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When Hoseok’s phone rang seven hours into the day’s dancing, his aching muscles were glad for the break. The classes he taught on Fridays ended shortly after lunch, but he’d spent the next few hours trying to fine-tune a tricky piece of choreography he’d been working on, freestyling for a bit when he’d get too frustrated, and answering questions from any students who trickled in, knowing he’d still be there after-hours.
"A Studio Ghibli marathon?" he asked, grateful that he was speaking into the phone and Jimin couldn't see how big his smile was—or how drenched with sweat and exhausted he looked, either. "That sounds really nice, actually. I guess I probably could manage one night away from the studio after all these extra rehearsals…” He thought for a moment, sucked in a quick breath, and said, “Okay, yes. What time are you thinking?"
"Kookie gets home from work around 5:30, so why don't we plan on 6:00?" Jimin replied, and even quiet and distorted by the phone, his voice warmed something in Hoseok’s chest.
He checked his watch; that was only an hour and a half away. It wasn't much time to catch the bus home from the dance studio, shower, inhale some noodles, and catch another bus to Jimin and Jungkook's apartment, but if he left right away, he could make it work. "Yeah, I can do 6:00. See you then, Jimin-ah." He hung up the phone and trotted back into the practice room from the hallway he'd ducked into to answer the call. "Soobin-ah," he called over to the other dancer currently occupying the space, "I'm gonna take off. Lock up when you're done, okay?"
"Sure thing, hyung," his friend replied, catching a set of keys as Hoseok tossed them over. “See you Monday morning!”
Although he tried to keep it together while he got ready and made his way there, once Hoseok stood outside his friends' apartment door, his nerves began to creep back in. It was bad luck that he'd developed a crush on his co-worker almost from the moment they met a handful of months ago, and worse luck that the crush hadn't died upon learning Jimin had a boyfriend—the feelings had simply spread, to Hoseok's horror. The more time he spent hanging out with Jimin and Jungkook together, the more he found himself drawn toward them both. Guilt pooled in his belly whenever he thought about it, so he tried his best to just stuff those feelings down and ignore them.
'Chill out, Hobi,' he scolded himself as he knocked, 'these are your friends. Your very cool, very sweet, very new friends that you don’t want to make things weird with, and who are dating each other. This is just a casual movie night with some bros. Get a grip.'
His thoughts were cut off when the door swung open. “Hyung!” Jimin exclaimed, a bright smile breaking across his face as he ushered Hoseok inside and shut the door. Small fingers peeked out from the sleeve of his oversized blue sweater to wrap around Hoseok’s wrist, and warmth spread across Hoseok’s skin as Jimin tugged him into the living room once he slipped out of his sneakers.
Warmth was everywhere, in fact.
“Oh wow, Jimin-ah,” Hoseok marveled quietly as he took in their surroundings. “You really outdid yourself. It looks amazing in here.” The coffee table and armchair had been pushed to the back of the room to accommodate a pile of soft grey and white blankets and pillows heaped over a thick futon mattress that had been dragged in; little star-shaped string lights twinkled across the walls and ceiling, mixing with the glow of about a dozen candles scattered across various surfaces in the room; lofi hip-hop beats streamed quietly out of a Bluetooth speaker next to the TV. The entire room enveloped them in a cozy glow, one of warmth and safety and home that made Hoseok’s heart ache.
His eyes travelled back to his friend, who was smiling shyly at the praise. Jimin looked so soft in the warm light, bare-faced with his dark hair fluffy and un-styled, and before he could catch what he was doing, Hoseok heard his mouth begin to say, “And you look—” but then he silenced himself, blushed, and cleared his throat.
“Thank you,” Jimin replied softly. He must have realized that he was still holding onto Hoseok’s wrist, because he gave it a quick squeeze and then dropped it. “Uhm, you go ahead and get comfortable. I’m going to help Kookie bring the drinks and snacks in from the kitchen.”
He disappeared through the doorway without another word, so Hoseok crouched down in front of the little nest Jimin had created. Figuring that the couple would want to be next to each other, he settled into a spot off to one side, stretching out on his belly underneath the thick blankets and propping his head up on his elbows with a pillow under his chest. Glancing around the room again, he started to get the sinking feeling that seeing the two of them all cuddled up together amongst the candle light while watching a bunch of adorable animated films might actually be too much for his heart to handle, but it was too late now. He’d accepted the invitation, and he would deal with the awkward third-wheeling and secret-pining consequences.
“Aww, hyung,” Jungkook pouted as he walked in holding a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of soju, “you’re in my spot.” A few strands of dark hair had escaped from his topknot and fell into his eyes as he crouched next to Hoseok to set the things down on the floor.
“Sorry,” Hoseok apologized, shifting toward the middle to make room, “I didn’t realize—”
“He’s just teasing, Hobi-hyung, because he’s a brat,” Jimin reassured him, rolling his eyes at his giggling boyfriend’s antics, then immediately sank onto the mattress on the other side before Hoseok had a chance to move over any further. Carefully, Jimin set down the tray of snacks and wiggled his way under the covers, heat flaring under Hoseok’s skin every time Jimin’s body brushed against his own while he settled in.
Realizing that he now found himself lying nestled in between the couple, Hoseok tried not to panic; he didn’t have much choice now but to stay put. He busied himself with a handful of the gummy candies Jimin had set down in front of them, then asked, “Which movie are we watching first?”
“Can we start with Kiki’s Delivery Service?” Jungkook asked, directing a devastatingly cute set of puppy-dog eyes Jimin’s way that Hoseok couldn’t avoid, either. While Jungkook was genuinely golden-hearted, he wasn’t above using his charms as the baby-faced youngest of their social circle to his advantage—especially when it involved his boyfriend. “I haven’t seen that one in forever.”
Jimin, his mouth full of popcorn, just hummed and nodded in agreement, smiling fondly as he tapped away on his phone to pull the movie up and cast it to the TV.
The film was one of Hoseok’s favorites, but he couldn’t manage to concentrate or follow along—not with the way Jimin leaned head-and-shoulders into him with laughter every time something funny happened, or the way Jungkook’s ankle had hooked itself around one of Hoseok’s about a third of the way in and stayed there, or the way being in between them meant smelling both Jungkook’s clean-linen-and-jasmine perfume and Jimin’s peaches-and-cream shampoo, short-circuiting his brain every time the scents hit him simultaneously. A casual brushing of fingers in the popcorn bowl here, a shoulder-bump to catch his attention there, and Hoseok could hardly have told you what movie they were even watching.
It wasn’t that Hoseok felt awkward, not exactly, because Jimin and Jungkook both behaved as though these were the most natural, normal occurrences in the world. They were always so casual with their little affections that he really couldn’t feel awkward about receiving them; it was just slightly overwhelming to be the target of it in such high doses for such a prolonged period of time. Hoseok met them when he moved to Busan from Gwangju and began teaching hip-hop dance lessons at the same studio where Jimin taught contemporary. They were immediately so kind to him, so soft with him, but he wasn’t sure how to process that without the added layer of complications that his feelings for them presented.
“Hyung,” Jimin said, nudging Hoseok out of his thoughts with one elbow, “you okay? You kind of zoned out there for a minute.” He was looking at him with concern, head tipped a little to one side, and in the twinkly glow of string lights and candles, Hoseok would swear that Jimin looked like an actual angel. “Something on your mind?”
“I just…” Hoseok began, but trailed off, shaking his head. “This is nice, is all. Apparently, I really needed to take a night off and just relax.” He glanced over at Jungkook, who had murmured some small sound and began rubbing slow circles over Hoseok’s shoulder blades, then back to Jimin, and said, “Thank you guys for inviting me to join your movie night. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Honestly—” Jungkook piped up, his hand stilling as he closed his mouth like he was hesitant to spill what he’d been about to say. Hoseok shifted to get a better look at him as he started again, “Honestly, you were kind of the reason we decided to have a movie night in the first place.” Behind him, Jimin made a harsh sort of noise around his mouthful of popcorn, and Jungkook grinned mischievously at him over Hoseok’s shoulder.
Confused, Hoseok gave Jungkook a puzzled look, so the youngest continued, “Jiminie-hyung mentioned that it seemed like you were overworking yourself at the studio, and that you were really stressed out about some big performance coming up, but that you shouldn’t be, because you’re actually doing amazing.” He punctuated that with a shoulder-squeeze, and Hoseok blushed, equally embarrassed and endeared as Jungkook continued. “He seemed pretty worried about you, mentioned it about a dozen times a day: ‘Hobi-hyung was at the studio really late again last night,’ ‘Hobi-hyung seems so stressed out,’ ‘I wish we could do something to make Hobi-hyung feel better.’”
Jimin made an indignant noise at Jungkook’s impression of him, but the youngest ignored it and carried on. “So, I suggested that we kidnap you from the studio for the night and force you to stop working for a while.” He flashed the scrunched-nose bunny smile that sent butterflies straight to Hoseok’s stomach, adding, “But like, politely.”
“Wait,” Hoseok said quietly, trying to understand, “you did all this for me? I’m not—" He stopped and huffed out a breath. “But it’s so nice, all the… all the candles and everything… I’m not intruding on your night together?” Jungkook shook his head. “You guys did this for me?” Jungkook nodded, the corner of his mouth quirking up as though he were trying to hold back a smile.
Hoseok looked back over his shoulder at Jimin, who was definitely blushing now, hiding his face behind one hand and smiling bashfully. “That’s so…” Hoseok began, then trailed off, turning to face his friend properly and reaching out to tug Jimin’s hand down by the wrist so he’d look at him. “You were worried about me? Jimin-ah, that’s so kind.” Looking back and forth between the two of them, he said, “Nobody’s ever done anything like this for me before. Thanks, you guys.”
“Hyung, of course,” Jungkook replied, and he began rubbing those slow circles over Hoseok’s upper back and shoulders again. “We care about you.”
“Yeah,” Jimin agreed, his voice regaining a bit of its usual confident sass, “so let us spoil you a little for the night, okay?”
“Okay,” Hoseok agreed, fixing his eyes straight forward onto the blank television to try hiding how flustered he felt. He’d spent so much time before he came over worrying about being an intrusive third wheel only invited out of pity or politeness, worrying that he might slip up and show them how much he cared (and thus make everything unbearably awkward), but apparently, those fears were unfounded. This was taking a moment to sink in; Hoseok needed to process it. “Which movie is next?” he asked, trying to sound casual.
“Spirited Away,” Jimin announced, snatching his phone from the floor next to him and queueing up the film. Jungkook made an impossibly small excited squeak as soon as it began, and Hoseok swore he felt his heart melting in his chest.
The more it sunk in that Jimin and Jungkook wanted him to be there, that they wanted to dote on him and take care of him for the night, the more that Hoseok was able to let himself relax into it. Jimin soon recovered from his embarrassment over Jungkook’s moment of honesty, and he tipped his head sideways to rest on Hoseok’s shoulder throughout most of the film, even massaging the back of his hyung’s neck for a while. Jungkook had stopped rubbing Hoseok’s upper back, instead letting his hand slip down to wrap securely around Hoseok’s waist as casually as if he’d done it hundreds of times before. Occasionally, Jimin would absentmindedly fiddle around with the fingers of Hoseok’s hand where it rested beside him, and after a while Hoseok had to bite his lip to hold back a fond smile because Jimin had looped their pinkies together during a stressful scene and then left them like that.
While he normally wasn’t a big fan of physical contact (or talking about feelings, which Jimin had once said was ‘very Aquarian of you, Hobi-hyung’), Hoseok found himself feeling surprisingly soothed under their steady stream of soft, unassuming, constant touch. There was nothing demanding about their affection, nothing tainted by expectations of escalation or reciprocation; they hardly acknowledged that they were even doing it, and Hoseok could tell that this was just a built-in part of their love language. They were worried about him, wanted to take care of him, and this was the way they knew how to do it. It wrapped around him like a protective cocoon, warmth that dissolved the stress and anxiety that had been clawing at his chest, evaporated the guilt that had settled in his belly earlier that evening. He felt good, and they wanted him to feel good, so Hoseok decided to just allow himself to enjoy it.
During My Neighbor Totoro, he began drifting off to sleep under the tingling pressure of Jimin lightly scratching his scalp with his fingernails. By this point, he was curled on his side with his limbs tucked carefully against himself, and Jungkook lay wrapped, big-spoon-style, around his back. Their heads were all tipped at odd angles among the pillows so they could still see the screen, but everyone was too comfortable and warm under the blankets to even consider moving. Slowly, Hoseok felt his eyes begin to fall shut.
“Hyung,” Jimin whispered, untangling his hand from Hoseok’s hair and shaking him a little by the shoulder. “Hyung, wait, don’t fall asleep yet, this is the best part.”
“This whole night is the best part, Jiminie,” Hoseok mumbled, then he winced and silently cursed himself as he realized that he’d said it out loud.
But the teasing response he expected didn’t come. Instead, he felt Jungkook’s arms tighten around his waist, heard Jimin giggle and whisper, “Okay, hyung,” and then felt the warmth of Jimin’s plush lips as they pressed a kiss onto the side of his forehead. Feeling floaty and safe, he dropped off to sleep.
Somewhere around the middle of Howl’s Moving Castle, Hoseok awoke to the feeling of cold behind him and turned his head around. “Where’s Kookie?” he asked (sounding bleary and a little more alarmed than he meant to) as he twisted back into place and pulled the blanket over himself more tightly.
“He just had to use the bathroom,” Jimin reassured him, “He’ll be right back.” They were lying face-to-face, noses a scant few inches apart on their pillows, and Hoseok realized with a start that he had wrapped one leg around Jimin’s body in his sleep and tugged him much closer. Jimin must have sensed his internal panic, because a slow smile spread across his face and the reassuring tone of voice was back, whispering, “Hyung, hey, it’s okay.”
“Is it?” Hoseok asked. He felt his cheeks and ears grow hot, but he managed to keep his eyes fixed on Jimin’s.
“I promise you it is,” Jimin replied firmly, reaching out to comb his fingers through Hoseok’s hair. It sent a pleasant shiver down Hoseok’s spine and he closed his eyes, letting out a satisfied hum, so Jimin repeated the action a few more times, fingers tangling and trailing through the soft brown locks.
Behind him, Hoseok heard the bathroom door click open and the soft padding of Jungkook’s footsteps drawing closer as the man returned. He expected Jimin to put some space between them, maybe untangle himself from Hoseok’s limbs, at least take his hand out of Hoseok’s hair—but he didn’t. Hoseok opened his eyes, and then suddenly Jungkook was right there, all warmth as he slipped back under the covers and immediately wrapped himself around Hoseok’s back like a koala, one leg hitching up to press along Hoseok’s where it, too, draped over Jimin’s body. Jungkook inhaled deeply with his nose pressed into the hair at the back of Hoseok’s head, then just sighed contentedly and shifted his focus back to the movie.
‘See?’ Jimin seemed to be saying silently, the smile on his face a mixture of fondness and ‘I told you so.’
“I don’t… I don’t understand what’s happening,” Hoseok blurted out after a beat. He felt Jungkook’s breath freeze, saw Jimin’s smile falter and a look of confusion flash across his eyes. “You’re so…” he continued, but words started to fail him as he realized what he was saying. “Both of you, you’re so…”
“We’re so what, Hobi-hyung?” Jimin asked carefully.
“So sweet,” Hoseok replied, and he felt Jungkook finally take a breath again, his chest expanding slowly, pressing into Hoseok’s back as the tension melted back out of him. “So thoughtful, and… and so kind, and beautiful, and so good… You’re, like, the two best people I’ve ever met, and I’m just…” He trailed off again, embarrassed by the word vomit, then sighed. “I don’t deserve all of this; I don’t understand.”
For a moment, nobody spoke. Then, quietly, Jungkook said, “Jimin-ah, he doesn’t know.”
“Know what?” Hoseok asked, twisting around to look at Jungkook, who had a serious expression on his face.
“Mmm,” Jimin hummed, ignoring Hoseok’s question, “I think you’re right, Kook-ah. I don’t think he knows.”
“What do I not know?” Hoseok asked again, whipping his head back around to face Jimin. Their noses actually did brush against each other this time, and Hoseok’s breath caught in his throat.
“Hoseokie-hyung,” Jimin asked in reply, leaning in still closer until his mouth was next to Hoseok’s ear as though discussing something top-secret, his voice slipping out in a stage whisper, “do you not know what a sunshine you are?”
Jungkook’s voice piped up from behind him, a bit muffled as he’d once again buried his face into Hoseok’s hair, “You’re also sweet. And kind, and beautiful, and thoughtful. Do you really not know?”
“I’m…? Sorry, what?” Hoseok asked, his brow furrowing with confusion because that wasn’t what he was expecting them to say at all. He sat all the way up and looked back and forth between his two friends, who sat up as well and exchanged a fond, amused grin.
“Hyung,” Jungkook said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, blinking up at Hoseok with large doe eyes from where his chin rested on one hand, “I know that we’ve only been hanging out for, like, four months, but you’re literally our favorite person.”
Nodding, Jimin said, “He’s right.” Before Hoseok could react, he went on. “First, you absolutely saved my ass just by showing up to teach at the studio in the first place. I was running myself ragged trying to juggle two totally different dance curriculums after Chaeyeon moved to Seoul. But then you appeared, and you were amazing right off the bat, and I knew right away that everything was going to be fine.”
“He was so excited that he referred to you exclusively as his ‘knight in shining armor’ for the entire first week,” Jungkook interjected helpfully, grinning at the embarrassed noise Jimin made as a result. Hoseok’s eyebrows shot up, and he honestly couldn’t say whether his heart was pounding more from surprise, or from the thought of Jimin thinking about him that way—and then telling his boyfriend about it, and then feeling shy about it.
“But then,” Jimin continued, blushing but powering ahead, “you ended up being so much more than just a life-saver: you were you.” He gave Hoseok a lopsided smile, and Hoseok’s already-overwhelmed heart nearly stopped. “This vibrant ball of sunshine who makes me laugh all the time, and brings me smoothies on long rehearsal days because ‘bodies need extra fuel to do extra work’, and makes it his mission to cheer up everyone he comes into contact with, and reminds me to ignore work emails on my days off or he’ll hide my phone…”
“Who comes up with freestyle raps about cats we see in the street,” Jungkook took over, his voice much softer and the teasing tones from earlier gone. “And sends a banana milk home with Jimin sometimes just because he was thinking of me at the convenience store during his lunch break, and texts me SpongeBob memes when he knows I’m stressed out, and teaches me a new girl-group dance every time we get drunk together, and has the most contagious heart-shaped smile, and moves like he has music instead of bones... Hoseokie-hyung, do you not know yourself?”
Hoseok opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn’t seem to form words, so he shut it and looked down at his lap. The other two were patient, letting him absorb everything in silence. “That’s…” He brought his eyes up to meet Jimin’s, then glanced over to meet Jungkook’s. “That’s really how you see me?” he finally asked, his voice small.
“That’s really how you are,” Jimin corrected firmly. The clump of emotion that had settled in Hoseok’s chest jumped into his throat without warning, and Jimin, swiping at Hoseok’s cheeks with his thumbs, said, “Oh, baby no, don’t cry.”
But that just made Hoseok cry harder. The waves of relief and disbelief that took turns crashing over him made his head swim, and he curled forward and swayed over to rest his head on Jimin’s knee. “I’m s-sorry,” he hiccupped, closing his eyes, “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
He startled a little as he felt Jungkook’s hand, warm and big, press lightly between his hunched shoulders—then that hand began moving in soothing paths up and down his back, and he started to relax. Hoseok tried matching his breaths with the sweep of Jungkook’s hand—in as he moved up, out as he moved down—and soon he had pulled himself together. Slowly uncurling his body, Hoseok allowed Jimin’s hand to gently turn his chin and bring his face close, then blushed as Jimin dusted a few light kisses across his still-closed eyelids, the tip of his nose, and down his tear-streaked cheeks. It was light and sweet, clearly trying to soothe Hoseok’s embarrassment, and warmth swelled in his chest. Without thinking, Hoseok tipped his head just a bit and caught Jimin’s lips with his own.
Their kiss was soft, moving slowly together for only a moment—until Hoseok felt Jungkook’s hand slow to a stop on his back, mentally registered what he was doing, and pulled away from Jimin with a gasp.
His eyes flew open, and he whispered, “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Jimin said softly, “I promise.”
Hoseok turned quickly to look at Jungkook, an apology already forming on his tongue. Before he had the chance to speak, however, Jungkook stopped him by placing a hand on his arm and saying, “Hyung, don’t apologize.” He looked at him for a moment, eyes falling to Hoseok’s lips and then flitting back up to his eyes as he added, “I’d like to kiss you, too, if that’s okay. If you’d like that.”
Still not entirely sure what was happening, Hoseok cast a glance over his shoulder at Jimin, who gave him the same slow, reassuring smile he’d worn earlier. When he turned back to Jungkook, the youngest chewed his bottom lip and quietly said, “Only if you want to.”
“I do,” Hoseok replied, just above a whisper. “I just… I really like you.” Glancing back at Jimin again, he continued, “I really like both of you, and I don’t…” then huffed out a breath, trying to collect his thoughts. “I don’t understand what this is, I’ve never…” But he trailed off then, tired of fighting the way he felt, and re-met Jungkook’s gaze. “You really want to kiss me?”
Nodding, Jungkook gave him a soft smile and answered, “I really do.”
“Okay.” Reaching out with tentative fingers, Hoseok cupped the side of Jungkook’s jaw and pulled him closer, letting his eyes fall shut as their lips collided. He breathed in that familiar clean-linen-and-jasmine scent, then let himself go in the warmth and gentle rhythm of Jungkook’s kiss.
When they broke apart, Jungkook rested his forehead against Hoseok’s and let out a small, relieved sigh. “I don’t understand what this is, either,” he murmured, pressing a kiss between Hoseok’s eyebrows, “but I think… maybe it’s okay not to understand, if it feels right. And this feels right.”
“It does,” Jimin agreed.
“It does,” Hoseok echoed, swiveling around to face Jimin. “Can I please try that again? I promise not to panic this time.”
~end<3