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„Hey Hoseok“, Yoongi tapped his new flatmate on the shoulder. “I think I’ll leave, got to get up early.”
“Yeah, sure”, Hoseok smiled. “Don’t mind if I stay a little longer, right?” He swung his arms around. “Got some extra energy to dance off.”
Yoongi shook his head and smiled back. “No problem, man. Thanks for taking me.”
“No worries.” Hoseok was about to wave and turn away but whirled around again in a 360° twirl. “Wait, how are you getting home?”
“We walked here, didn’t we? I’m walking back.”
Hoseok’s eyes were wide as he shook his head. “You can’t, hyung. It’s dark outside, it’s the middle of the night.”
Yoongi just laughed. “It’s alright, I’ll be fine.”
Hoseok shook his head determinedly. “I’m not letting you. Wait!” He held up one finger. “Namjoon said he was going home soon. He can drive.” And with that, he was already slipping away and towards the bar where Namjoon sat on a stool and talked to a young man with frizzy brown hair.
Yoongi had been introduced to him earlier because Hoseok was friends with him and they had talked a little about their past as amateur rappers, dreaming of the big stage.
He now saw Namjoon nod and wave two fingers at him. Yoongi sighed and made his way over to the bar.
“Hey, hyung. It’s no problem, we’ll drive you.”, Namjoon said.
‘We’ turned out to be Namjoon and a young man Yoongi had noticed before. Not only was he incredibly handsome, with plush lips, broad shoulders and dark eyes, his laugh had also sounded from various corners of the club throughout the night where he talked to different people animatedly. But Yoongi hadn’t connected him to Namjoon who had seemed to prefer to shuffle along the bar talking to whoever approached him.
The other man stuck out his hand and smiled sweetly. “Hi, I’m Jin.”
Yoongi shook his hand which felt soft but had a strong grip. “Yoongi, nice to meet you. Thanks for taking me.”
Jin waved him off. “No problem, I was just waiting for Namjoon to say the word actually.” He looked up at said man, standing a few centimetres shorter. “Let’s go?”
Namjoon smiled and nodded.
Hoseok patted Yoongi’s shoulder. “Sorry, mate. Just don’t want to have to worry about you.”
“It’s alright, thanks. You get back home safely as well.” Yoongi was actually happy not to have to walk even though the fresh night air would probably be a nice change after the stuffy club. He waved a general goodbye to some people he’d talked to as he grabbed his jacket.
Namjoon’s car turned out to be a small but clean bronze Clio. Yoongi naturally chose the backseat and Jin slipped into the passenger seat. While their driver buckled up, Jin touched Namjoon’s thigh. “You alright to drive?”
Namjoon suddenly took Jin’s hand and held it against his lips to kiss his knuckles. It happened so fast Yoongi thought he might have imagined it. But what he certainly was not imagining was how Namjoon returned Jin’s hand to his lap and smiled at him. “I didn’t drink and I’m not tired”, he said quietly.
“That’s good”, Jin whispered, squeezed Namjoon’s thigh and let his hand settle there. “Because I did and I am.”
He leaned back and Namjoon’s eyes suddenly met Yoongi’s in the rear view mirror. Yoongi realised he was blushing and hoped it was dark enough for it not to be noticeable.
“So”, Namjoon sounded amused. “Where do you live?”
Jin was still asleep in the passenger seat when Yoongi got out and closed the door as softly as possible.
“Thanks again, Namjoon.”, he whisper-yelled through the open window.
Namjoon grinned toothily and waved him off. “Anytime. Good night, hyung. Keep in touch.”
Yoongi patted himself down in search of his keys as Namjoon slowly pushed off the curb. He couldn’t find them. “Shit”, Yoongi muttered to himself. “Shit, fuck, where the f-“ On his desk. Waiting for him to put them on his key chain. “Fuck.”
Yoongi groaned and whirled around. Namjoon wasn’t that far away yet. With a heavy sigh, Yoongi started running after the car. “Namjoon-ah!”, he yelled, not caring about rousing Jin. As if he needed the beauty sleep anyway. “Namjoon!”
The street was only dimly lit and Yoongi thought he was probably not even visible despite flailing his arms as wildly as possible. He was about to give up and resort to walking back to the club to get Hoseok’s keys when the backlights of the Clio lit up red.
Yoongi was panting when he approached the car which Namjoon had stepped out of. “What’s wrong, hyung? You being followed?”, he tried to sound light-hearted but the frown on his forehead gave him away. He was worried.
Yoongi held a hand up while he regained his breath. “Forgot my keys”, he finally got out.
“Oh”, Namjoon laughed in relief.
“Yeah”, Yoongi gasped. “I feel really bad for asking but-“, he took another deep breath before a flurry of words left his mouth. “I don’t want you to have to drive back or anything or annoy Hoseok so if you have a couch or something but I also don’t want to bother you two because obviously-“, his ramble was interrupted because he was still short of breath and Yoongi was glad for it. Who knew what stupid shit he would have said next.
Namjoon’s eyes were wide as he nodded frantically. “No no, calm down. It’s alright, you can crash at our place. It’s no problem.”
Yoongi sighed in relief. “Thank you, really. I still feel bad to intrude but-“
This time he was interrupted by Jin. “Joon-ah?” His voice was a little rough from sleep as Jin stepped out of the car and walked around it. “Everything good?” His squinting eyes were flitting from Namjoon to Yoongi and back, trying to assess the situation in the dark.
Namjoon walked towards him and threw an arm over his shoulders. “All good, hyung. Yoongi will crash at ours, he forgot his keys.”
“Oh”, Jin uttered softly and Yoongi was about to overthink the small sound when it turned into a yawn. Afterwards, Jin smiled widely. “Sure.”
“Thank you.”
“Damn, you sound winded. What did I miss?”, Jin asked curiously.
Yoongi related the story of his little sprint while he climbed in the backseat once more and Jin laughed heartily, all signs of tiredness gone.
Their shared apartment seemed similar to their car: small but clean. Yoongi still felt like he was invading their privacy (they hadn’t touched again in the car, not that he was watching out or anything) but the flat was so welcoming that he immediately felt more comfortable.
Papers were strewn about the couch table in the living room they led him to and a sweet smell was hanging in the air.
“I’m making ramen.”, Jin decided shortly after kicking off his shoes.
“Hyung, it’s one in the morning.”, Namjoon reminded him as he tried to gather the papers into a more orderly stack.
“Time isn’t real, you keep telling me that.”, Jin said and turned to the kitchen adjoining the living room. “My drunken hunger is very real though.”
He turned around, holding up a red and a green package. “Spicy or chicken flavour, Yoongi?”
“Would you like some ramen, too, hyung?”, Namjoon tried to intermediate.
“I actually do feel a little hungry.” Yoongi had forgotten to eat earlier while unpacking all his boxes. “Spicy, please.”
Jin suddenly looked surprised and pointed at Yoongi. “Do you hear that, Namjoon? Spicy!”
Namjoon managed the feat of both nodding at Jin and shaking his head to himself, offering no explanation to Yoongi as to why this was so spectacular.
“Namjoonie can’t eat spicy food. Finally someone to sweat with.”, Jin eventually explained.
Namjoon mumbled something under his breath that Yoongi couldn’t understand but he gathered the meaning from Jin throwing the green package at Namjoon’s head and him suddenly laughing. Jin turned to the stove to boil water. His neck and ears were a bit red but they might have been all along.
“Can you boil more water for tea, hyung?”, Namjoon asked and smiled at his flatmate’s (Yoongi wasn’t one to assume) curt nod.
Yoongi was sitting on the floor in front of the couch table, fishing his last noodles out of the bowl. Jin was sitting next to him and leaned back against the couch when he finished. His lips were even redder and glistened with oil and spit. “I’m so full”, he moaned.
Namjoon snickered from the couch where he’d been sipping his tea and watching them sweat it out. He reached down and rubbed a hand over Jin’s stomach just as quickly as he had stolen the hand kiss. “Your food baby’s growing healthily.”
Jin let his head fall back and he smiled up at Namjoon. “I have to tell you something.”, he whispered.
Yoongi quickly leaned over his noodles to not impose.
After a dramatic pause, Jin continued: “You’re the father, Namjoon-ah.” He immediately dissolved into hysteric giggles and Yoongi watched Namjoon try to remain stone-faced but fail horribly as a grin split his face.
Yoongi had seldom heard a worse joke but he couldn’t bring himself to hate it when these two were so delighted by it.
“I think that’s a sign for me to get you to bed.”, Namjoon said after Jin had calmed down and was slumping against the cushions. Yoongi himself felt rather sleepy by now.
“Go ahead, hyung.” Namjoon helped Jin stand up and tenderly pushed him to the hallway with a hand on the small of his back.
“Show Yoongi where everything is, yeah?” Yoongi heard Jin mumble and then a soft noise he didn’t want to think about.
Namjoon returned immediately after and beckoned Yoongi to follow him. “I’ll show you your bed and the bathroom.”
Yoongi gestured to the couch. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Oh, we have an extra bed in the office if that’s okay with you.”
“The office?” Yoongi stood up and gathered the bowls and chopsticks to put them in the sink. “How old are you two?”
Namjoon shuffled after him. “Hyung, leave it, I can do that.” He let the bowls fill with water and ushered Yoongi out of the kitchen. “23 and 25, why?”, he eventually answered when he led Yoongi through the flat.
“Why do you have an office? Aren’t you students?”
“Well yeah, but we only use one bedroom, so”, Namjoon opened a door next to the front door and switched on the lights inside. Yoongi could have sworn the tips of his ears were a bit red. “We transformed the spare room to an office because we kind of work well together anyway”, Namjoon continued.
He gestured inside and Yoongi followed him in. There was a single bed underneath the window and two desks on opposite walls of the room, both covered with a laptop, various books and folders. But what caught Yoongi’s attention first were the bookshelves covering the walls, almost up until right under the ceiling. There was even a small step ladder leaning against the wall in one corner to reach the highest shelves with.
“Wow”, Yoongi knew his mouth was standing open but he couldn’t help it. “This is amazing.”
Namjoon smiled proudly. “Thank you. Jin is an editor and I’m finishing my translation studies soon. It’s kind of a good set-up.”
“I can see that”, Yoongi mumbled quietly and meant all of it.
“I’ll get you towels and pyjamas.”, Namjoon said hurriedly. “Sorry for keeping you up so long.”
“Oh, I really enjoyed it”, Yoongi explained before Namjoon could mistake his tone. “Thanks again.”
When Yoongi awoke, he first thought he was in the library and panicked shortly. He only ever crashed there when he was about to bullshit a paper.
But when his eyes landed on an Epik High mug on one desk, he remembered he was in Namjoon and Jin’s apartment. He stretched and yawned until he heard a door opening in the hallway and shuffling footsteps. He grabbed a towel from the stack Namjoon had provided a few hours before, slipped out of the office and knocked on the bathroom door. It was unlocked and swung open. A new toothbrush lay on the side of the sink and someone had neatly written his name on the plastic.
Yoongi looked silly smiling at himself with a mouthful of foam in the mirror.
After he’d washed up, he tiptoed to the living room. He wasn’t sure why, despite their over-boarding hospitality he just still felt like an impostor in this household. Especially after Namjoon had shown him so clearly last night how seamlessly he and Jin fit together in various aspects of their life.
When he looked around the corner into the kitchen, he immediately drew his head back and aligned himself with the wall.
Namjoon had Jin pressed against the counter, one hand on his hip and one on his neck. Jin’s arms were slung around Namjoon’s waist and judging from the wet sounds (ugh, Yoongi thought) they were making out like teenagers.
Finally, Yoongi could hear Jin’s muffled words, probably spoken against Namjoon’s incessant lips. “Let me finish the pancakes, Yoongi will want breakfast.” That didn’t make the man in question feel any better about his outsider status.
“Hmhm”, Namjoon hummed in response. “What about my breakfast?”
Yoongi heard a slap and a giggle and almost groaned loudly. They were too much. More wet sounds and then an “Oof!” and whining from Namjoon.
“I mean it”, Jin laughed. “Set the table. Hands off-“ another slap. “Set the table, Kim Namjoon!”
Yoongi could perfectly imagine Jin standing there, hands on his hips and scolding with one finger in the air. Of course he’d make a fine editor.
He could hear Namjoon chuckling and rustling in the drawers. When Jin started chatting about their plans for the day, he silently sneaked back to the bathroom to close the door loudly and stomp towards the kitchen. A natural.
“Good morning”, Namjoon greeted him with a smile. He was in a shirt and sweatpants and his hair was still sticking up wildly in places. He looked up from setting plates on the small bar in the kitchen.
Jin was drying his hands on a striped kitchen towel. “Did you sleep well?” He was already dressed in jeans and looked like the fresh morning.
Yoongi scratched his head. If they could pretend nothing was out of the ordinary, he could manage as well. “Yeah, really well. Though in the morning I thought I’d slept through a final in the library or something.”
Namjoon and Jin laughed. “I’m sure glad that time’s over”, Jin said and gestured towards the table. “Sit down, I made pancakes.”
“Thank you, hyung. I really didn’t want to stay so long but I slept too tightly.”
Jin smiled and waved him off but in the next second whacked the kitchen towel at Namjoon. “You told him my age!”, he responded to Namjoon’s indignant protests.
“Hyung, where were you?” Hoseok’s voice sounded shrill through the intercom. “I called you like five times!”
Huh. Yoongi hadn’t checked his phone since leaving the club last night. And there were actually 12 missed calls. “Let me up first, okay?”
“Yeah yeah, sure.”
The buzzer let Yoongi in and he climbed up the stairs to the third floor. Hoseok was already waiting in the door frame and pulled him into their flat. “What happened?”
“Calm down.” Yoongi bent down to pull off his shoes. “I forgot my keys and Namjoon and Jin let me crash at their place.
When he looked up again, Hoseok’s expression had changed from worried to delighted. “You did? Aw, nothing’s better than hyung’s breakfast after a night out. You should have told me!” And he hit Yoongi’s shoulder for good measure.
“Ouch”, Yoongi muttered half-heartedly. “I didn’t know what I was getting into myself, okay?”
Hoseok’s face suddenly turned blank. “What do you mean?”, he asked carefully.
Oh. Yoongi saw how this could be misunderstood. “I mean that they’re too fucking sweet and I need to re-evaluate my goals in life.”
Hoseok lit up again. “Right? Did you sleep in the office? Did you get cream in your coffee?”
Yoongi thought about it. Now that Hoseok mentioned it, his coffee did taste especially smooth that morning. He nodded. “I even got an eyeful of them smooching but don’t tell anyone, alright? I feel bad enough about seeing that accidentally.”
As soon as the words had left his mouth, he regretted it because everything in Hoseok’s face seemed to grow a size or two. His eyes were wide, his mouth fell open and if he was a Ghibli character, his hair would have fluffed up considerably.
“What?”, he whispered after a moment.
“Nothing, forget it.” Yoongi tried to push past his flatmate but Hoseok grabbed his shoulders and twirled him around.
“You saw them kiss?” The look in Hoseok’s eyes was so intense, Yoongi was a little scared.
“Not exactly”, Yoongi mumbled and stared at his socked feet. “I backed away immediately, I basically only saw Namjoon’s back.” He wrinkled his nose. “But I heard.”
“Oh my God!” Hoseok threw his hands in the air. “That’s so unfair, you literally met them yesterday!”
Yoongi frowned and raised his chin. He did already feel like their friend. “What do you even mean, Hoseok?”
“Look”, Hoseok raised a placating hand. “These two are very private, okay? They rarely show affection in public, and only a little more around friends.”
Yoongi felt worse than ever about intruding in their home, witnessing an intimate private moment and now (damn it, Yoongi!) telling someone about it. “Is that why they kept apart in the club?”
“Huh?” Hoseok looked puzzled. “That’s not it. But they have each other all the time. That time is for friends.”
Yoongi nodded and rubbed his eyes. “And you’re excited because of what again?”
“Because in the rare cases you see them be affectionate… don’t tell me they don’t make you believe in love a little.”