It Just Seemed Like There Was So Much Focus On The Water Bottle So I'm Hella Sus - Tumblr Posts

WIP WEDNESDAY | JJK | Hooked

Wooooohoooo!! For this WIP Wednesday you get to read half of the first chapter of the Boxer!JK fic I've been working on for the part year or so! Here's what you get to know for now:

Brother's best friend AU, Underground Boxer AU, and this story is a spin-off from my first ever BTS fic All it Takes! I can be read as a stand-alone as it is a spin-off and not a sequel, but I highly reccomend checking All It Takes if you're curious about these characters and want to know the story of Hoseok and Angel!

As usual, you can find the second part of this chapter at my membership pages on ko-fi or patreon <3

WC for this: 7K

JUNE 4TH | 22:16

“Remind me again how I let you convince me this is a good idea–” Hoseok groaned next to you, behind the wheels of his very bright-red 1973 Mercedes 450SL.

“It's not a bad idea.” you lifted your shoulders slightly, but otherwise stayed quietly on the passenger’s side.

Truth was, Hoseok could very well change his mind, turn around, drop you off somewhere else and tell you to call a cab and go back home. And you really didn’t want to be home tonight, not when all of your friends would be out. 

“It's not a good one either. If your brother finds out–”

“He won't find out, Seok! I'll lay low.” you promised and the man looked at you with side eyes that told you he did not believe you, not for a second. So you carried on: “I’m not looking for trouble, I just wanna watch your stage.”

To that, Hoseok let out a small scoff. A debatably amused chuckle, really. “Don't pretend you're here for us.”

“I am!”

“Not just for us.” he stated with knowing eyes and a tight lip expression that just reminded you so much of Yoongi you had to fight back a smile. 

“Well, it's his first set…” you almost whispered, looking down to pull on a loose thread on your skirt. 

“Yeah, yeah, we're all proud of the kid.”

Tonight was an important night for your friends. One of your own, Jeongguk, would be performing his first solo set. A ten minute opening act for Cypher, your older brother’s rap group alongside his two best friends. One of which was driving the car right now, giving you a ride to the location of their concert. 

Jeon Jeongguk had been the last addition to the ever growing friend  group. You weren’t quite sure how he came to be at Bangtan Ink, you weren’t working there anymore by the time he was hired to work as a tattoo artist apprentice. All you knew is that, through hard work and talent, the boy made his name and carved his own space in the tattoo studio. 

You also knew he looked up to your brother quite a lot, owing Namjoon most of what he learned not only when it came to tattooing, but music as well. 

Everyone who worked at Bangtan had something to do with creative outlets, whether in music, dance or the performing arts. Seokjin (co-owner #1) had graduating in acting before opening the tattoo shop, Yoongi (co-owner #2), Hoseok and Namjoon were rappers who did their own solo things and came together as Cypher, Jimin was a dancer, Taehyung played the saxophone, Sohee was taking hip hop dance classes and Minsu played the violin. 

Everyone except you and Angel, but neither of you worked as a receptionist at the studio anymore, so you didn’t count. You played the piano growing up, and did ballet for a few years as a kid, but only by the influence of your parents. 

“He'll make a good substitute for me when your brother murders me for bringing you here.” Hoseok was talking to himself. 

“If you had just given me the address I would drive there on my own.” you pointed out.  

“As much as I appreciate the fact that at least one of the Kim siblings can drive, I wouldn’t let you come all the way here on your own.” Hoseok said, turning the headlights of his car a little higher so he could see the dirt road better. You were, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere. “Why couldn't Tae bring you? He shares a studio with Guk, I'm sure he could get the address.”

“Tae isn't coming tonight.” you told him, trying to see ahead as blinking lights rose in the distance and cars started to line up the road. 

“Why not?” Hoseok asked, half focused on the conversation, half on slowing down the speed of the car. 

“Minsu is bringing her new boyfriend tonight, he didn't wanna be here for that.” 

“Ah.” the man made a noise of understanding, aware the relationship your best friend had with Bangtan’s piercer had just ended recently. After a while, he continued: “That's why I always say you shouldn't date someone you work with.”

It was your turn to scoff as it was ironic coming from him. “Weren't you and Angel dating while she was still a receptionist at Bangtan Ink?”

“That's different.”

“How?!”

“We didn't officially start dating until she quit.” he shrugged, turning to the right, where you could see an ‘artists parking only’ sign. 

“Right, you just had a weird Dom/sub agreement for months, until you both fell in love?” you mused, searching for your platform heels to put them back on. 

“That's– okay I didn't know you knew all that.”

“I was out of the country, not dead. Tae kept me up to date with everything that was going on.” you told him pointedly. 

“Everything? So you know who was fucking in the supply closet?” Hoseok was parking in a spot next to Yoongi’s car, that much you could recognize despite the darkness. 

“Again, that would be you and Angel.”

Hoseok stopped the car and looked at you with a squint. “No, before that.”

“Ohhh. The whole condom wrapper incident?” you wiggled your eyebrows. “Wouldn't you like to know?”

“Yes I– you know what, nevermind, it's weird talking about sex with you.”

The noise you let out was the mix of a gasp and a scoff. You should be expecting this, really. Being treated as the baby of the group wasn’t news for you, but it annoyed you more often than not. And you told him so. 

“I’m not a child, Seok, I'm just three years younger than you.”

“It's not that, it's just... if your brother hears me talk about anything related to that with you, he'd kick my ass.” Hoseok sounded pained as he turned the car off and pulled the key out of the ignition. 

“He might think I'll be a child forever, but not you too, please.” you removed your seatbelt, but you had one last request before leaving the car. “It's hard enough living under his protective eyes when we share the same friend group.”

The conversation ended there as Hoseok looked at the fancy watch on his wrist –much fancier than you’d be comfortable wearing in a place like this–, but you guessed the rapper would spend most of his night backstage or surrounded by friends and peers. You both left his car as he locked it twice and your friend waited for you to join him in the front of the car so you could walk in. 

“Couple things you should know,” Hoseok started, placing his arm around you in a protective manner. “Don’t trust people you don’t know, just stick to your own. Keep your head down and don’t stare at people. You’ll see a lot of shit you normally wouldn’t. And lastly, you should always know where the exits are.” 

“Alright.” you nodded, putting on a brave face, but you still pulled your small crossbody bag to your front.

“Welcome to The Warehouse.” 

There was a mysterious tone to Hoseok, a mischievous glint to his eyes, one that made your stomach do a little flip. You could pretend this was normal to you, pretend you weren’t affected by the atmosphere around you. But you had never been to a place like this before, so you were as nervous as you were excited. 

The Warehouse. A fitting name for sure. 

The venue, if you could even call it that, was exactly what it sounded like, an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere, almost thirty minutes outside of Seoul. You couldn’t see anything around you as it was too dark and the only spots of light were a few spaced out lampposts in the road that led there and the flashes of colorful light coming out of the big building in front of you each time someone walked in and out. 

You were expecting a bouncer at the door, someone checking for ID, which made Hoseok chuckle as he pulled you into the warehouse without anyone checking to see if you were old enough to be there. 

It was a lot warmer inside than it was on the outside, as there were no windows and the system of ventilation on the high ceilings didn’t seem to work hard enough to cool a party like this one. The blinking lights came in flashes, illuminating the otherwise dark space. There was smoke in the air and the slightly familiar smell of illicit substances told you there wasn’t a smoke machine anywhere near you. 

You were already breaking one of Hoseok’s rules by looking around yourself, but you couldn’t help it. You always found people interesting and you could see so many new styles that you just had to look at. Colorful and unique hairstyles, so much leather, harnesses, chains, shirtless people, cat ears, neon glow sticks– Everything and some more. 

“I’ll drop you off with the girls and go find the others, okay?” Hoseok had to speak in your ear so you could hear him over the loud hip hop music. “Please stay out of trouble. And out of Joon’s sight.” 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.” you assured your friend as the thump of your heart matched the bass of the song playing. 

Hoseok seemed to know exactly where to go to find your friends as he cut through the crowds, pulling you along. The floor was sticky as you walked and there were beer cans being kicked as people passed through. Most party goers were dancing, smoking or making out in the middle of the floor; some were purely zoned out, staring at nothing, high out of their minds or laughing like they just heard the funniest joke in the universe. 

“There.” Hoseok was saying as craned his neck to look ahead, but even with your heels you couldn’t really see above the heads of people. 

“Hobah!” you heard the familiar voice of Sohee screaming to be heard and you saw a hand waving. “You brought Ynie?!” 

The woman was smiling as you both pulled out of the crowd and into a more secluded area at the side. It wasn’t empty by any means, but people were spaced out enough that you could breathe. Sohee opened her arms for you to hug her and shook you from one side to the other. 

“Took a lot of convincing, don’t be fooled.” you told your friend with a small laugh. 

“I’ll bet.” the woman smelled like whiskey, which you guessed she brought from home as you didn’t think anything other than cheap beer and soju could be found in a place like this. She turned to Hoseok as he went around hugging everybody else. “Where’s Angel?” 

“She’s staying home tonight. You couldn’t pay her to come here.” the man chuckled heartily and not one person was surprised his girlfriend didn’t want to come. “Alright, gonna run backstage before Yoongi grows more white hairs.” 

Hoseok was looking at his watch again, before sending you one last pleading look as he got lost in the crowd. You made your way around the group, hugging Jimin and Seokjin, both giggling more than usual, and being introduced to Woosung by Minsu. 

You would be the first to admit you were biased, not really holding any intentions of being besties with your friend’s newest boyfriend. It was justifiable, as she had broken up with your best friend only a month ago and already had a new guy. 

You were all about female empowerment and had to give it to her to be dating whoever she wanted, when she wanted, but when Taehyung was the one suffering the post-breakup effects, you had to side with him. 

Woosung seemed nice enough; his eyes were a little red and his smile was a little dopey, but nothing that would be off putting. He did remind you of Tae, however. With dark messy hair, tanned skin and almond eyes. 

“When are they coming on stage?” you asked Jimin after settling near him and Seokjin closer to the wall. 

“It’s almost time.” Jimin told you with a sweet smile that made his eyes disappear. “It’s nice of you to be here, I’m sure it wasn’t easy.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” 

Park Jimin would be the one to cling onto tonight. Not only was he really good with crowds –his presence alone made people part ways for him like the red sea–, he was also Yoongi’s boyfriend. So he would do everything in his power to get the closest to the stage, and he’d know exactly the time Cypher would perform; and by default, Jeongguk’s starting time too. 

“Does Guk know you’re here?” Seokjin asked you with a crooked eyebrow. You shook your head and he grinned. “Probably for the best, the boy is nervous as it is.” 

“I hope I get to speak to him after his set.” you thought out loud. You knew Jeongguk would most likely hang out with Namjoon and the others after their performance, and where Namjoon was, you couldn’t be. 

“Good luck with that.” Seokjin said, sending Jimin a look over his glass. 

“I’m sure he’ll make time for her.” Jimin disagreed, lifting one of his perfectly sculpted eyebrows. 

The two men seemed to be having a silent conversation that you weren’t too interested in decoding, much more absorbed in your surroundings. Just ahead of you, you watched as a stumbling girl and a guy wearing sunglasses exchanged money for a small plastic packet filled with a white powdery substance. 

Jimin offered you a decanter he pulled out of his pocket and you took a small sip, nose scrunching as the strong, albeit smooth, whiskey burned your throat on the way down. Only when the DJ set was over and the stage grew dark, Jimin and the others grew excited. 

“Guk must be up next, we should make our way closer.” Minsu was the one announcing, pulling her boyfriend by the arm. “Jiminah, lead the way.” 

“Your boyfriend is taller than I am, and Jin hyung has the broad shoulders, why am I always the one to lead?” Jimin was complaining. Not that anyone believed his aversion to stepping up and taking the lead. Turning to you, the blonde man said: “Come on, let’s get you up front.”

You followed Jimin closely, falling behind him and holding onto his bicep so you wouldn’t get lost. Sohee was right behind you, followed by Seokjin, Minsu and Woosung. Jimin was strategic as he chose the path to the front of the stage, either crossing emptier spots or passing by people who were too out of it to really complain. 

The generic song playing while the DJ table was moved to the side got louder and louder the closer you got to the stage and your heartbeat grew faster. You were telling yourself it was the atmosphere getting to you, allowing you to get excited and enjoy yourself more than you thought it would. But deep down you knew you were nervous. 

Nervous for Jeongguk, who you knew had practiced a lot for tonight, who was hoping to be seen as more than Cypher’s apprentice, who wanted to leave the three rapper’s shadow. And you were nervous to see him tonight, but that was a fact you’d keep for yourself. 

“This is perfect!” Sohee was as excited as you felt when Jimin led your group all the way to the front. “Thanks, Minie.” 

“Need the best spot to see my man.” Jimin chirped with a giggle. Him and Yoongi had been dating for almost two years now and he was still as madly in love as he was in the beginning of their relationship. 

You couldn’t make it to the middle of the front line of the stage, where the view would be undoubtedly better, but this was safer. Not only from your brother’s eyes, if he came out to watch Guk’s set, but you knew for a fact that rap and hip hop concerts like this could get a little rowdy. 

Staying at the edge of the stage was better. 

“Alright, alright!” a tall man with bleach blonde hair and a neon yellow, tracksuit two piece, jumped on stage with a microphone in hand. “How’s everyone feeling tonight?!” the man put emphasis on his words, pointing the mic to the crowd when everyone screamed. “I know who you’re excited to see tonight–”

“CYPHER!” someone yelled from the crowd, causing a new wave of cheers. 

“Yes, yes, your favorite rap line will be here in just a moment.” the guy spoke again, waving his hand to quiet the crowd again. “But for now, we have a new guy to introduce to you–”

“We want Agust D!” a shrill voice, clearly female, screamed in a high pitch. 

“Get in line!” Jimin was yelling back, but his voice was most likely drowned out. 

“I had no idea the guys were so popular here.” you told Sohee and Minsu, as they were on each side of you. 

“They are doing bigger venues now, but this is their root.” Sohee spoke in your ear. “It’s basically where everyone starts.”

“It’s nice of them to be back here in support of Guk.” Minsu agreed. 

Maybe you had been gone for too long, only catching Cypher’s rise to stardom and not their initial struggles. Your brother and his group still had a long way ahead, but their music was playing on smaller radio stations and they were working on an official mixtape right now. So this, The Warehouse, wasn't the type of place they used to perform anymore. 

But as Sohee put it, this was the spot to start. So it was the spot for Jeongguk to have his first solo set. And everyone knew he only had this opportunity because Cypher came back here and brought him along to be their opening act. And that was okay. You knew he’d make it big too. 

Everyone needs to start somewhere. 

“Give a wiiiiiiild welcome to JK!” 

The crowd did go wild, especially your small group at the side of the stage. The lights turned green and red as Jeongguk stepped on stage and the new screams were so loud you flinched in between giggles and hollers of your own. 

The man looked different from what he was at home, and even in the tattoo shop; wearing black cargo pants that had way too many pockets, an oversized black shirt and a shiny bomber jacket. The bucket hat on his head hid his eyes and part of his nose, but gave him a cool vibe as he held the mic to his lips. On his feet were the black chunky sneakers that had seen better days, but that he loved so much. 

“Breathe.” Jimin giggled in your ear and you had no idea when he moved to stand beside you instead of Minsu. 

“Shut up!” you shook your head, but he had a point. 

“When did Jeonggukie get so hot?!” Sohee was squealing, clapping so hard her hands would hurt at the end of the song. 

Ddaeng. 

Jeongguk started his set with Ddaeng.

Granted, that wasn’t one of his original songs, as it belonged to Cypher. But it was a smart decision to start with a cover, as the crowd already seemed to love the rap trio who wrote that song. It was a good opener as it allowed the party goers to open up to Jeongguk –or JK, as that was his stage name–. 

Ten seconds into the song and everyone around you was already jumping, headbanging and singing along. You were pushed and pulled, but you didn’t care, too happy to be there, too happy to be watching your friend on stage. 

Jeongguk was the coolest you had ever seen him; jumping, interacting with the crowd, going from one side of the stage to the other. He sounded amazing, rapping the song well enough to make it his own. He didn’t copy the mannerisms of the original rappers, but put his own twist and rhythm to the words, without losing that mocking and provoking tone that the song was all about. 

As the song was over, the crowd was screaming louder than before and Jeongguk was smiling. 

“Hello, everyone, my name is JK and we’re gonna have some fun tonight.” the boy said as he stopped in the middle of the stage, finally pulling his bucket hat back and away from his face so he could see. He sounded breathless, which was understandable as the song was meant to be sung by three people, not a single person. “This next song is called GOLDEN.” 

The lights turned yellow and the beat dropped. 

The song was a little darker than the first one, a little heavier, which surprised you. You didn’t have the brain to focus on the lyrics, however, only picking up the metaphor about touching things that turn into gold, with a twist about getting too greedy; as it could be one’s downfall. 

You could recognize your brother’s love for analogies and Roman and Greek mythology. 

“Yah, stop pushing!” Seokjin was yelling as you were all shoved deeper into the side as a group of girls elbowed their way into the middle-front of the stage. 

You could only giggle with Sohee and Jimin, the blonde man yelping and closing his eyes as one of the girls at the front lifted her shirt to flash Jeongguk. Your eyes were wide as you laughed at the man’s pink cheeks and the playful rolling of his eyes. Jeongguk didn’t miss a single line, despite his breathless state. 

“Gukkie!” Minsu screamed, waving her hands to get his attention. 

Jeongguk looked at her first, a beautiful smile breaking on his handsome face. His feet did quick work to bring him to your side of the stage as he saw the group of friends; faltering for all of two seconds as he saw you amongst them. You hoped he didn’t mind you were there, hoped even more he wouldn’t snitch on you. Your worries went away when he smiled even brighter and shook his head as he threw it back. 

After that, the man had a whole new confidence for the last three songs of his set, hyped up by having his friends in the audience. 

The sleeves of his jacket were pushed to his elbow, revealing the many tattoos on his right arm and the bling of the heavy bracelet on his wrist that matched the one around his neck. His skin was glistening with sweat and the girls at the front screamed even harder and you couldn’t even blame them. 

Jeongguk was attractive, that much you could admit. Hell, you’d admit even worser things if he wasn’t one of your older brother’s best friends. 

“Make some noise!” Jeongguk screamed to the mic after his last song, pumping the crowd to yell for him one more time. “Thank you! I’m JK and you can find me on Instagram Soundcloud as @goldenJK.” 

You were absolutely giddy as you clapped and waved, even if he didn’t look at you again after that first time. Jimin was just as silly as you, side hugging you and gushing about how well he had done, how proud he was of the maknae, how he wished Taehyung had been there to see him too. 

At the mention of your friend, you noticed how Minsu’s smile faltered just a little, she clearly knew it was because of her –because of Woosung, rather– that Tae had missed Jeongguk’s big night. 

You didn’t have too much time to dwell on it, as the neon highlighter-looking host of the night got back on top of the stage and was about to announce Cypher. And as much as you would love to watch the three men up close tonight, you couldn’t. So you slipped away and into the crowd, planning on watching the rap line from afar. 

“Wait, Yn–” you heard Seokjin calling for you. 

“Where are you going–” Sohee tried grabbing for your arm. “Girl, don’t go running–” 

“I’ll be fine!” you told your friends, with a wave, hoping they would hear you well enough over the screams after Cypher was announced. 

You’d be fine, they had nothing to worry about. You could take care of yourself and you remembered Hoseok’s safety tips; don’t look at anybody, know where the exits are. And something else you couldn’t quite remember, but chose to ignore for the sake of your anxieties. 

Getting away from the stage was easier than getting close to it, you only bumped into a couple people that were pushing in the opposite direction to the one you were going. As more and more of the crowd gathered to see Cypher perform –you could already hear the first beats of KILLER and Yoongi’s growl–, the back of the warehouse grew a lot emptier than it was when you first walked in with Hoseok; allowing you to spot the exit. 

Your throat was dry from screaming and singing along so much, so the bar was an easy target. You were offered tap water, and a sip from a weird looking dude at the corner of the makeshift drink stand, asking for bottled water instead. You might be naive most of the time, but you weren’t stupid. 

Actually, you and Namjoon had the same IQ level, which was used as bragging points for your parents amongst their friends. 

“That’s ₩ 1.190.” the tired looking girl told you the price for the bottle as she opened a sketchy looking styrofoam cooler on the floor. 

“Thanks–” you opened your bag and pulled out your card, offering it to her and receiving a scoff in return. 

“Sweetheart, does this look like a place that takes credit cards?” she looked annoyed, ready to drop the water bottle back into the cooler filled with melted ice water. 

“Right, sorry.” you offered her a tight lipped smile as you shoved your card back into your bag and roamed around it for any lost bills you might find in there, even if you knew damn well you hardly carried cash with you. 

Before you could get too mortified by having to tell the underpaid bartender you changed your mind and would go for tap water afterall, a tattooed hand holding a ₩5.000 bill was stretched out next to you. 

The woman forced a fake smile and got back to chewing her imaginary gum, leaving the water bottle on the scratched up, graffitied, wood top of the bar and taking Jeongguk’s money. 

“Yeah, keep the change.” the boy said rhetorically, as if the woman didn’t already shove the bill in her back pocket and moved on to pour hard liquor to the weird dude in the corner. 

“Thanks, Guk.” you beamed at the man, surprised he was at the bar and not backstage to oversee Cypher’s performance. That brought you to a more pressing matter than your own thirst. “You were so good up there!”

“Did you think so?” he smiled, the crinkling of his eyes almost hidden by his low bucket hat. “I was so nervous, I think I could have done better.” 

“You always say that!” you shook your head, holding back from bouncing on your heels. “Seriously, I liked your version of Ddaeng better than the original.”

“I’ll tell your brother you said that.” Jeongguk grinned harder. 

“Let’s find him and I’ll tell him myself.” you challenged with a quip of your eyebrow. 

Jeongguk chuckled, leaning an elbow on the wobbly looking wood top. “I’m surprised you’re here. Namjoon hyung said you weren’t coming. You had some paper to write or something?”

“I can always write it tomorrow. I wouldn’t miss your first time on stage.” you told him, opening the water bottle and finally taking a sip. Sheepishly, you added: “And he also doesn’t know I’m here, so.”

“Got it, don’t worry I’m not a snitch.” he nodded, wetting his bottom lip, tongue poking at the lip ring he sported there. “How are you getting home, though?”

“That depends on whether or not I can get in touch with Seok without being seen.” 

“Hobi hyung brought you?” Jeongguk asked and you nodded. The space between his eyebrows creased as he was impressed. “Brave hyung.”

“How are you–”

Your question was interrupted as Jeongguk’s expression morphed from relaxed to worried for a second too long. It was too dark for you to be sure, but you could see him getting a little pale. It was enough for you to panic, to believe your brother was standing right behind you. 

“Small world, huh?” the slurred words came from a voice you didn’t know, which made relief wash over you, but it had the opposite effect on Jeongguk. “Kihyun here didn’t want to believe it was really you up there, but nah. I knew it was you.” 

Curiosity got the best of you and you turned around to face the talking man and his two friends; one of which was apparently called Kihyun. All you could see was chest, forcing you to look up. The man was strong, not minding the tightness of his clothes as he clearly picked a size too small, and taller than you. 

Not that it was a rare feature, as you took after your mother and didn’t share the same build as Namjoon or your father. 

You couldn’t help but feel intimidated as you looked at the man, staring at his face, noticing the small scar on his eyebrow. Your gaze attracted the man’s and you realized you just broke one of Hoseok’s rules. 

“Who might you be, little mouse?” he asked you, with the raising of the scarred brow. 

You opened your mouth to question him the same thing, to show your discomfort about that unrequited pet name. But Jeongguk was answering for you: 

“Didn’t have time to ask her name yet.” he shrugged and you frowned. 

“Come on, baby, won’t you ask me my name, then?” you turned to Jeongguk and pouted, making an annoyingly sweet voice, clinging to Jeongguk’s sleeve. He looked at you as if you were crazy and he had no idea what you were doing, even if your eyes told him to carry on with whatever play he was putting on. You rolled your eyes and said: “You can just call me Pretty.”

“Pretty.” Jeongguk repeated, brain buffering until he realized you were playing along. 

“So I guess you have groupies even out of the circle, huh?” The Guy said and you guessed it was some kind of underground lingo. 

At Jeongguk’s tense shoulders and locked jaw, you pulled him closer to you and huffed: “Baby, I’m bored. Let’s get out of here.” 

Jeongguk said nothing else as he let you pull him away from the three men, who were staring at you with a mix of amusement and disgust. You held onto your role, swayed your hips more than you normally would, flipped your hair over your shoulder. A few steps in and Jeongguk was the one to lead you out of the warehouse, where the air was cool and there were less people around. 

The two of you burst into laughter after you were safely far away from the brutes. You let go of Jeongguk’s arm then, but he pulled you back by an arm around your back. You were thankful for the warmth, but worried he might just hear the pounding on your chest as the air got pulled out of your lungs. 

“Good thing you followed along.” he said, moving away from the entrance and towards the poor excuse of a parking lot.

“Took you a while to notice.” you teased with a nervous giggle as his fingers pressed on the curve of your waist. 

“I’m sorry if you calling me baby made me malfunction for a minute.” he protested and your cheeks felt hot all of a sudden. 

You could have changed the subject, you could have asked the questions that were eating you up inside. But you were feeling a little bolder than usual, some kind of adrenaline coursing through you, so you said:

“I liked how it sounded when you called me pretty.” 

“Yeah?” there it was again, the tip of the tongue flicking at his lip ring. “You picked a fitting fake name.” 

You looked down, abashed, which was a good thing since you needed to look where you were going. Your hands were fiddling with your water bottle as you took the familiar path back to Hoseok’s car. It was an easy vehicle to spot, as its bright color made it stand out between all of the others. 

Jeongguk followed you closely, noticing where you were headed, looking around himself as if the excitement was starting to fade, leaving space to whatever kind of anxiety seeing those three men brought him. 

“Who was that, Guk?” you finally asked what was at the tip of your tongue, leaning back against the side of Hoseok’s car. 

The man sighed, leaning back against the side of Yoongi’s car, gaining time to answer: “That’s Wonho. He’s– he’s bad news. I didn’t think he’d be here tonight.” 

“Bad news as in–”

“Likes to pick on people, always looking for trouble. Not someone I want you involved with.” he said with a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. 

“You sound like Seok.” your smile was as weak as his. 

“He’d agree with me.”

“Yeah, you lot are always sheltering me.” you took a long swig of your water, screwed the cap back on and rested the bottle on top of the hood of Hoseok’s car. 

“That’s because you’re important to us. You’re important to me.” Jeongguk said, looking at his black sneakers. “You, the hyungs, the noonas. You’re all I have.”

“That’s not true, you have, at least, a few dozen new fans after tonight.” you grinned, trying to alleviate the mood of the conversation. 

Jeongguk scoffed, but it was real this time. “Those aren’t fans. They weren’t there for me.”

“Excuse me, was that girl lifting her top to the sound tech?” you folded your arms to your chest, head tipped to the side as you challenged him to deny it. 

“You saw that?” Jeongguk laughed out loud, a sound that always brought butterflies to your stomach. “Definitely never happened before.”

“No girl ever showed you her boobs?” you teased.

He squinted to mask his blush. 

“What I mean is that I owe all of you a lot. Especially Namjoon hyung. He took me in when I barely had anything.”

You didn’t need to hear the sincerity in Jeongguk’s voice to believe he held your brother high up on his list of favorite people in the world. Namjoon went from a co-worker to friend to mentor. What began as a friendship when Jeongguk started working at Bangtan Ink became a brotherhood in the past couple of years. 

To the point of Namjoon offering the guest bedroom of your shared house for him to live in when his one-bedroom basement-apartment got flooded with the rain that hit Seoul last year. 

You weren’t back by then, but the downpour made international news as so many citizens had lost their homes, cars, and there were even cases of deceased and missing people. 

Jeongguk was lucky enough to make it out of the apartment with Bam, his big puppy, but most of his things were completely ruined. 

From what you heard, all of Bangtan had put together a task force to salvage whatever they could of the apartment after the rain levels decreased; mostly clothes that could be washed and dried and whatever was high enough that the water didn’t touch. But things like furniture and appliances were completely gone. 

The water also caused the building’s structure to grow weak, so the few families that lived in the small apartment complex were asked to move out or relocate temporarily. Jeongguk was practically homeless overnight. It got so bad that he almost moved back to his parent’s home in Busan, which would mean having to give up on his career as a tattoo artist, the musical work he had been doing with rap line, and the life he had built in the big city. 

Namjoon didn’t even think about checking in with you when he offered the guest suite as a temporary new home to Jeongguk and Bam. So imagine your surprise when you finally made it home, three months ago, to find a big dog and a doe eyed stranger living just at the end of the hall from you. 

But you trusted your brother wouldn’t bring a random guy home, and you had heard a lot about Jeongguk from Taehyung already. 

Besides, it’s not as if it was hard to get used to the new presence in the house in the first place. The boy was surprisingly organized, always cleaning up after himself and Bam, he knew how to cook –which was more than what you could say about your brother–, and he loved to do laundry. 

Bam was the sweetest dog, despite the drool and the bursts of energy. You were lucky enough to have a big backyard for him to run around and chase birds, which was a lot more than he had when it came to the small apartment they lived in before and Jeongguk was training the dog so he knew not to chew on your Gucci slippers or the foot of the dining table. 

Most days you saw Jeongguk more than you even saw Namjoon, as your brother, Hoseok and Yoongi stayed inside their home studio most of the time on the weekends and days off from the tattoo studio. 

An honest friendship blossomed between you and Jeongguk. 

And with it came the butterflies and heart palpitations. 

For a while there you thought you might have a health condition, but it was pointed out to you, by your very blunt best friend, that what you had wasn’t medical at all. It was a crush in the form of a tall man with tattoos, piercings and a sweet heart. 

“You look good tonight.” you heard yourself saying. A slip of the tongue, a case of thinking out loud, the way your subconscious found to stir the conversation to a lighter topic. “Not that it would be possible for you to look bad–” 

Jeongguk chuckled, enough to show his perfectly white teeth. 

“–just mean I like your clothes.” you explained. More like rambled. 

“Thanks. Angel noona put it together for me.” 

Hoseok’s girlfriend was the fashion guru of your group. You didn’t have a lot of contact with her before your trip, as she was only hired as a receptionist at Bangtan Ink because you were going away and the spot became vacant. Angel currently worked with fashion, and she was responsible for the outfits Cypher wore during their performances, so it didn’t surprise you that she would do that for Guk too. 

Once again Jeongguk rolled the sleeves of his jacket up to his elbows, a lot slower than he did on stage. The lack of blinking neon lights let you see the vein on his forearm, recognize a few of the tattoos on his arm. The chain around his wrist looked heavier now and your eyes flitted to the one he carried around his neck. 

You didn’t think you could even be attracted to a neck, but here you were. 

Or maybe you were just too attracted to Jeongguk for any of that to need to make sense. 

The thing about you and Jeongguk is you were always flirting with each other. Always tiptoeing around the line in the sand, wondering who would cross it first. It’s not as if you weren’t obvious about it either, Jimin had called you out earlier tonight, Taehyung was always teasing you about your crush. 

At least it wasn’t one sided. 

You always caught Jeongguk’s long stares, always saw his blushing cheeks whenever you complimented him and he wasn’t expecting. It was all about the details; the brush of arms as you passed each other in the kitchen, the times he forgot to bring clothes into the bathroom and had to walk past your bedroom with a towel around his hips, it was about the harmless play fight whenever the two of you got too competitive during game night. 

It was really complicated, as you lived under the same roof, you saw each other every day. That and the small fact he was your brother’s best friend. You didn’t care about it that much, god knows Namjoon had hooked up with some of your girlfriends before –back in high school, but the point stood–, but it was apparently against some kind of bro code.

“You shouldn’t look at me like that.” the movement of Jeongguk’s lips made you realize you were staring at them. 

“Like what?”

“Like you want to kiss me.” his voice came out as a whisper and the butterflies were back. 

“Why not?” you mirrored the level of his voice, speaking in nothing but a hush, as if you were exchanging secrets. 

“Because it makes me want to kiss you.”

Not in a million years did you think you’d hear Jeongguk be so honest about this, so open. It made you yearn for it. The confirmation that your attraction really wasn’t one sided at all. “Then this is exactly how I should be looking at you.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t tempt me.” Jeongguk sounded pained. His words were pleading for you to stop, but his eyes were telling you a different story. “You know I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” clichê question, but it got your point across.  

“Can’t. I owe your brother too much to break his trust like that.” 

The moment was fleeting, you could feel Jeongguk’s resolve strengthening, could see his walls building up again. You didn’t want to miss this chance, you didn’t know when you might have another one. 

“What if I’m the one to break it then?” you asked. 

If Jeongguk told you to stop one more time you would. If he told you to drop it, you’d never mention it again. But he hesitated. His eyes traveled to your lips and it was enough for you. 

You pushed away from Hoseok’s car and stepped closer to Jeongguk, who didn’t move away, didn’t tell you to cut it out. You could swear you heard him whisper fuck it, as his hands pulled you to him the rest of the way, both resting on your hips. The closed toes of your platform heels hit the front of his chunky sneakers, so your body fell forward onto his. 

Bracing yourself on his shoulders, your chest pressed against his and you had a single moment where you looked into his eyes. The hesitation was completely gone at that point, all you saw was want. And it echoed yours. 

You closed your eyes as his warm breath fanned your lips, the soft touch of his following right behind. It was just that, just the touch of your lips. 

Until it wasn’t. 

You were both breathing as if you ran all the way here from home, eyes staying closed as you dragged your hands from Jeongguk’s shoulders to his neck, fingers getting lost on the long hair at his nape, peeking from under his bucket hat. His arms circled your waist with tremendous need, as if you were about to run away at any given moment. 

The man’s lips moved first, slowly, gently, and you followed his lead, you let him guide you. Jeongguk’s lip ring felt nice against your lips, so if this was all he gave you, you’d take it happily. 

But his tongue swiped at your bottom lip as a hand squeezed your hip, fingertips dragging against the skin of where your shirt had ridden up with the arching of your back as you fell into him. You gasped, which allowed him to lick into your mouth and his tongue met yours. 

You sighed heavily with the slow brushing of your tongues, the moving of his lips against yours. You completely lost it as his tattooed hand lifted from your back and rested on your nape; the small squeeze making you relax so he could tip your head to the side and he could deepen the kiss. 

It grew heated, sloppy and wet, a mess of lips and tongue as you couldn’t hold back a moan that escaped you when you pressed yourself harder into him. Jeongguk groaned in response, the hold on the back of your neck tightening as his tongue swiped at yours. 

You pulled away from him just enough to part your lips and stare at his bottom one, taking it between your lips. You sucked it into your mouth, allowing the lip ring to catch between your teeth and smirked as you heard his raspy groan. 

You were closing the distance between you as soon as you let it go, but Jeongguk’s small push against your hip and the disappearance of his hand behind your neck made you step back. He looked apologetic as he patted the pockets of his pants, pulling out the blinking phone from his pocket. 

“Shit.” he whispered, above breathless. You froze as you saw the picture of Namjoon on the screen as he called Jeongguk’s phone. The boy accepted the call before it went to voicemail and you took a couple steps back, as if that would hide you. “Hey, hyung.” he almost wheezed and it wasn’t the time to laugh, but you almost did. He sent you wide eyes and the cute scrunch of his nose and you covered your mouth with your hands. “Yeah, I’m close. Yup, I can come help, be there in a sec.” 

“Are they leaving?” you asked Jeongguk as he turned the call off, looking around as if your brother and the others were about to walk out of the warehouse. 

“Not yet, they just want help with packing their shit backstage.” he told you as his fingers twitched. After hesitating for what felt like ages, Jeongguk touched the side of your face. “I’ll go back there and help, then I’ll tell them I’m crashing after too much adrenaline and I’ll drive you home, yeah?” 

“Okay.” you nodded. Easy decision. Even more if you could steal a few more kisses before Namjoon got home. 

“Stay here, yeah?” he asked and you wiped his bottom lip with your thumb. “I’ll be back in ten minutes, tops.” 

Ten minutes turned into fifteen and then turned into twenty. You were bored out of your mind, starting to get a little cold and your feet were hurting from wearing heels for so long. You ended up moving to the front of Hoseok’s car to sit on the hood to give your legs a little bit of rest. 

You were scrolling through your phone after having checked Taehyung’s Instagram story where he was clearly drinking alone and singing along to an old jazz song. At least you couldn’t say that was a rare occurrence. 

“The street cat left you alone, little mouse?” 

The words were delivered to your ear, so damn close you could feel the warm, heavy breath on your skin, making your soul jump out and your body follow after it two seconds too late. You stumbled on your high shoes, head whipping so fast you heard a small crack on your neck. 

You had wide eyes as you turned to face and stare at Wonho, so surprised about being ambushed in the middle of the practically empty parking lot that you didn’t have the mind to keep up the groupie act. 

“No, he–” 

“She’s not alone, is she?” another voice came from behind you again, still too close, belonging to the man you remember being called Kihyun. 

“Listen, I’m not looking for trouble–”