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Tonight | KSJ | Chapter 6

Pair: Seokjin x Hamster Hybrid Reader 

Summary: Dedicating his life to never having another person to count on, to be strong, Seokjin finds himself in the middle of an illegal fighting ring. The person he wanted to erase was just at his fingertips but he was slipping. No, he was leaving. He was accepting a change and he was afraid. 

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hybrid, non-idol au, detective, smut, abuse (sensitive topic)

Warnings: abuse, self-harm, self-degration, lots of lying and miscommunications, basically a kind-of-fluff chapter

WC: 2959, ≈2.9K

Seokjin woke up to tickles under his chin and neck. Mumbling, he turned away and settled back into the comfiness of the bed. Just as he almost fell back asleep, a familiar alarm rang out at the bedside table. Groaning, Seokjin wildly flung his hands to the table, trying to find his phone. 

He blindly turned off the alarm and he flipped over onto his stomach, trying to fall back asleep. Until he heard a squeak and small movements climbing up onto his back. As he shifted around in bed, the small claws dug into his flesh for dear life and Seokjin shot up from the sudden pain. The movement flung you onto the bed, hurrying to scurry under the blankets. Rubbing his side and yawning, Seokjin easily lifted the quilt and scooped you into his palm. 

“Morning, Ham.” 

You squeaked at a fast pace as Seokjin looked down with his wild bed hair to stroke your back. Your furious sounds turned to light chitters. Bringing you to the washroom, he placed you on a towel. You went round and round before settling down on it. As Seokjin prepares the bathtub, he is aware of you watching him through sleepy eyes. You yawned and shifted, nearly falling onto the floor. You managed to catch yourself in time and blushed when you realised your nudity in front of him. 

“Hey now… Where’s the Y/N that was so brave the past few days?”

You blushed. “Gone.”

Seokjin laughed again. “Gone? You sure?” 

Seokjin dipped his hands down the curves of your waist, caressing your sides just as you pistoned off to the sides. 

“Ticklish!” You laughed.

At that moment, all Seokjin could do was let that fond smile lift the corners of his lips. He knew he had to tell you sometime soon but he was afraid that you would rather run back to the ring than stay with him for the information he kept from you. He wanted to eliminate the chances of that. He would say that his excuse was to allow you to have a peace of mind. 

How selfish could one be?

“Come on, let’s wash up before the day starts.” Leading you to the warm water he had prepared with a few drops of essential oils to calm you. 

You knew that happiness doesn’t last long. You know that the possibility of hurt is high when one gives them their heart. But Mr Park hasn’t given you anything to be afraid of. 

Yet you knew that he had all the power in the world to throw you aside the moment you become insufficient for him. Curling deeper into yourself, you sighed as Mr Park washed your hair, careful to not get the shampoo into your hybrid ears. 

“What’s wrong? I can feel you distancing yourself.”

You didn’t want to tell him. He would definitely kick you out from being so selfish, being so guardless. You were brought out of your thoughts when he splashed water on your back, causing you to shift from the tickling feel. 

Easily lifting you up from the bathtub, he dried you up and walked you to the wardrobe. “Choose what you wanna wear then come downstairs, darling.” He kissed the top of your head. 

Entering the kitchen, Seokjin started the rice cooker and brought out the ingredients. Cabbages, mushrooms, minced meat, pepper. Over the past few weeks, Seokjin had learned that you preferred the yellow peppers as they are considerably sweeter compared to the red and green ones. Putting light soy sauce, grinded black pepper, sesame oil, and cooking wine, Seokjin set the meat aside to marinate. Taking out the stems from the mushrooms, he carefully washed and sliced them. The cabbages were next. Peeling each layer off, Seokjin placed them on top of each other before finely chopping them. After taking out the stem and seeds of the pepper and washing it, he stuffed the pepper with the marinated meat. 

Placing it in the pot to steam, he got started on frying the cabbages and mushrooms. Pouring some oil into the pan, he added the mushroom and a bit of water to ensure they don't burn. When they were half cooked, he added the cabbages and covered them with the pan lid. The rice cooker beeped just in time and Seokjin prepared the lunch boxes. 

“Ugh- Even the rice cooker bullies me!” 

Filling the lunch boxes with rice, sesame and seaweed seasoning is poured on top of it and thoroughly mixed. The cabbage and mushrooms were done by then so Seokjin placed them in another compartment of the lunchbox. Cutting the stuffed pepper in half, he manages to fit them into the lunch box. 

Carefully packing the lunchboxes up, Seokjin started cleaning the used dishes and kitchen. You had made your way down, still yawning away as you dropped yourself on the couch. Picking up the food, he grabbed the bags and probed you awake. 

“Come on now, you can sleep in the car. Let’s go, darling.”

You were groggy the whole trip down and nearly tripped entering the elevator. After you were buckled in your seat, Seokjin hung the food at the back seats. Picking out your medication, breakfast, and a bottle of water, Seokjin finally sat down at the driver's seat and started the car. 

Pushing your breakfast towards you, he gently siad, “Come on, sweetheart, have some breakfast before your medication.” You slowly woke up as you munched on the bread and before Seokjin reached the headquarters, you were done. 

“Come on, let’s go up.” You had wound yourself around him again and this time, Soekjin didn’t mind it at all. It may be a little difficult to walk but he loved how you grew more dependent on him and trusted him to keep you safe. 

“Hey boss. It’s good to see you again.” Jungkook draped his arms over his shoulders as they came out of the elevator. “You haven’t taken a leave this long for years now.” 

Seokjin grumbled at his dongsaeng’s actions. He was very aware of your hand tightly grabbing onto his and your tail wounding around your waist. You were uncomfortable. Sighing, Seokjin lightly punched Jungkook in his ribs, saying, “Don’t you have an integration to get to?” 

Jungkook unwinded himself from Seokjin and groaned. “Please don’t remind me of that. It’s up in 20 minutes.”

“You should go prepare for it and stop bothering us.”

“Are you trying to chase me out?” Jungkook sobbed. “You don’t want me anymore?”

Seokjin rolled his eyes at his antics. “Yes so run along now.”

Jungkook fell dramatically on the floor. “Hyung! I buy you coffee all the time, how can you treat me like that?”

Seokjin was about to return a remark when hurried footsteps crossed the hallway. He felt you hide behind him, tail curling around his wrist. Seokjin stroked your fluffy ears in an attempt to calm you down. They were alert and twitching, as if waiting for the worst to happen. He heard Jungkook getting up from the floor and adjusting his clothes. They expected Namjoon or Hoseok to come running towards them, perhaps coming to call Jungkook to “hurry his ass up”.

But it wasn’t either of the males. 

It was Yoongi, flushed red and wild hair flying everywhere. 

Seokjin was immediately alert. 

“He-he-”

Everybody held their breath in that hallway. 

“He-he got out. Hoseok’s chasing him and Taehyung is calling backup.” Yoongi panted. “They plan to ambush him but I think that it is an inside job. My codes couldn’t have been cracked so easily, I made sure of it. I even added extra authentication processes. Unless he was some tech genius, it must be an inside job.” 

Seokjin’s brain was running fast. But before he could run his own legs, he needed to ensure that you were safe. Turning to you, he said, “Do you remember where my office is?” 

You nodded shakily. 

“Go there and lock the door. Under no circumstances are you to open that door, even if you smell me from the outside. Understand?” Seokjin pinched your cheeks. “Lock the doors and the windows and keep the curtains closed. Hide somewhere where your shadow cannot be seen. Alright?”

You whined. 

“Please, Jagiya. Go. I need you to be safe. It’ll just be for a while. Please.”

Your nervous chirps nearly made him give up that idea but he stood firm. You slowly nodded and let go of his hand. 

“Go, darling.”

Seokjin watched until you were out of sight before turning back and catching up with the rest of his teammates. He trusted you to ensure your own safety. He trusted that you would do as he says and hide. Jungkook and Yoongi had made a run for it when he was trying to convince you to leave. They were probably in the control room. 

Just then, red lights and ear-piercing sirens sounded throughout the headquarters. Yoongi must have activated the emergency closure. You didn’t like loud noises, worse if they were high-pitched. Seokjin hoped that you would not panic as much.

Ugh - Why does he have to worry so much? 

He has a job to do and everybody will be in trouble if he doesn’t catch him in time. 

Running down the steps, Seokjin raced for the door before it completely shuts and locks him in. The emergency closure shuts down the offices, integration rooms, and jail room levels and of course, the lifts. And right now, he just needs to cross this last flight of stairs before he is in the safe zone. Making a dash for his last opening, Seokjin ducked under the barrier just before it slammed shut behind him. 

The whole level was in a rush - some people running to gear up, some people running out with their gears on, some awaiting orders, some whipping out technological devices that Seokjin doesn’t want to dissect right now. Makeshift tables were made as this sector runs their database. 

Seokjin hurriedly rips open his locker and shrugs on his vest, strapping in his guns and spare ammo in his pockets. Running out, he locates his team on the ground level almost instantly. They have their guy cornered by the trash bins of the back of the building. He had a crazed look - as if he was high on drugs. 

Wait. High… on drugs?

Crossing the distance between Hoseok. Taehyung, and Namjoon, Seokjin dropped his gun and slowly approached him. “Hey man. A bit far from where we were supposed to meet up, aren’t you?”

“You guys aren’t gonna catch it.” He laughed maniacally. “He would have his prized possession back even if it takes to kill you.” 

Nobody in that three metre radius said anything. “He knows - we know who you are. Park SeoJung would never buy off a hybrid. HAH! You gave yourself away before the party even started!”

“Silence.” Hoseok commanded behind him. “You will speak in the integration room. Hands behind your back now.”

“You can’t make me do anything,

“Seo Jung had always loved to bid for a winning game. He gets the most money, has the most influence in the ring. Ah, what fun those days were.” He sings. “Money, money, money.” 

“He was injected with synth.”

“Well doesn’t that explain the whole fiasco of him looking as if he was about to shit himself.” Yoongi stated. “Some shit that is to be injected with.”

Taehyung pushed his glasses up while analysing the blood test. “Honestly, it would be best if we keep him unconscious and find out who did this. Yoongi Hyung’s codes are the best of the best, but it doesn’t mean that they cannot be cracked.”

The atmosphere was filled with solemn silence. 

Everybody knows that Yoongi loves his privacy, the only ones who know about the new codes for the integration room were both his technological and inner teams. And the guy guarding the room that day, was not anyone in the current circle. 

“I agree with Yoongi Hyung that it is probably an inside job. It is most likely as there are only a few people who know of the code.”

“We will do a thorough investigation through all levels and agent teams.” Seokjin sighed heavily and brushed his hand through his hair. “For now, nobody guards him but us. Namjoon, make a schedule for us. It brings down the possibility of things like that happening again.”

Seokjin stood up and walked out of the meeting room, breaking the silence between the members. “I’m gonna find Y/N. I’ll be back.”

“Take your time, Hyung. We can handle the rest from here for now.” Jungkook said, flipping through the stacks of paper at the table with a scrunched nose. 

All you heard was gunshot, screaming, and laughter. You didn’t want to know who that laughter belonged to. It was creepy.

You did as Mr Park said. Ran behind the door, locked it, ensured that the curtains were closed and hid under the table. It felt easier if you were in your animal counterpart and so you stripped out of your clothes, packed them neatly beside you and shifted. Burying yourself under your layer of clothes was insufficient to block out the shrill sound that blasts through the alarm system. 

You truly hoped it would go away soon. 

There were screams of anger and pain. You could distinctly hear people yelling for healers, for teams to stay in formation, for everything. Your senses were getting overloaded and you started to wonder if it was truly a good idea to have shifted. But you couldn’t turn back now, not when it might cast a larger shadow, leading people in your direction. 

You fumbled around in your hoodie, trying to find a good spot. But you were too restless to do such a thing. Worried about Mr Park, worried about his team, worried about whether or not they are alive, worried about - everything. 

You couldn’t stop thinking even if you wanted to. No, the yells downstairs serve as a reminder of your cowardly actions. You chose to hide when you should’ve fought. You were trained to fight. Not breed, trained. But you had years to shove down your flight instincts and bring out the fight only when confronted. You could have helped even if Mr Park didn’t want you to. 

But wait, who were you fighting? 

You didn’t even know who they were after. Who was ‘he’? Could you have been a help even if you had no face, scent, or idea? You could’ve hurt anybody - attacked anybody - because you didn’t know who you were fighting. 

You chirped nervously, going in constant circles in your hoodie. It was the sudden silence that had you perking up your head and tilting it. Was it over? Who won? Is anybody else hurt? 

You wanted to find Mr Park but - “Under no circumstances are you to open that door”. But then, how would he get in? Mr Park must have the keys to his own office, of course. But what if whoever opens the door, isn’t Mr Park. Your eyes flitted around the room. Where else can you hide if someone came in?

The sound of footsteps coming towards the door made you panic. The following jingle of keys made you go crazy, you were going around in circles even faster than before. What are you gonna do, what are you gonna do, what are you gonna -

You heard the lock turn and the door swing and you did the first thing your panic-muddled brain could think of. 

Hide. 

You shoved yourself in the depths of your hoodie and held your breath, hoping that you won’t be caught. You felt yourself be carried up together with your pile of clothes and you felt tears prick behind the lids of your eyes. You thought that the worst way to die is to have been fought to death in the fighting ring. But this feeling was worse. You just wanted to see Mr Park for the last time, to see him before you - 

You were yanked out of your thoughts when a hand scooped you up from inside your hoodie. You felt like you truly saw God that day. Pinching your eyes shut, you wait for the worst. But nothing came and you dared to peek open an eye - to see Mr Park stroking your back and looking at you. You squeaked - a high pitched happy one - and launched into the air. 

“Hey now! Your tiny legs can’t take you that far! Don’t jump off the-”

You already did.

“-table.” 

Mr Park caught your flailing limbs before you hit the carpenter floors. “Why hello to you too, Y/N.” He laughed as you squeaked happily. “Any injuries? Can I check you?”

You wiggled out of his hold and shifted back, putting your clothes on before sitting on the couch to wait for him. As Mr Park poked and prodded certain areas, lifting up your shirt to check for bruises, you munched on the cracker at the table. After Mr Park deemed that you were injury-free, he sat beside you on the couch, sighing as he nursed the bottle of water he got from the fridge. 

“Is everybody okay?” You finally had the courage to ask. 

Mr Park nodded, “Everybody’s fine. A few injured here and there but none are severe and no deaths. They’re all just fairly minor injuries.”

You sighed in relief. 

Mr Park turned to you. “Were you worried, darling?” He stroked your hair and rubbed your ears, earning a content chitter from you. 

“Yeah…”

“Don’t worry, we’re all okay.” If you hadn’t fell asleep so fast, you would’ve seen the smile sporting on Mr Parks lips. 

Tonight | KSJ | Chapter 7

Pair: Seokjin x Hamster Hybrid Reader 

Summary: Dedicating his life to never having another person to count on, to be strong, Seokjin finds himself in the middle of an illegal fighting ring. The person he wanted to erase was just at his fingertips but he was slipping. No, he was leaving. He was accepting a change and he was afraid. 

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hybrid, non-idol au, detective, smut, abuse (sensitive topic)

Warnings: abuse, self-harm, self-degration, lots of lying and miscommunications, angst angst and angst

WC: 2.2K

The next few days passed by like clockwork - sleep, work, eat, sleep, work, eat. There wasn’t much going on but you could feel the tension in everybody at the headquarters after the breakout incident. You weren’t sure who was the prisoner but Mr Park was fuming. 

“What do you mean by he’s not responding? Ur telling me that they anticipated our moves and are now what - Already moving forward?”

You couldn’t hear much from where you were and your groggy mind was still processing that you are trying to be awake. But you could make out Mr Park’s fast and nervous movements and the frantic voices over the phone. 

“You’ve got to be kidding with me right?”

“Hyung, nobody’s kidding. They’re on the move and right now, all the plans are scratched. We are trying to locate them and predict their next move but it’s as if they’ve gone dark. Even with Esther in the dark web, there is no movement from them.” 

A baritone voice sounded, “They refuse to negotiate and in this state - if we move, we are dead. He wasn’t wrong when he said that they knew who we were. I do not doubt that they have already figured it out long ago and we were just playing with puppets these few weeks.”

You registered the dip at the side of the bed before Mr Park reached over to rub your ears. You let out a sleepy mumble, crawling over to hug his waist. “What happened?” You peeked open your eyes. 

“It’s alright, darling. But I probably won’t be coming home for dinner these few days. You won’t be cooking to work with me for now either. I’ll cook lunch and dinner - Do you think you can handle yourself alone at home?”

You nodded. You didn’t want to put more stress on Mr Park. With the incident a few days ago and the ongoing phone call, you knew that he was only going to get busier - and you didn’t want to be one of his worries. 

Mr Park left soon after his calls, but not before ensuring that you had everything. It was fine at first but it got too overbearing when he was double, triple, quadruple checking things every morning and night. While it was sweet at first, you were grown and have your own capability. His coworkers calling him that he was late was also a reason for you to drag him away from the cabinets and refrigerator. 

“Mr Park,” You stopped him. “You’ve double checked this every morning and I am capable of taking care of myself.” You pulled him away from the cabinets of food and medications to the living room where his bags and shoes were ready. “You’re going to be late. Again.”

Mr Park sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, okay. Just make sure you -”

“Eat your meals, 2 supplements every day, and one pill after every food.” You sighed. “Yes, I know.”

He bit his lip and started again before you held out your hand, stopping his words.

“Please, your coworkers downstairs have ben honking for fifteen minutes now. Any more and our neighbours are going to file a noise complaint.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll be going then.” You waved back at him. 

These few days you spent most of your time catching up on the dramas and social medias, understanding how things work in the house. But that one room that you had never entered out of respect was Mr Park’s office. In the earlier days, he had told you to keep out of the room. But recently, he mentioned that you could explore any part of the house - even the office. 

Bu tout of respect for his and his clients privacy, you never did. But it would be lying if you said that the suspense of walking past that door multiple times a day and eventually staring at it from the sofa wasn’t killing you. You wanted to know what was in there. Are there pictures? Is it messy? Are there any food or drinks in the room? What is the style and environment he works in?

It got so much that you were - once again - outside the door, staring at it. Deciding to bite the bullet and enter today, your hand shakily reached for the door handle. 

You thought that there was nothing much to worry - that it would be just like any office that you have seen over the years. Cabinets full of books and bottles of alcohol, trophies of all sorts lined up against the wall as a form of pride, cigars and weapons lying around ceaselessly. But no, it was cabinets full of books but no alcohol, the trophies were not heads of tusks but simple metals and pictures, and the room was clean. Not cigars, no weapons. 

But those pictures hanging on the walls, those pictures at the table and cabinets. You swiped two fingers over the frame. It may have been a long time since you saw him but his face and those eyes - you will never forget. 

“Mr Park, you had a hybrid?”

His eyes turned downcast. “Yes, once. But he passed away four years ago in an accident.”

You tilted your head. “May I ask what happened?”

He looked up at you with a sad smile. “Wrong time, wrong place.” 

The only person who you could count as family, is gone. You didn’t want to believe it. You had all the proof even without entering the room but you were in denial. You knew you were in denial. But knowing this - 

Is this how it feels like to have a broken heart?

Does it hurt so bad you feel as if your whole body was aching?

Looking around the room, you found pictures of Mr Park. Name tags, badges, medals. But they were all given to Kim Seokjin. 

“Hyung, they weren’t lying when they said that they knew who we are.”

It couldn’t be…Right?

Ploughing through the cabinets, you found stacks and stacks of paper. You bidding paper, your legal adoption papers, and bills after bills of your medical checkups, food, and essentially everything.

Why would Mr Park keep these?

You found recorders in a box, specifically labelled, from the front of the box to the back. You ignored them first, deciding to pick up the papers and read them through. They didn’t seem like much to you until you reached the end of the file, labelling sections of recordings. Picking up the box you left on the table, you compared the names and numbers before picking them out. 

Laying them in order wasn’t too hard but nothing could prepare you for what you heard. 

Recording 1: “Testing, testing. Min Yoongi.” 

“Sir, I would advice that you do not touch him.”

“Hyung, you clearly know this isn’t a good idea. What if they found out?”

“$1.45 Million Won.”

“I knew that you want her so I just thought to give you a push. Heh.”

Recording 2: “Testing, testing. Kim Namjoon.”

“Jungkook ah, can you not do that? It’s so gross, oh my gosh-”

“Yes sir!”

“Hyung, I will be heading up to the rooms to find more information. They seem to have weakened the surrounding security there.”

“Move, son of a bitch.”

“Hyung, they are moving at a slower pace an anticipated. It’s too easy that we should re-think our plans. We may be playing into a trap if we do not think rationally.”

Recording 3: “Testing, testing. Jeon Jungkook.”

“Yo, yo, yo. Hehehehe.”

“Proceed with it. Let’s move in. Be alert at all times, we may have the blueprints, studied the layouts, does not mean we can slack off. This is enemy territory, we do not show mercy.”

“Go around the corner, back each other up.”

“All clear, let’s go.”

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing much, disabled and hacked.”

“Are you seriously -”

Recording 4: “Testing, testing. Jung Hoseok.”

“Hyung, Namjoon is in.”

“Orders are meant to be followed or are you telling me that my orders mean nothing to you?”

“Bring me a doctor. Now!”

Recording 5: “Testing, testing. Kim Taehyung.”

“I know, I know. All I need to do is insert the kill chip and keep silent as the sturdy and emotionless bodyguard.”

“Holy shi -” 

“I cannot understand why hyung would bid for that girl.”

“I thought he would never have another hybrid after Jimin.”

“Stop it. Jimin was my everything.”

Who was this Kim Taehyung? Jiminie? His everything? Perhaps…were they mates?

Your hands shook as you played the last recording.

Recording 6: “Testing, testing. Kim Seokjin.”

No. 

No, no, no. 

You sank down on the floor as the recording continued on.

“Move in.”

“Taehyung-ah, be careful okay?”

“Shut it. How dare you disrespect me - youngest son of Park Si-Jung?”

“Tsk.”

“$1.57 Million Won.”

“She is mine now.”

“We still need her, she can be our ticket in.”

“Enough. I do not want to hear you telling me what I should’ve done.”

If clearly lying about his name and hiding your best friend from you wasn’t enough, this felt like your breaking point. 

But was it? 

Are you able to hang on longer?

Is this where you end? Were you finally break after all these years of fighting and training your mind and body?

You weren’t sure of how to feel. You collapsed onto the carpenter floors as the papers stared back at you. You did not want to believe it, you did not want to even think that its was a possibility. But all these pictures and all these time, it just solidifies what you have expected. You could no longer dismiss the fact of his scent around the house, on that cat, in that room. The study that Mr Park - no, Seokjin - forbade you to enter was full of his pictures. 

You childhood friend, Jimin.

Your only friend. One so close you regarded him as a brother - was gone. And he had been gone for more than four years. 

And those deceiving letters and recordings, your owner did not buy you out of pity. He bought you cause he needed you. You had been used, beaten, and betrayed your entire life. You had though that you’ll meet your end in the ring. You didn’t have life in you every time you fought. You knew that you were only kept like a well-oiled machine just waiting for your depreciation to increase before becoming of no more use. 

But when Seokjin had brought you home and took care of you, you thought that perhaps you could live like your peers, be more carefree and have fun. You thought that he cared for you. 

You thought. 

And you were clearly wrong. 

Looking at the floor filled with papers, you were filled with the emotion of the unknown. You were betrayed but you have never felt this betrayed. You gave your heart to him - gave your all to him - just for him to let it slide through like any random puddle of sand. Your heart hurt, your head hurt, and you didn’t know what to do. 

There were many times that you have lived that you didn’t know what to do. But this was much beyond your speciality. Many times, you just had to ensure that you played the part of a pretty girl, a strong soldier, a hardworking student. All you had to do was wait it out and it will play nicely. Life was certainly much easier back then - and much less painful compared to what you go through now. 

Constantly being beat up in the ring, spending days and weeks and months in the hospital doing rehabilitation; constantly being scolded and shoved outside to sleep like a dog, certainly did not feel as bad as it did now.

This sense of betrayal… it felt like your whole body was burning inside out. You felt as if you were placed on a stake and it was a bonfire surrounding you. It hurts but your hands were tied. You didn’t know what to do. You truly didn’t. 

You looked up at the mounted clock just above the door. 

It read, 04 00. 

Slowly standing up, you packed the papers back into the drawer, adjusted the picture frames, turned off the lights, and left. Looking back into the room one last time, ensuring that it looked the way it did when you entered, and walked back to the bedroom. Entering the room with heavy feet, you looked past the drawn curtains, and to the moon that shone its borrowed light into the room. You had always thought the moon was pretty, being able to play with the stars, to shine so brightly even when its so lonely. Nobody plays in the night and everybody worships the sun. 

But the moon does not complain. It shines bright every night, giving light to those who need it. 

And whenever you asked, it answered. 

And you knew what you should do. 

STAN TWITTER

💕Pairing: Seokjin x Female Reader 

📝Summary: A little piece of smut of a bigger plot/story.

✏️Genre/au: Smut, Canon, Long time relationship

✏️Rating: PG 18+, explicit

📝Wordcount: 1862

⚠️chapter warnings: explicit smut

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Note that English is not my first language, so please if you find grammar mistakes, let me know. :)

Namjoon opens the door of the dorm for you to enter quickly after you ring, he was getting ready to leave putting on his shoes and one is behind him, away from its partner on the tiles mismatching the elevated wooden floor. He looks towards the corridor before he sits down to finish his task, eyebrows raised in a warning look meant for you to know what the situation is. His shoelaces are tied at the same time you place your shoes on the guest spot, having put on the slippers you had left in their house for your common visits and you can tell he is in a rush for how he avoids the small talk, and simply says goodbye before leaving.

You know exactly where Jin is; in his room, and also that he is edging moody by his texts, although you can’t yet figure out why. That was the main reason why you decided to go see him after a frantic day at the office, driving through the city while dictating to your phone voice system what needed to be organised for your next day’s schedule. Easing him felt more important than taking a rest inside the inviting purple sheets of your bed, in your little and cosy apartment. After all, he always tries his best to not show negative emotions that could upset the people he cares about; it is just fair that you pay him the attention that he deserves. 

You lie next to him when you find him on his belly over the bed, holding his upper weight in his forearms as he checks his phone, at the end of it. His dark blue pyjamas contrast with the white duvet covering the bed and you take in the sight of him. A new Balenciaga you have never seen on him before but that looks just as good on him as any other piece of clothing. 

He looks at you tilting his head when you imitate his position, elbows at the end of the bed, one of them touching his and opening your stan Twitter too, you kiss his shoulder when he looks at his phone again. Your Twitter timeline is full of posts of him and you know he has given a glance to it because he chuckles, showing his pearls in between his hydrated full lips.

“You’re kind of obsessed with me, uh?” he says confidently, making you eye him sideways immediately. “I’m handsome, I get it,” he says with his particular wind-shield laughter, then shies out to his own words.

“What if I am? What will you do anyway?” you tell him in a mocking tone, meant to be a joke, keeping your eyes on the screen this time.

Suddenly, you feel his hand at the back of your thigh, trailing up under the purple skirt and you become immediately immobile, allowing him. His fingers take the curve between your thigh and buttocks, slowly, and rub them on your covered slit. His touch is teasing at the beginning, distractedly, while he acts as if he isn’t doing anything at all but then, they slide lower to rub your bud with an expert touch, knowing exactly what you like. His movements are followed by your gasp and his gaze falls on you, where he seems to take it as an invitation because the second after he is on top of you, making you feel his hardness on your sweet cheeks and hugging you from behind, kissing the back of your head as you try to keep your position and not give in to his weight. 

Kissing your shoulder and neck, he doesn’t say a word and you only respond to his pampering with little sighs, caressing his silky black hair by putting a hand up his nape. His upper weight finally buries you in the bed when he moves his hands to feel your breasts, massaging them as he rolls his hips against the place between your cheeks and your core, motivating a throaty moan that triggers him.

He stands with one knee at each side of your hips, still leaving his warmth imprinted on your sensitive skin, and you hear the rustle of clothes before you see his shirt fly over your head. You turn slightly to enjoy the view of his bare chest but when his hands go to the hem of his bottoms and he looks at you raising an eyebrow, you turn your head resting your chin over the edge of the bed, shying out. It only makes him chuckle again but doesn’t say a word, although you can guess what has gone through your mind. ‘Glad to fill that ego, love.’ you think.

You feel his digits on your waist as he reaches for the edge of your plain black crop top, to remove it with a little struggle, before making it fly next to his piece of clothing. Their warmth and careful touch moving underneath your skirt as he pulls the panties down to your ankles, moving to the top of the bed with his knees; only to throw them too. With his main obstacles gone, he leans over you again, putting his legs between yours making you part them to give him room and you feel his velvety hardness slide through the inner side of your thighs when he positions himself closer to your body. 

You spread wider and roll your hips up, knowing exactly what is coming for you. You feel his tip as he pushes it past your already wet entrance as if you were touching it with your hands, feeling every little detail of his form while he stretches your inner muscles with its thickness. He amends his position by placing his forearms closer to yours and you allow your forehead to meet the mattress while trying to breathe as you keep feeling every inch of him being pushed inside of you. It feels like he is going to split you. Every single time. But feeling him like that is addictive.

After the initial struggle, when he is fully in, he starts moving and you swear an “Oh god,” in a strangled breath. His thrusts are slow, curated, letting you adjust to his bare and warm member. You can’t avoid gasping a moan when one of his hands clasps on your hip to push further in, making sure you are taking as much of him as you can. 

“Jin…” you mutter, after moaning through the back of your nostrils, hands gripping on white knuckles to the duvet.

“I just… I love how you feel,” he whispers in your ear, letting the need of you breathe out his tone. Then he pulls out and you complain with a low whine, looking behind to see him move to his knees on your sides again. He places a hand on your waist and pushes, indicating you to turn around to what you obey in a mess of relocating legs; moving one knee first, then the other, to place them between your legs as you turn. He then leans forward silently, looking at you in a way you have only seen counted times. Blinded by the lust, he pushes himself inside of you, fiercely, and you moan with the back of your throat without opening your mouth, hands pressing on his back to try to hold a grip on your sanity. 

He is already breathless, letting air in and out of his lungs frantically while he puts his arms underneath your shoulders to hug you, starting to pound. 

“Jin…” you mutter between his thrusts, making him slow down. “Are you… ok?” you question.

“I just missed you…” he replies, burying his head in the crook of your neck, while pushing himself deeper with a grunt, again. You drag your nails through his back making him groan in pain but it only motivates him to redirect his thrusts, to hit your spot.

He kisses you as if he wants to retain something from you in himself and you melt on him, allowing him to keep with his agonising pace, wrapping your legs around his waist as the sound of flesh against flesh fills the room. His lips go through your throat to the other side, marking a hickey in it; only for this one, to be cloned over and over until reaching your collarbones. 

There he rubs his nose, making you aware of his gaze from underneath your chin, until he pushes himself deep again, towering over you with his broad shoulders and making you scream his name. One of his big hands clasps over one of your thighs to assure his target, pressing his abdomen to yours, making you feel his strength. Making you close your eyes, lost in the pleasure.

There is no way to define time or how many times he has thrust inside of you, as it all feels somehow out of time-space. The two of you, a mess of moans, grunts, and growls between the sounds of flesh and the wetness of sex. Really pouring yourselves into the fine act. 

You feel the orgasm build but when it hits you, it is unexpected. He acknowledges it with his own body by the way your walls grip and contract around him like a vice; the way a high-pitched moan escapes your throat and the extra wetness against his pelvis. He doesn’t stop there, making sure to keep you in place as he keeps thrusting in such a way, when the pitch of the orgasm is over, a new one starts to build up.

"Jin!" you mewled, trying to push him off, feeling as if to die if another one hits you but it only makes him allow his weight over yours; chest against chest, only his hips doing the work. "Jin!" you plead but he keeps it going, using both hands to pull yours above your head, holding your wrists with only one and using the other to hold part of his weight.

"Just.. let me… please… you…" he says in between grunts. His sounds, his skin, his smell and the way his hips angle perfectly, details you'd missed by trying to fight him, all hit you at the same time. So does the orgasm. 

This time you bite his shoulder, trying not to scream for the whole neighborhood and he goes off of you, spilling over your belly with a grunt. Holding himself above you with one arm, he pumps the rest of it as those sexy sounds keep escaping his throat. His closed eyes and the expression of pleasure, and exhaustion in his face, make you smile idiotically.

"Forgot… your king-sized… condoms," you mutter in between breaths, as he falls next to you, letting out a little giggle. He only laughs tiredly as he leans forward to pick up some napkins from his nightstand, to clean you up. 

"I'm sorry," he says, pecking you lovingly. "I just really missed you," he adds while trying to bin the paper balls from his position, before leaning over to give you a breathy kiss. But all he’s done, tells you it is not just that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed this bit of Seokjin 🤭 Let me know your thoughts. See you soon! ~

Thank you @abitjess for the beta 😊💜

© 2018-2024 Cherry Soulth, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, or unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

30 MINUTES

💕Pairing: Seokjin x Reader 

📝Summary: 

Two prodigies come across street drugs and create a butterfly effect that endangers the existence of humanity. 

✏️Genre/au: Non-Canon, Sci-fi with hints of reality, Angst, Eternal love, Dark fic

✏️Rating: PG 18+, explicit

📝Wordcount: 4785

⚠️chapter warnings: drugs, drug consumption, illegal acts, explicit smut, slight bondage, major character death

Hii! Did you stumble a cross this work? Glad yo're here 😊 Please, let me know your thoughts once you are finished. Feedback keeps me motivated to write 😁

Note that English is not my first language, so please if you find grammar mistakes, let me know. :)

Song lyrics mentioned: 

t.A.T.u- /30 minutes/ and /You and I/

BTS- Spring day

They were never going to go back home, to walk the concrete paths that led to their doorsteps, as they used to do almost synchronised. Their smiles would not bring the light that day. 

The time stopped with the sun shining bright over the pure blue sky and brought the scent of the autumn rain and the dry leaves getting soaked.  

‘I miss you honestly, but I’ll erase you 

‘Cause it hurts less than to blame you.’

Your eyes were heavy as they woke that afternoon motivated by the sun lowering from the sky and sending its rays through the open curtains. His eyes followed the wave the curtains made with the wind sneaking through the cracked open window. His skin raised in goosebumps as the huff reached it. 

That Friday night of the second week of spring break had brought with it the craziest party you had ever been into. 

Your years at university were promising until that very moment. Proofs of your crime were still dusting up the crystal coffee table next to the sofa where you had finally fallen asleep with the sunrise. Or did you pass out at the same time after choking each other during sex? It was difficult to tell. If you could only remember everything… 

Seeing it, thinking about who could still enter and see the deplorable image you had made of yourselves, he stood up from the stickiness in between your bodies and, pulling up his trousers after covering your displayed bottom, he went to the kitchen for some spray and a cloth to clean it up. 

As he walked with his naked feet over the reddish carpet of the main area, his head banged in a way it never had before. He almost stumbled on his steps squishing his lids together so he could sort the way his eyes wouldn't focus properly but still made it through the brown wood frame that led to the kitchen and opened the white enamelled cabinet under the sink. 

You kept on fluttering yours still lying over the ugly and old red sofa, trying to ease the blurry vision provoked by your volcanic brain about to explode. However, you found yourself trying to stand with sticky things and the memory of his weight engraved on your flesh and bones, with the intention to lend a hand on whatever task your partner had put his head into. 

Out of sight, out of mind

The last seven days of your break were exorbitantly stressful when all you were expected to do was enjoy your time giving free will to your hobbies or do nothing at all. 

That first night of mistakes was forgotten, or so you thought, yet at the back of your minds you wondered where all that shit came from. How one simple night, not even that, a simple lapse of thirty minutes gave one strike after another, making you doubt your own sanity or who you were as human beings. 

It couldn't be only the drugs and the alcohol, not when that shadow kept on creeping over every time a new memory of that night fell into place. 

Neither of you spoke about it, although you could see it in the other’s eyes, both afraid of losing what you had, both too scared of the truth. 

Then the last week of spring break ended and you were back to the frenzy of university life, pouring your hearts and souls into that bright future that seemed to be threatened by something silent that wasn’t related to the drugs you swore to never take again. 

Out of time to decide

The moment it hit the news nobody paid real attention to it. It looked just like rabies or an alteration of it. Something the CDC could have under control, just like any other disease. But when they finally found the courage and a strategy to go back your steps from that Friday night, when you saw the images of the CCTV at the lab from that spring day after hearing the radio on your way there; you knew it was over. 

You didn’t voice out that feeling but it was like the world had stopped spinning and suddenly everything made sense. The guilt, the fear, the pain went back to you in a single strike. The strange unsettling feeling finally taking form into something you could never escape from.  

Do we run? 

Should we hide? 

For the rest of our lives… 

You deleted all the footage you could find of that day, not before taking notes of every action you had followed before the body of your lab partner had stood and tried to attack you. Before you ran. Before you forgot something went utterly wrong.

What had fallen from the lab table? Where was the cut that infected him when he slid over the samples and broke his neck against the edge of the table? What did he try to do before you ran, still high, thinking you were hallucinating? 

You wondered how, when the effects of the drugs had fully kicked in, you had forgotten about the traumatic event and had a session of absurdly, mental sex while your lab partner finally broke out from the basement lab and roamed freely through the campus in the darkness of the night. 

As you walked out of the building with your things, having added another crime to your list and conscience you jumped in the car while tears edged at your waterlines, as your breaths failed, unable to process fully what you had done or its unimaginable consequences. 

'They have it under control.'

'There's nothing to worry about.' 

Your minds kept on repeating the mantra. But something in you knew the truth: dead people don’t stand and walk; dead people don’t try to attack you; dead are supposed to stay dead and do nothing.

Can we fly? Do we stay?

Sitting in your car in front of his apartment, you stayed in silence as your thoughts revolted. The road had cleared your minds but there was a doubt about whether the vision of a weirdly walking person in a parking lot had something to do with it. In a silent pact, with your eyes meeting as he drove, you both agreed it looked like what Edmund did in the recordings and just drove through leaving the walking dead in the rear mirror.  

"We should go see our parents," you both voiced out at the same time. Like you had done so many times before. "We can be a couple of days away," he added squinting his nose and flickering his lashes a few times. 

You didn't need to voice out what you really thought. The fear. Because admitting that you were scared made the possibility of things going wrong more real and the fragile mental state in which you were, made it unaffordable.

We could lose, we could fail

In the moment it takes

To make plans or mistakes

The party had started at the Maknae’s fraternity, a large two-floor building with a main entrance and two wings that withheld around twenty male students between which there were Namjoon, Jimin and Jungkook. 

As you accessed the building walking up the raisers and entering the open door, you saw all the people scattered around the place. Conversations were held even at the steps of the stairs that led to the first floor because the place was a pact. Apparently, someone had been too public with the event and people you would have sworn you had never seen once on the campus had also come over for the free buzz and the fun. 

You took some time greeting people you did know while you tried to not lose visual contact with each other because with strangers in the place you didn’t feel as safe. As you spoke and messaged, the red cups started piling around so quickly you wouldn't have guessed how much time it had passed since you arrived. 

30 minutes, the blink of an eye

Neither of you expected to find your friends closed in the basement with a stash of drugs big enough to take you all to prison for some years, confiscated from the people coming into the party at the abide hands of Jimin and Taehyung who were able to retrieve things without being discovered. If both weren’t passionate law students you would have sworn they were practicing to become the next white hand thieves to pass through history as never caught.

The consumption of drugs was not only illegal but the host, Namjoon, had made it very clear in his invitations that those elements would be taken out of the equation one way or another. The magic number of minutes acted again as the group discussed whether to make the party be over or just call out for people’s attention. Then something broke upstairs and there was a cheering from the crowd, so they all ran up without too much thought. 

Apart from you, everyone left the basement. You stayed behind with Seokjin to take samples of the drugs after your lab partner, Edmund Jenner, had suggested seeing firsthand how those chemicals reacted with infected cells for your project. Which was the main reason you came to the party, knowing you could get your hands into something of use. You just didn’t expect the quantity that there was, becoming slightly anxious as to get caught near any of it or carrying it. 

“I’m taking some extras, just in case,” you whispered in your drunk voice, as you took more samples right before his eyes. The anxiety and the risk were the same, regardless of how much you took.

30 minutes to alter our lives

Seokjin suggested it was time to leave the party after he noticed your friends were kicking people out, giving the excuse of being too tired and a promise of helping next time, under Yoongi’s attentive stare. He seemed to disapprove of you until it was his turn to say goodbye.

"Don't do anything stupid," he whispered in your ear, patting the right pocket of your hoodie before passing to hug his brother. 

Thirty minutes was exactly the time you sat in your car with your pockets full of different kinds of drugs in front of the University Science building before deciding to call your partner.

Thirty more minutes to prepare the samples inside the lab with the feathered touch of an angel to avoid spilling diseases that could endanger the public health if they reproduced and transmitted. Then let your partner started the work as you went for coffee at the machine in the resting room.

Thirty last minutes, because before making that phone call you had decided to take one pill each of what your drunk selves thought it was the type of drug that would keep you up to speed with the work. 

When it finally kicked in, as you were taking a five-minute sit at the incredibly comfortable sofa next to the lunch table at the centre of the room, the mistake was soon obvious.

30 minutes to make up our minds

As you worked, reality started fading into something different: you were there but you weren’t and some things weren’tthere, that couldn’t be there. Shadows on the corners that took the form of monsters at the corner of the eye but that disappeared when you tried to look at them.

When you started panicking in a corner of the lab, hearing sirens that Edmund and Seokjin didn’t, he started walking systematically in three different directions while murmuring things to himself; it was obvious to Edmund that you had taken a serious dosage of acid and you were not in the shape to be there with him. 

When he suggested to call an ambulance you panicked even more and asked him, begged him, not to ruin your lives. But it was while trying to stop you from taking a dusty unidentified unit of drug that you tried to run with it and he tripped over a set of samples that had been worked on that afternoon. The samples were experimental types: weaponised diseases designed to fight weaponised diseases on the test. 

The glasses broke and you stopped abruptly with wide eyes to try and help him pick up the mess, only for him to try to move you away as you weren’t wearing the right protection to manage them. In the confusion he tripped over, breaking his neck against the table behind him. 

You didn’t understand what was going on at first, you tried to shake him, do CPR but nothing worked. Then, when you finally understood a little bit that your friend was dead, you panicked, unable to make a proper decision or stay focused. 

As you spoke nonsense from the exact same spot where you had tried to help Edmund, you felt movement underneath you but didn’t pay attention, thinking it was the hallucination. The sound of standing gave Edmund up more than it did the little growls he had made before moving and the only reason you turned around was Seokjin’s sudden silence as the colour drained from colour. Being your first reaction; to try to interact with him, you didn’t move away and as soon as you tried to speak he was over you with his hands and his jaws closing near your face as you held him there.  Pushing him, making him fall, only to find out that he would stand again and try to attack without chance to argue him into stopping.  

Made the both of you, although the irrationality of the drugs, run out of there. You ran and ran until your lungs couldn’t take it anymore and had to stop, lying down in the middle of an empty road. Only a few minutes later, as you watched the stars and got mesmerised by how they moved and how the end of the sky was so far, all of what happened moments ago now seemed just to be part of the drugs. 

“We’ve never called him, right?” he wondered, and your minds seemed to synchronise on that thought because you thought the same, so it had to be true. Both laughed at all the stupid things you had seen: nothing made sense. It was then that you found the little bag in your pocket.

“Probably not…” you giggled again. “Do we try this one too? Up to die?” 

“We won’t… Just a university experience… We… We are not even alive, are we?” he suggested before giggling his lungs out and standing, pulling you with him. “I have to show you my new apartment…”

“I think I’ve been there…” you said but doubted herself.

“Are you sure?” he wondered, hugging you.

“No…” you whispered before laughing, “Let’s go…”

30 minutes to finally decide

His nose was painful and he sneezed on top of the dust over the coffee table, which he soon forgot about when he heard the struggling moans behind him. 

You were on your belly over the sofa and had your arms paired up with the respective leg, restrained with your belts. Your panties were in your mouth and you were really having a hard time with the whole thing. Your legs and your bare ass were red. The mix of drugs had completely inhibited you, opening the door to do things you normally wouldn’t even think of trying. 

“Even like this you look beautiful,” he said as he moved, standing on his knees over the carpet to release you. 

“Please, daddy… Please…” you begged when he took off the piece of underwear from your mouth. The wetness dripping from your core to the outside, refreshing with the air of the room was the obvious signal that you wanted him inside of you but he only rubbed the hard-on over his pants.

“Please what, Mommy?” he wondered with a smirk before pressing his lips together in a thin suppressing line. His features are quite innocent as he spoke with messy hair and your favourite lipstick smeared over his full lips. 

“Ew-” you said before cracking a laugh and making him release his contained one too. His eyes squinting with the laughter, showing his mostly modest smile widely. 

“-Oh, c’mon,” he said in between hints of air going back to his lungs. 

“You were supposed to say baby or baby girl. Ew.” you laughed again and he cracked up at how convinced you said those words but stopped suddenly with a sudden smack in your buttock and a smile drop.

“And you were supposed to stay quiet…” he said lowering an octave before throwing himself over you and positioning himself in between your legs as you were still on your belly, unable to switch. Then he pushed his lower body against your core with a growl.

“Hm-” a low and strangled moan escaped your throat as you pressed your face against one of the cushions. He then bit over your throat full-mouthed without applying force, for your to feel his perfect white teeth over your delicate skin, eliciting another moan. 

He then slid his left hand in between your bodies and aimed to take off his trousers, only to the end of his buttocks, before penetrating you in one go, making you whine.

30 minutes to whisper your name

Having to stop the car in the big jam on the principal road, you were able to see the fires starting inside the city. Clouds of smoke rise to the sky, turning the day darker and making you panic. 

“This is all our fault…” you whispered, putting your hands over your face the pained feeling of guilt stirring up your gut and making you want to vomit.

“C’mon we have to go-” he said, pulling you up on your feet and guiding you out of the vehicle, entwining his fingers with yours.

30 minutes to shoulder the blame

“It couldn’t be us.”

A drag in of the intoxicating smoke filled his lungs.

“This wasn’t us.”

A second second one did yours.

“That wasn’t in the lab.”

“This is going to be contained.” 

“This is going to be sorted.”

The lines kept going with the relaxing essence of the burning drug.

“Everything is going to be okay…”

30 minutes of bliss, 30 lies

“The trains are still working, then?” you wondered on the phone.

“Yes, they are taking people out of the city since there’s this rowdiness,” Hobi replied on the other side of the line. “Do you want me to wait for you?” he wondered. 

“No, don’t wait for us. Just take all of them with you, please. Make sure no one makes the stupid decision to stay in the city.” replied your partner alarmed, through the speaker.

“But-”

“Please. I’m begging you to do all you can to take them out of here.” he continued. You had seen it, you knew now how bad the city was getting and how bad it would get. Crowds formed in the main streets and when police tried to dissipate them, as the crowd moved you could see bodies lying on the floor. Soon after, there would be shots at a weirdly behaving person who would stand soon followed by those other bodies, diverting their attention to the agents. Whose bullets didn’t seem to be successful in stopping them as they kept on advancing before a headshot would finally make them unable to carry on with that obsession to bite? 

As Seokjin kept guiding your way, you saw this one girl fall from a set of stairs as she ran up her building. She seemed okay as she did but then slipped and her nose hit upwards against one of the steps, reminding you of Edmund and as you kept walking unable to strip your eyes out of the awful scene. In a matter of two minutes, as you kept advancing through the long street, she suddenly moved from her inert position and stood slowly to walk towards the moving crowd, attracted by the noise.  

“Ok but if I have to take you with me, you have to come too… You sound-” 

“There’s no time for us to get to the train station right now, we’ll take the next one. Please, just go.” Seokjin was near to tears and his brother knew it. This time Hobi didn’t object and once he hanged he rushed to get all of them on the train. Making it just before the doors closed.

‘Like the tiny dust, tiny dust floating in the

air

I could have reached you faster.’

You just kept on running through streets and moving crowds, until you found yourselves face to face with the dead. Their pale faces turned your way once your strong steps and your agitated breaths gave you away. They were hoarding, taking new hostages on their hunt for fresh meat. 

Stunned, you turned around quickly and ran until your lungs said enough. With your fingers still entwined nothing could tear you apart, not even the dead. If you were to go, you would do it together.

30 minutes to finally decide

You breathed fear, and you sweated it too, making it through every corner and every hallway to your destiny. You could only do your best to avoid the walking dead, carefully looking for any signs of those things but the feeling was there, pumped in the adrenaline running through your veins. 

You and I Hold me tight

You and I Gotta fight

You and I Side by side

You and I Say good-bye

It all felt similar to when you used to meet. How once you fled a couple of elders who were cursing you after they had caught you sneaking into their backyard. You laughed as you tried to catch up with the required oxygen for your brains to work properly. 

Partners in crime, your initials carved with a knife in the old oak tree, as a timeless reminder of your love. But those were easy times.

You and I Feels so right

You and I Holding tight

You and I Side by side

You and I For the rest of our lives.

Too young to care, you would lie on a rooftop at night and watch the eternal beauty of the stars shining in the sky. But compared to the ones shining in your eyes, they weren’t so beautiful nor so impressive. 

Neighbours since you were babies. Then best friends. Now lovers.

Every night. We're all alone. Every night.

My only hope Is the light That's shining

from inside you.

Back in school days, when one or the other’s grades weren’t hitting the scores you had set for yourselves, tears were cried in the other’s arms. You wanted to go to the same high school, to the same university. Always, always together. And you are.

'Cause you believe, in what we are

You believe, in what we'll be

Give me strength 

So I can stand beside you

As you kept on running through the crowds and past them, someone suddenly looked at you and raised his eyebrows with recognition, although you would have sworn you didn’t know that person who shouted your names with anger, alerting the people close to him to turn around. You paralysed for a second before you noticed the sharp objects in their hands and then pulled Seokjin with you as you finally understood you were going to be mobbed and most likely murdered for a reason you failed to comprehend.

You were fast again through the bodies in the crowd until you managed to out-manoeuvre your persecutors and hide behind a container in an alleyway. When it was finally safe to return to the main streets you saw it, displayed for all to see on the big screens of the buildings: the lab video, your faces with your names underneath portrayed right next to it. your steps went backwards stumbling with people but carefully making sure to cover your faces. Thankfully, they were too busy listening to the words thrown over your stories. Turning and twisting through the city, you kept running with the fear drowning the tears your eyes couldn’t drop. 

You didn’t know there had been an ongoing investigation when Edmund Jenner’s body was found; the police department had managed to figure out by the time of death that he was probably one of the first infected. 

You didn’t know that just an hour prior the police had finally obtained enough information to lead them straight to the laboratory, acknowledging the biological accident. Of which the investigating department of the university, had to take measures but hide instead. Yet the authorities had recovered the obvious missing day from the tapes with the help of a technician and you were outed by your own lack of knowledge on that department. 

The university knew all the time there had been an accident but since Edmund had walked out alone, they simply brushed it off and let you go on with your day as if no one knew what had happened between those four walls. Your excellent careers had saved your asses but were about to become the hurricane at the wings of the butterfly. 

No truths to confirm

No lies to deny

Too hopeless to care

We're to scared to cry

He stopped first, not too far away from the train station, right next to an empty soccer field, and you walked to get next to him. He motioned for you to lie in the grass and looked at the sky, which turned blue and grey with the smoke. 

How you wished for the rain that day. Something to clean the streets, clear out the smell of the dead under the heat of that starting summer. Something to wash out the guilt from your consciences and the effects on your bodies, since you felt like you had been beaten up both ways.

Carousels in the sky

That we shape with our ways

“If there could have been worse consequences to us taking drugs…” you whispered, eyes dry but the knot of the contained sobs making you feel like you were being choked.

“We had to pay the worse price to pay for a major crime… What we were dealing with, was a human project. Something we should have taken more seriously…” he murmured, the guilt in his voice sending a needle straight from your brain to your heart.

“I’m so sorry…” you whispered with a strangled voice. He shook his head before hugging you, a single tear escaping his left side. Probably the only thing he had ever hidden from you.

Under shade silhouettes 

Casting shame 

“We’ll die. Wherever we go.” you voiced with a low sob, your throat finally giving up despite the efforts you had been making, loosening the moment you realised that was the truth and reality.

“We will,” he confirmed, sobbing too and pressing you closer against his body. The only thing that scared him about it was that, him as a science person though there was nothing after death and that meant losing you.

Your phones buzzed at some point while you looked at the clouds, silently. The regret, covering your eyes in a blurry vision of the reality finally dripping down your dusty cheeks. 

Crying rain

Can we fly? Do I stay? 

“Yes…” he replied, trying to sound like he hadn’t been crying his heart out just a minute ago.

“Tell me what I saw in the news isn’t true,” begged Namjoon, pained. 

“We didn’t mean to… I’m so sorry…” Seokjin replied, breaking into sobs again.

“You have to get out of there right now!” Jimin shouted, alarmed.

“They are going to torture you if they find you!” added Taehyung with concern poured on every letter he pronounced.

“People are losing their minds! Get out of there immediately!” Namjoon insisted.

“Ok. We’ll go to the train station now,” you replied, pulling Seokjin up, drying your tears in order to see what was in front of you.

“Good luck. See you soon.” Yoongi added before hanging.

You took one last speedy advance until you found the empty station. Right after entering the empty train, it blocked its doors as if the travel had finished. But when you tried to knock on the cabin, you saw the driver walk out of it and take the stairs, without looking back.

Then, unexpectedly, the train started its path out and an unsettling sensation covered you whilst you sat down in the nearer seat and hugged each other.

We could lose, we could fail

Either way, options change

chances fade, 

Trains derail.

They were never going to go back home. 

I want to thank @ffion451 for helping with this and not let me delete it 💜😘

© 2018-2024 Cherry Soulth, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, or unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

FITTED

💕Pairing: Seokjin x Reader 

✏️Genre/au: Canon, Romance,

✏️Rating: PG 18+

📝Wordcount: 2224

⚠️Warnings: part two will have them 👀

Hii! Did you stumble across this work? Glad you're here 😊 Please, let me know your thoughts once you are finished and reblog for others to see. Feedback keeps me motivated to write 😁

Note that English is not my first language, so please if you find grammar mistakes, let me know. :)

As you button up his white shirt and pick up the bow to place it on his collar, you notice his stare at you. His nervousness can be sensed while his eyes keep on you as you make final adjustments and fold the neck of the shirt down, but as soon as your eyes try to meet his, he looks away. You hurriedly put on his jacket while the makeup team ensures his face is kept as perfect as it was when they had freshly put on the products an hour ago.

"Come on guys! Last song before the break!" cheers Namjoon and they all move towards the stairs awaiting their cue. Jin however gives you another quick glance before he focuses on remembering the steps to Dionysus.

While preparing the towels and water for the break, you set your eyes on the screen. You also place the fans over the desk where they can easily find them and move the snack basket to the centre so they can have a quick fix if need be.

"I've seen how he looks at you..." comments Siwoo and he giggles, placing the discarded clothes on the rack to steam-clean them with you before putting them away for the next concert.

"Not here," you whisper back, taking one of the steam devices and starting to work on a piece before putting a clear bag over it to keep it clean during its transportation.

"I'm not sure if anyone else has seen it but I can tell you he has been pretty obvious." He insists on the matter while taking the other machine and putting it to work too. "Too obvious if you ask me."

"What do you mean by that?" you question, stopping for a second. He stops too, returning the gaze.

"I'm telling you that he wants you to know it, but we all know Jin. Even if he's secure about himself, when it comes to opening up about his feelings, his introverted side plays a part in it," he exposes.

Your eyes move to the screens as you do your job. Watching him perform when the cameras angle on him, you lose sight of what you're doing and burn your index finger with the steam. Hissing, you leave the machine aside, then move to grab an ice cube and a cloth to make sure a blister doesn't ruin the day.

"Put this on girl," says Siwoo, handing you a burn cream and you do as you are told.

It's as you are putting it away and covering the burn with a silicone plaster, that the boys come down the stairs again. You miss how Seokjin's eyes glue to you as soon as you get in his vision and how he sees the injured finger immediately. He takes an energy bar out of the basket and sits down in his place while he turns on the fanning device but still keeps his eyes on you.

"Hyung ... why don't you talk to her?" Yoongi mutters quietly as he motions to take the seat next to him.

The question startles Jin and he looks at Yoongi with his lips parted. "I will. Later," he admits, looking away and taking the water that stands on his table. He knows you have placed the items and somehow it pleases him that you have touched them.

You hear the programming team and the choreographer praise them for the energy and the performance they have been showing on stage. Right after, they are reminded of the list for the second part, although they have rehearsed it, and explained that they will have only an hour to rest before the two-hour flight to the next destination where they will be able to have a proper sleep at the hotel.

The guys cheer each other up again and you are finally allowed to attend Seokjin on the mission to change to a much more comfortable set of clothes. He stands abruptly when you get close enough and that calls the attention of Yoongi and Namjoon, who are at his respective sides, and it also startles you.

Looking at him with wonder in your eyes and your lips parted, this time you don't miss the way his eyes go from your eyes to your mouth and you look down blushing. He instantly shifts his weight and clears his throat, starting to undo the tie. Responding to his move, you try to prevent him from doing your job and your hands touch his.

He doesn't push them away and meets your eyes filled with astonishment. "I'm sorry, Seokjin-nim," you mutter, pulling your hands away but he shakes his head in response.

"It's ok. I can do it," he says, pulling off the tie completely and leaving it over the table. He wants to kick himself for saying those words because he enjoys you taking his clothes off, but his politeness has gotten the best of him.

"But it's my job," you say looking at him as if you had been told off, surprised that he won't let you do it. Maybe, even a little bit hurt.

"You can help me with these buttons," says Yoongi standing, struggling to take off the ones on his shirt, with the creases and extra fabric at the neck. Your eyes go from him to Seokjin again and you skirt by him to aid Yoongi. You don't notice how Jin frowns slightly and takes a minute before starting to unlatch his own buttons, but Namjoon does and he almost snorts.

It's later on, as the last change of clothes to leave the stadium is done, that Seokjin lets you help him with his jacket and his belt without a word. He doesn't look at you for more than two seconds as you take his belt because he has to keep his imagination at bay every time you do that. Still, he blushes and his member twitches when you turn around to help Yoongi, giving him a full view of your buns.

He rushes to do the change of his upper shirt before moving aside to change his trousers. The moment his muscled abdomen displays, Yoongi, who was bickering with Jimin as you did your job on him, catches a hint of your discreet look towards his elder and smirks.

"Can you help me with this?" he asks, taking the tight-fitted jacket that he is expected to wear at the airport. "My shoulder is bothering me a little bit..." he whispers, looking at you innocently as if he is trying not to worry the rest of the members and you help him get it on. "I know you like him," he whispers so low you almost miss it and he only smiles gently at you when you raise your stare from his shoulder. "It's all right. Just speak to him," he encourages with a nod and his smiley-cat face makes you reciprocate and nod.

~~~~~~~※~~~~~~~

At the hotel, you quickly make sure you haven't left anything to pack in your room. Sejin, as the main manager, wants to make sure the guys are not forgetting anything behind in their suites as they leave them and asks for your help since you are done. Unfortunately, you use the master key to one of the guys' rooms thinking all of them are already down in the lobby and enter when Jimin is taking off his sweater.

He had previously stained it in the car with a reddish drink and wanted to try to clean it before changing it into another piece. For you, as their stylist, it is not weird to see them shirtless, but it's the whole being in his room when he's half-naked that doesn't feel right, so you apologise intending to leave.

"Oh, I'm so lucky, Noona. Maybe you can help me," he suggests and you stop in your tracks. "What can I use here to take the stain off?" he asks, showing you the piece of clothing.

"I'll take care of it, Jimin-ssi. Hurry up and get changed, you should be downstairs," you tell him sweetly, taking the piece from him.

Once you get in the bathroom and use the sink to do a quick damage control with the handwash, Jimin enters adjusting a black top with a turtle neck that suits him even better. It only makes it more clear to you how unnecessary it is to give him fashion advice when it comes to more casual looks; he always looks on point.

Jimin makes a comment that leads to you laughing and just as you use your fingers to splash little drops of water at Jimin's face, Jigaemae knocks on the doorframe of the bathroom. Jimin turns casually and greets him, but is politely reminded of the schedule and he leaves the bathroom to go find his bags. In your case, although you are not doing anything wrong, you feel like a deer in front of a car's lights.

You take a plastic bag from your purse and after carefully twisting the piece to get rid of the excess water, you put it in the bag to take it with you. Jimin leaves the room as you are about to walk out of the bathroom, giving you a sweet smile. It's as soon as he has crossed the frame and walked towards the elevators that the manager speaks.

"Is there anything going on between you and Jimin?" he asks, without beating around the bush.

"No, manager-nim. I was only making sure the guys didn't leave anything behind," you clarify, nervous as to whether there could be a misunderstanding. "Jimin had a stain on his shirt. I was doing my job," you explain. He nods and apologises for being so direct, but you dismiss it without taking offence.

Up in the sky, you stand to go for a coffee from your seat next to a sleeping Siwoo. Unsure as to why you are even awake, Yoongi's words echo in your mind as you drink away too sugared a cup. Disposing it in the bin, you see Seokjin standing from his seat coming towards you.

Like never before, you panic and try to occupy yourself, grabbing an energy drink from the fridge. Being more on autopilot than the plane. He passes you with a polite bow of the head and you respond with the same courtesy, suddenly realising that unless you plan on drinking whatever you have grabbed, there's no real reason to stand there watching him pour himself a latte. You popped the tab to open the can and regret your decision at the first sip. Now you definitely will not sleep.

"Planning on going out when we land?" he inquires, surprising you and you look at him confused. "The energy drink," he concedes. "When we land it will almost be 1 a.m," he keeps going since you still look confused.

"Yeah. I mean, no." Now it's his time to be confused. "I mean, I'm not going out. I just took the wrong can, so I'll have to drink it," you say looking at the thing with a slight apprehension.

"Did you drink from it? If you only opened it, you could offer it to someone else... if you don't want it," he says and although you know that's pretty uncommon, you don't think it would be a bad idea.

"I did take a sip," you reply, frowning a bit and pouting for a second enough to catch his breath. "I guess I'll just have to deal with it." Then you bring it up to your mouth and sip.

"If you throw it away it should be fine. We have another concert in two days and missing a whole night of sleep can be bad for your health," he says, showing concern and offering his hand to take it.

"I actually don't know why I am awake... or how," you say as you hand him the object and he throws it away. "It's been a long day," you keep on with the small chat.

"Yeah, it has," he reassures.

"Why aren't you sleeping, Seokjin-ssi?" you then question and he looks caught off guard. He can't really express that Yoongi had gotten in his head for him to speak to you. You notice him fidget for a second and ask, "Are you worried about something?"

Against all predictions, even his own, he puts a hand on your cheek. "I wanted to talk to you," he mutters and when he sees that you don't move away, he finds the courage to get a little bit closer, approaching his lips to your ear. "Would you go on a date with me?" he asks and moves slightly back to see your reaction.

"Yes," you mutter, eyes almost closed to the feel of his breath on your skin. "I would love to," you admit and his shy smile, along with the blushing make your heart skip a beat. You were so focused on your palpitation, that his next move is even more unexpected. He kisses your forehead, lingering in the moment, and brushes his thumb against your cheek before meeting your eyes again.

"That makes me happy," he tells you with a smile. He pauses just a few seconds more to look at your reddened cheeks then walks away, back to his seat.

I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know your thoughts and reblog to let it spread 😊 See you soon! ~

Thank you so much for your beta work @moonleeai 🥺💜

© 2018-2024 Cherry Soulth, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

STAGGERING

💕Pairing: Taehyung x Reader x Seokjin

✏️Genre/au: Non-Canon, Action, Smut, Romance, Complicated relationships, Mafia AU

✏️Rating: PG 18+, explicit

📝Wordcount: 5070

⚠️chapter warnings: Explicit smut, death threats, ownership, toxic masculinity pokes, patriarchal, hierarchy, spoken mxm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~S~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hii! Did you stumble across this work? Glad you're here 😊 Please, let me know your thoughts once you are finished. Feedback keeps me motivated to write 😁

This one-shot is inspired by a story that I'm writing, called: Sandman. There's another one, also inspired on Sandman, called: Finally Alone and Golden hour

I will post Sandman only for paid members once it's finished. (Memberships won't be available until I the story is completed)

Note that English is not my first language, so please if you find grammar mistakes, let me know. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~S~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You love the visual aspect of Kim's Manor. The changes Namjoon made after their father died, to make it more in his style, has paid off. The sun bathes the stone walls outside retaining the warmth and somehow when you lean on them in the late afternoon, they feel like you are leaning against the man himself.

That's not all; the place is much greener, a lot less rigid than his father's aesthetic. But it still holds a majestic escence that simply seems to flow through them like the blue blood flows through the Min's veins.

Past the entrance hall, the interior makes you feel at home, but as you step in through the magnificent hardwood door, the first welcome to the house gives of "don't get too comfortable" vibes. Adequate, to get uninvited guests in and out in record time.

Two, also magnificent, spiral sets of stairs lead to the first floor, guarded at the top by men in black suits. Down, there's a double door in between and in front of it, two regal navy-blue, velvet sofas that look as comfortable to sit on as they are; hard cushoned surfices, beautiful to look at but nothing else. However, it is the emptiness of the space and the white walls that make you feel like you are not expected to stay.

His office is on the left, the only double doors on that side, with a toilet room. Although, outside, there's another one for the guests that almost hides behind the spiral set of stairs at that side. On the right, is access to the visitor's garden, where a couple fountains let water fall over a pebbled pond with Koi fish the size of your forearm and some different indigenous species that are way too freshly put in for you to have had the time to learn.

The double door in between the stairs, rigid and uninviting as it looks, it's the first opening to the comforts of the house.

It leads to the kitchen with a private chef and a table for four. The dining room is on the right, after a set of french doors, with an impressive table of eighteen seats, only used in special events, needless to say.

A long hallway leads to the private gardens, on the left. On the right, at the end, an integrated door matching the walls leads to Namjoon's private art gallery, where you have been spending your free time the last couple of days. Trying to skip the reality you live in, the few hours you are allowed to do so; maybe even trying to skip the princess-like treatment you get in this house, you let the art speak to you in whispers.

It makes you uncomfortable, to say the least, to be helped out of your shoes when you come back from outside. Unfortunately, you know Namjoon's mannerism doesn't allow him to offer less from his house service.

As a teenager it used to make you fly away, forget the calamities befalling on your destiny. But after so many years of not being a family guest, it just reminds you of how easy things were when they looked so complicated; when you didn't know or do all that you have.

The nostalgia has your attention on the gloomy paintings of Namjoon's little museum. But it is this one particular painting that has you fixated. It's not new, you had set your eyes on it briefly before, six months ago, when you noticed things had been moved around. That's how long it's been since you last stepped in the house, you realise and your vision blurs before you flicker your lashes to take in the painting once again.

It's the Water Lily Pond by Claude Monet that sure has cost Namjoon a pretty penny. Whatever they have displayed at the museum is a replica. This time, well known by the government, since they never purchased the original. They think the original burned, when it was simply never meant for the public by its last owner.

The oil painting makes you feel something undefined and clear at the same time with many reads to be done from its brush strokes. For you, it gets personal. You can’t see the other side of the bridge in your life either, the gloomy sensation, it feels like a representation of your current state in life.

Even having broken up with Seokjin, with no openings for a misunderstanding or for him to think there was a way back, he still has eyes on you. Depriving you from redoing your life at the emotional level, no other man is allowed to be with you, under the clear and known threat that he is.

Seokjin, in his patriarchal mind, isn't so worried about you spending time with women in private. Even if you slept with them, you know he would just see it the same way he would if you masturbate. To him, that isn’t real sex, or a threat to his domain over you.

When it comes to men, the story is completely different. If one is to become close enough to ask for a date, daring to, he would soon receive a warning from one of Seokjin's men. If ignored, you have already experienced the distress of having your company taken out of a restaurant by two men and have to physically fight Seokjin himself. Needless to say, he didn't win that fight and you only saw him again in the street, running away from you.

The only men allowed around you are Jimin and Seokjin's business partners. The first wouldn't cross his brother, neither does he have that interest in you, and the seconds guide themselves by the same rules Seokjin does; one of them being to not get involved with a partner's woman, even if they have broken up.

You get startled when weight sets at your side on the round, modern-leather ottoman seat. Taehyung, still in his pyjamas, sits next to you, looking at the same painting with his back perfectly straight against nothing. The cotton of the textil looks so well on his body, he could pass for a model inside this particular room.

"It makes me think of you," he mutters, before meeting your eyes.

"Why is that?" you ask him, looking at the painting again and you feel him shift to stare at it too, pressing a palm on the seat, next to your thigh.

"You are trapped on one side of the bridge, without knowing how to get or what to expect at the other side. The gloomy image and how you can’t see the water… Seokjin is under it, ready to break that bridge, no matter how many times it gets constructed," he whispers, leaning closer and Hyunjin moves away to pace the room automatically.

"One could say you read my mind," you reply, letting your back fall over the soft and comfortable surface, big enough to fit two people lying down on it. Three copies of this same furniture, in an autumn palette, are placed in the room to view the art displayed, strategically put in front of Namjoon's favourite pieces. You know the fact they are this big it's for him to be able to nap if he feels like it. This place is his sanctuary, after all.

"I know you," he says, in a low tone that makes your skin set in goosebumps. "I know you crave for the freedom he doesn't allow you to have, but also that you are not selfish enough to let someone get hurt to obtain such freedom." He lets his upper body fall too as he speaks and with his last word, he looks at you sideways. Like that, you stay looking at each other for a few minutes.

You see it again in his eyes; the unregretful love and you feel tears prickle in your eyes. "How did I stay so long in love with him?" you whisper, closing them. Your throat hurts so much from all the contained crying at this point, you have to hawk to clear it.

"Hyunjin!"

"Yes, sir."

"Go to the city and bring us those pastries the lady loves so much," he orders and you open your eyes when the guard comes near and stops right at your side, waiting for your approval.

"Go, I'll be fine," you tell him and he bows, leaving the room and closing the door behind himself.

Your eyes fall on Taehyung again. "It wasn't your fault to fall for him. He was always good to you. Hell, he still is." A certain sourness can be heard in his tone to those last words but you can only guess why. "He's never wronged you directly, neither was his intention," he mutters letting his eyes fall on you staggering you with his way of speaking. "I'm not defending him. Hell knows I had to hide from him for almost a year, until he got bored, to now kiss his ass," he concedes. "I'm just saying it's normal that you fell. Besides, he's older, and you clearly have to have daddy issues with the Hitman raising you." You slap him in the chest with a pout and he scoffs, closing one eye, "Hah-auch…" He grabs your wrist, chuckling.

"You have daddy issues," you scowl, not really angry at him.

"To let Seokjin give it to me while you were naked next to us, I surely have," he mutters and his admission makes the words Seokjin said that day make a lot of sense. Taehyung has always been in love with you and would do anything to be as close as the circumstances allow him.

"Do you regret it?" you mutter, starting to play with the lacey edge of your silk pyjama shirt. The fabric is soft, new, courtesy of Jimin’s good mood.

"The only thing I regret is not having had the balls to kick his ass when he pulled me off the bed the way he did and take you right before his eyes." You are astonished by his statement. That would have been his death on the spot; he had to hide for a year, only for trying to touch you at that moment. Seokjin wouldn't have hesitated after what you saw in his eyes. "You knew, right?"

"Know what?" you reply, being caught off guard.

"That I was in love with you," he confesses. "Am."

"I didn't know then… I actually thought you wanted to sleep with him, not me, at that time." you admit and he frowns, surprised. "You seemed to enjoy flirting and feeling him so much–"

"I did," he confesses. "One thing doesn't take away the other but it was a means to an end. If that was the only way to have you at least once, show you in another way my love, and then just have to be your friend forever; I had to take it, and make the most of it." His voice sounds soft but he hufs right after. "Seokjin has always been attractive and I maybe fancied a taste," he says, touching his lips with two fingers, making you smirk.

"You really have your own way through life, don't you?" you ask him, turning on your back again, a smile lingering on your face; looking at the fresco on the ceiling representing your galaxy. If you could only touch the sky for a moment.

"If I had my own ways–" He cuts himself off propping on his elbow to look at you from your left flank. His other hand approaches your face and he caresses your chin with his index finger. Without thinking you grab said hand and kiss the finger, making his eyes bulge. When they soften, he lets out the air he was holding, parting his lips. "Fuck it," he mumbles and leans over to catch you by surprise with a kiss.

You simply can't resist the touch of his moist lips slipping his taste through the spaces and your hands meet the long threads at the back of his head. The hand at your chin travels down towards your shoulder and keeps its way down until it settles on your waist, right under your ribs.

The kiss doesn't intensify for a while because he is still trying to adjust to the fact it is happening, like the time you were on top of him. You have simply craved his touch so much that you'll take whatever he wants to give and he feels too good to be rushed.

But as you relax into it, your own need plays a part and you allow yourself to pull him closer, sliding a hand underneath his chest and to his back. Automatically, he loses balance on his elbow and his half hovering body falls on yours. The gentle touch of his knee against yours, turning into his hip against your crotch. Both of you gasp and you feel him twitch.

He tries to recover his balance and the safe distance parting his lips, all flustered, caught off guard. You take the chance to use the buttons you know are placed somewhere at your right, looking for them with your palm. You move away when you find the remote, infused in the seat and let your head hang to see what to touch. Pushing two buttons all the black blinders of the room slowly draw down and the light goes off, allowing the fluorescent blue-purplish painting on the ceiling to illuminate the whole space.

You let your head fall back on the seat, looking up and you can see him do the same with the corner of your eyes. The image of him is as if out of a fairy tale; his pure heart, still alive somewhere within his observing dreamy eyes. Your only reason to draw the blinds, to let the art-form of reality take the protagonism, is to hide the transgression you intend on allowing.

It's been going on for too long. You are not a thing to be owned, you never were, and Seokjin knew that from the beginning. You made it clear you had your own mind; your own way to live and that was what had him fall for you. Now, after letting him toy with you for almost a year, play the owner; the bet is over and Taehyung is too much of a crave for you. Now, you will allow your friend to get something he wants as much as you do.

You hook your ankle behind his thigh, drawing him to you. "We've already crossed lines. We might as well die taking it to the furthest one."

"You won't, but I'll gladly make him stop breathing if he comes for me," Taehyung says. "As I told you, I'm done with his bullshit," he expresses and you simply put a hand on his face. He leans closer and his lips trace the same paths they have a minute ago.

"This time I want you to cum on or in me… not your pants," you mutter parting from his lips and he lets his forehead fall to your side, cracking up.

After wheezing, he finally finds his voice, "I was trying to keep the set boundaries and get you off, I don't know who kept it going until I spilled…" he whispers against your earlobe and then bites it before meeting your face again. "You better be on the pill because I've wanted to fill up this pussy of yours since the first time I saw it." You giggle at his statement but then look at the way his face doesn't match the one of pure lust.

In his perfection, with those straight locks like a curtain over your forehead, his eyes are the ones of love again, devotion even. That reminds you of Seokjin, he still looks at you like that, when you give him the time to be in your presence longer than a minute but that thought only breaks your heart further. If he wasn't so sick in his obsession for you, things would have been perfect. You loved him, maybe you even still do, even if you can't forgive his ways. You always have. As far as your memory goes, he was always there, he was always kind to you; to the point of making you fall for him in your teenage years.

A single tear falls from the corner of your left eye to your temple, raw feelings cutting through you like knives. You can’t do it. You are convinced, once Seokjin finds out, there will be no hiding behind Namjoon for Taehyung, there will be no place on earth for him to be safe. There, your love for him, or both, makes you take the wise decision to back off. After all, if Seokjin did know about what happened, he wouldn't wait three days to retaliate. If he had eyes in the house and saw you humping the man on top of you right now, true to his word, Taehyung wouldn't have lived to tell the tale.

When you move to get away, however, Taehyung pulls you back into place, "Talk to me," he whispers, putting his forehead against yours.

"I can't do this," you say with a shaky voice. "Risk your life to have one moment of passion, like this–"

"It's not a moment of passion," he cuts. "I know you wouldn't even consider sleeping with me if there wasn't something else." Your eyes dwell on his for a second and you suddenly realise its the truth. You never had eyes for anyone else but Seokjin, even during the time he practically disappeared. No one but Taehyung. He was there, with his boxy smile and that one playful look that made your heart skip a beat. You gasp and he hums. "See?" You pinch him for his cockiness but it only makes him laugh. "I don't plan on risking my life only to get my dick wet. I've never been so stupid."

"Then what?" You are astonished, once more.

"I say we run away," he mutters. "I have the financials to start over anywhere. Maybe we could even do what we do best somewhere else." Then he cuts himself off, away from the daydream. "For now, let's make love."

He moves over you until his hips are perfectly against yours and his hardness, once more, threatens the stability of your mental state. A grunt escapes him when he thrusts over you, making you wet as you gasp. The memory of his touch and the orgasm this same action withheld, dampening the soft fabric at your slick.

"Skip to it, Taehyung. I want you, I need you inside of me–" you moan with enraged skin, under him.

"Fuck–" he gasps and raises on his knees as quickly as his limbs allow, he gets a grasp of your pants and panties and pulls them off of you.

The eagerness sends you into overdrive and when he pulls his pants to his thighs and leans over with what you see as a thick, pre-cum coated head, you almost lose your breath. When it touches you, when the head slips through your folds, your body takes over and with the use of your heels over the back of his thighs, you push him further.

His head slides through your tight, moist walls and you only know you want him deeper. He lets out a growl, "Woman, I'm trying to hold myself–" he breathes out against your forehead and you can feel the tension of his muscles.

"Don't. Split me in half if you have to. I just want you de–" A shriek escapes you the moment he pulls slightly out and pushes fully in at one go.

It stings, that much is true, but you love feeling him trapped inside you more than pain matters. His forehead falls on yours as he breathes out loudly. His eyes are closed and his left hand reaches to your thigh, groping it and playing with the flesh to distract himself from how close he is to losing his shit.

Then he kisses the spot where his forehead was a second ago, repeatedly, but doesn’t move as his hand begins a cicle. It makes you feel sorry. Taehyung is tender with you and you think maybe this is fucking with him. "I'm sorry, bebe. I–"

"Don't apologise for your needs," he mutters against your skin. "No matter if you liked something grotesque, I would do anything to please you."

"But what about you?"

"Seeing you–there's no problem with me getting pleasure out of it." You reach with your hand to his hair again and this time, your lips are the ones to find his.

"Tae…" you say sweetly and he stops his motions to look at you once more. You kiss him and move slowly underneath him, indicating a pace. He gives in, engaging the same way you are and you make sure to meet him in the middle with your hips.

The grip in your thigh moves to the other side, as he uses his left arm to hold his weight now, but you are soon pushing him against you. His chest rests above yours and he has to move to get his knees flexed at the side of your cheeks, in order to thrust. The moment he separates from you, both your chest and between your legs, you pull off your shirt without a thought, feeling way too warm to keep it on.

His eyes fall on your breasts and he seems to stop breathing; the transparent lace fabric of your unwired bra holding them gently, feeling it ticklish against your pebeled niples under his glare. To his surprise, you lean forward with your upper body and stop him from lowering, letting your hands slide down.

His chest is ample and you feel his skin as you travel down the forms of his body. Without a six pack, Taehyung looks as warm as he feels, more tangible, yet the more you look at him and his figure, the more godlike he looks.

He is beyond handsome, which you were never blind to, but now you can perceive his energy on a whole, and it's almost overwhelming. Putting your hands back to the back of his neck, you stand on your knees, moving forward to cage his still hard girth between your thighs against your core. He growls slightly against your ear, "Damn…"

Somehow, you know you reciprocate what he is feeling. Pretty sure that it won't take much for him to make you cum. But you still place your lips on his throat in your intend to savour his skin. The mix between the thin layer of his musky scented sweat and the cotton scented soap he uses, blur your senses. Your fingers take a slight grip on his hair as you widen the range of your hickeys and he grabs your ass cheeks to push in and out of you. The way he presses up against your clit intentionally, making you moan against his pulse point, has you on edge quickly.

You follow his movement, coating the down part of his girth and ballsack with your essence. He suddenly lets go and grabbing you by the hips keeps a distance between you. "Amnon… I’m sorry but I'm not made of stone."

As soon as you hear that, you push him to lean down on his ass, between his legs as if sitting, and make your best efforts to squat grabbing his shaft to lead it inside of you before moving. "I'm gonna cramp on this one, bebe–" he mutters, putting his hands on your back to lean forward and let you fall, hands soon guiding your hips to dip inside you.

"Fuck me," you gasp, feeling him harshly against your front wall, pressing your G-spot.

"I'm about to," he says in a low octave, looking at you from above, keeping you in the half suspended position against his shaft.

He uses his bulky arms and his hips to catch a pace. Your moans mix with his grunts and the sound of flesh against flesh echoing in the spaceful room. The promise of a quick orgasm becomes true when the sharpness of its electricity befalls on your system. "Tae-" you gasp, feeling the air falter on your lungs to its proximity.

He keeps the pace going until you finally feel it lightning through your body with a loud, high-pitched moan and you see the fluorescent blue-purple fades in a mass of light above you. Without a warning he accelerates, making you cry out for your over-stimulated walls. Giving one last deep thrust touching your cervix, he lets his upper body fall over yours while chesty grunts escape him. His hips keep moving to a slower pace and as you feel his warmth spill inside, you realise what just happened. Your hands soon find his back as you embrace him, a smile is easy to notice against your throat as he lets his hands, still gripping on your hips, slide to your back imitating you. You smile too, drunken-dazed in your post orgasm state.

"Your brother is going to kill us…" you breathe out.

"Oh fuck…" he replies leaning backwards and you are quick to move a hand underneath your union.

"Careful there!" you warn as a little sample of the white, thick liquid spills in your hand.

"Fuck–" he mutters and suddenly pulls you by the hips as he moves backwards, keeping the same distance against your core until you are off the soft modern leather. "I'll pull out, hold it in your hand and I will go to the bathroom for paper towels." You can only nod and when he does as he said. As he allows you to stand, a bit more spills in your cupping palm.

He helps you clean it but when he tries to use some more paper to clean you down, you look at him surprised. He hands you the paper, slightly shy, after your reaction and you make use of it as he cleans himself. No long after you are dressed you feel some more drip down.

It's when you are wrapping up, getting the last items of clothes on, and the opening curtains don't reveal any stains, that you hear the calm footsteps at the other side of the door. Taehyung looks at it but before it even opens his eyes bulge.

You too, make a difference for the two sets and when Jungkook opens the door and waits for Seokjin to enter, your hairs stand only a bit higher. He takes a look at you first, as if detecting you directly above anything else but his eyes move to Taehyung right after, stopping on his tracks as Jungkook gets in and locks the door.

He wears an impeccable three piece, checkered, grey suit although you can tell he is not just freshly awakened. His hair is smooth but it's slightly imperfect on the left, as if he's been brushing it with his fingers too many times already.

When he paces towards the art at the other side, Taehyung makes the mistake to put himself in front of you, following the direction Seokjin is taking. His response is a chuckle and a snarl before he stops in front of the painting that opposes the Water Lily Pond, The oxbow from Thomas cole. A painting that depicts a storm moving from a green zone to a much arid one.

You might only guess why he likes it, but the fact that Jungkook stays in front of the door, blocking the only way out, tells you are just as trapped as you feel. It's when Seokjin turns on his heels and surrounds the bench to go your direction, that you know something is about to go down, especially since Jungkook steps away from the door too. This time, you are the one to try to cover up Taehyung with your body and Seokjin locks eyes with Jungkook who moves quickly, struggling with Taehyung to try to get a restraining hold of him.

Seokjin makes fast work with you and has you by the wrists against the wall next to the Monete. He sniffs you at the neck and takes a second before he meets you face to face, dark eyes and unreadable expressions drawn in his features. "Seems we couldn't behave after all…" he says in the lowest octave you know him capable of.

"We are broken up, I don't owe you shit," you grit between your teeth as you try to get him off but he moves both wrists together above your head, with a strength that you didn't think him capable of, and it causes you such shock that you stop fighting him.

"Is that so? No remorse… " he says and using his free hand he puts it between your skin and panties, inserting two fingers inside of you, scooping a bit as he draws them out. A white and transparent mix of substances coats them as he holds his hand up to look at the proof. "I thought you were smarter than this," he brings them to his face and sniffs the air. "As if the room didn't stink of it," he mutters.

He lets you go and takes his handkerchief out of the front pocket, cleaning his fingers with it, moving away towards Taehyung. "I think you forgot this inside of her." With his words he puts the fabric on Taehyung's pyjama's front pocket, without giving him a look and keeps walking.

Jungkook lets go of Taehyung and rushes to open the door for his master. "If this is what you choose, Amnon-" says Seokjin before he stops at the top step and turns to look. "My family will no longer be requiring your services," when he looks at the door, you see Jimin at the other side, who was looking at you but glances away. "You are given twenty-four hours to remove your belongings from our properties," he says calmly, looking at you again. "When it comes to you, Taehyung. I know your brother had no clue about your dishonouring attitude, which saves him, but you are no longer welcome in our association and no one will assist you in time of need," he explains.

"You wanted your freedom, Amnon, here you have it, with its full consequences," he says as he turns around and walks out. When Jungkook closes the door, he doesn't give even the smallest glance at you two.

Just like that, you have what you always wanted; you are out and free. Without drama, without having to run, without fear. Leaving behind all you had to learn to survive in this cruel world, all the morally curruptive things you had to be participant of after that night in the school.

Soon, that little sparkle of happiness fades, making you fall to your knees.

It means you will never get to see or talk to the people you have grown with, the people you love, your only people in the world. Your family. You are cut out in a straight line and no longer belong to their world. You are no longer part of their lives.

For the way things have presented, everything ends here. You won’t be allowed to say goodbye, to look at them for one last time, to hold them in your arms in an embrace, to tell them you love them.

It is simply over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~S~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know your thoughts and reblog to let it spread 😊 See you soon! ~

100 thanks to @moonleeai for the beta work and support 💜 ILY💜

© 2022 Cherry Soulth, all rights reserved. reposting/modifying of any kind, translations, unsanctioned adaptations are not allowed.

Make It Right [BTS Mafia!AU]

Plot: “It’s always darkest before the dawn…” It’s a dog-eat-dog world in Seoul, South Korea. One has to dwell in the shadows in order to reach for the light. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel the sunlight on your face? What will it take to drag you back into darkness? How long will the journey be to make it right?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: Series | Mafia!AU | Crime!AU | Angst | Romance/Fluff

Pairings: Jin x OC | Taehyung/Hoseok x OC | Yoongi/Jungkook x OC

Warnings: Graphic Violence, Heavy Language, Angst, Smut, Slow Burn

Previous Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || Admin E’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 3,316  

Chapter 20: Silver Spoon

"They say it shouldn’t matter since we’re coming from the same place."

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

Seoul – Hannam; Yongsan District South Korea

Jungkook cradled his glass of whiskey in his hands, his rings clinking against the crystal surface. There was a heavy atmosphere permeating throughout the house; thick and suffocating. So thick it could have been sliced open with a knife. Outside the occasional shuffling of house shoes on the polished floor, there was no other sound. Everyone either sat around nursing a drink or were moving around because they couldn’t keep still.

No one spoke.

Every so often, Jungkook’s eyes met Yoongi’s and, for a moment, all they could do was stare at each other. But it was always Yoongi who averted his gaze first, his body moving to occupy a different space in the main living area. Jungkook’s eyes followed him, watching and waiting for him to speak up about any part of what happened the other night. Nothing was said, however, because Hoseok’s aura practically bled out over the entire room – silencing any discussion before he could speak first.

No one had to say a thing. It was clear that something big was about to happen. Jungkook looked at his phone, waiting for the screen to light up but it never did. He hadn’t heard from Eden in a few days and there was a part of him that wondered if she’d already written him off as someone insignificant. His brows furrowed and he had to resist the urge to reach for his phone to message her.

Is she still angry? he thought, his fingers curling tighter around the glass.

The beep of the electronic lock at the front door alerted everyone. Those who weren’t already standing stood from their seats as Jimin entered the foyer. They waited for him to get into his house shoes while shaking off the cold from outside. He paused as he entered the main room, looking around at everyone peering back at him.

“Am I the last one?” he asked, looking to Namjoon.

“You are,” Namjoon replied easily while shaking his head, “but we all know why, so don’t worry about that.”

Taehyung approached Jimin, offering him a drink with his good arm. Jimin declined, making his way toward one of the couches just as Hoseok exited his office. No one made a move until he was seated, all of them falling into their seats soon after.

“Seokjin Hyung,” Hoseok began, looking straight at him as he spoke, “status report.”

Everyone watched Seokjin set a briefcase on the table, opening it and then handing out several manila envelopes to Hoseok. He quickly pulled out the paperwork inside, scanning it quickly before slipping them back inside. Namjoon turned the briefcase toward him so he could set them back inside.

“Good. Have the funds been transferred after our shares were sold?”

Seokjin nodded, closing the briefcase and setting it back down onto the floor. “They were transferred yesterday morning. I made sure that the members of the board would be self-sufficient since we pulled out from the company completely.”

Hoseok shifted his gaze to Yoongi. “And you, Hyung?”

“We reached a deal with our key broker in Chicago. I liquidated all of our assets in New York, LA and San Antonio.” Yoongi set his drink down on the table, reaching over Taehyung to hand him the tablet he always carried with him. “The funds were transferred this morning. Hard copies of the contracts were placed in our safety deposit box.”

Hoseok nodded, thumbing through the tablet before he handed it back to Yoongi. Jungkook met Yoongi’s gaze once more, but only for a split second as Hoseok spoke up again.

“Taehyung-ah,” he said, and everyone’s eyes shifted to look at Taehyung, “how are you holding up?”

Taehyung scratched the side of his nose and flashed his trademark boxy smile, shrugging off his injuries as if they were minor itches. He was on the mend, but his arm was still in a sling and he had to wear the brace around his chest for another week.

“Were you able to get your assignments finished?”

He nodded, handing Hoseok a thick manila envelope. “The clubs we owned in Incheon and Seoul were turning a big profit, so it wasn’t hard for us to make the sale. I even upped the price for the clubs in Seoul to get a little extra cash. The money was wired last night.”

Hoseok nodded, setting the envelope on the table. He clasped his fingers together as he turned to look at Jimin and Namjoon. “And you two?”

Jimin reached into his pocket and handed his phone to Hoseok. “In exchange for selling our spots in the casino, we’ll receive forty percent of all sales made for the next year. After that, it will be twenty-five percent for the next five years and then the contract will be fulfilled.”

Finally, Hoseok turned to Jungkook and he shifted involuntarily. “What about you, Jungkook-ah?”

Jungkook sighed, brushing his fingers through his hair as he set his glass on the table. “Construction is set to be completed in two months. We’ll be ready to unveil the new building in the coming new year.”

“And the boys? You reminded them to get their affairs in order, yes?”

“Yes, I did,” he said, his voice shaking a measure, “a few weren’t too happy about it, Hyung.”

Hoseok frowned. “They were told from the beginning about this happening eventually.”

“But Hyung, can’t we wait a little while longer?” He rested a hand on his knee. “For some of them, this is all they’ve ever known.”

“They’ve had five years to prepare. Some longer than that. They’ll be compensated.” Hoseok’s tone was cold and matter of fact. It was clear that he wasn’t in the mood to hear any talk going against their original plan. “That’s why we went to all this trouble to gather up so much money.”

“Hyung—”

“I’m done waiting, Jungkook-ah!” He cut him off and Jungkook leaned back slightly. No one moved and no one spoke.

“H-Hyung,” Jimin offered, reaching his hand out to grasp Hoseok’s wrist only to watch him wrench it away from him.

“No. We don’t have the time to waste anymore. We have to move, and we have to move quickly.”

“Is it because of the Jade Fangs?” Taehyung’s question tore over the building hostility, bringing everyone down to a certain level of calm.

Hoseok took a breath, sinking deeper into the cushions of the chair. Jungkook never saw Hoseok like this. He was usually the calmest out of all of them; the one who had his shit together ninety-nine percent of the time. The one who was trying to keep everyone in line when fights were on the brink of breaking out. For him to react in that manner meant that something was really wrong and the desperation in his eyes was hard to miss.

“Is that the reason, Hyung?” Jungkook asked, feeling the vein near his throat pulse.

Slowly, he rose to his feet and Jungkook stood with him. Everyone else remained seated.

“Hyung!”

“They’re making their move, Jungkook-ah,” said Namjoon as he stood up, placing a hand on Jungkook’s chest to stop him just as he took a step forward, “and they’re not fooling around about it either.”

A sharp burst of anger split across Jungkook’s chest as he glared at Namjoon, then to Hoseok. “So, we’re just going to run away? We’re going to expose our backs just when they’re ready to attack?”

Hoseok didn’t answer. Instead, he watched his older brother, their leader, folding his arms across his chest.

“That’s such bullshit, Hyung!” he shouted, throwing Namjoon’s hand off his chest. “We don’t have anything to fear from those toothless tigers! They’re all talk! Every last one of them!”

Seokjin rose to his feet, his brows knitting together with concern. “Jungkook-ah, settle down.”

He cut his eyes toward the oldest of them, teeth bared, and his fury clearly expressed. “Jin Hyung!”

“It’s true. They’ve gotten bold because they’re sure of themselves.” Seokjin pursed his lips together as he looked away, visibly turning things over in his mind. “We’ve tried to keep our activities under wraps for as long as possible, but this close to the end, they know there’s going to be a hole in Seoul’s defenses soon.” He met Jungkook’s gaze. “Gangnam and Yongsan are going to be a warzone.”

“Then let’s wipe them out,” Taehyung interjected, rubbing at the back of his neck, “then there won’t be anything to worry about.”

Jimin smacked his shoulder, causing Taehyung to hiss as he rubbed at it gingerly. “Would you shut-up? Just fucking look at you! Do you think you’re in any condition to be shit talking?”

Taehyung scoffed. “I wound up like this because of who, hm?” Jimin frowned and a smug look passed over Taehyung’s face. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“You wound up like that,” seethed Yoongi, “because you don’t know how to mind your own goddamn business.”

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed at Yoongi. “We wouldn’t even have this problem had we stomped those bastards out five years ago.”

Hoseok turned slowly, rounding on Taehyung. “That’s something a blithering idiot would say.”

“He’s not wrong, Hyung,” snapped Jungkook, causing the others to look at him, “we had the perfect opportunity to destroy them, but we held back. You held us back!”

Namjoon grabbed Jungkook by the front of his shirt, but Hoseok knocked him out of the way. As Namjoon stumbled a few steps to the side, Jungkook saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw Hoseok move and he held his hand up to catch the older man’s fist. So focused on his angry expression, something that normally didn’t rear its face in their home, Jungkook failed to see the second attack until it connected. Pain exploded around his solar plexus and the breath was knocked clean out of him. His vision blurred in and out of focus and the world fell on a tilt as gravity won out, his legs collapsing under him. Tears brimmed his eyes and he coughed hard, the urge to vomit at the forefront of his mind.

“Have you forgotten what kind of hell we were living in back then, Jungkook-ah?” Hoseok’s voice boomed, echoing inside his ear canals and his hand fell to the floor to steady himself. “Did you forget how many Jackals died to keep us alive? Because they believed in what we were trying to do for ourselves, for our families.”

Jungkook coughed again, the pain in his stomach mixing with the fire that churned inside of him. He half-growled, half-snarled as he lifted his head to glare into Hoseok’s icy stare. “No,” he groaned, “you did it for your families, Hyung.”

“Jungkook-ah,” said Yoongi, crouching down beside him. He reached around him to try and help him up but Jungkook shoved him off, causing the older man to blink down at him in surprise. “Jeon Jungkook!”

“You think money is some kinda substitute? You think that’s gonna make up for everything?” No matter how hard he tried, the tears leaked out from Jungkook’s eyes. “Toss an envelope at them and send them on their way? You’re abandoning them! We’re all they have and you’re just gonna throw them away like garbage!”

For a moment, he saw Hoseok’s icy expression melt and it seemed like he was coming back to himself. He looked at Jungkook for what he felt like was the first time all night. But there was nothing that could be said to calm the anger burning through Jungkook. Yet he watched Hoseok try; watched his boss, their brother, start to lean forward toward him.

“J-Jungkook-ah,” Hoseok stammered, but Jungkook was already on his feet.

He wiped angrily at his face, bumping shoulders with the others. They called for him, but he was past the point of listening to them anymore. Jungkook snatched his coat off the wall and slipped into his boots. Throwing the door open with a loud bang, he all but ran down the stone walkway that led to the main entrance gate to their house. His brothers were yelling for him, and he even heard a few trying to give chase. But Jungkook knew he was faster.

He’d always been the fastest.

His feet ate up the concrete as he ran toward the parking garage, hopping onto his motorcycle and revving the engine to life. Jungkook reached behind him and slammed the helmet on top of his head, the back-tire squealing, no – screaming with the rage that he wished he could have unleashed in the house. The headlight flared and he peeled out of the garage – the world speeding past him in a blur of motion and he didn’t look back.

Seoul – Cheongdam; Gangnam District South Korea

Jungkook parked his bike and ran. He didn’t care that he’d left his bike in some random parking lot. He just ran. He ran until his legs burned, until his lungs screamed in agony, and then he continued to run. He turned down one street, sweat soaking his shirt and slipping down his cheeks. The cold air stung at his pores, filled his mouth and shredded the inside of his esophagus.

Down another set of streets, he ran through crowds of pedestrians that were crossing the streets, and he jumped over benches and the dogs that people were walking. His legs pumped into the ground and the world grew dark around him. Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk and the headlight beams from cars almost blinded him. There were even a few close calls as he was almost hit by oncoming vehicles; their expletives matched with his own that he threw back at them.

He headed toward the residential area, past a children’s playground, and then for two more blocks he continued. Jungkook’s body protested, begged him to stop, but he pushed on and ignored the signs of misery that pulsed all over him.

Reaching a building, he blindly ran up the stairs and he stumbled forward, his elbows crashing into the stone, but he forced himself to crawl back up onto his feet. He jumped the last few steps until he was on the rooftop – her rooftop.

Jungkook staggered toward the door, almost losing his balance in the process. He dragged his feet forward, his body all but slamming into the door. Lifting one arm, he knocked on the door’s window until he lacked the energy to continue. Resting both his palm and cheek on the window, he could see his breath fogging up the glass.

“Noona,” he said softly, his voice barely audible from all the running he’d done, “open up. Are you there?” He turned his head so he could rest his forehead on the glass. “…please be there.”

After a few minutes, he slumped to his knees. His hands were pressed to the door, the will to continue pounding on it lacking within him. The only sound he heard, aside from his own ragged breathing, was the wind whistling harshly from that high up. At some point, the pounding of his heart drowned even that out until the darkness began to creep around his eyes.

“…Jungkook-ah, is that you?”

The voice perked him up, causing him to crane his neck so he could look over his shoulder. Standing there, holding several bags, was Eden. Her beanie was half on her head and the thick scarf she wore was wrapped several times around her neck. There was a grease stain across her cheek, stretching all the way to the bridge of her nose. Her breath came out in soft clouds as she scrutinized him.

Jungkook shakily got to his feet, his legs crying out from the abuse he’d forced them to withstand and took wobbly steps toward her. She remained standing where she was, not saying a word. He must have been a sight for her not to yell at him. He hadn’t seen her in days; hadn’t heard her voice in what felt like years to him.

Dirty, wrapped in a heavy coat, and annoyed. Just like when he’d first met her.

She’s so goddamn pretty…

Jungkook gave a weak smile. Then the world spun. He heard Eden gasp, the loud rattle of bags hitting the ground a muffled sound in his ears. He fully expected to hit the ground, but gravity was not granted its quarry for the second time that night. Small, but strong, arms held him upright – cradling him so that his weight wasn’t overwhelming her.

“What the hell, Jungkook-ah?!” Her voice held a mixture of aggravation and concern. Her hand slid over his forehead and he heard her hiss. “Jesus, you’re burning up!”

As she forced him to stand more by himself, Jungkook rocked back with all his weight – nearly falling backwards. She yelled and he felt her hands gripping onto his wrists. His legs were going to give out on him any second. Twisting his wrists, he tried to get her to let go but she held tighter.

And as the world zipped by him, Jungkook brought her down on top of him. For the second time that night, the wind was knocked from his lungs – both from impact and from Eden’s weight crashing onto him.

“Goddammit, Jungkook!” she bellowed, punching him in the chest, “What the hell is your problem, huh?!”

Jungkook let out a laugh that was soon followed by a small coughing fit. He closed his eyes and felt the tears slipping from the corners and into his ears. He heard Eden’s grunts stop and she fell completely silent. Still laughing, albeit weakly, he managed to open his eyes to look at her through his tears. Her brows were knit with worry.

“Hey, Jeon Jungkook,” she said, her cold hands touching his cheeks and then his forehead, “snap out of it, will you?”

He looked past her for a moment to gaze at the night sky. They were in the city and it was hard to see the stars. Especially from this high up. The city always drowned out the stars. For the first time in years, he missed the numerous stars that littered the vast expanse of the sky he once could see in the countryside.

For the first time in years, he missed his hometown…

“Are you listening to me?”

Eden’s voice cut through his nostalgia and Jungkook turned to focus his attention on the woman who continued to occupy his thoughts these last few months. Was it almost a year now? Was the year almost over?

She pursed her lips together – a deep expression of concern etching her features. Funny. He didn’t think he had ever seen her look like that.

He reached up to cup her cheek with one of his hands and she shrank back slightly, but not moving completely away from his touch. The pain he felt earlier seemed to fade with that realization.

“…goddamn, you’re beautiful.”

“W-What?” she stammered, blinking rapidly at him.

But he was done talking. And with what strength he had left, he slid his hand from her face to rest at the nape of her neck before pulling her down so his lips could meet hers. He felt her grip onto the front of his shirt, as though she were going to tear herself away. The muscles in his bicep grew taut, holding her in place until he felt her relax under his hold.

He kissed her slowly; carefully. Jungkook didn’t want to cross the line further than he already had. When her fingers loosened from his shirt, he took a chance and lifted his head to get a better taste of her. There was a moment when she stiffened, hesitated, before relaxing into the affection he was attempting to give her. 

More tears began to fall.

Her lips were soft, warm, and inviting.

They felt like home.

NOOOOO 😭😭😭😭

Other People (Seokjin x OC)

Summary: Nari learns a new trick, while Seokjin discovers something unexpected at Big Hit.

Pairing: Seokjin x OC

Genre: Best friends; angst

Word count: 8.5 K

Rating: 18+

Warnings: language, alcohol, mention of diets, mentions of brain surgery, mentions of a car accident (again, Nari is a surgeon, so)

A/N: This got unnecessarily long; I would apologise for it, but I couldn't find a single thing I wanted to delete. It's also two am so I've made an executive decision to not proofread this. I wish I could predict the reaction to this fic but I honestly have no idea. Takes place approximately three months after The Test.

Tagging:  @bbl32 @quarter-life-crisis2 @dreaming-with-happiness @meirkive @faearchives @margopinkerton @purpleseoul7 @kflixnet (italics could not be tagged; drop a message if you want to be added)

Listen to: "don't know why" by norah jones

seokjin masterlist | main masterlist

It’s cold and rainy in Seoul, even when it shouldn’t be. 

The day had started off as a nice sunny winter morning in November, the sun a soft golden, a welcome respite from the low temperature. As noon arrived, so did the clouds. By late afternoon, they were grey and ample, sealing the city in a coffin.

Now, the evening doesn’t look at all like it’s continued from the same morning. The rain comes down in torrents, creating a constant din, loud enough for people to have to speak in slightly raised voices to be heard properly. 

Nari stands outside the ER with a coffee in one hand and her phone in the other, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. The coffee is losing its heat with every passing second and she tries to gulp it down as fast as she can without burning her tongue in the process.

“What do we have?” Daeun appears from behind her, tying her hair into a ponytail, trauma gown already on.

“Two cars crashed into each other outside the mall,” supplies Nari. “Five victims, multiple contusions, broken bones and at least one head trauma. Coffee?”

Daeun accepts the cup with a nod and takes a noisy sip. “Ah, that’s good stuff. Shit, the rain is bad. I don’t think this will be our only car accident today.”

“Not even close,” mutters Nari, as two more fellow doctors join them. “I just hope we have the room.”

“We don’t,” says Jason, shifting from one foot to another. “Two of the trauma rooms are still unusable from the pipe leakage and the most of the X-ray machines are done after the Wednesday Soccer Team Incident. We have exactly one CT machine in working condition. The hospital is going to have to scrape money off the sidewalk to pay for all those repairs,” he adds, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Good thing they’re hosting a fundraiser then,” says Daeun dryly, just as the ambulance pulls in and the paramedics spill out. “A bunch of rich donors with their cheque books hanging out of their pockets - if that doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.”

Two patients, strapped to a gurney each are then lowered out of the ambulance. All four of them dash forward and tag themselves to a patient, hurrying inside as they listen to the paramedics rattle off their initial assessment and vitals on the field. Nari finds herself next to a woman, possibly in her thirties, with fresh cuts on her face and arms. Her t-shirt is drenched and her jacket has been ripped off, most likely by the paramedics themselves.

“Abdomen is tender so there might be internal bleeding,” says one of the paramedics. “There was no fire but there’s indication that she might have a swollen airway because of the fumes.”

“Alright, we need to get a CT,” says Nari, scanning the ER for an empty trauma room but finding none. “Damn it,” she mutters. “Okay, we’re going to have to keep her here - maybe we can use an ultrasound for now until we can move her.”

“Empty bed over here.” Jason steers the gurney over and immediately hooks the patient up to an IV. “I’ll get the portable ultrasound.”

“I’ll check her airway.” Nari gets to work immediately, trying to intubate the patient, who seems to have passed out entirely. She’s almost done when Jason returns, a nurse and the portable ultrasound machine in tow.

“This better work,” he mutters to her as the nurse begins positioning the patient correctly. “If we can’t find the bleed on this, we’re going to have to get in line for CT, which will take… hours.”

“Here’s hoping,” she agrees, standing back and observing the screen as he moves the transducer over the patient’s abdomen. She sighs and bites her lip when the image comes up clean. “Nothing. Move it to the left?”

Jason obliges, clicking his tongue. “I can’t believe the hospital doesn’t have a budget set aside to fix this stuff. This is a hospital,” he repeats, sounding appropriately frustrated. “Damn it, this bleed is really small. It’s barely showing up on the scan.”

“It has to be there. Here, let me try,” she offers, taking the transducer from him and moving it slower along the woman’s torso. “Do we all have to actually go to this fundraising thing, though? Can’t we skip?”

Jason scoffs. “It’s either dress up and smile at a bunch of rich people or stay here in the ER all night because all the attendings will be at the event. We’re not going to get a night off. The best we can do is make sure we’re all there so we at least have someone to talk to.”

It takes a second to click. “Shit, that’s it.” 

“What is? Did you find the bleed?”

“What? No. Sorry,” she mutters, going back to the ultrasound, feeling an encouraging flutter in her stomach. I didn’t find the bleed, she thinks apologetically. I found a segue.

—

It’s hours later when Nari finally gets a moment alone. Sitting at a table in the residents’ locker room, a sandwich in one hand and her phone in the other, she stares at her last chat with Seokjin. It’s a depressing series of heys and what’s ups and not muches, which is all it’s been for months now, ever since they’d last seen each other in August.

It started with superficial questions and forced conversation, half-hearted plans to meet before he had to leave for Europe again, until they dwindled down to monosyllabic answers that Nari found herself too humiliated to keep going, for more than one reason.

For one, it didn’t help her newfound insecurity of being a clingy friend, especially to a man who had made perfectly clear that he didn’t see her as anything but a friend. On top of that, she had no way of knowing what he was thinking. He wasn’t angry; she knew what Seokjin was like when he was angry and if he truly was, she would know. 

No, he wasn’t angry. He was… distant. Part of it could’ve been that he was busy, completing an entire promotional activity across Europe. But now that he’s back from their last stop in Japan, Nari knows that they have to get back on track. Being her date to a fundraiser isn’t her top pick, but it might just be the right balance between an organized event where he can’t ignore her and a public enough place that they won’t have to be alone at any point. Besides, if it doesn’t happen now, between his stint in Europe and his tour beginning early next year, she has a sinking feeling that their relationship will stagnate right here.  

She swallows, her heart racing slightly. It’s the middle of the night; Seokjin is most likely asleep, which gives her a great excuse to text and not call. 

Nari [01:11]

Hey.

She sends it before she loses her nerve, the soft whoosh sounding awfully final. Her stomach tugs uncomfortably with anxiety that she’s only recently started to associate with Seokjin, a strange and new feeling of not being able to expect what’s coming. 

She continues staring dementedly at the phone, its screen dark, until she finishes the entire sandwich. 

“It’s the middle of the fucking night, Nari,” she mutters to herself, standing up with a groan and stretching. There’s no point wasting her night worrying when she’s probably not going to get a response until tomorrow. She changes out of her scrubs and runs a hand through her unwashed hair, counting herself lucky that she can get a good six hours of sleep before she has to return in the morning.

The rain has slowed to a drizzle now; despite the cold, Nari tilts her head to the sky slightly, welcoming the fresh air. She runs her hands through her hair again, feeling the droplets cooling her scalp as her hair falls around her shoulders in clumpy strands. She doesn’t even make it past the entrance when she feels the unmistakable vibration of her phone in her bag, touching her hip. 

Nari freezes. This is unprecedented; Seokjin is never awake this late. Fishing out her phone, she lets out a low breath when she sees a message from him. She can ignore it, to be sure, and deal with it tomorrow morning - but then she would come off as a coward. 

Maybe it’s the fact that it’s ridiculously late, maybe it’s the fact that she just spent a better part of the evening fixing a bleed in a person’s abdomen - but the inner voice in her head simply sighs tiredly and goes it’s just Seokjin, prompting her to shake her head and open his message.

Kimbap [01:35]

Hey.

It’s anticlimactic, for sure, but still unexpected. Nari takes a seat on a bench near the parking lot and wipes the droplets off her screen with the sleeve of her jacket, hoping this isn’t going to be another one of their pointless conversations.

But he replied, didn’t he?

He did. Even though it’s the middle of the night. Encouraged, she responds.

Nari [01:39]

Didn’t expect you to be awake.

Kimbap [01:40]

We’re watching a movie at the dorm.

Nari [01:40]

Oh. Which one?

Kimbap [01:41]

Hereditary. I hate it.

Nari [01:41]

Jesus. Then why are you still watching it?

Kimbap [01:41]

There’s a bet and Jungkook is involved. It’s a long story.

Nari’s immediate response of I have time gets backspaced instantly. The honest truth is that she doesn’t have time and he clearly doesn’t want to talk about it. She can’t be sure how well a joke will land right now but she also knows that she needs to respond fast or this is doomed to be another one of their hopeless attempts at a conversation.

All of a sudden, her phone rings and Nari almost drops it. It’s Seokjin, his name blinking bright on the screen. Now fully panicking - because this was not part of the plan - Nari looks around wildly around the empty parking lot, as though hoping for someone to spring out of the bushes and tell her what to do.

The phone is still ringing. Before she realises what’s happening, her thumb does an awkward sort of spasm and lands on the screen, answering the call.

Here goes nothing, she thinks. “Um, h-hello?” she stutters.

“Hey.” 

It’s like a football being kicked into her ribcage from the inside. Nari winces, wondering when her anxiety got this severe, to the point where her best friend’s voice is starting to cause her physical comfort. She leans back on the bench and tries to breathe slowly.

“Aren’t you, um, watching a movie?”

“Yeah. But if I’m on the phone, I have a decent excuse to get out of it.”

Oh. Nari feels her shoulders deflate. “Glad to be of help,” she murmurs, chuckling awkwardly. “How - how are you? Are you in Seoul?”

“Yeah, I am. Busy, though,” he adds quickly. “The album’s coming out in a week, so there’s a lot of work going on for it.”

“Right. Of course. How’s that going?”

“It’s fine. Hectic, as per usual. What about you?” he asks after a moment. “How’s the hospital, and the… surgeries and stuff?”

“Same. I mean, hectic. As usual.” Nari closes her eyes and feels her heart sink at the sheer effort this conversation is taking. She can’t begin to think about how they got here and it seems way too exhausting to even try.

“You sound tired.” Seokjin pauses, the sentence sounding incomplete. “Have you - I mean, are you still at the hospital?”

“Going home now. I just got a sandwich at the cafeteria,” she adds, hoping she’s guessed his half-question right. 

“Now? I thought you hated the night cafeteria.”

“I do, but it beats the vending machine crap. Have to make do when the jajjangmyeon isn’t an option,” she jokes, bracing herself for his response.

But all he does is chuckle half-heartedly. “Yeah. What’s up? You texted?”

“Oh, right. Yeah.” Nari had barely worked up the nerve to text him about the fundraiser; asking him over the phone was a whole different ball game. “I was just thinking…” She trails off, her eyes widening as her vocal chords stay unwilling to go further.

“M-hm?”

Pull yourself together, woman.

“I was thinking that… we haven’t hung out in a while,” she ventures bravely, her knee jerking up and down. “And there’s a - there’s a thing later this week, so… that could be… you know.” She swallows, wishing Jason hadn’t put this stupid idea in her head in the first place. “... If you want,” she finishes lamely.

Seokjin is silent for a few seconds, during which Nari goes from anticipation to full-blown horror. “I’m sorry, are you - are you inviting me to something?” he asks, sounding confused.

“Um, kind of?”

“Like a party?”

“Well, no. Not a fun one,” she says wryly. “It’s a - there’s a fundraiser. And I have to go and… yeah, I was wondering if maybe you do, too. Since we haven’t hung out in a while.”

“Fundraiser, huh?” He doesn’t sound enthused at all. “Like, for charity? Wait, who’s the charity?”

“We are the charity,” she explains, rolling her eyes. “The hospital. Which means it’s just going to be all board members and senior doctors and other board members - and us. The residents.”

“Huh. Way to make it sound appealing, Nari.”

“It’s not appealing, at all. But it’s free food and booze and I get a chance to get out of my scrubs,” she points out. “Nice dress, straightened hair. And you’ll have to wear a suit,” she adds apologetically. 

“Right.” There’s a soft sound and Nari realises a moment later that he’s laughing quietly. It makes her stomach feel uncomfortably heavy. 

“What?” she asks, a bit defensively.

“Nothing,” he says, still chuckling. “We haven’t hung out in a while, so your idea was to do so at a… boring work event?”

Nari is quiet for a moment. The fact that he laughed is still prickling. “Well, I’d be open to other suggestions but you haven’t really had the time,” she can’t resist saying. “I work long hours; I don’t really get a lot of other opportunities to go out.”

“Yeah, Nari, I work long hours, too,” he reminds her, sounding irritatingly calm. “But if it’s either that or a hospital charity fundraising event filled with doctors… I think I’ll pick the long hours.” He chuckles again.

You’re a fucking idiot, Nari.

“Got it. See you around, Seokjin.”

“Nari, come on, I was joking -”

His words get cut off when she hangs up, fuming. She puts her phone on silent then, for good measure, and begins storming home in the cold. She won’t respond to any of his calls or messages tonight, the arse, she thinks. But fate must be on her side, for even after she gets home, changes and gets into bed, Seokjin doesn’t call or message.

—

Seokjin reaches the Big Hit building earlier than required. There’s no one in the rehearsal room yet, not even Hoseok, so he decides to get a much needed shot of caffeine from the cafeteria on the fourteenth floor. As he waits in line, he scans the food menu, each item like a gourmet creation.

Have to make do when the jajjangmyeon isn’t an option.

Seokjin sighs and tries not to think about what Nari had for dinner last night, but by the time his coffee is handed to him, he knows he’s a goner. It had taken him every ounce of restraint to not reach out to her again last night, knowing that no good would come of it. But now, in the light of day, he knows he can’t avoid it any longer. 

He calls her before he can talk himself out of it. Looking out at the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows and sipping his coffee, he hears her phone ring continuously until it goes to voicemail. He tries not to read too much into it; she’s probably already at work and she rarely answers unless she’s taking a break. It’s better than the other option; the feeling of Nari being angry with him is too foreign for him to consider right now.

He dials her number again to be certain and when it once again goes to voicemail, he clears his throat and takes another sip of coffee for liquid courage.

“Hey, Nari,” he begins, then sighs. “Look, I’m sorry if I was a bit of a dick last night. You just caught me off guard. Honestly, I… I didn’t think you really wanted to hang out with me so when you said you did, it just kind of threw me. And your event does sound boring,” he adds, hoping she hears the teasing in his voice, “but I’ll be there anyway. Suit and everything. I want to hang out with you, too,” he says after a moment, knowing the words don’t even begin to explain the magnitude of how much he wants to see her again, how hard it’s been to distance himself since the last time he saw her. “So… yeah. Text me the details.”

He should be saying something more but he can’t think what. As he looks around, hoping the words will come to him, he spots a figure just outside the cafeteria doors and does a double take. His mind runs through a myriad of memories to zero in on the right one, when he remembers he’s still on the phone.

“Anyway, I have to go. Bye.” Locking his phone and heading out towards the figure, Seokjin pushes his shoulders back and hopes he isn’t wrong. She’s in a slim navy blazer, skinny jeans and very high heels, a sleek laptop tucked under one arm and her fingers flying across the keypad of a Blackberry.

He taps her shoulder with a feather-light touch. “Um, hi? I think I have something that belongs to you?”

When she turns around, face carefully blank, Seokjin is momentarily sure of two things: one, that she is exactly who he thought she was, and two, that her lack of expression can only mean that she doesn’t remember him.

“You do?” A moment later, her perfectly lined lips tilt upwards slightly. “That’s right. What was it again?”

“Um…” Seokjin licks his lips, glad that he didn’t just go up to a random stranger and interrupt her in the middle of what seems to be a very long email. “I think it was a collectible of some kind? Very glamorous. Had a name on the inside?”

Her smile widens. “Do you remember what it was?”

Seokjin gulps but keeps his face still. “Of course. It was… Seulgi.” The relief at her nod is unexpected. “You think I’d forget the person that saved my hand that night? How would I ever hold a mic otherwise? My career might have been over!”

Seulgi laugh, a nice, low laugh. Her teeth are perfectly lined and perfectly white, shining against light bronze skin without a single pore. Her hair is long, straight and black, not a strand out of place. She looks like she belongs on a pamphlet for corporate employees.

Which reminds him.

“Do you - do you actually work here?” he asks. “In Big Hit?”

“Yeah,” she answers, looking only very slightly apologetic. “I thought I recognised you that night as well but I couldn’t be sure. I only just moved to the Marketing team. Sorry.”

“Uh, no, don’t be.” Seokjiin shakes his head. “It’s good to see you. And now I can return the wrist brace to you, too! This is great.”

“I mean, you don’t have to. I told you, I have a bunch of them,” she reminds him, raising her left hand slightly. From under the sleeve of her blazer, a navy blue brace, just like the purple one she’d lent him, peaks out. 

“No, no, I should,” he says anyway, shaking his head and glancing at the clock on his phone. There’s a message on his notification tray… “It’s back in my…” He wracks his brain, “... uh, flight. Which I took. The day after you lent me the brace.” He drops his face in his hands when she laughs again, low and husky.

“It’s really okay,” she says, touching his arm before taking a step back. “I actually do have a lot of them. And maybe they’ll help out some other poor soul who’s hurt his wrist.”

“That’s the hope,” he agrees, knowing his ears are reddening. “Man, I really wish I’d known you worked here. I would’ve… I don’t know. Broken the news about losing your brace sooner, for starters.”

“The loss would’ve been easier,” she agrees.

Seokjin bites his lip, preparing to let the awkwardness wash over him but it doesn’t. Seulgi’s warm, despite her appearance suggesting she’s about to walk into a room and fire a dozen people. 

“I feel really guilty, though,” he repeats after a moment. “Can I - I don’t know… buy you a coffee? It’s no collector’s edition wrist brace, but still?”

“Oh, that actually sounds good,” she replies, and for a moment his heart skips a beat of relief, “but the line seems long and I have a meeting.” She holds her Blackberry up apologetically. 

For the first time, Seokjin notices a Galaxy in her other hand – a personal cell and a work cell. She’s core corporate, he realises, possibly senior management. He doesn’t know why, but it’s slightly intimidating.

“Oh. Oh, okay. Sure.” He nods as she moves past him. “It was good to see you, though.”

“Yeah, you, too. Glad your wrist is better.” With a quick wave, she heads down the corridor and disappears from view.

Seokjin watches her leave, still cringing somewhat over the wrist brace he hasn’t thought about in months. She’d been the only person that night he’d had a normal conversation with - somehow, this doesn’t seem like the best way to show his gratitude.

It’s time to head for practice, anyway. As he steps into the elevator, he opens his messages and breathes a sigh of relief. 

Nari [09:14]

[Location]

Nari [09:14]

Friday, 7 pm

—

It’s hours later when they’re finally done with practice. All seven of them, a choreographer and a couple camerapersons are the only ones left. Jimin and Jungkook are still standing, going over their portion of the choreography as Hoseok watches, even though they look like they might collapse any second. Taehyung is spread-eagled on the floor, his bowl hat on his face. Yoongi is sitting in one corner of the room, staring into nothing.

Seokjin feels too tired to move, every single muscle aching. He leans back against the mirror and tries to catch his breath. Next to him, Namjoon is lying on the floor and texting. Seokjin catches a couple of words and immediately looks away; It seems to be in English, so it’s a fairly easy guess who the other person is.

“Any plans tonight, hyung?” Yoongi trudges over and tumbles down on his other side, crossing his legs.

“Not a one,” answers Seokjin. “In fact, I don’t think I’ll be getting out of bed for a while so if you need anything, I’ll respond to you in two to five business days.”

“You need to be at the studio tomorrow morning.”

There’s a pause. “Fine, but apart from that,” he amends, wagging his finger in Yoongi’s face, “two to five business days.”

“There’s also the interview on Friday.”

“Damn it, Yoongi,” groans Seokjin, glaring at him. “Fine, but that’s the last one. I have plans to vegetate all weekend in my apartment,” he informs him, knowing that there’s no way he'll get the entire weekend off, but needing to put across the point, “so just… don’t ruin it for me.” He watches Yoongi make a motion that might be a chuckle and rolls his eyes. “And besides, the interview is on Thursday. So my weekend begins on Friday.”

“The interview is on Friday,” says Yoongi calmly.

“No, it’s not. It’s Thursday. The twenty-fourth.”

“Thursday is the twenty-third.”

“No,” repeats Seokjin, feeling his pulse start to race, “it - it was always on Thursday.”

“No, it’s Friday,” pipes up Namjoon from his other side, not looking away from his phone.

And thus, Seokjin is left to spend the rest of the day in a growing pit of guilt, knowing that he’s going to have to disappoint Nari yet again - this time, completely unintentionally.

Her hesitation last night had not gone unnoticed by him. It was hard to hear but equally hard to respond to, and Seokjin half-hoped that she would find it too hard to go through with actually inviting him somewhere and drop the idea altogether. 

But she persisted and while it made Seokjin profusely glad that she still cared, it also meant that he would have to find a way to face her after avoiding her for months.

It doesn’t feel nearly as easy as it sounds, for Seokjin has absolutely no idea what to expect when it comes to Nari now. Part of him still feels guilty for lying to her the day after the wedding; her question had taken him completely off guard and lying about his feelings was the only way he’d been able to think of to avoid the situation getting worse.

It was a mess already but somehow, twenty-four hours later, it was So Much Worse. Somehow, Nari had come to him with a problem he couldn’t ignore. Somehow, he suddenly had to reevaluate his entire life with her in it, and somehow, in less than a day, his short-lived future with Nari as the mother of his child and best friend for life had been created and shattered.

It was hard to think of, and so much harder to talk to Nari about. Seokjin had been on the verge, dozens of times, of just breaking the ice and chatting with his best friend while he sat in cold European towns and watched Taehyung get his heart broken over and over again by Dilara Komyshan.

At least we’re not that bad yet, he’d tried to tell himself. He wanted to tell her, too, that they weren’t that bad, that they were okay, that he just needed some time. But the thought of confessing his surreal daydream, of irretrievably changing their friendship felt like too much of a responsibility - especially if she didn’t respond well. Avoiding her sucked, but it beat being around her with nothing to say.

Still, saying no to her outright, when she’d asked him point blank to accompany him to something was too hard. The fundraiser thing did sound boring, but he wanted to see her, too, so badly. It felt like a missing limb, not being able to talk to her. 

Nice dress, straightened hair. And he would have to be in a suit. He shudders when he remembers what happened the last time she was in a nice dress and he was in a suit. 

“Namjoon.” Seokjin jogs over to the leader as they’re heading out of the building to their cars in the basement. “About this press conference on Friday.”

“Yeah?” 

Seokjin hesitates, already sensing a no-nonsense mood. It hasn’t been the best day for Namjoon; the choreography was a complicated one, he was having to negotiate schedules all day, and if he’s not mistaken, he and Kaya have definitely been having some disagreement all day.

“About this press conference on Thursday -”

“Friday.”

“- I was - yes, Friday -” Seokjin clears his throat. “How important would you say it is for all of us to show up, on a scale of one to… Grammys?”

Namjoon stares. “At least VMAs.”

Seokjin nods seriously, even though it doesn’t help him in the least. “Okay,” he says, changing tacks, “how long do you think it’ll go on?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” Namjoon sighs, scrolling through some document on his phone. “It should be done by six, but there’s a sponsors’ dinner after that - but that won’t be filmed so maybe we can leave early… of course, we’ll need to let management know so they have an exit plan…” He shakes his head and continues muttering under his breath.

“Okay, sure,” interrupts Seokjin, sensing that Namjoon is starting to lose the plot. “But what time do you think the event will actually end? Because I have to be somewhere else.”

“Where?”

“Uh… a thing. With Nari,” he adds shortly. To his relief, Namjoon simply raises his eyebrows but doesn’t probe.

“I - I don’t know, hyung,” he says, not sounding apologetic at all. It’s definitely a fight with Kaya. “We won’t know until we get there. Depends on the sponsors. If it helps, it’s happening right here, in this building.”

It does help, a bit, for the location is closer to the Big Hit building than the hospital is. Still, it could be better.

“Look, I just need to tell Nari if I can make it or not,” he says, no longer beating around the bush. “I don’t want to make her a promise I can’t keep.”

Namjoon licks his lips slowly and nods. “I think you’ve been in this business long enough to know the answer to that, hyung,” he says cryptically, patting his shoulder and walking away.

“What the hell does that mean?” Seokjin demands, but Namjoon just shrugs and continues walking away. 

He does know what it means, though. But you’re a coward, Kim Seokjin, says the voice inside his head, sounding like Nari’s, as he prepares to text her later that night rather than call, knowing (and somewhat hoping) that she’ll be too busy to answer right away.

Seokjin [20:11]

I have some not so great news.

To his horror, she replies almost immediately.

Nari [20:13]

Bring it.

Seokjin [20:13]

Promise you won’t get mad?

Nari [20:14]

I’m two beers and a tequila shot down. This would be the right time to give me some not so great news.

Seokjin pauses. She’s drinking, which means she got off work at a reasonable time tonight. He should be glad about that, for her, but he can’t figure out what is also bothering him about it.

Seokjin [20:16]

Oh? No surgeries?

Nari [20:16]

Nope, I’m not on call tonight. I was going to go home and crash but the others convinced me to have a drink first.

Seokjin [20:17]

Sounds like more than a drink.

Nari [20:18]

I may have gotten carried away, but zero regrets. 

Seokjin [20:18]

Do you have a ride home?

Nari [20:19]

I live half a block away from the hospital. I’m sure most of these guys will crash at my place when they’re too trashed to get home.

Seokjin [20:19]

Are you sure?

Nari [20:20]

Yes. You don’t have to worry about me, you know.

She’s drunk; her transparency makes that clear. This may be the best or the worst time to give her the news, but Seokjin doesn’t think he can continue worrying about this for the rest of the night.

Seokjin [20:21]

Okay. Look, I need to talk to you about Friday.

Nari [20:21]

Something came up and you don’t think you can make it?

Seokjin’s heart jerks. He may not have met Nari much over the last few months, but he still knows her well enough to tell when she’s reaching the end of her tether.

Seokjin [20:22]

It’s a press thing. I can’t miss it.

Nari [20:23]

Of course. Unfortunate that you found out about it only today.

Seokjin [20:23]

No, it’s not that. I actually forgot. I thought it was on Thursday but it turns out it’s actually Friday. It’s my fault - I mixed up the days.

Nari [20:24]

Of course. Some other time, I guess.

Seokjin can picture her scoff, locking her phone and placing it on a bar table, screen down. He scrambles.

Seokjin [20:25]

I’m just saying I’ll be a little late.

Nari [20:25]

Late? Are you sure?

Seokjin [20:26]

Yeah. I don’t know how late but I’ll be there. I’ll try my best anyway.

Nari [20:26]

I’m sure you will.

This time, her status goes from “online” to “offline” and he knows she’s gone. This is a side of Nari he hasn’t seen in years: snide and sarcastic. It’s incredibly rare, requires a mix of things to be going wrong in her life, and has never, ever been directed at him.

Seokjin feels squeamish and guilty and helpless all at once - but he’s also beginning to get mildly annoyed. He’s determined to show up now, if for nothing else than to prove her wrong. 

Take that, Nari. He pictures showing up at the event, jogging up the stairs and bursting into a hall filled with white-haired individuals in conservative finery. Nari, in the same leaf-green bridesmaid’s dress with strappy high heels, would be at the end of the hall at the bar, looking victorious at the assumption that he hasn’t shown. The crowd would part then and she would turn, the satisfied smirk fading at the sight of him, late and panting - but there.

The next moment, Seokjin cringes at this ridiculous fantasy. Even the imaginary voice in his head that sounds a bit like Nari snickers. 

—

Nari fingers the strap of her dress nervously, feeling rather odd at being this dressed up around people who only ever see her in scrubs. Most of the other doctors seem to be feeling similarly, though, and she tries to coach herself to remember that they’re still the same people - just wearing make-up and cologne.

“Hey,” comes Jason’s voice from behind her, and she turns, glad to see someone she knows. “You - wow, you look amazing.”

“Really?” Nari asks quickly, smoothing down her dress. It’s long and plain black, nothing fancy, with a thin necklace and the only strappy high heels she owns. “It’s not too low cut?”

“Um -” Jason frowns and immediately looks away. “I - I don’t know. It looks - I mean, I didn’t -” He stutters in confusion, his gaze darting around in panic. “I don’t - I mean, should I look?”

“What? No, of course not.” She shakes her head and sighs. “Sorry. I’m just not used to it.”

“Used to what?”

“This,” she says, referring to nothing in particular. “The dress and the hair and the - the make-up. I don’t do it very often.” Looking up to see him still deliberately looking away, she slaps his shoulder. “Damn it, Jace, you can look at me now.”

“Oh.” He makes a big show of slowly moving his gaze towards her, grinning when she chuckles begrudgingly. “Don’t worry, dude. You look great.”

“Thanks. You, too, by the way,” she says honestly, noting the suit and the neatly brushed hair. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your jaw this smooth,” she remarks, turning his chin slightly.

“A last minute shave in the residents’ locker room changed the game.” Jason rubs his jaw and winces slightly. “Should I be concerned about my skills as a surgeon that I cut myself in two different places while doing it?”

Nari laughs, feeling slightly less nervous. “Not unless you’re the patient. Also, where the hell is everybody else?”

“Oh, Daeun got pulled into surgery - her motorcycle guy ruptured his spleen,” he answers, gesturing to the bartender. “She said she’d be back if it got over in time. Hyeri had to monitor her valve replacement lady to see if she’ll make it through the night. Oh, and Eunji is over there,” he adds, pointing to the other end of the hall.

Nari squints in the direction he’s pointing. “Who’s that she’s with?” 

“Her boyfriend, probably.” Jason shrugs as the bartender comes over. “A chaebol type, from what I can tell. Hey. you want a drink?”

“Uh, sure. Beer. Wait, can we have beer?” She frowns.

“I don’t know. Not fancy enough, is it?”

“We don’t have beer,” volunteers the bartender.

“Right,” says Nari. “In that case, I will have a glass of your strongest… whatever is strongest.”

Jason nods seriously. “Two of those. Thank you.”

The bartender raises an eyebrow but nods anyway, going back to mix their drinks. 

“So… it’s just you and me?” She leans back against the bar and scans the room. “Wait, do you have a date coming, too?”

“What?” Jason wrinkles his nose. “No. I’ve been on a neuro rotation all week - I haven’t had time to breathe, forget about looking for a date. You?”

“Have I had time to breathe?”

“Do you have a date.”

“Right.” Nari bites her lip. “Not exactly. I mean, I - I invited a friend. Seokjin - you met him, remember?”

“Yeah, of course.” Jason nods as their drinks arrive and they automatically pick theirs up. “Cheers. So why isn’t he a date?”

“Because he’s a friend.” As she says it, a terrifying possibility occurs to her: could Seokjin actually think this is a date? It would explain his random excuse to arrive “late” - if he does at all.

“He is? Really?” He looks mildly curious. “Because that night at Hyeri’s - I could’ve sworn he had a thing for you.”

Nari’s heart skips a beat. “You’re not the first person to think that,” she mutters into her glass, taking a stinging sip of what tastes like scotch. “Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

“It’s strong,” he remarks. “But I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”

“Nothing.” She shakes her head, the painful humiliation of that moment after the wedding seeping into her body again. “Just… he doesn’t. Have a thing for me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Really? I mean, because it seemed like -”

“Jason,” she interrupts him, needing this conversation to end. “He doesn’t. Believe me. I’m completely sure.”

For a moment, it looks like he’s going to say something else but then seems to think the better of it. Nari is thankful; reliving that moment is bad enough, but her mind is now also preoccupied with the possibility that Seokjin might be avoiding coming tonight because he thinks she’s asked him on a date - and because he’s nice and can’t reject her outright twice, he’s having to resort to half-hearted lies and work excuses.

It’s a grim thought. She and Seokjin haven’t spoken since he told her he’d try to make it - and she’d been less than gracious about it. It was the alcohol, she’d reasoned the next morning, and despite the annoyance with his flimsy attempts at avoiding her, she’d dropped him a cursory Seriously, don’t worry about it. She’d waited just long enough to get a I’ll still try my best, and tried not to think about it since.

Nari takes another sip of her disgusting drink, not sure which is worse - if he shows or if he doesn’t.

—

“There he is. Jerk.”

Seokjin’s ears perk up at Taehyung’s quiet snarl. He follows the younger member’s gaze and feels his mouth twist as well when he spots the one journalist who had pestered them relentlessly with questions, each one more backhanded than the previous one, ranging from their solo ambitions to accusations of plagiarism.

“Where’s Namjoon?” he mutters, looking around. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t run into that guy without other guests around. Or witnesses,” he adds.

“He’s over by the water,” supplies Jungkook. “I think he’s talking to one of the sponsors.”

“Let’s keep an eye on him, then,” says Yoongi dryly. “Just in case he decides to do something drastic, like get into a logically structured argument.”

Seokjin half-chuckles. He does want Namjoon to come over, partly to keep an eye on him but mostly to check when he can leave. He checks his phone; it’s almost eight. As much as Nari’s last message, days ago, hadn’t seemed at all confident that he would make it, it only made him more determined to show up.

Namjoon doesn’t come over, though. Eventually, Seokjin joins him, hoping to get a moment of his time between guests.

“Maybe you should take a break,” he suggests, after another one of the sponsors leave and Namjoon’s well-practiced public smile fades. “Eat something? Or even have a drink?”

Namjoon smiles wearily. “Thanks, hyung. Maybe later.” He runs a hand over his face. “God, I can’t wait to get out of here. Zoom date with Kaya,” he adds, answering Seokjin’s silent question.

“Then we should leave now,” he says immediately, jumping at the opportunity. “Or you’ll just get even more tired and you’ll have to cancel on Kaya.”

“Are you kidding? It’s the only thing I’ve been looking forward to all day,” he replies, shaking his head. “There’s no way I’m cancelling.”

Seokjin responds to this with a grimace; while he would ordinarily find it sweet, right now, this blatant happiness is just annoying. He tries to think of another line of reasoning that could convince Namjoon to bounce, but before he can, two middle-aged people, one man and one woman, join them.

There’s some initial greeting; Seokjin gets through it robotically while Namjoon goes from tired to charming in a microsecond. The topic predictability begins with the press conference that just took place, followed by both guests praising Namjoon for his wonderful answers that he receives with respectful gratitude.

“I’m sorry you all have to stay for the dinner,” the woman says to Seokjin while the other two speak about something else. “You’re so young; I’m sure you all have other plans tonight.”

Lady, you have no idea. But he forces a smile on his face. “We’re happy to be here. Besides, if I’m lucky,” he adds hopefully after a moment, “my plans might still be there after this.”

“Oh?” The lady seems most interested. “A fancy party you need to get to?”

“Something like that. I have to meet someone at an event.”

“Girlfriend?”

“No,” he answers hastily. “Just a friend. It’s a work thing at the hospital she works. She’s a doctor,” he adds for good measure.

To his surprise, the lady nods. “Oh, I know that. It’s a fundraiser, right? Seoul National Hospital?” When Seokjin raises his eyebrows and nods, she smiles in acknowledgement. “I have a couple of friends there, too. Those doctors do such good work - pity they don’t have the money to continue their work in peace. Your friend is smart, though,” she says after a moment, patting Seokjin’s shoulder with a knowing look, “inviting a BTS member to the event.”

Seokjin doesn’t immediately understand. “I’m sorry?”

“Well, they need the money, don’t they?” She chuckles, sounding almost impressed. “Not a lot of people have the contacts to bring in someone like BTS to be a donor.”

Something drops in his stomach. “Oh, I - I think you’ve misunderstood. She’s my friend and we - we haven’t met in a long time because we’ve both been very busy. It’s not a - I mean, I’m not a - a donor.”

The lady looks confused for a moment. “Oh. My apologies. It just seemed like a smart thing to do, you know?”

Seokjin swallows. “Sure,” he says shortly. “But, uh… it’s not like that.” He nods to himself, knowing he’s right. “Nari would never do that.”

—

Nari shuffles through the crowd to where she can see Jason with Eunji and her boyfriend, taking care not to trip in her heels. She sees them turn and spot her as she gets close, but she doesn’t have time for pleasantries.

“Incoming,” she states. All of their eyes dart up and behind her; Eunji is the first one to notice.

“Damn it. Come on, babe,” she commands her partner, taking his hand and setting off. “Let’s go dance before he gets us.” In a flash of a second, they’re both gone.

“Okay, it’s our turn,” she says hurriedly to Jason, placing her drink on the bar and gathering her long dress in her hand. “If Dr Jung gets hold of us, it’s going to be a repeat of the mixer.”

Jason grimaces. “Oh, God. You mean when he tried to recruit each of us one by one by using his holiday calendar as a selling point?”

“That’s the one. Come on, he’s already seen me, but maybe we can still make a break for it!” she whispers dramatically, getting ready to go but stopping when he grabs her wrist.

“It’s too late,” he says gravely. “We’re going to need another plan. Tell me about your craniotomy today.”

“I - what?” Nari’s eyes widen. “Did you not hear me?”

“I did. Now talk to me about something medical,” he instructs. “And make it seem like there’s a problem - like, just talk urgently. Come on,” he urges, shaking her wrist.

“Um - okay, uh, the patient came in with migraines and was having seizures so we did an MRI and found an aneurysm located in the temporal lobe of the brain -”

“That’s great,” he whispers, and Nari notices his gaze slide carefully to the left to watch Dr Jung reach them, before quickly looking back at Nari. “But his vitals still aren’t stable,” he says suddenly, at a regular volume.

Nari’s jaw drops before she realises what he’s doing. “His blood pressure is what we need to observe carefully or he’s going to need another surgery tomorrow.”

“Is there any chance the aneurysm could’ve burst anyway? Even after you clipped it?”

Nari stares, a little thrown by how convincing his acting is. 

“Answer me!”

“A little over the top, don’t you think?” she mutters.

“The man is two feet behind you,” he replies, equally quietly, before tugging her closer and placing his hands dramatically on her shoulders. “What if it’s a brain bleed? What if -”

“How dare you?” She interrupts him, jabbing him in the chest. “My aneurysm was clipped perfectly, you son of a bitch!”

Jason’s eyes flicker with this unexpected turn of conversation but he plays along. “We still need to get an MRI to rule out any other complications, like a hematoma, or an air embolism or -” He pauses, craning his neck slightly, “... and he’s gone.” His shoulders relax and his hands slide off her arms.

“No way did that work,” she marvels in a low voice, turning around to check and see that he’s right.

“Of course it did. Nobody interrupts two doctors discussing a patient,” he says absently, rubbing a spot on his chest. “You may need some practice, though. I think you bruised my chest.”

“Don’t be a baby,” she tells him teasingly, asking for another drink and feeling a lot more relaxed than before. “But that was a pretty neat trick.”

“I can teach you many, young ‘un,” he says seriously, casually taking a sip of his third scotch. “But I don’t think we have the time tonight. Won’t Seokjin be here soon?”

Her drink arrives then and Nari takes it with a quiet thanks. Taking a larger sip than intended, she shakes her head. “He’s not going to make it,” she says, swallowing and wincing.

“Oh.” Jason frowns. “Did he call?”

“Nope.” Nari shakes her head, finding it a bit sad how unsurprised she is. “But he’s not going to make it.”

His frown deepens slightly and she’s sure he’s picked up on her change in tone, but she’s thankful he doesn’t mention it.

“Do you want to learn another trick then?” he offers.

Nari smiles, trying to look at the bright side: Seokjin would not have enjoyed this. He wouldn’t know anyone and he wouldn’t understand any of their conversation. A call would have been nice, but things aren’t the same anymore. 

She’s here, she has a night off, and she’s not alone. It could be a lot worse.

“Sure,” she answers. “But I’m going to need to be a lot more drunk for the next one.”

—

The ETA on the map says forty minutes. Seokjin has no idea how long hospital fundraisers last, but he needs to try. He exits the building, already tired from the negotiating he had to do to leave early. It’s starting to drizzle, so he ducks into the nearest establishment - a small cafe - as he waits for his car. The traffic outside is ridiculous, though; he hasn’t the faintest idea how long it’ll actually take him to get to the fundraiser.

Nari hasn’t called or messaged, though. Neither has he, he knows, but her last message had implied such a lack of faith in his intention to show up that it had rankled him just a bit. Over the course of the week, it had festered until it’s now more of a challenge than anything else, for he can’t think of a single other reason as to why he’s going to this thing. 

For Nari, says the voice weakly, sounding unconvinced. Nari, it seems, neither knows nor cares if he shows up, for all the interest she’s shown in his whereabouts. I’ll try me best, he’d said, meaning it completely, but she clearly didn’t believe it.

Seokjin sighs, mentally so exhausted that he can’t even muster the energy to be annoyed or hurt or confused right now. He’s just about to step back outside when he hears a voice he doesn’t expect.

“Can I get a bottle of water, please?”

He turns to see straight hair and a blazer, mint green this time, with the sleeves pushed up. “Seulgi?” he calls unsurely.

She turns and her eyes light up in recognition. “Hey, Seokjin. How are you?”

“Tired,” he admits. “You?”

“The same. Just trying to find the guiltiest pleasure on the menu to break my diet with tonight,” she says, pointing at the few items on the board. “It’s just been one of those days.”

“Tell me about it,” he murmurs, taking a few steps to stand beside her. “Anything catch your eye?”

“Not really. It’s just sandwiches,” she grumbles. “But I don’t really have a lot of options right now.”

Seokjin is quiet for a few seconds while she gets a bottle of water and takes a long swig from it. “I actually know of a ramen place close by. If you want. I break my diets there all the time,” he tells her.

“Really?” This time he isn’t imagining it; her eyes do light up. “How much?”

“Well… enough to feel like I’ve rebelled against the company for the night, but not so much that I can’t resume it the next day.”

“That’s the perfect amount.”

“Is that a yes?”

Seulgi grins tiredly, reminding him for a moment of Namjoon earlier tonight. “It is.” Her eyes flicker lower and her smile fades. “Oh, wait. You’re in a suit - are you going somewhere?”

Seokjin bites his lip. “I was at the press conference, and the dinner after that.”

“Oh.” She doesn’t look fully convinced. “And you were going… where?”

“Well, now I’m going to get ramen because it’s in my head.”

She cracks a smile. “I’m serious, though. You’re in a suit,” she repeats, adjusting the strap of her handbag on her shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t need to be somewhere?”

Question of the hour. But Seokjin knows that even if he does make it through the traffic, this will still be the easiest conversation he’s going to have all day.

“No. I don’t need to be anywhere.”

—

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to drop a review :)

Gold Rush

-Pairing: drummer!Jungkook x reader, with a side of guitarist!Jin x OC

-Premise: You were never one for rushing into relationships, but what happens when you meet a certain blue-haired drummer?

-Genre: rock band!AU, some fluff but also some angst

-Word Count: 8.1k

-Author's Note: This is based on the song 'gold rush' by the one and only Taylor Swift! It will still make sense if you don't know the song, but you'll find some fun Easter egg references if you do know it. Also, fun fact: this is the first fic I've written since high school...do with that what you will.

“Come...on!” Margot grunts as she tugs on your arm. You literally have no idea why you’ve agreed to this night out-it’s Tuesday, you have work in the morning, you’re already tired and the night hasn’t even started.

“I’m coming,” you mutter begrudgingly, as you step carefully in your heeled boots down very narrow steps into what looks like a very seedy bar. The Dynasty. You walk in the door, and instantly try to retreat-it’s tiny, the floor is sticky with who knows what, and it’s packed. More like The Die Nasty...this could not be further from your comfort zone.

Margot, meanwhile, could not look more excited. She’s been talking about this concert for weeks now. You can’t even remember the name of the band, that’s how not your scene this is. Margot steers you towards the bar. “What do you want? My treat, since I made you come out on a work night just to be my wing woman.”

You scrunch up your nose in disbelief. Her wing woman? Has she seen you? You’re the most awkward person alive around men, especially cute men. Plus, it doesn’t help that you barely had time to throw on an Eagles t-shirt with a pair of jeans, and your hair has frizzed out from the light drizzle of rain that started on the walk over. “A Malibu with coke works,” you say, adding, “And make it a double!” at her retreating back.

You turn and scour the packed room for an empty booth, table, anything. Your eyes finally land on a tiny two person booth in an awkward corner of the room. Margot may not be able to see the band perfectly from here, but at least you’ll have seats. “A drink for my best friend in the whole entire world!!” Margot smiles brightly as she brings your beverages over to the table. “Do you think Jin will notice me? I tried to look cute, but not try too hard, y’know?” She smoothes down the front of her blouse nervously. You immediately have a witty retort ready to go, but you don’t have the heart to say it when you look up and see how fidgety she is. “Mar-if he doesn’t notice you, he’s an idiot,” you smile kindly.

The show isn’t due to start for another 30-45 minutes, so you spend that time chatting with Margot about work, life, and everything in between. She’s convinced that if she can just get Jin to notice her, that she’ll be able to introduce you to one of his bandmates, and then you can go on double dates (or something like that). “Mar, do you really think tortured artists go on double dates? I really can’t see it,” you snort into your drink. Let alone a guy in a band being interested in you, you’re about as boring and straitlaced as they come. You lose track of time as you continue the conversation, and the alcohol is certainly making you less annoyed that you’re here.

“They’re starting, they’re starting!” Margot squeals, gripping your arm. “Really?” You try to twist around in your seat to see, but before you get very far, you’re being dragged out into the space right in front of the stage. You’re not quite front row, but you’re awfully close-too close for your own liking, if you’re being honest.

“Margot…” you hiss, trying to get her attention, but all hope is lost. Her eyes are glued to the small stage, waiting for the man she’s deemed to be the love of her life to walk out and pick up his guitar. You give up after a while, huffing and crossing your arms to show your displeasure. A few girls around you give you a sidelong glance, seemingly judging you for being upset at a concert. How dare you? After staring at you for what they deem to be an appropriate amount of time, they go back to their own conversations, which you’re able to overhear due to your close proximity.

“Were you at the last show? They’ve improved SO much since they started, I love them!!” one yells a little too loudly, while her friend nods enthusiastically.

“Have you heard that Jungkook dyed his hair blue?! He was hot before, but now…” the girl can’t even seem to finish her sentence, she’s so overcome by the ‘hotness’ of this Jungkook guy, whoever he is.

As soon as his name is mentioned, you suddenly seem to overhear it multiple times in the conversations surrounding you while the band’s crew finishes setting up for them. You lean over to ask Margot what the heck the deal is with Jungkook, but just as you open your mouth to begin talking, a loud strumming blasts from the speakers on the edge of the stage, and you mouth ‘nevermind’ and step back to where you were.

A tall, broad shouldered man steps out of the shadows at the back of the stage to deafening screams, his guitar already strapped across his chest. He lifts up a hand in greeting, and steps up to one of the mics set up. “Thank you all for coming out! We hope you have a great time tonight!” He blows a kiss to the crowd (to more deafening screams). Margot looks like she might faint-this must be Jin.

Next to walk out is a sullen looking guy, shorter and smaller than the first. He walks to the side of the stage opposite of you, and picks up a bass. Forget Jin, forget Jungkook (whichever one he turns out to be), you like this guy. Sure, he’s cute or whatever, but he literally looks like he wants to be anywhere but where he’s currently at. “Same, dude, same,” you mutter to yourself under your breath. One of the girls from earlier must have overheard you again, because she turns and gives you a weird look. The multiple Malibu and cokes you had earlier give you the courage to tell her to mind her own business and leave you alone, but just as you begin to lean forward, the loudest screams yet erupt from the crowd. You immediately clench your hands over your ears (which you realize looks ridiculous at a concert) and turn to look at what’s caused the reaction.

Over the heads of the people in front of you, you see a mop of almost neon blue hair making its way to the drum set, but the rest of him is obscured as he swiftly walks across the stage. This must be that Jungkook guy those girls were talking about earlier. His hair looks like a blueberry as far as you’re concerned, and you still don’t understand what the fuss is about.

He settles behind his kit, and as the people in front of you move slightly, you catch a glimpse of Jungkook. His blueberry hair falls around his face in waves, and his nose is scrunched up because of the giant grin on his face, clearly ecstatic to start the show. Okay, he was cute. Cuter than bass guy and Jin (though you’d never utter that sentence out loud to Margot for fear of losing your life). Still, he’s just another guy in a band, right?

Jin starts the opening chords to the first song to deafening cheers, bass guy starting to play shortly after, and Jungkook having the time of his life on the drums. After a long intro, you hear a smooth voice with a tinge of rasp come through the mic. It instantly feels like your bones have turned to jelly, and you want to melt into a puddle (in the best way). However, you are confused. You’re staring at Jin, who is immersed in his playing, sweat already starting to drip from his brow from being under bright lights. His mouth isn’t moving. Why? He’s the lead singer. Are you imagining the lyrics you’re hearing right now?

You lean over to Margot, who’s conveniently also looking at Jin, albeit for a completely different reason. “Why isn’t the lead singer doing anything?” you shout over the music. “Huh?” she screams back, unable to clearly make out what you’re saying. “I said, why isn’t Jin singing?!” you yell.

Margot looks over to you, mirroring the confusion on your own face. “Look!” she points towards the back of the stage. There you see Jungkook, not only playing the drums, but also singing lead vocals in one of most attractive voices you’ve ever heard. Not only that, but he’s somehow managed to keep that scrunched nose smile from earlier on his face while doing it. So THAT’S what all the fuss about Jungkook was over. Just as your brain makes the connection between it being his singing coming through the speakers, he makes eye contact with you and his smile seems to grow even bigger, his eyes sparkling with delight.

Oh, you’re in big trouble.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the concert seems to go by in a blur. You have no idea how many songs the group does, you are so caught up in watching Jungkook perform...he clearly has talent, but you can tell he’s in love with what he’s doing. Even when sweat makes his hair start to stick to his forehead, he merely gives his head a shake (sort of like a dog), and keeps going with that wide smile on his face. It certainly doesn’t help that it feels like at least every other song, he’s making eye contact with you somehow-even though you’re not front row, even though his drum kit is at the back of the stage. Surely you’re making that up. He’s just a good performer, right? He makes all the girls feel like this, like he’s performing just for them.

As Jin strums out the final notes of the last song, you shake your head to clear your thoughts. This is dumb, you had too much to drink, and you were distracted by a cute guy who has a pretty voice. That’s all.

As the song dies out, you turn to your best friend. “Margot, you ready to go? I’m tired.” What you’ve failed to notice is that your best friend has disappeared while you’ve been wrapped up in your own thoughts. Did she go to the bathroom? Had she gotten more drunk while you were busy swooning (no, NOT swooning) over a certain blue-haired drummer? Just as you’re about to start panicking, you see her as the group of fans in front of you starts to disperse...and she’s talking TO JIN.

He’s sitting on the edge of the stage, long legs dangling off the front, head tilted back laughing at something Margot has said. His laugh doesn’t quite seem to fit him-it’s loud and squeaky, kind of like a windshield wiper dragging itself across the front of a car. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his guitar pick, and goes to hand it to your friend. Simultaneously, he leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Other girls that are around you, hanging back in hopes of meeting the boys, are clearly fuming at the action and some even stomp off.

On one hand, you are excited for Margot-she’s gotten the attention of the man she’s been talking about nonstop for days. On the other hand, you also want to leave-love is gross and you have no time for it. Since you can’t abandon your friend in a seedy bar with a man she hardly knows, you settle for the next best thing-your fifth (you think?) drink of the night.

“A Malibu and coke please,” you ask the bartender while sliding cash across the counter. You know you’ll regret the alcohol running through your system in the morning, but you can’t seem to bring yourself to care enough to stop. You pick up the drink, filled to the brim, and turn quickly to go hide in your booth from the beginning of the night. Surely Margot will come find you when she’s done talking, right? Just as you turn, someone walking the opposite way bumps elbows with you with enough force to cause half your drink to slosh down the front of your shirt and onto the floor.

“Oh wow, I am so sorry! I should have been paying more attention-let me get some napkins for you!” says some unknown male voice. You’re too busy mourning over your half spilled drink that you’d just paid too much for to reply. Suddenly, there’s napkins thrust into your hand, and you look up.

It’s Jungkook.

He’s even more attractive up close, if that’s even possible. He’s sweaty, but somehow makes it look good-his longer hair is swept back into a little blue half bun, his eyeliner is smudged, and he’s down to his white undershirt with ripped jeans. The dim lights of the bar are reflecting off both his earrings and what looks like the stars in his eyes.

“Um...are you okay? I can go get you a new shirt to change into-wait here!” Before you have the chance to form any words, he jogs off towards the stage where he has a conversation with the bassist. The bassist doesn’t look happy about what Jungkook says, but Jungkook still goes to the back of the stage, and comes back with a black piece of fabric in his hands.

“Yoongi’s pissed because these aren’t even ready to be sold, but whatever. Just think of it as an exclusive sneak peek or something,” Jungkook says as he hands the shirt to you. You accidentally brush your hand across his as you take what he’s handing you, and you feel like you might burst into flames with the way your insides feel like they’ve become molten lava.

You unfold the shirt to see that it’s got song lyrics written across it in dripping graffiti font, along with their signatures. The realization suddenly hits you that you still have not said a single word to the man standing in front of you.

“Y-Yoongi?” you stammer out. You hate how much you sound like a high schooler asking their crush to prom. “Oh yeah, that’s our bassist. The one who looks like he’d literally rather be anywhere else than playing with Jin and me,” Jungkook chuckles. “He’s really a softy underneath it all, but don’t tell him I said that.”

You laugh, though you feel like it sounds a little too forced and a little too loud. Your assumption seems to be right, as you see Jungkook raise one eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I really am sorry I made you spill your drink.” He genuinely looks worried. About you. What universe are you even living in right now?

“I’m fine, really. Thanks for the t-shirt, you didn’t have to do that,” you mumble softly.

“It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl whose Eagles tee I ruined, don’t worry about it. Yoongi will get over it.”

Jungkook smiles that same smile he seemed to throw your way throughout the concert, nose scrunching up, eyes sparkling. It feels like you’ve been thrown overboard into the ocean in the middle of a storm. You can’t get your bearings, the waves keep throwing you under, and you’re disoriented. The only light is coming from the stars in his eyes. Surely this man who could date anyone he wanted to did not just call you pretty, as casually as he might have mentioned the weather outside?

You’re shaken out of your reverie as Margot and Jin approach the two of you. “JK, my man, sorry I took so long-I was too busy being enchanted by this lovely lady,” Jin smiles, and you can see that Margot is beaming with happiness. You’re glad someone’s night has gone well.

“No problem, I was just talking to...” Jungkook suddenly looks lost, realizing he doesn’t know your name.

“Y/N.” you blurt out. Margot looks at you strangely, but is distracted once Jungkook begins talking again.

“Yeah, I bumped into her and made her spill her drink, so I gave her one of our shirts and we were just chatting.” He smiles gently at you and your heart does a somersault.

“Nice to meet you. You must be cool if you’re friends with this one,” Jin nudges Margot with his shoulder. How long have the two of them been able to talk for, for him to know you’re friends? You’ll definitely need a debrief on the walk home.

You speak to Jin with much more ease and control than you can manage with Jungkook. “I like to think I’m cool,” you grin. At this, Jungkook smirks.

“She’s the best!” Margot chirps, clearly still a little drunk. Jin chuckles and puts an arm around her shoulders.

“Well, pretty girl, JK and I need to go help Yoongi with getting everything put up in our van. It was lovely to meet you,” he drops his arm from around her shoulders, only to pick up her hand in his and kisses her knuckles promptly. Margot giggles. “I’d love to take you out sometime.” She nods enthusiastically.

“It was nice to meet you too,” Jungkook leans in to half-whisper in your ear. When did he get that close?! You nod with a small smile in his direction-that’s all you can seem to manage when that drowning in the ocean feeling suddenly returns.

He and Jin turn to leave, and you go to your booth, making sure you didn’t leave anything behind before the whole drink-spilling fiasco happened. Seeing that you have everything, you turn to find Margot, only to see Jungkook whispering in her ear across the room and laughing.

Your heart drops. You were right all along-he does treat all the girls like this, like they’re special to him.

Margot comes up to you shortly after. “You ready to go?” you ask quietly.

“Yep!” she smiles, and drags you out of The Dynasty by the hand. The entire walk home, all she can talk about is Jin-how cute he is, how funny he is, how talented he is, and oh, did she mention how cute he is? You nod and smile in all the right places in her story. You are happy for Margot, but you can’t help comparing what she’s telling you with your interactions with Jungkook. You had acted like an idiot, and there was no way he was interested in you on any level. Plus, he clearly thought that your best friend was worth flirting with after Jin helped him escape your awkward conversation.

You shake your head to clear it as you reach your apartment building. Margot bids you farewell at the second floor, while you continue your trudge up the stairs to the fourth floor. You key into your apartment, throwing your keys into a bowl and heading for your bedroom.

Makeup off, pjs on, you’ve just finished washing your face when you look at yourself in the mirror. “Boys are dumb, and love is stupid,” you say to yourself, not sure if you actually believe what you’re saying. As you dry your face, you hear the sound of your phone receiving a text. Margot, no doubt, still waxing poetic about how she can’t believe that Jin wants to take her out on a date.

You slide into bed and turn off your lamp, grabbing your phone to set an alarm for the morning and to tell Margot that you’ll talk some more tomorrow during lunch.

Unknown Number

2:37 AM: Hey, it’s Jungkook!...I hope you don’t mind, I got your number from Margot. thanks for coming out to the show tonight, I hope you had a good time!! if you didn’t, you don’t have to wear the shirt I gave you, that would be weird for you to wear it if you hated our music…

2:41 AM: anyway, I just wanted to apologize again for making you spill your drink. Usually I’m not that clumsy, I guess I was distracted. You should come hang out with the band before our next show on Friday! only if you want. let me know...or don’t. Whatever you want.

2:45 AM: Can you tell I’m nervous? haha

2:46 AM: usually i’m not like this, but you’re really pretty and you seem cool. ANYWAY. I hope you hang out with us-bring Margot too, Jin would like that. I hope you got home safe and i hope i see you soon :)

You stare in disbelief at your phone. Jungkook just texted you. Jungkook just texted you FOUR TIMES IN A ROW. Good thing you are much less awkward via text, mostly because you have time to think out what to say. You can’t help the giant grin that forms on your face as you type out a reply.

2:50 AM: I made it home, thanks for checking in...I can’t turn down a good band shirt, so I’ll definitely be wearing it. Maybe I’ll wear it if we hang out, you’ll have to wait and see!

You place your phone on the nightstand and turn over to get comfortable. Maybe Margot wasn’t the only one who had a good night after all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later, you’re staring at your phone sitting on your desk. “Can you not?” Margot huffs from beside you, rolling over in her desk chair. “Just freaking text JK and tell him we’re coming to hang out with the band,” she rolls her eyes and lets out a huge sigh.

“Margot, can you not? Stop being so loud, we’re at work,” you hiss. Margot looks slightly taken aback at your comment, and then swiftly rolls back to her own desk.

You’ll deal with her hurt feelings later. For now, you go back to staring at Jungkook’s text that is boring a hole in your brain...he sent it about six hours ago, and you still haven’t replied.

Jungkook

8:53 AM: Morning! I know it’s kinda early, but i figured you might be at work already. You and Margot coming by later? Jin will cook for us! i think i can manage some cookies too, just don’t judge if they don’t taste as good as jin’s cooking...i swear he was a chef in a past life. You like chocolate chip?

You’d had brief text conversations each day since you met, nothing too crazy. Even so, you still can’t help but feel like your brain is freezing over, ceasing all functioning momentarily every time a text comes in from him. Margot is right, you just need to text him back already.

3:30 PM: Make it snickerdoodle and I’m there.

Jungkook immediately sends back a reply, overeagerly filled with emojis, their apartment address, and instructions to come over at 6. For a drummer in a rock band, he is surprisingly silly, kind, and warm. You’re not sure what you expected from him, but it wasn’t this.

The rest of the work day goes quickly, your mind preoccupied with what’s in store for you at the boys’ apartment. As soon as you and Margot step outside your office, her eyes are glued to her phone. “Hey, Margot...I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I just don’t know what this...thing...is with Jungkook, and I’m stressed. Not an excuse, but you didn’t deserve me being rude,” you say in a small voice.

“Girl, I forgave you like ten minutes after you said it, it’s whatever. Look at this!” She shoves her phone under your nose, and you examine what she’s trying to get you to look at. Pictures of food? You’re confused.

“What is it?” you ask. “Our dinner, silly! Jinnie’s making us pasta carbonara with homemade breadsticks!” Your mouth involuntarily starts watering at even the mention of food. Homemade bread? Jungkook must not have been kidding about Jin’s cooking.

“Look look look, your boyfriend is making us snickerdoodle cookies too-how sweet!” Margot gives you a sly smile, and you can immediately feel heat radiating off your cheeks.

“He’s not my boyfriend! He’s just-whatever! He’s not even interested in me like that, he hasn’t asked me out or anything. Not like someone I know,” you attempt to distract her by bringing up her date with Jin (it had literally happened the day after meeting him, and he’d set up a second one for the weekend-you couldn’t help but be impressed). Even though you’re flustered, you still can’t stop the warmth spreading through you. Yes, embarrassment. But also Jungkook was making snickerdoodle cookies like you asked.

“Boyfriend or not, we’re here!” Margot singsongs as you walk through the front doors of an apartment building, and step into an elevator, pressing the button for floor seven.

There’s a loud pinging sound as you step out, and Margot knocks on the door directly across from the elevator. You hear clanging sounds, alongside shuffling and male voices indistinctly talking. The door swings open to reveal Jin in a pink apron.

“Hey pretty girl,” his eyes light up when he sees Margot standing in the doorway, and he immediately bends down to kiss the top of her head. Margot is positively beaming, and looks up at him like he’s her entire world.

You clear your throat awkwardly. “Oh hey, y/n,” Jin smiles warmly at you. “Jungkook’s excited to see you, he hasn’t stopped talking about you coming over since he started making those cookies.” Jin winks as your eyes grow wide.

“HYUNG!!” you hear Jungkook bellow from you assume the kitchen. As you all walk into the apartment, you can see him glaring at Jin.

“What? I’m just telling the truth, nothing wrong with that-right, Margot?”

“Right,” your best friend grins.

“Not you too, M. Why do I put up with this torture?” Jungkook pouts in your direction, blue strands of hair falling messily in his face. You can see he’s also wearing an apron, black-but with lots of flour stains.

You walk closer to the kitchen and lean on the counter that separates it from the living room. You may be nervous as ever, but maybe if you fake confidence, things will feel better.

“Oh, I dunno, maybe because he’s one of your best friends and bandmates? Because maybe it is the truth?” you grin cheekily.

Jungkook’s doe eyes go even wider than you thought possible, and it looks like he may drop the mixing bowl he has in his hands.

“Weren’t you excited I was coming over, Kook? I can leave if you want…” you step into the kitchen with him, reaching forward and gently pushing a loose strand of hair out of his face. You swear he leans into your touch, and it feels like electricity is coursing through your veins.

“I-I mean, of course I was! I invited you over, didn’t I? Of course I want you here.” Jungkook has a fierce blush creeping up his neck towards his face, and he looks like he wants to sink through the floor.

A deep chuckle resounds from the corner of the living room, and you turn around to see Yoongi smirking at the two of you from an armchair. “Can we eat now, please? As much as I love seeing the two of you absolutely not know how to function like normal human beings...I’m hungry.”

Jin uses this opportunity to sweep into the kitchen, grabbing his pasta off the stovetop and bringing it to the center of the dining room table. Margot brings the breadsticks over and places them down as well. You each take a seat, Yoongi sitting at one end of the table, Jin and Margot on one side, you and Jungkook on the other. Dinner unfolds in a relatively normal fashion, mostly silent because everyone is so hungry. Jungkook may have actually been underselling Jin’s cooking ability, because you’re not sure when the last time you had pasta this good was.

Just as you’re finishing up, the timer on the oven beeps, signaling that Jungkook’s cookies are done. He hops up out of his seat to grab the pan out of the oven. A few seconds later, you hear a loud expletive and a metallic clang. “Kook?” you call, already walking towards the kitchen. As you round the corner, you see him holding his hand under the faucet, water streaming over what looks like a nasty burn.

“Kook!” you exclaim, swiftly moving towards him, peeking around him to see the injury. “What happened?”

Jungkook turns around, seemingly just noticing your presence. He gives you a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. The pan started slipping out of my hand, so I went to grab it with my other hand to steady it. I just happened to forget I was only wearing one oven mitt.” He forlornly looks behind the two of you. You follow his gaze to see that most of the cookies have fallen on the floor, save for three. “I just wanted the cookies to be perfect.” His lower lip juts out as he begins to pout, staring at the cookies littering the floor.

“Jungkook, look at me.” His eyes raise from the floor to your own. “The fact that you even made any cookies at all is very sweet-pun intended. It’s the effort that counts. That, and making sure you don’t have permanent burn damage.” You reach out for his wrist and delicately turn his hand to look at it. It’s angry looking, but you can tell it will heal pretty easily (you may have suffered several cookie-related burns yourself in your day). “Just make sure you put ointment on this a couple times a day for about a week, and you should be fine.” You shoot him a soft smile, which he returns.

“What are you, a doctor?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” you reply, grinning widely.

“Yah, why do you have to be so difficult? Here I am, trying to be nice, trying to get to know you more, and this is what I get in return,” he gripes, but there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Hmm...I dunno, Kook. I think you like it when I’m contrarian,” you giggle, turning to leave the kitchen. Before you can move through the door frame, Jungkook moves in front of you. You look up at him confused. He leans in close, lips brushing against your ear as he whispers.

“...maybe I do. But next time I see you, you should actually wear the shirt I gave you.”

He winks, leaves the kitchen, and leaves you to wonder what the heck just happened.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your sporadic texts with Jungkook have turned into one long, continuous conversation over the past few weeks. It feels like you talk about everything, but also nothing. He remains somewhat a mystery, though you know this is because you’re still keeping him at arm’s length.

Jungkook is too good for you, you’ve decided. He’s cute, funny, charming, and talented. Everyone is in love with him for good reason. Every time he makes eye contact with you, his smile lights up his entire face. That smile has you falling faster than you’d like, and it isn’t a pleasant feeling. A cloudlike floating down to Earth? Try hurtling through the atmosphere like an asteroid determined to destroy the planet. You haven’t hit the ground yet, but you’re not sure if you’ll be able to properly recover once you do.

Kook

4:23 PM: Come with me to the beach this weekend! You need a break from work, and i need a break from the morons i live with...don’t tell them i said that. I need to work on song stuff too, but i’d like some company :)

Your chest constricts at his latest message. Is this a date? He hasn’t asked you on one before, but this feels suspiciously date-esque. But he’s working on band stuff, so maybe he really just wants company. You shoot off a quick text in the affirmative before you can think much harder about it. Jungkook immediately sends back a slew of emojis, as well as telling you he’ll pick you up at 8AM on Saturday to drive the two of you down to the coast.

The next two days go by in a blur. Before you know it, you’re standing in front of your closet Saturday morning, wondering what to wear on your not-date. It’s not quite summer yet, so you know the two of you aren’t wearing bathing suits (not to mention that would have been a whole other crisis to work through-being half naked in front of a very attractive man on a maybe-date? Absolutely not). You quickly put on a pair of jean shorts, and smile as you grab their band tee and slide it over your head. You still hadn’t worn it in front of Jungkook. You finish off with french tucking the shirt, sliding on sandals and wearing a simple gold necklace with your first initial on it-you didn’t want to be too fancy.

You make yourself a cup of tea to pass time waiting for Jungkook to arrive. Halfway through drinking it, there’s a knock on the door. You hastily place your mug on the coffee table, grab your bag, and open the door to find Jungkook leaning against the doorframe.

He lights up upon seeing you, his doe eyes widening when he notices your outfit. “You’re finally wearing it! I thought I was gonna have to bribe you or something,” he smiles.

“Let’s go, dork,” you reply, shutting your door behind you and making sure it’s locked.

Jungkook leads you outside to his car, opening the door for you. “After you, m’lady.” You roll your eyes, but not without laughing at his antics. He slides into the driver’s side and starts the car. “Off we go!”

The car ride is comfortably silent-probably because it’s still early in the morning, neither of you are completely coherent yet. The hum of the road beneath the car combined with the radio playing in the background puts you at ease. You can swear you keep seeing Jungkook look at you from your peripheral vision, but maybe you’re imagining things. You settle for looking out the window at the passing scenery, which honestly is beautiful-you should get out of the city more.

After about 10 minutes, you glance over to the driver’s side, only to make complete eye contact with Jungkook. “Kook, why do you keep looking at me?” His eyes widen, and now you know you weren’t imagining things earlier.

“Oh, uh...I-I’m just glad you decided to come. Yeah. And um, you look really good in my shirt.” You can see his ears reddening as he says this, and all of a sudden, you’re looking at anywhere but him.

There’s an awkward pause for a few moments, and then suddenly that molten lava feeling from a few weeks ago at the concert is back. You whip your head back towards Jungkook so fast, you think you might injure your neck. He has reached his hand across the console to where yours sits on your thigh, and as you watch, he intertwines your fingers with his. It feels like an out-of-body experience, where you’re watching yourself from above. Is this really happening? You glance up at Jungkook’s face with wild eyes, and he meets you with a steady smile. Not only is the molten lava feeling back, but it’s brought along the storm in the ocean feeling as well. Only this time, Jungkook is there to be the lighthouse that leads you back home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the drive is peaceful. Jungkook continues to hold your hand the rest of the way to the beach, shooting you smiles every time you look over at him. You’re so mesmerized, you don’t even realize that you’ve parked until he lets go.

He immediately rushes over to open your door after getting out of the car, and then proceeds to pop the trunk open and grabs a cooler and a picnic basket.

“Kook, what is all this?” your eyes widen in surprise.

“Please, like I was going to take you to the beach and not pack a picnic. We have to eat, don’t we? I got those weird sparkling waters you like too.”

Your response is to grab the picnic basket out of his hand and immediately intertwine your fingers again with his free hand. Jungkook looks like his face might split in half with how big his smile is.

“You like it?” he asks with a hint of uncertainty.

“I love it.”

The two of you walk hand in hand down the beach quite a ways before you find what Jungkook deems the ‘perfect spot’. “And what exactly makes it perfect?” you peer up at him.

“Easy-one, we’re snagging the last free shaded spot,” he points at the umbrella stuck in the sand, “and two-it’s far enough away from other people that I can work on songs without a ton of noise distracting me.”

“Are you sure I won’t distract you?” you frown slightly, worried that he won’t get any work done.

“You’re never a distraction, you’re an inspiration.” He winks conspiratorially at you, and chuckles at the flustered look on your face. He sets the cooler down under the umbrella and looks over at you. “There’s a blanket in the picnic basket, can you get it out? As much as I love the beach, I don’t really want to find sand in my shorts for the next month.”

You set the basket down next to the cooler, open the lid, and pull out a bright blue blanket. Jungkook takes one side, you take the other, and you unfold it and place it lightly on the sand. He immediately plops down on one side of the blanket and reaches his hand up toward you, motioning for you to take hold. As soon as you do, he yanks a little too hard, and you careen sideways onto the blanket and into his side. “Well, that’s one way to sit down I guess,” you laugh at his appalled face.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to pull that hard…” his brow furrows in worry.

“I’m good, weirdo. Great, even.” You reach into the cooler, pull out a sparkling water (key lime, your favorite), and pull the book you always keep in your bag out. You lay out on the blanket, propped up on your elbows, and begin to read. Jungkook lays down beside you in a similar position, pulling a small notebook out of his back pocket and starts scribbling.

You sit in this position for a couple of hours, silently working, occasionally catching each others’ eyes and smiling when you do. Suddenly there’s a loud rumbling beside you. You laugh. “Hungry, Kook?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he laughs, sits up and reaches over to pull the picnic basket closer to the two of you.

“What’s on the menu?” you peer over as he starts to pull plastic containers out.

“Gimbap. Simple, easy, and delicious.” He hands you one of the containers as he pulls out a second for himself.

“Did you make this yourself?” you ask, mouth half-full. He nods. “Delicious,” you concede through your mouthful. He grins.

“Maybe I could actually cook for you sometime. Without burning my hand on cookies, that is.”

“I’d like that,” you shyly respond, eyes firmly locked on the plastic container of gimbap in your lap.

“It’s a date, then.” Your eyes shoot up to meet his, and you can see dimples forming alongside his smile. You can’t help but smile back.

After eating, the two of you go back to your previous positions-you reading, him working on song lyrics in his notebook. This time, though, after about 30 minutes you start to get restless. Looking over at Jungkook, you notice he keeps shoving his hair behind his ears as it falls in his face while he’s writing. You rummage through your bag for a hair tie, and scoot over closer to him. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity at you, and you just lean over and gently start pulling his hair back for him into a half bun that matches the way his hair looked the night you first met.

“Better?” you ask quietly, running your fingers absentmindedly through the hair at the nape of his neck that’s too short for the bun. He looks up at you, awestruck.

“Everything is better with you,” he whispers. You’re not sure if he knows he’s said this out loud. He suddenly sits up on the blanket, flipping through the pages of his notebook he’s been working in. He stops about halfway through. “Can you look over these lyrics? I’m not sure they’re quite right, I need a second opinion.”

You look down at the page and see lyrics scribbled in Jungkook’s messy handwriting.

“I wish you were right here, right now”

“This mad, mad love makes you come running”

“See your face, hear my voice in the dark”

Different versions of these lyrics are scattered across the page, certain words changed, scribbled out, and moved around within phrases. As your eyes scan the page, they land on one final line etched out on the bottom of the page. No scribbles, no changes-it simply reads:

“I wish you knew that I’ll never forget you as long as I live.”

“This is really good, Kook! It’s so much different than the music the band’s done before, how’d you come up with this?” You’re genuinely curious, this almost seems more like a ballad compared to the band’s usual upbeat tunes.

Jungkook looks at you warmly. “I’ve had new inspiration lately, that’s all.” You suddenly notice that he’s way closer to you than he was when you started looking over his notes...he’s sitting directly in front of you now.

You feel frozen as you see him stealing glances at your lips while his face inches closer. Is he going to kiss you? He’s going to kiss you. Oh my gosh, JUNGKOOK IS GOING TO KISS YOU.

As his lips meet your own, the molten lava turns into an erupting volcano. You feel hot and tingly all over, and Jungkook is assaulting your senses in every way possible. You can smell his cologne, feel the softness of his lips, taste his mint chapstick, hear the satisfied hum that gets caught in his throat as your lips collide. Even though your eyes are closed, the vision of Jungkook leaning in to kiss you is seared into the backs of your eyelids.

The kiss is over far sooner than you’d like. As Jungkook retreats, he doesn’t go far, instead leaning his forehead against yours, gazing at you longingly. The stars in his eyes have become a full blown galaxy, and you can’t look away. Still recovering from the kiss, Jungkook breathily laughs.

“You make me want to write all the love songs in the world.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Margot is tugging insistently on your arm. “Hello? HELLO? Is there anyone in there?” she taps the side of your head. When you don’t respond, she grabs you by both shoulders and gives you a shake.

The room comes back into focus and you look over at your best friend with eyes still lightly glazed over. “Huh?”

“I said, it’s intermission...are you enjoying the show? You certainly seemed distracted by Jungkook-I saw him smile at you,” she grins. “Jin made eye contact with me a couple of times, he even winked!” she gushes, continuing to talk about how hot she thinks he is.

Your stomach feels like it’s dropped completely out of your body, and your throat has gone dry.

“Hey...you okay?” Margot notices that you still seem slightly out of it.

“Yeah, yeah...I just...need another drink, that’s all,” you manage to choke out, turning on your heel and heading straight to the bar. While the bartender works on your drink, you run through everything in your head. The texts...the dinner at the boys’ apartment...the beach. The kiss. None of it was real, was it? What was wrong with you?

You take the drink that’s slid across to you and head outside to a side alley beside the bar. No one’s there, everyone has gone to the bathroom or to refill their drinks while waiting on the band to return. You let out a deep sigh, leaning against the brick wall and running your hands through your hair, making it even frizzier than when the night started. At least it isn’t raining anymore, you think to yourself.

You return to the question Margot had asked you-are you okay? You’re not sure. You’d apparently made eye contact with Jungkook, a man you had never spoken to, and imagined a whole entire relationship with him in the span of half the band’s setlist. Are you that desperate for a man? Apparently. You let out a deep sigh, replaying the scenarios you had created in your head. Once your brain reaches the kiss again, you find yourself getting teary-eyed at how sweet Jungkook had been...in your head. You feel a tear escape, and you quickly swipe it away.

Taking a steadying breath, you push yourself off the wall and move towards the door to head back into the bar. As you reach for the handle, the door swings open and hits you in the shoulder, turning you slightly to the side and spilling your drink on your shirt and the cobblestones of the alley.

“...again?!” you mutter, looking down at your ruined shirt.

“Um...are you okay? I can go get you a new shirt to change into-wait here!” you hear a male’s voice, but as you look up, the bar door is already closing again as he’s gone inside.

A minute later, the door is swinging open again to reveal none other than Jungkook-hair in a half bun, eyeliner smudged, and in a white undershirt and ripped jeans. Just like in your imagination.

He reaches out to you with a black t-shirt in his hand. “Yoongi’s pissed because these aren’t even ready to be sold, but whatever. Just think of it as an exclusive sneak peek or something,” he parrots your imagined scenario you had played in your head moments ago.

“Thanks,” you say as you take the shirt, unfolding it to see the familiar graffiti design.

“It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl whose Eagles tee I ruined, don’t worry about it. Yoongi will get over it.” Jungkook smiles at you the same way he did during the first half of the show. One thing your brain got right are the stars in his eyes sparkling at you, which makes you smile back at him.

“Hey, I need to get back to make sure we’re ready for the second half of the show, but it was nice to meet you. You should hang back after the show-Jin thinks your friend is cute, and he was talking about inviting her to come grab food with us when we’re done. Yoongi can’t come and I don’t want to be a third wheel. Come hang out with us and save me from dying of awkwardness?” he looks at you shyly, his rock star persona melting away completely.

“I’ll think about it,” you tease, turning away and heading back into The Dynasty. Jungkook is left wide eyed in your wake, smiling as he turns to head towards the backstage door.

You meet up with Margot again after changing into your new shirt. The crowd has started to gather in anticipation of the second half of the show. “Hey Mar, let’s move all the way up,” you motion at the space in front of the stage.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Margot gapes at you in disbelief, but follows your lead as you weave through the crowd to get to front stage center. You shrug goodnaturedly and just smile as an answer.

A moment later, Jin, Yoongi and Jungkook come from backstage to get in place for the second half of their set. You can see Jungkook scanning the crowd, brows slightly furrowed. You give a small wave, which catches his attention, and his nose scrunches in a smile as he sends an enthusiastic wave back. ‘I like your shirt’ he mouths at you as he settles behind his drum kit, winking as he does so. You can feel the heat creeping onto your cheeks as a bar employee strides across the stage to the mic and the crowd starts cheering.

“Give it up again for Gold Rush!”

YOU ARE SO KIND. 🥺🥺🥺

Gold Rush

-Pairing: drummer!Jungkook x reader, with a side of guitarist!Jin x OC

-Premise: You were never one for rushing into relationships, but what happens when you meet a certain blue-haired drummer?

-Genre: rock band!AU, some fluff but also some angst

-Word Count: 8.1k

-Author's Note: This is based on the song 'gold rush' by the one and only Taylor Swift! It will still make sense if you don't know the song, but you'll find some fun Easter egg references if you do know it. Also, fun fact: this is the first fic I've written since high school...do with that what you will.

“Come...on!” Margot grunts as she tugs on your arm. You literally have no idea why you’ve agreed to this night out-it’s Tuesday, you have work in the morning, you’re already tired and the night hasn’t even started.

“I’m coming,” you mutter begrudgingly, as you step carefully in your heeled boots down very narrow steps into what looks like a very seedy bar. The Dynasty. You walk in the door, and instantly try to retreat-it’s tiny, the floor is sticky with who knows what, and it’s packed. More like The Die Nasty...this could not be further from your comfort zone.

Margot, meanwhile, could not look more excited. She’s been talking about this concert for weeks now. You can’t even remember the name of the band, that’s how not your scene this is. Margot steers you towards the bar. “What do you want? My treat, since I made you come out on a work night just to be my wing woman.”

You scrunch up your nose in disbelief. Her wing woman? Has she seen you? You’re the most awkward person alive around men, especially cute men. Plus, it doesn’t help that you barely had time to throw on an Eagles t-shirt with a pair of jeans, and your hair has frizzed out from the light drizzle of rain that started on the walk over. “A Malibu with coke works,” you say, adding, “And make it a double!” at her retreating back.

You turn and scour the packed room for an empty booth, table, anything. Your eyes finally land on a tiny two person booth in an awkward corner of the room. Margot may not be able to see the band perfectly from here, but at least you’ll have seats. “A drink for my best friend in the whole entire world!!” Margot smiles brightly as she brings your beverages over to the table. “Do you think Jin will notice me? I tried to look cute, but not try too hard, y’know?” She smoothes down the front of her blouse nervously. You immediately have a witty retort ready to go, but you don’t have the heart to say it when you look up and see how fidgety she is. “Mar-if he doesn’t notice you, he’s an idiot,” you smile kindly.

The show isn’t due to start for another 30-45 minutes, so you spend that time chatting with Margot about work, life, and everything in between. She’s convinced that if she can just get Jin to notice her, that she’ll be able to introduce you to one of his bandmates, and then you can go on double dates (or something like that). “Mar, do you really think tortured artists go on double dates? I really can’t see it,” you snort into your drink. Let alone a guy in a band being interested in you, you’re about as boring and straitlaced as they come. You lose track of time as you continue the conversation, and the alcohol is certainly making you less annoyed that you’re here.

“They’re starting, they’re starting!” Margot squeals, gripping your arm. “Really?” You try to twist around in your seat to see, but before you get very far, you’re being dragged out into the space right in front of the stage. You’re not quite front row, but you’re awfully close-too close for your own liking, if you’re being honest.

“Margot…” you hiss, trying to get her attention, but all hope is lost. Her eyes are glued to the small stage, waiting for the man she’s deemed to be the love of her life to walk out and pick up his guitar. You give up after a while, huffing and crossing your arms to show your displeasure. A few girls around you give you a sidelong glance, seemingly judging you for being upset at a concert. How dare you? After staring at you for what they deem to be an appropriate amount of time, they go back to their own conversations, which you’re able to overhear due to your close proximity.

“Were you at the last show? They’ve improved SO much since they started, I love them!!” one yells a little too loudly, while her friend nods enthusiastically.

“Have you heard that Jungkook dyed his hair blue?! He was hot before, but now…” the girl can’t even seem to finish her sentence, she’s so overcome by the ‘hotness’ of this Jungkook guy, whoever he is.

As soon as his name is mentioned, you suddenly seem to overhear it multiple times in the conversations surrounding you while the band’s crew finishes setting up for them. You lean over to ask Margot what the heck the deal is with Jungkook, but just as you open your mouth to begin talking, a loud strumming blasts from the speakers on the edge of the stage, and you mouth ‘nevermind’ and step back to where you were.

A tall, broad shouldered man steps out of the shadows at the back of the stage to deafening screams, his guitar already strapped across his chest. He lifts up a hand in greeting, and steps up to one of the mics set up. “Thank you all for coming out! We hope you have a great time tonight!” He blows a kiss to the crowd (to more deafening screams). Margot looks like she might faint-this must be Jin.

Next to walk out is a sullen looking guy, shorter and smaller than the first. He walks to the side of the stage opposite of you, and picks up a bass. Forget Jin, forget Jungkook (whichever one he turns out to be), you like this guy. Sure, he’s cute or whatever, but he literally looks like he wants to be anywhere but where he’s currently at. “Same, dude, same,” you mutter to yourself under your breath. One of the girls from earlier must have overheard you again, because she turns and gives you a weird look. The multiple Malibu and cokes you had earlier give you the courage to tell her to mind her own business and leave you alone, but just as you begin to lean forward, the loudest screams yet erupt from the crowd. You immediately clench your hands over your ears (which you realize looks ridiculous at a concert) and turn to look at what’s caused the reaction.

Over the heads of the people in front of you, you see a mop of almost neon blue hair making its way to the drum set, but the rest of him is obscured as he swiftly walks across the stage. This must be that Jungkook guy those girls were talking about earlier. His hair looks like a blueberry as far as you’re concerned, and you still don’t understand what the fuss is about.

He settles behind his kit, and as the people in front of you move slightly, you catch a glimpse of Jungkook. His blueberry hair falls around his face in waves, and his nose is scrunched up because of the giant grin on his face, clearly ecstatic to start the show. Okay, he was cute. Cuter than bass guy and Jin (though you’d never utter that sentence out loud to Margot for fear of losing your life). Still, he’s just another guy in a band, right?

Jin starts the opening chords to the first song to deafening cheers, bass guy starting to play shortly after, and Jungkook having the time of his life on the drums. After a long intro, you hear a smooth voice with a tinge of rasp come through the mic. It instantly feels like your bones have turned to jelly, and you want to melt into a puddle (in the best way). However, you are confused. You’re staring at Jin, who is immersed in his playing, sweat already starting to drip from his brow from being under bright lights. His mouth isn’t moving. Why? He’s the lead singer. Are you imagining the lyrics you’re hearing right now?

You lean over to Margot, who’s conveniently also looking at Jin, albeit for a completely different reason. “Why isn’t the lead singer doing anything?” you shout over the music. “Huh?” she screams back, unable to clearly make out what you’re saying. “I said, why isn’t Jin singing?!” you yell.

Margot looks over to you, mirroring the confusion on your own face. “Look!” she points towards the back of the stage. There you see Jungkook, not only playing the drums, but also singing lead vocals in one of most attractive voices you’ve ever heard. Not only that, but he’s somehow managed to keep that scrunched nose smile from earlier on his face while doing it. So THAT’S what all the fuss about Jungkook was over. Just as your brain makes the connection between it being his singing coming through the speakers, he makes eye contact with you and his smile seems to grow even bigger, his eyes sparkling with delight.

Oh, you’re in big trouble.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the concert seems to go by in a blur. You have no idea how many songs the group does, you are so caught up in watching Jungkook perform...he clearly has talent, but you can tell he’s in love with what he’s doing. Even when sweat makes his hair start to stick to his forehead, he merely gives his head a shake (sort of like a dog), and keeps going with that wide smile on his face. It certainly doesn’t help that it feels like at least every other song, he’s making eye contact with you somehow-even though you’re not front row, even though his drum kit is at the back of the stage. Surely you’re making that up. He’s just a good performer, right? He makes all the girls feel like this, like he’s performing just for them.

As Jin strums out the final notes of the last song, you shake your head to clear your thoughts. This is dumb, you had too much to drink, and you were distracted by a cute guy who has a pretty voice. That’s all.

As the song dies out, you turn to your best friend. “Margot, you ready to go? I’m tired.” What you’ve failed to notice is that your best friend has disappeared while you’ve been wrapped up in your own thoughts. Did she go to the bathroom? Had she gotten more drunk while you were busy swooning (no, NOT swooning) over a certain blue-haired drummer? Just as you’re about to start panicking, you see her as the group of fans in front of you starts to disperse...and she’s talking TO JIN.

He’s sitting on the edge of the stage, long legs dangling off the front, head tilted back laughing at something Margot has said. His laugh doesn’t quite seem to fit him-it’s loud and squeaky, kind of like a windshield wiper dragging itself across the front of a car. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his guitar pick, and goes to hand it to your friend. Simultaneously, he leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Other girls that are around you, hanging back in hopes of meeting the boys, are clearly fuming at the action and some even stomp off.

On one hand, you are excited for Margot-she’s gotten the attention of the man she’s been talking about nonstop for days. On the other hand, you also want to leave-love is gross and you have no time for it. Since you can’t abandon your friend in a seedy bar with a man she hardly knows, you settle for the next best thing-your fifth (you think?) drink of the night.

“A Malibu and coke please,” you ask the bartender while sliding cash across the counter. You know you’ll regret the alcohol running through your system in the morning, but you can’t seem to bring yourself to care enough to stop. You pick up the drink, filled to the brim, and turn quickly to go hide in your booth from the beginning of the night. Surely Margot will come find you when she’s done talking, right? Just as you turn, someone walking the opposite way bumps elbows with you with enough force to cause half your drink to slosh down the front of your shirt and onto the floor.

“Oh wow, I am so sorry! I should have been paying more attention-let me get some napkins for you!” says some unknown male voice. You’re too busy mourning over your half spilled drink that you’d just paid too much for to reply. Suddenly, there’s napkins thrust into your hand, and you look up.

It’s Jungkook.

He’s even more attractive up close, if that’s even possible. He’s sweaty, but somehow makes it look good-his longer hair is swept back into a little blue half bun, his eyeliner is smudged, and he’s down to his white undershirt with ripped jeans. The dim lights of the bar are reflecting off both his earrings and what looks like the stars in his eyes.

“Um...are you okay? I can go get you a new shirt to change into-wait here!” Before you have the chance to form any words, he jogs off towards the stage where he has a conversation with the bassist. The bassist doesn’t look happy about what Jungkook says, but Jungkook still goes to the back of the stage, and comes back with a black piece of fabric in his hands.

“Yoongi’s pissed because these aren’t even ready to be sold, but whatever. Just think of it as an exclusive sneak peek or something,” Jungkook says as he hands the shirt to you. You accidentally brush your hand across his as you take what he’s handing you, and you feel like you might burst into flames with the way your insides feel like they’ve become molten lava.

You unfold the shirt to see that it’s got song lyrics written across it in dripping graffiti font, along with their signatures. The realization suddenly hits you that you still have not said a single word to the man standing in front of you.

“Y-Yoongi?” you stammer out. You hate how much you sound like a high schooler asking their crush to prom. “Oh yeah, that’s our bassist. The one who looks like he’d literally rather be anywhere else than playing with Jin and me,” Jungkook chuckles. “He’s really a softy underneath it all, but don’t tell him I said that.”

You laugh, though you feel like it sounds a little too forced and a little too loud. Your assumption seems to be right, as you see Jungkook raise one eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I really am sorry I made you spill your drink.” He genuinely looks worried. About you. What universe are you even living in right now?

“I’m fine, really. Thanks for the t-shirt, you didn’t have to do that,” you mumble softly.

“It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl whose Eagles tee I ruined, don’t worry about it. Yoongi will get over it.”

Jungkook smiles that same smile he seemed to throw your way throughout the concert, nose scrunching up, eyes sparkling. It feels like you’ve been thrown overboard into the ocean in the middle of a storm. You can’t get your bearings, the waves keep throwing you under, and you’re disoriented. The only light is coming from the stars in his eyes. Surely this man who could date anyone he wanted to did not just call you pretty, as casually as he might have mentioned the weather outside?

You’re shaken out of your reverie as Margot and Jin approach the two of you. “JK, my man, sorry I took so long-I was too busy being enchanted by this lovely lady,” Jin smiles, and you can see that Margot is beaming with happiness. You’re glad someone’s night has gone well.

“No problem, I was just talking to...” Jungkook suddenly looks lost, realizing he doesn’t know your name.

“Y/N.” you blurt out. Margot looks at you strangely, but is distracted once Jungkook begins talking again.

“Yeah, I bumped into her and made her spill her drink, so I gave her one of our shirts and we were just chatting.” He smiles gently at you and your heart does a somersault.

“Nice to meet you. You must be cool if you’re friends with this one,” Jin nudges Margot with his shoulder. How long have the two of them been able to talk for, for him to know you’re friends? You’ll definitely need a debrief on the walk home.

You speak to Jin with much more ease and control than you can manage with Jungkook. “I like to think I’m cool,” you grin. At this, Jungkook smirks.

“She’s the best!” Margot chirps, clearly still a little drunk. Jin chuckles and puts an arm around her shoulders.

“Well, pretty girl, JK and I need to go help Yoongi with getting everything put up in our van. It was lovely to meet you,” he drops his arm from around her shoulders, only to pick up her hand in his and kisses her knuckles promptly. Margot giggles. “I’d love to take you out sometime.” She nods enthusiastically.

“It was nice to meet you too,” Jungkook leans in to half-whisper in your ear. When did he get that close?! You nod with a small smile in his direction-that’s all you can seem to manage when that drowning in the ocean feeling suddenly returns.

He and Jin turn to leave, and you go to your booth, making sure you didn’t leave anything behind before the whole drink-spilling fiasco happened. Seeing that you have everything, you turn to find Margot, only to see Jungkook whispering in her ear across the room and laughing.

Your heart drops. You were right all along-he does treat all the girls like this, like they’re special to him.

Margot comes up to you shortly after. “You ready to go?” you ask quietly.

“Yep!” she smiles, and drags you out of The Dynasty by the hand. The entire walk home, all she can talk about is Jin-how cute he is, how funny he is, how talented he is, and oh, did she mention how cute he is? You nod and smile in all the right places in her story. You are happy for Margot, but you can’t help comparing what she’s telling you with your interactions with Jungkook. You had acted like an idiot, and there was no way he was interested in you on any level. Plus, he clearly thought that your best friend was worth flirting with after Jin helped him escape your awkward conversation.

You shake your head to clear it as you reach your apartment building. Margot bids you farewell at the second floor, while you continue your trudge up the stairs to the fourth floor. You key into your apartment, throwing your keys into a bowl and heading for your bedroom.

Makeup off, pjs on, you’ve just finished washing your face when you look at yourself in the mirror. “Boys are dumb, and love is stupid,” you say to yourself, not sure if you actually believe what you’re saying. As you dry your face, you hear the sound of your phone receiving a text. Margot, no doubt, still waxing poetic about how she can’t believe that Jin wants to take her out on a date.

You slide into bed and turn off your lamp, grabbing your phone to set an alarm for the morning and to tell Margot that you’ll talk some more tomorrow during lunch.

Unknown Number

2:37 AM: Hey, it’s Jungkook!...I hope you don’t mind, I got your number from Margot. thanks for coming out to the show tonight, I hope you had a good time!! if you didn’t, you don’t have to wear the shirt I gave you, that would be weird for you to wear it if you hated our music…

2:41 AM: anyway, I just wanted to apologize again for making you spill your drink. Usually I’m not that clumsy, I guess I was distracted. You should come hang out with the band before our next show on Friday! only if you want. let me know...or don’t. Whatever you want.

2:45 AM: Can you tell I’m nervous? haha

2:46 AM: usually i’m not like this, but you’re really pretty and you seem cool. ANYWAY. I hope you hang out with us-bring Margot too, Jin would like that. I hope you got home safe and i hope i see you soon :)

You stare in disbelief at your phone. Jungkook just texted you. Jungkook just texted you FOUR TIMES IN A ROW. Good thing you are much less awkward via text, mostly because you have time to think out what to say. You can’t help the giant grin that forms on your face as you type out a reply.

2:50 AM: I made it home, thanks for checking in...I can’t turn down a good band shirt, so I’ll definitely be wearing it. Maybe I’ll wear it if we hang out, you’ll have to wait and see!

You place your phone on the nightstand and turn over to get comfortable. Maybe Margot wasn’t the only one who had a good night after all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later, you’re staring at your phone sitting on your desk. “Can you not?” Margot huffs from beside you, rolling over in her desk chair. “Just freaking text JK and tell him we’re coming to hang out with the band,” she rolls her eyes and lets out a huge sigh.

“Margot, can you not? Stop being so loud, we’re at work,” you hiss. Margot looks slightly taken aback at your comment, and then swiftly rolls back to her own desk.

You’ll deal with her hurt feelings later. For now, you go back to staring at Jungkook’s text that is boring a hole in your brain...he sent it about six hours ago, and you still haven’t replied.

Jungkook

8:53 AM: Morning! I know it’s kinda early, but i figured you might be at work already. You and Margot coming by later? Jin will cook for us! i think i can manage some cookies too, just don’t judge if they don’t taste as good as jin’s cooking...i swear he was a chef in a past life. You like chocolate chip?

You’d had brief text conversations each day since you met, nothing too crazy. Even so, you still can’t help but feel like your brain is freezing over, ceasing all functioning momentarily every time a text comes in from him. Margot is right, you just need to text him back already.

3:30 PM: Make it snickerdoodle and I’m there.

Jungkook immediately sends back a reply, overeagerly filled with emojis, their apartment address, and instructions to come over at 6. For a drummer in a rock band, he is surprisingly silly, kind, and warm. You’re not sure what you expected from him, but it wasn’t this.

The rest of the work day goes quickly, your mind preoccupied with what’s in store for you at the boys’ apartment. As soon as you and Margot step outside your office, her eyes are glued to her phone. “Hey, Margot...I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I just don’t know what this...thing...is with Jungkook, and I’m stressed. Not an excuse, but you didn’t deserve me being rude,” you say in a small voice.

“Girl, I forgave you like ten minutes after you said it, it’s whatever. Look at this!” She shoves her phone under your nose, and you examine what she’s trying to get you to look at. Pictures of food? You’re confused.

“What is it?” you ask. “Our dinner, silly! Jinnie’s making us pasta carbonara with homemade breadsticks!” Your mouth involuntarily starts watering at even the mention of food. Homemade bread? Jungkook must not have been kidding about Jin’s cooking.

“Look look look, your boyfriend is making us snickerdoodle cookies too-how sweet!” Margot gives you a sly smile, and you can immediately feel heat radiating off your cheeks.

“He’s not my boyfriend! He’s just-whatever! He’s not even interested in me like that, he hasn’t asked me out or anything. Not like someone I know,” you attempt to distract her by bringing up her date with Jin (it had literally happened the day after meeting him, and he’d set up a second one for the weekend-you couldn’t help but be impressed). Even though you’re flustered, you still can’t stop the warmth spreading through you. Yes, embarrassment. But also Jungkook was making snickerdoodle cookies like you asked.

“Boyfriend or not, we’re here!” Margot singsongs as you walk through the front doors of an apartment building, and step into an elevator, pressing the button for floor seven.

There’s a loud pinging sound as you step out, and Margot knocks on the door directly across from the elevator. You hear clanging sounds, alongside shuffling and male voices indistinctly talking. The door swings open to reveal Jin in a pink apron.

“Hey pretty girl,” his eyes light up when he sees Margot standing in the doorway, and he immediately bends down to kiss the top of her head. Margot is positively beaming, and looks up at him like he’s her entire world.

You clear your throat awkwardly. “Oh hey, y/n,” Jin smiles warmly at you. “Jungkook’s excited to see you, he hasn’t stopped talking about you coming over since he started making those cookies.” Jin winks as your eyes grow wide.

“HYUNG!!” you hear Jungkook bellow from you assume the kitchen. As you all walk into the apartment, you can see him glaring at Jin.

“What? I’m just telling the truth, nothing wrong with that-right, Margot?”

“Right,” your best friend grins.

“Not you too, M. Why do I put up with this torture?” Jungkook pouts in your direction, blue strands of hair falling messily in his face. You can see he’s also wearing an apron, black-but with lots of flour stains.

You walk closer to the kitchen and lean on the counter that separates it from the living room. You may be nervous as ever, but maybe if you fake confidence, things will feel better.

“Oh, I dunno, maybe because he’s one of your best friends and bandmates? Because maybe it is the truth?” you grin cheekily.

Jungkook’s doe eyes go even wider than you thought possible, and it looks like he may drop the mixing bowl he has in his hands.

“Weren’t you excited I was coming over, Kook? I can leave if you want…” you step into the kitchen with him, reaching forward and gently pushing a loose strand of hair out of his face. You swear he leans into your touch, and it feels like electricity is coursing through your veins.

“I-I mean, of course I was! I invited you over, didn’t I? Of course I want you here.” Jungkook has a fierce blush creeping up his neck towards his face, and he looks like he wants to sink through the floor.

A deep chuckle resounds from the corner of the living room, and you turn around to see Yoongi smirking at the two of you from an armchair. “Can we eat now, please? As much as I love seeing the two of you absolutely not know how to function like normal human beings...I’m hungry.”

Jin uses this opportunity to sweep into the kitchen, grabbing his pasta off the stovetop and bringing it to the center of the dining room table. Margot brings the breadsticks over and places them down as well. You each take a seat, Yoongi sitting at one end of the table, Jin and Margot on one side, you and Jungkook on the other. Dinner unfolds in a relatively normal fashion, mostly silent because everyone is so hungry. Jungkook may have actually been underselling Jin’s cooking ability, because you’re not sure when the last time you had pasta this good was.

Just as you’re finishing up, the timer on the oven beeps, signaling that Jungkook’s cookies are done. He hops up out of his seat to grab the pan out of the oven. A few seconds later, you hear a loud expletive and a metallic clang. “Kook?” you call, already walking towards the kitchen. As you round the corner, you see him holding his hand under the faucet, water streaming over what looks like a nasty burn.

“Kook!” you exclaim, swiftly moving towards him, peeking around him to see the injury. “What happened?”

Jungkook turns around, seemingly just noticing your presence. He gives you a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. The pan started slipping out of my hand, so I went to grab it with my other hand to steady it. I just happened to forget I was only wearing one oven mitt.” He forlornly looks behind the two of you. You follow his gaze to see that most of the cookies have fallen on the floor, save for three. “I just wanted the cookies to be perfect.” His lower lip juts out as he begins to pout, staring at the cookies littering the floor.

“Jungkook, look at me.” His eyes raise from the floor to your own. “The fact that you even made any cookies at all is very sweet-pun intended. It’s the effort that counts. That, and making sure you don’t have permanent burn damage.” You reach out for his wrist and delicately turn his hand to look at it. It’s angry looking, but you can tell it will heal pretty easily (you may have suffered several cookie-related burns yourself in your day). “Just make sure you put ointment on this a couple times a day for about a week, and you should be fine.” You shoot him a soft smile, which he returns.

“What are you, a doctor?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” you reply, grinning widely.

“Yah, why do you have to be so difficult? Here I am, trying to be nice, trying to get to know you more, and this is what I get in return,” he gripes, but there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Hmm...I dunno, Kook. I think you like it when I’m contrarian,” you giggle, turning to leave the kitchen. Before you can move through the door frame, Jungkook moves in front of you. You look up at him confused. He leans in close, lips brushing against your ear as he whispers.

“...maybe I do. But next time I see you, you should actually wear the shirt I gave you.”

He winks, leaves the kitchen, and leaves you to wonder what the heck just happened.

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Your sporadic texts with Jungkook have turned into one long, continuous conversation over the past few weeks. It feels like you talk about everything, but also nothing. He remains somewhat a mystery, though you know this is because you’re still keeping him at arm’s length.

Jungkook is too good for you, you’ve decided. He’s cute, funny, charming, and talented. Everyone is in love with him for good reason. Every time he makes eye contact with you, his smile lights up his entire face. That smile has you falling faster than you’d like, and it isn’t a pleasant feeling. A cloudlike floating down to Earth? Try hurtling through the atmosphere like an asteroid determined to destroy the planet. You haven’t hit the ground yet, but you’re not sure if you’ll be able to properly recover once you do.

Kook

4:23 PM: Come with me to the beach this weekend! You need a break from work, and i need a break from the morons i live with...don’t tell them i said that. I need to work on song stuff too, but i’d like some company :)

Your chest constricts at his latest message. Is this a date? He hasn’t asked you on one before, but this feels suspiciously date-esque. But he’s working on band stuff, so maybe he really just wants company. You shoot off a quick text in the affirmative before you can think much harder about it. Jungkook immediately sends back a slew of emojis, as well as telling you he’ll pick you up at 8AM on Saturday to drive the two of you down to the coast.

The next two days go by in a blur. Before you know it, you’re standing in front of your closet Saturday morning, wondering what to wear on your not-date. It’s not quite summer yet, so you know the two of you aren’t wearing bathing suits (not to mention that would have been a whole other crisis to work through-being half naked in front of a very attractive man on a maybe-date? Absolutely not). You quickly put on a pair of jean shorts, and smile as you grab their band tee and slide it over your head. You still hadn’t worn it in front of Jungkook. You finish off with french tucking the shirt, sliding on sandals and wearing a simple gold necklace with your first initial on it-you didn’t want to be too fancy.

You make yourself a cup of tea to pass time waiting for Jungkook to arrive. Halfway through drinking it, there’s a knock on the door. You hastily place your mug on the coffee table, grab your bag, and open the door to find Jungkook leaning against the doorframe.

He lights up upon seeing you, his doe eyes widening when he notices your outfit. “You’re finally wearing it! I thought I was gonna have to bribe you or something,” he smiles.

“Let’s go, dork,” you reply, shutting your door behind you and making sure it’s locked.

Jungkook leads you outside to his car, opening the door for you. “After you, m’lady.” You roll your eyes, but not without laughing at his antics. He slides into the driver’s side and starts the car. “Off we go!”

The car ride is comfortably silent-probably because it’s still early in the morning, neither of you are completely coherent yet. The hum of the road beneath the car combined with the radio playing in the background puts you at ease. You can swear you keep seeing Jungkook look at you from your peripheral vision, but maybe you’re imagining things. You settle for looking out the window at the passing scenery, which honestly is beautiful-you should get out of the city more.

After about 10 minutes, you glance over to the driver’s side, only to make complete eye contact with Jungkook. “Kook, why do you keep looking at me?” His eyes widen, and now you know you weren’t imagining things earlier.

“Oh, uh...I-I’m just glad you decided to come. Yeah. And um, you look really good in my shirt.” You can see his ears reddening as he says this, and all of a sudden, you’re looking at anywhere but him.

There’s an awkward pause for a few moments, and then suddenly that molten lava feeling from a few weeks ago at the concert is back. You whip your head back towards Jungkook so fast, you think you might injure your neck. He has reached his hand across the console to where yours sits on your thigh, and as you watch, he intertwines your fingers with his. It feels like an out-of-body experience, where you’re watching yourself from above. Is this really happening? You glance up at Jungkook’s face with wild eyes, and he meets you with a steady smile. Not only is the molten lava feeling back, but it’s brought along the storm in the ocean feeling as well. Only this time, Jungkook is there to be the lighthouse that leads you back home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the drive is peaceful. Jungkook continues to hold your hand the rest of the way to the beach, shooting you smiles every time you look over at him. You’re so mesmerized, you don’t even realize that you’ve parked until he lets go.

He immediately rushes over to open your door after getting out of the car, and then proceeds to pop the trunk open and grabs a cooler and a picnic basket.

“Kook, what is all this?” your eyes widen in surprise.

“Please, like I was going to take you to the beach and not pack a picnic. We have to eat, don’t we? I got those weird sparkling waters you like too.”

Your response is to grab the picnic basket out of his hand and immediately intertwine your fingers again with his free hand. Jungkook looks like his face might split in half with how big his smile is.

“You like it?” he asks with a hint of uncertainty.

“I love it.”

The two of you walk hand in hand down the beach quite a ways before you find what Jungkook deems the ‘perfect spot’. “And what exactly makes it perfect?” you peer up at him.

“Easy-one, we’re snagging the last free shaded spot,” he points at the umbrella stuck in the sand, “and two-it’s far enough away from other people that I can work on songs without a ton of noise distracting me.”

“Are you sure I won’t distract you?” you frown slightly, worried that he won’t get any work done.

“You’re never a distraction, you’re an inspiration.” He winks conspiratorially at you, and chuckles at the flustered look on your face. He sets the cooler down under the umbrella and looks over at you. “There’s a blanket in the picnic basket, can you get it out? As much as I love the beach, I don’t really want to find sand in my shorts for the next month.”

You set the basket down next to the cooler, open the lid, and pull out a bright blue blanket. Jungkook takes one side, you take the other, and you unfold it and place it lightly on the sand. He immediately plops down on one side of the blanket and reaches his hand up toward you, motioning for you to take hold. As soon as you do, he yanks a little too hard, and you careen sideways onto the blanket and into his side. “Well, that’s one way to sit down I guess,” you laugh at his appalled face.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to pull that hard…” his brow furrows in worry.

“I’m good, weirdo. Great, even.” You reach into the cooler, pull out a sparkling water (key lime, your favorite), and pull the book you always keep in your bag out. You lay out on the blanket, propped up on your elbows, and begin to read. Jungkook lays down beside you in a similar position, pulling a small notebook out of his back pocket and starts scribbling.

You sit in this position for a couple of hours, silently working, occasionally catching each others’ eyes and smiling when you do. Suddenly there’s a loud rumbling beside you. You laugh. “Hungry, Kook?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he laughs, sits up and reaches over to pull the picnic basket closer to the two of you.

“What’s on the menu?” you peer over as he starts to pull plastic containers out.

“Gimbap. Simple, easy, and delicious.” He hands you one of the containers as he pulls out a second for himself.

“Did you make this yourself?” you ask, mouth half-full. He nods. “Delicious,” you concede through your mouthful. He grins.

“Maybe I could actually cook for you sometime. Without burning my hand on cookies, that is.”

“I’d like that,” you shyly respond, eyes firmly locked on the plastic container of gimbap in your lap.

“It’s a date, then.” Your eyes shoot up to meet his, and you can see dimples forming alongside his smile. You can’t help but smile back.

After eating, the two of you go back to your previous positions-you reading, him working on song lyrics in his notebook. This time, though, after about 30 minutes you start to get restless. Looking over at Jungkook, you notice he keeps shoving his hair behind his ears as it falls in his face while he’s writing. You rummage through your bag for a hair tie, and scoot over closer to him. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity at you, and you just lean over and gently start pulling his hair back for him into a half bun that matches the way his hair looked the night you first met.

“Better?” you ask quietly, running your fingers absentmindedly through the hair at the nape of his neck that’s too short for the bun. He looks up at you, awestruck.

“Everything is better with you,” he whispers. You’re not sure if he knows he’s said this out loud. He suddenly sits up on the blanket, flipping through the pages of his notebook he’s been working in. He stops about halfway through. “Can you look over these lyrics? I’m not sure they’re quite right, I need a second opinion.”

You look down at the page and see lyrics scribbled in Jungkook’s messy handwriting.

“I wish you were right here, right now”

“This mad, mad love makes you come running”

“See your face, hear my voice in the dark”

Different versions of these lyrics are scattered across the page, certain words changed, scribbled out, and moved around within phrases. As your eyes scan the page, they land on one final line etched out on the bottom of the page. No scribbles, no changes-it simply reads:

“I wish you knew that I’ll never forget you as long as I live.”

“This is really good, Kook! It’s so much different than the music the band’s done before, how’d you come up with this?” You’re genuinely curious, this almost seems more like a ballad compared to the band’s usual upbeat tunes.

Jungkook looks at you warmly. “I’ve had new inspiration lately, that’s all.” You suddenly notice that he’s way closer to you than he was when you started looking over his notes...he’s sitting directly in front of you now.

You feel frozen as you see him stealing glances at your lips while his face inches closer. Is he going to kiss you? He’s going to kiss you. Oh my gosh, JUNGKOOK IS GOING TO KISS YOU.

As his lips meet your own, the molten lava turns into an erupting volcano. You feel hot and tingly all over, and Jungkook is assaulting your senses in every way possible. You can smell his cologne, feel the softness of his lips, taste his mint chapstick, hear the satisfied hum that gets caught in his throat as your lips collide. Even though your eyes are closed, the vision of Jungkook leaning in to kiss you is seared into the backs of your eyelids.

The kiss is over far sooner than you’d like. As Jungkook retreats, he doesn’t go far, instead leaning his forehead against yours, gazing at you longingly. The stars in his eyes have become a full blown galaxy, and you can’t look away. Still recovering from the kiss, Jungkook breathily laughs.

“You make me want to write all the love songs in the world.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Margot is tugging insistently on your arm. “Hello? HELLO? Is there anyone in there?” she taps the side of your head. When you don’t respond, she grabs you by both shoulders and gives you a shake.

The room comes back into focus and you look over at your best friend with eyes still lightly glazed over. “Huh?”

“I said, it’s intermission...are you enjoying the show? You certainly seemed distracted by Jungkook-I saw him smile at you,” she grins. “Jin made eye contact with me a couple of times, he even winked!” she gushes, continuing to talk about how hot she thinks he is.

Your stomach feels like it’s dropped completely out of your body, and your throat has gone dry.

“Hey...you okay?” Margot notices that you still seem slightly out of it.

“Yeah, yeah...I just...need another drink, that’s all,” you manage to choke out, turning on your heel and heading straight to the bar. While the bartender works on your drink, you run through everything in your head. The texts...the dinner at the boys’ apartment...the beach. The kiss. None of it was real, was it? What was wrong with you?

You take the drink that’s slid across to you and head outside to a side alley beside the bar. No one’s there, everyone has gone to the bathroom or to refill their drinks while waiting on the band to return. You let out a deep sigh, leaning against the brick wall and running your hands through your hair, making it even frizzier than when the night started. At least it isn’t raining anymore, you think to yourself.

You return to the question Margot had asked you-are you okay? You’re not sure. You’d apparently made eye contact with Jungkook, a man you had never spoken to, and imagined a whole entire relationship with him in the span of half the band’s setlist. Are you that desperate for a man? Apparently. You let out a deep sigh, replaying the scenarios you had created in your head. Once your brain reaches the kiss again, you find yourself getting teary-eyed at how sweet Jungkook had been...in your head. You feel a tear escape, and you quickly swipe it away.

Taking a steadying breath, you push yourself off the wall and move towards the door to head back into the bar. As you reach for the handle, the door swings open and hits you in the shoulder, turning you slightly to the side and spilling your drink on your shirt and the cobblestones of the alley.

“...again?!” you mutter, looking down at your ruined shirt.

“Um...are you okay? I can go get you a new shirt to change into-wait here!” you hear a male’s voice, but as you look up, the bar door is already closing again as he’s gone inside.

A minute later, the door is swinging open again to reveal none other than Jungkook-hair in a half bun, eyeliner smudged, and in a white undershirt and ripped jeans. Just like in your imagination.

He reaches out to you with a black t-shirt in his hand. “Yoongi’s pissed because these aren’t even ready to be sold, but whatever. Just think of it as an exclusive sneak peek or something,” he parrots your imagined scenario you had played in your head moments ago.

“Thanks,” you say as you take the shirt, unfolding it to see the familiar graffiti design.

“It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl whose Eagles tee I ruined, don’t worry about it. Yoongi will get over it.” Jungkook smiles at you the same way he did during the first half of the show. One thing your brain got right are the stars in his eyes sparkling at you, which makes you smile back at him.

“Hey, I need to get back to make sure we’re ready for the second half of the show, but it was nice to meet you. You should hang back after the show-Jin thinks your friend is cute, and he was talking about inviting her to come grab food with us when we’re done. Yoongi can’t come and I don’t want to be a third wheel. Come hang out with us and save me from dying of awkwardness?” he looks at you shyly, his rock star persona melting away completely.

“I’ll think about it,” you tease, turning away and heading back into The Dynasty. Jungkook is left wide eyed in your wake, smiling as he turns to head towards the backstage door.

You meet up with Margot again after changing into your new shirt. The crowd has started to gather in anticipation of the second half of the show. “Hey Mar, let’s move all the way up,” you motion at the space in front of the stage.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Margot gapes at you in disbelief, but follows your lead as you weave through the crowd to get to front stage center. You shrug goodnaturedly and just smile as an answer.

A moment later, Jin, Yoongi and Jungkook come from backstage to get in place for the second half of their set. You can see Jungkook scanning the crowd, brows slightly furrowed. You give a small wave, which catches his attention, and his nose scrunches in a smile as he sends an enthusiastic wave back. ‘I like your shirt’ he mouths at you as he settles behind his drum kit, winking as he does so. You can feel the heat creeping onto your cheeks as a bar employee strides across the stage to the mic and the crowd starts cheering.

“Give it up again for Gold Rush!”

Gold Rush

-Pairing: drummer!Jungkook x reader, with a side of guitarist!Jin x OC

-Premise: You were never one for rushing into relationships, but what happens when you meet a certain blue-haired drummer?

-Genre: rock band!AU, some fluff but also some angst

-Word Count: 8.1k

-Author's Note: This is based on the song 'gold rush' by the one and only Taylor Swift! It will still make sense if you don't know the song, but you'll find some fun Easter egg references if you do know it. Also, fun fact: this is the first fic I've written since high school...do with that what you will.

“Come...on!” Margot grunts as she tugs on your arm. You literally have no idea why you’ve agreed to this night out-it’s Tuesday, you have work in the morning, you’re already tired and the night hasn’t even started.

“I’m coming,” you mutter begrudgingly, as you step carefully in your heeled boots down very narrow steps into what looks like a very seedy bar. The Dynasty. You walk in the door, and instantly try to retreat-it’s tiny, the floor is sticky with who knows what, and it’s packed. More like The Die Nasty...this could not be further from your comfort zone.

Margot, meanwhile, could not look more excited. She’s been talking about this concert for weeks now. You can’t even remember the name of the band, that’s how not your scene this is. Margot steers you towards the bar. “What do you want? My treat, since I made you come out on a work night just to be my wing woman.”

You scrunch up your nose in disbelief. Her wing woman? Has she seen you? You’re the most awkward person alive around men, especially cute men. Plus, it doesn’t help that you barely had time to throw on an Eagles t-shirt with a pair of jeans, and your hair has frizzed out from the light drizzle of rain that started on the walk over. “A Malibu with coke works,” you say, adding, “And make it a double!” at her retreating back.

You turn and scour the packed room for an empty booth, table, anything. Your eyes finally land on a tiny two person booth in an awkward corner of the room. Margot may not be able to see the band perfectly from here, but at least you’ll have seats. “A drink for my best friend in the whole entire world!!” Margot smiles brightly as she brings your beverages over to the table. “Do you think Jin will notice me? I tried to look cute, but not try too hard, y’know?” She smoothes down the front of her blouse nervously. You immediately have a witty retort ready to go, but you don’t have the heart to say it when you look up and see how fidgety she is. “Mar-if he doesn’t notice you, he’s an idiot,” you smile kindly.

The show isn’t due to start for another 30-45 minutes, so you spend that time chatting with Margot about work, life, and everything in between. She’s convinced that if she can just get Jin to notice her, that she’ll be able to introduce you to one of his bandmates, and then you can go on double dates (or something like that). “Mar, do you really think tortured artists go on double dates? I really can’t see it,” you snort into your drink. Let alone a guy in a band being interested in you, you’re about as boring and straitlaced as they come. You lose track of time as you continue the conversation, and the alcohol is certainly making you less annoyed that you’re here.

“They’re starting, they’re starting!” Margot squeals, gripping your arm. “Really?” You try to twist around in your seat to see, but before you get very far, you’re being dragged out into the space right in front of the stage. You’re not quite front row, but you’re awfully close-too close for your own liking, if you’re being honest.

“Margot…” you hiss, trying to get her attention, but all hope is lost. Her eyes are glued to the small stage, waiting for the man she’s deemed to be the love of her life to walk out and pick up his guitar. You give up after a while, huffing and crossing your arms to show your displeasure. A few girls around you give you a sidelong glance, seemingly judging you for being upset at a concert. How dare you? After staring at you for what they deem to be an appropriate amount of time, they go back to their own conversations, which you’re able to overhear due to your close proximity.

“Were you at the last show? They’ve improved SO much since they started, I love them!!” one yells a little too loudly, while her friend nods enthusiastically.

“Have you heard that Jungkook dyed his hair blue?! He was hot before, but now…” the girl can’t even seem to finish her sentence, she’s so overcome by the ‘hotness’ of this Jungkook guy, whoever he is.

As soon as his name is mentioned, you suddenly seem to overhear it multiple times in the conversations surrounding you while the band’s crew finishes setting up for them. You lean over to ask Margot what the heck the deal is with Jungkook, but just as you open your mouth to begin talking, a loud strumming blasts from the speakers on the edge of the stage, and you mouth ‘nevermind’ and step back to where you were.

A tall, broad shouldered man steps out of the shadows at the back of the stage to deafening screams, his guitar already strapped across his chest. He lifts up a hand in greeting, and steps up to one of the mics set up. “Thank you all for coming out! We hope you have a great time tonight!” He blows a kiss to the crowd (to more deafening screams). Margot looks like she might faint-this must be Jin.

Next to walk out is a sullen looking guy, shorter and smaller than the first. He walks to the side of the stage opposite of you, and picks up a bass. Forget Jin, forget Jungkook (whichever one he turns out to be), you like this guy. Sure, he’s cute or whatever, but he literally looks like he wants to be anywhere but where he’s currently at. “Same, dude, same,” you mutter to yourself under your breath. One of the girls from earlier must have overheard you again, because she turns and gives you a weird look. The multiple Malibu and cokes you had earlier give you the courage to tell her to mind her own business and leave you alone, but just as you begin to lean forward, the loudest screams yet erupt from the crowd. You immediately clench your hands over your ears (which you realize looks ridiculous at a concert) and turn to look at what’s caused the reaction.

Over the heads of the people in front of you, you see a mop of almost neon blue hair making its way to the drum set, but the rest of him is obscured as he swiftly walks across the stage. This must be that Jungkook guy those girls were talking about earlier. His hair looks like a blueberry as far as you’re concerned, and you still don’t understand what the fuss is about.

He settles behind his kit, and as the people in front of you move slightly, you catch a glimpse of Jungkook. His blueberry hair falls around his face in waves, and his nose is scrunched up because of the giant grin on his face, clearly ecstatic to start the show. Okay, he was cute. Cuter than bass guy and Jin (though you’d never utter that sentence out loud to Margot for fear of losing your life). Still, he’s just another guy in a band, right?

Jin starts the opening chords to the first song to deafening cheers, bass guy starting to play shortly after, and Jungkook having the time of his life on the drums. After a long intro, you hear a smooth voice with a tinge of rasp come through the mic. It instantly feels like your bones have turned to jelly, and you want to melt into a puddle (in the best way). However, you are confused. You’re staring at Jin, who is immersed in his playing, sweat already starting to drip from his brow from being under bright lights. His mouth isn’t moving. Why? He’s the lead singer. Are you imagining the lyrics you’re hearing right now?

You lean over to Margot, who’s conveniently also looking at Jin, albeit for a completely different reason. “Why isn’t the lead singer doing anything?” you shout over the music. “Huh?” she screams back, unable to clearly make out what you’re saying. “I said, why isn’t Jin singing?!” you yell.

Margot looks over to you, mirroring the confusion on your own face. “Look!” she points towards the back of the stage. There you see Jungkook, not only playing the drums, but also singing lead vocals in one of most attractive voices you’ve ever heard. Not only that, but he’s somehow managed to keep that scrunched nose smile from earlier on his face while doing it. So THAT’S what all the fuss about Jungkook was over. Just as your brain makes the connection between it being his singing coming through the speakers, he makes eye contact with you and his smile seems to grow even bigger, his eyes sparkling with delight.

Oh, you’re in big trouble.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the concert seems to go by in a blur. You have no idea how many songs the group does, you are so caught up in watching Jungkook perform...he clearly has talent, but you can tell he’s in love with what he’s doing. Even when sweat makes his hair start to stick to his forehead, he merely gives his head a shake (sort of like a dog), and keeps going with that wide smile on his face. It certainly doesn’t help that it feels like at least every other song, he’s making eye contact with you somehow-even though you’re not front row, even though his drum kit is at the back of the stage. Surely you’re making that up. He’s just a good performer, right? He makes all the girls feel like this, like he’s performing just for them.

As Jin strums out the final notes of the last song, you shake your head to clear your thoughts. This is dumb, you had too much to drink, and you were distracted by a cute guy who has a pretty voice. That’s all.

As the song dies out, you turn to your best friend. “Margot, you ready to go? I’m tired.” What you’ve failed to notice is that your best friend has disappeared while you’ve been wrapped up in your own thoughts. Did she go to the bathroom? Had she gotten more drunk while you were busy swooning (no, NOT swooning) over a certain blue-haired drummer? Just as you’re about to start panicking, you see her as the group of fans in front of you starts to disperse...and she’s talking TO JIN.

He’s sitting on the edge of the stage, long legs dangling off the front, head tilted back laughing at something Margot has said. His laugh doesn’t quite seem to fit him-it’s loud and squeaky, kind of like a windshield wiper dragging itself across the front of a car. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out his guitar pick, and goes to hand it to your friend. Simultaneously, he leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Other girls that are around you, hanging back in hopes of meeting the boys, are clearly fuming at the action and some even stomp off.

On one hand, you are excited for Margot-she’s gotten the attention of the man she’s been talking about nonstop for days. On the other hand, you also want to leave-love is gross and you have no time for it. Since you can’t abandon your friend in a seedy bar with a man she hardly knows, you settle for the next best thing-your fifth (you think?) drink of the night.

“A Malibu and coke please,” you ask the bartender while sliding cash across the counter. You know you’ll regret the alcohol running through your system in the morning, but you can’t seem to bring yourself to care enough to stop. You pick up the drink, filled to the brim, and turn quickly to go hide in your booth from the beginning of the night. Surely Margot will come find you when she’s done talking, right? Just as you turn, someone walking the opposite way bumps elbows with you with enough force to cause half your drink to slosh down the front of your shirt and onto the floor.

“Oh wow, I am so sorry! I should have been paying more attention-let me get some napkins for you!” says some unknown male voice. You’re too busy mourning over your half spilled drink that you’d just paid too much for to reply. Suddenly, there’s napkins thrust into your hand, and you look up.

It’s Jungkook.

He’s even more attractive up close, if that’s even possible. He’s sweaty, but somehow makes it look good-his longer hair is swept back into a little blue half bun, his eyeliner is smudged, and he’s down to his white undershirt with ripped jeans. The dim lights of the bar are reflecting off both his earrings and what looks like the stars in his eyes.

“Um...are you okay? I can go get you a new shirt to change into-wait here!” Before you have the chance to form any words, he jogs off towards the stage where he has a conversation with the bassist. The bassist doesn’t look happy about what Jungkook says, but Jungkook still goes to the back of the stage, and comes back with a black piece of fabric in his hands.

“Yoongi’s pissed because these aren’t even ready to be sold, but whatever. Just think of it as an exclusive sneak peek or something,” Jungkook says as he hands the shirt to you. You accidentally brush your hand across his as you take what he’s handing you, and you feel like you might burst into flames with the way your insides feel like they’ve become molten lava.

You unfold the shirt to see that it’s got song lyrics written across it in dripping graffiti font, along with their signatures. The realization suddenly hits you that you still have not said a single word to the man standing in front of you.

“Y-Yoongi?” you stammer out. You hate how much you sound like a high schooler asking their crush to prom. “Oh yeah, that’s our bassist. The one who looks like he’d literally rather be anywhere else than playing with Jin and me,” Jungkook chuckles. “He’s really a softy underneath it all, but don’t tell him I said that.”

You laugh, though you feel like it sounds a little too forced and a little too loud. Your assumption seems to be right, as you see Jungkook raise one eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I really am sorry I made you spill your drink.” He genuinely looks worried. About you. What universe are you even living in right now?

“I’m fine, really. Thanks for the t-shirt, you didn’t have to do that,” you mumble softly.

“It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl whose Eagles tee I ruined, don’t worry about it. Yoongi will get over it.”

Jungkook smiles that same smile he seemed to throw your way throughout the concert, nose scrunching up, eyes sparkling. It feels like you’ve been thrown overboard into the ocean in the middle of a storm. You can’t get your bearings, the waves keep throwing you under, and you’re disoriented. The only light is coming from the stars in his eyes. Surely this man who could date anyone he wanted to did not just call you pretty, as casually as he might have mentioned the weather outside?

You’re shaken out of your reverie as Margot and Jin approach the two of you. “JK, my man, sorry I took so long-I was too busy being enchanted by this lovely lady,” Jin smiles, and you can see that Margot is beaming with happiness. You’re glad someone’s night has gone well.

“No problem, I was just talking to...” Jungkook suddenly looks lost, realizing he doesn’t know your name.

“Y/N.” you blurt out. Margot looks at you strangely, but is distracted once Jungkook begins talking again.

“Yeah, I bumped into her and made her spill her drink, so I gave her one of our shirts and we were just chatting.” He smiles gently at you and your heart does a somersault.

“Nice to meet you. You must be cool if you’re friends with this one,” Jin nudges Margot with his shoulder. How long have the two of them been able to talk for, for him to know you’re friends? You’ll definitely need a debrief on the walk home.

You speak to Jin with much more ease and control than you can manage with Jungkook. “I like to think I’m cool,” you grin. At this, Jungkook smirks.

“She’s the best!” Margot chirps, clearly still a little drunk. Jin chuckles and puts an arm around her shoulders.

“Well, pretty girl, JK and I need to go help Yoongi with getting everything put up in our van. It was lovely to meet you,” he drops his arm from around her shoulders, only to pick up her hand in his and kisses her knuckles promptly. Margot giggles. “I’d love to take you out sometime.” She nods enthusiastically.

“It was nice to meet you too,” Jungkook leans in to half-whisper in your ear. When did he get that close?! You nod with a small smile in his direction-that’s all you can seem to manage when that drowning in the ocean feeling suddenly returns.

He and Jin turn to leave, and you go to your booth, making sure you didn’t leave anything behind before the whole drink-spilling fiasco happened. Seeing that you have everything, you turn to find Margot, only to see Jungkook whispering in her ear across the room and laughing.

Your heart drops. You were right all along-he does treat all the girls like this, like they’re special to him.

Margot comes up to you shortly after. “You ready to go?” you ask quietly.

“Yep!” she smiles, and drags you out of The Dynasty by the hand. The entire walk home, all she can talk about is Jin-how cute he is, how funny he is, how talented he is, and oh, did she mention how cute he is? You nod and smile in all the right places in her story. You are happy for Margot, but you can’t help comparing what she’s telling you with your interactions with Jungkook. You had acted like an idiot, and there was no way he was interested in you on any level. Plus, he clearly thought that your best friend was worth flirting with after Jin helped him escape your awkward conversation.

You shake your head to clear it as you reach your apartment building. Margot bids you farewell at the second floor, while you continue your trudge up the stairs to the fourth floor. You key into your apartment, throwing your keys into a bowl and heading for your bedroom.

Makeup off, pjs on, you’ve just finished washing your face when you look at yourself in the mirror. “Boys are dumb, and love is stupid,” you say to yourself, not sure if you actually believe what you’re saying. As you dry your face, you hear the sound of your phone receiving a text. Margot, no doubt, still waxing poetic about how she can’t believe that Jin wants to take her out on a date.

You slide into bed and turn off your lamp, grabbing your phone to set an alarm for the morning and to tell Margot that you’ll talk some more tomorrow during lunch.

Unknown Number

2:37 AM: Hey, it’s Jungkook!...I hope you don’t mind, I got your number from Margot. thanks for coming out to the show tonight, I hope you had a good time!! if you didn’t, you don’t have to wear the shirt I gave you, that would be weird for you to wear it if you hated our music…

2:41 AM: anyway, I just wanted to apologize again for making you spill your drink. Usually I’m not that clumsy, I guess I was distracted. You should come hang out with the band before our next show on Friday! only if you want. let me know...or don’t. Whatever you want.

2:45 AM: Can you tell I’m nervous? haha

2:46 AM: usually i’m not like this, but you’re really pretty and you seem cool. ANYWAY. I hope you hang out with us-bring Margot too, Jin would like that. I hope you got home safe and i hope i see you soon :)

You stare in disbelief at your phone. Jungkook just texted you. Jungkook just texted you FOUR TIMES IN A ROW. Good thing you are much less awkward via text, mostly because you have time to think out what to say. You can’t help the giant grin that forms on your face as you type out a reply.

2:50 AM: I made it home, thanks for checking in...I can’t turn down a good band shirt, so I’ll definitely be wearing it. Maybe I’ll wear it if we hang out, you’ll have to wait and see!

You place your phone on the nightstand and turn over to get comfortable. Maybe Margot wasn’t the only one who had a good night after all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days later, you’re staring at your phone sitting on your desk. “Can you not?” Margot huffs from beside you, rolling over in her desk chair. “Just freaking text JK and tell him we’re coming to hang out with the band,” she rolls her eyes and lets out a huge sigh.

“Margot, can you not? Stop being so loud, we’re at work,” you hiss. Margot looks slightly taken aback at your comment, and then swiftly rolls back to her own desk.

You’ll deal with her hurt feelings later. For now, you go back to staring at Jungkook’s text that is boring a hole in your brain...he sent it about six hours ago, and you still haven’t replied.

Jungkook

8:53 AM: Morning! I know it’s kinda early, but i figured you might be at work already. You and Margot coming by later? Jin will cook for us! i think i can manage some cookies too, just don’t judge if they don’t taste as good as jin’s cooking...i swear he was a chef in a past life. You like chocolate chip?

You’d had brief text conversations each day since you met, nothing too crazy. Even so, you still can’t help but feel like your brain is freezing over, ceasing all functioning momentarily every time a text comes in from him. Margot is right, you just need to text him back already.

3:30 PM: Make it snickerdoodle and I’m there.

Jungkook immediately sends back a reply, overeagerly filled with emojis, their apartment address, and instructions to come over at 6. For a drummer in a rock band, he is surprisingly silly, kind, and warm. You’re not sure what you expected from him, but it wasn’t this.

The rest of the work day goes quickly, your mind preoccupied with what’s in store for you at the boys’ apartment. As soon as you and Margot step outside your office, her eyes are glued to her phone. “Hey, Margot...I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I just don’t know what this...thing...is with Jungkook, and I’m stressed. Not an excuse, but you didn’t deserve me being rude,” you say in a small voice.

“Girl, I forgave you like ten minutes after you said it, it’s whatever. Look at this!” She shoves her phone under your nose, and you examine what she’s trying to get you to look at. Pictures of food? You’re confused.

“What is it?” you ask. “Our dinner, silly! Jinnie’s making us pasta carbonara with homemade breadsticks!” Your mouth involuntarily starts watering at even the mention of food. Homemade bread? Jungkook must not have been kidding about Jin’s cooking.

“Look look look, your boyfriend is making us snickerdoodle cookies too-how sweet!” Margot gives you a sly smile, and you can immediately feel heat radiating off your cheeks.

“He’s not my boyfriend! He’s just-whatever! He’s not even interested in me like that, he hasn’t asked me out or anything. Not like someone I know,” you attempt to distract her by bringing up her date with Jin (it had literally happened the day after meeting him, and he’d set up a second one for the weekend-you couldn’t help but be impressed). Even though you’re flustered, you still can’t stop the warmth spreading through you. Yes, embarrassment. But also Jungkook was making snickerdoodle cookies like you asked.

“Boyfriend or not, we’re here!” Margot singsongs as you walk through the front doors of an apartment building, and step into an elevator, pressing the button for floor seven.

There’s a loud pinging sound as you step out, and Margot knocks on the door directly across from the elevator. You hear clanging sounds, alongside shuffling and male voices indistinctly talking. The door swings open to reveal Jin in a pink apron.

“Hey pretty girl,” his eyes light up when he sees Margot standing in the doorway, and he immediately bends down to kiss the top of her head. Margot is positively beaming, and looks up at him like he’s her entire world.

You clear your throat awkwardly. “Oh hey, y/n,” Jin smiles warmly at you. “Jungkook’s excited to see you, he hasn’t stopped talking about you coming over since he started making those cookies.” Jin winks as your eyes grow wide.

“HYUNG!!” you hear Jungkook bellow from you assume the kitchen. As you all walk into the apartment, you can see him glaring at Jin.

“What? I’m just telling the truth, nothing wrong with that-right, Margot?”

“Right,” your best friend grins.

“Not you too, M. Why do I put up with this torture?” Jungkook pouts in your direction, blue strands of hair falling messily in his face. You can see he’s also wearing an apron, black-but with lots of flour stains.

You walk closer to the kitchen and lean on the counter that separates it from the living room. You may be nervous as ever, but maybe if you fake confidence, things will feel better.

“Oh, I dunno, maybe because he’s one of your best friends and bandmates? Because maybe it is the truth?” you grin cheekily.

Jungkook’s doe eyes go even wider than you thought possible, and it looks like he may drop the mixing bowl he has in his hands.

“Weren’t you excited I was coming over, Kook? I can leave if you want…” you step into the kitchen with him, reaching forward and gently pushing a loose strand of hair out of his face. You swear he leans into your touch, and it feels like electricity is coursing through your veins.

“I-I mean, of course I was! I invited you over, didn’t I? Of course I want you here.” Jungkook has a fierce blush creeping up his neck towards his face, and he looks like he wants to sink through the floor.

A deep chuckle resounds from the corner of the living room, and you turn around to see Yoongi smirking at the two of you from an armchair. “Can we eat now, please? As much as I love seeing the two of you absolutely not know how to function like normal human beings...I’m hungry.”

Jin uses this opportunity to sweep into the kitchen, grabbing his pasta off the stovetop and bringing it to the center of the dining room table. Margot brings the breadsticks over and places them down as well. You each take a seat, Yoongi sitting at one end of the table, Jin and Margot on one side, you and Jungkook on the other. Dinner unfolds in a relatively normal fashion, mostly silent because everyone is so hungry. Jungkook may have actually been underselling Jin’s cooking ability, because you’re not sure when the last time you had pasta this good was.

Just as you’re finishing up, the timer on the oven beeps, signaling that Jungkook’s cookies are done. He hops up out of his seat to grab the pan out of the oven. A few seconds later, you hear a loud expletive and a metallic clang. “Kook?” you call, already walking towards the kitchen. As you round the corner, you see him holding his hand under the faucet, water streaming over what looks like a nasty burn.

“Kook!” you exclaim, swiftly moving towards him, peeking around him to see the injury. “What happened?”

Jungkook turns around, seemingly just noticing your presence. He gives you a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing. The pan started slipping out of my hand, so I went to grab it with my other hand to steady it. I just happened to forget I was only wearing one oven mitt.” He forlornly looks behind the two of you. You follow his gaze to see that most of the cookies have fallen on the floor, save for three. “I just wanted the cookies to be perfect.” His lower lip juts out as he begins to pout, staring at the cookies littering the floor.

“Jungkook, look at me.” His eyes raise from the floor to your own. “The fact that you even made any cookies at all is very sweet-pun intended. It’s the effort that counts. That, and making sure you don’t have permanent burn damage.” You reach out for his wrist and delicately turn his hand to look at it. It’s angry looking, but you can tell it will heal pretty easily (you may have suffered several cookie-related burns yourself in your day). “Just make sure you put ointment on this a couple times a day for about a week, and you should be fine.” You shoot him a soft smile, which he returns.

“What are you, a doctor?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” you reply, grinning widely.

“Yah, why do you have to be so difficult? Here I am, trying to be nice, trying to get to know you more, and this is what I get in return,” he gripes, but there’s a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Hmm...I dunno, Kook. I think you like it when I’m contrarian,” you giggle, turning to leave the kitchen. Before you can move through the door frame, Jungkook moves in front of you. You look up at him confused. He leans in close, lips brushing against your ear as he whispers.

“...maybe I do. But next time I see you, you should actually wear the shirt I gave you.”

He winks, leaves the kitchen, and leaves you to wonder what the heck just happened.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your sporadic texts with Jungkook have turned into one long, continuous conversation over the past few weeks. It feels like you talk about everything, but also nothing. He remains somewhat a mystery, though you know this is because you’re still keeping him at arm’s length.

Jungkook is too good for you, you’ve decided. He’s cute, funny, charming, and talented. Everyone is in love with him for good reason. Every time he makes eye contact with you, his smile lights up his entire face. That smile has you falling faster than you’d like, and it isn’t a pleasant feeling. A cloudlike floating down to Earth? Try hurtling through the atmosphere like an asteroid determined to destroy the planet. You haven’t hit the ground yet, but you’re not sure if you’ll be able to properly recover once you do.

Kook

4:23 PM: Come with me to the beach this weekend! You need a break from work, and i need a break from the morons i live with...don’t tell them i said that. I need to work on song stuff too, but i’d like some company :)

Your chest constricts at his latest message. Is this a date? He hasn’t asked you on one before, but this feels suspiciously date-esque. But he’s working on band stuff, so maybe he really just wants company. You shoot off a quick text in the affirmative before you can think much harder about it. Jungkook immediately sends back a slew of emojis, as well as telling you he’ll pick you up at 8AM on Saturday to drive the two of you down to the coast.

The next two days go by in a blur. Before you know it, you’re standing in front of your closet Saturday morning, wondering what to wear on your not-date. It’s not quite summer yet, so you know the two of you aren’t wearing bathing suits (not to mention that would have been a whole other crisis to work through-being half naked in front of a very attractive man on a maybe-date? Absolutely not). You quickly put on a pair of jean shorts, and smile as you grab their band tee and slide it over your head. You still hadn’t worn it in front of Jungkook. You finish off with french tucking the shirt, sliding on sandals and wearing a simple gold necklace with your first initial on it-you didn’t want to be too fancy.

You make yourself a cup of tea to pass time waiting for Jungkook to arrive. Halfway through drinking it, there’s a knock on the door. You hastily place your mug on the coffee table, grab your bag, and open the door to find Jungkook leaning against the doorframe.

He lights up upon seeing you, his doe eyes widening when he notices your outfit. “You’re finally wearing it! I thought I was gonna have to bribe you or something,” he smiles.

“Let’s go, dork,” you reply, shutting your door behind you and making sure it’s locked.

Jungkook leads you outside to his car, opening the door for you. “After you, m’lady.” You roll your eyes, but not without laughing at his antics. He slides into the driver’s side and starts the car. “Off we go!”

The car ride is comfortably silent-probably because it’s still early in the morning, neither of you are completely coherent yet. The hum of the road beneath the car combined with the radio playing in the background puts you at ease. You can swear you keep seeing Jungkook look at you from your peripheral vision, but maybe you’re imagining things. You settle for looking out the window at the passing scenery, which honestly is beautiful-you should get out of the city more.

After about 10 minutes, you glance over to the driver’s side, only to make complete eye contact with Jungkook. “Kook, why do you keep looking at me?” His eyes widen, and now you know you weren’t imagining things earlier.

“Oh, uh...I-I’m just glad you decided to come. Yeah. And um, you look really good in my shirt.” You can see his ears reddening as he says this, and all of a sudden, you’re looking at anywhere but him.

There’s an awkward pause for a few moments, and then suddenly that molten lava feeling from a few weeks ago at the concert is back. You whip your head back towards Jungkook so fast, you think you might injure your neck. He has reached his hand across the console to where yours sits on your thigh, and as you watch, he intertwines your fingers with his. It feels like an out-of-body experience, where you’re watching yourself from above. Is this really happening? You glance up at Jungkook’s face with wild eyes, and he meets you with a steady smile. Not only is the molten lava feeling back, but it’s brought along the storm in the ocean feeling as well. Only this time, Jungkook is there to be the lighthouse that leads you back home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the drive is peaceful. Jungkook continues to hold your hand the rest of the way to the beach, shooting you smiles every time you look over at him. You’re so mesmerized, you don’t even realize that you’ve parked until he lets go.

He immediately rushes over to open your door after getting out of the car, and then proceeds to pop the trunk open and grabs a cooler and a picnic basket.

“Kook, what is all this?” your eyes widen in surprise.

“Please, like I was going to take you to the beach and not pack a picnic. We have to eat, don’t we? I got those weird sparkling waters you like too.”

Your response is to grab the picnic basket out of his hand and immediately intertwine your fingers again with his free hand. Jungkook looks like his face might split in half with how big his smile is.

“You like it?” he asks with a hint of uncertainty.

“I love it.”

The two of you walk hand in hand down the beach quite a ways before you find what Jungkook deems the ‘perfect spot’. “And what exactly makes it perfect?” you peer up at him.

“Easy-one, we’re snagging the last free shaded spot,” he points at the umbrella stuck in the sand, “and two-it’s far enough away from other people that I can work on songs without a ton of noise distracting me.”

“Are you sure I won’t distract you?” you frown slightly, worried that he won’t get any work done.

“You’re never a distraction, you’re an inspiration.” He winks conspiratorially at you, and chuckles at the flustered look on your face. He sets the cooler down under the umbrella and looks over at you. “There’s a blanket in the picnic basket, can you get it out? As much as I love the beach, I don’t really want to find sand in my shorts for the next month.”

You set the basket down next to the cooler, open the lid, and pull out a bright blue blanket. Jungkook takes one side, you take the other, and you unfold it and place it lightly on the sand. He immediately plops down on one side of the blanket and reaches his hand up toward you, motioning for you to take hold. As soon as you do, he yanks a little too hard, and you careen sideways onto the blanket and into his side. “Well, that’s one way to sit down I guess,” you laugh at his appalled face.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to pull that hard…” his brow furrows in worry.

“I’m good, weirdo. Great, even.” You reach into the cooler, pull out a sparkling water (key lime, your favorite), and pull the book you always keep in your bag out. You lay out on the blanket, propped up on your elbows, and begin to read. Jungkook lays down beside you in a similar position, pulling a small notebook out of his back pocket and starts scribbling.

You sit in this position for a couple of hours, silently working, occasionally catching each others’ eyes and smiling when you do. Suddenly there’s a loud rumbling beside you. You laugh. “Hungry, Kook?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he laughs, sits up and reaches over to pull the picnic basket closer to the two of you.

“What’s on the menu?” you peer over as he starts to pull plastic containers out.

“Gimbap. Simple, easy, and delicious.” He hands you one of the containers as he pulls out a second for himself.

“Did you make this yourself?” you ask, mouth half-full. He nods. “Delicious,” you concede through your mouthful. He grins.

“Maybe I could actually cook for you sometime. Without burning my hand on cookies, that is.”

“I’d like that,” you shyly respond, eyes firmly locked on the plastic container of gimbap in your lap.

“It’s a date, then.” Your eyes shoot up to meet his, and you can see dimples forming alongside his smile. You can’t help but smile back.

After eating, the two of you go back to your previous positions-you reading, him working on song lyrics in his notebook. This time, though, after about 30 minutes you start to get restless. Looking over at Jungkook, you notice he keeps shoving his hair behind his ears as it falls in his face while he’s writing. You rummage through your bag for a hair tie, and scoot over closer to him. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity at you, and you just lean over and gently start pulling his hair back for him into a half bun that matches the way his hair looked the night you first met.

“Better?” you ask quietly, running your fingers absentmindedly through the hair at the nape of his neck that’s too short for the bun. He looks up at you, awestruck.

“Everything is better with you,” he whispers. You’re not sure if he knows he’s said this out loud. He suddenly sits up on the blanket, flipping through the pages of his notebook he’s been working in. He stops about halfway through. “Can you look over these lyrics? I’m not sure they’re quite right, I need a second opinion.”

You look down at the page and see lyrics scribbled in Jungkook’s messy handwriting.

“I wish you were right here, right now”

“This mad, mad love makes you come running”

“See your face, hear my voice in the dark”

Different versions of these lyrics are scattered across the page, certain words changed, scribbled out, and moved around within phrases. As your eyes scan the page, they land on one final line etched out on the bottom of the page. No scribbles, no changes-it simply reads:

“I wish you knew that I’ll never forget you as long as I live.”

“This is really good, Kook! It’s so much different than the music the band’s done before, how’d you come up with this?” You’re genuinely curious, this almost seems more like a ballad compared to the band’s usual upbeat tunes.

Jungkook looks at you warmly. “I’ve had new inspiration lately, that’s all.” You suddenly notice that he’s way closer to you than he was when you started looking over his notes...he’s sitting directly in front of you now.

You feel frozen as you see him stealing glances at your lips while his face inches closer. Is he going to kiss you? He’s going to kiss you. Oh my gosh, JUNGKOOK IS GOING TO KISS YOU.

As his lips meet your own, the molten lava turns into an erupting volcano. You feel hot and tingly all over, and Jungkook is assaulting your senses in every way possible. You can smell his cologne, feel the softness of his lips, taste his mint chapstick, hear the satisfied hum that gets caught in his throat as your lips collide. Even though your eyes are closed, the vision of Jungkook leaning in to kiss you is seared into the backs of your eyelids.

The kiss is over far sooner than you’d like. As Jungkook retreats, he doesn’t go far, instead leaning his forehead against yours, gazing at you longingly. The stars in his eyes have become a full blown galaxy, and you can’t look away. Still recovering from the kiss, Jungkook breathily laughs.

“You make me want to write all the love songs in the world.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Margot is tugging insistently on your arm. “Hello? HELLO? Is there anyone in there?” she taps the side of your head. When you don’t respond, she grabs you by both shoulders and gives you a shake.

The room comes back into focus and you look over at your best friend with eyes still lightly glazed over. “Huh?”

“I said, it’s intermission...are you enjoying the show? You certainly seemed distracted by Jungkook-I saw him smile at you,” she grins. “Jin made eye contact with me a couple of times, he even winked!” she gushes, continuing to talk about how hot she thinks he is.

Your stomach feels like it’s dropped completely out of your body, and your throat has gone dry.

“Hey...you okay?” Margot notices that you still seem slightly out of it.

“Yeah, yeah...I just...need another drink, that’s all,” you manage to choke out, turning on your heel and heading straight to the bar. While the bartender works on your drink, you run through everything in your head. The texts...the dinner at the boys’ apartment...the beach. The kiss. None of it was real, was it? What was wrong with you?

You take the drink that’s slid across to you and head outside to a side alley beside the bar. No one’s there, everyone has gone to the bathroom or to refill their drinks while waiting on the band to return. You let out a deep sigh, leaning against the brick wall and running your hands through your hair, making it even frizzier than when the night started. At least it isn’t raining anymore, you think to yourself.

You return to the question Margot had asked you-are you okay? You’re not sure. You’d apparently made eye contact with Jungkook, a man you had never spoken to, and imagined a whole entire relationship with him in the span of half the band’s setlist. Are you that desperate for a man? Apparently. You let out a deep sigh, replaying the scenarios you had created in your head. Once your brain reaches the kiss again, you find yourself getting teary-eyed at how sweet Jungkook had been...in your head. You feel a tear escape, and you quickly swipe it away.

Taking a steadying breath, you push yourself off the wall and move towards the door to head back into the bar. As you reach for the handle, the door swings open and hits you in the shoulder, turning you slightly to the side and spilling your drink on your shirt and the cobblestones of the alley.

“...again?!” you mutter, looking down at your ruined shirt.

“Um...are you okay? I can go get you a new shirt to change into-wait here!” you hear a male’s voice, but as you look up, the bar door is already closing again as he’s gone inside.

A minute later, the door is swinging open again to reveal none other than Jungkook-hair in a half bun, eyeliner smudged, and in a white undershirt and ripped jeans. Just like in your imagination.

He reaches out to you with a black t-shirt in his hand. “Yoongi’s pissed because these aren’t even ready to be sold, but whatever. Just think of it as an exclusive sneak peek or something,” he parrots your imagined scenario you had played in your head moments ago.

“Thanks,” you say as you take the shirt, unfolding it to see the familiar graffiti design.

“It’s the least I could do for a pretty girl whose Eagles tee I ruined, don’t worry about it. Yoongi will get over it.” Jungkook smiles at you the same way he did during the first half of the show. One thing your brain got right are the stars in his eyes sparkling at you, which makes you smile back at him.

“Hey, I need to get back to make sure we’re ready for the second half of the show, but it was nice to meet you. You should hang back after the show-Jin thinks your friend is cute, and he was talking about inviting her to come grab food with us when we’re done. Yoongi can’t come and I don’t want to be a third wheel. Come hang out with us and save me from dying of awkwardness?” he looks at you shyly, his rock star persona melting away completely.

“I’ll think about it,” you tease, turning away and heading back into The Dynasty. Jungkook is left wide eyed in your wake, smiling as he turns to head towards the backstage door.

You meet up with Margot again after changing into your new shirt. The crowd has started to gather in anticipation of the second half of the show. “Hey Mar, let’s move all the way up,” you motion at the space in front of the stage.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Margot gapes at you in disbelief, but follows your lead as you weave through the crowd to get to front stage center. You shrug goodnaturedly and just smile as an answer.

A moment later, Jin, Yoongi and Jungkook come from backstage to get in place for the second half of their set. You can see Jungkook scanning the crowd, brows slightly furrowed. You give a small wave, which catches his attention, and his nose scrunches in a smile as he sends an enthusiastic wave back. ‘I like your shirt’ he mouths at you as he settles behind his drum kit, winking as he does so. You can feel the heat creeping onto your cheeks as a bar employee strides across the stage to the mic and the crowd starts cheering.

“Give it up again for Gold Rush!”

My Writes

Adult / Mature Content. 🔞

Please note that all my works have named OCs. I do not write 'Y/N' or 'x Reader' fics (just a personal writing preference).

Click on below links for more info about each work (all posted on AO3).

Peonies in the Abyss. - WIP. Series. Spy / Secret Agent AU. Explicit smut and violence.

Red, Green, and Gold. - Completed. Holiday / Christmas fic. Explicit smut.

2! 3! 4?: Completed. PWP / Threesome drabble. Roommates AU. Explicit smut.

When We Were... Us. - Completed. Series. Arranged Marriage AU. Explicit smut.

All Rights Reserved.

December = Red, Green, and Gold time...

My Writes

Adult / Mature Content. 🔞

Please note that all my works have named OCs. I do not write 'Y/N' or 'x Reader' fics (just a personal writing preference).

Click on below links for more info about each work.

Peonies in the Abyss. - WIP. Series. Spy / Secret Agent AU. Explicit smut and violence.

Red, Green, and Gold. - Completed. Holiday / Christmas fic. Explicit smut. On AO3 and Wattpad.

2! 3! 4?: Completed. PWP / Threesome drabble. Roommates AU. Explicit smut.

When We Were... Us. - Completed. Series. Arranged Marriage AU. Explicit smut.

All Rights Reserved.

Elder Vampire! Seokjin x Newborn Vampire! Reader: Blood is Red

<;- Previous / Next ->

Part iii

A/n:

(In this AU just the bute doesn't change you, it kills you untill you are provided the blood of an pure blood vampire within a certain time to get turned... my au my rules 😛) There are gonna be mentions of blood and almost death so read with caution.

Summary: Namu clan has always been very strict and secretive as to whom they let into their clan. And go strictly by the rules of the Vampire Community as to never put a threat to their identity. What happens when Jimin finds a girl on the verge of death in an abandoned street.

----------------------------------------------------

You're eyes went wide in shock, an attack.

"Jihyo grab Yn and step into the sanctum, if things go bad then leave for the be lift house. But at all cost donot let her out of your sight" Seokjin spoke in a hurry.

"No Jin I don't wanna go! No!" Jihyo tried to pull you away.

"It's okay Yn-ah, I'll cime find you its not much people. Don't worry" and with that he kissed you forehead.

"Lets go!" Jihyo said and the two of you sped to through different corridors.

"Who do you think attacked? Could it be the Argon clan?" You asked a shiver running down your spine as you spat the name

"No, they wouldn't be that stupid to attack us directly, and it smells different" she said taking a sharp turn "sniff the air" she said.

"It smells different. Human" you said and suddenly you heard some voices. You stopped at you place on hearing them. And within seconds you rushed to where you heard them from not caring of Jihyo shouting and rushed. You stopped behind a wall and stopped to hear what was being spoken. As soon as you noticed Jihyo reach back you signalled her to keep quiet.

"How dare you walk into your territory unannounced! You mutt" You heard Jungkook speak, hatred laced in his words.

"Careful with what you say if you don't want this silver through your heart" you heard one of the intruders say.

"Now now, Jungkook don't be rude" You heard Jin say.

"We traced that you have captured and are holding our friend hostage. My kin" The second intruder said, putting a stress on the phrase 'my kin' what did he mean by that, you wondered.

Jin chuckled and said "Capturing and holding hostages is not done in this house. Perhaps you have the wrong house Min Yoongi." Jin said and your eyes went wide at the name.

"I swear I'll-" the other started to charge but you ran out and stood guard infront of the now shocked intruder and Jin.

"Hosu" you said and looked at your childhood friend whom you thought you knew fully, but now his demeanor changed.

"Ciel" you said, to the other seemingly childhood bestfriend of yours. You knew he was killer but never thought you'd see him like this, gun in his hand.

The two of them went oale as soon as they took in your figure, your skin, your demeanor and you fangs, almost threatening them. That was when you realised, Hosu's eyes got glassy and his legs were almost quivering and even Ciel had the same expression.

"What have they done to you!" Hosu tried to run to you but Jihyo and Jimin blocked their path.

"What do you mean! And why do you have guns and uh what's that obnoxious smell" you said.

"That's the smell of the mutts" Jungkook said, chuckling.

"I am confused abd what name did you just call Ciel with Jin?" You asked finally looking at him

"So these are your Hosu and Ciel. No doubt Namjoon never found them" Jin said with a smirk.

You looked at the duo as they looked and you and said "Yn we can explain, but please don't drive is away" Hosu said.

"You guys go back to the base" Yoongi said sternly and the group of about ten people that were standing behind them, equally armed, left.

"Let's sit and talk" you said and sat on the ground.

"Wah! So hospitable" Hosu scoffed.

But you gave him a stern look that made him shut up and sit on the ground.

"What happened to you Yn. We've been searching for you but you were no where!" Ciel said

You then conveyed the whole story of what happened that night and how you were actually saved. Hosu almost seemed he could cry.

"But your cafe owner called us and said that you spilled hot coffee over you and were admitted on in the hospital and our car got jumped on in an alley and then we couldn't find the cafe owner either" Yoongi said "By the time we shook them off and went to the hospital she had told her it was past midnight and we got to know you never went to that hospital and we've been searching since then"

"But why would Ms. Lee do that?" You asked

"What's her full name?" Namjoon asked "Let me look her up"

"Lee Jieun", you said and they all froze"

"You worked for Lee Jieun? Yn!" Hosu shouted "You always called her Ms. Lee" he freaked out

"I don't understand why is that a big deal? And it didn't come up" you said.

"Lee Jieun is the leader of Argon clan" Jihyo said.

"Not just that they killed yours and my parents" Hosu said.

"But-but my parents died in a car accident and you said you never knew yours!" You said.

"That's not true, Yn, you think you know us from the orphanage where you went when you were 10, but you have known the two of us all your life" Ciel said.

Suddenly, Jin shouted out "Yoongi! No!"

"She deserves to know Kim, no matter what her Mr. Ln had wanted it doesn't matter cause its her life that is on the line and she deserves the truth" Ciel no Yoongi said.

But you could hear him, you couldn't hear all their banters and arguments, you felt as if a rush of memories suddenly entered your head like a stream. Memories of two boys and grown ups, you parents.

(italics is flash back)

"Hobi! Pass me the ball" you shouted at the child with a bright smile. "Yoongi come play" you shouted at the sleeping child

"No I'm too tired for this" he said.

Yes, you knew these two kids. The scene changes to when the three of you kids where put in a vehicle, and your parents told you from the window that they'll come and get you that you'll be fine. You cried so hard, that was the first time you saw Yoongi cry as well, but Hoseok held the both of you on his two sides securely and Yoongi's mother drove and tried to say soothing words. You remembered you you spent a week in a house in the middle of the forest with Yoongi's mom at Hoseok's grandparents' home, from where you had almost gotten kidnapped, and Hoseok had gone through his first even transformation to save you from those vampires.

The scenes changed again as you saw a very familiar face who soothed you as you cried. You remember seeing him before many times as he visited your house and spoilt you with gifts. Who held you in his arms when you were crying from the pain of the loss of your parents and told you that everything will be fine and then his eyes turned a blue color.

You remembered how you forgot so many important parts of your life and him.

(end of flash back)

You felt e every childhood memory surface and coursed through your mind and you called out.

"Hobi? Yoongi? Jinnie?" The sound if those familiar names in your mouth sounded like homey to the eyes of the three respective boys. And Hoseok literally ran past a of the vampires and engulfed you in a tight hug. You melted in the embrace of your best friend, you missed him. Yes, growing up was difficult for you three but jt was more difficult for these two and you realised that now.

"You're cold" he mumbled.

"You stink" you said.

"That's the mutt" Jungkook saud shrugging.

"Stop calling the wolf a mutt" you said.

"You remember?" You heard Jin ask.

"Everything Jinnie" you said as you watched the older man's ear turn red at the sound of the name you used to call him when you were a child.

"I am still sitting here" you heard Yoongi sigh. You just walked up and tackled in down in a hug. You heard him whimper, and say "I thought we had lost you. We looked through the whole city"

"Of course you did, I left no trace" Jimin said scoffing.

"That's good though, but I know as a fact that they know Yn is alive and they have been sniffing around" Hobi said.

"Then we need to be prepared" Jihyo declared.

"I think its time we take matters in our hands as the Lords have been turning a blind eye to their deeds" Jin said

"But why?" you asked wondering.

"Because the leader of the clan is one if the Lord's niece" Jungkook said.

"But why is the leader after me and why were only my memories taken away?" You said.

"Be-" hobi was interrupted by Jin who said "Let me explain that" he continued to say "Yn, you and Yoongi are the descendants of famous hunter families. While Yoongi's grandfather and father died in a raid when you were very small. Yn your grandfather and parents ran loads of missions helping the soldiers of the Lords capture rogue and human hunting vampires. A huge amount of them belonged from the Argon clan. In one such mission you killed her Mother" he said and you were shocked.

"I? Wasn't I small?" You said.

"You were but you've aways had impenetrable targets, and even at the age of eight. I know its all hazy but the memories will get back to you. Her mother had attacked your mother and in order to save your own you threw a silver dager at her immediately paralyzing her and your mother killed her. So the leader Lee Jieun, holds you responsible. And regarding your memories, you see a lot of factors and elements come together and make up the scent of any being. Masking his scent was easy for Hoseok as he is a were wolf, but you and Yoongi needed monthly dose of potions, that I used to make. But your grandfather had told me, if something bad were to happen to him or your family, I mist wipe and lock away all your abilities so that you are kept safe and away from this world. You spend ages in that orphanage in Busan and then came back to Seoul, you were somehow tracked" Jin ended.

"Jin has always protected you from the shadows" Jihyo said.

"That piece of information was unnecessary" Jin scoffed

"You knew!" Namjoon and Taehyung spoke at once.

"Yeah only Jin and I knew" Jihyo said.

You just smiled and went and embraced the older Vampire. You didn't know why but you always felt a warmth from Jin. Jihyo said it could be due to a slight bond that might have been created due to the fact that he gave you his blood. But, you couldn't help but feel it only that made you all these stuff towards him.

----------------------------------------------------

The dinner plans had changed slightly as Jin invited your two friends to the dinner as well.

Yoongi had helped Jin into making a decent meal and all the 10 of you loved it. You discussed that it was time that the vampires and werewolfs joined hands in getting the Argon clan to stay in the line.

"I'll speak to the pack leader and arrange a meeting as soon as possible, hyung"

"Hey Hoseok" Jungkook suddenly called and you hit his arm accross the table

"Ouch what?" He said glaring at you

"He's older call him hyung, both of them" you said

"What do you mean he's older no he's not" Jimin said

"I am considering the biological age which is more for him and I wont repeat myself" you said sternly knowing that the boys already loved you enough to not be able to disobey you.

"Okay, Hoseok hyung" Jungkook said deadpanning.

The whole time Jin just stared at you, marvelling the way you spoke and handled his brothers. You didn't notice that but he was smiling to himself and had eyes full of adoration which didn't go unnoticed by Taehyung and Yoongi.

You exchanged numbers with your friends before they left and gave each of them a hug.

"Be safe, please" you told the both of them as you watched them drive off.

"Okay, now who will fix the door that they broke?" Jihyo muttered as soon as their car was seen to drive off.

"I'll get the tool box" Taehyung said "Yn take Namjoon hyung away"

"Hey!" Namjoon protested.

----------------------------------------------------

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Your Touch//KSJ (3/4)

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Soulmate + Idol AU

[Everybody has a black mark on their body where their soulmate will touch them for the first time. When your soulmate touches you both your marks burst into different colors. Only one problem, your soulmate hates you]

This story is so cringy istg

Welp. Thanks for reading my trashy story. The next part will be out I don't know when.

(Warning: Angst is not my thing but I tried and it ended up like... this.)

3.2k Words

The next day Seokjin lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. He couldn't help but think about the day before, and think about Y/n.

All the things he had heard about Y/n, all the thoughts he had about her, they all seemed to disappear the night before as he pulled her away from the ledge.

He couldn't help but wonder, did Jihye really tell him the truth? Everything she told him, there was no way Y/n actually did any of that. Of course he couldn't judge Y/n based on one night, but she looked so helpless that night. She didn't seem as if she'd be able to hurt someone smaller than her, let alone someone feisty like Jihye.

He sighed and rolled over. He didn't want to think about this so early in the morning. He'd ask Jihye about it later.

He heard notification ring on his phone. He grabbed it off of the table and clicked on it.

[(2) messages from Jihye❤]

Jihye❤: Have a good day today Jinnie~

Jihye❤: I love you~

You: I love you too

He turned his phone off and put it back on the table. Her messages didn't make his heart flutter anymore. The thought that she might have lied to him about everything... it ate him up inside.

He shook his head frantically. He reminded himself to ask her later, there was no point in wondering about it now.

He thought about how he and Y/n used to be friends. His heart seemed to twist the more thought about it. He smiled unconsciously, thinking about everything. His heart was fluttering as he remembering how she smiled when they surprised her on her birthday years ago.

But then...

He was hit with a realization. He had been in love.

All those years ago, when everyone he had seen her, he thought that what he had been feeling was normal. He thought it was normal for friends to feel that way to each other. He had asked Taehyung about it once, who had simply responded with "No, I don't have a crush on her...? She's just my friend."

He had assumed Taehyung was just being his weird self, but if he was the only one who felt that was about Y/n at the time...

He groaned and covered his eyes. Well, there was nothing he could do now.

He got out of bed. Stretching, he realized he didn't have Y/n's number, so how was he supposed to ask her about the soulmate thing? He did know someone who had her number, but he wasn't sure he would give it to him.

He went out of his room and looked around. Sure enough, Taehyung was on the sofa scrolling on his phone. Seokjin approached him a little warily, not sure how to ask him for what he wanted.

"What are you doing?" Taehyung asked, smiling up at Seokjin. Seokjin had been trying to creep up behind him.

Seokjin hesitated, then just decided to go for it.

"Taehyung, do you have Y/n's number?"

Taehyung's smile vanished and Seokjin felt bad. Obviously Taehyung still remembered what Seokjin had said about Y/n nearly a year ago, of course he would be hesitant to give her number to him.

"Why do you want it?"

"I just need it. Please, Taehyung."

"Answer my question."

Seokjin didn't know what he should say. How could he explain everything to Taehyung?

"Yesterday... me and Y/n talked. She told me that she would tell me something today, but I don't have her number."

Taehyung raised his eyebrow at him. "And you're telling the truth?"

"Yes, Taehyung, why wouldn't I be? Just trust me, please. I need her number."

Taehyung looked hesitant, but something about Seokjin's plea must have struck him, because suddenly he had pulled out her contact and was showing it to Seokjin.

"Don't say anything weird to her, okay? We haven't talked in a while but... I'm not sure she's okay. I want to talk to her myself but I don't know if I'd be annoying her or not."

Seokjin remembered what happened last night. He wasn't sure if Taehyung should know. For now he'd keep it a secret...

He thanked Taehyung and saved the number in his phone. He wasn't sure if she was free, but it wouldn't hurt to text her, right?

You: Hello, is this Y/n?

???: Who is this?

He paused. Was this really Y/n? Did Taehyung give him a wrong number? Had she changed her number? He couldn't risk telling a stranger who he was.

You: We talked last night

???: Give me your name

You: I can't do that...

???: Which Y/n are you looking for?

You: The idol? Part of a group called Echo, she's the maknae.

It was only now Seokjin realized how weird this must be. Y/n probably thought he was some crazed fan who got her number, no wonder she was pretending

It was a clever strategy now that he thought about it.

???: You've got the wrong person

You: This is seokjin!!

???: ...

You: Last night we met at the rooftop

You: You told me you'd explain something to me

???: OHHHH

???: I'm sorry, I always do that

You: Thank god

[Successfully changed ???'s name to Y/n]

Y/n: It's a bit hard to explain over text...

You: Then should we meet up?

Y/n: I would... but Dispatch is a bitch

You: ㅋㅋ yeah

You: I'm filming for a drama today. You could come visit once the filming's finished. Reporters aren't allowed back there

Y/n: Sure

Seokjin sent her the details and time, then closed his phone. He would have to go now otherwise he would be late for filming.

You put down your phone with shaking hands. How were you supposed to explain everything to him? You supposed Taehyung had given him your number. You hadn't talked to Taehyung in a while, so you couldn't help but wonder how he was doing.

Wait...

You opened the message again and looked at what Seokjin had sent. Drama?? HE WAS FILMING FOR A DRAMA!?

You inner fangirl was coming out and you gripped the phone hard. He was filming for a drama. No matter how much he hated you, you'd always be a huge fangirl, and all you could think about was actor Seokjin was coming!! You had been waiting for this ever since they debuted!

Moon had woken up beside you. At first she looked confused as to why you were there, but then she remembered what happened last night. You smiled innocently at her and she rolled her eyes. But she seemed to soften a little and she turned her head towards you.

"So did you have a nightmare last night?"

"Kind of..."

She frowned. You used to have horrible nightmares when you were trainees, and they continued when you first debuted. After a while they had stopped, but Moon was worried you were having them again.

You wanted to reassure her that you weren't having nightmares, but you didn't really know what to say.

"I didn't have a nightmare. I just... wanted to sleep with someone."

That wasn't entirely a lie. You were a very cuddly person, kind of like a koala, so it wasn't suspicious or anything.

"And why did you choose me?" Moon asked

"Cause you ask the least questions. Or at least I thought you did..."

"Come on," she said, getting up. "Let's go eat something."

She pulled you up and you followed after her into the kitchen.

You had to stop yourself from telling them about actor Seokjin, no matter how excited you were.

It was getting closer to the time Seokjin had sent you to meet him. Your hands were shaking. How were you supposed to explain everything to him? You asked Bamie for the car keys and told her you were going to meet one of your friends.

"But your ankle?" She asked.

"That's why I'm going in the car. You really think my ankle can't take it?"

She hesitantly gave you the keys and you sprinted outside (which would earn you a scolding from Bamie after you came back). Getting in the car, you drove to the location he told you about.

You parked the car and headed inside the building. There were staff rushing everywhere. Some of them peered curiously at you, making you pull your hat down even lower over your face.

You followed a staff member who was holding a a camera, and sure enough he led you to a place where they were filming Seokjin for something. Right now it didn't look like anything important was going on, they were just shooting some promotion pictures.

Seokjin caught your eye and waved you over. The manager told everyone to take a break and Seokjin walked towards you.

He looked like he was going to shake your hand, but he saw the bandages on your wrist and remembered what had happened last night.

"How are you?" he asked a little awkwardly. "Have your cuts healed?"

"Fine, and yeah my cuts don't hurt anymore I guess..."

You both sat down out of earshot of the staff, and you tried your best to explain. Truthfully, you could've told him all this over the phone, but you had your own question you wanted to ask.

"You must be wondering about the cuts, right?"

He nodded.

"I... I read about this online so I don't know if it's accurate, but when two soulmates don't touch each others marks, this happens."

"Cuts appear?"

"Mhm."

"But why? It was an accident, right? And why isn't it happening to me too?" Seokjin became more and more frustrated. "It's not fair that only you get hurt."

"...it wasn't an accident. I moved away on purpose."

"What?" Seokjin stared at you, confused, and though he wouldn't admit it, a little hurt. "Why would you do that?"

"It was kind of a reflex. I... I did it because..." You closed your eyes. "To answer that first I need to ask you my own question."

Seokjin hesitated, but he felt it was only fair. "Okay," he said. "Go ahead."

"Why did you save me? I thought you hated me."

It felt as if he had gotten punched in the gut. He was lost for words, what was he supposed to say to that?

"Why... Why would you think that?" It came out less than a whisper.

You swallowed thickly and spoke. "I heard you. I know it's kind of pathetic that I'm keeping a grudge on something that happened nearly a year ago, but backstage at an award show, I heard you. I- I thought you didn't want anything to do with me, and I didn't want to annoy you so I tried to keep out of your way. So when you tried to grab me on the roof my first thought was to twist away and- well, you know."

Seokjin could do nothing but stare at her. Never, never in a million years did he ever think she could have heard that. He wanted to scream at himself.

'Why would I say that? Why would I say that when she could've heard me? Why am I such an idiot!?'

"Y/n..." he whispered, covering his eyes with the palm of his hands.

You didn't hear him. "I'm sorry if I've ever done anything to you. I just-"

"Y/n," he repeated, a bit louder this time. "It's not your fault."

You looked up at him. "Then why...?"

There was a reason to why he had hated her. But he was starting to doubt it.

"Do you know Jihye?" He wanted to know if what she had told him about Y/n was true.

You face fell and you looked away, closing your eyes.

"Yeah, I know her. We collaborated with her once."

"Were you on good terms?"

You hesitated. "Would you believe me if I told you the truth?"

Seokjin studied your face carefully. You didn't look like you were about to lie to him. He decided to trust you, just this once.

"Of course."

"She hated me," you spat out. "I don't know why, I had never met her before that, but she had it in for me. Ridiculed me, hurt me, promised that she'd make my life hell in every way possible. She stole my lyrics and passed them off as her own, and then claimed I had tried to steal them from her. I'm sure she was insane because she promised me she would make sure my soulmate never loves me, and that he already loved her..." you voice trailed off.

Your eyes widened in realization and you turned around to face Seokjin. The look on his face was pure shock. He slowly shook his head after you finished speaking and stood up.

"You can't be serious."

You didn't answer him and stood up as well, looking up at him.

"You're dating her aren't you?" You breath was becoming a little shaky as you spoke. "What has she told you about me?"

"Exactly what you just told me, and- and more..." he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something and closed it again, stepping away. "Who am I supposed to believe? How do I know you're not lying?"

You looked down. Jihye was right. She really could take everything away from you. For a second you thought you really could have a soulmate who loves you, but she had taken that away from you too.

"Forget I said anything." You started walking away as Seokjin stood there, not sure what to do.

No wonder Seokjin hated you, Jihye had been telling him lies all this time. She had taken your lyrics, your reputation, and now your soulmate.

You had already started driving away when Seokjin came to his senses and realized what had happened. He told his manager he was going and then got into his own car.

He drove towards Jihye's place. When he reached he parked his car outside and hurried out, ringing the doorbell.

She opened the door and looked up at him, a bright smile on her face. It soon vanished, however, when she saw his cold expression. She brought him inside, laughing nervously.

"Why are you here, Jinnie?"

"Jihye, everything you've ever told me about Y/n, is it all true?"

She laughed nervously. "Of course it is, Jin-"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and locked eyes with her. "Promise me. Promise me you weren't lying, and that this whole time I haven't been trusting you in vain."

"I promise." She held his hands in hers. "I promise, everything I told you was the truth."

Her eyes never once wavered from his. Seokjin wanted to believe her. He really did.

"What if I told you Y/n was my soulmate? What would you say to that?"

"Well... it's not like you love her. You love me, don't you?"

Seokjin bit his lip. "I- I do, Jihye, but I don't know if you've been lying to me or not."

"Why would I lie to you, Jin!? And even if Y/n is your soulmate, after everything she's done, would you still-?"

"Of course not," Seokjin whispered.

"I love you," Jihye said suddenly, hugging Seokjin tightly. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her and returned the embrace.

"Oh! That reminds me," she chirped. "I've got something to show you. Wait here."

She ran into her room and Seokjin could hear her scuffling about. He couldn't help but feel like she had changed the subject a little too quickly.

He heard a phone ding and immediately started searching for his own, but realized it wasn't his making the sounds. He looked over on the sofa and saw Jihyes phone laying there, her screen lighting up from the notifications.

He knew he shouldn't intrude her privacy, and he wasn't going to, until he saw who sent it. He struggled with himself for a second, then picked up her phone.

[You have received (7) messages from Y/n]

He shot a glance towards the doorway of her room and clicked on the notification.

Y/n: You've won

Y/n: Is that what you wanted to hear me say?

Y/n: You won, Jihye

Y/n: You've taken my reputation, half of my career, and now my soulmate

Y/n: I hope you're happy

Y/n: I have one request, treat Seokjin well. He didn't ask to be fucking manipulated by you

Y/n: Whatever you said to him, it worked. Just stop with the blackmail, you've already got everything you wanted

Seokjin scrolled further up the chat and saw... everything. Y/n had been telling the truth. Jihye had been taking her lyrics, blackmailing her, and a number of other things.

Jihye reappeared into the room, bouncing happily. She saw Seokjin holding her phone and glaring at her, and froze.

"Jinnie, what are you doing on my phone?"

"You did lie to me," he whispered. "What have you been doing to Y/n?"

Jihye's expression changed. Her smile was wiped off her face, and her mouth turned into a kind of snarl.

"Well, why do you care anyway? It's just Y/n, and it's not like you've been the nicest to her either. Why are you shifting all the blame to me?"

"You made me hate her!! I believed you, and look where that got me!!

She scoffed. "It got you a beautiful girlfriend, didn't it?"

He opened his mouth but he isn't know what to say. He was so mad at her, he just- he didn't know what he would do.

"I'm breaking up with you," he said simply and started walking out.

"What!?" She grabbed his arm. "You can't just do that-"

"I can and I have." He pulled her hand away. "At least Y/n didn't fucking trick me into wanting to love her."

He walked out and slammed the door behind him. Getting into his car, he started driving towards Y/n's dorm. When he got there he jumped out of the car and ran up to the door of her place.

He knocked on the door and was greeted by Keun. "What are you doing here...?" She asked.

"Can I talk to Y/n?"

She slowly let him in and he ran towards where your room was. (It wasn't hard to find since you had pasted your name on it)

He opened the door a crack and saw you sitting with your legs crossed on your bed. He couldn't exactly make out what you were doing, from there it just looked like you were staring at your fingers. He opened the door a bit more and walked in. You looked up at him, confused.

"Sorry...?" He mumbled, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have believed her without proof I'm so-"

"Don't be," you interrupted. "How did you find out?"

"I saw the messages you sent her." He gestured towards the phone laying next to you. You looked up at him with a slightly parted mouth, you didn't think he was the one reading them.

"Can we talk?" He asked. You nodded and moved up on the bed, letting him sit down next to you.

You two talked until the sun went down. By the time Seokjin realized he had to go home, you had already fallen in love.

Oneshots Masterlist

<Previous part> Your Touch//KSJ (2/4)

<Next part> Your Touch//KSJ (4/4)

On Call (Seokjin x OC)

Summary: Seokjin finally sees the inside of an on-call room. Nari acknowledges something.

Pairing: Seokjin x OC

Genre: Best friends; Minor smut, humour, angst

Word count: 8.7 K

Rating: 18+

Warnings: making out, fingering, unprotected sex, tension, talks

A/N: This fic is set eight months after Strawberry and Vanilla. Thank you to @cui-nisi for the stellar song rec <3

Tagging: @bbl32 @quarter-life-crisis2 @meirkive @dreaming-with-happiness @kflixnet (drop a message if you want to be added)

Listen to: "awkward" by sza

seokjin masterlist | main masterlist

Of all the things to happen tonight, this wasn’t on the list of impulses Nari thought she’d be acting on.

“Is the door locked?” she gasps as his lips trail down her jaw.

In response, Seokjin walks her backwards until her back touches the door. One hand gripping her waist, he reaches to touch the lock with the other, mouth still on her neck. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Okay, then,” she murmurs hurriedly, pushing him back by the shoulders further into the dark on-call room, with nothing but the moonlight through the window illuminating their illicit activities.

Their clothes are off without fuss; it’s almost as if Seokjin wasn’t stopping by the hospital just to return the backpack she’d left at his house yesterday. The way their lips find each other every time, the way they’re of an almost equal height every step of the way - it makes no sense that they would succumb to this again if not for the fact that it simply had to happen sometime. No, their actions are too quick, too familiar, to the point where Nari feels like his fingers are the only ones that have ever been inside of her.

It’s just enough to check how wet she is. “M-m, I can’t,” she whines softly, her back arching slightly on the bed as his thick hair tickles her breasts. His lips are soft on her ribcage, his fingers slow yet firm on her clit. 

Seokjin looks up at her words, his fingers freezing for a second. “What?” he asks hurriedly.

She shakes her head and pulls him up for another kiss, and his fingers resume their work. Her knees bend of their own accord, her hands feel his slender torso on hers as she moves her legs to allow him to settle comfortably in between them. Without breaking the kiss, Nari reaches for his erection, stiff against the inside of her thigh.

“Fuck,” he groans softly, removing his fingers instantly and nudging her legs further apart, his tip touching her core tantalizingly. 

“Come on,” she murmurs, raising her hips slightly. “I need to get back to the ER before anyone notices I’m gone.”

“Yeah, okay,” he replies, kissing her again before positioning himself. “Wait.”

“What?”

Seokjin swallows and, if she’s not mistaken, blushes slightly. “I don’t - I don’t have a condom. Do you?” he asks after a moment.

Nari blinks. “Um… no. You - you don’t have one?”

“No. I don’t carry one around in my wallet, you know?”

“Seriously?” she whispers, propping herself up on her elbows. “Why did we - how -”

“I’m sure we can get one. Isn’t this a hospital?”

She gives him a look. “We don’t have bowls of free condoms outside on-call rooms, Seokjin.”

“Okay.” There’s a pause as they both consider this. Then he looks up at her again. “I can… pull out. If that’s alright?”

Nari raises her eyebrows. “Yeah?” she asks hopefully.

His plush lips curve into a small smile. “Yeah. I can pull out, I think.”

“You think?”

“No, I - I know I can. I can,” he repeats, sounding slightly more confident. “I can. I will, I promise.”

She nods jerkily. “Okay. Alright, then,” she agrees, tilting her head up and capturing his lips in hers again as she falls back on the bed. “Now where were we?”

Sex with Seokjin this time has none of the hesitancy it did the last time. If anything, it has urgency. Desperation. While part of that could be attributed to how they should absolutely not be in here, especially since he doesn’t even work at the hospital, the rest of it seems to be dominated purely by impulse. As Nari feels him inside her, feels this elusive yet familiar touch for the first time in nearly a year, her mind goes blank, trying only to capture as many of the endorphins from this brief sexual encounter as it can before she returns to real life.

Their sounds are soft, thankfully. Even when Nari finishes, her moans muffled against his shoulder, she doesn’t think it would be audible outside this room. Her eyes flutter open as she catches her breath, taking in Seokjin’s perfectly crafted silhouette, the moonlight highlighting his jawline. A lock of his hair falls into his eyes as he moves in rhythm, eyes squeezing shut and head thrown back as he goes faster. Nari touches it gently, watching his fingers run through the strands like water, feeling him deep, deep inside her. She closes her eyes again when he pulls her closer by the thigh, his grunts in tandem.

She hears him groan softly before feeling warm spurts on her abdomen. She registers the cool, empty feeling as she opens her eyes, just in time for him to press a kiss to her lips. 

“That was amazing,” he sighs, rolling off her and onto his back beside her. Nari shifts to make room for him on the narrow cot, sitting up slightly and reaching half-blindly for a tissue box she’d spotted when they’d first stumbled into this room.

“Yeah, it was,” she murmurs honestly, the tingle from her orgasm still not fully gone. She wipes herself down and chucks the soiled tissue across the small room, watching it bounce against the rim of the dustbin and fall to the ground. Too weak in the knees to care, she lies back down.

Neither of them says anything for a few seconds, the aftereffects of their spontaneous act slowly settling down like dust. Nari can hear his heavy breathing next to her, every breath getting slower and steadier as he comes down from his high. She wonders momentarily if it would be strange for her to curl into his side. 

It would, she decides a moment later. All this happened because she’d been whining and complaining to Seokjin about how stressed she was - enough, apparently, that he felt the need to kiss her in a deserted corridor to shut her up. It was hasty and messy, and despite how it undoubtedly helped take away some of her temporary stress, cuddling was nowhere in the implicit agreement. 

“Shit.”

Seokjin’s voice breaks her out of her reverie. Something seems to have just occurred to him.

They weren’t supposed to do this again; it wouldn’t be surprising if he regrets it already. None of it was planned: not his visit, not her relief at seeing his perfect face in a sea of exhausted doctors, not the mutual impulse of having a quickie in an on-call room. Nari recalls the moment of doubt they had fifteen minutes ago, an ominous sign that they were not ready for this, and her chest contracts in panic.

“What?” she asks gingerly.

He sighs, and she feels his fingers brush hers. She sees him shake his head slightly.

“I forgot your charger.”

—

It’s early evening when Seokjin sets off for Shin Hyeri’s house. It’s not just she who lives there, though; apparently it’s home to no less than four of the doctors who work at the hospital, making it the most common location for a night of drinks with Nari’s resident class.

Nari had invited him weeks ago, begging him to join. I want you to meet my friends - my other friends, Kimbap, she’d said. Plus, it’s a Taboo night. You know you want to.

He does want to. There are so many things he feels he wants right now, but he can’t put his finger on a single one. The resulting confusion, combined with the low hum of anxiety at having to meet a dozen new people, along with the fact that he hasn’t spoken to Nari since their tryst from last night, makes Seokjin certain with each step that he’d rather sit this night out.

He was ready to, in all honesty. Nari hadn’t mentioned this plan after he’d accepted her invite, and he was starting to think she’d forgotten altogether. He would’ve asked, but they’d separated rather quickly last night. They stumbled out of the on-call room in a haze of pheromones and the vaguely mischievous feeling of getting away with something, straightening their clothes and fixing their hair. They walked in silence till the end of the corridor, beyond which was the chaotic ER.

Nari turned to him, her face flushed. Seokjin was sure it was the after-effects of a spontaneous quickie, but he was suddenly aware of how genuinely pretty his best friend was.

“You know I didn’t plan -” She broke off, biting her lip. She was trying to suppress a smile as she shook her head, as though sharing an awkward joke.

Seokjin knew what she meant. “I know,” he said. “I didn’t either.”

There didn’t seem to be a need to say anything else. Seokjin, at least, had no desire at the time to dissect his feelings about it and it didn’t seem that Nari had the time to. A pained scream sounded in the ER just then, terribly incongruous to Nari’s comforting, familiar, female form, a sound that made his insides curl up in fear.

Nari whipped around at the sound before sighing. “I really need to -” She pointed to the door, already taking a step back. “I’m sorry. Thanks for - thanks for coming. I mean, not like that,” she amended, groaning when he chuckled.

“Careful, Nari. You may be having a k-drama moment right now.”

As expected, she screwed up her face in mock-disgust. “Never.”

Seokjin grinned. “I’ll send your charger to the hospital in the morning,” he promised, watching her face break out into a relieved smile before she turned around to go save a life.

The only reason Seokjin even remembered this plan at Hyeri’s house was because it was the day before he had to leave for Yeongam. After last night, he may have avoided it entirely had it not been a hasty text from Nari this morning, reminding him.

You’re still coming to Hyeri’s tonight right? There’s Baileys and charades.

It’s not the prospect of coffee liqueur or a strangely competitive game that spurs Seokjin to go; it’s the fact that once he received her message, he realised he’d been expecting it all along. 

While the previous night was not uncomfortable in any way, he respects the fact that she seems to go on normally after it, which encourages him - and makes it clear to him that he will not be the one to shake their retained normality. The text, the invite - all of it points to last night being spur of the moment and everything carrying on normally.

Seokjin checks his phone for the map to see that he’s less than a minute away from Hyeri’s. He’d opted to walk; the weather was pleasant and, besides, he felt he could use this time to prepare for an entire evening spent with people he doesn’t know - apart from Nari.

Once he reaches, he contemplates texting Nari to open the door. Ringing the doorbell would attract attention, he feels, but before he can make a decision, the door swings open to reveal a girl in mid-conversation with someone inside the house.

“- and some more ice,” she calls before turning around and seeing Seokjin. Her business-like face goes slack and she gulps. “Um…” Her gaze pans slowly over his form, as though he’s a different species and not, perhaps, a guest she might not be expecting. “... wow.”

Seokjin raises his eyebrows blankly before a sudden panic sets in: he’s at the wrong house.

“Oh, I - sorry -”

The girl seems to be just about registering him when a familiar figure comes into view, making his heart skip a reassuring beat. “Seokjin!” Nari exclaims, sounding relieved. She jogs to the door and beckons him to enter before turning to the other girl.

“Daeun, this is Seokjin,” she says, pulling him inside gently by the arm and reaching automatically for the wine bottle in his hands.

“Hi,” he says, following Nari’s lead, “I’m -”

“Oh, you’re Seokjin,” she interrupts, her face awash with understanding. It occurs a little belatedly to Seokjin that he is, in fact, famous but then Daeun continues. “We’ve heard a lot about you,” she says knowingly before turning back in the direction of the living room. 

“Everyone - Seokjin is here!” As he resists the urge to shush her hurriedly, she pats his shoulder and starts walking to the door again. “I’m just going out for a few supplies. Nice to finally meet Nari’s best friend,” she adds, giving him a friendly wink before shutting the door behind her.

There’s a moment of silence during which he simply stares at Nari, feeling a rush of heat in his face. Nari bites her lip before snorting. “Sorry, Kimbap,” she says finally, squeezing his shoulders and leading him inside. “Daeun usually isn’t the first person we send out to greet someone new.”

Can’t imagine why. But Seokjin doesn’t want to start the evening off by alienating her friends, so he simply shrugs and follows her. There are about ten other people in the room, all in the age range of twenty-five to thirty-five. Nari introduces them all one by one and Seokjin promptly forgets each as soon as he hears them. The only people he registers are a plump, dimpled man with glasses who seems to be fiddling with an empty cigarette pack; a tall girl in a pale pink blazer with a glass of wine in her hand, who raises a hand in greeting when introduced; and Kwon Jason, the only other person in this room he’s met before.

“We’ve heard a lot about you,” says Jason, as everyone settles back down with their drinks, conversation resuming seamlessly. “Nari’s best friend, with the jajjangmyeon,” he adds, nodding towards her. She clicks her tongue and pretends to be annoyed, even as she takes a seat next to him on the sofa.

Seokjin chuckles, feeling a pleasant lightness in his stomach. “Not the worst thing to be known for.”

“He also has a really good wine selection in his house,” points out Nari, patting his shoulder. “The bottle he brought is probably from it.” She turns to Seokjin. “Right?”

He’s about to nod when Jason snickers. “Let’s not pretend you’re too discerning about the quality of alcohol you drink, Nari.”

Nari gasps while another one of the guys, whose name Seokjin cannot remember for the life of him, nods in agreement. “If anyone is okay with whatever is on the menu at Minho’s Bar, it’s Dr Choi,” he agrees, saying her name in a low, Satoori accent.

“Oi, I’m Minho’s favourite customer, I’ll have you know.”

“Obviously. You’re the reason he never has leftover inventory.”

A few people laugh at that, including Seokjin, while Nari scoffs and shakes her head, apparently lost for words. 

“Nari’s right, though,” says Jason seriously after a moment. “It’s probably why she gets so many shots on the house, too.”

She retorts with something and the conversation continues with ease, while Seokjin frowns at how Jason just said Nari’s name. He can’t quite put his finger on it, but it’s different from how everyone else is saying it for certain. Maybe it’s an accent? His first name is Jason after all; maybe he’s half-foreign? Based on his slightly accented Korean, he could be American. Seokjin tries to recall how Kaya says Nari’s name, but the moment he does, he can’t think of a single such scenario. 

It takes a few impatient taps on his shoulder for Seokjin to pull himself out of this train of thought. “You want a drink?” Nari asks him, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, sure.” Seokjin stands up and follows her to the kitchen where fortunately they are the only ones. “Wow, that’s a lot of people in there.”

Nari chuckles, going around the small kitchen island towards the pile of bottles with ease, as though she’s been here a hundred times before. “Yeah, it’s the first night in forever that none of us are on call. That’s why I wanted you to come tonight,” she adds. “Can I open your bottle?” she asks longingly.

“Yeah, of course, that’s why I brought it,” he answers, rolling his eyes. Taking the bottle from her outstretched hand and unscrewing the top, he returns it. “Pour me one, too? Hey, by the way,” he adds casually, leaning forward with his elbows on the island, “where’s, uh, where’s Jason from?”

Nari frowns but doesn’t look up from where she’s pouring the wine into two glasses. “Um, Seoul only, I think. Why?”

“No reason. His accent seems a little different.”

“Does it?” She considers this before shaking her head. “Never noticed. He doesn’t sound slightly different over the phone, though, it’s true.”

“Oh, yeah? Do doctors get a lot of time to talk on the phone?” he asks, chuckling even though it’s not one of his funnier jokes.

“Uh-huh. We talk about our hopes and dreams and who gets dibs on the next day’s gallbladder surgery,” she responds, grinning and handing him his glass. “But his mother is foreign, though, so it could just be an accent thing.”

“American?”

“No, German. I remember, because she tried to teach me a couple of German words when we went out to dinner and my accent was abysmal,” she says, shuddering at the memory.

Seokjin chokes, immediately turning it into a cough. “You -” He coughs again and places his glass down. “You went to dinner with his mom?”

“Yeah, like six of us,” she explains, now pouring her own glass. “His parents visited during… New Year’s, I think, and invited all of us who were working that day to dinner. Kind of sucked in the plans department, but the free food was worth the pity.”

Seokjin can’t quite think of a response to that so he simply nods, taking a large sip of the wine to buy some time, clinking his glass wordlessly with hers as she joins him on this side of the island.

“By the way,” she says after a moment, voice suddenly a little lower, “thanks for coming. I kind of didn’t think you would,” she confesses.

“Why?” he asks.

Nari shrugs. “It’s not really your scene, I guess? A party, so many new people…” She bites her lip. “Plus… you know. Last night.”

Ah. A blush creeps up his neck at the thought of last night and he hopes it isn’t visible on his face. Looking into the clear rosé in his glass, he shakes his head. “Are you kidding me? Taboo and socialising? How could I say no?” He smiles with her before he feels it fade. “Do you regret it? I mean… do you think we made a mistake?” he asks, realising for the first time that since they were completely sober last night, the consequence of their tryst could be far more dire than the first time they slept together.

She frowns, as though this train of thought hadn’t even occurred to her. “No,” she says slowly. “Do you think it was a mistake?”

“Of course not.” 

Nari nods and looks down at her glass this time, the corners of her mouth twitching infinitesimally. It’s similar to how she looked last night outside the ER doors just before they separated; a moment of quiet privacy before the chaos of their lives caught up to them. 

“Good.” She pokes his shoulder and playfully pushes him so he bounces back on the balls of his feet.

“Good.” He mimics the gesture, only for her to bounce back with slightly more force. 

There’s no muss or fuss about it; their lips meet naturally. The feeling of consciously deciding to kiss in the light of day is an unfamiliar yet wonderfully liberating feeling. He registers the mild sweetness of the rosé, although whether it’s from him or her, he can’t tell. Her teeth accidentally graze his lip when the sound of glass shattering interrupts them, and Nari immediately pulls away and steps back.

Seokjin opens his eyes a second later to see her gingerly touch her mouth, her eyes on him but her expression unreadable. From behind her, one of the other girls with a bob cut scurries in.

“Shit, I told him to - oh, guys. Make sure you don’t step into the living room barefoot until we clean up the glass,” she informs them before turning to Nari. “You know where the paper towels are?” she asks urgently.

“Uh, yeah.” The moment gone, Seokjin watches silently as Nari directs the new entrant to one of the cabinets. 

Once the girl gets hold of a brand new roll, she hastens to leave but not before turning to them. “You guys should hurry, we’re about to start Taboo.”

“Come on, let’s go,” says Nari softly, touching his wrist before heading out of the kitchen. It’s too quick an interaction for Seokjin to be able to pick up anything from her tone, except that it’s probably shelved for later and until then, everything can go back to normal.

Normal. While it’s a nice thought, it becomes apparent fairly quickly that the concept itself is elusive. It occurs to Seokjin that while he and Nari have an equally comfortable rapport by themselves as well as around friends, it’s always only been his friends. The boundaries between him and his members are nearly negligible, and they’ve all known Nari for years now, making the entire dynamic a comfortable one.

But it's the first time he’s ever spent an extended period of time with a group of her friends, however, and it’s disconcerting, for they all seem to know a slightly different Nari than he does. It’s minor; so minor that Seokjin feels that if this recent snag in their friendship hadn’t emerged, he may not have noticed it at all. 

Her body language isn’t the same, although he supposes sitting with her feet up in faded shorts and a torn t-shirt would be inappropriate in a colleague’s house. She’s sitting two places away from Seokjin, something he tries not to read into, laughing at an imitation of someone he doesn’t know. 

He doesn’t like this. He half-wishes she hadn’t kissed him in the kitchen - but hadn’t he equally kissed her, too? Even when the game begins and he and Nari - along with four other people including Kwon Jason - are teamed together, he wonders if he’s imagining the sudden distance or if it’s a coincidence that she’s chosen to sit on a single-seater recliner, leaving him to sit next to the host, Hyeri, on the sofa.

Seokjin can’t focus on the game at all, but it’s not for lack of trying. The game is rife with inside jokes, which he supposes is to be expected upto a point, but it makes following the game extremely difficult. Nari is one of the few people who tries to steer the conversation to neutral topics and focus on the player in the centre, until someone says “What Dr Oh is known for” and the answer turns out to be assets, that Seokjin mentally checks out.

He’s not sure why he’s so uncomfortable. He tries to catch Nari’s eye as Jason from their team stands up and moves to the centre, picking out a card with a flourish. She frowns curiously when she finally meets his gaze and he immediately mimics typing on a phone. She nods once and reaches for her phone when Jason goes “Okay”, apparently about to begin, and the tall girl from the other team starts the timer.

Nari shrugs apologetically and mouths “sorry”, setting her phone on her lap and turning to Jason who’s already begun.

“ - refers to a lot of -” Jason checks the card, “- wealth.” He looks to his team with wide eyes, hinting at something.

“Rich?” Hyeri guesses.

“No - well, yes, but it’s more to do with, uh…” He checks the card again, “okay - quality of life.”

“Um…” She frowns and trails off.

“Wealthy?” One of the other guys guesses, only to be met with a slap to the shoulder.

Jason tries a different approach. “Okay, what kind of people would go to, say… a fancy airport lounge?”

“Celebrities?” Nari asks, her eyes flickering to Seokjin. Thankfully, no one seems to notice, more focused on Jason shaking his head rapidly.

Seokjin, now with zero interest in the game, trains all his focus on not making a single expression. He needs this one round to finish - this endless, unproductive round - so that he can either speak to Nari in the most normal way possible about what the hell they’re doing, or leave.

“ - no, Jesus.” Jason huffs, tapping his foot impatiently. “Okay, come on - Nari’s favourite k-drama?” he asks pointedly, and a couple of people snicker.

Seokjin nips this one in the bud. “Nari hates k-dramas,” he says, resisting the urge to slap his forehead.

Jason frowns, as though this is news to him, while Hyeri gasps. “Boys Over Flowers!” she exclaims, jumping out of her seat rather dramatically, stealing Jason’s focus instantly.

“Yes! And they go to a school for…?”

“The elite!” 

Nari’s answer comes a second before the timer buzzes, and Jason drops the card onto the centre table, punching his fist in the air as he goes back to his seat next to Nari. Just then the doorbell buzzes and someone goes “Pizza!” before shuffling out of the room, while a bunch of pagers go off at the same time. There are multiple groans, including - Seokjin notices with a sinking heart - Nari’s.

“Duty calls,” says Daeun wryly, as some six people drag themselves to their feet and begin heading out of the room. Nari, thankfully, comes straight to Seokjin.

“I’m so sorry,” she says immediately, dropping her face into her hands and groaning. “There must have been an emergency or they wouldn’t page.”

He nods blankly. “An emergency. Yeah.”

“Yeah. Like a bus crash or a fire or something.” She sighs and twists her neck. “It’s a Saturday evening, though - my money’s on a pile-up.”

In this moment, Seokjin couldn’t care less about a hypothetical pile-up if he tried. “Alright. Uh,  I guess I’ll see you… whenever I’m back.” He moves to get up, but Nari holds him back. 

“Don’t leave because of me,” she pleads, her voice small. “Stay… have a drink. Not everyone’s leaving,” she points out.

He realises she’s right. There’s one guy rifling through the remaining Taboo cards, the girl in the pink blazer next to him, Hyeri the host, and Jason, finishing his beer enthusiastically before standing up and heading to the kitchen.

“Nari, I don’t think -”

She tilts her head, looking far too apologetic for a situation that isn’t quite her fault. “Jinnie…”

Seokjin’s heart skips a grudging beat and he feels himself nodding, barely able to register the relieved smile and friendly peck to the cheek she gives him before rushing out and leaving a faint flowery scent in her wake. Once the door swings shut and it’s only four doctors and one idol in the room, he instantly regrets his agreement. Five seconds later, once he hears the car outside drive away, he’s done. 

Coming here this evening was a tentative decision at best, and he’d only done it for Nari. With her gone, he has no obligation or desire to stay - and definitely not with Kwon Jason for company. 

He downs the rest of his drink, hoping that with everyone else sufficiently distracted, he can possibly slip out unnoticed. The host isn’t even here to say goodbye to, although that seems to make no difference to the others, for they seem to be treating the house as their own. As if to prove it, the guy with the Taboo cards plonks himself on the sofa and puts his feet up on the armrest, with no care for anyone else.

Mind made up, Seokjin stalks over to the dining table to keep his empty glass, pulling his jacket on at the same time. He fumbles with the sleeve and his phone falls in the process.

“Perfect,” he mutters, hoping the screen hasn’t shattered again. He feels around for the phone under the table and drags it out, accidentally twisting his wrist. He hissed softly and pulls his hand back hastily, only to feel another sharper pain on his skin.

Retrieving the offended hand, he sees a gash near his thumb. Under the table, he spots a shard of glass, glistening with red on one of the corners. Marvelling briefly at his luck in finding the one piece of glass everyone else had managed to miss while cleaning up, Seokjin shakes his head and goes into the kitchen.

The cool tap water of the sink burns the cut, but Seokjin grits his teeth. Nari would force him to wash it, he knows. Do you want to get tetanus, Kimbap? Because it can happen, you know.

Once he deems it sufficiently sanitizer, he turns off the tap when Hyeri traipses in, halting in her tracks when she sees Seokjin.

“Is that blood?” Her eyes widen but also gleam slightly, as though she’s hoping to start suturing something right away. “Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” he says shortly. “It’s just a small cut, don’t worry.”

“Oh, okay.” She nods. “I just came in here to get the pizza menu,” she explains, reaching into a drawer and revealing a glossy folded menu. “These companies think they can swindle us and not calculate the discounts they promised.” She shakes her head in disappointment.

Seokjin isn’t sure what to say. “Good luck?”

Hyeri smiles with fervour. “Band-aids are in the cabinet just behind you.”

As she leaves, Seokjin dives for aforementioned band-aids, eagerly pasting one on the cut so that he can be done with the hideousness that is this night. 

“Oh, you’re in here.”

Seokjin almost groans. Not another one. He turns with hesitation to see the girl in the pink blazer entering, looking equally doubtful. Her gaze falls to his hand.

“Are you okay?”

“Just… peachy.”

“Why are you holding your wrist like that?”

Seokjin frowns, realising for the first time that he is, indeed, holding his left wrist strangely still. He leaves it loose, only to feel the same throbbing pain shoot through the joint.

“Ow,” he mutters, wincing and straightening his hand. “How did you -” But he breaks off, remembering that a doctor would and should be able to identify an injury better than him. “Guess I twisted it a little,” he says, shrugging.

“You should ice it,” she suggests before pointing to the fridge. “Should I…”

It takes him a moment to catch on. “Oh! Uh, yeah, sure. Thank you,” he adds quickly, meaning it. 

The girl opens the freezer, only to pull out an ice pack, as though ready to be used should someone injure a joint. “Huh,” she says, raising it slightly. “You got lucky.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if all of you have one of these ready in your fridge,” he says as she hands him the ice, smiling so she knows he’s joking. When she frowns curiously, he explains. “Well… because you’re doctors. Prepared for anything?” Seokjin places the frozen object against his wrist.

“Oh. Right. I’m not a doctor, though,” she admits after a moment. 

“You’re not?”

“No. I’m here with Junghyun,” she offers, pointing vaguely behind her to the living room. 

Seokjin struggles to recall which one Junghyun is, something she seems to notice, if her small and amused smile is indication. “That’s nice,” he says finally. “Boyfriend?” he asks, realising a moment later that it’s none of his business.

“Kind of. Not really.” She shakes her head and sighs. “It’s our second date.” When Seokjin pointedly says nothing, she gives a hollow chuckle. “And probably our last,” she adds in a low voice.

He snickers. “That bad?” he asks, privately thinking he knows exactly what she means.

“Yes. I mean, they’re all very nice,” she adds tiredly, leaning back against the kitchen counter, “but they’re just too…”

“Close?” he offers.

“Yes! God,” she adds with feeling. “And to meet that many of them at the same time? It’s overwhelming.”

Seokjin sighs, feeling almost vindicated - but also somewhat relieved. If he isn’t the only person in a mood tonight, then it can’t all be due to his unintentional dalliance with Nari, can it? It’s them, the swarm of overworked, underpaid surgical residents with repressed emotional ranges who spend eighty hours a week together - they are the problem.

“Okay, I think the ice is melting.”

Seokjin looks down to see a droplet land right on his thigh, leaving a rather incriminating spot on his tan trousers. “Shit,” he mutters, immediately placing it on the counter. 

“Do you have a wrist brace you can use?” she asks, circling her own wrist with her fingers.

“Um, no. Do people just carry wrist braces around with them?”

To his horror, she simply raises her eyebrows before pushing up the sleeve of her blazer and unstrapping a wrist brace. “Here,” she says, handing it to him.

“You -“ Seokjin finds himself lost for words. “I can’t take that,” he says finally, unsticking his throat. “But thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she says easily, waving a hand. “I have a bunch of these at home. All different colours,” she adds mock-proudly.

“Oh.” He takes it slowly, noting its deep purple colour. It feels soft on the inside, like foam. “Do you -“ He looks up and frowns curiously. “Do you collect them or something?”

She nods. “Yeah. Why?” When he, once again, finds himself devoid of words, her eyes narrow. “Prada came out with a line last year focusing on wristbands just like these. Do you think I’m weird?”

Seokjin’s eyes widen. “Y-no! No, of - of course not. It’s - it’s a perfectly respectable hobby. I collect stuff, too. Socks, if you’ll believe it - but I’m a little behind on -“

“I was kidding. I have a mild case of tendonitis.”

He stares at her, noting a hint of an apologetic smile forming on her face. “I knew it. No one collects wrist braces,” he grumbles. “I really thought I’d offended you, you know?”

She laughs, a pleasant sight. “It’s easy to make people think that. But I don’t offend that easily,” she adds after a moment, tapping the brace in his hand. “Need any help?”

“No…” Seokjin shakes his head. “I can’t accept this. Especially if you need it, too.”

“I wasn’t kidding about having a bunch of extras at home. Believe me, you don’t want a sprained wrist tomorrow morning.” When he bites his lip doubtfully, she tilts her head. “Think of it as me returning a favour. This conversation is the most fun I’ve had all evening.”

He doesn’t want to admit how much he relates to that. “Okay, then,” he agrees finally, carefully slipping it on and securing the velcro. “Thank you,” he says, meaning it.

She smiles. “Of course.”

“I’m Seokjin.”

Her smile widens slightly and she visibly hesitates. “I know.”

Oh. Seokjin is struck with a sudden mental image of this girl, possibly in her late twenties, in this exact blazer and her sleek, straight ponytail, jumping up and down in the audience at a concert, Army bomb in hand. He feels the heat creep up his neck and he knows - he just knows - that his ears are going red.

Blood rushes to your face faster than a cardiac tamponade, Kimbap.

“Right. Thanks, I -”

The sound of the front door swinging open and hurried footsteps makes them both jump. Two seconds later, a scattered-looking Nari scurries in, almost slipping sideways on her Converse.

“Thank God you’re still here,” she sighs in relief. Her hair is slightly windswept, as though she’s run up the porch stairs and into the house. “I was afraid you’d left.”

It feels like he’s been hit on the back of the head by a football. “You’re back?” Seokjin asks stupidly.

“That’s my cue, I think.” His companion, whose name he suddenly realises he doesn’t know, takes a step back good-naturedly and turns to leave. She and Nari murmur a “hi” to each other as they pass, before the latter faces him again. A draught blows through an open window, colder than expected.

“Hi,” says Seokjin.

Nari smiles, but there’s something held back in it. “Hi. I’m so glad you stayed.”

“Just until I fixed… this.” He holds up the hand with a band-aid and wrist brace on it and watches her smile fade, as though she’s just noticing he’s hurt.

“What happened?” she asks, walking up to him and taking his wrist delicately. “Did you twist it?”

He nods. “It’s okay, though. Doesn’t hurt much.”

“Did you ice it?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” Seokjin finds it surprisingly hard to meet her gaze. “How come you’re back? I thought there was a bus crash. Or something.”

Nari sighs, her fingers letting go of his wrist. “I was deemed too drunk to practise medicine,” she says dryly, rolling her eyes. 

“Are you?”

“Yes. But sometimes I like to watch.”

There’s a pause before they both chuckle half-heartedly. The lingering tension of the last twenty-four hours seems to be finally gathering somewhat and for the first time in his life, Seokjin doesn’t know what to say to Nari.

“So… I have to ask,” she begins slowly, leaning back against the kitchen table opposite him. “Is it my imagination, or when I left for the hospital… I felt like I was doing something wrong.”

He considers this. “Well, you didn’t leave so much as… stumble and almost fall on your way out.”

Nari gives him a small smile. “Seokjin, I’m being serious.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he says automatically. His eyes drop to his wrist again and he gingerly applies pressure to the back of it with his finger.

“Seokjin.” She waits until he meets her gaze. “I’m - I’m sorry about earlier. About… kissing you.” She looks at her feet. “I know I probably sent you some mixed signals and… I’m sorry.”

“I kissed you, too. And that’s not the problem, Nari,” he adds, realising as he says it that it’s true. The kiss, while it felt like the world was spinning off its axis when it was happening, is still just a blip in the radar compared to the moment of shock and confusion he’d experienced later.

“Really?” She frowns. “So what is it, then?”

“It’s -” Putting this into words is harder than he thought, not to mention borderline embarrassing. But Seokjin rallies, knowing that if he doesn’t say it now, he never will. “You like Boys Over Flowers? Since when?”

Nari’s face goes blank for a moment before she evidently remembers. “Oh. Uh, no. Not really. It’s a bit cliche for my taste.”

Avoidance. Unsurprised, he continues. “Fine, I’ll rephrase. You’ve seen Boys Over Flowers? A k-drama?” He waits for her shoulders to drop.

“Yeah - but not of my own free will,” she clarifies quickly. “A bunch of us saw Hayoon watching the first episode on her phone during lunch and we started joking around and joined her and - God, it was so stupid, Kimbap, seriously -” Nari rolls her eyes, and for a moment he feels like they’ve gone back five years. “But, anyway, then everyone got all invested in the plotline and everyone wanted to watch the second episode… and then it just became a thing. It was a joke,” she finishes, her voice a bit smaller.

It seems plausible. Seokjin feels the same, low frustration at the smallest, stupidest things annoying him - things he can’t tell Nari. He doesn’t know if it would make him seem petulant, the fact that she didn’t have the time to watch their favourite movie a month ago because she was so tired from a shift but has managed to finish an entire series while on the job. 

Nari’s favourite k-drama! Kwon Jason had said it with confidence, and his look of confusion at Seokjin’s response had been disproportionately devastating. The difference in how her new friend said her name makes sense now, because it’s not the accent or the voice or anything else. It’s just the familiarity of knowing her - something Seokjin had, until today, heard only in his own voice.

“So you hated it?”

“I did,” she confirms. “I still don’t like k-dramas.”

The deliberate tone with which she says it gives him a sneaking feeling that she knows where his mind is at. When he doesn’t respond, she sighs again.

“Seokjin, I’m really sorry.”

“Nari, stop apologising,” he starts to say gently, but she shakes her head.

“No. Something’s wrong, or… different,” she argues, and he finds himself feeling slightly glad that at least they’re still on the same wavelength when it comes to things like this. “And you’re my best friend, Jinnie. So I don’t mind apologising if I’ve done something to hurt you or make you angry.” Which I think I have.

She looks anxious; she’s fiddling with her fingers, her nails scratching the skin, but he doubts she’s noticed. Seokjin reaches forward and gently holds her chin for a moment before letting his hand fall to his side.

“I’m not angry, I promise.” He waits for her to nod before continuing, looking somewhere near her shoulder. “Look, I… this may be my issue more than yours.”

“I don’t care,” she says immediately. “Tell me.”

How? It would sound ridiculous, like he’s a child with a toy he doesn’t want to share. “It’s not surprising,” he begins slowly, “that we’d drift apart. It sucks but it had to happen. I mean, we’ve made it two and a half decades - that’s a hell of a record. Right?”

Nari’s face doesn’t betray anything, except for a momentary flicker of her eyes. “Right,” she agrees softly.

“I think I’ve been using our… thing as a way to… I don’t know, tell myself that we’re still close,” he admits, unable to look at her at all now. 

“You don’t think we’re still close?”

Seokjin shuts his eyes, something squeezing his heart at the accusatory note in her voice. “I do. Just maybe not as much.”

There’s a few seconds of thick, heavy silence and he suddenly, wildly hopes she’ll smack him upside the head and tell him to cut it out.

“So that’s what you were doing last night?” she asks finally. “Trying to keep me close? And the night at the dorm?”

Especially the night at the dorm. But Seokjin resists the urge to say it, his mind flashing back to the night in question a few months ago. Grey sleet outside, most of the members including Seokjin, Kaya Madaan, Jimin’s friend Sooah, and Nari - not to mention the one and only time Jennie Kim had ever set foot in there - all huddled in their dorm in Hannam Hill with a monopoly board between them. There had been a lot of alcohol that night, too, possibly because there was nothing else to do in the face of the intense awkwardness that seemed to emanate from every which way.

Seokjin couldn’t be completely sure, except that he knew Taehyung was in some sort of tiff with either Yoongi or Jimin, Sooah’s presence was a wildcard entirely when it came to Jimin, while Kaya remained the only person who spoke to Jennie with complete normality. 

No, what he remembers most of all is how Nari had to leave that night, for some birthday party or something - and Seokjin had been getting more and more ticked off all night at her constant glances at her watch. Finally, he’d snapped in the only way he knew how: tapped her on the shoulder and promised her, completely calmly, that once they finished this round of Monopoly, he’d drive her wherever she wanted.

He hadn’t known what else to do, except that there was a certain sense of irritation he was feeling that he was afraid would show eventually. But he couldn’t help it, for if she was so eager to get somewhere else, why had she even come here? Why make the effort to come over in the rain, spend time wading through the worst kind of friend group politics over Monopoly, only to end the night with other people?

True to his word, he’d stood up and silently stalked into his room after the game ended, mumbling something about grabbing a jacket. Nari had followed him, as he’d known she would, and he hadn’t even been surprised when he’d heard the door close behind him.

Seokjin, she’d said, and her tone held many things he did not wish to unravel.

You should grab your stuff. You don’t want to be late.

You’re not driving me anywhere, Seokjin. You’ve been drinking.

Well, you’re not going to get a cab in this weather, he’d reasoned. Spotting a stain on his t-shirt, he’d taken it off and dropped it on the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he’d seen her figure approach. He’d felt her cool hand on his bicep, tugging at it to turn him around. He’d begrudgingly obliged, feeling the old leap in his stomach at their proximity.

Then I won’t go.

Seokjin hadn’t even bothered to turn on the light when he’d entered. Despite that, her lips had known just where to find his, and his hands had known just where to wrap around her waist. He didn’t know what feelings they’d succumbed to that night while the rest of his friends continued playing Monopoly outside; he simply knew that this was where he wanted to be - alone with Nari, her voice the only one, soft and melodious in his ear. 

He was trying to keep her close. The thought fills him with shame, deep and sinking.

Hanging his head, he nods once. “Kind of, yeah. I think. I guess I was hoping it was… affirmation of some sort, affirmation that we’re still close. It feels like we’re drifting apart, Nari,” he murmurs after a moment. “My travel and your hours. And then that night - the first night -” He watches her bite her lip and his heart skips a small beat. “It felt like we were back to our old selves. A little bit.” He sighs. “I think I’m associating two things that have no business being associated with each other.”

After what feels like ages, Nari nods. “I get it,” she says finally.

“Really?” He can hear the surprise in his own voice.

She gives him a momentary look. “Yes. I may be on my way to becoming a heartless surgeon, but I still understand.”

He cracks a smile. “You can never be heartless. You’re still the person that donated a month’s pocket money for the Injured Birds Association in middle school.”

“The one that turned out to be a front for Eunwoo to buy Hot Wheels for himself?”

“That’s the one.”

Nari slaps his shoulder jokingly, but there’s a significantly lesser punch to it. “Regardless. Do you remember my crisis on the night we first hooked up?” She waits for him to nod. “You may be using our thing as affirmation of our friendship, and I’m using it as affirmation that I’m not going to die alone.”

“Nari, you’re not going to -”

“Maybe not, but I was so genuinely afraid of it that night,” she continues, cutting him off. “I really thought I would be alone forever and then… what happened happened, and… it felt like no matter how alone I was, I still have you.” She exhales, as though she’s finally said something she’s been thinking of for a long time. “Fuck,” she mutters, dropping her face into her hands.

Seokjin swallows, his heart sinking at her hunched figure. It was never supposed to be this complicated; not during the first drunken night, not in his dimly lit bedroom, and definitely not in the pregnant silence of last night. Nari was what uncomplicated his life; this is completely unchartered territory.

“That bothers you?” he asks, although he’s not sure what he’s referring to.

She looks up at him, clearly unsure. “Seokjin, I don’t want to use you,” she admits in a small voice.

He doesn’t know how to feel about that. “Are you? Using me?”

“Sometimes I feel like I am.” Nari swallows. “I was really happy after the first night, you know? When everything went back to normal. But then the next time happened, and the next time…” She trails off, shaking her head.

“We need to stop.”

She nods. “We need to stop.”

The silence that follows this mutual agreement is thick with tension, more than Seokjin could ever have been prepared for. Before him, Nari looks more sober than she has all night.

“It can’t be that hard, right?” he ventures, raising his eyebrows when she snaps up to look at him. “I mean… we’ve gone, like, twenty years without sleeping together.”

“That’s true.”

“Yeah?” He tries to give her a small smile, his heart heavy. “Just… don’t be a stranger, okay?”

Nari scoffs, in spite of the glassiness of her eyes. She wraps her fingers lightly around his wrist. “What? Why would you say that? I’m your best friend.”

This one’s easy. “Yeah, you are.” I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life. But he doesn’t say it. Nothing good can come out of saying something like that.

She nods a little too vigorously, and Seokjin knows she understands what he meant. “But we… are we taking some space? Just for a while?”

“I think we have to.” He squeezes her hand back. “Just for a while.”

Nari bites her lip and swallows, blinking rapidly and taking a step back. “I need to help clean up.”

He nods, taking the cue. “Yeah. I should go home, too.”

“Is someone picking you up?”

“I’ll ask Yoongi. He owes me.”

“Cool.”

Nari walks him out, their shoulders brushing slightly. The night air is cool and Seokjin has half a mind to just walk back home.

“Thanks for coming,” she says, and he’s relieved to hear her voice not trembling anymore. “Really. I know it could’ve been a bit much,” she admits, chuckling slightly.

“Just a tad.” He returns her smile. “I’ll text you when I’m back from Yeongam.”

“Okay.” She takes a step back and raises a hand in a small wave. “Bye.”

“Take care, Nari.” Seokjin turns to leave, but he barely takes two steps before he hears her call his name and he turns back around. “Yeah?”

Nari says nothing, but her face is like an open book. She looks worried, not to mention confused, as though unable to put it into words.

“Seokjin, we…” She trails off before trying again. “I know we’re taking space, but…”

It takes a second for it to click. “I’m always here, Nari. No matter what. Even if we’re taking space,” he assures her.

The relief that floods through her face makes his stomach leap. “Cool,” she murmurs, nodding. There’s a momentary pause before she jogs up to him and hugs him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and gently knocking the side of his face with hers.

Sighing, he hugs her back, his arms tight around her. He will miss her, he thinks, but it’ll only be for a while. If it saves their friendship, it will be worth it. He squeezes her once and tilts his head to the side, kissing her hair before they both step back.

“‘Night, Jinnie,” she whispers, taking a couple of steps back before turning around and heading inside. 

Seokjin watches her go, running a hand through his hair before suddenly wincing. His wrist, he remembers. He’d almost forgotten about it. He inspects it again, the deep purple brace still strapped on, when he remembers.

“Nari!” He unstraps the brace as she pokes her head out of the door again. “Can you give this back to…” He rolls his eyes, remembering once again that he doesn’t know her name, when he sees something scribbled on the inside of the strap. In silver pen, the name glitters: Seulgi. “Oh - Seulgi? The girl in the blazer?”

She frowns for a second. “Seulgi? Oh, Junghyun’s friend? I think they left.”

“They did?” 

“I think so. Her bag and stuff is gone.”

Damnit. “Okay, no problem,” he mutters, waving as Nari smiles and closes the door again. No car, injured wrist, and a brace he can’t return.

It’s just a twist, though. Not even a sprain. Nothing a couple days of icing, some rest and a brace can’t fix.

He hopes.

—

Thank you for reading. Don't forget to leave a review :)

❁ pictures you've taken of your boyfriend, seokjin

More of the boyfriend pictures series

The Han Family: Kim Seokjin

Trope: One night To Lovers.

Oc Information: [The name will be used in the parts where another couple is discussed to avoid confusion.]

Han Jiah

30 yo.

03/09

1.68 cm

Wife of Mr. Han's younger brother, Han Jaesung.

Context: Unlike what many thought, you did marry Jaesung for love. He was a very captivating man, and he knew exactly how to use his words to sweeten your ear and get what he wanted. It's a pity your younger self didn't notice.

You got married at 22, in a wedding too lavish for your taste. It was one of the happiest days of your life before he threw it all away.

It was only two years after that wonderful day when you realized that your husband was cheating on you with more than one girl, and you were so disgusted.

You wanted to ask for a divorce, but there was no way to do it, not when he knew how to manipulate you so well, not when he insisted he loved you, and you kept believing him.

Your insecurity about the divorce ended a few months ago, when you met Jin.

You both went to a business party, he for his parents, you for your husband. You had a friendly chat, which gradually escalated until there was no return.

Did you feel guilty? No, in fact, you enjoyed it more than you imagined, but that didn't mean you were going to shout it to the four winds.

Or at least you didn't plan to until you saw Jin enter your husband's house as one of the people in charge of your father-in-law's case.

The Han Family: Kim Seokjin

Trope: One night To Lovers.

Oc Information: [The name will be used in the parts where another couple is discussed to avoid confusion.]

Han Jiah

30 yo.

03/09

1.68 cm

Wife of Mr. Han's younger brother, Han Jaesung.

Context: Unlike what many thought, you did marry Jaesung for love. He was a very captivating man, and he knew exactly how to use his words to sweeten your ear and get what he wanted. It's a pity your younger self didn't notice.

You got married at 22, in a wedding too lavish for your taste. It was one of the happiest days of your life before he threw it all away.

It was only two years after that wonderful day when you realized that your husband was cheating on you with more than one girl, and you were so disgusted.

You wanted to ask for a divorce, but there was no way to do it, not when he knew how to manipulate you so well, not when he insisted he loved you, and you kept believing him.

Your insecurity about the divorce ended a few months ago, when you met Jin.

You both went to a business party, he for his parents, you for your husband. You had a friendly chat, which gradually escalated until there was no return.

Did you feel guilty? No, in fact, you enjoyed it more than you imagined, but that didn't mean you were going to shout it to the four winds.

Or at least you didn't plan to until you saw Jin enter your husband's house as one of the people in charge of your father-in-law's case.

Cruel Summer | Hyung Line

I've been working on this for quite some time because I've been busy making the requests. Even though I still have a few more to go, I wanted to post it because it's really something I'm very excited about ^^

Taglist: @thunderg @drpepperobsessed @minjianhyung @queenv1997 @yoongtism @lizzymizzy-blogg @zent9 @superbbananananana

Jin: “It’s cool, that’s what I tell ‘em/No rules, in breakable heaven/It’s a cruel summer/With you”.

You checked your phone for the third time tonight. There were no messages or missed calls. You were starting to get anxious.

"Is everything okay, Y/N?" the soft voice of Soomin interrupted the mess that was starting to form in your head. Nothing was fine, quite the opposite. Jin had ignored all your messages and calls, you knew he was busy, but you were starting to worry, what if something bad had happened to him?

"I'm sure it's because of Seokjin" Chaeyoung said, absentmindedly eating a piece of fried chicken. She didn't look perturbed at all. You envied that about her. "Y/N, you know that what you're doing won't get you anywhere, why do you keep going?"

"It has nothing to do with that, and just so you know, we're getting along just fine" you replied quietly, taking your fruit smoothie and drinking it. "We don't need a name for our relationship, and we don't have to dedicate time to each other 24/7 either, it's like having a boyfriend, but with a lot less work", yeah, well, you didn't believe what you just said either, but neither of them need to know that.

"I thought you liked the idea of having a boyfriend" Sooah, who was at the other corner of the table, looked up from her book and studied you with that scary look she gave every time the gears in her head started turning. She seriously scared you when she made that face, "or are you just saying that to try to fool yourself just because you got used to his company and don't want to lose him anymore?".

It scared you how accurate her prediction was.

"Sooah, calm down" Yoori, one of your closest friends, rested her hand on your shoulder and gently rubbed it. A sympathetic smile appeared on her face and as soon as you saw her, you started to feel ashamed of yourself. Shit, did you look that bad for Yoori to see you that way? "Human relationships are complicated, don't be anxious about going through problems like that, it happens to everyone sometime."

"If you're so worried about him not answering, why don't you pay him a visit? Maybe he'll be glad to see you, after all he's the one who always comes looking for you."

The idea of going to his house on your own made you too nervous, especially since he had made it quite clear that he didn't like people showing up out of the blue there. He had mentioned something about how he was afraid the place would leak and some obsessed person would break into his house. That was one of the reasons he always went to your house, no one followed you to your front door.

"What if he gets upset?" you muttered with a slight frown.

"Tell him the reason you wanted to look for him" Soomin directed a smile so bright you almost smiled back, "If everything you've told us about him is true, he'll probably be very excited to see you."

You smiled helplessly. Jin was so much more than someone to hang out with and just have sex with. He was sweet, he loved to cook for you, to massage your back when you were too tense, or to kiss your face every time you saw him for a long time. He was the man of your dreams, everything you ever wanted in your life, so why did you have this feeling in your chest that there was something you still didn't see? Nothing could be completely perfect, you repeated to yourself every time you saw him, he couldn't be the exception.

"I'll walk you" Sooah stood up from her seat, taking her car keys and staring at you. Her blue eyes were such a contrast to the somber look she had.

"Thanks" you mumbled, taking your purse and dropping some money to pay your share.

The trip was too quiet. You loved Sooah, and you knew she loved you too. You've known her for as long as you can remember, so you understood that she wasn't cold, just distrustful. At some point in your friendship you ended up deciphering the kind of silences she gave. This one definitely gave you a bad feeling.

"You shouldn't write to him so much" she said in a raspy voice. It took you a while to figure out what she meant, "If he doesn't respond to the first message, indeed, if he deliberately ignores your call, why even make an effort to get him...whatever they have, to move on?"

"Why do you say he ignored my call?" You felt a tightness in your chest as you noticed how Sooah's hands squeezed the handlebars of the car until her knuckles went pale. She knew something. 

"Why don't you better find out for yourself?" she replied after a few minutes of silence. She parked the car in front of the house and turned to look at you. 

"You know something, don't you?" your lips tightened tightly as you noticed that no words were going to come out of her. You were afraid of her answer, obviously, but you didn't want to be left wondering.

A sob, too loud and high-pitched to belong to a man, pulled you out of the staring war you began to have with Sooah. You both turned to see where the noise was coming from. You immediately wished you hadn't.

You could feel Sooah's gaze on the back of your head, but she didn't say a word. You only had eyes for Jin right now, to be more specific, you only had eyes for Jin and the girl who was clinging to him as if her life depended on it.

You wanted an explanation. Now.

"I saw her out with him this morning" you heard from the driver's side, "At first I thought she was a friend, but Namjoon told me she was Jin's ex-girlfriend. From what he told me, they've known each other since high school."

You understood her point. His ex-girlfriend from a few years ago shows up in a place as private as this, right in the middle of Jin's vacation, wearing a dress too fancy to be on the beach, and crying her eyes out on Jin's chest. The same chest you fell asleep on all night.

"I trust Jin" you whispered, not sure if you were saying it to Sooah or to yourself. Yes, you two weren't an official couple, but you had sworn exclusivity to each other until whatever it was you had was over. He promised you, face to face, it was the first time you saw him so serious.

You could hear Sooah's sigh. She didn't trust his word as much as you did.

You started nibbling on your lip with each passing second. The girl didn't seem to want to pull away, but Jin didn't seem to want to push her away either. 

"Y/N" Sooah gently took your elbow. You didn't look away from the couple in front of you. "I'm just trying to show you what kept him busy enough to ignore you..."

"I don't know if he did it on purpose," you said, raising your voice and turning to look at her. You felt terrible to see Sooah's hurt look at your shout. You had never raised your voice to her before. "She's just a friend and..."

You frowned as you saw Sooah's eyes widen in surprise. She was looking behind you. It was only at that moment that you realized that irritating sobs were no longer audible.

You turned around fast enough that your neck hurt like hell itself. And then you saw it. The idiot was kissing her. He was grabbing her waist just like he did with you when he greeted you or said goodbye. 

"I..."

"Start the car, please" you mumbled, looking away from Jin and fixing your eyes on the street, it looked much more interesting now.

"Yes" she moved the key and the engine started to sound. You thought you heard Jin's voice behind you, but you preferred to think it was just your imagination.

A strong urge to get home and brush your teeth and body flooded you. You felt dirty, stupid and very, very upset. You took a long sigh, trying to get your rational side over the urge you had to hit him.

It wasn't until Sooah held out some tissues she pulled out of her trunk that you realized tears were streaming down your face.

"I'm fine" you whispered, wiping your face and keeping your expression as neutral as possible.

"I know" Sooah replied, taking your hand on the dashboard, "I just wanted to make sure you noticed too."

Yoongi: “"I love you, " ain't that the worst thing you ever heard? He looks up grinning like a devil”.

"Need help with that?" said Yoongi mockingly, pointing at your fumbling hands trying to fix the shorts you were wearing that night. It was hard to do in such a confined space.

"No thanks, I've got it under control" you grunted, pulling your feet up onto the trunk so you could give yourself a boost and pull your clothes up until they were around your waist. "And I'm sure you're much better at taking them off than putting them on." 

You tried to ignore his annoyed chuckle, looking at yourself in the rearview mirror and fixing your hair just enough so it didn't look like you'd just had the best night of sex of your life. 

"Do you need me to drop you off in your room?" Yoongi rested his palm on your thigh, caressing the soft skin with his fingertips. You had a hard time holding back the urge to laugh at the tickle he was giving you.

 "I'd love to let you come into my room and do whatever shit couples of friends with benefits would do, but unfortunately I have a tick named Jiah tonight, and I definitely don't want her to see or hear me having sex with you, so, thanks, but no" you removed his hand from your thigh and moved closer to him, kissing him deeply.

His hand stopped at your waist and caressed the exposed skin, sending shivers up and down your spine. It felt so good to be touched by Min Yoongi. You would never admit it in front of him.

"Go back carefully" you said between kisses and giggles. You wanted to go inside soon, before your lustful side won out over your rational side and you decided to leave your friend alone and sneak into Yoongi's house. You hated how he knew you well enough to know that if he kept kissing you like that you would end up giving in. 

"There, that's enough, I have to go" you whispered, grabbing Yoongi's cheeks and pulling him away just enough so that your lips didn't brush against each other. 

"Fine" he growled through his teeth, letting go of your waist and allowing you to open the door.

You gave him a kiss on the cheek before quickly stepping down and entering your colorful two-story house. You smiled as you noticed that Yoongi wasn't going to leave until you were inside the house. It took you a while trying to find your keys, decorated with too many cat key chains and desserts. When you opened the door, you turned around and blew him a kiss with laughter. You could see through the window as Yoongi's rubbery smile. God, you still didn't understand how that gorgeous man had agreed to go out with you.

You walked into the house, leaning your back against the door and sighing heavily. You were sure you had a stupid smile on your face, you hoped he hadn't seen it before you walked in.

"I see you did a lot better than me," you looked towards the kitchen, smiling as you saw Jiah walking towards you with a cup of coffee. You loved that mug, it had lots of baby kittens frolicking on top of some flower pots; between cursive letters it said 'for the best friend in the world'.

"You think?" you grabbed the mug she was offering you and took a small sip. It tasted very sweet, just the way you liked it. You couldn't help but groan in satisfaction. "Why don't you tell me about it after I take a shower? I feel too dirty, did you know riding a horse could leave you sweating so much?". You mentally crossed your fingers that I wouldn't dig into that any further.

"Don't worry, go" Jiah sent you a soft smile. Too bad it didn't reach her eyes. You wanted to kill whoever it was that had left her so down. "I'm tired anyway."

Before you could answer her, she went to the kitchen and turned on the water, starting to wash the dishes. You preferred to leave her alone, she seemed to want some time alone.

You went upstairs to your room, rummaging through your pillows for your pajamas. As you were trying to get a towel out of the bathroom cabinet, the notification sound of your cell phone alerted you, causing three towels to fall on you. You walked awkwardly to your phone, unlocking the screen and pursing your lips to keep from smiling like a maniac. 

You ran to your window, opening it as quietly as you could. You covered your mouth so the laughter that wanted to escape wouldn't come out and give you away. Your laughter is very loud.

Yoongi raised his hand and pointed his finger at his own phone. You frowned, cocking your head to the side and trying to figure out what he meant. Just as you opened your mouth to speak, your phone rang again. You saw the screen, still with Yoongi's chat on it.

The message was short and to the point ‘Tomorrow at 3 PM, reservation at Piccolino, don't be late’.

You almost dropped your cell phone as you read the message. Tomorrow was your birthday, and that restaurant was your favorite place. You didn't even remember mentioning any of those things to him.

You turned to look at him, your mouth was wide open, you had no idea what to say or do, so you opted for the first thing that popped into your head. You raised your arms above your head, forming a circle. 

You felt your cheeks blush at the sight of Yoongi's smug smile.

You lowered your arms, watching as he looked down at his phone and moved his fingers rapidly over the keypad. Seconds later, your phone rang again.

‘Rest.’

You stared at the screen, specifically the three little dots that indicated he was still typing. 

You stifled a squeak as you read the last message. You turned to look at him, catching his slightly pink cheeks and his awkward movement as he put the phone back in his pocket. He gave you one last smile, this one a little more shy, and shook his head goodbye.

It took you a while to react, but by the time you did, Yoongi was no longer in your backyard. 

You grabbed your phone and logged into Yoongi's chat, rereading his last message.

With a beaming smile, you began typing your reply.

‘I love you too.’

And you sent it.

Hoseok: “I'm drunk in the back of the car/And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar”.

You took a big breath of air, dropping your head against the back of the cab chair you had just taken. Your stomach seemed to be on fire and every breath you took made you feel immensely nauseous. You knew it was a bad idea to drink a vulgar amount of alcohol and, worse, to mix drinks, but what else could you do? You didn't feel able to talk about this with anyone. Your friends were in a rather similar situation, how could you ask them for advice? And you'd better not even think about telling your mother, she'd kill you if she found out that you had a purely sexual relationship with Hoseok. Now that you thought about it, it didn't seem like such a bad idea.

A soft vibration in your bag caught your attention. You opened your bag slowly, not because you didn't want to check your cell phone, but because you couldn't move properly due to the ridiculous amount of alcohol in your system. 

After several embarrassing attempts you managed to take out your cell phone, and the first thing that greeted you was a huge line of messages from Hoseok, most of them asking where you were, if you were well, asking if you had a problem or something like that. You pursed your lips, licking them with the tip of your tongue. 

You hated Hoseok. You hated that he was so sweet, that he was always worried about you, that he knew how you like to eat your meals, that he always lay on the left side of the bed because he knows you love to sleep on the right side, that he's always ready to run to you if you feel bad. You hated that he was so damn perfect, because that certainly didn't help the turmoil it generated in your feelings for him.

Before you knew it, a drop of salty water fell onto the lit screen of your cell phone, rolling slowly along all the messages that were reflected. You closed your eyes tightly and leaned your forehead against the edge of the pink glitter case you were holding, letting out all the tears you had been holding back since the beginning of the night.

You hated that you had noticed that you had feelings for him, and you hated yourself even more for not being able to face him and tell him how you felt, for having to resort to something as low as getting drunk to the point of no longer being able to take courage and tell him the truth. 

Take On Me by A-ha forced you to break away from your cell phone and look at the screen. By this point you didn't even feel surprised that he was the one calling you. He always did, to say goodnight, to wish you a good day, to remind you to eat all your meals, god, you weren't even sure if that was normal in a solely sexual relationship.

With your hands shaking slightly you hit the answer, bringing the phone to your ear, "Yes?" you practically whispered, burying your nails in the skin of your hands.

"Y/N?" you heard a long sigh from the other line, followed by a nervous sounding laugh, "I was so worried, I thought something had happened to you, you never leave messages on hold."

"I'm sorry" you wiped away your tears, ducking your head unconsciously. Hearing his voice calms you down a bit at first, but almost instantly you were upset again at the fact that he was calming you down. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Don't apologize, I guess I overreacted a bit" he laughed softly again, and you were sure he was most likely scratching the back of his head. "Hey...I was thinking about, you know, this weekend."

You bit your bottom lip, closing your eyes until you saw white spots. You didn't want to talk about this.

"I know we were supposed to get together at my place, but I'm afraid I won't be able to make it, apparently my plumbing has a problem and I think it'll take them a while to fix it, but we could get together at your place!"

"No" you whispered, pressing your free arm against your stomach, the one that had decided to give you a painful pang just at this moment. "I don't want us to see each other again."

You were both silent for a few seconds, waiting to see the other's response. You honestly expected him to stop you, you waited for him to tell you not to leave, to insist on seeing you again. You wanted, no, you needed to hear those three words come out of his mouth, even if it was over the phone.

But Hoseok wasn't like that. He might be the sweetest guy in the world, but he would never say that thing you wanted to hear so badly. He would never fight for you or whatever it was you had. He wasn't brave.

"It's okay," he muttered. You listened as he took a long breath, only to then let it go in an equally long sigh, "Take care of yourself."

"I will."

And you cut.

You lifted your head, wiped away your tears and looked out the window, gazing out at the beautiful beach you thought you'd be on your entire vacation.

Namjoon: “It's new, the shape of your body/It's blue, the feeling I've got”.

"Why do you always leave so quickly?" you muttered, settling down on Namjoon's bed and directing your gaze to his nearly naked body.

"What do you mean?" he pulled his shirt over his head, ruffling his hair with his hand and picking up what appeared to be a rather worn notebook and a pencil with bites on the end.

"Whenever we're done you leave" you took his pillow between your arms, resting your chin on it, "Are you afraid of me or something?". 

Namjoon chuckled softly, looking up at you from his post next to the desk, "Why would you scare me away?"

"I don't know, maybe it's because I'm so serious" you kept your gaze fixed on him, his expressions, his body language, absolutely everything. You wanted to understand why he seemed to be so cold and warm with you at the same time, "or maybe you are intimidated by people who look you so much in the eyes, there are many reasons, I could give you quite a long list if you wanted".

"It'll be useless, you'll never find a reason why I'd freak out on you" he broke away from his desk, moving closer to the bed and sitting down next to you. You couldn't help but close your eyes as you felt his hand fall on your head.

"Why?" you whispered, taking his wrist and stroking it gently.

"Because the last thing I feel for you is fear," he said as he tangled his fingers in your hair. Rarely did you have it as messy as you did now, rarely did you look as calm as you did now. Namjoon had to endure the constant tingling he felt in his fingers.

"Then why did you seem to be running away from me? It makes me feel... strange" you sighed heavily, shifting your position. The ceiling seemed much more interesting right now.

"I'm sorry it looked like that" Namjoon bent down slightly, leaving a soft but lingering kiss on your forehead, "but I promise it's not what it looks like."

"Then what is it?"

"Do you think you could give me about... three days to answer you? Just three." 

You turned to look at Namjoon, frowning slightly. You didn't quite understand why he needed so much time, but you also didn't feel like you could deny him that when he saw you with that beautiful, mesmerizing look he had.

"Okay" you nodded slowly, feeling a tightness in your chest as you watched him get up and head back towards the exit of the room.

"I promise I won't let you down, babe," he said with a big smile before leaving. 

And, again, you were beginning to feel a deep emptiness in your chest and a sense of loneliness that gave you a sort of claustrophobic feeling. 

Just three more days, you told yourself, just that.

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