaited. Eunwoo and Jeremy shared accomplices' looks before taking their positions, making fun of their captain.

Having won the second set, and since the Trojans were once again leading the third one with a big gap, everyone started to expect a certain win. The boys were still executing elaborate game plays but more at ease. None of them were being forced to exceed too much.

“Do we still have to be here?” Carolina mumbled to Lu, looking bored at the match. “We already know they are going to win… and I honestly have better things to do.”

“Oh like making out with Mr. Benji?” Lu whispered with a smirk on her face, eyes peeking quickly at her friend before going back to a certain tall and tanned player.

Carolina’s breath faltered, and she snapped her head to her friend, waiting promptly for explanations. She didn’t tell Lu about Ben being a teacher… Yet. She had been meaning to, but she left the party with the man instead of going with her friend as they had planned.

Noticing the inquisitive glance of Carolina burning the right side of her face, Lu smiled, leaning to her side to whisper once again. “You know I’m his student, right? I have history of arts with him… And it’s been some days now that he tells us to read something while he grabs a coffee but he somehow always comes back half an hour later with lips way too red.”

The brunette lifted one eyebrow at her reasoning, not buying it. “Carolina, the moment he showed up to practice it was clear you guys were making out. And like I said, he’s really my teacher.” Lu laughed, finding the coincidence funny and her stubborn friend trying to hide that fact even funnier.

The oldest sighed, crossing her arms. “Fine. But are we going home or nah? I really did have better plans.”

“First of all, it’s the two last points. They just scored twenty-three.” Lu pointed to the huge scoreboard across the arena. “And I’m sorry to break it to you but we are attending the party for the boys. You already called off with me last night, so shut it.”

Carolina groaned torn by the fact she indeed had a debt with her friend. “Someone’s angry, how cute” Lu added, chuckling.

“GO TROJANS!” Taehyung shouted from behind them too caught up in the game atmosphere.

“Yeah, and that someone is me”, Carolina stated, glancing back with a scowl to the boy before sinking in her seat like a vexed kid.

Luiza couldn’t help but laugh, squeezing Carolina’s cheeks, maneuvering her head so she could focus on what she wanted to show her. “No, that someone is him.”

And she didn’t need to look much to catch hold of who the curly-haired girl wanted her to see. Jungkook was wildly running from place to place, making attacks way too angry once again.

“What’s his fucking problem?” her question came muffled, as Lu’s fingers were still trapping her cheeks in a light squeeze.

“I wouldn’t know… But mine is that one over there.”

Luiza set free her friend’s cheeks, slumping her shoulders with a defeated sigh. Carolina raised her eyebrow. There’s no way she is crushing over Jeremy, the girl thought. And as if reading her thoughts, the honey-haired girl by her side clarified the situation, taking the opportunity that Namjoon was focused on buying something to eat while chatting with Yoongi. “Sean”, she said pointing to him with her head.

Carolina’s expression lightened up excitedly, her mouth opening in surprise and her brown eyes doubling the size. “No way!”

“Shhh!” Luiza asked startled.

The girl before her still had a chirp in her eyes, as if she had discovered the best secret ever. And indeed she had. Whispering, she got closer to her best friend who had her cheeks in a shade of pink, “I honestly think he’s not a problem for you at all” and as Luiza doubted her with a glance she added, “Lu, I’m serious! He’s all smiles around you!”

The shorter girl looked at Sean once again, doubt all over her face. It suddenly subsided into a playful grin as her best friend nudged her with excited exclamations.

“What did I miss?” Namjoon cut the party, taking an absentmindedly sip of his newly bought beer. “Oh wow! Final point already!”

Jungkook was the one in charge of serving. It was their final point to score, and if they succeeded, the victory was theirs. They would qualify.

As he assumed his stance on the edge of the line and lifted his eyes to see the Tigers on the other side of the net, he knew he could serve the ball and make it to be an ace. But that wasn’t fun. It didn’t spurge him, and he knew he had attentive eyes on him, waiting for yet another unforgettable game. The court was silent and expectant.

The court devil, as everyone called him before ‘virgin boy’ became a thing, threw the ball up. His eyes were solely focused on it. Two large steps were taken, and suddenly he was suspended in the air. Jungkook made it look beautiful, easy even.

The crowd held their breaths as his right hand came meeting the ball, spiking it directly towards the arms of the other team’s libero. It was a difficult ball to catch, even if he had put less impact on the effect he had perfected within the years.

“NICE!” Jimin celebrated, seeing the ball hit on the libero’s arms but slip away to the side instead of going straight to their setter.

The outside hitter of the other team was as good as Sean had made him be, managing to catch the ball and restructure the game. He had sent it in a larger pass to his opposite, accomplishing an attack, even if it wasn’t the quickest ever seen.

“Shit”, Namjoon mumbled. His eyes were trailed on the game, afraid to blink. The beer glass he was holding was halfway to his mouth, still in mid-air.

Ian, the Trojans' libero, managed to catch the spike as he dove onto the floor. But the blow had been a strong one, so the ball pinched on his hand and went backward. Jungkook knew Eunwoo wouldn’t get to the ball on time, so it was up to him to make the counterplay. If he managed to get to it too.

But if anyone could, that would be him.

He ran with all he had to the back of the court, eyes up on the ball, glued to it. So much so that he didn’t know what was in front of him. His legs moved recklessly. People from the crowd started to stand.

Looking at the speed of the ball, he wouldn’t be able to do a bump, much less a basic pass to send it over to the net for someone to attack. In a last-minute call, Jungkook threw his body, reaching the ball with his foot instead.

He landed with his butt on the floor with a loud thud, and if the circumstances were another, he would have felt the impact. But there was no time. He glanced back to see if he had succeeded, and before even confirming it, he was already back on his feet, running to his position.

“Heavens!” Hyori gasped, worried.

“Bro–” Deo couldn’t complete the sentence.

Jeremy attacked, without much force due to the lack of precision on the ball thrown at him, but as always he made it seem effortless. As if the passes had been easily made from the start.

“I don’t think I can look anymore,” Taehyung sang the last word, drowning in anxiety. “JUST SCORE”

The Tigers received the ball again, but this time poorly. The libero had passed the ball right to the other side of the net, failing to secure an opportunity of attack.

Ian, in turn, received the ball like a feather.

The ball flew graciously toward the net and Eunwoo switched position, changing the ball's course and speed. He had arranged it to perfection for Jungkook to make a speed attack. A fatal one.

“JJK!” every UCBL student present was chanting together while stomping their feet on the bleachers. “JJK!” echoed in the air rhythmically. Every student but one. “JJK!”

Jungkook jumped high as ever, freezing time for brief seconds along with him. As his hand descended to attack, the ball was sent in the very corner on the end of the court, just like Sean had warned them about the Tigers hitter before. That was that hitter's signature move, and it took very little for Jungkook to perfect it, making it his own.

The ball went through with such force and speed that the other team didn’t even notice it. The realization came with the referee’s whistle.

Landing again on the floor, all Jungkook could hear was the chanting for his name and happiness overflowing through screams and shouting. But even amidst everything, his focus was elsewhere. As his teammates came to his encounter, celebrating their victory, he finally found what he had been searching for throughout the whole match. More specifically, who.

There she was with crossed arms.

He smiled smugly. And then he did what he shouldn’t have done. He started a war with a wink.

“That fucking asshole,” Carolina grunted. In a second she had sprung to her feet, making way through the crowd to leave the place.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll wait for Jungkook with him”, they heard Hyori say nodding towards Jimin.

Once the game officially ended, the players have long gone to the lockers, and everyone started getting up to direct themselves towards the exits, Jimin had notified them he was going to wait for the crowd to subside. He had agreed to go to the court and wait there for Jungkook—who was going to take a quick shower before meeting his friends.

Deo eyed her roommate suspiciously. In a fraction of a second, realization hit her. “We’ll wait for you three outside then…” a smirk was added to her features when adding, “Try not to take too long.”

Before the black-haired girl could protest, her roommate had already turned around, taking Hoseok by his arm and pulling him along. Both of them were engulfed in a sea of students.

“So…” Jimin started smugly, leaning on the railing before them. “May I know why I get the honor to be accompanied by the almighty Hyori who never once before wanted to wait inside a stuffed ambiance with sweat odors?”, he tried to imitate her voice as he quoted the last bit. She chuckled, giving him a soft punch to his chest and nodding her head.

“I’m just being a nice friend.” Hyori shrugged.

Jimin didn’t buy the act, however, and she knew that. Still, she was prepared to be evasive toward all the questions she knew he would start asking. Jimin has always had a curious nature, there was not much he wouldn’t know by simply pressing everyone until he got the information he wanted.

“Look the route is clear!”, the girl added, making her way down to the court first. Jimin followed suit laughing at her attempt to change subjects.

Hyori had barely touched foot on the court when Jimin pressed further, still behind her. “C’mon, spill it”, he whined with a smile.

She was about to give him a poorly made excuse when the doors to the lockers opened and Jungkook came by carrying his duffel bag thrown back cooly on his shoulder. But Hyori gasped at the scene she witnessed afterward.

Jungkook looked back, holding the heavy door long enough for Eunwoo to pass by. The scene seemed to display at a slow pace to the girl, but the commentary Jimin left in the air before the boys came closer made her snap out of it.

“Oh, so this is why…”

Her first reaction was to snap her head at the boy beside her, giving him a nudge, and making him laugh.

She feigned normality.

As they approach both of them, Hyori's smile widens exponentially. “There he is! Our superstar!”, and the moment she finishes her sentence and hears Jimin chuckle beside her she knows she made a poor choice of words.

Jungkook seems even more embarrassed, smiling with full teeth and scrunching his nose to the new title. Before the situation gets worse, the raven-haired boy gets closer to her shaking his hair and making water droplets fall all over her face.

“Stop!”, she cries. Her body is curled, trying her best to deviate from him. “Oh, my days, Jungkook! Stop being a dog!” she laughs and he stops.

Jimin and Eunwoo watch everything delighted. “We went quickly from superstar to dog.” Jungkook scoffs, pretending to be hurt.

Hyori doesn’t pay much mind to his complaint as her eyes lock with Eunwoo’s and he smiles adorably. “Hi,” he says making her smile.

“Hi!”

Before she gets the chance to say anything else, or try to extend the conversation, Jungkook interrupts. “Are we ready to roll?” Hyori shrinks as he’s not able to read the room. “You coming with us?” he looks at the setter standing next to him.

“Yeah come with us!” Jimin tries as he sees the girl’s eyes get full of hope. “One of the girls can go on our lap or something. We can make it fit on the car.”

There’s some hesitancy on Eunwoo’s part as he sees everyone glancing at him. He smiles, ever so polite. His eyes almost disappear as they are shaped into an arch; his lashes beautify the movement.

“Thank you but I already–”

“EUNWOO!” they all turn heads to see Jeremy far ahead with a hand up, trying to call for his attention. “YOU COMING OR NOT?” he shouts, tapping at his wrist as if he had an imaginary watch placed there.

And again, Jungkook isn’t able to read the room like Jimin had been doing, much to Hyori’s demise.

“We’ll see you there in a few then!”

Eunwoo extends his fist so Jungkook can bump it. “See you soon!” he glances at Jimin and then Hyori, “Bye guys!”

“Bye bro, and let’s celebrate the match!” Jimin says as the setter makes his way toward Jeremy walking sideways. A thumbs up confirming the proposition.

The three of them watch as Eunwoo is reunited not only with Jeremy but also with a cheerleader Hyori knew from Deo’s classes, and Ian, the team’s libero. They walk towards the exit with a cheerful talk that can’t quite reach their ears properly.

“Let’s go too then!” Jungkook says excitedly and Hyori sighs, glancing at him disgruntled. Jimin sees the exact moment she slaps the back of the head of their friend making him stop on track. He eyes her confused.

She doesn’t return the eye contact as she marches up front leaving them behind. “I swear you are so dense sometimes!” he hears the girl grunt. Jungkook turns to seek explanations from Jimin, but he gives him no answers with a shrug of his shoulders as they start walking again to follow Hyori out of the venue.

The music could be heard for miles.

Of course, nothing could top a football victory party but the ones thrown in honor of the volleyball team followed right after. No invitation was needed and no one dared to miss them. Even those that didn’t care for sports attended. Jeremy always took care of the parties for his team, his frat house acting as the place to be after every single game.

Yoongi scrunches his nose as soon as a new song starts to play.

Despite the music at the moment passing as background for his ears, he’s too picky to not react to it. Even if no one around him noticed the scrunch. Tonight he’s not the designated DJ, nor the designated caretakerㅡof Taehyung, of course, who was usually the lightweight of the group. Still, it was likely that a change in one of those statuses would happen. If there was one thing that drove him mad was the frat party music. And as for Taehyung, well, somebody had to keep him in check, and not always his friends would leave a party walking straight. He was definitely the one that held his alcohol best.

“And they introduced it like a pop tart?” Jin asked, mouth agape.

“Yes!” Sunny squeals loudly. “It was disgusting!”

“I would be scared for life.” Jin shook his head. “And I like a good prank.”

“Prank me with everything, just— don’t put vegetables inside my pop tart.” Sunny’s expression is serious. “Or I will sue.”

“Trust issues, man.” Taeha laughs out, making Yoongi grin by her side.

Jin’s dramatics are intensified by the light touch of liquor in his blood and a simple conversation about Sunny’s most recent appearance in Taeha’s podcast swiftly turns into a serious—and perhaps even, the most important conversation of his life.

“JK!” As quickly as Jin emerged in the conversation was how quickly he snapped out of it, his downstairs neighbor approaching the circle.

“How’s it going?” Shoulder bumping with the oldest, Jungkook smiles big. Looking around the group, the volleyball player nods to both girls.

“Great performance earlier!” Sunny speaks cooly.

“Thanks.” Jungkook smiles from ear to ear. “But what nonsense was that about veggies in pop tarts?”

Sunny chuckles, hand trapping a strap of her hair behind her ear.

“It’s for Taeha’s podcast.” Jin nudges his head towards the girl that was now deep in a conversation with Yoongi. “Sunny tried the worst-rated restaurants around campus.”

“Well, you kinda’ had to see it coming, then.” Jungkook laughs.

“Strangely enough… I was counting on maybe food poisoning. Never crossed my mind to be betrayed like that. Someone should close that establishment–”

The girl speaks seriously and both boys fall into laughter, only for the conversation to be interrupted by a tipsy brunette. “Let’s go dance!”

And as the popular girl that Jungkook immediately recognized as Hyori’s cousin, Harin, swoops in on her friends, the girls can only share some glances with the confused boys that were left mid-conversation. But they are quick to shrug it off.

“So,” Jungkook trails off. “Where’s the she-devil?”

“Carolina?” Jin laughs. For some time now he had been sensing something between those two and he wanted nothing more but to meddle with it. “She’s off somewhere. But I swear I saw her here already.”

“She was with Luiza,” Yoongi comments nonchalantly. “But you need to be careful. If she hears you…”

Both troublemakers smirk knowingly, leaving an intrigued Jungkook in between them. “Oh, I can handle her.”

“I thought so too…” Jin shakes his head, eyes glued to the floor as if remembering something traumatic. “I thought so too…”

The repeating makes Yoongi crack. “Their house is a battlefield.” he clarifies.

Jungkook smiles, not knowing what to say after that. Instead, he opts to scan the crowd of drunken people that danced in the middle of the living room of Jeremy’s frat. He had made up his mind and he intended to fulfill the task he had appointed to himself as soon as possible.

His eyes fall on Namjoon. The clumsy tall figure of his housemate struggles to move through the crowd, arms in the air as he carries two red cups and another one dangling dangerously from between his teeth.

“I hope that one isn't mine." Jin makes a disgusting face, mentioning the cup that was threatening to fall from the Dean's kid's lips at any second.

"I've seen you lick dirtier things," Namjoon speaks immediately after Yoongi frees one of his hands.

"Dang. What have you been licking, bro?" Jungkook laughs teasingly.

"Do you really want the answer to that?" Now is Yoongi's turn to tease. "Because if I were you…"

"Hey!" Jin pretends to be offended. "That was a one-time thing!"

The entire group stares at Jungkook to see if he had bought the antic, as for a split second he seems to be speechless. He begins laughing, yet again not knowing what to say or do, and everyone follows suit.

"Well, I'm going to get myself a drink."

"Find us later if you want a ride!" Yoongi offers.

"For sure! Hit me up before you leave and I'll meet you in the front."

Jungkook doesn’t waste time and moves through the crowd toward the bar. He thinks to himself that not only does he need a drink but he also needs to find who he is looking for. His head was spinning with so many thoughts he could hardly enjoy the night as he had been planning.

As he reaches the improvised bar, tucked on the farther side of the living room, almost next to the kitchen, he eyes his options. Beer wouldn’t do it for him tonight. He spots a brand new bottle of vodka mixed between the empty ones. Vodka it is.

The MVP player of the night had just finished mixing his drink—vodka with grape and mint, his new concoction—when he turned back, taking a sip, and spotted Jimin on the other side of the crowd.

Some people tapped him on the shoulder as he made his way toward his friend, all of them opening smiles and congratulating him for the game. He knew none of those people, but he still thanked them with his own kind of smile.

“There you are!” Jimin pulled him to a side hug as soon as he spotted him. Jungkook was quick to pass the cup to his other hand in order for Jimin not to knock it out, spilling the content, as he had done many times before.

“Where’s Kiri and Hope?” He asked taking a sip and eyeing as Deo rolled her eyes at something the boy by her side had said close to her ear. The boy was a friend of Jack, the girl's ex-boyfriend, probably annoying her to give him another chance. Or, even trying to have a chance for himself, as everyone knew how toxic Jack’s friend circle was, to begin with.

“Hyo went to grab booze with Hobi but you know him…” Deo answered, taking the opportunity to escape the guy by her side, and Jimin laughed amused.

“Hobi probably met some people along the way and aborted the mission,”

“We’re waiting for Hyori here in case she is trying to find us again” the girl added.

Jungkook nodded and took another sip of his drink.

He bounced mindlessly to the sound of the beat while talking to Jimin and Deo. His eyes still got lost in the crowd from time to time, searching.

“Gguk!” Deo tugs at the end of his shirt.

“There he is.” Jimin chuckles, noticing how Jungkook almost shook his head, waking up from the trance he was in.

“What planet did you got dragged to?”

“I’m right here.” The boy chuckled.

“You’re so off today.” Deo crossed her arms over her chest.

The usual annoying look that would be on the cheerleader’s face from Jungkook not listening to her was replaced with one that hinted at concern but also curiosity. Of course, everyone in the Hope Club was used to Jungkook spacing out. It happened all the time.

But today he felt different.

Even before the game, when the strawberry blonde girl had a chance to see him, he seemed off. There was this spark in his eyes… One that he would have whenever he was planning a prank or being challenged.

“You’d think that because you’re too sober now, Dee.” Jungkook acted cool. “Let’s get her a drink, Jiminssi.”

Ignoring the protests of the girl, Jungkook swings his arm around her neck, Jimin following excitedly behind the two as they make their way through the crowd and into the kitchen area.

A big marble counter was filled with drinks and the typical red plastic cups. The rows that once were stacked perfectly next to the drinks now lay scattered around the counter. Besides the last few that were still perfectly stacked, it was hard to tell which ones had been used and the ones that simply had fallen and were unused.

Jungkook takes his time preparing his friend a drink. Pretending to know about mixology, he plays with the bottles, spinning them between his fingers as Deo can’t help but fall into laughter.

“Thank you, barman.”

“Where’s mine?” Jimin whines.

“You have a cup in hand that it’s full to the top.” Deo rolls her eyes at the jock as he takes no time in drinking the whole thing in one sit.

“Now…” He stops, catching his breath as he licks his bittersweet lips, a smile plastered on them. “Where’s mine?”

“Coming right up!”

Deo giggles, taking the red cup in between her hands and taking a sip. Jungkook looks expectantly before turning to Jimin’s drink. It wasn’t a cocktail—far from it, actually. Just a simple vodka with orange juice. He knew how much the girl hated the bitter taste that some beverages carried, so he would always make sure they were sweeter. Of course, most times, that ended up with Deo drinking way more than she was supposed to, burdening Hyori throughout the rest of the night, afraid of puking and shocking her to death while complaining that the room was spinning.

“There you are!” A high-pitch voice startles the entire group. And it’s visible on everyone’s faces the mood changing in the bat of an eye. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you, babe!”

Jungkook sighs before forcing a smile on his features. The girl that had been standing with her arms around his torso now forces her way into his arms. Jennifer.

“What’s up?” Jungkook asks but wishes it was rhetorical so there wouldn’t be an answer.

“I wanna dance!” The pout on the volleyball’s outside hitter's lips shows how drunk she already is.

“Go have fun.” Removing his arm from her shoulder, Jungkook turns to the drinks on the counter.

“With you, silly.” Jennifer laughs.

“He was kinda in the middle of something. Not that you noticed.” Deo smiles but is far from a polite one, finger twirling with her hair.

“But Kookie always has time for me. Don’t you?” Jennifer pouts again, leaning on the boy. “And I have an idea of what we can do after,” The mischievous smile on her lips leaves little to no imagination to everyone standing there and as she leans to speak in Jungkook's ear, it becomes even more evident.

“What the—”

Deo’s disgusting stare is hard to miss and Jimin can’t help but laugh hysterically at the entire situation. Jungkook presses his lips together, a sign of apology for leaving his friends.

“Men are so easy.”

“Hey, hey!” Jimin lifts his hands up in the air, defeatless. “Is your drink not sweet enough?”

“Yeah, it is. But you’re making me sour.” Sticking out her tongue, the girl waits as Jimin finishes pouring whiskey into his cup.

“Do you wanna go dance, too?” Jimin swings his arm around the small girl. “We can see what comes out of it later,” he jokes.

Deo can’t help but laugh, eyes rolling at the stupidity of her best friend. “You wish.”

“Am I not good-looking enough?” Jimin cries, stopping in place.

“Hmm…” Deo turns to face him, index finger on her lip as she pretends to be deep in thought. “You’re too emotional.”

The girl giggles as Jimin's mouth is agape and his eyes widened to pretend he is offended and enraged.

“How could you say that?”

“Suck it, loser.”

Middle finger up in the air, Deo continues giggling as she runs from the kitchen and towards the music. She’s sure Jimin is following right after her and so she speeds up her pace.

The party was crowded. Fuck Up The Friendship by Leah Kate plays loudly and everyone in the living room dances. The smell of alcohol mixed with the sweat from the colliding bodies, grasping for touch as couples make out in-between moves, filling the entire room and setting the mood.

Deo gasps as her cup come flying off her hands, the impact hitting her out of nowhere. “Dude, watch where you’re go—” She stops mid-sentence, eyes reaching the face of the boy that had just bumped into her. “Taehyung.”

“Didi, are you ok?” Jimin comes rushing to the girl’s side.

“Yeah—” The girl takes a second to look herself up and down.

The content of her red cup that was now laying on the ground had missed her completely—or almost. The white converses she was wearing were slowly changing into a soft shade of orange and she felt her blood boil.

“It wasn’t me!” Taehyung’s eyes widen, and his hands shake by his chest, defending himself.

“Really?” Deo scoffs.

“I— I really wasn’t!” Taehyung looks to Jimin, silently asking him to come to his defense.

“C’mon, it could’ve been a lot worse!” The blonde jock tries to help but clearly misses his shot, gaining a stern look from his best friends.

“Whatever. The least you could do is apologize.” The girl rolls her eyes.

Deo turns to leave, only for Taehyung to grab her by the wrist. “It really wasn’t me. That guy—”

Taehyung turns around, ready to point to the real culprit of the situation he was in but no one was in sight. At least, not the one that could take the blame for him. Deo lifts her eyebrows, expectantly.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Now the girl laughs drily. “What? Don’t tell me he had a knife.”

“He was going to bump against you.” Taehyung presses his lips together, taking a deep breath.

“So you decided—in that pretty head of yours—that the outcome would be better if you bumped into me.”

Logically, Taehyung knew it made no sense. But his intentions were pure. “Well, in my head, I was going to be able to reach you in time to avoid any collisions but he pushed me instead.”

“Gee, Jimin, you never told me you were best friends with Flash here!” The girl talks to the jock but doesn’t even bother to look in his direction.

Taehyung laughs drily. Licking his lips, he looks the girl straight in the eye before scoffing. “Would you look at that? Yesterday we were fuck buddies, now we’re like this.”

“What?!” Jimin finally wakes up from the conversation.

Deo is caught off guard. Of course, she remembers what Taehyung is referring to. "Excuse me?”

“You’re really going to pull the amnesia card on me?” he laughs incredulously. A hint of annoyance flashed through his eyes.

Laughing nervously, Deo crosses her arms. “Are you calling me a liar now?”

“You’re a terrible liar.” Taehyung lifts an eyebrow at Deo’s smile.

“Guys,” Jimin tries to intervene but he’s completely ignored.

“I didn’t lie!”

“Would you prefer the term playing stupid?” Leaning against the wall, Taehyung watches the girl closely.

“Do you insult all the girls you try to save?”

For two whole more minutes, Jimin watches as his best friends continue to bicker, the subject now being changed to something else that was bothering one of the two. It was exhausting, Jimin finally concluded. The two were so absorbed in their argument, filled with nonsense, that they wouldn't even realize if the house would start falling to pieces.

“Wah,” Jimin sighs exasperated. “You’re both impossible to talk to…”

The jock complains more to himself than anything, as both his best friends are more concerned to keep disagreeing with each other.

“Yes, Jimin, let’s go to a party with your best friends! It’ll be super fun, you will see!” The jock adds, dramatic as ever. He stares at his empty red cup. “I need more booze to hang out with you.”

His eyes travel to the pair in front of him just to state the obvious—they were still not paying attention. So he turns around and makes his way through the sea of people dancing in the living room.

Only a couple of steps separated Jimin from the drinks counter but he had to stop multiple times to speak to several people. If he had to be honest, he didn’t remember half of them. But that was one of the things that came with being the quarterback of the university. Well… That and being extremely attractive.

One drink after the other, one of the most well-developed skills Jimin had was his drinking. He could take it well. Mid conversation with a group of cheerleaders from the volleyball team, he comes to the conclusion that his red cup is, yet again, empty. Charmingly, he excuses himself from the boring conversation he had long lost interest in.

The bar is his destination, but as he walks, crumpled by the movements, he spots a familiar pair of blue eyes near the kitchen door.

“Sarah!” he greeted, coming along, and the smile on her face got even bigger. The boy who talked to her before was long forgotten, as well as the drink Jimin was going to fetch.

“Jimin,” The girl greets equally excitedly. “Twice in a day… I’m starting to think that the universe is pushing us together.”

After their morning encounter, and the quick interview Sarah managed to get thanks to Jimin, they had to say their goodbyes. The girl had received a call from her sister who was expecting her to grab lunch. Jimin had walked her all the way to the front gate and although they said their goodbyes with a “see you later” they knew it was an improbable encounter.

He is, however, somewhat dazed at the implications behind the blonde’s premise. His hand runs through his hair.

“Either that or you’re a psycho.” The girl holds a serious expression before giggling.

“So, what’s your gut feeling telling you about me?” Acting coyly, Jimin jokes. He licks his plump lips once again.

“I guess I’ll have to find out.” The playful smile that adorns Sarah’s face shakes Jimin.

It was as if he had been asleep and suddenly a jar of cold water had been dropped on top of his head. Filled with goosebumps, he feels cool at the sudden approach of the beautiful girl that he so much dreamt about.

He wasn’t about to leave her hanging, of course.

Leaning in closer, with fluttering eyes, they were only millimeters away from each other’s lips.

“Jimin-ah!” The sudden shouting isn’t enough for the drunken boy that engulfs his best friend in his arms. “I’ve been locking– looking everywhere for you.”

Taehyung’s voice comes out slurry as he keeps leaning on the quarterback. Sarah can’t help but laugh at the situation.

Jimin doesn’t know if he should be furious or just murder his friend right away.

“Tae, how did you get so drunk? You were good an hour ago.”

“I’m not drunk, I’m coping” he mumbled, prolonging the last word.

Sighing, Jimin runs his hand through his hair. He knows he needs to help Taehyung but the moment he’s having with Sarah is all he wanted for some time now. “Do you mind?” The jock tilts his head with apologetic eyes, towards his friend that was still in his arms, now making small circles in Jimin’s chest completely spaced out.

“Not at all.” Sarah keeps on giggling at Taehyung. He was so out of himself that he didn’t even say hello to the girl. “I know we’ll find each other again.”

Jimin can only sigh at the teasing comment the blonde has made. And as she turns her back on him, he hits Taehyung straight in the head.

“I can’t believe you.” He whispers under his breath, dragging him to the drinks counter.

Taehyung was in desperate need of some food and water. Jimin had his back to him, searching for something in the cupboards. Cereal is good enough. But the drunken boy didn’t wait as his brain was already intoxicated with booze and his body seemed to move all by itself.

Instead, he saw himself walking out of the kitchen through the second arch that led to the entrance of the frat. The party was still alive, and people would still walk in, either searching for friends or for having a good time.

He kept walking, caving a path between the crowd, without a destination in mind. And he stopped whenever someone called his name, introducing him to people he could swear he had never seen around in college. When that happened, he tried his best to feign sobriety, smiling from ear to ear and giving a side hug accompanied with an “It’s really nice to meet you!”.

Taehyung wouldn’t stop for long, excusing himself to go find his friends. He always claimed that they were waiting for him when in fact he was just trying to get out of the conversation before people realized the truth—he either had no idea who they were or wasn’t in a clear state of mind to interact as he should.

The last group he stopped by was because he saw the familiar face of a Youtuber he had been following for a while now. She would visit the majority of unknown yet hip places around campus, and thanks to her Taehyung had never felt without options to visit on the weekends.

“Yuna!” he said, approaching her as if they had been the greatest of friends. “You’re Yuna, right? From youtube?”

She offered him a smile, not so clueless about who he was, even though she had never talked to him before. Taehyung had a reputation… One well known amongst students and as he stood this close to her, she could confirm everything said was indeed true.

He was gorgeous.

“Hi!” she greeted with a chuckle. “Yes, that’s me!”

She was standing beside two other girls, and Taehyung presumed they were her friends. He waved a hand at them accompanied by a smile and then looked at Yuna again. “Do you know where I can find one of those?” he pointed at the drink she had in hand.

“We got some over there!” she turned back indicating the dining hall and Taehyung squinted his eyes at the scene unfolding before him.

Across the sea of people, braiding back and forth around the house, he could see a crowd cheering around the dining table. Carolina and Lu were dancing on top of it.

He didn’t say anything else to Yuna, just leaned on the shoulder of a guy that was passing by and went toward the commotion. “Hey!” he shouted before even arriving closer. Carolina wasn’t paying any attention, as she smiled loosely at the girl beside her, showing her moves.

Taehyung pushed past some guys that were by their feet looking up. “Get down there! Carolina–” He demanded, tripping on his own feet as he too was out of himself. Carolina just twirled around, eyes closed as she danced to the rhythm of the song blasting on the speakers. “Hey!” Taehyung shouted back at her attitude, now facing her back.

He knew for sure she had seen him. This was just her trying to ignore his demand.

Not wasting any time, he pushed forward, his hip meeting the edge of the table. “You’re getting down now–” He grunted as he looped her around her waist and pulled her down.

“Oh for fucks sake!” she exclaimed, not even debating much. Carolina knew the only fool crazy enough to pull her down from a table was him.

She had to lean on someone that passed by as to not fall, easily concluding the state of how drunk he already was. “That pissed already, huh?”

He shook his head. “No– No,” he swiveled his index finger. “No twirling on tables.”

Carolina eyed him and laughed. “Oh so you can dance to Doja Cat on top of a table but I can’t?”

He smacked his lips together with a funny face.

“You’re completely wasted, aren’t you?” she asked but he only laughed with a hand on her shoulder so as to not fall.

The girl began thinking about what she should do to him, scanning the room and looking for any sign of their friends, to help her take care of Taehyung. He needed something to snack on. At least until they got out of there and made a quick pit stop at Mcdonald's drive-thru like they always did.

She managed to drag him, as he shouted incoherent things or sang along on the way to the puffs she remembered seeing Yoongi and Jin.

Carolina placed him between Yoongi and the edge of a couch, making both him and Jin promise they would take a look at him while she went to fetch something in the kitchen.

The way there was rushed, but smooth. She wasn’t that affected by the amount of booze she had ingested so far. Besides, not mixing drinks was in favor to stay conscious longer so she could enjoy the party.

“Hey, Jer!” she shouted, spotting the hitter from the volley team. The brunette sat on top of a counter in the kitchen, munching happily at some cookies. His eyes fell upon her and he opened his classic smile. His right hand placed a cookie in his mouth before he waved at her.

“Do you have more of that for me?” Carolina said, as she came closer and looked at the cookies. Taehyung would like those.

“Uhm… I think we have some more in one of these cupboards–” Jeremy looked behind him, opening one of them to check. Carolina quickly opened the one on the side to check as well, smiling wide as she spotted two more packages.

The brunette held the door as she leaped forward to be able to reach and snatch the cookies.

“Jackpot!” she said making him chuckle. “By the way, good game today. You really improved your jump. The pool training was totally worth it!”

They laughed and he thanked her with a warm smile. Although he had a bit of a fuck boy reputation, Carolina had always thought fondly of him. He was a nice guy, the nicest if she were to think about it. And not because he had a hidden agenda in mind, but because he genuinely liked to be useful to people. If it weren’t for him, she would never be able to perfect her passes.

It was with him that she trained to be able to deliver quick attacks to the hitters.

Before she could turn around and go away, Jeremy looked at her. “Did you see the others already?” he questioned as to make conversation. “Eunwoo is around somewhere, I lost him… And Sean had been looking for you and Lu.”

“Where’s Sean?” the girl asked. A quick pitstop to leave the snacks with Taehyung and then off to make a good deed for her friend. Luiza and Sean were a couple she had never seen coming but at the same time, the more she thought about it, the more it made the perfect sense.

Jeremy pointed to the backyard with a nod. “Last time I saw him he was there with the boys… But I don’t know, I came to eat something to be able to handle the third round,” she heard him laugh but not a word sank in. As soon as she turned around to look at the spot he pointed, she saw Jungkook with a bottle in hand as Jennifer whispered something in his ear with a smirk.

“Alright, Jer, go easy on those cookies”, she answered with a smile, before tapping his leg, taking a bottle of Jack that sat on top of the counter next to him, and making her way to her drunken friend. Something crawled inside her skin.

After leaving two packets of cookies with Yoongi for him to tend to a drunk Taehyung, Carolina marched out to the second floor. She stomped her Adidas brutally as she went up the steps.

Reaching the second floor, one-third of the whiskey bottle was already gone, and her social battery was certainly drained. So much so that instead of talking to some random boy that passed by calling her name, she ignored him in the search of a quiet place to sit by herself.

“DUDE SOME PRIVACY” she heard as soon as she got fully inside a bathroom, locking the door behind herself.

“Oh, hey there!” Carolina greeted, feeling quite sociable once again, feeling the booze hit her. “The door was… open?” she added, pointing backward with a poker face as the girl sat on the toilet and eyed her baffled.

“Oh–” Deo concluded, looking at the door and then at the tall girl again. “Really? My bad,” and she resumed pulling some of the toilet paper to pat it on her shoes. “Fuck, it’s not working! Do you have baby wipes or something?” she eyed Carolina again. The girl was leaning on the sink, sipping from her bottle as she fixed her hair, looking at the mirror.

Her brown eyes didn’t leave her reflection. “Nope… But I bet Jer has something. Wait–” Carolina crouched, her bottle still in hand, as she opened the drawers under the sink to snoop around.

“What– Ah! Don’t! It’s–” Deo tried to stop her but it was in vain. She jumped to her feet a few seconds later with a pack in her hand, closing the drawers again with her knee.

“Here it is–” she went towards the strawberry blonde girl, handing her the baby wipes.

“Thank God, I owe you one!” she said while Carolina had her back to her, pacing around the bathroom. “Didn’t even think about rumbling through their stuff. Boys…”

The other girl chuckled understanding what she was trying to say. “I’m acquainted with one of the boys living here. He always has baby wipes to clean his shoes, don’t ask me why.” they shared an accomplice glance before laughing.

Carolina sat on the edge of the bathtub, taking another sip from her bottle as she saw the other girl resume her cleaning. “Hey, do I know you?” she added with furrowed brows. Her brain worked hard to place the face of the small girl before her with a name. “I know you, don’t I?”

“Uhm, probably?” Deo glanced up quickly to face her, returning her gaze to her sneakers seconds after. “I think I know you too?” she added confused, discarding the wipe she had been using in the bathroom trash before directing herself to the sink.

“Huh,” Carolina mumbled, slipping her legs into the tub and then sliding swiftly until she was comfortably sitting inside it.

Deo eyed her through the mirror while washing her hands. “You ok there?” she looked again, scanning her face for any sign of sickness. “Need to puke?”

Carolina laughed, turning her face and meeting her eyes through the mirror. “I’m fine.” she dismissed. “Thanks for asking though! I’m just here to relax a bit– Some people take me out of my right mind sometimes.”

“Talking about boys? Cause let me tell you! Boys are the worst.”

Deo turned around, with arms crossed, and leaned on the sink behind her. Carolina looked at the ceiling pensively and then sighed.

“For me more like– People in general. But yeah.”

There was a minute of silence between the two. They weren’t close, but there is a comforting sense in confiding in people you don’t actually know. So, as Deo eyed her, giving her the push she needed to come clean with her thoughts, all she could think was why not?

“Not that I think all men are stupid… I mean sometimes they are, but—” Carolina started with a sigh. “This one…” she grunted in the end. Her knuckles turned white as she grabbed the bottle of whiskey.

“What did he do?” Deo asked, her eyes sparkling as she made her way toward the tub. “We’ll get revenge together!”

“He existed. That’s what he did.”

The smaller girl glance at her quite confused but brushed it off quickly with a confident nod of her head. “I feel you.” she looked at the tub and then at the girl before her. She bit her lips. “Is… Tub relaxing better than regular relaxing?” but before Carolina could answer her question, she already had one foot inside, ready to take a sit too. “Let me get in there with you!”

Carolina quickly found some space to fit her in as well, pulling her knees closer to her chest. “It’s definitely better to talk about what angers you or sort your thoughts. Try it– What’s troubling you?”

They sat face to face, both hugging their knees so they could fit inside. Carolina still held the bottle, shaking it softly toward Deo as a silent question. The smaller girl refused it with a shake of her hand and a smile.

“So,” she started while Carolina siped it instead. “The problem is that there’s this boy… And my friend– my like. My best friend likes him but he just pissed me off, you know?” Carolina nodded in understanding while she ranted about it. “He’s so weird and his head is always up in the clouds… It’s so annoying.” Deo rolled her eyes.

“And… You like him? Or you hate him?”

Deo looked at her fingers, fidgeting with her ring, not knowing what to answer.

“Uh! I know! Or maybe you hate him but also like him.” Carolina added, straightening her back as she felt excited.

“Even if I like him—and that’s a big if—it just wouldn’t work. I just got out of a relationship and the last thing I wanna do is get tied down again. Like–” Carolina saw as the girl before her sighed and slumped her shoulders. “Even today he reminded me of something I said yesterday when I was drunk. Who does that? I just don’t think we’d match.”

“That sounds… Like an episode of the OC, bro… I don’t even know what to say, really.” Carolina looked down, trying to think. The only thing coming to her mind was now an image of Seth, one of the protagonists of the show. “Is he hot, though?” she gave Deo a cheeky look.

“The crazy ones always are.”

“Now that’s something I have to agree on. They are.” Carolina nodded her head confirming the girl’s theory. “Look at us for example.”

“I take the compliment,” Deo snorts. “Don’t you, like, wish— sometimes only, of course, that you were a psycho? Just so you wouldn’t care? And you could murder someone? And not even feel guilty? Cause I can barely roll my eyes at my friends.”

Carolina’s brows come together as she stares at the tile wall by her side, tilting her head. The conversation had taken a serious turn. She had to thank the girl in front of her somehow for making her forget the reason she had been so mad as she first came inside this bathroom.

“Uhm…? Not really…?” the tall one answered pensively. “I already go at them if they piss me off so–”

“How?” The question is vague but Deo looks aimlessly at the wall in front of her. “How do you piss them off without you getting pissed off first?”

“Uh… I do get pissed that’s why I get back at them…?” Carolina wonders before chuckling.

Deo laughs too, and why she doesn’t know. “Well,” she starts once the laughter subsides. “I think I need more drinks now,” she states, looking at Carolina’s bottle, and noticing how little there was left. “You coming?” she started to get up, glancing at the two-tone-haired girl.

“I think I’ll stick around a little longer,” she says, stretching her legs to fill out the space Deo had left. “Thanks though! And good luck with the dreamy guy from the OC!” she chuckles, seeing the smaller friend by the door, ready to unlock it.

“He’s not dreamy!” Deo shouts back with a playful smile on her face before closing the door behind her with a minor bang.

Carolina is left there to look at the ceiling. Her eyes flutter and close. Her mind trails off to the fact she forgot to ask the petit girl’s name. She laughs alone, remembering their conversation.

And then she snaps her eyes open. Chugging the rest of the content of the bottle as she remembers why she got there in the first place.

Also on the top floor of the frat, looking for the bathroom, was Hyori. She had sadly missed her roommate for just a few minutes.

When it came to parties like this, she was really shy and anxious, different from Hoseok who loved to meet new people and hold gatherings. She loved those, and she would drink the most, but only if it were between her and her friends. Like this—a party full of people she had never talked to before—was rather nerve-racking.

She still attended them, mostly because her friends wouldn’t let her stay at the dorms by any means. But every time the jet-black-haired girl found herself surrounded by drunken people dancing along to the loud music, she realized that the dance floor wasn’t her thing. Hyori would much rather take her booze to somewhere more private. Normally, her eligible choice was the backyard, but sometime, when she was lucky enough, she would find a nice room. One with a window large enough so she could drink quietly while peeking at the moon.

The rooftop was one of Hyori’s favorite spots to be at a party like the one happening right now. And as she opened door to door, searching for a bathroom so she could have a glance at herself in the mirror, she found her safe haven instead. After receiving many complaints from couples that forgot to lock themselves before diving into a more passionate business, she finally sighed in relief.

The girl was a huge fan of the space and everything related to it. On busy nights, when people danced and tumbled around, she would always choose to stay there; sitting with her legs close to her chest, eyes fixed on the twinkling stars, her lonely drink in hand, and a lot on her mind.

Everything felt perfectly in place. She closed her eyes with a wistful smile on her face.

That was until she heard a loud thud coming from the door. She opened her eyes in a second, head snapping toward the sound.

A boy’s head came into vision, and he froze, meeting her gaze. Hyori couldn’t exactly tell who it was because of the light until he spoke. “Uh– Sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt”

Namjoon.

She remembered his embarrassed tone from the previous night, on the backstage at the runway show. The smile returned to her face.

He mentioned closing the door again. “No!” Hyori protested hurriedly and he stopped in his tracks, peeking back at her. Suddenly the thought of him wanting to use the room for other purposes hit her and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “I– I can go. I’ll go so you can use the room–”

As she started moving towards the window to get inside the house again, Namjoon got behind the door, getting inside rushed. He closed the door behind him and started waving his free hand.

“No, no! It’s ok!” he explained hurriedly, his eyes nervously unfocused as he realized what she was implying by ‘using the room’. “I was just looking for my friend! Maybe you saw him?”

Hyori stopped to look at him. Her legs waggled in the air as she sat on the windowsill facing him.

“Maybe I was too distracted,” she chuckled shyly. “But uhm… I don’t think anybody came in.”

She saw Namjoon bite a smile down. “Tall, drunk… Maybe a tie wrapped on his head? He always does that.” It was his time to chuckle as he heard her laugh. “Taehyung is his name.”

“Jimin’s friend?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah!” Namjoon said apologetically with a boyish grin. His free hand came to the back of his neck, rubbing it distractedly. “I forgot you know him.” They chuckled again.

She nodded her head. “But no, sorry! I’d love to help but I really didn’t see him”, she noticed how his shoulders sank slowly. The thought of Namjoon searching for Taehyung around the frat for too long of a time crossed her mind. She felt silly, but she wished she could have helped him somehow. “But if I see him I’ll let him know you’re looking for him!”

He smiled, and she caught a glimpse of his dimple, carved on his skin just like the half moon shining brightly in the sky.

“Thanks! That’s a big help!”, he said and they kept their eyes on each other. Normally silent situations made her uncomfortable but staring at his dark hazy eyes, the lack of dialogue seemed natural. She bit her lower lip intrigued. His eyes met the action. “Then– Uhm… I’ll go then.” He looked at her eyes again. “I really have to find him.”

“Wait!” Hyori burst, before he could pass through the door he had already opened.

“What should I do if I find him?” Hyori spoke fast and despite not being drunk, her speech came out slurry. “Should we set up a place to meet in like an hour or something?”

“Oh… of course!” Namjoon laughed shyly. Whatever had crossed his mind was long gone and his long shoulders were now relaxed. “What if… Hum… I can give you my number— We could exchange numbers?”

“Oh…” Hyori's slightly pouted lips made Namjoon feel butterflies in his stomach. “Good idea!”

Both pull out their phones at the same time and the struggle to find each other's free hand to make the exchange of the device would seem awkward to anyone watching. But there was no one there besides Hyori, Namjoon, and the moon. So she found it endearing and the boy ended up laughing right after a shy giggle left the smart girl's lips.

With promises to text the other as soon as they found the tie deranged boy, they lingered on each other's stares before one going left and the other right, to the bottom floor, their hearts beating fast as if they had been running on adrenaline.

Jungkook fishes his phone on the back of his trousers as he makes his way toward the entrance. He can see the first rays of sunshine hitting the windows and denouncing the party is in its last stages. And since the place is not so crowded anymore, he makes his way swiftly, phone in hand, ready to check up on Yoongi to see if he can score a ride home.

Instead, his motions come to a halt, as he spots who he had been looking for all along.

Carolina had her back to him, arms crossed as she looked to the side absentmindedly. The way she frowned as the sun came in contact with her eyes made him start walking again. A groovy tune fell from his lips in the form of a whistle as he came closer in a jolly mood.

“There you are!” The smile on the boy’s lips goes all the way up to his eyes. “I know it’s already the day after, but I think you’re still in time to congratulate me on the big win.”

The girl raises one eyebrow before he even comes into vision. She breathes deeply, and as he approaches her, a sarcastic smile is already shining on her lips. It had been ready for him.

“Oh, so that’s how much importance I have in your life, huh?” she says with a feign cockiness, just to push his buttons. “Didn’t know you liked me that much, virgin boy”

Carolina keeps looking ahead, too proud to spare him a glance. But he waits until she does, with a lack of response on his part. And as she turned her head to the side, to check if he was there and not just a mirage she made up in her mind, she caught herself staring at his big dark eyes.

Only then does he answer, “Nah. I just wanted to rub the victory on your face”

She snorts amused.

There was an agreeable silence between the two. Jungkook looked expectantly at the two-tone-haired girl before him. She returned the gaze trying to decide what was going to be her next move.

The thought of taking it easy for the first time ever since she started this bickering dance with him came to mind. But then again, the mean comments she once heard him share with Jennifer about herself had cut deeper than she had predicted.

She pended her head to the side. “You won alright, but that doesn’t mean you played well. Your performance was poor, to say the least.” she rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue. Then she delivered the final blow. “Honestly disappointing.”

Carolina observed how his jaw tensed at her comment and she had to force herself not to show how pleased she was with his discontent.

Jungkook smirked. “I didn’t know you kept me in check like that”

“Eunwoo is too nice to do the job, so–“

“Eunwoo–“ Jungkook snorted with laughter. His hands came to his hips and he turned around pacing. When he came face to face with her again, his face had already adopted a mad semblance. “I’m starting to believe that you’re doing this on purpose” he added fuming this time.

That was the main problem between the two; whoever had a pair of eyes could see. They would always interpret differently what the other had said.

“Doing what on purpose?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, somewhat confused. But Jungkook took it as a challenge. And he had been piling up until now too many situations to bother on not to burst. He wasn’t intending on holding back no longer.

“You’re into Eunwoo too?!” he assumes more than he asks and she grins outraged. “What? Making out with my teacher wasn’t enough?”

Carolina was ready to laugh about his mistake over her snarky comment about Eunwoo, but she didn’t expect what came afterward. Her mouth opened and closed, piecing the information together.

Jungkook nodded. “Yeah that’s right, Mr. Benjamin is my teacher,” he stated, index finger coming to hit his chest. She furrowed her brows, puzzled by the sudden information and even more by how he was reacting.

“And what does anything have to do with it?!” she burst.

“I just don’t get it! What do you even see in the guy?!”

“You’ve got to be kidding…” she chuckles, placing her hands on her hips and staring straight into his disappointed eyes. He crosses his arms waiting for an answer.

“The question is what I don’t see in him” she spits and Jungkook feels his blood boil. He looks at some point by her shoulder before looking at her eyes again, tongue coming to poke the inside of his cheek. He exhales, doing everything possible to think straight. “And honestly, that’s very rich of you– ‘Cause Jennifer is superb” she snaps.

He blinks. The urge of shaking her hard by the shoulders to make her understand his reasoning flashes before his eyes. Instead, Jungkook stays still, his chest moving up and down like he’s restraining himself. His hands halt before reaching her face from each side, fingers curling into fists the second after, in a nervous outbreak. He grunts impatiently. Her eyes never leave his face, unafraid, and mostly, daring.

“What Jen–“ he starts.

“Oh save it!” Carolina snaps again. “I hate to say something like this about someone but I feel like her purpose range goes to making out sessions only. I doubt you both ever talked about something other than demeaning other people—which disgusts me by the way. So fucking shut it with Ben. He’s great to make out? Yes, the fucking best but unlike your Kardashian over there he actually has a brain.”

Jungkook clicks his tongue. And Carolina doesn’t know if it is the light breeze that hits them or the angered state he is in, but his eyes are glossy.

“HE’S MY TEACHER FOR FUCKS SAKE! YOU’RE MAKING OUT WITH MY TEACHER.” Jungkook didn’t bother anymore if someone could hear them. And he dared to say that he would like it if that was the case.

He wasn’t close with the girl in front of him, nor did he think of her as a friend, or even a colleague, but he hated every second of her relationship with his substitute teacher. He couldn’t tell why it bothered him so much but It was crawling under his skin and he just wanted it over with.

“How do you think that makes me feel?” he asked with a tilt of his head, in a pouty manner. His eyes were angrier than she had ever seen.

But he didn’t have the time to receive an answer, as for the second he asked, they saw a group approach them, snapping their gazes at their figures.

Taehyung had his arms wrapped around both Namjoon and Jin’s necks. Yoongi came right behind them with his phone in his ear, and suddenly Jungkook’s phone began to ring. Everyone stopped for a second.

“Are we going already?” Hoseok came out of the front door and Jungkook saw the rest of his group by the front lawn looking both at him and Carolina awkwardly.

Hoseok looked from one to another, trying to grasp why the mood was so dreadful. He even whispered at Deo and Hyori, but the shortest one nudged at him with a sympathetic look on her face.

Jungkook’s phone stopped ringing as Yoongi’s hand came down with the device, locking it.

The tension was palpable as Carolina didn’t move by his side. He didn’t need to look at her to see what was going on, as in front of them, Taehyung pierced her with his gaze. His eyebrows were furrowed, eyes drowning in confusion and—as Jungkook could discern—disappointment.

“What?” the drunken boy breathes.

“Tae–” Carolina tries as the trio comes closer to them.

Taehyung eyes her for brief seconds and the look she has on her face suggests that what he had heard was true and not just some mean gossip invented by the volley player fidgeting by her side. He knew her far too well to know when she was trying to come up with excuses.

“I think I’m gonna be sick” he has time to say before taking one hand out from Namjoon’s shoulder to place it on top of his stomach. Jin’s face contorts in disgust but he still offers the stability his drunken friend needs.

Jimin rushedly leaves both girls who had been cuddling by his side, being shielded from the breeze that welcomed the new morning, to go help his roommate. But he isn’t quick enough.

Taehyung mentions retching and as soon as he does so, Carolina grabs Jungkook by the arm, pulling him closer. The boy stumbles, trying to take a questioning glance at her over his shoulder. Before he manages to do it, his black boots are covered with vomit.

“I hope that’s leather,” Yoongi comments trivially as Jin holds a pale Taehyung by the shoulders, looking to the side as he mentions vomiting as well.

@singguks × @socksjinie × @bluenpjm

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