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“Hey, Taetae, I got a new one.”“No. Hyung, come on, don’t, not another one—”“Shut up, this one’s great— you’ll love it, just listen,” Seokjin insists, shooting Taehyung a smirk as he finishes adjusting the strap of his electric guitar around his neck.Taehyung sighs in defeat, crossing his arms, and raising an eyebrow expectantly at the older man, his drumsticks tucked between his bicep and his ribs. He just sat down, but he’s already made himself at home there, within his kit of red drums and metallic cymbals.“Fine. Shoot.”“Alright. Alright, so, you know what’s the difference between a drummer and a vacuum cleaner?” Seokjin starts, smirking. Taehyung can see Yoongi rolling his eyes behind him before he bends down to fumble with the chords connecting his keyboards to one of the amps on stage, but it’s a gesture he does so often and with such fondness, that Taehyung can’t guess whether it’s indicative of the quality of the drummer joke he’s about to listen.“Uh. Vacuum cleaners actually sound nice? Is that it? Is that the punchline?” Taehyung tries, but Seokjin snorts and shakes his head, his smirk accentuating.“Nah, that’d be basic. It’s— You gotta plug in vacuum cleaners for them to suck. That’s what the difference is. Hilarious, isn’t it. What I’m trying to say is you suck.”Taehyung is pretty sure Yoongi lets out a sigh at that.“Oh, wow,” his eyebrows raise. It’s not funny, but it’s not terrible. Also, it’s not offensive to him — he knows Seokjin doesn’t think badly of drums or drummers in general, and he knows how vital drums and drummers are in a rock band, so he doesn’t get slighted by the guitarist’s bad drummer jokes. Never have and never will. “Hyung, that’s just as basic, if not more. Also, I can’t believe you keep making fun of me after all this time when you’re literally dating the keyboardist of the band. The keyboardist.”Seokjin snickers, glancing briefly at Yoongi.“Hey, it could be worse— I could be dating the bassist instead. Right, Namjoonie?”“Shut up. The bass is vital and you know it,” Namjoon replies, frowning briefly at Seokjin from where he’s standing in front of the stage before he looks down at his phone again. Seokjin is totally unaffected, though. He just focuses on tuning his guitar, which is a bright shade of red that matches both, with the color of Taehyung’s drum kit and with the color of the kiss mark on the center of the bass drum – their logo.It’s all because of the name of the band.Red Army Lips.It’s a dumb story— Seokjin, Yoongi, and Namjoon, the founders of the band, decided on the band’s name by choosing one random word each. Seokjin’s was Red, Yoongi’s was Army, and Namjoon’s was Lips. Originally, though, Yoongi had chosen the word ‘blowjob’, but it fit so inappropriately well that he was forced to change it to something less sexually explicit. Once Taehyung was accepted as the group’s drummer, he whined for nearly two months straight about how Red Blowjob Lips was the best name a band made up solely of non-heterosexual men could ever have, but in the end, the band’s actual name grew in him. He also doubts they would’ve made it very far in the scene if they had kept the other name, as funny as it was.A brief but loud guitar riff sounds from the club speakers, and Taehyung watches as Seokjin’s crooked fingers move nimbly over the metallic strings of his guitar.“Show-off,” Taehyung says once it’s over, making sure to speak into the microphone that will make his voice bounce within the walls of the still near-empty club, but he’s smiling at the older man. Seokjin smiles back at him playfully.“That’s not me showing off. That’s just me warming up. You want me to show off? I can show off, alright—"It seems like Seokjin is about to actually go into Lead Guitarist mode when Yoongi’s voice booms from the speakers before he can even begin to play the strings.“Hey, Joon-ah, before these two dumbasses get even louder, you think Kookie will make it before the club opens up and we have to perform, or is it hopeless today as well?”Namjoon clicks his tongue and wrinkles his nose at that.“He’s not reading my texts, and when I tried calling him, I went straight to voicemail, so who knows. I’m trying to reach him right now, but he’s ignoring me.”“He had an exam today…” Taehyung says, remembering what their vocalist told them two days ago, when Seokjin dropped him off at his college after one of their usual rehearsal sessions. He frowns, then, poking his chin with the tip of his drumstick. “Or was it a meeting with a professor? I don’t remember anymore. It was something at his school, that’s all I know.”“All I need from him is for him to be here before we have to come out. And then sing his heart out and make people fall in love with his voice and our lyrics like he always does. That’s all I ask,” Yoongi states, and Taehyung agrees with him. Kind of. Neither Yoongi and he went to college, so they have no idea what it’s like to deal with being in school and in a band at the same time.Granted, they’re not exactly famous, but they’re not as small and unknown as they were when they first started either. Neither of them imagined their music would take them as far, and it was mostly a thing they started doing for fun, something accessory that helped them take their minds off their other responsibilities. Taehyung, for example, worked at a library. Yoongi worked at a restaurant. Seokjin and his brother owned the restaurant Yoongi worked at (Yoongi doesn't work there anymore, but Seokjin still owns half of the place). Namjoon was a last-year sociology student. They were busy with other things, but now they have barely any time left for things outside the band, because there are clubs, bars, and even music festivals fighting each other to get them to perform at their stages. They are signed to an independent music label and are steadily earning money thanks to their music. One of their music videos has a little over one million views. They are up in Spotify and, if everything goes well, they will soon reach ninety thousand monthly listeners by the end of the year, which is so, so much more than either of them ever imagined.Before they even had time to think about it, Red Army Lips turned into a full-time job. A full-time, fun, and extremely satisfying job, if you ask Taehyung.It’s a miracle Jungkook even shows up to rehearsals anymore. Taehyung knows, because he knows Jungkook the best and Jungkook has talked to him about it before, that the singer is not going to be around for much longer. Jungkook has told him that loves it, the music, the members, and the entire scene, but it is not what he wants to do forever, so he’s enjoying the ride while he can because he will soon quit. Taehyung knows, and he’s pretty sure that the others know too, even if Jungkook hasn't talked about it with them yet.Luckily, the vocalist makes it in time for a quick run through some of their songs before the opening of the club.He was at a meeting with some professor, he tells them, but he doesn’t give them much details about it (and couldn't do it even if he wanted to, because they don’t have much time before their gig starts).He seems a little nervous and unsteady when they rehearse, Taehyung can’t help but notice. He can only see him from the back, but he can still tell. Especially when the vocalist pauses during Seokjin’s guitar solo to take a giant gulp from his water bottle. Taehyung’s hitting the drums and cymbals with a very simple background beat, so it doesn’t require any concentration to shoot Jungkook the questioning look he’d been meaning to give him, and the lop-sided smile that the younger gives him in response doesn’t comfort him in the slightest.The show goes well.Jungkook seems to leave his unusual nervousness behind right on time. He laughs at the bad joke Seokjin cracks when he’s helping him with his eyeliner, accepts a shot of lucky whisky from Yoongi’s lucky flask and a drag from Namjoon’s lucky pot, and then he’s as good as new.Taehyung, too. His worries die with the whisky and the weed, and for the next sixty-ish minutes, there is nothing but adrenaline pumping through his veins; nothing but sweat sticking to his skin, to the tips of his dirty blonde hair, and, no doubt, getting his red bandana disgustingly wet. The bliss and the euphoria of performing works like a charm to make him forget about what could go wrong, and if Jungkook messes up at some point, Taehyung can’t even tell.“Hey, hyungs?” Jungkook says, later. Much later.They’re in Seokjin’s van. They were going to drop Jungkook off at his college dorm, but they stopped by a McDonald’s drive-thru on the way, so now they’re having a late unhealthy dinner in the first secluded parking lot they found. Hoseok joined them after the show. He’s Namjoon’s boyfriend. Full-time MBA student, part-time unofficial finance manager of Red Army Lips, part-time bartender at a rock club in Hongdae, and also, the provider of Namjoon’s lucky pot.Taehyung loves Hoseok a lot. They all do. Not as much as Namjoon does, obviously, but Taehyung is sure they have all made out with him at least once, including himself.“Yes, Kookie?” Yoongi asks (slurs) from where he’s sitting shotgun in a position that can’t be comfortable, with his knees tucked nearly all the way to his chest so he can have his bare feet over the console while he eats his fries. Taehyung wouldn’t be surprised if he choked on one of them.“I, uh. I got something to tell you…” Jungkook starts. He sounds hesitant. Nervous once again. Taehyung pouts, but when he looks at the singer and moves a little closer with the intention of putting his arm around his shoulders to comfort him he realizes that he was already hugging him like that. He squeezes his shoulder instead, and he braces himself.He knows what’s coming. They all do.So when Jungkook speaks the words, it hurts, but it’s not a big surprise.“I’m... I'm quitting the band,” Jungkook says.It is a hard blow, a tough slap from reality, but they were all expecting it to come sooner or later.Jungkook, the vocalist. Jungkook, the distinguished, scholarship art student. An eternal geyser of creativity that never seems to run out. A boiling pot of ideas and talent. Jungkook. Writer of amazing lyrics, composer of amazing choruses and bridges, and the editor behind their one-million-view music video. Taehyung once heard Namjoon say that Jungkook is like a shiny Pokémon, or like King Midas, capable of turning everything he touches into pure gold, and he agrees completely. He's a rare gem.A few hours ago, during the meeting Jungkook had before their gig, the singer got offered a position at a film school in New York City with an all-inclusive scholarship. It’s an incredible opportunity, one that they know he’d been fighting for for years, so even if he has about a week to send an official response and then about a couple of months before he has to actually leave, he knows for sure that he’s going to take up on the offer, so he better start getting ready for goodbye.After that, Seokjin's van turns into a tear fest.They’re all proud as hell, all of them feeling like they raised Jungkook on their backs at least partially, so they're terribly happy for him, but also terribly sad. Taehyung’s heart squeezes painfully in his chest as he holds Jungkook in his arms, hogging him, keeping the others from hugging him so he can do it for as long as he can before somebody else tries to do the same.“I would leave in, like, a month and a half! We still have time, you idiots! More than enough time to find someone to replace me! Stop covering me with your snot and your tears, don’t be ridiculous—!” he says, and he has a point, but nobody pays him any mind,“Let us have this, Jeon, stop moving around!” Jimin is difficult to pin down.At least that’s what he thinks about himself— what he likes to think about himself.He’s a few weeks away from getting his master’s degree in mathematics and statistics, and if he told someone just that, he’s sure they’d imagine him to be a stereotypical nerd, which he’s not. Not really. He has practiced kendo for over eight years and he could definitely beat someone up without breaking a sweat. How is that stereotypically nerd?Okay, sure, he got interested in kendo in the first place because of a One Piece character, but anime isn’t for nerds; that is a discussion he isn’t willing to have.He dances, too, and he sings. He loves stages. During the second year of pregrad, he lost a bet against his then new best friend Lee Taemin where the punishment was to participate in the auditions of their university’s year-end musical, and against every odd in the universe, just as if his life was the plot of High School Musical, he got the lead.The musical? A rock opera version of Romeo and Juliet. It was perfect. He got to make use of all the years of ballet and modern dance stored in the muscle memory section of his brain; all the time in elementary, middle, and high school that he spent as a choir kid.Perhaps he was a bit of a nerd back then.Nowadays he is only a kind-of-but-not-really nerd, and anyway, it's not like having nerdy interests cancels out his coolness, right? Because Jimin is pretty cool, he thinks.He has plenty of piercings and a few tattoos. He’s not afraid of wearing fishnets under his ripped jeans or eyeshadow if he feels like stealing hearts (which, some may argue, is quite often), and he’s a model for Taemin’s boyfriend, Kibum, and his clothing line.So, there you have it. Is he a nerd? Is he cool? Try and pin him down. You can’t.That is why he gets a little bit offended when he learns that Jung Hoseok, his friend, his once-upon-a-time classmate in an advanced statistics class, and his weed dealer, works at a rock club in Hongdae and he had no idea about it. They aren’t exactly best friends, but they do hang out fairly often: they have lunch together every now and then, they ride the bus or the train together, and they are friends with people from the same social circle in their school.“I just didn’t think that was your scene,” Hoseok tells him. They’re having lunch at a convenience store (just two styrofoam cups of instant jajjangmyeon, a can of Sprite, and a bag of sour jelly worms for each; the meal of champions and postgrad students nearing the end of their degree).“That’s the thing about me,” Jimin replies through a mouthful of noodles, his teeth probably looking as black as his hair with all the black bean sauce he’s chewing at once. “I don’t have a ‘scene’.”“You only ever go out to pop or hip-hop clubs, though,” Hoseok points out.“That’s because Taemin and Company like pop the most and I like hip-hop the most, but to be honest, I don’t mind where I go. When I dated Chanyeol we often went to these really obscure jazz clubs he likes, and I had fun there, too! See? If I had known you work at a rock club, I would’ve gone there, and I would’ve had fun. It’s that simple. I’m flexible, hyung, not only literally, but also figuratively. You should’ve told me sooner,” Jimin finishes by sticking his tongue out at Hoseok before stuffing his mouth with noodles again.“Yeah, well... I’m sorry I didn’t, but I’m telling you now, aren’t I? And what's more— I’m inviting you to come and hang out. Are you going to be free next Friday night?”Jimin hums thoughtfully at that, smiling to himself a little. “I think so? It’s still a long time from now… Is there going to be an event going on, or something? Anything that explains the sudden hype and invitation?”Hoseok nods enthusiastically.“Yeah, actually— it’s gonna be a big event,” he says, smiling a little. Jimin thinks he sees a brief glint of something in the other man’s eyes, something sad, but before he can wonder what that's about, Hoseok continues. “You know this band called Red Army Lips? They’re a rock band. Alternative, indie-ish rock. They sometimes throw rap in, too! They’re not very well known in the mainstream yet, but they’re really, really good. Honestly. I’m not being biased.”Jimin chuckles a little at Hoseok’s excitement.“I think I’ve heard of them! Actually, I think Chanyeol sent me one of their tracks to listen to once, but Chanyeol used to send me a lot of music to listen to when we dated, so if I ever listened to them, I probably forgot by now. Why would you be biased by saying they’re good, though?”“Because, uh,” Hoseok starts, scratching the base of his neck sheepishly. “My boyfriend is kinda in it. I’ve told you about him before— his name’s Namjoon.”Jimin’s jaw drops a little. Namjoon— it definitely rings a bell. Hoseok talks about him often, but he never said he was in a band.“Namjoon? Yeah! I met him once, too, remember? He was in a van— he picked you up at the bus stop out of campus. We just waved at each other, though. I remember thinking it was like the Scooby-Doo Mystery Van, old and colorful and full of weirdos. No offense. That’s the band you’re talking about now? Oh my god—”Hoseok laughs.“Yeah, that’s them. They’re my friends.”“And why didn’t you tell me you’re friends with a rock band! That’s amazing! I had no idea, that's not fair!”“Yeah, well, you don’t go around telling people you’re friends with Fashion God Kim Kibum, do you?” Hoseok counters, raising an eyebrow at Jimin. “It’s the same thing! And anyway, I'm telling you right now. Those guys are my friends.""That's so cool...""Yeah, it is. But, anyway, listen to me! The point in me telling you all this is that they’re gonna have a show next Friday, and it's a very important one. It’s— It's sort of their last show, actually... You know Jungkookie, the singer?" Hoseok asks, and Jimin shakes his head. "Well, Jungkookie's gonna move to New York with a scholarship at a film school cause he’s, like, a living, breathing god of the arts. The band’s gonna look for a new singer afterwards, but before that, they’re going to give a few last shows with him, and the very last one is gonna be in the club I work. I’m inviting you because I’m an incredible friend and I think you deserve the honor of seeing them live before they break the internet with their music and become unreachable for regular civilians like you.”Jimin can’t help but laugh at that.“Gee, you really sound like an incredible friend. ‘Regular civilian’? Are you serious?”“Yeah. Playing Romeo in a college musical doesn’t qualify you as a celebrity or anything of the like. Sorry, you’re a civilian in my book.”“Then what are you?”“Also a civilian, but a lucky one. No. I’m the luckiest civilian. I mean— Have you ever seen Namjoon?”Jimin clicks his tongue, but he smiles at Hoseok as he shoves his shoulder.Hoseok laughs as he swats Jimin’s hand off him. “Just, you know. Just tell me if you’re interested in coming or not. I need to write you down on the list so you don’t have to stand in line outside or pay an entry fee. It’s always more expensive when we get bands as big as Red Army Lips.”“Ooh, there’s a list? And expensive entry fees? It sounds exclusive. I’ll go, hyung. I’ll definitely go,” Jimin says, grinning, and Hoseok’s lips are halfway through forming their trademark heart-shaped smile when Jimin adds, interrupting it. “—but! Under one condition.”“Oh. Of course,” Hoseok rolls his eyes, but doesn’t look any less amused. “What does your majesty want?”Jimin waves him off.“Not much. I just want to meet Namjoon. And the rest of the band, too, obviously. If they’re your friends, and I’m your friend, and we haven’t met each other yet, I’m sure we will have a great time bonding over old and embarrassing stories about you. I got a few, but I’m sure they must have plenty more. They’re going to make me invincible.”“On second thought, Jiminie, you’re absolutely not invited anymore.”Jimin laughs loudly at that.He’s totally invited.Hoseok loves him, and he loves Hoseok even if they make each other’s lives a little difficult sometimes.By the time the following Friday rolls around, Jimin has done his homework.He has listened to the Red Army Lips’s discography extensively, and he even watched two of their music videos. The most popular one, one with a little bit over a million views, was a fucking trip, and when he read in the credits below that it was the singer himself who made it, Jimin could totally see why Hoseok referred to him as a ‘god of the arts’. It was splendid.He shared it in all of his social media accounts for good measure. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, everything— every person he knew deserved to have their ears blessed.He didn’t get to actually, properly research them, though. He just listened to their stuff when he had the time so he wasn’t completely lost on Friday, but perhaps he should have.When he gets to the club (which is packed just like Hoseok told him it would be), there is no one on stage yet. Since he didn’t have to queue and all he had to do to get in was say his name and flash a charming smile, he gets a great place close enough to the stage, but also close enough to the bar so Hoseok can loiter around during the show and keep him company without his absence being too noticeable to his superiors.Jimin can’t remember the last time he was this excited. He’s dressed in clothes he hopes go well with the cool, grungy vibe of the club: a simple black shirt, simple dark jeans, an absolutely not simple black leather jacket, and a flashy red belt he got from Kibum. He’s dressed to blend in rather than to impress, but he still feels good about himself, and he put some glittery eyeshadow on because he might as fucking well.“Look, Jimin. There they are. That’s Namjoonie, he plays the bass,” Hoseok whispers into Jimin’s ear, pointing at one of the guys that got on the stage just now, eliciting cheering and whistling from the crowd. He is a tall guy with bleached hair, a black tank top, and pretty flowery tattoos up and down his arms who smiles as brightly as Hoseok. He starts talking to the loud crowd before he even reaches his instrument, and he seems to radiate charisma. A huge smile takes over his face when he spots Hoseok, and when Jimin glances next to him, he sees Hoseok beaming like the definition of the words 'fool in love'.“Perhaps you are the luckiest civilian ever. He looks way hotter up there than he did in that weird van,” Jimin whispers to Hoseok, who chuckles, looking away from the bassist and elbowing him on the ribcage.“Shut up, he looks hot everywhere, always, all the time,” Hoseok retorts, and after that he resumes telling Jimin who is who in the band as they take their places on the stage. “Look, that's Jungkookie on the vocals and the rhythm guitar – he’s at the center. The improbably good-looking man with the other guitar is Seokjin, the lead guitarist, and the one in the keyboards and synths is Yoongi. Both he and Namjoonie rap sometimes. Last but not least, the one with the shaggy blonde hair and the bandana is Taehyung. His friends and fans call him Taetae, though. Or Taehyungie. He’s the drummer. He’s the cutest, but don’t be fooled by his prettiness. He’s kind of a beast on stage.”And that’s why he should have researched the band more thoroughly. That man right there—Jimin’s eyes grow impossibly wide when they settle on him. On his tall, broad shape and on his sun-kissed skin as he makes his way towards the red drum kit at the center and the back of the stage.Taehyung. Hoseok said his name was Taehyung.‘Taetae’ for friends.“Holy shit,” Jimin says in an inaudible whisper, his eyes following the drummer’s every move. He’s wearing a very simple, very big thin t-shirt, and unlike most of the members of the band, he doesn’t seem to have a single tattoo on his body. Not anywhere visible, at least.Jimin can’t help it— he takes a few steps closer to the stage so he can keep looking at the drummer once he’s sat down behind the drum kit, but there’s hardly any room there, and also, it seems that the closer he gets to the stage, the less he can see of Taehyung, so he lets Hoseok pull him back again as he gapes at the stage like a fish.“Jimin-ah? What’s with that face, you okay?”“I’m— I’m fine, yeah! It’s. It’s just that—” he starts, but he laughs incredulously to himself. On the stage, the band looks like they’re about to start playing, and Jimin catches a glimpse of Taehyung yelling something at the lead guitarist. Seokjin, Hoseok said his name was. The drummer has a wide boxy grin on his face that almost makes his eyes disappear, and that makes his thick eyebrows turn at an angle that makes him look a bit like an oversized puppy. When the guitarist yells something back to him, he hits some of his drums and makes a funny face at the guitarist, who laughs and flips him off. Taehyung laughs as well, and the sight is so oddly familiar that it sparks something warm in Jimin’s chest. Something he thought was long dead, as dramatic as it sounds.“Just that what?” Hoseok insists.“I think I know him!” Jimin answers, still refusing to get his eyes off the drummer. He points at him with his finger, and Hoseok gasps in surprise.“What? Who? Taehyungie? For real?”Jimin nods.“Yeah! For real! Taehyung— he’s Kim Taehyung, right? We… We went to high school together. We were in the same class! He sat right behind me in the classroom, actually! It’s— oh my fucking god, this is so weird!”That’s what he tells Hoseok, and it’s all true. But there’s something vital he conveniently omits. Something he’s never told anyone, ever, except maybe for Taemin, which is that, back in the day, he had the biggest, fattest crush on Kim Taehyung. The after show is always fun.Taehyung’s favorite part of gigs will always be the show itself. He loves the adrenaline of the shows the most. He loves playing the songs that he and his friends make in front of crowds of people that sing them back to them, and he loves hitting the drums like they’re the heads of his worst enemies –not like he has any— and the emotional relief that doing that provides. But he can’t deny that getting a little shitfaced backstage with free alcohol and with the few hallucinogens they manage to smuggle in is always fun.But things aren’t as fun today. They’re actually a little bit gloomy at first.The first thing that happens once they get off the stage is: Seokjin wraps his arms around Jungkook and then proceeds to break down, which is terrible because Seokjin is, emotionally speaking, the strongest of the bunch. Sturdy as an oak tree, and all that. Taehyung cries too, but he is a marshmallow emotionally speaking, so it’s not surprising to anyone. Namjoon and Yoongi don’t cry, but they still join the hugs.It’s an emotional moment, but then Jungkook kicks their asses (literally), and orders everyone to stop moping and have fun, and how could anyone say no to him?“You should keep doing our music videos after you leave,” Seokjin declares later, once the tears have dried and it is fun time again. There’s plenty of people there; more so than usual. Many of their friends and family members came to their show. Even Jungkook’s parents and older brother came all the way from Busan just to see him, which Taehyung finds terribly beautiful and painful. There is no weed for the same reason— not until Jeon Mom and Dad decide they’re too tired to party with a rock band and return to their hotel.“Alright, but don’t think for a second that I won’t charge you just because you’re you.”“Ouch— shit, Kook, I knew professional success was gonna change you, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. I’m hurt,” Seokjin huffs, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in mock disappointment as he downs his bottle of beer.“Don’t be dramatic, hyung. What’s a few thousand won compared to the fortune you’re gonna make? Seriously— I’ll make sure that whoever replaces me is the best vocalist ever, so that people get hooked on first listen and all your next songs are hits. A guy with a unique voice. One that doesn’t sound like me at all, but—"“—someone that sounds even better than you, then? Oh, alright. I got it,” Yoongi says, nodding his head almost solemnly. “Guess we have no choice but to go hunting for actual sirens and mermen to find your replacement.”Jungkook laughs at that, and he’s about to say something when suddenly the door of the backstage room opens.“Oh, Hoseok-ah!” Namjoon exclaims, and aw, Taehyung coos. It’s cute how they always get excited when they see each other, like they didn’t sleep in the same bed the night before. Same as Yoongi and Seokjin, though those two are a little better at pretending they aren’t mad about each other, if only for the sake of not ruining the group dynamics. They’re all cute. Romance. Romance all around.Taehyung is a sucker for romance, but ironically, he also sucks at it, big time. He loves the idea of falling in love, but he has the bad habit of not sticking around with someone for longer than a night or two, so he never gets to find out if whatever led him to someone’s bed in the first place is something he could fall in love with. He mourns every short-lived romance, though— he’s the spine of the band’s songs about heartbreak.Hoseok greets everyone with a wave and a smile like the angel he is before he lets Namjoon pull him into a tight hug and a kiss he returns with enthusiasm, but while the bassist and his boyfriend go at it, something in the fabric of the universe misaligns.Or perhaps it realigns after being misaligned for too long.On second thought, perhaps nothing of this is happening at all, and Taehyung is actually asleep. That must be it. He’s still asleep, today hasn’t started yet, and he’s having a weird dream where he is back to being a misunderstood teenager who fell asleep in class and kept daydreaming about making out with a certain nerd, choir kid, and class president behind the school gym.Because why else would said nerd, choir kid, and class president be walking into the same room he’s currently in?For a moment, Taehyung doubts it’s him. Jimin. Park Jimin. Straight A’s in not only math and physics, but also in Korean Literature and History. Class president during second and third year of high school who gave the best speeches. Sweet, melodic, kinda high-pitched voice— Taehyung remembers he saw the face of god the day he heard Jimin sing for the first time during the talent show in second year. Obviously, God’s face was Jimin’s face, because God was Jimin, and Jimin was God.Taehyung didn’t think he’d ever see Jimin again after the graduation ceremony. Jimin was going to go to a great college to be the great math nerd he was supposed to be and be someone in life, while Taehyung was going to try not to, you know, die in pitiful conditions because he couldn’t be bothered to go to college.Now, Taehyung doesn’t believe in fate. Not one bit. Namjoon wrote this one song about fate and destiny and the universe conspiring to make you and your loved one happy after he met Hoseok, and it’s a great song, really, but Taehyung has always believed that fate is nothing but a pile of bullshit.Always— until this moment.Because Jimin, Park Jimin, Straight A’s, class president, sweet, beautiful Park Jimin is here, dressed not in a school uniform, but in ripped jeans and a leather jacket. Taehyung would think this isn’t the same Park Jimin from his memories if it weren’t for the fact that this guy has the exact same eyes, the exact same nose, and the exact same lips as the Park Jimin that sat right in front of him in their old high school. He used to spend hours obsessing over those things back in the day, so he would know; he’d recognize Park Jimin anywhere, in any universe.And that’s gotta be destiny, right? He was in love with Park Jimin for as long as high school lasted, and now the object of his teenage affections is here, right in front of him, dressed like he belongs in not only his teenage, but also his present-day sexual fantasies.His first reaction should be to stop him and ask him what he’s doing here and who let him in, but he can’t bring himself to do it. He’s stunned. And by the looks of it, so is Jimin.His pretty lips part the moment their eyes meet, and honestly, Taehyung feels like his heart stops beating and the whole universe freezes. Or goes up in flames. Jimin’s eyes leave his own only to trail down his body, which Taehyung takes as permission to do the same, and wow, he doesn’t regret that one bit.Before he even knows it, he’s stepping closer to Jimin, and Jimin is stepping close to him, but before they reach each other, Hoseok’s voice breaks whatever spell had fallen over them and shatters the moment.“Hey, Jimin-ah, come here! Let me introduce you to Namjoonie!”Taehyung inhales deeply. So he is Jimin then. Not that he had a doubt before, but it's surreal how Hoseok confirms it. This Jimin is the same Jimin as the one in his memories, except he’s all grown up now.Jimin stops walking towards Taehyung when Hoseok calls him, but his eyes linger on Taehyung's for a little longer and his lips curve upwards in a smile as he looks at him. It’s a smile Taehyung once knew well, one that he was used to. One that he missed, even if he’s only realizing that now. It makes him smile in return, wide enough that his cheeks hurt. Jimin’s eyes linger on him a little bit longer and he gnaws on his lower lip before he looks away.“Coming!” he says, and yup. That’s Jimin’s voice.Jimin’s voice, Jimin’s smile, Jimin’s body—“What are you looking at?” Jungkook asks him suddenly, and if it weren’t for his sense of self-preservation, Taehyung would probably tell him that he’s looking at his future in the face.When Hoseok is done introducing Namjoon to Jimin, he introduces him to the rest of the band. That includes Taehyung. Taehyung is in the band. He’s the drummer. Jimin saw that— Jimin saw him play and sweat like an animal on stage.Jimin congratulates them all for the show and for their music. He seems to be familiar with the names of some of their songs, and he tells them he shared their stuff on all his social media because, according to him, “they deserved to be heard by the entire world”. It's a little unnerving that as Jimin speaks he keeps shooting brief glances in Taehyung's direction, making their eyes meet over and over. Taehyung's own eyes are fixed on the other man's face as they chat, so they make eye-contact a hundred times, at least.And the best part is that it isn’t awkward at all. It could be. It should be. But it isn’t.“Taehyung? Wow. It’s been a long time,” Jimin tells him when everybody else has scattered around the room. Jungkook’s parents are finally gone (thank god), so the beers are quickly replaced with other stronger liquors. In the interval between all of them introducing themselves to Jimin and Jimin going up to him, Taehyung downed two and a half shots of tequila. He hates the taste, but he needs the liquid confidence.“Jimin, yeah! What are you even doing here! I— wow, I thought I’d never see you again after graduation! It’s good to see you here.”Jimin laughs as he nods.“I thought the same thing, but it’s good to see you too! I had no idea you were in a band until I saw you on stage. I mean, I listened to your songs, but I never really looked you guys up, you know? So I would’ve never imagined it was you!”“Guess I’m not as useless as everybody thought I would be, huh. At least I can hit shit and make beats,” Taehyung jokes, and Jimin rolls his eyes fondly at that.“Man, all those stupid teachers would eat their words if they knew what you’re up to now.”“Nah, that’s bullshit and you know it,” Taehyung counters, grinning because he can’t help it— it’s so easy to talk to Jimin, it’s almost odd. He’ll probably regret it when the tequila kicks in and he realizes he didn’t need it after all.Jimin laughs and shrugs. “Well, some of them would. The others would just be salty that you’re gonna be more successful and happy than all of them put together by doing something they don’t agree with. They can stay mad, though.”“Wise words. Cheers to that,” Taehyung says, putting an imaginary glass up so Jimin can clink it with his own glass of whatever it is that Namjoon gave him. Jimin plays along with him and he clinks his glass against Taehyung’s hand before he downs the entire content of it in a way that shouldn’t be as impressive and attractive as it is. Taehyung raises his eyebrows at him, “Wow. Is it safe for you to do that? No offense, but you’re just as tiny as you were back then.”Jimin snorts.“Please,” he starts, giving Taehyung a smirk. “I could drink my weight in rum and you’d have no idea. I might be ’tiny’, like you say,” he says, doing air quotations with his free hand, “but I’m not weak. I could drink everyone in this room under the table.”“Oh, really? That's pretty hot, actually..."Jimin chuckles at that. "Thank you.""Do you still do karate?” Taehyung asks, smiling, and Jimin’s smirk accentuates as he raises a smug-looking eyebrow.“It’s kendo, baby, and nope. Not anymore. I dropped it a few years ago, but I’m pretty sure I could still kick your ass if you don’t behave.”Something hot flickers in the pit of Taehyung’s stomach at that. Was that— is it his idea, or was that suggestive? Jimin called him baby in an absolutely natural way, and it all but messed up Taehyung's brain. Fuck. He licks his lips. Perhaps he’s too touch-starved, too love-starved, and too excited about seeing his high school crush again, and it all has him acting like a fool who has never seen or talked to an attractive person in his life.“Oh, you could?” He asks, and Jimin nods. “I’ll make sure I behave, then. I kinda like my ass, and it wouldn’t be right for mister class president to have to keep on disciplining the classroom rebel so many years into the future. We’re better than that now, aren’t we?”"Hm, I don't know, Taetae," Jimin smirks. "Are we?" Normally, Jimin is able to determine most things and solve most simple problems he is faced with within a lapsus of no more than three minutes.Is he interested in a guy, and if he is, is the guy interested in him? Is this exam question going to take him little time to answer, or should he move onto the next one and go back on it later to save time? Should he take the bus or the train? Is this sudoku a challenge or a waste of time? Will it take him under three minutes to make himself cum if he jerks off, or should he just go to sleep?Problems like those he usually figures out soon enough.But Taehyung.Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung.He’s not a simple problem. He’s not just a random guy. He’s Taehyung. And he’s a drummer, and he’s hotter than ever before. He’s a total man now. A tall, tan, broad and blonde man with impressive arms that Jimin doesn’t know if he wants to pin down and lick, or to wrap around himself to make himself a nest of love and warmth and high school memories.At some point, they all left the room back of the club to go to the actual club instead. It was too cramped and uncomfortable, and they couldn’t properly hear the band that was playing at the moment.If he’s honest, he has no idea where the other members of the Red Army Lips are right now, because Taehyung has completely taken over his brain. He’s sitting with him in a couch and they’re drinking. It’s not a big couch, but Jimin doesn’t mind being a little bit squished against Taehyung.Taehyung, who he can’t figure out.He thinks he’s flirting with him. Jimin himself is flirting with him, shamelessly so, so he wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up on the pheromones emanating from his body in wafts, but he can’t be sure.Does it make sense to flirt with him? Does it make sense that it’s so stupidly easy to flirt with him, right here, right now, even after the years he spent harboring a secret and unhealthy crush on him? Perhaps it doesn’t, but the last thing he wants is to stop and rationalize this. It feels good to talk to Taehyung like this and to throw blatant sexual remarks at him, and Taehyung doesn’t seem put off by them – quite on the contrary, he throws in some of his own.So. Yeah. Jimin guesses he’ll just roll with it. Tease a little, touch a little, laugh a lot, and see where all of that takes him.At some point, Taehyung reaches out with his hand –his large, veiny, drummer hand—, and he pushes a strand of black hair away from Jimin’s face. It makes Jimin’s heart skip at least six beats, and then, another five beats when he opens his eyes and finds Taehyung’s eyes fixed on his face.“It’s weird,” the drummer says softly, his voice barely audible over an impressive bass riff and the roaring of the crowd.“What is?” Jimin asks, cocking his head to the side a little because he knows how charming that gesture can be when it’s done right.“Everything. But, most of all, the fact that you look kinda the same as you did in high school, but like an entirely different person too, all at the same time.”Jimin chuckles at that. Is that a good thing? He hopes it’s a good thing.“It’s called growing up, I guess? You look almost completely different… I wonder if your ears are still as big as I remember them…”“Ha ha,” Taehyung fakes a laugh that only makes Jimin snicker again. Especially because the other man can’t stop smiling, which must mean he isn’t really offended. “They’re still just as big, yeah, but now I have long hair to cover them with. What happened to your nerd glasses?”“Dropped them. I wear contacts now.”“Aw,” the drummer laments, pouting a little bit. “I kinda liked them.”Jimin snorts at that.“Yeah. As if I’d ever believe that…”“I mean it!” Taehyung insists, and Jimin rolls his eyes, disbelieving.“Sure you do. They made me look like a loser.”“A hot loser,” Taehyung states perhaps a little too quickly. He backtracks, but he messes up again, which is actually kinda cute. Very cute for a rocker like him. “Or a cute loser. I mean— not a loser! They didn’t make you look like a loser. They looked good on you, that’s what I’m trying to say. Don’t try to fight me in this.”“Alright, alright,” Jimin caves, resisting the urge to laugh or smile, but barely being able to. Taehyung thought he was hot before? Hot and cute? That’s crazy. “I won’t. Thanks for the compliment, I guess.”“Get used to them. I have more where those came from. Plenty of them. All of them for you.”Jimin pulls back a little at that, interested but also a little surprised.“Oh, really?” he asks, and Taehyung nods, so Jimin decides to risk it a little. He moves a little closer so that his thigh is completely pressed against Taehyung’s, and he touches him, too; places his hand on Taehyung’s hip or somewhere near it, he isn’t exactly sure. “Why? Where did they come from?”“Oh, you know. You were quite the star kid in high school. You got good grades, you were in the student council, you were a bit nerdish but didn’t hesitate to kick ass— I got many thoughts about you I never told you. And, spoiler alert, they’re all good.”Something warm and fuzzy flickers in Jimin’s chest at that.“Why didn’t you? I would’ve loved hearing them.”Taehyung shrugs. “Just… never had the chance? Or the courage, as lame as that sounds. You were always busy, doing a million things, being the perfect student… Do you still sing like an angel?”Jimin nearly chokes on air at that.“Like an angel? Shut up.”Taehyung seems serious. He nods, and although he has this goofy boxy smile on, Jimin can tell – he can feel – that it is sincere.“Like an angel, yeah. When I first heard you sing, I think I had an out of body experience. I don’t know if you still sing, but I remember that when I heard your voice, I fell in lo— uh. I mean, uh. I was like, hypnotized, you know? In fact, I think the whole auditorium was.”Jimin shakes his head at that, feeling heat rising up to his cheeks. He doesn’t know why he’s getting like this. He’s sang dozens of times in front of hundreds of people, so things like being praised by his singing voice stopped being a big deal ages ago.However— this is Taehyung. The same Taehyung he had a crush on, and he is now admitting to him not only that he heard him sing back then, but also that he liked it, and to an exaggerated, unrealistic degree.Jimin clears his throat and shrugs in a no-biggie kind of way.“Well, I don’t sing as much anymore, but I still love it. I was in a rock opera a few years ago, actually. I’d really like to do it more often, but I have nowhere I can go to for that other than the shower. It’s… kinda sad, actually. I always wanted to follow that path, you know? The singing or dancing one. To make being a performer my big, main life thing. I like physics and math, obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have invested so much time and money in my career, but… I don’t know. I can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if I had gone to a performing arts school instead. Sometimes I think I got into what I’m doing not because it’s what I really wanna do, but because of the expectations that people have of me.”Taehyung looks at him and listens to him with attention, and he nods his head slowly when he’s finished talking, a delicate, pretty smile on his pretty lips. It’s loud around them, but it doesn’t feel loud between them.“I know, yeah,” he says, and then Jimin feels his hand, his warm big hand, reaching for his hair again. His rough fingers thread through it gently, oddly intimately for a couple of strangers reunited after years in a rock club, but Jimin loves it, so he lets him. “You know…” Taehyung goes on slowly, as if he’s looking for the right words to say. “We’re gonna be holding auditions next week. We, as in, the band. Jungkookie’s leaving, you know that already, so we’re looking for someone who could take his place. And I just got the idea that, shit, our songs would sound really, really good with your voice if it’s as pretty as I remember it.”“What—! Psh, Taehyung, please, you’ve no idea what you’re saying,” he tries to say, but Taehyung shakes his head.“No, no, I do know! I mean. It’s just an idea. Also, if you’re gonna be a busy and lame mathematician in the end, then you aren’t going to be of much use to us. We don’t wanna get a new vocalist just to have to find a new one only months after— it’s bad enough we have to find someone to replace Kookie in the first place, I wished we didn’t have to, but we always knew this moment was going to come sooner or later. But. Anyways, listen to me. Your voice is just…” he stops so he can make a gesture with his free hand – the one that he isn’t stroking Jimin’s scalp and neck with. He flails it around like he’s trying to explain something but he doesn’t know how. “I’d like to hear it again, at least. That’s all. Who knows? Perhaps I was just biased back then and thought everything you did was perfect even if it wasn’t. Perhaps you aren’t that good of a singer after all,” he finishes with a smirk, and Jimin scoffs.“Hey, no, I am a good singer,” Jimin defends, somewhere between amused and offended. Terribly endeared but also terribly attracted to Taehyung’s smirk.“Maybe you were, but I was still biased as fuck. Blinded by your speeches and your nerd glasses.”“Please, if you were blinded by anything, it was only by the smoke of the cigarettes you smoked when you should’ve been in class.”“Oh, right,” Taehyung says, licking his lips –something that he does really often, as Jimin has come to notice in the past few hours. He tilts his head, and oh— there it is. The proof that a proper head tilt can hit like an arrow to the chest. It completely disarms Jimin. The way Taehyung’s long dirty blonde hair sways, the way his eyes remain focused on his; the way his entire face seems to get closer, his expression cockier. Jimin wants him more and more with every second that passes, and it’s scary that unlike the way things were when they were in school, he can probably get him. Taehyung’s fingertips are digging onto the skin at the base of his sweaty neck, just beneath his leather jacket and his black shirt, and the feeling is maddening. Jimin wants him to touch, and he wants to touch him too. Touch him there, and everywhere.“I quit smoking, if you’re wondering,” the drummer continues, snapping Jimin back to reality.“Oh,” he says, clicking his tongue. “That’s good. Cigarettes are bad for your health.”“They are,” Taehyung agrees, nodding, and fuck— he’s suddenly way closer than Jimin remembered. Is he only just realizing how close he’s been all along, or have they been getting closer and closer every time, without them even noticing?“I’ll admit, though…” Jimin starts, only a little hesitant. Most of all, he’s excited to get the words out after keeping them to himself for so long. Whether it’s a result of the liquid courage in his veins or the unexplainable adrenaline that he gets simply by sitting next to Taehyung even after all these years, he doesn’t know. “My number one fantasy when we were in school was smoking together with you.”Taehyung just blinks at him.“That’s… pretty lame for a fantasy. No offense.”Jimin raises an eyebrow, the corner of his lip quirking upwards. “Well. Can I get a little explicit, then?” At that, there is a spark of interest in Taehyung’s eyes.“Oh. Yeah, please. As explicit as you want.”“Great. I mean. Smoking and kissing right after. Shotgunning. Touching you a little. Getting on my knees for you and sucking your bad boy cock in the back of the school building. Just. You know. That kind of thing.”“Fuck,” Taehyung curses on a heavy exhale. He chews on his lower lip as he looks at Jimin with an oddly focused expression that shouldn’t be as arousing as it is. “You wanted to do all that? Seriously?”“Of course. Hell, Tae, I was mad about you then.”“God, no way— And you’re only telling me now?”“Hey, you were kind of a bad influence back then, and I was kind of a nerd who worried far too much about his future. Not anymore, though, but I guess I did believe to a certain degree that you’d take me down a bad road. All those high school stereotypes— only later on you realize they’re all bullshit. Like. Looking at you now, I kinda regret not saying anything to you. You seem a lot… softer around the edges compared to how I thought you were.”Taehyung chuckles at that. His hand travels from the nape of Jimin’s neck to the front of his chest, and then he moves it lower, lower. Shivers course through Jimin as they trace over the lines of his body— it’s insane. All of this is insane, but it also makes perfect sense, and he needs it. Jimin doesn’t know if it’s the fact that they’re almost perfect strangers, or that they aren’t actually strangers, but there is something that pulls Jimin in irresistibly.“And you seem a lot more daring compared to how I thought you were,” Taehyung adds, his deep rumbly voice doing messing with Jimin’s rationality.Still, he manages to laugh softly.“I’ve always been daring, baby. Just… in a different way.”Taehyung shakes his head, his half-lidded eyes focused on Jimin’s own and dripping with something dark and intense that Jimin can’t look away from.“No, no. You didn’t tell me you had a crush on me— how is that daring?”“Maybe I didn’t do it then, but you didn’t, either. I guess I beat you to it after all, didn’t I?” Jimin counters, his smirk growing, and this is it. Taehyung leans closer, and things get a little bit fuzzy, not thanks to the alcohol. Jimin meant it when he said he could drink his weight in liquor without a problem; it’s a different thing he gets drunk on.For once, it’s reality he gets drunk on. A reality that feels way more impossible than any fantasy he’s had before and that demands his total attention so he can make the most of it before it’s gone. It’s too good to be true, so it might as well be a dream.Taehyung kisses him. Jimin isn’t sure when exactly, but it’s not like it matters. Nothing matters, except for the fact that he’s never felt so high, so excited, and so oddly complete before.It’s weird to think that if it hadn’t been for Hoseok’s invitation, he wouldn’t have met Taehyung again and he’d probably gone his entire life without him crossing his mind even once.It’s weird that he wouldn’t even know what he’d be missing if he hadn’t come along with Hoseok for whatever reason.But the weirdest thing is that the possibility of that, of not coming and not seeing the amazing man and artist that Taehyung became, almost scares him.This, from Taehyung’s lips on his and Taehyung’s hands on him, to their dumb flirting and their dumb semi-confessions from their old high school days — it’s like they were all supposed to happen. He obviously doesn’t feel the same way about Taehyung as he did years ago, and there’s a lot of heat-of-the-moment in it, but he doesn’t give a shit. It feels good, and it feels right, and he won’t stop to think about it. Taehyung likes getting fucked.It’s one of the few things not many people other than the ones he’s gone to bed with know about him. Plenty of them have shown a little confusion when Taehyung tells them that he won’t be doing the dicking, but rather getting it himself, but he likes to think that they had fun with him.With Jimin that doesn’t happen.With Jimin, it seems, nothing that should happen under normal circumstances happens. A few years in the past, Taehyung should’ve been dipping Jimin’s hair in blue paint and making fun of his glasses, but nope. Instead of that, he daydreamed about kissing him, about pulling him towards him by his uniform tie, and about getting his glasses all fogged up between them.Jimin doesn’t need to be told that he wants to get fucked. It’s like he knows what Taehyung wants right away, or maybe it’s just who he is, but the moment they cross the threshold of Jimin’s apartment, the black-haired man makes it clear that he’s the one in control.Taehyung’s head is spinning a little, and he can’t tell if things are going too fast or not fast enough. Jimin is this weird mix of a stranger and a ghost of his past, but he’s not a ghost. He’s real; the way his clothed dick rubs against Taehyung’s thigh as they kiss and run their hands over each other’s bodies, tugging at their clothes and groaning into each other’s mouths impatiently is enough proof of that.And Jimin… Jimin fucks him good.He doesn’t fuck him like this is nothing but a one night stand. In Taehyung’s experience, one-night stands fuck like focused race-horses: they fuck towards a goal, which more often than not is that person’s own pleasure. The goal of a one-night stand is an orgasm; the process that leads to it is not as important as the climax itself. It’s not exactly a bad thing, and Taehyung can’t deny he does it too, but this feels better. This with Jimin. It’s a little odd because of how natural and easy it feels, but also better precisely because of that.Perhaps it is going be a one-night stand and Taehyung still doesn’t know that, but he really hopes it isn’t.Jimin pins him down to his bed with all his kendo and ballet muscles, and he undresses him in a way that makes him feel like a fucking Christmas present. He laughs when Taehyung laughs when he accidentally touches a ticklish spot, and he moans with that beautiful voice of his as he rubs his fat lips over Taehyung’s dick.“God, finally,” he says like he’s the one who’s going to get pleasure from this, and it drives Taehyung insane. He nearly cums like three times, his cock buried nearly all the way in Jimin’s throat, but Jimin makes sure he doesn’t. Jimin knows just when to go and just when to stop. He knows just what to do with his tongue, and he knows just the way to look up to meet Taehyung’s eyes to make everything more intense.If someone had told Taehyung’s seventeen year old self that he’d have class president Park Jimin between his legs a little under ten years in the future, only hours after a concert of his own rock band, he’d call bullshit. But here he is, covered in stage sweat and sex sweat, with his thighs framing class president Park Jimin’s hips as he fucks into him with a studded condom (which he decided to use because it was “kinda rock n’ roll-ish like Taehyung”— at least that’s what he said as he ripped the foil packet open).The headboard of Jimin’s bed hits the wall with every thrust, and that sound combined with the slapping of their skin and their loud, heavy breathing is hands down the best beat Taehyung has ever heard in his fucking life. Jimin groans and curses into his ear with his angelic voice, and the sound is so beautiful that he doesn’t kiss him even if he’s dying to. His fingertips drag and scratch up and down the skin of Jimin’s back, and then he reaches low enough for his ass so he can angle his hips better, and shit, he’s in heaven. Once again, he’s seeing the face of god, and once again, it’s Jimin’s face.Jimin’s sweaty, flushed face of bliss, with his glistening, kiss-swollen lips, and his blown pupils.It’s Jimin who cums first, buried deep inside of Taehyung’s ass and clutching hard at the back of Taehyung’s thigh and at the bedsheet beneath them. Watching him when he comes and when he starts coming down from the high is almost a religious experience to Taehyung, but Jimin doesn’t give him much time to enjoy the view, because he’s soon pulling away so he can get Taehyung off with his mouth, and it would be embarrassing how he comes in a matter of seconds if he hadn’t been on edge for at least an entire hour.When it’s over, he feels boneless. He feels like Jimin sucked his soul through his dick so now he’s an empty carcass of a human. His muscles ache, his ass is sore, and his ass cheeks sting a little, but he’s in cloud nine. He could write a million songs about this: about the way that Jimin giggles as he makes his way back up his body, about the way his nose bumps against his own when he leans down before he purposely rubs them together, and also, about the way his tongue tastes like his own cum when it slips into his mouth.They kiss for a while, deep licks turning softer and shallower as their breathing calms down, and the first thing Taehyung says when Jimin has pulled away is something stupid.“Please tell me you’re gonna stay the night,” he whispers.Jimin stays silent for a few seconds.“We’re at my place, Tae; I’m not going anywhere.”Oh.“Oh,” Taehyung says, feeling dumb. When he opens his eyes, though, he sees Jimin smiling down at him. “Can I stay the night then?”Jimin snorts, but he nods.“Obviously.”The next morning, when Taehyung wakes up, he does so to Jimin’s warm body pressed perfectly against his like two puzzle pieces. He also wakes up to the odd, unfamiliar sensation that he doesn’t mind staying right where he is instead of fleeing the scene before he gets caught being vulnerable. His chest is right against Jimin’s back, and Taehyung doesn’t know why, but the position they’re in kinda reminds him of an eclipse where Jimin is the moon and he is the sun. Because he’s large. Jimin isn’t large, but tiny. Tiny and pretty and with a powerful, mysterious side to him. Taehyung wouldn’t be surprised if he learned that Jimin is in charge of controlling the ocean tides as well.He pulls him in irresistibly, so he might as well.That morning, Taehyung wants to stick around.He has a feeling that if he does, then it would lead to more sex, perhaps some food, and interesting conversations over coffee. Sober conversations. Sexual-tension-free conversations.But he can’t stay, sadly.He has to meet up with the band and their management to talk serious issues. Their lead vocalist leaving isn’t minor, and apparently, there is a lot of legal stuff involved that has to be discussed, which sucks, but they have to deal with that before they can even begin to seek anyone to take Jungkook’s position.Jimin sleeps like the dead, though. Taehyung whispers his name into his ear twice and he even considers shaking him to get him to wake up, but in the end he decides against it. What will he wake him for? To say ‘goodbye, thanks for the fuck’? That wouldn’t only be sad, but also terribly inconsiderate. That’s why instead of waking him, he slips out of the bed as quietly as he can.He looks around for pen and paper to leave him a very cliché note on his nightstand, but after a very superficial scan of Jimin’s bedroom he can only find a pen and the ripped wrapper of the condom they used the night before.Oh, well. That’ll have to do.He keeps his handwriting as tiny as he can as he writes down his phone number on one side and the words ’I still want to hear u sing!’ on the other. He leaves the packet right on top of Jimin’s phone to make sure that he sees it, and after getting dressed, he gives his still sleeping shape a long, hard look.He doesn’t want to leave, he really doesn’t want to leave, but he has no choice.Quietly, he shows himself out. A habit that Taehyung has when he’s nervous (a terrible, unbearable one according to Yoongi), is doing drum rolls.He doesn’t know why he does it; he just does it. He doesn’t think it even helps alleviating the tension, because drumrolls only generate more tension and expectation, but it must help him somehow if they’re his body’s instinctive reaction to nervousness.“If you don’t cut that out, I’ll shove your drumsticks up your ass,” someone warns him. It’s Jungkook, surprisingly. Not Yoongi.“You know I wouldn’t mind that. I’ve had bigger things shoved up my ass,” Taehyung answers, but he stops anyway.“No one asked, but thanks,” that’s Seokjin. He looks sleepy. He’s sitting on a chair, holding an acoustic guitar, and Yoongi’s right there behind him, resting his head on the guitarist’s shoulder. They’re being cute together, which is something that normally makes Taehyung coo at them but that right now annoys him.“I didn’t ask for your opinion either, but here you are,” he tells the older man, whose head snaps upwards instantaneously.“I’ll give my opinion whenever I want. Especially when you’re being a bitch.”“I’m not being a bitch.”“Oh, you’re right, my bad— you’re always a bitch.”Taehyung stands from his stool at that, but at the same time Yoongi groans in annoyance. He keeps his eyes closed, but he frowns and he puts his hands on the sides of Seokjin’s body as if to stop him if he even attempts to move. “Shut the fuck up, both of you. You’ll scare our potential future vocalists away.”“Perhaps we should scare them all away,” Taehyung huffs, plopping back down on his seat again but keeping his eyes narrowed in Seokjin and Yoongi’s direction. “Perhaps we should call this all off and tell whoever’s waiting on that hall to go back home. We all already know that Jungkook’s irreplaceable and that we’ll hate everyone who stands there and tries to pretend to be him.”“Hyung, don’t say that—” Jungkook tries to say, but Taehyung interrupts him.“—why not? It’s true.”“But you can’t stop everything because of me! And you can’t start acting like you didn’t know this day was going to come when the auditions are literally about to begin…!”“Kook, you know what? Let him be. He’s just mad because the guy he slept with didn’t call him. Give him a week and he’ll be back to normal,” Seokjin says, and it makes Taehyung’s blood boil.Jimin didn’t call him. He didn’t even text him.He’s obviously not going to show up in his life again, not even by accident. Jimin knows about his band and about who he is now, so he’ll be able to avoid him, which is just great. It’s fantastic. After going three days without hearing a word from Jimin, he went to Namjoon’s place and cried about it with him while they shared a blunt, an indefinite number of scented candles turned on around them to kill the smell and provide moody lighting. The bassist offered asking Hoseok about it, which was frankly one of the dumbest things Taehyung had heard in his life because Hoseok would obviously ask Jimin about it and that simply couldn’t happen. He also cried about it with Seokjin, Yoongi and Jungkook over dinner the night before, but perhaps he shouldn’t have because now they all know he’s being temperamental because of how stupid he was to trust the hot nerd he had the hots for when he was a teenager with something as delicate as his heart.Just then, the door of the studio opens and Namjoon walks in.“Alright, are you guys ready?” He asks, flipping through some papers he has on his hands. He looks so cool, all serious and down to business with his prescription glasses and a pen behind his ear. If it weren’t for him and his leadership tendencies, Taehyung is sure they wouldn’t have made it as far.“Would it make a difference if we said no?” Yoongi questions, only moving away from Seokjin now that it’s action time.“No, it wouldn’t.”“Oh, man, it’s going to be so weird to not sing this time,” Jungkook says, and there is evident excitement in his voice. It even makes Taehyung smile a little. It’s a sad smile, granted, but it’s still a smile. Jungkook is sad to go, but he’s also happy to do it because he has the whole world ahead of him. These singing auditions will probably give him the closure he needs.The first few auditions go by smoothly.The guys are good. All of them. They’re all acquaintances of theirs, musicians or singers they’ve met here or there. They didn’t broadcast what was going on, obviously, so most faces, are all ones they’ve seen before. It’s a private process, reserved only for people in the industry who knew about what was going on and knew the right people.Taehyung gets bored, though.He gets bored very soon. He doesn’t pay much attention to the guys singing because they aren’t Jungkook, and they’ll never be Jungkook, and because he can’t stop thinking about the way Jimin looked like when he came inside of him, and about the way Jimin kissed him so gently after they were done, and about the way Jimin sounded like on that dumb talents show stage centuries ago.He’s in the middle of moping while Yoongi and Jungkook comment energetically about audition number five (and while Seokjin stares at him with a worried frown), when the door is opened by the outside by the sixth candidate.Taehyung doesn’t even bother to look up. He just brings the tips of his drumsticks close to his face so he can inspect them even if he knows they’re in perfect condition because he just got them two weeks ago. But then, before anyone gets a chance to say anything, a high-pitched voice that Taehyung knows far too well resounds in the room.“Taehyung-ah.”It’s Jimin’s voice.It’s Taehyung’s name, and it’s Jimin’s voice pronouncing it (or spitting it, more like), so Taehyung nearly gets whiplash from how fast he looks up.Sure enough, he finds Jimin there. He looks flawless, but what’s new. Not as tough as last time, but rather dressed in a simple oversized hoodie and skinny jeans that make him seem smaller than he actually is. Taehyung would know.“Jimin?” He asks, genuinely shocked. What the fuck is he doing here? Taehyung thought it was obvious that he’d been ghosted, used and eaten and thrown away, but Jimin is frowning at him, and to be honest, he has no right to do that. “What the fuck are you doing here?”“What do you mean what I’m doing here? You told me to come in the first place. Or have you forgotten about that already?”“Woah, hold up, what is going on—?” Namjoon asks, but Taehyung pays him no mind.“You can’t be serious— you came for the auditions?”“Yeah, I did. Cause according to you I ’sing like an angel’, or some bullshit.”Taehyung rolls his eyes, still unable to get over his shock. Everyone else is just as stunned, it seems; everyone except Jimin, who steps towards the mic stand with confident strides.“’Or some bullshit’? What does that mean?”“It means that I’m gonna force you to hear my voice and then I’m gonna leave and won’t come back just like you did last week. I’m even gonna give you a fake phone number, since you seem to like those quite a bit,” Jimin says spitefully and. Oh. Oh. A fake phone number?Jimin… Jimin tried to call him?“What? A fake phone number?” Taehyung says, and before he even knows it he’s standing up. Jimin looks up at him, still frowning. His expression doesn’t change one bit when their eyes meet across the carpeted room. “I didn’t give you a fake number— what are you talking about?”Jimin opens his mouth to say something, but he can’t seem to find the words. His frown turns into a look of confusion, and he even tilts his head to the side a little.“Okay, I think this is our cue to leave,” Seokjin says, cutting right through the weird atmosphere with his loud voice. He doesn’t even bother to take his guitar off as he heads towards the door of the room, all the other members following closely behind him. “We’ll be outside when you finish talking your shit out.”When the door closes after the last of Taehyung’s bandmates has left, a loud, dull silence settles between them. The room is completely soundproof, and silence within a soundproof room has always had a way of messing with Taehyung’s brain and getting him on his nerves.“I called you, like, five times,” Jimin begins. “All those times, an angry old lady picked up. The fifth time she told me to go fuck myself and leave her alone. I was so fucking mad, I yelled right back at her even after she’d already hung up. I thought… You know. I thought you did that on purpose.”Taehyung shakes his head.“I didn’t, though. I swear I didn’t—” he says as he walks around the drum set. Jimin is still holding onto the mic stand, and although Taehyung fears he could use that as a weapon and kill him with his kendo moves, he still gets closer to him. “You really thought I did that?”Jimin nods energetically. “Yeah, I did! I had no reason to believe otherwise! The ‘classroom bad boy gets into classroom nerd’s pants and discards them right after’ trope is a thing for a reason.”“But you’re not a classroom nerd, and I’m not a “bad boy”, or whatever you thought I was! Shit— if anything I thought that you had chosen to ghost me and leave me feeling like a fucking idiot. Do you know how much I waited for you to call? You can ask the guys. They’ll tell you all about how stupid I was this entire week and how I kept looking at the phone.”At that, Jimin finally steps away from the mic stand and gets closer to Taehyung, but he doesn’t seem any calmer.“Why’d you left a fake phone number then? Huh? Do you know the lengths I had to go through to figure out where your fucking auditions were going to take place?”“I told you,” Taehyung huffs, taking another step towards Jimin. “I did not leave a fake phone number. I wanted you to call me. Perhaps I messed a number up, or you just read it the wrong way. A condom packet doesn’t leave exactly much room to write, and my handwriting isn’t the neatest.”“You should’ve looked for another piece of paper, then.”“And risk getting yelled at for snooping around your room? No thanks,” Taehyung explains. At this point, they’re nearly chest to chest.“Well, you could’ve written on my hands, or my arms.”“Jimin…”“Or doublechecked your handwriting at the very least—!”“—Jimin!” Taehyung exclaims to shut the other man up at the same time as he grabs him by the shoulders, and luckily it works. Jimin stops talking and he just pouts up at him with a strange look on his face. It’s like he’s on the verge of throwing a tantrum, but is also terribly embarrassed about the possibility of that happening. Taehyung lets out a heavy breath before he finally smiles down at Jimin. “What the fuck is even going on? Two weeks ago we didn’t even remember each other, and now we’re being dickheads to each other for no reason.”“To be honest? I have no idea. None at all,” Jimin says. He sighs, his shoulders rising and falling heavily. “I was really into you before, you know? And meeting you again was all kinds of intense. You said you liked my voice, and god, I’d been told that before, but when you said it, I swear that I felt like I was sixteen again, shaking in the backstage of the talents show because I knew that you were probably in the audience somewhere. I didn’t want what he had to be a one-night thing, but everything that happened made it feel like sex was all you wanted from me and that you only said those things to me to get into my pants. It’s all really fucking teenage and gross, I’m… I’m sorry, actually. I got it wrong, I’m an idiot.”Taehyung shakes his head at that and he squeezes Jimin’s arms. He pulls him a little closer out of instinct, and Jimin follows. Their knees knock against each other’s.“You’re fine, I’m an idiot too. And I was really teenage and gross myself. Please. I moped around like my four-year boyfriend dumped me when all we did was sleep together once.”“It meant a lot, though,” Jimin throws in, his pouty frown accentuating. “Really, it did.”“It meant a lot to me too…” Taehyung admits, and it’s still shocking just how easy it is to be sincere with Jimin, even if the truth is embarrassing and confusing as fuck. “I’m sorry I left the morning after and fucked my phone number up… I’ll give you my real one later.”“Okay,” Jimin nods, finally smiling a little. The sight of it makes Taehyung’s stomach do a funny thing he doesn’t understand.“But only after you sing for me,” he adds, smirking down at Jimin. “I really wanna see your rock opera skills,” he says, and at that, Jimin’s smile grows even bigger. He also gets a whole lot closer. He links his hands behind Taehyung’s neck and brings him down.“Oh, you will.”“Yeah?” Taehyung asks, and it’s the kind of question that means nothing at all. The kind of question that is whispered against another person’s lips and doesn’t expect a worded answer.He still gets one, though. Jimin nods and mutters a soft ‘yeah’ before he kisses Taehyung. It’s short-lived, but it’s still good. It’s sweet. This is only the second day overall that he’s kissed Jimin’s lips, and he’s already obsessed.However, there’s work to do, and they got time ahead of themselves.And, who knows? Perhaps Jimin’s voice will snatch the other members’ hearts just like it snatched Taehyung’s years ago. Perhaps this is only just beginning.