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The screen is filled with green—above, branches flutter in the wind, giving the illusion of spring permeating the air. Sunlight filters through the gaps of the leaves, casting golden beams against Namjoon’s skin as he shakily retrieves his phone from his back pocket. He tries to ignore the way Jungkook’s camera is staring intently right at him, and focuses on his heart beating against his chest.
It doesn’t take long for the chime of an unanswered call to break, and there’s relief and fear exploding inside him all at once. His breath hitches when he hears Yoongi’s voice raspily cut through the speakers. “Hello?”
A smile spreads itself onto his lips, and he inhales deeply and releases the tension from his body. “Hey, hyung. You got a minute?”
It shifts then, the story moving to another boy, another stranger taking up the challenge Jungkook’s given them. This boy is younger, hair pink and aura so alluring that Jungkook had trouble deciding if he was nervous at all. But something flickers in Jimin’s eyes the moment the phone begins to ring, and he grips the device so tightly Jungkook’s afraid it might break.
But like Namjoon, a smile breaks out on Jimin’s face as soon as Taehyung’s voice floods his little bubble, and Jungkook grins, sharing Jimin’s nervous excitement, too.
“Hello? Is this—Is this Kim Taehyung?”
“Uh, yes, this is him.”
“Oh, cool. It’s Jimin. From Earth Science? I don’t know if you have my number saved.”
There’s a small rustle, a skip of a beat. Taehyung’s embarrassment sifts through the speaker. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t. I’ll save it right now, though!”
Something falls from Jimin’s face. Still, he maintains a brave smile, looking at Jungkook for assurance. He gets an encouraging nod back.
“Oh, thanks. Actually, I was—I was just wondering if you, maybe, have some time to talk? Like, right now?”
Namjoon’s on the screen again, but his lips aren’t moving—Yoongi’s voice instead wafts through the air, blending with the chirping of the birds overhead. “Uh, yeah. Is something wrong, Joon-ah?”
He laughs, shoulders shaking as he begins to pace a little, begins to stare up at the sun that’s shining so brightly against the azure sky. He blinks up at it, feels it warm his skin. “Ah, nothing’s really wrong. I just—I wanted to tell you something. If you don’t mind listening to me for a bit.”
“You know I never mind listening to you.”
Another laugh. His grip tightens against his phone. “Right. I, um. I encountered a circumstance that’s honestly kind of strange—I’ll explain later—but…I think it’s given me the push to finally say this, you know? And I know I’m kind of rambling right now, but I’m so nervous I feel like my heart’s going to explode or something, like. I just—”
He pauses and looks at Jungkook. The younger smiles, zooms his camera a little more. Captures the way Namjoon’s eyes glisten with tears as though he had everything to lose—and he probably does.
“Gosh, I’m usually more eloquent that this, but you’re my best friend, hyung, so saying things like this really scares me. I’m scared I’ll lose you, but. This is a risk I’ll take because I really love you, hyung. I—I don’t really know when it started but some time ago I started loving you in a totally homo way, and I’ve been so afraid to say it because you honestly mean a lot to me, and losing you would suck but.” Namjoon pauses then, inhales deeply then, and glances at Jungkook who’s crying a little, too. “I talked to a stranger today, and I decided that if I’m this scared of telling you I love you, that means I love you a whole f—ing lot, and you deserve to know that? So this is me, telling you I love you, that I’ve been in love with you, and I would very much like to be gay together with you. Pun intended.”
There’s a pause, and then, “Oh, uh. I love you too.”
This time Namjoon bursts out into guffaws, body shaking with relief and bewilderment at the same time, and then Yoongi’s laughing too, his voice crackling through the speaker yet somehow matching up perfectly with Namjoon’s song. Jungkook smiles from behind his camera, watching as Namjoon really begins to cry.
“Awesome,” Namjoon finally says, looking at Jungkook now; there’s something fluttering in their chests, tingling all the way to their fingertips. He grins wider. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you at home?”
“Sure. Do you—do you wanna grab dinner too later, then?”
“Only if we’re getting Thai.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. See you later, Joon-ah.”
The phone call ends. Namjoon blinks up into the sun. It all feels too surreal.
“Oh! Yeah, I’m free right now,” Taehyung says, and Jimin’s pulled back into the conversation after a moment of blanking out.
He coughs once into his fist, stares widely at Jungkook, who just zooms a little more onto Jimin’s expression. “Oh, cool. Well, ah, this might be awkward—actually, it’s really awkward—but I, uh.” He pauses, pulls the phone away from his face, face contorting as he produces a silent scream. His teeth meets his lips, and then he’s taking two breaths, three breaths. “I just—I was wondering—Do you, maybe, wanna go out on a date? With me? I mean! If you don’t want to, that’s okay too, it’s just. You’re the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen, and you’re really fun to talk to in section, and I thought we could go out? Sometime?”
It’s obvious how fast Jimin’s heart is beating; it’s so, so loud, bouncing against the trunk of the tree nearby. He squeezes his eyes shut and prepares for rejection—with shortness of breath, he finds himself spiralling into panic.
But then, Taehyung’s speaking, words a little jumbled through his racing thoughts, but Jimin manages to pick out like and you and Jungkook’s ecstatic expression. A blush blooms on his cheeks, breath coming out in fast rhythm, and he gulps, trying to find the confidence he lost.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?”
“Oh. I said I’d love to go on a date with you. I, uh, I like you too, Jimin.”
Jimin’s mouth drops at that, and he looks over at Jungkook in shock. “You do?”
“Yeah. I was going to finally confess tomorrow after section, but you beat me to it.”
“You were?”
Taehyung laughs—to Jimin, it’s the prettiest sound he’s heard. “Yep. But it’s okay. I still won a date either way.”
Jimin smiles now, eyes curling into crescents. “Yeah, I guess you did.”
“So I’ll see you tomorrow? We can grab coffee after class.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”
“Nice. See you tomorrow, Jiminnie.”
A giggle. “See you tomorrow, Taehyung-ah.”
The call ends, and Jimin jumps into the air, falls onto his knees, and screams into the palm of his hand. Jungkook yells with him and claps in congratulations. “You did it, dude.”
“Oh my gosh, I actually did it? What the f—k, what the f—k, what the—”
The third and fourth person come in a pair; their eyes both widen at the challenge Jungkook gives, both hesitant to receive. But then Hoseok grins and accepts it, pulls his phone immediately from his pocket, and turns to look at Jungkook to receive his okay.
“I just call him, right?” he asks, and Jungkook nods, shifting his camera to focus mainly on Hoseok. Seokjin’s still in the frame, though, his shoulder peaking to Hoseok’s left, fluffy cardigan the only sign of his presence. There’s a slight look of something flashing past Seokjin’s expression. Jungkook wonders what it could be.
They wait for Hoseok to find the number; it’s as though he’s taking his time, a heart-shaped smile spouting awkward jokes attempting to dissolve the nervous tension in the air. Jungkook’s own fingers are quaking and he doesn’t know why. He fixes the camera onto a tripod, and waits for Hoseok’s call to go through.
It happens almost instantaneously: the moment Hoseok turns on his speaker, Seokjin’s phone bursts into song. The elder of the two looks sheepish at the interruption, moving away to excuse himself momentarily—but then stops when he glances down at the screen, eyes growing until they’re saucers on his face. He turns to look at Hoseok, who’s grinning excitedly back.
“Aren’t you gonna answer that?” he asks, and Seokjin just stares, looks down at the screen, and smacks Hoseok on the shoulder.
“Yah! What is this?”
Hoseok laughs louder. “Just answer the call, hyung.”
So he does. Seokjin taps the answer button and brings the device to his ear. His eyes are blown wide, alarm and confusion and excitement rippling all at once.
Hoseok speaks without waiting, his smile never once faltering from his face. He turns off his speaker and brings his phone to his own ear and stares straight at Seokjin. But Jungkook sees there’s fear engulfing Hoseok’s entire being, and he wants to reach out and hold his hand in support. It’s one thing to call your crush, but it’s another to do it face to face.
“I was told to call my crush, so I did, and that just happens to be you, hyung,” Hoseok explains quickly without missing a beat—like ripping off a bandaid, except the wound is still fresh underneath. “And I know you’ve told me you like someone else, and I’ve told you I like someone else, too, but the truth is I also really like you. And I figured that if you like your person that much, and I like you this much, you deserve to know my feelings because I bet your person would love to know about your feelings, too.
“So here I am, hyung, telling you that I really, really like you because as immature and awkward as you are, you’re such an amazing human being that I couldn’t help but end up liking you.”
Seokjin says nothing for a while; Jungkook holds his breath, bites his lip, and counts to ten. His eyes dart between the two friends in front of him, both their phones still pressed against their ears, and with each passing moment, Hoseok seems to dim a little more. Still, Jungkook finds him brave—to be smiling so brightly at his crush, who likes someone else, who’s breaking his heart with his silence and almost blank face.
But then Seokjin blinks as his ears turns red, and he squeaks, “But I like you too?”
There’s a moment of shock that shoots through all three people present; Hoseok’s staring at Seokjin in alarm, taken back by the unexpected turn of events. He shifts his phone from his right ear to his left despite not needing it at all. Still it anchors him to the moment, makes him hyper aware of the way Jungkook’s camera captures both their expressions and the barest hint of a laugh.
“You do?”
Seokjin nods. “Yeah, I do. I mean, I like—I like other person too, but, yeah. I really like you too.”
“Oh. Oh. Well, that’s great,” Hoseok says, and this time he’s full on grinning. Jungkook zooms into his face a little, and captures the way he’s glimmers under the sun. How they’re both gleaming under the sun. “Because I actually like other person too.”
There’s surprise on Seokjin’s face as he finally hangs up the call, and Hoseok follows suit. “You do?”
“Yeah,” the other admits. “I didn’t want to say anything because you liked him, but I really like him too.”
Something flickers onto Jungkook’s face as an idea pops into his head—he turns the camera towards Seokjin again, catching him off guard. “Since I was going to ask you to do the challenge too, why don’t you give it a shot?”
“Give it a shot?” Seokjin asks, hesitant. “As in, call other guy too?”
“Yeah,” Jungkook encourages. “It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?”
Seokjin glances at Hoseok, who nods back. He licks his lips, and then mumbles okay, unlocking his phone and scrolling through his contacts in search of Crush Number Two.
Hoseok’s holding his free hand as Seokjin turns on the speaker, bringing it close to his mouth as he waits for his crush to pick up. It takes a second or two, but then Jungkook feels it: his phone, vibrating in his back pocket, the buzz, buzz, buzz too constant to be a mistake. He looks at Seokjin and Hoseok through the camera; they’re staring back at him, knuckles white and eyes hopeful yet terrified.
He takes his phone out of his pocket, glancing at the number—it’s the senior from last semester, the one who tutored him in economics. He’d almost forgotten about Seokjin between the stress of the new semester and his YouTube schedule, but now that Seokjin’s standing here right in front of him and his phone violently vibrating in his hand, it all comes rushing back.
But he doesn’t pick up, declines the call immediately. He watches as Hoseok and Seokjin’s face deflate, as they put on their it’s okay, we understand face because they know not everyone is willing to give love to two people at the same time.
Which is probably why they don’t see it coming; they don’t foresee the way Jungkook’s mouth drop in an Oh my god , don’t foresee the utter awe in his posture. Jungkook slowly points at himself, gaze dashing between the two men in front of him. “I’m other person?”
“Yeah.” Hoseok’s the one to admit it, fingers trembling a little less. “We hope you don’t mind.”
“Oh, no. I’m just—I’m just shocked,” Jungkook confesses, and then he laughs. He laughs so loud and brightly that Seokjin and Hoseok can’t help but join him, too. “Oh, wow. When I thought about this challenge, I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”
“We honestly didn’t expect to run into you, either,” Seokjin finally adds, voice a little small. He should be a little braver as he’s the oldest, but there’s something intimidating about coming across the guy you admired secretly for six months. Even more so when you’re next to the guy you’ve adored for a year. “Maybe it’s fate?”
“Maybe,” Jungkook agrees, voice tinkling with delight. “So, is this the part we all schedule a date?”
Hoseok grins. “Sounds about right.”
“Awesome. I’m free right after this, actually. We can do it now?”
Seokjin looks at Hoseok, looks at the dimple in his cheek and feels a surge of warmth. Then he looks at Jungkook, who’s already moving to pack his stuff, camera still rolling but no one really remembers it’s even there. He nods, moves forward in a moment of courage and plants a kiss on Jungkook’s cheek—away from the frame, where no one is watching.
“Sounds perfect. I’ll turn off the camera now.”