Chapter Text
Park Jimin cannot believe he is actually preparing to move into the den with Jeon Jungkook and his two equally idiotic friends Kim Seokjin and Kim Taehyung.
All three of them play football at university while studying separate subjects alongside the intense sports schedule. He’s not sure if any of them actually plan to play the sport professionally after university is over as Taehyung and Jungkook are nearly 23 and Jimin has a feeling that Seokjin is older.
Jimin has been forced to attend several house parties in Jimin’s soon-to-be home in the past two years, mostly because one of his closest friends Min Yoongi had an absolutely unbearable crush on Kim Namjoon who used to live in the ‘den’ as it is fondly nicknamed (or scathingly referred to by Jimin himself).
Yoongi was Jimin’s roommate in his currently crumbling house until he betrayed Jimin to move in with Namjoon, six months after they became official.
And despite Jimin’s assurances that he would be fine by himself and that he would find a new roommate as a priority, he is a) not as fine by himself as he had made out and b) not interested in finding a new roommate when he had lived with Yoongi so perfectly.
Except now the solution to being by himself has turned into living with Jeon Jungkook and two other football obsessed himbos.
Jeon Jungkook…
Jimin still finds it extremely difficult to remember his high school years, even though almost every aspect of his life has changed since then.
After blocking Jungkook on everything, Jimin had prepared to be tormented worse than ever at school once Jungkook inevitably told all of his friends what had happened but in reality, aside from the occasional rude comment, the majority of the bullying stopped completely.
It didn’t make any sense to Jimin but he figured a teacher had witnessed something and gotten involved. He didn’t dwell on it too much and in the end he didn’t need to.
He still had no friends and felt pretty miserable, as he still had to see glimpses of Jungkook but a month later, just before his sixteenth birthday, Jimin received the most exciting letter that quite literally changed his life.
He was accepted into the Busan School of Arts, the highly prestigious preparatory school for performers of all kinds, which he had been auditioning for consistently since he was fourteen, despite his parent’s lack of support for his interest in dance.
It took some convincing from Jimin for his parents to understand just how important dance was to him and how this school was not only great for dance but for general studies too.
In the end, Jimin had to promise to keep his grades at an A average while also taking part in all of his new dance classes. It meant an increase in his workload and his school days were a lot longer but Jimin knew it was worth the risk.
And it was the best decision he’d ever made.
Attending the performing arts school is the only reason Jimin is now studying dance as a career as his teachers continually encouraged him to pursue it past school despite his parents wishes.
Jimin has sacrificed a huge amount to be here in Seoul doing what he loves and ultimately that is why he agreed to Jungkook’s offer.
He has too much to lose here.
Jimin hears a knock on his front door as he stares at the few boxes he’s bothered to put his things into, considering he’s only moving across the street.
Everything else can be carried over by the three athletes that Jimin will now be living with for at least the next month or so.
He hurries downstairs and opens the door to Jungkook standing there, his hair damp from a shower and hanging down his forehead, making him look younger.
Despite the way Jimin feels about Jungkook based on their history, he cannot deny how attractive Jungkook is and how well he’s grown into his features in the six years since that summer.
He hasn’t changed drastically since they were at school together but his features have matured in all the best ways, not to mention the sprawling tattoos that mark his left arm.
His permanently wide doe eyes shine with every emotion Jungkook feels, making it easy to read him at all moments and that is one feature that hasn’t changed, which is unfortunate as looking into Jungkook’s eyes only serves to remind Jimin of that awful day in September all those years ago.
“Hey, Jimin-ah.” Jungkook’s voice cuts through Jimin’s reverie like a splash of cold water to the face.
“Hi… Jungkook-ssi. Come in.’ Jimin steps back, allowing Jungkook inside his swiftly deteriorating home.
“You can call me hyung, you know.”
“Um, really?”
“Well, you are going to be living with me now…” Jungkook scratches the back of his head, “We probably shouldn’t be so formal with each other.”
“I suppose you’re right… hyung.” Jimin tests out, cringing.
Jungkook shakes his head, a tint of red on his cheeks, “So, should we start to bring your stuff over?”
Jimin nods and gestures for Jungkook to follow him upstairs.
“Your room is actually a similar size- Wait, you game?” Jungkook beelines for the large gaming setup that Jimin has in the corner of his spacious room. He picks up Jimin’s pink cat ear headset with an unreadable expression on his face.
It took Jimin a couple of years to properly get into gaming again. He had eventually swapped his Xbox out for a Playstation, not being able to handle the bad memories attached to the other console.
He plays a big variety of games now, currently obsessed with Elden Ring but with his hectic university and work schedule, he doesn’t have as much time as he used to.
“Yeah… when I have spare time.” Jimin says, feeling uncomfortably reminded of the fact that Jungkook has no idea who Jimin is from his past.
No idea that he has gamed with Jimin and that he broke Jimin’s heart in the process.
Jimin still remembers the flicker of recognition that flashed in Jungkook’s eyes that day in high school when Jimin stood in front of him and bared his heart.
He still remembers how Jungkook retreated into himself as he heard Jimin’s bullies and how he chose popularity over true friendship.
That’s why no matter how many good things he hears about Jungkook or how attractive the boy is or how flirty and helpful he comes across, he can never forget that day.
Jimin knows that they were just kids when the incident happens but he also feels like he can’t make excuses for Jungkook. Not when it hurt him so much.
There’s an awkward silence in the air as Jungkook hums and looks around Jimin’s room again.
They both try to break it at the same time.
“Well, what should I take over first?”
“Do you want to head over now?”
Jungkook chuckles and gestures for Jimin to speak.
“Shall we start to head over? I probably need to see my room to decide where everything can go.”
“It’s similar to this size luckily! I’ll take one of these boxes over now.” Jungkook bends down to pick the largest box up and Jimin gets a flash of Jungkook’s Calvin Klein underwear where his jeans hang looser on his hips before he quickly glances away, face flushing.
They make the short trip across the street to Jungkook’s house in silence. Jimin is quickly starting to regret his decision as he gets closer to the den and it sinks in that he is going to be living with three football players who are likely very different to him and from the parties he’s been to, he knows they don’t value their living space in the same way that he does.
What has he gotten himself into?
“Tae, can you move your shoes from the doorway?” Jungkook yells as they enter the house, shoving the shoes in question out of the way.
It’s much bigger than Jimin’s, which isn’t surprising considering it’s a four bedroom complex. It was originally a block of flats as were most of the houses in this area but the whole street got renovated specifically for student housing.
The kitchen and living area in the den is completely open-plan and spacious with half of it essentially looking like a games room from all of the things that have been slowly added over the years.
Jimin looks around curiously, seeing as this is the first time he’s visited when it isn’t completely full of college students drinking, amongst other more illegal activities.
“Fine! But that’s the perfect place for me to step into them to leave the house, how do you not get this- Oh.” Kim Taehyung rounds the corner from the back of the house, where Jimin knows there’s a nice patio.
Taehyung is the kind of handsome that looks truly effortless, which checks out right now as he is currently wearing the baggiest, most worn down trousers, the ugliest green slippers and a faded t-shirt and yet he still looks like he would photograph well.
“Hello, Jimin-ah.” Taehyung says, approaching Jimin, with a sly grin on his face.
“Hi, Taehyung-ssi.” Jimin replies, inclining his head politely.
“Welcome to our humble abode.” Taehyung flings his arms out, whacking one into the stairs bannister as he does.
“I have been here before.” Jimin points out but Taehyung shrugs as he rubs at his injured arm.
“Parties don’t count. You’re living here now so you need the full den tour.”
Jimin dutifully follows Taehyung while Jungkook trails behind with Jimin’s box in his arms, like an obedient puppy, Jimin thinks with a small smile.
“So kitchen and gaming cave,” Taehyung points to both consecutively, Jimin noting that what Taehyung refers to as the ‘gaming cave’ is basically their living area but they have a huge TV and an Xbox is hooked up with endless amounts of headsets, controllers and other add-ons that avid gamers buy shoved into boxes beneath the TV stand.
“You cook right?” Taehyung asks but his tone is more of a statement than a question.
Jimin nods, “Yes, I cook a lot. My mom had me take cooking lessons from a young age. I prefer to bake though.”
“I think Namjoon-ah gloated about your brownies to me one time.” Jungkook adds.
Taehyung’s eyes light up, “Brilliant! Do you think you’d be up for adding a lil something to those brownies,” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, “If you get my drift?”
Jimin rolls his eyes, “I swear every student thinks the same. As long as I’m not implicated in any illegal activities, I don’t care what you add to my brownies.”
Jimin pauses, “Wait, since when did I say I would make my brownies for you?”
Taehyung just laughs and continues down the house, back in the direction he appeared from.
“In here is the laundry room and we also use it for general storage,” Taehyung points at a door to the right but doesn’t stop, moving onto a door on the left instead, “And then here, we have a really small bathroom. But don’t worry, people still managed to find a way to do the deed in there at our last party.”
“I don’t think I had the privilege of attending that one,” Jimin murmurs, hearing Jungkook laugh behind him.
“And then we have my little greenhouse,” Taehyung says, as they enter a wider space right before the patio outside. It is completely covered in plants of every size and variation.
Taehyung pets one affectionately like a dog and then turns to Jimin, “Do you have any plants?”
“No, I would probably kill it instantly. I managed to kill a cactus a couple of years ago so since then I’ve stayed away.”
“Right…” Taehyung looks at Jimin and then to his plants warily, “Perhaps you should keep your distance from mine then. Anyway, here’s the garden!”
The ‘garden’ is simply a small section of grass and the rest is covered by the patio which has also been covered by an outdoor table and chairs. Jimin can also see a basketball hoop screwed into the brick wall of the house.
“It’s nice.” Jimin says, when he notices Taehyung looking at him expectantly.
Taehyung nods, “Well, that’s really it for the ground floor. Mine and Seokjin-hyung’s rooms are on the first floor and Jungkook’s and yours are on the top floor.”
So he is sharing a floor and presumably a bathroom with Jungkook? God, this must be some form of punishment because why is the universe forcing him and Jungkook to be in close proximity all of a sudden?
They head up to the top floor, this part of the house is all new to Jimin as he’s never ventured upstairs in the den before. He mostly went to the parties long enough for Yoongi to find Namjoon, chatted to Hoseok and then they would usually decide to leave to get food delivered to Jimin’s house and watch a movie instead.
Jimin’s pleasantly surprised to find that his new room is very similar to his old one, other than the angled ceilings due to being at the top of the house.
It’s got plenty of space but still has a distinctly cosy feeling, which is a must for Jimin and any environment he stays in.
Jungkook places the box that he’s still dutifully carrying on Jimin’s floor and looks around quickly, “I can go and grab your other stuff now, with Tae? Jin-hyung is on his way back from work so he’ll probably be back soon.”
“I can help too-” Jimin starts, only to get cut off by Taehyung, who wags a finger at Jimin.
“No, no, how else will we prove our immense manliness and strength?” Taehyung flexes a bicep jokingly but Jimin can’t deny that his eyes are drawn to the veins in Taehyung’s arm.
He shakes his head knowing there’s no way he’s going to survive in this house if he continues to ogle all of his new roommates.
Taehyung and Jungkook leave, banging down the stairs as they go and leaving Jimin to plop down on his new bed and take everything in.
It’s been an overwhelming week to say the least. An overwhelming year, really.
For nearly a year, Jimin has been financially dependent from his parents due to their ongoing issue with him studying dance.
When Jimin told them that he would be moving to Seoul to attend university for dance and then hopefully pursue dance as a career, his mother laughed and told him to be serious. Then his dad realised Jimin was serious and that was when things went downhill.
They argued for weeks. They tried to reason with him and suggested Jimin dance as a hobby, while studying law. And Jimin contemplated it. He did because he was so tired of having this type of discussion with his parents.
But ultimately Jimin knew that he couldn’t sacrifice his own happiness for theirs, the way they did for their parents. The world didn’t work that way anymore. He had to put himself first, for once.
There was no real discussion of what was going to happen afterwards but around four months into his first year, Jimin found himself locked out of his bank accounts.
He rang his father who told him that he’d had no choice but to change the details and that it was down to Jimin to change his degree and come to his senses. But when he heard Jimin begin to cry on the other end of the phone, his dad admitted that this was his mother’s doing.
His dad told Jimin that he would send him money from a secret bank account every month without his mother knowing as he didn’t want Jimin to suffer. His father made it very clear that he didn’t agree with Jimin choosing dance over something more sensible but he also knew that they probably couldn’t say anything that would change how Jimin feels.
Jimin had accepted the monthly payments his father sent him for three months until it started to feel wrong. Even though he knew it would make everything in his life harder, he ended up sending the next payment back to his dad and texting him to tell him to stop sending money.
His father eventually agreed but reiterated that Jimin should contact him in an emergency of any sort.
But Jimin would not do that. Even now, with his house falling down and having to live in the den, he would make this choice over contacting his parents for emergency money.
Jimin knows it’s probably stupid and it’s a privileged perspective to have but it’s a matter of pride for him now. Accepting help from his dad felt like failing even in those initial three months. Because ultimately Jimin had made his choice and relying on anyone would only make it harder in the future.
So now Jimin works as an assistant dance teacher for a dance studio only ten minutes from university. And he gets to study what he loves each week and learn more about the theory of dance and the history and culture of it in Korea.
It’s difficult sometimes, especially when he can’t fit a long shift into his hectic university schedule and ends up getting paid less. But Jimin could never regret making this choice.
Taehyung and Jungkook come whizzing back into the room, Jungkook shoving at Taehyung, “You’re an idiot.”
“Uh oh, are we interrupting?” Jung Hoseok stands in the doorway, clearly having followed Jungkook and Taehyung into the house without them noticing. Yoongi is behind him, his smaller stature hidden by Hoseok’s lean figure.
Jimin feels a surge of relief seeing his two best friends in his new home, “Sorry, I forgot to mention to you both that I asked Hoseok-hyung and Yoongi-hyung to come over and help me settle in.”
Taehyung waves him off, “This is your house now, Jimin-ah. You don’t have to explain.”
Jungkook nods in agreement and they both set Jimin’s stuff down again, the amount of bags and boxes suddenly starting to accumulate as they make the trip downstairs three more times.
Taehyung returns before Jungkook nearly ten minutes later and he has Kim Seokjin with him. Jimin’s third and final new roommate.
Seokjin is willowy and incredibly beautiful, he cuts a graceful figure across the football pitch during matches in his role as midfielder.
“Hi, Jimin-ah. How do you like your new room?” Seokjin asks kindly and Jimin is instantly reminded of Yoongi and that Seokjin is a year older than Taehyung and Jungkook.
“It’s really nice! I can see it looking really cosy once I’m done unpacking.” Jimin says, idly picking up one of his many plushies and stroking it to occupy his hands.
“I’m sure your room will be the complete opposite of Jungkook’s.” Taehyung chuckles.
Seokjin sees Jimin’s curious expression and explains, “Jungkook loves a dark aesthetic or at least a dark room. He has this galaxy light that he basically never turns off but he never has any main lights on.”
Jimin simply nods in understanding while Hoseok starts a different conversation with Seokjin and Taehyung.
“Are you doing okay?” Yoongi asks him, turning to look at Jimin
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“You know you can always come over to mine and Joonie’s place, if you need a break from,” Yoongi gestures to the loud discussion that Hoseok, Seokjin and Taehyung are now having about some Western tv show, “All of this.”
“I know, thanks hyung. I do miss living with you.” Jimin admits, not meeting Yoongi’s eye.
“I miss it too. I love Joonie and living with him is great but he’s nowhere near as tidy as you and he can’t cook. What a downgrade,” Yoongi says, jokingly.
Jimin smiles, so happy that Yoongi and Namjoon manage to make their relationship work despite all of the initial obstacles they’d had.
Jimin met Yoongi on his first day at university as he stood outside the huge building, nervously twiddling with his cute little rucksack.
As he stood there to collect his thoughts, some asshole rammed into Jimin and knocked him over without a second glance.
Jimin had laid on the hard concrete and willed himself not to cry over his dirty outfit and injured hands from the fall and then a figure blocked the sky from his view.
“Do you need a hand?”
Jimin simply nodded and let himself get pulled up by the mysterious stranger, who - once Jimin was standing once again - appeared to be around Jimin’s height, with intelligent eyes and a comforting aura.
“Thank you.” Jimin murmured, dusting his jeans off and bowing to the man.
“Don’t worry about it,” The stranger said, “I’m Yoongi, by the way.”
“Park Jimin, first year in dance!” Jimin excitedly introduced himself, straightening up and beaming at Yoongi.
Yoongi chuckled, “You’re very cute, Jimin-ah. People are gonna love you here.”
And to Jimin, who was friendless until the age of 15 and became friendly with his fellow dance students when he transferred to Busan School of Arts but never truly friends with anyone, the idea that anyone would love him for his personality or being cute was crazy.
But despite all of that and the ever lingering insecurities that Jimin carried with him, he’d had a feeling that day that he had just made a friend in Yoongi.
Not long after that, Jimin had been introduced to Jung Hoseok.
Hoseok is the yin to Jimin’s yang and he has brought out all of Jimin’s playfulness, confidence and charm while helping him talk through his difficult experiences as a child and how he was treated differently.
Jimin honestly believes that there isn’t an ounce of judgement within Hoseok and he doesn’t know where he would be without him cheering Jimin on all the time.
No matter how different and overwhelming it might get living in this house, Jimin knows that both Yoongi and Hoseok are only a text message away and he also won’t deny that being the youngest has its perks as he is constantly being taken out to dinner and treated by them both.
Jimin smiles as he leans back in his chair, feeling a lot more content now.
So, of course the universe has to play a joke on him. Again.
“I got your last box, Jimin!” Jungkook rushes in, grinning and looking extremely proud of himself despite the box in his hands being fairly small and light.
“Here,” Jungkook holds it out to Jimin but just before Jimin can take it, it slips out of Jungkook’s hands and falls to the ground.
Jimin, Jungkook, Taehyung, Seokjin, Hoseok and Yoongi watch in varying degrees of horror as the box pops open and Jimin’s bright pink dildo falls out among other things.
Jimin scrambles on the floor to pick it up and only then realises that holding the dildo possibly looks worse than it being on the floor.
“Damn, Jimin-ah.” Taehyung whistles, blatantly staring at the dildo from across the room.
Seokjin whacks him across the head, “We should leave you to… unpack.” He says, in a clear attempt to move on from the distracting object currently clutched in Jimin’s hands.
“Yes, good idea.” Hoseok agrees and he begins to usher everyone out to Jimin’s immense relief.
It’s only when Jimin catches Jungkook’s eye that he realises how shocked he looks, eyes darting between Jimin’s face and the dildo and then back again.
“Jungkook-” Seokjin yells from the stairs.
“I’m gonna- Should let you unpack. Yeah, I’m sure you want to be alone- To unpack, of course.” Jungkook says very quickly, nodding rapidly and hot footing it to the door.
He turns back in the doorway and leans against it, the muscles of his tattooed arm bulging, “Make yourself at home, Jimin-ah.” Jungkook says after a long pause and he glances once more at the now sweaty dildo in Jimin’s hand from how tightly he’s been gripping it.
Then Jungkook is gone and Jimin collapses onto his new, sparse bed with a sigh.
How is he going to survive here?