Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jimin doesn’t think his day can get worse.

He’s just been told that he isn’t going to have the solo he’s been working tirelessly to get for the school exhibition because they can only fit so many spots and some wannabe pianist beat him out; he’s also just discovered that his crush has a crush on someone else; and to top it off he is sitting in his crashed car glaring at the guy who’s just backed up right into him in the university parking lot.

Jimin seethes as he watches the guy get out of his little sedan and make his way to Jimin’s window. He sits frozen in his seat as the other knocks on the window and waits for Jimin to roll it down.

He doesn’t. He’s trying to stabilize his breathing because he knows that if he confronts the guy now, he’ll lose it.

Another knock on the window has Jimin flinching but he stays put.

 “Hey! Anyone in there?” The guy peeks in through the tinted window to look at Jimin, his long dark hair blowing in the midday breeze.

Jimin’s anger brews just beneath the surface, finger on the trigger. 

“Hello!” The sharp rap on the window echoes through his already throbbing head and finally, he rolls down his window in a huff.

“Do you know how to drive?” he explodes on the guy who is so surprised he takes a step back. His look of shock quickly morphs into one of disbelief as he takes in Jimin’s rage. 

“You’re one to talk! You just hit me as I was backing out!” He gestures to his car but Jimin ignores him. 

“Didn’t you see me passing by?” 

“Didn’t you see me backing out? It’s literally your cue to stop. See that down there,” he points to Jimin’s feet, sticking his hand inside the car. “That’s called a break! Learn to use it.”

Jimin’s mouth falls open at the audacity of this guy. “You’re an idiot!” 

“And you’re going to pay for that,” the guy says as he points to the very obvious dent on the back of his car.

Jimin shoves open the door and jumps out of his car, forcing the guy to stumble back. He sprints to the front of his car to see the damage done to his bumper but it looks like the other guy got the worst of it, much to his relief.

“Give me your insurance,” the guy demands, drawing closer to Jimin who quickly backs away. He brandishes his insurance card in his face and Jimin snatches it out of his hand. Min Yoongi , reads the name on the card. 

Jimin begrudgingly hands him his too and they exchange info. 

Min Yoongi is obviously stubborn as hell and already Jimin hates him for making an already terrible day worse. 

“You should watch where you’re going next time,” Yoongi says, offering Jimin a shit eating grin as he climbs back into his beat up car. 

Jimin flips him off and he thinks he sees Yoongi laugh as he drives away. 

ㅇ

“And then!” Jimin sighs dropping dramatically onto the bed next to Taehyung, his best friend. “Some loser hit my car and blamed me!”

“Was he hot?” Tae asks, turning to Jimin with a cocked brow.

“No!” Jimin refuses to say that yes in fact the guy was incredibly hot with his oversized tshirt, jet black hair, and eyes so sharp they could cut glass. It’ll deter from the moment at hand. 

“Liar.”

“Shut up. You know I only have eyes for Joonie hyung,” Jimin sighs and hugs the pillow next to him. 

He’s had a crush on Namjoon since he enrolled at the university last year.

He met Joon in a music class and fell instantly in love with how smart and kind he is. The fact that he’s a walking hunk of muscle is only an added bonus. 

But Namjoon has always taken his sweet time when it comes to Jimin. He’ll flirt and call Jimin cute constantly but he never actually makes a move and Jimin is losing his patience.

“I need to find a way to get his attention,” Jimin sighs more to himself than to Taehyung who is busy texting on his phone, no doubt with Jungkook. “Make him see that I’m not going to wait around all day.”

“But you are,” Tae replies, not looking up from his phone.

 “Yeah, but he doesn’t need to know that!”

Finally, Taehyung looks up, eyes narrowing as the gears in his head turn, doing that thing he does a la Sherlock Holmes whenever he’s trying to decipher whatever Jimin is thinking. “What are you going to do?” He’s already used to the way Jimin’s mind works—always getting him into some kind of trouble.

“Just get his attention,” Jimin answers innocently, but Taehyung can already see where this is going and he doesn’t like it one bit. 

“Don’t go doing something reckless now.”

Jimin can sense the wariness in his friend’s tone but he only smirks and shoots him a wink, drawing an exasperated sigh from him. He doesn’t care. He has to come up with something to get Joon’s attention and if it has to be drastic, then so be it.

He’ll show Joonie just how desirable he can be. 

ㅇ

A few days later, Jimin sits on the floor of one of their many dance practice studios at his performing arts university. His dance classmates around him buzz with unspent energy as they’ve just finished going through their entire performance for the showcase. Jimin’s muscles burn in that familiar, almost comfortable way that tells him he’s given it his all. Even if he won’t have a solo, he can still stand out amongst his team. He’s the best dancer they’ve got. It isn’t arrogance, even if he is a lot more confident than some of his other classmates. He just knows how good he is.

As he lays there, catching his breath his phone buzzes in the pocket of his gym bag. His tired arms reach for it, flipping it open and his face breaks out into a wide smile. He’s just gotten the text he’s been hoping for. Namjoon is inviting him out for drinks with their other friends after Jimin not so subtly suggested they hang out that Friday night.

Joon was reluctant at first, saying he had a song he needed to finish writing but Jimin managed to convince him in the end. 

This is proof that Namjoon is just playing hard to get , Jimin thinks smugly. Whoever the person he’s crushing on is, mustn't be all that interested because he didn’t even mention them to Jimin. Who it could be though, he doesn’t know. He just knows that it’s someone older than Namjoon and according to Jungkook, they’re really cute. 

“How would you know?” Jimin asked him when he first mentioned it.

“Jin hyung said that’s what Joonie told him! That he likes cute and small people.” 

Jimin had frowned but he was undeterred. He’s the cutest and smallest of them all, so if anything, it gives him more hope to win Joonie over. 

He rushes to the locker rooms to shower and then back to his place to get ready.

He’s never needed much adornment to look good so he opts for a basic black t-shirt that he knows will accentuate his slim waist and tight black ripped jeans to match.

He tousles his dark hair and puts on just a hint of makeup to even out his skin and a light wash of shadow right above his eyelashes makes the green contacts he dons stand out more. Finally he adds some lip balm and he’s ready.

Shrugging on his leather jacket, something he hasn’t worn in forever, he takes a final look in the mirror and smiles, satisfied.

He looks pretty; Namjoon has no choice but to fall in love.

Tae and Jungkook are already there waiting for him at the entrance to the bar so he doesn’t have to go in alone. Together, they make their way through the smokey bar towards where Namjoon must be with his other friends. Jimin knows most of them, since they all go to the same university, but there are a couple he doesn’t recognize.

The group is gathered by a billiards table, already a few drinks in. He spots Jin hyung, Kang San– one of Namjoon’s producer friends, and Kim Heesoo–a mutual singer friend of theirs who smiles at Jimin when he spots him.

There’s someone else though, a guy with long dark hair in a leather jacket with his back to Jimin, nursing a drink in his hand. He’s shorter than Namjoon and Jin by about half a foot but his broad back draws Jimin’s eyes instantly. He gets an uneasy feeling as they approach the table and Jimin’s eyes narrow on the way Joon throws his head back, laughing at whatever the other guy must have said. 

Jin is the first to jump on him and hug him hello when they finally reach the group, but Jimin can’t muster up similar energy as his eyes zero in on the stranger, his anxiety growing. When the stranger turns around Jimin has to stifle a groan of disgust. 

It’s the jackass who crashed into him the other day. 

Min Yoongi. 

“Of all the bars in all the towns…” he mutters darkly to himself. 

The worst, most offensive part is that they're dressed exactly the same–down to the leather jacket and ripped jeans.

Sent from hell to ruin my day.

At least Jimin looks better than he does. 

Right?

Well, at least his ass is fatter. 

Isn't it?

𝑈𝑔ℎ, he whines internally. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡.

Five shots and a couple of games of pool later, Jimin is feeling more than a little tipsy. He didn’t plan on getting drunk tonight–he’d wanted to look his best for Namjoon– but seeing Yoongi here makes his already hot blood boil. He wants to drink until his face is nothing more than a blurry imprint in the dingy lighting of the bar. 

How could it be that Joon, being so kind and gentle and just plain good, is friends with this…this person, who is the total opposite? A complete jerk and pain in his ass.  Granted Jimin has met him a grand total of one time but that time is enough to cement him as mortal enemy number one in his book. At least that’s what it feels like now with the alcohol fogging up his brain, as he glares daggers at the back of Yoongi’s head.

Instead of flirting with Joon as is his right, he stays glued to Tae and Jungkook the entire night, watching Namjoon be the social butterfly he is, fluttering from friend to friend. 

If he were sober, and not so pissed off, he wouldn’t really know what it is about Yoongi that he hates so much. Besides fender-bender-gate, of course. 

He isn’t even sure Yoongi recognizes him. When Jimin had gotten there Joon had made the introductions and Yoongi had just nodded to everyone never really making eye contact and looking aloof and nonchalant as he nursed his beer.

He didn’t say a single thing to Jimin who had been too stunned to speak his own name. Now here they are—Namjoon saying something in Yoongi’s ear making him laugh and Jimin glaring at him in distaste. 

“He’s cute,” says a voice next to him.

Jimin spares a brief glance to his left to find Jin standing next to him, looking Yoongi's way. 

Please , he thinks,  scoffing and rolling his eyes.

“Namjoon seems to agree,” Jin keeps going and Jimin fully whips his head around at that.

“You’re crazy! He’s not even his type.”

“What do you know about his type,” Jin giggles as he takes a sip of his drink. 

Jimin shrugs, trying to act cool. “He likes cute and small people.” 

This only makes his hyung laugh even harder. “We’re looking at the same guy aren’t we? Who could be cuter and smaller than Yoongi?”

Me, he thinks sourly but Jin is already off trying to pull an unsuspecting Taehyung towards the dead dance floor. They wrestle for a bit, Jin trying to keep Tae from escaping and Taehyung doing everything in his power to pry Jin’s hands off him to no avail. Ultimately, he gives up and they end up dancing offbeat to the music, Taehyung trying to hide his reluctant smile. 

Jimin shakes his head and laughs dryly before turning back to the rest of the group.

When he looks back to where Namjoon was he can’t find him anymore. 

His eyes dart around the group and he realizes Yoongi isn’t around either. Oh no, he thinks. Could they have gone off together somewhere?

“If you keep looking at me the way you have been all night, you might actually cut me,” a deep voice says in his ear, making Jimin jump.

He turns around to find Min Yoongi looking at him with a steady gaze, a tiny smirk fighting to stay off his face. 

Jimin schools his features into a look of distaste, hoping the lights are just dim enough to hide his flush, and crosses his arms over his chest. “What do you want?” 

Yoongi scoffs a little but fixes Jimin with an equally intense gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like you wanna murder me Park? Or—”

“Maybe because I do.” 

“—eat me.”

Yoongi cocks a brow, amused. 

“Murder you I mean!”

“Why? Everything’s fixed between us. Your little car survived right?” 

“It’s the principal of the matter Min,” Jimin says his name derisively, almost like a curse. 

It makes Yoongi laugh in a deep, rich timber that for some reason makes Jimin’s heart rate pick up just a little.

His skin feels hot all over and he desperately wishes they’d crack open a goddam window or something. 

“Whatever Jimin,” Yoongi shrugs, taking a final swig from his drink and sets the glass down on the edge of the billiards table. “I hope you have a good night.” He begins to walk away and Jimin watches as he hesitates before turning around and looking back at him.

“I’m not here to steal your Joonie hyung, by the way. You can keep him. Lord knows he’s got terrible taste and you fit the bill exactly.”

Jimin’s mouth falls open and he’s left speechless as Yoongi turns away laughing to himself. 

How the hell? Jimin’s left thunderstruck. If Yoongi who he’d just met already knows then could it be that Namjoon knows about his crush too?

He downs the last dregs of Taehyung's abandoned drink before practically running towards the restroom to hide in one of the dirty stalls.

It isn’t like he doesn’t want Namjoon to know about his crush–he just wants to be the one to tell him. If Namjoon knows and hasn’t made a move, then that can only mean one thing right? He’s not interested in Jimin. 

“Oh no,” he bemoans, shutting his eyes tightly against the thought.

The door to the restroom opens and Jimin hears a deep voice curse. "I knew he would do this shit.” 

It sounds a lot like Min Yoongi is speaking to someone but nobody answers him. Jimin holds his breath so as not to give away his position in the stall.

"What am I going to do?" Jimin hears Yoongi say. There’s a hint of panic in his voice but Jimin’s already half drunk so he’s not the most reliable judge of anything right now. 

Yoongi’s voice becomes increasingly more agitated as he talks to whoever is on the other line but Jimin can’t glean much of anything from his one sided conversation. 

“No. No…No! Ugh. I don’t even know….Yeah, I told him, but… Yeah. Sure. We’ll talk later…”

There’s silence for a few minutes and Jimin thinks maybe he’s in the clear to come back out. 

His eyes go in and out of focus as he tries to open the latch on the door and when he finally hooks a finger over it and pulls it loose, the door swings open too quickly and he falls right through it.

Yoongi instinctively reaches out and embraces Jimin to keep him from falling face first on the floor.

His arms wrap around Jimin’s waist, holding him up, and his face lands a mere centimeter from Yoongi’s. 

“You alright?” Yoongi asks.

Just as Jimin is about to shove him away and tell him to get lost, the restroom door swings open and Namjoon stands stunned as his eyes adjust to the bright lights. 

His eyes drink in the sight before him: Jimin, held flush against Yoongi's chest, faces a mere hairsbreadth away from each other, as if they’ve been caught in a loving embrace, and Yoongi, hands on Jimin's hips splayed wide, holding him with too much familiarity.

"Jimin!" It's the first thing Jimin registers-- his name being called out in that deep amber tone he dreams with. Only, this time it isn't sultry and dark like in his dreams, but rather full of shock and... anger? He can’t be too sure–he’s too wasted.

"Hyung!" He exclaims, now fully registering whose arms he's fallen into, and pushes him away. "Namjoon-hyung, it's not–" 

"I didn't realize you two... I thought... I..." Namjoon is stunned into incoherence and Yoongi takes the opportunity to usher him out of the restroom completely ignoring Jimin now, who stands entirely useless in the middle of the room. He doesn’t chase after them, unsure if he can even take two steps without falling, but he hopes Joonie comes back. 

After who knows how long, Yoongi comes back inside alone, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

"Listen, Jimin..." he begins, but stops himself, twice. Jimin wonders if maybe Yoongi is just as drunk as he is. "I... You like Namjoon right?" Yoongi finally spits out.

“What do you care?” he slurs.

Yoongi shuts his eyes, as if trying to keep his composure.

“Yes or no?”

Jimin doesn’t answer, but Yoongi seems to think it’s as good as any confirmation.

"Now, don’t freak out okay? Swear?” Yoongi takes a step closer to him, hands held up as if to block an attack and he eyes Jimin warily. It feels like he’s trying to tame a wild animal. 

“Spit it out Yoongi!” Jimin says, too dizzy to be listening to him speak in riddles. 

 Yoongi inhales deeply before nodding. “Okay, well, the thing is he kinda got the impression just now that you and I were sorta, you know…”

"Sorta what?" Jimin fights the fog in his brain, willing himself back into sobriety. 

"He thinks we're hooking up."

"He fucking what?!" Jimin’s own shriek reverberates through his skull and already he feels a migraine coming on. The pain thrums behind his right eye, familiar and unwelcome. 

He tries to shake it away to no avail and focuses his eyes as best he can on Yoongi’s panicked face. 

“Why the hell would he think that you and I are hooking up, Min Yoongi?” he grits out through teeth clenched against the pain and anger. 

Yoongi winces a little, taking a single step back. "Because I told him…?"

"You son of a bitch–" Jimin lunges at Yoongi but he trips and Yoongi, still sober, manages to catch his wrists easily, locking him in a hug against his body.

It's the second time Jimin's been this close to Yoongi in the span of ten minutes and his mind is screaming bloody murder. 

"Why would you tell him that? I'm not interested in you, you freak!" He squirms violently in Yoongi’s strong grip but he won’t budge. 

"First of all, you wish. Second of all, Namjoon never sees the forest for the trees."

"Speak. Korean." Jimin hates that he can't see Yoongi's face. If he could, he'd gouge his eyes out. 

“God, you're too tiny to be this fucking annoying," Yoongi huffs. "Listen, I hate to break it to you, but Joon isn’t interested in you. He sees you as his younger friend. That’s it. He likes someone else who’s honestly the complete opposite of you.”

Something sharp buries itself into Jimin’s ego and the heavy truth, one he’s been dreading for a while, settles in his bones, making him slump in Yoongi’s grip.

“I’m not saying to give up, though,” Yoongi continues. “If you want Namjoon to notice you, he needs to know you’re actually datable and not just some kid he’s friends with. He's always been incredibly oblivious and can't pick up a hint if it's staring him in the face. Or grinding on his di–."

"You're sick!" Jimin wriggles his body again and finally, Yoongi relents, letting him go. 

"All I'm saying is, if he thinks we're together, he'll start to wonder about you. About what's so special that his close hyung decided to date you."

“I thought you said we were hooking up! Now we’re dating!?”

“Tomato, potato. Whatever.”

"You think I can't pull it off on my own?" Jimin puts his hands on his hips menacingly, but Yoongi gives him a blank stare. "Why would you even help me? Are you some kind of pervert?”

“It’s nothing weird, you asshole! I’m not doing this for you. You'd be doing me a favor too. So, if we pretend to, I don't know, date or whatever, you'll get Joon to notice you, and I'll get hi--someone else to get over me."

Jimin scoffs. "Who would be interested in you ?" 

"You know what, forget it," Yoongi glares and makes for the door but it's swiftly slammed shut as Jimin puts a hand over it. 

"Fine." 

"What?" 

"I said fine! We'll pretend to date..." Jimin shudders slightly at the mere thought, but maybe Yoongi is right. He does seem to know Namjoon on a way deeper level than he does so maybe he can actually help him. Jimin can do it. He can pretend to like this animal if it means that Namjoon will finally see him for what he could be. 

“Alright,” Yoongi says, looking into Jimin’s eyes. “Let’s get you a boyfriend…by pretending you already have one.”

“This is so fucking stupid,” Jimin mutters darkly as he shoves Yoongi out of his way and opens the door to the restroom. He knows he’s going to regret this in the morning. 

Chapter Text

Jimin isn’t sure what century he wakes up in, or if he’s even alive when his eyes blink open to bright sunlight pouring into his room. It’s blinding and painful and creeps into his head like a blade on fire. 

He turns on his side, and shoves his head under one of his pillows, desperate to keep the light out. When his stomach churns violently, he has no choice but to get up and rush to the restroom. 

Once he’s done, stomach empty and head pounding, he slumps against the wall trying to settle his raging hangover by taking deep breaths. 

If he can just make it into a hot shower, he’ll be fine, but showering requires movement and movement will have him retching into the bowl again. 

So, he just lays there, fighting for his life, until he hears the very faint sound of knocking on his dorm room door. 

His room is a tiny thing with only enough space for a bed, a desk and a kitchenette that fits half a body and a small fridge. He only managed to score a room with a bathroom out of sheer luck and a little bit of flirting with the residence hall director. 

Once more he hears the knocking on his door and finally, he musters up the courage to get up, barely having the cognisance to rinse his mouth before venturing out into the too bright room. 

When he opens the door, he freezes at the sight in front of him. 

Min Yoongi stands before him, fully dressed in a dorky looking cardigan and shirt tucked into his jeans. His dark hair lays loose around his face.

He looks totally different than when Jimin last saw him…

Last night! At the bar. He was there too. 

“What are you doing here?” Jimin blurts out, hating the way his voice comes out as a scratchy, froggy mess. 

Yoongi frowns, looking Jimin up and down and as his eyes catch on every detail, his frown only deepens. Jimin must really look like shit. 

“Why aren’t you ready?” Yoongi asks.

“For what?”

“Our date!” 

“ Excuse me? ” Jimin’s eyes widen in shock before he lets out a dry laugh. Who the fuck does this man think he is thinking he has a date with The Park Ji– oh fuck . 

“Oh fuck,” he says out loud. 

“We said we’d go to that museum with Joon,” Yoongi says but Jimin is already nodding. He feels his brain move back and forth in his skull as he does and nausea twists in his tummy again. 

Finally remembering the little scene in the restroom of the bar and the deal he’d struck with Yoongi, Jimin also recalls that he’d gone straight to the bar and drunk his weight in soju. After that, his memories come and go in flashes. He danced a lot, tripped a lot, and whined to Taehyung a lot. Most of all though, he remembers Yoongi. 

“Joon told me he’s going to the museum tomorrow,” he’d said at some point. “Sounds like a good place for a first date, don’t you think?”

Jimin had readily agreed, but now he’s regretting everything.

“It’s so early in the morning,” Jimin complains.

“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon.”

Damn. He really blacked out.

“Let me just–”

“Here,” Yoongi cuts him off, lifting a plastic bag. “I brought you some things for your hangover. With the way you were throwing back shots…”

Jimin pauses, scowling at the bag. What could he have brought him? Something poisoned no doubt.

“What is it?” he asks warily but he moves aside to let Yoongi in anyway. 

Yoongi walks toward the kitchenette, glancing around the room only briefly before setting the bag down. He pulls out a couple cans of Asian pear juice and red ginseng soda, as well as oral rehydration salts. Jimin’s eyes go wide when he also pulls out a container of hangover soup and sets it on Jimin’s little counter. 

“What–”

“I didn’t know what you liked,” Yoongi says with a shrug.  

“Did you make the soup?” Jimin asks, eyes trained on the food. 

He feels rather than sees Yoongi shrug again and mumble something about having some leftovers.

Despite himself, Jimin feels a little grateful to him. “Thanks,” he mutters reluctantly. 

“Whatever. Can you hurry? We’re supposed to be there in an hour.”

“Shut up,” Jimin says, reverting back to his normal Yoongi hating self. He snatches the container of soup and drinks it before Yoongi can take it back. It burns as it goes down, but it tastes so good he doesn’t mind much. Then, he swipes one of the drinks and runs into the bathroom to shower. The water feels so good on his sore body and it does enough to wake him up along with the soda he sips between washes. 

He’s out in record time, unwilling to let Yoongi stay a moment longer than necessary in his messy dorm room to snoop. 

When he opens the door to the bathroom, his eyes land on Yoongi who is now laying on his bed as if he owned the place. Yoongi keeps checking his watch as Jimin rushes around the room getting ready. 

“Make yourself useful, Min. At least make my bed if you’re going to sit your dirty ass all over it,” Jimin tosses over his shoulder just to annoy him and he hears Yoongi huff indignantly. 

Yoongi throws grumbling curse after curse at him but Jimin doesn’t hear him over the sound of his hair dryer. He foregoes the hair straightener, satisfied enough with his hair as it is and puts on just a hint of makeup to cover the dark circles under his eyes. 

He changes quickly and finally, he walks out of the bathroom, ready to go.

“Honeyyyy I’m reeeead–what the? Did you actually make my bed?” He blanches as he sees Yoongi sitting at his desk now, scrolling through his phone, bed neatly made.

“You live in a pigsty. I felt sorry for you,” he says without looking up at Jimin.

“Fuck off,” Jimin bites back, but he’s still a little shocked.  

When Yoongi finally looks up, his gaze roams over Jimin, from his hair to his soft makeup to the way his cropped sweater shows off a sliver of skin and down to his tight jeans. 

Then Yoongi’s eyes flick up to look Jimin dead in the face and he asks incredulously, “You’re wearing that to a museum?”

“I look good.” Jimin replies affronted, applying lip balm to his plush lips. 

“Your tummy is showing!” Yoongi points as if Jimin’s skin offends him.

"Your point?"

Yoongi sighs, getting up and putting his hands on his hips. He purses his lips into a tight line before saying, “If you want to impress Joon, you need to wear pants that don’t look like you’ve saran wrapped them to your ass. And a sweater that covers everything.”

“How am I supposed to seduce him if I don’t look good?!”

“Joon doesn’t care about looks, like you do!”

“Are you calling me shallow?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes!” 

Yoongi cocks a brow but says nothing. Lord, this man is so infuriating, Jimin thinks , hands balling into tight fists at his side. 

“So, are you going to change?”

“Fine,” Jimin grits but he doesn’t go for his closet again. Instead he walks over to Yoongi who takes a step back in fear. “But if you’re going to pretend to date me , you can’t look like you’re a fucking altar boy.”

“What’s wrong with this?”

“You look like a grandpa. What happened to the leather jacket? The over sized t-shirts? And this hair!”

He threads his fingers into Yoongi’s hair, surprised at how soft it feels to the touch and pushes it back and out of his face, tucking it behind his ears. 

Yoongi swats him away, arching backward to avoid Jimin’s hands. “This is my date outfit,” he whines.

“No wonder you’re single.” Jimin grabs at Yoongi’s shirt, untucking it and inadvertently pulling him closer.”

“Jimin, come on–”

“This too,” Jimin says, reaching to undo the top three buttons of Yoongi’s shirt, opening the collar a little.

“Hey!” Yoongi protests trying to push Jimin’s hands off of him.

“Am I interrupting something?” A deep voice speaks from the doorway and they both freeze to find Namjoon standing at the entrance where the door hangs wide open for anyone passing to see. 

Jimin’s blush is furious as he realizes just how they look–like two horny teens who can’t keep their hands off each other or their clothes on. 

“N-no–”

“Yeah, kinda,” Yoongi’s voice, not two seconds ago on the verge of panic, is now buttery and casual. His arm snakes around Jimin’s waist, pulling him closer making Jimin yelp a little. 

“Sorry, couldn’t keep my hands off him. He’s just so sexy, isn’t he?” Yoongi says, nuzzling lightly into Jimin’s neck, breath hot on his skin, making him shiver. He’s way too hungover for this shit. 

Jimin reaches over and pinches Yoongi’s side, making him grip his waist even tighter, but the message is received. He lets go of him and lets him put his shoes on all the while Namjoon waits for them patiently, hands in his pockets. 

“I thought we were going to meet at the museum,” Yoongi says, watching as Jimin laces up his boots as fast as he can. 

“Oh, yeah, I was on my way but this is my building too. Remember you slept over a few weeks ago?”

At that, Jimin stops what he’s doing and his ears perk up. He had no idea Namjoon lived in this building. Now he has to figure out a way to run into him more often. 

“Honestly, I think I was too drunk to remember what year it was, bro.”

Namjoon makes a noise between a laugh and a sigh before Jimin finally stands up and smiles brightly at them. “Ready!”

“Great. Let’s go,” Yoongi says without waiting for him. 

ㅇ

Yoongi sighs as the three of them climb into a taxi and head toward the museum of who knows what. Jimin nearly shoves him aside so that he can sit next to Namjoon, but Joon ends up taking the other side, leaving Yoongi to sit squished between the two. 

Jimin glares at him and all Yoongi can do is roll his eyes. It’s not like he wants to sit next to Nam. In fact, he shouldn’t even be here. He’d had half a mind to cancel as soon as the morning came, but he already felt like an asshole after last night. 

Nam had been drinking way more than his tolerance allowed but Yoongi hadn’t even seen it coming. Sure there had been signs leading up to the confession, but Yoongi had hoped he was just a paranoid narcissist. Turns out of course, that Joon was just dumb and obvious. 

No sooner had Yoongi left Jimin to stew in his hatred of him, laughing at just how much he was able to rile up the younger, when he’d been cornered by a completely hammered Namjoon talking all this nonsense about always having liked Yoongi and wishing they could be more than friends. 

He’d been illogically shocked when Nam confessed though he really shouldn’t have been.

He isn't entirely sure Namjoon even remembers his confession, but telling him he and Jimin started hooking up was a way to ensure he doesn't try to do it again.

 Nam had been a good sport about the whole thing, and when he told Yoongi he had plans to go to the museum today, Yoongi had idiotically invited himself and Jimin, just to prove to Nam that he wasn’t just talking out of his ass. Even if he was.

Now, sitting awkwardly in his stupid grandpa button up (which he’d worn on purpose to look less appealing to Namjoon, thankyouverymuch Park Jimin!)  he knows this has been a huge mistake. 

He doesn’t know Jimin at all and he’s been friends with Namjoon for nearly a decade. If the sidelong glances Namjoon’s been throwing at him every two minutes are anything to go by, he must know something’s up. Or at least find it incredibly weird that someone as laid back as Yoongi is suddenly into someone as uptight as Park Jimin. 

To be fair, he and Namjoon really make sense on paper. They’re both obsessed with music; they both moonlight as rappers on the weekends at Cypher, an underground club that always lets them perform; they both love to read and learn about literally any subject. Hell, they both like interior design and assembling furniture for crying out loud. But that’s the thing–they’re too similar. Yoongi isn’t looking for a twin, he’s looking for someone to challenge him, to surprise him with their way of thinking, to teach him new things. Namjoon is amazing, but he isn’t what Yoongi wants. 

And of course, being the ever so eloquent and intelligent man that he is, instead of saying all of that to him when he rejected him, Yoongi just told him he was interested in someone else and then made up an entire boyfriend. 

It’s only a half lie, if he’s being fair to himself. He is interested in someone else…It’s just someone who he’ll never confess to. 

His phone buzzes in his hand and he looks down to find a text from his best friend Adora. 

[dora]

hows the date going? 

He sighs and thanks whoever invented privacy screen protectors as he types away and tells her that it hasn’t even started and already it’s a disaster. She thinks it’s hilarious. 

As soon as Yoongi left last night, ensuring that Jimin got home alright with his two really hot friends, he called Dora in a panic, confessing everything. She’d called him an idiot and then proceeded to be of no help as he had a mini mental breakdown over the whole thing. 

Briefly, he wonders if Jimin has told any of his own friends about their little agreement. He makes a mental note to ask him about it later. 

[dora]

maybe you’ll realize he’s actually the love of your life

[myg]

nam or jimin? 🤨

[dora] 

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[myg]

u know who i like already

[dora]

maybe this will show ✨him✨ you’re a great catch

[myg]

pfft yea

if he ever even looked my way

“I think I’m going to be sick,” he hears Jimin mutter to himself and Yoongi is quick to pull out a pack of ginger candy that always helps him with his motion sickness. 

“Here,” he says, offering the pack to Jimin. He eyes it warily before taking it and popping one of the sweets into his mouth, lips puckering out at the bitter undertones of the ginger. 

“Ugh,” he says and Yoongi can’t help but crack a little smile despite himself. 

“It’ll help, I swear.”

The rest of the car ride is silent and tense. Nam’s thick thigh presses into Yoongi’s, pushing him into tiny Jimin who only sucks on the candy as he looks out the window, no doubt fighting for his life not to be sick in front of his crush. 

Yoongi thinks it’s funny just how obvious Jimin is about his crush and just how obviously oblivious Nam is to it all. Last night, Yoongi had instantly noticed how Jimin had tried and failed every time to get his friend’s attention, but it never discouraged him. He just kept trying. It was a little sad, to be honest, but if he learned anything last night about this demon in the body of a tiny person, it’s that he’s persistent. 

“Oh, we’re here!” Namjoon says then, straightening up and getting closer to the window, nose touching the glass. 

If Jimin is a black cat, Namjoon is a golden retriever. 

They’d make a terrible match, he decides, laughing to himself. If they manage to pull this off and score Jimin at least a date with Namjoon, he’ll buy a lottery ticket, because as he sees it right now, it’ll take a miracle.

ㅇ

The museum isn’t as awful as Jimin imagined it’d be. It’s really interactive and full of art styles he’s never even heard about. There’s a photography section that draws him in instantly, especially since the subject of the installation is a dancer. 

She flows through each image like water, transforming her body into movement itself. He lingers for too long on a portrait of her face titled 3:09 am in which her face looks sweaty and tired, hair in disarray, but still, she holds nothing but strength and power in her eyes. He becomes so mesmerized that he doesn’t realize he’s all alone in the room until he looks around and finds that Namjoon and Yoongi are gone. 

 He goes looking for them, pissed as all hell that instead of leaving him with Joon so he can try to talk to him alone, Yoongi hijacked him. 

Maybe he’s talking me up , he hopes, but he’s still not entirely sure he trusts Yoongi. 

Finally, he spots them in a room labeled simply The Music Room where there are a ton of instruments and recording equipment that looks like it was made in the stone age. Yoongi looks like he’s geeking out over some ancient looking mixing board while Namjoon stands at a microphone, speaking into it in that deep voice that makes chills run over Jimin’s skin. 

When Yoongi spots him he looks a little mortified and Jimin wonders if he just straight up forgot he was with them. 

“H-hey baby,” he says, getting up from the chair he’s in and rushes over to Jimin’s side. “Are you having fun?”

Jimin flashes him his best smile and nods. “So much. All by myself,” he grits out through clenched teeth and Yoongi grimaces and offers him a rueful look. 

Sorry , he mouths and before Jimin can tell him where he can stick his sorry, Namjoon calls his name. 

“Jimin! That photography exhibit is really nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is!” Jimin says turning to Joon and this time, his bright smile is honest. 

“I figured you’d like it because of the dancer. Hyung and I are just playing around with this set up but if you want to go, it’s cool.”

“No!” he says a little too quickly, giddiness rising like bubbles in his belly. Najoon figured he’d like it! Because he knows Jimin’s a dancer! He pays so much attention to me. He tries not to wiggle in delight and misses the gagging face Yoongi throws his way. 

“Keep playing,” he tells Joonie. “I wanna hear you sing, hyungie.”

He thinks he hears Yoongi scoff but when his head whips around to glare at him, Yoongi’s already back on the chair fiddling with the buttons. 

“Nah, I don’t have the voice for it. We were just checking to see if it really records.”

“Oh, well, I can sing a note or two. Maybe I can give it a shot.”

“Really?” Namjoon looks rather impressed. “You dance and sing? Do you want to be an idol or something?”

“No!” Jimin laughs, blushing. “I’m not great or anything.” He comes up to the mic and puts on the headphones Namjoon’s just taken off. He suddenly feels too self conscious as both Yoongi and Namjoon look at him. 

“When you’re ready,” Yoongi says, flipping a switch on the soundboard. 

Jimin hears music coming in through the headphones, soft and sweet. He knows this song. It’s an old song that not a lot of people might’ve heard before. Briefly, he wonders if Yoongi played it to make him look bad, but the joke’s on him because Jimin recently choreographed a dance to this song and he knows it by heart. 

He clears his throat and catches the next note on the beat and begins to sing. He sings low on the first line, but shuts his eyes to focus and the song starts flowing softly out of him. He only sings the first chorus, ultimately overcome with shyness and plays it off with a giggle. 

“Wow! Jimin, your voice is so pretty. I had no idea!” Namjoon exclaims with a dimpled smile. It makes Jimin feel like he’s floating. Namjoon makes to pat him on the shoulder but looks toward Yoongi and retracts his hand almost instantly. 

Jimin sighs internally and turns to find Yoongi looking at him with an unreadable expression. 

“Play it back, hyung. Let’s see how Jimin would’ve sounded back in the thirties.”

Yoongi seems to snap out of a trance and nods, clicking a couple buttons that Jimin suspects might just be for show. A speaker crackles softly and he hears himself take a steadying breath before the music begins. His voice sounds a little muffled, as if the mic had been covered by something but he can still hear himself clearly. He sings sweetly, as is his way, but there’s a shakiness in his inexperienced tone that makes him blush a little. 

“Maybe I wouldn’t have gotten a contract back then, huh,” he laughs but Namjoon shakes his head.

“You totally would have, Jiminie. I figure with some training, you could give some of the Vocal Studies majors a run for their money.”

“Hyung!” Jimin giggles uncontrollably, unable to contain the blush that flushes across his skin.

Yoongi says nothing.

“Come on, there’s one more place I wanna see and then we can go get lunch,” Namjoon tells them, pulling on Yoongi’s wrist. It doesn’t escape Jimin’s notice how Yoongi shakes his hand off almost immediately. 

“This is the cyanotype room,” Joon says arms outstretched like a presenter showing off a prize as they enter a large space full of people. “We can make our own here,” Joon continues. “I’m working on a song I’m calling Indigo and I wanted to make the artwork for it here.”

 Jimin’s eyes blow wide as he drinks in the images displayed around them. Framed pieces of blue art are carefully showcased on the walls surrounding the work tables already full of people making their own. They look like blue green shadow imprints of objects that he’d never even expect could make art, but it works. 

“Wow,” he says turning to Namjoon. But Joon is beaming at an equally mesmerized Yoongi as his eyes look about the room. 

“Cool right?” Joon says, turning now to Jimin. This time, Jimin doesn’t notice the way Namjoon’s smile has faded ever so slightly. 

“Can we make one?” Jimin asks walking toward the tables now. 

The other two follow suit and the instructor sets them up quickly, offering them an array of objects and sheets of prepared paper.

She gives them a quick explanation on how to create their own cyanotype and Jimin thinks he gets the gist of it well enough. They rummage through the objects and he finds interesting shaped rocks that vary in size. He sets them in a straight line atop the paper as if they were the waning phases of the moon and the instructor sets his work under the skylight that will filter sunlight onto it to expose the image. 

He’s worked too fast and now he has to wait while Joon and Yoongi finish theirs. He smiles to himself and goes over to Namjoon’s workspace on the pretext that he wants to see what objects he chose. 

“Oh! That’s so pretty hyungie!” he says, noting the flower Joon has placed at the center of his paper. He scatters leaves and petals around the edges and Jimin realizes that maybe his piece wasn’t nearly as creative enough. At least not enough to impress Namjoon. 

 He spares a glance at Yoongi’s work and his mouth falls open at the sight. Yoongi’s found some leaves but instead of just placing them on the paper, he’s shaped them into something else. 

“It looks like a lotus,” Jimin says, unaware that he’s said it aloud. 

Yoongi looks up at him and his lip quirks up at the corner a little. “They’re kinda my favorite.”

Despite himself, Jimin's really curious to see how it turns out. 

After a little while, all their pieces are ready and when Jimin gets his, his smile instantly fades. It looks like nothing but blobs going down the middle. Nothing compared to how Yoongi’s came out. 

“Wow! Hyung yours looks amazing,” Namjoon praises Yoongi loudly, and Jimin notes the soft tinge of pink coloring Yoongi’s cheeks. He glowers at Yoongi, all his earlier curiosity transformed into resentment at the attention he’s getting from Joon. 

Yoongi’s eyes flash to Jimin’s scowl and back to Joon. 

“Oh, Jimin! B-baby! Yours looks so good!” He comes over to look at Jimin’s work and holds it up as if to admire it. “Um, wow. I love the way you… made the line so… straight.”

Jimin snatches the paper out of his hand and throws it away, stalking out of the room, entirely embarrassed.

 “You must really like him hyung,” Jimin hears Namjoon say and wilts completely. 

ㅇ

Lunch does a bit to lighten Jimin’s sour mood, especially since Yoongi let him sit right next to his beloved Joonie while he sat across from them. 

“To see his pretty face,” Yoongi insisted when Namjoon protested, and even if he rolled his eyes at him, Yoongi knew Jimin was grateful. 

Their little throuple date hasn’t been as bad as he imagined it would be. The museum had been cool and now they’re at one of Yoongi’s favorite ramen places. 

He doesn’t want to think about the fact that Nam chose this place specifically because Yoongi likes it. 

“It was fun right?” Nam says, slurping up his ramen happily, getting broth all over his white t-shirt. Yoongi turns to Jimin and finds him looking at Namjoon with adoring eyes. 

“Your cyanotype was the prettiest, Joonie hyung. And when you release your song, you have to send it to me! I want to hear it first.” 

Yoongi can’t help but roll his eyes at Jimin. He’s so obvious and Nam is a stupid giant puppy who has no idea. 

Yoongi considers both of them for a bit and decides that alright fine , maybe they look kinda cute together. But Namjoon is a huge teddy and Jimin is a tiny vengeful kitten that would absolutely rip him to shreds starting from his soft little cotton filled tummy to his neck if he so much as made the wrong move. He’s really not even sure why Jimin is so obsessed with him when it’s so obvious they’re so different. 

Yoongi has to stop himself for a second to wonder if he’s suddenly feeling jealous. Would he be if Namjoon decided to date Jimin? Is he making a mistake in rejecting Namjoon?

He’s amazing, he’s smart, and funny, and sweet. Everything good that Yoongi could ever ask for. Nobody is more loyal than he is. 

But he’s also been his best friend for years; he’s practically his brother. Yoongi can’t even picture himself kissing Joon without gagging and feeling incestuous. 

“For sure Jiminie!” Namjoon’s excited voice pulls him out of his reverie. “It’s really not even close to being finished. I feel like something’s missing. I asked hyung to help me so I’m hoping that fixes the problem.”

Jimin’s eyes light up and instantly, Yoongi knows what he’s thinking. If Yoongi’s going to be spending time with Nam, then Jimin’s going to want to tag along. 

He sighs and shuts his eyes. What did he get himself into?

“You alright hyung?” Nam’s voice is suddenly worried. 

“Yeah. Just tired.” Yoongi replies. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Namjoon’s eyes flit to Jimin and something like disappointed understanding clouds his features. Before Yoongi can tell him that he didn’t mean anything by the comment, which would, of course, go against their whole little charade, Namjoon’s phone rings. 

“Hello? No, I’m eating lunch–oh. Okay, yeah. See ya.” He hangs up and gives them an apologetic look. “I gotta go. Something’s come up at the studio. I’ll see you tomorrow though, right hyung?” His voice is half hopeful, half wary as he looks from Yoongi to Jimin. 

“Yeah, of course.”

“Cool.” He smiles in relief and bids them goodbye. They watch him place a couple bills on the table to pay for his meal, then he gets up and leaves. 

As soon as he’s out the door, Jimin nearly lunges at Yoongi from across the table. “You need to let me hang out with you guys! This is the perfect excuse to see him more.”

Emotions war across Yoongi’s face and for a split second, Jimin thinks he’s going to say no. In the end, he sighs and simply nods. 

Jimin beams and settles back in his seat, finishing off his plate of ramen. The date turned out to be a lot of fun for him and, despite Yoongi third-wheeling, he thinks Joon saw a better side of him today. 

“I didn’t know you could sing,” Yoongi says suddenly. 

You don’t know anything about me , Jimin wants to say, but refrains from being snarky. They’re having a peaceful moment and no matter how much fun it is to annoy Yoongi, he doesn’t want to upset the balance they’ve created. 

Instead he just says, “I can’t. I was just trying to impress Joon.” 

“Well, you definitely impressed.” 

“You think?” Jimin meets Yoongi’s eyes and there’s a split second of silence before Yoongi nods and offers him a nonchalant shrug. 

He hopes Yoongi isn’t just saying that. He really hopes Joonie was impressed with him. Maybe Jimin’s voice was so magical to him that he fell in love and he’s just waiting for the right moment to tell him without Yoongi being in the way– 

Ok relax, Jimin, he scolds himself. Even he isn’t that delusional. 

“Anyway,” Jimin says, sobering up a little. “We need to talk.” 

“About?” Yoongi’s brows furrow. 

“If we’re going to do this for real, don’t you think we need to establish some rules?”

“Mmm, no. We just need to pretend to be boyfriends. How hard can it be?” Yoongi shrugs. It seems to be a habit of his.

“Have you ever even had a boyfriend?”

“Well…no…”

“I can tell,” Jimin says, eyeing Yoongi up and down.

“Hey!” 

“Are you even gay?”

“I’m bi.”

Jimin rolls his eyes and Yoongi scowls. “Don’t tell me you’re a bi eraser.”

“That’s not a thing.”

Yoongi glares at him. 

“Whatever. I’m not! I just think you’re all indecisive.”

“That’s homophobic.” 

“I can’t be homophobic if I'm gay, duh.”

“Whatever,” Yoongi says through gritted teeth.

“Anyway, bi , let’s get a few things straight–”

“Fat chance.” 

“Today was really good, so you get points for that.”

“Gee, thanks.” 

“ But, ” Jimin says forcefully, annoyed at Yoongi’s interruptions. “We need to do better to make sure people actually believe us. I can’t let my friends know this is all pretend.”

“Why wouldn’t they believe us now?”

“Have you seen you? And have you seen me ?”

Yoongi’s face scrunches in confusion before fully registering the insult. 

“Yah! You–”

“Kidding! It’s just a jokey joke. Geez, you’re wound tight,” Jimin says, rolling his eyes again, but Yoongi only huffs and leans forward with a glare. 

“If you want Kim Namjoon to even give you the time of day, you better work on that winning personality of yours Park Jimin. You’re not winning any points by being a dick. He only likes nice people.”

Jimin leans in matching Yoongi’s glower. 

“I’ll have you know, Min Yoongi, that I am the nicest person. It's you, with your oh so charming nature, who brings out the worst in me so sit the fuck back or I’ll make you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” 

“Try me.” 

They sit there, locked in their silent war, both waiting for the other to crack but neither will stand down. 

It isn’t until the waitress comes over, clearing her throat that both of them startle and break eye contact. 

“D-did you need anything else?”

“I’ll have a bottle of soju, please,” Yoongi says immediately. “And a glass of beer.”

She turns to Jimin and waits expectantly but he only shakes his head, still a little hungover from last night. 

They sit in silence until she brings Yoongi’s drinks. He chugs the beer before cracking the bottle of soju open, pouring himself a shot, and throwing it back.

Jimin just sits there, too proud to apologize even if he knows he should. He hadn’t meant to be so mean but he wasn’t lying when he told Yoongi that he brings out the worst in him but even Jimin doesn’t understand exactly why. Their personalities are just too incompatible and it’s almost tempting to push all of his buttons. 

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi says, making Jimin look up in shock. “I didn’t mean to be a dick.”

“You–”

“I know they won’t believe us. I’ve never been a guy’s boyfriend. My other relationships were with girls and to be honest, I’ve never been a great boyfriend anyway. I’m obsessed with my work and never give them the time they deserve…” 

Jimin sits in his ever growing shock, listening to Yoongi as he rambles. Maybe the alcohol loosened his tongue but whatever it is, Jimin doesn’t say anything until he’s finished. 

“Anyway,” Yoongi says, downing another shot of soju. “How do we make them believe it?”

“Well, uh, we need to be seen together.”

“On campus?”

“Everywhere. Parties, Itaewon, dates, dorms…” As he’s speaking he doesn’t realize how crazy it all actually sounds until he’s done, but Yoongi’s expression remains impassive, revealing nothing. “Hanging out with our mutual friends. Boyfriend duties, you know?”

“Okay,” Yoongi finally says. “Question, how long do you think we’re going to do this for exactly?”

That, Jimin hasn’t actually had time to consider. “I don’t know. Until Joonie decides to make a move?”

Yoongi is pensive for a moment, as if sifting through all their options. “Namjoon won’t actually try to take his friend’s boyfriend from him, you know that right? He’s not a piece of shit. How about we give this thing a month, then officially break up. That way you can seek him out for, like, consolation or whatever, and maybe he’ll do more than that.” 

Jimin stares at Yoongi for a split second before his jaw drops and he’s rendered nearly speechless. “Did you just come up with that because oh my gosh that’s actually so smart!”

“Well they don’t call me a genius for nothing.”

“Who calls you that?”

“I said they don’t.”

Jimin gives him a look. “Anyway. What about you? I can’t be the only one who benefits. You said you needed help shaking someone off right?”

“Uh, yeah. Some guy in my program.”

“Who is it?” Jimin can’t help but ask. 

“It doesn’t matter.”

“You’re so boring. How about I share a schedule with you and we can both fill it in whenever we need each other. If I need you to come to a party with me, I’ll put it on the schedule and vice versa.”

“Hmm, maybe your head’s not just full of hot air,” Yoongi mocks and Jimin pretends he didn’t hear him. 

“Give me your number,” Jimin says instead. He creates a simple calendar and shares it with Yoongi, setting it to where they can both edit the template. 

“Just don’t overdo it, alright?” Yoongi warns. “I tend to get pretty busy.”

“With what?” Jimin scoffs. 

“Music!”

“Oh right. You’re like a guitarist or something.”

“A pianist. And a producer.”

“A pianist producer? So a peepee?”

“You’re literally five years old. I’m serious.”

“Fine!” he sighs. “I need to dance too so obviously we’re both busy. We’ll go on a couple dates a week. Plan them out strategically.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. What else?”

Yoongi shrugs. “It’s your play.”

“What about PDA?”

“No!”

Jimin rolls his eyes. “You have to hold my hand! Hyung’s never going to buy it if we don’t at least hold hands.”

“I better win a fucking Oscar after this,” he mumbles. “Fine. That’s…harmless.”

“And you need to be cute with me. Today you were a total dud. No wonder you’ve never had a boyfriend.”

“Hey! I’m just figuring shit out, leave me alone.”

Yoongi crosses his arms over his chest and pouts a little. The alcohol’s made him petulant and the tip of his nose is tinted pink making him look like an angry cherub. It’s almost cute. 

Almost. 

“Okay, sorry! But you still need to be cute. Can you at least try?”

“Define cute.”

Jimin shrugs. “You have to be clingy. Maybe buy me stuff.”

“I’m a broke college student, I don’t have money to buy you shit Jimin.”

“I’ll pay you back!”

Yoongi sighs and waits for Jimin to continue. 

“Let’s keep the PDA to a minimum. How do you feel about kisses on the cheek?”

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to get in my pants?”

“Please, Romeo, you wish. You’re not my type.” Jimin declares definitively, just so he doesn't get any ideas. 

“Oh yeah? What is?”

“Tall, dark, handsome. Namjoon.”

“Hmph,” Yoongi grunts. “Tall is overrated,” Jimin thinks he hears him mumble.

Before Jimin can take another jab at him because he can’t hold himself back, Yoongi’s eyes narrow and widen in a single second. 

“Fuck! Be cool, don’t turn around,” he says, ducking behind a menu.

“Why would I turn around?” Jimin asks as he turns around.

“Oh no, he’s coming this way!”

“Who–”

“Agust D!” A boisterous voice calls out loudly. A thin man with a beautiful chiseled face comes over to them, already in a fit of giggles as his eyes land on Yoongi. 

“Agust–?”

“H-hey Hobi, what’s up?” Yoongi says. Jimin is taken aback by the sudden change in Yoongi’s demeanor. Where he was only giving Jimin sass and attitude, now he’s turned into a docile kitten as he looks up at this Hobi guy with pink tinged cheeks and a goofy ass smile. 

“Nothing. Just here to grab a bite. Are you going tonight?”

“I can’t, but for sure later this week,” Yoongi says and Jimin is entirely confused. They haven’t even acknowledged his existence. 

Jimin clears his throat, making it obvious and finally, Hobi’s eyes land on him, otherwise he might’ve gone entirely ignored by his pretend boyfriend. 

“Oh! Hobi, this is Jimin,” Yoongi says as if only just remembering they aren’t alone. “He’s–”

“I’m his boyfriend. Nice to meet you,” Jimin says through a blinding smile and gets up not bothering to really acknowledge the guy or Yoongi. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna pee.” He throws his napkin down and makes for the bathroom.

“B-boyfriend?” Hobi stutters out. 

“Well,” Jimin hears Yoongi say. “It’s kind of complicated.”

At that, Jimin turns sharply around, whirling on Yoongi.  Complicated? Excuse me? Wasn’t he the one who had come up with his insane idea in the first place?

“Actually, we’re in love,” Jimin sighs, shoving Hobi over ever so delicately, and draping himself over Yoongi. He gives him a wet kiss on the cheek, making sure it smacks extra loudly. “He fucks me like no one ever has. Twice a night. Sometimes three. He’s got the biggest you know what,"Jimin whisper hisses, playing coy, and winks at a stunned Hobi. 

“Oh, that’s, umm. G-good for you?” It’s the only thing Hobi can say as he begins to back away a little. 

Yoongi looks completely mortified to Jimin’s utter delight. 

“So in love,” Jimin says again and pinches Yoongi’s cheek for good measure before escaping into the restroom with a loud, “Gotta tinkle!”

Before the door to the restroom has even shut, Yoongi is throwing it wide open again. 

“Jimin, what the fuck was that!?”

“Complicated?” he says, rounding on him. “You can’t force me into this charade and then turn around and pretend we’re nothing to your boy crush over there! Either commit to the bit, or fuck off!”

Yoongi’s eyes go wide but he doesn’t say anything for a minute. He blinks owlishly at Jimin and then heaves a sigh. “Was it that obvious?”

“That you wanna suck that guy's dick? Yeah,” Jimin scoffs. “Obvious.”

“I don’t wanna do that! I mean… not just that… Hobi is, WAS! my first boy crush. My awakening if you will. The one that got away.”

Jimin tries to be sympathetic but he’s just annoyed. “So he rejected you?”

“He didn’t even know I was into him. Didn’t even know I’m into guys until you so tactfully told him.” 

Oh.

“Yeah, oh.”

“Sorry.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes I am!” Jimin protests but Yoongi ignores him, choosing to roll his eyes instead. “Can we not argue for like five minutes? I’m getting a headache.” He says it to shut Yoongi up, but he really does feel one of his migraines coming on. He feels a pulse behind his right eye, just below the brow bone.

Yoongi frowns but relents. “Fine. Let’s just leave.”

They take the subway back to campus in silence. Jimin feels guilt bubble inside his belly even if what he did was done entirely out of necessity. He obviously hadn’t meant to out Yoongi the way he had, but if they’re going to pretend to date, everyone’s going to find out anyway.

Once they’re at their stop Jimin isn’t sure what to do. Yoongi continues walking forward, not looking back at him. The guilt in Jimin’s belly has swollen to a watermelon sized tumor that makes him nauseous. Or it could be the migraine.

“So,” he begins, desperate to break the thick tension. “How did you and Hobi meet?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Yoongi says coolly, effectively shutting Jimin down.

“Oh, okay.” He bites his lip to keep from snapping at Yoongi. They’re already walking on eggshells around each other. 

“Goodnight, Jimin,” Yoongi says abruptly, not bothering to look at him as he walks off toward the opposite side of the road.

Jimin huffs indignantly but says nothing. Instead, he stalks off toward his dorm, ready to sleep off his headache.

Chapter Text

Yoongi lies awake in bed, mindlessly scrolling through his phone. He’d tried to work on music earlier but the inspiration just wasn’t coming.

He can’t stop thinking about Hobi and the look he’d gotten when Jimin told him he had a boyfriend. Hoseok looked so shocked, as if he couldn’t believe Yoongi could be into guys. Wasn’t it obvious? Yoongi thought so. 

But then again, like he’d told Jimin, he’d never dated a guy before. Jimin is his first, even if it is all for show. 

A show that already started off disastrously, he thinks, rolling onto his side and burying his face into his pillow. 

“Stupid Jimin,” he says into the pillow, but there’s no malice in his voice. If he’s being honest, Jimin might have done him a huge favor by outing him the way he had.

Obviously, people were going to find out eventually when they saw them together, but he’d already planned to hide Jimin from Hobi, vowing to never take him to the club they performed at so he wouldn’t find them out. 

Now, however, maybe if Hobi knew he and Jimin were a thing, he’d look at Yoongi with brand new eyes. Maybe after he and Jimin break up, Hobi might see him as a potential something. 

[dora]

that’s the delulu talking

[myg]

shut up

jerk

a guy can dream

[dora]

a guy can also be committed to an insane asylum

[myg]

oh ye of little faith

you really don’t think i can get hobi to like me back?

[dora]

i think you’re hung up on him bc he’s your first boy crush

you need to expand your horizons

[myg] 

onto who? Namjoon? never gonna happen

he and i are too close

it’d be like dating my brother geumjae 🤢

[dora]

ok oedipus

[myg]

oedipus fucked his mother

[dora]

911 i’d like to report a pre-vert

[myg]

bye

[dora]

i’m serious

[myg]

i’m not dating nam

[dora]

i didn’t mean him!

[myg]

who then?

[dora]

park jimin

[myg]

911 i’d like to report an escapee from seoul psychiatric hospital

[dora]

he’s cute 

he’s a dancer which means hes super flexible

what more could you ask for

[myg]

you’re serious aren’t you

dora please

he’s the actual insane one

he and i would never work!

[dora]

mhmm

me thinks the lady doth protest too much

Just as he’s about to list all the reasons why he’d never actually date Jimin, he gets a notification on his phone. The little icon for his calendar pops up and he clicks on it. 

Jimin’s filled in tomorrow with the words “campus date.”

Yoongi frowns, taking a screenshot of the calendar and sending it to Jimin with a single “?”

[park jimin]

I thought we could make our official campus debut

[myg]

what are we, idols?

[park jimin]

fine i’ll delete it

[myg]

wait 

sorry

sounds good

[park jimin]

…

[myg]

jimin

[park jimin]

are you always going to be this difficult?

Yoongi sighs, knowing full well Jimin has a point. It was his idea to do this in the first place, and so far, he hasn’t been of much help. He knows he could have done more to talk Jimin up with Namjoon. 

He resolves to do better tomorrow, for himself and Jimin. 

[myg]

sorry 

i mean it

what do you wanna do tomorrow?

[park jimin]

I was thinking you could pick me up from class 

maybe have lunch together

you could invite joon

and that person you want to shake off

Yoongi swallows hard. Jimin still doesn’t know that Nam and ‘that person’ are one and the same. He’s not even sure if he should tell him. It might piss him off more than he already is about all of this and he doesn’t wanna risk it. He’d rather show Namjoon just how amazing Jimin can be for him–even if he has to lie through his teeth–than face the wrath of Park Jimin if he ever does find out the truth. 

[myg]

word will get to them don’t worry 

i don’t wanna give them any hope

[park jimin]

alright

Jimin quickly texts him his schedule and Yoongi's eyes bulge at just how busy he really is. Most of his classes are in buildings Yoongi’s never even gone to on campus and if he wants to meet Jimin on time he’s going to need a map.

They make a plan to meet at noon for lunch, after Jimin’s contemporary dance class. 

[myg]

see you tomorrow then

Yoongi texts him goodbye but Jimin doesn’t reply. 

ㅇ

A knock on his dorm room door has Jimin frowning. Who could be bothering him so early? He hopes it’s not the TA he made out with last week at that party. He barely even remembers her name but she's been bothering him ever since.  All he remembers is that she kept throwing herself at him and to shut her up he latched his mouth onto hers. It really wasn’t so bad, if a bit sloppy. He’s just never been one to let anyone down easily and telling a girl he’s not into girls at all after making out with her for about an hour honestly sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. 

When he opens the door however, Jimin’s eyes blow wide at the sight in front of him. “Is it yesterday again?” he asks stupidly, as he takes in Yoongi’s sudden appearance. The older boy wears a black hoodie and a pair of black sweats. His long hair is covered by a dark beanie that nearly blends in with his jet black hair. He looks casually cool (but still a little sleepy) in his loose fit, in sharp contrast with Jimin’s jeans and tight long sleeve shirt. The only thing that they have in common is the all black outfits.

Yoongi shrugs, not really looking at Jimin. “I figured we should get an early start. Besides I know Nam’s route so we could casually walk by and let him see us without actually interacting. It’ll be more natural that way.” 

“Oh.”

 Jimin is more than a little stunned at Yoongi’s sudden proactiveness. It makes him happy though because he’ll get to see his Joonie hyung more than he usually does. 

“Okay, let me grab my backpack and we’ll go. Do you want something to eat? I have…” Jimin trails off and realizes that he has nothing to offer Yoongi. He’s never actually had time for breakfast since he moved out of his parent’s house. 

“I’m okay,” Yoongi says and waits for Jimin to grab his stuff. They walk together in awkward silence with Yoongi trailing about a beat behind him as Jimin leads the way. 

Jimin’s always hated the silence that surrounds strangers but he can’t very well call Yoongi that anymore, can he? He also can’t put on his earphones to drown out the quiet either without making things more awkward, so he settles for small talk even if Yoongi doesn’t strike him as the kind to indulge. 

“So, umm, did you sleep well?”

Yoongi gives him a sidelong glance before shaking his head almost imperceptibly but offering nothing more. 

Jimin’s mouth turns into a thin line before he tries once more. “Neither could I. I had a migraine.” This, at least, is the truth, and not just a pathetic way to try to engage him. Jimin’s headache last night had him trying everything from soaking his feet in hot water, to applying a cold compress to his eye, right at the epicenter of the migraine. Nothing worked until he got some respite in sleep but even now, he feels the remnants of the headache as the sun shines all too brightly in his eyes. He shoves on a dark pair of sunglasses and prays it helps a little. 

“You get those a lot?” Yoongi asks in his gravelly voice. 

“Yeah. Dad gets them too, so I guess I got the lucky gene,” he says sarcastically and hears Yoongi scoff lightly. 

After a second he speaks up again. “I’m not much of a morning person, so I usually work at night. I forgot I had class early today and ended up working until about…” he checks his phone. “Three hours ago.”

Now it’s Jimin’s turn to scoff. He’s no stranger to working so hard he forgets the time, but even he remembers to sleep–when he can.

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep that up.”

“Nah,” Yoongi says. “I’ll always look like a fresh boiled dumpling. I got the good skin genes.”

Jimin is about to come up with some way to retort when he suddenly feels Yoongi slip his hand into his. It catches him so off guard that he lets out a small gasp. 

“Look,” Yoongi whispers and gestures with his head at something in front of them. 

Namjoon. 

His crush is walking toward them, donning a pair of giant headphones atop his head. He doesn’t seem to notice them at first until Yoongi, quick thinker that Jimin is discovering he is, lifts up their entwined hands and waves. 

Namjoon makes a face of surprise and his eyes lock onto their joined hands before breaking out into a soft smile that makes him look like an adorable porcupine. That’s the only way Jimin, ever the eloquent one, can begin to describe his cuteness. 

“Hey hyung! Jimin. You going to class?”

“Just walking Jimin here to his dance theory class,” Yoongi says almost too casually. There’s a little bit of artificiality in his tone that Jimin catches, and hopes Namjoon doesn’t. 

“Theory, huh? I’m headed the same way. I didn’t know we were in the same building Jiminie.”

Neither did he, what the fuck? He should have known! He would have made an effort to get here earlier to casually run into Joonie every morning. Maybe with an extra muffin or a cup of coffee. He makes a note to do just that from now on. 

“Maybe we can walk together!” he says and feels Yoongi give his hand a hard squeeze. 

“Ow!” he hisses and glares at Yoongi who smiles at him plastically. 

“Chill out,” he says without moving his lips so only Jimin can hear. 

“I gotta go pick some notes up from a friend, but maybe next time,” Joon says and bids them goodbye before heading the other direction. 

“What was that for!” Jimin says as soon as Namjoon is out of ear shot. He rubs at his hand for show, the pain already only an annoying memory. 

“Being overeager isn’t going to win you any points with him, trust me. He likes chill people. He’s a poet. He believes in nature and shit, you know?”

“No, I don’t know,” Jimin admits, frowning. 

“I mean, he likes for things to run their course. Naturally. So if you happen to run into him, he likes that. If you force him into something, not so much.”

“So, what? He never makes plans?”

“Yeah, sure he does. I really don’t know how to explain it. Just trust me. You need to be chill about these things.”

Jimin’s frown doesn’t go away even as he and Yoongi walk into his building and the older boy drops him off by his class. 

Jimin is about to mutter a grumbled goodbye when he hears Yoongi say, “Oh shit. He’s back.” Suddenly, Jimin’s body is being backed up against the wall. 

“What are you doing?” he squeaks.

“Putting on a proper show. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“I–” he gasps a little when Yoongi meets his eyes and smirks a little. This is a whole side of him that he hadn’t seen since the night they made their deal. 

Yoongi looks cocky and confident. “You want him to see you as boyfriend material right? Then we need to act like boyfriends.”

“Holding hands isn’t enough then?”

“I was sleepy, can you blame me?”

He feels rather than sees Yoongi’s left hand slide down his arm until he locks their fingers together. Then his other hand takes Jimin’s chin lightly between his fingers. 

For a split second, Jimin can’t breathe, thinking Yoongi’s going to dip down and kiss him. His eyes follow the movement of his lips as he speaks but Jimin can’t hear what he’s saying. From his peripheral, he sees Namjoon walking as if towards them and then passing them without a word, even if he does glance their way for only a second, eyes meeting Jimin’s for the briefest moment suspended in time. 

Then he hears Yoongi and he’s instantly drawn back to him. 

“Oh, you have a dimple.” This time, he really does dip his head and his lips brush Jimin’s skin in the softest touch as he lands a kiss in the divot of his cheek. “Cute. I’ll see you in a bit?”

Jimin can barely manage a nod with the way his entire body has frozen. 

“I’ll pick you up then, baby.”

With that, Yoongi walks away, one hand in his pocket, the other gripping his backpack strap, never bothering to throw a glance back at Jimin who remains pinned to the wall, eyes wide and glazed over. 

Then he hears a shriek that has his soul rushing back into his body. 

“What the fuck was that?”

Taehyung nearly sprints over to him with flailing arms. “Who? When? WHY?”

“What?”

“Isn’t that the guy who hit your car?”

“That’s Yoongi,” he admits, willing his heart to stop pounding. 

“Why’s he sucking your face in the middle of the hall?”

“We weren’t sucking face! He just gave me a kiss on the cheek.” Jimin’s hand reaches up to feel the spot where he’d just been kissed, still not believing what just happened. Yoongi was technically right–Jimin had told him to put on a show and to kiss him on the cheek. He just hadn't expected it to be so... 

“Hot.”

“What?” His eyes flash to Tae who is still looking at Yoongi’s retreating back. 

“He’s hot. But like, why the fuck would you let your arch nemesis do that?”

“He isn’t my nemesis, Tae, come on!” Jimin rolls his eyes as he slowly recovers from the shock. 

Taehyung gives him a look before saying, “So, you realized how hot he was and decided to ditch your grudge on him and your crush on Joon for him? That’s so slutty. I love it.”

Jimin purses his lips and shakes his head a little. “Joonie hyung doesn’t even see me as boyfriend material. He sees me as  a little kid! I’m just having a good time until he wakes up and realizes I'm more than that.” 

Tae’s eyes narrow on him as he considers Jimin’s words. 

“So this Yoongi is just for fun?”

Jimin shrugs, not wanting to lie more to Tae but also not wanting to fully confess the humiliating truth. So he opts for the middle ground. 

“Yoongi is going to help Joon see me as boyfriend material.” 

“Poor guy,” Tae sighs. “You love to go around breaking hearts left and right don’t you?” 

“Please. I can assure you, Yoongi’s heart will be perfectly fine. He’s just having fun too.” 

ㅇ

When his class is done, Yoongi is there waiting again. Taehyung makes a teasing face at Jimin when Yoongi takes his hand, and Jimin can only flip him off and watch his best friend cackle his way down the hallway. 

It’s been a while since Jimin had a proper boyfriend (not that Yoongi is his real boyfriend), but most of the guys he’s talked to have been super casual situationships or hookups. His last boyfriend, Ren, had been his high school (secret) sweetheart. He’d dated him for about three years when he’d first come out but they broke up when Ren went away to the States for school. It had broken his heart so terribly that he’d vowed never to have a boyfriend again. Until Namjoon came into his life. Now he’s ready to show him that he’s not a total fuckup and can hold a real relationship.

Even if it’s a fake one. 

He and Yoongi spend most of the day walking from class to class making small talk here and there, talking mostly about Namjoon and the kinds of things he likes and dislikes. Yoongi seems to have taken the role of Namjoon expert to heart and runs down a list of facts about him for Jimin. According to Yoongi, Joonie is a huge nature lover–so much so that he’s on a committee to replant trees in Seoul Forest and a bunch of other similar projects. 

“Doesn’t that park have enough trees?” Jimin asks stupidly as they walk to his final class before lunch break. 

“You’d think so,” Yoongi replies, letting go of Jimin’s hand as they reach the door so he can open it for him. “But Nam is on a mission to save the world.”

“My hero,” Jimin sighs, thinking it’s sweet of him to be so idealistic, despite Jimin being a little more cynical than that. It doesn’t matter; they’ll balance each other out. 

“You have so many classes. I don’t know how you manage,” Yoongi grumbles a little as they walk up the stairs to the second floor toward Jimin’s anatomy class. 

He scoffs. “You see when you take your future seriously…”

“Please,” Yoongi rolls his eyes. “What does a dancer need to know anatomy for?”

“We need to know how the body works, asshole. Otherwise we can get hurt.”

Yoongi is quiet for a beat before he flashes Jimin a crooked smirk. “It was an elective wasn’t it?”

“Yes and I regret it every single day of my life. Why the fuck is it so hard?” Jimin whines and Yoongi lets out a low rumble in his chest as he laughs.  

Finally, they stand in front of Jimin’s class and as Jimin is about to go inside, Yoongi tugs on his hand. 

“Here,” he says, extending out his arm. He holds a little pouch in his hand and offers it to Jimin. 

“What is it?" he asks, taking it curiously. 

“My eomma is a nurse. She told me this tea thing might help with your migraines if you don’t like taking medication. Or whatever.”

Jimin stares at his hand in disbelief, barely processing what Yoongi’s just said. “That’s–” he starts but belatedly he realizes Yoongi’s already making his way down the stairs and out of sight, never giving Jimin a chance to thank him. 

“Weirdo,” Jimin mutters, but he can’t escape the butterflies in his tummy or the smile that doesn’t leave his face, even after his professor has started his lecture. 

ㅇ

Namjoon is busy with his botanical club or whatever it is Yoongi had called it, so they don’t get to eat lunch with him. It’s all the same to Jimin because he’s been called by his team to practice so he decides to ditch Yoongi and go to the studio instead. They put on a good enough show in the morning anyway. 

When he’s there, Jimin’s phone buzzes and he finds that Yoongi’s added in a schedule to their shared calendar for Friday. 

studio hangout , it reads, and in the notes section Yoongi’s written, n am will be there.  

Jimin screenshots the notification, just as Yoongi had done before and shoots him a text. 

[park jimin]

pick me up?

[myg]

sure

Jimin bites his lip, letting curiosity get the better of him and replies. 

[park jimin]

will your man be there?

[myg]

🤨

[park jimin]

you know

the guy you’re trying to get rid of

[myg]

he’ll know

Jimin rolls his eyes at just how cryptic Yoongi seems to be about this guy. It isn’t a big deal, right? Yoongi knows about his crush so why can’t Jimin know about who’s crushing on him?

One way or another, he’ll get it out of him. 

Chapter Text

Jimin sits in the salon chair for nearly seven hours. He’s decided that brown hair just isn’t cunty enough to get Namjoon’s attention the way he needs to. 

Maybe if he’s a platinum blond, Namjoon will truly notice him. 

All week he’s been trying to engage his crush, even without Yoongi around. He’s invited him to lunch on campus, but he was busy with homework; he asked him for a ride home but he had a meeting with someone already; he even tried to talk to him about planting fucking trees but instead of telling him about it, he simply gave him a website to check out. He had no idea what else he could do so on a whim he called up his stylist and asked him to change his hair entirely. 

As he looks at himself in the mirror, his stylist adding the final touch to his blowout, he thinks he might have made a huge mistake.

“A mistake? You look better than ever Jimin!” his stylist, Hyojin, says. 

“You’re just saying that because I’m paying you for this,” he bemoans. 

“Well, yes. But also no! You could go fire engine red and you’d look amazing, I swear.” 

Sycophant, Jimin thinks but smiles anyway because Hyojin is always sweet to him. And Jimin thinks that maybe red hair might suit him. 

Next time. 

He takes a bunch of selfies trying to convince himself that he didn’t just commit a crime against himself and sends the best one to Taehyung. 

His best friend freaks out and calls him all sorts of names before calling him to freak out more and tell him how good he looks. It settles his nerves a little and by the time Yoongi texts him that he’s coming up, he’s convinced he doesn’t look like a troll. 

There’s a soft knock on the door and Jimin gives himself a final once over in the mirror before opening the it. 

“You know, you don’t have to come all the way up here to get me, right? You can just–” he cuts himself off when he notices Yoongi’s eyes have gone wide, mouth agape. 

“What!” he snaps, instantly feeling terribly self conscious again. 

Yoongi seems to pull himself together and he shakes his head, as if clearing it. “Nothing. It’s just that you, uh, you look…different.” He settles on the word that is the least offensive, Jimin thinks and it makes him scowl. 

“Shut up,” he bites out, pushing past Yoongi and making a beeline for the elevator. 

“I didn’t mean bad! I was just really surprised,” Yoongi says, chasing after him. 

Jimin pushes the button to go down and waits, arms crossed over his chest, fully ready to turn back around and hide in his room until he can get his hands on a box of black hair dye. 

Yoongi reaches him and says nothing more, but Jimin can feel his eyes on him. He has half a mind to shove him down the stairs when the elevator finally arrives. They get into it in silence, the only sound is the rumbling of the metal cogs moving as they go lower and lower. 

A soft bell dings when the elevator opens and Jimin walks ahead of Yoongi, not bothering to wait for him. Outside, he looks around for his car but can’t find it. He shoots Yoongi a look and watches as he walks toward, not a car, but a motorcycle parked right in front of the building. 

His eyes flash to Yoongi again and he notices that he’s dressed in dark pants and a thick black jacket. 

“Uh, what is that?” he demands, disbelief coloring his voice. 

“My bike.”

“Where’s your car?”

“In the shop. I don’t know if you remember but somebody wrecked it,” Yoongi says as if it were the most obvious thing. 

“Oh please! It was a surface scratch!”

“You nearly totaled it!” 

“This is character assassination and I won’t stand for it,” Jimin says, turning his nose up at a disbelieving Yoongi. 

He sighs and says, “Just get on. We’re late already.”

“No.”

“No? Are you going to walk?”

Jimin scowls, but he still won’t look Yoongi’s way. “I can’t get on. The wind will mess up my hair.”

“I have a helmet for you.” Yoongi offers him a small pink helmet that looks like it could fit a ten year old girl.

“That’s worse!” Jimin cries. “It’ll give me hat hair! Let’s go in my car.”

“Jimin,” Yoongi sighs. 

“I’m not getting on.”

“You’re such a brat.”

“Whatever.” He pouts and rolls his eyes and Yoongi can do nothing but scrunch up face in absolute frustration. His hands ball up into fists at his side and just as Jimin is about to say fuck it and go back upstairs, Yoongi pauses. 

“You’re scared aren't you? That’s why you won’t get on?”

“Of that death machine? Nooo, why would I be?”

“It’s not far and I'm a great driver. We’ll be fine, I swear.”

“Pfft. Says the guy who backed up into me.”

Yoongi’s jaw drops open. “That was you! You hit m–you know what, I'm not doing this. Get on or walk or don’t go at all.” He puts on his helmet and makes to get on his bike but Jimin lets out a petulant whine. 

“What am I supposed to hold on to!?”

“What do you think?” Yoongi’s tone is low but it’s obvious that his patience is wearing thin. Still, he waits for Jimin to catch up.

Jimin can only glower. He hesitates for a second, looking back toward his apartment complex, then back at Yoongi and then shuts his eyes tightly before releasing a miffed sigh. 

“Fine,” he mumbles and snatches the offered helmet out of Yoongi’s hands, shoving it on his head unceremoniously. 

Instantly, he starts to feel claustrophobic but doesn’t take it off. It suddenly shifts and he realizes Yoongi is adjusting it so he can see and breathe better. 

“Is it too tight? I can give you mine if you want.” Yoongi’s voice is muffled but Jimin can hear him well enough. 

“It’s better now,” he says. Then, “Why do you have such a girly helmet anyway?”

“I got it for a girlfriend,” Yoongi replies bluntly and something about that makes Jimin feel weird. Like wearing a dead person’s clothes after they’ve passed. 

“Oh,” is all he says. 

“She never wore it. Dumped me before I could give it to her.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Thanks to her, I found out later I like boys so…” Yoongi trails off shrugging and Jimin can only scoff a little, hiding his laugh. 

“Anyway. Ready?”

As ready as I’ll ever be , he sighs inwardly and climbs onto the bike after Yoongi. 

“Careful with this bit. It gets hot and can burn you,” Yoongi points down and Jimin adjusts his seat. 

Yoongi starts the bike and lifts it a little. Jimin shrieks in surprise and his arms wrap around Yoongi’s waist almost instinctively, just to have something to hold onto. He doesn’t mean to notice just how firm Yoongi’s belly is or how small his waist is.

“Hold tight and if you get too scared, just tap me three times and I’ll stop, okay?”

“Okay,” Jimin says already burying his helmeted head into Yoongi’s back. 

“You’ll be okay. Hey, you might even like it!” Yoongi takes off and Jimin gives another shriek, arms wrapping around Yoongi even more tightly. 

The wind against his body is cold as ice despite the jacket he wears. He’s grateful that at least the helmet is keeping his face warm, but his body is surely frozen solid. 

Yoongi winds through roads and side streets so fast that Jimin thinks they might tip over at every turn. After a minute, Jimin braves a chance to open his eyes and notices that they’re really going a lot slower than he’d thought. Yoongi keeps to the side, not getting too close to any of the cars around them, making sure to give them a wide berth. 

At a red light, Yoongi turns his head a little and says, “You alright?”

“I’ll live. I think.”

“I might not if you keep squeezing so hard.”

He loosens his arms ever so slightly, offering him a mumbled apology. 

Finally, by the grace of God and all that is divine, Yoongi slows to a full stop and sets down the kickstand. Jimin climbs off on wobbly legs and shakes out his stiff arms. 

He doesn’t notice when Yoongi comes over and takes the helmet off for him. His large hands move over Jimin and his fingers slide through his hair, fixing whatever the helmet put out of place. 

Jimin pouts slightly at him with eyes that spell only worry. 

“Still perfectly styled,” Yoongi says with a small smile. 

“Do you think Joonie will like it?”

Yoongi fills his cheeks a little with air and nods.

 He opens his mouth like he’s about to say something but in that moment, a door opens to their right and out pops Namjoon’s smiling face. 

“About time!” he says and then his eyes land on Jimin, whose heart is going about a mile a minute at the sight of that dimpled smile. 

“Wow! Jiminie, I nearly didn’t recognize you. Love the hair. You look great!”

Jimin’s smile is dazzling. “You think so?”

“For sure!” Joonie says coming closer. 

“Happy someone thinks so,” Jimin says. “Yoongi hyung seems to hate it.”

Yoongi has to do a double take at Jimin’s glare before lifting his arms as if to ward off an attack. “I never said I hated it!”

“Geez, hyung. You could be a little nicer to your boyfriend,” Joon says disapprovingly. Then to Jimin he says, “Hyung’s always been kind of shitty at relationships. Don’t take it personally Jiminie. He tends not to notice a good thing when it’s right in front of him.”

He says it so morosely that it takes Jimin a little aback, but Namjoon isn’t looking at Yoongi. To his absolute delight, he’s still admiring Jimin’s hair. 

“You know, I thought about bleaching my buzzcut. You think I could pull it off?” 

"Definitely! We could be twinning!"

He wraps an arm around Jimin’s shoulders and pulls him toward the door as they talk, leaving Yoongi to sulk as he drags his feet behind them. 

ㅇ

 Yoongi can’t stop staring at Jimin. 

It isn’t because he thinks he looks incredibly hot with his new hair and tight jeans and fuck you attitude. No it’s literally not about that at all. 

It’s definitely only because of the way he’s practically throwing himself at Nam, and Nam is well… blowing him off. 

The studio is part of the campus where music students can rent out rooms to produce and record their projects without being bothered. Namjoon and Yoongi always come here to make music together and sometimes they’ll have friends over. Yijeong is here with them today helping them produce, and Namjoon’s friend John was supposed to come by but couldn’t make it. 

Jimin sits awkwardly on the couch, trying to get Namjoon’s attention as he writes but is basically being ignored by him the whole time, only getting an occasional ‘hmm’ or ‘really?’ from his hyung. Yoongi feels a little bad for him but it’s also kind of funny to see. He’s sure someone like Jimin always gets his way and could probably get anyone he wants so flopping this hard with Nam is probably incredibly shocking to him. 

“Okay, I think I’m going to record. Yi will you play the beat when I tell you?” Namjoon says.

“For sure,” Yijeong says as Nam walks into the recording room.

Yoongi walks over to the couch and throws himself down next to Jimin, making sure to invade his personal space as much as he can, just to annoy him. He wraps an arm around his shoulder, pretending to pull him in and give him an affectionate little Eskimo kiss and cuddle. In reality, he grits his teeth into a smile and asks in a hushed voice, “Didn’t I tell you that you need to chill?” 

Jimin smiles as widely, arm snaking around Yoongi’s waist and squeezing tightly, making him jump. 

“I’m just trying to talk to him,” Jimin says with an equally quiet voice but still smiling too-sweetly at Yoongi. 

“No, you’re the cutest, my pretty little storm cloud,” Yoongi says aloud when Yijeong turns to see what they’re doing. He makes a disgusted face at them both and turns back to the mixing board in front of him. 

“You need to do something to impress him,” Yoongi hisses again and Jimin pretends to giggle, pinching him in the tummy for Yoongi to finally release him with a flinch. 

“Ready!” Nam shouts and the music begins to play. It’s a slow song that Yoongi has heard him work on the last few weeks. He hasn’t added many lyrics to it yet but as he begins to sing, Yoongi thinks it’s coming along well. It’s not typically Yoongi’s personal taste, but he appreciates Namjoon’s dedication to be innovative with his sound and not let himself become stagnant in one single genre. It inspires Yoongi to be the same way. 

“Like what?” Jimin snaps him out of his reverie. 

Yoongi turns back to him and shrugs. “I don’t know! But literally anything than what you’re doing now,” he finally says in a normal voice since Yijeong has thrown on a pair of headphones.

“Not helping!”

“Why don’t you try helping us write a song?” Yoongi suggests.

“I’m a dancer not a songwriter.”

“You’re smart, I’m sure you can come up with something!”

Jimin groans dramatically and throws his head back, shutting his eyes as if he were the biggest martyr in the world and lets out an airy huff. 

Yoongi almost lets himself think about just how cute Jimin looks when he’s all whiny like this. Almost. 

Instead, he grabs his notebook and offers it to Jimin without a second thought. The blond looks at the notebook for a couple of seconds before begrudgingly reaching out to take it from him.

Yoongi frowns realizing what he’s just done and becomes a little self conscious of Jimin reading everything he’s written on it but decides not to take it back from him and let him be inspired by even his worst lines. 

Jimin takes his lip between his teeth as he reads and Yoongi feels his neck getting hotter the longer he takes. It feels like Jimin is peeking through a window into his soul. 

“It’s just some random lines,” he mutters and Jimin finally looks up. 

“You wrote all this?”

Yoongi only shrugs and looks away but Jimin’s eyes remain steady on him. 

“Are you angry at something?” 

He was. Is. Yoongi’s always felt his emotions on a deep level and his only outlet has ever been music and the stage on which he performs it. As a teen, he’d been so confused about life in general and how he fit into it. When he finally realized who he was, what he liked, things started to make a little more sense. He still sometimes writes through the lens of teenaged Yoongi and it’s helped him process all those emotions that he’d expressed so articulately through the filter of teenage rebellion. 

When he started taking music more seriously and channeling his pain through his art, his parents hated it, but they preferred it to the midnight calls from the cops calling them to pick him up every third week of the month. 

Instead of dumping all that into Jimin’s lap, afraid he might scare him away, he only offers him another shrug. Jimin senses his hesitancy so he doesn’t press him for more. 

“It’s good. You’re a good writer. I can’t add anything to this though.”

“Okay, not today then,” Yoongi says. He’s always been of the mind that anyone can write so long as they let themselves feel, but like Jimin gave him grace, he’ll do the same for him. Instead he says, “How about singing something. Namjoon really liked your voice last time.”

“Did he really?” Jimin’s eyes light up prettily and he smiles shyly. “I’m not much of a singer, but I guess I can hold a note.”

Yoongi nods. “You have a really pretty voice.” 

A soft dusting of pink spreads across Jimin’s cheeks and he bites his lip to keep from smiling. Yoongi notices the cute dimple that sometimes pops up on Jimin’s cheek and he remembers the way he kissed it the other day. It had been on a whim, but he’d remembered that Jimin had explicitly said he needed to give him cheek kisses to make them look real, so he went for it, praying Jimin wouldn’t get pissed and knee him in the dick or something for being so bold. It had felt good to see the shock on his face. 

“Ya! Don’t go falling for me, Min. We’re on a mission here,” Jimin teases and Yoongi rolls his eyes.

“Can’t you just take the compliment?”  

“You know, that’s the first nice thing you’ve ever said to me,” Jimin says, suddenly pouting. 

“I’m always nice to you,” Yoongi retorts, frowning. 

“Nuh uh! You’re always being mean.”

Yoongi laughs a little but tries to placate him. There’s something about Jimin that pulls at his heartstrings, even if most of the time, he also pulls on Yoongi’s last nerve. 

“Do you want to add ‘saying nice things about Jimin’ to our contract?” he asks, only half serious. 

“Maybe.” Jimin lifts his brows in challenge. 

“Do you want me to tell you how pretty you look with your new hair?”

Jimin’s blush is more violent this time and his mouth drops open. Somehow, Yoongi’s gotten closer to him on the couch and their thighs rub together. Yoongi’s so close in fact that every breath he takes smells like Jimin. He smirks, about to say something more just to see how red Jimin can truly get when he hears Yijeong groan.  

“Ugh, can you two stop being gross in front of me?” 

“No,” Yoongi says, not taking his eyes off Jimin, even when the younger pushes him away gently. 

“My turn,” he says when he sees Namjoon walking out of the studio. 

Namjoon huffs. “You said you didn’t want to record tonight, hyung!”

“I changed my mind. I want to hear my pretty boyfriend sing on my track.”

Neither Yijeong nor Namjoon have anything to say to that so Yoongi gets up and pulls a hesitant Jimin with him into the recording booth. 

“Yoongi–”

“Hyung,” he clarifies under his breath. 

Jimin purses his lips but doesn’t fight him. “Hyung, I can’t. I don’t know your song.”

“I’ll show you the guide and all you have to do is sing the chorus. This part.” Yoongi pulls up the lyrics to the song and highlights what he wants Jimin to sing. He asks Yijeong to play his song So Far Away and even if he’s a little embarrassed that someone outside his circle is listening to it, he doesn’t let himself show it. This is what music is made for isn’t it? For strangers to listen to it and maybe relate to it. 

He wonders if Jimin can relate at all. If maybe Jimin has ever felt so helpless that he only lived because he couldn't die. If he ever felt like he had nothing like a dream to live for, the way Yoongi felt for so long. 

Jimin closes his eyes and focuses. 

//So far away, if I have a dream

If I have a dream that flies away

Don’t fall away, yeah, if I have a dream

If I have a dream that flies away

Away~//

He hears the way Yoongi sings the chorus and as he listens, his eyes slowly open. Yoongi has to look away, unable to meet his eyes, and pretends to read the lyrics as the song plays on, even if he’s got it memorized by heart. 

Once the song is over Yoongi finally looks at him and asks, “You ready?”

“I think so,” Jimin says but his voice sounds a little thin. 

“It doesn’t have to be perfect,” Yoongi reassures him. “I just want to know what it would sound like with someone else singing the chorus.” 

Jimin nods but still looks a bit nervous. 

Yoongi comes a little closer to whisper in his ear. “Remember. You’re doing this for Namjoon.”

That seems to help and Jimin sets his jaw in determination. Yoongi gives his hand a reassuring squeeze just to let him know he’s here if he needs guidance but when he tries to pull away, Jimin doesn’t let him go. So, it’s like that, hand safely in Yoongi’s, that Jimin sings. 

At first he sounds a little shaky and he quickly becomes frustrated. 

“I can’t,” he says, finally letting go of Yoongi. Yoongi in turn lifts his hand up and gently takes Jimin’s chin between his fingers. 

“You just need to loosen up here a bit. And here.” His hand slides up to cup Jimin’s jaw, and he softly massages it for a second. Jimin inhales a shaky breath, eyes never leaving Yoongi’s face and as his lips part, Yoongi thinks he might refuse again. 

“One more time?” 

Jimin licks his lips and Yoongi’s eyes track the motion unconsciously. 

“Okay.”

This time, Jimin is perfect. 

When Yoongi first heard him sing at the museum, it had left an impression on him. So much so that this whole studio date had been a selfish ruse to drag him to the recording booth so he could do exactly what he’s doing now. He wanted to prove to himself that his fascination with Jimin’s voice in the ten seconds he heard him sing had been just a fluke and nothing more. 

But as he listens to Jimin sing the lyrics he’s written, the only thing being proven is the fact that Jimin has the loveliest voice he’s ever heard and that Yoongi is never going to be able to get it out of his head. 

The song keeps going but Jimin stops singing to look up at Yoongi with questioning eyes. 

“Was that enough?” 

“That was good,” Yoongi tells him even as his mind spirals. 

Yoongi tells Yijeong to stop the music and turns the mic off so the others won’t hear them. 

“Did you–do you think he liked it?” Jimin asks and nothing could have prepared Yoongi for the sudden flash of jealousy that surges through his entire body. It goes away in a second as if it were never there, but the thought lingers, too loud for him to try to run from it. 

He doesn’t want Jimin to sing for anybody else. 

It’s a delusional thought of course, because, one, who the fuck does he think he is to try and stop Jimin from doing anything, and two, why the fuck would he care?

He tries to dispel the idea and only offers Jimin what he hopes to be a reassuring smile as he motions for him to walk ahead of him. As soon as they’re out of the recording booth both Namjoon and Yijeong begin singing Jimin’s praises, telling him just how good he did and how he’s a natural. 

Yoongi remains quiet the rest of the night as he watches Jimin finally engage Namjoon more. He tries to pull Yoongi into the conversation too, but Yoongi’s too distracted by the hurricane of lyrics that suddenly come to him and that he can only truly picture Jimin singing. 

He grabs his notebook and shuts everyone out for a while as he works. Vaguely, he hears Namjoon tell Jimin that Yoongi gets like that sometimes if he’s inspired. He hadn’t even realized anyone noticed his habits but, he supposes, when someone likes you, your habits tend to leave an impression. 

He feels bad all over again for Namjoon, but he’s glad that Jimin is keeping him occupied. At least until Namjoon also begins to write and Jimin is left to scroll through his phone. 

At one point, Yijeong announces he’s going to the restroom and Jimin jumps up to ask him where it’s at. They leave the room together and Yoongi is left alone with Namjoon. 

There’s a sudden awkwardness between them and Yoongi blames himself entirely. He still isn’t sure Namjoon remembers his own drunken confession but that doesn’t take away from the fact that they both are now aware of Namjoon’s feelings. Yoongi tries to keep working but he feels Namjoon’s eyes on him. 

“Jimin’s really cool,” Nam says, finally making Yoongi look up. 

“Mhmm,” he replies. 

“Although, I never would’ve pictured you with someone like him, to be honest.”

Yoongi freezes, afraid that they’ve been caught. “W-what do you mean?”

Namjoon purses his lips, looking for the right words no doubt. “I don’t know. He’s so…alive.”

Yoongi frowns. “As opposed to my ancient decomposing body?”

“As opposed to your old man heart and decrepit social life,” Namjoon is quick to reply. 

Yoongi scoffs and leans back on the couch, setting his notebook aside. 

“Maybe you’re just jealous that someone so pretty chose a guy like me and not a six foot tree of a man.” He’s testing the waters, trying to see if Jimin is even on Joon’s radar. If not, then they’ve really got their work cut out for them. 

Instead of replying right away, Namjoon, as he always does, considers his next words. He’s never been one to reply hastily to anything. 

“You’re different around him,” he says instead of taking the bait, to Yoongi’s chagrin. 

“Different?”

“He’s like this baby bird you’re taking care of.”

“If I tell Park Jimin that you called him a baby bird, he’ll probably bite your head off,” Yoongi snickers, shoulders shaking with mirth. 

“Nah, he’s too sweet. And you’ve turned into a softie because of him.”

“You don’t know him,” Yoongi insists, ignoring the jab at himself. 

“I’ve known him longer than you, actually.”

For some reason, that one does sting a bit. 

“What’s it been? A week since you met?”

Technically, two, Yoongi thinks, but he doesn’t reply. Namjoon is of course absolutely correct. He doesn’t know Jimin at all. Sure they’ve spent a few days together, and sure they’ve texted a bit, but it’s all been to plot the way he’s going to win over Nam’s heart, not to actually get to know each other. 

“Why didn’t you ever try anything with him? He’s just your type. Cute and small,” Yoongi braves, trying to act nonchalant. 

“You’re seriously asking me why I never hit on your boyfriend?”

Oops. 

“I’m just curious. I’m not telling you to go for it now .”

Now it’s Namjoon who shrugs. “I don’t think I’m his type actually. Jimin is so full of life, and I’m just a chill guy who likes–”

“Trees?”

Joon laughs and throws his pen at Yoongi who fails to dodge it in time before it smacks him in the head. 

“Ow, fucker,” he says through his own laughter. 

They stay like that in comfortable contemplation, one boy thinking of a pretty blond, the other, thinking of his heartbreak as it sits across from him. 

“Jimin might’ve gone for you, you know?” Yoongi says. “You missed out.”

Whatever Namjoon was going to say is lost to him as Yijeong and Jimin come back through the door. As soon as he spots Yoongi, Jimin comes to sit next to him, closer still than before, but his eyes are on Namjoon to whom he offers his brightest smile. 

“Ready to go?” Yoongi asks, checking the time on his phone. It isn’t too late, but he knows Jimin has practice early and he wants to make sure to get him home before it gets too cold to ride the motorcycle. 

Jimin looks at him and his smile dims. “Sure. Are you leaving too Joonie hyung?”

“I think I’ll stay a little longer. Yi?”

“I gotta go too, man.”

They say goodbye to Namjoon, Jimin making sure to wrap him in a tight hug, and head outside. 

When he spots the bike, Yijeong’s eyes widen. 

“Oh shit,” he says, eyes dragging across the motorcycle. “Bad boy, bad boy.” He shoves Yoongi’s shoulder hard with his own and laughs. 

“Shut the fuck up,” Yoongi says, already knowing what’s coming. 

“You were just trying to impress Jimin weren't you?”

Jimin laughs but it sounds a little hollow. 

“I didn’t have a choice did I?” He turns to Jimin. “My sweet little thunder cloud here actually totaled my car, so.”

“No shit! Was that you?” Yijeong points to Jimin who flushes at the mention of the accident. “Talk about destiny right?”

“He’s exaggerating for pity points.” Jimin rolls his eyes. 

“Alright, I really gotta go home. Aya is waiting for me. But hey, I’ll see you tomorrow right?”

“What’s tomorrow?” Jimin asks. 

“My party! Didn’t Yoongi tell you? I’m having a costume party at my place.”

“Oh, who all is going?” Jimin asks innocently, and Yoongi already knows what’s coming next so instead of waiting for him to ask, he simply offers him the information freely. 

“Nam and a couple other friends.”

Jimin nods and looks up at Yijeong, not bothering with Yoongi anymore. “Do you think I can come too?”

“Of course! I figured Yoongi had already told you about it. Dress up. Do matching costumes or something corny.”

“No. I already told you I don’t dress up,” Yoongi protests. 

“Come on! Aya and I can’t be the only ones matching!”

“We have to!” Jimin smiles impishly. “Leave it all to me. I got us, baby.” Yoongi sees the playfulness in Jimin's eyes even in the dark. 

“Oh yeah? Baby?” He draws closer, testing if Jimin will back down but to his surprise he doesn’t. He stays put even as Yoongi draws nearer. He doesn’t take it too far, though, knowing he might get kicked in the shins if he does. 

“Ugh, gross. I’m out!” Yijeong pretends to be sick. 

They watch him climb into his car but then he pops his head back out to yell at Yoongi again. 

“Dora said to answer her texts asshole!”

With that, he climbs back in and peels out of the parking lot. 

“Come on,” Yoongi says, finally glad to be done with the charade and by the looks of it, so is Jimin. “Let’s go home. Here.” He takes off his thick leather jacket and offers it to Jimin who only looks at it confused. 

“Take it. It gets super cold at night.”

“What about you?” Jimin frowns. 

“I’m used to it. Besides, it's a short drive.”

He hesitates for a second so Yoongi decides to just drape it over his shoulders. 

“Hyung, you’ll get cold.”

“It’s hyung now? Not baby?” he teases as he watches Jimin put the jacket on right. 

“Pfft. Knew you’d like that.”

“You wish. Come, get on.”

This time Jimin doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Yoongi as he climbs on. 

The wind is incredibly biting and Yoongi doesn’t take it as slow as he had before, sure that Jimin’s already acclimated to the speed. They get to Jimin’s dorm in no time. 

“You sure you wanna go tomorrow?”

“Of course. Hyung will be there, right?”

“I’ll make sure of it. Just…”

“What?”

“Do you really wanna dress up? We don’t have to do a couple’s thing. You can dress up and I’ll just go in whatever.”

“I have a ton of costumes from shows. It’ll be easy.” Jimin shrugs and Yoongi senses a shift in his mood that he hadn’t clocked back at the studio. 

“Alright.” 

“Alright,” Jimin says, sounding tired. “Night.” 

He turns around and starts walking toward his building but something in Yoongi makes him reach out and stop him. 

Jimin turns to face him expectantly but Yoongi isn’t sure why he even stopped him. 

“What is it?”

 “Nothing. It’s just that– Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Totally.”

Yoongi frowns, not believing him. “Hey, don’t get discouraged. I talked you up to him and–”

“You hated it didn’t you?”

“What? No, I actually had fun. Like I said I told Nam–”

“Not the date, or whatever this was. I meant… Nevermind.”

“Hey,” Yoongi comes closer, brows knitted. Jimin turns away and to his horror, Yoongi thinks he sees his eyes shining a little. 

“Jimin,” he coaxes in a soft voice. 

“You hated how I sang your song didn’t you?”

This is not what Yoongi expected Jimin to say at all. 

“Why would you think that?” 

“Because!” Jimin whines, rolling his eyes and glaring daggers at the empty space to the right of Yoongi. He can’t even look at him. 

“Because why?” Yoongi asks patiently. 

“You said, and I quote, ‘That was good,’ and proceeded to ignore me the rest of the night!”

Yoongi balks, once again caught off guard. Did Jimin want to sound good for him? “I said it was good because it was!”

“You might as well have told me I ruined the song!” He turns on his heel and marches back toward his dorm. 

“Jimin, please!” Yoongi chases after him and grabs his hand to stop him, but Jimin shakes him off. “I swear you did great. You–”

He cuts himself off, unsure just how to tell Jimin that his voice has embedded itself into his mind and completely altered his brain chemistry and that he’s probably going to fall asleep to it for the rest of his life, without sounding insane. 

“You made me embarrass myself in front of Joonie hyung,” Jimin huffs. 

Ah , Yoongi thinks. Of course that’s why he’s upset. Why had he even thought Jimin cared about his opinion? He wants to laugh at himself but figures if he wants to live, he better not. 

“Come on, Jimin. He couldn’t stop saying how good you sounded. In fact, when you went to the restroom, he wouldn’t shut up about it. He loved it, I swear. We all did.” The lie comes easily even if it makes him feel a bit gross. He’s never been a good liar, but he doesn’t want to fight with Jimin, and a little white lie to placate him can’t hurt him can it?

“You did?” He asks, lips puckered out in the poutiest pout Yoongi has ever seen. 

“Yes. I promise you didn’t embarrass yourself in front of your crush.”

“Love of my life,” he corrects and Yoongi rolls his eyes. 

“Same shit.”

“Fine. I forgive you. But not for ignoring me!”

“I didn’t ignore you! I let you and Nam have a moment. You should be thanking me on hands and knees.”

“In your wet dreams, you pervert.”

“I hate you.”

“I know,” Jimin replies with a smile. At least he isn’t giving him a dirty look anymore. “Go away now. I’m cold.”

If Yoongi rolls his eyes any more, he thinks they might get stuck like that. 

“I’ll pick you up at nine tomorrow night,” he says as he puts on the jacket Jimin tosses at him. It’s been impregnated with his sweet candy perfume and Yoongi hopes he doesn’t get a headache from it. 

“Not on that you won’t. I’ll come for you.”

“In your wet dreams,” he smirks, echoing Jimin’s stupid joke, but it doesn't even faze him. 

“I’ll come by your place earlier so you can try on your costume. Send me your address.”

“Jimin,” he sighs. “I really don’t dress up–”

“Too bad, Min. When you’re Park Jimin’s boyfriend you have no choice.”

Yoongi grits his teeth but doesn’t argue, opting to accept his fate instead of risk his life. “You better not put me in some stupid costume that only makes you look good, though,” he warns. 

“Please. I wouldn’t embarrass myself by letting you look stupid. Er .”

“Dick.”

“Bye, baby,” he says with a little wave of his hand and walks away. This time Yoongi doesn’t stop him.

Chapter Text

“Bonnie and Clyde?” Jimin asks.

“Too overdone,” Tae replies.

“Brokeback cowboys?”

“Too gay.”

“Noah and Allie?”

“Too straight!”

“Fuck off! If you’re not going to help you can leave.”

Jimin and Taehyung are in his room, digging through his closet in search of something, anything , that could make a couple’s costume. 

“Well, why the hell did he barely tell you about the party? Doesn’t he know you need like a month to prepare?” Tae asks as he tosses Jimin’s underwear to the side with a look of disgust. 

“He’s a guy, what do you expect?”

Jimin doesn’t see the eyebrow raise Tae gives him as he crouches down to look through a chest of old stage costumes.

“Wait!” Tae cries.

“What!”

“Remember that comic you were obsessed with? The one with the two guys?”

“Kim Taehyung, I swear–” 

“Look!” Taehyung lifts up a black leather jacket and Jimin’s eyes blow wide. 

“Oh my gosh, I could kiss you. Yes!” 

Back in high school, Jimin had been obsessed with a comic about a hitman who becomes fixated with one of his targets and instead of killing him, chases him around to tease him. They end up falling in love and becoming the ultimate havoc wreaking couple. 

“What was the comic called again?” Tae asks as he marvels at the sequined detailing that drapes over the shoulders of the jacket.

“Daechwita.”

“That’s the one. I never got around to reading it.”

Jimin takes the jacket from Taehyung and prays it still fits. He remembers taking on shift after shift at the little convenience shop he worked at just to afford the real jacket the character, Kitty Gang, used so he didn’t have to settle for a cheap DIY knockoff. 

“Now you just need to dress your man up like your Kitty’s boytoy and you’re set.”

Dressing Yoongi up like AgustD shouldn’t be too hard, Jimin thinks as they scroll through Pinterest for inspo. 

“You know, Yoongi kinda looks like Agust,” Tae says and Jimin snorts. 

“No he doesn’t! Agust is hot.”

“You don’t think your man is?” Tae asks and Jimin freezes. 

Oops . 

“I mean, come on you can’t compare any man to AgustD. He’s perfect.”

“Look.” Tae turns his phone, showing him a drawing of Agust and Jimin has to do a double take because–

 “Holy shit, you’re right.” Jimin takes the phone from Taehyung to get a better look at the picture. He does look a little like Yoongi, down to the dark hair though Yoongi's is a bit longer. There's something in his posture and the way he smirks like he knows all your secrets that definitely reminds him of his fake boyfriend. 

Weird. 

Jimin has always been drawn to Kitty Gang’s character because he identifies himself in him and, like him, Kitty is also a dancer (albeit turned assassin for hire) but Agust has always had him by the throat. Where Kitty is a wild card, unpredictable and destructive like a hand grenade, Agust is really dependable and steady, reigning in Kitty’s crazy. 

Jimin’s always wanted someone like that, and even if Agust is only a comic book character he’s always sorta had a thing for him. 

“I told you,” Tae smirks. “You gotta make sure to give him the scar too. Plus you can dye your hair pink for the night. Oh my gosh, Mimi, do it! You’ll look so good.”

“It would be cool, but I doubt he’ll let me,” Jimin sighs, now looking through his clothes for a pair of tight leather pants. The ones that make his ass look especially perky.

“Yeah, right.” Tae finds them and throws them at Jimin. “That man will let you do whatever you want with him.”

“Please! He’s stubborn as hell. I don’t foresee this lasting very long, to be honest.” 

Even as he says that, Jimin lets himself put on a show for Tae. He doesn’t want to seem too cold about it, but it’ll help set up their eventual break up well, that way nobody is caught off guard if (when) Jimin and Namjoon do end up dating shortly after. It’s the perfect set up. 

If only Taehyung would buy it. 

“If he’s letting you dress him up in anything you want, I’d say he’s pretty into you,” Tae says. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, too. It’s obvious he knows he hit the jackpot with you.”

“Don’t be sappy. You can’t tell shit from the way a man looks at you. We’re not in some fic, Kim Taehyung. This is real life.”

“I don’t know but I do think that this is good for you. He seems like a good guy and from what I’ve heard Namjoon say about him, because I obviously cornered him and questioned him–”

“Tae what the fuck!”

“ –and he said Yoongi is a really smart, level headed guy. That whatever you ask of him, he’ll do it if he can and that he’s just genuinely a nice guy. Joon really talked him up to be honest. For a second I thought he had a fat crush on him,” Taehyung laughs, but Jimin only purses his lips disapprovingly. 

“I don’t need you snooping around to find stuff out about my own boyfriend. I’ll decide if he’s good for me or not.”

“But isn’t this everything you’ve ever wanted? The Agust to your Kitty?” He crosses his eyes and circles a finger at his temple.

“I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested!” Jimin throws a pillow at his best friend and it lands square in his face. 

Tae grabs the pillow and throws himself onto Jimin’s bed, hugging it to his chest. “You always do this shit, Mimi. The self sabotage isn’t a good look anymore.”

Jimin doesn’t deign to reply. It’s always the same argument with Tae. Jimin knows he means well and that he has his best interest at heart, but he’s always berating him over never giving the ‘good guys’ a chance and instead chasing after hookups that will only ever leave before they’ve made a dent in his–

“I’m not afraid of love, Tae, so don’t start psychoanalyzing me. It’s not your major anymore.” How could he be afraid of love when he’s doing all of this to get Namjoon to notice him? 

“Doesn’t take a shrink to know you’re traumatized and self-sabotaging.”

He kicks Tae out shortly after, but not before Taehyung makes him promise that he’ll ask Yoongi if he and Jungkook can tag along. He doesn’t know the vibe of the party and if he brings two giant puppies in tow to a more private thing, he doesn’t think Joonie will see it as tasteful. 

He tries on his outfit and when he’s finally satisfied with the clothes, he starts to get ready, doing his hair and very light makeup. He rummages through his crafts box and pulls out a light pink almost purple hair chalk that will have to do for the costume and then he texts Yoongi.

[little storm cloud🌧]

do you have a green jacket? like a military kind of jacket

[(not my) baby 🙄]

uh… idk

[little storm cloud🌧]

can you look? 🙄

[(not my) baby 🙄]

i guess i do?

[image]

[little storm cloud🌧]

that’s perfect

i’m omw

[(not my) baby 🙄]

 👍 

ㅇ

Jimin gets to Yoongi’s place about two hours early.

When Yoongi opens the door his jaw drops. “Kitty?”

Jimin startles. “What do you know about Daechwita?” 

“Only that it’s the best manga out there,” Yoongi says, 

Jimin narrows his eyes at Yoongi. “Maybe you’re not the biggest loser on earth.”

“Or maybe you’re a bigger loser than you give yourself credit for,” Yoongi retorts, letting him into his dorm. It’s just as small as Jimin's but decidedly neater. Yoongi has nearly nothing decorative on his dresser or bedside table. Not even a single magnet on his fridge. The bed sits primly made and undisturbed. The only spot that looks lived in is the corner where Yoongi has a keyboard and a couple of computer monitors on a small paper-strewn desk where he seems to work on music. 

“What’s the jacket for?”

He lifts up a dark army green jacket. 

“Your AgustD cosplay, duh.”

Twenty minutes later, Jimin and Yoongi are nearly wrestling as Jimin brandishes a pair of scissors trying to get at Yoongi's hair. 

“You are not cutting my hair!” Yoongi cries, finally prying the scissors out of Jimin’s hand, much to the dismay of the younger. 

“I just want you to look authentic!”

“It’s a costume!”

“Ugh, fine!” Jimin says, finally letting go of Yoongi. 

Yoongi huffs, heart pounding against his ribcage. “You’re crazy, Park Jimin.” 

“Can I at least give you the scar?”

Yoongi immediately tosses the pair of scissors into the trash bin out of sheer terror, but Jimin only scowls at him. “Not a real one you idiot. I brought makeup!”

“You scare the shit out of me, you know that?”

“Can you just sit down? It’ll be quick.”

“Will it be painless?” Yoongi asks warily but complies nonetheless. 

Jimin doesn’t say anything. Instead, he pulls out his little bag of makeup and looks through it. 

“Got it!” 

Yoongi frowns at the little bottle he pulls out and squints to read the label. 

“Liquid latex?”

“It’s used to make fake scars. I’ve used it on stage before.”

“Are you an actor?”

“I’ve been in a few musicals–”

“Singing?” Yoongi perks up immediately. Maybe he can search up his performances in the campus archives.

“No way,” Jimin laughs a little and Yoongi deflates. “I’m just a dancer.”

“You’re a lot more than that,” Yoongi says absently but Jimin pauses and gives him an unreadable look before clearing his throat. 

“I just need to put a little on. Your skin is going to feel kind of tight and when it dries I’ll put some red paint on it. It’ll look cool, I promise.”

“Okay,” Yoongi says. “I trust you.” Jimin seems to be pretty perfect at everything he does so he doesn’t doubt it’ll look good. He’s kind of excited to see the final look. AgustD is one of his favorite characters. He’s never related more to a fictional character. At least to his complex emotions and internal struggles. Just like Yoongi, Agust starts off his journey closeted and afraid to show his true self. When he meets Kitty, that’s when he can really come into his own. Yoongi hopes one day he’ll meet his Kitty. Maybe… Maybe Hoseok can be that for him. If he ever musters up the courage to ask him out. 

“Close your eyes,” Jimin instructs and Yoongi does as he’s told. 

Jimin’s hands are surprisingly gentle when he pushes Yoongi’s hair back and he feels an unexpected flutter in his belly. He feels the cold liquid touch his skin and shivers slightly. 

“Sorry,” Jimin whispers and his breath fans over Yoongi’s face, smelling minty and sweet. He cracks open his other eye and is surprised to find Jimin so close. He smells like sweet candy, and Yoongi thinks it suits him perfectly. He glances up to find him biting his plump lip in concentration. He’s put a bit of gloss over them and Yoongi wonders if it tastes just as sweet as he smells. 

He jumps back, startling himself with the thought. 

“Sorry! Did I poke you?” Jimin asks, tucking his arms into himself and giving him an apologetic look. 

“N-no, sorry. I’m good. You can finish.” 

“Don’t freak out on me, Min. I’m almost done.”

Yoongi only nods, trying to dispel the weird thoughts and Jimin comes close again. This time, he pushes his knee between Yoongi’s legs to get even closer and when Yoongi opens his eye again, Jimin’s chest is right in front of his face, overwhelming him with his perfume. 

“If you had boobs I could probably motorboat them like this,” he says like a fucking idiot, if only to distract himself from Jimin’s warmth and sweet scent. 

“How aren’t you on a watchlist?” Jimin scoffs.

“They’ve never caught me.”

“I’ll turn you in myself.”

“Then who would help you get your man?”

“Touche, Min. Okay, all done.” Jimin pulls back and Yoongi feels like he can finally take a proper breath. “Look!”

Jimin holds up a mirror and Yoongi’s mouth drops. 

“Holy shit, Jimin. That looks so good.”

“Told ya,” Jimin smiles smugly. He puts his makeup back into the little bag he brought before pulling out his cell phone and holding it up to Yoongi. “Say kimchi!”

The shutter clicks and Yoongi frowns. “Hey.”

“It’s just for my personal portfolio.”

“Still–”

“Look at this,” Jimin says, brandishing his phone in Yoongi’s face. He thinks he’s showing him the picture he just took but it’s a selfie of himself instead. 

“Do I look cute here?” Jimin asks.  “Should I post it? Do you think he’ll like it?”

Yoongi makes a face and grabs Jimin’s wrist to keep him from moving and takes a look at the phone screen. He frowns, a crease forming between his brows. In the picture Jimin is already blonde, wearing a little newsboy cap and making an obnoxiously cute pose. Yoongi stares at the picture for a little longer than a normal person would and Jimin yanks his hand out of his grasp, rolling his eyes. 

“Just say yes or no jerk!”

Yoongi mimics his eye roll and just shrugs. “It’s fine. Post it.” In no universe is he about to let Jimin know that even for a second, he thought him cute. He can’t even imagine how that would inflate his already monstrous ego. 

Jimin glares at the picture and mutters darkly. “If you say it’s fine then it’s hideous. I’m deleting it and taking another one.”

Yoongi sighs and picks up the mirror again as Jimin strikes pose after pose. He really did a good job, he thinks, but again, he won’t admit it out loud. 

“Wait! I have a better idea. Give us a smile baby,” Jimin says as he pulls Yoongi by the shirt and into frame. 

Yoongi yelps, and tries to get away but Jimin’s grip is too strong. 

He gives the camera a blinding grin and Yoongi makes a face at him just as Jimin snaps the picture. 

“Annoying,” Jimin mutters and lifts the phone again. “Just try not to look so constipated. We’re supposed to be in love.”

“Jimin, I don't want to take a picture.” He pulls away and adjusts his t-shirt. 

“We need to make our Instagram debut, Yoongi!” 

Yoongi’s eyes grow wide. If Jimin posts that picture, who knows whose feed it’ll end up on. Jimin has thousands of followers (Yoongi checked, there are a lot) and everyone would know they’re supposedly together. Everyone, as in everyone . 

It’s one thing to go around their little circle holding hands and letting rumors spread around their small campus but posting it online for all of Jimin’s followers to see… For everyone to know that Yoongi likes boys…

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t have an Insta. I’ve already stalked you.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that…” Their eyes meet for a second and Yoongi feels his cheeks burn. 

“Oh,” Jimin says and Yoongi sees understanding register in his features.  “I won’t tag you, if you don’t want me to.” 

Yoongi thinks about it for a second before finally nodding. “Y-yeah, okay. I mean, I doubt my dad’s lurking on Instagram anyway.” He tries to laugh it off but it comes out strained. He does have cousins who might rat him out though so he doesn’t want to risk it.

“Does he not know?” Jimin’s voice is much softer than Yoongi’s ever heard it now and maybe, Yoongi thinks, maybe it’s because he relates on some level. 

“Oh, he knows. I told them about a year ago. It didn’t go so well.”

“I’m sorry. My dad took a minute to come around, but he eventually did. Yours might too.”

“Yeah.” He shrugs, but says nothing else, wanting to just move on. 

Jimin lifts his phone up, asking a silent question, and Yoongi sighs but he schools his features into something a lot less unpleasant. Jimin snaps the picture and inspects it, smiling a little. 

“How’d it come out?”

Jimin looks up at Yoongi and hums lightly. “You don’t look horrible for once.”

“Dick. Can we go now?” he huffs.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

Yoongi drives Jimin’s car to Yijeong’s place since Jimin isn’t the best with directions according to him. Yoongi suspects he just likes to be a passenger princess, which is fine since he enjoys driving.  

“Three hundred likes already,” Jimin says as he looks down at his phone. 

“It hasn’t even been ten minutes!” Yoongi cries, panic rising in his throat. 

Jimin ignores him and mumbles something under his breath. 

“What?” Yoongi braces himself, expecting the worst. 

“Some stupid bitches are asking about you. Like, isn’t it obvious you’re with me?” he says, slamming his phone shut. He looks sideways at Yoongi with a glare but says nothing. 

“Asking about me? What are they saying?”

“They’re asking if you’re single. Were they dropped on their heads when they were babies?!”

“Oh,” Yoongi smirks, suddenly smug. He didn’t even look at the picture Jimin had taken and just let him upload it. Now he asks, “Can I see the picture?”

“Shut up! Just keep driving.” 

Yoongi does as he’s told, not wanting to provoke the beast further, but Jimin’s sour mood only inflates his ego more and by the time he’s pulling up to Yijeong’s house, he’s in a great mood. 

There are a lot more people than Yoongi had anticipated though. Yijeong had said it was supposed to be a small thing but there are definitely at least fifty people there already dressed as everything from superheroes to sexy maids. 

Yijeong and his girlfriend live in a really nice apartment with a ton of space but it feels too crowded for Yoongi now, especially with all the different costumes that honestly freak him out. 

Jimin lets out a small gasp and looks at Yoongi. “Joonie liked the post.”

Yoongi pauses. He tries to offer Jimin an encouraging smile but guilt roils in his gut at the thought that Nam might have only liked the picture because he’s in it. 

“He commented! Oh my gosh!” Jimin’s words only make Yoongi deflate more as he looks over his shoulder to read what his friend wrote.”

a rare picture of hyung 

looks good

Jimin lets out a squeal and his sour grapes instantly vanish. “He said I look good! He’s half in love with me already and he doesn’t even know it.”

Before Yoongi can say anything to at least temper his expectations, they’re interrupted by Yijeong, dressed in a yellow raincoat coming over to say hello. Behind him pops out Aya dressed in a sexy (and terrifying) clown costume, making Yoongi nearly jump out of his skin.

Yijeong laughs at Yoongi as he introduces Jimin to his girlfriend and the four of them go get a drink. 

“You guys look hot,” Aya says. When she speaks, blood trickles out of her spiky fake teeth and Yoongi takes a step back. “Who are you supposed to be?”

Yoongi tries to explain but only gets a dead stare from her, although that might be the creepy white contacts she wears. 

“So, Jimin, how long have you and oppa been dating?” Aya asks after a while, sidling up to him. 

“Oh, not long. Just over a week. What about you and Yijeong?”

“Too long,” she rolls her eyes and Yijeong is quick to pinch her side. She giggles and gives up, hugging her boyfriend tightly. “I meant not long enough!”

Yoongi watches them with only the slightest bit of envy at the ease with which they can love each other out in the open. A part of him wishes he could find a nice girl whom he could take home to his father and make him proud, but the other part, the one he tends to hide from prying eyes, revolts against the idea. He still wants to find someone to love out in the open, without fear of prejudice, but he wishes it were someone he wants, not someone his father wants. 

“You and oppa are cute together,” Aya continues. “Shy and cute. I couldn’t even tell you were together until Yijeong told me it was you! I thought ‘no way Yoongi is dating him!’”

Jimin’s eyes flash to him and back to Aya. “Why not?” he sounds a little defensive and Yoongi tugs on his sleeve a little, hoping he gets the message. 

Aya doesn’t seem to notice. “You’re way out of his league! No offense oppa.”

“Offense taken,” Yoongi says with a frown. 

Jimin only laughs and nods, looking a lot less tense than before. 

“Have you told Dora about him?” she asks. 

“Oh, uh, yeah. She knows.”

They chat for a little longer as more people come in. At one point, to Yoongi’s horror a couple of guys dressed in skin tight outfits come over to say hello to Jimin. Flirt is more like it, Yoongi thinks bitterly as he sees their coy smiles and the way their hands move over his sequined jacket. 

One guy goes so far as to sniff at Jimin’s neck to supposedly guess what perfume he has on, but Yoongi sees right through him. 

“Alright,” he says, taking Jimin’s hand and pulling him away from the vultures feasting on his boyfriend. Fake boyfriend. 

The guys give him a dirty look and Jimin seems to remember he’s supposed to be playing a role. 

“Oh. Guys, this is Yoongi. He’s my boyfriend. Yoongi, this is Taemin and Jay.”

“Is this the guy on your insta? I thought he was–” Jay cuts himself off when he gives Yoongi a proper once over and scowls. “A friend.”

“What gave you that impression?” Yoongi challenges, already annoyed at the two. 

“Well,” Taemin laughs. “Jimin is a lot less, how can I say this politely?”

Jimin levels a glare at his friend but the man is unbothered. “A lot less restrained when he’s seeing someone.”

“Ha!” Jay throws his head back laughing. “That’s one way to put it. Usually Jimin doesn’t have time to talk to anyone when he’s with someone. Too busy choking on something to come up for air.”

“What the fuck?” Jimin cries, shoving his friend. 

“Did I lie?” Jay scoffs and Jimin’s face turns flaming red. 

He’s about to defend himself when someone calls for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass and they saunter off in the other direction without so much as a goodbye. 

“Some friends you’ve got,” Yoongi grunts, still glaring at the back of Jay’s head.

“They’re not wrong though. I mean, I’m not always on my knees, choking on some guy’s dick, but I am pretty clingy. So far two people have called us out on not looking like a real couple so–” Jimin pulls on Yoongi’s hand and drags him over to an empty couch, shoving him down unceremoniously and before he has time to process what the hell is happening, he climbs onto his lap and straddles his thighs.

“Jimin, what the fuck!” Yoongi chokes when he cups his cheeks. His heart is going a mile a minute, thundering so loudly, he’s sure Jimin can hear it over the music. 

“Shh, it’s all for show. This is how I usually am. If we want people to believe us, we have to act like it’s real.”

“You usually straddle your date in public?” Yoongi asks, still in disbelief. He’s never so much as held another guy in his arms let alone had one sitting on his lap. He’s so tense he thinks he’s going to stay stuck like this forever. 

“I usually show them how much I like them,” he says, voice going soft and low. “I don’t care what people say about me. When I’m with someone, I give them my full attention. If I like them, I’m not embarrassed to show them just how much.”

Yoongi gulps when he finally meets Jimin’s eyes. The sharpness in them has been replaced with round shimmering innocence. 

“Relax,” he says, wrapping his arms around Yoongi’s neck. His fingers play with the hair at his nape soothingly, as if trying to get him to loosen up. 

Jimin is closer than he’s ever been and his perfume clouds Yoongi’s mind again, like it did that day at the studio. 

“People are going to think I’m holding you hostage if you don’t touch me.”

“T-touch you?” Yoongi stammers. 

“Cup my ass.”

“No!”

Jimin rolls his eyes but gives Yoongi a little smile. “Fine. Then put your hands on my thighs. Grab me like I’m yours.”

With a gulp, Yoongi’s shaking hands unclench and he places his palms flat on Jimin’s thighs. Jimin takes hold of his hands and pushes them further up his leg. “Like this,” he breathes. “It has to look like you’re not completely repulsed by me.”

“I’m not,” Yoongi says a little too quickly. “I’m just nervous.”

Jimin can’t seem to help the way his smile grows wider. “You’re kinda cute when you’re nervous.” 

“Shut up. This isn’t funny.”

“I’m laughing,” Jimin says as a tinkling giggle escapes him, making his whole body shake and Yoongi has to bite his tongue to keep from gasping as the movement rubs against his front. If he didn’t know any better he’d think Jimin is doing it on purpose.  

Jimin draws closer and Yoongi can feel his warm minty breath fan over his face. His hands move from his nape to cup his face gently. As Jimin’s gaze turns steady, with a quiet determination Yoongi’s never seen, his own breathing turns shallow, quickening as the seconds tick by. 

“I’m going to kiss you now,” Jimin says and it’s all Yoongi can do to keep his composure. He doesn’t nod or shake his head, doesn’t shove Jimin off. He just…lets it happen. 

Jimin turns his head a little and inches closer, giving Yoongi time to stop him, but he can’t seem to move. His eyes flutter shut and finally, Jimin’s soft lips touch his. 

He thinks it’ll be over in a heartbeat, but Jimin presses the kiss into his lips like a seal, branding him. His lips move and Yoongi kisses him back clumsily at first. Jimin kisses slowly, deeply, letting himself map every contour of Yoongi’s mouth, making himself known as he slips his tongue in to taste him. 

Yoongi has nothing but Jimin himself to hold onto and he digs his fingers into his thighs to keep from falling. On instinct, his hand moves up, wrapping around Jimin’s tiny waist and pulling him closer. Jimin’s kiss only deepens and his hands tangle in Yoongi’s hair as if he too might fall if he doesn’t hold him close. 

Jimin tastes like mint and cherries and who the hell knows what else, but Yoongi thinks he’s never tasted anything sweeter. He’s all warmth and soft skin and gentle hums–an entirely different person to the sharp tongued boy Yoongi’s gotten used to over the last week.

His mind clouds with the scent of him, with the breath Jimin takes away, and Yoongi feels dizzy, as if he’s been underwater for too long but he’s not sure he wants to come up for air just yet.

“Dora’s gonna fucking freak,” he suddenly hears Yijeong’s grating voice cackle next to him and Jimin immediately pulls away, bringing Yoongi back to his bitter reality. 

He looks up at Jimin and his face blooms crimson again, but he doesn’t look embarrassed like before. Yoongi can’t seem to read his expression and Jimin doesn’t give him time to before he’s climbing off his lap and running away.

Chapter Text

Yoongi chases after Jimin and catches him just before he can slam the restroom door. 

“Hey, you okay?” Yoongi asks, worried that he’s upset him somehow. Was the kiss so unbearable that Jimin couldn't stomach being around him?

“Fine, why?” 

“Well…” Yoongi pauses, frowning as he looks at Jimin who, although his cheeks are still stained red, looks too composed. Too unbothered. 

“You sort of ran away.”

“I didn’t.”  

“You definitely did.” 

“I didn't,” he grits out, the mask finally cracking. “Go away.” He tries to shut the door on Yoongi but he puts his foot out, stopping him. 

“Seriously, Jimin? Did I do something wrong?” Yoongi can’t help the pathetic way his voice lilts at the end.

“No! I just–forget it. Leave me alone.” He tries to shut the door again, but Yoongi is much stronger and manages to push it open and step inside, shutting it behind him. 

“Jimin–”

“Who the fuck is Dora and why does your friend keep talking about her like she’d lose her mind if she saw us together?”

Yoongi stands stunned, trying to process what Jimin just asked. “What?” he asks stupidly and Jimin only glares at him. 

“Dora is my best friend. Yijeong just said all that because he likes to tease.” 

“Your best friend,” Jimin repeats with a blank stare.

“Yeah. We’ve known each other forever. Since we were kids.”

Jimin scoffs and shakes his head. “I bet she was your ex first.” 

Yoongi says nothing. He knows he shouldn’t be shocked at just how intuitive and smart Jimin is but damn how did he know? 

“You’re so predictable, oh my gosh.”

“So what if she was? She’s just a friend now!”

“Please. Guys and girls can’t be just friends.” 

“Says who?” 

“Literally everyone,” Jimin replies sassily, putting his hands on his hips like that settles it. 

“Why the hell not?” 

“They’ll fall in love. It’s science.” 

“I’m literally gay,” Yoongi says, throwing his hands in the air.

“No. You’re bi.” Jimin pokes him in the chest to make his point.  

“I thought you didn’t believe in bisexuality.” 

“Of course I do,” Jimin says dismissively, as if Yoongi was the crazy one. “All I'm saying is that if you’re in love with this girl tell me now because I don’t want you to embarrass me when she shows up and you can’t take your eyes off her. 

“As opposed to you who can’t stop staring at Namjoon’s big ass in those pants?”

“That’s different!” 

“I’m not in love with Adora, Jimin.” 

“Whatever.” There’s obvious disbelief in the squint of his eyes, but Yoongi doesn’t know how else to convince him. Dora’s always been his friend. They tried to date briefly back in high school, but she knew before he did that it was never going to work out. Not when he was still trying to figure himself out. She was the one who helped him come out to himself and his parents. 

“She’s a friend. An important one,” Yoongi says as his phone dings with a text. 

“I bet that’s her right now,” Jimin mutters as Yoongi checks it.

“It’s not,” he says forcefully. It is, but he’s not going to give Jimin the satisfaction. 

“And who the hell doesn’t keep their phone on silent? What are you eighty years old?” 

“If I don't, I never know when I get a text! You’re literally so mean!”

Jimin doesn’t reply. They stand there in awkward, tense silence but neither one makes a move to leave. Yoongi is more than a little confused about the sudden change in Jimin’s mood. One second they’re making out on the couch, and the next they’re fighting over something so stupid. He can’t seem to make heads or tails of him. He’s like a ticking time bomb. 

But Yoongi can’t stop thinking about the kiss. He thinks it might be the best kiss he’s ever had, even if it was only for show. 

“That was my first kiss with a boy,” he blurts.

Jimin freezes and his shocked eyes land on Yoongi. “I popped your cherry?”

“Dude, come on .”

“It could have been worse. You hit the jackpot with me. Everyone says my lips are the best.”

“At kissing or talking shit?” Yoongi lifts a brow. 

“At everything .” Jimin’s voice dips low and he drags out the word suggestively.

“You’re actually insane.” 

Jimin lets out an airy laugh.“Did I make you blush?”

“You wish.” Yoongi scoffs, fighting the heat rising up his neck.

After a second Jimin sighs. “Sorry for kissing you. I didn’t know. I guess I should’ve asked first. Now I’ve ruined your first time.”

“It’s fine,” Yoongi says honestly. Ruined isn’t the word he’d use. ‘Set the bar all the way into the next galaxy’ would be a better way to put it, but he’d never in a million years say that out loud. Jimin’s ego would inflate so big it might suffocate them both in this tiny bathroom. 

Yoongi watches as Jimin goes to sit on the edge of the tub and kick his feet at the floor tiles. Yoongi waits for him to say something else, to explain why he’s upset or to make fun of him for being a bad boy kisser, but what he asks catches him off guard.

“Was it terrible?” Jimin’s voice is uncharacteristically vulnerable. Yoongi’s never seen him like this. He seems to be getting a much softer Jimin tonight than he’s used to and he isn’t sure how to handle it. He’s so used to the bickering and arguing of two minutes ago, that having Jimin look at him like this— soft and fragile— throws him off balance. 

“No. It was … different.”

Jimin looks up at him, and that innocence from before, the rounded shimmering look he gave him just before he kissed him, is back. “Different… good?” 

Yoongi isn’t sure why he’s asking but he’s spared from replying something embarrassing when the door swings open and a pretty girl with short blue hair stands in front of them

“Adora!”

His friend looks between them with wide eyes and recognition sparks in them before she asks, “Am I interrupting?”

Jimin’s eyes narrow and the softness of earlier fades into something a lot sharper and guarded. Yoongi mourns the loss of his tender vulnerability, wishing he’d had even a minute more alone with him. 

“No,” Jimin replies bluntly and walks out the door without a glance back.

Adora questions Yoongi with her eyes and he just rolls his own. 

“Jimin, I suppose?”

“The one and only.” 

ㅇ

Jimin doesn’t know why the hell he’s so bothered . 

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s only seen Namjoon once all night and that was in passing and it just feels useless to even be here. 

He saw him arrive and it had been what made him grab Yoongi and drag him over to the couch. 

He hadn’t planned on kissing him but once he had him underneath him, once he had him so close, he just felt so soft and Jimin couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t seem to stop once he got started and Yoongi didn’t help with the way he’d grabbed his waist and pulled him closer and sucked on his tongue and–

Ugh.  

If he’s honest with himself, he wanted to know what Yoongi was thinking before they were interrupted by her . He’s never been anyone’s first kiss and as guilty as he feels for robbing Yoongi of that, he’s still curious to know if maybe, after all of this is said and done, Yoongi might remember him for it. But now he’ll never know and Yoongi is over there with his ex-girlfriend turned best friend turned who the hell knows what. What if they still have a connection? What if Yoongi still wants her? What if she ruins everything?

“Fuck,” he curses under his breath. 

“You alright, Jiminie?” A deep voice makes him turn around and he’s face to face with Namjoon. His heart flutters and his already permanently red face only turns three shades darker.

“You seem a little flustered. Did hyung piss you off?” Namjoon laughs. “Where is he?”

“Somewhere over there with his bestie,” Jimin says, unable to hide the vitriol in his voice. 

“Adora?”

“You know her?”

“Yeah, she’s great. I really like her. “

Jimin holds back an eye roll but Namjoon seems to sense his sour mood.  

“I mean she’s just hyung’s friend. They’ve been through a lot together.”

“Right.”

“Uh…” Joon rubs his buzzed head, unsure what to do. 

“Never mind them,” Jimin says, smiling brightly at Namjoon. He’s here to win him over not to be annoyed at Yoongi and his stupid friend. They can choke for all he cares. “Are you having fun, hyungie?”

Namjoon seems a little taken aback by Jimin’s sudden change in mood but he’s quick to flash him an easy smile. “For sure.”

Jimin looks him up and down and he can’t really tell what he’s dressed up as. He looks just like he usually does–sweater over a collared shirt and a pair of loose trousers. The squared glasses he wears slip down the bridge of his nose and he pushes them back up before they slide off. 

“Who are you supposed to be?” Jimin asks. 

“Yun!”

“Sorry?”

“Yun Hyong-Keun,” Joon replies with a smile, as if the name were self-explanatory.

“Is that like a movie character or…?”

“He’s my favorite painter! He was part of the Dansaekhwa movement in the 70s.”

Jimin blinks up at him, entirely confused, but he looks so happy that Jimin can’t help but be entirely  endeared. Of course someone as intellectual as he would pick a costume like that. It’s so in character. 

“Tell me about him,” Jimin says, and Namjoon lights up. 

They spend a while talking about artists Namjoon likes and in turn he asks about the dancers Jimin is inspired by. Even if they don’t really understand each other’s art, it feels nice to talk to him about his passion. Namjoon gets really into the conversation, showing Jimin his favorite art pieces and museums he’d like to go to and Jimin practically invites himself out with him. 

“We should go one day! I’d love to see these pieces in person.”

“That would be fun. We can tell Yoongi hyung and make a day out of it like last time,” Joon offers. 

At the mention of Yoongi, Jimin’s stomach sours and he remembers that he’s annoyed at his fake boyfriend. He tries his best to ignore the way his heart dropped when Yoongi opened the door to the bathroom and his eyes lit up at the sight of the pretty girl. 

“Come on,” Jimin waves him off. “Yoongi wouldn’t appreciate it at all.”

“Appreciate what?” A deep voice behind him makes him nearly jump out of his skin.

Yoongi stands right behind him, and next to him is a smiling Adora. 

ㅇ

As soon as Jimin stalked out of the restroom, Yoongi had felt the inexplicable urge to chase after him. He didn’t even know why he wanted to–he didn’t owe him an explanation for anything. In fact, it was Jimin who did. 

“He seems like a delight,” Adora says with a knowing smile and Yoongi just slumps on the covered toilet in defeat. 

“He’s anything but,” he confesses. “I'm in way over my head here.”

Adora sits on the edge of the tub and laughs. “Why was he so pissed? What did you do?”

Kiss him. 

Of course Yoongi isn’t going to confess that to his best friend just yet, if ever. 

Had the kiss been that bad? he wonders to himself, but to Adora he asks, “Are guys as dramatic as girls are?”

“Hey!” She smacks his shoulder. “I resent that. Everyone’s dramatic when it comes to love. Besides, whatever it was, it’s obviously your fault.”

“Whose side are you on here?”

She shrugs her shoulders daintily but ignores him. 

“Weren’t you going to show me something?” 

Despite hiding the kiss from her, Adora really is the only one Yoongi has to confide in who will help him sort through the swamp of shit going on in his brain. All day he’s been fixated on the studio session of the night before. He hasn’t been able to get Jimin’s voice out of his head and if he doesn’t tell someone he’s afraid he might just dissolve into nothing. He’s torn between gatekeeping Jimin’s voice and venting to his best friend about how insane he’s become for it. It’s ridiculous and he knows he’s going to get teased all the way into the next decade but if he doesn’t show her then how would he know he didn’t just dream it all up?

He pulls out his phone and searches for a minute before handing it to her and saying, “Press play.”

As soon as she does, Jimin’s voice floods the small space. It’s a clip of him singing Yoongi’s song. Her eyes widen and her lips part as she listens. Like it always does, the sound of his singing makes Yoongi’s knees weak.  

“Wow, who is that?” She looks up to find Yoongi watching for her reaction.

“Jimin.”

“Holy shit.”

“I know.”

“That’s just your taste,” she says, holding the phone out to him. 

“I can’t stop listening to it.”

A sly smile breaks out across her face and he rolls his eyes. “I just meant that I like his voice. A lot. I don’t know what the hell to do because he’s so annoying but I need to hear him sing again.”

“Whipped as fuck.”

“Shut up. No.”

“He’s pretty as hell too. Isn’t he like your type? Pretty and tiny.”

“No.” He knew he would regret this. 

“Isn’t Hobi pretty and tiny?”

“Shut up. Jimin’s insane. He is far from my type,” Yoongi scoffs, getting up. Adora immediately follows him out the door. “I just like his voice.”

“He isn’t insane,” she insists, chasing after him but Yoongi whirls around and she bumps into him with a yelp. 

“He told me that if I get caught talking to you, people will think we’re in love. You and I!”

“Ya! I’m a catch, asshole.”

“You know what I mean.” He walks directly toward the kitchen to serve himself a drink. 

“Come on oppa, don’t be so hard on him. He’s just jealous.”

She takes the beer Yoongi offers her but doesn't drink it. Instead, her eyes assess him in that dry clinical way of hers like he’s a math problem that she needs to find a solution to before she can do anything else. 

“Of what?” Yoongi frowns. 

“Us! He wants you all to himself.”

“Oh. You’ve lost your mind too. Great.” He throws back his drink and makes himself another.  

“You should go find him. I’m sure he’s looking for you.”

Yoongi looks behind her and shakes his head, eyes landing on the couch where Jimin sits giggling with Namjoon. “He’s with Nam. He probably doesn’t even remember I exist.”

“Oh my gosh!” His best friend throws her head back laughing wildly. “You’re totally jealous too!”

“I don’t even know him! I can't like him like that.”

Of course he doesn’t think Jimin is jealous of her. At least not because of Yoongi. Jimin only sees Yoongi as a means to an end: Namjoon. The kiss from before was all for show, even if it was the best kiss Yoongi’s ever had. Even if, later that night, he’ll lie awake thinking about how good Jimin tasted and how he fit so perfectly in his lap. That’s a problem for future Yoongi. Right now, all he wants is another drink.

“Ever heard of love at first sight? Or at first listen, in this case”

“That’s bullshit.”

“You’re such an anti-romantic.”

“I’m a realist. Besides, you know who I like.”

“No. I know who your first boy crush is. This is different.”

“What do you know about it? You’re a math major. Aren’t all of you emotionally repressed nerds?”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that otherwise I’ll smack the teeth out of your mouth and we both know you can’t take it.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles, tail between his legs. 

“Now go. Interrupt them before Namjoon really takes him from you.”

Yoongi doesn’t go to interrupt them. Instead, he drags Dora with him, just to eavesdrop on the pair and get a sense of how things are going. He doesn’t like Jimin like that at all, but Adora is too stubborn and he’s already tipsy and knows he really can’t win against her so he doesn’t try. Instead, he wants to know if Jimin is making any headway with his crush and if he’ll be free of Namjoon’s yearning glances any time soon. 

That’s when he hears his name and Jimin waving him off dismissively. 

“Come on. Yoongi wouldn’t appreciate it at all.”

“Appreciate what?”

Both Nam and Jimin jump and turn to look at him. Jimin bears a horrified expression and Namjoon smiles at him. 

“ Dansaekhwa!” Joon says. 

“Uh, it’s pronounced Daechwita,” Yoongi replies. 

Jimin rolls his eyes and turns around to Namjoon with a look that says I told you so . “See what I mean? Zero culture.”

Now, Yoongi’s never been confrontational, but get a couple of drinks in him and he might not start a fight, but he’ll definitely keep it rolling. 

“Excuse me, I am a man of infinite culture. I’d love to appreciate Dank–denks–uh…”

“Dansaekhwa!” Joon says again, smile growing wider. “Remember we went to that museum that had the Yun exhibit?”

Yoongi vaguely remembers, but he’d feel like a shit friend if he didn’t at least pretend. “Yeah, it was fun.”

“It was! Remember how big Umber Black was? But my personal favorite is Umber Blue. I’ve been really loving blue and…” Yoongi is not quite sober enough to really piece together all of what Nam is saying as he launches into one of his long winded odes to art like he tends to do by and by. Jimin, it seems, doesn't even need to be tipsy to feel the same way. Yoongi shoots him a glance and he notices his eyes have glazed over and he sits there with a wistful smile staring at Namjoon who is really only looking at Yoongi as he continues to talk. 

“...Burnt Umber is also really amazing. Did you know that–”

“Hi guys!” Yoongi glances over to his right where Adora has somehow snapped out of the trance Namjoon put them all in. Her arm is up in a stiff salute and she smiles widely at Jimin and Namjoon. 

“I’m Adora. You must be oppa’s boyfriend Jimin. It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much.” She directs her greeting to Jimin but instead of saying hi back, Jimin chooses to ignore her and turns his attention back to Namjoon who seems to have lost steam and waves to Adora. 

Her happy expression falters only a little at the corners of her mouth, but she recovers quickly and pulls Yoongi with her to go sit down on the couches, shoving him unceremoniously into the seat next to Jimin while she takes a seat next to Namjoon. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Yoongi the way Jimin’s eyes narrow suspiciously at Adora who almost immediately engages Namjoon in small talk. Like Nam, she’s a certified yapper . 

“Did you bring her here to sabotage everything?” Jimin asks through gritted teeth, yet still somehow keeping a smile plastered on his face. 

“What? No. Why would I do that?”

“Then why’s she throwing herself all over Joonie?” 

Yoongi looks up bewildered, but he doesn’t see anything wrong with the way Dora is sitting next to Nam. If anything, an entire person could fit between them on the couch. 

“Are you always this jealous?” Yoongi asks, eyebrows knitted in frustration. 

“And what about it?” Jimin shoots back. 

“You’re acting crazy!” 

“Look at her, she’s all over him.”

“She’s just friendly.”

“Oh sure. Go and defend her. Typical.”

“Jimin, please–”

“Uh…guys?”

Yoongi and Jimin turn back around at the sound of Namjoon’s voice. Yoongi didn’t realize just how close they’d suddenly gotten but he has to lean back out of Jimin’s space to be able to take a proper breath.

“What?” They say in unison, both a little more forcefully than they should. 

“What do you say?”

“About?”

“Going hiking!” Adora chimes in happily. 

“Hiking?” Yoongi frowns. 

“Doesn’t that sound fun? Dora and I were thinking it’d be cool to go before the weather gets bad,” Namjoon adds. 

Yoongi and Jimin exchange a look, both entirely caught off guard. Yoongi’s never been outdoorsy. He knows Adora loves to take long walks in the park and ‘be one with nature’ or whatever weird hippie shit she does, and that’s all nice, but she knows not to involve him in any of that. Namjoon does too, so why are they suddenly asking him to go hiking?

“Oh, I don’t really like the outdoors,” Jimin begins to say but they both catch the look of disappointment that crosses Namjoon’s face and Jimin quickly recalibrates. 

“In the summertime! Because of the bugs, uh, but sure! It should be a lot of fun, Joonie hyungie.” He smiles prettily at Nam and Yoongi swears he sees him bat his eyelashes. 

Somehow Yoongi gets roped into the whole situation, general lack of athleticism notwithstanding, and due in part to the glares Jimin and Adora kept throwing his way. 

What is she plotting? he wonders and tries to get her attention but his friend is making it a point not to look his way anymore. Instead, she engages Namjoon in a talk about crabs and he’s totally lost. 

“I need a drink,” Jimin says, rubbing at his temples and for the second time that night, ditches Yoongi on the couch. 

It’s long after midnight by the time he finds Jimin, a couple beers in, drinking directly from a bottle of soju. 

“Hey, it’s getting late,” Yoongi says as he approaches him. “Should we go home?”

He braces himself for another attack over Dora but Jimin seems pretty out of it. 

 “You know,” he says, words tumbling into each other a little, “nobody’s ever gotten me flowers.” His hand lifts limply to wave at the large bouquet of roses on the kitchen table. 

Yoongi looks from Jimin to the flowers and back, noting the longing in Jimin’s shining eyes. 

“Yeah,” he says. “Me either.” 

Jimin rolls his eyes at that and slaps Yoongi lightly on the arm. “Jerk.”

Yoongi smirks a little but he’s quick to hide it. “Come one. I’ll drive you home.”

“We came in my car.”

“You wouldn’t have driven it back even if you were sober,” Yoongi scoffs and Jimin at least has the decency not to argue that point. 

“I'm sober,” he insists, even as he winces when he trips off his seat. 

“Sure.” Yoongi eyes him warily, arms outstretched in case he falls over. 

“I just have a headache. Sometimes beer helps but I guess not this time.”

Yoongi’s seen Jimin get a headache before but this seems different. He walks on unsteady feet and his eyes are half closed as he makes his way to the front door. 

“Leaving already?” Yijeong intercepts them and Jimin stumbles back just a little.

“Yeah,” Yoongi says, putting a steadying hand on Jimin’s back. “Jimin’s not feeling well.”

They say goodbye to Yijeong and Aya and just as they’re about walk out, Yoongi spots Adora. 

“Hey, we’re heading out. Do you need a ride home?” Yoongi asks her. She throws a look at Jimin who doesn’t bother looking her way and shakes her head.

“I’ll head home with Namjoon,” she reassures him and he cringes internally already dreading the wrath from Jimin he’s going to have to face by himself. If he could ask Dora to pray for him he would. 

“Text me when you’re home,” he tells her and she’s about to give him a hug goodbye when Jimin shoves past them both, grumbling under his breath. 

She offers an apologetic smile to Yoongi but says nothing. 

They walk in silence to the car and Yoongi opens the door for Jimin to climb into the passenger seat. When Yoongi gets behind the wheel he finds Jimin with his palms pushed to his eyes as if he were trying to block out every particle of light from getting in. 

“Are you alright? You’re kind of pale,” he says, worry building up in his chest. 

“Fine. Just drive us home, please.” 

He drives fast to get Jimin home as quickly as he can but his driving seems to make everything worse. 

“Pull over,” Jimin suddenly says while Yoongi’s speeding through a residential area. 

“What?”

“Yoongi please pull over!” Jimin cries and as soon as Yoongi parks the car he rushes out and is sick on the side of the road. 

“Fuck,” Yoongi curses and rushes to unbuckle himself and go to Jimin. 

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” he asks but Jimin shakes his head. 

“I’m alright. It just…hurts.” 

He doesn’t sound alright by any extent of the word but Yoongi doesn’t want to fight him on it. Instead, all he can do is help him back into the car and buckle him in before he’s speeding off once more. They make it to Jimin’s place without any other incident but Jimin looks incredibly pale and Yoongi’s afraid he’s going to keel over at any moment so he tries his best to guide him up to his dorm without being overbearing. Jimin doesn’t even seem to notice though as he just goes through the motions. 

Once in front of his door, Jimin punches in his code a couple of times before he gets it right. Inside, he makes a beeline to the bathroom and Yoongi hears him be sick once more before the shower begins to run. 

Jimin comes out already half undressed, eyes nearly shut in pain and tells Yoongi he can go. 

“Thanks for getting me home, hyung. You can take my car back home if you want.”

“Wh-no, Jimin. I can’t leave you like this. Let me help you.”

“There’s nothing to do,” he says in a thick, weary voice. “I’ll take my meds and sleep it off. Hot showers help sometimes too.”

“Do you still have that tea I got you?” Yoongi asks. 

Jimin nods, wincing at the movement and points to a cupboard. 

“I’ll brew you some while you shower.”

Jimin’s sigh is heavy, but he doesn’t protest. Instead he goes back into the bathroom, shutting off the lights and closing the door. Yoongi supposes he’s done this so many times that it’s natural now. It makes him a little sad. He can’t imagine how taxing it must be to always be in pain. He gets to brewing the tea quickly and once it’s done, Jimin still hasn’t come out of the shower. 

Yoongi, curiosity getting the best of him, looks around the tiny room for anything that might help Jimin. He finds that the small window has a black out curtain so he pulls it down and goes to shut off the lights before turning on a small lamp. The glow is enough for him to see but not bright enough to hurt Jimin–at least he hopes. 

Jimin finally comes out, wrapped in a long t-shirt and sweats, all the glamor from earlier wiped clean, but somehow, Yoongi thinks he looks even prettier like this: bare faced and all his defenses lowered. 

He’s still pale and his steps unsteady but he manages to walk to his bed and tucks himself in. 

“Here,” Yoongi says, handing him the cup of tea. 

Jimin takes it gratefully, but can’t seem to look Yoongi in the eye when he offers a soft, “Thank you.”

After a sip, he says, “Hyung, you can go now. I’m just going to try sleeping it off.”

“Do you need anything else?” Yoongi asks instead. 

“There’s a mask in the freezer that I sleep with. I already drank my medicine.”

Yoongi hurries to get the mask Jimin mentioned and hands it to him. He watches as Jimin wraps it around his eyes and lies back down onto his pillow. He takes a seat in Jimin’s desk chair and watches as he settles in for the night. 

Grateful for the mask he sports, Yoongi takes his time mapping out the contours of Jimin’s face in the dim light the lamp offers. His nose is tiny and delicately rounded at the tip, like a button. His plush lips pout naturally and Yoongi can’t help but remember how soft they felt on his. 

“Will you turn that off?” Jimin says, pointing to the lamp and Yoongi startles a little, feeling like he’s been caught. 

“Of course, sorry.” He quickly clicks the light off and they’re engulfed in absolute darkness. 

“Do you need anything?” Yoongi asks again and he can hear Jimin shake his head. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep in case you need anything.”

“You don’t need to. Seriously. I’ll be fine.”

Yoongi knows he’s being stubborn and maybe he really is a burden to a hurting Jimin but for his own peace of mind, he wants to make sure nothing worse is wrong. 

He waits for Jimin to fall asleep, to hear the steady breathing that comes with rest, but instead, he hears a soft whine and Jimin’s disquiet turning on the bed. 

“Hyung, just go. I might not even sleep tonight.”

“I can’t just leave you when you’re sick.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Jimin insists. 

“I wouldn’t be a very good friend if I abandoned you, Jimin.”

There’s a pregnant pause and Yoongi thinks maybe Jimin did fall asleep but then he hears the tiniest voice whisper into the darkness, “We’re friends?”

Yoongi lets out a small laugh. “I mean, we’re pretending to date, we hold hands, we’ve even made out. I’d wager that constitutes as friendship.”

“What a weird friendship,” Jimin says and already, Yoongi can hear his voice fading. 

“Sleep, Jimin. I’ll stay by your side in case you need anything.”

Another pause has Yoongi’s own head bobbing until he hears his name being called again and he jolts awake. 

“Yoongi?”

“What’s wrong?” he asks immediately.

“I–since we’re friends and all…” Jimin pauses. “Can I ask you for a really weird favor?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Can you–it’s just that, my eomma used to do it when I lived at home and Tae does it whenever I ask and whenever he’s free…”

“What is it?” 

“Can you hold me?”

Yoongi is quiet, trying to process what Jimin’s just asked. “Hold you?”

“Whenever someone holds me, it somehow relieves the pressure. You obviously don’t have to, but–”

“Okay. I-I’ll do it.”

Jimin doesn’t say anything for a second and then Yoongi hears him scooting over in bed, making room for him. 

Yoongi climbs in, jeans and all and lies next to him. He doesn’t move to hug him or even touch him. He just lies with the reality that he’s somehow found himself in Jimin’s bed. 

“Hold me tight, hyung,” comes Jimin’s soft voice and like a sleeper agent that’s been activated, Yoongi immediately turns and takes him into his arms. 

Jimin smells clean now, the sweet candy of his perfume washed away in the shower. He smells warm and fresh at the same time and feels a lot softer than Yoongi imagined. The sharp edges of Park Jimin remain only on his tongue and in the look of his eyes, but the rest of him is pure softness. 

Just like earlier, Yoongi can barely wrap his mind around the fact that just a week or two ago, he would have had a hard time believing he would ever let himself hold a man in his arms. All the times he’s daydreamed of having a boyfriend, of kissing him and embracing him and simply being with him, it always felt so far away. So impossible. 

And he knows this is different because it isn’t real, but he also knows that a year ago, he never would have allowed himself to even think of this. That all the hiding he forced himself to do all the denial of who he really is, it all dissolves around Jimin. He’s been his first kiss, his first boy experience, and even if it’s all pretend, Yoongi doesn’t think he’ll ever forget this. 

Earlier, he meant what he said. Even if they bicker, if they might not always get along, he does on some strange and twisted level, consider Jimin his friend. He owes him a lot and though he won’t ever admit it to the little storm cloud in his arms, he’s growing reluctantly fond of him. 

Now though, he doesn’t allow himself to dwell on those thoughts for too long. Now he simply does what he’s asked. He holds Jimin tightly, and prays that as much as Jimin has helped him, Yoongi can help him in return.

Chapter Text

It’s hot. 

Despite the autumn season showing up in full swing this year and the fact that there’s a crack in his window that always sucks out the warmth of the heater, Jimin is hot. There’s an unfamiliar weight wrapped around him and for a second–that strange time where his consciousness wades in a pool of wakefulness and dreams–Jimin wonders if he brought someone home. But that would be impossible because he’s not seeing anyone. He’s…not…

His eyes fly open and yet no light permeates his sight. Everything is still pitch black. He isn’t sure what time it is, he never is whenever he sleeps with the blackout curtain, though he can’t remember having shut it. He can’t even remember how he got home last night. 

There’s definitely another body lying next to him, arms wrapped protectively, almost possessively, around him. Whoever it is has a gentle touch that he doesn’t recognize. If it isn’t Tae then… 

He gasps and promptly slaps a hand across his mouth. It’s Yoongi. 

What the fuck was I thinking? He cringes internally as the memories from last night flood his mind. Yoongi brought him home when he got sick and Jimin asked him to…to…TO HOLD HIM! 

Oh my fucking–

He needs to get out of there. Now. 

As best as he can, he climbs out of his own bed, making sure not to wake Yoongi up, shoves his feet into a pair of shoes, grabs his cell, wallet, and keys and nearly sprints out of his dorm. 

He scrolls through his contacts and clicks on his best friend’s number. 

“ Hello? ” a groggy voice answers.

“I need you to come get me.”

ㅇ

Jimin is ignoring him. 

At least Yoongi thinks he is. After the night of the party, when Yoongi woke up in Jimin’s bed alone, he tried texting him to check if he was okay and got no reply. When he called him, it kept going straight to voicemail. So, Yoongi’s pretty sure he’s being ghosted by his fake boyfriend. The only problem is, he’s not entirely sure why. 

He’s wracked his brain wondering what he might have done to piss Jimin off but he can’t come up with much. Maybe he had been too pushy when he told him he was going to stay to make sure he was okay. Maybe it gave Jimin the ick and now he wants nothing to do with him. That’s fair, Yoongi thinks, though he’s not sure why the thought feels like a heavy stone sitting in the pit of his stomach. 

Maybe he needs to apologize. 

“Give him time,” Dora says through a mouthful of ice cream from his dorm room bed. 

“It’s been days,” Yoongi replies, scratching out yet another shitty line of lyrics in his notebook. 

“Aw, does not seeing your fake boyfriend make your heart go owie?” she teases and he chucks a balled up wad of paper at her head. It lands in her ice cream and she screeches out a string of curses at him. 

“Just admit you’re a loser for him and we can move on! The faster you accept your crush the faster I can help you win his heart.”

“You’re the least qualified person to talk to me about relationships, Dora. You’ve never once been on a date with anyone! And for the thousandth time, I’m not crushing on Jimin!”

“First of all, rude. Second of all, then why the hell are you so pressed about him ghosting you?” 

“I’m not!” he lies but she can see right through him. 

“You have his class schedule, don’t you? Just go talk to him and ask him what’s going on.”

The next day finds Yoongi waiting right outside Jimin’s dance class. His palms feel sweaty and he thinks he might go into cardiac arrest with the way his heart is beating a mile a minute but he’s here, waiting for Jimin to come out so he can confront him. 

He’s not even really sure what he’s confronting him for–it’s not like he and Jimin were actually dating or anything, but everything feels so unfinished, so unresolved. He just wants to know what happened and apologize if he needs to. 

As nonchalant as Yoongi likes to pretend he is, Jimin’s silence has been bothering him for days. He can’t focus on anything and he constantly checks his phone to see if Jimin’s answered. It’s driving him crazy and until he can talk to him even if it’s to call this whole thing off properly, only then does he think he’ll have some peace. 

The music inside begins to play and Yoongi recognizes it instantly. It’s a piece he’s played on the piano before–something slow and almost sultry. His feet move forward before his brain registers what he’s doing and he peeks inside. There’s a group of three people dancing and at the center, he immediately recognizes Jimin. He moves across the floor in such a way that has Yoongi questioning if he’s even human or if he’s something made of magic. He’s by far the better dancer of the three and stands out so much that Yoongi can only focus on him. His performance is only a minute long and once it’s done, he walks off with a dissatisfied huff as Yoongi remembers to breathe again. Shockingly, nobody claps or says a thing and Yoongi watches the instructor give them directions on how to make the dance better but Yoongi has no idea how Jimin could improve on perfection. He watches Jimin take a seat on the floor as another group begins to perform. He watches them intently, a brooding look in his eyes as they follow the group’s every move– analyzing them, dissecting each step. 

Maybe he’s just been going through something and that’s why he’s been ignoring Yoongi. 

Finally the dance instructor dismisses the class and he backs away from the door as he hears the rustle of people gathering their things before they begin filing out of the room. As soon as he spots Jimin he walks up to him. 

“Hey,” Yoongi says and Jimin’s eyes blow wide when they land on him. 

“Hyung. What are you doing here?” He doesn’t sound angry that Yoongi is there, but he doesn’t sound very happy. It doesn’t surprise Yoongi but it bothers the hell out of him. 

“I just wanted to talk for a minute. You’ve been ignoring my calls and texts and–”

“No, I haven’t,” Jimin says quickly and Yoongi quirks a brow at him. 

“Hey, are you coming?” Someone tugs on Jimin’s hand and Yoongi recognizes him as one of the guys from the party that was all over him. He offers Yoongi a scowl as he looks him up and down and Yoongi’s muscles tense with irritation. He’s about to tell the guy to back off when Jimin speaks up. 

“Yeah. Sorry hyung, I really need to go.” 

“Jimin, wait!” Yoongi calls out but he doesn’t even get a cursory glance as Jimin completely blows him off and leaves with his friend.

Yoongi sighs and pulls his phone out to send Jimin a text but when he sees all the ignored messages Jimin hasn’t bothered to respond to, Yoongi shuts his phone off instead and walks away. 

ㅇ

“So, let me get this straight,” Taehyung says, chewing on a bite of gimbap as the two walk back toward their dorms. The weather is brisk but feels nice on Jimin’s sweaty skin. He’s just finished his second dance class of the day and he’s so tired and sore that he can barely move but Taehyung insisted. When he saw Jimin sulking earlier during their lunch hour, he threatened to secuester him and make him late to his seminar (which would have gotten him thrown out of class for the day) if he didn’t fess up. 

Now Jimin is spilling the embarrassing truth about his situation with Yoongi and even if it feels a little like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, he can sense the disapproval in Taehyung’s tone. 

“You and this Yoongi guy made a deal to make Namjoon hyung fall in love with you and to get some stalker dude off his back by…” he pauses to throw a glance at Jimin and in his eyes Jimin can read the charged incredulity at the ridiculousness of it all. “... pretending to date .”

Jimin can only nod. 

“And now things are weird–as if they weren’t weird from day one mind you– and you’re ignoring him to his face because you got drunk and slept with him.”

“No! I mean yes but not like that. I got a migraine and asked him to stay and then I asked if he could hold me the way you do.” He pouts and looks away, noting exactly how crazy it must sound but he really is glad to finally be letting it all out. 

“Okay, clinically insane plan aside,” Taehyung lifts his hand up, “why are you blowing him off if what you did was so innocent?”

Jimin isn’t really sure how to respond because he’s not entirely sure why he’s doing it. 

He sighs and finally looks up at his friend. “I don’t know. I guess I’m embarrassed.”

Earlier, when he saw Yoongi waiting for him, Jimin couldn’t help the way his heart sank with the weight of his guilt. He’d figured ghosting Yoongi was the easier thing to do to save face and if he ignored him long enough, sure Yoongi might get pissed but eventually, he’d just move on because they don’t like each other, right? And this way they’d be out of each other’s hair. But seeing Yoongi and the look of worry in those dumb puppy eyes of his has Jimin feeling like he committed a capital offense. 

“Did you get a stiffy while you were spooning?”

“This is why I didn't tell you!” he cries and stalks away from Tae who chases after him with a deep laugh. 

“I was joking! Come on, tell me. Why are you so embarrassed?”

“I don’t know!” He throws his hands in the air and wishes he could just erase everything from that night and the last few weeks. “God, I was drunk and he’s practically a stranger. It just felt like we crossed a line.”

Taehyung stops walking and turns to Jimin. “Look. You’re friends right?”

Are we? he wonders. Yoongi had said as much too, but they were always bickering and getting bothered by each other. Jimin still isn’t sure. 

“It’s not like you two had sex, or even kissed! He took care of you,” Taehyung continues as if Jimin isn’t going through an existential crisis right in front of him. “As weird as I think he is for going along with this plan, it’s kind of sweet.”

Jimin blushes but doesn’t mention the kiss on the couch. It’s haunted him this entire week and if he’s honest with himself, it’s one of the reasons why he can’t seem to face Yoongi. It’s stupid. He’s kissed loads of guys! But the kiss with Yoongi felt…

“Right?” Tae insists. 

“Right! Wait, what?” Jimin blinks at Tae, unsure what he just said. 

“I said that if he’s a friend he’ll understand, okay?”

“Oh. Yeah. I guess.” 

“Okay. So.”

“So?” 

“You’re still sulking! What are you going to do now?” 

“Nothing. Why would I do anything?” 

“You’re obviously still feeling bad that you ghosted your fake boyfriend. Don’t you think you should apologize to him?” Tae says as if it were the most obvious thing. 

Jimin’s phone buzzes and he checks it out of pure habit, finding a new message from Jungkook asking if Tae is with him, but he notices all of the unread messages he’s been ignoring from Yoongi.

“I don’t feel guilty,” he says even as he swipes away the notifications from him with a knot in his belly. “I just feel bad that we had a deal and I flaked.”

“Sounds an awful lot like guilt to me.”

“Well what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Do you still want to see him?”

“Tae–” 

“I mean for the plan or whatever. For Joon hyung.”

“I guess.” Jimin bites his lip contemplating. He doesn’t know how much progress they’ve even made but he has seen and talked to Namjoon a lot more since they started. 

“Then you need to go apologize to him and finish whatever this,” Taehyung waves a hand at Jimin, “is.”

“Just like that? Do you really think he’s going to accept an apology after I ignored him for nearly a week?” Jimin sighs.

“If he’s a good guy, yeah. But you owe him an explanation. How many times have you gone out with a guy only to be ghosted and never given a proper explanation?”

Too many than he wishes to admit.

“Uh huh,” Tae says as if reading his mind. “If he doesn't want to accept your apology then at least you tried.”

“I can’t believe you’re actually encouraging this,” Jimin says, shaking his head. 

“Look, we all do stupid shit for love. If this is what you gotta do then, who am I to judge?”

Jimin pretends to think about it but he knows his friend is right. “Fine.”

“Make sure you bring a peace offering.”

Peace offering? “Like what?”

“Give him a lap dance?” Tae shrugs.

“Yah! Kim Taehyung!” Jimin tries to smack at Taehyung’s shoulder and the other squirms away. He chases after him but his friend is too quick.

“Call me and tell me how it goes!” he yells over his shoulder as Jimin gives up on chasing him, totally out of breath. 

His chest heaves as he watches Taehyung rush down the road. As much as it pains him to admit it, he knows Tae is right. He’s been a jerk to Yoongi who’s counting on him to help him too. They need to regroup and assess if the plan’s been working for either of them and adjust if needed. 

“Right,” Jimin says as his brain begins to map out a plan. 

First thing on the list–peace offering. 

ㅇ

“Fuck,” Yoongi huffs ripping out a page in his notebook for the tenth time in about as many minutes, and tossing it into the overflowing wastebasket. The notebook is running dangerously low on pages now but he can’t seem to write a single line of lyrics well today. It’s been a week actually that he’s had writer’s block, not only for lyrics but for music too. He’s been tasked to write an original piece for his piano solo and try as he might, it feels impossible these days. 

He takes his headphones off and rubs at his tired eyes. Sleep’s been just as elusive as music has been but he thinks he’s just tired enough to nap before tonight. Nam got a call from the manager of club Cypher about a last minute opening and he signed them up to perform. He hopes Hobi will be there too. It’s been a while since he’s performed and even longer since he’s gotten the chance to hang out with him. It’d be nice to catch up, even if catching up means watching him be a social butterfly with half the club and only nodding at him whenever he graces him with a glance. 

God, Min Yoongi, you’re such a simp. 

As he gets up to throw himself onto the bed, he freezes when he thinks he hears what sounds like a soft knock on the door. It takes a few seconds but he hears the sound again, this time with a little more conviction. 

He wonders if it's Namjoon coming to work out a song for tonight but when he opens the door, his heart stutters at the sight. Park Jimin stands before him, dressed in an oversized sweater, hair a fluffy mess, and holding up a bag of take out. 

“Hey,” he says with a sheepish smile. “Do you have a minute?”

There’s a guarded tilt to the set of Jimin’s shoulders, as if he were bracing himself for something. Yoongi’s too shocked to say much of anything, mind going blank. He watches Jimin slowly wilt, smile fading with the silence that grows longer and longer until he can’t stand it. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t replied to your texts,” Jimin says in a small voice. 

“Oh,” Yoongi replies, snapping out of his trance. “Yeah, uh, that was weird.” 

Jimin’s brow furrows but he doesn’t look away. “Can I come in and explain?”

Yoongi thinks about it for a minute. Jimin who is so unapologetically himself, who speaks his mind so frankly without much regard for anyone but himself is standing here, in front of him, holding out a bag of food and apologizing? This is…unexpected. After he blew him off the other day, Yoongi figured he’d never see Jimin again and had half made peace with it even if whenever he wasn’t busy, his mind drifted to the pretty blond who drove him crazy. 

But suddenly, here he is.  

“Sure.” Yoongi steps aside and lets Jimin in. 

He walks meekly into the room, setting down the bag on the small kitchenette counter.

He looks at Yoongi sideways, and from this angle he looks so young, a puppy asking for forgiveness. 

“You can sit down.” He gestures toward the bed and Jimin goes to take a seat on the edge of the mattress. Again Yoongi can’t help but notice how tense he is, as if he were poised to run away at any second. 

His palms press into the mattress and he has one foot firmly planted on the floor while the other perches on the bed frame, like a runner waiting for the gun to go off. 

“Did something happen?” Yoongi is the first to speak, sitting across from him in his desk chair.

“No. I mean, not really.” Jimin bites his lip and says nothing else, but Yoongi simply waits for him to go on. 

Jimin looks away and his leg begins to bounce. “I was feeling weird.”

“Weird?”

“About the whole night.” 

Yoongi’s heart sinks. “Oh... I guess it was kinda–”

“I shouldn’t have asked you to stay. I'm sorry!” Jimin blurts and runs a hand through his hair. “I made this whole thing weird and I probably made you feel uncomfortable and I’m sorry, Yoongi.”

“You think you made me feel uncomfortable?” 

“Well… didn’t I?”

“No,” Yoongi says too quickly. He shuts his eyes and shakes his head. “It wasn’t, like, weird or anything, I promise. If it helped your headache, I really didn’t mind.”

“Really?”

“I was just trying to help you out.”

“Yeah but you didn’t exactly sign up to be my nurse,” Jimin says.

“It’s really alright. I promise” Yoongi insists.

“But I did also sit on your lap and kiss you and that was your first kiss and–”

“That was for show. For Namjoon,” Yoongi says, rubbing at the back of his neck and praying he isn’t blushing. “We talked about this already, right?”

“I guess.” Jimin doesn’t look entirely convinced and Yoongi doesn’t quite know why he wants to ease his mind so badly. 

Jimin sighs and throws himself back onto the bed dramatically. “Do you think this is even working? I don’t feel it working,” he whines. 

Yoongi gets up and walks over to the bed, sitting down next to Jimin but still giving him space. He looks down at the boy who turns his head to meet his eye. 

“We can stop if you want. I’ll tell Nam you dumped me.”

“No!” Jimin sits up so fast that Yoongi jumps a little. “You can’t tell him I dumped you. He’ll think I’m a monster! Besides, what about your guy?”

“My guy? Hobi?”

“Hobi? Who the hell is Hob– Wait, the guy that’s stalking you is your first boy crush?”

“What? No! I thought…never mind. And I’m not being stalked. He’s a nice guy. I’m just not into him.”

Jimin’s face pinches sourly. “Well, is he still into you?” 

“I guess. We haven’t really talked about it.”

“Hmm. And this Hobi guy? Are you trying to get his attention now?”

Yoongi shrugs. He had thought about it. About using this fake relationship to show Hobi he’s an option. 

Jimin looks at him for a second but doesn’t add anything more.

Yoongi thinks Jimin still looks unconvinced.

“We can say I broke up with you,” Yoongi says a little hesitantly. 

Jimin pouts, and his hand absently reaches out to pick at some lint on Yoongi’s sweater. “I just feel guilty that I haven’t held up my end of the bargain, you know?”

Yoongi follows the movement of Jimin’s fingers as he continues to pick at his sweater but he doesn’t move his hand away. 

“Well, if it makes you feel better we can cut the PDA. No hand holding, no, umm, kissing,” Yoongi offers.

Jimin’s fingers freeze and he pulls his hand away. 

“Oh, umm, yeah. If that’s what you want.”

“I mean, it’s definitely been working,” Yoongi says quickly, adjusting his position on the bed to face Jimin. “I think Namjoon’s totally buying our relationship.”

“Yeah?” Jimin shifts too and his knee bumps into Yoongi’s a little.  

“For sure. And like, I don’t really mind it, you know? As long as it helps, of course.”

“No, yeah, same.” Jimin nods. “I think it works and now with your Hobi–” 

“Exactly.”

“–we have to show him we’re real. Right?” Jimin says, licking his lips. Yoongi’s eyes track the movement, eyes lingering on his perfect mouth.

“Right.” He swallows hard. 

“For Hobi,” Jimin whispers and Yoongi can smell the mint on his breath. Somehow, they’ve drawn closer. Jimin’s hand rests on his knee and he leans in ever so slightly. Yoongi could probably count the number of individual lashes on his pretty almond eyes.

“For Namjoon,” Yoongi says, only an inch away from Jimin. 

Yoongi leans in infinitesimally, eyes flitting to Jimin’s lips. He’s in a trance, moving on autopilot and just as he’s about to close the space between them, his phone vibrates loudly. 

He jumps a foot in the air and snatches the phone off his desk.

“Hello!” he says, out of breath for some reason. He doesn’t dare look at Jimin. 

What the fuck was he about to do? Kiss him? No. Of course not. 

Why would that be a thing that I was about to do with someone who looks cotton candy soft and chubby cheeked and adorable and smells like what I imagine pink clouds to smell like? Why would I do that? That’s so crazy. 

Ha… 

“Woah, bad time?” Namjoon asks from the other end of the line. 

“Oh, hey Nam. Sorry, what’s up?”

He glances at Jimin who looks devastatingly pink in the cheeks but at the mention of Namjoon’s name, he perks up a bit. 

For some reason, this annoys Yoongi. Just a little. 

“Put him on speaker,” he whispers to Yoongi. He doesn’t want to, afraid of what Nam might say but he doesn’t have an excuse so he quickly clicks the button and Namjoon’s voice fills the room. 

“Have you eaten?” he asks. “I was about to go out for a bite.”

“Uh, actually. Jimin brought over some food.”

Jimin’s brows shoot up. Tell him to come , he mouths gesturing with his hands. 

“Do you wanna come over?” Yoongi offers just a tad begrudgingly. 

“Oh. Umm. No, it's cool. I’ll grab something light and I’ll see you at Cypher yeah?”

Jimin frowns and for a second, Yoongi feels bad for him. “You sure? There’s enough for all of us.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you tonight,” Namjoon says and hangs up before Yoongi can try to convince him.

 Jimin deflates and once again throws himself onto Yoongi’s bed. “Why doesn’t he want to see me?” he moans into Yoongi’s pillow. 

“He probably thought he’d be interrupting a date or something. See, he believes us.”

Maybe a little too much , Yoongi thinks but doesn’t say it aloud, not wanting to dampen Jimin’s spirits further. 

Jimin sighs. “Anyway. Are we cool? Because if we’re going to keep working together we need to be.”

Yoongi frowns. Did he imagine what just happened? Jimin doesn’t seem the least bit affected. He tries to ignore the twinge of disappointment in his chest and asks instead, “Are you going to ghost me again?”

“ No .” Jimin’s expression matches Yoongi’s and he crosses his arms over his chest petulantly. 

Cute.  

No! Not cute! 

“What did you bring?” Yoongi asks just to get his intrusive thoughts to chill the fuck out. 

“Fried chicken.”

“Hmm.”

“Are you too good for fried chicken?” Jimin lifts a brow.

“Where is it from?”

“The Golden Chicken.”

“Hmm,” Yoongi hums again. “The Golden Beak is better.”

“That’s blasphemous!”

“Which one did you get?”

“Golden fried. It’s a classic.”

“Hmm.”

“Stop humming at me!” Jimin says, slapping Yoongi’s shoulder. “Are you going to torture me forever or accept my peace offering?” 

Yoongi can only laugh at Jimin’s kitten like anger. “Fine. Let’s eat.”

Yoongi serves the food and they eat in silence for a while but Yoongi’s so caught up in his thoughts that the silence feels suffocating. 

“So how was your day?” he asks.

“You don’t have to do that,” Jimin replies, mouth full of food. 

“Do what?”

“You don’t have to make small talk. Especially when we’re alone.”

Yoongi gives him a sidelong glance meeting his eyes before saying, “I’m genuinely curious. I want to know.” 

Jimin picks at his chicken and shrugs. “Class was fine. Nothing special.”

“Do you have dance classes everyday?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“I caught a little bit the other day. You know the day you blew me off?”

Jimin cringes and gives Yoongi a contrite look. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I ate the chicken, I’ve moved on.” He gives Jimin a smile and the blond readily returns it. “But, maybe one day I can see you perform?”

Jimin lets out a laugh that rings prettily throughout the room. Yoongi thinks he’s never heard him laugh so freely, without the hard edge of defensiveness he always has around him. 

“Why would you want to?”

“Hey, I care about the arts!” 

“Sure,” Jimin laughs again. “I think you just wanna make fun of me.” 

“No way! I really would like to see you. You’re really good.”

Jimin sighs wistfully but Yoongi sees the corners of his lips turn down a little. “Fat chance you’ll get to see me anywhere. I didn’t make the cut for the exhibition this year.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

“It’s fine,” Jimin says quickly. “I’m over it.”

He does not in fact look over it but Yoongi drops it. 

After a minute of tense silence, he tries to lighten the mood a little. “I’m a performer too, you know?”

“Oh yeah? How much performing can one do while playing the piano?”

“I don’t just play the piano,” Yoongi defends himself. 

“Is that what hyung was talking about? Are you doing something tonight? I’ve heard him mention that club before.”

“Cypher? Yeah we uh…” Yoongi trails off, suddenly self conscious. 

“What?”

“No, never mind.” He shakes his head as the realization of what he’s just said hits him. He cannot expose himself to Jimin like that. It would only be ammo for whenever this bubble of harmony inevitably bursts. 

“Come on! Tell me!” 

Yoongi feels a blush coming on as he shakes his head again.

“It’s dumb.”

“It can’t be dumb if Joonie hyung does it too. Come on, I swear I won't laugh.” Jimin wraps his hands around Yoongi’s arm and pushes lightly back and forth, coaxing him. He gives him those same puppy eyes from earlier and Yoongi seems helpless against them. 

“We, um, we sort of do, like, rap battles.”

Jimin stares at him for half a second before throwing his head back and bursting into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. 

“Please tell me you’re lying!” He can’t seem to catch his breath and though he covers his mouth as if to keep his giggles in, they burst from him in earnest. 

“It’s not as bad as it sounds!” Yoongi cries, his face aflame. 

“It sounds so bad!”

“I swear!” Yoongi can’t help but laugh too. He waves a hand in front of him. “It’s not as awful as it sounds. Come with me and I'll prove it to you.”

Jimin gives him a sceptical look as his giggles finally die down. “I don’t know, hyung. What if I get the ick from you?”

“Well it’s lucky you’re not actually dating me right?” Yoongi scoffs. “Namjoon will be there. Don’t you wanna see him?”

“Alright, rapper man. I’ll bite,” Jimin says. 

“You are so uncool.”

“Me! You’re the white boy rapper!”

“Can I be a white boy rapper if I’m Korean?”

“You’re practically translucent.”

“You’re so annoying.” Yoongi rolls his eyes, sending Jimin into another fit of giggles. 

This feels nice, hanging with Jimin like this. He’s practically forgotten about his almost mistake from earlier though it lingers as an afterthought that will probably haunt him later. But for now, he’s having a nice time and making Jimin laugh gives him a weird sort of high he’s never felt before. 

He just hopes he doesn’t regret everything later. 

Chapter Text

Jimin’s first impression of Club Cypher is that it looks…unstable. 

It’s late at night by the time they arrive at what looks like an abandoned industrial complex and for a second Jimin thinks Yoongi’s brought him here to hold him for ransom. 

“Uh… Am I going to need a tetanus shot after tonight?” Jimin’s eyes skim across the rust stained concrete building and clocks the boarded up windows that are for sure a fire hazard. There’s an industrial sized metal chain that wraps around the front door’s handles keeping everyone out. He sees a lot of cars parked in a makeshift lot in front of the structure but they look just as abandoned in the eerily quiet place. 

Yoongi must notice his hesitation because he walks around his newly fixed car and comes over to his side. “I know it looks run down from the outside but it’s pretty cool inside. Come on.” Without a second thought, he grabs Jimin’s hand and pulls him forward. 

Their feet crunch on loose gravel as they walk around the building. “The entrance is on the other side.”

They make their way toward the back until they find a gray unassuming door that opens up to reveal a set of narrow stairs and Jimin can hear muffled sounds thrumming as if through the walls. 

“It can get pretty loud so they made the club underground,” Yoongi reveals and together they climb down the stairwell and toward a door at the end of a corridor. There’s a small line of people waiting to be let in but when the bouncer sees Yoongi, he lets them pass right away. 

“Okay, Mr. VIP,” Jimin teases and Yoongi winks at him, making him giggle. 

The whole day has been like this. Save for the few tense moments they had when Jimin dragged himself, tail between his legs, to Yoongi’s dorm to apologize, the rest of the day has been surprisingly easy and strangely enough, fun. He doesn’t let himself dwell too much on that fact or how warm Yoongi’s hand feels in his as he walks him through the thick crowd of people inside the club. It’s a lot more packed than Jimin had anticipated and he struggles to hold onto Yoongi as they move through the throng of club goers dancing to loud hip hop music bumping through the speakers. 

 Finally, they break through the mass and Yoongi guides him over to a small table where Namjoon is already sitting, writing something in a small notebook. He looks so out of place that Jimin can’t help but laugh. He dons an open short sleeve plaid button up over a blue t-shirt and a pair of loose khaki pants, like he’s ready for a day at the park, and not a night at the club. He looks entirely opposite of what Yoongi looks like with his white t-shirt and black hoodie. You’d never guess they were going to the same place. 

“Hey man,” Yoongi greets him and they take a seat across from him. He smiles at Yoongi but when he sees Jimin, he could swear his smile wanes a little. 

“Hey.”

“Hi hyung!” Jimin says cheerily, dislodging his hand from Yoongi’s grip to wave at Namjoon. 

“Hey, Jiminie. Ready to see a good show?” Namjoon replies with a dimpled smile that has Jimin thinking he must have imagined his previous reaction. 

“From you, for sure! From Yoongi hyung…” he pretends to think about it for a sec and Yoongi bumps his shoulder into him. 

“Jerk,” he says. 

Namjoon chuckles a little and says, “Got your work cut out with this one huh, hyung?” It’s meant to be a joke Jimin thinks but there’s a strangely bitter edge to the comment that has him rethinking if his flirting at the expense of Yoongi might be giving Namjoon the wrong idea about his personality.

He’s not a jerk! He’s a tease. It’s supposed to be cute… 

“I’m only joking babe. I know you’ll do amazing,” he says, looping his arm with Yoongi’s and giving him a sweet smile. Yoongi only grimaces but doesn’t try to shake him off. 

“Thanks, babe ,” he says forcefully. To Namjoon he asks, “Is uh, Hobi here? Do you know if he’s performing?”

“Actually yeah!” Joon perks up. “He’s performing with us. I hope you don’t mind that I asked him. He and I were texting and–”

“You guys text?” Yoongi cuts him off and Jimin can hear a hint of hurt in his voice. 

“Well, yeah. Don’t you? He sent over a verse that he wanted some help on and it fits right into the song we’re working on.”

“Killer?”

“Yeah. There won’t be a battle tonight. Manager-nim said he just wants us to do a couple of songs. We can do a group song and then each of us can do our own.”

They continue to talk about the performance and though he’s quiet Jimin is enthralled. He really enjoyed the time he spent at the studio with them, learning about how they work and all that and he’s actually excited to see Namjoon perform on stage. 

Yoongi and Joon get a little distracted as they work on their song and Jimin pulls out his phone to check his messages. He has a couple from his friends, asking him what he’s doing and decides to invite them. They’re not huge hip hop heads, least of all him, but it still might be fun. 

“I invited some friends if that’s okay,” he tells the guys. 

“Oh yeah sure,” Yoongi says. “I invited Dora too. She should be here soon.”

Jimin’s head snaps to Yoongi. “You texted her? When?”

Yoongi’s brows knit at Jimin’s tone. “Right now, in the car.”

Jimin sits up straighter. “Oh.”

Yoongi must immediately sense something is wrong because he leans a little toward Jimin who doesn’t bother to look his way. He then shoots a helpless look at Namjoon but Joon’s already ducked his head, writing again.

“That’s okay right?” Yoongi asks in a low voice. 

“Sure.” Jimin’s tone is clipped but he can’t help it. This was supposed to be a fun night and now it’s ruined.

“You’re not mad are you?”

“Why would I be?” 

It’s not like she was all over you and Namjoon the last time we saw her, he thinks bitterly. 

“I can tell her not to come, if you want,” Yoongi offers, to his shock. 

“Why would you do that?” 

Yoongi’s eyes flash to Namjoon again and he gets closer to Jimin so only he can hear him.

“If you don’t want her here because of–”

“Hey! Gangs all here,” Jimin hears a grating voice speak and he whips his head around to find Adora with her short blue hair making her way to their table, followed by an equally tiny girl with long pink hair. 

Yoongi gets up and immediately wraps himself around her in a tight hug that has Jimin’s blood boiling. 

She lets go of him quickly when she catches Jimin’s glare but still, she offers him a smile. 

“Hi Jimin. This is my sister Wonnie.”

Wonnie smiles at him and he tries his best to smile back but it comes out stiff and cold. “Hello.”

“Wonnie, this is Jimin. Oppa’s boyfriend. Cute right?”

Jimin feels himself blush at her unexpected compliment. He doesn’t know what her angle is here, but he doesn’t trust the way her eyes glimmer when they land on Namjoon. 

“Namjoon oppa!”

“Hey Dora,” Namjoon gives her a dimpled smile that has Jimin violently cursing her to hell and back in his head. 

She moves to sit right next to him and her sister sits on his other side, sandwiching him between them. Jimin’s eyes are like a hawk’s as he tracks their every move and Adora must sense his glare because when she looks up, she catches his eye. Her gaze flicks over to Yoongi’s and something passes between them that Jimin can’t quite read. There’s a familiarity toward each other in their countenance that sparks something unexpected in Jimin. 

It isn’t jealousy really. Why would he be jealous of them? But it’s a bitterness he’s never quite tasted before. 

“Hey,” Yoongi whispers, drawing his gaze to him. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” he says curtly, knowing how childishly he’s behaving. “Fine,” he repeats, more softly this time. “I’m just tired I guess.”

“Oh. Do you want to go home?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t want to go home in a cab–”

“I can take you back.”

Jimin frowns, pausing. “Then you’d miss the show.”

“It’s alright.” Yoongi shrugs and waits for Jimin to reply. Before he can say anything though, a guy dressed in all white with a heart shaped smile comes over to their table. Jimin immediately recognizes him as Yoongi’s crush, Hobi. 

“Hey, my bros!” he says, laughing infectiously. He says hi to everyone and when his eyes land on Jimin, he points to him and says, “Hyung’s boyfriend, right?”

“Uh,” he stutters, face flushing with the memory of when they first met. 

“Right,” Yoongi says, taking Jimin’s hand in his. “Boyfriend.”

Jimin thinks it's funny, the emphasis Yoongi puts on the word boyfriend . He’s obviously trying to send a message and though this is exactly the point of their whole arrangement, Jimin can’t help but feel an inexplicable stinging at the thought that he’s being used.

He loosens his hold on Yoongi’s hand until he’s forced to let go. “I’m going to get a drink,” he declares, getting up. 

“I’ll go with you,” Yoongi immediately follows. 

“N-no, that’s–”

Yoongi doesn’t wait for him to finish when he’s taking his hand again and dragging Jimin toward the bar. 

“Fuck,” Yoongi whispers under his breath. 

“Are you alright?” Jimin quirks an eyebrow at his fake boyfriend who is so red in the face, he looks like he’s about to spontaneously combust. 

Yoongi huffs and shakes his head. “It’s just kinda hard. Around Nam and the other guys it's easy you know? Being myself. But around Hobi… I don’t know.”

Jimin thinks he might understand what he’s talking about but he doesn’t want to assume anything. 

“Was this too soon? I can go–”

“No!” Yoongi says, taking both of Jimin’s hands in his. “I mean, please don’t. You’re the only reason I can do this, Jimin.”

Yoongi’s hands are so warm against Jimin’s ice cold skin. It feels nice but he doesn’t want it to feel nice. It’s not supposed to feel nice with Yoongi who is in love with Hobi but when Jimin makes to slip his hand out of his grasp, Yoongi’s grip tightens. 

“If you’re with me, I know I’ll be okay,” Yoongi says and the look in his eyes is so open and sincere that Jimin’s breath catches. “I need you, Jimin.”

“You–”

“If you’re here, Hobi will see that it’s real. That I’m an option.”

Once again that bitterness Jimin’s been feeling blooms violently in his chest and he feels it hollow out. He tries not to let it show when Yoongi is looking at him like that, like Jimin holds all the answers. 

“Right,” he says in a small voice. 

“Or we can go and I can always ask for his number and–”

“No!” Jimin says all too quickly, grip tightening on Yoongi’s hands. “It’s fine. I want to see you, I mean, Joonie perform. And you. You guys. Both of you.” He mentally kicks himself for stumbling over his words like an idiot. What is wrong with him tonight? 

“Oh. Okay. Thank you,” Yoongi smiles, showing off his cute gummy teeth and Jimin can’t help but smile back. “I’m a little nervous to be honest,” Yoongi confesses, flagging the bartender down and ordering them each a drink. 

“Why?”

“I’ve never performed with Hobi. His vibe is totally different than ours but he’s cool as hell. You’ll see.”

“Ah, well, if you want to be as cool as him,” Jimin says, coming a little closer and reaching up. Yoongi’s eyes widen at the sudden proximity but he doesn’t back away. 

“We need to do something about this hair,” Jimin teases. Truth is, he likes Yoongi’s long hair. A lot. He’s just a little curious to see something. 

Jimin takes the hair tie that’s wrapped around Yoongi’s wrist like a bracelet and tugs it off before pulling back his hood. Yoongi simply stands there, not saying a word as Jimin rakes his fingers through his silky black hair, tying the top half up so it stays out of his face. 

“Yeppeo,” he says softly and Yoongi blows out a soft exhale of amusement, shaking his head. 

“I’m gonna remember that,” he teases. “Next time you call me something mean.”

“It’s your Cinderella moment, Min. You’re allowed to be pretty sometimes. Just don’t get used to it.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Yoongi’s voice is dark and husky but Jimin can still hear him over the music. He’s so much closer now, smiling as he leans into Jimin a little. Jimin bites his lip, meeting Yoongi’s lidded gaze. 

Earlier, things had taken a strange turn at Yoongi’s dorm, while they sat on the same bed. They’d shared a moment that felt an awful lot like this, where the space between them has slowly closed, the air getting thicker, warmer as their breaths mingle. 

“Jimin,” Yoongi whispers his name and it sounds so sweet when he says it. 

Jimin just wants to–

“Bad timing I know!” The pair startle apart and Jimin sees Hobi coming over, arms open wide.

“Jiminie, you mind if I take your man?”

“What?” 

“We kinda need him to rehearse real quick. Don’t worry you’ll get him back safe and sound,” Hobi giggles. 

“Uh,” Yoongi pauses, turning to look at Jimin. “I’ll see you after the set?” 

He poses it like a question, as if giving Jimin a way out but Jimin nods at him offering him an encouraging smile. 

Yoongi looks at Hobi, a quick glance just to make sure he’s watching no doubt, before turning back to Jimin and ducking down to peck him on the cheek softly. “See you later, baby.”

Hobi hollers at that and wraps an arm around Yoongi’s shoulder, taking him away from Jimin. 

ㅇ

Yoongi feels hot all over. Hobi’s arm lays heavily across his shoulder, not letting him turn back to see if Jimin is alright by himself. 

He’s embarrassed that once again he’s caught himself slipping, letting Jimin draw him in like that, even if it isn’t his fault. As much as he initially disliked him, now Yoongi feels a strange pull to him. He’s like a siren and Yoongi a sailor bound for shipwreck. 

But it’s Hobi, his long-time crush who is pressed against his side laughing and talking to him, something Yoongi never would have imagined in this lifetime. This is his dream, what he’d always hoped would happen.

But he feels… nothing. 

Maybe it’s the anxiety of being around him that’s made his brain glitch and freeze. Later, he might kick himself for being so stupid and not taking advantage of this moment and engaging Hobi more, but right now, his thoughts don’t go to Hobi the way his daydreams used to. Instead, they linger on the memory of Jimin’s eyes when they called him pretty and the feeling of his fingers through his hair. 

It’s confusing. 

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it because Namjoon and Hobi are discussing their set, and he’s listening to the final cut of the song with Hobi’s verse. It sounds amazing and he’s excited to get onstage and perform for the buzzing crowd. And Jimin.  

He hopes Jimin likes it, although he knows there’s a huge possibility Jimin will laugh his head off, seeing as he already thinks Yoongi’s a bit of a dork. 

“Ready?” Namjoon asks as they step onto a set of stairs that leads to the stage. 

Yoongi thinks he is. He loves the feeling of performing for a roaring crowd, the way the music travels through him as if replacing his blood as a life source. It’s electric and truly when he’s happiest. He lets the cheering of the crowd imbue his system with energy as he watches Namjoon take the stage first. 

“You look good like that, hyung,” Hobi says with a smile just as he climbs the stairs after Namjoon. 

Never in his wildest dreams would Yoongi ever have thought he’d hear those words coming out of Hobi’s perfect lips.

His belly flutters suddenly, but it isn’t because of Hobi’s words.

As soon as he climbs onstage and the music starts bumping through the speakers, his eyes lock on the very first face he sees standing front row and center, looking directly at him. 

Jimin beams at him from the crowd and Yoongi can’t help but smile back. 

ㅇ

“This is my time!” Jimin hears Yoongi say into the mic, fully getting into a new persona. Jimin hadn’t known what to expect but this… this wasn’t it. The Yoongi he’s come to know, a little awkward, a little shy in his own skin, has fully transformed into something entirely mesmerizing and Jimin can’t tear his eyes away from him. He keeps pace with everything he does onstage, from the way he struts to the way his hands move, to the way his fingers wrap around the microphone and how his lips touch the head, as if kissing it– Jimin simply can’t look away. His heart races, pounding violently to the beat of the song.

The song starts off with Namjoon who delivers his verse with force, murdering each syllable with his cadence until the chorus kicks in. Even if Jimin can hear his crush’s voice, it’s Yoongi who he watches carefully. 

God, when the fuck did he get so hot? Jimin wonders involuntarily, surprised at his own unconscious admission. 

Even as he fights against himself, he can’t seem to get rid of the consuming thought. Yoongi looks good. More than good. And it’s doing something strange to him. He squirms a little as a rush goes through him, making his toes curl. 

Yoongi walks across the stage like he owns it, hyping up the other guys and ad libbing on their verse. Jimin doesn’t even know what the others say but he could tell you everything Yoongi did if you asked him. 

Finally, Yoongi adjusts his hoodie and Jimin can tell his part’s coming up by the way his posture changes. He straightens up and sharpens his hearing instinctively as soon as Yoongi’s voice comes through the speakers. 

Where Namjoon was a blunt fist punching his lines, Yoongi is a knife cutting through the music. He’s fast, and sharp and teases the crowd as he performs. His cockiness is only exacerbated by the lyrics themselves and Jimin has to suppress a gasp when he watches Yoongi come closer to the edge of the stage, leaning forward to the excited cheers of the crowd, only to sing directly to him:

//As you know, my voice turns people on

Whether it be men or women

My flexible tongue movement that makes people come with my rap//

As he delivers the filthy lines, Yoongi thrusts his hips forward hard, making the crowd scream and Jimin doesn’t like that. He doesn’t want people watching Yoongi like that, discovering just how fuckable he is because…

Well, because…

He doesn’t have an excuse for the sudden jealousy that blooms in his belly but it’s there and it’s solid and he can’t seem to shake it. It’s a possessive creature and though he knows it shouldn’t exist because he and Yoongi are only friends, he can’t help but feel this way. 

Yoongi would never know the struggle Jimin is having with himself because he winks at him and moves back, putting on a show for everyone else now. Jimin remains in place, staring at Yoongi until the final note of the song rings through the building and the deafening roar of the crowd snaps him out of his trance. 

Just when Jimin thinks it's over, Namjoon and Hobi clear the stage and all eyes turn to Yoongi only.

He shakes off the strange feelings and decides to bottle them up to revisit literally never. Once more, Jimin allows himself to be captivated by Yoongi’s performance as he delivers another amazing song to the hype crowd. They react to everything he does and so does Jimin, cheering and jumping for him along with everyone else. It’s exhilarating and he mourns when Yoongi’s finished and he gets off the stage. 

He doesn’t come to Jimin like he expects him to, so Jimin is left to watch Hobi perform next. He’s also amazing, Jimin has to begrudgingly accept. To his shock, he dances across the stage as he sings. His movements are incredibly fluid one second and the next they’re sharp and powerful and Jimin’s earlier jealousy is back, but it’s in the shape of deep envy for how easily he moves. Jimin knows he’s a great dancer, but he’s never been good with competition. Of course Yoongi would like Hobi so much–he’s perfect. 

Not that he’s competing with Hobi for anything, of course. 

…

After Hobi’s song, Jimin still doesn’t see Yoongi and he’s starting to get a little annoyed that he hasn’t come to find him. He pushes through the crowd just as Namjoon gets back on stage but Jimin doesn’t seem to notice. It’s difficult to get through the mass of people but he finally breaks free by the edge of the stage and stumbles forward, tripping on his feet until someone catches him. 

“You alright?” A familiar voice says and when Jimin turns around, he’s surprised to see his old fling, Kim Mingyu looking down at him. 

“Jimin?” Mingyu says, surprise coloring his voice. 

“Oh my gosh, hey!” Jimin says with equal surprise. What the hell is Mingyu of all people doing in a place like this? Isn’t he supposed to be abroad somewhere in Europe?

“What are you doing here?” Mingyu asks.

“Oh, I came to see the show with some friends.”

“Me too. Well, not the show part. That was kind of whack,” he says laughing as if Jimin would agree. 

“I liked it,” Jimin says. “It was different but really good.”

Mingyu’s smile doesn’t fade as he looks at Jimin and nods. “You always did have interesting tastes.”

Jimin laughs, finally remembering why he dumped Mingyu in the first place. 

“Anyway,” he says, pushing his hair out of his face and offering Mingyu a blinding smile. “My friends are looking for me. It was nice to see you. I guess .”

He walks off without so much as a glance back and is grateful when Mingyu doesn’t come after him. He’s always been a bit of an asshole just because he’s hot and thinks he can get away with it. 

Jimin shakes off the memories he has with him and keeps searching for Yoongi. Finally Yoongi spots him from a few feet away and rushes forward with a look Jimin can only describe as relief. 

“I thought I’d lost you,” Yoongi says at the same time Jimin calls out “Hyung!” with a wave and runs up to meet him. He surprises himself by jumping into Yoongi’s arms and hugging him tightly. “You were amazing! I had no idea!” he says to Yoongi who hesitates a second before hugging Jimin back.

“Namjoon is right there,” he whispers in his ear and Jimin pulls away from him with a frown.

“So?”

“Don’t you mean to tell him? Hug him?”

Jimin’s heart drops unexpectedly. It feels like Yoongi’s rejecting him, although he knows he’s technically not. He was being sincere when he congratulated him, he wasn’t trying to put on a show. He hadn’t even watched Joon’s performance.

“Oh,” he says, pulling away from Yoongi and hugging himself instead, suddenly cold. “No, that’s okay.”

Yoongi must notice Jimin’s change in mood because he frowns and tugs on his hand. 

“Something wrong?”

Jimin shakes his head and tries to offer him a reassuring smile, because to be frank, he isn’t sure why his mood has soured. It was a good idea from Yoongi. He should be throwing himself at Namjoon. It’s just that…

“Did you get shy?” Yoongi teases lightly with a soft smile. 

“No,” Jimin replies honestly. 

“Why don’t you want to talk to him?”

Jimin only shrugs. 

“Jimin…”

“What?”

Yoongi only looks at him, waiting patiently, hand still in his and Jimin doesn’t move to pull away. He likes the warmth he offers, likes being connected to him. 

“I don’t know, okay!” he blurts. “I wanted to congratulate you, my friend. It was your night. You did great, okay? Gosh!” 

“Oh…” Yoongi says, blushing deeply.

“Anyway. Can we just get a fucking drink?” Jimin says pissily and yanks his hand from Yoongi’s to stalk towards the bar. Yoongi follows quickly behind him, taking his hand in his once more and fitting his fingers between Jimin’s. They fit perfectly, like always. 

ㅇ

Yoongi is definitely drunk. 

He can feel it in the way his face tingles when he smiles at everyone around him. His cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much but he can’t seem to stop. It’s been a great night. His set with the guys was great, the drinks are great, the company is even better. 

Hobi has told him how great he was onstage about a hundred times already and just like before, his arm sits comfortably around his shoulders. 

“We should form a group,” he suggests at some point and Yoongi can only nod enthusiastically. If it keeps Jimin close then hell yeah. 

Wait. Not Jimin. Hobi. He meant Hobi… Didn’t he?

Yoongi frowns and realizes the seat across from him is empty, a seat which Jimin occupied not a minute ago. Where did he go?

“Have you seen my b-boyfriend?” he asks Hobi who is now chatting up Namjoon, telling him how much he loved his flow on his solo song. 

Hobi looks back at him and shrugs lightly, shaking his head before turning back to engage Nam again. 

“Hmm,” Yoongi hums. He blinks hard, trying to clear his blurry vision but he’s seeing double and the moving bodies around him aren’t helping. Still, he gets up to look for Jimin, afraid he might be lost. On unsteady feet he ventures into the crowd and calls out for him until he thinks he spots him by the restrooms. 

He’s leaning on the wall while someone tall, much taller than Yoongi, talks into his ear. Yoongi’s stomach roils with a raging jealousy he’s never before felt. 

What the fuck is that guy doing with his boyfriend?

As he draws nearer, he tries to read the words on the other guy’s lips but it’s impossible with the way he dips down and whispers to Jimin with a smile. 

“What do you say, baby?” Yoongi finally hears, as he walks up behind the guy. “How about we get out of here?”

“Mingyu, stop.” Jimin says, pushing the guy away but he’s like a stone and doesn’t budge. 

“Come on,” the guy whines. Taking Jimin’s face in his hands, he tries to kiss him but Jimin jerks his head to the side. 

“Hey!” Yoongi hears himself shout. “How about you back off, asshole?” Yoongi isn’t sure where all this confidence is coming from but he knows he’s not about to let this asshole put a hand on Jimin again. 

Jimin’s eyes widen when he sees Yoongi and his cheeks flush. 

“Yoongi, I was just–”

“What was that?” The guy, Mingyu, sneers at Yoongi, cutting Jimin off. 

“I said back off!” 

“Hyung, it’s alright. He’s just a friend,” Jimin says, words slurring into each other a little. No wonder he could barely shove the guy away. He’s pretty drunk.

“A friend who tries to kiss you?” Yoongi aims his accusation at Jimin now, feeling more than a little betrayed though something in the back of his mind is telling him he needs to shut the fuck up.  

“What are you, his bodyguard?” Mingyu scoffs, turning back around to get back into Jimin’s space but before he can do that Yoongi calls him out again. 

“I’m his boyfriend, dipshit!” he says, getting properly pissed now. 

Once more, the asshole scoffs and shakes his head at Jimin. “Talk about a downgrade, Jimin.”

At that, Jimin’s face morphs into something vicious, looking like he’s been slapped in the face. 

“Shut the fuck up, Mingyu!”

“Come on! Look at me and look at him and tell me I’m lying.”

Jimin bares his teeth at him, looking a little wild, and finally manages to shove him away until he stumbles backward. 

“Don’t talk about my boyfriend like that!” 

“What the fuck! How dare you touch me you fucking bitch!” Mingyu yells, getting dangerously close to Jimin who flinches away at the sudden onslaught. Yoongi trips over himself in an effort to get between them and takes the slap aimed right for Jimin’s face. He feels when his lip tears at the corner and the lights seem to flicker and fade for a second before he can properly see again. When his vision refocuses, he sees Mingyu on the ground holding his face in his hands as Jimin towers above him. 

“And that’s the last time you ever talk to me or my boyfriend, got it!” he screams and kicks the guy for good measure. He doesn’t wait for Mingyu to say anything, instead turning around with the same ferocious look from before, he takes Yoongi’s hand in his and  marches them both back to their friends. 

Yoongi can only follow. 

“Hyung, can you take us home?” Jimin says when they find Namjoon right where Yoongi left him. “We’re both too drunk to drive and–”

“What happened!” Namjoon is on his feet in a second when he sees the damage done to Yoongi’s face. He lifts his chin up, assessing the cut on his lip, but Yoongi’s quick to pull away. 

“Some asshole hit him,” Yoongi hears Jimin explain. “But don’t worry, I took care of him.”

Namjoon looks up at Jimin in surprise. Yoongi turns too and finds Jimin pouting as he examines his knuckles. 

Namjoon doesn’t say more except, “Come on.”

They leave Yoongi’s car at the club, and he thinks Namjoon tells him he’ll have someone help take it back to the dorms but he isn’t sure. The pain in his face is too distracting but what bothers him more is how much of an idiot he acted with Jimin’s ex. He’s embarrassed that he might have overreacted but in the moment and with the alcohol clouding his reasoning he hadn’t thought twice about it. He’d been so jealous but more than that he’d wanted to defend Jimin. To protect him.

“Hey,” he turns to Jimin who looks up at the sound of his voice. He knows Jimin is pretty tipsy too but he still holds a steady gaze. “Sorry about just now.” His voice is low, hoping Nam doesn’t hear them. 

“It’s alright.”

Yoongi bites his lip, considering Jimin’s pretty face. He looks a little tired and Yoongi’s guilt digs its sharp claws deeper into his chest. 

 “I know I acted kind of crazy. I think,” he pauses. “I think I forgot for a sec that this isn’t real. Maybe it’s time we stop this.”

Jimin’s eyes seem to focus for a second as he listens to Yoongi’s quiet words and finally, he nods.

“We’ll break up soon, deal?”

Jimin looks down, noting the bruises on his fist. He brushes his ripped skin gently before nodding again and in a soft voice he seals their end.

“Deal.”

Now, Yoongi doesn’t think it’s guilt that rips through his heart but something darker and he feels the urge to cry and mourn for something that never was even if he knows this is the right thing to do.

Chapter Text

Namjoon drops them off at Yoongi’s dorm and it’s only then that Yoongi realizes Jimin has no way of going home. 

“I’ll call a cab,” Jimin says, pulling out his phone but it slips from his hand and crashes to the floor. He bends over to pick it up and trips a little in his tipsiness. 

“Let’s go inside,” Yoongi tells him instead and helps him up. Together they stumble up the stairs and when Jimin slips so does a giggle past his lips that has Yoongi laughing too. By the time they reach his dorm they’re in a fit and can’t seem to stop. 

Jimin collapses onto Yoongi’s bed, still laughing and Yoongi can’t shake the permanent smile on his face. 

“Hyung,” Jimin says after a bit. “Hyuuuuung!”

“What is iiiiiit?” 

“You were so good tonight.” Jimin’s on his back on the bed staring up at the ceiling, a familiar sight to Yoongi now. He looks like he belongs just there–like a photograph.

“Oh.” Yoongi blushes.

“Not just on stage, though.” Jimin turns his head and smiles at Yoongi. His eyes shimmer a little, turned glassy from the effects of the alcohol. “Thanks for defending your fake boyfriend.”

“Got my ass kicked for it,” Yoongi snorts. “But I’d say you defended me .”

Jimin screws up his face and huffs. “Nobody messes with my boyfriend.”

Yoongi laughs a little and shakes his head. What a night. 

“Who was that guy anyway?”

Jimin waves him off dismissively before saying, “Some irrelevant jerk I dumped.”

He doesn’t elaborate and Yoongi doesn’t want to push him to say more.

“Do you want something to drink?” he asks instead. 

“What you got?” Jimin perks up immediately. 

Yoongi goes over to his little fridge and rummages through it, hoping to find something decent but all he has is cheap beer. 

“I’ll take it,” Jimin says, already reaching for the cold can. He takes a long swig and smacks his lips with a satisfied little ahh . “Disgusting.”

“I know, sorry. You like soju better right?” Yoongi asks as he takes a seat in the chair by his keyboard. 

“How’d you guess?”

“It’s the only thing I’ve seen you drink.”

Jimin nods and drinks some more. “The first time I got drunk was when I was like sixteen. My first boyfriend snuck in some soju and makgeolli into my room when he came over to ‘study.’” He makes air quotes with his fingers and smiles conspiratorially. 

“Damn. Sixteen? I wish I’d known when I was that young,” Yoongi confesses, taking a drink from his own can. The beer is bitter but goes down smoothly, refreshing his parched throat.

Jimin shrugs lightly. “Wish I hadn’t. Then I wouldn’t have met him.”

This catches Yoongi off guard. He hasn’t known Jimin for long, but he’s always fascinated when he unlocks a new piece of his lore. He treads lightly, with a cautious air to his next question, afraid he might be crossing a line, but he’s so curious. 

“Did something happen?”

“No,” Jimin says immediately. Then, “Kinda. I don’t know. First loves are hard. You think you’re going to be with them forever and then you’re just…not.” He sighs and chugs the rest of the beer. He reaches out a hand and Yoongi hands him a second can reflexively. 

There’s a quiet sadness surrounding Jimin as his eyes unfocus. Maybe he’s remembering that first love and what it cost him. Yoongi regrets having asked him anything at all. They fall quiet for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts as they fill their bloodstream with more alcohol. 

“So,” Yoongi says after a while and Jimin turns his head toward him, much more slowly this time, drunkenness and sleepiness fighting to wrap him up in their arms. “Since I'm technically new to all this, tell me how you came out. Because I need tips for my parents.”

This seems to shock Jimin because his eyes refocus on Yoongi. 

“I thought they knew.”

“They do. I mean, I told them once and never mentioned it again. I just don’t know how to remind them, I guess. I think they think it’s some sort of phase. Like my emo phase.”

“You had an emo phase?! Do you have pictures?”

“No, I burned them all. Focus!”

“You must have posted them online, loser. And the internet is forever.”

Yoongi only narrows his eyes as Jimin giggles himself into another fit. 

“There isn’t much to it, to be honest.” He sighs when his laughter has died down. “Not if your parents are like mine. My mom said she already knew since the moment she caught me dancing to Girls Generation in front of the tv in her heels at four years old. Dad…” he pauses. “Dad took a minute to come around, but eventually he did. I think he was sad he wouldn’t get mini Jimins running around when he got older.”

Yoongi can totally picture baby Jimin dancing around to Gee in his living room as his mother looks on fondly. It’s something he wishes he’d had for himself and he’s glad that Jimin didn’t experience the exile his parents imposed on him. 

“So did they like your boyfriend?”

“Oh no,” Jimin lets out a bark of laughter. “They didn’t know about him, thank God. I told them afterwards. It was a whole thing. I’ve never introduced them to any guy.”

“So you haven’t had a serious boyfriend since?”

“Not really. I’ve never met anyone truly worthwhile.”

Yoongi frowns and considers Jimin’s words. “Are you scared?”

“Of what?” he scoffs. 

“That you’ll get your heart broken again.”

Jimin’s jaw drops and Yoongi knows he’s hit the nail on the head. 

“That’s not nice,” Jimin grumbles and drinks deeply from his beer.

“Sorry,” Yoongi mumbles. From the way Jimin had spoken of his first boyfriend, he’d figured something bad had happened. 

“If you’re so brave, why haven't you told Hobi you like him?” Jimin asks.

“No… he’s… it’s hard. I’ve told you already.”

“If you don’t tell him, you won’t be with him regardless. Might as well go for it. Soon you’ll be free of me and you’ll get your shot.”

The reminder makes Yoongi’s heart drop again. 

“Maybe,” he deflects. “You’ll have to teach me to be confident.”

Jimin smiles at that. “I think you’re doing an alright job on your own.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Agust–what was it?” The teasing tone is back and Yoongi can see mischief glimmer in his eyes once more. 

“I knew you would tease me about that, jerk!”

“I’m not teasing, I swear!” he says as he laughs until he can’t breathe. It makes Yoongi laugh too. Seems like all he does around Jimin is laugh and smile until his face hurts. 

“I liked it, I promise. You were cool. You’re different up there when the lights are on you and the crowd is cheering your name.”

“Better you mean?”

Jimin shakes his head. “Just different. I liked it, but I also think regular Yoongi isn’t so bad.”

Yoongi’s hands move over the keys of his keyboard and he plays a note, trying to distract himself from the burning in his cheeks. It rings in the air for a second before dying out, then Yoongi plays another. His fingers move deftly across the instrument, playing out a familiar sombre tune. 

“Hey, I know that song,” Jimin says, scooting closer to the edge of the bed. “I’ve danced to this song.”

“I know,” Yoongi confesses. “I watched you.”

“You–what?”

“Remember I told you I caught a little bit when I waited for you outside your class? You were dancing to this song. I’ve played it before,” Yoongi says as the song goes on. He’s a little rusty, but it’s a difficult song to forget. 

“That was just rehearsal,” Jimin says. “I’m a lot better than that.”

“You were pretty perfect.” Yoongi’s words are almost unconscious, an escaped thought meant only for himself as he remembers the way Jimin moved through each note. 

Jimin falls silent for a heartbeat as the song draws to a close. 

“You know, there’s lyrics to the song?” 

Yoongi looks up, surprised. “Are there?”

“Not a lot of people know. Do you want to hear them?”

“Yes.”

Yoongi’s heart flutters wildly as if in answer. This is a chance to hear Jimin sing for him again and suddenly his hands shake with anticipation and he can’t seem to hold the note properly anymore as he begins to play.

“I’m tipsy so be nice about it,” Jimin warns as he clears his throat. As soon as he begins to sing, Yoongi’s shaking hands steady. The lyrics are melodic, and Yoongi realizes it’s a lullaby. As Jimin sings, something so delicate and pure, he feels something fall into place and the song feels complete now. He wasn’t even aware it was missing something but it’s like Jimin’s voice is the missing piece of an incomplete puzzle. 

His entire body feels like it’s floating as Jimin's voice flows into the space between them and once more, Yoongi feels the siren’s call. He wishes he could bottle up the sound and live off it forever. 

“Perfect,” he says when Jimin reaches the final note. 

Jimin peeks at Yoongi through narrowed eyes and shakes his head. “I’m not sure I like you being sweet to me, Min.”

“Want me to treat you like you treat me?”

“Hey! I’m nice!”

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Right. You're a saint.” He gets up and stretches a little, yawning as he does. “It’s late.”

“Oh. Right, I should go,” Jimin says. When he moves to get up though, he sways on the spot and falls back onto the bed. 

“No! I mean, you really don’t have to.” Yoongi stops him. “I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s fine.”

“I can’t let you do that, hyung.” 

“I’m not going to let you leave here drunk. Really, it’s fine.” 

“I’m not drunk! I’m just tipsy. I can hold my alcohol pretty well, thank you very much.” 

Yoongi cocks a brow but doesn’t say anything and Jimin doesn’t try to get up again. He yawns and scrunches up his face like a little kitten as he does. 

Yoongi’s ready for bed too so he gets up and shrugs off his shirt, tossing it to the side, not even thinking about the fact that he’s still in front of Jimin and goes to put on another baggier one before kicking his jeans off. The alcohol has lowered his inhibitions and before he realizes what he’s doing, he’s stripped down to his boxers and Jimin is staring at him open mouthed. 

“Thanks for the show, asshole,” he huffs out a laugh and Yoongi gasps. 

“Fuck, my bad.” He rushes to throw on a pair of sweats but it’s too late. 

“Snoopy huh?” Jimin gestures at Yoongi’s ass with a wave of his hand. 

“They’re comfortable,” Yoongi pouts. 

“I’m sure.”

He ignores Jimin’s teasing smirk and tosses him a pair of clean sweats. “Here.” 

“No thanks,” Jimin says, pushing the pants aside. “I sleep in the nude.”

“Jimin .”

“You should try it. It’s quite liberating.”

Yoongi sighs heavily. What did he do in his past life to be punished with the torment that is Park Jimin?

Jimin rolls his eyes and mimics Yoongi’s sigh. “Alright, I’ll take a t-shirt.”

Yoongi eyes him warily but eventually gives in, not wanting to argue with him. He finds his longest t-shirt and prays Jimin’s just trying to be funny but he’s so unpredictable, especially while drunk.

Jimin rises to his feet on wobbly legs like a toddler taking his first steps. He has a little trouble trying to catch the hem of his shirt and Yoongi is so amused by his struggle that he can’t look away in time before Jimin’s flinging his shirt aside and standing bare chested before Yoongi. His back is to him and Yoongi nearly chokes on his own breath when it catches at the sight. Down his spine, tattooed onto his honeyed skin, are the phases of the moon as it wanes. 

Just as quickly as they appeared, they disappear from sight when Jimin slips the t-shirt on and Yoongi doesn’t get a chance to see them properly. Jimin turns around to find Yoongi staring at him mouth agape, and frowns. 

“What?”

The spell breaks and Yoongi shakes his head, too embarrassed to have been caught staring. Maybe one day he’ll ask Jimin about them, but not right now. 

Jimin kicks off his pants and tosses them haphazardly to the side then pulls back the covers from Yoongi’s bed. He sits crossed legged, pulling the shirt down just enough to cover himself, but he leaves his thighs entirely exposed. Yoongi’s eyes, those which have followed every move Jimin has made for the last few minutes, fall to where Jimin’s hands rest fisted on his lap. He trails across the expanse of his soft skin and something monstrously hungry takes hold of him when he realizes Jimin is in his bed dressed in almost nothing but his shirt. 

And it just feels right. 

“Hyung?” Jimin’s soft voice snaps him back to reality, but his errant thoughts persist. 

He blinks to try to clear the fog from his mind, blaming everything on the alcohol, and instead goes about making a bed on the floor as Jimin snuggles into his sheets. 

“Uh,” Yoongi clears his throat. “How’s your head?

“Fine,” Jimin replies, turning over to look at Yoongi on the floor.  

“No headache?” 

“I’m all good doc. You don’t have to fuss.” 

“I’m just practicing being a good boyfriend on my fake one.”

“Ah, so it’s all pretend.” 

“Obviously. You're the perfect test dummy.” 

Jimin takes one of the pillows he’s using and tries to smack Yoongi with it but Yoongi catches his weak throw and captures the pillow for himself. 

He settles in to the sound of Jimin’s string of curses and sighs. The floor is hard but it’s not too bad. “Truth is,”  he says speaking to the ceiling, “I need all the practice I can get.” 

“Oh?”

“I’ve only had a couple girlfriends and to be honest, I never seemed to fit right with any of them.”

“Fit–oh my gosh, are you a virgin?! I knew–”

“No! I’m not a virgin you butthead–”

“ Butthead? ”

“–I meant that I never really connected with them on a deeper level.” He pauses. “But I guess, now that you mention it, I don’t think I ever really enjoyed myself with them that way either. It’s what made me realize that maybe I’d enjoy something different.”

“ Boys? ” Jimin whispers with a smirk.

“Yeah, boys .” Yoongi rolls his eyes but he knows Jimin is just playing with him. He’s funny when he’s drunk, like a little vexing fairy that gets a rise out of poking fun at him. It doesn’t seem ill intentioned, it just seems like it’s Jimin’s nature to tease. 

“But you’ve never been with a boy,” Jimin says. It isn’t quite a question.

“No. Like I told you before, you were my first boy kiss.” 

Yoongi hopes his cheeks aren’t red again as the memory comes back to him so vividly that his stomach tightens.

“I wouldn’t even know what to do.”

“It’s not so different.”

“Hmm.”

Jimin bites his lip as he considers what Yoongi said. 

“But practice makes perfect, I guess,” he says and Yoongi stills. 

“I-I’m sure it does,” he offers, actually rather unsure of what Jimin’s saying. 

“I guess you could always ask a friend to help you out.” 

“Help me out?”

“You know, teach you what to do.”

Yoongi gulps thickly and he slowly turns around only to find Jimin has also turned his face upward, avoiding looking at Yoongi.

“A friend…”

Jimin nods at the ceiling. 

Yoongi sits up and Jimin turns back around when he feels him shift and their eyes meet.

“Find someone who you trust. Someone who will make you feel safe. A friend who–”

“A friend,” Yoongi repeats, searching Jimin’s face as he nods.

“Or–” Jimin’s voice is barely audible over the thundering of Yoongi’s heart. 

“A fake boyfriend?” Yoongi whispers.

Jimin doesn’t say anything this time. He doesn’t nod, but he also doesn’t move away when Yoongi comes closer, just an inch. And then another until their breaths mingle and Yoongi can smell the bitter alcohol on his breath. 

He wonders if his tongue tastes like the soju he’s been drinking all night.

His eyes flit to Jimin’s parted lips and he waits for only a second to see if Jimin is going to pull away before finally closing the space between them. 

As soon as their lips collide, Yoongi hisses a little at the pain on his torn lip and Jimin instantly pulls away with a soft gasp. 

“Sorry, we can stop.”

“No. Don’t,” Yoongi says, pulling Jimin in by the neck and taking his lips again, more hungrily this time, forgetting about the pain as the pleasure intensifies. 

He's a starving man desperate for a morsel and Jimin is an exquisite feast.

As they kiss, Yoongi’s consumed with a feral hunger for more . Without thinking, he climbs onto the small bed without breaking the kiss. His hands go to Jimin's thighs and grab onto them for purchase, feeling just how soft his skin is. 

 Jimin’s hands wrap around his neck, fingers tangling into his hair and pulling him in closer, deepening the kiss. 

Yoongi’s mind has gone entirely blank. All he knows is Jimin. All he feels is Jimin. But it isn’t enough. He wants him even closer but he doesn’t know how to get him there. 

Jimin seems to want the same because without a word he pushes himself up and slides himself onto Yoongi’s lap just as he’d done the night of the party. 

He licks into Yoongi’s mouth, tasting him everywhere with his tongue, taking his bottom lip between his teeth and sucking on it. If Yoongi is one thing, he’s a quick learner and soon enough he’s the one leading the kiss as he sucks on Jimin’s tongue.

Jimin’s little gasps only serve to fuel Yoongi further and his hands roam across his body, his thighs, his hips, until they’re grabbing onto the bare skin under his shirt, if only to elicit those sinful sounds from him again, over and over. 

“Yoongi,” Jimin gasps into his mouth when Yoongi’s hands graze the sensitive skin on his chest. Before Yoongi can pull away, afraid he’s gone too far, Jimin reaches down and pulls his t-shirt off, exposing himself entirely to Yoongi. 

Yoongi marvels at the beauty before him and his hands have a mind of their own as they splay across the hard lines of Jimin’s dancer body. 

“Perfect,” Yoongi says before dipping down and leaving a hot trail of open mouthed kisses up Jimin’s neck, teeth nipping at the skin behind his ear. He holds him in place with one hand wrapped around the back of his neck, while his other hand begins to roam and explore the rest of him. 

Jimin whines needily, hands fisting into Yoongi’s hair as he begins to rock on Yoongi’s lap. 

“Fuck,” Yoongi gasps into the crook of his neck when he feels a jolt spread through his already hardening need tightening in his belly. 

“Let me,” Jimin gasps as he begins to pick up the pace. “Teach you.”

He takes Yoongi’s lips once more in a bruising, devouring kiss.

Chapter Text

Jimin wakes up embraced by warmth and a comfortable heaviness that pushes him down into the bed. It feels like he’s had this dream before.

As his sleep haze begins to clear he stretches his sore limbs, bones cracking, but lets out a soft gasp when he realizes the heaviness he feels is real and not just a dream. He turns his head and his heart plummets when his eyes land on a dark head of hair next to him.

Yoongi lies practically atop him, stark naked, limbs tangled around his own. His large chest lies halfway atop Jimin’s back, burying him into the sheets and pillows. 

What the fuck did we do? Jimin wonders stupidly because anyone with half a functioning brain cell could put two and two together, but he’s afraid to admit it to himself. 

He tries to crawl out of the bed and make a beeline for the bathroom if only to gather his thoughts but Yoongi stirs and the arm around Jimin’s waist tightens, pulling him closer and snuggling into the crook of his neck. It tickles but he doesn’t hate the way he fits right into the shape of Yoongi’s strong body. 

“Hyung,” he hisses, cutting his own train of thought off. 

“Hmm?” Yoongi’s voice is a sleepy hum that reverberates through his chest and across Jimin’s torso.

“Hyung what–” Jimin sighs, unable to bring himself to finish the question, mortification setting in like an old friend. He’s been in this position countless times before, but at least then he hadn’t been pretending to date his hookup just to get another guy’s attention. 

This is bad. 

“Five more minutes,” Yoongi says and Jimin wonders if he’s even totally conscious. 

“Hyung,” he tries again and this time, he feels Yoongi shift slightly before rolling off him completely. 

“Okay,” Yoongi acquiesces. “Let’s have breakfast.”

Jimin hides in the bathroom while Yoongi cooks them up something quick until a soft knock and his deep voice telling him the food is ready forces him out. 

Yoongi, now dressed in only a pair of sweats, sets a plate in front of Jimin and proceeds to eat, acting totally normal as if they didn’t just wake up naked and spooning.

He’s entirely too relaxed as Jimin’s anxiety spikes in the atmosphere of awkward silence that permeates the tiny room. He simply eats quietly but Jimin’s mind keeps flashing to last night, trying to piece together what happened. He remembers dancing and drinking and… punching somebody? Then, suddenly they were here talking then kissing slowly, clothes coming off in that same unhurried way.

He swallows hard as he tries to remember more. 

Yoongi’s hands were soft but firm on his waist as he pulled him in closer, feeling every curve as if he were something to marvel at, something precious he’d just discovered. His lips molded perfectly to his own as he kissed him languidly from his mouth down to his neck, dipping below the collar of his shirt, nipping at his skin. 

Jimin’s neck becomes hot with the memory of just how good Yoongi’s tongue felt licking up his burning skin. 

He blinks and now they’re naked, Yoongi on top, lifting Jimin’s leg up a little to thrust into him even deeper, as deep as anybody has ever been inside of him. His thrusts were unhurried, Yoongi taking his time, making sure to breathe into Jimin’s skin just how good he felt, whispering about how beautiful he looked, showing him just how much he was enjoying every push and pull of their bodies. And oh, how Jimin begged for more and it was as if Yoongi couldn’t say no to him. He simply let Jimin have his way with him and Jimin took and took greedily until they were both spent, Yoongi buried into him to the hilt as Jimin for the second or third time sat atop him, coming undone with Yoongi’s name on his lips.

He lets out a soft gasp as shame floods his entire system (because why the fuck is he suddenly hard) drawing Yoongi’s attention to him. 

“I–” he looks away from Yoongi, feeling a furious blush bloom on his face. “I don’t even know how we got here,” he whispers more to himself than to Yoongi, but he notices Yoongi pause.

His chopsticks still as his whole body tenses. He looks up to meet Jimin’s eyes, worry creasing his brow. 

“Y-you don’t remember? You don’t remember what happened? Fuck . Fuck Jimin I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were so drunk–”

“No! No, hyung,” Jimin waves a hand in front of him. “I–I remember saying yes,” he says, feeling his skin burn even hotter, but hoping to reassure him. “I said yes. I… I wanted it.”

Yoongi’s body visibly relaxes but he sets his chopsticks down, appetite apparently lost.

After a second, Yoongi asks, “Do you regret it?”

“Do you?” Jimin counters. 

“No,” Yoongi says immediately, eyes never leaving Jimin’s.  

“Neither do I.” 

What he doesn’t say however is what he should. That it was a mistake, or that it only happened because they were both drunk and sad and lonely and thinking about other people. 

He can’t bring himself to say it though because he isn’t sure it’s the truth and that terrifies him. He’s not supposed to think that way about Yoongi when his heart belongs to someone else. 

“I have a studio session later,” Yoongi says after a beat. “You can stay here as long as you want, unless you need a ride home.”

Jimin bites his lip and nods. “That’d be nice, uh…” he trails off shyly.

Yoongi smiles softly at him and Jimin has to look away because he feels his cheeks grow hot again . God, it’s like he’s a teenager and this is his first time all over again. Although, his first time hadn’t been anything like last night. 

“You can take a shower first, if you like,” Yoongi offers, bringing him back to reality. He looks up and finds his eyes trailing the exposed bit of shoulder his loose t-shirt reveals and once again he feels himself be set aflame, but this time it has nothing to do with his timidity. 

“Okay,” he says getting up immediately and grabbing for his clothes that’s been unceremoniously strewn across the room before nearly sprinting into the bathroom and locking himself in, desperate for the icy cold water to calm him the fuck down. 

“Get it together Park,” he scolds himself. “He’s just a guy for fuck’s sake.”

He showers as quickly as he can, getting distracted momentarily by the smell of Yoongi’s body wash as it brings flashbacks of himself inhaling the scent on Yoongi’s skin the night before and he has to hum the national anthem to keep himself sane. 

His phone chimes as he’s putting on his clothes and he checks it, finding a few messages in his dance group chat. They’re making plans to go to the studio today and he agrees quickly even if he’s a little hung over because he can use the distraction. Dance has always been the best way to de-stress and maybe it can help him sort out what the fuck is going on in his head right now. 

What could Yoongi be thinking about him? That he’s easy? Is he judging him this very moment, as Jimin leans on the edge of the sink stalling for time, or does he not remember as much as Jimin does? He obviously remembers something–he asked if Jimin regretted it. 

Jimin had thought of saying he did but the truth is he doesn’t. Some part of him knows that it had been a mistake because both of them want different people but he had a good time. The best time, actually. So good he wants to do it again. 

But no. That's impossible. It can’t happen again and he needs to make sure Yoongi knows that. 

He gathers as much courage as he can in a minute before peeking his head out of the bathroom to find Yoongi lying on his bed, still shirtless, scrolling through his phone. 

“Hyung?”

Yoongi looks up. “Yeah?”

“Would it be okay if you took me to this dance studio instead? My friends want to rehearse.”

“Yeah, of course,” he says, offering Jimin a sweet smile that makes Jimin’s heart flutter. Fuck. 

“Thanks,” he says, looking down at his feet. 

“Is something wrong?” Yoongi sits up and Jimin notes the way the muscles on his stomach ripple with the movement. Double fuck. 

“Uh, it’s just that, I’m in last night’s clothes and they kind of smell like alcohol and they're not really made for dancing.”

“Oh. You can borrow anything you like.” Yoongi gets up off the bed and walks over to his chest of drawers, pointing to them one by one. “Top one has shirts, bottom one has sweats, middle one has socks. I have sneakers too although I don’t know if they’ll fit you.” He looks down at Jimin’s bare feet and lets out a soft laugh. “Probably not.”

“Thanks,” Jimin says again, fully stepping out of the bathroom as Yoongi walks toward him. His heart rate picks up speed but Yoongi isn’t actually coming to him, but rather into the bathroom to take a turn at the shower. 

Hmm , Jimin hums internally, a twinge of annoyance sparking deep inside him. Maybe Yoongi isn’t giving last night a single thought at all. Sure he asked Jimin if he regretted it but is that all he’s going to say? Jimin knows he was amazing so why the fuck isn’t Yoongi groveling at his feet and begging him for another go? 

And why does Jimin want him to?

Oh my God get over yourself! He angrily digs through Yoongi’s clothes, pulling on whatever he can find first. He then grabs a pair of slides and slips those on too because there’s no way he’ll be caught dead strutting across campus in a pair of loose joggers and chelsea boots. 

Yoongi is quicker in the shower than Jimin and catches him off guard when he walks out in only a towel wrapped around his waist, dark hair dripping wet across his wide shoulders. Jimin tracks his every movement with his eyes as Yoongi walks over to find something to wear and nearly chokes on a gasp when Yoongi turns his back to him. There, all across his back like a convoluted map, Jimin catches sight of a web of bright red scratches across his skin.

Did he do that?

The scratches are quickly covered by a shirt as Yoongi changes and Jimin looks away when Yoongi drops the towel and throws on a pair of briefs and jeans, but not before getting a look at his surprisingly perky cheeks. 

What the hell happened to the shy Yoongi from last night that was too embarrassed when he showed Jimin his snoopy boxers? AND WHERE THE HELL ARE THE SNOOPY BOXERS???

“Give me like five minutes and I’ll be done,” Yoongi says and disappears back into the bathroom, not waiting for Jimin’s reply. 

Jimin pouts at just how aloof Yoongi is, meanwhile Jimin’s having a whole existential crisis. Is that how Yoongi typically is? A hit it and quit it kind of guy? Is he just going to use Jimin and discard him?

And then he remembers. 

They broke up. Or at least they planned to. After the fight with Mingyu, Yoongi had apologized and told Jimin it was time to cut things off. 

And Jimin still fucked him. 

“Oh God,” he moans into the pillow. He really must have been shit faced. 

“Ready?”

He jumps at the sound of Yoongi’s voice and looks up to find him watching him. 

“You alright?”

“Perfectly fine,” Jimin says in a clipped tone as he makes a show of getting up off the bed and grabbing his dirty clothes. He stuffs them into his jacket and zips it up, carrying it like a baby as he walks toward the door. Yoongi wordlessly trails a few steps behind him, climbing down the stairs until they’re outside. 

There however, Yoongi comes up next to him and takes his empty hand, lacing their fingers together to Jimin’s surprise. 

He turns to Yoongi, but the older boy isn’t looking at him. He’s staring straight ahead and Jimin follows his line of sight, thinking Yoongi must have spotted Namjoon or Hobi but there’s nobody there. 

Still, Jimin doesn’t pull his hand out of Yoongi’s grasp. Not until they’re by his car and Yoongi opens the door for him. 

“Wait,”  he says, remembering how they got home the night before. “Wasn’t your car at the club?”

“Oh.” Yoongi shrugs. “Namjoon dropped it off after he gave us a ride.”

Jimin nods and gives Yoongi the address to the studio and they drive off, Yoongi making small talk for the whole drive. It’s so strange to him, sitting here in the passenger seat of his fake boyfriend’s car after having spent the night together, talking about the weather and the traffic and the little tidbits of information Yoongi drops about himself like how the coffee shop in the corner was his first ever job, and still never addressing the elephant in the room. 

Once again Jimin wonders if Yoongi actually regrets it even if he said he didn’t because why isn’t he bringing it up? Are they always going to pretend it didn’t happen? Or… was Jimin that bad?

“Jimin?” 

“What?” he asks, snapping out of it. 

“Is this the place?”

Jimin faces forward to find them already parked in front of the studio. 

“Oh! Yeah. Thanks,” he says, shaking his head as if he could somehow dispel all the thoughts inside. He needs to calm down. 

He unbuckles himself and gets off only to realize Yoongi’s done the same. 

“Hey, uh,” Yoongi starts, rubbing the back of his neck like he tends to do when he’s nervous. “Do you mind, umm, would it be cool if I stayed?”

“Stayed?”

“Can I watch you rehearse?”

“Why!” he blurts, suddenly terribly self conscious. 

“I wanna see you dance.”

“Oh , I–”

“Jimin! Hey!” Jimin whirls around to find his friend Taemin coming out of the studio, waving a hand at them. When he reaches him, he gives him a one armed hug and turns to Yoongi expectantly. 

“Hey, I’m Yoongi,” Yoongi says, extending his hand for Taemin to shake. He greets Yoongi with a smile and quickly ushers them inside before Jimin can protest. 

“We’re just warming up,” Taemin says to them when they come inside. A few of his classmates and others who he doesn’t know are already inside, stretching and getting ready. 

“Most of us are doing back up for some of the performers for the school exhibition,” Taemin tells Yoongi. “We came to rehearse and we’re trying to convince Jimin to join us onstage.”

Surprised, Yoongi turns to Jimin and he simply shrugs. “I don’t do back up,” he confesses. “I like to be the star.” He doesn’t mean to sound arrogant but he knows how good he is. It’s this sort of confidence that is so often off-putting to other guys and he studies Yoongi’s face for his reaction. Yoongi only smiles and nods. 

“You are a star,” he says with a glint in his eyes and  Jimin offers him a playful smile. They hear Taemin clear his throat and turn to look at him. 

“Yes, well. We still like to have him around to help us. He’s the best in our year–in the school if I’m being honest,” he laughs and Jimin finally has the decency to blush. It’s one thing when he calls himself a star half jokingly but receiving compliments is something he’s never quite gotten used to. 

“Hyung,” Jimin says but Taemin doesn’t let him be modest. Instead, he pulls him over to the floor and Jimin watches Yoongi settle in and get comfortable by the wall. 

Jimin’s heart races as if he were really onstage. He’s never been a shy performer, never not loved the attention dance brings him but for some reason, he feels nervous now with Yoongi’s eyes tracking all his moves. 

They start off slow and he blends in with the others, not letting himself stand out in case he makes a mistake, but it doesn’t take long for others to ask him for tips and pointers. Eventually, Taemin asks him to help him with a solo he’s filming and everyone gives them the floor. He glances over at Yoongi who sits there watching him carefully. By this point, Jimin would have thought he might have gotten bored or distracted by his phone, but his eyes never leave Jimin. 

“Can I film us?” Taemin asks, handing his phone to a girl Jimin doesn’t know. “So that I can see how you do it and follow your lead?”

Jimin accepts and they get into position. He knows this dance–it’s gone viral online and Jimin’s danced it a few times himself. Taehyung is always telling him to open a dance account because he’d get millions of views but Jimin has never been tech savvy enough. He still follows the trends though. 

The song starts playing and he immediately gets into position. A sultry voice begins to croon and the dance flows through him but instead of looking at the camera pointed at him, his eyes lock on Yoongi almost instinctively.

“ You got me G U I L T Y… ”

 Yoongi can’t keep his eyes off him and he feels every single nerve in his body come alive at the look. Yoongi trails his eyes all over Jimin’s body almost like a predator seizing up his prey and it makes his heart rate pick up, remembering that same look piercing through him last night as their bodies tangled together. 

Just then, the door opens up and everyone’s heads snap to see an entourage of people come in. To his shock, one of them is Hobi. They keep dancing but Jimin takes a misstep when he sees Hobi come over to say hello to Yoongi who looks at his crush like he’s never seen him before. His smile is so wide it feels like a physical slap to Jimin and before he knows it, he’s ruined the dance. 

“Fuck, sorry hyung,” he says to Taemin but his friend isn’t upset at all. Jimin’s always been a perfectionist and he’s embarrassed for having messed up such a simple dance but they try one more time. Eventually, they get it right but Jimin’s entirely too distracted by the newcomers who after greeting Yoongi go off to dance on the other side of the studio. Hobi lingers by his side however and Jimin feels something prickle at his skin uncomfortably. He shouldn’t have come. He’s still a little hungover and he feels suddenly sick. Now he just wants to go home so he texts his best friend to come pick him, wanting nothing more than to be home.

He waits for Hobi to join his friends, not bothering to return the wave he offers him and goes to the vending machine to buy himself a bottle of water. 

“Hey, you were amazing,” Yoongi says, coming up behind him. 

Jimin is silent as he drinks deeply from his bottle and catches Hobi giving them a look he can’t read. It pisses him off even more and he goes to grab his things and say goodbye to his friends, ignoring Yoongi. But Yoongi follows him out the door and Jimin tries to pretend he doesn’t see the confused puppy dog look he gives him when he asks, “Is something wrong?”

“I’m going home,” Jimin says curtly. 

“Oh. I can take you–”

“No.”

Yoongi frowns but rushes to block Jimin’s path. “Are you alright?” he asks and Jimin rolls his eyes. 

“You said I was amazing,” he huffs. 

Yoongi’s frown deepens. “And I meant it.”

“You can’t have meant it if you weren’t even looking at me!”

“What are you talking about? I was watching the whole time!” 

“No! You were talking to your crush the whole time.” Jimin knows he sounds petulant and that he’s making a big deal out of a non issue. The whole point of this is so that Yoongi can talk to his crush but it still bothers him. When he’s performing, people are supposed to watch him. He doesn't make the rules. 

But his comment makes Yoongi stop short. 

“Who?” he asks. 

Jimin’s brows lift incredulously. “Who!?”

“Hobi?”

“ Yeah . Him.”

“He just came to say hi but we were both watching you perform. I swear. He even said you were amazing.”

“Sure.” Jimin side steps Yoongi but he’s faster, grabbing Jimin’s hand and stopping him. 

“Jimin, wait. Are you… are you jealous?”

“Jealous of what!” he scoffs like it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard. Very well could be.

“Of Hobi,” Yoongi replies matter of factly. 

“No! Why the hell would I be jealous of him! I just don’t like when people lie to me. Don’t tell me I’m good when you didn’t even see me. You’re supposed to be my boyfriend. Play the part.”

“Okay,” Yoongi says still in that same infuriatingly leveled tone. “You’re not jealous that he might have distracted me just a teeny tiny bit for a split second and taken attention away from you?”

“Obviously not!” he grits out.

“But you’re mad.”

“I’m not.”

 Yoongi lifts a brow and Jimin makes a face at him. “I am not mad.”

“Okay.”

“Stop it!”

“I didn’t say anything! Besides, aren't we supposed to be broken up?”

“No!” he says too quickly. 

“No?”

“No. I mean…We aren’t. We can’t. Not yet.”

“Why’s that?” Yoongi says, coming closer to him, ducking his head so he can look Jimin in the eyes. He swallows hard and takes a step back when Yoongi takes a step forward. 

“B-because! We have unfinished business.” 

“Right. Unfinished business.” Yoongi takes another step and Jimin backs up until his back hits the side of the building. 

“Yeah. We aren’t done.” 

“Alright. We aren’t done.” 

“Not yet. We still have things to do.”

“Not yet then.” Yoongi flashes Jimin a cute gummy smile. 

“Yeah,” Jimin says, unable to contain his pout. What is Yoongi doing? Why’s he teasing him?”

“Can I have a smile then?”

“No!”

“Come on,” Yoongi lifts his hand and pinches Jimin’s cheeks softly. “Please? I don’t like when you’re mad at me.” His touch lingers, trailing down his skin until his hand cups Jimin’s cheek tenderly.

“No, you’re annoying,” Jimin says weakly, heart beating furiously in his chest. 

“Am I? I’m sorry.” Yoongi mimics Jimin’s pout. 

“That doesn’t work on me.”

“Oh it doesn't?” Yoongi gets even closer, his face barely an inch away from Jimin. 

“Hyung stop!” Jimin can’t fight his nervous giggles.

“There it is,” Yoongi says triumphantly. “That pretty smile I like so much.”

He’s impossibly close and his eyes linger on Jimin’s mouth making his tummy flutter. 

“Hey Jimin!” Someone suddenly interrupts them. 

“Ignore him,” Yoongi says, catching Jimin off guard. 

“I–”

“Jimin!” 

“Can't you see he’s busy?” Yoongi says darkly, eyes never leaving Jimin’s shocked face. 

“Hyung,” he scolds softly and peeks over Yoongi’s shoulder to find Taehyung waiting for him. “My ride’s here,” he says feeling suddenly guilty for having called Tae instead of letting Yoongi take him home. 

Still, he steps out from under Yoongi and sends his friend a small wave. He’s about to reach him when he feels a tug on his hand and he’s pulled back right into Yoongi’s arms. Before he even knows what’s going on, he feels Yoongi’s lips on his and he opens his mouth to gasp but Yoongi slips his tongue inside, tasting him deeply. 

On instinct, Jimin kisses him back, feeling his entire body hollow out to be replaced by fluttering wings. 

Yoongi breaks off their kiss, but his arms remain around Jimin, holding him upright. “I’m still willing to learn,” he whispers into Jimin’s ear, sending a shiver down his spine. “If you’re willing to teach me.”

Jimin is too shocked to reply and Yoongi doesn’t wait for him to, as he walks over to his car and drives off. 

Chapter Text

“So you slept with him?”

Jimin nods, face buried into his pillow. He and Tae are back at his dorm and Jimin’s just told him everything that happened the night before. 

“You kicked some guy’s ass then got drunk then slept with your boyfriend. Sounds like the perfect Saturday night to me.”

“Fake boyfriend! Fake! We aren’t really dating.”

“That kiss from earlier didn’t exactly look fake,” Taehyung teases. “Besides, I don’t know if you know the definition of dating, but spending time together and letting him stick it in you is–”

“Taehyung!” Jimin grabs his pillow and throws it at his friend’s head but he’s quick to dodge it. “I only met him a few weeks ago, I don't even know him!”

“You’ve dated guys you’ve known for a few days! That never stopped you.”

“And look how well that’s worked out.”

“Then get to know him!”

“I don’t want to! Ugh. I like someone already, Tae. That’s the whole reason I'm in this mess in the first place. Besides, Yoongi likes someone else too.”

“But he slept with you !”

“We were drunk!”

“You’re telling me that if you had been sober, you wouldn’t have slept with him?”

“Obviously.”

“So right now, if he came and told you he wanted to do it again, you’d say no?”

Jimin is quiet, unable to lie to his best friend who looks at him with raised brows. His expression quickly transforms and the side of his lip quirks up. “Right.”

“It’s complicated, okay? Yoongi is…” Jimin shakes his head. He doesn’t even know. All he knows is that he’s confused. 

“You totally like him. You don’t need to know someone for a year to know when you do. The whole point of dating is getting to know someone.”

“No.” 

Taehyung purses his lips and changes tactics. “If Namjoon came to you and confessed his love to you, would you accept him?”

“Yes,” Jimin answers automatically. “He’s who I want.”

“Okay. He’s who you want, but who is it that you need? The crush you barely talk to, or the cute guy you have a ton of chemistry with and are literally currently dating–real or not?”

“Neither. I don’t need a man.”

Taehyung rolls his eyes and gets up off Jimin’s bed. “You’re hopeless, Jiminie. I’ll be at Jungkook’s gossiping about you. Call me when you realize that you’re chasing the wrong person and then maybe I can help you.”

“Some friend you are!” Jimin cries at his friend’s retreating back.

“The best, right?” Taehyung says as the door shuts behind him. 

All Jimin can do is wallow. He knows Taehyung is fed up with his bullshit–it usually goes this way. He vents to him and Tae offers something insightful that Jimin refuses to accept and then a day later, he’s back in front of Tae with his tail between his legs and only then does his best friend help him sort his shit out. 

But this time, Taehyung is dead wrong. 

He doesn’t like Yoongi. Not like that. Not at all! 

He likes Namjoon. Sweet, soft, safe Namjoon…

“Oh my gosh,” he moans into his hands. “You can’t like Yoongi you idiot!” 

But he does, doesn’t he? How the hell did this happen?

ㅇ

Yoongi can’t keep his mind off Jimin. It’s been a few days since he last saw him but ever since waking up next to him, Yoongi’s thoughts keep wandering to the night before. To Jimin taking full control of him and doing whatever he wanted with him. And Yoongi loved every second of it. He still bears the marks of Jimin’s orgasms across his back and wears them like a badge of honor. 

Waking up next to Jimin felt like a dream. He’d never imagined himself ever even thinking that, but they fit so well and Yoongi, the eternal insomniac, had never slept so well like he did that night holding Jimin. 

He hasn’t been able to bring himself to say that outloud though knowing well and good just how fucking creepy it must sound. Jimin doesn’t wanna hear all that shit. To him it was probably just a regular Saturday night. He’s so experienced and cool and Yoongi doesn’t want to appear like a total dork around him by talking about it, so he’s tried to play it cool too. 

It’s hard to play it cool though when Jimin looked like that as he danced. The vision of Jimin dancing replayed over and over in his mind as he drove home. He had looked Yoongi dead in the eyes as he lifted his shirt and bit his lip and fuck if Yoongi’s pants don’t feel a little tighter even now as he recalls that day. He wanted so badly to drag him off that dance floor and take him back to his dorm and do everything they did the night before only sober this time. He wants to be present and aware of every touch, every moan, every kiss. 

Don’t be a pig , he scolds himself. He doesn’t want to think of Jimin like that–they’re friends. That night was a one time thing (even if he took a chance and essentially told Jimin he didn’t want it to be) and if he’s honest with himself, Jimin might have just taken pity on him when he told him he’d teach him. 

Regardless, he can’t shake the feeling and even when Hobi of all people walked in unexpectedly, not even he could distract him from thinking about the beautiful blond dancing five feet in front of him. 

To distract himself from the constant thoughts of Jimin and the ridiculous line he used on him, Yoongi goes to the studio. He shuts off his phone and writes and records until late into the night and he only sees civilization when he’s all out of coffee and energy drinks. On one of those days, he’s about to call it an early night when Namjoon comes in with none other than Jimin himself. 

Yoongi hasn’t seen him in days, much less texted with him. He’s been planning on asking him to hang out but he’s afraid Jimin might take it the wrong way and think Yoongi just wants to see him for the wrong reasons. Seeing him now though, he realizes just how much he’s missed him. His heart clenches at the sight of how soft he looks in an oversized t-shirt and loose jeans. 

It’s weird, of that he’s painfully aware, but he’s gotten used to Jimin’s presence. He likes him. As a friend, of course. He likes talking to him a lot. Hell, he even likes bickering with him. 

“Wh–what are you guys doing here?” he asks as soon as they step into the room together.

“Oh,” Namjoon says, startled. He gestures toward Jimin and shrugs. “I asked him if it would be alright if he sang for me–”

“𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡?” Yoongi chokes, not hiding the surprise in his voice.

“Uh, I asked Jimin to sing background vocals for my track. To be honest, I kind of want him to sing the whole chorus at the exhibition but I’m still trying to convince him. Didn’t you tell him?” Nam turns to Jimin now and his brows lift in question. 

Yoongi stands stock still, unable to take his eyes off the pair. 

He feels a knife twist in his heart hearing that Jimin will sing for Namjoon, that he’ll lend his voice to someone else. A vicious jealousy runs through his body like a current and it makes him dizzy. 

Why the fuck hadn’t Yoongi thought to ask him? He’s such an idiot. But, of course Jimin would say yes to Namjoon. Anything to be closer to him, right? 

“I was going to,” Jimin mumbles, face focused on something just to the left of Namjoon. He doesn’t glance Yoongi's way at all. Yoongi’s eyes search his face but Jimin refuses to look up, instead fidgeting with the strap of the crossbody bag he carries. 

Why hadn’t Jimin just told him? 

“Are you done here, hyung?” Namjoon asks. 

“W-yeah. Yeah. I’m done. I was just leaving.” He grabs his stuff and saves his files on the flash drive he carries everywhere, and turns to leave. For some reason, he doesn’t bother saying goodbye to Jimin. 

Maybe it’s the way Jimin’s ignored him since the moment they stepped through the studio doors or the fact that it was he who said they weren’t broken up yet and still chose to come here and pretend Yoongi’s some kind of fucking stranger when they’re supposed to be keeping up the pretense in front of Namjoon and–

“Hyung,” Jimin’s sweet voice cuts through his spiraling thoughts. 

Yoongi turns to him immediately. “Yeah?”

“Uh, can I come over later?” he asks and Yoongi’s eyes flit to Nam but he doesn’t seem to notice them, too busy on the sound board to pay them any mind. 

“Of course, y–”

“I have your clothes. Washed and folded.”

Yoongi frowns. “My clothes?” 

“The stuff you loaned me after, umm, the night at the club.” Jimin’s voice is surprisingly timid.  

“Oh.”

“I’ll drop them off, if that’s okay.”

Yoongi doesn’t know what to say. Something feels off but he can’t pinpoint what. Jimin’s usually so much more… well, more . “Sure,” he says. “That’s fine.”

Jimin nods and says nothing else, fingers playing with the strap of his bag again. 

“Is everything alright?” Yoongi asks in a muted voice, loud enough for only Jimin to hear. 

“Everything’s fine.” Jimin nods, offering him a warm smile but his eyes remain distant. 

“It’s just that–”

“I’ve been a little busy, is all. Sorry I haven’t texted or anything.”

Oh. 

“Right.”

Jimin turns and glances at Namjoon and Yoongi’s heart sinks. “Right,” he says again. “Busy.”

Jimin’s brows knit together and his lips pucker out in a familiar pout Yoongi’s already grown used to. 

“You know, you could have called too,” he says quietly and suddenly Yoongi can only stare, entirely dumbfounded. 

 Has Jimin been waiting for him to call? 

He really is such an idiot, he thinks mentally berating himself. 

“I’m–”

“Ready Jiminie?” Namjoon’s voice slices through the tension between them and Jimin turns his brightest smile on just for Nam. 

“Yes!” He walks toward Namjoon, Yoongi now entirely forgotten.

ㅇ

Jimin stands nervously at the recording microphone waiting for Namjoon to give him the go-ahead to start singing. Something heavy settles in his tummy and he isn’t sure why he feels like he’s going to be sick. Maybe he’s just nervous to be here with his ultimate crush. His true crush, because even if he likes Yoongi a little, he still likes Namjoon more. He’s choosing to like Namjoon more and he can’t let a little distraction like Yoongi deter him from his goal. 

Inhaling a deep breath to settle his nerves, Jimin tries to shake off the negative energy. When Namjoon messaged him yesterday, Jimin thought he was dreaming but Joonie was serious. He wanted Jimin to hang out at the studio with him, just the two of them. This was everything he’s ever wanted and now here they are, the two of them all alone while Jimin sings an incredibly vulnerable and romantic song just for Joonie. 

He’d thought of writing to Yoongi to tell him about it and how their plan seemed to be working, but as soon as he opened their chat and he saw that they hadn’t spoken for a few days, he’d clicked off immediately. 

Yoongi hadn’t called or texted him since they spent the night together and Jimin would be lying if he said he didn’t feel more than a little discarded. He tried not to let it bother him–they’re little more than a convenience to each other. Friends on occasion. Nothing else. 

Then why did he feel like crying when he saw Yoongi earlier and why did his heart hurt when he barely looked at him?

On a whim he’d asked if he could come over but his lips had moved before his brain could register what he was doing. If Yoongi had said he was busy or he couldn’t… Jimin isn’t sure he’d still be here and not wallowing in some dark corner somewhere. 

God, why is he like this? 

He always gets too easily attached to people. 

“Okay, we’re going to take it from the top,” Joonie says. “Do you think you can run through the whole song for me? I wanna hear how it sounds.”

Namjoon is amazing to work with. He praises Jimin and shoots him the cutest dimpled smiles that turn his eyes into crescent moons that have Jimin giggling until his tummy hurts. But even as he lives out his dreams with his crush, he still feels a hollow in the pit of his stomach–an inexplicable guilt that eats away at him, as if he were doing something he ought not to. 

He tries his best to focus on the song Joon sent him yesterday. It’s about destiny and serendipity and the universe conspiring for two lovers. It’s beautiful and Jimin feels beautiful singing it. But as he does, he wonders who Namjoon wrote this for–who that infamous crush is, if it even is just a crush. It sounds an awful lot like love. 

“Amazing!” Namjoon praises him when he’s done. “I just need to add my rap part and the song will be done. Seriously, Jiminie, thank you so much. As soon as I heard you singing I knew I had to get you on a song.”

“You’re just being nice,” Jimin says, uncharacteristically shying away from all the praise. 

“I mean it. You should’ve seen Yoongi hyung simping over your voice afterwards too. Of course, he’s your boyfriend so he’d love it either way, but we’re both obsessed.”

This makes Jimin pause and his heart flutters. “Really?” he asks disbelievingly. Yoongi has never said anything to him about it. In fact, Jimin was convinced Yoongi hated the way he sang his song because he never said anything except that he’d done well.   

“I swear! He tries to play it cool, but he’s always listening to your recording.” Joon laughs. “Guy’s a simp.” He offers Jimin a sweet smile and he wonders if he’s just pandering to him because he wants him to join him on stage. 

"So, uh, what do you say about what I asked you earlier? You think you wanna sing onstage with me?”

There it is, Jimin thinks. Of course Yoongi isn’t obsessed like Joonie put it. He wants to laugh at himself for getting excited a second ago. It’s all so stupidly predictable of him. 

He needs to remind himself that Yoongi’s heart is given away to Hobi and Jimin’s stands right in front of him. 

“Sooo…?”

“I don’t know hyung. I’m not used to singing for a crowd–or anyone really. The only time I’ve sang for more than two people is at karaoke and I’ve been more than a little tipsy,” he laughs. 

“Think of this as your debut then. I know you’re not shy. I’ve seen you dance! You just have to channel all that confidence into this performance. What do you say? Please?” Namjoon makes a cute pleading face that has Jimin grinning despite himself. How could anyone resist those eyes?

“I’ll think about it, okay?” he offers and it’s enough for Namjoon for now. 

“Don’t think on it too much. The show’s coming up soon and we need to rehearse.”

He promises to get back to him soon as he drives him back home. It’s so late and Jimin nearly forgot he’d asked Yoongi to hang out. He checks his phone but it’s dead and he doesn’t have a charger so he just asks Joonie to drop him off at his dorm. Yoongi probably forgot too. 

They ride through Seoul listening to songs Jimin’s never heard before. It’s nice being with Namjoon like this. He’s so peaceful and safe, like wading in the shallow end of a warm pool. 

He can’t help but compare him to Yoongi. Namjoon makes his heart beat steady but Yoongi–he’s a shot of adrenaline whenever he gets close to him. 

He’s still not sure what feeling he prefers.

To distract himself he turns to Namjoon and ventures to speak.

“So hyungie, did you write that song?”

“Mhmm. I wrote it as a sort of way to vent.”

“Vent? But it’s so romantic. Isn’t it more of a confession?”

Namjoon laughs, but it sounds a little sad to Jimin. 

“The confession was done and shot down,” he sighs. “I wrote the song to try to get out all of those feelings. In a way, I guess it is a confession of everything I wish we could have been, but,” he shrugs. “Some things don’t work out.”

“Oh,” Jimin says, more than a little surprised. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, I guess. They’re with someone else now and I need to move on. This is me moving on. Getting closure.”

Jimin looks at Namjoon’s side profile from the passenger seat and he sees the tension in the set of his jaw, defying the words he just spoke. Closure brings peace but Namjoon looks at war with himself in the moment and Jimin wonders if he means what he said, or if he’s simply trying to convince himself. 

He wants to reach out and take his hand, to imbue some kind of comfort into his friend but something stops him. 

If he were more cunning, he could use this moment of vulnerability in his favor, to help Namjoon move on, but even the thought of it makes him feel gross. Namjoon is hurting and he doesn’t want to take advantage of him like this. But he also feels like he’s betraying something. 

Someone. 

It’s ridiculous, really, to feel like he’s cheating on his fake boyfriend by trying to seduce his true crush. Wasn’t this always the plan?

Plans derail , a little voice in his head whispers and he tries to push it away. 

So do trains , he argues with himself. And nobody ever survives a trainwreck. 

In the end, Joonie says nothing more and Jimin doesn’t press him for details. They say goodnight like friends and Jimin falls asleep with a split heart, and the melody of the song in his head but it isn’t Namjoon who he falls asleep singing to.  

Chapter Text

Yoongi waits for Jimin to come over the whole night until he falls asleep at his desk, waking up sometime in the late hours of the night only to throw himself onto his bed and fall back into a fitful sleep. 

He doesn’t check his phone until groggily, he wakes up when dawn breaks over the horizon and its soft golden light filters into his room. 

He stays in bed a long while until he’s decided he’s moped enough. When he checks the time on his phone, he notices he has a couple of unread texts, one from Jimin.

Yoongi had texted him the night before, saying he was free all night and it wasn’t until much later that Jimin wrote back. 

[pretty little storm cloud]

hyung, i stayed out late with joonie 

i’ll stop by tomorrow if that’s alright

Yoongi tries not to let himself dwell on the hidden subtext of that message. Staying out late, being in close intimate proximity–whatever happened, he wonders if that’s the end of him and Jimin for good. 

He gets up and goes to shower, trying not to think about the jealousy that once again rips through him at the idea of them being together in that sound booth. Of Namjoon getting to listen to Jimin’s singing and his breathy little sounds as he sings a new phrase and–

A knock on the door has him pausing. Could that be Jimin? No, that’s probably wishful thinking.

He shuts off the water and wraps a towel around his waist and shuffles to the door, swinging it open. 

Sure enough, Jimin stands before him in an outfit similar to the one he wore yesterday–that oversized style Yoongi seems to really like on him. 

Jimin’s eyes go wide when he notices the way Yoongi’s hair drips water all over his bare torso and Yoongi feels stupid for not bothering to dress before opening the door but he’d been afraid that if he didn’t open the door fast enough, Jimin might disappear. 

In hindsight, it was a stupid thing to think, but Yoongi isn’t very bright. 

“Hey,” Yoongi says, hoping he sounds more aloof and casual than he feels.

“Hey,” Jimin says with a sigh. He lifts a small paper bag and Yoongi spots a familiar shade of gray poking out. “I brought your stuff.”

He extends his hand out and Yoongi takes the little bag, setting it on the floor next to him. “Thanks.”

They stand there for an awkward second, neither able to look the other in the eye until Yoongi finally says, “Listen, I’m sorry for not calling you, you know, after everything. I think I was afraid you might not pick up. You were kind of mad when Tae got there.” 

When he saw him the night before, after going no contact for a few days, Yoongi had been convinced he’d pissed Jimin off about something and he’d decided to ghost him. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Eventually, Yoongi probably will do something to push Jimin away and it’ll be his own damn fault. 

Jimin looks at him for a second before shaking his head. “I would’ve picked up,” he says in a quiet voice, shocking Yoongi.

“You didn’t call either,” Yoongi says, but it isn’t an accusation but rather, more like a question. 

“I don’t call. I get called.” Jimin’s tone is a little sharper around the edges and Yoongi lets out an airy chuckle, relieved to hear him almost back to normal. 

“Are you going to stay out here the whole day or do you want to come in?” Yoongi asks and Jimin’s eyes narrow as he considers. Finally, he shrugs daintily and wordlessly, comes inside. 

Yoongi smiles to himself but relief settles in his body like a weight’s been lifted off his shoulders. 

Jimin sits himself on Yoongi’s bed with the familiarity of someone who belongs and Yoongi goes to dress. When he’s done, he notices Jimin’s backpack sitting at the foot of the bed and asks, “What’s this?”

“I’m going to the library to study. Got a test this week and could use the cram session.”

“Oh.” He thinks for a minute. “You could just study here. I don’t mind. I have to finish a song and could use the company.”

Jimin’s lips pucker cutely as he considers Yoongi and he can almost read what he’s thinking. “I’ll use my headphones. You won’t even hear me working.”

“How did you… Alright. I’ll stay since you’re so desperate for my attention,” Jimin says with a heavy sigh as if it martyrized him to do so. 

“On second thought, maybe some space from you would do me good.” Yoongi gestures to the door but Jimin stays put.

“I bet you cried yourself to sleep when I didn’t show up last night.”

“Oh, were you supposed to come over? Must have slipped my mind.”

Jimin sticks his tongue out and Yoongi rushes forward, sitting on the bed next to him so abruptly that Jimin yelps and jumps back. 

“If you’re not careful with that tongue Park Jimin, you might lose it,” he says and Jimin narrows his gaze at him. 

Yoongi’s so close, he can smell the perfume coming off Jimin’s skin. It’s sweet and familiar and brings back blurry memories of the night they spent together, but already they’re fading no matter how hard he tries to cling to them.

His eyes flit to Jimin’s lips and a vicious hunger takes hold of him–that same lust that had taken over when Jimin kissed him. 

Would he push him away if he leaned in? 

Yoongi thinks he would. Especially after finally scoring time alone with Namjoon.

He draws back then, determined not to do anything stupid and asks, “How was your night with Namjoon?”

Jimin looks away and shrugs, mumbling something that sounds like, “It was nice.”

“Was it everything you’ve ever dreamed it would be? Being alone with him?” Yoongi tries to keep the sarcasm out of his voice but his words slip out edged with bitterness. He doesn’t know why, when this has been the end game all along. 

Jimin scowls at him but shakes his head. “We just talked about music and he had me sing his song a few times. It was nice, the song is really pretty, but…” he trails off. “I don’t know. It felt more like work.”

“Yeah, he’s a bit of a workaholic,” Yoongi says with a smile for his friend. Namjoon’s always been obsessive about his art, much like himself, which is why his confession caught Yoongi so off guard. Even if he’d suspected his feelings, Yoongi never imagined he’d want anything more between them when Nam’s priorities had always lain in his work. 

“He asked me to sing with him on stage so I guess we’ll have more time together.”

Yoongi studies Jimin’s face, noting the downcast eyes and crease between his brows. He doesn’t look too excited about the prospect and he wonders if he’s just nervous. He isn’t the nervous type though. 

“That’s great,” Yoongi says with as much enthusiasm as he can muster. “Maybe you won’t even need me anymore.”

Jimin looks up at him then, brown eyes wide and glistening. “Maybe,” he says after a second. 

“Hey are you alright?” Yoongi asks, suddenly worried, not used to such a muted Jimin. He’s more than used to his temper tantrums and biting remarks but something feels terribly off right now. “Does your head hurt? I have more of that tea and painkillers, if you need anything.”

“No.” Jimin turns away, shaking his head. “I’m fine. It’s just... It’s nothing.”

Yoongi takes Jimin’s hand, lacing their fingers together to get his attention. “You sure?”

Jimin nods, letting his hand settle into Yoongi’s. He offers him a smile that doesn’t really reassure Yoongi.

“I’m just thinking about hyung. He said something about you.”

“Me?” Panic rises in the back of Yoongi’s throat but he tries to keep his hands steady. Did he tell Jimin he likes him? Is this why Jimin is so quiet?

“Yeah. Said something about you liking, umm, my voice?” He poses it like a question, as if trying to get clarification. As if he needs confirmation to believe it. 

Yoongi’s cheeks immediately flare up with embarrassment and he lets go of Jimin’s hand to run it through his hair. 

“I, yeah, I do like it. It’s pretty. I like it. A lot. I do, yeah.” He trips over his words like a teenager talking to his crush and for a second, the dimness in Jimin seems to turn into a tiny spark of light. 

And just like that it’s gone, morphed into a frown. “You don’t have to lie,” Jimin says, pushing Yoongi away.

“I’m not lying!”

“Stop! I know hyung only said that to get me to sing with him. He was trying to butter me up! You’re a terrible fucking liar Min Yoongi.”

“I am not lying! Look.” As embarrassed as he might be and as much as he knows he’ll live only to regret this forever, Yoongi will not take more slander. He gets up to grab his phone and clicks on the music files stored there. God, is he really doing this? He should just play it cool but he doesn’t want Jimin to be upset so he takes a deep breath and hands his phone to him.

Jimin’s jaw drops as he scrolls seeing just how many clips and copies Yoongi has of the one time he sang for him. The vocals have been added to different beats and sounds as Yoongi experimented but nothing felt quite right. It’s the only reason he has so many versions and that’s what he tries to explain to Jimin but that doesn’t take away the look of shock from his face. If anything he looks even more horrified. 

When he looks up at him, Yoongi’s sure he’s going to call him out for being a freak about it. 

He doesn’t do that though. Instead, Jimin frowns and says, “Why didn’t you ask me to sing with you on stage?” 

Yoongi freezes at the reproach. “What?”

“Why didn't you ask me before Namjoon hyung did?”

Yoongi’s brows lift so far up he’s sure they’ll disappear into his hairline. “Wait, what?”

“If you really like my voice, why haven’t you asked me to sing for you?”

“I have!” He gestures wildly at the incriminating phone. 

“But for the show!”

“I… I don't know,” he shakes his head, completely blindsided by Jimin’s reaction. “I'm playing a piano score. I don’t need someone to sing over it. ”

“Then you don’t like it that much,” Jimin says tersely and tosses the phone aside. 

Yoongi isn’t altogether sure what the fuck is going on or why, instead of calling a medical professional on him, Jimin is upset. 

“Cause hyung said you were simping and I see no simping.” He turns his nose up at Yoongi and crosses his arms. 

Yoongi sits back on the bed and grabs Jimin’s face gently but firmly between his hands. “Believe me when I say this Park Jimin, Namjoon isn’t a liar.”

“So,” Jimin says between squished cheeks. “Are you simping?”

“Do you want me to simp?”

Jimin nods once. Yoongi is still terribly confused, but even just that small acknowledgement has his heart fluttering something terrible and he doesn’t know what to make of this information. Jimin is incredibly unpredictable.

Yoongi squints as if he could somehow look into his brain and read what’s going on with him. Since the moment he stepped into the room, he’s seemed deflated and not himself at all. 

“What’s really going on Jimin? Because I know for a fact you don’t give a shit about my opinion on anything about you.”

“I–”Jimin’s brows furrow and with his cheeks between Yoongi’s hands, he looks like a cute caricature but Yoongi’s trying to have a serious conversation, not laugh at Jimin’s cuteness so he lets him go and gives him space. 

“That’s not entirely true,” he says unconvincingly.

“Please, you don’t even like me enough to care about what I have to say,” Yoongi says without contempt. 

Jimin stays quiet and he takes that as a concession until Jimin scrunches up his face and scoffs.

“You really think I’m the biggest asshole, don’t you?”

Yoongi shakes his head. “No. I don’t. I just think you’ve got a really strong will.”

“Temper.”

“Will. Which is why I’m not sure why you look so defeated today.”

“It’s nothing,” Jimin insists but Yoongi isn’t convinced. They stay like that for a second, Yoongi’s mind whirring looking for a solution to this until something finally clicks.

“You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong,” he says. “But if you’ll let me, maybe I can help you feel a little better. Come on.” He gets up and stretches out a hand. 

Jimin eyes it warily. “Come on, where?”

Yoongi shrugs, hand still waiting for Jimin to take it. “I know a place.”

ㅇ

‘A place’ as it turns out, includes a few different spots. 

Before heading out, Yoongi wraps Jimin up in one of his cozier jackets and a scarf for good measure.

“The weather's been getting colder and you’ll need it for later,” he says as he tucks a beanie over his head too but Jimin doesn’t protest. 

“Are you kidnapping me, Min?”

“Maybe. Is that alright?” 

Jimin nods and Yoongi thinks he might be fighting a smile but his features remain mostly impassive as he lets Yoongi fuss over him without complaint. 

They drive to Yoongi’s favorite coffee shop and he gets Jimin a latte and buys an iced americano for himself. “I’m not sure what your favorite drink is,” he says regrettably but Jimin takes the drink gratefully. 

“Anything with caffeine and lots of sugar,” he says and takes a sip. “Mmm, cinnamony.”

“Yeah, I figured you were a sweet coffee drinker,” Yoongi says, taking a sip of his own coffee. 

“Oh, did my sweet disposition give it away?” Jimin asks sarcastically but Yoongi nods. 

“You are sweet. Like a prickly pear. A little sharp on the outside…” He reaches out and as if on instinct Jimin slaps his hand away. Yoongi lets out a low laugh but isn’t deterred. “But sweet on the inside.” He taps Jimin’s nose lightly and this time he lets him get close. “Like deep, deep inside.”

“Jerk,” Jimin says through a laugh. 

Yoongi drives them to the train station to the sound of Jimin’s persistent questions but all he says is, “It’s a surprise. Just go with it.”

They climb onto the next train and take a seat. There’s hardly anyone in their cart so it feels like they’re all alone. 

Jimin leans his head against the window, looking out through the tinted glass. “Where are we going hyungie?” he asks in a soft voice. He turns to find Yoongi already looking at him. 

“Somewhere you can take your mind off whatever’s bothering you,” Yoongi replies. As much as he’s gathered from getting to know Jimin these last few weeks, there’s still a world of stuff he doesn’t know about him, so he isn’t sure how he’ll respond to Yoongi’s little one day getaway, but he wants to try to at least cheer him up. 

“Nothing’s bothering me,” Jimin says and Yoongi offers him a soft smile. 

“You’re a terrible liar, Park Jimin.”

Jimin smiles back and instead of turning away again, he leans his head on Yoongi’s shoulder, wrapping his arm around his and snuggling in. 

Whatever it is must be terrible , Yoongi concludes and he’s more determined to help his friend. 

It takes them about an hour to get to Incheon where they will board a small bus that will take them over the bridge.

As they wait for the bus, Jimin turns to Yoongi, eyes full of wonder as it hits him. “We’re going to the islands aren’t we?” 

“I figured you could use a beach day,” Yoongi concedes and Jimin lets out a bright peel of laughter. 

“In the middle of autumn?” he cries mid laugh. 

“A beach is a beach no matter the season, Jiminie,” Yoongi laughs too but his smile is fueled entirely by the way Jimin’s whole countenance has brightened up to maximum wattage. 

The bus ride is only about a fifteen minute drive across the bridge, making only one stop before arriving at theirs on Muuido Island. 

They get down and Yoongi is immediately struck by the awe on Jimin’s face. 

“I’ve never been here,” he says before Yoongi can ask. 

Muuido Island lies south of Incheon, a part of a cluster of other lesser islands. Yoongi’s been coming here since he was young. Where most of his classmates vacationed in Jeju, his family came here. 

The bus has dropped them off right on the beach, populated by tourists braving the icy waters in bikinis and board shorts. Jimin snuggles into Yoongi’s jacket for warmth and Yoongi takes his hand, hoping to imbue some of that warmth into himself. Thankfully, Jimin doesn’t snatch his hand back but instead, interlaces their fingers together. 

They walk on the boardwalk, taking in the mid afternoon sun. 

“I grew up near the beach, you know?” Jimin offers. “But it never ceases to amaze me just how vast it is. It’s never ending.”

“You’re from Busan right?” Yoongi asks and Jimin nods. 

“My town was by the mountains so we wouldn’t go to the beach that often, but when we did, it was always the best day.”

“You know, if you hike up Mount Horyonggok,” Yoongi says, pointing up the mountain up ahead on his right, “they say you can see dancing fairies.”

Jimin smiles at him, eyes alight with wonder. 

“I bet that’s where you come from,” Yoongi finishes, speaking in a soft mumble, almost to himself but Jimin hears him and lets out a twinkling laugh. 

“They have a dance festival here in the summer,” Yoongi continues. “I think you’d like it. When we were kids, my parents brought my brother and I. Actually, we came almost every summer to visit all the islands. Wolmi is the most popular one, but Muuido has my heart.” 

“Is it because you met a dancing fairy?” Jimin asks. Yoongi looks back at him and catches his teasing gaze, but his own is steady when he nods. 

“I think I have.”

A soft blush floods Jimin’s cheeks but his smile never fades. “I’d like to see the festival,” he says absently, head turning this way and that, taking in the view from all angles. 

“I’ll bring you next summer.”

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise,” Yoongi says. 

“I’ll hold you to that,” Jimin says with a smile that this time, doesn’t quite reach his pretty eyes. 

They walk for a while, hand in hand even if sometimes, they get funny looks. Still nobody says a thing. When he was young, Yoongi loved the freedom the islands offered. They were an escape for him. Even if barely attached to the mainland by a small bridge, he always felt like he’d traveled to a new country away from the suffocating walls of the rest of the country. In Seoul, in Daegu, he always felt a little trapped, constricted by the society that raised him to think that deviating from the status quo was wrong. Here on the islands, he felt like a bird set free from his cage. 

Being with Jimin is a lot like that. 

They walk around the island, talking about everything and nothing, and Yoongi tells him more about coming to the islands when he was younger. 

“After I came out to them,” he says as they sit down by a tteokbokki and fish cake stand, eating from the same paper cup, “they stopped inviting me.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry,” Jimin says sadly.

Yoongi swallows hard but shakes his head. “It’s okay, I guess. I haven’t come here since then, but I missed it. Even if it’s difficult, this place has most of my happiest memories.” He turns to look at Jimin and smiles. “And some new ones now.”

“Yoongi hyung,” Jimin says, reaching out to take Yoongi’s hand in his. “I hope you know that you can be sad with me. If something is wrong or things get too heavy for you, you can count on me. I know we’re not very close and that you have other friends but I still hope you know that you can trust me.”

Yoongi blinks back the sudden sting in his eyes and nods. “I do. I trust you Jiminie,” he says sincerely. “Thank you.”

Jimin smiles tenderly and they look at each other for a second too long before Yoongi has to look away. He clears his throat and gets up. 

“How about we take a ride to Wolmido? I want to show you something.”

They take a cab across the bridge to the next island.

The sun is setting, dipping behind the watery horizon early as they say goodbye to autumn. Its light splinters across the sky in radiant rays, welcoming the moon as she takes her turn to shine upon them. 

But Yoongi can’t focus on that; he’s busy looking at Jimin. He watches him carefully as he looks out the window, eyes growing wide as they approach the next island. Wolmido Island is nothing like Muuido’s calm and quiet beach. Wolmido is home to Wolmi theme park where bright incandescent lights litter the boardwalk and loud music blasts through speakers. 

The cab drops them off right at the entrance to the park. 

“I had no idea this was here!” Jimin says with wonder in his voice. He grabs Yoongi’s hand and drags him inside, marveling at everything, pointing out crazy rides and small games and food stands. 

Yoongi can’t help but laugh a little. “You act like you’ve never been to a carnival before,” he says. 

“I’ve only been to Lotte and it’s way too packed for my taste,” Jimin admits with a scowl. “This place is so much better. Can we get on a ride?”

He looks at Yoongi expectantly and how could Yoongi ever refuse those eyes? 

Yoongi takes him to his favorite ride, Disco Pang Pang. The ride is shaped like a circular plate with seats placed at the edge against the wall. Jimin sits next to him and immediately looks for a seatbelt or harness and when he can’t find one, he looks up at Yoongi confused. 

Yoongi gives him an apologetic look as Jimin’s eyes blow wide with terror. “I know what this is!” he says just as the ride begins. 

Yoongi takes a hold of the railing behind him and Jimin copies him as soon as the ride begins to bounce violently, sending everyone flying upwards. 

Jimin soon dissolves into a giggling mess as the ride bucks over and over, launching him this way and that and Yoongi has tears in his eyes as he laughs. 

The operator stops the ride to ask some girls their ages and if they have a boyfriend. When they say no, the operator gleefully says, “We’ll find you one today.”

The ride starts again and this time, Jimin’s hands slip and he practically lands on Yoongi’s lap only to be bounced immediately off him and into the seat on his other side, creating a gap between them. The operator sees this and by some miracle of physics, launches one of the girls he had been talking to directly into that gap. The ride bounces over and over, rolling people this way and that and the poor girl next to Yoongi ends up tucked into his side, holding on for dear life. 

Somehow though as the opposite side of the ride lifts and bucks, the poor girl is launched forward once again and now Jimin is the one holding onto Yoongi to not fly off into the center of the ride. They stay like that for the rest of the ride, holding onto each other and laughing so hard they’re blue in the face until finally after what feels like an eternity, the ride ends and they walk off on shaky legs and sporting a couple of new bruises. 

“I’m never letting you pick the ride again,” Jimin says breathlessly. 

“I feel bad for that poor girl,” Yoongi muses. “She wasn’t even his target and somehow she ended up being thrown to the other side suddenly.”

“Oh. Uh, right. Poor thing,” Jimin mutters. “Hey! Ice cream!” He rushes forward and Yoongi has to run to catch up to him. 

He buys Jimin a scoop and they walk around a little longer, content to just look around at the lights and people enjoying themselves.

“Want some ice cream Yoongi hyung?” Jimin asks, smiling sweetly.

“Sure,” he says and Jimin gets close, lifting the little wooden spoon and just as Yoongi is about to take the spoon into his mouth Jimin puts it in his own and giggles wickedly. 

Yoongi scrunches up his face in faux laughter but he pushes Jimin’s hand away as he’s about to take another bite and grabs him by the back of the neck, pulling him close and kissing him. His tongue swipes at the inside of his mouth, tasting the sweet vanilla.

“Yum,” he says, licking his lips and flashing Jimin a devilish grin when he pulls back. 

“Hyung!” Jimin protests angrily pushing him away, face aflame but Yoongi just laughs in that gravelly way of his. 

Jimin pouts and walks away from him. 

“Aww come on baby, I was just playing!” Yoongi says to tease him more and Jimin takes the bait. 

“Don’t call me baby!” he cries. 

“Why not, baby? You don’t like it?”

“Stop!” he protests but his laugh betrays him. “Gosh, you’re such a–”

“A what?” Yoongi asks, stopping in front of him and blocking his path. 

“A jerk!” He tries to push past him but Yoongi is quick to take his hand and pull him back. 

“Let me make it up to you,” he says. Jimin glares, but he lets himself be pulled over to a carnival booth where contestants have to throw darts at balloons and if all get popped they win a prize. 

Jimin crosses his arms and lifts a brow. “If you don’t win, I’m stranding you on the island and going home,” he says and for a second, Yoongi believes him. 

“Take it easy on me,” he whispers to the operator who winks at him.

He takes the darts and to his absolute relief, every single one pops. 

A bell dings wildly and the booth operator cheers as she points to the giant stuffed toys he can pick from. It’s an easy choice. “The yellow chick please.” 

Jimin contentedly takes it and hugs it to himself and Yoongi slips a couple bills into the operator’s hand. They share a nod and a conspiratorial smile before he turns to Jimin. 

“Am I forgiven?” he asks. Jimin looks into the cute face of the yellow chick that reminds Yoongi of him and thinks for a second before shrugging and rolling his eyes. 

“Alright. Will you forgive me if I buy you soju and we get drunk on the beach?” Yoongi asks, trying a different approach and Jimin’s face lights up. 

The beach Yoongi takes them to is a private little thing, hidden behind the flash and fanfare of the park. Here, the lights are much dimmer, allowing the stars to shine upon the softly cresting waves. 

He’s been here once before when he got lost years ago. His brother found him sitting in the sand, all thoughts of the park forgotten as he just watched the water. 

It feels like a lifetime ago. 

He sits next to Jimin and they share a bottle of soju that is gone all too soon. He pulls out another and takes a swig, letting the alcohol warm his belly. 

They don’t say much for a while as the sunlight finally dies out and the only light by which they can see the water is the faded glow of the park and the full moon that hangs directly above them. 

“Thank you,” Jimin says softly, eyes trained on the water. “For today. I needed it.”

Yoongi turns to look at him, drinking him in as he sits silhouetted against the backdrop of the stars studding the sky. 

“You can be sad with me, Jimin,” he says, echoing Jimin’s earlier words. 

Jimin offers him a soft laugh and sighs before laying back on the sand. 

Yoongi copies him, resting his head next to Jimin’s and together they look up at the night sky.

“I don’t think Namjoon will ever love me,” Jimin confesses to the stars. Yoongi’s heart clenches at the sadness in his voice but says nothing. He doesn’t want to be dishonest and tell him that it will happen eventually because the truth is he doesn’t know. 

Before he can find words of comfort, Jimin speaks again.

“Do you really think I don’t like you Yoongi?” he asks, catching Yoongi off guard. 

He shrugs and smiles wryly. “I think you tolerate me. Which is fair since we didn’t really start off on the right foot. And I think I like you a lot more than you like me.”

Jimin seems to still on the sand next to him. For a second he lays in silence and then Yoongi feels him shake his head.

“No,” he says quietly. “I do like you.”

The confession strikes Yoongi as sincere, but he isn’t sure if Jimin is trying to be kind or if he really means it. He hopes he does. Being with Jimin, even if their time together has been short, has changed his perspective on so many things. Jimin is passionate, a shot of life, and even if sometimes it’s difficult for Yoongi to understand him, he’s learned a lot from him, especially about confidence in doing what one loves. 

He’s grown entirely too fond of him. 

“I’m sorry I’m so intense all the time,” Jimin says.

“Don’t be. I like that about you.”

Yoongi feels Jimin shift and when he turns his head, he finds him looking his way. 

“Most people can’t handle it,” he says a little sadly. 

“Then most people don’t deserve you.”

Jimin’s eyes become brighter in the moonlight and Yoongi realizes they’re brimming with tears. 

He sniffs a little and wipes at his eyes before hiding his face in his hands. Yoongi gets up and scoots over to him. 

“Are you okay? Was it something I said?” he asks in a panic.