Chapter Text
“Dimples! I hate dimples!”
Jimin sits cross-legged on the couch, silently wondering what has turned his best friend into a raving lunatic this time. When he hears the word dimples from Taehyung he usually thinks of two people--Namjoon-hyung and Hoseok-hyung. But the last time Taehyung had mentioned his affections for the former was a year ago, after which Namjoon had started going out with that really handsome stud that everybody recognized, but Jimin didn’t really get the chance to meet. When your best friend and a good, very reasonable hyung that didn’t deserve all the shit he got had a fallout, Jimin had to take the side of his (very misguided) best friend, after all.
...Sike, he still talks to Namjoon in his free time, and he knows Taehyung does too. But that doesn’t mean he’s not on Taehyung’s side, you know.
Back to the story.
So hopefully it’s not Namjoon-hyung he’s talking about, and most definitely Taehyung is not talking about the three people before Namjoon, which leaves Jimin with Hoseok.
Things don’t really add up there however, because from what Jimin knows Hoseok is really fucking nice, if not just as loud and happy. If Taehyung had met Hoseok before he met Jimin, Jimin supposes they’d be the famous best friend duo on campus instead. Hurray(?) for twelve-year friendship privileges. “Dimples…” Jimin mutters, not sure whether he wants to continue the conversation or not (but who is he kidding? This is Taehyung. Since when has Jimin ever said no to anything about Taehyung--except the really dumb ones). He sighs. “What about dimples?” he calls, louder, and throws his phone to the side when Taehyung swivels around like a dog looking for its lost owner.
“Dimples are, Jimin, the bane of my existence,” he says with a face so calm it kind of unnerves Jimin. He climbs onto the couch on all fours and gets really close in Jimin’s space, which Jimin would prefer only his boyfriend doing. He used to be really soft for Taehyung and his whimsical passions, but these days his heart has cooled down after agreeing to room with the man (Taehyung’s not bad. He’s just. Well.), and also after meeting Yoongi. Too bad Taehyung doesn’t really care anymore. “They misguide you, lead you into thinking they’re harmless and worm their way into your heart until they shatter it into a million pieces, still sticking brightly onto that face like they’re angels when they’re just--they’re just--”
He must’ve run out of words to say. Jimin’s got to get his voice in before he starts up again. “Did Hoseok-hyung start dating someone?” Taehyung’s face distorts into angry sadness, so that’s a yes.
“No,” he spits out with hatred. Oh, okay Jimin wasn’t expecting that. He twirls his hand slowly in a patient circle.
“Then…” he prompts.
“He set me up on a blind date!”
Ah, ouch. That’s the worst level of obliviousness, Jimin supposes. Falling in love with another might hurt more, but it’s also a little more forgivable. You can’t help feelings, but you can help unknowingly insensitive actions. “I’m sorry, Taehyung,” Jimin offers. He can’t really offer anything else. I mean, stopping everything you’re doing to stare unblinkingly at a person is a pretty obvious sign of affection to some people, but not obvious at all to others. Hoseok especially, who had approached Jimin with concerns about Taehyung’s creepy look sometimes, probably was in the latter half of people. He can’t really blame Hoseok for not noticing.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Jimin tries, “I think Hoseok-hyung is a pretty good judge of character. You might end up liking the person you’ve been set up with.”
Taehyung clicks his tongue. “Please,” he splutters, “after he tried setting you up with his roommate?”
Jimin raises an eyebrow and lifts an arm, the loose sweater falling down to reveal his hand, a thin silver band wrapped around his fourth finger. “Yeah, Yoongi-hyung and I are doing really well,” he replies, to which Taehyung gives him a touche.
“Much better than I expected, honestly….” Taehyung mumbles. “But-but--but that doesn’t mean he can go around setting random people up!”
“You two have been friends for years.”
“What does he know about me anyway, huh?! Who--who does he think he is, trying to read my character and thinking some random guy would just meet my expectations?!” Taehyung is, very honestly, not going about complaining the right way. If he had kept his mouth shut Jimin would probably be a little more sympathetic to him. And, knowing Hoseok, who reads and adapts to situations as easily as breathing (and with a smile on his face to boot), Jimin can say with confidence that his hyung has a pretty accurate guess of Taehyung’s likes and dislikes.
“Taehyung, you like animals and shows and anime, and you like having people by your side, it doesn’t matter if they even talk or not because you can handle them either way. You get really passionate about things you like and hate, and first impressions matter a lot to you. And you really like dimples and fall in and out of love way too easily. I think Hoseok-hyung knows what he’s doing, especially since this is the first time he’s ever approached you with anything like this before.”
Taehyung’s face breaks, and this time Jimin’s calm demeanor does too. When Taehyung’s actually affected by something, he goes limp and quiet, and all the emotions show on his face. He quickly grabs his best friend and pulls him into his lap, hand going to stroke at his head soothingly. “You know, Taetae, if you really don’t want to you can just say no. And maybe tell hyung how you feel this time? You always keep your crushes hidden so no one knows what you’re thinking, and then you end up hurt all by yourself."
“It’s too late,” Taehyung mumbles after a while of petting. He really was just like a puppy sometimes. “He was so excited, and--” he sniffs, looking up with a desperate expression, “--the dimples, Jimin-ah, the dimples! I couldn’t say no.”
Filter it, Jimin, filter it. Dimples → Hoseok. Taehyung couldn’t say no to Hoseok. Okay, that sounds better. “How about you go and nicely reject the guy, then? I think he deserves at least that.” Slowly, Taehyung nods, and Jimin smiles when he sees that his friend has calmed down. “Here, I’ll even help you practice saying it if you want. When’s the date?”
Taehyung glances at the digital clock on the wall, and Jimin immediately has a bad feeling. “Like in…” Jimin throws his head back in exasperation. “...half an hour? I guess?”
“Taehyung! What the hell, get out of here!” Jimin pushes him off of the couch and rushes to the drawers. After they’d repeatedly borrowed each other’s clothes once they moved in together, neither had bothered to separate anything but the underwears and the skinny jeans (their legs are pretty different shapes). Jimin had even caught Taehyung slipping on Yoongi’s hoodie that Jimin had stolen by accident. Since they haven’t done laundry in two and a half weeks--which, yeah, is gross, he knows--he hopes he can match together something presentable but also doesn’t smell like sweat or dirt.
After a bit of rummaging and Taehyung running to and fro, Jimin manages to hold up those infamous black jeans and that sleek button up that Taehyung had wasted way too much money on when he was splurge-spending his feelings. He wrinkles his nose, because it looks like a little too much effort for a date that wasn’t supposed to end well, but. Not his problem. “Wear these and leave!”
“Wha--these are my clubbing jeans!”
“And over there is our laundry pile, and over there is the clock, which says you’re probably going to be late no matter where you’re going. Get out, dumbo, and then you can come back and we can watch sad movies together on Netflix or something.”
Taehyung’s expression morphs into gratitude. “Can we watch Disney?” Damn it.
“Fine.” Taehyung whoops. Jimin watches as his friend flings himself out the front door, hands still buttoning his shirt, and when the door closes it feels like a whirlwind has just been through the room. Jimin collapses onto the couch, sighing and stretching all parts of his body. Then, he sits up, a new determination in his eyes.
He was Yoongi’s roommate, and his and Taehyung’s mutual friend, but still…
The phone rings for ten or so seconds before it clicks, and Jimin puts on his sneakers as he speaks, the ones that are kind of old but worn for long distance and working out. “Hey, what?”
“Yeah, hyung, it’s Jimin. Where are you right now? I have something to say…”
--
Taehyung can see only one person glancing up in anticipation when he enters the cafe thirty-five minutes late (so sue him). The boy nearly does a double-take, which is pretty damn flattering, before he glances down at his attire, consisting of the casual college-student hoodie and shorts, and looks back up with wide-eyed nervousness. If Taehyung wasn’t so betrayed by love and placing his anger in all the wrong places, he would say this boy was cute. Instead, he walks with firm steps over to the boy and sits down before the other can stand to greet him.
“Uh, er, you’re Kim Taehyung-sunbaenim?” the stranger asks with hesitation.
“That I am.”
“Ah, okay.” The boy leans back, fingers jittery, and it must be the first time he’s done this. He’s a baby! Hoseok set him up with a relationship baby! Taehyung wants to cry. “I’m Jeon Jungkook. Hoseok-hyung said you would be able to--”
First things first. “Smile for me,” Taehyung commands, leaning forward and widening his eyes in focus. Jungkook double-takes again, and his eyes remain confused while his mouth curls into a very fake, very tense grin. Taehyung keeps leaning forward--he can almost smell the caffeine on the other’s tongue. The wrinkles around his mouth are few and in-between and, Taehyung doesn’t know if he’s disappointed or relieved, but, “You have no dimples.”
Jungkook, who has been leaning backward uncomfortably, shakes his head. “Um, I think I have like, one? Like, if I smile a certain way it shows--" he jumps when Taehyung slams a fist onto the table, eyes looking like he's just been insulted.
"That's not good enough!" Taehyung hisses.
"Okay okay okay, but I... heard I have nice eyes?” he tries. Taehyung blinks, lifting his head to get a better look. His breath automatically hitches because oh damn, Jungkook is right, his eyes are actually pretty nice this close up, they’re big and kind of shiny and Taehyung can see his face mirroring back at him. “You’re...you’re a little too close,” Jungkook whispers, and Taehyung clears his throat while the other man takes a shaky breath. He can see the people behind the counter reeling from what had just happened. Heck, one guy is even going as far as to hunch over with a hand clutching his chest as he hyperventilates and wow, is this how annoying Taehyung feels to other people?
Jungkook waves at his face, and Taehyung snaps back to attention. “Are you...okay?” He asks slowly, like he’s deciding whether he should mention the words high or drunk along with his question.
“I’m like this on a daily basis,” Taehyung says, crossing his arms, “and if you can’t handle me this way then it’s better that we end this before it even starts.”
“What? No! No no no no, I can totally, totally handle this, I mean...this is cool!” Jungkook stammers. His enthusiasm is kind of cute. Taehyung should drop the asshole attitude he has, if only for this one night. He smiles back at the other, a little less aggressive this time.
“I’m Taehyung,” he says again, to which Jungkook nods in confusion. “I really like TV shows and dogs are my favorite animal but I like all animals, and I can shove a whole cake slice in my mouth.” Jungkook nods again, slower this time. “Your turn.”
“My turn?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Oh.” Confusion is literally the only thing Taehyung has seen on this kid’s face tonight. Maybe he should give him some pointers after it ends so the next time isn’t as disastrous. Poor boy. “I guess this is how it goes, uh. I’m Jungkook? I’m a first year…” Lord, this boy was young, “I’m…” Jungkook starts gesturing wildly in an effort to find words, “...on the same dance team as Hoseok-hyung. I like TV shows and dogs too, and, uh… I guess I’m kind of failing math right now.”
Ah yes, math. It was one of the many banes of his existence. Although he was actually really good at it. Doesn’t mean he likes it if he passes the class with an A, after all. “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Taehyung offers, and Jungkook nods happily at him. Oh, this kind of smile was...this wasn’t so bad, actually. Taehyung kind of likes seeing it. Jungkook just needs a little more confidence, and he’ll have people flocking over in no time.
“I really hope so,” Jungkook says, bouncing in his seat. “So, um,” he places a hand over his phone, “maybe we could start by exchanging our numbers, and then--”
“Woah, woah,” Taehyung shakes his head. Jungkook freezes. “What if I don’t want to give you my number?”
Jungkook looks around, eyes swirling as if he hadn’t even considered the possibility. “You… don’t?” he repeats. “I guess… well, I guess I could go through a third-party, but that’s a little inconvenient--” Wow, he was persistent, Taehyung will give him that.
“You know, Jungkook, if you’d just smile a little more and stop ending everything in a question I think I’d like it a lot more,” Taehyung offers, a tired smile showing on his face. He might still be a little too infatuated for Hoseok to think of Jungkook in whatever way he wants, but the kid is making him warm fast with his innocence. He’s almost like the little brother Taehyung never had. “I think you’re pretty cute, you just need to be sure of yourself.” Jungkook stares at him in that same unblinking way that Taehyung does, like he’s trying to figure him out, and Taehyung struggles to continue his advice. “You know, it’s kind of like...uh,” he twists his fingers, “..studying, or something. Usually when you trust yourself more the answers end up making some kind of sense. You know?”
“Oh…” Jungkook begins to nod. “Ohhhh, I get it,” he says, letting out a laugh too loud and too enthusiastic to be real. “Um, thank you for the advice. I’ll take it to heart...probably.” He has sass. A hidden book, huh? Taehyung likes that. And then he blinks, because he really wasn’t expecting himself to think anything along those lines tonight. Has it even been ten minutes since he’d sat down?
“You’re a dangerous man, Jeon Jungkook,” Taehyung offers a wry smile. “I’ll admit I like that.”
“Well, I guess I...I don’t know, I practiced taekwondo when I was younger, what are you…” Jungkook drifts off and turns to the side with a lost look, staring out the window like the sky has turned green while they were talking. Taehyung raises a brow.
“Do you always do that?” Taehyung asks, and Jungkook turns back.
“Do what?”
“That office thing, where you break the fourth wall.”
“I have--I have no idea what you’re talking about right now.”
“You don’t know The Office?!” Taehyung shouts, insult clear on his face. Jungkook jumps in his seat.
“No, should I?!”
“You said you liked TV shows!”
“I don’t really--I’m more of a, I don’t know…” he trails off, not sure what to say, and Taehyung huffs.
“My god, Jungkook-ah, I really have to educate you.”
“Um, yeah, I really hope you do.”
“Wow, kinky.”
“What?!” Jungkook pushes himself back. He looks like he’s close to a mental breakdown, and Taehyung is a little pleased that the other looks so put off, because now he doesn’t have to put in the effort of giving a genuine refusal to a man who was, really, not so bad. Jungkook had been pretty polite this whole time, and Taehyung would like it more if Jungkook ended the date before he did. He’d rather feel disappointed than guilty, after all.
...Or like, relieved. He meant relieved. Taehyung doesn’t know why the word disappointed had popped up in his mind first. “You know what,” Jungkook brings him back into reality, “how about we just end it for today--”
“Yeah, I think that'd be for the best,” Taehyung smiles. He freezes as Jungkook digs into his backpack that had been slung over the back of his chair, and watches as Jungkook takes out a pen (and a Japanese pen, at that. Boy knows quality, does he?) and scribbles quickly onto it, before pushing the slip of paper over to Taehyung. “...What is this?” Taehyung asks quietly.
“This is my number. You didn’t want to give me yours, so you can take this and let me know whenever you’re free next--”
“Wait,” Taehyung calls, and Jungkook stops in the middle of his sentence. “You,” his voice gets softer, “you want to see me again?”
“Oh yeah, I really hope I see you again, I mean…”
“But I was being an asshole to you,” Taehyung says again. Jungkook’s eyes are blown wide, like he’d just realized.
“You weren’t an asshole to me,” he replies slowly, eyes narrowing.
“You don’t... think I’m weird?”
“I mean, yeah, you were not...what I was expecting, but, I think you’re cool. I mean, you have a sense of humor, and Hoseok-hyung said you were really reliable and nice, so I trust him.” Jungkook probably doesn’t know what effect his words have on Taehyung, who has grown up hearing comments directed at him that were not meant to hurt, but still stung all the same. “Honestly, I think I’d have fun talking to you again, um…” He trails off as Taehyung rises from his seat, and watches with a sort of curiosity as Taehyung slowly leans over the table, getting closer, closer, closer…
Jungkook’s lips are kind of chapped and taste like chapstick that he’d put on hours ago, typical of a college student. Taehyung pulls back, eyes fluttering open to the other’s frozen shock. Blinking rapidly, something in his stomach lurches as the panic settles in. Jungkook spazzes, flinging his hand across the cup of coffee in front of him, and it spills over the table and down his hoodie and lap. Some drops fall onto Taehyung, but he throws himself back in time to save most of his shirt and his shoes. “Shit, are you okay?” he asks, pulling napkin after napkin to press onto the other.
“%@$#&^@--” Jungkook splutters, a mess as he tries spontaneously to reply to Taehyung and to save his dignity from looking like he sweat through his clothes and peed his pants along the way.
When the mess is contained, Jungkook’s whole face has gone red and everyone in the cafe has at least spared them a sneaky glance or a glare. “W-w-wh-why did you--” he stutters, and Taehyung feels his own face flushing. Fuck, fuck, fuck, he totally read things wrong. And here he thought…
“Sorry, um, it was a little too much on the first date, huh?”
“Huh?” Jungkook near shrieks. His voice has gone up a few octaves as the evening has gone on, and he’s nearing a screech now. “Date?!”
“I-is this….not a date?”