Chapter Text
There's something about the sound of light rain hitting the pavement that Jimin hated. Droplets of water pool on the leaves of every tree, dripping off ever so slowly, like a slow and painful teardrop.
He hates how suitable it is. He hates how the sky mourns with him rather than allowing the sun to hug him with its glow.
In all his pessimism, he spots a collection of apartment buildings not far from him, and lets the built-up tension in his muscles melt away.
Soon. Soon. Soon. He reassures himself, ignoring the pitter patter of rain that taunts him. He hums a tune that will drown it all out and continues his journey.
Just as the song he's humming comes to an end, he finds himself at his destination. He lets his umbrella fall as he walks into an apartment complex, passing the front desk as he presses the button to the elevator. He crosses his fingers that once the doors part, there will be no one inside, but is not surprised when he is mistaken. He pushes past two middle-aged men and into a corner of the elevator. He waits till both of them are gone before pushing the button for the 14th floor.
Unlike the outside, the halls of the apartment are silent. There is no rain to drown him in sorrow, no cars to rush him, and no voices to make him want to hide. For a moment, he feels at peace, even as he knocks on the door.
"Jimin?"
He's at a loss of words, he finds he didn't plan this out as much as he would have thought. He stands there for an abnormally long time, trying to figure out exactly what he wants to say.
"Miran..." Is all that comes out.
"Are you okay?"
"I've really been wanting to see you." Tears well up in his eyes as he finally breaks, sobbing into his hands. He didn't want her to see him cry.
She pauses. "What happened?"
He doesn't reply, too lost in his sobbing to be able to do much else. He wishes her hand would reach out for him, rub his back or just pat his shoulder, anything really. Instead, she watches him with crossed arms.
"Maybe you should see someone?" She purposes.
He wipes his eyes, and for the second time since he'd been there, looks up at her. "That's why I came to see you."
"I don't mean me." She sighs. "Jimin, I'm sorry but I need to go to class in a few minutes."
"I..." Jimin nibbles on his lip, a weight of guilt suddenly resting on his shoulders, along with everything else. "It's alright, I just wanted to see you is all. I'm sorry to bother you."
Miran nods, tightening the grip she has on her purse. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess? Oh! Before you go, I've been thinking about what to give your friend for his birthday. Hos...Hose...Whatever you know who I mean, do you think he likes phone charms?"
"You don't gotta worry about that." He says. "You don't have to go."
"Oh but I wanted to! I was so excited to meet your friends! Especially Namjoon."
"You know Namjoon. He introduced me to you"
He recalls that moment perfectly, standing outside of campus alongside Namjoon and hearing Miran's voice calling out for him. Namjoon used to complain about her often, and how she constantly tried to flirt with him. It caused him to expect the worst from her, but was absolutely amazed by the kindness she showed him, and couldn't help but get lost in her warm smile.
He was hesitant at first, unsure of how it would look if he got with the girl that was known for crushing on Namjoon since freshmen year. Even Namjoon was wary, constantly reminding him of that fact, but Miran assured him that Namjoon was long forgotten to her and that Jimin had stolen her heart.
She stares at him with owlish eyes, her gaze shifting. "Well, yeah! But I just wanted to see how he was doing, you know? He doesn't answer my texts anymore."
He doesn't have the heart to be truthful with her. "He's busy, is all. I'll tell him to text you."
Her eyes light up, causing Jimin to smile. "Oh thank you so much, Jiminie!" She wraps her arms around him, pulling him into her embrace, it's the most affection she's showed him since he got there. "You're the best!"
The theater in their university had always been so obnoxiously red. Even in the pitch black with nothing but the poorly lit stage as a source of light, the red seats and hallway carpets never lost their boldness. Considering the fact Yoongi would live in the night if he could, the colorful walls and bright lights that surround he and Jimin as they maneuver their way through the relatively empty audience make him dizzy.
He'd only ever been in it once, dragged across the campus by none other than Taehyung and Hoseok themselves. Hoseok volunteered that year when they were in dire need of one more witch for their production of Macbeth. The man was a self-proclaimed terrible liar, Yoongi still can't understand how in the hell he thought it was a good idea. His effort was as hilarious as anyone would have predicted from a journalism major trying to masquerade as a theater major. Yoongi could tell midway through the production that he forgot nearly all of his lines and was adlibbing whatever he could, the only one able to go along with the unplanned improvisation being none other than Taehyung.
The fraction of students forced into the end semester theater shows were always easy to spot, stuttering over every word and being absolutely overshadowed by those like Taehyung. It was no shock to anyone when Taehyung was receiving main roles from the first week onward, the guy could dedicate himself to any character, no matter how ridiculous or foolish, as if his life depended on it.
The man in question calls out to them, interrupting Yoongi's inner thoughts. "Jimin! Yoongi! Hey!" Standing in the spotlight, his eyes are drawn to the dull green and unkempt outfit he is wearing, along with a matching beanie. "What are you guys doing here?"
Jimin shrugs. "Just here to watch."
On a closer inspection, Yoongi can also see what looks to be contacts in Taehyung's eyes, turning his dark brown irises into a striking emerald. He hesitates with his words. "Who are you?"
"Peter Pan." Taehyung says with a pleased smile.
Yoongi takes a second, longer look at his costume, raising a brow. Other than the abundance of green tones in his clothes, there is little to no resemblance. "Low funds again this year?"
"As always. We kinda just raided a thrift shop and decided to go with a highschool theme."
"Strange."
The corners of his lips hook into a smile, one of which Yoongi returns. He wouldn't have ever expected Taehyung to be as mad as Jimin, but he knew the whole argument Yoongi had caused pushed him in all the wrong ways. Yoongi could practically see the fumes exuding from his body that day, but there was nothing left of that rage. Noticing little to no strain between the both of them, Yoongi lets out a breath that could have nearly crushed his lungs.
"Taehyung..." Jimin says sweetly. "I have a request for you."
"Request?" The other man repeats.
"Everyone! Listen up!" Out walks an older man, and as Yoongi watches every single theater student obediently turn without hesitation, he quickly connects the fact that he's a professor of the theater department. Taehyung even bows deeply toward the man, and it takes every part of Yoongi to hold back a snort at the unusual act.
"Unfortunately, one of our key actresses for the next scenes has gone home sick. We won't be able to practice those three scenes." The older man states bluntly.
Taehyung's face pales, wide-eyed as his body slouches. "Excuse me professor, but aren't we on a tight schedule? Are you sure we should skip the practice for an entire three scenes?"
"Don't we have a backup?" Calls another voice Yoongi doesn't recognize.
"The cast is low this year, I'm afraid, we didn't have enough for any backups." He puts his face in his hand, looking down solemnly. "I believe we may have to cancel the production if things continue to run behind schedule."
"Professor, allow us to practice the scenes that do not have the Tiger Lilly character," Taehyung suggests, clearly desperate for a solution.
"But our Hook is gone as well! The next few scenes with Tiger Lilly were the only scenes without Hook that we've yet to practice!"
Yoongi's attention is abruptly shifted when Jimin nudges his side. "It might be a bad time." He whispers.
"You think?" Yoongi retorts sarcastically.
Jimin makes little reaction as he clasps onto Yoongi's forearm and makes his leave. As the voices in the theater begin to fade to obscurity, Yoongi silently prepares the chiding he will be giving his companion once they've left the premises. God, he just knew this was a bad idea. Jimin trying to hit on Taehyung's drama friends? Not a good time. Unless Jimin was looking to be slapped.
"Do you want the long hair wig or the bob?"
God help him.
He swore that only milliseconds ago he and Jimin had agreed to leave the theater students to their business. But who would he be to think Jimin would stick to a decision he made for once.
He wasn't even very convincing either, when he all of a sudden decided they should be in the play because it'd somehow increase the likeliness of one of Taehyung's actress friends warming up to him.
Yoongi had warned him that they'd only humiliate themselves for the entire theater department to observe, but Jimin is too lost searching the room for a potential target to warrant any second thought.
Yoongi gives in. "Fine. As long as I'm Captain Hook"
He can't even get that.
He might be able to live with the whole situation if it weren't for the shit eating grin on Taehyung's face as he holds the pair of wigs up to him; one flows down in a chestnut color, while the other is nothing more but a simple dark bob.
Yoongi grimaces, they're both ugly as sin. "They're both stupid and don't suit the character at all. Didn't she wear ponytails? And was native?"
"We're on a budget of $12.00, a half eaten pack of gum, and some lint."
The worst part about that was he probably wasn't exaggerating.
"Plus, the native thing was kinda racist anyway." He adds.
With a huff, he looks between the two of them and decides quickly. It's one big fat *obnoxiously red* maze he's stuck in, and unfortunately, there's no way of escaping it anymore.
He swipes the black bob and watches as Taehyung's smirk grows wider. "Ah~"
The daggers Yoongi glares back at him as he hums to himself cause the man's smile to lessen ever so slightly. It does little to help the cause.
"Now we just need the school uniform..." Taehyung mumbles to himself, turning his back to him as he shuffles through the coathangers. "Ah! Here we are---" The generic uniform is a deep green, and Taehyung wastes no time in putting the uniform against his form to estimate the fitting. "Should fit you...might be a little tight around the shoulders."
"Just give it to me so I can put it on." Yoongi orders tiredly, flinging his arm to the side so Taehyung can hand him the costume.
Taehyung turns once again, but this time he heads toward the door, opening it and locking it on Yoongi's side. "Let me know if you need any help."
Yoongi sends him a tight smile. "Will do."
In the end, he's barely able to get the school uniform on him, and the layers of fabric cause him to heat up immediately. This was gonna be a long night.
It was the wig he ultimately needs assistance with. He hisses as Taehyung carelessly tugs and tangles his dark hair, pushing it into the white bald cap.
Once satisfied, the man asks a single question, wig in hand. "You ready?"
"No."
---And the wig is on him.
Taehyung's taller form obscures the mirror, leaving his appearance out of view, but he can feel the wig shaping around his head and the short strands of hair grazing the back of his neck. The younger of the two reaches over to grab a comb as he adjusts and styles it.
He steps away for just a second, it's in this moment that Yoongi finally catches his reflection in the mirror.
*Well...*
He feels the tips of hair tickling his neck, and can't help but begin to scratch at his collar. In a strange way, it isn't too unsettling, but he can't help but feel uncomfortable as the fabric of his school uniform tugs and stretches in some places, and pools out and balloons in others.
Even more peculiar is the dark eyeshadow that traces the corner of his eyes and the shine of lipgloss on his lips, a product of Taehyung's relentless begging.
"Yoongi."
"Yes?"
"I have a question---"
"What's up?"
"Why does this all...suit you?"
Yoongi smacks his shoulder, light enough to be considered playful, but hard enough to cause Taehyung to flinch and hold his arm afterward.
"Don't worry---" Taehyung coos, his appearance drawing far too close to the Cheshire cat. "It's just one day."
After a few alterations and final touches, Yoongi is pretty much thrown out of the room by Taehyung, who still intends on properly rehearsing despite the fact Yoongi has only read through the script twice.
He can't decide whether or not it's fortunate when Jimin meets them backstage, quick to spot them in the crowd of wannabe actors and actresses. There's a devilish smile on his face that could beat Taehyung's smirk any day, and Yoongi groans at the sight alone.
He mutters rushed 'excuse me's and 'pardon me's as he passes through, slowly slithering his way over to them. The smile never leaves his face, and once he reaches the two, Jimin stands directly before Yoongi, shamelessly analyzing every part of him, from each thread of his sweater to each strand of hair on his black wig.
His lips lower into a tepid frown and a serious look crosses his face too suddenly. His hand reaches out, the movement slow and thoughtful. Yoongi's eyebrows knit together, taking a step back, but Jimin follows it stubbornly until the tips of his fingers graze the very edges of his new bobbed hair, letting the strands of fake hair flow through his fingers gently. It's a short moment that their eyes meet, and for just a second Yoongi lets his face relax.
And after all that, Jimin speaks. "It suits you."
"See!?" Taehyung cries.
Yoongi grumbles, forcing Jimin's hand away from his hair. "Enough."
"Taehyung!" Shouts the scratchy voice of the professor. "Come over here please."
The man in question nods before the two before rushing to the other side of the stage. Jimin neck turns to watch him, waiting until the young man's form is completely out of view.
"You remember the plan, right?" He whispers.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a plan."
Jimin stands at Yoongi's side, pointing to a slim woman, wearing an outfit similar to Yoongi's, but a lighter blue. Her hair is a silky dark color, held up by a white ribbon. She was a suitable Wendy. "Seulgi's over there, Taehyung seems to like her so it should be fine. Just remember to---"
"Don't worry, Jimin, I'll let her know just how 'boyfriend material' you are." His voice drips with sarcasm, recounting the exact words his friend had told him.
Jimin slouches. "If worse comes to worse I'll just tell her the situation. I'm sure she'll help us."
Yoongi found that hard to believe, was he the only one aware enough to realize how ridiculous this whole situation was? Jimin's hopefulness was both a blessing and a curse.
"Hey, Yoongi?"
"Yeah?" He shifts to meet his eyes, noticing the serious look has returned to his face, a slightly softer version.
"Thanks for doing all this, seriously."
Yoongi can't truly react before the buzz of Jimin's phone takes both of their attention. He observes the man as the bright white light of his phone lights up his face, but frowns when he notices the way his brows furrow.
"What's wrong?"
The dread only deepens.
After what feels like an eternity, Jimin gazes up, eyes wide. "Miran's here."