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kanmom51 · 3 years

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JM JK timeline.- my observations how they grew over the years

Disclaimer: these are my own opinions and conclusions. Feel free to disagree, but hate or aggression will be unacceptable.

2017 - Part 3

Ooh, we have reached a major event here. Serendipity. 4 September 2017, or is it 1 September 2017 (??), as I will explain bellow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEMaH9Sm3lQ&t=16s .

Or what I like to call: JM’s love ode to JK.

Now tell me this: If Jimin’s song Serendipity was released 4th September 2017, and uploaded to BangtanTv on 5th September 2017, why is the date stamped on the MV 1 Sep 2017?

Does that date mean something? Let me think for a second….oh, it does, doesn’t it? It’s someone’s birthday !!!

JM tells us himself: “All of this isn’t just a coincidence”.

Serendipity is a beautiful love song, and I honestly believe it is JM’s love ode to JK, a birthday present to his love.

I am aware that Jimin is not the one who wrote the lyrics for the song. RM did though. RM, that at this point was very much aware of the relationship and JM’s great love for JK. RM that had written JK’s Begin, a song that everyone agrees is a very personal song of JK’s.

The “I am you, you are me” line actually originated from a song released by Zico in early 2016. There are theories that Jikook used a reference from that songs MV (the band aids on their fingers) during a Puma fan sign on April 2nd 2016. So, if this is true and the line had special meaning for them to start with, and it found it’s way into the song lyrics... feel free to make your conclusions...

And although we have no way of knowing just how involved JM was in the process of writing this song (did he ask for a love song? Did he give ideas to insert into the song, like destiny, not being a coincidence, the cat?), but at the end of the day, JM ‘owns’ the song, believes in what he is singing. When he talks about the song you can feel the emotional personal connection he has with the song. This is his song, and he sings it for JK. And JK knows this is Jimin’s gift to him.

Serendipity related, check out the 18th September Dance with DNA Vlive - https://www.vlive.tv/video/42069 .

JK’s reaction when JM says Serendipity is his favourite song. So cute. The thing with this one is that you could easily overlook it or not read too much into it. Only Suga’s reaction here is the tell all.

At the point that JK is acting all shy and smiley to himself, Suga moves closer to him, whispering “Jungkookah”, something that brings on a change to JK’s entire facial expression. There’s even a slight head nod from Suga when JK wipes the smile off his face.

Suga hinting to JK not to be so obvious, only made it more obvious. I also noticed that just before JM starts singing Serendipity, just after he was asked what his favourite song from the album is, JK looks sideways to Suga, as if he knows he isn’t supposed to react too obviously – looks a bit like little JK might have been scolded or reigned in prior to the live broadcast. Remember that this is really quite a short time after the song’s release, so JK’s excitement, happiness, is still really fresh. The song is for him, and it’s JM’s favourite...

I am not going to analyse the MV, but there are many who have done so before me. Was JM involved in the planning and did he have any input to the choices made? Idk. There is a similarity to the motif of the DNA MV. Is it a coincidence that the dominant colour used is JK’s favourite colour? Who knows. But doesn’t the song say “all of this is not a coincidence”?

Add to that JM starting to use the paw print emoji by JK’s name on Twitter? A coincidence? Mmm… interesting.

From this point on it is clear that “you are me, I am you” is a JM and JK thing.

21 September 2017 BTS comeback show. JK was in charge of putting together each of the members DNA. Very enjoyable. But why did JM have to mention again that JK comes to their room to sleep? Also, how does JK know that JM doesn’t wake up Hobi when he is playing games late at night? JM telling us how he now learnt how to play games – then what games was JM good last year (re: Vlive 22 April 2017)?

22 September 2017 Love Yourself fan sign– JM singing Serendipity, JK joining in. How happy JM looks when JK sings “just let me love you” with him all while making eye contact with each other at that point. The way JM looks at JK while singing the song. Singing to him.

Still think Serendipity is not JK and JM’s song?

They have a way of looking at one another that sometimes make me feel like I’m intruding on a very intimate moment.

24 September 2017 SBS Inkigayo Super concert – found it!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb-_jkdxgh4 start watching at 3.36min.

This is the one I remembered, where JM, saw the need to grab JK’s butt, run his hand up and down his back side, right through the crack, repeatedly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7fv0CaQT9M start watching 11:30min , JM walks to his place past JK, lightly brushing his hand against JK.

When I mention the brushes or light touches – this is what I mean (see attached photos). Obviously, there will be those who say it wasn’t intentional, that he was walking by him and didn’t mean to touch him. I say bollox to that (excuse the language).

First, there was plenty of room not to walk so close to JK. Second, if you notice, he circles JK only to make it back to the same actual side he was on to begin with. All he had to do was back up, just like JK did, and not circle JK to make it to his place on stage. Third, to me it looks as if he was aiming to touch JK’s hand, only it was too high up.

26 September SBS MTV The Show. Happy happy boys.

30 September 2017 Love Yourself fan sign Sinchon – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMIdoK9rfAI .

Another one I was looking for. I have seen this moment and wasn’t sure where or when it was from. This is one of those clips Jikook’s use to show Jimin being jealous, and to be honest, first time I saw it it made me wonder too. But watching it again and again, I have come to the conclusion that that wasn’t the issue.

To me this is more JM being protective than JM being Jealous. Setting the boundaries for V when it comes to JK, and it is something we see with JM more than once.

JM wasn’t happy. V wasn’t happy. Boundaries were set.

I actually wrote a separate post about this moment.

1 October 2017 BTS live – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwU-NOMLvqQ

Tipsy JK must be a Jikooker. His guard is down, inhibitions are gone and he becomes really chatty and tends to say and do things that he most likely regrets later on. We didn’t see the members drink what seemed to be alcohol, but the vibe I got from JK’s talkativeness and behaviour during the live was that he was tipsy. Not outright drunk, but tipsy.

To the fan’s request to show his abs, JK starts checking himself out, looking under his T-shirt, only to be scolded by JM to keep it to himself. This is also the first time we hear him Jikooking, talking about eating with Jin and JM, referring to them as Jin-jikook, and then turning to JM, while the others try to call them by another name (I wonder why…). Did I not say tipsy JK is a Jikooker???

3 October 2017 Run BTS episode 22. https://www.vlive.tv/video/43438 start 7.00min.

JM turns to JK asking him to vote for him. The softness in JM’s voice when he asks him acting all coquettish. The way JM approached JK and the way he spoke to him, that’s not the way someone talks to his mate, or to his ‘brother’.

There was a softness in the approach to JK. coquettish is the only way I can describe it.

Love hearts were added by the show’s editors, not me !!!!

12 October 2017 BTS countdown. Can be found on Dailymotion.

All JM had to say was one word – Jungkookah and JK, surprisingly (not) chose him. The look of joy on their faces at that point. And again the editors with the heart emoji effects. Uhm…

JM and JK’s team was the team chosen by the fans, and guess what song they both choose to sing, as JM piggy backed JK? Their song obviously… Serendipity.

And yet again, JM gets to tell us JK comes to his room to sleep. We hear you JM. We hear you.

Jimin birthday surprise (BangtanTV 1 November 2017) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aAhNAl53ZY.

JM gets flowers sent from his father. J-Hope and Suga pretend JM’s dad has arrived to surprise JM, Suga pointing and saying he saw him. JK slowly backs up, shocked and alarmed smile on his face, trying to move behind RM. Then the boys start laughing.

Now, why do I think this is a moment worthy of my timeline? Well, when the boys start laughing, revealing it was a joke, the one Suga points at, laughingly, is JK.

The whole thing feels like a joke on JK, not JM. JK is the one being teased. Why would JK be so stressed out from JM’s dad being there? And why would the boys be teasing him like that? Hm…

The funny thing is that the camera is on JK and Suga, not on JM, who was supposedly just told his father was there. That feels slightly strange to me. Wouldn’t they want to catch JM’s reaction? Not JK’s?

28-30 October 2017 JK and JM Tokyo trip together. This trip was long anticipated by JM. He had been looking forward for his trip with JK for a long time. It was a private trip planned and paid for by JK as a gift for JM. What we know about the trip is mostly what they tell us in retrospect.

Saying that, this was truly a memorable trip for them both, and they both can’t seem to shut up about it, talking about it at any possible moment. JK telling us how JM stayed up (only JM?) until 5 am, so they both woke up at 12pm and missed out on plans they had for the morning, JM tells how they went shopping in Harajuku, how during their trip was the longest walk they took, referring to their trip during interviews. As I mentioned – a memorable trip.

31 October 2017 - When returning from the trip JM posts a selca/selfie. I know I said I won’t be doing this, but rules are sometimes meant to be broken, and this specific selca is gorgeous, so…

BTS Wings tour Japan documentary - filmed October 2017, published 12 November 2017 - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7sz5rq .

Both acting cute together. For some reason, they are the only ones that are paired for the one on one interviews, when Suga, Jin and Hobi were all interviewed by themselves.

Felt like JM and inhibitions were strangers during the group interview.

Not really sure what JM was searching for in JK’s thigh during the group interview (when V was talking) – tupping, fingering and squeezing JK’s thigh. And yet again RM and J-Hope’s reactions to die for. Hobi eyes on the action throughout the whole episode, and RM when he notices, I would pay a lot of money to know what was going through his head at that point. My educated guess is: “God, please get me out of here, why did I agree to be the leader????” LOL.

Then when asked what their impressions were when coming to the dome, JM tells how JK was crying, all while caressing JK’s ear. JK tells how he was emotional, and they look at each other. All the while, RM’s face when JM touches JK’s ear, only to continue to place his hands on their shoulders respectively.

JM continues to surprise, telling viewers to anticipate for JK’s sweat. The minute he says that, RM turns to look towards Suga, the vibe I get is: “god, please help me here…”.

Then JM goes on to tell us how in his opinion JK’s sweat is beautiful, Holy water. What???? J-hope repeats JM’s Holy water, then glances for just a second towards RM and looks down nervously – great save Hobi.

The group interview was shot on JM’s birthday. Maybe that had something to do with his good un-inhibited mood.

8 November 2017 – GCF in Tokyo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrTNLkqGrlc .

While the Tokyo trip was JK’s birthday gift or JM. GCF Tokyo is JK’s love ode to JM.

One of JK’s grand gestures. Up there with RB, as far as I am concerned.

This is not an analysis of GCFT, but I do have a few words to say on the matter. Explain why in my eyes this is a JK’s love ode to JM.

This video was filmed and edited by JK, and JK alone. It supposedly documents their trip together. It was his choice and his alone to edit and publish this video and did so to JM’s surprise.

In the video to start with, he lets us know that it’s the two of them, but from there on, other than seeing JK through the mirrors in the elevator while he is filming JM, the one we mostly see is JM. JM smiling, JM goofing around, JM eating, JM enjoying himself on the Tea Cup ride at Disneyland, JM walking, JM dancing, and as a whole just JM having the time of his life. For a video that is documenting a trip to Tokyo, there is not too much of Tokyo we get to see.

The end credits name JK as the photographer, director and editor, while naming JM as the actor.

There is a strong romantic vibe to the video.

JK’s editing choices, including his music choice for the video are well thought out. His choice to edit to the beat of the song. All cleverly thought out to accentuate both the footage and the lyrics of the song he chose: ‘There for you’ by Troye Sivan and Martin Garrix.

JM told us already: “this is not a coincidence”.

The level of preparation from JK, acquiring the rights to use the song, the amount of time it took to go over the footage and edit the video, all while managing to do that will a full working schedule (working throughout the night). This was clearly something big for him. His joy and pride when it was uploaded to Youtube, clearly showed, him smiley and dancing.

2 days prior to GCFT, on 6 November 2017, JM published his short clip of the trip. JM too took the time to edit a cute footage of the trip, documenting both of them having fun. Putting them both side by side only emphasizes the difference and showcases just how much GCFT was all about JM, being JK’s love ode to JM.

To be continued...

#jungkook #jimin #JK #JM #Jikook #Jikook are real #Jikook timeline #JMJK timeline #JKJM timeline #GCFT #Serendipity #Kookmin #Kookmin timeline

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behind-the-screen-of-bangtan · 5 years

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Map of the Soul: Persona

Release date: 12 April 2019

The new series by BTS, following Love Yourself and heavily based on Carl Jung works. The point of the album is the delight in the interest and love of both the boys’ inner self and outer world (src).

The design of the album was made by CFC and J&Brand. More details about the project can be found here (Eng trans), like the fact it was inspired by the maze from “Epilogue: Young Forever” MV.

Official page

'Persona' Comeback Trailer

Little details

Concept photo

Little details

Tracklist

Boy With Luv

Little details

BTS 꿀FM 06.13 : Comeback Special (VLive, now reposted on Weverse) ([Vehind] on Ch+ and now on Weverse too)

화양연화 The Notes (Translation by Papercrowns)

As usual, the boys have two notes in each booklet and there’s a unique one among the 4 versions which is in: version 1 for Yoongi and Namjoon, version 2 for Hoseok and Jungkook, version 3 for Jimin and Taehyung and version 4 for Seokjin

Global Press Conference 'MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA'

RM - MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA Behind

[BANGTAN BOMB] 'MAP OF THE SOUL : PERSONA' Album Unboxing (BTS ver.)

Official Youtube playlist

Intro: Persona

Lyrics

Description: explore the theme of “who am I?”

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Muish’s rambling

작은 것들을 위한 시 (poem for small things) (Boy With Luv) feat. Halsey

Lyrics

Description: funk pop genre, delight of a small and simple love, about one’s interest and love of another. It not only expresses the enjoyment and fluttery feelings of love, it consists of a melody that is easy to listen to.

During the 190418 performance on M Countdown (Bangtan BOMB), you could see pictures from version 3 on the far left.

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Muish’s rambling

Wisha’s translation and notes

소우주 (small universe, microcosm) (Mikrokosmos)

Lyrics

Description: the human interest in the world around them

ARCΛDES’ making of the song

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Wisha’s translation and notes

Interview with professor Jiyoung

Bookish Theories’ explanation and analysis

201001 performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for #BTSWEEK (Episode)

Make It Right

Lyrics

Description: sentimental but polished emotions, allowing one to feel the process of love and healing in regards to the person who recognized them in a period of hardship; Ed Sheeran participated

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Wisha’s translation and notes

Colin’s notes and translation (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4)

190418 performance on M Countdown

Version featuring Lauv: MV, Streaming links, Rolling Stones article, Bookish Theories’ explanation and analysis

Official MV (vertical ver.)

HOME

Lyrics

Description: the home BTS want to return to when they’re tired and lonely is ARMY

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Wisha’s translation and notes

Colin’s notes and translation

Bookish Theories’ explanation and analysis

200929 performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for #BTSWEEK (Episode)

Jamais vu

Lyrics

'Jamais Vu' Song by Jin & j-hope & Jung Kook

Description: unit track with Jin, J-Hope, and Jungkook

It’s the first time we have a unit track in a BTS album - except for the vocal/rap line songs

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Muish’s rambling

Wisha’s translation and notes

Colin’s notes and translation

Bookish Theories’ explanation and analysis

Dionysus

Lyrics

Description: BTS-style hip hop track with strong beat and Jin’s rocking adlib vocals

Dance practice

Doolsetbangtan’s translation and notes

Muish’s rambling

Wisha’s translation and notes

Colin’s notes and translation

Bookish Theories’ explanation and analysis

Producer Blake McLain’s explanation

190418 performance on M Countdown (Bangtan BOMB)

190420 performance on Music Core (Bangtan BOMB)

190421 performance on Inkigayo (Bangtan BOMB)

Vinyl records that were in the background of the "Dionysus" performance at the 2019 KBS Song Festival

(src of the descriptions; another one)

Producer Blake McLain did an explanation of the full EP.

#BTS #Map of the Soul #Persona

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0613fancafe · 2 years

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감사합니다 아미!!

BTS_SUGA / 14.02.24 02:07

안녕하세요 슈가입니다 어제는 인기가요가 있었던 날이였습니다 그리고 일위후보에 올랐었습니다 많은 분들이 축하해주셨고 또 걱정해주셨습니다 어떤 부분때문에 걱정하셨는지도 잘 알고있습니다 사실 저희도 일위후보에 올랐다는 사실에 너무 놀랐고 가장 먼저 아미분들께 너무 감사했습니다 일위후보로 올라갔지만 일위는 저희와 먼일이라 생각했기에 긴장이 전혀 되지않았었습니다 하지만 투표결과가 나오고 문자투표가 올라가는것을 보고 울컥했습니다 아미 여러분들이 저희를 위해서 문자투표를 해주신것을 보니 정말 감동을 안할래야 안할수가 없었습니다

아미 여러분!! 아직 데뷔 일년도 되지 않은 저희가 이렇게 일위후보가 될수이었던 이유는 정말 아미 여러분 덕분입니다 항상 감사드리고 고맙습니다 꼭 최고가 되도록 노력하겠습니다 오늘 하루도 즐거운 하루 되시고 앞으로도 우리 쭉 함께했으면 좋겠습니다 꼭이요 사랑해요 아미

Thank you very much ARMY!!

Hello I’m Suga Yesterday it was a day we had Inkigayo (schedule). Also we got nominated for 1st place Many people congratulated us, and were also worried about us. We know very well too the reason why you’d be worried about us. To be honest when we knew that we were nominated for 1st place we were so surprised, the first thing that came to us was that we were so thankful to ARMYs Even though we were nominated for 1st place, we think of it that we’re in a position where 1st place is still far from us, so we weren’t nervous at all. But when the voting results were out, seeing the score of <text message votes> I was choked up with tears. Seeing how our ARMYs sent in texts to vote for us really made me can’t help but feel very touched.

All our ARMYS!! Us who hasn’t even debuted for over a year’s period of time to have been nominated for 1st place, it’s really all thanks to our ARMYs, we’re always thankful and more thankful. We’ll definitely work hard to become the best Hope you’ll have an enjoyable day today and it’ll be nice if you can be together with us forever on as well. It’s a must! I love you ARMY

Trans cr; Denise @ bts-trans

#2014 #yoongi

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shitfics · 7 years

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One of These Nights (7/?); jongyu; pg

Jinki knows that he’s gay. What he doesn’t know is how to handle a crush on someone as entwined in the music industry as he is.

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6

AO3 Mirror

Really sorry this has been such a long wait! My other wip has gotten far out of hand and is consuming my life, basically. Now jongyu get to shift from the is-he-gay-dance to the do-i-want-to-risk-my-friendship dance. Hope y’all enjoy! Things are going to move a bit faster after this one.

A few short days after coming out to Jonghyun over text, Jinki is knocking on his apartment door. The visit is planned, and one he desperately wanted to make before returning to Japan for another month, but the nerves in his stomach still rattle with each rap of his knuckles against the wood.

He had tried, in the time between when he last saw Jonghyun and the present, to convince himself that nothing had changed about their friendship. The jitters he’d had when he first met Jonghyun shouldn’t be back -- they were already friends, and both of them being gay doesn’t mean Jonghyun likes him, or that they should date -- but now, what he’d always thought of as a hopeless crush and a one-sided love seems possible.

He can’t resist dancing with the idea of confessing. He’s thought about a dozen ways to say it, or show it, but he doesn’t have the courage to try them.

Though their friendship had been valuable to him before, he needed it now: Jonghyun is the only person that knows he’s gay, and as far as he’s aware, the only other gay person he’s met in his entire life. It wouldn’t be worth losing the security of that connection so soon after he’s finally gotten it for the first time in his life.

So he’s decided to wait. Unless Jonghyun makes a move, or make it obvious he’s open to the idea, he would keep his romantic feelings to himself. He’s already done it for over a year, so it shouldn’t be so hard to keep it in a while longer, until he knows where Jonghyun stands and is certain it wouldn’t ruin their friendship.

His chest tightens with anticipation when he hears Jonghyun’s footsteps approach the door. An image of kissing him the moment it opens enters his mind, and he shoves it away, mentally cursing himself for having such a stupid fantasy as the worst time. All he can do is hope that Jonghyun doesn’t notice the flush on his cheeks when the door opens.

"Hey," Jonghyun greets, smile just a slight bit shyer than usual. "It's good to see you again without having to wait a whole month."

"Yeah," Jinki agrees. “Same to you.”

Jonghyun’s smile widens. He opens his arms for hug they usually share when they first see each other, and Jinki hesitates, all too conscious of his heart racing in his chest.

Is this just Jonghyun acting like normal? Or is it a sign that he’s interested, if he keeps the same touchiness even when he knows they’re both gay?

Not wanting his awkwardness to be noticed, Jinki forces himself to step forward and into Jonghyun’s arms. His skin prickles when Jonghyun embraces him, and his palms feel clumsy and large over Jonghyun’s back when he returns it. The hug is a little tighter than usual -- probably from his own awkwardness -- but that’s the only difference he feels. His stomach sinks with disappointment when Jonghyun pulls back.

Jinki forces himself to meet Jonghyun’s eyes unwaveringly. Now that Jonghyun knows he’s interested in men, it doesn’t feel safe to look anywhere other than his face -- he can’t pass off glimpses at his muscular body as pure admiration anymore.

"Has your week been good, hyung?"

"It’s been alright." Jonghyun shrugs. He gestures for Jinki to head to the kitchen and shuts the door behind him. “How about you?”

“I’ve been fine,” Jinki lies as he toes off his shoes. His mood had been a rollercoaster of alternating relief and anxiety related to coming out -- and possibly confessing to Jonghyun -- but he couldn’t explain that.

Jonghyun raises an eyebrow, obviously not believing him, but doesn’t call him on it.

“Well, you’re about to be better than fine.” He points to the corner of the counter, which is covered in a massive pile of chip bags. "I found those chips you said you’ve been craving, but couldn’t find in Japan. I bought a ton since they were on sale, so I figured we could snack on them tonight, and you could bring whatever’s left with you on the road.”

“Thanks, hyung.” Jinki smiles, genuinely touched. “Does that mean you don’t want to go out tonight?”

“I figured you might not want to -- you got pretty drunk last time. Did you want to go out?”

“No, we can stay here,” Jinki says, throat feeling tight. Was this a sign of something? “Did you have something in mind for what you’d want to do?”

“We could watch a movie, if you have one in mind,” Jonghyun says. “Or we could watch TV. Inkigayo’s on in a bit, but I get if you’re sick of anything related to work, though."

"No, that’s fine. I’d much rather watch that than the twenty-four hour version of Lord of the Rings again.”

Jonghyun purses his lips. “It’s actually closer to twelve hours combined, you know.”

“That’s much more reasonable,” Jinki says. “But really, let’s watch Inkigayo together. I know you try and watch every music show, so I wouldn’t want to make you miss it.”

“I wouldn’t mind missing it. It’s not nearly as enjoyable when your group isn’t promoting.” Jonghyun grins at him wide enough to make Jinki’s stomach float up into his throat. “You pick whatever drink you want from the fridge and grab some chips -- I’ll go get the TV set up.”

“Alright.”

A twinge of disappointment pinches at Jinki’s gut when Jonghyun walks past him to the living room, stride as casual as ever. None of this is flirting -- it’s just Jonghyun’s usual friendliness, and their usual banter.

He frowns as he gathers three bags of chips and a drink, annoyed with himself. What had he been expecting? For Jonghyun to bring up the conversation he couldn’t even bring himself to have in person? Or for him to take coming out as an open invitation to be seduced?

Of course, he wouldn’t mind that -- but it isn’t fair of him to be disappointed. He should be nothing but grateful for having Jonghyun in his life. Even if coming out to each other doesn't change things between them, it’s good to know he has at least one person he can be honest with and be fully accepted for who is.

Jonghyun’s voice from the living room jars him out of his thoughts.

“You need help getting anything?”

“No, sorry -- just was trying to figure out the best way to carry all these chips.”

He sticks the can of coke he’d grabbed from the fridge under his arm, then scoops up another three bags of chips and hurries out to living room.

“No wonder you had trouble carrying them.” Jonghyun raises an eyebrow at him from the corner of the couch he’d sprawled out in. "I thought you’d be eating one or two bags and taking the rest home -- you sure you won’t make yourself sick with that many?”

“A few of these are for you, hyung.” He tosses a bag at Jonghyun. It smacks him dead in the face, making them both snort with laughter before Jonghyun gives him a mocking frown.

“These are probably all broken now, you know.” Jonghyun complains, but opens the bag anyways. Jinki seats himself on the opposite end of the couch and opens his own. For a moment, they eat in silence for a moment, their attentions drawn to obnoxious jingles of the commercials on TV, but Jonghyun rolls his bag closed when the opening ot Inkigayo starts.

He turns to Jinki. "Do you know who's starting promotions this week? I've been too distracted to keep track lately."

Jinki blinks back at him. He wants to ask what had been distracting him, even though he has a good guess, but it feels wrong to force the topic on him. If Jonghyun wanted to pretend that nothing has changed, he can do the same.

"I actually don't know who's promoting either. I haven't really kept track of anyone outside our company since we started promotions in Japan."

Jonghyun shrugs and settles back into his seat to get comfortable. "Guess we'll find out together then."

"Guess so."

The show starts off with a sickeningly sweet love song about the instinctive draw between a man and a woman. It feels garish to him, rather than anything genuine, and he finds himself irritated when the hosts’ close the act with glistening smiles and praise for the trite lyrics. He only gives it half of his attention, and tunes out completely when they begin to hype up the sexiness of the next girl group’s performance.

As promised, the choreography is fast-paced and sexual. But while he could normally admire the skill it takes to pull off an act like that in sky-high heels, all he feels now is annoyance at the hoots and cheers of the men in the crowd. It’s a visceral reminder of what he’s expected to find attractive, and he hates it. He’s cycled through a stock of female idol names for so long to keep up appearances. And he’d still have to do that, but he’d thought he could at least complain about how frustrating it was to have to lie in every single interview.

But can he? Jonghyun still hasn’t said a thing about him being gay, and now he has to wonder if he’s even allowed to bring it up. Jonghyun said he could, but it seems hard to believe, with his complete avoidance of the subject. Is he just going to pretend it never happened?

Jinki glowers at the screen. He’s fully aware that he’s being irrational, but he can’t help it.

At least the next song is more suitable for his mood. It’s a boy group, with a few members he knows, presenting a concept of the unspoken misery and pain that comes with unrequited love. Jinki watches the mournful introduction with interest, eyes fixed on the single member dancing to the opening, when Jonghyun says something that makes him forget all he’d been thinking.

"That guy on the left is cute." He points at the man on the screen with one hand, his other still in the bag of chips. "Do you think so?"

Jinki glances at Jonghyun, then back at idol on screen, irritation sinking away. So Jonghyun hadn't forgotten.

The tightness in his chest lightens into a different kind, and he fidgets with a string of fabric over the hole of his jeans. It’s the first time anyone has ever asked for his opinion of a man’s cuteness where they’d know what he means if he agrees, and he has to will himself to look past the significance of the question to actually get to answering it.

"He is pretty cute, yeah.” His answer comes out as a mumble, and he’s not even sure how much he means it. The idol's features are soft, with the round cheeks and long bangs most of the newer groups had been trying for their debut concepts, and it’s not what would usually catch his eye. He points to the one with the sharp eyeline that does. "I think their dancer is my favorite. I met him once, and he's really nice."

Jonghyun leans forward, squinting as he follows Jinki's finger to the member on screen. "Oh, him?” He purses his lips and sits back in his seat. “He’s cute, but I guess he's not my type."

"Why not?” Jinki teases, a tentative grin on his lips. “Is it because he’s the tallest? Few people would meet your type if you want someone shorter than you.

Jonghyun rolls his eyes. "No, taller is fine. I'm not picky about anything physical, really."

"That's hard to believe, hyung." He turns to face Jonghyun, unable to resist the chance to steer the conversation. "You must have some preferences for looks, if you can say that guy isn't your type, and that the first guy was cute."

Jonghyun flushes, only now realizing the corner he'd backed himself into. "I was just trying to make conversation....all I really look for is a man with a good personality."

"Then tell me about that." Jinki pushes Jonghyun's knee and gives his best smile. “Come on -- you've probably heard me talk about my type all the time on shows, It’s only fair."

"Well, that doesn’t count, since you don’t actually like girls. You probably just said whatever you thought they wanted to hear..”

“Kind of, yeah.” Jinki laughs and gives Jonghyun’s knee another shove. “And it’s annoying to always lie, so how about I tell you mine, and you tell me yours."

Jonghyun snorts, but Jinki can tell from the smile on his lips that he’s embarrassed. "I’ll only agree to that if you go first.”

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm older, and I said so."

Jinki rolls his eyes. Jonghyun always acted like their age difference didn't matter until he needed leverage on something he couldn’t win otherwise or he wanted to spend money on him -- he should’ve expected this.

Jonghyun leans towards him with a teasing grin. "Well, Jinki-yah? Are you going to tell me your type?"

"It’s...hard to answer honestly, I guess -- since I’ve never dated.” He smiles sheepishly when he realizes Jonghyun is hanging intently onto every word. "Can I even say I have a type in that case?”

“I think so. Isn’t there a type of guy that catches your eye more?”

“I guess...” Jinki purses his lips in one last moment of hesitation. “I’ve always looked a little longer at muscular guys. I knew I wasn’t interested in women like most men when I was a trainee, but I kind of figured out I was gay around 2PM's debut.

Jonghyun throws his head back and laughs. "I guess 2PM was to you what Shinhwa was to me.”

Jinki gapes at him. “Is that really how you figured it out?”

“More or less.” Jonghyun shrugs. “They had that nude photoshoot, you know? After the dozenth time of stealing it from my sister’s room to stare at it, I had to realize something was there.”

“I hope you didn’t, uh -- ruin it’s condition.”

“I was just looking!” Jonghyun swipes at him, offended. “I wouldn’t do that to my noona’s things. That’s gross.”

Jinki laughs. “I didn’t realize you liked male idols like that. Does that mean you've always watched these idol shows for the boys?"

“Somewhat, though I always knew I wanted to do music, so I watched them with my sister for that, too. But eventually...I guess I realized my investment in Hyesung and that risque photobook of them was a little...too strong for me to be straight.” He shakes his head. “Now I really do watch it for the music, though. It helps to keep current with the industry."

“I’m not sure I believe you,” Jini says, unable to help the slight stir of jealousy in his gut at the thought of Jonghyun watching for other men.

“I do! You know I mostly write for female idols -- there’s definitely no attraction there, but I still want to see what’s popular for them.”

Jinki lets the teasing drop. Their attention turns back to the screen, and for a while, Jinki thinks that’s the end of his half of the deal.

He should’ve known better, though.

"So...you'd say 2PM is your type of guy, then?" Jonghyun asks, blank-faced. Of course Jonghyun wouldn't drop something until he received a straight answer. "That dancer you pointed out was pretty tall and lean -- do you like that type too?"

"I just like his face,” Jinki dodges, embarrassed. “And I can't really pick. It just depends on the person...”

"Well, whatever you like, you don't need to be embarrassed about it, Jinki-yah," Jonghyun reassures to sooth Jinki's awkwardness. "Especially if you like muscular guys -- it's a preference a lot of us have, so I get the appeal. That was half of my reason for starting to work out.”

Jinki stares at Jonghyun in bewilderment. "You joined a gym just to look at guys?"

"That’s not what I meant." Jonghyun crosses his arms and stares Jinki down. "I wanted to look attractive myself, obviously. Do you really think I'm the type to scope out people like that?”

"I don't know." Jinki raises an eyebrow at Jonghyun. "You might. You haven't told me your type yet."

"Fine, fine." Jonghyun shakes his head and smiles. "But I don't have much of a physical type, myself. It's more about personality for me...just someone I can get along with easily, who doesn’t mind me doting on them a bit," Jonghyun says, smiling softly. "And round cheeks, I guess...I think most of the guys I’ve been interested in look like that."

"That's a physical thing," Jinki mumbles. When the screen goes dark and cuts to commercials, he spares a quick glance at himself in the reflection from the TV. He thinks he might fit that description. And Jonghyun definitely doted on him with meals and little trinkets. Did that mean his description was a hint?

Before he can think it over fully, Jonghyun stretches out his leg to grab Jinki’s attention with a poke of his foot. "Jinki-yah...I want you to know, I’m really glad you opened up to me. It's nice to talk about this stuff with you."

"Yeah." Jinki rubs at the spot on his thigh where Jonghyun had touched him, cheeks feeling warm. "I was kind of afraid you were going to pretend I never said anything, or that you forgot, when you didn’t say anything at first."

"I wouldn't do that,” Jonghyun says. "And I’m sorry my approach worried you...it probably wasn’t the best. I just wasn't sure what to say, since you told me I’m the first person who knows. I didn't want to make you feel like everything was really different, you know? I was worried about scaring you."

Jinki stares him down. “You bringing it up right away wouldn’t have scared me nearly as much as thinking I imagined it all did.”

Jonghyun winces. “Sorry. I guess I overthought things?”

"A little bit," Jinki says. “But I’ve always known you tend to do that.”

Jonghyun gives him a guilty smile. "Yeah."

The conversation lulls back into a comfortable silence when Inkigayo resumes. Jinki sinks back into the cushions of the couch, relieved. He had worried that he'd feel more tense around Jonghyun, now that there was a possibility of his crush being all-too-obvious. But being able to finally share that he’s gay -- and talk about it like it were something simple and normal -- outweighs that more than he could have ever guessed. He's surprised at how comfortable he is talking about it, when he’s never gotten a chance to before, but he supposes everything with Jonghyun has always been easy.

Emboldened by his realization, he taps Jonghyun on the knee to get his attention.

"Hyung, can I ask you something? About being...you know?"

"Of course." Jonghyun sits up, expression serious. "Anything you want to know or need to talk about, I'm here for you."

Jinki flushes, caught off guard by Jonghyun's sincerity. "It's not a big question, I was just curious, because of how I found out about you being....” He waves his hand, somehow unable to utter the word despite his comfort with this subject. “Does anyone know about it besides Young bae?"

"A few people.” Jonghyun stops to think carefully before he continues. "My family knows, and a few friends know too, like Sojin and a guy I know from high school. Besides Young Bae, just one person on Blue Night knows, and that's it as far as the industry goes. I have a few friends from gay bars, too, but they’ve obviously known since we met in a space where everyone’s like that.”

“You think you’ll ever tell anyone else?”

“Probably not.” Jonghyun shrugs. “The most important people in my life all know about it -- you were really the only one that didn’t, since we just became friends this year. I probably should have told you earlier, but it was hard to see the need to share it, since I haven’t been dating recently...makes the risk kind of pointless.”

Jinki looks back at the screen, unable to meet Jonghyun’s eyes. "...you’ve been single for a while, then?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jonghyun freeze. "Yeah, uh -- it’s been around two years since I’ve had anything serious. I’m still kind of open to the possibility, I guess, but I’ve been focusing on myself and my work so much, I haven’t really had time.”

“I can understand that,” Jinki agrees. A wave of relief falls over him. Though he’d been fairly certain Jonghyun was single, a part of him had wondered if Jonghyun might’ve been hiding a boyfriend while he kept his sexuality quiet.

Not that it should matter, since they were only friends all this time -- but it's nice to know that there hadn’t been anyone in the background while his feelings towards Jonghyun had deepened. It makes him more sure that all the little moments might’ve meant something.

Jonghyun clears his throat. “What about your dating life, Jinki-yah?”

“I already told you, hyung. I’m single.”

“I know that.” Jonghyun frowns. “What I meant to ask about is whether you’re interested in dating at all. You’ve always said you were too busy, but that was when girls came up. Is that just an excuse to avoid women, or actually how you feel?”

“A bit of both.” Jinki smiles bitterly. “It keeps the members and my parents off my back about my lack of interest. And I am really busy -- you know I’ve been in Japan most of the past year, and now I’ve been going between here and there every few weeks.” He pauses to lick his lips. “But I’m not totally opposed to dating. I’d just have to be even more careful about it than most other idols.”

Jonghyun nods in solemn agreement. “It’d probably be difficult.”

“At least the next trip we have to Japan should be the last for a while, but still...even our Korean schedules can be rough.”

Jonghyun blinks. “It’s your last trip?”

“For the year, yeah. The rest of the year is going to be performances here, and then we’ll start preparations for our next album.”

Jonghyun grins. “I thought it might be soon, since SM contacted me about a demo for one of the other tracks on it, but I wasn’t sure. It’ll be good to have you back and cheer you on again. Let me know when I can start posting on Twitter.”

Jinki looks down, already feeling the tips of his ears burning. “Thanks, hyung. I will.”

Jonghyun spares him another smile before turning back to the TV. They spend the rest of the night snacking on chips and commenting on the various attractiveness of the male idols performing until it’s late into the night. Reluctantly, he reminds Jonghyun he has a flight in the morning, and is seen out the door with the usual smile-and-hug routine he gets every time they part.

It’s not quite how he imagined his first visit to Jonghyun's place going after he came out. He expected a heartfelt discussion, or for him to blurt out his feelings in some clumsy and accidental way -- but it’s easier than he thought.

***

Jinki shoves his hat further down over his eyes. He doesn’t want anyone in the Blue Night studio to recognize him, other than the few staff members he’d contacted before arriving, and he definitely doesn’t want Jonghyun to catch him until he’s ready to go on air. That would ruin the surprise of his early return from Japan.

When the staff member leading him nears the window to the broadcasting room Jonghyun is in, Jinki crouches low, staying out of view as he continues to follow her down the rest of the hall. She gives him a quick amused look over her shoulder, then continues ahead and gives Jonghyun an innocent wave through the glass.

Once they’re safely past it, he stands fully again and adjusts his grip on the handle of the coffee holder with the drinks he’d brought for him and Jonghyun.

He hopes Jonghyun will appreciate the surprise visit. They’d talked about him visiting the show when he returned from Japan, and Jonghyun was always doing so much to support and promote him and his group -- it only made sense to return the favor. All he had to do to arrange it was send a quick text to his manager, and the rest of it was taken care of by the various staff involved. SM was eager to get his group’s presence back in Korea, and the Blue Night staff he spoke with were more than happy to have an idol appear on their shows for free.

Jinki licks his lips and looks up at the bright red text of the "On Air" sign above the door. Like last time, his stomach is in a knot at the thought of seeing Jonghyun. "When should I go in?"

"I'll have you go in right when this next song is up -- I want to give him a bit of a warning that he’ll be having a guest, since he didn’t plan on it." She grins broadly. "Plus, I think his viewers will like hearing the moments before he realizes the surprise."

Jinki nods and rests a hand on the door handle, running his thumb along the cool metal to distract himself from the butterflies in his stomach. It really hasn't been that long since he's seen Jonghyun -- only a month -- but with their Japanese promotions finally over, they can see each other nearly as much as they like until winter.

The possibilities that holds makes him too anxious to think straight.

After what feels like an hour, the PD finally steps past him to open the door to the studio and peeks inside. “Jonghyun - you have a guest.”

“What? Really?” Jonghyun’s voice echoes clearly from the studio, and it’s all too easy to imagine his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "No one told me someone would be coming."

"You’ll be fine, I’m sure. You already know him well. We already prepared prompts for you on the screen, so you can go ahead and read those."

With an interested hum, Jonghyun turns away from the door to look at the screen, giving Jinki a chance to slip into the room unnoticed.

"A singer with a warm voice who we miss...a shining idol...?" He reads aloud, realization dawning slowly, and Jinki finds himself grinning despite the cringe-worthy description. Jonghyun spins quickly in his chair, eyes widening the instant they set on Jinki. "Jinki -- Really?!"

"Hi, hyung," Jinki mouths. He lifts the brim of his cap to unhide his face.

Jonghyun tries to stand, only to get caught on his headphone cords, and waves quickly for Jinki to come join him at the desk.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” He breaks out into a grin even and takes the cup of coffee Jinki offers, then leans back. “I thought you weren’t going to be back till tomorrow.”

Jinki puts the headphones on that the staff had set up for him and leans into the mic. "Well, I lied."

“You’re awful, Jinki-yah.” Jonghyun kicks his feet under the table, but freezes when the PD raises a hand at him through the window. “Ah, I should call you Onew-ssi here -- sorry.” He scrunches his nose. "You’re lucky I didn’t swear when I saw you, since you came without warning. I haven’t seen you for nearly a month, and you suddenly show up at my work?”

Jinki gives a pout of mock-hurt. “Do you not like my surprise, hyung?”

“Of course I do! You just caught me off guard.” He looks around the studio. “Did everyone but me know he was coming?”

Jinki shrugs, and behind him, the staff nod through the window. “Pretty much.”

Jonghyun hums. "I'll have to thank them later for letting you on. It’s a treat to see my favorite dongsaeng like this....I still can’t believe you’re here! You've been in Japan so long."

"I know, that's why I wanted to see you as soon as I could," Jinki says. "I've missed you and Blue Night a lot."

Jonghyun hums skeptically. "You really went through all this trouble just to see me? You’re not here to promote anything at all?"

"I could promote myself a little, if you want me to." Jinki teases back.

"Of course, of course." Jonghyun smiles against his microphone. "Since you're being so nice, I'll let you promote yourself a little."

"Well, we just released our first full album in Japan. And we'll be working on our next Korean album soon, which should come with lots of promotions and some new concerts."

"That's impressive! I'm not sure if I have any listeners from Japan, but I'm sure your fans will want to import the album now. Can you tell me anything about your next Korean album, or would that get you in trouble?"

“I can’t say too much without getting in trouble,” he answers honestly. “But I do think that a certain radio host I know may have written a song for it.”

“Oh, I’ve heard those rumors too.” Jonghyun laughs lightly. “But you probably don’t want to talk about work, do you? I’m just not sure what to say, since that’s usually why we have idols on the show, and I see you more as a friend than a celebrity.” He sighs. "All I can think of is the usual questions you get, like about your ideal type and ideal date and things....you’re probably sick of that, too.”

"I don’t mind answering those," Jinki says. "I’m not usually on shows late at night, so I imagine any questions you or your listeners have might be a little different than the usual ones I get."

"Oh?" Jonghyun eyes him suspiciously. "Be careful, Onew-ssi, you’re going to get me in a scandal."

"I’m sure your listeners wouldn’t do that to you.”

"True -- they probably can think of better questions than I can." Jonghyun laughs and turns to the nearby screen that updates with the text messages viewers send in. "We already have a bunch of questions about your ideal type, and some other ones as well...do you want to pick yourself, or should I just grab one?”

Jinki shrugs. "You can pick."

"Alright then, I'll go for the first message, in honor of your first japanese album: ‘SHINee is known for being noona-killers, but do you really prefer someone older, or is that just what you say because of your debut song? Would you ever date someone younger than you?’" Jonghyun laughs when he finishes reading the question. “I can’t say I know what you’ve mentioned in your past interviews, but that was a pretty direct way to ask if you’ve been lying.”

“I can see why they might wonder about that,” Jinki says. “But I’ve honestly never lied when I said I’d prefer dating someone older. I suppose if someone younger was interested in me, I might still consider it, but I can’t say I’ve ever really had feelings for a younger person.” Jonghyun's eyes meet his as he leans closer into the mic. "I have no experience with dating, either, so it’d be nice to have one of us know what we’re doing. I wouldn't mind a partner taking the lead with me."

Jonghyun stares at him a moment for a long moment, cheeks turning red. "Really? That, uh... surprises me."

Jinki rests his chin in his hand and tilts his head with a coy smile. He might be pushing it now, but he can't help it, not after seeing the interest that had flashed across Jonghyun's face at his statement. "What makes you say that?"

"Even with new things, you're always very deliberate, and you definitely don’t like being told what to do. It's hard to imagine you wanting guidance from anyone." Jonghyun pauses. "But I suppose dating is a bit different from other things?"

"I see it as really different, yeah."

Jonghyun laughs lightly. His cheeks are still flushed, but his voice sounds as professional as ever when he speaks. "Well, I'm sure your older fans will be glad to hear that. I hope you're being honest."

"Like I said last time, we're close enough to speak honestly."

“That's true, we have said that before." Jonghyun's fingers tap against the desk as he shifts his eyes over to the monitor. He grabs the screen and turns it towards Jinki, then points to the title of a familiar song. "I think it's about time for us to get back to music, though. Do you want to introduce the next song, Jinki?"

"Ah, yes -- it's the song Jonghyun-hyung wrote for us." Jinki beams as he looks at the queue. "He said he wrote this for our voices, and mine especially. Please enjoy it."

With a quick flick of a switch, Jonghyun starts the song. He pulls of his headphones, and Jinki does the same.

“I still can’t believe you planned this surprise. Are you going to stick around for the rest of the show?”

"I might as well, since I’m your guest. I thought we could hang out together after, too -- I bought something I want to show you."

“Oh, what is it?”

“Not telling you. It’s a surprise.”

Jonghyun lets out a small huff and leans back in his chair. As the music continues to play through the speakers, they catch up on all they hadn’t already discussed over text from the past month until the PD gives the countdown for them to go back on air. They both nod at her, and Jinki puts his headphones on and adjusts in his seat, crossing his legs to get more comfortable for the long interview he guesses might come next.

As he adjusts, he catches Jonghyun watching him. His eyes linger briefly on the slight reveal of skin where his shorts have ridden slightly up his thighs, but before it turns into a stare, Jonghyun is speaking into the microphone again, closing out the song with a few words about its composition process.

Jinki covers a giddy smile behind his drink. Had Jonghyun been checking him out? He’d only worn the shorts to deal with the summer heat, but if getting looks like that that came with wearing them...well, he’ll have to do that more often.

The rest of the radio show passes quickly. He answers a few more questions from listeners, a few from Jonghyun, and introduces a few songs. The ending theme of the show plays as Jonghyun gives his last few words, and when the “On Air” light finally blinks off, he looks over to Jinki with a smile.

“Are you still up for hanging out tonight? It’s pretty late."

"We used to stay out this late, didn't we? I’ll be fine."

"I know, but I figure you're still catching up on rest after Japan."

"I can rest some other time, hyung -- I missed you, and I don’t have to any plans until late tomorrow. I’ll be able to sleep in.”

"I missed you, too." Jonghyun chews on the inside of his cheek, smile a bit shy. "And thanks for being such a good guest. I really appreciate it.”

"Of course." Jinki grins. "When I'm Onew, I’m nothing but well-behaved."

"Right -- that’s the good side of you, isn’t it?” Jonghyun stands and gestures for Jinki to join him. "You can turn that off now, though -- I figure we’ll be drinking a lot tonight."

Jinki laughs. “We’ll see.”

He follows Jonghyun out of the studio and through the rest of the MBC building to the parking lot. Once outside, he trots out of the building ahead, not wanting to let him read the excitement on his face. “Come on, hyung, I want to show you what I bought now that we’re outside.”

Jonghyun lets out a small questioning noise, but hurries after him when Jinki doesn’t respond to it with anything more than a grin.

He hadn't told Jonghyun that he had driven here himself in his new car, or even that he’d bought one. The extra money from their Japanese promotions had been more than enough to justify the splurge, but Jonghyun didn’t know that, and the idea of seeing his hyung's face when he realizes the bright new BMW parked next to his own is Jinki’s was too enticing to ignore.

When Jinki stops besides the car, he pulls the keys out of his pocket with dramatic flair and pushes the unlock button, making Jonghyun startle when the headlights blink. Jonghyun looks between him and the car, one eyebrow raised. "...This isn't your manager's car."

"No, it's not." Jinki grins.

“It’s yours, then?”

He nods. "It's the car from an international idol's income."

Jonghyun leans closer to the car, peering through the tinted windows and whistles. "This interior is way too nice, Jinki-yah. How much did you spend on this? Isn't this your first car?"

"I'm not telling you how much it cost, hyung." Jinki ushers Jonghyun out of the way to the driver’s side so he can unlock his door. “But yeah, It's the first car I've owned all for myself. The one I bought before this was just for my parents."

"You’re so filial," Jonghyun teases. He runs a gentle hand along the body of the car as he circles around the trunk to the passenger door. "I’m guessing you’re going to take me for a ride in it, then?”

Jinki smiles. "That's part of why I wanted to visit. I can’t drink, since I’m driving, but I figured we could grab some food or you could drink a bit. I miss eating with you."

"You miss me treating you, is what you mean," Jonghyun corrects. "But I did promise you something good this time -- so I’ll leave it up to you where we go.”

He hums, giving it a moment of thought, and opens the door to get into the car, only speaking when Jonghyun joins him. "I don’t think I’m feeling picky tonight, hyung. You can decide where we go.."

"There's really nothing you're craving? Even after being gone for months."

Jinki shrugs. “Not really. Most of what I miss is snack foods.”

“Then we’ll get that,” Jonghyun says. “It’s pretty late for most restaurants, anyway. Let's just stop at a convenience shop and grab some snacks to eat by Hangang. When's the last time you got to go there?"

"I can't even remember..." Jinki says, shifting his attention to the car as he starts it up to get them going. "Maybe a few years ago, right after debut? The river’s such a public space, I try to avoid it."

"I don't think anyone would spot us this late at night."

Jinki snorts. "You'd be surprised. But still, it sounds nice -- we can go there."

"Good. I think it’ll help you relax, after all your promotions and traveling. I go there sometimes alone, and it always helps clear my mind. It’ll be nice to share it with you.”

Jinki doesn't bother to hide his smile. "You're too sentimental, hyung."

"You would be too, if your best friend was gone for months."

Something about Jonghyun's tone makes Jinki hang onto the sentence with a tightness in his chest. At the next red light, he steals a glance at Jonghyun's expression, only to find him staring at the window, reflection impossible to discern with the neon lights from the buildings lining the roadside. When he recognizes one of them as a convenience, he braves breaking the silence. "Is this an alright store to stop for snacks? You know the area better than me."

"This'll be good, yeah. We're close to the park, so our food will still be warm if we get anything we need to heat up."

Jinki nods and pulls into the small empty parking lot.

When the automatic doors slide open, Jinki tugs his hat down lower and scans the small shop, only straightening his back when he sees that it's empty. Usually, people don’t recognize him without makeup, but he doesn't want to risk being spotted or chased by fans on his first night back.

Jonghyun nudges him and heads down the first aisle before spinning around to face him. "What kind of snacks do you want? Chips or sweets? Or some kind of meal we can heat up?"

"I'd rather have bit of everything than a full meal. I've missed all our usual snack foods. Those chips you got me didn’t last long enough," Jinki admits.

Jonghyun laughs. "I missed your appetite, you know. It gives me an excuse to snack."

He returns to the front to grab a basket, then walks down the shelf, pulling boxes of crackers and bags of chips from the shelves until his basket stuffed to the brim. Figuring Jonghyun might want something to drink, Jinki gets a basket of his own and picks up a single bottle of soju, only to have it swiped out of his hands the moment when Jonghyun suddenly steps behind him.

“Hyung?”

“I already promised to pay, remember? Let me handle it.”

Jinki pushes his tongue against the inside of his cheek. Somehow, Jonghyun's insistence on treating feels different now that he knows Jonghyun is gay. "If you say so."

“I do.”

The slide of the store's doors opening followed by a rumble of giggles from the front turns Jinki away from Jonghyun’s smile. He stands on his toes to check out the group, swearing inwardly when he sees it's a full group of girls in fashionable clothes. Though he knows that not that every group of girls would have his fans, it certainly increases the probability.

He pulls his hat lower again and tries to tuck his long hair under the brim, hunching his shoulders as he stares back at the liquor section with focused interest.

Jonghyun spots the same group immediately and moves to hover beside him, blocking him from view. He places a hand on Jinki's shoulder to get his attention and leans up to whisper in his ear. "You can sneak off to the car, I'll get the rest of what we need.”

Jinki sighs with relief. “Thanks, hyung.”

When Jonghyun's hand drags off of him as he ducks down, he suppresses a shiver and hurries out of the shop. His heart isn’t just racing from the fear of being hounded for autographs, and when he reaches the car, he has to take a deep breath to stop it from bursting out of his chest. He'd forgotten how often Jonghyun's touches bordered on sensual -- he'd have to get used to that again.

Just a few minutes after he recovers, Jonghyun taps on the window of the passenger side with a grin and lifts the bags to show his prizes.

He unlocks it quickly, eyes widening when Jonghyun pushes a bag full of soju bottles into the backseat. "You're not planning on me sharing that with you, are you? I'm driving."

"Damn, I forgot.” Jonghyun laughs. “I’m so used to me driving or us getting a cab. I guess I'll just drink what I can, and you can have whatever’s left."

"I guess I'll have a lot of free liquor, then...you've probably lost any tolerance you had last year since I've been gone." Jonghyun reaches over to flick at the brim of his hat, trying to knock it off, but when it stays, wiggles his fingers against the steering wheel and grins victoriously. "Seem like you've gotten worse at bullying me, too."

"I never bully you, Jinki-yah." Jonghyun pouts. "It's called teasing."

"Well, whatever you want to call it, I don’t mind."

He starts up the car, heart lifting at the lingering smile he catches on Jonghyun’s face. It feels so good to have things are already back to normal -- and if Jonghyun is going to tease him like he used to, he should be able to do the same without drawing any suspicion.

Emboldened, Jinki places his hand on Jonghyun's headrest and turns to look behind him to back out, bringing their bodies close as he focuses on looking for traffic behind them.

Jonghyun smiles nervously, eyes fixed on a neutral spot ahead of them until Jinki finally pulls out and moves away. "You’re really worried about hitting someone, huh?"

"This car's too expensive for me to risk it, yeah."

When Jonghyun makes a quiet noise of agreement, Jinki glances over at him, now worried he’d gone too far. Had that been too much like flirting? Or did Jonghyun just look awkward for some other reason?

Worrying his lip, he continues to drive towards the river. The remainder of the trip is silent. When they find a parking lot, Jinki pulls into a spot and cuts off the engine. “Well, here we are.”

Jonghyun rests his hand on the door handle as if about leave the car, but turns to him. “Are you alright? You seem a bit...off, since the store.”

"Do I?" Jinki swallows and fiddles with the keys still in his palm. "Sorry."

Jonghyun's expression softens. "You don't need to apologize. I think I’m the one that made things awkward...I know you’re used to me being the talkative one."

"You have been a little quiet."

"Yeah, sorry." Jonghyun scratches the back of his neck and sighs. "It's hard to explain, since it doesn’t quite make sense. We only saw each other a month ago, and we talk over the phone all the time, but...I guess I'm just worried we won’t get along as well as we used to.”

Jinki smiles, relieved to hear that the problem isn't him. "Is that really all that's worrying you?"

Jonghyun smiles back at him sheepishly. "I guess so, yeah."

"I don't think you should worry, hyung. If we can keep in touch over nothing but text for months, I think we get along just fine. And we've always had an easy time talking in person. I don't think it'll be different now."

"You're right." Jonghyun shakes his head at himself. "I'm just overthinking again. I'm doing too much of that lately..."

"Don't worry about it, seriously." Jinki assures him with a squeeze of his shoulder. Reaching into the backseat, he pulls out the bag of soju bottles and places it on Jonghyun's lap. "You'll feel more talkative after a few drinks."

Jonghyun laughs. He leans against the car door to open it, then gestures for Jinki to join him with a wave of his hand. Jinki scrambles grabs the snacks from the back, double-checks the locks of his car, a and jogs to catch up with Jonghyun on the sidewalk path he’d already started down. Once in stride with Jonghyun, he slows to a walk, following his gaze up to the moon

"It's always pretty this late," Jonghyun comments.

"It is," Jinki agrees.

He spends a short moment staring up, then looks back down to adjust the bags in his hands, afraid to linger for too long. Already, it feels too romantic, and his chest is aching with the thought of how much more perfect it would be if he were sharing this with Jonghyun as a partner and not just a friend.

Jonghyun turns to him with a small smile. "Let's get a spot on the grass, so we’re out of the way if anyone comes through. We can still see the river from there.”

When Jinki nods, Jonghyun leads him to a grassy hill a few meters from the nearest light on the sidewalk. The moment he sets the bags on the ground, Jonghyun sits and reaches for a bottle of soju, uncapping it quickly to take a drink and scrunching his nose at the taste.

Jinki pulls the bag of drinks towards him to grab the soda he had spotted in it earlier. "You know, when you were quiet earlier...I was worried you were nervous about me driving."

“Not at all. I’d trust you with my life, Jinki-yah.” He raises his glass towards Jinki for a mock toast and grins broader when Jinki meets it with his soda.

He smiles back. “Thanks, hyung.”

The quiet that settles between them is comfortable now, unmarred by the awkwardness and misunderstandings that had been there before. But Jinki still feels unsettled. Alone by the river like this, there's no distractions to keep him from relearning every curve of Jonghyun's jaw that he’d missed, and with Jonghyun in a sleeveless shirt, every muscle of his full arms is defined in perfect shadow as he rests back on his hands in the grass. It’s hard not to stare.

He forces himself to turn out to the river when Jonghyun turns to slip his now-empty bottle of soju back in the bag.

"Do you remember that night in Japan after your concert? When we wandered around for a bit and it started snowing?” Jonghyun eases himself back onto the grass with a content sigh. “Tonight kind of feels like that night, somehow..."

"Huh." Jinki takes a drink from his soda, watching the movement of lights across the riverbend. "You think so?"

"Yeah," Jonghyun says. "I mean, we're not in the middle of the city right now -- and it's kind of the opposite of it in a way, since you're coming back here instead of staying behind in Japan...but it feels similar to me."

"I get what you mean, though I'm not sure why it feels that way,” Jinki says. He remembers the weight in his chest that night: how badly he had wanted to say something more meaningful than a simple goodbye, and how afraid he'd been of the consequences. The weight isn't gone, but it's changed -- there's no fear in behind it now, only a pleasant pinch of longing and tension in his chest that comes and goes with Jonghyun's smile. He rolls over onto his side and props his head up on his elbow to look at Jonghyun. "You didn't know I was gay back then. That’s a pretty big difference."

"That's true," Jonghyun agrees. His lips soften into a smile that Jinki can't place as the silence sits between them. He grabs the hem of his shirt and flaps it to relieve himself from the heat. "It wasn't so damn hot and humid then, either."

Jinki laughs. "It was snowing, yeah. That's definitely the biggest change from now."

"Besides you thinking I was straight, too...I guess there’s more differences than I thought." Jonghyun lets his shirt fall back against his stomach and sighs. "Never mind. Forget I said that.”

"If it feels that way, it feels that way, hyung." Jinki shrugs. "And it’s possible we had some sense about each other, back then -- I think a part of me wondered sometimes, even before Young bae mentioned it.."

"Really?" Jonghyun’s eyebrows lift with interest. "I’ve never heard that before -- I like to think I do a pretty good job of hiding that from other people in the industry."

“Well, we’re more than just industry friends now. I had no idea when we first met. But as we got closer, there were things that made me wonder..." Jinki trails off, trying to think, and grins at the first memory that comes to him. "You remember that time you were late getting ready and I followed you into your room? You have that picture of two shirtless boys up on your mantle."

Jonghyun laughs. "Ah, that one...I actually bought it for the colors more than the subject, but I can see how that tipped you off. A straight guy probably wouldn’t have put that up in their room."

"Yeah, but it still wasn't enough for me to be sure -- not enough to say anything myself." Jinki takes a deep breath. "If Young bae hadn't outed you that night on accident, I’m not sure I ever would have told you."

Jonghyun lowers his eyes, keeping his voice to a whisper even though they’re still completely alone. "Do you think you ever would have told anyone?"

"No." Jinki takes a fistful of grass into his hand and yanks it from the ground, only to let it fall back to the ground as a disarray of strands. “I’d already decided not to say anything about it a few years back, when I realized I was gay. I didn’t think anything would change enough to make it okay for me to talk about it.” He swallows. “Even though I was pretty sure you wouldn’t hate me for it, I didn’t know how to say it. I'm not good at confessions."

#jongyu #hyung au #long fic #we're getting closer to the end....and the good stuff #i'm tryin to edit the next part as fast as i can TT

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behind-the-screen-of-bangtan · 6 years

Text

The musters

The musters are yearly fan meetings where the boys interpret some of their songs but mainly play games or skits for ARMY’s enjoyment.

1st Muster

Held on: 140329 (Seoul)

Albums of the event: #1, #2, Weibo #1

Can be found in: Memories of 2014

The announcement and extracts of the shows were published on Youtube. There were also some tweets around the event:

first announcement

ticketing

announcement

D-1

D-Day

thanks

link to the Naver article

The NOW 1 was released as merchandise of this muster while the NOW 2 was shot while they toured the event in Europe and America during the summer.

2nd Muster

Zip code 17520

Held on: supposedly 150613

17520 stands for 17 520 hours (so 730 days, so 2 years) since debut and thus spent together with ARMY. Some photos of the concept were posted in the boys’ birthday albums.

An invitation for ARMY was published on Youtube.

The event was canceled due to MERS and postponed to 24 January 2016.

Zip code 22920

Held on: 160124

Album of the concept

Can be found in: Memories of 2016

22920 stands for 22 920 hours since debut and thus spent together with ARMY. A manual about how to use the BTS standees was published to show ARMY the different poses they could take next to it

@GetOnSwag found some of their outfits:

j-hope: top

Jimin: top

V: top

Jung Kook: top

The pictures for the merchandising were taken at 502스튜디오 (502 Studio), where episodes 104 to 106 of Run BTS! were later filmed.

3rd muster: ARMY.Zip +

Held on: 161112-161113

Albums: Spoiler story (Chim puppy) (Eng ver), the event

Can be found in: ARMY Zip+ DVD

Symbols (square, round, triangle) that already appeared in the comeback trailer for O!RUL8,2? and Skool Luv Affair make their comeback.

The infamous skit House of Army was filmed for that muster (related tweets: #1, #2, #3). The boys all had a different role:

Jin: himself watching over Army under a disguise (delivery man, banana, clock)

SUGA: uncle

j-hope: mother

RM: Kim Army the daughter

Jimin: puppy

V: big brother

Jung Kook: father

The boys filmed their Chuseok live from the 13 September 2016 after the shooting of this skit.

4th muster: Happy Ever After

Held on: 180113-180114

Teasers: poster #1 (on Twitter), poster #2

Album: stage sketch

Can be found in: Happy Ever After DVD

Outfits and accessories identified by @GetOnSwag: list

Along with the first poster, another teaser was published on Instagram. It shows the eight recurring items that can be linked to the boys. The connections were found by _macchamilktea and jhopeah on Twitter. As for the eighth one, the bottle, it contains their memories in the form of colorful clouds and has labels such as “Worldwide”, “The Wings Tour The Final”, or “BTS 3rd Muster”.

Concerning the main poster, it shows a factory to create bottles of memories. It’s handled by the boys and full of little references.

Following the production line we have:

The scroll and the color purple are associated with RM. He’s the Recipe Messenger thus the “clouds recipe” machine.

His outfit looks like the one he wore on the 24 September 2017, for the Super Concert. The bag is probably a reference to the one he had for a while (x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x) and that his mother disliked (found thanks to Reddit). During 2 Cool 4 Skool and ORUL8,2? he had glasses in both the concept and the MV. As he’s also famous for his clumsiness, the glasses are broken and repaired with tape, something he actually did during a fansign on the 6 July 2013. He also broke a pair during American Hustle Life and in BTS Comeback Show, where we also discovered the tomato lamp. It’s a gift from Hoseok for Namjoon’s birthday.

The lollipop and the color green are associated with j-hope. He’s the compounder, he reduces the sweet moments symbolized by lollipops to dust.

As the main dancer, obviously he’s dancing, the “ho! ho!” and his pose indicate he’s doing his favorite move from “Save Me”. His outfit is the one from the performance at Music Bank, on the 22 September 2017. A BOMB from that day was released. Next to him is a Bearbrick in reference to Hobi’s hobby of collecting the figurines. He posted photographs of his collection on Twitter (here’s a partial list of the figurines) and showed his Snoopy during the Episode for the group’s first birthday. A Bearbrick was even featured in his poster for BTS Begins.

The fact there are seven lollipops is probably to remind the seven members.

The cotton candy and the color red are associated with V. He’s the chef, the machine next to him turns the lollipop dust into a memory cloud.

He’s seen harvesting because he considered becoming a farmer before becoming an artist.

The field forms the logo for the fandom, namely ARMY.

The cutlery and the color orange are associated with Jin. He’s the taster, he checks the memory clouds before the bottling.

Jin is the only one who’s not in his corner but at another place. He has two sugar gliders, Odeng and Eomuk. He posted several times on Twitter with them: x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x. We also saw them in Mnet’s BTS Comeback Show. He’s learning how to play the guitar. You can see him play in one of his Eat Jin episode with Jimin and Jungkook (around 3:50). He also played during the 2016 Fanmeetings in Japan (it’s probably where his outfit is from) and in his Puma Bog Sock cf. Jin is known to like the color pink (cue the pink lamp) and food. He has a personal show called “Eat Jin”, available on Youtube and Vlive for the recent ones.

The ribbon and the color yellow are associated with Jung Kook. He’s the decorator, thus the ribbons and probably the tape that he puts on the bottles of memories.

The fact he’s lifting the conveyor belt and the pink dumbbell are there to remind us he’s the most muscular in the group. The bag and the hat are references to Bon Voyage S2 in Hawai. The trophy in the bag is a reference to his lines in “Mic Drop”:

Did you see my bag It’s full of trophies

Lastly, his outfit is a reference to the one he wore for the 2017 K-POP World Festival in Changwon.

The quill and the color pink are associated with SUGA. He’s the labeler, thus his desk with all the labels ready to be written on to indicate which memory the bottle contains.

The mic is a reference to his iconic move at the end of “Mic Drop”. The fact he’s sleeping and the lounger remind his reputation of being lazy/always sleeping.

The ladder and the color blue are associated with Jimin. He’s the curator, thus his position near the shelves where he put the bottles of memories.

The yellow blanket, his outfit, his hair, the calico cat, and the telescope are all reference to his solo intro for LOVE YOURSELF Her, “Serendipity”. The plaid shirt is something Jimin wears often (x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x), especially yellow ones (x, x, x, x, x).

More items were dispersed here and there:

The flowers from the cover of Love Yourself承 Her

The top part of the Army Bomb, the group official lightstick

V’s tiger necklaces and Vmin’s swing.

V showed the green pendant in one of his solo VLive (starting 4:59) and said he associates himself with a (baby) tiger and that he bought it with Jimin in New York.

Concerning the swing, Jimin and Taehyung played around one during their stay in the U.S. to record Dark & Wild and film American Hustle Life.

The flower from the Puma Courtstar campaign

Jimin’s manggaetok.

Jimin is associated with those glutinous rice cakes because of his soft-looking cheeks that reminded fans of the treat.

Jin’s Mario collection. He even danced with a Mario plushie during “Just One Day” practice)

Jin’s birthday gift to Jimin (found thanks to Reddit)

Sope uniforms.

Sope is the name of the subunit formed by SUGA and j-hope. They have their own show, Hwagae Market (pre-opening, teaser ep1, ep1, ep2, ep3, special section in the 4M followers celebration, ep4, ep5), they made their debut during the 2016 fanmeetings in Japan but they had already sung during the 2016 Festa party (starting 58:13) as SOPE-ME. The BOMB of their training can be found here.

The house from the 2017 Festa.

During the 2017 Festa three songs were released: “4 o’clock”, “We don’t talk anymore Pt.2″ and “So far away” featuring Jin and Jung Kook. All the illustrations for those songs can be connected to form a house under a full moon.

The mailbox (우편 is written on it and simply means “mail”). It’s just an assumption but since the previous musters were named after zip codes, I guess it’s to reference them.

On the right, we can see the logos for BTS and ARMY together.

The seven colors associated to the boys are all aligned below: red/V, orange/J, yellow/JK, green/JH, blue/JM, pink/SG, purple/RM. You can also see them on the balloons surrounding the giant bottle in the middle.

The remaining elements are the trophies won by the boys. We can see the prizes from the following events:

Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards

Mnet Asian Music Awards

and 8. Seoul Music Awards

Inkigayo

Golden Disk Awards

Show Champion

Billboard Music Awards

In the preview of the DVD little details were added to the poster. It’s actually drawings made by the boys to describe themselves:

RM drew Koya, his BT21 character

j-hope drew Mang, his BT21 character

V drew Yeontan, his dog

Jung Kook drew a camera

SUGA drew Holly, his dog

Jimin drew accessories

Jin drew RJ, his BT21 character

During the show

Jimin was wearing a Thom Browne outfit (cr.).

We see the recipe:

Memories of BTS and ARMY

~ memory cloud instructions ~

You only need a few ingredients for your handmade memory cloud

• 4 cups of Happiness • 1 cups of Awesomeness • 2 cups of Laughter • 1/4 teaspoon of Hope • 3 tablespoon of Joyfulness (can use other things, such as Delight, ****) • 1/2 tablespoon of Wonder • 2 drops of pink Love • 3 cups of pleasure

Gather up these ingredients: it’s time to make the happy memory you’ve been craving. If you’d like your memory cloud to be a different color, substitute the two drops of pink love coloring for something else - *** excitement, green hope, or purple joy would all make ******* memory cloud hues.

The ingredients have colors fitting with the boys’ (credits and all my thanks to @honeyhoneysugarsugar for seeing Jin’s and V’s, you can see their reblog in the notes of this post):

Wonder: orange = Jin

Joyful: pink = SUGA

Laugh: green = j-hope

Touching: purple = RM

Awesomeness: blue = Jimin

Happy: red = V

Hope: yellow = Jung Kook

You can also see a little Apollo Belvedere torso behind Jin in his room. There was also an Apollo Belvedere during the Mnet stage of “Blood, Sweat & Tears.”

During Jin’s delirium we can see an alpaca - an animal often associated with Jin, RJ is an alpaca for example - but also a text that’s actually Windows’ Blue screen of death.

____________

Apart from the adventures of the ARMY BOMB fairies, we also got a sequel to House of Army with Guardians of the ARMY BOMB. Dad Jungkook, big brother Taehyung, as well as uncle Yoongi, thus make their comeback after their first apparition in the 3rd muster. We see them being protected by the guardians of the ARMY BOMB.

Jin published a picture of RM as a guardian for the leader’s birthday in 2019.

#BTS #Bangtan #Muster #17520 #29920 #ARMY.Zip+#Happy Ever After

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