band!jk 03 (T)
→ summary: “drunk jungkook is best jungkook.”
→ premise: “BTS is a well-known band that regularly releases songs, but the identities of their members are kept as a secret. You’re very much into them, much to the struggle of your best friend, Jungkook, who regularly stresses with the fact that he’s actually part of BTS, but he can’t muster the courage to tell you and confess his feelings to you.” drabble au
→ genre/au: secret band!BTS au, college au fluff, drinking
→ pairing: jeon jungkook | reader
→ word count: 2.7k
→ drabble series: 01 | 02 | 04 | 05 | 06 |
Drinking.
That was the one thing that you've always looked forward to after a grueling month that consisted of papers, reports, presentations, and examinations. You had to hold off drinking for a month, since it always made the beer taste better after a month of abstinence (and also, because you were cooped up in the library the whole time.) At the same time, beer always tasted better when you were already done with the semester, being so free from all the responsibilities of student life.
And that was why you were calling up your best friend to meet you outside of your go-to bar nearby school.
Jeon Jungkook was the best person to go drinking with. First, he always paid half of whatever you ordered, even if you consumed more than half. Second, because you consumed more than he did, you were always more drunk than him, and thus, you can always drink all your fatigue and worries away without a care. And last, you know you would always end up safe in your apartment, scratch-free the following morning.
You, of course, tried to let Jungkook have his fair share of drinking, since you also couldn't bear the guilt that you're always the drunk one, while he's the designated adult (even when the two of you were of the same age.) But, he always insisted that you enjoy the night, anyway, because he's really just fine with drinking only two or three bottles of beer. Four, if you push it, but that's his alleged 'still-sober' limit and that's when he usually stops. On the other hand, you continue on your own and drink six bottles, at the least, and sometimes, you go on as many as you want (and you'd never worry about alcohol poisoning because you would usually pass out by the ninth bottle.)
However, for some reason, the tables have turned because you are currently nursing a drunk Jungkook, who seemed like he already did some pre-game drinks before he met up with you. Something about his housemates celebrating something in his apartment, though he didn't elaborate further.
"You should've told me that you were already in a get-together with them already! I could've called someone else," you chided him, but all you ever heard was a snort from an only-slightly-buzzed Jungkook from an hour ago.
"You'd think you'd celebrate as much if it weren't me? I don't think so, babe."
You felt your heart skip a beat for a moment over what he had just called you. Jungkook never called you that or any term of endearment, but you knew that you should just blame it on the alcohol. Especially now that Jungkook was already talking a lot, a very carefree expression on his face, unlike the usual soft, adorable, but mischievous look he sported when he was with friends. In this case, Jungkook seemed like he didn't care about anything at all.
"So, why do you like BTS so much?" He asked, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol he drank. For some reason, he was already on his seventh bottle (and to think he had some pre-game drinks!)
You scratched your head, wondering if you should tell him the truth. "Well, BTS is a pretty talented group and-"
"Well, I know that BTS is talented and really great!" For some reason, his smirk is a bit too smug than usual. "But, there should be some sort of reason, right? It just seems like you love us- I mean, them so much."
You didn't seem to catch the mistake that he made, however, as you mused inwardly why you did like the band so much, even when you didn't know them personally. You only knew their songs, and a bit of the background information they gave on some interviews and on-stage, but never more. You don't even know how they actually looked like.
"Some sort of familiarity, I guess? Their songs hit close to me and I feel so at home with their songs," you admitted, realizing that the lyrics to their words were too relatable. And their voices, they always resonated inside you, the pitches hitting close to your heart. And for some reason, their voices actually sounded so familiar....
"Why is everyone so loud here? Wait, let me sing so that I can also be as loud as them," Jungkook pronounced as he was about to stand on the table the two of you were seated on. Your eyes widened as you immediately tried to grab his arm, lunging towards his body so that you could stop him from standing on the table.
"Jungkook, no!"
"Jungkook, yes!" He grinned cheekily, but you had wrapped your arms around him, taking note that he smelled really fresh, especially with the cologne that he regularly uses. You've always forgotten to ask him what scent it was, but it actually suits him a lot.
"This is not fair! You know that I'm not going to push you away if you're going to hug me so tight!" Jungkook pouted.
You nodded, agreeing to what he said. "I'm going to do everything to my best ability to take care of drunk Jungkook. So, you might, as well, stay there so that it won't cause us trouble. I don't wanna get kicked out and banned from this bar, you know. It took us forever to find THE bar," you reminded him as he simply blinked his eyes.
You sighed, wondering if this was your karma coming back to you after you did this to him so many times. After making him promise that he wasn't going to sing or stand on top of the table, you released him from your hold.
One time when the two of you went out for karaoke, he told you that he didn’t sing because his voice was really bad and that it would trigger some pain on his throat, which was why the two of you never went to karaoke after that one time.
"Do you like me?" Jungkook asked, an innocent question it would seem, but for you, it meant something else.
"Of course, I do like you, Jungkook. Why else would I hang out with you always?" You tried to play it cool, but you could feel your heart beating fast. In fact, you were thankful that you weren't hugging him anymore, because he would've definitely noticed that your heart was beating so fast. You knew there was a reason to it, but you didn't want to confirm anything, especially since you didn't want to end your friendship with Jungkook.
"Well, I don't know," he raised his shoulders. "I just wanted to know if you liked me, because well, you see." His words were still slurred, but for some reason, you could feel his sincerity. "Well, I, um, you see, I-"
"You?" Your breath hitched for some reason but you didn't want to overthink. After all, a drunk man was still drunk and he could say the most meaningless things, but at the same time, they did say that drunk words are sober thoughts.
Jungkook opened his mouth, but whatever he was supposed to say was interrupted by the sudden arrival of one of his housemates, Kim Namjoon.
"I didn't know the two of you were here!" Namjoon casually beamed, interrupting whatever Jungkook was about to say. You sighed in relief, though you weren't exactly sure why you felt relieved.
Maybe because you didn't need to confront anything.
"This girl, over here, called me up saying that since her semester is finally over, she gets to celebrate," Jungkook's tone makes it clear to Namjoon that he's clearly smashed, but the other guy simply smiled in response. You swore to God that they spoiled Jungkook so much.
"Your semester's going to end next week, Jungkook. But, they're all papers anyway. So, please let me enjoy this," you muttered as Jungkook simply huffed and pouted, much to the amusement of the older guy.
“But, I’m also celebrating, of course, because BTS just sold a million copies for their latest album,” Jungkook grinned as your eyes widened in surprise.
“Really?” You screeched. “How did you know about that?” You asked him as Jungkook gave a smirk and was about to answer, but Namjoon had beaten him to it.
“Work. There’s going to be an article about it soon.” He forced a smile on his own, but you decided not to push anymore. Maybe because it would’ve costed his company views on their website. Namjoon was working in a digital news company that uploaded their articles online, rather than printing them. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that Namjoon was aware of this kind of information once in a while. After a while, Namjoon excused himself for a moment, heading to the restroom, while you were left with an intoxicated Jungkook who was still far from sobering up.
However, you didn’t expect Jungkook to stand up all of a sudden, much to your surprise. He directed a grin towards you. “I’m craving for lamb skewers. Let’s go no-woah.” Jungkook stumbled on his feet as you immediately tried to help him up. He had an apologetic look on his face. “That must be because I was going to get lamb skewers without my future business partner.”
You scrunched at his obvious reference to Min Yoongi. “I’m pretty sure it’s because you’re drunk right now,” you murmured, but Jungkook’s sharp ears obviously picked up what you just said, even if he was already drunk.
“I’m not drunk!”
“Said every drunk person,” you muttered.
However, he wanted to prove otherwise to you, as he tried to steady himself, holding your cheeks with both of his hands. He leaned closer to you, your faces a few inches away from each other. Your breath hitched on your throat as you realized the proximity of your faces against each other.
“See! I can even stand properly!” He exclaimed in delight at said feat.
You swallowed the growing lump on his throat as you tried to turn away from him, but he had a tight grip on your cheeks. “I-I know. I can see that,” you stuttered, feeling a bit awkward.
“You know, I just realized the you look a lot prettier up close,” he mused out loud as he directed a smile on you, while moving his face closer to yours. You stared back at him as you realized that his eyes were focused straight on yours, as if you felt some sort of affection or attraction (or both) from the way he looked at you. You closed your eyes all of a sudden, a bit unsure on what else you should do. However, what you didn't expect was the sudden heavy weight on your shoulder.
It was Jungkook, all passed out.
You heaved out the breath that you didn’t realize you were holding in the entire time as Namjoon arrived from the restroom and asked what had happened. You immediately passed Jungkook off to the older guy, telling him that you had to go pay the bill. After you paid the bill, Namjoon offered to walk you home, but you shook your head, pointing to Jungkook who was heavy to carry. You could see the hesitation on Namjoon’s face, but you reassured him that you were going to text him when you got home since your house was fortunately just a few blocks away from the bar. You left the two of them as they waited for a cab going home, while you immediately ran on your way home after bidding them (or maybe, just Namjoon) good night.
The reason why you didn’t want Namjoon to send you home was that you didn’t want him to realize that you were trying to calm down your heart that was beating too fast and the butterflies that were fluttering inside your stomach. Plus, you didn’t want to talk to anyone as you tried to process what happened the entire night. Jungkook was probably just drunk, but you had to reflect on what you were actually feeling.
Maybe, it was just the alcohol (you insisted that two bottles was already many). Or the lack of a boyfriend (you’ve never had one since high school). Or the atmosphere since people were making out with each other in the bar you were in (there was that one couple at the side).
Well, it was probably one of those things, since there couldn’t be possibly any other reason for you to feel so flustered by what just transpired.
It didn’t take long for you to reach home since you were running really fast to help yourself sober up. Right after you texted Namjoon that you had arrived home, you immediately passed out on your bed, not even bothering to wash up because you were just too tired to care.
You woke up to the sound of your door opening, since you were always a light sleeper. It was a sheepish-looking Jungkook, who looked all too well and fine, despite the fact that he was practically hammered the previous night. It was just so unfair, especially since you would have been complaining about a hangover right now if you drank as much as he did last night.
“Good morning?” He greeted with an awkward chuckle as he entered your room, freshly cleaned up with a cup of your favorite coffee that he always complained about being overpriced.
You looked down, feeling a bit awkward after the events last night. You honestly did not expect that you would see him in your room as soon as you woke up. Still, you accepted the cup of coffee from him. “It’s surprising that you’re awake when you were really drunk last night.” You gave an awkward laugh, hoping that he wouldn’t sense it, but the cringe on his face told you that he might have.
“I know what I did. And I’m really sorry if I did that,” he apologized in an instant, bowing in a ninety-degree angle, his eyes closed, sincerely hoping that you would forgive him for what he did last night.
Which one, though?
You swallowed the growing lump on your throat, trying to keep down the urge to puke you felt all of a sudden. It was as if the butterflies that you felt fluttering inside your stomach last night died and you had to let them out now as puke.
"It wasn't really anything, you know. I mean, it didn't mean anything to me." You tried to to conceal the complex emotions you were feeling at the moment, knowing that you didn’t want to destroy the friendship you had with Jungkook.
"I know it wasn't. I mean, it was your favorite bar and if I continued with whatever drunk Jungkook wanted to do, you might have been banned forever from the bar. So, thank you for stopping me from doing anything reckless."
What did he just say? You blinked your eyes for a moment as you turned back to your college best friend, realizing that what he might be referring to wasn't what you thought.
"I was going to stand on the table, right? And shout at other people? That's obviously really embarrassing. I can't remember anything from last night, but thank you for stopping drunk Jungkook from whatever. You're definitely the best!" He grinned, raising his thumbs up towards your direction.
Suddenly, the urge to puke went away. And at the same time, you couldn't help yourself from teasing him. "Well, drunk Jungkook was certainly really funny last night. He might have told me a few things that I don't want to forget."
Suddenly, the last words he told you before he passed out went through your head again, making you blush in an instant.
“You know, I just realized the you look a lot prettier up close.”
"Wait. What? What did I say?" Jungkook started to panic as you gave a nervous chuckle. You could see a dreadful expression appearing on his face, probably from whatever thing he imagined telling you. You smiled to yourself, knowing that this was your way for getting back at him for making you feel so flustered the night before.
"Who knows, Kookie. Who knows."