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He’s slurring. He’s painfully aware of that, but Jimin nudges his forearm and makes him take another shot. The bitterly sour taste of lemon is shoved into his mouth and he coughs as he licks some salt off the little glass. There’s loud laughter.When he recovers from the burn in his throat, he smiles at the blurry Jimin and his huge grin, “I am going to be sick.”On the other side, someone pats his back too hard. Fuck, he forgot about Namjoon. “You’re not.”“You know, guys, boys…” He takes his time in getting one arm around Jimin’s shoulders and another around Namjoon’s. Jimin takes the opportunity to down another shot and order more. “I love you, guys, I love you so much. You’re my bros. You’re my ride or die. I'd literally die for you.”“We met three months ago,” Namjoon says, but Jimin laughs aloud.He’s aware he’s getting too much into Namjoon’s personal space when he waves the index finger, “That doesn’t matter. I still love you. I love all the people. Except–”“Min Yoongi,” Namjoon and Jimin say in unison before he manages. They take another shot.“–Min Yoongi,” he agrees. For fuck’s sake, they’re really blurry. “I see two of you Jimin.”Both Namjoon and Jimin laugh at something he doesn’t get, or hear.“Say, Hobi,” Namjoon leans on the bar, getting his attention. “Why do you hate him so much?”“Who?”“Min Yoongi.”“Because!” He frowns as he watches Jimin down another shot. He’s too loud. “I am a happy person, okay? I mean, it’s not like I don’t have my own problems, right? But I'm a cheerful person, I am optimistic, I know how to… how to fucking smile. To have fucking fun, right? Fun!” He exclaims and takes another shot from in front of Jimin. He doesn’t seem to mind, but Hoseok regrets it the moment he has to taste the lemon and salt again.He makes a small burp before he continues. “I'm just saying, he’s like a black hole that sucks all the fun out the room.”“But you’ve never been in the same room with him,” Jimin points out.“I have a class with him. He just sits there, bored, as if he’s too cool for school or some shit, you know? And he’s in black, which is convenient for the– for my simile with the– the–”He tries to explain, and Namjoon nods in encouragement, “The black hole.”“The black hole, yes,” Hoseok nods. “He doesn’t even try. I've seen people try to talk to him, but he always just…” He makes a fist and waves it around, “He has a punchable face.”“Boring,” Jimin dismisses him, “I thought you found him hot.”“Black holes are not hot,” Hoseok says in all seriousness and doesn’t get why Namjoon and Jimin burst out laughing. Doesn’t matter, because the next day, he remembers nothing. ✴✴✴ “A real job,” Seokjin huffs and puffs every now and then, and lifts up a black hoodie on a hanger. “Does this say rebellious enough?”“No, that says Blogging all day.”“What the fuck,” Seokjin whispers and gets the hoodie back. “Do you think being a DJ is a real job?”“Would be if you actually had gigs,” Hoseok says and gets out a yellow shirt. He double checks if it says anything, but it’s just a nice, plain yellow shirt. Just what he was hoping to find. “Why the fuck does a simple shirt cost this much?”“I do have gigs,” Seokjin offers Hoseok a view of another shirt, but takes it back with a disappointed sigh. It said ‘Forever young’ on the back.“That’s a nice shirt,” Hoseok argues.“If Jeongguk ever sees me wearing it, I wouldn’t hear the end of it,” Seokjin turns away, heading for the changing rooms. “Try out that shirt, I need to actually see you in it before I approve.”Hoseok gets in and Seokjin continues to talk, “While we’re mentioning Jeongguk, he and Taehyung said they might need a DJ for their festival thing they’re organizing.”Hoseok laughs, “You really think they’ll manage to make it?”“No, but they’re my friends and they might pay me, so,” Seokjin sighs. He waits until Hoseok gets out and scans him thoroughly. “Okay. You may buy it.”“I would buy it anyway,” Hoseok mumbles, getting back into the changing room, but chances are that he wouldn’t.“Oh, there’s your boy out there,” he hears Seokjin a little quieter and then his laugh. “He just made the most hideous face at that hoodie with the blogging.”“I don’t know the fuck you're talking about.”“Min Yoongi.”“I don’t fucking give a shit,” he says and folds the shirt nicely, fixing his hair that got electrified while changing clothes.“Well, despite your hatred for him, he does have a friend.”“Wow, I guess boring people like other boring people,” Hoseok gets out and gets a quick look of the boy, hair dark just like the rest of his clothes, and if it wasn’t bad enough, he’s wearing a cap. Hoseok hates caps. “I fucking hate caps,” Hoseok stuffs his mouth with fries. Jimin is laughing at him.“He really hates him,” Jimin looks at Seokjin, but points at Hoseok with a piece of his bread. “We went drinking the other day and even when dead drunk, he said he hates him.”“I don’t get it,” Seokjin shakes his head, “It’s really not like you to hate people.”“I don’t,” Hoseok reasons. “It’s just that his appearance makes me so fucking mad. He’s young, he’s fair looking, he’s attending a nice university, and he acts like all of that doesn’t matter, like classes are below him and like everything is fucking lame and beneath him, and I don’t like people like that. Add a nasty look in his eyes into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a person I could really hate.”“You're insufferable,” Seokjin mumbles over a straw. “Jimin, what is the ultimate rebellion move?”“Wearing all black, hating school and classes, and I guess a nasty look.”“Fuck you,” Hoseok spits.“Come on, I am asking for real. My parents think that making music is not a real job, for I don’t know what a real job means, so I'm asking you what can I do to make them see that I am successful but so they still hate it,” Seokjin explains.“But you're not successful,” Jimin points out pointing a fry in Seokjin’s direction. Seokjin makes a move like he’s going to hit him, but he doesn’t. Instead, Jimin apologizes and laughs.“Boys, girls!” Taehyung’s voice resonates through the whole diner when he walks in. Jeongguk hops behind him. He’s waving like a crazy man. Taehyung slides next to Jimin and Jeongguk makes Seokjin and Hoseok huddle with no space between them.“Take a fucking chair!” Hoseok yells. Still, he throws in a look for Jimin just to annoy him. He’s already getting red.“Just take a chair, Jeongguk,” Taehyung tells him, and only then Jeongguk groans and goes to look for a chair. “So, what are you guys doing? Having fun? Did you buy something?” He notices Hoseok’s bag.“Just a shir– Taehyung– I swear to god–”Taehyung makes a mess when reaching for the bag over the whole table, but reasons with a simple, “I must see it.”“Hey, guys,” Jeongguk sits on a chair. “We managed to book the space for the festival,” he announces with the biggest smile on his face. They all clap, while Jeongguk and Taehyung pretend to be shy about it.“That’s amazing,” Jimin looks at Taehyung, “How did you manage to do that?”“Taehyung sucked the owner’s dick,” Jeongguk says in all seriousness. Jimin almost chokes on air.“Shut up, I did not. We asked for the place, the university liked it, the major liked it – I mean, they think it’s gonna flop, but it’s not, I tell you. Guk and I are already making it known, so many people will come. But!” He puts a finger in the air, demanding absolute attention, “We need someone to make us promo posters.”“And for the internet, too,” Jeongguk adds. “But, like, a real artist.”“You don’t have the money for a real artist,” Seokjin shakes his head, “You’re better off doing it yourselves.”“I guess Jeongguk has a fair talent in drawing,” Taehyung looks up, with a finger over his lips. Then he takes Hoseok’s new shirt and unfolds it wide so he can examine it thoroughly. “But all he ever draws are dicks, so I don’t know.”Jeongguk doesn’t move, just shrugs, tracing the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “He’s not wrong.”“What does your girlfriend have to say about that?” Seokjin asks, chewing on a straw. Jeongguk rolls his eyes.“Yeet.”“Anyway, we gotta go,” Taehyung shoves the shirt in the bag and tosses it to Hoseok. It hits him in the face. “We just came to tell you the news,” he says and steals some fries off Jimin’s plate.“Hey, return the chair!” Seokjin yells after Jeongguk but Jeongguk retorts with a smirk and a simple, “You do it.”“I can't fucking believe they’re going through with this,” Hoseok shakes his head, but Jimin hits the table with his. “You okay, Jiminie?”“No,” he mumbles into the table. “He smells like strawberries and drugs.”“That’s probably his shampoo and the last meal,” Seokjin offers an explanation. No one says anything, lost in their own minds. If Taehyung and Jeongguk really pull off this whole festival thing – it’s going to be formidable. ✴✴✴ He’s swarmed in school work. Procrastination is a bad habit, where you know you have responsibilities, tasks and a whole lot of stuff to do, yet you don’t. Instead, you're stressed the whole time you’re not doing it. You take stress showers, you watch TV shows stressfully and you sleep a lot more than you should – stressfully, goes without saying.Therefore, that’s what Hoseok was doing for almost two months and now was trying to fit two months of assignments into five days left until midterms. Yet again, he doesn’t study for the whole day. He studies at night, because he learns better at night. And his TV show is at seven. And then he eats when it finishes around eight.Jimin, on the other hand, is studying without taking a breath unless to occasionally remind Hoseok about his studying. He’d just groan from where he’s eating popcorn in front of the TV and the laptop connected to it.He goes to his room to study only when Jimin comes at midnight and unplugs TV from the outlet. “That’s fucking mean,” Hoseok grimaces but studies that night. Once you start actually doing something, it goes well, until you get bored and it all goes the same day by day.“Microeconomics suck dick,” Hoseok sips on his coffee and hisses when he burns his tongue.“Here, take mine,” Taehyung offers him his cup. When he touches it, the cup is colder than Hoseok’s so they switch. The moment he tastes it, he gags and almost spits it all out. Taehyung is already taking the lid off his new coffee cup and pouring clear liquid from a little flask.“Is this vodka?”Taehyung chuckles ironically, shaking his head, “No way in hell I'm doing my midterms sober.”“The fuck?” Hoseok mumbles and takes his barely contaminated cup of coffee back by force. Taehyung tries to fight it for a few moves, then threatens Hoseok about how much money he owes him for the drops of vodka that were wasted and pours the rest into his already full of vodka cup. “How the fuck are you staying in college?”“I'm not,” Taehyung shrugs. “Once Jeongguk and I do well on this festival thing, I'm dropping out.”“So you're not dropping out. Good to hear.”“Fuck off.” That menace of man is doing the same exam Hoseok is, and it irks the hell out of him. He wonders how so much negative energy can fit in a man so small. It annoys him. He’s sleep deprived, although he didn’t study all that much – but hey, it’s a passing grade he’s aiming for. What annoys him is Min Yoongi, few seats down.He’s not even looking at his paper, but rather propping up his chin looking like his face will fall down any minute and he’s twirling a pen between his fingers. It makes a small, unnoticeable noise, but it is annoying.Hoseok can't focus on his paper. He thinks about telling him off, cursing at him, yelling to stop. He even considers whispering in a passive–aggressive voice asking him to stop. But he doesn’t do either. If he fails this exam, he’s blaming it on Min Yoongi.The questions aren't that hard, but he turns in his paper first, bolting out there. Just moments later, he turns around to see Min Yoongi getting out, too. “I wouldn’t blame it on him; I'd rather say you didn’t study.” Jimin looks at him accusingly, probably wishing to put some of the blame on Hoseok. He failed and he’s trying to get the professor to let him repeat it. “Leave it,” he takes his math book from Taehyung. He’s been turning it on every side to show how much he doesn’t understand it, not even how to properly read it.“I don’t know how you understand that shit,” Taehyung sighs and leans over the table. “I did well on my English exam. Just a point above the passing grade.”“You're so smart, Taehyungie,” Jeongguk coos, mocking him. “Who are you talking about, anyway?”“Min Yoongi,” Hoseok spits out with disgust.“I don’t know who that is.”“You don’t know?” Jimin chuckles. “I thought you two knew everyone,” he mocks them, adding dancing fingers effects to the last word.Jeongguk shrugs. It’s fairly cold, but he’s in a white T–shirt whining about how hot it is in Jimin and Hoseok’s apartment. “We don’t know literally everyone. I'm more surprised that you know someone we don’t.”“If he’s as annoying as you say, I don’t wanna know him,” Taehyung adds.“Yeah, Hope not liking someone? Guy must be a jerk,” Jeongguk laughs, then gets serious unnaturally fast. “But for real.”“It doesn’t fit your image,” Taehyung agrees. “But whatever. I'm more concerned if the band will suck. We need to make them play for us,” he points a finger at Jeongguk. “If they’re lame, I don’t want them at our festival.”“Agreed,” Jeongguk nods. “Seokjin’s been bothering me to let him play.”“No,” Taehyung firmly shakes his head. “If he sucks, and he’s our friend, we can't deny him for the next year.”“That’s mean,” Jimin says.“It’s not mean, I'm being realistic. Anyway, we gotta get going. We need to check out this new place, apparently it’s fun, and Jeongguk has a fuck date with his girlfriend after that.”Jeongguk clicks his tongue, “She’s not my girlfriend, but whatever. See you, Jiminie. Good luck on convincing the professor,” he pats Hoseok’s shoulder. They both get up and leave faster than they came, but it’s not news.When they’re left alone, Hoseok sighs at the sight of Jimin being miserable and not saying a word. “I don’t get it. Do you actually like him or do you just wanna fuck him?”“All of the above?” Jimin suggests. “I don’t know. He’s hot.”“He’s not but you do you.”“I'd rather that he does me.”“Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Do you have no shame?”“What is shame?” Jimin whines. “Have you, like, ever seen Taehyung date anyone? I bet they’re fucking. I bet they are. Jeongguk and him. Why not? They’re both pretty and hot, and Jeongguk follows him wherever. They’re together all the time and they’re even doing business together – real business, although I bet they’re doing the dirty business, too. I bet. I bet.”“Doesn’t Jeongguk have a girlfriend?”“I bet he cheats on her,” Jimin scrunches his nose and squeezes his eyes, knowingly.“First of all, Jeongguk wouldn’t do that. And Taehyung probably just isn't the type to be in a relationship. Which doesn’t mean you can't tell him how you feel. Maybe he’d opt for a relationship with you.”“I don’t even know if I want a relationship with him, Hobi,” Jimin sighs tiredly and rubs his face. “Maybe one day when I get my head in order. For now, I have a math test in two days and I'm fucking tired.” ✴✴✴ He’s sleeping soundly when his phone rings for what must be the fifth time, because it’s Jimin who shoots open his bedroom door. The phone didn’t bother him, but it sure woke Jimin up. “If you don’t answer, I'm going to suffocate you with your own dirty laundry.”“Calm the fuck down,” Hoseok mumbles in a calming matter and with his eyes still closed, he answers the phone. “Who’s this?”“Hope? You gotta come down,” he hears Namjoon’s voice mixed with the background noise. “You're not gonna believe this.”“Come down to where? Believe what? What time is it?”“I think it’s around two and I'm a bathroom, Hobi, I can barely hear you. Look, I'm gonna send you a location and you gotta show up like, right now.”“What? What is happening?”“Just come!”The line breaks and Hoseok squints at the phone. It’s 1:47am. “Who is it?” Jimin asks, just as Namjoon’s text with a location attached lights up the screen more.“Joon. He told me to come quickly. Whatever. I'm gonna sleep.”“Come to where?”“I don’t know, there’s a location,” Hoseok gives Jimin his phone. Just as he thought that Jimin’s leaving, he is hit across the ear. “What the–?” “Up! We’re going.”There’s no arguing with Jimin. In a matter of minutes, he’s found Hoseok’s clothes and managed to be ready before Hoseok even put his pants the right way. Calling in the middle of the night without an explanation wasn’t something Namjoon would do. He usually calls in the middle of the night with an explanation. He’s thinking about it clearly only now that he’s awake, but it must be something serious for him to call in such a matter.“Did he really just call you to go out to a fucking bar?” Jimin points to the big door and the address Namjoon sent written on a plaque next to it.“He sounded serious. There was music in the back, though.”“Let’s go in,” Jimin says and enters first. The music is heard right away, but stairs lead to a basement. There’s no one like a bodyguard there. The lights are dim, and the sounds of laughter, loud talking and yelling are being heard more than the music.When they reach the space, it looks crowded, with bunch of people around big, wooden tables, playing billiard in the back, drinking beer out of huge glass mugs, embraced in a cloud of cigarette smoke. Jimin spots Namjoon first; he’s at the bar along with Taehyung, Jeongguk, and Seokjin, all enjoying themselves and drinking the beer. Jeongguk’s got that cigarette between his fingers that he pulls out whenever he’s drunk.They yell obnoxiously loud when they see them, but Hoseok lets go and he yells too. What the hell. He got dragged out of his own apartment in the middle of the night to go out and drink with his friends. He’s already here, so why wouldn’t he yell and laugh and hug all his friends like there’s no tomorrow?“Hope, prepare to have your mind blown,” Namjoon yells over the noise as he puts out his cigarette. Jeongguk’s got that habit from him. Namjoon takes him by his biceps and turns him around, so he’s facing the crowd and his back is leaning on Namjoon.“What am I looking at?”“There,” Namjoon points.It takes him a moment. Just a moment, before he sees him. Fucking Min Yoongi. He just got dragged out his house in the middle of night, to a bar in the middle of nowhere, and for what? Min Yoongi?But, something’s different. That’s not– It can't be, right?The man’s got a huge gummy smile across his face, he’s wearing ripped black jeans with a flannel shirt tied around his waist, and he’s laughing, laughing, laughing. It’s his turn, judging by the way he spins the stick and almost hits another guy. He shoots and gets a ball in, resulting in him screaming in victory and doing some kind of a funny victory dance, flapping his hands around and getting into another guy’s face just to flex.Some people are trying to calm him down, but he doesn’t give up until someone gives him money. He’s calmed down, giggling by the side, leaning on the back of a chair, watching as the next player gets ready. Hoseok watches him as he gets a pack of cigarettes out and how he puts one between his lips. He lights up a match for the cigarette and tosses the match into an ashtray. He’s heading towards them.“Can't be,” Hoseok looks at Namjoon. “No fucking way.”“Told you. You had to see it to believe it,” Namjoon shrugs with a sad face. “But now you know!” He says, somewhat bouncier. “You can stop hating the guy now.”“I refuse to believe it,” Hoseok says like it’s the most outrageous thing in the world. “That must be his twin or something.”Namjoon makes a doubtful face. “I don’t think so.”“Must be,” Hoseok insists and watches as Min Yoongi stands by the bar, reaching out to tell the bartender his order by getting on his toes. He’s fucking small. So fucking small this up close.Now, Hoseok’s not a big man himself, but Min Yoongi looked so fucking small.“I'm gonna ask him,” Hoseok decides before Namjoon can stop him and yell something about embarrassment and self–destruction. He stands next to Min Yoongi, carefully inspecting him. He’s got a beanie on, his eyes are small, but he’s waiting patiently for the bartender. He ashes his cigarette in someone else’s ashtray.It takes him a moment to see that Min Yoongi is looking at him almost with a question mark above his head, sucking in his lips in a straight line. “Hello,” he says.“Hello,” Hoseok returns automatically. Min Yoongi looks away. This is so weird. So fucking weird. It’s like he’s looking at an another person. “Hey, we– uh, we didn’t meet, right?” Smooth, real smooth.Min Yoongi looks at him again, then looks at his feet and then eyes again. He shakes his head and puts the cigarette between his lips again. “Nope,” he says over the cigarette, but he isn't touching it. Jeongguk looked like a monkey trying to learn that one.“Are you sure? You don’t have a, say, a twin brother or something?” It sounded better in his head.“Why, you interested?” He talks over the cigarette and laughs, probably at Hoseok. Fuck.“No, I'm just–”“If you wanna ask questions, you gotta buy me beer, man,” Min Yoongi tells him, all serious. “Nothing I do comes free of price.”“Uh, okay. So do you have a twin brother?”“Nope,” he talks over the cigarette. He takes another drag and ashes the cigarette again before putting it back.“Are you sure?” Hoseok tilts his head. The guy looks at him like he’s crazy.“If I had a twin brother, I'm pretty sure I'd know about him,” Min Yoongi says. He’s talking clearly over the cigarette and the answer to the question why stays a mystery. “What the hell makes you ask that?”“It’s just… I've seen you around in classes. You look much different there.” That’s it. That’s the stupidest thing he could've said to some in real life.Min Yoongi thinks so, too, considering he’s laughing. He doesn’t comment on it, just points at the bartender who is waiting for the money. Hoseok rolls his eyes and gets his wallet out, but stops upon finding out Min Yoongi got himself three beers.“You said you’d pay,” he says, like he’s ready to fight.“You’re buying three beers.”“Well, obviously they’re not all for me,” he says. Hoseok gives up, feeling sorry for the bartender doing his job patiently and waiting for the money. But, Yoongi’s not as patient and he’s already leaving with his beer. Hoseok catches up fast, for Yoongi can't get away that quickly because of the crowd.“Did my question really freak you out? Do you not think you’re kind of acting different? Are you on drugs? That’s fine by me.”“What the fuck?” Yoongi shakes his head in disbelief, walking in front of Hoseok. “I like being here, and I dislike being at classes. It’s not that deep.”“Yeah, but why’re you acting that way at the uni?” Hoseok insists. If he’s embarrassing himself, at least he’ll ask all he can. He might never get another chance.Yoongi stops and turns his torso to Hoseok, a finger apart from the glass and pointing at Hoseok. “Now, that’s none of your business, right?” When Hoseok doesn’t answer, Yoongi makes only two steps before he turns around again. “Do you play pool?”“Not really.”“Then goodbye.” Yoongi looked like he wanted to smile, but didn’t quite manage to make it look like a smile. Instead, his face looked just like that face you make when you pass by someone unsure whether to say hello.Taehyung and Jeongguk are suddenly gone wherever (“If Jeongguk’s really at that date with his girlfriend, then what is Tae doing with him?” Jimin reasoned before chugging so much beer Hoseok could already see himself holding the younger’s head above the toilet so it wouldn’t fall in – again.) but the rest felt like it’s a good place to get drunk.Getting drunk was never Hoseok’s strongest suit, and although the music was his thing, he couldn’t bring himself to dance or really have much fun. Min Yoongi was there, and he was making other people laugh. He was playing pool, often just messing around instead of actually playing, and he looked fun.Now, that’s something Hoseok would never, ever guess. ✴✴✴ He’s fallen asleep after watching a movie and occasionally watching Jimin study. He never studied in his room; he wasn’t easily distracted and he was a quiet learner, so they co-existed pretty well. Hoseok was in charge of getting the food and preparing, since he studied way less and had no interest in being a valedictorian, unlike Jimin.They cleaned the apartment by the schedule that Jimin made, but seeing how Jimin forgot it was Hoseok’s turn to clean the bathroom, he’s milking it until Jimin remembers – or until it’s Jimin’s turn.He doesn’t sleep much, mostly because he doesn’t need many hours to recharge. He’s always been full of energy, a reality that their parents never valued that much. Once he’s asleep, even if something does jerk him from the dreamland even for a second, he’s able to ignore it and continue his peaceful slumber.It’s just that no matter what time it is, Namjoon is always persistent. He moans as he taps over the glass table with his eyes closed, opening them only to see the time. He’s fallen asleep in the living room, and Namjoon is calling him at three-twelve in the morning.“Yeah?”“So, I gotta tell you something.”“You always do.”“I forgot to tell you earlier. Did I wake up?”“No, I was just fucking making dinner. What do you need?”“Sorry, what time– oh, fuck. I didn’t see the time. Anyway, I need to cancel out Friday morning tutoring sessions.”It sobers Hoseok up. “But,” he sits up, “We’ve been doing that mostly for you? Did you find some other piece of ass to tutor?”Namjoon’s chuckle is barely audible. “That’s why I'm calling you. You won't believe who approached me for tutoring and offered to pay. You don’t pay.”“Who?” He hates these Namjoon’s mind games. Like he’s a mind reader. He’s not Seokjin, for fuck’s sake.“No, you have to guess.”“Fucker.”“Min Yoongi.”“The fuck? That fucking hypocrite?” Hoseok is hurt. His friend calls him in god’s time and tells him he’s conspiring with an enemy. The audacity.“Hypocrite? I thought you liked him now.”“No fucking way. No person I have ever met in my whole fucking life has ever been that two faced. One of his faces is a dick and another is even a bigger dick because who the fuck acts like that? One moment all freaking mysterious and dark and then the other all smiley and jumpy? He has to be on drugs. You can't align with that kind of people.”“Hoseok. Are you all right? The guy’s fine; he asked me for help and because he has a tight schedule, I decided to help him.”“Yeah? And what about my schedule?” Hoseok stabs his chest with fingers, like Namjoon can see him pointing to himself.“You do nothing but occasionally visit your classes.”“Fuck off.”“Fine. Whatever. I just wanted to let you know. Also, there’s a party on Sunday, tell Jimin.”“Fucking fine, you traitor. I'll tell my real friends, like Seokjin and Jeongguk.”“What about Taehyung?”“Fuck off!”He finishes the call dramatically, and tosses the phone to the side, rubbing his face. Fucking hell, he thinks. He’s getting all worked up about nothing. But there was just something about that guy that really irks him and he can't stand him.“Hope?” Jimin’s voice is tiny when he calls. He stands at the door in his sleeping shorts and oversized shirt, rubbing one eye. “Why are you yelling?”“Namjoon called. It’s nothing, go back to sleep.”“No, tell me,” Jimin approaches him, sitting at the armrest with one ass cheek. “You seem upset.”Jimin is a real friend. Hoseok’s so lucky to have found him as a roommate. It didn’t take them long to get along and to fuse together their friends, resulted in making their little friend group. Before Jimin, Hoseok knew only Seokjin here. He’s so glad Jimin answered the ad for a roommate once Seokjin moved out.He probably couldn’t live without Jimin now.“Okay,” he says softly, “Namjoon called me to tell me he’s going to reschedule our studying sessions–”“Tutoring sessions,” Jimin corrects him nicely, but there’s a shade to it. Hoseok ignores it.“Because he’s going to help someone else – Min fucking Yoongi.”“Oh, screw you,” Jimin stands up rashly, already on his way to the bedroom when he murmurs, “I thought there was a real emergency.” ✴✴✴ If you ask him why he’s doing this, he wouldn’t have an answer. And if you ask him why he brought Jeongguk along, he’d tell you he’s lost his mind himself. They’re behind some bookshelves, waiting for Namjoon to turn up for his Friday morning tutoring session with Min Yoongi, but it’s already past eight and they’re nowhere to be seen.It’s irritating, but not as irritating as Jeongguk whining about how he has to pee.“Hope, please. Why am I here?” He jumps up and down in small hops, just like a kid. “I really need to take a piss. I'm gonna start pissing.”“Shut the fuck up. You’re already pissing me off.”“That’s mean, Hope,” Jeongguk whines. “I am only here because Taehyung is busy and because I want to know who this Mingi person is.”“Min– You mean Min Yoongi?” Hoseok looks back at him, brows furrowed.Jeongguk shakes his shoulders, like he’s not interested. “Well, sorry for getting wrong your archenemy’s name.”“That’s not–”“I'm gonna go piss upstairs, you be pathetic here alone.”Jeongguk hops in large steps to the stairs and goes upstairs, not without waving to someone familiar. Jeongguk is the youngest of them all, and he just blended in when Taehyung and Jimin brought him to the squad. Jimin’s started to get jealous sometime after that, then liked Jeongguk a little more when he got a girlfriend (who he claims is everything but that) and now, Hoseok’s not sure where they stand with Jeongguk.He likes him, he’s fun and a crackhead, always down to do stupid shit with Hoseok, but Jimin is Hoseok’s best friend and if Jimin hates him, Hoseok’s obligated to, too. But, Jimin would laugh at Hoseok for doing this, so bringing Jeongguk along was a good idea.In theory. It’s been fifteen minutes, and Jeongguk said hella lot about pissing and none words about taking a dump. Hoseok groans and sends him a text.
john cook cena
8:34
Hey asshole
Where the fuck are you 8:34
stfu I'm with joon and mingi they're up here I can't tell them you're here
unless you want me to?
I figured I'd be a good friend and not tell them about your little espionage project
but since I'm the /asshole/… 8:35
Fucking hell
I'm gonna be right up
Act surprised Hoseok sighs, and thinks of an excuse only while walking up the stairs. He’s so fucking stupid. It didn’t occur him for a second that they might be on the second floor. Jeongguk actually listens to him and acts surprised. Too much.“Hobi! Oh, my God! I literally cannot believe this! You? In the library? When was the last time you did this? Could it be when you snorted cocaine off that dude’s ass and decided it was a good time to learn our constitution?”Good thing there weren't a lot of people there. Other than the three, only two girls occupied one more table. They seemed disgusted. Jeongguk, on the other hand, looked ecstatic.“Prick,” Hoseok mumbles, approaching the table. “Hey. Fancy meeting you here,” he tells Namjoon, unsure whether Jeongguk told him they came together.“Yeah, funny, right?” There’s sarcasm in his voice. “Almost as if I'm in here every Friday at the same time.”Jeongguk sat next to Namjoon, so it would be just rude for Hoseok not to sit next to Yoongi. The little meathead planned it with excellence. If only he were gifted for common sense the same amount.He leans on the back of the chair first. “I figured if you're not going to help me, I'm gonna study on my own.”“Where’re your notebooks?” Namjoon points with his pencil at the nonexistent bag at Hoseok’s back.Hoseok smiles. “You always reminded me to get them, and now I've forgotten them.”“Sit down,” Namjoon says, laughing and shaking his head, like he’s done messing with him. “We were going over the databases, in which you need help, too. I figured you’d be angry at me, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to wake you.”“You think it’s a good idea to wake me at three am and not eight am? Your mind works in a wonderful way. Is your last name Jeon by any chance?”“Fuck off!” Jeongguk yells and throws Namjoon’s notebook at him. Hoseok laughs while Namjoon fights Jeongguk for the notebook back.Finally settled down, Namjoon points at Yoongi. “This is Min Yoongi, and this is–”“He knows who I am,” Min Yoongi says with confidence, looking down on his phone. He slowly raises his eyes up to Hoseok and smiles. “Or do you maybe still think I have a twin?”“Ah, yeah,” Hoseok chuckles, embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I'm Hoseok,” he offers a hand and Yoongi shakes it.“Well, to clear it up, no, I don’t have a twin. Please elaborate on your confusion.”“Ah…” Hoseok looks to Jeongguk and Namjoon for help, but they are just as interested in his answer. “I mean, I told you. You just seemed like a different person.”“Yeah,” Yoongi laughs and nods, adjusting himself in his seat and placing the phone on the side. “My friends thought it was funny. I don’t particularly like school, so my resting bitch face might be showing. I hope I didn’t scare you that much.”Fucking hell. “Oh, no, no, I just– I just noticed you around, that’s all. What are you guys doing?” He looks at the books spread on the table between Namjoon and Yoongi, and when they all notice the sudden change of subject, they don’t mention it. ✴✴✴ “Fucking, fucking, fucking hell!” It’s Yoongi who yells. They’re at Namjoon’s apartment, Friday night. Namjoon thought it would be a good idea to invite him for hanging out before hitting someplace out, but Yoongi thought it would be even a better idea to play Twister with Taehyung.He’s spread out on all four colors and Taehyung is hovering above him, threatening to fall down in laughter.“Move your fucking hand to the yellow!” Yoongi yells at him, but Taehyung laughs harder, reaching with his right hand to a yellow circle. Jeongguk is throwing a laughter fit filming them, probably posting it live on the internet, and Jimin is in agony for Taehyung, having lost the moment they started.“You’re so small!” Taehyung yells back.“Tae, your dick is imprinted on your leg,” Seokjin teases, but Taehyung’s not hindered. It’s Jimin who almost loses his mind trying to see and then looking betrayed at Seokjin who laughs too hard.“Okay, okay, I managed, I managed!” Taehyung yells. Yoongi groans.“Keep that dick away from me. Hoseok! Do it!”He can't. He’s laughing too hard at the sight of Taehyung and Yoongi being like that, shaky and barely holding on. The spinner is in his hands, and he hates himself for laughing, but Yoongi is too funny.“Hobi!” Taehyung warns.“Okay, okay,” Hoseok spins the needle. “Okay, Yoongi. Oh, fuck. Left foot blue.”“Are you fucking kidding me?” Yoongi growls. “Spin again!”“No!” Taehyung yells. “If I put my right hand on this yellow, you better put your left foot on the blue, or so help me god!”“What are you gonna do? Touch me with your dick imprint?” Yoongi snarks but moves beneath Taehyung, trying to reach the blue side. “I am never wearing skinny jeans again.”“Why, your ass looks good,” Jimin slaps Yoongi’s bulging ass, making Yoongi flustered enough to fall down and bring Taehyung with him. Taehyung writhes in laughter on the floor when Yoongi manages to push him off. Hoseok finds it endearing how Yoongi’s cheeks go slightly pink, and absolutely wants to smack Jimin for doing that.“Thanks, Jiminie,” Taehyung says, “You’ve helped me win. 95z forever!” They high five, and Jimin is happy for a moment before Taehyung squeezes himself next to Jeongguk on an armchair, demanding to see the videos. Namjoon comes out his room, still buttoning his shirt.“The hell you guys doing?” He stands there, his hair wet. “Who brought Twister?”Everyone goes silent. “That’s not yours?” Hoseok frowns, slowly putting it down. No one says anything. Namjoon still waits for someone to claim it. “Well, who proposed to play?”“It was on the table,” Jeongguk says quickly, like he’s been accused of something. “I wouldn’t waste my money on a family game; I have better things to do.”“On the table, what the hell?” Namjoon frowns.As expected, no one really cares that much whose Twister it is. There’s some yelling to get Namjoon to dry his hair or else everyone will be late, then some arguments about who gets to go into one cab and who in the other. Jeongguk and Taehyung insist on going separately from Seokjin, but insist on driving with Jimin, as does Seokjin. Namjoon insists on not driving with Jeongguk or Taehyung, and especially not Hoseok.“You go too ecstatic!” Namjoon yells, still managing his buttons even when they wait for the cabs to come on the pavement in front of his building.“I do not!” Hoseok yells and jumps, and when he realizes what he’s done, he points to Yoongi. “Do not fucking trust him, stay with me and the fun is guaranteed.”Yoongi scoffs, barely noticeable from where he's buried his nose into the collar of his black coat. He looks even smaller. “You stay with me, and the fun is more than guaranteed.”“Are you two flirting?” Taehyung stands between them, pointing at each with each hand, angry. “’Cause we got a serious matter on our hands here right now.”“Can you just go without Jeongguk?” Hoseok whines. “You, Jimin, Jin, and Joon go one car, Yoongi, Jeongguk and me in the other.”“Are you crazy? No way.”“It’s a five minute drive,” Yoongi complains.“Do you want to get thrown out my car, too?” Taehyung threatens, gasps when Yoongi shrugs. When the first car arrives, Taehyung is the first one to get to the doors and yells, “Only Jeongguk and Jimin!”“Well, better Hoseok than you two,” Namjoon spits while Jeongguk throws him two middle fingers even as the car is leaving.The next one pulls up, and Hoseok lets Yoongi get in before him. While Namjoon and Seokjin are explaining to the driver where to go, Yoongi whispers, “Can you keep a secret?”“Sure,” Hoseok says. He lied. He cannot keep a secret. Oh, fuck. Why the fuck did he say that?“The Twister is mine,” Yoongi chuckles through the whisper, Hoseok barely understands. He laughs, eyes widening in disbelief. He really let his friends argue for seven minutes straight whose it is (including Seokjin’s theory about ghosts) and said nothing. If Hoseok remembers correctly, he even pinched in about the theory about Jeongguk’s mind just doing that.“You brought it?” Hoseok whispers back.“I thought we were gonna just chill at Namjoon’s but seems like I misunderstood, and…” He shrugs, “I'm just going with it.”This might really be fun. The club is packed, the lights are flashing, music thumping in their chests and people are moving around in the crowd, singing and dancing. It’s immediately hot, stuffy, and Jimin waves at them from a table full of shots of some electric blue liquid, the rim of glasses full of salt.Hoseok feels someone holding his hand while he’s taking another one with his free hand. When he turns around, it’s Yoongi, leaning in to tell him something. “Please, don’t leave me.”He’s taken aback, pretty sure Yoongi’s getting along with Namjoon and Taehyung much more, but he smiles and offers the shot to Yoongi. He smiles back and waits for Hoseok to drink it at the same time.Namjoon is trying to smoke in secret. Jeongguk is dancing too much like an idiot, winking every now and then at some girls, then at some boys, then at Taehyung and is whispering something in his ear, while Taehyung nibs on a straw from his dark red cocktail. That’s the reason Hoseok doesn’t stay with Yoongi, but follows Jimin straight to the bathroom.The bathroom is empty, unlike the girls’, where there’s a line forming in front. Jimin is only washing his face, careful not to smudge the little eyeshadow he’s got going on.“Come on, Jiminie,” Hoseok leans next to him, cursing a little when his hand touches a wet spot on the sink. “Jeonggukkie wouldn’t do that if he knew you liked Taehyung.”“I know,” Jimin sighs, fixing his hair. “I guess. I mean, we’ve only been friends with them for, what, a year? Year and a half? And we never see them, unless it’s parties. They never hang out with us, they come, say what they have to say, and then they go. Everyone knows them. You know I've seen a girl commenting on their picture with a ‘taeguk’? The fuck is that? A freaking ship name? Give me a fucking break.”“Well, you can't feel sorry for yourself. You can literally have whoever you want, look at you. And you need to get out there, and dance, and drink, and try and have fun. They’ll be out soon enough, as usual, and we can continue our lives.”“That helps and doesn’t help at the same time,” Jimin says, but is already heading for the door. He stops for a moment to let Yoongi in, and Yoongi stands at the door, yelling something after Jimin, but Hoseok can't hear because of the music.“Is he alright?” Yoongi points after Jimin and closes the door behind himself.“Ah, I guess,” Hoseok shrugs. “He’s just… He’s having a rough time these days, figuring stuff out and shit. You alright?”“Yes, actually, I've spotted an ex, so I'm kinda waiting for them to leave,” Yoongi leans against the door, crossing his arms. “Jeez, are these doors soundproof,” Yoongi huffs and chuckles. “I think I downed like seven shots, so I'm kinda waiting for them to hit me all at once.”Hoseok is taken aback. “Oh, fuck. I shouldn’t have left you alone with Seokjin, I'm so sorry.”Yoongi frowns. “I’ll be sick, won't I?”“Probably,” Hoseok chuckles. “You feeling it now? Wanna wait it out?”Yoongi doesn’t answer, but slowly makes his way to Hoseok and– Hoseok is confused for a moment. He moves slowly, like a cat, a small predator. He’s not looking at Hoseok when he hands his phone to him. Hoseok takes it automatically, not really thinking until the phone is in his hands. “Just– Don’t let me call people, and I’ll be fine.”Hoseok puts the phone in his back pocket, chuckling a little. He notifies Yoongi when the phone buzzes, but Yoongi shakes it off. Some guy comes in to piss, looking at them strangely for not moving an inch while he washes his hands and heads out.“I poured some of Jeongguk’s vodka into Taehyung’s soft drink,” Yoongi announces, casually.Hoseok snorts in laughter. “Why do you do these stuff?”Yoongi shrugs. “It’s fun to see the effects. While I was living at home, I fought with my… well, I fought with my brother a lot, and I mean, as a teenager, you fight with your parents. And, all the time, I’d just do these petty things, like… My brother spent a lot of time hanging in the kitchen, he liked to study there, and I’d always get my food out the microwave just a second before it’s done, so he couldn’t see the time.”Hoseok laughs, “That’s freaking mean.”“I had a dog back home, a big one, but he was scared of everything. He once barked at his own shadow. But, I still convinced all the kids in the neighborhood that he eats little kids. No one ever threw a ball in my backyard anymore.”“That just sounds like you're an old man with a fucking snake for a pet.”“Actually, I would like to have a snake for a pet. If I weren’t deadly afraid of them, that is.”“You know, I kinda… I kinda hated you.”Yoongi frowns, confusion readable on his face. “Hated me?”“Yeah, I mean… No, not exactly hated, but I found you really… Stuck up.” He’s thrown the bomb just like that, and he knows he has to explain himself. Yoongi waits for it. “I really don’t know why. I've seen you around, and you always look hostile. I thought that you were probably one of those rich kids who don’t think school is good enough for them. Or anyone, for that matter.”Yoongi looks straight, then shrugs. “I'm not one of the rich kids. But, that doesn’t mean that my parents aren't making me study. I'm twenty-three years old, and I still have to listen to my parents,” he chuckles softly. “They aren't really amazed at the fact I am repeating a year, or that I'm doing other stuff than just studying.”“What are you doing?”“Work,” Yoongi says vaguely. “My schedule is pretty tight. That’s why Namjoon dropped you on Friday mornings. I have no other time to meet up with him.”“So, you really don’t like school?”“Not in the slightest. I have no interest in economics whatsoever. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go throw up.”“Oh, fuck. Do you need help?”“No, I've done this before.”“Do you want me to wait for you?”“That’d be nice, thanks.” ✴✴✴ They haven't seen Yoongi much after that. He’d say hello if they meet, Namjoon would mention he’s had a brief tutoring session with him, but nothing more. It’s alright; Yoongi has his own friends. That definitely wouldn’t have to mean that he’s now a part of their ‘group’, or whatever.“Are you kidding me?” Taehyung slams his fists on the Hoseok’s poor, glass table. Jimin loses three years of life in fear of the noise and the possibility of the glass breaking. “He can’t–”“You break the table, you pay for it, cunt,” Jimin warns, kicking Taehyung’s butt with his leg as he passes, putting the glass of water Taehyung asked for in front of him. Taehyung liked sitting on a cushion on the floor when he’s at theirs.“Yeah, okay, thanks, Jiminie. But as I was saying, Yoongi really took the advantage of us,” Taehyung keeps his case. “We really let him in, we partied with him, we played Twister. Do you know how cool someone has to be to make Twister fun?”“I know, we've met him,” Hoseok says, leaning to the side to see the TV behind Taehyung.“You're just mad because he tricked you into drinking and you made some really bad decisions,” Jimin states, a little tired of Taehyung complaining the whole time since he’s come to their apartment. It was evident Jeongguk had left him to do something better not involving Taehyung.Taehyung drinks his water and points a finger at Jimin. “Not all were bad. But mostly.”“What did you do?” Hoseok asks, and Taehyung goes silent. He looks back at Jimin, who shrugs too fast. “What? What happened? Did you do Jeongguk?”“Please,” Taehyung rolls his eyes. “I guess you wouldn’t know since you spend the whole time with that traitor, but I kinda went home with someone…”Hoseok remembers that Jimin decided to drown his sadness in fucking some guy, too. Apparently, the guy was straight until that night. He wonders how Jimin does it. Any straight guy is willing to risk it all for Jimin.And here he is, looking with heart eyes at the asshole sitting across them smelling the water and trying to guess the brand of the water he’s drinking. Jimin probably doesn’t have the heart to tell him it’s only tap water, he just smiles and confirms, enjoying how happy Taehyung gets over guessing the brand.Hoseok envies him in one part. Being in love, or at least liking someone enough to care. He knows how many times Jimin’s been there for Taehyung when he gets fucked over, when he’s in a fight with Jeongguk and it breaks his heart that Jimin sits there and listens to Taehyung break his heart over and over.He doesn’t envy him on the heart breaking, but just on the feeling of loving someone that much. If he ever finds it, he’ll be sure to pursue it better than Jimin.And doing Jimin a favor, he stands up in the middle of Taehyung explaining why they should never hang out with Yoongi again. “I gotta go. Joon and I have a little study session.”“Tutoring session,” Jimin corrects him. “Wait, how long will you be gone? You said we’d go watch a movie tonight.”Taehyung whines like a baby, “I wanna go watch a movie, too!”“I don’t know, an hour, hour and a half,” Hoseok ignores him. “Wanna walk with me, Tae? I could walk you back to the dorms so you don’t accidentally pass Jeongguk’s girlfriend’s room and ruin something.”Taehyung turns his back to Hoseok and decides on staring at the TV. “I'm gonna stay a little while longer.”“Suit yourself.” He’s got a twenty minutes walk to the college library. Passing the dorms, he meets Jeongguk who seems surprised that Taehyung’s mad at him, but agrees that Yoongi is a prick and should never be affiliated with again. Rather than going back to Hoseok’s apartment, he decides he’d let Taehyung get over his anger.The library is almost full, since it’s Wednesday afternoon, and Hoseok barely finds Namjoon. Only, he’s not alone.“Fucking hell,” Hoseok murmurs for himself. He feels bad for bad mouthing Yoongi and he’s right there. “Hey, motherfuckers!” He greets them, and is immediately met with a couple of shhhh’s. It was okay to speak, but not yell swear words, apparently. “What brings you here?”“I'm busy Friday,” Yoongi explains. “Uh, my boss is on my back and with my internship…”“Internship?”“Yeah, I kinda do internship, too, so…”“No wonder you're always busy,” Hoseok says, getting his laptop out the bag. “Where do you work, again?”“You probably never heard of it. It’s kinda nightclub that’s also open as a bar during the day. So, I spend most of my time there. But, hey, I got a free Sunday. You guys maybe wanna do something?” He’s hesitant at asking, fidgeting with his pencil. “I mean, it’s okay if you guys are busy and–”“We’re going to a frat party,” Namjoon cuts in. “You should come. Most of Taehyung and Jeongguk’s friends are frat guys, so we go there sometimes.”Fuck. Taehyung’s gonna kill him for this. “Yes, definitely,” Hoseok nods. “You should come. Frat parties are so fucking cool. There’s drama all the time.”“If you’re lucky, you can probably see Taehyung and Jeongguk fist fight. They always get into a fight and it gets physical,” Namjoon agrees. “Seokjin has like two hundred short videos and edits of those fights.”“Really? They seem close to me,” Yoongi says.“They are,” Hoseok agrees. “That’s why they fight all the time. But, for now, I really need to pass these databases,” he opens his laptop and works his shoulders, to prepare himself. “Let’s fucking do this.” “Where do you live?” Hoseok asks, as they slow down near his building’s entrance.“Like ten minutes from here, don’t worry,” Yoongi shrugs it off. It’s already dark. The finals are coming up, along with Christmas and the New Year’s, so Hoseok was hoping to study some more when he gets home.Still, he asks, “Want to come in for coffee?”“I gotta study some more, thank you,” Yoongi says, already walking off slowly. “And then I gotta go to work and maybe catch a few hours of sleep.”“Well, work hard, I guess,” Hoseok smiles. “Are you going home for the holidays?”“No,” Yoongi shakes his head. “I never do. I have to work.”“Oh, well… I guess I’ll see you Sunday?”“Yeah,” Yoongi smiles. “See you Sunday.” ✴✴✴ Working hard was never Hoseok’s strongest suit, but he tries. And he listens to Jimin a little more than he did around the midterms. Namjoon comes over Friday and Saturday to study together, and Jimin decides he’s going to study out for these finals.The Sunday almost never comes, and no one’s got the energy for the party when they leave. That’s why Hoseok stays close to Jeongguk and Taehyung, because they seem to have hella lot energy; that is, until he realizes they’re on some drugs and are going to wreak havoc the entire night.“Come on, lighten up!” Hoseok tugs on Seokjin’s shirt, begging him to come and dance with him. “We could drink our asses off and then we could just dance and party–”“You have too much energy,” Seokjin complains. “But I am up for getting drunk.”It doesn’t take them long. Hoseok’s a lightweight anyway, Jimin encourages him, and Seokjin needs only a glass or two more to get on Hoseok’s level of drunk. Jimin yells at them for being pussies, but he carries Hoseok’s drunk ass to dance even if no one else in the room was dancing.Some drunk frat guy yells ‘Gay rights!’ at them before almost passing out, which was too hilarious for either of them to continue dancing.“Yoongi’s an assfuck for not showing up,” Hoseok complains, almost falling over the armrest that he tries to sit on. Seokjin holds his hands to keep him from falling, but he’s not much better.“People, remember when Hoseok was just hating on Yoongi?” Seokjin laughs.“Was it really that bad?” Someone asks.“Yeah, he’d be so angry for no reason,” Jimin laughs. “Hope, you okay?”“I'm de–fucking–lightful,” Hoseok reaches for Seokjin’s drink, and he gives it up. “But Yoongi– he’s a bad friend.”“Hoseok,” someone stands by his side. “Come on, let’s get some air.” It’s blurry, but his vision makes no mistake: It’s Min Yoongi.“Yoongi!” Hoseok yells. “I thought you were a no–show prick! You finally came.”“Yeah, like two hours ago,” Yoongi laughs. “He helped me throw my guts up last time, I think it’s the time to return the favor,” he explains to the rest of them as he takes Hoseok’s hand.Hoseok shakes his head no. “I'm not feeling sick.”“Hopefully,” Yoongi says.He doesn’t remember the way to the outside, because the next thing he’s aware of is Yoongi handing him some paper towels as he finishes throwing up. He’s laughing at him, but still helps him sit on a bench. “The frat guys won't like it that you threw up outside. Are you cold?”“A little,” Hoseok admits.“Here, let me help you,” Yoongi leans in, a little too close, as he works Hoseok’s zipper. He feels a little better.“Just so you know,” Hoseok says, “I'm not crying, it’s just that when I throw up, my eyes water.”“I figured. Since you tried to sing the Britney song as you were throwing up.”“Don’t lie and say you never cried to Toxic.”“Every time.”Hoseok can hear him chuckle, and he’s looking right at him when he notices. Hoseok wonders why.Yoongi’s such a nice person. He did say a lot of shit about him before he even met him, but at least he was honest to him about it. It would be so cool if he were to hang out with them more often.“Hey, you never told me about your internship,” Hoseok says. “You don’t like school, right? I'm guessing your internship is about something you like or some shit.”“Yeah. Actually– yeah. It’s even an unpaid internship,” Yoongi laughs, but then shrugs. “It’s a small web design company. Sometimes I help with coming up with the official logos or things like that. No one likes to do the front-end programming, but… It’s not ideal, but I like it.”“Well, you must, if you're doing it for free. Is that actually legal?”“Unfortunately, yeah,” Yoongi nods. “The reason why I'm not in some art school is – and please don’t say I'm cliché – is that I find it limiting to a point. I like to try different methods. I like to draw light. Like, when you draw on a white paper, you draw the dark parts. I prefer drawing on black papers with a white pen.”“That is actually so cool,” Hoseok widens his eyes. “I would never take you for an artsy person. I should’ve guessed. You’re always in black. But, they all have hairs of really flashy colors.”Yoongi laughs out loud and it’s a nice distinction from the drunken noise and screaming from the house. “I actually do like flashy. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you all the hair colors I had.”“No way.”“Yes way,” Yoongi laughs. “I’ll show you, maybe. One day. But yeah, I like flashy things, too. If I'm working with colors, I like it to be flashy.”“Oh my God!” Hoseok screams suddenly and stands up too fast. It’s spinning, but he can get over it. “I just had an amazing idea. You know that festival that Taehyung and Jeongguk are organizing?”“No?”Hoseok jumps in place in excitement, offering a hand to Yoongi. “Come on. You gotta. They need a flashy poster or something, and you could help them! They said they needed a real artist.”“Wait, what?” Yoongi’s following him, hand in hand, but he’s confused. Hoseok yells an explanation in the house, but Yoongi can't hear it. so instead, he waits until they find Taehyung. He watches as Hoseok yells something in Taehyung’s ear, and how Taehyung’s eyes go wide, thankful at Yoongi.“Come on up!” He yells, “We have to tell Jeonggukkie!”He guides them through the labyrinth or it seems that way, as they knock down people at the stairway and only Hoseok yells excuses at them. Taehyung knocks loudly on a door, opens them but no one is inside. So, he does the same to another room, and barges in…“Fucking hell!” Hoseok yells, both of his hands over his eyes, already turning away. He can't see Taehyung’s or Yoongi’s reaction, but this can't be good.It’s Jeongguk. Naked. Fucking some girl. Also naked.Taehyung most certainly doesn’t mind. “Jeongguk! We found who’ll do our promotional poster!”“Oh, shit, we did?” Jeongguk asks. Hoseok peeks and he can't exactly see anything compromising beneath a blanket, and Jeongguk fucking stopped just to talk to Taehyung. Yoongi’s expression is not readable, like they did not just invade someone’s private time.“Yes! Yoongi will do it! Apparently he likes to draw, and we can work with him!” Taehyung is ecstatic as he points to Yoongi.“Oh, shit, man, I'd hug you if I weren't, you know…”“No need,” Yoongi murmurs, a little disgusted. He probably doesn’t want to say no right now, since they’ll just be here longer than necessary.“Who’s that?” The girl asks. She’s looking at Hoseok.“Oh, that’s Hope. I told you about him. Hope, this is Chae, a friend of mine,” he introduces her like they did not just barge in– Okay, Hoseok really can't wrap his head around this.“The girlfriend,” Taehyung whispers in explanation.“Yeah, we should go,” Hoseok says carefully, already grabbing the door handle.“Wait!” The girl yells after them. “Tae, wanna join in? You could celebrate your poster thing or whatever.”Did she just–“Oh, sure. See you outside,” Taehyung waves at Hoseok and Yoongi and closes the door behind them.Both just stand there, dumbfounded. Did this just happen?Hoseok laughs in disbelief, mouth agape.Yoongi frowns, “Is this the fist fight you and Namjoon mentioned?”He decides to ignore that remark, “Jimin must never find out,” he says every word with an emphasis, making sure Yoongi registers it well.Yoongi raises his eyebrows, confused. “Does Jimin like Jeongguk?”“No, he hates Jeongguk. He likes Taehyung.” He explains, watching the confusion and realization switch places on Yoongi’s face as he breathes a loud ‘Ah’. He takes a few more moments to remember it, then nods. “Okay. Now, I'm feeling sick again, so let’s find a bathroom.”After he’s done throwing up in a bathroom, with Yoongi sitting on the bath’s edge holding a bottle of sparkly water, he leans back and accepts the bottle when Yoongi hands it. He’s getting sobered up, but when they’re out and Jimin’s nowhere to be found, it’s decided that Hoseok would sleep at Namjoon’s, and that requested celebratory shots.He’s pretty sure he died at the end of the evening, Yoongi laughing and holding his hand the last thing he remembers. ✴✴✴ With the finals being over, he couldn’t wait to get out the train and meet with his family. His sister waited for him, showering him with kisses and hugs and insisting she missed him the most. He does earn a few kicks and slaps when he comments on her driving, which was really bad, seeing how she drove through the red light and didn’t stop at the stop sign, resulting in her almost hitting a pedestrian.“You're lucky no police was around,” he comments, running away to the house before she could hit him once more.He’s made sure to buy everyone gifts in Seoul before he left, and he couldn’t wait for the Christmas morning to give it to them. Dawon waited for him to get the tree decorated, and practically dragged him to the place they all hung out at while he was in high school.His old friends never change, all of them happy to reconnect every now and then, and Hoseok really enjoys his winter break. Jimin texts him a few times, mostly saying how he misses Taehyung and sends pictures with his friends from Busan into the group chat.
Little Jiminie
December 31st
14:12
I forgot to tell you. 14:12
what 14:13
When I was in the train to Busan, guess who I met.
Jeongguk.
He’s from Busan, too.
I wished for those zombies to appear.
And he couldn’t stop talking about Taehyung. Apparently your boy Yoongi sent them some examples of his previous works, and they want to consider him to make them that stupid promotional poster. 14:15
LOOOL
fuuuck lol
jeongguk’s from busan?
i didn’t think yoongi would actually go with it
i was fucking wasted when i suggested him to do it 14:16
You’re the worst. 14:20
how did you and jeongguk not know before you're both from busan 14:22
He always went home later so I didn’t know.
Anyway, I ignored three texts from him asking to hang out. I'm not even sure he has any friends here. 14:25
you're so mean jiminie
ask him to come celebrate the new years with you and your friends
he’s fun and he probably doesn’t have any friends there
he’s with taehyung all the time anyway 14:26
Yeah, that totally helps.14:32
AAAAAAAHHHHH I AM TOO GOOD OF A PERSON I JUST INVITED HIM 14:33
come on, he can't be that bad 14:33
He better not bring any drugs.
Also, did you know Yoongi is from Daegu? 14:33
the fuck
how the fuck you know 14:35
Taehyung told me.
But apparently he doesn’t go home during the breaks.
I wonder if he’s lonely over there. Everyone’s left for the holidays. Hoseok lies on his bed, thinking about it hard. Dawon is telling him a story how she over shipped some t–shirts, and he’s listening to her while texting Jimin, but now he’s thinking of Yoongi. He said he doesn’t go anywhere. 14:38
do you have his number? 14:40
Why would I?
Ask Joonie, he should have it. Maybe Tae and Jeongguk, too. He should really text Yoongi. He’s sure Namjoon has his number because he’s tutoring him, too, but when he asks for the number, he can't think of what to write. His heart beats a little faster, and he’s unsure why he has trouble coming up with a text.It’s time for lunch, so he leaves the phone and his text messages for later. Jimin and Jeongguk spam the group chat with their pictures and Jimin complains a little in private chat to Hoseok, but they seem to be having fun, so that’s all that matters.He’s a little tipsy when he finally comes with a nice text to send to Yoongi.
Min Yoongi
23:22
Happy New Year 23:41
Who is this 23:41
it’s me
Hoseok 23:45
Oh
Hey
Thanks, you too
I didn’t know you had my number
I’ve been meaning to ask you for yours
But I thought it’d be too weird to text you out the blue
Also it’s not new year yet 23:47
it’ll be in a few
are you having fun?
also is it weird that i'm texting you
23:52
No, not at all
To both^
I'm working
The night club, remember?
Anyway, it’s almost midnight
So I have more work rn
The manager is yelling at me
Okay, I gotta go
Have fun seokie :3 “He spams with a million little texts!” Hoseok coos and shoves the phone to Dawon’s face. She’s confused for a moment, blinking rapidly and pushing the phone a little back so she could read it.“Who?”Oh, fuck. “No one,” Hoseok takes the phone back.“Hobi! Tell me!” She yells, she fights him for his phone, they break a bottle of beer, they get yelled at, but it all stops when the countdown happens and Hoseok is a little jealous that his sister has a boyfriend she can kiss at midnight. ✴✴✴ The winter break is over, and Hoseok’s sister was too drunk to remember that little incident. Seokjin drags Hoseok for a coffee the moment he gets back to Seoul, discussing the fact Jimin and Jeongguk kissed for the lolz at midnight for the New Year’s and even sent them pictures. Hoseok remembers that, especially because Jimin texted him later to say that he still hates Jeongguk, but can't lie and say it wasn’t fun to have him around for the holidays.“We should ask Yoongi which bar he works at,” Seokjin says, “We could go and visit him.”“That’s a good idea,” Hoseok agrees, slurping the coffee and annoying Seokjin in the process. “I texted him for the New Year’s but haven't heard from him a fucking word later. Taehyung mentioned they’re in contact over the poster.”“Yeah, Jeongguk told me that, too,” Seokjin nods. “He works a lot, you know. I talked to him; he sleeps only a few hours. He’s got his classes, a lot of working hours, he does that internship thing and he still draws and makes time for doing what he likes. My guess is that he’s enjoying doing it for Taehyung and Jeongguk.”“I can't believe they’re going through with it,” Hoseok shakes his head. “Like, the fuck? It’s in six months. And I've seen the event on Facebook. Like six hundred people confirmed they’re going.”“Yeah, everyone from college that knows them and a hundred fake profiles that Taehyung made,” Seokjin snorts. “They said they’re gonna let me perform. I've been working on some music.”“Well, fuck me!” Hoseok smiles. “Send me the demos. I wanna hear them. I'm gonna be so fucking honest with you. You’re gonna excel!”“You're the best, Hobi.” ✴✴✴ It’s already February when they meet Yoongi again. They’re eating out on a Tuesday night and Namjoon invites him. Hoseok happy to see him, but he looks pale – paler than usual – and he seems tired. He’s in black clothes, with a black cap on and he talks very little.“Hey, you okay?” He asks, although it’s probably none of his business. Yoongi shrugs it off.“I'm fine. I'm just tired,” he sighs. “My boss cut down on my hours, and I'm getting paid less, but at least I have more time to work on my art and internship, right? Wrong!” He yells for a second, and although he’s talking to Hoseok, Seokjin and Namjoon stop their conversation to listen to him. “I've got some annoying asshole for a next door neighbor who thinks two in the morning is appropriate time to learn how to play drums.”“Oh, shucks,” Seokjin says, but laughs. “Really? It doesn’t bother the rest of the tenants?”“Apparently not. I'm kinda in a little studio on the last floor and he’s in the apartment next to mine. The other one is empty. So the people below can't hear a thing and my landlord doesn’t give a fuck.”Hoseok wonders what he could to make him feel better. He’s vividly upset, sleep deprived and angry because of everything that’s happening. “What about your job?”“It’s fine,” Yoongi waves his hand. “I'm just… I think they will raise the rent from the next month. But I’ll figure something out.”“You live alone, right?” Namjoon asks, “Why don’t you get a roommate?”“No fucking way in hell,” Yoongi shakes his head. “I hate roommates. Maybe if I were close enough with someone, but a stranger? No. Also, I need my space. And for now, I just want to get some sleep.”“Tried ear plugs?” Seokjin suggests.“Yeah, but I can still feel the beat,” Yoongi makes a beating gesture over his chest. “It’s drums. None of you are in need of a roommate?”“Sorry,” Namjoon says, “I have two roommates.”“Same,” Seokjin adds, feeling sorry. Yoongi just nods.“Hey, if you wanna get some sleep…” Hoseok starts, wondering what Jimin would say. Who cares. “You could stay with me and Jiminie for a few days. Our couch in the living room is actually like a sofa bed, and Jimin has one of those spare mattress toppers, so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable. Plus, we’d get to hang out more.”Fucking hell. Why the fuck would he say that? He should’ve just left it at the suggestion. Seokjin is already giving him The Look. Fuck.Yoongi think about it for a moment. “Are you sure?”“Yeah, yeah! Definitely. It’ll be a fucking blast.”His heart skips a beat when Yoongi smiles widely and almost whispers, “Thank you.”He ducks his head in the power of Seokjin’s stare. ✴✴✴ “It’s two espresso shots,” Yoongi explains, making sure Hoseok is watching carefully. “Now that the beans are tamped, you put the portafilter in its place. Like this,” he carefully puts it into its place. Jeongguk yells some disgusting cure at the TV where he and Jimin are playing a game. “Then, you make an espresso, right?”Yoongi stands there, waiting for the espresso to be done. When it’s done, he looks at Hoseok again, smiling just a little, “What is the water temperature?”Hoseok runs to put the thermometer into the water. “Eighty degrees Celsius.”“Yes, that’s perfect,” Yoongi says and Hoseok turns off the stove. “Now, you mix one part espresso and two parts water. Watch me.”He carefully measures the water, and pours it into a cup. He’s brought those little packs of sugar you get in cafés, and he opens one up and then stirs the coffee. He brings it to his nose to smell it, and proudly hands it to Hoseok. “There, a perfect Americano.”“You're a miracle worker,” Hoseok says, and then proceeds to burn his tongue on the coffee. Yoongi just sighs dramatically. But, he was so happy when he learned that Jimin and Hoseok bought an espresso machine.They saved up money for some time and bought it together. When Yoongi asked who gets the machine when they move out, Jimin just explained that he and Hoseok will be roommates forever, so it doesn’t matter and it was a nice investment.“Nice investment?” Yoongi snorts. “Neither of you knows how to use it properly.”“Well, now we do,” Hoseok insists, making himself comfortable next to Jeongguk on the couch. “Jeonggukkie, move.”Jeongguk makes some place for him, and groans when Jimin beats him. Jimin screams in victory, giving Jeongguk a couple of victorious middle fingers.Yoongi on the other hand looks rested and content with staying there. Hoseok’s glad he got some sleep. He definitely deserves it. ✴✴✴ A few days before Hoseok’s birthday, Taehyung tears up over the poster that Yoongi made. It looks pretty, even Hoseok can say that much. He’s brought two thousand posters to Namjoon’s place, and had gathered all of them to help with posting them around the city.The colors are flashy, mostly pink and yellow in confusingly beautiful and matching patterns. The name of the festival was in big letters, the GO GO festival, as they called it. Taehyung explained that the mere name suggests movement, which is appealing, short, simple, and catchy.The lineup is printed beneath, Jeongguk taking the special pride in some popular names they managed to get. It was pretty impressive, and Hoseok was feeling a little prideful over his friends who seem like total trainwrecks being able to pull this off.Seokjin burns a hole in Hoseok’s side when he says, “Me and Yoongi could take this part of the city.”“Sure, whatever,” Taehyung dismisses them, handing them both roughly two hundred and fifty copies. “Make sure it’s visible, okay? We’ll be handing out pamphlets next weekend.”“Count me out,” Yoongi says. “I am not nearly social enough for that shit.”“What?” Taehyung puts both his hands on his hips, looking like a sassy housewife. “You have to. You made them.”“For free. I'm not giving you any more free body work.”“I said we’d pay you when we get the festival profit. You can do it with Hope, he’s social enough for both of you,” Taehyung waves his hand in dismissal, but Hoseok huffs loudly.“What’s that supposed to mean?”“You’ll get a hold of it when you spend time together posting these posters over the city. We need to promote this as much as we can,” he explains. “If we want this to work.”“And we do,” Jeongguk adds. “Tae, what’s our area?”“No!” Jimin cuts in faster than he should. “Tae and I are going together.”“Wow, okay, traitors,” Jeongguk nods, offended. “I see how it is.”“Guk. You can come with us,” Taehyung says. Jimin’s blood boils.“No, I'm gonna go with Hope and Yoongi–”“No,” Seokjin says, “Come with me and Joon.”Hoseok looks at Seokjin, trying to get the mental message across: You don’t have to do that. Seokjin receives it, but ignores. He’s a mind reader, and he just ignores Hoseok like that. Rude.“Really? You are my new best friends. Taehyung and Jimin can go fuck themselves,” he says, jumping over both Seokjin’s and Namjoon’s laps, then proceeds to act like a baby and call them mom and dad.“That’s the plan,” Jimin whispers, and Hoseok snorts when he hears it. Jimin seems much more determined on getting Taehyung.“It’s snowing and it’s cold outside. Can't we do this another time?” Yoongi complains. He didn’t want to mention it, but Yoongi seems much more down lately. He was fine when he stayed over at Hoseok’s, but he just got back to the same old. It makes Hoseok sad in some way, and he would like to help. Offering to come sleep at theirs again would be over the top, and Yoongi would rather die than ask himself.Considering he'd even want to stay at theirs again.“Hold Hobi’s hand,” Namjoon says. Hoseok almost chokes. “Don’t think we didn’t notice your tendency to hold hands.”“I– I am not!– I do not– that’s not– I'm not– what?” Yoongi keeps his mouth open in offence at that ridiculous statement. He looks like a deer caught in headlights.“You're always holding someone’s hand!” Seokjin laughs loudly. “Mostly Hoseok’s.”Yoongi goes completely red, but keeps that poker face he’s good at. “I refuse to give out a comment, you can contact my managers.”“It’s okay, Yoon,” Jimin says in a soft voice. “I like to hold Hobi’s hands, too. They’re always warm.”“Now that you mention it,” Namjoon says, “They are.”“Yeah, Hobi, what the fuck?” Jeongguk frowns. “Good circulation, huh?” He wiggles his eyebrows and Seokjin slaps his occiput. Jeongguk screams overly loud.“Shut up. Let’s get this over with.” It’s freezing, but it’s nice, being alone with Yoongi. It’s going slower than Hoseok thought it would, not that it bothers him. Yoongi is opening up more and more, and talks about his art. He says he’ll show Hoseok the pieces he’s made out of wire.“It’s mostly naked people, but you know. Art.” He shrugs.“With a wire?” Hoseok widens his eyes. How the fuck does that look?Yoongi chuckles, “Yeah. You’ll see.”“I sure hope so,” Hoseok says and Yoongi laughs, pointing a finger at him like he got the reference. He even knows vines. Hoseok regrets every single moment he spent silently judging him from afar.“I like your friends,” Yoongi says suddenly, struggling to get the poster glued to a surface. “I like spending my free time with you all. You always seem to have something to do, and even if you don’t, it’s still interesting. Also, you’re all so… Normal, I guess. About stuff.”“What do you mean?”“You don’t discuss it, but you just do it. Stuff like donating old things, clothes. Recycling. Being nice and helpful to others. I like how it’s just a normal thing that you’d go to other side of the city to stick these crazy posters around.”“Well, Taehyung and Jeongguk are our friends. You don’t leave your friends hanging,” Hoseok says. “You're out friend, too. If you need anything, anytime, you know you can always come to me? To any of us? Right?”Yoongi smiles. “I think I'm starting to get that.”“If only I could count how many times Taehyung’s roommate sexiled him and he’s come to sleep with us,” Hoseok laughs, smiling fondly. “It’s weird, you know? We just start hanging out with people and can't really remember how it even started.”“Sexiled?” Yoongi frowns.“Oh, like sex and exiled. His roommate would have sex so Taehyung had to leave.”“Ah,” Yoongi nods. “Also, I'm guessing you all get along that much because you're all gay.”Hoseok laughs. “Well, can't argue with that.”Yoongi gets serious for a moment. “My friends mostly aren't queer. It used to get a little uncomfortable in the past. They’ve gotten used to it, but it’s like they couldn’t understand it before. Me, or my partners, or another friend that’s queer. I mean, it’s okay now, but it was even more confusing for me in the past.”Hoseok looks at him, being all serious and in his thought, finally getting the poster to stick properly. “I get how it could've gotten confusing for you. I mean, I don’t want to sound like an asshole when I say this, but I have pretty good relationship with my parents. I love my sister. I never missed anything. And it took even me some time to get it out to them, or to the world even when I never came across any judgement or disapproval.”“My parents aren't supportive. And my brother doesn’t really give a fuck,” Yoongi shrugs. “I guess they want me to finish this college and do normal things so they could feel like I'm… normal in their terms, I guess. I don’t even like going home, to be honest.”“I'm sorry,” Hoseok says in loss of words. “Things will get better.”Yoongi stops and smiles at him, grateful for a moment. “They already are.”They walk in silence, until they reach one of those public places on the side of a building where there’s a bunch of promotional posters glues next to and over each other. They decide on posting twenty there, next to each other, so it gets even more attention.Hoseok usually doesn’t like silence, and most of the time he breaks it with sound effects, but he keeps quiet, until he can't hold it in anymore. “So, you're gay, huh?”Yoongi laughs out loud, almost tearing apart one of the posters. “I don’t like to limit my sexuality to strictly gay or straight.”He feels a little ashamed for asking like that, but he fixes his hat and nods. “That’s okay. I mean… whatever you’re happy with.” Yoongi just returns the small smile. ✴✴✴ Just one day before Hoseok’s birthday, Yoongi announces he’s getting evicted from his apartment and that he needs to look for another place to stay at. Also, he has already planned to get back at the drums guy and the landlord that’s a complete asshole.All that Taehyung hears from that is that Yoongi is supposed to get drunk off his ass as a form of celebration and Yoongi completely agrees.Hoseok notices that he’s not feeling that well, and that he’s probably in a bad place, anxious and worried about what to do next. He mentions that the fate is playing with him and the last eviction date is his birthday, March 9th. However, he keeps a smile up and decides to not get drunk, so he could keep an eye on Yoongi.But Yoongi is persistent, insisting on Hoseok drinking with him because it’s his birthday, and in a matter of less than an hour, Hoseok’s mind goes blank. He wakes up with a horrible headache, a bottle of cold water and two pills on his nightstand. Jimin is the best roommate anyone could ask for. He cringes when he remembers how much he had to drink, how he yelled atop of his lungs, standing on the bar and he vividly remembers some huge men bringing him down no matter how many times he said it was his birthday.It’s all a blur up to a point – and after that point, it’s a blank. For fuck’s sake. He hadn't gotten that drunk in a very long time. He chugs the water, still feeling sick, but he can feel it kicking in his body. God bless Jimin.He gets out, finding that the sofa bed is turned into a bed, fresh sheets still on and a blanket. There’s some stuff around, but it’s just because the apartment is messy all the time anyway. “Jiminie?” He calls but no answer.He could've gone to the store. Jimin was always better at sporting a hangover. For the nature calls, Hoseok opens the bathroom door and nearly screams at the sight.Jimin is sitting on a closed toilet seat, heating up wax pads, while Yoongi is… crying and waxing his legs. In the bathtub.“What the fuck?” He yells.“Oh, hey,” Jimin says. “How’re you feeling?”“What the fuck? What are you doing?” He points at Yoongi.“What does it look like? I'm waxing my legs.”“But you're crying.”“It’s a natural reaction,” Yoongi explains.“Why are you doing that?” Hoseok yells, still terrified.“Because I like how it feels,” Yoongi answers like it’s nothing. For fuck’s sake. “What are you getting so worked up about? At least I don’t wax my ass.”“What? I don’t either.”“Yeah, like fuck,” Yoongi laughs and makes a hissing sound when he pulls on another pad.“You mooned the bouncers. Everyone saw it,” Jimin explains and hands Yoongi a heated pad.“Excuse you. I am naturally very little hairy everywhere,” Hoseok argues, watching Yoongi hiss one more time. “Why are you doing that here?”“I slept here,” Yoongi says. “Not that you would know. Ah! How do women never cry?”“Women are stronger than us,” Jimin says, nodding knowingly. “They wax everything. Legs, bikini zone, stomachs, backs, arms, armpits, mustache. It’s a wonder.”“I have to take a piss,” Hoseok announces.“Can't you wait?” Yoongi cries.“You're in my apartment, in my bathtub, waxing your legs and you're asking me to wait?”“Also, I'm moving in.”“What?”“Yoongi and I talked about it,” Jimin says. “He’s getting evicted, and I suggested he stays at our place until he finds something better. We can't leave him homeless.”Hoseok rubs the back of his neck. Living with Yoongi? Ba–boom. Ba–boom.“I guess. Wait, did I really moon the bouncers?”“Yes,” Jimin says. “They threw us out, and then we went to another club. You really don’t remember?”“No,” Hoseok says quietly. It’s been years since he’s last mooned someone.“Don’t worry, Seokjin mooned them with you,” Yoongi says and Jimin starts laughing. “You really missed on a lot of things. Jimin had a blast.”“What do you mean?”“I mean he and Taehyung made out the whole night and then had sex here in the apartment where I could barely get any sleep because they were too loud. I have never heard people have sex so loudly.”We could out do them; Hoseok shakes the intrusive thought because what the fuck.Jimin goes red, apologizing to Yoongi for what seems not the first time, and Hoseok screams, making his head hurt. But no matter how his head hurts, he’s delighted to see that smile on Jimin’s face. “Jiminie! Oh, Jiminie!” He teases, going to ruff his hair and to hug him and poke him, like he’s a kid. “And you said you were worried he’d go somewhere with Guk.”Jimin smiles, nodding and making Hoseok sit down on the carpet. Yoongi’s finished with the waxing, now he’s just sitting there. In the bathtub. “Okay, but I have confession to make,” he looks at them carefully. “I didn’t think Taehyung would go anywhere with Jeongguk. I knew he’d go with me.”“Is it because you wore your skinny jeans that work every time?” Hoseok asks, proud of himself for knowing.“Yes. And no,” Jimin admits. “It’s because… Because it’s not the first time.”Yoongi screeches and a hand flies over his mouth. That shit is juicy.“Shut up,” Jimin laughs at Hoseok’s surprised face. “I'm just– I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you. I'm so sorry, Hobi. We told no one.”“Why the fuck not?” Hoseok raises his eyebrows even higher. “This is like the best day of my life. I feel like I'm in a relationship.” If only. His eyes find Yoongi’s only for a quarter of a second.“Because…” His smile falters down. “Because we’re not in a relationship. I'm just… We’re just hooking up. Oh, my God,” his hands fly over his face, changing the atmosphere into something much more serious. “I can't believe I said it. I'm stupid, I know. I shouldn’t be hooking up with someone I'm in love with. Oh, God. I'm stupid. I'm so, so stupid.”“No, Jiminie, you’re not,” Hoseok goes to remove his hands from his face. “Hey. You’re not stupid. But that– that’s not healthy.”“I know. I'm just… I'm just unnecessarily hurting myself. And that makes me stupid.”“Jiminie,” Yoongi says in a soft voice, aching to pat Jimin’s knee. “No, you're not stupid. That is a stupid decision, but…”“Yoongi!” Hoseok warns, but Jimin shakes his head.“He's right. I let it go for too long.”“If he's doing it that long and… I mean, he doesn’t seem that cold hearted to me,” Yoongi shrugs. “I've never heard him say anything, but I've never heard him say anything about anyone else either. How long have you two been…?”“Almost six months.”Hoseok stops every movement of his body. His mind does a quick rewind by the dates, and he suddenly blurts out, “Taehyung had a threesome with Jeongguk and his girlfriend at the frat party.”“Hobi!” Yoongi yells, but Jimin’s eyes go wide.“What?!”Like on cue, the front door shoots open and Jeongguk’s voice resonates through the apartment. “Your God is here with food! Hello, where are you? You called me, shitheads!”Jimin, in the calmest voice, states, “I am going to kill him.”“No, no, no, Jiminie!” Hoseok tries to stop him, but Jimin is faster. Yoongi barely manages to get out the bathtub and run out after them, only to see Jimin standing right in front of Jeongguk, fuming.“Did you or did you not have threesome with Taehyung and your girlfriend?” He points an accusing finger, and Jeongguk frowns, and then shrugs.“We have threesomes all the time. And she’s not my girlfriend.”On the verge of crying, Jimin points to the door. “Get out.”“What?” Jeongguk frowns.“I sad get out!” Jimin yells.“Jiminie, calm down,” Hoseok says, and Jeongguk looks at him, frightened and confused.“But,” he says in a low voice. “I brought food. I don’t understand. What did I do?”“Nothing. You did nothing,” Hoseok assures him, and holds Jimin’s hand, bringing him in for a hug. “I'm sorry Jiminie; I just thought you should know.”“Know what? Why?” Jeongguk insists. Yoongi approaches him ignoring a question about why he’s only in his underwear and with red legs. He whispers something to Jeongguk, and his expression goes serious. “Jimin, do you like Taehyung?”“Shut up, and get out of my apartment! I don’t want to see you!” Jimin yells into Hoseok’s chest, covering in frustration. “I'm so stupid, I can't believe this.”“No, tell me,” Jeongguk comes close. “Do you like him?”Jimin jerks away from Hoseok. “What’s it to you? You already have him and your stupid girlfriend! Just get out, Jeongguk! God, I hate you so much!”“He doesn’t hate you,” Hoseok assures him quickly.“What the– I don’t have Taehyung!” Jeongguk says, a look on his face a little disgusted. “But… oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, yes!” He suddenly yells. “I mean, it’s an oh, no, but it’s an oh, yes, too! I mean– Listen, Jiminie! Taetae likes you, too! I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut, but like… if Hoseok never shuts up, why would I?”“Excuse you,” Hoseok demands.“What?” Jimin asks.Jeongguk shakes his head, getting his thoughts in order. “Come on, Jiminie. I would never do that to you, okay? He’s told me, but he’s like right now in his dorm crying because he thinks you’re only using him for a good fuck because he has a big dick.”“What?” Hoseok’s pretty sure all three of them said it at the same time, with different levels of confusion.“Come on. Come on, Jiminie, you gotta come with me,” Jeongguk shoves the bag with the food in Yoongi’s hands and pulls on Jimin’s forearm. “You have to tell Taehyung how you feel so you guys can resolve it because he’s probably still crying and I had to cudd– to be there with him for like the entire morning.”Hoseok really doesn’t get what’s happening anymore when Jeongguk is dragging Jimin out spitting out nonsense that maybe in some world makes some sense, but he’s feeling restless once again, when he’s left alone with Yoongi, peeking in the bag.“Sweet. More food for us,” Yoongi comments. “We can finally move on from the Jimin and Taehyung drama and maybe keep our focus on someone else who needs to get a hold of their feelings.”“Oh, you mean Namjoon and Seokjin,” Hoseok nods, knowingly. He’s notices. He’s not stupid. He notices all the feelings, all the time. He’s invincible when it comes to the feelings. He knows every feeling.But, Yoongi turns around to go to the living room, and leaves Hoseok confused with a simple, “Nope!” ✴✴✴ Hoseok gets crazy over all the lovey–dovey moments Taehyung and Jimin have every hour of every week, or when they try to have sex ‘quietly’. It feels like not only has Yoongi moved in, but Taehyung, too.Yoongi has a lot of stuff. He’s got too many canvases, so many breakable boxes, and he’s taking too much of their space. Hoseok’s too nice to say anything, Jimin, too, but Taehyung’s not.“You should throw out things you don’t need,” he told Yoongi.“I don’t need– That’s my art!”“This is a wire.”“I will kill you–”Hoseok held Yoongi from attacking Taehyung and Jimin tried to make a compromise by suggesting all the canvases and stuff Yoongi isn't using currently could go into the basement, where Jimin and Hoseok got one unit with the apartment.It seemed to satisfy everyone, and has worked pretty well. When Hoseok tells all of that to Seokjin, he finds it too amusing.“Amazing,” Seokjin concludes. “So Yoongi living with you two isn't too much?”“Not at all. Taehyung spending all his free and busy time at our apartment is too fucking much.”“Well, at least they resolved whatever was happening before,” Seokjin shrugs. “So, Yoongi’s birthday is in two days?”“Yeah, and he has to work. I mean, living with him doesn’t mean we get to see him more often. He comes really late, and he goes early in the morning. Most of the time he works all night and then sleeps in the morning, or during his classes. We sit together, but he just uses me as a cover–up for his sleeping.”“We should go to his work and surprise him,” Seokjin suggests. “We could like, buy him a gift, or something, and come when his shift is over and surprise him. Unless his other friends, whoever those losers might be, are planning the same.”“Doubt it. But it’s a good idea. Let me run it by Jimin. And Taehyung.” They play it the old–fashioned way: They pretend they have forgotten about Yoongi’s birthday.The three of them try not to burst out laughing when Yoongi seemingly takes forever to leave for work. He takes his keys really slowly, he asks them a few times if they have anything, anything at all to tell him, and they all say no. Taehyung plays the mean “Wait!” and then tells him to buy some food on the way back when his face lights up hopefully.The pieces of wire that Yoongi showed Hoseok were beautiful. They were clean patterns of hearts, flowers, or anything combined; women or men made entirely of a single wire or a whole picture of a scenery – all made of a single thread. It actually looked amazing.So, they bought him meters and meters of that same wire, nicely put in a big box along with his favorite snacks (little strawberry candy bars) some new brushes, a book on colors (Hoseok had no idea a book on colors could be that big and expensive) and a gift card for a store that sells of that.He’s officially became a part of their group, so Jeongguk announces he’s going to add him to the group chat in a special ceremony of presenting the gift. Hoseok’s heart does that little thing as they walk to the place he works at. It’s stopped being as cold, but he feels shivers down his spine.He’s really glad they’re friends. Yoongi is an amazing person, honest and true, and so understanding. Nothing can throw him, not even all the drama or Hoseok getting drunk and mooning the bouncers. He’s really there to stay.And that makes Hoseok’s heart warm.He's not by the bar when they come in, but a co–worker says he might be getting out the back door, so Namjoon yells at him to go and run for Yoongi to come in. When he does come out, he looks more surprised than Hoseok’s ever seen him.Jimin almost drops the cake while they’re singing the birthday song, but Hoseok stops suddenly when he sees Yoongi crying. They really made him cry. So, even before the song is over, he comes up to him and hugs him. “Happy birthday.”“Thank you,” Yoongi says, voice hoarse, breaking. “I really thought you assholes forgot.”“Like fuck,” Hoseok laughs in hope Yoongi would too. It warms him when he does, even through the tears. “Guys, we made him cry!”“Crybaby!” Seokjin insists, but hugs him tightly. They all hug him, make fun of him, and Taehyung shoves a piece of cake into Yoongi’s mouth before any warning. There’s some choking, poor attempt at a Heimlich manoeuvre, but all is well at the end.They give some cake to Yoongi’s co–workers, and sit at a table, ordering drinks and making some more fun of Yoongi for crying while he opens the gifts. “Thank you. Really. Thank you so much. To every one of you. You’ve all really helped me these past few months and I– I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”“Someone’s sappy,” Namjoon says with his glass raised high. “To Yoongi and his sappiness!”Before he could complain, everyone raises their glasses at the same time. “To Yoongi and his sappiness!”And through all, Yoongi doesn’t let go of Hoseok’s hand once. ✴✴✴ Hoseok comes to really like living with both Jimin and Yoongi. Even Taehyung. Even when Taehyung brings Jeongguk. And even when Jeongguk tells him in confidence that he loves threesomes, so he’ll get himself two daddies. Hoseok never wished for ear bleach before.Yoongi asks him to study more together, and sometimes lets him watch when he’s working or drawing, or doing anything, really. At the beginning, Hoseok thought it’d be weird, but now it’s better because Yoongi has a tendency to bend that stupid wire until his fingers bleed. Now, Hoseok warns him when he’s at it for too long, and Jimin helps him make an Instagram account to post his art.“It doesn’t matter,” Hoseok tells him when he complains how he hasn’t got many followers. “That doesn’t mean your art is bad. It’s a big field, and there’s a lot of people out there. Don’t worry. Give it some time.”“You know,” Yoongi says. “I used to wonder why everyone calls you Hope. I think I get it now. You really know how to make people feel better, hopeful. Wanted.”Hoseok blushes furiously and hides his face with a blanket, pointedly staring at the TV. “Shut up.” ✴✴✴ It’s unbelievable, but the day of the festival comes faster than anyone’s thought.Over two thousand people said on Facebook they were coming, and Taehyung and Jeongguk were a walking stress for weeks. They made sure that everything’s perfect, made sure even to tell their drug dealers not to bring any drugs until they ‘get into whole festival thing’.There’s only one stage, which is to be expected for a first festival that happens. No one knew what compelled the investors to invest in Taehyung and Jeongguk, but they knew what they were doing. Because everything looks amazing.The space they’re doing it at is the city’s ground, so it’s cheaper than if they wanted to do it somewhere else. It’s inside big, stone walls and they got dancers with fire and colors to be up there for a fraction of the night. There’s a lot of alcohol that can be bought, and Seokjin is panicking but they all try to assure him he’s going to fire up the crowd.“NO!” Jeongguk yells at them. “Only Seokjin gets a pass to the backstage! Are you a performer? No? Then get behind the fence with the rest of the peasants!”They’re all offended, even when Jimin insists on that he’s Taehyung’s boyfriend. Taehyung sends him apology flying kisses.They offer to work for free for the night, being the promoters of some drinks and working at the entrance in shifts, because of course Taehyung and Jeongguk are too cool for a free entrance. It’s amazing how many people actually came, and how much fun they’re having.The music is upbeat, personally overseen by Seokjin, Taehyung, and Jeongguk because they insisted on no boring music. And boy, did the performers deliver.It’s already all over the internet, as Hoseok notices going through his phone. He gets a break a little after midnight, when Jimin takes the entrance and Taehyung joins him for a little while. He sits on a lower part of a wall, drinking a soda, and enjoys the music and the energy people around him emit. A smile shows up on his face when Yoongi joins him.He looks cute, small, sitting on his hands and rocking his feet back and forward. “So,” he says.“So,” Hoseok smiles. “Having fun?”“Actually, yeah. I think Tae and Guk did an amazing job.”“They did,” Hoseok agrees.“Oh, yeah,” Yoongi gets his phone out and looks for something. “Look what Jeongguk sent me.”Hoseok struggles to see clearly, because his brain is very well aware he doesn’t really want to see it. It’s Jeongguk dancing, between Namjoon and Seokjin, with his tongue out and a text message that describes the picture: Told you I’d get my daddies before you get your man. Loser.He opens his mouth, then closes it. Your man. Of course. That’s okay. Yoongi probably has someone, too.“I guess Jeongguk really gets what he wants,” Hoseok says.Yoongi laughs, loudly. It sounds so nice. He’s been down lately, stressed about finding an apartment. “Yeah, well… I guess we didn’t get to talk today, but seems like I'm going to get paid for my internship. Which means I don’t have to work anymore. Which means more time for you.”“Oh my God!” Hoseok yells and hugs him quickly, remembering the man and pulling back even faster. “That’s amazing. I'm so happy for you!” Maybe Jeongguk meant like… in general? No one specific?“And,” Yoongi adds, putting the phone away, “I'm moving out. I've been with you and Jimin for far too long.”“Oh, no,” Hoseok pouts. “I enjoyed having you with us. But, I get it, I guess. Please tell me not right now.”Yoongi laughs. “No, not yet. I'm thinking… I might go home over the summer. I can do my internship from home. And I haven't really seen my family in a long time. So, when the next semester starts… I'm thinking of moving then.”He’d give anything for Yoongi to stay. It’s been amazing having him around. He’d make them Americanos, he was the only able to make Taehyung shut up and go to sleep to his own dorm, and sometimes, if it’s cold, he’d come and cuddle… He can't really miss that, can he? Is he even allowed?“I'm glad you're figuring out what to do,” Hoseok says with sincerity. “I'm really happy for you.”“I know,” Yoongi nods. “So. Taehyung and Jimin seem to enjoy themselves. Jeongguk has finally found… daddies. Don’t you think it’s our time?”Hoseok must have not heard him right. “What?” Ba–boom, ba–boom, ba–boom, goes his poor heart.Yoongi chuckles. “Did you plan on ever asking me out?”His jaw drops. “On a date?”“Preferably.”“Wait, what?” He didn’t drink any alcohol tonight, and yet he feels like floating.“Don’t you like me?” Yoongi asks, cutely tilting his head and offering a wide, gummy smile. There’s something in Hoseok’s throat, before he breathes out–“Yeah. I mean… I do.”“I know,” Yoongi laughs. “I've been waiting for you to ask me out all this time. What is taking so long?”Hoseok is confused, and the blood pumping through his ears makes it hard to hear. “Wait, you like me, too?”“Pretty much.”“Wow.”“Hobi!” Yoongi hits his arm lightly, offended. “I have literally been giving you hints for months. I spend all my free time with you, I hold your hand way more than necessary, I let you be with me while I'm working, I even started going to class just so I could sleep next to you. I've done everything but told you directly.”“Well…” Hoseok stops. “Why didn’t you?”Yoongi takes a breath to say something, but stops to think about it. He shrugs. “I wanted you to tell me. Because, when we met, I was still with my ex. They were there actually, the night we met. And they did not like the fact you bought me beer, but we broke up a few weeks after that. We were together for almost three years.”“Oh. I didn’t know that.”“Yeah, because I never told you. It’s okay. It was… ten months ago?” Yoongi frowns, but chuckles then. “I think I noticed when you started to like me. Maybe even before you did. But, I waited because it wouldn’t be fair of me to get into anything while I'm still not over my ex. And for the last few months, there’s… there’s no one else,” he looks at Hoseok, a little shy.“So, you're over your ex?”“Yes,” Yoongi nods, agrees firmly. “Every time you smile at me I forget a little bit of everyone from the past.”Hoseok squeals into his hands, feeling all giddy and tingly all over his body. It’s happening. It really is. And he couldn’t even let himself dream of it. His heart beats faster when Yoongi moves a little closer to him and takes his hand in his own. It’s warm.“I'm still waiting.”“Oh. Okay,” Hoseok dramatically clears his throat. “Wanna date?”Yoongi dramatically sighs. “I guess.”“Cool.”“Also, I don’t kiss until second date.”“Good, because I don’t kiss until… fourth date.”“Cool.”It’s silent, while Hoseok’s mind goes wild and his body refills with sudden energy, so powerful, like he can do anything. Wait. Jeongguk. He meant Hoseok, right? Oh, thank god. He really got upset over that one.“Okay, so could we count that one where I bought you beer as the first date and this festival as the second?” Hoseok suggests. Yoongi pretends to think about it. He gives Hoseok one of those heart stopping cute smiles once more.“I guess you’re technically right.”His heart beats so hard in anticipation. Yoongi looks too cute, too precious under the flashing lights of the festival, and Hoseok feels like he’s really floating even before their lips touch. He feels the warmth of Yoongi’s breath and he takes it all in, slowly, greedy, until…Until they both jerk away from each other too quickly and Hoseok makes inhuman noise. Fucking hell. Fucking loud noises. What the fuck.“Fucking fireworks?!” He yells. “I'm going to fucking kill those two motherfuckers! What the fuck!” He yells over the sound of the fireworks, but Yoongi squeezing his hand a little tighter calms him down. He knows what he wants to say. It does look pretty, all those colors on the night sky. But nothing looks beautiful as holding Yoongi’s hand feels.“You need to swear less.”“Excuse my fuck. I do not. You curse a lot, too, you know.”“I know,” Yoongi chuckles and looks up at the sky again.It’s frustrating, but Hoseok looks up, too. The fireworks aren’t as nearly loud as his heart is. They aren't as nearly as colorful as Hoseok’s world with Yoongi in it is. And he’s happy, really happy.As the last of fireworks dies down, he feels a hand on his cheek turning him to look at Yoongi before he feels the best of many kisses that await.
