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sometimes yoongi feels like there's an ocean between him and everyone else.
it's like he's stranded on a deserted island, watching the rest of the world across the sea move on while he stands still. the weather on the island is warm, but yoongi has never felt so cold.
other times he feels like he's standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at a grassy hillside where his old friends reside. all he has to do is jump down and join them.
today, he feels like he's slowly floating away in a hot air balloon as he takes a seat across from a grinning boy. the boy has chubby cheeks, pouty lips, and yoongi can tell he's boyfriend material just by looking at him.
park jimin, the young yet rich heir to his father's company in seoul, is the first tinder date yoongi has scored since he got the app two weeks ago. his older brother convinced him to sign up, insisting he meet new people, maybe find a boyfriend. and while yoongi is perfectly comfortable with his only friend being his cat, hae, he agreed.
but going on a date with someone who doesn't know ksl brings on another challenge: hiring an interpreter. yoongi spent hours scouring online ads before he finds one jung hoseok, a man a year his junior with ten years of experience due to his deaf elder sister. he doesn't ask for much money, around 35,000 won per hour, which isn't too bad for a date that will last a few hours.
the date isn't as awkward as yoongi assumed it would be. he and jimin go back and forth asking questions about each other and cracking jokes, with hoseok translating for them. he occasionally speaks to jimin or yoongi one on one, but for the most part sticks to interpreting and quietly eating his meal.
jimin is surprisingly down to earth for someone with so much wealth, and he's very understanding of yoongi's deafness. the date is going well until jimin slides out a wad of cash and makes a proposal for yoongi to be his sugar baby, paying him in exchange for sex.
a thoroughly amused hoseok interprets yoongi's polite decline, and they quickly book it out of the expensive restaurant ten minutes later.
'do you think he would pay me to interpret if you guys did the dirty?' hoseok signs to him on their cab ride home, a shit-eating grin on his face.
yoongi flicks him off.
hoseok laughs, unperturbed by yoongi's sour mood. 'hey, it's only 9:30, do you wanna go to a club or something?' his rapid signing is difficult to understand at times, but yoongi gets the general idea.
he's in the perfect mindset to get shitfaced, so he gives hoseok a resigned nod.
they end up in a new place that's just opened across the street from hoseok's apartment. hoseok describes to yoongi the crappy techno music playing over the speakers. it's one of the few times yoongi is grateful that he can't hear anything.
as it turns out, hoseok's a fantastic dancer. yoongi watches his interpreter move to whatever's playing, sipping at a cheap martini at the bar. he keeps trying to drag yoongi out onto the dance floor, but he insists he's not drunk enough yet.
so hoseok buys him some stronger drinks until yoongi finally gives in. he grabs yoongi by the waist and shows him how to sway his hips. his interpreter has a bright smile on his angular face as they dance together, his arms slung over yoongi's shoulders to keep him close. yoongi keeps his eyes locked on hoseok's movements to keep tempo, not wanting to admit to himself that he's having fun.
yoongi wakes up the next morning on his couch with hoseok's jacket thrown over his frame, the weight of hae's body curled up on his feet, and memories of his interpreter's brown eyes staring intently into his own.
.
his second date is a week later, with a younger man by the name of jeon jungkook. he's built, with a handsome face and a cute bunny toothed smile—not to mention he's not overflowing with cash, which isn't something yoongi ever thought would be considered a good thing.
yoongi shows his profile to hoseok on their way to the bistro. he seems to approve of jungkook, giving yoongi a nod with a 'not bad' expression on his face.
when they get there, jungkook is sitting beside a boy with long bangs almost covering his eyes. they're giggling together nervously, and as yoongi and hoseok approach them, albeit with much caution, they both stand up to greet them.
the other boy's name is kim taehyung, who turns out to be jungkook's boyfriend. he's also fluent in ksl. 'me and jungkookie are looking for a third,' he signs shyly, fixing yoongi with a boxy smile. 'and maybe a fourth,' he adds with a suggestive glance at hoseok.
they high-tail it out of there before the waiter even asks what they'll have to drink.
'aish, why is everyone only interested in sex things?' yoongi signs to hoseok once they're safely away from the couple, waiting to watch some new romantic comedy in the theater. he's thoroughly dejected after just two failed dates. he feels like he's still on that island, waiting to be saved.
'beats me,' hoseok signs back, shrugging his shoulders. 'though we are pretty irresistible, huh?' he elbows yoongi in the side with that stupid wide grin until he starts to smile again.
yoongi pays more attention to hoseok than the subtitles on screen. it's a typical cheesy romance story, anyways, one about a girl going on failed blind dates until she meets the one.
their fingers meet every so often when they reach for popcorn, and yoongi's heart totally does not flutter each time it happens.
.
'i don't really see the point of trying anymore,' yoongi signs to hoseok, wishing he could whine about it aloud.
they're at a karaoke bar tonight, where yoongi's failed date had taken place minutes prior. the location was the first red flag, because hello, yoongi's deaf, but he decided to take the chance, because kim seokjin's profile pictures were absolutely stunning.
and he made sure to boast to yoongi about this at least half a dozen times. hoseok even stopped correctly translating seokjin's words, making fun of him instead. yoongi had to disguise his laughter as coughs more times than he could count.
eventually seokjin caught on to their little game and left in a huff, complaining about how no one took his beauty seriously (at least those are the words hoseok puts into his mouth).
but now that the humorous moment has passed, yoongi feels like he's not even on an island anymore. he's sinking in the water, unable to move as the salty sea consumes him. perhaps there isn't any hope in finding someone to love him.
'was he planning on trying to woo you with his karaoke skills?' hoseok asks, lifting an eyebrow as he glances around. it looks like jin owns the place. there are pictures of him in various poses along the walls, and all of the songs available to sing are duets or girl group bops.
'beats me,' yoongi shrugs, grimacing as he watches a group of drunk girls start singing along to an snsd song, the words on the tv screen flitting by. they're probably butchering it.
hoseok, on the other hand, starts shaking his shoulders, bobbing his head to the music. 'c'mon, just dance a bit!' he signs with an encouraging smile. 'it'll make you feel better, hyung!'
yoongi sighs before putting on a too-wide smile and doing some of the ridiculous dance moves hoseok's doing, making both of them laugh. they're receiving some weird looks from the other young people around them, but for once yoongi puts his anxiety aside and focuses on hoseok's laugh and how much he wants to hear it.
.
'can you even bowl, hyung?' hoseok signs through a fit of giggles.
yoongi flushes. 'not really,' he signs in embarrassment, smacking hoseok as he throws his head back, probably cackling. 'but it'll be fun, so shut up, brat!'
and it kind of is. yoongi rolls the ball from between his legs for a few rounds before namjoon shows him how to properly throw it.
kim namjoon is not yoongi's typical type at all. he's tall and masculine, all hard edges. but he's a softie at heart, and very clumsy. he slips on the sleek alley floor several times, sending yoongi and hoseok reeling.
yoongi was drawn to him because of their shared interest in rap. namjoon isn't afraid to ask how long he's been deaf, since yoongi obviously had to be able to hear the music to truly enjoy it the way he does. yoongi tells him that he's been deaf since he got in a severe car accident at 17 and ruptured his eardrums.
it's the first time he's recounted the story to hoseok, who translates for namjoon with a surprised expression.
namjoon lets hoseok bowl with them too, and the three of them have a conversation about music, since it turns out that hoseok is into rap as well.
the date goes perfectly. yoongi comes in third overall, with hoseok taking the lead, and namjoon wraps yoongi in a warm embrace as they all stand outside the alley together.
'we should do this again sometime,' hoseok signs to yoongi for namjoon. his interpreter has an oddly tight smile on his face.
yoongi smiles at that, but he can't ignore the tugging of his stomach as he studies hoseok's expression. 'i'd love to,' he signs in return. hoseok turns with a small sigh, ready to relay the words to namjoon, but at the last second yoongi grabs him by the shoulder. 'but, as friends?'
of course, hoseok can't hear the question mark in yoongi's words, but his face lights up despite himself. he repeats yoongi's statement to namjoon, trying his best to look apologetic.
namjoon nods, not seeming too bothered by it. he says something to hoseok that makes his cheeks turn pink, claps him on the shoulder, and turns away with a wave.
'what did he say?' yoongi signs, curious.
hoseok swallows, his cheeks flushing more. 'that he didn't want to get in the way of us getting together.'
yoongi grins at his interpreter—his friend's—shyness. 'i'm glad he and i are on the same page,' he signs, taking his phone from his pocket.
he deletes his tinder account before pulling a surprised hoseok in by his collar to give him a long-awaited kiss. he feels like a search party has finally come to bring him back to shore.