I don't need to hide when I’m with you
by deanneedstoshakeitoff (tumblr)
Auther description: Jungkook is a famous photographer on Instagram while Taehyung is an Internet personality who adores photography and adores Jungkooks page. He know more about the person behind the photos the only problem is that no one knows who he is and had never posted a picture of his face.
Group: BTS
Main ship: Taekook
Other ships: Namjin, Yoonminseok
Chapters: 45 (complete)
Min Yoongi squints his eyes. “So let me see if I got this right,” he says, both hands intertwined supporting his chin, eyes narrowed. “You want to hire me to be your Plus One to four weddings in the month of July.”
Jimin nods slowly, doing his best not to blush.
or: how many weddings does it take to fall in love with your fake date?
Hi, i wanted to know if you knew some reeeeaaally good idol au (it could be producer myg and idol pjm, or both of them being idols, or rapper myg or whatever, something like that) fics? I always look for them, but i feel like i've already read the most famous ones.
• Pairing: Rapper!Yoongi x Dancer!Jimin
• Genre: Fluff
• Words: 9,1k | ↳ AO3
• Disclaimer: a bit of anxiety and nervousness / insecurities
written for the ‘Printed Melodies’ Event @yoonminficrec
→ Prompt: Yoongi’s rap crew competes at a hip hop competition and Jimin is also there as a competing street dancer.
written with @cassiavioletblue
↳ “C-can you please close the door again?” Jimin averted his gaze, trying not to be embarrassed by the whole situation. Yoongi ignored the boy’s half-hearted request at leaving him alone and instead furrowed his brows in concentration as he scanned him for real. When he dropped his gaze to the younger’s feet he could see that he was barefoot and awkwardly trying to hide it with the way he was sitting. “Are you crying because those cheerleaders out there stole your shoes?”
It was useless. He was useless. Why did he even think coming here would be a good idea in the first place. The day had started out bad already and it was proving itself to be the worst day Jimin ever had. First, he almost came too late for the sign ins and now he had forgotten his shoes. The most important item a dancer needed. He had been so nervous, anxiety driven all day and forgetting his shoes had been the last straw he needed to tilt over.
Jimin sobbed, burying his face in the palm of his hands and curled in further into the corner of the locker room he had hid in. There were loud noises outside, people passing but no one bothered to look inside these rooms. They had other things to care about, competitions to win. Closing his eyes, Jimin pulled his knees in and leaned his forehead against the cold wall, trying to count to ten and start again. He would be okay. He could practice the routine without shoes. Try it out a couple of times and see if it works or he could just keep hiding in here. Where no one could find him and sneak out without anyone noticing. They maybe would call out his name a couple of times, but then they would just disqualify him.
That was it.
Jimin gasped when the door suddenly burst open, eyes wide in fear and shock alike. Hand pushed over his mouth to keep from breathing too loudly and not make a noise. He stared at the closed bathroom door in which he had locked himself, seeing shoes walking closer to where the sinks were and Jimin held his breath.
The voices of the people outside were still in Yoongi’s head, bouncing around like a pinball machine, over and over again.
‘Oh, I never heard of you!’
‘Who are you again?’
‘Wait, you are a rapper? You are so small I thought you were one of the background dancers’
‘You must be so nervous to be here’
He had smiled and talked and tried to make connections as he knew he should be while his inner tension rose and rose until it was so close to snapping that he just needed to get out RIGHT ABOUT NOW: He burst through the door of the first empty room he could find, growling out his anger and frustration. “Yes, I’m new and I don’t look like the typical rapper and most of you haven’t heard of me I know that so fucking thank you for reminding me!” He kicked against the bench in the room while having no idea that he wasn’t the only one hiding in here.
Jimin jerked violently, a squeal passing his lips in fright, when the man had kicked out and he pressed his palm a little harder over his mouth. It was silent. Only the heavy panting from the stranger audible. Eyes wide, Jimin tried to push himself as far as he could in the corner of the bathroom stall, when he heard the footsteps coming closer.
Yoongi flinched just as hard as Jimin as he had heard the youngers frightened sound. His defenses went up immediately and his heart was pounding when he went over to where he assumed the other person was. He had run out of there to not have any witnesses of his outbreak and now he had been watched, nonetheless.
Couldn’t he have some goddamn peace for five damn minutes!?
Jimin whimpered when the door busted open and stared up at the man that had just ripped the door open angrily, eyes wide and filled with tears. He was about to open his mouth, apologize and tell him to not hurt him when the angry stranger began to shout at him, pouring all of his frustration out on him and all Jimin could do was listen.
“What are you doing in here? Did you follow me? Trying to tease me some more, huh? Do you want to watch me crack under pressure, is that it so you can tell the others that they were totally right about me and that I’m just some tiny stupid no name rapper who can’t even hold his temper before a competition?” Only after he yelled at the boy was his head clear enough for him to really look at him and he saw that the younger’s eyes were remarkably glassy.
Jimin waited for him to finish his rant, confused on why the fuck the other thought that he had spied on him. A tear fell onto his cheek and Jimin hastily wiped it away.
“I...I wasn’t listening in on you and I don’t care who you are,” He whispered, voice sounding croaky from the crying. “Also, I was here first!” His voice broke a little again and he awkwardly smoothed down his team jacket that he wore, even on days where he competed alone like today. Jimin had been the only one who was able to qualificate himself for this competition. Not many were invited to the final rounds, even though many tried from all across the country - dancers and rappers alike. If you made it though, then you had a good chance to be seen by either one of the top managers of the entertainment agencies. And there was a grand prize awaiting for the winner. But even if you didn’t you could get lucky that someone found you interesting enough to pull you out of the many competitors to hand over a card, maybe invite you to an audition. Something Jimin was dreaming about night and day.
“C-can you please close the door again?” Jimin averted his gaze, trying not to be embarrassed by the whole situation. He wished the ground would swallow him whole.
Yoongi ignored the boy’s half-hearted request at leaving him alone and instead furrowed his brows in concentration as he scanned him for real. “Wait - you are one of the dancer’s, aren’t you?” He had seen a group of them standing around before, chatting happily and acting more like cheerleaders on a trip while the rappers were acting all cool and hard-boiled. “Obviously,” Jimin pointed at his jacket where the name of his dance school was printed on and slowly got up. “And you’re a rapper,” He nodded towards Yoongi, noticing his simple outfit.
“What are you doing in here?” Spying definitely wasn’t it and now that his anger had subsided his head was clear enough to realize that it was apparently him who had interrupted the boy’s quiet, not the other way round. When he dropped his gaze to the younger’s feet he could see that he was barefoot and awkwardly trying to hide it with the way he was sitting. “Are you crying because those cheerleaders out there stole your shoes? Is that still a thing between grown up people?” He asked bluntly, ignoring that the boy had tried to hide his tears as well.
“I guess, I have been doing the same thing you did,” Jimin answered and leaned against the cold tile wall, “Having anxiety and getting away from the people and what they are saying.” Jimin smiled faintly, squeezing through the door and over to the sink to let cool water run over his wrists for moment and then washed his face, trying to get rid of the salty tear stains. When he pulled out a tissue, drying it, it still looked swollen and red. Looking down at his feet, Jimin added, “No, they can be mean but not like that…I don’t really need them to be a failure. I do that very well on my own.”
“Sorry that I didn’t recognize your probably awesome dance studio right away, princess. I had a few more important things to handle.” His voice was dripping with sarcasm. “I’m .. I’m not anxious! I’m angry, there’s a difference.” He watched the younger wash his face and then look resigned at his reflection. It went like a stab through his heart when he realized that he recognized the boy’s expression; lot and desperate and full of self-hatred. He had seen it before, many time. In his own mirror. His voice was a little softer when he gently pushed further, “Why, what happened? Did you disqualify yourself?”
“Doesn’t matter what happened and no, I didn’t. I wouldn’t be here if I did. It’s only the finals today.” Jimin said and turned around to the stranger, “While you guys only have one day of competition we already did pre-rounds a week prior. We’re already only a selected group of people who compete today…or else it will take days. Do you know how many people want to be here today? It’s the competition,” A sad smile pulled at the corner of his lips, playing with the hem of his shirt.
“It’s making you nervous, right? You want to prove them wrong.” Jimin bit his lip. It felt good to talk to the stranger, somehow lifting the heaviness around his own heart. He knew that feeling all too well. “And you fear to not be able to show them how wrong they are… I bet you’re really, really good and they just don’t know you, yet.” Jimin crossed his arms in front of his chest, “You’re new and the rappers are always weird with new people. Believe me, they are worse than the dancers…I don’t really hang with the rappers, but some of my friends do. It’s all about being known already…whether it’s through social media or not. And they fear the unknown. They can’t access you, that’s why they want to make you nervous, so you fail, and they can say that you had no confidence or not enough experience.”
It was downright creepy how easily the younger saw through him while Yoongi could have sworn that he was perfect at hiding his own insecurities. He swallowed hard, not sure if he should defend himself - or if that would just make it even more obvious that the boy was right. Also, he was a bit confused as to why the boy was so kind to him. He had barged in, yelling at him and asking him questions and the other was building him up in return. “Th...thank you?” He answered; voice so unstable that it sounded more like a question than a statement. Also, while the other had described Yoongi’s situation pretty much on point he hadn’t told him a single thing about himself which meant that Yoongi could only assume. “So... if you know all this and you aren’t new then why are you scared? You must be good or else you wouldn’t be here. Is your competition that heavy? Is there something other at stake for you than pride?” He figured if the boy knew so much about him it was only fair to even it out.
“It’s my third year i’m competing here,” Jimin sighed, not wanting to say how good or not-good he was but the fact itself that he had made it into the finals three times in a row should be information enough for the rapper, “And you always see the same people with the same choreographies at every competition. You'll get used to it, believe me. Don’t listen to them. And I...I...I’m just nervous.”
He bit his lip, avoiding Yoongi’s gaze and rubbed over his face making it grew paler than it already was. Jimin didn’t want to think about how much of a mess he was. He’d rather hide in the corner again until the competition is over and then find a good plausible excuse for his trainer to tell him that he had been disqualified in one of the most prestige and important hip and street dance competitions. Walking over to the bank, Jimin sat down, startling when it moved as if screws had been loosened from the impact of Yoongi’s kick and the wood would crash any minute now. He froze, eyes wide as he looked up at Yoongi, “That you rappers always have to be so aggressive. They really made you frustrated, huh?” He shook his head and smiled, “I guess, I’ll take the floor again then.”
Sitting down, Jimin pulled his legs in and when Yoongi still didn’t move along or walked out again after a while, he cocked his head aside. He really looked at the stranger, gazing him up and down without trying to be creepy but he only noticed now how nervous the other really seemed. His white hair standing in contrast to his dark attire, cute button nose and lips that were pursed into a pout. He was pretty handsome...and cute. Jimin had to smile, he really wasn’t the usual type of rapper. But neither was he the usual type of hip hop dancer and still both of them were here.
“What are you doing in this part of the gym anyways? Isn’t your competition in the other half? So that dancers and rappers are not mingling.” Jimin giggled, winking playfully at the stranger. Patting the floor next to him, Jimin offered him the floor to sit on, “If you want to be with the outcast though, hide until the competition is over and they disqualify you then you’re welcome to stay here with me.”
“No, I won’t stay here and hide. Actually, I came here to calm down enough to be able to go on stage. Are you really going to let it get to you?” Yoongi cocked his head a little looking at Jimin challengingly. “Isn’t it worse to hide away in here and not even try?”
Jimin shrugged his shoulders. “It’s stupid but…I forgot my shoes,” Wiggling his toes a little, he looked up at Yoongi, “The most important thing for a dancer…my routine it’s…it’s tricky and I need the right kind of shoes. It’s not like I can lend some. And I’m not sure if I can do it barefoot…the floor we’re dancing on is not made to dance barefoot on it so. It will be a mess. I will be a fucking mess.” Jimin’s eyes filled with tears again and he quickly avoided Yoongi’s gaze. He knew he sounded stupid, but he needed to be the best. He couldn’t fail. He didn’t want to miss one step. Jimin would beat himself up for it forever. “I’m alone here today. I’m the only one out of my team who got a qualification. And…it just got to me. Sometimes it just gets too much, you know?” Jimin looked up with tear filled eyes. “But it’s okay, you can use the room to calm down…I’ll stay here and not say a word. I promise you won’t even notice me.”
Yoongi huffed, “You are definitely very hard to ignore, I can tell you that.” The boy was too pretty and too interesting for that, besides talking to him helped a lot more to calm his nerves than screaming into the void or kicking things. “What shoe size do you have? Maybe you can take my shoes?” He dropped his gaze to Jimin’s feet again and frown when he realized that they definitely weren’t wearing the same size. “Can’t you just try without shoes? I don’t know when you’re on but maybe you could train barefoot in here? If it doesn't work you can still go back to hiding, right?”
Jimin listened, biting his lip in thought while Yoongi was talking, saying out loud what he had thought about before. “I still got time,” Jimin whispered, wiping over his eyes in the process. “Can you help me?” He asked and blinked up. Whatever it was about the stranger, he had lured him in with his calm voice and warm eyes that made him want to try. He had thought about it too. He could still stay inside if it doesn’t work. “I…I’m not very good with judging myself,” Jimin tried a smile, cheeks blushing, “Will you give me an honest feedback then?”
“What?” Yoongi's eyes widened as he blurted out, “I can’t dance!” Before he realized that what Jimin was asking of him wasn't to be his dance partner but just to look at him and his skills without shoes.
“Uhm, sure.” He shrugged his shoulders, feigning nonchalance when in reality the prospect of having this beautiful boy dance just for him here where it was just the two of them had him swallowing hard. Even though they didn’t know each other it felt... intimate somehow.
Jimin smiled and got up, shaking out his stiff muscles and jumped on the spot a couple of times. Rolling his shoulders back, Jimin began to stretch his neck, moving his body just enough to warm it up a little. He had already done a whole warming-up process right before his melt-down, so he deemed this good enough. There wasn’t much time now anyways. “Can you hold your hand up like this please?” Jimin reached for Yoongi’s hand, not hesitant about touching him and placed it just like he needed and then smiled. “I can’t dance without stretching myself first and usually I have someone from my team with me and it’s not as effective to do it against a wall….anyways,” Without even preparing Yoongi further or telling him what was going to happen, Jimin swung his leg up gracefully and placing his foot in Yoongi’s hand so he could help him stretch. “You can pull it up a little higher, please.” Jimin giggled, “Just do it…it won’t hurt me.” With his hands placed on Yoongi’s shoulder, he looked at him with his puffy and still red eyes. “I’m Jimin.”
“Woah!” Yoongi almost took a step back in reflex as Jimin swung his leg at him but instead of kicking him he just gracefully placed his foot over his arm as if he was made of rubber. “How..?” He stood there, absolutely stunned as the younger held his balance and easily bent further showing off his toned leg and incredible flexibility. Yoongi tried not to look but with them being so close and him being way too curious for his own good he let his gaze wander down the boys leg to his ass. His cheeks heated as he thought about what else being this bendy could be good for...
Jimin cocked up an eyebrow when Yoongi wasn’t answering or telling him his name. Letting his leg fall again, Jimin took a step back. “You don’t want to tell me yours? You can tell me your rap name, too if that makes you more comfortable. I just don’t want to call you stranger in my head anymore.” Jimin genuinely smiled, before he simply slid into a split right in front of Yoongi.
“Ah, sorry, your witchcraft here slightly distracted me. You won’t start walking upside down on all fours next, will you?” He joked hiding the truth that he had been distracted. “My name’s Yoongi. My actual name.” He made a little pause to have Jimin realize that he did feel comfortable with him and that he wanted the other to know his real name. “Nice to meet you Jimin. Wait, what did you think about me in your pretty little... oh my god! how can you even do that?” He had seen girls do the splits but the thought alone of landing like this as a boy had him clenching his thighs.
“Witchcraft?” Jimin shook his head and got up again - feeling a lot better now. He could almost blend out the music that came from the inside of the gym, the voice that announced new numbers to step up on the floor. “It’s just a matter of training. You can do it, too. I can show you.”
“Nope, no way, no thank you very much my legs will stay in their natural position,” He was quick to decline Jimin’s offer. There was no way that he would try this without getting himself seriously injured. Which might be a little counterproductive for his ‘swag’ on stage.
Jimin winked at him and added, “Well, what I thought of you was…aggressive rapper, great, one of those again and then I noticed your warm eyes and very soothing voice. And now I think that I like your name.” Jimin took Yoongi by his shoulders and placed him against the wall, before taking a few steps back to have enough room to move. “My warm eyes, hu?” He chuckled, a little bit embarrassed and a little bit flattered. He raised his brow in a silent question when Jimin just moved him, but he went willingly, letting the younger put him where he wanted him to be right now.
No matter how flirty Jimin had been, now he felt anxious again to show it to a stranger, to Yoongi. He wasn’t sure if he could do it barefoot, so the risk was pretty high to fuck up and for Yoongi to tell him to just keep hiding. His heart began to race. “Be honest with me then, will you? There’s no need to lie to me.” Jimin said and took a deep breath. “I can’t do everything here since this room is pretty narrow but…I will do a few moves. Once that I’m not sure I can do on barefoot.” He nodded reassuringly, more to himself than to Yoongi.
Jimin breathed in - and then his body changed. Just like that he became something delicate and graceful, using his arms to elongate the form of his dance move, using his legs to jump and twirl like gravity wasn’t a thing for him. Yoongi knew exactly why Jimin had qualified for this; because seeing him dance made you want to dance as well, because it looked so easy so beautiful, like purest joy formed into motions. When his awe had ebbed down a little for him to actually concentrate on what Jimin had asked him to do he noticed that the younger’s turns were a little bit shaky and that his expression turned a little scared whenever he did a really difficult jump or turn. However, his expression was the only thing that gave away that he was nervous, the turns and jumps still came out beautiful.
At least in Yoongi’s eyes.
“Fuck,” Jimin stopped himself short. Tears were burning in his eyes, clouding his view right away and he only hated himself even more. His lungs were burning from trying to hold back the sob that was threatening to spill over. Taking in another shaky breath, he ignored Yoongi completely and tried another turn. He didn’t even make a couple of twirls before he fell out of it. His hands were shaking when he tried once more, but it was harder to do it on barefoot, having no solid shoes that helped you give the best performance.
Yoongi realized too late that Jimin was spiraling out of control - not in reality but definitely in his mind. “H.. hey, Jimin!” He reached for the boys hands, squeezing both of them as he could see the younger falling into his own mind, the same way he knew oh-so-well from late nights at the studio with nothing but coffee when he had played the same part of his song over and over again until everything felt so wrong and useless that he was ready to rip everything to pieces - including himself.
“Look at me! You did amazing, okay? You might dance horrible from your point of view but people on the outside don’t know how it was supposed to look with your shoes on. They just see what you show them now. And I’m not lying to you if I say that you are a fucking revelation when you dance. It’s goddamn beautiful!” He paused when he notices how used he was to swearing, spoiling the compliments out of habit. “Uhm..,” He awkwardly scratched his head. “I’m sure one could have said that better and more elegantly. But it’s true. I promise. You dance amazing. If you don’t let it show in your face how nervous you are and if you practice those long-ass turns a little more than you’re basically flawless.”
“They will see if I fall out of a turn, though. The jury will know,” Jimin’s voice sounded weak, but there was still a blush on his cheeks from Yoongi’s compliments. “I need something to look at. Usually I look at my dance teacher,” He almost whispered, his eyes flickering around the room nervously. “If my face isn’t right….” Jimin whined, “How am I supposed to smile when all I think about is to nail those turns? I need to nail them, Yoongi! I just have to! They all dance the same shit, the same moves. The jury sees it all day…I want them to know I am different. That I’m worth to be looked at.” His eyes stopped at Yoongi and Jimin could swear his heart skipped a beat. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Please don’t panic now. You’ll do it, Jimin. Even if you make a mistake if the rest of your routine is gorgeous you’ll still get points. And I’m sure you can find something else to look at. It might be safer to choose a point on the opposite site of the room, something that won’t move like a person’s face could and that will help stabilize you. If you need me to I can make a stain onto the wall if that helps you.” He was only half joking at that.
“A stain?” Jimin chuckled and raised his eyebrows, “They would kick you out…I don’t want that. Y-you have a competition too.” Having his hands in Yoongi’s the whole time, Jimin was now reminded of their contact and the time that was passing. With a gasp, he reached for Yoongi’s wrist looking at his watch and luckily sighed again, not letting go off him. “When it’s your turn? Can you watch me?” Jimin asked bluntly, biting his lip for his straightforward question. Yoongi could just say no. He wasn’t owing him anything, but he was the only one Jimin knew here right now.
“Can I.. uhm, sure, yes I could.. I can do that.” He normally didn’t fluster that easily but how could he stay cool if some crazily talented, lovely and pretty dancer boy who was right in front of his face was looking at him like that while more or less asking him to be the fix point he wanted to rely on for his dance performance in an important competition.
“If I mess up or fail, I give you permission to just kick me like you did with the bench,” Jimin chuckled, feeling a lot more relief now with knowing he knew one of the faces in the crowd. He grabbed Yoongi by his wrist and then pulled him along and – finally – out of the empty locker room and to his own dressing room. “Deal.” Yoongi nodded though they probably both new that he was talking nonsense; would never hurt Jimin no matter the outcome of the competition.
He got flustered again when Jimin pulled him along, right through the crowd of other dancers all while not even letting go of his hand for a second. Jimin ignored the other dancers that looked at the two of them as they burst in (very obviously one of them not being a dancer but a rapper, as they could tell by his competing number). They got stares that Jimin didn’t notice and because Yoongi didn’t want to let go of Jimin’s hand either he jutted his chin forward and pretended to not see them either.
Taking his water bottle and his make-up, Jimin quickly fixed himself up in the mirror as best as he could, before he shrugged it off, “Ah, well I guess whiny and red puffy eyes is my look now.” Yoongi watched Jimin doing his makeup, as quickly and efficiently as Yoongi could only dream of, wishing he could ask Jimin to do his too. “Let’s call it real and vulnerable and leave out the self-bashing okay?”
Turning around to Yoongi again, Jimin couldn’t help but laugh at the way some of the dancers were oozing over the rapper. “They just like you because you’re one of the rappers.” Jimin raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you say they act like cheerleaders? It’s always the same…the rappers pretend we don’t really exist but secretly drool over the dancers while we…well, they just drool right away.” Yoongi gasped in fake shock at Jimin’s observations and puffed out his chest in an exaggerated show of fake pride before answering, “Drool over dancers? We would never! We are way too cool and smooth and… wait, did you just say you people might be interested too? What does one need to do to get a chance at dating a pretty dancer?” He was teasing Jimin slightly though his spine tingled at the thought of actually dating Jimin for real.
Must be the pre-stage adrenaline talking.
“Sure, they are,” Jimin put on a little bit of tinted lip balm, making his lips shiny and giving them a rosy undertone. He couldn’t ignore the little stab in his heart, when Yoongi talked about dating one of the dancers, maybe he meant even more than one. Maybe he was just like the other rappers when it came down to looking for sex. Jimin nodded over to the other dancers in the dressing room, the ones who kept staring at Yoongi, “Just go over there then and ask. I bet they will gladly give you their phone number.” He shrugged his shoulder and turned around to the mirror again, putting on a little more lip balm. “I need to get dressed anyway.” Jimin smiled faintly, trying not to show that he was a teeny tiny bit jealous at the thought of Yoongi simply ignoring him for superficial (at least in his mind they were or maybe it was just the jealousy speaking) dancers. Getting out a shiny, silver top out of his bag with a sparkly jacket and what looked like leather pants, Jimin sighed. When he noticed that Yoongi didn’t move, Jimin looked at him, hands already holding onto the hem of his shirt, revealing just enough of his stomach for Yoongi’s eyes to drop down. “If you stay though,...ehm, could you turn around maybe?”
Yoongi licked his lips, the answer already on his tongue, something along the lines of ‘why would I go over to them and ask for your number if you could just give it to me directly?’ but he hesitated for a second to long and then Jimin lifted his shirt and his thoughts were just gone. The younger showed off his smooth, flat stomach, shirt riding up enough to hint at his abs. Though what was even more mouthwatering was the little happy trail that lead his eyes naturally down further and further until it disappeared in the hem of his pants and all Yoongi wanted to do was get the fabric out of the way to see where it lead, to get a glimpse of… he coughed when he realized that Jimin had spoken to him but he hadn’t really gotten what the other had said so he just stood there, blinking at Jimin who was still standing there like he was about to strip right in front of his eyes and didn’t know how to react.
“Pardon?”
“Turn around, please.” Jimin blushed a little, holding his shirt in front of his chest now, “I’d like to undress...and…” He motioned for Yoongi to turn and only then did the other react and Jimin could have sworn he saw blushed cheeks. Had he blushed because of him? Jimin quickly pushed that thought back and got out of his pants and into his dancing outfit. “You can turn back now.” He was still securing the belt, fixing the top and then smoothed over the jacket. “What do you think?” He did a little turn, bending over to his feet and turning up his pants that now, without shoes, were a little too long.
“Yeah, that’s.. that’ll go.” Yoongi’s voice was a little too affected for his liking though he couldn’t help it: Jimin looked stunning! Not that he hadn’t looked pretty before but his stage outfit was simply unfair! His pants were a little tighter and so they accentuated his muscular legs. It was almost impossible to keep from staring at them. His shirt had a low cut neckline and gave a hint of collarbone and chest, something that Yoongi was just weak for. On top of it he wore a sparkly jacket that was glittering and shining, making him look like an actual prince. “You look amazing.” He finally confessed, almost a little shy now that he was faced with so much beauty.
“Thank you,“ Jimin averted his gaze, not really sure what to say now and if he should complement Yoongi back or if this was awkward or…
“You’re not bad either,“ He could have slapped himself for that in the face. He had panicked, wanting to tell Yoongi that he thought of him as handsome, too – even without sparkles or a fancy outfit. “I mean…I just…you’re handsome. That’s what I was trying to say ehm…“ Jimin rubbed his neck awkwardly. He was almost relieved when the door opened and a man, holding onto a clipboard was announcing their group of dancers next.
Yoongi burst into laughter, breaking the tension. “I’m ‘not bad’ hu? What a nice compliment..” He felt relief that he wasn’t the only awkward one - and that his interest didn’t seem so one sided or else Jimin wouldn’t have gotten so adorably shy. Before he could deepen that assumption the door opened and Jimin snapped back into focus, body tensing up immediately and so quickly, that Yoongi was afraid the other might have pulled a muscle. The blush on Jimin’s cheek vanished and instead he paled again.
“Hey...” Yoongi reached out for the others shoulder, gently digging his thumb into the hardened muscles until Jimin lost a bit of the tension. “Don’t do that. No overthinking please. You were doing great before; you’ll do great on stage. I’ll be in the crowd so you will have something to focus on and the judges will be absolutely blown away by you. You’ll see, I can predict the future. Those of pretty dancers at least.”
“Why are you so kind to me?“ Jimin whispered, unsure eyes searching for Yoongi’s in a weak attempt to ground himself. Nervously Jimin pulled at his bottom lip. They let everyone else exit first, before Jimin took a deep breath again. “O-kay, let’s do this.“ Jimin didn’t move. “Okay…now.“ Jimin was still frozen, hands shaking. “M-maybe if you drag me outside?“
“Because I want to. And soft people deserve kindness.” He shrugged his shoulders. Yoongi thought of himself as simple. If someone was nice to him he was nice to them back - which also applied for the other direction of course. But Jimin was nice and even though they had a rocky start he liked their way of talking to each other. Unfortunately, even kindness didn’t get Jimin to move so Yoongi did what Jimin had asking him to. Kind of.
“As you wish.” He commented, the only warning that Jimin got before Yoongi bend down, getting an arm under his knees before sweeping Jimin literally off his feet and carrying through the door bridal style. In the hallway he gingerly set him down looking at him with a deadpan expression. “Can you walk the rest, or do you want me to carry you like this on stage?”
“I…I just …wanted to hold your hand again but if you want to carry me everywhere from now on…I’ll gladly let you do so,“ Jimin giggled, the sweet gesture of Yoongi loosening him up again. “Thank you.” Reaching out for Yoongi’s arm he squeezed him lightly, hand falling down to his to interlace their fingers. There was another announcement and Jimin jerked violently. This time, he just took a deep breath and walked ahead, leading Yoongi into the gym and into the crowd of people that surrounded the stage. It felt strangely right to hold hands with the dancer that he had barely known for an hour now. Yoongi allowed himself to think about how amazing it would feel to get to know him even better, to take him out to dates and talk through the night and then hold his hand (or foot just to help him stretch again) but his thoughts were quickly cut short when he felt Jimin flinch again. The boy was so jumpy he felt like there must be some bunny genes in him. He inched a little closer, hoping that his presence would calm him a little (he had been told before that his ‘lethargic appearance was as grounding as a ton of bricks’).
Jimin kept his gaze low when he squeezed through the people and to the left side of the stage where the dancers entered the stage each time their number got called out. They were getting closer to his own. ”Y-you can stay here,“ Jimin said a little breathless as he began to warm up his muscles again. Then he hesitated. Only two more dancers in front of him. “Thank you, really.“ Jimin smiled at him and before he could think about it, the boy leaned in placing a soft kiss on Yoongi’s cheeks and then quickly ran off, while his heart felt like it was jumping right out of his chest – and it wasn’t because of his nervousness.
He waited, jumping from one foot to the other while the music was thumping loudly out of the boxes, but he ignored the other dancer completely. It would only make him more of a nervous wreck to watch how good he was. Jimin only looked up to search the crowd and meet Yoongi’s eyes again until someone stepped in front of his view.
“Number?”
Jimin looked up at the man with the clipboard again, telling him his number quick and then lined up at the side of the stage. Closing his eyes, Jimin inhaled deeply. His stomach churned, heart beating fast and he felt like he was about to faint. And then his name was announced.
“Number 78, Park Jimin, Arts and Dance Company Seoul.” The voice said over the speaker and a gasp fell over the crowd. They were still clapping, but it sounded a little off, as if they weren't sure. Heads were turning as everyone tried to get the best view.
All eyes were on Jimin.
“It’s him.” A young boy next to Yoongi exclaimed and squeezed himself in front of him, eyes wide and mouth opened in surprise. “Who?” His friend followed him close, apologizing quietly to Yoongi when he bumped into him. “The one I told you about! I want to be like him so bad!” He answered and pulled his friend up to the front row so he could see the performance perfectly. To say Yoongi was confused would have been an understatement. Or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but suddenly everyone around him seemed to talk about Jimin. The boy he found crying in the bathrooms, wanting to quit because he had forgotten his shoes. It just didn’t add up. There were too many voices, too many information’s pouring down on him and he couldn’t process one bit of them as he tried to keep his gaze on Jimin - just like he had promised.
“If he wins this again it would be the third time in a row.” Yoongi shook his head, looking at the man that passed and said it so nonchalantly. But hadn’t Jimin said that it was his third time competing in this competition? That would mean…
“Do you think he’ll give me an autograph?” A what? Yoongi snapped around to that person, whose eyes were shining while they followed Jimin as he walked up on stage. “Why is he barefoot?” Another one asked and Yoongi turned back to Jimin, trying to concentrate on him and solely him. “He lost weight again, right? And he dyed his hair. I loved his pink hair.” Yoongi gulped.
“So, that’s what he looks like,” A group of dancers came closer, all eyes on stage where Jimin was getting into position. “I think he’s overrated. This whole ‘I don’t show my face’ thing is just...” He rolled his eyes. “What even is he trying to keep up with his mystery. He should be showing off, don’t you think?” The other dancer just shrugged their shoulders, crossing their arms in front of their chest. “I think he’s amazing. I wouldn’t hide if I were Park Jimin.”
“Especially not when all of the rappers are drooling over me. Last time, they were all up Taemin’s face because he knows Jimin. You don’t want to know how many asked for Jimin's number. It was so annoying.” His friend chuckled, “What would I give to be him. And he doesn’t even care. He never shows up at the after party.” Their chatter died down and the whole gym hall went quiet when the music started.
All eyes were focused on the stage and on Jimin, whose expression completely changed with the first beat of the music. The unsure gaze was replaced with a dark gaze, smile turned into a wicked smirk as he licked over his lips sultrily. His walk oozing confidence and Jimin raked a hand through his hair, showing off his sharp jawline (the girl next to Yoongi had to hold onto her friend, looking as if she was about to faint). Perfectly timed on the music, Jimin snapped his head around and winked, just right before the beat dropped and the crowd went crazy.
Whoever this was, this wasn’t sweet Jimin anymore.
Jimin was completely gone in his own world, in which he didn’t need to think about insecurities or shoes that he had forgotten but simply dance. His routine had started off with a rough hip-hop beat, hyping up the crowd perfectly when it suddenly changed. Yoongi felt whiplash. The audience was going crazy, when Jimin lost his jacket, throwing it somewhere and then the isolated and fast dance moves were now replaced with something much softer. Jimin was one with the music and Yoongi had never seen something as beautiful as this, recognizing some of the movements he had done in the locker room. He was about to convince himself that this was just a beautiful dream, that something as mesmerizing as this couldn’t exist in the rough world he was living in, maybe he was still in bed and it was the day before the competition, when Jimin’s eyes met his. For a second, the insecure boy was back, searching his eyes to reassure himself and Yoongi smiled.
He was the anchor Jimin needed whenever he was at risk of losing his confidence which luckily wasn’t that often. Yoongi was pretty sure that people who didn’t know Park Jimin, who hadn’t seen him like he had wouldn’t even recognize the flicker of uncertainty in his eyes or the shape of his mouth.
“Ah, I see this is why you’re here,” A familiar voice next to Yoongi startled him effectively as the song faded out. There was silence for a couple of seconds, where Jimin bowed and then the crowd suddenly went crazy. People cheering loudly, but Jimin doesn’t seem to notice it. The anxious gaze was back, a faint, nervous smile and then Jimin turned around. Yoongi’s eyes followed the dancer who hurried off the stage to get some air into his lungs and only then he looked at his friend - Hoseok. “Fuck, man. We’ve been looking for you!” Hoseok nudged his side, “You okay there? I see you found something to get your mind off things?”
“I.. I was just..,” Yoongi cut himself off as he saw the knowing smirk on Hoseok's face. Babbling like an idiot wouldn't convince Hoseok that he had just been ‘chilling’ like he had tried to make it seem. He probably had seen him staring at Jimin in awe already. So, he just shrugged his shoulder. “ I needed something beautiful, so I went to see the dancers. Why were you searching for me? Are you already lost without me?”
“Yeah, do whatever, man. We’re on in thirty minutes, that’s why I’m here. You better be there or Namjoon will behead you.” Hoseok patted his shoulder, cocking up an eyebrow, “You know how nervous Namjoon can get and I don’t want him to accidentally break a microphone. That’s your job to piss of the tec’s. After that there will be enough time to drool over the dancers.” His friend chuckled low at the many memories of Yoongi mic dropping and giving everyone at the venue a heart attack. “So, you coming?”
“Yeah, sure…,” He went along but his eyes weren’t on Hoseok or the direction he was walking, he was looking at the part of the gym where the dancers were mingling, trying to find Jimin and give him a sign that he had to leave. He didn’t want the other to think that he had just run off. Though hopefully Jimin would get it himself that he had needed to change positions and get ready for his own stage.
Jimin had seen Yoongi leave with a weird feeling in his heart. He waved awkwardly but Yoongi had already turned around.
Now he was alone again.
There were people congratulating him, strangers patting his shoulders and Jimin nodded, thanking them politely – but he didn’t want to stay and watch the competition any longer. He wanted to be somewhere else. With someone else.
“Park Jimin?” A man in a suit smiled at him and Jimin bowed in respect, knowing immediately how important that man was when his eyes flickered down to his press ID card hanging around his neck. Jimin looked nervously over his shoulder, biting his lip. He could see the other hall from where he stood. Could hear that someone was beatboxing, people waving their hands to the beat of the music at the rap competition. His heart began to race. He wanted to watch Yoongi so badly.
“Y-yes, that’s me.”
...
Yoongi warmed up his voice with a few casual raps, lines flowing more quickly the longer he rapped. Now that he wasn’t focusing on Jimin any longer he could feel his own ‘stage butterflies’ fluttering in his stomach, telling him that even though he had been on countless stages the nerves still tingled within him at the thought of basically spilling his thoughts and feelings in front of so many people.
Hoseok was rolling his head, jumping on the spot a couple of times. “You’re going to win this.” He kissed Yoongi on top of his head, very well aware that his friend hated this. “If not…I will tell everyone you sleep with a bunny cushion.” The announcer was calling out Yoongi and his opponent, hyping up the crowd and Hoseok smiled. “So, you better win this, baby!”
“You asshole!” He pushed Hoseok, no real venom behind it. He had way too many blackmail material on Hoseok as well so the other would never risk spilling anything if he wanted Yoongi to keep his secrets.
But it was enough to light the spark in Yoongi, the one he needed to spit fire on stage.
…
Jimin took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he leaned back his head. The sun was setting low, dipping the buildings around in a beautiful light and Jimin yawned. It had been a long day, one that had started out awful but turned into something beautiful. Something that made him feel light.
He had made a few mistakes in his routines, movements he needed to work on but Jimin didn’t feel the urge to drive back to his dance studio and do it immediately. Most of the dancers were already out, either back in their homes or hotels to get themselves ready for the night. Jimin had never been interested in the after-show parties. He didn’t care much about anything but dance, actually. At least until today. The doors opened again, and a bunch of people stormed out, some with medals around their necks, some discussing vividly, while others just simply parted ways. Jimin bit his bottom lip, trying to adjust his hold around two cups of coffee he was holding, trying not to lose the bag around his shoulder while also holding on to a trophy. He wouldn’t dare to let anything of it fall. He’d rather let his hands get burned from the hot coffee.
Yoongi was animatedly talking to his friends, all of them still on their post-stage high and with their medals in hand. In the end it hadn’t been enough for first place, but a medal was a medal and it was only pushing Yoongi further, making him want to work harder so that next time they would get the gold medal for sure.
The boys had persuaded him to go with them to the after competition party. Normally he didn’t like them as he wanted to go over their stage again, write new lyrics because he felt so inspired, fixing mistakes, listening to all the new music he had discovered during the competition, that kind of thing. Though he figured that if he went along then maybe, just maybe he had a slight chance of seeing Jimin again. Maybe this time he would be there, too? Speaking of which… he stopped short when he saw the younger standing at the entrance, two coffees in hand (which promptly resulted in someone running into him because there were so many people trying to get out the entrance). Who was Jimin waiting for? Would he get picked up by someone from his dance team? A trainer?
When Yoongi noticed him, Jimin’s heart skipped a beat and the younger instantly smiled at him. He couldn’t wave with everything in his hands, so he waited awkwardly but Yoongi wasn’t making any moves to come closer. He sighed.
“These are getting kind of hot!” Jimin called out for him, motioning to the cup of coffees, giggling softly in the process when it took a moment for it to click with Yoongi.
“Wh...oh!” He awkwardly started moving again into the opposite directions of his friends who were stopping and looking at their conversation with confusion written all over their faces (except Hobi who wore a shit eating grin). “Sorry, I didn’t realize...” He gingerly took one of the cups from Jimin, avoiding the other’s eyes as it suddenly became a little harder to breathe. “I thought you were waiting for a friend.” His gaze trailed down until it landed on the trophy. “I see you won the competition. Again. Your fans must go crazy right now.”
“Who is that?” Namjoon asked, eyes scanning the young dancer and then Yoongi’s reaction, but before he could ask more Hoseok already pulled him along. “Yoongi, you still coming right? Yoongi? Yon-,” Namjoon got caught off by Hoseok who pushed him forward, telling him kindly to shut and let Yoongi be.
“My what? Again? Who told you?” Jimin laughed and shook his head, awkwardly holding onto the trophy. “Yeah, I was waiting for you, actually…” Jimin blushed, “Hope that’s okay? Not weird or anything? I wouldn’t have made it without you, so this is as much yours as it is mine. And I couldn’t say ‘thank you’, yet…so, the coffee is yours.” Averting his gaze, Jimin blinked into the distance, not sure what to say, “I…I saw you. On stage, I mean.”
“Basically, everyone around me when I was standing in the crowd. I learned a lot of things. How you drink your coffee. What you think about after parties. How cute you looked in pink hair.” He was shamelessly teasing the younger just to see the cute flustered expression on him again. It was totally worth it. “Thank you.” Yoongi took a sip from his coffee while trying to figure out how to say that he would have preferred his phone number as thanks without being creepy when Jimin’s added comment had him freezing. “On stage? You mean you watched me…” There was a shy smile stealing its way on his lips and he quickly hid it in the coffee cup.
“Yes, in my opinion you would have deserved to win.” Jimin nodded eagerly, “You were amazing, and you definitely told those people off who made you feel like shit before. They will watch out for you now.” The younger noticed the smile on Yoongi’s face nonetheless and mimicked it. Adjusting his trophy again (seriously, who thought making them so big and obnoxious was a good idea) Jimin pointed somewhere behind him, “Usually, I go back to my dance studio now…work on the mistakes I made and everything b-but I thought…m-maybe, if you want to and are not busy. I could understand if you want to go to the party or something, but I would have liked to ask you if…”
“If…what?” Yoongi’s voice was soft, almost a whisper. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach again just that this time they weren’t because of a competition. “If you…” Jimin sighed, taking a deep breath, “If you want to come with me? Not for polishing my mistakes but…the coffee machine in our studio is really, really good and if we go up a few floors you have a great view over the skyline.” His eyes flickered nervously as he waited for an answer, heart jumping in his chest.
“Well, I already got some great coffee thanks to a certain someone…,” He tipped his cup a little, “...but how can I say no to a beautiful view?” He let his eyes linger on Jimin, making it clear that he wasn’t talking about the skyline here.
Jimin smiled at the rapper and then leaned in without any hesitation. He just let his heart decide for once. This time he didn’t kiss Yoongi on his cheek but on the corner of his lips. A kiss, barely there, too soft to be true. Then he let his hand fall down to Yoongi’s and took his hand again to lead the way. “I just wanted to say, ‘thank you’ properly.”
Pulling the rapper along and into the opposite direction of where he had initially gone with his friends, Jimin couldn’t help but laugh softly at the rosy blush on Yoongi’s cheeks. “Your friends won’t mind if you come with me instead?”
“Ah, no, they won’t mind.” Yoongi turned back to check on them and saw Hobi waving him goodbye in a nonverbal way of saying ‘what are you still doing here? Go with him - and tell me everything tomorrow!’
“Let’s go see your studio then.” He couldn't wait to get to know even more of Jimin.
A/N: Our second story for the Yoonmin Event :) Cat and I hope you liked it! ♡
-your flaky best friend forgets you,yet again, leaving you to spend the day with the oddest boy you’ve ever met. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
College had been the best experience so far. After growing up so sheltered and in such a small town, this new world of experiences was such an exhilarating adventure. There were so many people, so many new stories. You loved it.
You had never been in the center of things like this before. Always observed but never joined in. But you felt alive here. One of your favorite things you’d found so far was the theater department. People there had so much life, so much wild exuberance and this abundance of passion- it was infectious. Every second you were there you felt yourself coming alive, and you were beyond enamored with it.
It was also how you’d met one of your best friends here, Taehyung. Goofy, handsome, extraordinary Kim Taehyung. Every day he’d be a different character- different hairstyles, hair colors, piercings, clothes. He was constantly reinventing himself. You never knew what to expect, but the thing that never changed was his gigantic heart and his contagious laughter.
Taehyung made everything bright and impossibly joyful. He was hilarious and could turn the mood of an entire group when he walked into a room. He was kind to everyone and loyal to a fault to the people he loved, especially his best friend Jimin. He was incredibly talented in so many ways. You were constantly in awe of him. To be honest, you were battling a massive crush on him that was quickly going nowhere, but you couldn’t help it. He was … him. He was so effortlessly himself and absolutely wonderful. He was Taehyung…But, truth be told, in spite of all these wonderful things, that boy was flaky as heck.
Which is exactly how you wound up here- standing on the threshold of his house for the past fifteen minutes with no answer. The two of you were supposed to rehearse a scene for one of your classes. It had been Taehyung’s idea for you to come over to his house in the first place. But 15 minutes, 5 texts and 3 calls later, he was nowhere to be found while you froze your legs off in the chilly spring air. You were not dressed for this… this outfit had been chosen for aesthetics, not practicality.
Finally, something began to buzz in your pocket. You snatched out your phone to be greeted with the contact photo he’d been so proud of- his handsome face smashed behind glass like he was trapped in your phone. Normally, it made you smile, but right now the best you could muster was snorting in annoyance as you answered the call, bringing it to your ear without bothering to say hello. You didn’t really have to. Taehyung started in immediately with-
“OH MY GOSH, ______, I am SO SORRY!!! I totally, completely forgot we had plans today! I am so sorry. I’m the worst!! the absolute worst! Do you hate me? I’d hate me. I’m so sorry,____. Ugh. I met for breakfast with Jimin and Mina and inspiration struck and well, we’re in the middle of dying Jimin’s hair.”
Huh. That was a new one. You certainly hadn’t gotten that excuse from anyone before.
“I’m so sorry,_____. I’ll make it up to you! I will. I promise I will. You know I’m good for it. Food later? On me? We can get your favorite- chipotle? Extra chips and everything.”
“And guac?” You added softly after a moment’s hesitation.
“YES! Oh my god YES! She still loves me guys!” He yelled back to the room.
“Yes! You can have all the guac in the world. You can have an entire swimming pool full of avocados if you forgive me!”
You rolled your eyes at him. Why did he have to be so cute all the time. How were you supposed to stay mad at that?
“Calm down,” you laughed. “You’re so Stupid. But what do I do now? While you’re still busy dying jimin’s hair…?”
“Silver! We’re dying it silver. It’s gonna look so good, ____, my piece de resistance. And maybe once he looks like a Greek god, he’ll finally have the nerve to ask that girl from economics out so we can STOP HEARING ABOUT IT EVERY- ow! Hey! that hurt! Show some respect. I hold your good looks in my hands!!” Tae shouted. Jimin must have smacked him for his comment. You couldn’t help but laugh.
“Tae,” you interrupted, attempting to grab his attention. “Tae!”
“Sorry, love. That heathen almost bruised me. What is it?”
A soft blush illuminated your cheeks at his casual endearment. You made a mental note to process the glory of his lips calling you “love” at another time- you know, when it wasn’t his fault that you were freezing your extremities off.
“I live across campus, Tae. I biked all the way over here to see you, and I really am in no mood or that kind of shape to just turn around and go back already. Plus, I’m freezing. It’s like the second coming of Jack Frost out here. I thought it was supposed to be warming up.”
“You’re totally right. The jacket I had to throw on completely ruined my look this morning. Tragic rockstar chic will have to wait for better weather,” he lamented. “Hey, why don’t you just crash at my place until I get back there? I don’t think any of my roommates are home. There’s free tv and you know where all the good snacks are. There’s a key in the mailbox.”
“Your mailbox? Isn’t that incredibly unsafe?” you scrutinized.
“Someone’s always losing one so we stuffed an extra in there. I will not be dragged out of bed at 2am to let someone and their hookup in when I have an audition the next day just because they can’t be bothered to keep up with their keys in the throes of passion,” he said disgustedly. Clearly this hypothetical had actually happened. Probably pretty recently gauging the fleeting irritation in his usually chipper tone. “Anyway, I’ll be home in two hours- tops! Promise! In the meantime, my home is your home.”
“Fine. But if you’re not here in two hours, you owe me ice cream after chipotle, and I intend to collect, good sir.”
“MUAH!” Tae blew kisses at you through the phone. “Of course, princess! Muah! love you! You’re the best!”
“Yes, I am,” you sassed, attempting to cover the spike in your heartbeat. “Now go, before you fry jimin’s hair off. He won’t know what to do with himself if there’s nothing to run his fingers through.”
“Yah! Could that happen?” Jimin’s clear voice piped up in the background. “You said this was foolproof!”
“It is! Don’t worry! I got this. I’m basically a pro” Tae hushed him. “___, bye my love! Don’t burn anything down cuz you’re mad at me.”
“No promises,” you smiled into the phone as Tae rushed to quip back before you ended the call with a click. “Well all right then, this isn’t weird at all.”
You fumbled around the mailbox until you found the key they’d taped on the inside. You debated whether you should bring the massive stack of mail in it inside with you. Clearly no one had checked it in a while but wasn’t it a crime to tamper with someone else’s mail? Did this count? Whatever. It needed to be done, and you knew Tae certainly wasn’t gonna do it so you gathered up the armful and let yourself inside.
This felt so strange, walking into someone else’s home. You’d been here before for parties and to watch movies- epic marathons of whatever Tae was currently immersing himself in or terrible foreign films you had to dissect and critique for class- and for Tae’s award show watch parties (the oscars were his film critic super bowl), but this was different. This was another animal entirely. Being in the silence of someone else’s home when they weren’t there felt vaguely like trespassing even though you had permission to be there. Tae was alright with it, but you weren’t sure if you were.
You dropped your massive canvas bag by the front door and made your way to the kitchen. He was right- at least you knew where the good food was. You’d been responsible for helping refill enough snack bowls at Tae’s parties.
Tae split the massive house with four other guys, but you’d only met a couple of them. Everyone’s schedule was so all over the place that you’d only met Namjoon and Jungkook- the first double majoring in philosophy and business so you hardly ever saw him but he seemed cool, and the latter was busy giving Jimin a run for his money in the dance department. The other two you had yet to meet.
Helping yourself to a bag of barbecue potato chips and a cold can of root beer, you made your way toward the living room when you suddenly realized how stupidly wrong Tae had been- You weren’t alone at all. There was a boy on the couch. An incredibly cute boy at that.
He was fully dressed in an over the top black and white outfit. Sleeves cut off the too long shirt, black shorts, striped socks and black high tops. He had on way too much chunky jewelry and a backwards black and white snapback. Hardly the sort of things someone wore to bum around in at home. He had a thick shock of maroon hair, and it looked like- was he wearing eyeliner? Yes…yes, he was. A thick band of it too. He was stretched across the sofa, eye closed, with a chunky set of headphones over his ears, and you could hear the bass in the music from here. That must be why he hadn’t heard you banging on the door half the morning.
You froze in the doorway, unsure of what to do with yourself. No one was supposed to be here. This was weird enough when you thought you were alone. Now this poor guy was gonna think someone had broken into his house, and he wouldn’t be entirely wrong. “God dang it, Taehyung. How do you always get me into crap like this when you’re not even here?” You groaned under your breath, about to turn around and slip out as quietly as you’d come in, when your company finally noticed you.
“Um, hello?” A low voice croaked out. It wasn’t as deep as Taehyung’s, but it had a certain kind of authority to it that made you still immediately.
“Oh…. h-hi there,” you waved meekly.
“Are you- did Namjoon- are you a guest of his?” The boy queried, squinting his inscrutable eyes at you and pushing one ear of his headphones back to hear your answer. God, he was even cuter than you’d thought.
“What? No, i’m…oh! You mean??? No! Dear god, no, I’m not one of Namjoon’s booty calls.” You balked.
He seemed to realize that he’d alarmed you and immediately sat up. “Hey, it’s okay if you were. We’re all adults here. I didn’t mean anything by it.” He puts his hands out, palms toward you- God they were pretty hands though- like he was trying not to startle an animal. You probably did look pretty jumpy at this point. What was in the water at this place that all the boys looked so unreal?
“There’s just… not usually pretty girls just wandering around the house in the middle of the day when I think I’m here alone. Just… trying to figure it out.” He explained.
“Oh,” you sighed. “That’s fair. I’m sorry there’s a…uh, stranger … in your house. I’m a friend of Taehyung’s. We were supposed to rehearse for a project today, and he totally forgot and bailed on me. I live over in the Hillman dorm so he said I could crash inside until he got here. I’m sorry. He said no one was home.”
Quietly, he nodded, taking your explanation in.
“I-I can go,” you began to drift backwards. “It’s not that big a deal. I can wait for Tae somewhere else.”
“Hey. No, it’s okay. Hillman’s clear across campus. That’s too far if you’re trying to get a hold of him. You can stay. On one condition.”
Quirking your eyebrow, you stilled at this. “Okayyy….what is it?
“You have to share those chips with me.” Simple enough. He leaned forward, elbows to knees, to whisper the next part conspiratorially,
“And you can’t tell anyone I let you steal one of my sodas and survive. It’ll ruin my credibility around here.” For the first time, he smiled. And boy, what a smile. The intensity of his demeanor dissolved instantly, replaced by this sweet, innocent smile that warmed his entire face. Something about it clutched at your chest in a way you hadn’t expected.
“Oh God, I stole your soda?” You groaned. “I’m really battin a thousand today, huh?”
Sighing, you trudged toward the couch as he pulled his feet back to make room for you. You flopped down on the far end of it and kicked your head back to look at the ceiling. “I’m really sorry about that…?” You rolled your neck over to look at him, voice lilting up at the end in a question.
“Yoongi,” he smirked.
“______,” you huffed back, annoyed with yourself for how this entire day had gone so far. You extended your hand toward his. “Nice to officially meet you.”
He hesitated, only for a second, his feline features sizing you up. Nobody had ever looked at you with this kind of scrutiny before. You couldn’t quite describe it. He wasn’t objectifying you. Honestly, it looked like he was just trying to figure you out. Like you might be the only person who knew the answer to a puzzle he’d been trying to solve for decades, and he’d gotten bored waiting for you to show up. You didn’t know what to do with that.
Slowly, he took your hand in his to shake it back. His hands were larger than you expected, strong with intricate veins running across the back of his palm. They were impossibly warm. You wondered what you’d gotten yourself in to.
“Likewise. I’m guessing I’m the last one to meet you?” He asked.
“Not quite.There’s still one other roommate I don’t think I’ve met yet. Tae told me his name. I think it was….is his name José..?”
“Hoseok.” Yoongi grunted, rolling his eyes absurdly far back in his head. “And no, you must not have. Trust me. You’d remember him.”
“Do you guys not get along? Sensing some tension here.” You also noticed Yoongi hadn’t seemed to let go of your hand yet. You cleared your throat, only to be met with a questioning look. You darted your eyes to where your hands were still joined as yoongi’s eyebrows shot up to hide beneath his shaggy bangs. He dropped your hand immediately like it was cursed. Geeze, He didn’t have to throw it like that. His contact had been kind of…nice.
“Sorry.. on a major sleep deficit over here. Must have spaced out.” He buried a hand in the hair at the nape of his neck .You wondered in passing if his hair felt soft.
“S’fine. So, what’s the deal with hoseok? What’s the hostility there?”
“There’s not. He’s my best friend. He just drives me nuts sometimes. He’s also the reason I’ve been up since 5am today.” He shook his head disgustedly.
“Good grief, why?” You were intrigued.
He pulled his headphones down to settle around his neck and straightened the backwards cap he had on.
“Isn’t that awful? I was having such a good night’s sleep too…Hobi is in the dance department. He has this assignment to create a visual project with students from another complimentary major so he pulled me and Namjoon in on it. Something about learning how to network…”
“I thought Joonie was a philosophy major?” your brow crinkled in confusion.
“He is. But little known fact- he’s also one of the best rappers on campus.”
You felt your eyes go wide before you could stop them. “Seriously?! I mean, I guess he’s got the voice for it.”
“Does the name RM mean anything to you?l
“Half the girls in my dorm want to throw their panties at him. They talk about him all the time- they never shut up about him actually. But I’ve never made it to one of his shows. Why?”
Yoongi’s eye sparkled, chuckling to himself. “That’s Namjoon.”
“SHUT. UP!” Stunned, you clapped your hand over your mouth. “you’ve GOT to be kidding!”
“No, he is. Scouts honor. So now that you know, are you gonna be one of those girls throwing your panties at him too?” Yoongi’s dark eyes glowed with mischief.
“I’ve known you 20 whole minutes and that’s already the second time you’ve insinuated that I want to be in Joon’s bed. Should I be offended by that?” You pressed your hand to your chest in mock disgrace, a challenge in your eyes.
Laughing, Yoongi ducked his head sheepishly.
“Dang,you’re right, aren’t you? My bad. I guess I’m just kind of used to that sort of traffic around here. But you seem like a nice girl. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Hmm, it’s fine.” You smiled. And it was…You had much bigger concerns- like did Tae ever bring other girls around? You weren’t sure why the thought of that bothered you so much. A boy as flirty and outgoing as him must take girls home all the time, but you couldn’t help the sharp pang of whatever this was that stung your chest. Strangely, you then wondered if yoongi ever did, a thought you quickly brushed aside as your stomach twisted. You didn’t much like that idea either.
“Honestly, I’m just waiting to find out if there’s an explanation for this get up of yours.” You gestured toward his body.
“Hey! This is a look.” His brows crumpled in defiance.
“Oh it’s quite a look all right. Very 2013.” You teased.
He huffed at you and readjusted his hat as he soundlessly mimicked you. You couldn’t help but laugh.
“Anyway! Namjoon, hobi and I are all rappers actually. We’ve messed around with some song writing, played a few gigs. They’ve gone pretty well so hobi took this project as an excuse to make a music video for us. Jungkook’s been thinking about switching to the film department so he roped him into being our cameraman.”
“Is that why you were up before God and the sun?”
“Yeah, hobi showed up banging on the door at the butt crack of dawn and brought these God awful outfits. He insisted that we wear them and smeared this ridiculous makeup all over us. Told us to stop complaining- that he always has to wear stage makeup for performances and to stop acting like we were above it,” he gestured annoyed at his face.
“I kinda like it….” you offered softly. You caught him curiously dart his eyes at you. “What? I think it looks good …on you. Makes your eyes look-intense. I certainly wouldn’t mess with you.”
He playfully snarled, baring his teeth at you.
“Well, at least that makes one of us. I think it looks ridiculous. I just don’t know how to take it off. Every time I try to, I just spread it around. Makes it worse”
“I see that,” You giggled. “ I can help you, if you want. After I find out the rest of the story.”
“Deal.” He arched a sinister eyebrow at you.
“So. Where was I ? Oh. 5am call time, ridiculous outfits, stupid makeup. He drags me, Namjoon and jungkook to the middle of a rooftop downtown and then hoseok decides he wants us all to learn this stupid choreography he’s come up with. For him that’s fine, it’s what he does. But I hate it- I can do it, don’t get me wrong - but I hate it. I just wanted to do what I came there for- rap- But he wouldn’t back down, he insisted on it since it was for his grade and his vision, whatever that means.
“So we spent the next 5 hours going over and over it all. I got it down too. At least I thought I did, until we started shooting and hobi became the worst director ever. I finally gave up and told him he could film my scenes tomorrow but I was done for the day. So I bounced. And here we are.” He spread his arms and crashed back against the couch, drawing a laugh from you.
“So hoseok is a dance nazi?” You asked, leaning forward to assess how to get all this makeup off Yoongi.
“Yep… i was too tired to change so I just crashed on the couch, ready to finally get some peace and quiet without him squawking at me every five seconds.” He scrunched his face in annoyance, shaking his head like he was reliving it again. He actually looked pretty adorable when he was frustrated.
“Sounds like you barely made it out alive,” you teased.
“You have no idea. I had to leave my dignity behind as a distraction.”
“Well, let’s see if we can help get you some of it back. I think I have some of those wipe thingies that get makeup off in my bag. Let me grab it.” You hopped off the sofa, sundress swinging around your hips, and bounded toward the door. You returned moments later with your giant canvas tote.
“Dang.. You sure taehyung stood you up? I think you lost him somewhere in that bag. I can hear him crying for help,” Yoongi snickered, shoving a chip in his mouth.
Blushing, you clutched it closer to your body.
“Ha ha. I just never know what I’m gonna need- so I bring everything.”
“I can see that,” he teased.
“And if I didn’t, then you wouldn’t be one step closer to not looking like the joker anymore, so hush will you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Yoongi smirked, raising his hands in surrender. It made your pulse quicken for some reason. Taking a calming breath, you sat back down beside him, much closer this time.
“May I ?” You asked, reaching for his hat.
“Sure.” He smiled warmly at you.
You gently moved the cap back and his thick hair flopped forward into his eyes. He attempted to blow his fringe out of his eyes, trying to sit still for you, but with no luck. You gingerly reached out to push his hair back for him and couldn’t help but notice how his chest stilled at your touch.
Gosh, you barely knew this guy. What were you doing? You’d help put on and take off makeup a million times for shows and parties. Why did this feel so different?
“Don’t let this be weird. This is gonna have to come off somehow right? So just um, close your eyes for me okay?”
“You got it, boss.” He mumbled, lashes fluttering shut over his cheeks.
“Do you- are those fake eyelashes Yoongi?” You tried to stifle your laughter.
“Did he -are you serious ? God I don’t know what he was doing. I was half asleep when he did this to me.”
“And foundation?”
“Yeahhhhh, that I know. Again, not my idea.”
“You poor thing,” a giggle spilling from your lips that you tried to pull back. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Just relax for me okay?.”
“This is as relaxed as I get.” He quipped, but you couldn’t help but notice the smile tugging on the ends of his lips.
Lifting his chin with your forefinger and thumb,
You went to work carefully removing the terribly applied lash strip clinging desperately to one eye. His eyeliner had been so thick you hadn’t caught it all this time. His eyelids fluttered with relief after the sticky thing was removed, his face twisting and stretching like he was trying to feel if he was himself again.
Once free of it, you carefully followed the curves of face to help him get the rest of the eye makeup off. It wasn’t until you were this close that you could take in just how beautiful he was. With his eyes closed, you took a moment to really savor his features. They were so delicate but so perfect. The ridge of his jaw was so smooth, his skin beneath the makeup perfectly polished marble.
He noticed your stillness and smiled.
“Everything all right out there?”
Startled out of your day dream, you scrambled back to work. “Of course. Just assessing the damage.”
“Whatever you say,” he smirked. He seemed to be warming up around you. He so was easy to talk to despite his pensive aura. You liked talking to him.
“What’s yours by the way?”
“My what?”
“Your major. What’s your story?”
“Nothing particularly interesting I’m afraid. I’m undeclared right now. Every person I meet here seems so incredibly talented. Even if you just look at the people who live in this house- painters, philosophers, actors, filmmakers, dancers, poets….rappers. I had no idea a person could be so many things. Every time I think I know what I want to pursue, I find out five more options and I’m back to square one.” You dabbed at a particularly stubborn spot along the corner of his eye.
“i guess I’m still trying to find where I fit. Growing up I thought you had to find one thing, stick to it, perfect it and that became your future. Became who you were. But… I don’t think it’s that simple anymore.”
“People are more complex than we give them credit for. They evolve so much over time. It’s hard to ever really know someone.” Yoongi mused.
“What about you?” You asked softly.
“Oh, uh-Music production,” he responds quietly, almost a whisper.
Impressive. That was one of the hardest programs to get into here.
“That’s… dang. You any good?” You nudged his ribs with your elbow. Despite his thin frame, he actually felt quite solid.
“Who knows” he shrugged. “ but I love it.” He mumbled the last part almost as an afterthought. Like he wasn’t sure he wanted to share it. You tucked your feet beneath you as you got comfortable on the couch, increasingly intrigued by the boy before you.
“That’s really cool. But I meant does anybody really know you?” it felt like a strange question, but you were so intrigued by him- you were honestly just trying to figure out if there was anyone he’d let close enough to crack his algorithm.
“people know as much as I let them know.” He said thoughtfully.
“But..doesn’t that get lonely?” You brushed along his cheekbone, noting how quickly the conversation had veered in a heavy direction.
Yoongi was quiet for a beat. Slowly, he exhaled before simply answering “yes.”
Softly, your hands fell away from his face and folded in your lap. Yoongi cleared his throat, but you remained silent. You hadn’t expected him to share something like that with you so easily. What could you possibly say now?
He reached up run his fingers over his face as his eyes fluttered open.
“Are we finished? Am I myself again?”
You nodded gently. “All clear,” a smile ghosting across your lips.
“Ya! Finally!!” He stretched his arms out wide, shaking his head dramatically. “I can breathe again! Aaagh!! I could kiss you.” Yoongi didn’t seem to notice the impact of his words on you, too busy enjoying his freedom.
“comments like that and you’re busy worried about girls wandering out from Namjoon’s bed….” you mumbled to yourself.
“What was that?” He asked, neck twisting over his shoulder to look back at you. You blushed and dropped your eyes.
“Oh! Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” You tried to cover for yourself, how well you didn’t know. He shrugged, unbothered and lifted himself from the couch.
“Hey, i’m gonna change out of the rest of this.” He slipped his thumb beneath one of his chunky gold chains. “Finally got some momentum now that my face is back in order.” His smile was a bit lopsided and it made you want to kiss the corner of it.
“Glad to have inspired you. Maybe I should head out…”
“Why?” He grunted. “You just got here. Sit tight. We can watch a movie.” With that, he left. Off and down the hallway, he disappeared with a click.
Welp, this was an interesting turn of events. You crossed your legs, feet tucked beneath you as you spread the skirt of your dress over them. You felt strangely nervous now, despite his invitation. You barely knew him so why were so glad he had asked you to stay? You took a sip of your soda and glanced around the room, fidgety and restless, eventually pulling out your phone hoping that scrolling through it would distract you from waiting for your unexpected company.
Soon enough, yoongi returned, plopping on the sofa, albeit much closer than he’d been before. You were still wedged against the left arm of it but he’d planted himself mid sofa this time, not on the other end. There was still distance but not enough to calm your pulse. He’d changed into a long black sweater. The sleeves were too long and spilled over his knuckles, while his legs were adorned in fitted black jeans with a rip in the knee that stretched as he shifted to find a comfortable position. You could tell he felt more like himself this way, his demeanor had shifted. It was easier, lighter, more open. It suited him.
“So,” he broke the silence,” what kind of movies do you like to watch? And Please don’t tell me you’re as much of a snob as taehyung.” He turned his face to look at you.
“No,” you laughed. “I’m not. He is a bit hard to please in that department, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea. Last week, jungkook was watching transformers in here and Tae practically gave him an entire dissertation on how much he hated Michael Bay’s cinematography.” Yoongi shook his head, disgruntledly.
“Yeah, that sounds like him. Though transformers is hardly a masterpiece. Is that your kind of film?”
His face scrunched,” I don’t think it’s anyone’s kind of film. That movie is mindless- just bombs, butts and boobs. It’s just something to have on in the background. I’m not invested enough to care that much.”
“So, what do you like then?”
His crooked smile was back. “Ah, ah, you never answered my question,” he tutted at you. “I have seniority here and I asked you first. So spill.” There was a challenge in his eyes, but a whimsy in them too. Like if you answered, correctly he might have a prize for you.
“Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“Okay, you’re gonna think this is silly but….” you drew in a breath.
“Ilikemusicals” you blurted out all at once and Yoongi laughed- truly deeply big belly laughed. Shocked at his reaction, you fought back the urge to pop him in the shoulder.
“What’s so bad about that!? Gosh you said it like you were confessing your had leprosy..or herpes. Everybody likes musicals.” He said flippantly.
“Hardly. Nobody in my town growing up liked musicals. The theater kids were weirdos.” You frowned, arms wrapped protectively to your body. eyes suddenly occupying themselves with a particularly fascinating stain on the carpet as you avoided yoongi’s gaze.
“Well, that sucks. But it just means you grew up around narrow minded people. Anyone worth their fine arts credit loves La La Land around here.” He leaned over to bump his elbow to your arm, face dipping to find your eyes. “Now will you look at me again?”
You felt yourself unfurl a little bit as you reached to tuck your hair behind your ear and found that lopsided grin you felt yourself yet again reacting to. “Fine. I accept my punishment.” You attempt to sneer but it comes out far too soft, all the ferocity of a fluffy little herbivore.
“We both know looking at me isn’t a punishment.” His eyes drift sideways at you, a high eyebrow arched as he extends his neck and lifts his chin to display his profile for you, elegant hands tracing the crook of his jawline and the length of his throat. Oh god……was it normal for your pulse to hitch like that? Time to get this back under control.
“Confident boy.” You tipped your head to the side, and Yoongi’s smile grew so wide you could see all of his teeth.
“That I am- when I wanna be, I guess. I can see why Tae likes having you around,_____. You’re a fun girl.” He stated it plainly like it was the most obvious fact in the world. Tae. You were supposed to be waiting for him.You’d gotten so wrapped up in yoongi that you’d stopped watching the clock ages ago. How strange. Tae normally occupied so much of your brain space but right now the only thing on your mind was Yoongi. Shocking how quickly your attention had been usurped by this new boy.
“Thanks. You’re bad not at all, Yoongs. That eyeliner led me astray.”
He snorted with deep throaty chuckle. “Yoongs? Is that what you just called me?”
“What if it is?” You teased. Uh oh, did he not like that?
“Then I take back my previous compliments.”
“Wow. Is that really all it takes to fall out of your good graces?” You feigned offense.
“Apparently yes. Cuz that was god awful. Never call me that again. You really think that was gonna be the winner?” He deadpanned as he looked sideways at you, hand poised on his knee flicking through the TV guide.
“I was just testing it out. I’ve already seen you barefaced, I thought maybe we were close enough for nicknames.” You attempted to shrug nonchalantly.
His feline eyes squinted over at you again. God, he was hard to read when he wanted to be. But then that whisper of a smile was back creeping up the side of his lips and you felt yourself finally exhale.
“Fair enough,” he nodded with a soft laugh. “Just not that one. There are much better names you could be calling me.” He bit his bottom lip playfully, eyebrows wiggling and disappearing behind his scarlet fringe.
“Gross. Hard pass.” You tried to make your face a mask of disinterest, but behind the veil you felt your chest collapsing. This boy. He erupted into bright laughter, almost cackling at you.
“God you’re cute when you’re uncomfortable. I can see right through you.” He reached over to pinch at your cheek. For a few dazed seconds, you let him. You were so caught off guard by his touch you didn’t know if you should stop it. Eventually you wriggled your face away, huffing at his long fingers. Was cute a good thing ? In your experience attractive boys tended to friend zone “cute” girls. It was usually a glorified step above being called their sister. But yoongi didn’t say it like that… you wondered.
“So hotshot, since my ideas out of contention, what’s yours then? What do they call you on stage?” You recrossed your arms beneath your cleavage and stared defiantly at him. His eyes flicked down just for a second before they fell away, tongue peeking out to the edges of his smile.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“You know, what name do you rap under?” Your eyes went a little round, hoping you’d asked that right.
“Ah. It’s kind of.. I don’t know. Say what you will, I guess.” He ruffled the hair at the back of his head. “Suga. I go by Suga.”
A snort flew out of you before you could stop it. “Seriously? And you gave me crap about Yoongs?”
“I know. I know. It’s a long story. But I’m kind of attached to it now.” His smile was soft, like he truly was terribly fond of the moniker.
“I don’t know. You’re gonna have to convince me on that one.” You lifted a quizzical brow at him. His eyes glistened at your challenge and suddenly you didn’t fee quite as in charge anymore.
“It makes for a great intro on my verses when I’m working with the guys.”
“Oh really? Show me.” You weren’t sure where that came from.
“Feisty. Okay.” He reached in his pocket to pull out his phone. He thumbed around looking for something on it until he smirked triumphantly. His intense gaze returned you and his lips snaked into a smile. Why was he looking at you like that? Like he was going to devour you and have fun while he did it.
“I have one condition.”
“Again with the conditions. What is it this time?” This was all a game to him. It made you feel like a rubiks cube- you weren’t if he was trying to solve you or you were trying to solve him- but he was so god dang intriguing that you were willing to play along either way.
With his gaze locked on you, he breathed, “You have to close your eyes.”
“What?” You felt your brows pinch together.
“I’m serious. Close them. You’ll thank me later.” He winked, his grin all teeth.
“Uh huh. Sure… fine.” You pivoted toward him with a bounce, settling into your new position. You tucked your hair behind both ears. “Whatever you’ve got- impress me.” You waved your fingers in the air mystically.
He chuckled. “Calm down, Scarlet witch. Just enjoy.”
In the silence, you heard him shuffle and felt the couch dip. He was right in front of you now. Carefully, you stretched your fingers out only to retract them immediately when they brushed the denim on his shin. “Oof, Sorry.”
“Can’t keep your hands to yourself all ready. I didn’t even start the verse yet.” The smile in his voice was so endearing despite his cocky words. You twisted your face into a mocking smile and stuck your tongue out at him. He could be such a smug little- Wait. Oh… was he gonna? Suddenly, a digital beat started to play from his phone. It was intricate and layered-the bass in it was addictive and rhythmic. The production was impeccable. You wondered if he’d made it.
The couch shifted again and yoongi leaned in toward your ear. You could feel his breath tickling your skin and it made you shiver. After a few seconds of an intro, you heard him inhale to begin and as promised, his verse began with a velvet smooth “Suga”- a breathy whisper that tumbled out of his lips and fell tingling down your spine. Oh god.
He began to rap fluidly over the beat in a mixture of Korean and english, his voice gravelly and deep as he played with melodies and timing. You’d never heard anyone sound like that. He played with the textures of the noises he made, sometimes sounding so aggressive it almost came across as a snarl but other times sounding so smooth and gentle that his throaty voice felt altogether too intimate. He got to a point in the flow of it where the melody was delivered like a spoken word- not quite singing but not quite talking- his voice dipping into an octave that rivaled taehyung’s. It was potent and sticky like dark honey. His voice was delicious .
At one point, he was so close to you that you felt the tip of his nose drag against your cheekbone, his breath ghosting in puffs over your neck between his lyrics. And His voice then- God, it was the sexiest thing you’d ever heard. The intensity of it, even at a whisper was overwhelming.
Two verses later, you could tell from the waning dynamics in the music that the song was coming to a close. Just before it ended, he held on until the very last beat before whispering a final “Suga” against your skin to close it out, the music dropping out completely. You felt him trying to catch his breath as he pulled back from your ear. You weren’t sure if you were ready to look at him again just yet.
You swallowed thickly, hands crumpling the skirt fabric in your lap. Slowly, your eyes fluttered open to see the tip of yoongi’s nose dangerously close to yours. His smile was positively wicked but there was laughter in his eyes. He was exhilarated to see how you were going to respond to him. There was a dazzling light radiating off of him as he took in your dazed reaction.
“That was… um, wow.” was all you could manage to get out. “Are all your shows like that?”
“Oh absolutely. I just weave through an entire crowd of strangers whispering in their ears for the entire night. Real abstract. Only one person hears me at a time.” He squinted dubiously at you, his smile never wavering.
“I mean you never know, it’s an odd school. Lots of artistic weirdos around here.” You felt the dissonance between your words and your own face. Your eyes were probably soft and dreamy right now- and you could feel your mouth parting open without your permission. You were trying to keep up the witty repartee but your body felt a little like it was short circuiting.
“You’re not wrong. There’s this one weirdo who’s been hanging around my house the whole day. She even ransacked my kitchen and took all the good snacks-But between you and me, she’s kind of adorable. I’d kinda like to see more of her.” His eyes sparkled with a sincerity that caught you off guard.
“Oh? Maybe if she knew why a grumpy boy calls himself Suga, she’d be inclined to stop by more often.” What were you doing? What were you even saying? It was hard to get any oxygen to your brain when he was looking at you like that.
His laugh was soft, his cheeks pinching the edges of his beautiful eyes as he smiled. “I used to love to play basketball in high school.”
“Aren’t you a little um, short for that?” You giggled at the mental picture.
“Not too short to love it. Jerk.” He scrunched his nose at you in defiance, but his crooked smile never wavered. “I was actually a really good shooter. One of the best in my school. I had just started messing around with music back then and Namjoon was pressing me to come up with a name for myself. Basketball was what I knew best so I thought it should come from there. He made a joke about the position I played, shooting guard, but mumbled it in Korean. The first part of it sounded like Sugar and he gave me crap about how ironic it was that someone as sarcastic as me should be called that. And It just kind of stuck. Over time it dropped to just Suga, and it was stupid but i kind of liked it. It was different from everyone else, that was for sure.” His smile was a little goofy- you liked it. He was proud of his names story even if he acted like he wasn’t.
“So,….Suga. I get it now. I like it.” You looked at him sweetly.
“Yeah?” That playful spark was back.
“Yeah. Suga… suga… Suga…” You tried it out in different ways, letting it tumble out of your mouth honeyed and soft. His bottom lip snagged under his teeth, something a little darker rolling over his eyes.
“Careful, Princess. I’m not beetlejuice.” Oh. You liked it when he called you that. He was moving closer somehow. Not that he had much further to go anyway, you already felt like you were practically in his lap at this point. Your reflection was clear in his dark eyes until his gaze flicked down to your lips.
“You were when I found you on the couch.” You countered, feeling unsteady. His laugh in response was so sweet. His teeth lit up his grin as he shook his head at you.
“Touché. But I told you- not my choice.” Something in his gaze shifted, his voice getting deeper, more coarse, like he didn’t want to say the next words too loud.
“Hey…. I know.. we just met but, you- I like this. A lot. You really should come around more often. But… for me this time.” He was smiling, but there was no part of him that made this feel like a joke. There was a solidness to his words, a pleasant gravity to his expression. He was looking at you like he wanted to give you the whole world. His eyes were on your lips again, and you wet them as best you could considering how dry your mouth had suddenly become. This wasn’t a game anymore.
“And… why should I do that?” The question came out more breathy than you planned.
“So we can do this again,” and just like that Yoongi’s head dipped down, his lips pressed soft as a cloud against yours. You felt yourself gasp at his boldness, before completely dissolving into the sweetness of his kiss. It was slow and gentle, like he was in no hurry at all. His breath was sweet, his lips languid as he took his time with you. He kept his hands to himself, as if that was too much to do all at once and he could only handle so much of you. The kiss became still, crawling to a smooth stop, his lips tender as you both caught your breath with each other.
When he pulled away, his smile was impossibly wide, his nose nuzzling against yours as if he needed to find a way to prolong touching you even with the kiss ended. If this was another game of his, he was incredibly proud of the play he’d just made. He searched your doe eyes with wonder,
waiting for your counter move. The excitement was killing him and he loved it.
Something like this had never happened to you before. You’d shared awkward first kisses before with boys you’d grown up with. Clunky, nervous things exchanged on your front porch or the front seat of their car when it seemed like the logical thing to do at the end of the night that swiftly went nowhere. They’d been strange and inorganic and nothing had ever come of them.
But this- this was entirely different. Yoongi’s kiss was magnificent. Falling into his touch felt like watching a flower unfurl it’s petals in the brightness of the sun- warm and fantastic and the way it was always supposed to be. You felt your fingertips reach up to brush over where his lips had been. A crackle of electricity tingled as you replayed it in your mind. How was any of this possible? How did this happen?
“Yoongi….”
“Yes, Princess?”’ he licked his lips, happily awaiting your response.
“I barely know you. I- I don’t do this.” Your wide eyes searched his.
“That’s okay. No rush. I can tell.” He smirked.
“What ? How? Oh- god, was it bad?” A panicked line creased between your brows.
“Oh god no. That was fantastic.” He brushed his nose against yours. Laughter spilling from his lips. “Ten out of ten first kiss. I’m ready to find out how the second one goes whenever you are.” He winked. “No, I can tell because you have been the cutest shade of pink ever since I let you go. You look like a strawberry.”
Embarrassed, You quickly reached up to cover the blush on your cheeks that had given you away as Yoongi’s kind laughter floated around you.
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t hide it. Its sweet.” He softly pulled your hands back and leaned in to plant a kiss to the apple of each of your glowing cheeks. He playfully pretended to bite one of them. “You are so cute. Not gonna lie, this is the first time I’ve ever been glad Tae can’t be on time to save his life. Something good finally came out of it.”
You felt your cheeks get warmer. You actually felt a tingle of heat brush across them under Yoongi’s impossibly happy eyes. “Hey yoongi?”
“Yeah, ___?” He answered, his smile a riot of stars and sunlight.
“I think I’m ready for that second kiss now.” Your breathing was a tangled mess but you managed to get your sentence out before Yoongi’s broad hands cradled your cheeks and pulled you in again.
“Don’t have to tell me twice.”
This kiss was brighter than the first. Yoongi held back just a little less, thumbs caressing your face, fingers slipping into your hair. You swore you could feel him smiling as he kissed you, his teeth coming to nip at your bottom lip every now and then. It caused a flurry of giggles to spill out of you that only encouraged him.
“God, you have the best laugh.” Yoongi whispered into your mouth. You felt the weight of him begin to press against your chest as you leaned back against the arm of the couch. He slipped between you and the couch to lay beside you, his hand caught on your waist, thumb brushing into your stomach. His warm tongue found its way into your mouth, causing a soft sigh to melt out of you. Your arms came to wrap around his neck, hands buried in his luscious crimson hair. You both became so tangled with each other that you didn’t hear the lock on the front door until-
“_____ ? and yoongi?” It was Jimin’s crystal clear voice floating through the house. And that meant- Taehyung was finally home.
“Shut up, you’re kidding!” Came Tae’s booming baritone. Startled, you sat bolt upright on the couch, pulling away from Yoongi. You snatched a pillow into your lap as you fussed with your disheveled hair. Yoongi couldn’t stop laughing as Tae rounded the corner, wide eyed and a bit stunned.
“What is this? How did this happen?” He pressed his palm flat to his chest in shock
“You left her alone all day! Someone had to keep her company.” Yoongi’s eyes never left you. His gaze was a little wild then, triumphant as he took in the state of you- beautiful and rattled. Once again, he found your wide eyed innocence enchantingly adorable. He looked a mess-his hair was sticking up in crazy directions, his lips puffy from where you tugged on them- and he didn’t mind one bit. He loved it.
“Tae, why didn’t you text me that you were on your way?” You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, a fact that only made Yoongi giggle.
“I did! But you didn’t respond. I thought you were mad at me so I tried to get here sooner. But it seems I could have taken my time.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “I can leave again, let you get back to what I interrupted.” He offered teasingly.
“Would you? We were having the best time before you ruined it.” Yoongi muttered, completely straight faced up at Taehyung. You were mortified as Taehyung cane behind you to scoop you up into a hug. He placed a smacking kiss into the top of your hair.
“Stop it. I don’t want to hear a single word about this, Tae.” You buried your face in your hands.
“Why? I love this! You two are so cute together! I honestly have no idea why I didn’t set you guys up sooner!” He rolled his eyes at himself.
“What?” You twisted to look up at him.
“Oh, I’ve wanted to find you a nice guy for ages. I thought about trying to play matchmaker with you and Jimin but then he got stuck on that girl in economics. Who he WILL ASK OUT NOW THAT WE SPENT AN ENTIRE DAY MAKING HIM LOOK LIKE A DISNEY PRINCE!!!” Taehyung shouted toward the kitchen.
“Ya! I will ask her out when I’m good and ready! Back off!!!” Jimin shot back. He sounded like his mouth was full. He was probably depleting the stash of Oreo cookies.
“You better! I’ll kill you myself if you let my hard work go to waste!… anyway. Yeah, I could tell you had a little thing for me. But I’m married to my career right now. I needed to find you a sweet boy to take care of you. But maybe I was looking at this wrong. Perhaps, you’re the sunshine our Oscar the Grouch needs around here.” Taehyung prattled off, reaching a long arm to muss with Yoongi’s wild hair. Your eyes went wide at his casual profession about the feelings you’d had for him. He knew? That brat knew? God, how embarrassing.
“Hey!” Yoongi swatted at him, pulling you back from Tae’s embrace. “Are you crazy? You can’t just say things like that, you idiot. You’re gonna hurt her feelings.” Yoongi scowled at his friend as he held you protectively.
“Woah, woah woah, wait- you knew too?” You pressed yourself away from Yoongi to look in his eyes, trying to decide how you felt about all of this.
“Not explicitly. No. I’d heard that Tae had a really cute friend he brought around all the time and it seemed like he was too clueless to do anything about it. I didn’t know he was enough of an idiot to friend zone you.” He defended.
“Then why did you keep asking me about Namjoon?” Your brows furrowed.
“ Because at first, I genuinely had no clue who were. Once I figured it out, i didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. Plus, I kept trying to figure out why Tae was being such an idiot by not pursuing you.” He answered honestly.
“Hey! I’m literally right here.” Taehyung pouted.
“And that’s where you’ll stay if you ever realize how stupid you were for missing out on her.” Yoongi stated matter of factly.
“I am aware of what a catch she is, Yoongi. She is my best friend. Which is why I’ll dump all your recording equipment in the bathtub if you ever hurt her.” Taehyung crossed his arms, sticking his tongue out petulantly at Yoongi.
At some point, Jimin had silently entered the room, cheeks sure enough stuffed full with cookies as he watched the drama unfold. As promised, his hair really was a delicately coiffed silver now. The icy locks were side parted and swept off his face, making him look impossibly regal even with his mouth full of sweets. Perhaps Taehyung was in the wrong line of work altogether.
“Don’t you dare. Do you have any idea how much that equipment cost?” Yoongi’s scowl was a bit terrifying.
“It isn’t worth near as much as my best friend’s heart.” Taehyung insisted nobly.
“I thought I was your best friend?” Jimin piped up from across the room, his cheeks a bit pouty at the realization that he may have been one upped.
“And will be again once you grow a pair and talk to Sandy.” Taehyung quipped.
“Sasha.” Jimin deepened his pout.
“Whatever. Maybe I’ll remember once ive actually met her and she’s finally your girlfriend instead of just figment that you whine about all the time. Chop, chop, kid. You’ll graduate before you even take her to coffee at this point. Besides, I can have two best friends, Jiminie. There are no rules against it. But anyway! The point is that ____ and Yoongi are a great match and I ship it even if I didn’t start it.” He lifted his chin proudly.
“Thank you? I think?” You were still a bit baffled st the way this whole day had panned out. You glanced over at Yoongi again who at some point had taken your hand in his, busily brushing circles over your knuckles. His touch was grounding, and strangely pleasant on this bizarre day.
“Of course, darling. You have my blessing. Both of you.” Tae kissed you both on the forehead, an action that had Yoongi swinging at him again which only made Tae hug him tighter against his will. “You know you love it! We’ll spend even more time around each other now that you’re dating the best person I know.”
“You know me.” Jimin muttered defeatedly, popping an entire cookie in his mouth.
“It’s not the same thing, Jiminie! You know this. Insecurity is a very unattractive trait. Stella won’t give you the time of day if you keep this up,you know.” Taehyung said exasperatedly.
“Sasha. Her name is Sasha. And she likes me just fine. She said she likes sweet quiet guys.” Jimin smiled bashfully to himself. It was absolutely adorable.
“Well hey! We can work with that! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Taehyung practically leapt off the couch to congratulate his friend. “Come on, lets go regroup then. Figure out where to take it from here. ______, we still on for chipotle and rehearsal later?” He called back over his shoulder as he herded Jimin back to the kitchen, snatching the pack of cookies away from him, claiming they’d only make Jimin’s baby face more puffy.
“Of course! 4 o clock sharp this time?” You answered.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, darling.” Tae beamed back.
“Oh, but don’t worry about ice cream. Yoongi’s gonna take me to get that.” You smiled over at the boy beside you, who seemed pleasantly surprised at your words.
“Oh am I now? That’s news to me.” Yoongi’s eyes sparkled with mischief again.
“Absolutely. You owe me for saving you from that clown makeup. And for letting you survive after embarrassing me like that.” You smacked his shoulder, and he pretended to crumple into the sofa.
“God dang, woman. That upper body strength. Chill out.” He laughed warmly at you. “Fine. I’ll comply. One one condition.”
“This again?” You arched an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, this again.” He mimicked, a little too accurately. It had you biting down on your lip to keep from completely cutting him off with your laughter.
“I will take you on a proper ice cream date today- unlimited toppings, whipped cream, extra cherries, the whole nine yards- if you promise to to come to my show this Friday night.” He was poised on the couch like a cat ready to pounce, eyes meticulous as they studied your reaction.
“I don’t know if you’re prepared for how hard I go on ice cream toppings, sir. Your whole chunk of the rent is gone -pfft- that fast.” You poked him in the chest lightly.
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take….as long as you leave the show with me and not Namjoon.” His eyebrows wiggled suggestively and you smacked him again.
“OH MY GOSH! Are you serious?” You fell into a fit of giggles as a bright, smiling Yoongi pulled you close again.
“Yeah, Im absolutely serious. I’m playing from behind. Everyone else here knows you better.” The edges of his eyes crinkled as he smiled so wide they almost disappeared. He kissed the tip of your nose, leaning his forehead against yours. “Hey. Honestly though, I have a really good feeling about this.” He whispered, that sincerity flashing brilliant in his eyes again.
“You know what’s crazy?”
“What?”
“ I do too.”
This time it was you to initiate the kiss. It was little, just something quick and sweet, but Yoongi loved it.
“Aaaaawwww! SO CUTE! I could die!” Taehyung shouted from around the corner.
“Oh my god, not again.” You pulled away from Yoongi’s embrace.
“Wanna go get that ice cream now?” Yoongi stood, offering his hand to you.
“Abso-freaking-lutely.” Your eyes were wide with annoyance at Taehyung as Yoongi pulled you up from the sofa and you both headed toward the door.
“Don’t do anything too crazy, Kids!” Taehyung shouted.
“I’m going to kill you!” Yoongi deadpanned.
“But not until after you bring ____ back for rehearsal. 4 o clock sharp! Remember!” Tae tutted at him.
Smiling warmly at the two boys, you hopped over to Tae to kiss him on the cheek. “Yes, mom. We’ll be back in little while.”
“You better. I don’t know how I feel about you liking another boy better than me.I’m not used to having to share you.” He muttered, but there was a smile in his eyes.
“Hey, you’re my best friend. That’s not changing. You know that.” You bumped his hip with yours.
“I know. ____, I meant what I said about the bathtub. If he gets too handsy or becomes a total bore and ruins all your fun, just let me know and I’ve got you. Splash, splash- just like that, okay? Gotta take care of my best girl.” He whispered, winking at you.
“I know, Tae. Thank you. I’ll see you later, okay?” You squeezed his arm lovingly as he nodded kindly at you before you bounced back to Yoongi’s side, slipping your fingers between his. His entire face lit up at the contact.
“What was that about?” Yoongi asked as you both made your way through the front door.
“Nothing. Just getting Tae’s proper blessing.” You beamed at him.
“Well in that case,” Yoongi bent down and picked you up. You squealed wildly as he carried you down the sidewalk to his car, joggers and pedestrians giving you both the most unbearable side eye as they passed by.
the rightish reasons by attilathehun (15/15 | M | 87k)
main pairing: seokjin/yoongi
Kim Seokjin loves acting. That's what they'll put in his obituary, probably, right after his family details, because that's the only thing that matters about him. That, and that he's gay, and that his temper snapped one time and ruined his entire career before it had a chance to be what he knows it could have become.
His last chance to prove himself comes in the form of a reality TV show, a Bachelor-style outing that will show he still has the softness to be a romantic lead. And it's embarrassing, and messy, and full of quirky guys and their weird habits and fame-seeking and secret agendas that he doesn't have the energy to deal with. But it's just a job, and Seokjin never turns down a chance when it's offered, and the biggest comfort of playing the starring role on Destined Hearts is that Seokjin knows his own heart will never be destined for anything but the screen.
admin: the bachelor’s au we’ve all been waiting for. i love how complex jin’s character is in this one. i love the development of their relationship. it’s so brilliant
Tags: AU!Tattoo Parlor; Tattoo Artist!Yoongi, Rapper!Yoongi, Dancer!Jimin, Homophobia (not too much), Mentions of alcholism & child abuse (again, not too much, the right amount), Family Issues, Implied sexual content (not explicit), Tease!Jimin
Summary: Yoongi is a tattoo artist by day and an anonymous Soundcloud rapper Agust D by night.
One day, a guy named Jimin appears in his parlour to tattoo the title of the most important song in his life on his ribs.
