“Hey, will you still be able to make it?” Jungkook says to you through the phone. He was currently preparing the “date” he was going to have with you.
The“date that isn’t a date but is a date” according to Taehyung. Actually, Taehyung was with him right now, helping him out.
“Of course, I’m on my way. The park by campus right? Jimin’s dropping me off as we speak,” you say. Jungkook’s eyes go wide.
“Oh, you’re almost there?” He says, turning to Taehyung in panic.
“It’s okay,” Taehyung says, “don’t worry.”
“Who’s that?” you question, hearing a voice that doesn’t belong to Jungkook.
“The friend I told you I made in class. Taehyung. He’s helping me with something. Anyways, I’ll see you in a bit. Get there safe,” Jungkook says, not waiting for your response before hanging up.
“She’s going to get there before me,” Jungkook says, grabbing his camera and backpack. Taehyung grabs the blanket and the plastic bag full of your favorite snacks on top of the bed.
“Don’t worry about it, Jimin sucks at driving. We’ll get there before he does,” Taehyung says, walking nonchalantly out of Jungkook’s dorm.
Jungkook told Taehyung about your study session with Jimin earlier today and he mentioned how Jimin is his best friend and roommate.
“Oh Yn is the one that needs a calc tutor?” Taehyung says to Jungkook with a huge smile on his face. “My best friend is the one tutoring her!”
“Your best friend is Jimin?”
“Yup. Best friend, roommate, soulmate, you name it,” Taehyung says, taking a seat at Jungkook’s desk. “Have you met him? He’s a great guy. Smart, nice, adorable..”
“Are you in love with him or something?” Jungkook says, handing him a drink. Taehyung grimaces at him, taking the soda can from his hand.
“No I hate that guy,” he says, cracking it open. “But a lot of girls and guys do fall for him. He’s really pretty.”
“Oh,” Jungkook sits down at the foot of his bed, facing Taehyung. “Do you… Do you think Yn would like him then?”
“Of course, everyone likes him!” Jungkook frowns and Taehyung quickly shakes his head. “No no, not in that way of course. He’s still single for a reason.”
“Oh, is he like a bad guy or something,” Jungkook says.
“No, he’s the sweetest.”
“Taehyung!”
–
“Thanks for dropping me off Jimin,” you say, taking off your seatbelt.
“Of course, I wouldn’t want you to go here all alone. Is your friend here?” Jimin says, taking off his seatbelt as well and stepping out of the car.
“Jungkook should be around here,” you say, “you don’t have to wait for me, I’ll be fine.” Jimin shakes his head, walking to your side of the car. He opens your door and holds his hand out to help you get out. You blush as you put your hand on his.
“It’s dangerous for someone to be out alone this late,” Jimin says. He’s still holding on to your hand.
“No worries, she won’t be alone,” you hear someone say. It’s Jungkook and he’s walking up to the two of you. He glances down at you two’s hands for a second too long and Jimin lets go.
“Okay good,” Jimin says, smiling at Jungkook. “It’s good to see you again by the way. The four of us should hang out sometime.”
“Four of us?” you ask. You know you’re bad at math but not that bad. You point at yourself, then Jungkook, then Jimin, holding up three fingers at him. He laughs at you, his eyes forming little crescent moons. He turns to Jungkook and points behind him. At the car parked just a few feet away, a boy with super fluffy hair and a boxy smile was waving at you excitedly.
“HI YN. JUNGKOOK TOLD ME A LOT ABOUT YOU. I’M TAE BTW,” he yells at you, making you laugh.
“NICE TO MEET YOU TAE. JIMIN NEVER MENTIONED YOU,” you yell back, giggling when Tae’s jaw drops.
“Sorry,” Jimin says in a normal tone of voice.
“I’M EATING YOUR LEFTOVERS,” Taehyung says, getting back in the car and quickly driving away.
“Oh no he doesn’t,” Jimin says, rushing to the driver’s side of his car. “Tomorrow again Yn?” He asks you before getting in. You smile at him and nod. “Okay, see you then. You too, Jungkook.”
“Bye Jimin!”
“Bye Jimin,” Jungkook says, waving. “By the time he gets there, Taehyung will be done with his food already,” he says to you, laughing.
“What makes you say that?”
“He drives slow.”
You look at Jungkook, quirking up an eyebrow at him.
“Taehyung told me, we left the dorms after you called me and still got here at the same time.”
“Oh,” you say. “Well anyways, what are we doing?” You look down at all the stuff he was holding. “Picnic?”
“Yeah, and we’ll take some pictures for the project,” Jungkook says, walking off. You catch up with him, sneaking your arm around his.
“Where are we going to do all of this?” You ask, looking up at him. Jungkook points to the biggest hill. “All the way up there??”
“It’s not that high,” he says.
“It’s high enough for my legs to get tired,” you mumble.
“Want me to carry you then,” Jungkook says. You think about it for a second before shaking your head no. “Okay, then suck it up.”
–
“So what do we do?” You ask as you watch Jungkook set up a tripod in front of you. You were sitting on the blanket he laid out.
“Sit, talk, eat, look at the stars. I need a candid shot,” he says, running away from the camera.
“So is it just going to keep clicking or…”
“It’s recording, I can just go through it later and take some screencaps.”
“Okay,” you say, sitting down comfortably and looking up at the stars. You even point to one for dramatic effect. Jungkook laughs at you as you do this.
“You don’t have to act, just be natural,” he says.
“Fine. What are we taking pictures for again? Your movie poster right? What’s it about? Two friends going on an evening picnic?” Jungkook lets out a nervous laugh.
“Umm… more like two friends at the meteor shower. Making wishes.” You smile at him.
“So basically us the other day?”
“Yeah, basically. But it’s a love story.”
“Ooohspicy~”
“More like sweet,” he laughs. “See, the boy is in love with the girl. But she doesn’t know it yet. In this story, every wish that’s made comes true. At least the non silly ones.”
“Was my calculus wish silly then?” You say, making a face that Jungkook laughs at.
“Not at all. Passing calc is important for you, it’s going to come true.”
“So what are their wishes? The kids in your story.” Jungkook bites his bottom lips, looking away from you for a second before he answers your question.
“Uhh,.. Well the girl wants to pass her class and … well the boy wants the girl.” He says. Turning to you. “Because he’s been in love with her. Since she drew him that heart on his notes with her purple highlighter back in high school.”
Suddenly your heart stopped.
You let out a small, awkward laugh.
“Are we still talking about the project?”
“Y-yeah, of course,” Jungkook says, looking away from you. You didn’t know how to feel. Did your best friend just confess to you? Isn’t this a bit too… out of nowhere?
“Jungkook,” you say, grabbing his hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make this awkward.”
“No, it’s fine, it was my fault, I should’ve just kept it to myself.”
“Was that really your wish though? You like me?”
“Is that pathetic?” He says quietly. You smile, shaking your head.
“No, of course not. I would’ve done the same.” He nods, smiling at you as you squeeze his hand.
“I hope this doesn’t change much between us. It’s okay if you don’t like me back. I at least had to tell you.”
“Yeah, no, it’s– it’s fine, don’t worry. You’re still my Jungkook.” He laughs, wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pulling you in for a hug.
“And you’re still my seaweed.”
“UGh,” you groan. “Ruined it.”
He laughs as he pulls away. “Anyways, I brought your favorite snacks.”
“Ooh thank you~ but is it okay if we eat them later instead? I’m still kind of full.”
“Oh did you just eat?”
“Yeah, Jimin took me to Pied Piper. He has a friend that works there. And you’ll never guess who it is.”
Jungkook laughs, rubbing his hand on his forehead. “I bet it’s that Jin guy.”
“YES.” You shake your head. “But don’t worry. Turns out, he flirts with all the cute girls for tips.”
“But he never flirted with you,” Jungkook says, trying not to laugh.
“He probably sensed that I’m broke.”
“Or that you’re not cute,” he responded. Without hesitation. Making your jaw drop.
“Says the one who likes me.”
“Hey, it’s the personality that matters.”
You smack him hard on the arm, making him get up and run a few feet away.
You two are going to be just fine.
“You’re annoying.”
“But you love me anyways,” Jungkook says, running to his camera. “Okay, but I think we’re good with the shots.” He hits the stop button and turns the camera off.
“So that’s it?” You ask, helping him pack everything into his bag.
“Pretty much. Why? Do you want to do anything else?”
“I’m in the mood for coffee..”
Jungkook laughs as he swings his backpack on. “Coffee? It’s like 10. In the evening.”
“So?”
“You’re not going to sleep tonight.”
“When do I ever?”
“You literally sleep all the time.”
“Jungkooooooook,” you whine. “Please. You can’t let me walk to get coffee alone.” Jungkook rolls his eyes, giving in. He extends his hand out to you and you happily grab his hand. “Thank you.”
“Yeah yeah. Which cafe do you want to go to?”
“Well there’s this bakery in between Magic Shop and Pied Piper that sells some good coffee. I’ve never been but I’ve heard good things.”
to be notified when i post, please turn on my notifications! thank youu~
HIHI WELCOME BACKKKK
ngl my heart was beating so fast during that ligtle confession part and AHHHHH KOOKIE ITS ALL GOOD BBY YOU’LL GET THE GIRL SOOON. also also, jungkook without a filter is a mENACE and should be warned /j
After a failed attempt at working on homework together, Jimin and you are now at his friend Jin’s apartment! Along with Taehyung and Jungkook of course. And one more friend you were about to meet.
“Did you bring it?” Jungkook asks you right when you enter the door. You nod, walking up to him and handing him his switch. “Thank youuu~” He says, immediately sinking into the couch next to Taehyung.
“Hi!” You hear someone say excitedly behind you. “I’m Hobi,” he says, already leaning in for a hug.
“Hi, I’m Yn,” you say, giggling.
“Yn!” Jin yells from the kitchen. “Are you hungry?” You peek behind Hobi and smile at Jin.
“Yes,” you say. Jungkook taps your leg with his foot.
“Sit next to me,” he says. You turn around, flopping down next to him. “How was the study sesh?”
“Well I spent half of it on my phone and so Jimin scolded me a lot,” you tell him, resting your head on his shoulder. You watch the television as Jungkook and Taehyung play Mario kart.
“She’s very stubborn,” Jimin says, pointing at you. Jungkook laughs, nodding in agreement.
“I just, really don’t like math,” you say. “… anymore.”
finally we got some really help (sorry taehyung <3) and AH THAT PHOTO SEQUENCE OF SEOKJIN REALLY DID SOMETHIMG TO ME AHHH coffee? don’t need that, all i need is kim seokjin
Smoke and Mirrors: a magician’s trick, the art of making an entity appear to be floating through the use of smoke and mirrors. In figurative speech, something which, once examined, is proven to be an illusion. Like the moon reflected on water, or a flower reflected in a mirror. Unable to be touched.
Description: Listless idol Jeon Jungkook has lost his creative spark. Something just feels…missing. And between jet-setting across the world and constantly evading public scandals, Jungkook’s life up until now has felt like a movie. One thing Jungkook can count on, however, is video games. Y/N has been gaming forever. And when a new VR game called Arcana is released, both Y/N and Jungkook are all over it. But what will become of Jungkook’s online persona when life forces the two to work together? And will Jungkook manage to keep his identity a secret from one of his closest Internet friends?
Genre: Romance, Drama, Fluff, Angst
Pairing: Jungkook x (gender unspecified) Reader
Word Count: 12.1k
Tags: Solo Idol!Jungkook, Gamer!Jungkook, Makeup Artist!Reader, Manager!Seokjin, Florist!Hoseok
Warnings: Swearing and mentions of alcohol, although infrequently
A/N: Haha….ha….ha….um, well this is awkward isn’t it? I haven’t been active on here in a long, long time! But God does it feel nice to return. In the time I’ve been away, I’ve been working on a lot of things at once. Too many chefs in the kitchen, except the chefs are projects/responsibilities and the kitchen is me and is also on fire. I think right now more than ever, I’ve leaned into writing to help me feel a bit better about the world. So if this story can make you happy that’s honestly all I can ask for. I don’t think I’ll be keeping a posting schedule, as that feels like too much for me right now, but maybe in the future I’ll come up with a schedule that doesn’t feel overwhelming! Regardless, I’ve missed you guys and I’ve really missed posting my writing here. I hope you all still remember me! And I hope you enjoy this story. Really. As always, please feel free to send me any thoughts or concerns! Questions, critique, comments: send them all my way! I can’t wait to get chatting with you all again.
And I’m on Twitter! I’ll put the link here if you want to follow. I’m very active over there!
“Well work harder, damn. Tiki’s about to go down,” you say, gritting your teeth as you whip around toward the dragon staring your party down.
It circles you, never once looking away, several stories tall with glowing yellow eyes that seem to leave trails behind in the darkness of the cavern. You feel at once impossibly small and impossibly fragile in front of such a behemoth, all purple scales and saliva stringing across pointed fangs.
“Just focus on offense for now,” says Sapphire, grunting as he lunges sword-first toward the dragon.
Your brows shoot sky high as Sapphire, a DPS like you, runs straight for the enemy. His silver knight’s armor clanks in his wake. “Wait!” you call, but it’s too late. Your teammate has his sword plunging in and slicing out and slashing wild before you can even prep your next spell. “Jesus, Saph!”
Smoke and Mirrors: a magician’s trick, the art of making an entity appear to be floating through the use of smoke and mirrors. In figurative speech, something which, once examined, is proven to be an illusion. Like the moon reflected on water, or a flower reflected in a mirror. Unable to be touched.
Description: Listless idol Jeon Jungkook has lost his creative spark. Something just feels…missing. And between jet-setting across the world and constantly evading public scandals, Jungkook’s life up until now has felt like a movie. One thing Jungkook can count on, however, is video games. Y/N has been gaming forever. And when a new VR game called Arcana is released, both Y/N and Jungkook are all over it. But what will become of Jungkook’s online persona when life forces the two to work together? And will Jungkook manage to keep his identity a secret from one of his closest Internet friends?
Genre: Romance, Drama, Fluff, Angst
Pairing: Jungkook x (gender unspecified) Reader
Word Count: 12.1k
Tags: Solo Idol!Jungkook, Gamer!Jungkook, Makeup Artist!Reader, Manager!Seokjin, Florist!Hoseok
Warnings: Swearing and mentions of alcohol, although infrequently
A/N: Haha….ha….ha….um, well this is awkward isn’t it? I haven’t been active on here in a long, long time! But God does it feel nice to return. In the time I’ve been away, I’ve been working on a lot of things at once. Too many chefs in the kitchen, except the chefs are projects/responsibilities and the kitchen is me and is also on fire. I think right now more than ever, I’ve leaned into writing to help me feel a bit better about the world. So if this story can make you happy that’s honestly all I can ask for. I don’t think I’ll be keeping a posting schedule, as that feels like too much for me right now, but maybe in the future I’ll come up with a schedule that doesn’t feel overwhelming! Regardless, I’ve missed you guys and I’ve really missed posting my writing here. I hope you all still remember me! And I hope you enjoy this story. Really. As always, please feel free to send me any thoughts or concerns! Questions, critique, comments: send them all my way! I can’t wait to get chatting with you all again.
And I’m on Twitter! I’ll put the link here if you want to follow. I’m very active over there!
“Well work harder, damn. Tiki’s about to go down,” you say, gritting your teeth as you whip around toward the dragon staring your party down.
It circles you, never once looking away, several stories tall with glowing yellow eyes that seem to leave trails behind in the darkness of the cavern. You feel at once impossibly small and impossibly fragile in front of such a behemoth, all purple scales and saliva stringing across pointed fangs.
“Just focus on offense for now,” says Sapphire, grunting as he lunges sword-first toward the dragon.
Your brows shoot sky high as Sapphire, a DPS like you, runs straight for the enemy. His silver knight’s armor clanks in his wake. “Wait!” you call, but it’s too late. Your teammate has his sword plunging in and slicing out and slashing wild before you can even prep your next spell. “Jesus, Saph!”
Smoke and Mirrors: a magician’s trick, the art of making an entity appear to be floating through the use of smoke and mirrors. In figurative speech, something which, once examined, is proven to be an illusion. Like the moon reflected on water, or a flower reflected in a mirror. Unable to be touched.
Description: Listless idol Jeon Jungkook has lost his creative spark. Something just feels…missing. And between jet-setting across the world and constantly evading public scandals, Jungkook’s life up until now has felt like a movie. One thing Jungkook can count on, however, is video games. Y/N has been gaming forever. And when a new VR game called Arcana is released, both Y/N and Jungkook are all over it. But what will become of Jungkook’s online persona when life forces the two to work together? And will Jungkook manage to keep his identity a secret from one of his closest Internet friends?
Genre: Romance, Drama, Fluff, Angst
Pairing: Jungkook x (gender unspecified) Reader
Word Count: 12.1k
Tags: Solo Idol!Jungkook, Gamer!Jungkook, Makeup Artist!Reader, Manager!Seokjin, Florist!Hoseok
Warnings: Swearing and mentions of alcohol, although infrequently
A/N: Haha….ha….ha….um, well this is awkward isn’t it? I haven’t been active on here in a long, long time! But God does it feel nice to return. In the time I’ve been away, I’ve been working on a lot of things at once. Too many chefs in the kitchen, except the chefs are projects/responsibilities and the kitchen is me and is also on fire. I think right now more than ever, I’ve leaned into writing to help me feel a bit better about the world. So if this story can make you happy that’s honestly all I can ask for. I don’t think I’ll be keeping a posting schedule, as that feels like too much for me right now, but maybe in the future I’ll come up with a schedule that doesn’t feel overwhelming! Regardless, I’ve missed you guys and I’ve really missed posting my writing here. I hope you all still remember me! And I hope you enjoy this story. Really. As always, please feel free to send me any thoughts or concerns! Questions, critique, comments: send them all my way! I can’t wait to get chatting with you all again.
And I’m on Twitter! I’ll put the link here if you want to follow. I’m very active over there!
“Well work harder, damn. Tiki’s about to go down,” you say, gritting your teeth as you whip around toward the dragon staring your party down.
It circles you, never once looking away, several stories tall with glowing yellow eyes that seem to leave trails behind in the darkness of the cavern. You feel at once impossibly small and impossibly fragile in front of such a behemoth, all purple scales and saliva stringing across pointed fangs.
“Just focus on offense for now,” says Sapphire, grunting as he lunges sword-first toward the dragon.
Your brows shoot sky high as Sapphire, a DPS like you, runs straight for the enemy. His silver knight’s armor clanks in his wake. “Wait!” you call, but it’s too late. Your teammate has his sword plunging in and slicing out and slashing wild before you can even prep your next spell. “Jesus, Saph!”
You hear his laughter like bells echo through the cavern, seeming to bounce against the domed ceiling and drip like water from the clinging stalactites. “Tiki! Distract!” you call as the dragon whips wildly: first toward Sapphire and then toward you. “Shit,” you whisper, examining your mana with a hiss. “I need a second to recover!”
Tiki, a massive green orc and also your team’s tank, rushes in with his battle axe. Upon the first hit, the dragon writhes in pain and turns toward Tiki, ire in its yellow eyes. Tiki says nothing, just lets out a string of labored breaths as he swings his heavy weapon. Sapphire is quick to attack at the dragon’s heels. The dragon opens its mouth to spew flames across the charred cavern, aiming right for Tiki, but before it can Zero finally heals him with a flash of white light and a bolt straight to his broad green chest. You jump, turn to the side to see Zero is standing beside you about twenty feet from the dragon.
“Get spelling, Nova!” he shouts, long blonde hair flying in the breeze his spell created.
His voice, deep and gruff, doesn’t suit his pretty, dark-skinned elven body: particularly the well-rendered female…curvature. Every time he talks, it takes you off guard. You shake it off and nod once.
“Loli! Get punching!” you call to your resident monk as she idles near the dragon’s tail. She says nothing. You sigh, rest a hand on your hip. “Loli!”
She jumps to attention. “Sorry! My roommate needed me,” she says with a laugh, rubbing the back of her half-shaven head.
“Tell her to piss off!” calls Tiki as the dragon, halted by Zero’s healing spell, recovers and swings a mighty paw his way.
Your mana is finally restored and, shutting your eyes, you summon a bolt of ice. With a shout, you spin your staff over your head before slamming it down with a thunderous clap. Ice splinters dizzyingly fast from the ground beneath your staff and crawls like frost until it hits the dragon, stunning it still for a few seconds.
“Health’s low! Saph, go for the kill!” Lolita shouts as she lands a solid punch on the dragon’s belly that shatters your freezing spell.
Without waiting a second more, Sapphire shoves his sword into the dragon’s heaving chest as it writhes from pain. It looses a cry that sends vibrations through the cavern. A few rocks tumble from fissures in the cave walls, and a stalactite cracks and careens toward the ground where it explodes into shards.
And, with that, the massive beast falls to its stomach, its head clunking to the ground in front of Tiki’s feet. The ensuing silence rings in your ears as the five of you stand completely still, waiting. It wouldn’t be the first time an enemy has fallen only to reveal a dormant ability that results in a second battle. None of you says a thing until the massive body before you begins to dissolve into pixels, leaving you with only the skull as a prize and a bag of loot in place of a carcass.
Lolita is the first to break the silence with a loud hoot. “Wooh! Hell yeah!” she shouts, clapping her hands.
You chuckle, lean on your staff. “Loli, you can only celebrate halfway since you missed half the fight,” you tease with a fond sigh.
She rushes toward you, wipes off her blue robes and crosses her arms. “My roommate came in!”
“And you didn’t warn us,” Zero chides as he smooths a few flyaway hairs, smiling. That model of his is just too pretty…
“I-,”
“Guys!” Sapphire shouts, jumping once as he examines the loot bag. “Look at this!”
You spin your staff in your hand and jog to stand beside the knight. His red eyes are bright, digging through the bag until he produces in one gloved hand—
“Is that a Philosopher’s Stone Fragment?” asks Tiki, similarly enraptured as he comes up beside Sapphire’s flank.
Sapphire nods. “Which means—,”
“Which means we’re one step closer,” you say, and you lock eager eyes with Sapphire who only nods. “Well shit!”
“Also means we were right to come this way,” Lolita says, holding up one finger as if correcting us. “And whose idea was that?”
Zero shoves Lolita by the head and turns back toward the loot bag. “Anything else?” he asks.
Sapphire digs around before shrugging. “A shield,” he says.
“Don’t need it,” Tiki says.
“And…mm…,” he pauses, brow furrowing as he pulls out a piece of paper. He purses his lips, runs a hand through his blue-black hair, cocks his head to the side. “Schematic?”
“For what?”
“Oh!” he exclaims, turning to you as he hands you the paper. You look it over and scoff. “Superior elemental staff.”
“Cuts down the mana I need to do spells,” you say, rolling your eyes as you pocket the paper. “Coulda used that today.”
Sapphire claps your shoulder. “Next time! We’ve still got three fragments to find before anyone else does.”
You nod. “Well, with that settled…,” you begin, itching to use the bathroom.
“Ah! You gotta leave?” asks Sapphire.
You nod. “Got work in the morning.”
“Eugh,” he sighs, shoulders slumping. “Me too.”
“Me three,” says Zero.
“Ah, the working world. We’re lucky, huh Tiki?” Lolita says with a wistful sigh as water from overhead drips onto her shoulder. She jumps a little, but settles easily. “Don’t you miss your reckless college days?”
You laugh. “I only graduated last year,” you say, turning toward Sapphire. “Speaking of which, Saph did you ever go to school?”
He stiffens. “Ah, uh…,” he begins, glancing at his feet. He’s quiet for a moment. “No. Not past high school,” he says with an almost sheepish nod.
You don’t say anything, but it seems like there’s something he’s keeping to himself, something he doesn’t want to share. Sapphire is always like that, but this feels a little different.
“Hm,” you say, sensing his discomfort. “Welp, I’m gonna peace out for the night. Message me when you guys wanna go for the next fragment. I’ll keep researching where it might be.”
“Mm, sounds good,” says Tiki. “I’m starving. Loli, wanna get some food?”
Lolita glances at Tiki out the corner of her eye. “You mean, like, real food?”
Tiki sighs. “Obviously real food. I don’t wanna waste money on game food.”
She laughs and nods. “Alright. I’ll meet you at your dorm.”
“Mm.”
Without another word, both Tiki and Lolita blink out, leaving nothing behind them. You turn toward Zero and pat his back. “Sorry for getting on your case tonight,” you say. “I was worried Tiki would fall and then…well, you get it.”
Zero shrugs, examining one of his perfect fingernails. “No, I wasn’t on my game tonight. I’ll be better next time.”
“Me too,” you say, waving as Zero too blinks out.
You turn toward Sapphire and offer a smile. “Sorry for asking about college,” you say.
He stiffens, brows raised. “Hm? Oh, no it’s fine,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck with a smile. “It’s just, uh…well, you know my dad always wanted me to go to college so…”
You wave your hands, shake your head. “Forget it, alright? I won’t bring it up unless you do first.” You smirk. “You played tank tonight, didn’t you?”
He laughs. “Yeah, a little.”
“Don’t do that shit,” you say, but you can’t help your smile. “What would we do if we lost you in the middle of a battle?”
You can see his posture go a little straight. He turns to you, blinking. “You…?” he begins, but cuts himself off with a laugh. “Ah, mm, well…I’d better get going.”
“Mhm. Message me if you get any new info about fragment locations,” you say, then chuckle. “Or if you just wanna talk about The Bachelor or something.”
He laughs with you. “I don’t watch The Bachelor!”
“Well, whatever you watch!” you call as you jog a few paces away. You offer a wave which Sapphire mimics before pressing the disconnect button on your headset.
You shake your head, disoriented as you return to your bedroom, your window sitting before you, the outskirts of Bucheon spreading out in spindly arms around you. Your head throbs a little and you wince, removing your sensor gloves and setting them gently on the light wood table beside your computer. You guide one of the philodendron leaves to the side so it won’t tickle the gloves. You shuck off the sensor jacket too and leave it draped over the back of your gaming chair. Slowly, you return your attention to the window, smiling down at the sea of lights undulating in the dark. It’s a nice evening, you notice as you press the pads of your fingers to the cool glass.
Your phone, until then sitting dormant on the tabletop beside your potted jade plant, pings to life with a notification. Your eyes widen and you grab for it, stretching your torso as you do to work out your aching muscles. Tonight’s session with the group had gone long, and the fatigue on your back is severe from slumping in that gaming chair like a shrimp. And even though you have to move your upper body to activate the full range of Arcana’s sensor controls, your ass feels like you’ve just sat through back-to-back, four-hour lectures.
BeastSlayers™
SacredSapphire: miss u guys already :-(
You laugh, watch as Tiki begins writing a message in response.
TikiTikiRoom: ..
TikiTikiRoom: dont be soft bitch ill kill you
You pad down the hallway, watching your phone as you stumble through the dark apartment with one hand on the wall bracing you. You connect your phone to the TV speakers and play some lofi something or other, bop your head as you enter the kitchen and flip on a flickering yellow light. You rifle through the freezer, produce a cherry red popsicle. You press it to your lips and smile.
Lolovely: I haven’t even made it to Tik’s dorm wtf why are you being sappy already?
CodenameZer0: Looool, Saph? More like SAP.
TikiTikiRoom: press f
SuperNova: I think it’s sweet :’)
SuperNova: Wanna voice chat?
SacredSapphire: nonono
SacredSapphire: someone’s coming over lol
Lolovely: ominous…
You chuckle and take a bite of your popsicle. But as you do, the thing turns to mush and slides from the stick like slop, staining your white shirt and your lips red. “Shit!” you exclaim, then rush to the freezer.
With a sigh, you notice that a layer of ice is frosted over the back. And as you jam your hand in, you can feel that the temperature is higher than it should be. Hence, melty popsicle. You groan, take to it with a knife from the creaky drawer. You chip away at the ice and keep chipping until the back of the freezer is visible once more.
“Cheap piece of crap,” you mumble, kicking the fridge with your socked toe.
You return to the group chat to a slew of messages.
TikiTikiRoom: WAIT SAPH DO YOU HAVE A BOY/GIRL/THEYFRIEND??
TikiTikiRoom: IM GONNA HAVE AN ANEURISM
Lolovely: !!!!!!!!!
Lolovely: ??????
CodenameZer0: Hohohoh
CodenameZer0: Could it be?
SacredSapphire: NO!!
SacredSapphire: i don’t have a boy/girl/theyfriend! i’m too busy, rip
SacredSapphire: it’s just someone
SacredSapphire: don’t worry about it lol
Lolovely: sus…
Lolovely: nova’s better at this stuff
Lolovely: interrogation
Lolovely: think if i scream hard enough nova will come back?
Lolovely: NOVAAAAAA
You laugh and take a few photos. First of the old laminate floor which now resembles a crime scene in cherry popsicle red. Next of your shirt, now streaked in slush. Third, of your face, lips stained like you’ve smeared lip tint on your skin. You pull a pout before snapping the shot, then send all three together.
SuperNova: I crave death.
SuperNova: Stupid cheap fridge. Freezes over literally monthly.
SuperNova: I hate it here.
Lolovely: oooh that pic…
Lolovely: kinda….sexy hehe
SuperNova: ???
You set your phone aside and take to cleaning the floor. Last thing you need in this shithole is an ant infestation. Your music bumps gently through the sound bar beneath your TV. Sure, your apartment is decked out in tech, but the place itself?
You glance around the kitchen, a sanitary white with pretty fixtures, and suppress a sigh. It’s all for show anyway, this apartment. Like almost all the others in the area, it only looks nice. The reality, however…
Well, it’s melted popsicles and a shower that only runs lukewarm.
You check your phone with a hip against the countertop.
TikiTikiRoom: lewd lol
SuperNova: Shut up lmao nothing lewd about my shitty fridge.
SuperNova: Anyway, no I’m not gonna help you bully Saph.
SuperNova: Leave him alone or I’ll bite your ankles.
Lolovely: !!!
Lolovely: qu'est-ce que pas?
Lolovely: Nova…you’ve been defending Saph lately…
Lolovely: hold on i’m seeing something…
CodenameZer0: Don’t threaten my ankles.
SacredSapphire: nova baby ur the only loyal one here
Laughing, you type your response and make your way to the couch, falling flat on your stomach with an unpleasant thump.
Jeon Jungkook sits still, swiveling in his gaming chair with a soft smile as he watches the messages surge through the Discord group chat. Even though they’re busy teasing him, Jungkook can’t help the swell of fondness in his chest for his group mates. He leans back precariously far, the room nearly pitch black save for the shifting LEDs on his keyboard and the purple screensaver on his monitor.
SuperNova: It’s you and me, Saph.
SuperNova: Now come here and get your kith :3
Jungkook chokes a laugh with his hand, covering his mouth as his eyes squint. He tosses his head to the side, lets out a sigh. Quietly, he touches the photo you sent and lets it spread across his screen. He chuckles, examining your expression. Displeased, you eye the camera with furrowed brows and a pout. Briefly, Jungkook considers telling you it’s cute.
But he quickly clicks out of the photo, clears his throat, and catches up with the chat.
CodenameZer0: God, barf.
TikiTikiRoom: no kithes for zero
Lolovely: lolol i want a kith :(
SuperNova: Get in line then. Saph first.
SacredSapphire: i….*blushes*
SacredSapphire: N-N-Noona!
CodenameZer0: FUCKING BARF GOODBYE
Zero’s icon goes offline and Jungkook laughs in earnest now, his head lolling back. But before he can respond, the door to his studio opens with a robotic jingle. He jumps a little, turning his whole body toward the door. He nearly falls off the chair as he swivels.
In the doorway, Kim Seokjin shuffling across the threshold with two cups of coffee in a carrier. He looks a little disheveled, hair windswept and eyes scanning the room round and round. His gaze lingers here and there: resting on Jungkook’s wall of figurines, then on the futon still pulled down and covered in a messy heap of sheets, then on Jungkook’s face as he sits perfectly still, perfectly redhanded. Jungkook’s mouth agape, his fingers poised to type another message to the group chat, his computer monitor showing no lyrics, no notes, no Ableton. Just his screensaver.
Jungkook had planned to pull up his WIP song before Jin arrived, but the opportunity to do that has long since passed.
“Uh…,” Jungkook says, dumbfounded with round eyes glowing in the flashing keyboard lights. “Hey, Seokjin.”
Jin’s nostrils flare, his expression fiery. His attention flashes to the sensor gloves, the controllers sitting beneath them, the sensor jacket left astray on the ground, haphazard.
“Jeon Jungkook-,”
“I can explain!”
Seokjin glares at him, cocks one single brow. “Uh-huh?”
“I…,” Jungkook begins, flustered as he rises to his feet. He feels like he’s in school again. Seokjin’s gaze is disarming, intense, and his knuckles are white as he crushes the cardboard handle of the coffee carrier. “Uh…I was taking a small tiny little break.”
“A small,” Seokjin begins, placing the coffee on Jungkook’s work desk and resting his palm beside it, “tiny,” he continues, leveling his eyes with Jungkook’s, “little break?” Jin’s jaw is clenched.
Jungkook swallows hard. “Mhm…”
Jungkook expects Seokjin to bare his canines, to sneer at him, to scold him to kingdom come. But his manager simply eases into a sigh and leans away from Jungkook, rubbing his forehead. It’s clear the will to fight with Jungkook is slowly leaking, and before long Seokjin has fallen backwards onto the futon, crushing the blanket mountain in his descent.
“Listen,” Seokjin says, fatigue in his voice. “You’ve got…so much going on in the next few months, you know?”
“I know!” Jungkook says, quick to sit beside Seokjin, brows knitting. He feels like a kid again, and the disappointment laced through Jin’s words feels like his childhood. “Trust me, I’m not just…like, procrastinating. It’s not that.”
Jin eyes him sidelong. “Then what is it?”
Jungkook stiffens, his back straight as a board. He clears his throat, stares at the coffee. “Let me get those,” he says, rushing to his feet with a clumsy stumble and grabbing the coffees before returning to his spot beside Jin. He hands Jin a coffee, expectant and, begrudgingly, Seokjin takes it and sips.
“Don’t avoid the question,” he says, stern. “If anyone’ll understand, it’s gotta be me, right?”
Jungkook nods. “No, you’re right!”
“Like, we’ve gone through some hard shit and where have I been? Right behind you. From day one,” he says, leveling a serious look at Jungkook. The lighthearted mood has fled from the room through the cracks in the walls. “All I’m asking is for you to put in the effort.”
Jungkook sighs, rests his forearms on his knees, laces his fingers around the coffee cup. He stares at the space between his toes. “I just…,” he begins, voice choked with insecurity. He doesn’t want to say it. In fact, he’d rather do just about anything else.
Because, after all, saying it means it’s real.
And if it’s real, then it’s a real problem.
“Listen,” Jin begins, patting Jungkook’s back. “I get it. Making music…it can be really tiring, right?” he says. Jungkook can only shrug. “And sometimes you might not feel like you can do it. Like you don’t have the inspiration.”
“Mm…”
Seokjin gives another pat, stronger this time. “But that’s how life is, Jungkook. Work doesn’t just wait. You’re an adult now. You’ve got adult responsibilities. And when you make a passion into your full-time job, you kinda sacrifice the freedom. Deadlines are a thing. You can’t just…be flippant and casual about it.”
“I’m not being casual,” says Jungkook, and for the first time since Jin walked in his voice is strong and steady. He sits up straight and meets Jin’s imploring eyes.
Seokjin offers a small smile. “Good,” he says. “I trust you. And, you know, you’ve got a whole team of producers behind you who wanna see you succeed. All you’ve gotta do is call.”
“I know.”
“You’re not doing it alone, alright?” he asks, and Jungkook’s throat tightens a little. “That’s the good thing about making your passion into your full-time job, huh? Now…well, now it’s not just your responsibility. It’s divided.”
“Yeah.”
“Well…,” Seokjin says, patting his thighs as he pushes to his feet. “Just wanted to drop by and check on you.”
Jungkook offers a smile and nods, standing with his manager. “Yup.”
“You do remember what’s on deck for tomorrow, right?” asks Seokjin, cocking a brow as he takes another swig of coffee.
Jungkook nods again. “Screen test with the drama people.”
Jin smacks the side of Jungkook’s head and crosses his arms. “Not the drama people!” he says, rolling his eyes. “It’s IJBC.”
“IJBC, right,” Jungkook says as he tenderly rubs the side of his head. “I remember.”
“Do you even know the name of the drama?” The younger boy falls silent, sheepish. “It’s called Give Up Generation, Jungkook.”
“I remember,” Jungkook says, pouting a little. “I just…forgot for a minute.”
Jin can’t help chuckling. “Get to bed early then so you don’t have dark circles,” Jin says with a smile, nodding as he turns toward the door. “Ah!” Seokjin pivots around, casting a disdainful look over Jungkook’s shoulder at the foldout futon. He pulls a scowl. “Sleep at home tonight, will you?”
Jungkook chuckles. “Alright. Stop nagging now,” he says, patting Jin’s back as he guides him out the door and into the hallway. “Bye, Jin!” he calls, not awaiting a response.
Slowly and with his head down, Jungkook shuffles back inside and slumps into his gaming chair, staring at his screensaver. He heaves a deep down sigh, lets it escape through his lips nearly pinched shut. Like exhaling cigarette smoke.
His phone pings to life with an incoming message.
SuperNova: Alright, I had your back before but I don’t cosign the Noona Agenda. I don’t even know if I am your noona.
Lolovely: seconded.
Lolovely: plus it’s icky.
TikiTikiRoom: boooooo
SuperNova: Wait, I think I just heard something in the hallway. Hold on.
Lolovely: SCARY!
TikiTikiRoom: burglars lol
Lolovely: ctrl z yourself, tiki
Lolovely: what if it is though…?
TikiTikiRoom: doubt it.
SuperNova: !!!
SuperNova: Lol it was a package…?
Lolovely: so late…?
SuperNova: Yeah…Lemme open it hold on.
The next message that comes through is a photo you send. Jungkook sits up straighter, opens it quick, and grins once he realizes what it is. A cardboard box, relatively big, sitting torn open on your kitchen floor, the photo features a look inside at several pretty makeup palettes and brushes. Jungkook doesn’t know the names of everything he sees, but he knows why it’s a big deal.
SacredSapphire: !! they finally sent it!!
SuperNova: They did!!
Lolovely: wait what? what did who send?
SuperNova: Lol, sorry. Uh I guess I only told Saph. But the brand I’ve been communicating with actually sent me a PR package! I’m gonna use it on my next job.
SuperNova: This shit’s super expensive too, so I’m lucky I’ve been in contact with a rep.
SuperNova: Gotta use the best to be the best!
TikiTikiRoom: i forgot ur a makeup artist lol
TikiTikiRoom: .-.
SuperNova: …
SuperNova: We’ve been group mates for like four months jfc
SuperNova: Anyway, yeah I’m glad. I guess they sent it to the wrong apartment? So my neighbor brought it over. He just got back from work.
Lolovely: neighbor?
Lolovely: cute neighbor?
SuperNova: He’s like seventy so no, not really my type.
SacredSapphire: nova, that’s super cool. i’m sure you’re gonna get big gigs soon.
SuperNova: Well, I can hope haha.
SuperNova: No, well…all I can do is work hard.
SuperNova: >:-)
All you can do is work hard, huh?
Jungkook tosses his phone to the side and rubs his hands up and down his face. He pinches his eyes shut and relaxes into the back of his chair, feeling the lull of sleepiness finally pulling at him.
And instead of going home like Jin asked, Jungkook simply pads over to the futon and, without moving the blankets, collapses atop them and falls asleep where he falls.
“I’m very sorry.”
“No…uh, no it’s fine.”
“Of course, you can keep the fees or whatever.”
“Oh, um, I…no, I’ll refund those too.”
“Really? I’ll give you a really good review!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m really sorry.”
You sigh, plant a hand on your forehead and heave a sigh. Forcing a smile, you shake your head and press your phone into the crook of your shoulder, bending down to give your fiddle-leaf fig a hose down with your watering can.
“It’s fine. Things come up, you know?”
The girl on the other side of the phone, a young independent model going in for headshots, had called you an hour ago and had spoken at length about why she has to cancel her appointment with you today. How the photographer did this or that, how she actually watched a few tutorials online and figured she could do it herself, how she felt so so bad. You feel bad for her, of course. Kind of.
“Listen, I’ll give you a shoutout on my page, alright? I’ll tag you in my story,” she says.
You shake your head. “No, that’s fine. Just, um…you know, take care. Remember to clean your brushes.”
At this, she laughs. “Thanks for being so cool. I was actually super nervous to call and cancel. I’ve had to cancel a few things like this before, and I’ve had bad experiences,” she says. “Anyway, I’ll recommend you!”
“Alright.”
“Thanks!”
You nod as she hangs up the phone. Gently, you rise to your feet and set your watering can aside on the kitchen table. You set the phone beside it, pausing to glare at the black screen. Well…there goes your Sunday. You turn over your shoulder, pad to the window, crack it open a little. A bracing breeze whistles through, cooling your skin. You shut your eyes against it — only for a moment — before you turn on your heel, shove your feet into your sneakers sockless, swipe your phone and house keys, and shove out the door.
The florist’s is a healthy walk away, but the weather is nice enough and you’re too tired to brave the subway even if it’s only a few stops. You pass buildings and parks as the landscape becomes more and more urban and the high rises look like they could puncture the cloud layer. Before long, you’re standing in front of Happy Garden and, stepping through the sliding doors that are always left open and all-but nonfunctioning with the lush green plants climbing all around. You breathe a sigh of relief, pat your chest a little as the fresh, grassy scent settles your heart.
You aren’t there for more than half a minute before Hoseok stumbles out from the back room, grinning wide with a bouquet of hydrangeas in his hands, wrapped in butcher paper and twine. He curves around the stumbling greenery littering every surface and encroaching on every walkway and comes to a stop in front of you. He smiles.
“Hey,” you say before he gets the chance. You hold up one limp hand in a lazy wave.
He glances up and down, from your head to your toes, and sighs. Still holding the hydrangeas, he rests a hip on the checkout counter and cocks a brow.
“That is the opposite of encouraging,” you remark with a scowl.
He chuckles, pats your arm. “What’s up?” He jerks his head toward the front of the store where bouquets are displayed and you follow behind him as he leads you there. “Unsuccessful raid?”
“Contrary to popular belief, my life doesn’t revolve around video games, actually,” you say, but his laugh wipes the grimace from your face.
His fluffy hair bounces as he bends down to add the hydrangeas to the display and when he stands upright once more he crosses his arms. “You know what I mean. You’ve been in here a lot lately.”
“Pardon me for trying to raise plants,” you say with a pout.
Again, he laughs. “Jesus, stop trying to pick a fight!” he says. “You must be in a really bad mood if you’re here acting like this.”
“Well what’s that supposed to mean?” you begin, outrage all over your face, before locking eyes with Hoseok and composing yourself. You sigh, nod your head. “Yeah, no I’m being annoying.”
He smiles, heart-shaped, and the apples of his cheeks grow rounder. What a joyful guy, you think to yourself with a wistful sigh. “Tell me about it then.”
He pulls one of the empty display boxes over and offers you a seat as he begins tending to the plants all around. You oblige, settle in, and sigh again. “It’s just…everything kinda feels like a dead end right now.”
“Hm?” he asks over his shoulder, graceful hands guiding a waxy leaf back in place.
“Like with my work,” you say, then shake your head. “No, that’s not it. Not entirely.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like…things are okay, you know? I’m getting PR gifts. I’m growing my following on Instagram. I’ve got consistent clients,” you say, nodding. “Like everything is fine, you know?”
“But something feels…missing maybe?” Hoseok offers as he moves to spraying the ferns with water.
You shake your head. “More than that, it’s…like, I feel like I’ve hit the ceiling of what I can do, you know? Like what if this is the best I’ll ever do?”
“Is that bad?” he asks.
You sigh. “Not bad, just…disappointing,” you say. “I wanna work on movies. Red carpets. Editorials.” You rest your chin in your hand and your elbow on your knee. You stare up at Hoseok, now trimming brown leaves from another plant across the store. “I don’t wanna be stuck doing birthday parties forever.”
Hoseok hums, turns toward you with his hands in his apron pocket. He offers a smile. “You sound like a brat.”
You stiffen, eyes wide. “I-,” you start, but there’s really not much you can say to retort. So, softly, you slump once more and shrug. “Yeah…”
“And if you keep that attitude, you’re never gonna be an editorial makeup artist. I can promise you that,” he says with a nod as he approaches once more and crouches before your knees, still smiling. “Everyone has to grow somehow, you know? Be grateful you’ve got opportunities to build your resume.”
You nod. “Yeah.”
“What brought all of this on?”
Shrugging, you glance away toward the big croton plant in the corner, basking in morning sunlight, leaves all stiff and red and green. It’s a pretty plant. You tilt your head to the side, stare longer.
“That model bailed,” you say, but you’ve almost forgotten the self-pity of a moment ago. You stand to your feet and wander toward the plant, hitting halfway up your thigh. You crouch before it and look it over. “Hoseok, this is a really big croton.”
He laughs. “Mhm.”
“How much?”
“With the pot and given its height, it’s going for thirty-five-thousand won.”
You raise your brows. “I expected worse.”
“We’re fair here!” he protests, wagging his finger at you as he comes to stand beside you.
You smile softly, run a finger along the edge of a leaf. “It’s really pretty.”
“Suits you,” he says.
Without noticing, your anxiety begins to subside. “I think I’ll take it.”
“I’ll give you five-thousand off since you’re having a bad day,” he says, patting your back.
You turn to him with a smile. “Thanks.”
He chuckles. “I’ll loan you the dolly so you can get that thing home. Just bring it back before two.”
You stand up, stare down at the plant, nod once. “Mhm.”
Hoseok makes his way toward the cash register, punches in a few numbers. You linger a few steps behind, still staring at the croton. You get a good feeling off that one. Hoseok would tease you if you said as much, but you know when to listen to your intuition.
“Your big break will come Y/N,” Hoseok says as he rings you up, not once glancing to meet your eyes. “Just keep going.”
Jungkook sits with his head leaning against the rattling van window, eyes half-shut. Seoul blurs past him in shades of silvery grey and it’s all he can do to keep himself from falling asleep. For all his nagging, Seokjin had been right about one thing: Jungkook was sporting purplish bags beneath his eyes from a restless night’s sleep. Jin sits beside him now, frowning at his phone as he scrolls through Twitter. He’d given Jungkook a very stern talking to once he’d seen him, and really Jungkook deserved it. He knows that.
“Your voice is in good condition, right?” asks Jin.
Jungkook sits up straight, clears his throat. He shrugs. “Yeah. Why?”
Still stewing over his phone, Seokjin waves his hand without looking up. “Don’t worry about it.”
Jungkook sighs, leans back once more, gazes out the window once more. His phone buzzes once and he grabs it quickly, eager to distract himself.
BeastSlayers™
SuperNova: [image attached]
SuperNova: check him out OJO
Jungkook clicks the image you sent and chuckles as it loads up. The photo features nothing of you save for one hand, reaching out from behind the camera, throwing up a peace sign. Behind your hand, a houseplant. A pretty big one at that.
Jungkook smiles and drafts his reply, but the others are quicker.
CodenameZer0: Another plant? Lol isn’t your apartment overflowing with them by now?
SuperNova: Hush. Look at him.
LoLovely: cute!
LoLovely: does he have a name?
SuperNova: I don’t name my plants.
TikiTikiRoom: lol
TikiTikiRoom: because THAT would be weird
CodenameZer0: At least Nova can care care for a plant in the first place.
CodenameZer0: Let’s be honest here, Nova’s probably the only one among us who is even remotely responsible enough.
SacredSapphire: Nova it’s cute!
SacredSapphire: name him after me ;3
SuperNova: Sapphire?
SacredSapphire: hmmm say my name hehe
CodenameZer0: STOP IT FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST
CodenameZer0: IF THE FLIRTING DOESN’T STOP I’M GETTING YOU A TWO-WEEK BAN ON ARCANA
SacredSapphire: SHIT okay okay, let’s just take it easy
SacredSapphire: talk this out like adults…
SuperNova: Once I’ve finished setting up my new plant, I’m gonna play Animal Crossing. Anyone free to join? I’ve got oranges and mums.
SuperNova: Also had a meteor shower last night and have leftover star fragments first come first served.
The offer is tempting, to be sure. Not only would he receive star fragments, he’d be able to wander your island with the others. It might feel like you guys are side-by-side for real. Jungkook reaches into his backpack, slumped between his knees, and rifles around for his Switch. But as he produces the case, Seokjin shoots him the evil eye.
“If you’ve got time to play games, you’ve got time to review your lines,” he says, cocking a brow.
Jungkook sighs a little, slides the Switch back inside his bag. “I’ll look them over again.”
“Good.”
He takes one last look at his cell phone, checking the group chat with a frown that pinches the sides of his lips.
TikiTikiRoom: MEMEMEME
TikiTikiRoom: if any of you fakes get there before me ill go apeshit
TikiTikiRoom: i need so many
LoLovely: don’t need fragments, just wanna see ur cute face hehe
SuperNova: /blushes
SuperNova: I’ll open the gates once Sapphire Junior is nice and settled.
CodenameZer0: I’ll come too. I wanna shop.
SuperNova: Can’t you be cute like Lolita?
CodenameZer0: /gags
SuperNova: You coming, Saph? I’ll save a few fragments for you.
TikiTikiRoom: FAVORITISM
SuperNova: I am transparent about my favoritism toward Sapphire.
SuperNova: Because he is indeed my favorite.
LoLovely: *shocked pikachu face*
SacredSapphire: soz :-( i can’t
SacredSapphire: working
SuperNova: :-(
SuperNova: Next time we’ll all come to your island.
Jungkook tries not to feel that twinge of melancholy that tugs at his chest. That one he always gets when his friends go out for barbecue or grab drinks and hit the karaoke rooms. The one that feels like he’s really, deeply, fundamentally missing out on something important.
No, he doesn’t feel it. Instead, he focuses his attention on the printout Seokjin had given him three days ago. He scans the lines over and over, committing them to memory.
“No! That’s the thing, she didn’t even tell me!” says the girl below your brush.
You attempt to guide the highlighter across her cheekbones, but before you can make contact with her skin she’s jerked away once more, talking so animatedly that you can’t even tell if you’ve made her eyebrows even.
“That’s shitty,” says her friend beside her, likewise preoccupied as Jieun struggles to match her skintone.
The two of you lock eyes, both hovering over the two women as they chat over matching cups of coffee. Jieun puffs out her cheeks, raises her brows, and goes back to work, smoothing foundation on to the client’s chin with a brush.
You stand in a nice apartment — all marble floors and high ceilings and windowed walls overlooking Seoul. When you’d gotten the offer for a Seoul gig with Jieun, you’d been hesitant. The subway ride is long and you prefer to stay relatively local. But something made you agree. You don’t know exactly what. Call it divine intervention or epiphany or Jung Hoseok, but the words just keep going had been replaying in your brain since you last saw your friend. The pair of women — likely in their thirties — had booked both you and Jieun to do their makeup for a Sunday luncheon.
“And you know she’s looking out for him,” says Hyejin with a scoff. “As if I’m gonna bite the kid’s head off.”
“Maybe you will,” jokes the other woman, laughing just as Jieun reaches in to apply some liquid blush to her cheeks. “You know she’s got a soft spot for him.”
“Yeah well it’s a soft spot in all of our wallets if he doesn’t get his shit together,” says Hyejin, sighing. There is real woe in her expression and you can feel from the shift in atmosphere that things have turned serious. “He’s talented, you know? But…sometimes I think she goes too easy on him,” she continues, and this time her tone is decidedly softer, the movement of her face less pronounced.
You use the opportunity to work some powder beneath her eyes with a sponge. “Well, that’s motherhood for you,” says the other, flippant.
“Have you seen what the folks are saying on Twitter?” asks Hyejin as you apply shadow to her eyelids. “About his voice.”
“Hm?”
“Well some of his bigger hate communities have been compiling all the footage of his stage mistakes and they’re spreading it around,” Hyejin says with a huff. “Stupid, honestly. They’re making it out like he makes those mistakes all the time.”
“Netizens are like that, Hyejin,” says the other woman, now easing into her chair with her eyes shut as Jieun can finally get to work setting her base.
“Still…”
“Nowyou’re the one defending him,” she remarks with a laugh.
“It’s not that,” Hyejin says, scoffing. “It’s just…like if he doesn’t prove himself soon, all those commenters are gonna have more ammunition, you know? Which is annoying for all of us.”
“Sounds like you care a little bit.”
“I dont.”
“Hm.”
You focus on Hyejin’s full lashes, applying mascara with delicate, steady strokes. She hums a little as you use the pad of your fingertips to tame stubborn eyeshadow into blending more seamlessly. It seems, at least, that the conversation has died down. For that, you are very grateful.
“Say, do you two know anything about k-pop?” asks Jieun’s client.
The two of you lock eyes once more. It’s true that you are well-versed in pop culture: video games, TV shows, YouTube drama. But you’d be lying if you said you tune in to Inkigayo every week. And despite Jieun’s age and her trendy look, you know she’s not the type to keep updated on current idols. And you see in her brown eyes your own shock mirrored.
“Um…no, not particularly,” you answer for the both of you. Jieun releases a breath she’d been holding and smiles her thanks. “Do you two work in the field?”
Hyejin waves her hand and sighs. “Don’t go bothering them with those sorts of questions,” she says, and you notice for the first time the easy poshness that this woman has. Even with her head tilted back and her eyes shut tight, she seems sure of herself.
You envy her just a little for that.
“What? They’re young,” says the other woman, grinning with her eyes shut as Jieun works on her eyeliner. “You ever heard of RTE?”
“Hey now,” says Hyejin, warning in her voice.
“I’m just curious,” the woman continues with a sigh. “Look us up if you haven’t.” The woman chuckles, reaching out blind to smack Hyejin’s upper arm. “Hey, maybe even tweet something nice about our artists!”
“Knock it off and let them work,” Hyejin says, prying open one eye to meet yours. She offers a smile, apologetic, and sighs. “She’s just playing around. You can ignore her. It’s what I do.” She nods her head and leans it back once more.
Quietly, you get back to work. But you can’t help but feel like this woman’s incredible presence makes you paler somehow.
“What’s the point if it makes me unhappy?” Jungkook shouts, brows knitting, eyes growing watery. “The money, the lifestyle…what good is it?” his voice settles into a bare whisper, cracked.
“You only say that because you’re young! You’re stupid! You’re naive! You think things work out just because you want them bad enough?” says his costar, glancing down at the script every now and again as the two stand across from one another.
The set bustles on behind them, crew carrying tall lights and fixtures as they scuttle by. But Jungkook and his costar — a man named Namjoon acting as his older brother — continue their scene under the watchful eye of the cameras, trained right on them. Less of a screen test and more of a chemistry check between actors, Director Lim watches the monitor closely with his scrabbly chin in his palm.
“So what if I fail?” Jungkook asks with a quiver, referencing his script once to make sure he got the line right. “What’re you gonna do? Tattle on me to Dad?”
“I won’t have to,” Namjoon says, sighing as he grips the bridge of his nose. “He’s got his watchdogs trained right on you.”
Jungkook stiffens. “He’s been…following me?”
“I told you you’re too naive for the real world, Jiwon.”
Director Lim claps his hands and in an instant the tension and the scene are broken. Jungkook takes a respectful step back from his costar, and Namjoon offers him a bow of the head. Jungkook returns it, fighting off a nervous grin, and turns to the director as he circles around the equipment to stand in front of them. He’s a middle-aged man, handsome in a way with salt-and-pepper hair and eyes that seem to grab you and hold on like a snare. Jungkook is pinned in place like a bug in a shadowbox.
But Director Lim’s face splits in a crooked smile and Jungkook feels himself ease, exhaling long and slow. “Great job, boys!” he says, clapping both of their shoulders. “You were selling it well.”
“Thank you, Sir,” Jungkook replies too quick, like an eager child.
Director Lim chuckles, pats him again. “I’m praising you, kid. Don’t look so scared.”
He swallows hard. “I…I know. Um…thank you, Sir.”
Behind the trio, a group of stylists cart a rack of costumes quickly to the other side of the set, snagging the back of Jungkook’s shoe as they do. Jungkook stumbles to his knees, caught off guard, and the girls jerk to a stop as they catch themselves on the clothing rack. The two stare down at Jungkook, wide-eyed, and each of them covers their mouths. Immediately, they bow their heads in apology, both muttering sorry, so sorry almost too quietly to hear. Jungkook shakes his head and stands to his feet.
He too bows his head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been standing there,” he says gently, hoping to assuage their concerns.
But the girls remain bowed, as if too afraid to even lift their heads. Jungkook, puzzled, leans down slightly to meet their eyes, but they glance away so quickly that he can’t even get a proper look at either of their faces.
“Um…it’s really not a problem,” he says, but before he can say more Director Lim approaches with a grim severity in his eyes. Jungkook, quick to stand up straight and face the director, stutters a little as he settles himself in front of the stylists. “It’s no big deal,” he says to Director Lim, but it’s like the man can’t even hear him.
“We were distracted, Sir,” says one of the girls, raising her head slightly to meet Director Lim’s gaze. “We are very, very sorry.”
“It really isn’t-,” Jungkook begins.
“You think it’s appropriate to crash into my actors? In the middle of a conversation about their performance?” Lim asks, but it’s clear the question isn’t meant to be answered. His tone has shifted into something cold. “You could have very well injured Jungkook.”
“I’m fine-,”
“But what if you weren’t?”
Jungkook shuts his mouth, staring helpless at the girls as they both stand up straight once more, eyes on the floor and hands knitted in front of them. He feels a hand on his back between his shoulder blades and jumps a little, turning quick to find Namjoon standing close.
“Don’t,” is all he says, voice terse and so quiet Jungkook almost doesn’t hear it, before dropping his hand and taking a half step back.
Jungkook’s jaw clenches, his hands work into balls as he stares. The lighting is low, dramatic as if a scene composed by Lim himself. The two girls lift only their eyes to gaze up at him.
“We’re very, very sorry, Sir,” says one of the stylists, guiding a lock of dark hair behind her ear.
“Mhm,” he says, looming. “Make sure it doesn’t happen again. Can’t afford to replace two stylists and a makeup artist in the same week.”
Jungkook simply stares, Namjoon’s warning freezing through him like ice. His limbs feel leaden. And as the two girls rush off, dragging their rack behind them, Jungkook focuses again on Director Lim.
He swivels back around to the two actors with a bright, fatherly smile. “Pardon me,” he says, waving his hand with a warm laugh. “Gotta keep the crew in check otherwise they’ll slack off.”
“Ha,” Jungkook puffs out in response, smiling in turn.
Namjoon hums a little. “Why don’t we try the reconciliation scene?”
“What in the world do you mean?” Hyejin yells into her phone just as she ushers you into her apartment. You eye her as her face grows red, her brows coming together. “He’s not quitting!”
Hyejin pauses to offer you an apologetic smile. She’s dressed in a modest pajama dress, padding barefoot along the cool marble floors. She leans against the arm of a nice black leather sofa, raises a hand to her flushed cheek, looks at her toes with vexation. Carefully, you set your makeup kit on her kitchen island, meeting her eyes with raised brows as if asking permission. She waves her hand, nods once before pinching the bridge of her nose between her index finger and her thumb.
“Listen, we knew Lim was difficult. But this is a huge opportunity for his career.” Hyejin rubs her kneecap, massaging. Her short hair falls along the line of her jaw as she dips her head in a deep sigh. “I know you know that, Seokjin. But you’re his manager. You’ve gotta keep convincing him.”
You begin unpacking your things, setting them neatly along the edge of the countertop, and try not to eavesdrop as Hyejin continues letting out chopped sighs. You can hear her fidget around the apartment behind you. She’d called you again, only a few days later, to secure you for another important event. A meeting, she’d said. You didn’t want to agree. Wanted to say you were too busy, that the commute was too much.
“Hey,” she whispers behind you. You jump, but turn nonetheless to find her cupping one hand over the phone’s receiver. Her eyes are severe, jaw clenched. “How long can you stay? This call might take a while.”
You raise your brows, think back over your schedule. “Hm…,” you respond, then shake your head. “I’m free all day. But…when’s your meeting?”
She stiffens, eyes flashing to the clock on the oven. “Shit,” she mutters. She approaches you with a frown. “I’ve only got two hours to get everything ready—Yes! Yes, I’m still here Seokjin. Stop panicking, for Christ’s sake—,” she says, her shoulders pinching. She glances at you again. “Um…”
You glance around the apartment. It’s spotless, as usual. But you spy in the corner beside a massive potted umbrella tree a taupe pantsuit, hanging beside a steamer. You’d have thought someone in her position would have sent it to the cleaners to be properly steamed, but perhaps it had slipped her mind. With the way she’s pacing around the apartment, still dressed in her pajamas, you wonder if perhaps she’s not as put together as you thought.
“I’ll steam that,” you say with a nod, pointing to the suit.
She stares at you, wide-eyed. “Oh, no. You don’t have to do something like that-,”
You shake your head. “No problem. What else do you need done here?” you ask, consulting your wristwatch with a hum. “If we keep it light, I can have your makeup done in forty-five minutes.”
She blinks at you. “Uh…well…,” she begins, then jumps a little as a voice in the phone shouts loud enough for you to hear. “No! No! Can you relax? I’ll talk you through it in just a minute! I’ve gotta sort some things out,” she shouts back at the phone. She turns her attention back to you with a sheepish smile. “Um, I need to steam the suit, wrap the fruits — they’re a gift for the client —, call the restaurant to confirm the reservation, shine my shoes, organize our documents chronologically and set them up in a binder,” she says.
You have to admit that the sheer volume of busywork has you taken aback. But you steel yourself with a bracing sigh, nod once, and offer her a smile. “Consider it taken care of,” you say.
“Ah! I…I really feel bad dumping all of this on you,” she says, crossing her arms with knit brows. “Normally I’d have my assistant doing all of this, but she’s ill.”
“Not a problem,” you say, smiling once more. “Just take care of your phone call and leave the rest to me! As long as we’ve got forty-five minutes for makeup, we’ll be fine.”
She lets out a sigh that seems to deflate her, shoulders slumping as if in profound relief. She nods once, smiling, and turns on her heel. “I’ll be in my office, alright? I promise I’ll be out in time!”
You give one wave as she rushes through a clouded glass door and shuts it behind her. You roll up the sleeves of your sweater and get to work on the suit.
Two hours later, and you’re accompanying Hyejin out into the apartment hallway. She pauses as the door clicks shut, waiting for it to give a chime, and turns to you with a sigh. She looks pretty. You had to rush a bit once she emerged from her office, and after taking care of the other chores you found it difficult to focus on her makeup, but you’re proud enough of your work given the circumstances. You’ve managed to match her eyeshadow to her pantsuit with gentle oranges and reds.
Since you were rushing to finish everything in time, the two of you hadn’t had a chance to exchange words. Perhaps you are curious — just a little — about the emergency she had to quell over the phone. Or maybe you just want a proper thank you. So you linger beside her in the well-lit hallway, you let your eyes wander to a potted fern in the corner by the elevator, wait for Hyejin to say something.
“I’m sorry,” she says, sighing. She glances at you through her lashes.
Your eyes go wide. “Hm? What for?”
“For having you do all of that,” she says, flitting one manicured hand. “I feel guilty.”
You shake your head. “No,” you say with a smile. “It’s no problem at all, honestly. You had me booked for an hour and a half anyway.”
She sighs again. “I really feel bad.”
“Don’t worry about it…,” you say, eyeing her. She crosses her arms, vexed, and purses her lips a little. “Um…was that call about an artist?” you ask.
She snaps back to herself, glancing at you. “Oh? Yes. That was about our biggest artist actually,” she says. “I think I’ve got it taken care of though, thanks to you.” She guides the two of you to the elevator. “I’ll pay you extra, alright?”
You laugh. “No, no. It’s fine! I’m just glad it all worked out.”
She stares at you, scanning you for a very long moment as the elevator rises to your floor. You try not to fidget, not to shrink under her scrutiny, but you feel yourself recoiling just a little. Her gaze is intense, knowing, as if she can see right through you and she’s looking for something. And as the elevator arrives, she gives a hum that sounds contented and you wonder if she’s found it.
Jungkook glances around the empty pavilion, scanning the cobbled streets for any sign of escape. From above, a dark mage is laying waste to the small shanty town. Not a single player has ventured out this way, all following a lead in the Elysian Forest to the west. But after you had mentioned a tip you got from researching at the Library of Arcana, you’d suggested visiting the seaside nook on the far south of the map. A legendary evil slumbers hidden, you’d recited over voice chat with a laugh, Sounds about right.
Only now, Jungkook’s alone. His hands are sweaty around the controllers in his palms and the realistic graphics are serving only to make him more nervous as the mage swings low near the central fountain and sets off a spray of fire just in front of him. Jungkook can almost feel the heat.
Jungkook had set out to do some scouting. Nothing extreme. Just a simple peek about, seeing if he could find any clues. He sent a message to the group chat, but he hadn’t waited on a response before he signed in. He’d had no idea that the Big Bad herself would come flying from the fountain the moment he touched the water with his sword. And now she’s circling him like some sort of hawk. Quickly, Jungkook calls up his inventory menu and searches through his items. A few extra swords he picked up, some ritual herbs, his old chainmail armor, some healing potions and…
The fragment…
If this mage takes him out, he’ll end up dropping his entire inventory. Including the fragment.
And by the time he can make his way back over here, other players will have come running from the commotion.
And the fragment will be gone.
“Shit,” he hisses out, dismissing the menu and focusing back on the mage as she releases a chilling cackle.
The quaint village is smoking, with thatched roofs catching fire and whole storefronts crumbling into piles of simmering stone. The sky is nearly blotted out with ash, and all he can see is that mage, swirling around up there in billowing black robes and shiny white teeth exposed in a wicked grin.
Jungkook glances over his shoulder toward the street he’d taken in to the village, but it’s too smokey to see anything more than the outlines of ruined buildings. There’s no way he’ll be able to navigate his way out of here without a lantern. And if it’s this smokey, he’s absolutely positive that nearby players have noticed. Which means more competition.
And more people to snatch his fragment when he falls.
The mage gives a cry, shouts her line, “Not enough yet?!”, and swoops down at a dizzying pace. Jungkook stumbles back, but he’s not fast enough. She’s approaching in a dark blur, too quickly for him to counter. A flash of regret washes through him as he squeezes his eyes shut inside his VR headset. He doesn’t want to see this.
He waits for a tense moment that way, anticipating the melancholy piano chords that accompany in-game death, but none come. Instead, he hears very keenly the sound of the mage grunting as if in pain. And, in an instant, he opens his eyes wide to see standing on the other side of the fount
“Welcome to my dorm~” You say, moving out of the way to let Hobi walk in. He looks around, nodding his head.
“I know, it’s messy, but I didn’t really have much time to clean. I thought you’d be away from campus right now,” you say, closing the door and walking by him. When you texted, he happened to be right outside the dorm building. He laughs at you.
“It’s fine, really. The boys are much worse than this.” He sits down at the foot of your bed. “Is there a reason why you invited me over?”
“Yes! Actually. I wanted to talk with you,” you tell him as you sit down beside him. “I didn’t have anyone else to talk about it with and out of the group, I’d feel like you’d be the best person to help.”
“What is it about exactly?” Hobi asks, turning his body to face you. You could already tell that he would give you solid advice by the way he looks eager to listen.
“My feelings.. About Jungkook.. I- I usually talk to him about everything and … well this is about him so I can’t. And I can’t talk about this to Jin, because I feel like he’s helping him out and so his advice would be biased.” Hobi smiles at this, but you didn’t notice because you were looking away from his face. “And, well, Taehyung would want us to be together, so his advice wouldn’t be helpful at all. Lastly, I don’t know if Jimin would even give good advice! He’s good at math, but I just have a feeling he’d suck at this,” you say, turning back to look at Hobi. He has a big smile on his face now.
“What?” you ask him, awkwardly scratching your arm.
“Okay, well first of all, I’m honored that I’m the one you’re trusting with this. Which is a valid choice considering all the reasons you mentioned about the boys. They are correct. They made a group chat with all of us in it, without you, to help Jungkook out.”
“REALLY?” you yell out of surprise, making Hobi jump a little. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry,” you say, putting your hand on his arm, letting out a giggle. You didn’t know he was jumpy. “But ugh, I knew it!”
“I saw the messages before I got here, they were texting in the group chat. I haven’t gotten to respond because your message popped up for me to come over. But I saw that Jungkook was a little upset that you left or he thinks he might’ve scared you off.”
“Noo, ugh, it’s not his fault, it’s mine,” you say, burying your face into your hands. You drag your hands down just slightly for your palms to cup your cheeks. “He was being his normal self but I was overthinking everything. And I’m sure the guys are giving him advice on what to do but it honestly felt like we were doing the same thing we always do. Does that make sense?
It’s just… now that I know that he likes me, they started feeling different. Like we always go on breakfast dates and cuddle when watching movies.. But for some reason my mind is going everywhere and I can’t focus on what we’re doing.”
“It seems like you’re starting to like him,” Hobi says. His face was serious.
“No,” you say.
“Is it wrong to like him?” Hobi asks you. You nod.
“He’s my best friend,” you say. “If I like him, I’d lose my best friend.”
“No you won’t. He likes you, and if you like him, you’d both like each other. You would have a best friend, and a boyfriend.”
“But what if something happens? What if our relationship doesn’t work out?”
“Then if you two have loved each other enough, you can just go back to being friends.”
“That sounds easier said than done,” you say with a slight laugh. “How can you go back to before like nothing happened.”
“Some people were able to go back to being just friends and end up perfectly fine,” Hobi says.
“That’s just some people. Just because it’s happened to someone, doesn’t mean it’ll happen to me.” Hobi quirks an eyebrow at you and starts to slowly smile.
You furrow your brows at him. “What…”
“I wasn’t going to mention it, but since you said that, I will,” he laughs. You started to get nervous. “When we were out getting ice cream yesterday, I asked you if Jungkook and you were together and you said no. Then I said, oh, you two would look like a cute couple and you laughed and said we could never be together and I said why not? and you said my friends in high school dated each other and it didn’t work out and it ended up breaking our friend group apart, i don’t want that to happen to me and Jungkook.” Your eyes widened as he said it word for word.
“You just said just because it’s happened to someone, doesn’t mean it’ll happen to me,” Hobi says. “What are you doing right now? You like him don’t you?”
It was a Sunday morning and you spent it in bed, just about waking up.
*ding ding!*
You rubbed your eyes, feeling around under your blanket for your phone. It was Jungkook.
You put your phone down, sitting up as your door opened and a smiley Jungkook walked in.
“Good morning beautiful,” he says, sitting down right next to you. You gave him a sleepy smile. Your hair is tangled, the scrunchie was lost somewhere in the mess.
“Good morning ugly,” you replied, in which he shoves your shoulder in response.
“Wake up, we’re going out,” he says, you groan, scooting closer to him.
“I’m still a little sleepy,” you said, dropping your head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around you and you sink into his warmth.
“Well we’re going to get food. Then we’re going to watch a movie, or binge watch a drama back in my dorm, whichever you want.” You lift up your head and look him straight in the face. Your noses are just about to touch each other.
“Why? What’s so special today?” You ask. Jungkook shrugs.
“I can’t spend time with my favorite girl?” You squint at him, pulling away from his hug. You cross your arms over your chest.
“You’re being reeeeeeaaaally weird today,” you said. “And the day had just started…”
He shrugs… again.
“Well there are 4 other guys in your life right now,” he says, referring to Jin, Jimin, Taehyung, and Hobi. “I need to make sure I stay on top.” That wasn’t the real reason, but that’s what he was telling you anyway.
“You’ll always be my number one,” you reassure him.
“Good,” he says. “Now get ready,” he says, pushing you out of bed.
“I can’t go out looking like this?” you joke. You were wearing an oversized shirt that was revealing one shoulder because of how loose it was. Your hair was coming out of a bun, the scrunchie, again, still lost. And lastly, you had some gunk in your eyes. “ I thought you said I looked beautiful.”
“You called me ugly so I took it back,” he says, reaching out to wipe your eye. He grimaces. “Plus, your breath stinks.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll be back,” you say, rolling your eyes, getting up and walking to your bathroom.
Jungkook waits until you close the door before going on his phone to the group chat Jin made. Without you in it.
“I’m ready, where are we going anyways,” you say, stopping right in front of him. Jungkook looks up from his phone and smiles at you.
“You look pretty,” he says. You nod.
“I know, let’s go,” you respond quickly, tugging his arm. Jungkook sighs as he swings his feet over your bed.
“We’re going to have breakfast at Pied Piper,” he tells you, swinging his arm over your shoulder. “Jin hyung’s cooking for us.”
“I thought he was off on the weekends?” You say, frowning. Jungkook shakes his head.
“Not today.”
-
The two of you wait for Jin to come by and take your order. You had your head hanging over the menu as you kept your hands warm between your legs.
Jungkook looks over at you and reaches his arm out. You notice and you look up, right when his hand touches your hair. He tucks it behind your ear.
“Are you okay?” He asks you. You nod.
“Just a little cold,” you tell him. Autumn is just about a few days away from its official start and it isn’t cold just yet. Although your seat was right under a vent that blew cold air. Jungkook looks up and sees the air conditioner.
“Do you want to switch seats?” He asks you, already standing up.
“No it’s okay, I’ll be fine,” you tell him. He’s about to sit back down when he makes eye contact with Jin.
“Your jacket,” he mouths, motioning to the jacket Jungkook was wearing. He wore jackets often, or long sleeves in general. It didn’t matter if it was hot out or not. Jungkook looks down at you and watches you as you continue to go over the menu. He then quickly takes off his jacket, walking over and putting it over your shoulders. You look up at him surprised. He ignores your expression and sits back down across from you, grabbing the menu and beginning to look at it. Trying to look effortless and cool.
“Jungkook you don’t have to–” You start, you sigh anyways when he looks up at you with his big, doe like eyes. “Thank you,” you say, pulling your arm through the sleeves. He smiles softly at you before looking back down at his menu.
Jungkook was always this nice to you, but today felt different.
Was it because now… You know that he likes you?
He said he’s liked you since high school, so it should be the same feeling but being aware of it felt so different.
It’s not the first time he’s called you beautiful, or touched your hair, or even given you his jacket. Heck, your closet is full of his sweatshirts that you have failed to return.
But he likes you.
And not just as friends.
So it’s different.
The same
yet different.
And now you’re confused.
“So what are you getting?” Jungkook asks you, closing his menu and distracting you from your thoughts. You look up at him in surprise. You weren’t really paying attention as you flipped through the menu. He was kind of on your mind. You furrow your brows at the thought.
“Uhh.. I don’t know. What should I get, what are you getting?” you ask, glancing back down at the menu. Jungkook laughs at you.
“Are you okay? You’re not being you right now,” he says. You shrug.
“I don’t know, it just kind of feels different.”
“What does?” He asks you.
“This,” you gesture to each other and to your surroundings.
“What do you mean? It’s us getting breakfast, we always get breakfast together. And it’s not like it’s our first time here,” he responds, with a smile.
“Yeah but… I don’t know, but it feels like a date. And not like a Yn and Jungkook bestie date but like a… date date. And I don’t know I feel nervous for some reason,” you respond truthfully.
Jungkook glares at you, then he quirks up one eyebrow.
“I mean, this is a normal bestie date. Unless you don’t want it to be,” he says. He smiles at you. That cocky smile he does whenever he’s being annoying. “Do you want it to be a date date?”
You scoff, feeling like it was a set up and the tables have been turned.
“I gave you my answer the other night Jeon Jungkook,” you say, lifting up the menu and hiding behind it. Jungkook laughs, looking up to the side to glance at his hyung. Jin gives him a thumbs up.
-
After breakfast, the two of you were now at Jungkook’s dorm. The two of you decided on watching a drama instead of going to the movies. There weren’t any new movies out that you two haven’t watched yet, but Netflix does have plenty of dramas to choose from.
“Which one should we watch?” Jungkook asks you, clicking through the shows. He had his laptop on his lap while your cheek was pressed up against his arm.
“Ooh, that one looks interesting,” you said, pointing to “Her Private Life”.
“Okay we’ll watch it then.” He clicks on the drama, pushing the laptop back slightly as he sunk into the pillow behind him. He then lifts the arm that you were laying on, pulling you in instead. You snuggle into his chest as you two watch.
-
“Can you imagine having two completely different lives?” Jungkook says, referring to the main character of the show. “I mean, she’s basically Hannah Montana. If she takes off the hat and hoodie and puts on a blazer, she’s not ‘The Road to Sian’ anymore, she’d just be Deokmi.”
To be honest, you couldn’t focus on the show at all. All you could hear was Jungkook’s breathing and his heart beating. You don’t know why you were focusing so much on it.
“But would she as a fangirl be her true self, or would she as the curator be her true self…” Jungkook wonders out loud. “It could be both right?”
“Yeah… I guess so. I don’t know, I’m kind of confused with what’s going on,” you say, sitting up.
“Oh, do you not like it? We can change what we’re watching,” he says, quickly exiting out of the screen.
“No, it’s just,” you sigh. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m so off today.” You say, looking up at your best friend. He’s frowning, looking over at you with a very worried expression.
“Did anything happen? Do you want to talk about what’s on your mind?” he asks you, reaching for your hand. You grab it, shaking your head and smiling up at him.
“I’ll be okay, but maybe we can continue this another day?” You tell him. “I might just need some time to think.”
“Okay, uhh.. think about what?”
“I’ll let you know after I think it through,” you laugh, leaning over to him to give him a hug. “Thank you for this day. I really enjoyed it. My treat next time, okay?”
“Yeah,” he says, watching you pull away. You then get up and grab your things. “Okay.”
you
๑๑๑๑๑๑๑
feelings
๑ part eight: she’s flustered ๑
pairings: jungkook x reader
a/n: i feel like i do this all the time with my aus where yn is so confusing and so the reader gets confused but like the next few updates explains it all and so you won’t get confused anymore does that make sense? i feel like it’s been so long since i’ve done this, i don’t want you guys to be lost T.T
After a failed attempt at working on homework together, Jimin and you are now at his friend Jin’s apartment! Along with Taehyung and Jungkook of course. And one more friend you were about to meet.
“Did you bring it?” Jungkook asks you right when you enter the door. You nod, walking up to him and handing him his switch. “Thank youuu~” He says, immediately sinking into the couch next to Taehyung.
“Hi!” You hear someone say excitedly behind you. “I’m Hobi,” he says, already leaning in for a hug.
“Hi, I’m Yn,” you say, giggling.
“Yn!” Jin yells from the kitchen. “Are you hungry?” You peek behind Hobi and smile at Jin.
“Yes,” you say. Jungkook taps your leg with his foot.
“Sit next to me,” he says. You turn around, flopping down next to him. “How was the study sesh?”
“Well I spent half of it on my phone and so Jimin scolded me a lot,” you tell him, resting your head on his shoulder. You watch the television as Jungkook and Taehyung play Mario kart.
“She’s very stubborn,” Jimin says, pointing at you. Jungkook laughs, nodding in agreement.
“I just, really don’t like math,” you say. “… anymore.”
“You’re majoring in architecture,” Jimin says.
“Okay, and?” you answer back.
“I like her,” Hobi says, smiling at you before walking to the kitchen to help Jin. Your eyes follow him and you see Jin putting meat on a chopping board.
“WOAH. You’re cooking all that? For lunch?” You say, immediately getting up and following Hobi. Jimin passes by you and takes your spot on the couch.
“Yeah, why? Are you not as hungry?” Jin answers. You put your hand over your mouth in awe, not knowing he was a good cook.
I mean, you’re assuming he is by the way he was prepping everything.
You take out your phone and take a picture of him. He looks at you surprised.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“This makes you even hotter,” you say, snapping another picture. He laughs, getting embarrassed. He then raises his hand to hide his face from the camera. “I’m posting this on twitter,” you say, leaning over the counter.
“So nothing changed?” Taehyung asks, screaming right after Jungkook passed him in the game.
“Between me and Yn?” Jungkook asks, leaning forward and keeping his eyes locked on the screen. “Are you trying to distract me? I’m not going to let you win.”
“Of course not, but yes between you two.” Jimin turns to the two, looking back and forth between Jungkook and Taehyung.
“Wait, do you…” Jimin says, turning to Jungkook.
“Have feelings for Yn?” Jungkook says, “yeah.” Jimin nods.
“Yeah and he needs help with winning her heart,” Taehyung says. “Oh– OH!” He yells, slowly standing up as he passes Jungkook and crosses the finish line. “YES! WOO!”
“Oh,” Jimin says. “Does she know? Or..”
“Yeah… I told her last night after you dropped her off,” Jungkook says, sighing as he puts the switch down.
“Why do you look like that?” Taehyung says, looking at Jimin and furrowing his brows. “Don’t tell me you like her too.” Jungkook looks up and stares at Taehyung for a few seconds before turning to Jimin.
“Oh. It’s okay if you do. She doesn’t like me back anyways. I’m sure you two would hit it off,” Jungkook says, smiling at Jimin before standing up and going to where you were.
Taehyung punches Jimin’s arm, making him flinch.
“Ow,” Jimin says, rubbing his arm as he frowns at his best friend.
“You can’t like her,” Taehyung says. “That’s against the rules.”
“What rules?”
“The bro code! You can’t like another bro’s crush,” Taehyung explains. “That will ruin our friendship.”
“Yeah, I know, I won’t don’t worry,” Jimin says, turning to you. “I like her, but not in that way.”
“Then why did you react the way you did?” Jimin shrugs.
“I was just surprised I guess. I didn’t think any of them had feelings for each other. I was just thinking about how I probably made Jungkook uncomfortable when I’m around.”
“Is it because you’re really touchy around people you like,” Taehyung says, looking down at Jimin’s foot that is now on his lap.
“Yeah, I was literally holding her hand when he came up to us last night when I was dropping her off,” Jimin says, dropping his head on the couch. “I must’ve given him the wrong impression.. I have to tell him I don’t like her like that.”
“Wait, did you guys get the ice cream?” Hobi suddenly asks, looking at you with a worried expression. You felt your cheeks suddenly heat up.
“We forgot,” you whisper. “I’m sorry.” Jungkook laughs at you, shaking his head. Your eyes were big and your cheeks were noticeably more pink.
Hobi smiles at you, shaking his head. “It’s okay, we’ll just get some right now.” He then walks to the living room where the two boys were at and grabs his wallet and keys that were on the coffee table.
“Come, let’s buy ice cream,” Hobi says, gesturing for you and Jungkook. You and Jungkook were about to follow the older one when Jimin yelled.
“Jungkook!” The two of you froze and turned to him with both of your eyebrows raised. “Sorry,” Jimin says with a small laugh. “Yn, you can go with Hobi hyung, Jungkook, stay.”
Jungkook looks at you and you nod.
“He said stay Jungkook, be a good boy and listen to your hyung,” you joke, pushing him towards the boys on the couch. Jungkook glares at you as he walks towards Jimin.
“See you guys later,” you yell, walking out with Hobi.
“And again, I’m cooking alone,” Jin mumbles to himself, looking at the half chopped vegetables that Hoseok was helping with.
“I’ll help hyung,” Taehyung says, standing up and running next to Jin.
“I don’t like Yn,” Jimin says, loud enough for Jin to hear from the kitchen. Not that the kitchen was far from the living room. Actually, the only thing that separated the kitchen from the living room was the kitchen counter.
“You don’t like her?” Jin asks. “Why not? I think she’s great. She’s funny, she’s sweet, and she tells me that I’m good looking.” Jin finished it off by winking at Jimin. Taehyung laughs beside him.
“Yeah you’re right, she is funny. I think that last part that you just said was her best joke.” Jin turns and glares at the younger boy.
“Keep chopping those carrots.”
“No, not like that. I like her, she’s great. I meant that I don’t like her in a romantic way,” Jimin explains. “It might’ve come off wrong, I don’t want you to think I was trying to hit on her or anything. I’m sorry if it did look like it.” Jungkook shakes his head.
“No, it’s okay, don’t worry about it. If you do ever grow feelings for her, don’t let me stop you. I just want the best for her.”
Taehyung quirks an eyebrow at the two. He scoffs, rolling his eyes.
“Jungkook, you’re too nice! Stop that, go fight for your girl!” He yells, holding the knife up. Jin’s eyes widens as he reaches around Taehyung and slowly brings his arm down.
“That’s enough of you in this kitchen, go sit down, thank you,” he says, pushing the younger boy away.
“Anyways,” Jin says. “Can someone explain to me what’s going on? What am I watching here?”
“Jungkook likes Yn. Jimin likes Yn as a friend but you know how Jimin is with his friends. He’s very touchy,” Taehyung explains while he walks to the couch. “Jimin found out like ten minutes ago that Jungkook has feelings for Yn and felt bad that Jungkook might’ve thought that he was trying to flirt with his crush because he was caught holding her hand last night, but really, Jimin was just being Jimin. And so Jimin is explaining to Jungkook that he only likes Yn as a friend. But Jungkook is too nice and is saying it’s okay if he does end up liking her in the future. Because he confessed to Yn last night and Yn didn’t feel the same way. He says that he just wants her to be happy so if Jimin is the one that can do that, then he’s okay with it. Even if it breaks his little heart.”
Jungkook blinks at Taehyung and Jimin laughs at the newbie.
“Taehyung’s favorite pastime is being a hopeless romantic. He lives for these moments. He really wants you to be the one that makes Yn happy.”
“Ooh, so the little one doesn’t know what to do with his feelings now does he?” Jin says.
“Yeah, I don’t. I didn’t really know what it would be like if I ever did confess to her,” Jungkook says. “It was either we ended up together, stayed friends, or stopped being friends.” He shrugs, “I was always scared it would be the last one so I never did it. But now that I did and we’re just friends… I don’t know how to get rid of the feelings right away.”
“You can’t just get rid of feelings after having them for so long– assuming you have liked her for a while,” Jin says. Taehyung nods.
“Since high school,” he answered for Jungkook.
“Then don’t give up. I’m sure if she stayed with you for this long, she’s bound to have some feelings,” Jin says.
“Okay, but, and I’m just playing the devil’s advocate here,” Jimin says. “I’m seriously rooting for you two. But let’s just say, what if she doesn’t?” He says, crossing his arms and looking back and forth between the three guys. “A guy and a girl can be friends. It’s happened before.”
“That’s true,” Jungkook says. “For anything, I could just be a brother to her.” Taehyung winces at the thought.
“Jungkook, you two have so much potential,” Jin says. “I’m sure she’ll end up falling for you eventually. Now that she knows that you like her, it’s in her head. She’ll notice all the little things you do with her and she’ll start to realize that she actually wants to be with you. Trust me.”
“But what if she doesn’t,” Jimin says, resting his head on his hand.
“Are you sure you don’t like her?” Taehyung says. He pushes Jimin slightly. “Who’s side are you on?”
“Okay, I’ll stop, I’m sorry. Hyung?”
“Okay, okay,” Jin says, wiping his hands on a towel. “So this is what you’ll do.”
๑๑๑๑๑๑๑
feelings
๑ part seven: be a good boy ๑
pairings: jungkook x reader
a/n: i’m going to say this now before anyone comes at me in the future LOL but guys and girls can be friends without any romantic feelings!! for the sake of this au and my hopeless romantic self, that isn’t going to apply in my bts ff universe okay :) lol at least for the two main characters
It was 8 in the morning and you were, for the most part, awake and in a cafe. This time with Jimin and you two were doing math homework together.
Yes, math on a Saturday morning. It was so shocking to you that you had to tweet it.
Okay, you didn’t have to, but you needed an excuse to get on your phone because this was getting boring.
You snap a quick picture of Jimin with your books and work on the table, quickly typing up a caption and posting the tweet. Replying to yourself right under it.
Jimin looks up and sees you smiling down at your phone. Glancing at your screen, he sees that you’re on twitter. He quickly pulls out his phone and finds your tweet, smiling at himself as he comments on your post to catch your attention.
Right when his comment pops up, you look up and glare at him. And all he does is just smile sweetly at you before popping one earphone in his ear and going back to his work book.
You sigh, putting your phone down. You grab your pencil again and tap it on the table as you read the next problem on your worksheet.
You blink at it for a few seconds before glancing up at Jimin. He’s focused on his own work so you quickly grab your phone and slip it underneath the table.
You text Jungkook.
–
Jungkook was currently with Taehyung and his friends. Which quickly became his friends as well. Seokjin and Hoseok aka Jin hyung and Hobi hyung.
The four were walking up to Jin’s apartment when Jungkook’s phone dinged three times in a row.
“Woah, who’s texting you so much?” Hobi asks Jungkook as he takes his phone out of his pocket. Jungkook looks at his screen and smiles when he sees that it’s you and that you’re looking for him and want to hang out. Even though you told him that you were spending the morning with Jimin.
“Is it Yn?” Taehyung asks. “Can I text her back?” Jungkook furrows his brows.
“What are you going to say?” He asks, handing him the phone anyways. The other two boys gather around Taehyung as he types a response. Even taking a quick picture to send to you.
“Here,” Taehyung says, handing Jungkook back the phone. “I’m going to make us six a groupchat.”
Jungkook takes his phone back, reading through the responses Taehyung wrote to you. He laughs at them and smiles when you text again, asking for him.
“Welcome to my apartment,” Jin says, opening the door and letting the boys in. Jungkook looked around in awe.
Jin’s the oldest out of the 4 of them and everyone else still lived in dorms so it was cool that he lives in an apartment of his own.
He also had a lot of cool toys and gadgets lying around.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Jin says, patting Jungkook’s back. The other two were already laying on his couch.
“Come sit over here Jungkookah,” Hobi calls, patting the seat next to him.
Jungkook follows his new hyung and sits next to him before replying to your messages. He couldn’t help but smile at your replies but it disappears when you say that you had to go.
–
Jimin catches you on your phone once again and scolds you for not doing your work.
“You should put your messages on “Do not disturb” so you don’t get distracted by any messages.” He said. “I always keep mine on it because my friends like to spam on our groupchat.”
“Okay, I’m sorry, but let me just post something real quick,” you say, holding up a finger to him. Jimin laughs shaking his head.
“Yn, I thought you wanted to do our work together so that you can focus and have someone to hold you accountable,” he says. You smile at him sheepishly.
“I know I know, I’m sorry. Studying or doing work in general is just so hard for me. Especially if it’s a subject I don’t particularly like.”
“I understand, I’m the same with History. You just need to be more strict with yourself, let’s just keep working for a few more minutes and we can call it a day.” You nod, about to put your phone away when Taehyung’s replies pops up.
“Oh, Taehyung messaged me,” you say. Jimin sighs, dropping his head. He nods and closes his workbook and you look up at him confused.
“Wait, why are you packing up?”
“It’s Taehyung, you won’t get anything done now for sure,” he says.
“So I guess we have mutual friends now huh,” Jimin says as you two walk out of the cafe together.
“I guess so,” you say. “Guess we’ll be spending more time together.”
“Great,” he says, smiling at you with those darn moon eyes. You quickly slap your cheeks to hide the blush and he laughs, putting his arm around your shoulders as he walks you to his car.
๑๑๑๑๑๑๑
feelings
๑ part six: do not disturb ๑
pairings: jungkook x reader
a/n: bringing in the new friends!!! also i have no idea how to solve that calc problem, i got this online LOL just like yn, i did not do well in that class either i mean, i passed but idk math anymore
my kookie ❤️: currently thinking of you guys… good night …
taehyung: i .. miss you.. and.. i love you mwuah
hobi: caN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU IN THE MORNING
feelings
๑ part eleven.five: what if ๑
pairings: jungkook x reader
a/n: the app i use for the text messaging doesn’t have voice memos so i was just sending my sister voice memos of me singing and making noises so i can edit it over
You and Jungkook walked together, side by side, when you bump into Jimin in front of the boys’ dorm building.
“Is Taehyung still inside?” Jimin asks the two of you. You shrug your shoulders.
“I guess so, he said to meet us out here,” Jungkook answers.
“I think the coffee he drank is making his stomach act up,” you say. Jimin shakes his head.
“I told him Magic Shop sells tea and hot chocolate too but he never listens,” Jimin tells you two. “Let’s just wait out here for him, the room probably stinks.”
“Hey!” Taehyung yells, running from behind you three. Taehyung punches Jimin’s shoulder, making him wince. “I heard you. And for your information,” he points at his best friend, “the room smells like lavender. I sprayed it before I left.”
You couldn’t help but laugh at their interaction. “Uh, okay guys, should we get going?”
“Oh yeah, I’ll just ride with you three so we can just take one car,” Jimin says, starting to walk. “Is Hoseok hyung going by himself?”
“He’s stopping by Pied Piper to get the keys to Jin hyung’s place since he’s still working,” Jungkook answers.
“Ohh..”
“Yeah, but we’re stopping by 7/11 first to get some snacks,” Taehyung says. “Then maybe we can get something to drink at Magic Sho–”
“NO!” you all say in unison. Taehyung frowns.
“Let’s work on one relationship at a time, yeah?” Jimin whispers to him. Taehyung’s eyes widened slightly, he nodded his head, sending Jimin an ‘ok’ sign with his hand.
—
Meanwhile..
Hoseok parks his car and quickly walks up to Pied Piper. Stepping in, he’s immediately greeted by Jin.
“Hello welco– oh you’re here quick,” Jin says, reaching into his pocket. “Here.”
“Thanks hyung,” Hobi says, taking the keys from the older one. “What time are you working till?”
“Uhh,” Jin turns to look at the clock. “Probably half an hour more? Don’t worry though, I’ll just catch up–”
“Oh! Jin!” Someone calls from behind him. It was Mr. Bang, his boss. “Is that a friend of yours?” Hoseok moves his head to the side and sees a shorter man with small eyes and round glasses smiling up at him.
“Oh, yes. This is Hoseok, Jung Hoseok,” Jin introduces. Hoseok bows at the older man, politely shaking his hand.
“Nice to meet you,” Hobi says, smiling back at him.
“Your probably the one he’s always texting,” Mr. Bang says, turning to playfully glare at Jin. “He’s always saying ‘sorry, my best friend is texting me’.” Mr. Bang laughs. “I let him though, because if my best friend was texting me, I have to text them back right away. If it was just a friend, then I can reply later.” Hobi laughs at his explanation, covering his mouth.
“Wah.. Your boss is cool,” he says to Jin. Mr. Bang turns to Jin with a pleasing smile.
“I like him,” he says. Jin smiles at him, not knowing he needed approval from his boss. It felt like he was introducing a girlfriend to his parents.
“Uh, sir, Hoseok is actually going to my place right now since my friends want to hang out. Will… it be okay if I leave earlier?” Jin asks. He doesn’t usually ask for anything and complies with everything he’s told to do. Mr. Bang seemed to be in a good mood today so he gave it a shot.
“Oh sure! It’s a bit slow this evening so it should be okay,” he says. “Plus, we have extra help now since Hyejin is here.” He turns around and the new girl’s head turns to the three when she hears her name. She points to herself, her eyebrows raised. She quickly walks to the group.
“Hi,” she says. “Do you need anything?” Mr. Bang chuckles.
“No no, we’re just talking. Seokjin here is going to leave early to hang out with his friends. I think he deserves it. He has been working extra to train you these past few days.” Mr. Bang puts a hand on her shoulder. “And we all know how stressful that was.”
“Aw, don’t leave yet!” she says, her eyebrows scrunching together. “You’re like my emotional support buddy at work.” Jin’s eyebrows raise and he scoffs. The vein on his neck popping out. “I don’t want to work alone,” she says, scratching her arm.
“Good luck,” Hoseok says, patting Jin’s back. “It was nice to meet you again sir,” he says, bowing to Mr. Bang. Hoseok quickly runs off before anything else happens. He’s seen Jin annoyed before and he doesn’t want to be there when Hyejin gets on his last nerve.
Hoseok rolls his eyes, turning back and running into the restaurant to where the three are still standing.
“Oh- Hoseokie,” Mr. Bang says. The two younger ones look at you.
“Sorry sir, but me and Jin have to go. Our friends are waiting,” Hobi says, grabbing Jin’s wrist.
“I told you you can go,” Mr. Bang says, pushing Jin towards the door. Hobi pulls Jin by the wrist and runs off to his car.
“Aw,” Hyejin says. Mr. Bang turns to her.
“You’ll be fine,” he says.
“I’ll remember this moment when my friends want to hangout with me too,” she says, waving her index finger.
—
“So what are we going to watch?” You ask Taehyung as you open a bag of honey butter chips. Jimin extends his arm out to you for some and you tilt the opening of the bag towards him.
“I don’t know which one to choose so we’re going to watch a compilation on youtube and see which one sparks your interest,” Taehyung says, pressing the remote and clicking his ‘watch later’ playlist.
—
“O-oh my gosh,” Taehyung says, covering his mouth. You laugh, looking at the boys’ reaction to the video you all were watching.
It was the second compilation video Taehyung put up and you found it funny thinking that these are what these guys do behind closed doors.
Jungkook had his eyes locked on the screen as well, a hand on his heart.
“Aww I want to get good night voice messages,” Taehyung says.
Jungkook turns to him and says,”We can send it to each other on the groupchat.” He laughs before saying. “Good night, love you bro.” Taehyung laughs as he turns to Jungkook making him laugh as well, even Jimin falls into Taehyung’s lap, laughing.
“I’m going to expect to receive one tonight,” Jimin tells him.
Now you all were watching a scene from Love Alarm where the male lead asks for the female lead’s hand in class. Everyone is watching and reacting to the two. The female lead then asks why and the male lead answers saying he wants to hold her hand. He then proceeds to pull her out of class.
It doesn’t sound like anything special.
But for some reason these types of things just give you butterflies?
Well not you, but the boys think it’s so cool.
“Has that ever happened to you in class Yn?” Hobi asks you. “You know, back in high school?”
You shake your head no. “I didn’t date in high school.”
“Would you have been uncomfortable or weirded out if it did happen to you? I always wondered how people would feel in real life if these things were to happen,” Jin asks next.
“I mean it’s nothing special,” you say with a slight laugh. “He just takes her out of the classroom, that’s it.” Taehyung quirks an eyebrow at you.
“Let’s try it then,” he says. “Jungkook, get up.” He slaps Jungkook’s thigh, telling him to stand up. You follow Jungkook with your eyes as he complies.
You didn’t think much of it, Jungkook and you do skinship all the time and so it’s nothing that will make you fall to your knees.
“Put this on,” Jin says, grabbing a watch from his side table.
“Why?” you ask, watching him put it on your wrist.
“It’s a heart rate monitor, we’ll be able to tell if it makes your heart beat faster so you can’t lie,” he says, winking at you. You scoff.
“I don’t have to lie, it won’t make a difference.”
“Alright Jungkook,” Taehyung says, motioning towards you.
“What do you want me to do,” Jungkook asks innocently.
“Do what Song Kang did,” he says, referring to the male lead. “Let your inner actor out, deep breath, and—” Jungkook inhales and exhales. This makes you laugh. “Action!”
“Yah,” Jungkook says, looking at you. You put your hand up to your mouth, trying not to laugh. The corner of his lip twitches as he tries not to smile at you because, let’s be honest, it was a little silly.
“Give me your hand,” Jungkook says, following the scene. You tilt your head up at him.
“Why?” You ask.
“I want to hold your hand,” Jungkook says. The boys “ooh’d” like the kids in the show. You put your hand on his and Jungkook pulls you as he walks a few steps. The two of you burst out laughing right after.
“How’d you feel,” Taehyung says, smiling at you. You shake your head at him, trying to stop laughing.
“I feel the same, what do you expect?” Jin grabs your wrist and sees your heart rate was just a little bit higher. From laughing. Jin shakes his head at the younger one.
“Hm. Okay,” he says. “Maybe we can try another scene.”
“Okay! But you be the girl this time and I want Hobi to be the guy,” you hop up and down, getting excited. “Then Jin and Jimin will have a turn and then we’ll all switch.” The boys all look at each other. Jungkook was nodding, giving you a high five because he liked the idea. The other four looked at each other, shaking their heads while Jimin tried not to laugh as their plan backfired.
“Uh we’ll watch more videos for now and we can keep in mind the scenes we want to do,” Jin says, taking the remote from the couch and pressing play.
—
The boys continued to watch and you were more entertained with their reactions than the videos they had playing. You felt that it was going to take long for the six of you to actually watch something so you went on your phone to search for some fast watch dramas instead.
The boys kept screaming and hugging each other and were shoving you into the side of the couch. You groan, pushing them away and hop onto the table beside it.
They don’t notice for a while.
“I’m going to get snacks,” you say, hopping off of the table. You wipe the area you sat on with a napkin, looking at Jin while you do so. He nods, closing his eyes and giving you a thumbs up.
“Can you get me some more of the honey butter chips?” Jungkook turned to ask you. You nod, walking to the kitchen.
Jungkook looks down at his phone and starts texting in the “jungkook’s hyungs” group chat. Everyone then starts going on their phone as well, replying back with their master plan. The room was filled with only the sounds of the television
You come back, shaking your head at the boys. “Here,” you said, handing Jungkook the chips he asked for. He thanks you and puts his phone down before you can see it.
When the boys all got off of their phones, you suggested the drama “Business Proposal” to watch. It was only 12 episodes long and it was a romcom. It should be an easy and fun watch.
Jin went on his Netflix and found it, already playing the first episode.
“Sit next to me,” Jungkook says, patting the seat next to him. You were already sitting next to Jin and Hobi so you said you were okay. Jin notices and quickly makes eye contact with Jungkook.
“Ah, Yn,” Jin says, contorting his face. “It’s been a long day and my back hurts a bit. I think I should lay down. Can you move to the other couch please?” Hobi looks over at Jin and bites his lip in an attempt to not laugh. He was making all these faces while holding onto his lower back.
“Aigoo, hyung, should I move too?” Hobi says, pushing himself up.
“No you’re fine,” Jin says, bringing his feet up onto the couch and placing it on Hoseok’s lap. “Massage my feet though while it’s there.” Hoseok grimaces, grabbing onto the edge of Jin’s pant leg and pulling it away.
“Hyung, they stink,” he says.
“Just sit here,” Jungkook says again, patting the space next to him. You walk up next to your best friend, about to sit down when Jimin smirks, pushing Taehyung into Jungkook as he also brings his feet up onto the couch. He curls himself up and leans onto Taehyung. Taehyung is confused by the sudden shove, clicking his tongue.
“Why’d you have to push me?” Taehyung says in annoyance, pulling his arm up from under Jimin’s head. Jimin pokes his side and nods his head to you and Jungkook.
“Aigoo, Y/n’s heart rate is going up,” Jin says, grabbing your wrist.
Jimin pushed Taehyung in time to slide Jungkook into the space you were about to sit on, so you, perfectly fit on his lap. You can feel your face turning every shade of red.
“Oh-” Jungkook says, holding onto your waist. Your heart beats faster. He moves his head from the side and looks up at you.
“Are you okay?” He asks you. You take a breath and smile at him.
“Yeah I’m fine, you just surprised me that’s all,” you answer. Jungkook nods, looking back at the two boys sitting next to him. They both look away when he turns.
“Hey guys, can you scoot a bit so Yn can sit?” Jungkook says. Jimin turns his head and looks at the younger one.
“Oh I’m already comfortable,” he answers. Taehyung brings his finger up to his lips.
You can hear Jungkook swallow as he still holds you on his lap.
“I’ll just sit on the floor,” you say, putting your feet down to get up. Jungkook pulls back when you do.
“Your butt’s going to get sore if you sit there. Just stay here,” Jungkook says, adjusting himself on the couch.
“Okay, fine,” you say, fixing yourself into a more comfortable position. You then lay your head onto his shoulder and wrap one hand behind his torso. You can hear his heart beat faster and you smile. It drops when you remember the watch Jin put on your wrist.
You quickly try to take it off.
—
As you watch episode after episode, you all are already immersed into the drama. It was fun to watch and you adored the characters so much.
Although, with all the laughing and chatting, you didn’t notice that Taehyung was actually paying more attention to you and Jungkook than the drama itself.
feelings
๑ part eleven: bully yn day ๑
pairings: jungkook x reader
a/n: this reminds me of when we do that thing in tmbmil series when they meet someone new and so they have a mandatory hangout, y’all remember?
a/n: no because, @ jin’s comment, as someone who’s struggling, i’m still waiting for a handsome male lead to come and ruin my life while fixing it at the same time
pls, i just realized that’s lowkey literally bts as i finished writing that ^^
okay correction, 7 handsome men have already came to ruin my life while simultaneously fixing it
summary: jeon jeongguk is your best friend—and nothing more. you’ve grown up with the guy, watched him stumble through his awkward puberty, cheated on tests with him, witnessed his first kiss (which only happened because you persuaded him to kiss dara). your bond was virtually unbreakable bond. but now you’re in college and jeongguk isn’t an awkward preteen who needs your help to get girls anymore. it creeps onto you slowly, that feeling you’re harbouring for your best friend. but you’re determined to ignore—that is until taehyung sets off a chain of events that land you in a very interesting predicament.
how this works!
after every new installment a google forum voting session will take place. this is an interactive story so any ideas or concepts you have please feel free to share! updates are weekly <3
summary;jungkook had seen many flowers, but yn was the most beautiful on
a.n;the 'bomb-momb’ thing is about the time when jungkook and rest of the bts cannot stop laughing in the middle of filming the 'hause of army’ because jungkook couldn’t pronounce 'army bomb’. if you didn’t see it yet i am dropping the link here.
summary;jungkook had seen many flowers, but yn was the most beautiful on
a.n;the 'bomb-momb’ thing is about the time when jungkook and rest of the bts cannot stop laughing in the middle of filming the 'hause of army’ because jungkook couldn’t pronounce 'army bomb’. if you didn’t see it yet i am dropping the link here.
