Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Wait, so who’s sleeping with who??”

“Can you not phrase it like that, oh my god Namjoon, relax.”

It’s time for the whole of Bangtan to pick their rooms in their dorms, and it’s abosolutely chaotic. Seokjin is sitting on the ground hugging tight his Mario stuffie with Taehyung clinging to his back like a panda. 

They had just finished their dance practice for "No More Dream", except with 50 more extra backup dancers and everyone is tired. The manager hyungs have already ordered them food which is supposed to be coming soon, but for now, they had shoved them in a new dorm room and was told to behave.

Hoseok is lying flat on the ground, tired and exhausted. Jungkook, Yoongi and Jimin occupy the couch as Namjoon sits in a one-seater. It’s tense, as no one wants to pick last.

Namjoon clears his throat, “As the leader, I think I should pick first.”

The response is a roar, the loudest one is Hoseok, “Do not use your leader card on this one! That’s unfair!”

“You don’t even know who I’m going to pick!”

Yoongi snorts, “Namjoon, no one wants to put up with your tractor snores.”

Jungkook and Taehyung erupt into giggles, and Namjoon sulks back into his seat. Hoseok laughs loudly, and gets up to high five Yoongi.

Jimin rubs his eyes tiredly, “Can we get this over with, I’m tired.”

Yoongi squints and nods, “We should do oldest to youngest.”

Seokjin, who was otherwise occupied by the toy he had in his hands, gasps. “No fair! I’m the youngest one here, that’s not right! Hyuuuunnng!” His whining drowns out everyone's incoherent thoughts as Seokjin musters the best dog eyes he can.

Seokjin is waving his hands around, pouting intensely and the rest of the group cringes. They all know that Seokjin will get what he wants in the end, especially with all the cutesy aegyo.

Taehyung unravels his arms from Seokjin’s waist and beams, “Why don’t we let Jinnie pick first?”

The response, once again, is chaos. Although much more different than Namjoon’s. Seokjin is, by far, the cleanest out of all of them. He doesn’t make much noise, or take up much space, and is always quite angelic. Most of the times anyways. The only thing is, he would need an extensive storage for his Mario collection but other than that, he was a perfect roommate.

Jimin jumps off from the couch and cradles Seokjin’s hands in his, “Remember when I bought you lunch? And dinner? And fed you? Isn’t hyung good to you?”

Jungkook rolls his eyes and smacks Jimin on the back of his head, “Oi, stop abusing your hyung title. We all know who it is that Seokjin appreciates the most.” With that, he smiles (the smile that he reserves for two things, Seokjin and his beautiful closet of completely white shirts), revealing his bunny teeth.

“We’re the closest in age too, just a few months! We get along the best.”

Seokjin opens his mouth to respond but Namjoon jumps out of nowhere, “Guys, look, I think it’d be most convenient that Seokjin rooms with me.”

Seokjin's laughter flies out right after, amused by the whole thing, but as soon as it's out, he immediately presses one hand to his mouth. They all turn to look at him with varying expressions. Maybe he shouldn’t have done that, he was just about to get popcorn for this whole feud.

Hoseok reaches out from his position to ruffle Seokjin’s hair, because let's be fair, that was too cute. It’s already tousled from dance practice but seemingly, if even possible, Seokjin still looks horribly pretty. 

The maknae line sigh in unison. Jungkook's eyes get bigger than they already are and he's so close to shedding tears because no one can be that pretty, what the hell? Taehyung chokes on his piece of gum and almost loses it. Jimin lets out a small cry, unfair, unfair, absolutely unfair.

With everyone distracted by the heavenly sound of laughter, and going through fast recovery, Taehyung peeks out from behind Seokjin and stretches his arms out to encase Seokjin in his hug. He smiles, teeth and all, and starts tickling Seokjin. Seokjin is pushed down to the ground, waves of laughter exiting as Taehyung proceeds to torture the poor maknae.

“If you don’t pick me, I won’t stop!” Taehyung yells out, tickling Seokjin with all his might. The laughter starts getting louder, “Tae! S-stop! Not there!!”

Seokjin is breathless and he’s just about ready to surrender when the hands disappear and he opens his eyes to see Yoongi peering over him. Eyebrows quirked up, clearly amused. Yoongi coughs, looking away suddenly to glare over at Taehyung.

“Hyung, what the heck? He was just about to pick me!” Says a disgruntled Taehyung from the side, rubbing at his neck where Yoongi inconveniently pulled him away.

Namjoon crosses his arms and scoffs, “That was plain dirty Taehyung.”

“Aish, you guys are so nosy. Seokjin-ah, you should pick me. You’re my favorite dongsaeng and I’ll treat you to dinner every once a week.”

Jimin gasps from the other side of the room, just snapping out of his trance, “Hyung! What the heck? That’s more dirty than Taehyung!”

“Are you serious hyung? I just told Taehyung off for his tricks.”

It’s basically everyone against Yoongi right now, eyes slanted and cheeks puffed up. It's a battlefield and Seokjin can only watch awkwardly as everyone starts berating each other.

Hoseok peels himself off the floor and brushes off the carpet fluff, “Ugh, you guys just let Seokjinnie pick. He hasn’t even been able to say a word.”

Everyone stops their bickering and turns to look at Seokjin, awaiting his response.

Seokjin is rubbing his hands together and his face is still red from Taehyung’s tickling and he sighs.

“I- I can just be in the room of three.”

“NO!” Is yelled out in unison by all of them, and Seokjin has to hold on to the floor to stop being thrown over by the wind of their loud answer.

“Remember what I said? Hyung promises you to get you dinner and everything.”

“Don’t listen to him, he’s such an old grandpa, we’re the closest in age!”

“You’re my favorite dongsaeng too!”

“Shut up Tae! You’re younger than me, you don’t even qualify to call him that!”

“Jinnie-ah, I promise I won’t destroy anything ever again if…”

“But I was the first to help you feel welcomed here!”

Seokjin’s eyes widen at all the arguing and rubs his forehead tiredly, he sighs, this is what he has to deal with everyday. Wouldn't it be great if he can just sleep right now, dancing was not how he wanted to spend this day, he has food to tend to. Now, he loves his hyungs and all but they're such big dorks. He waves his hands around, frustrated, “STOP!”

They all freeze in their actions, and it’s a beautiful sight to behold. Seokjin winces, there's a loud crash and Namjoon appears on the ground, disheveled.

Yoongi is inches away from pummeling Namjoon and Hoseok on the shoulders, Yoongi has the darkest aura surrounding him, it's awfully scary. Namjoon has already broken a chair, Hoseok has his hands over his face because no wants to be beat up by Yoongi, and Seokjin can literally hear the gears in Yoongi's head slowly stop turning. The maknae line have their hands in a circle, just seconds away from rock paper scissors, round 10. They keep drawing the same signs, every single time.

Seokjin pauses, biting his lip, and squirms uncomfortably under the attention.

“Hyung, can it be dinner.. Twice a week?”

Yoongi holds up his arms and lets out a loud cheer, he’s prancing around, grabbing his bags and Seokjin’s and shoving them into the first room. He's already in the room before a blink of an eye and they can all hear the satisfied sigh he's emitting. 

Jungkook snickers, even if he did lose, “He doesn’t even look like an grandpa anymore. That role should go to Namjoon-hyung.”

Namjoon furrows his eyebrows, “Just for that line, you’re in my room.”

“Wait what?”

“Hoseok, Jimin, Taehyung, you guys get the bunk bed plus the single.”

Taehyung jumps around happily, already forgetting the previous events, “Yay! I call dibs on the top bunk!”

“I don’t want to hear Namjoon-hyung snore though!”

i.

“Thanks for picking me.” Yoongi says from his side of the room, unloading his clothes and bags.

Seokjin turns around to smile at him (Yoongi tries not to stare), “Of course hyung! As long as there’s food and everything’s clean!”

It’s silent from then on, but that’s how they are. They both know Seokjin didn’t pick him just for the food, and Yoongi is content. He’s happy, and he’s especially happy with his new roommate. 

i.

“Okay, but I honestly do not want to hear Namjoon snore.”

“Yeesh, you’re dropping the honorifics now too? Disrespectful brat.”

Chapter Text

Considering all areas, it was obvious that Seokjin was the next in line for his hair to be dyed. Taehyung wasn’t very happy when the stylist noona pried Seokjin away from him, if his complaints of “ but his hair won’t be as soft anymore ” was anything. Taehyung sulks in his seat, poking at his own hair, a blaze of red. Seokjin had had the same brown hair for months, he doesn’t see why they bother to change it now.

Hoseok tilts his head in confusion when he enters the dorm with Jimin and Jungkook in tow, obviously back from another dance practice. “What’s got Tae in such a bad mood?”

Jimin scrunches his nose, “He’s literally sulking in a corner.” He shuffles near Taehyung and envelopes the boy in a hug. “Taetae!! Why are you so mopey?” Taehyung jumps at the sudden intrusion but leans back on his seat after realizing it’s just Jimin.

Taehyung flings his body around to face Jimin, eyebrows furrowed and lets out an exaggerated wail, “Jinnie is dying his hair! It won’t be as soft as before now!! It’ll be like Yoongi-hyung’s, all dry and ew !” Jimin blinks in surprise before snorting loudly, “Our comeback is soon, of course they’re dying his hair now. Don’t worry so much Tae, he’ll be fine.”

Jungkook snickers silently in the background, dragging a hand through his black locks. The manager hyungs spared him and Jimin back into their original black hair, while Yoongi had fumed silently in the corner. Hoseok slips off his shoes at the door and grabs a drink from the fridge before plopping himself beside Taehyung on the couch. He nudges the drink towards Taehyung who takes it and pops open the lid without hesitation.

“It’ll be alright, just one hair dye won’t ruin his hair to become like Yoongi-hyung’s.” Hoseok pats him on the back while Jimin hums his agreement. Taehyung nods slightly and leaps up to turn on his favorite anime. Jungkook sits down on the single seat and pulls out his phone for another round of Candy Crush.

ii.

“Um… Noona, is this the color I’m getting?” Seokjin eyes the container warily while the girl smiles, “Yes, don’t worry about it. It’s for your next comeback and-” She glances at him, “it’s not going to be a big burden. It’s just hair.”

Seokjin nods, and closes his eyes as the stylist noona grabs ahold of the hair dye. She gulps before shaking her head, do it for the fans, do it for the paycheck, do it even if you might not survive consequences of the results.

ii.

The door opens to reveal Namjoon and Yoongi, back from the studio. Namjoon grabs the plates of cookies that Seokjin had managed to bake the day before and ruffles Jimin’s hair before seating himself nearby.

They all glance up and give their greetings before returning to whatever they were doing. Yoongi looks around, annoyance sketched onto his face. “Where’s Seokjin?” The three sitting on the couch glance up at him and Taehyung says - without looking up from his anime - “Oh, noona dragged him away to dye his hair.”

Yoongi sighs, “What color?”

Taehyung shakes his head, grabbing a cookie from Namjoon’s plate. “She didn’t say. Just left with him in hand, although it’s probably gonna be black or something.”

Namjoon grimaces, “Nah, manager-hyung told me that only Jungkook and Jimin would have black hair for this comeback.” He winces, remembering the turquoise color upon his own head.

Jungkook shrugs nearby, eyes glued to his phone screen. “He’ll come back sometime soon, we’ll find out then.”

ii.

Seokjin opens his eyes to look at the mirror and woah, he looks better than he thought. But then again, he’s always good looking. The stylist noona scoffs, as if knowing what Seokjin was thinking and brings a comb through his hair, to reveal his forehead.

Seokjin smiles after she’s finished with the blow drying and gives a wave before exiting the room. The stylist clutches her heart and shrinks down into a chair. A few seconds later she bolts up, realizing she forgot to give him a hat to cover it all up.

Shit.

ii.

The door opens to reveal Seokjin, who lights up at the sight of his hyungs in the room. Namjoon is the first to greet him, eyes on the TV before glancing at his hair, “Hi Ji- oh my god.” Yoongi squints and turns around to see blonde Seokjin, his jaw dropping to the floor. “I- oh.. Wha-?”

Hoseok looks at the two beside him and turns around, “What the heck? Oh hey Jinnie! What color is your... hair.” He trails off at the end, gulping and his eyes are as wide as saucers, hands gripping the couch tightly.

Jimin turns around, eyebrows furrowing at the paleness of Yoongi’s face and Namjoon opening and closing mouth, no sounds coming out. He smiles at Seokjin and gives a wave before his smile falls and his hand shoots up to cover his mouth in a gasp.

Jungkook lifts his eyes and when he’s greeted with Seokjin’s smile and new hair color, he promptly falls out of his seat. Taehyung turns around in confusion, hearing Seokjin’s name and when he sees him, his mouth drops. “OH MY GOD JINNIE! YOUR HAIR!”

“He- He’s blond!”

“Oh man holy shit, where’s the camera?”

“GET ME THE AMBULANCE TAETAE, YOONGI-HYUNG HAS FAINTED!”

“Jimin, you might want to get that ambulance for me first…”

ii. 

Seokjin watches uncomfortably as his hyungs squirm closer to him, peering at his hair. Jungkook reaches out a hand to touch the hair and gasps like his fingers were burned. His eyes widen into saucers before stating, mesmerized, “It’s so… soft. ”

ii.

Stylist noona grimaces, lifting up her phone and refreshing twitter, rubbing her arms. She pauses when a picture flashes onto her timeline, and she almosts drops the phone. It’s Seokjin, blond Seokjin and the people in the comments are already going through near death experiences.

“Oh my god,” She says, horrified, “It’s started.”

/bonus/

groupchat: the three j’s (^-^)

jin: look hyungs!!! we’re having a comeback soon and noona dyed my hair!! what do you think? :D

jaebum: OSHDIUHSLASLS omg

jaehwan: NONONONONOMGGG

jaehwan: but hey

jaehwan: we twinning ;)

jaebum: PJSOJSDAJP ..

jaebum: ..it’s…… so niceAJJAL

jaewhan: are you okay jb,,

jaebum: srry i’m still recovering from his hair

jaehwan: bless that stylist :’)

jin: i think i look pretty good!! hoseok-hyung keeps stuttering tho… and yoongi-hyung is all red.. are they sick?

jaebum: …

jaebum: bless your innoncent soul

Chapter Text

Seokjin comes along and joins the group in the most peculiar way. The group, at first, consisted of Yoongi and Namjoon, childhood best friends who then befriended Hoseok. Then Hoseok, with his tendency to befriend dongsaengs had dragged with him Jimin. Everywhere Jimin goes, Taehyung goes and Taehyung also brought Jungkook in.

It was a bit odd, considering it was college, none of their schedules really matched and the fact that they were all in different majors. Namjoon was doing double majors, psychology and music composition, Yoongi had his hands full with audio production and Hoseok was doing language and culture studies. Jimin was extremely interested in accounting, and Taehyung was practicing veterinary science and Jungkook had taken to the fine arts.

They would meet up on Sunday evening’s because no one booked a monday morning class (thank god ), and the maknae line would meet up more than the hyung’s but they all end up crashing at Namjoon’s dorms anyways.

It’s the morning after, the crash after the high that at a startling 8 am in the morning, there is a few curt knocks to the door. Namjoon wakes up first, as usual, and is in the middle of pouring orange juice into his glass (because unlike some people, he’s not a filthy stinker and drinks it straight from the carton), when he hears it. He shuffles to the door and opens it, only to be greeted with the brightest smile he’s ever seen someone wear in college.

It’s a guy, very attractive one at that, dressed in a light pink hoodie and nicely ripped jeans that shows off his very nice- Namjoon stops. The guy is talking.

“Hi! Sorry to wake you, I baked a few extra cookies and thought if you’d like some.” Attractive guy in pink says, holding out what Namjoon thinks to be a basket full of cookies.

Namjoon wonders why this young guy hasn’t been preyed on yet, cookies, especially homemade ones are the number one lure to hungry college guys with no life. The smell is great though, seems to be spreading and he knows their next door neighbour, Chanyeol, has the nose of a hound and an insane love for sweets, so he takes the basket and utters a quick thanks before shutting the door.

When Namjoon turns around, he’s confronted with Jimin and Jungkook’s doe eyes, mouths parted in barely concealed shock.

“What?” His hands are still wrapped around the basket of cookies, yet the two only gives it one dismissive look before staring at him again.

“Did you- Did you just close the doors on the Kim Seokjin?”

Namjoon blinks. “Who?”

Jimin wails, hands coming up to cover his face, rambling about, “Oh dear god, Namjoon-hyung is the one that’s going to ruin our social life, oh my god, no-”

Jungkook stares at Namjoon for a bit, ignoring Jimin’s distress before shaking his head. Taehyung pops out from the bathroom, seemingly noticing Jimin’s anguish before patting Namjoon on the back.

“Hyung, you know the guy who just got into this college and then proceeded to wipe everyone out with his amazing acting skills and visuals? Yeah. That’s Kim Seokjin.”

Namjoon does vaguely remember that night where Hoseok was blubbering about some hot guy and Jimin was piss-drunk crying about how utterly ethereal the man was. Oh . That’s Kim Seokjin.

“But isn’t- isn’t he younger than us?”

Taehyung nods, eyes forming stars and lips creeping into a malicious grin, Namjoon backs away slightly, “Yup! Younger than Jungkookie too!”

“He’s the most popular guy on campus right now!” Interrupts Jimin, hands wiping his eyes, “And that spot was only previously occupied by Jiyong-sunbae, Taemin-sunbae, and Kris-hyung, before they graduated of course.”

Namjoon nods, hands rubbing his forehead, it’s too early for maknae line to be attacking him right now.

Jimin digs into his pocket for his phone and shoves it in Namjoon’s face in an alarming speed, “See? He even has an official fanclub. A fanclub hyung! Not only could that been our chance to talk to him, we could’ve been friends with him too! Then Jungkook might’ve finally get laid or something!”

“Hey!” Jungkook yells from the other side of the room, “What the fuck?”

Jimin shakes his head and glares at Jungkook, before turning back to Namjoon, “See hyung, the reason Kim Seokjin is popular is because he’s gorgeous, sweet, funny, charming and like, the most perfect human being.”

Jungkook nods fervently on the side, curled up on the couch like the emo child he is.

Taehyung adds in, “Be thankful Hoseok hasn’t woken up yet, he would’ve been screaming about Kim Seokjin along with Jimin.” Namjoon sniffs, placing the basket full of cookies on the table and sighing.

A flurried head shoves its way into the hallway, the face of Hoseok, clearly confused, “I heard my name? Oh are those cookies?”

Jimin screeches, jumping off the stool and running face first into Hoseok while screaming, “HOSEOK-HYUNG, KIM SEOKJIN WAS HERE!”

Hoseok goes, “OH MY GOD WHAT?”

Namjoon closes his eyes, it’s going to be a long day.

Chapter Text

Jimin blinks suspiciously at a calm Namjoon, who is currently trying to pick the chocolate off the chocolate chip cookies. Jimin leans in and drops his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, “What did Kim Seokjin say to you?”

Namjoon looks up. Blinks. “What?”

“What did,” Jimin leans in even closer, “Kim Seokjin, God of the Gods, say to you?”

“Um,” Namjoon stammers helplessly, mouth opening and closing like a fish, “He just… Wanted to give me cookies as a friendly gift?”

“Oh my god.” Jimin says, leaning back in awe. “What a sweetheart. What did we do to deserve him, I’m-” He sobs dramatically, “I’m so in love.”

Namjoon grimaces, putting the now chocolate chip-less cookie back onto the tray, “You don’t even know him…”

Jimin slams his fist on the table and Namjoon jumps up in surprise, “That doesn’t mean anything! Romeo barely knew Juliet before they went off and died together in a escapade of forbidden love!”

“Okay,” Namjoon utters slowly, inching away back into his room, “I think you have a class you should be getting to… I’m gonna. Gonna. Work. Yeah. That. Bye.”

Outside, he can hear the slam of the door and when Namjoon peeks his head out again, Jimin is gone from his seat and he sighs in relief. They’re all fucking crazy, and now that the last of them are gone, he can finally breathe. The only sensible one, probably, was Yoongi, but he was busy at the studio today. Namjoon sends him a quick text, warning him about Hoseok and maknae line.

iii.

“Kim Seokjin is gay,” Jimin confirms excitedly as he slides into the booth, sitting next to Jungkook who barely acknowledges his existence, eyes glued on his phone screen, “Like. Very gay, so gay. Gay like, like the porn Namjoon has on his laptop.”

Taehyung claps his hands together in excitement, but stills, “But is this just because he wears pink? That’s kind of rude to stereotype though.”

Jungkook’s eyes widen, chin on his two hands as he listens to Jimin, his phone long forgotten on the side. The boy was whipped for anything as long as you mention Kim Seokjin. Such was the power of such an amazing man.

Jimin shakes his head profusely, letting out an exaggerated gasp, “Okay no. You know I don’t do that. His roommate is Jaehwan-hyung and he told me that he and Seokjin used to,” Jimin stop to lower his voice to a whisper, side-eyeing their surroundings, “ Date.”

There’s silence and Jungkook blanches. “Wait, if they used to date. Then. Then why are they still sharing a dorm room if they’re exes?”

Jimin shrugs, “Don’t know. But that’s not the point, the point is Seokjin is gay because he put up with Jaehwan-hyung who is flamboyantly gay, that’s something right there. Oh god. I can just imagine it, poor, lovely, young, pure Seokjin who had to put up with Jaehwan. The poor boy.” Jimin sniffles.

"He's the same age as me, though." Jungkook says, "You never think I'm pure."

"Shush," Jimin hisses back, "You're you."

"Besides," Jimin continues, ignoring Jungkook's loud hmmph, "Seokjin is a lovely, amazing soul. I heard he goes to the community centres to be a sweetheart and apparently he also volunteers as a model for desperate artists who can't find a willing participant. And this is only his first year here, he's so amazing. Imagine someone like that with Jaehwan-hyung, who literally makes so many dirty innuendos, probably one every ten seconds."

"You do too." Taehyung offers cheerfully.

"Don't know what you're talking about." Jimin glares, "Anyways, right now Seokjin probably is back in the dorms. Last time I heard, he was looking for someone to bake cookies with him. That's so cute right? Imagine him in a apro-"

Jimin stops when he notices a relatively weird silence, a quiet Taehyung, and Jungkook, who’s got a very suspicious look on his face. Before he knows it, Jungkook is pushing him out of the booth, and it’s only because of Jimin’s internal stubbornness and love for Seokjin that he manages to pushes Jungkook back into the booth, saving himself from a tragic fall onto the tiled floor.

Thing was, even though Jimin isn’t that strong compared to muscle pig Jungkook who just never seemed to stop fucking working out all the time, if it weren’t for his competitiveness and soft spot for cute gay boys then he’d never stand a chance against Jungkook. He was kind of desperate. This was Seokjin they were talking about, he’s not going to let Jungkook get there and use his “same-year buddies” as an excuse to get closer to Seokjin. Jimin knows , if he wasn’t that desperate to have held Jungkook in place, Jungkook would have been long gone by now, running all the way to Jaehwan’s dorm and faking it in the only way Jungkook knows how.

“Oh no you don’t,” Jimin barks out, “Don’t do it Mister. We all got to begin at the same starting line.”

Jungkook huffs in annoyance, eyes pushing up into slits. He scoffs and frowns, looking very much like a disgruntled child who couldn’t get what they wanted at the toy store.

Now that he’s got Jungkook solved, he looks up to reiterate to Taehyung but Taehyung wasn’t even there. The spot the man occupied was gone, the milkshake still half full, and Jimin’s mouth drops in astonishment.

He whips out his phone and texts Taehyung, sending him a bunch of exclamation marks and angry faced emojis. Taehyung replies with a laughing face, clearly mocking him.

Jimin turns back to Jungkook, who only eyes at something behind him. Jimin jumps up and makes a run for the door before Jungkook catches up and they’re both squeezing out of the door, running down the pavement back to their dorms. Jimin almost trips over his own feet and Jungkook survives dodging through the few people on the street, who all glance at them as if they both grew two heads.

Such is the life of me, Jimin thinks bitterly, I’ve got two sneaky, selfish, and merciless douchebags for friends.

iii.

("I'm actually concerned on how you know all this about Seokjin, hyung." Jungkook side-eyes him. "Are you stalking him?"

Jimin gasps loudly, "No! That's like... yandere or something. I was just talking to Jaehwan. And Yugyeom told me about the baking thing, he's neighbors with them."

Jungkook gapes. Jimin eyes him warily. Jungkook runs for it.)

iii.

Namjoon hears the door slam shut and he turns his head to see Yoongi trudging in. He waves in greeting, and Yoongi only nods back at him.

“So,” Namjoon says, pulling out his phone as he takes a seat on the stool, “How was the recording?”

Yoongi stares back at him, eyes slightly glazed over before he shakes himself out of it at the sound of Namjoon’s voice, “Oh. Um. It was good. We had a few students from the acting department come over to test the equipment and vocalization or something. It was.” Yoongi brushes a hand through his hair, “It was good.”

Namjoon purses his lips out in a frown, “You okay?”

Yoongi nods, and Namjoon eyes Yoongi suspiciously before shrugging it off. Must’ve been a weird day at class then.

“Did you get my text?”

Yoongi’s head shoots up, “Which one?”

“Kim Seokjin. Maknae line and Hoseok are going crazy over him. Don’t really see why. Guy is handsome but like… they all barely know him. Probably another of their stupid crushes.”

Yoongi laughs awkwardly, “Yeah. Yeah, another stupid crush. Right.”

Now that was weird. Yoongi isn’t acting like himself. Namjoon sits up straight and puts his phone away, “Hyung, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Yoongi says, “It’s just that.” He pauses, glancing at Namjoon with a look that seemed to be apologizing for something. “Kim Seokjin has a really. Really nice voice.”

Namjoon blanches.

“Oh no,” he says, and Yoongi only stares helplessly back at him, mouth curving up into a grimace. “Yeah,” Yoongi says weakly, “Oh no.”

Chapter Text

Granted, Namjoon is the last one to actually meet Seokjin. Formerly. With the introductions and exchanges of social media or something, because Namjoon wouldn’t mind an extra follower on his already pretty popular instagram page. (His followers are mostly “ulzzang fanatics” who repost a lot of his pictures. But he’ll take what he can get, he appreciates those who appreciate a good aesthetic.)

He loves his friends, with every fiber in his heart - but they were acting completely off their heads. Seokjin’s attractive, yes, but Namjoon didn’t feel weird tingly things in his heart or mind and he definitely didn’t practically die inside at the missed opportunity that was his and Seokjin’s exchange at the door. He doesn’t get the rest of his friends, honestly.

So. When he hears that Jeongguk somehow managed to convince Seokjin (the poor guy) to come hang out at Namjoon’s dorms (not even asking Namjoon if that was okay, like Namjoon knows the guy already or something! Which he doesn’t! Thank you very much ) and the rest of the group jumped on this opportunity without ever considering Namjoon’s feelings. Not that he was entirely against it but, still. (A part of him, the little part he shoves back into his head, is quite curious as to who Seokjin is, to have made his friends so giddy and riled up and infatuated. He knows, on the surface, Seokjin is technically perfect but - what else? He knows Jimin, Jeongguk and Taehyung get infatuated with attractive people quite easily, but not enough for them to stay so committed in bringing in Seokjin to this little group they’ve established.)

Whatever, Namjoon thinks, he’ll just introduce himself and retreat to his room when Seokjin gets here. The others would surely occupy Seokjin’s attention. He nods to himself, grabbing for a bag of chips on the table when -

His phone dings.

jeongguk: it’s rush hour right now, the bus isn’t even moving

jeongguk: so me, tae hyung and jimin hyung will probably get there after seokjin arrives :(

taehyung: T_T

jimin: …running is faster than this istg

Namjoon blinks. Reads the texts again.

namjoon: wait. so. @yoongi @hoseok what about you guys

yoongi: on the bus too.

hoseok: just left the dance studio

namjoon: does this mean i’m the only one here to welcome seokjin in??

hoseok: apparently! lucky boy

jimin: :(((((

jeongguk: stupid bus

namjoon: wtf i’m the only one that doesn’t know him though

taehyung: is this fate?

yoongi: dude just talk to him

Namjoon puts his phone down and rubs at his temples, ignoring the continuous texts from the group chat. This is not how he imagined he would spend his Friday night, dorm empty of substantial food save for year-old ramen (Ramen never expires, Taehyung muttered as he made himself a bowl), bags of chips, a container of Namjoon’s mother’s kimchi and some instant miso soup packets. He reaches for the bag of chips and attempts to open it. He fails. He tries a few more times, and he gets it on the fifth try, except it opens from the bottom, all the chips and seasoning exploding on his pants. Namjoon stares at the mess, the powder all over his white shirt and jeans, and he stands up, wincing at the sound of the chips sliding to the floor and of course, because he has brilliant luck, that’s when the doorbell rings.

A long drawn out “fuck” spirals through his brain as he stumbles to get the door. He breathes, and tries not to look down at his chip stained sweatpants. Namjoon hopes Seokjin won’t see it either.

He opens the door. And well - Seokjin there’s with a grocery bag in hand. There’s a smile on his face, before it turns to confusion, and mild concern when his eyes dart down to Namjoon’s messy situation.

“Hi,” Seokjin says, eyes darting back up, flushing slightly, “Jeongguk invited me here so I brought some food. Is he here?” He lifts up the grocery bags and Namjoon blinks at him. Once. Twice.

“Yeah,” Namjoon mumbles, “He’s going to be late though. They all are.” And quietly, only for him to hear, “Assholes. All of them.”

Seokjin coughs slightly, “So can I come in?”

Namjoon looks up, and reddens when he realizes he’s been stranding the poor guy outside. “Yeah, yeah, make yourself at home,” Namjoon closes the door as Seokjin slips in, “I’m going to go change. You can just - yeah put your stuff on the island.”

When Namjoon resurfaces, Seokjin’s on his phone, humming to a song Namjoon might’ve heard somewhere when he was really young, sitting cross-legged on the couch. He’s biting his lips as he types into his phone. He’s. Well. Namjoon thinks Seokjin looks pretty cute.

“You’re born in ‘97, right?”

“Yup,” Seokjin says, looking up and smiling at Namjoon. Before something dawns on him and his eyes widen in horror, “Oh god, Jeongguk calls you hyung! You’re older! Oh gosh I’ve been using banmal this entire time. I’m so sorry, Namjoon-hyung.” He’s long dropped his phone on the couch, waving around his hands, obscured by his sweaters, so it just looks like he’s swinging his very large sleeves around frantically. (Woah, Namjoon thinks, blinking. Really cute.)

“No worry,” Namjoon says as he sits down on the other side of the couch, “I was born in ‘94.”

Seokjin smiles at him, “That’s neat! What are you studying?”

“Psychology and music composition.” Namjoon says shyly, knowing this was all just polite talk to pass the time until the rest get here. But still, Seokjin seems to be interested in what he has to say. And well, Namjoon wants to get to know Seokjin too.

“Oh woah, double majors?” Seokjin exclaims (Namjoon urges the instinct to coo at Seokjin’s wide, sparkling, eyes away), “That’s pretty cool hyung. I have a few friends who are doubling too, but none of them are doing two subjects so different from each other.”

“Yeah I’ve been interested in these two since I was young,” Namjoon says, smiling slightly, “I wanted to do something involved in clinical care, but I also couldn’t give up music so. Here I am.”

“You’re doing acting right? Jeongguk and the others are big fans.”

Seokjin blushes. “Yeah, he’s - Oh it’s kind of embarrassing actually. They’re really lovely people though. Jimin-hyung, Taehyung-hyung and Jeongguk helped me with baking some cookies yesterday. They even brought all the ingredients, even though I already had them. They can’t bake for shit though, sadly.” Seokjin says this all seriously, shaking his head as his nose scrunches up in distaste.

Namjoon blinks at him, momentarily surprised by the swear but only shakes his head as he looks down to hide his laugh. “They’re all horrible in the kitchen. But I am too, so there’s that.”

Seokjin laughs, and was about to say something before Namjoon’s phone rings.

Namjoon glances at the caller ID, before looking up at Seokjin. “They’re finally here.”

“Hey,” Namjoon says as he picks up, “Where are you?”

“Hey hyung, I’m doing a quick stop at the grocery store,” Taehyung replies, “Jimin and Jeongguk already left because they were too impatient and really wanted to see Seokjinnie, which I do too, but they ditched me at the cashier so. I hate them.”

“Okay,” Namjoon replies, glancing at Seokjin, who’s eyes are flickering around the room, taking in the surroundings (the mess), “Wait but why are you calling?”

“Slight problem,” Taehyung says, “I left my wallet in Jeongguk’s backpack, and I’ve been sweet-talking the cashier to distract her from my penniless cause but sweet-talking isn’t going to get me free groceries. Can you send me 40,000 won through paypal? The others won’t pick up.”

“Yeah sure,” Namjoon says, “I’ll do that-” and he takes this moment. This exact moment to look back at Seokjin, who’s long left the couch to peer out the window, right at this moment where the sun is setting and the sky is a beautiful ombre of red, orange and blue, and all of it reflects on Seokjin’s face and there’s something about it. Something about it that looks too beautiful. So beautiful Namjoon is tempted to take a picture right now, call be damned. Seokjin looks so at peace, so ethereal and Namjoon gulps.

“Fuck,” he whispers.

“Hyung?” Taehyung says through the phone, “You okay?”

“Kim Seokjin is really ethereal.” Namjoon whispers into the phone.

There’s silence at the end of the line.

“Great! Took you long enough,” Taehyung drawls, “But hyung, please hang up and send me the money so I can pay and not go into jail for whatever crime this is for distracting the cashier and not paying for your groceries.”

“It’s a misdemeanor crime, you’ll get out on bail,” Namjoon supplies unhelpfully, “But yeah - okay. Bye Tae.”

-

When the rest of the crew arrives just seconds after Namjoon sends the money to Taehyung. Jeongguk and Jimin arrive first, Jeongguk slamming the door open, with a loud, “Hah I win! Take that Jimin!” which Jimin only responds with a punch to Jeongguk’s arm, tacking on a “hyung” to the sentence. Then, they see Seokjin, and Namjoon can see the exact moment where they completely reinvent themselves. Jimin does a little eye-blinky thing before he jumps over with his eyes curled into crescents, a big smile on his face, as he goes in for a hug. Jeongguk latches onto Seokjin’s arm, and his teeth poke in a cute little bunny smile as Seokjin smiles back.

Jimin’s hands are looped around Seokjin’s neck, the two sitting on the couch as Jeongguk sits on the right of Seokjin, when Yoongi and Hoseok enter. Yoongi kind of freezes, but does his little wave and small smile as he finds his place on the couch. Hoseok practically melts and sputter out few bits of nonsense before he leaps over, softly shoves Jimin away, and introduces himself to Seokjin. He squeezes right in the spot between Yoongi and Seokjin, which was just a little, tiny, bit, but you know - Hoseok will take what he can get.

Taehyung arrives last, a grocery bag in each hand, and Jeongguk and Jimin are silent, eyes wide as they peer at him. He places the bags softly on the table before he closes the door and then turns to Seokjin. He pulls him in close for a hug, and his eyes linger on Seokjin before he’s turning to Jeongguk and Jimin who have no retreated into the corners of the room.

Then, he’s loud, and fierce and “You two are assholes! See if I ever go out shopping with any of you! Ditching me at the store and then leaving me penniless! You’re both treating me next time! I’m going to buy all the Miyazaki Blu-ray CD’s I can find and none of you can stop me!” and then he lunges and Jimin and Jeongguk run.

Namjoon turns on the TV and puts on The Great Britain Baking Show from Netflix. They’re still running around, and Seokjin is laughing at them all, squeaky windshield laughs that makes Hoseok and Yoongi send their most endearing look at him, and then - the loudness dims. Taehyung starts laughing too, at how crazy everything’s been, and then Jimin doubles over onto the carpet, Jeongguk laughing at Jimin, Hoseok clapping like a seal at the unfolding events, and Yoongi bares his teeth in his gummiest smile.

When the intro of the show ends, they’re all occupying the couch or the carpet in front of it. Seokjin in the middle of it all, the colours of the TV flickering back onto his face, staring at wonderment at the layered cake, as Yoongi and Hoseok bicker over whether or not Sandra the baker from Yorkshire was going to make it to the finals and when Namjoon turns to look at the side - at all of them, crowded like this, in front of the TV, nibbling on the snacks Seokjin brought and Taehyung bought, shoulders tucked together, arms looped together - he thinks, this is what a complete picture looks like.

The couch has been weary, weighed down from the six of them constantly lounging on it and Namjoon has always thought their group was enough - six was a big enough number - and that any more would just be too much. But. Seokjin’s here. And it doesn’t look like there’s anything different, he blends in with them all so well, blushing under their constant adoration, laughing at all the ruckus they cause, and it’s just - how does Namjoon put it into words - it’s just lovely.

It’s complete.

(They learn the next day that Seokjin also has no morning classes so they spend the morning watching reruns of old cartoons, dancing to old songs from the 90’s, and Seokjin always ends up doubling over to laugh, laughter coming out in puffs of squeaks and god, it’s so endearing and too cute for their poor selves. And when Seokjin’s voice comes through, a “hyung” slicing through their conversation, five heads turn to him, and Jeongguk laughs, because he knows how that feels and Seokjin beams under their attention. Yeah.

They might all be a little bit in love.)