Chapter Text
"Good morning everyone!" Taehyung shouts as he enters the teacher's lounge on an average Monday morning in Spring. "Did everyone have a good break? I brought coffee and donuts!"
The lounge is suddenly a lot louder, everyone coming up to accept a coffee from Taehyung and to grab a donut before going back to lesson planning and preparing for classes that start in an hour.
Taehyung seems to have a coffee for everyone -- made exactly the way they like it.
As he moves around the lounge, passing them out, he smiles and asks about the others' vacations -- where they went, what they did. He himself went with Jimin on a fun two week trip to Guam, where they spent most of their days on the beach or in the ocean playing around, scuba diving and eating a ton of food.
"Good morning, Yoongi," Taehyung says as he pulls out a coffee for him. "Iced Americano for you, no sugar, no cream. And for Jungoo… I have a French vanilla iced latte, is that okay?"
Jungkook's eyes widen as he takes the cup of coffee gingerly between his hands, almost as if it's the most precious gift in the world. Holding it to his chest, he reaches up to adjust his glasses before smiling shyly at Taehyung. "Yeah, that's perfect. Thank you, Taehyung."
As soon as Taehyung leaves, Yoongi bursts out laughing. "Jungoo? Really?"
Jungkook sighs dreamily, taking a sip of his gifted coffee even though it's not his usual order. Or his unusual order… "I can't believe he knows my name."
The look Yoongi rewards Jungkook with is unamused, at best. But just as he opens his mouth to say something, Jungkook lets out another dreamy sigh as he adjusts his glasses and watches Taehyung walk around the room, conversing with all the other teachers as if they're all best friends.
He's so sweet. So wonderful...
"He gave me a donut. I love donuts," he hums, taking a bite out of it happily. Though there's definitely a brief moment where he considers saving it forever. You know, like a normal person.
"He gave everyone donuts, Jungoo ," Yoongi says, reaching over to flick Jungkook's nose.
"I'm included in everyone, okay?" Jungkook mumbles, kicking Yoongi's shin and taking another bite out of his donut.
Once everything is passed out, Taehyung happily takes a seat on the shabby, brown couch next to Jimin with his own drink -- a hot cocoa, because he's not the biggest coffee fan around. Crossing one leg over the other, he grabs for one of the last donuts, as well.
"I miss Guam," he sighs wistfully. "Hobi, I can't believe you didn't want to come with us. You always vacation with us."
Hoseok, sitting across from them, just laughs with a small shrug. "I had other plans," he replies as he sips his own coffee. "With Namjoon."
Taehyung and Jimin both 'oooo' at him and Hoseok's cheeks flush immediately. "Be quiet! It's not like that . He was helping me study English!"
"Likely story," Jimin retorts and they both laugh when Hoseok throws a donut wrapper at them.
Jungkook, meanwhile, is still watching Taehyung from his desk, his work untouched and his chin propped up in the palm of his hand. "Isn't he amazing?" he asks, sighing dreamily again, as if he's the heroine of some terrible young adult novel.
"Taehyung's great, but aren't you tired of pining over him? How many years has it been?" Yoongi mumbles around a mouthful of donut. "Either ask him out or get over it."
"Or I could just keep pining from afar," Jungkook says, taking another sip of his iced coffee. "I can't get rejected if we're dating in my dreams, hyung."
Yoongi laughs, swiping at Jungkook. "Yeah, but you'll never get to kiss him if you don't ask him out, dumbass."
Sighing, Jungkook looks back over at Taehyung again. He looks so cute in his printed shirt and tie. Only Taehyung could pull off such a bold outfit and it makes Jungkook's heart flutter. He knows Yoongi's right though. Sure, fantasizing about dating Taehyung is fun and all, but the real thing would be so much better.
"Yeah, you're right," Jungkook mumbles, looking back over at Yoongi. "But how do I court him?"
"Well, you could start by getting him to learn your name ."
-----
Tuesdays are even worse than Mondays, if you ask Taehyung.
He can barely keep his eyes open as he steps into the school, heading down the empty halls toward the offices so he can grab a cup of hot tea before settling in the teacher's lounge with Jimin to talk for the half hour before students arrive.
As he steps into the offices, something in his personal mailbox catches his eye.
An envelope, addressed to him, in fancy scroll.
"What's this?" he murmurs to himself as he turns it over in his hands before pulling the envelope open and revealing a letter written on pretty blue paper inside. It's folded so neatly, with such precision and passion, that Taehyung can't help but be impressed as he unfolds it.
He squints at the words before turning around and looking around for anyone that could have given him this.
"Better ask Jimin what this means," he whispers to himself as he quickly makes his tea and rushes to the teacher's lounge with the note.
To say Jungkook's nervous would be an understatement. At least, that's Yoongi's opinion, as he watches Jungkook tap nervously at his desk, palms sweating and heart racing. Jungkook is, of course, too busy panicking to notice the fact that he's being watched with the same fascination that someone might watch a train crashing in slow motion.
As soon as Taehyung enters the teacher's lounge, he sits up a little straighter, setting his pen down right as he's about to start chewing on it anxiously. When he sees his letter in Taehyung's hand, his heart begins to race even faster — which really only makes his hands sweat even more.
When Jimin spots Taehyung, he smiles and waves, setting his iced coffee down. But when he spots the letter, he laughs, raising an eyebrow. "Hey Tae. Whatcha got there?"
Taehyung smiles as he sits down next to Jimin and hands the letter over to him. “I don’t know, it was in my mailbox,” he explains as Jimin looks over the letter. “But it’s written like some old proverb scripts. I have no idea what it means.”
Jimin laughs as he reads over it, too.
“Hmm,” he says, the two of them leaning close together to examine the note. “I… don’t get it either.”
Taehyung sighs, snatching the letter back from him, pouting as he reads over the letter again.
Taehyung,
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Sincerely,
Your secret admirer
“It’s from a secret admirer, so clearly it must be good, right?” Taehyung tries again, chewing on his lip in thought.
"Probably," Jimin says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he squints at the letter. "It looks like a poem. Maybe it's a love confession or something." Shrugging, he leans back in his seat. It's not like he can read archaic Korean.
Meanwhile, Jungkook's head hits his desk as Yoongi chokes down his laughter, fist practically shoved into his mouth.
"Wow. Just… wow," Yoongi wheezes, quietly cackling even harder as Jungkook punches him in the arm.
Taehyung pouts as he keeps reading the letter over and over, as if he'll suddenly understand ancient literature and Korean.
But it's no use.
He might as well be trying to understand Shakespeare.
"I wonder who left it for me," Taehyung says as he very carefully folds it up to put back into the envelope, taking good care to keep it safe. "Oooh, what about Seojoon, the PE teacher? Maybe it was him?"
Jimin snorts, "I really can't see Seojoon leaving you a love letter practically written in another language, Tae."
Taehyung's shoulders slump again, the pout returning.
"Why don't you try asking the literature teacher for help with it?" Jimin suggests as they gather their things, the first bell about to ring any minute. "I'm sure he could help translate it to dumbed down modern Korean for you."
Yoongi nudges Jungkook's arm, who's ducking behind his computer screen as he gathers his things for class. His face is burning bright red, heart caught between floating as Jimin mentions him and sinking at the hopeful mention of Park Seojoon .
As he scurries out of the teacher's lounge, his glasses askew and his face red, Yoongi jogs next to him. "I mean, for what it's worth, I don't think Seojoon's interested in Taehyung," he says, giving Jungkook a sympathetic pat on the back.
Jungkook just sighs, holding his books closer to his chest. "I told you pining from afar was better."
-----
By the time lunch rolls around, Jungkook's determined to forget the entire ordeal. Between the disappointment and humiliation, it's probably for the best. So he hunkers down at his desk -- like he does everyday -- idly picking at his home cooked lunch as he thumbs through the book he's currently reading.
Though he's really just re-reading the same paragraph over and over again, too distracted to actually retain anything.
Taehyung’s been waiting all day for lunch.
As soon as the students are gone, he grabs the letter from his desk and makes his way to the English department, greeting everyone as he walks by.
When he stops in front of the literature teacher’s office, he knocks twice before slowly pushing the door open and poking his head in.
Jungoo is sitting at his desk, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Hi!” Taehyung greets as he steps into the classroom, letting the door fall shut behind him. “I know it’s lunchtime and you probably have things to do but I was wondering if you could help me with something?”
Jungkook's heart races as he wipes his now sweaty hands off on his slacks (as subtly as possible). If he were any more whipped for Taehyung, he'd probably throw his book out the window and say that he's free for the next million years.
But he does have some shred of dignity, so instead he awkwardly and shyly waves Taehyung in as he reaches up to adjust his glasses.
"Oh, um. Yeah, of course. What do you need help with?" he asks, as if he doesn't already have an inkling of what it might be.
Taehyung grins at him, bouncing over and pulling a chair up to sit at his desk next to him. He plops down and sets the letter in front of him.
“This!” he says excitedly. “I got a letter from a secret admirer but they wrote it so fancy that I have no idea what it means…”
Jungoo seems like a nice guy. He won’t make fun of him for not understanding it, right?
His eyes glance around his desk and he gasps at the sight of a framed photo of a bunny. “Oh my god, is this your bun?”
Jungkook's slowly opening the letter with shaking hands with Taehyung notices the photo. Immediately smiling, he tugs the letter free from the envelope before setting it down so he can admire his bunny.
"Yeah, that's my bun, Oreo," he says, picking up the frame and showing it to Taehyung. "She's a four year old netherland dwarf rabbit. She's really sweet." His heart flutters as he thinks about his bun and how much he loves her. Which only reminds him that her birthday's coming up soon and he needs to buy her a present.
Maybe make her an oat cake…
It's then that he realizes how close Taehyung is to him -- the closest he's ever been, aside from that one time they accidentally brushed in the hallway -- which only makes his heart flutter more.
Taehyung smiles as he sees Jungoo’s face light up at the mention of his bunny. If he’s being honest, Jungoo also kind of looks like a bunny.
“Cute,” he says. “I have a dog, Yeontan. He’s only 2.”
Taehyung watches as he unfolds the letter to look at it and leans closer to read it again.
“I’ve never had a secret admirer before,” Taehyung tells him, smiling bright as he looks up from the letter to Jungoo. “I feel kind of dumb that I don’t get it.”
Jungkook feels his ears heating up as he looks down at the letter, his own handwriting staring back up at him. He finds it hard to believe that Taehyung's never had a secret admirer before, but, then again, most people aren't shy like him. "You aren't dumb, I promise," he says, glancing up at Taehyung again, his heart fluttering at the brightness of his smile. Beautiful... "Translating old poems sometimes feels like reading hieroglyphs."
Wetting his lips, he looks back down at the poem, his heart twisting along with his gut. "So this is, um, Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare. We actually study this one in my classes. It's famous for its opening line, but not a lot of people remember past that. Do you want me to translate it for you?"
Taehyung looks at Jungkook in wonder at how he already seems to know everything about it. He tries not to let it hurt his pride knowing that the students he teaches know what this poem means and he doesn't.
"Yes please," he says as he scoots closer to look at the letter while Jungkook starts to go over it for him.
Jungkook tries to ignore his racing heart as Taehyung scoots closer, just as he tries to ignore the delicate scent of Taehyung's cologne as it tickles his nose. Instead, he looks down at the poem as he brushes his hair behind his ears and adjusts his glasses.
"So, essentially, it begins with a question: shall I compare you to a summer's day? Because you're more lovely and more moderate," he says, glancing up at Taehyung shyly. "Shakespeare then goes on to describe the fickleness of summer here," he points, "because even the perfect summer day is illusive. Sometimes the winds are rough and summer is fleeting. Sometimes the sun is too hot and sometimes the sun is dimmed by the clouds."
Fidgeting with the letter nervously, he looks back down at it as his ears burn bright red. "All beautiful things eventually fade, by life's experiences or by time, but your beauty -- your eternal summer -- will never fade. This poem will immortalize you, for as long people read this poem, you will live on through it."
Handing the letter back to Taehyung, Jungkook smiles shyly at him, reaching up to adjust his glasses again.
"Um, essentially, the poem is saying that you could never compare to summer, because summer's fleeting and your beauty is eternal."
Taehyung's jaw drops as he listens to every word Jungkook says, but even more so as he hands the letter back to him. Taehyung holds it gently, looking down at the words with a new fondness and a flutter in his heart, knowing what it means now.
Hugging the letter to his chest, he looks back up at Jungkook.
"That's so beautiful and nice of someone to think this about me," he says, trying to bite back his smile. He tries to think about who could possibly think so highly of him -- Seojoon has said he's hot, but never beautiful.
As he turns back up to look at Jungkook, he very carefully folds the letter again to slip into the envelope. "Thank you so much for your help, Jungoo. I appreciate it. Oh! I should buy you a coffee or something to thank you -- what kind do you like? Sweet? Bitter?"
Jungkook wishes he could say the letter was from him. He wishes he could tell Taehyung that he thinks he's more than just beautiful; that one poem couldn't even hope to capture the depth of Taehyung's beauty.
Instead, he lets himself be comforted by the fact that Taehyung appreciates the poem, despite not knowing who it's from.
"You don't have to buy me anything," he says, waving his hands, his smile turning sheepish. But then he remembers the fact that Taehyung knows everyone in the school's drink order. And he knows everyone's name but his.
"Um, for future reference though, I like caramel macchiatos. And um…"
Chewing nervously on his bottom lip, Jungkook's heart hammers up against his chest as he takes a deep breath. "My name's Jungkook. Not… Jungoo."
Taehyung's eyes go wide, his cheeks immediately flushing red with embarrassment as he reaches over and rests his hand on Jungkook's forearm. "Oh my god , Jungkook!" he says with a gasp. "I'm so sorry! I swear I heard Yoongi call you Jungoo like 100 times but maybe I misheard him -- oh god, I'm so sorry. I would never call you the wrong name on purpose."
He definitely owes Jungkook a coffee now.
God, he's called him the wrong name to his face at least two times now.
"I'll get you an extra large caramel macchiato to make up for it," Taehyung tells him with a sheepish smile, squeezing his arm gently. "I'm glad I finally had a reason to talk to you! Yoongi raves about you all the time, but he said you're a little shy so I didn't ever want to, like, intrude. I'm pretty outgoing, if you hadn't noticed."
Jungkook's face is bright red, a small smile tugging at his lips as he watches Taehyung. His heart is racing in his chest, his mind all too aware of the hand on his arm, squeezing so gently. "It's okay," he says, his heart squeezing just a bit at Taehyung's obvious guilt.
Maybe he should've just legally changed his name to Jungoo.
"And you don't have to worry about intruding. You don't bother me." Quite the opposite, actually.
He's kind of curious what Yoongi says about him though.
Taehyung smiles, giving Jungkook's arm one more squeeze before he pulls away so he can get up, putting the chair back where it came from. "Okay, well then expect a coffee from me tomorrow morning," he says happily, picking up the letter again and holding it to his chest.
He can't wait to go tell Jimin about what it means -- and try to figure out who wrote it for him.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Jungkook," Taehyung says as he heads for the door. "Thank you again!"
Jungkook smiles, waving to Taehyung. "It's no problem at all," he says, his heart fluttering happily in his chest.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Taehyung."
As soon as the door closes, Jungkook buries his face in his book, screaming as he wiggles happily in his seat. Holy shit, Taehyung's so cute. And sweet.
Taehyung talked to him.
Taehyung called him by his name.
Taehyung touched his arm…
Surely, he must be dreaming.
As soon as he collects himself -- which takes almost the rest of the lunch period -- Jungkook snatches his phone off his desk and immediately texts Yoongi.
jk: I'm in love
jk: 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
yg: lmaoooooooooooooooooo
-----
The next morning, Taehyung arrives at school early to finish some last minute grading. He goes to Jungkook's classroom first, seeing the lights still out in the classroom. Not here yet.
Setting the caramel macchiato down on his desk, Taehyung writes him a little note to leave with it, knowing that he'll be there within the next 15 minutes or so.
Jungkookie,
Here's the coffee I owe you!! I told them to make it extra yummy for you, since I owe you for helping me and for calling you the wrong name ):
Have a good day!!
Tae
Smiling and grabbing his phone, Taehyung leaves Jungkook's classroom to head to his own so he can start working on grading the papers on his desk.
When Jungkook gets to his classroom, the first thing he sees is a coffee cup sitting on his desk, a note tucked underneath. Immediately, his heart flutters in his chest as he scurries over to his desk, dropping his bag and books onto his chair.
The first thing he does, of course, is whip out his phone and take a picture. Then he sits down on the edge of his seat, taking the note and reading it three times as his smile widens into a grin and his toes wiggle excitedly.
Jungkookie.
Taehyung called him Jungkookie …
Tucking the note away in his book, he takes a sip of the coffee, sighing happily as the taste of caramel coats his tongue. He then texts the photo to Yoongi.
jk: Tae bought me coffee
jk: And called me Jungkookie!!!!
yg: when's the wedding lol
jk: >:(
yg: jk jk jk im happy for u
yg: u gonna send another poem?
jk: Yeah
jk: Maybe something more modern???
-----
It has been such a long day.
Taehyung loves his job, he really does. But some days -- like today -- really test him. Maybe it's because the students were particularly unruly today, all hyped up about their soccer game after school, but he couldn't get them to focus without yelling at them and threatening to give them extra homework.
He hates having to do that.
(He didn't give them extra homework, even if he certainly came close.)
"Jimin," Taehyung whines as he plops down onto the ugly brown couch in the teacher's lounge. "What are we doing this weekend? I need something fun to look forward to or I might actually die."
Jimin laughs, shoving him playfully. "Dramatic, much?" he giggles. "And I don't know, we didn't make any plans. We could ask Seokjin if he's got any big parties happening to crash."
Taehyung hums in thought, his eyes lighting up when he sees Jungkook step into the teacher's lounge.
As soon as Jungkook enters the teacher's lounge, he sees Taehyung, and when their eyes lock, his heart slingshots up to his throat. Smiling shyly, he waves before setting his stuff down next to Yoongi, who's drinking iced coffee and listening to music on his phone.
Normally, Jungkook would leave it at that, sitting down next to Yoongi and opening his book. Or forcing Yoongi to share one of his earbuds so they can listen to music together. Maybe even go sit next to Seokjin.
But no, today he's determined to talk to Taehyung.
So he approaches the couch, hands in his pockets. "Hey Taehyung, Jimin," he says, wetting his lips nervously before smiling shyly. "Um, thanks for the coffee, Taehyung. It was perfect…"
Taehyung beams at him, motioning for Jungkook to sit on the couch across from them, where Hoseok usually sits. "I'm so glad! I told them to make it really yummy because it was an apology coffee," he tells him with a little wink. "It's amazing how much yummier they make stuff if you say it's for an apology to a boyfriend."
Jimin snorts, flipping through a magazine on his lap. "The girls at that cafe probably think you're the worst boyfriend in the world."
"No, they think I'm the best boyfriend in the world," he laughs, turning back to Jungkook. "I'm glad that it was perfect! How were your classes today? I swear, the kids were all trying to get on my last nerve all day long."
Jungkook nearly chokes on his own spit, his mind a mess of Taehyung boyfriend Taehyung boyfriend Taehyung boyfriend Taehyung boyfriend Taehyung best boyfriend in the world --
(As if his fantasies weren't bad enough.)
"My classes?" he practically squeaks, his face a deep shade of red. "Um, they were good. Some of my students were a little rowdy, but they settled down eventually." Once Jungkook promised to reward them with a slideshow of bunny pictures and treats… Not that he's gonna say that out loud.
"I'm sorry about your students though. Hopefully the rest of your classes are easier for you."
Taehyung sighs as he sits back against the couch. "I bet the students are nicer to you just because you're cute ," he says, tone teasing. "Oh well. I hope they're better later, too, otherwise I'll give them extra homework."
"That just means you have more grading to do," Jimin says, not looking up from his magazine.
Taehyung let's his head hang and sighs. "The curse of punishing your misbehaving students is that I also have to suffer."
Cute.
Did… Taehyung just call him cute? Like, cute? Like… cute-cute?
Cute?
Jungkook's brain is on the verge of having a nervous breakdown, nothing but blaring sirens and circus music playing in his head. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, his ears turn an even brighter shade of red as he blurts out:
"But you're really cute."
Somewhere in the lounge, Yoongi snorts. And, if Jungkook were at all functional, he'd be sure Yoongi's cackling too.
Instead, Jungkook wants to dig his way into the floor and bury himself in the dirt with the fossils and bugs.
"So um, did you figure out who that letter was from?" he asks, laughing nervously and reaching up to adjust his glasses.
Smooth, Jungkook.
Jimin stops, mid-turn of a page of the magazine in his lap, to look up at Jungkook and raise an eyebrow at him.
Taehyung doesn't seem to really notice Jungkook's inner turmoil. He grins at Jungkook, reaching over to playfully slap his knee. "Aw, thanks, Kookie! I just meant maybe more popular with the students. I bet the girls all give you letters asking you to wait for them."
Pulling his leg up onto the couch he sighs. "And no, I haven't figured it out yet! I was thinking maybe Seojoon? The PE teacher? He's called me hot before and definitely flirted with me…"
"What do you think, Jungkook?" Jimin asks, tilting his head to the side. "I personally don't think Seojoon would write a lovey dovey letter like that, but you never know."
Jungkook's torn. On one hand, he's lowkey, internally losing his shit because Taehyung called him Kookie . On the other, he thinks he might cry thinking about Park Seojoon flirting with Taehyung.
Adjusting his glasses again, Jungkook rubs nervously at his ears, trying to will his blush away as he looks off to the side, his eyes settling on Jimin's magazine.
"Um, well, if I had to guess, it's probably--" Me. "--someone who really loves poetry. And understands it, at least to some extent."
His heart twists painfully in his chest before he asks the question burning at the front of his mind.
"Do you… want it to be Seojoon?"
It's loud when Jimin flips to the next page in his magazine, his eyes never leaving Jungkook.
Taehyung thinks about Jungkook's question for a few moments.
"I wouldn't mind if were Seojoon," Taehyung says slowly, bouncing his foot as he tries to think about who else it could possibly be. Seojoon who has openly flirted with him once is the only one he can think of, unless it was someone like Jungkook who understands poetry so well.
But that's silly.
They hadn't even talked until yesterday, really.
Not to mention, if Taehyung had brought the letter to him to be translated, Jungkook would have surely said something, right?
"But if it was someone else, I would also not mind," Taehyung finishes his thought. "I don't mind who it is. I'm flattered that anyone thinks that way of me, you know? It's really sweet. And I don't have a 'type' so… I'd like to think I'd be open to anyone."
Jungkook nods slowly as he processes that information. Taehyung's open to anyone… Which means he has a chance. Jungkook doesn't want to be just anyone though.
But how can he be when Taehyung didn't even know his name until just yesterday? Maybe Jungkook's a fool for pining for Taehyung for years without even being noticed. But he just really likes Taehyung.
"Well, I'd have to agree with Jimin — I don't think it's Seojoon either," he says, finally looking up at Taehyung with a small smile. "I think he'd be more of a roses kind of guy. And he'd probably just confess to you outright."
Getting up from the couch, he rubs at the back of his neck. "Thanks again for the coffee, Taehyung. I hope your next classes go better. And I hope you find out who left you the letter."
Waving, he weaves through the teacher's lounge so he can take his usual seat next to Yoongi. And when Yoongi silently offers him an earbud, he takes it, leaning up against him with a quiet sigh.
-----
" This is the rager that Seokjin told you about?"
They're standing in the doorway of Jeon Jungkook's apartment, having just been let in by Seokjin -- who had invited them to what he called 'a rager, BYOB, it's gonna be wild ' yesterday before they left work.
The scene before them is of Jeon Jungkook, Yoongi and Namjoon sitting on a couch with paper party hats on their heads, Jungkook's adorable bunny sitting on his lap in the middle of them all.
"Welcome!" Seokjin greets them with a laugh. "Glad you guys could make it!"
Jimin looks from the others, who seem to also be surprised, then to Seokjin. " What is this ?" he whispers, heatedly, punching Seokjin's arm. "Why did you say this was a rager and to bring our own beer?"
Seokjin just laughs harder, slapping paper party hats on Jimin, Taehyung, and Hoseok's heads before ushering them inside.
Meanwhile, Jungkook wants the earth to swallow him whole. Because why the hell is Kim Taehyung in his apartment? Holding a case of beer and looking confused? If he didn't love Seokjin so much -- and if it weren't Oreo's special day -- he'd probably shove him out the window.
He's done a lot worse for much less…
When Yoongi smacks Jungkook's arm, he jumps up from the couch, holding Oreo in his arms. "Um, welcome. Jin didn't tell me you guys were coming," he says, glancing between Taehyung and his friends and the alcohol in their hands.
"Uh, let me show you to the kitchen…"
Taehyung shoots Seokjin a glare as they all follow Jungkook to the kitchen, each carrying enough alcohol to get every single person in the apartment drunk -- though he's sure that's not what the plans are for today.
"Jungkookie I'm so sorry," he says as they step into the kitchen to put their alcohol into the fridge. "Seokjin told us this was going to be a 'rager' and to bring our own beer."
Hoseok frowns. "If we knew it was a bunny's birthday party, we would have brought gifts…"
"Stupid Seokjin," Jimin grumbles as they fill Jungkook's fridge with alcohol.
"We could go, if you want," Taehyung offers, looking from Jungkook to the cute bunny in his arms that's curiously sniffing the air in their direction. "We didn't mean to intrude, honest."
Jungkook flushes and shakes his head, before lifting his bunny up closer to his face as if talking to her. "No, no, you can stay. The more the merrier, right?" When he realizes what he's doing, he immediately flushes even brighter, a strangled laugh working its way up his throat.
"I'm sure Jin just wanted to make Oreo's birthday even more special." Though Seokjin could've at least warned him that Taehyung was coming. He knows how hard Jungkook's pining.
"So um, welcome to my apartment. Help yourself to anything in the fridge and there's a ton of snacks and cake out in the living room. Also, you can hold Oreo, if you want." He holds up the bunny, who blinks at them curiously.
Taehyung smiles, his hands moving up like he's ready to accept the bunny. He let's Oreo smell him first, though, until she seems to nuzzle against his hand, like she's asking for pets. He coos at that, melting as Jungkook slowly hands her over to him.
"Oh my god, she's even more cute than the picture on your desk," he says, petting over Oreo's head gently, cradling her in his arms. "How old is Oreo today?"
Jungkook's heart flutters as a warm smile tugs at the corners of his lips. Behind him, Seokjin starts mixing drinks for everyone, but Jungkook can't even care, not when Taehyung's so gentle with his bunny, doting on her so sweetly.
If Jungkook weren't already head over heels for Taehyung, he certainly would be now.
(Just another thing to add to the continent-long list of reasons why he's into Taehyung.)
"She turned five today," he says, reaching over to rub Oreo's chin. "We just cut the cake — I made her this special little oat cake just for bunnies."
Taehyung looks at Jungkook with big eyes, his lips pouting a little as he continues to pet Oreo. "An oat cake? That's so cute I'm gonna cry," he says, rubbing Oreo's ear as she leans into his chest happily. "Oh. Oh my heart is melting! She is so cute…"
Jimin laughs quietly, letting Oreo sniff his hand so he can pet her, too. "No more pets, Tae," he tells him jokingly. "You can't bring a bunny into Yeontan's house, he would probably bully it."
Taehyung sighs softly. "Tannie isn't a bully, he just -- he likes to be the one in charge."
"The alpha," Hoseok corrects with a snort as he helps Seokjin with the drinks. "He literally bullied your plushie because he wanted to cuddle you but you were cuddling the plushie."
Taehyung flushes as he looks up at Jungkook. "My dog isn't mean, he just really likes attention," he tries to explain. "He loves people! And other pets. He just… doesn't want them near me ."
Jungkook laughs quietly, still rubbing at Oreo's chin as she snuggles into Taehyung's chest. She has good taste, clearly. "It's okay. Oreo can be kind of territorial sometimes too," he says, laughing as his bunny starts chinning Taehyung's chest and hand.
"Case in point…"
Seokjin cackles, brushing past them to carry the drinks into the living room. "C'mon, let's eat some cake!"
They all follow Seokjin back to the living room, finding places to sit around the coffee table with the cakes on them. Hoseok and Seokjin pass the drinks out for everyone as they settle, and Taehyung makes a move to give Oreo back to Jungkook, but she turns and snuggles against his chest.
"Oh my god," Taehyung warbles, petting over her ears. "I wanna keep her forever, she's so good…"
He gives her a little kiss on top of her head before he gives her back to Jungkook so he can give her her cake, and then sits down next to Jimin on the floor across from the couch.
Jungkook can't help the grin that stretches on his face, nor the way his heart flutters as he holds Oreo in his lap, thinking about the way that Taehyung held her so gently.
Swiping the oatcake off the coffee table, Jungkook feeds it to Oreo while Yoongi and Namjoon cut the human cake. She immediately starts nibbling on it happily, loving all of the fruits and veggies mixed in.
"I'm surprised you guys stayed. No offense to Oreo," Yoongi says, raising an eyebrow as he takes a bite of cake.
"That's because this party is hopping ," Seokjin says, making finger guns at Yoongi, eyebrows waggling.
Jimin gives Taehyung a look that so clearly says if it wasn't rude to leave we would have left immediately upon entering .
But Taehyung thinks he would have stayed, anyway.
Oreo is cute, and Jungkook is his new friend who is also quite cute.
"Well, we just wanted something fun to do," Taehyung replies instead, thanking Namjoon for the slice of cake. "Seokjin said party and we thought, why not? But this is definitely the coolest birthday party I've ever been to."
"Yeah," Hoseok chimes in. "And it's not like we can't, I don't know, hit a club up later or something."
Jungkook's smile widens even more. "Hear that, Oreo?" he hums, rubbing between her ears as she munches on her little cake. "Coolest birthday party ever."
Yoongi laughs, nudging Jungkook playfully. "That's because I helped plan it," he says, nodding proudly. "I take my role as bunny uncle very seriously."
And Jungkook nudges Yoongi back, laughing happily. "Yeah, I know," he says, leaning against Yoongi gently, Oreo happily eating on his lap. "We could uh, drink all that alcohol you guys brought, if you want. Oreo has to go to sleep soon anyway."
Taehyung watches Jungkook and Yoongi interacting together and smiles. They're cute, he thinks. They seem like they'd be a cute couple.
Maybe that's why Yoongi's always talking about Jungkook.
"We could," Taehyung agrees, looking around at everyone else.
"Your bunny has a bedtime?" Jimin asks, turning to look at Taehyung. "Maybe you should set a bedtime for Tannie, Tae. He'd probably behave better."
Taehyung frowns, shooting him a glare. "Tannie is a good boy. He doesn't need a bedtime -- he sleeps all day while I'm at work!"
Oreo peeks over at Taehyung, her mouth and cheeks full of cake, before settling back down on Jungkook's lap. "I'm sure he's a great dog," Jungkook says, his smile sheepish, which earns him a jab in the side from Yoongi. "Oreo's just tired from all the excitement."
"Because, as I said, this party is hopping ," Seokjin says, finger guns and eyebrow waggling returning with a vengeance. Which, of course, earns him a kick in the leg and a barking laugh from Yoongi.
Once they all finish their cake and Oreo is put down for bed, they all settle in with their drinks around Jungkook's living room. Hoseok and Namjoon end up engaged in a long conversation about the importance of language learning, while Jimin and Yoongi end up talking about their best friend's pet uncle duties (since Jimin is Yeontan's uncle), and Taehyung turns to Seokjin to kick him.
"You didn't even tell Jungkookie you were inviting us," he says with a glare. "Our friendship is new and budding, it doesn't need you making me look bad to him! We brought so much alcohol , he probably thinks we have a drinking problem!"
Seokjin lets out a barking laugh, slapping Taehyung on the back playfully. "Look, you could never look bad to Jungkook. Trust me," he says, peeking over to see Jungkook's still bustling around, cleaning up the last of the wrapping paper and food trays.
"I did it all for Oreo, Tae. Jungkook's probably over the moon that you're here."
As if on cue, Jungkook plops back down on the couch with a sigh, his party hat askew and a drink in his hand. Taking a sip, he glances between Taehyung and Seokjin curiously.
Taehyung shoots Seokjin one more glare, reaching up to grab the party hat string under his chin and pull it down before letting it snap back into place.
"You have a really nice place, Jungkookie," he says, turning back to face Jungkook while Seokjin cries out. Taehyung smiles. "Also, thanks for letting us crash your party. I promise we're not alcoholics, we just usually bring extra when it's BYOB because some people are thieves, you know?"
Seokjin makes a grab for Taehyung's hat to do the same time as revenge, but Taehyung shifts and moves, which causes Seokjin to fall from his chair onto the floor. Giggling, he takes a sip of his drink.
Jungkook can't help but giggle as Seokjin crawls back onto the couch, kicking at Taehyung indignantly. "It's no problem, Taehyung. I'm um, glad you're here," he says, taking another sip of his drink as his ears burn red.
"So what do you usually do for fun on the weekends?" Taehyung asks him.
"Um, my weekends are kind of boring,” he answers. “If I'm not here writing or relaxing, I'm usually out with Yoongi and Jinnie. We like doing karaoke and Yoongi plays clubs and stuff."
Taking another sip of his drink, Jungkook looks at Taehyung curiously. "What about you?"
Taehyung beams, happy to hear that Jungkook is glad they're here.
"Hmm, I usually go out with Jimin and Hoseok," he answers. "Sometimes Seokjin comes. We go to bars or to sing karaoke. Sometimes we go to clubs."
Seokjin rolls over onto the floor and Taehyung laughs at him, his party hat now practically on the side of his head.
"Kinda just anything to get out of the house, you know?"
Jungkook doesn't know. He enjoys being home. Home is comfortable and warm, where he can relax with a glass of wine while cuddling with Oreo or read books or play video games. But he smiles like he understands.
"No rest for the wicked," Seokjin teases, reaching up to finally adjust his party hat.
"Maybe we could all do karaoke together sometime," Jungkook says. That might be fun.
"You um, went to Guam for your break, right? How was it?"
"Guam is beautiful!" Taehyung replies with a sigh as he takes another sip of his drink. "The ocean was really nice, it was hot but not humid, and the food is amazing. Definitely worth the trip to see."
Turning to Seokjin, who seems to be getting up to refill his drink, Taehyung hands his cup over to him, asking for more, too.
"And I would love to go karaoke all together!" he says, turning back to Jungkook with a wide smile. "That sounds like so much fun!"
As Seokjin goes to the kitchen to refill drinks, Taehyung pillows his cheek against his hand as he looks at Jungkook. "Where did you go for your vacation?"
Guam sounds nice. Jungkook could easily get behind relaxing on a beach while reading a book and eating delicious food. Instead, his own break wasn't anything as extravagant.
"I went back to Busan for about half the trip to see my family, and then I spent the rest of it here," he says, finishing off his own drink. "But it was fun. I hung out with Yoongi and went on museum tours with Joon."
It wasn't wild, but it was still fun. Maybe next year he can go to Spain or Hawaii or Thailand. Somewhere he's never been before.
Taehyung smiles. He can imagine Jungkook going to museums and spending his free time with family. It's very wholesome and sweet, which seems to describe Jungkook perfectly.
"That sounds nice and relaxing," he says as he stretches out his legs under the coffee table. "I think for my next vacation I'll stay home and actually catch up on sleep for once."
"You say that but I bet in a few weeks you'll want to start planning our next trip abroad," Jimin says, elbowing him with a laugh. "You can't sit still, Taetae."
Taehyung shrugs, smile turning a little sheepish. "Yeah, maybe. Home is nice but it gets lonely -- even with Tannie. I need someone to talk to or I get bored quickly."
"You could talk to Jungkook if you get lonely," Yoongi says, draping his arm along the back of the couch casually. Jungkook's eyes immediately widen, his cheeks and ears flushing red. "Once he gets going, he's great to talk to."
Jungkook's torn between wanting to bury himself under his couch cushions and wanting to plant a big, happy kiss on Yoongi's cheek. But as he opens his mouth to reply, Seokjin perks up too, grinning at Taehyung. "Yeah, Kook's hilarious. And he's a great listener."
Yeah, Jungkook might cry. He has the sweetest best friends ever.
Taehyung laughs at Yoongi and Seokjin talking Jungkook up, as if Taehyung isn't already hyped about being his friend. "Well I'm looking forward to talking with you more, Jungkookie," he tells him. "Maybe over coffee sometime? So we can get to know each other better!"
Jimin looks from Taehyung to Jungkook, watching him closely before a smile spreads over his lips, watching the blush on Jungkook's cheeks grow redder by the second.
"Cafe dates with Tae are literally just him ranting about the education system flaws," Jimin warns Jungkook teasingly. "He could go on about that forever."
Jungkook laughs, trying not to explode at the mention of coffee dates . It's kind of hard though, not when he can't stop thinking about it.
( Cafe dates cafe dates cafe dates )
"That's okay. I have my own thoughts about the education system and its flaws," he says, beaming at Taehyung. "I'd love to hear what you have to say about it."
Taehyung grins, sticking his tongue out at Jimin’s failed attempt to make him sound lame.
“Kookie, I think we’re gonna be best friends in no time,” he says, leaning forward with his glass to lightly clink it against Jungkook’s. “I like the way you think.”
Jimin snorts but doesn’t say anything else, his eyes squinting at Taehyung before moving to Jungkook.
Jimin has a feeling that they might end up as more than friends, but he decides to keep that thought to himself.
-----
It doesn't take long for everyone to get well-past tipsy. Especially with Seokjin mixing the drinks a little stronger than usual. Together, all seven of them drink over half of what was recently stocked in Jungkook's fridge.
Jungkook's currently laying on the living room floor, giggling at one of Seokjin's worst dad jokes by far. Yoongi is working on connecting his phone to Jungkook's bluetooth speaker, his eyes squinted as his screen, which he occasionally slaps and chastises for "moving too much." Seokjin is, of course, mixing more drinks, adding way too much to everyone's cups as he cackles to himself.
(Namjoon is, of course, still talking with Hoseok, and while his speech has gotten considerably slower and more slurred, he's still having a mostly-comprehensive conversation.)
Once Yoongi gets the music going, Jungkook hops up from the floor. "Oh, I love this song!" he says, bouncing excitedly. Wiggling away from the coffee table, he starts dancing to the beat of the song, his moves mostly coordinated, though he's unable to stop laughing.
"Someone come dance with me!" Looking around, his eyes land on Taehyung and he immediately blushes. "Taehyungie, dance with me!"
Jimin is laying starfish on the floor, definitely not able to get up to dance. Especially not when Seokjin places his drink next to him with a straw so he doesn’t even have to sit up to drink it.
So he shoves Taehyung, he falls over and shoots him a glare. “Yah!” he shouts, flicking Jimin’s knee.
“Go dance,” Jimin tells him with a wave of his hand in the direction of the kitchen instead of Jungkook.
Taehyung finished his drink and flicks Jimin’s knee one more time (which actually hurts him more than it hurts Jimin) before getting up and stumbling just a little to where Jungkook is dancing and jumping around.
“I’ll dance with you!” he says as he starts also jumping around to the beat of the song, bobbing his head and wiggling his arms as he does.
Jungkook can't stop giggling, his heart buoyant in his chest as he bounces with Taehyung. The song is upbeat and fun, but really it's Taehyung that's making his smile widen until his cheeks hurt.
He even dances cute, all exaggerated body movements and cute antics.
And Jungkook can't help but laugh until his stomach hurts.
Taehyung likes making Jungkook laugh. It’s easy and Jungkook looks like a bunny when he smiles so big that it shows off all his teeth. His laugh is contagious, too, making everyone else laugh along.
So he keeps wiggling his arms ridiculously, awkwardly bobbing his head and jumping around making funny faces until they’re both laughing too hard to keep dancing.
Not that that was really dancing.
“You’re a pretty good dancer, Jungkookie,” he says as he pats Jungkook’s back when he chokes on his spit from laughing too hard. “But face it, no one can beat me in a dance battle. Those are the facts.”
From the floor and couch, both Jimin and Hoseok snort.
Jungkook gasps, clutching his hand to his chest in mock offense. "Is that so?" he asks, his words slurring, unable to stop giggling as he pokes Taehyung in the chest (as gently as he can while drunk). "Then I guess I gotta challenge you to a dance battle."
Seokjin cheers as he reappears in the room, carrying more drinks.
And Yoongi straight up cackles as he makes himself comfortable on the couch. "Loser has to drink!"
"You're going down, Jeon," Taehyung jokes, smiling fondly as Jungkook pokes his chest again.
Taehyung's feeling good, buzzed, tipsy.
But Jungkook looks gone .
Cute.
"Yoongi gets to pick the music," Taehyung says, listing the rules for their dance battle. "Everyone else gets to pick the winner, which is totally gonna be me."
Jimin laughs as he finally sits up, leaning back against the couch as he watches them. "Don't worry, Jungkook. You're probably going to win."
"That's 'cause I majored in dance battles," Jungkook says, stumbling a little bit as he giggles. Clearing his throat, he tries to put his game face on, but just ends up giggling again.
"Get your head in the game, Kook," Seokjin cheers, which really only makes Jungkook laugh harder .
But as soon as the music starts -- courtesy of Yoongi -- Jungkook pulls himself together enough to start dancing. And even though he keeps giggling as he does body rolls, at least he isn't falling on his face.
Taehyung watches a giggly Jungkook try to dance -- sexy dance, by the way -- with body rolls and hands sliding down. And it would be unbelievably sexy if they were in a club setting or something.
But in the living room, when Jungkook is giggling with flushed cheeks, and everyone watching?
It's plain endearing.
When it's Taehyung's turn, Yoongi picks some old school rap song, knowing the beat is harder to dance to. But he still goes all out, swinging his arms over his head and turning, popping his booty out as he makes funny faces just to hear Jungkook laugh some more.
Jungkook's practically gasping for breath as he doubles over laughing, his cheeks burning as his smile threatens to split his face in half. He likes Taehyung so much, and getting to spend time with him like this? Outside of work, relaxing?
It only makes Jungkook like him more .
When the dance battle finally comes to an end, the audience cheers before finally putting it to a vote. And the entire support of the "judges," Jungkook wins (though he votes for Taehyung, personally, because he thinks Taehyung's dancing is cute and also because he's whipped. Which, of course, causes Yoongi to boo and toss one of Oreo's birthday gifts at him).
It’s when Seokjin is coming over with what Taehyung suspects to be a very strong defeat drink that he trips over one of Oreo’s toys and spills the drink.
All over Jungkook.
And drunk Jungkook complains about it being cold and immediately starts trying to peel the wet shirt up and Taehyung almost passes out.
Because Jungkook — shy, easily flustered, adorable Jungkook — has abs .
Like movie star level abs.
What the fuck.
As soon as Jungkook gets his shirt up over his head, he smacks Seokjin with it. "Hyung, this is my favorite shirt," he whines, eyebrows furrowing and lower lip jutting out in a petulant pout.
Seokjin only cackles as Yoongi starts throwing snacks from his spot lounging on the couch. "Put a shirt on!"
Jungkook doesn't notice -- or is purposefully ignoring Yoongi -- as he smacks Seokjin again. "I gotta go throw this in the wash," he grumbles, snatching his shirt up and heading for the washing machine.
Taehyung watches him go with his jaw practically on the floor.
"Stop drooling, Taetae," Jimin laughs, tossing some snacks at him.
"Bun dad is ripped," Taehyung whispers as he collapses onto the couch next to Hoseok, who slaps his thigh. "I was not expecting that for him."
Hoseok laughs as Seokjin makes him a new defeat drink, which he accepts and downs it easily, making a face after.
Jungkook finally returns to the living room after throwing his shirt in the wash -- which takes a lot longer than usual, given how hard it is to read the washing machine settings when the text keeps swirling -- and putting a new shirt on.
It's just a plain black t-shirt -- nothing quite so fancy as the one he reserves for parties and other such events -- but maybe it hugs his chest in all the right ways. Who knows.
(Not that he's sober enough to think about that. It's just a shirt.)
Plopping down on the couch on Taehyung's other side, he bounces a little bit and grins. "I had fun dancing with you," he says to Taehyung, so much bolder now that he's drunk. "I think you should've won the dance off though…"
Taehyung laughs, reaching up to pat Jungkook's head fondly. "I didn't even vote for myself, Jungkookie. You were the clear winner, I admit defeat."
As everyone goes back into drunk conversations and the evening goes on, Taehyung finds himself melting into the couch, leaning into Jungkook as he listens to Jimin and Yoongi and Seokjin argue about the ultimate ice cream flavor.
"Mint tastes like toothpaste," Jimin whines, while Seokjin nods in agreement.
"I like mint choco chip," Taehyung says, glaring at his best friend.
"Mint choco chip is good," Jungkook says, though his head is spinning as he feels Taehyung leaning further and further against his side. If he were any less drunk, he'd probably be melting into the floor. Instead of like, blushing furiously. "I like red bean though."
Yoongi snorts, tossing more snacks at Jungkook as Seokjin laughs. "How can you be such a grandpa and such a baby at the same time?"
Taehyung giggles, looking up at Jungkook to poke at his cheek. "Oh my god that's the perfect way to describe you!" he laughs. "Grandpa and baby. Grandpa-baby. Baby Gramps."
Jimin rolls his eyes. "Whenever I'm sad, Tae's first thought is to bring over ice cream, which is super great," he says before making a disgusted face. "But he always brings mint choco chip."
"Listen, if I'm buying, I'm buying the kind I like," Taehyung replies with a shrug. "If you want your fav, you should buy it yourself and you wouldn't have to eat mine -- which you hate but still eat so…"
"When you need ice cream, the flavor isn't the priority," Jimin yells, throwing some chips at Taehyung, hitting poor Jungkook in the crossfire, too.
Jungkook giggles, swatting the chips away before eating one of them. Because he's hungry and maybe a little too drunk? So maybe he takes some more snacks too, just for good measure.
"Jimin hyung, you should just learn to love mint choco chip! It's so good," he says, nudging Jimin with his foot.
"Also, if it tastes like toothpaste, doesn't that mean toothpaste is delicious too?"
"What if I just freeze some toothpaste and then have you do a blind taste test?" Jimin says and Taehyung laughs, head falling onto Jungkook's shoulder for a moment.
"I would know the difference because my taste buds aren't stupid," Taehyung retorts and Jimin glares, throwing a red bean paste bread at him. Taehyung happily accepts it after it smacks him in the cheek, giggling as he hands it to Jungkook, who's munching on snacks. "And if I win, you have to buy me the really big container of mint choco chip ice cream that's really expensive."
Jimin rolls his eyes, "And if I win, you have to write a love letter back to your secret admirer."
Taehyung scrunches his nose at that. "I don't know who it is," he replies. "Plus, I'm not good at writing love letters. I don't even understand what they wrote for me, poor Jungkookie here had to help me with it."
Jungkook almost chokes on the piece of red bean bread at the mention of Taehyung's "secret admirer." And the mention of him in relation to said "secret admirer."
(And the weight of Taehyung's head on his shoulder, though brief.)
"I'm sure you could write a good love letter," he squeaks, his head spinning at the thought of receiving a letter back from Taehyung. Though it wouldn't actually be for him, considering Taehyung doesn't know it's him yet... But still. "I bet they'd uh, appreciate that…"
Across the couch, Yoongi's hiding a smile behind his hand as he watches Jungkook.
Taehyung flops over, leaning his head on Jungkook's chest as he looks up at him. "You think so?" he asks, still unsure. "How would I even leave it for them? I don't know who they are…"
"Maybe just leave it on the table by the mailboxes?" Hoseok suggests helpfully. "Ohhh, this will be so cute, Tae! You should totally do it!"
Taehyung laughs, sitting back up again to flop against Hoseok this time, wriggling excitedly. "What will I write? What if they think it's dumb?" he asks with a whine.
Then he sits up immediately, his eyes going wide.
"Oh my god, what if it's a girl ?" he asks, tone serious, scared. "I'm so gay, there's no way it would ever work."
Jungkook's heart flutters in his chest, his palms starting to sweat as he wipes them off on his pants. Yoongi cackles as he rolls over on the couch. "Why not just write that? P.S. I'm gay?" he suggests, waggling his eyebrows. He takes a sip of his drink before leveling Jungkook with a pointed stare. "It's probably a guy though."
If Jungkook were any closer -- or any less drunk -- he'd kick Yoongi in the shin. Instead, he runs his hands through his hair and smiles. "I don't think your secret admirer would think you writing them a letter is stupid, Taehyungie," he says. "If they really like you, it would probably make them super happy…"
Yoongi coughs and Jungkook shoots him a glare.
Taehyung chews his cheek in thought for a moment.
"Okay! I'm gonna write them a letter!" he decides with a smile. "Thanks Jungkookie. I hope that they like it and I'll add in that I'm gay so they know."
Jimin rolls his eyes at Taehyung's plan, but he's smiling as Taehyung excitedly starts bouncing on the couch, thinking already of what he'll write to his secret admirer. He hopes that Jungkook is right -- that his secret admirer likes him and won't think he's dumb for not writing some poetic note in response.
Jungkook giggles as he watches Taehyung bounce around. Inside his chest, his heart is racing, twisting itself up into a little pretzel as his mind runs wild with the possibilities of what Taehyung might write.
And sure, Taehyung doesn't know it's him. And Taehyung doesn't have feelings for him too. But, still… It's something.
Something to look forward to.
Something to give his heart a little hope.