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daechwitatamic · 11 months

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2. Retrograde || KSJ

(banner by @itaeewon)

Title: Amalthea (Masterpost) - Part 2: Retrograde

Rating: NSFW - minors go away i mean it Genre: best friend's older brother!au, angst smut fluff trifecta Pairing: Seokjin x female reader Beta team: @yoongiphoria, @here2bbtstrash, @kookstempo

Summary: You can count on two things in life. One: that your lifelong best friend Minji will always be there for you, in your corner, your brightest star. Two: that you'll never be free from her older brother Seokjin's orbit - the gravitational pull is just too strong.

Warnings: language, underage drinking, a broken bone, angst, kissing, implied protected s*x/ kind of the immediate aftermath to it, TIME JUMPS WC: 9.5k

Part 2: Retrograde

Retrograde: (noun) when celestial objects appear to travel backwards

You broke your wrist when you were ten.

You were riding your bike around the dead end. Minji and Jungkook were away at a cousin’s house. Seokjin was down the street, on his skateboard, trying the same kickflip over and over again. Sometimes he made it. Sometimes he didn’t. You weren’t riding together.

You don’t remember hitting the curb. You don’t remember what had distracted you. You don’t even remember flipping forward over the handlebars. Just the sickening burn that began at your wrist and pulsed in sluices up towards your elbow.

Seokjin had run to your house to get your dad, the forgotten skateboard drifting by itself towards the run-off drain, where the wheels snagged and it stilled.

Your dad had picked you up and carried you, sobbing, into the backseat of his sedan, buckling you in. Then he’d turned and looked at Seokjin, who was standing, stone-faced, behind him.

“Your dad’s not home,” he’d said, not a question. “I don’t want to leave you home alone - you can ride to the hospital with us. I’ll call your house when we get there and leave a message to explain.”

No one had cell phones yet, back then.

Every bump of the car jostled you and made you cry harder, holding your injury close to your chest. You weren’t even embarrassed to cry in front of Jin - it hurt so bad it eclipsed any other emotion.

And then Jin had reached out and held your uninjured hand, giving it a squeeze.

“Hey,” he’d said, and then put on a heavy accent. “What be a pirate’s fav’rite letter?”

You’d thought about it. “Arrrr,” you guessed, proud to have figured it out.

Seokjin had grinned at you across the backseat. “You’d think it’d be ‘R’,” he cried, amped to get to deliver the punchline as intended, “but his true love be the ‘C’.”

“Good god,” your dad groaned from the front seat. But despite the unrelenting burning in your arm, you’d smiled.

–

The summer you were twelve, you’d played hide and seek outside at night. The idea came on out of nowhere. Jungkook - eleven, that year - had a few friends sleep over one night, loud boys named Taehyung and Jimin, and someone had suggested it. You remember thinking your parents wouldn’t allow it, but Mr. Kim had said it was okay as long as you stayed out of yards if you didn’t know the family that lived there, didn’t leave the dead end, and came back inside by ten o’clock.

The neighborhood felt different at night; it felt different to be set loose like this - free to run and shout and hide as the day’s sticky humidity faded into something comfortable.

You’d split up, everybody running in separate directions, dark figures darting under streetlights and plunging into the shadows. You stuck close to the houses, trying to stay out of open spaces. You left your own yard, creeping two houses down, curling up in a ball next to someone’s shed.

I am a rock, you thought, hugging your knees as tightly as possible, making yourself as tiny as you could. I am just a rock. The dirt beneath you, gritty, dug into your knees and shins. In the distance, you could hear both trucks on the highway and the chorus of frogs in the streams behind the neighborhood. Sweat trickled between your shoulder blades.

I’m just a rock.

You heard someone’s footsteps approach you, in the dark, and then pause. You held as still as possible, trying to barely even breathe. Don’t see me, you thought. I am just a rock.

The moment stretched, tense, and whoever thought you might be a rock decided to move on, their footsteps carrying on down the sloping yard. You released a breath, unfolding a little, looking around. Seeing no one, you stood, brushing dirt and pebbles from your legs.

Seokjin appeared out of nowhere from the other side of the shed, and you’d stepped backwards instinctively, pressing your back against the grainy wood of the shed, holding your breath for the second time in minutes.

He spotted you, clearly - he froze, feet away from you, looking at you through the darkness. You didn’t move a muscle, hardly dared to breathe. It was so dark that you couldn’t make out the features on his face. He was all shadow. But somehow you knew - knew - that his eyes were on yours.

“You don’t see me,” you’d whispered to him. “I am just a rock.”

You’d heard him laugh, low, the surprised sound leaving his lips without permission.

He should have tagged you out. But after a moment, he’d carried on, leaving you to hide again in peace. “Goodbye, rock,” he’d said, barely louder than a whisper.

—

You were fifteen the first time you got drunk - really drunk - in Minji’s basement. You shouldn’t have - none of you should have been drinking in the first place, being underage. But Mr. Kim had gotten called into work and… it just sort of happened.

Seokjin had a friend over and they’d holed up in the basement with a handle of vodka the friend had hidden in his duffle bag. You and Minji and Jungkook had been on them like buzzards, trying to get in on the fun.

“Absolutely not,” Seokjin had told Jungkook, more serious than you’d ever seen him. “You’re only fourteen. You can hang out with us if you can keep your mouth shut, but you don’t get any.”

“Hyung -”

“No,” Seokjin had stayed firm, and Jungkook had caved.

“You two,” Seokjin had said, turning his gaze to Minji, who looked back at him innocently, like she was ready to follow every rule and would never put a toe out of line, “can have a little.”

Three hours later, you made it up the stairs to the kitchen barely alive, using your hands to help you balance on the steps. You’d gone up for water, but as you stood over the kitchen sink you were distracted by your reflection in the window. And then, the backyard beyond your reflection.

Somehow, you made it outside, tripping down the wooden steps to the grassy yard, spinning and landing heavily on your back. The night sky swirled above you, the stars laughing at what an idiot you were. The grass beneath you tickled, but you gripped it in your hands, desperate to make the spinning stop.

Somehow, Jin appeared next to you in the grass, a few feet to your left. “How’s the yard?” he asked.

“Spinning,” you told him thickly.

He reached out a hand and patted your arm twice. “It’ll stop.”

You stayed there in silence, watching the stars, clutching the earth beneath you, hoping you wouldn’t get flung off the ride.

“Sometimes,” you heard yourself say, your voice seeming to come from the constellations themselves, the moons too far away to see, “I feel like everyone looks right through me.”

You felt Seokjin’s eyes on you, but he didn’t say anything.

You nodded, licked your dry lips. “Yeah,” you said, like he’d asked you something, like you’re agreeing with something he’d added on. “Like maybe I’ll be see-through forever.”

–

You almost got a boyfriend when you were sixteen. There was a guy from school - you’d talk on the phone late at night, sit together at lunch, share answers to homework assignments before the first bell rang.

On a particularly rainy Saturday, he’d taken you on a date to the nearest shopping mall. It had been okay - you’d had pretzels, wandered through a few department stores.

It had been okay - until you ran into a bigger group of kids from school. You’d joined them for a while; they were his friends, and he jumped in their conversations easily, someone who belonged. You, the see-through one, smiled and listened. Always on the outskirts.

And then he’d said, “Hey, we’re going to go back to J’s dad’s house. You’ll be okay?”

It had taken you longer than you were proud of to realize he was leaving with them, leaving you alone. It had taken longer than you were proud of to feel pissed, to realize you should have done anything except smile and nod.

He’d been your ride there.

Your parents had been working. You’d called Jin - your emergency adult.

“Y/N?” he’d sounded confused. You’d never called him before.

“Are you busy?” you’d asked him, the shame crawling over you, burrowing under your skin and making you want to rip it off. “I need a ride. I’m stuck.”

“What?” His voice was sharp. You could hear background noise stop, like he’d hit mute on what he was watching or paused the game he was playing. “Where are you? What happened?”

You lowered your voice, giving him the shortest version of the story possible. You were met with silence, stretching so long that you pulled the phone away from your ear to check your service, to see if you’d dropped the call. “Jin?”

“I’ll be there,” he’d said, something tight in his voice. “Wait for me by the food court.”

“Okay,” you’d whispered, and hung up.

Outside, it rained in sheets. You stood and watched the waves of rain move left to right across the parking lot. People jogged in from their cars, hoods on or umbrellas aloft. When Jin’s car pulled up to the curb, you ran through the rain, trying to shield your hair with your hands. It didn’t work at all. By the time you slid into the passenger seat, you looked half-drowned.

“Thanks for coming,” you’d said, eyes on your shoes as Seokjin put the car back in drive and pulled slowly back into traffic.

“It’s fine,” he’d said, still terse. It was unlike him. He was so rarely serious, so rarely not making bad puns, so rarely not laughing like a windshield wiper. It made these moments feel… heavy, somehow.

He drove in silence for a little. You stewed in the passenger seat, sifting through embarrassment and anger and also - somehow - happiness to be here now, with Jin, even if it was at the cost of every cent of your dignity.

Then, he seemed to notice the shopping bag on the floor of the car, tucked between your sneakers.

“What’d you get?” he asked, voice light again.

“Shirt,” you told him, reaching down to pull the top from the bag and hold it up. “Cute, right?”

“Snazzy,” he agreed. “I think I should get one. You think they have my size?”

You laughed despite yourself. “You’re so lame,” you told him. “Besides, this totally isn’t your color.”

“Please!” he blustered. “I can look handsome in anything. I’d look amazing in that.”

You were really laughing by then. Minji used to get so annoyed that he made you laugh when he got like this - you were encouraging him, she said - but you genuinely found him so funny that you couldn’t help yourself. You always had.

“Sure, okay,” you told him, stuffing the shirt back into the bag. “You keep telling yourself that.”

As you neared your neighborhood, though, your mood sank again.

“Jin?” you asked, looking over at him. He raised an eyebrow at you, his eyes on the road.

“Could you maybe… not tell Minji? About today?”

He didn’t answer for a while, not until he came to a red light and could turn and look at you completely. “Why?” he asked.

You could feel it as your face reddened as you had to put words to your embarrassment again. “She… was right about this guy. I should have listened to her. I just… I’m not ready to hear I told you so.”

Seokjin stopped in front of your parents’ house so you wouldn’t have to run across the street in the rain.

“I never saw you,” he promised you solemnly. “But Y/N? You shouldn’t let people treat you like this. That guy’s an ass.”

You gave him a tiny smile before extracting yourself from your seatbelt. “Thanks,” you’d said, and then darted through the rain like it would melt you.

–

Jin left for college at the end of the following summer, weeks before you turned seventeen. You watched through a gap in your living room curtains, curled up on the couch in your pajamas, as Mr. Kim and Jungkook helped load Jin’s boxes and bags into Mr. Kim’s car.

It felt unfair, that he got to leave, that he got to turn right out of the dead end and have a life - and you were still trapped here.

When Minji came out of the house, giving her older brother a reluctant hug, you rose, feet taking you unbidden on a course in their direction.

Minji had grinned at you. “I’m glad you’re here, you can help me move my shit into his room.”

“Yah!” Seokjin had protested, pushing her shoulder lightly. “No one said you could have my room!”

Minji stuck her tongue out at him. “You won’t be here to stop me!” She started back into the house, then turned over her shoulder and called to you, “Come on, the bed will take forever to move!”

She disappeared into the house, leaving you and Seokjin alone next to Mr. Kim’s sedan, which was packed to the brim.

You didn’t look at each other; Seokjin leaned against the car with his arms crossed, eyes on the ground. You faced the car, and him, the house on the other side. You watched the reflection of his profile in the car’s window.

What could you even say to him? What words could you pull out of your soul that weren’t a total cliche, or completely inappropriate, or both?

Don’t have too much fun.

Don’t forget me.

Please, don’t go away and fall in love without me.

I really don’t want you to go.

In the end, you told him, “See you at Christmas?” and he’d nodded silently, and you’d said, “Okay, then. Good luck with everything.”

Then you’d slinked into his house to help his little sister commandeer his bedroom.

–

That’s only part of the story, though. If you’re flipping through moments you’d shared with Jin… there was one you skipped. You avoid it, give it a wide berth, like if you step too close you might knock it from its pedestal. Like you might get sticky fingerprints all over its protective glass just from looking, somehow.

Mr. Kim had thrown Jin a graduation party in June, two months before he left for college. It had been wholesome while the sun was up - the Kim men had taken turns at the grill, little cousins had run barefoot through the yard, a table had been laden with gifts and cards, blue balloons had been tied to the porch railings.

At night, though, it seemed like both children and adults disappeared, leaving only you in-betweens. Blind eyes had been turned to the cases of beer stashed beneath the sodas in the buckets of ice. Cars full of kids parked up and down the dead end street, unloading loudly and entering the even louder house.

You’d stayed close to Minji, hadn’t even had that much to drink. But the house had been packed with people, too loud, too hot, and you’d found yourself slipping out the kitchen door sometime around one in the morning.

The lights from the house cast squares onto the driveway. Past them, a figure sat on the ground at the end of the driveway, long legs stretched out in front of him.

You’d made your way over slowly, warily. Not sure if you were wanted, not sure if you were intruding.

He’d turned to see who it was when you approached. You think you probably imagined the way he’d softened when he saw it was only you.

“You good?” you’d asked.

“‘Course,” he said - which should have been a clue that he might not be. A one word answer? From Kim Seokjin?

You paused next to him, still a bit unsure. “You sure? You’re… sitting on the ground alone, outside your own party.”

Jin huffed out a laugh at this. “I just needed some air. Some space.”

“Oh,” you said, feeling instantly like you were ruining the space he’d been craving.

“You can stay,” he’d said quickly, reading your response correctly. “I mean… I don’t mind if you’re here.”

Relief flooded you. You’d leaned against the side of the car parked there - not Mr. Kim’s sedan, you didn’t know whose car it was - and eyed him thoughtfully.

“Are you scared?” you asked. Something about the question felt right, felt like you were zeroing in on the problem.

Seokjin laughed again, a little sarcastic. “Me? Never.”

You smiled at his back, seeing right through his bravado. “About what? What’s the biggest thing?”

He’d shaken his head, pushed himself to his feet, brushed gravel from his hands, then his ass. He’d turned slowly, walked back towards the house, paused just a foot from you.

It was always you and Seokjin, in the dark.

You were always more honest with each other in the dark. Inside, he’d be all dad jokes and video games, kitchen skills and skateboard tricks.

You needed some shadows to get any idea what he was thinking. It had always been that way.

“I dunno,” he’d said, hands in his pockets. “Classes. Dorms. Not having my dad around. Not being here to watch out for Jungkook.”

“That’s more than one thing,” you’d pointed out.

He’d nodded seriously, but his lips twisted in irony, like he was thinking a very clever joke and holding it in.

“Okay then,” he said. “Let’s go with: losing my place, here. Coming back and finding out that everyone just… moved on without me.”

He’d brushed past you then, reaching out to touch your elbow lightly on his way by.

It’s been over a decade since that night, and you still don’t know if he meant his family, or you.

You’re mad at yourself the second you’re back in your car. You’d gone there uninvited, you’d cooked for him. Obviously it meant something - neither of you were stupid enough to think it didn’t. So why had you run the second he’d tried to talk to you?

You berate yourself the whole way home. And you’re not the only one who’s pissed. Jin texts you before you’re even out of the neighborhood, though you don’t see it until you park at your complex, grabbing your phone from the cup holder where you’d tossed it.

[11:28 AM] Jin 😎: im confusing YOU? [11:28 AM] Jin 😎: im not the one who came to cook you breakfast and then bolted the second it got serious [11:28 AM] Jin 😎: THAT’S confusing

Defensiveness rises up in you like a wave. Where does he get off lecturing you after the shit he pulled two years ago? Hands shaking, you fire back, “no, you bolted BEFORE breakfast. the second you got your jeans zipped, if i remember correctly.”

You throw your phone onto the passenger seat like it’s burned your hands, closing your eyes and pressing your head back into the headrest, breathing out slowly through your mouth to calm your racing heart. Fuck, those had been fighting words, for sure. But you’re pretty convinced he deserves it.

When you get brave enough to pick it up again, he hasn’t answered. You’re not sure if you’re relieved, or more worried. With a sigh, you collect your things and head inside.

“Roomieeeeee!”

You’d barely unpacked since returning from Christmas break your freshman year of college, your suitcase open on your dorm bed, a small pile of dirty clothes on the floor next to you. You’d been about to move it all to the hamper, it just hadn’t happened yet. Your college roommate, Sheyla, had just burst through the door, crowing happily when she saw you.

You got along well with Sheyla - you’d probably stay friends after college. But no one could take Minji’s place. When you and Minji decided to go to the same college, you’d agreed to live separately, to preserve your friendship. You both knew you needed breaks from each other to maintain the love.

“Hey!” you called back, flapping a hoodie out of the ball you’d scrunched it in and smelling the pits. Into the dirty pile it went. “How was your Christmas?”

Sheyla tossed her bag on the ground and flopped backwards onto her bed, fingers reaching to turn on the fairy lights you’d strung up together.

“Honestly? Boring. No one lives home by me, it was old people central the whole time. How about you?” She looks at you, suddenly sharp-eyed. “Did you see that guy? Your neighbor?”

You glanced at the door in alarm, as if Minji could have possibly materialized there, just in time to overhear.

Sheyla clocked this and laughed. “She can’t hear us! I told you your secret was safe! So, did you?”

It had been your first holiday break going home, your freshman year of college. You’d seen Jin sparingly over the last two years - two winter breaks, two summer breaks, and the odd weekend here or there if he had things going on.

You hadn’t had a conversation in that whole time; you’d been to the house to see Minji, but you hadn’t crossed paths. You texted each other on your birthdays, maybe once or twice if something interesting happened.

It had been weird, feeling things shift, noticing him slowly become someone who used to be in your life.

“Yeah, his family came to my parents’ Christmas Eve party,” you admitted. “But we really didn’t talk. He didn’t even come sit in the same room as me and Minji.”

It was true; you’d stayed in the kitchen for most of the party, wanting to avoid all your parents’ work friends, who were going to ask you about how college was going, and did you like your classes, and had you made new friends, and did you have a boyfriend yet and - you were just too tired for it.

You and Minji had sat on the kitchen counter, crossed ankles dangling, sipping at beers and watching people pass by the doorways - one out to the living room, one out to the dining room.

Seokjin hadn’t come into the kitchen once - but you knew he was out there, because you could hear his wild laugh, his high-pitched complaining as he scolded Jungkook for something he’d probably started in the first place, his voice bouncing over the low tones of the others.

Jungkook had slunk into the kitchen near the end of the party. “Jinnie wants a beer,” he’d told Minji, reaching out a hand, somehow knowing you two had a six-pack behind you.

“Why can’t he come get it?” she demanded as she reached back, fingers closing around a glass neck.

Jungkook shrugged. “He told me to get him one.”

Minji narrowed her eyes at him, the way she does when she’s assessing, deciding something. Then she handed him a second bottle. “That didn’t come from me,” she told him, and he gave her a salute before grabbing the beers and scooting back out.

“Are you and Jin fighting?” you asked, leaning back against the wooden cabinets behind you.

“Not unless he’s fighting without telling me,” she laughed. “If that’s the case, I’ll hear about it later, I’m sure.”

It had bugged you, that he seemed to be avoiding you. Then you’d glanced out into the living room, and there he was, the beer in hand.

He was standing facing Jungkook, but his eyes weren’t on his younger brother. They were on you - and Minji - but they seemed… far away. Wistful, somehow. Then, he’d noticed you looking and he’d pulled his gaze back to Jungkook fast. But the redness took over his ears and crept down his neck almost instantly.

You still weren’t sure what that was about. The most hopeful, foolish, idiotic part of you hoped it had a guess.

“Well,” Sheyla had said with a sigh. “There’s always next time.”

You’d slept over at Minji’s that night, the two of you cramming into her double bed now that you were too old for sleeping bags on the floor. In the morning, you’d rummaged in the kitchen for something to drink - something with bubbles, preferably, but water might have to do - when Seokjin had shuffled in behind you.

You’d turned, surprised, a cold can of seltzer in your hand. “Oh,” you’d said, suddenly very aware that you were still in pajamas, hadn’t bothered with a bra. You crossed your arms, hoping for nonchalance, and tried not to eye the grey sweatpants Jin sported. “I didn’t think anyone else was up. Morning.”

He’d stretched, the movement exposing a strip of belly between the sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt. “Morning,” he’d answered, voice gravely from sleep.

You’d watched as he started the kettle. He kept his back to you, turning over his shoulder to see if you were still there after a minute. You wanted to ask him - well, lots of things. How was college, how was he, why was he avoiding you, why was he being so fucking weird?

His back, wide and solid, said don’t. So you’d taken your seltzer and retreated back to Minji’s bedroom, wondering if you imagined the feeling of his gaze burning on you as you fled.

–

You were twenty when Seokjin graduated from college. You were home, too, most of your school stuff yet unpacked the morning they took his graduation pictures in the front yard. Jungkook looked barely awake, rubbing his eyes sleepily as Minji fussed over trying to get his hair to lay flat. Seokjin stood in the center of the yard in his cap and gown, and you could hear him in your head complaining that they were taking too long and could they please just hurry up and take the picture. You smiled over your cup of coffee and then removed yourself from the window before you could get caught watching.

He’d had a graduation party that night. You really considered not going; it had been four years since Seokjin had left for college, two since you and Minji had, and in those four years you’d barely interacted - just the niceties when your paths had to cross, when your orbits swung you too close together again. It seemed pointless to show up when you wouldn’t even talk, when the days of stealing quiet moments away from everyone else were long gone. It seemed pointless to go, just to spend the night cataloging all the ways things had changed in four years, getting your feelings hurt for no reason at all.

Jin had said he was afraid of everyone moving on, but he’d nudged you on your way - so, really, you ought to just go.

Minji hadn’t understood. How could you explain it? “I don’t think he really wants me there,” you’d tried, sticking to the most basic truths. “Jin and I don’t really talk these days.”

“Since when did you and Jin talk in the first place?” she’d demanded, half right. “You’re there as my friend. Now come on, get changed!”

The sun was setting when you finally let yourself out the front door, calling goodbye to your parents, and making your way across the street. It was log-jammed with cars - a rare sight - and people milled through the front and side yards, red cups and plates of food in hand. It felt a bit like deja vu - you’d done this for all three Kim siblings for high school (though you and Minji had a joint celebration) and now you’d go through the cycle again as you four finished college in waves.

Despite Minji’s needling, you’d felt a little off-kilter, a little out of place. The feeling had sent you into the backyard to look for the drinks before you even found Minji.

As always at their summer parties, there was a keg tucked under the deck - you had to know they put it there, or else ask someone. You’d never find it on your own as a first-timer. You threw your shoulders back to cast off the squiggly feeling in your stomach and made your way down, grabbing a plastic cup and feeling around for the spigot.

You heard a familiar sound across the yard - Jungkook’s voice, whining that he was out of beer.

“Hyung will do it,” Seokjin said, and before you knew it he was sidling around a group of moms with their toddlers to reach the keg - and you.

He stopped when he saw you, then ducked his head and came closer, Jungkook’s empty cup in hand. His ears were tinged pink and you weren’t sure if it was from standing in the sun or… something else.

“Hey,” you’d said, taking your thumb off the spigot and watching the foam on your beer slowly fizz away. “Congrats on graduating.”

“Thanks, I guess,” he’d said, sending you a sideways grin as he pulled the spigot from your hand and started filling Jungkook’s cup.

“You guess?” you squinted at him. That grin was disarming, devious.

He shrugged. “I don’t feel like I really did anything that special. Showed up for class, turned in my homework.”

“You’re right,” you deadpanned. “I rescind my congratulations, effective immediately.”

His grin widened as he laughed, pleased that you were playing along. His gaze lingered on you before he checked on his beer again, making you warmer than you’d been walking through the almost-setting summer sun.

Things felt… charged, suddenly. Energized. You were used to Jin feeling comforting, like when you were kids. You were used to Jin feeling like an emotional black hole, everything inside you gravitating towards his center, as you did as a teenager. But this… this was new.

“Are you done at school?” he’d asked, shifting slightly closer. He released the spigot, letting the foam on his beer start to settle and you picked it up again, filling the top of your own where it had settled and left empty space.

“One more final, but it’s online,” you’d said.

Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Jin watch you. You wondered what would happen if you said it - told him how you felt, or told him you’d felt like he didn’t want to be near you the last few times you’d seen each other, or told him how badly you wanted your hands on him.

“What’s taking so long?” Jungkook shouted from across the yard, starting to make his way over. When he saw you at the keg, his steps slowed, understanding crossing his face.

“I had to share,” Jin explained, waving a hand at you. You handed him back the spigot, finished.

“Minji’s inside?” you asked them both, stepping out of the shadows and back into the sunlit yard.

“I think so,” Jungkook said, and you’d given them both a quick wave and headed in. You didn’t miss the way Jungkook nudged at Seokjin’s ribs, causing him to spill the top-third of his beer.

Long after sunset, after the food had been cleaned up, after the families with little kids had said goodbye and headed home, you found yourself wandering through the backyard again. Minji had gotten a phone call from the guy she was dating and went into her room to talk - you could have sat in there with her, she wouldn’t have minded, but it kind of gave you the ick to listen to her being so sickly sweet and moonstruck.

Instead, you combed the house for a familiar face. Jungkook had a whole group of friends over, and they were playing a drinking game in the basement. Your parents, who had joined the party in time for the food, had told Mr. Kim goodnight and headed across the street, telling you to text them if you decided to stay the night with Minji. Most of Jin’s college friends who had come from out of town had filtered out.

You finally found Jin, nearly at midnight. He was in his room in the dark, lit up by only his phone screen. His door was mostly closed, and you hesitated in the hall, deciding to leave him alone and go back to bugging Minji in her room.

You hadn’t even turned around to retrace your steps when he called your name. Heart thumping, you’d pushed his door open a little further, hovering in the doorway. He was laying on his bed, on top of the covers, his phone screen casting his face in blue.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, turning his head sideways to look at you.

“Minji’s on the phone with the boyfriend,” you explained. “I needed to escape.”

Jin laughed, a little sputtering.

“What are you doing?” you’d asked, taking one tentative step over the threshold. You’d been in Jin’s room very rarely in your years growing up here. It seemed like new turf.

He told you the name of the webtoon he was reading, flashing the screen at you so you could see.

You had nodded, silent, stuck in the middle of his room. You didn’t want to leave, didn’t know how to leave.

“Can I… read with you?” you asked, tentatively. You didn’t think, didn’t plan, didn’t map out how this would work or look; you just wanted to stay with him, just wanted to get closer.

Seokjin surprised you; he immediately shifted over on his bed, closer to the wall, making space for you.

You had to tell yourself to move, had to beg yourself to move before you stood still so long you made it weird. You’d never been in or on Jin’s bed, and you’d never laid that close before - certainly not since you and Minji were little kids, all laying on the floor together to watch a movie. Never in context like this.

You lay next to him gingerly, afraid to break the spell, afraid the moment would burst like a bubble on a child’s sticky, eager fingertip. You felt exactly that way: like you wanted it so much, but you knew if you touched it, it would be gone.

Your head rested next to his, close enough that you could hear his even breathing, but your bodies stayed a good foot apart.

Still, even with the space between you, you could feel his warmth. His bed smelled like him - something deep and smokey. It could have felt thrilling - it could have felt forbidden. Instead, inexplicably, it felt comforting, peaceful. Like home.

And eventually, as you stayed there, you settled in. Your breathing slowed, your pulse calmed, and you actually got caught up in the comic on the screen. Jin held his phone above you both, waiting patiently until you murmured, “Okay,” before scrolling each time.

You don’t remember falling asleep. What you remember is waking up slowly, immediately unsure where you were. The early morning light was unfamiliar, grey. You stretched, feet reaching for the end of the bed, and then went stock still as you felt someone shift beside you.

Oh god. Had you hooked up with someone? Uncommon, but not impossible.

You took a steadying deep breath, bracing yourself to face your potential mistakes, and cracked one eye open.

Seokjin breathed through his mouth, eyelids fluttering in sleep, just next to your face. You had a split second of absolute alarm, your brain making the equivalent of !!!!, before it came back to you.

You’d fallen asleep reading on his phone. Nothing had happened. But his arm was over your side, fingers resting lightly on your stomach.

You stayed as still as you could, trying to make your brain stop making sounds like a broken motor, hoping Jin wouldn’t wake before you were ready to function like a human. You considered, for a moment, leaning into the situation - rolling into the cuddle, closing your eyes and sinking back down into fuzzy darkness, your face buried in his shirt.

You closed your tired eyes, ready to do just that when your brain suddenly began operating again and your eyes flew open, one hand slapping the mattress in panic.

Minji. If you were in Seokjin’s bed, that meant you were in the Kims’ house, which meant Minji was on the other side of the wall - could catch you, had possibly already caught you.

Heart pounding practically in your throat, you slipped slowly out from under Seokjin’s arm. He had stirred, rolling a little, tucking that arm closer to his chest now that it had nothing to hold. He didn’t wake. You breathed a sigh of relief and started hunting around for your phone. You found it on the ground - it must have fallen off the bed in the middle of the night.

When you checked it, your question was answered -

[1:52 AM] Minji: did you go home??? [2:07 AM] Minji: you could have said goodbye!!! 😠

You press your phone to your chest out of sheer relief. She hadn’t found you, hadn’t peeked into his room on her way through the house last night, hadn’t spotted you two spooning of all things.

“Christ,” you’d muttered, frustrated with yourself for the close call, for falling asleep, for being so stupid over Seokjin even now when you were grown and had separate lives.

You had slinked out of his room on tiptoe, had scooted through the house as quickly and silently as you could, scarcely breathing until you were safely behind the walls of your own house across the street.

You and Jin never talked about it. A precedent, really.

–

The path of your orbit swung you out again - back to college, away from home, back into your world of classes and dorm life. The pieces of your adult life started to click into place as your senior year spun by - grad programs, internships, hints at a life in a different universe than the one you’ve known.

You and Minji graduated, returned for the summer.

There was a night you’d laid across from Minji on the swinging bench in their backyard, her feet in your lap. You two swang gently, eyes on the constellations above you, listening to music play from Minji’s bluetooth speaker.

“Next year’s gonna be weird,” you said, because it was all you could think about, then. You’d gone to college together, but you wouldn’t be together for grad school.

“We’ll be fine,” Minji had murmured, eyes closing.

You’d nudged her with your foot. “Don’t go to sleep. I’m trying to talk to you. I’m nervous.”

She had opened one eye, nudged you right back. “We’ll be fine,” she repeated, more firmly. “It’s not like we’re going to live on campuses in different states. I’ll be right here. You won’t be far, either.”

You lapsed into silence again. The swing tilted you back and forth, lulling you half to sleep.

“I broke up with that guy,” you muttered, half hoping she wouldn’t hear you. Instead, she sat straight up, almost overbalancing the swing and dumping you both on the ground.

“You what?” she asked. “Why?”

“I just wasn’t feeling it,” you explained. You were twenty-one that summer, starting to look at apartments you’d be able to afford while working part-time around grad classes. “Honestly, I was just bored.”

“You always say that,” she accused flatly. “I’ve never understood this about you. Everybody bores you. No one… sticks.” Her voice softens and she adds, “I worry about you.”

You laughed, once, and struggled to sit up. “I’m fine, Minji. None of them were… right. Someone will be.”

“But how will you know?” she pressed. “If you don’t give anyone a chance, how will you know when it’s right?”

Your chest clenched. Because I know what it feels like when it is, you thought, but you couldn’t say that.

“I just will,” you’d muttered, not an answer. You’d gotten up from the swing, heading for the house. “I need some water.”

As soon as you open the kitchen door, Jin jumped a mile. He’d been standing at the kitchen sink… next to the open window.

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Were you listening?” you demanded.

Jin had flushed pink before you even spoke, telling on himself. “No,” he said hotly. “I was just here, and the window happened to be open, and -”

“And you eavesdropped,” you finished.

He faced you, lips pursed thoughtfully. “How come no one sticks?” he asked.

You honestly thought you heard him wrong. “What?” you’d uttered, sure he’d repeat himself and say something else entirely.

“Why,” he said again, more slowly, “haven’t any of the guys you’ve dated lasted?”

There was a roaring in your ears as you stared back at him.

“What am I supposed to say to that?” you countered, your voice suddenly a whisper. “Jin, what do I say to that?”

He stepped closer, looking down at you, suddenly dangerously close to being in your space. He murmured your name, reached for your hand. His thumb stroked the back of your hand once, his eyes on yours imploringly.

What were you supposed to say - “because none of them were you”?

The kitchen door opened with a slam and you leapt apart, Seokjin dropping your hand and wheeling around to face the kitchen sink again. With shaking hands you reached for a cabinet that held cups and glasses, rummaging like you were trying to find a good one.

“Get me one of those, please,” Minji asked, poking you in the side as she passed you, before plopping into a kitchen chair.

“Sure,” you’d said, praying that your voice wouldn’t give you away. Seokjin slipped away, down the hall, into the shadows.

–

“What do you think of the wine?”

You were in spanx, a black velvet dress Minji had bullied you into buying, heels that made your ankles swell, and a lipstick called Pretty Petunia.

The wine was too sweet for your liking.

But for the sake of your date, who’d made you reservations at a fancy Italian place, you’d smiled and demurred, “Not bad. What do you think?”

You barely heard his answer. It was your third date, and you’d been more bored at each one. He hadn’t made you laugh even once.

As the candle flame between you flickered and danced, you downed two more glasses of the too-sweet wine and did serious damage to the bread basket. When your date asked you if you wanted to go back to his place for a nightcap, you lied and said you had an assignment due by midnight for grad school and needed to get home.

When he dropped you back at your parents’, you showered and got into sweatpants. You climbed on your bed and pushed your curtain aside just a few inches, leaning your arms on the windowsill and laying your head on them. Your phone buzzed by your leg - the date.

You didn’t answer.

You kept your eyes on the window, on the Kims’ house.

Seokjin had moved out earlier that day - really moved out, taking everything with him to an apartment a plane ride away.

You hadn’t told him goodbye, hadn’t snuck out to the moving van for one last moment. He hadn’t texted you, hadn’t looked up towards your window.

He’d just left, and you’d sat here and watched him go.

You rotated in place, wobbling as Seokjin slipped further from your life. You adjusted to the procession. Life hurtled on.

–

The first time you brought a boyfriend home, you were twenty-four. Three years had passed since Seokjin moved away, two since you moved out of your parents and into your “swanky” apartment, one since Minji had moved to her own place not too far from you.

You didn’t have any expectations for your parents’ Christmas Eve party - the three Kim kids were around some Christmases, but not all. You hadn’t seen all three of them on the same day since before Seokjin had moved out. You knew Minji was coming - you’d texted. The boys? Who knew.

You were excited to see Minji for the first time in a while. You were nervous to bring your boyfriend around your extended family. You were trying desperately to keep Seokjin from even crossing your mind. You weren’t excited to see him. You weren’t nervous to see him. You tried to keep the Seokjin part of your brain perfectly blank as you led your boyfriend, Daniel, up the front walk of your parents’ house, careful to point out the ever-present icy patch near the front door.

Your parents greeted Daniel warmly. You’d been dating about two months, and he’d met them not that long ago. He was a nice guy, at the end of the day.

“Come on,” you murmured to him, after you’d hung up your coats and taken off your shoes. “I have to introduce you to my aunts. I’m sorry in advance?”

He’d look at you wide-eyed, nervous. “Why are you sorry?”

“They’re just… loud,” you’d said, already steeling yourself for the squeals and hullabaloo.

Daniel held up surprisingly well, smiling genuinely and repeating everyone’s name back to them to make sure he remembered it. He was a nice guy.

Christmas Eve dinner went smoothly. You sat near Minji, the two of you catching up in quiet voices as the loud conversation flowed around you. Daniel, bless him, kept up with the larger conversation, taking a more active role with your family than you were.

After the meal, people floated around the house in groups. Someone put on a Christmas movie in the living room, you helped your mom put desserts out in the dining room.

You were standing in the living room, leaning against Daniel a little, chatting with Minji and watching the Christmas movie over her shoulder when the front door opened, shooting a blast of winter air through the room. That’s what made you look up - the chill.

Seokjin came through the door with his eyes down, working his feet out of his boots before the door was even shut behind him.

“Jinnie!” Minji cried.

A few things happened in quick succession. Your chest clenched, your stomach dropped.

Seokjin’s gaze followed his sister’s voice, then found you. You watched it on his face as he processed - seeing you, recognition and affection flickering to life, then confusion as he took in the stranger behind you, and then his face went absolutely unreadable.

Daniel wrapped his arm around you, hard, pulling you against him wordlessly. He’d never been so assertive the whole time you’d known him.

Later, he’d asked you, “Is there history with you and Minji’s brother? It seemed, when he showed up…”

Weeks later, when he ended things, bitterness caused him to spit, “Call Minji’s brother and cry about it.”

So much for a “nice guy”.

You’d wished you could call Minji’s brother to cry about it. He would have made you smile again.

–

Jin’s shoulders were under your fingers, his ragged breath in your ear, his lips on your jaw. Nothing existed but him. Everything you’d spent almost your entire life hoping for was right here, within grasp - he’d called you beautiful, he’d pressed his lips to yours like he’d die if he didn’t, he kept you safe in the space between your arms if only for a few moments.

Then, he’d stepped away carefully, holding you up a bit until you were steady on your feet again. You adjusted your skirt as he zipped his jeans and stepped away towards the trash bins - to deal with the condom, you realized. Then he was back, close enough that you could see him in the dark again.

You didn’t know what to say to him. You didn’t know how to ask if this was what you hoped it was - if he wanted you, really wanted you, wanted to be with you. You didn’t want to look stupid - stupider - if this was just sex, nothing else.

“You probably shouldn’t come in right after me,” Seokjin said. Was there something glum in his voice, or were you paranoid? “Minji will sniff that out so fast.”

“Yeah,” you said. Your voice sounded warped to your own ears. “Got it.”

Got it. This didn’t mean a thing.

You stayed there, pressed close to the house, hiding in the shadows long enough for your pulse to calm, long enough to start to shiver. You hadn’t gone back inside at all - instead, you’d crossed the street and entered your parents’ house, falling asleep in your childhood bed.

It was fitting. You’d cried yourself to sleep as a child and teenager plenty of times in that bed. Might as well do it again.

In the morning, New Year’s Day, you’d texted Minji, “what’s up at your house?”

She’d answered, “dad just took jinnie to catch his plane. why? whats up?”

You’d played it off, said something like “just wondered if you were as hungover as i am”. You laid on your childhood bed and stared at the ceiling, tracing the bumps and cracks you knew by heart. You reminded yourself that you hadn’t asked Jin for anything, hadn’t told him anything. You had no right to be upset with him.

The only move was forward. So, that’s what you would do. You’d move on, and so would he.

Which doesn’t explain why now, two years later, you’re furious again.

You avoid the neighborhood, try to slip back into your old habits and old routine.

Your mother, of course, calls you out.

“Haven’t seen you in a bit,” she says to you on the phone, a few days after you’d made Jin hangover soup. She keeps her voice so innocent, but you hear the unsaid - you were here so much and then you stopped.

“Want to go out for dinner?” you suggest. “I’ll treat you and Dad to somewhere good?”

“I already started cooking for later,” she says. She sounds sorry, but you’re beyond sure it’s all a trap. She proves you right by adding, “You could come here for dinner, though. I made your favorite.”

Of course you did, you tricky devil, you think darkly.

“Okay,” you say, long-suffering. “I’ll come for dinner.”

“We’ll see you at seven,” your mom says, and hangs up.

You feel entirely like you’ve been hoodwinked. You’re just not sure how yet.

When you arrive for dinner, you walk in warily, half expecting an unpleasant surprise of some sort. But you find just your parents, delicious food, and a quiet house.

You eye your mother suspiciously through the whole meal, but nothing out of the ordinary happens. You help your dad wash the dishes when you’re all done, spend a little time sitting around chatting. Eventually, you eye the clock and tell them you should get home. You give them quick hugs at the door and step out into the night, pulling the door shut behind you.

Across the street, the Kims’ house is all lit up. Minji’s car is parked in the street, not far from your own, which means she’s there too. You wonder how many more days Seokjin will be in town, before he fucks off back to his own city again. He’d said he’d stay for a few weeks, and you’re already nearing the halfway point.

You were stupid to even talk to him again. You were stupid to go to their house, knowing he was there. You were stupid to let him flirt with you at the bar, to nearly let him kiss you. You were stupid to show up, uninvited, and fucking cook for him like a goddamn girlfriend. You shouldn’t have done any of it. You should have stayed away.

You’re all worked up, thinking this, as you stalk through your parents’ front yard, pushing the button to unlock your car. You open the driver’s side door, still fuming, furious at yourself.

The door is jerked out of your hand as someone slams it shut.

Seokjin faces you darkly, one hand still on your car.

“You scared the shit out of me,” you scold him. “Seokjin, what the fuck.”

“We have a conversation to finish,” he says, ignoring this.

You close your eyes, lean sideways onto your car. You don’t have the energy for this. “I have nothing to say,” you tell him, opening your eyes again to look up at him. “I’m sorry I threw a cheap shot at you. All that… it doesn’t matter now.”

“It doesn’t matter?” he repeats, raising an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

You shake your head. “It was so long ago, and it didn’t mean anything… I shouldn’t have even brought it up again.”

His brows furrow. He murmurs your name, the same way he had in the back hallway at the bar. “I don’t think you mean that,” he says gently, and it makes you even angrier, angry that you have to stand here and feel foolish while he gets to pity you.

“Which part?” you snap. “It was two years ago, we haven’t talked in those two years, and bringing it up has been completely fucking pointless, so where’s the lie?”

He grimaces, shaking his head a little. “I wondered for months if I’d hurt you… if you were upset. I was really hoping you weren’t. But, clearly…”

“Fuck you,” you tell him, a derisive laugh edging its way into your tone. “You don’t get to show up out of nowhere and feel bad about it two years later. I’m over it - I’ve been over it. I just never got to tell you to your face that you were an asshole, and now I can.”

“I was in a bad place that night,” he says, trying to explain. “I only -”

“I don’t want your explanation,” you snap, cutting him off. “Believe it or not, Seokjin, I’m not, like, dying to hear the list of reasons why you were out of your head enough to make a mistake like me, that night.”

He literally steps away, eyes wide, his hand falling from your car and slapping the side of his leg as it lands. “Mistake?” he echoes, horrified. “Is that what you think?”

This trips you, knocks you completely off the furious track you’d been barreling down. “What?” you say, unconsciously trying to buy yourself time to process, to formulate a response.

He steps back toward you, closing the space between you. One of his hands comes up and rests on your cheek. For some reason, you let it, staying still and allowing it. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers. “It didn’t mean nothing. It wasn’t a mistake, and I should never have let you think differently.”

And then he’s kissing you, slow and gentle, nothing like the fiery kiss you’d shared two years ago. His thumb strokes your cheek so gently it almost tickles. You open for him, letting him take you deeper, tilting your head back to give him more room as he shifts to press you against your car. Your mouth moves against his, his tongue teasing at your bottom lip. Then he’s sucking lightly at it as you sigh against his lips. Your hands are clutching his jacket, your hips pushing against his like they’re asking for trouble.

And then you’re opening both hands and pushing him away, scrambling to get your car door open again. He looks at you, bewildered, your name a question falling from his lips.

“I can’t do this again,” you tell him brokenly, as honest as you can be. “I can’t do it again. I think it’ll kill me if I do.”

You drop heavily into the driver’s seat, tug the door shut, and pull away. You buckle up as you drive away, Seokjin getting smaller and smaller in your side mirror, standing in the middle of the street in the dark, watching you go.

You drive five more blocks and then pull over, pressing your hands to your face as you gasp for air through shuddering, stomach-clenching sobs.

Seokjin was seventeen the first time you got drunk at his house, really drunk.

He felt responsible, since it had been his own fault - it was his friend Yoongi who’d come over with a handle of vodka. He’d been the one to tell you and Minji you could have a little. So when he watched you use hands and feet to climb the stairs and head up towards his kitchen, he’d followed, to make sure you didn’t fall down and get hurt.

He knew you’d gone outside because you’d left the kitchen door wide open. He’d followed, silently, closing the kitchen door behind himself. You were laying on your back in the yard, hands clutching fistfuls of grass, eyes on the sky above.

He’d laid next to you, a few feet away, asked you how the yard was.

“Spinning,” you’d told him, the word so badly slurred he almost couldn’t tell what you’d said.

And then you’d flopped your head towards him, those eyes swimming with something he thought he could understand, and you’d said, “Sometimes I feel like everyone looks right through me. Like maybe I’ll be see-through forever.”

Seokjin had reached across the grass, taking your hand, lacing his fingers with yours. He’d given your hand one squeeze, and you’d closed your eyes, turning your face back up towards the stars.

“I can see you,” he’d assured you. He didn’t know if you’d remember in the morning or not. But it had felt important to make sure you knew.

He could see you.

He had always been able to see you.

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ehehehehe i hope you liked this update!!! a little peek backwards :) thank you for reading and i hope you continue to enjoy!!!!!

i'm taking a week off of posting because I am traveling for a Family Event (send help) so part 3 will post on Friday, June 16th. thank you for understanding!

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hansolmates · 3 years

Text

g.p.s - god, parents suck | m

summary; seokjin just wants to enjoy the disney treatment and you are more than happy to deliver pairing; dilf!jin x hotelier!reader genre/warnings; crack, humor, gets a lil emotional, teenage daughter issues, one very minor allusion to a daddy kink LOL, a very vaguely implied sex scene, so CHEESY w.c; est. 5.1k a/n; wee my first jin fic! this is for @btsghostiewritersnet #DynamiteDads event! I was supposed to go to disney this year but sadly miss rona had to cancel our plans so this is just pure self indulgence. as always thank u to @eerieedits/ @chillingtae for the disney dream fic banner!

if you like it give it a bippity-boppity-boop on the like and share buttons! ✨✨✨

“Left, left!” Seokjin cries, holding onto the emergency break for dear life, “not my left, your left!”

“We’re facing the same way! We have the same lefts!”

“Clearly not if we’re going right, Sweetheart.”

“But the GPS says to go right!”

“In four-hundred feet, keep left at the fork,” Google Maps interrupts pleasantly.

“That’s it. Kim Yeji, pull over!”

“But Daaaaaaaaad,” yet his daughter complies, sadly pulling over at the edge of the road. She doesn’t even have to step on the gas, just turns the wheel slightly so she can land slowly, pathetically on the gravel.

“Angel,” Seokjin says levelly, reaching over to unclick the seatbelt. “I will drive the rest of the way, I gave you time to practice for you have to drive to college but we can’t get on the highway like this.”

“You never let me do anything.”

“What, I do! Who let you go to prom in that sequined excuse for a dress?”

“Uncle Namjoon!”

“Fine, I’ll give him that! Who let you dye your hair to a crisp—”

“Uncle Hoseok!”

“Uncle–” Seokjin is affronted, jabbing the seatbelt in it’s locked position when he gets in the front seat. “Forget it, let’s just have a peaceful drive for the next few hours until we get to the hotel,” he removes Yeji’s phone from the holder, placing it in her lap.

“Dad,” she waves her phone around, pointing to Google Maps, “you need the GPS to get there.”

He scoffs, “No, I don’t. We’ve been to Disney plenty of times. I know where we’re going.”

“Oh yeah? When’s the last time we went to Disney?”

“When you were two? Three?”

Yeji relaxes in her seat, not ready to argue with her dad once more. “Alright, lead the way,” she gestures vaguely to the empty parkway, devoid of life for miles.

Seokjin is undeterred, reaching over the console to pat Yeji’s blonde hair. He turns on the radio, only to be met with the sound of crunchy static and terrible country music. Cutting the radio, he immediately switches to an old Disney CD, telling Yeji to let it go as he pulls into the open road. Reddish dust clouds around the car briefly, ripping against the tires as they drive off to their hotel.

“Is this the Princess Hotel?”

“Nope, this is the Prince S Hotel.”

You can’t help but grin at the way your current customer’s face falls. He’s a handsome thing, all plush and pillowy in the cheeks and lips. Despite his daughter hanging off his arm like a limp noodle—after all it’s past 2AM and they’ve probably been driving for hours—he still manages to look somewhat put-together despite you telling him they’ve got the wrong place.

“Told you, use the GPS,” her daughter chastises weakly, tucking her cheek in his shoulder.

His kid’s a pretty girl, kind of reminds you of when you were a teenager. “The Princess Hotel is about an hour away on the other side of the Disney resorts,” you say slowly, noting from the way the girl is swaying on her feet that her father must be equally as tired, “although, I would suggest staying here for the night. Your daughter’s about to fall asleep on my counter.”

At the pointed look you’re giving the teen, Seokjin puts a protective hand on her slim shoulders. “Yeji-bear, why don’t you lie down for a bit,” he leads her over to a spare couch. “We’ll call our booked hotel,” he says shortly, looking over his shoulder to give you a forced smile.

Ah, you’ve seen this scene one or two times in your days working at Prince S. A father too prideful to admit he may have messed up just a little with the directions, and a child that probably argued or simmered so hard on the way they’re passed into a stupor on your lobby couch. Tonight, or your early morning is a little special though, you’ve never seen a father as handsome as the one in front of you, exasperatedly calling up their real hotel reservations.

“What? My reservation has been revoked?” her daughter groans when he jostles around his lap, knocking her head, “how can you do that? Past the time? I thought this was Disney!”

You drum your nails against the counter, using your other hand to pull up your guest list for the night on the computer. The father, now furrowed in the face, walks up to you and leaves his daughter on the plush couch.

“One double bedroom for the weekend, please,” the father pulls his cards out, flicking it to your side of the counter. He places down his car keys in the available holder, “I parked out front, you do valet right?”

With a nod, you get to work. “Take it they weren’t very accommodating?”

“They gave our hotel room to some Make-A-Wish Foundation kid!” he cries exasperatedly, hands in the air as you patiently book the room. Your eyes linger longer than usual on his driver’s license and ID: Kim Seokjin. Even his driver’s license mugshot looks handsome. He rests his arms against your counter, despondent. “Is it terrible for me to hate on some kid with a terminal illness?”

“A little,” you shrug, slipping his keycard under his elbow, “but I mean according to your, Yeji-bear,” you can’t help but giggle at the nickname, “if you used the GPS you’d be at the correct hotel.”

“Don’t remind me,” Seokjin glares, hauling his and Yeji’s luggage in one hand, “baby, let’s go upstairs c’mon.”

You watch the small family trudge to the elevators, sleepily walking forward like zombies. No one spares you a second glance, they never do, so it gives you ample courage to take a look at Kim Seokjin’s toned body. Broad shoulders, a Dorito-trimmed waistline, and long legs that you want to climb up on.

Oh, daddy.

“Hey,” Yeji pops up on your counter, looking much perkier than she did hours before, “do you have my dad’s car keys?”

Trying not to raise your brows at your young guest, you give her a smirk, leaning over the counter. A spunky thing, with sharp eyes with a pretty cat-tipped eyeliner shape that has her looking well put-together. You wish you had your shit together as a teenager, you barely have it together now.

“I do,” you quip, “why?”

“I wanna get Starbucks,” she says simply, “the pineapple matcha is to die for, and I want to drink as many summer specials as I can before it’s over.”

“Valid,” you reply, going into your master key to retrieve all the guests’ keys. Taking Seokjin’s from its holder, you note the expensive make. Peering up from your desk, you look at Yeji’s innocent features. Before you place the key in her waiting palm, you snatch it away, “Why do I have the feeling you’re doing something that you’re not supposed to be doing?”

Yeji tilts her head, “I don’t think it’s any of your business,”

Sassy. You like it. “Get me a grande matcha frappe and your secret’s safe with me.”

“Deal.”

Watching Yeji drive off in the large Hyundai Palisade gives you a little twinge of worry, but you quickly tamp it down to motherly instinct. If you were Yeji’s mom—which you’re definitely not, you’d be worried. Naturally, you feel similarly.

The hotel phone rings, the red light from 921 blinking on your switchboard. Flipping down the room number you pick up the receiver, “Prince S Hotel, how can I help you?”

“You do booking, valet, and housekeeping?” Seokjin’s exasperated voice says in your ears, “who would I call if I want breakfast?”

“That would also be me,” you reply wryly, twisting the curly wire between your fingers, “we advertise ourselves as a hotel for the quality, although we are much smaller with only thirty rooms. Sort of like a bed n’breakfast, getting the true royal treatment.”

“Would the royal treatment consist of some extra towels and a continental breakfast?”

“You got it.”

A little cliché of you to do the whole “whistle while you work” segment—a lacy apron to make sure your uniform doesn’t get dirty, a spot of coffee to keep you peppy and setting everything up on a gold trimmed cart. You didn’t think you’d see Seokjin again, especially after how upset he was about his room.

With a little rap on his door, Seokjin invites you inside to set up. Their room overlooks the valley as opposed to the busy roads, so it’s a perfect way to rise with the sun. He immediately reaches for the coffee as you drag your little cart in, completely ignoring the cream and sugar on the side. After a long sip, he moans in pleasure.

“Ah,” he exhales, a sound that has you teeming. You grip the handlebars a little tighter than usual, “Maybe it was fate that we ended up here.”

“Maybe,” you fight the urge to bite your lip, because Seokjin has no idea how cliché of a line that is. He isn’t even speaking directly at you, talking in front of the sun like it’s his morning routine. “Say, have you seen Yeji around?”

“Ah,” you shug, pretending to be oblivious, “I think she went out for a walk.”

He turns to you, giving you a quivering brow, “She hates walking. Probably calling her friends in Korea or something.”

Of course she doesn’t like walking, you think, that’s why she took your car for some overpriced drinks.

Instead, you place the fresh pancakes and sides on the guest table, making sure everything is organized and in order. You place the towels atop the haphazardly made bed, making sure to put two mints on top. It isn’t customary to include mints, but you think the mints your hotel has taste great and deserve to be shared around more often than not.

“So, it looks like you’re ready for Disney,” you remark, taking note of his outfit. He has on blush mid-thigh shorts, stretchy and made from a canvas fabric that looks airy and comfortable. Around his neck is a little portable fan, and on his head is an old Mickey baseball cap.

“Ah, just for today and tomorrow! Sunday is my ‘me’ day,” Seokjin says, dashing across the room at the sight of fresh food, “Yeji is meeting with some cousins and will be spending the rest of the weekend with them.”

“Sounds like a fun weekend,” you remark, turning to leave.

“Will you be working the rest of the weekend?”

This is supposed to be small talk. You try to convince yourself that Seokjin is just being polite, wondering if his service is going to be impacted by you being around or not. There must be nothing sexual, or just mere attraction, going on between the two of you. Well, maybe on your side of things. The pink shorts and the baseball cap are doing things to your body that you barely understand. Unfortunately, the eager apples of his cheeks and the innocent upturn of his lips lets you know that any possibility of returned affections is virtually nonexistent.

“It’s my weekend off,” you fight the twinge of excitement when you see Seokjin pout, “but Park Jimin relieves me, and he’s definitely a much better host than I am. He’ll make sure everything’s taken care of.”

“Does he make better pancakes than you?” Seokjin asks, swirling a bite in a ribbon of maple syrup.

“I’m afraid not,” you smile, “he makes a mean breakfast burrito though.”

He shrugs listlessly, eating slower. He takes his time to make sure every pancake is cut in equal two-centimeter pieces, taking his time as if he’s savoring the last of your home-cooked meal. “Not sure if I’ll be completely satisfied then.”

With a firm smile, you wheel your cart out as fast as you can. You can’t keep up the facade now, not with your trashy mind and your dampening panties ruining your sense of self. Quietly slamming the door behind you, you’re met with Seokjin’s spitting image.

Yeji tilts her head at you, eating you alive with her dead-on stare. She places the keys and your matcha beverage on your cart.

“Did my dad confuse you or something?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“He’s like that,” Yeji shrugs, taking a long sip of her drink, “don’t worry, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

A good word? With an uneasy smile you wheel away, ignoring the burn in your cheeks.

“Can I have the keys?” Yeji asks the next morning, minutes before your shift ends.

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. You’re sure Yeji is a wonderful kid and has a good heart, but she’s seriously putting your five-star Yelp review on the line. Cocking one eyebrow you say, “What, need your Starbucks fix?”

“Do you know how to parallel park?”

“Why, need a teacher?”

“It’d be better to have someone nearby to make sure I don’t park into a guard rail.”

“Does Seokjin approve?”

“You obviously know the answer to that,” Yeji replies, “and you and my dad are on a first-name basis, huh?”

Fighting the heat in your cheeks, you busy yourself by locking up the money box and key tin, but not before grabbing the keys to the Palisades. “I’m doing this for you because I have impeccable customer service skills,” you feign haughtiness, leaving your front desk and scanning your ID to clock out.

“Not because you think my dad is hot?” she follows you out the door.

“Do you always talk about your dad like that?”

Yeji is silent as she takes the keys from your grip, and you follow her in the passenger seat. A scent that’s fruity yet musky fills your nostrils, and you hug your arms for comfort. This is painfully awkward, at least in your point of view, but Yeji pays no mind as she connects to her Spotify playlist and turns on the air conditioner.

“I’m not one of those prissy daughters that try their damn hardest to make sure their dad doesn’t date,” Yeji murmurs, adjusting the mirrors, “anyone my dad dates will be better than Hyehwa. He deserves to be happy for all that he’s done for me.”

“Hyehwa?”

“The biological carrier for nine months,” Yeji replies dryly.

Your heart pinches, squeezing against your ribcage as you put two and two together. Hyewha, who you’re assuming is, or was Yeji’s mother, is definitely out of the picture. Yet seeing how confident Yeji is with herself, and how much he loves her father and wants him to be happy, is clear in your eyes.

“You are one cool kid,” is the only thing you can say, hoping you don’t have that silly heartened look in your gaze.

It seems that you do, because all she does is roll her eyes and put the car in drive.

It’s nearly one in the morning when you get the call.

You’re off the clock, but it’s graveyard hours and you and Jimin are craving pizza. So while Jimin tends to the last minute guests, you pick up a cheesy pie and hide behind the desk while Jimin does his job.

You’ve polished off half the pie when the main phone rings, and Jimin sighs heavily. Late night and early morning calls are the absolute worst.

“Get the hospital on speed dial,” Jimin jokes, but not really because the last time someone called at one, you really did wish you had an ambulance on-site.

“Prince S hotel,” Jimin spins the cord between his fingers, looking like a dreamy teen heartthrob as he leans against the counter. He immediately swings the phone over to your greasy fingers, “it’s a personal call.”

Wiping your hands on the box, you raise a brow. “Hello?” you ask, wholly confused.

“Mm, it’s Yeji,” the voice slurs on the other line, “I need help.”

“A-are you drunk?” you say, incredulous.

“Yeah, me and my cousin snuck a bottle downtown,” Yeji sounds nervous, and you unconsciously grip the phone tighter, “can you pick us up? I can drop you my location if you give me your number, please. My dad trusted me with the Palisade this weekend, I can’t let him know what happened. I know I’m always trying to get under my dad’s skin and whatever but I don’t want him to lose my trust, what we did is a dumb mistake.”

A part of you feels for Yeji, you’ve done dumb shit like this when you were young. All those fond memories are nothing but memories, and definitely not reflective of your current life now.

The rational, intelligent part of you knows that you should probably call Seokjin right now and tell him what’s going on. You don’t really want to get involved in their family matters, especially when as of late you’ve been inserting yourself in Yeji’s antics.

With a sigh, you pull up your Lyft app, already knowing whose side you’re on.

It takes no more than fifteen minutes for you to arrive at the scene, Yeji and what you assume is her older cousin sitting on the curb of a dilapidated Krispy Kreme, sadly polishing off a whole box of glazed donuts, Well, her cousin is polishing off the box, Yeji is taking nibbles at her proffered donut.

You sigh, pulling Yeji up. You see tear-streaks, her previously perfect cat-eye smudged off and running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, sounding not as inhiberated as she did before, “I bothered you.”

“Not at all,” you soothe, running a hand down her braids. You try not to melt when Yeji nearly leans into your warmth, but backs up at the last second, “I’m happy that you called. Would rather know that you’re safe now than later, yeah? I’m not mad at you,” you assure, pulling a crumpled brown napkin from the pizzeria to dab at her ruddied cheeks.

“Hi, I’m Jungkook,” you turn your head dangerously slowly towards the cute muscle pig who’s still sitting on the curb, “Ya deserve a five-star Yelp review for this service—”

“But I’m mad at you,” you pointedly ignore his drunken charm. He looks old enough to drink, which only further annoys you because he should be the one taking care of Yeji, “get in the damn car, Youngkook.”

“It’s Jungkook—”

“Get in.”

He swallows his tongue, and you notice Yeji stifling a giggle at your attitude. She wordlessly hands you the keys, clamoring in the front seat while Jungkook takes the whole back row. Yeji tiredly informs you the address to her cousin’s hotel, and you drive off into the night.

“Did I ruin my dad’s chances with you?” you think that Yeji has no clue what she’s saying, but there’s a little sliver of heart in her tone. Her face is pressed against the window, the cold glass on the verge of keeping her awake as she stumbles in and out of consciousness.

“You could never do that,” you mumble, and you smile when her eyes willingly flutter shut.

“Hey, babe,” you practically hear desperation in Jimin’s voice.

“Jimin, no,” you already know that his request is sitting prettily on the tip of his tongue, “it’s my weekend off. I’m not getting out.”

“But someone requested your pancakes,” he whines, and you can practically feel his pout on the other line, “and he said and I quote ‘I’ll be able to tell that you made them.’ I feel threatened!”

“Did they offer to pay in diamonds?”

“N-no. But he said it’s his daughter’s special weekend and he’d be really thankful if you’d come by and make your breakfast for him.”

Daughter? Yeji. You sigh, rubbing a hand over your face. You have your own room separate from the hotel, a deal that has you living rent free in exchange for your hard labor five days a week. “Heat up the stove for me and crisp the bacon,” you mutter, hanging up and throwing the phone under the covers.

Tugging your hair back and throwing on a large hoodie, you put on your slippers and pad down the little sidewalk that leads to the hotel. The sun beats down on you immediately, willing you to go back to your air-conditioned room to fall back asleep. Swimming through the soup that is the Californian air, you shuffle inside Prince S and make a beeline for the kitchens. You brush through busy employees, flashing a quick smile and “good morning” as you get to your station.

Jimin is already there, sitting at your workspace. All your ingredients are sitting out: flour, eggs, butter, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk, and fresh berries. However, Jimin makes no moves to attempt cooking, instead looking at you with pursed lips and waiting for you to get a move on.

“Get your butt off my counter,” you slap his thigh disapprovingly, pulling your sleeves up to start mixing the ingredients, “you’re dirty.”

“I embrace being dirty,” Jimin replies majestically, kicking his legs back and forth. His Doc Marten creepers wave in your vision, “thank you for swinging by. He said that it was really really important that you come in and make them. Daughter’s request.”

“They’re lucky they’re a cute family,” you mutter under your breath, although the words aren’t laced with malice.

The batter is fluffy and puffy, rising with the scent of melted butter and caramelized sugar. You take careful fingers towards the berries, creating a smiley face in the uncooked pancakes.

“Is your maternal side kicking in?” Jimin says in your ear, and you swing at him with your spatula.

“Leave me alone, art is being made.”

“Sure,” Jimin hops off the table, patting your shoulder, “I got a date with room 69,” you roll your eyes, there is no such thing as room 69. “So please continue to be awesome and finish off this favor by delivering it to Mr. Kim’s room.”

“Jimin, no!” you don’t care that half the staff is staring at you amusedly, the other half uncaring because they’re so used to the two co-managers. “I’m not wearing—I’m not wearing pants.”

You gesture to the obscene amount of bare legs out in the open. California’s hot as hell, you try to wear as little layers as possible. However, in the workplace you like to keep a modicum of decency. Even though Kim Seokjin is fine fine fine, you have decorum.

But Jimin’s already off to visit the guest in room 69 and you’re stuck with a pile of fresh hotcakes and none of the workers want to get involved in your shenanigans. Typical. Begrudgingly, you force your Hallmark-esque smile and arrange the gold trimmed cart, taking care to put extra berries in the fruit dish.

It’s a simple transaction. Get in, drop off the food, accept the tip if Seokjin feels generous, and get out. The door to room 921 looks larger than life, intimidating like the gates to heaven. You knock firmly, but gingerly. “Room service?” the voice that escapes your lips is your sugary professional voice, one that makes you wince immediately.

A muffled “coming!” has you bristling at the door. You curse yourself, looking at your bunny-clad feet and your legs disappearing under your hoodie.

As soon as Seokjin pops his head open you blurt, “I swear, I’m wearing shorts underneath this.”

“Uh,” and that forces him to look at your legs. Dammit, it was a good intention but the wrong way to go. “Good to know,” he coughs, opening his door wider.

The room is much messier on Seokjin’s side of the room, now filled with Eeyore and Baymax memorabilia. A large, white Baymax plush sits innocently at one side of his untouched bed. You crack a smile at that.

“Where’s Yeji?” you ask lightly, putting both stacks of pancakes down on the available table. You absently wipe the crumbs off, leading the little pile of food-crust to the garbage can.

“Yeji?” Seokjin asks, “why would Yeji be here?”

The way you put the cutlery down instantly slows, “You called Jimin this morning saying you needed pancakes specifically made by me to give to Yeji.”

“Who?”

“Jimin?” you raise a brow, losing your high-pitched commercial tone. “Tiny, annoying blond guy?”

Seokjin stares.

You stare back.

“Yeji’s at her cousin’s townhouse,” Seokjin states plainly.

“No, you called and said Yeji wanted pancakes—” No.

Yeji, or Jimin, or both called you and set it up.

“Oh, Jimin’s an idiot,” you tap your head lightly, wanting to bop out any potential embarrassing memory that has burned in your brain, “must’ve misheard. Or is hearing ghosts! Honestly he isn’t the right mind I’m so sorry I reallygottaneedto—”

You can’t even breathe let alone exhale the rest of your sentence, so you instead do the only thing you can do—run away. You don’t bother to exude grace as you plop any trash on the cart from yesterday’s room service, whipping the cart around so fast that the side wheels fly off and pop a wheelie.

“We don’t have to let the food go to waste,” Seokjin says pointedly, probably watching you like he’s watching a comic show as you try to bolt out of the room.

The door is closed, and the little hallway is too small for you to put your body and the cart between the walls. You’ve trapped yourself. Maybe you could just leave the cart and dip? You’re sure there’s at least two extras downstairs.

“It won’t,” you reply dumbly, “I can eat it in the breakroom or something, I haven’t made breakfast for myself yet. I mean, I was kinda craving an avo-toast this morning, but pancakes are always a classic.”

Seokjin snorts at your incessant rambling, carding a hand through his chocolate locks, “I’m trying to ask you to stay for breakfast.”

“You’re trying to—oh,” you mirror his expression, running a hand over your hair so it pulls out of its already messy style. You haven’t done much physical activity this morning, but you feel absolutely breathless as you’re glued to the cheap carpet, taking in Seokjin’s wide glassy eyes

“And if you stay for dessert, I’d like to thank you properly,”

“I didn’t bake dessert,” you hide the shudder in your throat when he steps closer, pinning you against the cart. Your knuckles must be transparent by now due to how hard you’re gripping the cart.

“You didn’t,” Seokjin agrees, “but you definitely brought it.”

You yelp, actually, a whole little dolphin-squeal escapes your lips as Seokjin puts his hand against the wall. You’re actually living a Disney-esque scenario that you do not want to be in. Seokjin’s either trying to give you the Eugene-Signature-Smoulder, or the Prince Naveen charm that isn’t very charming.

“You’re a cheeseball,” you try to snap back, but it only comes out as a small reply, fitting of your cramped situation.

His buttery brown eyes are clear and warm, and his sweet scent envelopes your form. You feel impossibly small, sinking deeper and deeper into your hoodie until you feel the heat of his voice sinking deep into your skin.

It’s then that he leans in and whispers in your ear, his voice a simple request, “Please tell me that you’re interested in me too.”

Something clutches softly in your heart, tethering you to Seokjin’s gaze. You wonder how many times Seokjin goes through this scenario. You wonder if he’s happy being a bachelor. You figure that many partners must have doubts being tethered by a teenage daughter, or if Seokjin is used to fleeting hook-ups.

“Have been since check-in,” you reply smoothly, finding your breath and looking up from your eyelashes.

Seokjin’s lips find yours, and you swear you’re lip-locking with Cloud Nine. They’re soft and supple and taste a little like maple syrup as they mingle with yours, and you can’t help but weave your hands through his equally silky strands, tugging him closer as he hooks his arms under your bare thighs.

He gives your bottom an experimental squeeze, leading you to the unmade bed.

Needless to say, breakfast has to wait.

“So, I’m going to throw a cliché.”

“Sure, we’re in Disney.”

“Why me?” you slap his bare chest when Seokjin laughs, pouting, “I mean it! All I did was look cute and give you pancakes!”

“So you admit you’re cute,” Seokjin smirks.

“C’mon don’t change the subject, tell me!”

Even though this hotel is partially yours, you’re still amazed at the softness of the Egyptian cotton as it engulfs both your bodies. Maybe it’s because you’re warm and bathing in the noon afterglow, maybe it’s your bed partner. Still, it feels divine as you lounge in bed, sipping champagne (left by the door, courtesy of Jimin.)

“Mm, caught you driving around with Yeji in my car.”

You sit up straighter, clutching the sheets to your chest, “You saw us last night?”

“You were also out last night?” Seokjin tilts his head, “I meant when you taught her how to parallel park.”

“Oh fuck—I mean,” you slap your forehead, knowing you can’t get away with this one, “Let’s just say I helped her out of a sticky situation. Don’t blame Yeji, blame Yeji’s bunny-headed cousin.”

“Noted,” Seokjin throws an arm around you, snuggling closer. You relax into his hold, melting between the sheets and his soft skin, “Knowing you’re pulling through for her. Let’s just say I’m a little soft for my daughter, no matter how old.”

“She’s wonderful,” you say genuinely, taking slow sips of your bubbly drink.

“Wanna go visit her for lunch? I’m supposed to be meeting her in an hour.”

You don’t feel deterred or nervous to see Yeji, or even the possibility of meeting Seokjin’s extended family. So you agree, run back to your room quickly to throw on a reasonable summer outfit that doesn’t consist of hooded sweatshirts and booty shorts.

Seokjin offers to drive your sedan, and since you feel a little princess-ish today you decide to let him take the wheel. After a few minutes attempting to drive in the direction of the townhouse however, you lower the volume on the radio.

“Jin? I think you’re going the wrong way,” not only do you live here, but you went to the townhouse last night and you’re sure it’s in the opposite fork, “do you want me to plug it in the G.P.S?”

“I know my way, hon,” Seokjin waves you off, confidently streaming through the oncoming traffic. You smile nervously, you have a feeling this situation has happened once or twice.

“Oh, is that why you ended up in my hotel?” you tease, “because you’re so good at directions?”

“Duh,” Seokjin reaches for your hand atop the console, “after all, my intuition led me to you.”

#jin x reader #jin crack #seokjin x reader #btsghostie #kwritersworldnet #seokjin fluff #seokjin crack #bts smut #bts fic

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borathae · 3 years

Text

↳ Index [Chapter 24 - The Art of Crumbling]

Warnings: regrets, strong feelings, minor sexual tension lol

Wordcount: 8.2k

Seokjin had opened a website for the diner over the weekend and apparently it was working. People are swarming into the diner like flies. Good for Seokjin as he finally makes enough money to actually put some in his saving accounts. But bad for you and Jimin, who basically break your backs catering to every wish.

You are on your way to work on this cloudy Thursday morning when an unremarkable motel catches your attention. You’ve never really paid any attention to it up until now, it was just a normal good old motel after all. The outside was stuck in another decade and the inside, so you can only figure, probably twice your age. It was nothing to pay attention to really, unlike today when a certain black Harley catches your attention.

You know this bike, you’ve sat on it a million times before and you’ve kissed the owner even twice as much. You stop, studying it from a safe distance. What is it doing here and where’s Jungkook? Also where is Yoongi’s bike? They must be here together after all. That is. What if Jungkook is only here to have sex with a random girl. Fuck and forget, like he so enjoyed to do before he met you.

Jealousy bubbles in your stomach, before confusion replaces it. Why are you so worried about that? You aren’t dating him anymore. Your fingers tighten on your handlebars, look at you being jealous after all those promises of being angry at him for the rest of your days. Why are you like this?

“Oh, shit”, you gasp, making yourself smaller when a room door opens and Jungkook comes outside, wearing his signature black leather pants and a grey tank top. You hadn’t even realised it when you saw him at the gym but his entire left arm is inked up as well. You can’t really make out what it is, but you know that it makes you feel sad. Is that the tattoo you were supposed to get together? Your hand reaches for the drawing in your inner jacket pocket. You promised each other that you would get it together, that you would hold each other’s hands and help each other with treating the tattoo. He stole that moment from you.

You were so lost in your own sorrow that you hadn’t noticed Jungkook’s eyes falling on you and him proceeding to make his way to you until it is too late.

Your heart starts to race. Crap. He wasn’t supposed to see you and now he is too close for you to drive off. You look around in panic. Shit, he is coming closer. Uhm, where to go? There is a tree close to you. Should you hide behind it? But he is so close to you now. What to do? Send help.

“What are you doing here? Are you stalking me?” Jungkook says, brushing his hair out of his face as if he was posing. At least he hasn’t changed that much apparently, still posing like he was the sexiest man on earth.

“I was just about to leave”, you mumble, wanting to start your bike only to be stopped by Jungkook getting in front of it.

“Hey don’t leave, now that you’re here, how about we talk a little?” he says, holding onto the handle with all his might.

“Let go Jungkook, I’m not in the mood to talk”, you grumble, feeling embarrassed about getting caught. You yelled at him for ‘stalking you’ and then you are the one getting caught creeping on him. You feel like a complete hypocrite.

“Fine with me, there’s a queen sized bed back in my room if you wanna let our bodies do the talking instead”, he suggests with a cocky smirk on his lips.

“Are you fucking serious?” you squeak from how taken aback his bluntness made you feel.

He can’t actually expect you to jump into bed with him after all that he has done.

“I am fucking very seriously. I can also be rough and fast or gentle and passionate, all for you baby”, he jokes, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

You scoff at that, feeling yourself grow angry. How on earth did you feel bad for yelling at him? He is obviously fine and here you were feeling like an asshole for four days straight. He is so infuriating.

“Safe that shit, like seriously if I came here to fuck with a coward you would know. Congrats you ruined it”, you spit and turn the keys so your engine springs to life.

“Wait ___ I just made a stupid joke. I’m trying really hard here, I thought it’d make you laugh like it normally did. I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to offend you, please don’t drive away”, he begs, eyes wide in panic.

“Let go, I don’t wanna have to drive over you”, you warn, letting the motor howl loudly.

Jungkook shakes his head, furrowing his brows as he tightens his fingers on the handle.

“No more cocky biker personas I promise, I just wanna talk like we always did, just you and me. Please”, he begs with a pout.

“I said let me go”, you growl, howling the motor again.

Jungkook pouts, shaking his head aggressively. He reaches for the keys before you can, turning your bike off and then pulling the key out of the keyhole.

“Jungkook!” you yell, staring at him with big eyes.

“Talk to me”, he insists, stepping back as you reach for the keys.

“Seriously you’re so childish. Hand me back my keys”, you growl, fishing for him over and over only to grab air every time.

“Get them if you want them”, he says, stuffing them down the front of his pants.

You stare at his crotch with big eyes.

“Are you insane?” you squeal, jumping off your bike to rush to him, “give me my keys. Give me my keys. Hand them to me. Give them back”, you yell, hitting his chest repeatedly.

Jungkook doesn’t budge one bit, he doesn’t even stop you from hitting him.

“Good hit me. Let it all out”, he says, taking a step closer to you.

You raise your head to stare up at him, anger literally spilling out of you as if you were a leaking oil mine.

“You’re enjoying this?”you spit, pushing at Jungkook’s chest so hard he actually stumbles back. He gasps in surprise, cursing under his breath as he tries his hardest to find his balance again.

“How fucked up are you?” you squeal, shaking.

Jungkook straightens up, hand on his chest to rub the spot on which your hands landed.

“Damn girl, since when are you so strong?” he mumbles, eyes big in shock.

“Getting choked to death makes you want to take on a few tricks or two”, you growl, pushing at his chest again, “give me my keys.”

You can practically see Jungkook’s entire aura change. His eyes cloud over with sadness, his lips starting to tremble.

“Fuck ___”, he croaks, he stumbles back, hand on his chest, “I ruined us.”

You pause, furrowing your brows in confusion. Whatever he wants right now, you are not in the mood to fall for it. He is going to start crying again, get you to feel bad for you. Holy shit the thing on Sunday was probably just an act by him to get you to feel all guilty.

“The fuck you on about now? Just hand me back my keys, seriously”, you spit, stretching out the palm of your hand.

“I ruined us. You were never supposed to get hurt. Not in the alleyway and not at the motel, you were never supposed to get hurt”, he says sadly, head hanging low.

You blink, opening and closing your mouth to talk only to fall silent. Did he seriously bring this up now? You study his face. He looks so guilty, so regretful, like he wants hell to swallow him whole and punish him for all eternity. Jungkook raises his head. Your eyes meet. As confused as you look, Jungkook mirrors it with sadness.

“The fuck? Don’t say that”, you hiss, pushing at his chest again.

Jungkook stumbles, reaching for your wrists. He pulls them from his chest, holding them tightly instead.

“I know you don’t wanna hear it, but I fucking hate myself so much for what I did to you. I never wanted to hurt you and yet I did. I’m so sorry ___.”

Is he trying to gain sympathy from you? Is that what this is all about? Hearing an “it’s okay” from you?

“Yeah?” you wiggle in his grasp, soon giving up as you realise that he is still stronger than you. Instead you make him stumble closer to you with a simple tug, challenging him, “And yet you did. You hurt me more than anyone else on this godforsaken earth.”

You shake your arms one last time. Jungkook tightens his fingers around you, pulls at your arms until moving is impossible. He steps closer, making your breath hitch. When was the last time you had such close, intense eye contact with him? Too many months ago.

“I know, fuck I know. Please what can I do to make this right? ___ please what can I do?”

You can’t crumble now, you can’t crumble now, you can’t crumble now. Don’t crumble. Don’t.

“Jungkook come on, don’t be like that all of a sudden”, you say, voice wavering.

"I haven’t been happy in months. I’m constantly crying and I’m having all those night terrors again. I know this is the universe punishing me for what I did to you, and I know that I deserve all of it. I just-", Jungkook steps closer and places your hands on his chest, "-I miss you so much ___", he whimpers, squeezing your hands gently as he fights with his own tears.

"Jungkook", you have to look away, "fuck", you press through gritted teeth, twisting his shirt in order to distract yourself from your own tears threatening to spill.

“When you yelled all those words at me at the gym all I could think is that I deserved all of them. I deserve your hatred and all the curse words you can offer and yet it felt like you were ripping my heart apart. I never wanted you to hate me that much”, he croaks out, having to whimper in order not to cry.

You are crumbling. Falling like an old, weak tree in the strong wind of memories and regrets.

“Please give me another chance. I made the biggest mistake in my entire life when I left you and I know that my stupid jokes before made it look like I just want you back for sex, but I don’t”, he pauses to swallow down a sob, rubbing at his eyes, “I wanna be called your boy again, I wanna make you laugh again, I wanna watch you when you wake up and hold you when you fall asleep, I wanna-“, he sobs, “- I, I wanna take pictures with you and fill my notebook with drawings of your pretty eyes”, he whimpers, pulling you closer until he can rest his forehead against yours, “-I wanna call you my darling again and then watch how it lights up your face so beautifully.”

You force your eyes closed or else you would have cried. You kind of really want that too.

“You’re so unfair”, you choke out.

“I know, but I’m so desperate it makes me selfish”, he whispers, sobbing quietly afterwards.

“Yeah, you really are selfish”, you raise your head, looking at him. Your vision is blurry, your eyes burning. God fuck, even through your tears and with his face covered in them he still looks just as handsome as he did when you first laid eyes on him. God fuck, even after all those months hating him he can still make you feel so incredibly warm in your chest. God fuck, even after swearing to yourself that you will hate him forever you still clutch his shirt as if it was your lifeline.

“You break my heart, leave me for three months and then when I’m starting to accept the fact that what we had is gone you say all this stuff to me”, you say, voice shaky. You try to push him again, but you can’t. Instead you pull him closer until the smell of peaches and honey surrounds you.

“Maybe…”, he lowers his eyes, “…I don’t want you to heal without me.”

You scoff, covering up a sob that would have otherwise escaped your heavy chest.

“So you rather see me unhappy for the rest of my life?”

“Of course not, I just”, he takes a shaky breath, fingers closing around your fists, “I’m selfish and I wanna see you happy with me, not with someone else.”

You look up at his eyes, lips trembling like crazy.

“You are so goddamn unfair”, you croak.

“I know”, Jungkook whispers, abandoning one of your wrists to cup your cheek instead.

“Jungkook don’t”, you say, turning your head away.

“___ please, just one more chance”, he begs.

“Kook just-“, you take a deep breath, “-I’m running late for work.”

“Please”, his voice is merely above a whisper. You scan over his face one more time, before sighing loudly.

“Just meet me at the diner after work, Taehyung’s gonna be there too if you wanna talk to him too.”

This is not what you had wanted to say and yet you did. Jungkook almost squeals, squeezing your wrist before he wiggles his shoulders.

“Yes! I’ll be there! Thank you!” he blurts out, almost bursting in happiness. He reaches into the front of his pants, still smiling like an idiot as he pulls your keys free again.

“Here”, he says, stuffing them into your hands.

You study them with a look of distaste, “why the front of your pants out of all places? They’re so warm now”, you whine, making Jungkook scoff.

“Cause I’m an idiot. Also I can’t help it that my balls are naturally just very hot.”

You snort, before chuckling. You didn’t want to and yet you did.

“You should get that checked out, I don’t think balls are supposed to be hot all the time.”

Jungkook grins, it is playful with his eyes all sparkly and his nose scrunching up.

“I’ll remember it”, he giggles, nudging your arm, “good luck at work today.”

“Uhm I-“, your eyes fall to his lips, heart fluttering. You quickly look away, clearing your throat, “thank you”, you mumble, quickly making your way to your bike.

You drive off before your heart can tell your body to do something you will regret later on. Jungkook is watching you the entire time, even going so far as to wave at you until you are a tiny dot on the horizon.

“Hello? I am talking to you”, Jimin says, waving his hand in front of your face until you blink and look at him.

“What?”

“You’ve been cleaning this same exact spot for the last twenty minutes. You dropped three glasses today and messed up far too many orders. What is going with you?”

“Nothing.”

“You’ve been acting weird ever since you came into work this morning”, he says, resting his hands on his hips.

“It’s nothing. I’m not weird, I don’t know what you’re on about”, you mumble, avoiding eye contact.

“Did Hoseok ask you to be his girlfriend?” he asks in typical blunt Jimin fashion.

“What?” you cough, “no of course not, what the hell?”

“Well, then what is it? Did you ask him to be his boyfriend?” Jimin points an accusing finger at you.

Your face heats up as you look to the side.

“No, I didn’t. Okay? Leave me alone Mister-I-have-hickeys-all-over-my-neck”, you retort, pulling down his turtleneck to reveal his bruised neck.

Jimin’s hands fly to his neck, covering his skin as he starts blushing.

“It’s not what you are thinking”, he insists, eyes big.

“Sure, that’s why you didn’t come home since Wednesday?” you roll your eyes at him, “You’ve been rolling around the sheets with Yoongi lately?”you ask, imitating his voice.

“Okay, you know what? Mind your own problems”, he mumbles.

“Sending that right back”, you scoff in amusement, “but for what it’s worth I met Jungkook this morning and we kinda…talked.”

“Talked? With your mouths or your bodies?”

You send him an icy glare.

“Fun fact, Kook suggested the same thing. You are both horny idiots so it seems.”

Jimin shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, checking his nails.

“Sex is nice what can I say”, he states dryly before looking at you, “in all seriousness though. Is that why you are so zoned out? Did you guys yell at each other again?”

You shake your head, “we didn’t, but I may have told him to come over after work to talk to me and uhm..”, you scratch your neck, “..Taehyung.”

“You did what?” Jimin almost yells, making two of your customers stare at you in confusion.

You look at them, sending them an apologetic smile before dragging Jimin into the back.

“Listen, I don’t know why I did it. He told me that he regrets leaving Taehyung and me, so I thought I could make them talk today. Okay? I panicked”, you hiss.

“And you think Tae would want to talk to him? Doesn’t he hate him?” he whispers.

“I don’t know”, you groan, nuzzling your face into Jimin’s arm, “I just I thought maybe if I told Tae that I was willing to hear Kook out he would be too."

“Okay next question. How are you going to get Tae to come over today?”

“He is coming over anyways. We’re hanging out after work."

“Did you guys fuck?” he gasps.

“Okay, I did not sleep with Taehyung or Jungkook. Is that clear?”

“Guys seriously?” Seokjin appears next to you, “is that starting again? I thought we were over those biker dudes.”

“No listen Seokjin, ___ told Jungkook to come here after work and I’m pretty sure she had sex with Jungkook or Taehyung or both”, Jimin gasps, “oh my god ___ did you have a threesome with them?”

That earns him a healthy slap on the back of his head by Seokjin’s spatula, making him grunt in pain.

“I don’t want this type of language in my establishment”, he warns, “also stop being so noisy Park Jimin. Not when I watched you leave with that broody biker guy on Friday.”

“I knew it! So you weren’t at the beach!” you say, clapping into your hands victoriously.

Seokjin shuts you up real fast with a single cock of his left eyebrow however.

“Guys what are you doing? Why are you giving those men a second chance? They literally screwed you over”, he says, disappointment lacing his voice.

“We’re not giving them a second chance. Listen you wouldn’t get it”, Jimin says.

Seokjin crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“I wouldn’t get second chances? Do I have to remind you of what happened with me and Fleur Connoisseur?”

“That restaurant chain in The Capital? What about it?” Jimin asks, tilting his head to the side.

“I founded it, I created the recipes only to be thrown under the bus by my own wife. She cheated on me, I divorced her and when she came begging to me for a second chance and I granted it to her. You know what she did after? Steal half my fortune and the rights to my own restaurant chain. So believe me I know a thing or two about second chances.”

“Why does everyone in this town have such dramatic backstories?” Jimin mumbles.

“Who else other than the tormented and broken would choose to live in a town like this?” Seokjin states dryly. Jimin tilts his head to the side in a nod of agreement and cocks his right eyebrow up.

“Fair enough.”

Seokjin crosses his arms in front of his chest, “also screw you guys, I literally told you that story before. Why are you so surprised to hear it now?”

“We aren’t surprised, bro I literally held you when you were sobbing for three months straight don’t act like I wasn’t there for you”, you say, pinching his arm.

Seokjin relaxes.

“Yeah I know, but my point still stands. Don’t give those guys a second chance or you’ll regret it. Jimin doesn’t Hoseok have that one very buff cousin whose name is also Hoseok? He would be perfect for you and ___? You’re better off with Hoseok, at least he’s a decent guy and he is rich.”

You groan in annoyance.

“I’m not going to discuss this with any of you guys. I’ll go out there now and serve the customers, who I heard come in right this moment”, you say, stomping off afterwards.

“Wait a minute ___!” Jimin stumbles after you, reaching you when you are out the door.

“Let go of my arm, I’m trying to work here”, you hiss, wiggling your arm in his grasp.

Jimin lets go of you, following after you instead.

“So you really think Kook and Tae are going to talk to each other? What if they don’t want to?” he asks.

“I don’t know-“, you send him a quick look over your shoulder, having to turn your attention to the customers afterwards, “Good morning and welcome to True Fellas. My name is ___ and I will be your waitress for today. What can I do for you?” you say in your customer voice, making sure to smile extra brightly as you hand each of them their menus.

Jimin stays by your side right behind you, sneaking glances at your face like the biggest idiot ever. The customers are clearly confused for a second.

“My colleague’s new here. I hope you don’t mind him watching me like that. He is still learning”, you explain, looking over your shoulder with such a bright smile Jimin knows you are silently telling him to fuck off with it.

“It’s fine, honey can we order already?” the father of the family speaks and a moment later you are busy writing down their orders. Once that is done you thank them with a bright smile, taking their menus and making your way back to the kitchen.

“So? What are you going to do if Tae refuses to talk to Jungkook?” Jimin continues his annoying questions.

“Bro I don’t know”, you hiss, handing Seokjin the order and then going to the front to make their beverages, “I honestly really hope that he doesn’t. Kook misses him a lot and also Tae?”

You look up from the coffee machine to look at Jimin, “he told me that he would love to have Kook and Yoongi as his brothers back, so deep down I think he would really want a conversation with them even if confessing that would hurt his pride.”

“He told you that?” Jimin leans against the counter, lost in thoughts.

“I mean not directly, but I think he secretly really wants them back”, you confess, scratching your neck.

“So you’re basically just gambling here”, Jimin says, scoffing in disbelief, “someone likes to cause drama.”

“Hey don’t say that, maybe they’ll talk and we will witness a newly blossoming friendship”, you insist with your brows furrowed, “anyway! I have to work now and you? Take care of that girl that came in some time ago.”

“On it”, Jimin says, skipping over to the frowning girl sitting on a single person table and typing away on her notebook aggressively.

Like that you work your time away, chatting whenever there is nothing to do and scurrying from one table to the other when customers wait to be served by you. It is the perfect day. Not too busy but also not too boring, just right. There isn’t one moment you wished to “just be over already”, there is always something to do to distract you, which also brings its disadvantages with it, as you are now made very aware of the fast passage of time. One look at the clock and it is already six.

“Lord give me strength”, you mumble as you stare at the clock, biting on your fingernails.

Jimin appears next to you, “quick question, I just watched Taehyung pull into the parking lot. Was he supposed to come first?”

“What? Tae? Oh no, he was supposed to arrive after Kook”, you squeak.

“Well he is here now aaaand here comes Jungkook too”, Jimin says. Your eyes follow a dark biker on a black Harley roll up on the parking lot.

“Fuck, Jimin come we have to prevent the worst from happening”, you say, grabbing his hand and zooming off with him.

“Jesus, girl slow down”, Jimin whines, stumbling after you.

You rush outside, watching Taehyung get off a bike, you had never seen before, and take his helmet off when you can already see Jungkook roll up next to him. Taehyung had wanted to smile at you, but now he is watching Jungkook climb off his bike with the darkest frown, you had ever seen on a person.

Jimin, who had magically appeared next to you, gasps, “well that is awkward now.”

You send him an angry look, “no shit Sherlock, thanks for your input idiot”, you spit. You tighten your fingers around Jimin’s, “come on lets go.”

“___ hey!” Jungkook calls out, making Taehyung frown even more.

“Jungkook hi, uhm”, you are panting when you finally reached their sides, “Taehyung hi.”

Taehyung sends you the quickest of glares before he looks back at Jungkook.

"___ is he bothering you?” he asks coldly, “want me to punch him?”

“No”, you step between him and Jungkook, “I actually asked him to come over today.”

Taehyung’s eyes grow big, mouth falling open.

“Why did you do that?” he gasps, the first indicator of hurt flickering in his voice.

“I thought maybe you wanna talk to him. You and him and I talking it out, Jimin’s gonna be the mediator.”

“I am?” Jimin gasps quietly,

“What do you think?” you say, burning up in nervousness as you study Taehyung’s face.

“No? Fuck that dude the fuck? Why would I wanna talk to him?” Taehyung spits, nostrils flaring and fists clenching by his side.

“Taetae I really miss you”, Jungkook tries to join the conversation, only to earn the deadliest of stares from Taehyung.

“Do you want your face bashed in? Is that it?” Taehyung is so close to yelling, he would have jumped at Jungkook if you hadn’t stopped him with a strong hand on his chest.

“Tae calm down”, you warn.

“I just wanna ta-“, Jungkook starts only to be silenced with a raise of your hand.

“Can you give us a moment Jungkook?” you say before you take Taehyung’s hand and pull him away.

You drag him to the dumpsters, hiding behind them so nobody could see you.

“What are you doing? Why are we hiding?” Taehyung asks, looking around with questioning eyes.

“So you wouldn’t go bashing peoples faces in”, you say, poking an accusing finger into his chest.

“He deserves it”, he growls, crossing his arms in front of his body, “I’m so mad at you. Why would you betray me like that? You know I don’t want to talk to him.”

“But Tae”, you say, holding his hands to calm him down, “maybe hearing him out would give you a little closure? He told me that he misses you a lot and that he really regrets leaving you. He just wants to talk to you Taetae.”

Taehyung scoffs, shaking your hands off to cross his arms in front of his chest instead.

“Honestly if I knew you would do that to me I would have just stayed up there and took another day of therapy”, he spits, turning away from you.

“Hey Tae”, you place your hand on his arm, “please don’t be mad at me. I just wanted to help.”

“Who? Me or Jungkook? How on earth is a conversation with him going to benefit me?” he growls, challenging you with a cock of his right eyebrow, “ever thought of that?”

You lower your head, “I just thought that-“

“Yeah you just thought, of course you just thought. You always just think but somehow that never reaches the point where you think about how other people may feel”, Taehyung spits, scoffing in annoyance afterwards, “I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Fine”, you say, crossing your arms in front of your chest, “I get it. I’m sorry. I’ll just talk to him without you.”

“Well, I don’t want that either. You promised me we’d hang out today”, he says, crossing his arms as well.

“Can’t we do this tomorrow?”

“No, tell Jungkook to come over tomorrow and have that friendship date with me that you promised me”, he whines, wiggling himself out your arms. He looks down at you with a big pout, “I don’t want to change my plans and I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Tae come on…”

“No!” he insists with a pout, shaking his head vigorously.

Gosh he is so stubborn. You sigh, massaging the bridge of your nose, “okay fine, I’ll tell Jungkook to come over tomorrow.”

Taehyung doesn’t smile at that, he just nods and grunts.

“Thank you”, he mumbles, still pouting.

“Sure”, you say, looking everywhere but at Taehyung before you decide that walking back to Jungkook and Jimin would be the best thing to do here.

They are talking when you round the corner, well, having a very heated discussion would be the better word here. Right now Jimin is scolding Jungkook, pointing an accusing finger at him whilst the later just listens with his head lowered and nodding occasionally.

“-and that’s really shitty of you to do. Oh, hey ___”, Jimin stops scolding Jungkook to look at you instead.

“Hey Jiminie”, you greet him, looking between him and Jungkook, “what happened here?”

“Nothing”, Jimin shrugs his shoulders, “I just told Jungkook how I felt about him and Yoongi leaving us.”

You look at Jungkook, who still has his head lowered.

“I imagine that went splendidly.”

Jungkook scoffs, nodding once. Jimin lowers his eyes at Jungkook whilst speaking.

“I just told him what I told Yoongi too. He deserves to hear it.”

“You could have laid off on the curse words a little if I’m being honest”, Jungkook mumbles, earning himself an annoyed look from Jimin whilst simultaneously making you snicker in amusement.

Jungkook raises his head at the sound of your laughter to send you a playful grin only to let his eyes flit over your shoulder instead. You turn around, coming face to face with Taehyung’s chest.

“Tell him ___”, he says, letting his dark eyes flit down to you.

“Tell me what?” Jungkook asks, eyes racing between you and Taehyung.

“Uhm…”, you look back at Jungkook, clearing your throat, “..uuuh… Jungkook would you mind coming over tomorrow instead?” you say, scratching the back of your neck.

“Why? You told me to meet you here today”, Jungkook says, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Well she lied, now scurry off”, Taehyung spits.

“Tae”, you warn.

Jungkook looks between you and Taehyung, outlining the inside of his cheek with his tongue.

“I already planned what I’m gonna say today, what if I forget it until tomorrow?” Jungkook doesn’t want to back off that easily.

“Write it down then”, Taehyung grumbles. You can feel him grab a piece of your hoodie, twisting it in his fingers.

“Taehyung come on”, you warn, which only makes him tighten his fingers on your hoodie even more.

“I don’t have pen and paper”, Jungkook retorts, crossing his arms in front of his chest whilst standing his ground with confidence, “I just wanna talk to you, please.”

“Write it down on your phone”, Taehyung says, hand resting on your side now, “I don’t want to talk though.”

Jungkook’s sighs in exhaustion, closing his eyes for a moment to massage them. When he opens them again they look desperate.

“You know that I don’t have one”, he mumbles.

“Listen man, she told you to meet her here tomorrow so fucking accept it. Don’t think that you can come here after three months and still have a right to order her around. You left her so take the consequences and accept the fact that she dumped you”, Taehyung spits, making you all look at him with shocked eyes.

“Tae”, you gasp, sending him a warning glare. He just shrugs his shoulders, clearly not wanting to back down.

“No he’s right. I abandoned you and now I have to bear the consequences. I’ll go don’t worry, have a nice evening and see you tomorrow”, Jungkook mumbles, hurt lacing his voice. He puts his helmet back on, starts his bike and drives off, but not before letting his tires screech dramatically.

“The fuck dude?” you growl, nudging Taehyung’s chest.

He ignores you, draping an arm around your shoulder instead.

“Want to go now?” he asks, smiling now that he got what he wanted.

You grind your teeth, “fine let’s go.”

Taehyung drives off first. You want to follow him, but before you can Jimin holds onto your arm, making you open your visor to look at him.

“Did you sleep with Taehyung too?” he asks, eyes lowered in suspicion.

“Jimin seriously I told you, no I didn’t.”

“Well, why’d he react like that then?” he asks.

“Cause he is mad I tried to force him to talk to Kook.”

“You’re seriously just friends?” Jimin tries again, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

“StoOp”, you whine, growing tired of his constant questioning.

“Tell me ___, I’m your best friend you can trust me”, he insists.

“Jimin, I have to go before I lose Taehyung. Let go of me”, you mumble, shaking his hand off,

“Fine”, Jimin takes a step back, “have fun”, he pouts, crossing his arms in front of his chest as if he was sulking.

Normally you would ask him what’s wrong, but you know what was wrong and you are not in the mood to start this discussion again.

“Bye”, you say instead, driving off afterwards.

You catch up with Taehyung at the next stop sign, rolling up next to him. He signals you to turn left and then drives off already with you following him close by. Your journey takes you up the coast, past the fun fair and the junction leading to the mountain plateau then down the mountain to what only can be described as a little fishing hut in the middle of an empty beach. The sand is black, looking even darker against the gray, wild ocean. You park your bikes at the end of the path and climb off afterwards.

Taehyung walks to you, hiding his hands in the pockets of his pants. He is obviously still tense, it is written all over his body. You aren’t any better off than him, having so much tension in your chest you feel like you are legitimately going to burst. You are so angry at him.

“You like the place?” he asks, kicking an imaginary stone.

“Mhm, yeah it’s pretty. I like the little fishing hut on the stones over there”, you say, pointing at it.

Taehyung turns around to follow your line of view.

“Oh, yeah. It’s pretty neat. Want to go check it out?” he suggests coldly.

“Sure”, you say dryly.

You climb over the rocks in silence, maybe it is because you are too busy with trying not to fall, but you both know that is not the actual reason for the awkward silence. You are both angry.

Under your feet the ocean digs its way through the black stones, splashing water up your clothes ever so often. Taehyung leads, climbing over the rocks without taking a look over his shoulders to check up on you. Then suddenly out of nowhere a big wave hits the rocks, splashing up high enough to drench his face and entire body in cold, salty water.

He yells in shock, coughing dramatically to get the salty water out of his mouth. You break into hysterical laughter, holding your belly as you almost stumble from the rocks from laughing so hard. Serves you right, so you think as you keep laughing at him.

Taehyung snaps around, revealing the full effects of the wave as the water runs down his face, making his black hair stick to his face in wet strands. Your laughter grows, tears collecting at the corners of your eyes.

“Look at you, shit this is hilarious”, you cackle, pointing a finger at him. Laughing like this makes you feel a lot lighter in your chest, the tension is basically falling off with every shake of laughter that courses through your body. Schadenfreude. The German language even has a word for what you are feeling right now.

“It’s not funny”, Taehyung growls, pouting.

“Yeah it is”, you make your way to him. You use the sleeve of your jacket to wipe his face, still giggling in amusement.

“There all better now”, you say, patting his cheek, “don’t pout, you look prettier smiling”, you have decided to stop sulking, instead you decided on lightening the mood or maybe you are still a little bit salty and annoying him with fake happiness is fun.

Taehyung scoffs, rolling his eyes.

“Whatever”, he mumbles, turning around to start climbing again.

“What’s his problem? He got what he wanted in the end”, you whisper to yourself, watching Taehyung with your brows furrowed in frustration.

Three more stones and you’ve reached the fishing hut. It is obviously abandoned and the door is gone, revealing nothing much than three broken fishing nets and one bucket with the bottom missing. It smells like rotten fish here, faintly mixing with the strong salty scent of the ocean, surrounding you.

Taehyung sits down in front of the hut, legs crossed and hands supporting his weight as he leans back. You join him on the ground, crossing your legs as well.

“Why are you sulking?” you ask.

“I’m not sulking”, Taehyung answers dryly.

“Yeah you are. Don’t play dumb with me.”

Taehyung sneaks a glance your way.

“No I’m not”, he insists.

You study his face for a moment.

“Okay you know what? Let me tell you something Tae. I’m mad at you too and yet I’m not over here acting like a little child. Either tell me why you are sulking or let it be”, you say coldly, making him look at you.

“Why are you mad at me?”

“Because of how you exploded back at the diner. Those things you said to Jungkook were really uncalled for and mean. I can talk for myself, I don’t need you to throw insults at people in my name.”

“He had it coming, I just said what everyone else was thinking.”

“No, you didn’t. I wasn’t thinking those things.”

“Well, what were you thinking?”

“That I’m really sad that you don’t want to give this friendship a second try.”

Taehyung scoffs and looks away, shaking his head.

“No you weren’t, you were probably thinking ‘oh no now I have to go on that stupid friendship date with Tae and leave my cute Kookie’, admit it.”

“Is that what this is about? You’re jealous?”

Taehyung nods, clenching his jaw.

“Why?” you chuckle breathlessly, “I’m here with you now aren’t I? What’s there to still be jealous about?”

“You talk to Jungkook and agree on a conversation behind my back, you force me to talk to him and get all angry when I’m mad at him. You are just pitying me that’s why you are here now, cause you feel bad.”

“I’m not pitying you, how often do I have to tell you?” you spit.

“Yeah you are. You just felt bad because you saw how sad I got because of your betrayal and didn’t want to come off as a bitch.”

“Wow, calling me names? How mature of you”, you growl, turning your back to him.

Taehyung studies you for a moment, body starting to shake from all the emotions coursing through him.

“I, I wasn’t calling you a bitch. I just meant that-“, he groans in annoyance, grabbing a big bundle of his own hair to twist it painfully, “-fuck, I’m such an idiot. You must hate me so much.”

It makes you angry, the way he wallows in self-pity. You whip around, ready to snap at him only to shut up instantly.

“Just stop-“, you bite down on your tongue to stop the anger from escaping. You take a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment to find your chill again. This is his brain being a bitch and telling him things that aren’t at all like they are. He got like this a lot in the old days, his brain started filling his heart with mean lies until he believed them and got so scared he exploded in anger. You shouldn’t be mad at him.

When you open your eyes again, Taehyung is looking at you with a frown and panic burning in his eyes.

“Is that how you are feeling?” you ask calmly.

“Yes”, he answers quietly, nodding.

You scoot closer to place a hand on his knee, squeezing it gently.

“I’m not pitying you Taehyung and I don’t hate you. I’m just a hopeless romantic who thought forcing you into a talk with Kook would work. I should have talked to you first before arranging a meeting with him, because you mean a lot to me and I would never willingly want to make you feel like you and your feelings aren’t important to me”, you say, caressing his knee the entire time you are talking.

“Then why did you do it in the first place?” he asks, gnawing on his lower lip.

“Because-“, you exhale loudly, looking out at the ocean, “-I’m a selfish bitch that’s why. You became one of my dearest friends and I love hanging out with you and I’m scared that if I decide to give Kook a second chance I’d lose you. So I thought maybe I should force you to your luck, but I see now that this was wrong of me to do. I wasn’t trying to hurt you believe me and I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Do you mean that?” he asks, eyes racing over your face.

“Yes I mean that”, you send him an encouraging smile.

“It hurt me”, he mumbles.

“I know and I’m sorry that I hurt you”, you confess, caressing his knee.

“Okay, apology accepted”, Taehyung lowers his eyes.

He looks at you for a moment before he scoots closer to you. He wraps an arm around your middle, cheek resting on the crown of your head. You are tense for the briefest of moments, not knowing how to react to the sudden body contact.

“Is it okay for me to hug you?” he asks, fingers caressing your sides softly.

“Yeah, it’s okay”, you say, resting your head on his chest.

It is really nice to feel another warm body pressed against yours, especially with the cool wind brushing over your skin and especially when that body smells like lavender and violets.

There in the distance an old fishing boat sails past you. You can count three fishermen scurrying around on it, all three dressed in bright red coats and floppy straw hats. They must return from a long day of work. Were they successful or did their buckets stay empty today? Judging by the loud laughter echoing over the waves you figure it must be the first outcome. They will probably come home today to their partners and children, put the fish and seafood on their grills and have a jolly good time until late into the night. Oh what a lovely way to end your day.

“Can I ask you something?” Taehyung says.

“Sure.”

“Why do you believe in my capability to forgive so much? Not even I believe in myself that much.”

“Because I know you Tae. You hated yourself so much that you thought you deserved all the pain and loneliness”, you look up at him, “but you learned to forgive yourself. You forgave yourself for all the times those sad thoughts came and you ended up wanting to drown them out with those pills, you forgave yourself for making human mistakes, you forgave yourself for not being yourself for quite some time. You forgave your worst enemy and actually started to love him and I think that’s really awesome of you.”

“You’re going to make me cry, don’t say that”, he murmurs, blinking quickly.

“I mean it Tae”, you say softly, squeezing his side, “I’ve watched you forgive yourself, so I know how capable of forgiveness you are. And I’m sure if you gave that talk with Kook a chance it could be really healing for you too.”

“I don’t know”, Taehyung leans on his hands again, stretching out his legs.

“He really regrets leaving you Tae and he misses you a lot, like a very, very lot. Why don’t you join us tomorrow and talk it out with him too?”

"Because I don’t want to talk to him tomorrow and”, he looks at you from the corner of his eyes, “this is your conversation.”

“Really? I don’t wanna make you feel like I am going behind your back, seriously you can join us I have no problem with that.”

“No, it’s fine with me. Just talk to Jungkook tomorrow, hear him out and then report back to me. Maybe then I’ll think about that talk.”

“Are you sure? Again I have no problem with you joining us and Kook would like it a lot too.”

“I’m sure”, he says, looking at you with an honest smile on his face, “The only thing I’m really worried about is that I’m going to lose you again”, he lowers his eyes, “you became one of my dearest friends too and I love being with you, but”, he takes a deep breath, “I know how Jungkook can get, especially when it’s me getting close to his girl. I’m just scared that if you go back to him I end up with nothing in the end, because you don’t want to ruin your relationship with Kook by staying friends with me.”

“I promise you I won’t let it come to this. I like you a lot Tae and I don’t wanna hurt you”, you say, never having meant something as much as this, “Our friendship is really important to me and you helped me a lot in those past three months so I will never want to give you up.”

“You promise?” he looks at you with big puppy eyes.

“Yes I promise you”, you nod your head and nudge his knee playfully, “I mean I did choose our friendship date over the conversation with Kook.”

Taehyung starts blushing, eyes flitting to the ground.

“You did, true”, he smiles shyly, nose scrunching up, “I didn’t even realise that.”

You both look back out at the ocean, sighing in content simultaneously. Another fishing boat drives past, one lonely fisherman with a yellow jacket and matching hat. He doesn’t look as happy as the other fishermen you saw.

“What do you say to my new bike?” Taehyung breaks the comfortable silence.

“Dude it’s really cool. I like the chrome rims you chose. Since when do you have it?” you say.

“Since yesterday. I bought it at a garage in the town where I have my therapy. I actually saw it two weeks ago and decided to buy it yesterday.”

“Where’d you get the money from?”

“Well…” he chuckles nervously, scratching the back of his neck, “I may still have a couple of bucks saved up from, you know, uhm…”

“Drug money?” you cock an eyebrow at him, “dude, no joke.”

Taehyung’s face basically becomes a tomato, eyes racing from side to side nervously.

“In my defense I did earn that money so it’s not like I stole it”, he says, raising both of his arms in defense.

“I mean..I guess..” you say, scratching your chin before having to laugh, “I can’t believe you bought a new bike with drug money. You’re really one of a kind Kim Taehyung”, you chuckle, sending him a playful grin.

Taehyung returns it, cheeks still blushing.

“How much money do you still have?” you ask him to which he shrugs his shoulders.

“Not that much. Maybe ten grant?”

“Ten grant? You call ten grant not much?” you squeak, eyes growing twice in size, “what the frickedy frick frack?”

“In the grand scheme of things ten grant aren’t much”, he says, playing with his hair nervously, “but can we not talk about that anymore? I don’t want to like be associated with that lifestyle anymore.”

“Sure I get it”, you say, leaning back so you would be resting against his chest again, “but you do know that you need to buy me at least three cheeseburgers, now that I know that you are basically rich?” you joke, making Taehyung laugh.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll pay for you damn food”, he grins and wraps his arm around your shoulder.

#jungkook angst #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook x reader #bts angst #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts x reader #bts x you #bangtan angst #bangtan fanfic #bangtan fanfiction #bangtan x reader #bangtan x you #fanfic: purple rain

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artisqueer · 4 years

Text

RetroBangBoy AU - DREAM REALITY (ao3 link)

Word Count: 1.7k

Pairings: Yoongi x reader, mentions Namjoon x reader

Warnings: Mentions violence, blood/gore.

“Goddamn, it’s hot as fuck out here.” Indeed, it’s a hot sweltering day. Most of the jocks are crammed beneath the courtside canopy to find shade from the blazing sun.

“Hyung, let’s go for another round,” Jimin suggests, removing the jersey from his overheating abdomen.

“You wanna lose again that bad, huh?” Seokjin’s smirk disappears behind his jersey as he lifts it up and over his head. The sheen of sweat over his ripped shoulders is distracting to both teams. Jimin mocks his laugh then pouts.

“Be a good sport, Jiminie.” Hoseok passes him the basketball as he joins Jin’s side on the court.

The men assemble in their respective teams.

Jimin, Taehyung, and three other juniors.

Jin, Hoseok, and three other seniors.

***

It’s 3:15 pm and you’re getting off work early. Although it’s summer break, you’ve enrolled in advanced calculus for the fall and you want to be prepared. So, you’ve taken up an offer from a certain big-breasted mathematician. Yes, this is completely for academic purposes, Bighead.

There’s an unusual spring in your step as you walk the route from the concession stand to the parking lot behind campus. Someone from Joon’s crew will be there to pick you up because he’s still at work.

Your fingers brush along the chain fence as you pass by the court, deaf to the hooting and hollering of the intense game on the other side. You can’t be bothered to notice. Your head is pleasantly filled with thoughts of math figures and Namjoon’s figur—"

[POW!]

***

“Choco Pie? Wake up please, are you dead?”

“They’re not breathing.”

“Oh my god, we killed someone ㅠㅠ”

“I told you not to throw the ball so hard, Wonho.”

“It wasn’t my fault, Y/N’s seismic head came out of nowhere and pulled the ball like gravity.”

“This can’t happen! I’m so young. So beautiful. I can’t go to jail! ㅠㅠ”

“Sweetcheeks, please wake up. Guys, help me get t—"

“Move!” A voice growls and shoves them out of the way.

Your subconscious drifts back into a slumber for several minutes. Then, you hear the low voice again. Min Yoongi.

“Do any of you useless punks know mouth-to-mouth?” The group remains silent, dumbfounded. Yoongi bends over your motionless body to tilt your head back, blocking the sun as he checks your breathing. His face must be so close to yours because you can smell his cologne. There’s something that reminds you of the woody fragrance Namjoon carries, but this has a unique sapor. Something sweeter, more delicate. Suddenly his mouth is on yours. All your senses awaken and your heart jolts, snapping you out of your coma. Your eyes flutter open and stare directly into his. Is this is a dream or reality? If you died, this must be heaven.

You look around until you discern the outline of a dozen athletes standing above your head, deep concern across their faces. Several are grimacing in pain. Wonho has a bloody nose, Hoseok’s jersey is torn up, and Jimin is sulking behind him. They must take basketball very seriously, you think.

“Hey Dove,” Yoongi’s soft voice beside you pulls you back. It’s soothing in contrast to the pounding pain starting in your head, “are you okay to walk?” He taps your leg gently and you look down. It’s badly scraped from your fall.

“I think so.” You struggle to get up. Yoongi supports you by the arm carefully so you don’t fall. You feel a lump forming in your throat and your cheeks start to burn with embarrassment as the collision replays in your mind. The basketball must have been thrown out-of-bounds with excessive force. Luckily you just happened to be in its direct path.

“Where are you going, Choco?” Jin asks, worried. His jaw looks swollen and red. You’re too humiliated to look at any of them. Plus, you were kinda sorta just resuscitated by the one and only Yoongi. The image of his soft lips on yours is threatening to make you faint again.

Yoongi holds you close and steps past them without a word, using his body as a protective shield between you and their questions. “Are you okay, Y/N?...Why are you going with him?...I’m sorry….Stay with us…”

When you reach the parking lot, he points to a chopper-style motorcycle. “Harley Panhead ’48,” his gummy smile peaks through as he talks. “Ain’t she a beauty? I fixed her up myself.” He pats the leather seat proudly. Panhead? You’re still dizzy.

“Wait, Yoongi!” You nearly shout his name as you grab his arm. “What happened to your hand?”

His veiny hands are bloodied and bruised around the knuckles. He hides them away with a grunt. “It’s best if you stayed away from those punks, Y/N. They’re always starting shit. I was supposed to pick you up unharmed. Namjoon’s gonna be pissed.”

“It was just an accident. Wait, did you beat them up while I was unconscious?!” You thought Yoongi was just quiet and calm, but apparently he also has a dark side that can get intense. You look at his dark eyes and notice a fire blazing within them. This is new and you don’t know if you like it. It’s intimidating. He notices you looking and changes his demeanor.

“Get on the bike, Toots. It’s getting late.” He hands you a light jean jacket and you quickly throw it on, remembering that your delay might worry Namjoon.

Riding behind two bikers in the span of a few months… Damn, Bighead. You’re busy.

You can wrap your arms around him more easily than Namjoon. Yoongi may have a smaller frame, but he’s built strong. His sleeves are rolled up to expose his forearms. The muscles flex when he revs the long handlebars on the inclined streets. You notice a tattoo on his right forearm and read it quietly under his ear “dream….reality.”

He hears you and chuckles to himself.

“What’s so funny, Yoongi?” You’re not understanding how there’s humor in anything that happened today. Your leg is still stinging as you hold him tight during turns.

He chuckles again. “You should keep your mouth closed when you ride without a face covering.”

“Why? Am I annoying you?” You hear the sassiness in your own voice and cringe.

“Nah, Dove. I just don’t want you to catch any flies.” He chuckles even harder as you’re forced to suppress another remark.

You laugh too and then stop because your mouth is open.

***

He parks the bike in the driveway where you first met.

“I never thanked you for fixing my sprinklers, by the way,” your eyes fall onto his lips and there’s an awkward silence. “And thank you for today. You always show up unexpectedly—"

“Listen, Dove,” the sweetness in his eyes hasn’t gone anywhere, but you see the blaze return in them just as much, “it’s just a random coincidence. It could have been anybody.”

But you don’t desire it to be just anybody. His words sting and it travels down to your knees.

“Hm, you’re right, Yoongi.” He squeezes your hand as you part ways on the driveway. “Thank you anyway.”

You reach the door but don’t turn back. Instead, you go inside and tidy up for your study session.

Five minutes pass and there’s a knock at the door.

“Hi, Sweetheart,” Joon follows you into the living area, “sorry I’m late again…i-is that Yoongi’s jacket?”

“Oh yeah, I must’ve forgotten to give it back to him when he dropped me off. Maybe you give it to him later?” You shrug it off and hold it out. Namjoon takes it from you slowly.

“Why? W-what’s that look?” You blink, confused at his reaction. It’s one you’ve never seen and you’re sure you never want to see it on him again. Sadness.

“Oh, it’s just that, I sent Jungkook to pick you up.”

To be continued….

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gabbrolet · 4 years

Text

He Cries In Front of You For The First Time (Hyung Line)

P.S, This is a pretty long scenario!

WARNING!: Mentions of anxiety attacks!

Kim Seokjin

You had woken up to the other side of the bed being empty. As the usual warmth of your partner was nowhere to be found, the cold temperature of the room had started to get to you, making your shoulders begin to shake. This wasn't normal...

As you looked over to the neon red digits on the night-stand, you furrowed your eyebrows in concern.

2:56 A.M

He didn't mention if he was going to stay late at his studio today, so where was he? Even if he were to be staying in his office, he should have been home by now.

So, with that thought in mind, you quickly kicked the heavy sheets off of you before putting on your slippers and opening the door to the hallway. The first thing you heard was the sound of Treadmill, it seemed as though it was on a high setting.

Why would he be working out at this hour? you thought as you jogged down the stairs and stopped at the front of the fitness room.

There he was, gripping on tightly to the two handlebars with his smooth hands, his breaths fast-paced and strained. His hair was slicked back as it glistened with sweat from the light above you two.

"Jin?"

His breathing froze as he rapidly started lowering the speed on the machine until it stopped. When the Treadmill was finally finished moving, Jin stood there, staring only in front of him.

You were about to call out to him once more but stopped yourself before you could speak. His fast-paced breaths weren't from the workout, but from him crying. He...was really, crying...

You jogged up to him and pulled him off the Treadmill and hugged him tightly, as you move one of your hands on his back in circles in an attempt to comfort him.

"I'm sorry. Its j-just, the man-manager gave me and the others a week to lose a small p-portion of weight. B-but tomorrows the last day and, and, I didn't e-even lose one po-poun-d." He shoved his face into your neck as he began to wail.

His hands bunched up the material of your shirt as your shoulder began to feel wet. His back jolted up in a messy pattern with his loud gasps and hiccups for breath. It surprised you, of course, you had never seen Jin so vulnerable before.

"Hey, hey its okay baby. How about we leave this for tomorrow hm? I can work out with you too if you want." You gently whispered into his ear as you kissed his trembling shoulder.

He lifted his head and looked down at you with puffy red eyes, tears were still rolling down his face as he sniffled.

"Y-yes ple-please."

With that, you lead your boyfriend back to your shared bedroom as you then slept peacefully in each other's arms.

Min Yoongi

The day had started calm and quiet. Nothing, in particular, had caught your interest, resulting in you roaming about the silent and empty house sluggishly. All you had done today was, cook a small breakfast of bacon and eggs, watch Netflix on your couch, take a quick nap, and take a quick shower.

Yoongi had stayed over-night at Namjoon’s place, along with J-hope, leaving you alone in the morning. You weren’t angry though, as your boyfriend had informed you of the other house before he left the next day. You had, of course, tried to convince him to either go another day or have you tag along with him, but he wasn’t one to budge so easily.

So, here you were, sprawled out over your bed, wearing only your underwear and your boyfriend’s shirt. The comforter felt cold against your skin, but you had no other way to keep yourself warm. The sheet itself was extremely messy as half of it was hanging off the bed, collecting dust as it dragged on the floor.

Sighing, you look over your arm towards the window. The sky had started to become a variety of colors, ranging from reds and oranges to blues and dark purples. The colors blended beautifully, causing you to jump up and grab your sketchbook from the nearby night-stand.

You grabbed a nearby blanket and laid it over the surface of some of the lamented wood on the ground. You smacked it with your hand a bit to get it leveled out and comfy before sitting down with a thump. You flipped to a blank page before getting to work. You drew the houses nearby along with a few trees. You roughly shaded the sky to add in detail.

Although when you finished, you looked down at your sketch and began to laugh. It was extremely messy and hard to look at but, you understood it, and you only needed the memory of the scene before you as you were going to complete the drawing later.

Just as you were about to get up and clean up your little setup, you heard the front door open. You jumped, surprised at the sound, before getting back to cleaning, Yoongi would probably come up the stairs looking for you.

And you were correct, with heavy footsteps, you heard him slowly make his way up the stairs. The floorboards creaked as he walked towards your shared bedroom. You could hear him sighing as he continued.

Maybe he's tired...

When he finally made it to the bedroom, he stopped in the door-frame, looking for you with squinted eyes within the dim light. He looked over towards the window, breathing out a puff of air before sluggishly moving towards you.

He wrapped his arms around your waist silently while burying his head in your neck. Yoongi grabbed one of your hands, bringing it up to his face to caress it. His face showed a brief moment of relief before cramping up again.

“Hey Yoonie, how was your nigh-”

You cut yourself off when you felt wet drops rolling onto your hand, accompanying the feeling of your boyfriend’s scrunched up face.

You whipped around, turning to look at your boyfriend but found it difficult, he was trying to avoid your eyes. He turned his head, but you could still see him roughly biting his lip, an indicator that was most likely going to breakdown soon.

You brought your hand up to his face, grabbing his chin and gently turning it towards you.

“Oh Sugar, what happened?” Your eyes were filled with sympathy as your eyebrows turned slightly upwards.

“I, we, I just-,” he clasped his hand over his mouth as he crouched to the ground, curling into himself.

He wasn’t loud, no, not at all it was as if he had muted himself somehow, the only things you could hear from him were the spontaneous gasps and hiccups that fell from his mouth.

You tapped his shoulder and pulled on it lightly, encouraging him to get up and lay with you on the bed. He stood up and slowly crawled onto the mattress, proceeding to flop on his side. When you laid down next to him, he moved up closer to you shoving his head into your chest, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

You weren’t sure what had happened, but you knew that you’d both talk about it tomorrow. As, for the time being, you hugged him back, whispering sweet nothings into his ears until he fell asleep.

Which didn’t take very long...

Jung Hoseok

When you realized that J-hope was late for dinner, you knew something was wrong. He always made sure to come home from the dance studio on time, and even if he came home late, it’d only be the max, about 10 minutes. But it had now been an hour, and you were starting to get worried.

You covered both your dinners with a paper plate before going to the couch and turning on the TV. You grabbed your phone frowning, you had sent him over 15 texts by now. Each one saying a slightly different message like, ‘Sunshine where are you?’ or ‘Are you okay? Why aren’t you responding?.’

You felt a cold sweat run over your body,

Was he hurt?

Had you done something wrong?

Where is he?

You breathed in deeply in an attempt to calm yourself down, maybe his phone died! Yes, that could be a reasonable possibility, it has happened before.

Still a bit tense, you turned your phone to vibrate before setting it down beside you on the comfy couch. You grabbed the Mang plush from the side of the couch before laying back.

It wasn’t too long before you felt your phone begin to vibrate. You jolted up, cursing under your breath as your phone bounced off the couch, onto the floor.

Snatching it from the ground, you looked at the caller ID. It was Jimin, specifically hosting a face-time as you saw his chin above the phone’s camera before you answered.

“Hello?,” Jimin’s face snapped down in an instant, his eyes staring at your face through the phone screen.

“Yah! Y/N, I need your help! Hobi hyung told me to call you!” His face contorted into one of concern when he looked away from the phone and focused on something.

Your throat closed up, what could be the emergency? Was Hoseok okay?

“What happened!? Is he okay?!” You slightly rose your voice at the phone in your hand, you were starting to get scared.

Hoseok only rarely got into trouble, and when he did he would take it face first and deal with the situation with the best of his abilities. So if he was in desperate need of your presence, that means he's struggling.

You asked Jimin to hand the phone over to your boyfriend before widening your eyes,

“Sunshine what happened?” you cooed.

He was wiping at his eyes repetitively, causing them to become red and agitated. His eyes were a colored red as tears streamed down his face. He occasionally sniffled, trying to voice words to finally talk to you. But, his mouth automatically closed whenever he tried to open it. Just then, Jimin’s face popped up next to Hoseok’s.

“What he wants to say is that, well... We were practicing later than the rest of the members for a new performance that’s coming up next month. But, hyung has been training the most out of everybody, and, I think he got too stressed,” Jimin finished. He then patted Hobi’s shoulder before going out of the camera’s view.

You looked back at your boyfriend, his tears had slowed down but were still running down his face. His expression was more relaxed now as he stared at you through the phone, waiting for you to speak.

“How about you come home okay? We can go to sleep and relax when we get here, I even made your favorite!” His eyes lit up when you mentioned the dinner you made earlier. But, you could see that he was about to open his mouth again,

“Yes, there’s sprite as well.”

He flashed his signature heart-shaped smile, chuckling a bit as he forgot all about his stress,

“Th-thanks Jagiya, I’ll be home in a couple of minutes.”

Kim Namjoon

You felt all the air leave your lungs when someone flopped on top of you. The couch cried out as your body was forcefully smashed into it.

“Hey! What was that for!?”

You struggled to look behind you, as your hand smacked at the leg of the person on top of you.

“Namjoon!,” you scolded while you tried to shake him off of you.

Usually, he would have rolled off of you by now and showed you his smile as he laughed on the floor. So, what made him act so differently now?

You went silent as you realized that he’d tell you what's wrong when he's ready. So, you took this time to contemplate what could have happened.

Well, this morning he seemed fine, as he gave you the usual morning kiss and compliments before leaving to go to Big Hit’s Company building to work on his songs.

He called you at 4:00 P.M like any other day, mostly talking about how he missed you even though he sees you every day.

He sent you the normal text as well, asking if you were okay in the house by yourself and if you had eaten yet.

Lastly, he had come home at the routinely 7:30, the only thing different this time was his mood.

Suddenly you felt the weight on your back being lifted off of you, followed by the sound of a thud on the floor.

Looking over your shoulder, you could see Namjoon staring down at the soft rug of your living room floor. His posture was hunched over, his legs crossed in an uncomfortable position. His elbows dug into his lap as his hands covered his face and became tangled within his hair.

“Joonie? What's wrong baby?” you gently spoke out, but Namjoon didn’t seem to respond.

“Namjoon,” you said in a louder voice in hopes of gaining his attention. He didn’t respond this time either.

You slowly slid off the couch to sit in the spot next to your boyfriend. You slightly cringed at the friction the couch had against your legs as you moved but ignored it and proceeded to plop onto the ground.

You nudged Namjoon’s shoulder in an attempt to get his attention, but it was as if he was in a different universe where he couldn’t see you.

Growing more and more worried by the moment, you decided to try and pull down his hands from his face for him to notice your presence. So, you gradually caressed his large hands, maneuvering them so that your fingers were weaved in with his. But you gasped when you saw the state he was in.

He was breathing rapidly, his eyes were wide and trained on the floor, his hands shook violently within yours as you tried to steady them. Namjoon looked at you, his mouth wasn’t moving and instead hung open to let the air around him fill in his lungs. Although, his eyes were begging for help.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, breath for me all right?” you said as you brought him in for a tight hug.

It wasn’t long before his breathing had slowed down a bit but it didn’t go back to normal.

From the placement of his head on your shoulder you began to feel him shake and jolt in an irregular pattern. A growing patch of moisture grew on your shoulder while he began to hiccup and gasp. You could tell that he was trying to hold back his tears with every forceful breath he took.

“Mi-mianhae Y/n, I’ve j-just been str-stressed out late-ly.” He whimpered into your ear.

You immediately shushed him, reassuring him that there was nothing for him to be sorry for. Your speech seemed to have caused his sobbing to go down a couple of notches as he now only shook in your grasp, sniffling every couple of seconds.

It was quiet in the large house as you pondered on what you could do to make your significant other feel better at this time.

And that’s when it hit you.

“Baby?,” He hummed and turned his head towards you on your shoulder,

“Do you want to go to the beach tomorrow? And yes, we can go looking for crabs.”

He was already smiling when you had offered him the adventure to the beach, but after you had mentioned that you’d go searching for crabs with him he let out a chuckle.

Namjoon gave his signature smile to you, showcasing his dimples before speaking,

“Yeah, I’d, love to.”

#kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #bts #bts jin #bts suga #bts namjoon #bts j-hope #j-hope #i suck at this #im not good at tags

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bangtan-madi · 4 years

Text

546 Days Without You — One: Negative 41

Pairing — Seokjin x Reader

Tags — boyfriend!Seokjin, older brother!Yoongi, producer/songwriter!MC, military au (ish), idol au (ish)

Genre — fluff, angst

Word Count — 3.1k

Summary — Kim Seokjin is your entire world, and that world falls apart the moment he and your older brother Yoongi are conscripted into the South Korean military.

Part — 1 / 15

A/N — Hey lovelies! This is the first chapter of an estimated 15 part series. Feedback is always welcome! I anticipate a chapter of this story going up every weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!!

(gif not mine. credit to original creator.)

Previous — Next

Not every great love story starts with a chance encounter, and not every beautiful relationship blossoms from love at first sight. Sometimes the universe has a sense of humor as she tosses two unlikely people at each other just to see what could happen.

Sometimes it's not love, but annoyance at first sight.

"All right, again, from the top," you state into the microphone at your desk. "This time, try to nail that middle note. I know you got it in you, Kook."

Jungkook glances up from the sheets of music that line his podium in the recording studio. From behind the glass, he gives you a big thumbs up and boyish grin.

"That's producer-speak for, 'Again...but with passion!"

You don't have to turn to know who's sneaked up behind you, speaking over your shoulder and into the mic so Jungkook can hear.

The youngest member snickers, replying, "Aish, I got it, Hyung. Go back to your own room."

"I finished recording mine!" Seokjin retorts, causing you to finally glance over your shoulder at him. "My vocals were flawless so it didn't take nearly as long as the rest of you."

Without thinking, you pop your elbow back just hard enough to hit Seokjin in the ribs. Being the dramatic fool that he is, Seokjin jumps back, cradling his rib cage as if he's just been shot. The look on his face only causes you to roll your eyes.

"Oh, you're fine," you murmur. "What were you recording anyway? You didn't say."

He shrugs. "Mostly just practice, nothing specific."

"Well, if you're done being secretive, can you go be annoying somewhere else, just for a few minutes so JK can finish his session?"

"What do I get out of it?"

You tap your chin for a moment, pretending to think it over. "My undying gratitude?"

Seokjin scoffs. "I already have that, Jagiya."

"C'mon, Jin," Jungkook intervenes. "Leave [Y/n] noona alone."

"Five minutes? Then I'm off the clock and all yours. Until then, maybe go bug my brother. I know that makes you happy."

At the mention of Min Yoongi, Seokjin's face spreads into a wide smile. He leans down, presses a quick kiss to your cheek, and says, "Okay, okay, I get it. I'll go bug Yoongi until you're done. Then I'm holding you to your word."

Attempting to hide the happiness that simple gesture brings you is hopeless, so you settle for saying, "See you in a minute!"

Seokjin flashes a wink as he reaches for the doorknob. "Don't you dare be late."

Once the oldest member has left the room, you turn back to Jungkook with a grin and wave of your hand. "You heard the man: Again, but with passion!"

After wrapping up at the studio—a task that takes closer to an hour than five minutes, like you initially promised—you turn off the lights and lock the door on your way out. Jungkook had really sung his heart and soul today, and you couldn't help the proud smile that stays on your face on the bike ride home.

You're lucky. Of this, you're very much aware. Not only are you involved in one of the most lucrative businesses in South Korea but the particular company you've dedicated yourself to for the past eight years is truly one of a kind. Big Hit has given you so many opportunities, just like all of the other five-hundred-ish employees. Your CEO, Bang Si-Hyuk who is often referred to as either Hitman Bang or Bang PD, is one of the most passionate and empathetic humans you've ever met. If it weren't for him, there's not a change Big Hit would be where it is today. The co-CEO, Lenzo Yoon, is also a talented man, but he came into the picture far later than Bang PD, around March of last year.

But your luck doesn't just stop with the company or its leaders. Your specific job is one you've always wanted. Not only do you get to manage some of the best music coming out of your country, but you get to produce and write it alongside the biggest band in the world. This is a group that includes some of the most important people to you, including your older brother by two years Yoongi, your boyfriend of four years Seokjin, and your best friends of almost eight years which make up the rest of the group.

You don't like to think of your life as fate or destiny, but hard work and a little luck paying off after years of struggling.

There's no greater example of your success than what you get to come home to. Some people might see the nice apartment in downtown Seoul and think that's what you mean by success. Nice things, nice home, nice location just down the street from Big Hit HQ. But what you mean when you say success is the person, or people, you get to come home to.

On most days, the entire band is at the dormitories a few blocks away, but a couple years ago, you and Seokjin decided to get a place to yourself so you could have some space as a couple. This is where you spend most nights, but Seokjin still splits his time between the two locations. Lately, you've noticed him spending more and more time at your shared apartment, and your heart sinks when you remember why.

The word feels like venom in your mouth, and your hands grip the handlebars tighter as you pull the bike through the front door of the apartment.

Enlistment.

Everyone knew this was coming. It doesn't make it any easier to accept. Big Hit's had lawyers fighting against the boys' conscription for years. They've tried every argument they could think of: their impact on the South Korean economy, the fact that the Idol projects were started by and are still majority funded by the government and thus they've already served, the Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit they were awarded by President Moon Jae-in himself.

So far, nothing has worked, but they swore they would keep trying until the very last day.

A string of uttered curse words brings you out of your thoughts and back to your surroundings. The beautiful apartment, simple and elegant as well as lived-in and homey, gives you an immense sense of comfort. As you park your bike in the interior walkway, you hear even angrier muttering from the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Seokjin stands over a set of sizzling pans. Several ingredients are strewn across the counters, and the heavenly scent of traditional Korean food fills your nose. Soft instrumental music plays in the background.

The sight wouldn't be unusual if it weren't for Seokjin cursing at the pan that's holding what should have been mildly brazened vegetables. However, the greens are charred beyond recognition, and Seokjin's palm is clutched to his chest.

"Wow, that radish must have seriously pissed you off."

Seokjin jumps and lets out a yelp. Knowing how easily scared he is, the sight makes you giggle, much to his dismay.

A scowl quickly replaces the fearful expression. "It's not nice to sneak up on an unsuspecting boyfriend, you know!"

"You'll live," you reply, teasingly popping a small slice of carrot into your mouth. You gesture for him to extend his hand. "Let me see?"

The brunet offers his hand, and you examine his palm. There's a small burn there, nothing too nasty, but it does look like it hurt a few moments ago. You bring the palm to your lips and kiss it tenderly before moving towards the pan of burnt vegetables.

"Burning the food and then yourself. Are you feeling okay, Jinnie? It's not like you to be so careless in the kitchen. I'd expect this sorta thing from Joon, but not you." Lifting your eyes to meet his, you add, "Something on your mind?"

Seokjin's smile tugs at the corner of his mouth, but not in the way it usually does. It's not playful or teasing, nor is it caring or empathetic. It's a little sweet, a little sad, and a little bit too revealing of what's going on underneath.

"Honestly? I just wanted to have a nice night with my Jagiya. No talk of the album or tour, no one or several of the guys interrupting, no one but us. And I wanted to impress you by making your favorite meal!" He runs his un-burned hand through his hair, messing with the long black ends absentmindedly. "I guess I have a lot on my mind, and it distracted me."

You remove the pan of ruined food and place it quietly in the sink. "You wanna talk about it?"

"You probably already know, Jagi."

You do. Of course, you do. What else could make the happiest person you know this distracted and frustrated?

It's just like a few years ago, and you feel your chest tighten at the thought of the friend you lost. You felt a similar sense of impending doom just before he left for the military, too. After all these years, you thought you'd forgotten that feeling, only to have it return ten-fold with Seokjin.

Shaking your head, you turn on a different playlist—something more upbeat, and turn back to Seokjin with a grin. "C'mon. I'm hungry, and you need a sous chef."

Seokjin's somber expression melts away. Reaching into the cupboard nearest him, he pulls out two chef's hats that belonged to a couple's costume set you'd worn for Halloween a few years back. Being the goofball he is, Seokjin kept both hats and forces you to wear them whenever you cook together.

Placing the item on your head, tucking your hair behind your ears, he gives his signature windshield wiper laugh at your eye roll.

"You can be my little chef!"

The reference to the animated movie Ratatouille, which you both adore, causes you to chuckle along with him.

"So does that mean if I yank on your hair, you'll do what I want?"

Seokjin's laugh becomes outrageous and uncontrolled. Realizing how your words might've sounded, a deep heat rises in your face, and you pull your sweater collar up to cover your cheeks.

Your boyfriend claps his hands, thoroughly entertained by your reaction. "Well, you can give it a try, Jagi! I think that jus—"

"—Shut up or I'll stab you."

The laughter didn't stop for another few minutes, and the teasing didn't cease the entire night. If you're honest with yourself, you wouldn't have it any other way.

Seokjin was right; it's nice for once just to be alone together. Not that you don't adore the boys—hell, one of them is your brother—but it is nice to have a quiet night in, filled with good food and great company. Despite it just being the two of you, nights like these are never dull. You doubt there's ever been a dull moment in the man's entire life.

After the meal is finished, you decide to do your usual wind-down routine: shower, skincare, dancing on dangerously damp floors to the sound of your favorite playlist. The usual.

When you are finished, you exit the bathroom and enter immediately into the adjacent master bedroom. What you should've seen is something simple: a few pieces of furniture, various personal items, and a large mattress in the center. However, it seems as if Seokjin's taken the opportunity while you're in the shower to redecorate.

All the pillows are on the floor, in front of the mattress. Several duvets cover the floor. Throw blankets line the space, and curtains are strewn in the air above it, creating a sort of carnival-esque tent. Fairy lights are strung from the ceiling down to the interior of the space. BT21 character pillows line the exterior, creating a walkway of sorts. The whole space looks cozy and enchanting and well thought out.

He's gone way out of his way to make tonight special, you think to yourself.

You grab a notebook from your nightstand before nestling down into the pillow fort. You're unsure of where Seokjin has sneaked off to but are fairly certain he'll be back any moment. Until then, you hum gently a recently crafted melody to yourself, repeating it over and over, until you get it just right. Once nailed, you sketch the notes onto the blank music sheets inside your notebook, knowing that if you don't write it down you'll forget.

Yoongi's notification pings from your cellphone. Placing your notebook on your lap, you read the text before swiping to respond, all the while continuing to hum the newly created melody.

"You can sing like an angel and yet you still refuse to do vocals for us." Your eyes lift to meet Seokjin's as he stands in the door. "Do you like holding out on us or something?"

After seeing Yoongi respond with a smiley face emoji and a thumbs up, you turn off your cell and drop it onto the pillows. "How long have you been standing there?"

He shrugs. "Long enough."

"And...why are you staring at me?"

"So I can have a better picture of you in my mind."

You toss your notebook aside with an exasperated groan, only causing Seokjin to laugh. "You're so cheesy, my god."

His playful smile doesn't fade as he approaches the pillow fort. "Worldwide cheesy is my second nickname, you know."

"I am not calling you that. And I do not sing like an angel. So...no. Not holding out on anyone."

"But you do write your own lyrics and melodies. You don't share most of that with us, either. Except maybe with Yoongi, but that's not fair."

Seokjin plops down on top of you, his weight causing an "Oof," to slip from your lips. He nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck and slips his arms under the small of your back.

"Are you seriously pouting because I tell my brother, my producer and songwriter brother, about my shitty drafts?"

A muffled, "Yes," comes from your boyfriend's mouth.

Rolling your eyes, you relax into the comforters and relish in the cozy and intimate atmosphere. One of your hands tangles in Seokjin's dark hair, playing absent-mindedly with his long hair. The other rests against his broad shoulders; your fingers dance along the edges of his ocean-blue sweater, the one you often steal for yourself.

"Tonight was really sweet," you whisper after a few minutes of silence. "You didn't have to go out of your way like that."

"I wanted to. We haven't spent a long of alone time together since we started pre-production on the next album. And before that, there was the tour for Seven. I feel like 2020 has been a year we've spent more apart than together, and it shouldn't be like that..."

His sentence trails off, and you know what his somber tone is implying. It's 41 days until his twenty-eighth birthday. What should be a day of celebration will most definitely be a day of mourning.

"There's still hope," you mumble, pulling him tighter to you. "The lawyers haven't given up yet. They're still working on getting you and everyone else an exemption."

"Yeah...you're right."

"Hold on, can you say that again? I didn't quite catch it."

Seokjin nips gently at your throat, earning a surprised giggle from you. "Watch it, Jagi."

After your laughter settles down, the peace of the evening returns along with the blissful quiet. It's not often that Seokjin is still or silent, but over the years, you both have found a rhythm that works for you. You have your obnoxious, loud, exciting times, and then there are the serene, still, hushed moments like these. Both are beautiful in their own way, but after a full day of work, this is exactly what you needed.

"I wish every day could be like today," you murmur, half to yourself.

Your brunet boyfriend moves slightly, resting his head on the pillow beside yours. He shifts you so you're curled up against his side, arms and legs tangled under the covers he pulls over you both. A yawn slips out, despite you trying to fight the signs of sleepiness. Your eyelids become droopy, and his fingers rubbing circles on your ribs doesn't help.

When a second yawn escapes, Seokjin chuckles and presses his lips to your forehead. "You can sleep, [Y/n]. I'll be here when you wake up."

Loving nothing more than to spend more time with him, you know he's right. It's been a long day, and you have another one ahead of you tomorrow. Instead of fighting him and slumber, you curl closer, pressing a brief kiss to his lips, then tuck yourself under his chin and wrap your arms around his small waist.

"Promise?"

As if to show you, Seokjin holds you tighter as he continues to run his fingers along your rib cage and spine.

"I promise."

64 notes · View notes

royallyjoon · 5 years

Text

red light magic iii

i’ve lost all ambition

for wordly acclaim...

i just want to be the one you love...

—

It’s colder today, you thought to yourself.

After your last class, you made the short walk to Elizabeth Juno, the building which held the majority of Karu’s art classes.

It was short, but impressive. The tinted glass walls made it difficult for you to see whether Jungkook was waiting for you inside or not. You hesitated a bit in front of the door but decided to enter and flashed your ID at the security guard, taking a seat on a bench.

Even from here, you could smell the paint from the main classrooms and whispers of professors explaining major art pieces. Elizabeth Juno radiated creativity, and with it the confidence its students had to pursue and work upon their craft.

About ten minutes later, waves of students began leaving their classrooms. You listened to their chatter as friends met up with each other, complaining about some project or other that would soon be due for their portfolios. The loneliness hit you once more, but disappeared just as fast as it appeared.

A tap on your shoulder made you look up. Jungkook drew his hand back to his side, smiling. “Distracted?”

You returned his smile and shook your head, shoving headphones into bookbags. “Nah...well, maybe. I was just taking in the energy Juno gave me.”

Jungkook laughed in understanding. “Yeah, she’s pretty inspiring, isn’t she?”

You walked out of the building into the cool, September breeze.

“Why did you want to meet up?” You asked, tucking your phone into your pocket.

“You said you can’t go back into your dorm, and your roommate won’t be back until late, right?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“I wanted to ask if you would be wiling to come back to my apartment? Well, our apartment.”

You paused. “Like....with Namjoon and Yoongi and Hoseok and Mr. Kim?”

“And Jimin and Taehyung, yeah. I don’t think Jin hyung would mind an addition to the dinner table. And you’ve seen all of us around campus one way or another, so you could get to know us more formally?It’s just if you want to, though.”

You hummed, then continued walking. Would you rather go to the library until dark, clicking around on your laptop until you inevitably gave up on trying to be productive and started watching videos, or get closer to the one group of guys you manage to talk to on campus?

“If you’re sure the others wouldn’t mind, I’d love to come over.” You nodded.

Jungkook grinned. “Great! I’ll let everyone know.”

~~~~~~~~~~

jungkook opened “🅱️angtan’s 🅱️ussy”

jungkook: hey, (y/n)’s coming over. hope you cleaned 🤙🏼

old man is typing...

hobi hyung is typing....

loml is typing....

vante: ok

jiminie is typing...

old man: I’m cooking right now, thanks for the heads up

jiminie: 👀

loml: where are you guys right now?

hobi hyung: my room is always clean, the rest of you need to get your lives together

jungkook: we’re walking back from Juno, I’ll bring her back on my bike

old man: be careful! she’s probably not used to it

vante: he just wants to show off 😛 probably looking forward to her wrapping her arms around him

jiminie: ahhh~ so romantic

hobi hyung: much romance ^~^

lil meow meow is typing...

lil meow meow: why is she coming over?

jungkook: she forgot her keys this morning and her roommates won’t be coming back to the dorm until late

jungkook: it’s fine, she’ll just come over and eat

jungkook: we’ll bring her back by 11 so she has enough time to get back to the dorm before curfew

old man: I can send her home with leftovers😋

lil meow meow: ok

~~~~~~~~~~

“What did they say?” You peek at his screen without seeing anything, curious as to what their reaction would be.

“They’re cool with it! You’re ours for the evening.”

You smile and look down, blushing a bit at the concrete.

If only you had known the power behind the words,

the viciousness that was soon come to pass...

perhaps you would have trapped yourself just the same.

—————————————-

“...no.”

“(Y/N)!”

“Jeon!”

Jungkook pouted as you paced back and forth before him, leaning on his bike. You were not prepared for the certain method of transportation Jungkook had in his possession. Upon seeing the completely black motorcycle in the school parking lot, you thought it was cool but never expected to get on it yourself.

“Come on, you have nothing to be afraid of!” Jungkook patted the space beside him.

You stopped pacing in favor of staring him down. His brown eyes shone with mischief behind strands of long, curly black locks.

“How long have you been riding?”

“Hmm...this was a 16th birthday present, so around two years?”

You shook your head and paced some more.

“Are you sure it can take two people? I’m not too light,” you said.

“First of all, you are perfect.” Jungkook said. “Second of all, I have managed to ride to school with both Jimin and Taehyung on the back, and I’m still here today! And so is Charlie. She can handle it.”

Silence for a few more minutes. Then, you huffed. “Alright, Charlie. Be gentle.”

Jungkook turned on the bike so that his back was facing the handlebars, holding an extra helmet in his hands. He waited as you placed one leg over the side of the bike and lowered yourself into the seat.

It’s a good thing I didn’t wear a skirt today, you thought to yourself. You had nothing against the clothing, but you did not want your first time on the bike to be in a skirt and/or heels.

Jungkook gently placed the helmet on your head and adjusted the straps accordingly. “Does it feel tight enough?”

“Can you make it just a little tighter? Just in case...”

Jungkook cheesed at your catiousness. “Of course, does that feel better?”

You gave him a thumbs up. He slipped your bag off your shoulders and placed it in the back of the bike along with his.

Jungkook stood and turned so that he was properly facing the front of the motorcycle.

You had seen and read enough books to know what comes next, but you didn’t want to seem to forward. Jungkook finished adjusting his helmet straps and snapped the visor into place. He reached behind him, gently picking up your hands and placing them around his midsection.

“Oh my God, are you sure? I don’t want to strangle you.” You asked so seriously he burst into laughter.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. No one is as much of a cobra as Jimin hyung. Are you ready?”

You steeled your sneakers against the platforms on either side of the motorcycle and held on to Jungkook a little tighter. “I guess.”

He let the bike stand properly and off you two sped.

———————————

“Namjoon-ah!” Seokjin hollered. He finished cooking and was now wiping down the dinner table. “Come set the table!”

“How come (Y/N) gets all this special treatment?” Namjoon grumbled, barely awake from his afternoon nap. “The last time we ate you gave us plastic utensils and paper plates.” He grabbed the silverware from the cabinets and started setting the table for eight.

“That’s because I didn’t feel like washing the dishes that night, which I know you all would have left me to do. Nor am I washing them tonight.” Seokjin slammed the washcloth onto the side of the sink.

“Is Kookie on his way?” Taehyung bounced down the stairs in a hoodie and some sweatpants. He walked into the kitchen. “Ah, is dinner ready?”

Namjoon chuckled as he heard a loud smack, Seokjin’s preaching, and Taehyung’s whining.

“Go make yourself more presentable.” The older chided. “I live with a bunch of heathens.”

Namjoon finished up downstairs and went to “change” (read: lie down for a few more minutes).

He snuck into Yoongi’s room, plopped down in front of him, and got under the covers. The older muttered something that Namjoon did not hear before promptly passing out.

About twenty minutes later, Seokjin heard the revving of an engine down the block.

“THEY’RE COMING!” the eldest hollered, taking the food off the stove.

Jimin, relaxing in the living room, brushed his pink hair from his forehead and stood. “Hyung, relax, they’re not the SWAT team.”

“Go wake up your brothers. Why is everyone always sleeping in this house?” Seokjin asked incredulously,

Jimin hopped upstairs, threw open the door to Taehyung’s room, and pounced. “It’s time to wake up!” He playfully shouted as he threw himself onto his soulmate.

Taehyung groaned and tried to push his friend off of him, but Jimin wouldn’t budge. “You should change before Jin hyung gets mad.” Jimin giggled.

“Okay, okay I’m up...”

Jimin annoyed him some more before leaving for Yoongi’s room. He opened the door more quietly, peeking in to see what was Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi all cuddling on the bed.

At some point in their nap, Hoseok had walked in, gotten into the bed on the other side of Yoongi, and fallen asleep as well.

Jimin took a couple of pictures before shaking the three awake.

Yoongi wasn’t even surprised at seeing Namjoon and Hoseok in his bed. He yawned and stretched before going to his drawers. “Yah, Namjoon, Hoseok, get up.”

The other two turned into the now empty space. “Why are you two so tired? You don’t even do anything,” Yoongi muttered.

“I stayed up writing lyrics again,” Namjoon spoke into the comforter.

“I was practicing until 3 am.” Hoseok groaned.

Yoongi snorted. “Sounds like your problem, not mine. Get out of bed and go change. Before I get the water.”

The twenty four year olds glared at their companion before lifting themselves off his bed and trudging off to their rooms.

“You’d better not fall asleep in there, either! Wash up!”

—————————————

Jungkook parked the motorcycle, letting it stand on its side. He all but whipped his helmet off and turned to face you. “So? How was it?”

You placed a foot on the concrete, lifting the other off the platform and swinging that leg over the side of the bike. Once both of your feet were on the ground, you collapsed.

“Oh my god, are you alright?” Jungkook threw his helmet on a handlebar and got off his motorcycle. He could see your lips moving but couldn’t tell exactly what you were saying.

“Sweet...sweet ground...” you whispered.

Jungkook undid the straps and took off your helmet. “Oh, stop being so dramatic. It was fun, wasn’t it?”

You huffed. “Sure. Speeding through the intersection at the last second of the yellow light was the best part, especially with that huge semi approaching. I love staring down headlights.”

Jungkook cackled and handled you your bag. “That was the least dangerous part of this evening.” He lent out a hand and you grabbed his to stand up.

“Oh really? Thanks for the warning.” You swung your bag strap over your shoulder and fixed your hair.

You turned to Jungkook with a smile. “Let’s go!”

The apartment was on the second floor with a wooden door. Jungkook pulled out a key ring and opened the door, holding it open for you. “Welcome to our humble abode.”

—————————————————————————

Walking in, you were hit immediately with the smell of delicious, homecooked food.

As Jungkook locked the door, you took your shoes off. “Is it okay if I walk around in my socks or...?”

“You can wear my slippers—they’re the black and blue ones. I have another pair upstairs.”

You grinned in relief, thankful for his offer and for the fact that they fit. “Thank you!”

Jungkook took your bag, placing it on a hook near the door. “We’re home!” He hollered.

They might not have noticed it, but the familiarity with which he said that sentence felt....

so right.

Jungkook would never be able to come home without recalling how wonderful the “we” tasted on his lips.

Seokjin walked out of the kitchen carrying a platter. “Right on time! Welcome, (Y/N)! I didn’t know if you were allergic to anything or not, so I have a mix of cultural dishes and regular dinner foods. I hope you enjoy.”

“Oh, thank you so much Mr. Kim! You didn’t have to do so much for me...” you whispered the last part, standing unsure of yourself in the kitchen.

“Trust me, to feed this hoard, I do. And please, call me Jin.”

or Oppa

You nodded. “Is there a bathroom I could use to wash my hands?”

“Down this hallway, second door on the right.” Jungkook directed you. You thanked him and quietly padded down the hallway.

Jin and Jungkook’s eyes trailed you, fixed upon your back.

Once Jin heard the door close, he hollered once more but in Korean. “If you’re not all downstairs by the time (Y/N) leaves the bathroom, you don’t eat!”

You washed your hands, dried them, and opened the door to the hallway bathroom. There were a lot more brightly colored heads downstairs now. You steeled your nerves, walking to the dinner table.

Jin sat at the head of the table with Yoongi at the other end. Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok sat on one side and Namjoon and Jungkook on the other with a space left between them.

The group chorused welcomes as you approached the table. “I just wanted to thank you all again for letting me come over. You have a lovely home.”

“Aish, it’s nothing! It’s about time we all sat together for a meal.” Hoseok grinned and ushered for you to sit.

“Yeah, you know pretty much everyone here except for me, Jin hyung and Taehyungie.” Jimin said.

“Ah, I’m sorry for that, sunbaes! I have been hoping to see you around campus more.” You felt bad, but your schedules hardly allowed each other meet up.

“How about you come to dance club sometime? Hoseok hyung and I will be there!” Jimin offered.

You nodded. “Text me the time and location; I’ll definitely try to make it!”

“You’ll be seeing me a lot more in English, Ms. (L/N). Karu’s officially hiring me as a TA.” Jin dropped as he took a sip of water.

Your face brightened as Jungkook’s dropped. “Ah, really? I hope all my essays go to you for grading then!”

They laughed the comment off, all thinking the same thing.

“I could get used to this...

...forever.”

—————————————————————————

(A/N): Ah, I’m sorry for taking SO LONG between chapters! I really didn’t want to just stop here for you guys! The good things are coming any update now; thank you for being patient and showing support :)

#yandere bts #yandere bts x reader #college au #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #park jimin #kim taehyung #jeon jungkook #bts x reader #reader insert

189 notes · View notes

today-we-will-survive · 5 years

Text

As The World Burns Around Us, Ch. 4

header made by me

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader ft. Taehyung

Genre: Apocalypse!AU, Angst, Thriller

Warning: dark themes, violence, gore

Word Count: 10K

Parts can be found in the masterlist under “As The World Burns Around Us”

Summary: You haven’t seen the sun in two years. The Virus wiped out a good three quarters of the world’s population and then the wars that followed wiped out half of that. After everything happened, it was only a matter of time before the different countries started blaming each other and emptied their nuclear arsenals. You’re still surprised Seoul survived – if you can call what it has become “surviving”.

The pain lingers even as you make your way—quietly so you don’t wake Jungkook—back out of the train car the next morning. Surprisingly, the air is silent. Everyone else must still be asleep.

Well, almost everybody.

A loud banging from down the tracks has you about jumping out of your skin and you spin on your heel to find Taehyung standing in front of the weapons car, the heavy padlock gripped in his hand. He growls and throws his fist against the side of the car, eliciting another loud bang before he turns and disappears around the front of the train.

You let out a breath but it hitches again when the door of the car just behind the weapons car slides open and Yoongi’s honey blonde head pokes out. After looking around sleepily for a moment, his eyes finally settle on you.

“Is that you making all that noise?” he cracks. Sleep makes his voice several octaves lower.

You shake your head. “Tae was messing with the lock.”

Yoongi looks back at the weapons car and then back at you. “He can’t get in without the key,” he says and it sounds almost like he’s reassuring you. “And I don’t plan on handing it over any time soon.”

You just nod. This seems satisfactory enough and he ducks back into his car and closes the door.

The rest of the morning is uneventful after that. You build a fire in the pit and sit poking at it, waiting for the others to stir and make their way into the field—which they do slowly and sleepily. Yoongi is just starting breakfast when a sound you haven’t heard in a long time echoes through the clearing.

“Are those motorcycles?” Jimin asks getting up slowly, his eyes searching the trees surrounding you.

RM and Yoongi are on their feet too, both with guns in hand, cocked and ready just in case. Your own hands grip the hilts of your knives, though they remain sheathed and Jungkook stands there helplessly, his head twisting this way and that as the sound grows louder.

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

The five of you gape at the sight before you—Hobi busting through the tree-line and flying across the field, atop a quad. His dark hair blows back in the wind, his mouth open wide as he hollers gleefully over the sound of the engine. Just behind him, another four wheeler bursts out of the woods, this one occupied by Seokjin who seems to be enjoying himself almost as much, his boisterous laughter filling the air.

By the time they reach the rest of you, Yoongi is standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, a not so amused look on his face.

“So are you trying to attract all the looters within a twenty mile radius or were you just not thinking about the fact that blasting through the woods screaming your heads off might not be the smartest idea in the world?”

“Oh, lighten up, Yoongi,” Seokjin says as he shuts off the engine and climbs off his quad. “It would have taken us three times as long to get back if we didn’t find these.”

“Plus,” Hobi chimes in. “Now we can travel further for supply runs and get back sooner. You know it’ll be nice having these here. Not to mention they’re frikin awesome.”

“Did you guys get everything on the list?” Yoongi asks ignoring Hobi’s last remark.

“And more,” Seokjin replies gesturing to the bags strapped onto the back of his quad.

Jimin drops his bow next to its quiver on the log he was sitting on. “So, can I take one for a spin?”

“We aren’t keeping these for entertainment,” Yoongi says.

“Aha!” Hobi yells. “But we are keeping them.”

The light haired boy rolls his eyes but you detect a hint of a smile as well. “Yeah, yeah,” he says. “I guess they could be useful.”

Jimin lets out an excited shriek before climbing onto the quad beside Hobi. “Come on, Y/N,” he yells. “You and Jungkook hop on the other one and race me.”

Jungkook looks at you and you can’t help but giggle at him trying to contain his own excitement. His mouth scrunches up in a feeble attempt to keep his smile under control and his eyes sparkle as they dart back and forth between you and the other quad. “Uh…I’d be down for that,” he says and again you laugh at the obvious eagerness in his voice. “How about it?”

Those crinkling starry eyes, that dazzling bunny smile. How can you say no? Especially when you haven’t seen him look excited like this in years. With your own smile to match his, you make your way over to the quad Seokjin rode in on and climb on top. “Fine, but I get to drive first.”

You lost sight of Jimin a while ago as you’ve been winding through the trails after him but it doesn’t really bother you. The only thing you care about right now is the feeling of Jungkook pressed up against your back, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist and his chin resting on your shoulder. His laughter echoes in your ear and you relish in the way his grip on you tightens whenever you go over a bump or make a particularly sharp turn.

“You’re gonna make me piss myself if you keep jostling us around like this,” he yells. You let out a loud laugh and deliberately steer into the path of a thick tree branch. Jungkook lets out a grunt behind you and pinches your sides. “Alright, that’s it. Pull over, you brat,” he growls.

You brake and cut the engine, watching in confusion as Jungkook climbs quickly off of the quad. “What are you doing?” you ask him.

“I told you I have to pee!” he yells back unzipping his pants as he waddles deeper into the woods.

You just shake your head and smile to yourself as you sit waiting for him to return. The forest is silent but for the faint purr of Jimin’s quad somewhere in the distance. The trees make it sound like it’s coming from every direction. Surely, he’s going to beat you back to camp.

“Hurry up,” you call.

“As soon as I’m done, it’s my turn to drive!” he responds from somewhere in the woods.

You grip the handlebars. “Oh, then, uh…take your time!” You won’t lie, driving this thing has been some of the most fun you’ve had in the last couple of years. Your friend’s dad owned a motorcycle and he took you out on it a few times when you were younger so this just brings back those fond memories. The wind in your hair, the fresh air rushing into your lungs. There’s nothing quite like it.

A deep voice cuts through the quiet causing you to stiffen. It’s not Jungkook. In fact, it almost sounds like…

“Tae,” you utter. You climb off the quad and start to make your way further down the path, leaving Jungkook wherever he is to pee in solitude.

You keep going, following the familiar voice. It sounds like he’s arguing with someone but you don’t hear anyone else besides him. At last, you round a bend and halt, quickly stepping back behind a thick tree when he comes into view. He’s alone, pacing back and forth across the path like some wild animal, muttering to himself under his breath. His movements are jerky, almost inhuman. One second his hands are clenching in fists at his sides, the next they’re in his hair, his fingers carding through the mahogany strands and tugging hard.

“You can’t. You can’t,” he utters then suddenly lets out a growl. “I can and will. Nonono, please not Y/N—”

The sound of your name causes a gasp to escape before you can catch it and you slap your hand over your mouth as Taehyung’s head jerks in your direction. He’s breathing hard, his shoulders heaving, his dark eyes wildly searching the path for the source of the noise. You hold your own breath, terror freezing your lungs, but your heart is hammering so hard in your chest you’re sure he can hear it.

Slowly, you peek out from behind the tree again to find that Taehyung has turned his profile to you now. You watch as he tilts his head up as if to sniff the air, his tongue darting out of his mouth quickly, like a snake’s, and his face splits into a smile. Why is he acting so strange? So creepy? So…possessed?

“Y/N, Y/N, Y/N,” he says, your name tumbling from his lips like syrup, his voice smooth and taunting and for a split second you think he’s calling out to you but then suddenly he turns on his heel, putting his back to you and he sinks to his knees. His head drops into his hands. “Please no. Please don’t,” he sobs and then he’s back up again, his head lifted high. “But isn’t this what you wanted?”

What he wanted? What does he want? What is he talking about?

“Not like this,” Taehyung continues, bent forward again. Though his back is to you, you can picture the despairing expression on his face by the way his voice cracks. “Please, you can’t—”

The roar of an engine cuts him off and you spin, not even looking back to see if he saw you. You just run, stumbling over tree roots and rocks, running away from this disturbing scene. You turn a corner and your boots skid in the dirt as you come to a jarring halt to keep from crashing right into the quad. Jungkook sits atop it, his eyes wide as they meet yours.

“Are you okay?” he asks breathlessly, surely startled at you coming out of nowhere.

“Yeah, sorry, I just—” you just what? Just witnessed Taehyung acting like some sort of schizophrenic? Just saw him moving like a man possessed? Just heard him say your name in ways that had your skin crawling and terror rushing through you like liquid nitrogen? “—I had to pee, too.”

This seems to satisfy him enough and he gives you a nod before scooting forward, the startled expression on his face relaxing into a grin. “Well, get on. I bet we could still beat Jimin back to camp.”

You can only nod, your head still too much of a swirling mess, too busy trying to come up with some sort of logical explanation for what you just saw back there. That wasn’t Taehyung. He looked different. Sounded different. You’ve never seen him act like that before. Even in the last two years, dealing with how weird he’s become, he’s still seemed like just a normal person. A jerk but still normal. But this…something is going on. Something is extremely wrong. And for the first time since all this crap happened, a frightening thought occurs to you. What if that isn’t Taehyung at all?

He doesn’t come back again until you’re almost finished with dinner. No one would have even noticed him if it weren’t for RM looking up from his plate and squinting into the darkness. You turn your head, following his gaze, to find Taehyung standing just outside of the fire’s glow, looking like a ghoul with his black eyes.

“Where’ve you been?” Jungkook asks half-heartedly as he picks the last bit of meat off the bone and pinches it between his teeth.

Taehyung just says, “out.”

With a snort and an eye roll, Jungkook gets up and makes his way to the picnic table for a second helping of food. Taehyung starts edging around the perimeter, keeping to the shadows, never stepping into the light as if it might burn him if he gets too close. He’s gotten so much weirder the longer you’ve been there—this has become clear to you since seeing him arguing with himself in the woods earlier—and judging by the suspicion in the others’ eyes as they watch him, you’re not the only one to notice.

When he reaches RM, the boy stands up, stepping into his path causing him to stop short. The two are almost the same exact height but Taehyung seems to slink a little lower, peering up at him out of the tops of his eyes. The rest of you watch in tense silence.

RM leans in close to Taehyung and narrows his eyes like he’s studying him. “You carry the dead underneath your skin, so much so that you forget about the very life that moves through your veins.”

A glint flashes across Taehyung’s face and for a second you think he’s going to hit him. Instead, his expression relaxes and a strained smile spreads across it. He claps a hand on RM’s shoulder. “Whatever you say, Ghandi,” he utters then pushes him out of the way and starts once again toward the train.

While everyone else watches Taehyung go, you steal a glance at Jungkook. His eyes are dark, hooded by his furrowed brow as he glares after his best friend. A second later, his plate clatters onto the table and he makes his way hastily after Taehyung.

You stand up. “Jungkook—”

“I’ll be right back,” he says over his shoulder.

You don’t move until he’s disappeared after Taehyung down the tracks. Then with one more look back at the others, you follow after him.

When you reach the train and make your way around to the other side, you immediately slink against it so you can get closer to the arguing shadows without being seen or heard.

“What was that all about?” Jungkook growls.

Something clangs and Taehyung swears under his breath. “We’re getting out of here.”

Your heart drops into your stomach. No, I don’t want to leave.

“What do you mean we’re getting out of here?”

“Just what I said, Kook. We’re leaving. We’re going back to Seoul.”

“Tae, think about what you’re saying. We have food here. The people are friendly. There’s more of us so we’re better protected.”

Another clang causes you to jump. “Just because I don’t want to sing Kumbaya around the fire, they all think I’m some sort of soulless demon,” Taehyung spits. “I’m sick of it. We were better off when it was just the three of us. I say we go back.”

“But what about food? What about the raider infestation?”

“We can figure that all out when we get there. You should have listened to me. We never should have left in the first place.”

Jungkook lets out a sigh and you hold your breath. “Alright,” he finally whispers. “Alright, but just…let me talk to Y/N first. Just don’t make any final decisions until I’ve talked to her.”

“I’ve already made the decision, Kook. We’re out of here.”

“Just not tonight, alright?”

“Tomorrow night, then.”

“Fine.”

Taehyung swivels and trudges further down the track toward your shared car while Jungkook turns around, freezing when his eyes land on you. You clench your hands into tight fists, anger already causing tears to well in your eyes.

“No,” you try to say, though your voice only comes out in a whisper because you can’t quite breathe.

“Y/N.”

“No. I’m not going back,” you say then before he can answer, you turn and make your way down the tracks toward the woods. Jungkook follows behind you in silence until you feel like Taehyung won’t be able to hear you then you turn around again to face him. “You can’t tell me that going back to Seoul wouldn’t be the worst idea ever.”

Jungkook brings a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Tae seems to think it would be better.”

“I don’t care what Tae thinks,” you snap whirling around and throwing one of your blades into the trunk of the nearest tree.

“Y/N,” he says from behind you as you stomp over to retrieve it. “Tae’s always been the one to make decisions in the group. I just want things to go back to the way they were before.”

You rip your knife from the tree again and spin to face him. “Well, take a good look around, Jungkook,” you growl. “Things are never going to be the way they were before. Our best friend is gone. You’re the leader here. Not Tae. Something is seriously wrong with him. I don’t trust him, not for a second. Never will. So it’s time you man up.”

Immediately, you feel a stab of regret at that last sentence. Jungkook’s mouth hangs open as he stares at you. He probably can’t believe you’d say that. You sure can’t.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” you say quietly wishing you could snatch the words back out of the air but they’ve already settled. “I don’t want you to think I’m trying to pull you away from your best friend.”

“Then tell me what you want me to think, Y/N,” Jungkook says angrily. “What do you expect me to do with this?”

“I…I don’t—”

“Do you think I’m just completely oblivious to the way he’d been acting for the past two years? Do you think I haven’t noticed he’s gotten worse?”

You try and fail to get a word in edgewise.

“I know Tae has changed. I know he’s not the person I’ve known since we were in preschool and it freaking kills me every day. But he’s still in there. I have to believe my best friend is in there somewhere. Alright?”

“Alright,” you finally whisper with a small nod. You can’t think of anything else to say. It wouldn’t matter even if you could because Jungkook walks away from you after that, quickly disappearing down the path that leads back to the field.

You don’t really want to go back. You don’t want to see anyone. More than that, though, you don’t want to leave.

The cloudy sky had carried on through the day until the gray finally broke up. Now the night is a velvety, deep blue and countless stars wink down at you. There are so many and they seem so close, like you could slice off a piece of one with your knife if you reached high enough.

A breeze lifts the hair off your shoulders and you breathe in deep, savoring the smell of the woods because, come tomorrow, you’ll probably never get the chance to again.

No.

That isn’t going to happen. You aren’t going to leave this place—these people—not after everything they’ve done for you. You don’t care what Taehyung wants. You aren’t going anywhere.

Your dream still tinges the edge of your mind as you wake the next morning to find yourself on your feet, a knife in each hand. Maybe it would be better if you didn’t sleep with your knives near you anymore. Of course, the boys are already gone. When you got back the night before, Jungkook was asleep next to Taehyung with his back to the outside mat. You usually slept facing each other, your fingers inches apart. Obviously, you screwed up.

With a sigh, you put the blades back in their sheathes and hop down from the train car. The sky seems to match your mood. Everything is tinted gray—thanks to the slate colored clouds—and the air feels a little bitter, like autumn is on the way.

You meet Jungkook’s eyes from where he sits with the others by the fire. He doesn’t smile, doesn’t gesture for you to join him or rise to come to you. He just turns away again and starts talking to RM and Hobi. Taehyung, surprisingly, sits next to him, his elbows resting on his knees. A corner of his mouth lifts when he glances your way, as if to say he’s mine now.

You glare back, feeling fire rising from your belly up your throat, but you swallow it back down, keeping your expression blank. Surely, he already knows how this whole thing is affecting you but you aren’t about to give him even more satisfaction by letting him see the hurt on your face.

“Hey Y/N?” You turn to find Jimin sitting at the table, his brow furrowed with concern. “Are you okay?”

You glance back at Jungkook and Taehyung again before meeting Jimin’s eyes once more. “I’m great,” you say a little too enthusiastically. Then you pull a knife out of your thigh holster and flip it in the air before catching it again easily. “Target practice?”

The look on Jimin’s face tells you he isn’t even slightly convinced by your fake optimism, especially since he just witnessed the exchange between you and Jungkook but he shrugs anyway, grabbing his bow off the table and getting up, following after you as you trudge toward the tracks.

“So…uh…wanna talk about what’s bugging you?” Jimin asks once the two of you have been practicing in tense silence for a while.

You throw a knife hard and it sinks to the hilt in the soft bark. “Nothing.”

“Bull,” Jimin says and when you look at him, he tilts his head, flashing a sweet smile.

It’s hard to keep a straight face as you twirl your last blade between your fingers. Jimin stands there expectantly and at last you let out a sigh. “Tae wants to leave tonight and go back to Seoul.”

“So let him,” Jimin replies with a shrug then loads an arrow into his bow and takes aim.

“Jungkook doesn’t want him to go alone.”

“So he can go with him.” Only after he releases the arrow and watches it hit the tree does he turn to look at you. His expression falters when he sees the dark look in your own eyes. “What?”

“You know what,” you utter.

Jimin shifts on his feet. “Look, Y/N, I really like you. And Jungkook is fine too. We’re all just leery about Taehyung.”

“Jungkook isn’t going anywhere without me,” you say. Right?

“I’m just saying, if the only way for Taehyung to leave is if Jungkook goes with him, I’m not going to try to convince him to stay.”

“What about me?” you ask.

“Like I said,” Jimin says with a sigh. “We like you.”

You lower your gaze to the ground and shake your head. “Tae was right,” you mutter with a humorless laugh.

“About what?”

“You only want me around because I’m a girl.”

Now it’s Jimin’s turn to let out a laugh. “It has nothing to do with the fact that you’re a girl, Y/N,” he says. “You’re a cool person and you’re fun to be around. And you fit in with the rest of us. That’s it.” Then he loads another arrow and releases it hastily. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

You kick the dirt. “Ah, I don’t know,” you finally say. “It’s just Tae getting into my head is all.” Then you look back up at him. “I’m sorry, Jimin.”

For a second he chews on his lip in thought as if mulling over your words but then his mouth lifts into a smile again. “It’s alright,” he says. “Though what are you doing listening to Taehyung?”

You laugh at that and go to take aim again when the sounds of someone approaching causes you to whip around quickly. Black hair and golden skin stands out against the green of the trees.

“Jungkook? What are you doing here?” you ask lowering your hand gripping the blade back down to your side.

His dark eyes shift to Jimin, his jaw muscles becoming more prominent as he grinds down on his back teeth. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure,” you say, “what’s going on?”

Jungkook doesn’t say anything for several seconds, his eyes still locked on Jimin. At last the orange haired boy sucks in a sharp breath and swings his bow and quiver onto his shoulder. “I’ll just leave you two alone then,” he says finally relenting.

You watch him as he goes, a lump forming and growing larger with every step he takes away from you. By the time he’s gone, you feel sick.

“You sure spend a lot of time with Jimin,” Jungkook finally says once the other boy has disappeared down the path.

The sickness in your stomach suddenly turns to anger. “It’s just hunting and target practice, Jungkook. It’s not like I’m going skinny dipping with him. Besides, shouldn’t you be practicing too?”

“Kind of hard to do when I don’t have my gun.”

Your fists quiver as you clench them tightly. “I’m not leaving,” you utter, your voice low in an attempt to hide the trembling in it. “I am so sick, Jungkook…of losing…everyone.” Then you turn around and throw your last knife. Your hands shake so hard that when you release it, it cuts through the air, completely missing the tree again.

You hear a chuckle behind you and you spin around again to find Taehyung leaning against a tree behind Jungkook. “Apparently practicing hasn’t done you any good,” he says with his arms crossed over his chest.

A hiss escapes through your teeth. “I’ll kill you,” you growl and lunge.

Jungkook grabs you around the waist before you can sink your claws into Taehyung’s smug face and a corner of his mouth twitches up into a taunting smirk.

“Tae, I swear to God, cut it out!” Jungkook yells as he tries to hold you back. Your hair is all in your eyes and strands of it stick to your sweaty face and the world is blurry and you’re pissed. “Y/N, just calm down.”

At last, you’re able to rip yourself out of his grip and rake your hair back. “Calm down?” your voice is several octaves above normal. “I will not calm down! I am so far away from calming down!” Your breath comes out in short bursts now and your heart rattles in your chest.

“Well, get there soon because we’re leaving tonight,” Taehyung says.

Jungkook drags his hands down his face and lets out a heavy sigh. “Tae—”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” you say between shallow breaths. “Something is seriously wrong with you, Tae. You’re acting strange, you’re smoking? You disappear all day, you’re talking to yourself in the woods?

“What?” Jungkook asks turning to face him.

You ignore him. “You aren’t the same person I used to call my best friend. I don’t trust you and I never will.” Then you spin and trudge toward the tree to retrieve your knives.

“Y/N, come on,” Jungkook says.

You stop to yank out the only one that hit the mark before turning around again. “No, Jungkook,” you say. “I’m staying here. You can go back with Tae if you want but I’m not leaving.”

With a growl, Taehyung pushes off the tree he was leaning against then disappears back into the woods headed toward camp. Once his footsteps have faded, you meet Jungkook’s eyes. You can feel the fire in your stomach dying down as the disappointment on his face washes over you.

“You know, Y/N, you’re not the only one that lost everyone they cared about. Tae was my best friend too.”

You clamp your teeth down on your lower lip as the world around you starts to bleed. A lump forms in your throat so you can’t talk. It doesn’t matter. You don’t know what to say anyway.

“What do you want me to do?” Jungkook asks you. You can’t bring yourself to look at him. “I mean, it’s too dangerous for Tae to go back by himself, though I know he would anyway cuz he’s a moron like that. And I know you’ll be safe here with everyone else but I can’t leave you either.”

Finally, you lift your eyes to meet his. “Why?”

He looks hurt. “Why do you think?”

“I thought…last night—I thought…”

“You thought what? You thought I didn’t love you anymore just because we got into a fight?” Jungkook’s fingers go up into his hair then settle on the back of his neck as he lets out a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” he finally says shaking his head. “I can’t play mediator for you and Tae…I can’t do it anymore, Y/N. I can’t.” You feel your whole body growing heavy and your shoulders and head slump forward. “Whatever,” he says. “Let’s just drop it, alright?” You nod with your eyes still glued to the ground. “Alright. I’m going to go talk to Tae.” Then he turns and starts back toward camp.

“Jungkook.”

He stops and looks back at you. You wring your hands and blink hard, trying to focus on Jungkook’s blurred face. “I’m sorry you lost your best friend.”

Jungkook nods and gives you a sad smile. “I’m sorry too.” Then he turns away again and disappears down the path.

It takes you a while after that to find the rest of your knives. You aren’t really in a hurry though. In fact, the last place you want to go back to is camp. Instead of taking the path back to the field, you follow the footpath past the target tree. Surely, this group of boys have covered every inch of these woods. This group that found you. This group that welcomed you in and gave you clothes and food and a place to sleep. That healed your hands.

You look down at your palms. The skin is shiny and stiff but looks and feels so much better than the red and green oozing mess it was before. Without these people, you wouldn’t be able to throw your knives. You wouldn’t be able to defend yourself. You probably wouldn’t even be alive. And Jungkook wants to leave.

The path forks off in two directions, one to the left and one continuing straight. The sound of running water has your feet carrying you down the one to the left and soon you find yourself standing at the edge of a small pool with a creek trickling into it from the other side. This must be where they get their water.

As if on cue, the stale stench of your shirt wafts up into your nostrils and makes your nose scrunch up. You kick off your boots and socks and dip a naked toe into the water. It’s obviously much colder than the heated showers but it makes for a nice distraction for keeping thoughts about everything at bay. You clench your teeth against the chattering until they hurt as you force yourself to wade in. You manage to make it in up to your waist before your legs are too numb to take you any farther, but it’s working. There isn’t a thought in your brain other than cold cold cold cold. You can’t even remember why you were sad in the first place.

Slowly, you peel off your pants and shirt and start scrubbing them against each other under the water. You may not have any soap but hopefully the friction will get rid of at least some of the dirt and sweat. Once you think they’re as clean as you can make them, you lay them out across a rock to dry in the sun. Immediately, when you step out of the water, the air begins to warm your body up, bringing memories back to the surface of your mind.

This time, you dive in headfirst.

The ice fills your head again and washes away every thought so you’re left only with the comforting darkness. Maybe you could just stay down there for a little while.

Just then a burst of bubbles flies into your face and a current pushes you backward. You kick hard to bring yourself to the surface and break through just a few seconds before another dark head pops up, sending a wall of water into your eyes and mouth. You let out a sputtering cough.

“What is wrong with you!”

You’re still trying to clear the water from your vision when a pair of strong arms wrap around you, pulling you into a hard, very cold chest. Immediately, you stiffen, feeling strands of wet hair brush your shoulder. But then he lets out a sigh and you relax against him, bringing a hand up to tangle your fingers in his hair.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N,” Jungkook whispers into your neck. “I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry you thought I didn’t love you anymore. I’m sorry I made you think I wasn’t on your side. I’m so—”

“Jungkook.”

He doesn’t move, just keeps his face buried in the crook of your neck. But you feel his grip tighten on your torso and your breath hitches when he lets out another shuddering sigh. At last, he leans back but only long enough to slide his hands up to the base of your neck and pull you into him. His lips crash against yours, wet and cold but fervent and at first you’re taken by surprise. But it only takes a second for your body to listen to your brain and then you’re kissing him back, your lips sliding over his, slick from the water dripping down both of your faces. Your toes slip on the mossy rocks and finally you just wrap your legs around his slim waist, your thighs rubbing against the rough material of his jeans, and just let him hold you up like he has in every other way for the past two years.

When you do finally pull away, breathless and lightheaded, you rest your forehead against his, your eyes still closed as you will yourself to come back down to earth.

“I really am sorry, Y/N,” he utters, his breath warm against your swollen mouth.

“I know,” you reply. “Me too.”

“I’ll stay.”

You pull back at this, finally looking at him for the first time. You already know he’s shirtless since you could feel his bare skin against yours yet somehow you’re still struck dumb at the way his golden skin seems to sparkle, even in the overcast daylight. His black hair hangs in strings in his eyes which, also somehow seem to catch gradients of light that aren’t really there. Then again, it’s always seemed like he held the stars in his eyes. Now is no exception.

“You what?” you ask. “You talked to Tae? Is he staying too?”

Jungkook shakes his head slowly, pulling his rosy bottom lip in between his teeth. “Yeah I talked to him,” he says after a moment. “He was pissed and stormed off but…if you want to stay here, I’m staying with you. You’re more important to me than his ego is.”

You pull him back in for a tight hug, eliciting a grunt from the back of his throat when his chest hits yours. “Thank you,” you say and kiss his jaw before squeezing him tighter. “I really like it here. I like the guys.” Then you quickly pull back. “But I promise there’s nothing going on between me and Jimin.”

“No, I know,” Jungkook says and you notice his ears tinge pink. “I’m sorry for accusing you earlier like that. I was just angry about this whole situation.”

“No, I get it,” you say. “How’d you find me, anyway?”

He lowers his head bashfully. “I kind of followed you.”

“Stalking?” You let out a mock gasp. “I didn’t think you had it in you. Sure, Tae, maybe, but not you.”

A dark look passes over his face at the mention of the name but you quickly wash it away with a playful splash. He shakes his head and lets out a light laugh before getting you back. This, of course, causes a full on battle to break out.

“I just came to make sure you were okay and this is the thanks I get!” Jungkook yells over the sounds of the crashing water.

You immediately stop splashing and focus on his dripping face. “I am, and thank you,” you say and pull the strap of your bra up from where it has slipped off your shoulder. You can tell Jungkook doesn’t find your words very convincing. “I was just washing my clothes out,” you say and nod at the rock where your pants and shirt are still drying. Or attempting to dry. It looks like you’ve managed to soak them again with your little splashing fight. Jungkook’s shirt lay in a wet lump next to them. Apparently, neither of you are going to have dry clothes for a while.

“Y/N.”

You turn again to look at Jungkook. His mouth is barely turned up into a smirk but his eyes are full of concern. Carefully, you bring a hand up and touch his mouth with your thumb. “Your lips are turning blue,” you say. “We should probably get out.”

Before he can react, you kick your way back to shore and crawl up onto the bank. Jungkook follows close behind and you can’t help but let your eyes follow the water droplets that catch the light as they slide down his stomach and soak into his waistband.

Jungkook sits down beside you on the rocks and props his elbows on his knees.

“I miss Tae,” he says suddenly and you lift your eyes to meet his. You’ve been dealing with the nightmares and dark vibes from Taehyung now for two years, but before today, you never really stopped to think about how Jungkook has been affected by all this. “The old Tae,” he adds.

“Me too,” you utter. You reach over until your fingers find his.

The two of you stay like that for several silent moments. You notice the sky beginning to grow dimmer and the air starting to cool. Jungkook is the first to get up and you watch as he makes his way carefully toward the rock where his shirt and your clothes lay. The water still weighs heavily on his jeans causing them to sag low on his hips. He’s so much more toned than he was just a few years ago. He and Taehyung both were more on the lanky side back in college. You were just kids, going to school and just trying to figure out what you wanted to do with your lives. But Jungkook looks so different even now. Less like a boy and more like a man.

The moment the two of you step foot into camp, you know something is wrong. None of the boys are there but you hear commotion coming from the direction of the train. With a worried glance shared between the two of you, you jog past the clearing and down the tracks, your boots adding the sound of crunching gravel to the smattering of angry voices. When you turn the corner, you find Jimin and Hobi standing outside of the infirmary car looking in.

“We have to go find him,” Jimin growls. You’ve never heard him this serious before. It sends chills down your spine.

At first you wonder where the other three are until you get closer and realize they’re just inside the metal box, Seokjin sitting cross-legged at the mouth of the car while RM paces angrily across the floor, his footsteps echoing throughout it in hollow thumps.

“He’s a freaking psycho,” Hobi responds. “It’s too danger—“

“I DON’T CARE!” Jimin screams and throws his fist at the side of the car.

Where’s Yoongi? But your questioning thought is quickly answered when you hear a groan in response to the loud noise and see a pale form laying on a mat just behind Seokjin.

“Could you not?”

“Yoongi?” you ask when you recognize the voice and peer around Seokjin.

When the dark haired boy notices the two of you are there, he quickly jumps down and out of the way and you can’t help but gasp at the sight. While the others continue arguing, you tune them out as your brain tries to make sense of what you’re seeing. He’s almost unrecognizable. His eye that isn’t covered by a wad of blood-soaked gauze is surrounded by a deep blue bruise and swollen shut. The bridge of his nose is broken and split open, crusted with brown and bright red. A deep gash runs down his cheek, slicing into his lip and his neck is encircled by a harsh, red line and littered with patchy marks that to your horror resemble fingerprints.

“What happened?” Jungkook asks from beside you as you continue to discover even more damage to the boy.

“Taehyung happened,” Jimin growls and finally you tear your eyes away from Yoongi to find fire raging in his. “He attacked him when the rest of us weren’t here.”

You suddenly find it harder to breathe. “He did this? Why?”

“Trying to get the key to the weapons car,” Yoongi utters at the ceiling of the train car.

“Did he get it?” Jungkook asks.

Yoongi lets his head fall limply to the side and the slit appears again between his dark stained eyelids. “What do you think?”

“Stop talking, Yoongi,” RM says from farther back in the car where he digs around in a bag. “You don’t need to damage your throat any more than it already is.”

You take a staggering step back, your head shaking erratically as you try to make sense of all of this. “But…Tae would never—”

“Never what, Y/N?” Jimin barks. “After everything you told me about him? How different you said he is now? How creepy he’s been acting? You honestly don’t think he’d do something like this?

“Hey man,” Jungkook says stepping in front of you. “Don’t talk to her like that.”

A soft grunt cuts the argument short and everyone turns their attention to their broken bodied leader. He’s sitting up now, dabbing the bloody gauze against his hurt eye and for the first time you see just how damaged it is. Two gruesome gashes run down from midway up his forehead to his cheekbone, too wide and jagged to be from a knife. They look more like they were made by…fingernails. His eyeball is bloodshot, surrounded by torn skin that’s ragged and stained red. You feel your stomach churn at the sight, your heart dropping at the likelihood that he’ll never be able to see out of it again.

Jimin steps back, raking his hands through his orange hair before throwing them down to his sides. “Whatever. I’m going after him,” he says, his voice suddenly several octaves lower. “And this time I’m aiming for the bastard’s heart.” Then you all watch in tense silence as he grabs his bow and quiver from where they lean against the train and trudges away back toward the field.

The gravel crunches beside you as Hobi shifts on his feet. “Maybe I should go with him.”

“I’ll join you,” Seokjin says and pulls his gun from the holster strapped to his side. “Don’t worry, Yoongi, we’ll find him.” Then he turns to you and you hear his breath hitch. “I’m…sorry, Y/N.”

You can only nod in response and cast your eyes down at the ground. Your vision blurs and you blink rapidly in an attempt to keep the tears back but that only makes them fall.

For the rest of the day, you stay with Yoongi in the infirmary car. It feels weird, almost like you’ve come full circle, only this time you’re tending to his wounds and making sure he’s comfortable instead of him doing the same to you. Any time he opens his mouth to talk, you tell him to be quiet and try to rest. Sure, it’s better for his bruised vocal cords if he doesn’t speak but more so, hearing his raspy, damaged voice just reminds you further of the fact that whoever is out there looking and sounding like Taehyung, it’s not your best friend.

RM and Jungkook have gone back to camp to keep an eye on things and guard it in case Taehyung makes an appearance but something tells you he won’t be coming back—not alive at least. Just the thought of him out there, with the rest of the guys hunting him like an animal makes you feel queasy and several times you have to leave the train car for some fresh air.

The last time you return, Yoongi is sitting up, his face twisted in pain and his hand clutching his side. You can only imagine what the rest of his body must look like. Surely, his pale skin is stained purple and black under his clothes. The thought has anger slicing through you like a hot blade, setting your blood and bones on fire. For a split second you hope the others do find Taehyung and end things once and for all. But then…

You remember meeting him for the first time. You and Jungkook had just returned from your third date. He had you pressed up against the door, his mouth moving fervently against yours, his thumbs rubbing circles on the exposed skin between the hem of your shirt and the waist of your jeans. Then, before you could process what was happening, the door behind you disappeared and you stumbled backward, taking Jungkook with you and crashing against a hard chest.

“Ah, yes, I thought I heard something risqué going on out in the hall,” the boy behind you had said and you’d whipped around to come face to face with Jungkook’s roommate that you’d only ever heard about until then.

While the initial meeting was a bit awkward, the friendship itself wasn’t in the slightest. From then on, Taehyung managed to make a home for himself in your heart. He never tried to get between you and Jungkook, never acted like he thought you were stealing his best friend from him. In fact, he welcomed you into his life as if you’d been there all along. Being his friend was as easy and natural to you as being Jungkook’s girlfriend. The three of you fit so well together and you were ecstatic when you walked into one of your new classes at the beginning of the semester to meet his wide brown eyes. His mouth had spread into that boxy smile at the fact that you were going to be spending two more hours together two days a week.

A pained groan brings you back to the present and you look up again to find Yoongi’s face twisted in agony as he tries to stand up.

You quickly move to him and guide him back down. “What do you think you’re doing?”

His back hits the mat and he lets out a heavy sigh. “I should be helping the guys find Tae,” he says, his voice still so ragged and damaged sounding.

“Not a chance,” you say. “You need to rest.” Yoongi lets out another sigh and you look at him, trying very hard not to focus on his damaged eye. Your stomach turns at the thought of Taehyung doing that with his hands. “Do you need anything?” you ask after a minute.

He shifts uncomfortably and opens his good eye. It’s still purple and bruised, of course, but the swelling has gone down significantly thanks to you applying a cold, wet rag to it periodically. “Yeah,” he utters. “I need to go after that punk and make sure he never screws with me or any of the other guys again.”

You suck in a sharp breath at his tone. There’s no doubt in your mind that if given the opportunity, he’d kill the boy—the boy that used to be your best friend. That brought you coffee every day to your shared class. That stayed up with you and Jungkook having late night study sessions. That texted you memes and silly emojis when you were feeling down. You want to defend him. You want to tell Yoongi that this is not the boy you knew. That he used to be goofy like Hobi, sweet like Jimin, friendly like RM and nurturing like Seokjin. But obviously there’s no point.

What are you supposed to do when everything you’ve known about a person contradicts everything you’ve seen just in the last two years—and especially the last few days? That now his whole demeanor screams of danger, of darkness, of there being something wrong, yet your heart, your head tells you no, this is Tae. This is your Tae. You must protect him.

“Y/N?”

You didn’t even realize you were crying and now when you look up at Yoongi, you see his blurry form peering at you, his shoulders sagging when he notices your tears falling. Quickly, you drag your hands down your face, erasing any sign of them.

“I’m fine,” you say curtly. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? I’ll go get you something to eat and drink.”

“Y/N,” he says again but you don’t look at him as you get to your feet and jump down, your boots crunching the gravel resolutely.

It grew dark while you were in with Yoongi and now you make your way down the line of train cars almost blindly but for the dim, silver light of the moon behind the clouds. You still haven’t seen any of the guys come back or heard any news in a while and you can’t help feeling worried. Are they still out there looking for Taehyung? Have they found him? Since he managed to get the key from Yoongi, is he armed? Are any of them hurt?

When you hear footsteps on the gravel ahead, you stop abruptly and squint into the darkness, knives poised to attack. You let out a sigh when Jungkook steps out of the shadows.

“Did you leave RM alone?” you ask him.

Jungkook doesn’t say anything, just keeps coming forward until he runs into you, his arms weaving around you waist, his nose nuzzling into your neck.

“The guys are back,” he utters into your skin. “They didn’t find Tae.”

You can’t help feeling a little bit of relief at the fact that he’s still out there somewhere, though you can only hope that wherever he is, it’s far away from here and that the distance is growing.

“How’s Yoongi?” Jungkook asks, lifting his head at last to look at you. The darkness makes it hard to see the details of his face but from the sound of his voice, you can tell he’s exhausted. You lift your arms and squeeze his biceps in an attempt to bring him some sort of comfort.

“Itching to get out and help,” you say. “Something tells me he’s not the type that likes to lay around feeling useless.”

“I can’t believe Tae did that to him,” Jungkook whispers. “What happened to Tae, Y/N? Where’d our best friend go?”

You can hear his voice quivering and you feel your heart sink into your stomach as he once again pulls you in and buries his face in your shoulder. Your arms wrap around him, one hand slipping up to tangle your fingers into his hair as he trembles. The air fills with the sound of his soft crying and you turn your face to the sky as you try to blink back your own tears. Your chest aches, your head swims. You wish you had answers. You wish you knew what to say or how to fix this. Now you know how Yoongi feels, but while he lays there in the infirmary car with a broken body, wishing so badly as a leader that he was out protecting his boys, you stand here, feeling useless and broken yourself as your boyfriend mourns the loss of his childhood best friend.

Dinner is quiet, the air usually charged with conversation and laughter is tinged only with smoke and tense silence. It’s obvious that the others are pissed over the fact that they weren’t able to track Taehyung down. Jimin won’t even look at you and you don’t know if its because he’s still angry at you about earlier or if he actually, in a way, blames you for all of this. You can’t help the guilt that washes over you as you look around at the others. They were doing fine before the three of you came along. What’s worse, if you hadn’t been such an idiot and hurt yourself the way you did, or at least not hidden your injury from Taehyung and Jungkook for so long, you probably never would have even come across the group. Who know’s where the three of you would be now? Who knows what condition Taehyung would be in?

The guilt sinks in deeper when RM comes back from staying with Yoongi and Hobi leaves to take his turn. This of course reminds you that their leader wouldn’t be in the state he’s in now if you hadn’t let it slip to Taehyung that he was the one that had access to the weapons car. You couldn’t have painted a larger target on his back if you tried.

Jungkook is quiet too, keeping his eyes glued to his plate and using his fork to push the food around. You aren’t very hungry either. It doesn’t seem like anyone is. After all, how can you eat when your leader is wounded and the one that did it is still out there?

It’s weird having just Jungkook there laying beside you. Taehyung has been on your other side almost every night for two years now and though your back is to his mat, your eyes watching Jungkook as he sleeps—his face to your relief no longer wearing the anguish that’s been there all evening—the emptiness behind you is painfully apparent. Your ears search for the sound of his steady breathing, your leg pushes back to try to knock against him but it only slides across the mat. You don’t want to sleep because you know nothing but awful dreams are waiting for you. You have nothing good left of Taehyung except for the memories of before and even those now are tainted by the nightmares. Even the last thing you said to him haunts you as it ricochets through your brain. I don’t trust you and I never will.

A sob escapes before you can stop it and you quickly cover your mouth with your hands to stifle any further sounds. You watch as Jungkook flinches at the sudden noise, his forehead creasing, his eyelids fluttering and you’re afraid you woke him up. But then he lets out a faint moan and his face smoothes over again. If you try hard enough, you can almost imagine that none of the last two years has happened. That you’re lying beside your boyfriend, watching him sleep and if he were to wake right now, his eyes would slowly open, eventually focusing on you and his mouth would spread into a lazy grin. You miss mornings like that. You miss your old life. You miss when things weren’t complicated. When the scariest thing you had to worry about was whether or not you were going to pass your classes. You miss what you didn’t know you had at the time, the absence feeling like a huge gaping hole in your chest. You study him, even through your blurred vision, memorizing his face like this in hopes that it’ll bring you just a little comfort while you feel like everything is crashing down around you.

Sleep eventually comes, and along with it, the inevitable nightmare that’s been sitting in the shadows, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

This time, you’re not given the luxury of starting off with a happy memory. No goofing around in the dining hall, no hiding your amusement and teasing comments behind your fingers while watching a play put on by some drama majors, no hanging out at the student art showcase, watching Taehyung ramble on and on about how amazing his best friend’s piece is while Jungkook laughs shyly beside it.

No. This time there is no calm before the storm. You’re instead dropped directly into it.

You’re in their dorm room, the whole place plunged into darkness but for the cold moonlight coming in through the window. A shadow stirs on the other side of the room and in the dim light, you catch sight of Taehyung’s gleaming eyes—and they’re focused intensely on you.

“Tae?”

He doesn’t respond, instead taking another slinking step in your direction. His head is lowered, the whites of his eyes standing out as dark pupils watch you from just beneath his eyelids. You’ve never seen anything so sinister and you feel the panic seize you as you back up more. Your eyes dart to the bed on your left and you see a motionless lump. Jungkook, curled up hugging his pillow, his back to you.

“Jungkook?” you whisper, your voice shaking so violently that his name is barely audible. He’s within reach but for some reason your body can’t do anything but try to retreat from the boy in front of you. “Jungkook?” you say again.

“He can’t hear you,” Taehyung says, his voice so terrifyingly low that you can feel it vibrating in your bones.

You turn back to him again. “Tae, please.”

He only shakes his head as he continues toward you, his dark eyes flickering with something animalistic. His tongue swipes across his lower lip and his teeth gleam and you search those eyes, search that smile for any sign of your best friend but he isn’t in there. A monster stalks toward you, wearing the face of a person you loved.

“Tae, please remember me,” you plead as you begin to back up, your hands shooting out behind you to keep yourself from falling.

“Tae’s gone,” he finally utters.

Your back hits the wall but you keep trying to retreat, as if you could melt into the plaster if you concentrate hard enough. It doesn’t work and with two more strides of his long legs, Taehyung is there, his unsympathetic eyes boring down into yours, his head tilting to the side in mock curiosity. At last he leans in until his cheek presses against yours and his lips are centimeters from your ear.

“He’s gone,” he repeats. “And he’s never coming back.”

A searing pain rips through your scalp as you’re wrenched from your nightmare by your hair. Scratchy skin presses against your temple and the smell of sweat and cigarettes invades your senses.

“Here’s what’s going to happen,” a deep voice rasps, lips against your ear. His voice sends a stab of ice through your whole body and you find yourself paralyzed. “I’m leaving and I’m taking Jungkook with me.” Your eyes dart to where Jungkook was when you fell asleep but there’s only an empty mat. “You’re going to come after him,” the voice continues, “and if you don’t, Y/N, I swear to God, I’ll put a bullet through that insufferable coward’s skull.” The words aren’t reaching your foggy brain fast enough and you have a hard time processing exactly what he’s saying. You only know panic. Panic because the image of those evil eyes is still burned into your brain. Panic because you were supposed to wake up but you’re still living the nightmare. Only now, the pain is so much more real. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment,” he purrs. “For the perfect opportunity to completely destroy your perfect little world.”

Your head is bent so far back you can’t breathe. Your scalp feels like it’s on fire but somehow you manage to swing your arm back, reaching for his hands. When you do, he twists your hair harder. You gasp from the pain as stars burst at the edges of your vision. His breath is hot in your ear. “Come find me, Y/N,” he whispers. ”Meet me where it all began.”

Then a hard knock to the base of your skull has you falling into blackness, no bottom in sight.

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jinthusiastsss · 5 years

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BTS Reactions - You’re another member’s cousin

(HYUNG LINE) || (MAKNAE LINE)

Seokjin

“What do you mean you can’t chop?” Seokjin asked, watching you whine as you try to chop carrots for a dish that Jin wanted to experiment with. You offered your boyfriend some help in the kitchen, expecting him to ask you to stir the food and not to chop some carrots.

You sighed and placed down the kitchen knife. “I mean it exactly as I say it. I can’t chop, Seokjin. I can’t dice or mince other foods either. My specialty is eating food, not cooking it. Anything I attempt to do in the kitchen will just end up in a disaster.”

Seokjin put down a piece of chicken that he was about to boil and washed his hands. Then he gently grabbed the hands of his pouting girlfriend and placed them on the chopping mat. “Here,” Seokjin said, “let me help you. Hold the kitchen knife.” You took the kitchen knife and held it in your dominant hand. He then took your other hand and placed it one carrot and he took your dominant hand to place the kitchen knife on top of the carrot. He let go of your hands once you were in the proper position, leaving you desperately looked at him for guidance. Seokjin laughed at your state. “Relax, jagiya. Just show me how you chop. There’s no way that you’re as bad as you say you are, (Y/N).”

“Fine,” you huffed. You dug the kitchen knife into the carrot and attempted to chop it, but instead of the attempt going successful, the bit you chopped somehow flung to your face. You helplessly turned to your boyfriend, who was stifling back a laugh, and said, “I’m so bad at chopping that the carrot is attacking me.”

That’s when your boyfriend let out his laugh which only resulted with you glaring at him. “I’m sorry, (Y/N). It’s just that you make me think that you’re related to Namjoon.”

You stared at him with a blank expression on your face. “Babe, I’m his cousin.”

Seokjin searched for your face for a sign of joking, but once he concluded that you were completely serious, his jaw dropped. “NAMJOON!” he called after a few seconds.

Namjoon came stumbling into the kitchen and he smiled once he spotted you. “Yeah, Jin hyung?”

Your boyfriend pointed at the both of you. “Is it true that you’re related to (Y/N)?” Seokjin asked with a baffled expression on his face.

Namjoon raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, why? We’re cousins.”

Seokjin’s jaw only dropped more. “And in the the many months that (Y/N) and I have been together, none of you have taken the time to tell me that you both are cousins?”

You and Namjoon looked at each other and you both shrugged. “Sorry,” you both said in unison as you turned to face Jin again.

Seokjin sighed with annoyance and dramatically stomped away from the kitchen. Namjoon turned to you and asked, “How did he find out?”

You laughed and replied, “When he found out that I’m bad at chopping.”

Yoongi

You marched into your boyfriend’s studio in desperate need of affection. Yoongi had been cooped up inside his studio for the past few days and you knew that he wouldn’t come home to you no matter how much you would beg him to so you decided to take matters into your own hands and bring yourself to his studio. “Yoongiiiii,” you whined once you entered his studio. “Why can’t you take a break and come home? You know I’ve missed you.”

Yoongi sat at his desk and once he heard his voice, he turned himself around to face you. “(Y/N), we’ve been over this before. You know I can’t just take breaks when I’m working.”

You widened your eyes and pouted. “Don’t you miss me though?”

Yoongi sighed and opened his arms, motioning with his hands for you to come over. “Jagiya, of course I miss you, but I have to work.”

Once you sat on his lap, you nestled your face into the crook of his neck. “I just want to cuddle with you,” you mumbled, wrapping your arms around your boyfriend’s waist.

Yoongi chuckled and wrapped his arms around your waist. “You’re acting very clingy right now.”

“I’m always clingy when I’m with you,” you stated, tightening your grip around Yoongi as you hugged him more.

“True, but you’re starting to remind me of Jimin,” Yoongi joked.

You pulled away from your boyfriend so you could face him, but he was facing his computer. “Yoongi, you know that Jimin and I are cousins, right?”

Yoongi’s head immediately snapped to face you. “Really?” he asked with a shocked expression. You nodded with a small smile. Yoongi laughed and said, “That explains why you always want to cuddle with me.”

Hoseok

“Where is it?” you sighed loudly, scanning the bookcase in the bedroom that you and your boyfriend shared. You’ve been looking through your bookcase now for more than an hour and although you were tired, you were determined to find your book.

“(Y/N)?” a voice called from behind you. You turned around to see Hoseok sitting up in your bed with a puzzled look on his face.

“Aww, Hobi,” you frowned. “I didn’t mean to wake you. I forgot that you were taking a nap.”

Hoseok smiled and climbed out of bed, making his way to behind you. He rested his chin on your shoulder and he wrapped his arms around your waist. “What’s wrong, jagiya? Are you looking for a book again?”

You sadly nodded. “I’ve been looking for my favorite book for a while now and I can’t find it.”

Your boyfriend unwrapped himself from you and moved forward to look through the bookcase with you. After a few minutes, Hoseok made an excited noise and tugged on your sleeve. “(Y/N), is this the book?” he asked, pointing to a book that sat on the third shelf.

You broke into a smile and happily nodded. “Thank you, Hobi!”

Hoseok beamed with pride and he swiftly removed the book from the shelf. The moment the book was off the shelf, a wave of dust hit your face. Your face scrunched up and you loudly sneezed, causing your boyfriend to jump up, drop your book on the floor, scream in a high pitch. “Wow, (Y/N). You sneeze like Taehyung.”

“I mean. .we’re cousins so I guess that would make sense,” you stated as you bent down to pick up your book.

Hoseok froze and looked at you. “You’re what?”

“Taehyung and I are cousins,” you repeated with a giggle.

Your boyfriend looked at you with a funny yet weird look. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I guess not,” you realized, flipping through the pages of your book. Dust flew to your face and you loudly sneezed again. Hoseok screamed once more and ran out of the bedroom, screaming Taehyung’s name.

Namjoon

You pranced into the living room where your boyfriend sat on the couch, watching a K-drama. You jumped in front of him saying, “Osacar vroom vroom vroom.”

A knowing smirk grew onto Namjoon’s face. “Why does that sound familiar?” he asked, watching you continue to repeat the phrase.

“Hobi taught me it,” you replied, pretending to be clutching the handlebars of a motorcycle.

Namjoon laughed. “Of course he did.” He then paused the K-drama and said, “You’ve been hanging around a lot with him lately. Do you prefer his company over mine?”

“We grew up together,” you said as you continued to prance around the living room. “It would be hard for me to choose-”

“I’m sorry what?” Namjoon asked, raising an eyebrow. “You grew up with Hoseok?”

You stopped your prancing to face Namjoon. “Yeah. Hobi and I are cousins.”

Namjoon continued to look at you with a blank expression until he opened his mouth with realization. “OHHH, that’s why you’re both weird.”

A/N: This was my first BTS Reaction so I hope it was okay :)

#bts #btsreact #bts reactions #bts hyung line #bts jin #bts namjoon #bts yoongi #bts hoseok

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kookieswan · 1 year

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Honestly y’all Handlebars Seokjin is just a huge meanie and also aloof af. If you want to try and wiggle your way into his cold heart (and his pants)… good fucking luck LMAO

#handlebars seokjin #handlebars #ponderings

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sweetasssuga · 5 years

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Taegi Fic Recs

personal favorites = ♡

new additions = ϟ

Little Lion Man by mucha [3k] [teen]

Deep down, Yoongi always knew that making rash decisions would one day send him early to his grave.

(Or; Yoongi confesses to Taehyung via text and immediately regrets it)

in all dishonesty by fruitily [3k] [teen] ♡

while taehyung is trying to figure out whether or not min yoongi wants to stab him with a fountain pen, they find out they make an excellent team when it comes to board games.

feelings you provide by sugarlizard [3k] [teen]

Feeling a little daring, Taehyung slips the ring on his finger. He’s not expecting it to fit, he knows that part of the victorious appeal of this jewelry is it was designed to fit only Yoongi, but instead it slips over the knuckle of his ring finger like a glove.

taehyung borrows one of the SUGA diamond rings when he needs a comfort object

help me out by clumsy_taegi [4.6k] [teen] ϟ

Taehyung talks Yoongi into helping him rehearse for a play.

Of Handlebars and Heartbreak by bananamilks [5.5k] [teen]

Totally unprepared are you, to face a world of men.

[or, the mutual pining fic in which: one of them is in denial, one is oblivious, and both of them are idiots]

caught in a lie by booksinaballroom [5.6k] [teen]

Ten years, one acting degree, and a frankly embarrassing amount of student debt later, his plans have...changed, a bit. Turns out waiting for callbacks from Colgate toothpaste commercials and roles as extras in dramas isn’t exactly lucrative. Certainly not lucrative enough to pay off his mountainous student debt.

Which is why he has turned to a spinoff of the acting industry. The underground of the acting industry, if you will. A place to hone his skills while raking in plenty of cash. A high-stakes challenge, something that tests and proves his ability to perform under pressure.

In other words, Taehyung is what might be better known as a con artist.

(soulmate au: you can't lie to your soulmate)

A Different Kind of Magic by tryst [5.8k] [teen] ♡

Wherein, Taehyung doesn't really need extra Potions help, but could definitely use a hug and Yoongi is pretty indifferent about being a tutor, but is down to hold hands.

my heart flutters from the sugar high by hoars [5.9k] [mature]

Yoongi and Taehyung sneak around together, cheating on their diets. The group? They’ve drawn different conclusions.

Birds in Your Heart by m_aur_a [6k] [not rated]

Origami cranes with cute, if kitschy, words of advice are popping up on campus. Yoongi is struggling with a lot right now, but they help. So does the pretty boy that leaves them.

Ring the Hogwarts Bell by mucha [6k] [general audiences]

“No, it’s fine,” Taehyung interrupted him, circling his fingers around Jimin’s wrist and squeezing reassuringly. “It’s just a few days, I’ll be okay.”

It was the furthest thing from truth, though. Christmas was always his favorite holiday and in his mind, it was irreversibly connected to home and family and watching silly Christmas movies with a mug of hot chocolate in his hand and his puppy, Yeontan, in his lap. He was hoping that maybe at least one of his friends would be staying in school too, but that hope quickly vanished when he checked the list in the common room and saw no familiar names. Well, he saw one familiar name but it belonged to someone Taehyung had never spoken to, so it didn’t matter anyway.

As if he could read Taehyung’s mind, Jimin spoke up again:

“I noticed that Yoongi is staying at Hogwarts too.”

(Taehyung spends his Christmas at Hogwarts and makes a new friend)

human by awsuga [7.7k] [mature]

Taehyung almost kills the most beautiful mortal he has ever seen.

yesterday’s tomorrow by locks [8k] [mature] ♡

Yoongi just wants to get through the night with his pride intact.

Enter Kim Taehyung.

Or, the one where they used to date and meet again at their ten year high school reunion.

but not for me by raviolijouster [8k] [teen] ♡

Taehyung’s straightforward, he thinks. A 2 + 2 = 4 kind of guy. He’s just not always sure that his 2’s are other people’s 2’s. Sometimes it seems like they might be 3’s. Or 7’s. But Yoongi’s 2’s are the same 2’s, they’re just in italics, size 8 font, while Taehyung’s are in bold and size 72.

or,

People think Yoongi and Taehyung are dating. Taehyung wishes they were.

ring ding dong by chlexcer [8k] [explicit]

the one where taehyung loses his precious gucci ring the very first time he meets yoongi, but he doesn't lose it just anywhere, oh no— he loses it inside of yoongi.

By Tomorrow by Oh_Hey_Tae [10.6k] [teen]

“Why are you freaking out now?” Seokjin asks, and the seconds tick by and suddenly the atmosphere shifts. “Ahh, I get it.”

Yoongi perks up, swivels, spots Taehyung stepping from the hall into the room and he’s in fitted slacks and the baby blue button-up from earlier and he looks divine.

Yoongi’s heart just stopped and he’s not sure how to get it beating again. Namjoon’s a doctor. A doctor in training, but some form of medical professional regardless. Namjoon knows CPR and cardiac arrest symptoms and all that shit. He’ll know Yoongi’s dying.

“Perfect timing. Let’s eat.”

Or he’s going to wink at Yoongi and send suggestive eyebrow raises the whole night. Great. Fabulous.

(Or: Yoongi loves Taehyung and Taehyung loves Yoongi and somewhere along the way they figure that out.)

neons and watercolors by aimandignite [12.6k] [explicit]

“Do you stare at the sky in the middle of roads at night often?” he asks.

Yoongi shrugs. “Do you join random people staring at the sky in the middle of roads at night often?” He glances at the guy and his heart slams in his chest at the wide smile he sees.

“I’m Taehyung. Everyone calls me Tae though.”

Yoongi nods slowly, “Yoongi.”

Tae seems to repeat the name to himself, carefully remembering how it feels in his mouth. Yoongi can’t look away. “Yoongi? Do you want to get out of the middle of the road and get hot cocoa?”

812 (rock my world) by aileron [13k] [explicit] ϟ

Jimin sniffs in a way that lets Taehyung know he’s an ungrateful brat. “Look, some people would pay good money to get a free pass that allows them right in front of the stage and hence right under the nose of Min Yoongi.”

“Min who?”

Jimin waves his hand dismissively. “The rock star you couldn’t care less about but whose face you have to stare at through your camera lens tonight.”

Taehyung slings his camera bag on his shoulder and shoves the press pass into his back pocket. “Sure, whatever. Just point me in his direction when we get there.”

- or: the fic where Taehyung thinks Yoongi is an arrogant piece of shit (albeit a hot one), but as Jimin puts it, “Which memory is going to be more awesome to look back to when you’re eighty: the time when you went and fucked a rock star or the time when you didn’t and went home instead?”

Chasing the Sun by almostsophie1 [17.6k] [mature] ϟ

Yoongi calls it a phenomena.

Whatever it is, it brings Taehyung to Yoongi again and again, twining their lives together. If it's a kind of magic, it's not one that Yoongi understands. But it pulls Taehyung to him and him to Taehyung, and somehow that's all that matters.

Out to Lunch by roebling [19k] [teen]

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Taehyung is not above taking a soul-killing office job solely for the benefits. The drab cubicle he now calls home is bad enough, but his new boss Yoongi is possibly a robot and definitely an asshole. Vision and dental coverage are enticing, but Taehyung’s not sure how long he can stick this out.

Siren of the Interstate by fringecity (indiachick) [23k] [mature] ϟ ♡

Yoongi is a traveling salesman circling the same set of weird towns and highways. Taehyung is a gas-station clerk in the middle of nowhere.

"Won’t space be lonely?” Yoongi asks. Taehyung shrugs—Yoongi can feel him move beside him, just a finger-breadth away. “It’s lonely down here too.”

Heart of the Matter by fringecity (indiachick) [33k] [teen] ♡

Disaster witch Kim Taehyung meets perfect senior Min Yoongi in the poison greenhouses of witch school. Years later, Taehyung owns a clinic that fixes hearts, Yoongi has a celebrated apothecary, and they (don't) get along.

Harry Potter-ish, but not in that universe.

A Breeze Blows, and My Heart Swells by roebling [36.6k] [teen] ϟ

Former Idol Min Yoongi is struggling to write his next album. He knows he'll never live up to the success of his first solo outing, and the pressure is getting to him. After a series of minor scandals, his manager and best friend Jimin ships him off to Harmony Retreat, an ecotourism resort deep in the Daegu countryside. With electronics strictly forbidden and no company but a rooster, a dog, and his eccentric host Kim Taehyung, Yoongi's not sure how he's going to get through this -- let alone write a hit song.

a spoonful of suga by ellievolia [38.6k] [explicit] ϟ ♡

“Good evening, ladies and gents. You’re listening to First, the premium digital station, and this is Spoonful of Suga, hosted by your very own Suga. Relax, let the music do its job. We’ll be taking requests later, but first, please enjoy the next uninterrupted half hour of music.”

Min Yoongi, a late night radio show host, has a regular caller. He also has busybody best friends, too much music on his playlists, dreams that feel too big for his heart, and a genius dog.

Kim Taehyung works nights as a mortuary cosmetologist, likes to listen to the radio, and he also has a genius dog.

Say My Name (And I'll Lie in the Sound) by fadetomorrow [51k] [explicit] ♡

Taehyung wakes up 500 years in the past and catches feelings for a Joseon prince.

The Romance of Old Clothes by fringecity (indiachick) [59.6k] [explicit] ♡

Min Yoongi is an art director with zero tolerance for bullshit, looking for ultimate perfection in everything he creates. Kim Taehyung is the co-owner of a vintage fashion boutique who talks to clothes and learns magic from Tumblr.

It’s a match made in the depths of hell.

[“Taehyung-ah,” Seokjin says, wily and soft, “You’re not scared of meeting Yoongi, are you?” Taehyung knows this is bait. Seokjin knows this is bait. Even Yeontan, running circles around Taehyung now, knows this is bait. His angry brows are very expressive, and right now they’re saying 'don’t take the bait, don’t be a stupid fish.' Taehyung's a stupid fish.]

#taegi fic recs #taegi recs #taegi fic #taegi fics #bts fic recs #btsficrecs #bts recs #taegi #taegi au #kim taehyung #min yoongi

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whipped-for-kpop-fics · 6 years

Text

BTS when you don’t speak Korean

Hoseok (J-Hope) You had only been in Korea for three hours and had to be at your new job already. You had been promised a day off to recover from the flight and time difference but apparently one of the dancers had called in sick and you were the only person available.

"Wonder what your new partner will be like." Jimin spoke curiously, watching Hoseok stretch to warm up for the day's session.

"Hopefully nice." Hoseok chuckled. "Remember that foreign girl Jungkook had to dance with?"

"Ugh, her." Jimin and Hoseok shuddered in distaste before laughing. It was then that you walked in. Jimin's eyes widened at the sight of you before nudging Hoseok.

Hoseok looked over as you approached the pair as they were the only people int eh room.

"Uh.." You looked at the message on your phone. "J-Hope?" You asked, looking back up at the pair.

"Hi." Hoseok greeted warmly. "I'm J-Hope."

"Y/N." You smiled lightly, trying to hide how tired you were and how little you wanted to be anywhere but in bed. "I'm covering for Jisoo today," you informed in English and Hoseok blinked a few times while Jimin laughed. "Ah shit, you don't speak English, do you?"

"Not...not really." Hoseok chuckled awkwardly, his words in English.

"Well, fuck." His eyes widened at your cursing. He knew enough English to recognise a curse word when he heard it. "Let's just dance." You decided. There was no point trying to verbally communicate when neither of you spoke the other's language.

"Dance?" Hoseok repeated and you nodded. "Okay, dance." He agreed with a bright smile. Despite your annoyance at the situation, you found yourself smiling.

Jimin left as you stretched and warmed up. Hoseok watched for a few seconds before joining in your warm up, sending a smile your way.

As time passed, Hoseok found himself unable to look away from you for long. You had sucked in his attention and he didn't care that you two couldn't communicate verbally, not when you two danced so well together. Dance was a language you both knew very well and Hoseok hoped he would get to spend a lot more time with you in the future.

Jimin Your best friend had moved to Korea for work months ago and you were finally able to visit them. Jimin had been told a lot about you by Hoseok's new permanent dance partner(and low-key romantic partner) and honestly, he was kind of in love with you already. He knew you didn't know Korean so he had been working hard under Namjoon's guidance to better his English skills.

But when you arrived at the dance studio with Hoseok's partner, Jimin lost all ability to think coherently let alone string together a sentence in a foreign language.

"This is Y/N." Your friend introduced you to the two males. Hoseok greeted you with a hug as he felt like you two were already friends and you giggled at his warm greeting.

"Ah, Jimin has been practising English." your friend stated, giving you a look which you rolled your eyes at.

"Hello, Jimin. It's nice to finally meet you." You greeted with careful Korean and Jimin melted.

"Hi I like meet you well finally." He stammered in English, hands coming up to cover his face the instance his mouth closed. He knew he messed up big time.

"Aww Jiminie is shy!" Hoseok exclaimed wrapping his arms around Jimin who whined in embarrassment.

"Hyung, don't." He whimpered. Hoseok laughed and pulled away.

"Y/N, don't you think Jimin is cute?" Hoseok questioned and your friend translated. You blushed and the pair began to bounce around and tease you both.

"Do you want to leave?" You asked Jimin. He looked at you shocked.

"Leave...together?" He questioned and you nodded. "Oh...okay." You held out your hand and he took it slowly. You smiled comfortingly at him before leading him out of the room.

You two wandered off and Jimin showed you around the local stores. You found ways to communicate with the little knowledge you held for each other's language but as you looked into each other's eyes, smiles on your faces, Jimin knew that language would never be a barrier in your relationship.

Jungkook You were new to the world of k-pop but had already fallen deep into the music and had no intention of climbing back out. Your only issue was that the only language you spoke was English and of course k-pop was in Korean.

So, you signed up for a language service. It was one where a native Korean would teach you and in turn, you'd teach them English. Honestly, you had no idea how it'd work, how were the pair of you supposed to communicate in the first place if you didn't have a common language but, you still gave it a shot. You figured the easiest way to learn was from a Korean living in Korea.

Jungkook had wanted to learn English for a while to communicate with overseas fans better but he didn't have the time to spare on actual lessons. He had tried various apps, books and even tried to have lessons from Namjoon but he struggled with it all. One day he saw an advert for the language tutor website and figured that maybe, it would work. He wasn't too sold on the idea of teaching someone Korean but he was willing to try anything at this point.

Of course, for weeks you and Jungkook taught each other your languages, sending voice clips to each other to help with pronunciation, and you were never aware of the fact that the man teaching you was one of the idols you had grown to love.

Are you busy today? Jungkook messaged one day. You replied stating that you were in fact not busy. Without warning, your laptop started to ring with an alert that he was trying to call you. You knew that video calling was an option on the website as some people preferred a more personal teaching method but after talking to Jungkook for two months, you had never seen his face and the concept of video calling never arose.

You quickly checked your reflection in your mirror and threw on a shirt, not bothering for trousers as only your chest and up would be visible. Upon deciding your appearance was decent enough, you pressed accept.

It took a good ten seconds for the call to connect properly and when it did, Jungkook's face appeared on your screen. Your eyes widened in shock at his sheepish smile.

You had mentioned to Jungkook that you wanted to learn Korean to understand k-pop and Jungkook ever so casually suggested to listen to BTS. That was two weeks into your friendship and he loved it when you talked about him and his band entirely unaware that you were in fact talking to BTS' Golden Maknae.

Jungkook wanted to surprise you but the second he saw your face, his smile dropped. He had never expected the person teaching him English to be so damn beautiful. He was awestruck.

"Holy shit." You finally managed, snapping him back to reality. "You shit! You set me up!" You accused and he started to laugh. You continued to complain and scold him for letting you get so deep into his life without knowing it was really him on the other end. Jungkook only watched you with a smile of adoration on his face. He was already in deep with you and no amount of language barrier would change that.

Namjoon (RM) It was in a bookstore that Namjoon first met you. You were both in the information section, eyes wandering over various titles. Namjoon was there before you and at first, he didn't really pay you much attention but then you got closer to squint at a title, turning your head to read along the spine and he thought it was the cutest thing. He found his attention flitting back to you regularly to look at you from the corner of his eye. Eventually, you looked at him and smiled lightly.

"Can-can I help...you?" You asked carefully, not wanting to come across as rude but you knew he kept looking at you.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep staring." He apologised, cheeks red as he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "It's just- you're beautiful and I can't help myself." You stared at him for a few moments, letting his words sink and he was worried he had gained an attraction to a strange person but then you repeated one word in English and he understood.

"Beautiful." You mumbled, cementing the only word you understood.

"Oh, you speak English?" He asked, talking fluently in your own language. You relaxed and nodded.

"I'm trying to learn Korean but I'm not very good." You admitted with an embarrassed laugh. He found it cute and smiled lightly. "That's actually why I'm here, to try and find a useful book."

"Oh, I can help you!" He offered, his attention turning back to the shelves.

"It's okay, you don't need to."

"No no, I probably creeped you out by staring like that, this is the least I could do."

"Most guys would offer to take someone out, not find a book." You mused.

"I mean...I can do that too...if you want?" He looked at you nervously. You nodded and his dimples grew deep as he smiled brightly. "Let's find you that book!" His head turned back to the titles to search with a new found enthusiasm. You smiled fondly as you watched him. You thought he was so cute.

Seokjin (Jin) Another trip to the supermarket to stock up on the food the rest of his band had consumed much quicker than he had anticipated.

You were staring at the list in your hand and the bottles on the shelf when Jin entered the aisle. His steps slowed until he stopped and admired your features pulled together in concentration. His eyes travelled over your form, appreciating your beauty, even in jeans and a loose hoody with messy hair. Jin's attention fell to your trolley, his lips curling into an amused smile at the bulk buying you were doing.

"I know how you feel." He spoke before he registered his mouth opening. You turned your head surprised, not having heard anyone join you in the aisle. Jin was leaning forward onto the handlebar of his trolley when you looked at him. The moment your orbs met his, his throat grew dry and nerves rocketed through his body. You were much more attractive than he first thought and suddenly he wished he hadn't spoken.

"Hm?" You hummed, realising he had indeed talked to you.

"Uh, I uh live with a lot of people too. I have to bulk buy." He motioned to the bulk items in his trolley and your eyes followed the motion. He watched your lips move as you silently repeated his words, trying to fully understand them, but he had no idea what you were miming. "Are you looking for something in particular? I come to this store a lot so I know where almost everything is." Carefully, he approached you, parking his trolley next to yours. You looked up at him and he wordlessly motioned to the list in your hands. Understanding washed over you and you showed him the list. "Oh, this is...this is English." He muttered. "Do you speak Korean?" He asked in English softly.

"Very little." You replied with a sheepish grin. His heart thumped.

"I'm Jin." he held his hand out which you took.

"Y/N."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"I'll try to help." Your grateful smile spoke more than your words could and Jin didn't mind that there was a language barrier. Your smile was enough for him.

Taehyung (V) Taehyung was taking Yeontan for a walk when he first saw you. You were crouched in front of a small dog, much like his own, with a serious expression on your features. You were having a serious discussion with the dog, well you were talking and the dog was just staring at you confused. Taehyung couldn't help but giggle at the sight. It was certainly amusing. But otherwise, he didn't really pay you much attention, he had a schedule to keep to and couldn't afford to be sidetracked by a stranger, no matter how angelic they looked in the early morning sunlight.

Every morning Taehyung started to notice you appearing with that same dog, doing the same thing and he wondered if maybe he was stuck in a drama where he lived certain aspects of his life repeatedly.

Day fifteen was enough for Taehyung and without warning, he crouched down beside you. You looked at him, a pout on your features. He chuckled and your lips lifted into a smile.

"I'm Taehyung." He greeted.

"Y/N." You responded with a firm nod of greeting.

"This is Yeontan." He motioned to the dog in his arms.

"Didi." You pointed to the dog sat in front of you. Taehyung only then noticed that there was no leash connecting the dog to you.

"What is wrong? I see you doing this every day."

"Didi won't...hmm play." You answered, thinking carefully about your words. Taehyung noticed your accent and difficulty coming up with the correct word. But, he wasn't at all bothered. He often couldn't find the right word so understood foreigners more than his bandmates when they spoke broken Korean.

"Ah, let them play together." Taehyung placed down Yeontan who immediately scuttled over to Didi to sniff curiously. Didi's interest was piqued and he turned to sniff back at Yeontan.

Taehyung turned his attention to see your features were lit up with joy at the sight of Didi interacting with another dog.

"Ah, thank you!" You beamed, looking at Taehyung. He couldn't help but smile widely back at you. You took in his boxy smile and leant your chin on your palm to admire him. He didn't mind your stare, he was doing the same to you after all. "I have toys!" You suddenly announced in English, pulling your bag off your shoulder to pull out a ball. "Maybe Didi will play is Yeontan plays too!" You thought aloud. "Is that okay?" you looked at Taehyung who was smiling dopily at your cute excitement. "Taehyung?"

"Huh?"

"Can they play ball together?" You wiggled the ball in your hand to gain his attention.

"Oh!" He reached over and unclipped the leash from Yeontan's collar.

The four of you spent an hour in the park together before going your separate ways. Taehyung was scolded when he returned home for being almost 20 minutes late but he decided it was worth it to spend time with you.

It became routine for you two to meet with your dogs every morning to let them play and you two talk. When Taehyung was away, he would leave Yeontan with you and Didi and soon the two dogs grew inseparable. So much so that Taehyung started to spend most of his free time at your apartment.

It came as a surprise to literally no-one when you started dating and Taehyung moved in only a week later.

Yoongi (Suga) He first saw you in his regular coffee shop. He went into the store so often that he knew all the staff and regulars, at least by face. Of course, Yoongi didn't talk to them but it didn't mean he didn't notice them. The first day he saw you, he noticed your cute, shy little smile as the barista handed you your coffee and the side of his mouth twitched up into a small smile under his face mask. You were cute. Once you retrieved your order, you headed to the door, passing Yoongi on the way. Feeling eyes on you, you looked up and met his gaze. Your cheeks flushed pink at the attention and you offered a shy, polite smile before turning your head down to leave. Yoongi's heart fluttered in his chest. Yoongi found himself returning to the store the next day at the same time with hopes of seeing you. You were there, picking up your drink again and he smiled under his mask.

It went on like this for almost two straight weeks before he decided to ignore his worries and step up to bat. He was at the store earlier that day purposely.

When you arrived, he had just stepped outside.

"Oh! You're here!" He smiled, extending his right hand which held your usual drink order. You tilted your head at him curiously. "I uh, thought if I bought you your drink and had it ready, it'd give us a few minutes to talk before you had to leave." He explained.

"Mine?" you asked carefully, pointing to the cup. He nodded and you smiled, accepting the drink. "Thank you."

"It's okay. So I see you here a lot and thought it'd time I gain the courage to talk to you." He laughed nervously and you only stared confused. He stepped aside when the door opened behind him so he wasn't blocking the entrance. You moved over to him. "Can't you understand me?" Cautiously, he lifted his hand to remove his face mask. "Can you understand me better now?"

"Sorry, uh..no...Korean speak well." You replied, thinking carefully to pick your words.

"You don't speak Korean?" You shook your head. "Oh..." He chewed on his bottom lip awkwardly. "Uh, English?" He asked in the language. You nodded and smiled. "I know...little English." You smiled wider at his cute pronunciation.

"We can help each other." You suggested in English. "You teach me Korean and I'll teach you English."

"Oh." His features lit up realising you were suggesting more time together.

"Deal?" You held your hand out. He took it instantly.

"Deal."

I think this is the longest reaction post I have written, I apologise for the length, I got carried away ~ Chee

Masterlist

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