Chapter Text
“Where the fuck are your shoes?” Taehyung mouths at him.
“Lost them,” Jeongguk mouths back, but Taehyung is escorted onstage by the backup dancers. Jeongguk doesn’t miss the questioning look from him before he turns back towards the crowd, the announcer yelling, “Let’s give your warmest welcomes and your loudest cheers for Gucci D. Caprio!”
Jeongguk looks down at his stockinged feet, the carpeted floor soft beneath them. He wishes for a record scratch — yup, that’s me. You must be wondering why I’m in this situation moment; he must be a sight to look at, in full drag – a ginormous blonde wig and a tight jumpsuit – but no heels.
(Let’s humor him a little, he sort of deserves his moment.)
So, record scratch — yup, that’s me. You must be wondering why I’m in this situation.
A little over an hour ago, Jeongguk was backstage outlining in his eyebrows while Jimin’s voice booms across the dressing room, “Gucci darling, you look like Yayoi Kusama herself shat on your forehead.”
“Babe, I’ll have you know that circular eyebrows are actual art,” Taehyung shoots back. “Unfortunately for yourself, not even 13-inch heels can make up for your lack of height,” he continues, finishing off the end of one circular eyebrow delicately with a black eyeliner.
Jeongguk winces as he hears heels thudding across the room towards Taehyung. He already can guess what’s going to happen.
“And I’ll have you know that I, even with my lack of height, can raise my leg above your head while your skanky ass can’t even touch your toes,” Jimin half-whispers into Taehyung’s ear.
As expected, Jimin has a leg resting on Taehyung’s shoulder. “Now sit down and finish off your other god awful eyebrow baby, I don’t want to look at your face until you wipe them off today.” Jimin hoists his leg gracefully off Taehyung and shoots him a smug grin.
“But babe, you said you’d love me even when my dick gets old and wrinkly,” Taehyung pouts.
Jimin scowls. “Don’t give me none of your circular eyebrows then talk to me about being in love.”
Taehyung rolls his eyes, and presses a kiss to Jimin’s lips.
Jeongguk realizes that it’s the right time to pop on his fluffy blonde wig and proclaim loudly, “She’s a WOMAN”, before sashaying off to find his drag costume.
“Oh Pandora sweetie, you could’ve just told us we were going too far!” Jimin grins, tapping his brush on the edge of a very dirty eyeshadow palette.
Jeongguk pokes his head out of the outfit cabinet. “Hyung,” he pouts, “You’re never too much for me, please.”
“Also, Hoseokie hyung is coming to watch today, so I’ll go say hi after my set by the way! Pandora, you’ll be alone for a while during Gucci’s set,” Jimin calls out.
Jeongguk hums in response as best as he can, while gracefully hobbling on one foot to get the jumpsuit to fit over his hip pads. He’s not very proud of his current state.
When Jeongguk’s done, he’s spinning around in his favourite pair of heels, his beloved custom Christian Louboutin ones, all while complaining about how his jazz classes don’t offer pirouette classes in heels.
“Can you believe I had to turn in socks? Do you know how inefficient that is? A real safety hazard, that one is. But I can’t pull out of the classes because I spent good money on them,” he whines, landing three pirouettes.
Jimin scoffs at him, while Taehyung struggles to get his wig cap on. “And I can’t believe you signed up for a jazz class thinking they’ll let you do pirouettes in socks. I hope the floorwork’s treating you well, though.”
“Mm, we’ve got a nice and healthy relationship, and it’s going great. The bruising is also mutually agreed upon, of course.” Jeongguk doesn’t even want to think about the amount of concealer he has on his knees and shins under his stockings to cover up the bruises and floor burns.
/
Jimin’s helping Taehyung get his wig on when Jeongguk’s phone buzzes on the table.
Jin Hyungie [7:46pm]
can’t make it for today’s show, sorry :(
i just realised i have a reading for tomorrow’s test and it’s 40% of my module grade
me [7:47pm]
it’s okay hyung :(
i’ll text you when i have a new gig coming upppp
make it up to me then :D
Jin Hyungie [7:47pm]
lamb skewers?
me [7:47pm]
you bet :DDDDD
Jin Hyungie [7:47pm]
are those two performing today as well?
send my regards and kisses!!
“Why the fuck is your head so big, is it to make up for your lack of brain?” he hears Jimin teasing. He’s clearly still struggling to get the wig onto Taehyung’s head.
Taehyung snatches the short wig from Jimin, scowling. “You’re no help, I’ll do it myself,” he says, easily tugging the wig on his own head.
“Why did you even ask me for help if you could do it yourself, dumb bitch,” Jimin says, rolling his eyes while stroking Taehyung’s wig affectionately.
“You love this dumb bitch, you dumb bitch.”
Jeongguk sighs and turns back to his phone.
me [7:48pm]
yup will do
they’re at it again tho
i can’t stand them but i love them
Jeongguk shoots a glance at his hyungs, who are currently ensuing in a cheek-pinching fight. Typical, he thinks, and turns on his you betta werk playlist, sighing again.
☾
Yoongi walks into the bar, Namjoon and Hoseok further up in front. The first thing he notices about the bar is that it’s loud. It’s the sort of loud that engulfs you in a warm hug, and the glittery kind, because wow, this place does look like the aftermath of a glitter bomb fight. Not that he was speaking from experience, of course.
Yoongi’s been to a bar before, just not a gay bar, nor one that has weekly drag shows. Unsurprisingly enough, he doesn’t feel too out of place here, because of how much gay this place screams. There’s a sign that reads ‘LIPSYNC THURSDAYS: feat. Ivory Créme, Gucci D. Caprio and Pandora’, sprinkled with an obnoxious amount of glitter on the right of the stage, and a long bar table on the left of it, thankfully glitter-free.
Yoongi seats himself right at to the very crowded bar table where Namjoon and Hoseok are at; though the standing crowd blocks off about half his view of the stage.
“Why did you get us such shitty seating,” he hisses to Hoseok over Miley Cyrus’ very loud “wreeeckingggg baaaalll” resonating in the bar.
“Trust me, hyung, you don’t want to be caught in the crowd when the show starts,” Hoseok explains, twirling his phone around in his hand.
“Yea, I can vouch for that, even though my knowledge is limited to keeping up with RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants,” Namjoon adds.
Yoongi shrugs, “I trust you both, and Namjoon, you probably know more about Aquaria than you should know.”
“She’s so talented, and she’s the same age – wait no, she’s younger—”
“Shut up Joon, they’re starting,” Hoseok chides, hitting Namjoon on the shoulder.
The lights dim as the familiar ‘Cover Girl’ starts playing, and Yoongi instantly finds Namjoon’s gaze, rocking out to the song while seated.
“Y’all look like idiots,” Hoseok scoffs at them, but he’s bopping to the music too.
“Welcome to La Merde, where you’re la merde, I’m la merde and everyone’s la merde! Today for our lip sync Thursdays we have our stunning Ivory Créme—”
Cheers erupt from the crowd, and Hoseok elbows him excitedly. “That’s Jiminie!”
“— the ever-gorgeous Gucci D. Caprio, and our iconic diva, Pandora!”
“Apparently Pandora’s a pretty big deal internationally,” Namjoon supplies.
Yoongi watches as Ivory Créme struts down to the centre of the stage in a sparkly cream gown and very, very high heels. What catches him off guard is the puff of glitter in front of her face and watching the glitter particles rain down on her shoulders, making her look even more ethereal.
The crowd goes wild at that. “That’s my Jiminie!!” Hoseok yells over the crowd to Namjoon and Yoongi, eyes blazing with pride.
Yoongi just nods at him, turning back to the stage immediately as Ivory Créme starts speaking.
“Hello my beautiful, beautiful babies, it’s been a while since I’ve done a Lip Sync Thursday right here at La Merde, so let’s get started with a little slow roasting tonight, to amp up the heat in here,” she starts.
The crowd cheers.
She bends down to one of the audience members, placing a gloved hand under their jaw. “Oh sweetie,” she grins at them, “if I had a face like yours I’d sue my parents!”
She fake gasps and the audience roars in delight. “Just a couple starters for tonight! Now, who’s next?”
“She’s already starting out so vicious,” Namjoon whispers to Yoongi, eyes wide in surprise.
Yoongi laughs. “I’m loving this already.” The Library Challenge was always his favourite, and watching it happen in real life? Better than ever.
/
The second Ivory Créme finishes her set (consisting of very intense lip syncs and a few nicely-executed roasts), Hoseok shifts out of his seat, fanning himself.
“Jiminie really knows how to work the stage, I’m so proud of him.” Hoseok’s beaming with pride, and Yoongi knows, because it’s exactly how he feels about both Hoseok and Namjoon all the time.
“I’m gonna try catching him before he goes backstage, Joon you said you had questions to ask him?”
Namjoon pauses, confused. “What questions?”
“Your thesis, you idiot,” Yoongi supplies helpfully.
“Right! Right, should I just go now? Or something?” Namjoon continues, hopping off the stool.
“You’re asking me? Just go, Joon.” Yoongi gives him a little push in the direction of the stage. “I’ll just stay and watch the next queen perform, but you two better text me when you’re coming back.”
“Will do, hyung! Tell us how Pandora is like,” Hoseok winks at him, steering Namjoon off backstage.
Yoongi just waves at them and turns back to the stage, phone already out to search up who Pandora is.
☀
“Hyung, what if I mess up my turns? Or forget my lip sync lines?” Jeongguk has an arm on Taehyung, eyes full of sudden panic, his voice laced with worry.
“Guk, stop it. Both of us know that the stage is your element,” Taehyung starts gently, looking at him through the five layers of lashes and mascara weighing down his eyes. “Remember your first ever set? You slipped on your skirt and you fell into a split and saved it all.”
“But I—”
“Then you proceeded to tear off the skirt and lip synced the shit out of Christina Aguilera,” Taehyung pauses, licking his lips. He ends up eating a bit of glitter.
“Whatever you do out on that stage, you know it, and you own it. Jiminie and I didn’t raise our little drag baby to worry so much.”
“And if you fall off the stage, the crowd’s got you. Just crowdsurf or something.” Jeongguk grins at that. The worry in his stomach doesn’t lessen, though.
“Thanks hyungie, I really, really don’t wanna fuck up my turns, especially in these shoes,” He glances down at his heels and wiggles around in them.
Taehyung engulfs him in a hug. He’s hit with a mouthful of synthetic hair in his face. “You just have to trust yourself, baby. You’ve performed every week at La Merde for the past year, what’s holding you back?”
His voice drops to a whisper. “Also because I paid for half of your jazz lessons brat, go and get your bread then pay me back.”
Jeongguk giggles. “Sure, hyung.”
He doesn’t resist sneaking in this, though. “I still can’t believe you’re lip syncing to All By Myself. Disgraceful song choice.”
He earns a slap to his ass and a ruffle through his wig.
“Seriously, hyung! But if anyone could work that song, it’s Gucci D. Prince, of course.” Jeongguk shoots Taehyung a grin before the backstage managers drag him out backstage.
“Pandora, set starts in two!”
Jeongguk takes a deep breath in.
/
The stage to Jeongguk is no foreign place, he’s stepped on one since he was four years old, and never looked back since.
But somehow, it never gets old for him. The stage to him is a breath of fresh air, some colour in a monotonous world, and he loves it.
Jeongguk knows how he’s going to start. It’s always “Who’s a WOMAN?”, and he knows he can count on the crowd to yell back “Pandora” at him. He doesn’t know why he’s panicking, but he always does, before every single show.
He’s holding onto his blue mic for dear life, manicure digging into his own palm. “WHO’S A WOMAN TODAY?”
Jeongguk lets himself break into a smile as the crowd screams back his name to him.
It’s showtime.
/
Jeongguk has three pirouette sets in his routine today. Why three, when he hasn’t put them in any of his previous ones before?
Because Jeongguk is stupid and likes a challenge. And he doesn’t lose to a challenge, especially when it’s from himself.
So far, he’s doing well. The last two sets went pretty smoothly, and the audience LOVED them.
Chandelier by Sia comes on and he’s ready for it. Maddie Ziegler who? Jeongguk knows he’s coming for her ass already.
The last fouettes are at the climax of the song, or when Sia is hitting thirty different high notes at once and still sounds amazing. Jeongguk’s prepared for this.
What he’s not prepared for, is feeling his right shoe slip out at the end of the fouette set (just as Sia belts out another “I’mmm gonna swing from the chandelier”) and disappear from his fucking sight because god knows where it could have gone and fuck, he’s so disoriented from spotting at the damn stage lights.
Jeongguk switches to autopilot and kicks off his other shoe to continue the choreography barefoot. Are you fucking stupid? He’s screaming at himself, while prepping for a jump.
Yes, I am really fucking stupid, he tells himself, feeling the cool stage floor against his stockinged feet.
Miraculously, Jeongguk ends the lip sync in one piece, and makes a round collecting tips from the audience and has the sass to smack an overly-excited audience member’s roaming hands and tell them, “Don’t touch what you can’t afford”.
The walk of shame backstage is awfully hard. He briefly remembers Jimin telling him, “No drag daughter of mine will be seen on stage without a pair of heels,” and groans, clutching at his head with his cash-laden arms.
And of all the heels he could have lost onstage, it’s his only pair of sponsored shoes from the Christian Louboutin, and they were custom.
This is humiliating, and Jeongguk knows Jimin is going to kill him.
(And that’s how Jeongguk ended up in a full wig, a sparkly jumpsuit, and bare feet.)
☾
Yoongi watches Pandora glide weightlessly across the stage, delicately waving at the audience. If Ivory was about sunshine and rainbows and being flashy, then Pandora— Pandora’s different.
Pandora is magic, he thinks.
Yoongi is enthralled.
Pandora had this fairy-goddess quality to her, wow, Yoongi, you really don’t know how to put anything into words these days, and she’s goddamn floating, what the hell.
Speed googling told him that Pandora was only 21 years old, and walked Hong Kong Fashion week last year, and featured in a mini Asia tour with other queens last summer. In short, Pandora was a pretty fucking huge deal, and she’s younger than Yoongi.
What catches Yoongi off guard is Pandora yelling “WHO’S A WOMAN TODAY” into the mic, and the crowd yelling “PANDORA” back at her.
He joins in with the “Pandora” chanting, feeling a little stupid all the way at the side and cheering alone, but whatever, no one can actually see him, and the bartender has miraculously disappeared.
He watches as Pandora opens right away with a lip sync to the classic Call Me Mother by RuPaul, and Yoongi is fascinated at 1. the crowd chanting every single lyric of the song and 2. Pandora herself, for breaking out into an absolutely insane choreography to the song.
Pandora struts around the stage, making eye contact with the crowd, and for a second, Yoongi feels like she’s met his gaze too, from all the way at the back, but he isn’t quite sure.
He’s nodding along to Sweet Dreams, the second lip sync song, until his breath hitches as the lighting switches to a purple glow, illuminating Pandora’s jumpsuit, her highlight shimmering the light.
Fuck, Yoongi could take a thousand pictures of her right now, immortalizing this moment. He’s never seen such beauty in a human before, and Yoongi feels like he could switch to shooting people instead of objects, if he could watch this every single time.
Pandora’s hair swishes gently, a coy grin on her face as she glances at the audience. Hands full of cash swing at her, trying to get her to notice them, to take their tips as a sign of even acknowledging them, but she sweeps away from the crowd, and Yoongi knows that she knows what damn effect she has on the audience.
/
There were many things Yoongi came to the drag show prepared for. Getting read by a queen on stage? No big deal. He’s pretty sure the queen herself wouldn’t be prepared for him. He’s got ten seasons worth of Drag Race insults to whip out. Getting crushed in the crowd? Yoongi’s vicious, whoever comes at him can guarantee themselves a new one.
Yoongi’s here to fight. If he’s provoked, that is.
He just wants to enjoy his first live drag show. Was it hard? No.
He’s not prepared for the shoe that lands on the bar table mere inches away from his arm with a loud thunk — and he yelps, leaping up from the chair.
Yoongi looks up to discover a couple of audience members in the back staring at him, to his horror. It doesn’t last long as (with his restricted view) he sees Pandora jete in the air, legs in a split, and the crowd goes wild at that.
She’s not human, Yoongi thinks. Something catches the light, and he suddenly remembers there’s a gigantic stiletto on the table right in front of him.
Gingerly, he picks the shoe up and the glossy red sole gives it away that it’s a Christian Louboutin. Call Yoongi an absolute hoe for branded shoes but he does knows his way around them.
While turning the shoe around in his palm, watching as the studded diamonds twinkle gently back at him, inspiration hits him, almost as hard as the shoe did.
Prof Choi wanted something more personal? It doesn’t get more personal than someone’s shoe.
☀
Jeongguk has his wig in one hand and no heels in the other as he paces around the dressing room. He’s trying to tell himself that he’ll get his shoes back, and to quote Luna Lovegood, that they’ll “come back to him in the end”.
He inhales. Luna Lovegood will not betray him. He exhales. Luna Lovegood will not betray her own housemate.
Jimin walks in as Jeongguk falls into a wheelie chair, sending him twirling around the room.
“Gukkie! Is Tae up now?” Jimin chirps brightly.
Jeongguk just groans into the chair.
“Hyung, I lost my fucking Chris Louboutins,” he manages to get out, slumped against the chair.
“You what now?” Jimin seats himself down on another wheelie chair, rolling towards him.
There’s a pause, and Taehyung’s All by Myself rings through the dressing room, making both of them laugh.
“I told him that was a bad song choice,” Jimin says.
“He smacked my ass for being disrespectful when I told him that.” Jeongguk replies.
“Taetae will find a way to make it work, bet,” Jimin smiles. “So, how the hell did you manage to lose your fucking Chris Louboutins because those cost about half of my tuition fees.”
Jeongguk shifts in the chair. He sighs, “You know the pirouettes? My shoe fell off during the last set.”
“So… shoe. As in singular,” Jimin observes, narrowing his eyes. “And you have no shoes with you right now.”
“Guess what, hyung,” Jeongguk lifts his head and looks at Jimin. “I kicked the other one off right away, and it’s god knows where right now.”
“Both of your shoes are god knows where right now, Guk.”
“You’re not helping, hyung,” Jeongguk grumbles miserably into the fabric of the chair.
Jimin sighs. “I’ll ask security to go check before anyone in the audience pounces on them.”
Jeongguk just nods from the chair. He spots his own dismayed expression in the mirror and lets out a guttural groan. Send help pls, he thinks.
☾
Yoongi’s just done zipping his bag haphazardly, ignoring the weird bumps along the ridge of his bag, when Namjoon and Hoseok return to the bar table looking significantly more excited than they were.
“She was so helpful,” Namjoon says, an arm slung around Hoseok’s shoulders. “She ended up answering almost all of my questions when I asked my first one.”
Yoongi looks up, and shoots them a grin. “Pandora was great, you guys should’ve stayed to watch.”
“Yeah?” Hoseok smirks.
Yoongi rolls his eyes, biting back a flustered retort. He turns to his phone, panicking internally as he tries not to look like he’d committed a huge crime. Technically, it was stealing, he realises, because that shoe costs more than his phone.
Yoongi doesn’t want to think about that.
me [8:52pm]
hyung
jin hyuuuung
the love of my life [8:54pm]
what
me [8:54pm]
im at a drag show with joon and seok
the love of my life [8:54pm]
o cool
wait
who’s performing? i may know them
me [8:54pm]
i didn’t know u knew people from the local drag scene??
me [8:55pm]
it’s three queens
ivory creme pandora and gucci d. caprio
the love of my life [8:55pm]
excuse me
i don’t get my reputation as korea’s most eligible gay bachelor for nothing
the love of my life [8:55pm]
omg i know pandora she’s great
me [8:56pm]
you weren’t saying that when we were dating
me [8:56pm]
to quote you, you said something like
“you’re the only one who ever loved me”
the love of my life [8:56pm]
I WAS DRUNK U DIPSHIT
me [8:56pm]
anyway
the love of my life [8:56pm]
hold on
i sense a storytime coming
me [8:57pm]
how tf did u know??
the love of my life [8:57pm]
you only say ‘anyway’ ominously when you want to start an overdramatic storytime
me [8:57pm]
WHEN and WHAT IS THIS SLANDER
the love of my life [8:58pm]
i have receipts from the time you got clowned by joon for falling off your chair
at 3am because apparently
the wellbeing of your butt was more important
me [8:58pm]
LIES
anyway
i kind of just got hit in the face by a 4 inch heel
the love of my life [8:58pm]
say what now
me [8:58pm]
i think it’s pandora’s??
idk what happened but she was lip syncing to chandelier
and then a shoe was flying into my face
the love of my life [8:59pm]
im gonna say you deserved it but yes continue
me [8:59pm]
fuck you hyung
the love of my life [8:59pm]
go on
me [9:00pm]
so i recover from that horrific trauma and pick up the shoe
you know what brand it is
the love of my life [9:00pm]
no
me [9:00pm]
its fucking CHRIS LOUBOUTIN
the love of my life [9:00pm]
didn’t she just land an endorsement with them?
me [9:01pm]
ok but the important point is
i think i finally decided what to shoot for the exhibition coming up
the love of my life [9:01pm]
that has zero correlation to you getting hit in the face by a shoe
me [9:01pm]
im not done yet
me [9:02pm]
what if i just decided to shoot the sole of peoples’ shoes??
like that tells enough of a story
and prof choi can shut up about me not being personal enough with shoots
the love of my life [9:02pm]
so you’re gonna start with the chris louboutin
the love of my life [9:03pm]
i can’t believe it took you a shoe in your face to get inspiration for the shoot
and all my selcas i sent you for ‘help’ didn’t??
top ten anime betrayals
me [9:03pm]
you were just asking for fashion advice
because you basically have no fashion sense
the love of my life [9:03pm]
you still dated me for 3 months
UR LOSS
me [9:03pm]
i knew storytiming you was a bad idea
the love of my life [9:03pm]
it never is
you know that
the love of my life [9:04pm]
hold on did you just
keep a 4 inch heel in your bag
me [9:04pm]
you could say i tried
the love of my life [9:04pm]
i bet you look dumb
me [9:04pm]
you know what hyung, i probably felt dumbest i’ve ever felt
i’ve hit a new low
the love of my life [9:04pm]
i don’t know why we’re friends
the love of my life [9:09pm]
im gonna grab myself some post-dinner ramen, keep me updated about ur shoot tho!
me [9:10pm]
yep i’ll defo tell you about it
wait when did your contact name change to the love of my life
hyung why
you’re the worst
Professor Choi can kiss his ass. Yoongi already knows he’s got this.
☀
Jeongguk is shoving his makeup into his makeup pouch when he sees the security stick his head through the doorway.
“Pandora, we got your shoe here!”
Jeongguk’s heart leaps and he looks up, and sees one familiar red-soled heel dangling from the security’s hand.
Just one?
His heart sinks.
“Where’s the other one?” Jimin demands, taking the shoe from him.
“It won’t turn up, we’ve been scouring the place for ages now,” he explains. “Sorry Pandora, we’ll call you if we find it.”
The security looks apologetic enough and Jeongguk doesn’t have the heart to yell at him.
“Thank you, please contact me if you do find it,” Jeongguk manages to get out.
The security nods and leaves.
Jeongguk feels an arm around his waist, and he turns around to see Taehyung holding the shoe out to him.
“At least you’ve taken the promo pictures, don’t look so down,” he says.
Jeongguk freezes.
“No way, you didn’t?” Jimin is sitting on his bag to get it zipped. “Please tell me you did.”
Jeongguk buries his head in his hands, and lets out a groan for the second time that night.
☀
To say that Jeongguk harbors a hatred for minimalist art is an understatement. Frank Stella can kiss his ass, he thinks. He’s been working at this goddamn analysis of Frank Stella’s work for two months and he still doesn’t understand what the point of minimalism is.
He feels a slap on his hand when he reaches out to grab his drink. “That’s mine, dummy,” Taehyung says, still highlighting his notes furiously without looking up.
Jeongguk steals Taehyung’s drink anyway.
“Jiminie!” Someone is waving at their table from a distance. The figure approaches them quickly and greets Jimin with a hug.
“Hoseokie hyung! Don’t you have rehearsal now?”
“Nah, it starts in an hour,” Hoseok takes a seat at their bench. “Namjoon says thanks by the way, you were super helpful for his thesis last thursday.”
“It’s not much, and it’s rare to see some sort of coverage on drag from a more intellectual perspective! I loved his questions,” Jimin smiles and turns towards Taehyung and Jeongguk.
“This is Jeongguk, my Busan baby bro and Taehyung, my boyfriend!” he introduces. “Taehyung is Gucci D. Caprio, by the way.”
Hoseok’s face lights up. “No way, you were amazing when I saw you! I absolutely loved the All by Myself lip sync, it was insane.”
“Good to meet you, sweetie.” Taehyung shoots him a wink. “Nice to know someone who actually appreciates my lip sync song choices, unlike some.”
He shoots a glare towards Jimin and Jeongguk.
Hoseok laughs. “Namjoon was thinking about getting lunch with you to ask you some more questions for his thesis by the way! I’ll send you his number.”
“Should we all just meet up for lunch?” Jimin suggests.
“So four of us, and Namjoon hyung, that’s five,” he continues. “If uh, Yoongi-ssi would like to join too…?”
“That sounds like a good idea, actually,” Taehyung pipes up from behind three textbooks propped up in front of his face. “I’d love to meet Namjoon-ssi! I bet he wouldn’t want to miss out meeting another drag queen either.”
There’s suddenly a weight in Jeongguk’s stomach when he thinks about having to meet up with Namjoon as himself, and not Pandora. It’s almost like he’s Hannah Montana, but way less cool, because Hannah Montana doesn’t have to struggle with minimalism art.
“Sure, I’m down,” Jeongguk adds.
Hoseok’s phone buzzes and his face pales when he reads the notification. “Fuck, apparently rehearsal started an hour ago, I have to run,” he says. “I’ll catch you guys around, nice meeting you both!”
Jimin smiles and waves back at him.
When Hoseok’s gone, Jeongguk clears his throat. “Hyung, speaking about drag, I’m thinking of taking a short break from gigs.”
Jimin and Taehyung are both staring at him.
“What?” they both say in unison, expressions mirroring each other’s in shock.
“I’ve been struggling a bit with uni work,” he starts. “It’s just the weekly shows at La Merde, though, maybe for about a month or so? If I’m booked for anything big I’ll have to go.”
Taehyung’s expression softens. “I definitely understand, bub. Uni comes first, right?”
Jeongguk nods. “I’m going to need the extra time on Thursdays to catch up on my readings.”
“You’re gonna announce this on Instagram, right?” Jimin asks.
“Yeah, I’ll have to,” Jeongguk sighs. “You guys are a lot calmer than I’d expected, honestly.”
“Of course we’re worried!” Jimin shrieks. He crosses his arms, pouting. “But you do you, I guess.”
Taehyung pulls them both into a hug, knocking over his textbook fort.
Jeongguk sighs and rests his head on Taehyung’s shoulder.
/
me [3:27pm]
hyung
i think im gonna go on a drag hiatus?
Jeongguk unlocks the door to his dormitory and throwing his phone down, collapses into his bed immediately.
He feels his elbow hit something hard, and glancing over, he sees that it’s his design sketchbook. A wave of nostalgia washes over him, and unable to help himself, he opens up the book.
His phone buzzes and he puts down the book, glad for a distraction.
Jin Hyungie [3:30pm]
what??
why omg
m [3:30pm]
i’m really falling back on uni work, hyung
minimalism has been kicking me in the ass real hard lately
Jin Hyungie [3:31pm]
:(
it’s okay
have you been holding up fine?
me [3:31pm]
yep
it’s just this semester, so it’ll just be a month
Jeongguk’s eyes fall onto the sequin gown design he’d sketched out for another performance and a pang of sadness hits him for a second.
me [3:32pm]
i already had a design prepared for next week’s show
:(
Jin Hyungie [3:32pm]
guk, you need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself
you haven’t taken a break from drag in a year
and you come first
me [3:32pm]
i just
it feels so bad to everyone who watches me, you know?
im supposed to be an entertainer and im letting everyone down
Jin Hyungie [3:33pm]
look at you, one of korea’s top rising drag queens
if anything, you deserve this break
fuck anyone who thinks otherwise
Jin Hyungie [3:34pm]
guk, do you trust me?
me [3:34pm]
yeah
Jin Hyungie [3:34pm]
i trust you, and you gotta trust yourself
trust that you’re making the right decision
me [3:34pm]
yeah
me [3:35pm]
and i can’t afford to fall back on uni either
Jin Hyungie [3:35pm]
you know you can just tell everyone your reason as it is, right?
the reason you’re taking a break
me [3:36pm]
hyung, i’m not going to reveal myself as pandora
you know that
it’s like breaking down the 4th wall or something
and it doesn’t sit right with me
Jin Hyungie [3:36pm]
i know…
it must be exhausting to keep hiding jungkook when you’re pandora
and pandora when you’re jungkook
me [3:36pm]
it’s not that bad though
really
Jeongguk knows it is. He sighs.
me [3:38pm]
be there for my first show when im back?
Jin Hyungie [3:38pm]
you don’t even have to ask
front row, cheering you on there already
Jin Hyungie [3:38pm]
i believe in you, Pandora!
Jeongguk rolls onto his side, and tears are prickling the sides of his eyes. What would he do without Jin hyung?
me [3:39pm]
thanks hyung
i love you
in Hyungie [3:40pm]
i love you too
☾
Yoongi is struggling. He tells himself this as a plastic panel falls on his head for the fifth time. He’s not an architect, by any means, he’s a photography major, for fuck’s sake.
And being a photography major did not entail him to constructing a full set in his dorm.
(To be fair, Yoongi brought this upon himself.)
Yoongi tells himself he knows what he’s doing, because he kind of has to. Half of his dorm is pushed to one corner to make space for a hanging platform to suffice as a set for his project.
Or, just two chains threaded along his bookshelves because Yoongi can’t deal with it right now.
His phone rings and jolts him out of his thoughts.
“Hyung?” It’s Namjoon. “Are you free on Thursday?”
Yoongi thinks for a second. “Yea, I have a TA session in the morning but I’m free in the afternoon.”
A loud crash interrupts him. It’s strangely familiar to Yoongi’s ears.
Yoongi bites back a groan as he watches the last two chains fall apart miserably.
“Hyung? You okay?”
“Yea, the set I was building for the exhibition just broke. Again.”
Namjoon sighs. “You know you could just ask Jin hyung for help, right? He was an architecture major for a reason.”
“Nah, I’ve got this,” Yoongi says, staring at the battered plastic panel.
“Anyway, Seok was thinking about lunch on Thursday with the drag queens we watched last week,” Namjoon says after a beat.
Yoongi’s breath hitches. Lunch with Pandora? He couldn’t imagine that happening.
“It’s just Ivory Creme and Gucci D. Prince, apparently Pandora couldn’t make it,” he adds.
“Oh,” Yoongi replies. He can’t help but feel a little disappointed. “Yeah, it’ll be cool to meet them out of a drag setting.”
“Okay, I’ll text you the details!”
Yoongi hums in response, already pulling out the metal chains and attempting to salvage the mess in his room. Professor Choi would faint at the mention of a home studio, and Yoongi’s loving it.
☀
To say Jeongguk is late is an understatement. It’s been 15 minutes since the start of his new module lecture and Jeongguk is, so to speak, lost.
Jeongguk is wandering around aimlessly like the protagonist of an adventure novel, albeit with a lot less bravado, because where the fuck was Lecture Hall 4-1?
It’s 9.25am when Jeongguk sees ‘Art History’ on a passing door and he grasps the handle and twists it open and—
He stumbles like a newborn giraffe into a lecture room full of people looking back at him.
There’s a long, pregnant pause, and then there’s a voice that cuts through his confusion.
“Hello, good to see you, Mr Jeon! Please take a seat.”
The professor is smiling widely at him.
Jeongguk knows the evil behind that smile.
There are a few poorly-disguised sniggers he hears as he slides into the nearest empty seat, which takes him a far walk across the lecture hall.
There’s a tap on his shoulder as he’s setting up his laptop.
“Professor Choi made the TA open the door as you were coming in,” Yugyeom whispers to him.
He what?
“He thought it was a nice prank to pull on a first lecture,” he adds.
“Okay but what the fuck.”
Jeongguk gets a few annoyed stares in response, and a chuckle from Yugyeom.
“I have the full thing on video anyway, it was pretty funny.” Yugyeom already has his phone out.
Jeongguk looks at the professor with newfound betrayal. Or to quote his brother, “Top Ten Anime Betrayals”.
He turns over to the TA, busy distributing handouts to the first row, and gives him an equally enraged glare.
“Yoongi, don’t forget to hand these out too,” Professor Choi tells the TA.
Yoongi? As in Min Yoongi from photography?
Jeongguk loved Min Yoongi’s work. Which may have turned into a little phase of online stalking. And slight obsession. And moments of “Hyung I love his work sososo much hyung I could die right now just looking at his stuff”.
Ask Jimin and Taehyung, they would know.
He looks at his laptop screen in humiliation.
His phone buzzes with a text from Jimin.
Jiminie Hyung [9:30am]
u down for lunch later
with namjoon and hoseok
me [9:30am]
mm yep
Jiminie Hyung [9:30am]
oh and
a certain person whose name rhymes with Yin Moongi
Jeongguk cradles his head in betrayal.
me [9:30am]
ok no i have a reading to do
Jiminie Hyung [9:31am]
jeon jeongguk don’t lie to yourself
its MIN YOONGI if you didn’t get the hint
me [9:32am]
uh
min yoongi just took part in a scheme to get me murdered
Jiminie Hyung [9:32am]
unfortunately i can tell he failed
me [9:32am]
shut up
Jiminie Hyung [9:32am]
he’s left you traumatized and ever so slightly flustered
am i right?
me [9:32am]
hyung pls dont make me go
please :(
Jiminie Hyung [9:33am]
but namjoonie hyung and hoseokie hyung think you’re gonna be there :(
also yoongi watched our set last thursday anyway
me [9:33am]
alright i’ll come
WAIT
HE WHAT
hyung you don’t understand i have to water my fish
i can’t let them die of malnutrition
Jiminie Hyung [9:33am]
sushi place near block c
12pm, dont be late
The day was really just getting better and better.